Chapter Text
Birthdays at the 118 came in two parts. Part one was the appetizer and part two was the feast.
The feast was easy.
Bobby’s backyard and cooking. Athena’s cake. Too much food. Even more laughter. Everyone the birthday person loved crammed around tables while someone inevitably forgot candles and Chim had to sprint to a grocery store.
The appetizer…
The appetizer belonged to the 118.
Just the firefighters. Just the family they built on shift.
Years ago, Buck had jokingly called it a “Team Outing for Morale” after Bobby suggested they should actually spend time together outside the station.
The name stuck and so did the tradition. Every birthday, the birthday person got to do one thing.
No spouses.
No kids.
No extended family.
Just the five of them.
Over the years there had been a sunrise hike that nearly killed Chim before the actual job ever could. Dave & Buster’s, where Hen annihilated everyone’s high scores and still claimed it was beginner’s luck. Wine night for Hen’s birthday. Mini golf. Escape rooms. Bowling. An aquarium. Three separate karaoke nights.
And Buck’s favorite, getting absolutely hammered before butchering Bon Jovi songs at a karaoke bar while Eddie somehow knew every single word despite claiming he hated karaoke.
“So…” Bobby looked up from his clipboard, “Suggestions.”
Hen leaned against the kitchen island, “For Buck?”
“Unless one of you has another birthday I forgot.”
Chim gasped dramatically, “You forgot mine.”
“It was a surprise party…” Hen pointed out.
“I thought you forgot so it still counts.”
“I bought you a smoker.” Bobby said, brows furrowed in confusion.
“…Fine, you remembered.” Chim sighed, crossing his arms and slouching in his seat.
Bobby sighed, “Usually this one’s easy.”
“Usually we end up at O’Malley’s,” Hen agreed.
“Karaoke. Buckets of beer. Buck trying to convince strangers they’re his best friends.” Eddie said.
“Which,” Chim added, “worked disturbingly often.”
Bobby smiled despite himself. Buck had a gift. He could walk into a room full of strangers. Leave with three new friends, two dinner invitations and somebody’s grandmother insisting he visit again.
“But…” Hen’s voice softened, “…he’s not drinking anymore.”
The kitchen grew quieter. Not awkward. Just thoughtful.
Buck had been sober for a while now. Long enough that it was becoming normal. Long enough that nobody accidentally offered him a beer anymore. Long enough that Bobby no longer worried every time Buck disappeared into the kitchen at a barbecue.
“So.” Chim clapped once, “We pivot.”
“To what?” Bobby asked.
Chim shrugged, “I don’t know. Laser tag?”
“No.” Bobby said.
“Escape room?” Hen offered.
“We already did that.” Bobby said, “TopGolf?”
Hen shrugged, “Maybe. Movies?”
“Nah.” Chim said, “Paintball?”
Bobby looked at Chim, “I’m not giving Buck permission to shoot you with paintballs.”
“…That’s fair.” Chim said.
They tossed out ideas for another ten minutes. None of them felt like Buck. Not really. Buck liked experiences. Stories. Chaos. Something everyone could laugh about years later.
Eddie, who had been unusually quiet through all of this, finally looked up from his coffee, “Buck has been talking about this thing…”
Four heads turned.
“What thing?” Bobby asked.
“I don’t really know.”
Helpful.
Eddie shrugged, “He keeps saying we should do a PowerPoint night.”
Silence.
“A what?” Chim asked.
“A… PowerPoint night.”
“The computer thing?” Bobby asked.
“I think?”
Hen snapped her fingers, “Oh!” Everyone looked at her. “Denny and Mara showed me videos of those. Apparently they’re popular.”
“What’s the point?” Bobby asked.
Hen laughed, “You make a PowerPoint presentation about something you’re weirdly passionate about,” She grinned, “and then you present it to your friends like it’s a TED Talk.”
Another pause.
“That’s it?” Chim asked.
“That’s it.” Hen said.
“No prize?” Chim asked, shocked. “No competition?”
“I mean…” Hen smirked, “I think the competition is emotional damage.”
Eddie laughed, “That actually sounds exactly like Buck.”
“It really does,” Hen agreed, “I can already hear him.” She pointed dramatically across the room,“Today I’ll be proving, with charts, why golden retrievers are the superior dog.”
Chim raised a finger, “…I’d attend that presentation.”
“So would I.” Bobby admitted.
Eddie took another sip of coffee, “He said everyone’s presentation has to be about something they’re obsessed with.”
“Oh, we’re absolutely doing this.” Chim said immediately.
Hen looked at him, “You have a topic already?”
“I’ve had opinions my whole life.”
“That’s… concerning.” Eddie said.
Bobby chuckled, “I don’t know…”
“What?” Eddie sat up.
“It sounds…” Bobby searched for the word, “…ridiculous.”
Eddie smiled, “Exactly. It’s weird. It’s nerdy. It requires preparation. It encourages unnecessary confidence.”
They all looked at one another. Then, in perfect unison, “…It’s Buck.”
Bobby laughed. The kind of laugh that settled somewhere warm in his chest because they were right. Only Buck would turn a birthday outing into homework. Only Buck would somehow convince four grown adults to make presentations for fun. Only Buck would think, y’know what sounds like a great time? Slideshow night.
Bobby reached for his phone, “PowerPoint night it is.”
“What are you gonna present?” Chim asked.
Bobby looked horrified, “I have to make one too?”
Hen smiled sweetly, “Cap…”
Eddie was already trying and failing not to laugh, “It’s only fair.”
Bobby sighed the sigh of a man who had survived fires, explosions, and Buck Buckley for nearly a decade, “…Fine.”
Chim rubbed his hands together, “Oh, this is going to be so embarrassing.”
“For who?” Bobby asked.
Chim grinned, “For all of us.”
Eddie looked down at his coffee, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Buck had no idea how big birthday appetizers were going to be. He probably thought he was just throwing out another random idea but that was the thing about Buck.
Sometimes he didn’t realize he was creating traditions until years later, when everyone else couldn’t imagine celebrating without them.