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“I’m guessing Eddie decided not to come?” Bobby asks when they’re all sitting down.
Buck sighs softly, and he shakes his head. “I don’t know. I sent him a message and he never responded,” Buck says, and shrugs his shoulders. He hates that Eddie hasn’t been hanging out with the 118 ever since he left the 118. Things haven’t been the same since he left, and Buck hates it.
“How’re things at home?” Bobby asks curiously.
“They’re okay, but I can tell Eddie isn’t happy. Even Christopher is starting to notice Eddie’s changed,” Buck says. “And I don’t want Christopher to start worrying. That kid’s got enough to worry about.”
“Who’s Eddie?” Lucy asks curiously as she takes a sip of her alcoholic beverage.
“He used to be one of our firefighters, but he recently quit the job because of his kid,” Bobby explains. “And he’s Buck’s boyfriend. We go to Buck whenever we want updates on Eddie since he hasn’t been answering any of our texts or calls.”
Buck nods. “Maybe he’ll show up tonight by some miracle and you’ll get to meet him.”
“He sounds cool,” Lucy says, nodding towards Buck. She looks over at Bobby curiously. “I’m curious. You let firefighters date each other on your team? Isn’t that against a policy or something?
“I guess it depends on the fire captain. Buck and Eddie are very professional when they’re on the job, and trust me, we had a long discussion when I first found out that they were seeing each other. I wouldn’t let either of them on my team if I thought they were going to be unprofessional.”
Buck grins as Bobby stands up for his and Eddie’s relationship. It’s not the first time someone has questioned Bobby letting two firefighters date each other. Buck looks over when he suddenly feels a pair of eyes on him, and he lets up when he sees Eddie standing at the front. They lock eyes with each other. But before Buck can wave him over, Eddie turns and walks out of the bar.
“Shit,” Buck curses out loud suddenly, earning his teammates attention. “Uh, excuse me-” He stands from his chair, and hurries to the exit, and follows Eddie out to his car. “Eddie! Hey, wait-”
Eddie sighs, and turns to look at Buck. “Look, I’m sorry Buck, but it was a mistake coming here…”
“But why?” Buck asks, frowning. “We wanted you to be here tonight.”
“Seems like you were getting along just fine without me,” Eddie argues.
“What are you talking about?” Buck asks, throwing his arms up.
“Did- Did Bobby already replace me?” Eddie asks as he stares at Buck directly.
“What are you- no, he hasn’t replaced you. Why do you think-” Buck stops, and he lets out a laugh. “Eddie, you silly boy, that girl isn’t your replacement. She’s from another house. She just helped us with the case we just did. Her name’s Lucy. We were celebrating.”
“Oh,” Eddie breathes, and runs a hand through his hair. “Right.”
“But-” Buck stops closer to Eddie. “You know he is going to have to replace you eventually.”
“I know, and I know it’s been a few weeks already. I just- I’m dreading the day he does replace me.”
“Yeah, me too.” Buck chuckles. He reaches over and he grabs Eddie’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Hey, are you alright? You haven’t- You haven’t really been yourself lately. Christopher’s starting to worry.”
“I’m fine. Christopher doesn’t need to worry about me, and neither do you, or anyone else. I’m just trying to adjust to this new… life, I guess,” Eddie says.
Buck nods, seeming to understand. “Well, you don’t have to bottle things up. You know I’m here, and so are the others. Can you please come inside? They miss you.”
Eddie lets out a soft laugh. “Are you sure, Buck? I don’t want to intrude on anything…”
“You’re not intruding if I’m inviting you in,” Buck says, grinning. He leans forward and kisses Eddie once, before leading the way inside. Buck has a bright smile on his face as he leads Eddie to their table, because he’s missed Eddie joining their hangouts. “Hey, look who I found.”
Bobby looks up and grins when he sees Eddie with Buck. “It’s about time.” He stands up to greet Eddie.
“Sorry,” Eddie apologizes as he pulls away from Bobby’s hug, and he immediately goes to hug Hen. “Didn’t mean to make you guys worry or anything.”
“We worry about you anyways,” Hen says. “I mean, look who you’re dating.”
“Hey!” Buck shouts, and then he looks over at Lucy. “Oh, Eddie. This is Lucy. Lucy, this is Eddie.”
Lucy stands, and shakes Eddie’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Eddie. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Good things I hope?” Eddie asks.
“Come on, Eddie. Would we ever say anything bad about you?” Buck asks, stepping closer to Eddie and gently resting his chin on Eddie’s shoulder.
Eddie glances at Buck and shakes his head. “Is it too late to go home?”
“Yes,” Buck says, and he pulls Eddie over to the table, placing him in one of the chairs. Eddie doesn’t protest.