Lab Rats- Collateral Damage
The Davenports surveyed the damage in the lab with lingering disbelief. All they had known for so many years was this lab, and now it was in shambles. “The only reason I built this place was to protect you, and I couldn’t even do that… I feel like I failed you,” Mr Davenport said mournfully.
“Well, I’m glad somebody said it.” Adam blurted out. Everyone gave him an “I can’t believe you said that out loud” look before Chase stepped a little closer to the man who had raised them.
“You didn’t fail us. If you hadn’t brought us together as a family and let us live like normal kids, we never would’ve defeated the Triton App.”
Mr Davenport smiled and pulled Chase and Tasha, the only two people within reach, closer, his arms over their shoulders. “You’re right, Chase. I am handsome, and brilliant.”
Chase frowned, reviewing what he said in his mind. “Wait, I never said-“
“Just let him go. Its how he copes,” Leo interjected in a resigned voice. The rest of the family simply shrugged and shook their heads.
“Well, we should probably get Amber home. She’s been over here the whole time we were looking for the kids, so her family will probably want her to come home,” Tasha pointed out.
“I’ll take her home. We don’t know what else Douglas might have planned right now, so I want to be sure you get home safe.” Mr Davenport pulled himself away from Chase and Tasha and pulled his keys out of his pocket.
“Thanks Mr Davenport, probably a good idea. And yeah,” She turned to Tasha and winced. “My parents have been commenting on how little time I’ve been at home, so I should probably stay there more often for a bit.”
Leo gave a mild nod of agreement. “Well that feels like old times, you being over here that often. Even before we knew you guys she practically lived with us at times.”
In front of Amber's house...
As Davenport turned down Amber’s street, he turned to her for a second to tell her something before they got there. “If you run into any trouble, or anything suspicious, call us. I don’t like the idea of you being away from us too long, cause we don’t have a way to protect you at your house. And I’m not sure how close Douglas may have been watching you, or told this new guy.”
Amber nodded. “You got it Mr Davenport. And thanks. For the ride and… well everything. Hope I helped with finding Adam, Bree, and Chase.”
“Well, you didn’t do much, but you just being there showed a lot of support, so thank you for that.”
“No prob, Mr Davenport. You guys are like family. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to any of you. Just like I wouldn’t want anything to happen to-“
She didn’t get to finish, because just as they were pulling up to the house, the front side of it erupted everywhere, and fire started blazing from the whole area. Davenport slammed on the breaks and called Tasha’s cell phone. “Get Adam, Bree and Chase to Amber’s house NOW. You guys come in the car. We’ve got a BIG problem.” He threw his phone in the seat and ran to grab Amber before she could run to the house and put herself in danger. That’s when Bree swept in with Adam and Chase, paused long enough to leave the boys standing with her and Davenport before using her speed to create a vacuum effect on the fire to put it out. Amber glanced at Chase, and could tell he was already scanning the house for her family and the extent of the damage. She didn’t look long enough for his reaction though. Her attention went back to the house immediately as she reached to pull at her hair.
“I can’t believe this,” she breathed, her voice breaking. She bit her lip, already tasting tears she hadn’t even realized had escaped yet. Bree suddenly appeared by her brothers, sharing their horrified expressions. Except now Chase’s expression had changed somehow. Now there was a mix of disbelief in those eyes and honest face. His face settled into a mild version of his mission leader expression, but still grim. Amber didn’t like it.
“Adam, with me.” He looked directly at Amber for a moment, debating with himself for a moment before saying, “Stay here. We still don’t know what happened in there, or if its safe for you or anyone else to go in yet.” His face was serious, but had a hint of a plea in his voice. She swallowed, hard, but nodded.
“Be careful.” Davenport warned. Chase nodded in acknowledgement before carefully going inside the house.
Amber couldn’t stand still, she wrung her hands and bounced on her toes, or paced until Tasha and Leo pulled up to the curb.
Inside the house...
Chase led his brother into the house, hoping with everything in him that his scan was wrong. He’d seen both Amber’s family’s cars in the driveway… well, what was left of them thanks to the damage from the explosion. So he’d guessed they’d been home at the time. But what his scanner picked up in the living room…… oh how he hoped he was wrong. The only reason he’d actually brought Adam with him was if something went wrong in there, Adam’s strength would probably come in handy. But he paused at the entry to the living room, not wanting to know for sure that he was right, or to actually see the damage in that room. “Wait here,” he told his brother over his shoulder. The confused expression on his brother wasn’t exactly a new thing, but it was at least concerned, and seemed wary of letting his brother go into a room that had just exploded by himself. But Chase was at least confident that Adam would stay there and be prepared if needed. Chase turned back to the living room, braced himself and stepped into what was left of the living room.
There wasn’t much left. The walls were still intact, but skeletal from this angle. The frame of the house had appeared intact from the outside, except for the windows, and had appeared burned, but that had seemed to be the brunt of it from that angle. From here however… the whole room was charred and black. He almost recognized the furniture from the few times he and his siblings had ever been to Amber’s house, but he was surprised to be able to recognize that much. He saw bits of pizza scattered over some of the edges of the room, but he tried to resist looking for the details he knew he would find. Closing his eyes for a moment, still trying to put it off as long as possible, he finally looked for the remains he’d found on his scanner. Disturbingly disfigured bodies of four people were on the floor or the furniture, seeming to face the tv, none of them with life signs. The blood that had resulted from their injuries had already cauterized from the blast.
He couldn’t help it. Tears came, slowly, but they came. He shook his head in disbelief. This will kill her, he thought. She’d been such a good friend to them, had been over at their house so much she practically lived there. But he knew how much she loved her family. What was he going to tell her? He’d told her to wait outside because he knew what he was going to find in here and didn’t want her to have to remember this. His mind was already picturing her reaction to the news, and the pain he imagined on that face was staggering, so much so that…
His stomach lurched, then his hand went over his mouth, as he turned towards the family’s kitchen and ran to the sink before the meal they’d had after defeating the Triton app came back up and splashed into the sink. “Chase?” He heard his brother come up behind him, his voice full of concern and alarm. “Chase what is it?” Finished, he closed his eyes and wiped his mouth on his shirt. Opening his eyes slowly, he turned towards his brother without actually looking at him, still haunted by what he’d seen.
“They’re all….. “ He shook his head, unable to say the word. “They’re…” Shaking his head even more, he brought his gaze up to his brother’s face, seeing that finding the words was unnecessary. Even Adam understood this. Adam’s face fell as he pulled his face into a grim frown.
“We should go back out there… There’s … nothing we can do for them? At all?” Adam implored.
Chase shook his head, pushing himself away from the sink, finding it difficult to find his feet, but he managed it somehow. He barely saw the room around him, or where he was going as they left the house, all he saw in his mind was what he’d imagined of Amber’s face when he had to tell her what had become of her family…
Back outside....
Amber was now standing with Tasha and Leo, Tasha with her arms around her shoulders, Leo looking on, but near enough to show support. They had known her longer than the rest, but Davenport and Bree stayed nearby as well. Davenport grimly watching for his sons, Bree switching at times between anxiously looking for her brothers and disbelief at what had happened. The door opened, as much as it could anyway, and Adam stepped out, followed by his brother.
As soon as Adam stepped out of the way enough for her to see Chase’s face, she knew it was bad. He seemed to be moving on automatic, not seeing what was in front of him, his face set so grim, and mildly red, it was almost made out of stone. His eyes till had that disbelief hint to it, but he looked so resigned to something awful that it sent her heart to her throat, making it hard to breathe. His feet found his way to right in front of her and faltered for a moment. She swallowed. Still not wanting to believe any of what was going on. This had to be a massive nightmare. She would wake up in the morning, and none of this would’ve happened. Davenport wouldn’t have gotten robbed or hacked, Perry wouldn’t have found out their secret and forced them to run away, and she wouldn’t have come home to find her house…
When he finally brought himself to look at her, his lips parted and eyes still disbelieving, Amber noticed there were tear streaks on his face. Her heart plummeted from her throat to her feet. She shook her head, tears starting to come again. “No…” something pulled the word out of her mouth.
He barely shook his head, and his voice didn’t come any louder than hers, but he finally spoke. “I’m sorry…” he struggled for more words for a moment. “They’re … they’re gone… There’s nothing anyone can do.” She saw a tear or two escape from his eyes as he shook his head slightly again in disbelief. “I’m sorry.”
She bit her lip, and tried a bit longer to resist the truth. “I have to see them, I have to-“ she tried to push past them, but Chase grabbed her shoulders with a pleading look on his face.
“No! Believe me, you don’t want to see them like that.” He made sure he had her attention, and that she wouldn’t try to go inside. “Trust me…” he pulled in a ragged breath. “You’ll want to remember them as they were. Not …” He shut his eyes, his face pained for a moment before looking at her again. “You don’t want to see that.”
At this, Amber finally crumbled, clutching his shirt because it was the only thing within reach. The sobbing finally started as she fell to her knees, releasing Chase’s shirt. His arms dropped from her shoulders as she did.
Chase's POV
Chase watched her crumble, and almost wanted to do the same. He hated seeing his best friend in pain. He half fell, half lowered himself to the ground as well, sitting himself close enough that he could wrap an arm around her shoulders. As she noticed this, she leaned closer, clutching his shirt again as her tears fell on his clothes. His only response was to put his other arm around her too. He didn’t care what his family thought, or if they started catching on that his feelings toward her weren’t merely best friends. All he could think of was her pain, and how long they would both be affected by this. For a while, he just stopped thinking, which was very unusual for him. He just kept his arms around her, not knowing what else to do but be there for her. Vaguely, he noticed the others dissipating as the emergency services showed up. He saw Mr Davenport talking to the police about what he knew, then go back to Tasha and talk to her for a bit before going inside. He saw his brother and sister leaning on what was left of the cars in the driveway, still not believing what was going on. He saw Leo sitting on the sidewalk and looking at his friend's house, also still in disbelief. He saw all this, but couldn’t form opinions on any of it. A numbness had fallen over him, and an unusually quiet mind as he listened to Amber’s sobs finally subside to sniffles and gasps of air at times.
Chase pulled away just enough to be able to see her face better and puzzled at the streak on part of her face that was clearly not tears. When he realized what it was, he winced, suddenly remembering that he’d wiped what was left of the vomit on his face onto his shirt, right where her head was. He pulled away a bit more, just enough for Amber to notice and give him enough room to pull his shirt over his head and use a clean part of his shirt to wipe the streak from her face and look for any more that may have rubbed off of his shirt. When she gave him a mildly questioning look, he swallowed slightly before answering. “I wiped my face on my shirt after … Reacting to seeing what was in there.” She still looked puzzled for a moment until her nostrils flared and she caught the whiff of vomit from his shirt. He could almost see the “ooooh” moment in her eyes as she understood what he meant, followed swiftly by more sadness, but seeming to have some of the numbness he had, before she rested her head on his bare chest, near his shoulder. If this had been under different circumstances, he might’ve enjoyed this. But there was no room for that today, so he simply slipped his arm back around her shoulders, giving her arm a slight squeeze of reassurance.
Mr Davenport approached them cautiously, but with a stance that said he had something to tell them. “Amber, your room didn’t seem to have any damage, so I got some of your clothes together in one of your family suitcases to take to our house. You can stay as long as you need.” He didn’t add that it might be easier to protect her at the mansion than it would be at her house. Amber simply nodded. Chase expected she was too in shock to express gratitude, but it was there, and buried under everything else that was happening around them. Chase gave another squeeze and pulled away just enough to catch her eye. She gave as much of a smile as she could, which wasn’t much, but he was surprised she managed it at all, so he returned just as much of a smile. “Come on, I think they want to go back to the house.” She nodded numbly and sat up, sighing. He stood and gave her a hand up, then they all returned to the car and did their best to leave the night behind them.
Back at the Davenport's- Donald's POV
When they got back to their house, Donald got all the kids set up in some of the extra rooms, with Adam moving most of the bigger stuff out of the way. Adam, Bree and Chase were going to have to sleep upstairs since the lab and their capsules had been destroyed, but Amber they set up on the couch and showed her how to use the tv, figuring she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway and would need the distraction.
Once everyone was settled in, Don grabbed a drink from the fridge and paused for a minute to watch Amber flicking through the channels without really watching any of them. His jaw set as he thought about all that had happened the last few days before he shook his head and found himself heading back down in the lab. He still couldn't believe everything that had happened. Just a few days ago, the kids had been pranking each other in the lab again and having fun. Now... The lab was barely a shell of what it had been, he now had no money to repair it, the kids needed new capsules to maintain their bionics before they started glitching, and now Amber.
She’d been there all weekend, always trying to be supportive and help them find Adam, Bree and Chase, and the most she seemed to want the whole time was to know they’re okay. She’d insisted on coming on the chopper with them even though she was claustrophobic and scared of heights because she wanted to see for herself that they were okay. He hadn’t once wondered why she was still there, didn’t worry that now he was taking care of her too when he was broke and trying to find his own kids. As far as he was concerned she was already family. Which was why he planned to ask her if she was okay with staying with them, with himself as her guardian. He’d run it by Tasha of course, but since they’d already been friends, he didn’t think she’d have a problem with it. The main problem would be if Amber’s extended family would be okay with it. But he didn’t feel comfortable with her staying anywhere else where they couldn’t protect her. And she already meant so much to the kids. Everyone would worry about her if they couldn’t be sure she was safe.
For a moment his mind replayed the moment the front of the house exploded and he shook his head. After the kids had arrived, he’d been so focused on making sure Amber didn’t go in that he didn’t think about what they’d find inside until after Chase and Adam came outside and he got a look at Chase’s face. That thought made him throw his drink in frustration. He’d never wanted his kids to have to see that kind of thing. He knew he’d sent them into some dangerous situations before, it was part of their missions, part of what they could handle. But he’d never wanted them to have to see someone they cared about in that kind of pain or dead. He also suspected that Chase had known what he was going to find before going inside, but had done it to spare Amber from having to see them that way. She already had to live with the memory of her house exploding, she didn’t need that memory too.
But after Chase had come back outside and told her, while everyone was recovering from this, Don had gone inside for two reasons. One was to see how much of Amber’s stuff he could grab to bring to their house so she’d have some of her own things with her. He’d grabbed a suitcase or two he’d found in their garage, dumped some of her drawers in them, and grabbed a few handfuls of what was hanging in the closet. He also grabbed a few of the family photos he saw on the walls so she’d have something to see of them. The other reason he’d gone inside was to see how bad the damage was that had put that look on his son’s face. Having seen it, he could completely understand the smell of vomit coming from the kitchen. Once they had a proper lab again, he’d have to pull any scan information off of Chase’s chip log to see if there was anything that might give them clues to how this happened. He suspected his brother of course, but any clues about what he’d used for this might help defend against him in the future. However, seeing the house made him sure Chase and Amber both were going to be suffering from a lot of nightmares in the future, so he didn’t think Chase would be up to talking about what he saw in the house. It also occurred to him that since Chase hadn’t been able to keep his stomach after seeing it, he might have a much smaller appetite in the next few days, if any. Don made a mental note to find some of his protein shake ingredients if they were still in the house so he’d still have some supply of nutrients at least.
“Donald?” He felt a hand on his shoulder and another on his opposite elbow. Without looking, he put his arm around her waist as he continued to face the destruction in the lab. “Are you okay? I’ve been looking for you.”
For a moment he just squeezed back slightly instead of answering. “I don't know. Was just thinking about… All of this. Not just the lab, but Amber and her … Family and house.” That made him think of something else. “How are you doing with all this?” He turned his head to look at his wife. “I mean they were your friends. Are you doing okay?”
Her suddenly sad face made him pull her into a hug. “I guess I’m still in shock to be honest. I just feel so bad for her…” She drifted off, shaking her head slightly.
“Yeah.” He pulled away slightly. “Do you think her extended family would let her stay with us? I mean, let us be her guardians?”
She winced slightly. “I dunno Donald. They feel very strongly about family… I mean, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. But I don't know how they’ll feel about it.” She waited a moment, studying his face. “But you mean that?”
He nodded and released his wife, putting his hands on his hips. “I think everyone would feel better if we knew we could protect her here. At least here we know what we’re up against. And we could see her here and know if she’s okay. Besides, I think everyone already sees her as family anyway.”
She nodded, the look on her face acknowledging that she’d already noticed that much. “Well, they already know she’s been a friend to Leo and I for a long time, so that might be more acceptable to them. But… Are you sure she’ll feel safe here? I mean knowing us is part of what put them in danger isn’t it?”
“That’s something I want to ask her before pursuing this, but I think it's the best move. If she doesn’t feel safe here, we can think about other options.” Remembering the look on her face when she saw Chase come out of the house and her reaction to when he actually said it, he had a feeling she’d want to stay anyway. The two seemed really close. He set his jaw again before looking around the lab and shaking his head. Tasha put a sympathetic hand on his arm. “Another thing is… I’m almost positive Chase already knew what he was walking into before he went in that house. He would’ve scanned it right away. But… I think he went inside to confirm that, maybe just needing to see it for himself that it was true, and so Amber wouldn’t have to see that.” He shook his head again.
“Oooooh, I didn’t even think about that… I’ve been so worried about Amber…” Tasha put a hand over her mouth and shook her head. “What did you see when you went inside?” She suddenly had even more concern on her face.
He closed his eyes and tried to shut it out briefly before shaking it off and putting his hand on her shoulder. “Believe me, you don’t want to know. He was right, you should remember them as they were, not …. Not like that.” He gave a sigh and pointed them to the elevator. “It's probably impossible, but we should probably try to get some sleep. I’ll look up Amber’s family’s contact information in the morning and … Hopefully get a start on this lab somehow. They’re going to need their capsules ASAP.”
She nodded and stepped so that his arm could go over her shoulder as they walked to the elevator.
A few hours later- Chase's POV
Chase tossed and turned on the floor of one of the spare rooms. For one thing, he wasn’t used to laying down to try to sleep. They’d always slept standing up in their capsules. For another thing, the floor wasn’t very comfortable. And lastly, the numbness that had come to him after telling Amber about her family had left him. Now, his mind seemed to be racing to make up for it with plenty to think about going through his mind at once- everything that had happened the last few days. Having to save Perry and revealing their bionic secret, leaving so the FBI wouldn’t be able to find them as evidence to convict Mr Davenport, being kidnapped by Douglas again, and being shown a clip of their lab blowing up… that was what had really worried him up to that point. Yes, their secret getting out and them having to hide from the FBI was stressful, but wondering what had happened to everyone at home had scared him, and made him angry. The thought of anyone hurting his family or friends… He’d meant his threat to Douglas when he said he would end him if anything had happened to them.
His mind raced on to finding out about Kraine, getting the message from Mr Davenport that everyone was okay (which had been a huge relief) and getting home to actually see everyone, and seeing that Amber had stayed the whole time to help find them… his insides had done a bit of a jig when he’d realized that. Then there was that blank patch of memory from when the triton app took over, but having to fight his brother and sister because of that app he had definitely not enjoyed.
They had just started to relax a bit after Mr Davenport and Amber had left to take her home when he’d called Tasha. “Guys, you need to get to Amber’s, now. Donald says there’s a big problem.” The intense worry on her face was the last thing he’d seen before Bree grabbed them and he’d suddenly found himself and Adam next to Amber and Mr Davenport staring at what was left of her house. After a moment of shock, he’d scanned the house for her family, and for any clues about what had started it. He suddenly remembered he’d need to tell Mr Davenport the results of that scan for clues. Although, he might just ask him to check his chip log when they had a proper lab again. He didn’t want to have to remember any of that.
Chase sighed and closed his eyes, exhausted from all that had happened and all the emotions that had come with it, but instantly regretted closing his eyes as it immediately brought the image of her family in that living room right back. The ache in his chest grew tighter as he fought the image in his mind again and sighed. There was no way he was getting to sleep at this rate. He needed a distraction, something to work on or something. But he wasn’t going to get to sleep anytime soon. He pushed himself up and off the floor and looked around the room. For now it was still full of boxes, from them having to move out and then back into the house. With how many extra rooms Mr Davenport had put in the house, it was hard to keep track of which room this one had been, and truthfully, at the moment, he really didn’t care. He stretched briefly before leaving the room and walking quietly to the living room. If people had actually managed to fall asleep, he didn’t want to rob them of that. He paused before actually entering the living room to see if he could hear anything that would tell him if she’d managed to fall asleep. “Why are the only things on the tv at this hour infomercials that no one cares about?” he heard her mutter. That brought a small smile to his face. “Probably because they figure no one’s going to be watching at that hour anyway, so what’s the difference if they find that to fill the air time,” he answered quietly. The only reaction he saw was the side of her mouth tilt up in a small smile.
Amber's POV
“Couldn’t sleep either huh?” she asked, turning her head to look at him. When he shook his head in answer, she tucked her feet closer to her body to give him room to sit on the couch. She had only moved from the couch a few hours before to change into some of the clothes Davenport had packed for her. She was in some of her pajamas, elastic pants and a large shirt that left her looking very generic, but comfortable. Chase had apparently found some of his pajamas, essentially a black shirt with their mission logo on it and gray sweats.
“So what have you been watching?” he asked as he plopped on the lounger part of the couch.
Her eyebrow rose for a minute. “Not sure I’d call it watching… but a lot of the music video channels or movie channels. And its more of me just staring at the screen while the house … well… other things float in front of my eyes.”
Chase nodded slowly. It was several minutes before he could bring himself to answer. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about all of this,” he said slowly, painfully.
The tip of her mouth went up very slightly, she could barely feel it in fact, but it helped a bit. “You don’t have to. It was written all over your face when you told me. And now.” That made her think for a minute. “I think that helped a bit actually. Knowing that you guys cared so much, and you staying with me until we left the house.”
He winced slightly as she mentioned it. “Sorry about that getting on your face though. I forgot all about it until I saw it on you.”
She shook her head slightly. “You had other things on your mind. I didn’t notice till then either.” She closed her eyes against the memory of the house again. “Must’ve been really bad in there,” she murmured as she looked back at him. He just closed his eyes and swallowed before nodding. “You knew before you went in there didn’t you?” She realized aloud, watching his face. His eyes opened and stared into hers before he nodded slightly. “That’s why you told me to stay outside…” Another slight nod, his face still drawn with pain. She struggled to find words for a minute. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I didn't want you to have to live with that memory.” He searched for words for a minute too. “I knew that whoever saw that would probably be scarred for life, and I didn’t want it to be you. So I went in.” It all came out slightly rushed, and he wasn’t looking at her as he said it, but after it came out, he looked for her reaction. Except she couldn’t react yet. “Besides,” he continued. “If we had to give you news like that, I wanted to be absolutely sure it was true. And that there really was nothing we could do for them… And I couldn’t believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes.”
She thought for a minute. “Did Adam see it too?”
He shook his head. “I don't think so. I had him wait just outside the room unless I needed him.” He shifted his feet and examined his … Slippers? “I couldn’t let you see them like that.” He said in a voice she had to struggle to hear.
Her eyes fell to the floor as she considered this. “I know you didn’t have to go in there, but thank you.” He just gave a small tight lipped smile and nod of acknowledgement. “Not that I’m sure that’ll help either of us get any sleep, but hey.” That he gave a heavy nod to and leaned back on the lounger, turning his attention back to the tv.
“So what’s on the movie channels?” He asked, tossing a throw pillow at the couch end of the lounger and settling onto it. She found a movie they could make fun of to take their mind off what had happened that day until they both collapsed from exhaustion.
The next morning- Donald's POV
No one woke before ten the next morning, but Don was the first to wake up. He, like everyone else he guessed, had tossed and turned unable to shut his mind down after the last few days. But had eventually been able to get some sleep. He went to the kitchen to get some coffee and see who was up. He wasn’t surprised to see Chase and Amber asleep on the couch, Chase on the lounger portion that pointed toward the tv, and Amber on the actual couch portion, their heads pointed towards the same corner, as if they’d been talking till they drifted off and we're trying to talk quietly enough to not wake anyone. If nothing else he was glad they were such good friends. But those two weren’t going to be allowed into each other’s rooms by themselves unless the door was open if Amber stayed there.
“Hey Big D,” Leo murmured as he came into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and stared at it for a full minute before closing it without grabbing anything.
“Hey Leo. How’d you sleep?” He asked turning to his stepson and became more concerned. Leo looked very angry about all of this.
Leo shook his head grimly. “Not well,” he said quietly as he watched his friend sleeping on the couch for a minute. “She didn’t deserve this…. She’s my best friend, and she’s been there for us through everything so far.” He shook his head and put his hands on the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen. “Why did this have to happen?”
Don put his coffee cup down on the counter and rested his own hands on the counter. “I can’t answer that Leo. I wish I could but…” He shook his own head for a minute. Just then, Bree came down the hall and paused when she saw Chase and Amber on the couch, then came through to the kitchen.
“I still can’t believe it.” Bree said quietly as she sat on a stool near the counter. “Where is she going to go?”
Don pursed his lips slightly and considered before answering. “I do have an idea about that, but I want to make sure she’s okay with it first.”
“Okay with what?” He heard Amber’s sleep muffled voice from the couch.
“Amber,” he turned back to find Amber sleepily pushing herself up to a sitting position and squint her eyes open. “I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to wake you.” She shook her head sleepily, but with an expression that brushed it off.
“Okay with what?” She repeated, with a bit more clarity, not trying to be rude, just redirecting back to the conversation.
“Well, before I get to that, I wanted to ask if you knew of any family I needed to call about this. If you know any phone numbers or anything.”
She searched her memory for a moment. “Mom kept an address book in the kitchen by the landline phone. That would probably have all the phone numbers we need… If it survived.” Her face turned sad for a moment before shaking herself a bit and standing to sleepily walk over to the kitchen to join them. “So what was the part about where I would stay?” She asked as she slid onto one of the stools at the counter and resting her chin on her hands. Don had moved back around the counter to refill his coffee, so he was now facing her again.
“Well…” He hedged for a moment before continuing. “You don’t have to answer right away. It's just something to consider.” She just sat there, still sleepy, but listening. “I was wondering if you would feel safe staying here with us. With me as your legal guardian.” He waited for a moment, watching his words sink in, but there was still no clear expression on her face. “And while I’m not trying to replace your parents, or ever try to, I think all of us already think of you as family. You wouldn’t have to change your name or anything. Just that Tasha and I would become your legal guardians until you come of age. Or until you decide you want to stay somewhere else, with some of your relatives or … Whatever. But I wanted you to be able to choose one way or the other.” Her lower lip quivered a bit and now there were tears streaming down her face.
“Really? You guys would do that?” She asked tentatively. She seemed stunned, and had to look down at the counter for a minute.
“Well, yeah,” Bree chimed in. “You’re our best friend. And with how many times you’ve been there for us… Why wouldn’t we?” She said putting one hand on her shoulder.
Amber shook her head slowly, still not quite believing. “I don’t know what to say…”
“Well like I said,” Don reminded her. “You don’t have to answer right away. But I wanted to at least offer,” he said seriously, but gently. “I thought here, we could at least try to protect you from anyone or anything else. But it's up to you.” He could now see Chase sitting up on the couch and listening to the conversation.
Amber just shook her head again, not as an answer, but out of bewilderment. “Are you sure Tasha’s okay with this?”
He nodded. “I talked to her about this last night. And she’s totally okay with it if you are.”
Her voice broke as she answered, lip quivering again. “Thank you. That … that means a lot… I don't think I can answer right now, but-“ she paused to wipe her face with her sleeve. “Thank you for the offer. I’ll…” She swallowed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Don nodded encouragement as Chase came up behind her and put a hand on her other shoulder. That’s when Tasha and Adam came in, Tasha immediately coming through the group to give Amber a hug and insist everyone get a proper breakfast since they’d all been through so much. Amber and Chase both paled at this and gave sick expressions, so he went to find his protein shake supplies. When he returned, neither of them had tried to find food and seemed to be avoiding even looking at it. He wordlessly made two protein shakes and placed them in front of Amber and Chase. “If you don’t feel like eating I’m not going to force you. But at least drink those so you have something in your system,” he said firmly. Amber tilted the corner of her mouth up a bit before tentatively reaching for the cup. Chase’s mouth just became a thin line on his face before he reached for the cup and seemed to down it in one long drink. When he put the cup back down and wiped his mouth, he just looked slightly shaken before returning to the couch. Amber sipped on hers until it was gone, and put her cup in the sink before joining him. Satisfied that they’d at least finished their shakes, he went to retrieve something from the lab to see if he could fix it. Not that he could see how. Most of his equipment had burned with the lab. And he had no money to rebuild it or replace any of it. But he had to try. His family needed it, so he would give it his all.
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