#I had a conversation with a paramedic the other day about my mini (the car) obsession

[celery505]

My liking for older stuff really came out of nowhere I must admit. Like it has ALWAYS interested me. When I was little the only shows I’d really watch were shows my mum used to watch (70s/80s) and I’ve always wanted more, then peter davison hyperfixation hit and suddenly I know too much (even things my mum doesn’t know even though she was alive when they aired)

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction | Going Into Labour [Request]

[BTS X Fem!Reader]

Seokjin:

You threw your legs off the edge of the bed and groaned as you felt a pain rush through your lower back,

"Shit," You whispered trying not to wake up Jin as you got out of the bed. You'd been having Braxton hicks all weeks and they kept waking you up in the middle of the night, you didn't bother to wake Jin up like all of the other nights. It just made him panic before getting you to the hospital where you were told it was nothing to worry about just yet.

"You're going to have to come out sooner or later, you know that right?" You questioned as you sat down on the kitchen counter holding the cookie jar in your lap as you grabbed your favourite ones,

"You're already a drama king just like your dad." You'd taken to speaking to the baby a lot when Jin wasn't around, he'd sing to him as well which was soothing for both you and the baby.

"Ouch! Okay! I take it back, not a drama king." You cried out as you felt another pain rip through you only this time it was worse than the first one,

"Fuck!" You screamed out as another one hit you, the cookie jar slipped from your lap and smashed onto the floor below you, why did you have to get a ceramic cookie jar why couldn't it have just been a metal one.

"Jin!" You cried out wanting him to come downstairs but he could sleep through an Earth Quake, you slowly lowered yourself down from the kitchen side and waddled towards the staircase.

"KIM SEOKJIN!" You yelled out taking one of the shoes from the floor and banging it against the metal railing that led up the staircase, he came out of the room hair tossed to one side as he looked around for you.

"I'm in labour! The real thing! Move it." You began crying halfway through the sentence as yet another cramp ran through you, he watched as you sat down on the stairs trying to breathe through the pain you were having. You knew it was going to be bad but you hadn't expected anything like this,

"They said it was like period cramps! This isn't a period cramp." Your voice was shaky as Jin came down to your side and helped you stand up, he began walking you out of the front door. The hospital bag had been packed in the car for weeks and you were ready more than anything to get the baby out of you,

"FUCK! Get him out of me right now!" Your hand was gripping onto Jin so tightly he was sure you would break one of his fingers,

"I know it hurts right now baby but it's going to be okay, it'll be fine-" He could tell by the look on your face that you didn't want him to continue telling you it was going to be fine.

"Just drive me to the hospital and get it out of me." The baby felt like it was going to rip you in two as you felt yet another contraction rip through you, your legs were up on the backseat as you cried out through the contraction trying to breathe through it as best as you could trying to remember all of the tips that the birthing classes had given to you but nothing seemed to be working.

"Drive, please Jin just drive." You pleaded with him as he drove as fast as he could in the direction of the hospital, promising you that he was trying as best as he could.

(X)

"Everybody we'd like you to meet our baby boy," Jin said as he opened the door to your hospital room, you were sitting on the bed with your son laid in your arms sleeping as though he hadn't just taken almost six hours for you to give birth to him. All of the pain had melted away the moment he was handed to you though,

"Be quiet though, he only just got to sleep and I swear if one of you wakes him up I will not hesitate to jump out of this bed and rip your head off." You said it was a giant smile on your face which almost made it all the scarier for the boys.

"I bet it didn't even hurt that much-" Everyone's eyes were on Jungkook as the final words left his mouth,

"You try pushing something the size of a watermelon out of something the size of a lemon and see how you feel." You deadpanned staring him down as he shyly hid behind Yoongi who was trying to get out of the way of your gaze.

Yoongi:

Yoongi had been at the studio all day and you'd been there with him, he told you he didn't want you to be home alone when you were so close to your due date. He was planning on leaving work early that day until he found out that something was missing off of the tracks that Namjoon was going to be presenting soon so he was trying to get that done before you both went home.

"Finished for the day?" Namjoon asked as he watched you and Yoongi coming out of the genius lab,

"Yeah we have to, I'm in labour and he won't let me have the baby here." You were being way too calm about everything, you'd felt your waters break about ten minutes ago but hadn't told Yoongi because you knew you were leaving.

"Yeah, we gotta go because she's in labour- What!? You're in labour!?" Yoongi had started off calm until he realised what you had just casually dropped into the conversation like it was no big deal. That you weren't about to give birth to his son or daughter while you walked out of the Bighit building.

"You didn't tell him when your waters broke?" Namjoon laughed coming to your right side and helping Yoongi walk you towards the elevator,

"He was busy, I figured I'd tell him when we got to the car - ah Oh my god!" You began screaming as the first contraction shredded through your body.

"Keep breathing Y/n, come on." Yoongi panicked, you were in the back of the car with your legs on the backseat trying to breathe through everything while he tried to get through the lunchtime traffic you'd hit.

"We'll get to the hospital in about ten minutes okay, just keep breathing. Remember deep breaths!" He tried coaching you through everything as he drove but he caught a pavement and you screamed out as yet another contraction hit you, you already knew you were close to having to push.

"We won't make it to a hospital" You whimpered sweat running down your head as the heat in your body built up thanks to the pain.

"Pull over now!" You screamed at him, he glanced at you before pulling into the hard shoulder and skipping through all of the traffic until he hit the service station.

"YOONGI!" You squealed out gripping onto the leather seat as he finally pulled into a parking space and came to your side.

"Call an ambulance, t-they'll come and help." You whimpered as he opened the car door and called for an ambulance to come to the car.

"I-I have to push." You whispered as a contraction came through you - you'd seen enough birthing videos and been to enough classes to know that there was no waiting for an ambulance or paramedic to come and get you, he held onto your hand as he blocked anyone from seeing inside of the car.

"Then push, okay? I'm right here." He assured you holding onto your hand tightly as you nodded at him, holding eye contact as you tried to mentally prepare yourself for giving birth to a baby.

"We're having a baby," He chuckled at you and you whimpered throwing your head back against the seat as you began to push with every muscle in your body.

(X)

Namjoon was waiting anxiously inside of the waiting room with the rest of the boys, all of them had heard about you giving birth in the middle of a service station instead of a hospital.

"Guys, come and meet my daughter," Yoongi whispered bouncing around a small bundle of pink blankets for everyone to take a look at, you could see them all from the hospital bed you were laying in as they crowded her. Wanting to get a good look at the baby who already looked like a mini Yoongi, down to the dumpling cheeks she had.

"You did great." Namjoon chuckled coming into the room to see you smiling weakly at him, you were dosed up on painkillers and were ready to sleep for at least a month before you ever thought about having another baby again.

"He's a great dad already," You laughed softly watching as Yoongi protectively hovered over each of the boys who were now taking it in turns to hold your child.

Hoseok:

"Are you sure you should be here?" Jimin laughed as you practically waddled your way towards the dance studio to find your husband. He was supposed to have been home two hours ago to bring you something to eat from your favourite cake shop but never showed up.

"I'm fine Jimin-"

"Really? Cause you look like you're about to pop." Jimin laughed at his own joke but you ignored him as you walked into the studio to find Hoseok panting heavily.

"Baby! Shit, sorry! I just decided to do a little dance routine." You nodded, you understood how much he loved his job and it was no big deal. You'd been dying to get some fresh air, Hobi had you copped up in the house all day every day thinking it would be better for you to stay there since you were so close to your due date.

"It was nice, I went for a walk and saw some beautiful sights. It was fun." You told him as you leant against the pole that ran along the edge of all the mirrors in the room, you felt a pain run through you but you were pregnant. You'd had random pains since the moment you hit your 2nd trimester.

"I know but the doctor said you're supposed to...be...resting." Hoseok's voice trailed off as he watched your hand laying on your stomach, your breathing was starting to become heavier.

"You okay?" You nodded holding onto the bar tightly,

"Braxton hicks." You whispered closing your eyes tightly as another one tore you apart from the inside out.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Just as you finished your sentence water hit the floor and you whimpered,

"Okay, maybe it's something." You squealed grabbing the attention of Jimin who began panicking more when he saw you,

"BABY! OKAY BABY ON THE WAY!" Hoseok screamed trying to run around and grab his things ready to rush you to the hospital,

"Car keys?!" He screamed out looking in his bag for his keys but they weren't in there, you sank down to the floor trying to breathe through the second lot of contractions that were hitting you.

"Hoseok!" You begged him to try and hurry up but he was screaming and panicking more than you were right now and you were the one that was about to push the baby out of you.

"I can't find the keys!" He yelled at Jimin who walked over to the desktop that was sitting int he room and picked them up.

"Hospital. Go. Now!" You didn't mean to yell but you were in pain and he seemed to be in a worse state than you were right now.

(X)

You got home from the hospital with your baby that night, you'd given birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy who was allowed to leave with you both right away.

"We're a family." You whispered bouncing him back and forth as you walked through the front door of your house. Hoseok dropped the hospital bag by the front door as he turned on the lights, there were balloons hung up everywhere as well as a banner with the words,

'New Jung Family Member' written across them. You smiled as you then saw the boys all coming out from hiding spots, being careful not to wake up your sleeping boy.

"He's so handsome," Jimin whispered taking him into his arms first,

"You sure he's not Jin-Hyungs?" Taehyung teased looking down at your son who started fidgeting in Jimin's hands, you smiled as tears raised up into your eyes. They were all going to be fantastic uncles and one day, fathers.

Namjoon:

Namjoon didn't like the fact that you'd continued going into work when you were pregnant and close to your due date.

"It gives me something to do, now will you leave me alone. I need to do Kai's makeup." You swatted Namjoon's hand away as it tried to rest on your stomach. He had done nothing but panic for the last week. Every small thing you did, every small noise you made he thought you were going into labour and began to panic hysterically. Freaking out to the point where you told him that if he wasn't calmer you weren't going to let him go into the delivery room with you.

"How long until you're due?" Kai asked looking in the mirror as you applied some blush to his cheeks,

"Another two weeks but Namjoon is convinced she's going to come early." You rolled your eyes letting out a small laugh but Namjoon didn't find any of it funny, you were insisting on coming to work when you didn't need to,

"He's just being protective." Kai tried to defend his Hyung but it wasn't going to work, you'd heard the same thing from all of the boys. That Namjoon was just doing what came naturally to him.

"I had a cookie the other day and I dropped it, Kai he insisted bending down for my in case I went into labour." You laughed a little too hard as it felt like you pulled something, the boys began laughing back and forth when another pain raced through your body.

"Oh god," You whispered putting down your brushes, the boys were too busy laughing together that they hadn't noticed the small puddle of water where you had been standing.

"Oh my god." You got louder as you ripped the apron off from your waist, clutching onto the table in front of you.

"What is it?" Namjoon questioned looking over at you to see your hand on your lower back as you tried to steady your breathing.

"You've been freaking out all week and then when I finally go into labour?! You just forget!?" This time you were the one that was panicking,

"Okay, it's going to be fine. I'll get the car, Kai you watch her." Namjoon was walking around slowly as you screamed out in pain,

"NAMJOON GET THE FUCKING CAR!" You yelled at him, he stumbled out of the room running down the hallways as Kai took your hand to slowly walk you out to go and meet him.

(X)

Two days later you were laying on the bed while your daughter slept in a small crib beside you, Namjoon was brushing the hair out of your face as you smiled sleepily at her. You were drenched in sweat but you didn't care, after two long days of contractions your daughter was finally with you in the world and you could feel like real parents. A real family.

"She's beautiful." You whispered to Namjoon as she moved her tiny arms up in her sleep,

"I want another one." You began crying and Namjoon's eyes widened as he realised you meant it,

"Not yet baby, maybe in a year." He chuckled trying not to make you cry even more than the hormones already were. You couldn't help it, you just missed the feeling of having a baby inside of you, growing all of her tiny little body parts and major organs,

"I love her so much." You whispered as tears rolled down your face, Namjoon wiped them away and smiled at you.

Jimin:

You weren't due for another three weeks so you had no idea why your water had just broke when you were standing on the middle of a tour bus doing 70 mph on a motorway.

"What do we do!?" Namjoon panicked as Jimin laid you down on one of the sofas of the tour bus, it was right in the back of the bus where everything was blacked out so no one could see inside.

"We need to get to a hospital, go and tell the driver." Jimin seemed to be the only one remaining calm while the rest of the boys all began freaking out about everything happening, Namjoon was breathing into a bag that Taehyung had gotten for you. Jin was planning to Hoseok about how he wasn't ready to deliver a baby and Yoongi was trying to tell the driver to get you to the nearest hospital.

"Jimin, I'm fine. Tell them to stop freaking -Oh my fucking god! Ahhh!" Your sentence was interrupted as a contraction hit you, it felt like you were slowly being opened from the inside and you were screaming as loud as you could - as if it was even going to help at all.

"I'm fine, see." You whispered as you calmed down from the contraction, you looked over to see Jin fanning Namjoon who looked like he was about ready to pass out,

"You guys are going to be the worst if you ever have a wife who gets pregna-ahhhhhhh!" You scream scared Yoongi and the driving causing the bus to shake a little but Jimin was right by your side holding your hand and helping you breathe.

"In through the nose and out of the mouth, okay?" You were doing your best to remain calm but now all of them were repeating what Jimin was saying, it was starting to get annoying.

"Get me to a hospital." You begged throwing your head down against the seat as the driver shouted he was miles away from the nearest one yet.

"Are you joking!? I am not having this baby on a tour bus!" You yelled at the driver turning to Jimin with eyes filled with tears, shaking your head as you repeated it over and over,

"I'm not going to have this baby on a tour bus Jimin, I swear to all things-"

"I know babe, but we don't have much of a choice right now, okay?" You shook your head at him begging him to make the driver to speed or something, anything to get you somewhere else where you could have the baby.

"JIMIN I AM NOT GIVING BIRTH ON A FUCKING BUS!"

(x)

"You did amazing," Jimin chuckled looking at you as you sleepily looked up at him bouncing around your twin girls in his arms.

"Told you I wasn't going to give birth on a tour bus." You laughed looking at him as he kissed both of the girls on the heads, you'd made it to the hospital just in time to be loaded onto a bed and told to start pushing as you were wheeled to a delivery room. It was a messy process but everything worked out in the end.

Taehyung:

"Y/n? You okay?" Jin asked as you calmly sat down on the dorm sofa trying breath through the contraction that was hitting you, you'd been having contractions since that morning but you were ignoring them. You were far too scared to have a baby right now and you weren't ready to deliver the baby yet,

"Fine, why?" He knew what you were doing, he'd been going to the birthing classes with you whenever Taehyung couldn't make it because he was at work while you weren't.

"Because your water broke this morning and you're just sitting there like it's not a big deal," You shrugged your shoulders biting into the sandwich that Taehyung had given you,

"It's not a big deal, I have plenty of time before I have to leave for the hospital." Taehyung nodded over at the door for Jin to the door of the dorms wanting to speak to him alone.

"There's no rush! I'm fine," You smiled at them but Jin was staring at you as a contraction ripped through you so hard that you couldn't talk through it which meant it was getting too close to the time you had to push.

"She's scared, I can't get her to go. We need to go though," You shook your head not wanting to talk to either of them about this right now.

"I'm not scared, it's just not time." You cried out throwing your head back against the sofa, even you couldn't deny the fact that the baby was coming.

(X)

"I can't do it," You whimpered as a nurse looked to see if you were close,

"Unfortunately baby you don't have a choice, it's go time." She said turning to look between you and Taehyung as you started shaking your head and telling them all that you couldn't do it, that you were too scared and you weren't ready.

"Come on, we're going to be fine. You've got me right here." He reassured you kissing your forehead as the nurse called in a midwife to help you give birth.

(X)

Three hours later you were sitting on the bed half asleep while Taehyung bounced around your son in his arms laughing as you smiled up at him.

"I told you that you could do it," He chuckled sitting on the edge of your bed so you could get a good look at the baby in his arms.

Jungkook:

Taehyung was standing by the hospital bed as a nurse checked how far along you were,

"You're almost ready to start pushing, is dad ready?" Her eyes were on Taehyung who was holding onto your hand as you tried to get through one of the splitting contractions that was tearing you apart as it went.

"Dad? Oh god, no." You laughed letting go of his hand as you realised what the nurse was hinting at,

"Jungkook is on the way, he's just a little late." You told her as you put your legs to lay flat against the bed, the nurse started laughing.

"Honey, you can't wait much longer if he's not here you're going to have to go with him even if you don't want to." Panic rushed through you, you looked at Taehyung who looked just as nervous as you did. If Jungkook wasn't going to be there he was supposed to be the on to go through with you but he didn't want to, he wanted to stay in the waiting room where it was safe and he didn't have to see anything.

"Get him here now." You begged Taehyung turning to look up at him as he nodded taking out his phone and calling your husband, he was stuck in traffic on the other side of town. He'd been trying to get to you all morning since the moment he'd gotten the call telling him you were in labour.

"Jungkook! If you don't get your ass here right now you're on the sofa!" You yelled as another contraction hit you knocking you back on the bed and making you scream out in pain.

(X)

"You have to start pushing." Your hand was wrapped tightly in Taehyung's shirt as you stared at him,

"Where is he?!" You cried out feeling the nurse getting ready. She placed your legs up on the bed and you whimpered crying harshly as Taehyung said he didn't know,

"No time to worry about that now mum, you're going to push in less than three seconds." Tears were streaming down your face as you realised you were about to give birth to your daughter without the most important man in the room with you.

"Taehyung, don't leave me please." You begged him and he nodded taking your hand in his and promising not to leave,

"Push, in 3...2...-" The door opened and Jungkook was standing there sweating and panting heavily,

"Oh thank god." Taehyung ran out of the room and Jungkook came over to you, promising you he would never be late again.

"Push!"

(X)

"Baby boy Jeon." You whispered rocking your son back and forth as Jungkook stood above you next to the bed, he smiled kissing your head as you bounced your sleeping son from side to side.

"I'm sorry I almost missed it," You shook your head, you understood why, he'd been so lost in traffic that he ran from 2 miles away just so he would make it there on time and you loved him all the more for it.

"You didn't, so it's okay." You whispered to him.

Tagline: 

@writingdreamsnottragedies @snowy-meowl @jooniesdarlingdimples @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @fan-ati--c @callingmyangel @rjsmochii​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @taestannie​ @innersooya​

[chicgeekgirl89]

The House in the Pines Where the Road Ends

Fandom: 911 Lone Star

Characters: Carlos Reyes, T.K. Strand, Andrea Reyes, Gabriel Reyes, The Reyes Family

Rating: K

Summary: Four sisters. Nine nieces and nephews. Dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Carlos has a big, loud, over-the-top family, and T.K. is about to meet all of them at the annual Reyes Family Barbecue. It's a day that promises food, fun, and lots of nosy questions. All T.K. wants is to make a good impression and all Carlos wants is for his family not to scare off his boyfriend. When a stray baseball ruins the fun, both T.K. and Carlos will discover that neither of them ever needed to worry.

A/N: I am so happy to FINALLY introduce you to my version of the Reyes family. They have become a character all their own and I love them very dearly. Get ready to see and hear more about them in upcoming fics! I cannot say enough thank you's to @bluenet13​ who has read this fic approximately a billion times in all its different stages, has beta'ed the heck out of it, and still wants to be friends with me.

For the @badthingshappenbingo​ prompt: Sports Injury

Read on Ao3

“Wait, but are you sure this shirt is okay?” T.K. asked, twisting around in front of the mirror to look at it from every possible angle.

“Do you really think my family is going to decide whether or not they like you based on your shirt?” Carlos asked with a laugh.

“It’s their first impression of me,” T.K. said, fussing with the hemline, trying to get it to lay exactly right. “I just want it to be good.”

Carlos came up behind him, wrapping his arms around T.K.’s waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. “They are going to love you.” He pressed a kiss to T.K.’s cheek.

T.K. turned in his arms so they were face to face, anxiety trickling through his veins. “I love you,” he said.

“I know,” Carlos told him. “I love you too.”

“Your family is important to you and I guess I can’t help feeling like…there’s a chance that if they don’t like me…”

“T.K…” Carlos sent him a look of fond exasperation.

“I know!” T.K. said quickly. “I know it’s ridiculous. But if they don’t like me, I don’t know where we go next.”

“I don’t think we need to borrow trouble like that,” Carlos said. “You already know my parents love you. And so do Elena and Elías.”

They’d had dinner at Carlos’ second eldest sister’s home a few weeks back. It had been fun to meet her and her husband along with their daughter, Carolina, and twins, Marco and Diego. Marco was rambunctious and spunky while Diego was more mild mannered and T.K. had enjoyed watching Carlos chase them around the backyard, playing baseball, tag, and wrestling.

But meeting one sister and her family was completely different from attending the annual Reyes Family Barbecue where there would be hundreds of aunts, uncles, and cousins to try and remember.

“Trust me,” Carlos said. “Elena will have spread the word and you’ll already have pre-approval before we even get there.”

“What if I call someone the wrong name?” T.K. asked. “I still think you should have written up a family tree like I asked you to.”

Carlos rolled his eyes. “There’s no point. We’re adding to it like every day there are so many of us. You’ll never be able to remember. If you’re not sure just call them Gabriel or Valentina. There’s a forty percent chance you’ll be right.”

“This isn’t fair,” T.K. said, burying his face in Carlos’ shirt. “I have like, four family members. The playing field is so uneven I don’t even have a chance.”

Carlos kissed his forehead. “Just relax and enjoy the food. That’s all anyone expects of you.”

“I seriously doubt that,” T.K. grumbled.

“Listen, if anybody should be concerned in this situation, it’s me,” Carlos said.

“You?” T.K. raised his eyebrows. “Why?”

“You just said, you come from a small family. My family is big and loud and all up in each other’s business. Francesca alone might be enough to make you run all the way back to New York.”

Carlos had talked before about his wild child fourth sister, Francesca. Apparently she was a force to be reckoned with and had caused quite a bit of trouble as a kid. According to Carlos every time he’d gotten in trouble, it had actually been Francesca’s fault. Well Francesca and Adriana, Carlos’ cousin who was more like a fifth sister. She and Francesca had been born within weeks of each other and been an inseparable duo ever since.

“New York is a pretty long way to run,” T.K. said. “And I’ve gotten kind of used to sleeping with you. I don’t really want to have to break in a new mattress. Oh, and for all I know you’ve gotten kind used to having my exercise bike in your dining room and I would have to buy a new one of those, plus moving costs are out of sight and I am on a civil servant’s salary here.”

Carlos kissed him again. “Come on. We’re already late and if we don’t get there soon then I will be in trouble.”

T.K. had already visited the Reyes family ranch a handful of times, but he had never seen it quite like this. Cars lined every inch of the drive up to the house, from pick-up trucks to mini-vans and everything in between. “Is this a family barbecue or a Lady Gaga concert?” T.K. asked as they got out of the car.

Carlos laughed and reached for his hand. “I told you.”

“Yeah I hoped maybe you were exaggerating a little bit,” T.K. said as they walked toward the driveway. As if he hadn’t been nervous already, now he felt overwhelmed. He was generally charming and good with people, but this was…a lot.

Carlos tensed. “Come this way,” he said, voice low as he tugged T.K. more to the side of the driveway, where a row of cars hid them from view of the house.

“What are we doing?” T.K. asked in confusion.

“We’re—”

“Carlitos don’t you even try! We see you over there!” a feminine voice called.

Carlos winced and looked at T.K. “I’m just going to say ahead of time that I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

Two women came around the line of cars, each of them holding a drink. “You weren’t trying to hide from us were you?” the taller of the two asked.

“No I was just trying to get T.K. inside without the third degree first,” Carlos said, giving each of them a pointed look.

“Carlitos we’re not going to give him the third degree,” the second woman said, her many earrings flashing in the sunlight. “We’re just going to try and prepare him for what he’s about to face.”

“You don’t need to prepare him,” Carlos said with a sigh of long suffering. “There’s nothing to prepare for.”

“Oh my god Carlos, you cannot just drag him in here without some proper preparation,” the first woman said, turning to look at T.K. “So, you’re the firefighter stripper, huh?”

T.K.’s eyes went wide and he looked to Carlos who had closed his eyes and was shaking his head. “For the last time, he’s a paramedic now and he has never been a stripper.” He opened his eyes and took a breath in a clear attempt to calm himself down. “T.K. I would like you to meet my sister Francesca.”

“His youngest older sister,” Francesca clarified looking T.K. up and down. “You’re hot enough to be a stripper.”

“And my cousin Adriana,” Carlos said loudly in an attempt to stop his sister’s comments. 

“It’s nice to meet you both,” T.K. said with a smile, hoping to diffuse some of the awkwardness. “Carlos has told me a lot about you.”

“Is it about how we were always getting him in trouble when he was a kid? Because that’s a lie,” Adriana said. 

“Total lie,” Francesca echoed. “So, how has it been, living in sin with my brother?”

“Oh my god Francesca can you just let us get through the door first?” Carlos cried.

She shook her head and grinned. “Nope. This is way more fun. Besides, Adriana got to know about him first, so I wanted to meet him before everyone else.”

“Did Carlos tell you not to tell Tía Maria you’re living together?” Adriana asked.

“Um, no, he didn’t mention that,” T.K. said, looking once again to his boyfriend.

“I didn’t really think it was necessary,” Carlos said.

“Tía Maria has strong religious opinions,” Francesca said.

“Oh is she not…” T.K. began to pull his hand from Carlos’ but his boyfriend held on firmly.

“Tía Maria is fine with the gay, she’s just not all right with fornication,” Adriana said with a grin, eyeing T.K. for his reaction.

“Oh my god, forget it, we’re going home,” Carlos said, trying to turn around, but Francesca grabbed his other arm.

“Nuh uh hermano,” she said sweetly. “Mom and Dad are expecting you. I already texted them and told them you’re here.”

“Wait hold on, I’m confused,” T.K. said, feeling slightly panicked as the conversation moved so quickly around him. “What do I need to know about Tía Maria?”

“Tía Maria is very against pre-marital sex,” Francesca said.

“In her mind we’re all pure, sweet, innocent little virgins, waiting to give up our virtue to our husbands on our wedding nights,” Adriana said, her face suggesting that she’d rather throw up than submit to that particular lifestyle. “Little does she know that ship has sailed.”

“Under the bleachers with Jake Thompson in the eleventh grade,” Francesca said.

“In Mike Kowalski’s backseat…”

“After prom with Sebastian Chavez…”

“Okay that’s enough of the sexcapades thank you,” Carlos said, looking disgusted.

“You didn’t think I needed to know this?” T.K. said looking at Carlos.

“I am not ashamed of us living together,” Carlos told him. “I don’t care if Tía Maria knows.”

“Ugh barf,” Francesca said. “God I wanted to be mad at you for caving and leaving us all alone at the singles table but you’re so grossly in love I don’t even want you there anymore.”

“Can we go in now?” Carlos asked. “Is this little interrogation over with?”

“Oh you can go in, but it’s far from over,” Adriana said, wrenching T.K.’s arm away from Carlos and tucking it into her own as she walked him toward the house. “So, T.K. What can we get you to drink? Beer? Margarita? Or are you a wine snob? You look like you could be a wine snob.”

“He’s from New York, they’re all wine snobs there,” Francesca said.

“T.K. doesn’t drink,” Carlos called from behind him. “You already know that.”

Adriana nodded. “Just checking. That’s cool. I did the sober thing for like six months once. My skin was so great.”

“Okay, I’m taking T.K. inside now,” Carlos said, rescuing his arm from Adriana’s grip. “You two can go back to wherever it is you came from. I’m going to guess…the gates of hell?”

“So rude Carlos,” Francesca said with a roll of her eyes.

“Come on Cesca, I need another margarita,” Adriana said, pulling her toward the back of the house.

“But I have more questions!”

“Questions later! Margarita now!”

They disappeared around the side of the house, leaving Carlos looking embarrassed and T.K. feeling like he’d just been through a whirlwind. “You can literally ignore everything about them,” Carlos said as he opened the door. “Just pretend they don’t exist. That’s what the rest of us do when they get like this.”

T.K. had a feeling neither Francesca nor Adriana liked to be ignored, but Andrea greeted them immediately as they walked inside, leaving him no opportunity for further questions or conversation. “T.K.! Carlitos! Welcome!”

There were a few other people milling around inside, but it seemed like most of the family was in the backyard. T.K. could hear music playing and the smell of barbecue wafted through the glass slider doors that led to the oversized back patio.

“Sorry we’re late Mama,” Carlos said, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek.

“It’s my fault,” T.K. said. “I had a shift and it ran over.”

“No apologies necessary,” Andrea said, waving a hand. “I understand the important work you boys do. I’m just sorry your dad couldn’t make it T.K.��

“He said to tell you hello and that he will be here for sure next time,” T.K. told her with a smile.

It had been a huge relief to find out that the party was scheduled while his dad was on shift. The last thing he needed was one more thing to give him anxiety about meeting Carlos’ family.

Andrea caught his face in both hands. “We are so glad you’re here T.K.” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Now, let’s get you something to drink. I’ve got lots of that fancy water you like.”

The back slider opened as Andrea pulled a water from the refrigerator for T.K. “Boys! Bienvenidos!” Gabriel boomed as he stepped inside, bringing the scent of barbecue with him.

“Gabriel close that door before the air conditioning gets out,” Andrea scolded.

“Of course mi amor,” he said. “I was just looking for another set of tongs. Daniel is going to help with the second grill.”

“They’re in the pantry,” Andrea said. “Where they always are.”

Gabriel paused to kiss her on the cheek. “What would I do without you?”

“Starve?” Carlos suggested with a cheeky smile as he grabbed a grape off the counter and popped it in his mouth.

Gabriel snorted. “Probably.”

“All right now you two, head on outside and join the party,” Andrea said. “You don’t want to be stuck in here with me.”

“Are you sure?’ Carlos asked. “We can stay and help.”

“No, no,” Andrea said quickly. “Gloria will be back in a minute. Go! Enjoy! Introduce T.K. to the family.” She lowered her voice. “But don’t tell Tía Maria that you live together. You know how she gets and I do not need another lecture on how I raised my children with loose morals.”

“Yes, for everyone’s sanity, please keep that to yourselves,” Gabriel said, reappearing with the tongs in hand. “No need for my sister to know that you are breaking the commandments.”

T.K. turned and looked at his boyfriend. “Everyone seems very concerned about this.”

Carlos shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Everyone is overreacting. Tía Maria isn’t that scary.” He kissed T.K. on the side of his head and grabbed his hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. Besides, there are so many people here, we might not even see Tía Maria.”

They stepped out the door into the backyard. To the left was a play set that dozens of children were taking advantage of. To the right were several grills, all smoking away, the tables next to them already piled high with food and drink. And underneath sprawling oak trees dozens of picnic tables and lawn chairs had been set up, all of them full of people talking, laughing, and eating together. 

“I knew you should have made that family tree for me,” T.K. said, starting to feel really nervous now as he saw exactly how many people had scattered across the backyard.

They made it about four feet before they were accosted by well meaning relatives. Cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone seemed to want to meet Carlos’ new boyfriend. T.K. smiled and nodded and tried in vain to remember everyone’s names. Carlos hadn’t been exaggerating, there were a lot of Gabriels and Valentinas.

“Ay, okay, leave the boys alone,” a woman finally said, interrupting the melée. She sported a longer version of Carlos’ curls and T.K. remembered her face from some of the family photos. “Shame on all of you, they haven’t even eaten anything.”

She turned a warm smile on them as the crowd dispersed and went back to their merriment. “Hola T.K. I’m Teresa.”

Carlos’ oldest sister. She and her husband Javier lived in San Diego with their four kids, Valentina, Eva, Gabriel, and Bianca. Their visit to town was the reason the barbecue had been scheduled for this particular weekend. 

“Nice to meet you,” T.K. said, immediately feeling the same warmth and comfort radiate from her that he did from Carlos. 

She turned and pulled her brother in for a hug, whispering something in his ear that made him laugh. “Come on. You can sit with us. I’ll fend off the nosy relatives,” she told them.

“Thank you,” Carlos said in relief. “I didn’t think it would be quite this bad.”

“You never do,” she said with a smile as she led them to the picnic table where her husband Javier was sitting with another couple that T.K. thought he recognized. 

“T.K. this is my husband Javier. And have you met Lucía and Justin yet?” Teresa asked.

Ah, Lucía. Carlos’ third oldest sister. She and Justin lived with their kids in McKinney and had driven up for the weekend. They had been set to attend the dinner with Elena and Elías but one of the boys had ended up in a soccer championship so they’d had to cancel. 

“So T.K. I hear you’re from New York? Nice to have another East Coaster join the party,” Justin said.

“Oh yeah, Carlos said you’re from Philly right?” T.K. asked.

“Born and bred,” Justin raised an eyebrow. “You don’t cheer for the Giants do you?”

T.K. smiled. “I’m more of a Mets fan actually. Football’s not really my thing.”

“Well that means I don’t have to hate you, but don’t say that too loud in Texas. Football is life here,” Justin told him.

“So I’ve noticed,” T.K. replied.

“Tío Carlos!” a gaggle of kids ran up to the table all of them clamoring for Carlos. 

“Tío Carlos I got on my soccer team at school!”

“Can you come play baseball!”

“Did you know my tooth is falling out?”

“Is that your boyfriend?”

Everyone talked at once and Carlos seemed to take it in stride, giving hugs and ruffling hair, looking at loose teeth, and promising to come and play in a minute.

“Hey, all of you, adiós,” Elena said. “Leave Tío Carlos alone. He’ll play with you later.”

It took a few more admonishments from their parents, but eventually the children dispersed to different corners of the ranch. “We’re doing you a favor T.K.,” Lucía told him, rocking baby Nicolás back and forth. “Once Carlos goes with the children he doesn’t come back.”

“He’s their favorite uncle,” Justin explained.

“And for good reason,” Javier added. “His knees are young and spry.”

“You guys are exaggerating. The kids love everybody,” Carlos said with a roll of his eyes.

Teresa shook her head. “It’s okay to admit that you’re their favorite Carlos. You’ve earned the honor.” She looked at T.K. “Carlos is too modest.”

“So I’ve noticed,” T.K. said fondly and he could see Carlos blush a little bit.

“Okay that’s enough of that,” Carlos said. “We’ve been here half an hour and no one has offered me any food. What has happened to this family?”

The situation was fixed immediately and T.K. found himself with more food than one person could possibly hope to consume, sitting and listening to the Reyes siblings recount stories from their childhood.

T.K. felt the bench next to him shift and turned to find Francesca and Adriana joining them.

“Did Carlos tell you about the time he ran away from home?” Teresa asked.

Carlos groaned. “No, do we have to tell this story every time?”

“Yes, because it’s hilarious,” Elena said. “He was what, about six at the time?”

“I was sixteen so yes,” Teresa said. “Carlitos was mad because all of us sisters got to go to a movie and he didn’t. So he wrote a note saying he was running away and never coming back.”

“And then he disappeared for seven hours,” Lucía chimed in. “Mom was beside herself. They checked the entire house, called all his friends, she was sure he’d been eaten by a coyote.”

“Well I was the one who found him,” Teresa said with a smile. “Up in that tree,” she pointed several feet to the left, “crying because he’d climbed up too high and couldn’t get down.”

“We had to call the fire department to come and get him,” Francesca said with a smirk.

“And when they got him down, did he get in trouble?” Elena asked. “Nope. Because Mama was all—“

“My baby!” all four women chorused together. 

“Carlitos never gets in trouble,” Adriana said. “Ever. All he has to do is bat his eyelashes at Tía Andrea and she starts talking about how innocent and sweet he is and how he could never start a fight or break a window…”

Carlos had put a hand to his forehead and looked like he was in physical pain. “Are you done now?” he asked.

“No way,” Lucía piped up. “We still have to tell T.K. about the time you drove the tractor into the pond.”

“The pedal was stuck!” Carlos cried.

“That’s what he says every time,” Francesca told T.K. “It’s a lie.”

Carlos burst forth in a tirade of Spanish, likely exonerating himself from the tractor-pond fiasco and all of the women immediately began to contradict him. T.K. wasn’t sure whether to smile or intervene as they all talked over each other. His high school level Spanish could only pick up the occasional word. 

“This happens every time,” Elías said. “They’ll calm down in a minute.”

“A minute?” Javier said. “Forget a minute. We can all leave, they’ll be at it for at least half an hour now.”

Things really came to a head when Francesca stood, slammed her hands against the table, and shouted, “I did not put that goat in Lucí’s bed, that was Elena!”

“I watched you do it!” Carlos yelled back.

“Well then your brain is broken because that is not what happened!” Francesca said, pointing a finger at him.

The argument was broken up by the arrival of Andrea, followed closely by another woman T.K. didn’t recognize. “Girls! Ya basta! Qué esta pasando? Arguing in front of our guests, what is wrong with you?” she said, setting a large plate of taquitos in front of them.

“Disculpa Mama,” they all muttered, but T.K. caught Francesca giving Carlos the finger under the table and then she jumped a second later when he pinched her leg.

“Honestly,” she scoffed at them. “I am ashamed of all of you. T.K. I apologize on behalf of my daughters. I did not raise them to be like this.”

“See?” Lucía said with a roll of her eyes. “We’re all in trouble, but Carlitos is completely innocent.”

“Of course he’s innocent, he would never argue in front of guests,” Andrea said. “Did you all say hello to Tía Maria?”

“Hola Tía,” they all chorused.

“And Maria, this is T.K., Carlos’ boyfriend,” Andrea said with a smile.

T.K. felt himself stiffen under the intense gaze of Carlos’ infamous aunt. But he smiled and waved a hand. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she said. She turned and looked at Teresa and Javier. “Cuándo será la primera comunión de Marco y Diego?"

T.K. caught a glimpse of Francesca who smiled at him and raised her eyebrows in an “I told you so” kind of way. 

“Later this summer,” Elena said smoothly. “We will send you an invitation of course.”

“They are a bit behind, no? Why the delay in this important milestone?”

“Tía, with Covid and everything it all just got pushed back. Don’t worry,” Elena told her.

“You’d better get a move on,” Adriana said. “We wouldn’t want them to miss out on all the blessings of the Lord.”

Tía Maria’s eyes narrowed as she picked up on Adriana’s sarcasm. “Is there something wrong with wanting my nephews to grow up properly in the church?”

“Of course not,” Andrea said quickly. “And they are Maria. Very good, pious little boys.”

T.K. saw the mischievous glint in Francesca’s eye as she opened her mouth. “So T.K., you live with your dad?” 

Everyone at the table froze and turned to look daggers in her direction. “Ah Maria! The watermelon! We forgot it inside, come on,” Andrea said quickly, glaring at her daughter over her shoulder as she ushered Maria away.

“Cesca!” Teresa chastised as soon as they were out of earshot.

“I was just trying to take the pressure off of Elena,” Francesca said innocently, taking a sip of her mojito.

“You were trying to stir up trouble,” Lucía said as the baby began to fuss. 

“Well someone has to keep things fun around here!”

“Mom! Mom! Mom!” Marco and Diego ran toward them, kicking up dirt as they skidded to a stop by the table and interrupted the conversation. 

“Mom can I have another cookie?” Marco asked.

“I want a drink but Carolina said I can’t have a soda, but can I?” Diego asked.

“And Tía Teresa, Gabriel wants to know, can he get his Switch out of the car now, because he said you said he could get it later and now it’s later,” Marco spoke up on behalf of his cousin.

“Okay, hold on, everybody take a breath,” Teresa said.

The group momentarily broke up as everyone went to tend to their children’s needs and make sure they had eaten something besides cookies and chips. 

“So, are you ready to run back to New York yet?” Carlos asked when they were the only two left at the table.

“I think I’m holding my own all right,” T.K. said. “You were right about Francesca though. She’s…something.”

Carlos rolled his eyes. “Believe it or not that actually was her being on her better behavior. I swear you’d never know she was working on a masters in biochemistry.”

“She’s fun,” T.K. said. “And she and Adriana clearly have the most dirt on Carlitos.”

“Maybe we should leave now,” Carlos said with a groan. “They’ll keep at it as long as you’ll listen.”

“I like it,” T.K. said, taking a sip of his mineral water. “It’s fun seeing you like this. Baby brother Carlos is a whole new side of you.”

Carlos blushed a little bit. “The way they’d talk you’d think we were all still kids.”

“It’s sweet. They adore you.”

“I—”

Carlos was interrupted by Valentina, Teresa and Javier’s youngest, who came running over, crying so hard she was hiccuping instead of breathing. “Tío Carlos!”

“Valentina, qué pasó?” Carlos asked worriedly, gathering her into his arms and sitting her on his lap.

“Marco me dijo que no podía jugar pelota con él,” she sobbed, her little heart so clearly broken over her cousin’s refusal to let her play ball with him.

"Lo siento, Valen. That's not very nice." Carlos hugged her close and kissed her hair. "Pero no le hagas caso. What if we get you a cookie, will that help?”

She shook her head, lip stuck out in an adorable pout, fresh tears threatening to spill over.

“Two cookies?”

She held up three little fingers and Carlos opened his eyes wide in mock surprise. “Tres?! Ay Dios mío.” He shook his head. “Come with me, pero no le digas a mamá.”

He slid Valentina off his lap and offered her his hand, which she grabbed onto eagerly. He looked at T.K. “I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time,” T.K. said, watching them walk over to one of the tables. 

Carlos pointed to several different options, Valentina shaking her head at each one until he found the kind of cookie she liked best.

T.K. felt a presence next to him and turned to find Francesca had returned. She had a strange look on her face. “You know he’s never brought anyone home before. Not like this.”

T.K.’s breath caught in his chest. “I didn’t know that.”

“He’s happy,” Francesca said. “Happier than I’ve seen him in a long time.” She turned and looked at him. “You make him happy.”

“I do my best,” T.K. said. “He makes me happy too.”

“Yeah.” She looked at her brother again, adding some fruit to Valentina’s plate. “He wants kids. You know that right?”

“I do,” T.K. said. 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re good with that?”

T.K. looked at his boyfriend who was tenderly wiping the last of the tears from Valentina’s cheeks. They had talked about it of course. A few times. In passing. He knew where Carlos stood. And he knew that he wasn’t sure what kind of dad he would be, but also that he would do anything to make Carlos happy; including facing his own fears about being a father. “He’ll be a great dad,” was his answer.

She squinted at him, then squared her shoulders. “I’m only going to say this once and if you ever tell anyone I will deny it and shove your balls so far up your ass you won’t know how to get them out again. Carlos is special. And I know you’re all city boy, New York, squeaky clean, firefighter paramedic, or whatever.”

“But if I hurt him you’ll kill me?” T.K. asked, raising his eyebrows.

“No,” she looked at him like he was crazy. “Teresa will. She’s like his second mom. She’ll take you down so fast you’ll never even see it coming.”

T.K. laughed. “I have no intention of ever breaking his heart. I promise.”

“Good,” she said. “That’s good.” She cocked her head the way Carlos did when he was about to say something he knew was funny. “You’re pretty great for a stripper.”

“Okay, one more time. Not that there is anything wrong with sex work, but I have never been, and have no intention of being, a stripper,” T.K. said firmly.

“That’s what they all say!” she tossed over her shoulder as she got to her feet and flounced away to find Adriana. 

“What was my sister telling you?” Carlos asked as he returned, Valentina now seated happily with some other cousins at a kid sized picnic table. “Oh god, was she talking about the time I got arrested for skinny dipping in the lake because there is so much more to that story than the way she tells it.”

“No,” T.K. said, raising his eyebrows, “but now I want to hear the rest of that. No she was just…being a good big sister. You’re lucky to have so many people watching out for you.”

Carlos softened, his hand seeking T.K.’s. “And now I have you too.”

T.K. squeezed gently. “Yes, you do.”

                                       XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

All in all the day was going well. T.K. had handled every nosy question, every argument, every weird thing his sisters or relatives did with his usual charm and self-confidence. He fit in. 

All Carlos had really wanted was for T.K. to like his family, but seeing them like him right back…it was doing strange things to his heart. He hadn’t known until this moment how much it meant to gain his family’s approval of his relationship. He’d convinced himself that he was fine either way, and he probably would have been. But seeing them all joke and talk and laugh together was beyond his wildest dreams. And it was making him think some pretty crazy things about the future.

They’d chatted some more with his siblings and a few other family members who’d stopped by the table. But now Lucía had gone to put the baby down for a nap, and Teresa and Elena had been pressed into kitchen duty with his mother, while the men of the group had been enticed inside by a game on TV. Which left only Adriana and Francesca at the table. 

“So, T.K., now that the boring adults are gone, tell us everything,” Francesca said, a sneaky smile on her face.

“Ooh yes,” Adriana said, getting comfortable on the picnic bench. “Tell us all your dirty secrets T.K. You lived in New York so do you actually work for the mob? And how hard was it for you to learn to put gas in a car at such an advanced age?”

“Unfortunately no mob connections, although that probably pays better than firefighting or being a paramedic,” T.K. said with a laugh. “And the learning curve on driving was actually pretty quick. We have to fuel the engines, even in New York.”

“Well that’s boring,” Francesca said as she picked up a tamale. “Come on, you have to be more exciting than that. Any secret lovers you’re keeping back there on the side?”

“Cesca!” Carlos said sharply.

“I’m watching out for you!” Francesca cried. “I mean if you two have an open relationship or something that’s your business, but if he—”

“No,” T.K. said quickly. He looked at Carlos. “There’s no one in New York. Or anywhere else.”

Adriana and Francesca both wrinkled their noses, but Carlos hardly noticed, too busy looking at T.K. who was gazing at him with so much tenderness and love. He was taking it all in stride, the insanity, the prying. Questions that might have set him off a year or two ago he now brushed off like it was no big deal.

“Ugh, come on!” Adriana said. “There has to be something. You basically grew up on the set of Gossip Girl. You have to know at least one Kardashian or something.”

“Yes, how many private helicopter rides have there been?” Francesca asked eagerly. “Or penthouse ragers? You have to have been to a penthouse rager of someone famous!”

T.K. shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint.”

Adriana pouted. “So boring. Not one secret?”

“Oh, I have secrets,” T.K. said with a grin. He laced his hand through Carlos’. “But only Carlos gets to know them.”

“You play dirty, Strand,” Francesca told him with an approving smile. 

Carlos had had enough. “Come on,” he said, pulling T.K. to his feet and away from the women without a backward glance or apology. 

“Where are we going?” T.K. asked and Carlos wished the answer was a dark corner somewhere that he could kiss his boyfriend’s face off and show him how much he appreciated his efforts today. But that would not be happening anywhere on the premises. Francesca and Adriana could sniff out a couple having a quickie from a mile away. They’d caught Teresa and Javier in a Sunday School classroom during Elena and Elías’ wedding and had never let them forget it. Although Bianca had been born nine months later so apparently getting caught hadn’t been too much of a turn off. He definitely wasn’t risking it though. 

He pulled T.K. over to the patio where the music had cranked up to an all time high now that his cousin Rafael had arrived and was playing DJ.

“Okay,” T.K. said, looking nervous all over again. “You know I can’t really dance right? That first night at the bar, that was all just to get in your pants, you know that right?”

“What?” Carlos feigned surprise and then rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know. And considering that you managed to get into my pants about half an hour later, I’d say it worked pretty well.”

“Not the point Carlos.”

“I’ve seen you dance. You’re fine,” Carlos told him.

“Yes in the club!” T.K. told him, eyes wide as he took in the way some of Carlos’ relatives were dancing around them. “This is like something out of Grease! Did you all rehearse this before you got here?”

“Look, Justin’s dancing.” Carlos nodded to where Lucí had managed to get a moment free from her children and pulled her husband onto the impromptu dance floor. 

“Justin’s been in your family for five years. He’s had practice.”

“You’re just going to follow my lead,” Carlos told him confidently as he pulled T.K. close. “Relax.”

“I can’t relax. Your Tía Maria looks like she’s about to come over here and remind us to leave room for the Holy Spirit,” T.K. hissed.

“Like I said earlier, I don’t care what Tía Maria thinks. I haven’t for a long time. I just want to dance with you.” He cocked his head and turned on his most charming smile, eyes pleading a little bit.

T.K. rolled his eyes and groaned. “You know I can’t say no to that face.”

“Exactly,” Carlos allowed himself a full on smirk.

He put one hand on T.K.’s shoulder, the other on his hip and gave a comforting little squeeze. “And now you just follow my lead.”

He took a half a step forward, slowly, not following the music at all, encouraging T.K. to step back with his opposite foot. They managed fine for about three beats until T.K. stepped wrong and they stumbled over one another’s feet. “Sorry,” he said, face going slightly pink. “I told you.”

“You’re tense,” Carlos said. “You can’t dance when you’re tense. Relax. It’s all in the hips.”

“I’m from New York. I barely have hips at all, let alone beautiful, sexy, latin caderas like yours.”

Carlos laughed and bumped up against T.K. with said caderas. “You like my caderas?”

“You know I love your hips and normally I wouldn’t complain about anything you do with them, but everyone is staring at us.”

“They are not.” Carlos took a quick glance around the area and found that indeed, many of his relatives were staring, and he could read wedding bells going off in their eyes. “Okay they are but that’s because they’re nosy, not because of your dancing. Don’t worry about them. Focus on me.”

“Just don’t blame me if I break your toes,” T.K. said nervously.

“I think I’ll survive,” Carlos told him. “I’ve never seen you like this before. I like it.”

“Like what?”

“Completely off your game,” Carlos told him. “You never approach anything with less than one hundred percent confidence and charm.”

“Well I only do things I’m one hundred percent confident in,” T.K. said. “That way I never have to look like I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Ahhh, now it all makes sense,” Carlos said with a laugh.

The music changed and Carlos shifted so that they were closer together, one hand entwined with T.K.’s, the other on his lower back. “So. Tell me the truth. How glad are you that your dad didn’t come today?”

T.K. laughed. “Oh god so glad. You know how he is. He and your sisters would have spent the entire day trying to one up each other on embarrassing stories about us. And he might have won.”

“Oh I doubt that. We’ve got about two more hours until my sisters bring up the bathtub incident.”

T.K.’s eyes widened. “The bathtub incident?”

“Let’s just say it was very expensive and mostly Francesca’s fault.”

“You know, your sisters seem to take a lot of the blame in these stories even though you have a starring role in all of them. I’m starting to wonder who’s really telling the truth here.”

“Shh,” Carlos said, pulling him a little closer. “I’m a cop. I’m very trustworthy.”

“Uh huh.” T.K. looked amused.

“Hey, guess what?”

“What?”

Carlos leaned forward so his lips were touching T.K.’s ear. “You’re dancing.”

And indeed he was, their bodies swaying back and forth, T.K. following all of Carlos’ movements without any trouble. T.K. opened his mouth to respond but he was interrupted by the reappearance of Adriana. “I take it back,” she said, causing them both to pause their movement.

“Take what back?” Carlos asked in confusion.

“There’s no way he’s a stripper. Not with dance moves like that. Yikes.”

“I don’t know whether to be relieved or insulted,” T.K. said.

“Good,” she said, giving him a mischievous wink. “I like to keep people guessing. Now step aside gringo and let us show you how it’s done.”

She grabbed Carlos’ hand and before he could protest she’d pulled him out to the center of the dance floor, yelling at Rafael to put on something they could really move to. Rafael smoothly transitioned into a song Carlos recognized and Adriana grinned as she began to salsa, clearly expecting him to partner her. He rolled his eyes, but obliged, catching her around the waist and moving back and forth in time with her.

“We approve,” she said as he spun her back and forth.

“Of my dancing?” Carlos asked.

“No, of T.K.,” she said with a smile. “We really like him. Me and all your sisters.”

It should not have warmed his soul so much to hear the words, but it did anyway. “Good,” Carlos said. “Is that why you pulled me out here? To tell me you like him?”

“No, I pulled you out here so he could check out your ass while you dance,” she said, looking over his shoulder, her grin widening. “Which he totally is by the way.”

“Adriana, shut up,” Carlos said, but he smiled anyway and dipped her, really letting loose as the music hit the chorus. Because apparently he was not above showing off for his boyfriend.

By the time the song ended he was sweating and breathless and so was Adriana. “You’ve still got it cousin,” she said. “Now go on. Go over there and take a victory lap with your boyfriend and his puppy dog eyes.”

Carlos looked over to find T.K. looking suitably impressed at the edge of the patio. Carlos shook his head, a blush rising to his cheeks as he walked over. “Well someone’s been holding out on me,” T.K. said when Carlos got close.

“It’s just dancing,” Carlos said.

“Just dancing? Carlos that looked like…I don’t even know, but it was freaking amazing!” T.K. said, his eyes wide. “I didn’t know you could dance like that. Why are you over here dancing with me?”

Carlos rolled his eyes and pulled T.K. close to him. “Trust me, Adriana might be a state champion in Salsa, but I prefer dancing with you any day.”

“She’s a state champion?” T.K. asked in surprise.

“Yep,” Carlos said, pulling him back onto the dance floor. “Three years in a row.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, Adriana is good at pretty much anything she decides to be good at. It’s a little ridiculous.”

“That doesn’t explain where your dance moves came from,” T.K. said, looking expectant.

“I um,” Carlos thought for a half second about lying before he decided to give in and tell the truth. “I may have partnered her for a few years.”

“How long is a few?”

Carlos sighed and squeezed his eyes closed. “Like fourth through seventh grade.”

T.K.’s jaw dropped. He pointed a finger at Carlos’ chest. “I can’t believe you’ve never told me that!”

“Well it’s not like it’s relevant to everyday conversation! When would it have ever come up?”

“I don’t know!” T.K. shook his head. “What made you stop?”

Carlos shrugged. “I’m good, but I’m not championship level good. And I was getting into baseball. And Adriana is…really difficult to work with.”

“Carlos! T.K.!” They both turned to find a very welcome presence interrupting their conversation.

“Tía Luci,” Carlos said, pulling back from T.K. so he could give her a hug. “I wasn’t sure if you were coming.”

“Well you know I had a date querido. T.K. mi amor! It’s so good to see you!” The many bracelets she was wearing jangled loudly as she hugged T.K. with equal fervor. 

T.K. had been to several Sunday dinners at this point and Tía Luci had accepted him exactly the way Carlos hoped she would, with nothing less than complete and total love. She’d always encouraged Carlos to be exactly who he was and love whoever he desired. It helped of course that she’d had four husbands of her own and was currently single and dating with astonishing frequency.

“It’s good to see you too Tía Luci,” T.K. said with a smile.

“I thought mom said you had a pottery class,” Carlos said.

“I had a date at pottery class,” she said and then leaned closer. “And the clay wasn’t the only thing that got handled, if you catch my meaning.”

Carlos’ cheeks burned as T.K. laughed. His aunt was a free spirit and that meant she was pretty free with most things. Including her sex life. And while Carlos didn’t judge, he definitely didn’t always need all the…details she provided.

“Oh don’t look so scandalized,” she admonished, squeezing his arm. “It’s not like you’re a saint either, sobrino. With a boyfriend like this you must get up to all kinds of nonsense. And if you’re not you should start. You’re only young once!” Someone caught her attention and she waved. “I must go see Alejandro, but you two have fun dancing.”

“How about we run away to New York together?” Carlos asked as she floated away.

“You love her,” T.K. said knowingly.

“I do. But I don’t need to know every detail of her dating life. And no matter how many times I tell her that she doesn’t quite seem to get the message.”

“Seems like Francesca and Adriana come by it honestly,” T.K. said. “Oversharing runs in the gene pool.”

“Yes along with nosiness, a strong desire to meddle, and a life long obsession with the Astros,” Carlos said with a roll of his eyes.

“And yet somehow you have none of those qualities,” T.K. said, raising his eyebrows in a way that suggested he was being sarcastic.

“Me?” Carlos said. “What are you talking about? I don’t do any of those things.”

“Maybe not so overtly. But when you found out Mateo’s house had blown up, you organized all those donations to help out him and his roommates.”

“Because it was the right thing to do!”

“Of course it was. But it was also meddling. Kind meddling. But meddling. And we’ve talked about the cow eyes.”

“What do the cow eyes have to do with anything?” Carlos asked, slightly annoyed.

“When you want to know something that I don’t want to share, you waste no time turning them on. And you know that neither I, nor anyone else can resist. Nosiness.”

“That’s not nosy! It’s…digging for information.”

“Information your chosen suspect may or may not want to share. The suspect being me. Admit it Carlos. You’re more like your family than you’d like to believe.”

“I—“ Carlos struggled to come up with a reply. “I don’t like that you’re siding with my sisters. That was not the point of bringing you here. You’re supposed to back me up.”

“Oh I will never speak to your sisters about this,” T.K. told him. “I’ve got your back. I just want you to know that I know.”

Carlos opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by a small body hurtling into his legs so hard he almost fell over. “Tío Carlos!” Marco practically yelled. “You said you would come in an hour. It’s been more than an hour. Will you pleeeeeeeeeeeease come throw the ball with me? You promised!”

Carlos looked a T.K. who smiled and nodded toward Marco. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not sure I want to leave you alone with my sisters after what you just said. I’m scared about what other things they might put into your head.”

T.K. laughed and gave him a little push. “Go. I’ll try not to be swayed further to their side.”

“You heard him! Go! Go!” Marco pushed Carlos from behind over toward the grassy area past the picnic tables.

“Marco, Marco, relax,” Carlos said, breaking away from his nephew’s aggressive pushing. 

“I waited all day,” Marco told him with a glare.

“And you’re going to wait longer if you’re not polite,” Carlos told him.

Marco looked only slightly chastened. “Sorry.”

“Mhmm.” Carlos tried not to roll his eyes. “Do you have a ball and a glove?”

“Yes!” Marco ran ahead and grabbed them off a picnic table. “Here. This one’s yours. Abuelo got it out of the garage for me.”

Sure enough it was Carlos’ high school mitt. It was beyond worn out, but it would do for a quick round of catch before he rescued his boyfriend from the clutches of whichever sister had decided to grill him next. 

“Okay you go over there and I’ll go over here,” Marco said excitedly, running several yards away, ball clutched in his hand.

His first throw took Carlos by surprise. “Whoa! You’re getting really good at that,” Carlos said as he tossed it back.

“Dad says I might make the travel team this year,” Marco said excitedly as he delivered another throw that made Carlos’ palm sting.

“Yeah I think you’ve got a good shot at it,” Carlos told him. “How’s your fast ball?”

“So good! But I have to work on my curve ball. It doesn’t always go the right way.”

“Ah, I’ve got a trick for that. Let me show you.”

It didn’t take long for all of Carlos’ nieces and nephews to realize he had left the adult table and was available for fun. After he finished with Marco, a game of tag was requested by his other nephews. Then Bianca and Elena wanted to show him the crafts they’d been working on and make him a friendship bracelet which he immediately put around his wrist. 

Nearly an hour had gone by and Carlos began to look around for his boyfriend, feeling guilty for having left him alone for so long. But just as he began making his way back to the picnic tables, Carolina found him and wanted to tell him all about a school project she’d finished recently.

One minute he was chatting with her about orca whales and the next something was colliding with his skull, hard and fast. He felt his head snap to the side, fingers automatically going to touch the spot directly behind his ear.

Carolina had frozen her eyes wide. “Tío Carlos? Estás bien?” she asked tentatively.

The world seemed to tilt and he sank down slowly onto a picnic bench, fingers fumbling against the weathered wood as he tried to aim successfully and not miss and fall to the ground instead. “Sorry!” Marco called, running over. 

Oh. The baseball. That’s what had hit him. That explained the extreme throbbing that had started and why he could already feel a knot growing at the site of impact.

“You hit Tío Carlos right in the head!” Carolina scolded.

“I didn’t mean to!” Marco protested back. “I just threw it, that’s all! I was working on my curveball! It wasn’t my fault!”

“It’s nobody’s fault,” Carlos said calmly, even though his vision was starting to blur at the corners. “It was an accident.”

“See? It’s fine!” Marco told her. 

“I’m telling Mom!”

“No you’re not!”

The two continued to squabble and Carlos closed his eyes as their raised voices cut through his skull like a knife. “Carolina,” he interrupted finally. “Can you go find T.K. for me? Tell him I need to ask him something.”

“Yeah.” She narrowed her eyes at Marco. “I’m still telling mom,” she hissed, causing him to take off after her as she ran away.

Carlos swallowed against the sudden queasiness in his stomach. He was regretting the number of tamales he’d eaten now.

The sunlight was really starting to hammer into his skull so he closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing through his nose, trying to keep his stomach from becoming violent. A hand on his knee startled him. “Carlos?” T.K.’s voice was quiet and concerned. 

Carlos opened his eyes and found his boyfriend or rather, several blurry versions of his boyfriend, looking up at him. “Hey,” he said quietly. Even talking seemed to hurt his rattled brain.

“Are you okay? Carolina said something about a baseball.”

“It was an accident,” Carlos said. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Okay,” T.K. said slowly, clearly trying to gauge the situation and read between the lines of what his boyfriend wasn’t telling him. “Where did it hit you?”

Carlos took another slow breath in through his nose as his stomach clenched. “Behind my ear.”

“Which side, this side?” T.K. asked, lifting a hand and gently probing at Carlos’s skull.

His fingers found the knot almost immediately and even though his touch was gentle it sent a stab of pain shooting through Carlos and his stomach lurched. He jerked away, unsuccessful in suppressing a tight lipped moan.

“Okay, hey I need you to talk to me, all right?” T.K. said, his voice going serious as his fingers instinctively sought the pulse point on Carlos’ wrist. “How bad is your pain?”

Carlos had had concussions before; you couldn’t play varsity baseball without the occasional injury. This was ten times worse than he remembered. “Like a seven?” His voice was shaky and opening his mouth at all felt like a huge risk given the discontent happening in his stomach. “And there are about four of you right now.”

“Did you lose consciousness?”

“No.”

“Can you tell me your name?”

Carlos squinted at him. “Are you really asking me that?”

“Answer please,” T.K. said, eyes serious.

“Carlos Nicolás Reyes Moreno.”

“And where are we?” 

“My parents’ ranch.”

“Good. And what’s your badge number?”

Carlos opened his mouth and found his mind strangely blank. “I—”

“You can’t remember?” T.K. asked.

“I—no.” He felt panic start to well up in his throat. “T.K…”

“It’s okay,” T.K. said calmly, gently cupping the non-injured side of his face. “You’re going to be all right. But we need to go to the hospital, okay?”

“Oh god,” Carlos groaned partly from pain and queasiness and partly from panic. “Any chance we can sneak out of here without telling my family?”

“Oh, babe, I think that ship has sailed,” T.K. said sympathetically.

“Carlitos? What happened?” Andrea approached at a rapid pace, the Reyes sisters flanking her along with Adriana, Tía Maria, and Tía Luci. He was sure his father wasn’t far behind.

Even as pain clawed at the inside of his skull Carlos tried to assuage their fears. “I’m fine, just a little accident,” he managed.

“Carolina said Marco hit you in the head,” Elena said worriedly. 

“Head injuries are very serious,” Tía Luci told them. “I once dated a tennis player who got a concussion.”

“He got hit with a tennis ball?” Elena asked.

“No, we got a little overly enthusiastic in the bedroom. No half assed sex from that one!”

Carlos heard Tía Maria start muttering a prayer.

“Andrea! What’s going on? Is he all right?” Predictably Gabriel had caught up with the group, a large grill spatula still in his hand.

“Let’s just give him a little room to breathe,” T.K. said calmly, holding up a hand to keep them from coming in closer to smother him with concern. “Francesca if you could go get me some ice and a towel please.”

She disappeared in an instant toward the back of the house.

“Should we call an ambulance?” Teresa asked.

“I am fine,” Carlos insisted again, squeezing his eyes closed as another wave of nausea and dizziness swept over him. He would be. As soon as he was away from his coddling family and in his bed at home.

“Carlitos you be quiet and listen to your boyfriend. He is a professional,” Andrea scolded, worry coloring the sharpness of her tone.

“Yes, T.K., what does he need?” Gabriel asked.

“We’re going to get some ice on here and go from there,” T.K. said. “I don’t think an ambulance is necessary at this point.”

Francesca returned with ice and a towel. “Thank you,” T.K. said, wrapping the ice up tightly and then ever so gently pressing it against Carlos’ head.

He hissed in pain, knuckles gripping the edge of the picnic bench so hard he felt splinters of wood begin to dig into his fingertips. “I’m sorry,” T.K. murmured sympathetically. “We need to try and get the swelling down.”

“It’s okay,” Carlos said through gritted teeth. He hadn’t thought it was possible for his head to hurt more, but the added coldness of the ice was proving to be too much and he felt the tight hold he had on his composure starting to slip. He wanted to leave, he wanted to lie down and sleep, he wanted T.K. to hold him while he cried like a baby because everything hurt like a motherfucker and he was embarrassed as hell about it. 

His family was still carrying on around him, he could hear them asking questions and making plans, but all he focused on was T.K.’s free hand, the one that wasn’t pressing ice to his skull. That hand was resting comfortingly on his knee, thumb moving slowly back and forth. Thank god T.K. was here to mitigate the chaos.

He didn’t realize he was starting to drift away until T.K.’s hand squeezed his knee more tightly and then moved up to his shoulder, keeping him upright. “Hey, hey, no, don’t go to sleep,” he said urgently.

Right. Sleep was not a good idea. Carlos forced his eyes open and tried to focus on his boyfriend’s worried face, but it swam in front of him and made his stomach churn. “T.K…”

“I’ve got you,” T.K. said firmly. He turned and looked up at Andrea and Gabriel who had come to hover a little closer. “We need to get him to the hospital.”

“I’ll drive you,” Andrea said immediately.

“You’re entertaining all these guests mi amor,” Gabriel said. “You stay, I’ll take the boys.”

“We’re all coming,” Lucía said immediately.

Carlos felt his heart rate quicken at the thought of his entire family standing around in the hospital waiting room and the kind of chaos that would cause. He didn’t need to worry though. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” T.K. said quickly. “There’s no reason to believe this is anything more serious than a concussion. It will be quick, not worth everyone coming out.”

“I will update you the entire time,” Gabriel promised.

“Text messages every five minutes,” Andrea ordered.

“Can you stand?” T.K. asked and Carlos nodded his affirmative, immediately regretting the motion when the throbbing in his skull increased.

T.K. took his arm and Carlos got up on wobbly legs. He made it about two steps before his knees began to give out and he felt his father grab his other arm. “Steady mijo,” Gabriel said.

It seemed like an eternity before they passed through the house and into the front driveway. Out of sight of his family Carlos felt the last of his control slip away. The blood drained from his face and he gagged. 

“Whoa!” T.K. said, quickly lowering him to the ground as he began to heave out the contents of his stomach onto the concrete.

By the time it was over Carlos’ pain had ratcheted up to somewhere in the nines and he heard himself letting out a pathetic whimper as his brain exploded inside of his skull. “Easy Carlitos, easy,” his father said, the words barely registering as he and T.K. lifted Carlos back onto his feet and basically carried him the rest of the way to his dad’s truck.

He ended up with his head in T.K.’s lap, his boyfriend continuing to hold ice against his head with one hand, while the other ran soothingly up and down his arm. “Stay awake for me, all right?” he said.

“Trying,” Carlos said, his voice sounding cracked and broken. Mostly he was trying to breathe because he really didn’t want to throw up again. Every bump in the road, every touch of the breaks, sent pain ricocheting through his head. “It really hurts.”

“I know, I’m so sorry. We’re almost there,” T.K. said softly. “You’re all right, keep breathing, okay?”

Gabriel pulled directly up to the ER doors and he and T.K. helped Carlos into a wheelchair. If he’d been in any less pain he would have found the entire thing humiliating, but every bit of his energy was currently being spent on staying awake and not vomiting all over the floor.

“I’ll park the car and meet you inside,” Gabriel said as T.K. pushed him through the doors.

The next few hours were a hellish blur. They ran a battery of tests including an MRI and a CT scan, asked him dozens of questions, all of which he was able to answer thank god.

Despite his best efforts, he threw up twice more, T.K. holding a basin in front of his face each time, then rubbing his back comfortingly as he curled into a ball, knives stabbing through his head after such violent movement.

He hated being reduced to a shaking, moaning mess, especially in front of his father, but there was no help for it. The pain was only growing worse and there was no relief in sight, not until the tests came back.

“Breathe,” T.K. said, running a thumb back and forth over Carlos’ hand. “Carlos you have to breathe and try to relax.”

“I can’t.” The words came out on a whimper. “It hurts.”

“Carlitos, you have to try,” his dad said, sounding beyond concerned. “The more tense you are the worse it will feel.”

Tears slid down his cheeks as the pounding in his head beat on relentlessly. It had been hours and there was never any relief to the waves of pain, just a constant throbbing, knifelike agony. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled in on himself, ragged, stuttering breaths tearing from his chest.

“I’m going to go find the nurse,” Gabriel said. “My wife and daughters might be better at nagging, but I’m sure I’ve picked up a thing or two.”

He disappeared out the door and the next thing Carlos knew the bed was shifting as T.K. climbed in with him, wrapping his arms tightly around Carlos’ body. “What are you doing?” Carlos choked out.

“Taking care of you,” he said, his lips by Carlos’ ear. “You’re okay. I’ve got you. Breathe. Just a little bit longer and we’ll get you some medication. I promise.”

T.K.’s fingers stroked up and down his arm and he continued to murmur soothing words into Carlos’ ear. Carlos felt his muscles slowly begin to unclench one at a time. The agony in his skull began to ease, just enough that he could breathe easier and think a little more clearly.

His dad must have given someone a piece of his mind because within fifteen minutes the doctor had returned. “Okay, Mr. Reyes we are looking at a grade two concussion here. All your scans came back clear so while painful, your recovery should be pretty easy.”

“No brain bleed?” T.K. asked.

“No. No brain bleed, no skull fracture.”

He could see T.K. and his father sag in relief. They were both putting on a good front, trying to be strong for him, but in that moment the worry in the room finally lifted off like a cloud, dissipating into calm.

“We’re going to keep you for a little bit, start you on some strong Tylenol to help manage the pain. I’ll come check on you in an hour okay?”

It was another two hours before they were finally able to go home, Gabriel dropping them off with promises to bring Carlos’ car over in the morning.

He was more steady on his feet now and the medication had helped both his headache and the nausea, so with T.K.’s help he was able to manage the stairs without too much difficulty.

T.K. sat him on the bed and began undoing the buttons on his shirt. “I can do it,” Carlos said, but his boyfriend gave him a stern look and continued. 

This behavior persisted until Carlos was settled in bed, an extra pillow behind his head, a glass of water on the nightstand along with additional Tylenol. “Better?” T.K. asked as Carlos leaned back against the pillows with a sigh.

“Yeah,” Carlos told him. The lights were dim, causing his splitting headache to dull to a throbbing one instead. 

He heard his phone buzz for the thousandth time in the last few hours. “Do you want to see who that is?”

He couldn’t look at the screen without feeling like someone had stabbed a knife through his eyes. Hopefully that would pass quickly. It was only a grade two concussion and most of his pain was coming from the actual injury itself, not his brain rattling around in his skull.

T.K. punched in Carlos’ passcode and then scrolled through. “You have forty seven unread texts. Most of them are from your sisters. A few from your mom and aunts. And one reminding you to vote next week.”

Carlos groaned. “You’d think I was dying. This isn’t even as bad as the time Elías flipped the four wheeler over while we were on vacation. He broke his leg in two places and had to have surgery and nobody was all over him.”

“Oh, the texts aren’t about you,” T.K. said, eyes lighting up with mirth.

Carlos squinted at him. “I’m confused then.”

T.K. cleared his throat. “You listen to T.K. and do what he says. That one is from Teresa.” He scrolled a little further. “Congratulations on picking someone who’s not a dick. He actually comes in handy, that’s Adriana.” He snorted. “And this one from Francesca just says, ‘Remember not to fuck again until your brain is better.’”

“You know, Tía Maria campaigned pretty hard to send her to a convent when she was a teenager. Some days I think we should have let her,” Carlos said.

“The rest are variations on how great I am and how you need to eat a lot of soup and get a lot of rest. And I have a text from your mom.”

Carlos cracked one eye to look at him. “Are you going to share?”

“Mm…I’m not sure you can handle this one.”

T.K. was grinning from ear to ear, clearly beyond proud of himself and delighted to have information Carlos didn’t. 

“T.K. just read it. I can see that smug look on your face.”

He cleared his throat. “T.K. thank you for taking care of our Carlitos. You are such a blessing to our family.” T.K. grinned. “They like me.”

“Of course they like you.”

“They really like me.”

“Yes, T.K. My family loves you. Just like I always knew they would.”

“Well I appreciate that. But you really didn’t have to get hit in the head with a baseball just so I could endear them to me with my paramedic skills.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Marco,” Carlos said. “He’s the one with an arm like a Major League baseball player.”

“Yeah he can really throw huh?” T.K. said, brushing a gentle hand through Carlo’s curls, careful to avoid the area the ball had struck. “How’s your pain?”

“Tolerable,” Carlos said. 

“And the nausea?”

“Better,” Carlos said. 

“Good.” T.K. seemed relieved. “Listen, next time you want to get out of a family activity, you can just tell me. You don’t need to give yourself a grade two concussion. Just say the word and I will fake an emergency and get us out of there.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t fake an emergency after hour one,” Carlos said. “Thank you for today. You getting along with my family it…” Tears threatened to close his throat and he forced them back because he really wanted T.K. to know what he was feeling. “It means everything.”

“They’re easy to get along with,” T.K. said. “And we have a lot in common.”

“Oh?”

“We all love you.”

[crystalwillow]

Baby Fever

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x Casey Valentine (F!MC)

I would like to apologise in advance for this being the most lacklustre thing I’ve ever written. I lost my spark midway and it kept coming back in fits and starts. I might write a part two in the future just to bring this idea some justice. But, the fact I promised myself that I would post this before the end of 2020 and was not following through on that has been eating away at me. Again. I apologise for the lacklustre quality but I hope you can find some joy with in it 🙂

===============================

Casey sighed as she looked up and noticed her boyfriend of 2 years, Rafael, zoned out as he leant on the side of the ambulance bay.

"Are you ok?" She asked, aware of what he was trying to do.

Rafael nodded as he stood up straight. "Yeah, I'm good. What did you want to talk about?"

"We’re at the hospital. Can you stop thinking about him for a second? I’ve told you, our relationship outside of work goes no deeper than a friendship. I would never cheat Rafael."

"Fine...I'm still wondering how a hospital gets a full-time groundskeeper, when it’s basically on its last leg." he replied, jotting something down on the clipboard in his hands.

Rafael was a longtime paramedic at Edenbrook. He had already been there 3 years when Casey started her residency 2 years ago. But he was also a family man at heart, unlike Casey, who looked to every other point of contact in her life for fulfillment.

“Look, am I going to miss working in this field without Bryce to turn to when I’m stressed and can’t find you? Yes, he always made me feel like he had my back no matter what. Just like you do. But... maybe this place closing down is some kind of sign for us.” Casey said.

She then zoned out herself as she thought of the living arrangements they had put in place with the closing of the hospital, and both of their worlds having been turned upside down. The plan was to move in with Casey’s family until they got back on their feet, and could afford a place of their own.

“I’m going to miss my job and this place terribly, I’m going to miss the people that I’ve worked with pretty much every day for the last five years.” said Rafael as he nodded to the building.

“Yeah. Me too.” Casey sighed, snuggling into his side with a smile. Rafael wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly, kissing the crown of her head as she buried her face closer into his chest. Their moment of silence was interrupted as Rafael’s radio crackled to life, informing him of an accident and they pulled apart with a sigh as another paramedic came crashing out of the bay doors.

“I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you after work.” He hurried and pressed a quick kiss to Casey’s lips before opening the driver’s side door and hopping into the ambulance. Casey stood back as the engine of the ambulance came to life, and waved as Rafael sped off towards the accident.

--- a few hours later ---

Casey was at Rafael’s apartment watching TV when she heard the door open and close again, followed by a long and weary sigh. But she was tired and didn’t feel like calling out to him, especially after their almost mini fight earlier. The air was still tense around the pair as Rafael entered the room.

“Oh. You did decided to stay the night.” he snarked and he entered the kitchen.

“Mmmm.” she hummed tiredly.

“Nice. You can’t even afford me the courtesy of saying a simple ‘yes’ in reply to that.” he snapped further.

Casey rolled her eyes and just refocused her attention to the television as Rafael rifled through his cupboards and fridge looking for something to put together for his dinner. As he opened the fridge his heart stopped temporarily. There on the shelf with his name and a sticky bow on the carton was something from his favourite take out. He closed the fridge and went back into the living area.

“Case?” he said, but she didn’t answer. “Casey. Did you order food for me?”

“What would you care?” she snapped back, eyes completely trained on the screen in front of her. The only thing on her mind bringing her joy was the bond she witnessed form immediately between a mother and her newborn baby, that she helped deliver towards the end of her shift.

Rafael sighed deeply from where he leant on the door frame, realizing he was being a total douchebag. He pushed himself upright and walked over to the couch taking a seat next to Casey, but she slid away from him.

“Casey babe, come on. Don’t be that way.” He pleaded.

“Be what way? Rafael.”

Rafael inwardly winced as he visibly cringed at the use of his full name in that harsh tone.

“Look. I’m sorry, okay? I’ve been completely unreasonable with you pretty much all day. I’ve been a shit boyfriend today. How can I make it up to you?”

Casey glanced sidewards before reluctantly turning the TV off and turning her body to face him. “Well for starters, you can tell me why you suddenly seem to feel so threatened by Bryce.” she said.

“I don’t know.” he sighed. “I guess I just feel like you have more fun with him than you do with me. Your own boyfriend.”

“I do have fun with Bryce. You’re not wrong there. But I don’t have more fun with him than I do with you. Yes we have loads of drinks together. Play darts and pool and tons of high school games like truth or dare. But that’s exactly why we’ve stayed friends. Because we enjoy doing that stuff together, but we hate being vulnerable and sappy with each other. I couldn’t cuddle by the fire with Bryce and talk about how dorky I used to be as I think about a future with him like I do with you. I’m with you for more than just having someone to have as a drinking buddy or, excuse my use of this term, a fuck buddy. I’m with you for the long haul because I want to be, and I enjoy all of the dorky things we do together. I couldn’t do those with him.” Casey explained as she took Rafael’s hand in her and idly played with his fingers as she spoke and kissed his knuckles when she finished.

“Really?” Rafael sniffled after a while.

“Really.” she confirmed with a smile.

Rafael nodded as he swallowed his tears. “Okay. What else could I do?”

“Smile. Come back to the old you who wasn’t so nervous. I get that the fact we’re getting ready to move in with my parents isn’t exactly the most calming thing. But... we’ll be okay.” Casey reassured, pulling herself closer and kissing Rafael on the cheek sweetly.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while longer, cuddled up and staring out the window over the city below as people entered and left the establishments outside, until Rafael left out a sigh.

“How was the rest of your shift?” he asked.

“You mean apart from this frustratingly hot paramedic avoiding me all 4 times I tried to approach him?” They chuckled softly together. “It went pretty well. I helped deliver a baby, and the moment was so magical. The bond that was created almost immediately, as soon as I placed the beautiful baby girl on her mother’s chest.” She explained with a faraway tone in her voice as she stared into the night wistfully.

Rafael smiled. “being there for a delivery of another life is magical. It’s a feeling you can’t describe.” he agreed with a nod.

“Yeah. It’s the same every time and I’ve only helped out with about 20 in my career so far.”

“I’ve had more than that.” Rafael teased.

Casey chuckled softly. “Do you want children?” she asked curiously, tearing her gaze away from outside and pointed it up to Rafael’s face.

“Uh..” he said, with a surprise look on his face. “I suppose I’ve never thought about it in a serious way.”

“Oh. Okay.” Casey smiled, a sadness in her eyes as she looked away.

“But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t think about or talk about it with you. If you wanted to maybe start a family one day?” he added quickly.

“Truthfully?” Casey asked hopefully.

“Of course. I’d love to talk about starting a family with you.” he smiled.

Him lovingly before giving a sweet smile and hiding a yawn behind her hand.

“Come on.” He chuckled lightly, gently shaking her by the shoulders. “Let’s go to bed.”

“Yeah.” Casey smiled clinging onto Rafael’s shoulders as he stood up with her in his arms, carrying her to his bedroom.

--- Two Weeks Later ---

Rafael and Casey sat out in the med bay eating lunch together, the topic of their conversation being their future.

“So what would you name a child if it was a boy?” Casey quizzed.

“Easy. Batman.” Rafael grinned.

Casey rolled her eyes playfully as she took another bite of her sandwich. “Be serious.”

Rafael pouted. “Well you’re no fun are you?”

“I’m plenty fun, thank you.”

“You sure about that babe?”

Casey raised an eyebrow as she sipped her water.

“Okay! Okay! You’re fun.” Rafael surrendered with a light chuckle.

They basked in the comfortable silence for a moment as they stared out at their surroundings.

“I’d call him Leonardo Lucas Aveiro. That is.. if his last name being Aveiro would be okay with you.” Rafael spoke softly, breaking the silence as his gaze landed on Casey.

“Well I’m hoping it could maybe be my name someday. When you’re ready of course.”

“I... hadn’t thou-” he started to stutter but Casey cut him off with a kiss.

“I said when you’re ready.”

“I... O-okay.” Rafael smiled and pulled her close.

--- 2 months later ---

“Is that the last one?” Rafael asked Casey as she carried a box out of his apartment.

“Yep. That’s the last of them.” she confirmed.

Rafael closed the car door as Casey got into the driver's seat of her car and started the engine waiting as Rafael settled beside her in the passenger seat. Then they were on their way to Casey’s parents house. The start of the drive was quiet and calm, the two of them too tired to talk. The night before they had stayed out late with their friends to celebrate their last night together before they moved to separate parts of the country and it was harder to meet up. The night was fun but it went on longer than expected and left them very tired for this journey. Halfway there they made a stop at a diner for lunch and to stretch their legs.

As they entered the diner, Rafael excused himself to the bathroom whilst Casey got them a table. When he came back Casey had ordered them drinks and was now looking at the menu.

“How are you today?” Rafael asked as he took a set next to Casey in the booth.

“I’m okay. You?” she asked back.

“Well, I fell asleep so I feel better. Let’ swap for the last part of the trip so you can get some more sleep too.”

“That’s… thanks.”

Rafael smiled and pecked the tip of Casey’s nose before picking up the second menu on the table and looking it over.

“How about we go all in with Mac’s Mighty All Day Brunch?” he asked.

“You know I’ll literally explode…. Right?” Casey questioned with a quirked brow.

“I mean if it’s on the menu…and you need something to put you to sleep...”

“So you’re planning my assissination right to my face?” she joked and Rafael chuckled richly.

“If you want to call it that.”

“I do tend to call it what I want to..”

Rafael rolled his eyes playfully with an exasperated sigh. “You and your Taylor Swift references…”

“Hey hey hey. Don’t be getting down and out now. I’m not a liar or a dirty dirty cheat of the world.”

“You’re just getting down to this sick beat. I know.” Rafael said as he jabbed her side with tickles.

After the spontaneous tickle attack, they ordered food and large milkshakes, talking happily as they slowly emptied their plates of food before paying and waddling out of the diner, back to the car. “So. I’m driving right?” Rafael grinned.

“Yes, Rafael. You’re driving.” Casey sighed as she tossed him the keys.

The rest of the drive to Casey’s parents was peaceful as she slept in the passenger seat whilst Rafale drove them. When they arrived, Casey wouldn’t wake up so when she did it was dark and her surroundings had changed from where Rafael had carried her in and laid her in bed. She sat up disoriented and yawned, blinking a few times and letting her eyes adjust before stumbling out of her room and down the stairs following the sound of two deep voices. When she found them, the two men stopped their conversation and looked up at her.

“There she is! My little fire starter.” her dad beamed, getting up to hug her.

“Hey babe. Feel better now?” Rafael asked, wrapping his arm around her waist as she took a seat next to him as she sat down after hugging her dad.

“Yeah.” she yawned.

“I heard from Rafael here, that you stopped and had quite the feast on the way here..”

“I did. It was lovely. Where’s mom?”

“She went out to the shops. Needed a few ingredients to finish dinner. We’re having her famous beef and chicken stew, with potatoes and all your favourite vegetables.”

“I hope it’s not another mountain on my plate. I don’t know how long it would take me to tackle it.”

The three sat in a comfortable silence watching movies until Casey’s mom called them to the table for dinner.

“I’m so glad to finally be able to meet you Rafael. Casey’s told us so much about you. Hasn't she Tim?”

“She has.” Tim nodded as he added pepper to his food.

“All good I hope.” Rafael smiled.

“Oh no. it was mostly how you’re such a bad man and frustrate me with leaving your pens and paper in a mess.” Casey teased.

“Casey, don't tease him so. He seems like a nice boy.” Her mom warned.

“He doesn’t mind it. Do you babe?”

Rafael swallowed his bite of food. “I don’t mind it in moderation.”

“That means don’t do it anymore at this table tonight.” Tim said.

“So… what’s new with you guys. It’s been a while since we spoke.”

“Well, your father’s stall at the market is doing well, and my business is really picking up.”

“Aw that’s amazing! I’m so proud of you guys.” Casey smiled.

“You have a business, Mrs. Valentine?” Rafael asked.

“I do. Started it a couple of months ago in fact.”

“What do you sell or offer?”

“Homemade handcrafted soaps.”

“Ah, that’s lovely.” Rafael smiled in reply.

The rest of dinner passed by in a comfortable quiet chatter before they all retired to the living room and watched TV and played a couple of board games before they all headed to bed. The next few months passed in a flurry of activity, Casey helped her mother with her business and bringing in custom, whilst Rafael helped her father with his market stall and bringing in groceries. There were rare moments stolen where Rafael and Casey would go on dates that would usually end up with them cooing over a mother with a newborn in a stroller and they would look at each other with longing, silently communicating that they both could wait for that day in their own future.

By the time they had found new jobs and saved up enough to move out and into their own apartment, two and a half years had passed which made leaving all that much harder for them.

“Remember. Call me if you need anything Casey.” Mrs. Valentine told her.

“I will mom. I promise.” Casey smiled.

“Is that surprise ready?” Tim muttered under his breath to Rafael, who nodded in response. “Good. You take good care of my daughter now, young man.” He smiled, clapping Rafael on the back.

“Yes sir. I always will.” Rafael replied earnestly.

After a few more tearful goodbyes, Casey and Rafael were on their way to their new apartment, singing along to the radio and stopping at a Taco Bell drive thru on the way.

“I’ve got a surprise for you at the apartment.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. I um… I’m not sure if you’ll like it though.”

“You’re the king of surprises. If I don’t like it, I’ll be shocked.”

They chuckled together and a short while later were parking in the garage of the apartment complex then heading upstairs. Rafael got nervous with each step closer to the front door and Casey stopped them in their tracks.

“Babe. You’re more nervous than I’ve ever seen you. Are you alright? You’re surprise isn’t that you’ve painted our room a horrible colour is it?”

“What! No..! I wouldn’t do that, ever.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about. Come on! I’ve not seen this place yet, you’ve been super secretive about it.”

Casey grinned and pulled him towards the door, practically bouncing as she waited to be let in. Hesitantly, Rafael opened the door and Casey gasped as she stepped inside.

“It’s so spacious! …. Oh and look at the view!”

Rafael smiled as he closed the door behind them, watching as Casey padded over to the window and marvelled at the view. After tearing her from the window Rafael showed her around every room with a door open until he stopped in front of one with the door closed.

“Is your surprise behind here?” Casey asked.

“It is. But I want to know that you won’t get mad or upset. Or… think that I’m wanting to move too fast, what with us only just starting our new jobs recently and all.”

“Okay. … colour me intrigued. Open the door.”

Taking a deep breath, Rafael opened the door and stepped inside and Casey followed him into what appeared to be a nursery, complete with a crib, draws for toys, a mini bookshelf, a playmat and several other baby toys and gadgets. She gasped as she took it all in, blown away by the effort that had clearly gone into making this room. After she hadn’t spoken for a while, Rafael cleared his throat to gain Casey’s attention.

“Is … it too much? Are you not ready yet? It’s totally fine if you aren’t. We can just keep this room locked unt-”

“No. It’s… it’s perfect. I… I don’t know what to say.. um.” Casey choked on her words as she struggled to hold back tears. “We’ve had baby fever for a while now huh?”

Rafael blushed bashfully. His voice coming out barely above a whisper as he answered, “yeah..” with a slight chuckle.

The next evening, Casey and Rafael were snuggled on the couch when Casey moved to look Rafael in the eye.

“If we had a boy, what would you name him?”

“Hm?”

“Our baby. If they turned out to be a boy, what would you want to name him?”

“Leonard Rafael Averio.”

“What about a girl?”

“Isabella Casey Aveiro.”

“How long have you been sitting on those?”

“Since our 3rd date.”

Casey sat and stared at him in stunned silence. “Our 3rd… that was…”

“5 years ago? I know.” He gave a smile and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Hey! Don’t cry!” He chuckled.

“Sorry. It’s just…” she chuckled too and grabbed a tissue with her free hand and dabbed away the tears before wiping her nose. “That’s heartwarming. I mean… did you know...?”

“That I wanted a family with you back then? Yeah. I started thinking about it after our second date, but it became a more serious thought after our 3rd.”

“Oh… Raf…” Casey gasped and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was soft and innocent at first, but picked up passion the longer it went on. After a few minutes, the reluctantly pulled apart and sighed happily as they rested their foreheads together.

“I love you, Rafael.”

“I love you too, Casey.”

[stusbunker]

What Lingers Within: Two

A Supernatural Fan-fiction Mini Series

Featuring: Past Dean Winchester x Female!reader

Word Count: 2577

Primo Beta: @itmighthavebeenintentional

Aesthetic and beta’ing by: @thoughtslikeaminefield

Summary: A flashback and some case drama to iron out. There’s breakfast and a confession.

Warnings: Unconsciousness, a gun, man-handling, unresolved emotions

Series Masterlist

^*^*^

               “Nope.” She shook her head, hair mussed against the sheets as he leered over at her.

               “We need to leave. Move your ass.” Dean swatted the mattress, shaking her from her perch of stubbornness. 

                 She kicked away playfully, whining as she twisted to burrow into the pillows. He pounced before she was even situated, hands like magnets to her waist, pinching just so until she was shrieking. Bent in half in his arms, he had her pinned in place, her t-shirt bunched up with her belly spilling over the band of her simple gray sweats. He wasn’t sure when she’d stolen them, but they were unquestionably hers now; they looked too good on her to ever take them back.

               Before he realized it, he was giggling right along with her, out of breath and tangled together on the bed once more. She threw her thigh over his chest, straddling him and claiming temporary victory.

               “Two-point reversal,” she huffed, locking his wrists above his head.

               “You play dirty, anyone ever tell you that?” Dean teased, half-heartedly struggling against her weight.

               She made a thoughtful face. “Uh, only crybabies, why?”

               Dean slipped his right arm out under her calf and flipped her onto her side. “I’m sorry—what were you saying?”

               “We have until ten for check out?” She panted, smile dazzling as she feigned innocence.

               “Nice try.” Dean smacked her ass and held on. “Ten minutes and I’m leaving you here. Move it.”

               “You wouldn’t dare,” she mocked, pushing her thigh between his legs and grinding into him.

               “Don’t tempt me, Y/N. I mean it. I’ve got a case,” Dean warned down his nose, dimples of discontent in full effect. 

               She took full advantage, landing a sloppy kiss to his pursed lips before rolling off the bed and leaving him in the scratchy sheets alone.

^*^*^

               Dean fell asleep remembering the woman he used to know, the one who he had had to let go. A smile on his lips as he tried not to think about the reserved and shell shocked face she now wore. The one that looked at him like it was the first time. The one person he wanted back more than he’d ever admit.

^*^*^

               It was Saturday morning and after everything that happened during the week, you had allowed yourself to stay up way too late the night before. 

               Unfortunately, your internal clock decided you should still wake up at seven with little hope of returning to sleep. Begrudgingly you got dressed in warm comfort, just put together enough to not draw attention at your favorite café. 

              Outside your building a black muscle car was parked on the curb, the model name on the tip of your tongue when you spotted the guy asleep in the front seat. Embarrassed for him, you turned away only to realize who it was. Agent Berkman was camped outside in plain clothes, the implications that you were under surveillance made you start to panic. Terrified, you turned back around, scared that whoever, whatever, you saw murder your coworker was coming after you.

               Silently, you vowed to stop watching procedural cop shows.

               With only one goal on your mind, you whipped your door open and scrambled for Agent Colfax’s card on your kitchen counter. He answered on the second ring, but before you could get out why you had called everything went black; a heavy slam to your temple sending you to the abyss.

^*^*^

                “What?” Dean answered Sam’s call.

               “Dude, where are you?! She just called me freaking out and then the line went dead,” Sam snapped.

               “Sonovabitch! Fuckin’ fell asleep. I’m goin’ in. Get here when you can.” 

                 Dean didn’t wait for his brother to reply. He snatched his machete from the floor of the backseat and tucked it haphazardly in his jacket, hoping his layers would protect him from the freshly sharpened blade. 

                 Getting someone to buzz him into the building took an eternity. The little control he had left disappeared as he found her door swinging loosely from the landing. Every part of him thundered with alarm; everything he had given up to keep her safe meant nothing if something happened to her now. He pushed the guilt down and scanned the living room that ran into the kitchen.

               Her phone was on the floor beneath the island, but nothing else seemed out of place. Dean pocketed it and continued down the hall. Bathroom was empty, but as he toed the bedroom door open, he spotted her prone on the bed. Before Dean could make it the rest of the way to check her pulse, he heard a gun’s safety unhitch at his temple.

               “Where did you come from?” a condescending female voice asked.

               Dean huffed in exasperation, ducking his head before he snatched the handgun out of the woman’s hand. It wasn’t even loaded. Confused and unamused, Dean grabbed her wrist and bent it behind her back.

               “Lady, if you point a gun at me, you better know how to use it,” Dean growled. “Now what do you want with her?!”

               This woman was no vamp. Her high-end yoga pants and running top were her pathetic attempt at ninja black. She struggled against him futilely.

               Frustrated, Dean pushed her against the closet doors.

               “Why are you here, huh?” Dean’s voice dripped malice.

               “To finish the job! Little Miss Snitch over there was supposed to go down with Chase. Instead she caused a panic and the whole place was crawling with cops,” Katelyn snarled.

               “So what? The vamps were there on your dime?” Dean demanded.

               “Not exactly. Why? What’s it to you?”

               “I’m just a naturally curious guy,” Dean taunted. “Poor girl watches her coworker become someone’s lunch and suddenly her--- what? Boss? Supervisor? What are you to her, hmmm? Holds her hostage. Waiting for somebody else to do the dirty work?”

               “Well, I wasn’t gonna move her, hard enough getting her ass in here,” Katelyn spat. 

                Dean twisted her arm higher, causing her to squeal in pain.

               “Might wanna watch how you talk about her in my presence, Sweetheart.” Dean hummed in satisfaction.

               “Dean!” Sam’s voice broke through their grunting match.

               In less than twenty minutes, the local cops were walking Katelyn out of the building in cuffs. Sam, as Agent Colfax, was giving a statement to the lead detective, leaning in on their lack of professionalism with the initial investigation. Dean sat by while the paramedics looked the victim over.

               “I hate to be that guy, but do you think you could just use the salts, we’re kind of on a timeline and she hates hospitals,” he murmured.

               “And your relationship to the patient--- Agent?”

               “Well, um, you see,” Dean fumbled.

               “Old friends,” Sam broke in, pulling out his phone. 

                Dean had no idea where Sam had pulled the picture from, but it softened the look on the first responder’s face. Luckily, she seemed to be coming to all on her own.

*^*^*^

                Waking to Agent Berkman’s blurry smile seemed more a memory than a dream until you realized it was reality. 

                The paramedic descended on you briefly until the detectives stepped in for follow up questions. Through it all you felt the FBI agent watching you, hovering unlike anyone else in the room. You were grateful to be saved from an ambulance ride, not wanting to add a traumatic hospital stay to an already horrid week.

               “You should have a follow up appointment with your primary care physician. Head injuries can be serious,” the paramedic warned, the first of the swarms of people to vacate your home.

               “The crime scene people are going to be awhile, breakfast?” Agent Colfax whispered to Agent Berkman, nodding in your direction.

               The scruffy man squatted down to look you in the eyes, your attention had returned to the patch of the floor where Katelyn’s gun sat.

                “Y/N? Honey, why don’t you let us take you out for some pancakes, hmmm?”

               It was such a casual intimacy that you almost didn’t register it. Looking from him to the other agent made you pause, a growing hunch of a secret lying between them and yourself. A hidden path that you instinctively needed to see through. It made you bolder than you had felt in days. 

              With a quick glance at all the other strangers in your apartment, you whispered conspiratorially, “what’s your name?”

               “Dean.” He gave you a sad smile. “And that’s my brother, Sam.”

               You nodded, unsurprised and relieved with his honesty. You gave Sam a simple wave, earning you a sly dimple as you stood up. 

              “Okay, but when we get there--- I have some questions.”

               Dean sent Sam a look, but he only shrugged in response. You giggled at his dismay and carefully stepped around the evidence collectors in your way.

               Without batting an eye you slipped into the backseat of the massive black Chevy as the men had yet another silent conversation over the hood of the car while you settled into the dead center of the bench seat. 

               Your greasy spoon of choice was only a few blocks down and was considerably less congested than the foodie brunch place across the street. Once breakfast was served, with only the unexplained trust and slight annoyance you had found in the scruffy agent you knew now as Dean, you broached the subject of that little slip up he made back in your apartment.

              “So--- why’d you call me ‘honey’, Dean?” You watched him gape as you carefully chewed a fluffy buttery mouthful. 

               Sam chuckled over his coffee.

               “I--- didn’t mean to?” Dean tried to play it smooth.

               “And you’re not FBI,” you weren’t asking. “So, considering you saved my life, but only because you were practically stalking me...” You smirked at Sam as Dean tried to cut you off. “I need to know what’s going on. Because I don’t know you. Either of you. But, somehow, I trust you. So, don’t lie. Not anymore. Not to me.”

               Dean’s head fell back, and he muttered to the ceiling, “Cas, I swear to god...”

               Sam cleared his throat. “Those were vampires your boss hired. That’s what brought us to town. We hunt monsters.”

               “But?” you pushed.

               “But,” Dean pinched his brow. “When we realized you were the witness---.”

               Dean looked at you like he had kicked your proverbial puppy, apologetic eyes sparkling in the slanted light. For some reason you felt the shift, he was a breath away from crumbling. 

               You reached across the table and took his hand in both of yours, brushing the cheap vase and assortment of sugars with your elbow.

               “Hey, it’s okay, I’m not gonna freak out. Well, I might, but I’ll try to reign it in,” you tried to encourage him.

               Dean’s smile was more of a grimace, and Sam spoke up, “We used to be your friends. A long time ago and the reason you don’t remember us---”

               “Is because I had an angel take your memories. Of me. Of us. To protect you from this life,” Dean rushed. “I am so sorry that you got dragged back in. If I’d known---”

               You pulled back, a single hand tented on the tabletop as you processed what they were telling you. You watched Sam adjust, avoiding eye contact with Dean who had practically jumped back from the edge now that you were no longer touching him. 

              “We weren’t friends, were we?”

               You stared at Dean, waiting for him to lie. There was no life in his gaze, but his jaw was tight. 

“No.”

               You exhaled, wiping away a tear you hadn’t meant to shed. “How long---uh, how long were we together?”

               Sam made an excuse to use the bathroom or pay the bill or invade Mars, leaving you alone with Dean and your barely touched meals.

               Internally, you dove into the past to find the holes, knowing there were gaps in your memory that you attributed to stress or depression. Dean sat up, straightened his jacket and leaned against his forearms on the edge of the table.

               “A year and some change, we lived in that shitty upper with all the plants,” Dean conceded. “Look, there were demons who would’ve done anything to get to me and the easiest way for them to do that was with you.”

               “I’m sorry, what?!” you balked. “You decided that leaving me behind, without my memories, would be the best way to save your own ass?!”

               “It wasn’t like that. They could’ve had me. They just wanted to hurt me deeper than any knife could reach. And that’s you, it’s always been you. Seeing them use you----” 

Dean ground his teeth. “You were possessed. You told me I was a terrible lay with daddy issues. You nearly gutted Sam.”

               “I? Me? As in?” You sputtered, making the Psycho knife gesture. 

Dean laughed out loud at your disbelief or the action, probably both. It was a nice sound, but that didn’t stop the tears, from either of you.

               “I did it to protect you. And I’d do it again,” Dean sighed.

               “But you’re not going to. Right? This isn’t some ruse to lure me in and fuck with my mind again?” You challenged, sitting up straighter to clock both Sam and the exit.

               “No. Even if Cas were here, I won’t do that to you now. You need to be able to protect yourself, not that there should be any more vampire hitmen in your future, but just in case,” Dean’s eyes pleaded with you. 

                You wanted to believe him, you also never felt more helpless in your entire life. You had a past you didn’t remember, monsters really do exist, and two random guys can pose as FBI agents to get whatever information or infiltration they’d like. What could you even do with all that?

               “What am I supposed to say here? Are you looking for a thank you? Or some twisted sort of forgiveness because I can’t give you that. Not when I don’t know what I lost. It wouldn’t be real.” You dropped your head into your hands which were propped on the table. “I don’t even know what real means anymore.”

               It felt like the silence would never break when Dean’s low voice cut through your paralyzing anxiety. “Look… is there somewhere you can stay tonight? Someone you trust?”

              Dean beckoned Sam back to the table, trying to come up with some sort of plan. No one wanted to send you back to the apartment where you were attacked.

              You listened to them talk about you like you weren’t there, dull-eyed and growing increasingly numb. Because partially, it was easier than continuing to argue and unearth more emotions that you couldn’t handle. But also because you felt like your choices had never amounted to anything anyway; might as well let someone else call the shots. Nothing made sense, but the probability that it would change again at any moment only added to your shaken nerves.

            Everything around you felt like it was made of sand. Dumbfounded, you waited for the next stiff breeze. 

            You didn’t speak up to ask to go home and pack a bag while you watched them clear out their motel room with practiced speed.

            The backseat of their car rocked with the calloused roads that led to your cousin’s house the next county over. You arrived at the old farmhouse just after sundown, letting Sam do all the talking before you excused yourself to the guest room for the night.

^*^*^

Series Tags: @tiggytaylor  @vicmc624 

General SPN Tags: @flamencodiva @dolphincliffs  @dontshootmespence @thoughtslikeaminefield  @fangirlxwritesx67 @dawnie1988@mrswhozeewhatsis​ @cosicas-cuquis @foxyjwls007 @tumbler-tidbits @defenderrosetyler @ericaprice2008 @princessofthefandomrealm @wingedcatninja​

^*^*^

Read On: Chapter Three

[notafeeling]

Everything Stays

A/N Heavily inspired by Rebecca Sugar’s Everything Stays, which I’ve been wanting to write this fic for for over a year.

Warnings: past character death, implied heart disease, grief and implications of depression

Word Count: 1.9k

Pairing: royality (Roman/Patton)

Genre: sAD,, heavy angst and a whole lot of hurt, some comfort, bitter sweet ending

Excerpt:

“Well…” Patton pauses, mulling over his words. “I don’t want my absence to cause you pain. Not that I’m planning on going anywhere! I just think that you have so many people who love you, Roman, and a whole world out there for you. You can’t… You can’t devote your entire self and essence to one person, you know what I mean?”

“Not really, no.”

-

He hears a laugh; full of giggles and pure happiness. His heart swells as he follows the sound, making his way past their homely fireplace and cozy couches where they had spent so many nights cuddled up together on. The back door of the kitchen is slightly ajar, and he pushes it open to reveal the garden outside.

There, surrounded by fuzzy, golden light is-

Roman wakes up with a gasp. His bedroom is cold and dark. Big and empty. He raises one weary hand to his cheek and feels the wetness there.

As he realises that it happened again, he curls in on himself, hugging his arms tight around his body in a futile attempt to keep himself together.

-

“You know, Ro, you can talk to me.” Virgil sits across from him in an unfamiliar coffee shop, his voice gentle.

“Yeah, I know,” Roman replies. “That’s what I’m doing right now, isn’t it?” He tries for a smile, but the corners of his mouth are too heavy to lift.

Virgil sighs. He goes back to stirring copious amounts of sugar in his coffee, taking an experimental sip every now and again and wincing. The coffee here is terrible.

But it feels wrong to go to the one closer to his and- to Roman’s house.

-

Around him is laughter and warmth, radiating from the onlooking baristas and the man across from him.

“You come here often?” Roman asks a handsome man sitting in the corner by the window.

“I guess you could say that.”

“Oh?”

“I work here, silly!” The man laughs as the blush overtakes Roman’s tan skin.

“Shit, really?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it. It’s not every day someone pretty starts flirting with you.”

Pretty, Roman thinks. He could get used to being called that.

“So, what’s your name?”

-

Roman walks through the silent streets, hands shoved in his pockets. He doesn’t know where he’s going. It’s fine, though. He’s fine.

It must be around three in the morning - the drunks have all stumbled home and the sane people have locked their doors and snuggled into bed.

Roman’s heart aches every time he thinks of home and his spacious bed.

So he walks.

It starts raining at some point. The freezing water seeps through his clothes and eventually, his subconsciousness leads him home. When he’s aware of his surroundings again, he’s sitting in front of the unlit fireplace.

He’s been through enough of Logan’s lectures to know that he should take off his wet clothes before he catches hypothermia, but instead, he tugs the cardigan closer to his body.

-

The back door of the kitchen is open again. Roman, distantly in his mind, knows it’s a dream, knows what’s going to happen, but he walks through anyway. His feet follow the sound of his beloved’s laugh.

It’s fainter now. It’s been almost a year, so it’s not that surprising when he can’t remember exactly how it sounded.

He makes it through the door. The fuzzy, golden light he’s grown so used to solidifies.

This is the part his subconscious always forces him to wake up. His brain had never been that cruel to show him the next part, but this time, this time he finally sees him.

“Roman!” calls Patton as he spins around to face him. He has a wide, impossibly bright smile on his face. Roman can still see the dimples, the little crinkles around his softened eyes and the slightly smudged glasses his love wears.

Roman rushes forward and picks Patton up in his arms, swinging him around and around, just like on that day. He puts him down, even though he desperately doesn’t want to. Roman wants to scream at himself to never let Patton go, but dreams don’t work like that.

“Look what I got you, Ro!” Patton says. He grabs Roman’s arm and tugs him towards the old swing set.

No, no-

“No!” Roman shrieks, hand outstretched. As he comes to, he realises he’s lying on the living room floor. His fingers clench in the air.

There’s a knock at the door. “Roman?” the person asks. “Are you okay?”

He heaves himself up and opens it. There’s Logan, black suit and black tie, a crease in his eyebrows barely showing from behind his thick frames.

“Roman?” he inquires again. “Virgil’s waiting in the car.”

Why- oh. “I’ll… Let me get changed.” Roman’s voice is flat. Hollow. Logan purses his lips and nods before returning to his car.

Roman can see them have a quiet conversation, no doubt about him, and he turns.

The door shuts behind him.

-

Everywhere he looks is the same, clinical white. He hates it. And he knows Patton would too.

The chair he sits on is made from uncomfortable plastic and he thinks that if Patton were running this place, it’d be super comfy. There would be bright colours and free candy and friendly staff.

Not like that judgemental asshole who keeps staring at him with big pity eyes from behind her desk. Mind your own business, Susan, or whatever your name is.

The doors swing open and in rush Virgil and Logan.

“We got here as soon as we could,” Logan explains as Virgil immediately flings himself at Roman.

“Shit, any news yet?”

Roman shakes his head no. He doesn’t know why they’re so panicked. Patton will be fine. It’s not a big deal, because-

Because Patton doesn’t break his promises.

-

Roman puts on a suit, then takes that off. He’s not Logan, thanks. He doesn’t want this day to be so depressingly formal. Plus, if Virgil gets to wear his hoodie, then he can wear whatever the fuck he wants.

As he stares into his closet, eyes determinedly focussed on only the right half, he’s struck with the thought that this must be the first time in a year since he actually cared about what he wore.

And it’s stupid! Except, no, no it’s not. He wants to- wants to pay proper respect.

He puts the suit back on.

-

“Look what I got you, Ro!”

There, on their old swing set, is an adorable teddy bear. It’s wearing a red sash and has a little plush sword sown into its hand.

“Remember? It’s your prince outfit from the first play I saw you act in!”

“How could I forget?”

As the memory plays, Roman tries to recall Patton running up to him after that very play. He knows that that was when he first asked Patton out, but he doesn’t remember Patton’s exact answer. He can’t see the crinkles around his eyes clearly, he just knows that they were there.

In fact, the Patton in front of him now has lost his glow. The entire memory is darker, faded.

But that clears up when Patton puts his hand to his chest, frowning.

“Patton? What’s wrong?”

-

Roman grabs his wallet. He should buy flowers on the way there. Logan and Virgil probably already have a bouquet of their own, but it feels like he should have a separate one.

One with hydrangeas and irises and forget-me-nots, contrasted with white roses. Patton had always loved blue.

He passes the kitchen, then pauses. His body has a mind of its own as Roman walks to the backdoor in a daze.

He twists the knob, creaking it open.

-

“Roman, I can’t- I can’t- my chest, it feels so tight,” Patton gasps. Roman rushes to his side. “It hurts; I can’t breathe; Roman, please-”

“Patton, dear, it’ll be okay, let me just-”

-

Weeds have overtaken their backyard. Guilt pierces Roman’s already tender heart as he spies Patton’s garden. Vines creep up the fence and plants spill over the edge of their garden beds, roots lifting the bricks from the path. He eyes scan the scene and he spies the old swing set.

And the bear on the ground beside it.

-

Patton’s grip loosens on the bear as his knees buckles. Roman catches him, lowering him gently to the dirt floor.

“Help is coming soon, Pat, don’t worry, don’t go, don’t leave,” he whispers over and over.

“I won’t, I promise,” Patton chokes out.

One of Roman’s hands moves to gently stroke Patton’s hair while the other grips Patton’s shirt tight.

The paramedics are quick to arrive.

-

Roman’s fingers tremble as he kneels down to turn the bear over. Its face is dirtied and the colour has drained away but-

He loves it so, so much. Even though it hurts to look at, to remember.

He picks it up and carries it out to where Logan and Virgil are waiting.

-

The ambulance ride there is anything but silent. Roman and Patton’s sobs fill the room as the paramedics try to soothe them, try to help. The siren is loud and shrill as the ambulance races towards the hospital.

Then they’re being bustled into the emergency room. Roman’s told he has to wait.

He watches as Patton is taken away from him. If he had known it would be the last time he’d see Patton alive, he’d run alongside him, even if he wasn’t allowed.

But he doesn’t know yet, and he feels so numb.

The double-doors swing shut.

-

“We’re here,” Virgil murmurs, briefly touching Roman’s shoulder. “C’mon.”

It takes a while to get to it. It seems rude to run in a place like this, so they don’t hurry.

Or maybe Virgil and Logan just don’t want to rush Roman.

They can’t put it off forever, though. All too soon, the three of them are standing around a slab of concrete and a small tombstone.

Virgil starts sniffling and Roman can see a few tears leak out of Logan’s eyes. He aches to comfort them, but there’s nothing he can say.

He kneels beside the grave and gently places his bouquet of flowers.

“I hope it’s not lonely there,” he whispers. His eyes sting. He swipes at them and continues. “I miss you, Patton. Every day. And I know you miss me, so… So here’s mini-me.” He positions the teddy bear upright, hand lingering on the fur before pulling away. “Take good care of him for me, okay?”

That’s the last thing he manages to get out before he begins to sob.

-

“I’ll love you forever and ever!” Roman proclaims one night. They’re stargazing in the park Roman had taken them. “You’re everything to me!”

Patton’s eyes soften. “I love you too, but don’t say that.”

Roman had said it as a romantic thing, so he doesn’t understand why not and voices as such.

“Well…” Patton pauses, mulling over his words. “I don’t want my absence to cause you pain. Not that I’m planning on going anywhere! I just think that you have so many people who love you, Roman, and a whole world out there for you. You can’t… You can’t devote your entire self and essence to one person, you know what I mean?”

“Not really, no.”

Patton laughs. “That’s alright. I’m not the best with words and I can’t expect everyone to think the same as I do!”

Roman laughs too.

-

Back then, he hadn’t understood. He hadn’t for the past year, either. It felt wrong to be happy without Patton by his side. It felt wrong to go and do the things he used to do when every step was a chore because it was a step without Patton.

But as he stands up, he understands what he meant.

And he promises to Pat that he’ll work on being happy again.

-

A/N I wanted to try my hand at non-linear story-telling. Hoped it was as effective as I intended! 

Anyway, if you liked this fic, may I recommend Regression Toward the Mean. It’s another royality au (this time patton-centric) with a bitter-sweet ending, inspired by Troye Sivan’s The Good Side. It’s also one of my all-time favourite fics of mine.

Both that fic and this one are odes to something an old friend of mine once said to me. They said that they wished there were more fics about moving on after tragedy or after a relationship (platonic or romantic) has ended.

That has been something I personally struggled, but I’m learning to let go.

[guardian-of-butts]

So, at around 20:00, a woman locked herself in my store bathroom. My store closed at 20:00.

We were doing our usual closing shift things. We call out, making sure that no one is still on the floor. My fellow manager was about to set the alarm when I remembered that I hadn't done my bathroom check.

Typically, only me and one other manager have the thought to do this as we both have a great fear of someone trying to hide out in the bathroom.

Well, tonight, our fears were recognized.

I did my usual check:

Knock on bathroom door.

Barge in to scare the fuck out of anyone hiding there.

Well, tonight I checked the men's bathroom.

All clear.

Women's bathroom...

Uh-oh.

The door was locked.

But the MOTION SENSOR light was off.

Oh shit.

(Now, before you say, "Oh, maybe someone was a dick and locked the door then left."

No.

Our bathrooms are single person bathrooms with push button locks. If one was to try to lock the door and then close it, the latch presses in and unlocks. It's just not possible. Source: Me. I've tried it.)

I bang on the door.

No answer.

I violently jiggle the handle.

No answer.

Okay, mini-panic time.

I go up towards the front and stop my fellow manager (who we'll refer to as Lyn from now on) as she's about to arm the alarm.

She goes to the bathroom and does the same thing while also announcing:

"The door doesn't lock unless someone's in there! Hellllloooooo?!"

No answer.

This is no longer okey-fuckin-dokey.

Lyn begins trying to contact our general manager (Boss.)

Boss doesn't answer.

Lyn proceeds to call our store manager (Big Boss.)

Big Boss answers.

Lyn explains the situation. I begin writing down the non-emergency police number. (It is also around this time that I fully notice that a car has been sitting outside our store with its hazards on for almost 20-30 minutes. No driver or passenger to be seen.)

Lyn hangs up with Big Boss and proceeds to call non-emergency. We have our associates (two of which are minors and had the most action-filled first day ever) move towards the front should our trespasser be a psycho with a weapon.

The car is still there, I write down the license plate number. And as Lyn is reading back the number to me to confirm, the car suddenly zooms off. Hmmm.

Police comes, we explain the situation. They knock on the bathroom door and get an answer. Five minutes later, a very high (possibly on heroin) woman is brought (practically carried) out of the bathroom and is escorted to an ambulance that is parked outside.

Most silent fuckin ambulance ever, btw. Didn't even know they pulled up til the paramedics knocked at the door.

As the police are leaving, I mention the car and give the license plate number to the very uninterested officer. They leave. We go on about our night, starting to count tills and all that. We let the other associates leave at their scheduled times (they were okay with staying, we asked.) The night goes on as usual even though we're an hour behind.

But here's the thing. Lynn saw the woman and what we assumed was her boyfriend come in. She got a bad vibe from them, so she kept an eye on them.

Possible-Heroin-Lady's "boyfriend" goes into the men's bathroom. PHL goes into the women's. PHLBF leaves men's room.

Later, I see him come out of the women's restroom and then leave the store. As this was my first time seeing him, I thought it was odd. But, hey, use what bathroom you're comfy with, it's none of my biz.

Lyn didn't see the woman come out, but she chalked it up to having not have noticed. (She saw the BF leave the store after I saw him leave the women's restroom.)

It was around that time that I first noticed the car sitting out front. It stayed there up until the aforementioned moment where it pulled off.

So, my theory?

The "BF" went into the women's restroom to shoot up his "lady", left the store to get the car, sat and waited (they must not have realized when we closed,) lady didn't come out (probably passed out,) he saw me writing down his plate, and left after he realized that shit just hit the fan.

The worst part is, I recognized the lady. She tried to by a portable battery for her phone yesterday and tried to use Apple Pay to buy it but her phone died. I lent her a charger that's meant for associate use. I went on my break, came back, and she was gone. (She was even nice enough to leave the charger at my register. 🥺)

The whole time she was at my register, she was slumped over and slurring her words. She was concious and holding conversation, but I could tell that she was on something.

She was really nice...

I really hope that she gets the help she needs. She seemed really young for her life to be this way. I hope she can turn it around for the better before it's too late...

Sadly, we did have to ban her from the store. We have now been instructed to contact the police if she comes back in. I hope it doesn't come to that and I really don't know if I'll have the heart to do it if it comes to that. But, unfortunately, I won't have much of a choice.

All I can do now is hope that she's okay.

Tl;Dr: A drug addict locked herself in my store's bathroom. I was scared, but then got sad as I started to think more on it.

The thing that shocked me the most was how calm I was throughout the situation. It didn't really hit until I was walking home. So many things could have happened, but in that moment, I felt prepared for anything. Not cocky or anything, just ready. Like, if it were someone with a gun or something, I would have no doubt put myself in danger if it meant getting the others out. I felt protective, like that was the only option if shit went down. Not because I wanted to die a hero. No, that wasn't the reason. It just felt right.

Sorry for the long post (and bad grammar,) but I just had to write this out. It's now 01:14 as I'm finishing up this post and I'm still reeling from it all. Hope your night/day is well, but I'm going to bed.