Buck stood behind Jim, his hands rubbing shampoo gently through Jim's locks, carefully pulling out any tangles that he came across. He rested his chin on Jim's shoulders as he reached around him to rinse his hands in the spray of the shower, and then grabbed a familiar container of body wash, smiling slightly when he remembered Jim saying that he liked Buck's smell all over him. That had resulted in some of the steamiest shower sex Buck had ever had, pun fully intended. But one look back at Jim, the exhaustion and sadness etched all through his body, brought Buck abruptly out of that happy memory and back into the harsh reality of what took place that day.
Buck fell back into the routine of rinsing Jim's body off and then hopped out of the shower to grab a warm towel out of the dryer. Jim was barely responsive, sitting on the toilet with a blank stare on his face, while Buck covered him with the warm towel and helped him get into his comfiest pair of pajamas. Buck led Jim out of the washroom and into his bedroom, pulled back the sheets and helped get Jim all comfortable under the blankets.
Jim still hadn't said a word and Buck lingered, sitting awkwardly on top of the blankets on the side of the bed, trying to determine if he should stay or not. Buck wasn't going to leave him completely alone, planning on staying on the couch if Jim didn't want him here in bed. But he wasn't sure how to ask Jim without sounding needy himself, and this wasn't about him today, it was about Jim. So he sat there, waiting and hoping for Jim to say something.
It felt like Buck had been sitting there for hours when Jim finally closed his eyes, snoring slightly as he fell to sleep. Assuming that settled the internal debate that Buck was having, Buck waited a few more minutes before quietly standing, expecting that Jim wanted to be alone. Buck startled when a hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping his movement.
"Please stay," Jim mumbled, still mostly asleep. But he had enough awareness to tug on Buck's arm, indicating that he wanted him to come back into bed. Buck had to stop himself from leaping under the covers; so happy that Jim wanted him to stay. Jim wouldn't let go of his wrist, so he maneuvered himself under the same blankets with one arm, tucking himself up against Jim's back.
"Is this okay?" Buck whispered softly, wrapping his arm around Jim's waist. He didn't want to be too pushy, but could really use the contact himself. But Jim had already fallen back asleep, his hand still clamped around Buck's wrist. Buck soon fell asleep with him, comforted by the reassurance of having Jim sleeping safe in his arms.
XXXXX
Earlier that day…..
Hondo glanced at Chris and Street out of the corner of his eye, the two of them having just arrived together for their shift. He groaned at the idea of having to sit down with the two of them to figure out exactly what was going on but pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He couldn't be distracted by his team's personal relationships at the moment. They had just got word on the location of another Imperial Duke, and his sole focus needed to be taking down those assholes. So they geared up and headed to the last known location of their suspect.
Upon arrival, Hondo nodded to his team, giving their new addition, Erika, an extra look to confirm that she was ready to go. "Stay liquid," he told his team, nodding as he saw all of them nod in response. Sometimes in situations like these, it feels like time slows, and everything is happening like in a movie, frame by frame. Other times it feels like a train wreck where everything is happening too quickly to even properly process what is going on. And today was a train wreck. Hondo could hear Tan saying he was hit, and he waved Erika and Chris to help him out of the house, while he and Street closed in on the target. After confirming the target was down, Hondo and Street ran out to the front of the building to check on Tan, shocked to see Erika collapsing after revealing she was hit as well.
The next few minutes were utter insanity. Hondo was yelling into his radio that the scene was clear, and that they needed a medical team now. Chris had started CPR while Tan watched in silence, sitting uncomfortable on the ground clasping his bleeding arm, his pain mainly forgotten as he watched Chris try to save Erika.
As soon as the medics arrived, Hondo was explaining what had happened but the team responded instinctively, a well-oiled team themselves. Bobby ordered Chim and Hen to aid with the fallen officer and motioned Eddie to check on the other injured officer.
Hondo was surprised to see one of the firefighters approach Chris, wincing a bit at the thought of her reaction when he pulled her away from Erika. But he was further shocked to see her collapse into the arms of the taller man, as he patted her back reassuringly. Meanwhile, Tan had greeted the other firefighter with equal familiarity, as he pointed out his graze, which the dark haired man promptly cleaned and bandaged.
His mind raced as he tried to put together how his team knew the response team, the puzzle a welcome distraction from the CPR that the two paramedics were performing. He could tell that they were slowing down their response, getting ready to tell them that Erika was gone, something he had known the moment she dropped but didn't want to admit to himself.
"I'm sorry," the female paramedic said, shaking her head as they stopped compressions. "She's gone."
With those words, Chris tried to get back to Erika to resume compressions, but the firefighter that had been standing with her stopped her movements, whispering something to her. Hondo took a step closer to his officer, wondering if he may need to step in as well. "Chris, Chris, we can't do anything more. Erika's gone, I'm sorry," the younger man was repeating, as he motioned for the other firefighter to come over as well. And another piece of the puzzle was created, this man knew the names of his officers. Now that the situation was slowing down, Hondo took a close look at the firefighters and then it all fell into place. These two were the firefighters that stepped into their team for the paintball tournament. And as he watched the darker haired firefighter take over from his partner, he started to wonder about his previous assumption of Chris and Street being together.
Hondo turned towards the conversation that was happening between Hicks and the Fire Captain, overhearing the typical words of apology and the next steps that both teams would undergo. Out of the corner of his eye, Hondo noticed the tall firefighter shuffle closer to Street. The two men stood next to each other, the backs of their hands brushing against each other. To anyone else watching, it might appear that they were just standing there waiting for their next commands. But Hondo had better observational skills than most. This was who Street had been seeing the last several months. And judging by the rest of his team's reactions, everyone else knew except for him.
Hondo felt a twinge of sadness at that thought; since becoming team leader, he wasn't really able to hang out with everyone the way he used to. No one really wants to hang out with the boss when they already work so much together. They hadn't done a team gathering in ages, with Deacon running his own security business, Tan courting Bonnie, Luca off in Germany, and Chris and Street doing their own thing, it felt like he didn't really know what his team was up to in their personal lives, and that stung more than it probably should.
He would figure out how to talk to Street later, right now he had a job to do. Nodding in Hick's direction, Hondo got the attention of his team, and explained how he knew this was hard for everyone, but they had to wait to be interviewed about what had happened. And then he conveniently ignored Chris and Street wandering off with their firefighters, allowing them a bit of privacy to process what had happened.
XXXXX
Buck stood upright when he thought he heard sirens, but then realizing it was just the wind, slumped back down again, shifting his weight awkwardly from side to side as he stared down at his feet, thinking that he should maybe look into getting a new pair of dress shoes. He wasn't normally one to worry too much about fashionable shoe choices, but these were definitely getting dated.
He had been racking his mind all week on how to support Jim through Erika's funeral without actually being physically by his side, and couldn't think of anything. But then Bobby had told him that he recommended that their shift be present for a formal send off, with the excuse being that they were the ones who had responded to the scene. Buck was so relieved that he had toppled over the stool he was sitting on in his haste to give Bobby a big hug. And then, when the rest of the team were fully aboard for it, he had to give them all hugs too of course.
And that's what led to the five of them, all dressed in their dress blues, getting ready to stand at attention in front of the 118 ladder truck as the procession of vehicles entered the cemetery. The whole team was here, Hen, Chim, Bobby, Eddie and himself, and as the procession finally made its way by, they all snapped to attention.
The ceremony went long; there were several formal steps that were taken due to Erika being a fallen officer, along with a relatively large family. Buck could see Jim's team, all standing together slightly off to the side with their significant others. Buck wished with every bone in his body that he could be the one standing next to Jim, helping to support him, but this wasn't the time. He could see his boyfriend's arm around Chris and was glad that they had each other.
Finally it was over, and Buck and his team piled into their truck and headed back to the station. "Thanks guys," Buck said quietly, looking around at his team, wanting to say more but unable to find the right words. Instead, he leaned into his seat, taking comfort that his family was with him.
XXXXX
Hondo glanced at the clock. It was nearing midnight and several of their fellow officers had already started winding down and heading home. Hondo looked over at Chris and Street, both of them locked in conversation. Well, it looked like Street was doing most of the talking, while Chris was doing most of the drinking, but honestly that's what he expected of the two of them.
In hindsight, Hondo definitely should have recognized that there was something going on with Street earlier. He had convinced himself that Street and Chris were dating, based on the several times that they would turn down social invitations and then leave at exactly the same time, exchanging small, knowing glances with each other. But then, after looking back on how the day of Erika's death went down, along with the presence of the 118 firefighters at the funeral, he was able to come to the conclusion that his skills of observation could use a refresh.
Hondo tipped up his beer and took a long swig. It was time to have that conversation that he had been avoiding, but it was going to be a lot easier than he had originally anticipated. Standing up, he headed over to Chris and Street. "So, how long have you two been dating firefighters?" Hondo asked, not beating around the bush. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease his two youngest after all. "And, maybe you can set me up with one? A female one though, please." He added with a smirk, watching Chris and Street turn interesting shades of red as they tried to stammer some sort of explanation out.
Hondo held up his hand, interrupting the two in mid-ramble. "Look, I want you two to know that I'm fine with it, with all of it," he added, looking firmly at Street when he said that, wanting to make sure that he understood that he wasn't judging him on the gender of his partner. Street nodded, still blushing but Hondo thought he could see the hint of a smile start to show. "Now, why are the two of you still here when there are people waiting for you at home? Get out of here," he ordered, waving off any offers to stay and keep him company. He had to get home soon anyways, or his father might get worried.
Hondo shook his head in dismay, finishing the last of his beer. Maybe he really did need to get set up with a female firefighter after all….