[ I back tracked and wrote a new final chapter for The Alchemy if you want to go read that as well ]

☆︎

HER GIRLFRIEND DIED?

RIO RODE IN THE BACK OF TYLER'S TRUCK TO THE MOTEL WHERE HIS CREW WAS STAYING. Given that hers was destroyed and she didn't quite like the idea of staying with Javi right now, she accepted Lily and Dani's offer to sleep in their shared room. But she couldn't just shower and go to bed like she wanted.

No, Boone and Tyler both were fussing over her injured side, refusing to let her just leave it be. So, the whole crew was hanging out in the parking lot, just talking and soaking in the fact that the three of them could've died while Tyler — who had the most medical training of them — worked on Rio's side in the bed of the truck while Boone held her hand when it stung and burned.

"It was insane," Boone reported to Ben. "A truck flipped and almost crushed us!"

Rio flinched from the memory instead of Tyler this time. And Boone smiled apologetically at her.

"Oh, but Ben, Rio and Kate was the heroes," Boone went on. "Kate found that pool for us, and then when I just about went flyin', Rio grabbed ahold of me even though she coulda been dragged off too. She was fearless."

"I wouldn't say fearless," she breathed out. "That's the second scariest situation I've ever been in."

"How the hell wasn't that the worst?" Tyler asked her, raising an eyebrow. Even he was terrified of dying, and he was rarely scared of tornados anymore given his frequent exposure to them.

Rather than answer, Rio just swallowed thickly and shrugged, keeping silent. And ever so good at rolling past awkward silences, Boone just kept things moving with the conversation.

"Well, scared or not, she helped save my life," he said, looking at her with stars in his eyes. Then he smirked. "I figure I'm in love with you now."

Rio blushed but knew he wasn't being serious. He could've have been. "If that's right, tell me what my last name is," she grinned.

She watched how Boone's face fell, him realizing he still didn't know such a bare minimum basic fact about her, which made the others snicker. But then he shook his head and grinned again. "Don't matter. It's gone be mine soon enough."

Rio just threw her head back and laughed at that before shaking her head. "Yeah, well, good luck with—"

"Caldas," Dexter suddenly cut her off.

She whipped around and looked at him with wide eyes, wondering how the hell he knew that. She instantly grew uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze.

"That her last name?" Boone asked, beaming, unable to read the uncomfortable tension between Dexter and Rio all of the sudden.

"I think I'm gone go to bed," Rio muttered, standing up. Only for Dexter to keep talking, pushing his glasses up his face.

"It is Rio Caldas, isn't it? And Kate Carter?" he asked, Tyler now perking up at the mention of Kate. "You're that Rio and Kate and Javier."

Rio bit her lip, hating how everyone was looking at her. And she hated that Ben scribbled down the names. But she swallowed thickly and just nodded.

"Yeah, we're that Rio and Kate and Javi," she mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked her, sipping on her beer.

Dexter at least had the decency not to tell them even though he'd basically done it already. All eyes were on Rio, who kept her eyes down.

"Couple of years ago, we were working on an experiment in Oklahoma doing with tornadoes with some friends of ours. Though it was gonna be an EF 1. It wasn't. Javi didn't go close to the storm, but we did. Kate and I were the only ones to make it," she said stiffly, leaving out as many details as she could.

"Shit," Dani whispered, her eyes wide.

The only one Rio spared a glance at was Tyler, who looked crushed for her and Kate. And their argument with Javi, which he'd overheard, made a lot more sense now.

Silence fell over the group, none of them really knowing what to say. So, Rio broke the silence by clearing her room.

"I'm, uh, I'm gonna get some rest. You all should too," she said, hopping out of the back of the truck. Lily nodded and handed her the key to the room. "Room 57, right?"

"Yeah," she said as Rio left quickly. It left the crew all alone, them sharing shocked looks. "Wow."

"How many of 'em died?" Dani asked Dexter now that Rio was out of earshot.

"Three of them." It was Ben who answered. He had the articles already pulled up on his phone. "A, um, two young men and a young woman. It says here that - that Jeb Matthews was, at the time, in a relationship with Kate. And Addison Wilson in one with Rio."

"Her girlfriend died?" Boone asked, his heart breaking for Rio. He couldn't imagine going through something like that and moving on from it. Then again, Rio hadn't exactly been moving on at a fast pace.

"Dex," Tyler said, a frown on his face. "You probably shouldn't have told us all that."

"I'm sorry," he said, meaning it. "But I wasn't thinking. I just now put their names together."

"Don't y'all bring it up around her no more," Boone said, wanting to do everything to make sure Rio was comfortable around them even though they knew now.

"Hey, you know we won't," Lily promised.

"Alright," Tyler said, patting Boone on the back. "We'd better get some rest like Rio said. Big day tomorrow."

☆︎

When Rio woke the next morning on the couch in the motel, she wasn't really sure what she was meant to do. Kate was gone, and Javi was... well, she didn't know about Javi. But they certainly weren't the storm chasing trio they'd started out as at the beginning of the week.

Was she meant to just hop in her Jeep and drive back to Texas? The thought of doing so made her sad for some reason.

Thankfully, Lily and Dani came to the rescue, asking her if she wanted to stay with their crew for the day. They needed a Tyler replacement anyhow.

He'd gone in the night, no explanation other than that he was going after Kate. Boone hadn't been happy to wake up to that text. If he'd have dramatically chased after Rio after she ran off, he'd at least have the decency to bring his best friend along.

Now, Rio was sitting at a big table in the diner of the gas station, surrounded by the crew while eating breakfast, getting ready for the day. The Doppler said there'd be a storm in a few hours, and it was likely to be strong — though not as strong as the one last night, thankfully.

Unfortunately, all of the clothes Rio packed were blown away in the storm, but Lily was kind enough to lend her a sweatshirt and some shorts to wear.

Much to Rio's joy, Boone had his camera out — a regular one, not the nice one he used to shoot videos with. He was just taking photos of his friends having a fun morning, and Ben, who was a photographer himself, noted that more often than not, Boone's lens was pointing at Rio when she wasn't paying attention to him.

"I can't believe you," Dexter was saying, narrowing his eyes at Rio. "Who doesn't put syrup on their pancakes? They aren't even good without syrup."

Rio rolled her eyes and took another bite of her pancakes. "It's just like sweet bread, Dex. Sweet bread literally can't taste bad. The syrup makes it too sweet."

"There's somethin' wrong with you," Boone said, shaking his head.

It made Rio scoff as she put her hand to her chest. "I thought we had somethin' special, Boone."

"We do?" he asked, perking up a bit.

It made her laugh as she focused back on her food, now digging into the hashbrowns.

"So, you reckon Tyler's reached Sapulpa by now?" Dani questioned.

"Nah. I'd have received a flabbergasted text from Kate if so," Rio claimed. "And then we'd make fun of his stalker behavior together."

"He ain't a stalker," Boone said, coming to Tyler's defense as always.

"Well, I didn't see Rio giving him Kate's address," Dexter said, sipping his coffee. "So, one point for the stalker accusation."

Then Lily checked her watch and sat a bit straighter, her mouth still full of chewed up bacon. "Guys, let's get the gear ready."

"I'm still eatin'," Boone complained.

"Me too. I'll stay with him," Rio offered since she still had stuff on her plate.

The four others all had little, secret smiles on their faces which Rio and Boone chose to ignore as they were left alone. It was silent for a moment, both just finishing their breakfast, but then Rio heard the camera shutter click and looked up with a smile, seeing Boone take another picture of her. And when she smiled, he took another.

"Let me see it," she requested, pushing her mostly empty plates to the side.

He grinned and moved to the other side of the booth, sliding up close to her until their shoulders were touching. Then he showed her the small screen on his camera, clicking through the pictures from breakfast. There were ones of Lily flicking sugar packets at Ben and one of Dani and Dexter picking off of each other's plates, accustomed to sharing meals, knowing what the other wanted and didn't want.

But more than anything, there were pictures of her. Rio smiling at something Lily was saying, her excited eyes as she talked about her research with Ben, the early morning sun hitting her face through the windows of the diner.

And Boone was blushing as more and more pictures of Rio were shown on the screen. But she didn't want to make him feel even more embarrassed, so she just smiled sweetly.

"These are amazing, Boone," she said softly. "Can I get a copy of me lookin' out the window?"

"Of course," he said. "Can, um, can I get your number? I'll send it to you when I'm back at my computer."

Rio felt giddy as she nodded, taking his phone to enter her number. And Boone was on cloud nine, considering it his biggest success in life that he got her phone number.

"You know, I'm heading back to Texas in a few days," she said, bringing him down from his high. "Maybe you could use that for more than just sending photographs."

He smiled sadly, wishing more than anything that she hadn't reminded him that she was leaving. But then again, he'd be leaving too. It wasn't like he was from Oklahoma either. He went where the storms did.

"Oh, you know I will. You'll be tired of me double textin', Sweetheart," he admitted.

"Hmm, I don't know what I like more," she said, resting her hand on her palm as she leaned her elbow on the table, gazing at him with a smile. "Darlin' or Sweetheart."

What she liked best was how he blushed.

So, she kept going, leaning closer. "And what was that during the storm last night? Baby?"

"Yeah," he murmured, eyes falling on her lips. "But you can't blame me for wantin' someone like you to be my baby."

Though her cheeks were heating up, she just raised an eyebrow, pretending to be unaffected. "Is that you asking—"

"Rio?"

It was Javi who interrupted, having come into the diner to get a biscuit only to see Rio and Boone leaning in close in the nearly-empty restaurant.

Rio held her breath and straightened up, looking at Javi over Boone's shoulder. "Mornin', Javi."

"Can we talk?" he asked, his eyes wide and pleading. "About last night?"

Maybe Rio was frustrated at him, but he was still Javi. He was still the closest she'd ever had to a brother, so she found herself nodding.

"I'll be out in a bit," Rio said quietly to Boone, who nodded while grabbing his camera. And before he could walk off, she moved in, kissing him on the cheek. "And I don't mind being called baby as long as you're the one saying it."

Boone just grinned and made his way outside, making sure he was out of her sight before he pumped his fist in the air excitedly, which all his friends saw and laughed at.

Meanwhile, Javi slid into Boone's previous seat, an apologetic look on his face. "You, uh, you heard from Kate?"

"She's home," Rio told him softly. "I think she needs a few more days before you reach out."

"I get it," he said. "I was an ass."

"Yup," she agreed simply, not having anything else to add. He'd surmised the situation well.

"Can you forgive me? Even if she doesn't?" he asked, a desperate look in his eyes.

And Rio caved as she always did, just like he'd cave if she were asking forgiveness. "Of course," she said softly. "But I ain't happy with what you're doing with Riggs. I gotta be clear on that. Five years ago, you'd have never been a corporate sell out."

"I—" Javi cut himself off, knowing there was no explanation for what he was doing. "I know. I figure you're not eager to chase with Storm PAR anymore."

"Not exactly."

"Is this it? You're just here to pick up your Jeep and head back to Texas?" he asked her sadly, thinking about her car that had been parked for two and a half days now.

Rio looked down at her hands uncomfortably. "No, not yet. I'm... gonna rock it with Boone and his crew for a day or two."

Javi let out a scoff, not impressed. "Wow. I musta really fucked up if I drove you to chase with that idiot. Especially when I don't see Owens around."

Now Rio was glaring at Javi. "Boone ain't stupid, Javi," she said in a hard voice, defending the man. "He knows more about storms than the both of us, so don't knock him just because he didn't go to college."

"You're right," he said, putting his hands up innocently. "But you gotta get why I don't like them."

"And you gotta get why they don't like you. They're not the ones helping take advantage of all these people. They're working hard to combat against the bad you're doing by helping Riggs," she said before getting up, grabbing her cup of coffee as she did. Rio cast one more sad look at her friend before leaving. "And if you keep this up, you're gonna be just as bad as Riggs himself."