Chapter Text
Prologue: Maddie
Some nights, on the really cold ones where she is huddled under six layers of blankets or the hot sticky ones where the walls feel too close, she dreams. The bike is red, red like apples, red like penny candy. The bell chimes merrily as the bike wobbles down the street, the boy with the laughing green eyes holding on tight. She’s there, in a sort of hazy, outsider way, but he sees her. Reaches for her with one tiny hand. And then the bike tips, and the boy with the scared green eyes disappears. She’s screaming, and running, but all she can see is the bike. Red as fire, red as blood. When she wakes, it’s to Daniel shaking her, peering at her through sleepy eyes. It is a dream, she reminds herself. It has to be. Danny’s eyes are blue.
Chapter 1
“Hey Dad.” Evan poked his head into the office doorway with a grin. “Did you order me a steak or something? Because there is a seriously hot piece of meat pulling up outside.”
Captain Bobby Nash-Grant of the 118 sighed at his tablet. “Evan Buckley Nash-Grant, if I end up dealing with sexual harassment forms before I’ve had my first cup of coffee…”
Evan laughed, stepping into the office and slouching onto one of the chairs across the desk. “You know I’m kidding. But he is really pretty. Wonder if he’s into men.”
“Keep your hands off my firefighters, Buck.”
Buck stuck out his lower lip.
“And stop pouting.” Bobby added, not looking up from the tablet.
Buck sighed dramatically, slipping off the chair and navigating behind the desk, where he wrapped his arms around Bobby’s neck and leaned into the older man. “How do you do that?”
Bobby set the tablet down, tilting his head to smile lovingly at his grown-up kid. “Know when you’re pouting?”
“Know me so well.” Buck corrected.
A light tap at the door made both Nash boys lift their heads. A man stood in the doorway, shuffling awkwardly. “Uh, hi, sorry, I can come back?”
Bobby waved him in. “No, no, Diaz, right? Come on in.”
Buck circled the desk again and held out his hand. “Hi! You must be the new recruit. I’m Evan Nash, but you can call me Buck.”
“Eddie. Eddie Diaz.” The man answered, shaking Buck’s hand and glancing subtly at the namecard on Bobby’s desk.
Bobby caught his gaze and smiled. “Buck is my son.”
Eddie’s face cleared, and he stood a bit straighter as he reached out to shake Bobby’s hand. “Captain Nash, nice to meet you.”
“Bobby, please.” He motioned to the seat Buck had recently vacated. “Shall we get the paperwork out of the way?”
“Sure thing, Cap.” Eddie moved to sit, his eyes going back to Buck for a brief second.
Buck caught Bobby’s carefully hidden smile. “Perhaps once we finish here Buck can give you a tour of the station.”
“I’d like that.”
Buck flashed his Dad a giant grin and ducked out of the office, taking the stairs to the floor two at a time.
Hen and Chimney were cleaning gear on the benches after a messy call earlier. They looked up at his noisy arrival, their faces suspicious.
“What’s gotten into you?” Hen asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Oh nothing.” Buck grinned cheekily. “Yet.”
Chim groaned. “Looks like Buck’s got another crush.”
Hen shook her head. “Evan Nash, your daddy’s gonna wash your mouth out with soap.”
“Who is it this time?” Chim asked.
“Who’s who?” A new voice chimed in.
“Buck’s new crush.” Hen answered Athena Nash-Grant.
The detective standing in the open bay door was in plain clothes, carrying several bags from Bobby’s favorite restaurant. Buck bounded over to her, taking the bags and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Hey mama.”
“Your dad here?”
“He’s finishing up paperwork for the new hire, but he should be done in a minute. Let me help you?”
“Thanks, baby.” Athena smiled at him, letting him lead her up the stairs. “So what’s this about a new crush?”
Buck blushed. “It’s nothing, really.”
“Evan.”
“The new recruit is nice to look at, that’s all. I don’t even know if he’s into guys yet.”
Athena patted his cheek. “Hard to believe there’s anyone in the world who wouldn’t be into you.”
“You have to say that.” Buck pointed out. “You’re my mom.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true.” Athena retorted.
“What’s true?” Bobby asked, coming up behind them with Eddie in tow.
“Love.” Athena answered simply, tipping her head back to kiss her husband.
“Amen to that.” Bobby smiled at her.
Buck rolled his eyes at Eddie. “Sorry, my parents are just like this. All the time.”
Eddie chuckled. “Nah, its sweet.”
“Well, come on, Diaz. Let’s go on that tour and leave them to it.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Ed.”
“No.”
“Edward.”
“Not a chance.”
“Edwin?”
“Not even close.”
The station wasn’t all that large, but Buck lingered over the tour, making sure to introduce Eddie to every nook and cranny. The other man was funny, an easy conversationalist, and he took all of Buck’s antics in stride.
In short, he was kinda perfect, which was doing absolutely nothing to help Buck’s crush.
They’d circled back to the main floor, leaning on the ladder truck as they chatted, when Eddie’s face grew serious.
“Can I ask you something, Buck? About your parents?”
“I’m adopted.”
Eddie laughed. “I figured it was something like that, but that wasn’t actually what I was asking.”
“Yeah? Cause that’s usually the first question.”
“If you ever want to tell me more about that, I’ll listen. But I was actually wondering about them being first responders. Did they, I mean, did you ever feel like…?”
“You got a kid?”
Eddie nodded. “Christopher. He’s seven. It’s just… his mom isn’t around. Well, she wasn’t around, and then she died, so she’s definitely not going to be around. And I just want to make sure I’m enough for him, you know? I don’t want him to feel like anything is more important than he is.”
“Look man. I don’t know anything about raising kids. But I can tell you that Bobby was a single father for the first fifteen years after he adopted me, and I always knew I meant everything to him. You love your kid?”
“With all my heart.”
“Then you just gotta make sure he knows that. He’ll forgive everything else, as long as you let him know he’s loved.”
Eddie regarded him sadly. “How old were you?”
“Three. I don’t remember them much. Bobby is the only parent I ever knew, until we got Athena.”
“They seem pretty great.”
“They are.” Buck smiled. “Hey, you’ll have to bring Christopher over to ours sometime! Bobby and Athena love kids. I’ve got two younger siblings from Athena’s side, May and Harry. We’d love to have you for dinner or something.”
“I’m sure he’d like that. Thanks, Buck.”
“Sure thing.”
The station bell rang, startling them both. Buck grinned at Eddie. “Ready for your first day with the 118?”
Eddie returned the smile, slightly nervously. “Here we go.”
Over the next few weeks, Eddie settled into the 118 firehouse family with ease. His medical experience endeared him to Hen, his easy jokes won Chim over, and Bobby quickly grew to rely on his steady confidence. As for Buck, he tried to take a step back and allow the other man time to acclimate before flirting further. It didn’t stop them from quickly becoming fast friends and partners in crime, to Bobby’s horror.
Still, their record was clean, and Buck walked off every shift with a spring in his step that his parents didn’t fail to notice.
Everything was perfect.
Until a 7.1 earthquake hit the greater L.A. area.