Chapter Text
Phillip and Margaret Buckley had built the perfect life.
Two bright children, a girl and a boy, both full of happiness and intelligent to boot. A wonderful house in a great suburb outside of Philadelphia. Phillip had a great job in the city that more than paid for everything. Margaret led several clubs and women’s events and was always willing to go the extra mile for her neighbors.
And then Daniel got sick.
Suddenly, their picturesque world they’d built for themselves came crumbling down.
At first, they tried to operate like nothing had changed. Margaret still hosted her clubs and events, but not as often. Phillip looked more stressed in the office, but never truly showed his cards. Maddie continued to attend school, but it was clear that the dark cloud over their house was affecting her, and she brought home a B for the first time.
And Daniel? He knew it was all his fault. But he was just a child and there was nothing he could do to change anything.
Finally, the family had to admit that something was wrong. They’d been in and out of the hospital enough for people to put two and two together and realize that someone in the perfect Buckley family was sick.
It was after genetic testing that the Buckley’s learned that none of them were a match for Daniel. Margaret had sobbed in the doctor’s office. Phillip started asking for options. And one was found.
They always kept the nature of Margaret’s pregnancy to themselves. After all, Daniel was sick, but here they were, bringing another child into the world. When people found out, they just claimed that it was a surprise and left it at that.
It was at their 20 week appointment that they discovered that Margaret wasn’t pregnant with just one child, but twins. They were quickly warned that because the twins were fraternal, it was possible for only one to be the genetic match they needed for Daniel. They worried for weeks, but there would be no way to know which child could or would be the match.
They hoped it would be the girl.
At the birth, Eloise was the first born. She was loud almost immediately, making herself known to the world. On the other hand, Evan was quiet. Sure, he cried, but it was almost like he knew his sister was the life of the party, so he should let her be loud.
Within days, they discovered that, as suspected, only one twin was a match to Daniel. While looking in at the twins from the window of the NICU, Margaret lamented the news.
“Why couldn’t it have been Eloise? Why Evan? He will grow up to be a near perfect match to Daniel.” She continued to quietly complain to her husband. After all, they’d only ever planned on two children. They could stretch their plans for three, especially if it meant that Daniel would be there. Four children? That wasn’t possible.
“What should we do, Phillip? We don’t need both babies.”
Meanwhile, one of the NICU volunteers overheard the Buckley’s in the hall, making plans to separate the twins and simply send the unwanted one straight into the foster care system. She was unnerved at them making decisions so callously, especially when others who would have loved to meet such a beautiful child could potentially be in earshot. Like herself, who could never have children.
It was only when she overheard Margaret saying that the castoff shouldn’t have their name that the volunteer made a decision.
Thirty six hours later, Clara Donato and her newborn daughter Lucy were leaving Pennsylvania forever.
The Buckley’s had played the heartbroken parents to the police, of course. They’d just lost a child to kidnapping. But at the same time, they were happy that they hadn’t actually told Maddie and Daniel that they were having two children.
The siblings would never need to know.
If all the rumors about the 118 were true, Lucy Donato was in for a good time.
The resident daredevil of the 145 had constantly been called the “female Evan Buckley” of the LAFD ever since she finished the academy three years prior. Just from some quick Youtube searches, she could see why, and approved of the comparisons.
She loved doing rope rescues, getting close to danger, doing the “stunts” that made her captain regret delaying retirement for that extra year. But it was the thrill of adventure that kept her going.
Lucy had grown up with her mom, with full knowledge that she had been adopted. She didn’t know who her birth parents were, nor did she care. Her mother had done her best to give her the world, and Lucy would be repaying her for the rest of her life.
Especially now, four years after her untimely death.
Every day, she promised to make her mother proud, and this temporary transfer to the 118 was just another step in doing so.
Of course, she really should have watched her steps, since she ran right into someone while he was letting herself have an inner-monologue.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I was-” Her voice caught in her throat. The man she almost knocked over was the man the entire LAFD all swore was her twin, considering just how they acted. “Buckley?”
He gave her a quick half smile, a point in the direction of the locker room and Captain Nash’s office, and then turned and sprinted away, directly over to the workout equipment. Lucy was left in an almost state of shock. This was the man the LAFD compared her to?
“Weird.”
“Sorry for him, he’s had a hard few months,” another woman said, approaching from the open ambulance. “How can I help you?”
Oh good, someone still had manners. “I’m Lucy Donato from the 145-”
“Oh, Buck’s clone when he’s not being moody, I’ve heard about you!”
“I’m here to cover for the next few weeks.” She finished, letting a soft smile settle across her face.
“Let me show you around,” the other woman said. “My name is Hen Wilson, lead paramedic for the 118. Don’t worry about Buck. Like I said, he’s had a time of it.”
Yes, Lucy decided. She could make this work.