Work Text:
“Let him go.”
Arms were wrapped tightly around TK. Blood spilled slowly from a cut on his temple. A zip tie dug into his skin as it held his wrists together. A gun pushed under his chin strongly enough to force his head up. A moan of pain escaped his lips as his eyes fluttered open. All around them, other hostages held their breath. Every time TK struggled, the gun was pushed deeper into his skin. Tears streamed down his face as he stared ahead, his eyes locked on Carlos’s. It was like he was trying to apologise to him, but none of this was his fault. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Put your gun down or I shoot him.”
“Right now, that man is the only thing stopping the snipers from killing you. If he dies, this is over for you.”
Carlos was struggling to keep his voice steady. His gun felt heavier with every passing second. Watching TK, in pain, at the mercy of that man, broke his heart like nothing ever had before. The fear was barely bearable. His mind was clouded with worst case scenarios that made it difficult to keep doing his job. How did they get there? How did they end up on either end of a standoff like this? Carlos, aiming his gun in his boyfriend’s general direction, and TK, used as nothing more than a human shield.
It was a nice day in Austin. Not too sunny, just enough clouds to make it comfortable. It almost reminded TK of New York. He missed the excitement and buzzing of the city sometimes, the fact it was easy to find distractions, maybe too easy. But he was convinced moving here was the right choice. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, his dad had been right. It did do him a lot of good to get a change of scenery, a change of pace. Austin wasn’t what he’d expected. It was more open and pleasant than he’d thought. He loved the group at the firehouse, he even enjoyed living with his dad again, not that he would ever tell him that. His A.A. meetings were good and he was starting to get along with his therapist. She was the second one he’d gone to here, but he thought this one might work out.
TK was almost done with his session when they were interrupted by the sounds of a scuffle outside. Someone screamed. Someone tried telling someone else to calm down. Someone shouted for everyone to shut up. Whatever was going on out there was bad. When they heard a gunshot, TK’s first instinct was to run out and help, but his therapist grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Wait, you can’t just go out there, it’s not safe. And someone has to call the cops first.”
TK sighed, but he sat back down. She was right. They should stay put. At least for now. He watched as she picked up the phone and dialled 9-1-1. He debated calling Carlos directly, but he didn’t want to worry him. It might be better if he only learned about this after the facts, when it was over and everyone was safe.
A few minutes passed. They could hear people crying on the other side of the door, someone threatening them. A man, he was asking for something but everyone refused to say anything. The therapist had time to relate everything they knew to Grace, who was the one who’d picked up. She’d mentioned TK’s name so Grace could send a message to Judd. That way the 126 wouldn’t have to wonder why he was late for work.
Whoever was out there must not have been thinking clearly, because police sirens could be heard by the time he noticed the door to the office and opened it. TK got a quick glimpse at a few people sitting out there, hands tied with zip ties. There was the receptionist, three clients and the therapist working in the other office. Then the man entered, blocking the view. He seemed on edge, and not the ‘I’m holding a bunch of people hostage with a gun’ kind of on edge. TK recognised it. He’d felt it. That man was a junkie. Probably desperate for a fix.
“Where are the drugs?” He said, taking a step toward the therapist.
“The drugs? We don’t have any drugs here.”
“This is a medical office, it says on the door, you’re a doctor. Don’t take me for an idiot, give me the drugs.”
“We only do therapy here, we don’t keep any drugs on hand.”
TK thought he was close enough. He thought the man might be too deep in withdrawal to give up much of a fight. He was wrong. He tried to disarm him, to stop him, but he was thrown to the floor by a blow to the head. It hurt like hell. Granted, he’d been shot before, but he didn’t remember it. So from his perspective, being hit by the barrel of the gun felt worse. He was about to get back up when he saw the gun pointed in his direction. He raised his hands up.
“Don’t move.”
They needed to get out of this office. The front of the building was made of glass panels. If they could go back to the waiting room, police snipers might have a shot at him. TK didn’t like the idea of getting this man killed when what he needed was help and support, but if it came to that, they needed to be prepared. TK tried to figure out a way to convince the man to move to the other room while he was putting zip ties around their wrists so tightly it felt like it was cutting most of the circulation. What he wouldn’t give for some opiates right now.
More sirens were heard. The man looked panicked. It was the last thing they needed. A panicked junkie with a gun. There were so many ways this could go wrong. He took a step toward the psychiatrist, no doubt planning on using her as leverage. Before he could even think about it, TK was up on his knees.
“No, leave her alone, take me!” He cried out. From where they were, they could see clearly the fire truck, ambulance and police car pulling up. TK had wished dispatch would send any other team, anyone other than the 126, but there they were. The man saw the switch in his expression, the pain of knowing his people would have to see him like this, try to do their jobs calmly while his life was in danger.
It was enough to convince him. The man pushed the therapist toward the others, telling them all to shut up and keep still. TK suddenly realised what he’d done, how stupid he was. He tripped on his own feet as he tried to back away. It was no use, the man was behind him in seconds, forcing him up and wrapping an arm around him, the gun nestled under his chin. He had just transitioned from hostage to human shield. He’d jumped in to save someone else with no regard for his own safety, just like that time Carlos had to hold his wrist to prevent him from running into oncoming traffic to rescue people on an overturned bus.
The phone rang. Police was no doubt trying to reach out to the man, to get his demands. He pushed TK forward, making sure he blocked him from view as he walked over to answer the call. Only to say what he wanted and hang up immediately.
“I’m not leaving until I get drugs.”
TK felt bad for him. That his dependence had reached the point where he was unable to provide himself with a fix, probably living on the streets, alone and reduced to having to do something like this just for a hit. TK was so lucky he had his dad, who had always been there for him, helping and supporting him through the worst of his addiction. Owen had gotten him clean, had sent him to meetings, done everything he could for him. He never gave up.
“We can get you help. I’ve been through this, I’m an addict too. I understand. If you want, I can help you find you a rehab and a good meeting. You can heal from this. You don’t have to keep feeling that way.”
“Shut up. I need drugs, not your help.”
He hit him with the barrel of the gun again, but thankfully this time he couldn’t put as much strength into it. TK could feel blood trickling down the side of his face. His head hurt so much now. His eyes kept closing, as if his body was trying to escape the pain by losing consciousness. But he wouldn’t let it happen.
The door opened slowly. The little interaction had been enough to distract the man and let a policeman come in unnoticed. TK felt himself being pulled back a bit. He resisted enough to stop the man from going back into the office, but he felt the gun push deeper into his chin, forcing his head up. Carlos had said before ‘Austin’s a small town, TK’ and he was right. How else would he be the one coming in to try to resolve this situation? Tears formed in his eyes. TK didn’t want this. He didn’t want Carlos here. He wanted Carlos there after, when it was over, to comfort him and make him feel better. He didn’t want him here, in this office, his gun pointed straight at him. TK let his eyes close, he didn’t want to see this.
“Let him go.”
“My son’s in there, I have to go!”
Owen looked panicked. Of course he did, it’s what Carlos felt as well. His heart had skipped a beat the second he’d gotten the call and learned that TK was one of the hostages. He couldn’t even imagine what Owen felt like knowing his only son was in a life threatening situation, again. Judd and Paul had to hold him to make sure he didn’t go running in. They were all scared. TK could get shot again, and this time he might not make it. Worse, Carlos might have to watch it happen. He was supposed to go in. He was the one who would have to go and diffuse the situation.
“I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Of course you can, Carlos.” Michelle rubbed his back. She had been there ever since they’d all arrived, doing her best to keep him and Owen as calm as possible. She really was a great friend to have, even if she did sometimes get a little too caught up in her own stuff. “Is there anyone you trust more to bring your boyfriend back safe?”
“He’s not officially my boyfriend. He hasn’t even used that word yet.”
“My son’s been through a lot, he’s just not ready to say it yet. But, believe me, I see the way you two look at each other, and I know him well, he is your boyfriend.”
“I’m afraid my feelings for him will cloud my judgement. What if I make a mistake and he gets hurt?”
“You have good instincts, trust them. It’ll be okay. You’ll go in there, save him and then he’ll hold you so tight in his arms that you won’t be able to breathe. And it’ll make us all sick with how sweet you two are.” Michelle smiled and so did Carlos. He didn’t know how she managed to make him feel better at a time like this, but it worked.
“I trust you, Carlos. Bring my son back in one piece.”
Owen stared at him intently and it filled him with the confidence he needed to do what he had to do. Carlos coordinated with the rest of the officers and S.W.A.T. They were going to call and ask about demands, during which time Carlos would get as close to the door as possible while staying out of eyesight of the suspect. He’d wait for an opportunity, anything that would get the man distracted enough for Carlos to slip inside. They still hoped for a chance to negotiate with him over the phone, but having an officer inside, talking to him face to face and assessing the situation first hand was invaluable.
Everything went as planned. Carlos put on his bulletproof vest and walked toward the building. He managed to make it close unseen. He got his opportunity to go in at TK’s expense. He kept his composure as much as he could as he walked in, his gun pointed toward their suspect, trying not to think too much about TK held right in the line of fire.
“If he dies, this is over for you.”
Tears spilled down TK’s face as he moved his head in all directions. He seemed very uncomfortable with the gun deep into his chin, every movement made him wince in pain. But he wasn’t giving up. TK kept fighting to break free and Carlos was racking his brain for a way to help him. As far as he could tell, they had two options. Either they managed to talk the guy down or they waited for the right time and shot him through TK. Currently there was no clear shot to the man’s head and the angle between him and his human shield weren’t good.
“Come on, man. Drugs won’t solve anything.” TK said. “We can help you. It’s hard, but you can do it.”
“I said SHUT UP.”
“I know that cop, if you let us all go, he can get you into rehab. I promise.”
Carlos wasn’t sure he could in fact make any of that happen, but he hoped it would help. He could see how TK related to him. It must’ve reminded him of his own addiction, of how bad it could’ve turned out for him. Carlos wondered how bad it did get and what made him get clean. All he knew was that TK had relapsed right before coming to Austin, they never really talked about it. TK never shared any more details.
“If you won’t shut up, I’ll make you.” The man moved the gun away from his chin and into TK’s mouth, who bucked in protest. “There, try talking now.”
“You know what, let’s calm down.” Carlos put a hand up, keeping his gun steadily aimed toward the man. His eyes burned with tears he refrained himself from shedding as he radioed out for the demands. “Listen, my guys will find you drugs. But they will need a show of good faith before they can bring them here and give them to you.” He hoped his voice didn’t sound as shaky as he thought it did. “How about you let him go? Seems all he does is annoy you.”
“You said he was the only thing keeping me safe from the snipers, he’s not going anywhere.” TK struggled some more against him. They were slowly backing toward the office, getting dangerously on the limit of the snipers’ reach. His cheeks were pink with the mix of blood spilling from his forehead and tears flooding down at a faster pace. “But all the others can leave. Then you give me my drugs.”
Carlos opened the door behind him and let everyone outside. He really hadn’t expected a different outcome, but he had to try, for TK. It was almost over. S.W.A.T would bring over a bag of something, they would exchange it for TK and hopefully they could all go home. As soon as it was only the three of them, TK struggled harder than ever. Clearly, he’d been holding back to avoid getting anybody else hurt. He pushed back toward the office’s entryway, knocking the man’s head on it to disorient him. Then, he managed to make them fall backward onto the floor. In the scramble, the gun fell to the side. Carlos ran to them and grabbed it.
“Put your hands up, now!”
The man put his hands up reluctantly. TK did it too, as much as he could with his wrists still tightly bound together. A smile appeared on his face. Carlos couldn’t believe he was already making jokes about this. Did he not realise how badly it could’ve turned out? How easily he could’ve ended up in the hospital?
Carlos radioed out and other officers came in to take away the suspect. He gave them the gun, holstered his own and immediately went to TK. He knew Owen and the 126 would be impatiently waiting for them outside. He offered him his hand, which TK took between both of his own. After he’d helped him up, he couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around him and hugging him close. He’d been so scared to lose him.
“Um, Carlos. I know you really like me with hands tied, but these aren’t handcuffs and they’re really tight.”
Carlos sighed, took out his knife and cut the zip tie. TK rubbed his wrists. The skin was opened and blood pearled from the marks that had been created there. With that added to the bad cut on his forehead and the bruise that the gun most certainly left under his chin, Carlos needed to bring him to Michelle. She could make sure he was alright.
“Come on, we need to get you checked out. And your dad will be happy to see you.”
“Thank you.” TK looked up at him and put his arms around him. “You saved me.”
“You did a pretty good job at that yourself.”
“After I made it worse.” TK backed away and smiled. “But, again, we make a pretty good team.”
Carlos smiled and led TK outside. They didn’t even make it to the ambulance. Owen ran to them and took his son into his arms. They both shed tears, and Carlos couldn’t help but do the same. The 126 was around in seconds, each taking turns hugging TK. They were all so relieved to see him still alive and standing.
“Alright everyone, let me take a look at him.” Michelle cut in. She took TK’s arm and made him sit on the back of the ambulance. “Are you in pain? Do you want anything for it?”
TK looked up to his dad before he answered. “I’m fine.”
Michelle made sure he didn’t have a concussion and dressed his wounds. TK gave another hug to his dad and watched as the 126 left. Shift had just started, they had to go back to the station. TK was supposed to head there after his appointment, but he suddenly found himself with a day off. Carlos drove him home. They cuddled on the couch. Carlos was all too happy to hold TK in his arms, to feel his weight on him, to let him play with his fingers.
“You sure you don’t want to find yourself a boyfriend less prone to getting himself into dangerous situations?”
“Of course, I do. Unfortunately, you’re the guy I fell for.”
“Too bad you don’t get a choice.”
They kissed a little, until TK felt too tired and fell asleep in Carlos’s arms.