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Trying to find a good time where it would only be himself and TK talking to Buck proved harder than Carlos originally thought.
With TK now out of the hospital and recuperating at his father’s house, the rest of the former 126 has taken to spending as much time as possible visiting and keeping his spirits up. Buck’s presence was seen as a great addition to the group, just as Carlos and Grace’s were when they all got together.
The problem was, Carlos did want to sit down with Buck and try to help the man out. He could see the cracks in his armor growing larger by the day, looking more sullen as time passed, and yet he never complained. He just kept moving, helping out as much as he could around the Strand household, and expertly dodging whoever was blowing up his phone. And the only reason Carlos had even an inkling about that was because Buck left it unlocked and unintended the night prior in the kitchen, and TK’s looked similar when facedown. The 99+ notifications on three different apps was worrisome to say the least.
In fact, it took until Buck’s last night in Austin before he began his long drive back to Los Angeles that the three of them were able to carve out even just a quiet dinner. TK wasn’t up to traveling further than the couch after his big afternoon rediscovering (and rededicating) the loft, and Carlos wasn’t really in the mood to deal with the limited menus that most of the local takeout places were still offering as food deliveries were only just starting up again in the aftermath of the storm.
Instead, dinner came in the form of delivery from Mama Reyes, homecooked, still piping hot, and already on its way to being demolished before she was out the door for her own relaxing night. Carlos couldn’t help but be amused at the twin looks of adornment at the comfort food hitting their bellies.
Once the food was eaten and praise was appropriately texted to the very appreciative chef, the three sat back and just relaxed, enjoying the calm silence of the Strand household, with both Owen and Mateo out for the evening. That peace was broken by a quiet ding from Buck’s phone, another notification that he seemed as though he was wanting to immediately avoid.
“Someone really wants to get in touch with you,” TK said. He’d shifted his chair so that he could properly lean on Carlos. “You need to get that?”
Buck glanced at the screen, sighed, and flipped the device over. “No, it can wait until tomorrow. Nothing important.” He spotted Carlos’ raised eyebrow out of the corner of his eye. “Nothing important tonight, put away the judgemental eyebrows, jeez.”
Carlos shook his head. “Remember our talk the night TK came home? Let us help you, even if we’re just the sounding boards. What’s going on, Buck?”
Another notification dinged. “It’s like I told you that night,” he finally said, resigned. “Things are changing, and I don’t think for the better. Eddie quit and is at the call center, and I haven’t seen him or Christopher since, not for lack of trying. My girlfriend and I are having problems. It’s not entirely her fault, I know she’s getting pressure from her boss to use me as a source of information, but it’s causing issues because I don’t want to cross that line. And my sister and her boyfriend are still gone, neither will check in, and I…”
The Austin couple shared a look. “So, a lot’s happening,” TK summarized.
“And yet you came out here to help us.”
At the latest notification, Buck finally glanced down and saw who it was from. “The only person to really get why I needed to take a break was Hen. I didn’t tell anyone where I was heading, except for Taylor and Bobby if there was an emergency. Taylor’s not happy about it - said I should have just stayed in LA until I got called out here one way or another.”
“What did your captain say?” Carlos asked. The former 126 had discussed Buck’s team a few times and Buck had volunteered his captain’s name, but he’d done his best to not say much. The officer was pretty sure that Buck was running from more than what he’d been hinting at, and his captain was just a part of that.
“Cap - Bobby - he-” Buck broke off as a call started coming through, the vibration causing the phone to slowly spin in place. “-Is calling me now?” He quickly caught the couple’s eyes and answered once he received twin nods.
“Wasn’t expecting you to pick up, Buck. You’ve been sending everyone to voicemail.” Bobby’s voice came through the speaker with an air of calmness, mildly telling him off without yelling.
“Sorry, it’s been busy here, haven't really been looking at my phone.” At the excuse, Buck twisted somewhat away from the Austin couple who were giving him a collective look of you lying liar.
“Is your friend okay? There hasn’t been any news out here, except that the storm has finally broken up,” Bobby said, sounding genuinely interested.
“He’s doing much better. Actually, can I call you back tomorrow when I get on the road? I’m at dinner with him and his partner right now.”
There was a chuckle over the line. “That’s what I was calling to check. I didn't know if you needed more time for the drive or if you were staying longer. Let me know when you’re on the road, and let Athena know when you get close to Los Angeles.”
Buck winced. “Can’t you do that? She’s going to be so mad at me…”
“Call it your punishment for not answering text messages. Keeping Eddie from driving out has not been easy, Buckley.” The not-so-subtle teasing by his captain did a world of good for him.
“Copy that, I’ll call tomorrow.” They gave quick goodbyes before Buck hung up and set the phone down. He didn’t immediately look up, instead quickly scrolling through some of the latest notifications.
Carlos shared a brief look with TK before reaching across the table and easily plucking the phone out of Buck’s loose grip. One quick glance at the open phone showed that the most prevalent texters were not Buck’s best friend or girlfriend, but instead Hen, Athena, and someone under the name “Best Diaz.”
Buck didn’t even bother trying to get his phone back. Instead, he just explained. “Hen is like a sister to me, like Marjan or Nancy is to you, TK. Athena is a damn good mom, and she’s somewhat adopted me into her family, alongside her caption. And Chris? He’s Eddie’s son, and I know me leaving the state has scared him.”
“Why not answer just them?” TK asked. “Especially Chris?”
Buck sighed. “If I answer Hen, she might tell Chim, who might think that Maddie is here and come and then get mad when she’s not. Athena will tell Bobby, and that might result in the same conversation. As for Chris, I can’t message him without also messaging his father, and I don’t really want to talk to Eddie right now.” He picked up his abandoned water glass and downed the rest of it. “I’m not mad at Eddie for leaving. I get it, I really do. I’m mad because he didn’t give me any warning and basically has tried to shut me out since. It took me coming back to Texas to get him to message me.”
The couple shared another look, clearly having a non-verbal conversation. Buck didn’t comment on it; he was known to have the same with Eddie every once in a while, which is why there still was a bet in Hen’s little black book for the two of them to get together.
“Well, since I’m still on medical leave, I’m heading to LA with you.”
The California transplant blinked. “Uh… what?”
TK grinned. “I’m coming back with you. You need someone in your corner. You’ve been in both of ours for the past few months, both while I needed someone to talk to about the breakup, and Carlos the last week or so. Since he can’t take any time off, let me come back with you.”
“I- Are you sure?”
Both nodded. “I think it’s a good idea,” Carlos said. “TK can rest in the car and just help with being the middleman as needed. Just like you were for us.”
Buck shrugged. “Okay, I guess. My loft doesn’t have a guest bedroom, but the pullout couch is actually comfortable.”
As if his words were a trigger, all three men stood at that moment, helping to clear the table. A plan was quickly discussed around washing dishes and wiping down the counters, where Buck would pick up TK first thing in the morning, and put him on a flight in one week’s time. A battle of wills over gas turned the kitchen into a water fight for the ages.
“I already budgeted it!”
“You’re driving him, he's not cleared yet. Let me pay you at least.”
“Face it Buck, you can’t fight his ‘Carlos cow eyes.’”
“The fuck are Carlos cow eyes?”
As soon as Buck could push the couple out of the Strand house so he could back up, he found himself chuckling, something he had only rarely done since Christmas, not for lack of trying. Maybe this was a good idea. A little unorthodox, sure, but having a friend around to bridge conversations would be a great help.
He heard the familiar ding from his phone that a new text message had come in. But this tone was one in particular, one he hadn’t heard since just before making his trip to Austin. One quick glance at his screen confirmed the sender, before he ignored the words and just called them straight away.
“I’m coming home, Eddie. You can stop worrying now.”