Chapter Text
“So where do you want this bookcase to go?” Eddie asked as he peeked his eyes over the top of the bookcase in his arms, trying to find an open space in Buck’s new apartment.
It had taken almost two months of living in Eddie’s place with him and Chris, two houses of furniture stacked and placed around each other that would make any fire marshall throw a fit if they saw the place, and Buck had finally found a new apartment to move into.
It wasn’t as central to the LA nightlife and attractions as his old loft had been. But it was larger and cost less, so Buck had pretty much immediately put a deposit on the place after he toured it.
“Put it in between those two windows,” Buck said as he pointed to the wall on the other side of the living room.
That was the last of Buck’s larger furniture that needed to be moved in here. The rest was just two suitcases of clothes and a couple boxes of smaller items, mostly kitchen things. It should take another fifteen minutes max to get it up here from the Jeep, and that was only because Buck chose a third floor apartment.
“Tomorrow’s supposed to be Chimney’s first day back right?” Eddie asked as he brought in the last plastic storage box.
“Yeah,” Buck nodded. “I’m sure Greer is going to love going back to his old station.”
“It’s all he’s been talking about since their renovations were completed last week.”
John Greer had been a Captain over at the 127 until the week before Maddie had given birth to Baby Bobby. With the 127’s building being scheduled to be under renovations for three months, the department had moved the firefighters around to fill various openings in the city. It just so happened that circumstances lined up perfectly for Chimney to take off at the same time Greer needed a position.
Overall, the man wasn’t bad. He had his own style of leadership that was very distinct from Bobby’s, Chimney’s, and Gerrard’s. And while Greer had told the 118 he enjoyed working with them, it was plainly obvious that he wanted to return to the team and community he had been working with for years.
“Surprised Hen didn’t do a going away for him,” Eddie said.
“Oh, trust me. She wanted to,” Buck said. “The man made it plainly obvious he wanted nothing to do with one.”
“Does that mean Chimney’s welcome back will be even bigger?”
“Knowing Hen? Definitely.”
And Hen definitely pulled out all of her resources for Chimney’s welcome back party. There was a cake in the shape of a swaddled baby, an assortment of snacks and side dishes, decorations galore, and a gift basket that Hen told Chimney quite firmly was to be taken home to Maddie and not used by him.
About thirty minutes after noon, they were all called to respond to a house fire. It was simple, not overly complex, all contained in the kitchen and everyone was outside by the time they arrived.
“So how was that for your first call back?” Hen asked Chimney as they drove back to the station.
“Good… really good,” Chimney said.
As they pulled back into the station and disembarked the ladder truck, Buck felt a cramping in his stomach. It wasn’t bad, per se, just noticeable.
Eddie looked over at him as he was taking off his turnouts. “You okay over there, Buck?” he asked.
“Hm…” Buck looked at Eddie, seeing the slight concern the other man had on his face. It’d been a while since he saw that. “Oh yeah, I’m fine, stomach’s just a little off.”
Eddie regarded him for another moment. “Well, let's hope it’s not another bug going around.” Eddie said.
Buck had to agree with the other man. Although this thing didn’t feel like a stomach bug, and he didn’t feel at all sick, just… off.
As the afternoon went on and they finished the few tasks that needed completing around the station, Buck moved on to helping Davis, one of the newer firefighters who transferred over a couple months ago, with making dinner, between breakfast and lunch, almost all the food Hen brought in that morning had been eaten.
The entire time, the stomach cramp hadn’t really left, just became more noticeable. But it was still only a stomach cramp.
Even though he had been trying to play it cool for hours now, everyone seemed to be picking up that something was wrong with him.
“You okay, Buck?” Hen asked as she walked behind him to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“Yeah,” Buck said, nodding. “I’m fine.”
“Your stomach isn’t hurting you still. Is it?” Eddie asked as he followed behind Hen.
“Your stomach’s hurting you?” Davis turned around from chopping vegetables to ask. “Why are you cooking dinner?”
Buck rolled his eyes. “My stomach isn’t hurting and never was hurting,” Buck said. “It was just… feeling weird.”
“Is it still feeling weird?” Hen asked, leveling him with one of her looks.
“No. And it really wasn’t that big of a deal,” Buck said, putting a bit too much force into the potatoes he was mashing.
“So is it gone?” Hen asked, lifting an eyebrow and pointing him with a look.
“Not- not exactly,” Buck said. “But I’m fine to cook dinner.”
“Mhm,” she hummed as she stepped back from the counter towards the book she had left on the far table.
As Buck finished cooking, he moved to set the dish of zucchini casserole in the center of the table and they all took seats around it, and Buck just found himself… not hungry.
Which sucked, because he had been looking forward to making and eating this since he found the recipe online over a week ago.
Buck still took a scoop of the casserole and put it on his plate, thinking it wouldn’t give him questioning looks, but after a couple minutes, Hen still picked up on him.
“Give it to me straight,” Hen said as she walked up to him after dinner, thankfully on the side of the room where no one was likely to overhear. “And don’t act like you ate more than three bites for dinner.”
Buck rolled his shoulders. “I’m just not hungry,” Buck said. “My stomach isn’t feeling any worse than it was earlier.”
Hen sighed. “I’ll talk to Chimney, how about you go to sleep early.”
“I don’t feel that bad,” Buck said, slightly defensively.
“You’re feeling bad enough to not eat dinner,” Hen said. “Go take a nap.”
Buck huffed, knowing when not to say no to her. He walked down to the bunk room, and once he lay down on the bed, it was almost like his body was catching up with him. He let out a yawn, and he should have turned off the lights before he got into bed, but guessed it didn’t matter. He was out asleep in less than five minutes.
Buck woke up the next morning, thankfully they hadn’t gotten any calls that night, to a searing pain in his left leg. Hot, piercing, pain. It started by his ankle and went all the way up to his mid thigh. His leg hadn’t felt like this since he was still in recovery and going to physical therapy after the ladder truck explosion.
He tried to sit up in the bed, but even that movement caused a fiery hot wave of pain to go down his leg, causing him to gasp out loud. He tried to keep it quiet, not wanting to disturb any of the guys sleeping next to him, but it seemed to have woken up Ravi, in the bed next to him, anyway.
“Buck?” Ravi said, his voice thick with sleep, as Ravi turned his head and blinked up at him. “You okay?”
As much as Buck wanted to say no, thinking the cramp would go away by itself or that he could figure out a way to deal with it, he couldn’t. “N- no,” Buck said.
Ravi sat up fully, rubbing his eyes, becoming fully awake. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Ugh… leg,” Buck said. “It’s burning.”
“Oh- Okay. Is there anything I can - What can I do to help?” Ravi asked.
Buck wracked his head. He had no idea, his leg hadn’t felt this bad since almost six years ago when it was first injured. “Could you grab me some Tylenol?” Buck asked. He had no idea if it would do anything, it probably wouldn’t, but it was better than nothing until he could figure out what was wrong.
“Yeah,” Ravi said as he stood up. “I’ll be back in a second.” The closest First Aid kit having any OTC meds was up in the kitchen, it would take a minute or two for Ravi to grab it.
“What’s going on?” Chimney asked as he walked over. People were starting to wake up in the bunkroom, and someone turned the overhead light on.
“Leg’s killing me,” Buck said, looking down at his outstretched leg on the bed.
“Is that your bad leg?” Chimney asked. Buck nodded, his face tight. “Okay,” Chimney sighed, running his hands down his face and rubbing his eyes slightly. “Is this… This isn’t normal, is it?” Chimney asked.
At this point, some of the others had started gathering around Buck’s bed, the attention doing nothing to reassure Buck.
“No,” Buck hissed. “Hasn’t felt this way since I first hurt it.”
Ravi came back then carrying a bottle of Tylenol in his hands. Buck took a couple pills, hoping it would do something.
“Anything happen yesterday that could have caused it?” Chimney asked after a couple minutes.
Buck thought back to the calls and workouts he did yesterday, but the calls were mostly simple medical ones, no carrying people down ten flights of stairs or anything, and his workouts were pretty light. Certainly nothing he could think that would have caused this.
“No,” Buck said. “Nothing.”
“Hen told me you were feeling some nausea,” Chimney said. “Are you still?”
Buck nodded, now that he focused on it, he was still feeling slightly nauseous. The leg pain must have completely distracted him though.
Whether it was the freak pain attack going away, or the Tylenol working really really well, after about twenty minutes, the pain in Buck’s leg had gone down considerably.
“Think you can walk on it?” Ravi asked when he couldn’t see much pain displayed on Buck’s face anymore.
“Now? No,” Buck said. “Maybe in a little bit though.”
Chimney sighed, running a hand through his hair, still messed up from just getting out of bed. “I’m taking you to the hospital when the next shift gets in,” he said. “Think you can wait that long?”
Buck protested. “I don’t need that, it’s just a-”
“You’re going, Buck,” everyone told him.
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Buck sat down grumpily next to Chimney in the waiting room. Because of course the man had to not only drive him to the doctor’s office, but also walk him in as well. If the doctor ended up telling him that it was only a stomach bug and to rest for a couple days, Buck swore that was never going to let Chimney hear the end of it.
“Don’t you want to be getting home to your wife and kids right now, man?” Buck asked.
“We’re already here Buck,” Chimney said as he was typing something on his phone. He turned his hand to show Buck the screen. “And anyway, I already told Maddie we’re here, you know what she’ll do if she hears we just left.”
“I wish you never married my sister,” Buck grumbled. “I should have never introduced you two.”
“Mr. Buckley,” he heard a nurse call out his name then. Buck stood up and began walking toward her.
“Do you want me to go back with you?” Chimney asked as he got half out of his seat.
“No, I’ll be fine,” Buck waved him off. Buck didn’t need someone to go in with him to discover the cause of stomach and leg cramps. He was over thirty, he would be perfectly fine to go back there by himself.
Thankfully for Buck, the exam room he was shown to wasn’t too long of a walk down the hallway. Although the pain in his leg had improved slightly, once he walked about twenty feet at a time, it started screaming again.
The nurse took his vitals and a detailed description of the symptoms Buck was feeling that made him come in that day. As she entered it all into the computer in the corner of the exam room, she finished by saying his doctor would come by in a few minutes. Buck hoped it would only be a few minutes. He didn’t want to spend his entire morning here.
As the nurse had said, his doctor walked in less than five minutes later. “So I see you came in for some stomach and leg cramps?” she asked after initial pleasantries.
“Yeah,” Buck nodded. “Nausea started yesterday, leg pain this morning.”
“Well, lay back on the table here and I am going to probe your stomach,” the doctor instructed.
Buck did as she told, and tried not to squirm as she pressed her hands into his abdomen. He watched as the doctor's face took on a questioning look. Like she probably knew what was going on but couldn’t say for 100% yet. She stepped back and motioned for Buck to sit back up as she took a seat on a stool.
“In addition to this, you said your leg was hurting?” she asked.
Buck nodded and began to tell her about how he broke his leg six years ago. The doctor obviously knew how to control her facial expressions, and only raised her eyebrows in surprise when he told her a fire truck had landed on his leg.
“And your leg hasn’t had any of these pain spells in about… six years?” the doctor clarified.
“Yeah,” Buck nodded. “It’s had some aches and flairs here and there, but nothing like it was this morning.”
The doctor hummed for a second before asking, “Well, I don’t think this is any illness. Say, do you know if there is any chance you might be pregnant?”
Buck looked at her, confused. “Pregnant?” he repeated. “I haven’t had sex in like… four months? And isn’t that super rare?”
“Yes it is,” she said. “But you’ll be surprised at how often it happens unexpectedly. So then, would you like to take a test?”
Buck hummed and shrugged. “If you insist,” he said, knowing that if he said no, the medical staff would just push it even harder. He highly doubted he was, but if the doctor felt like it was a possibility, he knew she was going to keep pressing him for it anyway.
The doctor walked out and a nurse came in to take a blood sample, sending it to the lab for a rapid test, along with an order for a flu and virus test, just in case this wasn’t a pregnancy.
“We’ll get these run soon and be back with the results,” the nurse said as she finished drawing blood out of his arm.
Buck sat back on the exam table and got comfortable, knowing this was going to be a long wait. His phone buzzed, a text from Chimney still out in the waiting room asking for updates. Buck texted back, telling the man what was going on, and that he would probably be back there for another hour. Chimney sent him another message saying he was going to go to the cafeteria to grab a snack, and to call him if he got out earlier.
When the doctor walked back into Buck’s room later, the doctor gave him a soft and sympathetic smile as she showed him the lab results on the tablet. “You’re pregnant, Mr. Buckley.”
“You’re pregnant, Mr. Buckley.” she said.
Pregnant… Pregnant…
Pregnant…
But how? When? He hadn’t had sex in at least three months. No, Bobby died four months ago. It has at least been that long.
Then it dawned on Buck.
There was one night, about a week after Bobby died. He had gone over to Tommy’s house, them both needing some emotional comfort but being the only single people involved with Bobby’s death, they had met up.
The night led to some activities, and looking back on it, they realized that hooking up with their ex was definitely not the healthiest way to process their grief. But it happened.
“I- I’m pregnant,” Buck repeated the doctor, shock still filling his voice. God, what was he going to tell Tommy? Sure they had talked since the funeral, but barely. Not enough that you would expect someone to be talking to their baby daddy.
“Yes,” the doctor nodded. “From the hormone levels, it looks like you’re about four months along. Although if we get you an ultrasound we can use the readings to form a more accurate estimate.”
“Yeah,” Buck nodded, half in a daze. “Four months sounds… four months is correct.”
Four months… God, he had been running into burning buildings that entire time. He had gone into the building collapse! How had he not realized anything before this?!
The doctor sent him another supportive smile. “I know you’re probably thinking about why you didn’t notice anything before this, but don’t worry. That’s normal when it comes to male pregnancies.”
“Really?” Buck asked.
“Yes,” the doctor nodded. “”Except in instances where they are specifically planned, it’s often not realized until the fourth, or even the fifth month of pregnancy.”
Oh, Buck thought, realizing now that there was going to be a lot of stuff he was going to need to be researching when it came to this stuff. For while he could ask Maddie questions seeing as she had just finished her second pregnancy, it seemed there were a lot of differences when it came to males.
“So then, if you feel up to it, the receptionist at the front desk can make an appointment for you with the OB department. You should do so as soon as possible considering how far along you are.”
“Yeah,” Buck said, nodding. “That… that sounds good.”
Ten minutes later, he walked away from the front desk with an appointment scheduled for three days from now, a prescription for prenatal vitamins, another prescription for some pain relievers for his leg that would be safe to take while pregnant, and numerous pamphlets and booklets on male pregnancies.
“So? Did they figure out what was wrong?” Chimney asked as he came up to meet him from where he had been sitting in the waiting room.
Buck jerked his head to the side as his shoulders slightly jumped.
Oh shit. Before he could even think about talking to Tommy about everything. First he would have to explain it to Chimney. Chimney was his Captain now, he had to tell the man these things that would affect his ability to work. This would be so much easier if Bobby was still here.
“I- um… I-” Buck stumbled over his words. “I need to talk to Maddie about this.” After saying that, Buck turned around, heading straight to Chimney’s car in the hospital parking garage.
Chimney went running after him. “Hey Buck! Wait! What’s going on?”
“I-” Buck took a deep breath, trying to think over his words as he did so. “I need to talk to Maddie first.”
Chimney sighed, not having any idea what was wrong with Buck, but knowing when it was best not to push him. “Okay, I’ll take you over to our house.”
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Baby Bobby was finally at the stage where Buck could begin to play with him. ‘Play’ being, bounce a stuffed animal in front of him and make him smile. And he had a very cute smile.
“He’s not cuter than I was, is he?” Jee asked from where she sat next to her uncle, a frown maring her face.
Buck looked over at her and smiled. “No Jee, no one can be cuter than you.” The frown on her face turned into a wide smile.
“So,” Maddie interrupted them as she walked over to the living room with two cups of tea. “What is it you needed to talk to me about?” she asked.
Buck hesitated, looking between her, the stuffed tiger in his hands, and little Baby Bobby. Jee tilted her head from where she was sitting next to him, also wanting to hear his answer.
Maddie picked up on Buck’s nervousness. “Hey, Jee, how about you go help Daddy outside, me and Uncle Buck need to have an adult conversation.”
“But Bobby’s still here,” she said.
“Bobby doesn’t know any words yet,” Maddie said.”He doesn’t know what we're talking about.”
She huffed as she slid off the edge of the couch. “You’ll come out and play with me afterwards Uncle Buck?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Buck nodded his head. “I’ll be right out.” She nodded her head as she ran to the back door, going to help out Chimney with setting up a new playhouse a friend at dispatch had given Maddie after their kids outgrew it.
“So,” Maddie said, drawing Buck’s attention to her as she passed him one of the cups of tea. Buck put the stuffed tiger on the edge of Bobby’s bassinet as he took a sip. “What is it you need to talk about?”
“Well… you know how Chimney forced me to go to the hospital earlier?” Buck started.
“Yeah, he called me and said your leg and stomach were bothering you,” Maddie said. “Did they find out what was causing it?”
Buck nodded, as he took another long sip of the tea.
“Yeah, sort of,” he said as he took a pause, Maddie looked at him expectantly.
“I’m pregnant,” he blurted the two words out - just getting it over with.
Maddie’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re… pregnant?” She repeated Buck’s statement.
Buck squirmed where he sat. Just giving a quick and jerky nod.
“And I take it, the father is-”
“Tommy?” Buck said. “Yeah, it’s him.”
Buck watched as the thoughts ran through her head, probably trying to calculate how far along he was. “I thought that last time you two got together was… back in like March?” Maddie asked. “That would mean…”
“Well, there was another time,” Buck said, looking back down at Baby Bobby, now holding the stuffed tiger in his hands and pulling at its legs. “It was right after Bobby… you know. And we were both not really thinking clearly. And, yeah… the doctor said I’m probably around four months based on my hormone levels, which… adds up.”
Maddie was silent for a moment, taking a breath before speaking. “When was the last time you talked with him?”
Buck let out a long sigh at that question. “Like… a week after Bobby was born, I think? Sometime around then.”
Maddie was silent for another moment, before speaking softly. “You know you’re going to have to tell him about this, right?” she asked.
Buck let out a long breath through his teeth, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I know, I know,” he muttered, more to himself than Maddie. “It’s just… how do you even tell someone, ‘Oh hey, I know we had a one night stand four months ago and haven’t spoken in months but surprise! I’m pregnant.’”
Maddie placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm him down slightly. “You have his number, you know where he lives, you know where he works. Any one of these ways or options will work. You just need to tell him.”