Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter Summary:  In the wake of the sniper shooting, Buck and Eddie admitted their feelings for each other.  They had an epic - and ultimately unsuccessful - blowout with Helena and Ramon in hopes of discouraging them from trying to take Chris through either legal or illegal means.

Buck sat in the waiting room, unable to stop his hands from shaking.  He knew he should go to the rest room and at least wash the blood off them.  But his legs felt like jelly, and he didn’t think he’d even be able to stand up.  He also didn’t want to step away in case he was needed to make more decisions as Eddie’s medical proxy.  He’d already given permission for emergency surgery, to stabilize Eddie and take out the bullet.

He’d lost all track of time as he sat there waiting to hear about Eddie.  Beating himself up for not being faster in diving under the fire truck and pulling his friend to safety.  Panicking at the thought of life without Eddie if the unthinkable happened and he didn’t pull through.

“Buck, you okay?” Buck looked up to see Bobby standing in front of him.  He was so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t even heard Bobby come in.

“No.  How are you here?  Sorry I didn’t call you,” belated realizing that he’d failed to notify anyone.

“Mehta called me.  Don’t worry Buck.  I let everyone know.”

“Thanks,” Buck murmured.

“Let me help you clean up the blood,” as he slowly pulled Buck to his feet and guided him in the direction of the men’s room. 

“I can’t leave the room in case they need me as Eddie’s medical proxy,” Buck protested as Bobby gently pulled him into the men’s room. 

“Your phone on?”

“Of course.”

“Then they’ll be able to contact you if they need you,” Bobby reassured him.  “But I think you’ll feel better if you get this blood off your face and hands.”

Buck let Bobby help him clean up as much as he could in the men’s room sink.  When they got back out to the waiting room, he was surprised to see Hen and Chim there. 

“Aren’t we on shift?” asked Buck.

“Don’t worry.  I was able to get coverage for us,” assured Bobby.

Buck nodded, unable to say more.  He let Chim and Hen give him hugs, before they all sat there quietly, deep in their own thoughts.  Buck was jarred out of yet another spiral as he glanced up at the waiting room clock.  It was about 2:30 pm and Chris would soon be done with his online classes.  He needed to get over there and tell him about Eddie before he heard about the shooting from the news.

He turned to Bobby.  “Hey, I need to get over to Eddie’s house and talk to Chris.  Don’t know when I’ll be able to get back here.  Can you keep me posted and make sure Eddie is never alone.  And tell the hospital to call me if they need my consent for anything.”

“Of course.  Also, doesn’t Eddie have a girlfriend that we should try and contact?  I think her name is Ana,” asked Bobby.

“No.  They didn’t work out.  They only had one date where she tried to teach him math.  Realized that he was only dating her to please his parents.  So, he didn’t take it any further.”

“Ah.  Got it.” Bobby softly said in an understanding tone.  “Go talk to Chris.  But please take an Uber.  I don’t trust you behind the wheel right now.  Later, one of us will help you pick up your jeep from the station.  And you may want to shower and change before you see Chris.”

Buck nodded in agreement.  “Thanks.  Please let me know when he’s out of surgery.  See you tomorrow on shift.”

“Buck, please take some of your huge backlog of PTO.  That way you can be there for Eddie and Chris without having to worry about the job,” implored Bobby.

Buck wanted to protest but he knew that his head wasn’t in the game.  And it probably wouldn’t be until Eddie was at least out of the woods and awake.  “Okay,” he reluctantly agreed.

Upon arriving at Eddie’s house, Buck quickly showered and changed before heading in to talk to Chris.  Telling Chris was hard enough.  Chris comforting him when he started crying after receiving Bobby’s text that Eddie was out of surgery, and it had gone well.  That was absolutely mortifying.  But also reinforced his belief that Chris was the greatest kid in the world.

The rest of the week was a blur.  Between taking care of Chris when Carla was off, visiting Eddie in the hospital, and preparing the house for Eddie’s convalescence, he was completely exhausted.  As much as he hated to miss work, he was grateful to Bobby for insisting that he take PTO. 

Finally, the doctors agreed that Eddie was ready to come home.  “Okay, the nurse is getting your meds and discharge papers ready.  Then we can get out of here,” Buck said as he stepped into the room.

“Great.  Hey, since we got a minute – “

“- Everything all right?” as Buck sat down next to Eddie on the bed.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm just, uh, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

“Okay.”

“So, you might have noticed I almost died.  Again. After the last time, when that well collapsed on top of me it got me thinking.  You know, what would happen to Christopher if I hadn't?  So, I went to my attorney and changed my will.  So, someday, if, I, uh didn't make it Christopher would be taken care of.  By you.”

“What?

“It's in my will, if I die, you become Christopher's legal guardian.”

“I mean, how does that even work? Don't you need my consent?”

“My attorney said you could refuse.”

“You know I wouldn't.  Of course, I'll be your backup plan.”

“What do you mean my backup plan?” Eddie asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“That's what a will is.”

“I know that.  But it's not just a backup plan.”

“I'm confused.  What do you mean?”

Eddie started blushing as he stammered.  “You, uh, know…Chris is my heart.”

“I know that.”

“I mean I'm giving you my heart.  Eddie said as he scratched the back of his neck with his good hand.  Buck knew that’s what Eddie did when he was struggling to find the right words.

“What are you saying?  I don't want to misunderstand you,” Buck patiently asked. 

Eddie sighed.  “When I was lying there bleeding out, my ‘give a fuck’ permanently broke.  All my life, I've lived to please my parents.  Forced myself into relationships based solely on what they wanted.  No more.  Now I'm following my own heart.  It's time I recognized that you, Chris and I are a family."

Buck was silent. He desperately wanted to believe Eddie, but he needed to be sure that what he was hearing what how Eddie truly felt.  And not just a reaction to the pain meds or the trauma.   "What pain meds are you on?"

“Nothing stronger that Tylenol since last night.  When they bring by my discharge papers, they'll give me something stronger for the ride home.  So, it's not the drugs talking.  Nor is it the trauma.”

Buck laughed at how Eddie had read his mind.  “Well, if it's neither of those things, then you should know that you and Chris have my heart as well.”

"Come here," as Eddie motioned for Buck to come closer and kiss him.  Buck obliged with a peck on the lips.

"That's it?" Eddie pouted.

"For now.  We're not making out in the hospital." Buck took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts.  “As much as I’d love to jump into this with both feet, we need to take it slow.  We both have a lot of things to figure out and work on. All three of us need therapy.”

Eddie made a face.  “Ugh.  You really think it’s necessary?  I hated seeing a therapist after fight club.  Only reason I did was because Bobby required it.  Made it a condition of me coming back to work.”

“Yeah.  It’s absolutely necessary.  For you, me, and Chris.  Especially given all the traumas we’ve suffered.  None of us have fully dealt with them.  If we try to further our relationship on a weak foundation, I’m scared of what could happen.  Who knows.  You might join another fight club,” Buck said as he good naturedly poked fun at Eddie to make his point.

“Thanks to you, I only did that twice.  Before you found me and dragged me out of there.  For which I’m eternally grateful since that club was raided less than a month later.  I could’ve lost everything.”

“Grateful enough to go to therapy?”

“Fine, I’ll go to therapy,” he begrudgingly agreed as the nurse walked in with his discharge paperwork.

A short while later, as Eddie walked though his front door, he was pleasantly surprised by a small ‘Welcome home’ party.  Of course, the huge hug from Chris was what he most appreciated.  As the party was winding down, and Chris had finally left his side to go ‘help’ Buck in the kitchen, he had the opportunity to chat with his Abuela and Pepa.

“You and Buck seems different,” Pepa noted.  “Something going on between the two of you?”

“Yeah.  We finally admitted how we felt about each other,” Eddie hesitantly said, as he closely watched his Abuela and Pepa for their reactions.  He was immensely relieved to see that both appeared very happy for them.

“It’s about time, Eddie.  I thought you were together a year ago.  That is until you went on that date with Chris’s teacher,” tsked Pepa.

“That was only one date!  I quickly realized I’d asked her out for the wrong reasons.”

“I’m very happy for you and Evanito.  He’s already such a great partner to you.  Both at work and especially at home.”

“Thank you, Abuela.  That means a lot to me,” Eddie said as he kissed her on the cheek.  “Now, if only my parents were as supportive.”

“Have you heard from them since the shooting?” asked Abuela.

“Nope.  It’s been radio silent.  No calls.  No cards.  Not even a simple text message,” said Eddie as he tried to keep his hurt feelings from coming across in his voice.  “Look, I know they don’t love me.  But I’m surprised they haven’t used the shooting as an excuse to take Chris.”

He was relieved that neither Abuela nor Pepa tried to argue that his parents loved him.  Instead, he appreciated their silent show of support, as Pepa held his hand while Abuela made soothing motions on his back.

After a few moments, Abuela commented, “Your father’s been traveling a lot.  As usual.  Plus, your mom has that big charity gala at the country club that she’s in charge of planning.  So, they’re distracted.  At least for now.”

“But that won’t last forever.” Pepa chimed in.  “You know they’ll use the shooting to complain about how dangerous life is in LA.  And why you should move back to El Paso.  Or, better yet, send Chris back there to live with them.”

“I know.  They’ve been threatening to sue for custody since the day Chris was born.  We have an excellent lawyer on retainer.  Been building a very strong case against them in case they make good on their threat.

“I’m very glad to hear that,” said Pepa.  “Anybody can see how much you and Chris are thriving in LA.”

“Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help,” added Abuela.  “We’ll also warn you if we hear they’re headed up here.”

“Thanks.  Really appreciate your support.”

The party broke up shortly thereafter, since it was clear that Eddie was exhausted.  After a nap, he and Buck relaxed and snuggled on the sofa, being mindful of Eddie’s injury.  Chris was busy playing video games in his room.  He was thrilled to have his dad home and was even more excited that Buck and his dad were finally together.

“So, you looked to be deep in conversation with your Abuela and Pepa.” Buck casually said.

Eddie wasn’t fooled by Buck’s casual tone.  He knew Buck was extremely curious about what he, Abuela and Pepa were intently chatting about.  He thought about drawing it out to tease his friend (boyfriend? partner?) but decided that there was too much they needed to discuss.

“Well, the good news is they guessed we’re together.  And they’re very happy for us.”

Buck smiled.  “I’m glad they approve.  I’m not surprised, however.  They both hugged me on their way out and welcomed me to the family.”  He appeared pensive before asking, “If that’s the good news, what’s the bad news?”

“We think my parents will use the shooting to claim LA is much too dangerous for Chris.  To push me to move back to El Paso.  Or even better, send Chris to live with them.”

“Bullshit!”

“I know.”  Eddie tried to keep his voice from trembling as he said, “I’m scared that when I don’t comply, they’ll sue for custody.”

“Well thankfully we have a great legal team.  After building such a strong case against them, I think our lawyer would relish demolishing them in Court.  Especially with all the dirt the Private Investigators dug up.” 

“Can’t thank you enough for using your trust fund to pay our legal expenses.”  While Eddie was initially hesitant to accept Buck’s help, he’d reluctantly agreed since it was to benefit Chris.  However, with this latest threat from him parents, the fact that they already had a strong legal defense was the only thing keeping him sane.

“Eds, you know how much I love Chris.  While I’d never want to step on your toes, I couldn’t love him more if he was my own son.”

Eddie was momentarily reflective before asking, “Why can’t we just make him your son?”

“What you mean?”

“Not just be his guardian in case I’m dead or incapacitated.  You should adopt Chris and legally be his other father. It would be much harder for them to win custody if Chris has two legal parents.”

“Nothing would make me happier.  But Eds, it’s almost impossible to adopt a child if you’re not married to his other living parent.”

“Not seeing that as an obstacle.  Yeah, we’d be skipping a step or two.  Although, we’ve probably been dating for years but were too dumb to realize it.  But that’s where our relationship is headed.  Just accelerating the timing.  But realize that you might not feel the same way.

“Absolutely agree that’s where we’re headed.  In case I didn’t make it clear, you’re it for me.” 

Eddie couldn’t stop a huge grin from spreading across his face.  “Then, let’s do it.  Today’s Wednesday.  Let’s get hitched on Friday.  Gives us tomorrow to buy rings and get our paperwork together.  You should then file to adopt Chris immediately after we get married.”

“You do know you’re recovering from a gunshot wound and major surgery.  Will you be up to doing all of that?”

“I’m fine,” Eddie protested.  He knew he really wasn’t, but it was second nature for him to claim otherwise.  When Buck arched an eyebrow at him in response, Eddie reluctantly added, “Yeah, I know.  I promise I’ll pace myself and let you know if I need to rest.”

Buck gave him an appraising look before asking, “Do you want to invite anyone to the wedding?”

“My paranoia is telling me to keep it a secret.  At least, until the adoption is finalized.”

“Not even Abuela or Pepa?”

“Especially not them.  Don’t want to put them in a position of having to keep our marriage from my parents.  You okay with not telling anyone for now?”

“Yeah, but with one exception.”

“Maddie?”

“No.  She’s cut me out of her life again since having Jee.  Something’s going on with her.  I have my suspicions as to what.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Eventually but not now.  I think we should tell Bobby and Athena.  We could get in trouble with LAFD if we don’t let Bobby know.  Especially since you’ll likely be back at work before the adoption is finalized.  And I wouldn’t ask him to keep it a secret from Athena.”

“Plus, he’s your pseudo dad.  So, understand why you’d want him there.”

Buck smiled but didn’t refute Eddie’s statement.  “I know he’s still recovering from his own gunshot wound, but it wasn’t as severe as yours, so he should be able to meet us at City Hall.  Also, what about Chris? I don’t want to keep this a secret from him.  But do you think he’d be able to not tell your parents if he's talking to them?”

“Chris will be thrilled about us getting married and you adopting him.  You saw how happy he was that we’re together.  He loves his grandparents.  But he HATES how they treat him like a baby.  Especially now that he’s almost 11 years old.  He’s told me that he’d he never want to live with them.  So, I trust he’ll be able to keep it a secret for now.”

“So, we’re really doing this on Friday?” 

“Yup!”

“Not to put a damper on things but accelerating the marriage and adoption does not eliminate the need for the three of us to have therapy.  If anything, it makes it more important.  I want to start getting those appointments set up for next week.”

Eddie made a face and grumbled, “Agreed.  But reserve the right to complain about spending our honeymoon in a therapist’s office!”

The wedding was beautiful despite it being a hastily arranged ceremony in city hall.  Eddie wasn’t at all surprised when Buck cried when repeating his vows.  But he was caught off guard by the tears running down his own face when it was his turn to say the vows.

Before the ink was even dry on the marriage certificate, they went to family court and submitted the adoption paperwork.  The clerk indicated that everything seemed to be in good order.  Barring anything unforeseen, the adoption should be finalized within about three months.

Bobby and Athena took everyone out for a nice lunch to celebrate.   They also offered to host a celebration at their house once the adoption was finalized and they were free to tell everyone they were married.

The summer passed by very quickly.  As expected, both therapy and PT took up a lot of Eddie’s time.  After a bit of trial and error, he’d found a new therapist with whom he clicked.  His new therapist was not only an army vet but was also very effective in calling Eddie out on his bullshit.  They worked through his unresolved feelings for Shannon and his lack of closure from her sudden death. They also worked through his longstanding PTSD, especially since the recent shooting brought up his buried trauma from Afghanistan.

Buck continued to see Dr. Copeland.  From what Buck shared in a joint session, he focused on his own trauma from the shooting, including having to dive under the firetruck to rescue Eddie.  They also worked on helping Buck deal with both his longstanding fears of abandonment and his residual anger from being lied to all his life about Dainel.

They also did family sessions with Chris’s therapist.  Chris’s feelings towards Shannon were still unresolved, especially since his grandparents had told him he shouldn’t grieve her since she was a bad mother.  At the therapist’s suggestion, Eddie was a lot more open about sharing memories - both good and bad – of Shannon.  He tried to keep them age appropriate and promised to disclose more as Chris got older.

The shooting also raised Chris’s buried fears about losing his dads like he lost his mom.  His therapist helped him see that these were unique and random events.  His mom was hit by a car crossing the street.  Instead of firefighters, the sniper could’ve been targeting basketball players or people with red hair or something equally arbitrary. 

Through these repeated intensive sessions, they finally started to move past their collective traumas. 

It wasn’t all work, however.  They took time to enjoy married life.  They continued to have fun as a family, whether it was going to the beach, or the zoo, or even just having movie nights at home.  As a couple, they were having a great time figuring out the physical and romantic side of their relationship.  They went on dates just the two of them.  And Eddie was satisfied, very satisfied, to learn that his and Buck’s great chemistry extended to the bedroom.

Before they knew it, the summer was practically over, and they were celebrating Chris’s 11th birthday.  Eddie couldn’t believe that his baby boy was now a preteen.

September brought with it several changes.  One was that Eddie was finally able to recertify and go back to work.  The other change was more significant.  Chris was starting 7^th grade at a new school.  An academically rigorous prep school.

This change of schools was set in motion about 18 months prior.  When he was in 4^th grade, Chris had started loudly complaining about being bored in school.  Since he quickly breezed through his homework each day, yet still received straight A’s, Buck and Eddie took his complaints seriously.

After talking to his teachers and the principal, they made the decision to have Chris skip 5^th grade and go right from 4^th to 6^th grade.  When Chris admitted to still being bored a few weeks into 6th grade, Buck and Eddie made the decision to explore moving Chris to an academically rigorous prep school for 7^th grade.  Eddie was especially appreciative of clipboard Buck, as they quickly learned that applying to prep school was an extensive process.  But thanks to Buck’s organizational prowess and a lot of hard work, they got everything completed before the December deadlines.

Eddie had almost immediately put a halt to the process when he learned of the astronomical tuition and fees for attending these schools.  While various state grants helped with tuition to Durand, these grants would not apply to a prep school.  Chris would need extensive scholarships and financial aid.  But of course, Buck intervened.  Again.

Flashback to last October (a month or so after Chris started 6^th grade)

Eddie was in the kitchen making sandwiches when he heard Buck come in.  It had been a busy shift and Buck had gone to the loft to sleep it off and pick up a few things before heading over to Eddie’s.  After they picked Chris up from school, they planned to keep working on his prep school applications.

“Hey. Get any sleep?” he asked as Buck came into the kitchen.

“Some.  You?” Buck asked as he loaded even more groceries in the fridge.

“A bit.  Was tossing and turning.  Couldn’t get my mind to slow down.”

" What’s got your mind so worked up?”

“Have you seen the tuition and fees for those prep schools that Chris is applying to?”

“Yeah.  So?” as Buck motioned for him to continue.

"What do you mean ‘So’?  I can’t afford those.  Not even close.  And I heard that there aren’t a lot of scholarship opportunities.”

“Don’t worry about it.  I’ve got it covered.” Buck said, it an apparent attempt to act nonchalant.

Eddie put down the knife he’d been using to spread mayonnaise and narrowed his eyes as he looked directly at his friend.  “What do you mean ‘I’ve got it covered’?”

“I told you awhile back that I set up an educational trust for Chris.”

“No.  You told me that you set up a college fund to help pay some of his expenses.  I thought you meant you put aside a few thousand dollars for Chris.  Which I greatly appreciated.”

“Umm.  I may have misled you a bit about the size of the fund.  Although when I first set it up, I only deposited enough money to fully cover 4 years of tuition, room and board at the college or university of his choice.”

Eddie gulped.  “And now?”

"Well, shortly after I established the fund, I realized that Chris would probably want to attend graduate school for his masters and maybe even his doctorate.  So, I turned the fund into a trust and added enough money to also cover his post graduate studies.”

“I repeat, and now?”

“After Chris skipped 5^th grade, I realized that he’d likely end up at an elite prep school.  So, a few months back, I added sufficient funds to the trust to cover 7^th through 12^th grade at one of those schools.”

Eddie couldn’t believe what Buck had done.  He might have a trust fund but that didn’t mean he should spend all of it on Chris!  He was just too generous.  “Buck, I appreciate how much you love Chris.  But that’s too much.  I can’t let you do that.”

“Too late!” smirked Buck.  “The trust is irrevocable, and if Chris doesn’t use it, the money will just sit there and go to waste.”

“Buck!”

“Eds!” retorted Buck before his tone became serious.  “Look, I’m sorry if I over stepped.  But Chris is brilliant.  And he deserves the best education without having to worry about cost.”

 Eddie recalled how he wanted nothing more to kiss Buck in that moment.  (He laughed to himself as he wondered how he and Buck had ever mistaken their relationship for purely platonic.)  Not just because of his extreme generosity.  Not just because he wanted to help make Chris’s dreams come true.  But because Buck saw Chris.  He had appreciated Chris’s brilliance from a very early age. 

In March of this year, they’d heard back that Chris was admitted to all three prep schools to which he’d applied.  He chose Robbins Academy because it was the top STEM school in LA.

Before they sent in his official acceptance and deposit, however, Eddie and Buck wanted to make sure that Chris thoroughly understood how big of an adjustment this school would be for him. 

Flashback to the day Chris received notification of his admittance to Robbins Academy.  The three of them had celebrated with dinner out at Chris’s favorite restaurant, before sitting down with him to confirm that he truly wanted to attend this school.  It was supposed to be a wonderful evening.  But unfortunately, it was ruined by the callous remarks of Helena.

“I’m stuffed!” Chris moaned as he stepped into the house and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Well, you’re the one who decided to have that huge ice cream sundae for dessert.”  Buck reminded him as he plopped down next to Chris on the sofa.

"But it was soooo good!” Chris retorted.

“Well, then I guess it was worth it.” replied Buck.  “I’m full as well.  That was a great meal.”

Eddie sat down on the other side of Chris.  “While we’re sitting here recovering from our food coma, there’s something Buck and I want to discuss with you.

Chris sat up a bit before asking, “Did I do something wrong?”

Buck replied.  “Not that we know of.  Is there something you’re not telling us?”

Chris was very quick to respond.  “Nope.  Nothing.”

"Good to know,” Eddie dryly replied. 

“Okay.  Then what did you want to talk about?”  asked Chris.

“Before we sign the official paperwork and send in the deposit to Robbins Academy, we want to be certain that you really want to go there.  This will be a huge adjustment for you, mijo,” said Eddie. 

“It will expose you to all types of new and exciting learning experiences.  But the workload will be nothing like what you’ve had at your prior schools.  We just want to ensure you’re going in with your eyes wide open,” Buck added.

“Are you scared that I’m not smart enough to handle the work?  That I’m stupid and they only accepted me because I have CP, and they felt sorry for me? Chris asked in a very small voice.

“Absolutely positively not!  Who said that you’re stupid?” Eddie couldn’t believe his ears.  He exchanged a look with Buck over Chris’s head.  It was clear that Buck was as pissed as he was.

“Abuela.  Last time I talked with her.  It wasn’t the first time she’s said it.  She used nicer words than ‘stupid’.  But her meaning was clear.”

“Your abuela doesn’t know what she’s talking about.  She doesn’t know you.  All she sees is some distorted picture she’s cooked up of a little boy who can’t do anything because of his CP.”

“Buck’s right.  Ignore her when she says things like that.  I also won’t let her have any more unsupervised calls with you.”  Eddie paused before getting on his knees in front of his son, so that he could look him directly in the eyes.  “Chris, I want you to listen to me very closely.  You are far from stupid.  Quite the opposite.  I’m being serious when I say that you may have a genius level IQ.  And I’m not making that up to make you feel better.  You’re still earning straight A’s in 6^th grade even though you skipped a grade and are younger than all your classmates.”

“Plus, you nearly got a perfect score on the Independent School Entrance Exam.  Which is especially impressive since the only kids who take that exam are those trying to gain admission to elite prep schools.  So, you’re like the smartest of the smart kids!” added Buck.

"Thanks. I feel better,” Chris said with an expression of relief on this face.

“So, we’ve established that you’re perfectly capable of doing the work.  But you should probably expect to have at least 2-3 x the amount of homework than you do now.  And the work will likely be a lot more challenging than what you’re used to.  So, you won’t be able to breeze through it like you do now.  We want to make sure you know what you’re signing up for,” Eddie cautioned his son.

“I know, dad.  When we went to that admissions open house, the kids showing us around spoke a lot about how much homework they had.  But they seemed to love going there.”

“Good.  As long you understand and are okay with that workload, we’ll go ahead and send in your acceptance and deposit to hold your spot.” 

“Thanks dad!”

After Chris went into his room to play video games before bed, Buck turned to Eddie and said, “I can’t believe your mother’s been messing with Chris’s head like that.  I really hate her!”

“Join the club.  My sisters and I are founding members.  We should get T shirts printed.  All kidding aside, I’ll pass this along to our lawyer.  And as I said, I’ll never let her and dad have unsupervised access to Chris again.”

Before they knew it, it was Chris’s first day at his new school.  None of them really slept much the previous night, as Chris admitted to being both nervous and excited.  Fortunately, Chris quickly hit his groove.  He found a nice group of friends at student orientation.  While the immense volume of homework was an adjustment at first, Chris rapidly became accustomed to it.  It was clear that Chris was being intellectually challenged, possibly for the first time in his life.  He also joined the Robotics Club and was considering other activities to get involved with.

The craziness didn’t let up, even with Eddie back to work and Chris settled in his new school.  First the blackout happened during a LA heatwave.  Fortunately, Chris was able to stay with Denny and Karen during that time.  Then Maddie left to get help for her PPD. 

Finally, in late September, Eddie and Buck officially heard that the adoption was finalized.  They both breathed a sigh of relief.  While all was still quiet on the El Paso front, they wanted to be prepared.  Helena’s goddaughter’s new baby was keeping her distracted for now, but it was only a matter of time until her attention shifted back to Chris.

In January, after Maddie and Chimney returned from Boston, they told the Firefam along with Abela and Pepa of their marriage and Buck’s adoption of Chris.  Everyone was thrilled for them.  They tried to hold off telling Eddie’s parents for as long as possible, since they knew the outcome of that conversation would be ugly. 

Their luck held out until late March, when Pepa informed them that Helena and Ramon would be in LA sometime over the new few weeks.  Supposedly, they’d gotten wind of the fact that Eddie was dating a man.  So they planned to take Chris back to El Paso so he wouldn’t be ‘raised in a house of sin’.

Upon their lawyer’s direction, Eddie and Buck prepared the house for what they knew would be an epic blowout.  They installed video and audio recording in all rooms except the bathrooms and bedrooms and posted appropriate warning signs of the surveillance.

In early April, Helena and Ramon showed up at Eddie’s doorstep.  He let them into the house as not to disturb the neighbors and so their argument would be recorded.  Fortunately, Chris was at school.

As they pushed their way into Eddie’s house, Helena forcefully inquired “Is it true you’re dating a man?”

“No,” said Eddie as he watched his parents sigh in relief.  He quickly burst their bubble.  “I’m married to a man.  That man is Buck.  And he’s adopted Chris.”

The response from his parents was immediate, and as expected, explosive.

“How could you do this to us?” shrieked Helena.  “Especially after everything we’ve done for you!”

“No son of mine is a faggot!” yelled Ramon.

“You will hand Christopher over to us immediately.  He can’t stay in this house of sin.  We’ll take him back to El Paso so that he can be raised right!” demanded Helena.

“No.” Eddie calmly replied.

“What do you mean ‘No’?” shouted Helena.

“I mean ‘No’.  What part of that word did you fail to understand?” asked Eddie.  “Or to make it clearer if you’re struggling to keep up… I will not be handing Chris over to you.”

“You will treat your mother with respect!  Apologize immediately!” Ramon demanded.  “Or else – “

“- or else, what?  What are you going to do about it, old man?”  Eddie stepped forward and purposefully invaded his father’s space.  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m no longer that scared child you loved to ‘discipline’.  I’m much fitter and stronger than you.  And I was taught to fight by the US Army Special Forces.  I won’t initiate violence.  But I will defend myself if you throw the first punch.  If that means you’ll be eating through a straw for the rest of your miserable life.  Well, actions have consequences,” Eddie said with a shrug.

His father fell quiet for a moment.  Almost as if he couldn’t believe that Eddie had stood up to him.

His mother broke the silence.  “Well, if you won’t hand him over to us, we’ll sue for custody.”

“Bring it on,” Buck replied as he waked in from the kitchen.  As they’d arranged, he’d given Eddie a chance to first confront his parents on his own, before joining them in the living room.  “We have one of the top family law practices in LA on retainer.  And even if by some fluke, you were able to prove Eddie was an unfit parent.  Well, you still wouldn’t gain custody since I have equal parental rights.”

“You can’t afford a good lawyer,” scoffed Ramon.

“You know nothing about our personal finances,” Eddie replied in a very matter of fact manner.  “So, I guess you’ll just have to be unpleasantly surprised in court.”

“Well, even if we don’t win custody, we’ll just take Chris without your permission.  It’s not like the two of you can guard him 24/7,” stated Helena.

“Did you know that lots of elite military assets go into law enforcement when rejoining civilian life?” asked Buck.  “So, Eddie and I know a lot of law enforcement officers.  In both California and Texas.”

“So, if Chris ever goes missing for even one minute, you two will be the primary suspects.”  (Eddie avoided mentioning that was especially true since they’d clearly stated their intention to kidnap Chris while being recorded.  There was no need to bring that to their attention, especially since there were plenty of surveillance signs posted.)  “And you will be the primary focus of an intense manhunt.”

“It’ll be harder to catch us if we take Chris over the border to Mexico.  We have family there,” boasted Ramon.

“Yeah, you’ll be a bit harder to catch.  But I know where our relatives live in Mexico so won’t be that hard to track you down,” said Eddie.

“And if law enforcement can’t readily find you.  Well then, my team will get to come out and play.”  Buck said with a menacing smile that didn’t reach his icy cold blue eyes.

Ramon sneered, “Like I‘m supposed to fear a squadron of firefighters in Mexico.”

Buck laughed.  But it was unlike his usual laugh since it was totally devoid of mirth.  He straightened to his full height and crossed his arms, so all his muscles were on display, as he took a step towards Ramon.  “Don’t mean firefighters.  My team before that.  In the Seals.  I’m not just a Seal but I’m also a Tier 1 Operator.  Part of DEVGRU.”

“Dev who?  Is that supposed to scare us?” Helena dismissively asked.

“Ramon understands what it means.  He’s starting to look a bit pale,” said Buck.  “But to further explain, while all Seals are mean fighting machines, the Tier 1 operators are the toughest and scariest of them all.  And since Chris is officially my dependent, the Navy will sanction my team going wherever necessary to rescue him.”

Eddie had been silently watching this exchange between his parents and Buck.  His father was trying to hide his fear while his mother remained clueless and entitled.

Eddie caught Buck’s eye and signaled him to continue trying to scare his parents into leaving them alone.

“Think I need to tell you a little more about my Seal team.  They called us the Ghost squadron.  We specialized in rescuing hostages from hard-to-reach locations.  The ghost moniker reflects the way we’d be inserted into remote areas, rescue the hostages, dispatch the bad guys with extreme prejudice and exfiltrate without anybody knowing we were even there.  The only clue would be the string of dead bodies we’d leave behind.  And the absence of the hostages.

Helena continued to be clueless.  “What do you mean ‘dispatch the bad guys with extreme prejudice’ “?

Buck mimed snapping someone’s neck.

“Well, then you’d be in prison for murder,” said Ramon with a sense of bravado that was clearly being faked.

“What part of sanctioned op wasn’t clear?  Not only means that we’d be able to use Navy Intelligence to track you down.  Since they’re used to hunting sophisticated terrorists, finding a couple of elderly civilian kidnapers should be easy for them.  It also means that any enemy combatants killed during the mission would be considered legal actions.”

For once, Helena and Ramon were wisely silent and made a strategic retreat.

But Buck and Eddie knew it wasn’t over.

On a Thursday morning in mid-May, there was a knock on the front door.  When Eddie opened it, he saw a stranger who asked if he was Edmundo Diaz.  When he responded in the affirmative, he was handed official papers and told he’d been served.

Chapter Text

On a Thursday morning in mid-May, there was a knock on the front door.  When Eddie opened it, he saw a stranger who asked if he was Edmundo Diaz.  When he responded in the affirmative, he was handed official papers and told he’d been served.

Eddie hands started to shake as he quickly realized that his parents had made good on their threat and were suing him for custody.  Buck was immediately at his side as a reminder he wouldn’t be facing this battle alone. 

Fortunately, their lawyer, Ms. Eleanor Smythe had time to immediately chat with them.  The conversation helped lower Eddie’s anxiety. She reminded them that they’d been building a case against his parents for some time, and they were in a very good defensive position.  Ms. Smythe, or Eleanor as she asked them to call her when not in court, said there was nothing surprising about the grounds cited in the suit.  Which was also good news.  Some of them were outright wrong, such as Eddie’s being a single parent and lacking financial stability.  Others could successfully be argued against, especially given all the documentation that the PIs and other members of their legal team had amassed.

Eddie and Buck were most concerned about the stress this suit would place on Chris.  They knew it would be impossible to shield him from it, given both his age and the amount he would be required to participate in the process (such as in interviews with CPS).  They reassured Chris that they had a very strong legal defense and would do everything in their power not to let his grandparents take him.

Due to both court delays and failed mediation attempts, it was early August before they appeared in family court.  Their actual court appearance was just a few weeks before Chris’s 12 birthday.

Chris wanted to attend the proceedings in LA family court.  Since it was his life that was being discussed, he felt he had a right to be there.  (Eddie and Buck had maintained custody of him during the process since they’d passed the CPS evaluation with flying colors.)  Chris’s therapist thought that witnessing the court proceedings firsthand might lower his stress and anxiety.  After gaining permission from the judge, they’d arranged for Chris to sit in the gallery with Bobby and Athena.

After opening statements, Ramon was called to the stand.  He testified that he and his wife were much better equipped to financially support Chris and provide for his material needs including medical and educational expenses.  This was especially true since Eddie was a single parent trying to raise a disabled child in a high-cost city such as LA.  To highlight his point, he stated that Eddie was delinquent on his mortgage payments and was in danger of losing his house.  Ramon also stressed that given their vast experience in not only raising Eddie and his sisters, but also in being Chris’s primary caregiver for much of his early childhood, they were much better equipped to provide a more stable environment for Chris.

Ms. Smythe then stood up to cross examine Ramon.  “Mr. Diaz, you stated that your son is a single parent.  Wasn’t your statement incorrect since as you know, he married Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley over a year ago?”

“There is no such thing as marriage between two men!  That’s a sin and an abomination, and I refuse to recognize it.”

Judge Reynolds immediately admonished Ramon.  “Those homophobic rants will not be tolerated in this courtroom!”

Eddie snickered internally since he knew their lawyer had purposefully provoked that rant.  By the pressure of Buck’s knee pressing against his, he knew that Buck had the same thought.

Ms. Smythe continued.  “You testified that ‘Eddie was delinquent on his mortgage payments and was in danger of losing his house’.  Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did your son tell you he was behind on his mortgage?”

“No.”

“Did your son leave personal financial documents out in the open for you to see?”

“No.”

“Did you go snooping around in Eddie’s personal files without his permission?”

“No.  Of course not!”

“Then what was the basis for your statement?”

Ramon appeared to be a bit rattled but quickly collected himself.  “LA is an expensive city, and Eddie doesn’t make much money as a firefighter.”

“So, what you said about Eddie being behind on his mortgage payments was a complete fabrication based upon some general perception of LA being an expensive city and a wild guesstimate of what LA firefighters earn.  Isn’t that correct?”

Ramon snapped back, “It was NOT a fabrication.  It was based on factual assumptions.”

“Really?  Or was it a projection on your part since you were delinquent on paying your own mortgage when Eddie was about Chris’s age?  And you only narrowly avoided foreclosure with financial assistance from your parents.  Isn’t that true?”

Ramon gasped in anger, as he stood up and shouted.  “That’s none of your business!”

Helena and Ramon’s lawyer, Mr. Williams quickly interjected.  “Objection.  Ramon Diaz is not on trial here.”

Ms. Smythe countered, “The plaintiff opened the door by stating that he and his wife would offer a more financially stable environment for Chris.  Thus, I must be allowed to probe the validity of his statement.”

Judge Reynolds decreed, “Objection overruled.  Plaintiff will answer the question.  And I will remind you that you’re under oath.”

Ramon very reluctantly said, “Yes, it’s true.”

Ms. Smythe continued.  “Well, fortunately that won’t be a problem for my clients since their mortgage has been fully paid off.”  She handed a folder to the judge.  “This contains documentation showing their mortgage has been paid in full and they own their house free and clear.  It also includes financial statements reflecting my clients’ total assets.  As you can see, they are more than able to meet Chris’s current and future financial needs, including medical costs, educational expenses, and so forth.” 

The judge quickly reviewed the contents of the folder before handing it to the court clerk.

Ms. Smythe continued her cross examination.  “Mr. Diaz, you testified that you and your wife can provide much more stability to Chris.  Not only because you have experience raising your own three children.  But also because you were Chris’s primary caregivers during Chris’s early childhood.  Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did Chris live with you full time while Eddie was overseas?  And before you answer, let me clarify what I mean by live with you full time.  Did he sleep at your house almost every night?  Did you or your wife take him to, and pick him up from, preschool almost every day?  Did you or your wife take him to all his activities and appointments such as play groups, doctor’s appointment, etc.  So, with that definition, did Chris live with you full time while Eddie was overseas?”

“No.  But we watched him a lot when Shannon was working, and she couldn’t put him in daycare.”

“So, your statement that you were you and your wife were the primary caregivers while Eddie was overseas was factually incorrect?”

Ramon reluctantly said, “Yes.”

“You stated that you have significantly more child raising experience than your son.  Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“How can that be true when you were never home while your children were growing up?”

Ramon visibly tried to contain his anger.  “I had to work to support my family.  Like any man should do.  But I was still home plenty!”

“According to the records from your firm’s travel and entertainment accounting system, it showed that you were on the road at least 75% of the time while Eddie was growing up.  It also showed that, even on your non travel days when you were working in the local office, a high percentage of those days entailed drinks and dinner with your colleagues and clients.  So do you care to revisit your statement around how much you were home?”  Ms. Smythe handed a folder containing those records to the judge who passed them on to the court clerk.

“No!  Those records can’t be right.”

“They were taken directly from your firm’s accounting system.  The only way they could be incorrect was if you submitted false expense reports.  Are you admitting to accounting fraud?”

“Absolutely not!”

“When your son was 10 years old, didn’t you tell him that he had to be the ‘man of the house’ because you were never home?  Didn’t he have to sacrifice his childhood and not just do normal household chores such as mowing the lawn and taking out the garbage?  Didn’t he also have to raise his sisters?  For example, he got them ready for school, packed their lunches, took them to school, made them a snack and supervised their homework in the afternoon.  Didn’t he even attend most of their parent teacher conferences and accompany them on doctor and dentist visits?”

“I don’t remember.”

“No worries.  Fortunately, we have affidavits from various teachers, school administrators, doctor and dentist office receptionists, etc.,” as Ms. Smythe handed yet another folder to the judge, who quickly reviewed it before passing it to the court clerk.

“And isn’t true, Mr. Diaz, that on the rare occasions that you were home, you were more of an ‘Enforcer’ than a father.  Didn’t you constantly beat Eddie for real and perceived infractions?”

“I did my job as a father and provided strong discipline.”

Ms. Smythe showed pictures that had been taken by the school nurse of Eddie’s backside.  The area was black and blue all over with red angry welts. “Is this your idea of discipline Mr. Diaz?”

“Yes.” 

“You do know that this would have been considered child abuse?  Even back then.”

“It wasn’t that bad.  Eddie clearly survived.”

“That’s a low bar for successful parenting.  Did you “discipline” your daughters in a similar manner?”

“No.  That wouldn’t have been right since they were girls.”

“What happened if they acted up or broke the rules?”

“They’d get a stern talking to.  And then we’d discipline Eddie since he was responsible for his sisters and was obviously not doing a good job if they misbehaved.”

“Would you discipline Chris the same way if you gain custody?”

“If he didn’t have CP, yes.  Because of his CP, I’m not sure.”

“I’m done with this witness,” Ms. Smythe stated as she walked back to her seat.

Judge Reynolds then called a 90-minute lunch break.  Buck and Eddie briefly checked in with Chris, who was going to lunch with Bobby and Athena, before meeting up with their lawyer.

Ms. Smythe, or rather Eleanor since they were no longer in court, took them to a nearby restaurant.  “I know this looks like a ‘hole in the wall’, but it’s never crowded, so we can chat openly.  Plus, the food’s pretty good.”

They were seated in a quiet corner and quickly perused the menus and ordered.

“I can’t believe how you destroyed Ramon on the stand!”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen dad thrown off his game like that.  Thanks to you and the dirt your PIs dug up.  Please tell me you’ve got equally good stuff on Mom.”

Eleanor replied with a sly grin, “You’ll see this afternoon.”

“I’m almost looking forward to it after all the grief my parents have caused me over the years.”

“While the court proceedings are going well so far, we can’t become overconfident,” cautioned Eleanor.  “Please do not smirk or even smile as I’m scoring points against Helena this afternoon.  That won’t play well with the judge.” 

“I don’t think we smiled this morning when you were decimating Ramon, but I’ll try even harder to keep my face neutral.”

“Same.  Besides my mother, what other witnesses will Mr. Williams be calling to testify?

“According to Mr. Williams’s submitted witness list, Helena and Ramon will be the only ones testifying,” replied Eleanor.

“Hopefully that’s a good sign that no friends or family members are willing to appear on their behalf,” said Eddie.

“It is.  But again, let’s not be overconfident,” stressed Eleanor.

“I promise we’re not.  So, does that mean I’ll testify tomorrow?” asked Eddie.

“Yes.   Are you sure that you’ve told me everything they might use against you?  I want to leave nothing for Mr. Williams to exploit on cross.”

“I’m positive.  Are you going to want to run through my testimony after court today?”

“No.  I don’t want it to come across as too rehearsed.  I’d prefer both of you just take Chris home and try to have a relaxing evening.”

After they were back in court, Helena took the stand.  As expected, she testified that Eddie was struggling with raising a special needs child.  She stressed that Eddie was setting his son up for crushing disappointment, when he eventually realized that he wouldn’t be able to have any type of normal life.  For example, Chris would never be able attend university, have a career, have a romantic partner, or reach any of the typical adult milestones.  She also testified that Eddie ran away and abandoned his son, both before he was born and after he was diagnosed.

She said that Chris was being endangered by the activities such as surfing that her son and his friend Buck had him doing.  As proof, she pointed to how Buck almost got him killed in the tsunami.  She also shared that Eddie had crippling PTSD and was mentally unstable, evidenced by his spur of the moment move to LA.  And then never letting them visit or spend time with Chris.

She closed her testimony by staying that, given their tremendous parenting experience, she and her husband were much better equipped to care for Chris and prepare him for a more realistic future.

Ms. Smythe then stood up to cross examine Helena.

“You testified that Chris ‘won’t be able to attend university, have a career, have a romantic partner, or reach any of the typical adult milestones’.  Can you expand upon your vision for Chris’s future?  For example, where do you see him living after he becomes an adult?”

“He’ll be in an institution for the intellectually and physically disabled.”

“What type of work or other activities will fill his day?”

“The institution that we’ve selected for Chris is known for providing very loving care.  Each morning, they’ll position his wheelchair next to the window so he can look out at pretty gardens.  On nice days, they’ll even wheel him outside to get fresh air.  Plus, he’ll have level appropriate books, puzzles, and toys to occupy his time.”

“What do you mean by ‘level appropriate books, puzzles and toys’?”

“You know, ones that won’t frustrate his uh limited intellectual capabilities.”  Helena was trying to be delicate and failing by a mile.

“Do you mean ones that might be appropriate for a baby or toddler?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you say Chris is intellectually disabled?”

“He has CP.”

“Yes, CP can cause cognitive issues, but it clearly does not with Chris.  He’s a straight A student despite having skipped 5th grade.  He’s on track to graduate high school a few months shy of his 17^th birthday.  Aren’t you aware of that?”

“Well, yes, but uh, he goes to a school with other severely disabled kids.  He may look like a genius compared to them but that doesn’t mean he’s smart.”

“That’s only partially correct.  He attended Durand thru 6^th grade, which has a sizable disabled population, although it skews much more heavily towards physical issues rather than cognitive challenges.  But, at the start of 7^th grade he transferred to Robbins Academy, one of the most academically rigorous prep schools in California if not the country.  And he still maintained an A average.  So, would you care to revisit your statement that Chris is cognitively impaired?” Ms. Smythe handed the judge a folder containing Chris’s school transcripts.  Judge Reynolds briefly reviewed them before passing the folder on to the court clerk.

“Well, his current school obviously admitted him as a special-needs exception and not because he can handle the work.  And they’re giving him A’s to make him feel good even though he doesn’t understand the course material.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t work that way,” snickered Ms. Smythe before she turned to Judge Reynolds.  “Your honor, you probably saw that the Dean Mitchell of Robbins Academy is on our witness list.  He was going to speak about how Chris is flourishing in his school.  We can also have him testify that Chris was admitted on his own merits and not as some type of a special-needs exception.”

“No need,” Judge Reynolds responded.  “I’m quite familiar with Robbins Academy.  They only accept students who are capable of doing the work.  And Chris has proven that with his outstanding academic performance.  Which is especially impressive given both their rigorous standards and his relatively young age.”

Eddie and Buck had been trying to follow their lawyer’s instructions and appear impassive and emotionless.  But upon hearing the judge’s words, Eddie couldn’t help looking back at Chris who was seated in the gallery.  He was relieved to see a smile on his face.  He knew that Chris still occasionally doubted himself due to the aspersions his grandmother cast on his intelligence.  He hoped the judge’s sincere words would help alleviate Chris’s self-doubts. 

“Moving on.  You implied that Chris will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.  Is that your belief?” asked Ms. Smythe.

“Yes” replied Helena.

“What is the basis for that belief?  You should be aware that his doctors believe the opposite.  Between his upcoming surgery and his intensive PT, his doctors expect Chris’s mobility to continue to improve and he could end up needing just one crutch or cane.”

“They don’t know what they’re talking about!” sneered Helena.

“Are you saying you know better than his doctors?”

“Yes.”

“Apologies, Dr. Diaz.  I didn’t realize that you were also an MD and a specialist in pediatric CP.”  Ms. Smythe turned to Mr. Williams and asked, “Why weren’t we informed of the plaintiff’s medical credentials?”

Mr. Williams stammered, “I didn’t know my client was a doctor, let alone a CP specialist.”

Judge Reynolds interjected, “Mrs. Diaz.  You need to share any medical credentials with the court.”

“I’m not an MD and have never claimed to be!” Helena forcefully replied.

“Okay, I’m confused.  If you’re not an MD, how can you claim to know more than the actual doctors?” asked Ms. Smythe.

“I know my grandson and what he is and isn’t capable of!”

“How?  By your own testimony, you’ve barely seen him in the past four years since he moved to LA.  Plus, during the time you’ve spent with him, you appear to have ignored any facts that aren’t consistent with your incorrect view of Chris being severely disabled and in need of round the clock care!”

“I repeat, I know my grandson!”

While keeping his face outwardly impassive, Eddie smiled to himself about how Eleanor made his mother look like a clueless toddler, who was digging in her heels and getting ready to throw a temper tantrum.

Eleanor moved on.  “You testified that Evan Diaz, or rather Buck, almost got Chris killed in the tsunami.  Do you believe that Buck has power to summon tsunamis at will?”

“Of course not!”

“Okay, do you believe that he can accurately predict tsunamis days in advance?”

Mr. Williams stood up.  “Objection.  This is an insane line of questioning!”

Ms. Smythe retorted, “Your honor, the witness is blaming Buck for Chris being caught in the tsunami.  Thus, these questions are necessary to identify what she perceives as the exact cause of Buck’s culpability.”

“Objection overruled,” said Judge Reynolds.  “The witness will answer the question.”

“No, Buck can’t predict tsunamis,” Helena snidely said.

“Then how are you blaming him?”

“Buck should’ve never taken Chris to the pier.”

“Are you saying that on a beautiful day, without a cloud in the sky, and no predictions or advance warning of a tsunami, Chris should’ve not been allowed to go to the pier?  Are you saying he should’ve not been able to have fun on the rides or at the arcade?  (Ms. Smythe handed a file of pictures to Judge Reynolds.  Eddie assumed those were the pictures that Buck had texted him of the fun they were having before the tsunami hit.)

“Yes.  He’s severely disabled and shouldn’t have been taken to the pier.”

“Are you aware that it wasn’t even Buck’s idea to take him to the pier.  Your mother-in-law Isabelle had planned to take him that day, as a reward for his excellent grades.  But, since Isabelle was feeling under the weather that morning and Eddie was covering a shift, she asked Buck to fill in and take him there.  So, are you saying that your mother-in-law showed poor judgment in planning to take Chris to the pier?”

Helena was silent.  Eddie was internally laughing because Eleanor had put his mother into an impossible position.  If she said no, then it would be impossible to blame Buck for the same action.  If she said yes, then she would be criticizing her mother-in-law.  A woman both she and her husband still feared.  And to make matters worse, Isabelle and Pepa had joined them in court for the afternoon session.

When her silence dragged on, Judge Reynolds instructed Helena to answer the question.

After what felt like an eternity, Ms. Smythe showed compassion (to win points with Judge Reynolds) and said, “Never mind.  Let’s just move on.  Now Mrs. Diaz, you testified that since you and your husband have successfully parented three children, you are the best choice to raise Chris.  Is that correct?”

“Yes.  We are excellent parents with a high degree of experience.”

“I’m confused.  How can you make that claim yet assert that your son is a complete failure.  Isn’t that a reflection of your parenting?”

“We did the best we could.  Not our fault if he’s a failure.”

“Agree to disagree.  But let’s talk about your two daughters.  How are they doing?  Are they leading happy and successful lives?” 

Helena was quiet and again had to be instructed by the judge to answer the question.  This time Ms. Smythe didn’t let her off the hook.  Finally, Helena softly replied, “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know?  When was the last time you communicated with them?”

“Over 10 years ago.”

“So let me get this straight.  You raised a son and two daughters.  Your two daughters have completely cut ties with you and have not communicated with you or your husband in over 10 years.  You claim your son is a failure although by all other accounts, he’s a hero, an upstanding citizen, and an excellent father.  So, you have three children and you’re zero for three.  Especially, since your son told me that he’ll be cutting all ties with you and your husband.  So how can you claim that you and your husband are excellent parents?”

Helena smugly said, “Well, we are.  And if Eddies wants to have occasional visitation with his son after we win custody, he’ll sing a different tune!”

Ms. Smythe ignored Helena’s assertion about winning custody, and instead asked, “Why do you believe that Eddie’s move to LA was evidence of mental instability?”

“Because it was very rushed. He only told us after he’d packed up his trailer and was getting ready to drive to LA.  He stopped by our house when leaving El Paso.  So, it was obviously not well thought out.  Instead, it was an emotional and knee jerk reaction to our sincere offer of assistance.”

“What was that offer of assistance?”

“We had told Eddie that he should sign over custody of Chris to us.  But instead of doing what made the most sense for everyone, he fled to LA on the spur of the moment.”

“So, you’re saying your son is irrational for failing to hand over his son to you.  For instead moving to make a better life for himself and his family.  For perhaps only telling you at the last minute because he anticipated your overbearing and inappropriate response.”

“Yes.”

“No further questions.  I’m done with this witness.”

The car was quiet as Buck, Eddie and Chris drove home from court.  While Buck was driving, Eddie glanced towards the back seat to see Chris had his headphones on and appeared to be dozing off. 

“He asleep?” Buck softly asked while keeping his eyes on the road.

“I think so.  “We need to talk with him once we get home.  Make sure he’s okay after everything he heard in court today.”

“Agreed.  I was planning to cook dinner but I’m too exhausted.  You okay if we just order in pizza?”

“Sounds good to me.”

A short while later, they were seated around the table, demolishing two large pizzas. 

“I don’t know why I’m so hungry.  All we did was sit around in court all day,” Chris mumbled between bites.

“Experiencing heavy emotions can also make you tired and hungry.  And listening to your grandparents’ testimony was emotional for all of us,” explained Buck.

“I guess,” said Chris as he continued to chow down on his pizza slice.

“Mijo, how did you feel about what happened in court today?” asked Eddie.

“Ok, I guess.  Your lawyer really made my grandparents look bad.”

“Did that upset you?” asked Buck.

“No.  I feel guilty for saying that.  They’re my grandparents.  Shouldn’t I love them and be upset if someone’s attacking them?”

“You can love your grandparents but still be angry at the things they say and do.  And not feel bad if somebody is calling them out on those upsetting things,” Buck explained.

“I guess,” Chris responded.

“I know my mother said some terrible things about you and your future.  Are you ok?  Do you want to talk about them?” asked Eddie.

“Not really.  None of them were a surprise.  I know that’s what she thinks of me.”

“Well, if you change your mind and want to talk, your dad and I are here for you.”

“I know.  I did like what the judge said about my grades for last year.  I know it’s not good to brag, but I appreciated hearing him say that he was impressed by them.”

“Those grades aren’t just a reflection of your high intelligence.  They’re also the result of your very hard work over the past year.  And you have every right to be proud of them!” Buck assured Chris.

“Buck’s right.  And you know that we are both so proud of you.”

“Thanks,” Chris said as he was starting to blush.  “Are we winning?”

“What do you mean?” asked Eddie.

“Given how much our lawyer attacked my grandparents, are we winning in court?”

“It’s still early but so far it’s going very well,” Eddie assured Chris.

“Good!  I really don’t want to have to live with my grandparents.”

“Our lawyer is doing her very best not to let that happen,” Buck said.

“Good.  I like your lawyer.  She’s a badass!”

“Language,” cautioned Eddie.

“So, what will happen in court tomorrow?" Chris asked.

“Your dad is going to take the stand in the morning.  Then we have a whole bunch of witnesses coming to testify on our behalf.”

“Will my grandparents’ lawyer attack dad, the way your lawyer attacked them?”

“As you said, our lawyer is a badass,” as Buck ignored the glare from his husband for his choice of words.  “And she will do her very best to not let that happen.”

“Mijo, you don’t have to go with us to court tomorrow.  We can ask Carla to come over if you’d rather stay home.”

“Thanks, but I want to go.  It’s my future that everyone is arguing about!”

“Okay.  If you change your mind, however, just let your dad or me know.”

“I will,” Chris promised.

“Now who wants to play some video games?” Eddie asked as they cleared the table.

“Your dad and I are going to finally beat you at Super Mario!”

“In your dreams. Pops!”

The next morning, Ms. Smythe called Eddie to the stand.  He was nervous because she’d be asking him tough questions to minimize his exposure on cross.  He needed to be calm, cool, and composed during his entire testimony.  Especially on cross examination. 

Ms. Smythe started off by asking about his childhood.  “What was it like growing up with Helena and Ramon as parents?”

Mr. Williams immediately stood up.  “Objection.  This line of questioning isn’t relevant.”

Ms. Smythe countered.  “Your honor, it’s extremely relevant.  The plaintiffs have testified that they were excellent parents.  As one of their three children, my client must be allowed to dispute that claim.  I also have notarized affidavits from their other two children - Adrianna and Sophia – testifying to their experiences being raised by Helena and Ramon Diaz.”  She handed a folder to the judge, who briefly reviewed it before passing it on to the court clerk.

Judge Reynolds asked, “Why are Adrianna and Sophia unable to testify in court?”

“Well, to be blunt your honor, they refuse to be in the same room as their parents.  Not even virtually.  However, they are willing to speak directly with you via Zoom or phone.”

Judge Reynolds nodded before ruling, “Objection overruled.  The witness can answer the question.”

“I had a rough childhood.  My parents did provide me with the basics, such as a roof over my head, food in my stomach and clothes on my back.  But they were also abusive.  Both emotionally and physically.”

“Can you please elaborate?”

“Thinking back to my earliest childhood memories, I don’t recall them ever being loving and affectionate to me.  They never told me they loved me.  They never hugged me.  They were always stern, controlling, and critical of everything I did.  And it got worse when I got older.”

“How so?”

“They made me be the man of the house when I was just 10 years old.  Not just because my dad was traveling or working all the time.  Also, because my mom was always busy with her country club and church activities.”

“What did being the ‘man of the house’ entail?

“Doing many of the household chores such as mowing the lawn, taking out the garbage, doing the laundry, cleaning the house.”

“Aren’t those chores that children are commonly expected to do in exchange for an allowance?”

“Some of them.  Sure.  But all of them put together.  No.  None of my friends had that many chores.  And that’s not even all of them.  Plus, I never received an allowance.”

“What were your other household responsibilities?”

“I had to raise my sisters.  For example, I had to help them get ready for school each morning, make them breakfast, pack their lunches, and so forth.  In the afternoon, I had to feed them a snack after they got home from school, go through their backpacks to see if there were any important notices, clean out their backpacks, supervise their homework, make them dinner, and so forth.  I also had to take them to doctor and dentist appointments, after school activities, and so forth.”

“That sounds exhausting.”

“It was.  I didn’t really have a childhood.”

“Did your parents appreciate everything that you did?”

“Not that I know of.  They never praised me or thanked me.  They did criticize me.  A lot. If any of my chores weren’t done to their complete satisfaction.  Even if they had never taught me how to do them and I had to figure it out on my own.  And their criticism was abusive.”

“How so?”

“Mom specialized in emotional abuse.  If the house wasn’t spotless.  If the laundry wasn’t folded the exact way that she liked it.  She called me names like useless and stupid.”

“And your dad?”

“As he testified yesterday, he was all about physical abuse.  He beat me for anything I did wrong.  And for anything Sophia or Adrianna did wrong.  And for any real or perceived infractions that Helena reported to him.”

“Did you ever try to reach out to another adult for help?”

“No.  My parents seemed to know everyone in town.  So, if I’d complained to anyone, it would’ve certainly gotten back to them.  And I would’ve been even more severely punished.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Thank you.”

“Moving on, your mom testified that you abandoned Chris, both before he was born and after he was diagnosed with CP.  Is that true?”

“Absolutely not.  I did join the army.  As just a high school grad, it was the best way to financially support my family.  I reenlisted after Chris was diagnosed because the army’s benefits became even more essential to provide him with good medical care.  And while I was away, I did my best to video call at least several times a week so Chris could see and hear me.”

“Thank you for your service.  And for your heroism as a Silver Star recipient.”

Ms. Smythe waited for Eddie to nod in acknowledgement, before moving on.  “Can you please tell me more about why you moved to LA.  Your mom said that it was just a knee-jerk emotional reaction that demonstrated your mental instability.  Is that true?”

“Absolutely not.  Quite the opposite.  Our move to LA was thoroughly planned and carefully executed.  It may have seemed very rushed to my parents because I intentionally told them at the last minute, so they didn’t interfere with our plans.”

“Can you please share more of your rationale for making the move?”

“Well, I’m not embarrassed to admit I was struggling in El Paso, after I was injured out of the military.  I was working three jobs just to make ends meet.”

“Didn’t your parents help you?”

“Yeah, as you heard my mother testify, their only offer of assistance was for me to sign over custody of Chris.  Which I refused to do.  Not only because I didn’t want to give up custody of my child.  But after experiencing the mistakes they made in parenting me and my sisters.  It would not have been in Chris’s best interests to be raised by them.”

“I see.  So, what made you decide to move to LA?”

“I did a lot of research on good jobs for military veterans without college degrees.  I eventually settled on firefighting as the best career path for me.  I applied to the top firefighting academies in the country.  While I was accepted at all of them, I selected LA.  Not only because was it a very highly rated and nationally recognized academy.  But also, because I had a significant amount of family in the LA area.”

“How has the move worked out for you and Chris?”

“Better than I ever could’ve imagined.  Chris has opportunities here that wouldn’t have been possible in El Paso.  We have a great group of friends and a phenomenal support network.  Chris is thriving here.  He attends an excellent school where he’s getting top grades.  He has access to fantastic medical care which is helping his muscle tone and mobility.  We have a great nurse who watches Chris when Buck and I are working.  And of course, there’s Buck.  My husband and Chris’s other father.  We would have never met Buck if we hadn’t moved to LA.”

“That’s wonderful.”  Ms. Smythe turned to the judge, “Your honor, you should have the reports from the CPS review and Chris’s doctors and therapists.”

“Yes, I have them” Judge Reynolds replied.

Turning back to Eddie, Ms. Smythe asked, “If everything is going so well in LA, why did you resort to street fighting a few years back?”

“That was a huge mistake, that I deeply regret.  My family had experienced three huge traumas right on top of each other.  First, my ex-wife died.  Even though we were divorced, I still loved her as a friend and as the mother of my son.  Then the ladder truck exploded and crushed Buck’s leg.  Then Buck and Chris were caught in the tsunami.”

“Did you get counseling to help you deal with those traumas?”

“Unfortunately, no.  At least not then.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the ingrained mindset from my childhood.  It was instilled in me that men should always be stoic and never show or feel any emotion other than anger.  And men should never get therapy.  I sent Chris to therapy since I wanted to raise him differently than how I was brought up.  But I didn’t allow myself to get therapy.  So instead, I turned to street fighting to relieve my pent-up emotions.  Since after all, it was okay to show anger.”

“How long did you do street fighting?”

“I only did it twice.  Two fights a few days apart.”

“What made you stop?”

“Buck figured out what I was doing.  He helped me see how stupid and risky it was.  So, I reported myself to the LAFD and got a 2-week unpaid suspension and mandatory therapy.”

“Have you done any fighting since?”

“No.  I’ve found healthier outlets for any stress or anxiety.”

“Are you also suffering from PTSD?”

“Yes.  Any military vet or first responder who’s seen active duty is very likely to have PTSD.  As well as anybody who’s ever experienced trauma.”

“Does that make you unstable or a danger to Chris?”

“Absolutely not.  I finally overcame my ingrained bias against therapy.  After I was shot by the sniper last year, I underwent counseling and finally took it seriously.  So, I feel very comfortable saying that my PTSD is not an issue to be concerned about.”

“Thanks for the clarification.  This trial is all about Chris.  Your parents have talked about their vision for Chris’s future.  What are your dreams for his future?”

“We want him to be fulfilled and happy.  We want him to have a rewarding career doing something that he’s passionate about.  We want him to have a loving relationship with a partner.  We want him to be independent, since we know how important that is to Chris.  And we want him to be kind and compassionate to others and the world around him.”

“Thank you.”

His parent’s lawyer, Mr. Williams, tried to probe Eddie’s weak spots on cross examination.  But given Ms. Smythe’s masterful questioning, there was nothing for him to find.  Everything had been asked and answered.  Thus, Mr. Williams couldn’t land a single blow.

A myriad of other witnesses then took the stand to testify on behalf of Buck and Eddie, including Bobby, Athena, Carla, Abuela, Pepa, and Dean Mitchell from Robbins Academy.  All painted the picture of Chris as a very smart, sociable, happy, well-adjusted, and compassionate child who was thriving under the care of his dads.

Finally, towards the end of the day, Judge Reynolds called Chris to the stand.  Out of the corner of his eyes, Eddie saw his parents furiously whispering to their lawyer.  A moment later, Mr. Williams stood up and said, “Objection, your honor.”

“What precisely are you objecting to Mr. Williams?  And on what grounds?”

“My clients believe that it’s not appropriate for Christopher to testify.  He’s much too young to take the stand.  Plus, he’s a sensitive child with, uh, limited capabilities.”

“Objection overruled.  From what I’ve heard, Christopher is a bright articulate boy who’s almost 12 years old.  Since these proceedings are about his future, he should be allowed to have a voice.”

As Chris stood up and started walking to the front of the courtroom on his crunches, Ramon got up from his seat and moved towards him.  Judge Reynolds immediately demanded, “Mr. Diaz, where are you going?”

“I’m going to pick Chris up and carry him to the stand.  He’s obviously not capable of getting there on his own.”

Judge Reynolds gently asked, “Christopher, are you in need of assistance?”

Chris replied, "No, your honor.  But thank you for asking.”

Judge Reynolds turned his attention back to Ramon, and brusquely said, “Mr. Diaz please go back to your seat.”

As Chris made his way up to the front of the courtroom and took the stand, Judge Reynolds instructed the court on how his testimony would work.  “I’m going to be the only one asking Christopher questions.  Neither the plaintiff’s nor the defendant’s attorneys will be allowed to ask him any questions.  Is that understood?”

Both Ms. Smythe and Mr. Williams responded in the affirmative that they understood.

Judge Reynold turned to face Chris.  “Hi Christopher.  Or do you prefer to be called Chris?”

“Chris is fine.”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m okay.  I just hate all of this,” Chris said as he broadly gestured around the courtroom.  “I’m very happy living with my dads.  Why do they need to stir up trouble?” as he pointed to his grandparents.

“Everyone here wants what’s best for you.  They’re just disagreeing on what that is.”

“My grandparents would have to know me to understand what’s best for me,” Chris snarked.  “Which they don’t.  All they see is my CP.  Which makes them think I have the physical and mental capabilities of a toddler!”

Eddie didn’t know whether to cringe or laugh as he listened to Chris’s testimony.  He was proud of Chris for speaking his mind.  And fortunately Judge Reynolds didn’t appear to be offended by Chris’s snark.

In an apparent attempt to redirect the conversation, Judge Reynolds asked, “How do you like your new school?”

“It’s great!  I liked Durand.  The teachers and kids were nice.  But Robbins Academy’s even better.  The course work is so interesting and challenging but in a good way.” 

“Good to hear.  You’re obviously doing a great job keeping up with your coursework given your straight A grades for the past academic year.  Especially since I know that Robbins Academy is a very hard school from an academic perspective.” 

Chris blushed as he mumbled his thanks, clearly embarrassed with the praise.

“What about friends and extracurricular activities?”

“I’m lucky.  I have a lot of great friends.  I’m still close with my circle of friends from Durand.  I’ve already made a lot of new friends at Robbins Academy.  Plus, two of my closest friends are from the Firefam.”

“The what?”  asked Judge Reynolds in a perplexed tone.

“Sorry.  As Grandpops Bobby, or rather Captain Nash said.  The 118 firehouse is like a family.  So, we call it the ‘Firefam’!”

“Got it.  Sounds like you have a broad group of friends.  What about extracurricular activities?”

“I’m in the Robotics Club, which I love.  We get to do a lot of cool projects.  We often get to work with the Upper School Robotics Club.  One of my friends and I were even able to help a senior on his project which made it to the finals of the Siemens-Westinghouse competition.”

“That sounds exciting.  Are you going to want to enter that competition when you’re in the Upper School?”

“Maybe.  Depends on if I can think of a cool enough project.”

“What are your other activities?

“I’m thinking about running for student government in the fall.  Outside of school, I also volunteer at an animal shelter.  And before ask, my dads made sure it was safe.”

“Thanks, Chris, for bringing up the topic of safety.  Part of my job is to ensure that you’re being brought up in a safe environment.  There’s been a lot of conflicting testimony around the riskiness of some of your activities given your CP.”

“My dads say that everyone has things they’re not good at and things they excel at.  For example, my dad is a lousy cook.  He’s actually burnt water.”  (Chris paused while everyone laughed.  While Eddie wasn’t thrilled to be publicly punked by his son, he was impressed by how Chris had captivated the entire courtroom with his testimony.)  “But he’s great at other things like being my dad.  Fortunately, Papa Buck, or Pops as I’ve started calling him, is an excellent cook.  He and grandpops Bobby could open a restaurant if they got tired of being firefighters.”

Judge Reynolds smiled, as he waited for Chris to continue.

Chris’s tone got more serious.  “I know there’s things I can’t do because of my CP.  But it’s fewer than you’d think if I do it with in a different way.  For example, my dad and Pops built me an adaptable skateboard based upon guidance from my doctors and other CP specialists.  Do you want to see a picture of it?”

“Sure.”

Chris pulled out his phone and scrolled through it for a moment before handing it to the judge.  “That’s me on the skateboard they built.  You can even click on the video of me using it with their assistance.”

The judge was silent for a moment as he watched the video.  As he handed the phone back to Chris, he looked up at Eddie and Buck, and said, “Very creative.”

“The same with surf lessons.  With the approval of my doctors, I took them from an instructor who himself had CP.  So glad I did because it helped me survive the tsunami!”

“I’m very glad that you were able to survive the tsunami.  Now, how do your grandparents handle your CP?”

“Not well.  While my dads see all of me, all my grandparents see is my CP.  And they don’t even see that accurately, since they think I can’t do anything and treat me like a baby.  They don’t let me walk at all, even with crutches.  They’re always giving me baby books and toys as presents.  I passed their Christmas presents on to my 1-year-old-cousin Jee!”

Eddie was happy to see Judge Reynolds intently listening to Chris.  While Chris may have sounded a bit harsh, his comments were spot on.

Judge Reynolds moved on to a different line of questions.  “Chris, what are your thoughts or dreams for the future?"

“I want to go to a university like Caltech or MIT.  I know those schools are hard to get into.  But according to my guidance counselor, Robbins Academy has a good track record of getting kids accepted there.  If I keep up my grades and other activities, I have a decent shot at those types of universities.  I want to major in engineering.  Most likely in aeronautical engineering.”

“Given both your academic track record and the high caliber of your current school, those are realistic goals.  Obviously assuming you keep your grades up.  Have you thought about what types of jobs you’d be most interested in?”

“I’d love to work for NASA.  I know I can’t be an astronaut because of my CP.  Not sure I’d want to be one anyways.  I’m most interested in helping design spacecraft.  My dream job is to work for JPL.  One of my ‘Firefam aunts’ works there as a rocket scientist.  She’s been giving me a lot of great advice on what it would take to work there.”

“Those sound like great goals.  What else do you want for your future?”

“I want to be independent.  Which is something my dads strongly encourage.  For example, even though it’s over four years away, I know my dads have already started researching ways to let me safely drive with a specially adapted car.  They’ve been talking to my doctors and other CP specialists.  Plus, adults who have similar CP challenges as me.”

“Wow, it sounds like you have great dads.”  Eddie and Buck smiled at the compliment.  Eddie couldn’t help noting that his parents both looked like they’d sucked a lemon!

“Anything else I should know before I make my ruling?”

“I want to stay with my dads.  If that’s not possible, I have long list of backups parents, such as my Grandpops Bobby and Nana Athena.  If none of them are possible, I’d rather go into foster care than live with my grandparents. I’ll run away if you give them custody.”

“Thanks, Chris, for your candor.  You’ve been very helpful.  You can go back to your seat now. 

As Chris made his way back to his seat, Judge Reynolds addressed the courtroom.  “I know it’s getting late in the day but I’m ready to make my ruling."

The judge took a sip of water before continuing, “These cases are usually challenging because both parties want the best for the child.  I don’t doubt that with his dads.  From what we’ve heard from everyone except his grandparents, Chris is an extremely smart, articulate, well-adjusted and personable child who is thriving in LA and has a bright future ahead of him.  That was certainly my impression after speaking with him.  His dads appear to have consistently encouraged him to grow and try new things while giving him a solid base of support and keeping him safe.”

Eddie and Buck were holding hands for mutual reassurance, and they smiled at the Judge’s words.

Judge Reynolds focused his attention on Helena and Ramon and said, “You have a very distorted view of Chris’s capabilities and needs.  Giving you custody would destroy his future because of your inability to see him for how he truly is.  These proceedings have also raised concerns about your own parenting skills.  What you did to Eddie could be considered child abuse if he ever decided to pursue charges against you.  You should know there is no statute of limitations for child abuse, even in Texas.”

Eddie smiled to himself at the putdown the Judge was giving his parents.

Judge Reynolds continued, “Thus it’s very easy for me to make my ruling.  Mr. Eddie Diaz and Mr. Evan ‘Buck’ Diaz retain custody of Christopher Diaz.”

Eddie and Buck couldn’t stop hugging each other at the Judge’s ruling.  They looked back to the gallery and saw Chris beaming along with Bobby and Athena.

Judge Reynolds had one last parting shot to Helena and Ramon.  “I’m going to also put a note into the files in case you ever try to sue again.  Plus, I’m going to strongly recommend that you never have unsupervised visitation with Chris.  Ideally, no contact with Chris at all.  At least until you both get therapy.

Ramon and Helena loudly protested the Judge’s Reynold’s words and ruling.  In response, Judge Reynolds instructed, “Mr. Williams, please tell your clients to get control of themselves.  Or I’ll hold them in contempt.” 

Helena and Ramon quieted down.  But as they passed by Buck and Eddie when they were leaving the courtroom, they threatened, “This isn’t over.”

There was an impromptu celebration at Bobby and Athena’s house that evening.  Buck and Eddie tried to enjoy it, but they knew this wasn’t the end of his parents trying to take Chris.  Most likely their next step would be to kidnap him.  And it would likely happen soon.

Chapter Text

There was an impromptu celebration at Bobby and Athena’s house that evening.  Buck and Eddie tried to enjoy it, but they knew this wasn’t the end of his parents trying to take Chris.  Most likely their next step would be to kidnap him.  And it would likely happen soon.

The next morning Buck and Eddie seriously got to work on how to best protect Chris.  Unfortunately, it was a true Catch 22.  They obviously didn’t want Helena and Ramon to attempt to kidnap Chris.  But at the same time, they needed it to happen to get a permanent restraining order against them.

Between Eddie’s CYA mentality and Buck’s paranoia as a Tier 1 Operator, they’d already placed air tags or trackers in Chris’s backpack and crutches.  Due to his contacts within Navy Intelligence, Buck was also able to get his hands on some experimental tech, namely very tiny trackers.  One of which they inserted into Chris’s eyeglass frames.  Another was embedded in a St. Christophers medallion that Chris wore around his neck.  They also got him an Apple watch.

While they wanted to shield Chris from concerns about an impending kidnapping, unfortunately, that wasn’t practical.  They needed to ensure that Chris knew where all the trackers were located and do his best not to leave any of them behind.  They also reviewed the emergency procedures in case he did get kidnapped by his grandparents.  They assured him that they’d find him and rescue him, but, if possible, Chris should try to contact them, which could expedite his rescue. 

The rest of August flew by.  They had a nice celebration for Chris’s 12th birthday.  While Chris had been to many extravagant birthday parties for his classmates at Robbins Academy, he opted for a more low-key celebration.  They rented a big screen and set it up in the backyard, for an under the stars movie marathon.  They set up a buffet table with all the kids’ favorite fingers foods and snacks.  Eddie and Buck tried to stay inside as much as possible to give them their space, only venturing outside to refill food platters and drink pitchers.  From the laughter and noise, it sounded like all the kids were having fun. 

Eddie and Buck also did their own entertaining inside.  Not only did members of their Firefam stop by, but also some of the parents of Chris’s friends decided to hang out.  Fortunately, they were well stocked with wine and beer, as well as appetizers and snacks for the adults.

All in all, it was a very fun evening.  Given the stress of the custody battle coupled with the anxiety of a potential kidnapping, it was just what they needed.

Before they knew it, September was here, and Chris was back in school.  He seemed to be happy with all his classes.  He had at least one or two friends in each class, and he liked his teachers.  With one possible exception.  Ana Flores, his 4^th grade teacher, was now teaching English Literature at Robbins Academy.  

Neither Eddie nor Buck thought too much of it.  They assumed that Ana’s motivation for the move was to benefit her career, to go from teaching primary grades at Durand to teaching English Literature at an elite school like Robbins Academy.  After all, Eddie and Ana had only gone on one date.  Eddie believed that he and Ana had mutually agreed to not pursue it further due to a lack of chemistry.  At worst, he thought it might just be a bit awkward.

It was Wednesday of the second week of school.  Eddie and Buck were picking Chris up after school to take him shopping for some new pants.  He’d shot up like a weed over the summer, and with all the craziness, they hadn’t yet had a chance to go clothes shopping.

Buck pulled into the pickup line, only to be told that Chris Diaz had already been signed out for the day.  Eddie’s heart was racing as Buck quickly parked the car and they dashed into the Dean’s office.

“We’ve been told that our son, Chris Diaz has been signed out already.  Who signed him out and when?” Eddie demanded from the receptionist who was manning the front desk.

“Let me see,” the receptionist replied as she reviewed the sign-out log.  “Ms. Flores signed Christopher out at 2:19 pm.”

“WHAT? She is not allowed to sign him out.  There are only three individuals who are approved to pick up Chris.  The two of us who are his dads and Carla Price, his aide,” Eddie shouted.

With that, the Dean came out of his office and asked, “What’s going on out here?”

“What going on Dean Mitchell is that an unauthorized person has been allowed to sign my son out!  You know what’s been going on with Chris’s grandparents.  After badly losing the custody suit, we’ve been expecting them to try and kidnap Chris.  Which may have already happened thanks to her negligence,” Eddie snapped as he pointed to the receptionist.

Buck tried to defuse the situation as he put a hand on his husband’s shoulder.  “Eds, please try to calm down.  Biting her head off won’t help the situation.  I’ve already texted Athena and she, along with a few officers, will be here in a few minutes.  I’m trying to track Chris’s location but I’m not getting anything yet.”

While Eddie didn’t say anything, he reached up and put his hand on top of Buck’s, showing that he appreciated the gesture of support.

“Dean Mitchell, I believe you have audio visual surveillance of the front hallway, front door, and outside front steps.  Would it be possible to view the recording at the time that Chris was signed out?” Buck asked.

“Sure.”  The Dean quickly pulled it up on the Receptionist’s computer.  They saw Ana practically pulling Chris to the front door of the school, with Chris trying to dig in his heels while loudly protesting that she had no right to take him anywhere.  They saw Ana open the front door and Helena and Ramon take Chris from her.  By this point Chris was screaming at the top of his lungs.  But unfortunately, nobody was around to hear him.

While they were watching the video, Dean Mitchell had called Ana to the front office to discuss what she’d done.  She walked in and beamed when she saw Eddie.  “Edmundo, it so good to see you,” she gushed as she reached out to touch his arm.  “I was thinking about you.  About how we should’ve given our relationship another chance.”

“Stay away from me you bitch!” Eddie yelled as he yanked his arm away from her.  “I’m happily married.  And the only future I see for you is being arrested and jailed as an accessory to kidnapping.”

“I did it for you, Edmundo.  So that we can be together and start our new family without any excessive burdens,” Ana said in a sugary sweet and flirtatious tone.

Eddie was saved from having to respond to Ana’s delusions by Buck’s exclamation, “I’ve got his location!  Let’s go!”  Athena and the other police officers had arrived when they were viewing the video.  She instructed one of the other squad cars to accompany them while the third car remained behind to deal with Ana.

“He’s at the gas station right by the Smithfield Street entrance ramp to the 405,” Buck instructed Athena, as he and Eddie climbed into the front seat of her squad car.  They sped off with sirens blaring.

A few seconds later, Eddie got a call from Chris and promptly put it on speaker.  “Dad, they kidnapped me!  Are you coming to rescue me?” Chris fearfully pleaded.

“We’re on our way.  We’re in Athena’s squad car with the sirens blaring.  We should be there in about 6 or 7 minutes,” Eddie assured his son.  “Where are you now?”

“I locked myself into the men’s room at the gas station.  Can you see my location?”

“We can.  And we’re speeding there as fast as we can,” Eddie replied in what he hoped was a calm voice.  “We’ll stay on the phone with you until we get there.”

“Grandma’s trying to get the gas station attendant to unlock the door,” Chris panicked. 

Eddie’s heart was in his throat, but fortunately, his quick-thinking son was able to hold the attendant off.  Through the phone, he heard Chris screaming, “She and her husband are trying to kidnap me.  I’ve already called the police and they’re about 5 minutes out.  You should hear the sirens in a few minutes!”

Eddie could faintly hear Helena trying to convince the attendant that the boy was just acting out and needed to be punished. 

But his son was relentless.  “You don’t need to believe me.  You just need to wait for my dads and the police to arrive and arrest them.  She and her husband are obsessed with me.  If you open the door and let her take me before the police get here, you’ll be arrested.  Plus, both of my dads are ex-military.  One is a Navy Seal.  The other was US army special forces.  So, I’d hate to be in your shoes if you hand me over to my kidnappers before they get here with the police!”

Buck and Eddie were in shock at the words coming out of Chris’s mouth but technically, none of them were incorrect.  While Eddie didn’t really talk about it, he’d been a combat medic with one of the special forces’ teams.  At this point, they really didn’t care what Chris said, if it stopped the attendant from opening the door. 

They arrived just as Helena was trying to tackle the attendant for the key.  As soon as the police pulled her off the attendant, Buck rushed to the bathroom door and said, “Chris, it’s me.”  Chris immediately opened the door and fell into Buck’s arms.

Eddie approached his parents and screamed, “Have you lost your fucking minds?”  He turned to the police and demanded that they arrest his parents and charge them with kidnapping.  Helena retorted that they won custody of Chris and were simply collecting him to bring him back home to El Paso.

Buck handed Chris over to Athena, who wrapped him in a big hug, before he walked over to join Eddie.  He calmly but forcefully told the police, “They did sue for custody and lost.  I have the legal documents from the court on my phone and can email them to you.  You can also check with Judge Reynolds, who not only ruled that Eddie and I retained custody, but also strongly recommended that Helena and Ramon have zero unsupervised access to Chris.  Or ideally no contact at all with Chris.”

Instead of trying to adjudicate it on the spot, the police brought them all back to the station.  They settled Eddie and Buck in one conference room with Detective Lou Ransone and Officer Barrett, while Detective Rick Romero and Officer Daniels were seated in another conference room with Helena and Ramon.  Athena had to recuse herself given her close relationship with Buck and Eddie, so she sat in the breakroom comforting Chris who was traumatized by the incident. 

As soon as they were seated, Buck showed Detective Ransone the court documents on his phone and then emailed them to him.  The Detective stepped out to review the documents and connect with Judge Reynolds.  Eddie was grateful to Buck for taking the lead because he was vibrating in anger.  Anger at his parents.  Anger at the police for not immediately recognizing the truth and arresting his parents.  Anger at himself for not doing even more to prevent the kidnapping.  He appreciated that Buck didn’t force him to talk, and was just content to hold his hand, lending his silent support.

A few minutes later, Detective Ransone came back into the conference room.  He thanked Buck for the documents and said that they’d connected with Judge Reynolds.  The Judge had confirmed everything in the documents, as well as what Eddie and Buck had said.  They were free to join their son in the break room, since he assumed they’d want to stay around to hear what would happen to Eddie’s parents.

Meanwhile, in the other conference room…

Helena jumped in with her usual air of entitlement.  “I don’t understand why the police are involved.  We were awarded custody back in El Paso, and we were just picking Chris up as per the court documents.”

Detective Romero replied, “Okay.  Can you please share those court documents with us.  Digital versions are fine if you don’t have the original hardcopies with you.”

Ramon replied, “We never received electronic copies.  And unfortunately, we left the hardcopies back in El Paso.  But I promise we’ll fax them to you as soon as we get home.  You just need to relinquish Chris into our custody, and we’ll be on our way.”

Detective Romero and Officer Daniels looked at each other and laughed. 

Once their laughter subsided, Detective Romero said, “Since Chris is a resident of California, any custody suit would’ve been heard in Family Court here in LA.  Which is a fact that I know you’re both aware of.  We’ve also been in touch with Judge Reynolds, who shared his rulings from your recent suit.  So, you most emphatically do not have custody of Christopher Diaz.  And you’re both under arrest for kidnapping.”

Officers Daniels handcuffed Helena and Ramon, read them their rights, and escorted them out for processing.  Once their fingerprints and photos had been taken, Helena and Ramon were led into an interrogation room where they were handcuffed to the table.

Detectives Romero and Ransone decided to let Helena and Ramon stew for a bit in the interrogation room.  From the observation room, they watched Helena and Ramon work themselves into a frenzy, blaming others for their current predicament.  They blamed Buck for corrupting their son and grandson.  They blamed Eddie for being so weak.  They blamed Chris for not accepting his limitations and doing as he was told.  They blamed the police for not letting them go immediately.

After their rant wound down, Detectives Ransone and Romero entered the interrogation room.  Before they could ask the couple any questions, however, Helena and Ramon protested that their arrest was a mistake.

“We made a mistake in saying we have custody.  But, since we’re his grandparents, it shouldn’t matter,” said Helena.

“My wife is correct.  It’s preposterous that we’ve been arrested for kidnapping.  Chris is our grandson, and we don’t need permission to take him for a visit,” added Ramon.

“You are both incorrect.  Taking a minor child without the express permission of his parent or guardian is the textbook definition of kidnapping. Doesn’t matter if you are relative or even a grandparent.  And since it was clear that you didn’t have permission from either of Christopher’s parents, you are being appropriately charged with kidnapping,” admonished Detective Ransone.

“What do you mean ‘either of his parents’?  Eddie’s a single parent. Chris’s mother is dead,” said Helena.

“I’m referring to Evan, or rather Buck, Diaz, Christopher’s other father.  Who has the same legal parental rights as your son,” responded Detective Romero.

“That shouldn’t be allowed.  No child should have two fathers!” exclaimed Ramon.

“Warning.  That type of homophobic rant won’t be allowed here,” cautioned Detective Romero.

“Well, the least you could do is allow us to be released on our own recognizance,” said Helena in her typical entitled tone.

“Yeah.  We need to go talk some sense into Eddie.  Convince him to drop the charges.  And to do the right thing for once and hand Chris over to us,” added Ramon.

“That’s not happening.  If you do get bail, it will be on the condition that you do not approach Eddie, Buck, or Chris Diaz.  If you violate that condition, your bail will be revoked,” said Detective Romero.

“Plus, you’d need both Eddie and Buck to agree to drop the charges.  And I don’t see that happening,” added Detective Ransone.

“Well, how do go about getting bail?” asked Helena.

“You need to get a lawyer to represent you.  As you were informed when you arrested, if you can’t afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you.” Detective Ransone explained.

“We can afford a lawyer,” Ramon bristled.

“We’ll step out for a moment so you can contact your lawyer,” said Detective Romero as he handed Helena her phone and uncuffed one of her hands so she could use it.  “As a reminder, your lawyer must be licensed to practice in the state of California.”

Helene first contacted Mr. Williams who’d represented them in the custody suit.  He bluntly told her that he didn’t do criminal law.  Plus, after everything that came out during the custody suit, he was unwilling to even refer them to one of his colleagues.

She then tried their estate planning lawyer in El Paso.  He said that neither he, nor anyone in his firm, was licensed to practice in California.  He said he’d ask around to try and get a referral, but it might take a while.

About 10 am the next morning, Mr. James Hines, Attorney at law, walked into the LAPD Precinct to meet with his new clients, Helena and Ramon Diaz.  He took their case as a favor to his law school roommate, who was practicing at a firm in El Paso.  He understood that his clients were charged with kidnapping their grandson.  He decided to first meet with the arresting detectives before seeing his clients.

He was very glad he did.  His ex-roommate had made it seem like there must have been some misunderstanding since the Diaz’s were such upstanding citizens.  After he saw the evidence against his clients, it was clear that this was not a misunderstanding.  His clients were not only guilty but also seemed to be oblivious and entitled. 

First, they stated on the record, in their son’s living room, that they would kidnap Christopher.  (Their son and his husband were only too happy to share that recording.  And there were clearly visible signs warning that the rooms were under surveillance.)  Then they acted so entitled and deluded in court, that the judge not only ruled against them, but also recommended Chris have no unsupervised visits with them.  And ideally, no contact with them going forward.  Then they were caught on video kidnapping Chris, again ignoring all the warning signs that the area was under surveillance.  Then when they were caught by the police, they lied and said they had custody. 

After hearing all the evidence against his clients, he was tempted to turn around and walk back out of the station.  But he didn’t want to leave his law school roommate in the lurch.  Unfortunately, his initial impressions of his clients only got worse after meeting them in person. 

After brief introductions, they sat around the table in a room set aside for prisoners’ visits with their lawyers.  While they looked a bit worse for wear, it was clear that spending the night in lockup had done little to dimmish his clients’ sense of entitlement.

“Last night was horrible.  I refuse to spend another night in jail.  You need to get us out of here!” Helena demanded.

“We can certainly try for bail.  You’ve been deemed a flight risk, so you won’t be able to get released on your own recognizance.  With a sizable enough bond however, we may be able to get bail.”

“We aren’t asking you to get us bail.  We’re telling you to get the charges against us dropped!” Ramon commanded.  “If you’re a halfway decent lawyer, you should be able to make that happen!”

“I’m afraid not.  You’re facing very serious charges.  I’ve reviewed the evidence against you and it’s very strong.  This will likely be an open and shut case for the prosecution.  Since Chris is a minor child under the age of 14, it’s considered Aggravated Kidnapping under CA penal code 208(B).  Which carries a minimum sentence of 5 years in state prison plus a $10,000 fine,” James said as he attempted to get through to his clients.

However, his attempt was unsuccessful.  “They can’t do that to us. They can’t punish us for wanting to save our grandson from being raised by homosexuals,” Helena confidently said in her normal entitled tone.

“They can and they will.  As I know you’ve been told multiple times, that homophobic rant will not fly here,” James reminded his clients.

In an apparent attempt to be practical, Ramon asked, “What can we do to avoid going to prison?”

“Well unless your son drops the charges, which I understand neither he, nor his husband, have any intention of doing, your options are limited,”

“That ungrateful piece of shit!” Ramon exploded.  “He should be thanking us for being willing to take Chris in and save him from being exposed to their life of sin.”

His clients got more and more despicable by the minute.  He did his best to ignore Ramon’s rant and continue to provide counsel, “As I said, your options are limited.  I can talk to the prosecution and see if there’s any possibility of a suspended sentence if you plead guilty. Maybe we can say your desire - misguided as it may have been - to protect Chris overrode your common sense.  The judge may feel sufficiently compassionate to override the sentencing guidelines and give you a suspended sentence.  But even if that best case scenario happens, you’ll both still have a felony conviction on your permanent record.”

Ramon calmed down enough to respond, “I’m not wild about that scenario.”

James wanted to smack his head against the table.  How were his clients so clueless?  He forced his tone to remain professional as he said, “Well, to be blunt.  That is likely the only option for avoiding jail time.  And it’s still a long shot.  You would need to strike a deal with the prosecutor, ADA Schmidt.  Who as I said, has a very strong case and minimal incentive to negotiate.  And plead guilty in front of the judge and credibly show contrition.  Frankly, if you show the attitudes you’ve displayed in this conversation, you’ll be going to jail.”

“There’s got to be another way,” Ramon demanded.

“I promise you, there’s not.  What I just described would be the best-case outcome.”  Both of his clients frowned as they made their displeasure clearly known.

“Look, I only took this case as a favor to my law school roommate who’s with a firm in El Paso.  If you don’t want to take my advice, I’m happy to withdraw and leave you both in the hands of a public defender,” James warned his clients.  If they weren’t willing to confront reality, he wasn’t going to try and beat them over the head with the facts.

James’s blunt language finally got through to Helena and Ramon.  They agreed that he should attempt to negotiate with the prosecutor for a suspended sentence.

There was a lot of back and forth with the prosecutor, who, in turn, solicited feedback from Eddie and Buck.  Eventually Helena and Ramon pled guilty to aggravated kidnapping.  While their jail sentence was suspended, they were still convicted felons and had to pay the $10,000 fine.  In addition, the judge granted Buck, Eddie, and Chris a permanent restraining order against Helena and Ramon.  If they breached that order, not only would they be arrested for that violation, but their suspended sentence would also be reinstated.

Ana Flores was also given a suspended sentence for her participation in the kidnapping.  In addition, not only was she fired from Robbins Academy, but she also lost her teaching license.

Buck, Eddie, and Chris all breathed a sigh of relief when Helena and Ramon returned to El Paso with their tail between their legs.  While they wouldn’t let their guard down, hopefully the threat of prison would be enough of a deterrent to keep Helena and Ramon out of their lives.

Chapter Text

Buck, Eddie, and Chris all breathed a sigh of relief when Helena and Ramon returned to El Paso with their tail between their legs.  While they wouldn’t let their guard down, hopefully the threat of prison would be enough of a deterrent to keep Helena and Ramon out of their lives.

The next several years passed by.  Chris was growing up before their eyes.  Much too quickly for Buck and Eddie’s tastes.  It wasn’t always easy.  There was a constant balancing act between Chris’s ongoing demands for more independence and their desire to keep him safe.  While there were more than a few arguments, they were always able to work it out.  Even as a hormonal teenager, Chris was still a kind and compassionate individual.

Chris was still getting excellent grades and was on the AP track in all his major subject areas.  He continued to have an active social life, and it seemed like Buck and/or Eddie were always dropping him off or picking him up from some social event or hangout.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Buck and Eddie were killing time in the mall.  They’d dropped Chris off at a friend’s birthday party in the mall’s arcade.  Given traffic, it made more sense to hang out at the mall rather than try to go home and come back just a few hours later.  They’d gotten ice cream in the food court and were just meandering around the stores.  Even though it was still a few months out, they were discussing what they might want to do for Chris’s 14^th birthday.

“Isn’t this like the third birthday party that Chris has been to here in the past few months?” asked Buck.

“Yeah, I think so,” Eddie replied.  “Why?  Wanna hold Chris’s party here?”

“Not really.  Don’t want to just copy what everyone else is doing.  Want to do something different for Chris.”

“You do know that ‘different’ isn’t a good thing for a teenager,” Eddie sardonically reminded his husband.

“I know that.  I wouldn’t do anything that Chris would be embarrassed by.  Just want to have his party be unique but in a totally cool way.  Does that make sense?” Buck asked.  But when Eddie failed to respond, Buck realized that he was no longer walking next to him.  He turned his head to see Eddie standing about 10 feet back, gazing intently into a women’s clothing store and looking like he’d seen a ghost.

He quickly walked back to Eddie, and asked, “Eds, you okay?” as his concern for his husband quickly ratcheted up.

“Yeah, look,” Eddie murmured, doing nothing to alleviate Buck’s concern as he continued to stare intently into the store.

Buck looked into the clothing store but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  Certainly nothing to merit this reaction by Eddie.  Just as he was about to ask his husband exactly what he should be looking at, he saw her.  He saw a woman who could’ve been Shannon’s twin sister.  While he’d only met Shannon a few times, he’d seen enough pictures of her to be astonished by the resemblance. 

Before he could say anything, the woman looked up and appeared to gaze right at them.  As soon as she did, Eddie bolted. 

Buck was able to catch up with him about three stores up the sidewalk.  He gently took his husband’s hand and asked, “Eds, I repeat.  Are you okay?”

Buck was relieved that Eddie had recovered the power of speech when he responded, “Yeah, I’m okay.  Just in shock.  That could’ve been Shannon’s twin.  The clothing and the hair were different.  But everything else was the same.”

“I know,” Buck said reassuringly while still holding Eddie’s hand.  “But we need to go back and talk with her.”

“What, no!  We can’t do that!”

“Eds, we have to.  Chris hangs out a lot at this mall with his friends.  What if he’d seen her first?”  Buck was insistent that they meet her together because he was otherwise concerned that Eddie might return and meet her on his own. He was thankful when Eddie reluctantly agreed.

Buck and Eddie retraced their steps and entered the clothing store.  Buck was still holding Eddie’s hand.  Partly for reassurance.  Partly so Eddie wouldn’t bolt again.

They walked up to the Shannon doppelgänger, who was fortunately standing by herself, folding some sweaters.

“Hi.  My name’s Buck.  This is Eddie.  Apologies for staring at you earlier.”

“Hi,” she warily replied.  “My name’s Kim.”

Buck continued, “I guess we owe you an explanation.  To make a long story short, you could be a twin of his ex-wife.  His deceased ex-wife.”

When Kim seemed unsure of how to even respond, Buck grabbed Eddie’s phone.  “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” he said as he unlocked the phone and scrolled to find a picture of Shannon.  Once he found a good one, he handed the phone to Kim.  He watched Kim’s jaw drop as she noted the resemblance, before handing the phone back to Eddie.

“Is there a place where we can chat privately?” Buck asked.

“Sure, my office,” she said and motioned for Buck and Eddie to follow her to a small room in the back of the store. 

Once they were all seated, Buck again took the conversational lead.  “Sorry for barging into your store and giving you a shock.  We just need to know if you’re related to our son.  His mother/Eddie’s ex-wife was named Shannon.  Her maiden name was Brandt.  Does that ring any bells?”

“I’m sorry.  It doesn’t,” replied Kim.  “But I’m adopted.  Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about my birth parents.  And both of my parents are deceased so I can’t ask them.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Eddie said, speaking up for the first time since entering the store. 

“Thank you.  I’d be willing to do a DNA test to see if there’s a familial connection to your son.  If nothing else, it could be useful from a medical history perspective.  For both me and your son.”

“Appreciate that,” said Eddie.  “Speaking of our son, he’s almost 14 and he hangs out a lot at this mall with his friends.  We’re concerned that if he runs into you by accident, it would be uh – “

“- Completely traumatizing?” Kim said as Buck and Eddie nodded their heads in agreement.  “Well fortunately, this is only one of my stores, and I’m not due to visit this one again for another week and a half.  That should hopefully give you enough time to talk to your son, without worrying about him running into me.”

“Thank you.”  Buck said in appreciation.  “Also, can we please take a picture of you?  It would be useful to have when we talk to him about you and ask if he wants to do a DNA test.”

“Sure,” Kim said.

After the picture was taken and contact information was exchanged, Eddie and Buck said their goodbyes.  They promised to be back in touch after they’d talked to Chris.

They were quiet as they made their way slowly back to the arcade to pick up Chris.  As they were walking Buck asked, “You okay?  I know I keep asking that.  But I’m worried about you.”

“Seeing Kim was a shock.  But I’m okay now.  Thanks to you.”

“Me?  What did I do?”

“Pushed me to talk to Kim today.  Which helped lessen the shock.  Made me go to therapy and deal with my emotions about Shannon.  If I hadn’t done that.  I could’ve gone off the rails when seeing Kim.”

Buck smiled in appreciation.  “Speaking of therapy, I think we need to tell Chris about Kim in a family therapy session.”  Eddie nodded his head in agreement.

The following Thursday afternoon, Buck, Eddie, and Chris sat in the therapist’s office.  Chris had been mystified as to the topic of the session but fortunately, didn’t seem alarmed by it.  Buck and Eddie had met privately with the therapist earlier in the week to prepare for the discussion. 

As they agreed, Eddie started.  “Mijo, I’m sure you’re wondering why we’re here today.”  He waited for Chris to nod.  “Well, as you know, your Pops and I walked around the mall last Saturday, killing time while you were at Tim’s birthday party.  And we ended up running into somebody who…I’m not quite sure how to say this…” as Eddie’s voice trailed off.

Buck seamlessly jumped in.  “We ran into someone who could’ve been a twin of your mom.”  He felt bad for just ripping the band aid off.  But he believed that’s what Chris needed.

Chris sat silently for a few minutes, with a stunned expression on his face.  The therapist asked him, “Chris, what do you need right now?”

“For everyone to just give me a minute to process.”

“No rush, mijo.  Take your time,” assured Eddie.

After a few minutes, Chris softly asked, “Who is she?  Where did you see her?  And did she really look that much like mom?”

Buck responded, “Her name’s Kim Wheaton.  She owns the store “Whimsical Woman” in the mall.  It’s a few stores down from Cinnabon, so you’ve probably walked by it.”

“She told us that she was adopted as a baby and doesn’t know anything about her birth parents.  And since her adopted parents have passed away, there’s nobody she can ask,” added Eddie.

“And this is what she looks like,” Buck said as he passed his phone over to Chris.

Chris intently studied the picture for a few moments.  “Her hair’s different than mom’s.  And I think her clothes are different from what I remember mom wearing.  At least in pictures.  But other than that.  She looks just like mom.”

“Yeah, she does,” Eddie softly echoed.

“Do you think she’s related to mom?  Especially since she was adopted as a baby?”

“Quite possibly,” Buck said.  “She offered to do a DNA test if that’s something you’d be interested in doing.”

“What do you think I should do?” asked Chris.

“It’s up to you,” Eddie replied.

“But I really want your opinion!”

“I think you should do it,” Buck said.  “You have nothing to lose by testing your DNA vs. Kim’s.  If it comes back that there is no familial relationship between you and her.  Then we can just chalk it up to a wacky coincidence.  You would just be forewarned if you ran into her at the mall.”

Chris nodded and motioned for Buck to continue.

“If there is a familial relationship, it also doesn't mean that she immediately needs to become part of our family.  That’s something we can discuss over time.  If nothing else, there would be some benefits to both you and Kim from a medical history perspective.  For example, if your maternal grandmother Janet is also Kim’s biological mother, it would be helpful for her to know that Janet passed away from breast cancer.  Having that information could help Kim be proactive in managing her own health.”

Chris was thoughtful for a moment before stating, “I want to do the DNA test.”

“You sure?” asked Eddie.

“Yeah.  As Pops said, I have nothing to lose.  And if we are related, it wouldn’t be fair to deprive Kim or me of important medical information.”

A few weeks later, they got the results of the DNA test back.  It turned out that Chris and Kim were related, with Kim being Shannon’s sister (or possibly even her twin).  Chris wanted to be introduced to Kim, so they all agreed to meet at a local Starbucks on a Sunday morning.  The introduction went well.  By no means, were they yet ready to become a happy extended family.  But Chris said he was fine greeting Kim if he bumped into her at the mall.

Their relationship with Kim progressed slowly until one afternoon a few months later.  Chris was hanging out at the mall arcade with his friend Jack.  Carla had dropped them off before going to her other client.  Jack’s mother was going to pick them up later and drop Chris off at home.  Chris would then be home alone for a few hours until Buck and Eddie returned in the evening after their 12-hour shift. 

Unfortunately, Jack’s grandmother had a nasty fall, and his mother needed to pick Jack up on her way to the hospital.  Since Chris lived in the opposite direction, she couldn’t first drop him off at home.  To make matters worse, the members of the Firefam were all working, as was Pepa.  (Isabelle no longer felt comfortable behind the wheel.)

Eddie and Buck were on the phone with Chris trying to brainstorm options.

“I asked Cap if one of us could leave for a while to pick you up and bring you back to the station.  But unfortunately, since we’re short staffed, that won’t be possible,” Buck explained.

“I guess I can take an Uber home,” Chris reluctantly offered.

Eddie made a face at the idea.  It’s not that he didn’t trust Chris.  The issue was that many local Uber drivers were refusing to pick up teenagers from the mall since they often got rowdy during the ride.  So, it might not be that easy for Chris to get an Uber. 

As usual, Buck read Eddie’s mind and responded, “Let’s not go there yet.  There’s got to be someone else who can get you.”

The three of them were quiet for a minute trying to think of options.  “How about Aunt Kim?  I said hi to her earlier when Jack and I passed by her store,” asked Chris.

“Hold on for a minute, Chris,” as Eddie put his phone on mute.  “Do we trust her?”

“I think so.  She is blood family.  The background check on her was clean.  And Chris obviously has positive feelings about her since he called her ‘Aunt Kim’,” said Buck.

“Yeah, I agree,” said Eddie as he took the phone off mute.

“That’s a good idea.  I’ll give her a call and get back to you,” he told his son.

Eddie was able to immediately get ahold of Kim, who said she’d be happy to take Chris home.  She even offered to first take him out to dinner, so he wouldn’t have to heat up leftovers while waiting for his dads to come home. 

About 8:30 pm that evening, Eddie and Buck pulled into their driveway.  They were surprised to see a strange car in their driveway and assumed (hoped) it belonged to Kim.  After they opened the front door, they could hear an intense video game being played and what sounded like good natured bickering between Kim and Chris.

They walked into the living room, to see Chris’s avatar pull slightly ahead and win the game.  Chris looked up and said, “Hi dads.”

Kim turned to them and said, “Hi guys.  Your son is a video game shark.  He’s beaten me in at least six games!”

“Sorry, but you’ll get no sympathy from us.  We haven’t won a game against him in over five years,” said Eddie.

“Well, Aunt Kim’s better than both of you.  She even beat me in one game.”

“Were you being nice and intentionally letting her win?” asked Buck who was apparently in shock.

Kim made a token note of protest at Buck’s words, but before she could say anything, Chris chimed in and said she won fair and square. 

A short while later as it became apparent that Buck and Eddie were exhausted from their shift, Kim said she needed to take off.  Buck and Eddie thanked her profusely.  Not just for being available at the last minute to take Chris home, but also for taking him to dinner and hanging out with him. 

Before she left, Chris gave her a big hug.  “Thanks Aunt Kim.  I had a lot of fun.”

“So did I.  We’ll have to do it again sometime soon,” Kim said as she walked out the door.

“Sounds like you had a good time with Kim, mijo,” after they closed the door behind her.

“I did.  She’s really cool.  Did you know that she has six other stores in California beside the one in the mall?”

“Wow, that’s impressive.  I don’t think your dad or I knew that,” said Buck

“Not surprised.  We’ve been so focused on how much Kim looks like mom.  We haven’t really tried to get to know her as her own person.”

Eddie stopped in his tracks, deeply ashamed of himself.  His son was spot on.  He hadn’t given a single thought about Kim as her own person.  He only considered her as Shannon’s long-lost sister.  “You’re absolutely right.  We’ve haven’t gotten to know her.  But that’s something we can change immediately.  Perhaps we can invite her to dinner next week.”

Chris smiled.  “Sounds like a great idea dad.  Assuming Pops cooks.  Don’t want to give her food poisoning while we’re still just getting to know her,” Chris snickered with Buck joining in.

From that point on, Kim started to become a member of their family.  It was great for Chris to have another aunt, especially since they weren’t really in touch with Adrianna and Sophia.  While his sisters were more open to staying connected now that Eddie had permanently cut ties with Helena and Ramon, 10+ years of estrangement were hard to overcome.  Especially when they lived on the other side of the country.

They gradually introduced Kim to the rest of their extended family.  She got along like a house on fire with both Maddie and Hen, much to Eddie and Buck’s dismay as they found themselves the frequent subject of their sisterly teasing.  She got the thumbs up from Bobby, Athena, and the rest of Firefam, as well as from Abuela and Pepa.

Meanwhile, back in El Paso, about one year later.

Helena and Ramon were sitting around the dining room table, reading the paper, and sipping their coffee.  Life had been hard for them since arriving back home after their felony conviction.

It had impacted their lives more than they’d expected.  Ramon was forced to retire since he could no longer pass the background checks needed for key client contracts.  While it was only a few years earlier than planned, it had long term consequences on their retirement portfolio since expected bonuses never materialized.  As a result, they had to cut back on luxuries such as travel and discretionary shopping.

They’d also became social pariahs, as the news about their arrest and conviction became public knowledge.  Isabelle cancelled her plans to move down to El Paso and instead moved in with Pepa.  Both cut ties with Helena and Ramon as did all their extended family members.  They were no longer welcome in the country club, nor on the various social and charitable committees that Helena had previously spent a lot of time on.  They were also practically shunned at church.

Ramon was perusing the business section when he gasped.

“What is it?” asked Helena in a bored tone.

“Look,” Ramon said as he showed her the newspaper article.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?  A new women’s clothing store opening downtown?  A store that I won’t be able to shop at because we’re on such a tight budget?” Helena bitterly asked.

Ramon patiently pointed to the picture accompanying the article.  Helena’s eyes opened wide in shock.  The owner of the clothing chain looked exactly like Shannon!  She immediately started thinking about how they could use this to their advantage.  Could they contact this person and have her dress like Shannon to manipulate Eddie and Chris?  And even better, drive a wedge between Eddie and Buck?  If they played their cards right, it could hopefully lead to Chris asking to live with them in El Paso.  Which should invalidate the restraining order.

“Does this article provide any more information about her?”

“No.  Just that her name is Kim Wheaton, and she’s based in LA.”

“Perfect!” Helena said as she thought about how that would make her plan easier to implement.

“Helena, what are you scheming?” Ramon asked with a tone of suspicion in his voice.  Helena wasn’t worried.  She knew that he’d go along with her plans.  He always did.

“How we can use Kim to get our lives back on track.  And to get Christopher down here where he belongs.  Where we can help him finally accept his limitations.”

As she’d expected, Ramon nodded along.  “But before we can set the plan in motion, we need her personal contact information,” Helena added.

“Let me see what I can dig up,” Ramon said as he folded up the newspaper and opened his laptop.

Kim was sitting in her office reviewing the financials for each of her stores when her cell phone rang.  She saw that it was an El Paso phone number, although she didn’t recognize it as either the on-site manager or the general contractor for the buildout of the El Paso store.  She had a sneaking suspicion that it might be Eddie’s parents.

Eddie and Buck had shared the whole saga of what his parents had done.  How they had unsuccessfully sued for custody.  How they got slapped down hard by the court for both their childhood abuse of Eddie and for their greatly distorted view of Chris’s limitations.  How when the custody suit was unsuccessful, they resorted to kidnapping Chris.  How they were convicted of kidnapping and slunk back to El Paso with their tail between their legs.  How Eddie, Buck and Chris had a permanent restraining order against them.

Kim used a great PR firm that always did an excellent job in promoting her stores.  Unfortunately, due to a simple oversight, the press done for the El Paso opening had included her picture.  Eddie had told her that his dad religiously read the daily newspaper, especially the business section.  So, the chances were high that he and Helena had seen her picture in the newspaper.

She answered the phone.  “Hi.  Kim Wheaton speaking.”

“Hi Miss Wheaton.  My name is Helena Diaz and I’m here with my husband Ramon.”

“Hello.  How can I help you?” Kim cautiously asked. 

“Well, you’re the spitting image of our daughter in law, who was unfortunately killed in a traffic accident.  Our son and grandson are still struggling to get over her passing, and I believe that you can help them.”

“Well, Mrs. Diaz, I’m just about to board a flight, so I need to hang up now.  But please feel free to send me an email with all the details of how I can help.  I’ll text you my email address.”  This was the plan that Kim had agreed on with Buck and Eddie.  That if Helena or Ramon reached out to her, she should try to get them to document their schemes in writing.

“Thank you so much Miss Wheaton.  Safe travels.”

The following day, Kim received a lengthy email from Helena, outlining what they wanted her to do.  They wanted Kim to dress up as Shannon (pictures were attached to the email), then ‘accidentally’ bump into Chris and Eddie (they were using a PI to get their schedules and would inform Kim where to go) and act like she knew Eddie intimately.  Helena claimed that would be therapeutic for Eddie and Chris.  Kim was to then notify Helena and Ramon so they could reach out to their son and grandson and help them through their grief.  In return for Kim’s assistance, they would pay her in cash and help her promote her store in El Paso.

Of course, Kim immediately saw through their plan.  It was NOT to help Eddie and Chris.  It was to traumatize Chris by seeing a Shannon look alike, with whom he believed his father was cheating on Buck.  Their obvious intent was that Chris would be so traumatized and so upset at his dads that he’d reach out to his grandparents seeking support and a place to heal.

Kim immediately forwarded the email to Buck and Eddie, who in turned passed it on to their lawyer (Eleanor Smythe), ADA Schmidt who’d prosecuted his parents, and Judge Reynolds (who’d overseen his parents’ plea agreement in addition to the custody suit.)  The Judge and the ADA considered it to be a potential violation of the plea agreement and restraining order.  Especially after Kim shared her phone records to prove that Helena and Ramon had reached out to her unsolicited.

To confirm the violation, the ADA wanted to get Helena and Ramon on record admitting that their goal of hiring Kim was to drive a wedge between their son, his husband, and their grandson.  They wanted either Kim, Buck, or Eddie to wear a wire and meet in person with Helena and Ramon and get them to confess their true intentions.  Since the ADA was able to get a warrant, the audio surveillance didn’t need to be disclosed.

Kim convinced Helena and Ramon to travel to LA to meet with her in person to discuss the details of the plan.  They agreed to meet at Otto’s Diner at 11 am on Saturday morning.  She then informed Buck and Eddie of the time and location.

As Buck, Eddie and Chris entered the diner at the designated time, they spotted Helena and Ramon sitting at a table towards the back.  Chris had insisted on coming with them because he wanted to give his ‘ex-grandparents’ a piece of his mind.  He’d even offered to wear the wire, but Eddie insisted on being the one to do so.

The three of them plopped down at the table with Helena and Ramon.  While Helena ignored both her son and son-in-law, she immediately tried to hug Chris.  She was blocked from reaching him by Buck and Eddie.  However, that didn’t stop her from trying as she cooed at him in baby talk even though he was 15 years old.

Ramon brusquely asked, “What are you doing here?  Can we assume you’ve canceled that foolish restraining order?”

“Nope.  It still stands.  We confirmed with Judge Reynolds that us being here doesn’t void it,” replied Buck.

“Then why are you here?” Helena asked, sounding miffed cause she couldn’t hug and fawn over Chris.  “And not to be rude, but we’re expecting someone.”

Eddie smirked, “No, you’re not.  Kim won’t be coming.”  He watched as expressions of shock appeared on his parents’ faces, even though they tried to hide it.

Helena stammered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, you do.  You know Aunt Kim.  Who could pass for a twin of mom.  Who you wanted to dress up as Shannon and ambush us.  To have her hug dad in my presence.  Make me think he was not only cheating on Pops but also carrying on a relationship with my mom’s doppelgänger. Did I get it right?” retorted Chris.

Helena and Ramon were silent, but their guilty expressions said it all. Chris relentlessly glared at them until Helena finally confessed.  “Yes, you got it right.  We’re just trying to protect you and spare you from being raised by two godless homosexuals.  We were only forced to take this extreme action because of the stupid restraining order your dad and Buck took out against us!”

“Must I remind you that the restraining order was only put in place because of your actions.  Because you were convicted of kidnapping Chris.  And it was a condition of you avoiding jail time,” Eddie retorted.

Chris continued his tirade against his grandparents.  “But I don’t understand what you expected to get out of traumatizing dad and me.  Even if I was extremely upset with Dad, I’d still have Pops who is my other parent.  And even if I was upset with them both, there are many other people I could live with in LA while Dad, Pops and I worked out our differences.  Under no circumstances, would it result in you getting custody over me.  Especially since you’re a couple of elderly convicted felons!”

“Don’t worry about it, Chris.  Don’t expect their actions to make sense.  She’s grasping at straws to get her hands on you,” Eddie said as he pointed to his mother.  “And as usual, he’s enabling her,” as he pointed to his father.

“We can still sue you for custody,” Helena snidely retorted. 

Eddie laughed, “Before this latest stunt, you didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting custody.  Especially after you last suit failed so miserably.  Then you were convicted of kidnapping.  No court was going to grant you custody.”

Buck added, “But with your latest stunt, you’re going to jail.  And you won’t be released until well after Chris is legally an adult.  So, you can forget about ever filing for custody.”

Helena shrieked, “WHAT?”

Detective Ransone walked over to the table. “Your son-in-law is correct.  Thanks to your very detailed email to Kim, spelling out your plans to hire her to traumatize your son and grandson.  Plus, her affidavit and your admission of guilt a few moments ago.  That was enough for Judge Reynolds to declare your actions to be a violation of your plea agreement and associated restraining order.  So, your previously suspended sentence is being reinstated plus an additional sentence for violating the restraining order.” 

Detective Ransone turned to four police officers who had been patiently standing by the wall and motioned them over. “These officers are here to take you to prison.”

Buck, Eddie, and Chris watched as Helena and Ramon were handcuffed.  Eddie nearly burst out laughing as Buck and Chris dramatically waved to his parents as they were escorted out of the diner.  Detective Ransone took the wire back from Eddie, before saying his goodbyes and following the police officers outside.

Eddie, Buck, and Chris collapsed back in their seats in relief, as the adrenaline rush subsided. 

They were silent for a few minutes before Chris spoke up, “I’m hungry.  Can we eat lunch here?”

“Sure,” said Eddie as he called the waitress over to give them menus.  While Buck and Chris debated their food choices, Eddie was deep in thought. 

He was extremely grateful that, right after they got married, Buck had insisted they all go to therapy.  While those sessions were difficult, they’d enabled him to work through his conflicted feelings about Shannon.  He shuddered to think about what would’ve happened if he had encountered Kim before those feelings were resolved.  Especially since he still fell into a trance upon first seeing her.  Fortunately, Buck was there to snap him out of it.  Thanks to therapy, neither he nor Chris were traumatized by Kim.  Instead, she was now part of their family.

Eddie was jarred out of his thoughts by Chris asking “Can I have cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake?  I deserve comfort food after having to see and talk to them.”

“I think we all deserve comfort food after everything they put us through,” added Buck.

Eddie voiced his agreement as the waitress came over and took their orders.  As Buck and Chris debated plans for the afternoon, Eddie couldn’t stop thinking about his parents.  He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.  A weight that had been there since childhood.  A weight that had increased the day Chris was born and his mother first expressed interest in gaining custody of him. 

He had no idea why his parents had been so obsessed with taking Chris.  It was an obsession that ruined their lives.  But the reasons probably didn’t matter.  Eddie was just relieved that with them in jail for at least the next 4-5 years, there was zero chance they could make a play for Chris before he became an adult.

They’d still be vigilant and keep tabs on his parents for the rest of their lives.  But they no longer were a serious threat to him and his family. 

Eddie forced down all thoughts of his parents and refocused on Buck and Chris as they made plans for the afternoon.  Eddie vowed to treasure every moment with his family.

Chapter Text

12 years later...

Chris cursed as he tried to correctly knot his tie.  Even though there was no dress code at JPL, he wanted to look good for his first day of work.  Finally, after his fourth attempt, he was able to get it right.

“Looking snazzy there, Dr. Diaz” his fiancé Emily said as she handed him a cup of coffee.

“Thanks!” as he turned and gave her a kiss.  She and Chris had met when they were undergrads at Caltech.  They immediately became close friends, and their relationship turned romantic about a year later.  She’d been his closest supporter as he completed his doctorate in aeronautical engineering and had been his biggest cheerleader when he underwent the grueling competition for the job at JPL.  They were planning to get married next year.  His dads adored Emily, and Clipboard Buck had even volunteered to make an appearance to help plan the wedding. 

Chris knew that many people still felt sorry for him because of his CP.  But Chris didn’t see it that way.  Instead, he felt incredibly lucky.  He and his dad were lucky to have met Buck, not because of his financial generosity (although that was helpful and appreciated), but because he was the missing piece in their family.  He was lucky to have two dads who loved him and encouraged him to pursue his dreams.  He was lucky to have a group of extended family and friends who were there for him and rooted for him as he overcame the obstacles in his path.  He was lucky to have found Emily who was the love of his life.

He was broken out of his reverie by Emily asking, “Are you going to mail that letter?”

“Not sure yet,” he admitted.  They were referring to a letter Chris had drafted to Helena.  Despite all of Chris’s academic and professional success, he still had a tiny kernel of self-doubt because of all the aspersions his grandmother had cast on his intelligence.  Now, as he’d been awarded his Doctorate and was about to start his dream job, he wanted to make Helena see how wrong she was about him.  He knew that he’d never be able to break through her delusions.  But at least venting to her on paper might help put those self-doubts to rest.

Prison hadn’t been kind to his grandparents.  Unsurprisingly, Ramon’s machismo didn’t play well in an environment where others were younger, tougher, and meaner than him.  One day he mouthed off to the wrong inmate and was stabbed with a shiv while he slept.  By the time his body was discovered the next morning, he’d been dead for hours.

While Helena survived prison, it had tremendously aged her.  He knew his dads still maintained surveillance on her.  Based upon the pictures the PIs had taken, she was quite frail looking, and her hair had gone completely white.  She lived a very lonely existence in a nursing home in El Paso.  She never had any visitors and supposedly, her entitled attitude had alienated her from the other residents.

His grandparents obviously couldn’t hurt him anymore.  But that didn’t stop Chris from wanting closure.  Hence the letter.  As he went back into the bedroom to grab his sports coat, he couldn’t stop himself from picking up the letter on his dresser and rereading what he’d written.

Helena,

This is your biological grandson, Christopher.

I never understood why you let your obsession with taking me, and your distorted view of my capabilities, ruin your life.  It cost you your freedom, your husband, your son, your grandson, your friends, your extended family.  And a whole lot more. 

If you’d just been a decent human being, you would’ve been able to stay in my life.  You would’ve been there for the big moments, the little moments, and everything in between.  You would’ve gotten to hear my salutatorian speech when I graduated from Robbins Academy.  You would’ve been able to see me graduate Summa Cum Laude from Caltech.  You would’ve been able to see me be awarded my PHD in Aeronautical Engineering.  You would’ve been able to celebrate when I got engaged to the love of my life.  You would have been able to share my excitement when I received the job offer from JPL. You would’ve been there for countless holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.

But because you and your husband couldn’t achieve that low bar of human decency, you missed all those things.

Looking forward, you won’t be there to see my dads escort me down the aisle on my wedding day.  You won’t be able to meet any of my children.  Instead, you’ll be leading a very lonely existence for the rest of your life.

I almost feel sorry for you.  The key word in that sentence was ‘almost’.  After all, actions have consequences.

Dr. Christopher Diaz.

Chris was putting the letter back in the envelope, when Emily called out to him, “Hey Chris, we need to get a move on.  Remember, you need to drop me off at work before you head out to JPL.” 

Chris put the letter back on his dresser and headed out to meet his future, with a huge smile on his face.