Chapter Text
“It’s done! I knew I could do it!” Buck was beaming. He had just finished building a beautiful crib for Chim and Maddie’s baby girl.
“And I did it super quick, so pay up,” he said to Chim who grabbed for his wallet. “You shouldn’t bet against my handyman skills, I’m quite ‘Buck the Builder’,” he continued smuggly.
“Hahaa, very funny,” Chimney answered with a sour face, now 20 bucks poorer.
“I hope you know he will never let that go,” said Eddie who had suddenly appeared at the nursery door.
“When did you get there? Where’s Chris?” Buck asked.
“Just now, Chris is with Maddie, giving her our gift,” Eddie didn’t even have time to close his mouth when Buck heard the joyful yel of his best boy “BUUUUCK!!”
“Seems like I gotta run,” he said grinning and headed to the kitchen where Chris and Maddie were. He loved Chris to bits and he couldn’t wait to be an uncle and have another kid in his life to spoil rotten.
Maddie was due soon. She didn’t want a baby shower, branding ít a stupid ‘commercial garbage’, so instead, they were having a little get together with close friends from the 118 and dispatch center to celebrate Maddie officially beginning her maternity leave. She didn’t want any gifts, but as if anyone was listening. Buck’s gift was the crib he had just finished building. He had let Maddie choose it though, as Maddie didn’t trust his, or Chimney’s for that matter, taste on the matter.
“So any plans now that you have all the time in the world?” Eddie asked. He, Buck, Maddie and Hen had just finished large plates of tacos (something Maddie had graved all the time during her pregnancy) and where lazying around the dinner table, listening other’s sounds from the living room.
“Well actually, our parents are gonna come to visit me, well, us, in two days.” Maddie said and continued “I haven’t seen them, gosh, I don’t even remember. Do you?” She asked from Buck.
“Nope, they haven’t visited me while I’ve been in LA,” Buck said and stood us taking his plate to the sink.
Eddie noticed Buck’s demeanor tensed a bit at the mention of their parents. “That’s nice they are coming, isn’t it?” He asked Maddie, even if his eyes never really left Buck.
“Yeah it is,” Maddie said smiling.
“Yeah,” Buck agreed, now seeming to relax a bit again.
“I’ll go check what’s up with Chris.” Buck said smiling.
“Yeah, I’ll join you, Denny has been abnormally silent for a bit, need to see what he is plotting this time,” Hen mused and left the room with Buck, leaving Maddie and Eddie at the table.
“Buck never talks about your parents,” Eddie tentatively muttered looking at Maddie.
“Yeah, well, there’s not much to talk about,” Maddie said with an unreadable look. “Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t bad parents, just…. not very present.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be, we had a good childhood, they made sure we had everything we needed to have a happy and healthy childhood…. and we had each other to lean on.” Maddie stood up and started to clean the table.
“No let me do that, you should rest!”
“Eddie, I’m pregnant, not sick, I can do this,” Maddie jokingly scolded him.
“Fine, but let me at least help.”
“Be my guest.”
“You know, I regret not being present when Chris was younger, I…”
“Eddie, it’s not the same thing, and you are an excellent father. That’s the first thing Buck told me about you. The way he was going about you being a great dad and how great Christopher was. He had such a boy crush on you, it was cute,” Maddie laughed. She didn’t miss the way Eddie perked up at the mention of ‘boy crush’.
She didn’t get the chance to question him about it as Chim waltzed to the kitchen frustrated. “Buck is cheating again, no way is he that much better than me at Mario Kart!”
“Did you bet on it too?” Eddie asked, amused at Chim’s frustration.
“No, I learned my lesson, thank you very much” Chimney said and continued “Chris was asking for you to go play with them.
“I better go then,” Eddie said smiling.
When he stepped into the living room he saw Buck and Chris in the middle of a game. They both looked happy.
“So I hear you were cheating,” he said to Buck waiting for him to take the bait.
“Wait what, who said that...Chim of course! I never cheat!” Buck said, partly offended.
“I know you don’t, but I’m still gonna beat you easily,” Eddie dared him.
“Oh you think so, wanna bet on it?” Buck asked, ready for another challenge.
Rest of the day went by really quickly and soon it was time to head back home. The weather had done a quick 180 and turned from a lovely, hot, summer day to a dark and storming night. “This night can’t end well” he muttered to himself while driving and watching the cars battle the wind and water filled streets. Luckily he had a big SUV, safe for a weather like this. And so did Buck, who was driving ahead of them. The thought of Buck having a safe ride made Eddie feel calmer than it should and he smiled to himself. That’s when he saw it. A lightning striking a tree. The tree falling down to the utility pole taking it down as well, crashing to the street. All he could hear was Chris’ fearful ‘dad’ as he hit the break. The left tires hit hydroplaning and the car started to spin.
“DAAAAAAAAD!!!!”
What felt like and eternity must only have been a few seconds, but he managed to stop the car just before crashing into others.
“Chris!!! Are you okay?” Eddie worriedly asked.
“Yeah dad, I’m fine but…”
All Eddie could do was to turn his head where Chris’ scared eyes were looking. There was a big car pile up - and Buck’s car was in the middle of it.