After saying Eddie's words out loud at the meeting all hell had broken loose, once everyone got over the initial chok they had all tried to reassure him that they didn't view him as exhausting, that they had forgiven him for the lawsuit and that they were all there because they loved and cared for him, that they just wanted to see him be okay
"I am okay" Buck argued
"You sure don't look like you're okay" Chimney said. Bobby was unusually quiet, feeling guilty for not noticing sooner that Buck needed help
"So this is what? An intervention?" Buck said angrily
"No sweetheart not at all, we're just worried about you and we wanna help" Athena said and Buck softened up a little
"Sorry, I just… It feels like… The thoughts are just there constantly, the only time I can get away from them is when I run or when I'm so busy doing the chores at the station I don't have time to notice them, so I try and keep myself busy" Buck explained
"But what about the not eating anything?" Hen asked curiously
"I just… I don't know… I guess I at first did it to save money, with all the medical bills and fees to the lawyer and the expense of the blood thinners, I mean I could use the extra money and it wasn't as if I were welcome at the table at the station, and with all the chores I had to do I didn't really have the time, so I just started skipping meals there as well" Buck explained and a painful look fell over Bobby's features. "I'm not blaming anyone" Buck hurried when he noticed Bobby's pained features. "In fact it was actually okay, I was so busy I didn't hear the thoughts, but yeah I guess that's where it started and now it's just easier not to, I mean it's been so long and my stomach can't take very much anymore before I'm to full and the thoughts start to blame me for not being able to finish, it's just easier if I never start" Buck explained
"But why didn't you ask for help? Why did you pull away from us instead of letting us help?" Hen asked
"We all manage to suck it up. Why can't you?" Buck said, mimicking Eddie once more
"Eddie, that day in the store" Hen gasped, realising where she had heard those words before. "Buck you're not a burden, and you shouldn't have to stand alone with your problems, we're your friends, your family, you need to tell us when something is bothering you" Hen said.
"Yeah kid, I know I haven't been there for you the way I should have recently, but that will change now, I really have come to view you as one of my own" Bobby said, tears filling his eyes. Buck looked up at him getting teary eyed himself
"Thanks Cap" Buck said, letting a few tears fall, he couldn't believe the words, not yet, and he couldn't help but once again notice who wasn't there and feeling like it was his fault, like Eddie had meant every word he said and that he had been right about them
"Now that that is out of the way, why don't we get something to eat?" Bobby said. Buck started to get nervous again
"I'm not really hungry Cap" Buck lied
"That's okay, but will you at least join us at the table, you don't have to eat anything" Bobby said, not wanting to push Buck before he was ready. Buck smiled and nodded.
At the table Buck was sitting between May and Harry who were both chatting happily with the young man, telling him about everything that had happened the last few months. May kept glancing at Buck and the missing plate in front of him, she couldn't help but notice how thin and sickly he was looking, she glanced at everyone else who seemed to ignore this and decided to ask her mother and stepfather about it later and just kept smiling and telling Buck about something that had happened at Michaels the week before, she was glad Buck was back in their lives, but she couldn't help but be worried about him. After dinner everyone got up to leave, they all said goodbye and goodnight before they left. After everyone had left May approached the kitchen where Bobby and Athena was doing the dishes
"Is Buck sick?" May asked directly, she had found that sometimes a more direct approach was better with her parents. "Just tell me, I can handle it"
"May, honey, Buck is… Well he's not… He's just" Athena tried but she didn't know how to answer her daughters questions, because the truth was that she wasn't sure herself what the answer was
"Right now Buck is feeling unwell yes, but with the right support and care he'll get better" Bobby said looking at his wife, his eyes emphasising his last words 'He'll get better', it was a hope just as much as it was a statement
"Like when I was sick" May said in a somber tone, they didn't really talk about that day or what followed. For a long time there was just silence following May's words
"He'll get better" Athena said, this time it was just a statement and nothing else