Playing with fire (Amelia Shepherd) ABANDONED

fifty three

It seemed like she had, though.

"Vic told me about your showdown with Beckett. We were a family, and then he came along and ruined it. When one of us was in trouble, we helped. We're not doing that anymore, and you don't know why. One of our own is imploding and we're just sitting back, watching him burn. It's not right. If Beckett won't lead us through it, you will," Mallie said, repeating Andy's speech almost word for word.

Andy just looked lost.

"I get Jack is in pain. I'm not taking away from the help he needs. But... You think we're a family? You really think you're gonna lead us through this when Maya is literally shattering into pieces in front of us and you let me handle it all? I know we agreed to take one each, I handle Maya while you handle Jack, but you cannot call Maya in here and make her listen to you rally everyone up to help Jack when you know she's struggling, too, and you don't even offer the same courtesy," Mallie said.

"Mallie-" Andy started.

"Maya is imploding. You're sitting back, watching her burn. It's not right. You're leaving a man behind. We don't do that. You want to lead us through this? Help Maya before it's too far gone and we lose her for real. Be the Captain your dad raised you to be," Mallie said.

She knew that part was a low blow, but, like she said, sometimes people needed to be punched in the face to realise what was going on.

"I'm going home. I have to take the kids to swimming lessons," Mallie said, walking out of the kitchen with a sigh.

"Happy Halloween!"

Mallie laughed as Amelia walked into the kitchen with Pru, Scout and Myles in their Halloween costumes.

They'd both gotten the day off to celebrate Pru's first Halloween with them. They also had Meredith's three kids with them for the evening, as Meredith was working and the kids had asked to go to the trick or treating event at the station with Mallie and her kids.

They were heading into town for lunch with Bill and Ifeya so they could see Pru and the twins in their costumes, and then the Cruz/Shepherd/Miller family was heading to the hospital with the kids to show off their costumes to their family before heading to the station for trick of treating.

Pru was dressed up as a firefighter, as was Scout, the two of them both having firehose toys in their hands. Myles was dressed up as a surgeon, in little tiny pink scrubs with a doctor's coat over it, a stethoscope around his neck.

"Oh, well, would you look at that? Two little firefighters and a doctor," Mallie grinned, crouching down and holding her arms open for the kids.

The three of them ran over, crashing into Mallie's chest. She peppered kisses across their foreheads, then their cheeks.

"I'm Rina, mamí," Myles said.

"You're Carina?" Mallie smiled, cupping his cheeks. "Oh, she is just gonna adore you, Myles."

"I know," Myles grinned.

"We're you and my daddy," Pru said.

"Of course you are! How could I not recognise the two best firefighters in the world?" Mallie laughed.

"Don't know, mamí," Scout said.

"Yeah, don't know, mamí," Pru copied.

Mallie looked over their heads at Amelia, wincing slightly when they both remembered they had not yet talked about the mamí thing because, honestly, life was crazy right now.

Zola was having panic attacks left right and center and couldn't be in school, there was the whole Maya and Jack thing, and Amelia's nephew had now spread the rumour that he was sleeping with Amelia when his intern friends caught sight of him taking the three kids to daycare for Amelia because, apparently, nepotism was the worst and sleeping around to get good surgeries was better.