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Chapter Text

They had—it had been right there . 

The tornado was right there and they were—why the hell were they driving to get in front of it? To let it get so close that it was pulling them in, whipping everything around them up into its powerful inflow—allowing themselves to be fed to the monster? 

Her hands were shaking as she trembled and gripped the steering wheel, repeatedly gripping and releasing the car as something started pounding. Time seemed to slow down—was it her heart beating so loudly? The racing thumps sounded so similar to the ‘thunk’ of debris on the car—to pounding footsteps as they ran frantically towards shelter—was that what the thumping was? 

She could hear Javi yelling—was he yelling at her? What was he saying?

Was he in trouble? Did he hear the thumping? The way everything was slowing down—

Kate could hear the slowing drag of the windshield wipers, the thud of debris pounding against the vehicle, the roar of the engine as they raced down the road—

Or was that roaring sound she was hearing the winds again? 

It was —something sounded like it was rushing past her, and if she closed her eyes, she knew she was right back in that overpass. She could hear the winds roaring past her, feel the rain, the heavy air as it was building. It made it hard to breathe—- 

God, she couldn’t breathe —

She couldn’t breath, she—

This was it. This was finally it. The storm was going to—the winds were going to take her—she was going to be sucked up and suffocated and–and— 

A strange gasping sort of noise joined the roaring in her ears as her world started to turn grey.

*******************************************************************************************************

“Hey Javi!” Tyler teased, pulling up next to their truck with a smirk. “What’re you doin’ all the way out here? Tornado’s that way!” 

The Storm Par chaser rolled his eyes at them, frustration clear. Boone held the camera out the window towards the tornado, joy loud and obvious. Tyler grinned, stooping a little to try and catch a glimpse of the blonde now in the driver’s seat. 

He’d intended to smirk at the city girl, tease her a little before they continued on their path to intercept the twisters tearing through the field. He’d intended to keep on with his trademark ‘Owens’ sort of act and to give the Live fans something to giggle about. Maybe a flirty little quip, maybe a tease–something to get the chat going. 

But then he’d seen Kate. 

He saw her ashen face and wide eyes as she sat gasping in the driver seat. He saw her hands grasping reflexively on the steering wheel like maybe it would grasp back. 

“ Shit— Javy,” he muttered, throwing the truck in park and unbuckling his seatbelt as he opened the door. “Boone, kill the feed.” 

Boone, to his credit, did exactly what Tyler asked, knowing from experience that his friend wasn’t messing around with that tone of voice. 

“What the hell are you doing, Owens?” Javi growled as Tyler moved quickly to the other side of the Storm Par truck.

“What you should be doing, asshole! Your rookie’s having a panic attack—” Tyler shot back, opening the door to the truck.

“ Shit —Kate?” Javi spun around to see what he was talking about, frustration evaporating. 

“Hey, City Girl,” Tyler said firmly, catching her attention.

She was practically vibrating, she was trembling so hard, hands clasping again on the steering wheel.

“C-c-can’t—I c-c-can’t—” she inhaled sharply.

“You can breathe,” Tyler countered gently. He reached up to her hands, taking them in his and coaxing her to turn to face him. “You can — here, squeeze my hands—there we go—try to take a breath in—” 

“I—I the w-w-w-winds—-” 

“Storm’s gone, Kate,” the wrangler argued firmly. “No more winds, promise. You’re just having a tiny bit of a panic attack, but that’s okay—let’s try again, alright? Breathe in—- there you go, darlin’, hold it for a second, now breathe out— slowly —not tryin’ to blow anythin’ up—-alright, now again—-” 

Tyler repeated the process for another minute, gently running his thumb over the back of the blonde’s hands as he held them, helping to ground her to the current situation the best he could. 

Her ragged, hitching breathing started to slow under his ministrations, and she began to become more aware. The roaring in her ears was dissipating, and the rational part of her brain was starting to realize it hadn’t been the wind, not really. She was left feeling wrung out and tired, a few tears burning the corners of her eyes as she slowly focused on what was in front of her. 

“Hey, you back with me, Kate?” Tyler’s voice was steady, his hands gently squeezing hers as she met his gaze finally. 

“I—um, thank you,” she cleared her throat, squeezing his hands back reflexively. 

“S’no problem,” he dismissed, though his green eyes seemed to linger on her face as his brow furrowed. “You feelin’ okay? Shaky?” 

“Here,” Boone suddenly interjected, tossing a chocolate bar over the truck. “Sugar helps.” 

“Thanks, Boonie,” Tyler grinned as he caught the candy, and Kate spun to offer her own halfhearted smile. 

“Y’alright?” Javy asked a bit sharply from where he stood by the passenger window, concern evident. 

“Ye—” Kate’s voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “Y-y-yeah, I—I guess I just—I forgot what that was like. I—I’m sorry, I’m fine. Probably just—s’been a long day of—of traveling and I—” 

Javy nodded. “Yeah, I—I should’ve let you have a day to adjust. That’s on me—we’ll call it an early night, yeah? Fresh start tomorrow?” 

“Yeah—yeah, of course,” Kate agreed, offering her friend a small smile.

“Here, Kate—take a bite, okay?” Tyler drew her attention back to him, handing her a segment of chocolate. “Hold it on your tongue and let it melt. Helps—” 

She did as he directed, her face flushing as she realized she’d let things get so out of control. She had a—-she’d had a panic attack over a tiny EF1—

“ Hey ,” Tyler said a bit softer, and she looked up at him. “You’re okay, City Girl— it happens.” 

She nodded tightly, offering him a smile and swiping at the tear on her face. “Yeah—yeah it’s all— I’m good, thank you—” 

“No problem,” the wrangler nodded, holding out the rest of the chocolate. “Finish this and get some rest. Gonna be another day of systems tomorrow. Not that you’ll choose the right one, of course, but—” 

Kate offered him a slight snort of laughter at his teasing, taking the chocolate. “I mean, technically I did choose the right one—I just didn’t tell you —” 

“Yeah? Well maybe tomorrow you will? Payback for this little rescue moment.”

“ Rescue— ”

“I mean, I had to stop filming and everything,” he goaded. 

“How will your fans make it?” she shot back, a little spark reappearing. 

“You know, it’s kind of you to ask? We had somethin’ real special planned too— fireworks —” 

“Fireworks?” her eyes widened as she took in his cocky grin. “You’re insane!” 

“No ma’am,” he tipped a nonexistent hat to her. “I’m one of a kind!”

Chapter Text

/Damn—that twin isn’t messin’ ‘round. Headed straight for that small town to the east—and—oh shit —/ Dani radioed.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

/Storm PAR truck just got hit—looks like it ran them into a ditch—-/

“They okay?”

/Look alright from what we can see. Both seem pretty shaken—think it was the Dandelion chick again?/

“Damn, hell of a few days for a newbie chaser,” Tyler muttered, trying not to dwell on just how shaken the blonde had been yesterday. Or how exhausted she looked today. He picked up the radio again. “Hopefully Javi and the rookie are okay.”

/You really think she’s a rookie? Knowing storms the way she does?/ Dex offered. 

“I dunno, but she looked pretty damn shook up yesterday,” Boone added. “‘Nd that was just bein’ near one. Bein’ in one’s not gonna be a picnic—”

“Maybe Kate finds them to be as unsettling as I do?” Ben offered.

“Then why chase?” Lilly asked. “Why come from New York or wherever to chase ‘em?” 

Tyler shrugged as his friends threw out alternative theories. But his mind was whirling.

Why was Kate so thrown off if it wasn’t her first time? If she hated storms, why did she know so much? And where the hell had she been? He’d certainly never seen her, and she’d definitely not been a part of Storm PAR long. Hell, they didn’t even seem to be chummy with her now . 

But Javy also hadn’t seemed to expect her to react like that— and had Kate really said she forgot what it was like?

He was missing something, he just knew it.

********************************************************************************************************

Everything seemed to be moving sluggishly around her. 

Kate felt as though she was underwater, everything echoing oddly as though she had cotton in her ears. She wasn’t really sure what was even happening. 

There’d been—they’d been in the tornado this time—she’d been in the tornado— in a tornado, again ! 

The flying debris, the swirling wind, it was all flashing through her head like a series of staticced films. 

Over and over again, it flashed.

Glimpses of her friends, of the rain, or the dark green-grey mass that was rushing towards them. 

Glimpses of flying debris, of cars flipping, or lightning flashing.

She saw the dark, ominous clouds, heard the winds roaring as someone screamed—was it her? Was she screaming?

No—she—she was walking . 

She was walking through absolute destruction .

Kate swallowed a sudden gasp, forcing herself to look around at the town that had been absolutely ravaged . To see the overturned cars, the skeletal remains of so many houses, of so many lives—of so many lives ruined .

She knew exactly what that felt like—what it was like to have everything ripped away from you. 

She could still—she could still feel her muscles straining as she reached for Addy, as she clung desperately to the overpass, as the drag of Jeb’s body being torn from her slid her backwards.

She’d clung so stubbornly to the overpass at first, not processing that that movement, that pull had been the end of life as she knew it. 

Kate sometimes wondered if she would have held on as tightly if she knew. 

Would she have bothered clinging to the concrete with bloody hands if she knew that all that was waiting for her after the fact was this horrible grey existence. That her entire world was shattered, devastated beyond repair like these poor people?

Her thigh burned with a sudden, fiery ache as she wandered through the overturned neighborhood, reminding her vividly of what could happen in storms like this. She rubbed at it unconsciously, walking a bit aimlessly as she tried to remember what she was doing here. 

Had she driven?

No—she’d begged Javi to drive them here. She’d wanted to make sure they helped this little town. To make sure they had someone looking out for them after all of the destruction. 

But what was she doing? 

She wasn’t helping , she wasn’t making a difference—

She was—she was—

“He’s gone!” 

Kate flinched as someone suddenly shrieked .

“What do you mean?!”

“J’s gone! ” 

Someone was sobbing now—deep, chesty cries as someone else tried to comfort them. 

J is gone—

J was gone —

“Kate?”

********************************************************************************************************

“ T —” Tyler’s head shot up at Boone’s surprisingly serious tone. 

Tyler’s head shot up at Boone’s surprisingly serious tone.  “What’s up? Did you find the dog?” 

“Nah, not yet but—take a look over there— that Storm PAR?” Boone pointed across the chaos a little ways, where it did indeed appear that a familiar blonde was wandering. 

She looked lost . 

Her skin was pale and she looked shaky as she seemed to almost stumble amongst the wreckage. Even from where he stood, Tyler could see her shoulders hitching as she struggled to control her breathing.

“She’s not lookin’ so hot—” Boone remarked. “Think she’s havin’ another panic attack? Dude—what the hell kinda trauma did this girl go through, huh?” 

And like lightning , Tyler realized that was what it was. 

Kate was traumatized —

She wasn’t just having a panic attack, she was having flashbacks .

He’d seen it plenty of times with other chasers or bull riders whose rides went south. Hell, part of the reason he’d hung up his spurs was because he’d had too many nightmares and moments of dissociation when he was faced with snorting bulls and stomping hooves.

That’s what this was.

“What the hell was Javi thinkin’?” he grumbled, moving towards the blonde woman. 

She was moving as though in a daze, not really seeming to react to anything around her. 

Until the teenager started screaming for J. 

The second she started sobbing that ‘J’ was gone, Kate stiffened so hard and so quickly, Tyler was sure she was going to crack teeth. He moved past the sobbing teenager, now being comforted by her mother, coming closer to Kate.

She was—it almost looked like she was reaching for something?

“Kate?” 

Watery brown eyes shot up from the ground, widening as she seemed to snap out of whatever state she’d been in. 

“I— Tyler ? I—” her mouth closed with an audible click as she looked around in confusion.

“C’mere, City Girl,” he held out a hand, smiling softly. 

Kate frowned as she realized she was already reaching forward. She stared at her hand in confusion.

“ Kate— ”

She shook her head suddenly, trying desperately to remove some of the grey haze that was lingering. She reached out with the hand she didn’t remember holding out, shivering when she felt how warm the wrangler was—how alive . “I’m–I”m okay—”

“You’re okay,” Tyler repeated gently, using the grip to tug her into a side hug, wrapping an arm around her. “Heard you got side swept by that twin earlier—-doin’ okay?” 

“I—I think so—I just,” she bit her lip as frustration mounted. She didn’t understand why this kept happening . “I think I got stuck in my head—”

“Alright—that’s alright. It happens—” 

“It—it didn’t use to.”

Kate’s face was scrunched in a fairly adorable pout and he filed that, as well as the notion that storms didn’t use to upset her away for a later date. 

What was important now was getting her back on even footing; helping her to re engage with what was happening around her.

He started walking her back towards where Boone was searching for the dog. “Talk to me, Kate— how’re you feelin’ now? It’s—it’s hard seein’ this sort of destruction.” 

“It–it doesn’t matter how I feel—I mean—these—these poor people. They’ve lost everything and—they had no warning. They had no idea that this was coming. No way to stop it—”

“That’s why—I mean, look, that’s part of the reason we all do what we do, right? Try to figure out how to warn people? Bring awareness to storms— Try to help those after the fact? But there’s a limit, Kate. There's only so much any one of us can do, but sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference.” 

Kate looked up at him, brow furrowed. “I—I think I helped someone find some of their scrapbooks and stuff but—”

“Just like that— little things . I mean it’s not much, I’ll admit. S’not gonna bring their house back, or their loved ones in horrible cases, but it helps. Might—might help you feel a little better ‘bout today?” 

She seemed to think about it for a second before she nodded. “Right—what can I do?” 

He smiled as he saw a little bit of the spark she had when they bantered. “Atta girl—alright, so we have a few options: Boonie and I are lookin’ for a dog that’s missing. You can help us do that sort of stuff, or you can go help Lil, Dex, and Dani hand out food to survivors and first responders if you want—-” 

“Wait—what?” 

Tyler pointed towards the table a little distance away. “We use some of that merch money to try and give food and waters and stuff to people we can—help a bit. It doesn’t make a dent, not really , but it helps. So you can help them, or help us search for things—or—-I think Ben’s around here somewhere? He was helping people find some of their possessions they’d lost—” 

Kate grew pensive, staring around them at the destruction once again. This time, however, she really saw it all—saw the devastation and her chest clenched. She wanted to do something .

“Or—” Tyler cleared his throat. “I guess since you’re Storm PAR, you might—you might need to be helping them with that , huh?”

“I’m not with Storm PAR, not really—I’m just here to help Javi,” her brow furrowed. “But help them with what?” 

“You don’t—you don’t know what they do, do you? Who they work for?” 

“Think I met him this morning,” she shrugged, starting to feel like she was missing something important. Tyler was more serious than she’d seen, and it made her feel on edge. 

Tyler’s frustration with the other storm chasing team was only growing. What the hell were they doing using this woman to find their storms when she clearly had some form of PTSD? And they didn’t even bother to tell her what they did in places like this? How they prey on the victims?

Well— maybe that was a smart move. The more he got to know about the blonde, the more he was sure that she wouldn’t be okay with people profiting from storm destruction. Not when it was becoming so painfully evident that she had her own traumatic experience with it. If he hadn’t known it was her, Tyler could have easily confused her for one of today’s victims, wandering the debris the way she had. 

He let out a sad sort of sigh before he gently squeezed her shoulders. “Alright, City Girl—What’s it gonna be? What ‘small thing’ are you gonna help with?” 

“Well,” Kate said softly. “I think we still have a dog to find, right?” 

Chapter Text

“So—what’re we thinkin’?” Dani drawled as they watched the dazed blonde wander the destruction with Boone and Tyler. “Rookie? Trauma vic? Storm PAR facing the humanity of the situation?”

“What?”

“I mean—why do we think Blondie is wanderin’ ‘round here lookin’ like a zombie?” 

“ Dani —” Lilly warned, taking stock of the water bottles they had left. 

“What? I’m just sayin’— something is up with that girl—”

“Dan, not everyone’s as batshit as we are—-and bein’ in one’s gotta be hella scary—” 

“I think she may be Kate Carter,” Dex interrupted softly, handing out chips.

“Kate Carter? Who’s that?”

“You know her, Dex?”

All three of them looked across the devastated road to where the blonde was now being licked by a small, muddy dog Boone was holding. Both boys and Kate seemed to be smiling now, at least. 

“I think—I think I’ve read about her,” Dexter explained. “She—if she is Kate Carter, she was a grad student studying storms several years ago. Her team of researchers were caught off guard by an EF5 a couple hours from here. Three grad students died that day, and Kate Carter was found wandering the wreckage after it all. The only structure around was an overpass—” 

“Holy shit —” Lilly hissed, looking around at her friends. She couldn’t imagine them all just suddenly being gone . “No wonder City Girl’s been having such a hard time.”

“So she’s got—I mean this is like PTSD or somethin’ then, right?” 

“ Dani— ”

“No, I’m just sayin’---like, what the hell are Storm PAR thinkin’ throwin’ her in the deep end like this?”

“Maybe they don’t know?” Dex offered.

“Then they’re even bigger dumbasses  than I thought,” Dani frowned. “S’clear somethin’s wrong with ‘er.”

“Think T knows?” Lilly asked, looking back over at the boys.

They appeared to be searching for a cat this time, Tyler tapping a spoon on a can of food as Boone and Kate crouched near a house further down. 

“If he doesn’t know why , I think he knows she’s dealin’ with more than rookie jitters.”  

********************************************************************************************************

Hours later, the Wranglers were laughing amongst themselves as they chowed down on pizza.

“He’s so gone man—” Boone was laughing, slumping against Lilly as she stole a pepperoni from his slice. “I ain’t ever seen T like this—” 

“Gone?” Ben asked with a puzzled look.

“Yeah, like—he’s got a thing for Miss Kate,” Dexter explained.

“A crush,” Dani agreed.

“Hell nah, that man is in capital L LOVE,” Lilly singsonged. “He’s takin’ her to a rodeo of all things.”

“And that’s significant because—-?” 

“ Because, Benny boy,” Boone grinned. “Our man T is a former bull rider. Retired after too many rides went south a few years ago—He doesn’t go to a rodeo for just anyone.”

“Doesn’t go too much at all, actually,” Lilly added. “T’s got a bit of a love-hate relationship with the circuit. Knows a lotta people, loves the memories he had and the times he spent there, but hates the injuries and the somewhat harsh way it all ended.”

“We usually only get him to go to one every now and then—and when it’s all of us and we’re goin’ to the fair or somethin’ afterwards,” Dani shrugged. “Must mean somethin’ that he’s takin’ blondie to one.” 

“ Especially since he said he wanted to take her to cheer her up ,” Boone teased before descending into laughter. 

“He’s so gone ,” Lilly echoed the earlier sentiment as she laid her against Boone’s. 

“And this is—a good thing?” Ben ventured a guess.

“ Great thing—”

Sudden thunder and lightning flashing to their east caught their attention, the storm chasers all looking at the cell as it rumbled in the not too far distance. The wind swirled around the parking lot, bringing an ominous sort of silence with it.

“Damn—”

“I didn’t expect somethin’ else to pop up—” 

“Dex, you seein’ anythin?” 

“Pack up,” Dexter directed with a frown as he moved towards the laptop perched on the RV seat.

The Wranglers moved without question, securing supplies and packing up pizza boxes as they scrambled to load their two vehicles.

“ Shit— ”

“ Dex— talk to us—” 

“It’s huge ,” Dexter’s voice was hard. “Massive hook on the doppler—definite rotation—I’d put it as an EF3 at least—-”

“Where is it? Where’s it headin’?” Boone demanded.

“ Stillwater— it’s gonna be a direct hit—”

“Holy shit— ” 

“Load up!” Boone ordered, moving to the van’s driver side. “Lills, call T—try to warn him—” 

“Oh God, please—-” Dexter muttered as he moved quickly to the RV.

*********************************************************************************************

It was all a blur—- a horrible, grey blur.

Kate remembered the sudden pangs of adrenaline as the air started to settle heavily around them. The way the hair on the back of her neck stood up when the damp wind suddenly swirled around the bleachers. 

The feel of Tyler’s hand in hers, the warmth of it on her back as they ran.

His constant monologue of ‘C’mon, Kate—keep going, Kate—’

She knew the storm was close and it was big.

She could hear it—-the trainlike roar that drowned out the screams of terror and flashes of lightning as the tornado barreled down on them. 

She heard the desperation in her voice, and Tyler’s, as they searched desperately for somewhere to shelter from it. Somewhere to try and survive. Felt the icy grip of panic deep in her chest as she led them desperately to the empty, dilapidated pool. The adrenaline that flooded her system as she instructed the mother to cover her daughter’s eyes; the concern as she watched Tyler crawl towards the motel worker. 

Kate wasn’t exactly sure what happened; all she knew was that the winds were dragging Tyler backwards, trying to rip him away the same way they did Addy and Jeb—trying desperately to tear another person from her life.

And she just—she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t stand here and watch someone else get ripped away by the dastardly force of nature that had shattered every other facet of her life. 

She couldn’t let it happen to Tyler—not to this dork of a cowboy that seemed to help everyone . It couldn’t happen—she wouldn’t let it.

So she stretched herself forward, grabbing his arm tightly and pulling as hard as she could. Kate pulled until every fiber of her muscles burned, promising herself that she wasn’t going to let go; not again. 

Just as the horse trailer crashed into the pool edge above them, Tyler managed enough traction to throw himself forward, wrapping his body around hers and pinning it to the pipes.

Kate clung desperately to the metal framework of the pipes, gasping as the wind tore around them. It pulled and roared overhead as they clung frantically to one another in the bottom of the pool, adrenaline and nausea flooding her system. 

How the hell could she be in another one ?

If she listened closely, she could hear Tyler gasping just above her, feeling the warmth of his frame as he seemed to do his best to shelter her against the wall.

She hated how that familiar sensation filled her with both comfort and despair. 

She hated herself for finding some relief in knowing Tyler was still there while also remembering vividly what it would feel like if he suddenly wasn’t . 

Kate wasn’t sure what she would do if she found herself alone in the silence again; wandering the devastation in the eerie aftermath with nobody .

She’d barely survived the first time—

Kate’s entire frame went rigid as the stark, echoing silence suddenly descended on the pool; the aftermath of the tornado a drastic juxtaposition from the overwhelming presence. 

She clung to the pipes as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, not willing to check—-she didn’t think she could handle it if she was all alone again.

“Kate?” 

She tasted blood, the coppery tang filling her mouth and sending her already churning stomach rolling. 

“ Katie — hey —listen to me, darlin’---we’re okay—”

“T-t-t-t-ty—-” 

“Atta girl, we’re okay,” Tyler repeated firmly, working to gently pry her hands from the metal pipes. “It’s over—-” 

Kate felt like ice beneath his touch, her breath starting to hitch a little as she shivered. “---you’re okay?”

Tyler had to strain to make out what she was saying. “Me? I’m alright—that was a hell of a storm, huh? How’re you feelin’?” 

“Please don’t go—p-p-p-please Tyler—-” 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, we’re okay—everythin’s okay,” Tyler promised, taking her cold, trembling hands in his and gently pulling her to stand with him. He tucked her against him in a hug, taking a moment to reassure himself that she was still there. That he was still there. 

After a moment, he felt her trembling start to subside a bit, her shoulders hitching a little less. He leaned back from the hug, framing her face with his hands as he looked her over. 

She had a bloody lip where it looked like she’d bitten through and was covered in mud and debris, but her eyes weren’t as dazed as they’d been earlier. 

“M okay,” she offered softly, almost reading his mind. 

“You are,” he agreed, letting her pull him back into a hug and pressing a kiss to her mussed hair as he did so. “We’re okay—God that was somethin’, huh? You were incredible, Kate—spotting the pool, keeping the kid safe—not to mention, well, thanks for holding onto me —”

“I—I couldn’t lose you,” Kate muttered into his chest. “I can’t—I can’t lose anyone again—not again —I—” 

Tyler felt his shoulders sag as she verbally confirmed what he’d begun to fear. 

Kate had been in storms before—and lost at least one person close to her.

“I’m right here,” he swore. “But I will admit I’m about ready to get out of this pool—whatdya say, Sapulpa? Ready to get outta here?” 

She nodded, stepping back from his embrace and running a hand through her hair. Kate winced as she took a few steps towards the middle of the pool. Her scar felt as though it was burning —she wondered if it was in real pain. If maybe she’d pulled at the sensitive muscles surrounding her scar—

Or maybe it was that phantom sort of pain she’d feel when she remembered how they’d been—how she’d been—before she ever got that scar. 

“Kate?” Tyler watched in concern as she limped towards the ladder pool’s edge, hands held out in case she stumbled. 

Before she could respond there were car doors slamming shut and a mixture of concerned voices. 

“Tyler?!”

“T!”

“Kate?!”

“Oh my God—” 

“ There —Pool!” 

“We’re okay,” Tyler called, smiling weakly at the sight of his team, his family . At least they looked unharmed; storm must not have hit their direction, thank God .

“Holy shit, you two—” Lilly gasped, kneeling at the edge of the pool by the ladder. 

Boone jumped down into the pool itself, practically throwing himself at Tyler, wrapping the blond in a tight hug. “ T —I mean—”

“I’m okay, Boonie,” Tyler hugged him back just as tightly. 

“And Kate —” Boone stepped back after a second, moving towards Kate. “Can I hug you, KitKat?” 

Kate offered a small smile and held out her arms, prompting the usually jovial man to hug her so tight he lifted her off the ground. She found herself giggling, perhaps a bit too much and too loudly if she was honest with herself, but it was enough to make the other Wranglers smile a little. 

“C’mon, let’s get ‘em up here,” Dani directed, leaning over the edge as Lilly did the same from the other side of the ladder. 

“Up we go, Katie girl,” Boone agreed, setting the blonde down and leading her towards the ladder. 

He and Tyler both stood at the bottom of the ladder as Kate slowly ascended, keeping watch until Lilly and Dani grabbed her under the arms, pulling her to stand at the top with them.

“Oh thank God,” Lilly hugged her gently. “We were so worried—”

“We saw the radar—” Dexter added, looking around in dismay at the wreckage. 

“We’re alright,” Tyler reiterated as he and Boone made it to the pool’s edge with the rest. 

“R-right,” Kate nodded, though she was starting to feel the all too familiar tightness in her chest. 

The one that gripped her lungs until she felt like she couldn’t breathe; muffling everything around her until she could hear nothing except the roaring of the tornadic winds ripping at her—

“Kate –” Tyler said firmly. 

She blinked suddenly, trying to focus. 

“Everything’s okay, Sapulpa,” the cowboy reminded her as Lilly gently squeezed her wrist. 

“You’re okay, Kate—” 

Kate nodded again, squeezing her nails into the palms of her hands until the stung—grounding herself the best she could. 

It was fine—everything was fine . She was okay, Tyler was okay—

“Kate! Kate! ” 

The Wranglers turned to see Storm PAR vehicles parking, Javi jogging towards the debris looking worried. 

“Javi—” Kate moved gingerly towards her friend, letting him pull her into a quick hug. “I’m alright—”

“God, when I saw it on the radar—” he trailed off, looking her up and down. “I was so worried!”

“I’m okay,” she repeated, trying to offer him a small smile even as she dug her nails harder into her palm. 

“I saw you limping—is it your leg again? Did you cut it?”

“I’m fine—”

“You said that last time and then you had a fuckin’ gash runnin’ down your whole leg—”

“ Javi! ” she snapped suddenly, flinching at ‘last time’. “I’m fine—my leg’s fine— everything’s fine —” 

“Fine? Everything’s—how can everything be fine , Kate—? You—you were in a tornado again —- you—” 

“Javi—” Scott interrupted sharply. “The motel is locally owned—I’m gonna start running the numbers. Riggs is gonna want all of those in the morning—”

“Oh, yeah—right— I’ll be there in a second—” 

Kate could barely hear them. She could barely see them—

Everything was starting to have a fuzzy sort of quality to it as her chest began to burn . It felt like everything was starting to spin—like she was heading for a dark wind tunnel, with everything swirling around her.

“Kate?” Javi was frowning now. 

It helped her a bit, making her realize that she had to at least try to keep it together. She couldn’t just keep falling apart every time she encountered a storm. God, the Wranglers must think she’s a piece of work—and Tyler —

Where the hell was Tyler? He’d been here with her, hadn’t he? God, what if the tornado—

Her eyes widened as a stab of panic shot through her core. Her hand tightened reflexively, and when it didn’t have a hand grasped in it, she instantly turned to look for him. 

She felt the band tightening around her chest loosen slightly when she locked eyes with him. He was still standing near the pool, watching her with what looked strangely like concern .

“Were you—were you with Owens this whole time?” Javi suddenly grumbled. 

“Hmm?” she turned back to face him.

“Owens? You were here with that damn cowboy?”

“Yeah, why? 

Javi shook his head, laughing sharply. “Figures—every fuckin’ time— look Kate, I have to get to work. I should have already been working but I was worried about you—”

“Working on what? The storm’s gone—it—it was here and it was massive and destructive and an absolute monster but it was here and now it’s gone! You didn’t get sensors on it—you’re not chasin’ it—so—so what the hell are you doin’ Javi? What work do you have to be doing right now?” 

Everything felt too tight. 

She felt simultaneously like she could barely talk and wouldn’t be able to stop if she kept opening her mouth.

“My job —gettin’ information on the destruction here—”

“So Riggs can buy it out from under these people? So they can be robbed —”

“We’re giving them a chance for a fresh start! A chance to start over and move on!”

“They just lost everything ! YOU have no idea what that’s like!” 

“I don’t know what that’s like? I don’t know what it’s like to lose everythin’?” Javi suddenly roared, looming towards her as she shrunk back. “How about losing my best friends because you led them into a storm, chasing a grant for your stupid little science project?! How about that?!”

Everything froze . 

The air felt sickeningly heavy—eerily similar to the rodeo just before—just before —

Javi’s words echoed over and over in her head, reverberating around her skull as though he’d slapped her across the face. 

They weren’t things she hadn’t heard before; she had spoken to the other parents that night—gone to the funerals—

Hell, they weren’t even things she hadn’t thought before. She—Kate knew in her heart of hearts that this was her fault—that she’d killed them—

But hearing Javi —hearing him say those things, after the years of promising he didn’t blame her. The years of believing on her darkest nights that maybe, just maybe, Javi was right . That maybe she wasn’t the murderer she thought herself to be. That, maybe, it was all going to be alright. 

But now? Knowing how he really felt? It was like someone had carved her open . 

The band that had been wrapping tighter and tighter around her chest suddenly pulled into a tight knot, making it impossible to breathe. 

Kate sputtered and gasped and tried to inhale but nothing would work— nothing was coming in—

She was going to die. 

She was finally going to die like she should have all those years ago.

***************************************************************************************************

“Are you really okay, T?” Dani frowned at the leader of their ragtag team, looking him over. 

“Is Kate?” Lilly quipped, watching the other woman limp towards the Storm PAR vehicles. “She’s not lookin’ so hot—”

“Well shit Lils, she was in the Goddamned thing this time,” Boone pointed out with a sad shake of his head.  “Not as big as ‘er first but I mean—”

“First?” Tyler frowned, looking over as his sad and sheepish looking team. His eyes widened. “You know —you guys figured out what her bad storm encounter was? The one she lost someone in?” 

“She—Kate was in an EF5 a few years ago, T. Clung to an overpass and lost all three of her crew in it,” Lilly explained softly.  “We— we figured it out a few hours ago and were gonna talk to you ‘bout it tonight but—”

“ Shit , Sapulpa,” he muttered softly, looking over at where Kate was standing. He frowned as her eyes suddenly frantically sought his. 

“She’s—we think she’s been havin’ panic attacks the last few days because of it,” Dani added. 

“Why the hell do they have her chasin’ then?” Tyler asked sharply. “How do they not understand what this—what somethin’ like chasin’ would do to someone dealin’ with that?!” 

Sudden raised voices drew their attention. 

“We’re giving them a chance for a fresh start! A chance to start over and move on!”

“They just lost everything ! YOU have no idea what that’s like!” 

“I don’t know what that’s like? I don’t know what it’s like to lose everythin’?”

“Guys—” Boone frowned.

“How about losing my best friends because you led them into a storm, chasing a grant for your stupid little science project?! How about that?!”

  “What is he saying?” Tyler demanded as he tried to process what that meant. “What the hell is he saying?!”

Javi knew about her past experiences—and he was blaming her?!

“Holy shit—“ Lilly muttered as they watched the soaked, trembling form of Kate flinch violently backwards. She moved to try and stop Kate’s backwards stumbling.

“That fuckin’ asshole ,” Tyler growled, moving quickly towards the otherside of the pool. His patience snapped, anger flooding his veins as the adrenaline of the last several hours fled. They’d nearly died and fuckin’ Storm PAR was here—“I’m gonna kill him—”

Boone looped an arm around Tyler’s chest, pulling him back even as the blond tried to keep surging forward. “ T , don’t—he’s not worth it man—”

“Fuckin’ bastard—he—”

“We gotta help KitKat, T,” Boone insisted, though he and the rest of the Wranglers were glaring at the Storm PAR creator. 

“ Tyler !” Lilly’s voice was hard, snapping his attention to where Lilly appeared to be trying to keep Kate from slumping over.

“ Shit , Kate—” he broke out of Boone’s hold, moving quickly to the now hyperventilating blonde. He gently framed her face with his hands, wincing as he saw how pale she was getting. “ Kate — you’ve gotta breathe, sweetheart—c’mon—”

“T-t-t-t-t-ty,” Kate whined sharply, her one hand suddenly grabbing his wrist in a tight grip. “Can’t—-I cant’ ---shit—

“You can —” he said firmly, exchanging worried looks with Lilly.

“No-- no —” she shook her head as tears streamed down her face, feeling that knot in her chest squeeze . She couldn’t breathe—she couldn’t inhale—she was going to die —

“Yes, c’mon—just like yesterday—copy me, okay? Breathe in—-breathe out—-”

“Here, T,” Lilly directed gently. “Hug her—-”

Tyler tucked her against his chest, her grip on his wrist never lessening as he pulled her close. “I’ve gotcha, Katie—”

“Feel that, Kate? Feel T breathin’? Try to match him,” Lilly coached, dragging her hand slowly up and down Kate’s back in time with Tyler’s exaggerated inhales and exhales. “Just like that—” 

“There we go—” Tyler soothed after a few tense moments, running his hand over her hair as she started to relax against his taller frame. “You’re okay—everythin’s okay—” 

“ Kate — Kate I’m sorry” Javi spoke suddenly, prompting the blonde to flinch.

“Shut up , Storm PAR,” Boone shot back. “Give ‘er some space—” 

“Get me outta here,” Kate said softly, still clinging to his arm and now his shirt. “I need—get me out —Ty—I—”

“Okay, okay , darlin’ I’ve gotcha—I’m gonna pick you up, okay?” Feeling her nod against him, he pulled his wrist from her grasp and scooped her up into his arms. He made his way carefully through the debris towards the vehicles where the other Wranglers were waiting. “Everythin’s gonna be okay, Kate—”

“We’ve gotcha,” Boone echoed, running a hand over her hair as Lilly came up on the other side.

“Gotta take care of our newest Wrangler.”

Chapter Text

Something sharp and tight coiled deep in Tyler’s gut, forcing air out of his lungs like he’d been thrown by a bull. The second the winds started to dissipate, the second Lilly was safely on the ground again, Tyler felt something primal urging him to his feet. He was sure he was tripping over himself, pain lancing up his left leg as he limped and staggered towards the remnants of the theater platform. But it didn’t matter.

None of it mattered. 

The only thing that mattered was that Kate had been out there. Kate had been in the EF5, in a monster of all storms for the second time in her life— in another tornado—

Everything said she should be dead.

His truck was rated for EF1. Could probably withstand EF2 at a push. 

It was not made for EF5. No vehicle was.

And Kate had been in it. 

Kate—that stubborn, brilliant firecracker of a woman who’d been balancing on the edge of a knife this whole week, trying to keep herself from spiraling. How was she going to handle having to deal with this on top of it all?

Selfishly? Tyler didn’t care. He’d take Kate having to deal with the trauma of 100 tornadoes if it meant she was alive to deal with them. God help him, but he would —

It felt like an eternity as he frantically scanned the seemingly endless debris for a sign of life, for a sign of Kate . 

He took off sprinting, completely fueled by adrenaline, towards a red blur, the tight knot in his gut loosening slightly as he realized it was his truck. 

It loosened a bit more when he realized there was movement coming from the window— Kate was alive!

With an extra burst of speed he didn’t know he had, he practically flew over the field, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. 

“Kate! Kate!”

Tyler fell to his knees next to her, Javi a few steps behind him. Carefully, the helped her to sit up against the side of his totaled vehicle.

Tyler kept a hand on her neck, bracing her head as he brushed hair out of her face—her bloody face—-

“Did I— did it help?” she blinked up at them wearily, obviously dazed.

“You did it, Kate—-it worked —” he promised, feeling the tears burn as she did a rather uncoordinated attempt at his salute. 

“Yeah— yeah Crazy Girl,” he agreed. “You wrangled it— shit , Katie— talk to me. What hurts?” 

Distantly, he heard the rest of his crew arrive, everything a muffled sort of celebration as he struggled to breathe deeply.

Why the hell was everybody celebrating like nothing had happened?

Tyler slowly worked through a mental checklist of field evaluations to do on Kate, moving through the motions fuelled by distant memories of other riders checking him over after various bull rides. 

Head? Bloody but there—

Eyes? Pupils a bit slow but not blown—

Neck? Seems tender, keep haphazard bracing—-

Shoulders? Harness bruising—

Ribs? Bruised–maybe broken on the right side— probably from his damn console—

Arms and legs? Bruised and cut up from the glass— 

She was getting tired though, and definitely shocky— hell , he was shocky— was that even a word? It was now—

“T?” 

“Hmm?” it was a bit sharper than Tyler intended, but he still couldn’t seem to inhale deep enough.

“We need to get ‘er outta here,” Boone directed gently. “She needs t’ be checked and so do you ‘nd Lils—Gotta see what we can do to help—”

“Right, well, let’s go,” Tyler nodded shortly, turning back to Kate. “This—This is gonna hurt for a second, darlin’ sorry—I’m sorry—-” 

He climbed to his feet with a little less grace than he’d planned, wincing as his leg pulled a bit. But then he was scooping the blonde woman up into his arms, holding her gently against him. 

Part of him knew he could’ve let Boone or Javy carry her— hell , he probably should have—

But holding Kate seemed to be the only thing that helped the painful knot in his gut let up.

********************************************************************************************

It turned out that watching Kate was a close second to physically holding her, at least in terms of helping him to breathe a bit easier. 

The hour or so they’d spent separate while she had a CT and had her ribs wrapped and he had his leg x rayed and stitched had Tyler seriously wondering if he’d busted a rib too. 

It was the only thing that had ever really felt like this. 

The constant need to breathe mindfully, the feeling like he was about to buzz out of his skin if he were to lose sight of her again. 

It was all too much. Today had been too much—-

The fire tornado—having to back up a truck and a fuckin’ trailer full of barrels to try and not get sucked up into literal hell—

Then the adrenaline of trying to outrun the monstrosity, to warn people before it descended upon them—

Watching Kate —watching Kate drive headfirst into it and feeling like she was literally ripping his chest apart as she did—

The fear that had gripped him as the movie theater was suddenly sucked into oblivion, the winds ripping and tearing as they grabbed and tore anyone and anything into their midst—

Lilly being pulled, his hands the only thing holding her—keeping her alive—

Tyler could hear his blood racing in his ears—

“Tyler? Ty, honey?” 

He jerked upright, nearly falling off of the chair in his shock.

“Hey—Hey, easy there,” Cathy soothed, gently squeezing the man’s shoulders and kneeling in front of him. “You’re okay, hon— you looked like you were maybe dozing off so I was going to suggest you get some sleep?” 

Tyler sat up a bit straighter, trying to quell the mounting panic. 

He was fine . 

Everything was fine— he was just startled when Cathy caught his attention. That’s all.

“Tyler?”

“‘M alright ma’am,” he managed a small smile. “Just—just been a long day—” 

“Yeah,” she agreed with a frown, watching him closely. “That it has, huh?”

“Mhmm,” he nodded again, attention turning back to where Kate was fitfully sleeping in the hospital bed. 

“They said I can take her home in about an hour—” Cathy said softly.

Tyler tensed involuntarily, fisting his hand in the fabric of the scrub pants he’d been given. 

“You’re welcome to come with us?” 

“Ma’am?” he looked up at her, pretending not to see the understanding in her eyes.

“I think you should come with us, hon. Get a good night’s sleep at least. Let a mama worry ‘bout you for a night, okay?”

*****************************************************************************************

“Tyler!! Ty—don’t—don’t let go!” 

He held on tighter, knowing he was bruising but knowing the alternative was that Lilly died—no, wait —

He looked down at his hands.

They weren’t gripping Lilly’s darker ones; ones coated in fingerless gloves and mismatched bracelets and wristbands. 

They were gripping pale, freckled, hands—the wrists and knuckles scraped from where they’d clawed and clung to the pool—

Kate — 

His eyes shot to Lilly’s– no , Kate’s —

They were wide and full of panic as she clung to him, begging him to hang out, to not let go—

“Ty— Ty —don’t let got— don’t let go —” 

He clung even harder, desperate to keep hold of her as the winds ripped harder and harder, burning him as they whipped around.

“We’re okay—You’re okay, baby, I’ve gotcha—” he promised desperately, willing the winds to stop, to die down—-

But then Kate was torn from his grip, flying backwards into the storm, screaming as she reached frantically towards him, pleading for him—

“ KATE!!!! ” he yelled, reaching uselessly after her. 

It didn’t matter—

Kate was gone .

Tears were streaming down his face as he tried to rationalize what had happened—tried to process the fact that Kate was gone —

But then he was soaking wet, wind whipping around him as he clung frantically to the pipes.

He was in the pool —

Tyler looked frantically at the space in front of him.

Where was Kate?!  

She should be here—she should be right here —

His hands clasped at nothing—grabbing thin air where Kate should have been. And then the winds were ripping him up into the air, spinning him head over ass as things turned black—

Kate was gone—

Kate—

“ Kate! ”

Tyler flew upright in bed, gasping and panting as he tried to determine what was happening. Kate was—-

A cold, sick feeling overwhelmed him, shivers wracking his taut frame as he scrubbed a hand over his face. Kate was gone . 

“No, no, no, no, no—-” he muttered dizzily as the knot that had threatened to overwhelm him earlier clamped down with a sharp, all consuming ache. 

He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t inhale—-

He tightened his grip on his own hair, the pinpricks of pain helping him to focus for just a second.

He was panicking, he distantly realized, but this was a hell of a lot worse than any bull he’d faced, in life or dreams.

This was— God, if Kate really was gone—  

“Ty?”

He flinched— God that sounded so real—

“ Ty? Baby, can you hear me?” 

“K—Kate?” he blinked hard, trying to clear his vision, trying to focus . 

“Hey—I’m here—I’m right here, Cowboy,” Kate promised, moving to the side of the bed. “Can I touch you, Ty?”

He nodded numbly, still not understanding.

He wanted to believe she was here, that she was safe , but he’d—-he’d felt her tear from his grasp. He’d let go –he’d lost her —

“You didn’t lose me,” Kate said firmly, climbing onto the bed and kneeling over him, legs on either side of Tyler’s. She gently grabbed his hands and untangled them from his hair before gently framing his face with her hands. She wiped away the stray tears and stroked her thumbs over his cheeks. “Tyler—take a deep breath—c’mon, Ty—” 

“C-c-can’t—” he gasped, shaking his head even as his eyes desperately sought hers. 

“You can,” she argued gently, taking a purposefully dramatic breath. “Just like this—c’mon—” 

It took a few minutes of coaxing but Kate got him to start taking fewer and fewer shallow inhales, helping him to relax enough to start breathing normally, though soft sobs still shook his frame. 

“Y-y-y-y-you were gone— ” Tyler tried to explain. “T-t-t-today— in the theater—Lils was—she was gettin’ sucked up ‘nd I grabbed ‘er and held ‘er ‘til the winds stopped but this time—this time it was you and I—God I tried— I swear I tried but Katie you were just gone ‘nd then I was back in the pool and you were still gone and I—- fuck —” 

He tipped forward as he trailed off, his forehead landing on her collarbone as he gently grabbed her hips, his hands tensing. 

Kate hugged him close, running one hand through his hair as she hummed softly. “You’re okay—I’m right here—” 

He shuddered in her hold and she placed a quick kiss on his temple. “I am . I’m right here, with you—I’m not goin’ anywhere, Ty—” 

“Promise?”

“I promise.”