Assumptions & Meetings
Evan
Now…
It had been another week since his call to Chim, since Judd Ryder had come to the 126, and Evan still hadn’t come up with any way to help the man.
He knew it was probably ridiculous that he was dedicating so much time and effort to someone he didn’t know, someone he didn’t owe anything to. But, Evan also knew what it felt like to have something you lived and breathed taken from you through no fault of your own. If there was something he could do for Judd Ryder to alleviate even a fraction of the pain he’d gone through himself, Evan would do it without hesitation.
The day after his call to Chimney, he’d spent the better part of the afternoon talking Owen’s ear off about the injustice of Judd Ryder not getting his job back. He couldn’t ignore how he felt a strange sort of duty to defend Judd, if only because nobody else had done the same for him when he was in a similar situation at the 118.
After giving Evan an outlet to fully expel all his thoughts about the situation, his uncle explained the department was more than amenable to Ryder returning to work for the 126—if he completed his Critical Stress Debriefing.
Considering the way Evan felt about therapists, he didn’t blame the man for avoiding it, especially seeing how Judd Ryder radiated the vibe that talking about feelings at all was a waste of time.
And Evan got all that from listening and observing the man for less than fifteen minutes.
Talking about himself wasn’t something Evan was comfortable with at all, so he understood wholeheartedly. But, unfortunately, until Judd Ryder swallowed the bitter pill that was therapy and took care of the CSID, all their hands were tied. Fortunately, Evan had plenty of distractions while they waited to see if Judd would be able to come through.
Owen managed the setup of their new home so quickly, Evan was shocked it hadn’t made his head spin. Since he and TK each had their own reasonably-sized bedrooms, much of Evan’s stuff had actually made its way from the storage locker to the house. The room still held a far cry from a home’s worth of property, but he knew there would be plenty of time to accumulate more things. He was pleased that the majority of his book collection was able to find a home throughout the house, if not on the shelves in his room, and his uncle only drove him and TK a little stir crazy with his particulars regarding the kitchen set-up.
The rest of the new squad members for the 126 had arrived in Austin as well and were all settling in nicely. Evan had a feeling he and Marjan would develop a competitive streak between the pair of them, the two firefighters rehashing daredevil stunts and charades they’d each pulled off in their former home states. But she was sassy in a way that reminded him a little of Carla, and she made him laugh harder than he had in a long time. Paul was more reserved in comparison, but he possessed a sharp wit, and Evan couldn’t help but be envious of the way he seemed to zero in on things the rest of them were completely oblivious to. Ironically though, the two men possessed similar taste in books, and they’d started sharing recommendations back and forth.
Likewise, his rapport with Mateo, “Probie” as everyone had fondly taken to calling him, grew steadily with each passing day. Mateo’s passion for firefighting was not unlike his own, and Evan found himself sharing every bit of knowledge he possessed about their chosen career. He knew the kid’s written exam would be here again before they knew it, and Evan wanted to do whatever he could to help Mateo soak up the information he needed to know.
Evan was eager to develop just as much camaraderie with the EMS team and its captain, though the woman’s backstory was still something of a mystery to him. Her method of arrival at the firehouse during their first official day as a squad didn’t help quash any of the questions lingering in his mind.
Determined to master Mateo’s unique folding method, Evan had been pondering a stack of towels in the main truck bay when he saw a police cruiser pull up outside Station 126. When he noticed Carlos step out of the vehicle, he cracked a smile and headed his way—only to falter his steps a bit when he saw the officer let Michelle out of the back of the car.
“You know Michelle, if Carlos is going to give you a lift to work, the least he could do is let you ride shotgun,” Evan said, smirking lightly at the officer in question.
“Ha ha, Buckley. Very funny,” Carlos replied with a dry laugh, closing the car door behind Michelle.
For once, the sound of his last name coming from someone didn’t make him flinch.
“Trust me, Evan,” Michelle said, a soft smile playing on her face. “This lift was more out of necessity than friendship. Though I do appreciate the ride, Carlos.” With a tilt of her head, she gently squeezed the officer’s arm before making her way up the stairs towards the locker room.
Both men watched her go, her shoulders radiating defeat, and Evan turned back to the officer. “Is she okay?”
“Honestly, some days I’m less sure than others,” Carlos replied, crossing his arms lightly, his eyes lingering on the stairs. “It’s not really for me to say why, but I always hope that things will get better, you know?”
“Yeah, I think I know what you mean,” Evan nodded somberly and, knowing it wasn’t really his place, decided not to dig any further. He and Carlos were still barely acquaintances, and Evan had already learned the hard way what could happen when you entered a game without fully understanding all the players.
“Hey,” Carlos said, changing the subject. “How’s everything going? You all get settled okay?”
“Yeah, it’s actually been pretty great.” Evan felt his lips lift in a happy smile. “Austin seems to agree with me; the air feels a little clearer out here.”
“Yeah, we may still be a packed city, but there’s definitely room to breathe if you know where to look for it.” From his tone of voice, somehow Evan knew Carlos didn’t just mean that literally. “What about your uncle and cousin?”
“Oh, well, my Uncle Owen is one of those people that manages to find a way to fit in wherever he goes. He may still seem completely out of place compared to the rest of the people in the room, but he always manages to ‘belong’ somehow—if that makes sense,” Evan answered with a shrug and a soft chuckle.
Carlos laughed again and said, “I think I get what you’re saying. And your cousin? TK, right?”
Evan bit his lip and hesitated answering. He wasn’t about to go blabbing his cousin’s business to someone he barely knew, and TK had been doing pretty well all things considered. Still, there were times TK would just sit and stare off into space that had Evan wondering if this were really going as well for him as they hoped. “Him I’m less sure about, honestly. I mean, we both needed a change, and he seems to be doing okay. It’s just…sometimes I wonder if there’s not something more I could be doing. Then again, I always feel like there’s more I should be doing for him. I worry about him a lot.” His thoughts wandered back to his cousin’s second overdose and the guilty feeling Evan had for not being there for him again when he’d needed to be. Owen and TK both made it clear that Evan was always there for them when it truly mattered, but it was hard to believe that when he constantly showed up in the aftermath of the damage, rather than being there to prevent it in the first place.
He realized that he’d stopped talking and Carlos was staring at him with his head tilted in curiosity. Clearing his throat, he pasted on a smile he hoped the other man bought as genuine. “But it’s like you said, I just have to hope things will get better.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder and asked, “I know you’re probably on the clock, but they’re both here if you’d like to meet them officially, along with the rest of the team, of course?”
Carlos smiled back at him and was about to answer when the chirp of his radio had him turning an ear to his car. From what Evan could make out, it sounded like an assault of some kind. “Alas, duty calls. Rain check?” Evan smiled and nodded in response. “I’ll see you out there, Evan,” he said, tapping him lightly on the shoulder.
“You too, Carlos,” he replied with another smile. “It was good seeing you.”
“You too!”
And with a quick salute, Carlos was off, the sound of sirens trailing behind him. Evan went back to his folding, soon joined by Paul and Mateo who were arguing about movie sequels, before a call disrupted their activity.
They all sprang into action, gearing up and heading out to see what their first call in Austin would be.
“My cousin’s up here! He’s in bad shape, just spit up some blood. You gotta help him, please!” The man frantically led the team through a backyard crowded with people who had obviously been in the middle of a party.
“What’s ETA on EMS?” Owen asked, navigating through the group.
“Supposedly on the way,” TK responded.
“Alright, till they get here, you and Evan assess the patient,” Owen instructed before requesting the rest of the people gathered to let them through. “Marjan, talk to the family. See if he has any allergies. Mateo, move these people back so we have some room to work.”
“You mean give us some room to work,” Michelle said, stepping through the crowd, her team right behind her. “This scene belongs to us.”
Evan was about to check the victim’s airway when he’d heard Michelle interject. Knowing protocol, he stepped back, tugging TK aside with him.
“You must have missed the part where they made me captain of the 126,” Owen responded with a chuckle.
“Uh…Cap?” Evan tried to interrupt.
“Michelle Blake, Paramedic Captain. And this scene is medical, so I run the call,” she quipped back, eyes assessing the scene.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, since when does EMS tell Fire what time it is?” Owen questioned, while TK and Evan moved next to him out of Michelle’s way.
“He didn’t read the Travis County Manual, did he?” Michelle asked Evan with a quirk of her head, her eyes still on the victim.
“I tried to tell him,” Evan replied, holding his palms up in defense.
Owen cocked his head to look at his nephew before explaining, “I’m more of a visual learner.”
“In Texas, EMS calls the shots involving medical emergencies,” Evan responded with a shrug, when he realized his teammates were also staring at him.
“So, you do what I say, Captain,” Michelle finished, the commanding tone obvious.
The fire captain raised his eyebrows at the rest of the team before defaulting to Michelle. She quickly diagnosed the victim, Marcos, with a ruptured esophagus, and after some assistance from her paramedics and the firefighters, they got the man stabilized and transported to the hospital.
While the rest of the team were loading up their gear to return to the house, Owen lightly elbowed his nephew. “You tried to tell me, huh?”
“Well, I did!” Evan chuckled, elbowing him back in response. “You’re the one who didn’t listen.”
“Yeah, yeah, alright. So, when did you meet our paramedic captain?”
“Our first day here. I bumped into her friend, Carlos, at the food truck plaza. Literally, I almost sent the poor guy and his food flying. And after we all introduced ourselves, they invited me to eat with them. She was the one who recommended you read the manual,” Evan said with a cheeky grin.
“Uh huh, well, is there anything else in this manual I should be immediately aware of?”
“Oh plenty. I’ll give you the full run down on the way back to the station, and at dinner tonight, and tomorrow at breakfast…” Evan trailed off as they both climbed into the fire truck with the rest of the crew. The sound of his uncle’s groaning had the whole team laughing at once.
A few days later, Evan was experiencing a rain storm like he hadn’t seen in a while after spending so many years in LA. They’d already had several calls related to flooding, a few minor mudslides, and a downed power line that caused a house fire. They were all damp, tired, and wrung out.
Evan hadn’t felt so good in months.
They’d only been working together a week, and already they were almost perfectly in sync. Evan always figured he and TK would function like clockwork together, but it was an amazing feeling to have a similar experience with the rest of the new 126.
Even with the success, however, Judd Ryder and his situation still lingered in the back of his mind.
After the house fire, they’d managed to sneak in a hastily prepared dinner before they were called out again to the scene of a car accident. Upon arrival, they all spilled out of the firetruck quickly, securing helmets and coats under the downpour of rain. While Evan and the rest of the crew were getting equipment together, Owen went to speak with the officer on scene.
“Captain Strand? Officer Reyes, Austin PD. Good to finally meet you sir.” The sound of Carlos’s voice had Evan’s ears perking up before he went back to grabbing tools.
“Good to meet you.”
He, TK, and the rest of the team followed behind Owen and Carlos, listening to the officer’s briefing and looking over the vehicle that was lying on the driver’s side.
“Don’t look now, but you’re about to have an audience,” Carlos said, nodding towards a news van that rolled up to the scene.
Owen motioned the team towards the car and said, “Show ‘em what we got!”
Evan hopped up on the side of the car and peered down at the driver. “Allison, can you hear me?” Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t respond. “She’s unconscious, Cap, we gotta move!”
He was about to hop down from the car and head for their tools when Paul shouted, “Hey, Cap! We got gas in the water. The fuel tank must’ve busted!”
“Everybody, get back!” Owen shouted to everyone in the immediate vicinity. “Mateo, disengage the battery terminal. TK, get the CO2. Paul, I need you to get me the Jaws of Life.”
“On it, Cap.”
“Allison, hold on. Stay with us,” Evan called to the woman, staying by the car while Mateo took care of the battery. When Paul returned with the Jaws, Evan pried apart the front section of the vehicle so the rest of the team could take off the windshield.
“Alright, Marjan,” Owen directed. “You’re up.”
After passing off her helmet and turnout coat to Mateo, Marjan crawled through the front of the car to reach the victim. “Looks like she’s pregnant,” Marjan called. “I got a pulse! Cap, she’s trapped under the steering column.”
TK passed over a c-collar, while Owen and Evan looked over the exterior of the vehicle. “What do you want to do, Cap?” Evan asked.
“If we can’t cut her out, we cut the car off of her.”
“We gotta get her out,” Marjan said, cutting the seat belt from around Allison. “I’m worried about this baby.”
This time, Owen manned the Jaws, separating the roof of the car from the rest of the body, while Paul and Evan carefully pulled the pieces around Allison apart.
“Almost got it, Cap,” Paul said, the metal of the car finally yielding to their maneuvers and opening up the interior of the vehicle completely.
“Allison!” Owen called out. “Stay with us.”
“Hey, dad,” TK said as Evan and Marjan moved Allison and started to pull her out. “The EMT’s just pulled up!”
“Alright, get her stable,” Owen directed.
“Let’s get her up, quick,” Marjan said, as she, Evan, and Mateo lifted the woman. “We gotta check on the baby.”
They placed her gently on a gurney the EMT’s had rolled over, and Owen handed off the scene to Michelle.
“Strong radial pulse,” the paramedic captain noted, waving smelling salts under Allison’s nose. “Ma’am? Ma’am.”
Allison woke up in a panic, calling out for her baby. “Is my baby okay?!”
“Listen,” Michelle confirmed. “We’re going to get you to the hospital so they can check on you and your baby, okay?”
“This baby and my other baby, Henry. My ten-month-old. He’s in his car seat in the back,” she said, looking towards the car.
Michelle looked at Owen and Evan, the two men darting towards the vehicle.
“Marjan, what do you see in there?” Owen called out.
“There’s baby seat attachments, but no baby seat!”
“All right!” Owen shouted, directing the team to follow him, as Michelle worked to calm the panicked mother. “We're looking for a car seat that probably got tossed when this thing rolled. We're gonna assume this child is still alive.” He nodded towards Evan and Mateo. “Why don't you guys start up at that tree line? TK, Marjan, and I are gonna look on this side of the bank. We'll meet up in the middle! Where’s Paul?”
“Hey, Cap! Over here!” The team followed Paul’s voice back to where the emergency vehicles were parked. He had a broken car mirror in one hand and a utility flashlight in the other. He described what he concluded as he waved the flashlight from spot to spot. “The SUV was already rolling when it struck the pole. She hydroplaned into this guardrail and started rolling from there. The doors must have flung open with some force, because—”
The squad had been following Paul around the scene closer to the edge of the road near an enormous tree when the cries of a baby halted their steps. They looked up at the tree and—
“Oh my God,” Marjan uttered as they all pointed their flashlights up at a branch, Henry’s car seat dangling precariously from it.
Evan quickly assessed the scene, the tree, and what room they had before shouting, “I’ll get the truck, Cap!” He ran to get the vehicle in position as Owen shouted reassuring platitudes to the baby. TK directed Evan’s driving while Mateo kept everyone at a safe distance.
After the truck was set, Evan climbed out and followed Owen up the side of the truck. “I can go up, Cap,” he said to his uncle, motioning to the ladder.
“No, I’ll go,” Owen confirmed. “The ladder is going to be slick from the rain. I need you down here keeping it steady and watching my back in case something goes wrong.”
Evan was prepared to argue that he was perfectly capable of climbing a ladder when he remembered that this was Owen, his uncle and now captain, a man who’d never given Evan any reason not to believe he was trusted implicitly.
If his captain wanted him on the ground to watch his back, then that’s what Evan would do.
His protestations died on his tongue immediately, and he nodded before carefully sending up the ladder. Once it was positioned as closely and safely as possible to the branch holding Henry, Owen ascended the ladder. Michelle and the other EMTs, the rest of the firefighters, and Carlos gathered around Allison who was frantically calling out to her son.
“I see him!” Owen confirmed. “Trying to get to him!”
Evan wasn’t sure about any of his teammates, but he felt as though he didn’t breathe while he watched his uncle carefully try to pull Henry’s car seat from the tree.
Suddenly, the branches snapped, the car seat fell, and Allison screamed.
“Oh no!” he heard TK call out. “The baby!”
Evan closed his eyes, feeling the agony of failure closing in on him like a black fog. Oh no…his thoughts trailed off.
And then…they heard the baby crying.
Evan whipped his head back up and saw Henry cradled in his uncle’s arms. The sound of his teammates cheering, of Mateo’s call of “Whoo-hoo!”, was like a wind lifting the fog from Evan’s mind. He found himself grinning with desperate relief, the air seeming to flood back into his lungs, as he watched Owen step slowly down the ladder.
When he stepped back down on the truck, Evan cuffed him lightly on the shoulder, and said, “Good job, Uncle Owen.”
“You too, kid. Thanks for having my back,” he said smiling as they moved to descend the truck.
“Always,” he confirmed.
Evan held Henry while Owen climbed down the truck, then he gently passed him back so he could climb down as well. The two men quickly darted back to the anxious mother.
“I think this belongs to you,” Owen smiled, passing Henry to Allison.
She thanked him graciously, tears falling down her cheeks. “God bless ya’ll! All of ya’ll!” she called out as the EMT’s wheeled her away.
As the other firefighters broke apart and started gathering their tools from the scene, Michelle looked back at Owen and Evan, a small smile of approval rising on her face, before she climbed into the ambulance. Evan patted Owen on the back and made his way back over to TK and Carlos, both still standing near the front of the fire truck.
Owen nodded at both of them with a raise of his brow, and the two boys both smiled cheekily before nodding back. Out of the corner of his eye, Evan saw Carlos turn and look at TK, a slightly awestruck look on his face.
“He’s an impressive guy,” the officer said.
TK turned to Carlos and said proudly, “He’s my dad.”
Evan looked back at Owen and smiled again, basking in their win. Then, he softly elbowed his cousin and said, “Yeah, but he was my uncle first!”
“Oh my god, Bee you are such a child. Dad beats uncle, and you know it!” TK responded with a groan.
“Yeah, well, I’m still the favorite, T. So there!” Evan said, sticking his tongue out.
Carlos laughed at the two men’s antics before saying, “Are you two always like this?”
“Pretty much, yeah,” Evan answered, before noticing Carlos staring at TK and it occurred to him he hadn’t made introductions. He motioned to Carlos and said, “TK, this is Officer Carlos Reyes, Michelle’s friend I told you about. Carlos, this is TK Strand, my cousin I’ve mentioned.”
The two men shook hands and TK said, “Everything he’s told you is a lie. I’m sure of it.”
“Psh, like I’d tell him anything about your obsession with boba tea or that your real name is Ty—”
“Alright, that’s enough out of you!” TK grumbled, playfully shoving his cousin.
Carlos laughed at the two men’s bantering before Evan stopped and returned to the conversation. “Oh, and for the record, Carlos, when you said, ‘rain check,’ I didn’t think you’d mean that literally!” He pulled off his helmet to shake some moisture from his curly hair, dousing TK in the process.
“Ew, dude! Why?”
“Cause I’m taller, that’s why!”
TK rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in mock irritation. Before any of them could say anything further, Marjan was calling for both of them to stop standing around and come help pack up. Evan cracked another smile and darted off with a brief, “See ya, Carlos!”
It was only a few minutes later while he was finishing retracting the ladder on top of the track, that he noticed his cousin staring off into space again.
Only this time, the space he was staring at was occupied by Carlos.
Later that night, after his shift finally ended and Evan took the hottest shower he could, all he could think about was going home to bed. The adrenaline from all their successful calls had started waning somewhere after the third time he’d dumped water out of his boots, but the smile still hadn’t left his face
He waved to the rest of his crew on his way out, doing his best to avoid face planting from exhaustion, before hopping in his jeep and pulling up in front of the 126. He rolled down the passenger window and shouted across the truck bay to his cousin. “Hey, T! Come on, dude, let’s get out of here. Bed is calling my name!”
“Yeah, alright, I’m coming!” TK said a quick goodbye to his dad before jogging over to meet Evan. Owen waved the pair of them off and Evan quickly pulled out to the main road to head for home.
“So, first week working together finally on the books. How do you feel, little bro?” Evan smirked at TK and ruffled his hair.
“Ah! Dude, no! Not the hair!”
“Eh, you’re going to sleep anyway. What does it matter?”
“It matters because I say it does. And for the record, I enjoyed every second, despite the level of rain we had to put up with today.”
“Yeah, that part I could do without myself. But hey, at least it’s not snow right?”
“Ick, yes, definitely better,” his cousin said with a shiver, before turning in his seat to face Evan. “Hey, so, what’s with the cop? He seems cool.”
“Ah ha! I knew it!”
“What?”
“I knew you were into him. I saw you go all heart eyes over him back at the call.”
“I was not!”
“Were too!”
“Was not!”
“Trust me, T, you were. And for the record, he’s all yours,” Evan said with a smirk, winking at his cousin.
“I--that’s not, I mean, you--”
“Ha, it’s not often TK Strand is at a loss for words. Carlos must’ve really piqued your interest, not that I blame you. The man is handsome as hell, and he seems like a genuinely nice guy too--from what little we’ve talked, that is.”
“Yeah, I got that vibe too,” TK replied, his voice dropping an octave. He’d turned back in his seat, but his gaze had fallen to his lap like it did when he was trying to hide inside himself.
He wasn’t sure if it was something TK had always done and Evan just hadn’t noticed, or if it was a recent development, but it physically pained him the way his cousin seemed determined to disappear--in whatever way he could. “Hey, what’s going on in that head of yours, man?”
“It’s just--I don’t know if being with someone is the right move for me right now, you know?”
“Why do you feel that way?”
“How can you even ask me that question, dude?”
Evan clenched his hands on the wheel and ground his teeth, angry--yet understanding--at the self-loathing he could hear in his cousin’s voice. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this last year, TK, it’s that you can never truly know how another person feels about themselves if you don’t ask. Plenty of people didn’t bother to do it for me when I needed them to; they all just assumed they knew how I felt or what was best for me. We see how well that worked out, so I’ll be damned if I go around assuming anything about you. I care about you too much to disregard you that way or endanger you by presuming I know how you’re feeling.” He looked over at his cousin for a moment, trying to stress in his eyes how much he saw his cousin, that he only saw TK.
His cousin took a breath and looked out the window at the passing lights of Austin. “I just think right now might be the wrong time to introduce myself to someone else in any way that isn’t platonic. It doesn’t really matter what I might think of Carlos; I shouldn’t be near anyone right now...not that way. All I’d do is hurt him.”
Evan let TK’s words sink in for a moment while he pulled the car into the driveway. He turned the jeep off but didn’t move to get out of the car, fiddling with his keys instead.
He knew exactly how TK felt because the same thoughts had been floating through his mind for weeks, if not months. Since the ladder truck bombing, Evan had basically been feeling like he was being held together with duct tape and paper clips. It didn’t matter what he might have been feeling for Ali or Ed--nope, no, we don’t say it or even think it--or anyone for that matter. How could he be with anyone when he was such a mess on the inside? He couldn’t do that to someone, let them in, only to hurt them later.
Or maybe that’s just your excuse so you’re not the one who ends up hurt? Since that’s how it usually goes?
He ignored the thought, at least how it pertained to him, but couldn’t ignore the way it could apply to his cousin. He stopped fiddling with his keys and looked at TK, disparaged by how haunted and sad his cousin looked. “T, I can appreciate how you’re concerned you may hurt Carlos, or anyone for that matter. But, are you sure it’s not you who’s afraid of being hurt? I mean the writing’s on the wall, bud; you’ve been hurt by a lot of people in the past. Is it so ridiculous to consider that maybe it’s not them, it’s you you’re afraid for?”
“I--I don’t know. Maybe? Can it be both?”
“Yeah, bro, of course it can be both,” Evan said, laying a hand on TK’s shoulder and squeezing gently. “Either way, it’s not wrong to feel that way. You know that, right?”
TK seemed to think on it for a moment before bringing a hand up over Evan’s and leaving it there. He didn’t look away from staring up at their new home, but his next words sounded more hopeful than the start of their conversation had. “I think I’m starting to.”
He looked over at Evan then, squeezing his hand one more time. “Thanks, Bee.”
Evan didn’t need to know what he was thanking him for; it didn’t matter anyway. “You’re welcome, T.” He squeezed his shoulder once more before pulling away. “Come on, let’s get you inside before you fall asleep in the car. You know how much your neck hates sleeping in my jeep.”
TK rolled his eyes at Evan’s joke and followed him out of the car, grabbing both their duffels out of the back seat on the way. Evan grabbed his bag and threw an arm over TK’s shoulder, tucking the younger man into his side as they headed up the walk into the house. “I love you, little brother.”
TK threw him a crooked smile and tapped his head to Evan’s shoulder. “I love you too, big brother, even though I still think you give me and my emotional baggage too much credit.”
“Psh, there isn’t an airport hanger big enough for all the bags I carry, so you’re already way ahead of the curve, my man. Besides, I’m older and more mature, so I know what I’m talking about. You should listen to me.”
TK rolled his eyes again and laughed. “You know, a guy gets a few years on you and never lets you forget it.”
“Nope, now get inside before my old bones pass out on the stoop and you have to carry me to my room.”
“Not on your life, dude!”
The pair of men gently ribbed each other as they walked through the door, laughter following the pair of them inside and continuing until they’d both fallen into a dreamless haze of sleep.