Buck walked through the side door of the station and into the bay, just behind the ambulances, juggling his keys and the slightly unwieldy container of muffins he made last night. The doors at the back of the closest one were open and he could see Hen already at work, inventorying supplies before their first call. Pausing at the back of the vehicle, with a cheerful smile on his face, Buck readjusted the strap of his work bag over his shoulder as it began slipping down his arm so it was settled more comfortably, managed to pocket his keys, and shifted the container to one hand. He rapped the knuckles of his now free hand on the inside of the door to catch Hen's attention.

"Morning," Buck greeted as she turned towards him.

"Morning, Buck!" Hen smiled, dropping the clipboard in her hands onto the gurney and scooting forward to sit at the edge of the vehicle. "What's today's flavor?"

Buck popped open the top of the container with a laugh, holding it out so she could snatch a muffin. "Lemon poppy seed," he shrugged with a small sigh. "Can't eat them myself, but Serrano mentioned they were her favorite."

"So generous, making what we ask for," Hen hummed, biting happily into her muffin.

"She didn't actually ask for them," Buck pointed out again. "But, thanks."

"Did I hear there are baked goods?" Chimney demanded, appearing suddenly next to Buck, causing him to jump slightly in surprise. "Sorry," Chimney muttered sheepishly.

Buck huffed and pulled the muffins away from Chimney's questing hands. "Just for that, you have to wait!"

Buck winked at Hen and headed off for the upstairs loft, Hen's laughter ringing in his ears and Chimney trailed after him, sputtering incoherently. Just as Buck reached the first step, he felt a hand press lightly to his lower back, another grabbing at the strap of his work bag. Knowing who it was, Buck allowed the strap to slide down his arm, releasing it to Chimney's care, careful not to drop the container of muffins.

It wasn't like he couldn't climb the stairs with his arms full, even at five months pregnant, but his center of balance had already started to shift. But ever since he had announced his pregnancy to the team a little over a month ago, they had become very protective of him. It was a surprise to all of them except Bobby, who Buck had told as soon as he learned of it, the morning of Adam's funeral four months ago. He had been five weeks at the time, only learning that fact a week after losing the man he loved.

As Buck reached the top of the stairs, Chimney dropped his hand from his back and sped up to walk side by side with him. Buck offered the container to the other man and Chimney cracked a delighted smile and grabbed a muffin, immediately peeling back part of the paper and taking a huge bite. Buck instantly spotted Bobby in the kitchen, where his captain usually was if he wasn't in his office trying to get paperwork done (which honestly, was usually never). Buck's steps faltered for just a moment when he noticed the unknown person in the kitchen with Bobby, until his pregnancy addled brain helpfully offered information Bobby had shared just last week-they were getting a new recruit.

Bobby looked up just as Buck and Chimney arrived at the kitchen island. "Morning, Buck."

"Hey, Cap," Buck beamed at the older man he looked to as his pseudo-father, placing the container of muffins on the counter and turned towards the stranger.

The man was clearly the new recruit, wearing the LAFD t-shirt, his chestnut-colored hair slicked back. He had his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. He turned a smile towards Buck and Buck grinned back, holding out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Buck."

"Eddie Diaz," The man-Eddie-shook his hand with a nod. "Nice to meet you."

"Ditto," Buck laughed.

Buck noticed Eddie's eyes roam down to his middle and suddenly felt a little self-conscious. He quickly withdrew his hand and took a small, unconscious step back. Ever since his baby bump had really started showing in the last month-the whole reason he finally told the rest of the team-he had been getting a lot of people thinking it was okay to tell him all sorts of things about his own damn pregnancy and what to expect. Strangers even had the audacity to try and touch his stomach while asking when he was due.

Buck felt Chimney move closer to his back as the new guy's eyes returned to his. Some of his worry or discomfort must have shown on his face because Eddie glanced at Chimney, then Bobby, then back to Buck and his eyes widened, a frown tugging on his lips.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry. I'm not… I didn't mean… uh," Eddie stammered quickly, tripped over his words as he shook his head.

Buck relaxed, Chimney's hand falling from his back again with a little pat as he stepped away to get himself a cup of coffee. Buck was usually not fazed by most things, but there had been a few times where someone didn't like the idea that a man was pregnant. Eddie sighed, slumping in his chair at the counter and Buck saw Bobby look between them from the corner of his eye. Buck subtly nodded to let Bobby know that everything was okay.

"No worries," Buck smiled reassuringly at him, pushing the muffin container closer. "Lemon poppy seed muffin?"

"Thanks" Eddie laughed in relief, reaching for a muffin.

"I heard you made my favorites!" A voice piped up from the stairs.

Buck turned his attention to Serrano speeding towards them and he chuckled, pushing the container closer to the excited woman as she stepped up to the counter. Serrano quickly plucked up a muffin and took a bite, moaning as she chewed.

"You know," Serrano swallowed and looked at Buck, "if I wasn't already married and you didn't play for the same team, I'd marry you just for your baking skills."

Buck snickered as Bobby and Chimney both snorted. Serrano just shrugged as she scarfed down the muffin and grabbed a second one. Buck didn't stop her, since it was usually first come, first serve when it came to the baked goods he brought in a couple times a week. Leaving the container open on the counter, Buck made his way to the electric tea kettle near the fridge that Bobby had bought because Buck was no longer allowed to have coffee. Well, he could have one cup a day, but the taste just made him sick to his stomach at this point, so he's learned to like tea.

"Buck, you're scheduled as man behind today, so you get to show Eddie around," Bobby stated as he began chopping peppers for omelets.

Buck nodded, turning his attention back to the team. "Got it, Cap."

Before anything else could be said, the bell sounded. Bobby set the knife down on the cutting board and followed Serrano and Chimney down the stairs. Eddie watched them go, sipping his coffee as Buck began cleaning up the food, getting it back into the fridge so nothing would spoil. He knew that Bobby would radio when they were heading back to the station, so he could get breakfast restarted for the team.

"So, is Buck your real name?" Eddie suddenly asked, breaking the surprisingly comfortable silence.

Buck laughed as he placed the carton of eggs into the fridge, shaking his head and turning back to Eddie. "Evan Buckley. There were two other Evans in my academy class, so we were all given nicknames," he shrugged. "I don't really like my first name, so I stuck with it once I graduated."

Eddie hummed and drained the rest of his coffee, standing and going to the sink to wash the cup out. Buck finished cleaning up, bustling around Eddie to make himself a cup of tea, adding a small scoop of sugar into it. Once his cup was doctored to his liking, he brought it to his lips, gently blowing on it to cool it down before taking a sip. He turned his attention back to Eddie, who was leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So, what's Eddie short for? Eduardo?"

"No," Eddie chuckled.

"Edmundo?"

Buck smiled brightly when he saw the uptick at the corner of Eddie's lips, happy to know he had guessed Eddie's full name correctly. Buck took another sip of his tea before pushing away from the counter.

"Come on, I should probably show you around like Bobby told me to."

Eddie nodded, following Buck and his cup of tea back downstairs to start the tour, stopping in the locker room first in order for Buck to change into his work uniform and store his work bag. He had gotten a quick overview from Bobby when he had come in for his first shift this morning, but now Buck was showing him everything that had been glossed over.

"So, is this your first kid?" Eddie inquired as they stepped out of the storage room, where Buck had shown him where everything was-well, stored.

"Mmhmm." Buck nodded, clutching his now empty mug to his chest.

"You and your husband excited?"

"What?" Buck blurted, jerking his head almost painfully to look at Eddie, his eyes slightly wide.

Eddie blinked in befuddlement and slight concern. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say something wrong." He pointed towards Buck's left hand. "You're wearing a ring, I just assumed..." he trailed off, sounding faintly embarrassed.

Buck frowned down at his hand, furiously blinking back the tears forming in his eyes, shaking his head and swallowing hard. Eddie hadn't been completely wrong in his assessment. Buck wasn't married, but he and Adam had been engaged: Adam had asked him on Valentine's Day- only three months before his death. Buck had yet to take the ring off.

"Has Bobby told you anything?"

"About you?" Eddie questioned, "no."

Buck nodded with a sigh. "My fiancé died in a factory explosion four months ago. He was a firefighter with the 136."

"Shit." Eddie hissed in sympathy.

"I found out I was pregnant a week later."

"Fuck, I'm sorry." Eddie breathed, sounding genuinely upset for him.

"Thanks," Buck nodded with a despondent sigh. "Look, it's better I say something now, because you're bound to hear things from the rest of the crew."

"What was his name?" Eddie asked softly.

"Adam, his name was Adam Halley."

Eddie smiled sadly and followed as Buck started walking again.

"So, uh," Eddie finally spoke up again twenty minutes later as they made their way back up to the loft. "I know we've just met, but we're teammates now and I hope we'll become friends. So," he stopped at the top of the stairs as Buck turned to look at him. "If you ever want to talk, I, uh, I know what you're going through. My wife, she died in a hit and run last year."

"Damn, I'm sorry." Buck winced.

Eddie nodded, his smile wistful. "So like I said, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

Buck smiled back; it wasn't bright or cheery, was actually soft and a little tremulous, but it was still there. "I may take you up on that," he said roughly, feeling a little choked up again.

It was another twenty minutes before Buck got the call from Bobby that they were on their way back to the station. Buck pulled Eddie back to the kitchen so they could start on breakfast for the team. Buck had laughed loudly when Eddie reported that he could burn water, so it would probably be best if he just watched. Instead, Buck set him on chopping the peppers, onions, and mushrooms that people would want in their omelets.