#present!lucas

AU: >> FATHER’S DAY 2025

"Do you believe people can change?” Lucas asked his mother who stood in the kitchen slicing watermelon for the cook out that Lucas and Aubree had decided to host for Father’s Day that year. They had invited his mother, Tyler, Gabby, the Larsen children, and even Lucas and Tyler’s father. They had cut all ties with him in 2017 after Lucas’ twin sister Lauren was killed in a tragic line of duty death and they found out he and Tyler were related from an affair their father had with Tyler’s mother. However, as his own children grew, Lucas debated on reaching out but never worked up the courage to do so. “I think so. Case-by-case basis. Your father has done really well for himself. Retirement does wonders.” His mother spoke. “Do you think you guys...?” Before he could finish his sentence, his mother shook her head. “No, no.”

The doorbell rang and Aubree went to get the door. Lucas wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and took a deep breath. “Nervous too, huh?” Tyler questioned his brother, younger only by a month. “That’s an understatement.” Lucas replied. Aubree walked in a moment later, a nervous smile plastered to her face, and his father followed behind. His father did look different, he looked happier and less stressed like the whole New York Fire Department no longer sat on his shoulders. The thing about Lucas was he always gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, even if it blew up in his face.

“Hey Champ.” He greeted with open arms and Lucas walked towards his father nervous. “Champ? Haven’t called me that since I was twelve.” He joked and he enveloped his father in a hug and he hugged back. The first hug the pair shared in at least ten years and it felt...different, lighter. “There’s my other champ, both of my sons under one roof.” Nicholas spoke as he broke the embrace with Lucas and made his way over to Tyler to repeat the interaction. Lucas nervously rubbed at his temple. “Daddy!” Lucas turned his attention to the brunette haired pair of sisters that were running towards him. “Hi babies. Hey, look, I have someone I want you to meet.” Lucas brought Aubree by his side as well, always feeling less nervous with her by his side.

I hope you look just like your momma And love her like I do You'll see close to perfect patience If you watch her every move

“Daddy, I done!” An excited three-year-old, Molly Dawson, shouted as she handed over a piece of toddler artwork that she had drawn for Aubree for Mother’s Day. He took it from her gently and his smile instantly grew. “This is perfect, baby. Thank you. I think she’s really going to love it.” Lucas nodded his head and folded the card together, leaving it in a standing position on the counter. Aubree had to run in to the station to return some files that she had brought home and then she would return home for a low-key Mother’s Day, Lucas and Molly had collaborated and decided to surprise her with more than just a little low-key weekend and instead planned a picnic underneath the Brooklyn Bridge after drawing at least fifteen pictures for her in crayon. “Go put on your shoes so we can go to the park.” Lucas instructed as he scribbled at a note for her to find whenever she got home of where he and the girls would be.

Just as he was finishing singing his letter, Kate began to giggle and squeal from her bouncer seat that she had been happily bouncing in. “Do you want part of the action too?” Lucas reached to pick up the eight month old infant and sat her in his lap. He placed her tiny palm on a blank piece of paper and he tried to quickly outline her hand before she pulled it away. He scribbled ‘I wuv you’ and signed it with Kate’s name to just add it to the growing collection on their kitchen counter for Aubree to find when she returned home from the station. “I ready!” Molly came into the dining room with her hands on her hips and her head cocked sideways. “Alright, let’s go. Can you grab Kate’s backpack for me?” Lucas asked and she picked up the backpack and slid it over both of her shoulders while he carried Kate to the front door. 

Lucas managed to wrangle the picnic supplies, theiir two girls, and their family golden retriever into his pick up truck and drove them to the park underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. “I don’t know how your momma does it, she’s a freaking superhero, isn’t she?” Lucas told Kate as he carried the infant in his arms, the backpack on one shoulder, the picnic basket in his freehand and two careful eyes on Molly who was being walked by Maverick to the center of the park, instead of the other way around. The infant responded with her gummy toothless grin even though she had no idea what he was saying. They settled in their usual spot on a blanket, Molly playing feet away at the playground, Maverick standing close guard.

They were only at the park an hour before Aubree had driven up and parked next to his truck. Molly was the first to spot her and immediately ran up to her giving her the first of many hugs. “Who’s that Kate? Is that Mommy?” Lucas pointed to the approaching mother and toddler paid and Kate’s smile only got bigger as she recongized Aubree’s presence and began excitedly kicking her feet in response. Lucas stood to his feet to greet her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “What is all this?” She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck in response. “This is your Mother’s Day picnic. Molly and I wanted to do something special for you.” Lucas smiled and he leaned down to kiss her.

“Everyday is special with you and the girls.” She replied, after the kiss broke. “We’ve had our ups, our downs, our good days and our bad days with these two but I would not change anything that we went through to wind up in this place with our two girls. If anyone asked me if I ever saw myself as a girl dad, I probably would have laughed, but now I can’t imagine anything different. I only hope and pray that they learn to be independent, strong, and fiesty warriors like you are.” Lucas told her and gave her one more kiss. 

“Happy Mother’s Day, babe.”

“Dad!” The oldest and only Dawson boy yelled in excitement as he ran from the parking lot into the firehouse, his backpack high on his back. “Hey buddy! How was school?” Lucas caught the body just in time before he knocked him over. “We went on our field trip to the Statue of Liberty today. It was so cool. We took the ferry over the Hudson and my hair blew in the wind like you see in the movies.” The boy wonder exclaimed and Lucas watched in admiration as he rambled on his trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island which was the original port of entry for many immigrants coming to America quite some time ago.

After Molly, the middle Dawson child and first daughter to the couple, had been born Lucas took a sabbitcal from the firehouse and joined headquarters in the Office of Fire Investigations, and remained there until their third child came into the world and was almost two years old. It was only when they were old enough to understand his schedule, and behave for Aubree on a basis where he had to be gone for twenty-four hours at a time, did he return to the firehouse. He had even begun the move to start testing for Batallion Chief so eh coudl run his own firehouse. Their son, definitely more mature than most boys his age, helped out with being the man of the house. Lucas zoned back into when he caught the boy gazing in admiration at the Squad truck. 

Upon returning from a call, Lucas rounded the corner of the common room of the firehouse towards the bunk area. As he made his journey, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling out the iPhone, he glanced down at it. 1 Missed Call - Aubree Carter flashed across the screen and a smile immediately came to his lips. Caught in a trance, he didn’t even notice his twin sister and paramedic in the same firehouse had joined him in his walk. “Carter...that detective chick?” Lauren questioned as the reason to her brother’s goofy grin. “Yeah.” He chuckled and he stowed his phone back in his pocket as they walked. 

“I like that girl for you. She’s got swagger...and that husky voice.” Lauren nodded her head, stuffing her hands in her pocket. The Dawson Twins were infamous for their nonmonagmous relationship history and low key fear of committment, however, Lucas had broken all his own rules by seeing only Aubree since they had met a month ago in his bar. In fact, he only hoped to keep breaking his own rules by making things official with her, the next time he saw her. "Are you going to call her back?” Lauren asked curiously and nosily like the typical sister in her brother’s business.

Lucas exited the bathroom shutting the light off behind him, as Aubree sat on her side of their king size bed applying lotion to her body and flipping through a magazine. ”Catching up on your celebrity gossip?” Lucas joked as he rounded the bed to his side and he plopped down on the bed, propping his back against the headboard and crossing one leg over the other. ”No, just reading my horoscope.” Aubree admitted and he shook his head, a grin still plastered on his face. ”You believe in all that…astrology stuff?” Lucas turned to her. ”Sometimes, it’s scary accurate. You want to hear yours?” Aubree perked up, turning to her husband. ”Sure, go for it. Taurus remember?” He winked, figuring that he’d give her and her horoscopes the benefit of the doubt for tonight.

”Taurus…Taurus…Taurus…” She thumbed through a few pages until she landed on the one regarding his sign. She set the magazine down in between them so that they could both glance at it, and read it. ”Stable and conservative, this is one of the most reliable signs of the zodiac, ready to endure and stick to their choices until they reach the point of personal satisfaction.” They were already off to a good start because those were two of Lucas’ promising characteristics. He provided stability for himself, for Aubree, for their girls, and when he wanted something, he saw to the end until he got what he wanted. ”Keep going, I’ll make you a believer.” Aubree chuckled, laying her own back against the headboard to listen to him read.

”When they create enough intimacy with a loved one, they become a bit gooey—“ Lucas paused and he looked over at his brunette wife. ”Am I gooey?” He chuckled. ”Like a warm chocolate chip cookie, babe.” She reached over and rested a hand on his cheek, stroking it softly before letting it fall so he could continue. ”For long-term relationships, they often choose people from the same social environment that are able to respond to their intellectual needs.” Lucas read, which seemed to prove true in his relationship with Aubree. They were both from the same social environment, hence they met in his bar that was designated for first responders of the like. Maybe, Lucas would become a believer in horoscopes after all.

What if you were still here?

THREE WEEKS PRIOR

"I let go of this beam, this whole thing is going to come crushing down. Go, Lauren. Take care of the patient."

"No! No! I'm not leaving you behind. Let one hand go, and come as far as you can--"

"That won't work."

"Then let me switch places with you, Luke. You have a wife and a baby on the way..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Knock, knock.” Lauren walked through the front door of the Dawson residence just like she did every time she visited since he and his wife had bought the house. She often made their home, a home of their own, and had pretty much adopted his wife as a sister of her own. The blonde Dawson twin crossed the threshold and into the kitchen where Lucas was sitting, his back to the door, and his newborn daughter curled up in his arms. He turned his head at the sight of his sister and held a finger over his lips, his goofy Dawson grin sitting on his face. “I finally just got her back to sleep.” He chuckled. 

Shortly after the incident, Aubree had gone into labor and a few hours later their daughter was welcomed into the world. “Holy crap, Luke. She’s beautiful. Aubree did a good job.” Lauren joked as she cooed over her new niece. “Yeah, she did. She was...is...a freaking rockstar.” Lucas smiled. “You want to hold her?” He asked, and she nodded her head excitedly before taking a seat on the stool next to him and holding out her arms. Lucas swiftly passed his daughter into the arms of his twin sister and watched as she embraced her new role as an aunt.

“Lucas, what are we doing here?” Aubree asked as they walked in the front door of Dawson’s Bar. It was date night and by the tone in her voice, he was sure the last place she wanted to be was at his bar where he occasionally tended bar at. “I’m not here to work if that’s what’s running through that pretty little head of yours back there.” Lucas led her by the hand to the other end of the bar, the empty end where there weren’t any patrons. “Well, I was thinking maybe of doing something different this date night,” Lucas told her and he took her behind the bar. “I’m going to give you a crash course in bartending.” He chuckled.

The look on her face was completely priceless. Their date nights usually consisted of a nice and childfree dinner out somewhere and then they’d return home to spend the night alone together in the peace and quiet. Aubree had watched him countless times tend bar and would sit on the other side, but now it was time for her to get her hands a little dirty and what better place than his own bar to do this at? 

The crash course in bartending had the couple making various mixed drinks, breaking bottles of liquor on the floor behind the bar which would send them into a fit of giggles, but by the end, she ended up a novice bartender without having to pay hundreds of dollars and spend countless hours in bartender classes. Lucas rounded the other side of the bar to where the patrons sat while she stayed behind it and he took a sip of one of the drinks that they had experimented with. “Note to self...those two liquors do not mix.” He pushed the drink to the side and he reached out to hold her hand in his. “Thank you.” 

“For what?” Aubree asked, cocking her head to the side. “For...so many things.” He mumbled. “For going along with my silly ideas, like this for one, and for being such an amazing wife.” He used his fingers to stroke her arm that he was holding onto. “What are you thinking?” Aubree asked, resting her head to the side, not taking her eyes off of him. “Just wondering how I got so lucky. How I got so lucky that five years ago, you decided to walk into this bar that started this whole crazy journey.” Lucas squeezed her arm before leaning in and meeting her in the middle for a kiss. In fact, Lucas felt like the luckiest guy in the world that she had decided to listen to her friends that night and take a night out.

“I love you.” 

Most people see you as just a city - just a city full of buildings, people, and smog. To me, you’re more than that and I’ll tell you why. You’re resilient. 19 years ago, our enemies came for us expecting us to crumble. They hit us where it hurts and yet while remembering those that we lost that day, we bounced back stronger than ever. The sun that rises and sets over the skyline, the scene that postcards were made for, reminds us that we’re here another day and we’re not going anywhere. No matter what we have faced, we’ve been able to come back from it. New Yorkers are a special type of American.

You gave me love, in more ways that one. What’s the chance in a city as big as we are that I find my one and only? Slim. But I did, and she’s been everything that I ever could have asked for in a soulmate. I found love in my two daughters. I only hope I can teach them to love you like I do. I hope they learn to love the noise of the city; the never-ending sirens, the honking of yellow taxi cab horns, subway screeching to a halt against the rails, and so on.

In you, I also found my family. Family isn’t always blood. Whilst my own blood family was falling apart, you provided solace through my letting me find a family in my brothers and sisters at the firehouse, you led me to my wife and allowed me to create my own family with her, and more importantly, you brought my brother to me. When my own sister was taken from me, you watched as it nearly destroyed me and knew I needed to hang on. I needed to hang on because I had a brother to look after now. 

I can’t wait to see what else you have in store for me, New York.

Yours,