A Broken Crew

Chapter 30

Grey simply lets Atlas lift him and carry him home. Or, at least, that's what he assumes happens. It was a blur to him. He doesn't quite remember the time between when Atlas showed up and when they got back to the house. The dark cloud still clings to his thoughts, and his heart still feels so heavy. Roman fusses when he sees Grey, guessing what had happened, and both Kacey and Mikko are very relieved to see him, but... Grey feels like his emotions have been dialed down. He smiles slightly at them, but that's it.

Maggie instantly comes over to them and gathers them all in a big group hug: Atlas, November, and Grey. "Oh, I'm so glad you are okay." She turned to Grey, gently grabbing his shoulder. "Sweetheart, I know you're going through a hard time, and you probably don't know who to trust. But I promise you can trust me. I will always be there for you. And if you are comfortable with it, I'm going to take you into my home as a foster and eventually, hopefully, adopt you. I want you to have a good home. So, what do you say?"

Grey nods and hugs her again, smiling slightly. "Thank you... Mom." he says quietly, where only she can hear it. He look at Atlas with a happier look in his eyes. He hides his face momentarily in Maggie's shoulder.

Maggie hugged him tightly. "Of course, sweetheart. Let's get you back home." Then she whispered to him, "I will be your mother, sweetheart. The mother you deserved."

Grey chokes up and blinks back tears when he hears that. He smiles at her, and his eyes seem to say "I trust you. I believe you." It takes him a moment before he can find his voice again. "Let's... Let's go home."

Maggie smiled warmly. "Yes." she said. "Let's all go home." She looked over at November. "Sweetheart, we'll get you an icepack and some medicine, are you sure you're okay?" November nodded, his hands making useless writing motions. 

"He saved me." Grey says quietly, offering November a smile. He offers November his hand. "Trace your words on my hand if you want, Nova.

November inclined his head in thanks and carefully traced only 6 words: 'I'm okay. I love you guys.' Then, one more sentence. 'I wish I could smile right now.' 

Grey relays what November wanted to say to the others. Roman tilts his head thoughtfully and looks at November. Mikko tugs on Roman's sleeve and Roman sighs. "Grey." Once Grey looks at him, he continues. "I've got to take Kacey and Mikko home. Remember, you can always call us." Grey nods, and Kacey and Mikko both hug him good bye. He hugs them back, a little sad but not much. "Bye Grey!" Kacey chirps. "Bye.." Mikko whispers in his ear. "Bye guys." Grey responds, and releases his two small friends. They, along with Roman, head for Roman's car.

Maggie called Dakota to drive her car here, because she had run all the way. Dakota pulled up with the car. He was much calmer now, and he even gave Grey a half-smile. "You're a lucky man." he said. "Having Maggie as a mom and August and Atlas as brothers, well, frankly I'm jealous of you." There was a dull sadness behind his eyes and joking tone. "But I'm glad for you as well."

Grey quickly reads into what he's saying a feels a stab of guilt. He knows nothing is official yet. He knows Dakota still has a chance to be a part of the family. "If I had my way... I'd have you for a brother as well." He means it, too, and that's clear to see in his eyes.

"Don't I wish." Dakota said wistfully. "That'd really be something, wouldn't it?" He forced a laugh. "But this guy is ghetto trash forever." he said. "Or at least until I'm 25." He felt a sting at his own words, but he brushed it off. There was no point in feeling sad about adoption for him. That boat had sailed 8 years ago. Maggie overheard Dakota and gave him a gently slap on the shoulder. "Don't you dare say that." she said. "You're not ghetto trash. You're a respectable young man and just because you don't have my last name doesn't mean you're not a part of my family." Dakota nodded, but there was still a forlorn expression on his face. Maggie gave him a hug. "I am sorry, honey. I wish we could have done more." Dakota realized he was making her feel bad and shook off his melancholy. "Hey, don't worry about it. I mean, we all kind of knew that would happen and it's in the past, anyway." He pulled off the curb and started driving home, ignoring the pained feeling in his heart.

Grey sneaks out his phone and rapidly sends the photos of the docs Dakota's mom had left to Cassidy. They had an agreement that whatever he sent her required her full attention, no matter what it was. A short note was attached as well. That done, he puts his phone away. He doesn't say anything during the drive, mulling the events over. It's still hard for him to imagine that he's being adopted. He's run from that for years. He quickly shakes that thought from his head, though. If he thinks about it too much, he'll start trying to find a way out of it- just like every other time.