Forging New Paths

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Evelyn gave a soft chuckle at the idea of things not burning down, but was oddly touched by his insistence that they had cleaned up. After living with only herself to clean up after for so long, it was kind of Garrett to remember that having messes around bothered her and for him to try and keep everything tidy as a result. She wasn't extremely pleased to realize Luca hadn't gotten much sleep, but it was unavoidable some nights so there was no one at fault.

Luca, she could see, was tired still and slow to respond, but he did eventually look at Garrett and offer a small smile, unsure how to respond to thanks but enjoying the idea that he'd done well.

"Thank you," she said softly as she sat at the table. "Was looking at old cases interesting, Luca?"

He thought about it for a moment, more of his concentration on trying to eat than speaking, and finally nodded. "Detective things."

It was probably as good an explanation as she was going to get, but she got the gist of it at least. Anything Garrett did was something Luca wanted to do. "It's nice of you to offer, Anthony, thank you. I was going to clean up a little but it's nothing I can't handle myself. You and Luca could roll out a puzzle on the table once it's clear, if you'd like." It was better for his attention to be on Luca, she thought, than anything she might need for the house. If they strained their eyes squinting at puzzle pieces for a while, maybe he would even nap.
 
"Oh, a puzzle! Great idea," Anthony said with a grin. "Luca, after breakfast, do you want to do a puzzle together?" He thought he'd better make sure that Luca also wanted to do a puzzle. The last thing he wanted was for it to feel like they were forcing him into it.

Garrett finished his plate, arched his back, and got to his feet. "Well! If those two have a plan already, I suppose that leaves me free to help with the cleaning, hm?" he asked, eyes sparkling. "Suppose I wash the dishes, you dry? Unless we'd rather toss those in the dishwasher, in which case I could try sweeping if you'd be so kind as to remind me where the broom is." He was pretty sure he'd seen one in the house at some point. It was a testament to how truly comfortable he was there; he didn't feel the need to scrutinize and memorize every inch of space. The downside was he still hadn't quite placed where exactly everything went yet.
 
Luca looked at Anthony when spoken to, finishing the bite he'd taken as he mulled over the idea. He was tired, but lying around doing nothing and continuing to not sleep wasn't any more fun than trying to use his brain when it was exhausted. "Okay," he said softly, nodding once to show he agreed, and poked at the last few bites of his food. "I have a new one. It's all birds." Puzzles were less frustrating when there were a lot of colors, and he liked looking at birds anyway. It was pretty, and he hadn't opened it yet.

Evelyn was a bit slower to finish than Garrett was, but shook her head at the idea of washing dishes. "The dishwasher is just fine," she agreed, with only a little hesitation. The urge to fight him on letting him clean a house that was her responsibility and full of her things hadn't gone away completely but had, almost shockingly, faded over the time they had been together. It was strange, trusting someone to be present in spaces that were meant to be only hers. "You don't have to if you have other things to do. But the broom is in the hall closet. There's a cordless vacuum in there as well, if you prefer that."

He wanted to help, and she was still learning to allow someone to do that rather than fighting to do everything herself. She had to think back to when they had first met. She had taken it upon herself to ask for help even though she hated it, knowing she couldn't accomplish what she needed to on her own. Everything had turned out all right, so far. She was going to have to learn to keep telling herself that, even though her possessive, independent nature made it difficult. She could acknowledge that much about herself.
 
Anthony's eyes sparkled. "Oooh, a new puzzle? That sounds great!" He thought for a moment while he strolled toward the closet. "And maybe if we have time, we could text Shiloh and Beckett some pictures so they can see, too! Sound fun?" he asked with a grin.

Garrett scoffed playfully and made his way towards the closet as well, ruffling Anthony and Luca's hair when he passed them. "Don't worry. Nothing on my scedhule today besides spending time with you all!" He opted for the broom anyway. It was quieter, and left opportunities for talking should they arise.

The hours seemed to pass all too quickly before it was time for the therapy appointment. Garrett glanced briefly at a clock while he finished setting a few dishes away after running the dishwasher. Then he glanced at Evelyn and nodded. "About that time. I'll be here doing dishes, and I'll be on hand if either of you needs anything," he promised softly.

Anthony had gotten completely sucked into the bird puzzle. His favorite were the peacocks; they were so colorful. He held up a piece and laughed. "Aha! Finally found his butt, Luca!" he announced.
 
Luca smiled a little and nodded along, getting carefully up to stretch his legs out a little and follow after Anthony to get the puzzle from his room. Having everyone together in the house, bustling around and doing things that were mundane or normal, was strangely soothing. He and Anthony got to settle at the table when it was cleaned off and start sorting carefully through puzzle pieces, and while they worked he could listen to Garrett and Evelyn moving around the house, cleaning here and there. He wanted to help, but he wanted to spend time with Anthony, too.

Evelyn checked in with the two of them off and on while she did housework, not only cleaning but tidying up Luca's bedroom to be sure everything was ready for his appointment. She made sure he had paper and pencils next to the laptop used for his videoconference appointment, a fidget on the desk as well for him to hold while he was talking, and a thin blanket over the back of the chair in case he needed something to wrap up in. Besides making sure the space was an inviting and comfortable one, there was little she could do to make his appointments more bearable.

Luca was engrossed in the puzzle enough not to think about it, as he usually was, though he and Anthony made little bits of conversation off and on. He made a soft, amused little sound when Anthony held up his found piece, smiling and reaching out to take it and look at it before handing it back. "Those are his tail feathers," he said, but was clearly entertained by Anthony's assessment. 'Butt' was somewhat accurate, at least, only a funny way to say it.

Evelyn had been hovering between the dining table and kitchen, having finished cleaning the appliances and stuck around just to watch them play. She didn't want to interrupt, but Garrett was right. "I'll tell him," she said with a soft sigh, and walked over to the table to run her fingers gently through Luca's hair to get him to look at her. "It's time for your appointment, Luca. Let's leave this on the table for now, all right? I'm sure Anthony won't finish it without you."

He frowned a little at her, not liking the idea of doing therapy again but knowing he had to, and with a soft huff set the pieces in his hands carefully down and scooched his chair back to get up. "Okay. . . Can Watson come with me again?"

"I'm sure he would love to sit with you. Why don't you get him, and I'll go set up the computer, all right?"

It was something else to distract him for a moment, at least, and while he went to retrieve his furry friend she went to his room to start the call with Dr. Morrison.
 
"Ohhh. Tail feathers," Anthony repeated. He laughed and put the piece in place. "I still think it looks more like a butt!"

Eventually Evelyn came over to let Luca know it was time for his appointment. Anthony smiled gently and nodded. "Don't worry, Luca. I won't work on the puzzle without you. And me and Garrett will be right here after your appointment!" he added.

Garrett smiled and waved a hand. "C'mon, Anthony. Why don't you and I text Beckett and Shiloh while we're waiting? I'm sure they're having all sorts of adventures."

"Sure!" Anthony replied. He slid off the chair, and once Garrett put the broom away, the detective joined him on the couch. "Evelyn, you wanna come over too? Bet we're gonna see some fun pictures! Don't worry, Luca. We'll text them to you so you can see, too," he promised.

Garrett eased back into the couch and pulled out his phone, and once Evelyn returned, he texted Beckett and Shiloh in a group chat. [Hey, guys. Up to anything fun this morning?]

Shiloh was the first to text back. [Yeah, we've been exploring the lighthouse! Want to see some photos?]
 
Luca was quiet as he found where Watson was resting and gently pulled the cat away to keep him company while he talked to the therapist. It made him uncomfortable and tired, so it was nice to have Watson around to make him feel more calm. As much as he didn't want to do it, he remembered what everyone kept telling him. If he wanted to get better, he had to 'do therapy', even if it was hard, and he wanted to. He didn't want to cause so much trouble for everyone anymore, and he didn't want to feel so bad all the time.

Evelyn was waiting for him when he came, having already pulled up Dr. Morrison's video on the screen, and after Luca had greeted her he was left alone in the room.

On her way out Evelyn left the door slightly cracked to keep Luca from feeling as if he were locked in or not allowed to leave, and walked out to find something to keep her hands busy while she waited, feeling nervous despite it not being her own appointment. Beckett and Shiloh, at least, were a welcome distraction for once.

I'd love to see where you're staying. Evelyn sent back to the group chat as she sat down with them on the couch, tucking her feet up next to her and settling in with a soft sigh. Is it very cold next to the ocean?
 
Watson was more than happy to go with Luca. He let out a soft "mmmrp," stretched a bit, and then made himself comfortable in the young man's arms with a deep sigh.

[Not during this season,] Shiloh explained, sending a few selfies near the lighthouse and some pictures of the different areas inside. [But Dad says during the fall and winter it gets really cold. We'll have plenty of blankets, heaters, and warm gear by then, though! And I'm pretty sure I can just shift and make myself nice and furry.]

Garrett smiled at the pictures and texted back. [These are great. Who's that in the back of the fifth picture?]

Shiloh sent a laughing emoji and a zoomed in photo. [Oh! We call him Mr. Moo. He's an old suit of armor that someone gave to Dad, and he has a taxidermied cow head that he added because he thought it'd be funny. He was right. We make up all sorts of stories about him!]
 
Her relationship with Shiloh and Beckett was tenuous enough that Evelyn hadn't quite expected their exchange to be so entertaining. It was strangely nice, sitting together with Anthony and Garrett while they all received the same group messages from the others, able to chatter and laugh together in real time rather than having everything delayed as it was passed on. It was easy, for a while, to forget how much time was passing, to try and push her worries aside.

At least it was, until a crash from down the hall had her instantly on her feet.


It wasn't fair. Luca was trying his best, but it wasn't fair. Talking was hard enough in the first place, but as the appointment went on the questions he had to answer made knot after knot inside his stomach. Questions about things he did his best never to think about, about people he couldn't remember without feeling pain anymore. Did he remember anything about the night Davis had come to take him away? Did he remember what had happened to his family?

It wasn't your fault.

He barely heard the words before he couldn't take it anymore, slamming the laptop shut and shooting to his feet so fast his chair was flung over behind him. Watson hopped free of his lap with a startled yowl as Luca got to his feet, lurching back away from the desk as if burned and toppling backwards when his legs only hit the fallen chair. Falling against the chair and then the ground would have hurt more if his Shadow hadn't sprung up between him and it, cushioning some of the blow but unable to fully stop the impact without any input from him, and the last thing he wanted to do was reach for it. If he hadn't had his Shadow, no one would have taken him away, no one would have made him hurt so many people, no one would have died when -

Luca scrambled back to his hands and knees enough to lurch forward and slam his hands into the door, putting the only barrier he could think of between himself and the rest of the world. His eyes darted in quick, panicked flickers from corner to corner of the room, his heart pounding in his chest, and he managed to push to his feet just long enough to stumble to his closet, bury himself in the clothes inside and pull the door shut behind him. Hemmed in on all sides with no light only made his heart beat faster, only made it even harder to breathe, but nowhere else felt safe either - pressed into a dark, suffocating corner, he pressed his hands over his ears as hard as he could and squeezed his eyes shut to try and make the world go away.


Evelyn was already coming to a stop when she reached the door, a hand snapping out towards Anthony and Garrett to make them stop just as she did, knowing too many running feet coming towards him would only set Luca off, if he hadn't been already. They had to be more calm, stay quiet and unthreatening. She was just beginning to take a breath to steady herself and signal as much to them when the door suddenly slammed the last inch closed right in front of her.

Startled, she looked back at it again and pressed a hand to the wood, the other on the knob but not quite turning even as she heard his footsteps moving away. He hadn't locked it, but something was wrong. He was panicking. He needed them.

". . . Luca?" She called softly, hesitating to open the door right after he'd closed it on them, though Insight was enough to tell her that the they were not the demons chasing him if she hadn't guessed as much herself. "Are you all right? Can I come in?"

She would only give it a moment before she opened it without him answering.
 
Garrett's head snapped up when there was a crash down the hall. His immediate thought was someone might be breaking in. "Luca?" he called out worriedly. Then he saw Watson bolt down the hall, and a pit formed in his stomach. He got to his feet immediately and hurried towards Luca's room - only to stop in his tracks when Evelyn held up a hand.

Something was wrong.

He swallowed and watched the door tensely, glancing briefly at Evelyn from time to time. ". . . Anthony?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Wait in the living room for a moment, already? I'll text or call you if we need help."

"Right," Anthony replied, heading off to wait on the couch with Watson.

Garrett nodded and turned back towards Luca's door. This didn't seem like a normal panic attack. If there was any chance of danger, intended or not, he didn't want Anthony getting hurt. "Luca? It's Garrett, I'm here, too. We're going to come in and check on you, okay?"
 
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