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Early mornings were Buck and Eddie's favorite time together. Lately, it was the only time they had alone, just as the two of them. Both of them had been picking up overtime at work for the upcoming holiday season, rarely seeing each other. One comes home as the other heads out to work. They cherish these sacred moments.
Buck woke first, just as he did every day, Eddie stayed sound asleep on top of Buck's chest. Buck ran his hand softly up and down Eddie’s back, watching as his chest rose and fell in a pattern. Buck matched his own breathing with Eddie’s. Eddie turned his head to face Buck, he buried his head into Buck’s chest as he gradually started to wake. It took him a few minutes before he was alert enough, mumbling a groggy, “morning.”
“How nice of you to finally join me,” Buck smiled down at Eddie who had closed his eyes again.
“Hmm,” was all Eddie managed to get out.
Buck ran his fingers through Eddie’s hair, “Sometimes you are harder to wake up than it is to wake our son.”
“He doesn’t have you as a pillow,” Eddie tightened his grip around Buck’s waist.
“Is that all I am to you? Just your own personal pillow?”
“From my perspective, that’s what you are right now,” all Buck could do was laugh.
The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the peace of being in each other's space. It was as if it was just the two of them and the rest of the world didn’t exist like the Earth only rotated for the two of them. If they were the Earth, Chris was their sun. Chris embodied the sun, a bright light that chased the darkness away, bringing warmth and happiness. With both of their jobs, the two of them had their fair share of darkness. The horrors they would see, the ones that never leave them, the darkness would disappear once Chris showed up. Chris was their patron saint, he was the lighthouse to their stormy sea.
“What time is it?” Eddie asked.
Buck reached over to grab his phone from the nightstand, unplugging it from the charger, “Quarter to five, we have fifteen minutes before Chris gets up. I’ll get a start on breakfast, you go shower.”
“Are you saying I smell?” Eddie sat up, resting his elbows on Buck’s chest.
“No, but you might after your shift.”
Eddie groaned, “Why did I agree to pick up Sam’s shift?”
“Because you love what you do and you wanted to help out your coworker.”
Eddie rolled his eyes before kissing Buck, “Right.”
Eddie rolled off of Buck and got out of bed, heading towards the bathroom. Buck stares as Eddie walks out before getting out of bed himself.
Buck made his way towards the kitchen, pulling out the ingredients needed for loaded scrambled eggs. After he set them down on the counter, he turned towards the coffee pot, making a bigger pot than normal.
Buck got to work on cutting the peppers and onions. Just as he finished cutting the vegetables, Chris came into the kitchen, hair a mess, pajamas wrinkled. Chris stood in the doorway, rubbing at his eyes, rubbing the sleepiness away.
Buck looked up at the sound of Chris’ crutches, “There he is, good morning. How did you sleep, buddy?”
“I slept okay, what’s for breakfast?” Chris sat on one of the chairs facing Buck.
“Loaded scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.” Buck finished chopping up the onion and turned towards the sink, washing the onion smell from them.
“What happened to the French toast we were going to have?” Chris has been asking for French toast all week.
Buck walked over to Chris and kneed in front of him, “We’ll save them for tomorrow when it's just you and me. Remember, dad has a long shift so we won't see him until tomorrow night.”
“I know. Can we have takeout for dinner?” Chris gave Buck his signature smile. They just had takeout last night, but Buck still has a hard time saying no to his son.
Buck smiled back and patted Chris' knee, “Sure, but since you picked last night, I get to pick this time.”
“Fine, but just not Lino’s,” Buck laughed, but then remembered the last time they had it, they all got food poisoning, it was not a fun night at the Buckley-Diaz household.
“Alright no Lino’s.”
Buck stood back up and got back to making breakfast. He quickly got to work mixing everything together, making sure it was properly mixed. Once he was finished he started on the bacon, opened the package, and placed them on the skillet, letting them cook.
“You have a test today, don’t you? History, right? How do you think you’re gonna do?” Buck asked as he poured the egg mixture into a buttered pan, swirling it around to cover the entire thing.
“I’m a little nervous, I didn’t do well on the practice test on Monday.” Chris always hated taking tests.
“You have been studying all week, I think you will do great. Even if you don’t, that’s okay too. It’s just one test.” Buck could never focus long enough when he was taking tests in school.
“Mr. Jones tests are always hard. He never has multiple choice tests.” Buck listened to Chris as he continued making breakfast, flipping the bacon.
“What are we talking about?” Eddie joined the two of them in the kitchen, his hair still a little damp. He had on his light purple scrubs, the one he hardly wears.
“My history test,” Eddie poured himself a cup of coffee, stopping to give Buck a quick kiss before sitting down next to Chris.
“History was the only subject I was good at in school, I loved it.” Eddie always looked forward to history class, it was the one subject he clicked with, and his baseball coach was his teacher all four years in high school.
“Well, I don’t like it, who wants to learn about dead people?” Buck couldn’t help but laugh as he was plating up their breakfast.
“History is important Chris,” Before he could finish, Chris cut him off.
“I still don’t like it.” One thing about Chris is that he has always had strong opinions.
Buck placed a plate full of eggs bacon and toast in front of Chris and Eddie before grabbing his and sitting on the open chair.
“History can be interesting, I should take you to the natural history museum, I think you would be interested in that. We can talk about it more later. Eat.” Buck picked up a big bite of his eggs.
The three of them ate, Eddie finishing first, having to be at work before Buck. He excused himself and set his plate and cup in the sink, spraying them down quickly. Reaching up in the cupboard, he grabs his extra large thermos, filling it up with the rest of the coffee. Buck prefers to only have one cup in the morning.
Eddie ran his hand along Buck’s shoulder, pulling him for a kiss, “Love you, be safe, come home tonight.”
Buck kissed him back and grabbed Eddie’s hand as he tried to move toward Chris, “Not so fast,” Buck pulled Eddie back to him, squeezing his hand, “I love you too. Be safe, you come home tomorrow.”
Buck knows that with Eddie working in a hospital, he is relatively safe, it’s not like Eddie is in an active war zone anymore. So sue him, he’s concerned about his husband. It’s something they say to each other every day, it’s their reminder to each other.
Eddie’s heart warms every time he hears Buck say it back to him as if it was the very first time.
“Always,” Eddie smiles at Buck before turning towards Chris, he kisses the top of his head, “I love you too Chris, be good at school, I know you will do great on your test. Keep an eye on your dad while I'm gone, will you?”
“I love you too, dad, and I will!” Buck shakes his head as he finishes up his own breakfast.
“Alright, I gotta go.” Eddie kissed his boys one last time before heading out to his truck, leaving Chris and Buck alone for the next 36 hours.
“Finish up getting ready for school, we gotta leave soon.” Buck picked up both of their empty plates and set them in the sink. Dishes can wait.
“Do you need any help, buddy?” They always try to let Chris do things on his own, but they still ask.
“No, I got it, thank you.” Buck watched as Chris made his way back to his room.
As Chris got ready, so did Buck. Stopping in the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. Once he’s finished, he heads towards his room, packing his duffle before changing clothes. Buck likes to change into his uniform once he gets to work, only on occasions, he will get dressed at home.
Turning his wrist up towards him, he checks the time, 6:45. Closing his bedroom door, he walks over to Chris, knocking, “Chris are you ready? We gotta go in five minutes.”
Chris opens his door, “I'm ready!”
“Let's go.”
Buck did a security check of the house before the two of them head to the Jeep. Despite them letting Chris do things on his own, he still needs a little help getting into Buck’s Jeep.
The two of them made small talk as Buck drove towards Chris’ school. Finding an open parking spot, Buck pulls in and puts it in park before turning it off. They still like to walk Chris into school and they’re dreading the day when Chris says he doesn’t need or want them to do that anymore. Both Eddie and Buck know that day is getting closer and closer and it’s hard for them to admit it.
As the two of them walk towards the door, children are running around meeting up with their friends and getting off the buses. They take their time, not being in a rush, they always try to get there early, especially with how inconsistent their shifts can be. As they get closer, Miss Springs is waiting for them. She is Chris’ homeroom teacher, she tries to greet all of her kids before they enter the school. Her teacher's aide, Miss Mendez, stayed in the classroom.
“Good morning Chris!” Her voice was cheerful, and positive energy radiated from her. They couldn’t ask for a better homeroom teacher.
“Good morning Miss Springs!” Chris hugged her, Buck watched the two of them have a quick conversation.
“I noticed your other dad isn’t here today.” She looked over towards Buck.
“He had to get to work early today, he picked up an extra shift. So it's just us two until tomorrow night.”
“He’s busy saving lives, right Chris?” She asked.
“Both of my dads save lives!” Miss Springs chuckles, nodding her head.
“Yes they do, I know we are very grateful for people like them. Doing a selfless job. Alright Chris, say goodbye to your dad.”
Chris hugged Buck and Buck hugged his son tightly back, “I’ll be here to pick you up after work, and if I'm not, Carla will be here, okay?”
“Okay dad, love you.” Chris and Miss Springs started walking inside.
“Love you too, kid.”
Buck watched as they disappeared inside and stood still for a minute longer, he can’t help but get emotional over his son and how far he has come.
Soon Buck headed back towards the Jeep and made his way to work
—
As Eddie arrived at work, he threw his bag into his locker and grabbed everything he needed, filling his pockets and placing his stethoscope around his neck. Eddie removed his wedding band before replacing it with a silicon one, he set his ring in a box and closed his locker, and locked it. Grabbing his coffee he takes a sip before heading to the nurses' station.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Alex looked up from his papers, he was writing down notes on someone's chart.
“If I had known you would be working I wouldn’t have come in,” Eddie joked as set his cup down and took a seat at the open computer, sliding his badge over the scanner to log in.
“I’m hurt,” Alex mocked, putting his hand over his chest.
“You’re ridiculous. How did the night go?” Working in the emergency room of a pediatric hospital was always hard, having to see children in pain.
“It wasn’t too bad,” no one ever dared to utter the q word, “we only have two beds filled right now, one is waiting for a room to open up, and the other one is just waiting to have surgery.”
Eddie flipped through their charts, a two-year-old and a six-year-old. The two-year-old came in and was present with all signs of RSV, which was confirmed with tests. Chris had RSV when he was young while Eddie was still in Afghanistan. The six-year-old had a severe enough perforated eardrum that required surgery.
“Well, I'm going to go check in with them, see how they’re doing. I’ll be back.”
Eddie put his mask on and knocked on the door and sanitized his hands as he walked in. He stopped by Tilly’s room, the two-year-old, first. She was curled up with her mother sound asleep.
“Hello, my name is Eddie. I'm one of the ER nurses, I heard our little one isn’t feeling too great.”
“She’s been sick all week, and she just wasn't her spunky self, you know? I took her to her pediatrician and they said it was just a cold but I could feel it in my gut that it was something more.” The mother wrapped her arms tightly around her child.
“It’s always important to listen to your gut when it comes to your kids, may I check her breathing?” She nodded and Eddie took out his stethoscope and started to listen to Tilly’s breathing.
Eddie took his time, moving his stethoscope into the correct places, he was gentle to not scare her. The mother, her name was Sarah, watched with a careful eye as Eddie worked. She was a first-time mother, and her partner, Jake, hasn’t said anything the whole time. Though Eddie could tell he was worried just as much.
“You seem really good with kids, do you have one yourself?” Eddie will always take any opportunity to gush about Chris.
“I have one, he’s my whole world.”
“He’s lucky to have you.” Eddie couldn’t help but smile, even though it was hidden by the mask.
“If anything I’m the lucky one,” Eddie finished and wrapped his stethoscope back around his neck, “A room should be opening up soon. We’ll get her back to her spunky self soon. If either one of you needs anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Eddie said his goodbye and went to go check on Liam, the six-year-old awaiting surgery.
—
Buck pulled into the parking lot fifteen minutes early for his shift, he was working only an eight-hour shift for once. He pulled his phone out and sent a quick text to Eddie, letting him know he arrived at work. Right after he hit send, there was a banging on the hood, startling Buck.
“Come on lover boy, get your ass inside!” Chim shouted, he was already dressed.
Buck opened his door, and got out, “Yeah yeah, I'm coming. You know, if you stopped being a coward and just asked my sister out already, you would know what it's like.”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about Buckley,” Buck rolled his eyes and the two of them went inside.
“Sure, Chim. I see the way the two of you look at each other, you’re terrible at hiding it. Just ask her out, and she will say yes.” Buck didn’t let Chim answer before he darted towards the locker room.
He changed quickly and when he came back out, Chim was still frozen in place, he walked past him, “Wait, Buck! What do you mean she will say yes?”
Buck collapsed onto the couch in the loft, Hen was sitting at the table, reading her book, “I mean exactly what I said.”
Sighing, Hen closed her book, “What are you two idiots talking about now?”
“I told Chim that if he asks Maddie out, she will say yes. He doesn’t believe me. It’s pretty obvious that she would say yes.”
“Bucks right, Chim.” As Chim was about to respond, the alarm rang, interrupting their conversation.
The three of them raced downstairs and grabbed what they needed and jumped into the truck.
Bobby was in the front, “It’s a routine medical call. A child with a possible broken arm, their nanny called, was too scared to move them.”
They arrived at a local park, it wasn’t as busy as it usually is, but still filled with kids running and having fun. They headed towards the playground, and a group of people was surrounding the kid.
“Everyone make room,” Bobby called out and everyone dispersed, giving Hen and Chim room to work.
They could tell the kid was scared, she was holding her arm, trying to hide the bone sticking out.
Hen spoke softly to her, “Hi there, my name is Hen, this is Chimney. Can you tell us your name?”
Bobby was talking with her nanny, trying to figure out what happened. Buck stood behind Hen and Chim, watching. The little girl looked up towards Buck and wouldn’t look away.
Chim turned to see who she was looking at, “It’s okay sweetie, that's Buck. Do you want him to sit next to you?” She nods her head.
Buck moved to sit next to her, and she immediately turned inwards on him, “Hey, you’re okay. Can you tell me your name?”
“Olivia.”
“That’s a pretty name. Can you tell me how old you are?” Buck was trying to distract her while Hen and Chim worked to splint her arm, being gentle.
“I’m four.” She held up four fingers to Buck’s face.
“Wow! Four!” Olivia giggled.
“Yea!”
“Alright, it's stable enough until we get her to the hospital.” When Olivia heard the word hospital, she tried to bury herself further into Buck's arms.
“You don’t like hospitals?” She shook her head.
“Yeah, they can be kinda scary, can't they? It’s okay to be scared of them. I’ve spent plenty of time in them myself.”
“You went to the hospital?” She pulled back and looked up at Buck.
“More times than I can count.” Hen and Chim sat quietly, watching the two of them interact.
“And you’re okay!” Buck nodded.
“They took great care of me and they will do the same for you. Do you want me to ride to the hospital with you?” Buck made sure his voice was level and soothing.
“Can you?”
“Of course.” They managed to get her into the ambulance and started towards the hospital. Hen was riding with, Chim heading back with Bobby. Olivia’s nanny, Mia, sat next to Buck.
Her broken arm was in a sling, she has been holding onto Buck’s hand the whole time, not letting go.
“I know you don’t like hospitals, but the one we’re going to, there is a nurse there, he’ll take excellent care of you. His name is Eddie.” Hen gave Buck a knowing look.
“How do you know?” Olivia has started to come out of her shell.
“He takes care of everyone. He even takes care of me when I get hurt. He’s pretty amazing.” Buck could feel his face heat up, it always happens when he talks about Eddie.
Olivia went quiet for a minute like she was trying to figure out what she wanted to say, “Like a superhero!”
“Yes! Just like a superhero!” Hen was always amazed at how well Buck did with children, it came naturally to him.
“He’s like Captain America! He’s my favorite!”
Buck leaned in closer, whispering, “Wanna know a secret?”
Olivia nodded her head, a smile on her face, “Yes!”
“He’s just like Captain America, he was in the Army too and saved a lot of people.” Olivia’s face lit up.
“Just like Steve Rogers! He saved people too!” She was moving around a lot, but if she was in pain, she didn’t show it.
“You’re right, just like Steve Rogers. Though if you tell him, he won’t admit it, but we all know it.”
“Then we will have to get him to admit it!” Both Hen and Bucked laughed.
“Good luck with that one, I've been trying for years.” They arrived at the hospital shortly after.
They wheeled her into the emergency room, and Eddie met them at the door, “Heard we were getting a visit from the 118.”
Olivia looked at Eddie before looking back towards Buck, and Buck knew what she was thinking so he nodded at her, giving her a smile.
“It's Captain America!”
Eddie looked around before turning back to her, “I don’t see him anywhere! I must have missed him.”
Olivia giggled, “No silly, it's you! Buck told me!”
Eddie looked over towards Buck fondly, “Oh did he? What else did he tell you?”
“That you take care of people! And him because he gets hurt a lot!” Eddie chuckled.
“He does get hurt a lot. Why don’t I go take care of you now? Can you say goodbye to Buck and Hen?” She finally let go of Buck's hand and waved goodbye to the two of them.
“It’s a compound fracture of her radius bone, I would definitely take some x-rays.” Hen informed Eddie.
“Thank you, both of you.”
Hen left first, leaving Buck, Eddie could tell something was wrong, “She’s going to be okay, Buck. I got her.”
“I know, she’s in good hands.” Eddie held onto Buck's arm, squeezing it before letting go.
“I gotta go, but I love you and I will see you later.”
“Love you too,” They said their goodbye and Buck left, jumping back into the ambulance.
“Alright,” Eddie turned towards Mia, “Why don’t you stop at the nurses' station and start filling out paperwork, and I'll take Miss Olivia to her room.”
Alex was sitting at the nurses' station, having just finished with another patient, “Alex here will take care of you.”
“Hello!” Eddie left them while he wheeled her into her own room.
An ER tech came in shortly after, helping Eddie transfer her to the bed. After she was all hooked up, the ER tech left them alone.
“So, you like Captain America? My son likes Spiderman more.” Eddie sat on the small lab stool on the side of her bed.
“Spiderman is cool, but Cap is cooler!”
There was a knock on the door, Alex and Mia were standing there, “Radiology is ready if you wanna bring her down.”
“Yeah, I can do that,” Eddie turned towards Mia, “If you want you can come, otherwise you can stay here. It shouldn’t take long.” Mia nodded her head.
“I’ll stay here, I have to call one of her dads, they need to know.” She was gripping her phone tightly.
“Okay, we’ll be back shortly. Say goodbye Olivia!”
“Bye Mia!!”
Eddie and Olivia made their way toward the radiology department. Eddie tells her a story about how they found a stray cat and nursed him back to health, and how they kept him.
“What's your kitty's name? I like cats!”
“Salem.”
—-
The rest of Buck’s day went by slowly, like Los Angeles decided to take a break and they were only needed on minor calls. Buck was thankful, some days you need a day like this, especially with how other days can go. They were all in the loft. Buck was doing the dishes, while Chim was cleaning the counters.
“So,” Chim spoke, stopping before he could finish.
“So what, Chim?” Buck closed the dishwasher and faced Chim.
“So, about Maddie.”
“Chim I already told you to ask her out, not that you need my permission or anything, but just do it.” Buck leaned against the counter, crossing his arms against his chest.
“Will you be okay with that? I mean me, dating your sister?”
“Of course I am Chim. I told you before, you would be great for her. After everything she has been through, she could use a guy like you.” Chim dropped his cleaning rag.
“I knew you liked me!” Buck rolled his eyes.
“Oh, whatever. Just do it soon.” Chim grabbed his phone and ran down the stairs to find a quiet spot to call Maddie.
Hen came up the stairs, turning her head as Chim brushed past her, “Do I wanna know?”
“He’s finally asking Maddie out.”
“Ah, about it.” Hen sat on the couch, Buck going to sit next to her, and they start to play a video game to pass time.
“You did great with her today.”
“Who?” Buck rapidly hit the buttons on the controller, trying to beat Hen.
“Olivia. Have you and Eddie thought about having more kids?”
Buck paused the game, “No, we haven’t really thought about it yet. I wouldn’t mind more kids, but we’re both super busy with our jobs.”
“You should talk about it, it doesn’t have to happen anytime soon, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring it up one day. Karen and I are thinking about adopting.”
“You should do it, both of you are amazing parents, they would be very lucky to have you and Karen as parents.” There was a loud cheer coming from the bay of the station. Chimney.
“I’m taking that as Maddie saying yes.”
The bell rang once again.
—-
Eddie was 26 hours into his 36-hour shift, he had just woken up from his nap, trying to get as much sleep as possible. The ER had gotten significantly busier within the last 12 hours. Eddie lived for the hustle and bustle that the ER brought. It was never a dull day working in the emergency department. It was always something new. It kept him on his toes.
As he was leaving the bunks, a loud nose started going off, “Code White, Room 05.”
Eddie and the other nurses ran towards room 05. They all got to work. Sometimes, Eddie hates working in the ER.
—
Buck had the day off so he spent his time cleaning up the house, he hates just sitting around. He was due to pick up Chris in an hour and Eddie would be home in four hours. They managed to get some time to talk over the phone, though it didn’t last long before Eddie had to return to work.
Buck put the last load of laundry in before he went to go pick up Chris.
“How was school buddy?” Buck asked as he helped Chris into the Jeep.
“It was good, we got our test grades back!” Chris seemed excited, which only meant one thing.
“And?”
“I got them all right!” Buck held out his hand to give Chris a hive five.
“See! I told you that you could do it! I’m proud of you.”
The two of them made the short drive to the grocery store. Buck got the remaining items that he needed for dinner that they didn’t have at home. They still walked every aisle, in case they needed something else.
Chris stopped at the ice cream aisle, looking toward Buck, “Hey papa, can we get ice cream? To celebrate? I think dad would like some ice cream too after his long shift!”
Buck can’t argue with that logic, “Pick something out, I’ll see if they have dad’s favorite.”
Chris couldn’t decide on what he wanted, he didn’t want to get the same thing he always got, he finally decided on a pint of cotton candy ice cream. Buck knew Eddie wouldn’t be happy with the sugar content, and neither was Buck, but it was the weekend.
Buck picked out Eddie’s favorite, sea salt caramel while Buck picked butter pecan for himself. He can already hear Eddie saying that’s an old person flavor, but he doesn’t care, it’s one of his favorites.
They headed to check out, and their cashier was an elderly gentleman, he started to scan their items.
“Ice cream? Are we celebrating something?” He asked more towards Chris than Buck.
“I got a 100% on my history test! And my dad is coming home from a long shift! He’s a nurse!” Chris pointed to Buck, “He’s a firefighter!”
“Wow! That does call for a celebration!” He finished ringing them up, but before Buck could pull out his card to pay, the older man stopped him.
“I got it, you’re all good.” He pulled out his own wallet and paid, not giving Buck any time to protest.
“That’s very kind of you, but you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, enjoy your ice cream,” He gave Chris a wink before handing Buck the receipt, “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” Both Chris and Buck replied at the same time.
The two of them left the store and headed back home. By the time they arrived, Eddie had an hour and a half left of his shift. Buck put the groceries away while Chris went to his room to start on his homework.
Buck got to work on dinner, losing track of time as he worked on the dishes. He didn’t hear Eddie come in, music was blaring through the kitchen. He was made aware of Eddie’s presence when he felt arms wrap around his waist and Eddie resting his head on Buck’s shoulder.
“So, Captain America?” They didn’t have enough time to talk about it before.
Buck turned the temperature down on the stove, stirring the pasta, “She wasn’t wrong Eddie, you are like Steve Rogers. You fight for what's right, you fight for your family. You give your all until the very end. You try to see the good in everyone. You will protect anyone who needs it. It’s one of the many reasons why I love you.”
Eddie doesn’t know how to respond, they have been together for years, he hears this type of thing from Buck constantly, but it’s still hard for him to fully accept it. He’s in therapy now, and he's working on it, but it’ll take time.
“So does that make you my Buck? I could do without losing you all the time though. I can’t lose you, I don’t know what I would do without you. I just,” Eddie paused, Buck noticed a difference in Eddie immediately, “I can’t lose you, Buck.”
Buck turns the stove off and turns around in Eddie’s arm, facing him now. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“We lost someone at work today.” Buck pulled Eddie in closer, holding him tightly in his arms.
“I’m not going anywhere, Eddie. I’m here, you’re here, Chris is here. Nothing will change that.”
Eddie stayed silent in his husband's arms.
Buck pulled away slightly, he grabbed Eddie's left hand, the silicone ring now replaced with his actual ring, Buck held it up for both of them to see, “See this?”
Eddie nodded, Buck kissed his ring finger before continuing, “It’s my proof that I’m not going anywhere. It’s my reason to always find a way home to come home at the end of my shift. To find a way to come home to my family. We’re going to grow old and gray together Eddie. We will be in the same nursing home because nothing will split us apart.
“Even when our memories are long gone, I will always remember you. I will always remember that I love you. If I had my life to do over again, you know what I would do?”
“What would you do?”
“I would find you sooner, just so I could love you longer.”
Eddie is so in love with the man in front of him. If you asked a younger Eddie, he would tell you that this type of love didn’t exist, and if it did, he didn’t deserve it. He still believes that he doesn’t deserve it sometimes. He doesn’t understand how someone like Buck could ever love someone like himself. But every day, Buck finds a new way to show Eddie just how much he loves him. Eddie only hopes he does the same for Buck.
Buck pulls Eddie back in, wrapping his arms around him, and kisses his forehead. Eddie holds onto Buck tightly once more. They start to sway back and forth to whatever song is playing. The lyrics to Ruelle’s “I Get to Love You” echo through Buck’s phone.
I get to love you
It's the best thing that I'll ever do
I get to love you
It's a promise I'm making to you
Whatever may come your heart I will choose
Forever I'm yours, forever I do
I get to love you
I get to love you
Eddie doesn’t believe in signs, but if he did, this would be one of them. Their love for each other is eternal. They continued their swaying motion, neither one saying anything, their actions say more than words could right now. They're enjoying each other's presence, grounding each other. They felt a smaller pair of arms wrap around each other, Chris had joined them.
This is all they ever wanted, all they ever needed. The three of them, together as a family.