Work Text:
Buck is halfway through breakfast when his phone rings. Glancing down to check the caller ID, he swipes his finger across the screen to answer the call.
“Hey Eddie, what’s up?”
“Chris's school just called. They asked if I could pick him up.”
“Oh.” Buck drops his spoon back into his bowl. “Is he okay?”
He catches Eddie’s sigh through the tiny speakers of his phone. It’s been a long week for both of them with the station short staffed. Usually their shifts match up, but the team has been moved around to cover the gaps, so Eddie’s just going into a shift and Buck has just come off one.
“They said he’s running a low-grade fever,” Eddie says, hesitating before speaking again. “Look, I can’t get off work to pick him up. There are too many people out, Bobby can’t afford to let me go.”
“I could cover for you,” Buck offers quickly, already rising from his seat to put his bowl in the sink. “I’m back at my place, but I could probably be there in thirty minutes.”
“Actually—” Eddie hesitates again. “I was hoping you could go get Chris from school and watch him for me. It’s just — I can’t afford to give up the shift right now.”
“I—are you sure?” Buck asks. He heads upstairs to his room, switching the call to loudspeaker while he changes out of the sweats he’d been lounging around in and finds his shoes. “I don’t know how to look after a sick kid, Eds.”
“It’s not that hard. You watch Chris when I’m at work all the time. Plus, you can actually cook chicken noodle soup rather than heat it from a can,” Eddie’s voice is teasing over the phone. “You’ll be fine, Buck. I’ve already told his school to expect you. There’s some kid’s cold and flu medication in the bathroom and pedialyte blocks in the freezer if you need them.”
“Eddie—"
The echo of the station alarm cuts him off.
“I’ve gotta go,” Eddie says, hurried this time. “My shift ends at eight AM but call me if you have any issues.”
The line goes dead and Buck is left there, standing in the middle of the loft with his jeans hanging off one leg. He quickly finishes dressing and grabs his keys and wallet from the kitchen counter on his way out.
He doesn't get much time to panic over how ill-equipped he is to take care of a sick kid on the drive across town. The worst of the morning traffic has already eased and Buck makes good time over to Chris’s school. He parks as close as he can to the front office when he arrives and jogs into the building.
“Hi, I’m here to pick up Christopher Diaz,” he tells the woman at the front desk. “His dad, Eddie Diaz, said he let you guys know I was coming.” He digs out his ID to confirm he’s on the authorised pick-up list and signs the slip that says he’s taking Chris out of school. Once he’s done, he’s shown through to the school infirmary.
“Hey buddy.” Buck sits on the edge of the cot and strokes Chris’s hair back from his sweaty face. “I heard you weren’t feeling so great, so I’ve come to spring you.”
“Buck?” Chris rolls over, blinking up at him.
“Yeah, kiddo.”
“Where’s Dad?”
Buck feels his heart breaking, just a little. “He’s working, bud.” His hands settles on Chris’s back. “But we can call him when we get home.” He spots Chris’s backpack and crutches by the wall and stands to retrieve them. “What do you think?” he asks, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. “Ready to get out of here?”
Chris nods and slowly sits up.
“Alright, I parked just outside,” Buck tells Chris, his crutches clutched in one hand. “You want to walk, or do you want me to carry you?” He waits, letting Chris make up his mind.
After a moment, Chris reaches for his crutches. “I can walk,” he mumbles, and they head out to the Jeep.
~
Chris is quiet on the drive back. Buck helps him inside once they get back to the house, directing Chris to sit on his bed before kneeling to pull off the kid’s sneakers.
“Which pajamas do you want?” he asks, moving to search Chris’s closet. “If we’re going to spend the day on the couch, we may as well get comfy.”
“Can I have the dinosaur ones?” Chris asks, pointing to the top shelf.
“Good choice.” Buck pulls out the pajamas and passes them over. “Yell out if you need a hand, I’m going to go set up the couch and grab a few things.”
He leaves Chris’s room to find the thermometer and the children’s Tylenol in the bathroom, taking them with him to the kitchen. He fills Chris’s favourite mug with water before taking everything out into the living room.
“Buck, can you help?”
Returning to Chris’s bedroom, Buck finds the ten-year-old struggling to pull his pajama top over his head.
“Hang on, you’ve caught yourself on your glasses,” he says, grinning as he helps Chris untangle himself and together they get the shirt pulled down. “Okay, do you need anything else from here before we head out to the living room?”
Nodding, Chris reaches for the koala plushie they’d picked up a few months ago at the zoo.
"Okay, I'm ready."
As the morning rolls on into the afternoon, some of Buck’s panic starts to ease a bit. Chris’s fever comes down once Buck convinces him to take the cherry flavoured medicine and they spend the rest of the morning working their way through the kid’s movie catalogue on Netflix.
Chris, as it turns out, is clingy when he’s sick. He curls into Buck’s side, squirming in under his arm and resting his head against Buck’s chest. It should be uncomfortable— the corner of his glasses pokes into Buck’s ribs— but somehow he finds himself dozing off with the TV playing softly in the background.
When he wakes, it’s almost midday. Chris is still sleeping, so Buck carefully untangles himself and heads into the kitchen.
Eddie finally responds to Buck’s many text messages while he’s making lunch, asking how everything is going. Buck sends Eddie a picture of Chris asleep on the couch tucked up in his blanket, his koala clutched in his arms.
His phone rings less than a minute later.
“Hey.” Buck steps back into the kitchen, keeping his voice low to avoid waking Chris. “How’s work?”
“Busy. How is your day? How’s Chris?”
“He’s doing okay,” Buck says, turning to lean against the kitchen counter. “He’s still got a bit of a temp so you should probably keep him home again tomorrow.” He lets out a long breath. “I am so far out of my depth right now, Eds.”
“You’re doing fine.” Eddie’s voice is warm and reassuring, but it’s not the same because he’s not here where Buck wants him. “It's not like you haven’t taken care of Chris on your own before. This is exactly the same— just with more sleeping. Relax, okay? You’ve got this.”
“I’ll relax when you get home,” Buck murmurs, turning to adjust the heat on the stove. “I miss you. Chris misses you too.”
Eddie laughs. “It’s been five hours since we last saw each other.”
“I know but— hang on—” Buck peeks his head out the kitchen door. “Chris is awake. Do you want to talk to him?”
“Yeah, put him on.”
“Hey, bud.” Buck crosses the room to perch on the coffee table. “Your dad’s on the phone. He wants to talk to you.” He hands the cellphone over and heads back to the kitchen to finish lunch. He catches snatches of the one sided conversation as he pours tomato soup into two mugs and sets them down to cool while he makes toast.
“Yeah, Dad, Bucky’s taking good care of me. We’re watching movies.”
Buck grins, his heart swelling with affection for the kid. He quickly butters the toast, cutting it into triangles then carries everything out into the living room.
Chris glances up. “I love you too, Dad. Yeah? Okay, bye.”
Putting the plate down to free up a hand, Buck takes his phone back and carefully hands Chris one of the mugs. Once they’re both settled with their lunch, he reaches for the remote.
“Alright,” he says, navigating back to the Netflix menu. “What are we watching next?”
~
Buck’s eyes snap open at the sound of footsteps in the hall and he rolls over in bed to face the door. A few seconds later, Chris shuffles in, using the wall for balance.
“Hey buddy, can’t sleep?” He can just make out Chris shaking his head in the dim light from the streetlight outside the window.
“I was sick,” Chris mumbles, his voice shaky with unshed tears.
Buck winces in sympathy. “Ah, kiddo, that sucks,” he says, sitting up to turn on the lamp. He beckons Chris over, taking in the kid’s pale complexion in the bright yellow light. “Do you still feel sick?”
Chris shakes his head, tears beginning to spill from his lashes. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” He keeps up the flow of soft soothing words, combing his fingers through Chris’s sweaty curls until the shuddering breaths calm down. “Alright, you wait here. I’ll get you some clean clothes. I’ll be right back, okay?”
Buck ducks out to Chris’s room for a fresh pair of pajamas, stopping at the bathroom to wet a washer with some warm water on the way back. He helps Chris clean up and change and tucks him into Eddie’s bed before going to deal with the mess.
He strips Chris’s bed, throwing everything into the washing machine and gets it started. Crikey the Koala has somehow made it through unscathed, so Buck brings the toy with him back to Eddie’s room.
“Here.” He tucks the toy in with Chris and goes to raid Eddie’s wardrobe for a clean pair of sweats.
Buck climbs in under the covers and Chris immediately turns towards him, burrowing into his side. As the sky outside the window turns a pale pre-dawn grey, Buck drifts off to sleep.
~
“Rough night?”
The bed shifts as someone sits and Buck blinks against the sunlight streaming into the room.
“Hmm?”
Eddie nods towards Chris, sprawled out beside Buck, still dead to the world. “I went past his room and saw his bed’s been stripped.”
“Yeah, it was a long night,” Buck murmurs, turning to face Eddie. “We dealt with it.” He pats the bed, encouraging Eddie to lie down with him. “Glad you’re home though.”
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Eddie says, stretching out beside Buck. “It was your day off and you had to spend it looking after a sick kid.”
“It's fine.” Buck shifts, careful not to wake Chris, and props himself up on an elbow. “Really. I always knew Chris was a part of the package and, to be honest—” he smirks, his tone teasing. “I like him more than you anyway.”