Chapter Text
There was a part of Daniel that thought perhaps things would have been better if he had died.
It was a thought that immediately made him guilty. He should be grateful, no? He had another chance at life, though the heavy guilt of his parents conceiving another child for the sole purpose of providing Daniel the chance to live.
A savior baby.
Daniel sat there, watching his baby brother under sedation. They’re preparing him for surgery. They needed something from his new baby brother.
An ugly feeling grew in his stomach.
The image of the doctors cutting his precious baby brother open makes him want to puke. It’s not fair. It’s not fair for him.
He was glad his precious baby sister did not become a savior baby. She was conceived before he got sick. He would have felt worse if they had used her for parts, too.
And for what? For him? What was the point?
It would have been better if I had just died.
If he could, Daniel would have grabbed his father's hidden gun in the safe under their bed, shoved the barrel in his mouth, and pulled the trigger.
"Sweetie?" his mom cooed. "Are you tired?"
Daniel nodded, lying to his parents. His mom smiled, kissed him on his forehead, and told him to go to sleep. He turned in his bed and closed his eyes, hearing the click of the lights going off and the doors closing, his parent's feet shuffling away.
Daniel wept.
Why didn’t I just die?
Why was his life spared?
Why was he given another chance?
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When Daniel was slowly recovering and getting better, as soon as he had time alone with his sister, he begged her not to mention anything to Evan about being a savior baby.
His little brother would never know if things went his way, but he knows that's never a good idea. So when they were both older, Daniel would sit down with his brother and tell him everything.
But until that day, he just wanted Evan to be happy. He wanted to feel a slight sense of normalcy with his siblings.
Maddie was so young and probably didn't fully understand what Daniel was asking her. He'll revisit the subject again when she is much older, when Evan is able to speak and interact on his own. Though, as she got a year or two older, Daniel discovered something. He's not dumb. He may be eight, almost nine, but he has all the time in the world to observe everything that goes on in the house, all the time in the world to read, to learn.
He spotted Maddie closely watching as his mom was changing Evan's diaper with a frustrated face. She was trying to get ready for a party, and his baby brother's crying out wasn't making her plans go by smoothly. Dad had run out to grab more milk for Evan, and they were waiting for their babysitter to arrive so their parents could leave.
His eyes trailed back to his little sister, who was taking in all that their mother was doing. She removed the sticky sides of the diaper, using the back to scoop up any mess towards the front, setting the dirty diaper to the side while she grabbed baby wipes to clean him off thoroughly, then setting both feet down and carefully grabbing the dirty diaper and wipes and chucking them in the dirty bin next to the changing table. Their mom used another wipe for one last wipe down before grabbing a clean diaper and grabbed both of Evan's small ankles, lifted them up, and slid the diaper underneath.
Maddie had watched the entire process, quiet as can be, before tip-toeing out and going back to her room.
And when Maddie was five, when their parents were too drunk to wake up early on time, he saw Maddie sneaking into their baby brother's room, pulling up a chair and a stool to climb on and into the crib. By the time he made it to the door of Evan's room, she had the bag of baby wipes, a diaper, and a bag for the trash. She struggled to get in, not wanting to drop anything on him.
It clicked in his mind at the time.
She was trying to change Evan's diaper. Evan had been crying, and his diaper was most likely full from the smell of it. The crying was what woke Daniel up—not the smell.
"Maddie, if you're going to climb in, how are you climbing out?" Daniel asked softly.
Maddie let out a startled gasp as she held the things tighter and looked back behind her.
"I-I'm a good climber," she said.
"Uh-huh. Here, let me get him out. Let's change him on the ground, and I'll find the baby formula so Evan can eat. Saw Mom and the babysitters do it often. One of them let me do it once 'cause she didn't want to mess her nails up," Daniel said as he rolled his eyes at the memory.
"What if mommy woke up?" Maddie said. Daniel's nose scrunched.
"From the smell coming from their room, I doubt it."
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His siblings are also smart. They're like him, they pick up on things.
They know their older brother isn't okay. They know things happen behind his bedroom door. Daniel remembered them asking him one time, but he shut them down real quick. He doesn’t like to talk about it, and his siblings caught on very quickly to the distant look on his face when they asked.
They learned to stop asking.
His sister made sure to always talk about something else when he got that look.
He hasn’t told anyone about it.
He wanted to scream. To shout that he’s a person. He has a name. He’s not just the leukemia boy.
He thought it was their way of showing love, but something wasn’t right.
He was twelve, solid and healthy.
Having his Mom or Dad be in the bathroom with him while he bathes--yes, that’s right, bathe. He wasn’t allowed to take a shower. His parents still hadn’t taken apart any of the safety equipment in his bathroom when he had cancer. So here he was, twelve, still bathing like he was younger.
It’s slightly uncomfortable when his mom or dad wash his hair and towel him off. They slip his clothes on for him. If it were Dad, he would carry him to his room; if it were Mom, she would get his walker.
If Daniel was feeling sick, his mom made sure to bathe him.
The food restrictions were also very strict. He wasn’t allowed to have fast or greasy foods. He was allowed to eat a lot of vegetables, anything rich in iron, boiled chicken and vitamins—lots and lots of vitamins.
Daniel wasn’t allowed to do what he wanted. His parents barely let him outside, so it was sad for him to watch his little sister and baby brother play outside.
None of this improved until he was sixteen, but even then, it was still wrong. At the very least, he could take baths himself without his parents hovering.
It was suffocating.
He couldn’t go out and do any club. No after-school activities. He barely had friends.
They chained his ankle to the bed when he snuck out one night to go to a friend's party as punishment.
They made sure to lock his door at night.
Daniel was a prisoner in his own home.
He couldn't do what other kids do. Most days, he just felt like a doll to his parents.
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When Daniel was fourteen, and Evan was six, he remembered when Evan and he went outside once—they weren't supposed to be. Their parents had come home to see Evan playfully tackle him. Daniel blamed himself for this—for not keeping track of time.
Their parents shouted.
Mom hovered worryingly over Daniel while Dad had all but gripped Evan's arm hard enough that it left bruises, dragged him upstairs, and locked him in his room. He remembered Maddie telling him Evan cried and banged on the door for hours before he finally stopped. He had been sobbing out that he was sorry the entire time.
Daniel?
He had both his parents giving him a thorough bath, he wasn't allowed to scrub himself. His mom cooed when he flinched away from her nails lightly dragging through his hair as she washed it.
He cried when his dad lifted him out of the tub, wrapped in a towel. The man shushed him as he rocked his grown teenager.
"Don't worry, you're alright now, sweetie," his mom cooed again.
"I'll call Dr. Kendall tomorrow so Daniel here can get looked at, just in case," his dad said.
"Hm, does Dr. Kendall not have a son? Around Madison's age?" his mom said.
Daniel's heart sunk.
No.
Please leave her alone.
Leave her out of this.
But words fail to come out of his mouth.
"I think so. A nice play date for Madison would be good," his dad said.
"I think those two would be adorable together," his mom said.
Daniel slumped, too tired to deal with anything right now. Too mentally exhausted.
"Come on, I think Daniel's getting tired."
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Daniel was sixteen when he came home one day from school and found his sister rushing down the stairs as he came through the door. Both Maddie and Evan had been sick with a stomach bug for the past few days but had finally been feeling better. Walking in on her sweating and panicking, made him worry.
“What happened?” Daniel asked.
“Uh--Evan went into your room so he could play on your Gameboy. Mom saw it, took it from him, and put it in her room,” Maddie said hurriedly. “So after Mom and Dad left for some real estate party, Evan went into their room to get the Gameboy back and-and--” Maddie started crying, “h-he found the papers, Daniel.”
Daniel froze.
“What papers? ” Daniel asked, his heart beating fast.
Maddy gave him a knowing look. “All of the papers,” she said again.
Shit.
“Where is he?”
“In his room, he holed himself up in his closet.”
Daniel took off upstairs, his sister following suit.
“Evan?!” Daniel shouted as he rounded the corner and ran towards Evan’s room. Shoving it open, he looked to the left and opened the door.
Evan was curled in a tight ball, crying.
“Ev--”
“When were you going to tell me?!” Evan cried out. “Never?!”
“Ev I’m sor--”
“Don’t you think I have the right to know?” he sobbed.
“I was going to tell you I promise,” Daniel said calmly.
“It m-makes sense now. Why Mom and Dad doesn’t like me as much,” Evan cried. “Why they’re so close to you and Maddie,” Evan’s lip wobbled. “But not me.”
Daniel was confused, and the expression on both his and Maddie's must have made Evan go quiet. His brother sniffed, using his arm to wipe the snot and tears from his face.
“Evan, what are you talking about? What’s this about Mom and Dad?” Daniel asked.
“What do you mean? What did you think I was talking about?”
“Mom and Dad having you to help Daniel get better?” Maddie said, to which Daniel elbowed her gently.
“That savior baby stuff? I don’t care about that; that made Danny be here with us. I don’t care,” Evan’s eyes teared up again. “I’ll do it again if I have to. What I’m talking about is this. ” Evan shoved the file at them.
Daniel, perplexed, opened the file. It contained typical stuff that went over his cancer forms, the IVF.
Oh.
Oh .
Daniel wanted to throw up.
Taking a moment, he sat himself on the ground to look closer at the paper before him and then sifted through other paperwork.
What was going on? Why wasn’t this something his parents told them? Told him?
Why did they go this far?
His parents tried three times before having a successful fourth zygote compatible with Daniel. He could have had three more siblings, but his parents terminated them.
Daniel continued looking through the paper, and the next few he flipped over he finally found it.
Evan was conceived by a different man.
And woman .
Evan Buckley was not their brother.
By blood that is.
Maddie shoved Daniel to the side and yanked Evan out of the closet and into a fierce hug.
“So? So?! I don’t care if you have a different parents. I don’t care. You’re still ours. Still mine and Danny’s, ok?” Maddie sniffed as she hugged him. “Still, our precious baby brother.” Maddie wiped Evan’s tears away. “Is there a name? We can find them for you when we’re all older and go on an adventure.”
“Y-you promise?”
“Of course, was there any names?” she asked.
“N-no. Didn’t get too far into the files.” Evan shrugged. “ Mom and Dad are rich, easy to buy some doctors in a lab. Pay people. Hush money. ”
Maddie sighs. “You’re too smart for an eight-year-old.”
Evan smiled a little.
“It’s redacted,” Daniel scoffed.
“Redacted ?” Maddie and Evan asked.
“It means they remove certain information before releasing documents.” Daniel waved the paper. “For moments like these where someone else finds it when they're not supposed to. They just don't want anyone else to know. Like, certain police records are redacted to protect the officers.” Daniel looked back at his brother. “Once you turn eighteen, we’ll go get a DNA test and search for them, ok?” Danny said. “Preferably away from here, but you have to pretend you didn’t find this for now. Any of this.” Danny scrambled to straighten out the papers in the file. “C’mon, show me where you found it. We’ll need to tidy up their room.”
Evan was confused. “Wh--why?”
“Because I don’t like them knowing that we know. Something isn’t right.” Danny shook his head. “Please? You need to trust me on this.”
Evan was angry, but he reluctantly nodded.
Daniel's heart thumped. His stomach soured as he anxiously put things back the way they were.
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He hated himself so much for being unable to deal with it anymore. He wanted to pull his hair out in frustration.
Daniel had decided to leave when he turned eighteen. He left as soon as his parents weren't practically hovering over him all the time, and had told both of his siblings that he had to go. He just couldn’t take it anymore. It was suffocating. His parents were constantly on him, practically babying him and treating him as if he was fragile. So he made the grand decision to leave. He warned his brother and sister and told them not to tell their parents anything. He cried when he had packed what was important to him and if he could stuff his siblings in duffle bags and take off without repercussions, he would.
He had waited until his parents left for a party, an event he knew they’d be out til midnight. At seven p.m., his parents, all dressed up, bid them a good night and drove off. Then, he waited. Just to make sure they’re gone from anywhere near the house.
At seven thirty p.m., he swiftly packed as much as he could. Maddie was looking for the car while Evan helped locate things around the house that Daniel wanted to take with him—shoes, nice jackets, etc.
At eight p.m., Maddie informs him that the car is here, and all his siblings are bringing bags of stuff to the car. It was quick. He turned and squeezed his brother and sister so hard.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I don’t want to leave you guys, but I can’t be here anymore. I can’t do this here anymore.”
“Don’t you apologize, Danny. You deserve this. You deserve to live your life,” Maddie cried.
"B-but we promised. I promised. To still be here--" Daniel cried.
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be okay. Go show the world how strong you are.” Evan said with a huge smile.
He cried. He heaved and sobbed as he hugged his brother and sister.
"Y-you know the plan?" Daniel hiccupped.
Maddie nodded. "Lock the door like how Mom left it. Go upstairs, take the melatonin gummies, and go to sleep. Pretend we didn't know you were leaving when we see Mom and Dad." Maddie's voice wobbled. Daniel nodded.
Daniel had spoken with Maddie alone once. They had a plan. Maddie had promised to look after Evan until she left and then would let him know so that when Evan turned seventeen, Daniel could help him become emancipated and then take Evan with him.
As Daniel took one last glance back at his precious baby brother and sister, their figures getting smaller and smaller as they drove away, he let out a slow, hard breath he had held in. Anxiety ran through him. He felt like he was going to get caught. That the next moment, his parents would be right there again to take him home, chain him up, and lock the door.
He felt like he would never get away.
His friend's hand shoved his head down, snapping him from his downward spiral.
"Keep your head down, put on a sleeping mask, lean the seat back, and cover yourself with your jacket. Your parents know too many people here, and they're going to rat you out quick," his friend Connor advised. "Just go to sleep, I'll wake you when we're out of state."
Daniel nodded, and from all the stress and anxiety, he fell asleep. Hours later, when he stirred awake, it was still dark. He glanced outside, the orange streetlights from the highway illuminating the sign to Daniel's freedom.
"You are now leaving Pennsylvania."
"Where are we going?" Daniel asked. Connor smirked and clapped his shoulder.
"That's the beauty of this my man. Anywhere you want. You're free."
And as they finally leave the state's borders, he left behind the broken doll he felt like he was. The sickly boy who couldn't do anything.
He left behind the sad boy Daniel and promised to live his life finally, to be the strongest he could be, and to do as much as he could.
He'll return to this prison of a home, to get Evan out of there. Maybe Maddie if she didn't have anything holding her down here.
But unfortunately, things never went the way he wanted them to.
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Nearly twenty years have passed. Over the years, he moved to L.A., joined the fire academy, and became a firefighter with his captain Bobby, Hen, Chim, and a new probie Eddie at the 118. Things have been great. He’s married to the lovely Lucy, and has a house together. Occasionally, they hold get-togethers at Bobby's and his own. It was great. He fought Leukemia, then got the hell out of his parent's house. He got out on his own and found his own family. It was peaceful and everything he had wanted except, you know, the two missing holes in his heart that are the shape of his little brother and sister.
He had one of his remaining good friends deliver letters to his siblings. When Maddie finally had access to a computer, emails and chat rooms were common. It was still hard to keep in contact with Evan since he couldn’t access a computer alone, so he still received letters from him.
Things got increasingly difficult when Evan’s letters stopped coming. It was the year Evan would be fifteen that the letters stopped. Communication with Maddie was complex since she attended college and focused on her studies. From what her parents have stated, she says that Evan was fine, just out doing boy things.
But something wasn’t right. That doesn’t sound like his Evan.
He’s frustrated.
This was unlike Maddie, too. To trust what their parents say. They pinky-promised to look after Evan, and now every time he called Maddie, she sounded off, rushed, stressed, and worried.
Scared.
Frustration bubbled in Danny’s stomach. He couldn’t figure out what was happening or find her, as the return address was from a P.O. box. She didn’t tell him what college she was going to.
Danny looked over to the map on the wall, where he’d been tracking every location based on the many postcards sent from his baby brother. Red strings dance across the map, anchored by the ball pins he swiped from his wife.
The 118 knows a bit of his past. They know how hard he tried to find his baby brother, but the man was good at hiding. He had even hired P.I.s at some point, but they came up with nothing. Not even Maddie knew where he was. The postcards sent from Evan did not have much information, just that he was traveling a lot and never staying in one place much. At least he could finally send letters to Maddie, seeing as she was working in a hospital now.
“Dann-o where do you want the finger sandwiches?” Hen shouted, startling Danny.
“Uh, outside by the other little appetizers. Bobby will know,” Danny answered.
“Okay!”
It was one of those weekends when they held a little cookout. The weather wasn’t too bad—not too dreadfully hot.
Danny glanced out the window and spotted Eddie’s truck approaching his house. He was the last to show up; his son had a dental appointment earlier that day, so he had been the last to arrive. Danny sipped a bit of his whiskey. He turned to the window, reaching for the stick to close his mini blinds.
Coming into the room would often leave him feeling a little too raw. He felt a sense of peace, knowing his brother was still out there, but dread because Danny didn’t know where exactly, and communication with his sister ended a few months ago. A few letters he had sent were sent back to him.
Frustration ate at him again.
It had been a while since he received anything from Maddie, and he was worried.
“Honey…” he heard Lucy’s voice coming from the doorway. He wiped his eyes and turned, clearing his throat before speaking.
“Sorry, I was on my way out.”
“Hey--” she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. “--things will be fine. We’ll find him, ok?”
“It’s just--” he waved at the board, along with the map and the pins in them tracking where Evan had last been. “--I get letters from Maddie often. Since she graduated college and finally became a nurse. Twice a month. Always. Now? It’s been three months, and I haven’t heard anything. Something isn’t right.”
“Do you think they’re both hiding?” Lucy asked. He shrugged.
“I don’t know, but from who? You don’t think my parents had anything to do with it,” he said.
“Maybe not them, what about Maddie? Abusive relationship? It makes sense.”
He shrugged again.
“I don’t know.” It wasn’t like he could find her to help her. If he knew, he’d leave and take her away.
“C’mon--” she said as she pulled him toward the door. “--Eddie finally showed up with his son. All the kids are already attacking the appetizers. Chim’s also being bitchy cause of another shit date.”
Danny laughed and allowed him to be led out of the room. “Poor Chim.”
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Bobby had fought him over grilling the steaks, even threatening to stab him with the meat fork. The man glanced down at the glass in Danny’s hand and raised an eyebrow.
“Thought you weren’t going to drink anymore,” he said before wincing. “--not trying to--”
“You’re fine, cap. I don’t, well, not as often. I just needed something to…relax,” Danny said as he gently shook the glass. Don’t worry; it's my only one for today.”
Bobby was quiet as he kept an eye on the food he was grilling.
“Still no update?”
Danny made a face. “No. Nothing in the mail today either. I don’t want to let this consume me, but I can’t stop looking.”
“Hey, nobody is saying that. Hell, if I were you, I’d do the same thing. Just don’t forget that we’re here for you, too.”
“Your steak is cooking too long on that side,” Danny pointed out. Bobby snapped his head, cursing before flipping them over. Danny chuckled.
“Cap! Get him to stop!” Eddie laughed out as Chim shoved him. The two walked over, Eddie throwing a towel at Chim.
“C’mon man, it’ll be great!”
“I’m not going on a double-blind date with you. What are you my Tia ?”
“C’mon, you’re alone, I’m alone--”
“No offense man, but I will never be on a double date with you.”
“Not unless we find the right ladies. Or guy,” Chim smiled.
“How bad was your date that now you want to try for double dating?” Eddie asked.
“Yeah, Chim. Did you run away or did she?” Bobby teased.
“I did! I thought things were going great. She was pretty and graduated college with four degrees. Then she went on with the bedroom talk and liked things kinky,” Chim groaned. “She wanted to put me on a leash and muzzle. I left her at the restaurant. I paid for the meal, of course, I’m not that much of an asshole.”
“And you couldn’t let her down easily? You know, say hey I’m not interested?” Bobby said as he raised an eyebrow.
“She also wanted to stick me in a cage with a tail inserted,” Chim hissed. “I hope she finds the right one, 'cause it's not me.”
Eddie laughed as he clapped Chimney’s back. “But four degrees man.”
Chim shook his head. “Nope. No thank you. The pretty scary educated lady deserves someone better.”
Danny slapped Chim on his arm. “Oh, you know who she's perfect for? Th--”
There was a scream and a loud crash from the front of the house, shaking the tree in front of Danny’s house. Seconds later, the sound of the tree snapping and toppling over. It quickly went silent, everyone stopping what they were doing the second they heard the loud boom. Not even a second later the off-duty firefighters reacted quickly.
“May!!” Athena shouted. The woman ran out of the kitchen through the back door and around to the fence.
Suddenly, May ran to the backyard through the open fence from the front yard, where the kids were hanging out. She had Christopher in her arms, and Denny ran close behind her. Karen was fast, tending to Denny and hugging him.
“Mom!” She shouted.
“Baby!?! Baby, I heard the crash. Are you OK?!” Athena said frantically, searching her daughter for any sign of injury.
“I’m fine! But--”
“Christopher!?” Eddie ran up to his son. May handed him off to him. “Mijo, are you ok?”
“Dad, I’m fine. May yanked me off the ground when we saw the car coming, I was nowhere near it.”
“Where’s Harry?” Athena asked quickly. Having quickly thrown the steaks on a plate and off the grill, Bobby dashed past everyone and headed towards the front along with Chim, Hen, and Danny.
“Harry!” Bobby shouted.
“I’m fine! I called 911, they’re on their way,” the boy said hurriedly. Bobby yanked the kid to him and checked him over, heart beating fast. “I was just checking on who was in the car; they’re both knocked out.”
“You sure you’re ok?” Bobby asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Harry nodded quickly.
“Shit, they better not be drunk, or they’re gonna have hell to pay,” Athena said angrily. She pushed her son out of the way and towards safety while she and the other off-duty firefighters went up to the car.
Chim, bewildered. Hen, worried, and Eddie and Danny?
Pissed.
Danny was slightly angry because his beloved tree was now broken. Eddie? His son was put in danger. Good on May’s quick thinking and pulling him out of the way. The boy is fine, overall. The car that hit it? Not so much. It was totaled. The front of the Jeep was smashed in, and the horn was continuously going off. The front windshield was shattered. And the obvious huge fucking tree smashed almost down the middle. It’ll be a miracle if they’re both alive. The tree had narrowly missed the driver's head, as they looked slumped over towards their door before the tree landed.
Bobby was already checking the passenger, while Athena and Hen checked on the driver.
“Is everyone alright? This is an off-duty LAPD, is anyone awake?!” Athena called out. None of the two responded.
“They need to get here quickly; they’re both in bad shape,” Hen said.
Athena was quiet. Hen looked at her, her friend’s face pensive.
“Hen, does she not look familiar to you?” she said quietly. Hen, confused, looked back at the driver. It was hard to tell from the blood, the debris, but when she moved around to get a better look--
Hen gasped. “Shit--” Hen snapped her head over to Danny, who was trying to corral the kids back to the backyard. Luckily Lucy also came out and helped him as well. “--We don’t know that for sure--” she hurriedly said.
“‘Thena,” Bobby whispered. Hen and Athena glanced over the tree to find Bobby’s pale face.
Athena went over to the other side. She spotted Eddie and Chim, the latter on the phone.
“Athena, look at the kid’s face,” Bobby whispered. The woman glanced at the young man’s face; bruises littered his face, a split lip. A black eye. The birth--
Athena stilled.
The birthmark.
“Bobby,” Athena said, her voice shaking.
“It’s the same as the photos I’ve seen in that room.” Bobby nodded over to the closed window. “I have that photo burned into my mind. It’s him.”
“If our hunch is right, then we better hope to god these two come out ok.”
“Chim.” Hen waved him over quickly. Chim walked over to her. “Look, you need to keep Danny distracted. He can’t see this.”
“Wha--wait what do you mean?”
“Chim!” she hissed.
“Okay, alright!” Chim sighed as he went over to Danny, and Eddie headed over to Hen.
“Jaw’s of life?” Eddie asked.
“Definitely the Jaws of Life and the spreader. The roof caved slightly from the tree. The driver's door is smashed in a bit but it doesn’t seem to be a problem getting that out of the way. The driver and passenger look stuck from the front,” Hen said.
“Chim called dispatch to give them more info and send two units over,” Eddie told her.
“Bobby! Two units on route!” Hen called out.
“Why didn’t you want Danny to know?” Eddie asked. Hen just shook her head.
“If Athena and Bobby are right, the second Dann-o sees this, he’s going to have a meltdown.”
“A meltdown? Danny? I’ve never seen that man shed a tear," Eddie said, not believing Hen.
“Nobody has,” Hen sadly said.
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LAPD and LAFD arrived, along with two units, to transport two victims. Bobby was thankful it wasn’t their station that responded. Chimney was doing a great job distracting Danny, and he was glad Hen neglected to tell him more information, as the man couldn’t keep a secret to save his life.
That is, until Danny spotted the crunched-up front license plate that was on the ground. His heart dropped when he could finally make out the letters.
The firefighters on the scene greeted Bobby and cut away the tree as much as possible while the others worked on using the jaws of life to help remove the doors and parts of the roof to see the two better. Assessing both victims was challenging, as the tree made things difficult. When those roofs were out, the C-collars immediately came out and on the two.
“I don’t know if these two have the worst or best luck,” one of the firefighters commented.
Things were going pretty well until the man started to stir. The groan made a lot of the people stop, worried if any of the cutting had caused the man enough pain to wake him up.
“Sir?” Firefighter Puebla asked. “Do you know where you are?”
“Sir?” Firefighter Manning asked.
The man stirred, groaning as he tried to shift his body but couldn’t move. His eyes finally opened, and Bobby saw those bright blue eyes.
“Wha--what happe--whats going on--” the man said, starting to panic when he still couldn’t move his legs. The man reached towards his neck, feeling the collar.
“Sir, we need you to stay still and leave that on, you’ve been in an accident. We’re working on getting you out. Your legs are stuck, so you can’t move them.”
“Acci--did I c-crash?” the man slurred and shuddered.
“Your driver did. Can I--” That is when the man suddenly snaps out of his daze and over to where he should be able to see the driver's side. That's when the pure panic kicks in.
“M-my sis-sister--shit, shit--Mads?”
“Sir, we need you to calm dow--”
“Maddie?! MADDIE?!” the man started to shout for his sister. He twisted around, trying to pull his legs out. The man began to bang on the part of the jeep that was trapping him. “Get me out!”
“Sir, we’re working on it--”
"MADDIE?!" the man continued to shout out.
Bobby had enough.
“You know what just--” Bobby pushed one of the firefighters to the side so he could see the man. “Hey, hey, you’re alright. Can you look at me? C’mon, look right over here.” Bobby said softly. The young man finally glanced over, breathing heavily, adrenaline causing him to shake.
“M-my sister, ” he cried out.
“I know, the firefighters are here to help you and your sister. We have paramedics here waiting, and two units are ready to take both of you to the ER. People are focusing on your sister, and everyone here is focusing on you. You have off-duty paramedics, off-duty firefighters, off-duty officers, and on-duty. Nobody but the best here. You need to let us help you. Let them do their job, ok?” Bobby waited patiently for the man to reply. Finally receiving a nod, Bobby relaxed slightly.
“Get off me, Chim!”
“Now, do you have any feelings in your legs?” Bobby asked. The man nodded. “Good, are you feeling sick at all?” the man nodded.
“Was already feeling sick. Been awake for nearly three days straight. I-I was driving, w-we were--I just passed Colorado and into Utah.”
“Where were you coming from, kid?” Bobby asked.
“P-Pennsylvania.” Shit, that's a long drive. His sister must have dragged him over to the passenger and continued driving until she passed out.
“Sir, can we get you and your sister's name?” Manning asked.
“My sister--”
“Diaz, put me down!”
“I’m sorry man, I can’t do that!”
“That license plate! I need to see if it--”
“We can’t let you over there.”
“LIKE HELL YOU CANT. Cap and Hen are over there!”
“Danny, I’m sorry.”
Bobby looked over to where Danny was. He saw Eddie visibly holding the man along with Chimney. Athena had walked over to calm him down but threatened to have the PD restrain him if he impeded.
“You guys got this?” Bobby couldn’t help but ask. Manning smiled, giving him a thankful nod at calming the man down.
“Alright baby, I’m gon need your name first,” Manning asked, his New Orleans accent slipping through.
“I-I’m Evan Buck --” the man started to slur as his head started to droop down, “M-my sis’s M-Mad…Buckley,” the man finally lost consciousness.
“Alright, guys, let's hurry, he just lost consciousness!” Manning said.
Bobby finally walked away and headed toward the man who was slowly breaking down. Bobby glanced down at the front plate. As he passed by it, he saw the letters “BLUCKEY.”
A nickname or joke that Danny immediately recognized who was in the jeep.
Bobby motioned Eddie and Chim to let go, then wrapped his arms around Danny, hugging him tightly as the man tried to break free but couldn’t. Bobby slowly sat both of them down on the ground, where Danny finally started to sob into Bobby’s chest.
“It’s them, isn't it?” Danny sobbed out. Bobby shushed him, rocking Danny back and forth.
“It’s going to be alright.”
“Bobby-- Bobby, I just found them, and I’m gonna lose them again. ” Danny sobbed out. “I can’t lose them again. Twenty years, and they’re right there !” he squirmed. “Please !”
And Bobby can’t promise him that they’re going to be ok.
Of all the years he’s been a firefighter. Worked on entrapments, and internal bleeding does happen. They code either on route or at the hospital.
Everyone here has experienced it.
The only thing Bobby could do was hug the man who had never once cried, always smiled, and always made sure to put a smile on people's faces.
A man so happy, who was currently so heartbroken.
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Danny was numb. He cried everything out and tried to fight out of Eddie and Bobby’s fierce grip when they finally extracted his sister and brother.
Bobby had fully picked him up like a child and turned him around so he wouldn’t see the firefighters extracting both his siblings out. All he saw was the flashing red and white lights twinkling off his house.
He didn’t see them starting CPR on his sister
Bobby had covered his ears so he couldn’t hear his brother’s scream as they wrapped his arm that had been nearly split to the bone from the glass together.
“Stop getting lost in that head of yours,” his wife said. Danny blinked and then hummed, unable to come up with any words to converse. He’s tired, but he can’t seem to sleep at all.
He hears the machines beep, causing him to stir and sit up. Wait.
“Did I fall asleep?” he asked. He didn’t hear them wheel his brother in.
“Just for a little bit.”
“What’s the update?”
Lucy sighed. “You're lucky I have one of my good friends take a glance at both your siblings for you instead of waiting for the doctor to show up. God knows when they pop in. Your sister coded when they pulled her out, but they stabilized her. They got her nose back in place, but they’re sure she's got a concussion and will have problems speaking judging from the dark bruising around her neck. She's got two broken ribs and several cracked. Legs got a nasty cut but just needed stitches. Her arm is broken.”
“And my brother?”
“Three broken ribs, the nine cracked. The one rib punctured his lung, but they managed to fix that. He’ll need oxygen therapy. He needed a lot of stitches for his left arm. When that tree crashed down, the glass nearly cut him down to the bone, and he lost a lot of blood. He’s going to need physical therapy for that when it heals. Abrasions from the glass to his left shoulder.” Lucy rattled off. “They’re not saying much until all the tests come back.”
“Who managed to get them both a room?” Danny asked. He heard Lucy snort.
“Athena the Great.”
“She bullied them didn’t she?”
“Yup. She went all Mama-bear mode,” Lucy said. Danny smiled, though it fell a few seconds later.
Now, he was exhausted.
He was numb after they finally cut both his siblings out of the broken, smushed jeep. Watching blood leak from his baby brother’s leg.
Watching blood leak from his sister’s head, where she smacked it back and forth from the airbag deploying.
Bobby may have prevented him from seeing the full extraction, but the reflection of the window showed a lot. At some point, Danny shut his eyes during the extraction.
“They’re finally here,” Lucy murmured as she softly stroked his cheek back and forth with her thumb. “They’re not going to disappear,” she promised him.
Danny shuddered.
Because she knew him, she knew he was scared to close his eyes and wouldn’t be able to find them again.
“I feel so stupid sometimes. Why didn’t I go back sooner? Check up more often?” Danny angrily whispered. “I was so angry at my sister and didn’t realize she needed help. And here I was,” Danny wiped the tears from his eyes, “living the life. Smiling and happy while my baby brother was missing and my sister in an abusive relationship.”
When the paramedics had finally loaded them onto the units, they cut Maddie’s clothes to inspect her better. She had a gash from the glass shattering into her thigh but thankfully missed everything vital in it.
But she had bruises on bruises.
Old injuries.
Abuse.
“Hey,” she reprimanded as she gently shook his head, “don’t blame yourself. You were in a situation where you had no choice but to leave. Abuse comes in many ways, and not just physical. They made you feel like a child. A glass doll, made you feel worth less. Told you and made you believe you couldn’t do this and you couldn’t do that. They locked you up in your room, literally.” Lucy said. “And you knew you would have done something stupid if you stayed.”
“I should have brought them with me,” Danny murmured.
“And what? Get arrested for kidnapping?” Lucy said. “You went with the safest route you thought of. We don’t know what happened, but they’re here now. We can finally get answers now. Something happened for them to drive nonstop, but they came straight to you because they knew you would help them no matter what. They still chose you .”
Danny sniffed. “You’re right. I didn’t have the resources to help back then, but I do now. I can do something now.”
“And when you need help, you got us, kid.” Bobby’s voice said. Danny snapped his head over to the door, where he could see Bobby, Athena, and Hen.
“We left Chim and Eddie to clean and lock things,” Hen said. “What did the doctors say, Dann-o?”
Danny rattled off what Lucy had told him. “Both are seriously exhausted and a bit dehydrated. I don’t know how much sleep they lost.”
“From here to Pennsylvania? That's at least a thirty-eight-hour drive.” Athena said.
A knock came from the door, and in came a doctor, along with a nurse to check the I.V bags and such. He paused for a moment, seeing all the people in the room.
“Hello, uh I assume all the family of Buckley?”
“Yes,” Danny said quickly.
“Good. My name is Dr. Allison. Let’s see, starting off with your brother here, Evan will need oxygen therapy for his punctured lung, and the pharmacy in the hospital will get you set up to take a portable tank home. He’s going to be on painkillers and icing the ribs will both help with the pain. He’ll need to be careful of the staples, make sure the area doesn’t get wet and he doesn’t do anything to pull at them. He also had two bullets that we were successfully able to remove. It’s been there for a while, but with the injuries sustained in the accident, we were able to get them out with no problem. Two of his fingers on his right hand were dislocated, so I would leave them in splints for the time being. I will say some of the ribs looked a bit old prior to the accident. His split lip and black eye were before the accident too,” the doctor paused, seeing the older brother set his head into his hands. “He was most likely knocked out the entire time of the incident, so having his body go slack during that moment helped prevent a lot more serious damage.”
Danny choked.
“Bullets ?!” he hissed.
“Yes, the entrance of both bullets was stitched very well so it barely left a scar. Given his thorough vaccination records from his time in the Navy, I will assume where the bullet came from.”
Danny could feel a headache forming.
And panic. The Navy?! The fucking Navy? His baby brother--- that's why he couldn't find him. If Evan wanted to hide he probably asked someone to help him.
He wanted to throw up, and somehow, he knew Lucy would be laughing at him at how many times now he wanted to throw up.
He heard someone pulling up a chair in the corner. It was probably Bobby, judging from the man’s deep sigh.
“The nurses found his dog tags on him. It’s with his bag of belongings, we set them in their appropriate closets over here,” the nurse said.
Danny blinked and nodded. “How long will it take for him to recover?” Danny asked.
“As long as he rests and lets all of you take care of him?” Dr. Allison pointed at everyone with his pen. “Despite being dehydrated and fatigued, he’s a very healthy strong man. Your younger brother takes great care of his body, so he should be able to make a speedy recovery in, I would say, four months, including his laceration, to heal fully.”
Danny nodded. That was good. “And my sister?”
“Your sister did code twice. At the scene and when the ambulance got here, her pulse was very weak along with her health most of all, but we managed to get her back and stabilized her.”
Dr. Allison stopped, getting a look around at everyone in the room.
“I trust them,” Danny said, knowing the look of, ‘Do you want them in here?’
“I’ve done my job for quite a while. So I say with confidence that she had signs of domestic abuse. Both actually, from your brother’s nine cracked ribs.”
The ugly feeling in his stomach came back quickly.
“Usually with a broken nose, you’ll get black eyes about a day or two later. She already had a black eye that had been recovering I would say, for nearly a week, but another that was only a few days old. Her two broken ribs were sustained from the crash, but seven were cracked and old. She has some damage to her trachea. The bruising around her neck was obvious that she had been choked.”
“Jesus Christ,” Hen couldn’t help but say.
“Now, the injuries sustained from the crash, a concussion, a broken nose, two broken ribs, a broken right arm, and a gash in her right thigh that had stitches as well. Similar to Evan, lots of rest and painkillers. I would keep an eye on her with her concussion, but as long as she rests and doesn’t overstress herself she should be ok. No bleeding in her brain thankfully.” Dr. Allison said. “For now, we wait until they wake up on their own.”
Danny nodded and thanked the man before he and the nurse tending to his siblings left. Next to him, Lucy shifted around to the side, grabbing something Danny didn’t know. Too busy watching the door close and watching them leave.
Danny waited a few seconds, waited until the doctors were far enough before Danny scrambled up. Lucy, his lovely wife predicting how he felt, shoved a trash can in his face. Seconds later, he threw everything in his stomach up.
Bobby, Athena, and Hen looked at Danny worriedly, before Lucy held a hand up.
“He’s a puker. I’m surprised he hadn’t once thrown up in front of you guys yet after all these years,” Lucy said, looking at her husband fondly.
“Luce--we’re gonna need a bed for my map room,” Danny groaned as he heaved and spat. Lucy patted her husband on the thigh. "For Eban. Maddie gets the guest room."
“I know, hun. I already made a list of things we need to do before they get home. Do you think we can guilt Eddie into helping us load the mattress?” Lucy said as she glanced at the list on her phone.
“If not, let me know when and I can help.” Bobby offered.
Danny lifted his head up from the trash can. Danny hadn’t noticed the trail of spit down his chin. “Fhanks, 'obby.” Danny coughed and spat again.
Bobby winced. Poor kid. “Anytime.”
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