Work Text:
"Let’s cut to the chase here, shall we? Did you, or did you not, deny Firefighter Buckley her return to work?”
“She isn’t ready.”
“Yes or no Captain Nash. Did you, or did you not, deny her.”
“Yes.”
“I see. And upon what did you base this decision on?”
“She pushed her recovery too hard! She caused blood clots!”
“Nash, I have here in front of me detailed notes from an entire team of doctors, all of whom kept a close eye on what Buckley did throughout her recovery. She did everything according to the carefully thought out and constantly evolving plan of said team of specialists. I don’t think you quite understand just how remarkable her recovery was. That she not only kept her leg but recovered enough that she has been cleared for active duty by both the LAFD and the Navy – which, to be clear, have rather stricter physical requirements than we do – says a lot to her dedication and resilience, as well as the work that was put into her. And you, you thought you knew better than… everyone, did you? Explain yourself.”
“Those doctors don't know Buck. Not like I do. And why would the Navy clear her? What have they got to do with anything?”
He was met with frankly incredulous stares. “My God, you actually haven’t bothered to read her file, have you. Do you bother to read any of the personnel files for your shift?!”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s right there on the first damn page, Nash! The woman is a naval aviator, and currently in the Reserves. She can be called on at any time – hell, she has been called on to active missions since starting at your damn house! How did you miss that?! You know, we thought perhaps you just chose to ignore her accomplishments, for some… misguided reason. Why else would you allow all the harassment against her, why else would you join in? It had occurred to us that perhaps you dislike the armed forces and were taking your prejudices out on her. Perhaps you are against women being firefighters! However, it would now appear that you are merely negligent and do not bother to find out who is working for you!”
“That’s not true!”
“No? Then please, tell us: how exactly did you not know Buckley was active military, as you appear to be claiming? After all, if you had read her file, you would know that. And yes, we do know that for a fact, as each and every one of us has read the exact file that you have a copy of.”
Bobby stuttered a bit for a moment – but only a short moment. “I – well, I – I knew she had tried to join the Navy. But the information I had was that she failed out!”
“I see.” The reply was icy cold. “Captain Nash, you do remember that, prior to the bombing of ladder 118, you had been suspended for lying to this department don't you?”
“Yes,”
“Mm. And your solution to this, upon being reinstated was to… lie to us some more?”
“No sir. I have not lied.”
“You’re lying right now. And have done so – to our faces, no less – ever since you walked into this room. We have Buckley’s medical files. We have her clearances – all of them. We have her recertifications. We have the notes from the ER and her team of doctors detailing exactly what caused the blood clots. And we also have your version of this, which is in direct contradiction to everything else. We have your notes, where you state she is unfit for duty – a liability. Again, in direct contradiction to what everyone else is saying.
“We also have statements from various people in HR stating that you bribed them to ensure Buckley was kept off active duty – also lying to them to do so. We have it on file that you are the one who pushed that moronic fire marshal position, and ensured that it bypassed the normal routes so that it would actually make it to Buckley.
“Which, to be clear, it never should have. You claim you wanted her to be safe, but that was just about the stupidest job to give her to ensure that.”
“It is not! Buck has no right being out in the field again, she is a liability! She pushed her recovery too hard, and then look at the fuss she is causing trying to come back before she is ready! I am responsible for the lives of twenty other firefighters: excuse me if pandering to the childish whims and wishes of one is not something I am willing to entertain!”
“Firefighter Buckley’s wishes are not the ‘childish whims’ you are pandering to, Nash. You have still yet to grasp the seriousness of this situation, haven’t you? I had thought that your suspension – again – would have helped you realise that, but apparently not. I suppose your last suspension gave you a false precedent: after all, it was an idiotic move on this department’s part to waive that in light of your firefighters injuries and your own actions that night. To be clear, those have been reviewed as well: and they were not the heroic self-sacrifice they were previously painted as. Taken in conjunction with your previous actions, I have to confess there has been a very worrying pattern emerging in terms of your behaviour. Not to mention other issues that you failed to disclose to this department both upon your hiring and subsequently that have come to light in this investigation.”
XXX
Hen had had far too much time to reflect in the past week since her suspension.
Which, to be clear, she still felt was unjustified!
But… Well. Looking back on the past few months… She supposed she hadn’t been the best friend to Buck. Karen had certainly hammered that into her when Hen had come home ranting about the woman and how she had gotten them into trouble.
Which, looking back, was what both Bobby and Chimney had said.
What had Eddie said? Not much of anything, when she thought about it – not that day. Oh sure, he had said plenty over the previous weeks – they all had. Since Buck had thrown that clot through her own actions…
Except, no – that hadn't been true, had it? Chimney had harped on about it so much, detailing what Maddie had been telling him about her daily visits to her little sister.
Which… if Eddie was to be believed, hadn't been happening?
According to Eddie, Hen suddenly remembered, Buck hadn’t even been in L.A. the week before the tsunami – the tsunami being the reason that had slipped Hen’s mind until now, when she had little better to do than sit and ruminate over her own actions and wait for a call instructing her to come in for a second interview. The first she had gone into not thinking she had done anything wrong.
She had come out significantly less certain, and somewhat disquieted it had to be said, though no outright allegations had been made against her.
The lines of questioning though…
Well.
According to Eddie, who had dropped Chris off the morning of the tsunami – not that they were to know that at the time of course, and why had the warning systems failed anyway? – as part of Operation ‘Buck up Buck', she had been less than impressed with him when he had turned up. With any of then, Hen was sure. He hadn't shared it with the others, as he and Hen had been alone when she had asked him before they were out on a call how it had gone, but…
Well. She remembered now how… disquieted he had been. How, he had confessed, he hasn't been in contact with her over that week. Had Hen been?
No. No she hasn't, which had surprised her a bit to realise.
Looking back at her texts now and doing her best to ignore the clock ticking away on the cabinet that would usually signal she needed to leave for work, Hen was mildly horrified to realise how long it had actually been.
Sure, there was the occasional text telling her to ‘hang in there', that she would ‘get better son's – but she had ignored or brushed off any replies from Buck that she was better, believing the party line that she was pushing too hard and hasn't listening to medical professionals.
Apparently, that wasn’t exactly the case…
Anyway, Eddie had asked her if she knew if Maddie had actually been by in person to visit Buck.
Hen had said of course she had been, Chim had said so.
She had been startled to find out that apparently the woman had actually been in Hawaii. She also hadn't believed it, so Eddie had pulled up Instagram. Not something he used often, he still had Buck followed for… reasons. Something about the occasional photo of Chris or something? But whatever, Eddie had said, he didn’t check it often so he didn’t really see what she posted most of the time.
But he had looked on a whim when he had got to the station this morning.
And yep, she had been in Hawaii – and hadn’t been hiding that fact since there it was, all over her feed.
Hen, whipping her own phone out, had discovered that apparently she did not have the woman on Instagram, and her account was set so that if she hadn;t accepted your follow you couldn’t see what she posted.
Huh. Hen hadn’t been expecting that. She had sent a follow request to the handle Eddie had given her, but in the chaos that had followed had forgotten all about it.
“Hey Baby,” Hen looked up as her wife walked into the room, distracted from where she was about to open Instagram to look and see if Buck had accepted her request. (She wasn’t holding out much hope, not after the kid’s attitude last week at the station and not given the fact she had not reached out to Hen since then either.) “You’re on school run duty.”
Right. Since Hen was off work right now, ferrying Denny around all over the place was her job currently. Not that she minded, or anything, she just longed to be back out there, having her team’s backs and saving L.A., one idiot at a time.
XXX
Eddie sat on his couch after dropping his son at school – an activity he was enjoying being able to do daily, being there for breakfast and dinner, getting up and going to bed, it was kinda nice even if he was going more than a little stir crazy being off work – mindlessly scrolling on his phone.
It had been an enjoyable, though at times awkward, trip to the zoo with Buck a few days ago. Chris had been over the moon to see his favourite person again, and Eddie wouldn't believe he had kept the pair apart as he had done.
He had thought he was protecting Chris, keeping away the reminder of the horrible day he had had.
Apparently, he had been doing the opposite, and Chris's therapist had even recommended that seeing Buck again would probably do the kid some good.
Buck had been less nice about it, telling Eddie he was a moron and was isolating his kid from everyone who hasn't himself, Carla or school which was a stupid move. Sure, they knew what he had been through – but they didn’t know.
Buck had mentioned that she herself had gone to a group therapy thing, and that many people there had asked her how the little boy with her on that day was. How she hadn't even had real answers for them, because Eddie had kept her away, but that she had been able to assure them Chris was alive at least.
Eddie had mentioned that to his kid's therapist as well. Apparently, it might be a good idea for Chris to go along to a session like that as well – they’d discuss it later.
Regardless, the three had traipsed off to the zoo, and had had a grand time.
It had been… nice. A little slice of quiet normalcy, just the three of them out on a trip; no injuries or dead mothers or tsunamis. Just three people who enjoyed each other's company, and were determined to enjoy their day and forget about all their worries, at least temporarily.
And to determinedly ignore the undercurrent of tension between the two adults, which Eddie really hoped his kid hadn’t picked up on. But he was one smart cookie, so he probably had the little shit.
He knew he and Buck needed to talk. He knew that.
He just… wasn’t looking forwards to it. What little they had talked over so far told him that there was a lot of shit tha needed to be covered, and he had a feeling he wouldn't like what was said.
As long as that prick Seresin wasn’t there next time…
They were texting again, at least. He hadn't realised how much he relied on the woman, until he had suddenly cut her off – and why had he done that again? His therapist – mandated, and which he was not happy about having – had said they would be returning to that, but Eddie wasn’t looking forward to it.
Buck’s fiance was in town, so he wasn’t sure when he would see her next. Because come on, who wanted their mess of a friend (and he was trying to hold it together, he really was. He just… apparently wasn’t doing a very good job of it. His father would be so disappointed, and he did not need the lecture about how he was such a failure that he was convinced his mother already had lined up and waiting…) hanging around when their deployed lover was home for a while? Surely Buck wouldn’t have time for them.
And that was so typical of her, she never thought about anyone but herself and – !
No – hang on. That was Chimney and Bobby talking. That was Maddie talking through them.
That was what he had been listening to for the past however long, and since he hadn’t had Buck right there in front of him to counteract their words with her actions and general demeanour, he had started believing it apparently.
What was that phrase? A lie repeated often enough started sounding like a truth, or something?
Yeah. And Chimney had complained a lot – and loudly – on Maddie’s behalf he was realising now all throughout Buck’s recovery from the ladder truck bombing.
And, actually – that week before the tsunami probably wasn’t the only time she was making stuff up about her actions, now was it… No, if Buck was right and her Navy friends had been by – and Eddie did believe her, that prick Seresin had been right there too and was apparently still there – at varying times over her recovery, then… Why had Maddie not mentioned them if, like she claimed, she was around her little sister to help her nearly every day?
Huh…
Pulling up Instagram, Eddie decided he might as well see if anyone had posted anyone interesting. He didn’t post often himself – if you asked him what his password was, he wouldn't have been able to tell you at all, thank God the app kept you signed in and he hasn't lost his phone in the tsunami… – and he didn’t follow many people, but it was still nice to see what his sisters were up to sometimes without actually having to talk to them.
He froze as he took in what he was seeing, his heart rate picking up.
That was… That was Buck. Apparently up a mountain. Kissing and grinning with a guy he recognised from old posts in a few different posted pictures.
Wearing a wedding dress, the guests in dress uniform – was that a firefighter? Huh, who was he? Eddie didn’t recognise him from the 118, and he hadn’t realised Buck knew any other firefighters from different houses.
Wearing a goddamn wedding dress!
Before he could even think about it, he was switching apps and firing off a message to her:
Eddie:
You got MARRIED?!?!?!
It didn’t take long for the reply to come through.
Buck:
Yep! 🥰
And maybe his response wasn’t the best, but he still felt like anything was probably better than the selfish ‘why didn't you tell ME’ that was swimming through his brain.
Eddie:
How long have you even known the guy?
Buck:
Years before we ever got together Eddie. And really? Stones, glass houses much
Which… fair. He really didn’t have any room to judge anyone did he. He knew his friend had opinions on he and Shanon – mostly from when they had fallen back into bed without sorting any of their issues – and he knew she had thought he was being an idiot, but she had been nice enough not to say anything.
Eddie:
Sorry, didn’t mean anything by that
He really hadn’t! He was just… surprised, and he had trouble expressing himself sometimes.
Really, she no doubt knew that by now anyway.
Thinking about it for a moment, he found himself relieved that, though he was feeling a lot of emotions over this turn of events, anger didn’t really seem to be one of them – not to the suffocating degree he had been feeling lately, anyway.
Eddie:
Congratulations!
Buck:
🤣🤣🤣 thanks
Eddie:
I didn’t know you were planning on doing it so soon?
There, that sounded alright, didn’t it? It had been a shock – last she had mentioned when he had sort of vaguely asked about it – still feeling unsure on what he could even ask given the rocky state of their friendship, still horribly embarrassed asking anything personal – the two were content to remain engaged for now. Because wedding planning was a lot, and who wanted the stress?
Actually – hang on. Hadn’t she said the fiancee was overseas and not due back any time soon either? And that it was a surprise to come home from the zoo and find him there?
Buck:
We weren’t. Spur of the moment decision kinda. Tommy saw the idea, thought it was very us. Told roo about it, he told me
And the rest is history 🤪
Huh.
Eddie:
Huh.
So where’d you do it? Kinda hard to get last minute bookings isn't
Buck:
Would be if we booked anywhere
Hiked a mountain, a friend officiated
He'll have a party for everyone at some point cause We've already got folk bitching at us for doing it without them
Apparently they're ‘invested’ cause it took us ‘so long to get our shit together’
Dicks
But hey, they're organising it!
Eddie:
Can me and Chris come to the party?
Buck:
And Abuela and Pepa too I hope
Eddie grinned, relaxing back into his couch cushions as he settled in for a long texting conversation with his best friend.
Maybe this being off work thing wasn’t so bad after all.
Eddie:
Let us know if we can help with party planning?
Buck:
You betcha