Chapter Text
Buck stood outside of Becca’s group facility waiting for Mel to come out with her. He tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his feet. The door hadn’t even fully opened, and he heard Becca yell, “Cousin Buck!”
He couldn’t help but smile as he jogged over to meet her. He let her decide if she wanted a hug. He always tried to be aware that she might not. He was excited when she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. “I missed you, Becca.”
“I missed you.”
“What are we doing today?” Mel asked with a wide smile.
“Lunch!” Becca grabbed Buck’s hand and tugged him along. “Mrs. Bunmi will make us something special.”
“Thai it is,” Mel walked on the other side of Becca. “How was last night?”
“We watched You Got Mail. It was fun. F-O-X.” Becca said.
“Oh,” Mel looked over to Buck, “It’s one of our favorites. One day we’ll have to watch it all together.”
“Okay,” Becca nodded. She looked to Buck, “How is Chris?”
“He’s great,” Buck launched into an explanation as to what Chris was up to lately. He loved that Becca regularly asked to FaceTime with Chris. It started out with Chris humoring Buck. Then it turned into genuine conversations about the movies or anime they were watching. Both he and Eddie had gotten accustomed to hearing Becca laughing as Chris rambled on.
Mel liked talking to Eddie. He understood a lot of the terminology she used, and they debated the best practices in emergency medicine. She continuously mentioned getting Eddie and Dr. Abbott together. Buck had only met the man in passing. Literally. Dr. Abbott walked by one time when they were on the phone, and he shouted hello and threatened Buck in the same breath.
To have gone from someone without family to having a family in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, Buck counted himself lucky.
They walked to the Thai restaurant. As soon as they stepped inside, Becca and Mel were greeted with a cheerful yell, “Miss Becca! Dr. King!”
A tiny woman zipped around the counter and grasped Becca’s hands in hers. She nodded to Mel. Obviously, she knew the King sisters well.
Melissa chuckled, “You can call me, Mel. Everyone else does.”
“Nonsense, you are a doctor. We respect titles. Now, who is this?”
“It’s Cousin Buck!” Becca smiled. “He’s visiting from Los Angeles. He’s a firefighter.”
“Hello, Cousin Buck,” She reached out and repeated the gesture with Buck. Her grip was firm. “I am Suda. How long are you here for?”
“Just a week,” Buck answered as she ushered them towards a table. She was already getting glasses of water ready for the table. “I hope next time I can get them over to Los Angeles. Everyone wants to meet them in person instead of over FaceTime.”
“Then you should go,” Suda said pointedly to Mel. “A break will do you good.”
“I have a few days off while Buck is here,” Mel chuckled. “We’re going to go out with my friends. I think Trinity is already planning on bringing you out to her favorite club. She drags Dennis there whenever she can.”
“They seem like good friends,” Buck took a sip of the water.
“Oh, they’re more like brother and sister,” Mel smirked. “He normally keeps to himself around new people. He seemed comfortable around you last night.”
“Dennis likes boys,” Becca said.
Mel turned to face Becca, “We talked about this, Becca. Dennis tells who he trusts with that information.”
“Oh,” Becca looked down at the table. “I just thought he might like Buck.”
Buck’s mouth dropped open. When Mel warned him a few weeks ago that Becca was fixated on people finding a partner, he didn’t think she’d be so forward with it.
“Well, he did seem comfortable. I tend to have that effect on people. He was easy to talk to.” Buck tried to placate Becca.
“Would you date him?” Becca asked.
Mel mouthed sorry to him.
“I would have to get to know any potential partner before making that decision,” Buck answered.
Becca nodded resolutely. It reminded him immediately of Maddie. He had a feeling Becca was already making plans. “So, tell me more about what you have been doing at the center?”
He listened and ate while Becca painstakingly detailed what she had been doing since they last spoke on the phone. They had started a manga book club at the center. There were only three people in it, but Becca was excited she had friends reading with her. Buck would have to make a point of reading it with her, too.
Once they were finished, they dropped Becca back off. Mel quietly walked beside him. She hummed happily to herself as they walked.
“What’s on the books for the rest of the day?” Buck asked.
“Oh, I hadn’t planned anything. I thought we would take today easy. Tomorrow night is when Trinity wants to go out. You will definitely want to conserve energy for that.” Mel tucked her hands in her pockets.
“Well, in that case, I think an afternoon of baking may be in order. We can drop them off in the morning,” Buck offered.
“They would love that,” Mel nodded. “We should make some for the night shift, too. Dr. Abbott doesn’t like to admit it, but he has quite the sweet tooth.”
Buck chuckled, “I think a lot of people don’t like to admit that they have a sweet tooth.”
“I hope the extent of my help is getting ingredients out of the cupboard and measuring for you. I am not good at baking,” Mel admitted sheepishly.
“Oh,” Buck waved her concern off, “You don’t have to be good at everything, Mel. You find what makes you happy.”
“I like that,” Mel nodded. “Okay, well, do you think I have everything at home?”
“Yes,” Buck answered, “Because I had already planned on this and bought everything I would need during my shopping trip.”
“Good, because grocery stores at this time of day are a bit overwhelming. Also, there are so many germs on everything.” Mel tucked her hands behind her back as they walked. “I’m sure you already knew that. It’s just something that has always bothered me.”
“It makes sense,” Buck shrugged off her worries. “All that matters is we have a clean kitchen -”
“Which we do,” Mel said.
“And we cook everything to temperature,” Buck smiled. He loved the little quirks Mel and Becca both had. It made him feel slightly better about his own. His need to word vomit about everything that had been on his mind, or the newest subject that had his brain spiraling down a rabbit hole. He had a bit of a stutter when he got flustered. He noticed that Mel and Becca did as well. The only one who appeared to escape that family trait was Maddie.
Buck enjoyed baking with Mel. She focused so much on the measurements that there were moments she reminded him of Chris when he first started learning how to cook and bake. She got the same little furrow between her eyebrows. He waited patiently for her to hand over the measuring cups and ingredients. It had always been important to her to be a part of Buck’s life. She never wanted to stop learning, and this was just a new subject for her.
“You know,” Mel started speaking, “Baking has been proven to be a wonderful stress reliever for people. There’s something in the chemical reactions of the ingredients, the smell that different items make, that reduces cortisol levels.”
“You know why I started baking?” Buck asked.
“Because of Temu,” Mel smacked a hand over her mouth. It took a minute to register, but it sent Buck into peals of laughter. “Oh, I am so sorry. That’s what Trinity called him. I know I shouldn’t have said anything, but you were so sad. I wanted to find a way to help you.”
“No, don't apologize. I’m sending that to Eddie right now,” Buck pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Eddie. His phone started ringing immediately. Buck answered it on speaker, and Eddie’s full-bellied laughter spread through the kitchen. Mel’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“Dios mio,” Eddie managed to get out, “That is the best thing I’ve heard all with, Mel.”
“Oh,” Mel’s lips quirked up into a tiny smile.
“You’re right,” Eddie continued. “He was the Temu version of what Buck deserves in a partner.”
“Well,” Mel shyly admitted, “It wasn’t me who came up with the nickname. It was Trinity. She’s come up with them for everyone. Dennis is Huckleberry. Dr. Robby is Zaddy. Dr. Abbot is Silver Fox. Then you’ve got me, whose nickname changes every day. The last one was Mel-ancholy. It was a bad day.”
“I need to meet her,” Eddie settled down. “What are you two doing today?”
“We had lunch with Becca. Now, we are baking for the day and night shift,” Buck explained.
“Yes! They are going to love everything. The Buckley cookies were always my favorite. Then we’re doing mini loaves of cranberry bread, lemon, and what’s the last one?”
“Banana, since yours were going bad,” Buck answered.
“Well, Chris is going to be jealous. I’ll leave you to it. Tell Becca we said hello. I think Chris will try to FaceTime in for book club.”
“Bye, Eddie,” Mel and Buck said at the same time.
They worked together seamlessly for the next couple of hours. As they waited for things to finish baking, they cleaned all the used dishes. Once that was done, they sat on the countertop chatting about work.
“We had a really bad fire before I got here,” Buck admitted softly. “We, I, tried so hard. I searched well past when I should have. Eddie was livid with me when I finally came out of the fire. I couldn’t stop looking.”
“Were they children?” Mel asked softly.
Buck shook his head, “It was an older couple. They had lived in that house for fifty years.”
“Do you think that maybe they didn’t want to be found?” Mel asked.
“Fire is not how you want to die,” Buck shook his head. “You know that. We were just too late to find them.”
“It’s hard sometimes,” Mel admitted. She kept her eyes averted when she spoke. “Everyone at work tends to brush the losses off. It’s all part of the job. But for me, it is a lot more difficult. There are three words I hate saying at work, but I have to.”
Buck leaned over and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He tugged her tightly against his side.
“I try to learn from every death,” Mel spoke softly, “I try to do better with every patient. Sometimes, there isn’t anything I can do.”
Buck looked down at Mel, who was already looking up at him, “And you know you can’t save every person in a fire. It doesn’t make sense, but saving every life we come across isn’t what we’re made for. It’s not our decision.”
“It’s hard,” Buck rested his cheek against the crown of her head. “What were the three words, Mel?”
“Time of death.”
The oven timer went off. It cut their conversation off. Buck set everything at their cooling stations. Mel wordlessly gathered the containers they’d eventually put everything in.
“Thank you,” Mel finally broke the silence between them.
“For what?” Buck asked.
“Listening,” Mel sent him an awkward smile. “It’s nice being able to talk to someone who understands, but isn’t at The Pitt.”
“Always,” Buck nodded.
They worked together to box things up in the mixed-matched storage containers. They stacked them up in reusable shopping bags. That was one thing about Mel that he took back with him to Los Angeles. He got better at using reusable items and was more aware of the waste he created. She had a thing about the practicality and how they should do their part to protect the places they lived.
“Okay,” Buck gripped the handles of all bags, “Ready drop off the goods so I can make a good impression on all your friends?”
“They already like you, Buck,” Mel smiled at him. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to,” Buck shrugged his shoulders, “It’s nice to do things for people other than the firehouse.”
Mel controlled the music in the car. Today it was Cardi B, as they drove through the busy streets of Pittsburgh. She parked in the doctor's lot. They headed directly to the emergency room. She slipped between patients in the waiting room as if she had done it a million times. Lupe and security saw her and buzzed them through. She made a point to stop in with Lupe first.
“Mel, what are you doing here on your day off?” Lupe asked.
“We brought treats,” Mel nodded towards the bags. “I wanted to be sure you got something. We’ve got cookies and a few different loaf cakes.”
“You made these?” Lupe asked in surprise.
“No, Buck did. I only helped with measurements,” Mel’s cheeks flushed. “The cookies are a Buckley family recipe. I would suggest those first.”
“Well,” Lupe reached into the cabinet behind her and pulled out a couple of paper towels. “I’ll take one.”
Buck got it out for her before they were ushered through to the main hub. There were a few curious looks at the bags they were carrying, but it wasn’t until Trinity yelled, “Fire Cowboy! What do you have there?”
Several heads turned towards Mel and Buck, curious about who had been graced with Trinity’s newest nickname.
“We have treats!” Mel said excitedly. “One bag is expressly for the night shift.”
Samira tried to hide it, but her face said she knew exactly how well Mel could bake treats. Before anyone said anything, Buck stepped in, “I made everything. I thought it would be nice to do since I’m stealing her for a few days.”
“Everyone deserves a break,” Dr. Robby said. “But we always appreciate a treat.”
“Well, there are cookies and loaf cakes packaged up. We tied this bag because it’s for the night shift.” Buck explained.
“And I will keep an eye on it,” a raspy voice said from behind Buck. He spun around and glanced down at the name badge. Dr. Abbot. The doctor was forced to tilt his head slightly to meet Buck’s gaze. “So you’re the cousin?”
Buck held out a hand, “Evan Buckley, everyone calls me Buck.”
“Except Trinity,” Mel pointed out.
“Why’s it Fire Cowboy?” Dr. Abbot asked as he took the bag from Buck’s hands.
“He’s a firefighter in Los Angeles,” Trinity answered with a grin, “He also has an interesting past. Saw the video of you with the firetruck pinning your leg. I’m surprised you have a normal walking gate.”
“Jeez, did you like, do a FBI-level Google dive on me?” Buck sputtered.
“Gotta make sure you’re legit,” Trinity shrugged her shoulders without an ounce of shame.
“A firetruck?” Dr. Abbot asked.
“Yeah,” Buck scratched the back of his neck. “Years ago now, and I do still have chronic pain and issues from it, but I had an excellent surgeon.”
“We are the best,” Dr. Garcia popped into the conversation, “I heard there was free food.”
“Huh,” Dr. Abbot looked at Buck as if he were trying to figure him out.
“So, where should we put these?” Buck asked, cutting the conversation off.
“Oh, the breakroom,” Mel shook her head as if she were clearing the million thoughts zipping through her mind. “Follow me, I’ll show you.”
“I’ll show you the video,” Trinity whispered to Dr. Abbot as Buck and Mel headed towards the breakroom.
Dennis was sitting, sipping on a hot coffee. He nearly jumped up when they stepped inside, “Hey. What are you guys doing here?”
Mel pointed to the bags in Buck’s hands, “We have treats! There’s lemon loaf!”
“Homemade?” Dennis stood up to help unload the bags.
“All Buck’s baking,” Mel reassured them. “But yes. I wanted to be sure you got one. It’s your favorite, right?”
Buck’s head shot up and looked over to Dennis. He was currently blushing, but his hand had already snagged a mini loaf. They definitely were his favorite. Buck was going to file that away for future reference.
“Absolutely,” Dennis nodded.
“Take a cookie too,” Mel popped open the container and grabbed one with a napkin to hand to Dennis, “They are mine and Becca’s favorites. It’s a family recipe.”
“Are we still on for tomorrow?” Dennis asked.
“Yeah, as long as Buck feels like joining us,” Mel looked over to Buck.
“It’ll be fun,” Buck nodded. “I can drive people home after.”
“Not much of a drinker?” Dennis asked.
“Not in new places,” Buck answered honestly.
Dennis took a bite of the lemon loaf. His eyes immediately closed as he savored the taste bursting across his tongue. Buck watched him closely. The sweet smile, the little hum of appreciation. It was a massive compliment.
“It tastes,” Dennis’s eyes fluttered open with tears in his eyes, “Just like how my grandma used to make it. I haven’t had it in years.”
Buck blinked, and then he had an armful of Dennis Whitaker. He knew food could cause visceral reactions in people, but this was unexpected. Buck held Dennis as tightly as Dennis was holding him. Clearly, this was something he needed. Buck wasn’t going to take that away.
“Uh, what the fuck?” Trinity snapped. “Why is Huckleberry crying?”
“The lemon loaf,” Dennis backed away from Buck, “And I’m not crying. It just really reminded me of my grandma. It was a good memory. Sorry about latching onto you like that. I haven’t felt close to her in a long time. It put me right back in the kitchen with her, zesting lemons.”
“Damn,” Trinity moved to grab a cookie and moaned around it. “Okay, Fire Cowboy, I may need to rethink your nickname. Also, Dr. Abbot is impressed with your badassery. He thinks you’re ex-military for some reason.”
“He is,” Mel answered before Buck could.
“Short career,” Buck pinned Mel with a look, “Medical discharge.”
Trinity’s eyes bounced between Mel and Buck, waiting for further explanation, but she wasn’t going to get one. “Okay, well, Daddy approves of Mel’s cousin, so you can stick around.”
Dennis choked, “Trin, you have to cut it out.”
“Afraid you’re going to slip?” Trinity teased.
“No, because I’m not interested,” Dennis grumbled.
“Well,” Mel pressed her hands together, “I guess we should head out. We wanted to give you guys a surprise, and it looks like it’s a well-received one.”
“Thank you,” Dennis smiled shyly at them, “This was wonderful.”
“If you have requests for pregame snacks, text me, and I’ll put something together,” Buck offered.
“For sure,” Dennis nodded. “What are you up to for the rest of the evening?”
Buck looked over towards Mel for an answer.
“Take out and bad television,” Mel grinned. “Tomorrow we may go out to see the sights. Thursday night we’re going to the Pens game.”
“Oh, that’s going to be a blast,” Trinity grimaced.
“I have earplugs,” Mel answered, “And I like hockey.”
“Hopefully they’ll throw hands. That’s the best part,” Trinity smirked and leaned over towards Buck, “It’s the boy aquarium, that’s why she likes it.”
“They are conventionally attractive,” Mel shrugged her shoulders. Buck chuckled at her shameless honesty. “We should go before Dr. Robby comes in here looking for you two. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep,” Dennis and Trinity both said.
Buck knocked shoulders with Mel and grinned, “I think your co-workers like me.”
“I know they do,” Mel smiled. “It makes me happy. Hopefully, they don’t scare you off tomorrow night. When Trinity comes along, she has a way of bringing, as Samira says, the shenanigans out of people.”