This is the last place that Buck wanted to be right now. Not because it was the soon to be Grant-Nash household, or because he was surrounded by all the people he loved, but because he was currently staring at the one man he loathed most, Diego Sanchez. Athena decided to throw May a birthday party and invited the whole family, so naturally that included Andy. Buck was 100% sure that Andy wouldn't be here right now if her scum bag of a boyfriend hadn't tagged along. So, now he was stuck seeing them play the perfect couple, both chatting with Bobby by the grill.

"Quit staring." Maddie whispered from beside him.

Not taking his eyes off them he responded. "I'm not staring, I'm glaring. There's a difference."

Maddie rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter. She's going to see you and that's not gonna help in this little fight that you two have going on."

That seemed to pull Buck out of his angry stupor. He turned to his sister and frowned. Maddie was right. Buck had stupidly gone with the direct approach, which they all knew never worked, and flat-out asked Andy if Diego was abusing her.

9-1-1*~*9-1-1

2 weeks earlier:

Buck had decided to call Andy in hopes that she would be alone and that she would answer his call. He had wanted to have the conversation in person, but he didn't want to go to her apartment and have Diego be there or make Andy lie just so she could come see him.

"Hey Buck." Andy answered.

"Hey Andy. Are you busy? Can we talk?"

"Yeah, we can talk. Evan, is everything okay? It sounds serious."

"It is serious."

There was a moment of silence, Buck trying to gather his thoughts, looking for the right way to start the conversation.

"Buck, what's going on? You're scaring me. Is someone hurt?" Andy asked desperately.

"No, no, no one's hurt." He rushed to reassure her.

"Then what is it?"

Buck let out a sigh. "Jesus, I don't even know how to start this. I really pray to God you don't get mad at me."

"Buck just say it!"

"Andy, is Diego abusing you?"

Buck was met with dead silence. He really wished he would have done it in person to be able to see her facial expressions. Buck was starting to think that Andy had hung up on him, but he heard her take a breath.

"Buck, are you insane!?"

"Once upon a time I thought I was, but right now not so much."

"Why would you even ask something like that?"

"Funny how you haven't denied it."

There was a pause. Buck heard Andy let out a shaky sigh.

"No Buck, he doesn't."

Buck let out an incredulous huff. "You're a horrible liar. I don't believe you."

"Buck, I don't…" Andy tried.

"I saw the texts, Andy."

"What texts?"

"When we were over at Eddie's. You were in the bathroom, and he was blowing up your phone."

"You were going through my phone!? What the hell Buck!?"

"Andy, those things he was saying in those texts wasn't normal. He's controlling you. And I pray to God that you told Eddie the truth about those bruises because I swear to you Andy, if I find out that he's laid a hand on you, he's a dead man."

"He's not controlling me!"

"Then tell me why you needed to lie to him on where you were and who you were with?"

Buck was once again met with silence.

"Andy, that relationship isn't healthy. You need to break up with him."

"Buck I can't…"

"Yes, you can Andy! I can help you. We all can help you. Just say the word."

Andy didn't respond. A beat passed, and then two. Buck heard Andy take in a shaky breath and then a sniffle.

"I can't believe that you invaded my privacy."

"Andy…"

"No Buck, you were supposed to be my friend. You said you supported me in this, that you had my back."

"Not if he's hurting you, Andy. You don't think that I've noticed that you've changed? You're not your bright beautiful self anymore. You're not…"

"I'm not, what Buck?" Andy asked in a quivering voice.

The woman I fell in love with Buck thought to himself.

"You have to understand. I can't support you in this. Not like this."

"Yeah, I understand. Bye, Buck."

9-1-1~*~9-1-1

That was the last time they had spoken to each other. Buck had sent her numerous of texts that all went unanswered. He beat himself up just thinking that because of his impulsive selfish act he had made Andy pull further away. Ever since that call Buck lay awake at night thinking that Andy was in danger and that she had no one to turn to.

"Look at how he has his arm possessively around her." Buck resented.

"Buck, you have to calm down or you're going to do something that you'll regret." Maddie chided.

"What, like ripping that scum bag's throat out? Yeah, I don't think I'd regret that."

Maddie sighed.

"Maddie's right." Eddie said, coming to stand next to his partner. "As much as I would love to punch him in his little smug face, it's not going to help matters much."

"How can you guys be so calm?" Buck questioned.

"Oh, I'm not calm. My blood's boiling right now, at the thought that he's hurting my sister. But like I said, it's not going to help matters much if I decide to go all cave man on him."

Buck visibly deflated. Maddie and Eddie were right. Andy would probably hate him for killing her precious boyfriend.

"So, what are we supposed to do? Because I can't just sit back and see him slowly kill her."

"We need to isolate her." Maddie said. "Reassure her that she's not alone. That she has people that are going to be there to help her when she decides to remove herself from that situation."

"I talked with Marisol." Eddie piped up. "I told her what was going on. At first, she didn't want to believe it because she swore up and down that Diego was a good guy, but then I told her about the bruises and about the text messages you saw, and she finally put the pieces together. She saw the signs, but like us she chalked it up to her being busy with work and school. That her change in demeanor was due to her being stressed. She feels so guilty for introducing them in the first place."

"It's not her fault, she didn't know." Buck said.

"I know. I reassured her of that. She promised that she would make her family aware of what was going on. She got back to me a few days ago and told me that like us she's pretty much ghosted them. Her sister says that Andy pretty much just shuts down whenever they as much mention Diego."

"I can't understand how she willingly is putting herself in this situation?" Buck asked bewildered. "She's not that stupid."

"I never thought I was either." Maddie answered.

Buck turned to his sister and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry Mads I didn't mean…"

"No, no, it's alright." She assured him. "Men like Diego play on women's insecurities they make them believe that they are the only ones that are there for them, that they are the only ones that are going to love them."

"But she has such a close family, and she has all of us. How can she believe that he's the only one that loves her?" Buck asked bewildered.

"They can be manipulative."

Buck turned back to where Andy was standing. His fists clinched as he noticed a wince when the grip Diego had around her waist tightened. Bobby must have noticed also because he shot a quick look over to his firefighter.

"We have to keep reassuring her that we're here for her." Eddie said.

"Eddie's right." Maddie said. "We can't give up on her and pray that she comes to her senses quickly before it's too late."

The trio looked on and saw Andy start to pull away, only for her actions to be halted by her boyfriend. Buck saw Andy's body tense at the action, after a beat she forced a small smile at Diego before she bent down to say something into his ear. Whatever she said to him seemed to be sufficient for him because he instantly released his grip.

Andy walked right past the group, only sparing Buck the briefest of glances. It broke Buck's heart to see such sadness in one simple look. He moved to follow Andy into the house only to be stopped by a gentle hand on his arm.

"Let me talk with her." Maddie spoke, giving her brother's arm a reassuring squeeze.

Buck nodded in agreement as Maddie stood to walk inside. When Maddie walked in the house Andy was walking out of the restroom, and Maddie made her move.

"Hey Andy! How are you?" She asked as she enveloped her in a hug.

"Hey Maddie." Andy replied with a small smile.

Maddie began to pull her towards the couches in the sitting room.

"I- l have to…" Andy began to protest as she pointed towards the back yard, clearly indicating that she had to get back to her boyfriend's side.

"I just want to talk with you for a bit. I feel like we haven't seen each other for awhile."

"Yeah, I know. It's just nursing school is really kicking my ass."

"I remember those days. Late night study sessions, you feel likes it's never ending."

Andy nodded in agreement. "Never ending, but it goes by so fast at the same time."

"Yes, but tell me. How has the rest of life been?"

"It's been fine."

"That's good. And how are things with your new beau, Diego?"

Andy eyed Maddie curiously. It seemed kind of suspicious that Maddie would precisely ask about Diego.

"Did Buck put you up to this?"

"Put me up to what?" Maddie asked innocently.

"To talk to me about his suspicions about Diego. What does he think? That me and you can commiserate, like it's a damn book club!? I'm not that stupid…"

"Like me." Maddie finished for her.

Suddenly all of Andy's anger disappeared and turned into guilt. Andy's heart broke when she saw Maddie's sorrowful look. God, she was such a jerk.

"No, Maddie, that's not…I'm sorry…"

The 911 dispatcher shook her head and waved off her apologies. "No need to apologize. Because it's true."

Andy opened her mouth to respond, but once again Maddie stopped her.

"I just want you to listen." Maddie said and Andy nodded. "I had multiple opportunities to leave Doug, and I didn't. I was always making excuses for him, always blaming myself. At the beginning it was just minor things here and there. Like, asking me to change because he didn't like what I was wearing or not letting me go out with my friends. He always had to know where I was and who I was with, and he got so angry when I wouldn't let him know. I thought he was just being protective. It made me feel good. It made me feel loved, like there was someone out there that actually loved me enough to care about me that much."

Maddie wiped a tear from her face and took in a shaky breath. Andy grabbed her hand and gave a squeeze.

"Little by little he started isolating me from all my friends and family. He would make me believe that I was worthless. That no one else could ever love me. So, I stayed. I latched on to the good days. The days that he would be caring and loving. That went on for little bit and then he started to lay his hands on me. And yes, I blamed myself for that too."

Maddie grabbed Andy's and squeezed it.

"I mistook Doug's overprotectiveness for love, but he didn't, and I don't know that he ever did. He took me away from the people who did. I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to, that's why the abuse went on for so long."

Maddie looked up at Andy with teared filled eyes.

"You have somewhere to go Andy, and you have so many people that you can turn to that would help you in a heartbeat. All you have to do is ask."

Stray tears trickled down Andy's cheeks, heart pounding in her chest. Maddie was right. She had so many people that loved her. Why the hell was she putting herself through this?

"I…" Andy started.

"Maddie where…" Chim interrupted when he stepped into the house.

The paramedic turned and looked between the two women. Andy had already turned and was wiping away her tears, but Chim had already seen them.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Maddie said as she cleared her throat, wiping away her own tears. "Andy and I were just having a heart to heart."

Chimney caught Maddie's eyes and understood what their heart to heart was about.

"Come on Chim, lets go back outside.

The pair offered Andy a soft smile that hopefully conveyed that they were there for her and that they cared. Andy gave them one of her own and a nod of understanding. When both Chim and Maddie were outside Maddie caught her brother's eyes and nodded her head back towards the house, a clear indication that he should go in and talk with Andy. Buck received the message and instantly stood from his chair, making his way into the house. Once inside Buck caught sight of Andy at the food table fixing herself up a plate. Buck walked over beside her and grabbed a plate of his own. Andy tensed as soon as he stood next to her. The firefighter hated that. He missed the banter that would flow between them so easily.

"I'm sorry." Buck said, breaking the silence.

"You've been saying that a lot lately." Andy responded.

Buck sighed. "I know, but I truly am sorry." He placed his plate down and turned to fully face Andy. Buck grabbed Andrea's plate out of her hands and placed it beside his. He grabbed her trembling hands between his and turned her to face him. Andy avoided any type of eye contact, looking anywhere but at the firefighter. Buck cupped her chin and turned her face towards him. Green met blue and in an that instant Andy forgot why she was mad a Buck in the first place. She was so in love with the man standing in front of her.

Andy broke eye contact before she did anything stupid, like kiss Buck again, only this time she wouldn't be able to blame it on the alcohol. She put on the best upset face that she could muster and let out an annoyed sigh.

"What do you want from me Buck?"

"I just want you to talk to me."

God Andy could not handle the puppy dog eyes that were being directed at her.

"Talk? And what do you want to talk about Buck? Because if it's what we talked about a couple of weeks ago, I would rather not."

"No, that's not, well yes…" Buck stuttered, as Andy began to turn away from him again.

Buck turned Andy back towards him. "Please, Andy, just listen to me for a minute?"

Andy's armor began to slowly melt away as she looked into Buck's pleading eyes. She let out a deep sigh. "Okay Buck, I'm listening."

The blonde took in a deep breath. "Andy, I'm sorry for just blind siding you the other day when I called. I've been so worried about you. You're my best friend. I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy." Andy retorted, even she heard how false the words sounded once they came out of her mouth.

"You can't honestly look me in the eye and tell me that's true."

Andrea quickly adverted her once defiant gaze. Buck was right. She couldn't look him in the eyes and tell him that she was happy because, no, it wasn't true, and it wasn't true because Andy wasn't with him. She was stuck in relationship with a man that she did not love, and that she would never love.

"Buck…" Andy started, trying to end the conversation.

"No, Andy just listen." Buck interrupted. "I know that there is something going on and that you are trying to hide it, but I'm sorry to break it to you, you're not doing a very good job. Everyone can see it.

Andy looked back at Buck, a familiar prickling in the back of her eyes beginning to start, heart thudding in her chest. Every excuse that she had been saying for the last several weeks where stuck on the tip of her tongue, she tried and tried, but nothing came out.

"You're not the same anymore, Andy. You used to be fun, bubbly, and sassy. I haven't seen you smile in a long time. At least not the way you used to. When you smiled it used to reach your eyes, and it made them sparkle. But now, you're so quiet it scares me. The edges of your lips barely curl up when you force yourself to smile, and there is so much sadness in your eyes my heart breaks every time I look into them. You're not my Andy, and I miss her."

The tears were now flowing freely down Andy's cheeks, mirroring those rolling down Buck's own. Andrea's fingers twitched, longing to pull her friend towards her. It felt like Buck's words had sliced her chest right open, pulled out her heart, and completely crushed it in his hands. Andy had not realized how much she had changed. Maybe deep down she knew a little bit that she had, but hearing Buck say it out loud made it all more real.

"Andy, I want to help you, but I can't do that if you don't let me." Buck pleaded.

She stared into Buck's eyes; her heart was hammering in her chest.

"Diego, he umm…" Andy stuttered. "He…"

"Andy?" Diego interrupted as he walked into the house.

Andy immediately pulled away from Buck at the sound of Diego's voice and brushed away any lingering tears. Buck for his part didn't hide his glare, and angerly brushed away his own tears.

"Is everything okay?" Diego asked, holding Buck's stare.

"Yeah, everything is okay, baby. I was just getting us a plate." Andy responded, fake smile plastered on her face once again.

Diego made his way around the table to Andy, immediately pulled her to his side, and continued to fix Evan with a defiant stare. Buck looked over to Andy and let out a sigh. The lifeless stare was once again in her eyes. He had been so close to getting her back.

"Yeah, sorry man. I interrupted her with a story about my cat."

"She is a sucker for animals. Sometimes I think she loves her dog more than me."

Buck let out a huff, trying to keep up the pretenses.

"You know what honey," Diego started. "We should get going."

"What?" Buck questioned. "We haven't sat down to eat yet. The food just got done."

Andy opened her mouth to answer, but Diego cut her off.

"Yeah, but Andy and I already had plans. We only stopped by for a little bit at Andy's insistence." Diego started to pull Andy towards the door. "Please, excuse us with everyone."

Andy looked at Buck with tear filled eyes. "I'm sorry Buck." She barely had enough time to gather her purse before she was whisked through the front door. Buck was frozen where he stood, not knowing how to react. At that moment Bobby walked in with Athena.

Sensing the tension in his youngest firefighter Bobby walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everything okay?"

"She was about to tell me." Buck whispered mournfully.

"Who son?" Bobby asked.

"Andy." Buck answered as his hand began to ball into a fist. "She was going to ask me for help, and he just came and took her." The anger started to boil inside the blonde firefighter. Buck began to raise his fist in attempt to punch the closet available surface, only to be stopped by his Captain.

"Calm down Buck." Bobby pleaded.

"How can you expect me to calm down when Andy just left with her abuser?"

Bobby gripped Buck by the shoulder and squeezed. "I know, I know son, but you getting angry like this isn't going to help her any. You have to calm down so you can think clearly."

"She was going to tell me everything Bobby." Buck whispered in resignation.

The Captain squeezed his firefighter's shoulder once more as his shoulders slumped in defeat. That moment the rest of the team came into the house. Maddie noticed that Andy and Diego where no longer there and they hadn't returned to the patio so it could have only meant that they had left the party. She took in her brother's defeated posture and pulled him into a hug.

"I was so close Maddie."

"I'm so sorry Buck." Her hand rubbed circles on his back. "But we can't give up. We just have to keep trying."

"What if we're too late and I lose her?"

"We have to believe that we won't be." Athena piped up as she walked over to Buck and stood in front of him, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

"We'll get her back Buck." Hen said and everyone concurred with her.

"Now lets all sit down and eat." Athena suggested, trying to bring the mood back up.

Everyone nodded except for Buck. "Thanks Athena, but I'm not hungry anymore."

And with that they saw him head out the door and close it behind him.

Days went by no one had really heard from Andy. Most text and phone calls had gone unanswered. Not even her family members had heard much from her and when they did, she was completely evasive. Eventually the days formed into weeks without any knowledge of their friend, and then disaster struck their 118 family. Eddie's wife had tragically passed away. They were all in attendance at the service in support of their friend. Once the service had ended, and they began to head out Buck caught sight of a familiar woman standing in the back pew. It was Andy and she looked so frail. Once their eyes locked Buck's heart instantly did a flip in his chest. He promptly took one step forward, intent on walking over to her, only Andy made a hasty retreat. Buck began to speed up to be able to catch up with her only people were standing in his way, halting his efforts. Once he made it outside it was only to see Andy get into her car and back out of the parking spot and drive out of the parking lot.

A few more days had passed, and Buck hadn't seen Andy since, but according to Eddie she had made to the lunch in they had his house after the service. She had only been there for a few minutes, long enough to give Eddie and Christopher her condolences. They were now a 24 hour shift, Eddie still on bereavement leave. Buck, Hen, and Chimney were washing the fire truck when Andy walked into the apparatus floor holding a box in her hands. All three firefighters were shocked to see her there as they stood frozen in place.

"Hey." Andy said softly.

"Hey Andy." Hen was the first to speak up.

"I-I know it's been a while, but I've brought you guys some doughnuts."

"Thank you, it's appreciated." Chimney said, while he took the offered box.

"You're welcome."

"I'm surprised you know we still exist." Buck said, hard stare directed at their visitor. "Considering you've practically ghosted us." Evan couldn't help what he was saying. He knew that it was harsh, but he was so angry with Andy, not completely understanding why she was choosing to stay with Diego.

"Buck!" Hen chided.

"No, he's right." Andy spoke up, a tear rolled down her cheek. "This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry." With that she turned and made a brisk exit out of the fire station.

"Are you an idiot?" Hen asked, fixing Buck with an incredulous look. "That was a cry for help."

Buck looked at Hen and then out the garage door, only taking him a second before his feet started to move him towards the door, but he didn't get far because the alarm began to blare. Buck mentally cursed himself. He had been such an idiot, by letting his anger get in his way and cloud his judgement, now he may have lost his opportunity to help his friend.

9-1-1*~* 9-1-1

Buck was now at Eddie's house, and it was the evening after shift. They were sitting on the couch having some beers after eating some take out, both friends needing the distraction.

"I'm such an idiot man." Buck said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I've been trying to help her and get her away from that douche bag for weeks now. And today I had the opportunity to do that, and I blew it because I couldn't control my anger."

"Look Buck, I'm not going to tell you that you're not an idiot, cause you are." Eddie stated.

Evan looked at his friend in disbelief. "Gee, thanks."

"But. I understand why you're angry." Eddie added. "It can be frustrating to try and help someone you love and not be able to because they don't want it, or they chose not to. Especially because you went through the same thing with Maddie."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have let my anger cloud my judgement and see that Andy was there because she was ready to accept my help."

At that moment Buck's cell phone rang. Buck picked it up off the table and saw that the caller ID said it was Athena. Both Buck's and Eddie's brows furrowed in confusion. Athena hardly ever called Buck, she always communicated with the man mostly through text, and what added to the confusion was that they knew that the Sergeant was on shift.

"Hey Athena." Buck said by way of greeting.

Eddie put his beer down on the coffee table once he saw the expression on his friend's face change and judging by that expression the news wasn't good.

"Thanks for calling Athena. I'll be right there." Buck said before he ended the call.

"What's going on?"

"Andy's at the station. She was involved in a domestic dispute call."