ONE
WELCOME TO LA

 TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN

     Kinsey Rink never imagined herself to be so far away from home . . . or, rather, the place she had called home for nearly twenty five years. She was over a twenty-four hour drive away from her mom, and her dad, and the people she called friends, and the people who she used to work with. It was odd, and terrifying, but also, it felt slightly freeing.

     She wasn't alone, though. Her new place, a small two bedroom home that she was on the path of actually owning, was just down the street from her friend. Kinsey knew she wouldn't feel like a stranger forever. Los Angeles was one of the biggest cities in the country; she knew that she would make friends eventually. Besides, she was due to start her job with a new department in just a couple of days — it was a new chapter, and it was looking good already. Kinsey was excited for it all.

A breeze came through the open front door, and traveled through the empty house. As much as Kinsey knew things were going to be okay, there was something about filling an empty house that made her slightly anxious. She had nothing . . . other than the bed and dresser that she hauled all the way from El Paso, and the few personal items she kept; the pictures, the blankets, and the albums she still had and had taken from her parents when she moved out the first time. Everything else, she had sold before she left town.

Kinsey Rink was starting over. It felt like she was truly starting over.

     "Auntie Kinsey!"

     She spun around at the call of her name, and the sound of her nephew's sweet voice. Kinsey grinned at Christopher as he rushed through the empty living room on his crutches. She last saw him just a couple of weeks ago, but it seemed like he just wouldn't stop growing, and his father kept saying that Christopher was beginning to grow in his confidence and independence.

     His father had followed him, a safe distance away, and stood in the doorway; his body leaned against the framework and his arms crossed over his chest.

     "Oh, hi, my lovely!" She crouched to ground, and squeezed the young child into a tight hug, and his giggles filled her ears. "How are you, cariño?"

"Good," Christopher continued to giggle. "Dad and I wanted to help you move."

Kinsey grinned. "Well, I didn't really have a lot to bring up here, but if your daddy wants to be a dear," and she looked up to her best friend with a mischievous smile. "Then he can bring in the last box from my truck, hm?"

Chris looked over his shoulder, and up at his father. "You heard her, dad! Go get it!"

Eddie rolled his eyes, and waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "You both are ridiculous. I hope you know that."

     With that, Eddie turned and walked out the threshold of her home. Christopher looked back to Kinsey, and laughed again. She and Chris both knew they were as thick as thieves together, and were equally wrapped around another's fingers — the perk of her best friend giving her another best friend, just one that can't drink, is considerably younger, and well, a literal child that she loved as if he were her own.

     "I think your daddy is the ridiculous one, is he not?" Kinsey asked softly, and Christopher nodded slightly in agreement as he tried to keep his laughter contained. "Anyway, I need your opinion on something, Chris. I have an extra room, and I was thinking of turning it into a guest bed, so maybe you could stay the night. How does that sound?"

His face lit up, and somebody would've thought that she told him they were going to Disney World or something.

     "A whole room just for me! I get two bedrooms!"

Eddie came back through the threshold, and bumped his hip against the front door, with both arms wrapped around a cardboard box labeled personal. "I'm not sure why we're shouting when we shouldn't be," and he shot a playful glance to Kinsey as he set the box on the ground. "Also, Kins, what the hell is in that damn box? It's heavy."

     Kinsey laughed as she stood up. "Says the new firefighter. Did you ever find out what station you're going too?"

      Christopher looked up. "Dad says he's going to the one eighteen."

She glanced between them; down to Christopher, then up to Eddie, and she quirked a brow up in his direction. He had failed to mention the station that he had been recruited too. Kinsey told him the minute she got off the phone with her new captain . . . at the one eighteen.

     Kinsey covered Christopher's ears with her hands. "You're a dick, Edmundo." She mouthed, and removed her hands from her nephew's ears, and Eddie just laughed.

     "Maybe," he shrugged, "but you're still stuck with me, Kinsey. You wanna lock up and join us for dinner? Abuela sent over some food, I'm gonna reheat it for me and Chris. You're welcome to join."

"Of course, I'm joining." She was flabbergasted, but she reached for her house key that was stashed away on a shelf. "You're absolutely insane if you think I'm missing Abuela's cooking."

     It had grown dark some time ago. Their bellies were full with food so delicious, and Christopher had fallen asleep on the couch, his head rested comfortably in Kinsey's lap. She had coursed her fingers through her nephew's hair for some time with one hand, as the other carefully held a glass of wine.

     It was scene that she had relived over and over again. It started with Shannon — on the nights that young Christopher had been fussy, and Shannon was close to her own wits' end, and with Eddie over in the Middle East; it was tough most nights. Shannon had called Kinsey a saving grace many times . . . it was like Christopher and Kinsey had this special bond from the day he was born, and if no one could calm his little nerves on bad days, Kinsey always could. Shannon had always been thankful for that, and Eddie had too, in the last recent years. It was also a bond that Kinsey was thankful that she shared with the boy.

     "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the one eighteen," Eddie apologized once he returned from the kitchen, hands empty from dirty dishes. "I had only found out myself just days ago. . . some other stations wanted me, and I was still choosing."

     Kinsey shrugged, and sent a soft smile to her best friend. "I was only giving you shit, Eds. However, it'll be nice to work together, makes me a little less anxious about my first day."

     He scoffed as he leaned against the arm rest of the sofa, "Oh, you'll be fine. You've been doing this for close to eight years. . . eight more years than I have."

     "Doesn't mean that it's not nerve-wrecking to be beginning again." She rolled her eyes. "I'm confident in my ability to do the job, but starting over with new people? People I've never met before . . . that's scary as hell, Eds. But hey, at least, I'll have you and then it's not as scary — still scary, but like, eighty percent less so."

Eddie laughed, "Don't say that to abuela, she'll just keep saying I'm a saint," and he paused for a moment, "but we both know I'm not."

Kinsey snorted softly, then hummed. She handed her glass of wine to Eddie, who took it without words or complaints.

"I'm gonna put this one to bed," she muttered. "I'm sure he's exhausted."

     With that, she hooked her arms underneath Christopher's shoulders, and under his knees. It wasn't difficult to push herself up from the sofa, and with the amount that Christopher has grown in the last few months, it almost baffled her just how easy it is to still carry him across the house — though, Chris would just call her superwoman, and go about his day like it was normal that she was a superhero (in his eyes, at least).

Eddie watched as she carried him down the hall to his son's bedroom, and muttered underneath his breath. "Spoiled. She's got him so spoiled."

Kinsey disappeared from the hallway, and into Christopher's bedroom. It was perfectly him, and all the framed photos made her smile; in particular, the one of him as an infant, with herself and Shannon. Copies of photos were always sent to Eddie whenever he was overseas.

With Christopher still in her arms, she carefully reached down, and fiddled with the blankets until she was able to scoot them down the bed. Kinsey, with lots of care, put him down on the bed, and slowly moved her arms from out under his knees and shoulders, then tugged the blanket back over his sleeping form.

Kinsey smiled softly, and lightly kissed her godson's forehead. "Goodnight, lil bug. Sleep tight."

She slowly leaned up, and carefully maneuvered her way out of the darkened bedroom and into the hallway.

     "Still out like a light, hm?" Eddie greeted her as she entered the living room again, and took her place on the couch.

     Kinsey hummed, and looked up at her best friend, who remained on the arm of the sofa, and she reached for her wine. "Oh, he is so out, Eds."

He laughed, "I don't know how you do it. I don't know how we would've done it without you," but he paused slightly, and changed the subject. "You haven't heard from Shannon lately, have you?"

It got quiet, just for a moment. Kinsey still talked to Shannon; not very often, mostly just every few months whenever she had an update on her mom. Kinsey still considered Shannon as one of her friends, despite whatever she and Eddie went through.

Kinsey sighed softly, "Not really. Last I heard from her was just a few day before you left El Paso. Her mom had started to decline, then she stabilized for a bit, but after that, I'm unsure."

     Eddie got quiet again, his focus now on his fingers that drew patterns into the denim jeans on his thighs. It was a peculiar situation — maybe, a normal one. He missed his wife, the semi unstable partner he shared with her, but at the same time, he wasn't sure that he could ever forgive for the way she left . . . even though he had done something similar just a couple years before. It was a fucked up situation; that Eddie was one hundred percent sure of.

      He sucked in a breath, then looked towards Kinsey. "I hope you know that I never want you to choose between me and her."

Kinsey reached up with her free hand, and gently squeezed his knee. "I know. When we talk, we don't talk about the two of you, or the past really. I'm just there for her when she needs to talk someone else." She laughed, "Besides, you're stuck with me no matter what, Edmundo."

"Kiss my ass."

     She scrunched her nose in disgust, "I think I'm good on that."

     "You love me, though."

     "Ugh, unfortunately."

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a/n → so this a bit shorter than I wanted it to be, but I'm just happy that I could show a sneak peek into Eddie and Kinsey's friendship; how they jump to joking around to being serious, and how close Kinsey & Chris are. also, as I write this, I'm watching 03x02, and god, I'm terrified and so excited to write this fic!!