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Los Angeles, California
“Buck is everything packed?” Eddie called from Christopher’s room where he was helping his son round up the last of the things he needed for the trip.
“Yeah I got it. Suitcases are in the trunk. Snacks are in the backseat. Anything else?”
“No, I think we’re good. Don’t forget your chargers buddy,” he turned to his son.
“I got them,” Chris shoved a bundle of white cables down in his backpack.
“Alright then let’s go. We have a long drive.”
“How far is it to Austin dad?”
“20 hours. We’re gonna stop around El Paso and stay the night.”
Eddie waited for his son at the bottom of the stairs. In his almost eleven years of life, Christopher had gotten pretty good at navigating stairs on his crutches, but old habits die hard.
Buck took his crutches from him and helped him step up in the truck.
“You wanna drive or you want me to?” Buck asked.
“I’ll start and we can swap in a few hours.”
Buck agreed and climbed into the passenger seat, turning around to make sure Christopher was settled. He already had his iPad out, playing a game with his headphones in. Buck knew that would keep him occupied for a while.
“Are you nervous?” he asked as they got on the road. “It’s been a while since you’ve seen your parents.”
“Yeah a little. I haven’t seen them since Shannon’s funeral and I haven’t talked to them much either. I’m just always afraid they’re going to try and snatch Christopher out from under me. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“You know we’re not gonna let that happen right?” Buck placed a hand on his leg.
“I know baby. Carlos is on our side and usually his mom can talk some sense into my parents. Hopefully that helps.”
“I’m excited to meet Carlos, and to see TK again.”
“Wait, tell me how you and TK know each other one more time.”
“After I ditched SEAL training, I stuck around in South America for a little bit. But when I came back to the States for school I ended up in New York and after I graduated I worked with Owen and TK’s station. After I passed probationary status, I was transferred to LA and ended up at the 118.”
“You have lived an interesting life Evan Buckley.”
“I know. And look at me now, all gross and domestic.”
“You love being domestic, don’t lie to yourself.”
“You know I do.”
Austin, Texas
“Ty is everything set up in the guest bedrooms for Eddie?”
“Yep. The beds have fresh sheets and the bathroom has towels. When are they getting here?”
“Some time tomorrow. It’s a twenty hour drive from LA and Eddie refused to make that with an eleven year old, so they’re stopping once they get into Texas and finishing the drive in the morning.”
“I do not blame him,” TK bent down to pick Noah up out of his play pen. “Thirty minute drives can be a pain with this one,” he tickled his son’s sides playfully. “I can’t imagine almost a full day of driving.”
“Eddie texted me at six this morning that they were on their way.”
“How long has it been since you’ve seen them?”
“A while. The last time was right before Eddie shipped out the third time. Christopher was maybe two, probably not even that old. He’s been widowed and gotten engaged since then.”
“I can’t believe your cousin is marrying one of my best friends. That’s insane.”
“That is pretty crazy.”
“I miss Buck a lot. I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
“Well you’re going to be spending a lot of time with him this week. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“What do you mean?”
TK moved into the kitchen to grab a drink for Noah and Carlos followed him.
“Our family reunions are crazy. My entire family of six, plus Eddie’s parents and two sisters, then Eddie, Buck and Christopher and us three. My dad’s two brothers and my mom’s sister. Plus grandparents and cousins and most of those people haven’t even seen Noah’s face yet. He’s going to be getting passed around all the time, which he’s going to hate because you know how he is with strangers. And I’m sure I’ll be playing mediator between Eddie and his parents.”
“‘Los, honey. Calm down,” TK settled Noah into his highchair with some juice and graham crackers before moving to wrap his arms around his husband’s shoulders. “We’ll make it. And if my baby doesn’t want to be held they’re not holding him and I’ll tell them that. I can deal with the consequences. But why are you playing mediator?”
“Because Eddie has well meaning, but overbearing, controlling parents. They think that because they were there all the time while Eddie was deployed, they are better equipped to raise his son than he is. They’ve tried to take Christopher from him more than once. That’s part of the reason why he moved out to LA in the first place.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“Yeah it is. Eddie doesn’t talk to them much because of it, but I’m sure they’ll start again while they’re here. Eddie is going to be walking on eggshells. If Christopher has a runny nose, they’ll scream bad parent. But they suffocate Christopher and try to do everything for him. He has a disability but he’s not helpless. From what Eddie tells me, he’s pretty independent.”
“Buck isn’t going to take that well.”
“Why?”
“Well Buck’s has some experience with bad parents. His parents aren’t bad people, but you know how they say some people weren’t meant to have kids?”
“Yeah.”
“Well that’s them. They kinda neglected him and Maddie. Left them to their own devices, especially after Maddie went to college.”
“Poor Buck.”
“Yeah, that’s why he’s so protective of Eddie and Christopher. He’s fierce when it comes to his family.”
“Good. Maybe he can help me fight off the Diaz’s.”
El Paso, Texas
“C’mon kiddo,” Buck shook Christopher’s shoulders gently. “It’s time to get up.”
“It’s too early,” he whined.
“I know bud, you can sleep in the car.”
Buck helped the still half asleep boy change out of his pajamas and put on real clothes. He got him settled in the backseat while Eddie checked out of the hotel. They wanted to be in Austin by afternoon, so they were leaving El Paso early. It was five o’clock and the sun was barely up, and Buck was very much in agreement with his son that it was too early.
“Papa,” he mumbled.
“Yeah buddy?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too kiddo,” he pressed a kiss to his curls. “You comfy?”
“Uh huh.”
“Okay. Go back to sleep for a while. I’ll wake you up when we stop for breakfast.”
“M’kay.”
Buck covered him with the blanket that was in the seat and closed the truck door gently.
“Hey,” Eddie said when he exited the hotel. “He asleep?”
“Not quite but he’s getting there. He’ll be out by the time we get back on the road.”
They stopped a few hours later for a bathroom break and to grab breakfast. Carlos sent them a text to make sure they were making it okay and to tell them everything was set up for them.
They were all tired, so there wasn’t much conversation on their drive. They stopped once more for Buck to take over driving so Eddie could take a small nap before they made it to Austin.
As they finally crossed into the town Christopher perked up a little bit, looking out the window at the new environment. Eddie pulled out his phone to follow Carlos’ directions to his and TK’s new house.
They knew they’d found it when they spotted the blue camaro in the driveway. Eddie parked his truck next to it and the front door opened to reveal Carlos. Behind him TK, holding one of the cutest kids he’d ever seen besides his own.
When he stepped out of the truck, he immediately met Carlos with a hug.
“It’s been too long Diaz.”
“Way too long. Christopher was a baby the last time you saw him, he’s so grown up now.”
“I see that,” Carlos said as Buck helped their son out of the backseat and handed him his crutches.
He wrapped his nephew up in a hug before holding him at arm's length, “You’re half grown sobrino. How old are you now?”
“Eleven,” Christopher said proudly.
“Dios we’re old.”
“Yeah we are.”
“I’m not old yet,” Buck teased.
“Two years baby. Two years.”
“I’m younger than all of you.”
“Yeah TK, you’re a fetus, rub it in,” Carlos rolled his eyes.
“You’re still pretty hot for an old guy,” TK stepped forward and held his hand out to Eddie. “TK Strand, it’s nice to finally meet Carlos’ favorite cousin.”
“Awe, you called me your favorite,” Eddie put a hand over his heart. “It’s nice to finally meet you too TK. You already know Buck, and this is my son Christopher. And you must be Noah.”
Eddie held out his hand to the little boy, who eyed it suspiciously for a second before giggling and grabbing his fingers.
Buck wrapped TK up in a side hug and held his arms out to Noah. Carlos was shocked when he reached for him and Buck took him for TK’s arms.
“I’m surprised he did that,” TK said, speaking for both of them. “He usually doesn’t let people he doesn’t know hold him.”
“Buck is a damn baby whisperer,” Eddie said.
“Kids love me,” Buck shrugged, tickling Noah playfully.
“C’mon, I’ll help you take your stuff inside.”
Carlos helped Eddie unload the truck while Buck carried Noah inside. He shifted the little boy to one side and helped Christopher into the living room to sit on the couch.
“The guest rooms are down the hall by the kitchen. You and Buck are staying in mine and TK’s room. We moved to the extra room upstairs for now.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“We didn’t want Chris to have to walk up the stairs and we figured you’d want to be down here with him. It’s really not a problem, it really makes life easier for when Noah cries for TK at ungodly hours of the morning. He’s the biggest daddy’s boy on the planet I swear.”
“How’s he doing? You mentioned some nightmares the last time we talked.”
“They’re getting a little better. It’s so hard to help him though because he’s two. He doesn’t know what he’s dreaming about and he doesn’t have the words to tell us if he did.”
“What do you think it is?”
“We think it’s the fire. Before we adopted him, he was rescued from a house fire. He doesn’t remember it, but his brain does, so we think that’s what he’s dreaming about.”
“Poor kid.”
“Yeah it’s rough, he’s started to learn how to calm himself down from them now. He really only calls for us if it’s a bad one.”
“Chris had horrible nightmares after the tsunami, Buck too. It was heartbreaking.”
The two men returned to the living room where they found Chris, Buck and Noah all sitting on the floor. They were rolling a little foam ball back and forth on the ground. Noah would push it and giggle and either Buck or Christopher would catch it and roll it back. By the way Noah was laughing, you would have thought it was the best game he’d ever played.
TK was in the kitchen making sandwiches for everyone, so Carlos was the one to notice when Noah started to yawn and rub his eyes.
He whined when he was picked up, pouting at Carlos for pulling him away from his game.
“I’m sorry bubba but it’s nap time. You can play again when you wake up.”
“Bye Noah,” Buck waved at the little boy, who waved back over his Papa’s shoulder.
Carlos tucked him into his crib with his favorite blanket and stuffed dog.
“Sleep good baby. I love you.”
“Luh you,” Noah whispered, already drifting off.
He flipped out the light and left the door cracked open.
Downstairs, the other four were sitting at the table, eating the sandwiches TK had made. Christopher was talking animatedly about the school project that Buck had helped him with and Eddie was looking at the two of them with so much love in his eyes.
“He go down okay?” TK asked as he sat down next to him.
“Out like a light,” he slung his arm over TK’s shoulders and his husband immediately leaned into him.
“So have you prepared him for the shit show yet?” Eddie asked.
“Yeah I have. I’m hoping Buck will help me out on Diaz parent duty.”
“Absolutely,” Buck sat up a little straighter. “If they try to-”
“Buck,” Eddie cut him off and nodded his head in Christopher’s direction.
Buck snapped his mouth closed and slumped back in his seat. Chris didn’t know about what his grandparents had done and said to Eddie. He didn’t want to ruin his son’s image of them.
“Anyway,” Buck cleared his throat. “We’ll keep it as civil as possible.”
“This is a hispanic family reunion,” Carlos laughed. “There’s nothing civil about it.”
“I think you guys are just being dramatic.”
“TK baby, you grew up in a high rise in New York with just your dad. You think you know chaotic, but I promise you Times Square has nothing on our family.”
TK’s phone rang, interrupting their conversation.
“What the hell does he want?”
“Who is it?”
“Probie,” he responded as he picked up the phone.
“He’s been off probation for like three years. Mateo isn’t a probie anymore.”
“He’s still probie. What’s up probie?” he greeted as if to prove his point.
There was some unintelligible mumbling from the other side.
“Carlos’ cousin and fiance are in town. Why, what do you need me for?”
There was some more mumbling with what sounded like yelling from Paul.
“Jesus okay. I’m on my way.”
TK hung up the phone and turned to them, “Well, firehouse field trip time.”
“What’s going on?”
“My entire crew is too incompetent to work my dad’s coffee machine, which Judd calls a robot from hell, and he’s out today for meetings. So cue me.”
TK jogged upstairs to gently rouse Noah from his nap.
“I know baby, but Uncle Probie is an idiot.”
He changed his diaper and gave him a paci to soothe him. He came back downstairs bouncing him gently in his arms. He reached for Carlos immediately and latched on to his Papa, pressing his cheek to his shoulder.
“Someone is still sleepy huh? Hey, we’re gonna go see Uncle Judd and Auntie Marjan.”
“‘Jan?” Noah perked up a little at the mention of his favorite aunt.
“Yeah bubba.”
The three of them loaded into TK’s car, with Buck and Eddie following them in the truck.
Buck was in awe when he got a glimpse of the 126. He’d thought the 118 was high class.
“This place is insane,” he commented.
“My dad has a lot of talents. Some very gay talents. I’m still not convinced he’s not on my team. But when we moved down here he built this house basically from scratch. I’ll give you guys a tour after I clean up the probie’s mess.”
He led them into the kitchen, where Mateo was frantically trying to stop the coffee machine from beeping. Noah was taken from his by Judd, who was absolutely in love with him and used him for practice with his own baby who was due literally any second.
“Woah no way.”
They all turned to look at Buck who was staring at Marjan.
“You’re that badass firefighter from Miami. I saw your videos, you’re insane.”
“Dude you got crushed by a ladder truck and lived. I should be bowing down to you.”
“Oh no,” Eddie grumbled.
“What?”
“He’s found someone almost as, if not more reckless than him. This is not going to end well.”
It took Marjan and Buck about five minutes to become best friends and Carlos could see the grey hairs forming on Eddie’s head.
TK fixed the coffee pot in no time and turned to formally introduce their guests.
“Guys this is Eddie, Carlos’ cousin, his fiance Buck, who has already made himself at home, and their son Christopher. This is Marjan, who is apparently Buck’s idol, Mateo or as we call him, probie even though he passed probationary period like three years ago, Cowboy Judd who if you look closely, is developing more stress line by the second because his wife is due to go into labor any day now, my best friend Paul, and Carlos’ best friend and our paramedic captain, Michelle.”
Michelle approached Carlos and pulled him into a side hug.
“How are you chica?” he asked, kissing her head. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Well you’ve been busy with Noah. I’ve been visiting Iris.”
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s okay, all things considered. That is the most precious boy I’ve ever seen.”
She was looking at Christopher and Carlos laughed, she had a thing for kids.
“That’s my nephew Christopher, he’s eleven. He has CP but he’s the happiest kid I’ve ever met in my life.”
Michelle pulled away from him and approached Christopher, taking a seat on the stool next to him. He took to her quickly, talking a laughin like he’d known her his whole life.
TK and Paul took Eddie and Buck on a tour of the firehouse and Carlso wandered off to find Judd who still had Noah.
“How’s Gracie doing?” he asked, taking a seat next to him on a couch.
“She’s taking it like a champ. I however am freaking out.”
“It’s gonna be okay Judd. I had a minor mental breakdown the day we brought Noah home but it turned out just fine.”
“I’m just afraid I’m not ready.”
“You’re never ready. But you adapt and learn. You’re so good with Noah, I know you’re going to be an amazing dad.”
“Thanks Carlos.”
Judd bounced Noah lightly on his knee, making faces so he would laugh.
“Have you decided on a name yet?”
“Yeah we have. Lily Jade, LJ for short.”
“Aw LJ and TK. That’s sweet. I hope you know he’s going to steal that baby the first chance he gets.”
“I’m counting on it. Don’t tell him this yet, but Grace and I are going to ask him to be the godfather.”
“You’re going to make him cry you know?”
“Yeah I know. But he’s part of our family and when I asked Grace what she thought about it, she said if I didn’t ask she’s murder me.”
“TK is going to die.”
“Hey babe,” TK entered the loft, followed by Eddie and Buck.
“Yeah honey?”
“We better head home. We have to be at your parent’s house early tomorrow morning and Noah needs dinner and a bath before bed time.”
Carlos checked his watch and was surprised that it was almost five.
“Yeah we’d better get going then.”
He took Noah from Judd’s arms, giving him one last pat on the back. Eddie had to practically pry Chris away from Michelle, promising they’d come back to the house before they left.
Back at home, Carlos prepared a quick dinner and they put Noah to bed early. When they came back downstairs, the door to one of the guest bedrooms was cracked and they could hear Buck and Eddie saying goodnight to Christopher.
Eddie helped TK clean up from dinner, and Buck joined him on the couch.
“Have you and Eddie decided on a wedding date yet?” Carlos glanced at the ring on his finger.
“Actually, we’re already married,” Buck kept his voice low like he was telling a secret.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. We got married at the courthouse a few weeks ago. We’re still going to have the ceremony this summer, but I’m officially adopting Christopher. That takes a while so we wanted to get started with that so hopefully it would be done by the time school starts again.”
“So does that make you Evan Diaz now?”
“Technically we’re Buckley-Diaz. But that’s a lot to put on the back of a turnout jacket so for the sake of simplicity we’re going by our own last names. And Christopher is still Diaz. Eddie promised the next kid could have my last name.”
“So you’re planning on having more kids?”
“We think so. We want to adopt probably, in a few years once we’ve settled down and moved into a bigger house.”
“That’s awesome.”
“What about you guys? Do you and TK want more kids?”
“Absolutely. TK is dying for a baby. The fact that one of his best friends is having one any day now isn’t helping.”
“So are you guys gonna try surrogacy?”
“We’ve thought about it but we’re not sure. We want Noah to be a little bit older before we start thinking about a baby.”
“You know, Noah could pass for your biological kid. He looks like you with TK’s eyes.”
“Yeah it’s kinda crazy how well he fits in.”
In the kitchen, Eddie was doing dishes while TK packed the extra food away in the fridge.
“It’s crazy that my husband’s cousin is marrying one of my best friends. I still can’t wrap my head around that.”
“It took us a while to put two and two together that Carlos’ husband was the same TK that Buck knew. I didn’t even know that Buck worked in New York.”
“He’s lived a pretty interesting life. Not all of it is good.”
“He’s come a long way since I met him. He has his fair share of trauma too, but don’t we all.”
“Carlos said you fought in Afghanistan right?”
“Yeah I did. I served when Chris was little.”
“My dad was on one of the crews that served during 9/11. He lost most of his team.”
“That’s what caused his cancer isn’t it?”
“Yeah it is. He’s in remission now but he had a rough go with it.”
“I get that. Chris’ diagnosis was rough on everyone. Shannon always resented me for not being there for it.”
“She was your wife right?”
“Yeah. We had our share of issues. I still loved her but I don’t think I was ever in love with her ya know? We were young when she got pregnant and I didn’t really have any other choices.”
There was a heavy pause.
“Sorry that got deep.”
“No it’s okay, I was thinking. I get what you mean about the love but not in love. I dated this guy Alex for a while before we moved down here. I thought he was the one, I even proposed. Then he told me that he’d been sleeping with his spin instructor. That was rough.”
“That’s shitty.”
“He was shitty. I realize that now. I didn’t know what love was really like until I met Carlos. He waited almost a year on me before I even agreed to date him. We had a rocky start but I wouldn’t change anything about it.”
“I feel the same about Buck. He hated me for a solid forty eight hours when we met. Then he became my partner and best friend. I don’t even remember falling in love with him. He was one of those people that I felt like I’d known him forever and loved him just as long. But seeing him with Chris sealed the deal for me. I always wanted someone who could fit into our family easily, and that was Buck.”
“What are you two talking about in here?” Carlos interrupted.
He brushed by TK to grab a bottle of water.
“Nothing important.”
Carlos wrapped an arm around his husband and leaned against him.
“You better not be trying to trade me in for the newer model.”
“No I kinda like the one I have,” TK leaned up to kiss his cheek.
“Your son is paging you by the way.”
“You have legs, why didn’t you go up there?”
“Because he was calling you, last time I checked you’re the only one who calls me daddy.”
“Oh my god,” TK slapped his chest and pulled away. “I don’t like you.”
“You love me,” Carlos called as he started up the stairs.
TK responded with a middle finger.
Carlos and Eddie joined Buck in the living room, flipping the TV to Friends reruns and turning it on a low volume.
Carlos smiled softly at the sounds of TK talking to Noah through the baby monitor.
“Shh it’s okay baby. Daddy’s here.”
He could hear the soft shuffling on TK walking around the room to soothe him.
“You’ve got it bad,” Eddie teased.
“Oh like you don’t.”
“Guilty,” Eddie said as he wrapped an arm around Buck, who slumped into his side.
“You tired?” he asked him.
“Little bit.”
“Let’s go to bed then, we have to be up early in the morning anyway.”
“TK and I won’t be far behind, as soon as he gets Noah put back down.”
As if on cue, TK came padding back downstairs.
“He lost his paci, but it was just wrapped up in his blanket. Crisis averted.”
Buck and Eddie bid them goodnight and they went their separate ways to bed.
*****
The next morning was a rush, trying to get themselves and both kids ready and eat breakfast.
“Why do these family reunions start so damn early?” Buck complained as he helped Christopher with his shoes. The poor kid was still half asleep, leaning on his dad for support.
“The same reason they go on for two day,” Carlos said as he fed Noah his eggs. “Our family is extra in the worst way. Kiddo why won’t you eat?”
Noah was refusing his eggs which were usually one of his favorite foods.
“Maybe his stomach hurts,” TK pouted a little as he picked Noah up.
He was exceptionally clingy today, which was a sign that he wasn’t feeling well.
“Maybe that can be our excuse not to go,” Carlos said hopefully.
“Hush Carlos. He’ll be okay, he’s still half asleep.”
TK got him dressed quickly and bundled up in his car seat. There were already a million cars in the driveway when they arrived at Carlos’ parents’ house.
“Jesus,” TK mumbled as he got Noah out of his carseat.
“I told you.”
“Last chance to turn and run,” Eddie said as they joined them.
“Christopher!”
They didn’t have a chance as Eddie’s parents were already ambushing them. Christopher was pulled into an uncomfortably tight hug by Eddie’s mom before she started looking him over, as if she could see some physical signs that Eddie was failing as a father.
“Mom let him breathe,” Eddie said.
“How are you Edmundo?” his father asked.
“I’m fine. Chris is fine, we’re all fine.”
“And you must be Evan,” there was a hint of disdain in his father’s voice.
“Uh yeah, but everyone calls me Buck.”
That seemed to displease him even more as he turned back to his wife and Christopher.
“How are you Christopher?”
His mother was grilling him relentlessly.
“I’m good. School is good, we just finished. Papa took me to the beach the other day when Daddy was at work.”
Eddie cringed and internally cursed his son’s big mouth.
“Papa?” his father asked as his mother screeched, “The beach!”
“Buck is Papa,” Chris explained, confused about what they didn’t understand. “It’s okay, I’m not afraid of the water anymore.”
“You took him to the beach?”
Buck stumbled over his words, “I- uh- the bach is safe. I was with him the whole time and we didn’t go in the water much. We played in the sand and built castles.”
“And flew a kite remember?”
“Yeah buddy we did fly a kite.”
Helena looked like she wanted to say something else, but they were interrupted by a quartet of squealing girls. Carlos praised his little sisters’ timing as he turned and scooped them all into a hug. They latched on to him and TK, talking a mile a minute until they noticed Noah.
Then they were begging to hold him.
“You can hold him but let’s go inside first okay? I want to see Mama and Papa.”
The four of them practically dragged him inside, Eddie hurrying to follow along and get away from his parents.
“Daddy why are they being mean to you and Buck?” Christopher sounded sad.
“They’re worried about you buddy.”
“Why? You and Buck keep me safe all the time.”
“I know that baby and you know that, but they don’t believe that.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t like it either kiddo. Just stick close to us okay? They won’t bother you.”
Inside the house, Christopher was dragged off by his cousins to play, all of them being told by their parents to stay in the yard and don’t go far.
TK and Carlos got the girls arranged on the couch and handed Noah to Victoria, who was sitting in the middle.
He whined and reached for TK to take him back.
“It’s okay baby, I’m not going anywhere.”
The girls started talking to him softly, clapping their hands for him to copy them and making faces. He warmed up quickly, clapping along and laughing, but he kept a close eye on both of their parents.
“Carlos, TK.”
“Mama.”
She pulled them both into a bone crushing hug then turned to run a soft hand over her grandson’s curls, speaking to him softly in Spanish.
“Where is Edmundo?”
“Probably hiding from his parents,” TK mumbled.
“My brother,” Maria shook her head in disappointment. “They have never been able to leave that poor boy alone.”
“They ambushed us in the driveway and ripped into Buck for taking Christopher to the beach.”
“He’s eleven.”
“I know Mama. They think because he’s diabled he can’t do anything.”
“That child should be able to live a normal life.”
“I know. That’s why Eddie took him to LA, to make sure that happens.”
Maria was summoned by someone else and she turned to her son quickly, “If you see him send him my way, I want to meet that handsome firefighter of his.”
“Okay Mama.”
“Carlos can we take Noah outside to play?”
He turned back to his sisters, “Sure. Just keep an eye on him, he might have little legs but he’s fast.”
They took him by his hands and walked him out to the backyard. They made sure to sit down within view of the back door and Carlos was glad his sisters were smart. If they’d gone any farther, TK would have been panicking.
“Carlos I need your help.”
“What?” a clearly panicked Eddie had appeared at their sides.
“My parents have Buck cornered and I don’t know how much more he can take before he goes off on them.”
The three of them rushed off to the backyard. Helena and Ramon literally had Buck backed up to the fence. TK could see how angry he was, jaw and fists clenched.
“Christopher needs his family,” they heard as they got closer. “Not some man Edmundo picked up at work.”
“Mom stop.”
“Helena seriously think about what you’re going to say,” Carlos stepped forward trying to diffuse the tension.
“This doesn’t concern you Carlos. And frankly it doesn’t concern you either,” she had turned back to Buck. “You are not Christopher’s parent.”
“Neither are you,” Buck had finally cracked. “You think that because you were here when Eddie wasn’t you have some right to him but you don’t. He will always be thankful for being there when he couldn’t be. He's here now, and he has been for the last four years. Everything he did when he was gone was for Christopher. He risked his life to make sure Chris could have a better one. He’s made mistakes but he’s human. Eddie is the most amazing father I know. He loves Christopher more than life and so do I. He might not be biologically mine but he is in all the ways that count. I love that boy enough to search for him in the middle of a tsunami.”
“It’s your fault he was there anyway.”
“You’re right, and I’ll hate myself for the rest of my life for that. But I saved him. And I haven’t stopped fighting for him since. You might not understand the love that I have for Eddie and Christopher, but you don’t have to. They are my family, the only family I’ve ever had and I will do anything to make sure we stay together for as long as possible.”
“Carlos!” they were interrupted by Sofia screaming.
Carlos and TK turned around so fast they gave themselves whiplash. Noah was sitting on the ground with the girls, next to where he’d just thrown up.
“Shit,” TK rushed over to pick up his sobbing son and rocked him gently.
“Thank you Noah,” Eddie whispered.
“Shh baby,” TK carried Noah back over to them. “We’d better go, he might actually be sick.”
“Christopher,” Eddie called, waving his son over.
“Is Noah okay?”
“I think he’s just got a stomach ache,” TK responded. “But we’d all better go since you’re staying with us. We don’t want to get anyone else sick.”
They bid Carlos’ family a quick goodbye, apologizing for taking off so early. Carlos promised they’d come by again later in the week once everyone had cleared out, but before Buck and Eddie went back home.
*****
“I know I shouldn’t be happy your kid is sick,” Eddie said later as he held Noah on his lap, helping him sip on juice that had medicine mixed in, “But this little guy is a life saver.”
“I’m sorry for going off on your mom like that.”
“Buck, trust me you did the right thing,” Carlos said. “They’re relentless, maybe you got the message across.”
“He’s right,” TK said from where he and Chris were working on a puzzle at the table. “You might have gotten through to them in a way that Eddie couldn’t.”
“And even if you didn’t, at least I don’t have to find excuses to skip Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
*****
Later in the week, they had a visit with Carlos’ parents, who praised Buck for putting Helena and Ramon in their place.
“They needed a good kick up the culo ,” his father said.
“Dad,” Carlos started laughing, he almost never heard his dad swear.
“Daddy what does that mean?” Chris asked from his position on the floor.
“Nothing. Don’t repeat it.”
“Is it a bad word?”
“Yeah buddy, it’s a bad word.”
Noah crawled across the floor and held his arms up to Buck.
“Hey little man.”
Buck pulled him up to sit in his lap and Noah poked his cheek with a chubby finger, “Buck.”
“What did he just say?”
“Noah can you say that again?” TK asked.
“Buck!”
“Good job Noah!”
TK clapped for him, making Noah giggle and clap.
“Buck!”
“He said my name,” Buck’s eyes were glassy. “Eddie I want one.”
He turned to look at his husband, holding Noah close.
“Okay.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Let’s give it a little bit, let you finish adopting Christopher, but I’m not against a baby.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
*****
“I wish you could stay longer,” TK said as he helped Buck and Eddie load the truck.
“Me too. But work can’t wait any longer.”
“I have to go back tomorrow. I forgot how nice it is to be home with Noah all the time.”
“You better come back to visit soon,” Carlos said as he emerged from the house with Noah on his hip and Christopher’s backpack slung across his shoulder.
Buck took the bag from him and helped Chris into the truck.
“And you’d better have a baby on the way when you do.”
“One step at a time TK,” Eddie laughed.
Carlos traded Noah off as he hugged Eddie.
“Don’t be a stranger.”
“We’ll try.”
“Bye little man,” Buck dropped a kiss to Noah’s head.
“Bye bye,” Noah waved at him.
“You’re just learning all kinds of tricks huh?” TK laughed.
“Bye guys.”
Eddie and Buck climbed into the truck and started it. Buck and Chris waved out the window until they were down the driveway and out of sight.
“I miss them already,” TK fake sniffed, wiping an imaginary tear.
“Oh hush,” Carlos laughed.
“Hey guess what?”
“What?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too dork.”