Work Text:
“Dad, are you going to be okay?”
Eddie lifts his head up and sees Christopher standing in the bathroom doorway. Eddie hates it when Christopher worries about him. He’s too young to worry like this. “Yeah, bud. I’m going to be fine,”
“But, you’re sick?” Christopher argues.
“People get sick all the time, Chris. No big deal. I’ll feel better in no time,” Eddie tries to assure him, though it’s a weak argument, and Eddie doesn’t even really believe it himself.
Christopher doesn’t seem to believe him. “Okay,” he finally says, and leaves Eddie alone.
Eddie sighs once he’s alone, and leans against the bathtub. He digs his phone out of his pocket, and heads to his contacts. His thumb hovers Bobby’s name. He knows he needs to call off, he just hates disappointing anyone, and he knows Bobby will be disappointed in him for calling off.
“Fuck,” Eddie mumbles, and shoves his phone back into his pocket. He’s just going to have to suck it up, just like his father always told him when he was growing up. He stands up from the tiled bathroom floor he’s been sitting on. He walks over to the sink and cleans himself up.
Eddie needs to make himself look presentable so Buck or anyone else won’t worry about him at work. Buck already worries about him enough, and he doesn’t even know that Eddie’s an omega.
“Christopher, did you eat all of your breakfast?” Eddie shouts as he walks into the kitchen.
“Yes, dad!”
“Got your lunch?”
“Yes, dad!”
Eddie chuckles at Christopher’s reply, and glances around the kitchen, and then he starts feeling dizzy. Eddie grips onto the counter tightly, and before he knows it, he’s slowly falling down to the floor, and everything goes black, just as Christopher is walking into the kitchen.
“Dad!” Christopher cries, panicked, as soon as he sees his dad on the floor, passed out. He hurries as fast as he can over to him. “Dad, wake up!” He shakes him a few times, but Eddie remains as he is.
Christopher looks around, not knowing what to do. There’s no one else around. He hesitates, before reaching over and grabbing Eddie’s phone. He does the one thing he knows how to do, dial 9-1-1.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“M- My dad passed out!” Christopher cries.
“Christopher?”
Christopher blinks, and then he instantly recognizes May’s voice. “May!”
“Christopher, what’s going on? You- You said your dad passed out?” May asks, remaining calm.
“We- We were getting ready for school, and- and he just passed out! I knew he wasn’t telling the truth when he told me he wasn’t sick,” Christopher complains.
“Christopher, is your dad breathing?” May asks.
“Yeah,” Christopher replies instantly. “I think he just passed out.”
“Alright. I’m gonna send some help, okay? They’ll be there in a few minutes, and I’ll be on the phone, okay? You let me know if anything changes. I know you’re probably scared, but it’s gonna be fine.”
“Okay,” Christopher says quietly. “You promise?”
“I promise.”
May sends a text to Buck as she’s on the phone with Christopher.
may:
i’m on the phone with christopher. eddie’s hurt. i just sent an alert to you guys.
buck:
WHAT?!?!
may:
i need you to be calm when you arrive at their house, buck. christopher’s freaking out right now.
“How are you doing Christopher?”
“Scared.”
“That’s alright. Help is on the way. Your dad is going to be just fine.”
Buck’s heart is pounding against his chest as they pull up to the familiar house. Hen is currently saying something to him, but Buck isn’t really listening to what she’s saying, probably telling Buck that he needs to be professional even though it’s Eddie they’re dealing with. Eddie and Christopher.
As soon as the truck is parked, Buck hops out and runs straight for the house, not even waiting for Bobby to give instructions. Eddie is in there, and he needs help. Buck isn’t waiting.
“Buck!” Bobby shouts after him, but Buck ignores him.
Buck runs into the house, and instantly spots Christopher and Eddie in the kitchen. “Oh, thank God. Christopher!” He hurries over to the little boy, who’s clearly in distress.
“Bucky!” Christopher exclaims, abandoning the phone even though he’s still on call May.
Buck runs over to make sure he’s okay. “It’s okay, bud. We’re gonna help your dad. He’s gonna be okay.” The others come in quickly, and luckily it’s not long before Eddie starts waking up.
“You’re such a Goddamn idiot, Eddie. You’re supposed to be a Beta. Beta’s take care of themselves,” Buck says as he stays beside Eddie as Hen works with him.
“Dad isn’t a Beta,” Christopher says, surprising the whole team.
“What?” Buck asks, blinking at Christopher.
“Dad’s an Omega.”
“I- no. That’s not- He’s not an Omega, Christopher,” Buck says, shaking his head.
“Buck,” Hen breathes, which makes Buck worry even more.. “I need you to go to Eddie’s bathroom and look for a bottle of suppressants,” Hen says seriously.
“Hen-”
“Now,” Hen demands. “Let me know if you find anything.”
“Should you really be telling Buck to go through Eddie’s personal things, Hen?” Bobby asks.
“This could be a life or death situation, so yes,” Hen replies snappily.
Buck hesitates, before running to Eddie’s bathroom. He looks all around Eddie’s bathroom for any signs of suppressants. Then, he finally finds a bottle hidden in the back of Eddie’s bathroom drawer. Buck takes a deep breath as he reaches for the bottle. He sees Eddie Diaz printed on the bottle.
Eddie’s an omega.
Eddie’s been lying to them this whole time. He’s not a beta. He’s an omega.
Buck should have known. But how could he? Eddie told them that he was a beta, and Buck believed him. He never showed any signs of acting like an omega.
Buck turns, and walks out of the bathroom. He goes to the kitchen where Hen and Chimney are still working on Eddie. Hen looks up, and freezes when she sees Buck holding a pill bottle.
“Don’t tell me-”
“Suppressants,” Buck confirms. “Eddie’s name is on here.”
“Holy sh-” Chimney quickly stops himself, remembering that Christopher is present, and Eddie would not be very happy if he swore in front of his kid. “Crap. So, Eddie’s an omega?”
“Why would he lie?” Hen asks.
“I’m sure he had a good reason. We’ll talk to him about it when he’s conscious,” Bobby says, serious.
Buck sighs sadly, and then he looks over to see Eddie now slowly waking up. He sets the suppressants on the counter, and moves so that he’s crouched down beside Eddie. “Eddie?”
Eddie blinks, looking confused as he starts to wake more. “What’s going on?” He groans.
“Dad!” Christopher exclaims as soon as he hears Eddie talking.
“Welcome back to the world, Eddie,” Bobby says. “You had us worried for a moment there.”
Eddie frowns as he looks over at Bobby with confusion, and then he sees everyone else there as well. “What- What are you guys doing here? Am I dreaming? What the hell is going on?”
“You passed out,” Hen tells him. “Christopher called 911.”
Eddie bolts up, and looks over at Christopher. “Oh, God. Christopher, I’m so sorry.” He holds his arm out, and allows Christopher to hug him tightly. “I didn’t think it would get this bad. I’m sorry you had to go through that, buddy. Can you forgive me?”
“Only if you forgive me.”
“Huh?” Eddie asks, looking down at Christopher.
“We have a lot of talking to do, Eddie,” Buck says, frowning at the omega.
“Christopher might have accidentally spilled the beans about you being an omega,” Hen explains.
“Oh,” Eddie breathes, and holds onto Christopher tighter. “Oh, that.”
“We can talk about that later,” Bobby quickly assures him. “Let’s just make sure you’re alright.”
“And you’re not coming to work, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Hen adds.
Eddie groans, but he doesn’t say anything, because he knows no matter how much he protests, they’re not going to let him leave the house, especially after passing out from exhaustion.
Hen looks over Eddie, only giving him the okay when she’s sure he’s not going to pass out again.
Eddie has to call Christopher’s school to let him know that he won’t be going in today.
Buck is the last of the 118 in Eddie’s house.
“Go on.”
“How could you keep this from me, Eddie?” Buck asks.
“Buck, it’s not just you I kept it from. I didn’t tell anyone. Christopher only knows because he’s my kid, but he promised that he wouldn’t tell anyone,” Eddie says. “He doesn’t really understand much though.”
Buck frowns. “Eddie, come on. It’s really shitty that you had Christopher keep that promise.”
“I was just doing what I thought was right, more safe. Omega’s aren’t treated fairly, and there are still a lot of traditional alpha’s who make sure omega’s are treated as inferior to them. I can’t live a life like that. So, suppressants were my only other option,” Eddie explains.
Buck scoffs. “Well, you won’t be taking any more suppressants. That’s for damn sure.”
“Says who? You aren’t my alpha. You can’t make that decision,” Eddie snaps.
“Eddie-” Buck begins as he steps closer to Eddie, reaching out to grab his hand.
“No!” Eddie shouts angrily, stepping back away from Buck. “You can’t just come in here and tell me how to live my life just because you know I’m an omega now!”
“Suppressants are dangerous! They’ve killed omega’s before! You’ve seen the cases!” Buck shouts. “What’s going to happen when you become one of those omega’s? Have you thought about Christopher? Fuck, Eddie! I can’t lose you!”
Eddie’s eyes widen as he stares at Buck. “Wh- What?”
Buck takes a deep breath as he stares at Eddie. “I love you, Eddie. I’m in love with you.”
“No, I- You can’t-”
“Yes,” Buck breathes. “I’m telling you the truth, Eddie.”
“Buck, I-” Eddie laughs. “God, I’ve been in love with you since the day we met!”
Buck grins, and steps closer to Eddie once more. “Guess we’ve both been idiots.”
“Yeah,” Eddie whispers, never taking his eyes away from Buck’s once. He grabs a hold of Buck and pulls him in for a passionate kiss. They kiss for a long moment, and only pull away when they hear Christopher’s voice. Eddie looks over and sees Christopher standing there. “Christopher-”
“Does this mean Bucky is your alpha now?” Christopher asks with excitement.
Eddie laughs, and leans his head against Buck’s chest, relaxing. “We’ve got a lot to talk about, bud.”
Buck smiles, and wraps an arm around Eddie protectively. “Hey, you did really well today, Christopher, looking after your dad like that. I’m proud of you. You did everything right.”
“I promise it won’t happen again,” Eddie swears. “But, thank you for what you did, Christopher.”
Buck scoffs. “I know it won’t happen again. I’m not going to let anything like that happen to you again.”