Chapter Text
Baby Nash’s first birthday party was loud, crowded, and full of life.
The backyard of the Grant Nash house looked nothing like a firefighter’s home anymore. Balloons covered every corner. A giant blue and gold banner with Happy Birthday Baby Nash stretched across the patio. Athena kept yelling at people for touching the cake too early. Maddie chased Theo around with a juice box in one hand while Chimney laughed himself breathless.
Buck stood near the grill, pretending to listen to Bobby explain proper steak temperatures.
He wasn’t.
Because the moment Eddie walked through the backyard gate, Buck forgot how to breathe.
And Eddie wasn’t alone.
Alex walked beside him with her hand resting comfortably against Eddie’s arm, as if she belonged there, like she had every right to touch him.
Buck’s stomach dropped so hard he thought he might actually throw up.
Ravi noticed immediately.
“Uh oh,” Ravi muttered under his breath.
Harry followed his line of sight and immediately went pale. “Oh no.”
Eddie looked happy.
That was the worst part.
Not forced. Not awkward. Happy.
Alex laughed at something Eddie whispered in her ear, then leaned up and kissed his cheek casually. Naturally. Like this had been happening for a while.
Buck gripped the metal tongs so hard that Bobby looked over.
“You okay, kid?”
“Yeah,” Buck answered too fast.
Lie.
Complete lie.
Because all Buck could see was Eddie smiling at someone else the way he used to smile at him.
All he could think about was the hospital.
The blood.
The elevator.
The way Eddie looked lying there, barely conscious after the active shooter lockdown.
Buck still heard the alarms in his nightmares.
He still remembered dropping to his knees inside that bloody elevator when he found Eddie stabbed and barely breathing.
He remembered screaming for help.
Remembered pressing his hands against Eddie’s wound while begging him to stay awake.
Remembered the blood soaking through his fingers.
Remembered carrying Eddie out with help while SWAT cleared the floor.
Buck had stayed by Eddie's side throughout surgery. Through recovery. Through every nightmare afterward.
And Eddie never knew.
Because when Eddie woke up after surgery, Alex was already there.
Somehow, she slipped into Eddie’s recovery room before Buck could even process what was happening.
And then she started talking.
Talking about how she found him.
How she got him out.
How scared she was.
Buck had been too exhausted and too shocked to argue.
Then the days passed.
Then weeks.
And somehow Eddie started believing her version of events.
Buck never corrected him.
Now he watched Alex hand Baby Nash a wrapped gift while Eddie stood beside her, smiling softly.
Like they were building something real together.
Ravi stepped beside Harry near the drink table, both watching Buck spiral in real time.
“I can’t even wrap my head around the fact Eddie believes she saved him,” Ravi whispered.
Harry shook his head slowly. “I can’t move forward with that. Other than being caught off guard, Buck never even tried to defend himself.”
“The fact he thinks she pulled him out of that elevator by herself is insane,” Ravi continued quietly.
Harry looked toward Buck, who stood frozen beside the grill.
“The truth is right under his nose,” Harry said softly. “But he can’t see it.”
Across the yard, Eddie looked over.
His smile faded slightly the second his eyes landed on Buck.
Because Buck looked devastated.
Not jealous.
Not angry.
Heartbroken.
Like he was staring directly at the life he could have had.