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Tommy hovers at the back of the ambulance; the only reason he isn't in with Evan and Christopher is because there's very little room with the two paramedics also crammed inside with them. Evan has a nasty gash on his forehead, though so far, the paramedic checking him out has found no signs of a concussion. The only good thing to come out today, outside of them making it out of this situation alive, is that Christopher is completely unharmed (physically, at least).
"You sure you can't come with us? You could sit up front?" There's a pleading tone creeping into Evan's voice, and Tommy just adds that piece of guilt to the pile that's steadily accumulating from today's events.
He's making excuses though, because Evan's not wrong. Tommy could go with them even if there won't really be room in the back for him, and, honestly, he knows the paramedics would make it work if the three of them wanted to stick together, but Tommy's a coward. He can't face Eddie when they eventually get Chris back to him, nor Bobby and Maddie when they rush to Evan's side, and finally, he can't face what Evan will think of all of this once the dust settles and it's just the two of them.
"I need to check in and see if Val and the kids are safe, and make sure Donnie's okay. I'll be right behind you guys, though."
"We could wait for you." Evan offers, unsure.
Tommy shakes his head. "The paramedics want you both to get checked out, and the sooner, the better."
Evan frowns. "You need to get checked too." There's a slight accusation in his voice because Evan's not an idiot and knows something is off with him.
"I will" is all he offers in response to that. He's got a bruised cheek and a busted lip; nothing urgently needing attention.
One of the paramedics jumps down out of the back. "If you're sure you're not coming, then we're going to get going. Okay?"
All he does is nod, so the guy heads around to the front cab. He looks back at Evan's sad expression.
"You should really come with us, Tommy." Chris' soft voice pulls their attention away from each other. The kid looks from him to Evan and then back.
"I'm going to call your dad, Chris; make sure he's waiting for you at the hospital." Chris sighs. Tommy forgets that children are a lot more perceptive than they're usually given credit for. He turns and smiles at Evan. "I'll call Bobby for you, kid."
Evan thankfully smiles at the light joke, but it's still a sad smile.
Tommy helps close the doors. "I'll see you guys soon." Then he's slapping the back of the ambulance, giving a nod to the paramedic driving via the side mirror.
Turning, instead of watching it go, he looks around to try and find his brother. Or even someone who could fill in the blanks for what the hell has been going on because all he knows is that some terrible people had wanted to make his brother suffer and had mistaken him for Donnie-the unexpected perils of being an identical twin. They'd followed Tommy from Donnie's house this morning (after reclaiming his "borrowed" cooler) and grabbed Evan and Chris up with him when he'd stopped at the Diaz house to pick them up for their day out. They had thought Evan and Chris were Donnie's secret second family (which will be something they might be able to laugh about in the distant future) and had planned to find Val and his niece and nephew so they could make him choose which ones he would watch die first. Whatever Donnie put these guys away for, it must have been pretty bad. He's still not sure if he actually wants the backstory.
Tommy spots a couple of the SWAT officers who had taken their captors down. He walks over to them. The Black officer turns to greet him, cutting off whatever conversation he was having with his colleague.
"Everything okay?" The two of them, the same stripes as Donnie and Athena, so sergeants, turn their assessing eyes onto him. He sees the name tag now: Harrelson.
"Yeah. Yeah, we're going to be okay. Thank you for getting us out of there and for making sure Evan didn't get shot."
Sergeant Kay jumps in there, "Hey, I know we've never met, but SWAT is one big family, and your brother is unfortunately included in that." He smirks at Tommy knowingly, and Tommy smiles in understanding.
Harrelson continues the point. "We all look out for our family and their loved ones too. Plus, your boy Evan is a quick thinker and has good reflexes."
Tommy can't help but laugh at that, not surprised to hear that kind of praise in relation to Evan. "Yeah, he's one of LAFD's best." The two of them grin at his honest fondness for his boyfriend.
"Could say the same for you, man; we've learned a lot of interesting things since this morning. I'm Hondo, by the way. This is Deacon." He points to his colleague.
He recognises the names from some of Donnie's work stories; most of them are superficial complaints about the men and the rest of their squad.
Deacon is perceptive. "So Rocker has mentioned us?" he asks, amused and seemingly a little intrigued.
"Yeah, I'd love to say all good, but he likes to use me to vent about work." Hondo raises an eyebrow at that. "Don't worry, it's all him just whining about how he lost another bet that sounds like it was his idea in the first place."
Hondo shares a triumphant smirk with Deacon.
"By the way, I need to get in touch with Chris' dad to let him know where to find his kid."
Deacon waves him off: "Eddie, as well as Evan's sister and his crew, were down at HQ when we left, so they'll all already be on their way over to the hospital to meet them." That was a relief; he could put off those inevitable conversations for just a little bit longer.
"And I take it, if you're still here, then you already found Val and the kids before the other guy got to them?" Tommy asks hopefully.
The grins slide off the sergeants' faces, and Hondo seems to think for a moment before he admits, "We brought your brother's wife and kids into HQ late last night."
Tommy knows he must look confused because Deacon explains, "An informant who used to work for one of our teammates back in the day got in touch with us yesterday to let us know that someone was after Rocker."
In what is absolutely perfect timing, he spots Donnie at that very moment, coming out of the front of the warehouse with an older man in a suit. He storms past the two sergeants and can faintly hear them call out for him. It looks like a serious discussion, whatever is being said between them, because it isn't until he's only a couple of steps away that either of them notices he's coming.
Tommy is really glad Evan (and Chris) aren't here right now because Tommy is too furious to keep his anger from spilling over. He shoves Donnie hard, causing him to stagger back, though Tommy follows right into his space.
"Last night?!"
"Tommy-" The guilt and reproach written all over his brother's face answers the question for him.
"You've known since last night that a vengeful, sadistic criminal was looking for you," he punctuates that last word with another shove at his brother, "and yet you didn't think to call or even message me a heads up."
He can see out of his peripherals a few cops are hovering near them, obviously reluctant to step in between them. Tommy is grateful because this is family business; there is no need for Donnie's friends to be getting in between them right now.
"I was so worried about Val and the kids and catching these guys before they found out we knew and started hiding their tracks." Donnie explains desperately. "You live and work on the opposite side of the city to me; I figured you were safe enough."
He thinks he hears a small, unimpressed snort at that assumption from the older man in the suit who had just been talking to Donnie.
Tommy is still so mad at how thoughtless his brother had been, but he also can't imagine how scared Donnie must have been for his family while also trying to focus on his job at the same time. He's just about to step back and try to reign himself in a bit when Donnie opens his mouth again, having the gall to sound annoyed now.
"It's not my fault you showed up to my house without giving me a heads-up either."
Tommy's not proud of it, but reflexively, he punches his brother right in the face.
"What the fuck?!" Donnie pushes back at him with his free hand, the other cradling the side of his face.
Tommy snarls as he shoves back. "You-"
"That's enough!" The guy in the suit is quickly in between them, forcing them both away from each other.
Deacon is there, pulling Donnie back a little further, while Hondo appears at his side, placing an arm out in front of him. The look he gives Tommy says: I don't want to put my hands on you, but you're also not going back over there.
He stiffly nods his agreement to that, then turns his attention to the guy in charge as he steps up to Tommy. "Look, I understand you're angry right now—believe me," he raises the volume of his voice slightly so it can be heard by the men standing behind him, "I'm not anywhere close to happy about how this all played out either."
He sees Donnie hang his head upon hearing that. The senior officer carries on at a quieter volume again, trying to sound reasonable as he explains himself. "However, just because you're his brother doesn't mean I can turn a blind eye to someone assaulting one of my officers, so I need you to walk away." When Tommy makes no move to listen, he continues. "Your boyfriend and the kid need you at the hospital with them, not sitting in one of my holding cells."
Finally, Tommy takes a steady breath, relaxing his stance. The older man seems satisfied enough and steps back.
Hondo pipes up from beside him, "If you don't need me here, Commander, then I can drive him over to the hospital."
The Commander nods in agreement. "Hondo will take you over to get checked out." He directs the next part to his officer: "I'll send over someone else to join you in getting their initial statements."
"Not him," he says, locking eyes with his brother. "I don't want him talking to Evan or Chris."
The Commander agrees easily, "Done. He and I need to finish a conversation anyway."
Donnie winces but stays focused on Tommy. "I am so sorry-"
"Do you have any idea what you put us through today?" He's not shouting anymore, but his hard voice is loud in the silence of the group. "One little text probably could have prevented all of this. One moment of care and worry for your own brother instead of doing what you always do and leaving me to deal with the consequences."
He hates how shaky his voice has gotten, but he is not going to feel ashamed about being upset with all that's happened today—another incident in a long history of Donnie not caring about him. Don't get him wrong, Donnie had been better since they'd reconnected after he joined Harbour, and Tommy could own up to needing to put in the effort to be a better big brother too (which he did).
Today, though.
"Evan and Chris have been through so much, and now this," he gestures at the warehouse behind. "They dragged us out of Chris' home because of me. How is he supposed to feel safe there again? How is he supposed to trust me again?" Donnie looks at him helplessly, more and more distraught as he goes on. "I don't know if Chris' dad will ever forgive me for traumatising his son. I don't know if my boyfriend will ever forgive me for it either."
Tears sting at the corners of his eyes. He ignores the sympathetic faces of the Commander, Deacon, and Hondo. He blinks them away and steadies his voice again.
"And, honestly, I don't know if I can ever forgive you for this." His brother's eyes widen in shock. There's a slight panic in his movement as he tries to step closer, but Deacon still has a hand on the top of his arm. He doesn't let Don speak. "Don't contact me again. If Joel and Louie want to see me, then Val can get in touch, but I'm done."
He turns and walks away before he second-guesses his decision, especially with the look of devastation now on his little brother's face. (More guilt to reckon with later.) After a few paces, he finds Hondo silently falling into step beside him, taking the lead over to one of the SWAT vehicles.