Chapter Text
Eddie liked Maddie. She was one of the only people who had always cared about Buck the way he deserved. Sure, she had made her mistakes but who hadn’t? At least she had done the work to repair the damage. That’s more than what he could say about himself.
So yeah, Eddie liked Maddie. They weren’t close, though. They chatted during team get-togethers. They’d exchanged numbers the first time Buck landed in the hospital, but most of their texts faded out once Buck was back on his feet. Which is why Eddie was surprised to see her standing on his porch at eight in the morning.
He opened the door. “Hey, Maddie,” he greeted, stepping aside. “Buck’s on shift right now.”
“I know,” she said, her hand resting on her very pregnant belly as she stepped carefully inside. “I wanted to talk to you.”
Eddie took a seat on the recliner across from her, chuckling nervously. “Sure, what’s up?”
Maddie took a deep breath. She hesitated, trying to find the right word until she settled on, “Do you care about Evan?”
Eddie’s eyes widened, taken aback by the abrupt question. “Of course, I do! You know that!”
Maddie nodded, but her expression was unreadable. “You know him better than anyone. Better than me. You know exactly which words build him up—and which ones tear him down. You have that power. And I’ve seen you use it.”
Eddie opened his mouth but Maddie held her hand up, stopping him before any sounds escaped his lips.
“During the lawsuit, you told him he’s exhausted. You said ‘we all have our own problems but you don’t see us whining about it. You know somehow we just manage to suck it up. Why can’t you?’ That was five years ago, Eddie. He quoted it to me yesterday. Word for word.”
Eddie sucked in a sharp breath, tears pricking on the back of his eyes and Maddie continued. “Then there was you leaving. You knew it would break his heart. Instead of talking to him, you said ‘if you’re going to make this about me having to choose between you and my son, you’re gonna lose every time.’”
She paused. The room felt thick with quiet. “Your sentiment wasn’t wrong. Chim and I feel the same way about Jee if it came down to it. But we’ve never made it a competition. We’ve never told each other the other would always lose.”
Eddie nodded, seeing the fire in Maddie’s eyes. He knew what a protective sister she was but this was the first time he’d witnessed this persona. This was the first time her fury was directed at him. Her words were calm but Eddie felt a chill at the underlying fury. “And then, yesterday. You implied that he didn’t try hard enough to save Bobby?”
“I– I didn’t mean to. We were just fighting and…” Eddie’s voice was rough but Maddie cut him off.
“But that’s the thing, Eddie,” Maddie said sharply, cutting him off. “I know he’s not perfect. He still feels guilty about the lawsuit. About telling that lawyer personal details. He shouldn’t have sabotaged that house viewing for you or told everyone else you were leaving before you were ready either. I definitely don’t need to tell you that he already felt responsible for Bobby. You know him well enough.”
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes fierce now. “He messes up, sure. But he never intentionally tried to hurt you. You did. You cherry picked your words to cause him pain. Tell me I’m wrong.”
Eddie swallowed hard. Her words echoed in his chest. He had been angry. Hurt. Desperate for Buck to understand what he was feeling. And in that desperation, he'd wanted Buck to hurt the same way. Eddie looked away, unable to meet her eyes as shame filled him. “You’re right,” he croaked out, on the verge of tears.
Maddie’s posture softened at the admission. “I’m sorry,” Eddie added, barely above a whisper.
She nodded. A sob tore out of him, raw and aching. She reached out, placing a steady hand on his knee.
“Eddie,” she said gently. He looked up at her, tears spilling down his cheeks. “You’re good for him. You care about him. You love him. You and Christopher brought stability into his life that no one else ever could. He cares about you—so much. But you both have your own traumas, and with him, every harsh word sticks. No matter how angry you are, or how much you didn’t mean it, some part of his brain will replay those words until he breaks.”
She let her hand drop back to her lap.
“He’s working through it,” she added. “You need to work on not using your words to wound him when all you really want is for him to understand you.”
Eddie looked at her, stunned. “How do you know I love him?”
Maddie gave him a small, kind smile—the first real one she’d shown since walking in.
“Because the only person I’d ever trust to care for my child if something happened to me… is my husband.” She let that sink in. “That’s what Buck is to you.”
Eddie nodded slowly. It landed. All of it did.
“You’re right,” he whispered. “I need to stop tearing him down. I will. I’ll apologize. I’ll fix it. Whatever it takes.”
Maddie nodded, reaching to grab her bag. “Good, I trust you’ll sort it out but if Buck comes crying to me one more time because you said something, Diaz…” Maddie warned.
Eddie placed a hand over his heart, managing a watery smile. “I’ll kick my own ass.”