Gripping the baseball bat so tight that his knuckles were turning white, Eddie refused to let go of it, which only spiked Buck's worry. "Can you just give me the bat?" he pleaded.

Eddie held onto the bat like his life depended on it and his whole body shook with sobs as he refused once more. "Don't leave me," he sobbed.

Buck pulled Eddie in - baseball bat and all - for a hug, wincing thanks to the wood creating an uncomfortable as hell barrier between them. "I'm not going anywhere, Eddie. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Eddie still didn't understand what had kickstarted this breakdown and couldn't verbalize it to Buck either. This had been building up for months, however, and they both knew it. "Thank you," he rasped.

"You don't have to thank me either." Buck tried to grab the baseball bat again but Eddie still wouldn't let go. He sighed and let him have it, thankful Christopher was still asleep in his bedroom. If his son had been a witness to this breakdown, Eddie would definitely be worse off than he already was.

Eddie continued to sob, trying desperately to catch his breath and find some semblance of normal again. The latter hadn't worked well at all as he had desperately tried to cling to his life pre-shooting but he could still try. "Fuck," he gasped.

"Eddie, I think you need to see someone - a therapist." They couldn't keep ignoring the obvious distress he was in, even though it had come to a head tonight.

Going back to therapy was the last thing Eddie wanted to do but he knew Buck was right. "I'll call and make an appointment in the morning." His head was pounding now and the hysterical, gut-wrenching sobs were finally starting to catch up to him. All he wanted to do was sleep but he couldn't shut his mind off.

Buck nearly started crying in relief himself. "Great. Can I have the bat now?" When Eddie nodded and released his grip, he quickly grabbed the bat and threw it under the bed. "Thanks, Eddie." He wrapped his arms back around him and let him cry it out.

Neither of them were surprised when Eddie ended up crying himself to sleep in Buck's arms. "Stay," he mumbled before drifting off.

Buck kissed the top of his head and chuckled. "Not going anywhere." He meant it too - he had no plans to leave Eddie's side for the foreseeable future. He needed to find his phone so he could call off work. He rooted around in his pocket, careful not to wake up Eddie, until he found it and sent a quick text to Bobby. Afterwards, he ended up falling asleep right there on the floor with Eddie.

The two of them woke up in the middle of the night and groaned. "This was a bad idea," Eddie complained as he helped Buck stand up and they made their way to the bed.

"Never sleeping on the floor again - way too old for this shit," Buck agreed as he slid in next to him. It didn't feel odd or uncomfortable in any way - it was like they fit together perfectly. But he didn't want to get into that in the middle of the night. Eddie was his priority right now, and they could figure shit out in the morning.

When the sun streamed into the windows the next morning - and Christopher came barrelling in - the two men woke for the day. He didn't even question why Buck and Eddie were sleeping together, wrapped around each other. Eddie hoped his face didn't give away the breakdown he had experienced the previous night and he breathed a sigh of relief when his son didn't say anything. "Tell Buck to make you pancakes," he told his son before hopping in the shower.

Christopher looked up at Buck, beaming. "Please?"

Buck laughed. "Yes, I'll make you pancakes. Let's go, kiddo." He ruffled Christopher's hair, beaming back when he cheered.

"Thank you," Christopher murmured as they headed into the kitchen.

Christopher was tearing into his pancakes when a refreshed Eddie got out of the shower about ten minutes later. "You feeling any better?" Buck nervously ventured.

"A little. I'll call the therapist once Chris is out of the house."

"Good." Once Christopher was done eating and dressed, Buck volunteered to take him to school and when he returned, Eddie was blankly staring at the TV. A chill went down Buck's spine. "Everything alright?"

Eddie shrugged. "Not having you here sent me into another spiral. I did make an appointment with my therapist, though."

"Fantastic." Buck sat down next to him, worried about how fragile Eddie was at the moment.

Eddie glanced over at him and then gasped. "I can't do this without you, Buck."

Buck flinched, unsure why he was reacting this way. "Sure you can," he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

He shook his head. "No, I can't. I love you."

Words failed Buck for a minute as his brain went offline. Surely Eddie didn't mean he loved him that way. "I love you too, Eddie."

A frustrated Eddie could only stare at him. "No, you don't understand. Buck, I'm in love with you," he tried again.

This was everything he had been wanting to hear come out of Eddie's mouth for months (no, years). "You're in love with me," he repeated, dazed.

Eddie smirked. "I am."

Buck's heart thudded in his chest. Instead of answering, he leaned over and kissed him instead. "I love you too." Holy fuck, this was really happening.

Eddie looked down, unsure. "I'm a fucking mess right now."

"You say that as if I'm not a fucking mess myself," Buck shot back.

He snorted. "Good point. So I guess we're fucking messes together. But my head isn't straight and I'm dealing with a lot right now. I'd understand if you wanted to wait - maybe it'd be better if we did? We know how we feel about each other."

"And that's enough for now. I desperately want to be with you but you need to put yourself first for the time being. I understand." But Buck leaned over and kissed him. "Until we're ready to do this for real."

Eddie nearly burst into tears again and choked back a happy sob. "Thank you." He'd never be able to thank Buck enough for being there in his darkest hour.

"You're welcome."

Eddie wasn't okay and wouldn't be for a long time as he struggled to heal from this trauma but he had Buck (and Christopher) by his side, and that was enough for now. They'd deal with the rest later.