Buck wanders down the clinical hallway with a smile on his face; after a horrid start, things seemed to be ending well. He makes his way towards the elevator and presses the button. As he waits he messages Bobby that he's all done and needs a lift. Entering the elevator, he travels down to the ground floor and is greeted by a busier reception area, filled with people waiting and talking. Walking towards the main doors he sees Claire standing there talking to another nurse. She smiles at him and makes her way over to him. Looking at his watch, he knows he has time to kill.
"Hey, how is it going? Thought I would have seen you up there?" Buck asks.
"Good, and yeah, I was just about to start my rounds when I had something come up so it delayed me. Although I didn't think you would be done so quickly, something or someone obviously cheered you up with a grin like that." she says smiling.
"The kid is great, and Eddie... well what can I say? But it's best not to get my hopes up and isn't it wrong to like a man I saved?" 'Surely it is a breach of ethics there', he thinks.
"Why's that?"
"Well, the first thing is I don't know if he likes men, second is that he has a child, third; he lost his wife a while ago and fourth; he is a patient and someone I saved." Buck is quick to give his reasons.
"Ah, fair enough, but you were a patient when Alex appeared in your life, remember?" Claire is quick to point out the facts, no matter how unwanted. Buck shivers at that name being said. "Plus, I suppose the kid having CP and the dad being deaf would make it hard to even consider a relationship. I mean as baggage goes that's a lot."
Somehow, Buck hadn't even thought about that part. "That doesn't bother me, just seems they have had a run of bad luck and I can sympathize with that."
"It's like I said to you after I found out Alex left; all bad luck comes to an end and you do deserve some good luck. How is your hand anyway?" She grabs his hand, checking over the bandage.
"It's okay, a bit sore but it'll be fine once I take some painkillers." Buck explains and feels his phone vibrate, grabbing it from his pocket and looking to see Bobby is waiting outside. "Well, I better be off, the captain is outside."
"Okay, I'll let you know about your test results as soon as they come in." Claire waves him off as he heads outside and looks around for Bobby's car.
He finds Bobby parked and waves at him as he walks over. He climbs in the car and buckles himself in.
"All good?"
"Yeah, got to wait for results but for now it's all good." Buck says smiling.
"What has you all smiley?" Bobby quizzes.
"Oh, just spent time with Eddie's son, doing some coloring." As soon as Buck said that he knew he was about to get a lecture.
"Buck, tell me you didn't go looking? You know the rules."
"No, I know after last time, there's a patient-firefighter boundary. I didn't approach them though, Bobby. I was sitting in the waiting room when Chris and his grandmother came up to me and he asked if I could look at his books. I said it was fine and so did the grandmother, but then I got called in by the nurse. I told them that I would pop up to see him because he was upset and you know I can't say no to a kid." Buck defends himself.
"Okay, you're fine this time." Bobby sighs as he lets it go for the moment. "How is the father?"
"He is doing okay. He was asleep while I was there, he'd had a blood transfusion so he'll be out of it till at least tomorrow." Buck has a grin on his face as he explains.
"And that smile means?" Bobby glances over at Buck and Buck knows he was caught, but besides that stern stare, Buck caught a small smile forming over Bobby's lips.
"Okay, so maybe I like him. I mean- I didn't really see him at the scene but seeing him at the hospital... I can't explain it but I felt something. Don't worry though, I will respect the boundary rule; plus I don't think he will be interested. He has a lot going on- he lost his wife, his son has CP and he is deaf and still coming to terms with it." As Buck explains, he sees Bobby has turned to look at him again.
"You got a lot of information seeing as you just went to color with his son," Bobby quips.
"It was Chris - he drew a picture of an explosion and angels so I asked what it was about, and that's when he explained how his dad became deaf and how his mom died."
"Alright, changing the subject. Have you decided on taking some time off then? Even if you don't travel, as a friend I'm saying you need to take some time away and sort out your life," Bobby brings the conversation back on track, and Buck knew he would ask this eventually.
"Yeah, I'll take a few weeks. I was going to travel but I don't feel like it especially with my luck of getting injured" Buck chuckles "but I'm going to attend a sign language course, mainly so I don't feel like an idiot when I next have to save a person hard of hearing."
"Well, I wasn't expecting that but I'm glad you aren't leaving the country," Bobby huffs a sigh of relief before continuing. "And what about the transfer request you wanted?"
"I don't think I want it. I said it in the heat of the moment; it's been a hard few weeks and Maddie was the icing on a very large cake. I'm happy with everyone at the station. We are like family. I couldn't give you guys up. My sister and I will sort everything out, I just need to find a place to live and have a few weeks for me to find me first." Buck is dedicated to figuring himself out.
"Glad to hear it," Bobby says. "So, you're now off for the next few weeks. It makes sense to start now as you're injured and would be off anyway, at least this way it's classed as holiday and not sick pay, just keep in touch."
"I will, and thank you. It means a lot. I will have to ask you for another lift tomorrow so I can get my jeep from the station," Buck finishes with a sheepish grin.
"I will get Chim and Hen to drop it off, we can't have you driving with that hand," Bobby explains.
"Brilliant, thanks."
They finish their journey chatting about what Buck had missed whilst in the hospital, eventually pulling up outside of the apartment block where Buck was staying. Buck gets out of the car and says his goodbyes to Bobby, promising to keep in touch.
Entering through the main doors to the building he hopes not to see anyone, he just wants to get in and relax. Riding in the elevator he anxiously watches as the numbers roll pass each of the floors till it stops and the doors open to his hallway. Walking down the hall always makes him feel more lonely, knowing an empty apartment waits at the end. Opening the door with a sigh that will go unnoticed, he places his keys down and heads to the bedroom. Wrapping his hand with a plastic bag after stripping his clothes he makes his way into the bathroom and enters the shower, he stands under the pulsing bursts of the jets letting the dirt and stress wash away from him.
Once clean, he dries and changes then heads into the kitchen to make something quick, going to the living room where he sits down with the food and watches TV. Eventually, he reluctantly gets his phone out and starts scrolling the estate agents, searching for a place to stay. He finds a few properties he likes the look of, deciding to go for the rent option as the cost of houses on his own was way out of his league. Seeing some apartments and two houses, he books appointments to go view them then starts thumbing through the leaflet he was given earlier. Checking online for the next available date with the tutor has him signing up for the upcoming week. Luckily, it was one-on-one sessions that Buck was hoping for; he wouldn't get distracted by other people. It would also give him a few days to get things organized and sorted.
As he settles down he hears a knock at the door. Not expecting anyone, he cautiously walks to the door. Peeking through the spy hole, he lets out a sigh as he sees Maddie. He really didn't have the energy for this but he knew he needed to speak to her more so reluctantly opened the door.
"Hey," he says.
"Hi."
"Want to come inside?" he asks.
"Yeah, sure," she replies and enters, and he watches her look round.
"So, what brings you here at this hour?" Buck asks.
"Just wanted to check on you, I know we need to have a proper chat and it can wait but I just wanted to check on you." Buck was glad her answer was in line with what he wanted as well.
"Okay, do you want a drink?"
"Yeah, but I'll make them? It's going to be hard with one hand I'm guessing," she chuckles.
"True," Buck smiles back.
He follows her into the kitchen and watches as she fills the kettle and gets two cups and Buck points to where the coffee is, and when he sees her holding up a picture of him and Alex.
'Oh, shit' he thinks - he really did not want to go through this now.
"So, Alex? I mean if you want to leave it we can..." she says.
"No, might as well get it over with. We met a while back at the hospital after I got injured on a call, he was a nurse," and he can see the look on Maddie's face, it was the same as Bobby's earlier, "and it got really serious real quick and I fell hard for him. He was taking care of his sick father and I ended up helping him, we would stay up all night talking about everything and I don't know how but I ended up living here. But his father passed and then he said he wanted to travel and see the world now he didn't have to look after his dad. I was ready to go with him but he explained he wanted to do it on his own. And now he won't answer me, so I'm going with yet again I have been abandoned, but hey I'm getting used to that," Buck says. He knows it was a low blow, but it was the truth.
"What an ass! And I'm sorry I did the same but things weren't exactly rosy for me and that's why I couldn't come and I'm sorry. But how about we have a drink and leave the heavy stuff for another day?" she says as she makes the drinks.
"Agreed, how did you find your first shift?" he asks.
"Well, started off a bit crap but ended good, what about you?" she asks, smiling.
"Well, I ended up at the hospital, so a typical shift for me! But I was glad I got to see the little boy Chris again and his dad," Buck says smiling.
"Well now that smile means there's more, so come on," she giggles, passing Buck his drink.
"No there's nothing, he wasn't even awake. I just sat coloring with Chris. But Eddie's wow, handsome," Buck says, knowing he is blushing.
"So, you like him?" she asks.
"I don't know. Plus he has not long lost his wife so I doubt he's on the market, and his son has CP. Oh, and he is deaf, I mean that wouldn't bother me but from what I was told he struggles to cope so I'll leave it. Plus I said to Bobby I would respect the firefighter rescuee boundary, which will be for the best," Buck says.
"Okay," Maddie replies, and Buck spots a look on her face but cannot put his finger on what it is.
They talk about other things and Buck avoids discussing certain stuff and he can tell Maddie is doing the same. Eventually, it gets late and she makes her excuses and leaves. Buck is glad to have time to himself. He decides to head to bed grabbing some painkillers as his hand has started hurting and heads to bed where he lay in between the sheets. The memories of happy times he'd had filled his head, which then makes him feel sad at what he had lost, but he eventually manages to close his eyes and nod off.
Eddie during the night
Eddie wakes up and can instantly feel the grogginess followed by the dull pain in his leg. He looks around and the ever so familiar smell of the hospital hits him as he spots the plain white walls and the feel of the itchy blanket on his arms, but he lets a smile slip when he sees Chris curled up on the bed next to him. His smile grows at the relief that Chris and Abuela weren't in the building. He moves his hand to pull the blanket more over Chris and Eddie guessed that his Abuela must have put it over him. He turns to see her sitting there in the chair and she smiles at him. She gently gets up, picking up the tablet, and walks over with it and Eddie knows it's his. It was a godsend but at the same time a reminder of how much he relied on others. He watches as she types something before handing it to Eddie.
'How are you feeling? Do you want me to get the nurse?' Eddie reads the screen, making him squint.
He looks at her with a sad smile.
"I feel good, and now I may just get some rest, thanks. Just happy the firefighter got me out. I can't believe he did it on his own!" Eddie says.
He watches as Abuela types again, thinking how he hates not being able to have a proper conversation with people. She hands the tablet back to him.
'Yes, he got you out. He was here earlier, he'd hurt his hand at the fire and Chris saw him in the waiting room and asked him to come to look at his coloring books. He said to tell you sorry he didn't know ASL and he hoped he didn't make you feel uncomfortable', Eddie reads. He feels a bit guilty that the firefighter had first felt guilty and the second had been dragged here because his son was over-friendly. Eddie liked that Chris was friendly but with everything that was going on it made it harder for him as he didn't know what was happening most of the time.
"He doesn't have to feel sorry, it isn't his fault and he wouldn't have known I was deaf. Still, I can't believe Chris got him in here! I hope he wasn't made to feel uncomfortable, being dragged in by a kid," Eddie says with a chuckle. "Why don't you go home? I'll keep Chris here and I'll see you in the morning," Eddie says and sees Abuela shake her head and she takes the tablet to write again. A few moments later she hands it back and Eddie can see in her expression something is up and looks at the tablet.
'Your parents are coming.' Eddie clenches the tablet tightly, his fingers going white. 'I had to let them know you were in an accident and I'm sorry, but I didn't know what else to do. I know you don't want to be told this but you are not coping, Edmundo, and you need support. There is only so much I can do to help, and you have to think about Chris.' Eddie places the tablet down. He knows she's telling the truth but in the same way, he wanted to prove that his deafness would not stop him. He hadn't known the building at his doctor's would catch fire.
"It's okay, I understand why you called them, and let's face it, I will need the extra help these next few weeks till I'm back on my feet. But I have plans and I will get it sorted, I have my business I want to start and I have already looked into how to adjust it to make it work with me being deaf. I just need to get it sorted and get Chris into a decent school and us out of that flat and into a more accessible house," he says and sees his Abuela give him a sad smile.
She types again. 'Okay, I'm here to support you both. If you have your heart set on staying you have to try harder at ASL for me, please? We can ask the Health Department for help, I know you hate asking for help but we have no choice.' He smiles at her, he understands he needs to get the help but he wanted to prove he could do it on his own. Maybe in a way if he sorts the help he can claim it as a small victory.
"I understand and I will get it sorted. Let us both get some rest now and you need to go home and rest. Chris will be fine here, and tomorrow we will sort getting me out of here, or at least try to, and then we can focus on moving forward," Eddie says.
He looks at Abuela as she mouths 'okay' and then she takes a seat and covers herself with a blanket, giving him a defiant look. Eddie chuckles and turns the light off and closes his eyes as he plans how to stop his parents from taking Chris away. He knew it would be hard and he would have to ask for help - the one thing he hated the most - but if it meant keeping his son he would. But that was a problem for later, now was the time for sleep, so he tries to switch his brain off and fall asleep. All he can think about is that he will be abandoned by his parents as they take his child away from him and back to Texas, the sad thoughts that he could be left helpless and alone take a toll on his mind and eventually the stress of the day catches up and he nods off, holding his son close.
Buck in the morning.
Buck wakes to the painful sting of his hand. The painkillers had worn off and Buck could feel it all and was surprised as it didn't hurt this bad yesterday. He rolls and sits up and moves his bandaged hand in front of him and sees the red stain of the bandage and knows it's obviously split open throughout the night. He reaches over and grabs his phone, it's just after 8 am so he sits and looks at the screen thinking who is the best to call. He can't remember who's off and he knows he can't drive with his hand as it is, he would call an uber but he wanted some friendly company, so he presses the call on the first person he sees and listens to the ringing tone.
"Hey Buck, I wasn't expecting to hear from you, is everything okay?" Athena says.
"Yeah, well no, my hand has, I'm guessing, split in the night and has bled is there any..." Buck is unable to finish.
"I'm already on my way. Just wrap it in a towel or something and be at your main entrance in twenty," she says.
"Will do and thanks," Buck says as he gets up, grabbing a towel from the bathroom and wrapping his hand up. Once done he quickly dresses and grabs things he may need and heads out.
He fast walks down to the elevator, saying a quick hello to one of his neighbors before getting in and riding down. He leaves the building and waits in the front. Thankfully it is a warm summer's morning so Buck takes a seat on the wall and waits till Athena turns up in her car, then he gets up and smiles at her as he enters and fastens his seat belt and they set off.
"You best not get any blood on my seats," she jokes.
"I won't! Thanks again, don't know what I did," Buck explains as they drive along the roads.
"Maybe you slept funny, but how are you? Bobby mentioned you have taken some time off?" Athena asks and Buck should have known Bobby would tell his wife.
"Yeah, it just all got too much, you know, but I'm good. I promise I have viewings set up for some flats and houses so hopefully, I will be moving forward soon," Buck says.
"Good and if you need someone to come with you I can make myself free, just give me the word," she explains.
"Thanks! I may take you up on that, just for the back up if I say I don't like it and they try to force me into it," Buck chuckles, he knew he was rash at making decisions so having someone like Athena around would keep him in check.
They chat more along the way, Buck doing his usual - ask more questions so he didn't get asked any. He could tell Athena knew his game, but she never pulled him up on it and just went along. When they arrived at the hospital Buck was surprised when Athena pulled in a parking spot instead of just dropping him off and he turned to her.
"You ain't going in alone," she says.
"I'll be fine, it's just a restitch," Buck explains.
"And how will you get home?" she asks.
"I'll get a cab or walk," Buck says, smiling.
"No chance, come on," she says, getting out. Buck follows suit and gets out and they both walk in through the main door. As he does he catches Claire walking by and she turns to him.
"Come to check in on Sleeping Beauty again?" she questions, and Buck knows he is going red.
"No, more like this," he says, holding his hand up and trying to avoid the look Athena is no doubt giving him.
"Oh right! Come on, I've got a free few minutes, I'll sort it," she says and Buck turns to Athena who smiles.
"So is that the real reason you wanted me to go? You've got your eye on someone?" she jokes.
"Nothing like that, it was the guy I saved yesterday, I ended up sitting with his son. Yes, Bobby warned me already so don't worry," Buck explains.
"That's fine, look I'm going to wait in the car so take as long as you need - but don't go to see that guy," she says, smiling.
Buck huffs but nods and turns to follow Claire, they walk down the long corridors and into an empty cubicle, she pulls the curtain round as Buck takes the towel off.
"Sorry if I said something I shouldn't have; she didn't look too impressed when I mentioned Sleeping Beauty," Claire says as she cuts the bandage off.
"It's fine, I think they all think I'm breaking some rule when all I did was sit with the man's kid. Yes I'll admit Eddie is handsome and maybe I would go there but I'm nowhere near ready for something like that, I still live in my ex's apartment," Buck says, sighing. He's fed up with having to explain himself to everyone.
"It's fine. You don't have to explain to me. To be honest, the man's grandmother couldn't praise you enough for helping last night, I'm sure she would like to say it to you in person again if you want to head up? I'm also sure the dad would want to say thank you," Claire says as she rinses the hand with solution, making Buck flinch.
"Maybe. Be nice to see the kid again, make sure he is okay," Buck says with a smile.
"And to check out the dad," Claire chuckles.
"No, ugh maybe then," Buck says.
"There's that blush, I knew I could get to you," she giggles.
"I hate you sometimes," Buck says, smiling. "Ow!"
"That's what you get for being rude," she laughs as she finishes dressing his hand. "Now please be more careful?" Claire explains as she bins the used items.
"I will. I'll come to say bye when I leave," he says.
"Okay, or I'll see you up there," she says with a smirk and Buck heads off down the hall to the elevator.
Once inside the elevator, he heads up to the 4th floor. He feels his good hand start to shake and the nerves in his stomach bounding round. He starts to question whether this was a good idea but before he can decide the elevator stops and the doors open, so with a deep breath, he makes his way down the hall. There he sees Abuela standing outside, speaking on the phone and looking anguished. She sees him and smiles before hanging up on whoever was on the phone.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Buck asks, worried something might have happened.
"Yeah. Well no, but like I said yesterday it's not your problem to deal with," she explains.
"I understand that, but a problem shared is a problem solved," Buck says, smiling.
"Well unless you're able to stop Eddie's parents taking away his son then there's not much you can do. I'm sorry if I sound harsh, it's just that his parents were on the phone most of the night and morning plus they're on the way now. I told Eddie but..." she stops as she looks through the window. Buck looks too and a smile forms as he sees Eddie asleep with Chris on his bed asleep too.
"But what?" Buck inquired.
"He needs help, and a lot of it, he finally admitted to me yesterday. But I feel it's too little too late! His parents are on their way and they won't take no for an answer," she says and Buck can see the tears. He knows those kinds of tears, they are tears of fear.
"What will happen? And what does he need to keep them together?" Buck inquired. He feels this could be the thing to give him purpose, but he knows how some people may see it.
"A lot! He needs an accessible home - the flat they rent is no good for Chris and Eddie struggles with it too, even though he won't admit it. Then there's getting Chris into a school and the extra care he needs, and then Eddie wants to set up his own business - but I don't think he's thought it through," she explains.
Buck stands there and listens to what she has to say and can see why it's so much. There are loads that need doing and Buck does not know himself how he could be of any help, but he knows looking through the window that he could not let Chris and his dad be separated. He turns and smiles at Abuela.
"I can try to help, maybe contact some people to see what support we can get them both. That's if you don't think I'm overstepping?" Buck says, knowing he was pushing the boundary rule that Bobby had told him to follow.
"No, Eddie may be too prideful to ask for help but I'm not. We all need support. I tried contacting the Health Department but they wouldn't talk to me - they only wanted to talk to Eddie, even after I explained his hearing situation. Please help?" she mutters out before the tears start falling and Buck gestures for her to come in for a hug. He holds her as she sobs. It all but confirms it for Buck, he is helping no matter what anyone says.
Eddie slowly wakes and his first instinct is to look down and make sure Chris is still there and when he sees him still asleep he smiles. As he turns he sees Abuela has gone. As his eyes glance round the room they fall to the window where he sees Abuela and a man who looks familiar but he can't place him - and they're hugging. Eventually, as he watches they break the hug and continue to talk. Eddie shifts a bit as his leg hurts and it wakes Chris.
"Shh, it's okay. Go back to sleep," Eddie says.
Chris sits up and smiles at Eddie and he watches as Chris signs to him saying no. Eddie smiles. He was proud his son had started to learn to sign with him - at least they could communicate, even if it was basic. He watches as Chris grabs his tablet which was on the table next to the bed, Eddie looks at the window again and sees Abuela and can see tears.
"Hey bud, who's that with Abuela?" he asks.
He watches as Chris types on the screen and shows his dad.
'It's Buck, the firefighter who saved you', Eddie reads.
"Oh right, why is he with Abuela?" Eddie asks and watches as Chris types again.
'Not sure, maybe Abuela texted him. Can we get breakfast?' Eddie reads and smiles. Why would she text him, he wonders.
"We will. Once Abuela comes in we can sort something out," Eddie replies and pulls Chris into a hug. He is scared of what the next few days mean and what could happen.
Buck listens to Abuela explain the trouble she has had to deal with Eddie coming and the help she has tried to give. As she carries on Buck's eyes catch Eddie who's hugging Chris and sees that Eddie is staring at him and Abuela. Buck gently taps Abuela to get her attention and points towards Eddie and she smiles.
"Right! Game face on. Do you want to come in? I'm sure Chris will be ecstatic to see you again," Abuela says.
"I can spare a few minutes to talk to him" Buck explains, knowing Athena would be pissed but he couldn't go now that they had seen him it would be rude
"Okay, but please can you interact with Eddie too, he will just sit there and watch you talk to Chris and he will paint a happy face but I know him, it will hurt seeing Chris talking and laughing and him having no idea what's going on" She explains.
"I will, I'm guessing you type it down on the tablet for him, have you tried one of the Dictaphone apps that news people use" Buck questions thinking that might be quicker than typing.
"No, we didn't think of that," She explains.
"Okay let's go in." Buck says, he gets his phone out and scrolls through the app store, and downloads something as they enter the room.
"Buck you came back" Chris shouts and Buck sees the smile on Chris's face and Eddie's as he looks at his son, Buck loads the app and sets it up.
"Yeah, had some trouble with an extra finger trying to come through the cut so had to get the nurse to cut it off" Buck jokes and fumbles with his phone as he sees Eddie watching.
"Ewwwww, oh can I show you what else I drew after you left?" Chris asks, Buck nods and Chris signals for help getting off and Buck turns to Eddie and presses the button on his phone.
"Hey, glad to see you're doing better, I was just explaining to Chris that I was back today as the cut on my hand had grown a finger, obviously not just needed it restitching, so thought come check up on you all, how are you?" Buck says and passes his phone to Eddie who gives him a puzzled look and Buck points to the screen.
Eddie looks down and sees that what Buck had been saying had appeared on his phone for Eddie to read, he let a smile slip as he read what Buck had said, he looked back up and saw Buck looking at him and hands the phone back.
"I'm doing okay, thank you for getting me out of there, sorry I wasn't much help, I'm still learning sign and with everything going on it was hard, but thank you for saving me and then spending time with Chris, I haven't seen him smile like that in ages." Eddie says, and Buck feels a bit guilty as he didn't know the sign, he presses the button in the app again.
"It is my job to help people, I'm just sorry I didn't know sign myself to try speak back, but at least we got you out, and it was my pleasure to sit with him, he likes to draw and talk, I don't know if it my place but I'm sorry for the loss of your wife, Chris explained about the explosion." Buck says and hands Eddie the phone, before he can read Buck hears Abuela talk
"I'm gonna get some breakfast with Chris. I'll bring you both something back." Abuela says and Buck looks and shakes his head to indicate he didn't want anything, Eddie looks at Abuela noticing Buck looking over and she makes a drink sign and Eddie nods and watches as she and Chris leave.
He looks at the phone and starts reading and as he gets to the end of the text he realizes why Abuela took Chris out, he looks up at Buck as he holds his tears back, Buck looks at Eddie and can see the sadness in his eyes, he could see Eddie was someone who didn't like to show his emotions he takes hold of the phone and presses the button.
"Eddie, I know we don't know each other, and I can only imagine what it is like to lose someone you love in something like that but then for everything else that followed I can only apologize, but if you ever want to chat, I gave Abuela my number ask for it and text me anytime, it's alright to not be okay," Buck says and passes the phone.
Eddie reads the message and tries his hardest to hold the tears but no matter how much he tried he failed and they started to fall, he drops the phone on the blanket as he covers his eyes hiding the shame, after a few minutes he thinks about looking up, expecting to look up and see Buck has gone but to his surprise, he feels a hand on his back, he looks up and sees Buck looking at him and holding the phone out with a new message.
'It's okay to cry, is there anything I can do to help?' Eddie reads.
"No, it's just nice to have someone willing to take their time to talk, most people just try to fob me off quickly as they can, I get why I'm a burden and in this day and age people want quick answers, I explained to Abuela I'm trying but it's just so hard, especially when most places only want deal with me via phone calls which I can't do" Eddie explains and Buck moves to sit back on the bed holding his phone.
"I understand, I've been injured a few times so I know how hard it can be to adjust to new things, I do get what you mean about people, they can be so rude, but like I said if you need to talk just message me." Buck says with a smile, handing the phone back.
Buck looks at the door as it opens and see's Abuela and Chris with a load of bags, she places them on the movable table taking trays of food out and handing them round, to Bucks surprise she got him some food to he smiles and helps move the table in front of Eddie so he can have his food too.
"Thank you, and that will be great," Eddie says, passing the phone back.
"Okay, maybe download this app onto your devices at least it gives you the extra support and speeds up having to wait for someone to type." Buck says and passes the phone back as he starts to eat.
Eddie starts to read and notices a text appear from someone called Athena saying she is still in the car park and hopes he hasn't gone to see the guy he saved. Eddie felt guilty he had seen it but also wondered why this Athena lady would be saying she hoped he hadn't come to see him or Chris.
"I will, oh you had a text, sorry I saw it, it just appeared, are you meant to be here?" Eddie asks and could see the look of fear in Buck's eyes.
Buck was like a deer in headlights, he wished he stopped notifications but didn't think he should have known Athena would text, he takes his phone off Eddie and quickly sends a message to Athena, and then opens the app again.
"Yeah, it's a rule we have not to get too involved with people we save, sorry if I overstepped I best go." Buck says getting up, handing his phone so Eddie can read it first.
Eddie reads it and feels guilty Buck is only trying to help and he's getting in trouble for what? Checking up on someone he saved like a decent human.
"Buck, it's fine you haven't overstepped" Eddie states and looks at Buck as he hands the phone back who smiles but Eddie knows that smile it's a sad smile and he knows in that instance Buck has been hurt by something.
"No, I best go, it was nice chatting and I'll see you around. Chris, I'll have to take a rain check. I need to go, I'm sorry," Buck says and passes his phone to Eddie who reads it and nods to Buck.
Eddie watches as Buck says his goodbyes and notices Abuela typing and waves to Buck as he leaves and once the door closes he looks at Abuela who gives him a sad smile, and she hands him the tablet she was typing on as Buck said goodbyes.
'He is a sweet lad, text him, I'm sure if you approach him his work can't tell him off, he is the first person to offer any real help' he reads and smiles, he knows what he has to do
"What's his number?" Eddie asks.
Buck heads down the hall looking at the message he just received off Athena scolding him for going to see Eddie, he shakes his head off he needed to make a call he didn't want to but knows it would be for the best and finds the number and dials and waits for an answer.
"Hey, we need to talk, I'll text you when and where." Buck says and hangs up.