Author's Note: Hello again! I'm back with another oneshot; a oneshot that, at 4,832 words (sans the A/N and such), I'm crazy happy to announce, is the longest single chapter/oneshot I've ever written. The whole story was inspired by hearing a friend of mine say she was going on a police ride-along with her husband, an officer. The idea's been rolling around in my mind ever since she said that (around a month ago), and I finally was able to write it all out today. It's set in 2004, when Carlos would've been about 11. It's set in the world of my story "Finding My Religion," but you needn't have read it to understand. Just know that Carlos is gay, and came out very recently to his family. This story took me all afternoon to get down, and I'm gosh darn proud of it. Hope you guys like it. :) As always, PLEASE REVIEW!

Disclaimer: Any recognizable names and/or places are the property of their respective owners.

Warnings: None!

"You ready?" asked Ed, raising his eyebrows expectantly at his son. Carlos looked up from the homework he had spread out across the kitchen table, nodding eagerly.

"Did you brush your teeth?"

Carlos let his head roll back, groaning. "Dad."

"Come on, Carlos, I told you to do them an hour ago!" said Ed.

"I know, but then Mom said she wouldn't let me go until I finished my homework, so I had to do that instead."

"Well, did you finish your homework?"

Carlos shut his notebook, turning over his homework sheets and setting his notebook on top of them. "Yes."

Ed shook his head. "You finish it first thing tomorrow, alright? But get your teeth done."

"Got it!"

Carlos bolted from the table, dashing up the stairs.

"And hurry up!" Ed called up. "We were supposed to leave five minutes ago!"

Carlos was itching with excitment, the strap of his helmet swinging freely around his neck, hitting his shoulder occasionally. He was going on a ride-along, his first one ever. He was eleven, now, finally old enough, finally able to see what all the fuss his brother Gabe always put up was about. He clenched his fists for a moment as they entered the police station through the side door, the employee entrance. Carlos was immediately entranced; he'd been to the police station dozens of times, but never this late at night. The entire station looked different, transformed in a way. It was a lot quieter than it was during the day, Carlos noted, and the scent of coffee was much stronger. There were only officers at one or two desks now instead of every one, the way Carlos normally saw them, and he could actually hear the TV in the corner.

"I've got a bit of paperwork to fill out before we head out," said Ed, pulling off his jacket. "You want to help?"

Carlos looked up at his father, a surprised expression his face. He never got to help out with actual police paperwork before. "Yes!" he said, nodding eagerly. Ed laughed.

"Don't get too excited, it's not that fun," said Ed.

"I don't care, I've never got to do it before," said Carlos. A thought struck him. "Has Gabe ever helped you out with your paperwork?"

"Let's think about that one for a second, mijo," said Ed. "Does Gabe ever do anything he doesn't have to?"

Carlos laughed, the quick, joyous sound filling the small station, causing the few officers lingering inside to look his direction. He sucked in his lips, feeling a light flush on his face. Ed chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Come on, it's all on my desk."

Ed pulled the chair from the desk next to his, rolling it to the opposite side of his own desk and motioning for Carlos to sit. Ed took his own seat, then pulled the folder on the side of his desk close to him.

"Here's what you can do," said Ed, flopping open the folder and pulling out a few pieces of paper, stapled together in the corner. He twisted the paper so it faced Carlos, then pointed to a blank space in the top corner. "You see that? I want you to take this pen—" Ed pulled a pen from the cup by his computer "—and fill in the date on all the sheets. It's in the same place on each one. Once you finish, just put it in a seperate stack on the side so I can finish filling them out."

Carlos looked up from the paper, his expression slightly blank. "That's it?"

Ed nodded. "That's it."

Carlos took in a breath, expelling it through his mouth in one quick huff, his disappointment made clear by the sound. He took the pen from his father's hand. "Alright. I can do that."

"Good," said Ed, nodding once. He took another pen from the cup and waited.

Carlos pulled the paper close to him, shifting in his chair, clicking the top of the pen. He set his pen to the paper, then stopped.

"It's June, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

Carlos nodded, shifting in his chair again, then put his pen the paper. Again he paused, looking out into space for a moment, curling his free hand into a fist, one finger at a time, as if counting out numbers.

"June's the sixth month of the year, right?"

"Yep."

Carlos nodded, then set his pen back to the paper, carefully drawing out the number six. He moved to the next column, then paused.

"It's the first, right?"

Ed smiled, nodding his head. "June first, two-thousand four."

"Okay."

Ed watched as Carlos's helmet slid forward a ways on his forehead, shielding his slightly narrowed eyes, while the tip of his tongue poked through his lips. He formed each number out slowly, taking care to make sure they all stayed in their own column, upright and clean.

"Carlos, we are on a bit of a schedule here."

"Hmm?" Carlos looked up, his helmet sliding forward again, reaching his eyebrows this time. He pushed it up, then swallowed. "Oh, sorry, Papí."

"It's okay," said Ed. "But it doesn't have to be perfect, you know."

"Okay," Carlos nodded, then slid the paper over to his father. "There you go; all finished."

"Only seven more to go," said Ed, smiling encouragingly at his son. Carlos smiled back, pulling another short stack of papers towards him.

Carlos finished dating the rest of the paperwork in a few minutes' time, reclining in his chair when he was done. He pushed his chair out slightly from the desk, gripping the edge before pushing away, propelling himself in a circle.

"You're going to make yourself sick, Carlos," said Ed.

"No I'm not," Carlos said simply, his large brown eyes a blur as he spun faster and faster.

Ed shook his head, chuckling, and turned back to his paperwork. He glanced up again as he heard the door open, a tall, young, slightly scrawny looking man entering the station.

"Hey Daniel," said Ed, nodding at the man. Daniel turned to look at Ed, his scarf halfway off his neck. He raised his hand to him, smiling.

"Hey Ed," he said. He looked towards the spinning mass in front of Ed's desk, and raised an eyebrow. Ed simply rolled his eyes, returning to his paperwork as Daniel laughed, going to hang up his coat when he heard a high voice call his name.

"Dananator!"

Daniel turned around just in time to see Carlos launch himself from the chair, taking all of a one step before stumbling helmet-first into the desk beside him. Daniel barked out a laugh, crossing the station and helping the boy to his feet.

"Carlitos, my man!" said Daniel, smiling at the boy. "Training to be an astronaut or something?" He pulled the chair Carlos had been spinning in close, pushing Carlos back into it. "Hop a squat, kid; your eyeballs are still spinning."

"No they're not," said Carlos, his eyes darting back and forth. "You just keep moving."

Daniel laughed and stuck his hand out and Carlos slapped his palm against it. He hissed, pulling his hand back and shaking it. He looked at Ed as he leaned back against his desk. "Jeez, you feeding this kid an extra bowl of muscle for breakfast, Garcia?"

Ed shrugged. "Don't look at me; Natalie feeds the kids."

Daniel laughed. "How is Nat? And Gabe?"

"Both doing good." Ed nodded. "Jessica's doing well?"

"Very well, considering," said Daniel.

"Considering...?"

"Considering she's pregnant," said Daniel.

"What?"

Daniel nodded, smiling. "With twins."

"Congratulations! That's great," said Ed, clapping Daniel on the shoulder. Daniel hissed, his opposite hand going to the shoulder.

"Oh, sorry, forgot that's the bad one," said Ed. "How's it feeling?"

"Good," said Daniel, shrugging his uninjured shoulder. "I can work."

"Is that the arm that was shot?" asked Carlos.

"Sure is," Daniel nodded.

"Did it hurt?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe," said Daniel, shaking his head. "I've got a sweet scar, though."

"Do you really?" asked Carlos. "Can I see it?"

"'Course," said Daniel. He unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt, pulling it down over his shoulder. Carlos gasped at the side of the small, shiny, circular patch of skin to the far right of Daniel's collar bone, just above his axilla.

"Whoa!" Carlos exlaimed, his eyes wide, reaching out a finger and gently poking the soft skin. "That's so cool!"

"The wife thinks so, too," said Daniel, with a quick wink to Ed. Carlos withdrew his hand and Daniel made quick work of buttoning his shirt.

"You heading out?" asked Daniel, flicking his chin up at Ed.

"In just a minute," he replied, pulling on his jacket.

"I'm going with him, too!" said Carlos, smiling proudly at his father. Ed tossed Carlos his jacket, and the youngest Garcia slipped his arms inside.

"Ah, your first ride-along, eh?" said Daniel. "You excited?"

Carlos nodded vigorously. "I've wanted to go for forever."

"Well, have fun, just be careful," said Daniel. "Heard there's a lot crazies out there tonight, and I don't think we make bullet proof vests in your size."

Carlos laughed along with the two older men, surreptitiously reaching a hand up and tightening the strap of his helmet. He waved at Daniel as they left, waiting until the door closed behind them before looking up at his father with slightly worried eyes.

"He was kidding, right?"

"Have you ever shot anybody?"

"You already asked me that question, Carlos."

"Well, I forgot. So have you?"

"Yes, I have."

"How many times?"

"I'm not sure."

"How many do you think?"

Ed sighed. "Maybe ten. Maybe."

"How many has Daniel shot?"

Ed snorted. "Too many. He gets a little excited sometimes."

There was a quiet lull and Carlos turned his attention to the window, watching the neon lights flash past.

"Do you ever get scared?" Carlos asked, looking back at his father.

"Being a police officer?"

"Yeah."

Ed took in a breath. "I guess I do, sometimes. During the bad calls."

"Do you have to go on bad calls a lot?"

"Not too many," said Ed. "We live in a safe place."

"What's the worst thing you ever saw?"

Ed's hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, his shoulders tensing for a moment as an image flashed in his mind, one hadn't seen in a long, long time. He quickly pushed the thought away, shaking his head.

"I don't like talking about it, mijo."

"Oh," said Carlos, looking at his lap. "Sorry."

"It's okay," said Ed, reaching his hand and gently patting Carlos' knee. They fell into a silence again.

Ed turned on his blinker, pausing at the stop sign, before taking a left and continuing along his route. The radio on the dash suddenly crackled to life.

"We've got a reported one-eight-seven, the corner of Elm and Nantucket, available units please respond."

There was a pause before it crackled again.

"Livingstone responding, requesting backup. Elm and Nantucket, you said?"

Another pause.

"Yes, Elm and Nantucket. Sending backup."

"What's a 'one-eight-seven'?" Carlos asked.

Ed let out a breath. "A homocide."

Carlos thought for a moment. "That's like a murder, right?"

"Correct."

"Are we gonna be backup?"

Ed shook his head. "Too dangerous for you."

Carlos looked back out the window. "Why do people do stuff like that; kill other people?"

Ed snorted humorlessly. "Beats me. I don't think anybody knows."

Carlos crossed his legs beneath him, setting his chin on his fist, a thoughtful look on his face. He turned his head, his cheek bunching up under his fingers as they stopped at a red light.

"Have you ever killed anybody?"

Ed's hands tightened on the steering wheel again, his eyes closing in a long blink.

"Sorry," Carlos said quickly, straightening up. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Ed said again, his voice a little tighter than it was before.

"I won't ask you again, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, mijo," said Ed, gently pressing on the gas, easing them down the street. He relaxed his shoulders. "I just don't like talking about that kind of stuff."

Ed turned into a gas station parking lot, pulling into a space and turning off the car. "Come on, it's time for some provisions."

"Some what?" asked Carlos, pushing open his car door.

"Provisions. Bocadillos. Snacks." Ed rested his arm over his son's shoulder as they walked through the door. The bell above them tinkled, and a voice called out from behind the counter.

"Hey! Eddy!"

Ed smiled at the man behind the counter, a wizened old Romanian man with a poor English vocabulary named Aelwyn. Ed had responded to a burglary call Aelwyn made over two years ago, capturing the gunman holding up the store, and Aelwyn never stopped thanking him.

"Hello again, Aelwyn," said Ed. "How are you?"

"Good, I's good," said Aelwyn. "And you? Who is the young one?"

"This is my son, Carlos," said Ed, patting Carlos on the shoulder. "Carlos, this is Aelwyn."

"Hello, Carlos!" said Aelwyn happily, the corners of his eyes crinkling up as he smiled. "Be telling me, Carlos, is you liking candy?"

Carlos furrowed his brow for a moment, taking a glance up at his father, who nodded. "Um, yes?"

"Take any candy bar you like," said Aelwyn, sweeping his hand over the candy display on the counter.

"Aelwyn," Ed began, but Aelwyn shook his head. He gestured to the candy again.

"Take."

"Thank you, Aelwyn," said Ed, as Carlos began to eye the display.

"You is not taking one candy?" asked Aelwyn, looking at Ed.

"Not tonight," said Ed. He moved to the counter across the small store, picking up a large coffee cup. "Just some coffee."

Carlos had his brow furrowed, his lips pursed slightly as he carefully contemplated each candy bar.

"Be telling me, Carlos," Aelwyn repeated, a little quieter this time, leaning forward on his rickety elbows. "You know your father is a hero?"

"He is?" asked Carlos, moving his gaze from the candy to Aelwyn's bright blue eyes. Aelwyn nodded earnestly, his eyebrows nearly touching his hairline.

"Oh yes," he said, nodding again. "One night, a crazy man came into my store, waving gun, shouting 'Give me the money or I kill you!' I pushed the police button under the counter and poof, your father come here like magic and take down the crazy man."

Ed chuckled to himself, shaking a few sugar packets into his steaming coffee.

"Whoa," said Carlos, taking a glance back over his shoulder. "My dad did that?"

Aelwyn nodded. "He saved my life," he said. "I never forget your father."

"Enough exaggerating, Aelwyn," said Ed, reappearing at the counter. "Carlos, you pick something out yet?"

"Um..." Carlos looked back at the candy, snatching a bag of M&Ms. "Yep."

"How much for the coffee?" asked Ed. Aelwyn quickly shook his head.

"Nope, you never be paying in my shop," said Aelwyn.

"Really, Aelwyn, I don't mind."

"You save my life, you not pay." Aelwyn crossed his arms, as if to end the argument. He waved a hand towards the door, dismissing them. "Go, be saving more lives."

Ed laughed. "Thank you, Aelwyn. I'll see you later."

Ed pushed open the door as Aelwyn called back to them.

"You two be having a good night!" he said. "Is pleasuring meeting you, Carlos!"

"You too! Thank you for the candy!" said Carlos, waving over his shoulder. The door closed, and Aelwyn waved at them through the glass.

"I like him," said Carlos once they were back in the car. "He's nice. Does he always give you free stuff?"

"Always," said Ed, setting his coffee in the cup holder. He started the car, pulling his seatbelt across his chest. "I try to pay, but he won't let me. Seatbelt?"

"Seatbelt," Carlos confirmed, strapping himself in. "Did you really save his life?"

"It was more of a combined effort," said Ed, turning in his seat as he backed the car out of the lot, "but I guess you could say that."

Carlos tore open his bag of M&Ms, shaking his head. "You're amazing, Papí."

Ed laughed. "The man's gun wasn't even loaded, Carlos."

"Still!" said Carlos. "Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't've shown up?" Carlos offered his bag of candy out to his father, gently shaking it, the contents rattling quietly. "Want some?"

"No thank you," said Ed, shaking his head.

Carlos popped a few M&Ms into his mouth, reaching forward to fiddle with the handle of the glove compartment. "Papí?"

"Yes, mijo?"

"What's your favorite part of being a police officer?"

There was no hesitation when Ed answered.

"Getting to take you on ride-alongs."

Carlos glanced over at his father, their eyes meeting, and smiled.

Carlos turned his head, barely stifling a large yawn; his body shuddered with the action, his eyes watering, and he sniffed.

"Getting tired?" asked Ed.

"Hmm?" said Carlos, turning his head, slowly blinking his tired eyes. "No, no, I'm fine."

He yawned again, this time not even bothering to hide it, smacking his lips. Ed chuckled.

"You can go to sleep, mijo," said Ed.

"I don't wanna sleep," said Carlos. "I've never been on one of these before."

"Trust me, Carlos, you won't miss anything," said Ed, glancing out across the street at a lit window. He slowed for a moment, eyes searching for a sign a movement behind the curtain, then turned his attention back to the road.

"Just take a little nap," said Ed. "I'll wake you up if anything exciting happens."

"Promise?"

Ed smiled. "Promise."

"Okay," said Carlos, yawning one last time. He scooted himself a little farther down in his seat, laying his head against the window, and closed his eyes. Barely a minute passed before the sounds of low, even breaths filled the car. Ed smiled to himself, taking a sip of his now-cold coffee, and turned a corner.

Carlos blinked, his eyes slightly crusty with sleep, and lifted his head. He stretched his arms in front of him and looked out the window. Faintly, in the distance, he could spot the first signs of sunlight peeking over the horizon.

"Morning, sleepy head," said Ed. Carlos rubbed his eyes.

"What time's it?" he asked sleepily.

"Five-fifteen," said Ed. "Have a good nap?"

Carlos shrugged, adjusting his helmet. "I didn't miss anything important, did I?"

Ed shrugged. "A bird pooped on my windshield earlier."

That set Carlos off into an impossible fit of giggles; he clutched his stomach, eyes watering, as he banged his fist on the seat beneath him.

"Oh Papí—" Carlos choked on his words, leaning against the window as another round of laughter consumed him. Ed chuckled, taking glances over at Carlos every now and then.

"Papí that's hilarious," said Carlos, nearly breathless. He wiped his eyes and sighed after a moment, a large smile on his face. Another few giggles escaped as he muttered to himself. "A bird pooped on your windshield..." Carlos sighed, shaking his head, fixing his gaze back out the window. "Classic."

Both Garcia's looked down at Carlos's stomach as it growled loudly.

"Hungry?" asked Ed. Carlos nodded. "How's donuts sound?"

Carlos let out a light moan. "Donuts sound amazing."

"Donuts it is, then."

Ed pulled into the parking lot of the first bakery he saw, leaving the car idle. "You can stay in the car, I'll be back in just a minute," said Ed. Carlos nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt as Ed shut his door. He pulled off his helmet, scratching his forehead, and watched his father ordering at the counter before turning his attention to the road beside him. Slowly, more and more cars began to drift by at a faster pace, the town awakening around him. The radio crackled, Carlos jumping at the sound.

"Dananator to Carlitos," the radio called. "Pick up, Carlitos."

Carlos darted his eyes back to his father, sucking in his lips. His father let him use the radio before, surely he wouldn't mind him using it now?

"I repeat: Danator to Carlitos, Dananator. To. Carlitos."

Carlos stretched out his hand, picking up the radio, and pressing down on the side button. "This is Carlitos."

"My man!" said Daniel. "Happy Wednesday morning."

"Uh, happy Wednesday morning to you, too?"

"So how's your first ride-along going?" asked Daniel, his voice filling the cab. "Take down any bad guys?"

"No, we're just driving," said Carlos. "Dad's not responding to any calls."

"He usually doesn't when he takes one of you guy's out with him," said Daniel. "Hey, how've—"

The radio crackled again, a female voice speaking this time.

"We have a four-oh-six in progress on I-35, available units please respond."

"Hennigans responding to four-oh-six," said Daniel. He spoke again, this time to Carlos. "Duty calls, Carlitos. Talk to you later, little man."

Carlos hung the radio back up on the unit as his father reappeared. He tapped on the window, a bottle in his hand, and Carlos reached over, pushing open his door.

"You causing trouble?" asked Ed, eyes flickering between Carlos and the radio.

"No," said Carlos, rolling his eyes. Ed held out a bottle of chocolate milk, which Carlos took eagerly, along with a small bag of donuts. "I was talking to Daniel."

"What'd he say now?" asked Ed.

"Asked how it was going," said Carlos. "Then somebody reported a four-oh-six — whatever that is — and he had to respond. What's a 'four-oh-six'?"

"Drunk driving," Ed replied. Carlos popped the top off his chocolate milk, taking a long drink before starting in on his donuts. There was a few minutes of silence before either of them spoke.

"Hey Papí?"

"Yes, mijo?"

"Are you mad that I'm gay?" asked Carlos, licking a bit of chocolate from his thumb and looking over at his father. Ed looked over at Carlos, meeting his eyes.

"Why would I be mad?"

"'Cause you wanted me to marry some girl and give you and Mom grandkids," said Carlos, finishing off his donut. "And 'cause I'm not supposed to be gay."

"Who says you're not supposed to be gay?" asked Ed.

Carlos shrugged again. "I dunno, some people at church, kids at school."

"Are you being bullied, Carlos?"

"No," said Carlos. "They don't really say it to me, but they say it, sometimes."

"Well it doesn't matter what anyone else says; you're not supposed be anyone else but Carlos."

Carlos picked at his thumbnail, glancing sideways at his father. "So you're not mad?"

"No, Carlos, I'm not mad."

Carlos looked over. "Really?"

Ed smiled gently, reaching out and running a hand through his son's hair. "Really."

Carlos smiled, his nail-picking ceasing. He picked up his third donut, taking a bite, squinting as sunlight began to creep in through the windshield.

"I like ride-alongs," said Carlos, nodding to no one imparticular. "I like getting to see you work. It's cool."

"Cool?" said Ed. "All we did was drive around."

"I know, but I like it. Like getting to meet Aelwyn was cool. I mean, you saved his life," said Carlos, his tone slightly amazed. "And the other stuff was cool, too."

"What other stuff?"

Carlos shrugged. "Like how you're always looking at all the buildings and stuff, making sure nothing's going wrong, or before, right before I was gonna fall asleep, you slowed down to look in that one window, and waited until you were sure there was nothing wrong before you kept driving."

Ed paused, his cup of coffee halfway to his mouth, impressed by his son's keen observation.

"A lot of people would be scared to have the responsibility of keeping everyone safe," Carlos continued, "and you even said that you get scared sometimes, too, but you still do it. That's really cool, Papí."

Ed smiled at his son, watching as Carlos downed the last of his chocolate milk. The sun rose fully into the sky now, the clock flicking past five-thirty. Thirty more minutes until his shift was over.

"You finished?" asked Ed. Carlos nodded, sticking his empty bottle into his empty donut bag. He crumpled the bag and handed it to his father, who tossed it into the trash can just outside his window. Ed pulled the car out of the parking lot, taking a left. Time to head home.

Ed carefully opened the passenger door, sticking his arm out to keep Carlos's sleeping form from falling over onto the sidewalk. Carlos stirred slightly as Ed lifted him from his seat, using his foot to shut the door. He made his way up the walkway, the front door opening, his wife standing just inside.

"'Morning," Natalie whispered, standing on her tip toes to kiss her husband.

"Buenos días," he whispered back. He hiked Carlos up in his arms, Carlos burrowing his head into his father's chest. He made his way through the house, up the stairs, and into Carlos's room. He laid his son gently down on the bed and pulled off his shoes, quickly followed by his helmet.

"Hmm?" Carlos blinked sleepily, reaching a hand up to his head, taking notice of the absence of his helmet.

"Shh, we're home now," Ed whispered, pulling the blankets down and then back over Carlos's shoulders. "Go back to sleep."

Carlos let his eyes slip closed, his head lolling slightly on the pillow, and he nodded. "G'night, Papí."

Ed leaned foward, pressing a kiss to Carlos's forehead, smoothing down his hair, and smiled. "Goodnight, mijo."

Reviews? Anyone? Anyone? ...Bueller?