"I'm so glad we finally got a chance to do this. It's been way too long," Karen said, leaning up against Hen. Taylor pasted a smile on her face, even though she'd prefer to be alone with Buck, instead of around all his friends. But the supportive girlfriend couldn't say no to the group hang, could she?

It had been a week since the traffic accident that she'd helped at, but she hadn't done anything. After she spent a couple hours scouring the internet for as much information on those guys at the scene as she could, she'd simmered down a little. Maybe Taylor had been overreacting a bit. She didn't necessarily want Eddie hurt, she just wanted him out of the way. So she tucked the information away in her purse and tried to forget about that idea. Buck finally getting some time away from work and spending it with her definitely helped.

"It feels strange leaving Jee-Yun and being together when we're not at work, but we really needed this," Maddie agreed, snuggling up to Chimney.

"And I needed some time with my favorite sister," Buck grinned, throwing his arm around Maddie and partially around Chimney, thanks to his long reach. Taylor had subtly nudged him into the seat next to his sister, making sure he wouldn't end up next to Eddie. She'd been pleased when he'd ended up at the other end of their long table, next to Bobby. He was the only one there without a date and it made Taylor sort of happy.

"I'm happy that the schedule is finally settling down and we'll be able to have some days off. You all have really earned them," Bobby said proudly, looking around the table at everyone. After Taylor dealt with the Eddie situation, she was going to have to start working on getting good with Bobby. Buck really respected him and as long as he was working at this station, Bobby was going to be an important part of his life. They hadn't talked much since the brownie incident, but hopefully he was over it by now. Anyone would've done what she'd been planning on doing with that footage, so there was no reason to hold anything against her.

"I love you guys, but I'm definitely looking forward to not seeing your faces for a while," Buck laughed. Taylor saw Eddie roll his eyes and she had the urge to call him out, but held back. Of course Eddie couldn't accept that Buck would be happy away from him.

"Big plans?" Athena asked, swirling a wedge of lemon around in her glass of water.

"Actually, yes. Taylor and I are going to go away for a few days. Just the two of us on the open road," Buck replied, squeezing her hand and bringing it up to his lips so he could press a kiss to the back of it. As soon as she'd heard about his break from the station, she'd snapped up all of his time, not wanting to leave any for Eddie. The only reason they were at this dinner was because it had already been planned. After she tied up a few loose ends at the station the next day, she and Buck were going to be off, strengthening their relationship.

"I have a lot of things planned, but I'm not sure if we'll get to them. We may never leave the hotel rooms," Taylor smirked.

"Oh, just what every big sister wants to hear," Maddie groaned, wrinkling her nose at the thought of her brother doing adult activities. Taylor couldn't help but be annoyed. It wasn't like Maddie was some blushing virgin. She'd had a kid out of wedlock, so she really couldn't judge. Sometimes these people acted like they lived in some small town in the bible belt, not in LA.

If she'd been around during Buck's wilder days, she would've joined him. Maybe if Taylor could convince him to start fresh with her somewhere else, he'd go back to being fun. That was another perk of spending a few days out of town. Showing Buck that life away from everyone would be better for them. It would be a hard sell, but Taylor could be tenacious.

"Don't worry, I'll help you keep your mind off what Buck is doing," Chim promised, waggling his eyebrows. That earned a few groans from the rest of the table. This group needed to lighten up.

"Let's ask Eddie what he has planned. We know it'll be a safe topic, since he's single," Hen said, shrugging a little in the man's direction. "No offense."

"None taken. I'm perfectly fine with my relationship status at the moment," Eddie chuckled. Taylor noticed Buck smiling sadly, before he covered it up by taking a drink of water. She didn't like that look. "And actually, my days off are fully booked."

"With what? What are you doing?" Buck asked, leaning forward on the table so he could see Eddie better. Pretty much putting his back to her completely.

"Chris is going to be staying with Abuela for a few days, for their annual-"

"The annual cooking extravaganza!" Buck groaned, slapping his forehead. "I completely forgot."

"And what is this?" Chimney asked in amusement.

"A couple days each year, Christopher goes to my Abuela's house and she teaches him different recipes she passes down. Since according to her, I'm hopeless in the kitchen and someone has to keep the traditions alive, she's showing Christopher," Eddie explained, rolling his eyes. "I'm not that bad."

"Remember the salsa?" Buck asked.

"We don't need to talk about the salsa," Eddie warned, glaring at Buck.

"Oh, we definitely need to talk about the salsa," Chimney grinned.

"I thought it was mole sauce."

"I may have overcooked it a little."

"The salsa recipe didn't even call for cooking, Eds."

"Whatever."

"So that covers what Chris is up to. What about you?" Bobby asked.

"I take advantage of having an empty house by doing a few home improvement projects. Christopher's room is in desperate need of a new coat of paint. And I was thinking of trying to do something with the bathroom."

"I'm sorry I forgot. I was going to be there to help you," Buck sighed. Taylor didn't like how Buck was making it sound like he'd prefer to do manual labor with Eddie over vacationing with her. He should be thrumming with excitement over the idea of getting her for days without distraction.

"It's fine. It just worked out for this to be the best time for it. Carla is out of town dealing with a family issue and who knows the next time the station will be able to spare us for this long?"

"But-"

"Go on your trip, Buck. I'll be fine," Eddie insisted. Buck sighed again, then nodded. And Taylor felt like she was about to snap.

"I need to use the restroom. Excuse me," Taylor murmured, standing up and walking away without waiting for a response. She kept her cool until she was in the privacy of the single stall bathroom, then she let out her anger.

How dare Eddie act like he was giving Buck permission to go somewhere with his girlfriend? As if he was doing her a favor. Buck should've shot him down, saying that of course he was going with Taylor. They'd made plans, which were more important than any stupid thing Eddie was up to. Taylor was his partner, not Eddie. She was the one he'd barely seen due to work. But it still felt like she was the second choice.

Taylor gripped her fingers around the edge of the sink, staring at herself in the mirror. What was she doing? Why was this so hard? Buck should be falling all over himself to make her happy, but he wasn't. Was he even worth all this? Should Taylor cut her losses and kick him to the curb? It would take no effort for her to find someone else to fill his role. And next time, she could make sure he didn't have some codependent relationship with another person. That would be the easy choice.

But Taylor hadn't gotten to where she was in life by choosing the easy path. There was no way she could give up now. That would mean Eddie would win. He'd swoop in and comfort Buck, which would probably make them even closer. She couldn't let that happen. This wasn't even about winning Buck anymore. It was about making sure Eddie didn't get him. Taylor fingered the slip of paper in the pocket of her purse and her mind was made up. She walked back out to the group, plastering an apologetic look on her face.

"Hey guys, sorry to flake, but I just got a call from work. They need me to look over a story coming out tomorrow and it can't wait," Taylor said regretfully. She tried not to look offended at the lack of reaction from everyone.

"You want me to drive you? I don't mind," Buck offered.

"I already called for an Uber. I'm not sure how long it will take and don't want you to be stuck waiting for me," Taylor waved off. She was considerate. But in reality, Buck would probably ask too many questions about what she was doing and she couldn't have that. "I'll see you at your place after?"

"Of course," Buck agreed. At least she knew he'd be at home waiting for her, instead of staying longer with Eddie. She didn't have a key to his loft and he'd never leave her outside.

"I'm looking forward to it," Taylor purred, bending down to give Buck a steamy kiss. Buck was surprised by the intensity of it and was too shocked to reciprocate much, so Taylor did the work for him. When she finally pulled away with a flick of her tongue across his bottom lip, she couldn't help sneaking a peek at Eddie's reaction. She was marking her territory and it was probably killing him. But when she looked up, he wasn't even paying attention to her. He was bent over Chimney's phone, cooing over pictures of Jee-Yun. Now Taylor didn't even feel a bit of guilt over what she was about to do.

She spent the car ride silently seething, planning out exactly how she was going to do this. Who knows if anything would actually come of this? In reality, all she was doing was passing along information. What a person chose to do with it was their business and responsibility. And Eddie seemed pretty confident that he could handle anything thrown his way. He was either about to prove himself or get humbled.

There was only a skeleton crew at the station when she got there, so she ignored them as she weaved her way to an empty desk. Taylor set up a new email account, like she would if she was trying to get information from a private source. It wasn't like anyone was going to trace this back to her, but she was still going to be careful.

Taylor typed up a message, detailing where Eddie would be and when. Taylor and Buck would be well on their way by then and too far to do anything if they got any calls. And she was making sure Christopher wasn't going to be home to get caught up in any of this. After all, she wasn't a bad person.

Her finger hovered over the send button for a few seconds. Was she doing the right thing? Was this going too far? Could all of these issues be solved by having a conversation with Buck about how she was feeling? Asking him to spend more time with her wasn't a big ask. And he would probably do all he could to make time for her.

But Eddie would still be there, always pulling Buck in another direction. Always as the third wheel in their relationship. And if Taylor let herself look closer at it all, she might've even had their positions wrong. Eddie needed to be put in his place and Taylor needed to be the one to put him there. This might not solve all her problems, but it was a start.

Taylor took a deep breath and hit send.