Reading Time: 114 Minutes
Title: Enough is Enough
Series: Never Enough
Series Order: 2
Author: CorgiQueen14
Fandom: 9-1-1
Genre: Angst, Contemporary, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Relationship(s): Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Content Rating: R
Warnings: slight mention of past non-con, Bad Parenting, Not Maddie Buckley Friendly, Not Buckley Parents Friendly, Not Chimney Han friendly, Canon typical violence,
Beta: Thea Zara, DarkAngel2792, Chris_hotrod2000 and Hourstillnoon
Alpha: Twigen
Word Count: 79,347
Summary: Two years had passed since Buck had uncovered his family’s dark secret. Now, Buck and Eddie are ready to take the next step in their relationship. But when family drama attacks them on all sides, will they make it out unscathed? Or will lightning strike when they least expect it?
Artist: BytheBry
Chapter 11:
It was not, in fact, the last surprise the universe had in store for them.
“What do you mean my parents are staying with you?” Buck asked Chimney.
They had been riding back from a call when Chimney dropped a massive bomb on Buck.
“Well, they aren’t staying with us.” Chimney tried to tell Buck. “They’re just staying in the area and visiting with us.”
“That’s basically the same thing.” Hen pointed out.
“It’s not the same thing.” Chimney tried to say.
“It’s totally the same thing..” Eddie retorted.
“For how long?” Buck asked, not letting this go
Chimney sighed. “Like a month?”
Buck sat back in his seat, stunned.
“A month,” he scoffed. “So basically, until my wedding. Do they seriously still think they’re coming?”
“I think they have some hope that you’ll invite them, yes.” Chimney admitted.
“This is ridiculous,” Buck said, Eddie taking his hand. “I can’t believe this.”
“It’s not like it’s great timing for us either,” Chimney said, sounding annoyed at Buck being upset over this. “We just moved into our new place, and we still have a lot of work to do on it.”
“Why couldn’t you tell them to visit at any other time? Or just say no?”
“I didn’t feel like I could have told them no since they gave us the money for the down payment,” Chimney snapped. “Maybe if you had given us the money, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Buck stared at Chimney. “I didn’t even know you needed the money for the down payment, and you never asked me.”
“We definitely asked you.”
“No, you just made a lot of comments about how expensive buying a house is, and that was that,” Buck told him. “Was I supposed to just guess that you wanted me to give you the money for the house?”
“Well, a nice person would have offered to help with the down payment.” Chimney gave Buck a look. “It’s good to help people.”
“Oh, like when you kicked Buck out of our apartment after a week when he needed a place to stay?” Eddie snarked at Chimney.
“That was completely different, and you know it!”
“I was never asked to help!” Buck told him. “Am I just supposed to offer to pay for things every time you and Maddie complain about how much something costs?”
“Okay, break it up.” Bobby finally cut in. “Chimney, it’s not Buck’s responsibility to help you with financial matters,” Chimney grumbled at that, and Bobby gave him another look before turning to Buck. “Buck, you can’t get mad at Chimney for hosting people you don’t like. You don’t have to see them while they’re here, just try to ignore them.”
“Okay, I’ll try,” Buck finally said, trying to keep his annoyance from his voice.
There was a moment of silence, and then–
“So, I’m going to assume that you won’t be coming to dinner with them tomorrow night?” Chimney asked. “Maddie told me to ask you.”
“I’d say that’s a correct assumption.” Buck’s tone was clipped as he went back to staring out the window, Eddie squeezing his hand lightly.
~~
The storms that had covered LA since Buck had first come to know of his parents’ visit only seemed to grow. Buck couldn’t help but keep listening for the rumble of the thunder while he practiced Bobby’s famous chili recipe under the watchful eye of the man himself.
“Keep going. Keep going.” Bobby said, watching Buck stir. “Good.”
Buck grinned at Bobby as he carefully stirred the pot, watching it with a laser-like intensity. The last thing he needed to do was burn Bobby’s chili while the man was teaching him how to make it.
“Man, that storm’s not budging,” Bobby remarked, looking out the window.
“I guess that’s the thing about dark clouds though, isn’t it?” Buck said, trying to sound casual. “They hang over you and they don’t quit.”
Buck gave him a knowing look. “I’m okay, Buck.”
Buck sighed. “I know, I’m just worried about you. Are you making any progress?”
“Probably not.” Now it was Bobby’s turn to sigh. “Last night, Athena said this thing about…” he trailed off for a second, shaking his head slightly. “ODs at Winding Path Residence as being considered routine. And I’m beginning to wonder if it’s not an old routine.”
Buck blinked in confusion. “You mean like you think they’ve done this before, somewhere else?”
“Yep.” Bobby nodded, clicking on another tab. “So I am checking all the states.”
“Any luck?” Buck asked as he continued to stir.
“Up to Oklahoma, still nothing.”
Buck hated how defeated Bobby sounded. He knew how much Wendell had meant to him, and how much it was killing him to not be able to help figure out what happened to his friend.
Just then, Buck thought the chili was ready, and he brought some over to Bobby. This was the first time he had tried to recreate Bobby’s recipe, and he wanted it to be perfect.
“Hey, will you please try this for me?” Buck held out the bowl to Bobby.
“So it’s not enough that you stole my recipe; now you want me to taste test it?” Bobby gave Buck a playful glare.
“Yes, I’m shameless.” Buck rolled his eyes. “Now Open. Come on.”
Bobby finally tried a bit of it, humming in approval. Buck could barely contain his joy. He just knew that he had gotten it right.
“Pretty good.” Bobby nodded.
Except apparently, he hadn’t.
“Don’t give me pretty good, come on, it’s not right.” Buck frowned as he sat down next to Bobby, staring at him. “It’s missing something.”
“Yeah.”
Buck stared at him even harder. “Is there a secret ingredient?”
“I don’t know.” Bobby shrugged but Buck could see the smile threatening to break through his power face.
“There is. Come on, it’s me. Spill.”
Bobby didn’t seem willing to budge so Buck sighed.
“I can’t believe that on the eve of my wedding–”
“You aren’t getting married for three weeks, Buck.”
“You would deny me knowing your secret ingredient.”
Bobby gave him a look and then sighed.
“Cocoa powder.”
Buck blinked. Dramatics aside, he had never expected Bobby to actually reveal his secret ingredient. “Yeah?”
“Unsweetened.” Bobby nodded behind Buck. “In the cabinet above the sink.” Buck grinned as he bounded over to the cabinet and retrieved his prize.
“One tablespoon,” Bobby told him, Buck nodding as he carefully measured it out.
“Uh, so, hey, what happened after Wyoming?” Buck asked, stirring the chili.
“I don’t know.” Bobby sighed. “Seems like we keep running into dead ends no matter which direction we turn. I’m running out of ideas and I think my wife might be running out of patience.”
“Well, there’s an answer out there, and you’re going to find it,” Buck told him.
“You seem pretty sure of that.” a smile played up around Bobby’s lips.
“Hey, come on.” Buck turned to Bobby. “You always helped me figure things out.” he paused to take a taste of the chili. “Mmm. Like this chili.”
“I wish everything could be as easy as me telling you the secret ingredient,” Bobby told him.
“Cocoa powder.” Buck shook his head in disbelief as he finished stirring the chili.
“Yeah. Really.” Bobby seemed to be laughing at Buck’s confusion, but Buck couldn’t be mad at him too much. He did just give up the secret to his famous chili, after all.
“So how are the final wedding plans?”
“They’re going okay.” Buck shrugged. “Aunt Adelaide and everyone came into town yesterday to help me get ready.” Buck hesitated before saying the next part. “They’d love to meet you for coffee or something before the actual day.”
Bobby hesitated. “Are you sure?”
Buck came back over to the table. “Bobby, I promise they don’t hold anything against you.”
Bobby seemed to accept that. “Can I think about it?”
Buck nodded. “Of course you can. And there is no pressure if the answer is no.” a frown spread over his face. “Unlike Maddie, who coincidentally invited our parents to town three weeks before the wedding and told me their stay could be extended if I changed my mind.”
“She’s seriously still trying to push you into inviting them to the wedding?”Bobby shook his head in disbelief. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Well, it’s true.” Buck sighed. “I just need to get through the wedding, and then we can have a talk about her needing to back off. I just need to make it until then.”
For a brief moment, Buck thought they could actually do it. Everything could go well and be drama-free.
“Well, here’s hoping all goes smoothly until then,” Bobby said.
And then Bobby said something like that.
Buck stared at him. “Bobby, are you kidding me?”
“What?” Bobby coked his head in confusion
“You totally just jinxed us.”
“I did not.”
Just then the alarm went off, and Buck gave Bobby a look.
“You totally did.”
~~
After the chaos of the last call, Buck kept staring at Bobby the entire way back to the station.
“Buck, for the last time, I did not jinx us,” Bobby said, not even looking back.
Eddie looked between the two of them. “Am I missing something here?”
“Bobby jinxed us, and that last call proved it.” Buck didn’t hesitate to respond.
“It was a car accident, Buck. We’ve handled those before.”
“And a woman in labor in said accident?”
“We’ve seen that too.”
“The baby got ejected from its mother! And was still attached by the umbilical cord! How often have we seen that?”
Bobby went to respond and then realized that he didn’t have a good answer for that.
“I rest my case.” Buck slapped his hand down on the seat between him and Eddie.
~~
“I just can’t even believe it.” Buck heard Chimney rant as he walked into the loft the next day at work. “I seriously can’t believe it. How dare he even think of doing this?”
Buck turned to Eddie. “Do we want to wait until he calms down to come up here?”
“Buck!” Buck heard Chimney call his name, and he winced slightly.
“There goes that plan,” Eddie muttered, Buck trying not to laugh. He turned to Chimney, pasting a smile on his face.
“Hey, everything okay?”
“No, everything is not okay.” Chimney huffed. “Did you know about what Albert was planning?”
“What are you even talking about?” Buck wrinkled his brow in confusion.
Chimney didn’t seem to hear him as he stepped towards him. “You better not have known, or–”
“Or what, Chimney?” Eddie said, his tone icy as he stepped into the loft next to Buck. Buck relaxed with Eddie next to him. It might have been over a year since the incident with Chimney, but Buck knew Eddie was still mad about it, as was Buck.
Chim seemed to flounder for a second. “I’ll….be really mad.”
Buck rolled his eyes at that. “Chimney, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Albert!” Chimney spat.
“Okay?” Buck still wasn’t getting it. “He got in last night, right?”
“Yeah, and he didn’t come alone! He brought our dad to Los Angeles without telling me.”
Chimney told Buck. “You really didn’t know?”
“Nope.” Buck shook his head. “He never said anything about it to me.”
Chimney groaned, flopping back onto the couch. “How could he think this is okay? Who just invites someone’s estranged parents to come visit without telling their sibling?”
Buck and Eddie shared a look, both thinking the same thing. That Chimney certainly didn’t have an issue with Maddie doing this to Buck two years ago.
“Yeah, it sucks when siblings overreach like that.” Buck was barely able to keep the sarcastic tone out of his voice.
“Right?” The comment flew right over Chimney’s head. “It’s ridiculous!”
Buck and Eddie shared another look before Buck asked the next question.
“Was dinner okay otherwise?”
“It was fine.” Chimney shrugged. “Your parents were really in a mood, though.”
“Can’t imagine why,” Eddie muttered, Buck snickering.
“Actually, I’m pretty sure you can, since they’re mad that you both haven’t invited them to your wedding yet.” Chimney snarked. “They didn’t shut up about it. Even my father thought it was rude that they were still waiting for an invitation from you.”
“If they’re waiting for an invite, they’ll be waiting a really, really long time,” Buck told him. “I’m getting married, and they are not coming. Over my dead body will they be anywhere near my wedding”
“Tell them that!” Chimney told Buck. “I’m tired of them dragging me into all this!”
“Since that would require talking to them, that’s a no from me.” Ignoring what Chimney said next, Buck moved over to the kitchen to make himself a snack.
While he did so, he fired off a text to Albert.
Buck: so, you brought your dad to town?
Albert must have had his phone handy because Buck got a response almost immediately.
Albert👬: You talked to Chimney, huh?
Buck quickly tapped out a response.
Buck: yeah, and he’s pretty 😠. Why didn’t you talk to him before bringing your dad here?
Albert👬: I didn’t think about it, honestly. Dad and I are in a better place, and he wanted to see my life in LA.
Buck rolled his eyes.
Buck: Okay, I get that. But why bring him to Chimney’s house then?
Albert👬: I thought I could help them bury the hatchet! Plus it felt like the right time, especially with Chimney having a kid.
Buck sighed.
Buck: you realize that you did the same thing to Chimney that Maddie did to me?
Buck: she thought it was time to bury the hatchet between me and my parents because she wanted her kid to have a good relationship with her grandparents
Buck: And look how that turned out
Albert took a long time to respond.
Albert👬: …Fuck. I really messed up, didn’t I?😔
Buck: Yeah, you really really did
Albert👬: Any idea how I can fix this?
Buck: apologizing to Chimney would probably be a good start
Albert was typing out a response as the alarm rang.
Buck: I gotta go, going out on a call. Let’s talk later, okay?
Albert👬: 👍
Buck put his phone away and ran to his turnouts.
When they got to the scene, they discovered a building ablaze in the pouring rain.
“Okay, Hendrix, Meyers, Perez! Start evacuating the building!” Bobby took charge before turning to the rest of the team. “Chimney, Buck, Eddie. You guys are on ladder duty. I want you to get up to that window and hit it. Let’s go!”
Buck ran with Eddie and Chimney to the ladder, Chimney reaching for a harness as Eddie extended the ladder.
“Hey. Where do you think you’re going?” Buck stopped him.
“I got this,” Chimney told him.
“No way, you got the last one.”
“Didn’t realize you were keeping track.” Chimney quipped.
“Come on, Chim. It’s me,” Buck smirked. “I’m always keeping track.”
Chimney rolled his eyes and relinquished his grip on the harness, Eddie helping Buck get hooked in.
“All right, cowboy, go get ’em.” Eddie lightly smacked Buck’s chest after hooking him in.
“All right.” Buck went to go up the ladder before Eddie stopped him.
“Be careful up there, okay?”
“Always,” Buck promised, giving Eddie a quick kiss before starting his climb.
The rain-slicked metal made the climb much harder than usual, and the grips on his gloves did little to give him traction on the ladder.
Finally, Buck reached the top of the ladder and aimed the hose at the fire still blazing inside the building.
Buck was hard at work trying to quell the ever-present blaze of flames when he suddenly heard a loud buzzing in the air above him.
“The hell is that?” Buck looked around for the source of the noise. As he happened to look above him, he noticed the sky above him seeming lighter than the rest of the dark clouds.
Perhaps that was his first warning.
Before he knew what was happening, a bolt of lightning coursed through the sky, hitting him.
He didn’t even have time to scream. His vision went white, the force of the bolt knocking him off the ladder. Pain arced throughout his body, an agony that he had never felt before. It was like someone had just kicked him in the shoulder with the force of a rampaging bull. Everything moved so quickly. And then, it all went black.
~~
Eddie pulled himself back to his feet, his head ringing from the fall he had just taken. His brain felt like it was rattling around inside his skull, unable to hold onto a thought for longer than a moment. He barely remembered to grab his helmet from where it had fallen when he fell. He staggered for a moment before it all came rushing back to him.
The call.
The rain.
The lightning strike.
Buck on the ladder.
Buck. Where was Buck?
His mind clear with fear, Eddie frantically looked for his fiance until he saw a sight that chilled the blood in his veins.
Buck, dangling off of the ladder, limp and unresponsive.
“Buck!” Eddie screamed as he started to climb the ladder to get to him.
He could hear the other firefighters clearing the area, but he didn’t pay attention. He could hear Bobby in the background yelling Mayday, Mayday, Mayday into his radio. His focus was on Buck and Buck alone.
“Buck!” Eddie desperately called out, waiting for Buck to respond. “Buck! Buck!”
After what felt like an eternity, Eddie finally reached the top of the ladder. He looked down at Buck, seeing the other man’s eyes closed as if she was asleep.
Reaching for the rope that suspended him, Eddie grunted as he desperately tried to pull Buck up.
“Can you hear me?! Buck!” Eddie kept pulling as he yelled down to the others, “We need more slack!”
“More slack coming up!” Chimney called back.
He saw Bobby back up the ambulance as Chimney went to get everything set up. Once Buck started to lower to the ground, Eddie scrambled off the ladder, barely remembering to take the hose down with him.
When he made it to the ground, Buck was being lowered into Bobby’s arms.
“Okay, bring that gurney over here, let’s go,” Bobby ordered, still supporting Buck’s limp form.
“I need a Lifepak!” Chimney yelled as they brought over a gurney. “Come on, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Eddie could only watch helplessly as Chimney took off Buck’s helmet and cut open his shirt. Buck’s eyes remained closed and Eddie bit back a sob when he realized that Buck’s chest wasn’t moving. He moved to Buck’s head, unable to stop from staring at him.
‘Open your eyes, Buck.’ He thought, begging. ‘For me, for Chris. Open your eyes. Please.’
“No pulse.” Chimney cursed when Hen said that.
“Get that Lifepak ready!” He barked at someone.
“It doesn’t make sense to shock him.” Hen sounded near tears. “He’s in full cardiac arrest.”
Eddie could barely focus on what she was saying, his mind felt like it was going a thousand miles an hour on rain-slicked roads, and everything was sliding off. Luckily, Chimney was paying attention.
“Starting compressions,” Chimney ordered. “Get that Lifepak off!”
Chimney climbed on top of Buck, starting compressions.
“Come on, Buck. Come on, Buck. Come on, man.” Eddie heard Chimney mutter, growing more and more frantic.
“Come on, Buck! Come on, Buck, come on!”
“All right, Chim.” Bobby got the other man’s attention. “Chim, we got to move.”
There was a clamoring, and Eddie was about to climb into the back of the ambulance with Buck when Bobby stopped him.
“Eddie, you’re driving, get off.” Bobby pulled him away from the gurney and sent him to the driver’s seat.
Eddie got in, anxiously waiting for the doors to close.
They had to get to the hospital.
Buck would live if they got him to the hospital.
And Buck had to live. He had to.
“Dispatch, this is Captain 118. I repeat we have a firefighter down, struck by lightning, unresponsive, three minutes out.” Bobby radioed as he got into the passenger seat.
Eddie sped off as soon as the doors closed, driving as quickly and as carefully as he could.
He tried to tune out what was happening in the back of the ambulance, knowing that if he thought about what was going on back there he would lose control.
Before Eddie knew it they were at the hospital. He jumped out of the driver’s seat as Chimney started talking.
“28 year-old male struck by lightning. Full cardiac arrest.” He told the doctors. “He was down three minutes before we started compressions.”
“Lightning went through his hands and out his knee, right down the midline,” Hen added. “There could be some damage to major organs.”
“He’s in V-tach!” Chimneys suddenly said, and everyone sprang into motion. Eddie was frozen with fear as they got ready to shock Buck. He wanted to jump in there and help, but he knew Bobby would pull him away. He was too close to this. He just had to hope that their team could bring Buck back.
“All right, clear!” Chimney shocked him, waiting a moment before breathing a sigh of relief. “We got a pulse!”
“Okay, he has a history of blood clotting.” Bobby rattled off as they passed off the gurney, the 118 still moving with it. “He’s not currently on any medication, but he does have an allergy to naproxen!”
“Got it! We’ll do our best!” The doctor called as they walked away.
“Do more!” Eddie screamed as they walked away, Buck moving farther and farther from him with every step.
Eddie knew his team was giving him looks for screaming in a hospital, but he didn’t care.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
He and Buck were getting married in three weeks. How could this have happened? How could he and Buck have ended up here, with Buck once again fighting for his life?
Eddie couldn’t even think of what would happen if Buck didn’t make it. His head was pounding at the thought. Or in general. Eddie started to sag to one side, only to be caught by Bobby.
“Eddie, let’s get you checked out.” Eddie turned to find Bobby looking at him, concern in his eyes.
“No, I need to be here for Buck.” Eddie struggled against Bobby’s grip.
“You can still be here for Buck and get checked out.” Bobby insisted. “You took a really hard fall.”
Eddie shook his head, his vision swimming at the motion and his stomach turning over. “I’m fine.”
That turned out to be a lie because the next thing he knew, Eddie was throwing up into a nearby trash can.
“No, you’re not.” Bobby pulled Eddie by the arm and took him to get checked out.
~~
It turned out Eddie only had a mild concussion, and so within half an hour he was pacing back and forth in the waiting room.
“Eddie, please take a seat and relax,” Bobby told him.
“I can’t relax,” Eddie argued. “Not when Buck is back there.” Eddie skidded to a stop as he realized something. “Oh my god, I need to call Chris and let him know.”
“Hen already called your aunt and told her what was going on,” Bobby told him. “I called Buck’s other relatives to let them know since Chimney said he’d tell Maddie.”
Eddie processed that as the waiting room doors opened, and a doctor stepped into the room.
“Family of Evan Buckley?” Eddie and Bobby walked over when they heard that.
“How is he?” Eddie asked worriedly.
“We’re still examining him.” The doctor told him. “It’s unclear how much damage the strike did to his major organs.”
“But he’ll be okay?” Eddie asked, a frantic note in his voice.
“I’m sorry, it’s too soon to tell.” She said apologetically. “I’ll keep you posted, and we can bring you back to see him in a little bit.”
Eddie sagged into a nearby chair when she left, all of his nervous energy dissipating. Buck had to be okay, right? He had to be. He’d survived so much, he couldn’t die from this.
“Eddie.” Bobby sat next to him. “It’s going to be okay.”
Eddie really wished he could believe that.
Chapter 12:
The hours passed as if in a dream, every second lasting an eternity.
Hen brought Eddie his and Buck’s go bag from the station. Eddie didn’t want to leave the hospital. He couldn’t bear to leave Buck alone, even for an hour.
Eddie grabbed a hoodie from the bag, pausing for a moment. It was Buck’s hoodie, the same one he wore every Sunday morning. Eddie slipped it over his head, a tear springing to his eyes as he caught a whiff of Buck’s body wash.
Buck didn’t smell like himself right now. The rain and the hospital had washed all that away. Eddie wanted it back more than anything.
He wanted Buck back more than anything. Eddie pulled the hoodie around him. If he closed his eyes, he could almost picture Buck’s arms around him.
Almost
~~
“Where is he?” Eddie’s head snapped up as he heard a shrill voice screech from down the hall. “Where is Evan?”
No. She didn’t. Maddie couldn’t have possibly done this.
As Eddie looked down the hall, he could see that Maddie had indeed done the unthinkable and brought Buck’s parents to the hospital. Eddie picked up the pace, reaching the nurses’ station just as they did.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Eddie asked, staring at them.
“That is none of your business.” Philip Buckley told Eddie, giving him a dismissive glance before turning to speak to the nurse. “Hello, my son was brought in earlier tonight.”
“As his fiance, it is my business.”
“Get out of our way!”
“You can’t be here.” Eddie was not going to let this go. “Buck doesn’t want you here.”
“Evan was in a horrible accident, he needs his family.” Margaret snapped at Eddie.
“It’s funny how that didn’t seem to matter to you when he got his leg crushed by a fire truck.” Eddie pointed out, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“Eddie, come on,” Maddie told him. “My parents just want to see Buck.”
“And if Buck had wanted to see them, he would have reached out at any point over the last two years to talk to them,” Eddie pointed out. “But he didn’t. So I’d guess he wouldn’t want to see you now.”
“Well that hardly matters since he’s unconscious,” Margaret said. “I am going to see my son.”
“No, you’re not,” Eddie told her.
“Eddie, please don’t make a big deal out of this,” Maddie told him.
“It sounds to me like it should be a big deal.”
Eddie had never been so glad to hear Adelaide’s voice in his life. She appeared at the entrance, a vision in blue.
“You.” Margaret glared at her sister. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m seeing my nephew,” she turned to Eddie. “Bobby called me at the hotel and told me about what happened. I came as soon as I could.”
“Thank you,” Eddie said, meaning it.
“I want you to go. I won’t have you here when I visit my son.” Margaret told her sister.
“Well, then, it seems that we are at an impasse.” Adelaide gave her sister a sweet smile. “It’s lovely to see you after all these years, Maggie. You look well.”
Eddie was pretty sure that if the doctor hadn’t arrived at that exact moment, he was going to witness a catfight.
“Family of Evan Buckley?”
“Doctor.” the murderous look on Margaret’s face vanished with a disturbing speed. “My son is in the hospital, and his fiance is refusing to let us go see him. Please remove this man at once,” she pointed at Eddie.
“Well, the only person who can make decisions as to who can visit a patient would be that person’s power of attorney.” the doctor said slowly, looking at that large group like he wanted to be anywhere else.
Maddie turned to look at Eddie. “Can you please just step aside and let my parents visit Buck?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Eddie told her. “He wouldn’t want that, and I will respect his wishes even if you don’t.”
She sighed.
“Then I’m sorry it had to come to this.”
Eddie watched as she turned to the doctor. “Doctor, please restrict access to my brother. This man and woman should not be allowed to visit him until I say otherwise.” she pointed at Eddie and Adelaide.
Adelaide gasped, and Eddie’s eyes widened.
He never actually thought that Maddie would try to steamroll over what her own brother wanted.
“I’m sorry, but you don’t have the authority to make that decision.” the doctor told her.
Eddie fought the urge to smirk as Maddie furrowed her brow in confusion. “Of course I do. I’m Maddie Buckley, Evan Buckley’s emergency contact and power of attorney.”
“Actually, his power of attorney is listed as an “Edmundo Diaz.””
Maddie froze, and then slowly turned to Eddie. Her parents followed suit, their faces slack with shock.
“I go by Eddie, actually,” he told the doctor, not even looking at them.
“Okay, then.” The doctor looked like he wanted to be elsewhere. “Can we go somewhere to talk about Evan’s condition?”
“Absolutely, but first.” Eddie pointed at the Buckleys and Maddie. “Please escort that group from the hospital. Maddie can come back to visit later, but the other two are not to be allowed anywhere near Buck.”
The doctor nodded, giving a signal to the nurse at the station behind them. “Please do as he says.”
“Eddie, are you serious?” Maddie asked, aghast. “You can’t keep me from my brother.”
“I’m not,” Eddie told her. “You’re welcome back any time. Just not with them.”
And with that, Eddie turned to Buck’s aunt.
“Adelaide, will you come with me?” Eddie asked.
“Absolutely.” The two of them followed the doctor out of the room, hearing the shrieks of the Buckleys behind them.
“Did you know that Maddie would try something like that?” Adelaide asked.
“Nope.” Eddie sighed. “We changed our power of attorneys to each other after we got engaged so that if anything happened, we’d be able to make decisions for each other.” Eddie shook his head in disgust. “I can’t believe that Maddie just tried to use that to keep me from Buck.”
“He’s going to be devastated when he hears.” she sighed, shaking her head. “He loves his sister.”
Eddie nodded.
“Thank you.” Adelaide looked confused, so Eddie elaborated. “For saying when, not if.”
“Eddie,” She wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “He’s going to pull through this. I may not have known my nephew for very long, but I do know that he is a fighter. He’ll make it through this.”
Eddie nodded at that as they were brought into Buck’s room.
Eddie fought the urge to cry, for what felt like the thousandth time that night. Buck was always larger than life, his very presence holding a room. But here, lying on that hospital bed, Buck seemed almost impossibly small.
“Mr. Diaz?” the doctor asked.
Eddie looked up, brushing his face in case any stray tears escaped. “I’m listening.”
“Okay.” the doctor nodded. “The lighting strike was a shock to his system. It sent him into complete cardiac arrest, and we’re still not sure if there was any organ damage beyond that. We managed to stabilize him, but he is still in critical condition.”
Eddie fought back a lump in his throat. “So what do we do next?”
“The next few hours are critical.” the doctor told him. “If he makes it through them, we’ll better understand what’s going on. I’ll send a nurse in so you can put the people from before on a restricted visitor list.”
The doctor left, and Eddie sank down into the chair next to Buck’s bed.
Bobby strode into the room next, almost skidding to a stop when he spotted Adelaide.
“Bobby,” Adelaide said as she stood in Buck’s hospital room.
“Addie,” Bobby said, the two of them just staring at each other.
After a long moment, Adelaide broke the silence.
“Thank you for calling me about Buck.”
“I should have called sooner.” Eddie could tell that Bobby wasn’t talking about what happened with Buck.
“We understood why you disappeared,” a sad smile graced her face. “But we missed you. It’s good to see you again, and I’m glad Buck had you in his life.”
Bobby smiled at that. “He’s a great kid.”
“He really is.”
There was silence for a long moment, and then Adelaide spoke.
“I was going to go get some coffee. Would you like to come with me?”
“That’d be nice.” Bobby finally said. “Eddie, would you want some?”
“Please.” Eddie nodded.
They left the room and Eddie was left alone with Buck. He turned to the other man, taking his hand in his. Usually, whenever he took Buck’s hand, Buck would trace the back of Eddie’s hand with his thumb, or he’d squeeze it three times and say that he meant he loved him. None of that was happening now. Eddie fought the urge to cry, instead just looking at Buck.
“You need to fight, Buck,” Eddie said softly. “Please. Chris and I need you. Please come back to us.”
~~
Adelaide left to go update everyone else, promising to return soon. Eddie and Bobby settled into chairs on either side of Buck.
Eddie could see the Lichtenberg figure peeking out from underneath Buck’s hospital gown, a deep red against Buck’s pale skin.
It was funny. Buck had always loved watching storms from outside the window. He would curl up next to Eddie on rainy days and admire how the lightning arced across the sky. How could something that Buck loved so much hurt him like this?
Eddie saw Bobby take out a rosary and start praying, his head bowed.
Eddie wasn’t much for religion, never had been. But praying didn’t seem like it could hurt. Eddie slipped off his St. Christopher necklace, holding it in his hands as he bowed his head.
‘Bring him back to me.’ He silently begged, feeling the prickle of tears start to form. ‘Bring him back to our family. Please. I love him with every fiber of my being. Don’t let this be the end for us.’
Eddie didn’t put much faith in Buck’s talk about the universe, but he was hoping it was listening to him.
~~
Eddie glared out the window as Zach drove him home. Adelaide and Pepa had teamed up to get him to agree to go home for a shower and a change of clothes. He resisted as best he could, arguing that he shouldn’t leave Buck at a time like this.
“Eddie, I’ll drive you right back as soon as you shower. I promise.” Zach told him.
Eddie sighed. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
Zach followed Eddie into the house as Pepa greeted them at the door.
“I’ll make you some food.” She told Eddie, turning back to the kitchen before Eddie could protest.
Eddie sighed. Maybe it was better to just let her fuss over him for a moment. As he walked into the house, he saw Chip sitting right inside the door, looking past Eddie and Zach.
“That’s strange.” Zach commented. “It’s almost like he’s looking for something.”
Eddie felt a lump in his throat as he realized what it was Chip was looking for. Or rather, who it was.
“He greets Buck at the door every night when he comes home.” Eddie barely managed to say around the lump in his throat. “He’s waiting for him.” Eddie leaned down to pet the cat, Chip leaning into his hand. He barely managed to keep from crying as he recalled a conversation he and Buck had had months before.
It looked like Buck was right after all. Even if he didn’t know it.
Eddie eventually moved further into the house, Zach vanishing to help Pepa in the kitchen. As he made his way to his room, he looked in on Chris to see him sitting on his bed, hugging Silver as he cried into her fur.
Chris looked up just as Eddie was about to move away from the doorway.
“Dad?” Chris asked worriedly. “Is there any news?”
Eddie shook his head, hating that doing so made the glimmer of hope in his son’s eyes die out.
“He’s still the same. I’m sorry.” Eddie moved to hug Chris. “He’s going to be okay.”
“But you don’t know that.” Chris sniffled as he clung to Eddie.
Eddie swallowed hard. “No, I don’t. But I have faith that Buck is always going to try and come home to us. And you should too.”
Chris seemed to accept that, and Eddie left the room after that.
He wanted to be safely behind his bedroom door before he burst into tears again.
~~
The next day, Eddie was startled out of his half-awake state by a familiar voice calling his name.
“Eddie.”
Eddie looked up and saw Sophia rushing down the hospital hallway.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, immediately on high alert. He hadn’t spoken to her since the call after he and Buck had gotten engaged, and he hadn’t been expecting that to change any time soon.
“We saw the news,” Sophia said, wringing her hands. “Our parents and Adriana figured it wouldn’t do them any good to be here, but I wanted to come.”
“Why?”
“Eddie, your fiance was just struck by lightning.” Sophia gave him a look, moving to the seat next to him. “I figured you’d need some support.”
“You don’t even like that I’m marrying Buck. Why would you want to come to support me?” Eddie bit out, taking a swig of hospital coffee. The taste used to make him grimace, but now he was painfully used to it.
“Eddie, I was wrong,” Sophia admitted. “The last few months have shown me that. Mom and Dad are being awful, and I don’t want to lose you because they’re assholes who can’t accept that you’re happy. So I came, okay?”
Eddie thought for a moment.
The distance between them had stung, and Eddie had felt particularly betrayed when Sophia, who had always been on his side, had sided with his parents and refused to come to his wedding. He had made his peace with that, and with never speaking to any of them again.
But even with them fighting, she was here. She had shown up when he needed her most. And maybe, just maybe, that was worth another chance.
“Okay.” Eddie gave her a small smile and she smiled in return.
“How’s Buck?” she asked.
Eddie sighed, dropping his head slightly.
“There hasn’t been much of a change. They’re still trying to see how damaged his lungs were by the lightning strike. In a few hours, they’ll see if he can breathe on his own.” Eddie’s voice broke, and she wrapped her arms around him.
“It’s going to be okay, Eddie,” she told him. “Buck is a fighter. He’s going to make it through this.”
Eddie nodded, knowing what she said was true. But another, traitorous part of him wouldn’t let him believe it.
They pulled apart, sitting there together in silence.
“How did you even get in?” Eddie was having a hard time wrapping his head around this. “The airport is a mess with all the delayed flights.”
“I drove,” Sophia told him.
“You drove 17 hours?”
“You needed me.” Sophia sighed.
“Well, that explains why you look like crap.” Eddie tried to lighten the mood.
Sophia gave a shocked gasp and slapped his shoulder. “I look better than you!”
“Want some coffee?” Eddie offered her the cup in his hands, and Sophia eagerly grabbed it and took a sip.
“Ugh, that is disgusting.” she gagged as she handed the cup back. “How were you drinking that?”
Eddie laughed at her reaction. “You get used to it.”
Sophia was about to say something else, but then alarms started to blare from Buck’s room, and Eddie jumped to his feet.
They weren’t allowed in the room, but a doctor soon came to update them.
Buck’s vitals had dropped, but they were able to stabilize him.
Eddie, on the other hand, felt more unstable than ever. He tried to keep up a brave face, but it was getting harder and harder with every moment.
Buck had to wake up soon. He had to.
He needed Buck home with him and Chris.
~~
Eddie had stepped out of Buck’s hospital room to stretch his legs and grab a cup of coffee. He left Athena in there with Buck. He didn’t want Buck to ever be alone. Buck hated being alone.
He was on his way back to Buck’s room when he saw a camera crew setting up in the same hallway—a very familiar camera crew spearheaded by a very familiar redhead.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Taylor turned around at his harsh words, pasting a smile on his face.
“Eddie, how nice to–”
“Don’t even think about it.” Eddie seethed.
“Eddie.” Her smile practically oozed condescension. “This is a newsworthy topic. The public deserves to know about Buck’s condition.”
“And my son deserves to not see you talking about how his father is doing while watching TV!”
“I’m sure Buck wouldn’t object–”
“Are you?” Eddie cut her off. “Because you haven’t spoken to him in months. Not since you nearly got him fired with that stunt you pulled.”
“If you’re referring to the groundbreaking story I ran as a ‘stunt’–”
“You mean the one that nearly got two of our friends killed? Yeah. That was a stunt that nearly cost Buck his future in the department, and you don’t even care!”
“Excuse me.” Eddie and Taylor turned to see a man and woman approaching them. Eddie realized he recognized the woman as Bailey, a fellow firefighter and the newest member of his LAFD poker night.
“This is a private conversation, please stay out of it.” Taylor scoffed at the newcomers, rolling her eyes.
“Afraid I can’t do that.” The man raised a badge. “John Nolan, LAPD.”
Eddie had the distinct pleasure of watching Taylor freeze, her eyes wide.
“Mind telling me what’s going on here?”
“He’s interfering with me reporting the news,” Taylor told the man.
“She’s attempting to report on my fiance, and I did not give her consent to disclose any information.” Eddie retorted.
Nolan turned to Taylor. “Did you acquire permission from the hospital to film in a private corridor?”
“I don’t need permission, it’s not like any patients are around,” Taylor told him.
“That’s not true, and you do, in fact, need permission. Additionally, you do not have the consent of the patient’s next of kin, and so you cannot report on his condition. Now, are you going to pack up your gear and go, or do I have to call for backup?”
Sensing that she would lose this fight, Taylor opted for the former, giving Eddie a dirty look as she left.
“Thank you so much.” Eddie thanked Officer Nolan. “I’m lucky you were here.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it.” Bailey stepped in, waving to Eddie. “I asked John if we could stop by so I could check on you. How’s Buck?”
“He’s the same.” Eddie swallowed hard as Bailey led him over to a set of chairs. “They haven’t asked me to take him off ECMO yet, so it’s been a lot of waiting.”
“I’m sure that must be hard for you,” Nolan said, a sympathetic twist to his lips. “I remember how hard it was when it was Bailey in danger a few months ago.”
Eddie chuckled bitterly. “I keep thinking that this was not how today was supposed to go. I had it all planned out. Buck’s cousins were going to get him out of the house for the day so I could finally set up the catio he’s been talking about.”
“Catio?” Nolan cocked his head in confusion.
“It’s a cat patio,” Bailey said, taking pity on him. “It’s like a screen-enclosed area of a porch, so they can enjoy the fresh air without actually being outside.”
“Huh.” Nolan blinked. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of that. We didn’t have a lot of catios getting built in Foxburg.”
“Yeah, I didn’t get the point of it either,” Eddie told Nolan. “But Buck suggested it, and it sounded like something he really wanted so I was planning on setting it up. Chris and I bought all the stuff for it while Buck was out of the house one day and we’ve been waiting to set it up. Kind of like an early wedding present.”
“You’re a very good fiance for doing that,” Bailey told him.
“I’d do anything for him,” Eddie said, a lump in his throat. “Now I’d just give anything so he could wake up.”
“He’s going to wake up,” Bailey told him. “From everything I’ve heard, Buck is a fighter. He’s not going to let you go that easily.”
Eddie pulled her into a hug. “Thank you.”
“He’s going to be okay, Eddie.” Bailey pulled back and winked. “And then we can have a new member for poker night.”
Eddie laughed a little at that. “Buck’ll be thrilled to hear that. He’s still mad that the embolism, ladder truck, and tsunami didn’t qualify him.”
Bailey laughed at that before putting a hand on Eddie’s arm. “Are you going to be okay here?” she asked, her eyes wide with concern. “Do you have anyone here with you?”
“Our crew’s been stopping by, and our Captain’s wife is here now,” Eddie assured her. “I’ll be okay.”
Bailey nodded at that. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
Eddie promised he would, and the two of them left soon after.
Eddie headed back to Buck’s room, stopping just outside the door when he heard Athena speaking.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, Evan Buckley.” Athena’s voice was calm, with the slightest quiver of emotion. “But I do know that you never give up. So don’t start now.” Athena sighed. “Bobby has lost two children. Maddie has lost a brother. Eddie has lost a wife, and Chris has lost a parent. None of them will survive losing you.”
Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold back tears.
Deep down, he knew she was right. None of them would survive this. Least of all him.
Eddie stepped back into the room, Athena looking up at his entrance.
“Any change?” Eddie asked, knowing what the answer would be but hoping for something different.
“No.” Athena shook her head sadly. “I’ve just been telling him that he better wake up.”
“Well, he knows better than to not do as you say.” Eddie gave her a small hug.
Sadly, this was looking like the one time that Buck would disobey Athena, his eyes continuing to stay closed.
~~
Eddie was walking back from the cafeteria with Hannah and Daniel when he heard raised voices coming from down the hall. The three of them shared an alarmed look and sped up, turning the corner to a somewhat unexpected sight.
Daniel swore. “Why am I not surprised? I’m going to deal with this.” He started to move forward, but then Hannah stopped him.
“Stay back.” She gave him a look. “Dad’s got this.”
The Buckleys had returned, this time without Maddie, and were currently screaming at Buck’s grandfather and a nurse.
“You have no right to keep us from our child!” Margaret’s voice somehow got even louder.
“That might be true if you had ever actually treated Buck as your child!” Robert fired back. “I might have not been able to stop you from your actions when he was younger, but as God is my witness I will protect him from you now! Now leave before I call the police. If Buck ever wants to speak to you again, as unlikely as that is, I am certain he will let you know.”
Eddie wasn’t sure his words had any effect on the Buckleys, but the security guard approaching them seemed to spur them into a hasty retreat.
Robert turned, sighing as he saw the three of them standing there.
“I’m terribly sorry that you had to see that.” Robert told Eddie. “You have enough on your plate without those carrion birds adding to it.”
“I appreciate that.” Eddie sighed. “I just wish they would leave us alone. Buck-” his voice broke slightly. “Buck wouldn’t want them here.”
“I know.” Hannah pulled him into a hug. “We won’t let them disturb his recovery. That is not going to happen.”
Eddie felt tears gather in the corners of his eyes as he sagged into her embrace.
“None of this should be happening.” He said in a broken whisper as Buck’s family guided him back into Buck’s room.
“I know, my boy.” Robert put a hand on Eddie’s shoulder as he sagged back into his chair. “I know.”
~~
Eddie had been in the hospital for two and a half days and was alone for the first time. May had shown up a little while earlier and dragged Bobby away to get some food in him. Eddie could imagine the same fate was in store for him when Pepa and Sophia coordinated efforts, but until then he sat at Buck’s bedside, memorizing the lines of his face. He was debating whether or not another cup of coffee was a good idea when he got a call from Carla. She wasn’t around as often now that Chris was getting older, but she had stepped in when he had to spend his days at the hospital with Buck. But now she was here at the hospital, with Chris.
“What are you guys doing here?” He asked, coming to the lobby. His heart broke as he saw that Chris was also wearing one of Buck’s hoodies, the one that he used for movie nights when they all snuggled together on the couch. Between the two of them, Buck wasn’t going to have any hoodies left when he woke up.
If he woke up.
Eddie shook that thought out of his head, focusing on Chris.
“I need to see Buck. I need to talk to him.” Chris told Eddie stubbornly.
“Chris,” Eddie sighed. “I know you want to see him, but they don’t let children into the ICU.”
“But I have to talk to Papa! He needs to see me!”
Eddie bit back tears from that.
“Maybe we can find a workaround.” Carla suggested.
She told them of her plan and then approached the nurse by the ICU doors.
“Excuse me,” Eddie heard her say as they snuck past. “How are you doing? I was wondering if you knew of any job opportunities in this hospital.”
Eddie and Chris walked down the hall, Buck’s hoodie flapping around Chris as they moved. He was drowning in Buck’s hoodie, the fabric pooling around him even with the sleeves rolled up a half dozen times. It was odd to think of Buck as being so big, when he seemed impossibly small laying in that hospital bed.
When they finally got to Buck’s room, the only one present was Hen. “Christopher?” Hen asked in confusion.
“I couldn’t tell him no.” Eddie fought to keep his voice from breaking.
Chris stared at Buck for a long moment before he spoke. “Is he sleeping?”
“Something like that.” Eddie managed to say, his voice hushed.
“He’s resting.” Hen stepped in. “So the machines can do all the work. Make him feel better.”
“What are all these tubes?”
Chris asked Hen. “That’s part of the ECMO machine. It takes his blood and puts extra oxygen in it. And then that blood goes back into his body.”
Chris nodded at that answer before turning to Eddie. “Can he hear me?”
“I bet he can.” Eddie managed to say as Chris approached the bed. An awful, traitorous part of him whispered that at least Chris would get to say goodbye to one parent before they died. Eddie felt his stomach turn at the mere thought, banishing it from his mind. This wasn’t goodbye. Buck was going to be fine. He needed to be. Eddie needed him to be.
“Hey, Buck. It’s Christopher.” Chris started, taking Buck’s hand. “I know you’re sick, but it’s only temporary. You’re gonna be okay. That’s what all the machines are doing. Making you better. But wherever you are, you have to come back. Wherever you are right now, you have to come back. Chip misses you, Dad misses you.” Chris paused for a moment. “I miss you. Please, please come back.”
Chris seemed near tears, and Eddie felt himself start to break down. Hen, seeing how he was close to tears, offered to take Christopher back to Carla.
The second the door closed, Eddie broke down. He collapsed into the chair at Buck’s bedside, tears streaming down his face.
What if that was the last time Chris ever spoke to Buck? What if Buck never opened his eyes again?
He wasn’t even aware that anyone had come into the room until Hen put a hand on his shoulder.
“He’s going to be okay, Eddie,” Hen told him.
“What if that was the last time Chris ever spoke to Buck?” Eddie couldn’t help but ask. “What if–”
“Stop. The what-ifs are not going to help here.” Hen told him. “What are the facts? He’s doing better. There is no major organ damage. Those are the facts. He’s going to be okay, I promise.”
“We aren’t supposed to promise.”
“Then that should tell you how serious I am,” Hen told him. “He’s going to pull through this.”
Eddie really hoped that Hen was right.
He didn’t think he’d be able to handle it if she wasn’t.
~~
“Eddie!” Eddie felt himself jerk awake from where he had been lightly dozing in a chair next to Buck’s bed. Looking up to see what had startled him, he saw Chimney standing in front of him visibly seething.
“Chimney, what could I have possibly done to piss you off?” Eddie blinked himself awake, his muscles screaming in disapproval at the position he had forced himself into in order to sleep.
“You banned Maddie from seeing her brother? What is wrong with you!”
Right. That. So much had happened with Buck in the last few days that he had almost forgotten about all that.
He was honestly surprised that it had taken Chimney this long to confront him. Then again, Chimney had agreed to take extra shifts since the 118 was short staffed currently.
Eddie sighed as he looked up at the other man.
“I didn’t ban her. She can come back whenever she wants.” Eddie told him before adding “Just so long as her parents aren’t with her.”
“You don’t have the right to do that,” Chimney told him. “Maddie is Buck’s sister. She gets to make the decisions.”
“Like the decision that she made to ban me and Buck’s aunt from visiting him in the hospital when we objected to her bringing Buck’s parents to see him?” Eddie asked. “Parents that he hasn’t spoken to in two years?”
“Maddie was just trying to–”
“I don’t give a fuck what Maddie was trying to do,” Eddie seethed, cutting Chimney off. After three days of watching the man that he loved cling to life, his temper was shorter than ever. “I care that her brother, my fiance, wouldn’t have wanted those people anywhere near him. And I planned to respect that even if she didn’t. And as his power of attorney, it’s my call to make.”
Chimney looked like he was about to argue, so Eddie went in for the kill.
“Since it was almost you on that ladder, let me ask you something.” Chimney tensed and Eddie kept going. “How would you have felt if you were in Buck’s position, and Albert brought your dad to see you? And what if Albert had decided to try to ban Maddie from seeing you when she objected to that?”
Eddie could see that he had struck a nerve, and Chimney froze.
“I thought so.” Eddie nodded. “Why don’t you think about that and then decide if I’m being unreasonable.”
“And in the meantime, I think it’s time you go.” Eddie tried very hard not to jump at Bobby’s voice, not realizing that the other man had entered the room.
Chimney looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead just nodded and made a swift exit.
“Thanks for that,” Eddie said as Bobby took his seat on the other side of Buck.
“No problem.” Bobby nodded. “Where’s Sophia?”
“She went to our house to get some rest,” Eddie told him. “I asked her to check in on Chris, and give everyone an update.”
“And how are you?” Bobby gave him a knowing look. “You should go get some rest.”
Eddie shook his head. “I’ll go home when Buck does.”
Just then, the doctor came into the room, followed by Aunt Adelaide.
“Any updates?” Eddie asked.
“Looks like the ECMO worked.” Doctor Becker told Eddie and Bobby. “His oxygen level has improved enough to take him off of it.”
“That’s good news, right?” Bobby asked, his hand still gripping his rosary tightly.
“He’s not in the clear yet.” She warned. “It still remains to be seen if your son can breathe on his own.”
Neither Bobby nor Eddie corrected her assumption that Bobby was Buck’s dad.
“So what’s next?” Eddie asked, his voice rough.
“We’re gonna lower his level of sedation and then unhook him from the ventilator.” She told them.
“And what happens if he can’t breathe on his own?” Adelaide asked worriedly.
“Let’s see what he does before we go down that road.” Doctor Becker told them. “The machine did its job. Now the rest is up to your son.”
Eddie felt like he couldn’t breathe, his breath trapped in his chest as they unhooked Buck from the ECMO. Part of his mind couldn’t help but flash back to Shannon, and what Chim had told him. If Shannon had been intubated, he never would have gotten the chance to say goodbye. What if he never got to talk to Buck again? What if they put him back on ECMO and he never woke up? That couldn’t happen here. Eddie wouldn’t survive losing Buck.
The machines started to beep frantically, Eddie looking worriedly at the doctor. “What’s wrong?”
“His oxygen is dropping.” She sighed. “If he doesn’t take a breath in the next few seconds, we’re gonna have to reconnect him to the ventilator.”
“Come on, Buck.” Eddie felt like he couldn’t breathe. “Take a breath, baby. You can do it.”
Eddie could feel his heart starting to break with every second that Buck stayed there, unmoving.
And then, just as he was ready to give up and tell the doctor to reconnect him, Buck took a breath.
Eddie sagged against Bobby, the other man seeming like he was in the same boat.
“This is a very good sign.” Doctor Becker said, smiling at Eddie.
“Do you think that this means he’ll wake up soon?” Eddie managed to ask around the lump in his throat.
“I think that it’s possible, but only time will tell.” She left them with that, Eddie nearly collapsing into his chair.
“This is good news, Eddie.” Adelaide told him. “He’ll pull through. I know it.”
~~
As it turned out, Adelaide was right. It had only been an hour since Buck had taken a breath, and Eddie had not left his side since.
Eddie was clutching Buck’s hand, terrified to let go, when suddenly he felt Buck’s hand squeeze his. He looked at his fiance, tears coming to his eyes as he saw Buck staring back at him.
“Hi.” Buck said, his voice raspy from the intubation.
“Hi.” Eddie managed to say back, surging forward to give Buck a kiss.
It was truly a perfect moment. It was slightly less perfect after the hospital staff burst in due to Buck’s heart monitor going off, but still. Eddie had never been happier than he was at that moment
Chapter 13:
“The first thing I do when I get out of here is order pizza,” Buck joked as he picked at his lunch. “I am so done with hospital food.”
“Could get a lottery ticket.” Bobby pointed out. “You did get very lucky.”
“Two pizzas.” Buck bargained, causing Eddie to laugh.
“You can have as many pizzas as you want.” Eddie gave Buck a kiss on the head. “I’m just so glad you’re awake.”
Buck smiled up at him as the doctor spoke.
“You experienced a very traumatic event.” She warned. “You’re going to need to give your heart and lungs a chance to heal.”
“For how long?” Buck asked.
“ A few weeks at least.” She told him. “No strenuous activity and no heavy lifting.”
“You want to tell her or should I?” Eddie asked Buck.
“ I’m not usually the “take it easy” type.” Buck laughed as he told the doctor.
“Oh, she has been warned,” Bobby told Buck.
“Will it be okay to travel in a few weeks?” Buck asked nervously.
“Baby, we can rebook the honeymoon.” Eddie put a hand on his shoulder.
“But we already took time off for it, and Chris is so excited,” Buck told him.
“You know what else he’s excited for?” Eddie asked. “You coming home. I think he’ll survive the honeymoon being postponed a bit.”
Doctor Becker cleared her throat. “If all goes well at your checkup next week and the week after, you should be clear to travel. But if not, I can’t recommend it.”
Buck sighed. “That’s fair, thank you, Doctor.”
“You are very welcome Mr. Buckley.” The doctor paused. “ Now, I believe you have some visitors waiting outside.”
Eddie grinned at the look on Buck’s face as he took in the throng of people flowing into the room. Chris led the charge, pulling himself onto Buck’s bed with a little help from Eddie.
“Gentle, gentle.” Eddie reminded everyone as they clustered around Buck’s bedside.
“We’re all just so happy to see you awake Buck,” Hen said.
“Don’t you ever scare us like that again.” Athena warned him.
“Understood.” Buck smiled at Athena before looking at the rest of them. “I’m glad to see you guys. You have no idea how much.”
Eddie tilted his head, wondering what Buck meant.
~~
After Buck woke up, everyone finally bullied Eddie into going home and showering.
When he stepped through the door with Chris, his sister came to meet them.
“How are you feeling?” She asked.
“Like a weight has been lifted off my chest,” Eddie said, laughing slightly.
“I’m glad to hear it.” Sophia went back to the couch before turning around again. “Your friends came by to work on that project. I hope it’s okay that I let them in.”
Eddie wasn’t sure what project she was talking about, and then he saw it.
A fully constructed catio was right where he had been planning to put it. Only two people could have pulled this off.
Eddie pulled out his phone, dialing.
“Eddie, is everything okay? Is it Buck?”
“Buck’s fine, he woke up this morning so I got bullied into coming home and showering,” Eddie told her.
“Good. I didn’t want to say it at the hospital, but you kind of smelled.” Eddie laughed. “So, I’m guessing this call is because you saw my gift?”
“Bailey, this is so sweet. Thank you.” Eddie said. “How did you even pull this off?” Then he thought of something. “How did you even get my address?”
“I can’t take all the credit,” Bailey said. “John used to be a contractor, so it was really all him. I just suggested it. He really liked the challenge of building one. And as for your address, I hope it’s okay, but John got it through his Sergeant. He called Athena up and explained what we wanted to do, and she agreed to give us the address.”
“That seems a little out of character for Athena.” Eddie furrowed his brow.
“Well, Bailey is leaving out that Athena threatened to disembowel us with a hunting knife if we did anything other than build the catio.” John’s voice cut in.
“That sounds like her.” Eddie laughed before getting an idea. “Look, we’re getting married here in about three weeks. Why don’t you guys come? I’m sure Buck would love to meet you guys and thank you in person for the catio.”
“Eddie, that is so sweet,” Bailey told him. “We’d love to come.”
“Great, I’ll text you the details. Thanks again, you guys.” Eddie hung up the phone, making a beeline for the shower.
~~
Later that night, Eddie was curled up in Buck’s hospital bed.
He was willing to take the chair again, but Buck told him it was the bed or he goes home. Eddie chose to be with his fiance.
“What are you thinking about?” Buck asked, his voice hushed in the silent hospital room.
“Just, that I’m glad you woke up.” Eddie finally told him.
“Did you ever doubt that I would?” Buck teased before taking in the look on Eddie’s face. “Eddie?”
Eddie felt tears spring to his eyes. “I snuck Chris in to visit you at one point. And even though I was so sure that you would wake up, a part of me was thinking, “At least Chris gets to say goodbye to one parent.” And I hate that I even thought it.” Eddie felt the tears start to fall. “But I was so scared.”
Buck pulled him closer. “It’s okay, Eddie. I know what you’ve been through. And I know how guilty you felt that Chris never got to say goodbye to Shannon. I get it.”
“How are you okay with this?” Eddie asked him. “Even if it was just for a second, I stopped believing that you’d wake up.”
“I’m okay with it because I never stopped fighting to get back to you,” Buck told him. “And I know that you never actually gave up on me. You were just scared. And when you got shot? I was scared, too. The entire ride to the hospital, I was terrified that you would die and Chris wouldn’t get to say goodbye. So I can’t be mad at you because I’ve been there. And no matter what, I am always going to come back to you.”
“I love you.” Eddie kissed Buck right on his birthmark. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” Buck told him. “And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Eddie was silent for a moment before looking at Buck.
“Did you dream of anything? When you were in the coma?”
Buck sighed, making a face before speaking.
“It was this crazy alternate world.” Buck finally said. “Daniel was alive, we all lived in LA, I was a teacher. My parents were so nice to me, which was more disturbing than anything else, and Maddie was still with Doug.” His face twisted. “And then I found out that since I never joined the 118, a lot of people died.”
“People you saved?”
Buck shook his head. “People like Bobby, and you.” He swallowed hard. “And Chris.”
Eddie felt himself grow cold.
“Since Bobby didn’t recruit you to the 118, you worked at another station. You still found childcare for Chris, but–” Buck blinked back tears. “He still ended up on the pier. And then a year later, when you tried to help Charlie–”
“It’s okay.” Eddie pulled Buck closer. “It’s okay. None of that happened. You didn’t lose us. We’re all fine.”
“Why would my mind even come up with that?” Buck asked, sniffling into Eddie’s neck. “It’s too horrible to even think about.”
“It doesn’t matter because it never happened,” Eddie told Buck, pressing a kiss to Buck’s birthmark. “You saved us both. And now we’re a family.”
“That’s true.” Buck pulled back from Eddie, wiping his eyes.
“And we’re going to be happy together for the rest of our lives,” Eddie promised Buck. “You, me, and Chris.”
“And the cats.” Buck reminded Eddie.
“And the cats.” Eddie smiled at Buck. “You were right about Chip, by the way. He’s been waiting at the door for you to come home.”
“My own little Hachiko.” Buck smiled at Eddie.
Eddie rolled his eyes and pulled Buck into a kiss, relishing that this was something he could do again.
~~
The next day, after the throng of visitors that had shown up when Buck woke up finally dispersed, Maddie appeared.
“Can I come in?” She asked, looking around the room apprehensively.
Buck knew that she was looking for Eddie, whom Buck had finally bullied into going home to take a nap and a shower.
“Yeah, sure.” Buck shrugged, Maddie immediately went to the chair at his bedside.
“I’m glad to hear you’re okay.” She finally said after a long moment.
“Yeah, things should be fine,” Buck told her, the tension between them so thick that he could cut with an ax. At least, according to him. Maddie seemed a little more at ease.
“Yeah. I’m sorry I couldn’t come visit you in the hospital.” Maddie paused for a second and then added. “Eddie actually banned me from visiting.”
Buck fought the urge to roll his eyes at her. “Really?”
Seizing the advantage, she nodded. “Yeah, I have no idea what was going on with him–”
“Was that before or after you tried to ban him from the hospital because he objected to you bringing our parents?” Buck asked, an innocent note in his voice as he cut Maddie off.
The color drained from Maddie’s face.
“Yeah, I know about that,” Buck told her.
Maddie sighed. “Look, Evan–”
“What the actual fuck were you thinking?” Buck asked her. “I told you I never wanted to see them again.”
“But you didn’t see them that night.” Maddie insisted. “Mom was frantic. They were so worried about you. When I got the news, they rushed to the hospital with me. What was I supposed to do?”
“Tell them no!” Buck raised his voice, shocking both of them. “Tell them that they don’t have the right to pretend to be good parents now after they utterly failed at it for the first twenty-eight years. Tell them that they missed their chance.”
“I needed their support!” Maddie raised her voice. “My brother was in a hospital bed!”
“And I needed you to respect my decision to not want them in my life!” Buck shot back. “And that includes not bringing them to visit me at all!”
“Buck, doesn’t it mean anything to you that they want to try?”
“No,” Buck told her point blank. “It means nothing. I told them two years ago that I didn’t want anything from them, and I meant it. Aunt Adelaide, Aunt Hannah, and Uncle Daniel have been kinder to me in the short time that I’ve met them than our parents ever were to me.”
Maddie looked like she was about to cry.
“And trying to ban Eddie from seeing me?” Buck shook his head. “That was despicable.”
“It wasn’t going to be a permanent ban.” Maddie tried to tell him. “Just until Mom and Dad had seen you. I was going to let Eddie back in after.”
“Eddie is my fiance,” Buck told her. “We are getting married in a few weeks. How could you possibly think that it was okay to even attempt to do that?”
“I know.” All the wind seemed to fall out of Maddie’s sails as she slumped in her seat. “If it makes you feel better, Chimney is pissed at me.”
“It doesn’t, but I can’t say I’m surprised.” Maddie looked at him in shock so Buck elaborated. “Eddie filled me in on a conversation that the two of them had while I was in the coma.”
Maddie was silent, clearly not knowing what to say. Buck steeled himself. The next part of this conversation was going to be hard.
“Maddie, you have been disrespecting my relationship for months.” Maddie made it as if to respond but Buck held up a hand. “First, you told our parents about my engagement. Then you made that crack about how I must want a biological child, completely ignoring the fact that I have been co-parenting Chris with Eddie for years. And now you pull this crap by trying to ban Eddie from seeing me while I was literally at death’s door?” Buck sighed, slumping against his pillows. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. It’s like you never stopped seeing me as a kid.”
“Of course I did,” Maddie told him.
“Prove it then.” Buck’s tone was flat. “Tell Mom and Dad to leave me alone, and never ever mention them around me again.”
Maddie bit her lip, but then finally nodded.
“Maddie. I love you, but you have broken my trust time and time again.” Buck tried to soften his tone. “I think that after the wedding, we should try and distance ourselves a bit.”
Maddie looked at him, pure sorrow in her eyes. “You’re going to cut me out of your life?”
“No,” Buck told her. “I just need time and space. It won’t be forever, but I need you to give me the time and space I need without bothering me to go back to the way things were. We might never get back to how close we were before this, and I need you to understand that.”
Maddie looked like it was physically paining her, but she finally nodded.
“Okay.” She said, her voice soft. “I’ll give you your space.”
“And just to be clear; that doesn’t mean getting Chimney to harass me at work,” Buck told her.
“I wouldn’t do that–”
“You would and you have.” Buck’s tone left no room for argument.
He was trying to hide how much this was killing him. Maddie as the one person he could always rely on growing up. How did things get so messed up now that they were adults with their own lives? Buck didn’t know. But he knew that as harsh as this seemed, it was necessary for him to put up boundaries.
“Okay,” Maddie said. “I’ll try to do better.”
“Good.”
The two of them sat in silence for a long moment. And then Maddie checked her watch.
“I have to go to the store before getting home.” She rose from her chair, before stopping to look at Buck. “Do you need me to wait with you until someone else gets here?”
“I’m good, Bobby and Athena are coming by soon.” Buck gave her a small smile. “Thank you for coming to visit.”
Maddie gave him a small smile in return. “I’m really glad you’re okay.”
“I know you are,” Buck told her, not knowing what else to say.
Maddie seemed to be in the same boat, and she turned to leave the room after a long moment.
Buck groaned, leaning back against his pillows. The conversation with Maddie had been surprisingly tense. He was pretty sure this wasn’t what the doctor meant when she told him to take it easy. But at the same time, Buck was glad that he and Maddie had talked it out, and that he had said his piece.
Maybe now, they’d actually be able to have a decent relationship as brother and sister, without Maddie slipping into her surrogate mother figure role with him.
~~
Buck was thrilled that Eddie hadn’t secretly planned a surprise party for him when he got out of the hospital. Instead, his relatives quietly welcomed him home. Except for Maddie. She seemed to be keeping her distance after Buck tore into her at the hospital. Buck would be lying if he said he was upset about it. After all that she pulled while he was incapacitated, he needed some space from her.
“Let’s get you settled on the couch.” Eddie said as he and Buck closed the door after everyone left. Sophia was staying with Pepa now that Buck was out of the hospital, despite both Buck and Eddie telling her she was welcome to stay. Buck wasn’t about to forget how upset she’d made Eddie, but she showed up when it counted. That was something, at least.
“I keep telling you, I feel fine.”
“Just let me fuss a little, okay?” Eddie asked.
Buck sighed and nodded, moving to the couch and grabbing the remote.
“I’m glad you’re back home.” Chris snuggled down next to Buck.
“I’m glad I’m home too.” Buck smiled at his son. “I missed you a lot.”
Chris smiled at that and the two of them turned on a movie.
~~
Later that night, Buck moved closer to Eddie as they lay in bed. He started moving an exploratory hand down Eddie’s chest before the other man stopped him.
“You and I both know the doctor didn’t clear you for that.” Eddie gave Buck an amused look.
“Oh, come on.” Buck groaned.
“No strenuous activities. And yes, I know she meant sex because you asked her about that immediately after she said it.”
Buck started to argue that the sex wouldn’t be strenuous before thinking better of it. Besides, it was Eddie he was talking about. No one would believe that.
“Fine,” Buck grumbled. “But I’m going to be counting down the days until I get the all-clear.”
“You do that, Buck.” Eddie moved closer to Buck, kissing the Lichtenberg scar on his shoulder. “I’m just glad to have you back.”
“I’m glad to be back.” Buck smiled at Eddie.
Eddie fell asleep after that, Buck following him.
~~
Buck was a week and a half into his recovery, and he was officially done with bed rest. Or at least couch rest, since he spent most of his days watching TV with the cats.
Eddie was curled up next to him, idly watching the commercials as they waited for the TV show to come back on. At least they were somewhat interesting. Buck was getting some great ideas for movies they could go see that summer.
“I definitely know what we’re going to see in July,” Buck told Eddie.
“Agreed. It looks awesome.”
“We can even make a whole day of it,” Buck suggested.
“I don’t see why not.” Eddie chuckled.
“We could dress in pink, really have some fun with it–”
“Why would we wear pink to watch Oppenheimer?” Eddie interrupted him.
Buck gave his fiance an incredulous look. “I was talking about Barbie.”
“Seriously? But Oppenheimer looks so good!”
“And so does Barbie!”
“Why would you think I was talking about Barbie over Oppenheimer?”
“Because one of the movies is about the most influential invention of the 20th century, and the other is Oppenheimer!”
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment.
Then–
“Double feature?”
“Works for me.” The two shook on it as the doorbell rang.
Eddie went to see who it was, coming back with Hen following him.
“Hen!” Buck cheered, excited to see her. “How’s it going?”
“Not great, honestly.” She told him, Buck and Eddie both snapping to attention. “I need to tell you both something.”
Buck and Eddie motioned for her to sit down with them, and she did so.
“I was talking to Chimney earlier about the wedding, and–”
“Please tell me he’s not planning to sneak my parents in,” Buck begged her.
“He’s not doing that, don’t worry.” Buck relaxed, and then Hen continued to speak. “But he was saying that since everyone was going to be there, he thought it would be a perfect time to propose to Maddie.”
Buck blinked in shock.
“Is he actually planning on doing it, or was he just talking about it?” He asked, just to clarify. He hoped it was wrong. He really, really hoped that he was wrong. Chimney couldn’t possibly be planning to propose, could he?
“He showed me the ring,” Hen told him. “I told him it wasn’t a good idea, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“Fuck.” Buck leaned back against the couch.
“I’m calling him,” Eddie said, pulling out his phone and putting it on speaker.
“Hey, what’s up? Buck driving you crazy already?” Chim answered.
“You’re on speaker,” Buck said, barely able to keep from sounding annoyed.
“Oh. Hi Buck! What’s up?”
“Chimney, I heard something that I really hope isn’t true.” Buck cut straight to the chase. “Are you planning on proposing at our wedding?”
There was silence on the line, and then.
“Seriously, Hen, you tattled on me?”
Hen rolled her eyes, leaning forward and speaking into the phone. “It’s not tattling. It’s giving Buck and Eddie a heads up.”
“Why would they need a heads up? It’s not like they’ll have a problem with it.”
“We do have a problem with it Chimney,” Eddie said into the phone.
“Yeah, you can’t propose to Maddie at our wedding,” Buck added.
“Why not?” Chimney had the nerve to sound offended. “It’s the perfect moment. Everyone will be there already.”
“To celebrate our wedding.” Buck reminded him. “They’ll be there for our wedding. It’s not okay for you to want to hijack our special day.”
“It’s not like I’m going to do it in the middle of the ceremony.” Buck could see Eddie bristle at how dismissive Chimney was being. “I just figured I’d give a toast or something at the reception.”
“No.” Buck laid down the law. “We don’t want you doing that.”
Chimney was silent for a long moment before he spoke again, an edge to his voice.
“Why don’t you want me to marry your sister?”
Buck blinked in surprise as he looked at Eddie. “Excuse me?”
“Your sister is happy with me. Why don’t you want her to be happy? Why can’t we all just celebrate the special day together?”
“Because it’s our special day!” Buck resisted the urge to shout at him. “If Albert wanted to propose at your wedding, would you let him?”
“That’s different.”
“No, it really isn’t.” Eddie cut in. “Look, you’re not proposing at our wedding. This is not a discussion. We are not tolerating this. If you propose to Maddie at our wedding, you will be asked to leave. You’re welcome to still try if you think Maddie will be happy getting kicked out of her only brother’s wedding.”
Chimney was silent for a moment.
“I never took you guys for groomzillas,” Buck and Eddie both bristled at that, “but fine. I won’t propose to Maddie at your wedding. Happy?”
“Ecstatic,” Buck said sarcastically before Eddie hung up the phone.
“Something tells me that’s not gonna be the end of it.” Hen said, looking at the two of them.
“I don’t think so either.” Buck sighed.
~~
“Okay, have we confirmed the catering?” Buck had his trusty clipboard in hand as he went over the to-do list for the wedding. They were less than a week out from the big day, and Buck was convinced he was forgetting something.
“Yep, double-checked yesterday,” Alina told him.
His cousins had agreed to help him out since he was technically supposed to be resting. He was sitting on the couch, not moving anything heavier than five pounds. That would have to be enough.
“Flowers?”
“I went to see the florist before coming over today,” Sabrina told him. “He’s got all the stuff for your boutonnieres, the corsages, the table centerpieces–”
“Table rentals!” Buck’s heart started to race as he realized what he had forgotten. “How did I forget to rent a few tables? And chairs for the ceremony? People can’t just stand the whole time! What am I going to do?” Buck glared at his once-trusty clipboard. “My wedding clipboard has failed me.”
“Relax, I already rented the tables and chairs.” Zach came over with drinks for everyone, and Buck blinked in surprise.
“You did?”
“Yeah.” Zach shrugged, unconcerned. “I didn’t see it in your list and thought it might be a good idea to have some just in case. Tablecloths too.”
Buck grinned at him. “You are the best cousin ever.”
“Hey!”
“Excuse me!”
Buck laughed at the indignation of his other cousins. “Okay, how about him being the best male cousin ever?”
“Dude.” Zach gave him a look. “I’m your only male cousin.”
“Then it’s an easy title to have.” Buck grinned as the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Zach jumped up and pointed at Buck. “Don’t move!”
“He does know that I’m not on bed rest, right?” Buck asked.
“He’s just worried,” Alina told him. “You should have seen him when we got the news.”
“He’ll calm down once you get cleared by the doctor tomorrow,” Sabrina added.
Zach came around the corner, Albert following behind him. Both of them had large, heavy boxes in their hands.
“Hey, man!” Buck grinned at Albert. “Did you get everything?”
“Yep.” Albert nodded at Zach. “Your cousin is just helping me bring it all in.”
“What is all that?” Alina asked as Zach set down the boxes.
“Stuff for wedding favors.” Buck told them. “I figure since I’m stuck at home, I might as well get the gift bags together.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Sabrina started unloading the boxes.
“You guys don’t have to help,” Buck told them. “I’m fine doing these on my own later.”
“We’re good!” Alina started setting up the gift bags as Sabrina and Albert laid out the supplies. “Besides, I’ve been a bridesmaid like three times. Do you know how many of these I’ve done over the years?”
“Don’t you guys want to go sightseeing or something?”
“Buck.” Sabrina gave him a look. “Zach used to live here. We’ve seen every major tourist attraction at least once, and I’m pretty sure I could walk around Disneyland in my sleep. We’ve got nothing else to do, so just let us help you.”
Buck chuckled at that as he explained what to do.
“So, everyone gets three little jars of candy?” Albert asked as he lifted up one of the jars.
“Exactly,” Buck told him. “My favorite candy, Chris’ favorite candy, and Eddie’s favorite. It’s supposed to represent us coming together and forming our own family.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to have one jar with all the candy mixed in then?”
Buck gave him a look. “Sour patch kids, chocolate-covered gummy bears, and rock candy all in one jar? That would not be a good idea.”
Albert thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “I see your point.”
“So, any more news from your parents?” Zach asked.
Alina and Sabrina both shot him a look, to which he rolled his eyes. “What, like I was the only one wondering about it?”
“It’s fine,” Buck told them before turning to Zach. “Nothing as of yet. Maddie said they were leaving tomorrow, so hopefully that’s still the case.”
“You don’t think they’ll show up here, do you?” Albert asked Buck.
“Not really,” Buck told him. “Maddie knows that she’s on thin ice right now. Her bringing them to the wedding would be the final nail in the coffin, and she knows it.” Buck focused on putting a mini candle in each gift bag. “No, the only thing I have to worry about for the actual day is whether or not your brother is going to propose to Maddie during the reception.”
The room went dead silent, and Buck looked up to see everyone staring at him. “What?”
“Chimney wants to propose at your wedding?” Albert asked.
“What a dick!” Alina said, shocked.
“Yeah. Eddie and I talked to him, and he said he wouldn’t do it, but…” Buck sighed. “I feel like we haven’t heard the last of him on that subject.”
“Well, that’s not happening.” Sabrina’s eyes were filled with fire. “I will tackle him myself before I let him do that.”
“And I’ll help.” Alina backed up her sister.
“Guys, it’s not that big a deal.”
“Yes, it is,” Zach told him. “Buck, you’re our family. And with all the crap you’ve been through, especially recently, you deserve to have an amazing wedding day.”
Buck smiled at that.
“So we,” Zach motioned to himself and his sisters, “are going to make sure that Chimney does not wreck your special day.”
“Count me in as well,” Albert said. “I truly cannot believe my brother would be so self-centered.”
“You should have seen him when Eddie and I told him he wasn’t going to be the best man for either of us.” Buck rolled his eyes at the memory.
“But you guys aren’t even close!” Albert said. “Not now, especially not after the last time your parents visited.”
“I know!” Buck laughed. “He actually tried to say that Chris shouldn’t be Eddie’s best man and that he should be the ringbearer instead. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him Chip would be the ringbearer.”
“Does he have a little bow tie to wear?” Zach asked, amused.
“He does, and he will look adorable!”
The cat in question meows loudly from where he was attacking his scratching post.
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly, the five of them making gift bags while plotting how to stop Chimney from proposing.
Well, four of them plotted. Buck was pretending not to listen to any of it so he could have some form of plausible deniability.
Though, if he chuckled to himself at some of Alina’s more creative suggestions, who could blame him?
His cousins really were awesome.
~~
Buck practically pounced on Eddie the moment their bedroom door closed when they got back from the doctor’s office.
“What’s got you so excited?” Eddie chuckled as he pulled Buck closer. Chris was out with Sophia, and they might as well take advantage of the empty house.
“You know damn well what.” Buck pressed Eddie against the wall. “It’s been weeks of being unable to do anything.”
“I know.” Eddie pressed a hand to Buck’s face, his thumb brushing over the cheekbone. “I’ve missed it too.”
“So let’s make up for lost time.” Buck challenged.
Eddie grinned as they quickly undressed, clothes flying to the floor. Buck surprised him by lifting Eddie into his arms, carrying him with ease to the bed. Buck didn’t show off his strength often, but every time it did it left Eddie breathless.
As he placed Eddie on the bed, Buck’s lips found his in a fervent kiss. Eddie kissed back, his hands roaming Buck’s chest as they pressed closer together.
After a moment that seemed too long and too short at the same time, Buck pulled away. His eyes gleamed as he grabbed the lube from the bedside table, slicking up his fingers.
Eddie leaned forward to help, but Buck pushed him back down.
“Stay there,” Buck told him, his eyes darkening as he took in Eddie. “Let me do this.”
Eddie nodded as Buck surged forward, capturing Eddie’s lips again. His lips soon left Eddie’s, and Eddie watched as Buck kissed down his chest.
His breath hitched in his chest as Buck teased his nipples with his teeth, the slightest touch setting him aflame.
“Buck.” Eddie reached for him, only for Buck to bat his hands away. “Don’t tease me.”
Buck winked at Eddie as he kissed lower, finally reaching Eddie’s cock.
Just as Buck took his cock into his mouth, Eddie jerked as he felt one of Buck’s fingers circling his hole, pressing inside.
Eddie knew he could move, that he could guide Buck’s head or do something. But Buck told him not to move, and a part of him craved the peace that came with following Buck.
Before Eddie knew it, Buck was tracing the slit of his cock with his tongue while a second finger was getting pushed in.
“Buck, please,” Eddie begged as his hips bucked, the other man easily holding him down. He could feel Buck smirking around him as he started to scissor his fingers. Eddie moaned loudly as he tried to keep himself from cumming. Not that it was easy. Buck could take him apart with his touch alone.
Time passed slowly but also raced by at the speed of light. Before Eddie knew it, Buck was pulling back and removing his fingers. Eddie keened slightly at the loss before Buck pulled him into a kiss. Eddie moaned into the kiss, tasting himself on Buck’s tongue.
When Buck pulled away, his eyes glinted as he pushed himself into Eddie. The two of them panted, their breaths heavy as they adjusted to the sensations. Soon, all too soon, Buck pulled out, snapping his hips slightly as he pushed back in. Eddie groaned at the slow pace, reaching to hold onto Buck’s hips. Before he could, Buck grabbed both of his wrists and pinned them between the two of them.
“Not yet.” Buck breathed as he kept up the torturously slow pace. “I want to take my time with you. Don’t want to miss a thing.” Buck leaned in, his lips grazing a spot on Eddie’s neck. “Let me. Please.”
Eddie nodded, and Buck smirked against him as the pace slightly quickened. Eddie tried to free his wrists, but Buck held firm. Propping himself up on one arm, Buck continued to move as he spoke to Eddie.
“How lucky am I that I have you in my life?” Eddie groaned as Buck said that. “Your kindness, those gorgeous eyes of yours. I will never understand how I got so lucky.”
“Me too,” Eddie said. “I got so lucky when you came into my life.”
Buck smiled as he kissed Eddie, his movements never ceasing. “I can’t wait until Saturday. Just a few more days and everyone will know you’re mine.”
“Yours.” Eddie groaned as he felt himself getting closer and closer. “Buck, I’m–”
“I know.” Buck kissed Eddie hard. “Cum for me.”
Eddie screamed as he came, his release splattering across both their chests. Buck’s hips stuttered, once, twice, until he finally came with a long groan.
He pulled out of Eddie and collapsed onto the bed next to him. Eddie looked over at Buck, seeing the tears in his eyes.
“What are you thinking?” He asked, nudging his fiance.
“All I wanted for the last two weeks was to hold you. To be with you, to feel you like this.” Buck’s voice was thick with emotion. “I could have lost this.”
“But you didn’t.” Eddie pressed closer to him. “You came back to us. And I know you’ll always fight to come back to us. That’s all I can ask of you.”
Buck reached for his hand. “Thank you for loving me as I am.”
Eddie smiled as he squeezed Buck’s hand. “I wouldn’t know how to do anything else.”
~~
The next day, Buck was relaxing on the couch when Alina and Sabrina came up to him.
“Hey, Buck.” Alina handed a packet to him. “Do you think this is safe to drink?”
“Alina, don’t bother him.” Sabrina hissed at her sister.
“He’s a first responder.” Alina retorted. “He probably knows what’s safe to drink and what isn’t.”
Buck took a look at the package, eyebrows raising in alarm.
“50 milligrams of B-3 per serving, and magnesium. A packet has two servings, so that’s 100 milligrams.”
“Is that bad?” Alina asked.
Eddie was about to answer before Buck beat him to it.
“A woman your size should be having 14 milligrams,” Buck told her. So you’d be taking in 7.13 more times than the daily allowance. I wouldn’t recommend it, that kind of overdose can be toxic.”
Everything went quiet at that and Buck felt everyone staring at him.
“Did you just do math? In your head?” Eddie asked.
“Yeah.” Buck frowned. “Was I right?”
“You were.” Sabrina held up her phone. “I just checked.”
Buck leaned back on the couch. “Huh. That’s new.”
~~
When Chris got home, he immediately started to test Buck’s new power.
“What’s the square root of 162?” Christopher interrogated.
“Well, it’s not a perfect square. So that would be 12.727, I think.”
“That’s right.” Sabrina, who had dubbed herself the one in charge of the calculator, proclaimed.
“This is awesome, Dad. Buck knows everything.” Chris said happily.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Eddie told him.
“Not everything.” Buck corrected them. “I-I think it’s just math stuff.”
“Well, according to this, people can get new cognitive abilities after a serious injury to the central nervous system.” Zach was googling the phenomenon.
“Ooh, which I definitely had.” Buck pointed out, Zach humming in acknowledgment.
“But some doctors are saying it’s not a real thing,” Alina said, also reading from her phone.
“Uh, you think I’ve secretly known the square root of 162 all these years and just been holding out?” Buck gave her a look. “No, come on. It-it has to be the lightning.”
“Fair point.” She acknowledged.
“This guy literally got the power of electricity after being struck,” Eddie said on his phone. “He said the lights would turn on and off every time he walked into a room.”
“Cool.” Chris breathed.
“Yeah, but it didn’t last.” Eddie told him. “Only lasted a few weeks.”
“I wish I got something like that.” Buck lamented. “You know, ESP, or… maybe the ability to see into the future or read people’s minds.”
Eddie huffed. “Those sound like horrible powers to have.”
Buck stuck his tongue out at his fiance. “Maybe this is just the first phase.”
“Maybe you’ll get more powers the stronger you get.” Chris suggested.
“Yes, like an actual superhero.” Buck grinned.
“You did get struck by lightning.” Zach pointed out, Buck grinning at him. “Classic origin story.”
“Zach, don’t encourage this.” Eddie gave him a look before turning back to Buck. “So, what are you gonna do with your newfound superpowers?”
“He could give me the answers to my math homework.” Chris perked up.
“Uh-uh.” Eddie interjected before Buck could reply. “You’re never gonna learn if he gives you the answers.”
“I’m the guy with the answers.” Buck mused before smiling at them. “I kind of like it.”
Chris giggled and Eddie got a thoughtful look on his face. “I do know one thing you can do with your new powers.”
“And what’s that?”
Eddie smirked. “I think it’s time for your first poker club night.”
Buck’s eyes widened. “Hell, yes.”
~~
Two nights later, Buck tugged at the collar of his shirt as they made their way into an alley.
“So what’s with the fancy dress code?” Buck asked. “I’ve always wondered why you get so dressed up on these nights.
“It’s a nice place.” Eddie shrugged. “Makes it all seem a little more fun.”
“Hey, are we sure about this?” Buck asked, starting to feel a little nervous.
“Relax.” Eddie reassured him. “It’s a good place to put your new skills to use.” Buck breathed a sigh of relief, his nerves starting to disappear.
“Then maybe we can put ’em to use in Vegas,” Eddie added.
And then the nerves came back in full force.
“Man, this is not going to end well,” Buck fretted, Eddie sighing as he turned to Buck.
“Babe, it’s all going to be fine,” he told him. “It’s a low-stakes game.”
Before Buck could talk him out of it, Eddie was knocking on a door in the alleyway.
The door opened, revealing a petite brunette in a floor-length dress.
“Hey, Bailey.” Eddie grinned, giving her a hug.
“Good to see you, Diaz.” She hugged him back, before turning to Buck. “Bailey Nune, 117. Nice to meet you, Buck. Your cats are adorable.”
Buck was taken aback by her last statement and gave Eddie a look.
Eddie rolled his eyes and explained, “Bailey and her fiance were the ones who built your catio.”
“Ah.” Buck nodded in understanding. “Thank you both so much. I love it.”
“We were happy to do it.” Bailey smiled at him. “And I’m glad to see you’re doing better.”
Buck thanked her, and then she turned to look at both of them. “Shall we?”
She led them into a back room, the walls paneled with dark wood and a gleaming poker table in the center of the room.
“Ah. The one and only 118 makes its presence known.” Buck was surprised to recognize Chief William as the person who turned and addressed them.
“Chief Williams.” Eddie nodded, Buck copying his action. “Captain Mehta.”
“Have a seat,” Mehta told them.
“You make it sound like our house has never been here before, Chief.” Eddie teased.
“Not used to having two of you.” She countered. “And we’ve got an honest-to-goodness legend tonight. You know, I still can’t believe you survived that, Buckley. Uh, although we’re all glad that you did.”
“Thank you.” Buck wasn’t sure what else to say about that.
“No one is more glad than me, trust me,” Eddie said as he sat next to Buck.
“Yeah, especially with the wedding next week,” Mehta said. “Are you guys ready for that?”
“Nearly there.” Buck told them. “My relatives are in town helping out. Hopefully we’ll get through the festivities unscathed.”
“Let’s see if you survive tonight first.” Chris Williams said as the cards were dealt.
There was silence as everyone looked over their cards.
“So, three minutes, huh?” William finally said, breaking the silence.
“Uh, what’s that?” Buck asked.
“That’s how long you were dead?” She clarified.
“Three minutes and seventeen seconds.” Eddie corrected, looking down at his cards. Buck reached for his hand, squeezing it lightly. He knew how hard it had been for Eddie during those three minutes and seventeen seconds.
“Did you see anything?” Mehta asked. “Bright light?”
“No, I saw that while I was still on the ladder,” Buck said, laughing slightly.
“Bet’s to you, Jeshan.” Williams said.
“I’ll go in for three,” Mehta said challengingly.
“Why not? I’m in this far.” Williams shrugged.
“Sure.” Eddie agreed. “I’ll raise you two.”
Bailey followed Eddie’s lead, and now it was down to Buck.
“Why not?” Buck shrugged, doing the same.
Then it was time for everyone to show their hands. Bailey folded, and then it was down to four.
“All right.” Eddie went first.
“Two pair. Nines and fours.”
Williams was next. “Two pair. Queens high.”
Buck took a deep breath and showed them his cards. “Straight.” He gave them a wide grin.
“And I fold.” Mehta laughed.
Everyone congratulated Buck on his win.
“I’ve heard people who get struck by lightning sometimes develop special skills,” Williams said, appraising Buck as the next hand was dealt.
“Skills?” he echoed. “Like, uh… like what? Woodworking?” Buck tried to avoid the implication of what she was saying.
“High-functioning stuff, like languages or music,” Bailey told him.
“Or math.” Williams set her eyes on Buck. “You know, like counting.”
“I’m out. Too rich for my blood.” Bailey complained.
“And now we arrive at the river. Bets.” Captain Mehta announced.
“Could you be more eager, Jeshan?” Williams raised an eyebrow.
“I will see your three and raise you three,” Metha told Williams
“Of course you will.” She scoffed before turning over her cards. “Two pair, kings and nines.”
Eddie folded. And then it was down to Buck.
“Full house… sixes over fives,” Buck said.
“Imagine that.” Williams gave him a look, which Buck pretended not to notice.
The rest of the game passed the same way. Eddie and Bailey won a few hands each, as did Captain Mehta and Chief Williams. But Buck? He was killing it with nearly every hand.
“Looks like quite a haul, Buckley.” Bailey gave him a knowing look.
“Uh, yeah.” Buck ducked his head slightly, heat rising to his cheeks.
“So, how do you want your winnings?” Chief Williams asked, eyebrow raised.
~~
Thirty minutes later, Buck was watching the last of his winnings get wrapped up in butcher’s paper.
“Send Captain Nash my regards. Along with your winnings.” Chief Williams said, giving both of them an appraising look.
“I guess you were right, Eddie,” Buck said with a cheeky grin. “Low steaks.”
Eddie groaned, Bailey, joining him.
“That was terrible,” Bailey complained.
“His humor was unaffected by the lightning.” Eddie deadpanned. Buck gave his fiance a dirty look.
“Diaz, you are always welcome here.” Chief Williams nodded at Eddie before looking at Buck. “But leave the human calculator at the firehouse—at least until his lightning superpowers wear off. Congrats on the wedding.”
And with that, Buck knew she’d caught onto them.
“Uh, Chief…” Buck started to say before she turned to walk away.
“Think she noticed.” Eddie laughed softly.
“Yep.” Buck groaned. “Ready to head home?”
“Yep.” Eddie gave Bailey a nod. “Always great to see you, Bailey.”
Bailey waved them both off, and they drove home.
Chapter 14:
The next day, Buck was sitting in his barrel chair, Chip in his lap.
“You know, every time I see you sitting there with the cat, I’m convinced you could be a Bond villain.” Buck grinned at Eddie as he walked into view.
“I take that as a compliment, you know.” Eddie leaned down to quickly kiss Buck, Buck leaning into the kiss. “How was your shift?”
“It was okay.” Eddie snickered. “We got a weird call with a sex toy ending up stuck in a patient that was a little unusual. Her husband was freaking out. Apparently he read an article that said 80 percent of women are unsatisfied with their partner.”
“Jesus.” Buck sat back, stunned. “If you consider how many women I’ve been with, that’s not a good number.”
“I’m not a woman, but I find it really hard to believe anyone could be unsatisfied with you.” Eddie leaned down, pressing himself against Buck. “I know I always am.”
“Flatterer.” Buck shoved at him slightly. “What time is your family getting here tomorrow?”
“Not until the afternoon.” Eddie told him. “Carlos and TK are excited that we invited them to our bachelor party.”
“It’ll be great.” Buck said, before rolling his eyes. “And maybe it’ll distract Chimney from complaining that we didn’t all fly to Vegas for the bachelor party.”
“We were never going to do that anyway.” Eddie told him. “Karaoke and booze is good enough for me.”
“Me too.” Buck grinned. “No matter what we do, it’s going to be a memorable night.”
~~
“Hey Dumbasser!” Buck shouted as they walked into the bar the next night.
TK rolled his eyes. “Excuse you, I was clearly Dumbass. You were Dumbasser.”
“As if!”
“How about we just say both of you were Dumbass and move on?” Eddie asked, hoping that could be the end of it. When Buck got his heels dug in about something, it was hard to get him off the topic. It was one of the things Eddie loved about him, though.
“Fair enough.” Buck gave TK an easy smile. “Good to see you again.”
“Good to see you too.” TK gave Buck a hug while Eddie turned to his cousin. Carlos had grown about a foot since Eddie saw him last, the two of them nearly the same height after all these years.
“Hey Carlos.” Eddie pulled his cousin into a hug. “Thanks again for coming out here.”
“No problem.” Carlos gave Eddie a smile. “My parents and I were thrilled to get the invitation.”
“I’m glad. I know we haven’t talked in a while, but it means a lot to me that you’re here.”
“It means a lot that you invited us.” Carlos said as they walked to the rest of the group. “I’m sorry your parents are being assholes about the whole thing.”
“We’re better off without them.” Sophia said, giving Carlos a hug. “Hey Carlito. It’s been too long.”
“Good to see you too, Sophia,” Carlos hugged her back, and the group finally took their seats.
“So Buck, what have you been up to?” TK asked as they sat with the rest of the group. The entire 118 was here, along with Maddie, Athena, and all of Buck’s cousins.
“Getting struck by lightning, mostly.” Buck deadpanned,
Eddie groaned as he said that. “It is way too soon for you to be making jokes about that.” Eddie gave his fiance a dirty look.
“Dark humor is part of the job.” TK defended Buck. “I made a million jokes about freezing after I nearly died from hypothermia.” The rest of the table gave TK a look at that, and he elaborated. “It was during the snowstorm in Austin last year. It was pretty intense.”
Eddie gave his cousin a despairing look. “Tia Pepa might have been right when she said we had a type.” Carlos laughed at that and Eddie turned to the rest of the table. “How about I get a round of drinks? Anyone want anything?”
Everyone gave him their orders, Eddie vetoing the lines of shots that Chimney wanted, and he got up from the table.
“I’ll help you carry everything.” Carlos volunteered, getting up as well. The two of them made their way to the bar, Eddie placing the order for the drinks and for a couple baskets of fries.
“So, how is the wedding planning?” Eddie asked Carlos. “You guys are getting married soon, too, right?”
“Yeah, it’s been interesting,” Carlos told Eddie. “TK’s dad has some interesting ideas about how everything should go.”
“That’s Captain Strand, right?” Eddie asked. Carlos nodded and was about to say something else when someone spoke from behind him.
“Hi.” Eddie and Carlos both looked to see a guy leaning against the bar, the position showing off absolutely nothing about his wiry frame. “I’m Liam. I was wondering if you’d like me to buy you a drink.”
Eddie wasn’t sure which one of them he was talking to, but he had a bad feeling about this.
“That’s very nice, but my cousin and I are just trying to get drinks for our group,” Eddie told him, hoping that would be the end of it.
It wasn’t.
“Oh, you two are cousins?” Liam asked, eyeing them. “It’s good that you already know each other. That’ll make it easier when I invite you both to come home with me.”
Eddie nearly choked on air, and Carlos gave the man a disdainful look. “Are you serious?”
“It’s not like you guys would have to do anything with each other. You could just focus on me. I’m absolutely fine with that. In fact, I’d prefer it.” Liam looked them both up and down, Eddie feeling horribly exposed.
“Sir, please leave us alone,” Eddie told him. “We’re both engaged, and neither of us is interested.”
Liam looked like he was going to say something else but thought better of it and retreated. Both Eddie and Carlos breathed a sigh of relief as he walked away.
“Man, I wish I had that guy’s confidence,” Buck said from behind Eddie. “I came over to see if you guys needed an assist.”
“Luckily, he seemed to get the message.” Eddie laughed slightly. “Which is good because I was going to be a lot less nice if he said anything else.”
“Same.” Carlos seemed a little unsettled by what had just happened. “Well, at least that’s over.”
“Yeah. Hopefully, the only road bump we have for the rest of the night is Chimney complaining that neither of us wants to do anything fun like gamble or go to a strip club.” Buck shuddered as the drinks came, grabbing one of the trays. “I’m not going to a strip club with my sister. Not happening.”
“Chimney seems like an interesting character,” Carlos remarked.
“You don’t know the half of it.” Eddie sighed. “Let’s just try and enjoy ourselves the rest of the night and not worry about Chimney.”
“Sounds good to me,” Buck told him as they walked back to the table. “Life would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to worry about Chimney.”
~~
The day of the wedding, Buck leaned over Eddie, kissing him awake.
“It’s our wedding day.” Buck whispered.
“I know.” Eddie reached for him, his hand cupping Buck’s face. “Are you ready to become a Diaz?”
“More than ready.” Buck grinned.
~~
Buck prepared a simple breakfast for him, Eddie, and Chris. They wouldn’t have a lot of time to eat, but it would be nice to spend a little time together before the day got hectic later on.
“Buck.” Buck looked up from his breakfast casserole as Chris spoke. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, what’s up?” Buck shot Eddie a questioning look, but he just got a smirk in response from his lovely husband-to-be.
Chris slid a packet of papers across the table. “Will you be my dad?”
Buck didn’t get what Chris was asking, and then he looked at the papers Chris had given him. Adoption paperwork, already filled out.
“You want me to adopt you?” Buck felt tears spring to his eyes. “Oh, of course I will, Superman.”
Buck pulled Chris into a hug, Eddie getting out of his seat to join in. Buck didn’t care what else happened today. This, right here in this moment? This was all Buck needed.
~~
As luck would have it, they were able to completely finish breakfast before everyone came to help them get ready. Or in Maddie and Chimney’s case, to show up with the flower girl.
“Hi.” Buck gave Maddie and Chimney a nod, before smiling down at Jee. “And hello! Don’t you look perfect.”
Jee grinned up at him before spying one of the cats and toddling off after it.
“How’ve you been?” Maddie asked, the awkwardness between them ever present in her voice.
“Good.” Buck nodded, holding up his clipboard. “Just finishing getting everything ready.”
“Who thought it was a good idea to give you a clipboard?” Chimney laughed. “I always knew you’d turn into a groomzilla.”
“Just trying to keep things organized.” Buck fought to keep his tone even. Luckily, Alina stepped in to save him before Chimney managed to stick his foot any further into his mouth.
“Let me show you guys your seats.” Alina steered them away as Sabrina raced up with her camera slung around her neck.
“Okay, I’m all set. I even packed extra batteries just in case.” She told Buck.
“Thanks again for doing this.” Buck thanked Sabrina. She minored in photography in college, and had graciously agreed to be their wedding photographer.
“Are you kidding?” She swatted his arm. “I was happy to do it.”
“We’re all happy to help.” Alina, back from escorting Maddie and Chimney, plucked Buck’s wedding clipboard out of his hands. “We just want this day to go perfectly.”
“Why does that mean taking away my clipboard?” Buck asked as he tried to reach for it.
“Buck, while you are immensely talented, not even you can oversee the final setup and get ready at the same time.” Aunt Adelaide gave him a fond look as Alina passed the clipboard to Bobby. “Go get ready, we’ve got everything settled out here.”
“Today is your day, dear boy. Let us take care of the final details so you can enjoy yourself.” Grandpa Robert told Buck, clapping him on the shoulder.
Trying not to pout at his clipboard being taken away, Buck slipped away to get into his suit. He pulled it out of the garment bag, sighing as he looked at it. He’d never given much thought to what he’d wear when he got married. He had never thought marriage would happen for him. After he and Eddie got together, he let himself imagine the big day more and more, but he honestly would have been fine marrying Eddie in jeans and a t-shirt.
But the suit in his hands? It was perfect. A dark blue fabric with black detailing, the fabric seeming to change colors ever so slightly with the light. Buck pulled on the suit, marveling at the perfect fit.
“Wow.” Albert looked at Buck as he walked in the room, handing Buck his boutonniere of a red and white rose. “You look incredible.”
“Thanks.” Buck grinned. “Everyone ready out there?”
“Nearly.” Buck turned to the door to see Bobby coming in. Bobby paused, misty eyed. “Kid, you look incredible.”
“This brings you back, doesn’t it?” Buck smiled slightly. “That date with Abby’s here you helped me get ready?”
“You didn’t know how to tie a tie.” Bobby smiled. “It was adorable.”
“Want to help me with this one?” Buck asked, holding his tie in his hands.
“I’d be honored.”
As Bobby moved to help Buck, Buck couldn’t stop thinking about the last time Bobby had helped him like this.
“Did you ever think we’d end up here?” Buck finally asked. “Back when I was an annoying probie?”
“You weren’t that annoying.” Bobby told Buck. “But yeah, I did. I knew that you’d turn out to be an amazing man, and you have. I never had any doubt about that.” Bobby paused for a moment. “Except for maybe when you stole the fire truck.”
“Thank you for being there for me then, and giving me that second chance.”
“Of course.” Buck smiled as Bobby put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m just glad I can be here for you today as well.”
Buck smiled back.
“Are you ready?” Bobby asked.
And Buck was. He really, really was.
As they walked out of the room, Buck saw Eddie coming out of the guest room he and Chris were getting ready in. Chris looked adorable in a charcoal gray suit, a dark blue tie providing a splash of color. He waved at Buck as he and Albert headed into the backyard. Jee must have already left, looking adorable in her little flower girl dress.
And then Buck saw Eddie, and his mouth went dry. Eddie’s suit was fairly similar to Buck’s, except that it was a red so dark that it almost appeared black. The color brought out the flecks of gold in Eddie’s eyes, making his skin glow.
“Wow.” Buck said, not knowing what else to say.
“Right back at you.” Eddie seemed just as taken aback by Buck.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re both pretty.” Sophia started to push Eddie along. “Now let’s go.”
“Wait, who’s walking out first?” Bobby asked. Buck and Eddie looked at each other and shrugged.
“We never actually decided.” Buck gave Bobby and Sophia a sheepish grin.
“This is why you’re supposed to have a rehearsal dinner!” Sophia told him, rolling her eyes at them. “So these details get figured out!”
Buck gave Eddie a look, and the two of them made a fist with one hand.
“You two are not about to play rock paper scissors!” Sophia grabbed Eddie’s arm. “Eddie, get moving. Buck, see you at the altar.”
Buck laughed at the look on Eddie’s face as he got shoved out the door by his little sister, and turned to Bobby.
“Please don’t shove me out there when it’s our turn.” He joked.
“Never.” Bobby promised before taking a deep breath. “Buck, in case I get too choked up when making my speech later, I just want you to know, I am so proud of you. You’ve become an extraordinary young man, and you deserve the best in life.”
“Thank you.” Buck could feel a lump in this throat as he said that. Hearing that from Bobby on the happiest day of his life might just make the entire day perfect.
“Now, I think it’s time we take a walk.” Bobby said, giving Buck his arm.
Buck smiled. “Definitely.”
~~
Once Buck made his way down the aisle, Athena started to speak.
“Dearly beloved.” Athena began, looking out at the crowd. “We are gathered here today to join Evan Buckley and Edmundo Diaz in marriage. I have known both of these men for years, and I think I can say with certainty that the only people who didn’t know we would eventually end up here were the two of them.”
Buck grinned as everyone laughed, and Athena gave them both a fond look. “That being said, I have had the honor of watching these two grow and mature throughout the years, and I am proud of the men that they have become. They have overcome hardships that would have broken most people, and they came through it together. More than that, they made a family together. And they are an inspiration to me every day.”
Buck fought the urge to cry as Athena spoke. He saw tears start to form in Eddie’s eyes, the other man smiling at him.
“Now, do you have the rings?” Athena asked them.
“One second.” Buck turned to the aisle and whistled loudly. A small bell tinkled as Chip ran down the aisle, the ring box dangling from his collar.
“Only you, Buck.” Athena rolled her eyes good-naturedly as Buck took the box from Chip. Zach got up from his seat and grabbed the cat, sitting back down.
Buck opened the box. He and Eddie had decided to just reuse their engagement rings, both of them so in love with them that they could never imagine picking another ring.
“Who’s going first?” Athena asked after a moment. Buck grinned and turned to Eddie, holding Eddie’s ring in his hands.
“I know I talk a lot about Cupid’s arrow, but the truth is, I never could have imagined us ending up here.” Buck began, Eddie snorting at that. “But I am so glad that we got into that ambulance together. Even though we nearly died, I gained more out of that experience than I ever thought possible. I gained the love of my life, and our amazing kid.” Buck took a deep breath as he slipped the ring onto Eddie’s finger. “I know I used to talk a lot about being Buck 2.0 or 3.0, but the truth is, I hope I never become another version of myself. For the rest of my life, I want to stay as I am. Because this is the happiest that I have ever been, and it’s all because of you. I love you, Eddie. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Eddie smiled through his tears as he started his vows. “I knew you were going to make me cry, asshole.” Buck laughed at that as Eddie spoke. “Evan, you always talked about how you changed with your software updates, but the truth is, you change me every day. I don’t know how I would have gotten through the first year of firefighting without you. Chris and I, we had a house when we moved here, but it was you who made it a home. You gave us a safe place to land, a place where we could forget our worries because nothing else mattered. The truth is that the best parts of my life, besides Chris of course, they can all be traced back to you.” Eddie took Buck’s ring and slid it onto his finger. “Every day with you is an adventure, and I can’t wait to spend every day of the rest of our lives on the greatest adventure of all. I love you, Buck.”
Now it was Buck’s turn to have tears fall from his eyes.
After a moment where the two of them stood staring at each other, Athena cleared her throat. Buck looked at her to see her wiping her eyes.
“Well, nothing I say is going to top that.” She deadpanned, Buck and Eddie chuckling. “So by the power vested in me, by some website on the internet, I now pronounce you married. Now, kiss your husband.”
Buck and Eddie surged forward at the same time, lips crashing against each other. Buck reached for Eddie’s waist, drawing him closer before dipping him, their lips still connected.
They finally pulled apart, and Buck righted them both.
“That was unexpected.” Eddie laughed as they pulled apart.
“Every day is an adventure, right?” Buck winked at him. “I have to keep you on your toes.”
“Is that a challenge?” Eddie asked as they walked back up the aisle. “If so, bring it on, Diaz.”
Buck grinned at his husband. “Don’t mind if I do.”
~~
“Okay, now one where you’re both looking at each other.” Sabrina directed as they took photos. “Perfect!”
Buck and Eddie grinned as they stepped apart. It felt like they’d been taking pictures for hours, but Buck was grateful for the attention to detail.
“Okay, and I think we’re good.” Sabrina grinned at them after checking the final shot. “It’s a good thing we already did the family shots. Now you two can go enjoy the party.”
“Thank you so much for helping us, Sabrina.” Buck told his cousin, who gave him a sweet smile.
“It was my pleasure.”
“Hey, would you mind doing a few shots of the three of us?” Chimney gestured at him, Maddie and Jee. Sabrina gave Buck a questioning look and he shrugged. He didn’t have an issue with it, and it would be nice for Maddie and Chimney to get some good family shots.
“Sure, not a problem.” Sabrina gave him a smile.
The three of them assembled in front of the camera and Sabrina snapped a few pictures, calling out slight adjustments to the poses from time to time.
“Can we do one more pose please?” Chimney asked, Maddie rolling her eyes.
“Howie, I think we’re good.” Chimney waved her off, looking at Sabrina. When she nodded, Chimney grinned as he started to lower down onto one knee. Buck felt his heart sink as he realized what Chimney was doing, but before he could say anything, Sabrina cursed.
“Damn.” she said, giving them an apologetic look. “Looks like I have to swap out the battery. Sorry guys.”
“It’s fine.” Maddie told her. “The shots you got were more than enough, thank you.” Chimney started to pout as Maddie led him and Jee to join the rest of the party.
As Sabrina turned to grab her camera bag, she gave Buck a subtle wink. Buck grinned, realizing that Sabrina had known exactly what Chimney had been trying to do. Looks like she truly had his back.
~~
They decided to do the dancing after a bit of a break for cocktails and socializing. Buck and Eddie were talking to John and Bailey, who he was profusely thanking for his beloved catio, when they heard a noise that made them turn around.
Buck rolled his eyes as he saw Chimney tap a knife to a glass. It didn’t make as much of a noise as he thought it would since the glass was plastic, and Buck laughed when he saw Chimney pout.
“He better not be doing what I think he is.” Eddie muttered.
“Maybe he’s just getting the speeches started early?” Buck suggested hopefully. After what happened earlier with the pictures, he was hoping Chimney wouldn’t be trying again so soon.
“Can I have everyone’s attention?” The room fell silent as Chimney spoke. “I’d like to make a toast to the happy couple.” Buck felt Eddie relax as the two of them listened. “I remember the day Buck met Eddie. He’d just been dumped by his girlfriend, and was still living in her apartment.”
Buck was going to murder Chimney. He seriously brought up Abby at his wedding?
“He and Eddie spent the first day at each other’s throats, only to end the next shift as best friends.” Chimney told the crowd. “I’ve seen them get through so much over the years, from Buck suing our captain and the LAFD, to Eddie engaging in street fighting.” Buck put a hand on Eddie’s arm to stop him from throttling Chimney. “And no matter what happened to them, they always came out the other side stronger. And when they started dating, I knew nothing would be able to tear them apart.”
Buck smiled slightly at that as Chimney kept speaking. “Their relationship persevering despite all the obstacles in their way gives me hope that my relationship with Maddie will do the same. Because that’s what love is, isn’t it? It’s about perseverance and getting through things together. And love is the most important thing in your life.” Chimney seemed a little misty eyed. “I know it’s the most important thing in mine.”
Buck realized what he was about to do at the same time as Eddie. Chimney was actually going to propose at their wedding. Before either of them could do anything to stop him, three things happened at once.
First, Chimney started to reach in his jacket pocket. Then, Sabrina lost her footing, knocking into Chimney. And finally, the two of them landed directly in the pool behind them.
There was a loud clamor as Buck and Eddie raced to the pool. Zach and Daniel beat them there, Zach helping his sister out of the pool as Daniel helped Chimney.
“I am so sorry.” Sabrina immediately started apologizing to Chimney. “These stupid shoes tripped me up.”
Chimney’s nostrils were flaring with fury, but he finally nodded.
“Here, I’ll give you a ride back to the rental to get a change of clothes.” Zach told Sabrina.
“That’s not a bad idea.” Buck turned to Chimney. “If you run to your house now you should make it back before dinner.”
“You’re making me leave?” Chimney asked, glaring at them.
“Chimney, we’re not making you leave. But you’re soaked to the skin, it’s chilly, and neither of us have clothes that will fit you.” Eddie told you.
“Howie, just go home.” Maddie told him. “You’ll be back in half an hour max.”
Chimney sighed and started getting his stuff together. Out of the corner of his eye, Buck saw Sabrina and Zach fist bump as they walked out of the backyard.
It was then that he remembered something Sabrina had said when she heard about Chimney’s proposal plans.
‘I’ll tackle him myself before I let him ruin your day.’
Could she have tripped Chimney into the pool, on purpose?
Before Buck could think of anything else, it was time for them to take to the floor for their first dance.
Alina picked up Sabrina’s camera, which her sister had thankfully not taken into the pool with her, as the first notes of “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You” began to play.
“I’m starting to wish we had made time for dance lessons.” Buck said as Eddie pulled him close. “I’ve never been considered especially graceful.”
“I know. I saw you on the ice with that figure skating call.” Eddie chuckled as Buck feigned offense.
“Insulting your husband at the wedding. Nice.”
Eddie smiled and guided Buck through a turn.
“Just relax.” Eddie told him, eyes soft. “I’ve got your back. Always.”
Buck smiled at that and knew it was true. Eddie would have his back, no matter what.
“This has been the most perfect day.” Buck told Eddie.
“And hopefully, there’ll be no more surprises.” Eddie gave him a look as he said that, both of them rolling their eyes as they thought about Chimney’s antics.
“Well, maybe just one surprise.” Buck took advantage of the end of the song to lower Eddie into a dip, everyone cheering as Buck kissed his husband on the dance floor. Eddie laughed into the kiss, and Buck grinned as he pulled them both upright. “I may or may not have been practicing that.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Eddie said, remnants of the laugh still in his voice.
“You know you love it.” Buck grinned at him.
~~
Chimney arrived back at the house just in time for the speeches, and Buck saw Hen pull him off to the side. Before Buck could see what was going on, it was time for Albert’s speech as best man.
“Hey. I’m Albert, Buck’s former roommate and best man.” Albert said into the mic. “I’ve known Buck for about three years, and I can tell you he’s the best person I’ve ever known. Within a week of meeting me, he was offering for me to stay with him while my brother and I worked out some issues. He opened his doors to me again in Covid, and when I had my accident, Buck was there for me at every PT session he could go to.” Buck smiled at that, and then Albert’s gaze turned to Eddie. “I’ve known Eddie as long as I’d known Buck, but I didn’t know much about him until the day he came by to grab Buck’s things and move him into his apartment.” Albert paused. “Just to be clear, Buck wasn’t there, and they weren’t even dating yet. Eddie had come to grab some things for Buck while he was staying with him, and ended up taking all of Buck’s belongings and moving him in.” Everyone chuckled at that. “There were some extenuating circumstances to be sure, but what that taught me is that Eddie will stop at nothing to care for the people that he loves. And I can’t think of a better partner for Buck than him.” Buck reached for Eddie’s hand as Albert finished his speech. “Here’s to Buck and Eddie, a truly perfect match.”
Everyone clapped and then it was time for Chris’s speech.
“Hi.” Chris said as he held the mic. “When my dad and I first got to LA, it was hard at times. We were still trying to figure everything out when a giant earthquake hit. And when the dust settled, dad was there to pick me up from school, and Buck was there too.” Buck smiled as Chris spoke. “Buck made everything better. He introduced us to Carla, always took me on fun outings, and even let me beat him in Ultimate Fighter.”
“Let him, my ass.” Eddie muttered. “You just suck at that game.” Buck slapped his shoulder as Eddie chuckled.
“And when my mom died, Buck was there for me too. And then he saved me in the tsunami. I knew Buck would always be there for me, and I always wanted him there. When he came to live with us, dad and I were really happy. And I know that as long as Buck is around, we’ll always be really happy.” Chris took a deep breath, winding down. “To my dad, who always takes care of me. And to my Buck, who always protects us.”
Everyone clapped as Buck and Eddie pulled Chris into a hug.
“I love you, Superman.” Buck murmured.
“I love you too, Buck.”
~~
For the rest of the night, Buck never saw Chimney without either Zach, Hen, Alina, or Albert attached to him.
“You guys don’t have to keep an eye on him.” Buck finally managed to corner Zach and Hen, giving them a look. “You guys should go have some fun.”
“Buck, we are not letting him ruin your big day.” Zach told him. “And speaking for myself, being petty and foiling his attempts is fun for me.”
“Buckaroo, just relax.” Hen told him. “We just don’t want anything to ruin your wedding day.”
Buck sighed. “Thank you both. And tell the others I said ‘Thank you.’”
The two of them nodded and Buck went to go find his husband.
~~
“I’m really glad you guys could come,” Eddie told his aunt and uncle. Dinner had just finished, and Eddie was taking the chance to do some mingling before the cake-cutting.
“Please, we were thrilled to get the call.” Uncle Gabriel told him. “My brother is an idiot for not being here for your big day.”
“Nothing should get in the way of family on a day like today.” Aunt Andrea told Eddie, cupping his cheek with her hand. “You and Buck seem so happy. We wish you only the best as you move forward together.”
Eddie felt happy tears spring to his eyes. “Thank you both.”
“Dad.” Chris came over with Buck’s wedding clipboard in his hands. “You need to go cut the cake.”
“Excuse me,” Eddie told them, and they both waved him off as the cake got wheeled out in front of everyone.
“Did you have it made to look like the firehouse?” Hen asked with a delighted note in her voice.
“Absolutely.” Buck grinned as he took his place next to Eddie and turned to him. “You ready to do this thing?”
Eddie rolled his eyes at Buck. “You’re so romantic, truly.” He pecked Buck on the cheek as he grabbed the cake knife. They gently cut a small piece from the firehouse, and each took half of it to feed the other. Eddie took the lead, gently lifting the cake to Buck’s mouth.
“Shove it in his face!” Eddie heard Chimney yell, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Like he would ever do that to Buck. He let Buck gently take a bite of the cake, and then Buck did the same for him.
Everyone cheered as he and Buck smiled for pictures, and then the cake was wheeled away to get sliced.
“Really glad you didn’t listen to Chimney.” Buck whispered to Eddie as they sat back down.
“Buck, let’s face it. Outside the job, I’ll never listen to Chimney.” Buck laughed as Eddie said that, kissing him on the corner of his mouth.
Chapter 15:
After everyone left that night, Buck got ready to walk into the house from where he had been saying goodbye in the driveway. Chris was staying over with Tia Pepa, and so he and Eddie had the house to themselves.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Eddie said as Buck opened the door to the house.
“Going inside?” Buck gave Eddie a confused look.
“Not like that you’re not.” Eddie picked Buck up in one fell swoop, Buck laughing in shock as Eddie cradled him in his arms. “It’s tradition.” Buck laughed as Eddie carried him inside, closing the door with his foot.
“You don’t have to carry me all the way into the bedroom!” Buck told him as they crossed into their side of the house.
“Watch me.” Buck looked up to see Eddie grinning at him. Eddie finally let him down, and turned to grab something from a drawer.
“What’s that?”
“I believe I told you there was a surprise in store for our wedding night?” Eddie reminded Buck, who nodded eagerly. He had been wondering about what it was, barely able to restrain himself from looking for what Eddie had been hiding.
“Well, here it is.” Eddie turned around and Buck immediately felt himself grow hard. Eddie was holding two sets of cuffs, each made of a deep blue leather, and a strip of blue fabric. He could only imagine what it was going to be used for. And he very much liked everything he was picturing.
“Is this okay?” Eddie asked him. “I think you might like being made to just lay back and take whatever I give to you.”
Buck thought he’d like that very much, and he nodded furiously.
“Great.” Eddie gave him a playful grin. “Since this is our first time, I think using the stoplight system would be best. So it’s green for good, yellow for slow down, and red for stop. Got it.”
“Got it.”
Eddie raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s not exactly what I was waiting to hear.”
Buck flushed a deep red. “Green.”
“Good.” Eddie strode towards him, taking off his suit jacket and tossing it onto the floor. He put the cuffs on the bed and held out the strip of fabric. “Close your eyes.”
Buck did as he asked, the fabric whisper soft as Eddie tied it around his head. Eddie cupped Buck’s cheek with his hand, the slight roughness of his thumb sweeping across his cheekbone. Buck opened his eyes to peek, only to be confronted with complete blackness without even a hint of light.
“Color?” Eddie’s voice seemed louder somehow, and Buck resisted the urge to jump at it.
“Green.” He said, swallowing hard.
“Good.” He could hear the rustle of clothes as Eddie walked around him. “Now let’s get you undressed. I’ve been dying to take this suit off of you all day.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Buck said, pouting slightly as he realized he probably wouldn’t get to do that.
“Next time, cariño.” Eddie’s voice was warm as he stopped in front of Buck. Buck tried not to jump as Eddie finally touched him, his nimble fingers making quick work of the buttons on his shirt. Buck stayed as still as possible, Eddie manipulating the fabric around his neck to loosen his tie. As Buck’s shirt opened, his breath hitched as Eddie’s thumbnail grazed over his nipple. Eddie chuckled at that, the sound enveloping Buck.
Eddie shoved the shirt and suit jacket off of Buck’s shoulders in one fell swoop, Buck hearing the thud as it hit the ground. Eddie slipped the tie off Buck’s neck, careful to not dislodge the blindfold.
“You’re being very good right now.” Eddie praised Buck, the other man resisting the urge to duck his head as he felt the blush spread over his cheeks. He heard Eddie drop to his knees, a part of him hoping that the other man would take his cock into his mouth. As he felt Eddie undo the laces on his shoes, he realized that was unlikely to happen at this moment.
Eddie tapped Buck’s ankle lightly, Buck lifting his foot in response so Eddie could take off his shoe and sock. He did that on the other foot, Buck obeying Eddie’s directions even as the anticipation built up under his skin. He felt like a live wire, like any movement could set him off. He had to quell that urge. He couldn’t let this night be over before it began.
Eddie unfastened Buck’s pants, pulling his pants and boxers down in one swift movement. Eddie guided Buck to step out of his pants, his touch vanishing from Buck in the next moment. As the cool air hit Buck’s skin he flushed, intimately aware of the fact that he was completely naked while Eddie had only taken off his suit jacket.
He strained his hearing, wondering if the other man was undressing at that moment. Buck wished he could see it. Eddie’s lithe, golden form slipping out of the suit that fit him like a second skin.
“Don’t.” Buck jumped as Eddie spoke, not realizing that his hand had strayed towards his cock.
Eddie touched him again in the next moment, guiding him towards the bed. Buck laid down on it, noticing that Eddie had pulled the covers down while Buck had been distracted.
“Right wrist first.” Eddie was all business as he ordered Buck, the other man readily offering his wrist. Buck felt Eddie take it and give it a slight kiss before wrapping the cuff around it, the satiny feeling of the inside caressing Buck’s skin.
“Is that too tight?” Eddie asked, Buck shaking his head in response. “Good.”
In the next moment, Eddie pulled Buck’s wrist towards the end of the bed, and Buck heard a faint click as the cuff was attached to something. He tugged on it experimentally, unable to do more than twist his wrist inside the restraint.
Eddie copied the process with his other hand, the anticipation growing within Buck at every moment. Eddie wasn’t touching him aside from tying him down, and Buck wanted him to. Buck wanted him more than anything.
Eddie got off of the bed, and Buck could hear him moving towards the foot of the bed. Eddie took Buck’s left ankle, and then his right, cuffing them and pulling them to the corners of the bed before securing them to something. He then heard the rustle of fabric, realizing Eddie was getting undressed now that he’d taken care of Buck.
“How long have you been planning this?” Buck couldn’t help but ask, his wrists instinctively pulling at his bonds. “Last I checked, our bed didn’t come with bondage hooks. Trust me, I would have noticed when we bought it.”
“It’s an attachment system that goes under the mattress.” Eddie’s voice got louder, the mattress dipping slightly as Eddie got onto the bed. “And is that really what you want to be focusing on right now?” Buck shook his head, and Eddie laughed, his warm breath hitting Buck’s face.
“Good. Because I, for one–” Eddie flicked one of Buck’s nipples, Buck groaning at the action, “want to spend my time worshiping my stunning husband. And you’re not going anywhere until I’ve gotten to appreciate every inch of you.”
“Might take a while. I’m pretty tall.” Buck managed to say, his mind filled with images of what Eddie could do to him. He was at his mercy, unable to do anything to stop him.
Not that he would: he knew Eddie would never do anything to him that the two of them wouldn’t thoroughly enjoy.
“We’ve got all night.” Eddie reminded Buck with a teasing note in his voice. Warm lips covered his and Buck couldn’t help but groan into the kiss, the simple action seeming so much more intense now. At any other time, Buck would be grabbing Eddie by the hair and pulling him closer until they couldn’t tell where one of them ended and the other began. But Buck couldn’t do that now. All he could do was lie back and take whatever Eddie gave him. Eddie’s tongue slipped inside his mouth, Buck eagerly reciprocating the action. He groaned into the kiss as Eddie’s cock ground against his own, the friction almost too much for him.
After what seemed like an instant but felt like an eternity, Eddie pulled away. Buck whined and Eddie pecked another kiss onto Buck’s mouth.
“As much as I’d love to just do that all night.” Eddie sighed. “I promised to worship every inch of you.” Buck felt Eddie’s lips kiss his cheek, the edge of his jaw, and travel further down his neck.
Buck’s breath hitched as Eddie’s lips grazed over a sensitive spot on his neck, and he could feel Eddie smirking against his skin. Eddie focused on that spot with a laser like precision, Buck writhing underneath him as he sucked what Buck knew would be a particularly dark hickey.
Finally Eddie left that spot alone, moving his way down Buck’s body with little kisses every step of the way. The next thing Buck was aware of was Eddie’s breath ghosting against his chest as Eddie took one of his nipples into his mouth.
“God!” Buck tried to jerk upright at that, but the way he was restrained gave him no momentum.
“Oh, did you like that?” Eddie asked, his voice sounding far too innocent. “I wasn’t sure. Let me try that again.”
Buck swore as Eddie bit gently at his nipple, biting his lip to keep from moaning too loudly.
“No. None of that, querido.” Eddie tapped on Buck’s chest for emphasis, briefly abandoning his efforts. “I want to hear you, every single sound. Okay?”
“Okay.” Buck told him, his breath hitching in his chest.
“What’s your color?”
“Green.” Buck could barely keep the pleading note out of his voice. Every inch of his skin felt like it was on fire. He just wanted Eddie to stop teasing him.
“Good.” And with that Eddie continued his assault on Buck’s nipples, Buck’s wrists twisting in the restraints. He wished he could touch Eddie, hold him. But he couldn’t. All he could do was what Eddie wanted, which was not a damn thing.
Eddie soon turned his attention to Buck’s other nipple, and it quickly became as sensitive as the other under Eddie’s meticulous attention. Finally, Eddie stopped his ministrations and moved lower, Buck’s breath catching in his throat as he kissed his way down Buck’s stomach. After Eddie’s careful attention to literally every other part of him, Buck was so hard that it hurt. He could feel the precome practically dripping off of him as Eddie worked.
“Now this is what I’ve been looking forward to.” Buck could practically hear the grin in Eddie’s voice. The next moment, Buck felt a warm heat envelop his cock as Eddie swallowed him down in one gulp.
“Fuck!” Buck tried to buck his hips, to react, to do something. But Eddie held him down with brutal effectiveness, Buck unable to get even the slightest amount of leverage.
Eddie hummed around his cock, his clover tongue tracing the slit of his head. Buck could practically feel the tears spring to his eyes at the overwhelming sensations.
Eddie started to suck in that moment, Buck crying out as he felt himself move closer and closer to climax. He felt as though he’d been teased for hours, like Eddie had tormented him throughout the night without even the smallest hint of release. He had to come, he needed to. He could feel himself getting closer, nearly there–
And then Eddie pulled himself off, holding the base of Buck’s cock tightly with one hand.
“No!” Buck groaned as he felt his need to orgasm retreat, the frustration filling every part of him.
“Patience.” Eddie told him. “It’ll be so much better if you wait just a little longer.”
“I can’t.” Buck shook his head from side to side, exhausted. “Please, just let me cum. Please, please, please–”
“Buck.” Eddie’s hand came to cup Buck’s cheek, Buck leaning into the touch. “Take a few deep breaths.”
Buck huffed out a breath, doing what Eddie said. He felt some of the frustration leave his body as he did that.
“Again.”
Buck did as Eddie said a few more times, feeling calmer.
“Buck. What’s your color?”
“Green.” Buck said, reluctance weighing down that one word. “I just want to cum.”
“And you will.” Eddie told him, pressing a soft kiss to Buck’s cheek. “Have I ever let you down before? You’ll cum. Hell, maybe even more than once.”
Buck perked up at that. “Yes. Let’s do that. Please.”
“Be patient.” Buck squeaked as Eddie flicked his nose. “I need to open myself up if you want me to ride you.”
“Let’s do that!” Buck pulled at his cuffs again. “Please, I can help.”
“What you can do is sit there and let me work.” Eddie’s voice was filled with amusement.
“Though if you want to do something.” Buck felt the bed dip again, and then Eddie’s cock nudged at his mouth. Buck eagerly opened his mouth, drawing Eddie in as quickly as he could. He traced the vein on the underside of Eddie’s cock, the other man swearing above him.
“Dios, your mouth.” Eddie said, Buck hearing the faintest click of a bottle cap. Buck hollowed his cheeks and started to suck as he heard Eddie moan loudly above him. He worked in earnest as Eddie opened himself up, hearing the other man’s breath hitch as Buck brought him closer and closer to orgasm. Just as Buck thought he was going to get there, Eddie pulled back.
“Hey!” Buck protested, pouting. “I had that. You were close, I could feel it.”
“And if you had gotten me there, the night would have been over with a lot faster.” Eddie told him, a chastising note in his voice. “I want this to last.”
“You’re not being fair.”
Eddie sighed. “Buck, are you going to be good for me, or am I going to have to find a way to keep you quiet?”
Buck rolled his eyes under the blindfold. “I am being good.”
“Okay.” Eddie got off the bed, Buck startled by the sudden absence.
“Eddie? Where are you going?” Buck pulled at the wrist cuffs again. He could hear a faint tinkling sound somewhere in the room, but he dismissed it as some cat toy that had gotten stuck near the AC. “It’s not good to leave someone alone like this–”
Buck was cut off by Eddie’s lips crashing into his, Buck thrown off guard by the intensity of the kiss. He reciprocated as best he could, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. He could feel Eddie adjusting something near his neck, but he didn’t pay it any attention. All he was focused on was that moment between him and Eddie. At least, that was until Eddie pulled away as suddenly as he’d approached, and Buck felt something rubbery get shoved between his teeth. He tried to dislodge it, but Eddie fastened the strap behind his head before he could. Buck traced the underside of it with his tongue, feeling the shape of it. It felt like a ball, with small holes in it. He groaned as he realized what it was. A ball gag. Eddie had made good on his promise to keep Buck quiet. He felt Eddie press something into his hand, the object making the same tinkling noise as before.
“That’s your new safe word.” Eddie told Buck. “Ring that once for green, twice for yellow, three times for red. Got it?”
Buck reluctantly rang it once, and Eddie chuckled. “I can tell that you’re pouting behind that gag. All jokes aside, are you okay with this? Say no and I’ll take it out.”
Buck thought on that for a moment. As much as he was annoyed by Eddie tricking him like that, he had to admit: being able to do nothing but submit to Eddie’s will, not even talk? There was something about that that was incredibly attractive to Buck.
He finally rang the bell once, and Eddie laughed slightly. “God, you’re perfection, cariño.” Buck felt Eddie climb back onto the bed, straddling Buck’s hips. “Now, why don’t we get to what you’ve been waiting for?”
Buck nodded eagerly, the bell ringing as Buck twisted in his bonds. He tried to bring his legs up, to even lay his foot flat on the bed. Nothing. He wasn’t moving until Eddie wanted him to.
Buck felt Eddie grab the base of his cock, keening slightly at the sensation. Eddie’s thumbnail lightly grazed the slit of his head and he tried to rock his hips.
“Patience.” Eddie warned as he lifted himself up. That was all the warning Buck got before Eddie lowered himself onto his cock, hissing at the stretch.
Buck tossed his head from side to side, keening high in his throat at the onslaught of sensations. Eddie stopped moving, the two of them breathing heavily. Buck could feel drool dripping onto his chest from the holes in his gag, but he didn’t care. He just wanted Eddie to move, to give him the release that he had been craving.
After a too long moment, Eddie lifted himself up, fucking himself on Buck’s cock. Buck tried to rock up into Eddie’s body, but Eddie’s weight against his legs made getting even the smallest leverage impossible, Buck groaned, forced to do nothing but lie back and take it. He felt himself getting closer and closer to release, and he grunted louder and louder.
“I know you’re close.” Eddie panted. “Cum for me.”
Buck felt like he exploded. There was no other way to explain how all the anticipation, all the pent up frustration from Eddie teasing him just vanished as he came so hard that he almost blacked out. He felt himself sag in his restraints, the sensations of Eddie still riding his cock almost overwhelming. He moaned lightly, ringing the bell to get Eddie’s attention.
“Think you can cum again?” Eddie asked, his voice only slightly strained.
Buck thought about it, and rang the bell once. He could already feel his cock hardening once again, Eddie’s movements slipping from being too much sensation into not being enough.
“Good.” Buck could hear the grin in Eddie’s voice as he leaned down to press a kiss onto Buck’s cheek, right where the strap for the gag was. “I’m not done with you yet, mi estrella.”
Buck didn’t have time to wonder what that phrase meant before Eddie reached for one of his nipples, toasting and playing with it as Buck groaned in protest.
“I wonder if I could get you to come just from this.” Eddie’s tone was mildly curious. “Maybe next time.”
Eddie continued to play with his nipples, Buck hearing the other man’s breath coming harder and harder. Eddie was close. He could feel it. Buck was close too, but he wasn’t quite there yet. He needed something to get him there.
As if reading his mind, Eddie reached for Buck’s balls, his rough palm creating the most delicious friction as he handled them. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Buck felt his orgasm crash over him like a cresting wave. He felt Eddie’s hips stutter once, twice, and then the next thing he felt was the warmth of Eddie’s come hitting his chest as Eddie groaned above him.
The two of them just stayed there for the longest moment, both of them panting as if they’d run ten miles. Finally, Eddie got off of Buck, pulling himself off of Buck’s cock. Buck could hear the other man keen at the loss before he vanished for a moment.
Buck tried not to worry. Eddie wasn’t going to leave him like this. He probably just needed to grab something.
After a long moment, Buck heard Eddie come back. He turned his head to where he thought Eddie was, a low whine leaving his throat.
“I know, honey. One second.” Eddie told him. Buck felt a damp cloth wipe him down, Buck hissing through his nose as it grazed over his cock. Next, he felt Eddie’s clever fingers uncuffing his ankles. Then, the bed dipped again as Eddie climbed back on, his hands reaching for Buck’s wrists. Eddie uncuffed one, and then the other. Buck felt the other man gently examine his wrists, pressing small kisses to any sensitive areas. Buck was content to lay there and let him do his work, still floating along in the afterglow. Eddie then reached behind Buck’s head. He unclasped the gag, gently lifting it out of Buck’s mouth. Buck worked his jaw for a minute, surprised by how little it hurt.
Finally, Eddie reached for the blindfold, slipping it off of Buck’s head. Buck kept his eyes closed for a moment, adjusting to the change in light. He finally opened his eyes, his beautiful husband staring back at him with a worried expression. Eddie offered Buck a sip of water before pulling him into his arms.”
“Are you okay?” Eddie asked. “Was that too much?”
Buck pulled him into a kiss, cutting off any other questions.
“It was perfect.” He finally said, pulling back. “Unexpected, but perfect. I definitely wasn’t expecting the gag.”
Eddie flushed at that. “I thought it might be interesting. I know you can get in your head a lot, and it seemed like a good idea.”
“It definitely was.” Buck told him, giving him another kiss. “Thank you, my love.”
“I’d do anything to make you happy.”
Eddie gave Buck another kiss. “Mi estrella.”
“You said that before.” Buck remembered. “What does it mean?”
Eddie pulled him closer. “It means my star, which is what you are. My wonderful, guiding star, always leading me where I need to be.”
“I love you.” Buck murmured.
“I love you too.”
There was silence for a moment and then–
“So, Sabrina definitely pushed Chimney in the pool on purpose, right?”
“Oh for sure. You have a good cousin.”
“We should get her a present when we’re in London.”
“A big one.”
“Maybe even a corgi?”
“You’re not funny, Buck.”
~~
“Are you guys ready to go to the airport?” Buck asked a few days later. “We need to leave now if we want to make our flight.”
“We’re ready!” Chris said happily as Eddie pulled their suitcases to the door.
Buck picked up Chip and gave him a small kiss on the head. “I’ll miss you, buddy.”
“Buck, we’ll be gone for ten days, not ten years. Our cat sitter will take very good care of them.” Eddie told him. “Now let’s get a move on.”
“Man, you’re bossy,” Buck said as he grabbed his suitcase. “Is it too late to rethink this whole marriage thing?”
“Yep. You’re stuck with us now.” Eddie said smugly.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Buck gave him a quick kiss and Chris groaned.
“You guys are gross.”
Buck and Eddie chuckled as they pulled apart, grabbing their bags.
Next stop, London. Well, LAX first. Then London.
~~
“This is so cool.” Chris’ eyes were wide as he bounced in his seat.
Buck had gotten them all first-class tickets, figuring they’d need to be rested for their first day in London.
A flight attendant came along and gave them all sets of pajamas to wear on the plane.
Chris grinned as he clutched them. “This is the best trip ever.”
“The plane hasn’t even taken off yet.” Eddie pointed out, amused.
“Doesn’t matter.”
Buck laughed at that as he squeezed Eddie’s hand. This was truly going to be a trip to remember.
~~
Buck closed the door to Chris’ room in their suite, the boy already asleep in bed. It was the end of their first day in London, and the jetlag was making sure Chris got to bed nice and early. He walked into his and Eddie’s room to find the other man scowling at his phone.
“Let me guess, your parents have expressed their displeasure about the wedding?” Buck sighed, climbing into bed and pulling the other man closer to him. Eddie moved with him, his eyes finally looking up from his phone.
“Worse.” Eddie tossed his phone to the side. “They’re not even acknowledging it. They just messaged me to make sure I was leaving the first few weeks of summer vacation open for them to take Chris to El Paso for two weeks starting the day he gets out of school for the summer.”
Buck wished he could day he was surprised by the audacity of the Diaz parents, but he’d be lying.
“They seriously think you’re going to let them have Chris for two weeks after all the crap they said?” Buck shook his head. “I’m tempted to plan another vacation for those weeks just to fuck with them.” He started looking up flights. “Paris in June is sounding really good.”
“Are you seriously planning a trip just to fuck with my parents?”
“No, I’m planning a trip because we’d all have fun.” Buck told him. “Fucking with your parents is an added bonus.”
“…Can we go to Disneyland Paris?”
Buck grinned at his husband. “I like the way you think.”
“I just don’t want to give them the satisfaction.” Eddie sighed. “They don’t say a word when you get struck by lightning or even acknowledge the wedding, but they want Chris for a visit? No. Fuck them and the horse they rode in on.”
“I love it when you talk Texan to me.” Buck leaned over to give Eddie a kiss.
Eddie sighed happily as Buck pulled away. “So what’s on the schedule for tomorrow?”
“Who says I have a schedule?”
Eddie gave him a look. “Buck. I know you. What’s on the schedule?”
Buck sighed, pulling out his phone. “I was thinking we’d book an excursion to Stonehenge, and then maybe check out some museums here in London the next day.”
“Works for me. Let’s do it.” Eddie gave him a kiss. “I’m glad we picked London. It was a great choice for a family trip.”
“Absolutely.” Buck told him. “And I was thinking, next year before Chris goes back to school, we should do a trip to Italy. Chris would love Venice.”
“…You hid the fact that you were a travel junkie until after we were married, didn’t you?”
“Eddie, I moved around a ton in my youth. If you didn’t realize that meant I like to travel, that’s on you.”
“…Fair point.”
~~
Just as Buck thought, Chris loved Stonehenge. He kept staring at the stone, eyes wide. Buck was tempted to look up to see if there was a lego set for Stonehenge so they could make it together, he’d already ordered Big Ben so they could put it together when they got home.
“This really is cool.” Eddie took in all the stones. “How long has this been here?”
“It’s hard to say, but it’s been around at least five thousand years.” Buck told him. “It’s been a protected landmark in the United Kingdom since 1882.”
Eddie turned to look at Buck, taking in the lack of a pamphlet in Buck’s hands. “How do you know that?”
“I looked it up.”
“Of course you did.” Eddie rolled his eyes, a fond expression on his face. “So what was this site used for?”
“They’re not sure, but probably human sacrifices.”
Eddie stared at Buck. “What?”
“Yeah.” Buck shrugged. “Honestly, sometimes it seems like when archaeologists can’t tell what a site was used for, they just default to human sacrifices.”
“That’s troubling.” Eddie looked slightly green for the rest of the time they were at the site.
~~
“You could eat so much cereal with that.” The next day they were at the Tower of London, and Chris was staring at the Royal Spoon. “Like, so much cereal.”
“I think they use it for much more important things than that.” Eddie turned to Buck, wanting him to back him up. Instead, his husband was giving the spoon a considering look.
“He’s got a point.” Buck finally said. “But I think the size of the spoon might make eating cereal with it hard. It wouldn’t fit into your mouth properly.
Eddie sighed, glad when they moved onto the crown jewels.
“Didn’t Moriarty steal these?” Chris asked, eyes wide as he looked at the crown.
“Only in the BBC version.” Buck told Chris.
“It may have been a mistake to do a Sherlock marathon before we came here.” Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.
~~
“So, if these are marbles from Ancient Greece, why are they in a museum in London?” Chris asked at the British Museum.
“So they can be on display.” Eddie told him, hoping that would be the end of it.
“But how did they get here?”
“Imperialism and artifact looting, mostly.”
“Buck!”
“What? You know I’m right. 19th century archaeologists were just government-sanctioned criminals.”
“Buck!”
~~
“You don’t even like tea.”
“Eddie, we’re in England. We have to do at least one high tea.”
Eddie gave his husband a look. “You put so much sugar in there, I don’t even think it can legally be called tea anymore.”
“Well.” Buck grabbed one of the sandwiches. “The food is good. And I noticed you haven’t touched your tea either.”
“This is awesome, Dad.” Chris told him. “Drink the tea, it’s fun!”
Seeing that this was a losing battle, Eddie rolled his eyes and lifted the teacup to his mouth, Buck staring at him the entire time.
He added sugar to it immediately after, Buck trying not to laugh.
“Okay, so neither of us like tea. But at least this is a fun experience.” Buck told him.
Eddie thought about it and shrugged. “Fair enough.”
~~
“It wasn’t that funny.” Buck pouted as Eddie and Chris laughed at him three days later.
“It was pretty funny.” Eddie pointed out as Chris continued to laugh.
On their last day in England, they had taken a day trip outside of London to see the palace at Hampton Court. After the tour, Buck suggested they take a turn at the hedge maze.
As it turns out, Buck could do many things, but navigating a hedge maze wasn’t one of them. He got lost three times. After that, Eddie took over navigating and got them out of there with ease.
“It’s okay,” Eddie said, pulling Buck close to him and kissing his birthmark. “Let’s just go get some lunch, okay?”
Buck sighed and nodded, his smile returning as everyone talked about what they enjoyed about their day.
“The castle was fun,” Chris said as they ate some fish and chips. “I liked all the paintings.”
“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Buck told him. “I got some great stuff in the gift shop for souvenirs too.”
“How did I not know that you were such a souvenir person before now?” Eddie shook his head good-naturedly.
“Well, we haven’t exactly been doing any traveling since we started dating.” Buck pointed out, Eddie nodding in agreement.
“So what’s next on the plan?” Chris asked.
“We’re gonna go back to London, drop stuff off at the hotel, and then do something really cool,” Buck told them. “I booked a sunset ride on the London Eye. And even champagne for those of us old enough to drink it.”
Eddie grinned at that. “Aw, my husband is such a romantic.”
“You know it.” Buck gave him a kiss on the cheek.
~~
That night, as the sun set over the City of London, their little family watched it happen from high above the London Eye.
“Isn’t this so cool?” Chris cheered as he took in the skyline lit ablaze by the setting sun.
“Definitely.” Buck looked at Eddie before raising his glass. “To my husband and our wonderful son. There is no one I would rather be here with than the two of you.
Eddie smiled as he raised his glass.
“And to Buck, our amazing, wonderful newest member of the family,” he said, ” who has always been just what we needed, even if we didn’t know it yet.”
Buck and Eddie clinked their glasses before setting them down on the table. Buck took in his husband, practically glowing in the evening light.
If you had told Buck all those years ago that he would end up with a husband and a child who loved him, he would never have believed it.
And yet here he was, with everything he could ever ask for.
“I love you,” Buck told him, meaning every word.
“I love you too,” Eddie told him, leaning in.
And as they kissed by the light of the setting sun, Buck knew that no matter what fate had in store for them next, they’d be ready.
Because they had each other.
And that would always be enough for them.
That was an adorable, fluffy, happy piece that made me smile and laugh. It was wonderful and I’m so happy you took the time to write and share this with us. Thank you!
Great Story
So adorable! Just enough angst among the fluff and love to keep it hopping along, but just the kind of feel-good story I was in the mood for. And I liked your sneaky cameos. 😻
I love this series and was so excited to see another story. Buck and Eddie’s love is so beautiful the way they love and support each other is something special. They vowed to have each other back and always will. Chip is completely adorable and him as the ring bearer was so cute.
Thank you!!! I’ve always loved your fics
Such a lovely story. Thank you ❤️.
Great addition to this series. Just enough angst and the happy fluff was fantastic. The wedding was beautiful, Buck’s newest extended family were awesome and the wedding was the best! Chip as ring bearer and Chim getting knocked into the pool? Perfect! I also loved the petty ideas for how to mess with the Diaz parents. LOL! Thanks for sharing!
Great story, very sweet!
Thanks for sharing.
Lovely story. Thanks SO Much!
This was great. I just adore the family you gave Buck. You gotta love a cousin who’s willing to end up in the pool to save your day. This was a wonderful story.
Thank you
Fantastic sequel to a fantastic story! I like meeting Buck’s extended family and Buck and Eddie’s wedding was perfect!
This was absolutely delightful.
This is such a gorgeous story! So many terrible family members but then so many great ones that Buck and Eddie have found. The wedding was wonderful and the reception was hilarious. Bucks and Bobby’s scene before the wedding made me tear up. So basically like a real wedding!
Thanks for sharing it with us!
P.s. I was so happy to see Bailey and John, there is weirdly few crossovers when they are based in the same city!
Oh, this was LOVELY.
A lovely story!
This series was lovely. It was such a pleasure to read from beginning to end. I really enjoyed just seeing the love, not the develop because they already had it, just deepen. I love the boundaries that buck was trying to create and did create. It is so important to have boundaries with people in our lives to have a healthy relationship. Thank you so much for writing this and sharing it.
The entire series was lovely! Most enjoyable, and you drew the characters very well.
👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Simply awesome!