Jim slowly shifted his weight back and forth, trying to resist the urge to check his phone for the gazillionth time. He was standing on his front porch, waiting for his boyfriend to pick him up. Jim had spent an hour trying to pick out the right outfit and another two hours making apple empanadas under Luca's watchful eye - he may have had to make the dough twice due to mixing up his sugar and salt. But here he was, ready to meet his boyfriends' family, so to speak, and Buck was nowhere to be found.

Jim's last five texts to Buck had gone unread and his last couple calls went through to voicemail. Neither of them were on shift today - which was on purpose so that neither of them would get stuck at an emergency. He highly doubted that Buck had chickened out, because he'd been introduced to the rest of the team and everything had gone well so far. So at this point, he was starting to get pretty worried.

Jim let out an audible sigh of relief when he saw Buck's jeep pull into the driveway but then frowned when he saw who was driving it. "Maddie? What's going on? Is Buck okay?" Jim blurted out, picking up his dessert and heading over quickly to the Jeep.

Maddie nodded, pointing her head in the direction of the backseat. Buck was sitting lengthwise in the back, his left foot propped up on the seat and wrapped in a brace. He had a set of crutches in his one hand and waved awkwardly with the other.

"He fell off a step stool while trying to baby proof my upper kitchen cabinets," Maddie explained, motioning for Jim to hop in the Jeep on the passenger side. "For some reason, someone thought that the upper cabinets posed a safety hazard," she visibly rolled her eyes.

"Like I said, he or she could be a climber," Buck pointed out in his defense, again. He remembers how much of a daredevil he was back in his childhood, who knew what Chimney and Maddie's kid could get up to.

"Is your foot okay?" Jim asked, twisting around in the seat to check on his boyfriend. He knew that that was the foot that had been crushed and still had several pieces of hardware in it. He had seen the news of the accident back before he knew Buck and hadn't been able to watch it again since they've been dating.

"Yeah, Maddie took me in to get x-rays. Everything is fine, it just hurts a bit," Buck said, trying to reassure Jim. It actually hurt quite a lot, but he had taken some pain medication and was hoping it would kick on soon. He didn't want to cancel on Bobby and his family. "She wouldn't let me drive though, so here we are to pick you up," Buck added, leaning forward to give Jim's hand a squeeze.

Jim returned the squeeze and then turned around to sit properly in the Jeep. "Thanks Maddie," Jim said.

"No problem," Maddie replied with a smile. "That's what you do for family."

XXXXX

Maddie pulled up to Bobby and Athena's house in just the nick of time. Jim had tried not to watch the clock, but he really didn't want to set a bad impression. Handing the dessert over to Maddie, who had reassured him that she could carry it no problem, he hopped out of the car to help Buck. His boyfriend's height was a bit of a hindrance, but they were able to make it out of the Jeep and over to the door.

Maddie could see how nervous Jim was, he had started to visibly sweat, and kept running his hand through his hair. "Jim, you'll be fine," Maddie reassured him while including Buck in her look.

Bobby opened the door with a grin - their guests were right on time. But that smile turned right into a frown when he saw Buck on crutches. "Buck, what happened? It was your day off!" He exclaimed in concern, as Buck hobbled through the door.

Buck motioned to Maddie to re-explain the whole incident while Jim helped him down the few stairs and into the kitchen. Once Buck had sat down at the table, Jim asked May if they had an extra chair and pillow that Buck might be able to use to elevate his foot, which she procured rather quickly. "Is that okay, babe?" Jim asked, after getting Buck all set up.

The room had gone silent, with everyone watching the two men interact, and Jim was just noticing it now. Jim blushed, worried that he was being a rude guest after barging into the house and ignoring all the other occupants. He straightened up and reached out a hand to Bobby. "Hi, I'm Jim Street," he introduced himself. "I'm Buck's boyfriend," he added, shooting a small smile over at Buck.

And that seemed to break the silent spell that had been thrown over the room. Bobby shook Jim's hand firmly and then brought him in for a big hug. Jim could see Buck beaming at him from his seat, and realized that this was one of the first times that he felt comfortable enough to introduce himself as Buck's boyfriend, instead of the other way around. May also gave him a hand shake and Henry gave a little wave.

Athena had invited Maddie to stay for dinner as well, and the two women came back over to the table. "Wait, aren't you that SWAT officer that pulled me over, in my own damn police car?" She asked, in that no nonsense tone of hers.

"Um, yes ma'am, that was me," Jim admitted, his body stiffening in response to her tone. He hoped that the stunt that he and Buck pulled closer to the start of their relationship wouldn't be an issue. He looked worriedly over at Buck, missing the twinkle in Athena's eyes.

"Damn, I remember you Buck, checking out Jim when he changed into his uniform but I never connected the dots," Athena said with a chuckle, remembering the look on Buck's face. "Just don't do it again," she said seriously to Jim and then offered him a hug. "Well come on everyone get settled - it's time to eat!"

XXXXX

The food was amazing and so was the company. Buck had told him that both Bobby and Athena were excellent cooks, and he definitely wasn't exaggerating. They had all moved out to the backyard after dinner, trying to make room for dessert that Jim had brought. Athena had engaged him in conversation, asking him questions about his job and how it was being on SWAT. But Jim kept getting distracted, as Buck had been rather quiet since they moved outside. "Excuse me for one minute, Athena," Jim requested politely and he moved over to where Buck was sitting.

"Buck, is your foot bothering you?" Jim asked quietly, taking in his boyfriend's position on the lounge chair with concern. He could see the tension in Buck's body, and he kept rubbing his leg.

Buck nodded yes. The previous pain medication had kicked in, but its effects were long gone by now, and the burning sensation had returned. It was nowhere near the pain he had felt after the accident, but it was definitely uncomfortable.

"Buck, I'm sure no one would mind if we headed out to get you comfortable back at my place," Jim suggested. He had originally thought of Buck's apartment but then remembered the damn stairs up to the loft bed.

"I don't want to ruin the evening," Buck admitted, attempting to straighten up in his chair. "I'll be fine, Jim," he tried to convince his boyfriend, but Jim wasn't having it.

Shaking his head to Buck's attempt at reassurance, Jim stood up to go over to talk to Maddie about taking Buck back to his place. Athena stepped in and offered to drive Maddie home, so that Buck didn't have to wait longer to rest. "Thank you very much for inviting us," Jim said to Bobby and Athena. "You have a beautiful house and a wonderful family," he added, motioning to everyone.

"You know, now that you're dating Buck, you're considered part of the family too," Bobby said seriously, patting Jim on the shoulder. "We're having a family BBQ next weekend with the team, we'd love it if you could make it."

Jim had to blink back tears that had appeared at Bobby's heartfelt comment. What had he done right to find such an awesome boyfriend like Buck and his amazing, supportive team? Clearing his throat, he nodded affirmatively to Bobby's invite, unable to actually respond in words.

Buck picked up on Jim's reaction immediately, giving him a small kiss before they hobbled over to the Jeep. "I'm so proud of you," Buck added, referring to Jim's introduction earlier.

The ride back to Jim's was relatively quiet, with Jim going back and forth between Bobby's words of being in the family and of Buck saying he was proud of him. Once he parked the Jeep, Jim turned around and reached for one of Buck's hands. "I love you," Jim said, realizing that this was the first time he had said those three words to Buck and that he never wanted to stop saying them. "I love you, and I want to introduce you to my team and my friends."

"I love you too," Buck replied, squeezing his hand hard in return. "Now get your ass back here so I can kiss you properly," Buck said with a grin, pulling on Jim's arm. Jim carefully climbed into the back seat, straddling Buck but making sure he wasn't hurting his foot. Buck pulled him in for a long, passionate kiss. "So how do you feel about car sex?" Buck asked with a grin, moving his pelvis in a suggestive way but stopping when he felt the pain shoot through his leg.

"I would say yes in a heartbeat if you weren't in pain," Jim said, leaning down to give Buck another kiss. "But let's say rain check and get you some pain meds. And then I'll give your foot a massage to help it feel better." Jim concluded, climbing back into the front seat so he could get out of the vehicle.

"Just my foot?" Buck asked, winking at Jim as he helped him out of the Jeep.

"Maybe more, if you play your cards right," Jim flirted back, as they entered the house. Who was he kidding, he couldn't say no to Buck. But he'd definitely make him work for it.