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Eddie cannot wait for the day that Buck will return to work.
It’s felt so off without him lately.
And what makes it worse is that everyone else can feel it too.
“This feels weird,” Harry says from the loft kitchen.
“Being in the kitchen without Buck?” Ravi asks as he flips the burger meat in a pan.
“Well, he’s here in spirit and pastry,” Eddie jumps in, holding up one of Buck’s delicious cookies with a big smile, walking over to the kitchen island to sit at a stool where a measuring cup of milk is.
God, he loves Buck’s baking.
Eddie then semi-ignores everyone as they talk about Buck, comparing him to an elf that makes cookies in the trees or something, as Eddie dips Buck’s cookie in milk before taking a bite out of it.
“Cap say how long he was going to be out?” Eddie asks through a bite of cookie, because he needs to know.
“He wasn’t sure,” Hen says.
Eddie’s heart pings in his chest…God, he hopes Buck will be back soon. He misses those ocean eyes and Buck’s endless facts.
Though he’d never admit that to anyone.
“Cap say anything about bringing in someone new?” Ravi asks.
Eddie is suddenly filled with rage.
What does Ravi mean by that? Why do they need someone new when Buck will be back soon?
They don’t need some amateur. They need Buck. Eddie needs Buck.
“He definitely did not,” Hen says in a weird tone, walking around the island, looking at something behind Eddie, causing him to turn around and look at what she’s seeing.
Chim is walking over to them with someone new.
Oh, fuck this.
Eddie will not stand for this.
Eddie stares at Chim and the new guy angrily as he munches on Buck’s yummy cookie.
Sam, Max, or whatever his name is, Eddie wasn’t listening—but it’s a three-letter name with an ‘a’ in the middle—walks over to Hen to shake her hand, she accepts it, but then he tries to shake Eddie’s hand, and Eddie just stares up at Sam with pure anger as he takes another bite of Buck’s cookie, not making any sort of move to accept the handshake.
Max, Sam, whatever, looks scared and moves onto Ravi and Harry, fist-bumping them, sounding way too happy to be here.
Eddie hates him. He needs to leave before Eddie does something that will most definitely get him fired and sent to jail.
“Where did you come from, Sam? You work out of another house?” Hen asks him.
Max or whatever answers her question, but Eddie tunes it all out, dips the cookie back in the milk, and eats the rest of it, humming softly at its delicious taste.
Has Eddie mentioned how much he loves Buck’s cooking/baking?
Then, suddenly, the new guy speeds around the island and into the kitchen.
That angers Eddie even more.
That’s Buck’s domain. It’s fine with Ravi and Harry, but not this guy. He doesn’t belong here.
Eddie glares at Chim. But Chim is too busy grinning at Hen to notice.
Eddie jumps up from the stool he was sitting at and grabs another cookie, living in ignorant bliss, ignoring the fact that Chim is trying to replace Buck when Buck is going to be back soon.
Eddie doesn’t hang around too long after they eat breakfast and gets a head start on chores.
He can’t stand to face Chim right now without wanting to do something rash like slapping his captain in the face to smack some sense into him.
Eddie can’t wait for this day to be over and for Buck to be back.
+++
Eddie is currently cleaning the glass around the locker room alone, wishing Buck were here with him, doing it with him.
Eddie loves doing this with Buck and all of his chores with Buck, listening to the blonde ramble about who knows what, making time go by faster as endless conversation between the two flows.
Hen has done it with him a couple of times, the two gossiping about all sorts of things. But she knows he prefers doing it with Buck.
Eddie is thinking about how much he misses Buck as he cleans all of the stupid fucking glass around the locker room when the new guy decides to wander over to him with a too-big grin on his face.
“Hi, Eddie!” Max greets with a wave, standing way too close.
Eddie groans, turning to face the other man.
“I know we haven’t had a chance to talk yet, but I wanted to say hi and how excited I am to be working with you,” Max explains happily.
Eddie inhales a long breath, face scrunching in anger, pointing a finger at him. “Don’t get comfortable, pal. You’re not going to be here permanently. You’re just filling in a spot that was never yours. And I don’t want you here. Get lost, I’ve got chores to do.”
Max’s—Sam’s—mouth falls open, then it closes and opens again like he’s going to say something, then the alarm sounds.
Eddie sighs, annoyed, setting the cleaning supplies down, making his way to the engine, the new guy not too far behind him.
The day feels like it’s never going to end because they keep on getting calls to the same building over and over again.
The only thing that could make it more bearable would be having Buck here by his side, but sadly, he’s not.
What makes it worse is that Sam keeps looking at Eddie, like he’s trying to make friends with him, but is also simultaneously terrified of him.
Eddie always glares darkly at him every time he looks Eddie’s way.
Oh, how he wishes Buck were here.
+++
After a full day in court, Eddie is finally free, pulling up to Buck’s house, where Buck and Chris are.
Buck has been picking Chris up from school while he waits to head back to work any day that Eddie is on shift.
As soon as Eddie unlocks the door with his key, he’s greeted by a smiling Buck with messy hair, sweatpants, a hoodie, and a basket of baked goods.
This is just what Eddie needed.
“Hey, Buck,” Eddie greets softly.
“Hey, Eddie,” Buck says back. “Long day?”
Eddie nods. “Very. So glad it’s over. But it’s only getting started because they aren’t listening to us. They think Chim is at fault for it.”
Buck frowns and hands Eddie a scone. “Here, maybe this will cheer you up. I know it’ll all clear up. I know it’s obvious Chim didn’t do it.”
“Yeah, I know.” Eddie then excitedly takes the scone and eats half of it in one bite, moaning at the heavenly taste. “This is just what I needed. Thanks, Buck.”
Buck beams, making Eddie short of breath.
No one’s smile could ever be that breathtaking, except for Buck’s.
Eddie eats the rest of the scone in one more bite, then reaches for the basket to grab another, but then he just takes the whole basket, Buck letting Eddie take it as the two walk towards the kitchen.
“On top of the court crap, the new guy, Max, has been annoying me heavily,” Eddie grumbles.
Buck perks up at that. “What did he do?”
Eddie sighs, taking a bite of the sweet treat. “He’s been acting nice, too nice, like he’s trying to make everyone like him when he knows he’s only here temporarily. It pisses me off.”
“I’m sorry, Eds,” Buck says genuinely with a frown.
“Hey, no, it’s not on you. You’re going to be back soon, and all will be well with the world again.”
Buck relaxes at that. “Yeah, it will. I’m unsure of when I’ll be back, but I know I will, soon.”
“Good,” Eddie says firmly, setting the basket on the kitchen island, taking another bite of scone. “Did you and Chris have a good day?” Eddie asks through a bite of scone.
Buck nods, smile widening. “Yeah, after I spent the day getting Maddie’s dry cleaning and giving the dispatchers coffee,” Eddie chuckles at that, finishing off his second scone and grabbing a third. “All of it was to pass the time until it was time to pick Chris up. Then Chris and I tag-teamed his homework before hanging out in the hot tub for a bit, then we cooked dinner together before he went to the guest room to play video games on his laptop.”
Eddie looks at Buck the whole time he talks, grinning as he munches on his third scone, swallowing it down, heart leaping in excitement at the thought of Buck’s leftovers.
“What did you and Chris make?”
“Lasagna.”
“Can I?”
Buck nods, chuckling.
The two continue to chat as Eddie heats up a serving of lasagna in the microwave.
When Eddie takes his first bite of the lasagna, he sighs happily at the perfect taste of it.
“Finally, some real food.”
Buck laughs. “Thought you said Ravi and Harry were doing a great job at taking care of the kitchen for me?”
Eddie shrugs. “Eh, they’ve been doing fine. It’s just not your cooking. Don’t tell them that, though.”
Buck holds up his right hand. “Scouts honor.”
Eddie chuckles. “You were never a scout. I was.”
Buck returns his hand to his side, shrugging. “Semantics.”
Buck then starts on a rant about how Chris convinced him to make scones—Eddie loves his kid so much—as Eddie eats the lasagna, when Chris wanders in.
“Hey, Dad, you’re back.”
Eddie swallows his bite. “Sure am, buddy. Heard you and Buck had a fun day.”
“I always do, Dad. It’s Buck. It’s always fun.”
Eddie couldn’t agree with that more.
Buck ducks his head and blushes.
Eddie can’t help but stare as he finishes off the food.
The three of them then watch a movie because it’s movie night, then Chris goes to sleep in the guest bedroom, Buck goes to his bedroom, and Eddie passes right out on Buck’s couch.
Eddie has begun to feel at home in Buck’s house. He didn’t care for it at first because Buck practically ran out of Eddie’s house, but Eddie quite likes it here, and he knows Chris does too.
Buck makes it feel like home.
+++
A Few Days Later
After the scooby doo mission into figuring out what was happening with the fire alarm at the apartment complex and helping the immigrants get proper care at a hospital, Buck is finally back at the 118.
To say Eddie is happy is putting it lightly.
They are all up in the loft to celebrate Max—Sam—being sent off to the 144.
But that’s not what’s important here. What’s important is that His Buck is back.
Buck places a white cake with red frosting on the dining table, the words spelling out, “Good luck Max!” in front of Sam.
“A small thank you for keeping my seat warm,” Buck says with a cute smile.
“Who’s Max?” Hen asks.
Eddie has to hold in his laughter.
“He’s Max,” Buck says, sure of himself, gesturing to Sam.
“He’s not Max,” Ravi jumps in.
“He’s Sam,” Harry finishes.
Eddie has to stifle his smile.
He’s so glad that Sam is leaving and that Buck is back. Has he mentioned that yet?
“I-it’s fine, I can be Max,” Sam slightly stutters out.
“Don’t hide your light, Sam,” Chim says, making Eddie want to roll his eyes. “The 144 will be lucky to have you, with a glowing recommendation, by the way.”
Okay, whatever, Sam has a firehouse now, blah blah blah.
Buck is back. Why the hell is Sam still here? Shouldn’t he be at the 144 now or something?
Sam has overstayed his welcome—not that he was ever welcome here, at least from Eddie’s perspective.
“And we sure don’t want to keep you.” Buck pauses for a second. “From them,” Buck finishes.
“I-uh, can wipe the ‘Max’ off,” Harry offers, moving to grab the cake, Eddie watching the scene with amusement.
“It’s fine, I like Max,” Sam provides, making Harry pull back.
“No. Sam. It’s your party, I’ll re-ice,” Buck says firmly, grabbing the cake and re-icing it, doing a shitty job, making Eddie smile wider.
“A small thank you for keeping my seat warm,” Buck says, quicker this time.
“Thanks again,” Sam says, looking at the 118. “You know, I’m gonna miss you guys, but hey, see you in the field, I hope?”
Eddie grins a little, taking a sip of juice to hide his smile.
“Actually,” Buck jumps in. “you-you shouldn’t hope for that. Cause if we’re at a call and the 144 is there, that means it’s a multiple-alarm incident, which means possible multiple fatalities, so technically, if everything goes well, we’ll never see you again.”
Buck is such a little shit.
Eddie loves him and can’t help but stare at his best friend fondly.
“Copy that,” Sam says.
“You’re such a child,” Hen tells Buck.
Which, Eddie can agree, but at least Buck looks adorable when he acts like one.
Later, Buck corners Eddie.
“You told me his name was Max!”
Eddie sighs. “I knew his name was a three-letter name with an ‘a’ in the middle! I just guessed!”
Buck laughs. “You really didn’t like him, huh?”
“Nope, he tried to take your spot. I wasn’t allowing that.”
Buck smiles. “Well, thank you, Eddie, for protecting my spot.”
Eddie nods. “Anytime. Welcome back, Buck. You were missed.”
“It’s good to be back.”
God, Eddie is so happy Buck is back; now all is well with the world again.