Just as Protective as Me
Los Angeles
The next morning.
Kelly walked out of the arrivals gate and smiled when he saw Maddie waiting for him. They didn’t start out on the right foot when she first came back into Evans life but after long conversation they put all the bad behind them and started anew. He was glad Buck had had her though something tells him she doesn’t know what Evan has been going through at the 118.
“Maddie.” He leaned in for a hug.
“Hey Kelly. You got everything?” Kelly nodded his head. “Good, then let’s get to the station and maybe on the way you can tell me what’s going on?”
“Of course.” And so he did, he told her mostly everything, he left out the part about Evan moving back to Chicago, that wasn’t his place. When he was done, he could see the anger in every part of her body. He watched her wipe a tear away from her face.
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Come on Maddie you know Evan, he didn’t want to have to make you choose. It’s why he never told you what happened with your parents. He doesn’t like to see himself as a burden. He only told me because I’m thousands of miles away and knows I can’t do anything, plus I don’t know these people, so for me there’s no choice, it’s just him.”
Maddie wiped more tears from her eyes, “he should’ve told me, it’ll always be him.”
Kelly smiled, her protective streak was as big as his. “Exactly.”
Maddie smiled a little. “Damn that man. The world doesn’t deserve him. He’s been through so much and he still has a heart of gold.”
“No, it doesn’t. So let’s meet him at the station and we’ll make sure he knows just how loved he is.” The rest of the drive was silent, Maddie trying to figure out what she wanted to say to everyone and Kelly was just trying to talk himself out of hitting someone.