She's Gone?

"Our grounds include two outdoor play areas, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, music, and theatre." The principal of the school Eddie was trying to get Christopher into was talking.

Eddie had no choice but to bring Millie. Carla could not watch her because she'd set up this meeting and walked with him. Millie was holding onto Eddie's hand as she walked in circles around him, which was difficult when they kept on moving.

"The programs sound good, but Christopher's happiness is important to me. I want him to feel normal and not like some special-needs charity case." Eddie sighs, looking around the playgrounds.

The principal nods along, "Every child is special. Some have additional needs, but they're all equally our children."

Eddie puts his hands on Millie's shoulders, stopping her from going around him again. "Please, just walk next to me."

"They learn as much from each other as they do from us." The principal smiles as she points at an open doorway.

Eddie and Carla look inside the classroom, and Millie stares at the lady. "Will the kids be mean to my brother?"

"We don't tolerate bullying here; I promise he'll be fine, sweetheart."

"Okay, let's do it," Eddie says, touching Millie's shoulder again.

"The only thing left would be the family interview."

"I'm sorry?" Eddie questions.

"Oh, Christopher's terrific. We have your information. All we need now is to meet Mrs. Diaz." Millie looks up at her dad for his reaction, her face probably giving away what she thought.

"That won't be a problem, will it?" Eddie doesn't speak; he shakes his head.

After saying goodbye inside the school, Eddie turns to Carla and says, "No, it's definitely a problem."

"Look, I know Christopher's mother is a touchy subject, but I'm sure if we explain the situation to Principal Summers, we can find a way around it," Carla says, putting a hand on her hip.

"Do you have a copy of the custody agreement?"

"What does that mean?" Millie jumps in.

Eddie looks at Millie before turning back to Carla. "There isn't one. We're still married." He sighs.

+

Back home, Eddie tells Millie to change her clothes and locks the door to his bedroom. He puts the phone on speaker as he calls Shannon, hoping that after two years, she'll still answer.

"Hello?" Shannon's voice comes through the phone's speaker.

Eddie pauses before pulling a shirt over his head. "Hey..."

+

"Mija, go to your room, please," Eddie says as someone knocks on the door.

Millie looks up from the picture she is coloring, confused. He'd never told her to get out when someone was knocking before. "Is it a bad person?" she asks.

"Amelia, please, just go." Eddie sighs, a hand on the doorknob.

Millie glares at her father as she slams the door to her room. She sits on her bed, looking around for something to do. She gets up and opens the chest near her closet, which is something her grandparents had gotten her for her fourth birthday. It used to be filled with random toys, but now she uses it as storage for her dress-up clothes. Buck had taken her to the store a couple of weeks ago and bought her a doctor's one, which she had been loving lately.

She quickly puts it on over her regular clothes before grabbing her stuffed animals and baby dolls and lining them up in front of her dresser. Kneeling on the floor, Millie pretends to check their hearts, whispering to herself as she does.

A few minutes later, Millie hears her dad and someone walking past her room, whispering. She wonders if it's the person Eddie was talking to on the phone yesterday when she'd tried to open his door, but he'd locked it.

Millie gets bored quickly with the costumes, and she is hungry. She opens the door to her bedroom and stops almost instantly.

The other voice. Millie knew the voice. Shannon was here, and her dad didn't want her to know. It's not like Millie would have told anyone; two years later, she still hated talking about Shannon.

"It might confuse him," Eddie says, leaning against the wall.

"What's confusing? I'm his mom." Shannon says.

"Who he hasn't seen in almost two years."

"My mother was sick, and she was all alone," Shannon says, her eyes moving behind Eddie.

"You know why I had to go."

"Yeah, but we were expecting you to come back. And you didn't." Eddie says, uncrossing his arms.

"Daddy?" Millie whispered, but Eddie wasn't listening; he was focused on the woman in front of him.

Shannon had seen her but also ignored the girl. Some things never change.

"You could've come with me. But you didn't want to leave Texas, your parents, and your sisters. I mean, at least not until it was important to you." Shannon's voice rose, and Millie stepped back, just like she'd done when Eddie was deployed and she was getting shouted at.

Just like before, her dad wasn't there to help her. Even though he was physically standing three feet away, he was a million miles away, and Millie was all alone.

"That's not fair. I was trying to do what's best for the kids." Eddie mutters, shaking his head.

"Right, because Eddie always knows what's best for everyone." Another step back.

"I mean, god forbid you stop for a second and actually ask them what they need," Shannon says, grabbing her bag and going towards the door.

"What did you need that I didn't give you?" Eddie asks, his voice now rising as well.

"You!" Shannon shouts, turning back, "I needed a husband and a co-parent. Instead, I got life alone in Texas with a baby, a kid that's not even mine, and you on another continent."

"Do not talk like that about her," Eddie shouts, realizing how much he messed up. Leaving Millie there, thinking Shannon would love her. 

Millie is behind the wall now, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall and her knees pulled to her chest. She was silently crying as Shannon yelled again.

"I needed someone to have my back," Shannon says softly before letting the door slam behind her.

Eddie sits on the couch with his head in his hands after Shannon leaves. He wishes she had just agreed to the interview and not started an argument. So much was happening already, and he didn't need the extra drama. A sob breaks Eddie out of his thoughts, and his head flies up, but he doesn't see Millie. He gets off the couch and peeks around the wall, spotting Millie on the floor.

"Amelia, what's wrong?" Eddie asks, kneeling next to her.

He grabs her face in both hands, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened, bug."

"S-she never wanted me, Daddy. I was always with Abuela." Millie says between sobs.

Eddie's heart drops. She'd been listening to him and Shannon. He picks Millie up and sits on the couch with her, wiping her tears as fast as they fall.

"Listen to me, okay? I love you, and Christopher loves you. That's all that should matter. Understand me?" Eddie says, his eyes locked on Millie's tear-filled ones.

Millie nods once. "I'm sorry that she did what she did, and I wish I could go back and change the past, but I can't. I'm here now, Mija, and I'm not leaving again. Ever. You still understand me?"

Another nod, Eddie pulls Millie into his chest, running his fingers through her hair until she stops crying. "I love you, bug, always." He whispers.

+

"Bye, Carla!" Millie and Christopher waved from the door as Carla left for the day.

Buck was meeting the Diaz family at their house for trick-or-treating, and both kids were getting antsy. Christopher was Wolverine, the superhero, and Millie was an alien. Eddie took many pictures and sent them to everyone, including the 118 and Maddie.

"Who's ready for candy?" Buck shouts, walking in the front door as Millie is focused on the TV - watching some kids' Halloween movie.

"Buck!" Both kids scream; Millie stands on the armrest and jumps on Buck as he gets closer.

He scoops Christopher up as well and carries them both around the living room, stomping his feet. Christopher laughed loudly as he and Millie had one arm around Buck's neck.

"Evan, let's not get them too riled up," Eddie says, and Buck drops both kids onto the couch.

+

Two hours later, it was fully dark out, and the Diaz kids were having the time of their lives. Each house was decorated better than the last one, and they'd even been given full-sized candy bars. One house gave out bags filled to the top with candies and little plastic Halloween toys.

Millie was walking ahead of Eddie and Christopher, and Buck was beside her. She starts skipping to the next house, her bag a little more than halfway filled.

"Millie, wait for Chris," Eddie shouts, and she stops before glaring at her feet.

Her dad's been telling her to wait for Christopher for six houses now, but she didn't want to. She was excited, and her brother was starting to slow down after so long. Millie wanted to run ahead of them all, but she knew that wasn't a good idea; she'd probably get lost.

"Daddy! Come on, he's so slow." Millie whines, stomping one foot on the ground.

"Hey!" Eddie shouts, grabbing Millie's arm. She trips when he pulls her closer to him.

Buck lifts Christopher, and they're walking to the next house.

"Look at me, Amelia." Millie shook her head, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Look at me," Eddie says, grabbing Millie's chin so she's forced to look him in the eyes.

"Stop!" Millie whines.

Eddie is stronger, keeping her exactly where he wants her.

"How old are you, Amelia?" No answer.

"I want you to answer me. I'm not playing games," Eddie says as a group of people walks by. The parents are all watching Eddie's hands, one on Millie's arm and the other on her face.

"Nine." She mumbled.

"Right, and that means you are old enough to understand your brother and that he needs extra time and some extra help walking. We've been doing the same shit every year since he was born."

"Why can't you just carry him?" Millie huffs, finally trying to get out of Eddie's grip. The grip on her arm tightens, and she lets out a muffled cry.

"He wants to be normal, Amelia. We just talked about this a couple of weeks ago. I'm not always going to be able to carry him around." Eddie's voice rises slightly, and a group of moms looks at him before shaking their heads.

"He'll never be nor-"

"That's enough, Amelia," Eddie shouts, and Millie flinches.

She'd never heard or seen her dad so angry with her. She knew she'd been a jerk, and he would make her apologize, but Eddie had always told his kids to tell him the truth, and that was what Millie was doing.

"I hate you!" Millie screamed, kicking his leg, and when he let go of her arm, she turned and ran.

Eddie shouts after her, but Millie keeps going. She's almost at the end of the street when Eddie finally reaches her. He pulls her arm, and she trips, letting out a sob. "You're done. You're going home and straight to bed." Eddie says, throwing her over his shoulder.

+

Millie fought Eddie all the way home; when they passed by Buck, waiting at the end of someone's driveway, he wouldn't even look at Millie. She'd cried harder, but he only acknowledged Eddie, telling him he'd bring Christopher back in fifteen minutes.

"Bed, now," Eddie says, pointing to the hallway.

Millie stands in the living room, glaring at Eddie.

"I'm not tired," Millie mutters, crossing her arms.

"And I do not care. Go to your room. Now." Eddie demands, crossing his arms.

Millie shakes her head, sitting on the couch and reaching for the remote. Eddie gets to it first, also grabbing her bag of candy. "This is going in the trash. You don't deserve it," he says.

"Wait! Daddy, please." Millie shouts, running after him as he lifts the lid off the trash can.

Eddie dumps the bag of candy out. He didn't want to do it, but when he acted the same way at her age, his father had done the same, and Eddie never did anything like it again, at least on Halloween.

"I told you, go to your room," Eddie says, watching Millie stare at him, angry tears falling from her eyes, and her hands in tiny fists.

"I hate you!" Millie screams, turning around and running straight into Christopher.

Buck caught Chris before he could fall, but no one catches Millie. She falls, hitting her face on the floor. She lets out a sob, but when Eddie tries to pick her up, she screams, kicking him away. He backs away, hands in the air as Millie gets up, this time running to her room and slamming the door.

"Dad? Was that blood?" Christopher asks, breaking Eddie out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, bud. Why don't you get ready for bed? I'll be there in a minute." Eddie says, kissing Christopher's forehead.

Millie lets out a frustrated cry when her costume doesn't come off on the first try, but once it's off, she climbs under the bed, using a blanket to wipe the blood from her face. She could feel the burn on her lip, and she wished she'd let Eddie comfort her because it hurt more than she thought.

She cries herself to sleep that night under her bed. Eddie doesn't open the door, even though he constantly stops outside her room. They needed a little space, and if that meant not checking on her in the middle of the night, then so be it. 

It's the first night in weeks that Millie wakes up from a bad dream and stays in her own room. 

The following morning, Eddie finally opens the door. Millie's bed was empty, but he could see her feet poking out from under the bed. "Amelia, wake up. Carla will be here any minute."

"Go away," Millie mumbled.

"I'm not leaving until you come out and talk to me." Eddie crosses his arms, sitting at her desk.

A few minutes later, Millie finally comes out. "Are you ready to talk to me?" Eddie asks.

"No," Millie mumbled, sitting on her bed.

"Then you listen while I talk," Eddie says, moving to sit beside her.

"Last night, you were very mean about Chris. He was right there, and he heard you. He told me that it made him sad. We've never had any problems before, so please tell me why you're suddenly becoming like this. I'm expecting you to tell me by bedtime tonight." Millie plays with her hands, her eyes filling with tears as he keeps talking.

She knew she was wrong last night. Millie loves Christopher; he's the best little brother ever, and she never wants him to feel like she hates him, mainly because of his Cerebral Palsy.

"I didn't mean it. I love him." Millie whispers, using the back of her hand to wipe her nose.

"I know you do. You need to talk to Chris before Carla gets here," Eddie says, lifting Millie's face.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Millie whispers, wrapping her arms around him.

+

"Chris?" Millie says quietly, standing in his doorway.

Christopher looks up from his Legos but doesn't say anything.

"Can I help you?" She tries.

"No," 

"Please?" Millie whispers, moving to sit on his bed.

"Go away!" Christopher shouts, causing Eddie to come into the room.

"What's going on?" Eddie asks.

"I want her to go," Christopher says.

"Christopher," Eddie says, kneeling next to him.

"I don't want to talk," he says, still putting his Legos together without looking at either of them. 

Millie walks out of the room, going back to her own. Everyone was so mad at her. Her dad was yelling at her and throwing away her candy. Buck, not even looking at her, ignored her when he brought Christopher home. Even Carla had given Millie a look this morning. Did Eddie tell everyone at the station what she said? Will everyone look at her differently tomorrow?

Millie opens her closet, closing the door before she hides behind a box of things she never unpacked. She sits there for hours, not coming out when Eddie calls her for lunch or even when he says he and Christopher are leaving, and Carla is there.

Millie didn't ever want to see another person again. If she ran away, would anyone miss her? Would they search for her?

+

"Amelia, I know you're in there." Maddie's voice surprised Millie; she hadn't even heard the door open.

"Will you come out? Eat something for me?" Maddie asks.

Millie opens the closet door, and Maddie sighs. The girl's face was red and covered in tears. Maddie thinks that Millie has probably been crying most of the day. "Millie," Maddie whispers, opening her arms, and the girl falls into them.

Maddie holds Millie, letting her get out whatever she needs. Sometimes, you need someone to hold you, not speak. Maybe Eddie hadn't understood that.

"I brought you some food. Do you want to go eat?" Maddie asks.

"Not hungry," Millie whispers.

"Your dad said you haven't left your room since breakfast. You gotta be hungry."

+

Maddie got Millie to leave the room and gave her the McDonald's she'd picked up on her way over. Eddie had called when he left with Christopher, and Maddie told him not to worry.

"Did Buck tell you?" Millie asked quietly.

"He did," Maddie nods.

Millie looks down and pushes her food away.

"Millie, do you want to go do something? Maybe eat some of your candy?" Maddie asks, trying to change the subject.

"Dad threw it all away."

Maddie frowned. She knew that Millie had allergies to a lot of candy, but surely there were things she could have had. "Was there anything you could've eaten?" Maddie asks.

"He didn't throw it away 'cause I couldn't eat it."

It hits Maddie before she even finishes her sentence. Eddie had punished her by throwing away her candy. Maddie knew from experience with the same situation, but had no idea what to say to Millie.

"Come on, let's go on an adventure," Maddie says, throwing away the untouched food.

Millie finds her shoes and follows Maddie out of the house. Maddie drives for a while before she pulls into a parking lot.

"Where are we?" Millie asked, jumping out of the car.

"We're at the skating rink. Have you ever been?" Maddie grinned.

"No."

Maddie pays for skates and helps Millie put on hers before putting on her own. "Do you want this to help you?" Maddie asks, grabbing one of the kids' walkers.

"No, it's okay," Millie said, her eyes moving around the rink.

She watched little kids holding their parents' hands and teenagers holding other teenagers' hands. "Will you hold my hand?"

"Of course, we'll go slow until you get the hang of it." Maddie smiles at her, grabbing the girl's hands before pulling her off the bench.

Millie's feet slide, and Maddie waits for her reaction before chuckling. Once she gets her balance back, Millie nods. "Let's start with being able to stay on your feet before we go out there," Maddie suggests.

Maddie holds Millie's hands for a few minutes, slowly skating backward while pulling Millie along. Millie shuffled her feet in slow movements, but every minute they practiced, the better she got. Within ten minutes, she could move on her own for a few seconds before grabbing onto Maddie again.

Another twenty minutes later, they moved to the actual rink, where they practiced the same things, just a few extra minutes. Millie was skating next to Maddie with no help within thirty minutes, tops. Every time Millie turned to Maddie and smiled, she did, too.

Millie skates ahead, and Maddie pulls out her phone, taking videos and pictures to send to Eddie. She knew he'd appreciate it, even though he sounded defeated on the phone. Maddie also considered sending them to Buck, but he'd talked to her earlier that day and told her everything that happened last night.

How he'd ignored Millie when she cried for him, how he wouldn't look at her. How he took Christopher home, and when Millie ran into them, and Chris almost fell, Buck felt angry at Millie. Buck had told Maddie he'd never gotten mad at the girl before and that he nearly shouted at her last night.

"Maddie! Come on!" Millie shouted, skating around Maddie.

Maddie laughs as she skates after her, both of them laughing.

+

+

Millie avoided Christopher and Buck for the next week as if they were sick. Christopher is still upset with her; he won't even let her say a word to him. Buck will glance at her while she's at the fire station, but he won't make the first move to talk. She was still most upset with her dad. He knew it, but he didn't understand why. But Millie, she's noticed how happy Eddie has suddenly become. It must be because of Shannon; that's the only reason Millie could think.

December was quickly approaching, and the entire Diaz family hoped everything would be fixed before the holiday. Eddie wanted his kids to play together and laugh. He wanted to take them to see Santa and make gingerbread houses.

But that's hard to do when your seven-year-old acts like he doesn't have a sister.

And when your nine-year-old is barely speaking to anyone. Except for Maddie.

After the day they went skating, Millie used her iPad to text and call Maddie. Maddie never once ignored a message. She knew that Millie needed someone. Eddie didn't interfere because he knew his daughter was finally getting attention from an adult woman, and it was giving him hope that she'd always have Maddie to fall back on when she was a little older and had questions that he wouldn't be able to answer. 

+ 

"Amelia, come on, kid," Eddie shouts, rushing around the kitchen, cleaning up from breakfast.

"I don't want to go!" Millie shouts, her eyes on the game she was playing.

"That's too damn bad, abuela and Pepa are busy today. And Carla is taking a personal day." Eddie says, adding a dollar in the swear jar before Millie can tell him to.

"Whatever!" Millie groans, turning her iPad off and putting it in her backpack.

She puts her shoes on slowly. Eddie figures she's doing it on purpose, to annoy him or piss him off. Maybe both.

"I guess you can explain to Cap why I was late today?" Eddie asks, crossing his arms as Millie puts on her second shoe.

"Nope, he can guess." Millie shrugs.

Eddie shakes his head as he finally gets her out the door and in the truck. With traffic, Eddie pulls into the fire station parking lot twenty minutes late.

"Go sit down, please." Eddie sighs as Millie skips ahead of him.

He quickly changes in the locker room before heading to the loft. "Sorry, Cap. Late start this morning."

"That's alright, where's Millie?" Bobby asks.

"Downstairs, probably. She's been on her iPad all morning," Eddie mutters, sinking into the seat next to Buck.

The first three calls that morning are simple, and Millie rides along, only talking to Bobby, Chim, or Hen. The fourth call is a simple medical call, and Chim and Hen take the ambulance. Millie is outside, drawing on the driveway with chalk. Trying to draw everyone from the 118, but she keeps messing up her drawing of Buck.

"Amelia?" Someone says quietly from behind her. 

Millie looks up at the woman she'd seen weeks ago at home. "No, get the hell out of here!" Eddie's yelling before Millie can respond.

"Go with Buck, Millie," Eddie says, grabbing her arm and pushing her toward Buck.

"No!" Millie shouts, pushing past Buck and running off.

She runs into the fire station and up the loft stairs, where she hears Eddie still yelling.

"Slow down, kid," Bobby says as Millie passes him.

Millie sits at one of the higher tables, waiting for Eddie to come up. He'd for sure come and talk to her about that. A few minutes later, Eddie and Buck come to the loft, and Eddie searches for her before spotting her. He makes his way to her and hugs her close until she pushes him away. 

"I don't ever want you talking to her, okay? I know we talked a few weeks ago, but she signed her rights away. That means she didn't want you, Amelia." Eddie says, sitting across from her.

"Okay," Millie mumbles.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. But Maxine signed the papers, Mija. Legally, she's not allowed to speak or see you. If she were to talk to me first, I would be open to maybe introducing you guys correctly."

"Okay,"

"Look at me," Eddie says, leaning over the table. "I love you, Amelia, and that's all that matters. I'm sorry things haven't been the best between you and me and with Chris, but it'll pass over. I promise. Do you understand me?"

Millie nods, her eyes burning with tears. Eddie comes around the table, pulling his little girl into a hug. "I love you," Millie whispers.

"I love you so much, bug," Eddie mumbles, kissing her head.

+

Several hours had passed, and Millie hadn't been allowed to go outside without someone being with her, so she'd stayed inside unless she went on a call. She was bored quickly, though, and Eddie had taken her iPad on a call, telling her to talk to people while he was gone. She'd already eaten lunch and a snack and was now going down the firefighter pole repeatedly. It was easy for her to keep running up the stairs; she was a kid.

The firefighter who stayed behind with her on this call was waiting at the bottom, always there in case she got scared or if she were to fall off. "I'm ready!" Millie calls down before wrapping her hands around the pole.

"I'm looking for Amelia Diaz. Is she here?" Someone says. Millie slides down the pole, her feet hitting the ground quickly.

It was the woman. Her mother. She was back, even after Eddie had shouted at her a few hours earlier. "I'll be over here, Lia." Firefighter Rodrigo says, moving toward the locker room.

"My daddy said I can't talk to you." Millie crosses her arms, just like she's seen her dad do.

"I know, but I've been trying to meet you for months. Your dad is a tough man to talk to."

"Mmm." Millie hums, turning and walking toward the open doors.

"Can you please talk to me? I want to know who you are."

"My dad said that you don't want me. You'd better leave before he comes back."

"Amelia, sweetie, please."

"What's your name?" Millie asked, looking up at her mother.

"Maxine, but you can call me whatever you want," Maxine says, smiling down at the girl.

"A Pinche Pendejo?" Millie asks with a straight face.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish." Maxine shrugs and watches as Millie grabs the chalk she'd dropped earlier.

"It means 'fucking idiot.' That's what my dad told Buck you were." Millie says, and Maxine's mouth drops.

"Does your dad usually let you talk like that?" Maxine scolds her.

"Maybe," Millie mumbles.

Eddie had been ranting to Buck about Maxine about a week after the first time she showed up, and Millie was listening behind the wall. She couldn't understand everything he said, but this phrase was one she always remembered. She loved how Eddie said it, and when she returned to her room, Millie whispered it to herself until she thought she sounded old enough to use it.

Eddie had heard her say it once, two weeks after, and he'd grabbed the hot sauce. Millie had to keep the sauce in her mouth for nine minutes; every minute felt like a hundred years. "Mija, do you know what that means?" He'd asked as Millie's eyes watered at the burn.

Millie nodded once. When she was able to spit the sauce out, Eddie asked her what it meant, and when she told him, he understood why she knew. She'd been around her grandparents most of her life, and of course, she'd heard Spanish more than English in their home.

Eddie watched what he said after that.

"Amelia?" Maxine says, breaking Millie from her thoughts.

"What?" Millie snapped, squeezing the chalk in her hand.

"The trucks are coming back. Please come with me, and we'll talk. I'll bring you back in a few hours." Maxine begs.

"I'll text your dad, if that makes you feel better?" She adds quickly when Millie still doesn't move.

Millie thinks about it. If she got in the car with Maxine, would it be bad? Everyone was already mad at her anyway. Maxine reaches out her hand, and without much thought, she grabs it. Maxine pulls her to the car parked on the street and opens the back door for her. She doesn't wait for Millie to put her seatbelt on before she pulls away from the station, passing the trucks and ambulance. She'd told Millie to cover her face and turn her head until they were down the street.

"Where are we going?" Millie asked, looking out the back window as she watched Buck back into the fire station.

"On an adventure." Maxine turns and smiles as they stop at a red light.

+

Eddie jumps out of the truck as soon as it's parked. That last call involved a car accident involving kids and their parents. One of the kids didn't make it, and Eddie needs to clear his head. Inside the locker rooms, he sits with his head in his hands. He had no idea what he'd do if he lost either of his kids. Millie and Christopher are his entire world, his lifeline.

Once he calms the thoughts in his head, he gets up. On his way up to the loft, he searches for Millie downstairs, but she's not visible anywhere. In the loft, he sits next to Buck at the table and puts his forehead on it. The coolness eased the ache.

"You okay, kid?" Bobby asks, patting Eddie's shoulder.

"Just starting to hate the calls involving kids, especially ones the same age as mine," Eddie muttered.

"I'll be honest, Eddie. It never gets easier. Why don't you sit out the next call to shake things off?"

Eddie nods and thanks Bobby before looking around the loft. "Has anyone seen Millie?" He asks, suddenly aware of the absence of her upstairs. 

"No, not since we left before." Everyone gives the same answer.

"Rodrigo?" Eddie shouts, "Where the hell is my daughter?" 

"She was in the loft right before you all got back," Rodrigo says.

"She might be hiding downstairs somewhere; why don't we go look?" Buck suggests.

Buck checks the bathrooms and random closets, and Eddie looks at Bobby's office and the outside area. Eddie knew Millie had been upset when he told her to stay inside, but maybe she thought he wouldn't have known if she went outside while he was gone. Maybe she heard the trucks coming back, and she hid.

"Amelia!" Eddie screams, turning in circles, his eyes burned with tears.

Nothing. The chalk she had been using earlier was moved, and that caught Eddie's eye. He stands over the drawing, and something new has been added to it. A woman with yellow hair and blue eyes.

"Eddie, did you find her?" Buck asks, joining Eddie.

Eddie shakes his head, his eyes never leaving the chalk picture.

"I can't find her. Evan, she's gone."

"What? Eddie, what do you mean?" Buck asks.

"Millie's gone! She's fucking gone! She took her." Eddie screams, turning to Buck. Buck looks at the drawing and realizes what's happened. 

"Hey! What's going on?" Bobby shouts as he and everyone else come outside to find out what all the yelling is about.

"Millie-" Eddie can't finish his sentence before his legs give out. Buck catches him before he falls, and he looks up at Bobby.

"Call Athena. Call every damn cop in California." Buck shouts, his arms around Eddie as he continues to cry.

+

Ten minutes later, Athena is sitting across from Eddie and Buck in the loft with a notepad in front of her. Bobby was standing near the counter as everyone else was outside, giving statements or avoiding them all in the loft.

"Who took her, Eddie?" Athena asks.

"Maxine. Her biological mother." Eddie mumbles, his eyes locked on his watch.

"Do you have a last name?"

"It was Wright when I knew her."

"Is there anything that we need to know? Before I report back?" Athena asks, and Eddie's head is on the table again, and he cries.

"She, uh, she showed up a few weeks ago. When Millie was sick. Eddie told her to leave, but she didn't go right away. Millie had heard them arguing and came out of the bedroom, and Maxine got close to her." Buck explains.

"Did she talk to her? Touch her?" Athena asks.

"Not really. I took her back to her room and distracted her until Eddie told us she was gone. She's been calling and texting Eddie nonstop ever since then, and she showed up earlier today. Eddie told her to leave."

+

Athena took down everything Eddie and Buck told her before she passed it along to every cop she knew. They had everyone out searching for her, a BOLO out on Maxine's car, and an Amber Alert on Millie.

Athena said it would be best if Eddie went home and waited there, and she'd come by if something changed.

Bobby talked to the chief and was granted early leave for the rest of the shift.

Buck called Carla as he drove Eddie home, telling her it'd be best if Christopher stayed with his Abuela for a few days. He'd explain it all later.

Eddie became numb. He'd stopped crying. He just stared at his watch; every second passing by was another second when his heart broke. He knew the statistics on missing children. The first twenty-four-hours after a child goes missing are crucial.

Eddie knew the longer Millie was gone, the less chance they'd find her alive.

A/N: This took me days to write. It's over five thousand words, and I fear it might drag a little. But the next chapter will focus on Millie being gone, some of the things she goes through, and Athena searching for her. Pretty much the entire plot of Millie being kidnapped will be one chapter. I will try to write it the best way possible, but it may seem to drag on just a little longer than I'd hope. Thank you for reading, and please keep voting. Please comment on any thoughts you have.

Also, PSA: I searched multiple websites to look up the meaning of the words that Millie had called Maxine, and I saw 'fucking asshole' (or whatever it says, I ain't going back) more than anything else, so if that's incorrect, please let me know so I can change it.

Slight Edits: March 2026