Chapter Text
The thing about Buck is, he doesn’t always think things through.
Scratch that. Buck rarely thinks things through.
So when he found the shivering bundle of fur huddled behind a dumpster outside the station one evening, there wasn’t a thought in his head beyond: you’re small, you’re cold, and you need me.
Which is how he ended up sneaking the puppy into his Jeep, wrapping it in his jacket, and whispering promises like it understood every word.
By the time he pulled into Eddie’s driveway, the puppy was asleep in his lap, paws twitching in some dream. Buck’s heart swelled so hard it almost hurt.
He didn’t think about Eddie’s expression. Or the fact that dogs weren’t exactly in the budget, the budget Eddie deals with, the budget Eddie is very strict about.
“Surprise” Buck says walking into their house.
“Buck,” Eddie said flatly the moment he spotted the jacket wrapped bundle in Buck’s arms. “Tell me you didn’t.”
Buck shifted his weight, smiling sheepishly. “Did what?”
Eddie crossed his arms. “Whatever is in there.”
Christopher came barreling down the hallway. “What’s in there?” His eyes widened when Buck crouched down and revealed the puppy. “No way. Is that a dog?”
The puppy yawned and sneezed. Chris gasped like he’d just seen a miracle.
“Dad, look! It’s perfect!” Chris grinned wide.
Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose. “Buck.”
“I couldn’t just leave it there,” Buck said, defensive now. “It was freezing. Alone. It needed,"
“...food, vaccinations, training, and money,” Eddie finished. “Which we don’t have lying around, I haven't budgeted for a dog."
Chris was already kneeling on the floor, letting the puppy sniff his hands. His face lit up when the pup licked his fingers. “We’re keeping him, right?”
“Chris," Eddie says sending a glare to Buck.
“Please, Dad. Please.” Chris looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “He’s ours now. I’ll take care of him. I’ll feed him and everything.”
Buck, traitor that he was, gave Eddie a soft smile. “I’ll help too.”
Eddie exhaled slowly. He wanted to be the responsible one here, the adult who put his foot down. But Chris was beaming, Buck was cradling the puppy like it was the most precious thing in the world, and Eddie felt his resolve crumbling.
“Fine,” he said finally. “But this is on you, Buck. I'm going to go add the little one into the budget.”
Buck’s grin could’ve powered Los Angeles.
Dinner was chaos. The puppy sat under the table, staring up with big brown eyes, while Chris brainstormed names like he was pitching a product launch.
“Captain Fluffington.”
Eddie coughed into his water. “No.”
“Sir Bark a Lot.”
Buck laughed so hard he nearly dropped his fork. “I kinda like that one.”
Eddie gave him a look.
Chris tapped his chin. “What about Pancake?”
The puppy tilted its head at the sound, as if considering it.
“Pancake?” Eddie repeated.
“Yeah! Because he’s small and flat when he lies down.” Chris demonstrated by flopping onto the floor. The puppy immediately crawled onto his stomach. “See? Perfect Pancake.”
“Pancake,” Buck tried out, his voice gentle. The puppy’s tail wagged.
Eddie closed his eyes. “We’re really doing this, aren’t we?”
“Pancake!” Chris cheered. “That’s his name!”
Over the next week, Eddie pretended to be annoyed. He complained about fur on the couch, about muddy paw prints on the floor, about Buck spoiling the dog with toys and treats.
But Buck noticed the way Eddie crouched down to scratch behind Pancake’s ears before heading to a shift. He noticed how Eddie absentmindedly rubbed the puppy’s head while checking Christopher’s math homework.
And one night, Buck noticed something else.
He’d fallen asleep on the living room floor, exhausted after a long shift. Pancake had cuddled up onto his chest, a warm, snoring weight. Buck just smiled.
Eddie came out of his bedroom, to grab a glass of water, and froze in the doorway.
Buck didn’t stir, but Eddie stayed there a long moment, watching them.
Something in his chest squeezed. Seeing Buck passed out, on the couch, lips parted in sleep, one hand curled protectively over the tiny dog, it hit Eddie with a force he wasn’t ready for.
Because it wasn’t just cute. It was right. Like pieces of a puzzle sliding into place.
Eddie thought, not just about the puppy, not even about the ridiculous name, but about what else was missing from this picture.
… a baby.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Buck’s voice was rough. He got off the couch and came to the kitchen.
Eddie poured himself and Buck a glass of water. “Neither could you, apparently. You were out cold on the couch.”
Buck rubbed the back of his neck. “Pancake wanted company.”
Eddie snorted, leaning against the counter. “Sure, pancake wanted company.”
“Yes, he did.” Buck’s smile was small, sheepish. “He just… needed someone. I know what that’s like.”
Eddie’s chest tightened. He thought about Buck’s childhood, about the way he’d always been searching for a place to belong. About how Chris had filled some of that void, and now apparently Pancake too.
“You’re good with him,” Eddie said quietly.
Buck blinked. “With Pancake?”
“And Chris,” Eddie clarified. “With both of them. It’s like… you were meant for this, for a family."
Buck ducked his head, hiding the pink in his cheeks. “Guess I just like taking care of them.”
Silence stretched, comfortable but charged. Eddie’s mind drifted back to that image, Buck with Pancake asleep on his chest, Chris giggling beside them earlier in the day.
A family. Their family.
And it wasn’t complete yet.
The next morning, Chris bounded into the kitchen, Pancake hot on his heels.
“Dad! Buck! Pancake likes peanut butter!”
“Chris, no peanut butter on the carpet!” Eddie groaned, reaching for paper towels.
Buck was laughing, doubled over, while the puppy licked happily at Chris’s sticky fingers.
It was chaos. Messy, loud, unpredictable chaos. And Eddie realized, watching them, that he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Later, as Chris napped on the couch with Pancake curled against his side, Eddie found Buck in the kitchen again.
“Hey,” Eddie said softly.
Buck looked up, smile easy. “Hey.”
Eddie hesitated, then let the words slip out before he could second guess them.
“You ever think about… adding to this?”
Buck blinked. “Adding?”
Eddie gestured vaguely toward the living room. “Chris. Pancake. Us. Maybe…a baby too..."
The air went still. Buck’s mouth opened, “You mean?”
Eddie met his eyes steadily. “Yeah. You and me having a baby...?"
Buck’s breath hitched. His eyes shimmered, like he wasn’t sure if he’d heard right.
And then he smiled, brighter than any sun.
“Yeah, I would love that." he whispered, leaning over to kiss Eddie, breaking apart when Pancake started barking excitedly at their feet, Chris just grinned.
“Told you Pancake was perfect,” he said.
And for once, Eddie couldn’t argue.
Because somehow, a stray puppy had given them more than they realized they needed.