Chapter Text
The thing with TK Strand is that he loved too much.
He loved to the point that he would break himself, in order for someone else to be happy. So, that is what he did. He hurt the person he loved the most, to save him. Looking down from the edge, where it all started on the night of the solar storm, a single tear fell down his face.
“Please forgive me.”
He turned around without another glance back and walked towards the vehicle that he rented and drove away from the life that he loved the most.
///
It had been a week since anyone had heard from TK.
Carlos wasn’t coming by to see them anymore and no one from APD would even give a decent answer.
Owen wasn’t in contact since he decided to turn tail and run off into the mountains, as if his kid didn’t need him.
The 126 were steadily getting worried for their second youngest.
(A/N: fight me on this...)
They were gathered at the Ryder’s house and potentially talking about what was going on with Tarlos. They were deep into conspiracy theory #5 (courtesy of Mateo), when the doorbell rang. An officer was at the door and he looked a little serious.
“May I help you officer?”
“Hello ma’am my name is Connor Montgomery, I’m a detective with APD. Is a Judd Ryder home?”
Grace looked shocked for a second and turned towards her living room.
“Yes, that’s my husband. He’s in the living room with the rest of his friends.”
The officer tilted his head to try and see the rest of the people.
“The rest of the 126?”
Grace was starting to get nervous now.
“Yes, all except for Captain Strand and his son.”
The detective gestured.
“May I?”
Grace nodded and as she closed the door behind the officer, it felt like they were all about to get the death penalty.
///
*Flashback New York, 2019*
TK exhaustedly walked into his tiny ass apartment and tiredly threw his bag somewhere into the corner. There were days where he hated working as a first responder, with a random ass schedule, but he loved getting to save all of the people and to see them continuing on with their lives because he saved them.
He thought back to Malia, the sweet like girl from Hawaii, who was visiting for the first time with her parents when she accidentally fell into a pond at the park. She was incredibly thankful that he got a kiss from her stuffed alpaca doll she named Sonny.
He reached up to grab a glass from his cabinet when he was roughly grabbed by his bicep and thrown against his kitchen counter. He came face to face with his boyfriend and said boyfriend looked extremely pissed.
“Al-”
Alex had grabbed his face and began roughly kissing him. TK whimpered and felt the tears gathering into his eyes. He hated whenever Alex was drunk and angry.
He knows.
God, does he fucking know that he should be reporting his boyfriend for the abuse, but he was fucking scared for his family’s safety. So, he put up with everything that his boyfriend threw at him. He even remembers about the threat that Alex gave him.
“It would be a fucking shame if the firehouse were to blow up with your fucking father still in it.”
TK felt the tears again as he thought about it. He nearly lost his father in 9/11, he couldn’t bear to lose his father because of an asshole.
Hours later, as he was spread across the sheets of his bed, come dripping from him and the blood long dried on his body, and the aches slowly appearing. He wondered what it would be like to be set free from this hellhole.
*End Flashback*
///
The detective looked at the stunned group in front of him. He could see some of them going pale white as a ghost or disgustingly green. It sucked that he had to be the one to drop that bomb on them, but they needed to know and he needed to figure this case out.
“If you find anything else out, please contact me immediately. I am sorry that this has happened to you. Also, if Captain Strand makes his way back into town, please have him stop by the precinct.”
They all nodded numbly and the detective stood.
“I’ll see myself out and again I am very sorry about this.”
The click of the lock managed to break them all out of the trance that they were in. Some of them burst into tears, others stood up to pace around the room.
Paul turned towards all of them.
“How?”
No one was able to answer him.
They looked out at the scenery before them.
The 126’s baby was gone.
And he was being hunted by someone or something.
They all glanced at each other and nodded. It was time that they played the ametuer detectives for once. The first order of business, to track down Owen Strand and to bring back home.
///
Somewhere in the green mountains surrounding Austin, Texas, Owen Strand was sitting in the living room of the cabin that he was using from Judd’s uncle. Judd, at first, had raised an eyebrow at him and told him that he was gonna ask his uncle for permission to use the cabin. The uncle had agreed as long as everything was the same as when he got there.
Owen felt the need to run away and to truly think about what he was doing with himself. It still kinda stung whenever TK looked at him with the pouty, puppy dog eyes whenever he was feeling lost when he came home with Carlos in tow. He knows that he and Gabriel didn’t exactly do everything right when it came to dealing with the arsonist.
(Who was he kidding? The firehouse blew up and their sons were nearly killed. He shivered at the fact that his baby boy was nearly killed because of him, again.)
Now, Owen Strand wasn’t someone who believed in superstitions or whatever, but when a crack appeared in the tea cup that he was drinking out of; he couldn’t help with the heavy feeling in his gut. He looked out of the window and saw a bird flying away.
“TK...”