Lone Star Family Values

Chapter 15

We're a Family

TK glanced at the clock on the fire house all and sighed. Bailey would be getting out of school soon and all he wanted to do was be there when she got home. Carlos was originally supposed to pick her up but he got called out on a last minute call that looked to be taking a lot longer than he'd originally thought it would and he couldn't get away.

"TK what's goin' on? You look stressed." His dad came up from behind him and sat down next to him at the breakfast bar.

"Bailey gets out of school in a few and I can tell she's been having a rough go of it this first week. Carlos was going to pick her up but he got called out on a long-running call and I..." TK tapered off with a sigh.

"You want to be there for her." Owen finished.

            TK nodded.

"Yeah." He agreed.

"Do you know why she's had a rough week?" Owen asked.

"I guess some kids are giving her a hard time because she overheated on Tuesday and Carlos had to come and give her her medication. And since he was in his uniform kids have been giving her grief," TK said, shaking his head. "She's not embarrassed that Carlos is a police officer, she's just upset that the kids are picking on her."

            Owen rolled his eyes.

"Damn kids," He said. "You would think that they would just let it go but no, they would rather have some fun at another's expense."

"Welcome to high school." TK grumbled.

            Owen nodded and sat back in his seat and exhaled heavily, his tongue stuck into the inside of his cheek as he thought. His eyes trailed through the fire house, seeing his team all moving around sluggishly. It was just one of those days, almost no had come in and everybody was just looking for something to fill the time. An idea crossed his mind that he thought might be fairly interesting.

"Hey TK?" He asked.

"Hmm?" TK hummed.

"How about we all go pick her up? We can bring everybody and maybe the kids will let up if they see that Bailey's part of our family." Owen suggested.

            TK looked up at his father.

"Really?" He asked.

            Owen nodded.

"We're a family, TK, and Bailey is just a much a part of it as anybody else."

✵✵✵

            It was safe to say that Bailey dreaded school. Ever since she'd overheated in PE and Carlos had had to bring her medication to avoid a drop, the other teens had been giving her grief. They'd been confused initially when they'd seen Carlos in his uniform but when Bailey had said that he was one of her foster fathers, the comments and jokes started to fly. People asking if Carlos had pitied her and taken her in just because nobody else wanted her or if she was a juvie case and he was her case worker. She'd tried to shake them off, knowing that they just wanted to get a rise out of her but it still hurt. Sometimes those thoughts appeared in her head of their own free will so it was hard to hear them out loud from somebody else.

            She knew they weren't true; TK and Carlos would never have taken her in if they didn't want her, but knowing that and believing it, were two very different things.

✵✵✵

            The team was loading into the ladder truck and ambulance to get over to the high school. Tk and sent a text over to Carlos to see if he'd finished with his call yet, hopping that he could meet them in the parking lot of the school.