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1:
“…and then Bobby says, in that quietly loud voice he does, ‘I don’t know, this doesn’t look like any kind of yoga I know’ and I swear to god I strained something trying not to laugh.”
Maddie and Chim chuckled, quietly enough not to wake Jee-Yun and Christopher who were both conked out on the same lounger, Jee-Yun curled around one of Christopher’s shins.
Eddie dropped two of the beers he’d gone inside to fetch on the table before Maddie and Chim and took his seat beside Buck. He opened a beer and handed it off to Buck before opening the other one for himself. “You telling them the story of that not-yoga call the other day?”
Buck nodded and kept laughing as quietly as he could.
Eddie gave Chim a wry smile. “You and Hen would have liked that one, Chim. I don’t know who they thought they were kidding, calling it a yoga accident when they were clearly trying some athletic sex and failed at it miserably.”
“I’m sad to have missed it,” Chim said. Hen had been off that day and Chim had been staying home with a sick Jee-Yun after her daycare had called to have her picked up. Jee-Yun was still a little under the weather, but not enough to cancel their weekend dinner plans. Chris, despite his occasional bouts of teenager-ism, had played with her all evening and even agreed to lie down with her for a 'nap' - only to fall asleep right alongside her.
Eddie rested his arm along the back of Buck’s chair and leaned his head back a little. Dinner had been good. Buck had tried a recipe he’d gotten from Bobby and it had been complicated enough that Eddie and Christopher had come over early to help. Eddie had tackled dessert – a spongy lemon cake with a sugary sweet icing that everyone had loved – and Chris had mostly tried to snack on everything within arm’s reach until they’d banned him from the kitchen and sent him to set the table outside, intending to make full use of Buck's balcony since it was such a nice day.
Chim was halfway through a story from his probie year when Maddie stood up, rubbing her bare arms. “Is it just me, or is it getting chilly?”
“I think that’s just you, Ms. Icicle,” Buck said. “But you know where my closet it – feel free, Mads.”
Maddie made a face at her brother and disappeared inside the loft, reappearing faster than Eddie expected.
“I’m really glad that you’re such a cozy giant, Buck,” Maddie said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before settling into her seat again. “All of your sweaters are so soft.”
“Why wear a sweater if it’s not gonna be comfortable?” Buck shot back. “Like those awful wool sweaters Grandma Buckley used to send!”
“Ugh,” Maddie said. “She used to knit them herself so Mom would always make us wear them to take pictures to send back in the thank you cards. I don’t know if she used cheap wool or if she just didn’t care, but those sweaters were always so scratchy and rough.”
“They did look cool though,” Buck said. “The year before she died she made me a cookie monster sweater. I wore that thing out even though I hated the feel of it.”
“I remember that – you even wore it to bed sometimes.”
“I was the coolest kid in kindergarten that year.”
Eddie took another sip of his beer and let the Buckley siblings’ reminiscing about the good old times – the few that there were – wash over him.
When Maddie had stepped back outside, wrapped in the soft gray sweater Buck had worn earlier that day, he’d felt weird. Buck had casually taken the sweater off and tossed it towards the stairs when he’d gotten a little hot while they’d been cooking earlier. Eddie had picked it up off the floor later and - with a pointed look at Buck - folded it up to put it on the stairs while he’d been straightening the place up a little in preparation for the Hans arrival.
Maddie was right – the sweater was ridiculously soft. She was so small compared to Buck that it reached well down her thighs and her arms fairly disappeared in the sleeves. She’d pushed them up but they kept falling over her wrists every time she gestured as she spoke.
Frank had done a number on him, so instead of taking his sudden unease and pushing it aside for a later time to deal with (or never), Eddie took a moment to take stock of himself. Why would he feel weird about Maddie all of a sudden, just because she’d borrowed a sweater from Buck? He himself had worn that very sweater before, borrowing it from Buck’s closet after a spontaneous movie night sleepover.
Borrowing clothes could be an intimate thing – he’d always liked it when Shannon had grabbed his shirt in the morning. Seeing her in the kitchen, making breakfast in one of his army shirts had been exciting. It had fed into his possessive side.
But this was Buck’s sister and Eddie definitely did not have a crush on her. She could wear Buck’s hoodie without it being weird. Sophia had occasionally done the same with his sweaters whenever they’d sat on the back patio of their parents’ house in El Paso. She’d get chilled and grab one of Eddie’s hoodies or zip-up sweaters – she always said it was easier to slip one of his sweaters on over her outfit than to go all the way upstairs to change into one of her own, especially since they were so much larger on her.
So why--
“Hey,” Buck’s low voice interrupted his thoughts, “you good? You’ve sort of checked out of the conversation – do you need to lay down to sleep?”
“Nah, I’m fine. Just, you know, digesting all that food.” He patted his stomach and drained the rest of his beer, trying not to feel weird at the concern in Buck's voice. “Anyone want another?”
As he went inside to grab more drinks for everyone, Eddie still felt strangely upset about Maddie in the gray sweater. Somehow, it seemed wrong that Maddie was wearing it. But he shook it off – maybe he’d talk to Frank about it at some point. But for now he’d go back outside and enjoy the rest of the night with his friends.
2:
It was rare that the entire 118 managed to have a get-together, and even rarer still to have one without the kids there to put a time limit on the event. Not that anyone usually minded having to break it up in time for bedtime routines, especially now that the boys were all older and could stay up longer, but it was still nice to be able to sit at Athena and Bobby’s dining table and talk without having to keep an eye on the clock.
Chris was at a sleepover with his new BFF Tristan who they’d met at the rock climbing gym two months before. Tristan was missing his lower right arm, and the boys had bonded over their disabilities and how awesome it was to have adults in their lives who took them rock climbing anyway.
Denny, from what Hen and Karen had said, was spending the week with Karen’s sister, Amanda. Amanda lived in Alaska and was thus limited to being an aunt via sending gifts and making time for facetime calls, apart from the occasional visit to get some face-to-face auntie-nephew bonding time in.
Jee-Yun was spending the night with her honorary grandparents, the Lees, and Maddie had already confiscated Chim’s phone so he couldn’t helicopter-parent while they were supposed to have fun. Everyone turned a blind eye when she herself spent a few minutes texting them every once in a while.
Harry was still staying with his dad, and May, while technically no longer one of the ‘kids’ at twenty-two, was out for the evening and planning to crash at a friend’s place to sleep off her partying in peace.
Bobby had just restocked the drinks, getting himself another soft drink, when there was a clatter upstairs and then May came bounding down the stairs. She stopped short at the sight of the team sitting at the dining table.
“Hi, guys! I did not expect everyone to still be here.”
Hen checked her watch. “It’s barely past midnight, May. None of us have any kids waiting at home – why wouldn’t we still be here?”
“I don’t know.” May shrugged, an impish grin on her face. “I just figured all you old folks needed your sleep.”
There was instant protest from all of them, no matter that they’d spent the last half hour at least complaining about how old they all were. Eddie didn’t really feel old – apart from when he remembered that his kid was a teenager now, and when he got up in the morning after a really busy 48-hour shift. And sometimes when he got up and his knees creaked like they needed to be sprayed with a good dose of WD-40.
“What are you doing home anyway?” Athena asked. “I thought you were going to go and crash in
Christy’s dorm after dancing the night away?”
May came back to the table with a tall glass of water. “I was, but I am definitely not staying with Christy tonight. She wasn’t feeling well all day but didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to ruin our night out. Only when we got to the club, she ended up puking right there at the bar. It was so embarrassing, mostly for Christy. But it wasn’t great for the rest of us either.”
“You made sure she got home okay?”
May nodded. “We stopped at a 24-hour pharmacy on the way and got her some stuff to settle her stomach, and some crackers and stuff in case she wants to try and eat something. They should be light enough to stay down. She was doing better when I left, but I didn’t want to be in the way in case she needed the bathroom quickly. And she kind of wanted to be alone – it’s not a lot of fun to puke in front of your friends.”
“Eh,” Chim said. “Who can you puke in front of if not your friends.”
“Speak for yourself!” Hen scoffed. “I love you, but I do not need to see you puke.”
Maddie patted Chim’s arm. “Don’t be upset, Howie. I’ve had to watch you puke and I still love you.”
“Aww, I love you, too.”
The two kissed, making Buck roll his eyes.
May set her glass down and headed back into the kitchen to carry another chair over to the table. “I’m not even tired. We’d planned on dancing all night and all took a long nap this afternoon.”
Athena stopped her from sitting down. “Oh no, May. This might be acceptable wear for a night club, but if you’re going to be sitting here, you need to go change.”
“What? But, Mom--”
“Nope. My house, my rules. Go and change.”
May grumbled about having to get changed when she was already wearing clothes – but she was indeed dressed for a night of dancing. She was barefoot, so Eddie assumed she’d left her heels by the door. She wore a short mini-skirt and matching bustier-style top in a shiny gold fabric, with glittering rhinestones attached to it that sparkled with every movement. It looked great with her skin tone and probably would have been a real hit at the club, but it couldn’t be too comfortable. It wasn’t so revealing that he would have made her change if she was his daughter, but that was Athena’s business.
Athena leveled her daughter with a glare and May rolled her eyes. “Fine!”
Before she could stomp off, Buck rolled his eyes as well and quickly pulled off his sweater. It was a soft light blue knit sweater and he was wearing a white shirt underneath it. He tossed the sweater at May who slipped it on with a grin. It went nearly down to her knees and covered her entire outfit.
Appropriately covered, May took her seat between Maddie and Hen and reached for the soda to fill up her glass again. “Thanks, Buck!”
Athena turned her glare on Buck for a moment, but he simply shrugged.
“You wanted her covered; she’s covered.” He turned to Bobby. “So, go back to the story you were telling.”
Bobby had been sharing a few stories of calls in the Minnesotan winter, including a bunch of Hold My Beer tales and one very painful-sounding story about a man, his junk and a metal garden table he’d sat on buck-naked and instantly regretted it.
Eddie listened half-heartedly as Bobby picked up his story again. Seeing May in Buck’s sweater was giving him mixed feelings. It was nice to see Buck take on the big brother role with all the kids and to have them all, May included, adopt him as someone to look up to and go to with their problems when they didn’t want to involve their parents. Buck was a caretaker at heart; he liked to fix things for the people he loved, soothe any hurt feelings and play mediator in case of disagreements. In hindsight, he wasn’t surprised that Buck got between Athena and May and offered a quick and easy solution.
But he also felt like something sharp and ugly had settled in his chest at the sight of May snuggling into the warmth of the sweater, and he was self-aware enough to realize he was quite possibly jealous that May got to have that part of Buck. Eddie closed his eyes for a moment. Jealous of a goddamn sweater. Jesus Christ, Eddie, get a grip.
It brought the whole thing with Maddie and the gray sweater a few weeks before into perspective.
He seriously needed to get a grip, though. First Buck’s sister, and now Buck’s sort-of-adopted-but-not-really sister. He had no reason to be jealous of either one of them, and it wasn’t their fault he had a apparently developed a crush on their brother and hadn’t noticed until now.
Buck was leaning across the table a little to focus on his conversation with Karen who was sitting across from them. Eddie took a moment to look at his best friend – his hair, flagging a little after a long day and escaping Buck’s rigid styling in little curls here and there; his pretty face, birthmark and all, flushed from the alcohol; his broad shoulders and his strong arms; his – okay, yeah. He had a massive crush on Buck.
Madre de Dios. How was he supposed to not make an absolute fool of himself, now that he knew?
Hen, sitting next to Karen, caught his eye and gave him a knowing look. Eddie did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out at her before turning to Ravi on his other side and asking him about his latest fixer upper.
3:
Buck fell onto the couch face-first, uncaring that it was already occupied by Eddie and Ortiz. He landed with his feet in Ortiz’s lap and his shoulders in Eddie’s.
“Tired, huh?”
Buck didn’t bother to reply; he simply made a wounded noise and buried his head in Eddie’s stomach.
Eddie ran a soothing hand through Buck's hair. He got it. It was only ten hours into a 24-hour shift and he was exhausted. From barely five minutes after shift start they had been out on calls near constantly, with a wide variety of calls from small fires to MVAs to influencer bullshit. They’d been yelled at, puked on and sprayed with mud. And that was just the first six hours.
Eddie was just about to suggest they go to the bunk room to catch a nap when the alarm sounded again and everyone collectively groaned in dismay. He and Ortiz got Buck upright and downstairs without tripping, ignoring Buck's steady stream of complaints.
Bobby hustled out of the locker room, wearing his LAFD t-shirt instead of one of the regular uniform shirts. He'd had to change after the last call with the influencer and his 'detox experiment' (that involved some sort of homemade concoction that unfortunately ended up working a lot more like an emetic than anyone - the influencer included - had expected). Eddie lost sight of him as he pulled on his turnouts and climbed into the truck behind Buck.
Once they we’re on the way, Bobby’s voice filtered over the comms. “Once we’re back from this call, I’m putting in to have us offline for at least a couple of hours.”
Everybody cheered at that, and the tentative good mood of the crew lasted through to the accident site where three cars stuck together were blocking an intersection. Two men were arguing in front of the wrecks and Eddie hoped he wasn’t going to be conscripted to get between them. There was a cruiser on scene, but the cop in it was riding solo and he was hanging half into the middle car of the pile. He waved frantically when they exited the truck and Bobby sent Hen and Chim over to him, with Buck and Eddie as backup in case they need a patient extracted.
“Quick, she’s bleeding heavily!”
Hen was already trying the back door while Chim nudged the cop aside and took his spot at the driver’s side window.
“Buck, get this door open for me.”
Eddie glanced at the door and handed Buck the Halligan when he held out his hand. It wasn’t completely crumpled, just a little bent out of shape, and likely just got stuck. With the added leverage of the Halligan, Buck got the door open quickly enough.
Eddie, meanwhile, focused on playing assistant to Chim, handing him equipment as needed.
Ten minutes later, the patient was in the ambulance and Eddie turned around just in time to see Bobby get shoved by one of the two belligerent men involved in the accident. He landed in the puddle of coolant leaking from one of the cars. The cop on scene, who had joined Bobby in trying to manage the two men, apparently had had enough – he had the guy cuffed quicker than Eddie expected.
Cleanup went relatively quickly after that, especially once the tow trucks arrived, and they were back on their way to the station half an hour later. Bobby headed into the locker room again after ordering pizza for dinner and announcing that they were offline for at least three hours.
They checked and stowed their gear and then separated, Eddie heading upstairs with the majority of the others, waiting on the food, and Buck down to his locker to grab the book he'd been reading.
Buck was back a minute later, and when Bobby came upstairs, he was freshly showered and carrying a stack of pizza boxes.
The whole shift descended on him like locusts, everyone grabbing a slice or two. There was a bout of silence as everyone stuffed their faces with pizza. Eddie quickly devoured his first slice and reached for a second, taking a large bite just as Bobby turned around to grab a can of soda from the counter.
Right there, on Bobby’s back, the letters BUCKLEY stretched between his shoulders.
Eddie choked a little, and coughed up a bite of pizza after a good smack on the back by Buck.
“Maybe slow down a little,” Bobby said, voice tinged with amusement. “You’re worse than Harry on taco night.”
Eddie made a face at him and deliberately took a huge bite out of his pizza. Bobby just laughed at him and took a bite himself.
Pulse almost back down to normal, Eddie firmly told himself not to be weird about this, not at work. Bobby had gotten the worst of it today – getting doused by various fluids on every call involving fluids while everyone else had just gotten tangentially sprayed or been lucky enough to be out of range. It was no wonder the man had no clean shirts left.
It was absolutely normal for Bobby to borrow a shirt for the rest of the shift. And Buck had gone down to the locker room for his book – it was only natural that Bobby asked Buck to borrow a shirt. Besides, Bobby was like Buck’s dad and while it was a little weird to see him in a shirt that said BUCKLEY in large letters, it would be even more awkward to have him walk around shirtless until the laundry was done.
Eddie scowled at his pizza as he took another bite. It felt worse to see Bobby in Buck's shirt than it did to see Maddie or May in Buck's sweaters. Maybe it was the letters on Bobby's back. Maddie or May could have been wearing anyone's sweater, but this shirt on Bobby was undeniably Buck's. It said so in big white letters on the back and every time Eddie caught sight of it, he thought that if anyone had to wear Buck's clothes, it should be him.
Eddie shoved the rest of his pizza into his mouth and firmly told himself to get over it already.
4:
Eddie didn’t like to admit it, but he was bored out of his skull. While they all worked shifts outside of their usual rotation occasionally and he was used to working without the 118 A-shift core crew or with a different crew altogether for a shift or two, it wasn’t what he preferred.
He didn’t mind the extra money, but work was only half as much fun without his people there. Without Buck there. So Eddie had spent the majority of this shift glued to his phone, waiting for updates from Buck and feeling like he was missing out.
Buck and Christopher, on the other hand, were having a blast. Christopher had all but pushed him out the door, sending him to work while he got to hang out with Buck. Buck hadn’t had alternative plans for his Friday night – or if he had, he’d cancelled them quietly.
Usually when Buck watched Christopher, he’d do it at their house, crashing on the couch or Eddie’s bed if Eddie wasn’t home. But Chris was a full-blown teenager now and got it in his head to have a more grown-up sleepover (or in Chris’s words “overnight hang out”), and having to sleep in his childhood bedroom wasn’t very grown up. So Eddie had dropped him off at Buck’s loft after school before heading in to work. His son and best friend had been sending him updates of their epic hang out – first the arcade, then the grocery store to pick up all the fixings for home-made pizza, then pictures of their pizza-making extravaganza and then a handful of pictures of them playing video games before watching as many superhero movies as they could.
Which, from the last pic Buck had sent, hadn’t been all that many after the long afternoon of activities. Chris was clearly conked out on the couch and it was barely eleven pm.
Buck: gonna get him up to bed and hope he won’t want to restart the movie.
Eddie: 👍
Buck: see you for breakfast tmrw
Eddie: Good night, Buck.
Breakfast had also been Chris’ idea – breakfast out at his favourite breakfast taco place. Eddie didn’t mind – since he was only working a 12-hour shift from six to six, he’d able to make it home to shower and change and then head over to Buck’s to join them. Hopefully Chris wouldn’t mind him crashing his breakfast date with his Buck – if he did, Eddie might just get his tacos to go and eat in the truck rather than be scowled at by Chris all through breakfast. Apparently, hanging with your old man wasn’t cool anymore past the age of twelve. Although Chris sometimes didn't quite know what he wanted in terms of independence. He tested his boundaries a lot, but he also clung to parts of his childhood. It was normal teen behavior, according to Hen, needing to be more independent but also needing the security of family to fall back on. Eddie tried his best to provide that for Chris, even if it meant taking a step back and letting Chris work through things with Buck as a sounding board. At least with Buck in the picture, Eddie didn't have to worry about Chris getting sketchy advice from his friends or their older siblings like he sometimes had in his own teen years.
The rest of his shift was as boring as the start, but Eddie couldn’t complain too much about getting enough sleep to be mostly awake the next morning. His plan to crash breakfast went off without a hitch and he arrived at Buck’s a little after half past seven. He let himself in with his key and found Buck in the kitchen, fully dressed and making coffee.
“Good morning,” Buck said, pressing the first mug into Eddie’s hands. “I was just about to get Christopher up. We wanted to be at breakfast by nine so we’ll have time to hit the skate park afterwards.”
That sounded like a great idea. After Christopher’s last growth spurt, he and Buck had had to re-configure the skateboard setup and Chris was older and stronger now so he could do more with less support. There had been a moment of teenage angst about being seen with his modified skateboard by his peers, but after a visit to the skate park where they’d seen a kid in a wheelchair do a bunch of tricks under the impressed eyes of everyone else, Chris had gotten over that and had been to the skate park several times with his setup. A highlight on a previous visit had been one of the other kids – a year or two older than Chris – asking to try Chris’s skateboard because it looked cool.
Eddie focused on his coffee for a moment, needing the extra caffeine to prod his system into fully waking up. The sound of Christopher’s footsteps behind him made him turn just as Buck said, “and look what the cat dragged in,” and pointed to him.
Eddie made a face at him and then blinked at his son. Chris was in shorts and a t-shirt that looked to be several sizes too big for him. It also looked suspiciously like a t-shirt he’d seen Buck wear to work out in.
Christopher blinked up at Eddie, hair a complete mess. He wasn’t any more of a morning person than Eddie, especially the older he got.
“Morning, Chris. Go brush your teeth and get dressed and maybe I’ll allow you a cup of coffee with breakfast – if I get to crash your hangout with Buck.”
Chris narrowed his eyes at him and then shrugged. “Two cups,” he said. “It’s obviously not stunting my growth.”
“Smartass.”
“Buck says I get it from you.”
“All right, deal. Two cups and I’m joining you guys today.”
“Fine,” Chris said with a sigh. “You can come if you have to.”
With that, Chris headed up the stairs to shower.
Eddie waited until he was upstairs to raise an eyebrow at Buck.
“Why is he wearing your shirt?”
“And shorts,” Buck added. “He forgot to pack pajamas because he focused on getting all of the games he wanted us to play into his bag. He does have clothes for the day, and I’ve already given him a new toothbrush because his also didn’t make it into the bag. So don't worry; he did brush his teeth last night.”
Eddie rolled his eyes. “He’s not really helping his case here if he doesn’t want me to pack his bag for him anymore.”
Buck shrugged. “He’s thirteen. I was focused on the essentials at that age – girls and video games. I don’t think pajamas rated high in my interests at that age.”
“Mine either,” Eddie admitted. “And it’s fine.”
And it was. Thankfully, the jealousy had been plaguing him when he saw other people in Buck’s clothes hadn’t reared its ugly head with his son. All it did was make him feel happy that Chris felt comfortable with Buck and in Buck's space.
Twenty minutes later Chris came downstairs, dressed and ready to go, and headed straight for the door. “Well, come on! We got tacos waiting on us!”
Buck and Eddie exchanged a look. “You heard the man. Let’s move it, Diaz.”
Eddie waited until Chris was out of the door to flip Buck off.
Buck just laughed.
5:
Eddie followed Buck and Chris out of the main event hall, marveling at the fact that his son – his little baby boy – looked so grown up. Gone were the brightly colored t-shirts and pants, replaced by more muted, grown-up colors. He’d also shot up like a weed over the summer, reaching up to Eddie’s shoulder already. At this point it was probably a given that one day he’d be taller than Eddie. Eddie's dad wasn't the tallest, but all of his mother's brothers had been tall and Shannon's father had been as well.
“Can we come back next time there's a video game expo?” Chris asked, handing his backpack off to Buck to carry.
“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Buck replied , shouldering the backpack and pulling out his phone in one smooth move. “I’ll put a reminder in my phone to check in a couple of months when the next one's going to be held.”
“Great.” Chris maneuvered up the curb. “And if you’re looking for birthday gift inspirations…”
“Not the one from that all blue stand,” Eddie quickly said. “The rep said it was going to be rated 16 and above.”
“Aww, come on, Dad!” Chris stopped and turned his pleading eyes on Eddie. “You saw the game – Buck and I played a level and it wasn’t that bad.”
“Yeah,” Eddie said, “you played a level with Buck because someone didn’t ask what age level the game was for.”
“I said I was sorry! It’s not my fault he’s grown so tall that they assumed he was older!” Buck tried to subtly nudge Chris out of rolling his eyes too hard, but Eddie just gave them both a flat stare.
“You’re turning 14, not 16. So no, you won’t be getting that particular game.” He crossed his arms. “And keep up whining about it, buddy, and there won’t be any video games for your birthday at all this year.”
Eddie was sure it took an immense effort on Christopher’s part not to roll his eyes again and Eddie appreciated the restraint even though it was an empty threat anyway – Buck had already pre-ordered him a video game, the sequel to one of Chris’ favorites that was about to be released three days before his birthday. He’d paid extra for same day delivery to make sure it would get there in time for the party.
“Now, where did we park the--”
Buck held up a hand. “Did you hear that?”
They all stood quietly for a moment – quiet, however, was relative at a convention center parking lot, where both car and foot traffic moved at a steady pace.
Christopher tilted his head. “I think I heard something, too – is someone crying?”
Eddie still didn’t hear anything, but he pointed at Chris and mouthed “do NOT move” at him and then followed Buck as he moved down the next line of cars. A few steps later he could hear the frantic murmur of a voice and a high-pitched sobbing.
He reached the end of the row of cars at the same time as Buck. There were three girls, one bracketed by the other two. The middle girl was gasping for air, arms flailing. The girl on her left was crying in an obvious panic while the one on her right tried to catch the flailing girl’s arms. Whatever she was saying was lost under the crying.
Eddie brushed past Buck who, phone still in hand, was already dialing 911 to ask for an ambulance.
Eddie gently nudged the crying girl to the side and focused on the one in the middle, gently lowering her to sit on the ground. “Hey, my name is Eddie and I’m a firefighter. It looks like you’re having an allergic reaction – do you know what you’re allergic to?”
The girl grabbed his arm, her fingers digging into it as she nodded.
“Okay, so I’m guessing you have an epi pen, considering the severity of the attack?”
The girl nodded and glanced at her bag. Her earlier flailing had likely been an attempt to get at her bag.
Eddie grabbed the bag and traded it for Buck’s phone. Buck dug through the bag for the epi pen while Eddie update the dispatcher on the girl’s condition.
Buck surfaced from the girl’s bag with a sound of triumph and an epi pen clutched in his hand. Eddie took the bag while Buck injected the girl straight in the thigh.
The tell-tale sounds of Chris’ crutches sounded behind them. “Dad? Buck? What’s going on?”
Buck got up and updated Chris, or so Eddie assumed. He stayed focused on the girl – her name was Chrissy, according to her more collected friend Jona. The other girl was still crying with no signs of calming down, even though her friend was back to being able to breathe on her own. Eddie caught Buck’s eye and nodded to the crying girl.
Chris followed Buck over, leaning against one of the nearby cars as Buck put on his most soothing voice – the one he usually reserved for kids under the age of six and people who were so far into a panic that they didn’t even recognize the uniform. Not that they were in uniform right now.
Out of the corner of his eye, Eddie saw Buck shrug out of his light jacket and drape it over the girl’s shoulders, lightly hugging her to his side, a hand rubbing over her arm to warm her up a little more.
Christopher gave the girl a smile. “Your friend is going to be fine. Dad and Buck are firefighters; they save people all the time. And she’s breathing a lot better now.”
Eddie bit the inside of his cheek and turned away from them. He caught Jona’s eye. “Do you have the contact info for Chrissy’s parents? The hospital is going to call them, but they’d probably appreciate a heads-up from her friends.”
Jona nodded. “Do we still have to go to the hospital? Chrissy’s breathing again.”
“You do have to go, or at least Chrissy does. I don’t know what Chrissy is allergic to--”
“Peanuts,” Chrissy said in a hoarse voice. Listening to her try and speak made Eddie’s own throat hurt.
“Don’t try to speak,” he said. “Just keep breathing.”
Jona paled. “Oh my gosh, I think it’s my fault,” she said. “I had a peanut butter cup earlier and Chrissy just borrowed my chapstick.”
“It was an accident, Jona. That’s not your fault.” She didn’t look convinced. “Listen, it sounds like Chrissy is extremely allergic to peanuts – some people react to the smallest trace amounts of a substance they're allergic to. You couldn’t have known, and it’s likely that Chrissy didn’t expect this kind of thing to happen either. So don’t blame yourself.” He paused. “But next time, definitely call 911.”
“Next time?”
Eddie nodded. “Chrissy has probably been hospitalized for this before. At least once. Most people find out they have an allergy by having an allergic reaction. Although it’s not usually this severe.”
Chrissy held up four fingers.
“See? Chrissy’s an old hat at this.” The sound of sirens at the other end of the parking lot made Eddie look up from where he was crouched next to Chrissy. Behind him, Buck raised his arms to flag down the ambulance. They were on the other side of the city from the 118, so Eddie didn’t know either paramedic that headed towards them. He gave them a quick update and soon Chrissy was loaded up into the ambulance and on her way to the hospital.
“Jona, do you have a ride home? Do you need to call someone?”
Jona shook her head. “We’re good. I drove.”
“All right.” They turned to Jona and Chrissy’s friend who had stopped sobbing and was now just leaning against Buck.
“Wow, Char, you look a mess.”
Char sniffled. “Shut up.” She took the tissue Chris handed her with a small smile. “Thanks.”
“All right, girls, where are you parked? We’ll walk you over.”
Buck kept a supportive arm around Char as they walked, and Chris chattered about one of the games he’d test played earlier in the day to distract her. Jona shook her head at her friend and fell into step beside Eddie. “So, you guys are firefighters?”
“Yup.”
“Do you think I could--? I just felt so useless! Like I couldn’t do anything to help Chrissy. Is there a class I can take to learn some stuff?”
“Sure. You can always take a first aid class – maybe check with your school or community college. And you could always apply to the fire academy once you’re done with school.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Huh.”
“My friend Hen is one of the best firefighters I know. I won’t say she’s always had it easy--”
“--probably the opposite,” Jona muttered.
“Yeah, probably. But she loves what she does. Recently she’s been taking over as acting captain while ours was out.”
“I’ll think about it,” Jona said. “Oh, that’s my car.” She stopped next to a dark red Hyundai and unlocked the doors. Buck got Char situated in the passenger seat, taking back his jacket at the last moment.
“Thanks for your help.”
“No problem. And tell Chrissy to warn her friends about her allergy. You should have been aware of where she keeps her epi pen and how to administer it in an emergency. And she should probably wear a medical alert bracelet in case she's unable to communicate.”
“I’ll make sure she gives us lessons,” Jona said. “After I yell at her and after I apologize for the peanut butter cup.”
Eddie watched the girls drive off and then followed Buck and Chris to the Jeep, listening with half an ear as Buck explained anaphylaxis and why Chrissy still had to go to the hospital for observation to Chris.
The ride back home was mostly quiet and Eddie didn’t even raise an eyebrow as Buck called in an order to the usual Thai place and took a short detour to pick it up.
Chris ate in record time and excused himself to his room to brag to his friends about all the cool new games he’d seen. Eddie headed into the kitchen to dispose of the empty food containers and finally stack this morning’s breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, only to discover that the dishwasher was full of clean dishware. With a sigh, Eddie started emptying the dishwasher, smiling a little when Buck joined him a minute later. Once the dishwasher was empty, Eddie took the pan and the plates from the sink and stacked them inside.
“Not full enough to run it,” Eddie commented and closed the dishwasher.
He looked up to find Buck leaning against the counter, arms crossed, eyes intent.
He frowned. “Something wrong?”
“You tell me,” Buck said. “You’ve been grumpy since we left the expo.” He pursed his lips. “Is this still about that game? I swear I didn’t realize it wasn’t age appropriate. And Chris is right; it wasn’t that bad. Certainly no worse than some of the games he already owns.”
“I’m not mad about the game, Buck. And I’m not grumpy.”
Buck raised an eyebrow. “Your tone says otherwise.”
“I’m fine, Buck.”
Buck studied him for a moment. “The last time you were fine, we ended up having to fix more than a dozen holes in your wall. And I know that you’re doing a lot better now, but you’ve been weird on and off for weeks now.”
Eddie shook his head. “It’s nothing.” Apart from his giant inappropriate crush on his best friend.
"All right. You don't have to tell me," Buck said, "but I want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk. And that you don't have to hide or pretend with me."
Eddie bit the inside of his cheek, hard, because Buck's gentle voice and the earnest look in his eyes was almost enough to make him blurt out all of his secrets.
Buck hesitated for a moment, then took a step closer. "Do you want a hug?"
Eddie did. He wanted a hug. He wanted all the hugs, and kisses, and touches, and falling asleep together and waking up together. He wanted to wrap himself around Buck and never let go again. He wanted far too much.
Buck's face fell when Eddie didn't reply. "Okay. Sorry. I'm gonna... go."
Eddie caught his wrist as he turned to leave the kitchen. He tugged Buck close and wrapped his arms around him. "Don't go. Sorry."
"It's okay," Buck said into his ear, wrapping his own arms around Eddie. "You don't have to tell me."
Eddie closed his eyes and breathed in Buck's scent. This was what he wanted. Buck, in his arms. And the more time he spent with Buck, the more he thought he might just get it. Buck was there for him no matter what. Maybe even if he didn't feel the same - although Hen had just rolled her eyes at Eddie when he'd voiced that concern to her and she was usually spot on with these things. Still, the worst that could happen if Buck didn't have any feelings for him besides friendship would be some awkwardness until Eddie got over himself. They made it through the whole lawsuit debacle - feelings weren't going to be the thing that broke them.
Face still buried in Buck's shoulder, Eddie started talking.
+ 1:
Eddie woke up on his back, naked and pleasantly sore. Buck was on his stomach next to him, one arm slung over Eddie's stomach, the other somewhere under the blanket. He looked thoroughly debauched, with several love bites on his neck and shoulders, a few scratches on his back and his hair a disheveled mess. He had never looked more attractive. Eddie spent a few minutes studying his ... lover? Boyfriend? Partner? They hadn't talked about it and Eddie didn't feel the need to put a label on what they were just yet. They were family, and that was enough.
Eddie got up, carefully sliding out from under Buck's arm. They'd stayed up late, but Eddie had slept amazingly well. He was still a little surprised to be up before Buck, but decided to make the most of it. Breakfast, he thought. For a change, he'd be the one to make breakfast for them.
After pulling on some soft pants and a t-shirt and a quick stop in the bathroom, Eddie left Buck to sleep in his bed and headed towards the kitchen. In the hallway, he picked up the shirt he'd shed on the way to the bedroom the night before. In the living room, Buck's shirt and sweater had ended up haphazardly thrown over the back of the couch and Eddie picked them up as well. In the kitchen, he opened the door to the small laundry room - it was tiny enough to be a laundry closet rather than an entire room, to be honest - and was about to toss the clothes he'd collected on the way into the laundry basket. Instead, he dropped the two t-shirts in and slipped Buck's dark blue LAFD hoodie over his head.
Eddie ducked his head a little to take in the smell of Buck clinging to the fabric. With a happy sigh he gathered Buck's pancake mix (that he would just need to add milk to), milk, eggs, bacon and the bit of leftover spicy stir fry - instead of scrambled eggs, he'd make omelets with a stir fry filling. That was something Buck had taught him - leftovers could be reused in all sorts of dishes, and if all else failed, they could probably be made into a soup of some kind.
Eddie set the bacon out on paper napkins to drain off some of the grease and switched off the pan with the omelets. He'd made enough for himself and Buck. Christopher had taken to sleeping in until almost noon on the weekends - it made Monday mornings extra fun.
A noise from the doorway made Eddie look up. Buck stood there, in a pair of Eddie's shorts and a t-shirt, rubbing the side of his face. There were deep pillow creases on the left side of his face and his hair was still sleep-tousled.
Eddie smiled and grabbed two plates to slide the omelets onto. He put them in the oven to keep warm and then grabbed the second pan to start the pancakes. Buck came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him. “Hmm,” he said, head dipping down to kiss Eddie’s neck, “thanks for making breakfast, baby. Looks great.”
“No problem,” Eddie said, leaning back against Buck. "I used the half portion of leftover stir fry as a filling for the omelets. And your pancake mix."
Buck slipped his fingers under the hoodie and pulled the t-shirt out of Eddie's pants. He ran his fingers over Eddie’s stomach, letting them come to rest low on his abdomen. “I never thought about it before, but I love seeing you with BUCKLEY on your back.”
“Hmm." Eddie tilted his head to the side to steal a kiss. “How about Buckley-Diaz?”
Buck tightened his arms around Eddie and laughed. "Nobody is ever going to believe me that you basically proposed the day after we got together! It’s not even been 24 hours, baby. Don't get me wrong; I’m saying yes to all of that, but I do not want to listen to everyone in our lives tell us it’s too much too soon.”
Eddie turned in Buck's arms and held him close. “I don't care. Can’t ever get too much of you,” Eddie whispered against Buck’s chest. “I don’t even know why we waited so long.”
“Because we weren’t ready three years ago. I’m more than ready now, though.”
“Me too.”
Eddie leaned in for a kiss and then got lost in the feeling of Buck's lips on his, Buck's tongue sliding into his mouth, Buck's hands on his hips, his back, his stomach. They're so involved in their kiss that they don't hear Christopher's crutches on the floor, only pulling apart at the loud teenage groan at seeing his dad and Buck kissing in the kitchen.
Chris gave them a look and then shook his head. "At least I’m getting pancakes out of this…" He sniffed the air. "Uh, Dad? Buck? The pancakes are burning!”
End.