Nick stepped out of the steamy shower; he hasn’t felt this clean and refreshed in a long time. He began to towel his body dry as he glanced his bandaged knees over, seeing that they were saturated from the shower and the once white pieces of cloths were now tinged with a light pink color; he’d have to ask Harry to re-bandage his knees. He grabbed the clean clothes the station had provided for him and unfolded them, holding it up to see that they gave him a uniformed jumpsuit that the station would provide their jail inmates. How fitting.

He shrugged it off, knowing this was the only type of clean clothes they could provide him at the moment. He pulled it over his small, lanky frame, and though he wasn’t feeling the jumpsuit and surely didn’t want to walk out of the shower and around the station in a uniform they give their apprehended criminals, it did feel nice to be dressed in something that was crisp and clean.

He wrapped his now damp towel up into a ball and made his way out of the shower area, peering into the corridor. He looked around before he began to make his way back to the interrogation room. He began to think of where they’d let him stay, if he would have to sleep in one of their jail cells. Regardless, it would be better than sleeping on the cold pavement. His mind wandered back to the goofy officer he had met earlier, and wondered if Harry had gone to get him like he asked…

“Well, don’t you look spiffy?” he heard a voice say from behind him.

Nick turned around to find Brian standing behind him, his lips curved in an upward smirk, “I’m assuming it’s all they had.” he replied sheepishly, not wanting to sound as if he weren’t grateful.

Brian chuckled as he walked up to Nick and slapped a reassuring hand down upon his shoulder, “I’m just messin’ with ya kid. Sergeant Dorough had took McLean to do some late night shopping for you. Besides picking up more groceries I’m sure we’ll need, McLean’s in charge of bringing you back some comfortable clothes to settle into. Though the kid’s got a knack for guns, he also knows a thing or two when it comes to fashion, the dude loves to shop! I had to tell him not to overdo it though and to just bring back some sporty clothes for you to wear for the time being. Hope you don’t mind that I pegged you to be a sporty type.”

Nick shook his head, “Not at all, I love sports! Though I’m a New York native, I love the Bucs!”

Brian grasped at his chest, as if he were having a heart attack. “Are you kidding me?! A New York native liking a Florida team?! What are you gonna tell me next, that you prefer Red Sox over the Yankees? Cause those are some fighting words kiddo!” he joked.

Nick chuckled, “Nah man, my father…” he instantly choked on the last word, he hadn’t brought up anything about his deceased family since he’s been here. “My father loved the Bucs.” he finished somberly.

Brian gave a sympathetic look, wanting to change the subject, “Hey, it’s okay, I fancy me some Falcons baby, from time to time.”

“So um, where will I be staying, if you don’t mind me asking?” Nick asked sheepishly, wanting to change the subject as well.

“You ain’t fitting on going to bed so early, are you? Once Howie gets back, he’s gonna whip us up a mean meal for us to feast on! A good thing of having that Puerto Rican man on the force is that he can cook up some mean Puerto Rican cuisines! You’ll definitely put on some pounds being here!”

Nick smiled as he felt his stomach begin to grumble, he hadn’t had a decent, home cooked meal in so long! Having being treated to a McDonald’s meal was simply the icing on the cake, to feast on Howie’s cooking was the ala mode!! His mind began to wander back to his family, and how he was once able to enjoy home cooked meals. The night they were taken away from him, he had gone to the grocery store to purchase a few ingredients his mother needed.

“But, we all stay at an old fire station Kevin has rented out for us to stay in. I’m sure you’ve heard that the man is a big softy.” Brian continued, breaking Nick out of his thoughts. “I live there, along with AJ and Howie; at times Harry and Vernon will stay there too. Kevin stays there sometimes as well, but he has a small apartment where he and his wife lives.”

“So, what’s the story behind that?” Nick asked as they entered the interrogation room, wanting to get more information on the people he’d be staying with, for who knows how long.

“Well, after I had graduated from high school back in Kentucky, I had gone on to college. Kevin is the big reason why I looked into joining the police force actually, and thanks to him, he made it possible. I always wanted to join the military, but with my heart condition, there’s no way I could have.”

“Heart condition?” Nick questioned, not figuring the healthy looking man that sat before him would have any kind of health condition.

Brian nodded, “Yup, I was born with a heart defect, and the hospital became my second home.” he tried to joke, “But, after taking my ASVAB tests and preparing to join the military and being turned down because of my heart condition, I was torn up about it to say the least. My sights then turned on to Kevin being the captain of the NYPD, and figured it was something I could do, and the closest I could get to being a man in uniform. So, after contacting Kevin, he was able to get me started and I had dropped out of the college I was enrolled in in Kentucky, flew here and was living with Kevin and his wife for a bit while I received training.”

“You and the captain seem pretty close.” Nick stated, sounding intrigued. “I had seen a picture of you and him in his office.”

Brian gave a genuine smile, “Well, he’s my cousin.”

Nick’s eyes widened, “What?!? Are you serious?”

Brian nodded and chuckled, “Yup. His mom and my dad are siblings.” he explained proudly. “Anyway, like I said, I lived with him and his wife for a bit while I completed training. After that, he had rented out the fire station for us to reside in. He took AJ in, and Howie, well… Howie is good friends with Kevin, and had moved out of his family home when he had joined the force here. He has no family of his own here, so he lives at the station with AJ and I.”

“And what’s the story with AJ?” Nick questioned, curious about the only man that remained a mystery to him still.

Brian shrugged, “Well, that’s a story for him to tell you, which I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing. The kid, though appearing solemn, is the talkative one of the bunch… he could talk your ears off!”

“So, is that where I’ll be staying?” Nick asked in a small voice, truly sounding like the little kid he is, “With you guys at the fire station?”

Brian smiled brightly and nodded, “Yup. There’s so much room in that place, you’d go crazy! And it’s only a block down from this station. So, once Harry and Vernon get back, they’ll pick us up and bring us over there.”

“Why don’t we just walk?” Nick suggested, figuring it’d be nice to walk a block with his new friend that he could possibly learn to call ’brother’.

Brian sighed, he would be down for just walking the block, but Kevin had told them all that he wanted to shield Nick as much as possible, unsure if the men that killed his family was still out there, looking for Nick to finish what they had started and kill him off; rid the world of the WHOLE Carter family. “As much as I’d love to accept the offer, these old bones are quite tired from walking.” he lied, knowing he couldn’t tell the kid the real reason why they couldn’t walk; they had to protect him at all costs. “You didn’t have fun riding in the cruiser?” he asked jokingly.

Nick laughed and replied back sarcastically, “I had A LOT of fun being pushed into the ground and apprehended by officers in front of people. I’d like to do that again.”

Brian laughed as well and winked. He was beginning to like this kid, a lot. It was a shame that he had lost his whole family and resorted to living and eating off the streets, but now that he was with them, hopefully he’d come to find them as his new family and would accept them just as much.