All of a sudden, Eddie's lips were on his. They were soft, warm, everything Buck had ever dreamed about. Closing his eyes, Buck let himself relax into the kiss, knowing that it was all just in his imagination anyways.
But then Buck felt a pressure cuff cinch around his left arm, and the slight pinch of a needle in the crook of his elbow. He could hear murmured voices in the background, but wasn't quite able to make out who it was or what they were saying. What the heck was happening? And where did Eddie go? He inadvertently let out a low whimper at the loss of Eddie's lips, real or imagined.
"Buck? Are you with us?" A voice asked, piercing through the fog that had settled around Buck. The voice seemed a tad familiar, and Buck tried to move his head in the direction of the sound, hoping to identify who it was. A hand clamped down on his shoulder to stop his movement. "Don't move too much Buck," the same voice cautioned again.
"Hen?" Buck asked, half guessing and half recognizing the voice.
Hen nodded, looking relieved as she glanced over at Eddie. She leaned forward, gently placing her hand on Buck's shoulder. "Just relax Buck, you had a bit of a fall at our last call. Chim's driving, and you have me and Eddie back here with you."
Eddie? Eddie was actually in the ambulance with him? Was he imagining the kiss or did it actually happen?
Eddie blushed a deep shade of red at Buck's questions. He assumed that Buck didn't mean to ask that last question out loud, but knew he had to address it anyway, with that knowing look that Hen was shooting him. Leaning forward as well, Eddie carefully took Buck's hand in his, allowing himself a brief pause to gather his thoughts. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," Eddie blurted out, not knowing why he's never told Buck this before but wishing that he had decided to admit his feelings someplace more romantic than the back of an ambulance. "The best thing, you hear me? And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."
"What about Ana?" Buck asked, shocked at the words coming from Eddie's mouth. He was so confused right now, likely due to the combination of Eddie's confession and the aches suddenly making themselves known as his body returned to full awareness. He looked directly at Eddie, inadvertently squeezing Eddie's hand tighter as he waited for his response.
"I saw it in her eyes. She wanted a different thing than what I wanted." Eddie said, thinking back to her comment about wanting to get married, and make a family together. He already had a family, Christopher and Buck. And when she revealed her expectations of their relationship, he realized that he had made a huge mistake.
"Look, I know this is a lot to take in….and we should probably talk about it more...when you're not in pain...and I'm not just realizing that Ana isn't the one for me...," Eddie rambled, not wanting to push Buck into something he wasn't comfortable with. But then Eddie felt a hand grip the back of his neck and he was being pulled into the most passionate kiss he'd ever been in.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me too, Eddie," Buck said with a grin, breaking the kiss temporarily to clarify. He then pulled Eddie into another brief kiss before his ribs started to protest the movement. Hissing at the pain, he laid back down, not letting go of his partner's hand. He never wanted to let him go, and now, he didn't have to.