The Family We Choose

Chapter 71

May already has more than enough on her plate but Claudette is adamant about being the icing on the cake.

Despite Emelias protests, May has been staying the night at the Diaz's. With Eddie and Buck back on normal shift rotation, they wanted someone with Emelia at all times.

Getting to fall asleep and wake up next to Emelia every morning was just a bonus.

May makes sure to get Emelia set up on the couch every morning before she leaves. Carla promised to check in on her over lunch.

"What am I missing?" May asks to no one in particular. Emelia is laying across the couch, her leg wrapped and propped up. She had her pain killers, her phone, enough water to cause a drought and a variety of snacks to choose from if needed.

"Nothing. Now go save people." Emelia says tugging at Mays arm to sneak a kiss before she leaves.

"I love you, call me if you need anything." May grabs her things and rushes out the door. She knows Josh won't mind her being a couple minutes late. He's been super flexible with her.

When May finally gets to work she is just trying to get through her day one call at a time. Sure the show Claudette put on at the beginning of her shift was amazing. But her fondness for the woman very quickly disappeared throughout the day.

It starts with the condescending tone when May slips up and gives someone a time frame. A mistake she wouldn't normally make but her life is currently in shambles slowly being put back together. The growing tension worsens when she brings it up to Josh and gets brushed off.

So she talks to Claudette to smooth things over but is only met with more of that condescending tone which makes her blood boil even more.

When she gets home to Emelia all she wants to do is crash into her arms because she knows Emelia can take all that stress away.

"How was work?" Emelia asks when May makes room for herself behind Emelia. The girls helplessly falls back into her arms. Turning slightly to wrap as much of her broken arm around her waist as her sling would allow. May was the first to sign her cast after she woke up. She traced the outline of her message.

"Awful."

Emelie intertwines their fingers, gently telling her to vent.

"I have this new coworker and I don't know what I did to her but she hates me." May says, clearly upset.  If Emelia was feeling better she would march herself into the dispatch and give her a piece of her mind.

"What did she do?" Emelia asks.

"She took over my call, which I wouldn't be so upset about if she wasn't so..." May pauses, trying to find the right word to describe how her tone made her feel. "Condescending. It felt like she thought I was being an idiot."

"Well I know you May Grant and you are no idiot." Emelia says kiss the back of her hand. May lets it linger there for a moment longer.

"Well she made me feel like one."

"Tell me something good about your day," Emelia insisted.  It was their little game they played.  Vent until your heart is empty but you have to find one positive from your day.

It takes May a second to think about it. Her work day was a shit show. 

"I got to wake up next to you this morning." May says, leaning down to capture Emelia in a kiss. She feels the girl smile against her lips.

"I don't think that counts." Emelia mumbles, but May is still attacking her with small kisses.

"It does." She says, moving to her cheeks and nose. "It's in the rule book."

"There is no rule book." Emelia giggles through the pain in her ribs. May sees her wince and stops the ticklish kisses, choosing to keep her trapped in her arms instead.

—

Emelia knows May is going to be late tonight because she forced her to get out of the house today. May deserved some of her own time, luckily she was going to see Harry.

This meant Emelia was all on her own until her dad got home. Waiting patiently on the couch, ignoring the pain in her chest until she got her next dose of pain medication.

"Hey Mija," he says, dropping his duffle bag by the door before rushing down the hall to change.

She waiting for the sounds of Chris' crutches or Bucks rambling but it never came. She waits for Eddie to return.

"Where Chris and Buck?" She asks, tucking her legs into her chest for her dad to sit down. He does, but stretches her legs into back over his. Not wanting her to tighten up.

"They went out to a movie, it's just you and me tonight." Eddie says, snatching the remote from her blanket to pause her movie.

"How are you doing?"

Emelia can't help but look away. She knew this conversation was coming. She's been acting as if the accident never happened. Like she didn't loose two weeks of her life. It was easier. What she was used to. She was never the weak one.

"It's hurts a lot but I know I'll be okay." Eddie shakes his head at her.

"I mean up here." Eddie taps his finger against her temple

"I'm still kinda freaked out I guess." Emelia starts, messing with the bracelets on her wrist. "I could have died and I wouldn't have known. I just keep thinking, what if I hadn't woken up?"

She missed so much while she was in her coma. Harry was found. Jeffery died. The random was over. Maddie left and Buck is weirdly okay about it. She missed out on the small moments too. Every second she could have been spending with her loved ones taken from her.

"I thought the same thing. But do you know what got me through it?" Emelia hums in response. "Buck and May. I wouldn't have made it through day one with out their support. So maybe, when you're ready you can lean us a bit for support. I know you think we already did enough while your were in the coma, but we will always be there to take care of you."

Emelia fights with herself, scared she'll freak herself out more if the words are spoken into existence.

"I saw mom." Once again Emelia looks away. Unsure of the response she would get.

Eddie doesn't say anything, he can't. If he does he will start crying and won't know how to stop.

"When I was in the ambulance. She told me she loved me and that I was going to be okay. I believed her."

"Come here." Eddie wipes a test from his cheeks and opens his arms. Emelia folds into them, tears slipping down her cheeks. Maybe now she would be able to move on from that unbelievable moment she held in.

"Can I ask you something?" Emelia asks after a while.

"Of course."

"Did you break up with Ana because of me?"

Emelia feels like she already knows the answer but she needs to hear him say it.

"No, I didn't." Eddie isn't sure he can say the real truth out loud yet. "I did it for myself. I was trying so hard to create a normal life for you and Chris but I realized that she wasn't the person to do that."

"Have you found that person yet?" She pushes.

"I'm not sure." Eddie says truthfully. "But when I do. You and Chris will be the first to know."

Emelia has a feeling in the pit of her stomach that they both know who that person is. The person who hasn't left their side since the moment they got LA but Emelia was going to let her dad figure that  out on his own.