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“We have to ask Cap,” Hen says.
“So he can tell us not to gossip about our coworkers?” Chimney hisses. “Buck is basically his child. He’ll read us the conduct handbook!”
“It’s for Buck’s own good!” Hen protests, smacking his shoulder. “Besides, when he was Buck 1.0, we avoided the hell out of him. Bobby has more Buck 1.0 experience than we do. He’ll know what to do.”
Regretting every moment that led him to this one, Chimney sighs. “Damn, if only he hadn’t gone through so much major character development. Or revealed he’s related to the love of my life and mother of my child, soon to be children. Caring about him is so stressful.”
“He would’ve burned the house down by now if he hadn’t grown as a person. Or created a new STD,” Hen muses.
Chimney waves her off, wrinkling his nose disgustedly. “No, trust me, he tells Maddie and by extension me enough about his sex life that I know he refuses to take his pants off if he’s with someone untested. Buck 4.0 is a whore, but a responsible one.”
“I thought we agreed he’d regressed, not developed.”
After a pause, Chimney says, “Buck 1.5.”
Hen nods. “Buck 1.5.”
At their next opportunity, when Buck is making Ravi go through his sets with him to “work on probie’s firefighter sex appeal”, to Ravi’s vehement protests and reluctant agreement, Hen and Chimney move in sync to sit down in front of Bobby, eagerly sitting up in their seats, hands clasped on the table, like they’re some sort of interviewers. Chimney thinks they’re researchers, if anything. Karen better be proud of them. They’re not researching outer space, but Chimney thinks this is just as important.
Bobby raises an eyebrow. “This can’t be good.”
“Neither is Buck,” Hen gets straight to the point.
Mimicking their posture, Bobby clasps his hands on the table, gesturing with his clasped hands for her to go on.
“So, you know how for years everyone thought it was Abby that developed the software that led from Buck 1.0 to Buck 2.0?”
“I do know this, yes.”
“Well, we don’t think so,” Chimney cuts in. “Cap, he’s regressed. Badly. He changed in front of probie—”
“He has his shield, not a probie anymore.”
“And probie is now traumatized because Buck’s back looks like he got a cat that does not like him,” Chimney continues as if Bobby hadn’t said anything. “Not to mention he’s limping into work once a week and bragging about why. We think—”
“And we’ve discussed this in depth,” Hen supports.
“That we’ve been wrong all along. It wasn’t Abby. It was Eddie!”
“And Christopher,” Hen adds.
“Yes, fatherhood changes a person also,” Chimney stops to agree. “I can say this, as a father myself, soon to be a father of two.”
“We know, you won’t stop talking about it, but this is about your brother-in-law,” Hen interrupts. “Bobby, we think Buck has regressed. Maybe not fully to Buck 1.0, but regressed nonetheless.”
Bobby is nodding along, then when they fall silent, he says, “And you’re telling me this why?”
“You’re a Buck 1.0 expert!” Chimney says. “Maddie knows baby-Buck, we know Bucks 2.0 and 3.0, but you fired Buck 1.0!”
“And mentored him, which I’m sure played a massive role in his development,” Hen adds, soothingly.
Bobby sighs, quite dramatically. Chimney almost laughs when he realizes it reminds him of Buck. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that you should be focusing on how we can better serve our community.”
Hen and Chimney make matching noises of protest. “This will serve the community! He needs to stop terrorizing the Los Angeles singles!” Hen complains.
“Athena and I have discussed this,” Bobby says, immediately switching tracks and throwing Hen and Chimney both off their game. “We’re, well, a little concerned. Just a little.”
The three sit in silence for a moment, then Chimney admits, “We’re calling him Buck 1.5.”
Another moment. In tandem, they all start cackling, before they hear footsteps on the stairs and shut it down immediately. Ravi pokes his head over the landing, sees them suppressing giggles, and turns back around, which only makes them laugh more.
“God, we need to fix him,” Bobby says when he’s calmed down. “How do we fix him?”
“Maybe we can force him to adopt another child? It might remind him of Christopher and he’ll remember to behave,” Chimney suggests, to stunned looks from both Hen and Bobby.
“That’s, like, kinda messed up, Chim,” Hen says carefully.
Chimney sinks in his chair, groaning loudly. “Trust me, I know. Probably wouldn’t work either. We keep leaving Jee with him to distract him with no success. Now Jee is obsessed with her ‘Uncle Buh-Buh’ and never wants to come home.”
“That’s probably because he’s giving her absurdly fancy baked goods,” Bobby says, reassuringly. “He’s still dropping off five loaves a week at me and Athena’s.”
“God, we got a one week break between the Tommy crisis and the Eddie crisis,” Hen mourns. “How is he stress baking and stress fucking? How does he have the time? Or the money? Ingredients are expensive. So are condoms.”
“How would you know?” Chimney teases.
Hen glares at him. “I quite literally bought condoms for you when you and Maddie were cleared to have sex again after you got out of the hospital.”
“Well, you obviously didn’t buy enough,” Chimney brags. “Because I’m going to be a father—”
“Of two, yes Chimney, we know.” Chimney jumps when he feels a hand clap down on his shoulder and looks up to realize it’s Buck. “And I’ll be so grateful for your condom shortage whenever my next niece or nephew pops out.” He proceeds to wrinkle his nose. “Nevermind. Just remembered who you’re using those condoms with. Please never talk about anything involving sex with my sister in front of me again.”
“No promises. Just think about how glad you’ll be to have someone new to feed baked goods,” Chimney quips, only mildly unsettled by the way he snuck up on them. Buck laughs as he walks over to the fridge, pulling out one of his homemade protein shakes that he doesn’t let anyone else touch, not showing any sign that he’s heard them discussing his life. Hen looks between Bobby and Chimney and mouths wine night dramatically, and god, does Chimney need a glass. Or two. Maybe a bottle.
Or two.
It somehow manages to make it to the spouses, and a few hours after their 24 hour shift ends, they all end up in Chimney and Maddie’s living room, having left Jee-Yun with ‘Uncle Buh-Buh’, and Mara and Denny with Hen’s mom.
“Well, why does he need to fill the hole in his life left by his best friend with sex?” Athena asks, tilting her beer bottle in Hen’s direction with a raised eyebrow. “If anything, this phase should’ve started after Tommy left him.”
Karen nods seriously. “That’s what I’ve been thinking. He’s feeling abandoned by his best friend and someone he views as a son, so if anything, he should be searching for something to fill those roles in his life, but instead he’s sleeping around? It doesn’t make sense.”
Chimney shushes them both exaggeratedly. “We don’t think in depth about the BuckandEddie problem. If you point out how weird they are about each other, the world will end.”
“Buck’s entire face will start matching his birthmarks and Eddie will run away,” Hen explains.
“Right, that’s why we’re talking about the Buck 1.5 problem!” Chimney agrees, settling now that he has someone on his side.
“Well, Eddie seems to have already run away, and I think Buck can survive a little embarrassment,” Maddie says, disregarding their concerns flippantly. “Karen, you think Buck likes Eddie?”
“Don’t you?” Karen questions, swirling her pinot noir with a curious expression on her face, as if the BuckandEddie problem is as interesting as the three body problem, or whatever it is she actually studies. “You’re his sister. Wouldn’t you know better than us?”
Maddie muses this over, sipping her pomegranate juice and sprite mixture that Bobby poured in a cocktail glass and garnished with mint to help her feel included in the ‘drinking’ part of the evening. “No, honestly. I only really picked up on him liking men because he stared at their asses the same way I did.”
“Oh,” Chimney says, pouting.
Maddie sighs, very dramatically, “I was staring at your ass, Howie.”
Chimney brightens immediately and gives her a sloppy kiss on the cheek, ridiculously pleased. She rolls her eyes, but tightens her grip on his hand.
“Anyways, I really thought he was self aware of the ‘bisexuality’ part of him, though. Doug kept me away from him during most of his ‘crush’ years, so I guess I haven’t seen what being in love really looks like for him.”
“Woah, we’re saying he’s in love, now?” Hen says, exchanging frantic looks with Chimney, but he’s staring at Maddie in just as much shock.
“Buck doesn’t do anything halfway,” Athena says, smiling wisely. “I agree with them. And isn’t it everyone’s dream to fall in love with their best friend?”
“I doubt it would be Buck’s dream to be in love with Eddie,” Chimney protests. “They’re work partners, Buck is basically Christopher’s other dad, not to mention they spend literally every second they’re not at work together. Think of how messy the breakup would be.”
“Isn’t that the point, though?” Bobby points out. “We’re concerned because this is messy, especially for Buck. He doesn’t let his personal life come to work like he used to, back when he first started, so the fact that we’ve seen as much as we have is proof of how messy this has gotten.”
“But they didn’t break up,” Chimney refutes, uselessly, because goddamnit, they’re all making sense.
“Didn’t they?” Athena deadpans. “They went from spending twenty-three out of twenty-four available hours in a day together to Eddie being at least a twelve hour car ride away. They worked together, ate together, and drank together. You all told me they had sleepovers on most of their off days, even if they had a partner waiting for them at home. You think Buck doesn’t feel broken up with?”
“He already got broken up with,” Hen refutes, just as weakly as Chimney had.
“And he’s worse now than he was then,” Maddie chimes in. “I’ve been convinced. He’s in love with Eddie.”
The combined expectant looks from Karen, Maddie, Athena, and Bobby staring Chimney and Hen down has them looking at each other for one of their silent conversations. Hen is looking at him pleadingly, as if expecting him to have an explanation she maybe just hasn’t thought of yet, and Chimney knows he’s giving her the same look. After a second, he folds and shrugs, leading Hen to sigh and relax back into Karen.
“How does this fix Buck, though?” They all jump a little when Ravi speaks up, all of them almost forgetting he was there. He blushes when they all look at him, and Chimney remembers how nervous he was to join their drinking and gossiping night, especially when he learned Buck was the subject of attention.
“What do you mean,” Hen asks cautiously.
“Well, this kinda makes the whole thing worse, right?” Ravi points out. “I mean, losing his best friend and child-best friend was one thing, but if it was actually the love of his life and his kid? And we don’t know if they’re coming back? That’s, like, a major loss. Devastating, even.”
“Damnit, the kid is right,” Bobby sighs. “This makes everything worse.”
They all mull this over for a moment, before an idea strikes Chimney, and he sits up slowly. Maddie gives him a look that’s equal parts curiosity and concern. “Well, we could always get Eddie to come home,” Chimney suggests.
Hen frowns, then starts to smile and nod, but that’s probably the beer getting to her. “Yeah… We get Buck to realize he’s in love with Eddie, and that’s why he’s missing him so much.”
“And then we convince Buck that Eddie feels the same way, send Buck after him, then everyone comes back and we’re back to normal!” Chimney finishes, their excitement apparently contagious from the way Maddie, Athena, and Bobby start smiling also.
“Well, does Eddie feel the same way?” Karen interrupts, immediately dampening their moods.
“I mean, he did make Buck his son’s guardian if he dies,” Ravi says, completely unaware of the way all the heads in the room turn to look at him, jaws dropping slowly. “If anything’s a grand gesture, I think that is. Especially since he’s such a romantic. I mean, have you guys heard how many times he’s cried over the Pride and Prejudice movie?”
“What,” Chimney says, speaking for everyone in his disbelief so strong he can’t infuse his words with any sort of emotion. “Eddie did what.”
Ravi obviously starts to realize he’s shared secrets previously unknown, and starts fidgeting in his seat. “Oh, well, I just, um. When we did that risky maneuver for the runaway train together, he told me someone would need to tell Eddie to pick a new backup guardian. I think he was nervous, and joking because he was nervous, so. Anyways, it’s in Eddie’s will. Buck gets Christopher if Eddie dies.”
“Oh, so Eddie is absolutely in love with him,” Karen says, slapping her hand down on the coffee table as if it’s a court sentence. “This settles it. He would’ve never done that for any of the women he’s dated. He barely wanted to let his wife near Christopher, and she was his mother.”
“So now we just have to figure out how to make Buck realize this,” Maddie says, also seemingly settled into their plan. “How do we do that?”
After a pause, Chimney says, “Could we, like, hack his computer, find his therapist, and convince her to do it?”
Hen groans loudly. “Again with the vaguely inappropriate suggestions, Chim? Dude. C’mon.”
Later, once they’ve sent everyone home in Ubers (Ravi, Karen, and Hen) and personal cars (Bobby and Athena), picked Jee-Yun up from Buck’s (and returned with another batch of snicker-sugar-chip cookie abominations), Chimney goes to lay starfish on their bed, only to be forcefully rolled and maneuvered until he’s a suitable pillow for Maddie. They do a variation of this every night they’re both home and honestly? Chimney loves it. He loves when Maddie rests her head on his chest, tapping her fingers along his ribs in time with his heartbeat, even when they fall asleep like this and he ends up spitting her hair out of his mouth more often than not.
“So, what’s your plan to make Buck have his revelation?” Chimney asks, combing his fingers through Maddie’s hair, occasionally scratching her scalp. It always has her asleep within minutes.
“Get him drunk,” Maddie replies, eyes already drooping. “Not tequila drunk, we all know how that ends. I’m getting him drunk on moscato and riesling. Sweet white wines always get him to spill his guts, usually through song. Your plan?”
Chimney takes a second to laugh softly at her plan, then says, “I’m targeting Edmundo. He gets, like, weirdly possessive of Buck, especially when one of his exes gets brought up, so I’m gonna facetime him while we’re changing on a day that Buck’s back looks like hell and ask if Abby was in town. If that doesn’t work, I’m calling Eddie and telling him Buck died.”
Maddie wrinkles her nose and frowns. “Why the hell would you do that?”
Chimney shrugs the shoulder Maddie isn’t on. “Worked for Hen and Karen. But I think bringing up Abby will do the job, so the death thing is my last resort.”
She starts sleepily giggling, hiding her face in Chimney’s sleep shirt. He smiles down at her fondly, continuing his mission to send her to sleep with his hand in her hair. “That really is genius. Abby’s the only one he hates more than Taylor.”
“Eddie Diaz and his vengeance against gingers,” Chimney says. “When will it end?”
“When Buck stops dating them,” Maddie quips, letting out a sigh when Chimney scratches her scalp again. “God, now that I’m thinking about it, we’ve let them get away with so much. ‘Oh yeah, best friends totally freak out over whether or not their best friend will like their partner and it’s so normal to be willing to get rid of said partner if the best friend disapproves’.”
“Eddie literally says Abby’s name like it’s a slur,” Chimney laughs as quietly as he can. Maddie’s fingers have started scratching softly instead of tapping and it’s probably going to make him fall asleep before she does. “I’m surprised he hasn’t set Taylor on fire with his eyes yet, especially with that damn book of hers. Not to mention, I’m genuinely scared to see what will happen if he ever sees Ali again.”
“I want to see that,” Maddie says, her voice getting slower as she yawns. “But only after I’m done with her. Dealing with me and Eddie should be enough to make her regret dumping my brother on what could’ve been his deathbed.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you could make her regret that all on your own,” Chimney promises. “But the former army guy helping you out definitely couldn’t hurt.”
Maddie’s response is a gentle snore, and Chimney smiles as he turns the light off.
—
“Two bottles of riesling, two of moscato,” Buck declares as he opens his door to let Maddie in, gesturing dramatically to the kitchen island, which is surprisingly mostly clear of baked goods and baking items. “And the same amount of both, but the non-alcoholic versions, for you.”
“Did you seriously get a new Kitchenaid mixer?” Maddie exclaims. “Buck, your old one was fine.”
“Maybe, but it's the evergreen model, and the bowl is really cool,” Buck protests. “It's wooden! I used it to make these brown butter apple blondies, they’re delicious, and the wines have apple and butter notes, so they’ll go perfectly.”
“How many glasses have you already had,” Maddie inquires.
“Several,” Buck says, as if this is common sense. “I’m drinking for both of us.”
It doesn’t take long from there. All she has to do is shuffle Taylor Swift on Buck’s spotify on the TV, and Maddie sits back and watches in quiet amusement as Buck lets loose, singing loudly along to Guilty as Sin?. She eventually takes his glass out of his hand and hands him the bottle instead after a couple verses.
When it gets to the part about ‘fatal fantasies’ Buck sits down on his coffee table and looks at her, so seriously, and says, “Maddie, do you want to know what all of my recent hookups have in common?”
Eyes widening, Maddie mentally pats herself on the back for getting an admission in less than half an hour. “What is it?”
“They all look like Eddie,” Buck says, mournfully. He moves from his spot on the coffee table to the couch next to her, dumping his head on her shoulder. He has to curve his spine in a way that’s probably painful to do it, but he latches onto her arm like a koala onto a branch. “I just miss him so much. He’s my best friend in the whole world.”
“Why are you sleeping with people that remind you of Eddie?” Maddie asks, patting his thigh gently as he swings his legs over her lap. She’s essentially cradling him, and she feels a pang in her heart when she remembers when he was small enough for her to actually cradle him.
“Because they remind me of him, but sex is, like, the only thing we didn’t do together, so I thought it would cancel out.”
“Buck, genuinely curious, how’s that supposed to work, like, at all?” Maddie inquires, moving her free arm to start gently petting his head, moving his eyebrows this way and that.
“Best way to get over someone is to get under someone else,” is Buck’s sad response. “You told me that after Abby!”
Maddie almost answers, getting ready to tell him how little sense that makes when applied to best friends and not a relationship, but then Buck starts sniffling and the big sister in her can’t help but want to destroy everything that makes him upset.
“I miss him,” Buck admits through slow tears. “And Chris. It doesn’t feel like home without them here. Just feels like I’m a visitor. I think I only really exist when people need me, and they’re two of my most favorite people, and now they’re gone.”
“Evan,” Maddie says, as gently as she can, voice almost breaking. “They’re going to come back. They just need some time.”
“I feel like I’m always missing someone. Everybody leaves, and then they’re gone, and I miss them, and then I meet someone else, and then I love them and they leave again. It won’t stop, Mads,” he cries gently into her shoulder, breaking her heart over and over again. “I’m tired of missing them. I want them back.”
Maddie uses her free arm to move Buck’s head to her chest. It dislodges him from her arm, so she just hugs him, his arms moving around her after she does.
Eventually, his tears slow to a near stop, and Maddie looks at the clock. “Hey,” she says gently. “Maybe you can call Chris? It’s only eight in El Paso.”
Buck sniffles. “Do you think he’d answer? He wouldn’t answer last time I called him.”
“That was before Eddie left, though, right? So it’s been a couple months?”
With a frown, Buck mumbles, “I didn’t want to bother him if he didn’t want to hear from me.”
Maddie sighs and pushes his now damp hair back from his forehead. “I bet he’ll answer now. And if he doesn’t, I’ll supply the wine next time.”
“No you won’t,” Buck mutters, pouting, but he unlocks his phone and hands it to Maddie anyway. She opens his phone app, smiling when she sees his starred list that consists of herself, Bobby, Eddie, and Christopher. She clicks Christopher’s contact and watches it ring, bringing it to her ear when it goes through.
“Hello?”
Maddie smiles at the familiar voice. “Hey, Christopher. It’s Maddie, Buck’s sister. Do you have a second?”
“What is it? Is Buck okay?”
Maddie’s heart melts a little at the concern in his voice. “He is, I promise, he’s fine. He’s just not feeling too great right now, so I was thinking it could help him feel better if he could hear your voice? He misses you a lot.”
She hears two sniffles, one from the man curled into her chest, and the other from the phone. “Why hasn’t he called then?”
“Sometimes, when you miss someone a lot, it’s hard to talk to them. Buck misses you a lot, and sometimes it makes him sad, but he wants you to be happy. He doesn’t want you to be upset or worried that he’s sad,” Maddie says, as gently as if she were explaining it to her own kid. “Does that make sense?”
Another two sniffles. “Yeah, it does. I miss him, too.”
“Do you want to talk to him?”
There’s a pause, then Christopher says, as if he’s admitting a secret, “Yes, please.”
Maddie taps Buck on the shoulder until he sits up so he can take the phone. He cradles it to his ear like it’s something precious, beaming when he hears Christopher’s voice.
“Hey, buddy! It’s not too late for you, right? Your abuela isn’t making you go to bed early tonight?” He laughs softly. “No, I know it’s a weekend, obviously you’re up later. Do you have a teenager's bedtime yet?” After a pause, Buck laughs again. “Okay, promise to ask your grandparents about it. Don’t tell them it was my idea, they’ll get a restraining order against me.”
Maddie smiles and holds Buck’s free hand after taking the wine bottle and putting it on the table. His face gets softer and softer as he talks, until he’s quietly wishing Chris goodnight in Spanish that actually sounds natural to him, not like what Maddie expected it to sound like at all, but she does forget that he spent time in Peru.
When he puts the phone down, he puts his head down on Maddie’s lap, seeming calmer than before. Maddie, quite bravely, finally decides to say, “Why are you hooking up with people to get over Eddie?”
There’s a full several minutes of silence, and Maddie really thinks Buck is going to ignore the question, until Buck says, “I don’t know. I guess I can’t really get over him if I never had him, can I?”
It breaks her heart all over again.
Chimney happens to find his opportunity on the one day Maddie visits to bring him his work belt that he forgot. She shamelessly walks into the changeout room, ignoring the way Ravi squeaks and yanks his work pants up so fast, he almost falls over. Buck gives her a raised eyebrow, but turns back to his locker, and Maddie immediately reaches out a hand to slap Chimney’s shoulder. Her husband, the meddler of the century (God, she loves him), already has his phone out and Eddie’s contact open.
“Hey, Eddie! Maddie stopped by and we wanted to say hi!” Maddie almost groans at the lame excuse and takes the phone from him immediately.
She smiles when she sees Eddie, noting the 5 o’clock shadow that she knows Buck is going to love. “Hi, Eddie. I meant to ask you earlier but I forgot, Chimney reminded me when I brought him his belt. How’s—”
Chimney practically yells, “Goddamn, Buck! What cat got your back? Was it Abby? I remember you talking about her being a scratcher, when did she get into town?”
Maddie’s jaw drops as she looks up from the phone, watching as Buck turns a bright red and Hen starts cackling. “What?! No! No, no, no, it was not Ab—”
“Why would he be with Abby?” Eddie’s voice demands from Chimney’s phone. “She’s old news. And shouldn’t she be married by now? To the guy whose life Buck saved?”
Chimney beams. “Not according to her Facebook! He’s dead!” There’s a long moment of silence as all of them stare at him, Maddie turning the phone to allow Eddie to as well. Chimney finally folds. “Okay, fine, he’s not dead, it just looks like they split. She changed her status and posted about traveling again.”
Buck snorts loudly, reaching for his work shirt as he obviously recovers from whatever that was. Maddie turns the phone toward him before he can pull his shirt down and hears Eddie make a strangled sound. “At least it wasn’t just a me thing. Wonder if she remembered to break up with him before she left this time.”
After a pause, Eddie says, “Well, is she the one scratching you up like that?” It’s a bit of a barely restrained tone, one that makes Maddie and Chimney exchange looks as Buck’s blush returns in full force.
“No, no, just some guy I met at a bar,” Buck says, pulling his shirt down and walking to snatch Chimney’s phone from Maddie’s hand. She squawks indignantly, but Buck just glares at her and walks away.
“Just some guy? Buck, tell me you’re being responsible—”
The door slams behind Buck, and Maddie, Chimney, Ravi, and Hen all converge on the center of the room, cackling. “Oh my god,” Hen gasps. “He was about to have a conniption! Chim, that was evil, I’m so proud of you.”
“Buck was actually about to explode,” Ravi manages between giggles.
“I have never been so in love with you,” Maddie says to Chimney, ducking her head into his shoulder as she laughs. “That was brilliant.”
Maddie wakes up in the hospital, because of course she does. The only thing that Tommy ever got right was saying the 118 and their extended family deserve a dedicated wing in First Presbyterian. She tries to sit up when she remembers what happened before she fell into unconsciousness, automatically reaching out and rasping, “Evan, Evan!”
Someone grabs her hand gently, squeezing and pulling it to the side of her bed. She looks in that direction, still blinking in an attempt to regain some semblance of clarity, but she’d recognize her husband from miles away, and any sight she’d recovered during her blinking disappears as she starts sobbing.
“Hey, Mads, hey,” Chimney says, obviously trying to make his tone soothing, but she can tell he’s also crying, but trying to hide it. “You’re okay, I promise. Everything is fine.”
Maddie pulls in a sharp breath, trying to get some actual air into her lungs so she can speak. “The—The baby?” She manages, despite a sob immediately forcing its way out.
Chimney nods, smiling through the tears. “The baby is okay. No abnormalities, good fetal heart rate. The OB is checking in daily until they let you go, just in case, but everything looks good.”
Maddie’s breathing manages to recover as he speaks, his voice calming her body, even when her mind is still racing. “And… Buck? Where’s Evan?” Her eyes well up with tears again as she thinks about the fear in his eyes when she was hit over the head, before she passed out. “Please tell me he’s okay. If I’m okay, he’s okay, right?”
Another nod, and Maddie starts sobbing in earnest, this time with sudden, overwhelming relief. “Oh, thank God. Where is he? Please, Howie, I need to see him.”
Chimney points to the other side of her bed, and Maddie cries even harder when she turns her head and sees Buck in the bed next to her. He doesn’t try to shush her as she looks her little brother over, just runs a hand over her head soothingly. “He was stabbed twice, once in the abdomen and once in the thigh. He has a couple cracked ribs, but there’s no breaks. There’s a mild concussion, and his right eye looks worse than it is.” Maddie loves him so much, for how clinically he says all of this, as if he’s reading out problems at a scene, because he knows she’s assuming the worst when she sees how many bandages her brother is wrapped in.
“The bruises, those are all—”
“Awful looking, but that’s all,” Chimney murmurs, pressing a gentle kiss to her head. “They’ll heal. You both will. God, I’m so proud of you. You made it.”
“Buck saved me,” Maddie cries. “He would’ve killed me, but Buck saved me. He found me.” She looks back to Chimney, trying to hold back tears. “I’m so sorry. He came looking for me because I dug too deep. He was in our house with our baby because of me—”
“No, no, no, Maddie,” Chimney interrupts, his own tears falling again. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t go deeper. I love you, because you care enough to look, even if there’s a danger. I know the woman I fell in love with, the woman I fall more and more in love with everyday, and she’s stubborn, and persistent, and caring, and I wouldn’t ask for anything less.”
Maddie squeezes his hand and brings it to her lips, kissing the back of it repeatedly, unable to put her love and her gratitude into words. He understands, though. He always does, and she knows he always will.
“Oh God,” she says after a few minutes have passed. “You need to call Eddie.”
Chimney raises his eyebrows, visibly stunned, for some reason. “Really? Like, right now? Maddie, shouldn’t we give it a second? Let everything calm down? It doesn’t seem like the time.”
She shakes her head quickly. “No, no, do it now. I don’t know where my phone is, or I would. Howie, now.”
He lets go of her hand to raise both of his in surrender, but he does get his phone out and dial Eddie’s number, putting it on speaker, which Maddie appreciates.
It only rings for half a second before Maddie can hear Eddie’s voice, and God, he sounds wrecked. “Chim, hey, is there any news? We’re trying to leave the house to get to the airport now but my mom is going fuck—sorry, freaking insane over Christopher coming with me.”
“Dad, you can say fuck in front of me. I’m a teenager now, remember?”
Despite it all, Maddie almost laughs.
“Are you on speaker?” Chimney asks, too seriously, which makes Maddie frown.
A second. Then, “Not anymore. I stepped outside, too. What is it, Chim?” Maddie flinches his fragile tone.
“They, um. They didn’t get to him in time.”
Maddie’s eyes fly open and she starts hissing, “Chim, oh my God, stop—”
“No. No, no, Chimney, no, you’re not— they—”
“Fix this now!” Maddie whisper-yells at him as soon as she hears a muffled sob come from the phone. “That’s not what I meant! Howie! Oh my God!”
“No, sorry, pulling your leg, he’s okay!” Chimney says, frantically, looking at Maddie as if he doesn’t understand what’s wrong.
Making a grabbing gesture, Maddie says, “Howard, give me the phone. Give it.” He does, and she immediately takes it off speaker before raising it to her ear, almost starting to cry again when she hears Eddie gasping out heavy, frantic breaths on the other end. “Eddie, hey, it’s Maddie. Are you with me?”
There’s a pause, then, a strangled, “Yes.”
“I need you to breathe, okay? Can you try a deep breath in for four? I’ll count it. Okay, one…”
She helps him through square breathing until she can tell his breathing has calmed, then says, “It’s a long story, but I promise you Buck is fine. We both are. He’s pretty beat up, but he’s okay. I promise, it looks worse than it is.”
“Oh. Oh, thank God,” Eddie says, and then immediately, sobs break through the phone speaker.
“I know,” Maddie says, a pitiful attempt at soothing him. “I know, Eddie. Me too.”
“Our flight leaves in an hour. We’ll come straight from the airport. Should be there by about ten.”
“Drive safe. Uber if you have to,” Maddie says, a fond warning in her tone. “Tell Chris we’re excited to see him.”
“I will,” Eddie replies, then hangs up without a goodbye. Maddie can’t even blame him, and she turns on Chimney without a second thought.
“What the hell?!”
“I thought you meant to call him for my backup plan!” Chimney protests. “That’s why I questioned it!”
“Oh my God,” Maddie says, then, inexplicably, starts cackling. “Chim, oh my God.” He waits a second, but after he seems reassured she’s not mad, he laughs along with her.
“What’s—” someone starts saying, then breaks out into hacking coughs. Maddie and Chimney both whip their heads towards Buck’s bed, and Maddie almost rips out her IV to get to him, but Bobby’s timing is perfect, and he enters their room at the same moment that Buck starts coughing and rushes to bring him the cup of water next to his bed.
Maddie happily drinks in the sight of her brother, even if he’s only just drinking water. It’s still a miracle. He’s still a miracle. Bobby is looking at him the same way, as he takes the now empty cup and sets it down.
“Okay, now, what’s so funny?” Buck asks, voice marginally better.
“Oh, nothing much, Chimney just told Eddie you died,” Maddie says casually, watching with glee as Buck and Bobby turn on Chimney with twin expressions of complete and utter shock.
“You did what?” Bobby says.
“Chimney, man, I love you, but what the fuck?!” Buck starts calm and ends with a yell, then a sudden yelp as he caves over, holding a hand to his ribs. As Bobby reaches out, Buck waves him off. “I’m fine, Bobby, just stings. Chim, seriously.”
Chimney raises his hands in surrender, again, and says, “It worked for Hen and Karen! I’m not taking criticism anymore!”
“Seriously, Chimney? Now?” Bobby questions, flabbergasted. “Is it really the time?”
“Maddie told me to!”
“I told you to call him, not send him into a panic attack!”
“He what?” Buck demands. “Is he okay? What happened?”
Maddie turns to him with a sigh. “He’s okay. I talked him down, everything’s fine.”
Buck groans and gingerly lays back on the bed. “Why me? I can’t even get a moment of peace after almost getting killed by a serial killer?”
“Almost is your keyword there, Buckaroo,” Hen says as she walks in, smiling brightly when she sees Maddie and Buck are both awake. She walks in between their beds, resting a hand on each of their shoulders before going to pull up a chair next to Chimney. “We’ll give you peace when you actually get killed by a serial killer. Seriously, though, what’s disturbing your peace?”
“Chimney told Eddie I died and made him have a panic attack!”
Hen groans loudly. “Seriously, Chim? Again?”
“What do you mean again?!” Buck exclaims.
“He did the same thing to Karen when I got injured on a call,” Hen explains, exasperated. “She was about to get on a plane to flee the state and he called her and told her I died so he could” she proceeds to do dramatic air quotation motions, “‘Make her remember that she loves me’. Damn near gave her a heart attack.”
“And she left the airport and ran back to you immediately,” Chimney says defensively. “Foolproof method.”
“And you did this to Eddie, why?”
The room falls into silence as the four of them that are not Buck exchange panicked glances. “Well,” Maddie starts, gingerly. “It’s a long story. And it can definitely wait until you’re out of the hospital and not on the brink of death. Your eye really does look awful.”
“Catch a stray elbow from a serial killer only to keep catching strays from my sister,” Buck mutters, still eyeing them suspiciously.
“You really do need to rest, Buck,” Bobby says. “I’m sure you’ll be woken up if anything exciting happens.”
—
Buck is abruptly woken up when his room door swings open so fast it hits the other wall. He makes an attempt at sitting up, only to fail with a yelp as the motion pulls at his stitches. Blinking sleep out of his eyes, he opens them fully to see Christopher—But that can’t be right. Is he hallucinating again?
“Chris?” Buck says, voice as small and weak as he feels in his fear that this won’t be real, but then the boy’s face breaks out in a giant grin as he starts across the room, crutches clacking.
“Buck! Buck, my Buck,” Christopher says gleefully as he makes his way to Buck’s bedside, moving to hug him, but when he sees Buck’s arm cradling his own ribs, he frowns, then sets his forehead on Buck’s shoulder instead. It almost sends Buck into tears, but then he follows that movement up by saying, “The doctors fixed you again. I knew they would,” and, well, Buck can’t be held accountable for how quickly he starts crying, his free arm coming up to hold the back of Christopher’s head, leaning their heads together.
“God, I missed you,” Buck practically whimpers. “My superman.”
Christopher giggles as he stands up straight, then gasps when he sees Buck’s eye. “Woah! Are you blind now? Like, in that eye?”
Buck’s crying is broken by his laughter. “No, it’s just a couple busted blood vessels. It doesn’t hurt, I promise.”
“Does everything else?”
“Buddy, I don’t even know what everything else is,” Buck admits.
“Two stitched wounds,” a voice from the doorway says, and Buck’s breath catches in his throat when he looks up and sees Eddie. His face is pale, with dark circles under his eyes and a dark enough shadow to suggest he hasn’t had time to shave recently. Fuck, he’s gorgeous. “Four or five fractured ribs. A concussion. Enough bruises that your arms look like you got blackout tattoos.”
“Probably enough trauma to last a lifetime,” Buck hears Maddie add from her bed, but he physically can’t break eye contact with Eddie, and it looks like he’s in a similar state. Buck’s always felt like there was some sort of tether between the two of them, sometimes tight enough to strangle, others stretched enough to ache, but always there.
“Hi,” Buck manages, then winces at how choked his voice sounds.
But then, “Hey,” Eddie responds, sounding just as wrecked, and Buck melts back into the bed, suddenly perfectly at ease.
“Hey, Chris,” Maddie calls gently. “Can you come show me those photos from your chess tournament? I keep asking your dad to send them to me, but I think he’s otherwise occupied.”
Buck sees Chris’ eyes bounce back and forth between Buck and Eddie, but he nods and goes to sit by Maddie. As much as Buck loves the kid, he forgets anyone else is even in the room when Eddie crosses it and grabs Buck’s face with both hands, pressing their foreheads together with a ragged gasp, like this is the first time he’s been able to breathe in hours.
“If you ever do that to me again, I’ll kill you myself,” Eddie manages to say, thumbs dragging back and forth over Buck’s cheeks, leaving the skin when they brush over bruises so they don’t cause pain. “Your three tries are finished.”
“But not my nine lives,” Buck makes a pitiful attempt at a joke. “Probably got a couple of those left.”
“You’re keeping them,” is Eddie’s harsh response. His hands tighten for a brief second, then relax. “When Chimney-when he said- Díos, I thought my heart stopped. I was so scared. I thought I’d never get to—”
“Hey, Eds, I’m okay,” Buck manages, his own hands coming up to hold Eddie’s wrists, fingers finding his pulse naturally. “A few weeks of bedrest, and I’ll be good.”
“You’re coming home with me,” Eddie rasps. “You’re not leaving my sight.”
“I guess I’ll have to get used to the Texas humidity, then,” is Buck’s unflinching response.
Eddie frowns. “What? No, we’re going home. Not to El Paso. If I get my way, we’ll never go back there again. Adriana is moving to San Diego, Sophia is in Chicago, there’s nothing there for me anymore.” His grip tightens again, and Buck can only feel a rush of affection, and joy. “Everything I need is here.”
“Your parents?”
“I’ve informed them they’re welcome to come visit once a year, if they get a hotel while they’re in town,” Eddie says, as if this is some casual thing, as if every word coming out of his mouth isn’t sending Buck’s mind spiraling. “Chris is coming back. He always was, turns out. He just wanted me to work for it.”
Buck’s own grip tightens on Eddie’s wrists. “I would happy-cry if I didn’t think my body was out of tears.”
“I probably cried enough for the both of us,” Eddie admits, shyly. “It was supposed to be a surprise. But, well. We were so worried about you, we moved the date up a few days.”
“I missed you guys, so fucking much,” Buck murmurs.
“Enough to sleep with knock-offs?” Eddie says, dryly, sending Buck’s face into absolute flames. “You posted a drunk photo with a few of them. I used context clues.”
Buck groans, attempting to turn his face to hide, but Eddie laughs, the sound as soft and gentle as his hands, and pulls him back. “You weren’t supposed to know that. I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to find out like this either,” Eddie quips. When Buck groans again and closes his eyes to avoid that knowing look, Eddie taps his fingers lightly on Buck’s cheek until he looks at him again. “We’re going to talk, I promise. Just not here. I’ve had a lot of time to think about me, my life, and the joy I couldn’t let myself accept, but I’m done with that. I want joy. I want you.”
And, Buck has to kiss him for that, he really does.
It’s brief, and light, and gentle, so it doesn’t bother Buck’s assortment of bruises, but Buck feels like he’s been set on fire at the touch anyway. It’s everything.
From the hallway, they hear a muffled “I told you guys it always works!”