Duty was a word that Tommy knew well. He had grown up with it. He had lived it when he was in the Army. He had lived it since in the LAFD. Because his job was a duty but it was also something that he loved more than anything in the world. He had never thought about having any other kind of job in the wake of leaving the Army. He had gone right for LA and set himself up while he made sure that he could pass everything that the Academy threw at him.

Even when he worked under Gerrard, he loved the actual rescue aspect of it, even if he hated the rest of it.

Then Evan came along, and it made Tommy want things he had only allowed himself to want when he was drunk off his ass. A family. His childhood hadn't prepared him for how to love someone. He had learned that by watching the couples around him in the LAFD. He learned what not to do, which was a different set of things from what his parents were like.

Tommy loved his mother right until the day she died, but her duty had killed her. Her duty to her husband had made it impossible for her to want to get divorced, even though her husband killed her.

Tommy rubbed his brow. He looked at Evan, who was sitting in the hospital bed and looked like he was going to refute everything Tommy said.

"It's not a duty," Tommy said.

"What?" Evan asked.

"Taking care of you is not a duty. I'm more than willing to do it because I love you and want to ease your pain. I want to make sure that you aren't in any more pain than you have to be. I want to be around you, and I want to love you."

Evan's words died, and he just stared at Tommy before looking to the side, where Tommy knew someone had come into the room. He knew that Evan's childhood hadn't really prepared him for loving someone either, and he had to unlearn a different set of things when it came to loving someone. Tommy was just glad that Evan was willing after their near fumble a few months ago.

"He's the one with the house," Maddie said.

"He does, but so doesn't Eddie."

"And Eddie doesn't have a spare room," Maddie said.

"He doesn't, but you do," Evan said.

Tommy knew that something else was going on with Evan about staying with him. He wanted to have Evan with him to take care of him because he loved him and wanted to ease whatever pain he would be in, not because it was a duty but because he loved him. He just had to get that through Evan's head, which was going to be hard if he was staying with Maddie and Howie.

"Ah, Jee's going to want to doctor you again," Maddie said.

Evan grimaced, and he looked at Tommy. "Okay, fine. I'll stay with you."

"Good. That sounds good. I'll tell the nurse we have decided where you are going, and we will get you there."

Evan nodded. He sunk down into the bed, and he laughed. He pulled up his blanket, and he smiled.

Tommy kissed his forehead and then headed out of the room, leaving the siblings to talk to each other about what was going on in Evan's head.

Getting Evan discharged wasn't much work at all. He listened as the nurse went over everything, even though they had both dealt with broken body parts before. It was something that was the bread and butter of the job—usually caused by falling through boards during a fire and getting injured that way, not having someone throw something at your head hard enough to make someone pass out and fall off an overpass. Last, Tommy heard the ADA wasn't happy at all and was going to throw the book at the person who had done it to Evan.

"The guy seriously was pissed that you guys were taking the time needed to get the people out of the cars instead of just towing them away and then getting them out?" Maddie asked as Tommy came into the room.

"Yes, that's what he was shouting just before he threw the bottle. It was full, and the only reason why it had caused any damage. Which meant that I had to be cleared out of there before the rest of the cars could be pulled apart and towed out of there. It was still our scene and not able to be turned over until all medical things were cleared."

A broken arm wasn't something that Tommy would have thought would be the worst injury, but Evan had landed on grass and rolled, not fallen all the way down to the street below. It had stopped traffic, though, and caused a couple of fender benders and a panic attack in the person Evan had rolled out in front of. It had been easy to get him out of there, from what Maddie had told him over the phone. It had just taken time to get from the upper level to the lower level with their gear and vehicles before the other team came to take care of the crash in the upper area.

The cops had taken the guy who had thrown the bottle into custody. Evan had his helmet off because he wasn't working in a place where it was needed. He had been helping to calm some of the victims who were able to walk around down.

"The guy is an asshole," Maddie said.

"He was. He acted like he hadn't done anything wrong since he blamed me for the wreck taking forever to clear. The walking victims needed to be cleared too, and the guy wasn't even part of the accident, just some asshole who refused to go a different direction because this one was the quickest, and he was important enough that we should have just made it easier on him."

Tommy knew those kinds of people that Evan was talking about. He hated them. Of course, most people hated them unless someone was that kind of person.

"Am I good to get out of here?" Evan asked.

"As soon as the nurse has you sign the paperwork she was getting together." Tommy walked over to the bed again, and he carded his fingers through Evan's hair. He loved the smile that Evan gave him for that. It was the good kind of smile, even with Evan on the good drugs for the arm pain. Thankfully, the break had been clean, and the cast had been easy to put on once the swelling had gone down. He was good to go on that front.

---

Tommy heard Evan getting up, and he waited to see if he went to the bathroom or someone else. When he headed out the door, Tommy got up to follow him.

Evan went to the kitchen and started preparing a small snack and his pain pills. Nighttime was the worst, and there was a pill he could take that would help with that kind of pain, unlike the pills he took during the day. This pill made it easier for Evan to sleep, and sleep was what his body needed more than anything.

Tommy stayed in the doorway as Evan got things together and then started to eat, drinking water with the food.

"I got out enough for you, too," Evan said as he looked up at Tommy.

Tommy pushed off the doorjamb, and he headed into the room with a smile on his face. "I didn't want to disturb you. I was about to head back to bed. I just wanted to make sure that you were fine."

"I am. Just in pain. Hungry, too."

"Hmm, you didn't eat much for dinner." Tommy picked up a cracker that was piled with meat and cheese. Tommy had prepped a lot of that because it was Evan's go-to snack for between meals at the moment. It made for a good snack in the night, too.

"I didn't. I also am not sure that I can get back to sleep."

"We can put on a movie, and you can watch it on low while I pass back out," Tommy said.

"Yeah?" Evan smiled at him.

"Yes. Now, how do you feel, really?"

"In pain, but I feel pretty good other than that. Why?"

"Because I want to make sure that you don't need more than this." Tommy tapped the bottle of pills.

"I promise I don't."

Tommy wrapped his arms around Evan from behind, looping his hands on his stomach and holding on tightly. "Good. I would hate not to give you something you need because you are scared. Now, how about we move this to the bedroom? You can lay this all out on the bed."

"Fill up a bottle?" Evan asked.

Tommy let go of Evan, and he did as Evan asked. Filling up two bottles for them to drink from in the bedroom. Tommy hadn't drunk what he had in the glass, but he figured that the bottles would be easier for drinking on the bed anyway. Evan had the food on a tray by the time Tommy had the two bottles full. Tommy put the bottles on the tray and then picked it up. Evan went first, and Tommy followed along behind him, smiling at the look of Evan in Tommy's pants.

Evan sat on the bed and patted where he wanted the food before he got under the covers, pulling the top one up his body. He looked younger than he was and adorable to boot, even with the cast on his arm on the bed. The sling he wore during the day was draped on the chair near the bed that held the clothes Evan wanted to wear the next day.

Tommy laid the tray down and moved around the bed to get the remote, and then he got into bed as well; he scooted down and let Evan curl into him. Evan was more tired than he thought, but he was going to have some trouble getting to sleep again until the pills kicked in. So Tommy found something that he could fall asleep to and that Evan would like, and he hit play on it. Evan turned his head toward the TV, and he settled down.

It might take a little time, but Tommy would show Evan that he loved him enough to stay through everything.

The End