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blueathens · 1 year

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(Please Don’t) Let Me Drown - Agape

ACT THREE, CHAPTER TWO

SONG: How To Save A Life by The Fray QUOTE: “Some firefighter you are, aren’t you meant to be doing the saving? We could die out here.”

TW: Drowning, Slight Mention of Suicide,

A/N: Not read through or checked!

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Masterlist//Agape Masterlist

Drowning: When victims eventually submerge, they hold their breath for as long as possible, typically 30 to 90 seconds. After that, they inhale some water, splutter, cough, and inhale more. Survivors say there is a feeling of tearing and burning sensation in the chest as water goes down into the airway. Then that sort of slips into a feeling of calmness and tranquillity. That calmness represents the beginnings of the loss of consciousness from oxygen deprivation, which eventually results in the heart stopping and brain’s death.

Kasey was drowning, and it wasn’t at all like the stories.

She remembers one of her old mates – Trey Malik – trying to explain what drowning felt like after he experienced it mere minutes ago, she recalls her army jacket around his shoulders providing him warmth after she dragged him out from the river, she recollects the memory of his shivering body and she remembers watching him instead of holding him, he didn’t want to be held, he insisted on being okay, he just needed a moment to catch his breath then they could continue their mission. He was the one who started the conversation, she knew she didn’t want to hear it, but he didn’t stop, he told her it was important for her to know, important for her to listen to the experience so she knows how to get herself out of it if the time came.

She remembers laughing at that, stating that she will never get herself in that position.

She wasn’t going to drown.

She is even reminded of making a passing joke of how he didn’t get out by himself, she did, she helped him. So if she ever got herself in a position where she was drowning, then the only way to be saved is by someone else.

Trey shrugged his shoulders and mutters a “you never know” before telling her everything he experienced not long ago.

Instead of hearing of a horror story, she was enlightened by a tale that almost came across as a love song towards drowning, Kasey even recognises a sense of comfort washing over his face, one that someone would have when reliving a childhood memory, but instead he was talking about drowning, talked about it as if it was an old friend that gave him such a loving hug, a hug that he has desired for so long, a hug he just needed.

Kasey thinks that was the first time she has ever felt such a bubble of sadness coming from Trey, she recalls feeling closer to him at that moment as she too carried such a heavy heart of sadness that any danger that came her way, she would greet it as if it was a friend, but hearing Trey like that made her hate the world more, because why on earth would our planet be so cruel to such a lovely, good person? He doesn’t deserve to hold such sadness, he didn’t deserve to be out here away from those he cares for, he didn’t deserve to find comfort within drowning.

He didn’t deserve that.

And that made Kasey hate the world more, and it made her want to hug him and take him to a different world, far from this one, a world where he can find peace within the cool air on a spring’s morning, it’s what he deserved at least.

But he didn’t want that, she knew that by the way he talked, by the way he looked, he didn’t want to be saved, perhaps he couldn’t be saved, or maybe he just wasn’t ready yet and when he was then the only one who could help him would be himself.

And that was difficult for Kasey to process, and she thinks she never will truly process it because to her, she can save people, she can help, but Trey was never the person she could, and that’s just a fact that she thinks she’ll never come to terms with.

Perhaps it was a childish thought of Kasey’s to think that she could save everyone, and that saving them would even make her feel better about herself because maybe it’s too late for her to save herself, but it’s not too late to save everyone else.

And it’s stupid, she knows this, she knows it because she’s always the one saving everyone yet there will never be someone to save her…she’s the second choice, maybe not even that, maybe not even the third choice. But Kasey has to save everyone, she just has to, but when she needs saving then no one has to save her, no one chooses to save her, and then she gets to the point where it’s too late to be saved, and she just simply gives up, but to everyone she seems selfish even though she never got anything in return.

She always carried this thought that she was replaceable, that if someone wanted to, they could throw her away like a dead flower, that once stood tall and blossomed under the sunlight, but now only fallen petals remained, and who would even want to keep a wilting flower when there was a sweeter one just outside?

She overthinks it a lot, she overthinks how replaceable she is, and how most of her friends would now walk past her and not give her a second look because to them, she was just a stranger, but to her, she was the stranger that carried all the memories.

She wondered if Trey ever felt the way she did, maybe just once, maybe the currents made him feel wanted, maybe he felt unreplaceable within it, perhaps, just for a moment, he did feel okay, and he was truly telling her how lovely it was. Kasey pondered on this idea, but to her, nothing, absolutely nothing, could make her think drowning could possibly be relaxing.

And if Trey did truly think this, then Kasey began to hate the world even more.

He told her drowning was more peaceful than he could ever imagine, he said maybe he thought that as anything could be more peaceful than fighting in a war, he enjoyed the tranquil silence and the feeling that he was floating on clouds. For a moment he thought he was being gently lifted to the gates of heaven, he thought it was his time to go, and he even thought that drowning wasn’t the worst possible way to go.

Trey found it peaceful, but Kasey was in so much pain.

She was panicking. She barely could see anything in front of her. The water felt like it was suffocating her, filling her lungs and her throat, and causing her to choke. She couldn’t tell if her eyes were open or not, the confusing and disoriented of shattered light through water that shouldn’t be here – that shouldn’t be washing through the city – it shouldn’t be here – if it was where it was supposed to be then Kasey would be able to breathe, to see, to know where she was. But she couldn’t.

Kasey couldn’t breathe. Kasey couldn’t see. And Kasey couldn’t tell which way was up and which way was down.

Her body grew tired of fighting the currents.

Trey told her it was comforting.

But Kasey could recall watching Trey panic before he stilled, and perhaps he didn’t remember that moment, doesn’t remember her fighting against the currents to reach him as she watches him thrash around, yelling, screaming her name. Maybe he didn’t remember that, maybe he didn’t want to remember it, perhaps he just wanted to remember the moment of calmness before you drown. Where you no longer kick or scream, and your lungs don’t have that agonising and burning pain where it feels like it will explode in any second. Where your mind goes blank and there’s just this gentle humming left in your ears – and it’s almost like the lullaby your mother would hum to get you to sleep, it almost becomes…nice.

Comforting.

It feels like a much-needed hug. That too is comforting.

Perhaps this is what death is like, Kasey wondered, perhaps after all of this chaos, death is just around the corner to hand you that certain comfort you have been lacking your entire life. But if this was dying, then why didn’t she see her life flash before her eyes? And why does she feel something other than the cold water that was swallowing her up?

Why could she feel a hand gripping her shirt tightly before pulling her up with them, and the moment her face breaks the surface she takes her first real breath since being under.

She coughed, choked, and spat out filthy, salty water. Her eyes brunt as she repeatedly blinked, once her vision cleared up slightly she noticed the familiar features that belonged to no other but her brother. He was gripping onto the side of a fire truck whilst also holding her as tight as he could – if anything he was holding onto Kasey more than he was gripping the side of the truck, because if he had to lose something it would be the surface of safety and not his sister – he won’t let her go.

Despite the burn within her eyes, she noticed her twin’s struggle, and with numb limbs she pushes herself forwards to also grip onto the side of the truck. TK’s other hand moved to hold the truck too as he pulls himself up, watching as Kasey did so too before collapsing the moment her body made contact with the top of the vehicle. She may not have been drowning under the currents anymore, but it sure did feel like she was drowning on top of this fire truck, she still felt trapped, still unable to do something as simple as breathing. And now instead of hearing a near comforting hum, she hears TK screaming her name before everything went dark.

Once Kasey asked Trey if there was anyone waiting for him at home, waiting on news of his return, or perhaps praying they’ll never get that letter along with a military officer and a Champlin at their doorsteps. He told her that he has a dog waiting on his return, and his father, and he hopes his older brother too, he said they had a complicated relationship, and that was all there was to it, he even said his grandmother would be waiting.

She asked what was the name of his dog, he responded with “Goldfish,” and Kasey remembers chuckling softly at that.

Trey asked if there was anyone waiting for her and Kasey wished she could say yes, but the sad fact was that she couldn’t, she didn’t have anyone.

She fell out with her family before coming here, her own mother never cared much for her, her twin brother, she believed resented her, her father was always doing his own thing, she doesn’t think he would be waiting, she wasn’t a good enough daughter for someone to wait at home for. And along with her twin brother, she knows her best friend hated her, he wouldn’t be waiting for, god he probably be wishing for her not to return. She’s exhausting, she knows this, and she even thinks that she doesn’t want to return home either, she’s too troubled, she can’t be saved, she didn’t have anyone, and she couldn’t hurt them anymore…

After a long silence, she told them him no – then she gave her small explanation after seeing his curious eyes, she didn’t say much, she never did, she never could, but still she tried.

Trey told her none of it was her fault, and she could never believe him, not then and not now.

Sometimes she could still feel the hug Trey gave her after that, Kasey hasn’t felt that vulnerable before, not for a long time at least, nor has she been held so lovingly, so comfortingly, in such a long time. Kasey thought she was going to break down in his arms, but she didn’t, but she knew she could’ve though.

Kasey wondered if that was what drowning felt for Trey, but instead of drowning within water, she was drowning within a hug.

It was peaceful.

It was comforting.

And it was nice.

Kasey began to slowly wake up, her head in TK’s lap as he combs his fingers through her hair. Her first thought was trying to remember where she was, but that all came back in flashes. She shook her head, squeezing her eyes, before opening them once more to see TK’s chin. She then wondered if anyone else she knew got caught up in this, and if they did, were they okay?

Maybe it was a good thing that she didn’t know that Buck and Christopher wasn’t so far away, them too stuck on a fire truck as they helped casualties on board. Cause if she knew then she would have forced her tired body to search for them, to help them, to make sure they were okay.

Kasey would have to make sure they were safe because they were her fam–

Kasey sat up, taking in her surroundings to only notice that there were a few more people on board, all frightened and cold and TK gave her a worrying look, a look that almost begged her to do something, to save them, to just have a plan. But for once, Kasey had nothing as she looked out and around the flooded city, seeing nothing but water and broken homes and objects.

“You helped them?” Kasey muttered as she continued to look out.

“Yeah,” TK whispers. “You were out for a bit so had to improvise.”

“Sorry,” she whispers back.

She feels his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently as if he ushering her to look at him, and she does, she turns her head, looking over her shoulder with glassy, down, eyes.

“You have nothing to be sor–”

“Your brother said you’re around here. And that he’s a firefighter out in Texas. He mentioned that you were highly ranked in the military…suppose you have the best water training round here?” Kasey hums as her arm covers her face, blocking the sun as she looks at the man who spoke up.

“Did he now?” She purses her lips. “Suppose he mentioned I’m a firefighter too?” The man nods. “Cool.”

“So what do we do?” The man looks around at the other casualties.

“Nothing,” Kasey mumbles, “we can’t do anything – we’ll just have to wait for someone to come and rescue us.”

The man scoffed. “Some firefighter you are, aren’t you meant to be doing the saving? We could die out here.”

Kasey turns around, brows raised, studying the man, hand pressed against her hip, “Oh, I’m sorry Gary, I’ll just whip out the boat I’ve been carrying in my pocket all day and drive you all home in time for dinner.”

He scowled at her. “It’s Raphaël–”

“Some will be in much worst conditions than us, at least we’re safe, that’s what is important, no?” Kasey turns to look back out at the city filled with water. “I’ll try and find a way to get rescued quicker but can’t make no promises here.”

“Kas…” TK’s gentle voice came from behind, his hand squeezing her elbow gently, “you’re bleeding.” As if those words triggered some part in her brain, she feels a sudden sharpness coming from under her shirt, lifting it up she glances at the bruises littering her abdominal and an awful, long cut beginning from the top of her ribs down to her waist.

“I’m fine,” she insists, and she thoughts of this to be true, she’s had worst, and she continued as if it was nothing before, so to her this was fine, all of this was fine, she just wanted to go back to her home – well outside of her apartment, in her car, and just fall asleep…

…she just wanted some peace again.

Kasey lays down to peer over the truck, hands coming into contact with the open window, her fingers pressed against the inside framing and the metal framing of the inside to pull her further over so she can have a better look of the inside of the truck they were on. “You think the radio works?” She questions her brother who she knew was standing right by her, silently watching her body tense from the pain of moving around.

“Probably damaged from the water,” TK responds, ushering Kasey to stand as he hears her quietly groan from moving once again. “You’re going to tire yourself out, Kas, just stop for a moment, please.”

Kasey grimaces as she comes to a stand, “I just want to get us all out of here.”

“I know you do – but hurting yourself more in the process isn’t going to help anyone.”

Kasey thought she was seeing things at first when she saw TK’s right hand shake before he reached out to hold the top of her shoulder, she truly did thought her eyes were tricking her, but with the fear and worry twisted in his eyes, Kasey knew she wasn’t.

He wasn’t scared of her, she knew this, but for her? Yes.

He acted as if she was a fragile piece of artwork that’s been locked behind glass for centuries and now he’s the first to touch it, and he doesn’t even know if a simple brush of his fingers would have it crumbling, but Kasey wasn’t going to break, she knew this, she wasn’t damaged, she wasn’t going to crumble.

Kasey could hold herself longer now, she wasn’t nineteen anymore, she wasn’t nineteen who clung onto Trey Malik as if was the embodiment of air, the reason she could finally breathe again, she wasn’t nineteen no more who was desperate to be held.

Touch wasn’t a weakness for her no more, she gets held on many of occasions, Buck and Kit were the main sources of it, they were big huggers, always have been, physical touch has always been their thing and not fearing their touch proved to the young firefighter that she wasn’t desperate for it anymore, she was held enough to not whimper at the feeling of such comforting warmth no more.

But TK’s always been like this with her, of course they used to play wrestle when they were younger, pull one another’s hairs, the reason for some of the scars on their body after one pushed the other too hard off from the sofa causing the other to be in A&E. But still TK’s always had an element of softness with her, admitting once it’s because he doesn’t want to cause any harm to her, he tolerated a form of guilt growing up whenever he found her quietly ruffling through the medical basket (from the top of their fridge) late at night in their teen years, and he always ushered her to sit on the counter as he helped with the injuries she carried home with her that night, always being the one who has to listen to her holding back the cries of pain when his fingers brushes over a wound accidently, or whenever he began to stich her up as she insisted for no hospitals – she hates them – and that they can do it at home.

He was the one who usually saw her injured, and he was the one who stayed up until she came home just to help her, listening to her apologies for thinking she woke him again, when really she never did, he just awaits for her to make sure she returns home safely, even at his worst he still continued to make sure she came home. And then there was the guilt, the guilt that he gained growing up, watching her flinch at loud noises, especially from arguments, the way her body tensed whenever he tried to help with her injuries as that was the only way she could silently express her pain without waking anyone up, and he was the one who listened as she talked down on herself, thinking no one was there to hear, but he always did, he always would.

TK always wanted her to see him as something she could cling onto whenever she felt like the world was against her once again, but as they become older he knew he was barely that for her, in fact no one was that for her, but she was always that person for everyone else, especially for him.

And every day, TK wishes that Kasey one day finds someone who would happily sit in the dark with her, hand holding hers, as they distract her with random facts or how their day was, and only moves to turn on that switch to guide her out from the dark and welcoming her back into the light.

TK thinks she’s secretly back in the dark, actually he knows she was, and it’s sad to think that she still hasn’t find a comfort person yet – someone who will just help her when she’s down, to let her know she was enough, to just hold her.

TK was guilty when it came to Kasey, he wished they had a better life together, they deserved it, well he would like to think that they did, they were – are – good people, and that’s got to count for something, right? TK has questioned time from time if, in another parallel universe, they got the life they deserve, that they got to be the siblings they should have been, not the ones that were too damaged, not those ones, but the ones who were just happy, the ones who lived nearer together just so they could meet up easier.

Perhaps in that other life they be working together, living that dream they had when they were so young. Perhaps everything was okay in their lives, and they got to be the siblings they deserved to be in this life.

TK knew one day though he wouldn’t be so guilty, he knew those injuries he helped to cover up weren’t his fault, but at times whenever he accidently pressed too hard against a bruise or something then his stomach would twist, and he would be overcome with a sudden sickness all because he was reminded with the fact that he could never protect Kasey.

He thinks that’s what he was most guilty for, in the end it was never about the accidental touches of aiding her injuries, it was always the fact that he could never protect her, Kasey was always doing her own thing, she was always in some form of trouble, she was always someplace else, she was out of his reach, and TK couldn’t ever protect her like he wished he could, but she did for him, and she always will.

But they weren’t kids no more, they were now nearing the age of twenty-five and now, TK wonders, now it could be the time he could protect Kasey, bring her out from the darkness, and to just let go of this guilt, and then maybe, just maybe they could be each other’s safety net, they would feel brave enough to come to each other whenever they needed to, maybe, just maybe, he could play the role of an older brother – older by only fifteen minutes – and just simply protect her, even if it just as simple as protecting her from herself, in the sense that she doesn’t hurt herself more, that she doesn’t do her thing where she doesn’t think of herself, that for once she could just take a moment, take a breath, and think on the situation with him.

Her hands once again found home on her hips, face scrunching as a finger graze the wound and she ignores the look TK gave her.

“Let me check it out–”

“God, I’m so glad I didn’t take my car here.” Kasey mutters, looking up to the sky, as she changes the subject. “Or I would–”

“Lose your house?” Kasey head snaps towards his smug appearance, eyes narrowing at him, and her mouth itches to respond; but she doesn’t. “I’m not wrong am I?”

“I will throw you overboard.”

“No you won’t,” TK smirks, “you’re too nice to do that. Besides,” he then raises his shoulders before dropping them just as quick, “you’ll miss me.”

Kasey hums before her eyes glances over at everyone else for a quick moment before she steps closer to her brother to quietly talk with him. “We got to try and find some rescue for them soon though, the first wave of a tsunami is never the worst,” her eyes flickers back over to the group, maybe about seven other people, all adults, “even if that means we’re our own rescue team.”

“Kasey, that’s to risky and in your condition–”

“Forget about my injury, I’ll live, okay? We can use the hose and the things around us to try and find somewhere better, perhaps find a proper rescue team or even a hospital.” She ran a hand through her hair. “We don’t know how long rescue will be, we don’t know how much more damage is out there, and whilst we’re at it we can rescue more people.”

“You said that the only thing we can do is wait.”

She sighs, “I only said that as I didn’t have time to think of anything else.”

Now TK sighs as he looks around desperately, hand holding the back of his head, and he balances out their options within his mind. “TK, it’s better if we move than sit around, we’re only getting colder here.”

“I know, I know.” He turns his head to now look at the group, they’re all sitting around close to one another to try and warm the other arm, but most were still shivering. “How long you think we got?”

“Until the second wave?” Kasey questions, and he nods, “I don’t know, man.” She now faces the group, making small movement to get closer to them. “Is anyone injured at all?” Kasey grimaces slightly that she hasn’t even asked them how they were yet.

“No one’s injured, Kas,” TK answered. “I asked whilst you were out and–” He stops when he notices a sudden rush in the water. No, no, no, no, not now, please not now, TK silently begs.

He thinks he hears Kasey tell people to get down, his mind was no longer here, he just thinks about the second wave, and the second wave only. He thinks he hears screams, and he thinks he hears Kasey trying to calm them down, but he doesn’t know what she says, instead his hand grabs the hose, pulls on it tightly and his eyes focuses on it unwrapping, he turns, gestures it towards Kasey who pulls on it too, ushering everyone to grab ahold of it, that maybe if they were lucky enough they would still be attached to this fire truck at the end of it.

There’s were screams as the second wave hit, it was nothing like the waves that lapped the shore every minute of every day. It was a wall of filthy, cold, and powerful water. The water had no gentle softness to it, instead it had no thought, no motion, and no hesitation as it destroys everything in it’s path just to hit their targets. Within moments, TK was breathing the air, and just as he took a deep breath he feels frigid foamy fingers grabbing a hold of him.

It was their dear old friend, the ocean.

The water was once a great fear of TK’s when he was younger, he thinks it started when he was three where his uncle thought it was a good idea to take him onto a waterslide. They went down a long, twisting concealed one but as they came to the end his uncle didn’t let him go, instead he pulled him right under the chemical water with him. TK doesn’t remember it fully, he just remembers a glimpse of a waterslide and a flash of memory that showed him under the pool’s water, and every now and then, when he was younger, he could feel that sudden tightness within his chest.

TK tried to stay away from the depths of water from then on, always panicking whenever his family tried to bring him into the pool with them, but he wasn’t having any of it.

He remembers a wedding at the age of five, and the same uncle who created his fear of water was teaching his sister how to surf in the far distance whilst he was with his mother taking photos, he recalls that she told him not to wander off, but he does so anyways, he walks down the pier, wanting to see how much panic the ocean can truly offer him, he was fine with just staring at it first, he then decided maybe to sit down in the opening between the two broken fences, but instead his foot somehow slipped and he fell into the water, his mother jumps in to save him within seconds, cause little TK didn’t know how to swim, nor did he know how to breathe under the sea.

At five, he learnt how much fear the ocean has to offer.

Up to the age of ten, TK would stay on the beach building sandcastles with his family, but his eyes were always distracted by his sister and his uncle out on the waves; surfing. His ears always listened to the way his father complained every day and how he wished Gwen’s brother didn’t teach Kasey on how to surf, he didn’t understand the problem, it wasn’t like Kasey was afraid of water so why would it be a problem if she enjoyed the feeling of the water crashing over her every time she fell off her surfboard? She seemed to be laughing each time her face breaks the surface and then off she went back onto her surfboard to catch another wave.

TK longed to surf with his sister, but he never did, not even when he overcame his fear, Owen truly wasn’t having it, he couldn’t have both kids learning to surf, he couldn’t let it happen again.

So at the age of seven TK stopped learning how to surf among the safety of the sands, he never took another board out from the stands and tried to learn, to mimic everything Kasey did out in the sea, his fingers never brushed the sands the same since seeing how furious his father was after TK stated he would surf with Kasey one day, he never thought about learning to surf one day again.

At the age of ten, TK learnt how to swim, Kasey was adamant about it, she said it was time for him to overcome his fears and learn how to swim because what if you fall in again and no one was there to save you? What would you do then? It was a brutal honest truth that TK never wanted to know, but deep down he knew he had to learn, had to overcome. Because what if he did one day fall into a body of water and there was no one around to save him? He wouldn’t know how to get out of that situation, he would be panicking more as he had no experience in even swimming.

One of Kasey’s friends had a pool in their back garden, it was quite odd to ten-year-old TK considering they lived in New York City, but he never questioned it. So, every Tuesday, after school, they would learn how to swim for an hour in Kasey’s friend pool whilst her friend was with Gwen learning the piano.

Once he reached his teenager years TK wasn’t afraid of water no longer, and he thought of himself as a confident swimmer too. But still, whenever they found themselves at the beach, TK stayed on the beach, becoming familiar with the sands once again whilst he watches his sister out on the waves, he did still wish to be out there with her, but his fingers never touched a board, no, because maybe he wasn’t afraid of water anymore but seeing how scared, how angry their father was whenever he hears about Kasey talking about surfing, made him never want to feel what it was like when the waves were beneath you.

“Buck!”

That was the first thing both Strands heard as they tried to come back to their surroundings, both could still feel the re-enforced plastic in their hands and they heard some groans around them, perhaps they were alright, perhaps everyone was able to stay –

“Buck!”

Kasey pulls herself across the top of the fire truck, fingers pressing against the side as she grimaces at the pressure against her injuries, once her head hit the small bump that was on the top of the fire truck, gesturing that she reached the side of it, she hesitantly looked over the top to see who was yelling such a familiar name.

Her heart was heavy, wishing it wasn’t someone she knew, but the name, the voice, it was so–

“Buck?!”

Kasey blinks as she narrows her eyes at the blurry figure in the water, a yellow stripped top she thinks they’re wearing and they’re resting against the side of what she would say, a wooden plank and –

Oh god.

Oh, no, no, no.

“Christopher!” Kasey yells, voice strained from her previous yells for everyone to get down, strained from the amount of water she thinks she accidently inhaled and –

“Christopher!” She calls again and she was on her feet, diving into the water with no hesitation. It was Eddie’s boy – it was Christopher – it was her sweet Christopher, and he was yelling for her best mate and–

The water was still deep in the area they were in, not yet washed out back to sea like she was hoping it would, so she fought against the water that was still rushing through the destruction and she doesn’t stop until she reaches a trunk of a tree that was surprisingly still standing tall, with a heavy breath she awaits for a second as the plank of wood Chris was keeping himself up with passes by, and when it did she quickly grabbed him and pulled him tightly towards her.

Her arms were firmly around him as she takes a step back, her right hand was cupping the back of his head and her eyes were furrowed shut as she just lets him cling onto her, his fingers twisting into the back of her shirt, gripping it tightly, afraid to just disappear again.

“I got you; I got you, love.” She rushes out. “You’re gonna be okay kid, I’ve got you now, I’ve got you.”

Christopher blinks into the shoulder of the women he was so familiar with, and his fingers pressing into her back even more at the realisation it’s her – he’s going to be okay as she’s got him now and oh my word it’s –

“Kasey?”

Oh, and how her stomach fell at the sound of his weak, tired, and quiet voice, no, god, no, why did he of all people had to be caught out in this.

“Oh, baby,” she utters gently, she now stands in the gap behind the tree, the water wasn’t so strong or deep there, so she was able to rest and look at Chris properly as she stood there whilst she thought on how to get them back to the fire truck. “What are you – where’s your glasses?”

“I-I,” he stutters, stumbling over every other word as he speaks with her, “I lost them. I lost Buck. He was helping and-and I fell…I lost Buck and–”

She hushes him gently, brushing his hair back with her hand before her hand falls to lay softly against his cheek where her thumb brushes away the fallen tears. “Oh, honey,” she frowns as she tries to act calm with him, but she wasn’t, she couldn’t be, Buck was out there too, and she has no idea if he was okay, and he would be worried sick because Chris wasn’t with him any longer and he wouldn’t know that Chris was safe – that he was with her now. “We’ll find Buck and your glasses, let’s just get you back to the truck.”

The water was still by the time she calmed Chris down by the tree and it meant she could take them back to the truck much easier than it would have been earlier.

“You remember TK, right Chris?” Kasey questioned as TK waved with a soft smile at the boy, throwing Kasey a worried glance, it didn’t cross TK’s mind that children would have been caught in this mess, not until he saw Eddie’s kid right in front of him, shivering in Kasey’s arms as she holds him, hands rubbing up and down his as she placed light kiss on top of his head every now and then.

Chris nods.

He remembers TK, he was Kasey’s older brother, by fifteen minutes if he remembers correctly from hearing them playfully arguing about it. TK shared a bag of sweets with him when they sat in the waiting room together whilst waiting on news about Kasey, he remembers that TK shared the same taste when it came to pick n’ mix, his father was asleep next to him, arms folded, and Chris never told him about the amount of sweets he ate that day as he listens to Owen’s – TK and Kasey’s father – stories about being a firefighter out in Texas.

So, of course he remembers the nice man that’s Kasey’s brother.

TK kneels down, hand reaching forwards to ruffle the younger boy’s curls. “What you doing out here, bud?”

“I was with Buck,” he tells TK in a quiet voice, “we went to the carnival on the pier and–”

“Buck’s here?” TK mouths to Kasey who just nods as she lays another kiss on top of Chris’ head, but she was quick to move away, tilting her head back as she let out a low hum at Chris shuffling back into her stomach, her eyes scrunches up and Chris was quick to turn around to try and find out what the fuss is about.

“Kasey,” his finger presses against her chin, next to the cut his eyes has just caught sight of. “You’re bleeding.” Kasey wanted to chuckle at his worriedness about her, she was glad he didn’t catch sight on the pain she was in and that he thought it was just a cut that caused her that sudden distress that caught his attention.

“It’s nothing, kiddo,” she didn’t know there was a cut on her chin until he pointed it out, perhaps she got it when she pulled herself across the roof of the truck, perhaps it was just a graze that was only slightly bloody.

“You need a plaster.”

“I tell you what,” she begins as she adjusts him in her lap, moving him slightly away from the ache in her left leg and more onto her right leg, one of his arms where around her shoulder, fingers brushing the back of her neck, and his other hand was in his lap. “When we get to some land you can find me the best plaster for the graze.” Chris nods.

“Spider-Man ones?”

“I think that be well cool!” She grins and TK smiles as she watches the interaction in front of him. “TK?” Her brother hums. “We got to start moving, the water should be shallow enough for us to walk through now.”

“What if there’s another wave?”

“We’ll just have to hope for the best that’s this is it.”

TK nods, standing up from his crouching position to rub his hands against the wet material of his jeans before he leans forwards to pick Chris off from Kasey for a moment whilst she tells everyone that it be best if they move and try and find some help, after some glances shared between them Kasey states that they could stay on the truck if they wanted and when she finds help she’ll try and send them their way, but it be quite risky to stay on a truck that’s practically flooded.

She jumps down from the truck and into the water below, taking Chris out from TK’s arms as she brings him down into the water too, but instead of letting him go, she adjusts him into a more comfortable position for her to carry him.

TK, along with the other’s, jump down from the truck too and collectively follow the Strands and the kid on their mission to find some help.

“Perhaps we can go to the zoo together one day,” TK speaks up after walking in silence for a little too long for his liking.

“The zoo?” Kasey raises a brow at her brother who just responses with a huge grin.

“Yeah!” He’s got a sudden spring in his step. “Both of our families – you know the 126 and the 118, that cop,” TK clicks his finger as he tries to think of her name. “Athena! Athena can come and Chris obviously be coming with us and–”

“And your cop boyfriend?” Kasey smirks, forging a pain of hurt as TK slaps her shoulder, the one that was closest to him, but furthest from Christopher.

“Not my boyfriend,” TK mutters, the spring leaving his step, as he folds his arms across his chest, pouting ever so slightly.

Kasey only hums, corner of her mouth still tugged up.

“I like the zoo,” Chris jumps into the conversation.

“Oh, yeah?” TK holds his hands behind his back, his right hand wrapping round his left wrist whilst his attention is on the boy in Kasey’s arms. If he didn’t know her, he would have thought they were mother and son, that thought alone brought a kind look onto his face as he thought about one day the pair of them will find someone who loves them, and perhaps they’ll have kids with their significant others, however that be, and they would have those family days that they never got growing up, that one day they could actually be a family they deserved, start again now that Kasey was in LA and he’s started a new life in Texas – perhaps this is life giving them another chance, another go at life.

Another warm thought bubbles within TK, and that was the thought of the boy in Kasey’s arms becoming his family too, he hears the way Kasey talks about the Diaz’s, he sees how happy they have made her and how much they helped her too, and of course there was Buck, her LA best friend, but he was just like another brother to her, but Eddie – my god, Kasey deserves to have someone good like Eddie, she really does, and TK could only hope that the universe just gives her the best.

He's seen the way Eddie looks at her too, of course TK seen it, even a blind person could sense the way Eddie feels about Kasey, and usually TK would get slightly concerned whenever guys are interested in his sister due to her never having good past relationships, but Eddie, he would know she be safe with him, that she’ll be okay, that’s she’ll be happy, and god did she deserve that.

So, maybe one day, if the universe isn’t so mean, the Diaz’s will become very familiar to him and his own father, and perhaps they’ll have those BBQ nights whenever they’re down in Texas or LA. And everyone they see as family joins too, and the kids are at the end of the garden playing some imaginary game and the adults are laughing.

And they’re all just happy.

Maybe, just maybe, they get the things they deserve, because they’re all good people, and that gotta mean they deserve something good at least, right?

“What’s your favourite animal?” He questions and Chris thinks for a little while before answering –

“Lions? I like lions.”

“They’re pretty cool, aren’t they kiddo?” Kasey says as she takes in her surroundings once more, making sure she’s a step ahead of everyone just in case anything happens then she be the first to discover it.

Whilst Chris told them a little fact about lions, TK nudged Kasey’s arm before leaning closer to whisper: “why are we heading more towards the pier?”

Kasey felt her eyes widen, quickly turning her head to look at her brother. She didn’t think he’ll notice, in fact she didn’t think he’ll even know the area they were heading towards, but he did.

“We’re not going there directly–” She sighs, “I just need to see if there’s any sighting of Buck…” Kasey looks back at Chris with a fake, relaxed smile, “you said lions starts off spotty?” He nods. “I think that makes them even cooler. You know, Chris, I think you’re just like a lion – you’re really brave. The bravest person I know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah – I’m real glad your dad joined the 118, or I wouldn’t have met the coolest, bravest person out there.”

Christopher smiles brightly before burying his face into Kasey shoulder as he hugs her tightly, “I’m really glad too.”

Kasey was surprised by not stumbling across anyone else, she wonders if rescue has been close by and that everyone else has been rescued within the area, perhaps they just missed a rescue boat, but Kasey hasn’t heard no engine, or any noise expect their movements through the waters and the quiet chatter amongst the group.

She thought all was rescued till she heard a scream for help coming from a building to the right up ahead, someone was trapped under some of the damage from the buildings and trees and Kasey purses her lips as she looked around quickly, checking that the area they were in was fine for everyone to wait within for a few seconds whilst she goes to help the person.

Coming to a quick judgement, she hands Christopher over to TK and Christopher almost calls for her, begging her not to go, to not leave him, he lost Buck the same way too, he can’t lose Kasey too.

Kasey brushes back his hair as she stands in front of the pair. “Hey, kiddo, you’re gonna be okay. I’ll just need to help that person over there,” she jerks her thumb behind her shoulder to the person who was crying for help. “And then I’ll be right back.” And with that she rushed – as quickly as she could with the waist-high water – towards the one in danger.

“Hey! Hey! I’m here to help,” she offers out a hand, “I’m firefighter Strand of the 118, I just need you to tell me if anything hurts whilst I take this weight of you, okay?” She heard a chocked out okay from them before she began to push and pull a mixture of debris off from the stranded person.

The water was raising.

No – no, not again, please not again.

She was pushing it off quicker now, and the second her hand grabbed the person underneath and pulled them up to their feet, the third wave came, and Kasey could hope that this was the last one as she pushes the stranger to the wall and held the pair of them for coverage.

Kasey was no stranger to metaphoric drowning; she was so used to her heart anchoring her down. Weighing her down to the point that she could no longer move. She was so used to the cold feeling, the loneliness, the pain, it all felt normal for her now.

Kasey knew most would be familiar with the sense of metaphoric drowning, but most usually were able to break the surface, catch their breath, learn how to breathe again. Kasey thinks she’s been under for too long now, she doesn’t think she’ll ever meet the light that dances across the surface.

Kasey would like to think that TK was beginning to learn how to breathe again after New York, and Kasey is thankful for it as TK deserved to rest, he deserved his happiness, he was a good person, he didn’t deserve to drown.

On his way to Texas, Kasey recalls a private phone call between the pair, it was short as she was on her shift, but in the call, TK begs her to come to Texas, to fix their family, to mend it, to rebuild it, he tells her he would have never gotten better for himself, he only did for her, dad, and mum, and he tells her, with the quietest of voices that he needed her, he needed his sister, and he begs for her to come live with them in Texas, they can live out their dream on being firefighters together, but Kasey told him no, she couldn’t, she may have an alright relationship with their father and a strong relationship with TK, but she knew if she ever lived with them then it would just destroy her more, her chances of ever seeing the surface would vanish in a blink of an eye and she would just have to befriend the ocean floor.

She could live with TK, she knew she could, and hearing his broken voice over the phone made her want to drop everything and come and live with him, but her and their father didn’t see eye-to-eye all of the time, they were better than her and Gwen, but that wasn’t enough, that wasn’t enough, none of it was enough – despite wanting to be there for TK, she knew living with them wasn’t going to do her no good, so she declined.

She told him she’ll visit when she can and she’ll always be in LA if he needed, and she suppose she just has to continue watching him live his life through the photographs he sends, and the calls he makes, and she’ll just have to watch him from the distance like she always have.

Maybe in another life they could have gotten what they deserved as siblings.

But in this one they grew up together with different memories and experiences from their childhood. The pair were prodigy children but love for Kasey has always been contingent. Unlike TK, who was seen as the child who could do no wrong, Kasey was the burnout child, the troublemaker, and she was just too difficult for them.

In her childhood bedroom there were many sport trophies in which TK, Kit, and Vanessa watched her win (most of them), Owen tried to watch her win as many as he possibly could and Gwen…well, when she came it was clear she never wanted to be there.

Kasey wore the title of ‘disappointment’ with the most honour though. It was a common word that was thrown at her, the phase “you won’t be anything” followed closely behind. And despite her telling everyone she was fine, no one would truly understand the weight of her families words. TK heard the fights, but that didn’t mean he understood the way Kasey felt about their family, he didn’t have to live up to their family expectations, and he didn’t have to listen to the constant reminders from their mum of how much she has sacrificed to get him there, and that everyone is counting on him – no, TK never knew what that side of the family was like, that was what Kasey always saw and heard. He heard the proudness, but she heard the disappointments, the “you’re just not good enough.”

TK was never the one who threw up before every game in his sophomore year, no, that was Kasey. Kasey, the one who had to sit in the car listening to her mum scream at her if she lost, or worst, they just sat in silence. Whenever Gwen came to watch Kasey play, coincidentally Kasey’s team lost, it was as if she was their bad luck charm, or perhaps it was the way she made Kasey so nervous to the point she couldn’t concentrate properly because she wanted to show her mum that she was good, that she wasn’t such a screw up, that she was good at something.

But no, whenever she came to watch they lost and it was always Kasey’s fault, the one who was to be blamed, and the one who gets told she wasn’t worth the trophies in her room.

Kasey never had a childhood, but she made sure TK did, she sacrificed everything just to make sure he didn’t ever see the side of their family she saw, that he was happy, that he’ll never experience the feeling of drowning. And she would do it again. She would. She would go though all the pain all over again as long as it ends with TK being happy.

But he would never remember that it was her who had to make microwave meals in the first few years after the divorce because Gwen was always busy with Enzo. Once she overheard that Gwen couldn’t stand being in the same house as her daughter, so Kasey took it upon herself to stay in her room for as long as possible just for TK to have the chance to have family dinners again with Gwen and now her new boyfriend, Enzo, and then when they were all in bed Kasey would eat the leftovers or find something else to eat.

She couldn’t let TK live the way she did, even as a young child she knew this, TK deserved a childhood and Kasey was fine with eating at the dining table alone every night.

Gwen blames Kasey for her and Owen’s divorce, despite it being the weight of the 9/11 incident mixed with some other personal problems, no, Kasey was apparently a massive factor in their divorce and Kasey remembers her father telling her that she could come live with him if she wanted, she would’ve said yes if it wasn’t for TK, but there was TK and she couldn’t leave him, she couldn’t do that to him, so she decided to stay – for him.

TK will never know that it was his younger sister that raised him for most of his childhood as their dad was grieving and their mum…was well, Gwen. But to TK, Kasey knew he would always remember their mum being there, and she was, in a way, she was there for him at least whenever she wasn’t around.

But TK does remember, he does remember some it, like how she was the one who taught him how to swim, when it really should have been one of their parents, but no it was his twin sister, and my god was he thankful for her.

He always has been thankful for her, even if he could never recall the extent she went for him at times due to the way she protected and shield him for that side of their family. But despite all this, Kasey knew that TK would remember the times she failed him, that she was the one to blame for him to understand the feeling of metaphoric drowning, she was the one who believed to be blamed for him starting drugs, and she was the one who left him…and that’s the main thing he’s going to remember, he wont remember how she accepted the abandonment from her mother just so TK could still have a mum, and he will never remember how Kasey sacrificed her life to make sure TK was happy. No, he’ll never know because Kasey will never tell him, she doesn’t want him to feel guilty as there was no reason to. But Kasey would do it again, she was his sister, she was meant to protect him, she felt lighter when she saw her brother happy – he deserves it, he’s a good person.

But the thing Kasey knew she’ll never be able to handle was the fact that out of everything, TK will remember how she left the most, he’ll memorise every detail of that night, and be able to relive it all the time. He’ll remember how she left, and he’ll remember how, like every disappointed child, she hid in her own shadow and drowned.

But even though she left, even though she carried the belief that TK hated her, Kasey will never know how many times TK fell asleep in her bed after she left. Kasey would never know how much TK talked to himself in her room, pretending she was there, telling her ghost that he missed her and to come back home.

She will never know that despite how she left, despite the fights, despite the disagreements, all TK ever wanted was for his little sister to come back.

Kasey never knew that even though he never responded, he kept every letter she ever sent him in those years they spent not seeing each other, in a shoebox under his bed, and how he would pull that shoebox out and re-read every letter that he was ever given by her, he even put in the letters he got from her throughout the years, even birthday cards, and he would read them all every night that she spent out at war.

All TK ever wanted was his little sister.

Now, she was under the water again, fighting against the current, and her eyes felt heavy, but she continued to fight. So fought like a maniac as she struggled to regain control, thrashing until her limbs gave out and the light above the surface drifted away, leaving her numb in the darkness. But even then, even when her body felt like giving up, she fought even more.

Finally, her face broke the surface, even if it was just for a second, she made sure to look around, the stranger wasn’t there no longer, the group wasn’t there, and nor was TK or Christopher. Kasey knew she was about to lose air again, she knew she was going to go under again, and Kasey knew she should focus on trying to get some air back into her lungs, but she couldn’t.

She couldn’t because how can someone catch another breath when all the air has just left your lungs the moment you realise two of the people you care most about wasn’t there?

TK and Christopher was no longer with her.

But somehow she gasped for her last breath of air before the icy-cold water flooded in; her throat burned as if a thousand needles had been plunged into it. But her gasp wasn’t truly her last breath, it was really her last scream as she called their names, but the heavy blanket around her swallowed that up and dulled her senses before embracing her into another tight, warm, suffocating hug.

Kasey was growing tired, she wanted to become a victim to the hug and just fall further into it.

Perhaps this is the peace Trey told her about, that you’ll truly feel all the pain leave your body and nothingness will fill your body as you just fall into the embrace that Poseidon gives you. You feel warmth from his sandy, bubbly, fingers, and you’ll feel yourself nodding along to him questioning you if you were ready to leave.

But at that question, Kasey found herself shaking her head, eyes still squeezed shut, but she attempted to wake her body up, even if it’s just for a few minutes just so she could swim up to the surface again. Because maybe Trey found comfort within Poseidon hold, but she didn’t, she wasn’t ready to go, not yet, and even if she was, she just couldn’t leave, not when TK and Chris needed her.

So she fought her way back to the surface with two things on her mind. She thought of TK. And she thought of Christopher. And that alone was enough for her to continue to fight.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

“Hey – Hey, I’m looking for a TK – Tyler Kennedy Strand, and Evan Buckley and Christopher Diaz.” Kasey’s strained voice begs the woman in scrubs that stood in front of her. The tips of Kasey’s fingers were bloody, and she lightly touches one of the woman’s arms, body flinching at the realisation of what she just done.

The lady looks Kasey over with the bottom of her lip tucked in between her teeth. Kasey didn’t look so good, not with the cuts over her face and the blood-soaked t-shirt she was wearing. She questioned if Kasey even realised how badly injured she was, but perhaps the shirt being dark has hidden the truth from her and she was just now running on pure adrenaline. But Kasey knew, she knew how badly hurt she was, but she wasn’t going to let herself get looked at until she knew those people were safe, that they were alright.

Kasey takes a nervous step back at the look of worry the woman gave her.

“Ma’am you need to see–”

“Are they here?” Kasey stuttered out, hand moving to clutch her side as she felt a sudden rush of pain run through her as she impatiently waited for the woman to skim through the pages of her clipboard.

She shakes her head. “You may wanna check over there at the black tent.”

Kasey’s eyes shifts to look over the woman’s shoulder, gulping nervously.

“But we need to check you–”

“Isn’t that the–”

“The morgue.” Kasey’s unfinished question echoes through her ears, through her mind, through her heart for a little too long. She feels a sudden shakiness in her hand, and her legs began to feel weak, and Kasey thinks her vision is going, but none of that mattered, not with the haunting hum that runs through her body; her soul.

Kasey felt like she was drowning again, felt like she was wrapped in the currents once again. Her breathing halted and her throat twisted and squeezed every word she thought of.

Her stomach turned at the thought.

She gags at the sight of it, at the word of it, and at the thought of it.

Morgue.

Just that word made her feel like she was under again, that the bile in her mouth was the salt water that tried to suffocate her, and death still lingered at the back of her mind as she passed the woman, ignoring her calls for someone to come and help the injured woman.

Kasey paused a few meters away from the black tent.

She failed them.

She’s the reason that they could possibly be–

Kasey couldn’t save them.

With her blood-stained hands, she clasps them together and presses against her stomach where she’s sure her heart has fallen into.

It’s impossible. They couldn’t be dead – not her brother, her best friend, and not her–

She wasn’t there, she should’ve been there, she shouldn’t have left them, she should stayed.

She should’ve stayed.

She takes a step forward. And another. And another. She thinks she’s thirteen and half steps away from the tent before her feet stop moving, She just stands there staring at it.

“Kasey?” A voice pulls her out, and tiredly she turns to the call, “Kasey!” It was no longer a questioning tone, it was more a tone of worry, and her eyes were fluttering shut but the feeling of cold hands on her cheeks awoke her and she was now welcomed by the eyes of someone she’s known from childhood – TK. TK is here, TK’s alive and – oh, she looks over her shoulder to see her team staring at her worriedly as they stand around a tired-looking Buck with cuts across his face and is his hand bleeding? But Buck is alive too and–

“Chris? Where is he? I lost you – I wasn’t good–” Eddie feels Chris push him away slightly from the hold he was in before turning around and stumbling his way towards Kasey who rushes forwards, kneeling on the ground just to hold him.

She ignored all the pain that came with the movements.

“I’m sorry – I’m so sorry – I shouldn’t have left you – I should have been there – I should have been – I’m not going again, I’ll–” She stops when she fells Christopher hold onto her even tighter, it wasn’t like the time before when she was holding him as they walked through the water, he didn’t hold her like was scared she would disappear, he held her in the way one would hold a loved one once they returned home safe. Chris tucks his face more into the crook of Kasey’s neck and mumbles out a tired but relieved, “you’re okay.” And maybe the hug was painful, but it was worth it, it was worth it cause she has her little Diaz in her arms again and her lips pressed against his cheek, giving it a feather light kiss like a way a mother would kiss their child in comfort after they had a nightmare. “I’m so sorry,” she murmurs, voice hitching around the lump in her throat. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t find you, kiddo.”

Kasey remains kneeling on the concreate as she tucks a cold and damp Christopher closer to her chest. She rests her forehead against his cheek as she just breaths in the smell of the salt water that lingers on the curls of his hair. “I’m sorry – I’m so sorry – I didn’t – I–” Her voice shakes in distraught, but she is interrupted by Christopher little voice.

“You’re okay now kid, we’ve got you.” He mimics a phase he often hears around, and Kasey indeed felt like she will be okay as she holds him in her arms.

She holds him a little longer before she ushers him to go hold Buck for a bit more as she notices Eddie standing near, face unreadable as he stares at the pair. TK was now perched on a rock as he finally caught his breath, asking Bobby if he could borrow his phone to ring his dad.

Christopher moves towards Buck and Kasey moves to stand, grimacing slightly as she did so.

“Eds–” But the look on Eddie’s face cuts her off as he shakes his head before he gently pulls her in closer by her right wrist. His eyes searches her up and down, lingering slightly longer on her stomach. “I’m fine,” she utters, and Eddie doesn’t believe it, but he just wants to feel her, touch her, just do something to rest his racing mind and make himself believe that she is real, that she is alive.

He thought he lost both her and his son tonight, and he just finished holding his son and now he’s got to hold Kasey whilst Buck now holds Christopher to assure his mind that they’re fine – that they will be okay eventually.

But Kasey didn’t return for nearly fifteen minutes after TK and Chris, and as the time ticked the more his mind tried to convince him that Kasey truly was dead.

But she wasn’t, she was standing in front of him and all he wants to do is hold her and never let het go. All he wants to do is take both her and Christopher home and watch some stupid show on the TV as he just holds his son and best friend…

And now Eddie’s hand slides up the back of Kasey’s neck, her damp, knotted hair falling over it as his thumbs strokes the base of her head softly.

Kasey was here, Kasey was fine, and she was real.

His family was okay and now the one who held his heart in her palms was right in front of him, and without a thought crossing his mind his forehead rests against hers and their eyes fall shut as they embraced this, and now she was being pulled into his chest and her arms were wrapping round him, and oh god was Kasey happy that something other than the ocean was gripping her, holding her – protecting her.

Kasey didn’t think much of it either as his lips brushed the top of her head.

Her rocks them side-to-side and he feels a smaller body wrapping round his waist before he ushers the two of them to kneel to the ground, then he pulls Christopher into their hug. And for a small moment, they seemed like a family who just been caught in a natural disaster, that he was the relief husband that his wife and son has returned back to him, and sometimes that’s what it felt like, and right now it did feel like it, despite the natural disaster, Eddie couldn’t help but think about it.

His fingers grip onto them for dear life and he’s now mumbling that their okay, that he’s got them now, and they will be okay.

Buck was back on the phone (Athena’s phone) with Maddie whilst Hen and Chimney ushered him and TK (TK now finally getting ahold of Owen) into a tent to get checked out, Buck questioned about Kasey and Christopher and they insist that they’ll be okay, that Eddie’s got them now, and they will be just fine.

Kasey was sobbing now, she tried to hold it back, but feeling the safety around her she began to sob, and she knew Christopher was crying too as she felt his body shake in her arm and Eddie was certain he had tears quietly running down his own cheeks, but he didn’t bring much notice to it as he took care of the two in his arms.

Eddie doesn’t think he’s ever felt this stress, not till he experienced the last seventeen minutes where he found a badly-looking Buck with his son’s glasses telling him that he lost Christopher, to Christopher returning in the arms of TK Strand, only to face TK’s panic as he begs Eddie to tell him that Kasey was here and that she was okay, to him saying he hasn’t seen her, to thinking she was dead, until now holding her and Christopher in his arms as he thanks the universe for returning them all back alive.

Bobby takes a step forwards with a doctor next to him along with the worried woman in scrubs who Kasey met first. He clears his throat, hating to break it all up, but it only just came to his attention of how hurt Kasey seemed, and she needs to urgently be looked at.

“Eddie,” his voice is quiet to not alarm anyone, “Eddie, we’ve got to check them out, please.”

Eddie nods as he slowly lets them go. He raises to his feet and picks Christopher up with one arm. Christopher’s shattered body wrapped round Eddie’s left side, his head resting against his shoulder whilst Eddie moved to stand on one of Kasey’s side whilst Bobby came to assist the other side, they both caught her as she stumbled to stand, the pain overtaking her once again, and her mind finally was catching up with the wounds across her body.

“Can you stand?” Eddie asked.

Kasey nodded shakily, trying to pull herself up onto her feet. Just as soon as she managed to get upright, her knees buckled.

Eddie and Bobby catches her before she fell back to the ground, helping Kasey to stand back up. “S-sorry,” she stutters “I-I-I–”

“It’s okay, we’ve got you.”

When they entered the medical tent, Eddie insisted to be the one to look after Kasey whilst Buck took Christopher after whining softly that he needs to hold the kid again, and Eddie allowed him too, knowing he’ll be safe as Buck holds him whilst Chimney moves to check Christopher over.

Kasey unconsciously rested her head against the top of his as he kneeled slightly in front of her to gain access to her abdominal area. Her shirt was pushed up whilst Eddie gently disinfected the area, the wounds weren’t as bad as he thought they be, the bleeding had came to a stop a while ago he believes, and it was a good sign to see that she wouldn’t be needing any stitches either.

Eddie’s finger dances across the cleaned, and freshly bandaged wounds, his finger pauses at a scar just above the beginning of the white bandage, and he ponders over it, but he says nothing of it when Bobby taps his shoulder, presenting a clean shirt that he must have found.

“We’ll have fresher clothes at mine for her to get into after she showers.” Bobby smiles softly and Eddie responds with his own small smile as he nods, but as he turns to face Kasey again his smile faltered slightly as reality struck him with the fact that Kasey wouldn’t be coming home with him and Christopher.

For most of time, Christopher stuck with either Buck or TK, only coming over when he see’s Kasey slightly more awake than before, drinking some water as she winces every now and then as Eddie daps a cloth around her face to clean the cuts there. He listens to his father quietly apologise to her, and he watches as Kasey shakes her head at it every time.

Chris brings himself closer to them, he was in different clothes now from the box Bobby searched through, and so was Buck and TK, all their old stuffs were stuffed in one pile by Athena as she spoke quietly with Bobby of how she is becoming a pro at washing due to the amount of blood and dirt she has taken out of clothes that belonged to him or their two older kids that go by the name of Buck and Kasey, and a few more clothes won’t be a hassle either, she’s just glad that they’re all okay.

His head falls onto his dad’s shoulder as he looks up at Kasey with a smile.

“Hey my little lion,” Kasey teased, hand reaching out to run through his curls as she eyes his scrunched up hand, “you doing okay, kiddo?” He nods before holding his hand out to her, presenting her with a collection of plasters with a small frown.

“They didn’t have any Spider-Man ones,” Kasey gently takes the plasters out from his hands as she looks at them. “Only Scooby Doo ones.”

Kasey gasps in small excitement, “well that’s good!” She says with a grin, but Eddie could see the tiredness behind it. “I love Scooby Doo!”

“Me too,” Christopher states with a bubble of laughter.

“Would you like to put the plasters on Kasey?” Eddie questioned as he took in the sight of the two, coming to a quick understanding that they must have talked about plasters when they found one another. Christopher nods and Eddie stands himself up better before bending down to pick his son up and places him down next to Kasey on the hospital bed.

Kasey turns her head to face Christopher, hand palm-up with the plasters laying in them for him to take, and he does so very gently as he rips the white pieces off from them before placing them gently over Kasey’s face to hide the cuts.

“Perhaps you’ll become Doctor Diaz in the future,” Kasey mutters as she studies his movements. “Think I’ll be least afraid of hospitals if I knew I’ve got the best and bravest doctor ever!”

As Bobby had same final words with the doctor, he brings himself towards the trio after confirming that Doctor Diaz has finished with placing Scooby Doo plasters on his patient’s face to tell them it be best if they all go home and clean themselves up and to rest.

(There was even a soft mention that Bear is at home waiting on her return).

The group that become bigger without Eddie and Kasey’s realisation ushered their last goodbyes, making sure everyone will be alright for the night, Karen kisses them all on the cheek, wishing them a better and restful evening, she gave Kasey a teasing squeeze on her cheeks before patting it softly, then when she came to Eddie she gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, but as she leaves she gives his bicep a soft squeeze as she throws him a comforting and knowing look and he watches as her eyes shift to Kasey who has now began to pull herself off the bed.

Eddie quickly comes to her aid, helping her to slide off the medical bed much easier and she thanks him, and then she tells the Diaz’s boys how they’re the best doctors she has ever had, and that she’s feeling much better now. Eddie knew she wasn’t, but he also knew that comment was more aimed at his son than to him. Kasey gives another long-lasting hug to Christopher, telling him that she will try and see him the next day and she lays a kiss to his cheek and says that if he or his dad needs anything then give her a ring and she will come.

Eddie shakes his head as he stands behind the pair, a smile tugging at his lips as he watches them, and Christopher even leans up to kiss the bandage across her nose as he wishes her a goodnight before making his way to Buck and TK who were both whining next to Vanessa and Kit (who Kasey didn’t even notice turning up) as they begged to hold Christopher again.

Kasey moves to stand with Eddie’s help and Kasey says nothing as she wraps her arms round his waist, tucking her face into his chest as she just closes her eyes. “You should go,” her voice was raspy now but Eddie found it kinda cute if he forgot the reasoning behind it. “You should go and get yourself and Chris home.”

Eddie knows he should but he also wishes Kasey was coming with them, wishing she was coming home with them to clean up and rest there, and they would turn on some shitty show as they lay on the couch to watch it, all nibbling on something easy to fill their stomachs and Chris would fall asleep first, his eyes falling shut then Eddie would feel a heavy weight on his left shoulder. He then would promise Kasey that he’ll be back as he takes Christopher to bed, tucking him in and leaving the night-light on in his bedroom before he makes his way back to Kasey, who was watching them before but now her eyes were closed and Eddie would smile softly at the sight of her, watching as she finally gains some sleep before he tucks his arms under her body and lifts her up and–

Kasey was now leaving the embrace and gives him a small smile before she makes her way to Athena who wraps her up tightly whilst whispering words of how good a nice warm shower will be for her and TK and that the heating will be on, and she is sure that hot chocolate will be made tonight too.

And then everyone was leaving, out of the medical tents and Chris was situated on Eddie’s hip once Buck and TK finally let him go, Kit and Chimney were up front, helping Buck walk with Maddie following closely behind, then there was Hen and Karen, and then Bobby (who was carrying the dirty clothes) and Vanessa with Athena and Kasey behind, her arm was wrapped motherly round her waist as she began to question Kasey that all of her weight better be on her (Athena) and she better not be taking any of it, but Kasey wasn’t listening much as her head turns to look over her shoulder at the two Diaz’s and all she does was smile at them.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

Eddie pushes himself off the sofa as he watches some shitty show on the television, Christopher was in bed now after having a quick bath and eating something before being tackled in hugs and comforting words from his father. Eddie wasn’t expecting anything else for the evening, especially not a knock at his door at this time of night or even from what has happened all day.

And he sure wasn’t expecting to see a clean but still tired Kasey (still covered in her bandages, but they were changed to plain brown ones after her shower, at Athena’s recommendation) at his door. He looks out at the road to see headlights on, and they gave him a quick blink and he was quick to recognise it being Bobby. He then watches the car drive off before his eyes move back to the women in front of him, who gives him a small, nervous, smile.

“Can I stay here for tonight, please,” her voice was still slightly scratchy, and she swing her arms at her sides as she gazes at Eddie and all he could do was nod as he holds back his smile from growing anymore at the realisation of why she was here.

No wonder Bobby drove off without Eddie giving an answer as he knew he would say yes to Kasey. Eddie even wondered if Bobby knew how much both Christopher and Eddie wished for her to come home with them.

“Yeah – yeah, of course,” he says and at his words Kasey falls forwards, falling into his open arms that were quick to catch her. Her forehead rests against his shoulder and she rounds her tired arms around his waist whilst he brings her into a tighter embrace.

In his hold, Kasey felt saved.

They stay standing in the doorway, still embracing one another, and Eddie wondered how long they be there for, but he didn’t really mind, not as long as he had her in his arms. It was silent between the pair; well it was until Kasey spoke up again with a question Eddie was truly not expecting tonight.

“Can I get Chris’ name tattooed on me?” Kasey pulls back slightly to look at Eddie’s face, but all she saw was his knitted brows and eyes that burnt with confusion. “I know it’s crazy – we have no relation – like he isn’t even mine or he, well, he isn’t mine anything. But he was so brave Eddie, and I want to carry some of his bravery around – it–it doesn’t make any sense, forget it.” She takes a quick pause. “But he means the world to me Eddie, really, you’ve got the best kid ever, you know? And I just want to honour him more, and just carry something of him around with me everywhere I go so when I do get scared, I’ll know that Chris would want me to be brave and …I just – I care a lot about your son, and you, my god, you two mean absolutely everything to me, I don’t think you understand how important the pair of you are to me and–”

She stops with the feeling of his lips touching the top of her head.

She blinks.

“I think,” he begins as he gazes at her, eyes full of softness, “I think Christopher would really like that,” the corner of his lip tugs up even more now, “I really like the idea too. It’s sweet.”

“Really?” Kasey scrunches her nose slightly, the plaster crumpling up as she does so. “You can say no if you want.”

Eddie shakes his head. “You can get his name tattooed, I don’t mind, but thank you for asking me though.”

Kasey blinks again cause why wouldn’t she ask for his permission? “Yeah – yeah, er, always…”

“When do you want to get it done?” He questions next as they still stood in his doorway.

“Tomorrow,” she instantly says. “I’m going to get TK’s name tattooed on me too, already asked for his permission,” she ranted slightly, “do you want to come with?” Then there was a moment of silence before she shakes her head. “Wait, no, you’ll be busy, it was stupid to ask, you will probably be working or with Chris and–”

His hand finds her, intertwining their fingers together as he offers her a soft squeeze. “I don’t have a shift tomorrow,” he states once he notices that his action has stopped her panicking rant, her eyes moves to look down at their joint up hands. “Chris will be at his Abuela’s, so I’ll come with you.”

And then he leans forwards, lays another kiss on her forehead, but his lips linger by her skin, and she swears she feels him smiling when she squeezes his hand in return.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

A/N: Kit Prescott has been changed to Reiky De Valk A/N.2: Taglist found in reblog!

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anotherspnfanfic · 11 months

Text

Surprise Visits

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x reader

Word count: 2400

Warnings: seizure, epileptic reader, possible inaccuracies

Summary: Eddie shows up unexpectedly. Reader is glad he did for more than one reason.

A/N: This is only my second time writing for Eddie and last time it was a co-write. I did a whole bunch of research and had some proof reading from the lovely @thatonewriter15 and @muchamusedaboutnothing. Hopefully this is a somewhat accurate representation... 🤞🏻

Trudging up the stairs towards her apartment, she cursed the elevators for being broken. All she wanted to do was collapse into her bed and sleep for two days. Unfortunately, that was impossible since it was only Wednesday and she had an important meeting first thing in the morning.

Passing the third floor, she considered if she was going to eat before she went to bed. She was starving, but cooking seemed like too much effort and time. Then she considered having something delivered but guessed that would take even longer than cooking. She decided to just eat a spoonful of peanut butter so that she wasn’t battling hunger while trying to fall asleep.

Finally reaching the fifth floor, she exited the stairwell and took the four steps to her door. It was a small victory for climbing the stairs— at least she didn’t have further to go once she got to her floor.

She unlocked the door and pushed it open. Immediately, she dumped her purse, jacket, and laptop case on the floor beside the door before pulling her shoes off one at a time to drop in the pile.

Rounding the corner into the living room, she gasped. Her favorite scented candle was lit on the coffee table next to several containers of Chinese take-out. Eddie stood from the couch as she approached.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she let herself fall into his embrace.

He pecked a kiss to her temple as he pulled back to look at her. “You sounded a little overwhelmed when you called earlier. So I had Buck take Christopher for the night, and I brought you dinner.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she was overcome with emotions. “I love you. You are the best. I was about to eat some peanut butter because I’m too exhausted to cook or wait for delivery.”

“And let me guess, you’ve barely eaten anything all day?” he chastised.

She shrugged. “I had a bagel for breakfast.”

He pulled her over to sit on the couch. “I’m glad I came then.”

“I’m really glad you did.” She grabbed a fortune cookie while he started to open the other containers. “Are you staying all night?”

He nodded. “I’m all yours. Buck is taking Christopher to the zoo tomorrow.” He dumped some rice on the plates he’d gotten out of the kitchen. “Chicken, beef, or shrimp?”

“Some of each, please.” She set the fortune cookie back down as she stood. ”I’m gonna go change out of these work clothes. I’ll be right back.”

Before Eddie could even finish dishing up the food, she returned in sweats and a shirt she’d stolen from him.

As she sat back down, she picked up and opened the fortune cookie. She pulled out the piece of paper. “‘Life will soon become interesting,’” she read. “I think it’s already plenty interesting.”

Eddie chuckled. “Yeah, where’s the one that says we get a vacation soon?”

He finished adding everything to their plates as she flipped on the television and started an episode of How I Met Your Mother.

They ate in a comfortable silence and had finished before the twenty-minute episode had ended. He set the mostly-empty plates on the table, and she shifted to curl in against his side while he wrapped his arm snugly around her shoulder.

As the credits rolled, he asked, “Bed or another episode?”

She yawned. “One more. I’m probably going to fall asleep, but I’m comfy.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead as the TV rolled over into a new episode on its own. “As you wish, mi amor.”

She had just started to doze off when, suddenly, she was overcome with a familiar, distinct, full-body tingling sensation along with intense nausea. She quickly shifted to leaning forward on the edge of her seat. “Oh, no. No, no, no.”

Eddie reached out and placed a tentative hand between her shoulder blades. “What’s wrong?”

She stood and moved over to the empty dining room, which she kept devoid of a table and other furniture precisely for this reason. “Seizure,” she stated as calmly as she could before lying down in the middle of the floor.

“Oh, uh, okay.” Eddie was surprised, but quickly stood. He grabbed a blanket from the recliner and moved to sit beside her. He knew about her epilepsy and the medications she took for it. However, in the eighteen months they’d been dating, she’d never had a seizure. He lifted her head to slide the folded blanket underneath.

She let out a quiet whimper before her eyelids fluttered closed.

“Okay. You’re okay. I got you.” He pulled out his phone, opened the timer, and set it on the floor. He continued to whisper soft reassurances to her and started the timer as soon as she started to seize.

Despite his training and having treated patients with seizures at work, he couldn’t help but notice the way his hands shook as he carefully kept her rolled on her side. “You’re okay,” he repeated, more to reassure himself than anything. He continued to repeat it several more times as he waited for her to stop.

He felt his anxiety spike again as he watched the timer hit four minutes. He thought about what time it was, trying to figure out which shift was manning the 118 currently. He knew if she hit five minutes, he would have to call 9-1-1. As the timer rolled past four and a half minutes, her movements finally began to slow. He breathed a sigh of relief and pushed some hair out of her face as she stilled. Next, he used the corner of the blanket to wipe the saliva that had dribbled out.

For his own peace of mind, he checked her pulse, satisfied that it was steady and only slightly tachy. Next, he counted her breaths, ensuring her breathing was also back to normal. Then he sat there, running his fingers gently through her hair, and waited for her to wake.

Finally, after several minutes of anxiously waiting, she groaned.

“Hey, sweetheart. You with me?”

Slowly, she cracked her eyes open and looked around for several moments before finally landing on his face. She was clearly confused and still disoriented.

“You’re okay. You just had a seizure,” he explained. “Do you remember feeling it coming on?”

She thought for a minute before finally nodding. Groaning again, she rolled onto her back and threw an arm over her face. “Trash,” she slurred.

Eddie shifted away to grab the trash can sitting in the corner and move it beside her. “Do you want to sit up?”

“Not yet.” She lied there, trying to regain her bearings.

He took her hand in his and ran his thumb softly over her knuckles. “Anything I can do?”

“Mmmm, make the jackhammer in my head stop? And the nausea, too.” She rolled back onto her side before starting to push herself into a sitting position and pulling the trash can between her knees. “This blows.”

Leaning forward, he placed a chaste kiss on her temple. “I know. I’m sorry. Do you want something for the headache?”

“Not yet. I don’t want to puke it right back up.”

She didn’t know how long she sat there, taking slow, deep breaths in an attempt to clear the nausea. All the while, Eddie rubbed soothing circles across her back. The soreness was already starting to settle in all her muscles. Eventually, she pushed away the trash can and leaned into him.

“Ya know, this isn’t the kind of interesting I was hoping for. Stupid fortune cookie,” she grumbled.

“Me either. You think you’re ready to move?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her gently.

“Yeah.” She nodded. He stood, and she reached a hand out for him. “Help me up?”

Instead of pulling her up, he bent down and slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back and easily lifted her. He walked slowly towards her bedroom, cautious of making the nausea worse, then set her gently on the bed. “What do you need?”

“Uh, I will take that Tylenol now. Plus, water and some Advil for in the morning, and the trash can by the bed,” she listed, then, with a pout, added, “Please?”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

She laid back into her pillows as she waited for him to return. Next thing she knew, she was peeling her eyes open to find Eddie beside her, rubbing a hand across her head.

“Here, take these and then you can go to sleep.” He handed her the pills and then opened a bottle of water before offering that as well.

Once she’d swallowed them, she took a few deep breaths to clear the flare of nausea. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” He pressed another kiss to her hairline.

“As much as seizures suck, it’s really nice having you here to help. I’ve just slept on the floor in there so many times because I just didn’t have the energy to move.”

“I’m glad I was here. I hate that you’ve had to go through that alone.”

“I hate that I have to go through it at all.” She sighed. “And I just broke my longest streak. At least I didn’t try to take a chunk out of my tongue.”

“Ouch.”

She nodded. “Yeah, one time, I had to get stitches from biting it so bad.”

He cringed. “That sounds awful.”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed, eyes fluttering closed. “Work is really going to suck tomorrow.”

“No, it won’t.” Eddie argued. ”You’re taking the rest of the week off.”

“I can’t!’ she declared, opening her eyes and leaning forward. “I have too many things to get done and a meeting first thing that we’ve been working toward for three weeks.”

“You just had a seizure,” he pointed out the obvious. “For the first time in, what, two years? And a long one at that. You were about twenty seconds away from a trip to the hospital. You don’t think your stress levels had something to do with this?” His tone was one of frustration, but she could tell he was just worried.

She sighed, knowing he was right. “Maybe.”

Eddie climbed into the other side of the bed and settled nearly in the middle. “So take the long weekend. Just relax and get some rest. Doctor’s orders.”

Shifting to curl into his side, she giggled. “You’re not a doctor.”

He huffed. “Medic’s orders. Is that better? Or I can call a doctor.”

“Don’t you dare.”

Rolling impossibly closer to her, he pressed one more kiss to her forehead. “Good night, mi amor.”

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was her alarm clock. She was surprised to find it was nearly ten already. Slowly, she shifted onto her back and turned her head to look at the other side of the bed. She found Eddie sitting on the bed, scrolling through his phone.

“Good morning,” he greeted as he noticed she was awake. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m okay. Just a bit sore. Which is pretty much what I expected.” She took Eddie’s hand in hers. “And maybe a little grateful that I got to sleep in and I don’t have to get up and go to work.”

He lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. “You needed it.”

“Oh, shit!” she panicked. “I didn’t call. I missed the meeting. I’m gonna get fired!”

Eddie shushed her. “I called. Just breathe. It’s okay. I called earlier and talked to your boss. He knows you’ll be out today and tomorrow and told me to tell you to take Monday also, if you need to.”

She took a deep breath and let herself relax. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Of course. How about some breakfast?”

“Mmm. Yes, please.”

Eddie let go of her hand and got up off the bed. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared out of the room, and she could hear him moving around her kitchen. A few minutes later, he returned with a plate and set it on the bed in front of her.

She looked up at him, surprised. “Since when do you make omelettes?”

“Uhh, well, never?” He laughed. “I may have called in reinforcements. Bobby dropped it off earlier. I just reheated it according to his very direct instructions.”

“Eddie! I could have just had some cereal or something. You didn’t need to make him drive over here so early on his day off.” She reached over to grab her phone off the nightstand.

“I figured you could use real food. I was going to order delivery, but Bobby offered.”

“Why would he have offered?” She opened Bobby’s contact to send him a thank you text. “Oh. You told him about last night.”

“I couldn’t fall asleep. Then they were all texting in the group thread. So when they asked why I was still up, I told them. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have without asking you first.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like my epilepsy is a secret. They’re your—our— friends. I’m sure I would have told them anyway.”

He nodded. “Okay. Eat and then you can go back to sleep for a bit. If you want.”

She cut a piece off the omelette and ate it. As she chewed, she spoke, “Bobby says we’re invited over there for dinner if I’m feeling up to it. I told him we would let them know a little later today.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”

She took another bite of her food. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

Shaking his head, he explained, “I ate earlier.”

“Oh, right.” She glanced at the clock. “I forgot it was so late already.”

“Anything else I can get for you?”

She contemplated for a moment. “Umm, maybe a glass of apple juice?”

He disappeared from the room with a simple nod.

Soon after he returned, she finished her omelette and he took the plate into the kitchen.

“Did you want to go back to sleep?” he asked.

“How about a shower and then a movie on the couch?” she countered, throwing off the blankets she was still tucked under. As she stood, dizziness flared, causing her to sway slightly before sitting back down.

Eddie was in front of her instantly, steadying her. “How about a bath instead?”

“Sounds perfect.”

#eddie diaz x reader #eddie diaz fanfic #911 fanfic #911 oneshot #hurt/comfort #epileptic reader #seizures

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watchyourbuck · 5 months

Note

6. "I didn't think you'd find out." <3

Buck walked behind Eddie like a kid in trouble; with his hands behind his back and his head low. He glanced at the man ocasionally, waiting for him to say something first.

Eddie leaned against the counter, ignoring the comical realization of how often they fought in kitchens. "Imma need you to explain a little bit," he said, closing his eyes and squeezing the bridge of his nose with the tips of his fingers.

Buck could practically see the headache forming around Eddie's head, so he made it a purpose to be concise. “It’s not what you think.”

“It isn’t?” Eddie asked, turning his body towards Buck. “You didn’t buy lingerie for your girlfriend with my credit card?”

Buck opened and closed his mouth, unsure how to proceed. Yes, but also no. “Eddie, it’s not-”

“You know, it’s bad enough you were using my card,” he mumbled, dropping the arms that had been crossed over his chest and staring at him in the eyes. “But to buy presents for this… girl you’re seeing?”

Buck bit his bottom lip, analyzing every word in the English dictionary in search of a way to say what he wanted to say properly. He must’ve been quiet for too long.

“That’s so cheap.”

Eddie’s words were echoed with laughter that swayed between dramatic and disapproving, and Buck’s chest started feeling oh, too tight, for all these demons inside.

“It wasn’t-”

“There’s no denying it, Buck. I saw the receipt,” he said, looking at the outer corners of Buck’s eyes, so as to avoid his gaze. How wasn’t he embarrassed? “It was sent to my email.”

“Eddie, they’re for me!”

Buck’s voice resonated throughout the kitchen; it bounced from the cabinet to the fridge, then to the ceiling, landing back on the ground next to them.

By the time Eddie realized his jaw was on the floor, a tiny speck of drool was already formed in the corner of his mouth. He swallowed it, blinking up in shock. “For… you?”

Buck’s neck turned pink. He shifted where he stood, scratching the back of his head. It’s not like he had kept his own secret very safe. “Yes,” he admitted, “I’m the one who wears it.”

The addition was unnecessary, but there was a blinding feeling of shame running through his veins that was rendering him insane.

“With your-”

Buck shook his head violently, putting his hands up this time. He couldn’t take it anymore. “There’s no girlfriend, there’s no- not any woman. There’s no one, really.”

Eddie frowned. He tried to decided whether to lean forward or push himself off the counter, but ended up doing a weird mixture of both. He licked his lips, processing information that seemed way too relevant to hide under the rug. “You- you wear… panties?”

“Oh, god,” Buck mumbled, covering his face with his hands. This had to be the worse way he could’ve chosen to reveal a kink.

“Why would you buy them with my card, though?”

Buck uncovered his face slowly, letting himself see through the gaps of his fingers. He frowned. Eddie didn’t even seem preoccupied, he mostly looked confused. “I didn’t think you’d find out.”

The confession stung him somewhere in his body, like a phantom itch. It felt awfully familiar to digging himself a deeper grave.

He could’ve lied and said he had confused the cards - it was plausible enough now that they lived together -, but he didn’t feel like deceiving him. Go big or go home, he guessed, so he added “I can’t come without them.”

This time, Eddie's entire face changed. Buck could have sworn he saw a thunder strike his features with the strongest of wills. He felt himself turn small under his stare.

"Buck," Eddie called, this time supporting himself on his own two feet instead of the wood. "Are you being- are you serious?"

Not that he could change anything now. "Deadly," he whispered, as if he were cracking his heart open right here on the marble floor.

A few seconds passed. Buck started wondering which kind of apology he’d need to get out of this, but then Eddie’s voice drew him out from the pit. “Put them on,” he said, hoarse, and dark, and serious.

“I-,” Buck tried. He couldn’t possibly- “What?”

“Go put them on,” Eddie repeated, taking a step closer to Buck, making him infinitesimal. “Go put them on and I’ll make you come.”

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

please take this as my fuck it friday! tagged by @thewolvesof1998 @jamespearce9-1-1 @daffi-990 @hippolotamus @theotherbuckley @wikiangela @malewifediaz @fortheloveofbuddie @lover-of-mine @wildlife4life @disasterbuckdiaz & @loserdiaz 💗 thank you all so much!

tagging @spagheddiediaz @princessfbi @911-on-abc @callmenewbie @honestlydarkprincess @honestlyeddie @bucksbirthmark @housewifebuck @honestlydarkprincess @evanbegins @mattsire @giddyupbuck @buckdefencesquad @butraura @prettyboybuckley @smilingbuckley @buckleyobsessed and anybody else who’d like to participate!💞

#fuck it friday #buddie #911 fox #911 #eddie diaz #evan buckley #911 tv show #evan buck buckley #buck x eddie #buck and eddie #911 abc #buddie 911 #buddie fic #buddie ficlet #buddie wip #eddie and buck #911 on abc #911 oneshot #buddie oneshot

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wikiangela · 11 months

Text

me, you, our kid and a dog

the dog fic is finally here! fluff, getting together, first kiss, reluctant dog dad Eddie, all three of them being adorable lol ❤️

words: 4.7k

[read on Ao3]

“You’re getting a dog?” Hen asks, piecing together the few sentences she’s heard. “As in… together? “Yeah.” Buck grins, opening his own locker as well “We’re not getting a dog. “But Eddie!” Buck almost whines, and, god, Eddie would give him anything he asked for, but he’s also stubborn, and he decided something already, he can’t just go back. Besides, does he really want to be stuck taking care of a pet on a rare occasion Buck’s at his loft? “Uh, you don’t even live together.” Hen notices, confused, a frown on her face. “Or have we missed something?” she and Chim exchange a look that Eddie doesn’t wanna look into. He’s already pretty sure he’s wearing his heart on his sleeve, and everyone knows how he feels, he doesn’t need confirmation. “No, but it just makes sense.”

______

It starts as a random remark on a sunny Sunday afternoon when the three of them are at the park. They’re just taking a walk, with the goal of getting ice-cream from the best ice-cream place in the city, according to both Buck and Chris – which is just an ice-cream stand in the middle of the park.

There’s a lot of people around, strolling and talking just like them, or having picnics, or walking their dogs… and that last thing is what starts a conversation.

Because a big dog runs up to Buck – Eddie’s not even surprised at how every single breathing creature, human or otherwise, is just enamored with Buck, he’s used to it – and he stops to pet it with the brightest smile. Meanwhile, the owner, a young girl probably in her early twenties, catches up and apologizes profusely, saying that the dog tugged the leash out of her hand, and assures that it’s friendly and it’s safe to pet her – which is what Buck’s already doing, anyway.

“Hey, pretty.” he coos, crouching down, both hands petting the dog’s head, while it pants happily, tongue out.

“Can I pet her, too?” Christopher asks, giving Eddie the most adorable pleading expression, and Eddie just can’t say no.

“Of course. Just be careful.” Eddie says and watches as Chris walks closer to Buck, who holds one of his crutches to prevent it from falling, when Christopher hurries to pet the dog with the brightest smile. This close, the dog is almost at his height, and Eddie gets a little anxious, but doesn’t let his overprotectiveness take over. Buck’s right there, there’s nothing to worry about.

“She’s so soft.” Chris comments, and the dog licks his face, making him giggle.

They stand there for a long minute, before Eddie apologizes to the girl for keeping her there, and she laughs and says it’s okay. Chris tells the dog it was nice to meet her, and gazes after her wistfully, when the girl finally walks away.

“You really shouldn’t pet strangers’ dogs.” Eddie mutters to Buck once the girl is out of earshot.

“She said it’s fine.” Buck whispers back.

“Not before you already pet it.” Eddie gives him a look. “Just saying, you should be more careful.”

“Next time I will.” he rolls his eyes, as they start walking towards the ice-cream stand again, conversation picking up where they left off.

“I wish we had a dog.” Christopher says suddenly, interrupting Buck mid-sentence, and it surprises Eddie a bit. He’s never mentioned it before, and Eddie’s never thought about a pet, and he doesn’t know how to discourage him from that, or how to say no without breaking his son’s heart. Because there’s no way they’re getting a dog.

“Man, I always wanted a dog growing up.” Buck says wistfully, and, well, now Eddie’s screwed. “My parents never agreed, though.”

“We should get a dog together.” Christopher says, looking at Buck with a wide smile, and Eddie has to step in before they start planning and saying no will become even more heartbreaking.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Dad! Why?” Chris pouts and stops to look at Eddie with those eyes that make any ‘no’ almost impossible to pass his lips.

“Yeah, dad, why?” Buck joins in, and his pout is almost equally irresistible. Eddie is not in the strongest position here. If he wasn’t absolutely convinced of his decision already, he’d fold immediately. And he feels like if they keep talking about this, they might just change his mind. He won’t have this.

“I promise I’ll walk him and feed him, and Buck will help!” Chris says, now stopping and turning towards Eddie.

“Eddie, come on.” Buck shoves his arm lightly.

“You guys are serious? You actually want a dog?” Eddie looks between them, and they nod, matching pouts on their faces. Shit, he’s not gonna fall for it. “No.”

“But-”

“No.” he repeats firmly, his heart breaking a little at his son’s defeated expression. “We all know that you will take care of it for a minute, and then it’ll fall on me, at least when Buck’s not home.” he adds quietly, not missing how he accidentally made it sound like Buck’s living with them, realizing that he’d love that more than anything, but choosing to ignore this for now, because he doesn’t have time for an am-I-in-love-with-my-best-friend freak out again (they happen more frequently than he’d like to admit lately, and he thinks he has the answer already anyway). “Or probably on Carla when we’re at work.” he continues. “And she’s not getting paid to take care of a dog.”

“There’s dog sitters.” Buck murmurs, and Eddie shoots him a look. They’re not made of money, for god’s sake. But then he sees tears in Chris’ eyes, and almost relents. Almost.

“Listen, it’s a no for right now, alright? But let’s revisit this conversation when you’re a little older?” Eddie asks, and Chris immediately lights up.

“How old?” he asks, and Eddie shares a look with Buck. Then, he looks back at his ten-year-old, and answers:

“Thirteen.” because it seems like a reasonable age where he’ll be able to actually take care of a pet, and also, a lot can happen in three years, maybe he’d want a different, more low-maintenance pet. Eddie could do a goldfish, for example.

“Fine.” Christopher relents, and looks at Buck. “We can wait three years.”

“Yeah.” Buck responds, a soft and surprised smile on his face. Like he still doesn’t believe they want him in their lives permanently, and he’s not expecting them to make such long-term plans involving him. “We sure can.”

“Just, we’re clear that we’ll have the conversation then, right? Not that we’re actually getting a dog?” Eddie adds, not wanting them to get too excited. He knows Buck could just get a dog on his own, it’s not like he lives with them (sadly), though as far as Eddie remembers, pets aren’t allowed in his building. But even if he could, Eddie’s pretty sure they’d still make this decision together. He doesn’t know exactly when it happened, but their lives became so intertwined it should be scary. It’s not, though. Buck is his partner, at and outside of work. In almost all the ways Eddie wants him to be.

“Sure.” Buck says dismissively, with a chuckle, like he knows they already won. Eddie really doesn’t like when they team up against him, because that’s usually how it ends, with them winning. They’re his two biggest weaknesses, they have an advantage separately, and together? Eddie’s surprised he managed to say no right now.

Then they continue their walk, Chris a little bit in front of them, starting a new topic, now wondering what ice-cream flavor he should get, while Buck throws his arm around Eddie’s shoulder, and Eddie feels like his whole body is burning. To anyone else they must look like a family, a couple and their kid. Eddie hates how comfortable he is with that, and how much he’d actually want that to be true. Maybe he’s coming to terms with his feelings for Buck, because now, thinking about wanting to hold his hand and kiss him, and spend the rest of their lives arguing about getting a dog while living together – it doesn’t make him freak out or panic. He feels settled. He’s smiling, and he’s content, and he wants countless more afternoons like this with his boys.

But for now, the dog conversation is over, for at least three years.

Or so Eddie thinks. And, boy, is he wrong.

Because from then on, the topic of dogs and pets is being brought up constantly over the next couple of weeks.

Mostly small mentions, Buck and Christopher talking about the kind of dog they want – a breed wasn’t specified yet, but definitely a big one, which prompts Eddie to wonder how Chris wants to walk it without the dog pulling on the leash and tripping him. Not that there’s gonna be any dog, that’s not happening.

And then, after a few days, the conversation extends to outside of home, when Buck drives them to work – because he stayed over, like he does pretty frequently, sharing the bed with Eddie because he’s not gonna sleep on the couch – they’re best friends, it’s normal. Or so Eddie’s trying to convince himself to avoid freaking out.

The whole drive over, Buck’s trying to convince Eddie to change his mind, and is still talking about it as they’re walking into the locker room, where Hen and Chimney already are.

“-and you have a backyard, which is just perfect-” Buck continues, not even bothering to say hi to their friends.

“It’s not big.” Eddie points out, opening his locker.

“But it’s enough! And we can build a doghouse together, that’d be so much fun!” he says excitedly, and when Eddie looks at him and sees his sparkling eyes and that smile, he almost gives in. “And I’ll take care of it all the time, too, you know I will.”

“Buck.” Eddie tries to be stern and wants to shut it down for now. They’re at work.

“You’re getting a dog?” Hen asks, piecing together the few sentences she’s heard. “As in… together?”

“Yeah.” Buck grins, opening his own locker as well.

“We’re not getting a dog.”

“But Eddie!” Buck almost whines, and, god, Eddie would give him anything he asked for, but he’s also stubborn, and he decided something already, he can’t just go back. Besides, does he really want to be stuck taking care of a pet on a rare occasion Buck’s at his loft?

“Uh, you don’t even live together.” Hen notices, confused, a frown on her face. “Or have we missed something?” she and Chim exchange a look that Eddie doesn’t wanna look into. He’s already pretty sure he’s wearing his heart on his sleeve, and everyone knows how he feels, he doesn’t need confirmation.

“No, but it just makes sense.” Buck shrugs, taking off his t-shirt in one smooth motion, and Eddie pointedly does not look (he sees him out of the corner of his eye anyway, he can’t help it, peripheral vision exists, okay?). He doesn’t look until Buck puts his LAFD shirt on, and he’s safe to turn to him without the danger of blushing or his eyes lingering where they shouldn’t. He kind of hates realizing he’s attracted to his best friend, because it’s making things weird, at least in his head.

“How does it make sense exactly?” Chimney asks, something smug in his voice.

“It just does.” Buck says dismissively, and Eddie wonders if he’s as confused as Eddie as to what has been happening lately between them. “And Christopher wants nothing more than to get a dog. He said he doesn’t want any presents for his birthday or for Christmas, just a dog.” he adds, and Eddie’s heart breaks a little. Has he said that? Not to Eddie. But if he did… They’re so gonna break Eddie sooner or later. But, again, he’s stubborn (which is probably where Chris gets it from, honestly).

“We’re not getting a dog.” he repeats for what feels like a thousandth time. It’s like a new catchphrase, and he doesn’t like it.

“But Eddie.” Buck pouts, and Eddie tries, really tries, but is aware he’s doing a poor job at that, to conceal a fond smile. Buck is just so adorable, and Eddie is- well, he’s maybe-possibly-probably in love with him. But they’re at work, and their friends are listening, and he doesn’t need the input, and doesn’t need them to know how much closer he and Buck are than they realize – though it might be too late for that, to be honest.

“Let’s talk at home?” he finally sighs, and Buck grins triumphantly. And Eddie knows he’s gonna give in sooner or later.

Especially since, once he gets home, Chris and Buck join forces once again, and Eddie can only hold out on his own for so long. With even his partner against him, there’s not much he can do. His son has websites of some local shelters open on his laptop, as well as a whole PowerPoint presentation about why it’s a great idea to get a dog. Eddie doesn’t know when Buck and Chris made it, but they did, and now they sit Eddie down in the living room and make their case.

And, well, obviously, Eddie’s heart is not made of stone. He sees the two most important people in his life be so passionate and excited about this, they already set their hearts on getting a dog, and Eddie’s been refusing long enough.

Once the presentation is over, he stands up from the couch, while his boys look at him expectantly and with so much hope, if he didn’t change his mind already, he would now.

“So? Can we get a dog?” Chris asks quietly. Eddie takes a deep breath.

“We need to set some rules first.” Eddie says, and cheers erupt. Before he can say anything more, he finds himself in a tight embrace by Buck and Chris, whom Buck lifted up into his arms, so they can both hug Eddie. They thank him, and are so happy, and Eddie knows he’s made a good decision.

He’s even more sure a minute later, when Buck, in all his joy and excitement, apparently forgets himself and kisses Eddie straight on the lips, just a sweet, chaste brush of lips, and when he realizes what he’s done, they both freeze. Meanwhile, Chris, still in Buck’s arms, has his arms around Eddie’s neck, and doesn't look at them.

There’s fear in Buck’s eyes, and Eddie gets it, the fear over the possibility of ruining everything, he feels it every time he has the urge to do something dumb like kiss Buck. Which, well, happened. And Buck initiated it. So maybe nothing’s ruined, if Buck feels the same. Because why else would he kiss Eddie?

So, Eddie smiles, which quickly turns into a grin, and Buck looks relieved, and then he beams, when Eddie leans back in, capturing Buck’s lips in a short, soft, tender kiss. It feels like coming home, like everything is where it’s supposed to be. Somehow, Eddie thinks they’re on the same page, and they both know they’re on the same page. They will need to talk later, but for now, the silent communication and understanding they’ve always had is enough.

“Ew.” they hear Chris groan, and they break the kiss with a laugh, both blushing. “At least put me down if you’re gonna make out.” he adds, and Eddie feels his cheeks get even warmer. He sees that Chris is smiling, though, and Eddie’s a little surprised, because it seems like he’s cool with him and Buck being… whatever they are now. Hopefully dating.

“Uh, here you go.” Buck mumbles, putting him back down, his face bright red. “So, a dog?” he asks, shyly looking at Eddie.

“When?” Chris immediately adds.

“Why don’t we drive down to the shelter tomorrow and have a look?” Eddie suggests. “But first, some rules.” he says sternly, not letting even Buck kissing him distract him, not completely, anyway. He can keep it together for a minute. “Every morning one of you walks it and feeds it. No dogs on the furniture, including the couch. It’ll get a bed in your room-” he points at Chris, who beams at him, “and that’s where it’ll sleep. It’s your responsibility.” he looks from Chris to Buck, they both nod. He’s also aware that most of any rules will get broken anyway, and that he’ll end up taking care of it, too, obviously, they all live under the same roof anyway. Well, not all… not yet.

“Are we building a doghouse in the backyard?” Buck asks tentatively.

“Dad, can we?”

“Yes, of course we can.” Eddie smiles, because he already said yes, and he’s not sure he’d be able to say no to anything they both ask him right now. “But let’s get a dog first, and then we’ll worry about everything else, alright? We’ll get toys and bowls and all that tomorrow, too.” he adds, knowing that it’s another question from his son. And it’s just hitting him now that it’s happening. They’re getting a dog. What is he getting himself into… But first, there are more pressing issues. “Hey, why don’t you go call Carla and tell her, to prepare her for what she’ll have to deal with when she’s here next time, and I’ll just talk to Buck real quick?” Eddie adds, and Chris just nods, gives them both a knowing look, as if he was sure what it is they wanna talk about, and goes to his room.

Once they’re alone, Eddie looks at Buck, who’s looking everywhere but at Eddie. He’s nervous, as if he didn’t get enough confirmation already. Eddie grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers, and Buck’s wide eyes land on him.

“Relax.” Eddie chuckles. “I just felt like maybe we need to talk at least a little bit.”

“Yeah, uh, so that was-” he stops, as if not sure what to say next.

“Unexpected.” Eddie finishes for him, still smiling. “But very, very welcome.” he says just to reassure Buck that he’s not reading anything wrong (Eddie’s not sure how he could but, well, it’s Buck), and tugs at Buck’s hand to bring him closer.

“Yeah?” his face lights up, and his eyes shine when they look into Eddie’s.

“Yeah.” Eddie gets even closer, their faces inches apart, both their smiles widening, as Eddie links their lips again. But then he pulls away, because he did want to talk. Nothing goes according to plan today, but he’s not complaining. “I’m happy you kissed me, because I was starting to think I’d never be brave enough.” Eddie admits. “I was worried I’d ruin things if you didn’t feel the same.”

“Which is?” Buck raises an eyebrow, his smile turns teasing, and hopeful, and of course he already knows, but Eddie will gladly spell it out for him.

“I’m in love with you.” Eddie responds, looking into Buck’s eyes, and he feels so much lighter now that he said it. He’s been denying it, wondering, freaking out over it for so long, but now it comes as easy as breathing, and it just feels so right. “I think I have been for a long time. We’re a family already, but I want us to be a family in this sense, too.” he squeezes Buck’s hand, where he’s still holding it. “I love you so much, Buck.”

“I love you, too.” Buck’s smile is blinding. And Eddie can’t resist leaning in to kiss it. “I didn’t even think, it was so-”

“Normal?” Eddie finishes for him with a laugh. “Yeah. Like we’ve always done it.” Because that’s what it feels like when he kisses Buck right now. It’s amazing, yes, but there’s nothing really groundbreaking, it doesn’t feel new, even though it is, it’s the most natural thing in the world, kissing Buck, like Eddie’s been meant to do it. “And if you want, I’d love to do this for the rest of our lives.”

“Wow, that’s fast.” Buck jokes, kissing Eddie again. “We just kissed for the first time, slow down.”

“Uh, we’re getting a dog together.” Eddie pulls away further to give him a look, eyebrows raised. “And we’re co-parenting a kid together, have been for longer than either of us probably realize.” he adds, and sees Buck’s face melt at that. “We’re pretty far ahead already.”

“That’s true.” Buck chuckles. “I can’t believe this is happening.” he whispers, bringing his free hand up to Eddie’s cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you.” Eddie can’t resist a smile. He gets to say it now. He gets to kiss Buck, and hold his hand, and be with him. And maybe they started it a little backwards, but they’re them. They’ve been partners and co-parents for so long, and they know each other better than anyone else. So, Eddie doesn’t think anything would be too fast. Hell, they could get married tomorrow and he’s pretty sure no one would even bat an eye, it’d seem like the most natural thing. But maybe not just yet. Not that, at least, he’ll work up to it one day. However… “And, you know, parenting a kid together plus taking care of a dog together will be just so hard while living apart.” he adds teasingly, and sees Buck’s eyes widen.

“Yeah?” he breathes out.

“Yeah. Might make it much easier if you, I don’t know, maybe move in soon?” he asks, trying to act as nonchalantly as he can, but not quite succeeding, because he’s excited. He hasn’t been this giddy in a long time. And, to be honest, Buck’s already kind of living with them, it’d just make so much sense. More than getting a dog together while living apart, that’s for sure.

“You want me to move in?” Buck tries to smirk, but awe and surprise overtake his expression.

“If you do, yeah.” Eddie says decisively, because now that it’s happening, now that he knows for sure that he and Buck feel the same, everything slots into place, and he knows exactly what he wants. He wants Buck in his life, in his home, forever. “That not too fast for you?” he slowly leans in again, not able to resist those gorgeous lips a second longer, now that he got a taste.

“Actually, no. Seems perfect.” Buck responds, meeting Eddie’s lips halfway.

When they go to the shelter the next morning, Chris is excitedly talking about dog names, and everything they need to buy, and all the research he and Buck have been doing on training dogs to pee outside, and teach them tricks – it’s adorable how excited he is, and now Eddie has no idea why he was ever opposed. Buck and Eddie walk right next to him, holding hands, smiling at each other, as they listen to their son.

______________

It takes maybe two weeks for the puppy to have Eddie wrapped around her little paw, any rules he made be damned. He’ll never admit it out loud, because he was the one refusing to get a dog in the first place, but she won him over completely. Buck and Chris tease him about it, and he pretends he has no idea what they’re talking about, which apparently they find really funny.

“Hey, I thought you said no dogs on the couch?” Buck asks, running his fingers through Eddie’s hair, as he walks around the couch to sit next to Eddie. Well, Eddie and their little puppy, Luna, who’s curled up next to him, her head on Eddie’s lap, and she’s soundly snoring as he absentmindedly pets her. Buck sits down on his other side, and puts an arm around Eddie.

“Did I?” Eddie mutters, looking down at the adorable dog, and wondering what he could have been thinking then. “I don’t recall.” he adds, and Buck laughs. Eddie immediately shushes him. “She’s asleep, shut up.”

“Wow.” Buck whispers and rolls his eyes. “And you didn’t even want her.”

“Shh.”

“You guys are inseparable now. This was supposed to be Christopher’s dog.” Buck notices with amusement, and he’s only half right. It is Chris’ dog. But she really likes Eddie, and what can he do about it? But they’re not inseparable. Eddie and Buck might be even more now, but not Eddie and the dog.

“She is. Yours and Chris’. She just sat next to me.” Eddie says, looking back at the TV that’s so quiet it’s barely audible. Buck and Chris have been obsessed with the dog since the moment they saw her, and she loves to play with them both, but for some reason, whenever Chris is not there, she ends up hanging out with Eddie more. Buck always jokes that she could sense who was skeptical towards her and made it her mission to change his mind. Maybe there’s something to it.

“And you woke up at four to walk her this morning. And two days ago.” Buck points out, having way too much fun with this. So maybe Eddie’s willingly walking her now after claiming that he won’t, because he’s not the one who wants a dog, so what? He’s allowed to change his mind… again. “And didn’t she sleep in our bed last night?”

“That’s irrelevant.” Eddie responds, not able to resist a smile. He still can’t believe it’s our bed, and our home, and our son, and our life… and our dog – as much as Eddie wants to deny it, she stole his heart, just like she did Buck’s and Chris’. He won’t say that, though. “Someone has to walk her when you two can’t, and she already woke me up.” he shrugs.

“Oh, of course.” Buck laughs and kisses his cheek. “So you guys are not best friends yet?”

“No.” Eddie responds immediately, but his hand is still petting the dog, and he involuntarily smiles when she blinks her eyes open. “Hi, look who finally woke up.” he says softly, and ignores Buck chuckling – or tries to, but it’s Buck, and his laugh is one of his favorite sounds. Luna turns over, demanding belly rubs, and Eddie obliges.

“I love you so much.” Buck says, and when Eddie looks up at him, he immediately meets his eyes, filled with so much affection, it still takes Eddie by surprise.

“I love you, too.” Eddie responds, and just the fact that he can say it now is still making him grin like an idiot.

“More than the dog?” Buck teases, and Eddie rolls his eyes, while Buck laughs once again. “I’m not hearing a no.”

“You’re insufferable.” Eddie leans over and kisses Buck, just to shut him up. He laughs into the kiss, and Eddie can’t believe how much he loves him, his heart is overflowing with it. One of them deepens the kiss, and Eddie’s just about to suggest they make the best out of Chris still being at school, while they have a day off, but then a few insistent barks interrupt them, and Eddie realizes he stopped petting the dog when he and Buck started kissing. He pulls away, and smirks. “Look, she’s just as clingy as you.”

“And apparently she wants all your attention, like me.” he looks at Luna. “You know he’s mine, right?” he gets another bark in response, before she apparently gets bored of not getting attention, and jumps off the couch, going to the kitchen, where she has her bowls and some of her toys, and they installed a dog door on the back door, so she can go to the backyard, where Eddie, Buck and Chris build a doghouse and fenced off a little area for her. It’s been a fun project, Buck was right. “Ha! Now I have you all to myself.” Buck grins, and leans in again.

Much later that night, they all watch a movie together, Christopher sits in between them, the puppy on his lap, Buck and Eddie’s hands intertwined on the back of the couch, because now that they’re allowed to, they never stop touching for longer than necessary. Maybe they’re both a little clingy. Eddie kind of loves it.

He looks at his family, his wonderful son, and his incredible partner, who’s holding his hand and smiles softly at him over their son’s head, and the dog that, there’s no denying, brought them together. Maybe it’d happen one day anyway, it probably would, but they got here quicker because Christopher and Buck really wanted a dog. And now they live together, they have a family and a life, and a future together. Eddie thinks that giving in to all the pleading and getting a dog was the best decision he could’ve made, and he’s so grateful for it.

He brings Buck’s hand closer and kisses his knuckles, just because. He’s just overwhelmed with how happy he is right now. He doesn’t think he’s ever been more content in his life. And when Chris groans and complains that they’re being gross and constantly making out (which they’re not… at least not with Chris present), they just laugh, and look at each other, and it’s perfect. Their family is perfect. Eddie wouldn’t change it for the world.

#911 fic #buddie #buddie fic #wikiangela writes #my writing #buck x eddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie oneshot #oneshot #buddie ficlet #buddie fluff #first kiss #getting together #silly fluff #the dog fic

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ruewrote · 4 months

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911 𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑟𝑒𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡.

EVAN BUCKLEY

all or nothing

unexpected

peace at last

EDDIE DIAZ

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butraura · 3 months

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Seven Sentence Sunday

very sorry I've been very absent, I will go through some of the posts I've been tagged in! the only excuse I have is that I started binge-watching The Rookie, then I finished it, and watched it again, and well... rinse, wash, repeat. But I'm still writing, so that's something?

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It’s simple: Declare your soulmate and you are bound for life. It sounds like marriage - in a way it is, but doesn’t require a ceremony. You may choose to marry your soulmate before or after Declaring, but it isn’t necessary. You might ask: what if someone Declares you as their soulmate but you don’t Declare them? Nothing. Both parties must mutually Declare for it to be binding. If not, the unreciprocated party is free to Declare with someone else.

What happens after you Declare? The rest of your life. It’s as simple as that. You and your soulmate are bound for the rest of your lives. You will never fall in love again, nor will you be able to untether the binds. Even in death.

Having a soulmate is very serious business and it isn’t something that should be rushed into.

This is why Eddie swore to himself that he’d never Declare.

On the one hand, it’s a beautiful thing. Bobby and Athena are in love, they are Bound, and they are two halves of a soul, Bonded for life. They are magic and light and inseparable.

On the other hand, Eddie’s abuela Declared to his abuelo when she was young, and the man died a few short years later. All this time, she’s been alone, unable to move on and find someone else.

It can be a blessing, yes. But to Eddie, it’s more of a curse.

He swore to himself that he’d never Declare.

But then he gets blackout drunk, eleven shots and six beers into a night out with the 118, and wakes up hungover.

And Bonded.

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Tagged by @fortheloveofbuddie

Tagging: @steadfastsaturnsrings @watchyourbuck +anyone else who needs a tag :)

#this has been condensed in fewer sentences for the purposes of the post #there is a lot more where this came from #set to be a hearty oneshot #to be posted at the end of the month #soulmates au #buddie #buck x eddie #911 #eddie diaz #evan buckley #I'm still working this out but I do love it #pls enjoy

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donationwayne · 23 days

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Response Time (2k) Oneshot

Just realized I also never posted this fic over here SO. I am posting it now. Anyways, tooth rotting fluff before I start posting the myriad of angsty!buck fics i have locked and loaded

Read on A03 here

SUMMARY

The 118 respond to a call, which isn’t unusual in itself. But it might explain a lot to Probational Firefighter Evan Buckley’s new crew. In which the 118 meet Eddie and Chris for the first time.

“Buck, what are you doing at home? You still have at least another 12 hours before you’re supposed to be here,” Eddie points out in confusion, he glances at the stove to double-check the time. When Eddie finally turns to look at Buck, the sight of his husband in turnout gear finally makes him pause.

"Well, you see, I’m here 12 hours before the end of my shift because our neighbors called the fire department on you,” Buck replies, unimpressed.

“Are you fucking kidding me? They called the fire department?” Eddie complained in a bitchy tone. “It was only a small stove fire. I’ve already gotten it handled. There were only a few flames. Maybe they should mind their business.”

“I think most people, me included, prefer erring on the side of caution when it comes to smoke billowing out of open windows, Eddie.”

#911 #911 abc #buddie #buddie fanfic #fanfic #oneshot #buddie ao3 #eddie diaz #evan buckley #fluff #buddie fluff #buck x eddie #eddie is a terrible cook and is stand by that #the 118 #established buddie

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abcdefghijklmnopqrsblog · 10 days

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"I just don't think it's me you want, Evan.", that's what Tommy said after rescuing Chimney from being kidnapped and bringing him to the wedding venue.

This is a one shot I wrote. Have a look if you like!

#911 abc #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #evan buckey x eddie diaz #tommy kinard #chimney han #maddie buckley #jee yun buckley han #christopher diaz #fanfic #oneshot

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mvltisstuff · 10 months

Note

hi i have an eddie diaz request!

so eddie and the reader have been dating for a while, she’s also a firefighter with the 118, and after that special about them that taylor did aires, her abusive ex comes to find her. it’s kinda like the maddie and doug situation where he was looking for her since she left and she doesn’t tell eddie until something big happens and he has to save her which causes her to tell him everything.

thank you

all too well - e.d

summary: request

eddie diaz x reader

a/n: sorry for the unnecessary taylor slander in this i’m her biggest hater!!! warning for domestic abuse, very similar to maddie in season 2.

it was an innocent new segment. that’s all it was supposed to be. an informative post about the fire station 118 and how they work. taylor and her team had sauntered their way through the firehouse, gazing at the engines and the shiny structures that surrounded them. she recorded anything she could, despite requests of space and those who didn’t wish to be recorded.

y/n had been one of those, out of her relationship from her ex boyfriend. she was in active hiding, fleeing across the country to get away from such a man. he had been watching her every move, and she’d been meticulous in concealing herself. she’d heard of the situation maddie was in, dealing with the uncertainty of her location and condition. it was nightmare fuel, the thought haunting y/n in her sleep as she lay next to eddie at night.

she wanted to be able to tell him, but the more people who didn’t know, was better. she figured she’d be putting him in danger if eddie knew, especially the people around him. if something happened to eddie, she would never be able to move on from the life she wants to put behind her. the discarded ring of a man who was never truly her fiancé was something she needed to forget about.

the moment she saw the news segment had aired, her heart dropped. she fought to have herself removed, but that was not what happened. taylor removed other details of the day gone-wrong, but didn’t remove her identity. y/n had voiced her concerns very clearly to taylor and eddie, and eddie was pissed that no one would listen. she panicked as her name was splayed across the screen with a clean view of her face, easily recognizable. she knew he was looking for her.

she tried to reassure herself, but the joke was on her. she was now sitting in the familiar car with the disgusting smell of cigarettes and the sick excuse of a man. she was jostled awake in the moving vehicle. she didn’t dare to mumble a single word, her body frozen in fright.

“morning, sleepyhead,” the raspy and evil voice entered her ears.

“what did you do?” she managed to spit out.

he laughs grimly, in a tormenting manner. “you really thought i wasn’t going to find you? i’ll give it to you, it took a while but i finally have you where i want you.”

“why are you doing this, mark? i didn’t do anything to you.”

“you said we were supposed to be together. and you lied, y/n. you know i don’t like lies. like, come on, were you that stupid?”

“you kidnapped me in this car. i’m not the stupid one.”

“whatever you say, princess,” she moves her hand up to brush the hair out of her face when he grips her wrist painfully. “but if you ever say anything like that again, you will never go back.”

her eyes remain dry, feeling completely numb as she continues to stare forward. “you literally left me no choice! i love you! you love me and you just left me? you turned into a monster, a selfish, backstabbing person and it’s not my fault!”

“no, it’s not,” she complies, almost giving up entirely to make herself feel worthy. she plays into his act of the hero, when he’s been the villain in disguise.

he had driven her two hours out of los angeles, taking the backroads to avoid any interaction with people. y/n, in a complete terror, tries to formulate a plan in her head but everything is shut down by her own fears. “i have to use the bathroom, mark.”

“what? why?”

“because i am a human, it’s not like i had the chance before we left.”

“shit, fine. say anything and you’re dead,” he threatens, pulling up to an empty gas station with only a few workers inside. he lurks around, pretending that he’s browsing the selections. she speeds to the bathroom in the back, which looks like it hasn’t been occupied in years.

something in her mind switches, so she grabs a pen out of her pant pocket and searches around for anything she can. her eyes land on the paper towels, madly ripping one off and clicking her pen. she writes a message on it, prepared to hide it in her sleeve as they walk out. idiot she thinks.

“y/n!” mark bangs on the door. “c’mon, we have to go!”

she turns the sink on and off and discards of any evidence. she grabs the door and takes a deep breath, and swings it open to be confronted by the towering figure. she felt like he was feet taller, but he wasn’t. she had been so used to making herself feel smaller that she forgot the feeling.

the workers in the front had noticed the discomfort on y/n’s face. they could make an accusation, or believe that someone else would do something. “would y’all like to buy something?” one asked.

y/n looked at mark, scared for anything he react to. y/n steps closer to the counter, “yeah, can i get a pack of marlboro?”

“sure thing,” the other says and grab the pack of cigarettes from the back. he places it in front of her as y/n fishes for her credit card, swiping the note she’d written under it. somehow, marks obliviousness had missed the piece of white under it. she praised whoever made him this ignorant. after the machine dinged and the payment was made, mark grabbed her hand and moved out of the small store.

“i’m sorry,” she immediately begins to apologize. “it was a distraction to them.”

“whatever, get in the car.”

the workers had found the paper on the counter, all folded up and ink spilling through the back.

call 911, ask for sergeant athena grant.

two hrs out of la, gray toyota, license plate 2R7-983

the first man blanked, not knowing what to do but his suspicions were confirmed. the woman was not safe, so he did what he was told on the paper. he dialed 911.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” the soothing voice came through.

“uh, i’m in solvang, and we just had a couple come in and i think the woman needs help.”

“did you get the name of the woman?”

“the name on the card was y/n, i didn’t remember any last name. she had y/c/h, about y/h tall, and she left a note asking for athena… grant?” this man was properly trained for emergencies, giving all the important details and steps they’d need.

“and what’s your name?”

“tyler,”

“ok, tyler, did she mention anything else?”

“yes! she mentioned a grey toyota and the license plate.”

“perfect, can i have the plate number?”

“it says… 2R7-983.”

“did she seem distressed?”

“yeah, she was scared and she looked tired and, i don’t know she just looked like something was really wrong.”

athena had taken the information, instantly realizing the name. she knew y/n very well, from bobby, eddie, and just being in the system she had been around her. she loved her, y/n was a great person and was good at her job. she was a gracious human, never leaving an ounce of disrespect in her tracks.

“grant!” her chief called. “we got a call from dispatch requesting you on a case, we’ve got a woman named y/n, domestic abuse concerns and she left a note with your name on it?”

“y/n? as in y/l/n? with the 118?”

“i didn’t want to assume, but i believe it is. i looked at her files and she’s had some past calls with a man named mark peterson, believed to have taken her.”

“son of a bitch,” she curses. “do we have an idea of where they might have gotten?”

“they were seen in solvang, two hours out.”

“so we get personnel out there asap?”

“exactly. we get out there and get this guy.”

y/n and he had stopped at a small inn, getting a room and a hideout for the night. he used a fake name for the both of them, lying through his teeth to the receptionist at the front desk. y/n was forced to put on a fake smile and a thrilled appearance, which she thought she should win an oscar for. they settled in the room, and she slowly started to accept her fate.

back at the home, eddie was in a slight rush. she hadn’t responded to any texts or calls. she claimed they would meet up the next day, but there were no traces left of her. externally, he put on a cool front for his son, but internally, his heart was sprinting. she could be anywhere. she could have a dead phone, or she could be dead herself. he tried not to think of the former, but he couldn’t stop himself.

eddie had loved y/n the moment she stepped into the station on her first day. he didn’t think he had any more love left to give. but, she shined her radiant smile and her adorable personality and eddie was head over heels. he’s been through hell with shannon and everything, and he wanted to never take anyone else again. y/n showed him a new side, making him realize that he needed affection, and she was more thankful to give that to him. he felt like the best version of himself when she had been with him the past few years, and that’s all he needs. he couldn’t let himself breathe until he found her, calling anyone who might know. until, he finally resorted to the police, calling athena.

“hey, athena,” he rushes out. “y/n, i- i don’t know where she is and that’s really unlike her, so-“

“diaz…” she says, making anxiety rise in eddie’s body.

“what? what happened? is she ok?”

“we believe she was taken,” eddie’s heart sinks to the floor, immediately turning his blood cold. “do you know a mark peterson?”

“no, never heard of him. i’m going to find her,”

“absolutely not, eddie. we are finding her now,” athena tries her best to ease his terror, but it fails.

“then i’m coming with you, i’ll be at the station in 10.”

eddie sits shotgun in athena’s police car after he got carla to watch christopher. he couldn’t stop his leg from bouncing up and down and his fingers to quit fidgeting. athena takes note of this.

“she’s going to be alright, we’ve got a lot of evidence for this.”

“we don’t know where the hell she is, we have no answers.”

“you’re right, we don’t. but you think she’d want you to lose hope on her?” eddie looks at her, staring at her eyes on the road before turning his phone on. he’s confronted with a picture of y/n and christopher together, pure smiles on their face as his world is out of touch. it’s only on a screen, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

y/n sat, frozen on the bed of the hotel room. she was completely burnt out, thinking that she was stuck with him forever. that news segment. if only she wasn’t shown on the fucking news segment, he wouldn’t have reappeared in her life.

his fake smiles and taunting words had become nothing but useless ones. she was living in her nightmare of having to deal with him, but she thought back to eddie.

every single memory they’d made over the past few years came flooding through her head. from her teaching him how to cook, to their first kiss, to last night where she was in his arms. it was beyond her comprehension that this much could happen in 24-hours. the time of her shifts, her normal routines that she longed for right now.

it wasn’t until mark heard knocks on doors, asking how many people were staying there until she was snapped out of her thoughts. she noticed the red and blue lights from outside the window as mark swore to himself. “fuck! get in the bathroom, y/n.”

“n-no, i wanna stay here-“ she argued as he complained back.

“get in there now! i’m not asking you again, or i swear to god, y/n…”

the darkness in his eyes was what forced her to stand up, but leaving her jacket on the bed and taking her shoes off, leaving them in clear sight. the knocks got closer, before the own piece of wood separating them was banged. mark opened the door casually, like nothing was going on. it always scared y/n the most. the way he could put up this front and act like some innocent man.

“hello, officer!” he said politely. “can i do anything?”

“hello, sir,” athena said, knowing he was the one to be holding y/n. “may i just ask, how many people are in this hotel?”

“just me, miss.”

“alright, i see. i saw this room was booked for two, and i’m assuming those articles of clothing aren’t yours?”

mark stops right in his tracks, wanting to pull y/n out of that bathroom and reprimand her for leaving her stuff. his face dropping, he didn’t know what to say. athena knew it too.

“mind if i take a look around? missing person warning, we have to be sure.”

his expression did not change, but he panicked on the inside. he was a quick man, but not quick enough to prevent athena’s abrupt hand against the closing door. she pulled him out, pressing him against the wall as she called for backup. “better luck next time, mark. let’s have a few words, you have the right to remain silent…”

y/n’s fingers were pressed in her ears, trying to block out any of the commotion or yelling that might’ve commenced. she’d already heard too much tonight, scared to traumatize herself any further. the noise concealed by her hands made her not even notice the opening of the door, and fearful to turn around and see his face again. she had been crying violently on the cold tiles of the bathroom, praying she’d be out of this mess. y/n’s instinct was to flinch at the hand pressed against her shoulder. eventually, she realized it was a humane one. she slowly turned herself around, locking eyes with athena. “we’ve got him, y/n.”

she sighed out in relief, but also in preparation for the storm of tears pouring out of her eyes. her hand went to cover her mouth in disbelief. she’d been hiding from this man for years, and she finally didn’t have to. she knew for a while that she wasn’t really free, she was just away from him. at last, the game of hide and seek ended, and it’s all going to be different.

her hand connected with athena’s, pulling her off the ground and out of the room. she was brought outside, lurking around the parking lot in desperate hopes for someone she loves. someone who’s touch can heal any wound. her dreams came true, when she saw eddie walking toward her.

“eddie,” she gasps out.

“y/n!” he runs closer, scooping her up into his arms and kissing her face frantically. “oh my god, i’m so sorry, mi vida, i’m so, so sorry.”

“i should’ve told you, i should’ve said something.”

“no, no, it’s not your fault. it never has been and it never will be.”

“i was so scared my life was over again. that i’d never see you or christopher, or hen or chim and buck or bobby and-“

“hey, calm down, ok? it’s all going to be ok, i’m here,” eddie doesn’t let go or let her release herself from his arms. she looks him dead in the eye, making sure he’s real and that she isn’t just searching for an answer. “they’ve got him, you never have to see him again. you won, baby.”

she won. she won? y/n didn’t feel like she won. the whole scenario still felt like a twisted prank, but it wasn’t. it was real, and she ended it. the years of making herself smaller and degrading herself because of one man were over. the time where she was continuously proven as less than had stopped.

she has eddie forever now, so if anyone had won, it was her.

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make-me-imagine · 2 years

Text

Flowers and Floss

Scenario Prompt: 'B bringing A hand-picked flowers' Requested By: @le-green-lion (Mystery Prompt Request Blue 23)

Plot: After weeks of dancing around his feelings, Eddie finally had the courage to ask you on a date.

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x GN!Reader

[Warnings: None~] -- [Words: 563 ]

A/N: I struggled a lot with this for some reason, so it is unfortunately just a drabble. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless :)

Eddie let out a groan as he tore off his shirt for the third time, before grabbing another one. Pulling it on, he turned and stretched out his arms "How about this one?"

Christopher let out a frustrated sigh. "Dad, just pick one, already."

Eddie let out a soft laugh. "Okay, okay, this one it is." Running his fingers through his hair, he checked over his reflection one more time.

Hearing a knock at the door, he felt his heart jolt. "Alright, that's Carla."

"It's time, dad."

He let out a long breath. "It's time."

Eddie's heart refused to slow down as he got closer and closer to your house. After weeks of dancing around his feelings, he finally asked you on a date. That should have been the hard part, but his nerves refused to settle.

As his eyes grazed over a patch of wildflowers along the sidewalk, it suddenly donned on him that he should have bought you flowers. Glancing at the clock, he cursed himself, it was too late.

Unless...

Pulling over, he quickly jumped out of the car and ran over to the flowers. Picking the ones he thought you would like the most, he bundled them up before searching through his car for something to tie them together. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he remembered he had something in the glove box that would work.

- - -

As you heard your doorbell chime, you let out a deep breath to try and settle your nerves before you opened the door. You walked slowly towards the door, as to not seem too eager.

As you pulled the door open, revealing a smiling Eddie, you felt your heart flutter. You smiled at him as you noticed the bundle of flowers in his hand.

As he handed them to you, a grin spread across your face. You could tell they were hand picked, as they were thrown together haphazardly, with an occasional blade of grass tossed in.

You met Eddie's eyes with a sweet smile. "Thank you Eddie, that's so sweet."

A giggle threatened to bubbly out, but you repressed it, until you saw that the bundle of flowers was tied together with...floss?

"Eddie...is this, floss?"

You saw Eddie repress a grimace before he let out a chuckle. "I didn't have anything else in my car."

The giggle that you were trying to keep down bubbled out of your mouth. "Well it's the thought that counts."

Eddie chuckled again as you moved for him to come inside. "I'll put these in some water, then we can go."

Eddie nodded as he stepped into your house.

You called back from the kitchen, as he waited by the door. "Where are we going anyways? You still haven't told me."

"That's because it's a surprise, I don't want to ruin it."

As you came back into the room, you let out a breathy laugh. "Well then can you at least tell me if I am dressed appropriately?"

As his eyes ran over you, he smiled and met your eyes. "You look perfect."

You felt your cheeks heat up as you smiled. "Not too little? Not too much?"

He shook his head lightly. "No. You're fine, promise."

You squinted lightly with a playful smile as you grabbed your bag and walked out of the house with Eddie. "Alright, I'll trust you."

Eddie chuckled. "That's all I ask."

xx End xx

General Taglist: @criminaly-supernatural, @caswinchester2000, @imaginesfire, @rexit-mo, @onuen, @witchygagirl, @alexxavicry

911 Taglists: @spuffyfan394, @webreathfandoms, @locke-writes

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blueathens · 2 years

Text

Ocean’s 9-1-1 - AGAPE SERIES

ACT TWO, CHAPTER 6

SONG: Stranger Things by Chase Atlantic QUOTE: “Man, this is why I could never rob a bank, I’m clearly not smart enough for it.”

A/N: Not proofread or edited.

A/N 2: This chapter is quite bad in my opinion due to me not having many ideas for what to do for it.

A/N 3: Also for the investigation scenes, the 118 dialogues are written on the right side in italics and labelled with who's speaking as they obviously all came in one by one, but in the show it combined them all together - i don't really know how to describe it...but I just thought maybe this be a better way to write this scene.

Previous || Next

Masterlist//Main Masterlist//Agape Masterlist

"Hello?" Kasey groggy voice answers the phone, not taking a single look at who was ringing her in the early morning. She slowly sits herself up in her car where she once was sleeping, and very tiredly rubs her right eye with the bottom of her palm.

"Did you know there was so many types of flour? There's self-raising, plain, wholemeal and– " Kasey yawned as Eddie's voice welcomes her on the other side. "Have you only just woken up?"

"Good morning Eds, how are you today? I was doing amazingly until this crazy man rang me to inform me on all the different types of flour instead of confessing his undying love for me."

"My undying love?" Eddie laughs as he picks up another bag of flour, spinning it around in his hand as he tried to read the uses of this type of flour. "It's seven in the morning, Kas, how have you just woken up?"

"Quite easily actually," Kasey sarcastically responded. "I opened my eyes and–"

"Do you think I can use cake flour to make pancakes?" Eddie questions, interrupting Kasey before she fell into an entire sarcastic rant, brows furrowing as he looked at the flour in his hand before shifting his gaze to the multiple bags of flour in front of him. "I was going to make pancakes but realised I had no flour."

"And you thought to call me to ask questions on cooking?" Kasey would have let out a loud laugh if her body wasn't still trying to wake up. "I'm flattered but I do think you should have called Bobby instead."

"Would he be up?"

"I wasn't," Kasey said flatly.

"I thought you would have been," Eddie responded. "You usually are."

"So is Bobby," Kasey mutters, "I think he's also at work already."

"Huh," Eddie nods. "Anyways, what flour?"

"I don't know," Kasey rubs her eyes again whilst Eddie purses his lips to stop the stupid smile that was playing at his lips from hearing Kasey's voice. "Wait until you get to the sugars," Kasey laughs slightly. "But we don't need to talk about that until baking a cake or something."

Eddie lets out a small sigh of relief as he allows his body to relax after hearing he doesn't have to worry about the different varieties of sugars.

"Anyways," Kasey yarns again, sitting herself up more against the window, "I'm pretty certain Bobby uses plain flour for pancakes."

"You sure?"

Kasey hums in confirmation and that was enough for Eddie to pick up the plain flour and toss it into his basket.

"Pancakes are easy to make, right?" Eddie questioned over the phone, and Kasey shot an eyebrow up at the next sudden question about cooking.

"I like this Kasey Strand you have pictured in your mind," she teases, "sounds like she's a pretty amazing cook."

"Shut up," mumbles Eddie.

"I think you'll make some pretty good pancakes," Kasey reassures him before she pulls the phone away from her ear to check the time. "I've got to get ready for work, Eds. You're coming in at 9 aren't you?"

Eddie nods before realising Kasey can't see him, "Er, yeah, yeah I am."

"Alright cool," Kasey smiles. "I'll see you in a bit! Good luck on those pancakes"

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"Hey! Hey!" A muffled voice said over the sound of slams against a window grabbed both Buck's and Kasey attention, both stopping and turning on their heel to stand by the drivers window, ready to aid the man slamming his window in desperation. "Can you tell me what's happening?"

Buck and Kasey gave a quick glance at one another before turning back to face the man. Buck licks his lip in thought, "Ugh, don't know, sir. We just got here."

"I can see that," the man lowers his face to the small gap that was in the off centre of his van door, but he stayed looking at the two young firefighters. "Do you know what the call was?"

"Two people down in the bank."

"Down? Like dead down? Injured down? Depressed down?"

"No," Kasey rolled her eyes and Buck snapped his neck to look at her, eyes squeezing shut as he listens to the next words that fell from his best friend's lips. "Their getting it down."

"You was called in for a dance party?"

Kasey stares at the man blankly. "Yes, we're the strippers that they hired."

"Oh," the man gives a form of a smile that was a mixture of gladness and slight excitement. "In that case–"

"She's not being serious," Buck sighs.

The drivers eyes widen, and the smile fell of his face. "M-my partner's in there."

Buck gives Kasey a look that she seriously shouldn't have made that joke, but Kasey's eyes moved to look down at her boots.

"Was your partner exhibiting any kind of symptoms of anything before entering the bank?" Buck called out loudly so he could be heard through the window.

"What?" The drivers face scrunches up. "No."

"Does he have any allergies or medical conditions?"

"No!" He states loudly. "He eats better than I do. He's-he's a pescatarian."

Buck holds his hand up in front of him. "Okay, well, uh, you just," he looks at Kasey, but she was still awkwardly staring down at her boots. "Sit tight!"

Buck pulls Kasey away with him in a rush, not listening to the last words of the driver as he was already onto scolding Kasey for the jokes she has been making recently, stating that there was a time and place for that.

"You're better than that," Buck states, hands waving all over the place. "It's bad when I'm the one telling you off."

"You're always telling me off." She rolls her eyes.

"Clearly I'm the only one who's been using our shared braincell recently," Buck shakes his head with a slight smirk. "At the moment it's like you're my child, call me daddy...I–" the two pauses at what Buck just said. "Never mind, that sounds wrong."

Kasey turns to look at him, horror was across her face as she stares at him. "Never," she emphasises strongly. "And I mean, never, say that again. That was horrible."

Buck nods, "we'll never bring this back up again."

"My therapist is going to hear about this." Kasey walks off into the bank.

"Therapist?" Buck calls.

"Yes," Kasey pauses as she keeps the door open whilst she looks over her shoulder. "Someone you talk to, not someone you sleep with."

"That was one time!"

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"All right. Get him started on O2. Ten litres." Bobby instructs, hands placed firmly on his hips whilst both Buck and Kasey came to stand on either side of him, pulling up their blue gloves. Bobby then turns his head to look at the woman that worked within the bank. "You said there's a second patient?"

Bobby, Hen, and Bobby wondered into the vault of the bank, a man was on the ground, twitching and gurgling.

"Same as the courier out front." States Hen as she takes a look at the man that had the same white foam bubbling in his mouth like the last guy.

She kneels down next to him, medical bag by her as she places a hand on the ground right by his head and a hand on his cheek. "Exhibiting extreme muscle spasms. Cap, pupils are dilated."

Eddie walks in and stands next to Kasey to also take a look at the man.

"I don't know what we're looking at here."

Eddie leans forwards slightly before shaking his head.

"Could be a nerve agent." Kasey looks up from the man to stare at the back of Eddie's head. She crosses her hands, body falling slightly stiff as she chews on her bottom lip.

"You've seen that before."

"Been trained for it," Eddie looks over his shoulder at Kasey, brows scrunching as he takes in her body language, he then turns his head back forwards to gesture a handout to the man. "Symptoms all line up. The fact that we have multiple people down. I can't say for sure until we run some tests."

"Hen you need to move," Kasey said, voice slightly strained and quiet. Eddie takes a step back, shoulder brushing Kasey's as they watch Hen move away from the man.

"You okay?" Eddie whispers.

"We had something like this in the field." Kasey mutters before giving a half shrug. "I don't really know, our medic apparently gave one of our guys some form of poison, but we didn't know until much later on though. She refused to help him...she then died a minute later cause another guy shot her dead." Kasey purses her lips with slight raised brows as she recalls an event from her path. "She ended up being a spy who needed to kill my team."

Eddie looked at Kasey with a screwed-up face and Kasey shrugs.

"Luckily we caught on quickly as we only had her that day, and, er, I honestly had no idea what was going on as I wasn't in the best of conditions."

Eddie understood that Kasey wouldn't want to talk about it any longer as he turns and leaves the vault, Kasey shortly followed, she knew she wasn't the one who needed to be in a rush. She only did a bit of medic training, nothing compared to what Eddie had to do, she was more in the combat not the medic side.

But something in Kasey felt off, like this was going to end up being what happened to her team, that they believed it was something else, but it ended up being something worst. She gives Hen a wary look, seeing if she was going to follow behind, and Kasey presumed she was as she was now standing up and moving away from the man.

"Step away. Step away." Kasey heard Bobby say as she walked out the vault, catching up to the two patching men who was being followed out by the blonde woman. "I need everybody's attention. We are now preparing for a possible chemical exposure incident. That means nobody in, nobody out."

There's a click.

"We can't risk spreading whatever may be present here."

Hen hears the beeping and turns around.

She runs in.

"Cap," Eddie says, the team turning around to see her rushing in. Eddie moved first. "Hen! Hen!"

"Hen! Hen!"

She falls to her knees behind the man's head, but his hands grabs her face.

"Wait...No. Stay calm, sir. Stay calm!" She attempts to pull his hands off from her face. "I'm with the LAFD. We got to get you out of here!"

The vault door was a second away from closing.

"No!" She screams as she pushes herself up, rushing towards the heavy metallic door, whilst both Bobby and Eddie tries to pull the bars of the front of it, trying to keep it open; but failed to.

The vault door was closed shut.

Bobby presses the side button of his radio, "Hen, do you copy?"

Hen pants, "I'm here, Cap. Making myself comfortable."

"Not too comfortable."

"How do we open this?" Bobby points his thumb behind him at the closed vault as he questions the woman.

"Uh, we don't. The vault operates on a time lock. It wont reopen until the start of business tomorrow."

"What if it's an emergency." Bobby asks.

"There is a number for the vault company on Mr Prentiss' desk."

"Show me."

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"I feel like a minion." Kasey mutters to her friends that were with her as they tried to open the vault in a various of different ways. Kasey turns to look at Eddie. "Look at Eds, Buck! He looks like a depressed minion, and you look like what's-his-name? Kevin!"

"Kas, what did I say about the jokes?"

"Just trying to defuse the tension," Kasey sighs as she slams her hand against the small screen of numbers. "I'm just nervous."

"We know," both Eddie and Buck voiced.

Bobby walks towards the trio, slight regret in his stomach that he told the three of them to work together on the vault.

This trio is a trio that should never work together, or it would be disastrous, but Bobby felt that them working together to attempt to open the vault – it couldn't go as bad as it already has.

"Not even a scratch," Buck alerts as he turns around to look at Bobby who was also in the same suit as the three of them.

Bobby walks towards the computer screen on the desk behind Eddie and Kasey.

"Okay, two people, 72 breaths a minute, we need to drill into that vault and get some air flowing."

"Doors are wired, Cap." Eddie waves his hand at the vault. "Running hot."

"We need to cut the power."

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

All the lights were switched off, only the torches attached to everyone's suits were on.

"You know the man in the van," Buck begins as he talks to Kasey who was standing next to him. "I think he was commenting on our minion suits."

Kasey turns to where Buck was standing, not seeing each other clearly due to the dark, but both had two different smiles on their faces.

"Really?!" Kasey bounced in excitement. "What he say?"

"I couldn't really hear him, but I think he liked them!" Buck switches on his torch when he noticed he was one of the ones who didn't have their torch on. "I said okay to him and knew I had to come and find you."

"Wicked!" Kasey whispers to herself.

Eddie begins to drill into the vault and the duo turned to watch.

"How are you and Jamie?" Buck questioned his friend as the two of them haven't been giving any instructions for this part except hold torches to help Eddie to see.

"We're alright."

"You happy with him?" Buck tried, side eyeing his friend as her eyes stay on Eddie.

"I suppose," she shrugs. "We've only been going out for a few weeks."

"But you would know if you were happy with him, I knew I was happy with Abbie immediately."

Kasey furrows her brows. "What are you trying to say."

Buck stumbles on his words as his looks around the dark room as if it would give him some form of answer, "just, er, I'm just making sure you're happy."

"Sure," Kasey drags out.

"We're through!" Eddie yells as he pulls out the end of the drill to look at the hole he made before someone pushes a tube through it.

"Okay, Chim, power us back up." Bobby says in his radio. "Buck, crank the O2."

He turns to the oxygen tanks, twisting the dial, before letting go and turning round to face Bobby.

"We're wide open, Cap." The four of them look at the computer screen to see the two bodies on the ground of the vault. "Okay, now what?"

"Now we get in there."

"How are we gonna do that?"

"We're gonna crack this safe."

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

"Chim and I are clearly the cool ones here," Kasey mutters as her and her team stand behind Bobby as he bends down. Her mask was in her right hand whilst her left hand pressed against her hip. "We're the only ones in our wicked minion suits."

She eyes the others in their usual uniforms.

"No idea why but–"

"Okay, we start drilling here," Bobby points to the blank wall that was surrounding the outside of the vault.

"Creating a crumple zone."

"Exactly."

"Then what?" A confused Buck asks.

"Then, I have an idea. But we got to soften it up first."

"Soften up a foot of concrete?" Chimney questions.

"Yeah, it beats three layers of tempered steel." Buck looks at Kasey with a grin. "Told you I'm the one using the braincell between us." He places both hands on the hammer that was once resting against his shoulder in one hand. "Let's do it."

The drill goes in first to make a few small holes in various of places of the area Bobby pointed out. Afterwards it was the hammer that was then used to smash against the holes that were created, using them as a marker to where to break down the wall.

"Okay, Chim, I need you back inside," Bobby demands, "eyes on the vault cam. If we're compromising their safety in any way, you got to let me know."

"Copy that, Cap."

"All right."

"How does Chim look adorable in this minion suit?" Kasey asks, ignoring the concerned looks Bobby and Eddie was giving her.

"Kasey," Bobby says, and she turns to look at him with a small frown. "Get into the fire truck."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

Kasey climbs into the driver seat of the fire truck, driving it forth until Bobby halted her with a signal of his hand. The three guys connect the line in front of the truck into the small hole made into the wall.

Eddie rushes forwards after a listening to the sound of rattling for a few seconds. "The wrench isn't going to do it, Cap!"

Bobby held his finger up, gesturing to Eddie to give him a second whilst he went on his phone. Meanwhile, Kasey was drumming her fingers against the steering wheel, humming a song that was stuck in her head whilst she awaited for her next instructions.

Buck jumped into the passenger seat of the fire truck. "Reverse the truck, someone just died."

"What?" Kasey snaps her head to look at him whilst she begins to reverse the truck.

"Keep on reversing."

"What do you think I'm doing, Buck?" At those words the area of wall they wanted to break, came out onto the wrench. Bobby and Eddie runs towards the hole, followed closely behind by Kasey and Buck who looked over Eddie and Bobby's shoulder only to see Chimney standing on the other side.

The vault door was now open.

"Hey, guys."

"Seriously?"

"Fucking hell!"

The four of them looked between each other before watching Chimney walk into the vault, mask now on his face.

"Hen! Can you hear me?"

There's a groan.

"Chim?" Hen dryly asks.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

"300,000 dollars."

"Tucked away on the 118 ladder truck. Any idea how it got there?"

HEN: "No, why would I?"

"You're with the 118. And you were at the bank when it was stolen."

KASEY: "Great observation, Captain Obvious."

HEN: "If by 'at the bank' you mean that I was unconscious and I was locked away in a vault, yeah. And I wasn't alone. "

MR PRENTISS: "Um...I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing. The doctors say I'm fine."

"Still feeling the aftereffects?"

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

MADDIE: "The call came in a little after 5:00."

KASEY: "I was in this minion suit for most of the time and for some reason Chimney looked freaking adorable in the suit! Yellow is his colour, just saying."

"I don't see how that's relevant."

KASEY: "Not to your question, no, but it's needs to be said. Anyways, we thought it was a nerve agent at first."

"On this report it says you've seen it before? When you was-"

KASEY: "I don't know much. A spy supposedly poisoned someone on my team and it looked a lot like what happened today."

"So you could've poisoned those people to help the 118 rob a bank?"

EDDIE: "That's a bold accusation."

"Looks like our money trouble is over. That's the text your sister sent you right after she took the 911 call. You care to explain."

BUCK: "Her landlord finally agreed to let her out of her lease and refund her security deposit. He'd been giving her some grief about it."

"You expect us to believe you just happened to take this call? And you just happened to dispatch your brother's squad to the scene?"

MADDIE: "It happens more than you think."

CHIMNEY: "We're like a family."

KASEY: "The 118 is my family. So why would we purposely put Hen in danger?"

"That's what we're asking you."

KASEY: "Would you purposely put your own family in danger? No. I don't think so, so that question is-"

CHIMNEY: "I mean, a big, messy, extended family, but we take care of each other, we support each other. You know, we have each other's backs."

"Conspire."

BOBBY: "Conspire?"

"Conspire. You conspired with your fiancee's ex-husband to steal the blueprints to that bank."

MICHAEL: "Not stolen."

ATHENA: "You think they did what now?"

MICHAEL: "People request building plans all the time. Architects, contractors..."

"Terrorists."

KASEY: "You really think we have time to plan and attempt a robbery? Dude we save lives nearly every-day, and do you think we do this job for the money, because if we did, then we wouldn't still be working here, would we? Cause let's be honest, we don't get paid enough to risk our lives every day, but we do our job because we care about people, we care and want this world to be more safe."

"We-"

KASEY: "No wonder why people don't like you guys if you're throwing the word 'terrorists' around as if it's the same as 'I love you.'"

EDDIE: "Don't think I ever said the word 'terrorists."

"But you were the first to suggest it might be a nerve agent."

"And everyone figured you knew what you were talking about. Coming from the military and all."

EDDIE: "It was part of my training. How to spot it. How to respond."

BOBBY: "We had to improvise."

"You do that a lot - improvise?"

BOBBY: "It's part of the job. See the problem, solve the problem."

KASEY: "Er, yeah, I suppose you're right. I do improve a lot, but what do you want us to do, have a cup of tea and a biscuit, so we can discuss a plan whilst someone dies right next to us. Yes, we be with you in a moment Jimmy, just got to decide what water pressure is needed to put out that fire."

MICHAEL: "I was trying to help a friend."

"Your ex's new squeeze is your friend?"

MICHAEL: "Hen is my friend. I mean, yes, Bobby's a friend, too. Hell, they're all my friends."

EDDIE: "I don't really know him."

HEN: "Someone said I seemed stressed? Who?"

BUCK: "Cranky. I said she was a little cranky that morning."

KASEY: "Buck and Eddie was hanging up a banner and I was blowing up balloons, Bobby was with Marty - he was someone checking our fire trucks - and Chimney was on his way to work for the first time since the incident."

"Did she seem stressed?"

KASEY: "Hen? I wouldn't blame her if she was stressed from talking to Buck. But we love Buck and-"

"That's not very professional."

EDDIE: "Who said we was in a relationship?"

KASEY: "What do you have against the 118 poly relationship?"

"It must be hard. Your wife losing her job at JPL."

EDDIE: "Yeah. Kids in general are expensive. But they're worth it, right?"

KASEY: "What you asking me about kids for? I haven't got any...right?"

EDDIE: "Y-yeah, okay, maybe I picked up a few extra shifts here and there, but it's not a big deal. Kasey and I are the ones who usually pick up the extra shifts."

KASEY: "I literally have no life so yeah I pick up extra shifts."

"300 grand does solve a lot of problems."

EDDIE: "I've got two full-time jobs: firefighter and dad. I don't have time to plan a robbery."

KASEY: "Why are you so curious on my sex life? Who said I slept with Eddie? We're both in relationships with other people. But how is that relevant?"

CHIMNEY: "I never said they slept together. But I'm not denying that the 118 has a bet going on to see when they'll get together. I've bet they would be together by next year."

BUCK: "My answer has changed about five times now due to their blindness...how long does a divorce take?"

BOBBY: "There is not a bet going on, that's unprofessional, and for those two members of my team? They are not together and will not be together as they are very happy with who they are already with."

"Six weeks at home, guy like you, what you do for living, you must've been climbing the walls."

CHIMNEY: "Well, more like redecorating them."

"Sounds like you had a lot of time on your hands. To think. To plan?"

CHIMNEY: "You mean to plot? Who did I plot with?"

EDDIE: "Yes, Kasey and I are together a lot, but that doesn't mean we're plotting to rob a bank."

"You rang her this morning to-"

EDDIE: "-To ask her about flour as I was making pancakes."

KASEY: "I was joking when I said I had no life. I'm not that sad of a human being. Jeez."

BOBBY: "No one on my team would do this. I am sure of it."

KASEY: "I was like ten when I stole that lollipop and I'm beginning to be creeped out on how you know that."

"We rang your family as we believe they could have been involved too."

KASEY: "How much longer of these pointless questions? I've got a dog waiting for his dinner."

"You moved here two, three years go. Minnesota, right?"

BOBBY: "Mm-hmm."

"Left there under a bit of a cloud, didn't you, Captain?"

"Truth is, you don't know the people you work with, and they don't know you. Do they, Captain Nash?"

"We have hardly any reports on you Strand, don't you think that's suspicious?"

KASEY: "No, cause they did that before and after the military for my own safety."

BUCK: "But i trust them. Kasey is my best friend, my sister, I - and Bobby? I trust him and I trust his gut. So when he said we needed to get into that vault, yeah, I believed him."

KASEY: "So, Bobby and I are now your top suspects or something? Might as well throw my dog into that list too."

"Captain Nash said you're aware of his past."

KASEY: "And? What has- hey! Cross 'Kasey's dog' off of that notebook of yours."

"You chose to run into that vault, Firefighter Wilson, believing that there was a nerve agent present. Why would you do that?"

HEN: "Because it's my job."

"Or maybe you were providing a distraction so one of your friends can do a different kind of job."

SAM: "I don't know what happened. I just did what the firefighter said."

BUCK: "The armored car driver."

KASEY: "He said he liked our minion suits."

SAM: "Those yellow suits that they were wearing was horrendous."

BUCK: "I thought he couldn't leave the truck."

SAM: "Then he said I was in danger. I had to get decontaminated. Look, I was scared, I did not know they were gonna rob the truck."

CHIMNEY: "Wait, so the money came from the armored car?"

MICHAEL: "Not the vault?"

HEN: "But I was in the vault the whole time. There's no way that's me."

"No you were the distraction. Getting everyone to look over there, so no one is noticing the man emptying the armoured car."

"So who's your partner?"

BUCK: "I'm so confused. Can you start over?"

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Kasey sat anxiously in her apartment.

It was the second time she's been here since the incident. Bear was sat next to her on her coach whilst she leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling, not wanting to take a look at the rest of her apartment.

The ceiling was something she was okay with, it wasn't in her eyesight much since her incident, so it didn't bring her back any memories. But being in her apartment was odd, it didn't make her feel safe, so she was sat there taking deep breaths as she tried not to break down or have a panic attack.

She fiddled with her fingers as she anxiously waited for her lovely surprise to arrive, having already been warned by Athena that she should go in her apartment as the detective and officers will be round with a warrant.

Jamie, her boyfriend, was in her apartment too. He was in the kitchen making coffee for both of them, completely obvious to his anxious girlfriend or what was about to happen.

The second Kasey heard a fist pounding against her door, she jumped up and rushed to open it, Bear following closely behind.

And there they were, the detective and officers with a warrant before they all shoved their way into the house. Jamie leaned back to look at what the commotion was, only for his eyes to widen to see the herd of officers barging their way into his girlfriend's apartment.

Kasey closed the door after the last one entered, she looked down at Bear and shook her head before commanding him to heal at her feet whilst she leaned against the wall, trying to breath as she stared up at the ceiling once again.

She was in the hallway...she was in the hallway...she was in the hallway...

Jamie walked up to her, two mugs in his hands and handed one over to Kasey who quickly took it to keep her mind occupied.

"Did you know about this?" He whispers to her as he watches them from the hallway.

"I'm not allowed to say." She blows the top of her mug to cool down her drink.

"Do you think I should offer them a drink."

"No, they won't be here for long as there is nothing for them to find." Kasey takes a small sip of coffee, her other hand that wasn't holding her drunk was behind her, clutching the radiator. "No one else but me and Athena knows about this. They'll take stuff like my laptop, but I'll get that back in a few days when they discover this is all a false accusation."

"Where are they looking?"

"All of our houses. They even got warrants in Texas for my family down there. The firehouse and their firehouse. It's all bullshit really."

"We're going to your place afterwards, Doctor," one of the officers states. "You can get in our car with us."

"Can't wait." Jamie rolls his eyes.

"I can't wait to get out of this hell of an apartment. Probably should start looking for a new place." Kasey sighs as she looks at her dog before looking blankly at the wall in front of her. She was struggling a lot by being in this apartment and she needed these officers to hurry up so she can just leave.

Kasey even made sure to take out all her stuff from her car and move it back into this apartment so it didn't look like she was sleeping in her car, or they would use that against her and say she was struggling with money. Which she wasn't, not really, she was just struggling in being in this apartment.

And the real reason she hasn't tried to look for a new apartment was because then she would have to go back into this one anyways and get all of her stuff and clean it up for people to look to rent it out.

"Should've put vodka in this coffee, think we're gonna need it."

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

“Hey, Marty, thanks for coming.” Chimney says as he opens the fire trucks door as he sat in the inside of it.

“Hey. Yeah, I heard you guys were having trouble with the ladder. Was starting to think you guys, uh, don’t know how to use it.”

Another truck door opens, and Eddie leans out of the open window with a cloth in his hand.

“Well, you know how we operate. All our procedures and protocols.”

Buck and Kasey walk towards Marty.

“But maybe you could show us some tricks.”

“Yeah, you seem to know more about these trucks than we do,” states Bobby.

“Like where to hide 300,000 dollars of cash,” Kasey says as she crosses her arms and leans against the truck that Eddie was in.

Marty awkwardly laughs, “what are you guys talking about?”

Hen walks around the front of the trucks and appeared behind Marty.

“How are your hands, Marty? That alternative medicine still working?”

Marty looks round and all the fed-up firefighters before he dropped his toolbox, tools scattering everywhere, and making a dash for it, but he was stopped by the detectives that investigated every single one of them.

“Marty Collins,” the male detective spins Marty around by a hand on his shoulder. “You’re under arrest for bank robbery and murder.”

“Murder?” Marty questions as the handcuffs are put on him. “Who’d I kill?”

Kasey looks down at her phone as a message comes through.

Dad: No more of those unfriendly people are going to come to our homes, right?

Kasey: Suspect has just been arrested; we should all be good now.

“So,” Buck says as he sits himself down as they all moved upstairs to have their dinner. “Let me get this right. The fake nerve agent attack was a distraction for the armoured car robbery. Which was a distraction for the diamond heist. Crime is hard.”

Kasey laughs before she leans against Eddie to quietly talk to him, “do you think that soldier died from a nerve agent? Or was he poisoned by the spy or–”

“What happened to you on that day? As it sounds like it was your team giving you loads of different stories.”

“I was shot,” Kasey licked her lips, “and er, I was trying to sort myself out whilst my team went through those few minutes of hell. It was all quick and sudden…it’s just…if it was a nerve agent then someone else could have helped…couldn’t they?”

“I’m not sure, Kasey, is there a way for you to ask someone on your team about that day?”

Kasey shakes her head, “they all died within that week, we had another spy in the team, but I survived because I got called out to go into this other team where a medic could look at my wound. I came back and they were all dead, except the other spy who got away.”

Eddie gave her a sympathetic look; he knew how hard it was being out there.

“But they all died the same way, they all died like they were having a nerve agent attack…but that can’t be a coincidence…right?”

Eddie shakes his head, “maybe it was poison, and you were the only lucky one to get away.”

“Yeah, guess I should be glad I was shot.” Kasey purses her lips in thought. “It was a crazy week and I never really thought about it until now…think I kind of just blanked it out of my memory until now…until seeing something so similar to it.”

“I don’t think this will be something that will ever be answered, Kas.”

“I know…it’s just crazy.”

“It is…how old were you.”

“I was eighteen and it was my first week out in the field. They gave me a medal for that week too, for spotting the spies. I did nothing though, it – I don’t deserve those medals.”

Kasey shuffled back into her seat, not wanting to think about it any longer as she listens to Hen as she digs into her food.

“Franklin knew the bank and Marty knew us.”

“But how did they knew each other?” Eddie questioned with a mouthful of food.

“Brothers-in-law. Well, ex-brothers-in-law. Franklin had been married to Marty’s crazy sister. And when they ran into each other again, a plan formed. Franklin was the inside man. His job was to create a medical emergency in the bank. The kind that would trigger a hazmat response because Marty knew that we’d have to seal the perimeter to execute the Big Bird protocol. He gets the driver to leave the truck and empty all of his pockets. And while the driver gets clean, Marty gets rich. Except, how’s he gonna get all that money out of there? Can’t just walk it off the scene. He needed a mule. Or a team of mules. Us.”

“Not a bad plan,” Bobby says, “I mean, it’s crazy, but it could’ve worked. We bring the money back here and all he has to do is wait for the right moment to sneak in, access the ladder truck and retrieve the money. Except there want any because the police had already beaten him to the punch.”

“But how’d the police know exactly where to find the money?” Buck questions.

“Cause there was one variable that Marty didn’t count on,” Chimney tells them, “the double cross. See, Marty may have known everything there is to know about the LAFD protocol, but Franklin knew about the bank. He knew what was in that vault. He could steal those diamonds with his eyes closed. See, Marty’s plan was simple, but Franklin’s was more time-sensitive, so he told Marty the best day to rob the armoured car would be his last day. He knew there’d be a party at the end of day at the close of business. He’d start with Marty’s plan, then he’d improvise. Franklin made sure he collapsed inside the vault. He knew what our result would be. Then all he had to do was wait for the vault to automatically close and time-seal for the night. Then he’d have hours alone inside that vault while we ran our rescue protocols. It was a meticulous plan. But there was an unexpected complication.”

“Me,” Hen continues. “He was supposed to be in there alone. So me running in to save his sorry arse? A complication. He had to take me out, too. But now he’s playing ‘beat the clock.’ Soon as the cameras couldn’t see, Franklin swiped six million in stones and waited to be saved. All he needed was a clean gate away. He sends the police after us. So, while the police are investigating us…he could flee the country. New name, new passport, new life.”

“He just wasn’t fast enough,” informed Bobby.

“Marty knew he’d been double-crossed.” Said Eddie.

“He goes to confront Franklin.”

“So Marty killed Franklin,” Buck says proudly in the way that he was finally understanding the story.

“Man, this is why I could never rob a bank, I’m clearly not smart enough for it.” Laughs Kasey.

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fionaswhvre · 7 months

Text

Seven Sentence Sunday

Tagged by @hippolotamus @jeeyuns 💕

ok this is just a crack! fic so bear with me

how i imagine s7 buddie speedrun to be

Buck falls asleep on Eddie's couch and Eddie realizes he is in love.

"I love you, Buck." Eddie says, to which Buck replies, "Oh- I love you too."

Christopher is at Abuela's so they fuck on the couch.

The next day, Eddie says, "Evan, will you marry me?"

Buck: "OMG you said my real name so yes!"

Chim makes a joke, Hen gives them good advice, Maddie says she always knew, Christopher calls Buck "Dad!" and Bobby & Athena warn Eddie to never hurt their son.

They live happily ever after.

Tags: @cal-daisies-and-briars @your-catfish-friend @revenge-of-the-assbutt @buttercupbuck @butchdiaz @eddiediaztho @eddiediazes @butchdiaz @buckleyobsessed @theotherbuckley @diazevan @caroandcats @aa-lionheart @cinematics123

#buddie oneshot #buddie #eddie diaz #evan buck buckley #buck x eddie #buddie crack #seven sentence sunday #crack fic #911 fox

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humblequestvinyl · 1 year

Text

MASTERLIST

THE OUTER BANKS

CRIMINAL MINDS

9-1-1

THE RESIDENT

COBRA KAI

THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY

THE HUNGER GAMES

MISC

WRITING SERIES

#the outsiders fanfiction #eddie diaz fluff #eddie diaz fic #eddie diaz x reader #obx jj maybank #jj maybank x you #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank x reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #aaron hotchner oneshot #aaron hotchner fanfiction #robby keene x reader #conrad fisher x reader #jeremiah fisher x reader #the summer i turned pretty #finnick odair #finnick odair x reader

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buddie-buddie · 1 year

Text

we will find a way (through the dark)

9.2k - t - ao3 In which President Evan Buckley is kidnapped and Secret Service Agent Eddie Diaz falls apart.

This whole Wyoming trip was a bad idea. Eddie had said as much when the travel plans first crossed his desk. Buck, to his credit, had agreed. Neither one of them seemed to understand why a speech at an hour-long ceremony warranted a three-day trip, but that ship had apparently long since sailed.

“What’s there to do in Wyoming anyway?” Buck had asked one of his advisors. “Can’t I just fly in for the ceremony and leave as soon as it’s over?”

Eddie thought that was a brilliant idea. The less time they had to spend away from the White House– the less time they had to spend in Wyoming, of all places– the better.

Unfortunately, Buck’s team was prepared with an answer, quickly launching into some long-winded explanation full of Washington jargon like strategic and good faith and precedent-setting. It was buzzword salad, as far as Eddie was concerned.

The way Buck’s eyes seemed to glaze over as they spoke indicated he felt the same.

Buck going anywhere other than the White House or Camp David is already less than ideal, and heading to some rural area of Wyoming, where there’s bad reception, limited resources, and guns outnumber people 4:1 is pretty much Eddie’s personal hell.

Now that they’re here, his feelings haven’t exactly changed. His team is incredible, as is the entirety of the Secret Service. They’ve been hard at work clearing buildings, mapping travel routes, surveilling, and filling the gaps left by the less-than ideal amount of local law enforcement support they’ve been provided.

They’ve been here for a day and a half now, and while Eddie still isn’t feeling great about the trip, he’s no longer walking around with “resting bitch face so severe it might get stuck that way,” as Buck had so lovingly pointed out when Air Force One had first landed.

Tensions had managed to grow since their arrival, which Eddie knew could be attributed to Buck’s overall frustration with this trip in the first place. A frustration Eddie shared, tenfold.

Buck was exhausted after a particularly busy week, spread thinner than he had been in recent memory. Thinner than Eddie thought possible. And yet, somehow, even after all these years, Buck still manages to surprise him.

The night before they were set to leave Washington, Eddie had brought up the idea of postponing the trip. It had been a long, draining week and to add a few days of travel on top of it felt like a cruel and unusual punishment, at least as far as Eddie was concerned. It physically pained him to see Buck so stressed, exhaustion materializing in the bags under his eyes, in the dark circles that cast an unwelcome shadow across his face.

When Buck didn’t go for that, Eddie suggested shortening it to one day instead of three. He was met with protest, insistence that he’d rather go and be miserable than change his plans and disappoint his constituents. Buck had stopped for a minute, his half-packed suitcase in front of him, and promised that when they got home, he’d stay in bed for a whole day.

“I’ll allow it,” Eddie had said, wrapping his arms around Buck from behind and dropping a kiss to his temple.

“I have one condition,” Buck said, relaxing into Eddie’s arms, melting into his touch.

“Let’s hear it,” Eddie murmured against Buck’s ear.

“You,” Buck said, pausing and tipping his head back in an attempt to look at Eddie. “Have to stay in bed with me.”

Eddie grinned. He couldn’t help but squeeze Buck a little tighter, fondness unfurling in his chest. “Deal.”

“Yeah?”

Eddie nodded, turning Buck so they were pressed chest to chest, their foreheads resting against one another. “Yeah,” Eddie murmured, stealing a proper kiss.

The first day of the trip goes according to plan. Buck is exhausted, and Eddie can tell he’s losing steam towards the end of the day, but he still manages to keep a warm smile on his face until they make it back to the hotel room. Eddie follows him inside, locking the door behind them as Buck heaves a sigh and sits on the edge of the bed.

“You did well today,” Eddie says, toeing off his shoes and shrugging out of his suit jacket before crossing the room towards the bed.

“I– I feel like you guys are smothering me.” Buck’s reply seems to startle both of them.

Eddie tries not to take it personally. It’s not his fault there are fewer police officers in the entire state of Wyoming than there were students in his high school! Usually when they travel, local police come in to support the Secret Service. The small police population out here has meant fewer support officers than they’re used to. It left Eddie and his team feeling a little stressed, and they had come to the decision that the best way to fill the gaps and compensate for the change in routine was to increase the presence of Buck’s personal detail.

Instead of two agents shadowing him, they bumped it to three. Instead of four agents surrounding him in open air, they’ve had six.

Frankly, Eddie isn’t a huge fan of the change in routine, either. He’s been on edge since the second they got here. But if it means keeping Buck safe, he’ll adopt whatever changes are necessary. He might not like it, might spend all day longing for the status quo, but he’ll do it. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do if it meant keeping Buck safe. Nothing .

“I’m sorry,” Buck and Eddie say at the same time.

“No– no, Eddie. I’m sorry,” Buck insists, his eyes wide and searching as he holds Eddie’s gaze. “I– I don’t know where that came from. I just–”

Eddie sits down beside him. Their knees brush, and the tension in the air dissolves immediately. “You don’t ever have to be sorry for telling me the truth,” Eddie tells him. “I’m sorry that we had to change your detail. I don’t like it any more than you do.”

“There’s nothing here but open air and cows,” Buck grumbles, loosening his tie and pulling it over his head with a sigh. “Can’t we decrease it?”

Eddie shakes his head. Annoying as it is, it’ll be a cold day in hell when he does anything that could potentially put Buck in danger. “No, baby. I’m sorry.”

Buck makes a noise halfway between a groan and a whine, flopping back onto the mattress. Eddie sighs, taking comfort in knowing that even as tired as he is, Buck hasn’t lost his personality.

“We just have to get through another day and a half. Not even. First thing Wednesday morning, we’re on the way home,” Eddie reminds him. “And then I believe there’s a deal involving a bed and a locked door that’ll need your attention.”

The following afternoon is Buck’s big speech, the whole reason for the trip in the first place. He spends 15 minutes speaking at a ceremony to honor the 100th birthday of a national park that Eddie isn’t convinced he himself had ever heard of before learning of these travel plans. As Eddie expected, Buck absolutely crushes his speech, complete with a standing ovation before he waves goodbye and heads backstage to meet up with his team.

“Nice work,” Maddie says, beaming as Buck makes his way down the stairs, trailed by Eddie, Bobby, Chim, and Hen. He strides over to where she’s waiting with a few of his advisors and a flock of additional Secret Service agents.

Buck lets out a deep breath, relief and gratitude shining in his eyes as he thanks her. “Now what?” he asks, accepting the bottle of water Eddie passes him with a small smile.

“Now, you have to go get changed into something more appropriate for skeet shooting with the governor,” Maddie tells him.

She manages to keep the grin off her face, but Chim fails, chuckling as he claps Buck on the back. “Now this, I can’t wait to see.”

It’s a twenty minute ride in the motorcade to the rifle club, where Buck is ushered into a sitting room and promised that the governor will be with him shortly. He takes a seat in one of the oversized leather chairs, directly beneath a taxidermy buck.

“It’s Buck-ception,” Chimney muses. Eddie grins, though it may have less to do with Chim’s bad joke and more to do with the horrified look on Buck’s face as he turns his head and sees the deer mounted directly above him.

“I miss Washington,” Buck grumbles.

Eddie doesn’t blame him.

Washington has the Oval Office, which is free of dead animals hanging on the walls. Washington has four times more law enforcement officers in its 70 square miles than Wyoming does in its nearly 100,000. Washington has Christopher. Washington has the Residence. Washington has their bed–– God, Eddie misses their bed.

Washington has their best memories and some of their worst ones too, but it’s home. And while Eddie’s never felt homesick when Buck’s in reach, he finds himself longing for the city just as much as Buck is.

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it, though, because the governor is striding into the sitting room and Buck is rising to his feet to shake the man’s hand.

“Mr. President.”

“Mr. Governor,” Buck says with a warm smile. Eddie remains in awe of him– how even when he’s somewhere he doesn’t want to be, doing something he doesn’t want to do, Buck still manages to be so friendly, so genuine. He still manages to share the best parts of himself. “Thanks for having me.”

The governor returns Buck’s smile. “Pleasure’s mine.” He leads Buck down a hallway to a private locker room, Eddie, Bobby, and Chim trailing behind them alongside the Governor’s security. The Governor motions for Buck to use the room on the left before heading into the room on the right himself.

Chim stands to the left of the door while Bobby walks through the room, returning a moment later with a nod to signal that it’s empty and safe for Buck to enter. He steps into position, standing on the right hand side of the door as Eddie moves to follow Buck inside.

“I think I can handle this by myself, guys.” Buck motions to the bag in his hand. Eddie tries not to take it personally. He knows Buck is feeling overwhelmed. He said as much last night. And yet, there’s still a pang of rejection at Buck’s words. But he shoves it down, nods, and steps to the side, as much as he hates the idea of Buck being out of their sight.

But it’s only for a minute. They’re in a building that’s crawling with agents, and this is a private room– Eddie remembers as much from when he saw the building’s plans during his briefing this morning. There are no exterior doors, no doors that connect to other rooms. Just a small changing area connected to a private bathroom. And Buck is only getting changed out of his suit and into whatever sort of skeet shooting attire Maddie put into the bag that’s slung across his shoulder.

He’ll only be a minute.

The Governor reappears a few minutes later, his own suit traded for a flannel shirt and a dark khaki vest with matching pants tucked into calf-high boots.

Eddie catches the way Chim’s eyes light up, already anticipating Buck’s getup. He shoots him a look, silently begging him to behave.

They wait for another minute before Eddie starts to get antsy. He has no idea what could possibly be taking Buck so long. He’s pretty efficient when he gets dressed in the morning, only slowing down to swap lazy kisses with Eddie as they move around the walk-in closet at the same time. That and tying his tie. But Eddie’s out here in the hallway and he’s hard pressed to believe Maddie would pack him a necktie for an afternoon at the rifle club.

Something must be wrong.

Eddie steps forward, knocking on the door. “Mr. President, all good?” He waits with bated breath for Buck’s answer, only it doesn’t come.

“Mr. President?” Eddie tries again, more insistent this time. Again, no response.

He looks between Chim, Bobby, the Governor, and the two state troopers trailing the Governor, concern written across all five of their faces.

Fuck.

Eddie doesn’t waste another second.

The door is unlocked, but there’s something blocking it. He’s able to twist the knob and push it open, but it only goes a few inches before he’s met with resistance. He slams his shoulder into the door, using all of his weight to push it open far enough that he can make it through.

A leather-trimmed bench has been dragged over from the middle of the changing area, if the dents in the carpet are any indication of where it once sat. It was shoved in front of the door, clearly meant to slow down anyone trying to make their way inside. Buck’s suit jacket is in a pile on the floor, just beside his dress pants and shoes. His bag lays sideways on the floor, a pair of olive green pants hanging out of the opening.

His white button-down is in the middle of the floor, stained red with what can only be blood.

There’s a lot of blood. Too much blood.

A trail of it starting in the middle of the room, leading out through a wide-open window.

Shit.

There are bloody footprints on the carpet. Three pairs in the middle of the floor – two made by shoes and one made by bare feet. By the window, there are only two pairs. Both shoes. They dragged him out.

The realization burns in Eddie’s chest, nearly breaks him. They dragged him out.

How did they all miss this? How did none of them hear it? Eddie thinks he might be sick.

Behind him, he hears Bobby radioing in a mayday and calling for a total lockdown. He hears boots in the hallway, voices echoing in his earpiece. The Governor’s saying something, the state troopers, too.

But he can’t focus on any of that. Not when Buck is gone.

No, not gone.

Taken.

The worst of it is the tiny black rectangle in the corner of the room. Buck’s panic button. Eddie beelines toward it, dropping down to get a better look. It’s still intact, which has Eddie trying to wrap his head around why Buck didn’t hit it– it must’ve been in his hand at some point if it made it all the way out of his pocket and across the room. Why didn’t he hit it?

He’s careful not to put any fingerprints on it, pulling a pen out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and using it to flip the thing over. He’s not ready for the sight of the bloody fingerprint, just to the left of the button itself. It trails off, as if the device was knocked out of Buck’s hand before he could get his finger onto the button.

But he tried.

Something about that makes it even worse.

“Talk to me,” Eddie says, walking into the sitting room, which has since become, for all intents and purposes, Secret Service headquarters.

He just got off the phone with the director, briefing him on what had gone down. It’s been fourteen minutes since Eddie breached the door to the locker room and they discovered Buck had been taken. Closer to eighteen minutes since Buck entered the locker room in the first place. The pit in Eddie’s stomach grows steadily with each passing minute. He’s desperate for an update– a real update. Not just “Yeah, he’s definitely gone,” which had been the latest one a few minutes ago, before Eddie stepped out to call the director and try to tamp down the rage burning within him before it consumed him.

“We have footage,” Bobby says, looking up at Eddie from behind a laptop screen. He’s sitting in the same oversized leather chair Buck had been in before, the stupid taxidermy buck above his head.

God, what Eddie would do to go back to that moment. The things he would change. The things he could prevent.

“Let me see,” Eddie says. Bobby hesitates, one hand on the laptop screen, as if to shield Eddie from view.

“Eddie,” Bobby begins. “I just watched it. I think–” His voice is gentle and sympathetic in a way that has Eddie feeling absolutely terrified.

“No,” Eddie insists. He can hear the hysteria starting to creep into his voice. He clears his throat, takes a quick breath. “Let me see.”

Bobby hesitates once more, but Eddie steps up next to him, standing over his shoulder and staring down at the screen. Reluctantly, Bobby hits play.

It’s from an exterior camera, one that had a perfect view of two men dragging Buck out of the locker room window. Eddie stands there fuming, his blood boiling beneath his skin as he sees Buck, covered in blood, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs and a strip of tape across his mouth.

He kicks and claws, thrashing around as they pull him out of the open window and throw him in the back of a waiting golf cart. It has a miniature flatbed in the back, and one of the men jumps in beside Buck, locking his legs around him and holding a hand over his mouth to keep him still and quiet.

The other man throws a tarp over the both of them, concealing them from view, before jumping in the driver’s seat and speeding off.

And then they’re gone.

Eddie can’t breathe. Buck is gone– taken – on his watch. He’s out there somewhere, barefoot and covered in blood and at the mercy of the two animals who just dragged him through a window right under Eddie’s nose and Eddie can’t fucking breathe. His chest is tight and his head is heavy and everything hurts. He can’t–

“Eddie,” Bobby’s voice sounds far away, too distant to be coming from the man standing directly beside him. “Eddie, look at me.”

Eddie can’t get the words out. Can’t get the air in. Can’t do anything except stand here as his world falls apart and stammer out a broken, “They– I– I can’t–”

“I know.” Bobby’s voice is even where Eddie’s wavers, smooth where Eddie’s grates against the lump in his throat. But the fire in his eyes burns just as furiously as the one in Eddie’s. The undercurrent of anger that Eddie can sense coming off of him is just as intense as the one thrumming beneath his own skin.

And something about that is more comforting than the evenness of his voice ever could be.

“We’re going to get him back,” Bobby says, matter-of-fact. There’s no room for interpretation, no doubt behind his words.

“He’s… Bobby, I– I don’t–”

“He needs you,” Bobby says, his voice low. Quiet enough that it doesn’t draw the attention of the other agents coming in and out of the room, but loud in all the ways that matter. Keep it together , is what Bobby doesn’t say out loud. Keep it together for him. And fall apart later.

Eddie hears it all the same.

He nods, managing to get a shaky breath. And then another one. The heat behind his eyes eases up, the pressure in his head and the burn in his chest ebbing away with each additional breath. Not all the way, but it’s enough.

Bobby places a hand on his shoulder, squeezes reassuringly in a way that has Eddie’s chest aching for an entirely different reason.

And then Hen is running into the room, waving a sticky note in her hand. “I got a plate.”

“Let me have it,” Eddie says. Bobby, to his credit, doesn’t protest as Eddie grabs the laptop out from in front of him and pulls up the database.

Hen reads off the plate number and Eddie types it in. The system shows a match immediately. He pulls up the driver’s ID and his heart skips in his chest. That’s the same guy from the security video, the one driving the cart away. He’s sure of it.

If the way Bobby stiffens beside him is any indication, he’s sure of it, too. They share a small nod, and Eddie sends a silent prayer of thanks to every God he can think of before keying his radio. “All agents, be advised, we have an ID on one of our suspects. Dixon Allan, age 31. Driving a white Silverado with a busted left tail light. BOLO is going out now.”

“Last known address on our friend Mr. Allan is 129 Fox Hollow Road,” Bobby says, looking between Eddie, Chim, and Hen.

“Well, let’s pay him a visit,” Eddie says.

Eddie kills the Suburban’s engine three doors down from the house. The road has a more suburban feel to it than many of the streets Eddie’s seen since they first arrived two days ago. And yet, despite the paved streets and the houses close together, there’s not a single streetlight on the entire block. Though that’ll work in their favor. The sun is quickly setting, leaving them with only a few more minutes’ worth of daylight before the street is completely blanketed in darkness.

Another two cars pull up behind him, all of the agents careful to close their doors quietly and move silently as they head over to Eddie’s car.

Eddie swaps his suit jacket for a kevlar vest, rolling the sleeves of his white button-down up his forearms as Bobby steps up beside him, clad in his own vest.

“Eddie.” Bobby says, the fear on his face giving way to something softer, more compassionate. “I can go in first.”

Eddie’s chest squeezes, the onslaught of emotion catching him completely off guard.

“We have no idea what we’re walking into,” Bobby says, the compassion from his face bleeding into his voice and softening the razor-sharp edge of the truth behind his words.

“I know,” Eddie says solemnly. He knows Bobby is trying to protect him, offering to be the first one in, the first one to see whatever it is these animals have done with Buck. To Buck.

But what Bobby must not realize is that this – whatever it is they’re walking into – is what Eddie deserves. He’s the one who let Buck into that locker room alone. He’s the one who waited too long to breach the door and get inside. He’s the one who failed. He failed his country, failed his people. Failed Buck.

And whatever horror scene they’re about to walk in on, Eddie deserves every second of it. He can’t put that on Bobby. Not when all of this is his fault.

“I’ll lead,” Eddie says, the words scratching against the lump in his throat.

He’s saved from having to say anything more about it when his earpiece beeps, signaling an incoming communication. “All agents, be advised. SWAT is eleven minutes out.”

It’s Eddie’s boss, the director of the Secret Service. The unspoken words there are Wait for them. Which Eddie has no plans of doing.

Eddie keys his radio. “We’re moving in.”

“Special Agent Diaz––”

“Do you have any idea what can happen in eleven minutes?” Eddie demands. He gives zero regard to the reprimand he’s bound to get for interrupting his boss– and over the team comms for everyone else to hear, no less. “What they could do to him?”

“Stand down and wait for SWAT,” the director says. “That’s an order.”

“I don’t give a damn if it costs me my badge!” Eddie hisses, careful not to raise his voice to the point of giving away their position. “It’ll be on your desk first thing tomorrow if that’s how it has to be. But I’m going in there and getting my President. And I’m not waiting eleven minutes to do it.”

The comms are silent for a beat before Eddie keys his radio one more time. “Respectfully, Sir.”

“I would never ask any of you to disobey–” Eddie’s voice trails off as he turns to face his team, only to find them all in their vests, their weapons drawn. They’re ready to go.

“We know,” Hen says.

Eddie tries again, shoving down the ball of emotion that’s started unfurling in his chest. “No one is under any obligation to–”

Chim cuts him off with a wave of his hand. “Yeah, yeah. We’re all consenting adults here. Now, let’s go get our President back.”

Eddie nods. “Clip your lights on,” he tells them. “Stay light on your feet and wait for my signal.”

He’s met with a round of nods, each of the agents fastening their flashlights onto the top of their guns. As they’re walking down the sidewalk, approaching the house, his earpiece beeps again.

“Be advised, SWAT recommends breaching at the alpha side.”

Eddie knows that’s as close to a “You were right and I was wrong” as they’re ever going to get. He’ll take it.

At least his badge is safe.

“Copy,” Eddie replies. He directs the agents to different sides of the house, approaching the front door with Bobby, Hen, and Chim on his heels. He glances back at them, and once he sees they’re all ready, he turns to the door and kicks it in.

The lights are off, the entire house swathed in a darkness that feels somewhat fitting for the gravity of the situation. Eddie steps over the threshold gun first, feet second.

His stomach drops as he looks around. He freezes, the beam from his flashlight locked in place. His breath catches in his throat and from somewhere behind him, he can hear Bobby’s do the same.

The front door opens up into a small entryway, just large enough for a coat rack and a small table pushed up against the wall, holding nothing but a single set of keys– no doubt belonging to the white Silverado parked out front, the same one they used to flee the scene– and a layer of dust Eddie can see from several feet away. Directly ahead is an open door that leads to what looks like the kitchen. To the left, a hallway.

There are cobwebs in the corners and dust on the floor. The house is cold– too cold for anyone to be living here comfortably. But that’s not what has Eddie’s blood running cold, alarm bells going off in his head as he fights against the fire in his chest to get a clean breath.

There, on the hallway wall, set clearly against the white paint, is a bloody handprint.

Beside it, another one. This one messier than the first, the fingerprints trailing away, down the hallway, as if their owner dragged them across the wall.

As if their owner was dragged.

Not without a fight, though, if the fingernail scratches in the wall are any indication.

“Jesus,” Chimney mutters. His voice is empty, hollow in a way Eddie’s never heard it before. Almost as if he’s shut off his emotions, tamped them down in the way Eddie so desperately wishes he was capable of doing himself.

“Let’s move,” Eddie says, pushing the words past the fear that’s materialized by way of a lump in his throat.

He heads down the hallway, his heart hammering in his chest as his eyes scan the trail of blood and scratches on the wall. The need to find Buck is the only thing more powerful than the rage burning deep inside him. It’s the only thing keeping him moving forward, keeping him from falling apart.

The intensity of the blood against the wall trails off the further he gets down the hallway, the heavy, robust marks fading into barely-there traces with each step Eddie takes. He tries to take comfort in knowing that it means Buck wasn’t actively bleeding– at least not from his hands– but any shred of relief is lost to the fear and the fury dangerously close to consuming him.

The trail ends at the second door on the right. Eddie holds up his free hand in a silent signal to his team to freeze. The quiet footsteps behind him come to a halt, and he turns his head to see Bobby beside him.

The anguish in his eyes has Eddie feeling like he’s looking in a mirror. Bobby has the same clenched jaw, the same creased forehead, the same fire burning behind his eyes that Eddie feels in his own. But there’s something more there. Something softer. At first, Eddie isn’t sure what to make of it. Then, Bobby nods his head towards the door, a silent offer.

I’ll go first.

He doesn’t have to say it out loud–– Eddie hears the unspoken words loud and clear. He knows it’s Bobby’s last attempt to protect him. To shield him from whatever might be behind the door.

Later, he’ll let himself feel the gratitude. Later, once Buck is home and Buck is safe.

Later, he’ll find Bobby and he’ll thank him. He’ll tell him that he’s never had anyone care about him in the way that Bobby does. He’ll tell him how much the seemingly simple gesture meant to him. How he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget it.

Later, he’ll tell Bobby how even though it meant the world to him– maybe even more– he couldn’t take him up on the offer. He hopes Bobby will understand. No, he knows he will.

Later, he’ll tell Bobby “I had to do it.” And later, Bobby will smile and clap him on the shoulder and say “No, I know you did.” Later. Once this is all over.

But now, all Eddie can do is meet Bobby’s eyes and hope the look he gives him is enough to say all the things he can’t right now.

And then he moves.

The door is locked. Eddie wastes no time kicking it open. It slams against the wall, the hinges rattling as he barrels into the room, Bobby and Chimney immediately behind him.

The room is dark, illuminated only by the beams of their flashlights. There’s a startled whimper from the far corner, and it’s a miracle that Eddie hears it over the sound of his own heartbeat hammering in his ears.

“Buck!” Eddie crosses the room in three strides. Protocol says he needs to clear the room of any potential threats before entering, but he’s long past the point of giving a single damn about protocol.

Someone behind him shouts out a “Clear!” and he hears Bobby on the radio, updating the other agents on scene.

None of that matters to him. His sole focus is Buck.

Buck, who’s sitting in front of him, eyes wide and wet even in the bright light of Eddie’s flashlight. He’s on the floor in the corner of the room, his knees pulled up to his chest. His hands are bound behind his back and there’s tape over his mouth. His captors are nowhere to be seen. He’s alone.

For reasons Eddie can’t quite name, that makes the knots in his stomach coil even tighter. Buck was alone in here. Buck, who hasn’t been alone– not really, anyway– in years. Buck, who just minutes before being taken had insisted he’d be fine by himself.

Sure, the alternative is that Buck’s captors could’ve been in here with him, doing god-knows-what to him. And that’s hardly better than Buck being left in here alone. But something about the sight of him all by himself, tucked in the corner of the room and looking smaller than Eddie’s ever seen him, has Eddie’s stomach turning, his chest squeezing beneath the agony of it all.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Eddie promises, easing one corner of the tape up. He’s not sure if that last part is true. Not yet. But it needs to be.

“We’re here, we got you.” That part is true. They have him.

Finally, finally, they have him.

“Are you hurt?” Eddie asks. He can barely stand the half-second of wait time between his second and Buck’s reply, which comes by way of a quick head shake. No.

Eddie’s shoulders sag with relief, just as his radio beeps in his ear. “All agents be advised, we have both suspects in custody.”

Eddie lets out a sound that’s halfway between a sigh and a sob. The relief is palpable, coursing through him and soothing the frayed edges of what little remains of his sanity.

“We got them,” he tells Buck. “It’s over.”

Buck nods, eyes still shining in a way that feels like a knife to Eddie’s heart. “Gonna take this off, okay?” Eddie says, working hard to keep his voice calm and even. Buck nods eagerly. Bobby is there too, kneeling down at Buck’s side and starting in on the ropes wrapped around his wrists.

Eddie brings one hand up to the side of Buck’s face, and his chest squeezes at the way Buck immediately melts into the touch. He pulls the tape off with his other hand, dropping it to the ground as soon as it’s off.

Bobby gets the rope off at the same time and Buck collapses like a puppet whose strings have just been cut, falling into Eddie’s chest with a strangled noise that Eddie knows he’ll be hearing in his nightmares for years to come.

“I got you,” Eddie says, fighting off a sob he can feel building in his chest. He swallows it down and brings a hand up to the nape of Buck’s neck, holding him close. “I got you.”

Buck’s chest heaves as he draws in a shaky breath, fingers wound so tightly in Eddie’s suit jacket that his knuckles have gone white. “I got you,” Eddie says again. It’s just as much for Buck as it is for himself.

He holds Buck as close as he possibly can, buries his face in his hair and finally takes a deep breath for the first time in hours. His hair smells like sweat and blood, but underneath it all there’s still the familiar minty fragrance of Buck’s fancy conditioner. It’s barely recognizable, but Eddie clings to it just as hard as he holds onto Buck.

Bobby backs off, gives them a moment to hold each other, to breathe. To let it sink in that this nightmare is finally over. Eddie’s gratitude knows no bounds.

“I– I’m sorry.” Buck’s voice is ragged, trembling in the same way his hands are.

Eddie’s heart breaks all over again.

“Shh,” Eddie shushes him. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I-I told you… I told you not to–” Buck stammers. Eddie eases him back, putting just enough distance between them that he can take Buck’s face in his hands.

“Buck, please–” It’s all Eddie manages to get out before his voice cracks, hot tears stinging his eyes, threatening to spill over.

He blinks them back, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against Buck’s. “I’m sorry I left you,” he says, his voice wavering. He could apologize every day, every hour, every minute for the rest of his life and it still could never be enough. “I shouldn’t have listened, I should– I should have insisted.”

Buck shakes his head. “This is not your fault.”

“It is,” Eddie insists. “It is, I– I should have…” His sentence trails off when he registers the way Buck is shaking. He’s trembling in Eddie’s arms, his whole body fighting against what Eddie assumes is a combination of an adrenaline crash and the fact that he’s still barely clothed. Eddie lets go of Buck only long enough to stand up. Quick as their lack of contact may be, it’s still met with a sound of protest from Buck. Eddie helps him to his feet, and it’s the first time he gets a proper look at him, and it takes his breath away. There’s dried blood all over him. It’s caked onto his skin, his hair. It’s beneath his fingernails, stuck in the creases of his palms. Sweat-damp curls are plastered against his forehead, and dark circles hang beneath his weary eyes.

“Come on,” Eddie says gently. He wraps an arm around Buck’s waist, taking on his weight as he leads him towards the door.

He keys his radio with his free hand. “All agents be advised, I’m bringing POTUS out. Need medical on standby.”

“No medical,” Buck protests. “I– I’m fine. Just need a shower.”

“Yes, medical,” Eddie shuts that nonsense down immediately. He leads him out the door and towards the waiting ambulance.

Maddie is the first one to reach them, running over as soon as she sees them cross the threshold. She meets them halfway across the front lawn, pulling Buck into a tight hug. She’s the only person on Earth for whom Eddie would let go of his hold on Buck, and he doesn’t mind stepping back and letting them have a moment together. Eddie can’t make out what she says to Buck, but if the way his shoulders sag is any indication, it’s exactly what he needed to hear.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Eddie asks. Buck is sitting on the back of the ambulance, Eddie directly next to him. Buck’s head is resting on Eddie’s shoulder, and Eddie finally, finally feels like he’s able to breathe again. Buck is dressed in Secret Service issued sweats, a navy blue crewneck sweatshirt and matching pants. Hen had been quick to bring them over as soon as they made it out of the house, and Eddie’s not sure who was more grateful– him or Buck.

Eddie was quick to help Buck into them, hoping they’d help to fight against the chill in the night air. He had grabbed a rescue blanket off the back of the ambulance, too, and draped that over Buck’s shoulders in an attempt to get him as warm as possible.

“I– I promise,” Buck says, voice still a little wobbly. “My, uh, my wrists are a little sore. That’s all.”

“And your head,” Eddie reminds him.

“And my head,” Buck agrees.

There’s a small gash on Buck’s forehead, just above the spot where his birthmark kisses his eyebrow. It’s no bigger than an inch wide, and there’s an angry bruise already blooming across the skin behind it. The paramedics already cleaned it and applied a steri-strip, and Eddie was able to find a tiny bit of comfort in the knowledge that it wouldn’t need stitches.

That tiny bit of comfort was immediately chased away by rage when Buck explained that one of his captors had accidentally smacked his head against the window frame when dragging him out of the locker room, hence the injury. “It’s weird,” Buck had said, both to Eddie and to the paramedics as they tended to the wound. “He apologized. It was like… I– I don’t know. I almost feel like they didn’t want to hurt me.”

Buck had also said that they dumped him in the room, tied his hands behind his back, and left him alone almost immediately. They didn’t hurt him, didn’t demand information or national secrets. Didn’t make so much as a single threat. Not that they would have had much time to do so– Buck hadn’t even been there an hour by the time the Secret Service arrived.

It all certainly tracked with what Bobby was getting from Dixon, who apparently started talking before the cuffs were even fastened. Bobby had come by a few minutes before and pulled Eddie aside. Maddie was quick to swoop in and sit with Buck while Eddie was briefed. Apparently, the two idiots were hired by someone to whom the governor had an outstanding debt. They were only supposed to rough him up, but upon realizing the man they had jumped from behind was the president, they panicked and took him. How kidnapping the president of the United States was a better decision than aborting the mission and making a run for it, Eddie will never understand. But all that matters is Buck is here. He’s safe. And Eddie isn’t letting him out of his sight any time soon. Possibly ever.

Not even to deal with Dixon and his partner. Bobby had asked if Eddie wanted to speak with either one of them before PD took them away, to which Eddie had shaken his head. “You’d be wrong to trust me alone with either one of them,” he said.

Bobby nodded, understanding. “Why do you think I’m over here?”

“It doesn’t hurt, though,” Buck says, pulling Eddie out of his thoughts and back to the present. “My head.”

“There was a lot of blood,” Eddie reminds him. He feels sick at the thought of it, the visuals playing in his mind sending his stomach churning all over again. “It was all over the locker room. And on the walls in the house.”

“Not mine,” Buck says. “It was his. The smaller one. He tried to grab me in the locker room and I– I pushed him off. He hit his head on the corner of a locker. And then he must’ve gotten scraped up on the window, cause his arms were bleeding a lot. He got it all over me.”

Eddie remembers seeing the smaller of the two kidnappers get in the back of the golf cart alongside Buck, the visual of it seared into his mind. That would certainly explain the blood in Buck’s hair, not to mention the streaks of it across his bare body.

“Okay,” Eddie nods, comforted by the fact that Buck seems to be alright. At least physically. And for now, he’ll let himself take solace in that. For now, that can be enough.

He tips his head against Buck’s, their temples resting against one another as Eddie takes a shaky breath. Buck’s voice is so quiet, so small, Eddie almost misses it. “I fought back.”

“I know, baby,” he assures him, rubbing reassuring circles into Buck’s back. “I know you did. It’s over now. It’s all over.”

When they get back to the hotel, Buck beelines for the bathroom, eager to shower off the blood and the sweat still caked onto his skin. Eddie fights every instinct telling him to follow Buck inside, to keep himself plastered to Buck’s side. Instead, he tries to give Buck a little bit of space, tries to wait to follow his lead, painful as it may be. He leans against the door frame and watches as Buck turns the shower on and grabs a towel off the rack.

“Can you–” Buck says quietly, and there’s something uncertain in his voice, something almost a little bit shy, that Eddie hasn’t heard in a long time. He looks between Eddie and the shower, biting on his bottom lip. “I– I don’t… I don’t want…” His voice trails off, his question left unspoken.

Eddie hears him anyway. Understands him perfectly, in the way he always has. “Of course.”

He walks the rest of the way into the bathroom, kicking off his shoes and stripping out of his own clothes before helping Buck out of his. Steam fills the room as Eddie guides Buck into the shower and steers him beneath the warm spray.

Buck closes his eyes, tips his head back against Eddie’s shoulder, his back to Eddie’s chest. Eddie wraps an arm around Buck’s waist, holding him close as the water sprays over them. Eddie can’t bear to look at it, can’t stand the sight of the water running pink as it swirls around the drain. He presses a kiss to the top of Buck’s head and closes his own eyes, taking a deep breath and allowing himself to relax into the feel of Buck pressed up against him.

“Thank you,” Buck’s voice is so small, Eddie barely hears it over the sound of the running water. “I don’t–”

Eddie’s not sure how Buck was planning to end his sentence before his voice broke off. But it doesn’t change his answer. “It’s okay,” Eddie murmurs.

“I don’t want to be alone,” Buck admits.

“You don’t have to be.”

He feels the sob tear its way through Buck’s chest before he hears it. Buck crumples against him, falling into Eddie’s arms as the gravity of the day’s events seems to finally hit him.

“I’ve got you,” Eddie promises, taking on Buck’s weight and easing him onto the floor. He pulls Buck into his lap, holds him against his chest. He ignores the way the tiled floor is digging into the bottom of his thighs, and the way the water is beating on his back on the wrong side of uncomfortable. “I’m here.”

There’s a certain weight behind his words. They hang heavier in the air between them, as if they’re suspended in the thick cloud of steam. They’re more than just an assurance.

“I’m here,” Eddie says again. It's a promise. A pledge. And unspoken vow that he’ll never leave again.

They stay like that for a while, until the sobs wracking Buck’s body fade into sniffles, until the water starts to turn tepid and Eddie gently eases him to his feet just long enough to wash off. He turns the water hotter and work’s Buck’s fancy shampoo into his hair, massaging his scalp and scrubbing behind his ears in the way he knows Buck loves. Eddie’s stomach turns as it rinses out pink, the last of the blood disappearing down the drain.

He follows it with conditioner, the shower filling with its peppermint fragrance. Buck has been using this stuff for so long, Eddie feels like one of Pavlov’s dogs with the way the smell of peppermint instantly soothes him. It’s immediately grounding, and never more so than tonight, as it covers up the metallic scent of the blood washing down the drain.

Once they’re done and all of the hot water is gone for good, Eddie detaches himself from Buck just long enough to turn the water off and grab Buck a towel, passing it to him before grabbing one for himself. As they towel off and step out of the shower, Buck’s hand finds Eddie’s wrist, holding onto him as he guides them out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

Buck stands over the dresser for a moment before crossing the room and pulling a t-shirt out of Eddie’s duffle bag. It’s the one he wore to bed last night, and as he turns it over in his hands, Eddie can see some of the lingering tension bleed out of his shoulders. He looks up at Eddie, who nods without hesitation. “All yours, baby.”

They make their way into bed, and Eddie relaxes instantly as Buck curls into his side. Eddie shuts the lights off and drops a kiss to the top of Buck’s head.

“Thank you for finding me,” Buck says quietly, the words muffled by Eddie’s t-shirt. But Eddie hears him loud and clear.

It feels like Eddie’s heart is splitting wide open. He wonders, briefly, if Buck is able to hear it do so from where he’s laying with his head atop Eddie’s chest.

“Thank you for fighting,” Eddie says, running a hand through Buck’s hair.

“I didn’t do much,” Buck replies.

Eddie shakes his head. “You did more than you realize. You fought back, you…” he takes a breath, clears his throat as he searches for the right words. “You bought us time. You fought to make it out of there. You… you gave me– you gave us hope. We needed that.”

He shoves all thoughts of what might have happened if Buck hadn’t fought out of his mind and instead tries to focus on this, on being here with Buck. He tries to focus on the feel of Buck curled up against him, tucked into his side like they’re two puzzle pieces slotting into place. Like the two of them were made for each other.

Eddie likes to think they were.

Buck’s eyes are shining as he props himself up on his elbow, looking at Eddie properly.

Eddie continues. “Even in our worst moments, we still make a pretty good team.”

Buck smiles for the first time since this whole nightmare began, and the sight of it alone does more to mend Eddie’s battered heart than he ever thought possible. “You think so?” he asks.

Eddie nods. “I know so.”

"You know what could have stopped them even sooner?" Buck asks, a mischievous glint in his eye. He’s looking more and more like himself with every passing moment, something for which Eddie has never been more grateful.

Eddie knows exactly where this is going. "We're still not giving you a gun. Nice try."

Buck lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine,” he concedes. “But what about a really sharp knife?”

"So you can end up with an accidental self-inflicted stab wound?” Eddie asks. “I don't think so."

"What about…” Buck begins, his voice trailing off as he inches closer to Eddie. “A super smart…” He brushes his nose against Eddie’s. “Absurdly handsome Secret Service agent…” he drops a quick, playful kiss to the corner of Eddie’s mouth. “...Who carries both a gun and a really sharp knife?"

Eddie grins, only for Buck to chase it away with a long, lingering kiss. "Deal," he murmurs against Buck’s lips as they part.

"Great,” Buck leans in again, smiling against Eddie’s lips as they kiss again. “I always did like Bobby."

Eddie can feel Buck’s chuckle rumbling in his chest, and despite his best efforts to keep a straight face, he can’t help but laugh alongside him. “You’re ridiculous,” he says fondly.

“Yeah,” Buck agrees. “But you love me.”

Eddie nods, stealing another kiss. “I do,” he promises. “I really, really do.”

Eddie wakes up slowly, a tiny, content sigh falling from his lips as he turns over and reaches for Buck. Only instead of finding his warm boyfriend, all Eddie’s fingers are met with are cold bed sheets. “Baby?” Eddie mumbles, his voice thick with sleep. He props himself up on his elbow and blinks slowly as his eyes adjust slowly to the low light.

It’s too dark for the bed to be this empty.

He glances over at the door to the ensuite bathroom, but there’s no light slipping through the crack at the bottom of the door. “Buck?” he calls, a little louder this time. When he doesn’t get an answer, he kicks the duvet off and swings his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up properly. He reaches for the lamp on the nightstand, clicking it onto the dimmest setting. It’s still enough light to have him squinting as his eyes adjust.

He rubs the sleep out of his eyes before standing up and looking around the room.

No.

No, no, no . Not again.

His stomach drops, his heart slamming into his ribcage. There’s a pool of blood on the carpet, just next to Buck’s side of the bed. And a trail of blood across the wall, leading from Buck’s side of the bedroom all the way to the door. Five lines for five fingers, fingernail scratches chasing after the bloody smears before cutting out abruptly at the door jamb. He stumbles, nearly falling over as he scrambles towards the hallway.

“Buck!” The scream tears its way out of his chest, shredding against his vocal cords as he yanks the door open. “BUCK!”

“Eddie.”

He blinks his eyes open. Buck is leaning over him, his eyes shining with concern. Moonlight pours in through the open window, dancing across his face as he looks down at Eddie. “It’s okay,” Buck assures him. He runs a thumb over Eddie’s cheek, his touch instantly grounding. “You were dreaming.”

Eddie swallows around the dryness in his throat and tries to catch his breath. His heart hammers in his chest as he looks around, trying to get his bearings.

They’re in bed, in the Residence. The window is open, just how Buck likes it. Buck is beside him. Buck is here. The walls are perfectly clean. No blood. No fingernail scratches. Nothing but wallpaper.

And Buck is here. Buck is pulling Eddie into his chest, holding him and murmuring “It’s okay,” and “I got you,” and “You’re safe.”

Buck is here.

Eddie’s breathing begins to even out, his heart rate slowing down as he holds onto Buck, his arms wrapped tight around him. “I’m sorry,” Eddie breathes.

“No need,” Buck says simply, as if Eddie waking him up in the middle of the night plagued with nightmares of something that happened months ago is no big deal.

Self loathing burns in his gut. He hates that he still thinks about that awful, awful night in Wyoming. He hates that everyone else seems to have moved on, and yet there’s a part of him that’s still right there, still standing in that blood-soaked locker room. Still kicking down that door. Still finding Buck, tied up and covered in blood.

He hates how vivid the memories are when they come. He hates how he feels like he’ll never be normal again. Like it’ll never stop hurting.

He hates the nightmares. Hates the sick, twisted dreams where he sees that bloody wall again and again and again. Hates the dread that consumes him, the darkness that lives inside him still, even now.

He hates that it ever happened in the first place. That he ever failed Buck like that.

Eddie remains in awe at how well Buck is doing since that terrible night. Sure, the two of them both clung to each other for the first few days after their return. And it was weeks before Eddie felt like he could breathe again anytime Buck was out of his sight. But Buck seems to be doing well.

He hasn’t been plagued by nightmares in the same way Eddie has. He doesn’t look like he’s going to throw up every time their schedules don’t line up and they have to spend a few hours apart. Not like Eddie does, anyway.

He’s doing well.

Eddie is not.

“Was it Wyoming again?” Buck asks after a beat.

Eddie’s breath catches in his throat as he nods. Buck passes him a glass of water from the nightstand. It makes something in Eddie’s chest ache.

Buck is so good to him, so in tune. He always knows exactly what Eddie needs, always before Eddie knows it himself. Eddie could live a million lifetimes and still never find the one in which he’s worthy of being loved by Buck.

“Y-Yeah,” Eddie says, his throat feeling better after downing half the glass of water. “I woke up and you had been taken again.”

Buck sighs. “Oh, baby.”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie is quick to say.

“For what?” Buck asks.

Eddie sighs, setting the glass down. “Everything,” he admits.

“Eddie,” Buck says gently, placing a hand on Eddie’s knee and squeezing reassuringly. “Stop being sorry for that.”

“But I–”

“You came and got me,” Buck says, cutting him off. “Like you always do.”

“I always will.”

Buck smiles, and still, even after all this time, it’s the most beautiful smile Eddie’s ever known. “I’ve never doubted that.”

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