Maddie
Maddie was the first one awake, she laid in bed watching Chimney sleep while her brain shuffled through everything that had happened the day before - her baby brother was shot, he was fighting for his life once again - but also what Chimney had confessed to her once they got home last night. To learn that for the last three weeks her brother has been suffering at work at the hands of people he called family - that they called family. She just couldn't wrap her head around it. Why would that do that to him?
Of course she didn't completely agree when Buck had filed the lawsuit, but he was her little brother and she supported him the best she could without having to pick sides. That wouldn't have been fair to her, and she knew Buck knew that. Now that she thought about it, she could understand why Buck had pulled away from her. She knew her brother well, knew that he wouldn't want to come between her and Chimney, even if he was hurting and needed her.
With a vow to help her brother once he awoke - because she knew he would - she was going to be there for him however he needed.
That was going to start with getting her apartment ready for her brother. She had a spare room for a reason. She wasn't there often herself, dating Chimney she usually ended up at his apartment after shifts or just for them to spend time together. She would need to stay at her apartment in order to look after Buck while he recovered, once he was released from the hospital.
Rolling over to grab her phone, Maddie checked the time. She wanted to be at the hospital at the start of visiting hours. She knew that Buck wasn't going to wake up right away, they had him in a medicated coma to help with his healing process but she wanted to sit with him. She wanted him to know that she was there, and would always be there for him. She wouldn't need to worry about work for a while, she had gotten a text from Josh while still waiting at the hospital the day before while Buck was in surgery, telling her that Sue was giving her a few days off and to just let them know if she needed longer. As much as she wanted to take off work more than the next couple of days, she knew she was going to need more time off once Buck was awake and released, would need her to be home with him, taking care of him.
Seeing she had just over a half hour before visiting hours started at the hospital, Maddie gave one more glance at her sleeping partner before carefully rolling out of bed. She wasn't ready for the conversation she was going to need to have with Chimney. She wasn't ready to talk about everything that had been done, or not done, to her little brother. Of course they would have to sooner rather than later, but Maddie needed to focus on her brother right now. She would deal with the 118 and their faults later.
Deciding to forgo a shower, Maddie quickly but quietly dressed for the day. In the kitchen she scribbled a quick note to Chimney letting him know where she was, and that she didn't want him to come sit with her, that she needed time away from him to think. As much as she knew he was already beating himself up, Maddie wanted to hang onto her anger at her boyfriend and the rest of them for a little longer. He would need to be patient with her until she was ready to deal with it all.
Ordering an Uber as she left the apartment, Maddie made her way outside to wait. The sun was already shining on a day she felt like it shouldn't be, not with her baby brother fighting for his life. It didn't take long for the Uber to show up and within an hour Maddie was dropped off at the dispatch center so she could grab her own car, making her way to the hospital to be with her brother.
She was shocked when she reached her brother's hospital room twenty minutes later to find someone already sitting with him. Maddie watched as her brother's captain, a man she knew Buck looked up to as a father, sat at his bedside, holding Buck's hand between his own, whispering quietly under his breath. If she had to make a guess, Maddie figured the older man was saying a prayer. She appreciated the idea, her brother needed all the prayers he could get right now, but she was also seeing red when it comes to Bobby and anyone else from the firehouse at the moment.
As much as she wanted to see her brother, sit with him, Maddie didn't want to be anywhere near Bobby. She had things she needed to do in order to have her place ready for Buck's release. She knew it could be a few weeks, at least a week until the doctors even thought about taking him out of the medicated coma, so she knew she had time, but she wanted things to be perfect. When Buck had stayed with her those few months after finally leaving Abby's apartment, before buying his own loft, he slept on an air mattress in her living room. This time she was going to set up her guest room for him.
Maddie knew she could just kick Bobby out of the room, she was her brother's next of kin, his emergency contact as far as she knew, she was the only one with rights to her brother in the hospital. She could tell Bobby to leave and never return and though he was unable to voice his own opinion at the moment, Maddie knew that wasn't something her brother would want. Deep down, Maddie knew that whatever was happening at work between Buck and the rest of the firefighters, her brother would never just write them off. Not after he fought so damn hard to get back to them.
After a few long moments of watching her brother's prone body in the hospital bed, Maddie took a deep breath and turned around to leave. She would give his team time with her brother now, while he was hospitalized, but as soon as he was released and he was staying with her, Maddie would make sure they couldn't get near him until he was ready to see them if that was what he wanted. With her mind made up, Maddie headed for her apartment to get some cleaning done and take stock of what she was missing food and medical supply wise. She also knew she would have to stop at Buck's for some things for him once he was both awake and out of hospital.
Eddie
He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep the night before but he was sure that he hadn't slept for long before the sun began stabbing his eyes through the blinds in the window. With a groan he rolled to his side away from the window and the sun, shifting into a sitting position with his feet on the floor on the side of the bed. Eddie blinked his eyes a few times trying to blink away the grit and blurriness. It wasn't doing much but when he was able to see it was almost time to get Christopher up for school, Eddie finally made his move to leave his bed. Quietly he shuffled down the hall to his son's room, pushing the door open softly to find Christopher already working himself into a seated position against his pillows.
"Morning, Mijo." Eddie stepped into the room.
"Dad," Christopher smiled at him before reaching for his glasses on the nightstand. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Eddie asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning over to kiss his son on the forehead.
"Carla called Pepa to watch me because you were late," Christopher shrugged. "Did something happen at work?"
Eddie swallowed around the lump in his throat. He knew he needed to tell his son what had happened, or at least an abridged version. He just didn't know how.
"Chris… it… I…" Eddie sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head and plastering a smile on his face. "Our last call was just really long. I'm sorry I wasn't home on time to put you to bed, kiddo."
He was a fucking coward .
"So everyone is okay?"
Eddie nodded, "Yeah, Chris. Everyone's fine. Come on, it's time to get ready for school."
And a fucking liar .
Eddie left Christopher to get dressed for the day and returned to his own room. He had to take a proper shower. He knew that Bobby and Chimney had taken care of all the blood that had been on him at the hospital, when he was shut down. Buck's blood . But he could still feel it on his skin. He could still see it whenever he looked at his hands, or in a mirror. Eddie entered his bathroom and turned the shower on full heat. He didn't care if it was going to burn him, he needed to scrub away the feeling of Buck's blood on his skin.
It wasn't until Christopher was knocking on his bathroom door, shouting that they were running late now, that Eddie realised he was sitting at the bottom of the tub, arms wrapped around his bent knees, cold water cascading over his body, mixing with his salty tears in his mouth. He couldn't remember undressing or getting into the shower. He couldn't remember scrubbing his body, though he could see the washcloth near the drain so he must have.
Eddie quickly shut the water off, climbed out of the tub and wrapped the towel around his waist before opening the bathroom door. Christopher was still standing there.
"Sorry, must still be really tired from work yesterday." Eddie stepped around his son. "Give me two minutes, did you eat breakfast?"
"Yeah," Christopher nodded as he made his way back out of the room, stopping at the door and looking back at Eddie as he rummaged through his dresser for clothes. "Are you sure you're okay, dad?"
"Of course, Mijo." Eddie looked at his son with a smile, nodding. "I'll be out in a minute, promise."
Christopher watched him for a moment before nodding back, turning and heading back down the hall to wait in the living room. Eddie quickly dressed in jeans and a simple t-shirt, knowing he didn't need to work today, or for a while now. Five minutes later they were out the door and heading for the school. They were indeed late so Eddie had to walk Christopher into the office to sign him in, explaining they had a late start to the day because work had run over the night before. After saying goodbye to his son, Eddie made his way back to the truck.
He had every intention of heading home to try and get some actual sleep, but when he turned off the truck and looked up through the windshield, Eddie realised he had unconsciously driven to the hospital. Stepping out of the truck, he slowly made his way into the building and straight to Buck's room after signing in and getting his visitor pass. He was surprised to find nobody in the room when he reached the door, expecting at least Maddie to be camped out at her brother's bedside.
Hours later Eddie wished he hadn't gone to see his best friend and had just gone home after reaching the hospital. May's parting words were bouncing around in his head as he drove back to the school to pick Christopher up.
" You know he's in love with you, right? "
No, no he really didn't know that!