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“Who is that?” Buck asks, frowning slightly as he stares at the man in the locker room, glancing at Bobby.
“Eddie Diaz, he’s our new recruit,” Bobby explains.
“New recruit?” Buck asks, and his stomach is churning for some reason just thinking about a new recruit. He doesn’t like the thought of someone new coming onto their team. They’re already a pack, and someone new could disturb their well-formed balance. Buck loves his little family. “But-”
“He’s an alpha,”
Buck’s head snaps up at that. “What?”
“Buck, relax. You really think I would let a brand new alpha come aboard our team if I didn’t do a heavy background check on him? Eddie Diaz is going to make a wonderful addition to our team. But, if he does give you any trouble whatsoever, you come straight to me and I’ll take care of it, alright?”
Buck takes a deep breath, slowly nodding. That’s when it hits him. Buck’s eyes widen at the feeling.
“Come on, let’s go-"
“Hold that thought,” Buck says, before hurrying to the bathroom.
“Where’s Buck going?” Chimney asks curiously, looking over at Bobby.
“Bathroom, I think. Looked like he was going to be sick,” Bobby says, looking over at the others worriedly.
“I’m sure he’s fine. Now, can we go meet this new guy?” Hen asks, before excitedly walking over to Eddie when he walks out of the locker room. “Hi, you must be Eddie. I’m Hen.”
Chimney snorts, and looks over at Bobby. “She knows she likes girls, right? She has a wife?”
Bobby huffs out a laugh, and claps Chimney on the shoulder. “Let’s go stop her from doing something she’ll regret later,” he says, and leads the way over to Eddie. “Eddie, glad you’re here.”
“Glad to be a part of the team, Cap. Thank you for giving me the chance,” Eddie says.
“Absolutely. I knew you’d be perfect for our team when I saw your achievements and accomplishments,” Bobby says. “Oh, and this is Chimney. Don’t ask how he got the nickname.”
Chimney rolls his eyes, before reaching over to shake hands with Chimney. “Nice to meet you, man.”
“Thank you. You too,” Eddie says. “Is this everyone? Seems like a small group.”
“Oh, not everyone, you still have to meet Buck. He’s currently in the bathroom. Oh, just an fyi Eddie while he’s not here, Buck is that omega I was telling you about before,” Bobby says.
“Oh, right,” Eddie says, nodding, not seeming phased about Bobby mentioning an omega on the team.
“That won’t be a problem for you, will it?” Hen asks, her protective side instantly coming out.
“What?” Eddie asks, blinking, before shaking his head. “No. I don’t care that he’s an omega. In fact, I think it’s great that you guys allow omega’s to work in this field. A few years ago, I know they wouldn’t allow it.”
“Good answer,” Hen says, nodding in approval. “I think you’ll fit in just fine.”
“You don’t have to worry about me, I promise. I’m not a traditional alpha. I believe every omega deserves to have equal rights just like everyone else,” Eddie says confidently.
Bobby smiles approvingly, and nods. “You’re exactly right, Eddie.”
Buck doesn’t come out of the bathroom for a long while. But Buck knows exactly why his stomach is acting up, and he hasn’t told anyone what’s going on. He’s afraid of what will happen if he tells the truth.
How will his team react when they find out that he’s pregnant and he doesn’t know who the father is? They’ll shun him, and Bobby will fire him, and he’ll lose his family. His pack. They’re all he’s got, and Buck’s fought like hell so many times to stay in this family. He’s not losing them again.
Buck takes a deep breath as he makes his way out of the bathroom, still feeling shaky as he’s trying to recollect himself. He can’t let his others know how he’s feeling otherwise they’ll pick up on his emotions and then they’ll corner him, and Buck doesn’t know if he’ll be able to hide the truth if they do.
Buck gasps when he bumps into someone, and he instantly tenses when he sees that it’s the alpha from earlier that he hasn’t been introduced to, and none of his pack are around.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the alpha quickly apologizes. He looks up at Buck. “We haven’t met. Are you Buck?”
“I- Yeah. How- How do you know my name?” Buck asks, frowning slightly.
“I’m not a stalker, Bobby told me you were the last one that I had to meet. Are you alright? You look-”
“I’m fine,” Buck spits out. “If you’ll excuse me.” He tries to push past the alpha but gasps when the alpha quickly grabs a hold of his arm, not allowing him to leave. “Let go of me. I’ll scream.”
“Relax,” Eddie says calmly, and moves to step in front of Buck, sniffing. “They don’t know, do they?”
Buck stumbles back. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Your smell,” Eddie says. “Why haven’t you told them that you’re pregnant?”
“How- How dare you?” Buck snarls. “You can’t just waltz in here and act like you know anything!”
“I’m not trying to-” Eddie sighs, and lets out a breath. “Shit, I’m sorry, you’re right. I promise I didn’t mean to come off like that at all, Buck. It’s just… my protective instincts are coming out, I guess.”
Buck frowns. “You don’t even know me? Why do you care?”
“No, but… you’re an omega, Buck, and I know all the shit omega’s go through,” Eddie says. “My ex-wife was an omega. She didn’t have it as bad, but she still went through a lot of the same things you did.”
“Please don’t say anything to the team. I- I want to tell them myself. I’m just… still figuring things out,” Buck says.
“I won’t say anything,” Eddie says, which earns a sigh in relief from Buck. “But-” Buck groans. “I will be keeping an eye on you on calls. You know being pregnant in this field isn’t safe for you or that pup. I know we don’t know each other, and I have no say in anything, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look after you.”
“That’s fair,” Buck mumbles. “Thank you, and… sorry for being kind of rude. New alpha’s-”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself,” Eddie is quick to reassure Buck. “Oh, your team is looking for you. I guess you took off pretty fast. We should head back.”
Buck nods, and allows Eddie to lead the way up to the lounge where the rest of the team is.
Bobby looks over and is surprised when he sees Buck walking up the stairs with Eddie, considering how Buck was acting earlier. He didn’t think Buck would warm up to Eddie for a few weeks. But, he’s not going to make a big deal about this because he wants them to get along. They’re going to be partners after all, and Bobby will need them to work well together. “There you are. Hungry, Buck?”
Buck looks up and smiles at Bobby. “I could eat,” he says. “Can I help you cook?”
“Of course you can,” Bobby says, and smiles as Buck excitedly hurries over to Bobby.
Eddie can’t help but smile fondly as he watches the omega, before walking over to the others.
“I’d be careful if I were you,” Hen says.
Eddie blinks, and looks over at Hen. “What do you mean?”
“Buck has that charm, because he’s basically a giant kid, but if he catches you looking at him like he’s a wounded omega, he won’t trust you,” Hen says. “He hates when people treat him like he’s-”
“Whoa,” Eddie says, and quickly shakes his head. “I’m not… that’s not my intention.”
“I know. I’m just letting you know what to expect around Buck,” Hen says.
“Uh, maybe we shouldn’t talk about Buck like he’s not standing right over there,” Chimney whispers.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Hen agrees, nodding.
“One last thing. You say Buck doesn’t like to be treated like a wounded omega, but Bobby-”
“That’s a different story. He’s not Buck’s real dad, but he might as well be. Buck’s parents aren’t in the picture, so Bobby has stepped in for Buck. He’s the only one who can get away with it. Well, and Athena.”
“Who’s Athena?”
“Oh good, you’re cooking. I was hoping to get some lunch while I was here,”
Eddie looks over and blinks when he sees a police officer walking into the kitchen area. He’s even more surprised when she walks over to Bobby and greets him with a kiss.
“How’s my baby doin’?” Athena asks, placing a protective hand on Buck’s shoulder.
“I’m fine, Mama,” Buck replies, looking over at her with a smile.
“That’s good. I’m glad to hear that, sweetheart,” she says, and ruffles his hair before turning to greet the others. She looks surprised when she sees a new person with Hen and Chimney.
Bobby chuckles. “Don’t fret, Athena. He’s just the new recruit,” he quickly tries to reassure her.
“Alpha?” Athena asks, turning to look at Bobby with raised eyebrows. “You’ve brought a new alpha onto the team when Buck is right there? What were you thinking?”
“Yes, he’s an alpha, but I’ve done a heavy background check on him. He’s good,” Bobby says.
Athena turns to look at Buck, who nods in agreement.
“I’ve met him, Mama. He’s- He’s good. It’ll just take some time to get used to having a new alpha around,” Buck says. “He doesn’t seem… that bad. I- I think we’ll be good together.”
“You don’t sound so confident in that statement,” Athena says, frowning.
“I’ve only talked to him once. I… don’t really know him. He just seems nice. He seems okay,” Buck says.
“But, you’ll let me or Bobby know if he gives you any trouble?” Athena asks.
Buck rolls his eyes at Athena’s overprotectiveness. “Yes, Mama. I’ll come straight to you.”
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, boy,” Athena warns, pinching Buck’s cheek. “Well, I wanna meet this alpha.” She turns, and looks over at the new alpha, who’s in a conversation with Chimney. Athena makes her way over to the rest of the group. “I hear you're the new recruit.”
Eddie blinks, and looks over, and stands straight when he sees Athena walking up to them.
“Oh, Athena. This is Eddie,” Hen introduces.
“Hi, I’m Eddie. It’s nice to meet you,” Eddie introduces himself, reaching over to shake Athena’s hand.
“Nice to meet you as well. I’m Athena, Bobby’s wife,” she explains. “This your first day?”
Eddie slowly nods. “Yeah, it is,” he says, and he wasn’t nervous before… but now it’s different.
Eddie only gets to talk to Athena for a few minutes before the bell finally goes off. Eddie doesn’t have time to think about anything else as he and the rest of the team are grabbing their gear and jumping into the firetruck. He knows after the first call it’s just go, go, go from here.
The call is a minor house fire. They’ve safely gotten the residents out of the house, Eddie and Buck work great together which surprises almost everyone, and now the team is looking after the victims.
“What are you doing?” The man asks Buck when he goes to help Hen.
“I’m helping my friend take care of you, sir,” Buck explains calmly.
“Like hell you are. I don’t want an omega like you near me,” the man snaps.
“I’m sorry?” Buck asks, frowning at the man. “I’m just trying to-”
“Buck,”
Buck looks up at Bobby. “Bobby-”
“Don’t argue,” Bobby warns. “Let Eddie takeover.
Buck scoffs angrily, and he quickly stands up, walking away without saying another word. Eddie watches him worriedly, before going over to help Hen. He doesn’t say anything to the man as they work on him, because he’s afraid he’ll snap if he does, which wouldn’t look good on his first call. He knows there’s nothing they can do, but it still frustrates him. He can only imagine how it makes Buck feel.
As soon as they have the victims in the ambulance, Eddie goes to find Buck. He sees Buck climbing onto the firetruck. He takes a deep breath before following him onto the firetruck.
“You okay?” Eddie asks as he sits next to Buck.
“No I’m not okay,” Buck snaps. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Eddie frowns, but he doesn’t argue with the omega. It’s not his place.
Buck is quiet on the way back to the firehouse, which apparently isn’t normal from what Eddie hears.
“Buck, a word?” Bobby says once they get out of the firetruck. Buck doesn’t argue as he follows Bobby.
“Does that always happen?” Eddie can’t help but ask, looking over at Hen.
“Sometimes,” Hen replies, jumping out of the firetruck. “Most people are used to omega’s on the team, but other times alpha’s like the one we had today aren’t so… understanding. They refuse help. They would actually rather die on the spot than receive help from an omega, especially a male omega.”
Eddie scoffs. “It’s ridiculous,” he mumbles.
“Unfortunately, that’s how it is most of the time,” Chimney says, standing beside Hen. Chimney sighs. “Bobby knows it upsets Buck whenever he tells Buck to back off from a patient, but we usually have to go by what the patient wants otherwise it’ll cause chaos upon the chaos that’s already happening, which isn’t what we want, but we have no other choice. Anyways. I’m starving.”
Eddie chuckles as he watches Hen and Chimney make their way up to the kitchen area.
When Buck comes out of Bobby’s office a while later, Eddie is surprised to see him so calm.
Buck approaches Eddie in the lounge area. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier,” he says.
Eddie blinks as he looks up at Buck. “Uhm, that’s okay.”
“I was just frustrated and shouldn’t have taken that out on you,” Buck continues.
“Buck, it’s fine. I’m not mad at you. I’m more mad at what happened,” Eddie says.
Buck shrugs his shoulders. “It happens, and there’s nothing I can do about it,” he mumbles. “Anyways, uh- I just wanted to apologize before heading home.”
“Heading home?” Eddie asks, frowning. “Didn’t your shift only just start a few hours ago?”
“Bobby’s sending me home for the rest of the day. Not for any bad reason. I uh, I might have told him about my pregnancy while we were talking. He’s understanding about it all, and we’re going to talk more about a safe way for me to still work. He really doesn’t want me going on anymore fire and rescue calls. Which I guess is understanding, it’s safer for the pup,” Buck says, letting out a sigh. “Anyways. Uh, welcome to the 118. Hope you have a good first day.”
“Thanks?” Eddie replies, blinking with confusion as he watches Buck walk away.
“What was that all about?” Hen asks curiously as she walks over to Eddie, raising her eyebrows at him.
“I don't… I don’t really know,” Eddie admits.
Over the next few weeks, Buck becomes close with Eddie rather quickly. They spend almost every waking moment together. Bobby pairs them together when they’re on a call, as long as it’s safe for Buck.
It shocks everyone on the team how quick the two become close, especially when Buck has trouble trusting new alpha’s. Eddie has definitely proven himself to be trustworthy to Buck.
Everything is fine, until one day on shift when Carla calls Eddie during a shift that she has an unfortunate family emergency to tend to, and wouldn’t be able to continue watching Carla. Eddie has kept Christopher a secret until now. The only one who knows is Bobby, because Eddie had to tell him some personal information before joining the team. It’s not that he doesn’t trust the team, he just wants to protect Christopher. His kid has CP. He needs to protect Christopher at all costs.
“Bobby,” Eddie says nervously as he walks up to him while he’s in the kitchen area.
“What can I do for you, Eddie?” Bobby asks, looking over at the younger alpha.
“There was an emergency, and Carla can’t keep watching Christopher. There’s no one else… I don’t really have anyone else that can watch him,” Eddie explains.
Bobby frowns. “That’s okay. Have him hang out at the firehouse,” he says.
“What?” Eddie asks, blinking. “You’d be okay with that? I mean… what if we get a call?”
“Then, we can bring him with us. It’ll be fun for the kid,” Bobby says. “Christopher is more than welcome to hang out here anytime. I’d offer Athena to watch him, but she’s on the clock. So he can come here.”
Eddie sighs in relief upon hearing this, quickly pulling out his phone to tell Carla. “Thank you so much, Bobby. This means a lot,” he says. “Christopher is going to have the best day ever here.”
“Are you going to be okay with everyone knowing about Christopher?” Bobby asks curiously.
Eddie lets out a sigh, before nodding. “It’s not exactly what I want, but I trust everyone here. Some of them have kids, and I know they’ll treat Christopher like they’re own. Well, I hope they will,” he says.
Christopher arrives at the firehouse about twenty minutes later with Carla.
“Dad!” Christopher exclaims as soon as he sees him, a bright smile on his face.
Eddie turns away from Buck, and grins when he sees Christopher, and hurries over to pull him into a hug. “There you are, Superman,” he stands up with Christopher in his arms. He looks over at Carla.
“Sorry about this, Eddie. You know if there was any other way-”
“No, don’t. Don’t apologize, Carla. Family comes first. You’d do the same if it was for me,” Eddie says. “Christopher is okay here. Go be with your family.”
“Thank you,” Carla says, and squeezes Eddie’s arm once before rushing off.
Eddie lets out a soft sigh as he watches Carla, before looking at Christopher. “Well, what do you say, kiddo? Are you ready to have the best day ever with daddy at work?”
Christopher beams with excitement. “Yes!”
“Eddie?”
Eddie whips around and sees Buck standing there, staring at him with confusion. “Buck-”
“Who’s this?” Buck asks, slowly walking over to Eddie.
“Buck, this- this is my son. Christopher,” Eddie introduces. “Christopher, this is Buck. He works with me. See-” He points to the LAFD logo on Buck’s shirt.
“Hi,” Buck greets, reaching over to playfully shake Christopher’s hand, which makes Christopher giggle, and earns a smile from Eddie. Buck looks over at Christopher. “You never mentioned a son before.”
“I didn’t say anything to protect him. He’s got CP, and- and he’s my world. If anything happened to him-”
“Hey, I get it. I’m sure I’ll be the same when my pup gets here,”
Eddie nods, wanting to melt whenever Buck talks about his pup. “I think I should introduce Christopher to the rest of the team,” he says, looking over at Christopher, before leading the way up the stairs.
“Oh, who’s this?” Hen asks as soon as she sees Eddie with the little boy.
Eddie looks around, seeing that everyone is present. “Hen, Chim. This is my son, Christopher,”
“You have a son?” Hen asks, her eyes widening. “You didn’t say anything about a son?”
Eddie chuckles. “I know you must have a lot of questions, but to answer in short… I didn’t tell anyone because I was protecting my son. He’s my world. But, I’ve been here long enough that I think I can trust everyone to know about him. Uhm, my nanny had a family emergency, so I hope it’s okay with you guys that Christopher hangs out with us for the rest of my shift. Bobby already gave me the okay.”
“Oh, of course,” Hen walks over to greet Christopher. “You are so adorable, and look just like your dad.”
Eddie grins, before setting Christopher down on the ground. “That’s right he does,” he says.
“We certainly don’t mind having Christopher around,” Buck says, and bends down to look up at Christopher, grinning at him. “Besides, it’ll give me some practice.”
Hen tilts her head. “Practice for what?”
Buck’s eyes widen as he looks up. “Shit,” he curses, burying his face in his hands.
Christopher looks up at his dad, and tugs on his pants. “Daddy, he said a bad word,” he whispers.
Eddie chuckles, and nods. “I guess he did. We’ll have to have Buck put a dollar in the swear jar, yeah?”
“Buckaroo, you better start talking,” Hen warns.
Buck groans, and stands straight again. “This is so not how I wanted to make the announcement,” he says. “But I guess I have no other choice-”
“Buck, you don’t have to-” Eddie begins.
“It’s fine Eddie,” Buck quickly cuts him off, before looking over at Hen and Chimney. He can see Bobby watching him carefully out of the corner of his eye. “Uhm, I’m expecting. I’m two months pregnant.”
“What?” Hen hisses. “Since when were you- when did you have an alpha?”
“I don’t,” Buck hisses back. “It was a drunken one night stand. The alpha didn’t stick around.”
“Buck-” Chimney tries.
“I know. I should have been more responsible, but it’s done and over with now. I’m expecting, and in just a few short months, I’ll have a pup of my own. Please don’t treat me like a baby. I know what I’m doing. Bobby hasn’t been letting me go on fire calls for this reason, and Eddie’s been helping out. I don’t wanna be treated any differently,” Buck warns, before letting out a sigh.
“Does Maddie know?” Chimney asks, raising his eyebrows.
“No, I haven’t gotten that far,” Buck admits. “Please don’t say anything. I’ll tell her on my own tonight.”
“Good, because we all know how terrible I am at keeping secrets,” Chimney says.
“Isn’t that the truth,” Hen says, before walking over to Buck and hugging him. “Congratulations, Buck.” She pulls away and looks at him. “You know, I’ve got two kids at home if you want extra practice. Denny and little Nia would love to spend more time with their Uncle Buck.”
Buck chuckles. “Sure, Hen. You know I don’t mind watching the little ones,” he says.
“I can’t believe you’re having a pup. Have you told Athena yet?” Chimney asks curiously.
Buck’s eyes widen. “I forgot about- dammit. Athena’s going to kill me,” he groans. He looks over at Bobby. “You think I could change my name and flee the country? She’ll never have to find out.”
Bobby chuckles, and shakes his head. “She’s going to find out sooner or later, Buck,” he says. “Everybody knows you can’t hide from Athena, especially you.”