Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the week since the breakup and the blur of stress baking, the call had come in for the bake-off the LAFD Foundation had been organizing for its holiday fundraiser.

He'd almost forgotten about it. But then he remembered the motivation for his involvement: The Youth Programs of the LAFD. He wanted to represent for the kids, the future of the LAFD.

It had been Tommy's idea for him to apply to get involved. And he'd been baking enough to know that he would be up for any challenge.

So he agreed to participate.

And the 118 as a whole threw its support behind him.

Bobby made sure his schedule accomdated his participation.

Chimney and Maddie offered to taste test any recipes he was trying out for the bake-off, and Jee-Yun was certainly a willing volunteer as well.

Even the Wilsons were willing to get some of his baking off his hands.

And Eddie had been extremely supportive, despite being busy trying to figure his next steps, exploring the possibility of moving back to El Paso.

The competition was going to be streamed on the LAFD Foundation's website, and it was going to be a full scale baking competition like the ones on the Food Network that he loved to watch and Buck was looking forward to the distraction.

He needed it.

Before the first day of filming, there was a meet and greet of the cast and crew and there were some promotional videos, competitor profiles, and other bits of material to record, which meant going into the studio.

Lauren Fischer, the producer, was a stern looking brunette with a clipboard, all serious business but still had a friendly aura about her. She was all of 5'3 but carried herself like a person who was much taller. She was in charge of the studio and everyone around her knew it. Buck immediately noted she was one not to be messed with.

Todd Chilson, the director, deferred to Lauren on most things, but he was the one in charge of making sure he had all the cameras getting the necessary footage and that the stream was broadcasting the right camera at any given time. Buck only saw him in passing, the man was usually in the control booth.

He made a point to say hello to some of the other behind the scenes crew, the sound guys, particularly the boom operator covering the station he was going to be working at. And he loved spending time with hair and makeup. The team was always so upbeat and friendly.

But mostly, it was his fellow competitors that he was keen on scoping out.

And on the studio tour, he learned their names and a few things about them.

Jo Richardson was a lovely lady in her 60s whose son, who worked out of the 115, died in the line of duty in a wildfire in 2001. She had a really sweet motherly personality, someone Buck couldn't help but wish he had as a mother. She was competing for the Equipment Fund with a desire to give firefighters the best equipment and the best chance to fight every fire and deal with every emergency.

And Lexi Mendoza was a petite Filipino high school senior from Dorsey High School, a top performing student in the Fire and EMS Magnet Program that her school had in place. She was a competitive spitfire who was in it to win it, and Buck couldn't help but smile. When asked which program she was fundraising for, she explained that while she was offered the option of competing for the Youth Programs at first, she had wanted to compete for the Behaviorial & Mental Health Programs to help first responders like her cousin Jake from the 125, who were struggling with their mental health because of the job they love so much.

Hearing a bit about their stories left Buck a little uneasy, feeling sorely out of place. But once he explained that he was raising money for the Youth Programs because he loved kids and he loved firefighting, and that he felt it was the right fit for him to help the future of the LAFD, Jo gave him a warm encouraging smile about it and encouraged him to do his best while Lexi simply smirked and declared that she was going to win the whole thing.

Buck was headed for craft services to grab an apple to snack on when a tall blonde with playful hazel eyes wearing an old faded LAFD t-shirt offered him one, almost as if she knew what he was after, taking him by surprise.

"How did you know?" Buck asked, slightly confused.

"I didn't, I just happened to be holding the apple," she quipped, smiling warmly at him, "I'm Olivia. You're Evan, right?"

Buck opened his mouth, ready to correct her, but he quickly changed his mind. "Yeah, Evan Buckley, from the 118." There was something about this woman's aura, her energy, that immdiately made him feel so comfortable that he didn't feel the need to use his nickname. "So what's your connection to this fundraiser?"

Olivia murmured, "My Dad used to be the flight captain at the 217, working Air Ops, and I used to be an aeromedic there too…until I transferred out to the 122 in 2019 to be a paramedic there. I'm not in the competition this year, but I like to see who's stepping up."

He didn't mention his ex-boyfriend but Buck couldn't help but be curious about this stranger's story. Maybe she knew Tommy? But instead of questioning her, he simply said, "Well, I just learned about my competition today. Interesting folks. Maybe we can compare notes once I'm done with filming whatever footage of me they want to film today."

"Let's do a walk and talk." Olivia led him down the hall to one of the smaller studios. "So what LAFD Program are you competing for? Canine Therapy? You strike me as a dog person."

"Youth Programs. You know, children are the future and all that." Buck couldn't help but chuckle.

"As someone who's participated in them growing up, those youth programs are amazing," Olivia commented, "I was a Camp SPARK girl, went to a Fire and EMS Magnet High School, was a Cadet for a couple of years…I benefited so much from all of that. And it helped when I finally decided to follow my father's footsteps."

"I'm guessing you approve of my choice," Buck commented playfully, knowing what the answer would be.

"I won this Bake-Off in 2022 for the Youth Programs," Olivia declared with pride in her voice.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. I went to the 122 and bought your caramel cheesecake cupcakes for my firehouse to support you."

Olivia simply chuckled at this revelation before she announced, "This is your stop. Have fun with your shoot!"

Buck gave her a tiny wave before he went through the door.

Buck was going to be filming for three days and the episodes were going to be posted weekly. The final episode was going to be live at the LAFD Winter Gala in mid-December after all the fundraising numbers had been calculated. He was going to be busy for a hot minute, which was a relief. It would keep him from having too much time to consider reaching out to Tommy.

And of course, the first person he saw after coming out of hair and makeup was Olivia, looking like she was on some kind of a mission.

"Olivia!" Buck called out to her with a smile.

"Oh hey, I was wondering when you'd get to the studio," Olivia told him as she turned to face him, "I just wanted to wish you good luck on your first day of filming!"

"Thanks," Buck replied quietly, a small tentative smile on his face, "I'm a little nervous but excited too."

"I saw your competition earlier. You're right to be nervous," Olivia teased him playfully before she added, "Don't worry though, you got this."

"Any advice? Any tips?"

"Take a few minutes to measure everything out and tackle a game plan. No matter how long it all takes to film, it's all going to be edited down to an hour anyways so do what you need to do." Olivia shrugged. "The competition is all about heart. Let them see your heart. The whole point is to convince people that you're worth supporting."

"Why don't you come with me to the main studio? You could watch me in action," Buck offered.

"I'm going to go hang out in hair and makeup, I miss everyone behind the scenes," Olivia admitted, "It's been a couple of years since I competed and I wanna see if they kept the same crew."

"Your caramel cheesecake cupcakes were amazing. A total hit at the 118. You'll have to give me your recipe."

"It was a pretty basic yet effective recipe. You could take any cheesecake recipe and just add the caramel into the batter. You just have to be really patient with making the caramel. It burns pretty easily if you try to rush it."

"Your commitment to your cupcakes only theme was also pretty amazing. Pretty clever, especially that pull apart cake inspired by your ex-partner's kid."

"My goddaughter's a unicorn loving little princess and I love her."

"Your baking was inspired and I'm glad that I supported you that year."

"I'm glad too." Olivia smiled and with a nod, she added, "I should let you go. Don't want you to be late to set."

Buck nodded, watching Olivia walk down the hall for a moment before disappearing in the opposite direction.

Chapter Text

Harbor Station had something called the Wall of Heroes, filled with photographs of the men and women over the years who had specifically died in the line of duty, both with the main company and Air Operations. Tommy fought to have her photo on the wall despite the fact that she had transferred out years ago to the 122. She was a Legacy, her father a long serving flight captain for Air Ops and she deserved to be memorialized right next to him.

"I still think about her a lot too."

Tommy looked over his shoulder at the source of the voice, Teddy Jenkins. He was one of the two aeromedics on Lucy's team, someone he'd known socially for the most part, not having worked with him and his partner Eve Martin directly. But he had known Olivia Chambers. Many people did, even if just in passing, because of her father.

"This time of year always reminds me of her." Tommy didn't entertain Teddy with a full conversation, he never did when he was in this particular mood in front of the Wall of Heroes, and Teddy understood this, never taking it personally.

"I'm making Liv's funfetti cake pops, if you want to join us," Teddy offered, not expecting much of a response from Tommy but still offering.

Tommy let out a noise of acknowledgement but didn't say anything else and Teddy took that as his cue to leave. He took a few more minutes to himself at the Wall of Heroes before he finallly dragged himself to the lounge to sink into one of the couches to relax and read a book, making an effort not to hide in the bunk room like he would normally be inclined to do.

But before he could settle down, there was a commotion in the kitchen and the voices of half a dozen coworkers from both Air Ops and the main company. As he investigated, he found them around a box of blondies at the kitchen counter.

White chocolate chips and caramel chips.

This was Evan's recipe and he recognized it.

When he cleared his throat and said hey, they all stopped talking, as if they'd been caught with something they weren't supposed to have and some of them even scattered, leaving Teddy, Eve and Lucy behind.

"These look great, where'd you guys get this? Teddy, did you make these?"

Teddy shook his head, unable to lie. Tommy knew it wasn't him but he was trying really hard to keep his cool. But it was Eve's attempt to pick up a card on the counter undected while Tommy was speaking to Teddy that made him raise his eyebrow.

"What's that, Eve?" he turned to the blonde as she picked up the card with the winter themed design.

"Uh…" Eve forced a smile but did not hand the card over right away. She glanced over at Teddy, nervous looks exchanged.

Lucy gave them both a nod, quietly prompting Eve to go ahead and give Tommy the card. She wasn't entirely sure how Tommy would react but she figured there was no point in keeping the card away from him.

When he finally received the card from Eve, Tommy opened it, his eyes held a haunted look as he glanced at its contents, leaving the card open on the counter and rushing out to the bunks without saying a word.

Slamming the door behind him Tommy surveyed the area around him. His voice was quiet, low enough for no one outside the bunk room to hear.

"I told you not to come back." His voice was trembling with emotion; anger, sadness, grief, all intermingling from the depths of his soul to his tone.

"And you seriously thought I'd listen? You really don't know me at all, do you, Kinard?"

The all too familiar voice came from behind him but he didn't turn around; he was certain that there would be no one there, because there couldn't possibly be anyone there. He simply stood by the window, staring out into the distance for a moment before he spoke again.

"What I know is that you left. What I know is that you died. And what I know is that I don't need to be reminded that you're not here anymore," Tommy spat out, his head head tilted in the direction of the voice, his eyes lowered to the ground.

"It's been five years, you're still mad at me for leaving?"

"I'm mad at you for leaving, and I'm mad at you for dying!" Tommy snapped and as he turned out, there she was, standing at the doorway, before she vanished down the hall.

That was a first. Why was he seeing her?

"Do you really think…"

Teddy cut Eve off. "There's no way, right?"

"There's no way," Lucy agreed, "But there's no signature. We have no idea who left the blondies."

"We should probably discuss who we're supporting this year," Teddy suggested in a half-hearted attempt to change the subject.

He, Lucy and Eve simultaneously loaded the Great Holiday Bake-Off webpage to see if anything's been posted on the competitors. It was Lucy whose eyes widened, the first one to catch it. Teddy and Eve exchanged looks when they realized what Lucy had found. The Competitor Profile pages were up and they were more than familliar with one of the competitors.

"Oh shit," Lucy muttered, waving her phone at Eve and Teddy.

"So is that who we're backing?" Eve asked tentatively, recognizing Evan Buckley as quickly as Lucy did once Lucy brought the profile to their attention.

"It would make sense on multiple levels, Evan's competing for the Youth Programs, just like she did," Teddy pointed out pragmatically, "Would be a great way to honor Liv since no one was fundraising for those programs last year."

Lucy sighed, contemplating the nuances of the situation. Evan Buckley was the man whose heart Tommy had broken. They were all aware of this, even if they weren't privy to the reasons why. The last thing Lucy wanted was to make an intense situation worse at the station with Tommy.

"There's an argument to be made for supporting Behavioral and Mental Health Programs, all things considered." Her eyes traveled, tracking Tommy as he moved to sit on the couch in the lounge with his book. "Lexi is an actual product of the Youth Programs too, like Olivia was. So it kind of feels like a two for one deal there."

Before they could continue the conversation, alarms sounded, and both the main company and Air Ops began to scramble into action, and Lucy gave both Teddy and Eve a nod before the three of them headed out.