Reading Time: 117 Minutes

Title: New Beginnings
Author: Duochanfan
Fandom: 9-1-1
Genre: Crime Drama, Drama, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Relationship(s): Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Anthena Grant/Bobby Nash
Content Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Hate Crime, Homophobia, Violence – Graphic, Domestic Abuse – Adult, Domestic Abuse – Children, Bigotry, Character Bashing, Dark Themes, Kidnapping, Attempted Murder, Violence – Canon Level, Stalking, Death Threats
Author Note: Thanks to HarleyJQuin, ScarslikeVelvet, Bythia and the others that helped to shape this fic.
Beta: HarleyJQuin, ScarslikeVelvet
Alpha: HarleyJQuin, ScarslikeVelvet
Word Count: 145422
Summary: With Ana and Eddie breaking up and soon Taylor and Buck doing the same. Decisions need to be made on if the two men would try the relationship that they had been dancing around. Though they aren’t the only ones that are facing a hard decisions as a surprise stops Athena and Bobby in their tracks. New Beginnings are on the horizon, but will anyone be able to get their Happy Ever After?
Artist: AngelicInsanity

 

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Chapter One

Eddie stood firm as he stared at Ana. “Ana,” he began.

“Buckley, you should go home, you aren’t wanted or needed here,” she demanded of the man before Eddie could even continue. “I don’t know why Edmundo keeps you around, you put dangerous ideas into Christopher’s head, rock climbing, surfing. They are all too dangerous for him with his CP,” she added, sneering at the man.

“Ana!” Eddie yelled this time, “Will you stop with that shit, what the hell,” he said, shaking his head.

“Edmundo, you shouldn’t curse in front of Christopher, it shows bad manners,” she snapped at him, “I would think you being a father would know such a thing. I hope your mother taught you better.”

“My mother taught me a lot of things, but that is none of your business. And you are not Christopher’s mother-” he started to say.

“I will be when we marry,” Ana told him, dismissing what he was about to say, “When we marry, he will be my child as well.”

“No, he won’t. He already has a second parent in Buck. His mother is gone, she has passed away and I will never ever force my son to consider you as such. Especially since you didn’t even listen to him about his own disability,” Eddie shook his head.

“I’m a teacher, Edmundo, of course I know more about what is going on with Christopher than he does,” she waved, as though being a teacher made her a specialist in how to care for and raise children.

“You’re a doctor then?” Buck couldn’t help but finally say something, “You specialize in CP do you?” There was a sarcastic tone in his voice, he had been listening to her trying to tell him how to help Christopher for the last three months, since Eddie had been shot, in telling him how to help his friend and Christopher. He hadn’t listened and she made her irritation about it known to everyone.

“I am a teacher, I have a degree and a doctorate in teaching and Early Education,” she said proudly.

“Then you know shit,” Buck rolled his eyes, “We’ve listened to his actual doctors, his therapists to see what would work for Christopher, to make sure he will be able to remain as mobile as he can. And we’ve done all and more to make sure of that. All you see is the CP, the crutches. You don’t see Christopher at all.”

“I know plenty about Christopher, I was his teacher and I am going to be his mother,” she told him, eyes narrowed.

“You’re never going to be his mother,” Eddie said again.

Buck snorted, “You don’t know anything about Christopher. You don’t see him as anything. All you have your eyes on is Eddie. You outright ignore Christopher unless it suits your needs and purpose in getting into Eddie’s pants”

“Edmundo, are you really going to let him talk to me this way?” Ana said, and if she had pearls she would be clutching at them.

“So are you going to listen to me or are you going to run over the damn boundaries that I have laid down for us?” Eddie asked her, “Because, at this moment in time, I don’t want you in MY HOME,” he growled, “You’ve insulted my son enough, and you’ve insulted the memory of his mother. Who was a damn sight better person than you are. She at least knew how to see Christopher and not his CP.”

“I-” she began.

“You’re hurting my son with your callous and downright vile words. I’m doing everything I can to make sure my son can fly like any parent is supposed to, and all I can see you doing, time and time again, even after I explained everything to you, is try and ground him,” Eddie told her, looking at her in disgust, “I don’t think we are ever going to work, because you just don’t respect me at all.”

“Of course I do, I just don’t want to see him hurt with all the dangerous things that man is talking you into doing. I wish you could see it from my position, Edmundo. You’re a single parent, I know you have done your best but you let someone into your life that could kill your son with what he gets him involved in,” she said, shaking her head as though she was disappointed.

“And there we go once more ignoring the boundary I set for you. Are you incapable of listening to anything but the shit that comes from your mouth?” Eddie snapped at her, “My name is Eddie, you have not once given me the respect of using my chosen form of address. I have asked you time and time again, and each time you nod and then ignore it within the next sentence you spew.”

“Edmundo-” she began, shocked at the words Eddie was saying.

“Shut up!” came a yell from the hallway.

“Christopher, you shouldn’t yell like that. There is no need for it,” she called him out, her lips pursed in a typical disappointed look that she was now more often showing to the two Diaz’s.

“Then maybe I’ll do this politely, but then again, I don’t know if you would actually listen?” Christopher said as he slowly made his way into the living room, “Hey Buck,” he smiled at him, hugging him quickly before turning to Ana. “You are not a nice person. You don’t listen to my Dad at all, but you expect him to listen to you. You tell me that I can’t watch TV when you’re here. You ruin movie nights all the time because you talk over them and tell us both that we should be doing something else instead. I don’t like you being here, you make things un-fun all the time.”

“Christopher, I just want what is best for you. I’m trying to make sure that you’ll be able to do something when you grow up. There aren’t a lot of things that you could do with CP,” she said, trying to placate him and be helpful but falling so far from the mark it wasn’t even visible.

“No, you don’t. You don’t think I can do anything, you just see these!” he yelled, banging his crutches on the floor.

“Chris,” Buck said as he knelt down.

“Buck,” he said, looking angry and sad at the same time, “She… she is so mean all the time. I wanted to be happy for Dad, but I can’t Buck. I can’t do it.”

“Mijo,” Eddie said as he rushed over and knelt, bringing his son into his arms, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for bringing her into our home.”

“Dad, I want you to be happy,” Christopher told him miserably, holding his dad tightly.

“I know, but how can I be happy if you’re not?” he asked him.

Christopher looked at him, “Dad. I want to be happy for you,” he began seriously, “But I can’t. Miss Flores is… she’s so mean all the time. To me and my Bucky. I can’t… I don’t want her here. She came into my room WITHOUT knocking at all. You always told me that my room is mine and that no one is allowed to be inside of it unless I let them. But she just… barged in, what if I was changing and naked, Daddy?!”

Eddie frowned, glancing up at her, “I told you to always knock on his door, he’s right, that’s his room, his domain to be in that we’re to leave alone. Like he respects the fact that my room is out for him unless he needs me.”

“Or for morning cuddles,” Christopher added, “but I always knock first!”

“You do,” Buck smiled at him, ruffling his curls.

“He is a child, and a child shouldn’t have such boundaries yet, they-” Ana began, shaking her head at Eddie.

“They, nothing, a child can have all the boundaries they need and want to make sure that they feel safe in their own home. I’m sorry that I ever even thought about dating you. Now, I want you to leave and not come back. I think I’m going to spend some time with my son, trying to repair our relationship from the mess that was you,” Eddie told her bluntly.

“Edmun-” she began, taking a step towards him.

“It’s Eddie, though I don’t even think I want you to call me that. Maybe Mr Diaz would be a better place to start. I made the worst mistake in my life going to coffee with you,” he sighed, shaking his head, “Hey Buck, maybe you were right about that day being jinxed and I made the wrong choice in carrying on with the damn date.”

“I told you,” Buck smirked as Eddie huffed a laugh.

“Edmundo,” Ana began once more as she glared at Buck for a moment before looking at Eddie.

“My dad said not to call him that again,” Christopher said, glaring at her, “And he told you to leave. We don’t want you here anymore.”

“What he said,” Eddie agreed, smiling at his son, “I can’t believe how you have acted. I’ve tried to make things work between us, I thought we might be good for each other. You just don’t care about anyone but yourself, and I have to admit I pushed that knowledge aside, hoping it would get better.”

Buck placed a hand on Eddie’s shoulder as he went over to him, “Please leave, before I decide to call Athena or the cops,” Buck said, looking at the woman.

“How dare you threaten me!” she exclaimed, “This, Edmundo, this is why I’ve been trying to help you, to get you to see that Buckley isn’t the person you think he is. He is bad news, those types of so-called friends that will lead you into trouble. I’m trying to warn you. He has done nothing but push me away from being by your side while you recovered. To help take care of you is my right as your girlfriend, my right to stand beside you in such a way.”

Eddie sighed, he must have had this conversation a dozen times with them, “I told you then and I’ve told you so many damn times since, that I didn’t want you here. I barely know you, and what I’m now finding out is that you are a pushy entitled brat who doesn’t like it when they don’t get their own way. I didn’t and don’t trust you with Christopher or myself. Buck knows us, both of us, knows how to help when we’re both having bad days, and you, when you swanned in here wanting to make meals for us, you decided the sophisticated meals were the way to go with a child. How can you be around children and not know that their palate isn’t suitable for quail eggs and such, I don’t know,” he huffed, “Now, I want you to leave. I would really prefer it if you didn’t come back at all.”

Ana glared one last time at Buck, as though she blamed him for all the problems she was facing with Eddie. “Edmundo, you are making the biggest mistake you could. I will await your apology and I expect that you will truly punish Christopher for his repugnant behavior and that you will be getting rid of Buckley.”

“The only one that has been repugnant is you,” Eddie snapped at her as she began to walk towards the door. “And the only mistake that I made was in not dumping your ass as soon as I realized that you would never respect the boundaries and support that Christopher and myself had and needed. You’re an ableist, and I should have listened to Buck when he mentioned it and that you couldn’t see what Christopher is truly capable of. You have an idea in your head on what Christopher can and can’t do and you stick to it. You don’t care that his doctors have told him that he’s fine to do the things we’re doing. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and you constantly threw it in my face. We’re done, and we’ll never be anything anymore.”

Ana huffed, “I’m a realist in what a disabled child could do. You’re going to get him killed, while I would at least make sure he lived to adulthood.”

“No, you just wanted to clip the wings of children that wanted to fly because you didn’t believe they could,” Buck told her as she walked out the door and before she could say something more, he was the one who closed it, “Well, she’s gone.”

“Finally, Daddy, you have the worst taste ever,” Christopher muttered, giving his dad a disappointed look.

Eddie stared at his son for a moment, “You’re right, you going to vet anyone else I get with?”

Christopher tilted his head before saying with a grin, “Yep.

Chapter Two

“Enjoy your time with the Diaz’s?” Taylor asked as she walked into Buck’s apartment. They were giving dating a try and had done since Eddie had been shot.

“Eddie finally dumped Ana,” Buck answered, looking up from where he was making dinner for the two of them.

Taylor stopped, “Really?” she asked, getting a nod as she walked over, “Damn, about time. I’ve only met her twice but I was ready to strangle the woman within the first five minutes.”

“She was always so dismissive of what Christopher wanted to do, and any boundaries that Eddie set for her,” Buck muttered, still annoyed at the woman.

“Even I know better than that, and I don’t even spend much time around children,” she snorted, “She is an entitled woman that wanted something and got it, for a while, anyway,” she smirked as she leaned up and kissed Buck on the cheek, “What are we having?”

“I was thinking of something simple, so pasta bake,” he said, “I’m almost ready to shove it in the oven.”

“Great,” she smiled, “chicken?” she asked.

“Chicken and Bacon, your fav,” he answered her, leaning down to kiss her.

“Thank you,” she smiled, “Now, what else happened with Miss Perfect Ana Flores?” she asked him, “You spent the night there, so you know more than just they broke up.”

“Let me get this in the oven and then we can talk,” he told her, shaking his head.

“Good, a gossip session, you have no idea how I miss those,” she said, pouring the two of them a glass of wine and taking it over to the sofa, and setting his drink down while taking a sip of her own.

Buck snorted but carried on mixing together everything and spreading it out into a pan. There was enough there for leftovers in case he got hungry later. Sticking the pan in the oven he went over to Taylor and flopped on the sofa, “So how was work?”

“The assignment sucked,” she muttered, letting him settle his head in her lap, “But it beats doing traffic all the time,” she added, “Those days are the bane of my existence.”

“Well, we would never have met if you hadn’t,” Buck reminded her.

Taylor smiled down at him. She ran her fingers through his hair, glad there was no gel this time. His curls were free from the usual hairstyle he wore. “So it had a little upside to it then,” she said, sipping her wine. “So, are you going to tell me more about what happened?”

“Christopher told her to shut up,” Buck said, still proud that the ten-year-old had stuck up for himself like that.

“Good on him, he’s a treasure, I know,” she sighed.

Buck was quiet, they had already had the talk on children, and Buck wanted them, but Taylor knew she wasn’t in the right place for a child at the moment, if she ever was. “Yeah,” he smiled, “he is.”

“We’re not going to work are we,” Taylor said as she looked down at him.

Buck looked up and smiled softly, “But we can enjoy things for a while.”

“Maybe for a little while, but Buck, I don’t want to make this awkward between us. I’ve been thinking a lot about it all. And I care about you a lot, maybe I will love you like you deserve, but I don’t think even your heart is in it with me,” she sighed, a smile still on her face though it was taking on a melancholy look now.

“Tay,” he began, sitting up, “I-”

“Buck, let’s be real, you want kids. You know that while I can be around them for a while, I don’t get along well. Maybe it would be different if they were my own, but I’m not sure about that,” she sighed, “We’ve got a shelf life,” she snorted, “but it’s fine, it really is. I think I knew that when I kissed you.”

Buck turned around, “Maybe, but maybe we could make things work.”

“Maybe, but I think it will be fine if we’re apart, we can still be friends, and maybe with the benefits at times,” she smirked at him, “Buck, it’s not going to be the end of the world, there’s someone out there for you, and I know you don’t love me at the moment. Yes, I know in time you will, just like I will. By then, we’ll both have our hearts broken, and I don’t… I don’t want that for us. I want to always be around, as a friend.”

 

Buck sighed, “I know,” he said sadly, “I was hoping that maybe…”

“I know, so was I, but this is the right thing for us,” she told him, “We can still have our dinner nights, and gossip nights as well, you have no idea how hard it is to find someone willing to gossip with a reporter. I learned my lesson, I’m not going to use what I learn for anything now,” she smirked as he laughed.

Buck smiled, “Good, I’d miss my gossip partner, and Abuela wants to join in. I think when she learns about Eddie’s breakup, she’ll be very happy. She didn’t like Ana either, thought her too forward and put her nose into people’s business too much. She heard Ana telling Chris not to go near her because she’s old and fragile, and that he could hurt her with the way that he walks with his crutches.”

“Wow, and Diaz didn’t kick her out then for the disrespect. Like, I would never ever mention a ladies’ age, not even the esteemed Senora Diaz, she is a force to be reckoned with. I wonder why Eddie didn’t kick her out then,” Taylor asked, a little curious as she prodded Buck to lay back down.

“Well…” Buck hesitated, “She didn’t tell him, and I doubt he knows even now. Abuela may tell him now, but she didn’t want to interfere, even if she was of the opinion that Eddie could do so much better.”

“Senora Diaz is one woman I would never want to cross, there is just something about her that…” Taylor trailed off.

“Pulls you in and makes you feel at home?” Buck suggested getting a nod of agreement.

“I’m… not that close with my family. I told you what happened. Because I can’t decide on who to believe most of my family left me in the dust, especially when I became an adult. Kelly isn’t even my last name, it’s my middle name,” she snorted, “I just don’t talk to them, at all if I can help it. I haven’t really talked to my sister in years.”

“Well, you are coming to the next Diaz family get-together, Abuela has asked for you to come along,” Buck told her, a smile on his face as Taylor began to run her fingers through his curls again.

“I’ll see, I don’t know if I should though, I’m not really…” she trailed off.

“Abuela said you are welcome,” Buck reminded her, “Even if Eddie is still in a pout about her liking you,” he grinned, laughing as she began to as well.

Taylor smiled and sighed, “Well, if it’s to annoy Eddie, I’m there,” she told him, sipping some more wine, “You know, I’ve felt more comfortable around you and the Diaz family than my own, I think the last time I saw someone from my own family was during the earthquake, my sister was in a building that was damaged, and had to be saved by firefighters. She got in contact for all of a hot minute and then disappeared for a while. Showing up when she was dating someone for a bit and then, well, radio silence since they broke up.”

“Eddie will be devastated to learn that you’ll be coming,” he closed his eyes and relaxed a little more.

“Yeah,” she smiled, leaning back on the sofa, “He’s a good guy,” she added, “I know that. Even if he is a jealous monster whenever we meet for coffee,” she smirked.

“He just doesn’t like reporters I think,” Buck countered.

Taylor snorted, “No, that’s not it, it’s just me,” she told him, “and I think it’s more a jealous monster because he wants you.”

Buck froze, eyes flying open and staring up at her. “What?” he choked, blinking as he tried to process what Taylor was saying.

“Eddie likes you, and you like Eddie; it was so obvious even when I first met that he had his eyes on you,” she smirked, “I wondered why you two weren’t together back then.”

“He… he doesn’t like me like that, he…” Buck shook his head, not believing what she was saying.

“Oh please, just… kiss me on the cheek one time and watch him, he gets jealous, he really does. He gives me the stink eye all the time,” she snorted, “Look, Buck. I know you have feelings for him, I’ve known that since I first saw the two of you interact a few years ago. I could see that he liked you. I have to admit when the green-eyed monster came up that first time, I thought he was getting mad because you were flirting with me while being with him.”

“What?!” Buck said, sitting up and turning to face her, “How?”

“I’m a reporter, Buck,” she smiled at him, “I know what I saw and I observed the two of you. Even now you gravitate to him all the time.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, pained at the thought of ignoring his girlfriend in such a way.

“No, don’t be sorry for how you feel, never be sorry about that. I noticed it, and I have to admit, I’m rooting for the two of you. It’s one of the reasons why I knew that our relationship wasn’t going to be a very long one. It had a shelf life, but I was determined to be happy as I can about what we got together. I think you’ve been good for me,” Taylor told him honestly, “I am so work-focused all the time. And I shouldn’t be, I’m missing out on so many things,” she sighed, “I love my work and my job a lot, but figuring it out that it’s not everything I need, well it is a hard pill to swallow.”

“Tay,” Buck began, frowning, “I don’t want you to change.”

“But I’m happy to make a change to myself. I want to make that change for me,” she told him, reassuring him that it wasn’t him.

“Okay,” he smiled, “As long as you’re happy with how things are going. That’s all I really want, is for you to be happy.”

“I know, and if your heart wasn’t already Eddie’s I would love to have it for myself. But I mean it Buck, you need to make a move soon,” she told him. “Now, settle down until dinner is done, I need to know more about perfect Miss Ana and the break-up.”

“Fine,” Buck snorted as he let her pull him back down, “So, what do you want to know?”

“More about Christopher and his telling her that she needs to go?” she suggested.

“He just told Eddie that he tried to be happy for his Dad but she is too mean for him to pretend any longer. You have no idea how bad I felt hearing that. Eddie broke a bit last night when Christopher finally went to bed. He wishes that he had broken up with her ages ago, or even never met her again,” Buck told her, “Eddie hates that Christopher put up with things because he wanted to make Eddie happy. Eddie wants Christopher happy.”

“Damn, yeah, that would be killer,” Taylor agreed as she got the rest of the details of the break-up from Buck. “Well,” she said as he finished and he got up. “I can’t say I’m unhappy about the break-up, on both parts,” she told him, following him to the kitchen as he started to take out the pasta bake. “He’ll be free of her, and free for you,” she smirked as she got a glare from her now former boyfriend, but still close, maybe even best friend.

Chapter Three

Athena sighed as she made her way back to her squad car, she was still feeling sick even after throwing up. She was going to head to the 118 and have lunch there, but part of her wanted to avoid it, the smells were doing her head in and causing her to want to throw up at the slightest thing. The soap that Bobby used was one smell that she couldn’t stand at the moment. Athena had thrown them out yesterday and Bobby had to use hers for his morning shower.

Getting back in her car, she pulled out her phone for a second and smiled at the message from Bobby. “Well, looks like I’m going for lunch, let’s hope it doesn’t make my stomach feel like it should be on the outside,” she muttered as she messaged him back before taking herself offline for a bit for lunch.

Arriving at the firehouse she was happy to see everyone already seated upstairs. It gave her a moment to let the smells of the food that was cooking surround her, sighing in relief when nothing upset her stomach any more than it already was. Athena made her way upstairs.

“Hey, Athena!” Buck was the first to spot her as she neared the top.

“Buck,” she smiled as she walked over, “How are you?”

“Doing okay, surprisingly, Taylor and I broke up a couple of days ago, Eddie has done the same with Ana, and he’s also doing his re-certs today,” he said quickly, not wanting the others to overhear as they were at the table already.

“I take it none of the others know since you came over to me,” she guessed quietly.

Buck shook his head, “They would just make fun of me,” he sighed, “You know what they’re like when it comes to me and relationships. When I broke up with Ali, Chimney thought it was funny and said that it was karma because Tatiana broke up with him while he was in the hospital,” he rolled his eyes.

“From what I know about their relationship, it wasn’t a good one. He was lying through his teeth to her,” she snorted.

Buck nodded, “I know, intimacy fraud, the thought of it makes me sick if I’m honest. I can’t even think about lying to a partner, and to do it for the entire relationship as he did. I think they were also together for a couple of months before the accident.”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard,” Athena nodded, she hadn’t been too happy when she had found out the ins and outs of what had happened between Chimney and Tatiana, but there was nothing she could do to change the past.

“Anyway, Taylor and I broke up, we’re good, still friends. Haven’t told Eddie yet,” he murmured as they began to make their way over to the table, Bobby and Hen were laying out the food.

“Don’t fret about things, Buck,” Athena said, reaching out to him and squeezing an arm, “Now, let’s see what that husband of mine cooked for lunch,” she smiled at him.

“Tacos,” he grinned, “something we can put together and run off with if needed,” he added as he nodded at Hen as she smiled over at them.

“‘Thena,” Hen greeted her best friend, “How are you?” she asked.

“I’m doing well,” Athena answered only to hear a little snort coming from Bobby. She glared at her husband who just held his hands up and brought over the meat that he had prepared for everyone.

“Let’s sit down,” Bobby said as he smiled at his wife, holding out a hand for her to take and to guide her to sit at the head of the table with him.

The meal started and the food was being depleted at an alarming rate.

“So, when will Eddie come back?” Athena asked, looking at Bobby.

“He’s doing his re-certs today, so as soon as he has those results and they are good, I can have him back on shift in a couple of days. We don’t have a floater today, so we’re a man down,” he answered her.

“Miss having Eddie here,” Buck said quietly.

“We know,” Chimney said with a roll of his eyes, “All you’ve done since he was shot has been moping around. It’s not like he’s your partner or anything. No need for the mopiness or the bear with a sore head routine. We get it, you miss him, but really give it a rest. We’d think you were his boyfriend and not his friend with the way you’ve been acting,” he laughed.

“How would you feel if it was Hen that was shot?” Buck shot back at him, “You’d want to be there and I know you would miss her as well,” he pointed out, “So don’t tell me that I’m wrong in how I’m feeling. He’s my best friend and he means a damn lot to me.”

Hen nodded, “I can see it,” she said, smiling at Buck, “You two are really close. I know you’ve been helping him in his recovery as well.”

“Yep,” Buck grinned, “He pushed things a little too much at the beginning, but Chris and I were able to get him to slow down and take his time a bit better. He’s doing well, getting back into shape was the hardest, he lost a lot of muscle and movement in his arm. He’s got it all back now, but he was really grumpy for a while.”

Hen laughed, “I wonder, did you have to sit on him?”

“Nah, I got Christopher to do that, less chance of him being tossed off Eddie’s lap. Even Taylor threatened the one time she came over. Eddie didn’t move a muscle for the rest of the day,” he laughed.

“What were you thinking, taking your girlfriend to your friend’s place?” Chimney asked him, shaking his head, “That’s just-”

“That’s what?” Hen asked him, “It would be like me bringing Karen to your house, I’ve done so before, so why is it so different for Buck?”

“Come on, Hen,” Chimney said as he looked at her, “You have to agree that some of the ladies he’s gone out with are a little… vapid.”

“No, they haven’t been,” Buck shook his head, “you only met Ali once and Taylor a few times. She’s changed a lot from how you first met her, she-”

“Come on, Taylor Kelly is like the worst, she is vapid and full of herself, she’s a narcissist,” Chimney smirked, “How she decided to date you I don’t know. She’s way out of your league.”

Buck stared at him, “I’ve lost my appetite,” he said, dropping his utensils and getting up. “You know nothing about my relationships with those I’ve dated. All you see is what I want you to see, and with Taylor, that’s been nothing. Since you and my sister both don’t like it when I date anyone. Maddie hated Ali and Abby, and she is doing the same with Taylor as well. Bobby, I’m going down to the bunks.”

Bobby nodded, “Sure, I’ll put some away in case you get hungry later. I know you’re in a bulking phase at the moment.”

“Thanks, Cap,” Buck nodded before he walked off and headed down to the bunk room.

Athena stared at Chimney, “What the hell was that?” She demanded to know.

“Come on Athena, you’ve seen those he’s dated, all of them have been the worst, even Maddie says-” he began to defend his position.

“Maddie is his sister and she has no right to try and dictate who he dates, and we don’t either. All we can do is be supportive. Now, why is Maddie so against her brother dating?” Athena asked him, glaring at the man.

“Maddie is his sister, she cares about him and wants him to be in a good stable relationship, she just wants what’s best for him. She’s trying to find someone that Buck would be good with, but he keeps turning down the blind dates we’re trying to set up for him,” Chimney said with a shrug before taking a large bite of his taco.

Hen shook her head, “Chim,” she began, “That’s up to Buck what he does, he’s an adult.”

Chimney rolled his eyes, “Come on, we’ve all seen the idiots that he’s gone with. Maddie knows what Buck needs, she’s his sister.”

“And someone that hasn’t been around Buck since he was a child. She doesn’t know him as well as she thinks she does,” Athena was the one to speak, “I’ve talked to both of them, and Buck says nothing about his sister, just that she cares, but Maddie, well she does tend to put him down a little, and talks over him like he is an errant child and not the fully grown man that we see. Buck isn’t how Maddie describes him at all.”

“She’s his sister, of course, she knows him better than anyone else,” Chimney defended himself and Maddie.

“Chim,” Hen said, “How long has Maddie been in his adult life?”

“All of it,” he answered quickly.

“No, she hasn’t, don’t forget that they were estranged from each other for a time. And not only that, but we didn’t even know he had a sister until she showed up one day, and that was in 2018. We’d known him for a year at that point, and she was not on his paperwork at all. Next of kin has been me and now Eddie,” Bobby told him, “He’s told us some of what’s happened in his life and I would say that the person that knows Buck the best would be Eddie. They share a lot with each other.”

“Maddie’s still upset that Buck switched his medical proxy to Eddie,” Chimney mentioned.

“He has the right to choose someone who will respect his wishes, and Maddie tried to steamroll over him when it came to certain decisions,” Hen pointed out, “I can understand why he did.”

“He’s just a big kid,” Chimney rolled his eyes.

“To you and Maddie he is, but to me and others he isn’t. He’s grown up so much since we first met him,” Bobby added, shaking his head.

“I know, he has, he’s grown on me that’s for sure,” Athena smirked at her husband, remembering her first meeting with the young man.

Bobby smiled back, “Let’s finish eating,” he said as he quickly put some away for Buck, hoping the young man would eat something soon.

Athena watched as Chimney grumbled about being called out on his biased thoughts about Buck. Bobby got up as the meal finished and brought something else over. Athena blinked as the smell hit and her stomach rolled. She jumped to her feet and before anyone could ask what was wrong rushed towards the nearest bathroom.

Bobby watched for a second before putting down the carrot cake that he had made, one that Athena had usually loved, and rushed after his wife. Concern was written on his face as he followed her into the bathroom only to hear her retching in the toilet. “Thena,” he called softly as he went over, kneeling behind her slightly as he placed a hand on her back.

“Sorry,” Athena said as she felt a lot better after throwing up again.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, I just want to know what’s wrong. This isn’t the first time this has happened, I know that,” he told her, rubbing her back as he helped Athena to her feet.

“I’ll see the doctor tomorrow, I’ve already made the appointment,” she told him, patting his hand as she then went to the sink to clean herself up.

“Alright,” Bobby told her, “But please, let me go with you?”

“Fine,” she sighed, knowing that he was just worried about her.

“I take it the carrot cake is out for now?” he asked, a small smile now on his face as she turned to face him.

Athena huffed, “Looks like it,” she grumbled, “I think I’m going to go and see Buck, bring down his food and he can eat in the bunk room, I want to talk to him about a few things,” she added.

“Alright, I’ll bring it down,” Bobby said, kissing her cheek before going to do as asked.

Athena waited at the bottom of the stairs for the food to be handed over before going to find Buck and talking a little more about his breakup.

Chapter Four

Bobby and Athena were quiet as they headed home after the doctor’s appointment. Both of them were too shocked to even speak about what they had learned. Bobby glanced at his wife as they came to a red light and reached over, taking her hand for a moment, squeezing it tightly before letting go as the light turned green. Athena looked over at him, watching the man she had married for the rest of the ride back home.

“So, are you going to say anything?” Athena asked as soon as they entered the house.

“I don’t even know what to say, Athena, I really don’t. This is…” Bobby trailed off.

“Unexpected,” she finished for him, nodding, “Damn, Bobby, I thought I was past all this; was told that I was going through menopause, and then to find out that I’m pregnant, I just…” she trailed off, shaking her head, still in shock at what they had found out.

“I know,” he said as he reached out to her and pulled her into his arms, “I… I don’t know what you want to do about this. I don’t. There are so many things to take into account,” he sighed, placing a kiss on the top of her head, “I’m scared.”

“So am I, Bobby, so am I,” she said, leaning against him, closing her eyes and just taking a few more moments to let the news sink in.

Bobby held her, his mind in turmoil, going through with the pregnancy left him with the possibility that he could lose both Athena and their child. Not going through with it would hurt, but he would still have Athena, and he had made his peace with not being a dad again in this way. It was hard to even think of anything else but the risks that they were now facing.

Athena let her mind wander, her days of changing nappies, burping and feeding babies were long over. She thought the only time she would do that again would be the moment her children gave her grandchildren. “I’m too old for this,” she murmured.

Bobby froze for a second as he heard the words before he gave a slight nod, “We are,” he agreed with her.

Athena let Bobby go and looked up at him, “Bobby,” she said softly, “What should we do?”

“I… I wish I had an answer. Would I love this child, yes, there is no doubt in my mind about that. But there are so many things to consider as well, there are so many risks involved. And I… I don’t think I could cope if something were to happen to you or even the baby,” he answered her honestly.

Athena sighed and went to the kitchen, about to pour herself a glass of wine and then stopped. “Well,” she said quietly, “I’ve booked an appointment with the doctor to go over all the risks,” she told him. “I don’t think you heard me when I did that.”

“You… want to keep the baby?” Bobby asked, watching her as she tucked the wine bottle away again.

Athena turned and looked at him, “I’m not sure. This isn’t something we can decide in a day. I need to know all the ramifications before I make a decision… before we make a decision. This is for you as well, Bobby.”

“Athena, it’s your body, you are the one that is going to be doing all the work in bringing a new life into this world. It’s up to you more in my eyes,” he said walking over to her, “Let’s leave this discussion for another time, let’s just think about what this could mean either way.”

Athena sighed, she didn’t like the waiting around, the indecision that was left before them.

XxXxX

Athena looked at the information that she had received from her doctor. Bobby was seated across from her at the table. They had been reading through it all since they had arrived home. Neither of them spoke a word. Bobby ran his hands over his face as he finished the last packet of information given to them.

“So,” Athena said as she pushed the one she had finished reading to the side, “We know all we can, I… I don’t know Bobby, this is big. I’m only five weeks,” she added as she couldn’t help but place a hand on her stomach.

“I know,” he said, reaching a hand out to the one that still lay on the table, lacing their fingers together, “I’m right beside you, Athena, right there, no matter what choice is made. We have all the information that we can get for now, there is nothing else. The next step is what you want it to be,” he told her, smiling softly.

Athena smiled back, “They said that they could be born early, with problems as well, are we ready to handle that?” she asked him.

“We have friends and family around us, no doubt we could even ask Carla to help find someone if that’s the case,” he smiled, “There is no telling what the future holds, and while we might not feel like we’ll ever be ready, no one is,” he added.

“That is true,” she sighed, “so, what would you like to do, and don’t think about getting out of this. I know what I would like, but we’re a team,” she pointed out, giving him a look before he could even open his mouth to say something.

Bobby thought for a few moments, “What I would like… I’m… I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t want this chance to have a child with you. I would love nothing more than to raise a child again. But we need to think of what this could do to you and the baby.”

“I know, I know that,” Athena huffed, “I’ve had it rammed down my throat from the doctor and now all these,” she said as he gestured towards the paperwork.

“Thena, what do you want to do?” he asked him, “Don’t think of anything else, none of that, or what the doctor said, what do you want to do? What is your heart telling you?” he suggested, hoping that would help Athena decide on what she wanted to do instead of just listening to his own second guesses on what he wanted.

Athena took a breath, “I want this child, Bobby,” she answered after a while.

Bobby smiled, “Then, let’s go from there, what do we need to know and what are the next steps?” he asked as he pulled some of the information towards the middle of the table.

“Another appointment, some time off, for now, to get my head around this,” Athena snorted at the last one before adding, “And making sure that this child will be fine and so will I.”

“We have so many around us that will help with that,” he reassured her, “No doubt May and Harry are going to be confused about this, and may not even be that happy.”

“May hated it when I told her I was pregnant with Harry, she wanted to sell him to our neighbor when he was a few months old. He cried too much,” she snorted as she remembered her almost five-year-old daughter trying to get her neighbor to buy her brother for ten dollars.

“Brooke was happy having a sibling until she found out it was going to be a boy. She wasn’t then,” Bobby smiled, “She adored him after he was born, always wanting to hold him and help Marcy and myself with him.”

Athena smiled, “Well, it seems we’re doing it all over again, the 3 am feeds, the diaper changes at 4 am, sleepless nights.”

“Yeah,” Bobby snorted, “I don’t miss those days, but well. I can deal with it.”

“Same, but at least you’re doing this with me,” she smiled, Bobby smiled back and nodded.

“A team,” he agreed.

“A team,” she repeated.

XxXxX

Athena walked into the Captain’s office and looked at Captain Maynard, “I think, I may need to talk to a friend and not just my Captain here,” she told her as she closed the door behind her.

“Oh, and what brought this on?” she asked, gesturing to the seat in front of her desk.

“It’s only been a couple of days, but really my head is still spinning with this news. So,” Athena paused, unsure of how to tell her captain what was going on. “Just blurt it out,” she muttered to herself with a laugh. “I’m pregnant.”

“Are you serious?” Captain Maynard asked her, frowning and looking at the older woman in front of her.

“Do you see me as the type to joke about this?” she asked, “I found out five days ago and Bobby and I are actually going through with it. It’s a risk, Elaine, one that I didn’t think I would ever go through. I thought those days were long behind me. But Elaine, I think I need some time to actually think this through, really take the time to come to terms with it. Bobby was going to take time off as well, but I think it’s going to be harder for him.”

“I can get you processed for some time off, a week, maybe two?” she asked Athena, still trying to come to terms with her Sergeant being pregnant.

“Please, it would help me a lot, I’ve still got to tell Harry and May, that’s going to…” she sighed, “It’s going to be hard to even tell them. Don’t think either of them is going to be impressed by a new baby in the house.”

“You’re going to have your hands full,” she smiled, though she frowned, “What about the Hudson trial, that’s coming up soon as well,” she mentioned.

“I know, I’ll go when I’m called, but other than that, I’m going to remain home. I have a family to tell and to even make a few appointments to make sure that I’m getting all the supplements and such that I need. Already got my first blood test coming up and I’m just coming up to six weeks.”

“Wow, early,” she nodded, “Fill out these and then let’s get you done so you can go home at the end of your shift. I’ll make a note at the courthouse that you won’t be at the trial unless you are called as a witness. And you are to have a good warning before you have to be there. Appointments are a thing after all.”

“Thanks, Elaine, that… eases my mind a little. I want to be there for the victims but at the moment…” Athena trailed off.

“Your health comes first, I know that this is going to be a rough one. Hoping everything goes smoothly, but let’s take every precaution we can at first.” Captain Maynard nodded.

“I will be coming back, there is no way I’m going to be staying at home for the entire pregnancy. I would be driven crazy within hours,” she snorted, “I don’t even know if I want the full two weeks you’re suggesting,” she said as she looked at the paperwork and began to answer the questions within it.

“Well, you’ll have them, so take them. It’ll be good for you to take some time. I wish I could, I can’t believe that you’re going to have a baby,” she said, shaking her head.

“Neither can I. We want to wait until we hit the twelve-week mark before we tell anyone else. I might tell Michael, so he can have a heads-up when it comes time to tell the kids. But, I need to get my head on straight, find out what I need to start taking to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible,” she murmured as she filled in the last of the paperwork.

“Well, end of shift tonight you have your two weeks,” Captain Maynard said as she took the paperwork, already logging some of the details into the computer so that it would get processed quicker.

“Thanks, Elaine, I’m going to do my usual patrol and then the last of the damn paperwork,” Athena said as she stood up.

“Just take care of yourself, no risks,” she warned her.

Athena nodded and headed out of the office, she had a patrol to get to, maybe the ride around would help to clear her head a little more.

Chapter Five

Eddie walked beside Buck as they headed into the loft, his first day back. It had been a couple more days before he could rejoin the 118.

“Welcome back!” came a yell from those in the loft.

Eddie grinned, “Good to be back,” he nodded at them all, in the center of the table was a cake, though at least it didn’t have him lying there shot. He had been told all about the rebar cake, and he’d rather not have to see his own version of that.

“I talked them out of it,” Buck whispered, seeing the relieved look on his best friend’s face as he saw the plain-looking cake.

“Thanks,” Eddie nodded, smiling softly at him as he went over. “It’s good to be back,” he said as he received numerous pats on the back.

“You doing okay, Buck?” Bobby asked as he walked over to the younger man.

“Yeah, have you put in the request for the Lieutenant’s exam?” he asked, “I’ve done my four years as an engineer, I’ve been a firefighter for a lo-”

“How are you going for the Lieutenants exams?” Chimney asked, “You’ve only been a firefighter for four years since you joined us.”

“No, he hasn’t,” Bobby was the one to answer, “Buck was a transfer to our station. He came in from Flagstaff,” he added, “I’ve put it in, you should get the notice for it in the next couple of days. Good luck on it, Buck, but I know you’ll be fine,” he smiled at him.

“Thanks, Bobby, been working hard towards it,” he smiled back.

“That’s not possible,” Chimney muttered again, “He was a probie, not a firefighter when he started here.”

“No, I wasn’t. Do you really think I just traveled around the US doing nothing after my time in Peru? I finished there and joined an academy after being a volunteer firefighter for a while. I passed and joined a station for my probie year, did that, and then moved slowly across the US, did my engineer track, and have been that for the last five, most of which have been here,” Buck explained, shaking his head, “You really don’t see me as someone that’s smart, do you?”

“Come on, you’re all,” he gestured to how Buck looked, “Just brawn, there isn’t anything else. Maddie remembers what you were like at school after all.”

“Maddie only knows what I was like at school till the age of nine when she left me,” Buck countered, “That’s practically twenty years ago now, and she barely knows the man I am now because she is stuck in the past,” he added, rolling his eyes. It was a point of contention between the siblings. Maddie was still going on at Buck like he was the child she had left behind and not the adult he had become.

“She-”

“If you say she’s my sister, then shouldn’t Albert know you the best?” he asked him, a little smirk playing on his lips.

“Of course not, he hasn’t been around me at all until recently,” Chimney answered him, protesting that Albert would know anything about him.

Buck shook his head, “Then if that’s the case, how would Maddie know about me before she came back, she barely knows me now. And I barely know her, we’re trying to get to know each other, but someone keeps telling her that I’m a big kid all the time, which doesn’t help when I’m trying to get her to see that I’m no longer nine years old but twenty-nine,” he huffed and rolled his eyes as he began to walk away, heading towards Eddie.

“You okay?” Eddie asked as he handed over a paper plate with some cake on it.

“Thanks,” Buck smiled, taking it and having a bite before answering, “Maddie stuck in a time warp of me being nine years old and Chimney just enabling her to see just that and not how I’ve grown. Also, I’ll be going for the lieutenant’s exam soon, Bobby put me down for it.”

“That’s great, I know you’ve been working towards that for a while,” he grinned as the two turned to watch the room as Chimney stalked over to Hen to complain. “I take it the current Lieutenant isn’t happy about it.”

“Of course not,” Buck snorted, “He thinks I came here as a probie and not a full firefighter with an engineering degree,” he rolled his eyes, “So, of course, he goes to his best friend and current chief enabler Hen to get her on his side about it to try and stop me from taking the exam.” His words were quiet, but Eddie could see that Chimney was doing exactly that.

“Why does he do that?” Eddie questioned.

Buck shrugged, “I gave up asking during my first year here before you even arrived,” he sighed, “They like to pretend that a lot of what they do are jokes, and sometimes it is, but it does edge into being bullying at times.”

“I noticed, it’s one of the things that stopped me from telling them anything about my life when I got here. How they were towards you, especially how they were ‘joking’ about Abby,” Eddie told him quietly.

“That hurt,” Buck admitted, “I was floundering and all they could do was joke about my invisible girlfriend,” he muttered, stabbing at the cake viciously before eating the bite. “They were just there to make fun of me and it hurt because I really cared about Abby, a lot, and to have them and then Maddie coming in and say oh, her eat, pray and love thing is just her way of saying she’s banging every guy she sees, well, it didn’t put me in the best of moods for a while.”

“Damn,” he nodded, “Yeah.”

“I-” he stopped as the alarm rang and plates were downed, last bites grabbed as they headed towards the trucks.

XxXxX

Buck picked up his phone, smiling as he received a message from Maddie, a picture of Jee-Yun smiling back at him. “Looks like Jee is having fun.”

“What do you mean?” Chimney said from behind him, snatching the phone from his hand.

“Hey!” Buck said, grabbing it back, “What the fuck, Chimney!”

“I have a right to know what is going on, that’s my daughter,” he said as he tried to get the phone from him again.

“No, it doesn’t mean shit. Maddie is the one that contacted me, we’re going to have lunch later,” he said since it was almost the end of the shift.

Chimney glared at him, “And I don’t want you around Maddie, you’re just going to upset her, you always do.”

“Look, you don’t get to decide who sees Maddie, except for Maddie herself. And she asked to meet for lunch and we’re going to meet for lunch,” he said, shaking his head, “What is your problem?”

“You always upset your sister, you are always so needy and clingy, she doesn’t have to look after you anymore. She has a daughter she needs to take care of and being around you always splits her priorities,” Chimney ranted at him.

Buck just stood there, eyes wide.

“What the hell are you going on about, Howard Han!” Athena yelled as she walked up the stairs, having arrived to meet with Bobby after his shift.

Chimney froze and turned to face the annoyed woman. “I’m just saying that he doesn’t need to see Maddie at all. He’ll just upset her and-”

“Oh, I heard what you said, Howard Han, and you have no right to try and dictate who will see Maddie, only she has that right. Now she wants to see her brother, you don’t have a say in that. If she wants to take Jee-Yun with her, you don’t have a say in that,” she told him, heading towards him, “Now, you need to stop trying to control what Maddie does and who she sees, I don’t like that kind of behavior, Howard Han.”

“I’m not stopping her, I’m just trying to protect her, she… she is always crying because of him, he doesn’t care about her at all. Just his own damn selfish needs all the time!” Chimney yelled out.

Hen walked over, “Hey, what’s going on?” she asked, looking between her two closest friends as they glared at each other.

“Howard Han has a bee in his bonnet about letting Maddie see her own brother. Or rather he doesn’t want Buck to see his sister or niece at all,” Athena said, looking at Hen, “Buck is none of the things that this little shit is saying, all he wants is to do is see his sister and niece.”

“Hey,” Hen said, hands up, “Thena, we don’t know what-”

“That’s right, you don’t know what’s going on and I am just trying to make sure that Maddie stays happy and that she focuses on our daughter,” Chimney interrupted before Hen could finish.

“And Maddie has asked to see me and I’m going to see her, it’s not up for you to decide, and if she cancels, I’m going to be blaming you for it, Chimney,” Buck told him, not liking what the man was saying.

“I’m at least looking out for your sister, while you just do whatever it is you please and cause her heartbreak all the time,” Chimney said as he stormed away.

“I have no idea what is going on?” Hen said, frowning as she watched her friend and work partner head away.

“He just thinks that I’m no good at anything,” Buck sighed, shrugging, “I’ve come to terms with the fact that in Howard Han’s mind, I’m still a probie.”

“Come on, he doesn’t think that,” Hen protested, shaking her head and smiling, “He’s just worried that you’re going to push yourself into trying something you’re not ready for.”

“He is ready for the exam and has been for a year Hen,” Bobby said as he joined them, “I’ve been meaning to put in his request to sit the exams for the duration of it.”

“Chimney doesn’t like it, when I’m with Maddie, he calls a lot and tries to get her to leave, she was annoyed about it at first, but recently she’s been listening to him, especially after she stopped working,” Buck said softly, “I don’t like it, I really don’t like her behavior.”

“Is it really her behavior or his that you are worried about?” Athena frowned as she listened.

“They’re new parents,” Hen said, shaking her head, “They’re just finding their footing.”

“They might be new parents, but something else is going on,” Buck said, “I know my sister, I know what she’s like when she’s faced with a problem.”

Hen sighed, “Come on, nothing is going on,” she said as she walked away.

“You really don’t think everything is alright?” Athena asked Buck.

Buck looked at her, “No I don’t. There… she’s just listless at times, trying to force smiles and I don’t want that. I don’t want to see her forcing herself to smile again, to pretend that everything is okay when it’s not. I saw her do it with Doug and I… I never wanted to see it again and now that I am…” he trailed off, looking at his phone and the picture, there wasn’t the usual lightness that was in his sister’s face after Doug had died. The freedom that comes with really and truly being free from an abuser.

Athena glanced and could see the difference from when she had last seen Maddie. “She looks tired,” she noted.

“Yeah,” Buck nodded, “So meeting her for lunch, going to see if she’ll talk to me at all. Hopefully Chimney can keep to himself for a bit so I can actually talk to her without him calling her home,” he grumbled as he messaged her back and tucked his phone away.

“See if you can find out what’s going on, make sure she’s safe,” Athena said, her own mind going over very different scenarios going through her mind, and she knew that Buck was making the same type of connections.

“I just hope everything is alright and she’s just tired from looking after an almost five-month-old,” Buck said quietly as he went to get changed to go and meet his sister.

Chapter Six

Buck stood up as he saw Maddie quickly making her way towards him, he could see Jee-Yun in her stroller. “Hey,” he smiled as he hugged her tightly as soon as she let him.

“Hey,” she smiled, though it was a tired smile, “Here,” she said as she picked Jee-Yun from the stroller and handed her over to her uncle.

“Hey, Jee,” Buck smiled as he settled her on his lap, letting her play with his fingers as he watched his sister sit down across from him, “How are you?” he asked her, seeing her tiredness and the weary way that she looked around her surroundings. He worried about her, why she was acting like that.

“I’m fine,” she smiled, but it was faked, he could tell. He always knew the smiles she had given him when she was with Doug were faked, and they had started to appear again.

“Mads,” he began, a little hesitant.

Maddie tried her best to keep the smile on her face before it dropped, “I’m just really tired, taking care of Jee is a lot harder than when I had to look after you,” she told him, trying for a small joke.

“You know, you can always grab me and I’ll be delighted to keep Jee for a while so you and Chim can have some time to rest,” he suggested, he knew that Chimney wouldn’t be that happy about it. He’d seen Jee-Yun only a few times since she had been born, and never for very long.

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” she smiled at him weakly, “I just want to know what’s going on in your life at the moment. It feels like I haven’t spoken to you in ages.”

“It has been a while, Chimney called you away last time you came to meet me. You didn’t even have a chance to drink the iced tea I got you,” he smiled, trying to keep his voice cheerful as he spoke.

“I know, Chim needed me for something,” Maddie said, waving a hand as she reached for the iced tea.

“Well, let’s hope he can cope without you for a little bit. I’ve missed talking with you,” he told her, “Now, how are things?” he asked.

Maddie looked at her brother and nodded, “Things are… okay,” she sighed, “Tired, of course, and I do miss work, but I want to spend time with Jee before she grows up too much. I just… I don’t want to miss anything,” she said quietly.

“You won’t be,” Buck told her, smiling, “she’s going to be around for a very long time until she’s running to me to escape you and Chimney as all teens do.”

“Don’t you mean just as Christopher did,” she laughed, it was bright and happy but it didn’t last long, “Do you really think I can do this?”

Buck looked at her, and seeing her almost hunching in on herself, he stopped the words that he was going to say. “Maddie, no one thinks they can be a parent. Eddie still doesn’t think he can be a good dad to Christopher and he is good at it. You raised me when I was little, you might not have been there after you went to college, but you were there when I was little, and I needed you then. You stepped up, Mom and Dad didn’t. Part of who I am is thanks to you, and life on the road,” he smiled, reaching out and taking hold of her hand, “Yes, you can do this, and as they say, it takes a village to raise a child. We have that village around us. There are me and Eddie, Athena, and Bobby will be really happy to help as well. Karen and Hen would love nothing more to help as well. We’re all here,” he told her, hoping that would help, “and if we need to, we can bring in the big guns in the form of Isabel Diaz and Josephina Ortiz,” they would be just as happy to come and help and give you tips.

Maddie smiled, her eyes a little watery as she nodded, “I heard that Isabel is a force to be reckoned with.”

“She is, she has adopted me as her grandson, calls me Nieto at times and I have to say it fills that little spot in me that I always needed for a family that truly cared, like you. And I’ve no doubt she would be so happy to see you and Jee again,” he said, as he turned his attention to the five-month-old in his lap.

“I might… I might talk to her,” Maddie said quietly.

“She’d love it if you turn up for tea or coffee. She makes the best cakes,” Buck grinned, “She raised six children, Maddie, six children, and she now has over twenty grandchildren and even fifteen great-grandchildren, and they all love and adore her. She’ll know a few tricks to get you through anything that is worrying you, I’ve no doubt of that. Pepa would be the same, she raised four children. They have a lot of knowledge in their heads and I love to listen to whatever they want to tell me.”

“Yeah,” she said, sipping at her iced tea before saying anything else, “I’ve missed this.”

“Same, we need to do it more often,” Buck agreed, “I love spending time with my two favorite girls,” he grinned as he tickled Jee-Yun’s tummy causing her to giggle freely and squirm on his lap.

“How about we try and do this each week,” she said, feeling brave about suggesting it.

“I’d like that a lot,” Buck nodded, agreeing quickly.

“And maybe you can bring Taylor along as well, I should get to know the one that my little brother is dating,” she added, as she watched Buck play with Jee-Yun for a moment and then stop. “Is everything okay?” she asked, frowning as she looked at him.

“Taylor and I broke up,” Buck answered her, “We’re still friends, but we both decided that we’re not right for each other outside of that.”

“I’m… sorry to hear that,” she said slowly. She hadn’t been too keen on Taylor and Buck dating, she thought that she wasn’t right for her brother at all.

“I know, you’re somewhat happy about that,” Buck said, looking away, “But know that I’m hurt a little bit,” he added.

Maddie shook her head, clearing away the bad thoughts she had about Taylor, “I’m sorry,” she told him.

“It’s okay, you’re entitled to your opinion on her, but we get along really well. To be honest, I think she would be a good friend for you as well, she’s a good person, she wants to find out the truth about things, I know. And she is a bit of a work-a-holic, but she’s toning down a lot more,” he said, smiling as he thought of the woman.

Maddie watched him for a moment before saying softly, “You’re still smitten over her.”

“I still care about her, but she was right in saying that I’m not in love with her. She’s a great one to be around and to have in your corner, she’ll help you fight,” he told her, “And I… liked that. She keeps Eddie on his toes as well. Christopher likes her a lot too, which makes Eddie, even more, grumpier about her being around.”

“Sounds like it, maybe… maybe I’ll try and see,” she said, laughing lightly.

“Now,” Buck said as he looked at his sister’s half-finished drink, “We have plans to go to the zoo, need to see if we can get this one to have a favorite animal yet. Christopher wants to know, I think he wants to know so he can start to change her mind later on.”

“Well, the zoo sounds… like fun,” she said, a little hesitant. Maddie had known that her brother wanted to take her there, just a small walk around before going home.

“If you’re not up for it, you can say, you know,” Buck told her, “I don’t mind putting it off to another day. We can always do it on the weekend and bring Christopher along, he knows a lot about the animals. He’ll be wanting to tell Jee all about them.”

“More like you educated him on the animals and what he knows, you know,” she pointed out to him, drinking the last of her iced tea, “If we’re going, we should go now. Though how are you still awake after a twenty-four-hour shift I don’t know.”

“Most likely the same way you’re still awake after being up and taking care of Jee all night and day,” he grinned as he drank the last of his coffee and settled Jee-Yun on his hip, “I have my jeep with me, and you have your car, so… we take yours?” he offered.

“Well, Jee’s car seat is in it, so it saves transferring. The parking here is fine for a good five hours. Or I could follow you to the zoo?” she suggested standing up and heading out of the coffee shop.

“Then, follow you in,” Buck grinned, “Won’t be hard to do,” he said as he followed her to her car first.

Buck started to secure Jee-Yun into her car seat as Maddie’s phone started to ring. His shoulders slumped as his sister answered. “Let me guess, Chimney needs you home?” he asked her when she finished her call.

“I’m so sorry, Evan,” she said as she put her phone away again, “I…”

Buck was silent for a moment and then suggested, “What about if I take Jee with me? We’ll put her car seat into the jeep, it’s a new one, so you don’t have to worry about that. And I’ll take her to the zoo, and maybe you and Chimney could have some adult time with just the two of you?”

“I don’t know, I really…” she sighed, looking torn.

“Maddie,” Buck said quietly, “Is everything okay?” He put his hands on her shoulders, he towered over her small frame, and at that moment in time, it looked even smaller.

Maddie looked up at him, “Okay, Okay,” she nodded, “It’s not been fair, you’ve barely had a chance to meet your niece and spend time with her. She can get fussy, and she is on solid food now, though mainly sweet potato mash is what she really likes. She likes her carrot sticks too, something to chew on, she’s got a few teeth that she likes to use,” she said as she began to list all the things that Buck would need to know about Jee-Yun to take care of her, including all the phone numbers.

“My jeep isn’t that far from here,” he said pointing it out as he put Jee-Yun in the stroller for a moment and took out the car seat. He had been practicing putting the car seat in and out of his jeep a lot before Jee-Yun was born.

Maddie gave him an almost terrified look, “Yeah,” she nodded, taking a breath and letting it go slowly.

“It’s going to be fine,” Buck reassured her as they transferred what was needed over to Buck’s jeep. Maddie took a while to say goodbye to her daughter, telling Buck everything he needed a second time.

“I know,” she said as she stood up straight, “I’m just a little nervous, not really letting her out of my sight, and I know you’re right, it would be nice to have some me time,” she said with a trembling smile. “Mrs Lee tells me all the time that a break is a good thing, but I’m her mother and I should be taking care of her.”

“Every parent feels that I bet. I know Eddie does, but it’s okay to take some time for you as well,” he pointed out.

Maddie nodded, “Yeah, Thanks, Buck,” she said, hugging him before she headed to her car.

“Well, Jee,” Buck said as he got in the jeep, “We have an uncle, niece day ahead of us, let’s head to the zoo and then maybe the new soft play area that they have. You’ll like that,” he grinned as he started up the jeep and headed out.

Before Buck could even get them into the Zoo, an irate Chimney called and demanded that he bring Jee-Yun back.

Chapter Seven

Athena sighed as she put the phone down. Hudson had escaped custody. Lou Ransone had called her to tell her what was going on. Captain Maynard had told her to stay home, and that they would take care of things. Though with the lights starting to go out around the city and a ransomware attack happening. She didn’t think the chances of getting him would be too high.

“Mom,” Harry said as he walked up behind her, “You okay?”

Athena turned and smiled, holding out her arms for him to walk into them, “Yeah, I’m okay, baby, just a bit of news from work.”

“Do you have to go in?” he asked, as he glanced up at her, though he was quickly reaching her height. Athena had no doubt that in the end, he would be towering over her.

“No, I’m staying at home,” she smiled in answer, “I have the chance to stay home and relax and play a few board games with you, I’m going to take it,” she told him.

“Okay, Jenga?” he asked with a grin, knowing his mother wasn’t that good at the game.

“You only want to hear me swearing,” she told him, poking his side and making him laugh and jolt away from her.

“I learn some new ones every time,” Harry joked.

“As long as you’re not using them, fine,” she warned him as they made their way outside, the weather was hot, too hot for a blackout. They had power, but only because Michael had installed a generator in the house when he renovated it before he moved out.

“Of course not, Mom,” he smirked, “I would never show the world how vulgar you really are,” he laughed as she gave him a stern look, “That and I’m afraid of what Grandma would do,” he added.

“Hmm,” Athena nodded, remembering her own punishments as a child when she swore in front of her mother, “Washing your mouth out would be the least of it.”

“You do know that as soon as the neighbors find out that we have power they’ll be over here don’t you?” Harry said as they sat down in the garden.

“Of course they are, and we’re going to welcome them as always,” Athena said, “Michael and David will be heading over here soon as well. I told them to bring extra food, as we know everyone will want feeding,” she added, “So don’t worry about anything.”

“I’m not worried, Mom,” he pointed out as he set up the Jenga blocks that he had already put out.

“I know, just as strong-willed as both your parents,” she smiled proudly as she watched him set up.

“Do you think Bobby is going to be okay?” he then asked as he took his first turn.

Athena smiled, “He’ll be just fine, the whole station is going to be full of firefighters and he’ll be there making sure everyone is safe, including himself. He’s going to keep in touch when he can as well, but there are going to be a lot of people out there that are scared and alone,” she said quietly, “We’re going to be housing a few of them no doubt.”

Harry grinned, “You should charge them if they are going to be coming in.”

Athena snorted, “We’re not doing that.”

“I know, you won’t,” Harry rolled his eyes as his mother took out a block and carefully laid it on the top. “But it might be an idea if no one wants to leave after a while.”

“You are too enterprising,” she shook her head.

“Maybe,” he shrugged before carefully sliding a block out, “But at least I’m thinking of what could happen,” he grinned at her before placing his block.

Athena rolled her eyes as she started to take out a block, only for the tower to fall. “Damn it,” she cursed lightly.

Harry laughed, “You are so bad at this game,” he said as he looked at the fallen blocks, quickly gathering them to make a new tower.

“Give me a gun and I can hit the target every single damn time. But that game and I’m done,” she huffed as she got up, “I’m getting myself some of that tea Buck got us,” she muttered, wishing again she could have a small glass of wine. With a shake of her head, a hand on her stomach. “Not going to be drinking for a while,” she murmured to herself as she prepared the tea.

XxXxX

Athena stood with tea in her hand, it had been three days and no news about Hudson and if he had been caught at all. She had hoped that Lou would have gotten in touch with her to tell her. So far it had been silent. Grabbing her phone she called her captain, “Elaine,” she greeted as soon as the call connected.

“Athena, you’re supposed to be resting,” Captain Maynard said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“I just want to talk to Lou. But his phone isn’t being answered at all. I want to find out what was going on with Hudson,” she said, biting her bottom lip as she settled onto a chair, watching those around her go about their business.

“I’ll check, but last I heard he had caught him and was heading towards the lockup,” she answered, sending someone to check the prison and to find out where Ransone was.

“It would be good if that is the case, I just know that Lou isn’t the type to stay out of contact like this. He would have called me to make sure that I knew Hudson was caught,” she added, waiting for news.

“I know, he’s one of my best detectives,” Captain Maynard agreed, “Right, they are doing a head check at the prison now,” she said, “Give me a few and I’ll find out. As for Ransone, he’s still not answering. I’m putting out an alert. This isn’t like him.”

“When was the last time someone contacted him or saw him?” Athena asked, a pit of dread forming in her stomach.

She could hear Captain Maynard talking a little more before she came back and answered, “No one has seen him since Hudson escaped, and I just got word that Hudson isn’t in his cell. I’m sending notices to be on the lookout for Lou Ransone at the hospitals and morgues.”

“Damn,” Athena hissed, “I’ll get ready and co-”

“No, you’re not going to come in. As soon as we know anything, we’re going to inform you. Take it easy and rest up, this heatwave and the blackout are causing all kinds of trouble. We can barely tell what we’re doing half the time,” she complained, “I’m going to have the victims watched, to make sure that they are safe. Athena, you are one as well,” she pointed out carefully, “So be on the lookout.”

XxXxX

Athena was quick to grab her phone a few hours later. It was day three of the blackout and it really didn’t look like it was going to end any time soon. “Sergeant Grant,” she answered.

“Athena,” came the voice of Captain Maynard, “We’ve found Ransone,” she sighed, “He’s at the hospital. His throat was cut and he suffered a stroke. He’s got no family here in LA that I know of. Hell, we haven’t even got the Next of Kin listed for him.”

“I’ll go out and see him, make sure that someone is there,” Athena said as she got up to get herself ready.

“Mom,” Harry called from where he had spotted her, “Where are you going?”

“A friend of mine is in the hospital. I’m just going to see him,” Athena said softly, “Thanks for telling me, Elaine,” she said as she remembered she still had the phone in her hand.

“Go make sure he’s okay, keep me informed of his condition, and I’ll see if we can’t hunt up some family,” she added.

Athena hung up and put her phone away, “You can come with me if you want to?” she suggested to Harry.

“I think I will,” Harry smiled at his mother before heading to get ready.

Athena smiled as she and Harry headed out to see Lou Ransone.

XxXxX

Buck rubbed the back of his neck as he stretched a little. Ravi was next to him as they had gone over the forms and what needed to be done. Three days since the start of the blackout and he could do with going home already. He wanted his own bed instead of the tiny cots and wanted a full shower without having to be quick. He felt horrible and sweaty.

“I want a charging device,” Chimney demanded.

Buck sighed, “You have to fill out the form,” as he went through the spiel he had gone through each time someone demanded one.

Chimney glared down at him, “How about you give me one or Uncle Buck won’t be seeing his niece any time soon.”

Buck just glared back, “It’s not like I’ve been able to see her anyway, since each time I do, you call Maddie and demand she comes home. And the one time that I had Jee, you demanded that I bring her straight home or you would call the cops and say that I kidnapped her. So no, I won’t give you one just because you demand it. Fill out the form first,” he said, pushing it towards Chimney again.

“You’ll give me a damn charger now, this isn’t time for you to fuck around because you’re on a damn power trip!” he yelled at Buck.

“Ravi, can you go and get Bobby or one of the other captains, to say that we have a situation of non-compliance with the rules stated about the chargers,” Buck said calmly as he looked at the young probie.

“Ye-”

“No, you stay there, Buck is just on a fucking power trip again,” Chimney said, “I’m a lieutenant and you will do as I say.”

“So am I, I took the tests and passed, Ravi, go and do as I ask,” Buck said.

Ravi looked nervously between the two of them and then darted away.

“I can’t believe you’re being like this, I just need the damn charger, it wo-”

“And if you had filled the form in, you would already have one,” Buck pointed out to him, “Everyone is having to fill one in, no matter what.”

“Yo-”

“What seems to be the problem?” Bobby asked as he, Ravi, and the B-Shift Captain Reacher, walked over to them.

“Buck won’t give me a damn charger,” Chimney answered before Buck could say anything.

“Buck?” Bobby asked, looking at the younger man.

“I told him he has to fill out a form like everyone else and he refuses,” Buck said, tapping the form that he had put in front of Chimney.

“He threatened to not let Buck see his niece if he didn’t hand over a charger,” Ravi whispered quietly.

Bobby glanced at Ravi for a second before looking at Chimney, “You just need to fill out the form, what is so hard about doing that?”

“You don’t understand, I just need to call her to make sure she’s okay,” Chimney ranted.

“She,” Buck frowned, “You mean Maddie and Jee?” he asked.

Chimney glared at him, “That is none of your concern. They aren’t you-”

“Of course, it’s my concern, they are my family too,” Buck argued back, “Should I go and call her? Maybe go and see her?” he asked as he glanced at Bobby.

“No, you’ll go nowhere near them!” Chimney yelled at him. “I’m trying to keep them safe and you’ll… just mess everything up!”

“She’s my sister, I’m worried about her,” Buck said calmly, shaking his head as he worried about what was going on. “You can’t keep isolating her from her family.”

“I will if it keeps her safe, and at the moment you and everyone else are a danger to her! She let you take care of Jee, she shouldn’t do that!” Chimney ranted as he stormed away from them.

Buck stood there, eyes wide as he took in what Chimney was saying. He grabbed his phone and walked away, not speaking a word to anyone.

Chapter Eight

Buck found a quiet corner and called a well-known number. “Hey Abuela,” he smiled softly as he heard Isabel’s voice.

“Nieto,” she greeted, “Is everything alright?” she asked, “Christopher, Pepa, and I are all doing well. We’re a little bored, Christopher wants to make some food for everyone to bring in. I have everything ready for some enchiladas, they will go to waste if I don’t use what I have.”

“That would be amazing because I know there is nothing better than your enchiladas,” Buck grinned for a moment before it slipped from his face, “Abuela,” he said quietly, “I… I’m worried about Maddie and Jee. They’re alone and Chimney is worried about them but refuses to let me call them. I was hoping that you could have Pepa go over there under the guise of taking some food and see if she can talk Maddie into joining you guys?” he asked her.

“Ah, now that is a good idea, a little baby in the house would be so nice as well,” Isabel said, “Yes, I shall have Pepa go over and bring her here. We all know Pepa won’t take no for an answer. You rest assured that we’ll take good care of her.”

“Thank you, Abuela, and thank Pepa as well. I know it’s..” Buck trailed off, a small smile of relief on his face.

“Of course, you can come to me, you’re family and so is she, even though I have only seen her a couple of times,” she told him, “Now, no more worry, you keep safe and keep Eddito safe, okay?”

“Okay,” Buck smiled, “Call me, or message me when she gets there?”

“I’ll have her call you,” she promised him, “I’ll see you soon, maybe later with some good food.”

“Thank you,” he repeated.

“No need for thanks, keep safe Evanito,” she said as she hung up.

Buck put away his phone, feeling a little bit better knowing that Isabel and Pepa were going to see his sister to make sure she and Jee-Yun were alright.

XxXxX

Josephina walked up the steps that led to the apartment that Maddie lived in. In her hand was a bag with some freshly cooked food in it. Though, she was planning to have the two of them eat and then bundle Maddie and Jee-Yun into her car and head to Isabel’s home. She knocked on the door and waited. It took a few moments before the door opened slowly.

“Josephina?” Maddie said, frowning as she saw the woman.

“Maddie,” she smiled, “Now, let me in, I have hot food for us all to eat. I know you only have an electric cooker, Buck told me that. So I thought some nicely cooked food would be just what was needed.”

“You… really didn’t need to do this,” she said as she hesitated for a moment before opening the door.

“Of course I do,” she said, waving a hand as she walked inside, “Now, let’s get this dished out, and I brought something for Jee-Yun as well,” she added as Maddie guided her to the kitchen.

“Oh, that’s… really great, thank you so much,” Maddie smiled as she went to go and get Jee from her pack-n-play.

Josephina watched her and shook her head, “Dear child,” she murmured.

Maddie walked back in as Josephina already had everything laid out for the three of them to eat. “It smells divine,” she said as she set Jee-Yun into her highchair, a small bowl of mashed sweet potato with some carrot sticks nearby.

“Mama’s cooking is always good,” she grinned, “I’m staying with her during the blackout, along with Christopher,” she told her, “It’s nice to have other people to talk to.”

Maddie nodded, “Yeah, it would,” she agreed as the two began to eat, with Maddie giving Jee-Yun a spoon of mash between her munching on the carrot sticks.

When the last bite was eaten and Jee-Yun cleaned up a little, Josephina looked at Maddie and said. “You should come and stay with us. It’s not good to be alone.”

Maddie’s eyes went wide, “No, no I’m fine here. I have to look after Jee, I’m her mother.”

“And you deserve to have people around you so you can take a little break. All mothers need them, just like every parent does,” she pushed a little more.

Maddie shook her head, “No, I’m her mother, I have to look after her, and if I do then I would bo-”

“Would bond with your child. You have already, but that doesn’t mean you should be attached to them all the time,” she pointed out.

“But Chim, he said that I should be with her all the time, that way I’ll be-” she began again, finding it hard to tell her the truth of what was going on in her mind.

“A good mom? You are,” Josephina said, “But I can tell that at the moment, you don’t feel like that,” she sighed softly, “I know that feeling, that alien feeling that my child isn’t mine. That I’m a danger to them. I have four wonderful children, the first two times were smooth and perfect in my eyes. But my third child, I don’t know what went wrong, but I couldn’t bond with him. I saw him as an imposter at times. I was a danger to him, I had postpartum depression, they told me. I would cry and be tired all the time. I would often shout at Nathan, so many times I chased him and the children out of my home. I thought I was the worst mother in the world. It didn’t matter that I had raised two children before. My mind was against me and it showed me nothing but horror.”

Maddie stared at her for a good few minutes before she burst into tears, “I’m trying so hard, but I can’t… I can’t do it. I’m trying.”

“I know you are, and you are doing a wonderful job, but saying that doesn’t help does it?” she asked her.

Maddie shook her head, “No, it doesn’t and that’s what Chim tells me all the time and it’s just making things so much worse.”

Josephina walked around the table and took Maddie into her arms, “Pack your things, you’re coming back with me. No hesitation, you need help, you know this. And if you aren’t getting it from those you trust, then sometimes you need someone outside of it to give it to you.”

Maddie nodded a few times before taking the comfort that was offered and slowly letting go, “Okay, I’ll go and pack,” she agreed.

Josephina smiled and messaged her mother to tell her that Maddie and Jee-Yun would be returning with her.

XxXxX

Maddie laughed a little as Christopher showed her some of the pictures of Buck and Eddie during the last Diaz family gathering. The two men were under a pile of children.

“Are you okay, Miss Maddie?” Christopher asked her, “You seem really sad.”

Maddie nodded, “I will be,” she told him, hugging him, “Now I’m going to talk to Isabel and Josephina for a moment, can you make sure Jee is okay for me?”

“Of course,” Christopher puffed up proudly at being asked. He slid to the floor and went over to the pack-n-play that had been set up and wiggled his fingers at the baby as he started to tell her stories about Buck and his Dad.

Maddie stood up, heading into the kitchen to find the two women putting the finishing touches on some food. “That all looks so good, I know they are going to be happy when they see it all,” she said.

“Well, I got the numbers from Buck, so we’re making small lunches for them all,” Isabel smiled over at her.

“Thank you,” Maddie then blurted out, “For making me come here.”

“Of course, you’re family,” Isabel said as she cleaned off her hands and went over to her, “You are Buck’s sister and family to us. When you want to talk, you are free to do so. Pepa is going to take Christopher over to take all this food. You and I can have a good talk when they do.”

“I’d like that,” she smiled as she looked back at her daughter, giggling and cooing at Christopher as he talked. Feeling secure that she was fine without her for a moment she turned back and asked, “What do you need help with?”

“Some have dietary requirements, so they are separate, we need names on them as we put the rest away,” Josephina told her.

Maddie nodded and got to work. Half an hour later everything was packed up and taken out to Josephina’s car, “Can you get word to Buck that I’m okay and that I’ll call him later. I know I should have called him before, but…” she gave a little shrug.

“He’ll understand,” she said, hugging her as Christopher was buckled into his seat.

“Let’s go see Dad and Buck!” he yelled out, excited about seeing them. It had been days since he had last been able to.

Maddie smiled as she and Isabel waved and then went back inside. “I find it hard to be around Jee so much. Chimney thinks that if I’m around her all the time, I’ll suddenly be a good mom and that I’ll love her.”

“You do love her, or you wouldn’t be worried as you are. But you’re right, you do need some proper help. My Pepa had such a hard time, she had to leave her family for a while. And while she will forever mourn not being there during those first several months, she knows that she wouldn’t have been with him during the rest of his life if she hadn’t gone.”

“Go?” Maddie said as they walked into the kitchen and Isabel made them something to drink.

“Yes, she went to a good place here in LA, she was still near the family, but she was far enough that she could concentrate on getting better. And she did, after a while, she could be around her son without the fear of harming him. Then she was home again,” she smiled, “We were there for her, but we didn’t push her to hurry home. She took her time and that was good for her.”

Maddie was quiet as she mulled over the words, “I have medication for it, but it doesn’t help. I know I need more help than that,” she said looking up.

Isabel walked over with two mugs, “And you’ll get it. It is a large step, but a good step to take. Those that love you will be there to help you and support you.”

“I don’t think Chim will be happy,” she muttered, shaking her head, “He thinks that just thrusting Jee at me all the time would cure me. That telling me over and over again that I’m a good mom would cure me. The medication was a last resort, but it’s not worked and the higher dose hasn’t either.”

“There are some very good places here that you can go to. You need to make sure that Jee is going to be well taken care of,” she pointed out.

“I know, and I will make sure of that before I leave. I think… I think leaving is the best thing I can do. Find a place here in LA, there are so many, I was looking. I was looking at going away further, but… staying close. I like that idea more,” she smiled slightly.

“I am so proud of you, Nieta,” she said as she reached out and took her hand.

“Thank you, for coming to get me,” she added, squeezing the offered hand.

“You thank that brother of yours, Buck, who told us to come and get you. He loves you so much,” she smiled, “He wants what is best for you.”

Maddie smiled and nodded, keeping hold of the hand and feeling that little bit stronger knowing that she is going to be getting the help that she needed. She still had to talk to Chimney about it all, but it should be fine. He would want her to get help, just like everyone else around them did.

Chapter Nine

Athena shot up as the lights went out. Immediately she went to the cupboard and the safe that was there, pulling out her gun. She grabbed Harry, who had decided to rest in his mother’s room with her and they made their way out of the bedroom. They saw people beginning to leave. Making sure her gun wasn’t visible, she let them go, not seeing Michael and David at all.

“Harry,” she said quietly to her son as they began to move into the house further as no one was left inside.

“Stay close and behind,” he said, having heard the words once before when someone had tried to break into their home. Harry couldn’t help but wonder what was going on to make his mother so jumpy. He knew that Lou Ransone had woken up earlier. The two were going to see him, but Athena had started to feel ill and went to lie down.

“Good,” she smirked slightly as she began to search through her home, “David, Michael!” she called out, hoping that the two would answer her.

There was nothing as she moved through the living room into the dining area. The doors to the garden were wide open still. Someone rushed towards her, almost knocking her to the ground.

“Mom!” Harry yelled as he was pulled away from her, he froze as he felt a gun against his head. His eyes were wide in fear as he stared at his mother. Her own gun was trained on the person that had taken him.

“Hudson,” Athena growled, “Let him go,” she demanded, making sure her aim was right on Hudson, there was no way she was going to let that man hurt her son.

“I thought you would be there, to chase me down as you did before, but no. You’re playing house with a bunch of strangers,” he smirked, “I really did think you like the chaos that you could cause. Obviously, I was so wrong about you.”

“You have no idea about me at all,” she said as she repeated, “Let my son go.”

“No, I think I’ll keep him, might get you to work for me,” Hudson grinned as he began to move his way backward. The room was still dark as the generator was still not working.

The lights turned on, “Harry,” she called out as she heard Hudson grunt and a hand go on her arm. She could just about see Harry rush away from Hudson.

“Fucking kids,” Hudson snapped as he brought up the gun he had, but he didn’t even get a chance to get a shot off before he fell backward.

Athena held her gun steady as Hudson fell to the ground, the gun falling from dead hands as his eyes glazed over in death. “Harry,” she said as she turned to her son, her gun already away as she went to check on him. The door to the back opened and Michael and David rushed inside.

“Thena!” Michael yelled as he entered the dining area to see the body in the middle of the room and Athena frantically checking on Harry.

“I’m okay, Mom, I’m okay,” Harry said, his voice shaking and tears in his eyes as he was then hugged tightly. “I’m okay, you… you saved me, you got him away.”

“Oh my baby boy,” Athena said as tears started to fall from her eyes.

Michael went over to them, guessing what happened as he wrapped his arms around the two. David stood there watching a little awkwardly for a while before he went over and placed a hand on Michael’s back.

Athena brushed away her tears, “I… I need to call it in,” she said as she pulled out of the hug, “Michael, take Harry into the garden for now. David, go with him,” she added, looking at Hudson, wanting to make sure he was dead as she pulled out her phone.

“Captain Maynard,” came the voice of her superior.

“Ransone was right, he came here,” Athena said, still shaking at how close she came to losing Harry.

“Shit, I’ll have people on you in minutes. I’ll head there as well,” She said, “Get everyone you can to safety.”

“He’s dead. He tried to take Harry and I killed him, I shot him,” she told her. She stood there staring at the body, as though she was daring it to move so she could shoot a second time. Make sure the bastard couldn’t harm anyone else.

“I’ll still head towards you, bring what’s needed,” Captain Maynard told her.

“Yeah, whatever is needed. I’m… I’m going out the back with Harry, he’s there with Michael and David at the moment,” she sighed as she went to join them.

“I’ll see you soon, Sergeant,” she said as she hung up.

Athena put away her phone, her gun tucked away as she went to her son and held him tightly again. She remained like that until Captain Maynard pulled her away to take her statement and for someone to do the same with Harry, David, and Michael.

“Well, you know what happens next,” she said as she looked at the woman.

Athena nodded, “I know,” she sighed, “At least this is over for now. I know, I’ll have to be investigated since I’m off duty as well,” she muttered, not happy about it, but it was normal procedure for firing her weapon whether on or off duty.

“You’ll need to find another place to stay for a while as well,” Captain Maynard added as she glanced at where forensics was now going through the home.

“We had a lot of damn neighbors around at the time as well, so,” Athena sighed as she knew that so many people had been in her home in the last few days. “Though they were all gone by the time he showed himself.”

Captain Maynard nodded, “Find a place to stay and rest up. We’ll make sure everything is taken care of,” she said, resting a hand on Athena’s shoulder, “You shouldn’t be working yourself up,” she finished quietly.

Athena snorted, “So much for rest and relaxation while I came to terms with everything,” she rolled her eyes as her Captain laughed lightly, “I’ll sort something out, just going to pack a few things away, may head to the station and to Bobby. I don’t know if Harry will want to come with me or not.”

“I think he would,” she told her before leaving.

Athena looked towards the garden where her son was with his father. She walked outside and smiled as Harry went over and hugged her tightly, “Well, I’m going to pack a few things, you have things at your dad’s. So you can head home with him. I’m going to head to the station and see Bobby.”

“I’m coming as well. I can always go to Dad’s afterward,” he said, not wanting to leave his mother at all.

Athena nodded, “Okay,” she smiled, kissing the top of his head as she glanced up at Michael.

“We have room at ours for everyone, so don’t worry about trying to find a place,” Michael told her, giving her a smile.

“Thank you,” she reached out and squeezed his arm before she headed to pack. Soon enough she was on the way to the 118, she just needed to see Bobby, to make sure he was fine. Though in her head she already knew that, her heart just wanted to make sure.

XxXxX

Athena walked into the station, she could see row upon row of cots. Buck was on one talking to Eddie. She could see Hen over to one side whispering furiously with Chimney. And then her heart eased, Bobby was coming down the stairs.

“To what do I owe this lovely visit,” he smiled as he walked over to her, hand reaching out to pull her into his arms.

“I just needed to come and see you,” she said quietly as she rested her head against Bobby’s shoulder. She could tell that Harry was hovering nearby, worried about her behavior over the last week. It was rare that she took any time off work, and to take some off and then not go in when nearly the entire force had been recalled thanks to the Blackout. Harry wasn’t stupid, he knew something more was going on, and whatever it was, it felt like it was going to be big.

“Are you okay?” Bobby asked as he looked down at her.

“I am now,” she sighed, “Hudson escaped custody, he came after me. He tried to take Harry.”

“Mom had to kill him to save me,” Harry murmured as he got closer to the couple.

Bobby held out an arm and Harry took it and hugged the man. “Are you okay?” he asked him.

Harry nodded, “Yeah, Mom saved me before anything could happen to me.”

Bobby held the two for a while before saying, “Why don’t we go upstairs, mostly everyone is down here trying to get some rest.”

Athena nodded and let him go, Harry, doing the same as the three went upstairs. She could see Buck looking at them with worry and curiosity. She gave him a smile and he smiled back, leaving them be as she followed her husband and son.

XxXxX

Buck sighed as the lights came on, five days without power and finally, he would be able to go home soon. The shifts would go back to normal over the next day or so, with everyone doing a few twelve-hour shifts before it would go back to normal.

“Glad that’s over with, can’t wait to see Christopher again,” Eddie said as he lay back on his bunk.

“At least he managed to come and see you,” Buck grinned, happy to know that his sister was okay with Isabel and Josephina, Jee-Yun was with them as well.

“You okay?” Eddie asked, seeing the grin.

“Just thinking about Maddie and knowing she’s safe,” he said quietly, not wanting to chance Chimney to overhear him. He had been able to talk to Maddie for a bit over the last two days. She had told him a lot about what was going on and what she planned to do.

“Good to know,” he smiled at him.

Buck flopped onto the bunk. They would be able to go home since they had been on duty before the Blackout had happened. They would have twenty-four hours before they had to be back, but thankfully only a twelve-hour shift.

“Right,” Bobby said, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention.

Captain nodded to his men as Captain Vines joined the two. “We’ve got the rotation set up, look at when you are on and off for the next week, then it’ll be regular shifts again,” he warned them.

“C-Shift,” Captain Vines said as she looked around for her people, “You’ll remain on duty for twelve hours, B-Shift will take over for you, and then A-Shift, sorry B-Shift, but you have twelve off, twelve on for now.”

“A-Shift, gather your things and head on home, you have twenty-four hours,” Bobby finished.

“Want to come to mine?” Eddie asked Buck as they got up and began to gather their things and help tidy up a little.

“Sure, it’ll be nice to see Christopher,” he smiled, nodding as he folded the blankets that had been used.

Everyone was quick to pitch in and help to straighten the station up before they headed home. Most had been able to rest the last day or so since things had been calm. No one wanted to do much of anything in the heatwave; they were all suffering. Buck jumped into his jeep, messaging Maddie after he saw that she was heading back home. A promise for the two of them to talk again later on after she had talked to Chimney about her decision. Buck hated the fact that she felt as she did but was glad that she was taking the steps needed to get help. Starting up his jeep, he followed Eddie out of the parking lot, eager to see Christopher again.

Chapter Ten

Maddie stood in the middle of the living room. The day was only just beginning but she was waiting for Chimney to come back home. Chimney had sent word that he was going to be coming home. She had enjoyed her time talking with Isabel and Josephina, both of them had been helpful in making her mind up on what she should do. Maddie looked at the monitor and saw that Jee-Yun was happily sleeping in her crib. Maddie pulled out her phone, messaging Buck and asking to meet him for lunch, that she and Jee-Yun would be there to meet him, and no Chimney was going to stop her this time. She was letting herself fall back into habits that she thought she had lost when she had left Doug, the need to follow everything the man in her life said.

Maddie looked up as the front door opened and Chimney walked in, “Hey,” she smiled at him.

“See, I knew you would be fine even if I left you alone. Told you, you are a good mom, you just needed to spend time around her,” he said, grinning as he walked over and hugged her tightly.

Maddie hugged him back before moving away. “I wasn’t on my own. Josephina and Isabel came and got me a few days ago. Let me spend some time with them.”

“What, Maddie, I told you that you need to spend time around Jee. That’s the only way you’ll be able to see that you’re a good mother,” Chimney frowned, taking a step back.

“Chim, that’s not what I need,” she told him, “I have Postpartum Depression and the medication that I’m taking is doing nothing but turning me into a forgetful zombie that doesn’t know what day it is, let alone the damn time,” she added, shaking her head, as she reached out for him.

“Maddie, I’m a paramedic,” he pointed out to her.

“You might be a paramedic like I’m a nurse, but it doesn’t mean we know anything about mental health, and neither of us does. Not for all the research we’ve done. I talked to Isabel and Josephina especially, since she had PPD with her third child. Having you tell me all the time that I’ll be fine if I keep spending time with Jee, isn’t helping me, it’s making things worse,” she told him, “I love you, Chimney, but I can’t be here with Jee at the moment, I don’t feel like I will be safe to be around. I need to get help, proper help.”

“No, no, you don’t need to leave us at all. I don’t know what those Diaz’s said to you, but they are wrong. I know what you need, I know how to help you,” he told her, shaking his head.

“No, you don’t, you’re a paramedic, not a psychologist!” Maddie yelled, “Do you know, how many times I thought about just letting Jee go under the water when I bathed her? Do you know how many times I hear her cry and think nothing of it? That I want to ignore it and just walk out of that door and never come back!” she told him, “And that’s what is driving me there, you! Your constant need to tell me that everything is fine. I told Josephina and Isabel what was going on and they were so supportive and helpful. I even told Buck-”

“You told Buck!” Chimney yelled at her, “How could you tell him, I thought you wanted to keep it a secret?”

Maddie slumped and went over to the sofa before sitting, “And that was the worst thing I could do,” she told him honestly. “Telling them felt… freeing, that I know I have support from everyone, that they are there to help me,” she sighed.

“How could you tell Buck, he’s going to-”

“He’s leaving it to me to do what I want to get the help I need. And I’ve decided that I’m going to do something different, medication isn’t helping and the one I’m seeing at the moment just keeps upping or changing what I take. It’s not helping at all, so I’m thinking of going away and finding an inpatient facility that deals with PPD,” she told him honestly as he stared at her.

“No, you can’t do that, we need you here. You can’t leave me,” Chimney said, “We can figure this out, I can help you, I know how to help you. You just-”

“No, Chimney, not this time. I’m spiraling so badly, Chim, and I don’t want to hurt Jee, or even you, and I think in the end, if we keep trying to do this, that’s what’s going to happen,” she smiled at him, “I need to do this, Chim, so I don’t miss the rest of her life.”

Chimney shook his head, “Maddie, you can’t do this.”

“I need to, I talked to my friends in Boston, they and Josephina were able to help me decide on where I wanted to go here. They told me tha-” she tried to tell him what she had found out.

“No, I’m not letting you go. I don’t care,” Chimney said as he turned around, grabbed Maddie’s keys off the side and his own, and walked out the front door. “I’ll come back when you can tell me you’re not leaving,” he said as he locked the door behind him, using both locks so Maddie couldn’t get out.

“Chimney!” she yelled, rushing to the front door and pulling on it, “Don’t do this, let me out!” she yelled out, banging on the front door.

“I’m not letting you out until you promise me that you’re going to stay. In fact, I doubt I would be able to even believe you with what you’ve been saying. You are so determined to ruin things. I’m not going to let those people put those stupid ideas in your head. I’m heading to the Lees, tomorrow you can tell me when you come to your senses!” he yelled through the door before walking away.

Maddie banged on the door, tears flowing down her face as she pleased, “Let me out, please, please,” she cried, her knees shaking as she sank to the floor.

XxXxX

Maddie didn’t know how long she had been sitting by the door, she could hear Jee-Yun crying through the monitor, but at that moment in time, she couldn’t do anything. She wasn’t capable of going to her daughter. The dread in her stomach was larger than ever before. She got up, her legs like jelly as she tried to think what to do. Maddie spotted her phone on the table in the living room and practically dived for it. She was shaking as she called her brother.

“Hey Maddie,” came Buck’s cheerful voice.

Maddie couldn’t help the sobs that didn’t want to stop, “Buck, please, please, let me out, come get me, I can’t. He… he locked me in with Jee, I can’t do it, Buck,” she sobbed brokenly as she collapsed to the floor.

“Maddie,” Buck said, panic lacing his voice, but it still sounded so much calmer than her own, “I’m coming to get you, okay, just sit tight and I’ll be right there… we’ll be right there,” he added as Maddie could hear Eddie in the background.

“Don’t leave me,” Maddie pleaded with him, “Don’t leave me, Buck, I can’t do this.”

“It’s okay, Maddie, really big sis. I’m on my way and you know everything will be just fine,” he reassured her. She heard an engine in the background as a truck started up

She sobbed in relief as she realized that her brother was on his way towards her. “Buck,” she murmured, “Jee’s crying, but I can’t go to her, Buck, I don’t want to hurt her and I think I will if I try.”

“I know, I know, and you won’t. You just stay there and I’ll deal with little Jee when I get there. I have the spare keys to your place, so I can get in, you have nothing to worry about,” he told her, his voice gentle as he began to talk to her about what he had done after he had gotten home, or rather when he arrived at Eddie’s home.

Maddie continued to cry as she listened to him. Feeling a little calmer as she heard the truck stop and a door slam, one that echoed a bit to her. “You’re here,” she said as she heard the key in the lock. She peeked around the corner, looking at the front door as it opened. Half afraid that Chimney would be there.

“Maddie?!” Buck called out, he rushed towards her as she ran towards him, burying herself into his chest and crying even more now that she felt safe.

“I’ll get Jee,” Eddie said as he walked past the two, patting Maddie on the back as he went.

“What happened?” Buck asked gently, not wanting to upset Maddie even more than she already was.

“He locked me in here, told me that he won’t let me leave. That I have to stay. I was trying to tell him I found a place to go so that I can get help. But he… he won’t let me, Buck,” she cried, clutching him tightly.

Buck held her tightly, he felt so much anger towards Chimney at that moment. “I can’t believe he would… no, I can believe it,” he said as he started to go through everything that had been going on since Jee-Yun had been born, and even some of the behaviors that Chimney had shown before he had dated his sister.

“Jee is fine,” Eddie said, holding a now quiet and calm baby, though her little face was still a bit red from all the crying, “She was a little wet and didn’t like it. But we sorted that out,” he smiled.

“I… I need to leave, I can’t stay here, Buck. I can’t, he’ll lock me up again and I can’t do it,” Maddie said, a feeling of panic overtaking her as she glanced around.

“Pack what you need, all that you need, paperwork as well and we’ll head to mine. I have a spare room you can use,” Eddie suggested a soft smile on his face.

“I can’t be alone with Jee, please, don’t leave me alone with her. I’m so scared that I’m going to hurt her,” Maddie pleaded with the two of them.

“I’ll be there as well, and tonight, when Christopher is in bed, you can tell us everything that you want to happen and get it all sorted and ready. I know you want to get better and that a place away from here would be best for you. Josephina talked to me about it when I asked her. It’s what she did,” Buck said, happy that he had made the right choice in asking Isabel and Josephina to check on his sister.

“Thank you,” Maddie said as she slowly let go of Buck, looking at her daughter for a second before reaching out and running a hand over a wet sticky cheek from tears, “I’m sorry, Jee, I’m just not at my best,” she told her, kissing her cheek before hurrying to pack things away.

Maddie was in the back of the truck, a baby seat in the back ready for Jee-Yun, a spare that was kept at the house. Maddie looked at her daughter, “I’ll do the right thing, Jee, I’ll get help and then we’ll be a great team.”

Buck locked up the house, making sure it was secure before he headed to the truck and got in, “Well, let’s get going. Christopher is going to be excited to see Jee again, he told us all about him looking and watching her while you were with Isabel,” he told his sister.

“He was so good with her,” Maddie agreed, “thank you, for getting me, both of you.”

“Chimney had no right to lock you in like that,” Eddie told her, “I don’t know what was going on in his mind, but he’ll have a lot to answer for,” he finished as he headed towards home.

“We’re here for you, Maddie, whatever you want to do,” Buck told her as they went quiet, only the babbling of Jee-Yun breaking the silence between the three adults.

Chapter Eleven

Maddie felt better as she stepped out of the office, her psychiatrist had gone with her to make sure that she could attest to her sound mind as she made plans to get the help she needed. She almost needed to make sure that her daughter would be cared for properly. Maddie didn’t know if she could trust Chimney after what he had done last night. He knew that he would be heading to the house soon to check on her. She had jumped on things as soon as Buck got her to start things off for her leaving to get help.

“Thank you for coming out and doing this with me,” Maddie said as she looked at her doctor.

“I’ve done this a few times. Though I’m glad that you are taking this step in your recovery,” she smiled at her, “I just wish I could talk with Mr Han about his actions and try and find out why he is so adamant that you remain at home when it’s no longer working for you.”

“I don’t know if I can even care about what Howard Han has to say now. He locked me in that house when I told him what was going on in my mind. When I was being bluntly honest. At the moment my brother has Jee, and I trust him a lot more than I can even trust her father,” she sighed, “I don’t want to cut him out of her life, even if the vindictive part of me does. I don’t want to see him at the moment. I’ve done the recording for him, and I still feel like that is more than he deserves,” she said, still feeling hurt and angry at Chimney’s actions.

“Well, he could be suffering from PPD himself and hasn’t even been diagnosed with it. It’s why I suggested that he take mandatory therapy if he is to retain custody of Jee-Yun,” she said as she walked towards the exit.

Maddie nodded, “It’s the only reason why I’m considering talking to him again if he gets the help. I have a bad feeling that Chimney is going to go out of control before he gets better at all. And he’s going to burn bridges while doing it.”

“I can see your point, but he will need help should we find anything and he’ll need support,” she reasoned.

“I know, Doctor Lowe,” Maddie sighed, “But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to be away from him. Maybe… maybe when I’m better we can talk again, but I don’t know when that will be.”

“I understand,” Doctor Lowe nodded, “I’m glad that you are doing what you can for your mental health, do take good care of yourself.”

“I will, and thank you again for this. Paperwork has been filed. He should get notice of it later on today,” she murmured to herself as she headed towards the parking lot, where her brother would be waiting with Jee-Yun.

“Hey,” Buck greeted, “How did things go?” he asked her as he buckled Jee-Yun into the back and the two got into the front seats.

“It went well. I made a video message for Chim, explaining my wishes and that I am of sound mind at the moment,” she told him, buckling up.

“Good,” he nodded, still not sure if he should have gotten her to press charges against Chimney for locking her away. Though at the moment he hadn’t blown up their phones to try and find her, so he hadn’t gone back to the house yet.

“Right,” Maddie said, “Let’s go back to Eddie’s,” she smiled.

Buck smiled back and nodded, “Yeah, I’ll drop you off there, I need to grab a few things from mine.”

“We could always head there first,” Maddie suggested, “I don’t mind.”

“Nah,” he told her, “Drop you off first, I’m just grabbing a few more clothes. Oh, and Taylor is going to be coming by a little later, so we can both watch Eddie squirm with her there,” he grinned.

Maddie laughed brightly, “Should be fun, it’ll be nice to have another woman in the house, even if it’s only for a little while.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, heading towards Eddie’s home.

They were almost back at Eddie’s when Maddie’s phone started to explode with messages and calls. “It’s Chim,” she said as she stared at it.

“Do you want to answer it?” he asked her.

Maddie frowned, “Can you record it and I’ll put it on speaker, just pull over somewhere before I do. I don’t trust him, I can’t at the moment. He wants something for me that I don’t believe will help me at all.”

“Of course,” Buck agreed, finding a good place to stop and opening the recording app on his phone, “Make sure you tell him what you’re doing.”

“I will,” Maddie said, “Chimney,” she said as she answered, “Before you say anything, know that I’m recording this call.”

“Maddie, where the hell are you?” he demanded to know, ignoring what she had just said, “I came back and you’re gone? How could you even leave? I locked you in that house. And now you’ve left. You need to come home.”

“I’m not coming back, I won’t come back. I will be leaving in a couple of days to get the help I need. I will have Buck give you Jee when I leave, and only then will she go with you after you’ve had an evaluation for your mental health, to make sure that you’re ready for sole custody of Jee,” she answered him, shaking her head.

“No, you’re coming back, and you need to stop feeding Buck and his need to constantly be clingy with you. I told you he won’t be able to help you, only I can do that,” Chimney stated, ignoring her wants.

“No,” Maddie told him once more, “I’m not. At the moment I am somewhere safe, and I will give Buck, Jee when I leave. There will be a video message that I have left for you and it will explain a few things. Now I’m not going to answer another call from you.”

“Madi-” he began only to be cut off as Maddie ended the call.

Maddie sighed as she leaned back in the seat. “I can’t…” she said, her voice shaking, “He is so adamant that only he can help me, I’m worried that he’s fixated in such a way that he’ll hurt himself or someone else in his quest to get to me.”

Buck looked worriedly at his sister, “He… needs help,” he said, “I really think he does.”

“It’s what Doctor Lowe said,” she agreed, “But I don’t think he will agree unless he is forced,” she finished quietly as Buck began to start up the jeep and head towards Eddie’s again.

“I’ll talk with Hen, she might be able to help persuade him,” he hoped as they headed to Eddies.

XxXxX

Buck didn’t head straight to his loft, instead, he called Hen and asked to meet her. He didn’t like going behind Chimney’s back, but since the man listened to his best friend and work partner more than anyone else around him. Buck just hoped that she would be able to help with this. He pulled up outside Hen’s home and went to the front door. Hen was already standing there. They would be heading to work after this talk, shift would be starting for them soon.

“We’ve already spent too much time together, and you want to spend more,” she gave that smirking smile that she used when she was joking.

“Well, I need my daily dose of Hen sarcasm,” Buck grinned, though it didn’t really last that long, “I actually need to talk to you about something, and it’s serious, it’s about Maddie,” he told her, sighing.

“If you’re going to talk to me about Maddie’s PPD, I already know,” Hen said, shaking her head, “Chimney is doing what he can to help her.”

Buck looked at her, “So he told you,” he sighed, “That helps with one thing, but not everything.”

“Okay,” she frowned as she let him inside, “Karen’s out with Denny for the day, so we can talk.”

“Good, this isn’t going to be… pleasant I think. Yes, Maddie has PPD, but she’s tried getting help and it’s not working. Chimney is adamant that him being around will help her, and forcing her to be around Jee all the time will help. That she’s not allowed to let anyone else watch Jee-Yun for a bit. He threatened to call the police when Maddie let me take Jee to the zoo last week,” he sighed, “But it’s what happened yesterday morning when we got off work that has changed things even more. Maddie had spent some of the time at Eddie’s Abuela’s. It helped her a lot. She made a decision to go to an in-patient facility to get help since nothing else was working. Chimney went mad, he locked her in the house.”

“He wouldn’t do that, Buck, he may have made sure she couldn’t leave if he thought she was a danger to herself,” she protested, shaking her head.

“He did,” Buck said as he pulled out his phone, “he just called Maddie and she asked me to record the call because she no longer trusts him.”

“But-”

“Just listen,” he said as he played the recording. Hen’s eyes went wide and she shook her head a few times.

When it ended she looked at Buck. “I… he locked her in the house and then didn’t go back?”

“When he called it was over a day later,” he told her, “We’re about to head on shift, and I’m expecting him to try and confront me about Maddie not being with him and for me getting her out of the house. I had to listen to her beg to be let out. Something is wrong with him and he needs help, Hen. At the moment, Maddie can’t deal with him because of what he’s done. He went too far in trying to push what he thinks on her. She needs help and she can’t get it here, especially with the way that Chimney is trying to force his own agenda on her.”

“Buck, he’s just-”

“Don’t you dare tell me that he’s just trying to help. I know that he’s trying to help in his own way. But when that way isn’t helping he should change, and he isn’t. He locked her in the house, Hen,” he told her, getting a little worked up as Hen tried to excuse Chimney’s behavior. “Chim is spiraling as well as Maddie is, but he’s hyper-focused on Maddie and he can’t do that.”

“Buck,” Hen began slowly, “What’s going to happen?”

“Maddie is going to go away for a while, to get the help she needs. She’s left a video message and a warning for Chimney. Since he didn’t put his name on the birth certificate she has full custody of Jee-Yun. Maddie has made it clear that if Chimney wants to keep custody while she is away that he can’t leave LA with her and he has to go to therapy himself, he has to be evaluated before he can even think about taking her. She did this all with her psychiatrist and a lawyer present, so she was of sound mind while doing this. Chimney will get the paperwork about it soon. Before we all go to work. Maddie isn’t going to be returning home at all for now. She doesn’t want to face him, and for what he did, I can’t blame her.”

Hen nodded, “I’ll try and talk to him, but I don’t know if I will be able to get through to him.”

“You might be the only one that even has a chance of getting through to him so he gets some help. He’s going to be really pissed at me, during the blackout he threatened to keep Jee from me if I didn’t give him a charger instead of filling out the form. He even told me that he didn’t want me around Maddie, and all that he is doing at the moment reminded Maddie of Doug. The locking her in the house, the stopping her from seeing people. She understands that she might have had a hand in how it all started because she wanted her PPD a secret. But now that it’s out, she wants help and she’s leaving to get it. I don’t want her to go either, but if it helps her, then I’m fine with it.”

Hen nodded, “Okay.”

Buck stood up, “I’ll see you at work?” he said.

“Yeah,” she smiled back at him as she showed him out, knowing that in less than an hour they would both be on shift.

Chapter Twelve

Buck walked into the loft. He had already heard Chimney yelling his name. He wasn’t going to do anything to answer him. He wasn’t going to even talk to him. Hen had given him a nod as she tried to steer Chimney away from him so they could talk. Eddie glanced up from the book he was reading, already waiting for Bobby to finish cooking their early lunch.

“You okay?” Eddie asked him as Buck sat down beside him on the sofa.

Buck nodded, “Hen went to talk to him. Maddie wants Bobby and Athena told what is going on, all the details as well.”

“Well, there’s only the three of us up here, so we should be okay,” Eddie said as he gently nudged Buck.

Buck sighed and got up again. “Hey Bobby, can we talk in your office for a bit? There’s something going on that I think you need to know.”

“Of course, Eddie, come watch the food, don’t burn it,” Bobby said with a little grin as he gave the warning.

“Burn something just once and you’ll forever be thought of as a bad cook,” Eddie huffed as he stood up and went over.

“I know you can cook well, you’re the one that made the spicy meatballs during the blackout with what we had,” Bobby said as he walked past him and patted him on the shoulder.

Eddie nodded and gave Buck a reassuring nod. Bobby and Buck entered Bobby’s office and sat down. Buck was quick to explain everything that had happened. Including letting Bobby hear the recording. “Now,” he said as it finished, “I know Chimney is spiraling.”

“I can see that, but why are you showing and telling me all this?” Bobby asked him, “This is a more personal matter.”

“It is, and normally I wouldn’t bring it to you, but Maddie wants you and Athena to be told what is going on. Not only that but Chimney has it in his head that I’m the cause of the things that are going wrong. That I’m the one that’s stopping Maddie from bonding with Jee-Yun and being a good mother. It’s going to cause some tension between us. I’m hoping that Hen can talk him around to see that Maddie is only going to be gone for a while, at most a year, is what she is hoping. She wants to get to a place, mentally, where she is happy and feels better.”

Bobby sighed, “Right, I’ll warn you and I’ll warn him, keep the personal issues out of the job.”

“Right, Cap,” Buck nodded, happy to do so.

“I’ll go and speak to Chimney as well,” Bobby said getting up, “Thank you for informing me and I’ll mention it to Athena as well,” he told him, “I’m glad that she’s getting the help that she needs.”

Buck smiled and the two walked out of the office. Buck headed over to where Eddie was still cooking lunch. Bobby headed down the stairs as Hen walked away from Chimney.

“Cap,” Chimney said, “I want you to get rid of Buckley, he has no right in keeping my girlfriend and my daughter away from me.”

Bobby stared at him, “You know that isn’t going to happen Chim. You need to keep your personal issues away from work. I heard what has happened. Maddie is going away to get help for her PPD. Which is a good thing,” he told him calmly.

“Why the hell are you on his side!” Chimney yelled, “He broke into my home and took my girlfriend and daughter away from me.”

“No, he unlocked a door that you locked. You do realize that should she want to, Maddie can press charges against you?” Bobby asked him, “You really need to think at the moment, Chimney, Maddie is getting some help, and from how you are behaving, I believe you need a little help as well. This isn’t like you.”

“It is when that… bastard is getting away with kidnapping. I had to force him to bring Jee-Yun home after Maddie decided to let him take her for a while,” Chimney hissed as he stormed upstairs.

“Chimney!” Bobby called to him as he tried to catch up, “Maddie has the right to let her brother see and spend time with Jee-Yun, just as much as you decided to let Albert and the Lee’s watch over her.”

“Buckley!” Chimney yelled as soon as he saw the man at the table, beginning to set the food out. “Where is she? Where’s Maddie?”

“Safe,” Buck answered him, “She is safe and that’s all you need to know. You have the paperwork that was sorted out, when she goes, I’ll bring Jee-Yun to you after you have an evaluation to make sure you are in the right frame of mind to take care of her.”

“No, you’ll tell me where she is now!” Chimney demanded as people began to watch them.

“Maddie doesn’t want to see you at the moment, and you know exactly why that is. Now save it for later, we’re here for work and not for you to rant about how you locked your girlfriend and daughter in your home and refused to let them leave until they were rescued. Do you have any idea how fucking dangerous that was?!” he demanded to know if he even realized what he had done and the potential for disaster he had courted with his actions.

“I was doing it to keep her safe! But you don’t know shit about that, do you, Buckley, you left her with that bastard!” Chimney yelled at him, “If you had taken her while you had the chance she never would have been hurt so badly!”

Buck reared back as though he had been punched. “I never wanted to leave her behind with him. I tried to get her out, but I couldn’t just take her and kidnap her. She wouldn’t have allowed it!”

“You sicken me, Buckley, you never cared about your sister, after all she did for you. And now that she is back in your life you’re ruining her chances of being a mother. She was fine without you,” Chimney snapped at him, “I was helping her!”

“No, you weren’t,” Buck shook his head, “You were letting her drown, she is so scared of being alone with Jee, that she can no longer be alone with her. She doesn’t feel safe. You let that happen when you kept shoving it down her throat that she is a good mom. She is a good mom, but at the moment she really doesn’t feel it and that’s because she’s not well, and she wants to get help and you won’t let her because you want to control what happens with her.”

“I know, what’s best for her, not you,” Chimney sneered at him.

Buck said nothing, just shook his head and turned to Eddie, “Let’s get lunch on the table.”

“Yeah,” Eddie agreed.

“Answer me, Buck! Where is she?” Chimney demanded once more.

Buck once again said nothing to him, he just went about helping Eddie move the plates and dishes to the table, “Come on, Lunch is served,” he said to everyone.

“Buckley!” Chimney yelled once more.

Bobby shook his head, “Firefighter Han enough. If Maddie doesn’t want you to know, then you don’t know. Now sit down and let’s eat lunch and if you can’t keep your personal problems out of the firehouse, I will send you home,” he warned him.

Chimney stared at Bobby, “He… he needs to tell, Maddie needs help and he-”

“He’s doing what his sister has asked him, Chim,” Hen said gently, “Just like when she asked you to do something, you did so. Now, you need to think about your own health, Bobby’s right, Chim, you’re not acting like yourself. Maddie will be fine, she’s going to get help.”

Chimney shook his head, “That vile bastard is keeping his sister hidden from me and I will find her,” he said as he stormed away.

“This is why Maddie is scared,” Buck said quietly, “His sudden anger and his need to control her has scared her so much. She can’t trust him.”

Eddie nodded, “I know,” he said as he squeezed Buck’s shoulder, “Let’s get something to eat and see about getting ready for the rest of the shift and start putting the station back together. Don’t think C and B Shift have done much.”

“They haven’t, they got swamped,” Bobby said as he joined them at the table. Hen had stared after Chimney before she decided to let him cool down before she would go after him and tried to talk to him again.

“Really?” Buck said, “I thought everyone would be done in after the heatwave and finally being able to have the AC on,” he joked lightly as he dished himself some scrambled eggs. He would never say it to Bobby, but he liked Eddie’s way of doing them better.

“Return of the stupid,” someone said with a snort as the other nodded in agreement.

“Well,” Eddie said, “Let them, we’ll deal with the aftermath as we always have done.”

“As long as no one cements their head in a damn microwave again,” Buck began, rolling his eyes at what someone had done before.

“And decide that it’s a good idea to use playground equipment as a centrifuge,” Bobby finished, both thinking about the two idiotic Youtubers that they had come across in the past.

“Let us pray for that,” Hen agreed, nodding, “But there are plenty of other idiots out there.”

“Did they just have idiot calls or some genuine ones?” Buck then asked as he glanced over at Bobby.

Bobby looked up, “There were a couple of genuine calls, but it was mostly people happy that the blackout was over, though the heatwave is still around, it’s finally starting to cool.”

Buck nodded, “Right,” he said as he turned to Hen, “Better make sure the ambulance is stocked.”

Hen snorted, “Already had a glance through, B-Shift has restocked it already, but I’ll be going through just to make sure everything is there.”

“Right, I have assignments for you all until we get a call. The truck and ladder have already been checked by the engineer on B-Shift. Buck, if you and Maisie want to go look at them as well, do so,” Bobby said as he began to hand out assignments for people around the station. “And we have one more thing since it got a little lost during the blackout,” he began looking at Buck.

“What?” Hen said seeing the look.

“Buck passed the Lieutenant’s exam just before the blackout,” Bobby smiled as he and the others quickly congratulated him.

“How, I thought he was a probie when he came here?” Peters asked, a little confused.

“I wasn’t a probie, I was a transfer,” Buck told her, “I’d already done all that back in Flagstaff, I transferred here after I became an Engineer,” he said, “I was to work with Balen until he retired last year and then I took over as Main Engineer on A-Shift.”

“I didn’t know that,” he said, frowning.

“I became a firefighter early, and moved around a lot after my probation period, trying to find a good fit. Bobby and the 118 were my good fit,” Buck shrugged as he snagged another rasher of bacon. “Done to perfection, Eddie,” he grinned at the man.

Eddie snorted and rolled his eyes, “I know how you like your bacon,” he reminded him.

Buck laughed as they finished eating lunch, though it was more of a late breakfast with the food on offer. “I’m going to see about the paperwork from the stockpile, see what we have left,” he said as he got up, the first to finish eating.

Eddie watched him go as he ate the last of his own meal, “You guys can clean up since I did a lot of the cooking,” he said, Bobby nodding in agreement. They all froze as they heard yelling. Running to the stairs, Eddie started down them to see Chimney yelling in Buck’s face about Maddie. “Chimney!” he called out but he couldn’t stop the man as he raised a fist and punched Buck in the face, sending the man spinning and to the floor.

Eddie moved quickly and grabbed Chimney’s wrist to stop him from trying again. “Hen, Bobby, down here now, see to Han!” he yelled out.

Hen and Bobby headed downstairs moving Chimney away as Eddie went to check on Buck.

Chapter Thirteen

“Buck,” Eddie said as he knelt beside him, rolling him over slowly as Buck blinked owlishly up at him.

“Eds,” he slurred slightly, a frown on his face as he tried to remember what happened.

“Take it easy,” Eddie then said as Buck tried to sit up.

“He knows where she is and she needs to come home. She needs to come back to me. I’m the only one that can help her,” he said as he struggled against Hen and Bobby to get back to Buck.

Buck looked up at him, “He… hit me,” he murmured, “He wants Maddie, but I can’t. I can’t let him, not now. If she… finds out about this she’ll never want to speak to him again.”

“I know,” Eddie said as he placed a hand on the side of Buck’s face, as he began to check him over, “I’d feel better if we could take you to the hospital and make sure you’re okay.”

Bobby and one of the other firefighters had to manhandle Chimney away as he continued to shout at Buck.

Hen headed over to them, “How are we doing, Buck?” she asked, beginning her own checks.

“Okay,” he murmured, his words were only slightly slurred, but it was still a worry for the two.

“Bobby, we’re going to be transporting Buck to the hospital,” Hen said, as she turned towards her Captain.

“Do it,” he said, “Get him there. Then Eddie, stay with him, I’ll call in for a floater or two to cover the both of you and Buck,” he added as he looked at the other man.

“Will do,” Eddie nodded as he and Hen helped Buck to his feet and supported him when he swayed a little. “Come on, Buck, let’s get you fully checked out and then back home for you.”

“Hmm,” Buck hummed as he let them guide him.

Bobby watched them go before he turned on Chimney, “Howard Han, as of this moment I am going to suspend you. I asked that you keep your personal issues out of the workplace and you haven’t done so. I will be sending a report to the Chief as well about your behavior. I’m disgusted with the way that you have been acting. This is the last straw at the moment. I’m hoping that you get some damn help, Han, because this isn’t you.” Using his last name instead of nickname to try and create a little distance in his mind to the friend that he had come to know, to the man that was now standing in front of him.

“I just need to find Maddie, as soon as she comes back home everything will be fine,” Chimney said.

“I noticed that you’ve not mentioned Jee-Yun at all,” Ravi said quietly as he had been the one to help with moving Chimney away from Buck.

“Maddie is what is important,” he said, shaking his head, “You don’t understand, she’s not herself, and I’m scared that Buck is hurting her.”

“Buck would never, ever hurt Maddie. He would do all he can to protect her, and from what I’ve been hearing and seeing, at the moment she needs protecting from you,” Bobby said, his words blunt, but he hoped that they would be able to get through to Chimney that how he was acting was out of line in more ways that one. “Do you think Maddie would want to know that you have hurt her little brother, someone that for the first decade of his life, she raised?” he asked him.

Chimney stared at him, “You don’t understand.”

“What is there to understand, Han?” Bobby asked him, “Explain it in detail, because all I see at the moment, and all the others see is someone who is obsessed with a woman who at the moment wants nothing to do with you because of the way that you are trying to stop them from getting help for their PPD.”

Chimney stood still. “She’s sick, and I’m worried that someone might take advantage of that. What if someone takes her, Doug… Doug could have done it and Buck, he didn’t do anything when he could have.”

“Doug is dead, Maddie killed him in self-defense, remember?” Bobby reminded him, frowning at what was going through Chimney’s mind, “Buck couldn’t have done anything. When someone is in an abusive relationship, everyone might be on the outside trying to pull them away, but most of the time it’s the person that’s being abused who needs to take that first step in asking for help. Because most of the time they would just go back and fall for the same lines. We’ve seen this a dozen times, Athena has seen it even more. Buck could have kidnapped her and he would have been the one in trouble.”

“Maddie’s not safe unless she’s with me. I know, I can help her,” Chimney said as he moved away from them.

“Han, you need to get some help. Hitting Buck, I’m sorry, but you’re going on report. I’m not letting myself be weighed in on this issue either. I’m leaving it up to the Chief to sort out. Because I care about you and I care about Buck. Gather your things and you will be informed on how long the suspension is for,” Bobby told him, shaking his head.

Chimney shook his head as he walked away, “You’re going to regret this when Maddie turns up missing and Buck has something to do with it. I will find her, I will.”

“Han,” Bobby said, but the man ignored him as he went to get his things and leave the station. He ran a hand over his face as he headed up to his office, “Suspended Firefight Howard Han is not to be let back into the station, if he does come, you are to get me and I will deal with it.”

“Yes, Cap,” the others all nodded before they broke out into harsh whispers trying to figure out what was really going on between Maddie, Chimney, and Buck.

Bobby walked into his office and picked up the phone. Calling the Chief was the only thing he could do at the moment and to try and request a few floaters. He didn’t think Buck would be comfortable having Chimney on A-Shift again. He didn’t think he would be comfortable, let alone Buck.

XxXxX

Eddie sat beside Buck’s bed, the man was half asleep, an x-ray had been taken and there was a small hairline fracture and he had been told to take some time off work. Buck hadn’t been happy about that. But in the end, he didn’t really have much of a choice. “Hey, Buck,” he said, “I’m just going to call Bobby and tell him what’s going on. He just messaged wanting to know,” he told him.

“Okay,” Buck mumbled, eyes still closed, a pout on his lips.

Eddie snorted lightly and shook his head as he got up. leaving the room he called Bobby, “Hey.”

“Eddie, how is he?” Bobby asked.

“He’s okay, hairline fracture, and medical leave for at least two weeks,” he told him, “He isn’t happy about that. It’ll take a few weeks to fully heal, but he’ll be fine. The headache he has at the moment is what is annoying him. He’s a little dizzy when he sits up, and they are going to be keeping him in overnight. I need to call Maddie as well, to let her know what’s happened,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair, “What’s going on with Han?” he asked him.

“Suspended at the moment. The Chief believes that he will have him transferred to another station. Since Buck is the victim in this, he will have a say in it as well. But that would be the minimum. He might even be fired for this,” Bobby sighed, “I have no idea what I should do or even how to get this fixed.”

“We can’t always fix everything, Bobby, I know Buck isn’t going to be happy with the thought of Han leaving. Buck already mentioned trying to fix things,” he muttered, shaking his head as he looked towards the door to Buck’s room. “Buck just wants his family around. At the moment, that bastard isn’t family in one way but is in the other. He wants him close,” he told him.

“At the moment, that isn’t going to happen. Han will have to face the consequences of his actions. The Chief is going to make it mandatory for Han to take anger management classes like you did and to have therapy as well before he will be allowed back on the job. That’s if he is allowed back,” Bobby was frustrated, he had no idea how to keep everyone happy. He knew Hen wasn’t going to be happy with how things were going.

“Thanks for the information, Bobby, I’ll tell Buck what’s going on on that front. Be prepared for him to try and wiggle it around that Han comes back,” Eddie said, though he would be doing his best to not let that happen. Trust had been broken in the end, and Eddie would make sure that Buck was safe before letting Howard Han near him.

“Take care of him, I’ve signed you both out for the day, and I’ll put Buck on medical leave as soon as the paperwork comes through,” Bobby said as he then said a quick goodbye and hung up.

Eddie stood there for a moment and stared at his phone, he still had one call to make and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He rang the number and a laughing voice answered.

“Hello, Eddie, did you know that your son is amazing,” Maddie laughed.

Eddie smiled, “I know, what was he showing you?” he asked.

“Just some of the pictures from when he was little, Abuela was telling me the story about his first word,” she told him.

“Ah, yeah, not mama or dada or anything like that, but cupcake,” Eddie smiled.

“He knew what he wanted, I wonder what Jee’s first word is going to be. My bet is Buck,” she told him.

Eddie laughed. “That wouldn’t surprise me,” he smiled, “Now, something happened,” he said a little more seriously.

“Is Buck okay?” she asked straight away, all traces of the laughter gone from her voice.

“He will be, he’s going to be in the hospital overnight to make sure his head is fine, concussion,” he told her quickly.

“What happened? You left for work only a couple of hours ago,” she exclaimed quietly, she didn’t want Christopher to overhear.

“Howard punched him, he is determined to find you. If he was thinking clearly, he might know where you are,” Eddie told her, “Call Athena and ask if she is okay to come and stop by and stay with you. I have to say, with the way that he is acting, I think he might be a danger to you.”

Maddie’s voice shook badly as she said, “Okay, I’ll… I’ll call Athena.”

“Good, I’m going to come over and make sure as soon as Buck is settled properly and then home. I’ll be there to help as well, you’re going to be safe, Maddie, Buck and I will make sure of that,” he told her gently.

“I can’t believe he did that, does he really think I would want to be with him after he… he hit my brother. Doesn’t he know how much I went through to make sure Buck never ever knew what was going on between myself and Doug? I knew that he would get in the way and end up hurt because of it. I couldn’t let that happen then and I can’t let that happen now. Howard, something is really wrong with him,” she said as Eddie could hear the tears and the fear in her voice.

“Everything will be okay,” he reassured her, “Call Athena as soon as I get off the phone, tell her to come by and that you’ll tell her why when she arrives,” he repeated.

Maddie hummed, “I will. Look after Buck for me?”

“Always,” Eddie smiled as he added, “I’ll see you soon okay.”

“Okay,” Maddie agreed as they hung up.

Eddie sighed heavily as he looked at Buck’s door again, he didn’t want to leave him at all but knew that it would be better for him to be with Maddie and help make sure she was safe. He walked back into the room and quickly told Buck what was going on. And as predicted the man insisted that Eddie go to Maddie. Eddie warned the staff not to let Howard Han near Buck, then he went home to Maddie.

Chapter Fourteen

Maddie flinched as someone banged on Eddie’s front door. She could hear Chimney yelling on the other side. Athena and Eddie were with her.

“Maddie, get Jee and go into my bedroom, you’ll be okay there. Christopher, go with her,” Eddie ordered, “I’ll get rid of him.”

“And if he doesn’t I’m arresting his ass,” Athena snapped, eyes fiery as she stared at the front door. Chimney was still pounding on it and demanding Maddie come out.

Maddie nodded and quickly picked up Jee-Yun, the two headed to the back bedroom, Christopher following behind them. The door closed and Eddie went towards the front door. Athena made sure that she was in view as the door was opened.

“Howard, I want you to leave, Maddie isn’t here,” Eddie lied to him, face stone cold as he stared at the man that had hurt his best friend.

“I know she’s here, where else would she be!” Chimney said as he tried to force his way past Eddie, “Maddie, Maddie, come on out, Maddie, we need to go home!”

“Howard,” Athena said, “You need to go home, you’re not welcome here.”

“I’m just trying to find Maddie, she could be in danger, what if… what if Doug isn’t dead, what if he took her. Buck… Buck wouldn’t care what happened to Maddie at all, he let her be taken last time,” he said, shaking his head.

“Howard,” Athena frowned wondering where all this was coming from. This really wasn’t like the man she had known for the last couple of years. Something had changed in him.

“I’m just trying to keep her safe, keep her safe from those that want to hurt her and I can’t if she runs away from me and if people keep her from me. It’s kidnapping, Athena, it is,” he said.

“Howard,” Athena tried again, “I need you to talk to me, I think that you really need to talk to someone about all this,” she said, wondering if she could get him on a psych hold, something was going on and it was worrying the way that he was thinking that Doug was alive. “I know that Doug is dead, Maddie is going away to get help, and she wants you to do the same so you can both be the best type of parents to Jee-Yun,” she said slowly as though she was trying to talk someone down from a ledge.

“No, no, I know she’s here, you can’t stop me from seeing her. She is my girlfriend, she is mine!” he yelled as he shoved Eddie to the side, pushing him at Athena as he rushed into the house, “Maddie!” he yelled.

Maddie was frozen in the bedroom, looking at Christopher who was cuddled up next to her, Eddie’s phone in his hand. “Can I use that?” she asked.

Christopher nodded, “I was calling 9-1-1,” he said, “Chimney is being really scary,” he added, his voice a whisper as Maddie could hear the operator on the other end.

“Hey,” Maddie said, “Linda,” she added when she recognized the voice.

“Maddie, is everything okay? The little boy asked for the police, saying that someone was trying to get in and get his aunt?” Linda asked her, her voice full of worry.

“It’s Howard, somethings wrong with him, he’s been after me since I left him. I need police here, he’s yelling at Eddie and Athena, she’s a cop but off duty at the moment. Send someone to help, please,” she asked, rattling off the address.

“We have a unit close by, they are on the way,” Linda reassured her, “Do you want to stay on the line?” she asked.

“Please,” Maddie answered, knowing that it would be recording what was said and heard in the background.

“Maddie!” Chimney yelled again, “I know you’re here, you need to come out, we have to go home!”

“Hide in there!” Christopher said, pointing at his dad’s wardrobe, “it should be big enough for you and Jee,” he told her.

Maddie looked at it, “We all need to,” she said, as she opened the door. “Come on,” she said as she could hear Chimney getting closer. She helped Christopher inside and then placed Jee-Yun on his lap and closed the door.

“Auntie Maddie,” Christopher called to her, panic in his voice.

“I need you and Jee safe, I can handle Howard Han,” she said bravely, though she didn’t feel like her words were true, but she had to try.

The door to the bedroom slammed open as Eddie rushed at Chimney and pulled him back.

“Maddie, Maddie, come on, we have to go home. I can keep you safe there. It’s not safe here, we don’t know where Doug is or even if Buck will help keep you safe,” Chimney’s words were fast, and Maddie only just caught them.

“Doug is dead, there is no one after me to keep me from being safe, except my own mind. Howie, you need to… you need help. I can’t go with you,” she told him, shaking her head, wondering what had happened to the man she had loved with all her heart.

“You… we can go anywhere, find somewhere far away and we can be safe, there are so many places,” he continued as though he hadn’t heard Maddie’s words. He struggled in Eddie’s hold to get to her.

“No,” Maddie said, shaking her head, “I’m not going with you. You’re going to get some help and so am I, and when we’re both well, we’re going to be parents to Jee. She needs us both Howie and we can’t be the way we are at the moment,” she told him, moving a step closer to him, “Please Howie, please, get help, like I am.”

“I don’t need help, I just need you, to show you that you are a good mother and then we can be a happy family,” Chimney said as he stopped fighting Eddie’s grip, though the man didn’t lessen his hold at all.

“This way,” Athena said as Maddie and the others could hear more voices. “I would send him to have a psych eval, something is going on and his behavior has changed rapidly over the last few days.”

“Howard Han,” one of the officers said, his voice calm and coaxing, “I need you to come with us for now. We’re going to make sure that everyone is safe and that help is given where it’s needed.”

“Maddie and I need to leave, her ex, he could be after her again,” Chimney said, “He tried to kill me and her a few years ago.”

“Right, we’ll make sure to keep a lookout,” the other officer said as they were able to get Chimney away from Eddie and guide him out of the room.

Maddie slumped onto the bed, tears falling down her eyes, “What’s happened to him? Why is he like this?” she asked as she looked from Eddie to Athena.

“I don’t know,” Athena said, “He’s had some kind of break I think.”

Eddie sighed and looked around, “Where are Christopher and Jee?” he asked.

“I got them into the wardrobe,” Maddie said as she quickly got to her feet and went over to it. Opening the door, she saw a tear-stained face looking up at her, “Hey Christopher, I see you kept Jee safe for me,” she said as she knelt down and pulled him and Jee-Yun into her arms.

“He could have hurt you, Auntie Maddie,” Christopher cried as he clung to her, one arm around her and the other keeping Jee-Yun safe in his arms.

“I know, but I knew that your dad and Athena were there to help me stay safe and since you called 9-1-1 you helped keep me safe as well,” she told him as she let him go and took Jee-Yun, using one hand she pulled him from the wardrobe where he then went to hug his dad.

“You did so well,” Eddie praised.

“Miss Buckley,” came the voice of one of the officers as he reentered the house.

“Yes?” she called out as she and the others made their way out of the bedroom and to the living room, the front door still wide open.

“We just need to go over a few of the things that Mr Han has said, if that is alright with you?” he asked.

Maddie nodded as she sat down, she was shaking slightly, but not as badly as she had been when she was standing in front of Chimney. “What do you need to know?”

“The Ex that he was talking about, a Mr Doug Kendall?” he said looking at his notes, “He also said that you were unwell and that you were going to run away?”

“Doug Kendall was my husband. I killed him in self-defense when he tried to kidnap and kill me a few years ago. Howard was stabbed and left for dead by Doug. As for running away and being unwell. I have PPD and am going to be booked into an inpatient facility in two days’ time. I will be doing their six-month program. I was hoping that Howard would accept that I need the extra help, but instead, he locked me in our home with no way of getting out and then punched my brother when Buck refused to tell him where I was. He then came here,” she answered him, “Howard was supposed to take care of our daughter while I got help, but I don’t think he is stable enough for that at the moment.”

“He will be held on a mandatory 72-hour psych evaluation. After that, he might be released, but if he poses a danger, he may be held for a longer time to make sure he receives treatment,” the officer told her the basics of what might happen to Chimney.

“I hope he gets the help, he needs it,” Athena said, shaking her head

“Thank you for clearing a few things up,” he said as he closed his notebook and tucked it away. “I have your details and we’ll try and keep you apprised of what is going on.”

“He has a brother, Albert Han, and people that he considers his parents. I’ll inform them what’s going on and they should be able to get in touch as well,” Maddie said, thinking of the three people that had been a help to her, the only ones that Chimney had allowed to be around her over the last month.

“Thank you,” he said once more before leaving.

Maddie sat there in the living room, Christopher walking over and sitting beside her, leaning against her as she began to cry. “I don’t understand how things could have changed like this.”

“I don’t either, but it has and we have to go with it,” Athena said softly, “Now you concentrate on you, and we’re all here if you need us. We’ll help Han as well.”

Maddie nodded as she found a tissue in her face. “Thank you, Christopher,” she smiled at him, taking it and drying her eyes, “Thank you, all of you, as well.”

“You’re family,” Athena told her, reaching out and patting her arm.

“I’m here as well, and you know that Buck will be,” Eddie added, giving her a smile.

Maddie smiled back, “Yeah, I know,” she nodded and looked down at Jee-Yun, her daughter was all smiles at the moment and she had no idea how much her family had broken in the last few days. “I’ll get better for you, Jee, and I’ll be back, but your Uncle Buck and Grandma and Grandpa Lee will be there to help look after you.”

Eddie got up to make them all something to drink, to try and soothe their nerves a little after that confrontation. He would be visiting Buck later and he knew he would have to tell him what had happened as well. He sighed, wishing this drama was already over with, he had no idea what could happen next.

 

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