Chapter Text
January 23rd
"Cariño," Eddie sighs, shaking his head with a fond smile. "You're perfect, and everything is going to be okay."
Buck spins around and opens his mouth, ready to argue, when the sound of crutches interrupts him. A few seconds later, Christopher appears through the door.
"He's stressed?" The teenager asks, but Buck wonders if it's really a question or just a bored teen's statement.
Eddie nods. "You know he is."
Buck crosses his arms and pouts. How dare they? "Remind me how your school accepted that you take the day off."
Christopher shrugs and leans on his crutches. "I just told them my dad had something important to do with family and might need me, and gave them my best puppy eyes." He snorts. "Denny was so jealous when I told him."
Buck blinks rapidly and clears his throat. "Right."
He doesn't miss the two Diaz men exchanging a look at his reaction before Chris smirks.
"Works every time."
Right, of course it didn't escape Chris that Buck would do anything he asked for when he calls him dad, especially to other people. He needs to learn how to be stronger on this.
Eddie chuckles, gets closer, and gives Buck a quick kiss on his lips. Chris, of course, fake gags, then closes the file in the table before pushing Buck gently toward the door.
"We need to go, or we'll be late." He grabs the key and opens the front door. "I hope Athena is having less trouble getting Bobby out of the door and out of the kitchen."
As Eddie closes the door, Buck laughs. Yeah, probably not.
Athena watches her husband pace in front of the court building, and she wonders if a hole is going to form where he's doing his back and forth. After five minutes, she stands up and puts herself in front of him.
"Honey," she puts her hands on his shoulders. "Relax. Everything is going to be okay."
Bobby narrows his eyes at her, "I know you're stressed too. You made us leave thirty minutes before we were supposed to."
He's right. But, "Yes. But I'm not digging a hole in front of the building."
Bobby sighs and hangs his head down.
"You're right. Sorry."
Athena puts a gentle hand on her husband's face, and he looks up at her. She gives him her best supportive and fond smile.
"Don't be sorry." She says softly. "I understand, it's an important day."
She spots a group coming behind Bobby and smiles. "For all of us."
Bobby raises a questioning eyebrow before turning around. From afar, they see Michael arriving with Chimney and Maddie. Albert and Ravi are in stride.
"And you're in the middle when we get back. Or you're sleeping on the couch tonight." Ravi argues with his boyfriend, who just laughs in return.
Hugs are exchanged, and Maddie hugs them both extra hard, eyes already full of emotions.
"David says sorry that he's not here, but apparently, brain surgeries can't be rescheduled." Michael apologizes to his husband with a smirk.
"Well, some of us have to save lives when we can't, right?" Bobby replies with a laugh, and Athena sees that he relaxes.
"You carpooled?" Athena asks.
"Yup." Chimney pops his gum, grinning. "Since we're kind of close to each other, we figure we'd better carpool. It would be less of a pain in the ass to find a place to park."
Before they can say anything else, Hen and Karen are the next to arrive from behind the building, and before they reach the little group, a car stops, and May, Harry, and Taylor come out of it.
"Thanks, Tay. I'll see you tomorrow." May waves at her boss, who waves back.
The two kids join them, but Taylor doesn't move. She smiles and waves at them, but stays leaning against her car, with her sunglasses on, a cup of coffee in her hand.
"Ish. I thought we were going to be late since we had to pick up Harry."
May says in place of greetings, hugging them one by one, at the same time as the Wilsons join them too.
"It's not my fault my car broke down." He turns to two of his dads. "I think I'll need your help to fix it."
Michael gives him a deadpan look, "We told you to either sleep at ours or Bobby's and your mom."
Harry rolls his eyes but quickly apologizes when he meets his mother's gaze.
"But we had a sibling night planned for a while." He wines, and Athena wonders briefly if he's seventeen or twelve.
May chuckles, "You didn't want to deal with Bobby's stress cooking. And since it's the first night of dad and David together in days…" She doesn't end her sentence, but Harry shivers is enough for all of them.
"I didn't stress cook," Bobby mutters.
"Hmm." Athena raises an eyebrow. "It's because I locked the kitchen last night."
Her family laughs again, and Athena's gaze trails to Taylor, and even with the other woman wearing sunglasses, she knows when their gazes meet. She can feel it. The reporter raises her cup to her and nods. Athena returns the gesture before looking at her daughter.
"She's not leaving?"
May looks over her shoulder and shrugs. "Said that she has something to give to Buck."
"And she doesn't want to come?" It's Bobby who asked this time.
To their surprise, well expect Buck and May's surprise, she kept her promise and didn't reveal Bobby's name in her article. She had faced consequences, of course, because you can't expose the army's secrets without consequences. But since she had contacted the family of the victims before, lawyers and colleagues, some of them in close contact with politicians, she had her fair share of people having her back. She also never mentioned the 118 nor May, respecting their security and privacy.
Plus, the backlash the military faced, they had enough to deal with. Taylor's popularity rose even more, and the public fully supports her 100% now. There are rumors of her winning some prize. And for once, Athena thinks that it would be something she fully deserves.
Another thing she knows is that two of her kids are close to her. Buck and Taylor are friends again, a duo who might give her more gray hair. She also knows Taylor offered a permanent place to May for when her internship is done, but the young woman is still thinking about it. Still not knowing what to do.
Finally, they hear, more than see, Buck. They hear his laugh, and Bobby stands a bit straighter.
From her place, Athena watches as Taylor stops Buck when he passes in front of her. She stops him with a hand on his chest, all the while smiling smugly at Eddie, who crosses his arms. Taylor seems satisfied because she put her glasses on her head, points a finger at Eddie, and says something to him. They all see when he rolls his eyes, and with a great pleasure on her face, Taylor pats his cheek. Only May laughs; the others are too shocked.
Right, Eddie and Taylor. The first one acts as if he hates her, and the second one loves to make fun of him. And yet, they seem to get along. Eddie leaves the two other adults together, following Christopher, who looks just as bored as any teenager.
"All I'm saying is, it happened once. Of course, she won. And she acts like she's the champion. Well.." they hear him complain as he reaches them.
Chris stops and turns to his dad. "Oh my god, Dad. Please. I'm begging you. Stop. You've told me this story at least a hundred times."
And then he leaves to join Harry. May laughs and hugs him.
"Trivia night?" The young woman asks, and Eddie only groans. "Next time, don't let Buck team up with her. I'll team up with him, and you'll team up with Taylor. I'd pay to see this."
Athena smiles at her daughter, and mostly at Eddie's reaction. Until her husband's voice grasped her attention again.
"Eddie, you know what's happening?"
The group looks back at Buck and Taylor. Buck is now holding an open folder and frowns at something the woman is telling him. Athena watches Bobby carefully, and she understands that he wants to intervene. She puts a hand in her arms, but she also wants to march down to the duo.
"A surprise," Eddie says, and his smile is soft, and it's enough for her and Bobby. Because she knows Eddie would never smile at something that isn't a hundred percent good for his boyfriend.
Then they see Buck smile brightly, closing the file and hugging the journalist, who winks at Eddie from over Buck's shoulder. The two of them separate, and she puts her glasses back on her nose. She waves at the group before speaking loudly.
"Bye, Eddie! Don't forget trivia next Friday so I can kick your ass!" She turns back to Buck, tells him something they can't hear, and climbs back into her car.
Finally, Buck joins them.
"Buck's been part of our family for a while. Sometimes our firehouse laughed about him being my kid." Bobby smiles fondly and shakes his head, thinking of his past. He puts a hand in his pocket where he can find the picture of him and Buck at the Springsteen concert.
"For a while, I tried to deny it. I thought I had no rights. But every time he got hurt, I got scared in a way I didn't think was possible again. Every time he succeeded at something, pride took over me. No matter what it was, a recipe or a rescue. There were hard times, but we always found our way back to each other."
Bobby clears his throat, and Athena, who already talked to the judge, squeezes his hand, and he squeezes hers back.
There's a brief silence during which they only hear the clicks of the computer. Bobby is sure he can see a smile tugging at the corner of the judge's smile, but it's quickly replaced by his serious expression as he reads his next question.
"I can see that a few years ago Evan Buckley sued you, the fire department, and the city." He raises his head and looks at Bobby. "You have to understand that it surprised me when I saw this, and yet you are still going through the process."
Bobby stiffens slightly at the mention of the lawsuit. Right, their lawyer told them that it might happen. From the corner of his eye, he sees the woman giving him a nod. He doesn't need to look behind him to feel the support of the rest of his family. Bobby takes a deep, steadying breath before he starts speaking.
"Tell them what happened and the reality behind your feelings and reasoning at the time." The lawyer had told them. "Any normal person would understand. Both of your points."
So that's what Bobby does. He tells the truth and his fears at the time. It's not easy, but for Buck, he'll do it a hundred times.
"Yes. It happened after Buck's first big injury on the job. Something that could have cost him his leg or even…" he pauses, even after years, it's still hard to talk about the truck incident. "It could have cost him his life, too."
Bobby hears the sharp inhale from behind him, and then he hears someone leaving the room. He doesn't have to look to know that it's Chimney who's probably going to check on Buck, who's outside with Maddie and Eddie. Bobby knows that if he has a hard time thinking about it, it's even worse for the paramedic. Those couple of shifts during which he was the captain were really some of the worst for the firehouse. Shannon and Buck both happened, and Chimney took it hard on his ability as a leader.
Athena holds his hand even harder, probably thinking of this night. The night they all heard Buck's horrifying screams. The screams that still haunt him to this day.
"I was on leave at the time. One night, the 118 got called to an emergency. The ladder truck exploded, and Buck, who was sitting on the captain's seat, got stuck under it."
'It was supposed to be you.' A voice tells him in his head, but he quickly shuts it up.
"Luckily, we disarmed the bomber." He would have died trying. "And we got Buck to the hospital. Six months later, when he was supposed to finally come back, he almost died again. Pulmonary embolism."
Bobby closes his eyes, flashes of Buck coughing out blood and collapsing right in front of him fly through his mind. Flashes of him, too shocked to catch his kid before he touches the ground, him freezing, unable to move, only having Hen and Chimney to thank for their ability to think past their shock. It's the one thing he doesn't miss about their old house, the blood mark that they never totally washed. He had to paint over it, but he knew the color was slightly different. Just a reminder of the time when he almost lost another kid without being able to do anything.
"Then he got stuck in a tsunami with who today is his kid."
Bobby finally looks at the judge, who looks truly shocked. And if he wasn't in his memories, he might laugh at his expression. Yeah, they all survived pretty big shit. The judge shakes his head, regaining a professional expression.
"So when the time came for me to either allow him to come back or to keep him at a desk job, I got scared and kept him away," Bobby whispers the last part, still ashamed of his past actions.
"The worst is that I didn't tell him until the last moment. And I didn't know how to tell him that I was scared of him hurting himself while he was on blood thinners, of him dying and me not being able to do anything, or just him coming back too soon and taking the wrong things to help him cope."
But it never happened, because Buck wasn't like him. Not in that way at least. But he still had some other problems, like putting himself in danger.
"Especially since…" his voice wavers, and he exhales loudly before speaking again. "Especially since the bomber wanted to hurt me first. I felt responsible for Buck. I just didn't know how to handle it, and I didn't want to admit it to myself. The real reason why I did that. And I regret doing it every day ever since."
A heavy silence settles in the courtroom, and even the stenographer stops typing, the sound of her sniffing echoing in the room. She blushes and excuses herself before typing again. The judge clears his throat.
"Right. Thank you, Mr. Nash."
"I see that in 2019 you sued the department and your former captain, Robert Wade Nash, who is the adult you want to do the adoption with." The judge looks at him like he's reading him, and it makes Buck kind of uncomfortable. "Why?"
"Uh?" Wow, great job, Buck. "Why what? The lawsuit or the adoption?"
It might be a dumb question, but the way the judge asked him about it… Let's just say that it took him by surprise. The judge smiles gently.
"Why not both, mister Buckley?"
Oh. Right. He knows what he has to say, but it still doesn't make it any less hard. But he can do it because he has his family with him.
"I did. When Bobby held me back from work without telling me, I felt betrayed and unwanted. I thought I was going to lose my only family, so I thought that if it was the case, then I should probably fight for it."
Buck ducks his head and shakes it. It was one of the stupidest decisions he made. But at the time, he had felt like he had no choice.
"It wasn't an easy time. I couldn't talk to anybody, but I truly thought it was the only choice. When I went back to work, I thought Bobby would never forgive me, too mad at me." The firefighter finally looks up at the judge. "And yet, when the hospital called him, he came immediately, scared. Even after what I did."
He pauses, his heart beating faster than he'd like to, but his stress vanishing little by little.
"But it wasn't the only time Bobby was there when I needed him. In my first year, I ended up at the hospital after an emergency tracheotomy." Buck lightly brushes the spot where his scat used to be.
"He came when the hospital called him, and he stayed. He taught me how to cook and how to tie a tie." A chuckle escapes him at the fond memory. "During my recovery from my leg, he was there to take me to PT. He literally saw my first steps as I was learning how to walk again."
He hears someone sniff, and he knows it's Maddie, even without looking.
"He was there every time I got hurt physically or emotionally. When I was in my coma, he never left the hospital. He got worried when I did stupid things, and I did when he was the one in danger."
Buck has to clear his throat; emotions are overwhelming him.
"And it's the same for Athena. And God only knows that it wasn't an easy win." A snort comes from behind, and this time, he knows that it's Hen. "We got into a fight when we first met, and yet today I couldn't imagine my life without her. And it's because our start wasn't easy that I know she's not just putting up with me. Because Athena would never do that."
A soft smile grows on Buck's lips as he thinks about the two people who are already his parents in ways that matter.
"So if you're asking me why I want them to adopt me, it's because it would only solidify what's already there."
He stands a bit straighter, making sure his point gets through to the judge.
"Athena and Bobby saved me. They gave me a place to call home. They gave me a family. They gave a safe place for my sister to come back to me." He knows he's crying now, but he doesn't care.
"I don't know where I would be without either of them. But I know that I know what a parent is because of them. My sister raised me when we were kids, but they raised me to become the man I am today. I just want to make it official."
At the end of his speech, Buck is a little bit breathless, but he's smiling, and so is the judge.
Buck is standing between Athena and Bobby, waiting for the judge to tell them his decision. Their lawyer, Jessica, is sure that everything will be okay. They have a solid case, and all their family vouched for them with letters. This is just a legal process. So Buck trusts Jessica; she has an outstanding review from other families, and she'll be helping them with the rest of their paperwork.
"Please, stand closer for the decision."
The little family goes to the desk, waiting anxiously.
"Do you, Robert Wade Nash, understand what it means to be an adoptive parent in the eyes of the law?"
"I do," Bobby answers with such assurance that Buck gets a glimpse of the former Captain.
"And do you accept it with everything that comes with it?"
Bobby squeezes Buck's hand, "I do."
The judge smiles and nods before turning to Athena.
"Do you, Athena Grant-Nash, understand what it means to be an adoptive parent in the eyes of the law?"
Athena squeezes Buck's hand too and gives her answers with as much assurance as her husband. Then the judge asks Buck if he knows what this means and if he accepts it. By the time he can finally give his final answers, he's almost bursting out of his body. Finally, the judge announces.
"By the rights given to me by the state of California, I declare you, Robert Wade Nash and Athena Grant-Nash, now the adoptive parents of Buck Ev Nash."
Both adults turned their heads in surprise. Jessica had told them that Buck didn't have to change his last name in California, but that he could still do it. She had also explained to him that he could choose whether his biological parents should keep their rights or not. He doesn't want them to, but for the name and the rights, he wanted it to be a surprise for his actual parents.
He had thought over it, asking Taylor to keep the paper so the secret would be safe and not found. He knows Margaret and Philip will be notified about Buck's choice, so he'll probably have to block their phone number, just like Maddie, but looking at his parents' smiles, it's all worth it. For the name, he had thought of going with Grant-Nash, but he also knew that he wanted to keep his bond to them when he'll married Eddie. He kept Ev as a middle name because it's how Maddie called him when they were kids; this was just for Mads.
As the rest of their family cheers behind them, the parents and kid sign the papers before they can finally hug.