Chapter Text
Tommy’s shift had ended right as Buck’s began. It had been a crazy few months for him and his friends now that Gerard was back and there was still no sign of Bobby coming back.
There was a stack of mail waiting for him when he walked in, Evan must have brought it in. Was it weird to move in with your boyfriend six months into a relationship? Maybe if you were twenty. When you are older, time is precious, and when you know, as cliché as it sounds, you know.
He looked through the stack of mail, mostly spam, an offer for a new credit card which he did not need and had no intention of applying for. His bills had all gone paperless during the pandemic and it had worked out for the best. A menu for a new Indian restaurant, a vegetarian one. Interesting. Tommy tossed that in the keep pile.
Then there was a strange envelope from a law firm. Tommy hadn’t recognized the name on the letterhead as he opened it. It was indeed from a lawyer, and no, he did not owe anyone money.
“So, wait, you ditched flying to become a firefighter, only to then turn around and become a pilot again? Are you ok?” a female voice asked him as he drove home after his last shift at the 118.
“How have we managed to stay friends for so long?” Tommy demanded. “That’s the real question, Ang.”
“I mean there are several questions,” Angie told him. “But seriously. Are you sure this is what’s right for you?”
“My therapist says that a change of scenery can be healthy and while the 118 has certainly changed, I need a clean break to…be myself, do the things I love…” There was more to be said there and he could hear Angie’s brain going into overdrive.
“Ok,” she said with a shrug. “Makes sense to me, when do you start your first shift, Mr. Firefighter Pilot?”
“Monday,” he responded. He wants to tell her the other thing too. His mouth opens and closes several times. She’s known him at his best and definitely at his worst. He clears his throat. “So how are you adjusting to civilian life?”
“It’s not so bad so far,” she told him. “I like my new co-workers, who knew security could actually be fun. But anywho. I gotta run, I just arrived, and I need to check in with my detail. Good luck Firefighter pilot. And maybe go out on a date once in a while? I’m sure there’s a club or an app you can use to get lucky.” Tommy froze as the call disconnected, her voice was teasing, but there was something underneath it.
It was a few weeks after that when he finally told her.
“Angie…I’m gay.” She had come to visit from Seattle and was happily sitting in his apartment, her pitch-black hair tied into a tight bun.
She didn’t say anything at first. She stood up from his crappy couch, wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him tightly. “Thanks for telling me. I’m really proud of you.”
Life had gotten crazy. He was dealing with his issues, adjusting to being out, trying and failing to find a meaningful connection. Angie had gotten married. He’d gone to the wedding. The guy was alright. Not one to write home about, a definitely not good enough for Angie in his mind. They had been friends, close friends at one point. But one day she was just gone and he never learned why. He had tried to reach out to Jerry, as much as he disliked him. But nothing. It had been a few years now since he had heard from her.
So why was this law firm contacting him about Angie? It was 7 am and he needed sleep, but he reached for his phone anyway. He had to know. He dialed the number and waited; a woman way too cheerfully answered the phone for what was considered normal for 7 am.
“Ah, Mr. Kinard, it is good to hear from you... six months ago...”
After that call; what was he to do, where was there to go? Could he call Evan? He sent off a quick text asking how his shift was going as he rattled his brain about what to do. Would it be weird to just show up at the 118?
He got a simple text back Shouldn’t you be asleep right now? He had a point. He had told the lawyer he had just gotten off work and needed time to process.
I got a weird call from a lawyer about someone I hadn’t spoken to in a few years. Tommy typed back. His phone rang a second later.
“Are you ok? They’re not suing you, are they?” Evan asked.
“No, nothing like that. It’s…. well. Angie and I served together,” Tommy explained. “She even came to visit for a while and stayed with me… Gerard thought she was my girlfriend and well… I let him.” Tommy rubbed his face as Evan patiently listened. “She got married and everything seemed fine and then…I don’t know she kind of just disappeared. And now I find out she passed away. Six months ago.”
“Oh no, I’m so sorry,” Evan said. There was a pause. “Wait…so what does this have to do with the lawyer?”
“Well, this is where it gets complicated,” Tommy sighed. “I shouldn’t tell you about this now, you have a shift with evil.”
“It’s fine. He’s locked himself in Bobby’s office,” Evan told him. “Tell me.”
“Probably shouldn’t do it over the phone,” Tommy told him. “You’re only working a 12 today right?” Evan confirmed. “Ok. I think I need to sleep and wrap my head around all of it.”
“If you want, Gerard is leaving at 5 pm today, so if you want to stop by for dinner he won’t be here.” Now that was indeed a tempting offer. “And we can talk then.”
Tommy still couldn’t quite figure out what to say. It had been so long since he’d heard from her and now this bombshell fell into his lap. He changed and fell into bed. His brain was too tired from the night before to make any decisions.
Tommy had arrived right on time as dinner was placed on the table. He could see Buck putting whatever dish he had made down, and calling everyone to sit. Tommy made his way up the stairs and greeted him with a soft kiss. The rest of the team waved.
“You’re just in time. You want to talk first or eat first?” Buck asked wiping his hands on his apron.
“That depends on if you like having existential conversations before or after dinner?”
That was ominous. “Let’s talk first,” He smiled at the rest of the team. “We’ll be right back.”
“No sex in the firehouse,” Chimney called.
Tommy laughed, sending Buck a careful smirk, while Buck rolled his eyes before refocusing his gaze on Tommy. He eyed him carefully knowing that whatever was going on was personal, and better said out of earshot.
They headed downstairs to the lockers and sat down. He took a deep breath; this wasn’t his first time back at the 118. Heck, the medal ceremony took place here. But something about being in the locker room still affected him. "So what’s going on? Are you ok?”
“Angie had a baby before she died. She just turned three.” Buck’s eyes widened slightly, but he nodded with a look as if he already knew where this was going.
“And she made you the baby’s legal guardian if she died?”
“Got it in one,” Tommy said. “I hadn’t spoken to her in years. I didn’t even know she… she got married, and he was a bit of an idiot. But he loved her. I…I don’t know what happened there. The lawyer didn’t know either. All she told me is that Angie made me the guardian of her three-year-old daughter.”
“Do you, uh...” Buck cleared his throat, “Know what happened? To Angie, I mean?”
“Car accident, apparently,” Tommy explained.
“Ok, uh…. Wow, that’s…that’s a lot.” Buck said firmly standing up, his brain already going through the checklist of all the things that need to be done. He ran a hand through his hair as he faced Tommy. This was a lot: finding out your friend was dead, that she had a kid, and that you’re suddenly supposed to be a parent. At least Hen and Karen had some time to process to prepare, not just for Denny, but for their foster kids, and Mara. His family, they all had time, even if the news came suddenly there was time for the most part, months to prepare for the arrival of a small bundle that deserved to be loved and cherished. “Are you ok?”
“I don’t know. Angie was someone that meant a lot to me. She was there for me when I didn’t have a lot of people in my corner. I don’t even….” Tommy sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”
Buck looked at him. “Yes. You do.” Tommy looked up. “I can look into plane tickets if you need to go and pick her up. Is she here in California?” Tommy stared at him as he went on, “We can start getting your place ready. Oh, man. Three years old. We should, uh talk to Chim and Maddie, they’ll know just what….” Buck stopped, seeing Tommy’s bewildered face. “What?”
“Just like that?” Tommy asked.
“What? You thought you could scare me with a kid?” Buck asked, a soft smile on his lips. “I love kids. We talked about kids, remember?”
“We did. But talking about it and making a choice to pursue it down the line vs literally having it thrust upon you are two very different things, Evan,” Tommy supplied.
“True,” Buck admitted. “But I’m all in on this with you.” He sat back down beside Tommy and nudged him. “You got a picture yet? What’s her name?”
Tommy pulled out his phone, the lawyer had sent a picture as she had promised. “Her name is Danielle, but she prefers Dani. She’s very for on that apparently. She’ll probably be just as stubborn as her mother.”
“Wait,” Buck remembered sitting beside Tommy again and grabbing his hand. “If Angie died six months ago, where has Dani been?”
“Staying with Angie’s great aunt. She was her only living relative. I guess they finally went through Angie’s stuff and found the will. But I don’t get it. Why me?”
“Why not you?” Buck asked. “Hey. She trusted you enough to ask you to take care of the most important person to her. That’s a big responsibility. You don’t make that decision lightly. Ask Eddie.”
Tommy nodded, remembering a conversation they had had not that long ago about that very question.
“So. Are we going to get her? Do I need to start looking at flights?” Now it was we, and boy if that didn’t add a warm feeling like he never expected. He eyed Buck, he really was all in.
“I love you,” Tommy told him, his voice ever so gentle.
“I love you too,” Buck responded tightening his hold on Tommy’s hand. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”
“I told the lawyer I had just gotten off shift and needed 24 hours to process it all. And I spent all day sleeping.”
“Hey. It’s a lot to take in, and it’s a big decision. Life-changing, in fact. But I’m here for you. Just tell me what you need.”
Tommy took a couple of deep breaths. “And I don’t want to pressure you to decide right now. But the longer we stay here, the more likely they’ll think we’re out there making out.” Tommy laughed.
“Let me think on it a little bit more. I think I’m just shocked. How’s it been here?”
“Exactly how you expect, but with Gerard leaving early and you coming by, it’s already better, all things considered.” He bumped their shoulders. “We should get up there. What’d you make for dinner?”
“Lamb gyros,” Buck teased
They made their way back up to the kitchen and sat down with everyone to eat. Ok. Getting out of his head a little, laughing at Chimney’s movie references. Then Hen pulls out photos of Chim and Maddie and Hen and Karen going to the fair with the kids and Buck is gushing at the photos and Tommy can’t help but watch him, the way he lights up at every silly thing the kids did.
As they finished up dinner Tommy offered to help Eddie clean up, as it was the latter’s turn. Buck took off his apron and tossed it at both of them, Tommy expertly dodging.
“How’ve you been?” Tommy asked Eddie as he cleared the plates from the table.
“As good as I can be, I guess. Therapy sucks. But I guess it’s supposed to.”
“Is it helping?”
“Help is a relative term,” Eddie retorted. Tommy placed the plates in the sink and Eddie turned on the water.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Always man, you don’t have to ask.” Eddie picked up a plate.
“You can tell me if it's none of my business. But… why did you make Evan Chris’s guardian in your will?”
Eddie turned off the water and placed the plate back down. “He’s good with my kid, you’ve seen it.” Tommy nodded. “I knew that no one would ever fight for him the way he would.” Eddie sucked in a breath. “And I was worried about him too.” The rest was left unsaid as Eddie returned to the dishes. “But if you’re worried about suddenly having a kid thrust upon you, I promise I’m not going anywhere.” It was supposed to be a joke. But Tommy’s face twisted. “Are you ok, man? Do...did you and Buck have a fight about this? You seemed fine at dinner, I swear I didn’t mean for that...”
“No, it’s not that,” Tommy said, before explaining why he brought it up in the first place, about Angie, and the will.
“Oh wow,” Eddie responded leaning on the counter. “That’s…” Tommy nodded. “Well, I can’t tell you what your friend Angie was thinking. I can only tell you, I was thinking about who would ensure my kid has the best possible future.”
“You said that it wasn’t just about Chris, that it was also about Evan…”
“Everyone on our team has someone outside the job. Hen has Karen, Bobby has Athena, Chim has Maddie, and yeah, Buck also has Maddie. But you know, they all have built their own families and while we’re all here for him and love him…. he’s always been searching for a family, and I knew that if anything ever happened to me, they would need each other.”
Tommy nodded, wondering if Angie was doing something similar, or if she just had no one else to entrust. “Were you ready to be a parent?”
“Are you kidding?” asked Eddie going back to the dishes. “I was a kid. I was absolutely not ready, and I made a lot of mistakes. Still making them. But I love him with everything I have. Are you scared of how Buck will react? Or are you scared about being thrust into parenthood?”
Something stuck in Tommy’s throat at that moment. “It’s not about Evan, we’ve already had the kids talk and now the Angie talk. It’s…. I’m terrified…”
“Seems pretty normal to me,” Eddie reasoned. “Want my advice?” Tommy nodded. “Let Buck help and take it one step at a time. You’re never really ready. Sometimes you have more time to get ready. But even then, you’re still not ever ready. But that’s life. You two will be just fine.” He finished with a pat on Tommy’s shoulder.
When Tommy returned home, with Evan not far behind, this path was clear. Buck found him clearing out the guest bedroom. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “So, I take it you made a decision?”
“I did,” Tommy admitted rounding the corner to pull Buck into a hug. “I also talked to Eddie.”
“Yeah,” Buck said tightening his hold. “He told me. Have you called the lawyer?”
Tommy nodded. “She’ll call me in the morning once she’s had a chance to speak to Angie’s Aunt. I also called Melton at Harbor and let him know what was going on. I need to stop by Harbor tomorrow to fill out a request for emergency leave and then… I’ll probably need to fly to Seattle and pick her up, and then I have to get this house cleaned up and….” He buried his face in Buck’s neck. Buck in turn started gently rubbing his back.
“Hey. Take a deep breath,” Buck told him. “What can I do to help?”