Taylor's POV

It had just been at the crack of dawn and she's really not in the mood. She was really just prepared to sleep it off all day, relax you know? Get some tea or maybe coffee? And just chill… Because this previous week has been hell. Her boss has been a royal fucktard with her, Buck's incident with Ana, and then the drugs.

Honestly, she was worried that Buck might have lied to her that he wasn't taking any more pills but she had a sinking feeling that he still takes them. Also, it was just around-

5:27 AM

And then her phone rang. Despite her saying that she just wants to chill, she couldn't after seeing who the call came from. It was from one of her contacts, a P.I., the very same one that helped her placed her boss out of 'commission.'

"Hey. hey! I heard someone was fired." Irene greeted her with such glee that your ears are about to burst.

"Hi, Irene. Yes, thanks to you we uncovered enough evidence on my boss and is now out of the job. Thank you for that." Taylor says but she's just really not in the mood to be chirpy.

"Still haven't gotten your morning coffee?"

"Nope. So anything good?"

"Aside from that I am happy to hear your sexist and molester boss out of the job- I don't think you would consider what I found good per se." Irene says and Taylor hears pages being flipped from her end.

"Eh, what could be worse. Wait… Is this about-"

"The drugs you told me to be sent to the lab, yes."

'Shit. Here we go.' Taylor thinks to herself as she makes coffee.

"But before I go into detail about that, how did you know there would be someone selling it at Randy's bar? And why are you so interested in it?" Irene asked and Taylor had an excuse already.

"Oh, I was just looking at drugs because I've also been tipped that there was an increase in people who overdosed in recent the month. So I decided to take a look at it." Taylor just whips up the excuse as if that was the real reason.

"Taylor my dear. Ever the knight in black huh? Okay, so we found out that Faundicity, the pill samples that we got from the rascal at Randy's, contains LSD, Benzodiazepine, and also meth. Crystal meth, Taylor."

"Benzodiazepine? Ain't that..."

"Used in sleeping pills? Yeah." Irene says, clicking her tongue.

"So it's like a boosted sleeping pill?"

"Not really, we're not sure on what exactly because we just got the results. But it seems like they're mixing both ingredients for treating narcolepsy and they're adding in ingredients for treating ADHD."

"Also, we've received reports that people from bars who have taken these pills way too often were reported that they were hallucinating. From seeing someone that wasn't there to hearing things, you know classic symptoms you would expect from meth heads." Irene says and she pauses for a bit. Taylor could hear someone else talking to Irene on the other end.

"Well, here's something to add to your story: Unfortunately, Artie, the one we arrested at Randy's place, said initially he sold people party drugs. Altered hallucinogens that are a little bit stronger than what normal molly would be like. The pills he gave people didn't have LSD or meth, not like the ones he's been told to give to people recently. The people who are taking this drug haven't OD'd so far. But symptoms as of now should be but are not excluded to; vomiting, nausea, mood swings, and hallucinations visual mostly."

"Okay, thanks for the info." Taylor says while finishing up her notes and then Irene speaks up.

"Now hold on missy. You owe me coffee for this. Don't you think I might get in trouble for sharing inside information?" Irene said and Taylor could pick up a little bit of seduction in her voice.

"Hmm, sure. See you later at eight before I go to work? Also, we had an agreement; you help me dig up dirt on my boss, and I help you about the increase in drug overdoses." Taylor, this time, said happily.

"Touche. See you then." Irene says hanging up, she feels the dots connect. During this week, Buck has been taking in molly, then LSD, and then both while adding benzo. Meaning if he isn't having severe side effects by now she wouldn't know how he's still standing.

How'd she known Buck was still taking them after he agreed that he wouldn't take anymore? It's all a hunch but she knew how drug addiction goes for most people, and Buck just went through the trauma of being falsely accused, being estranged with the possible love of his life, and if she remembers correctly, he still has strong emotions towards finding out how his brother Daniel died.

Add all of those and you would have more reasons to take drugs.

6:31 AM

She arrived at the firehouse just a little early to catch Buck off guard and so that she could tell him what she found out. But instead, she found Eddie. Admittedly, she might have gone off a little bit judgmental of him. Asking him outright what Buck was to him, he received an answer that was sweet but not enough for Taylor. But who was she to think? Buck did say that he was a little bit old-fashioned.

"What is Buck to me?" Eddie mutters to himself and stares at the floor intently as if it held the answers to the universe. "He's my- well used to be best friend, I guess. He's someone I trust in, someone I care about, and someone who I… Adore."

"Adore huh. Well, I guess I get what he meant by you being old-fashioned." Taylor remarks before turning around and walks out.

"Bye, I guess?" Eddie said and Taylor just went on.

'No offense Eddie. Yes, that was sweet as hell that you still hang on to Buck and consider him to be someone you adore. But I feel like I can't just tell you yet. I need to go to work anyway. I'll drop by Buck's apartment later. That is if he's still standing.'

Buck's POV

7:01 AM

Buck wakes up with a very bad headache. This was becoming the norm for him now… After popping a couple of pills from the previous night, he'll wake up the following day with his head feeling like it just got home run with a bat. He knows that he needs to stop, he knows that any further usage would cause long-term side effects… Possibly.

Today was different though. He didn't take any pills yesterday and he still got this ridiculous headache because he was too busy overthinking yesterday. He wanted to cry at the fact that he just lost another person in his life. Eddie didn't really die, but for Buck he did. Eddie, the good and reliable Eddie, suddenly Buck's perception and image of him has shifted. From the once warm and welcoming feeling that Buck got from Eddie, this time wherever he hears or is near Eddie he feels this coldness towards him. Like he was chained down to the bottom of the sea of which you can't see, hear, nor breath.

Another thing that made this day different was that Buck was hearing a lot of things. Like earlier, he thought he heard footsteps coming from the bottom left area, but he remembers that no one was there with him. It's just him and only him…

8:12 AM

Feeling groggy, agitated, and lightheaded he decided to just not go to work at all. He was itching from top to bottom like his entire body was engulfed with rashes. Was he engulfed with rashes?

Panicked, Buck goes to his bathroom to look at himself and sighs. No, he was not having hives. Breathing heavily, 0he closes his eyes and splashes some water on his face. He needed to calm down. He was at his apartment, away from anyone, and all alone.

'All alone again.' Buck thinks to himself, 'I have been all alone this entire time.'

Despite Buck having a lot of people saying that they love him and that he's not alone, he still can't help but feel isolated. Like he doesn't belong anywhere at all. Especially after finding out about Daniel, Buck finally mapped it out. That's because he was just brought on to the world as a last-ditch effort. But Daniel still died, yeah. That was a heavy hit to Buck.

Opening his eyes, he got a glimpse of his pale skin even becoming more ghastly.

'When did I last eat a decent meal?' Buck thinks to himself, and he can't remember when.

Just as he was about to stand up, he saw a silhouette from the mirror. The silhouette passed through the bathroom door going to his bed. Startled, he turns around and listens for footsteps but nothing. Slowly opening the door Buck calls out if anyone was there and again no response.

"Jesus, I really need to eat."

8:24 AM

While cooking his food he saw a phone on the kitchen counter which left Buck confused. He knew he had left his on the bedside table charging so whose is… Eddie. It was Eddie's phone. Did he forget it here yesterday?

'Why should I bother letting him know it's here?'

As he focuses on cooking his food his mind wanders to cooking pancakes for Christopher. It had been days since he saw or spoke to him. Mostly because another person, Ana, had turned against him and resulted in Buck losing that one person he couldn't lose now.

As he looks up to grab some spice from the rack, he feels the chill that someone was watching him from behind, he turns but no one is there. The sound of his stomach growling makes him turn back to the food.

"Think the hunger is making me go crazy." Buck states talking to the pan with a small grin, as he finishes up the food.

Once he's finished cooking and plating up, he settles on the island and starts eating, Eddie's phone just laying there Buck just willing for it to call just so he could talk to someone mainly, probably Chris. But it didn't ring. No one was calling Eddie.

'Who would call anyway? His parents probably still have a vendetta on him, Ana's off the question, Carla might because she was taking care of Chris right now. Aside from Carla or Chris, there was…'

"Me." he says out loud as he remembers something.

"Just because it's practical you know?" Buck says as he hands off his number to Eddie two weeks after he just came in.

It took TWO WEEKS! For Buck to get the courage to give his number to Eddie. For whatever reason it was he hesitated when it came to sharing personal information with him. Maybe he was uncomfortable with him just for now, but he was slowly warming up to him.

'Here was a Latino man who was a great father, who is considerate and nice and… handsome.'

"...ck to earth. Hello?" He faintly hears Eddie say when he shakes himself awake.

"You good Buck?" Eddie asks gently, grasping Buck's shoulder, "Did you eat?"

'And caring…' Buck thinks again of getting lost in Eddie's brown eyes.

"Hmm? Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Buck nervously covers his daydreaming.

"Okay, if you say so." Eddie says and types in the number Buck just gave him. Moments after that he receives a text message.

'Somehow, your eyes are much bluer than the others. :p'

Buck laughs at that and he looks at Eddie who raises his phone in response.

'You have beautiful eyes too..'

'Thanks. I guess.'

Why did he feel intimidated back then? Was it because he already felt something for him? Or was he just really intimidated by him? He looks again at Eddie's phone and stares at it. And as if by answering Buck's curiosity, Eddie's phone rings.

'Someone actually called Eddie.' Buck says and subconsciously as if nothing happened between him and Eddie, he walks up to see who it was so he could relay it to Eddie. Midway of going to Eddie's phone he catches himself and stops

'Why should I care? He's not here, and even if I were to text him, he wouldn't receive it because his phone is here. So why?' Buck thinks to himself, 'God, why am I like this?'

So, pushing things aside for now he glimpses and sees whose name it was. It was Ana.

At the sight of her name Buck relapses and relives that horrid memory. It was just in an instance, but the feeling was overwhelming. Buck just feels like he could still feel her arms around him. Slithering their way everywhere to his body, tracing dips and curves of his body, her breathing down on his neck, violating his space.

What snapped him out of his panic was the ringing of Eddie's phone, notifying him that Ana was no longer calling.

Buck knows. He knows a lot of things. He's not stupid. But why isn't he then doing the things that could make him better! He knows that taking drugs is bad, but he still does, and he went out the day before yesterday to get more pills from Artie. He knows that taking drugs and alcohol at the same time can cascade into something more dangerous in the long run and he's been doing it for more than a week. He knows. He knows!

But why can't he do anything? Why can't he just make a full three-sixty and drop it? Why can't he just accept the fact that not everything had to be about him? Why can't he admit that he still loves Eddie? Why can't he just be happy!

Everything was becoming too much for him to handle. He was overwhelmed by his thoughts like he was sinking. And the deeper he thinks, the deeper he sinks. Drowning him down in his sorrow, anger, and guilt.

His sleep pattern was all over the place, even more so than when he was at work. He wanted to just sleep, and one was to just go to bed right? But after his relapse earlier Buck might not be able to sleep at all. He had doxepin that was recommended by Dr. Copeland before still somewhere in his drawers. So, he decides to go grab those. Finding them, he takes just one pill and goes to bed.

He was calming down now and so while sitting on the bed he checked his phone with no new messages. He toys with messaging Maddie but ends up laying his phone face down on the bedside table as he nods off hoping for more than a few hours as the effects of the doxepin were kicking in.

When he wakes he's unsure what time it is. It was foggy somehow inside his room so he instantly looked around to see if there was a fire, but he couldn't smell any smoke which added more to his confusion. His eyes suddenly focus on a figure standing at the end of the bed, as he rubs the sleep from his eyes and looks towards where the figure was gone but the sound of someone walking down the stairs stands out.

"Who's there?" Buck asks.

His mind is racing, the only people who had a key to his place were Maddie and Eddie. But the figure didn't look like any of them, he looked around his bed to find his phone, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Anxiety starts to set in as he didn't know who it was and what they wanted with him. Panicked, Buck opens and closes his eyes as he breathes in and out. He sits up quickly looking around the room. He sees his phone where he left it and there are no signs of anyone near or below him. He was alone.

"Was it just a nightmare?" He says as soon left his mouth, he knew the stress was only getting worse so he could take a pill to help calm him down. But he was trying not to be more dependent on those goddamn pills!

He opens his phone and finds out it was still…

7:21 PM

He slept for eleven hours, and his headache did recede but he was filling chills now. Buck tried to stand up and he was shaking resulting in him forcefully being sat down on his bed. Every single muscle in his body started to become numb and Buck started hyperventilating.

'Okay, Buckley symptoms. What are the symptoms?' Buck thinks as he tries to calmly handle the situation. 'Clammy hands, slight nausea, uncontrollable shaking, and… and… numbness.'

'Could it be an anxiety attack? Or… Or the side effects of the drugs I was taking, and I am experiencing withdrawal. Is that it? That must be it…. I can't think of anything else.' His thinking stopped when he heard footsteps from below.

From where he was in the bed, he could barely see the ground floor. But he could partly see half of the kitchen. And there he saw where the footsteps were coming from. They came from a woman

He only did see her a handful of times, but the black curly hair and the posture screamed one name: Ana.

Panicked Buck slowly and painfully excruciating himself out of his bed and crawls to get a better look at her. She was just in his kitchen mindlessly doing nothing, which got Buck thinking what she was doing here? How was she even here in the first place?

Amidst all, his thoughts running wildly, he subconsciously grabbed his phone intent to call someone, but he remembered that he had no one to call. He contemplated calling Bobby, but he was still on his shift alongside Chim, Hen… And Eddie left his phone here. He absolutely had no one to lean on nor to call help.

'9-1-1!' He thought, but what should he say? That there was an intruder in his house? That someone broke in and was just doing nothing but standing in the middle of his kitchen?

And as if by a streak of luck, his phone vibrated. Someone was calling him. Not seeing who it was, Buck instinctively answers the call, and he answers whispering, careful not to alert Ana down below.

"H-hello?" Buck whispers while keeping an eye out for Ana.

Even just remembering her name, made Buck relapse into that time in the closet. Where he was falsely accused. The memory brings up emotions that Buck didn't expect nor comprehend at this time. All he knew was that he was afraid of what Ana was doing in his kitchen.

"Hey, Buck. Say, I know it might be weird to ask but can I come over?" Buck hears a familiar voice, but it was someone whom he didn't expect to call. It was Albert.

'Come over? For what? He had an invader in his apartment doing God knows what!'

"Listen, I know I've been an asshole to you as a friend, and also as a family, but-"

"No, you can't." Buck says in a hushed whisper. Don't get me wrong, I would eventually want to also talk to Albert, but not right now where hysteria seems to be taking over Buck instead of reason.

"Oh…" Albert says, and Buck could hear dejectedness in his voice.

"Buck…"

"C-can you please shut up! She's here!" Buck whispers rapidly because not too long ago he could see that Ana was in his kitchen. And now? She's not there.

"What?! Whose with you?" Albert questions.

"S-she's here… Help." Buck says because the next thing he sees

"Buck? Buck! Say something!"

"Please just leave me alone." Buck pleads over and over.

He swears he hears what sounded like a crash, but his senses were so overwhelmed with everything that was going on he was unsure of everything.

The movement of the figure in the corner of his eye has him panicking more, he's not sure how long he's sat there pleading to be left alone but his mind feels like it's drifting in and out and forgets why he's sat legs curled up to his chest but the movement in front reminds him.

Eddie's POV

This is bad. Renfrow just got blasted by an explosion by the car of a victim he was assessing, Bobby got caught in the blast, and here was Eddie having an uneasy feeling with him. This is normal because he's in an accident right now and he's a first responder on the scene. He's bound to feel uneasy, especially after finding out from Athena that the car that caused all this was because of a drunken driver. And the fact that the said driver had her son in the car, while recklessly driving made him wretched by a lot.

Who in the whole fucking world would be such an ass to endanger their child? Then again, he of all people should know the reasons why people resort to alcoholism, probably drugs, but it never seemed to faze Eddie. Not until now.

"Are you good here?" Eddie hears Bobby ask Hen.

"Not one bit cap. But I'll be fine. That's the job, right?" She says before walking off, and Bobby's silent response to that was just a nod.

How many times did he tell that to himself anyway? That it's the job? He neglected his child, wife, and family at some point and what did he tell himself? That it came with the job he chose, a high-risk high reward kind of job where he puts his life on the line in war. Ironically, that's what he's also doing right now. He might have not been shot at, but whenever they respond to a call, anything could happen. A fire could have broken out somewhere, a car crash, shooting, bombing…

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!"

Eddie shakes off the memory of that night deep in the darkest corner of his brain. Or in the deepest where his memory would allow it. The vivid visual of seeing Buck with blood running down his face along with excruciating pain, the groaning of that 38,000-pound truck, and Buck's leg being pinned down by said truck.

Despite that chaos running through his mind and current emergency, they got a reprieve out of it all.

"Captain Nash, can you spare a paramedic for a woman in labor at the dispatch metro?" Sue comes through Caps radio.

"Pretty sure there's a lot of paramedics closer to your location than where we are."

"Yes… But none of them are the baby's father."

At that everyone's darkened face lit up at the news. They all look at Chimney and see that he's smiling like he just won the lottery. Well, he kind of did.

"We got it from here, Chim. Now go meet your daughter." Cap said with a cheeky smile on his face.

"You sure?" Chim enquires feeling ecstatic from the news.

"I'm following that ambulance; you can ride with me." Athena says and Chim just scoffs. Not the sarcastic kind, but more like in disbelief tinged with happiness. And with that, Chim and Athena were on their way to the hospital to meet Chim's daughter. The rest stayed behind to finish assessing the situation on the wreck that they were in before going to the hospital to meet their friend's daughter. Alas, like every good thing that gave them a reprieve, it didn't last that long.

"Dispatch to 118 come in, this is Sue." They hear over the radio.

"Go for Captain Nash." Bobby immediately responds.

"Captain Nash, we received a call from a driver who says he was in the pileup claiming he's still trapped in his car."

"I believe we already extricated everybody involved. Are they sure they were in this crash?" Bobby says while both he and Eddie were making their last round in the area.

"The line went dead before we could get too many details. We'll try to reconnect with him now." And after a moment they hear another voice but this time it was another familiar voice. May.

"Bobby, the call came from Albert Han… Isn't that Chimney's brother?" On that, Eddie saw Hen look around the corner upon hearing Albert's name. And Eddie can't help but feel dread.

"Are you sure? I thought that call was dropped." Bobby says and looks at Eddie, concern starting to streak their faces.

"I called the number back and it gave me his voice mail."

"What did the message say?" Hen replies on her radio.

"He said his name and do not leave a message because, um…"

"'Cause, that's what texts are for." Hen finishes.

"Yeah." After that they went on a frenzy researching every vehicle that's been previously searched, frantically calling Albert's name out. Two back and forths the road where the pile-up happened and still no sign of Albert.

"Dispatch, this is Captain Nash. Can you trace where that last call was dropped? Which exit were they calling from?"

"It says exit 43 exit ramp." They looked around at May's directive and saw the sign stating exit 46. And a quarter mile from 46 would be exit ramp 43.

"He wasn't in the pileup…" Eddie says.

"He was in front of it." And again, they were off searching for the 43rd exit ramp. Upon reaching that area they went off in search of Albert's car. It didn't take long before Hen noticed the skid marks going down the canal.

"Tire tracks! Right here!" Hen calls out and everyone rushes in tools on the ready as they see a car flipped over.

With Eddie and Bobby on the lead, they skid down and see Albert's face dripping with blood. Assessing the situation, he's already lost a lot of blood from the pool of blood below his dangling body. They all quickly and nimbly disassemble the door and get the neck collar in place, removing the seat belt that kept him locked in and carefully placing him in the stretcher.

"We got you, Albert… We got you." Hen fondly says as she starts to run a line.

Just before being placed in the ambulance, they hear Albert groan in pain.

"Hey, hey save your strength. You're in good hands, don't worry." Eddie assures him as he prepares to dress his wounds. Albert probably hit his head while the car was tumbling down.

"B-buck…" Hen and Eddie hear him whisper. They look at each other confused as to why he mentioned Buck. "Buck. In danger… His apartment… Someone broke in." Albert says in labored breaths and after long intervals.

"Stay still Albert." Hen gently but firmly puts him down on the stretcher again. Eddie goes still for a second upon hearing what Albert just said.

"Eddie. I need help here." Hen brings him back as they get him prepped for transport, but Eddie's mind lingers on what Albert just said.

'Someone broke into Buck's apartment? Who and why?' Eddie then looks at Albert and sees that he's looking at him. His head and face are a mess mixed with grime, sweat, and blood Eddie sees fear and concern. Weirdly Eddie gets a sense that it's not for himself but for the man he just mentioned.

"Hen…" Eddie starts but she just waves him off.

"Go, I'll take care of him. Talk to Bobby and check it out. I don't think that he's making this up." She says looking at Albert as she straps Albert in.

A glance of gratitude towards Hen and he speeds off to find Bobby by Albert's tipped-over car.

"Bobby… We need to go to Buck's apartment." Eddie says and quickly explains to Bobby what they just heard from Albert.

"Alright, but we're using the captain's car, no sirens or anything when we're near. Take a medical bag from the ambulance before it goes just in case." Bobby says and they were off to Buck's apartment.

The ride to Buck's apartment was quiet just the grunts from Bobby as he drove, well insisted he drove and Eddie understood he would have floored it there. His mind was racing about who was in Buck's apartment, what were they doing to him?

Upon arriving at Buck's apartment complex, they could see his jeep was still parked and they rushed in, Eddie having a med kit with him and Bobby tagging along. In the main lobby, Eddie saw Taylor with a fair-skinned woman next to her also going to the elevators.

"Taylor, what are you doing here?" Eddie asks which makes Taylor and her companion turn around to see two firefighters.

"I should be asking you that. We're just visiting Buck because he hasn't been answering my calls…" Taylor's eyes drop to the medkit that Eddie had and her eyes register something. It was the same thing whenever Eddie had just connected something in his mind. "Is Buck in danger?" Her voice this time was even but Eddie knew it had a twinge of fear in it.

He didn't answer and just went into the elevator holding the door open for them, once in, his left pocket felt heavy. Buck gave him his apartment keys and before they left the station earlier, he had a sinking feeling, so he brought his entire key set. So, when they were right in front of Buck's door Bobby knocked and called out but no one answered. Buck's car was still in the parking lot when they went in and if he went out for something they wouldn't be so sure.

A few moments of silence when they heard glass breaking from the other side. That's when Eddie finally banged on the door and called out his name. This time he felt a sense of deja vu. All those times that Buck was calling out his name when he was in danger, he heard his voice so clearly despite all the noise and chaos. Like a single bright light on a dimly lit path, telling him to come back to it for it would grant him safe harbor.

"BUCK!" Eddie raised his voice but not to the point where he was screaming and banging on the door again.

"Stand back…" Bobby said, and he was about to break the door down but Eddie stopped him and took out the keys to Buck's apartment room. A key to his home.

"You know man. If you ever need somewhere to go, you know just to relax or get away with Chris aside from your house…" Buck said to him and handed a key to Eddie. They just finished their shift and were in the locker rooms changing.

"It's a key to my apartment room. You can drop by anytime you like." Buck said and smiled at him.

Call me old-fashioned but giving your keys to someone means you trust them deeply. That you have a bond with this person and would grant them a safe space to go to. And for Eddie, giving someone the keys to your house meant giving them a way to your heart.

And now that he broke his bond with Buck, he broke that trust he gave to him. So what right did he have to use it?

"Screw it," Eddie said in his mind. "He might be in danger and that should be reason enough for now. I'll just have to face the fall out later." And so he used the key to open the door to reveal a dark room with items scattered everywhere. They went in carefully and they saw where the sound of glass breaking came from, they saw what remains of a glass mug and to the far corner towards the kitchen was a figure. Said figure was holding a knife in hand and was pointed right at the group, flicking between the four, and upon further examination, they already knew who it was.

"Buck?" Eddie called out and Buck spoke silently.

"Eddie?" And that's all that he needed to go and hug the man as what came after was just tears and a heavy heart.