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It wasn’t every day that the 118 had a visiting captain come to visit, let alone one with a history as decorated as Owen Strand. When Bobby announced that Captain Strand of Austin 126 would be coming to consult with them for a few days, there was a general feeling of excitement.
Buck was excited for a different reason. After their time in Texas fighting against the wildfires, he and TK Strand had kept in contact. They texted whenever they were on shift about their days, whether they’d had any crazy rescuers, and their time off. At least once a week they tried to do a facetime together, which is how Buck met Carlos, TK’s better half. They’d become fast friends in the months since that trip.
As soon as the announcement was made, Buck sent off a text to TK, asking if he was in the know, but didn’t get an answer back immediately. He pushed it off, as that was normal if they were busy with a rescue or with family. Instead, he moved to start his chores.
Eddie had, of course, noticed his partner’s reaction to the news. He was aware of Buck’s friendship with TK and Carlos, but always managed to unintentionally miss any of their conversations. He had the same thought as Buck, would TK be coming as well?
Their question was answered a short few hours later, on account of an earlier flight being taken. Buck was in the middle of washing the ladder truck when he heard his name being called from the bay doors.
“Hey Buck!”
He turned away from the truck to see three people walking into the station, and sprinted over. Bobby beat him to greeting Owen, so Buck did the next best thing and pulled TK into a tight hug, before doing the same to Carlos.
“Welcome to LA! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming with?” Buck asked, laughing.
TK shrugged. “Because we were waiting to see if Carlos had the leave. If not, I would’ve let you know ahead of time. It was a surprise!”
“Well, it’s a welcome one. Glad to finally meet you in person, Officer Reyes,” Buck said with some cheek. The officer gave him his patented ‘TK eyeroll.’
“Do not even start, Buckley. We both know you can be just as bad as him,” Carlos snarked.
Within a few minutes, the rest of the 118 had come to join them, cutting off their conversation. It quickly came out that TK and Carlos weren’t actually here to work. Instead, they were on a short vacation, and what better place to take that than Los Angeles.
Buck easily found himself offering to play tour guide for their visit. Carlos had declined, only because they had their schedule planned, but they wouldn’t mind if he and Eddie came with, especially on their beach day.
After a quick glancing consult, Buck agreed to come, with Eddie asking if they minded if Christopher joined in. It was an instant yes, as both men had heard many stories about the young Diaz.
Two days later found their group of five on a small beach away from the masses. It was one that Buck had found during his first year in California. The coast was calm where they were, but there was no one around to bother them, which worked well for all of them.
While the two vacationers headed straight for the water, Buck helped Eddie set up their tent to protect themselves from the sun. Christopher was content to start building a sand castle about halfway down the beach, close enough to get wet sand, but far enough away that it wouldn’t ruin his building. He was still somewhat weary of the ocean, as was Buck, and both had decided to keep to dry land, unless they went in together. They’d set up a little tent just for him, and slathered him in sunscreen, so he was all set.
Eddie did join TK and Carlos in the water for a bit, forming the same fast friendship that Buck had already formed. After about an hour, they headed back to shore to cool off.
Apparently, it was a bit too late for one of them.
Though he’d been in the Texas heat for over two years, there was nothing quite like the dry California sun. If someone isn’t careful enough, it was very possible to get dehydrated quickly. And it turns out that for the New York native, dehydration leads to delirium.
When TK started talking nonsense, Eddie and Carlos made the decision to bring him back to shore as fast as possible. He was muttering about sea turtles attacking him and chasing away Marlon Blendo.
Eddie did not want context for that, thank you very much.
Buck had been laying back in the shade when TK was basically dragged under the tent. He scrambled up and pulled their first aid kid towards them, all the while looking to see where the injury was.
“He’s not hurt, Buck,” Eddie said, pulling out their ice packs and a few bottles of water. “Just overheated.”
While TK was talking to his makeshift pillow as if it was the 126’s station dog Buttercup, Buck realized something. While Carlos and Eddie had both come back to the tent several times to drink some water, TK didn’t. And they hadn’t really noticed, because whenever one was at the tent, the other would check in with Christopher, now on his eighth turret (with a giant water bottle sitting next to him, less than half full now).
It took a bit, but Eddie, with help from Carlos and Buck, got TK cooled down and rehydrated. And when they did…
“You are such a northern city boy. The sun is a thing not to be trifled with!” Buck teased. TK resisted rolling his eyes, his headache wouldn’t like it. It was probably one of the hardest things he’d done lately.
“You’re from Pennsylvania! You can’t talk about being a northerner like it’s an insult!”
“Yes, yes he can,” said Carlos. “Because he at least has been drinking water and not hallucinating being attacked by snapping turtles.”
“Sea turtles, Mr. Carlos,” Christopher pipped up. He’d come back to the tent to see what all the commotion was all about, and was now happily eating a sandwich with the four men.
Eddie chuckled from next to Chris. Now that he wasn’t worrying about TK falling over and dying, he was taking a moment to breathe. “And can you explain to me the Marlon Blendo thing?”
“Um, no. Stop bothering me. I have a headache.”