Tommy had never thought he would find family. His family growing up had just been his father and his mother. He had thought he could have a sibling for a while, but his mother never had another kid. Then things turned horrible, and Tommy was glad he had not ended up with a little sibling he would have to protect like he had to protect himself and his mother.

Things changed when Tommy was sixteen. His father got hurt, and things changed because his mother could have left him. She could have taken Tommy and left, protecting both of them, but ultimately, she stayed. Leaving for the Army right after graduating high school was the easiest decision. He wrote to his mother weekly, and he made sure that she knew that he loved her. He did love her, but he didn't trust her anymore. He didn't trust that she would ever leave her abusive husband. The family that Tommy counted on his hand had gone down a number by the time he was a teenager, and it stayed like that.

Until the living family he could count went down to none with the death of his mother while he was deployed overseas. Tommy had lost his mother, and his father never told him. He didn't know until he came back for a visit, and the neighbor bitched at him about not coming home for her funeral. Then, that same neighbor cried when she realized that Tommy hadn't known his mother had died. The possessive bastard that was his father had opted not to tell him since, in his eyes, Tommy couldn't love his mother as he did, and since Tommy had joined the Army without his father's permission, Tommy wasn't his son anymore. There was a whole bunch of stuff waiting for him at the local law office, the things that his father had given him based on his mother's will that had been filed and executed to the letter of the law because the man prided himself on acting like a good person and getting sued by his son wasn't going to keep that image.

Tommy hadn't gone back to his hometown since that visit. Instead, he had chosen a spot in each city he lived in, and on his mother's birthday and death day, he went to talk to her there. It was usually a hill or a park, but now, it was a rose garden in LA. He went there at least twice a year, sometimes more than twice if he needed to talk to her about something.

Today was one of those two days. It was the anniversary of her death, and he hadn't told Evan anything. Tommy had stopped the last three times he had nearly brought it up. Their schedule matched now, as Tommy didn't move around shifts to cover other people anymore, which had made a few mad, but in the end, they understood it. And this year wasn't one that he needed to take the day off for.

"What's got you thinking so hard at five in the morning?" Evan asked as he rubbed his hand up and down Tommy's side.

Tommy was the little spoon today. It was always a toss-up who moved in their sleep and how they woke up. Neither cared, and it was a nice surprise to wake up to.

"I have plans today, and I've hit the wall of being unable to put it off anymore."

"Okay, when? We have that party at Eddie's to celebrate his newest round of therapy being done. We can skip that if you need to."

"No, it's fine. I wanted maybe to head out as soon as we can get dressed." Tommy knew when they had to leave, and that was an hour away. They didn't need to do anything too much to get ready, and getting there early would be better. They could get breakfast and have a picnic. The rose garden didn't technically open until sunrise, but he always slipped the guard on duty a little money to allow him in early on the days he wanted to be there at sunrise.

"Sure. I just need to throw on clothes since someone decided that they needed to paint my ass with their release just as I was getting ready to head to bed."

Tommy chuckled as he had chosen that. He had also made Evan come all over himself as well by fucking him. It had been a good night. They had to clean up the bed and themselves before heading to bed.

"I'll place an order for coffee and breakfast to pick up. Dress comfortable."

"Okay." Evan kissed Tommy on the shoulder and then got up from the bed, climbing over Tommy in the process.

Tommy laughed, and he watched his lover head to the bathroom, his ass on display. They were still learning to live with each other, but it was getting better. The small things were small things that they could adapt to by living with each other. There was nothing better than this. Tommy couldn't wait to introduce Evan to his mother.

---

The rose garden was beautiful, even in the darkness. There were enough lights from the security lights to allow them to move around the path.

"I never knew this was here. I mean, the place's name is familiar, but I never came here."

"I come here twice a year," Tommy said.

"Yeah? This and what other day?"

"My mother's birthday."

Evan hesitated only briefly, his hand tightening in Tommy's before he allowed Tommy to pull him along. The backpack had been packed with the blanket and other things that Tommy had wanted to show Evan weeks ago. Tommy had kept it in his truck because Evan didn't snoop through it. The random bag made up that they had never used would be too much of an intrigue for Evan.

"And today is?"

"The day she died," Tommy said.

Evan tucked himself into Tommy's side more and stayed like that as they made their way toward the area Tommy liked the most. The roses smelled wonderful.

The area they were heard for had night-blooming roses that would be just starting to close for the day.

"What is that smell?"

"The mixture of the night blooming roses and jasmine." Tommy waved for Evan to look at the flowers as Tommy pulled the backpack from his shoulder and started to set them up. Evan looked around at each of the flowers until Tommy tugged on his hand to have him get down on the ground.

Just as they settled, the lights shut off, and it was darkness. The sky wasn't too full of stars from the lights around the LA area, but it was still pretty.

"Did the guard do that?" Evan was looking at the darkness all around them.

"Yeah, then we can see the sunrise a little better. It's only in this area, of course."

Tommy leaned back a little and was happy when Evan settled into him and looked up into the sky. Tommy thought they might be more comfortable lying down, but he would wait for Evan to say it. He could hold Evan's weight on him right now.

"She loved me, but she loved Dad more, but I knew that. I knew that going in. She was too scared to love me more than him because he was not a good man. I think he's still alive. I have friends back home who I keep in distant contact with that would tell me if he died, and they haven't."

"That's why you have a Facebook account you rarely ever check."

"I use it more for Messenger than anything. But yes, I want to keep in contact with people from around the world, and I might not want to have my personal cell phone number."

"Like guys you were in the Army with?"

"Yes, like them."

"Down," Evan said, and he poked Tommy in the ribs until Tommy dropped back so fast that Evan squeaked.

Evan thumped into Tommy's chest and then kept on poking him in the ribs until Tommy caught his hand. He drew it up and kissed the back of it before settling it down on his chest with their fingers linked.

"Tell me," Evan said a few minutes later.

So, Tommy told him all of the things that hurt, all of the childhood that he had never told anyone else before, outside of therapists. They had heard all of it going back to when he was discharged. It made up who he was, but he didn't like to share it.

When Tommy was done, the sun was starting to peek out.

"I miss her, but I've missed her for years before she died and even before I left for the Army," Tommy said.

Evan moved and straddled Tommy's hips while he looked down at Tommy before he leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. He pressed the kiss there and let it linger before moving to kiss the other side of his forehead. Then he laid down on Tommy, weighing him down in a way Tommy didn't realize he needed.

"Do you want me to tell you about my childhood?" Evan asked a few minutes later.

"Only if you want to. This isn't some poke to get you to tell me things."

"No, but I want to talk about it."

So Evan did, starting with his observation that his parents weren't like other kids' parents at school and ending with the therapy that his parents agreed to go to.

"I still can't figure out if they love me or are just afraid of being old and alone in their life, or just act like they are because they want in Jee-Yun and Maddie's life. I am not sure, but I'll take what I can get and just get the rest from Bobby."

Tommy rubbed his hand up and down Evan's back. The sun was half above the horizon. Evan slipped off him a little bit to settle on the blanket. He huffed, and then his stomach growled.

"I think maybe it's time to eat," Evan said.

"I agree. I think so as well." Tommy waited for Evan to get up before he sat up as well and started to get their drinks and food figured out.

They had a little more time before they would have to leave there, and Tommy would make the most of it.

---

Tommy picked up the shirt he dropped on the floor when taking things to the laundry room when he heard the doorbell. He frowned at the earlyness of the time. He double-checked his watch. Evan had left with Maddie and Jee-Yun for a weekend trip to someplace Maddie wanted to go, but Howie didn't. It was strange to be here alone when he hadn't been home alone for long at all like this since Evan had moved in.

"Coming!" Tommy yelled when he realized that he hadn't said anything. He tossed the shirt into the wash and shut the lid before checking that he put it on the right setting. He shut the door and left the room before heading to the front door.

It was Bobby.

Tommy stood there with what was probably a shock on his face.

"Come in," Tommy said as he stepped back to allow Bobby into the house.

Bobby had a notebook and what looked like a journal with him. Tommy was even more confused about why Bobby was there with that stuff than he was with everything else.

"Thanks, Tommy," Bobby said.

"Of course."

"I'm planning a birthday dinner for Buck."

"Oh, we..." Tommy trailed off.

"I know you two have plans for that weekend, a little trip out of town. I know that, but before you guys leave, so two days before his birthday since you are leaving the day before. It's nothing big, just the family."

Tommy nodded. "Evan will love that."

"He will love that. Now, how about we talk menu?"

Tommy was taken aback at that. "You want my input on the menu?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Bobby looked at Tommy like he was an idiot, which was a look that Tommy hadn't gotten from the man in a long time. The first had to do with that damned chicken years ago.

"Because you matter to Buck," Bobby said.

So, Tommy spent the next three hours with Bobby, planning the menu, who to invite, and what they were going to do at the party. It wasn't a lot, but it had seemed like it should take a whole three hours to plan a simple birthday dinner, and with Bobby, it did.

"You know, you all joke about Evan and a clipboard, but he's just you with a meal menu," Tommy said as he came back with a fresh glass of water for both of them.

Bobby chuckled.

"It can be looked at like that."

"He was worried about you months ago. I worried about him but didn't get the dynamic there."

"Well, you had met Buck's actual father and how they are together. He told me he told you about his father and mother."

"They are trying, and that's all I can give them. They ask about me when they call."

"Hmm, they also asked Maddie about you and pumped Chim for information on you after the wedding based on what Chim had told me. I am glad they are trying for Buck's sake, but I dread that they decide it's too much, which could be at any point in my mind. I can't say that I don't blame them, but I don't understand them. I lost everything, and I clung to what I lost so much that I nearly killed myself."

Tommy knew that things had changed for Bobby as he had been at the 118 longer and longer.

"Buck is what changed all of that for me. He was so earnest, and such a screwup that I couldn't help but start to guide him, and the feelings for him just came out. He was, in all ways, my son before I ever admitted it. I didn't want it, but it was there."

"He called you the father he never had, and I didn't get it at first, but then it came to me slowly as he spent more time with you. I'm glad you both have each other to fill the gaps that are there."

"You never found a replacement father figure, and it showed, which isn't a bad thing; not everyone needs a father when one has a father who is as shitty as the ones we were saddled with."

"I think he's still alive. I just don't care."

"And that's a good way to be about it. Don't let him shape your life."

Tommy nodded. He looked at the time and thought for a few seconds that maybe it would have been better if Bobby had taken a lot longer to get through all of this, as it would mean that Tommy wasn't going to be alone for hours and hours.

Bobby's phone chimed, and he looked at it before smiling. "Athena's on her way home. I should leave because I need to stop at the store on my way. I'll text you if I change anything."

"You don't need to."

"It's your party too, Tommy. I fully expect you and Eddie to help me. He's just really crappy at the planning of things like this." Bobby stood up, and he gathered the last few things. "Besides, you are going to be busy right now."

Tommy wasn't sure about that. Once he got the clothes out of the dryer, he had to fold them, but that was it. He followed Bobby to the door and opened it so that Bobby could leave, but instead of the porch being empty, Howie was standing there.

"Have fun," Bobby said.

"Howie, did you want to come in?"

"Only long enough for your ass to get changed. I will be bucking up two and mopey dopey in the car."

Tommy looked out to see Eddie in the front seat of Howie's new SUV. He didn't seem too pleased to be there.

"I thought it was time to try it again with a basketball game between us without Jealous Buck there."

"I need to get changed."

Howie nodded his head, stepping inside like he was afraid Tommy would lock the door and ignore him. "Your place is nice," he said.

"Thanks."

Tommy headed to the bedroom and found the old stuff that he used to play basketball in with Eddie. They hadn't been going as much since life was hectic, but maybe this would have been a good day for the two of them as they missed the most important people in their lives.

"Chris called Eddie a little while ago, and he called to talk to Hen. She begged me to get him out of there, which also helps as he's missing Buck as well. So you are mine the rest of the day. You have submitted to my machinations."

"Like you aren't missing your daughter and wife," Tommy said.

"That's beside the point. I don't mope when they are gone."

Tommy chuckled, checked the charge on his phone, and found it was enough to last through the day if he didn't spend too much time gazing at the pictures Evan might be sending him. I wasn't like he would be stuck doing that while playing ball and whatever Howie had planned. It seemed like he and Bobby planned this on purpose like this.

---

Tommy leaned back in the chair, enjoying the rising sun on his face. Evan would be home from work in a little bit, and they could plan what they wanted to do for the day. Tommy rolled his shoulder and felt it ache. Just a few more days of physical therapy would be needed to make sure that he could go on his own with the stretching and workouts without help, and he would be allowed back at work. He was pretty happy with how things were going.

There was something really nice about waiting on the porch for Evan to get home. It was rare, as usually, Evan got home first since the 118 was a little closer. He had the luck of never having horrible traffic, where it seemed like Tommy hit every single red light or accident on the way home from work.

The sound of a vehicle pulling in made Tommy smile until he realized it wasn't the Jeep. He sat up to see that it was Hen with Evan in the front seat. Tommy got up and walked over to the door before Hen could get out of the SUV.

"Hen?" Tommy asked when Hen rounded the SUV.

Evan's eyes were closed, and he looked like he was pretty damned tired. Hen didn't look much better, but she looked a little better.

"You aren't cleared to drive yet, and he knows it, so he asked me to bring him home. He was up all night on the call we were on. The rest of us were able to sack out for a couple of hours, but he ended up being trapped. He wasn't in danger, but after he got out of there, he was sent to the ER to be checked for smoke inhalation, and you know that he can't sleep when he's in there."

"No, he can't, not when it's for that kind of reason. He's okay, though?"

"He said he was, and I trust him when it comes to that. Chim was overly worried about it, so we loaded him up and took him. Then we went back to the station to sleep since we were released."

Tommy carefully opened the door, which woke up Evan. Evan looked at Tommy with wide eyes before they drooped down again.

"Let's go, big guy," Tommy said as he coaxed Evan out of the SUV.

Hen followed along behind them toward the house and held the door as Tommy shuffled Evan inside and onto the couch. Evan rolled to his side, covered himself up with a blanket, and was asleep in seconds.

"Hard fire?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, and one that Buck was equipped to work more than others. He was trapped in the storage room with the extra fire extinguishers, so he used those to make sure that the fire didn't spread inside the room. So he was fine when it came to that, but it took us a while to get to him with the fire all around. He's fine, don't worry about that."

"I'm not worried. You all would have called me. I could have taken an Uber."

"He just wanted to get home. So we got him to the station to change, and then I bought him here. It wasn't a big deal, and he promised to call you if he was kept over."

"He's good at that, even if he hates worrying me. We made that promise to each other. Coffee?" Tommy asked as he waved toward the kitchen.

"I'll take cereal for breakfast as well. Karne's got Denny off to school, and she's off to work, so no one is waiting for me at home right now."

"How about waffles? I started up the batter for those and put it in the fridge. I always make too many, and Evan usually snacks on them, but I think he could agree that we could sacrifice a few for your breakfast."

"Even better."

Tommy was happy when Hen followed him without another prompting. She settled herself in the breakfast nook as Tommy started a fresh pot of coffee since he had reheated the last cup from the day before and planned to make more when Evan got home. The waffle iron was out. He grabbed another plate and set it aside for Evan's waffles, which he would eat cold as easily as he did the hot ones.

"He's happy," Hen said.

"I'm glad that you think so. I'm glad I'm part of what makes him happy because he makes me happy."

"I didn't think I would ever see you settle down with someone. Chim talked about a few of your breakups. I worried about you in a very vague way."

"You never owed me anything, Hen. I know we fell off the map when it came to all that, and that's fine. We can be the kind of friends who think about each other but don't call each other every single day."

"Well, I think that ship has sailed because of that one in there." Hen pointed with a wave of her hand toward the living room.

"Maybe."

"You two are so smitten. I've always thought that Buck needed someone who was a little older than him. He did well with Abby. I hated how it ended, but he needed someone who was grounded. Ali was too flighty, and she couldn't handle the job. Taylor was good for a while, but there was a foundation issue that they kept on pasting over, and they were shocked when it broke on them. Natalia was a blip that I still don't really understand. He really liked her, but I never got what he saw in her."

"I think that he needed her in the time period because she didn't see him as the person he was before the lighting and the coma. She didn't try keeping him in the box they thought he should be in. She saw him for who he was in the aftermath." Tommy checked the heat of the waffle iron since the little red light which indicated it was heated up to temp and was broken. The water danced and then disappeared in seconds.

The first waffle would be the test of the batter because Tommy had tried something new, which he had gotten out of one of Evan's cookbooks.

"I can see that, and I think you are right. I never looked at it like that. I know that Eddie had been a little upset about something, but he only talked to Bobby about it, not me."

"Which made you want to know what it was."

"Yes," Hen said.

Tommy laughed. He finished with the batter and then closed the lid, turning the machine over to prepare it for cooking. He went over and checked the coffee to find that it was done. He waved a cup at Hen, who nodded.

It took a few seconds to recall how she liked her coffee or at least how she liked it before. Tommy got it ready before he checked the cold brew coffee in the fridge. It was an experiment for Evan, who was having fun with a few recipes he had found online for flavored coffee that didn't use ready-made creamer. Of course, Evan did a few experiments on his own.

"I have flavored creamer as well."

"One of Buck's things?"

"Yes. There are a few that are pretty good, so don't let that fool you. He's pretty good at it. They are just a little weird for a couple of them."

"Oh, he told us about the one that somehow got cilantro in it. I laughed my ass off when he tried that at work. The look on his face was priceless. I just wish that someone had gotten it on camera."

"Yeah, he bitched for an hour over texts about it. He had been so happy about trying it. I am not sure how cilantro got in it as well."

Tommy went back to the waffle iron, flipped it back over, and opened it. It was done. He used the tongs to get it out and transferred it to a plate for Hen. He waved at the various syrups on the table. "Evan mostly makes those with agave syrup. I have table syrup as well. I think we might have maple."

"I've been eyeing this spicy cinnamon hone here. I'll try that."

"Have at. One or two more waffles?"

Hen broke off a piece of the one on her plate and ate it. "Two."

"You got it." Tommy would take the next for himself. He had his maple cinnamon one over by the waffle iron as he had planned on using it, and there wasn't enough for him and Evan with it.

The next waffle didn't take too much longer, so he dished it out for himself and then worked on eating it while Hen's cooked.

Once her next two and his two were ready, he snacked on fruit that was in the fridge for lunch while he had prepped it that morning, so he wasn't as hungry.

"You got better at breakfast."

"Well, we almost never cooked it at the station. So, I never got the skills. I learned a lot from Miram once I was at Harbor."

"She's great, and I miss seeing her on calls as much. It's like she just dropped off the ace of the earth."

"She has been hanging the ground stuff more and more; I think she'll be back up soon. The last crash was something that scared her."

"Seeing you nearly die didn't help."

Tommy shrugged. He broke off a piece of his second waffle and ate it with his hands before he started to pour the last of his syrup over the rest of it. Hen reached out and swiped a dry bit of her waffle through the dredges of Tommy's syrup on the plate. He reached out and slapped her hand, but she just grinned as she shoved the bite in his other mouth.

"That's some damned good syrup, no wonder you hoarded that one for yourself."

"Evan made it for it. I mean, I know he made the rest, but this was the one that made him get into making this stuff on his own. I had a favorite brand, and they stopped making it. Then the other ones from other brands weren't as good, and I couldn't find something Liked as well. So, the last bottle was used as a taste comparison for him, and I never knew it, so he presented it to me. The recipe is in his book, and he plans no more gaming on the next four days off coming up."

"Ah, that's why he's been asking Bobby about infusing things more and more. I get it now."

"So, what are your plans for Evan's birthday?" Tommy asked.

"I'm making a pasta salad that he loves. It's not hard to make, but it takes a lot of stuff, and the prep is long, so I don't make it often. Bobby's making chili, which I knew you knew."

Tommy laughed. "I have to try and get him there without him realizing why we are going here. So far, he's not really figured out what you are discussing. He just said that you and Howie are talking with Eddie more, but he thinks it's all about Eddie and his situation with Chris."

"It's half and half right now. Eddie's leaning on us a little more because he realizes that he's not leaned on anyone but Buck for a while, and that's not right."

"Evan doesn't mind, and I don't mind either. They are close; I know exactly how close they are."

Hen snorted.

"He's still not lived that down. Eddie roasts him all the time for the whole teenage girl act he played during that."

"I knew that something was up when Buck bought the basketball and then was peacocking in front of Eddoie to try and get his attention. If he had just asked to go, things would have been better."

"Well, according to Howie, neither Buckley sibling was raised to understand the full breadth of human emotion. So we can't fault Evan for being as messed up as he is, and he does work on it when he figures out that he's messed up." Tommy finished his food and waited for Hen to finish up before picking up the plates to take over and rinse them off. He had most everything cleaned up from the batter prep. "So, a win on the waffles?"

"Yes, and the syrup. Just don't tell him that. He's getting such a big head about his cooking."

"I mean, he's damned good at it, Hen."

Hen shrugged, but she laughed. "You are so in love with him, and I know it. We all know it. You look at him like he's it."

"I love him." Tommy offered up nothing else, and Hen let it drop.

There was no big sound, but Tommy knew that Evan was on his way in. He showed up with the basket still clutched around his neck and a look on his face that indicated he would rather be anywhere but where he was. Then his stomach growled. It was like Hen didn't exist with how Evan narrowed in on Tommy and glomped into him.

"I can't get you food if you are like this."

Evan whined a little but got up long enough for Tommy to get out of his seat and slide into it. Tommy walked over and started to tear up the waffles. He grabbed a ramekin and poured some of Evan's favorite syrup into it. He put that onto the plate and grabbed a packet of hot chocolate. He walked over to put the plate in front of Evan before returning to the coffee pot and getting hot water from the spout. Evan had made fun of him for the commercial brand coffee maker he had, but he was simple in his desire for coffee. This made it so much easier.

However, Tommy had one of those fancy machines on his list to buy for Evan soon. He would like Evan to have fun with it and not feel like he can't add more to Tommy's kitchen than he already had.

Once Tommy added a touch of milk to make it a drinkable temperature, he walked over to see that Evan was just staring at his food and hadn't touched it. Hen was laughing silently, her shoulders shaking. It looked like her phone had moved, meaning she had taken pictures. Evan wasn't going to live this down. Tommy scooted into what little room there was and turned to start to feed Evan a little bit. Tommy could see how tired he was, his hands gripping the blanket.

Hen watched it all with silence as Tommy fed Evan up enough that he started to feed himself. The hot chocolate was halfway gone, but Tommy kept an eye on it to make sure that Evan didn't end up without something to drink.

With just a few bites left, Evan tipped into Tomy and groaned before he tried to get a leg over Tommy's lap like he was going to try to sleep right there.

"Nope, don't you even think about it," Tommy said.

"He will sleep anywhere."

"Hen?" Evan looked around and blinked when he saw where Hen was. "How long have you been here?"

"I brought you here, Buck. Tommy fed me breakfast for dealing with your exhausted ass."

"He likes my ass."

The guffaw that Hen let out at that made Tommy chuckle. A tired Evan had no filter, as Tommy had figured out.

"Let me get him to bed. You can either leave or stay, and we can hang out since you will be alone at home today."

"I'll stay."

Tommy nodded and started to draw Evan up, who was finishing the rest of his hot chocolate. Thankfully, Hen moved it out of the way when he reached for Tommy's coffee.

Hen hanging out with him like that was new, but Tommy would take it. Tommy's friends were limited to the ones he was close to, and he didn't mind adding more, but he had never felt like he clicked with people. Maybe Evan was the piece needed to help him with that.

---

Tommy wasn't sure what to expect the first time Evan got hurt at work. He knew it seemed like he barely went a year without being admitted for something longer than just getting checked out overnight.

The call had made him freeze in a way he hadn't in a long time. The training from the Army was not enough to kick his ass into gear. All he could think about was that Evan was hurt.

Eddie was the one who called him and then forced him home that first night when Evan had been out into a very short sleep to make sure his body healed up, and he didn't reverse what the surgery had done.

Bobby had been there the next morning to take Tommy into the hospital and let him sit with Evan all day. Hen had brought food for lunch. That evening, Maddie and Howie were with him while Hen watched Jee-Yun.

The hug from Maddie that evening had been nearly enough to make him cry, but the second hug, which she said was from Jee, did it. Tommy lost it and cried in her arms in Evan's room.

Then Evan woke the next day, and there was a whirlwind of making sure he was fine. Despite the induced coma, Evan was fine, and his body was bouncing back.

Tommy didn't feel ready to take Evan home, but then he was being discharged.

This was why Tommy was just staring at the fridge full of food he hadn't made. It wasn't even all Bobby's. No, there was a pair of servings of a casserole that Karen made, which Evan loved. If he looked in the freezer, he would find more of it, he was sure. There was easy-to-reheat food in the fridge, and a wide variety spoke of the fact that Evan reacted weirdly to some meds, and his appetite was horrible. Tommy had been warned about this by Eddie, Hen, Howie, Maddie, and even Athena.

Shutting that fridge door, Tommy headed to the garage. The big freezer Tommy had bought to store extra things in was stuffed full, as was the smaller fridge without a freezer. There was enough food to make sure that Tommy didn't have to worry about food making and taking care of Evan for weeks.

There was a knock on the garage door, and Tommy looked up to see it was Miriam. She waved, and when he nodded, she opened the door with the key. Thankfully, she didn't have food in her hand, as he wasn't sure he had too much food.

"Hey," Miriam said.

"Hi."

"How are you?"

"Overwhelmed."

"And what do you need to help not be overwhelmed?" Miriam asked.

"I am not sure. Help me get rid of the fear that comes with this." Tommy waved at the fridge and the freezer.

"I don't understand what you mean, Tommy."

"I am not sure what I mean either. I have no idea why this is freaking me out."

"Let's go into the kitchen. Is Evan asleep?"

"He is. The baby monitor is in the kitchen."

"Who set that up?"

"Not sure, really. I'm also not sure who cooked me enough food for months."

"Oh, that was a joint effort put together by Bobby. My meatball casserole is in there somewhere, and two servings are in the fridge in the kitchen as well. I didn't do the heavy hot spices so that Evan didn't need to worry about them, even though I know it's his favorite part. So, how do you feel, really?"

"Is this what family is?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, sweetie," Miriam said before she hugged Tommy.

Tommy turned in her arms a little so he could hug her back, and he held on tightly. There were a few things that he didn't like to do, and one of them was openly crying, but he had gotten more and more used to that around certain people, and Miriam was one of them. He had cried out over Evan, though, on different people. Now, he needed to figure out what he wanted and needed to make sure that he could take care of Evan.

"No one wanted you to worry about cooking, especially the foods that Evan likes to eat. He needs a different diet to help his body get over this, and then once he's up and about and can work on getting back to work, he can make sure that he builds his muscles the way he likes again."

"I've never been taken care of. Not like this. I've done it."

"Yeah, well, that's because it's just been us, and you never let yourself think of us like family. I know that. I know your faults, and I've never pushed on the ones you use to keep yourself safe, but Evan tore those walls down."

"Tommy," Evan called out, his voice echoing down the hall and over the radio from the kitchen.

"I should go," Miriam said.

"No, come and see him. You stayed away from the hospital, and Evan noticed. Let him see your face."

Miriam looked unsure, but she nodded.

"She's just in shorts with a blanket over him so that you will see a lot of gauze."

"Okay. Thanks for the warning. I know that his body is pretty well off, but the broken bones are going to take a while, and the bruises have got to be horrible."

"Oh, they are more than horrible. It's like a painting, really. He's a giant fucking bruise, and I can barely touch him without it hurting him."

"But he likes to be touched, and the serotonin from being touched overrides the pain. I know that well."

Tommy hummed. He pushed the bedroom door open the rest of the way to see that Evan was still exactly where Tommy had left him to sleep. The blankets were pulled up over his chest, and he looked as tired as hell. It was about time for a snack and another pill.

"Hi," Evan said, and he let go of the blanket with his good hand. He smiled as he took in Miriam. "Come to babysit?"

"No, just came to visit to make sure that the parade of people getting the house ready hadn't forgotten anything."

"Ginger ale," Evan said.

"Really?"

"They always Sprite or 7-Up, but I like ginger ale best. I threw it up once while on a pain medication that was making me throw up everything, so they think that means I shouldn't want it or something. I drink the other stuff, but I usually order ginger ale as soon as they leave."

"I'll get some then. Cans?"

"Yes, please."

Tommy shook his head. He could see Evan getting away with murder when he was injured like this. He looked like someone who needed to be taken care of, and Tommy was glad it was him.

"I'm sleepy, but I can't fall asleep again," Evan whined, and he patted the bed.

"I'll head home. I was getting ready to head to the store. Text me if you think of anything either of you need, and I'll get it and leave it in the kitchen or the fridge."

"Thanks," Evan said, and he sounded like he was fighting sleep.

"I'll walk you out. I need to get a pill and some crackers for this guy before I tuck him into bed again."

"And tell me a story," Evan said.

Tommy walked over and kissed Evan's forehead, the only place where he wasn't a mass of bruises. Tommy kissed his lips next and got a happy hum, even if Evan sounded still drugged. It would be his way of life for the next few days. At least he was getting sleep, which was helping. Evan didn't fight taking pills, which was a good thing. Tommy didn't have to worry about much at all when it came to that.

Miriam was in the kitchen, looking at the spices and other things in his cabinets. She was probably making a mental list of things she would pick up for him.

"I'm sorry," Tommy said.

"That word doesn't exist for things like this, Tommy Kinard. We are all fucked up by the people who raised us, just in different ways. You guard your heart, and I was willing to take what I could get from you. If I knew it would take a six foot two overeager puppy of a firefighter who smiles at you like you make the sun shine in the sky, I would have introduced you two before that."

Tommy sat down and pulled the pills he had brought home with him over to start to dole them out into the divider that hadn't been on his kitchen counter before he had gone to the hospital the last time. It was set into six points of the day, and there was a spot to make the times on all of them if he needed stickers. Some of the drugs were new because he couldn't get stuff through IVs anymore, so there was going to be a time for things.

"I mean it on texting me. I know you can place an order, but I'm going to shop for things for us for the week. Jake's missing a few of his snacks, and he's knee-deep in a project. He'll be working from home for the next three weeks. It was set up that way long before this, but he's not in such a time crunch that he couldn't bring his laptop over here to watch Evan while you get out of the house. Lean on us."

"I will." Tommy meant it. He hadn't really leaned on anyone before. Yes, Miriam and Jake helped him when he was injured at work, but this was something different. Evan was his to take care of, but it felt like something else that he trusted them with him.

Evan had changed his world in the best ways, but there were parts of him that resented having more people in his life who could hurt him. The biggest thing was that he hadn't realized it until he was dealing with all of them managing him and Evan while Evan was injured.

If this was what family was, this was nothing like what he had been raised with. He had no idea how to lean on people like this.

Tommy waited for Miriam to be done as he worked on the pills before grabbing the snacks to take back to the bedroom. He had the day's pills and the next day set up. He could work on the others after getting Evan to sleep.

Evan was still awake, and he had rolled onto his side, which was the way Tommy had left him before. His left side was the least injured, and it made it easier for him to sleep on it. Thankfully, his ribs were fine—no bruised or broken bones. It took a few seconds, and Evan was starting to sit up. Tommy let him do it himself since Evan needed to know how he could move his body without spiking the pain.

Tommy got on the bed beside him, curled Evan into his body, and passed over the first snack. It was just simple fruit balls gotten from the health food store across town, but it was his favorite place. They were ones that he hadn't had in the house before, so someone had made the trek over there to get them, probably Eddie.

"Thanks," Evan said.

"Of course; how are you feeling overall?"

"Achy, but in a good way. The bed is perfect, and I'm tired as help, but I can't get my brain to shut off. So, I'm going to lie down as soon as I get that stuff."

Tommy handed over the two pills Evan needed to take, and Evan tossed them back with the juice that Tommy got for him. Then he took the crackers that were next. The carbs were going to be good for his body while he healed. This was why he was drinking juice as well, and Tommy had already figured out a few extra vitamins that he needed to make sure weren't going to interact with any of his pills. He wasn't sure what would happen next, but he at least figured that part of it would involve him getting more and more in love with Evan.

"Your family kind of invaded," Tommy said when Evan was done eating.

"Your family," Evan said.

"You think they would consider themselves mine?" Tommy asked.

"Well, you are mine, and they claim me. So, yes. How much food did they leave?"

"Oh, Miriam and Jake got in on it. I know that her meatball casserole is in there, not hot and spicy. I figure that there is soup in the freezer as well. Jake's chicken noodle soup is something that I love when I'm under the weather. He likes to freeze it in single-serve portions and get it out when needed. I didn't look that close when I looked in the full-stocked freezer."

"They care, and it's one way they can help without being in the way. I want the meatball casserole for dinner."

"Okay, I'll make a list of what is in the fridge and then do the same with the freezer."

"Text Bobby; he probably has that list already." Evan yawned, and he frowned when he was done.

Tommy was about to ask what was wrong, but Evan rubbed his jaw and winced before he could.

"Let's get you down."

"I wanna cuddle, and you tell me a story."

"Okay, I'll use the bathroom real quick and clean up the mess, and then I'll come in and do it. You get comfortable the way you want, and I'll figure it out from there."

Tommy needed a few minutes to himself.

Once in the bathroom, he looked in the mirror, and the gauntness from the last few days was already leaving his face. He grabbed a rag and wet it before wiping at his face to remove the tracks from the few tears. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he hoped that things would be settled in a few days and he would stop crying so much.

If this was family, Tommy was glad that he never had it before this because he would never have been able to accept it and probably would have blown up his life. As it was, he needed to make sure that his next appointment with his therapist was brought up. He didn't have the tools to deal with this long-term, and he wanted them because he never wanted to hurt Evan, and that meant accepting his family.

The family that Evan had found accepted Tommy as part of them even though Tommy had been living on the outskirts of it for years.

The End