One Day at a Time - (Season One)

Chapter Ten: Waiting for Morning

"Marty!" Lukas cried in relief as he let her into the bedroom. Her poor brother was trembling from head to toe, and his face was bright red and ruddy from tears. Guilt gnawed at her. She should have never left him.

Marty scooped him up into her arms, shutting the door behind her with her foot before the dog could escape, "Hey, squirt, it's alright." she cooed, "I'm here. I'm here. Shh, no more tears."

"I was so scared!" Lukas crowed as he buried his face into her collarbone, new tears already soaking her t-shirt. The dog whined nervously at her brother's distress as he crowded around them, almost tripping Marty before she could sit on the bed.

"I'm so sorry, squirt, it's okay. I'm here now." she murmured, pressing fervent kisses on his forehead and wet cheeks, "I'm not gonna leave you ever again."

She could hear footsteps approaching the door before Nick appeared, poking his head through as he shot her a tired smile before softly closing it behind him. Nick sat down beside her, patting the dog's head absentmindedly. He must've seen something on her face, because Nick gently ran his hand down her back. Marty had to blink back tears.

"Hey, buddy," Nick coaxed her brother, his eyes never leaving the sobbing boy, "It's okay. You know I'd never let anything happen to you or your sister."

Lukas sniffled as he pulled away to look at the older teen, normally the sight of snot running down the boy's face would elicit some level of disgust--but all Marty felt was ashamed. "Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise, squirt." The little blonde bobbed his head once, sniffling loudly, before putting his arms up, a nonverbal call for a squeeze. Nick was quick to pull Lukas out of her arms and give him his own hug as another onset of tears escaped from her brother. Marty couldn't help but smile at the sight--Lukas had missed Nick something fierce.

Nick was the only male figure her baby brother had ever had... and he was practically Lukas's very own superhero. She'd often wondered in the privacy of her own mind if Nick saw Lukas as a do-over sibling; Alicia had been disgusted after she discovered that her brother was doing drugs and had become even more bitter and distrusting of Nick over time. Despite Nick's claims that it didn't bother him, Marty suspected that it did, of course, it did, his own sister had written him off. Long ago. But Lukas, tiny naive Lukas, never looked at him like he was disappointing. Her brother had only ever displayed unconditional love in his chocolate brown eyes. Either way, Lukas did love Nick--he had spent the last three months asking Marty when she would make up with him, and when Nick would come over.

When you're used to seeing someone over for dinner at least twice a week, well, their presence is going to be missed when they drop off the face of the earth. Lukas had waited for him... Marty had waited for him. A part of her was angry, but mostly she was just relieved that Nick was here in front of her now. That Nick had decided to put Marty's and Lukas's safety first before his own feelings of inadequacy and need to avoid difficult emotional situations.

"Travis brought people with him," Nick stated softly, as if he was afraid to set Lukas off into another crying fit now that he'd finally stopped. Instead, her brother had curled himself up, hands tucked between his chest and Nick's tummy, and his ear pressed against the older man's heart. People? Now that her heart wasn't trying to beat out of her chest, Marty had briefly seen an older Latino man when she'd run through the living room earlier. "My mom wants to leave now, I think we should get in there before they start making decisions without us."

Marty nodded, he was right... she needed to be there, even if she was reluctant to leave the safety of his bedroom, "Alright, here I can take him." she motioned to her brother as she got up.