Chapter Text
Buck must have been out on the porch for almost an hour when his phone began to ring. He took it out of his pocket hoping it wouldn’t be the 118. LAFD Headquarters. Shit shit shit. He had walked out of his shift without a word after just getting his job back. He was so fired. Guess that doesn’t really matter much now anyway.
“Hello, this is Evan Buckley speaking.” Buck answered with his professional voice he hardly ever uses.
“Firefigher Buckley, I am glad you answered." Chief Allozo said on the other side of the line. Shit this must be bad. “I heard from your Captain that you had walked out on your shift and had not been answering calls. I thought that was weird given you worked so hard to get this job back. So, tell me Buckley, why?” There was no room for arguing in his tone.
“Sir I assure you there is a very good reason for it.” Buck answered back. How the fuck does he explain this?
“Well, get on with it Firefighter."
“Right, sorry sir.” Buck took a deep breath. “I got a call yesterday that I have a daughter I had no idea about and that her mother had died in an accident. She is eight and living in Montana so I came here as soon as I could. I was on shift when I got the call and I kind of just left so I could get to her as soon as I could.” Buck felt really awkward explaining this to the Chief.
There was a long silence on the other line. Buck had to make sure he hadn’t accidently hung up on the man. “Sir?”
“Sorry Buck, that was just- are you serious? Buck, I swear the most crazy and unbelievable things happen to you.” Buck must have really surprised the Chief if the man dropped the formalities.
“I am being 100% serious sir. Trust me it was a shock to me too.” Buck laughed to himself a little at the sheer craziness of the situation. Only him.
“Well Buckley, you really keep us on our toes that's for sure.” No shit sir, Buck wanted to say but he, for obvious reasons, did not. “I’ll be sure to excuse you for the next couple days from duty. Just be sure to send, well I guess some sort of proof, but honestly son, I have no idea what form that would be.”
“Me and you both.” Buck was surprised at how easily the Chief accepted everything. “I actually meant to call headquarters.” Buck paused before he continued. “I have decided to move to Montana to be with my daughter. Her life is here and I don’t want to rip her away from everything she knows after everything that has happened.”
“Buckley, are you sure? You just got back to the 118. I know how hard you fought and for good reason given you should have been reinstated as soon as your doctors said so.” There was clear concern in the Chief’s voice. Buck had no idea what the Chief had thought about the lawsuit, but he had assumed it would have been the same as the 118. It was a bit of a shock to hear someone on his side.
“I am sure Chief. She is my kid and I am not going to miss out on any more of her life.” Buck hesitated before the next part. “If I am honest, the 118 hasn’t been home in a long time. The lawsuit solidified that.”
“Buckley, you deserve your spot on that team, you are one of our best firefighters.”
“I haven’t been a firefighter since that truck landed on my leg.” Buck said defeated.
“Son, what do you mean? You have been back for a month. You-”
“I haven’t been back in the field.” Buck interrupted. He decided he might as well tell the chief since he had no plans on letting the 118 back into his life so might as well, right? “Captain Nash has kept me as man behind. His house, his rules. Honestly Chief, it was just a matter of time before I left.”
“Buckley,” The Chief sounded defeated. “I will accept your resignation. But if there is anything you might need, please let me know. A letter of recommendation. Even if you need some advice. Please reach out. I will be sure to handle all the stuff regarding your resignation and keep you updated.”
“Doesn’t the captain usually handle that?” Buck asked, confused.
“Captain Nash will not be handling anything close to hiring, firing, or resignations for the foreseeable future.” The chief said with no argument in his tone. Shit, Buck had really done it now. “Another thing, if you need me to get someone to pack up your things at the station, I can do that or if you plan to come back to do it yourself, please let me know that way I can make sure there is someone with you. I fear this might not be very pleasant."
“Chief you really don't-”
“I insist, Captain Nash has done enough, and I know if I was you that I would not want to be in that station either. So please let me know and if you decide to go and I will accompany you personally. I already plan to make a trip there to have a very important discussion with certain members of that team.”
Shit shit shit. That is not where Buck thought that was going. “Yea- Yeah, I’ll let you know what I decided and when.”
Just then Harper and Danny were walking towards him from the barn. Danny was almost running. “Chief, I have to go. Please keep me updated on everything and if I need to sign anything.”
“Sure thing Buckley.” With that Buck hung up.
Danny sprinted up the steps ahead of her aunt and came to a stop right in front of Buck. He smiled at her. She really was amazing to him. “Hi,” she said quietly. “I am done with my chores for right now. Can I ask you some questions now?” She was clearly nervous which hurt Buck's heart a little if he was being honest.
Before Buck could answer Harper spoke. “Danny I am sure he would love to but we have to do some adult things right now.”
Danny gave her aunt an unimpressed glare. “You are barely an adult Aunt Harp.” She sassed.
“Doesn’t change that we need to do stuff that adults do.” Harper argued back. It reminded Buck more of sisters fighting than an aunt and niece, but he guessed it made sense given their age gap was about the same as his and Maddie's.
“Fineeee.” Danny whined. “But he is my dad, so I get him the rest of the day after that…stuff.” She said waving her hands around on that last part. Buck could barely process that though because that was the first time Danny had called him dad. It hadn't been directly at him but still. His kid calling him a dad was a lot more shocking than everyone else just saying it. It really hit him then. Before he could say anything, Danny went into the house, yelling something to John about the barn cat getting into the office again.
Buck was pulled from his trance with a sharp jab in the side from Harper. “Ow. Dude, not cool.” Buck whined, not unlike his daughter had just minutes before.
“Shut up, we have to talk about things like custody and funerals. Fun.” Harper said in a sarcastic tone. That brought Buck back to reality. Danny and Harper had lost two people in their lives who had been important to them. And he was the one that they looked to for help. He had to do this for them.
“Right, yeah. Lead the way.”
***
Buck and Harper had been sitting in her grandad’s old office for the past hour sorting through paperwork and calling the funeral home. Planning the funeral for Macy and Mr. Blackwell was weird for Buck. He had only known them both for a year, years ago, and now he was helping on making decisions for the headstones for them. Buck and Harper had yet to discuss custody which Buck assumed was because Harper was putting it off in fear.
“Harper you know I am not taking her away from you right?” Buck said as they looked through the catalog of flowers they had to choose from by the end of the day.
Harper looked up at him and looked taken aback. “Evan- she-”
Buck turned his chair, so he was directly facing Harper. “She is your family. I am not taking that from you or her.”
“But- she is your kid.” Harper had tears in her eyes. “I can’t be her parent Evan, I don't-”
“I never said I was going to leave either. You are both stuck with me now.” He gave her a look that he hoped showed that he was in this 100%.
“But what about your life in L.A.? Your job? I can’t ask you to leave all that, I-” she was crying and clearly panicking a little now. Buck pulled her into his arms. She reminded him of when she was little now. He could see how scared she really was.
“Harper I already called and put in my resignation. You and Danny are my family now. I am not going anywhere." He tried to comfort her.
“I- I don’t know what to say. When I called you, I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen. I was just scared and I- I knew you would help. That you needed to know about Danny.” She was calming down now. “Wait, you quit your job before even talking to me about it? What if I was fine with Danny going to L.A. What then?”
Buck let out a small laugh. “Harps, the second I found out what happened I knew I couldn’t take her away from here. I also knew that I couldn’t stay in L.A.” Buck took a breath before he continued. “There is not much that would make me stay in L.A. right now anyways. Only my sister, who I can visit anytime.” Harper opened her mouth to argue. “Before you start,” Buck said. “She already knows and agrees with me. I am staying here.”
Harper just hugged him again and didn’t let go for a long time. The worry she must have been holding onto slipped away.
***
For the past three hours Buck had been answering every question Danny had for him. So far it had ranged from “what was the best story he had from his travels” (Buck had to think of a PG one for that one) to “what was his opinion on if a hot dog was a sandwich”. That last question, reminding him a bit of Christopher, which sent a pang of sadness through him. But he really enjoyed talking to Danny. She had gotten more comfortable the more they talked, less quiet. He could still barely believe she was real. He had a kid that was right in front of him and real.
It was nearing Danny’s bedtime by the time she started to run out of questions. She was starting to slump against the side of the porch swing they were sitting on.
“Did you ever want a kid?” Danny asked in a too small voice. Buck was struck by the question. It was clear that she had been wanting to ask something all day, but this is not what he expected. “I get it if you didn’t, mom never did-”
“I have always wanted kids.” He answered honestly, hoping to ease some of the anxiety now radiating off of her. At that she untensed a little. She seemed like she wanted to ask more but couldn’t. “You know if I had known about you, I would have been here. I know that you don’t really know me but you can trust I’ll always be here for you. I am not leaving” At that Danny wrapped her arms around her dad and buried her face in his side. Buck was once again shocked at how easily she sought comfort from him with how little they knew about each other. Still, he held her tight not wanting to let her go.
Harper stepped out the front door then. When she saw the pair, a small smile came across her face. Buck and Harper had worked on planning the funerals and all the legal things related to Harper and the Ranch all morning. It had been a lot for Buck; he couldn’t imagine how it had affected Harper. Buck motioned for her to join them.
Harper sat down on Buck's other side and leaned into him with just as much ease as her niece. The trio sat there in silence for a while, taking everything in.
“We need a vacation.” Harper said in a tired voice. Buck could help but want to laugh at the sudden proclamation. Danny giggled too. “I’m serious. After the funerals on Tuesday, we need to go somewhere.”
Buck sat there before answering. “We could go to L.A.” Buck offered. “I was planning on getting all my stuff packed and settled somehow from here, but I guess we could go and I could handle some of it in person. We could so see some of the sights like-”
Danny sat straight up. “You’re staying?” she asked timidly. Like she was scared he would say no. Buck then realized no one had told Danny his decision yet.
“I want to. I meant it when I said I was going to be here for you. I can’t exactly do that from over 1000 miles away.” Buck said to his daughter. She just kept that look on her face like she couldn’t believe what he had just said.
“Really?” she asked. Buck just nodded back and the little girl hugged him tight. “I think we should go to L.A. for vacation.” She said with a matter-of-fact tone.
“I agree.” Harper said on the other side of Buck. “While Buckle is working on adult things we can go do all the touristy things like the Hollywood walk of fame and- WAIT CAN WE GO TO DISNEY?!” Harper basically shouted. And at that Danny shot up too. They both looked at Buck expectedly.
Buck was still a little shocked by the fact they seemed to be asking him for permission. “Yeah, sure we can.” He agreed before he really processed what that would all entail but that was future Buck’s issue. Right now, Buck was just happy to have his little family, even if it was new and just starting.