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Chapter Text

“How are you feeling?” Eddie asked Buck as they got dressed. It was Buck’s first day back at work since having Matthew and Eddie knew his boyfriend was both excited and apprehensive. Buck loved being a firefighter, loved it more than almost anything, but he’d spent the last six months at home with Christopher and Matthew so the fact that they were taking Christopher and Matthew to Abuela's for the next twenty four hours was difficult.

"I'm looking forward to going back to work but I don't want to leave Matthew. I know Christopher is fine but I've never left Matthew before. I'm just worried." Buck sighed.

"Abuela is perfectly capable of looking after the boys whilst we're at work and I'm sure if you ask she'll keep you updated. Don't you think it might be nice to spend some time out of the house and with adults? Besides me, I don't think you've seen another adult for the last month." Eddie remarked.

"Okay, that might be true but I enjoy taking care of our boys." Buck replied. Eddie pulled his boyfriend into a hug and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"You're bound to be nervous about returning to work, we can give it a try and if you'd rather be at home then that's fine by me." Eddie offered.

"And how would we afford that? It's not cheap to feed four people and that's without the extra stuff we need for Chris. Besides, we want to move to a bigger house and that's just more money." Buck sighed.

“We would figure it out. I just want you to do what is best for you, but I’m sure that when you get back to work, you’ll realise how much you’ve missed it - being out on the rigs, running headfirst into danger. I know things are different now that you’re a dad but you can’t just put your life on hold because of Matthew.” Eddie pointed out.

“I know, it’s just hard.” Buck frowned.

They sat down to breakfast, Buck with Matthew and his bottle and Eddie sorted Christopher out. Matthew would go back to sleep again after his bottle and would probably wake up again when they were at Abuela's. As Eddie was helping Christopher get the last of his things, Buck ate his breakfast after putting Matthew into his car seat.

Abuela was waiting in front of her house when they pulled up. “It’s so good to see all my boys.” She smiled, accepting a hug from Christopher and Eddie as Buck got Matthew out of the car.

“Thank you for having them both.” Eddie smiled.

“I’m really looking forward to spending time with them without you and Buck being here, to be honest, Edmundo. I’m also happy to have Matthew sometimes so you can spend time with Christopher or I’ll have them both when you’re not at work so the two of you can spend some time together. It’s important for you to spend some time together without the kids.” Abuela rambled.

“Let’s see how I cope for my first twenty four hour shift away from our boys before we decide about spending any more time away from them.” Buck laughed, pulling Chris in for a hug.

“I’m gonna miss you today.” Chris frowned.

“I’m gonna miss you, too, buddy but you’re going to have a great day with Abuela. We’ll be back to pick you up as soon as we finish work.” Buck assured.

“And what about me?” Eddie asked him.

“I’ll miss you, too, Dad.” Christopher sighed. Buck had to hide a laugh as Eddie crouched down to hug his son after handing Matthew’s car seat to Buck. Buck put it down and got Matthew out snuggling him close and pressing a kiss to his head. After saying goodbye to Chris, Eddie also pressed a kiss to Matthew’s head, not wanting to take their son from Buck.

“I hope you have a good first day back, Buck.” Abuela wished.

“Thank you. I’m sure everything will be absolutely fine, I’m just nervous because it’s been six months.” Buck commented.

“It’s normal to be nervous, nervous about returning to work, nervous about leaving Matthew for the first time.” Abuela assured him.

“It’s going to be fine. He’s with you, I have no doubt that he will be anything other than perfectly fine. You have supplies, toys, food. Everything is going to be fine.” Buck smiled.

“Thank you, Buck. I will keep you updated on how he’s doing throughout the day.” Abuela carefully took Matthew from Buck, who looked like he would rather do anything else than hand his son over. Abuela smiled at them as she took the boys inside.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Eddie whispered, taking Buck’s hand and leading him back to the truck. He was quiet all the way to the firehouse.

“I know it’s hard. It was hard for me my first day back, too. I missed all three of you like crazy. But you’ve got this. Abuela will keep us updated and you’re going to be with me all day. And the rest of the team are dying to have you back. They’ve been so excited all week.” Eddie told Buck.

Buck took a deep breath when they made it to the station, he had really missed everyone but he missed Matthew even though it had been less than an hour. “I’m right here if you need me and you can always message Abuela to ask what Matthew is doing if you need to.” Eddie assured him, pulling Buck in for a chaste kiss before they got out of Eddie’s truck. They managed to get to the locker room and into their uniforms before anyone realised they were there. It wasn’t until they came out, ready for the day, that Hen noticed them from upstairs.

"Buck!" Hen exclaimed, running down the stairs and rushing over to pull him into a hug.

“Hey.” Buck smiled. It felt strange to put his uniform on again, but it also felt right, like coming home.

“We’re so glad to have you back.” Bobby offered, pulling Buck into a hug. They'd all missed their golden hearted and reckless friend but knew how important it was that he had the time off before and after Matthew was born. They'd all met baby Matthew a couple of days after he'd been born and had seen him a handful of times since then but with restrictions lifting in some places and them all working together anyway, they were planning to get together so that everyone could see the entire Diaz family more often.

"Good to have you back, Buck." Chim patted Buck on the shoulder.

"Thanks guys, I'm glad to be back." Buck laughed.

"You're not missing Matthew?" Hen asked.

"I'm missing him like crazy but I don't think how much I missed intellectual conversation." Buck joked. Eddie shot him a look that screamed 'I told you so'.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve not forgotten how to do your job but since you’ve been out of the game for the last six months and some new changes have come in, I want you to take it easy today. Don’t do anything more than your limit. And you’ve got to remember that when you go home, you’ve still got a four month old to look after so be overly cautious.” Bobby instructed.

“Yes, Cap.” Buck accepted.

Chapter Text

Buck had been back at work for a few weeks now and he was slowly getting back into the swing of things. It still bothered him dropping Matthew off at Abuela’s and Chris back at school but he was getting used to it. After having Matthew, Buck had kept up with his fitness and he was nearly in the same shape he was before he found out he was pregnant. Which was a good thing considering what he did for a living.

The shift started out weird, with their first call being to a house where someone was injured in the shower but the call came from someone who wasn’t in the house. They got out of the truck and Eddie handed the crowbar to Buck, they shared a smile before continuing to the door. Bobby pressed the buzzer and announced their arrival.

“Dispatch said the patient was unconscious.” Buck commented.

“They also said it was a smart home.” Bobby replied.

“Welcome, Los Angeles Fire Department.” Hildy stated, opening the door.

“Am I the only one really creeped out right now?” Hen asked.

“No.” Everyone else agreed as they put their masks on and entered the property and made their way to the bathroom.

“Come on, let’s go.” Bobby instructed.

“On it, Cap.” Hen replied.

“Let’s see what we got here.” Chim added.

“What are his vitals?” Bobby checked.

“Pulse is steady. Scalp is lacerated, probably a concussion.” Hen replied. “Anthony, can you hear us?” Anthony didn’t move or make a sound.

“Looks like first or maybe second degree burns from the water. His veins are collapsed. Probably hypovolemia. We’ll need a line in his ankle.” Chim added.

“There’s still shampoo in his hair. He fell down with the water on.” Bobby noted. “So who turned it off?”

Whilst Hen and Chim were still sorting the patient, Buck and Eddie headed to the ambulance to get the gurney. “Now, who would wanna live like this?” Eddie asked his boyfriend. “Cameras and microphones everywhere, not knowing who’s watching or listening.”

“I hate to break it to you, Eds but if you’ve got a computer or a smartphone, smart TV, smart anything really, then anyone can spy on you.” Buck pointed out. Eddie did not look impressed.

“Now I’m thinking we shouldn’t buy that fancy smart coffee maker I keep seeing commercials for.” Eddie remarked.

“Hello, Eddie. Here are some popular coffee makers, would you like to hear the reviews?” Hildy piped up.

“Welcome to the future.” Buck whispered.

“Why does it sound terrifying to me?” Eddie stated.

“We are getting a new coffee maker, though.” Buck stated.

“No.” Eddie replied.

“Yes. After five months of no coffee, I deserve a decent cup in a morning before we come to work.” Buck argued.

“We’ll talk about this later.” Eddie stated as they headed up the stairs. They helped Hen and Chim put Anthony on the backboard and get him on the gurney. He started to regain consciousness as they were heading out of the door.

“Anthony, Anthony. It’s okay. You fell in the shower. Lucky for you, we found you in time.” Bobby tried to calm him.

“How?” Anthony sounded confused.

“Your girlfriend called 9-1-1.” Bobby answered.

“No. No, no, no, no! No, no, no!” Anthony shouted.

“Pulse is racing. Let’s sedate him.” Chim announced.

“Wonder what set that off.” Hen mused.

“Maybe something about his girlfriend.” Eddie offered.

“It’s my ex.” Anthony corrected.

“Anybody can spy on you.” Eddie added, referring to the smart home.

“So, how are things coming together for baby Han?” Hen asked Chim when they got back to the station.

“Slowly.” Chim replied. “I’m trying to convince Maddie not to do too much but that means I have to do everything when I get home.”

“Then why don’t you ask for help? We’d be more than happy to come over and help, Chim. It wasn’t that long ago that we were doing all this for ourselves.” Eddie offered.

“Are you sure? That would be great.” Chim checked.

“Athena and I will watch the boys for you, so Chim’s apartment doesn’t get too crowded.” Bobby volunteered.

“You just wanted an excuse to look after Matthew.” Hen laughed.

“And Christopher. Athena and I love those boys.” Bobby corrected.

“Thanks, Cap. That would be really helpful.” Buck added.

“Is Athena going to mind that you didn’t check with her before volunteering to have Christopher and Matthew on your day off?” Chim asked Bobby.

“No. We’re always wishing we could spend more time with the boys so I doubt she’s going to have an issue with it.” Bobby stated.

“Prove it.” Hen smirked. Buck and Eddie shared a look, they were both trying to hide their laughter as Bobby pulled out his phone and began to call Athena. They both knew Athena wasn’t going to have a problem with it because she always offered to have the boys instead of Abuela on days when she wasn’t at work.

“Hello.” Athena greeted.

“Hi, I hope you’re having a good day.” Bobby began.

“I am thank you, are you?” Athena replied.

“Yes, thank you. I have some good news.” Bobby continued.

“Which is?” Athena pried.

“I volunteered us to have Chris and Matthew tomorrow so Buck and Eddie can help Chim and Maddie with some baby stuff.” Bobby told her.

“Good. It’s been too long since we last saw those boys. I’d better get back to work but thank you. I love you.” Athena smiled.

“Love you, too. Bye.” Bobby stated before hanging up and turning to Hen and Chim. “Told you.”

“Okay.” Chim frowned, he shook the crib and it rattled dangerously. “This thing looks like a death trap.”

“Wait, I think you mixed up the spacers with the supports.” Eddie told him. Maddie just watched as Chim and Eddie tackled the crib and Buck attempted to baby proof the rest of the place.

“Yeah, but they look the same.” Chim defended.

“Buck, did you steal the screwdriver again?” Eddie called across the room.

“Yeah. It is all yours. I am finally finished baby proofing this apartment.” Buck smiled. “Here.” He threw the screwdriver to Eddie.

“Hey, I wonder if you should put some alarm sensors on these windows.” Buck moved over to one of the windows.

“You know we live on the second floor, right?” Chim stated.

“And what if the baby tries to get out?” Buck replied.

“Just indulge him, please. We had this exact same conversation when I was baby proofing our new place.” Eddie sighed as he carried on with the crib.

“Buck, we said that you could help baby proof the apartment, not turn it into an inescapable fortress.” Maddie offered.

“I just don’t wanna underestimate the curious interiority of my niece or nephew.” Buck stated.

“Do you still not know if it’s a boy or girl?” Eddie piped up.

“The last ultrasound, the baby was in the wrong position to tell the sex. Maddie said it looked like the baby was mooning them.” Chim replied.

“It would be nice to have a little girl around, it seems like everyone else has boys.” Maddie commented.

“I don’t think I’d know what to do with a girl. I was kinda relieved to find out we were having a boy.” Eddie laughed.

“What if you guys have a girl next?” Chim asked.

“Matthew is only four months old, Chim. We’re not even thinking about another baby yet.” Buck stated.

“Could happen by accident again.” Maddie pointed out.

“We’re actually being careful this time, thank you.” Eddie stated, ending the discussion.

“Seriously, Buck? It’s an upper cabinet!” Maddie exclaimed as she tried to get into one of the cabinets. “How’s the baby gonna reach that?”

“He was worse than this at ours. I got away with it by telling him to go and rest.” Eddie stated.

“I’m getting better ever since-” Buck cut himself off. Eddie reached out to take Buck’s hand in his and kissed the back of his hand.

“Since what?” Chim asked.

“Um, I started seeing a therapist.” Buck admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Maddie sounded disappointed.

“Come on, we’ve all had our turn in the hot seat. It’s the cost of doing our jobs. It’s not a big deal.” Chim offered.

“She’s not a department shrink. And, uh, it’s not just about the job. It's, it’s about me. How I feel about having a baby, returning to work, stuff about our parents. I mean, everyone has issues, right?” Buck tried to shrug it off.

“It’s okay if you’re not ready to talk to us about it, you know that, right? We won’t pressure you.” Chim stated as Maddie pulled her brother into a hug.

“Thanks, Maddie.” Buck sighed, sinking into the hug.

Chapter Text

Buck had been home about half an hour when there was a knock on the door. Matthew was asleep in his room and Eddie had taken Chris out for the rest of the afternoon. “Hey, didn’t I just leave your place?” Buck checked when Maddie entered the house.

“Yeah, I just, you know, wanted to come and talk about the therapy thing.” Maddie explained.

“Okay but I was just at your apartment.” Buck repeated.

“Yes, I know, and I thought maybe you didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about it in front of Chimney so here I am. We’re alone now, so, you know, you can tell me the truth.”

“I was telling you the truth. Ever since having Matthew, I’ve struggled with how I felt growing up. I never felt like our parents wanted me and I hate the thought of Matthew or Christopher ever feeling like that. I know Christopher isn’t mine but I love him just as much as I love Matthew. And even after I finally got to say my piece to Abby, I didn’t have the closure I needed.”

“So you needed someone unbiased to talk to.” Maddie guessed.

“Yeah, because Eddie is completely on my side and obviously, they’re your parents, too but they’ve always treated us so differently so yeah, I wanted to talk things through with someone who could help me. Look, I know I got a great life, a job I love, people I love. Eddie is the best, I don’t know what I did to deserve him. Christopher and Matthew are such a blessing and I’m so glad that you got away from Doug and you’re back in my life.” Buck explained.

“Have you talked to our parents about this? Have you spoken to them at all since you told them Matthew had been born?” Maddie checked.

“I haven’t spoken to them since the day I told them I was pregnant. Besides, this isn’t a big deal.” Buck admitted.

“You know that I’m here for you, right? Whatever you need.” Maddie assured him.

“Yeah. I just don’t think this is something you know how to fix.” Buck replied.

“Why not?” Maddie asked as Matthew began to cry.

“Because I always felt like you were sad, too.” Buck stated. “I need to go and get my son.” Buck left the room to go and get Matthew as Maddie let herself out, tears in her eyes.

It wasn’t long before Eddie and Christopher got back and Buck handed Matthew to his boyfriend before going to start on dinner. After dinner, Eddie went upstairs to bathe Matthew and put him down for the night so Buck could spend some one on one time with Christopher, too. “Come on, Buck. I’m beating you.” Christopher laughed as his character was beating Buck’s at the game.

“You’re cheating.” Buck accused.

“Come on, Buck.” Chris laughed as Eddie came into the room and took the remote.

“Hey, Eds, you need to talk to this kid about playing… fair.” Buck trailed off as Eddie unplugged the game. “Or you could just do that.”

“Dad, I was beating him.” Chris pouted.

“Well, we’re taking a little break from the Internet right now.” Eddie replied, standing in front of the TV with his hands on his hips.

“But how am I supposed to talk to my friends?” Chris asked.

“You’re talking to people on this thing?” Eddie checked, incredulously.

“Okay, hey, um, you know I was kidding the other day, right? About the spying.” Buck queried, looking at his boyfriend.

“Were you? Because ever since that call, every time I go online, there’s an ad for coffee makers. Read the news, coffee makers. Check the weather, coffee maker.” Eddie replied.

“Yeah, it’s, uh, it’s called targeted advertising.” Buck explained.

“We don’t even need a new coffee maker! The one we have is fine!” Eddie exclaimed. “I only mentioned it in front of you… and Hildy.”

“Hildy? Are we getting a Hildy?” Chris asked, excitedly.

“No, we are definitely not!” Eddie practically shouted.

“Buck, can we play video games when dad isn’t home?” Chris checked. Eddie folded his arms and glared at his boyfriend when Buck looked to him.

“Uh, sorry, buddy. I think we’re gonna be playing it old school for a while.” Buck replied as Eddie took all electronic devices that weren’t his phone or Buck’s phone and went to hide them, presumably in their room.

“What’s old school?” Chris asked. 

“Board games. Have you ever heard of Scrabble?” Buck replied. When Chris shook his head, Buck went and got out Scrabble. Buck had just finished teaching Chris how to play Scrabble when Eddie returned and stated it was time for Chris to have a bath and go to bed. After Chris finished in the bath, they both tucked him into bed and read him a story before each pressing a kiss to his forehead and leaving the room.

“So, are we going to talk about the no internet thing?” Buck asked as they got ready for bed.

“What’s to talk about?”

“I understand that it’s making you a little stressed but I really want a new coffee maker. And it’s not really fair to take everything away from Chris.” Buck stated.

“You’re always the good cop with him.” Eddie frowned.

“Well someone has to be, considering you’re always bad cop.” Buck laughed. Eddie’s frown stayed in place. Buck moved over to where his boyfriend was sitting on the edge of the bed and straddled his lap. “Hey, you know I’ll always follow your lead, that's why I never say anything that you don’t approve first.” Eddie pulled Buck into a kiss.

“It shouldn’t be like that, though, Evan. Besides, like you said, I’m just paranoid about Hildy.” Eddie sighed.

“I know you are. An internet ban isn’t the end of the world.” Buck smiled, leaning back in for another kiss.

“You sure you’re going to cope?” Eddie smirked.

“Oh, I’m sure I can find other ways to keep myself entertained.” Buck bit his bottom lip as Eddie lay back on the bed so Buck could position himself better for them to grind against each other.

Chapter Text

“These wildfires could not have come at a worse time for firefighters in Texas. You may recall that just a week ago, the Pilot Knob volcano erupted.” The news anchor was saying

“Oh, whoa. Volcano? That’s crazy.” Buck remarked, running into the room.

“So crazy. Still can't believe it didn’t happen here.” Chim agreed.

“All surrounding counties and even surrounding states are being contacted to come help.” The news continued as Chim turned it off.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you about something.” Chim began.

“Okay.”

“This might be a little too personal and none of my business so you can totally tell me to go to hell-”

“Chimney, spit it out.” Buck forced.

“What’s the deal with your parents?”

“Uh, what do you mean?”

“Well, you almost never talk about them, the only time you’ve ever mentioned them was when you told Maddie that they didn’t react well to the news that you were pregnant. I feel like I know way more about your sex life than I do about your parents.” Chim joked.

“Well, my sex life is more interesting. Or it was until we had Matthew.” Buck laughed.

“But, seriously, uh, Maddie barely talks about them either. Or to them, for that matter. Other than telling me they were glad when she told them she was pregnant. And the other night I found her all freaked out, like something was wrong. She said she was scared of screwing up with our kid the way your parents screwed up with the two of you guys.” Chimney explained.

“She said that?” Buck checked.

“Kinda. I mean, she wasn’t specific but she never is. She said that they’re not bad people, so I’m guessing that they weren’t abusive.” Chim continued.

“No, no, they weren’t.” Buck cut in. “Um, they were just… Absent, mostly, you know? I mean, they were in the house, they were cooking meals, washing clothes, usual stuff, just... It always felt like they were a million miles away. Maddie and I have very different relationships with them. I don’t know why they sort of rejected the fact that I’m pregnant but they were happy for Maddie. Maybe one day I’ll find out but I’ve got all the family I need right here. If they do, one day, decide that they want to be part of my life then they’ll have to work hard for it and if not then what difference does it make?” Buck explained.

“Ah, I just figured they liked each other more than they liked us. Well, they- they weren’t great with kids.” Buck added.

“Okay, so I shouldn’t be worried that you guys are hiding some deep, dark, Buckley family secret from me?” Chim checked.

“Nah. Just your average, run of the mill, dysfunctional. Welcome to the family.” Buck laughed. Chim turned the news back on to see what was happening in Texas when Hen and Eddie joined them again.

“Buckley, Diaz, can I have a word?” Bobby asked, summoning the pair to his office almost as soon as Eddie had sat down.

“Ooh, what have you done this time?” Chim asked, jokingly.

“Nothing.” They chorused, defensively.

“I don’t believe you.” Hen laughed as they continued to watch the news. Just last week they’d been talking about an extinct volcano that had woken up, just outside of Austin. Now, there was a wildfire raging near San Angelo. Buck and Eddie got up and headed to Cap’s office.

“Have a seat, boys.” Bobby gestured to the chairs opposite his desk.

“Have we done something wrong, Cap?” Eddie checked.

“Not that I’m aware of. Why? Is there something I need to know about?” Bobby asked, cautiously. They both shook their heads. “Good. Now, there’s something I need to check. I’ve had a call from Chief Alonzo, the Texas Fire Department has declared an emergency. They don’t have enough firefighters to man the fire houses and be on the front lines battling the wildfire. Lots of states are sending reinforcements. When you joined the LAFD, you both agreed to emergency deployment. Are you both happy to go to Texas? I know a lot has changed for both of you since you joined the department.”

“Can we have some time to talk about it, Cap? We’ll get back to you by the end of shift.” Eddie requested after looking at his boyfriend, Buck looked really unsure.

“Thanks, boys.” Bobby smiled before shooing them from his office. He had too much to do. They left Bobby’s office and Buck headed to the bunk room, Eddie following closely behind.

“What are you thinking?” Eddie asked as Buck sat down on the edge of one of the beds.

“I don’t know. I’ll feel bad if one or both of us turn down going to help in Texas. It’s not the Chief’s fault that neither of us remembered we’d signed up for this.” Buck started.

“But?”

“But surely we can’t both go? What if something goes wrong and we don’t make it back? What would happen to Matthew and Christopher? But how can we both go? Who will look after the boys whilst we’re away?”

“Evan, you need to calm down, carino. How about we both agree to go this time, because we don’t really have a choice, and as soon as we get back, we can contact Chief Alonzo and say that in future it will be one or the other and not both of us because we have children at home?” Eddie suggested.

“And who will look after Matthew and Christopher whilst we are gone?” Buck continued.

“We can ask Abuela and Aunt Pepa, failing that, I’m sure we could drop them off at my parents in El Paso on the way to San Angelo.” Eddie reasoned.

“Matthew is only five months old. I’ve never been away from him for longer than a twenty four hour shift. Buck whispered. Eddie sat down on the bed next to Buck and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder. Buck sank into Eddie’s side and accepted the chaste kiss his boyfriend pressed to his lips.

“If you’re not comfortable with the idea of going, then I’m fine with you staying here, Evan. I will be going to San Angelo.” Eddie replied.

“Call Abuela, see if she or Aunt Pepa can have the boys. If they can, then we’ll both go. If not, I’ll stay and you go.” Buck negotiated.

“Okay.” Eddie smiled, pressing another chaste kiss to Buck’s lips. Eddie was about to lie down, just enjoying the feeling of having Buck in his arms, when the alarm went off. Looks like they’d have to wait a bit longer to give Bobby their answer.

Chapter Text

“Los Angeles Fire Department. We got a call from this address.” Bobby called, knocking on the door.

“I’m coming! I’m coming! Ouch!” Becky exclaimed. They heard her bump into something.

“Uh, hold on.” Bobby shouted.

“Cap, battering ram.” Eddie suggested, handing it to Bobby.

“Ma’am, step away from the door. We’re coming in.” Bobby announced.

“Okay.” She whimpered.

“Let’s get her up off the floor. Come on, help her up.” Bobby instructed. Eddie rushed over to help.

“Let’s get you to a chair, okay?” Eddie comforted her as Hen came over to check her out.

“I’m right here.” Hen said, reaching out a hand to help Eddie and Becky.

“Right over here.” Eddie added.

“Can you tell us about your symptoms?” Hen asked once she was sitting down.

“Well, it’s really just the one symptom. I can’t see anything.” She replied.

“Have you been having trouble with your vision before today?” Eddie asked.

“No, always been 20/20.” Becky replied.

“And this morning, just completely gone?” Hen continued.

“I woke to greet the world and it wasn’t there.” She responded.

“Ma’am, have you been using any new skin care or make-up products, anything that might cause an allergic reaction?” Bobby checked.

“No, nothing like that.”

“What about household cleaners? Anything with fumes or a strong scent?” Bobby continued as Hen and Eddie got closer to inspect her eyes.

“Just some essential oils.”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t do this.” Hen remarked.

“Blood pressure is normal so it’s probably not a circulation problem.” Eddie added.

“You’ve got some swelling and minor irritation on the eyelid. Ma’am, I’m gonna open up your eyelid and I’m gonna shine this light up there, okay? Just relax.” Hen assured her. “Diminished pupillary response. Minor clouding on the lenses. Almost like they’re covered in a film.” Hen observed.

“Cataracts don’t just appear overnight.” Eddie added, shining a light in her other eye. He then saw something move. “What was that?”

“What?” Hen replied.

“Thought I saw something move.” Eddie explained.

“In my eyes?” Becky exclaimed.

“Something like a- a worm?” Hen checked.

“Oh, God. Oh, God, I’m gonna throw up. I’m gonna throw up.” The lady frowned.

“Just try and stay calm for us, okay?” Eddie soothed.

“Let me grab a forceps and a sample jar.” Hen said.

“How did a worm get in my eye?”

“Maybe it could be some kind of bug.” Hen suggested.

“Face flies. It’s a type of parasite that infects livestock. They feed off the tears, lay eggs in the eyes. You don’t normally see it in people, though. Mostly cattle.” Bobby explained.

“I haven’t been around cattle. I don’t think I’ve even been in the same room with a burger since 2004.” Becky claimed.

“You probably haven’t taken a trip.” Hen commented.

“Everything’s closed.” Becky agreed.

“Maybe something in your workspace. What do you do for a living?” Eddie asked.

“I teach yoga.”

“What kind of yoga?” Eddie continued.

“Goat yoga.” Becky replied as Hen pulled something out of her eye.

“And people pay to do that?” Bobby asked, doubtful.

“Well, people say that baby goats offer the perfect weight and resistance to hold a plank position.” Eddie explained. Everyone looked at him confused.

“I can know weird stuff, too. It’s not just my boyfriend.” He stated, Bobby and Hen both laughed at that.

“No, it's not weird.” Becky defended. “Okay, it’s a little weird, but people really like the class and- and goat yoga’s the only thing that’s keeping me afloat while the studio’s closed.” Becky explained.

“Hey, no offense, but if you’re gonna stick with goats, you might wanna consider wearing goggles.” Eddie suggested.

“Maybe it’s a sign. My sister keeps telling me to grow up already and get a real job. She might be right.” Becky frowned.

“Or she might be wrong.” Hen corrected. “Who cares what other people think? Okay, if goat yoga is your jam, your dream, then own goat yoga. Never apologise to anyone for that, okay?”

“Aw. Thank you.” Becky smiled, reaching a hand out to Hen’s face.

“Oh, easy, easy now. I still have a tool that can make this whole blindness thing permanent.” Hen laughed. “Stay still. It’s only gonna take a second.” Hen got the rest of the worms out of Becky’s eyes and put them in the sample jar before putting the lid on.

“Oh, I can see again. Oh, thank you.” Becky giggled. She then looked at the sample jar and retched. “Oh- do rabbits have worms? Maybe bunny yoga is the future?” Becky suggested.

“Do rabbits have worms? Would you like to hear what I found on the internet?” Hildy piped up.

“No!” Eddie exclaimed, jumping up and laying Hildy down on the unit. Everyone looked at him like he was weird. Maybe he was acting a little crazy.

As soon as they got back to the firehouse, Eddie went to the bunk room to call his Abuela, Hen and Bobby went up to the main area to tell Chim about the call he’d missed. Buck was still asleep so Eddie sat on one of the other beds so he wouldn’t wake his boyfriend. “Is something wrong, Edmundo?” She asked in greeting.

“No, everything is fine.” Eddie responded.

“Oh, good. Hello.”

“Hi, Abuela.” Eddie smiled.

“You had me worried, Edmundo. You never call me in the middle of a shift unless there’s a problem. I thought you were about to tell me that my favourite person had been hurt.” Isabel replied.

“Evan’s just asleep, he’s fine, I promise. And there’s not a problem, per say. But I do have a favour to ask.” Eddie grimaced even though Abuela couldn’t see him. Out of the corner of his eye, Eddie was aware of his boyfriend waking up and rolling over to look at him.

“Is that Abuela?” Buck whispered. Eddie nodded, taking the phone away from his ear and putting it on speaker as he moved to sit on the bed where Buck was laying.

“What is it? What’s the favour?” She asked.

“It’s my fault, Abuela.” Buck commented.

“Nonsense, Evan. I very much doubt it could be your fault.” Isabel replied. Eddie wanted to laugh, he’d always known that his boyfriend was Abuela’s favourite, she wasn’t very subtle about it.

“When I joined the LAFD, I agreed to be sent on emergency deployment out of state if the need arose. Because I’ve never had to leave LA, I completely forgot about it.”

“As anyone would.” Isabel assured.

“Well,  I never changed it after having Matthew.” Buck continued.

“I also agreed to go when I joined the department. At the time, I was a single dad and thought the extra money could be useful.” Eddie added.

“So you need me to look after Christopher and Matthew whilst you’re both out of state for a few days.” Isabel guessed.

“Yes please.” Buck requested.

“Of course I can do that. I’ve told you both before, the difficult bit is when you come home and I have to give you your children back.” Isabel assured.

“Thank you, Abuela, I don’t know what we would do without you.” Buck commented.

“I’m sure you’d figure something out. I’m just glad I can make things easier for you. When would you need to leave?” She asked.

“Probably tomorrow, the day after at the latest.” Eddie reasoned.

“I imagine we’ll come home after our shifts, pick the boys up from Aunt Pepa’s, go home and pack before bringing them to you and coming back to the firehouse.” Buck explained.

“I’d better go shopping soon, then. Christopher and Matthew are both growing boys.” Isabel smiled before saying goodbye and hanging up.

“I’ll go and tell Bobby we’re okay to go to Texas. You, on the other hand, had better hit the showers.” Buck laughed.

Chapter Text

When their shift was over, Buck and Eddie headed straight to Abuela’s to pick up the boys and thank her for agreeing to watch them whilst they were away. They grabbed take out on the way home and after eating, they left Christopher to do his homework and they began to pack what they would need to take to Texas. “You do realise that we’ll have to stop off at my parents on the way back, right? They won’t be happy if we’re near El Paso and don’t stop to say hi.” Eddie pointed out.

“Well, I’ve not actually seen them in person since we told them we were together and that I was pregnant, which was like, nine months ago. So, it’s kind of long overdue. I know they’ll be sad that we don’t have the boys with us, though.” Buck replied.

“Could you imagine us making the trip with us and both the boys? It would be a nightmare! Until Matthew is old enough to fly, if they want to see us, they’ll have to come to LA.” Eddie responded.

“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” Buck pointed out.

“I made the trip from El Paso to LA with Chris when he was seven and that was a nightmare. How do you think it would go with a nine year old and a five month old?” Eddie replied.

“Badly, by the sound of it.” Buck laughed. There was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it, you carry on packing Matthew’s stuff.” Eddie replied, pressing a quick kiss to Buck’s lips before going downstairs. When he opened the door, there was a box on the doorstep but he couldn’t remember ordering anything. Buck had come downstairs with Matthew to see what was going on and even Chris looked up from his homework.

“What is it?” Buck asked.

“It’s a coffee maker. From Hildy.” Eddie frowned. Buck and Chris looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“We got him!” Chris exclaimed.

“Real funny.” Eddie stated.

“You should see the look on your face, Eds.” Buck smiled.

“I’ll get you back for this.” Eddie smirked, wrapping an arm around Buck where he wasn’t holding Matthew. Buck pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

“Sure you will.” Buck laughed.

When Chris had finished his homework, Buck and Eddie had finished packing and Matthew was in bed. The three of them went through to the living room to watch something. “Chris, we have something to talk to you about first.” Eddie began.

“It’s not another baby brother or sister, is it?” He asked. “Because the last time you wanted to tell me something it was that I was going to have a baby brother.”

“No, Chris, it’s not another baby. Not yet, anyway.” Buck denied.

“We’re getting very off topic.” Eddie stated.

“Yes, Chris, we need to go away with work for a few days so you’ll be staying with Abuela.” Buck explained.

“But you’re gonna come back?” Chris checked.

“Of course we will.” Eddie assured him.

“We’ll always come back to you and Matthew.” Buck added.

“Okay. Can we watch Cars now?”

“The raging fires have progressed in San Angelo. Response teams are exhausted. Further counties, including the Los Angeles Fire Department have been summoned to help contain the epic disaster.”

Dropping Christopher and Matthew off at Abuela’s that morning was a little more difficult than either of them had anticipated, they’d both promised Christopher that they were going to come home again but with a wildfire like this, there were no guarantees that either of them would definitely make it home but they would do everything in their power to ensure that would happen.

“Come on, let’s go!” Buck called to Eddie as he handed his boyfriend more stuff to put on the truck. “I can’t believe I’ve been on the list for special deployment ever since I’ve joined the department and have never got the call before this week.” Eddie smiled at his boyfriend as he packed the stuff Buck handed him.

“Okay, we are ready to roll.” Eddie announced.

“Oh, no. I know how you guys are. Everybody, make sure you use the bathroom before we go. I don’t care if you think you need to or not. We have a twenty hour drive and we’re gonna make good time.” Hen announced.

“I didn’t know you were coming with us.” Eddie remarked.

“I got two kids and med school bills to pay. I’ll take all the emergency overtime I can get.” Hen explained. “Besides, it’ll be fun. I’ve never been to Texas.”

“Me either. It’s long overdue since that’s where most of Eddie’s family lives.

After everyone had been to the bathroom, they set off with Buck driving for the first leg. “So, how was leaving Matthew for a few days? I didn’t think both of you would actually come.” Hen commented.

“I hated it. I don’t like leaving him when we’re only on twenty four hour shifts but I didn’t really feel like we had a choice.” Buck stated.

“We did have a discussion about it before agreeing.” Eddie said.

“Would you really have wanted one of you to go and not the other? You prefer to have each other’s backs in uncertain situations.” Hen pointed out.

“She has a point.” Eddie agreed.

“I always have a point.” Hen laughed. “How did Chris take it? There’s been a lot of changes for that boy in just a few short months.”

“He was good about it. Wanted to make sure that we’d both be coming home again.” Eddie smiled. Both he and Buck knew how lucky they were to have a kid as calm and understanding as Christopher.

“When we said we wanted to talk about something, he immediately asked if it was another baby.” Buck laughed.

“I can’t imagine having kids that close together.” Hen joined in.

“Me either. We’re still adjusting to having Chris and Matthew. No more kids until Matthew is at least two.” Buck stated.

“That was what we agreed, anyway.” Eddie added.

“You’ve actually talked about this? Already?”

“Yeah.” Buck replied.

“I come from a big family. My mama has a brother and a sister, I have two sisters, my papa has two sisters and a brother so I’ve always wanted at least three kids.” Eddie explained.

“I’ve always wanted kids, never really cared how many, but I want them to be closer in age than me and Maddie. She was more like a parent than a sister growing up.” Buck added.

Buck drove for the first few hours, then Hen took over and Buck curled up in the back with Eddie, falling asleep against his boyfriend’s shoulder. Eddie pressed a kiss to Buck’s hair as he pulled out his phone to update Abuela, Bobby and Athena on how their journey was going. “He sleeps a lot at the moment, doesn’t he?” Hen offered.

“Yeah, it’s been a difficult adjustment for him, going from no kids to two kids in the space of a few months.” Eddie smiled, gently.

“Yeah, it’s not as difficult going from one to two, but to go from none to one is such a big change.” Hen agreed.

“He just takes everything in his stride. I’m still trying to get him to ask for help when he needs it, he does about seventy percent of the time now, but he’s so used to feeling like he’s alone.” Eddie frowned.

“All we can do is be there for him when he needs us.” Hen remarked.

“Yeah, and just hope that he lets us be there.” Eddie sighed.

Chapter Text

“Buck, wake up. Wake up. We’re here.” Hen gently shook him on the shoulder. Buck grunted and wiped the drool from his chin.

“Oh, we are?”

“I’m just glad that you’ve gotten some sleep on the way here.” Eddie smiled, kissing Buck’s cheek. Buck opened the door so the three of them could get out.

“Ooh! What’s up with the air?” Buck asked, it was like walking into a sauna.

“The wildfire, remember? That’s why we’re here.” Hen replied.

“I mean the way it feels. Like getting slapped with a wet towel.” Buck continued.

“It’s called humidity. Welcome to Texas, Buck.” Eddie tried not to laugh at his boyfriend.

“I’m Deputy Chief De Leon of the San Angelo Fire Department, acting incident commander. For those of you just joining the party, welcome.” De Leon was saying. Buck was only half listening, he was looking at this girl who was standing a little way away from them. She looked so familiar but he just couldn’t place her. Hen glanced over at him.

“Buck, stop staring.” She told him.

“I’m not staring.” Buck denied.

“You’re staring.” Eddie comments without even looking at his boyfriend.

“I want to introduce my Operations Section Chief,  Captain Owen Strand, out of Austin.” De Leon passed over.

“The thing we were praying wouldn’t happen has happened. The wind has shifted. The fire’s now on a collision course with the city of San Angelo. There’s a possibility of weather coming in, but we can’t rely on it and we won’t. We have one last shot to turn the tide. Here.” Owen pointed to a map. “On Copper Ridge. We cut a containment line here, and we can stop this beast in its tracks. I know you’re exhausted. A lot of you haven’t had more than a couple hours of sleep in days. But on behalf of the city of San Angelo and their one hundred and twenty thousand souls, we’re gonna get you up on that fire line and you are gonna cut like hell. Good luck. Stay safe.”

“Buck. Seriously? Please don’t make me report you to HR.” Hen continued when Buck didn’t stop staring.

“No, no, I swear I know her from somewhere. It’s killing me.” Buck defended as everyone began to disband. He headed back to their truck to get changed into their yellow shirts whilst Eddie went to get some coffee and Hen disappeared without saying anything.

Eddie was just on his way back to Hen and Buck when he heard Captain Strand say “Take a medic. You don’t know what you’re gonna find up there.”

“I’m a medic. Eddie Diaz with the 118, Los Angeles.” He introduced himself.

“You a paramedic?” The girl Buck had been staring at asked.

“Firefighter. But I was a medic in the army and on more than a few missions that looked a lot like this.” Eddie explained.

“What you waiting for, Hollywood? Get your bag. Meet us down by the motor pool. We’ll roll out.” Strike Team leader told him.

“Copy that.” Eddie smirked, heading back to their truck to get his stuff. He knew Buck wouldn’t be impressed with him for leaving him to his own devices but going up to rescue some kids in AV’s was going to be way more fun than digging a fire line.

Hen had disappeared, just like Eddie and Buck was feeling a little lost being left on his own without his team in such an unfamiliar and stressful place. He just wished he was at home with Matthew in his arms and Christopher by his side. “Uh, where have you been?” Buck asked when Hen finally reappeared.

“Took a tour of the medical unit. Where’s Eddie?” Hen replied.

“I don’t know. I think he said something about getting some coffee. You guys abandoned me. Also, why did we drive the trucks all the way here from LA just to park ‘em?”

“Only way up to that fire line is by foot. Trucks go into the motor pool. Commander De Leon will use them as he sees fit. That’s how it works, Buck.” Hen explained, exasperatedly. It had been a long drive and she wasn’t in the mood to answer a million questions.

“Still, not sure I like the idea of strangers on our rigs.” Buck commented.

“No strangers here, Buck. Just grunts with shovels.” Hen threw a shovel at him.

“Uh, okay. And where’s yours?” Buck asked as he caught it.

“Me? I volunteered for base camp medical unit. But have a good hike.” Hen smiled as Eddie brushed past Buck. 

“Eddie, can you believe this? Hen is not going up to the fire line with us. Just gonna be you and me.” Buck asked when the girl he’d been staring at pulled up next to them in an AV.

“You ready, soldier?” She asked.

“Be right there.” Eddie nodded.

“Well, hop to it. Those at risk kids aren’t getting any less at risk.” She pointed out. Eddie laughed as she drove off.

“Uh, her? You’re going with her?” Buck sounded dejected.

“Yeah. I’ll see you later though.” Eddie offered, starting to walk off. “Evan, is there something wrong with that?” He turned around to look back at his boyfriend.

“It’s fine. I’d just thought we were going to stay together.” Buck sighed.

“I should have checked, I know this is the first time we’ve left the boys for such a long time since Matthew was born. You’re bound to be a little nervous.” Eddie pulled Buck into his arms and Buck rested his head against his boyfriend’s neck.

“I really gotta go but I’ll see you soon. Be safe.” Eddie pressed a chaste kiss to Buck’s lips before going to walk away again.

“Wait, guys, guys, guys. I know who that is! She’s Firefox.” Buck exclaimed. Hen and Eddie looked at him blankly. “Firefox? You guys seriously don’t know who Firefox is? She’s gone viral like, five times. Total bad ass. I, uh… I follow her on Instagram. Some reason, she didn’t follow me back.” Eddie smiled at Buck before turning to leave again.

“Don’t forget your shovel.” Hen joked as she went in the other direction.

“Abandoners.” Buck whispered.

Buck headed up to dig the fire line after Eddie and Hen had gone their ways to do their own thing. Buck ended up next to the guys who had been standing with Firefox at the briefing.

“You okay, TK?” Mateo checked when the other guy paused for a drink.

“I’m literally just getting a drink. I’m fine, I’ve told you that many times already.” TK insisted.

“... we put this fire on the ropes.” The commander of the grunts shouted as she passed them by.

“But if you need a break-”

“If I need a break I’ll take a break.” TK cut him off. Mateo looked dejected.

“Is everything okay?” Buck asked, curiously.

“Yeah, I had a baby four months ago so I’m still getting back into the swing of things.” TK explained

“Oh, no way! I had a baby five months ago.” Buck replied.

“I’m Mateo and this is TK, we’re from Austin.” Mateo said.

“I’m Buck, from LA.” Buck replied.

“How weird is that? You guys had babies within a month of each other.” Mateo commented.

“Probably more likely than you think.” Buck laughed.

“So, is your other half at home with your baby like mine is, then?” TK asked.

“No, actually, he’s here with me. We both work for the 118. His Abuela is looking after our boys.” Buck replied.

“You have two sons? How old is the other one if you don’t mind me asking?” TK continued.

“Christopher is nine, he’s actually Eddie’s son with his ex-wife but I love him like he’s my own. The five month is called Matthew.” Buck replied.

“So you guys are together but you also work together? How does that work? I didn’t think that would be allowed.” Mateo commented.

“It is allowed but we have to be professional when we’re out in the field. There’s protocols in place and we had to fill out a bunch of paperwork for HR. What about your other half and kid?” Buck explained before turning to TK.

“My boyfriend Carlos is a cop. We have a daughter, Ayla. When we break for the day, we’ll have to grab some food or something and I can show you a photo.” TK smiled.

“Likewise.” Buck smiled back.

“So, LA, huh?” Mateo checked.

“Yeah.” He replied.

“That’s cool. I got a cousin in LA. Marvin. People say we look alike. Maybe you know him.” Mateo continued.

“It’s kinda a big place.”

“No. I know. His last name’s Chavez.” Mateo added.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Buck smiled politely.

“He’s in jail anyway.” Mateo offered. TK gave him a look. “I bet you get some pretty crazy calls out there.”

“You have no idea.”

“We get our fair share in Texas.” TK contributed.

“You ever get a call at Disneyland?” Mateo continued.

“That’s Orange County.”

“But LA, right?” TK wanted to laugh at Mateo, the guy just loved to make friends.

“You know, we did get a call to an amusement park once. I had to scale the loop of a roller coaster. Guy was hanging on by his bare hands.” 

“You saved a guy hanging from a roller coaster?” Mateo asked in amazement.

“Uh, he let go.” Buck frowned.

“Man. That’s rough. I had a woman almost drown on me last year in less than a foot of water. She was trapped in a bus upside down in the middle of the street. It was wild, man.” TK competed.

“We had a bus rescue, it wasn’t upside down though. But it was sticking out of the fifth floor of an office building.” Buck responded.

“No way! That’s insane.” Mateo exclaimed.

“We just had an active volcano last week.” TK retaliated.

“Yeah, I think I saw something about that on my Twitter feed.” Next thing the three of them knew, something on fire came hurtling down the hill towards them. TK quickly tackled Buck to the ground so neither of them got hit. They scrambled to their feet as the car stopped beside them. “Looks like it’s just the driver.” Buck could see something moving in the driver's seat.

“Hey, we’re gonna get you out of there!” TK exclaimed, banging on the driver's window. Mateo grabbed a fire extinguisher and started to use it on the fire as TK threw an ax to Buck so he could smash the window to get to the driver. They were all quite surprised when a dog jumped out.

“Clyde! Oh, damn it! Clyde!” A guy shouted, running down the hill. “Oh, thank God. Oh, bad boy. Bad boy, Clyde. I am so sorry. I left him alone for like ten seconds. He must’ve unlocked the parking brake.”

“Your dog has a lead foot.” Mateo replied.

“So that was weird.” Buck said to TK.

“Right?” TK was still confused.

“Nice move, by the way. Good reflexes.” Buck smiled.

“Yeah, you too.”

Chapter Text

Eddie got on the ATV with Firefox and she took him over to where the rest of the group was. “I’m Judd, you’re gonna be riding with me.” The leader introduced himself before they headed up to find the camp. “Got you some of them critters, Hollywood? Bet they don’t get that big in LA.” Judd commented as Eddie was swatting bugs away.

“Oh, well, we got plenty in El Paso.” Eddie replied.

“Oh, no way. You’re from El Paso? Where’d you go to high school?”

“La Salle.” Eddie answered.

“La Salle. Whoa, we used to whoop your ass every year at State. I was Austin Heights.” Judd explained.

“You’re a Bulldog?” Eddie laughed.

“Roger.”

“And I thought we were gonna be friends.” Eddie joked.

“Whoo!” Firefox cheered as she sped past them.

“She always like that?” Eddie checked, smiling.

“Always.” Judd confirmed as she laughed.

When they arrived, all the kids got up to greet them. “I only count seven kids.” Eddie called out.

“IC said there was supposed to be eight. Yep, and a counsellor.” Judd responded.

“They’re missing!” One of the campers shouted.

“Hey! Back up. We’re here now. We’re gonna get you all down the mountain, okay. Marjan and Eddie’s gonna check everybody out, make sure they’re all okay. So- hey, hey, hey, who’s missing?” Judd explained.

“Mr Gomez. He left last night looking for JJ and he never came back.” The camper replied.

“JJ run away?” Judd checked.

“No, man. He was out doing his solo.”

“Solo?” Marjan asked.

“Yeah, it’s two nights mandatory alone in the woods. It builds character and self-respect but it’s usually pretty well monitored.” Judd explained.

“You know that how?” Paul asked.

“Mr Gomez have a cell phone?” Judd checked.

“He’s the only one that does. We’re not allowed.”

“No call in eight hours, it could just be bad reception.” Marjan offered.

“Or something else.” Eddie added, having spotted Mr Gomez approaching the group, coughing and wheezing. Marjan and Eddie rushed over to help him before he collapsed to the ground.

“Please help.” Mr Gomez wheezed.

“Hey, where’s JJ?” Paul asked him.

“Couldn’t find him.” Mr Gomez replied before passing out.

“He’s not breathing.” Eddie stated after checking. Everyone helped Eddie lift Mr Gomez onto the picnic table. “There we go. Marjan grab the IV bag from the kit. I’m gonna run a line. Can you hold this?” Eddie asked, handing his stuff to whoever was behind him.

“Hey, man. Let’s back up. Let’s let them work. Back up. Right back here. Keep going, keep going.” Judd led all of the campers away from the picnic table, they didn’t need to see what was going on. Marjan was doing rescue breaths as Eddie ran a line.

“I’m not hearing any air escaping. Lungs are intact” Eddie commented.

“Then why isn’t his chest rising?” Paul asked. It was a bit of a shock when Eddie took off the blanket covering Mr Gomez and his chest was all burnt.

“Ah, damn. We need to do an escharotomy.” Eddie stated.

“What the hell’s that?” Marjan asked.

“That burnt tissue, that’s called eschar. It’s constricting his chest like a rope. It’s preventing his lungs from expanding. He can’t draw a breath, we need to cut it.” Eddie explained.

“Now?” Marjan sounded nervous.

“Now.” Eddie told her. He took the lid off the saline and poured it on Mr Gomez’s chest and the scalpel. “Hope you’re not squeamish.” Eddie cut a Y shape before telling Marjan to resume rescue breaths. After two, Mr Gomez gasped and tried to sit up.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, buddy.” Marjan commented, pushing on his shoulders to keep him lying down.

“JJ.” He said.

“Sir, we’re aware of the missing kid, all right. I need you to take nice and steady breaths.” Eddie told him, putting an oxygen mask over his face.

“Nicely done, Diaz.” Marjan commented.

“You too, Firefox.”

They radioed the medical unit to tell them they were sending Mr Gomez down with seven of the campers.

“Hey, Eddie. It’s Hen. You’re sending out seven minors? I thought you went up there for eight?” Hen checked.

“One kid’s still missing. Couple of the guys from the Austin 126 are searching out for him now.” Eddie replied.

“All right, you got about two hours of daylight left and the wind reports are not good.” Hen warned.

“Yeah, it’s getting a little toasty out here.”

“All right, Eddie, you need to put a clock on this. Buck’s not going to be happy when he finds out.”

“I don’t think any of these folks are leaving without this boy, clock or no clock. Remind me a little of some other people I know.” Eddie smirked.

“Maybe we should go out and help them search.” Marjan suggested after they had been silent for a little while.

“Judd told us to stay here. That’s what we should do.” Eddie replied.

“How can you be so calm under literal fire?” Marjan asked, pacing.

“Well, at least no one’s shooting at us.” Eddie remarked. After he’d finished putting the medical supplies away, he got his phone out, there was a message from his Abuela, assuring him that both of the boys were okay. After replying to her and letting her know both he and Buck were fine, he went onto Instagram to see what all the fuss Buck had kicked up about Firefox was about. Marjan’s phone dinged and she got it out of her pocket.

“Seriously? You wanna follow me on Insta?”

“Heard you put a lot of effort into it. Was curious.” Eddie smirked.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Marjan replied, coming over to where Eddie was sitting.

“I haven’t been on social media in a while. The last post is like, five months old. Super boring.” Eddie replied.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Fine. Deal.” Eddie shrugged. His last post wasn’t boring to him, it was a photo of Christopher holding Matthew for the first time after they got home from the hospital. “Is that a Prius in the air?” Eddie checked.

“Tornado dropped it between two buildings.”

“Are these your kids?” Marjan asked, bringing up the photo of Christopher and Matthew.

“Yeah, Christopher and Matthew. They’re my world. I did the whole, you know, single dad thing for a while with Christopher and then I met someone. Matthew is five months old now.” Eddie explained.

“You did not build Christopher a skateboard.”

“Yeah, well, Buck helped.” Eddie smiled.

“Wait, is that that creepy guy who was staring at me before?” Marjan asked, bringing up a photo of him, Buck and Christopher.

“He’s my boyfriend and he’s basically harmless. He recognised you and couldn’t figure out where from.” Eddie explained.

“Wait, so you guys are dating and you have a kid but you also work together?”

“Yeah, it took us a while to get our shit together but I can’t imagine my life without him. Buck and the kids are all I need.” Eddie smiled, fondly.

“You really love him, huh.”

“I really do.”

“Great Oaks search team, give us your current location. We’re sending air support.” Dispatch requested.

“Air support?” Eddie questioned. “Who’s crazy enough to go up in something like this?”

“Judd, we got something under a grove of trees. South by southeast of your position. I’m gonna try to get over on top of it.” Owen’s voice came over the radio.

“Okay, Cap. We’re coming at you.” Judd replied.

“Of course.” Marjan sighed.

“I’m relieved that for once, it’s not my boyfriend.” Eddie commented. They listened to the rest of the conversation, Eddie’s heart sank when he heard Hen’s voice over the radio, although he was still relieved that Buck was safely on the ground. Eddie and Marjan shared a smile when they heard it had worked and JJ was stable. But they soon stopped.

“Mayday. Mayday. We are going down.” The pilot radioed.

“Oh, God.” Marjan breathed as they watched the helicopter crash beyond the fire line. They were all silent as they headed back to base camp. No one knew what to say.

Chapter Text

“So, did you and your boyfriend plan to have a baby then?” Mateo asked.

“Mateo, that’s a little invasive.” TK corrected.

“He’s fine, honestly. Um, no, we really didn’t. We’ve only been together a little over a year so we definitely weren’t at the having kids place yet but I don’t regret any of it.” Buck smiled.

“Same. Me and Carlos weren’t even dating when I got pregnant.” TK laughed.

“I’m not even gonna touch that.” Buck joined in laughing.

“So, tell us some more about crazy days in LA.” Mateo changed the subject.

“On Eddie’s second day there was a 7.1 earthquake and he had to catch this girl who nearly fell out of the eleventh floor of a hotel that was only being propped up by the building next to it.” Buck explained.

“Oh, come on. It’s California. Of course you’re gonna have earthquakes. But you can’t tell me that that’s cooler than the 126 going up against a solar storm.” TK continued.

“What even is that? You can’t see it.” Buck said.

“Guys. Don’t you see what you’re doing? You’re falling into the classic Iron Man versus Captain America trap. Is Captain America better because he’s a super soldier with an indestructible shield, or is Tony Stark better because he’s a tech genius with a sick weaponized suit?” Mateo offered.

“So, who’s better?” TK asked.

“Neither is better, bro. That’s the point. It’s a speeches argument. They’re both badass. And when they team up, nobody could beat them. Except maybe Thanos.” Mateo concluded.

“Oh, glad to see the strike team’s already got their feet up.” TK commented when they saw the other half of their group. Eddie rushed over to Buck and pulled him into a hug.

“Oh, you guys must be exhausted. All that go-karting up and down the hill.” Buck added.

“You didn’t hear, did you?” Marjan asked.

“Hear what?” TK replied. Eddie sat back down and brought Buck to perch on his lap.

“Your dad and Hen from the 118 went up in a helicopter to help us find the missing kid, but they issued a mayday and we haven’t heard from them since.” Judd explained.

“They went down beyond the fire line.” Eddie added.

TK stormed off to find the incident commander. “This is a joke! We know exactly where the chopper went down. So why haven’t you sent out a rescue team?” TK demanded.

“As I said, the beacon is coming from two miles inside an active burn zone. It is not safe to send anyone up in the dark.” The IC replied.

“Commander, with all due respect, we accept the risk and we ain’t asking anybody else to go.” Judd pointed out.

“You know I can’t authorise that.”

“You know, those are our people up there.” Buck tried.

“They could be bleeding out, right now. Dying.” TK continued.

“Son, we haven’t had any cell or radio contact at all since the mayday. Nobody else is risking their lives tonight. And your father would be the first one to agree with me.” De Leon instructed. TK stormed out.

“I’m gonna go and check on him, you guys keep arguing with the IC.” Buck told his boyfriend before heading out. He swung by the food tent on his way past as he’d noticed all the boxes of pizza and he really wanted some. He got some for both himself and TK before going to find the guy. He hung back a bit as TK was on the phone.

“I love you, too.” TK replied before hanging up. “What’s up?” He asked, turning to Buck.

“Well, they just delivered twenty kinds of pizza if you’re hungry.” Buck offered, bringing a box over.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Was that your boyfriend?” Buck asked.

“Yeah, I just wanted to see how he and Ayla are and to let him know about my dad. I think he’s mostly relieved that I’m not the one in danger but he worries about my dad, too. I know he does. I can’t bring myself to call my mom yet, she’ll just freak out.” TK explained.

“Understandable. I’d be the same if it was something with me or Eddie. His Abuela would lose her mind if something happened to either of us.” Buck nodded, sitting down with TK. “They survived the crash.” He added. “Believe it. And, your dad is with Hen, so, uh… so he’s in really good hands.”

“So is she.” TK replied.

“No doubt. Look, my Captain is not my dad, but he might as well be. He’s always been there for me, no matter what is going on. He’s the boy's grandpa and his wife is their Gigi. You know, he could have given up on me so many times, and he never did. Even when I used to steal the fire truck.” Buck smiled, trying to make TK laugh.

“You used to steal the fire truck?” TK double checked.

“Oh, yeah. All the time.”

“Yeah, my dad, he’s never given up on me either. And I’ve done a lot worse than steal a fire truck.” TK laughed. “It just sucks, you know? Just sitting here and doing nothing.”

“You could always show me those photos of your boyfriend and daughter that you said you were going to. Or, well… what if we didn’t have to?” Buck asked, holding up some keys.

“Is that-”

“A key to a fire truck? Yes, it is.” Buck smirked.

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“I was just waiting for you to say that you wanted to do this. Let’s go.” Buck smiled, jumping up. TK following closely behind.

“You sure it’s still here? Maybe they deployed it.” TK checked as they snuck through the rows of trucks that were parked in the motor pool.

“Not according to the board.” Buck whispered back. They checked that no one was around the next corner before continuing. “All right, go, go, go.”

“Hey!” TK whispered. “You know you don’t have to do this. There’s no reason that both of us get fired.”

“Hey, my friend’s up there, too. She would do the same thing for me. I think.” Buck began to doubt himself. “She would.” He decided.

“Okay. But if you ever meet my boyfriend, you cannot tell him that we stole a fire truck.” TK stated.

“Because he’s a cop?” Buck guessed.

“Because he’s a cop.” TK confirmed. “Oh, hey, here it is. Let’s go.” TK stopped.

“Uh, no. That’s not it.” Buck responded.

“What do you mean? 118, Los Angeles. Let’s go.” TK pointed out.

“Yeah, no, we’re not taking that. Bobby would kill me if I bought it back all scratched up. No, this is the key to your truck.” Buck laughed.

“Hey, dumbass. Dumbasser. Did you stop and consider the consequences of what you’re about to do at all?” Judd asked.

“You’ve clearly never met my boyfriend.” Eddie frowned, glaring at Buck.

“You two didn’t seriously think that you could sneak off and drive into wildfires, did you?” Marjan checked.

“Yes?” TK replied.

“Well, that ain’t gonna happen.” Paul added.

“You think you’re gonna stop us?” Buck responded.

“Stop you? We’re coming with you.” Mateo answered.

“Come on, let’s go.” Eddie encouraged, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand and squeezing it. “And after this we’re going to have a discussion about the fact that we have two boys back home in LA and what the consequences of those actions could be.” Eddie told him. Everyone else started laughing.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, TK. What do you think would happen if I let this slip to your boyfriend. Who’s a cop?” Judd pointed out. TK stopped laughing.

“Please, no one mention this to Carlos.” TK begged.

“Because you’re going to tell him yourself?” Mateo asked.

“Do I look like I have a death wish?” TK replied as they set off.

“Consider what we’re about to do and ask yourself that question.” Paul replied.

“Abuela texted to say the boys are fine, by the way. And to make sure that I’m taking care of you.” Eddie said quietly to his boyfriend.

“I take it your Abuela adopted your boyfriend and now he’s the favourite.” Judd butted in.

“Of course.” Eddie laughed.

“Wanna show me those photos while we have some time?” Buck asked his new friend. TK smiled and pulled his phone out.

“Have you seriously found someone else to annoy with photos of your daughter?” Judd smirked.

“It’s an agreement. TK gets to show me photos of his daughter and boyfriend and I get to show him photos of mine and Eddie’s boys.” Buck corrected, taking TK’s phone for a better look. “Okay, they’re adorable.”

“Your boys are pretty adorable, too.” Marjan added.

“Oh, you guys have kids together? I didn’t realise that firefighters from the same house could date.” Judd commented.

“There was a ton of paperwork that we had to go through but I don’t think, legally, they could stop us from dating.” Eddie explained.

“How old are your sons?” Paul asked.

“Chris is nine and Matthew is five months.” Eddie replied as Buck and TK continued to show each other photos.

“That’s a big age gap.” Judd remarked.

“Chris isn’t biologically mine.” Buck pointed out. “If he was then I’d have been, like, nineteen when he was born.”

“I was only twenty four.” Eddie replied. “Neither of them were planned but I can’t imagine my life without them.”

“I know that feeling. Looking at how different my life was just a year ago, compared to now, I can’t imagine my life being any other way.” TK smiled.

Chapter Text

When they got the truck as close as they possibly could, to where the helicopter was, the calm mood that had been established when talking about the children was now gone, replaced with the panic they’d felt when finding out about the helicopter crash. “Dad!” TK shouted, getting out of the truck.

“Hen!” Buck joined in. “Hen!”

“Dad!” TK continued.

“Cap!” Paul and Marjan shouted.

“They’re not in here! Buck, they’re not in here.” TK shouted from inside the helicopter.

“Hey, they made it out!” Buck alerted everyone else.

“Get clear!” Judd added.

“They made it out!” Buck repeated.

“Hey, let’s fan out and let’s search this area here, yeah?” Judd instructed.

“Dad!” TK shouted again, heading in one direction.

“Hen!” Buck called, heading in a different direction to TK. Eddie was following closely behind his boyfriend. “You don’t have to keep such a close eye on me, Eds.”

“Are you sure about that, cariño? The last time I left you alone, you thought it was a good idea to steal a fire truck and drive into a wildfire. And that was only thirty minutes ago.” Eddie deadpanned.

Everyone else stuck in pairs and a three and kept spreading out, trying to cover as much ground as possible. “Guys! Guys! Over here!” Marjan screamed, everyone else came running. Marjan had found some sticks with the yellow over shirts tied to them. One stated Austin 126, the other LA 118.

“Cap! Cap!” Paul and Marjan shouted.

“Clear!” Mateo shouted, running in with an axe. They all joined in trying to clear the collapsed wood away from the mine entrance. In very little time that felt like an eternity, they finally made it through and were able to get into the mine shaft. 

“Hey! I see them!” TK shouted. Owen and Hen were laying there, too still for everyone’s liking. Each team ran over to their guy and pulled them out of the mine shaft after checking their vitals. They both had a pulse.

“Pulse is slipping, come on, we gotta move.” Eddie instructed, after checking both of them over. He was the only one who was officially a medic - Marjan was certified but in such a high pressure situation, it was difficult to keep a level head.

“We’re here, dad.” TK told Owen.

“You’ll be alright.” Judd assured them both, even though neither Owen or Hen were conscious. Hen was more alert than Owen and they were both carried out of the mine - Hen between Buck and Eddie, Owen between TK and Judd, with Paul, Marjan and Mateo escorting the pilot.

It felt like a long drive back down the hill but they finally made it back to base camp medical where Owen and Hen were taken away from their teams in order to get checked out. 

“I’m so glad they’re both okay.” Buck sighed, collapsing into the embrace Eddie pulled him into.

“Me, too. That would have put a real damper on this trip if something happened to anyone.” Eddie laughed.

“Eddie…” Buck sighed.

“There are some things you just have to laugh about, otherwise you’ll cry. This is one of those times. The tsunami was also one of those times.” Eddie replied. They were both exhausted, so they headed to medical to check on Hen, who wasn’t there because she’d been dismissed. They’d checked her over and observed her for an hour but because she’s a paramedic and knows what signs to look out for, they let her go and get some food and sleep. Which was a good idea, for all of them.

The next morning, the 126 and the 118 all sat together for breakfast. “I can’t believe we’ve been here for just over twenty four hours and they’re already dismissing us.” Buck sighed.

“Be grateful that you’ve not been here as long as we have. I’m climbing the walls missing my family.” TK laughed.

“Very true. We’ve been gone two days already and I can’t wait to get back to Denny and Nia.” Hen smiled.

“We’re gonna miss you guys, though. It’s been fun having you around. I thought no other house could possibly be as crazy as us but looks like we’ve met our match.” Paul joked.

“That’s not necessarily a good thing, it’s like having two TK’s and nobody is ready for that!” Marjan added.

“Hey!” Buck and TK exclaimed.

“I guess we’d better go and say our goodbyes.” Hen suggested. “I’m gonna go and check on Captain Strand and will meet the rest of you at our rig to say goodbye?”

“Of course, see you soon, Hen.” Judd offered as she got up and headed over to the medical tent. Buck and Mateo went to sort out what equipment needed to go back with the 118 and Eddie went with Judd.

“Been nice to have you around, Diaz. If you’re ever in town, you’ll have to come and say hello.” Judd told him.

“Maybe if we come to see my parents soon, we’ll take extra time to come down to Austin and likewise, if you ever find yourself in LA, I’d love to meet your wife. Although it totally sounds like you’re punching above your weight.” Eddie laughed.

“Don’t I know it!” Judd agreed. “Oh, if y’all get hungry on the drive back, there’s a great barbecue place in Fort Stockton called Rudy’s Ribs. You just tell ‘em that Judd sent you.”

“Thanks, but I think we’re gonna go to my parent’s place in El Paso to eat. We haven’t actually seen them since well before Matthew was born since it was during the pandemic. They haven’t seen Buck since we told them we were dating and that he was pregnant. I think I’ll be in trouble if we don’t call in on the way back up to LA.” Eddie explained.

“I think you really will.” Judd looked astounded. “And you’ve got my number so you can use that at any time. We really are going to miss you guys even though it’s only been a day.”

“Judd, you’re alright, even if you were a bulldog.” Eddie smiled, offering a hand for his fellow Texan to shake.

“Well, it makes sense that a California firefighter as good as you had to have been raised in Texas, so…” Judd smiled.

“All right, brother.” Eddie smiled back as Judd turned around and headed off. Eddie turned his attention to the ATV that had just pulled up. “Hey, Marwani!” He called. “Was hoping I could get a pic for Insta.”

“I thought you were off social media.” She replied.

“Yeah, well, it’s not every day you get to take a selfie with #FireFox.” Eddie joked. She couldn’t disagree with that. Eddie held up his phone and took the picture, him smiling and Marjan just looking good.

“Oh, now that is just way too much pretty.” Paul commented.

“Shut up, Strickland.” Marjan replied. Paul just laughed at her. Eddie got out of the ATV to accept Paul’s one armed hug.

“Brother.” Eddie acknowledged.

“Great work up there.” Paul offered.

“Hey, great working with you guys.” Eddie told them all before looking back at Marjan. “And for the love of God, please follow Buck back on Insta.” Marjan shrugged as Judd laughed and they drove off.

Chapter Text

“Marvin Chavez. C-H-A-V-E-Z. He gets out in about three months.” Mateo was telling Buck about his cousin again.

“I will keep my eyes open.” Buck laughed.

“Cool, cool. Drive safe.” Mateo wished.

“Hey, Buck!” TK called, catching up with the blonde. “You really put yourself out there. Can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s what we do, right? How is your dad?” Buck checked.

“He’s good. Got a concussion but nothing worse. Hen was saying goodbye to my dad and our paramedic captain has actually come up to see him so I’ve left them to it. They think we might get to go home ourselves in a couple of days. I can’t wait to tell Carlos. I’ve missed being in his arms, and holding Ayla in mine.” TK explained.

“Yeah, I’ve only been away for three days and I miss Matthew like crazy. Don’t know how much worse that would have been if Eddie wasn’t here with me. It doesn’t bear thinking about.” Buck acknowledged. “Ooh, hey, if you ever find yourself in LA, don’t be a stranger, I’d love to meet Carlos and Ayla. You’ve got one cute kid and your boyfriend sounds pretty amazing.”

“He is. And I’m sure we will. And if you’re ever in Austin, you gotta come and see us. Anyway, I sent you my number, didn't I? So, we can keep in touch. It would be a shame if we never spoke to each other again after everything we went through in the last day.” TK checked.

“Yeah, you did. Take care, TK.” Buck wished.

“You, too.” TK smiled, heading back to his own truck and bumping into Eddie in the process. “Great working with you, man.”

“Great working with you, too.” Eddie replied. “Where’s Hen?”

“Still saying goodbye to Captain Strand. I’m sure she’ll be here in a minute. She had some other stuff to do first, before going to see him.” Buck explained.

“Okay. Are you ready?” Eddie checked as Hen came rushing around the corner.

“Sorry, I’m ready to go now.” She offered.

“Hen, it’s fine. I’m totally ready to go home but at the same time, I’m kind of gonna miss being here.” Buck smiled as they got in the truck.

“Well, we better head home then.” Hen smiled.

“Is it okay with you if we stop off at my parent’s place in El Paso to grab something to eat? I’ll be in trouble if I’m in the state and don’t at least stop by to say hello.” Eddie checked.

“And I’ve not seen them in person since before we told them we were dating and that I was pregnant.” Buck added.

“It’s long overdue then.” Hen laughed.

“It really is.” Buck joined in.

It was a six hour drive out of the way to El Paso but it was the perfect opportunity for Eddie to officially introduce Buck to his parents without the boys being there. "I'll go in first and tell them that you guys are here and then we can go in for something to eat." Eddie stated when they arrived.

"Did you not tell them we were coming?" Hen checked.

"I didn't know if we were going to have time to come so I didn't want to get their hopes up in case we couldn't make it." Eddie replied.

"Makes sense." Buck shrugged as Eddie gave him a chaste kiss before jumping out of the truck and going to knock on the door.

"Edmundo!" Helena exclaimed, opening the door and pulling her son into a tight hug.

"It's been too long." Ramon added, having heard his wife's shouting.

"We were in San Angelo for work and I thought we'd come up and say hello. And ask if we could stay for something to eat." Eddie explained.

"Who's we?" Ramon checked.

"Me, Hen and Buck."

"Buck's here? You've got to go and get him! We need to give him a hug." Helena commented. Eddie looked back to the truck and gave them a thumbs up. Both Hen and Buck quickly got out and came to the door. Helena practically shoved her son out of the way and pulled Buck into a hug.

"It's good to see you, Buck. We've been dying to meet you officially." Ramon offered, clapping a hand on Buck's shoulder as his wife still hadn't let the poor boy go.

"I'm sure Buck would like to breathe." Eddie commented, looking at his mother.

"You can't blame her, Eddie. If she's not seen Buck since before you told her you guys were together and that Buck was pregnant and now Matthew is five months old so your mom owes him a lot of hugs." Hen reasoned.

"Thank you. Someone who understands." Helena smiled.

"Please can I have my boyfriend back, Mama?" Eddie asked again.

"Sorry, Buck." Helena apologised, finally letting him go.

"It's okay. I'm just sorry that you've not been able to meet Matthew yet." Buck commented.

"We were planning to come and see you soon anyway now that some of the restrictions are being lifted. We were planning to come up for Spring Break if that's okay? We'd probably stay with Isabel so we weren't under your feet all the time." Helena explained.

"I'm sure Christopher would love that and we can't wait for you to meet Matthew." Buck smiled.

"Where are our manners? Please, come in and sit down. Can we get you all a drink?" Ramon offered, leading them through to the living room. Buck and Eddie took a seat together with Hen sinking into one of the armchairs. Eddie linked his and Buck's hands.

"Are you okay?" Eddie checked when his parents had left the room to fetch them all some coffee to keep them awake on the drive home.

"Yeah, just a little overwhelmed at how lovely they're being." Buck sighed.

"I told you that they loved you. You've given them another grandchild and they know how much you love me and Christopher and how much we love you. I know it's tough, with your parents nor reacting the same way but no matter what happens, you will always have us. I love you." Eddie assured him, wrapping an arm around Buck. Buck just curled into Eddie, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"I love you, too." Buck smiled, pressing a kiss to Eddie's cheek. Helena and Ramon slowly crept back into the room.

"We didn't mean to eavesdrop but I'm really sorry if we've made you uncomfortable, Buck. But Eddie was right, we are just so happy that Eddie has found someone that loves him and Christopher so much.” Helena apologised.

“It’s okay. I guess I’m just a little bitter that my parents didn’t react like you did. They weren’t happy for us. They didn’t care at all. I haven’t even told them that Matthew was born in September. They haven’t even called to see how I am. Whereas you guys get in touch with Eddie all the time to ask how all four of us are.” Buck explained.

“I’m sorry to hear that the news wasn’t as well received by your parents but you’re part of the Diaz family now. If you want to give us your number, we’re more than happy to check up on you directly.” Ramon offered.

“Thank you, I’d really like that.” Buck smiled.

Chapter Text

“I’m so glad to be back home again.” Buck told Eddie as they got back into the house. Aunt Pepa would be dropping Christopher and Matthew back home after they’d been to the park, giving Buck and Eddie some time to rest for a little bit after getting back.

“Me, too. Sleeping in our own bed sounds like heaven.” Eddie agreed.

“I’m just gonna let TK know we made it back to LA okay.” Buck told his boyfriend.

TK: It was great to meet you, glad to hear you made it back safely. We’ve just been told we get to go home tonight.

Buck: That’s the most amazing news! I bet you’re more than ready to see your boyfriend again.

TK: Definitely, a week apart is far too long!

Buck: I’d have to agree with you on that one.

TK: Right, I’d better get back to work, the rest of the 126 are giving me dirty looks.

Buck: Stay safe.

TK: You, too.

“I’m thinking the two of you being friends is a bad idea. You’re too similar.” Eddie laughed.

“Yeah, you totally shouldn’t have left me unsupervised just because you wanted to ride around burning woods on an ATV.” Buck smirked, allowing Eddie to pull him into a kiss.

“We have some time before the boys get home, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Eddie asked.

“Definitely.” Buck smiled, beginning to get undressed.

“Dad! Buck!” Chris exclaimed as Aunt Pepa let them in, carrying Matthew in his car seat.

“Chris!” Eddie smiled, pulling his son into his arms.

“How was Texas?” Pepa asked.

“It was good but we’re glad to be home. Thank you for helping Abuela with the boys.” Buck greeted, allowing Pepa to pull him into a one armed hug.

“They’re both such a delight, it’s really no problem.” Pepa smiled. Buck took Matthew’s car seat from Aunt Pepa and got him out.

“Hi, baby. We missed you and your brother so much.” Buck announced, holding Matthew close. Buck used his free arm to pull Christopher into the hug.

“I’ll let you guys have your time together.” Aunt Pepa stated.

“You don’t have to. We’d be happy to get you something to drink.” Eddie offered.

“No, no, enjoy your time as a family before you go back to work in a couple of days.” She smiled.

“Thank you.” Buck and Eddie smiled as she left.

“Did you have a good time with Abuela?” Eddie asked their eldest.

“Yeah, I’ve been helping her look after Matthew. We spent a lot of time sitting together. I sit on the floor and he will sit leaning against me. We also play peek-a-boo like you taught me. But he still sleeps a lot, still.” Chris explained.

“He’s very lucky to have you as a big brother.” Buck smiled. He was so glad to be home.

“So, how was Texas?” Bobby asked as they all got ready for their shift a couple of days later.

“It was good, actually. I miss the 126.” Buck told his Captain.

“Only because they had a guy that was just like you and you got on really well.” Eddie laughed.

“Another station has a Buck?” Chimney checked.

“Yeah and Hen and Eddie both left me alone with him.” Buck smirked.

“You left him unsupervised with someone like him? That sounds like a terrible idea.” Bobby gasped.

“It was. But we reigned them in eventually.” Eddie smiled. 

“Yeah, when we had to go save Hen and Captain Strand.” Buck continued.

“You stole a fire truck and drove it past the fire line despite being explicitly told not to.” Hen offered.

“You stole a fire truck? I thought you’d grown out of that. You’re a father now.” Bobby frowned.

“It was to save Hen and Captain Strand and it’s not as if Eddie and the rest of the 126 stopped us! They joined us!” Buck defended.

“If you can’t beat them, join them.” Eddie shrugged.

They would have continued talking but the alarm went off and they were soon on their way to a call. And by what dispatch had to say, it was a strange one.

When they arrived at the scene, they were shown into a backyard where a woman was floating in her pool, but there was blood everywhere. Dispatch had said there was a gunshot on the call and the sound of the woman falling into a pool and then no answer but you never know what has happened until you get onto the scene. “Gunshot wound to the chest. She was already dead when we got here.” Athena explained.

“Don’t think we’ll be needing those med kits.” Bobby told Buck and Eddie.

“Yeah, Crime Scene unit’s on the way. We just need to get a medical confirmation that she’s dead.” Athena continued.

“On it. Excuse me.” Chim said, moving past Buck.

“Uh, did you just say ‘excuse me’?” Buck checked, he then turned to his boyfriend. “Chimney’s being weird.”

“How can you tell?” Eddie responded. Buck looked around.

“Ooh, ooh,” he pointed to the gate. “Whoever killed her kicked that gate in good. Saw a clean footprint on it.”

“Well, that foot would be mine. The gate was latched shut from the inside. Front door was locked, too.” Athena corrected.

“If everything was locked when you got here, how’d the murderer get in or out?” Eddie asked.

“It’s a locked room mystery.” Buck mused.

“A locked yard mystery, what do you think? Home invasion gone bad? Murder for hire?” Eddie asked, turning to Buck.

“Was she married? ‘Cause… you know. The husband is usually the culprit.” Buck turned to Athena.

“Are we making a true crime podcast?” She replied.

“Calling it - definitely some signs of struggle. Looks like a fresh manicure, too.” Hen stated.

“Guessing the broken nail would have bugged her less than the bullet hole.” Chim commented.

“You got an ID for the paperwork?” Hen asked.

“Yeah, the victim’s name is Delia Narwood.” Detective Marks replied as he entered the yard. “She’s the owner and sole occupant of the property.” Marks tripped over a garden gnome and Buck steadied him before he fell into the pool. “And… apparent fan of tiny garden statuary.” He laughed.

“How you doin’, Rick?” Bobby laughed.

“Nice to see ya, Bobby.” Rick smiled.

“Hey, you know none of this mail’s addressed to Delia Narwood - it’s not even the right house number.” Eddie commented, looking at the pile of mail.

“So she was stealing people’s mail. Maybe she saw something she wasn’t supposed to… and it got her killed.” Buck theorised.

“Okay, Cagney and Lacey, I think your work here is done.” Athena stated as Bobby and Rick laughed.

“All right. Let’s saddle up.” Bobby smiled.

Chapter Text

Eddie had gone out with Chris for the afternoon as Matthew was having a nap and Buck had stayed at home to catch up on some cleaning and the laundry when there was a knock on the door. “Hey, Maddie.” He greeted, opening the door to find his older sister. He then had to go and get Matthew as the knock had woken him up and he was now crying.

“Hi, can I come in?” She asked.

“Of course, come and sit down. Can I get you a drink?”

“Water would be great, please.” Maddie requested.

“So, what made you come and see me?” Buck asked, returning with some water for them both.

“Can’t I just come and visit my brother because I want to see him?” Maddie asked.

“You can, but I get the feeling there’s an ulterior motive to your visit because you’ve come when Eddie and Christopher aren’t home.” Buck explained, Matthew having quickly fallen back to sleep now he was in his Papa's arms.

“You’re right. There’s something I need to talk to you about.” Maddie caved.

“Which is?”

“I was talking to Mom and Dad, while you were in Texas and I suggested that now the restrictions are lifted, it might be nice to see them.” Maddie told him.

“You invited Mom and Dad to visit?” Buck asked.

“Yes.” Maddie confirmed, slowly.

“And you’re just telling me now.” Buck continued.

“Well, you know, you were in Texas, and… I wasn’t completely sure they were coming.” Maddie defended.

“You’re just telling me now that they have crossed the California state line, and it’s too late for me to talk you out of it. Though… I’m still not sure who talked you into it.” Buck clarified.

“No one.” Maddie sighed. “I guess I just… want my little girl to have a normal family. You know, uncles and grandparents that she might actually know.”

“Well then maybe you should've gotten knocked up by a guy who has one of those.” Buck snarked.

“Well, that is not funny.” Maddie frowned. “Maybe… maybe this’ll be a good thing, you know? You could talk to Mom and Dad., tell them how you’ve been feeling. Could be good for your therapy, right?” 

“Or cause me to need more of it.” Buck exclaimed, startling Matthew who was fast asleep in his arms.

“I think I’m willing to try. And… maybe Mom and Dad are too.” Maddie noted.

“Fine.” Buck sighed. “But I’m bringing Eddie. I’ll ask Bobby and Athena if they’ll have the boys for the night. And we’re a team, okay? A-a united front. You are not allowed to leave me alone with them. We also can’t leave Eddie alone with them or he will say something.”

“I won’t. I promise. And don’t worry, Chimney’s gonna be there, too. Although he will probably be glad that Eddie will be there, too. And Albert’s coming.” Maddie assured him.

“Albert’s coming?” Buck checked.

“Yeah.” Maddie repeated.

“This is gonna be a train wreck, I hope you realise that.” Buck stated.

“Please, Evan. I need you to try, for me.” Maddie requested.

“You know Eddie basically hates our parents. And I don’t exactly like them myself. But, I will come because you have asked me to, okay? But if they start being rude, Eddie and I are gonna leave.” Buck told her.

“Okay. But I don’t think it’s gonna be as bad as you’re imagining.” Maddie replied.

“No, it’s probably going to be worse.”

“Hey, we’re back!” Eddie called, pushing the stroller into the house.

“Did you have a good time at the park?” Buck asked, pulling Chris into a hug.

“Yeah, Matthew and I got to go on the swings!” Chris exclaimed.

“And I’m tired from pushing them both.” Eddie laughed.

“I see you tired Matthew out.” Buck smiled, he was fast asleep in the stroller.

“Are you okay? You seem a little tense.” Eddie observed.

“We’ll talk later, when the boys are both in bed.” Buck deflected.

“Can we go and play a game?” Chris asked, looking at Buck.

“Of course we can.” Buck accepted.

“And then you’re going to do your homework.” Eddie told Chris.

“Do I have to?” Chris whined.

“I can help you, if you want?” Buck offered.

“And leave me to burn down the house, attempting to make dinner?” Eddie joked.

“We could always order in tonight?” Buck suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” Eddie pressed a kiss to Buck’s cheek before Buck went to play video games with Chris and Eddie took Matthew up to bed.

“So, the boys are both in bed. What’s going on?” Eddie asked that night as they were doing the dishes together.

“Uh, Maddie invited my parents to LA.” Buck began.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“She wants me to go to dinner with them. I said that I’ll go, but only if you come with me.” Buck admitted.

“If you’re sure that’s what you want to do then, of course I’ll be there with you. There’s no way I’d let you go by yourself.” Eddie accepted. 

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Where’s Buck? Is he joining us?” Bobby checked as he got their dinner out.

“He’s on the phone with Doctor Copeland. Emergency therapy session.” Eddie replied.

“Again?” Bobby was concerned.

“Yeah, he had to ask her for advice on some, uh, de-escalation techniques.” Eddie explained.

“What? Is he afraid his parent’s visit is gonna turn into a hostage situation?” Bobby joked. Chimney then dropped all of the cutlery.

“What?” He asked when everyone turned to look at him.

“What do you think they’re like?” Hen mused. “The parents, I mean. I mean, I look at Maddie… and then I look at Buck, and I’m like… ‘there’s a story there’.”

“You have no idea.” Chimney muttered. Everyone turned to look at him again. “None of us has any idea. Just too bad, ‘cause you know… If we all knew, we could talk about what we know and then we’d all know it. No one would be stuck keeping anything to themselves, alone, with no one to talk to about some potentially explosive information they really wish they didn’t know.” Chim rambled. Everyone kept looking at him. “I gotta go.” Chimney then ran away and slid down the fireman’s pole.

“Do we even wanna know what that was about?” Eddie asked.

“No.” Bobby stated.

“Definitely not.” Hen agreed.

“Kay.” Eddie shrugged. “Oh, Cap, are you sure you and Athena don’t mind watching the boys for us? It’s your day off, too.”

“From the fact he keeps scheduling emergency therapy sessions, Buck needs you to be there with him. Of course we’re still okay to watch the boys. Besides, you said Matthew will probably be asleep most of the time.” Bobby reasoned.

“We really appreciate it. Buck had to convince me for us both to go and I still think it’s a bad idea.” Eddie sighed. “Maddie really wants Buck to try and repair things with their parents. I don’t think they deserve Buck to waste his time on them but if he wants to try then I’m gonna be there to support him.” 

“He’s lucky to have you.” Bobby smiled.

“No, I’m lucky to have him.”

Chapter Text

“We’ve brought wine - red, white, sparkling, in case you wanna do any celebratory toasts. And tequila. Not sure why we needed two bottles.” Buck explained as he got them out for Chimney to sort.

“One of them is for you.” Maddie commented. “I thought you might need it.”

“The other one is for me.” Chimney piped up.

“You’re wearing jeans.” Albert commented, looking at his brother. “I was told I was not allowed to wear jeans.” Albert clarified at the confused looks on both Buck and Eddie’s faces as they were both wearing jeans. Eddie had dressed up significantly more than his boyfriend.

“You stop whining. Preheat the oven. 350.” Buck instructed.

“Whoa, we’re baking stuff?” Maddie asked.

“Baked brie. Fig jam.” Buck explained.

“When did you start liking fig?” Eddie asked, looking at his boyfriend. Buck tensed up where there was a knock on the door as everyone else turned to look. Buck threw the brie to Albert who put it in the oven. Eddie squeezed Buck’s hand.

“And, I think we’re ready.” Chimney announced. Buck and Maddie both took a deep breath as Maddie went to open the door.

“Dad!” Maddie exclaimed.

“Maddie.” Phillip smiled.

“Mom! You guys did not have to bring presents.” Maddie continued when looking at the masses of stuff they’d brought.

“We’re grandparents now. Spoiling comes with the job.” Phillip corrected. Buck was silently fuming, Maddie’s baby got spoiled and his baby got ignored? Eddie placed a calming hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder, even though he was angry too.

“Mr and Mrs Buckley, hi, I’m Howard Han. It’s nice to finally meet you both.” Chimney introduced.

“Hi, Howard.” Margaret smiled.

“Here, let me get these for you.” Chimney offered, taking the basket of presents from Buck and Maddie’s mom.

“Thank you.” Margaret smiled.

“Thanks.” Phillip shut the door behind him.

“Hey.” Buck greeted.

“Evan.” Margaret acknowledged.

“You look good.” Phillip added.

“Ah, so do you.” Buck offered.

“Evan, you didn’t really tell us much past the fact you were pregnant but there’s some toys for you in our car.” Margaret added, looking at her son.

“Matthew was born five months ago, Mom. You’re a little late on that one.” Buck deadpanned.

“Why didn’t you tell us, Evan? We could have come down to see you sooner.” Phillip frowned.

“Because you never asked me, you never seemed interested in my pregnancy. You never called to see how I was doing. I figured you didn’t care about your grandson.” Buck explained.

“I’m Eddie, by the way, Eddie Diaz. Matthew’s other father and Buck’s boyfriend.” Eddie added.

“Uh, this is my brother, Albert.” Chimney introduced, trying to cut through the tension.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Phillip said, politely.

“Buck. You’re still letting people call you that.” Margaret said.

“It’s just a nickname, Mom.” Buck huffed.

“Ugh.” Margaret sighed.

“Oh, you guys don’t like nicknames? But Maddie-” Chimney asked.

“Is the name on my birth certificate.” Maddie laughed.

“Would anyone like a drink? We have many options.” Albert offered.

“I believe I’ll start with tequila.” Buck whispered.

“I’ll join you.” Albert commented.

“So, Howard, do… people call you Howard?” Phillip asked.

“Yes. Yes they do.” Chim smiled.

“And is Eddie short for anything?” Phillip asked, paying attention to Eddie for the first time.

“Edmundo, but only my parents get to call me that. Or Buck.” Eddie stated. Buck really wanted to kiss his boyfriend.

“Please, this way.” Chimney interrupted, leading them through to the living room.

“We got this.” Maddie told Buck.

“United front.” Buck added, linking his pinky finger with Maddie’s. Maddie went through to the room and Buck went into the kitchen to help Albert and Eddie with drinks. He allowed his boyfriend to pull him into a hug. Buck wrapped his arms around Eddie’s neck and joined their lips, quickly.

“Thank you.” Buck whispered against Eddie’s lips, allowing Eddie to give him another chaste kiss before they separated and took everyone’s drinks through.

“I’m glad you guys had a nice drive.” Maddie was saying as Buck sat down beside her and Chimney, Albert and Eddie went back to the kitchen to sort the food. Eddie couldn’t trust himself not to lose his mind with the Buckley parents so he was just trying to be where they weren’t, whilst also keeping an ear out in case Buck needed him.

“We saw a lot of the country.” Phillip smiled.

“The first few days there was nothing but rain, then we got here, blue skies and sunshine.” Margaret smiled. Chimney came over and sat on the arm of Maddie’s chair, offering her some comfort.

“Yeah, we had a lotta rain earlier in the year, but, uh, lately it’s been dry.” Buck conversed.

“Hmm.” Margaret hummed.

“I-I can’t believe you drove all the way across the country in an RV - that sounds exciting.” Albert chatted.

“Statistically speaking, it seemed the safest way to travel right now.” Phillip said.

“Yeah. We didn’t want to take any chances, given Maddie’s condition and it being a high risk pregnancy.” Margaret continued.

“Well, no, it’s not really high risk -” Chimney defended.

“Oh, she’s over thirty five. That puts her at a higher risk so we all need to be extra careful.” Margaret corrected.

“The baby’s fine, Mom.” Maddie huffed.

“But you don’t want to take any chances. Not when you’ve waited this long.” Margaret added.

“Wow.” Albert mouthed to Eddie who was still lingering in the kitchen but came to place a hand on Buck’s shoulder as he tensed up.

“Uh, she was just waiting for the right time. The right guy.” Buck defended, turning to Maddie and Chim to smile at them.

“God knows it wasn’t Doug.” Phillip said.

“Okay. Let’s not talk about him.” Maddie requested.

“Of course, I’m sorry.” Phillip chuckled. “I’m just… I’m so happy to see you happy. Now, Evan, Maddie tells us that you’ve been seeing a therapist?”

“She did? Mentioned the therapist but not the fact Matthew had been born?” Buck frowned.

“I’m gonna get some water.” Chim whispered, making himself scarce.

“Anything we should be worried about there?” Phillip asked.

“It's none of your business.” Eddie stated, Buck took Eddie’s hand in his and intertwined their fingers.

“No. Of course not. It’s- that’s the job, you know? It can be stressful. It’s good to try and get ahead of it.” Buck lied.

“You know, your father and I went to see a therapist.” Margaret conversed.

“Uh, really? When?” Buck asked in disbelief.

“Well, after all this business with Maddie and the husband who shall not be named, we felt like there were some things we needed to work through.” Margaret explained.

“So you… you went and talked to a therapist about my problems?” Maddie checked, beginning to feel angry.

“It wasn’t as if you wanted to talk to us about them. Buck had to call to tell us that Doug was dead.” Phillip deflected.

“Well, I didn’t want you to find out on Dateline.” Buck snarked.

“You know what, I’m gonna start bringing this stuff into the kitchen. Would anybody like a refill while I’m in there?” Chimney asked.

“I’ll help.” Albert jumped at the chance to escape.

“Yeah, uh, me- me too.” Buck smiled wryly before allowing Eddie to pull him into the kitchen and into his arms.

“Are you okay?” He whispered.

“I just want to go home and curl up with the boys. Instead, we’re here.” Buck sighed.

“Then let’s go home.” Eddie suggested.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Evan seems good. After you called, I though… I don’t know what. But he seems fine.” Buck heard his Mom say to Maddie faintly.

“Yeah, well, he’s good at pretending to be fine. I’m just glad he has Eddie. And their boys. I dread to think how he would be without them.” Maddie shrugged.

“Boys? Plural?” Phillip checked.

“I had a son with my late ex-wife. His name is Christopher and he’s nine.” Eddie explained, coming back into the room with Buck in tow.

“Oh.” Margaret acknowledged.

“I’m sorry to cut this short but Eddie and I need to get back to the boys. I’m sure Maddie will arrange for us all to spend some more time together soon.” Buck reckoned.

“Okay, well, it was good to see you, Evan and it was nice to meet you, Eddie.” Phillip offered.

“I’m just gonna go and say goodbye.” Maddie smiled, heading into the kitchen with her brother. “What the hell, you’re ditching me? What about a united front?” She exclaimed.

“I just need to get out of here. I’m glad they’re excited about your daughter but I’m feeling very excluded.” Buck frowned.

“I’m sorry you feel that way-”

“Please just let me go home.” Buck begged.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Maddie sighed, pulling Buck into a hug. “Give the boys a hug for me.”

Chapter Text

“So, how did last night go?” Hen asked Chimney, Buck and Eddie as they joined her and Bobby for breakfast.

“I really, really don’t want to talk about it.” Buck stated.

“Let’s just go with bad and move on.” Eddie added. Hen and Bobby raised their eyebrows and looked at Chimney.

“I’ll tell you later.” He offered.

"Did they say bomb threat?" Buck checked as they got on the truck.

"Yeah, apparently this guy worked there for years and they just got rid of him after he had an accident." Bobby explained. 

"So understandably, he's furious but is not going about things the right way." Buck commented. It reminded him of a time he’d rather forget but at least he didn’t overreact as much as this guy did.

"Basically." Hen agreed.

“We're clearing the building now but we need to shut off gas and power as a precaution.” Officer Williams explained when they arrived on scene.

“Eddie, you’re on electrical. Buck, I want you to go up the street, shut the gas off at the main.” Bobby instructed.

“Copy that.” They said in unison before running off. When they made it back, they were sent into the building to find a guy who had collapsed having an asthma attack, at least that was the message they’d got from dispatch.

Eddie caught up with Chimney in the stairwell but neither of them had found the guy yet. “Hey, you find asthma guy yet?” Chim checked.

“Nah, I checked the main stairwell. No signs of anyone.”

“All right, maybe the garage underneath. I’ll check it out, you clear the rest of the lobby, make sure nobody’s in the elevators.” Chim suggested.

“All right, copy.” Eddie agreed, heading up.

“All right.” Chim repeated before running off.

Eddie went through the lobby again, double checked the elevators when Bobby’s voice came over the radio. “All right, Chimney, Eddie, Bomb Squad is ready to go in. You guys clear? Chimney, you copy? Chimney, come in. Chimney, come in!” Eddie headed down to the garage as that was Chim’s last known location. “Chimney, you copy?” Bobby tried again.

“Hey, Chim!” Eddie shouted, running into the garage. “Chim, hey. You didn’t hear? Squad’s moving in.”

“We’ll be out in a minute.” Chim replied.

“Come on, we can carry him-” Eddie suggested.

“No, don’t, it’s okay. Just… It’s all right.” Chim interrupted. Eddie looked to the guy Chim was with and saw a dead man’s switch in his hand. “Just make sure everybody else clears out.”

“Got it. I’ll let the Cap know.” Eddie accepted, rushing out to go and tell Bobby and the bomb squad. “Wait, wait, wait!”

“Where’s your other guy?” Bomb Squad asked.

“He’s in there with the bomber.” Eddie exclaimed.

“I need to get my men in there and get a bead on this guy.” Bomb Squad announced.

“Not until we find out what’s happened with my guy.” Bobby argued. “Did you see anything?”

“The guy was breathing hard. I don’t think he was faking that. Yeah, he definitely had something in his hand, probably a bomb, or at least a detonator on him.” Eddie explained.

“Why wouldn’t Han just run?” Bomb Squad asked.

“I don’t know.” Buck commented.

“What was I supposed to say, huh? Hey, is that a dead man’s trigger or-? I just figured he wanted me out of there.” Eddie reasoned.

“A plunger means he controls it. A dead man’s trigger is designed so that-” Buck rambled.

“I’m familiar, Buck.” Bobby stopped him.

“Okay. My guys got a partial visual with infrared. He said they’re just… sitting there. Might be talking.” Bomb Squad explained.

“Talking him down.” Eddie suggested.

“Could be just buying us some time.” Bobby added.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Buck wondered. The Bomb Squad guy got a call.

“Very explosive. Yes, very. Copy that.” He hung up and turned back to the 118. “Company searched their job site. Discovered six pounds of C four missing.”

“Well, he knew exactly where to find it.” Bobby remarked.

“Maybe Chimney needs to stop talking to him. Could set him off. Sorry, bad choice of words.” Buck grimaced.

“All clear, all clear. We’re coming out.” Chim’s voice came over the radio. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Hen took a gurney to Chim and Bomb Squad went in to get the explosives. As Stan was being put in the ambulance and everyone else was getting ready to get back in the truck when Stan called to Buck.

“Is that- Hey, are you Buck?” Stan called.

“Please, sit back. That’s it.” Chim pushed the oxygen mask back over his face.

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.” Buck replied, coming over.

“Ha ha, so it’s true.” Sta laughed.

“What’s true?” Hen asked.

“Okay, that O2 must really be kickin’ in. In ya go, Stanley.” Chim forced.

“You’re not lyin’.” Stan continued.

“Not lying about what?” Buck asked as Chim shut the door to the ambulance and they drove off. Buck just felt so confused.

"Hey, Maddie." Buck sighed, accepting that call from his sister.

"Look, I know this is probably the last thing you want to do with your day off but Mom and Dad are coming over for dinner again tomorrow and I want you to be there." Maddie stated, not beating around the Bush this time.

"Why would I want to do that? Eddie and I didn't even make it to dinner yesterday. We left while everyone was still having drinks.” Buck asked.

“Because they’re your parents and you need to make up with them!” Maddie exclaimed.

“I don’t need to do anything! I don’t see why I should give up another day off to spend time with two people I don’t want to spend time with when I could be at home with my boyfriend and our kids.” Buck replied.

“Please, Evan, please. United front, remember? You already ditched me early last night. You owe me.” Maddie tried to manipulate him.

“I’ll talk to Eddie and see what he thinks. I’ll get back to you. I’m sorry I ditched you last night but I did what I had to for the sake of my own sanity. I would have just exploded on them and made everything worse than it already was.” Buck explained. He was getting annoyed that Maddie kept thinking he needed to spend time with their parents and attempt to repair his broken relationship. He didn’t need them growing up and he certainly didn’t need them now.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asked, coming into the bunk room as Buck ended the call.

“Maddie wants us to go to dinner with my parents again tomorrow. I said I’d talk to you before deciding.” Buck replied.

“Do you want to go to dinner with them again? It’s completely your choice.” Eddie smiled.

“I don’t know. Maddie made me feel bad that we left early last night. She’s making me feel as though I owe her this.”

“You don’t owe her anything, carino.  I’m fine with us going but only if that’s what you want to do.” Eddie insisted.

“We can go, but I’m done holding my tongue. If they say anything then I’ll say something back.” Buck reasoned.

“I’m glad to hear it. And whatever happens, I’ve got your back.” Eddie assured, pulling Buck into a kiss.

Chapter Text

Dinner was eaten mostly in silence, Buck didn’t know how Maddie had convinced him to attend but he was very grateful that Bobby and Athena offered to look after the boys again so Eddie could come with him. He would have dreaded doing this without his boyfriend by his side. Without Eddie, he probably wouldn’t have come. When dinner was over, they moved over to the living room, just like they had a couple of days ago and were telling Margaret and Phillip Buckley all about the bomb threat from yesterday’s shift.

“Well, I’m just glad everybody’s okay.” Margaret said.

“You all seem to have very dangerous jobs.” Phillip added.

“Not really. I mean, most of the time, it’s pretty run of the mill.” Maddie defended.

“Yeah. And Stan wasn’t a bad guy. He just… needed someone to see him. To understand how much pain he was in. He probably wasn’t gonna blow the place up.” Chimney explained.

“Still seems… very risky. I mean, from what I hear, Evan has spent quite a lot of time in hospitals.” Phillip continued.

“From what you hear?” Eddie asked, incredulously.

“You coulda come. Seen for yourself.” Buck offered.

“Evan, I’ve told you-” Margaret began.

“You, uh, you’re not good with hospitals. I got it.” Buck shrugged it off.

“I’m not good at seeing my children in them. You don’t know!” Margaret defended, getting worked up. Phillip placed a hand on his wife’s arm.

“Mom, Mom.” Maddie cut in, shaking her head. Buck looked at her confused.

“I’m fine. I’m ready for dessert.” Margaret deflected. 

“You’re right, it was heartbreaking to see Buck in hospital but he’s okay. He recovered. Not that you had anything to do with it. And he really could have done with your support.” Eddie snarked, getting up and going to get himself another drink.

“Well, that was rude.” Phillip commented.

“I’m done being polite. You should be glad that I have someone who loves me and defends me like Eddie does. I’ve been through a lot and if I didn’t have Eddie and the love and support from the rest of the 118, I would probably be dead. So you owe them all a lot.” Buck announced.

“Oh, Howard, where’d you put that box we brought?” Phillip asked, changing the subject.

“Dad, more gifts?” Maddie checked. She did feel bad that her baby girl was being spoiled by her parents and her brother had only been given teddy and a few blankets.

“Not exactly.” Phillip smiled.

“It’s over by the couch, let me grab it.” Chimney said, getting up and grabbing the box. Eddie came back into the room and sat back down with Buck.

“Hey.” Buck whispered, allowing Eddie to press a chaste kiss to his lips. He no longer cared what his parents thought.

“I like him, Maddie.” Margaret smiled.

“Me too.” Maddie agreed.

“You picked a good one this time.” Margaret added.

“Mom!” Buck exclaimed.

“It was a compliment, Evan.” Margaret defended.

“Oh, was it?” Buck snarked.

“Ugh!” Margaret huffed. Chimney brought the box over, it had Maddie painted on the top.

“Your baby box.” Margaret smiled. Maddie gasped and opened it. “I thought you might wanna pass on some of these things to your little girl someday.”

“Aw!” Chim smiled.

“Oh, this is cool. I-I didn’t know you made these for us. When do I get mine?” Buck asked. Margaret and Phillip shared a look.

“Hey, I still don’t think you’re a grown up yet. They’re probably still adding stuff to it.” Chim joked. No one laughed.

“I can’t believe you kept all this.” Maddie remarked.

“You thought we’d throw it away?” Phillip questioned.

“We may not have agreed with all the choices you made, Maddie, but we never gave up hope that you’d come to your senses. And you did.” Margaret remarked.

“You never gave up hope?” Buck checked.

“Evan, let’s not do this.” Maddie whispered.

“United front, remember? You guys didn’t even go to her wedding.” Buck exclaimed.

“Oh, she was making a terrible mistake. We told her that.” Margaret offered.

“Yeah, people make mistakes. Doesn’t mean you give up on ‘em. But you did. She married Doug and you cut her off.” Buck continued.

“At the time, we thought it was… for the best.” Phillip defended.

“We didn’t know what was going on. I swear, Maddie, we didn’t know he was hurting you.” Margaret added.

“Well, you should have. You shoulda known! You shoulda known! You were right there in the same town. How could you not know? Actually, you know what? Maybe it does track, ‘cause you barely knew what was going on with your own kids when we were under the same roof. Maybe you never gave up hope… You sure as hell gave up on her. You gave up on both of us.” Buck exploded. As soon as he was done, he got up. “Oh, and, uh, you wanna know why I’m really in therapy? It is because I have spent my entire life feeling like a constant disappointment. And you wanna talk about our jobs? You think my job is dangerous? I have walked through fire every single day of my life because of you. When I had my son, I didn’t think it was possible to love another human being that much because I never felt loved by you, I never felt like you wanted me and I needed to talk to someone about how that made me feel because that is not how I feel about either of my boys! That is why I am in therapy! Because nothing I ever did was good enough!”

“We tried. But you always-” Phillip started.

“You never made it easy on us. Either one of you.” Margaret defended.

“We were supposed to? We were kids.” Maddie asked.

“Evan, I don’t know what you expected us to do!” Margaret exclaimed.

“Love me anyway.” Buck cried, tears falling as he went through to Maddie and Chim’s bedroom, slamming the door behind him and sat on the edge of the bed, sobbing.

“I don’t know how Buck ended up being such an amazing person after what you put him through. But you’re not our children’s grandparents. Our sons have two sets of grandparents that care about them, and about us. We don’t need you.” Eddie sneered, getting up and following Buck into the bedroom. Eddie sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled a sobbing Buck into his arms. It wasn’t long until Maddie came through to check on him, she was crying too.

“I’m so sorry for asking you to come, Buck.” She sobbed.

“I think, in a way, I needed to do that.” Buck replied, letting go of Eddie and hugging his sister instead.

Chapter Text

The next day at work, Buck spent a lot of time on the punching bag, trying to work through the anger he had been left with now the disappointment had gone. “Tell Mom and Dad how you feel. It’ll be a fresh start! Two dinners. That’s all it took. Two dinners and I am twelve again, trapped between my sister and my parents. And now… planning my awkward apology.” Buck ranted.

“What do you have to apologise for, babe? Did you say anything that wasn’t true? Because I was there and they deserved every word of what you said.”

“No, it was all true, but-” Buck started.

“Well, look, maybe you could have come at it a little differently, but if that’s how you feel, how they made you feel, you have every right to say so. I may have also said some rude things before we stormed off.”

“Yeah, I don’t need anymore therapy. I just wanna hit things.” Buck replied.

“I’ve been down that road, remember? I don’t recommend it.” Eddie smiled, wryly. They were interrupted by Buck’s phone ringing.

“Maddie again?” Eddie guessed.

“Yeah.” Buck sighed. “She’s worried about me.” Buck moved away from his phone and launched himself at the punching back.

“Can’t imagine why.” Eddie commented.

“We’re all worried about you.” Bobby added, coming up to where Buck was working through his problems. “I accept that it must be very difficult for you. But you don’t need them. You have Eddie’s family and you have me and Athena, and the rest of the 118.”

“I know, and I’m very grateful to have all of you but it doesn’t take away the disappointment of the fact my actual, biological parents don’t give a shit about me. It’s half of the reason that I’m talking to Doctor Copeland. I love Christopher and Matthew so much and I can’t imagine abandoning them no matter what decisions they make in life.” Buck explained.

“Some people just aren’t meant to be parents but they are.” Eddie shrugged.

“Are you okay?” Maddie checked. She’d finally convinced Buck to come over as it was just her. Eddie had stayed at home with the boys. Buck didn’t plan to stay at Maddie’s for long. He’d not spent enough time at home with the boys lately as on both of their days off so far this week, they’d had dinner with Maddie, Chim and his parents.

“Embarrassed, mostly… about the way I went off on Mom and Dad.” Buck admitted.

“You weren’t half as harsh as Eddie was. Besides, you don’t have to defend me. I can take care of myself.” Maddie replied.

“Well, you shouldn’t have to. Not from your own parents. But I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to fix things with them.” Buck continued.

“Not just for me. For you, too. You shouldn’t have to carry the weight of their mistakes. You deserve better than that.”

“I don’t want to fix things with them, Maddie. They lost all opportunity to be a part of my life when they didn’t give a shit about me or Matthew. I’m glad that they’re here for you now, but I don’t need them or the negativity in my life. I have people that matter to me, that deserve my time and attention and our parents aren’t on that list.” Buck corrected.

“I get that. And I need you to know that you have never… you’ve never been a disappointment.” Maddie comforted him.

“You know, I-I gotta say, uh, this was a surprise.” Buck commented, grabbing Maddie’s baby box and opening it. “Never knew Mom and Dad were so sentimental. Although I wasn’t surprised when they didn’t have one for me.”

“Yeah, they used to be… different.”

“Different how?” Buck checked, starting to look through the contents of the box.

“Happier. I mean, maybe they weren’t. You take things on differently as a kid.” Maddie shrugged.

“Oh, hey! There’s a handsome devil.” Buck exclaimed, pulling out a photo of who he thought was him.

“That’s not supposed to be in-”

“Oh! No pictures of me allowed in your baby box. Selfish! Ha.” Buck joked. “This doesn’t look like our house. When- when was this taken?” Buck turned the photo over. “1988? That can’t be right, I wasn’t even born yet.” Buck laughed, he turned to look at Maddie who had frozen. “Maddie?” Buck stopped smiling. “Maddie, who- who is this?”

“That’s Daniel. He died. He was our brother.” Maddie explained. “He was seven when you were born.  He was gone a year later. That’s why you don’t remember him.”

“How did he die?” Buck asked. He didn’t know how to feel.

“Juvenile leukaemia. He got sick right after that photo was taken. Our lives changed forever after that. Three years of doctors and hospitals, every treatment they could find, but nothing worked.” Maddie continued.

“I don’t understand why no one told me. I mean, I had a brother.” Buck whispered.

“They were in shock. After he died. They packed up his things, we moved to a new town and they made me promise never to tell you.” Maddie added.

“No, it doesn’t make any sense.” Buck denied.

“They were grieving. I think they still are.” Maddie defended.

“So I was born… in the middle of all that. Of him being sick.” Buck checked.

“Yeah. “

“Leukaemia. I’m… I’m surprised they didn’t try a bone marrow transplant.” Buck commented.

“None of us were a match. Not Dad, not Mom… not me.” Maddie offered.

“They couldn’t find a match. So they made one. Me.” Buck guessed.

“You were a match. But then the cells didn’t graft. Daniel had a relapse. I wanted to tell you so many times. But the more time that went by, it just got harder, you know? And I’m so sorry.” Maddie cried. Buck got up and headed to the door.

“So they never actually wanted me. It all makes sense now.” Buck felt numb.

“Evan, please don’t leave. Just talk to me.” Maddie begged. Buck just ignored her, leaving without looking back.

Chapter Text

When Buck got home, Eddie was doing some laundry. “Hey, how did it go with Maddie?” Eddie asked, coming over to give Buck a kiss hello. 

“Where are the boys?” Buck checked.

“Matthew’s having a nap and Chris is playing a game in his room.” Eddie replied.

“Good.” Buck sighed. He then wrapped his arms around Eddie and began to sob into his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“What happened?” Eddie asked, leading Buck through to the couch where they could sit more comfortably.

“I finally understand why I always felt like my parents didn’t want or love me. It’s because they didn’t want me.” Buck began.

“I’m sure that’s not true-”

“Please, just, let me explain this. I had an older brother that I had no idea existed until today. I found a photo in Maddie’s baby box, I thought it was of me, turns out it was a photo of Daniel, my brother who died. He had leukaemia and he died the year after I was born. Margaret, Phillip and Maddie weren’t a match for a bone marrow transplant. So my parents made a match. It didn’t work and Daniel died anyway.” Buck explained. “So they truly never wanted me. I’m just a reminder of the boy who died. The one who I was born to save and didn’t even manage to do that.”

“That’s not on you, cariño. That’s on them. It’s not your fault.” Eddie assured.

“I’ve just spent my whole life feeling like I wasn’t good enough for them.” Buck whispered.

“They don’t deserve you.” Eddie replied, holding Buck tighter and pressing kisses into his hair.

“I think I need a lie down.” Buck stated.

“Okay, if you need me, please shout.” Eddie requested.

“I will.” Buck assured. He went straight upstairs and went into Matthew’s room. He took his sleeping baby out of the crib and sat down in the rocking chair, just holding Matthew as he continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil his Papa was facing. “I love you so much. And I will spend my whole life making sure you know that.” Buck whispered, pressing a kiss to Matthew’s head.

After a good night’s sleep, wrapped up in Eddie’s arms, Buck was in a much better place to talk about what happened, to talk about his childhood. By using humour, of course. After dropping Matthew off at Abuela’s and Christopher at school, they headed to work. During breakfast, Buck told everyone what Maddie had told him the day before. “Lots of things make sense now, when I was growing up, I could never get attention from my parents unless I was hurt so I used to deliberately get hurt so they’d pay me attention.” Buck shrugged.

“This explains so much about you.” Eddie smiled.

“It’s a miracle that you even survived childhood.” Hen commented.

“It’s a miracle he survived yesterday.” Eddie joked. He was still really worried about his boyfriend.

“It was the only way I could get their attention. Guess now we know why. They never wanted another kid. They just had me for parts. Defective parts, as it turned out.” Buck explained.

“Hey, that’s not on you.” Eddie reminded him.

“I doubt Margaret and Phillip would agree.” Buck frowned.

“Have you talked to them about it?” Bobby asked.

“What would I say? ‘Hey, I’m really sorry about your dead son, but can we just talk about me for a minute’?” Buck asked.

“Daniel wasn’t their only son. You matter, too, Buck.” Hen insisted.

“Sure. Just- just not to them.” Buck frowned. Eddie got up and pulled Buck into a hug.

“Sorry I’m late, Cap.” Chim called, coming upstairs. He then turned to Buck. “Hey, can we talk in private?”

“No need. Come on. They all heard the story.” Buck said, pulling away from Eddie.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Believe me, I wanted to-” Chim tried.

“I get it. Maddie put you in a tough spot. She does that.” Buck walked off.

“You need to call her, Buck. She really wants to talk to you.” Chim called behind him.

“He’s not ready for that yet, Chim. He might have been joking with us about what he found out yesterday but when he got home, he was broken. He sat and sobbed into my shoulder for a good twenty minutes as he told me what he found out. Buck is trying to use humour to cope but I know he’s really hurt. He feels unloved and unwanted. And he’s terrified that one day, Christopher or Matthew will feel the way that he did.” Eddie explained.

“He’s so good at pretending he’s not affected by things. I never would have guessed that was how he was feeling.” Hen frowned.

“He’s spent his whole life perfecting it.” Eddie stated.

Buck was repeatedly cleaning the same spot of the truck even though it was already clean. He saw Maddie appear behind him. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay ‘cause you’re not answering any of my calls.” Buck dropped the rag and turned to walk away from his sister. “Please just give me a chance to-”

“Twenty nine years. Why is it now suddenly such an emergency?” Buck asked.

“Because you won’t talk to me. And you’re here, working, and you probably shouldn’t be.” Maddie replied.

“No, you don’t get to take that away from me too.” Buck stated.

“I wasn’t trying-”

“We were supposed to be a team. Us versus them. That’s what we always said. But it turns out it was the three of you against me the whole time. And now, you’re not here for me. You’re here to make yourself feel better.” Buck lashed out. Maddie looked as though he’d actually punched her. He was so relieved when the alarm went off and they were sent on a call. 

“Fifth alarm. Complex structure fire. 2351 East Boulevard.”

Buck got on the truck without looking back. “Is everything okay with you and Maddie?” Hen asked.

“No. I think I just need some time to think about what I’ve found out. I know she’s worried about me. I know you’re all worried about me but you don’t need to be. I’m fine.” Buck assured them, but none of them believed him.

Chapter Text

When they arrived on scene, the fire was already crazy but it was a five alarm blaze, so they knew that going in. It still always came as a surprise to see the scale of some fires. “Okay, five alarm fire. We’re third on scene. Captain Mehta from the 133 is IC. It’s his show. You guys know what to do. Gear up and stand by for a size up.” Bobby instructed.

Bobby went to find Captain Mehta and after getting the details, he relayed it to the rest of the 118. “It’s like a minefield in there, and a large one so you stay with your teams. If you need to split off, you remember your hose line is your lifeline. You get lost, you find a wall. There are still twelve workers in there unaccounted for. Eddie and I will be joining the 133, searching on the Charlie side. Hen, Chim, Buck, you will be running a team with two firefighters from the 141. Your entry point is the Alpha side. Let’s go!”

“Copy that, Cap!” Hen acknowledged.

“Copy that.” Chim repeated. 

“Stay safe. I love you.” Eddie commented, pressing a kiss to Buck’s cheek before putting on his helmet and running after Bobby.

“I love you, too!” Buck shouted. Eddie gave him a thumbs up.

“Hey, Buck…” Chim started.

“Not now, Chim.” Buck dismissed.

“You know you can’t run away from this forever, right?” Chim pointed out.

“Sure I can. It’s the Buckley family way.” Buck remarked, putting on his breathing apparatus and running to the doors. “Coming through! Coming through!” He shouted, using a saw to open the doors. When they opened the doors, they were greeted by a wall of fire, the guys from the 141 grabbed the hose and set to work on getting that bit under control. When it was out and they were safe to enter the building, Buck, Chim and Hen did just that.

“To the left.” Hen stated.. Buck looked around in panic.

“IC this is Buckley, 118. I got level four flammables inside the west side entry. Looks like about ten pressurised drums.” Buck radioed in.

“Copy that, Buckley. Sprinkler systems are still down so I’m sending in foam.” Mehta responded.

“All right, guys, let me know the level of involvement up ahead. The victims are towards that side of the building.”Hen instructed.

“Copy that.” Buck accepted. He ran around the corner to check before heading back to update Hen.

“I wouldn’t say all clear, but definitely clear enough for us to keep on moving.” Buck told her.

“This way’s no good.” Chim offered, returning from a quick scan of a different path.

“Great. Let’s keep going.” Hen suggested, pointing to the way Buck had checked. Buck took the lead.

“Wait, wait, here. Someone put towels under this door to keep the smoke out.” Buck moved the towels and looked through the window. “Hey, I got people inside!” He opened the door so Hen and Chim could rush inside to get the people out.

“Scott, Lorenzo, let’s go!” Chim shouted. “Try to remain calm, we’re going to get you out of here.” He redirected to the group of people inside.

“IC, Captain Nash here. Be advised, we have located seven victims, but we’ve had some accelerants ignite up here. We are separated from two of our team. Sending them back out.” Bobby explained over the radio.

“You guys hear that? They need help.” Buck commented.

“That’s clear across the factory!” Hen pointed out.

“They lost two guys! We got plenty here. I should go.” Buck corrected.

“You’re not wrong, Buck. And I don’t say that to you very often. Go!” Hen told him.

“Be careful!” Chim shouted as Buck ran off. 

The next room he ran into, Buck had to scan it a couple of times before finding a ladder that he could use. The fire was very developed in this area and if the ladder hadn’t been there, he would have had to turn back. As he was climbing, the entire building shook as something exploded and he nearly fell off the ladder.

“IC, be advised, the last explosion took out most of the supports in here. Structural integrity is not good.” Someone announced.

“All teams, all teams, be advised. We are evacuating the structure. Repeat, full evacuation is in effect.” Mehta ordered.

“IC, this is Buckley. One team found seven victims. Others got four. That means there’s still someone in here.” Buck offered.

“Yeah, we are aware, Buckley, but it’s too unstable.” Mehta replied.

“We’re just gonna leave someone behind?” Buck checked.

“It’s too dangerous to continue. You need to pull out, now.”

“Copy that. On the move.” Buck replied, but he was going to do everything he could to find this last victim. There was someone in here still relying on a rescue and Buck felt as though he at least owed them a fair shot. He did briefly think of Eddie and their boys but this person in here could have small children at home relying on them and Buck couldn’t bear the thought of just giving up. This person had people who would miss them if they died.

“Evacuate the building now! That’s an order!” Mehta repeated. Buck carried on anyway. He doubted the team would expect anything else.

Buck found another ladder and headed up it. “LAFD! Anyone in here?” He called. He could hear someone clanging something metal against something else that was metal. “Hey, hey! Hey, I can hear you! Keep making those noises. I’m on my way.” Buck shouted. He managed to find the missing victim. “Hey, are you hurt?”

“I am lost. Too much smoke.” The guy replied.

“It’s okay. I’m gonna get you out of here. Can you breathe?” Buck checked.

“This is helping.” He replied, pointing to his face mask. “The fire is not.”

“Then let’s make it quick. Come on. Stay low.” Buck helped him to his feet and escorted him across the room. “Over here. Come on.” They had to turn back when fire covered their chosen path. “All right, back this way. Through here, come on.” But the fire was there, too.

“I believe we are both lost now.”

Chapter Text

Buck was determined, he was going to find himself and Saleh a way out of this building if it killed him. The last guy had inhaled a lot of smoke and couldn’t stop coughing, which was understandable given the situation they were in. Buck was hopeful that they would find their way out. Eddie was going to have a few choice words for him after this, he was sure of it. “There.” Buck pointed. “I think I see an exterior wall.”

“Let us hope it is equipped with a door.” He quipped.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Buck asked, as an afterthought.

“Saleh.”

“Saleh. I think we’re gonna have to walk across this gantry. You think you can make it?” Buck asked, pointing to the steps and pathway above them.

“I would like nothing more than to make it.”

“Same here. Let’s do it.” Buck instructed Saleh to go in front of him, as soon as they started climbing the steps, the flames started to whoosh up around the area they had been standing moments before. “Move, move, move!” Buck and Saleh sped up when suddenly, a fork lift truck exploded, disassembling the gantry, causing Saleh to fall off and they both went flying. Buck crashed into some tanks and momentarily lost consciousness. “Saleh!” Buck exclaimed as he dragged himself to his feet.

“Thank you for attempting to save me. It appears this vat has a different plan.” Saleh sighed. Buck felt his heart drop when he looked up and saw Saleh’s legs crushed under the vat. How was he supposed to move that by himself? But Evan Buckley was nothing if not stubborn so he grabbed his axe and began his attempt to shift it. “It is also very heavy.” Saleh commented. Buck changed angles and tried again, grunting with the force of his efforts.

“I’m gonna need you to try and stay calm, okay? I’m gonna get this thing off you. I’m gonna get you out of here.” Buck assured.

“You will need to hurry.” Saleh stated, looking past Buck. Buck turned to where Saleh was looking and his face fell when he saw that the hand sanitiser that had spilled from the vat was already on fire, inching closer and closer to the whole thing.

“IC, this is Buckley, 118.” Buck called over the radio.

“Buckley, did you ignore my direct order to evacuate?” Mehta asked.

“I got the last victim but this sanitiser has ignited all around me. I wanna say I’m near the north east corner, Delta wall, but I’m not sure. Sure could use some sprinkler action. They online yet?”

“Negative. We got you. Hang tight. We’re gonna get you both out. RIC team, RIC team, deploy. Delta entrance, repeat, Delta entrance, north east corner. Rescue team’s coming to you, Buckley.” Mehta called over his radio.

“Copy you. Not going anywhere.” Buck replied. That was when everything around them seemed to explode. Buck did his best to shield Saleh from the blast by laying over him. “You okay?” Buck checked when the worst had passed.

“This is a relative term, but I am all right.” Saleh replied. Buck could see the fire getting ever closer and pulled himself to his feet, using the vat for support and looking around. “What are you looking for?”

“I was a fire marshal once. This is a factory. They’re required to have fire extinguishers three feet off the… ground. Okay, I think I got one, Sa-” Buck rambled but cut himself off when he turned back to Saleh who was gasping for breath. “Saleh?” Buck quickly took off his oxygen mask and put it over Saleh’s face. He’d inhaled too much smoke. “Here you go. Just breathe.” Buck instructed.

“But how will you breathe?”

“I’m gonna hold it.” Buck replied.

“For how long?”

“As long as I can.” Buck was cursing himself for getting stuck in another situation like this one, where it seemed there was no way out. Giving his oxygen to Saleh seemed like the obvious choice, he couldn’t let him die when they were so close to getting him out but he couldn’t help but think of Matthew and Christopher. What would Christopher say if Eddie went home without him? Christopher had already lost one parent, and Buck knew he wasn’t Chris’s dad or papa or anything like that but he loved the kid like he loved Matthew, there was no difference between the two boys in his eyes. How could he be responsible for Christopher going through that kind of loss again? And Eddie, how would Eddie cope after Shannon? Buck got to his feet again, determined. He wasn’t going to die here. He was going to get out of here, he was going to fall into Eddie’s arms, accept the various lectures he was going to get from everyone and then go home and hug his boys.

Buck leapt across various obstacles to get to the fire extinguisher, coughing as he reached it. “I got it!” He exclaimed. He rushed back over to Saleh as the fire was getting a little too close for comfort and used the extinguisher on the flames. Unfortunately, the extinguisher wasn’t designed for this kind of blaze and it soon ran out. Buck discarded the empty canister, just throwing it on the floor as he collapsed to his knees. “Saleh. Hey, come on. Come on. Hey. Breathe. Breathe.” Buck instructed as Saleh eyelids fluttered shut. The sprinklers came on and Buck got to his feet again, he tied a wire around his axe and threw it over one of the beams after attaching it to the vat currently trapping Saleh. He pulled with all of his might, hoping that the leverage would finally allow him to free the trapped man, but it still wouldn’t budge. But that wasn’t going to stop Buck from trying his hardest. Buck collapsed to his knees again. He’d all but given up hope when he felt a hand on his back. He looked up to see his boyfriend and the rest of the 118. Eddie grabbed the wire along with Hen, Chim and Bobby and they all pulled, using their combined strength to lift it. Saleh was pulled out from under the vat and everything that happened after that was a bit of a blur for Buck. He’d never been so relieved to see the rest of the 118 in his life.

Chapter Text

“I’m so sorry.” Buck started, throwing his arms around Eddie’s neck and burying his face in his boyfriend’s neck.

“What for?” Eddie asked, curious as he wrapped his arms around Buck a little tighter than he usually would.

“I should have thought about you and Christoper and Matthew before deciding to ignore an evacuation order. And I didn’t. How could I have not thought about putting you and Christopher through another loss like you had when Shannon died? I know I’m not Christopher’s biological parent but I love him exactly the same as I love Matthew. And I love you so much, please don’t ever doubt that. When I thought I wasn’t going to make it out of there, I regretted making decisions so rashly just because I’m angry with my mom and dad and Maddie. I shouldn’t have let it overtake my rational thinking and make me behave so recklessly.” Buck rambled, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. Eddie pulled Buck away from his neck so that he could kiss him properly.

“Under normal circumstances, I’d have to tell you off for that.” Bobby remarked. Buck hadn’t even noticed when the Captain had appeared at their sides.

“But?” Eddie asked.

“But I think I can forgive you, just this once.” Bobby smiled. “And I’m sorry for eavesdropping, normally, Buck, I’d have to say something to you about your actions but listening to your apology, I know you understand what you should have done differently so I’m not going to lecture you this time. Let’s get you checked over.” Eddie disappeared as Bobby led Buck to the ambulance where Hen was waiting for him.

“You okay?” Bobby asked, he and Hen were standing with Buck at the back of their ambulance.

“I got lost, Bobby. I went off on my own and two seconds later, I didn’t know where the hell I was standing.” Buck admitted.

“Buck, that place is a maze.” Bobby commented.

“And no one was surprised that you stayed in there, Buck.” Hen added.

“I almost gave up. If you guys hadn’t come in, then-”

“But we did.” Hen interrupted. “And we always will.” Hen and Bobby both smiled at him. Saleh was wheeled past him, conscious and alert. Buck heaved a sigh of relief as their eyes made contact.

“They said it was a big one. They weren’t kidding.” Athena remarked, walking up to the three firefighters.

“Firefighter Buckley here pulled out the very last victim.” Bobby told her.

“Of course he did.” Athena smirked as Hen went to where she was next needed.

“Yeah, then everyone else had to pull me out.” Buck frowned.

“Well, I’m sure whoever you saved is just glad you were being Buck.” Athena smiled.

“I don’t even know what that means.” Buck looked at his feet.

“You never give up. That’s what being Buck means to me. But whatever you do, don’t stop.” Athena pulled him into a quick hug before she had to go again.

After they got back to the firehouse, Bobby drove Buck to the hospital just so that they could check there were no lasting effects from what he’d been through that night. As he was given a clean bill of health, they were soon pulling up outside the 118 again. “Clean bill of health from the docs.” Bobby announced as Eddie came over to check.

“Glad to hear it.” Eddie smiled, unable to resist pulling Buck in for another hug.

“Show off.” Eddie smirked.

“I had to do it.” Buck smiled.

“I know you did.” Eddie replied. “You got some visitors.” Buck looked wary so he accepted the hand Eddie had offered for him to hold as they took the stairs together. Buck was surprised to see his mom and dad waiting for him. “This is where I leave you.” Eddie pressed a kiss to the back of Buck’s hand as his dad stood up to greet him.

“Uh, hi. Hope you weren’t… um, waiting long.” Buck offered, lamely.

“The other firefighters were very kind. We got to hear a lot of stories about you.” Phillip began.

“They seem to like you a great deal.” Margaret added with a smile.

“Yeah, I… I like them too.” Buck stated. He was very wary.

“I don’t even know where to start.” Margaret commented.

“I’m sorry… About Daniel. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like to not be able to save someone you love. I wouldn’t have been able to understand it before I became a parent myself but I would die for my boys, I would do whatever it took to save them.”

“Evan-” Phillip started.

“Buck. Buck. That is- that’s what people who know me- that’s what they call me. Eddie is the only person allowed to call me Evan.” Buck informed them.

“Okay. Buck. You have to know, we never blamed you. None of this was your fault.” Phillip told him. Buck smiled wryly.

“I still wish I could’ve done more.”

“Buck…” Margaret leaned across the table to take her son’s hands in hers. “You were born to save someone. And that’s what you do. Every day. We are so proud of you.” Margaret assured him.

“Can you forgive us?” Phillip added.

“Not right now. There’s still a lot of hurt to repair but maybe one day.” Buck replied.

After he’d said all he had to say and heard all he could stand to bear, Buck headed down to the locker room to get changed. He and Eddie needed to go and get their boys from Abuela’s and give them lots of cuddles. Buck also needed some time to relax in his boyfriend’s embrace. “Did that go okay?” Chim asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

“Is it gonna be okay with Maddie?” He continued.

“Chim, I can’t-”

“You’re totally allowed to be mad at her. But if you can find a way to forgive them, you’ve gotta find a way to forgive her.” Chim told him.

“I haven’t forgiven them, Chim. We’ve built one tiny bridge on the road to forgiveness but it’s gonna take a hell of a lot more than that to make up for all the pain and loneliness I’ve felt over the years because of them. And I’m still fuming on behalf of my children that they don’t give a shit about! Maddie should’ve told me.” Buck explained.

“She didn’t want you to think that you weren’t wanted, that you weren’t loved.” Chim tried.

“You know what? I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were. By her.” Chim defended.

“She sent me away, Chim. I needed her and she wasn’t there. She just handed me the keys to a car, sent me on my way so that I didn’t mess up her life.” Buck ranted.

“The Jeep? That’s what you’re talking about?”

“Of course you know about that.” Buck chuckled.

“More than you, apparently.” Chim sighed.

“Look, I’ve had a pretty shit day and I just want to go home to my boys. Tell Maddie that if she wants to talk to me then she can come to the house tomorrow as I have the day off. I’m not doing this today.” Buck instructed, heading over to where Eddie was waiting for him.

“Are you okay?” Eddie checked as they got in the Jeep and linked hands.

“No. But I will be. Let’s go and get our boys.” Buck smiled.

Chapter Text

“Buck, how are you?” Isabel smiled, pulling him into a hug. “Edmundo told me you’ve had a long shift.”

“I’m better now that the shift is over and I’m gonna be hugging both my boys soon.” Buck replied, pulling away from her embrace so that Eddie could hug her. Buck headed through to the main room, where he was immediately enveloped in a hug from Chris.

“I’ve missed you both.” Chris told him.

“We missed you, too, buddy.” Buck replied, pressing a kiss to his head before pulling away and scooping Matthew out of his chair and into his arms. “And I missed you.” Buck told the six month old as he cradled him tightly. Buck sat down on the couch with Matthew in one arm and he wrapped the other around Christopher who had moved to sit with him, too. There was no better feeling that coming home from a bad day and getting to wrap Matthew and Christopher in his arms. He loved them both so much. Eddie finished talking with Isabel and the pair moved into the main room to join the rest of the family. Christopher didn’t get up from where he was plastered against Buck’s side but he waved Eddie over to come and sit next to him.

“Charming, I don’t even get a proper hello.” Eddie joked, sitting next to Chris and starting to tickle him.

“Dad!” Chris laughed, causing everyone else to join in too.

Buck managed to wait until the boys were in bed that night to break down sobbing in his boyfriend’s arms. “It’s okay, I’m here, Evan.” Eddie assured, pressing kisses into his hair.

“It’s been a long few days.” Buck sniffled.

“It has but you’ve handled it all so well. I wouldn’t have been half as calm if I was in your place.” Eddie praised.

“I know you wouldn’t, you were getting pissed on my behalf at all of these dinners with my parents.” Buck laughed, wetly. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too. I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I was a little mad when you ignored the order, but that’s just who you are. A job isn’t successful in your eyes if we don’t get everyone out. I was going to be mad with you but you apologised for your recklessness and that’s good enough for me. I know you would never willingly do anything that would cause me to lose you.” Eddie responded.

“I’m still mad at my parents, and Maddie.”

“I know you are, and that’s perfectly acceptable. You’re allowed to be mad at them for as long as you want.”

“My parents asked me to forgive them. I told them no.” Buck admitted.

“That must have been difficult. I know you’ve never really had a relationship with them and they’ve always kept you at arm's length but they’re still your parents and saying to their face that you don’t forgive them isn’t an easy thing to do.” Eddie praised.

“Yeah, I almost said that I forgive them just because it’s less hassle but I’m done letting them walk all over me. They’ve never given a shit about me, or my family. Then they turn up here with all that stuff for Maddie and Chim’s baby. It made me furious. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive them for what they’ve done to me but I said I’ll try.” Eddie didn’t know what to say so he pulled Buck in for a kiss.

“Shall we head to bed?” Eddie offered when they pulled apart.

“Do you have something planned?” Buck asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not tonight, but maybe the next time Bobby and Athena offer to babysit, we can take them up on that and spend some proper time together.” Eddie winked.

Chim and Maddie turned up at the door the next morning. Maddie carrying a plastic bag. “We’re gonna give you guys a minute.” Eddie announced, taking Chim by the arm and leading him out into the back yard with the boys in tow, Matthew tucked under one arm and Christopher trailing afterwards. Buck waited until the door had closed behind them before he began.

“So, mom and dad came to the firehouse. Wanted me to forgive them. I didn’t. I can’t. Not right now. Maybe we can work up to that but honestly, I’m not filled with too much hope.” Buck admitted.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to feel betrayed by someone that you didn’t think you could count on anyway but that’s no reason to forgive them. They should have to work for it. I’m a father now and I could never imagine making either Christopher or Matthew feel like that. So, I’m gonna be selfish for once. It’s also very easy to lash out on the person that you know is always gonna forgive you.” Buck explained.

“I know that I hurt you. And if I could take it back-”

“But I keep thinking about that. What life would’ve been like if I would’ve known. Would I still be me?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure you would always be Buck.” Maddie smiled.

“Would you… would you tell me about Daniel? I can’t ask mom and dad, but I would like to know what he’s like.” Buck requested.

“Yeah. Yeah, it would be nice to talk about him again.” Maddie agreed.

“Tell me the truth. I don’t have one of those boxes, do I?” Buck asked.

“You know what? I thought you might mention it. I don’t have a box, but here.” Maddie smiled, handing him the bag. Buck took a closer look and saw all of the postcards he’d sent to his big sister over the years.

“You kept these?” He queried.

“Why, you thought I would throw them away?” Maddie replied. Buck took them out of the bag and started to flick through them.

“When you left Doug, you only had two suitcases.” Buck remarked.

“And everything that mattered most was inside them. No matter how hard it got, I always had these. I always had you.” Maddie offered, trying to hold back the tears. Buck put them down to pull her into a hug.

“We always had each other.” Buck assured her. “I’m still mad at you, but I’ll get over it. Not right now, of course but someday soon.” Buck pulled away from the hug so he could keep looking through the postcards and photos, they both laughed at some of them. “I need to show these to Eddie, he’s gonna love them.”

“I’m so glad that you found someone who’s so good for you.” Maddie smiled.

“Me too.”

It wasn’t long before the Buckley siblings joined the rest of the family in the backyard. Buck loved to just sit back and watch Eddie with their sons, he was such a good dad. It made Buck feel a little melancholy that Matthew was already six months old, no longer a newborn, he was growing like crazy. And it wasn’t going to be too much longer before Maddie and Chim had their baby. He was looking forward to being an uncle and he knew Maddie and Chim were gonna make good parents. Buck knew he would forgive his sister, just not today.

Chapter Text

“Trauma bag?” Buck asked, looking at the clipboard.

“Yup.” Eddie replied.

“I’m sorry. What was that?” Buck chuckled, smirking at his boyfriend.

“Check.” Eddie corrected.

“Yeah.” Buck agreed.

“AED?” Buck continued down his list.

“Check.”

“Oh, no. Who gave that guy a clipboard?” Hen joked.

“Ah, don’t worry. It’s a kinder, gentler clipboard, as is the man who holds it. Meet Buck three point oh.” Buck smiled.

“What, three? What happened to two point oh?” Hen asked.

“Two’s leg was crushed by a ladder truck and his girlfriend left him. Two point five got a boyfriend and had a baby.” Chim commented.

“Still not sure what inspired the software update.” Eddie lied, the others didn’t need to know unless Buck chose to tell them.

“I’m just ready to let go of the past.” Buck replied.

“Your parents lied to you your entire life and you’re just gonna let that go? What’s your secret?” Hen pointed out.

“I’m letting it go but I’ve not forgiven them. But my secret is therapy. As in, my parents agreed to come to a few sessions with me, help us to work through our stuff. Look, they’re trying. I figure I should try, too. Right?” Buck explained. Eddie moved from where he was leaning against the engine to wrap an arm around Buck’s waist.

“Very mature, Buck.” Hen agreed.

“Very Buck three point oh.”

“Okay, I’m not calling you that.” Hen told him as Chim laughed. “Are you gonna be taking part in these family sessions, too?” She continued, pointing to Eddie and Chim. Eddie shook his head.

“Uh-uh.” Chim muttered with a mouthful of apple. He waited until he’d swallowed the mouthful to continue. “Key word family, which I am not. Technically.”

“You’re allowed to give yourself some time, you know, to process.” Eddie pointed out.

“I know. I’m just tired of looking behind me. I’ve got a great life here that has nothing to do with my parents, look at what I’ve achieved. I’ve got a job that I love, I’ve got a boyfriend that loves me and I love him and we have our two wonderful boys. I’m ready to keep thinking about the future.” Buck smiled as Eddie pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Speaking of which- HEY Probie!” Ravi immediately dropped all of his books. “Oh, uh-” Buck moved to help him pick them up.

“No, no, no. Don’t worry. I got it.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. You’re the new B-shift probie, right?” Buck apologised.

“Yeah. I mean, yes sir. Just finished my first shift.” He replied.

“How was it?” Buck asked, kindly. He moved away from Eddie who went back to stocking the engine.

“Oh, pretty quiet.” Ravi shrugged.

“Whoa!” Hen exclaimed, holding a hand out in front of her. “Did he just say-”

“No!” Chim added.

“Sorry, I just said it was-”

“Don’t say it again!” Chim cut him off.

“Hold on, hold on. I don’t know. Maybe if he says it a second time, it undoes the curse.” Hen suggested.

“Maybe if he says it a third time, the Candyman will show up and kill us all. Let’s not test that theory.” Chim stated, completely serious.

“That word is forbidden in the firehouse- any house. We just- we don’t use the Q word.” Buck informed Ravi.

“Who used the Q word?” Bobby asked, appearing above them.

“What am I missing here?” Eddie asked, in the three years he’d worked at the fire house, this had never happened before. The alarm started to go immediately.

“Attention, Station 118. Vehicle accident with injuries.” The announcement declared.

“We’ve been jinxed.” Chim frowned.

“You can’t say the Q word in a firehouse. As soon as it’s mentioned, get ready for chaos.” Hen told Eddie on their way to the accident.

“It jinxes the house for the next shift.” Chim added.

“Jinxed? You guys sound like my abuela’s neighbour’s curandera.” Eddie laughed.

“Well, does she happen to know how to reverse it? ‘Cause if not, we’re about to experience the shift from hell.” Buck queried.

“Non-stop calls all day long.” Chim told him.

“Stupid calls.” Hen scoffed.

“Probie tempted fate. Now the EMS gods are gonna make us pay.” Chim claimed.

“Come on, you guys don’t really believe that.” Eddie laughed.

“So your boyfriend never told you about the last time somebody used that word?” Hen asked.

“The gods took it out of context.” Buck defended. “I was talking about the new dishwasher and I used the Q word to describe the level of noise it made. The rest of the day from that point on was a write off.”

“Thirty six calls.” Hen elaborated.

“Thirty six? In one shift?” Eddie clarified.

“Yeah. It was a house record.” Bobby confirmed.

“It was thirty seven.” Buck corrected.

“That one doesn’t count.” Chim replied.

“That wasn’t even a call.” Bobby agreed.

“Then what was it?” Buck asked.

“Divine retribution.” Hen laughed.

“What are you talking about?” Eddie questioned.

“Someone triggered the fire suppression system and Buck got trapped in the locker room with the foam. It was everywhere. You couldn’t see him unless he was pressed right up against the windows. It completely filled the room.” Bobby explained.

“You guys were no help!” Buck claimed.

“Hey, we got you out eventually. You learnt your lesson about using that word though.” Hen reminded him.

“Well, I think you guys are giving the EMS gods a little too much credit.” Eddie stated.

“You’ll see.”

“See. Fender bender. Not crazy.” Eddie announced as they got out of the truck.

“Uh-huh.” Bobby smirked, looking up. “Look up.” Eddie looked to where Bobby was pointing to a guy who was duct taped to a billboard sign.

“Buck.” Bobby said.

“Yep. Prepping the ladder.” Buck replied.

“Is he-”

“Duct taped? Yeah.” Hen said.

“Seen crazier.” Eddie shrugged.

After the truck was secure, Buck headed up the ladder to Izzy Chains, difficult to miss his name when he kept saying it every couple of minutes. “No, no, no, no, no, no. Hey! I do not need help. Go back down there.” Izzy dismissed.

“Sir, I’m gonna need to get you down for your safety and for the safety of others.” Buck explained, pointing to where the cars had collided.

“I rented this billboard the whole day! I ain’t leaving till I get what I paid for.” Izzy stated.

“Look down.” Buck told him, referencing all of the people standing below, with their phones out taking photos and videos. “I, uh- I think you got your money’s worth.”

“I know, I know. Look at all these people! Whoo! Buy my album!” He cheered at everyone who cheered back. “Think they can see my QR code?”

“Yeah, I’m, uh, I’m sure they can. Okay, wow. Um, question for you. Are you wearing anything underneath that?” Buck asked. Izzy sighed deeply.

“No, why?”

“You might regret that later.” Buck stated.

Chapter Text

Eddie felt like he was running round like an idiot when he ran past someone he recognised. “Ms Flores?” He checked.

“Yeah?”

“Eddie Diaz. Sorry. Christopher’s dad. From school?” Eddie said, removing his helmet so she could see him better.

“Mr Diaz, Edmundo. Um, how are you?” She asked.

“Looks like I should be asking you that.” He commented, looking at the ice pack on her hand. “Did you get injured in the accident?”

“Drinking hot coffee while walking. Usually not dangerous, but some guy bumped into me when the accident happened. Burned myself pretty good.” Ms Flores explained.

“Mind if I take a look at that?” Eddie asked.

“Sure.” At her consent, Eddie knelt down and dropped his gear so that he could put on some gloves.

“Ice is really bad for burns. Let’s see.” He informed her as he peeled the ice pack away. “Ooh, okay.”

“That firefighter gave it to me. Told me to keep it cool.” She told Eddie.

“Which firefighter?”

“Um, he was just here. Had one forty seven on his helmet.”

“There’s another unit here? Well, he should’ve known better. Keep it dry and clean.” Eddie advised her.

“How’s Christopher?” Ms Flores asked, conversationally.

“Yeah, adjusting to remote classes. I assumed that’s why I hadn’t seen you around this year.” Eddie replied as he bandaged the burn.

“You were looking for me?”

“You were Christopher’s favourite teacher and he said you weren’t teaching him this year. He’s a little disappointed as he wanted to tell you about his little brother.” Eddie explained.

“He has a little brother? Congratulations, how has he taken to that adjustment?”

“Really well, he’s always looking after Matthew. Matthew’s only six months old so he’s not yet old enough to annoy his big brother.” Eddie smiled, he loved talking about his family.

“He must like your girlfriend, too.” Ms Flores complimented.

“Boyfriend.” Eddie corrected. “And yeah, he loves Buck.”

“Ah, Buck. Christopher used to talk about him all the time, I didn’t realise you were together though.”

“We were keeping it quiet as we work together but the baby meant it was time to come clean.” Eddie laughed.

“I’m glad you’ve found someone who dotes on Christopher as much as you do. The hardest part about quitting my job was the fact that I miss all the kids. I’m glad to hear that Christopher is doing well. I just finished my doctorate. Now I’m over at Adams Elementary. Vice principal.” Ms Flores smiled.

“Ooh, impressive. Congrats.” Eddie returned the smile.

“Thank you.”

“What made you want to quit? You’re so good at being a teacher.” Eddie inquired.

“Well, having a PhD gives me more options. And I’m never not gonna be a teacher. It’s in my blood.” She replied.

“Sounds like being a firefighter.” Eddie commented, getting to his feet after finishing up with the bandage. “Uh, if you see that guy from the one forty seven, get his name. Could’ve done more harm than good with that ice.”

“I guess it’s my lucky day then. Good thing you found me.”

“I might need some of that luck. Everyone’s telling me we’re in for the day from hell.” Eddie laughed.

“Diaz. Get that protective gear for our stunt musician up here.” Bobby’s voice crackled over the radio.

“Copy that, Cap.” Eddie sighed, shouldering the gear bag again. “Great seeing you.”

“You too. Congratulations again, I wish your family all the best.”

“Cap, he’s not willing to leave.” Buck stated when he got down from the ladder. Eddie had finally made his way back to the group.

“I’m not leaving till my time is up.” Izzy sang.

“And when is that?” Athena shouted.

“8am. Tomorrow morning.” Izzy cackled, he carried on talking but the team weren’t focused on that. They could hear the tape holding him to the board starting to rip.

“Heads up!” Buck shouted, rushing back up the ladder again.

“Help!” Izzy shouted, continuing to cackle maniacally. The tape finally came free and he fell onto the air cushion waiting below.

“Oh, my-” Buck sat down half way up the ladder.

“I’m okay! I’m okay!” Izzy shouted, bouncing up and down after getting off the air cushion. Lots of the bystanders cheered.

“Oh, oh, he’s definitely gonna be famous now.” Hen commented as she and Chim led Izzy away. Buck picked up the discarded duct tape.

“You wanna keep that as a souvenir?” Bobby joked. Buck just shook his head.

Bobby sighed as he got the mac and cheese out of the oven. The team all piled upstairs minus Buck and took their seats. “I am starving, Cap.” Hen commented.

“The only thing that could get me to walk up those stairs today is Cap’s baked macaroni!” Chim added, sitting down and beginning to dig in.

“Hey, you know the rules. We wait for everyone.”

“Sorry, guys!” Buck called running over. “Wow, smells fantastic.” Just as Buck had taken his seat, the alarm went off. The macaroni went back into the oven as they headed out again. That call required Eddie to get a cat out of a tree and handed safely back to the owner, before going back up to get the guy who’d tried to get the cat before calling 9-1-1.

No sooner had they got back to the firehouse and sat back down, the macaroni looking a little crispy this time, did the alarm go off again. This call was to get someone’s head out of what looked like a mascot’s head. As soon as they pulled the head off, the girl threw up on Buck.

By the time they got back after that call, the macaroni had burnt and was no longer edible. They’d just contemplated ordering in when the alarm went off again. This time, an octopus had fallen out of an air vent and onto someone’s face. And it wouldn’t let go.

They got back and put their gear away, which is when the alarm went off yet again. Buck felt as though they might as well stay seated in the engine with their gear on, ready to go. Someone had got trapped under a recliner in a movie theatre.

The next call was a kid who’d gotten trapped in a washing machine at a laundromat.

The next time, Bobby had only just finished getting the engine back into the house when the alarm went off again.

Chapter Text

“Hey, guess who I ran into when we were dealing with the guy on the billboard sign?” Eddie said, turning to his boyfriend.

“Was that really only this morning? It feels like it should have been days ago.” Hen sighed as she rushed past the pair who were dragging their feet.

“Who?” Buck asked.

“Ana Flores. Christopher’s English teacher.” Eddie replied.

“Oh, he used to talk about her all the time. She was his favourite. What happened?” Buck commented.

“Well, she’s not his teacher anymore.” Eddie explained. They had to pause their conversation as they entered the party shop and saw Bobby trying to lift some helium canisters that had fallen on top of a clown.

“Interesting.” Buck commented, noticing that the canisters were leaking the helium.

“Help me move some of these tanks to relieve the pressure.” Bobby instructed in a high pitched voice.

“Uh…” Buck smiled behind his mask as he shared a look with his boyfriend and they both burst out laughing.

“Come on!” Bobby called, causing them to laugh harder.

“It’s your voice.” Buck laughed.

“Buck! Be a professional!” Hen added, her voice sounded even funnier than Bobby’s and only made Buck and Eddie laugh even harder.

“Man, that was a boring call. Two people stuck in an elevator. They didn’t even need medical attention or anything.” Eddie complained.

“Don’t say it, Edmundo.” Hen warned.

“How can I not? Y’all acting like a bunch of viejas. There is no curse.” Eddie stated.

“Oh, he’s so definitive now.” Chim said.

“Ooh, sure is windy. You guys feel that?” Buck remarked after taking off his jacket.

“Nobody is saying you have to believe in curses. Just maybe don’t tempt fate.” Bobby offered.

“How’s that not the same thing?” Eddie asked as he got into the truck. “It was a normal call. Went like clockwork. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.”

“You notice how you never hear anyone say, ‘wham, bam, thank you, sir’?” Hen commented.

“It doesn’t rhyme.” Buck said, looking confused.

“Or maybe all that whammin’ and bammin’ is nothing to write a thank you note about.” Hen smirked. Eddie laughed.

“The whole point is, I think this proves the whole jinx thing is a little silly and we should all be done with it.” Eddie stated. Of course, this was when there was a massive creak outside and something crashed on top of the engine. Electricity sparking everywhere.

“Whoa. Whoa.” Hen muttered.

“Hey, Cap. Did a live power pole just fall on the engine?” Chim asked, calmly.

“I believe it did, Chimney.” Bobby replied, just as calm.

“Right. No curse here.” Buck frowned as everyone glared at Eddie.

“Aha! It is a real thing.” Chim stated after looking something up on his phone, Buck was only half paying attention as he was busy texting someone else.

Buck: You’re not going to believe the day the 118 is having.

TK: Why? What happened?

Buck: Probie used the Q word this morning.

TK: I assume the day went out the window as soon as that happened?

Buck: Of course it did.

TK: How crazy are the calls?

Buck: It’s been a bit of a mix tbh.

Buck: First one was a guy who’d duct taped himself to a billboard sign.

TK: Why?

Buck: Why not? 

Buck: Nah, it was to promote an album or some shit, I wasn’t paying too much attention.

TK: Some boring ones too

Buck: Yeah, Eddie’s just been bitching about how borning the last call was, just two people trapped in an elevator. Of course, he just had to tempt fate, didn’t he?

TK: What happened?

Buck: Well, we’re currently trapped in our engine with downed power lines over the top of us. I’m blaming my boyfriend.

TK: I blame him too.

Buck: We’ve not eaten since breakfast either. Bobby cooked for us but after having to put it back in the oven before we could even start it, it was burnt after the third call out. We’re on our tenth call today.

TK: What’s your record?

Buck: 36

TK: That’s insane, I think ours is like 20!

Buck: Clearly no one at your house is stupid enough to use the Q word!

TK: I mean, you do live in LA. I’m gonna have to say goodbye now, Ayla’s up from her nap and she sounds grumpy. Good luck with your curse!

“Okay, so we have to move our hands in this kind of motion and ring the bells… nine times.” Chim read, demonstrating the hand movement.

“Nine in total or nine for each of us?” Buck asked, tuning back into the conversation.

“It’s unclear. I think maybe we should all do it just to make sure we lift the curse completely.” Chim suggested.

“Well, is it actually a curse? I know we called it that, but technically, I think it’s a jinx.” Hen reasoned.

“TK thinks it’s a curse.” Buck added.

“Who’s TK?” Chim asked.

“Austin’s version of him.” Hen replied.

“You guys still talk?” Bobby questioned.

“After everything we went through, yeah, we still talk.” Buck replied.

“What else does TK say?” Eddie asked, he did enjoy meeting the 126 and they’d made plans to see each other again soon.

“That he also blames you for tempting fate.” Buck smirked.

“I like this guy.” Bobby laughed.

“What’s the difference?” Chim asked, returning to Hen’s question.

“Well, I feel like a curse implies that a person put a hex on you and a jinx is more like a general angering of the gods.” Hen replied.

“I’ll just google how to appease the gods.” Buck commented.

“So, is a hex and a curse the same thing?” Chim checked.

“By that, you mean both are totally made up and not real? Yes.” Eddie snarked, briefly looking over at the rest of the 118 from where he was resting his head against the headrest with his eyes closed. He resumed that position after a brief glance.

“What more proof do you need, Eddie? We are trapped in a death box. Thousands of volts of electricity coursing through every nook and cranny. Any one of us could literally get fried like that.” Chim ranted, clicking his fingers at the end.

“Or, we just don’t touch any of the doors or windows until help arrives and nobody gets fried, with or without a curse or jinx, whatever.” Bobby added.

“All I can find is some kind of human or animal sacrifice. I’m not really down with that.” Buck grumbled.

“Do you guys not hear yourselves right now?” Eddie burst out laughing.

“Do you?” Buck fired back. “It’s like the universe is screaming at you and you refuse to listen.”

“The universe does not scream.” Eddie replied. As soon as he’d said that, the electricity in the downed power pole sparked again.

“Oh, there are clearly forces at work here, forces beyond my control and your control-”

“That’s it. That’s the difference between you and I.” Eddie interrupted Chim. “I don’t worry about things that I can’t control.”

“Sure, you can say you don’t worry about things you can’t control, but can you at least acknowledge that something is controlling the things you can’t control?” Buck asked.

“Like what? Gremlins? Bogeyman? Santa Muerte? Look, we’ve had a crappy day. It happens. But it dodn’t happen because of a curse or a hex or because someone said the word qu-”

“Hey, hey, don’t!” Bobby exclaimed.

“Come on, Bobby.” Eddie chuckled. “You really can’t believe in all this.”

“You know, Cap, you have been pretty silent today about all this jinx stuff.” Hen recalled.

“Yeah, suspiciously silent.” Chim added.

“Yeah, Cap. Come on. Where do you stand? Jinx or no jinx?” Buck asked.

“Aren’t we all a little superstitious? People don’t like to walk under ladders. Some buildings don’t have a thirteenth floor. We bless people after they sneeze. Some of us even wear a good luck charm around our neck.” Bobby explained.

“That’s not the same thing.” Eddie interjected.

“To you, but wearing that medal that reminds you of your son, helps you feel better about the day. So if Chimney wants to ring some bells so he can feel better, what’s wrong with that?” Bobby continued.

“You never actually answered the question, though, Cap.” Hen reminded him.

“Yeah.” Eddie agreed. At that moment, there was a beep accompanying a siren up ahead as another firehouse arrived to help.

“Ah, and help has arrived. Look at that.” Bobby smiled, all of their spirits lifting slightly. “And help is stopping to take pictures of us trapped in our own engine. Great. This is great.”

“And the jinx continues.” Chimney grumbled.

Chapter Text

By the time things had finally settled down momentarily, it was well into the night and some of the team went straight to bed. Buck and Eddie had headed off to the bunk room but Buck wasn't able to stay laying down beside his boyfriend for long, instead choosing to get up and wander through to the main area of the firehouse to sit and read. It wasn't long before Eddie followed, unable to sleep without Bucks comforting presence by his side. "I thought you were hitting the bunks." Bobby commented.

"Couldn't sleep." Eddie replied. 

"Maybe that curse is getting to you, too."

"Or maybe I just couldn't sleep." Eddie retorted.

"Yeah, welcome to the club." Chim remarked without looking up from his book.

"Am I interrupting book club?" Eddie joked, looking at Hen, Chin and his boyfriend.

"Medical, babies, babies." Hen stated, pointing at herself, Chim and then Buck.

"I was wondering why Buck had a book in his hand but now it all makes sense." Eddie then walked over to the armchair Buck was sitting in and seated himself on the arm of it.

"You know I'm still worried I'm gonna screw everything up." Buck stated. 

"I feel exactly the same way and my baby isn't even here yet." Chim agreed.

"Evan, Chris is ten years old and I still feel like that. I don't think reading a book is going to help all that much. You're doing a great job, look at how much Christopher adores you. He's always telling his friends at school that he has two dads. We can't be doing that bad a job." Eddie reasoned, taking the book from his boyfriend's hands and putting it down before pulling Buck into a chaste kiss. Buck needed the reassurance but they were still at work.

"You two are so cute it makes me want to throw up." Hen smiled. 

"Eddie's right, though. You're a great dad, Buck." Bobby stated, clapping a hand on Buck's shoulder. Before anyone could say anything else, the alarm went off.

"Station 118, structure fire, single family residence. Flames reported coming from the garage."

In no time at all, they were out on the road and heading towards the scene. When they arrived, someone was using a garden hose on the fire. "Buck, you guys start a hose line. Chim, then, Shut down the utilities here and the neighbouring houses. Gas, power, water." Bobby instructed and the team all ran off to do as they'd been told as Bobby headed over to the man with the hose. They were all a little surprised when the fireworks started going off.

"Buck, I need another pair of hands around the back." Bobby requested over their radios.

"Go. I got this." Eddie told him. 

"Sure?" Buck checked.

"Yeah." Eddie replied. Buck ran off to do as he'd been told and Eddie continued his approach with the hose. It wasn't as easy without a partner so he called over the closest person in turnouts. "Hey, I lost my partner. Mind helping me out?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Eddie replied. "Headed to the south wall. I'm Eddie."

“Brian. Good to meet you." The other guy introduced. "Guy who did this is some piece of work, huh?" 

"Today has been a piece of work. We're twelve hours into a twenty-four hour and it's been non-stop. Between you and me, I could use a minute." Eddie responded.

"But if you weren't out here doing this, the whole neighbourhood could go up. Being a firefighter, getting to help people out, it's all I ever wanted. That's gotta be worth some rough days, right?" Brian rambled. 

"Hey, thanks for the hand." 

"Oh, yeah, you bet, Eddie. I'll see you around." Brian started walking away.

"Harmon!" Eddie called, reading the name on the back of the turnout. "Hey, Brian!" Eddie tried when he didn't turn around. Brian turned to face him.

"Hey, one of your guys put ice on a bum patient's arm at the MVC on Sunset today. Could've done some real damage." Eddie informed him. thinking back to Ana. 

"Weird. Thanks. I'll let my captain know." Brian assured.

"Hey, came back to check on you but I see that you got some help." Bobby said, grabbing the hose to help Eddie.

"That guy from the 147 jumped in." Eddie stated.

"Uh, couldn't be the 147." 

"Yep. It was. I'm sure." Eddie confirmed. 

"Eddie, there's nobody at the 147. Their house was damaged during the mudslide. They're still rebuilding." Bobby told him.

"Then who the hell was I talking to?"

"I have no idea."

When they got back to the firehouse, Bobby got Eddie a photo of the 147 so they could try and figure out who he'd been talking to. "I don't see him in here. His turnout said Harmon." Eddie said.

"Yeah, well, that's Aaron Harmon right there." Bobby pointed to one of the guys who looked nothing like 'Brian'. "Definitely not the guy. He said his name was Brian. You think he was a fake?"

"It happens. Sometimes they're criminals. They use it as a ruse to get inside people's homes." Bobby commented.

"I don't think that's what this was. He seemed to want to help. I mean, it's bad but it's not-"

"It's worse. They're not trained. They can wind up doing more harm than help." Bobby pointed out.

"Said all he ever wanted to be was a firefighter." Eddie added. 

"Yeah. Sometimes there are those guys. Try out for every class, never make it, never give up."

"You gotta admire the perseverance." Eddie remarked.

"I do, and their dedication. But I also feel sorry for them. They're so focused on what they don't have that they miss the chance to have something else, something real. Sometimes you gotta move on." Bobby stated.

"Why do I feel like this is about more than just this guy?" 

"I know what it's like to be stuck in the worst moment of your life. It's why I'm so happy that you and Buck found your way to each other and became a family. I know that you'll never truly get over losing Shannon and the love you felt for her. You will always miss her. And that part of you she took with her? You'll never get it back. I can tell that this is something that you haven't talked to Buck about." Bobby paused.

"I know how... sensitive Buck can be. I don't want to make him doubt his place in my life by dragging up ghosts of the past." "I understand what you mean but every day, you heal a little bit more. Then one morning, you wake up and losing her isn't the first thing you think about." 

"But you're happy now? With Athena and the kids?" Eddie asked, tears shining in his eyes.

"I love the family I have now... but that doesn't mean I ever stopped missing the one I lost." Bobby assured him. 

"That, that's how I feel. I love Buck so much. I didn't think I'd ever feel like this about someone again, and I'm glad I was wrong. But I still feel guilty about it, sometimes. Like I'm betraying Shannon, even though it's been nearly three years since she died." 

"And you will have days like that. but surely the good days outweigh the bad ones?" Bobby checked. 

"Of course they do. Thanks for this." Eddie breathed, shakily. Bobby clapped him on the arm as he left Eddie alone with his thoughts.

Chapter Text

Their next call was someone who'd gone crazy. They were being asked to check the reports of a gas leak. "All clear, no gas leak. However, the gas is gonna remain shut down until further investigation." Bobby announced. 

"I'm gonna get canned. Twenty years of customer service up in smoke- or gas." Larry frowned.

"Actually, there wasn't any of either, Jim." Buck responded.

"It's still Larry!"

"Caller said he was a fire chief. "Athena told her husband.

"Someone else pretending to be LAFD?" Bobby asked.

"What do you mean, someone else?" Athena checked. Bobby spotted a familiar face in the crowd.

"Maybe the same someone. Hey!" Bobby called. Brian began to run.

"Hey! I got him, Cap. Hey!" Buck began to chase. "Hey! Hey, I just wanna talk! Hey, man! I just wanna talk!" Buck then bumped into someone who was in his way and they both fell down. Buck got up and helped the other man to his feet. "Sorry, sir." He apologised. While Buck was distracted, Brian managed to put some distance between them and jump into the 118's engine, immediately beginning to drive off. Buck pounded on the side of the engine and continued shouting, but to no avail. The rest of the 118 caught up to Buck and Eddie turned around from where he was patching someone up to check what was going on and spotted his boyfriend chasing Brian, who then jumped in the engine and turned it on. What the hell was this shift? He was beginning to agree with the rest of the team when they were saying today is jinxed. But he would never tell them that he agreed or he would never live it down.

"Dispatch, this is Captain Nash, 118. Our engine just got hijacked." Bobby radioed. Athena jumped straight in her patrol car to chase the engine.

"What did we miss?" Chim asked, arms full of food.

"Still jinxed." Buck informed them. 

"When did you guys last refill that gas tank?" Bobby checked.

"I just topped it off. He's got, like, four hours, give or take." Buck replied. 

"Yeah, unless he crashes it first." Bobby stated.

"All available units, report to 539 North Hill Street. Five alarm fire. I repeat, all available units report to 539 North Hill Street. Five alarm fire." Linda's voice came over the radio.

"What do we do?" Buck questioned. Bobby didn't look like he had any more of a clue than the rest of the team. 

"Uh... everybody in the ambulance, now!" Bobby instructed.

"Cap, there is not enough room." Buck stated.

"Just, come here." Eddie laughed, pulling Buck so that his boyfriend was sitting on his lap.

"This is the only time that's allowed. Let’s go!" Bobby told them.

"This is a terrible idea." Buck said. 

"Well, were already jinxed so we may as well embrace it." Hen replied. 

"Had to steal the engine. Couldn't have taken the ambulance instead. "Buck whined.

"Hey, bite your tongue." Hen warned. 

"Yeah, we're en route to a fire without any of our gear." Buck pointed out.

"It's a five alarm. Other units are gonna respond and we will assist any way we can." Bobby responded, calmly. 

"Cap, you don't even have your helmets. Without your equipment on scene-" Chim started but Eddie cut him off. 

"Maybe there's a way to get it there." Eddie mused. Buck shifted slightly so he could look at his boyfriend. Eddie removed his radio from his turnouts and pressed the button to speak. "Brian, it's Eddie. Diaz, you there? Hey, Brian. If you're there, key the radio so I know you're listening." They heard Brian click the radio so Eddie continued to talk. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping us out at the garage fire. I needed your help. We needed your help. You were there."

"That's it. All I ever wanted was to help people." Brian replied.

"I know that's what you had planned when you put on that uniform. Things don't always turn out the way we planned." Eddie shared a wry smile with his boyfriend. "Sometimes that sucks, I know. But you can't let yourself get stuck. All you can do is let go, move on. Sounds scary, but I know you can do it. Sometimes it's the best thing in the world." 

“No! I'm- I'm not brave. I want to be, but I'm not a hero like you." Brian stated.

"You wanna be a hero? There's a five alarm fire right now. We need your help. People's lives depend on you." Eddie told him.

"No one's ever given me the chance!"

"Here's your chance." Eddie stated. "I know you want to do the right thing, Brian. You're so close." 

"I can't. I can't do it. I'm not a hero!" Brian defended.

"We need you, Brian. We need you." "Suspect is turning onto Hill. He's turning onto Hill." The police stated over the radio. Eddie breathed a sigh of relief and the entire 118 turned to smile at him. 

“That was some quick thinking, Eddie, well done.” Bobby praised him.

“I’m impressed.” Buck smiled, Eddie just held Buck tighter against him even though it wasn’t really necessary. They both knew what Eddie had meant, their perfect little family was anything but planned but, like Eddie had said, sometimes the things that are unplanned turn out to be the best.

They arrived moments after Brain and spotted Athena walking him off in handcuffs. "Gonna say, you guys missed the show. Didn't realise you were the main act." She commented as they all got out of the ambulance. 

"Your penny didn't stand a chance." Bobby told her.

"Hey, thank you. You did a good thing." Eddie told Brian while the rest of the 118 went to get their gear off the engine.

"I did?" Brian checked. "I did a good thing." Bobby and Eddie headed off to do their jobs and left Brian in the custody of Athena. It had been one hell of a shift and it was still far from over.

Chapter Text

“I was telling Abuela how crazy this shift has been and she’s offered to keep the boys for a little bit longer so we can have a breather and go and get some breakfast before collecting them, do you like the sound of that?” Eddie checked as they were tidying away upon their return from the five alarm fire.

“An extra date? That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Buck smiled. 

“I thought so, too. I’ve already told her, yes please.” Eddie admitted.

“What would you have done if I’d said no?” Buck laughed.

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“Is it actually time?” Eddie asked as the B-Shift came in to relieve them.

"I have never been so glad to get to the end of a shift." Buck commented as they left the locker room. 

"And hopefully the end of that jinx. I mean, that's it, right? Next shift is back to normal?" Hen checked. 

"When have we ever had a 'normal' shift?" Eddie laughed, sure some were more exciting than others but he couldn’t think back on what he would refer to as a normal shift. They’d all had at least one moment that he would have called crazy. Usually, not this many in a row, but still.

"I might call in sick just in case." Chim joked.

"Hey, I know you guys are eager to get the hell out of here, but I'd like to buy you breakfast." Bobby offered.

"Thanks, Cap, but we've got other plans." Eddie smiled, linking his fingers with Buck's.

“Enjoy your date.” Bobby replied. “And give those boys a hug for me.”

“Will do, Cap. Thank you .” Buck smiled as they left, hand in hand.

“I am so hungry.” Buck announced as they looked over the menu.

“Me, too. I don’t think we’ve ever had a day where we’ve not had a chance to eat before.” Eddie agreed.

“No, I can’t remember one either and I’ve been at the fire house longer. As much as I’m looking forward to going and getting the boys, I really needed this.”

“Abuela is a saint. What we did to deserve her, I will never know.” Eddie smiled.

“We are so lucky to have her, to have your entire family, really.” Buck returned the smile.

"I, uh, was talking to Cap earlier today about something else but he made an excellent point about moving on and it’s something I want to talk to you about." Eddie began.

"What do you mean?"

"He was telling me about how it's okay that I've moved on from Shannon because my mind doesn't always forgive me for doing that. I know we don't talk about Shannon but he thinks that might not be a good thing. I don't want to upset you or make you feel threatened by her." Eddie rambled.

"Why would I feel threatened by her, Eddie? Not to be horrible, but she's dead." Buck reasoned.

"Because I still think about her. I still love her, in a way. I love you, too, of course I love you. I'm so glad you came into my life and made it better, brighter. I'm so glad that we've been able to expand our little family but there are days where I still feel guilty, like I betrayed her and her memory by moving on." Eddie admitted.

"Hey, she was your wife, you chose to start a family with her. You're probably never going to get over her. And yes, it does make me feel a little hurt to know that you still love her but I know that you love me, that you're in love with me. It's not really something we've talked about because of how our relationship progressed, faster than we were intending it to. It's probably a discussion we would have had in between deciding we were definitely doing this and telling Christopher. Matthew complicated our entire relationship." Buck sighed.

"I'm sorry, I never wanted to make you feel hurt."

"Abby was my first love. You're my second. I know you've got a past but I guess the thing that hurts me the most is not knowing if things would have turned out differently if I hadn't gotten pregnant. Would the guilt of us being together eaten you alive and caused us to break up? We'll never know now."

"I like to think that we would always have ended up here. In every universe, no matter how many different ways it played out, I love to think that we are together with Christopher and our own child, or two." Eddie reasoned.

"Do you ever regret it? How quickly everything changed between us?" Buck checked.

"No, because I love you. You're it for me, Buck. I never thought I would fall in love again after Shannon left me. I thought that was my one chance at true love and I blew it. It was my fault that things fell apart. So, when our relationship changed, and we tentatively started dating, I didn't know how to feel. I was so conflicted about Shannon, about you, about how we were going to tell Chris and what would happen if things didn't work out between us. But I didn't need to. I felt lost in the darkness, but then I fell in love with you and everything suddenly made sense again." Eddie smiled. Buck's eyes were filled with tears.

"I love you, too." Buck assured. Eddie got out of his chair to kneel next to Buck and pull him into a hug.

"I would be lost without you, you mean the world to me." Eddie promised. He pulled Buck into a gentle kiss before returning to his chair.

"So, you think about us having more children?" 

"I do, just one or two more. If that's something you would be interested in. If you don't want any more kids then that's okay, too." Eddie panicked a little.

"Eddie, you don't need to panic. I mean, yeah, I'm not ready to have another baby yet, but someday, definitely." Buck smiled. Eddie returned his smile, breathing a little easier now that this weight was off his shoulders. Buck would probably never stop surprising him.

Chapter Text

“So, how did the shift from hell end?” TK asked.

“With someone hijacking our engine and us having to pile in the ambulance to attend a five alarm fire.” Buck stated.

“Shit, you guys really were jinxed, weren’t you?” TK laughed. Buck couldn’t help but join in. It wasn’t really funny at the time but he could laugh about it now.

“Eddie still doesn’t think we were cursed but I think my boyfriend is an idiot.” Buck joked.

“I thought you were the house idiot, just like me.” TK mock pouted. “Nah, Mateo is ours, but we love him for it.”

“The team likes to say that me and Eddie share a single brain cell and he’s in possession of it about ninety eight percent of the time.” Buck commented. TK burst out laughing.

“I have to admit, having seen the pair of you together at the wildfire, I can understand why your guys would think that. I’m not the idiot, I’m the near death experiences guy.”

“Which is why jumping through an active minefield was not a good idea!” Carlos called from the kitchen.

“You did what?!” Buck exclaimed.

“I mean, that is part of the life update I was going to share with you. I know we text almost every day but there has been far too much going on in my life to convey over text.” TK began.

“I’m intrigued now.”

“So, the first major thing that I’m still not quite sure how I feel about it, is the fact I’m going to be a big brother.”

“Wait… Your parents-” Buck cut himself off.

“Yeah.  Not a nice mental image, I can assure you. I’m just glad I spent quarantine living here with Carlos because I was pregnant myself. I think that house would have been literal hell to share with them.” TK agreed.

“Good job you weren’t there, then.” Buck laughed, uncomfortably.

“Yeah, still not overly sure how I feel about my daughter’s uncle being younger than her. She’s gonna find it weird as fuck when she’s older but there’s nothing I can do about it.” TK stated.

“I’m not surprised you’re still unsure how you feel about it.”

“The worst thing about my parent’s telling me was them being so happy and excited and wanting me to share that feeling. Like they didn’t have reservations when I was pregnant with Ayla about how ‘irresponsible’ I was for getting pregnant without planning it when they did the exact same thing.”

“Hypocrites.” Buck nodded.

“The next thing was, that I’ve been giving things a lot of thought in regards to both me and Carlos being in high risk jobs. I remember how difficult it was for me growing up.” TK began to ramble.

“Are you gonna reach your point any time soon?” Carlos asked, jokingly as he came into the room and sat down next to his boyfriend. He pressed a kiss to TK’s cheek and waved hello to Buck. Carlos and Eddie had very quickly gotten used to Buck and TK’s weekly video calls. IT was nice to have other firefighter friends who didn’t work at the same house.

“I know what you mean about the worrying. It's always on the back of mine and Eddie’s minds when we’re on a call that if something goes horrifically wrong then the boys could lose us both.” Buck frowned. “Sorry, that got dark.”

“Moving on to happier thoughts, I ended up helping EMS on a call because I’m certified and the new guy they hired refused. It was jumping through a minefield to get to a couple of kids and it went really well so Carlos and I had a conversation about me making a permanent switch to EMS, that way I still get to do the job I love but there is significantly less risk to my life. I want Ayla and any future children we may have to grow up with both of their dad’s.” TK finished.

“That makes sense. How did your dad take it, though? I don’t imagine he was best impressed.” Buck checked.

“He was a little hurt but when I explained to him that it was something I’d been debating for a while anyway and that it was for Ayla, he was understanding.” TK replied.

“And how is little Ayla?”

“She’s good, we’re not, since she’s been going through a sleep regression but hopefully, it’s starting to ease and she’s not fighting us when it comes to sleep nearly as much as she had been so, we may actually get a decent night's sleep soon.” Carlos laughed.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, Matthew has started teething now that he’s five months and it’s an absolute bitch. We’re having to give him Tylenol to keep his temperature down and the pain under control. He just has bright red cheeks all the time and they feel hot. But full credit to him, he’s not cried once about it, but we just can’t relax knowing that he’s not well.” Buck commented, sadly. There was nothing worse as a parent than watching your baby in pain or discomfort and not being able to do anything about it.

“Poor Matthew.” TK frowned. It made him want to go upstairs and give Ayla a cuddle.

“Yeah, Eddie’s with him and Christopher right now. It’s upsetting Chris to see his baby brother unwell too, even though we keep being told ‘it’s only teething’ and even though it’s something that all babies go through, it’s still hard.” Buck commented.

“Aw.” Carlos said. “Make me worry about when Ayla’s gonna start.”

“Every baby goes through it differently. Some are absolutely fine, go through it with no problems.” Buck reminded them.

“That’s true. Basically, from the moment they’re born, you never stop worrying about your children, even when they grow up and have children of their own.” TK commented, thinking back on things Owen had said in the past.

“And some of us do it more than once.” Eddie added, flopping down on the couch next to Buck. “Both of the boys are having a nap, although for how long is yet to be determined.”

“Yeah, we’re planning on having more someday.” TK laughed.

Chapter Text

“Morning.” Hen greeted, joining Buck and Eddie in the locker room

“Good morning.” They replied.

“Ready for another shift?” Hen joked.

“After how things went on our last one, I’m still unsure if Chim was joking about phoning in sick.” Buck smiled.

“I wasn’t joking but thought I’d better show up anyway.” Chim answered, joining them.

“Yeah, TK can’t believe how bad our luck was.” Buck agreed.

“TK?” Chim checked. He was sure that name had been mentioned before but couldn’t place it.

“You’re still in touch with him?” Hen checked.

“Yeah, we became good friends after the wildfire. We’re trying to arrange a time to go to Austin and see him again, and meet his boyfriend.” Buck replied.

“I’m still not convinced it’s a good idea to put those two in the same room again but Carlos and I know we can’t keep these two apart. Besides, their daughter is a month younger than Matthew and it wouldn’t be bad for them to be friends.” Eddie explained.

“Remind me who TK is?” Chim requested as they all climbed the stairs to enjoy Bobby’s breakfast.

“Austin 126’s version of Buck.” Hen replied.

“And you want to put them in the same room as each other? Good luck, Eddie.” Bobby laughed.

“Thanks, Cap.” Buck pouted. Eddie gave him a quick kiss.

“You know we love you just the way you are.” Eddie smiled.

“He’s not a firefighter anymore. TK switched over to EMS cos it’s separate in Texas. They thought, since his boyfriend is a cop, that it would be safer. Although, he came to this conclusion while jumping through a minefield so…” Buck trailed off. Bobby and Eddie laughed while Hen and Chim looked floored.

“Austin sounds as crazy as LA.” Hen finally said.

“Everywhere gets weird calls every so often.” Bobby reasoned.

“You mean Minnesota? I doubt they were as bad as here.” Chim laughed.

“It’s not a competition.” Hen stated.

"She's right." Bobby agreed.

"She usually is." Buck muttered. Hen flashed them both a winning smile.

"How are my grandsons this morning?" Bobby asked, turning to Buck and Eddie.

"They're good. Matthew is still struggling with his teething but he's a little champ and never complains. Christopher has an English presentation today that he's really excited for. It's a book report that Buck helped him with as he prefers when Buck reads to him than me." Eddie explained.

"Apparently, I do the different voices better." Buck added.

"I've heard that from Denny when he stays. He comes home and tells us Uncle Buck is the best storyteller." Hen agreed.

"That's so sweet." Buck smiled.

“So, this is weird, right?” Buck asked as they all put on their hazmat suits.

“Dispatch said the caller claimed people were bleeding from their faces. It’s probably nothing but we can’t be too careful. You know that.” Hen replied.

“Yeah, I know, but isn’t this going to scare people more?” Buck pointed out. Eddie rolled his eyes but knew his boyfriend was making sense.

When they arrived on the scene, the first person they met passed out upon seeing them and Bobby only just managed to catch him. “Whoa! Okay. Guys, I’ve got this one. You check on the others.” He instructed. They each ran to assist someone.

“LAFD. We’re here to help.” Eddie told them.

“Ma’am, can you tell me how you’re feeling?” Chim asked, while checking someone’s temperature.

“Any pain? Headache? Joint pain?” Hen added, talking to yet another different woman.

“Was feeling pretty good before this.” The woman replied.

“Not seeing any sign of a fever.” Eddie offered.

“What is this? Ebola?” Buck suggested.

“Heart rate’s elevated. Blood pressure is slightly decreased.” Chim added.

“BP’s good here.” Hen shouted.

“Copy that.” Bobby acknowledged, waving smelling salts under the nose of the man that had passed out on him. The man woke up coughing. “LAFD. You’re okay. Try to sit up. Take it easy. You all right?”

“A little freaked out.” The man admitted.

“Have any of you travelled recently? Maybe in the last fourteen days?” Hen asked.

“No, we’ve just been here, jamming.” One of the women replied.

“Mother Plague.” Chim stated, reading the name on the drum. “Like you’re really leaning into your band name. Guys, check to see if there’s any chemicals lying around. Maybe they got exposed to something.”

“I see something I’d like to get exposed to.” One woman flirted, grabbing Eddie’s wrist.

“What are you talking about? He’s wearing a space suit.” The man commented, Eddie just shook his head. “Oh, my God. They’re still high.”

“Narc.” The brunette woman said.

“Okay, ladies, what did you take?” Bobby asked.

“They were smoking it.” The man offered, helpfully. “I smelled it when I was here before.”

“Is that a crime, Officer?” The ladies laughed.

“Looks like they were smoking something… pink.” Buck commented, picking up the remnants of whatever it was.

“Puffer’s Paradise.” Hen and Chim said in unison.

“You buy from them, too.” The lady with black hair said.

“No, but we’ve been treating quite a few of their customers.” Hen replied.

“Is that a dispensary?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah, online. They got pretty popular during the shutdown.” Chim added.

“What they don’t tell their customers is, their weed is synthetic and laced with superwarfarin.” Hen explained.

“Rat poison.” Buck translated.

“Prolongs the high.” Chim stated.

“Okay, let’s push fluids to support their blood pressures. They’ll need parenteral vitamin K and fresh frozen plasma ASAP.” Hen informed everyone.

“Are you the only ones using it? We need to know if you gave some to anyone else.” Bobby asked.

“I gave some to Kate down the block for her anxiety. Oh, and Mr Carpenter for his bad back. Oh, and the nice lady on the corner for her arthritis.”

“Eddie, Buck, start knocking on doors. See if any of the neighbours are experiencing symptoms.” Bobby requested. As Eddie stepped over her, the woman he had been treating smacked his ass.

“Let’s just hope they’re not as friendly.” He grimaced.

“Oh, and Mr Donovan across the street.” The lady added.

“There goes the neighbourhood.” Buck remarked, following his boyfriend.

Chapter Text

"Thanks for this." Eddie said as he opened the door.

"It's no problem, you know that. We're more than happy to have the boys so you can spend a little time together." Athena smiled, pulling Eddie into a hug. 

"Grandpa! Gigi!" Christopher shouted when Eddie led them through to the living room. Buck laughed as Chris got up off the couch and gave first Bobby and then Athena a hug.

"Matthew's already down for the night, he'll probably be up a couple of times but won't let you know by crying. His teeth are really bothering him." Buck explained.

"Don't worry, we know what to do." Bobby assured them.

"I know, it still feels weird leaving him when he's not quite himself." Buck frowned.

"He's in good hands and we can always call you if we think you need to come back early." Athena added.

"Thank you. I've left money for a pizza or whatever Chris wants." Eddie offered.

"I can cook, you know. I make all of your meals at work, I can make something for Chris." Bobby laughed.

"Can you make chicken?" Chris requested.

"Of course I can." Bobby smiled, heading through to the kitchen with Christopher. Buck and Eddie snuck away while he was occupied. They hadn't had a night out at a restaurant since they'd started dating. Keeping it hidden, then finding out Buck was pregnant with Matthew and then a global pandemic was not conducive to getting to go on dates.

“So, this is nice.” Buck smiled.

“This is weird.” Eddie corrected.

“So weird. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to spend time with you without other people. I know we’ve had a little bit of time to ourselves but I still can’t believe we’ve never been to a restaurant before.” Buck agreed.

“Everything went a little quick, didn’t it?” Eddie laughed. He hadn’t wined and dined Buck before and he felt guilty that all of their ‘dates’ had taken place at either his house or Buck’s apartment before the revelation of the pregnancy.

“I would not change our lives for the world. I’m so grateful you decided to move to LA and Bobby was able to convince you to join the 118. My life would be so different, so much duller without you in it.” Buck smiled.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Buck laughed.

“I never imagined I’d meet anyone who could love my son as their own. You surpassed every expectation I had when it came to dating as a single dad.” Eddie said, his voice full of admiration.

“You know how we were saying that we’d wait until Matthew is two to have another baby? I think I might one sooner.” Buck stated.

“How soon? Because I think now isn’t the time.” Eddie replied.

“No, I wasn’t meaning immediately but sometime between him turning one and Christmas, maybe? Just, think about it and let me know. We don’t have to decide anything right now.”

“You have to find Sonny. I mean, if he attacks one of the children-”

“Has Sonny ever behaved like this before?” Bobby asked.

“He just moved into the neighbourhood a few weeks ago. We felt sorry for him. I never dreamed he would turn on us this way.” The man replied. Buck and Eddie grabbed their gear and headed away from the trucks, on the lookout for Sonny. Never in a million years did they think they would be hunting a turkey that was attacking people.

“You know, I’ve been thinking-” Buck started.

“That’s always dangerous.” Eddie joked.

“It wasn’t funny the first time, it still isn’t funny.” Buck deadpanned.

“Yeah, yeah, you love me really. What have you been thinking about?”

“Moving house. I know we touched on it briefly when we found out I was pregnant with Matthew but then the world went insane and we never got the chance. I’d rather move before we have another baby.” Buck said.

“Is there something wrong with the house we currently live in? Other than the fact it’s a little on the small side.”

“Well, Christopher and Matthew will be sharing a room when Matthew moves out of ours, considering there’s only two bedrooms. I know it doesn’t really matter at the moment because he’s only five months old but it’s not that far off us needing more space. And I would like another baby in the next couple of years. It just makes sense to move sooner rather than later, don’t you think?” Buck pointed out.

“Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.” Eddie agreed.

“We don’t have to find a place in the next week but I think we should start planning for the future-” Buck cut himself off when they could hear the bushes rustling.

“I think he’s behind us.” Eddie commented. They both turned to look without moving their feet and Sonny came out of the bushes, gobbling menacingly. “Hey, Sonny.”

“Ready for this?” Buck asked. He grabbed the snacks while Eddie aimed the net gun. Buck kept throwing food to encourage Sonny to come closer as the couple cautiously moved back. In no time at all, they had captured him and he was contained in the back of animal control’s van.

“It seemed so harmless, feeding him. He was like the neighbourhood pet.” The man sighed.

“You know, I don’t think I even know my neighbours.” Chim commented.

“You will, very soon.” Bobby clapped him on the shoulder.

“New baby, little apartment…” Eddie chuckled.

“Thin walls.” Buck added.

“Never let them get too close.” The man advised.

“Exactly.” Hen agreed.

“So, I’ve been thinking about what you said and I completely agree. We do need to find somewhere else before we even think about having another baby. Matthew needs his own room, it wouldn’t be fair on Chris to expect him to share his bedroom, his safe space where he can go to escape and decompress with a six month old baby. Besides, Matthew will continue to wake up through the night and it could disrupt the sleep Chris is getting. I need to think about what is best for the entire family.” Eddie told his boyfriend as they sat together on the couch.

“Can we start looking? I’m thinking somewhere with four or five bedrooms. We can afford a two bedroom place on one firefighter’s wage so we should be able to upgrade to four reasonably easily. Five might be a bit of a stretch with Chris’s school, Carla and Matthew starting daycare when he’s eighteen months.” Buck said.

“Have you already been looking? Just so you were prepared when you brought it up?” Eddie guessed.

“Would you be mad at me? I’m excited to have a place that’s ours, that we chose together when planning for the future. I have nothing wrong with the house we currently live in but you chose that and I can’t wait to choose our forever house.” Buck explained.

“Go on then, show me what you’ve seen.” Eddie smiled fondly at his boyfriend. He knew Buck was his forever and he had to agree, he was excited to plan for their future, too.”

Chapter Text

“Kind of expected the first flying car to be a little smaller.” Chim remarked.

“It doesn’t look very aerodynamic.” Hen agreed. “Sir, are you doing okay?” She asked the man pinned under the Humvee.

“Not dead.” He replied.

“That’s a good place to start. Do you have any neck pain or back pain?” Hen continued.

“No. Just my leg.” He responded.

“I’ve got to invade your personal space to assess you.” Chim warned, bringing out the stethoscope.

“How did it even get here?” Buck asked.

“Military training exercise.” Bobby said.

“Air drop. That’s how the military gets supplies, aids and everything else, including Humvees, to remote areas.” Eddie explained. “Except this time, they dropped a little too soon.”

“Guess they need more training.” Buck remarked.

“Are they gonna send someone to pick it up?” Chim questioned.

“Eventually.” Bobby sighed.

“I don’t think he’s gonna want to wait that long. We got a pretty bad tib-fib fracture.” Hen stated.

“Heart rate’s one twenty. Blood pressure’s stable. Breath sounds clear. Let me get a look at this tib-fib fracture.” Chim assessed. “Sir, can you wiggle your toes for me?”

“Are you wiggling your toes?” Hen checked.

“I’m trying.” The man grunted. Hen and Chim shared a look and Chim shook his head. The man was not wiggling his toes.

“We gotta get this load off of him.” Hen announced.

“Yeah.” Bobby agreed.

“Is he gonna lose his leg?” The man whose house it was asked.

“Go away, Joe!” 

“This thing probably weighs three, four tons. Maybe we could get our airbags, slide ‘em underneath, lift it up and you guys can pull him out.” Bobby theorised.

“This angle, it’s gonna be hard to get full contact. I don’t think we could get enough lift.” Buck added.

“Not sure we need to. We can get him out the way he came in. The parachute.” Eddie suggested.

“Ladder going up.” Buck announced.

“Okay, stop right there. All right, let’s attach it to the winch.” Bobby instructed.

“Take it up.” Eddie signalled to his boyfriend. Buck did as he was told.

“No, no, no, no. Three inches. Those are too short.” Chim told Buck before running off to the other room.

“Why am I helping you again?” Buck checked.

“You are the one who showed up unannounced.” Maddie commented.

“I thought it might be nice to see you. I can go home to my family if you’d prefer.” Buck replied.

“No, I do like spending time with you.” Maddie smiled. They still weren’t one hundred percent back to how things were before Margaret and Phillip’s visit but the Buckley siblings were getting back there. Buck still wasn’t quite ready to forgive Maddie but he knew that it would come in time.

“Okay, sleep mask, ear plugs, some time-release melatonin and, if all else fails, booze. Everything you need to get a good night’s rest when you’re next door to a crying baby.” Chim listed.

“Are you sure this isn’t a little excessive? I mean, we’re just having a baby. We’re not launching a campaign of shock and awe.” Maddie pointed out.

“Well, they say good fences make good neighbours, but a gift basket never hurt anyone. You think it’ll work?” Chim asked.

“Well, if nothing else, we’ll get to know our neighbours.” Maddie smiled.

“Careful what you wish for.” Buck mocked.

“All right, you’re not being helpful, you can go home.” Maddie joked. Matthew was fast asleep in his car seat, Buck had brought him out so that Eddie could spend a little one to one time with Christopher before he went to bed. They both knew how important it was that he didn’t feel left out with his baby brother needing more attention.

“I think it’s very considerate of you and I’m sure your neighbours will appreciate the warning that they’re going to have a crying infant next door very soon. Back when I was at my apartment, I would have appreciated it. You’re both very thoughtful people. That baby is very lucky to have you both as its parents and I’m very grateful that you’re Chris and Matthew’s Auntie Maddie and Uncle Chim.” Buck smiled. Maddie teared up at this admission from her brother.

“I’m so glad our daughter is going to have Uncle Buck, Uncle Eddie and two cousins to play with.” Maddie told him, pulling Buck into a tight hug.

“He’s asleep, although how long for is yet to be determined.” Eddie smiled, exiting their bedroom with a baby monitor in hand.

“Can we watch Cars now?” Chris asked. 

“Of course we can. We could also watch it with Matthew, it doesn’t have to be just the three of us.” Buck pointed out.

“But movie night is something we do just the three of us. Matthew wouldn’t understand.” Christopher replied. Neither Buck nor Eddie could argue with his logic. Matthew wouldn’t understand, per say, but he was still old enough to be fascinated by the moving pictures on the TV. Not that they liked him to have too much screen time. Eddie was still on the fence about technology so it didn’t feature heavily in the day of either of their sons. They got a lot out of life without the need of technology although Christopher did like to play games with his friends from school. Eddie allowed him an hour a day on school nights and no more than three on weekends. Some people may think that was harsh for the ten year old but they liked to do things as a family and go out when Buck and Eddie weren’t working. Buck’s favourite thing was to go to the zoo and he knew Christopher loved it, too.

About half way through the film, the baby monitor began to make noise. It was clear to both Buck and Eddie who still shared a room with their youngest child that he was awake and wriggling around in his bassinet. He still didn’t cry, it had alarmed them at first but they had both come to understand that this was just the kind of child Matthew was. Some children cried about everything, he just wasn’t one of them. Eddie went to get him out of his bassinet, it was time for him to have some more Tylenol anyway. Christopher was half asleep and he whined as Eddie got up but quickly snuggled into Buck’s side in his absence. Eddie got Matthew out of bed and held him up to his shoulder, the baby immediately tucked his head against his dad’s shoulder and his eyes began to droop.It melted Eddie’s heart when either of their boys did this. He loved his family so much, maybe Buck had a point about expanding their family sooner than originally intended.

Chapter Text

“So, how did your day off go?” Bobby asked, looking at Buck and Eddie. They’d both been so absorbed in their phones last shift so he was curious what was so important.

“Good, one of Matthew’s teeth had broken through now, you can see that it’s coming in. It’s not making the poor baby feel any better but at least we’re making some progress.” Eddie replied.

“Aw, he’s still really struggling?” Hen checked.

“Yeah, it breaks my heart.” Buck frowned. He’d always been very sensitive and if someone he loved was in pain then he took it personally.

“How’s Maddie?” Buck asked, turning to Chim.

“She’s just grateful that she’s still allowed to go to work. I think she’d be climbing the walls if they made her take any time off.”

“Still no signs of baby Han yet?” Bobby queried.

“No, she’s getting restless but there’s still another month before the due date and that’s not even taking into account that she wouldn’t be induced unless there was some risk to her health or if she reaches forty two weeks.” Chim frowned.

“Yikes. She keeps complaining to me about the fact Matthew was early, like I planned it that way just to annoy her.” Buck added.

“Maddie knows you can’t just plan for a baby to come. They choose when they want to make an appearance.” Hen said.

“Yeah, but logic doesn’t factor in at this point. I know how pissed off I was at the pandemic for separating me and Eddie even though I knew it was a force beyond anyone’s control, it didn’t stop me from being irrationally upset.” Buck stated. Eddie put an arm around his boyfriend and pressed a chaste kiss to the side of his head. That was as intimate as they allowed themselves to be at work. They could be professionals if they tried.

“I’m looking forward to doing it again one day and actually getting to be there for the whole pregnancy and the birth.” Eddie added.

“You’re already thinking about having another baby?” Bobby checked.

“Not immediately but yeah.” Eddie replied.

“We’re not planning on trying until Matthew is at least one, maybe waiting until he’s two. But we’re currently looking for a new house because the one we live in isn’t big enough for our growing family. Matthew is still in our bedroom, which is fine until he’s six months but then he really should be in his own room and we don’t have that room for him. We were planning to move before I gave birth but with the pandemic, the circumstances were less than ideal. We never managed it so we’ve been trying to find somewhere, hopefully close to where we are now as everything is ideally located. We knew the chances of that happening are small since we want a place with at least four bedrooms, hopefully five if we can manage it.” Buck explained. The rest of the team would have continued to weigh in on the subject but they were interrupted by the alarm going.

When they arrived on the scene, they headed straight over to the flight attendant. “Let me get this collar on, and then we can assess the-” Hen began, walking over to the woman.

“No, she is not the real emergency.” Someone corrected her. “Over here!”

“Hen, Chim, need you guys over here now!” Bobby shouted. “Eddie, you and Buck deal with the flight attendant.” 

Eddie immediately began to assess the flight attendant, who introduced herself as Molly, but Buck was too busy looking over what had happened with the man who appeared to have a champagne cork lodged in his throat. There was just something familiar about him. “Could be an ankle fracture.” Eddie commented, taking off her shoe. She winced in pain. “Can you wiggle your toes for me?” Buck continued to look at the man from the ground crew.

“Is it just me or does this guy look familiar?” He finally asked.

“It’s the guy that we pulled out of the jet engine!” Bobby realised.

“Oh, yeah.” Buck smiled. He hated recognising faces and not being able to place them.

“His job seems more dangerous than ours.” Eddie commented.

“Man, come on, Darrell! You gotta pull through, man.” His colleague requested. Buck and Eddie turned back to their patient and Eddie got a splint ready for her leg. Her ankle was swelling up and turning black and purple, Eddie was almost one hundred percent sure it was broken. Molly turned and was listening to what Darrell’s coworker, Wade was saying about him.

“Oh, God. It’s all rainbows and sunshine on the ground. Try flying the unfriendly skies.” Molly snarked.

“You don’t know Darrell, lady.” He fired back. Buck and Eddie moved Molly’s attention away by lifting her onto a backboard. Hen and Chim didn’t need any more of an audience than they’d already got. They managed to remove the cork with minimal issue so Buck and Eddie got Molly on her gurney and Darrell was put on another one. “I knew he’d pull through. Nothing stops Darrell. Not a jet engine, crazy white ladies. He will not quit.” Wade chuckled. Darrell beckoned Wade over to his side. “What's that, buddy?” Darrell pulled the oxygen mask away from his face.

“I quit.” Darrell croaked.

“Me too.” Molly agreed.

“Guess everyone has their breaking point.” Buck mused.

“Yep.” Bobby agreed.

“You okay there?” Buck asked after he’d put Matthew and Christopher in bed. Eddie was scowling at Christopher’s homework and sighing heavily.

“Fourth grade math was so much easier when I was in the fourth grade. Why’d they have to change it? I mean, isn’t that the whole point of math? That it doesn’t change? I mean, I can understand why Christopher’s having such a hard time.” Eddie rambled. Buck wanted to laugh at his boyfriend.

“Do you want me to have a look?” Buck offered, he knew he wasn’t likely to be able to figure it out much better than Eddie, Hen would probably be the person to ask but he just wanted to hear the laugh that Eddie let out at his offer.

“You?” Eddie checked, jokingly.

“Why not?” Buck smirked.

“Because I don’t think you’re any better at math than I am. You’re probably worse. You can do a lot of things, cariño but math isn’t one of them.” Eddie smiled, allowing Buck to cup his chin and join their lips. The kiss grew heated quickly but that only meant that they had to cool it off again, they refused to have sex with their boys in the house. They wouldn’t do anything on the couch and because they still shared a room with Matthew, the bedroom was off limits.

“Save this heat for our next date night.” Buck smiled, breaking the kiss.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Besides, Christopher wants you to go and say goodnight. He wanted to negotiate tonight so I was allowed to change him into his pyjamas and tuck him into bed as long as you read the story tonight. You go do that and I’ll look at the homework, maybe it just needs a fresh pair of eyes.” Buck explained. Eddie pressed a kiss to Buck’s cheek before going to read to Christopher. Sometimes parenting needed negotiating.

Chapter Text

Today’s call was a weird one. They’d been called as back up for the police department as there was a crazed gunman on a roof. He was refusing to get down and everyone was a little bored of watching the negotiator try and talk him down. It clearly wasn’t working. “I just need to think!” Corey shouted to the negotiator.

“Eh, should’ve tried thinking before he ended up on a roof. I mean, he cornered himself.” Eddie commented.

“That there is a whole series of bad life choices culminating in this one unfortunate moment. It’d be tragic if it wasn’t so moronic.” Hen added.

“Why don’t they just storm the roof? It’s not that high, we can give ‘em a ladder.” Chim questioned.

“It’s a tactic negotiators use to drag out the process in order to wear down the suspect. Eventually they hit a breaking point.” Bobby stated.

“Or we do.” Chim said.

“Ten bucks says he falls right off that roof.” Hen claimed.

“Twenty says he makes a leap for the tree.” Eddie offered. “Come on, the guy’s got at least one more bad life choice left in him.” He continued at the look Bobby gave him.

“Nice to see you again.” Taylor smiled, looking at Buck who had been watching her from the sidelines as she made her report.

“And you, how are you doing?” Buck asked, politely.

“Not bad, I’ve been getting to do a lot more reports since we last saw each other.” Taylor bragged.

“Well, it has been like two years so that’s not surprising. You were bound to climb the ladder at work sooner or later.” Buck replied.

“What about you? What’s changed in your life?”

“I’m a dad now.” Buck said, it was the thing in his life he was the most proud of. Besides, he loved showing off his family. They meant everything to him.

“Congratulations.” Taylor said, meaning it completely. She’d once had a thing for Buck but it had been a while ago. They were very different people and it probably wouldn’t have worked out.

“Thank you.” Buck took out his phone and showed her a picture of Christopher and Matthew.

“I didn’t know you already had a son.” She commented.

“Well, technically he’s not mine, he’s my boyfriend’s but I love that kid exactly the same as I love our baby.” Buck replied.

“They are so adorable. How old are they?”

“Christopher is ten and Matthew is five months.” Buck said.

“It looks like Christopher is a very doting big brother.” Taylor offered.

“Oh, he is. He’s the best big brother. We were a little unsure of how he was going to take the news because we hadn’t even told him we were dating when we found out I was pregnant.” Buck admitted.

“How long had you been together?”

“A little under six months, we didn’t want to rush things until we were certain though. No point in upending Chris’s life for it to not work out.” Buck explained.

“And who is your boyfriend? I mean, I can make an educated guess from the way your coworker is glaring daggers at me.” Taylor laughed.

“Yeah, it’s Eddie.” Buck joined in laughing.

“Good Lord, how much trust are we trying to build here?” Athena asked.

“Actually, that’s for us.” Eddie corrected, grabbing the pizza delivery.

“Why does everybody get to eat but me? Maybe I’m hungry too.” Mr Nowels told Athena.

“You want a slice?” Eddie offered. Mr Nowels scowled and moved away again. Eddie could understand the frustration, he certainly wouldn’t be happy if there was a gunman on his roof and PD were unable to talk him down. It had been over three hours now and there was no progress.

After eating the pizza, Buck and Eddie sat down together and continued looking at houses together. They might as well do something productive with this time. Of course, this had turned into the entire 118 helping them try and narrow down which house they wanted. “Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, that could be a good one to look at.” Bobby advised.

“I just keep thinking that the more bedrooms and bathrooms you have, the more cleaning you have to do.” Chimney commented.

“Is that why you and Maddie live in a one bedroom apartment? So that you don’t have as much to clean?” Hen checked.

“Well, she moved in with me and like these two, we were in the middle of a pandemic and couldn’t really look for somewhere else.” Chimney defended.

“I’m sure we’ll cope.” Eddie deadpanned.

“One bathroom for us and one for the boys to share. Obviously, Chris would have it to himself for now which I think he would like. And we can modify it accordingly.” Buck said.

“It does sound like a good one. I’ll save that to look through later.” Eddie smiled.

“Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump…” Hen and Eddie chanted in a whisper. Bobby, Chim and Buck soon joined in. “Jump, jump, jump, jump.”

“We’re thinking of going to El Paso to Eddie’s family during spring break. Would we be able to get the time off, Sunday to Sunday?” Buck asked.

“I can certainly have a look for you as soon as we get back to the station. I think Eddie had already booked that week off anyway so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get someone to cover you as well.” Bobby replied.

“Thank you. We also want to go and see TK and Carlos while we’re in Texas. Even though Austin is an eight hour drive further away.” Buck smiled.

“I’m still not convinced it’s a good idea but it’ll be nice for Matthew to spend time with someone his own age.” Eddie added, coming up beside Buck and wrapping an arm around his waist. Buck knew he was just doing that to warn Taylor off as she was still about somewhere. As if his boyfriend had to worry about Buck leaving him for someone else. There was no one better than Eddie.

“Oh, they have a baby, too?” Athena asked.

“Yeah, she’s called Ayla and she’s a month younger than Matthew.” Buck explained, bringing up one of the photos TK had sent him to show Bobby and Athena.

“Oh, isn’t she a little darling.” Athena smiled.

Everyone was so caught up in the conversations they were having that no one noticed Mr Nowles grabbing a ladder and heading over to the house. They noticed when he pushed Corey off the roof and onto a car. The entire 118 sprang into action and rushed over to assess their patient. “Rest of y’all can get out of here, too!” Mr Nowles shouted.

Chapter Text

“Hello, Eddie.” Helena greeted, answering the video call. 

“Hi, Mama. How are you and dad?” Eddie asked.

“We’re good. How's Buck, Christopher and Matthew?" Helena responded.

"Buck's good, you know what he's like, just gets on with everything. Christopher just got ninety five percent on a book review he did in English. He's very proud of it. Buck helped because apparently he’s better at things like that than me. I’m not offended or anything though, I’m only too grateful of how accepting he’s been since finding out me and Buck are together. Matthew has been teething so he's not been doing so great. It keeps giving him a fever though, were trying not to give him too much Tylenol but it's hard to see him in pain. It's made worse by him not crying. We've been giving him teething rings to nibble on which only bring him so much comfort but it's better than nothing. He just wants cuddles all the time at the moment so, as I'm sure you can imagine, Abuela is soaking them all up when we're both at work. Bobby and Athena do when we're off." Eddie explained.

"Bless him, poor baby. It's heartbreaking when your children are hurting or are in pain and there's nothing you can do. It doesn't stop when they get older though. We still worry about you, even now. It was worse when you first moved away from El Paso but now that you have Buck, it's not as bad. I know we stressed you out by trying to talk you out of moving but it was only because we worry. We just wanted what was best for you and Christopher but we now understand that being in LA, with Buck l, is what's best. I'm sorry for the way we talked to you, it wasn't okay." Helena offered.

“I appreciate the apology. It doesn’t make what you said okay, but I can forgive and move on. This certainly wasn’t how I pictured my life going when we moved to LA but I desperately needed to get out of El Paso, I needed the fresh start and it’s been the best thing in the world for Christopher. Meeting Buck and getting to expand my family has been more than I could have ever wished for and none of it would have happened if I listened to you, which sounds harsh but I know I did the best thing for my family.” Eddie replied.

“You did. We all adore Buck, I know Abuela in particular is very fond of him but the rest of us back home in El Paso do too. I’m so glad you met someone who was able to love both you and Christopher. I know it’s not been easy for you as a single dad and you’d never really given much thought to dating because of Christopher but you couldn’t have met anyone better.” Ramon added. Eddie didn’t even know when his dad had joined them but it meant a lot to him to hear the glowing approval his parents had for his boyfriend.

“I know we never approved of Shannon, and that you’re an adult and you don’t need our approval but Buck’s definitely got it. We can’t wait to see all four of you again.” Helena added.

“I know you’d said you were thinking of coming to LA over spring break but Buck and I have been wondering if you’d be okay with us coming down to you for a few days?” Eddie asked.

“Of course, it would be lovely. Are you wanting to spend the whole week with us?” Helena checked.

“We actually made some friends in Austin while we were fighting the wildfire in San Angelo and Buck really wants to go and see TK again. TK and his boyfriend have a daughter that’s a month younger than Matthew so we thought it might be nice for him to spend some time with someone his own age.” Eddie explained.

“Oh, that does sound lovely. I’m glad you were able to make friends on that trip.” Ramon added.

“Buck and TK are very similar so we’re not too sure if it’s a good idea to have them both in the same room again.” Eddie laughed.

“Rude!” Buck called from Christopher’s bedroom. They were building with his Lego while Matthew had a nap. He hadn’t been napping for very long with his teeth bothering him so much so Buck was trying to get in a bit of one to one time with Christopher for as long as it lasted.

“When would you be aiming to come down?” Helena asked.

“We have a shift on the Saturday but we’re free from Sunday till Sunday. We’ll drive straight down after getting some sleep and picking the boys up, and should be with you Sunday evening. We’ll stay till Wednesday, go to Austin Thursday till Saturday morning then swing by for the rest of our stuff before heading home. Bobby has given us Monday off so we can rest after the long drive, even though Chris is back at school.” Eddie explained.

“That’s very kind of him.” Ramon stated.

“He is. He’s also Buck’s pseudo-father so he and his wife, who Chris calls Grandpa and Gigi, have offered to have Matthew for a bit on Monday so we can catch up on our sleep.” Eddie smiled. They were so lucky to have Bobby and Athena in their lives.

“Well, we’ll let you get away and we look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.” Helena beamed. She couldn’t wait to see Christopher again but she was very excited about meeting Matthew for the first time in person.

“Love you, Mama. And you, too, Dad.”

“We love you too. Give our love to the rest of the boys. Bye.” Helena finished, ending the call. Eddie smiled to himself before going to join Buck and Christopher. He wasn’t allowed to help because apparently ‘he messed it all up every time’ even though whatever Chris made still didn’t really look like anything unless Buck helped but he was perfectly content to just sit and watch his family anyway.

Chapter Text

“I’ve got movement.” Bobby stated.

“What? He’s still alive?” Janice exclaimed. Bobby, Athena and Buck looked at her confused. “I mean, great.”

“Why don’t you start by telling me exactly how your husband got behind that wall?” Athena asked. Bobby and Buck got to work on getting him out of the wall.

“Ex-husband. Or at least, soon to be. We filed for divorce right before the pandemic. But then the damn courts closed.”

“Then you and he were stuck under one roof?” Athena guessed.

“And he refused to leave. He decided to start splitting up our assets. Or more like seizing them. Finally, I hit my breaking point.” Janice claimed.

“I think I can see him.” Bobby stated as they removed the bricks, one by one.

“I made him a tomb.” Janice smirked.

“Behind a wall?” Athena clarified.

“Yes.” Janice agreed. Bobby stuck his head in the wall to help Janice’s (ex) husband out. Bobby grabbed his hand and Buck stuck a hand in there to help.

“You got him, Buck?” Bobby checked.

“Yeah.”

“You ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Set and reach.” Bobby said, they pulled him out of the wall and laid him on the backboard. They then moved out of the way so that Eddie and Hen could assess their patient. 

“He’s breathing but barely. Only one side of his chest is rising.” Eddie assessed, using his stethoscope. Eddie felt behind the man and when he removed his hand, his glove was covered in blood. “Stab wound, probably punctured a lung.”

“Looks like he lost a ton of blood, not to mention extreme dehydration. I’m gonna run two lines wide open.” Hen informed them.

“All right, let’s get him stabilised and prepped for transport.” Bobby instructed.

“We all have a breaking point. Yours is sending you to prison.” Athena told Janice. She forced her to stand and handed her over to another officer. “Get her out of here.”

“Where’s Buck?” Christopher asked.

“He’s gone out with a friend tonight.” Eddie replied.

“But he’s supposed to be here with us.” Chris stated.

“Look, I know you’re used to us having dinner as the three of us whenever me and Buck aren’t working but he is allowed to spend time with people who aren’t us.” Eddie explained.

“No, he isn’t.” Christopher corrected. Eddie was a little overwhelmed at the push back he was getting from Christopher.

“Christopher, Buck is allowed to do things without us. I know you’re used to it being the three of us, I do, it’s strange for me that he’s not here tonight but sometimes adults have to have some time to themselves.” Eddie stood his ground.

“I don’t mind when you’re with him but I don’t want him to leave us.” Chris admitted.

“Why would he leave us?”

“Everyone always does!” Christopher shouted before storming off to his room and slamming the door so hard that the bang woke Matthew. Eddie rushed to the bedroom he shared with Buck when their baby began to cry. Matthew had never cried before. He could clearly pick up on the tense mood in the house and that had upset him. Eddie didn’t want to call and disturb his boyfriend even though he didn’t like the fact that Buck had gone out for dinner with Taylor Kelly.

“I have to admit, I was kinda surprised when you sent me a DM asking if I wanted to hang out.” Taylor offered over the glass of wine she had ordered.

“Honestly, I thought you looked like you could do with a friend and I kinda could, too. The only people I spend time with out of work are the people I work with and their partners. I thought it might be nice to expand my horizons.” Buck laughed.

“Yeah, you’re not wrong. You don’t get the opportunity to make many friends in this line of work.” Taylor smiled. “How did Eddie take the news that you were going to be coming out with me tonight?”

“Um, he wasn’t overly thrilled but accepted that I can’t just spend all of my time with him. Everyone is always pointing out how codependent we are and I guess they have a point. I still don’t like to spend a lot of time without him, though.” Buck admitted.

“I think he may have been more accepting of your company if it wasn’t me. He’s never liked me and I’ve given him plenty of reasons to draw that opinion. Besides, I’m sure you told him that we’ve slept together before and even though I’m sure he trusts you completely, he won’t trust me.” Taylor reasoned. Buck’s phone lit up. “Is that him?”

“I’m sorry, I have to take this.” Buck apologised before accepting the call. “Hey, Eds, is everything okay?”

“I’m so sorry to disturb you, cariño.” Eddie began.

“What’s wrong?”

“Christopher is distraught that you’re not here for dinner. He shouted at me and stormed off to his room. He slammed the door of his room so loud that it woke Matthew who cried from the shock of it. I wouldn’t have rang but as we’ve never heard Matthew cry before, I thought you’d want to know.” Eddie explained. Buck held the phone against his shoulder and turned to Taylor.

“You need to go?” She guessed.

“I’m so sorry.” He apologised again. He held the phone back to his ear and said to Eddie. “I’ll be setting off home in a minute. Love you, bye.” Buck ended the call.

“It’s okay. I assume there’s a problem with your boys?”

“Christopher is kicking off at me not being there. The pandemic has been really upsetting him as he’s not been able to see the people that he normally would and he hates it. He’s such a sociable kid and I should have thought about disrupting his routine. Besides, Eddie can’t cook for shit and I dread to think what he’d be offering Christopher to eat.” Buck laughed, but it fell flat.

“Just promise me one thing.” Taylor smiled.

“What?”

“You’re buying the next time we get dinner.” She smirked.

“Deal.” Buck returned the smile.

Chapter Text

“I’m home.” Buck sighed, shutting the front door and taking his shoes off.

“I’m so sorry.” Eddie apologised.

“You don’t owe me an apology.” Buck shrugged. He knew spending time with friends was going to be more difficult with kids but he’d never predicted Christopher would be causing problems like this. “Is he in his room?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll go talk to him.”

“Hey, buddy.” Buck said, softly as he opened Christopher’s door.

“I thought you were out.” Christopher snarked.

“Excuse me.” Buck said, raising his eyebrows at the tone Christopher was using.

“Dad said you went out with a friend.” Chris frowned.

“I did. But as soon as your dad called me and said you were unhappy, I came home to you. So, was that tone you used with me fair?” Buck asked.

“No. I’m sorry, Buck.” Christopher offered.

“Thank you. Now, do you want to talk about why you were so upset that I was spending time with someone else tonight?”

“I just haven’t seen any of my friends in ages and I though we always had dinner together when you and Dad aren’t at work so I was surprised that you weren’t here. I can’t understand why you would want to have dinner with someone else when your family is here with us.” Christopher explained.

“Oh, Chris. It’s not because I didn’t want to spend time with my family. I love you all so much but sometimes, adults need to spend a little time away from their family. I am allowed to have friends that don’t live in this house, even though I don’t have that many. Besides, I spend most of the time I’m not here talking about you and Matthew anyway. I love you all so much, it’s not because I don’t love you that I’m spending time somewhere else. Change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Soon, you’ll be able to go back to school and see your friends again. Hopefully, Carla will be able to come back soon but we can always give her a call and talk to her. Your dad and I were thinking of taking you to El Paso for spring break so that you can see Abuela and Abuelo, Aunt Adriana and Auntie Sophia, what do you think of that?”

“I’d love that.” Chris replied with a smile. Buck crouched down next to Christopher’s bed and allowed himself to be pulled into a hug.

“Now, I think you owe your dad and Matthew an apology.” Buck added. Buck and Christopher left his room and headed to the kitchen where Eddie had finished preparing dinner. Eddie handed Matthew to Buck so he could finish laying the table.

“I’m sorry, Dad.” Christopher offered.

“Thank you. I accept your apology.” Eddie smiled, pulling their eldest into a hug. Buck crouched down on the floor so that Matthew was at the right level for Christopher.

“I’m sorry, Matthew.” Christopher whispered, pressing a kiss to his baby brother’s forehead before stroking a hand down his cheek. Matthew just looked up at him. Buck and Eddie shared a look. Christopher was going to have his moments but they didn’t think they were doing too bad a job of raising him.

“How’s house hunting going?” Bobby asked.

“Really well, we’ve got a couple of viewings lined up when we get back from Texas. Christopher wants to come with us, which is only fair because he needs to like the place too. Matthew is too young to have a vote so we were wondering if you and Athena would be up for grandparent duty on that day?” Buck replied.

“You know we’re always up for that, even if one of us has a shift then the other will happily watch him.”

“You know the rest of us wouldn’t mind watching him for you.” Hen added, only half paying attention. There was a really interesting news report being given by Taylor Kelly.

“Earlier today, we spoke with a hospital official who talked about the very real possibility of having to ration care. As I spoke with her, she started to-” Taylor cut herself off and turned her back to the camera. “As you can see, everyone is still working, still trying, hoping the tide is going to finally turn in a better direction.” Taylor turned back to face the camera. “Back to you.”

A couple of moments later, Buck’s phone rang. It said Taylor Kelly. “Hey, is everything okay?” Buck checked.

“I need a miracle.” Taylor admitted. She explained the situation to Buck as the 118 headed to the hospital.

“Thanks for coming. I didn’t know who else to call.” She told Bobby when he got out of the engine.

“Buck said the hospital freezer broke. When?” Bobby asked.

“Last night. They have a data logger that shows ‘em what time it happened but nobody noticed until, like, fifteen minutes ago.” Taylor explained.

“How many vaccines were inside?” Buck checked.

“Almost a thousand vials. They’re calling around trying to get people to come in, but there’s still six hundred doses that have been thawed all morning.”

“How much time do we have?” Bobby continued.

“Two hours.” Taylor replied.

“Okay. Let’s hit it.” Bobby said, sharing a look with Buck.

Buck and Eddie went inside to get the cases of vaccines and distributed them to the vaccination stations, even Athena turned up to help. “Okay, here you go.” Eddie said, handing a case to Hen.

“Hey, Eddie, I need you to take a station. Command says they can’t spare any more paramedics.” Hen told him.

“Yeah, just tell me what to do.” Eddie smiled. He got himself set up at a station and started administering vaccines. Not how he had imagined his day going when it started. Buck followed Bobby back to the engine with a case of vials to take to the clinic, Athena was headed to a nursing home and they agreed to meet back at the hospital after.

When they got back to the hospital, Athena and Bobby stood and watched Hen giving Michael his vaccine while Buck went and lingered around Eddie’s station. It warmed his heart to see his boyfriend like this. He kept checking over to Taylor who was finishing up another report. He left Eddie to go and talk to her once she was done. “Distributed them all. Not a single dose is gonna go to waste.” Buck told her.

“Thank God. I really needed a feel-good story today. I mean, standing out here documenting everyone’s tragedy? Not being able to do anything? It’s been hard.” She admitted.

“Well, today you did something. Something really good.” Buck smiled.

“I made a phone call.” Taylor scoffed. “I called you, looking for a miracle, and you gave me one.”

“Of course. What are friends for?” Buck replied.

“Thank you.” Taylor pulled him into a brief hug. She knew he was taken and she knew Eddie wouldn’t hesitate to rip into her if he though her actions were anything other than friendly. But they weren’t, she could do with another friend.

Chapter Text

"Well, that was ridiculous." Buck laughed as they finally arrived in El Paso.

"I don't know if I ever want to make this kind of journey with a nine year old and a seven month old again." Eddie agreed.

"You do realise we have to drive back to LA, don't you? And we agreed to take the boys to see TK and Carlos in Austin." Buck reminded his boyfriend.

“At least the boys got to sleep.” Eddie added.

“You could have gone to sleep since we took turns driving, you chose not to.” Buck commented. It was a twelve hour drive from LA to El Paso depending on the route and the traffic. The couple had set off with their sons at 5am and it was now 8pm, which wasn’t too bad considering they had to keep stopping so they could get food or go to the bathroom, or change Matthew. An extra three hours wasn’t bad at all. Christopher had done really well, mostly watching films on his tablet or playing games on his Switch. Normally, they wouldn’t allow him to have so much screen time but it was essential to the smoothness of the journey. El Paso to Austin was just over eight and a half hours, not including stops so they were hoping to make that journey in ten hours.

“Let’s wake the boys up, I know my parents will be excited to see them.”

“Considering they haven’t met Matthew yet and he’s now seven months old, I have to agree. And we all know that everyone adores Chris.” Buck smiled.

“I still think that once the boys go to bed, my parents are going to have something to say about how long it took us to take time off to come and bring him to meet them.” Eddie sighed.

“Well, you can point out the global pandemic and that it works both ways, they could have come to see us in LA, it would have been less stressful for them too, but they chose not to.” Buck pointed out.

“That was… very logical.” Eddie commented, scrunching his face up in confusion.

“I can be logical. I can be very intelligent too, most of you just refuse to see it.” Buck smirked. Before waking up their boys, Buck allowed Eddie to sneak and arm around his waist and pull him into a kiss.

“It was quite hot.” Eddie smiled. Buck returned his smile.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Let’s take the boys in first and then while my parents are watching them, we can return to the truck and get the rest of our things. I think they’re going to be far too distracted by Matthew.” Eddie reasoned.

“Sounds like a plan.” Buck smiled at him. Eddie went to go and wake Chris up while Buck got Matthew out of his car seat without waking him. Buck would forever be surprised at how difficult it was to wake this kid. Matthew loved his sleep more than anyone Buck knew, the kid never fought going down for his nap, not that Buck could blame him, he loved his sleep too. Chris grumbled as Eddie woke him so Eddie decided it would be easier to just carry him into the house, too. They both knew Chris would be wide awake as soon as he saw Helena and Ramon. Chris loved his grandparents even though he didn’t see them all that often.

Helena opened the door as they approached. Chris immediately perked up and let Eddie put him down so he could go over to his grandma. Helena immediately pulled Chris into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much.” She told her grandson.

“Hi, Mama. How are you?” Eddie greeted.

“I’m good, even better for seeing all of you.” She smiled. Christopher let go of Helena so that he could go and give Ramon a hug. Helena moved over to where Buck was cradling a sleeping Matthew. “He’s gotten so big.” She sighed.

“Yep, seven months old now.” Buck added.

“Can I hold him?” Helena checked.

“Of course you can, he’s your grandson after all. The main reason we came down was so that you could meet him.” Buck replied, handing Matthew over. Helena was in awe.

“Do you mind watching the boys for a couple of minutes so that we can get the rest of our stuff out of the truck?” Eddie asked.

“OF course not, we’ll take them into the house.” Helena smiled, assuringly.

“That went well.” Buck commented.

“I knew it would. They’ve got another grandchild to spoil and dote on. It’s not as if either of my sister’s are going to settle down and start families any time soon. I am the oldest.” Eddie reasoned.

“I’ve never really thought about how young you were when you had Christopher.”

“I wasn’t that young, I was twenty four. I know you weren’t ready to have a baby at that age, and neither was I to be honest but Shannon wanted a family. It didn’t seem like too big of an ask at the time. I don’t regret how my life has gone, because every path I have taken has led me to be standing here with you right now but I used to think about how different things might have been if we'd waited a little before having him.” Eddie admitted. Buck just pulled his boyfriend into his arms. Whenever he was at a loss for what to say to Eddie, he found that Eddie thrived off physical contact as much as he did. It was probably why they were so touchy feely all of the time. Buck knew he was touch starved from his upbringing. Doctor Copeland had helped him to see that and Eddie was more than happy to be of service. Even if it was something as little as holding hands.

“How long do you think we can stand out here, just holding each other before your parents come and look for us?” Buck asked.

“I think they’ll be too mesmerised by Matthew. We’re more likely to have Chris come looking for us.” Eddie laughed as he pulled Buck down into a gentle kiss.

Chapter Text

“It’s so good to see you again!” TK exclaimed, pulling Buck into a hug as Eddie got Christopher and Matthew out of the car.

“And you.” Buck replied. TK pulled away from the hug and turned to Carlos who was cradling six month old Ayla in one arm.

“Carlos, this is Buck and the one getting the kids is Eddie.” TK introduced. Carlos held out the hand that didn’t have a child in for Buck to shake.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Carlos.”

“Likewise. It was about time I got to meet the LA firefighter that’s as crazy as mine.” Carlos laughed. TK clapped his hands together, allowing Buck to get a glimpse of the ring TK was now sporting.

“That’s new.” Buck smiled, pointing to the ring. TK laughed with the biggest smile on his face.

“You’re right, it is. Since we knew you guys were coming down soon, I wanted to tell you in person.” TK offered.

“Congratulations.” Eddie said, coming up behind Buck with Matthew’s car seat in one hand and Christopher’s hand in the other.

“It’s good to see you again, Eddie.” TK greeted.

“And you.” Eddie replied, he dropped Christopher’s hand so that he could shake Carlos’s and Christopher moved to hold Buck’s hand instead.

“This must be Matthew and Christopher.” Carlos smiled at the boys.

“You’ve got a baby, too.” Christopher commented, pointing to Ayla.

“We have, this is Ayla.” Carlos knelt down so that Christopher could get closer to the little girl. Ayla was wide awake and peered up at Christopher, who moved forwards and stroked a careful hand down her cheek. TK looked at Buck and they shared a smile.

“You must be such a good big brother.” TK commented.

“I’m the best big brother.” Chris agreed, much to the adult’s amusement.

“Right, let’s get everyone inside or we’ll be standing here all night.” Carlos instructed. Eddie handed Matthew to Buck who took both the boys inside and Eddie nipped back to the truck to grab Matthew’s changing bag before joining everyone in the house. Matthew and Ayla were both sitting on the floor, Matthew by himself and Ayla was propped up against Christopher, who was looking at the little girl in admiration.

“She’s nearly there, isn’t she?” Buck remarked.

“Yeah, she can sit up by herself but not for long periods of time. She seems to prefer to lean against someone.” TK smiled.

“Sounds like someone else I know.” Carlos smirked, looking at TK. TK just smirked at him.

“How are you, Carlos? TK said you’ve had a tough time at work.” Eddie asked, taking a seat next to Buck.

“Yeah, and him getting kidnapped didn’t help.” Carlos sighed.

“It’s not as if I did it on purpose.” TK defended.

“No, it was just typical that you decided to switch from being a firefighter to a paramedic because ‘it’s safer’ and as soon as you do that, the EMS team gets kidnapped and held at gunpoint.” Carlos rambled.

“That sounds like the kind of luck I would have!” Buck exclaimed.

“I thought you would understand.” TK smiled. 

“Are you enjoying the switch?” Eddie asked.

“It’s different but in a good way. I spent a lot of time with the EMS team last year when I was pregnant with Ayla although that was under a different captain and Tim was still alive.” TK explained.

“Who’s Tim? I don’t think you’ve mentioned him.”

“Tim was one of our paramedics, as you probably guessed. He was on a call with us during the drama with the volcano when a lava bomb hit him in the chest. There was nothing anyone could have done differently, just a freak of nature but it was tough on all of us. Especially Nancy and Tommy.” TK explained.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Buck said.

“Yeah, we both are.” Eddie added. Before they could say anything else, Matthew started crying. Buck scooped up his son immediately.

“Can I make him some formula?” Buck checked.

“Yeah, of course, it’s just through here.” TK smiled, happy for the subject change. TK led Buck to the back part of their room, it was all open plan so they could still see Carlos, Eddie and the kids, although they couldn’t hear what was being said as easily.

“Is he solely formula fed or does he take some solids now?” TK asked, curiously. He didn’t know anyone else who had a baby a similar age to Ayla so he was very curious about how Buck and Eddie were doing things.

“He has a small amount at meals and has bottles for the rest of the time, but we’ve reduced the amount in each feed, we’re going to keep doing that each week until he only has a bottle before bed and then get rid of it completely before he’s one. That’s the plan anyway.” Buck explained.

“Yeah, we’re wanting Ayla to be off bottles by the time she’s one, too.” TK agreed.

“So, going to elaborate on that ring?” Buck asked as he and TK sat back down, Matthew now happily drinking his bottle. Christopher was still happily playing with Ayla who seemed to adore him, just like everyone else did.

“I was going to propose the night he got kidnapped but it had to wait until we got back from the hospital. We haven’t said too much about it because of everything with Judd and Grace.” Carlos replied.

“How are they both?” Buck questioned.

“Judd’s been released from hospital, Grace has, too. But because her injuries were a little different, she has to take it easy.” TK smiled.

“That’s great news.” Eddie said.

“Yeah.” TK agreed. “So, Carlos asked me to marry him when we got back but we’ve not been flaunting the ring just yet.”

“When are you thinking of getting married?” Eddie inquired.

“Next year at the earliest. There’s so much going on right now that we haven’t got time to even think about it.” TK replied.

“We also have some other news that we haven’t shared with the 126 yet, just because it’s not the time but I think if TK doesn’t tell someone other than Tommy soon, he’s going to explode.” Carlos stated, smiling at his fiance.

“Do you want to?” TK checked.

“No, you can.” Carlos smiled.

“I’m pregnant again.” TK laughed.

“You’re not!” Buck exclaimed, doing all he could to not jump up as Matthew was just finishing his bottle.

“Yep. The same doctor that told me when I was pregnant with Ayla confirmed it. I’ve really got to stop finding out I’m pregnant this way.” TK confirmed.

“Congratulations.” Eddie smiled, getting up to give both TK and Carlos a hug. As soon as Matthew had finished his bottle and been burped, Buck did the same thing.

“That’s such great news.” Buck offered.

“We thought so, although, obviously we don’t want to share it at the moment with the rest of the team. Tommy had to know because she’s TK’s captain but no one else does yet.” Carlos explained.

It wasn’t too much longer before Buck and Eddie made their excuses and packed the boys back in the car and headed to their hotel for the night. They would be going to see the rest of the 126 and meeting Tommy and Nancy tomorrow before driving back to El Paso. It wouldn’t be much longer before they were heading back to LA.

Chapter Text

Buck and Eddie pulled up outside Captain Strand’s house. Apparently, it was the only place big enough to house everyone, though TK had warned them that Owen wasn’t doing so great at the moment because of the whole ‘not his baby’ thing and Gwyn moving back to New York. Buck and Eddie had agreed that they wouldn’t be touching that conversation with a ten foot pole. “Hollywood!” Judd exclaimed, smiling at Eddie as he led the family through to the main room of the house.

“Judd, how are you?” Eddie asked, accepting the hug Judd pulled him into.

“Doing better now my wife is okay. Did you tell them the news?” Judd inquired, turning to TK and Carlos.

“No, we thought you’d like to do the honours.” TK smiled.

“Grace is pregnant! I’m gonna be a dad.” Judd beamed.

“Congratulations.” Buck and Eddie chorused. They shared a look that said they both understood why TK and Carlos hadn’t shared their engagement and their own new baby news yet. The couple led Matthew and Christopher over to the couches where Owen was sitting with Ayla perched on his knee. He looked perfectly happy but the pair of them were aware they didn’t actually know him well enough to comment.

“Dad, you remember Buck and Eddie?” TK smiled.

“It’s good to see you both again. TK told me you’d be coming down while you were in Texas.” Owen stood up to greet them both with a handshake, keeping Ayla tightly in his grasp.

“Any chance I can get my daughter back?” TK joked.

“Nope.” Owen replied, holding her tighter. “Andrea and Gabriel get to look after her while we’re at work and when we’re not, you look after her. It’s my turn to spend some time with my granddaughter.” TK held his hands up in acceptance and gave his dad a one armed hug before disappearing for a moment and coming back with Marjan and Mateo in tow. Paul wasn’t far behind.

“This is Tommy, she’s TK’s paramedic captain.” Carlos pointed to Tommy who was watching Izzy and Evie as they were fascinated by a new baby to play with. Buck and Eddie waved at her when she smiled.

“I didn’t expect to see you guys here.” Mateo cheered, pulling first Buck then Eddie into a hug.

“Where were you when TK told us that Buck and Eddie would be coming down with their children?” Paul frowned.

“I don’t know.” Mateo mused, going silent for a moment. Marjan just laughed.

“I’m still not sure it’s a good idea to have Buck and TK in the same room. The 118 agreed with me on that one, too and half of them have never met TK.” Eddie commented. That got a good laugh from everyone.

“Cos of the fire truck?” Carlos checked.

“So you did tell him about that.” Buck chuckled, turning to TK. TK just nodded.

“We don’t keep things from each other.”

“If TK hadn’t, I’m sure Mateo would’ve slipped up and told me at some point. He never does it intentionally, he’s got a heart of gold.” Carlos added with a smile. Mateo just smiled back, he knew Carlos didn’t mean it in a bad way. The 126 were as much of a family as the 118 were.

“How long are you here for?” Judd asked while Christopher made a beeline to Owen and Ayla. He was really taken with the little girl. Eddie guessed it would be a matter of days before he started asking for a little sister.

“Just for the rest of today. We need to start heading back to LA soon and most of our stuff is still with Eddie’s parents so we kinda need to pick it up on our way back. This week has gone by so quickly.” Buck replied. It had been a lot but they’d needed this week. Buck had loved spending time with the Diaz family and they’d both been looking forward to spending some time with the 126 without the looming threat of a wildfire.

“You know, your kids were cute in the photos but actually meeting them I can understand why you were saying everyone adores them.” Marjan smiled, she loved kids and knew she wouldn’t be having any of her own for a while yet so she liked to dote on the children of her friends. Even though Judd and Grace were having a baby of their own, everyone knew Ayla would continue to hold a special place in the hearts of the entire 126 as the first.

“Christopher’s such a good big brother. It’s so sweet to watch him with Ayla and Matthew.” Tommy smiled, Izzy and Evie were watching in fascination as Christopher cared for his baby brother. He’d got Matthew sitting beside him and Ayla propped up between his legs as he read them both a story. Christopher often did things that made Buck and Eddie’s hearts melt.

“We got so lucky with the kid.” Eddie agreed.

“I give the twins less than an hour after we get home to start asking for a baby sibling. They’re always asking if they can play with Ayla even though she’s still a little too small.” Charles added.

“Sorry, where are my manners? This is my husband, Charles.” Tommy introduced them. Buck and Eddie took turns shaking his hand.

“I think Chris is gonna ask for a baby sister.” Eddie agreed.

“Well, tell him we’re not quite there yet.” Buck laughed, sharing a look with his boyfriend.

“Did you have a good time, buddy?” Eddie asked Christopher on their way home. Both Buck and Matthew were fast asleep since Eddie was handling this leg of the drive. They were going to swap when they returned to El Paso to collect the rest of their belongings.

“Yes, can we come back soon?” Chris replied.

“We’ll try. It’s not that easy. Maybe during your summer break.” Eddie suggested.

“But don’t forget I’ve got camp, too.” Chris had enjoyed going away for a couple of weeks last summer and both Buck and Eddie were more than happy to allow him to do it again this year. It also meant they could spend a little more time with Matthew. They liked to try and split their time up and give both boys some one to one time with them but it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. The time Christopher spent with Buck was sacred to both of them and everyone had been a little nervous about if and how that would change when Matthew was born and Buck had a child that was actually biologically his. They never voiced these thoughts, and they’d been right not to because both of their boys were equal in Buck’s eyes.

“I won’t.” Eddie smiled.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Chris?”

“Can I have a baby sister?”

Chapter Text

“How was spring break?” Bobby asked as Buck and Eddie joined the rest of the 118 upstairs for breakfast.

“It was really good, thank you. We enjoyed the time we spent with my family. They were only too happy to finally meet Matthew and they all adore Buck.” Eddie smiled.

“I’m so glad they’re accepting of me. It was a big ask.” Buck laughed.

“There would be something wrong with them if they didn’t love you. It’s impossible not to adore you, you’re like a golden retriever.” Hen joked, meaning her words wholeheartedly.

“What about the guy like Buck in Austin? How did it go having them in the same room?” Chim queried.

“Nothing went wrong.” Buck defended.

“We did have a great time in Austin, too. Although Christopher adored their daughter and now won’t stop asking for a baby sister.” Eddie admitted.

“Are you planning on giving in to that demand?” Hen chuckled.

“Not yet. I don’t think he understands where babies come from yet and I’d like to keep it that way.” Eddie replied.

“What would happen if you had another boy?” Chim added.

“I imagine he would keep asking so I hope that when we do decide to expand the family again, the universe will take Christopher’s wishes into account.” Buck smiled.

“The universe isn’t good at that kind of thing.” Hen commented, offering nothing to back it up.

“What happened?” Buck asked. Hen had been down for a few weeks now, the couple had missed finding out the cause while they were in Texas for spring break and Hen didn’t seem willing to repeat the conversation just for their benefit.

“Doesn’t matter.” Hen dismissed.

“Are you sure, cos it seems like we missed something when we were in Texas.” Eddie stated.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now!” Hen exclaimed, storming off.

“Nia is being reunited with her birth mother. Both Hen and Karen are taking it pretty hard.” Bobby told them. Normally, he wouldn’t without Hen’s permission but he didn’t want either of them to accidentally say the wrong thing without knowing why it was the wrong thing. Buck was great at doing that kind of thing.

“How’s Maddie doing? She’s not answering my texts.” Buck asked.

“She went into work today.” Chimney stated.

“Uh, isn’t she like forty three weeks pregnant?” Eddie checked.

“Yes, something like that but she claims that every time she thinks something is happening, nothing ever does, she’s decided to go about her day as normal.” Chimney explained.

“Fair enough, I guess.” Bobby commented.

“I’m so glad Matthew was early, I’d had enough of the pregnancy by the time he was born. Don’t get me wrong, it was totally worth it and I would definitely do it again, but the whole experience of the pregnancy was not what I’d hoped it would be.” Buck commented.

“Yeah, I’m very aware that Matthew was early because that has come up in conversation. Maddie is furious at you for something that wasn’t in your control. And logically, she knows it wasn’t your fault but right now she’s too pissed off for logic.” Chim explained.

“That must be why she’s not answering you.” Eddie suggested, placing a reassuring hand on Buck’s shoulder. He frowned.

“She’ll get over it soon.” Hen assured him.

“Has her doctor talked to her about being induced? I thought that was something they did when you got so far past your due date.” Eddie commented.

“I think Doctor Heller is still just hoping she’ll go into labour on her own. Maybe they’ll talk to us about it when she hits forty three weeks, it’s only a few days away.” Chim offered.

“Are you ready to become a dad?” Bobby asked.

“Yes, but I’m also terrified.” Chim admitted.

“That’s a perfectly normal reaction. I remember it well.” Eddie smiled.

“Yeah, after this experience, I don’t think me and Maddie will be having any more children.” Chim commented.

“Well, I can understand that. Poor Maddie didn’t exactly sign up to do it the first time.” Hen laughed.

“Actually, neither of the Buckley siblings did.” Chim added. Buck mock pouted when Bobby and Eddie joined in with the laughter.

“That’s a fair point, I think Buck handled it better, although no one is allowed to repeat that to Maddie.” Chimney remarked.

“You better hope I don’t mention that to my sister.” Buck threatened, jokingly.

“He didn’t handle us being separated all that well.” Eddie pointed out.

“Neither did Maddie, she wanted Chimney’s head on a silver platter!” Hen laughed. Chimney then checked his phone to see if he had any messages from Maddie.

“Hey, anybody got any suggestions for baby names?” Chim sighed. Then he held up a hand. “Not any of your names.”

“Uh, I thought you were just gonna put names in a hat.” Buck replied.

“Yeah…” Chim trailed off. “Maddie decided she didn’t like that idea. The piece of paper I pulled out of the hat said I don’t want to choose our daughter’s name this way.”

“Shannon and I didn’t know what we were gonna name Christopher. Then we saw him, and we knew.” Eddie offered.

“I didn’t want to be unprepared when we had Matthew which is why we picked out his name beforehand. It really suits him.” Buck smiled.

“Yeah, but you guys have a pattern to follow now, any more children you have will more than likely have a saint's name because Christopher and Matthew are both saints.” Hen pointed out.

“Nothing wrong with that, there are plenty of good saints' names.” Bobby weighed in.

“How did choosing a name for my kid turn into a conversation about the Diaz family?” Chim asked.

“Doesn’t everything?” Hen joked. Buck and Eddie just smiled at them. Chim sent Maddie a message.

“Uh, she didn’t like that idea?” Buck checked at the crestfallen look on Chim’s face. Chim then started to walk away, Buck and Eddie following.

“I think she just called me a psycho.” Chim replied. Buck and Eddie looked at each other and burst out laughing. Eddie clapped him on the back as they headed in different directions.

Chapter Text

The call was a bad one. A woman had been driving south in the northbound lane and had caused a massive pileup on the freeway. The 118 couldn’t even tell how many cars had been involved, it was a lot. “Make sure everybody stays back until the cars have been de-energised and all the airbags have been checked.” Bobby instructed them over the radio.

“What’s the count, Captain?” Athena asked.

“Well, three casualties so far, at least a dozen injured.” He told his wife before talking into his radio again. “Dispatch, send another ten RA units here ASAP.”

“Oh, all this because of one driver.” Athena looked around, shocked at the scene of devastation. The 118 were all running around, trying to help as many people as possible but it was going to be a tough night. “I take it this is the offending vehicle?”

“What’s left of it. We’re still working on getting in there.” Bobby replied, watching Buck and Eddie try and get inside.

“You sure there;s anyone in there left to save?” Athena asked. Buck was using the thermal sensor and it had registered two heat signatures.

“No verbal response. Can’t see past the side airbags. But we picked up a heat signature.” Eddie told her.

“Definitely a live occupant in the front. Smaller heat signature in the back.” Buck clarified.

“Dispatch said they got a call from the driver’s son, Jacob.” Athena relayed.

“The kid’s still in the car?” Chim checked, unable to keep the disgust out of his voice.

“Go! Go! Jaws!” Bobby exclaimed, they hadn’t known there was a child in the car and they now needed to work overtime to get him out of there while he was still alive. Being in the lead car, the one that had been the cause of the accident that all the following cars had collided with, didn’t bode well for the occupants of this car if they couldn’t be reached in time. Chim and Eddie used a crowbar to pry at one of the doors, getting enough room for Buck to slide in with the Jaws.

“I got a visual on the driver. Come on!” He exclaimed. “No, no, no. The roof is bent too far inwards. I can’t pull her out.”

“Let’s cut the whole top off.” Eddie suggested.

“Let’s get the saw! Let’s go!” Bobby ordered. They got the saw and quickly got to work. Time was of the essence. Once Buck had gone around the roof, they all got ready to remove it. “Okay, nice and easy on three. One, two, three.”

“Need more hands!” Eddie called as the interior of the car was revealed.

“I’ve got eyes on the boy! He’s still breathing.” Hen shouted.

“All right, Buck, get that Halligan.” Bobby said, watching as Buck was now able to pry the door open with the roof no longer being an obstacle.

“It’s a miracle she’s in one piece. The car’s hugging her like a glove.” Buck remarked.

“Okay, Chim.” Bobby stated, giving him the go ahead to assess his patient.

“Okay. Young male victim. Possible vertebrae break. Eddie get me a neck brace.” Chim stated.

“Pulse is steady. Multiple lacerations. Airbag burn.” Hen called out as she assessed the driver.

“What ha-happened?” The driver slurred, weakly as she regained consciousness.

“You think her slurred speech is a symptom of her injuries?” Athena asked Hen.

“Can’t be too sure yet.” Hen replied.

“Dispatch said she was acting odd before the crash, too.” Athena stated.

“Chim, how’s that kid looking?” Bobby checked.

“Upper vertebrae seems intact, but his systolic blood pressure is skyrocketing - could be a TBI. Probably best to transport him in the seat.” Chim advised.

“All right, make it safe and get him out.” Bobby instructed.

“Copy that. All right.” Chim acknowledged.

“Dispatch, contact the Children’s Hospital ER. Have them prep for neurosurgery. We’ve got a patient, Jacob, approximately seven to eight years old, coming in with a possible TBI.” Bobby called over the radio.

“Jacob.” The driver stated.

“Uh, Jacob is still in the back seat. We’re working on getting him out.” Buck informed her.

“Ma’am, were you experiencing any pain, disorientation that may have led to your confusion?” Hen asked her.

“I think I got something… that added to her confusion.” Athena stated, brandishing a bottle of whiskey. It looked to only have a quarter left. “How many people have to die tonight, because she was drunk and stupid.” She turned away and took the bottle with her. “Details to add to my report.” The rest of the 118 looked at Bobby, a little concerned but they had a job to do before checking on their Captain.

“On three. One, two, three.” Chim said as they got Jacob out of the car, still in his car seat. Chim passed him over to Eddie who put him on a gurney. “He’s not conscious but he’s alive. All right, let’s move him.”

“Drunk driving with your only child in the car…” Hen muttered.

“You good here, Hen?” Bobby checked.

“Not one bit, Cap. But I got it. It’s our job, right?” She replied.

“Yeah.” Bobby said. He went further down the pile up to check on the other firehouse that had shown up to help, the rest of the 118, who were still with either the drunk driver or her son, were shocked when there was an explosion from one of the cars further up. Chim and Buck rushed up to the scene, Chim went to the firefighter and Buck went to the driver of the car that had just exploded. He’d been burned alive.

“I got him, I got him!” Buck shouted.

“Buck, get him out of there!” Bobby exclaimed.

“On it!”

“That driver alive?” Bobby asked.

“I’m checking his pulse.” Buck checked. “He’s got a pulse but his skin is like paper. I need a burn blanket.”

“Get the burn blanket!” Bobby shouted. One was handed to Buck rapidly. Buck and Bobby worked together to lift the driver out of the window. They placed him on the gurney that had appeared next to them and let the paramedics get on with their job.

“Captain, we’re moving Renfrow now. Burn units been advised.” Chim told Bobby.

“Good, good.” Bobby muttered. He then pressed his radio. “Hen, Eddie. How are you guys doing up there?”

Eddie and Hen were putting the driver in the ambulance when Athena approached them. “Which hospital is she going to?” 

“First Presbyterian on Altamont.” Eddie replied.

“All right. I’ll follow behind. Make sure the hospital knows she’s gonna need her BAC as soon as she lands.” Athena told him.

“Athena…”

“I already got the warrant, Eddie. It’ll meet me at the hospital.” Athena stated, leaving no room for arguments. Bobby walked over to where Athena, Hen and Eddie were when Sue’s voice came over the radio.

“Captain Nash, can you spare a paramedic for a woman in labour at Dispatch Metro?” She asked.

“Pretty sure there are some paramedics that are a lot closer to your location than we are.” Bobby remarked.

“Yes, but none of them are the baby’s father.” Sue smiled. Everyone turned to look at Chim with a smile. Chim laughed.

“We’ve got it from here, Chim. Go meet your daughter.” Bobby smiled.

“You sure?” Chim checked.

“I’m following that ambulance. You can ride with me.” Athena offered.

Chapter Text

“Dispatch to 118. Come in. This is Sue.” The radio crackled.

“Go for Captain Nash.” Bobby responded.

“Captain Nash, we’ve received a call from a driver who says he was in the pile up. Claiming he’s still trapped in his car.” Sue informed them.

“I believe we already extricated everybody involved. Are you sure they were in this crash?”

“The line went dead before we could get too many details. We’ll try to reconnect with him now.” Sue replied.

“Bobby, the call came from an Albert Han. Isn’t that Chimney’s brother?” May asked.

“Are you sure? I thought that call was dropped?” Bobby checked.

“I called the number back and it gave me his voicemail.” May replied.

“What did the message say?” Buck inquired.

“He said his name and not to leave a message because, um…” May trailed off.

“Because that’s what texts are for.” Buck suggested.

“Yeah.” May agreed.

“All right, let’s go! Every vehicle. Every vehicle!” Bobby shouted as they all dispersed.

“Albert!”

“Albert!” 

“Albert! Can you hear us?”

They traipsed up and down the road but could not find a sign that Albert was anywhere near. “Cap! We’ve been up and down this road twice now. He’s- he’s not here.” Buck frowned.

“Dispatch, this is Captain Nash. The very first 9-1-1 call who reported seeing the vehicle. Which exit were they calling from?” Bobby asked.

“It says exit forty three exit ramp.” May told him.

“He wasn’t in the pile up.” Buck realised, glancing at the sign that said exit forty six.

“He was in front of it. Everybody on me! Come on, we’re on the move!” Bobby shouted. Buck, Hen and Eddie followed him back to their engine and drove to exit forty three.

“Albert!” Buck shouted as they got out. “Hey, hey, tire tracks! Right here!” Buck pointed them out. When they rushed over to the drop the tire tracks led to, they stopped for a moment upon seeing the car. Albert’s car was badly crushed and it was resting on its roof. Thank God Chimney wasn’t here to see this.

“I see him!” Hen shouted. They used a crowbar to pry the door open and Hen got straight down to assess him. “Looks like he’s lost a lot of blood. His pulse is racing.” Eddie put a collar on him.

“Stay with us, Albert.” Eddie requested. Buck held Albert’s hand.

“We’re right here. We’ve got you.” He assured. Eddie clapped a hand on his boyfriend’s back.

“Ready?” Eddie checked. “Three, two, one.” He unclipped Albert’s seat belt and they caught him before gravity could claim him. They got him out of the car and onto a backboard, putting him straight in the ambulance.

“BP’s sixty over thirty. He’s hypertensive with tachycardia.” Eddie stated.

“He must be bleeding internally. We’re probably looking at a ruptured spleen.” Hen remarked, looking at the angry red patch on Albert's side. “He’s haemorrhaging right now inside.”

“I’ll alert the hospital to have a massive transfusion standing by.” Eddie stated when Albert started flat lining. “He’s coding!”

“Starting compressions.” Hen warned, doing exactly as she said. “Push epinephrine.” She told Eddie. “Come on Albert, don’t do this. Come on! You have a niece to meet. Come on. Come on!” Eddie was using the face mask to try and get Albert to start breathing while Hen continued compressions but it wasn’t looking good right now. Suddenly, the monitor picked up rhythm again.

“He’s got a pulse!” Eddie exclaimed.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Albert was rushed into surgery. Hen and Eddie had to head back to the firehouse with the rest of the 118. “How are you feeling?” Eddie asked Buck. He knew Buck and Albert had been close from when Albert crashed with Buck before they found out about Matthew and it had hit them both hard that someone had been driving drunk with their child in the car.

“I don’t know.” Buck admitted. “All of my feelings are mixed up.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” Eddie placed his hand over the top of Buck’s and Buck turned his hand to interlace their fingers. How someone could put their own child at risk baffled both Buck and Eddie. They could never imagine having such little regard for their boys' safety or their lives.

Bobby allowed Buck to leave early to head to the hospital to see Maddie and take the hospital bag that had been left in Albert’s car. Eddie had agreed to meet him back at home. When Buck arrived at the hospital, still in his uniform, he had no trouble finding their room. Chim spotted him and rushed out of the room to meet him. “Hey, Buck. It’s good to see you.” Chim whispered. “The hospital has a strict no visitor policy, you know that.”

“I- I know. Hey, Chimney…”

“The girls are both doing great. Maddie was a warrior in there.” Chimney smiled, he then registered that Buck was carrying their hospital bag. “Hey, where’d you get that? Is Albert here?”

“Albert is, he’s in his own room though.” Buck began.

“What do you mean?”

“Albert was in the accident, well, he was in front of the accident. He’s stable. But things didn’t look good when we arrived.” Buck explained.

“What?”

“It took us a while to find him, he’d been thrown off the exit forty three exit ramp. I don’t actually know how he made it out alive.” Buck admitted.

“But he’s okay?”

“He’s stable.” Buck repeated. “He’s in a coma though, but…”

“Where is he?” 

Buck handed Chimney the bag and he took it into the room before following Buck down the hall to his brother’s room. Buck left Chimney at this point, he didn’t need anyone intruding on this private moment. 

When he got home, Buck let out a deep sigh of relief when he checked his messages and saw Chimney had texted to say Albert had woken up. Christopher and Matthew were still in bed so Buck and Eddie just stood in the kitchen, holding each other in silence for a few moments. There was nothing they could say to make the other feel better, they just needed to know that they were both there and they were both okay. They had peered into the boy’s rooms just to check and they were both fast asleep. Eddie had just poured them both a cup of coffee while Buck got started on pancakes when Christopher called out. “Morning!” He smiled, joining them in the kitchen. Both men fell to their knees to hug their eldest. They held him so tightly. “What’s that for?” Chris asked when they pulled away.

“Just because.” Eddie breathed. Buck moved to carry on with their breakfast while Eddie pulled Chris back into a hug.

A little while later, Maddie called the Diaz house so that they could show everyone their daughter. “Aw man, I just want to hold her, you know?” Buck laughed.

“Soon. Doctor Heller just wants us to wait a few more weeks, then she can meet Uncle Buck and Uncle Eddie.” Maddie smiled. “I can’t believe Chimney just missed the first Uncle Buck.”

“It’s okay, knowing him, we’re in for about ten thousand more of those.” Buck chuckled.

“Okay, I am clean and ready to hold my girl.” Chimney said, joining Maddie in front of the computer. “Uncle Buck! Was I the first one? I was the first one, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Buck smiled.

“She’s making me miss the newborn stage like crazy.” Eddie commented.

“You know, there’s an easy fix for that.” Chimney stated with a pointed look. Maddie moved to hand baby girl to Chimney.

“Okay, we’ll leave you guys to it. Okay, bye. The Diaz family loves you.” Buck said as he ended the call.

“When am I getting a baby sister?” Christopher added.

Chapter Text

“Thank you for this.” Buck smiled, handing Matthew over to Athena.

“You know looking after him is no problem. It’s very important that you two go and find your forever house. Matthew can’t stay in your room forever.” Athena remarked, eagerly accepting the almost eight month old. Matthew had recently started crawling so Buck and Eddie had warned Bobby and Athena well in advance so they could baby proof the house ready for Matthew spending the day with them. It had been a nightmare to baby proof the Diaz house, there were so many things that needed sorting. Christopher was still a little bitter that he wasn’t allowed to play with his Lego in the living room anymore. Matthew was going through the phase of putting everything in his mouth and the last thing anyone wanted was for him to choke on a small piece. Christopher understood and did as his dad and Buck had asked but Matthew now being mobile was making some big changes to his life and he was struggling to adjust. Buck and Eddie knew that now more than ever, it was so vital to Christopher’s well being that the two of them spent some time with Chris without his baby brother being there. That was part of what today was about. They were going to look at two houses but would be spending the whole day with Christopher, going to the park and getting ice cream after.

“Have you got many houses to go and see?” Bobby asked.

“Just two. We’re really struggling to find one that all three of us like but I know the right one will come along when it’s supposed to. There was one that we all had our hearts set on when looking online and we’ve inquired but haven’t heard anything back. It doesn’t look likely, I’m afraid. We’re willing to make any modifications we need to for the boys, I know it will mostly be for Chris, but I don’t like him to feel singled out. He’s capable of so much more than anyone thought he would be. Everyone likes to tell Eddie what his limitations are and we don’t see it that way.” Buck rambled a little. Bobby and Athena just smiled at him fondly. They both remembered Buck as a probie, rash and irresponsible. To think he was now planning his future and looking for his forever home was the best kind of surprise. He’d grown so much over the last few years and neither of them could imagine their lives without him. He was so important to both of them, but especially Bobby. Bobby had seen him as a son quite early on.

“I’m so proud of you.” Bobby slipped.

“What for?” Buck had tears in his eyes. He’d always wished that one day his biological mom and dad would tell him that they were proud of him, but it meant even more coming from Bobby.

”Looking at how far you’ve come since you first started at the 118.” Bobby replied.

“I couldn’t imagine Buck 1.0 settling down and having a family. But you are the most amazing dad to both Matthew and Christopher. They are so lucky to have you.” Athena smiled.

“I’m lucky to have them.” Buck replied, wiping his eyes as Bobby pulled him into a hug. Buck bade them goodbye before driving back home to get Eddie and Chris to head to the first house.

The first house was absolutely beautiful, the only downside to this house was that it had three bedrooms. It was in their price range, in an ideal location and it had a wonderful garden that could be so helpful to the development of Matthew and any other future children they might have. The only way this three bedroom house would work though, would be if their next baby was a boy. If they were to have a daughter then they would need to move house again but Buck and Eddie wanted to keep an open mind. “What do you think?” Buck asked, looking at Christopher. They’d just been given the tour and the real estate agent had left the three of them so they could talk it through.

“I don’t like it. It’s too small. What about when I get a baby sister? Where would she go to sleep?” Christopher replied.

“Chris, if and when we decide to have another baby, we can’t guarantee that you will have a sister. But, yeah, it looks lovely but I don’t think it’s the right fit for us. If it had four bedrooms then I may have reconsidered but, yeah, it’s a little on the small side.” Eddie voiced. They went to tell the real estate agent that this wasn't the house for them and said their goodbyes. They went to get takeout for lunch before heading to the next viewing.

They left the second viewing even more downbeat. On paper, it should have been the perfect forever home for their family but it didn’t come across in person the same way that it did online and that was disappointing for all three of them. Buck sighed and resigned himself to the fact that having another baby would have to continue to wait. If they weren’t moved before Matthew turned one in four months then he wasn’t prepared to start trying for another baby. And Matthew would have to stay in their room for the time being. As they were eating their ice cream, Eddie ducked away when he got a call from an unknown number. “Is everything okay?” Buck checked when his boyfriend came back to join them with the biggest smile on his face.

“Things fell through on the house that we really liked and we’ve been asked if we would like to go and see it after all. The agent said we could head over right now so of course I said yes.” Eddie told him. Both Buck and Christopher’s faces lit up and they rushed out of the ice cream shop, still with their ice cream in their hands. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Eddie drove while Buck sent Bobby a text to tell him that they would be a little late collecting Matthew.

“How did house hunting go?” Athena asked when Buck, Eddie and Christopher turned up on the doorstep.

“Gigi!” Chris called, moving in for a hug.

“Really well.” Eddie smiled.

“You found the house?”

“We did. It actually wasn’t either of the two we’d gone to look at but the one we wanted but never heard back from, well we got a call because things fell through. The current owners liked the look of us from the application, two firefighters and their children. They knew we’d take good care of it. We’ve put in our offer and have already heard back. It’s ours.” Buck smiled.

“Where’s Grandpa?” Christopher asked.

“He’s with Matthew.” Athena smiled. Buck, Eddie and Christopher followed her into the living room where Bobby was fast asleep with Matthew asleep on his chest.

“Do you mind if I take a photo?” Eddie asked.

“I already have, I’ll send it to you both.”

Chapter Text

“I was jumping on the trampoline, and a spring flew off.” Bryson told them.

“And it almost killed me.” His mom, Beth added.

“All right, let’s see what we got.” Bobby replied. “Looks like she’s pinned to the wall in two places. All right, let’s go. Let’s go!” He waved Hen and Eddie over as Eddie was filling in for Chimney.

“Ma’am, don’t move.” Hen cautioned. “Any movement could cause that spring to shift and that would not be good.”

“Must have been travelling at top speed. Put a hole right through her hand. And her torso.” Eddie remarked.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Bryson asked.

“Give us some space. We’re gonna take real good care of your mom, I promise.” Bobby told him, waving Bryson away.

“Can you move your fingers?” Eddie checked.

“I think so.” Beth replied, moving her fingers as carefully as she could.

“Good. That means the spring likely missed the tendon. No nerve damage.” Eddie told her.

“Oh, thank God. It’s my selfie hand.”

“Pulse is slightly elevated but BP’s normal. Miraculously, she’s stable. Getting bilateral breath sounds. Spring likely didn’t puncture her lungs, but it’s probably millimetres away from her spine.” Hen assessed. “I can pack the wound but I don’t know how to detach her from the barn.”

“Don’t. Transport her with it, donkey and all.” Bobby instructed. Eddie had already started wrapping bandages around Beth’s hand. “Where’s Buck?” They all turned to find him talking to the children and keeping them away from the scene of Beth’s accident,

“This is a circular saw.” Buck told the children. “This blade is strong enough to cut through anything.”

“Cool.”  Bryson breathed.

“Even metal.” Buck added.

“I’ll bet it could slice through bone, too.” One of the kids remarked. Buck was a little concerned by that comment.

“Buck, we need that saw!” Bobby called.

“I gotta go. Sorry.” Buck said.

“You went really hardcore with this party design.” Hen was telling Beth when Buck made his way over.

“It’s my job. Literally. I run a mommy blog. I spent months planning this thing, trying to make it perfect and my kid hates me for it.” Beth explained.

“He doesn’t hate you, he’s just twelve. He’ll get over it.” Bobby assured her.

“Feels like no matter what I do, it’s wrong.” Beth frowned.

“You did a great job constructing the shed. Really quality work.” Buck tried to boost her spirits.

“It was from a kit. I didn’t even pick it out. A sponsor sent it.” Beth admitted.

“Well, at least you have help taking it down.” Eddie remarked, winking at his boyfriend who moved in with the saw and got to work on the metal hinges.

“Almost there.” Buck told them.

“Last one, Cap.” Eddie added. Once Buck had finished cutting through the hinges, they lay Beth flat on the door and carried her over to the ambulance on it. “Phase one was a success but there’s no way we can get her in the ambulance on this door. We gotta call for a flat bed.”

“We’ve got a penetrating trauma, I don’t think we can wait.” Bobby said.

“Got any other options?” Eddie asked. They ended up having to transport Beth on top of the engine with Eddie and Bobby sat with her all the way to the hospital. When they arrived, they got her down and laid her, still attached to the door, on a gurney, allowing the hospital staff to take over.

“That was so crazy, can you imagine planning your kid’s birthday party and not even consulting them on what they want? Christopher would be so mad at us if we did something like that.” Eddie was saying as they got changed.

“I can believe it, the kinds of things people do just for money and fame are ridiculous. It’s not something I would ever do. The most important thing to me is that our boys are happy and know how much we love them.” Buck agreed.

“Buck, Eddito!” Isabel greeted them as they walked up the path. She pulled first Buck and then Eddie into a hug and pressed a kiss to their cheeks.

“Sure, Abuela, just make sure that I know you love my boyfriend more than me.” Eddie joked.

“Oh, I’m not making sure you know, I’m making sure you don’t forget.” Isabel laughed, pressing another kiss to Buck’s cheek before he went inside the house to greet Christopher. “You know, of all the partners my grandchildren have ever brought home, he is definitely my favourite.”

“I know, everyone loves to remind me how much they disapproved of me and Shannon.” Eddie sighed. 

“I didn’t have anything against Shannon as a person. I just didn’t think that she was the right person for you. I know at the time, you were trying to be the perfect son, the man you thought my son wanted you to be and you were hiding the fact that you liked men as well as women. Shannon is Christopher’s mother and I will always be grateful to her for that. But she ruined you when she left. Turned you into a shell of yourself as you worked those three jobs to keep yourself afloat. That’s why I suggested you come to LA. You needed to begin again. I always hoped you’d meet someone like Buck, someone that not only loved you but loved Christopher as well.” Isabel explained. Eddie loved his abuela so much, her invitation for him to join her in LA had been just what he needed to get out of the rut he was stuck in. Joining the 118 and meeting Buck had changed his life from that very first week.

“I don’t have the words to describe what he means to me.” Eddie smiled.

“When are you going to propose?” Isabel asked.

“What?”

“Don’t tell me you’re not planning on marrying that boy because he would go to the end of the Earth for you and your boys. I’d be very disappointed in you if you didn’t at least ask him.”

“What if he doesn’t want to marry me?” Eddie queried, his voice sounding small.

“Eddito, you’re not an idiot. Buck thinks the world of you. I know he would love to be married to you. You know what his self-esteem is like. He probably still doubts his place in your life. I very much doubt he would say no.” Isabel commented.

“I already have a ring.” Eddie admitted.

“And you weren’t going to ask?”

“I’ve been debating it.” Eddie replied.

“Men!” Isabel exclaimed, exasperated before making her way inside the house to go to Buck, Christopher and Matthew.

Chapter Text

“That’s the first time she smiled.” Chim told them, showing them a photo of Jee-Yun.

“Sure that’s a smile? That’s the same face Buck makes when he’s gassy.” Eddie joked.

“I will take that as a compliment ‘cause it just means she looks like her Uncle Buck.” Buck replied with a smile.

“God, I love her so much. I don’t even feel like the same person anymore. Is that weird?” Chim checked.

“What’s that saying? That having a kid is like walking around with your heart outside your body.” Bobby told him.

“Okay, that’s weirder. And morbid.” Chim frowned.

“It just means it’s a whole different kind of love.” Bobby clarified.

“How’s Maddie doing? First solo shift with baby.” Eddie asked.

“Babies. Plural. She’s pulling double duty. Albert and Jee-Yun.” Chim corrected him.

“Offer still stands, you know. He can come and stay with us. I know it would be a bit of a squeeze but we’d make it work.” Buck offered.

“He needs round the clock care. He can’t be on his own for a whole twenty four hours. With the new schedule, one of us is always home.” Chimney explained.

“If you and Maddie are working opposite schedules, when do you actually see each other?” Eddie inquired.

“Haven’t quite figured that out yet.” Chim admitted.

“Oh, uh- she’s, she’s coming.” Buck stuttered, referencing Hen who had just joined them upstairs. Chimney quickly put his phone away and cleared his throat.

“So, uh, yeah. The doctor said Albert’s physical therapy is going great.” Chimney said a bit louder than necessary.

“Welcome back!” Hen called in a sing songy voice, carrying a box over.

“Hey! I was just filling them in on Albert’s recovery.” Chim told her.

“I am disappointed in you guys. Where’s the banner? Where’s the balloons? This is not how we do when somebody comes back to work.” Hen chided them, opening the box to reveal a cake proclaiming ‘Welcome Back Daddy!’

“I said it was okay. I don’t need that kind of stuff. Not when, uh…” Chim trailed off.

“No, no, no, no. We celebrate every good moment, when we can.” Hen corrected him. “Now let me see these baby pictures.”

“Okay.” Chimney caved and all the men laughed.

“Oh, my God, she’s so big already.” Hen cooed, wrapping an arm around her best friend.

“Yeah, they grow up fast.” Chim smiled.

“Hey, where was my cake and banner when I returned?” Buck asked, jokingly.

“We threw you a party at Athena and Bobby’s when you brought Matthew to meet us.” Hen replied.

“Yeah, we haven’t had the chance to meet Jee-Yun yet. That’s why Chim gets his cake here.” Bobby agreed. Buck pretended to pout.

“When is Maddie ready for us to meet her?” Buck asked, turning back to Chim.

“Not yet. She’s still so paranoid, although if she asks that is not the word I used. I understand her being protective but we’ve got enough on our plates between Albert and Jee-Yun.” Chimney rambled.

“You do realise we could come over and help you with that. We could help with Albert, take him to appointments or we could watch Jee-Yun and let you get some sleep.” Eddie pointed out.

“I appreciate the offer but we’re fine. We’re coping.”

“All right, let’s see what we got here.” Chimney said, rushing over to the guy with the reported broken leg.

“Connor!” A lady shouted, running over, a man following her.

“Got a compound tib-fib fracture to the right leg. It’s pretty nasty. Got some bone hanging out.” Hen assessed. “Sir, can you feel when I do this?” Hen moved his leg and Connor shot upright.

“Oh, God! Yeah, yeah.” Connor replied.

“Good. Then his pedal pulse is strong which means he’s still got blood flowing.” Hen clarified.

“PERRLA response is good. Pupils are equal and reactive. All right, sir. I’m gonna give you something to help with the pain but you have to try and stay still. After a fall like that we can’t rule out a spinal injury.” Chimney told Connor.

“This is all your fault.” The woman said, turning to the man beside her.

“I wasn’t the one climbing up the trellis like some two-bit cat burglar.” The man stated.

“It’s ‘cause you kicked me out. I either had to sneak in or sleep in my car.” Connor replied.

“You had plenty of other options.” The man told Connor. “Like, I don’t know, get a job, pay rent.”

“You don’t need rent! You're rich!” Connor exclaimed.

“It’s called hard work paying off.” The man said.

“Will you stop being so hard on him? He’s just going through a quarter life crisis.” The woman defended.

“That’s a load of…”

“That’s a real thing.” Buck interrupted. “I’ve been there.” The man ignored him.

“You need to stop enabling him. You want to be the good cop so you always make me the bad cop. I’m sick of it.” The man explained.

“Can’t you both be good cops?” Chim asked.

“No!” Hen, Buck and Eddie said at the same time.

“Let’s get him on a backboard.” Hen called. Buck and Eddie brought it over.

“But does tough love actually work, or does it just make your kid hate you?” Chimney checked.

“Some kids need discipline.” Hen told him.

“But not too much.” Buck added.

“I’m curious to know what your definition of too much discipline is.” Eddie remarked.

“All right, one, two, three.” Buck counted before he and Eddie moved the backboard to the gurney.

“Officer? I’d like you to arrest this man.” The man stated as Athena walked over.

“You’d like her to arrest your son?” Hen checked.

“They’re related?” Athena asked.

“We have a restraining order against him. He wouldn’t leave. He was taking us for everything we got. I had to do something.” The man claimed. “Are you gonna arrest him?”

“You might want to check this out first.” Bobby told his wife. He shone his torch over where the trellis had been attached to the wall. “Looks like the bolts have been snapped, real clean breaks. That’s why the kid fell down. Any idea how that happened?”

“Nope, no idea.” The man was acting suspicious now.

“Well, you were up there a few days ago repairing it.” His wife pointed out.

“What kind of repairs?” Athena checked.

“Uh, just some basic stuff.” He stuttered.

“It was fine the last time I broke in!” Connor shouted.

“See? That’s what I’m talking about. He’s been breaking in for weeks. He needed to be taught a lesson.”

“Are you saying that you knew your son was using the trellis, and you cut it intentionally to cause bodily harm?” Athena clarified.

“To your own flesh and blood.” Connor’s mom frowned.

“You’ve coddled him too long, Trish. You need to decide whose side you’re on.” The man issued the ultimatum. Trish rushed over to her son.

“Is he gonna be okay?” She asked.

“Well, he’ll need surgery and it’ll be a long recovery but he’ll make it.” Chimney assured.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Mommy will take care of you.” Trish told Connor.

“Trish! You’re making a mistake.” Connor’s dad shouted from where he was being shoved in the back of Athena’s squad car.

“You know what? Find a new place to live, Harv. I’m changing the locks.” Trish replied.

Chapter Text

Buck and Eddie loved shifts that finished in time for them to go and pick Christopher up from school themselves. As much as they appreciated all the help from everyone else, there was just something so fulfilling about being the ones to receive the smile he would give them when they saw it was both of them collecting him. It rarely happened this way but since Bobby and Athena had offered to have Matthew for a couple of hours so they could spend the afternoon with Chris, they jumped at the chance. It would be easier when Matthew was older and didn’t nap through the time Chris finished school but as he was still just a baby, it meant one of them always had to stay home with him so it was usually one or the other. Chris never knew who it would be collecting him though. Imagine the surprise on his face when he saw both his dad and Buck waiting for him. Christopher dropped what he was holding and rushed over to Buck and Eddie, wrapping his arms around both of them. His teachers smiled, Christopher talked non-stop about both of his dad’s,always referring to Buck as his dad even though everyone knew that he technically wasn’t. They couldn’t wait for the day Christopher came in and told them that his dad’s were engaged, they all knew the day was coming. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. 

“I didn’t know you were both coming today!” Christopher shouted. Both Buck and Eddie had crouched down so they could wrap their arms around him at the same time.

“Grandpa and Gigi are watching your baby brother so that we could both spend some time with you.” Eddie explained.

“Just the three of us.” Buck clarified.

“I can’t wait! What are we going to do?” Christopher asked as Buck and Eddie straightened up. One of Christopher’s teachers came over with the things he’d dropped in his haste to get to his dads. Buck thanked them before turning back to Christopher.

“What do you want to do, Superman?”

“I want to get ice cream and go to the park.” Chris decided.

“Have you been good enough to have ice cream?” Eddie joked. They both knew on the whole, Christopher was no trouble. All of his teachers always had glowing praise for him when they attended parent’s evenings.

“I think so.” Chris mused, shooting them a smile. Buck couldn’t hold out any longer.

“Then let’s go.”

Christopher waited patiently as the queue at their usual ice cream shop was longer than they were expecting, although they’d never brought Christopher to get ice cream at this time on a weekday before and of course, school had just let out. It wasn’t surprising even if it was unexpected.

After getting their ice cream, the trio headed to the park they usually took Christopher to. They sat together on a bench to eat it and talked about their days. Christopher was telling them about the new subject he was learning about in history and Buck and Eddie told him tales of their day, leaving out anything they thought might upset or frighten him. Once the ice cream was gone, Chris headed off to go and play while Buck and Eddie watched him fondly. Buck had been so worried when he and Eddie had first gotten together, he didn’t want to overstep or make Chris think he was trying to replace Shannon but sitting here with Eddie, watching Christopher smile as he played with some of his friends from school, with the biggest grin on his face as he pointed out Buck and Eddie to them reassured him that he was doing a good job. They both were.

When they got home, Christopher sat at the kitchen table to make a start on his homework while Eddie messaged Bobby and Athena to say they could bring Matthew home. Buck made a start on dinner, ensuring there was also enough for Bobby and Athena to stop. Bobby was always cooking for them at work and Buck wanted to repay the favour, especially since Bobby was the only reason he could cook in the first place. 

“We made enough for you guys to stay.” Buck told his pseudo parents.

“You didn’t have to.” Bobby smiled.

“But we won’t say no!” Athena joked.

“Buck’s cooking is almost as good as Grandpa’s. But not quite.” Christopher stated. Everyone smiled at him as Buck moved to take Matthew off Bobby. Anyone could see how much Bobby adored being a grandpa. Never thought he’d have the opportunity, he would forever be grateful to the universe for giving him Buck after everything that had happened. 

They all had a wonderful meal together, Bobby and Athena giving their thanks but hastily making an exit before bedtime. They knew that the typical bedtime routines were important to both Christopher and Matthew and didn’t want to intrude.

When Christopher and Matthew were both in bed, Buck and Eddie were taking advantage of having some time to themselves and decided to put on a movie. Nothing that they wouldn’t watch without either of the boys around. It seemed all they ever did was watch stuff rated no higher than PG-13, just in case someone woke up and wanted to be with them. They had gotten about halfway through it when they heard Christopher padding down the hall. “I can’t sleep. Can I watch TV with you guys?” Christopher asked. Buck moved from where he was curled up into Eddie’s side so that Christopher could settle between them both.

“Of course. Squeeze in here.” Buck smiled.

“Okay, but that means, you gotta pick something good for us to watch.” Eddie added with a smile as he lifted Christopher over his legs.

“I think, Cars.” Christopher said with a smile. Buck and Eddie both groaned playfully. This had to be the fifth time this week that they’d put on Cars but Christopher loved it so they would continue to watch it as often as he wanted. Eddie started the movie and they shared a smile over Christopher’s head. There was nowhere else either of them would rather be than right here, with their perfect family.

Chapter Text

“How excited was Chris when he saw both of you pick him up?” Hen asked over breakfast.

“He was so excited.” Buck smiled.

“Dropped all of his stuff on the floor in his rush to get to us.” Eddie added.

“That’s too precious.” Hen beamed. She knew how much it meant to Buck that Christopher was excited to see him, too. He’d never said it out loud but the entire 118 knew that Buck saw Christopher as his first child. Buck didn’t want to take Shannon’s place, he knew he never would because she was Christopher’s mother and no one could take that place in his life but that didn’t change the way he felt about Chris.

“It meant a lot to us that we were both able to go as it happens so rarely. That doesn’t stop him from being excited about whoever it is that has gone to get him that day.” Eddie added.

“He’s adjusted really well to being a big brother, hasn’t he?” Bobby commented.

“He has. We’re both so proud of him. It’s a big deal to go from being an only child to having a sibling. Especially with the age gap between him and Matthew.” Buck smiled.

“He can’t hate the sibling thing that much since he keeps asking us for a sister.” Eddie added.

“From the photos I’ve seen Ayla Reyes-Strand is absolutely adorable so I can understand where he’s coming from.” Hen laughed.

“That’s not going to happen anytime soon is it?” Bobby asked.

“Do you not want another grandchild?” Buck smirked.

“I don’t want to be down a firefighter again just yet.” Bobby joked.

“Well, don’t worry about it. We’re not planning on having any more children just yet. Sure, part of the reason we’re moving house is so that we have enough space for Matthew and any future children but we’re not ready yet. Matthew’s not even a year old!” Eddie replied.

It was a reasonably calm day, for LA. They went out on a few calls and got lots of jobs done around the firehouse. It was as they were all settling down for the evening that a call came in, more serious than any other they’d had so far.

Buck and Eddie jumped out of the engine as fast as they could and rushed over to Sue. “Car was parked over by the dumpster. He hit the gas, then he hit her. Looked pretty bad.” The security guard was telling Bobby.

“And he just took off?” Bobby checked.

“Didn’t even slow down.” Destiny confirmed.

“Hey, you’re gonna be okay, sweetie. Help is here. You’re gonna be fine, okay? Everything…” The husband was rambling.

“Sir? Sir, why don’t you just step back, let my team have a look.” Bobby suggested. He led the husband away from the scene.

“One, two, three.” Chim counted as they turned the lady on her back.

“Airway is clear but her breathing’s laboured.” Hen commented.

“Definitely a broken femur here.” Chimney added. They turned her over and she groaned. “I know her.”

“What?” Hen checked.

“It’s Sue Blevins.” Buck added.

“From the call centre.” Bobby offered.

“Yeah. Maddie’s boss.” Chimney said.

“Head injury is pretty severe. Pupils are uneven. Possible subdural hematoma.” Hen examined.

“Oh, man. Oh, boy.” Sue’s husband muttered.

“We need oxygen over here.” Hen called.

“Oh, come on, Sue.” Her husband whispered.

“We can run an IV en route. Sue, can you hear me?” Hen asked.

“Oh, come on, Sue.” Her husband repeated.

“Most likely a broken rib, maybe two.” Chimney offered. Sue coughed.

“Oh, come on.” Her husband muttered.

“Probable punctured lung, as well.” Chimney added.

“Let’s get her on the board.” Hen instructed.

“One, two, three.” Eddie counted as they moved her. Sue groaned.

“Oh, man. Oh, come on, Sue. Come on.” Her husband added.

“Nine…” Sue groaned. “One…”

“What’s she saying?” Eddie asked.

“Nine… one…” Sue wheezed.

“9-1-1?” Buck guessed.

“We’re here, Sue. We got you.” Eddie assured. Sue coughed again.

“Nine… one…” She wheezed again as Eddie helped Hen and Chim load the gurney into the ambulance.

“He was inside buying flowers for her while someone was trying to kill her.” Destiny told Buck.

“I thought this was an accident.” Buck replied.

“The guy never took his foot off the gas, like he wanted that lady dead.” Destiny corrected.

It wasn’t long before Buck had to leave Destiny to the rest of her shift and headed to the hospital to drop Sue off before they all went back to the firehouse. He just couldn’t get what the security guard had told him out of his head. How had this happened and why?

“You okay?” Eddie checked when they got back to the station. Buck had been really quiet on the way back to the firehouse but he wasn’t usually. He only did it when the call they’d attended got to him. They had just got out of the engine and Eddie led his boyfriend to the quiet of the bunk room.

“Yeah, I just. Who would want to hurt Sue?” Buck questioned.

“Well, it was an accident, right?”

“The security guard didn’t think so. Someone needs to go to Dispatch and tell Josh and Maddie.” Buck sighed, accepting the hug that Eddie pulled him into.

“So, you go straight from here when you finish, I’ll go get Matthew. Chris will be at school so we don’t have to worry about him. After you’ve spoken to Josh and Maddie, you go and meet Taylor for lunch like you were planning to.” Eddie replied.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. You can have a life outside of me. I know we spend all of our time together but we don’t have to. You can go and meet a friend for lunch. We don’t have many friends that don’t work at this firehouse. Go and spend some time with someone else.” Eddie smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to Buck’s lips before they both lay down together, just enjoying the company.

“I love you.” Buck whispered.

“I love you, too.”

The team were all quiet the next morning at breakfast. Thankfully, no more calls came in and they were able to clock out when they were supposed to. Eddie drove them both home so that Buck could get his jeep before heading off to Dispatch. Eddie was going to pick Matthew up. “I’ll see you later. Love you.” Eddie said.

“Love you, too.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, Buck. Not that I’m unhappy to see you but what are you doing here?” Maddie smiled. She quickly stopped smiling when she saw the look on his face. “What happened? Is Chimney okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. I’ve come to see you about a call we attended last night.” Buck replied.

“Okay…” Maddie trailed off.

“Hey, Buck.” Josh greeted.

“I’m glad you’re here. Is there somewhere the three of us can go and talk in private?” Buck requested.

“Of course. Follow me.” Josh frowned.

“So, we were sent on a call last night to a woman who had been hit by a car.” Buck started.

“Why are you telling us this?” Josh asked.

“It was Sue.” Buck replied. Josh put his head in his hands for a moment and took a deep breath.

“It doesn’t make any sense. Who would want to hurt Sue?” Maddie asked.

“A security guard only saw the accident. Didn’t know what happened before. Maybe some kind of parking lot rage thing?” Buck suggested.

“I was talking to her. Last night, we were on the phone. She was in the car, waiting for Don. She just hung up… Oh, God. I’ve got to call Don. He must be beside himself.” Josh frowned.

“Well, do you want to go to the hospital? I’m sure she’s out of surgery.” Maddie offered.

“No. She’d want me here. ‘The calls don’t stop and we can’t either.’” Josh replied.

“Did she say anything to you when you were there?” Maddie asked, turning back to her brother who had grabbed himself a bottle of water before sitting down.

“No. She, uh, she just kept on saying ‘9-1-1.’” Buck replied.

“I don’t know how this place runs without her.” Josh admitted, turing back to Maddie.

“It’s got you.” Maddie smiled. “And it’s got all of us and we’re not gonna let her down because we all owe Sue a lot.”

“I owe her my life.” Josh corrected.

He explained to Buck and Maddie how he’d been working as a freelance stenographer when the building the company who’d hired him had caught fire but he hadn’t heard the fire alarm because of the headphones he’d been wearing. When he’d finally taken them off, the fire alarm was blaring and everyone else had left. So he called 9-1-1 and Sue had been the one to answer. She had gotten him to relative safety, enough time for the firefighters to find him and get him out in one piece.

“Hey.” Buck greeted, getting out of his jeep and moving to give Taylor a hug.

“Hello. We’re not likely to get interrupted this time, are we?” Taylor laughed.

“Well, Christopher is at school so he shouldn’t be the reason for any interruptions. I can’t say the same thing for Eddie or Matthew.” Buck smiled.

“How is your family?” 

“They’re all doing really well, thank you. It’s just weird to be out and doing something without Eddie.” Buck chuckled.

“You do seem very codependent. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. If it works for you then that’s all that matters.” Taylor commented.

“Yeah, you’re not the first person to point that out.” Buck smiled. They ordered what they both wanted and Buck paid considering what had happened the last time they had tried to spend time together.

“Hey, so, what do you know about the 9-1-1 call centre?” Buck asked.

“Uh, next to nothing.” Taylor chuckled. “Your sister works there, right?”

“Yeah, she does. Uh, her boss, Sue, is really great. She’s actually been at the call centre since it opened.” Buck explained.

“Since the ‘60’s?” Taylor checked.

“No. That’s- that’s when they created the number. Call centre here in LA didn’t open until 1984. And did you know, dispatchers aren’t even classified as first responders in most parts of the country? Which is crazy. Uh, only changed here in California last year.” Buck rambled.

“Interesting.” Taylor remarked, getting her phone out. Buck looked at her. “Yeah?”

“Hey, so, um, the other night. Sue was hit by a car. Uh, driver just took off.” Buck began.

“That’s awful.”

“Did you know less than ten percent of hit and runs ever get solved?” Buck asked.

“Yes, though it doesn’t feel like you’re just citing another interesting fact now.” Taylor gave him a pointed look.

“So, police have no leads. I checked. And I figured maybe the public could help but the public would need to know about the hit and run.” Buck explained.

“Oh. Maybe if they saw it on the news?” Taylor smiled.

“It just so happens I have a friend who’s also a fantastic reporter. And I was hoping maybe she could do me a favour.” Buck angled. Taylor chuckled at the compliment.

“If I’m gonna sell this to my assignment editor, I’m gonna need a better hook than just a hit and run.”

“Okay. Uh, like what?” Buck asked.

“Tell me more about the call centre.” Taylor requested.

“I’m home!” Buck called as he walked through the front door.

“Did you have a nice lunch with Taylor?” Eddie asked, coming to meet Buck at the front door with a sleeping Matthew curled up in his arms.

“I did, thank you. I talked to her about what happened to Sue and she might be convincing her assignment editor that it’s a good thing to pursue. I think if she can do that then it will definitely help. We might be able to find who did this and why. Most hit and runs are never solved and it would be a real shame if this one wasn’t either. Sue deserves more than that.” Buck rambled.

“I’m glad you’ve had a productive day. I take it that things were rough at the call centre?”

“The look on Josh’s face when I told him was horrible. It turns out that he was once stuck in a building that was on fire and he called 9-1-1 and it was Sue who answered. She got him to safety so that the firefighters could find him. It would be a terrible loss for every first responder if we lost Sue. But Josh would be hit the hardest after Sue’s husband. What have you and Matthew done?”

“Not much, he was very happy to see me when I went to pick him up but he’s been a little grumpy ever since.” Eddie frowned.

“Oh no.” Buck pouted. He hated it when Christopher and Matthew weren’t very well. Matthew had been teething again and it made Buck and Eddie sad to see their son in pain when there was nothing they could do.

“Those pesky teeth.” Buck sighed.

“Hence why I’m letting him sleep in my arms instead of putting him down.” Eddie reasoned.

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I know we said we would always put him in his bassinet when he sleeps so he doesn’t depend on being held but there are allowed to be exceptions.” Buck replied. Eddie pressed a kiss to Buck’s cheek before they went through to the living room together and put on the news.

“She works quickly.” Eddie commented as they watched Taylor’s report on what happened to Sue.

“I guess it was a good story.” Buck and Eddie sat in silence as they listened to what Taylor had to say. She was very charismatic. They were interrupted by Buck’s phone ringing.

“Who is it?” Eddie asked.

“Taylor.” Buck felt as confused as Eddie looked.

Chapter Text

“Hey!” Buck called, getting out of his jeep and walking up to Taylor. “Got here as fast as I could. Y-You find something?”

“I talked to one of the security guards. She let me see the parking lot surveillance footage. There’s something weird here.” Taylor explained.

“Let me see.” Buck requested, holding out a hand for the tablet that Taylor was holding.

“Maybe I should just tell you.” Taylor suggested.

“Uh, why?”

“Because you know her.”

“Uh, come on, l-let me see anyway.” Buck stuttered. Taylor took a deep breath before holding out the tablet and pressing play. The footage showed Sue approaching the car which rammed on the gas and she went flying across the hood and windshield before hitting the floor. “Wow, he, uh, he really didn’t slow down.”

“I just can’t figure out why she’s running towards the car.” Taylor mused.

“Maybe she saw something she wasn’t supposed to. Uh, she-she sees the guy in his car. She gets out to confront him. He runs her over.” Buck tried.

“But what could she have seen?” Taylor asked. “I mean, look at where the car was parked. Only thing over there are the dumpsters.” Buck and Taylor began to walk over to the dumpsters.

“You know, I-I heard about this illegal plastic surgery clinic a few months back. Guy was tossing evidence in the dumpster.” Buck commented.

“What if our driver did, too.” Taylor reasoned.

“Should we call the police?”

“Eventually. I mean, we’re already here.” Taylor replied.

“I do happen to have gloves in my car.” Buck told Taylor.

“Don’t even think about it, Buck.” Athena warned, pulling up behind the pair in her squad car.

Detective Ransone put the pair in the back of Athena’s car as she looked for anything in the dumpster. When they got to the station, Buck was put in one interrogation room and Taylor in another.

“Oh, Athena. Finally. Uh, you find anything in the dumpster?” Buck asked when she entered the room and shut the door behind him.

“We found a handbag and the ID of the missing girl.” Athena replied.

“I still don;t understand what this girl has to do with Sue.”

“Tracie Webber was kidnapped less than a mile away from the supermarket. We think she might have been in the car that hit Sue. That would explain why the driver was gunning for her. So she couldn’t tell anyone about what she saw.” Athena explained.

“9-1-1. When we got on the scene, Sue was trying to talk. Don thought she was saying 9-1-1 but maybe it was about the car.” Buck guessed.

“A licence plate number? They don’t start with three digits, unless it’s a vanity plate.” Athena responded.

“What if it wasn’t a one? More like a W, you know. Nine one W.” Buck suggested.

“Okay. Let’s run it. Red Vero Galaxy. Partial plate nine one W.”

After Taylor’s second broadcast with the update about the kidnapping and the full licence plate. The 118 were called to a shipping container yard. As Buck had this shift off, he stayed home with Christopher and Matthew while Eddie joined the rest of the 118 who ended up called to the scene. Eddie used the saw to cut through the padlocked gate. “Dispatch, 118 is on scene, at the gate.” Bobby advised. “Where exactly do you need us?”

“118, stand by at your location and stage until the scene is secure.” Josh replied.

“Copy that. Staging.” Bobby accepted. Eddie, Hen and Chim shared a look. Fifteen minutes went past and everyone got back out of the vehicles.

“It’s been long enough, hasn’t it?” Eddie remarked.

“Cap, that girl’s been drugged. We need to get in there.” Hen added.

“Yeah, they got the suspect yet?” Chim asked.

“Officers, the scene is now clear for you to respond.” Josh advised.

“Okay, let’s move!” Bobby exclaimed as the four of them made a run for it. The four of them immediately got lost in the container yard.

“I though it was this way.” Eddie commented, pointing in one direction.

“Aren’t they this way?” Chimney asked, pointing in another.

“Did dispatch give us a box number?” Hen checked.

“No.” Bobby told her.

“Hey!” Officer Williams shouted, catching their attention. “Over here!” The four of them were able to follow him to get to the patient.

“All right guys, let’s go! Let’s get in there.” Bobby instructed.

“Fresh bruises on her wrist, Cap.” Eddie said.

“Pretty hard to tell how long he’s had her in here.” Bobby commented.

“No labels. Could be Fentanyl or Ativan or bleach, for all we know.” Hen remarked, picking up and empty vial and a syringe.

“And how many injections?” Chimney chimed in.

“She’s about to stop breathing any second now. Prep the naloxone. If it’s not an opioid, one dose will not hurt her.” Hen remarked, passing the kit to Eddie. “And it could actually help.”

“She’s got severe dehydration. Pushing fluids.” Chimney added. “She’s almost ready, Cap.” Chimney told Bobby after they’d pushed the fluids and administered the naloxone.

“Okay, good.” Bobby acknowledged.

“118 what’s your status?” Josh asked.

“Dispatch, 118 is ready to move the victim.” Bobby replied.

“Negative, negative. Hold your location.” Josh corrected.

“Dispatch? Officers on the scene have advised area is clear.” Bobby checked.

“Negative. Suspect is circling back. Close yourself inside, hunker down.” Josh advised. Bobby grabbed the door and slammed it shut just as the kidnapper opened fire.

“Everybody down!” Bobby exclaimed. They could hear the bullets ricocheting.

“Cap, you okay?” Eddie checked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay thanks to…” Bobby replied. “Dispatch, we are taking fire.” Bobby said over the radio.

“Cap, we’re losing her.” Eddie stated, looking at the victim who was now struggling to stay upright.

“We need to transport the victim, now!” Bobby told Josh.

“118, officers advising the scene is now clear for transport.” Josh told them.

“Dispatch, 118 is on the move. And thanks, for having our back.” Bobby updated.

“That’s why we’re here.” Josh smiled.

“Tracie Webber is currently hospitalised with injuries that are described as significant but not life threatening. And her kidnapper Patrick Ryan Boyd is in custody tonight. Boyd was apprehended after a massive effort by police, fire and EMS.” Taylor explained on the news. Buck had finally managed to get both of the boys down for the night. It took some convincing on Christopher’s part, mostly because Buck had been out for so long during the day and he wanted to spend some time with Buck. Buck had assured Christopher that they could spend some time together tomorrow as well as the time they spent together when Buck read him some more of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. They were both really enjoying reading the story together for the first time. Buck tuned out the TV when Eddie rang.

“Hi.” Buck greeted.

“Hello, I just wanted to check in with you and see how bedtime went?” Eddie asked.

“It wasn’t too bad. Matthew went down pretty easy because of his teeth, thankfully he let me put him straight into his bassinet without any fuss.”

“Aw, it’s really bothering him.” Eddie frowned.

“It won’t be forever but this is going to happen every time he gets new teeth in so we’re going to have to get used to it.” Buck reasoned.

“I know, I just hate to see either of the boys in pain.” 

“Me too.” Buck agreed.

“How did it go with Christopher? I know he won’t have wanted to go straight to sleep because of you being out for a bit.” Eddie guessed.

“Of course not. I had to promise that I’m going to spend time with him tomorrow when he gets up. I think he’s planned some time with his legos. Then we read some more of Percy Jackson and he drifted off to sleep not too long after that.” Buck responded.

“Good.”

“How has your shift gone? I saw that the missing girl is now in hospital and the suspect is in custody.”

“Yeah, Josh played a blinder and managed to get the suspect surrounded and us out of there with her in enough time to get her to hospital. It was looking touch and go when we were in the container yard and were taking fire.” Eddie explained.

“That’s such a relief.”

“It is. Now, I’d better let you get to bed in case Matthew has a bad night. I love you.” Eddie said.

“I love you, too.”

“All units stand by. Dispatcher with ID number seventeen, advise your status.” Maddie said into the radio.

“Dispatcher Blevins, back in service.” Sue smiled.

“Dispatcher Blevins…” Bobby began.

“Welcome back!” The 118 echoed.

“Oh, Sue, it’s so good to hear your voice.” Buck commented.

“Welcome back, Sue.” Hen offered.

“You rock, Blevins. Welcome back.” Eddie added.

“Glad to have you back, Blevins.” Athena said.

“Thank you, everyone. You’re not gonna get rid of me that easy.” Sue laughed.

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe the day is finally here. I’ve been in this house since Chris and I first moved to LA.” Eddie mused.

“We’re not leaving just yet. We still need to pack the whole house up and get everything moved over to the new one.” Buck pointed out.

“I know, but we’re packing our entire lives into boxes. You could at least let me feel a little melancholy about it.” Eddie mock pouted.

“You can be melancholy as long as you also pack. There’s a week left before we get the keys. This time next week we will be standing in our new house. I can’t wait. My first house.” Buck smiled. Eddie pulled Buck into his arms.

“There is no one else I would rather be planning the future with.”

“Me either, trust me, I tried so many times before you came along.” Buck laughed. Eddie pulled him into a kiss before they pulled away and got out the first of the boxes.

“Where do you want to start?” Eddie checked.

“How about Matthew’s room? We know what he needs to keep out until closer to the move date but all of his clothes that we have in the next size up can be packed as he’s not ready to move into that size yet. Any clothes that are too small can be donated.”

“What about toys?”

“We can definitely pack most of those. He’s too young for some of them and we can keep out the ones he does play with. Stuff that he uses at tummy time and we can pack some of the books but keep others out.” Buck reasoned. Eddie smiled as he followed his boyfriend to their youngest’s room. Abuela had offered to have Matthew for the day so that they could get as much packing done as possible. Christopher was at school but he knew as soon as he got home that his dad and Buck were going to help him start packing up the things in his room.

“Having two of us certainly makes it easier.” Eddie commented. It was a nightmare trying to pack everything up to move him and Christopher from El Paso to LA.

This was an unusual call to say the least. Someone had found a message in a bottle that had been written in blood. “Eight thousand acres to search. We could be waiting a while.” Chim commented when they arrived.

“Are they sure someone’s up there? That bottle could have been floating about for months.” Buck checked.

“Which would mean our search and rescue might become a search and recovery.” Hen added.

“Note was written on a receipt. Rangers checked the date. It was five days ago.” Bobby explained.

“Sure hope it wasn’t their last meal.” Eddie said.

“We see you Captain Nash. We’re coming in now.” The helicopter pilot informed them. The helicopter moved to land.

“Copy that.” Bobby replied before turning back to the 118. “Okay, Chimney, Eddie, gear up. You’re going with them.”

“Copy that.” Chimney acknowledged as Bobby walked away.

“You’ll harness up, we’ll lower you down so you can grab him.” Chimney told Eddie. Eddie and Chim fistbumped before Eddie moved away to get ready. Buck looked a little sceptical. “Cheer up. You can go next time.” Chimney said. Buck smirked and shook his head. It wasn’t completely because he thought he should be the one going in the helicopter, although if someone had asked him to, he wouldn’t say no. Ever since they’d gotten together, he worried about Eddie whenever they were in a situation like this one. And he knew Eddie worried about him since it was usually him that pulled off this kind of stunt.

“Be safe.” Buck said to Eddie as he got ready.

“You know I always try to be. There is nothing more important to me than you and our boys.” Eddie assured.

“I’ll be sure to tell your Abuela that!” Buck joked. Eddie pressed a chaste kiss to Buck’s lips, being mindful that they were working. Buck then watched as Eddie got into the helicopter.

“Okay, first quadrant is right over that ridge.” Bobby informed them over the radio. “Head up to Devil’s Point. A lot of hikers get stuck up there.”

“Copy that, Cap.” Chim replied. He turned to Eddie. “Pretty sure there’s a river, too. It could be were they threw the bottle in.”

“I think I see something.” Eddie stated.

“Help, please! Down here! Help, please!” A man was shouting. He was standing on a rock, waving his arms and shouting.

“Okay, we got him.” Chimney added. “Let’s get in a hover position right here.” Once the helicopter was low enough and had begun to hover, Eddie and Chimney opened the door. “Looks like severe dehydration. He’s gonna need this.” Chimney then handed Eddie a bottle. “Ready?”

“Piece of cake.” Eddie responded.

“Be advised, air support is gonna maintain fifty feet. Lowering the rescuer now.” The pilot informed everyone. Eddie, who had gotten all fastened to the necessary equipment on the short flight over to Devil’s Point, began his descent. “Rescuer at ten feet. Rescuer on the ground.”

“I’m Eddie. What’s your name?”

“I’m Clyde. There’s willow trees around here, right? ‘Cause if not, I’m gonna feel pretty dumb.” Clyde rambled. Eddie pressed a hand to Clyde’s forehead.

“You’re burning up.” Eddie told him. Clyde groaned. “Drink this. It’s got electrolytes.” Eddie handed Clyde the bottle that Chimney had given him. “How long have you been up here, Clyde?”

“Five days, maybe? I’m not sure.” Clyde then groaned in pain when Eddie took the shoe off his right foot. His ankle was very swollen. “I was trying to get high enough to look around, and then I fell. I thought I could tough it out, but I ran out of food and water.”

“Yep. Looks like you broke it.” Eddie replied. Clyde groaned again. “We’ll get this splint on you and we’re gonna get you out of here.”

“No. No! No, I’m fine. Just give me some painkillers or something. I got a couple more spots I got to check out, and I can just ride it out until I’m done here.” Clyde disagreed.

“That’s a negative, Clyde.” Eddie stated before pressing his radio. “Chim, prep fluids Our guy’s gonna need it.”

“Oh, man.” Clyde moaned.

“Sir, let’s get this on you.” Eddie put the ring around Clyde. “We’re gonna ride up together.” Eddie grabbed Clyde who wrapped his arms around Eddie to feel more secure on the ride back up to the helicopter. Eddie then signalled to Chimney.

“That’s our cue. Hold steady, Fire One. I’m bringing him up.” Chimney said.

“All right, buddy. We got you. We got you.” Eddie assured Clyde as they got him inside the helicopter.

“Dispatch, all souls on board. Returning to base.” The pilot informed. When the helicopter landed back where the 118 were, Hen and Buck rushed over with the gurney.

“Careful! He’s kind of delirious. Been out there a while.” Chimney told them.

“Said he injured himself three days ago.” Eddie shouted, holding up three fingers.

“I’m fine.” Clyde corrected. “I just want to know when I can get back up there.”

“Definitely not today.” Hen replied.

“Do you have a cell phone?” Bobby asked, holding up his.

“Doesn’t everyone?” Clyde checked.

“Yes. But most people use it to call for help instead of putting a message in a bottle.” Hen said.

“Battery died yesterday.” Clyde answered.

“That was two days after you injured yourself.” Bobby pointed out.

“I didn’t want to leave. I was so close. I didn’t want anyone else to find the treasure.” Clyde explained. “It’s mine! The treasure’s mine! Don’t tell anyone!” Hen and Bobby shared a look over Clyde’s head and Hen started prepping the gurney to move. “Don’t let anyone take it. It’s mine! The treasure’s mine!” Eddie and Chim got out of the helicopter and helped Hen to move Clyde.

“Did he say treasure?” Buck checked, taking off his sunglasses.

Chapter Text

“This is Channel 8 with breaking news. Hollis Harcourt, the author of such cult classics as Agony in Atwater and Bludgeoned in Burbank, passed away in his sleep at age fifty seven, leaving behind an intriguing message to his loyal fans.” Taylor reported. The news then played a video from Harcourt himself.

“Behold. My final gift to the citizens of Los Angeles.” Harcourt began, gesturing to a chest that was in front of him on the table. He then opened the chest to reveal that it was full of gold and jewels. “-a rare and priceless treasure. Though, if I had to put a price on it for tax purposes, I’d call it about five million dollars.”

“Whoa. Five million.” Eddie exclaimed.

“I’m gonna bury this chest somewhere in the city of Los Angeles. If you are clever, as I know you are, one of you will find this chest and the treasure will be yours.” Harcourt concluded.

“We spoke with Harcourt’s longtime assistant, Jeremiah Ruiz, moments ago.” Taylor continued.

“Hollis was… passionate. He had high standards. But he was a good soul. He cared about people and their stories. He will be missed.” Ruiz stated.

“And he won’t be forgotten. At least, not any time soon. According to his final video, Hollis buried that five million dollar treasure somewhere in the city that was the setting for most of his work. A poem he recited in the video is said to provide all the clues needed to locate it.” Taylor finished. Buck and Bobby shared a look as they turned the news off.

“I walked along the river’s edge, to hide my secret treasure.” Chimney recited. He then shook his head. “This poem is terrible.”

“A heron soared, a grey bridge roared, a bullfrog croaked ‘good measure.’” Bobby continued. “It’s less of a poem and more of a riddle.”

“Fine. It’s a terrible riddle.” Chimney stated.

“I stopped beneath a willow tree in the narrow place. And then I saw the light beam fall upon my treasured place.” Hen ended.

“You know, the guy on the cliff, he asked me about willow trees.” Eddie said.

“A real life treasure hunt.” Buck smiled. “Wouldn’t it be…”

“Dangerous.” Bobby interrupted.

“Reckless.” Hen added.

“Stupid.” Eddie agreed.

“Probably not even real.” Chimney decided.

“What if it is? How cool would it be to find it?” Buck asked.

“You know, this poem-riddle thing is getting a lot of traffic.” Hen pointed out.

“Which means our friend Clyde is likely not the last emergency we’re gonna see from this treasure hunt.” Bobby advised.

“Your best friend’s news story’s probably not gonna help out with that.” Eddie told his boyfriend.

“Hey, she’s a friend. Even though we’re dating now, you’re still my best friend.” Buck replied. Eddie smiled at him while Hen and Chim pretended to retch. Buck just stuck his tongue out at them. “Besides, she’s just doing her job, reporting the news.”

“Well, tell her to stop. We got enough work without people creating their own emergency.” Chimney stated. He and Bobby got up to make a start on lunch, Eddie following.

“Well, at least it was the midday news. Maybe the whole thing dies off.” Bobby hoped.

“Before anyone actually died.” Hen added, getting up out of the armchair.

“I guess.” Buck pouted. His phone began to ring. It was Taylor. “Uh, hey. I just saw you on the news.”

“And I heard a rumour you guys responded to a call about a treasure hunter in Malibu Creek?” Taylor responded.

“Yeah. He didn’t find anything though. Not that there’s anything to find. I mean, the whole thing’s probably fake, right?” Buck checked.

“I’m not so sure. Harcourt’s assistant confirmed he saw the treasure himself before Hollis died.” Taylor corrected.

“I didn’t see that part on TV.”

“He wanted to keep it off the record. In case this thing gets crazy, he doesn’t want anyone to come looking for him.” Taylor explained.

“So, this is real? There’s five million dollars out there just- just waiting to be found?” Buck asked.

“Looks like it.”

“You know, uh, I bet if we compared notes, we could probably figure out where he buried that treasure.” Buck suggested.

“You’re saying you want to team up? Look for the treasure together?” Taylor queried.

“We’d be, uh, we’d be doing a public service. We find it so no one else has the chance to get hurt.”

“Yeah. And I mean, it’s clearly my duty to keep the city informed.” Taylor agreed.

“The sooner that treasure is found, the safer the city will be.” Buck added.

“Everybody wins.”

“Maybe not everybody.”

“The search for Hollis Harcourt’s five million dollars took another turn today in Topanga Canyon. This marks the second serious injury in the so-called treasure hunt With local officials reporting that treasure hunt related emergency calls are climbing every day.” Taylor reported with a news banner at the bottom of the screen proclaiming ‘Harcourt Treasure Hunters Overwhelm LA Hospitals.’ 

“This shift is going to be as back as the time probie said the Q word, isn’t it?” Buck sighed.

“I don’t think anything could be worse than that.” Hen laughed.

“It wasn’t that bad.” Eddie defended.

“What did happen on that shift? None of you ever told me.” Ravi asked.

“Don’t open that can of worms, Ravi. You really don’t want to get any of us started on that.” Bobby laughed. It hadn’t been that long ago that they’d all been thrilled to reach the end of their shift and while they were now getting to the point where they could laugh about what happened, none of them wanted to relive the day.

In no time, they were on their way to the next treasure hunt related emergency. “LAFD coming through. Sir, LAFD is here.” Bobby announced, clearing the way for them to all get through the crowd. There was a bear statue that had fallen on top of a treasure hunter.  “Try to stay calm, and we’ll get this statue off of you.” The 118 all worked together to try and move the bear statue. “We’ll have you out in a sec, sir.”

“I can’t believe it wasn’t here.” He scoffed.

“Well, cross Griffith bear park statue off the list.” Eddie commented. It took a little work but they managed to get the statue off the guy.

“People have gone crazy.” Chimney stated.

Back at the firehouse, they put the news on again in the background.  “The latest numbers show six hospitalisations, and seventeen arrests since the treasure hunt was announced.” Taylor stated.

“It’s a hoax! Listen, people, please stop risking your lives.” A pregnant lady shouted, waddling up to the camera.

 “Uh, thank you for that perspective, ma’am.” Taylor commented. The lady grabbed her microphone.

“My husband almost died. More people are gonna die!”

Their next treasure hunt related call came after they’d cooked, eaten and washed up from dinner. Honestly, it was a miracle that they managed to last that long before getting the call. The news was keeping people updated and more people were ending up in hospital or getting arrested.

“You need to stop!” Bobby shouted. “Turn that thing off! Sir! You cannot dig here!” The man in the excavator ignored him. “No! Everybody back!” Bobby instructed as the 118 ran back to the engine for cover. There was an explosion and then the gazebo and excavator were on fire. The 118 went back to the man in the excavator with their hoses to get the fire under control.

“They never call before they dig.” Hen tutted.

They put the fire out and made their way back to the firehouse again. Buck was ready to crawl into bed but they had chores to complete before he could do that.

“You find it weird that all the cases are solo acts? No teams. Everybody’s working alone.” Eddie commented as he cleaned the wheels and tyres.

“I guess people are greedy, don’t want to share the treasure.” Buck suggested as he wiped down the outside of the engine.

“Maybe that’s the flaw in their plan. Two brains are better than one. What if we worked on it together, we wouldn’t even have to split the money.” Eddie offered.

“Sorry, I, uh, already made a deal with Taylor. Although, we’d still have two point five million between us.”

“That’s fine. I did say you’re allowed to have a life outside of me.” Eddie smiled.

“I know but I still feel bad. When we were all talking earlier, you didn’t sound particularly interested in looking for the treasure.” Buck added. Eddie stood up and moved to wrap his arms around Buck.

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me.” Buck smiled and allowed himself to sink into the embrace.

Chapter Text

Buck and Eddie had been more than ready to go home after the chaos of the calls being brought in by the treasure hunters. “Are we still okay to have the boys tonight?” Bobby checked.

“Yes, of course. Christopher loves his weekly sleepovers at Grandpa and Gigi’s house.” Eddie smiled.

“I’m sure Matthew would agree with his big brother if he could talk.” Buck added.

“Thank you. It’s the highlight of our week. Not that it’s boring the rest of the time but we treasure the time we have with the boys.” Bobby replied. Buck and Eddie beamed at him. He was truly meant to be a grandpa and Buck was only too grateful to have Bobby in his life as a father figure.

“Trust me, you’re doing us both a favour.” Buck laughed. Eddie rolled his eyes but looked at his boyfriend fondly. They knew how lucky they were to have so many great people around them. They had a great support network when it came to themselves and the boys.

"We'll bring them over about half four so we get to spend some time with Chris after school." Eddie stated.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Bobby offered.

"We'd never turn down your cooking, Cap." Buck smiled. They said their goodbyes, he and Eddie linked hands as they headed to Eddie's truck.

Their first stop was picking Matthew up from Abuela's house. They knew how lucky they were to have her so close by. Eddie would have been lost without her when he first moved to LA. Things were different now that he had Buck and the rest of the 118 but he would never stop depending on her. Buck was in awe of the relationship Eddie had with Isabel. Probably because, with the exception of Maddie, he wasn't very close to any of his family. "There they are." Isabel smiled, pulling first Buck then Eddie into a hug. Matthew was on his hands and knees, wiggling about in preparation for starting to crawl. He just hadn't quite got there yet.

"Won't be long now, will it?" Buck commented, watching their youngest.

"Not at all. I would say he's likely to start crawling in the next week. You'll never know a moment's peace again between a crawling baby and Christopher." Isabel laughed. As soon as Matthew spotted his dad's, he moved so that he was sitting down again and held his arms up. Buck got there first and happily scooped Matthew into his arms.

"Hi, baby boy. We missed you." He cooed, pressing a kiss to Matthew's head. Matthew just smiled at him. Buck fussed over him for a few more minutes before handing him to Eddie. Eddie just watched Buck fondly. He'd never imagined things working out like this when he moved to LA and was only too grateful for every moment he got to spend with his family. Eddie then took Matthew and they followed Isabel's lead and sat down.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you both about." She began.

"Okay." Buck accepted.

"That sounds rather ominous." Eddie commented.

"I've decided that in the next few months, I'm going to be moving back to El Paso." Isabel stated.

"Oh." Eddie visibly deflated.

"I'm not getting any younger and I don't want to have to depend on you for things when you're busy with work and your little family. It's not a decision that I've made lightly. To be honest, if you two hadn't gotten together and expanded the family, I don't think I'd even be considering it but you have a great support system in place now and you don't need me around as much as you used to." Isabel explained.

"I understand. You need to be around Dad and everyone who can support you the way you need. LA will feel a little less like home without you here, though." Eddie frowned.

"You've got to do what's best for you. It'll certainly mean we'll be coming down to El Paso more often to see everyone." Buck added.

"Pepa will be staying here so you'll still have some support from the family, just not as much." Isabel commented. Eddie passed Matthew back to Buck so that he could give his Abuela a hug.

“I understand your reasoning, but none of the 118 mean as much to us as you do. Just don’t tell any of them I said that.” Buck laughed.

“They’d better not.”

“Have you had a good afternoon?” Athena asked as Buck, Eddie, Christopher and Matthew arrived.

“We went to the park and then we got ice cream.” Christopher smiled.

“What about school?” Bobby asked.

“School wasn’t as fun as ice cream.” Christopher replied. Everyone laughed.

“Kid’s got a point.” Eddie chuckled. He was still feeling a little down about Isabel telling them she would be moving back to El Paso but he was determined not to let that affect the time he was spending with his family. Even though they knew they needed to break the news to Christopher somehow. Tonight was not the night.

"I take it you still have room for lasagne?" Bobby asked.

"Always." Chris smiled.

"I could have eaten a five course meal and would always make room for your cooking." Buck laughed.

"I know you're joking but I fully believe you could do that, Buckaroo." Athena commented, pulling him into a hug.

In no time, the six of them were sitting around the table, Matthew in his highchair, and enjoying the lasagne. Buck was alternating between feeding himself and feeding Matthew. They'd started him on solids as soon as he'd turned six months and he loved his food, just like his Papa. They had yet to find something that he wouldn’t eat. Buck and Eddie both loved the time they spent with Bobby and Athena and their boys. One of the things Eddie missed about El Paso was his family. Sitting down to eat with his Mama, Dad and both his sisters. It was one of the reasons they spent as much time as they did with Isabel. Everyone was quiet at the table for a change, too busy concentrating on the food to talk. Once dinner was over, Buck and Eddie helped to clear the table and then bid goodbye for the night. They knew the boys were in safe hands.

“It’s still fifty fifty, right?” Taylor checked. “You guys get to share your half and I’m splitting mine with my cameraman.”

“Yeah.” Buck agreed. They were currently standing in the half packed Diaz kitchen. Matthew and Christopher were having their weekly sleepover at Bobby and Athena’s. Taylor turned back to the map they had spread across the table with pins in it.

“We’re missing something.” She stated.

“I did some research on the whole willow tree thing. Do you guys know there’s something called arroyo willow?” Eddie asked.

“It’s not a tree.” Buck replied.

“More like a shrub.” Taylor added.

“Hard to stop beneath it.” They said at the same time.

“Okay, I’ll just be over here, then. Thinking. By myself. Go team.” Eddie commented, taking a long swig of his beer.

“We still have too many options. We need more data to rule some of these out.” Taylor said.

“Well, I think we know a guy.” Buck smirked, looking at Eddie. Eddie nodded in agreement.

“We’ll talk to Ravi when we’re next on shift together. As much as I would like to go and talk to him tomorrow, I have to admit I’m looking forward to spending some time with our family." Eddie added.

"Okay, as soon as you know anything more, let me know." Taylor stated.

"Will do." Buck agreed. It wasn't much longer before Taylor left and Buck and Eddie were alone.

"I thought she'd never leave." Eddie sighed.

"I know you don't really like her." Buck shrugged.

"That's not why I wanted her to leave." He smirked. Buck smiled and allowed Eddie to lead him to their bedroom. They loved it when Bobby and Athena had the boys for the night.