Chapter Text
“Week 1. Week 1…” Buck scanned the stacks of paper spread out across his desk for perhaps the third time in twenty minutes, wondering where the hell he’d put the list of sight words. He had Week 2, 3, 4 already printed off …but no Week 1. “Where did you go?”
Had he forgotten to print it out?
No, he’d specifically remembered the copier jamming on him. So then-
“Is this what you’re looking for?”
Buck looked up to find said copies of sight words in his sister’s hand, “You’re a lifesaver.”
“Left it in my office.” Maddie just shook her head, walking into the classroom and handing him the lists , eyeing the stacks of paper with mild concern . “You do this every year, Evan. You’d think you’d learn not to do this all so close to Open House. It starts in what… three hours? ”
He waved her off. “I thrive under pressure. You know that.”
Maddie sighed fondly, “Do you need help?”
“I’ll be fine.” Buck just smiled, sitting down at his desk so he could begin the time consuming process of sorting all this paper into twe nty stacks. “ I just have to finis h stapling some things together and sorting th is rainbow of forms into their mailbox es . I shouldn’t be here for more than two hours max.”
“You’ve already been here all today , Buck. You need to go home and get ready. ”
“And I will. I’m almost done.”
“Two hours is not almost done .” She eyed the papers, “Seriously, do you need help?”
He paused, looking up. “Do n’t you have that date tonight with th e uh…the firefighter?”
She raised a brow , “Yes, I do.” Maddie sat on the edge of one of the tables, “But changing the subject won’t change the question, Buck. You should go out tonight after Open House . Not with me, but you should. Once the school year starts…”
Buck leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, “ Maddie …”
“I could see if he knows any cute firefighters …”
He just smiled, going back to sort the papers while his sister grinned impishly. He’d long since grown used to her matchmaking efforts, “I don’t need to be set up, Mads. I’m perfectly capable of finding someone on my own.”
She snorted, “Your taste in men and women is frankly…horrible.”
He opened his mouth to argue.
“ Taylor was a bitch, Jason just wanted to get into my pants, and Ali left you when she found out you wanted kids.” She held up a finger for each name, “You know I can name more so don’t even try to say otherwise.”
Buck just smiled, “You just focus on you, okay?”
She sighed, “I’m not one your students, Evan.”
He grabbed the next form without pause, “Then stop being so nosy.”
Maddie pursed her lips, “I just want you to be happy.”
Buck set the paper down and stood when he heard the real concern in her voice, placing his hands gently on her shoulders, “I know you mean well, Maddie, but I’m okay. I have this job. I have my kids. I’ ll be fine.”
She just shook her head, “Fine is not happy. You know that-”
There was a knock on the door, “Buck?”
“Hey Abby.” Buck was welcome for the Special Ed teacher’s arrival, if only for getting Maddie to drop the conversation for the moment . He walked over when he saw a file in her hand. “ Is that for me?”
“Yeah, this is your new student .” She held it out.
He took it, flipped it over and opened it. “Christopher Diaz.”
“He and his father moved her e from El Paso a fter the mother lef t a couple months prior.” She explained while he scanned the file, a note of sympathy in her voice, “The father, Edmundo, has family in the area.”
“ And he has… Cerebral Palsy?”
Abby nodded, “You know what that is?”
“It uh…effects muscle movement and coordination right?”
“That’s part of it. Do you want me to send you more information?”
“Yes, please.” He kept reading, finger running down the page, “ So he k nows all his letters and sounds , can count to 100…” Buck smiled as he read the rest of the glowing report from his Kindergarten teacher, “Smart kid. Sounds like a sweetheart. ”
“ He does.” Abby smiled as she walked over, pointing to a sticky note on the other side of the folder, “I ’ve scheduled a n IEP meeting with the father for Monday after school . Will that work of you? ”
“Yeah. Yeah, that does. ” Buck nodded, flipping to the previous year’ s IEP and skimming over what kind of accommodations he would need to make to the classroom. From what he could tell, he would probably need to space out the tables and chair to allow for better maneuverability for Christopher with his crutches and have the boy seated closer to the front so he could see the board better .
“ Do you have any questions for me?”
“No, you are as thorough as always.” He closed the folder, “Here…”
She wav ed him off , “That’s your copy .”
“Thanks, Abby.”
“No problem, Buck.” She said as she left. “See you.”
Maddie waited until the door shut to speak again, “Buck…”
He sighed, setting the folder down on his desk and turning around , leaning back against the table with arms folded once more. “Look, I know what you’ re going to say and I will think about the offer to go out.”
She smiled.
“But not as a third wheel…”
Maddie opened her mouth .
He cut in, “Or a blind date.”
His sister, honest to God, pouted, “Since when do you turn down dates?”
Pushing himself off the desk, he came over and slung an arm over her shoulder, pressing a kiss into her hair . He grinned when she shoved him off, “ Since I don’t want my sister involved in any of my relationships.”
“Who says I won’t pick someone good?”
He chuckled, “Who says you won’t hold this over me?”
“I already hold things over you.” She smirked, “I practically raise d you.”
He huffed out a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck, “Fair point.”
Maddie looked back at the clutter, “I guess I’ ll leave you to all of this .”
He walke d over to his desk, “Alright, then I’ll see you back here at 5:00?”
“Yep, see you then.”
Buck stared down at the stacks of paper and sighed.
…
Open House was as hectic as always, with hundreds of families with their kids milling through the halls in search of their child’s classroom, but Buck had never minded the low murmur of parents or squealing laughter of the kids echoing off the walls.
He’d met about half of his parents (nine families out of nineteen) that evening, but with an hour left, Buck was fairly confident he’d get a few more before the night was done. He’d glanced down at his clipboard for only a moment before the sound of crutches had him looking up again to see a little boy w ho couldn’t be any one other than Christopher Diaz standing next to an older Latina woman.
Buck was met with a big toothy smile and he grinned in response, the kid’s happiness practically contagious as he crouched down so that he was at eye level with him. “ My name is Mr. Buckley. What’s yours, little man?”
He giggled, “Chri stopher.”
“Well, Christopher, are you excited to start first grade?”
He nodded , still smiling, “Yes. What about you?”
“Me?” He chuckled, “I’m always excited to teach you guys.”
“That’s because you’re a teacher .” He stated as if that answer had been an obvious one.
Buck just smiled, “Yes, I am.”
The woman let out a quiet laugh , resting a gentle hand on his shoulder and lowering her head so that he could hear her over the noise out in the hall . “ Why don’ t you explore the classroom while I talk to Mr. Buckley ? ”
He nodded, “Okay !”
Buck st ood , bad leg aching as he watched Christopher walk around one of the tables with an expression overflowing with giddiness and excitement. He leaned back on his desk, wincing as he slowly straightened it , “Did you want to sit down?”
“No, I’m alright.” She frowned, “Are you?”
He smiled and shook his head, holding out his hand, “It’s an old injury. I’m fine , Miss…”
She took it, “ Just call me Pepa .”
“ Pepa . ” He nodded, glancing at Christopher, “He seems like a good kid.”
“He is. We were all worried about the move.” She smiled when Christopher eagerly waved from his seat in the front of the room. “ With that and his mother just leaving…” anger flared briefly in her eyes and she sighed, “He needs another adult that’s…present.”
He weighed his next question carefully, “What about his dad?”
“My nephew is a saint.” Her smile was sad, “He does everything he can but coming home from Afghanistan and having his wife leave so soon after has been hard on him. His new job as a firefighter has helped but his hours are so long…”
“Is that where he’s at now?”
“He was supposed to come in, but there was an apartment complex fire and…”
Buck shook his head, already hearing the defensiveness in her tone. “I’m not judging him or anything. Chris isn’t the only student I’ve had that’s been raised by a single parent. I know how much work it can be. He’s lucky to have family like you to help.”
Her smile softened, “You’re a sweet boy.”
He flushed, “All part of the job description.”
She just shook her head, “I know a good heart when I see one.”
Buck cleared his throat, not so subtly shifting the conversation away from him and on to Christopher, handing all of the necessary information and forms to Pepa . Talking about school had always been easier than talking about himself and he was glad the woman made no comment on it as she took everything.
“ Gracias , Mr. Buckley.” She shook his hand once more before turning and motioning to Chris, who’d become enamored with the display of books in the corner of the classroom. “Come on Christopher . It’s time to go home.”
“But I was looking at the book s!”
“Well…” Buck came over, crouching down (ignoring the dull ache in his leg) and he smiled, eyes roaming over a couple of the titles, “How ‘bout you pick two books to read over the weekend?”
Christopher’s eyes went wide, “Really?”
Buck laughed softly, startled at how quickly this boy had already wrapped him self around his little finger. These children all wormed their way into his heart at some point, but there was something about this kid, something about him that tugged at his chest , “Really. You can even read them to your dad if you want.”
Christopher turned back to the shelf with such a look of concentration…
“Just tell me which ones and I’ll give them to Pepa .”
“Okay…”
Buck watched and waited as Chris looked over the covers and couldn’t help but think back to Maddie’s surprise when she’d first witnessed his patience with the kids in the classroom as his impulsivity had been the cause of many arguments between the siblings up until, well…
His leg throbbed at the memory.
Near-death experiences tend ed to change you perspective …
“Can you get the one with the firefighter?”
Buck blinked, pulled abruptly from his thoughts, finding said cover, “This one?”
Christopher nodded, “And the one with the two little boys?”
Buck grabbed both, handing them to a waiting Pepa .
The woman took them with a small smile , “Are you ready, Christopher?”
Christopher nodded once more, grinning as he wrapped his arms around the still-crouching Buck. He laughed at the man’s clear shock like only a child could, “Thank you for the books, Mr. Buck.”
Buck wrapped one arm around the boy, “You’re welcome, Christopher.”
Pepa watched the interaction with a fond smile, “Come, mi amor .”
Christopher pulled back, walking over to the woman.
Buck slowly stood , resisting the urge to rub his leg and could already hear Maddie scolding him for pushing it . He forced himself to walk as normally as he could, moving back towards his desk where he kept a bottle of ibuprofen.
“I’ll see you on Monday, Mr. Buck!”
Buck smiled, waving at him and Pepa , “See you soon, Christopher.”
…
A knock on his classroom door a little over an hour lat er revealed Maddie, who frowned when she found him sitting in his desk chair with his left leg stretched out before letting out a sigh . “You alright?”
“Nothing that some ibuprofen and sleep can’t fix.”
“Evan…”
“Maddie, I’m okay.” He shrugged, “I’ve just been on my feet too long is all.”
“If you say so.” She eyed his leg for a moment, “How’d open house go for you?”
“Pretty good. I met most of the parents so…”
Maddie smiled, nodding at his leg, “ I’m guessing you’ll be going home tonight?”
Buck nodded, “Yeah. Let me know how that date goes.”
“Do you really want to know or are you just trying to change the subject?”
He shook his head, the question flashing him back to the day when a skittish, bruised Maddie had appeared on his doorstep for the first time in nearly three years with a look that would forever haunt him. “You deserve to be happy, Mads.”
Her smile was strained like she was thinking of the same night, absently reaching for the bare ring finger on her left hand. She walked over to his desk, leaning back against it with a laugh. “We’re a mess aren’t we?”
He shrugged, “We’ve made it this far haven’t we?”
She snorted, demeanor shifting once more, “Such the optimist.”
Buck lightly kicked her ankle, “Learned from the best.”
Maddie sighed, but her smile finally appeared genuine. “Such flattery.”
Buck grinned, “It gets me everywhere.”
She rolled her eyes, pushing off the desk, “Just go home , Evan.”