Buck has never felt this kind of fear before; not those times when he had to protect himself from his parents' barbed words and distant mannerisms, nor the time he had fallen out of that tree and his arm had bent a funny way, not even all those times he rushed into burning buildings.

Nothing could've prepared him for the all-consuming, suffocating fear he feels from finding out that Maddie, his Maddie, had been taken.

This is his burning building and he's one puff away from collapsing.

Buck comes to when he suddenly feels Eddie pulling on his hand and repeating his name.

Despite the tension between the two, the lingers of the fight are pushed to the back of their minds, and Eddie's hand on his arm is a welcoming lifeline that Buck happily grasps onto.

"Come on, Buck," Eddie says, tugging again.

"Maddie-" Buck whimpers as it all comes crashing down on him, putting his head in his hands.

"We'll get her," Eddie vows, bending down to meet Buck's eyes - they held promise and vengeance all wrapped in a pretty bow and there for Buck to take. "We'll get her back."

"Why? Why has this happened to her, she's so innocent?"

Eddie nods, so serious. "I know and I promise I will find out, okay? For you, Buck. I would do anything for you." He sweeps his free hand messily through Buck's sweaty and wild curls.

Buck looks a little uneasy, but he doesn't feel like bringing up the newly carved wounds inflicted by Eddie at a time like this. None of that should matter right now, the only thing that does is getting his sister back; so he can tell her how much he appreciates and loves her.

Eddie's eyes shutter a little reading Buck's uneasiness, but he doesn't voice it. Instead, he points at Buck's phone still lit up with Chimney's text thread. "Look," he says quietly. "They're all meeting at Bobby and Athena's."

Buck whimpers at the mention of them and Eddie's hand tightens on his own.

"Everyone is here for you, Buck," Eddie pulls on Buck again and he lets himself fall into him - allowing himself to collapse into Eddie's embrace one last time. "And Maddie."

Buck tenses at the mention of his sister, who isn't here right now, and all the guilt leaves him inaudible unable to do anything except bury his head in the crook of Eddie's neck. Eddie's hand moves to the back of his neck lightly stroking it in a way that's meant to bring Buck comfort.

It both helps and makes everything worse.

Buck desperately wants to get to Bobby's and Athena's with plan already laid out and knowledge about who would have taken Maddie - but he knows it's wishful thinking. Still, seeing all of his family bundled together at a time like this brings a small feeling of comfort to him.

According to Chimney, she was only taken a few hours ago. It sends a deep chill of bitterness through him, if he had just picked up her calls or gone to her then perhaps they could've avoided all of this. Or at least he would've been there with her, to stand in the way of her attacker.

No one seems to know what to do, there's an eerie silence that hangs between them all - a missing crutch that has been taken from them leaving them all unbalanced. Never before have they had to deal with a family member being snatched from them and it's thrown everyone off-kilter. Even Athena, who's had to deal with this every day in her line of work, looks a little shell-shocked.

Eddie is silent, looking warily at Buck as if he doesn't know whether to speak up or remain quiet. However, it would be stupid of Buck to refuse Eddie's help right now, especially when he could potentially be vital in helping to find Maddie with the network he has underneath everyone's feet.

Buck has all but thrown himself onto the couch of his young adult years sinking into the familiar feeling and trying to stop his mind from spiralling. He slouches into it with a lost look on his pale face glancing around at everyone in the room, the silence stifling.

"Have you looked into Maddie's ex-husband," Buck pipes up, feeling utterly helpless.

Athena narrows her eyes. "What ex-husband?"

Buck's eyes widen and he sits up. "Doug, she was married to Doug, and then she ran away from him." He looks around at their surprised expressions and realised that they never diverged any of this to the team. "Did none of you know?" He asks uncertain, turning to look expectantly at Chim who only shakes his head a sick look on his face.

"Doug, Doug Kendall," Buck informs. "She was really scared when she left, I wouldn't put it past him to be the one behind this."

It's always hard thinking back to that time Buck got a call from Maddie - the one thing he had been yearning for since the years of radio silence. He just wishes it hadn't been because of those circumstances.

From the moment Maddie mentioned Doug, Buck had a bad feeling - not only was he taking his sister away from him but the very mention of his name caused an unsettling feeling in his stomach like he was going to be no good, he was helpless to stop his sister from falling deeper into his entrapment. He was only a teenager at the time, utterly weak and unable to stop the distance stretching between him and his sister.

The worst thing was that Maddie had dragged Doug away to Boston for nursing school before Buck got a chance to meet him.

The whole time Doug was in his sister's life, Buck had only ever met him once at her wedding - but that was brief and Maddie had ushered him away promptly, not liking the gleam in Doug's eye.

To this day, Buck never forgot his face. He would never forget the man that made his sister's life miserable, who caused her such deep sadness and hurt (a scattering of faded and new bruises were all over her body) that she had called Buck crying in hushed tones for him to come and pick her up from an LA bus station after she had finally escaped.

Buck couldn't have been more proud of his sister for finally getting away. But now, after all those promises of protection, she was ensnared all over again and Buck had never felt more powerless.

Eddie frowns in concentration. "Doug Kendall, why does that name sound familiar?"

Buck whirls around to him. "You know him?"

Eddie shakes his head, looking a little frustrated. "Maybe." He stands up, suddenly. "I can go down to Hell and pick up some chatter, maybe ask Lena too - see what she knows."

Buck's eyes narrow, "Who's Lena?" He wouldn't put it past Eddie to be lying about having some sort of wife already through an arranged marriage and Buck being just a side piece to have fun with and throw away. It's not like it hasn't happened to him before.

If Eddie can lie to him about one thing, what's not to say he's lying about something else.

"Lena," Eddie informs him, a sad look in his eye for all the trust lost between them, "is my second-in-command, she's running Hell whilst I'm," he clears his throat, "away."

Buck looks away wanting to hide the shame that's creeping up on him for doubting Eddie, he experienced that kiss and everything after that and it would be hard to fake any of that. It still doesn't make it any less difficult for Buck's mind to comprehend or trust it so easily.

"Please," Buck croaks looking to Eddie once again. "Could you?"

Eddie softens, "Of course, Buck."

He's gone before Buck can answer back, he's glad because he wouldn't know what to say and he doesn't think he can stomach gratitude right now.

Everyone turns to look at him curiously as soon as Eddie leaves.

"What's going on with you and Eddie?" Bobby asks, delicately.

"Nothing," Buck says, tightly refusing to look at any of them. He knows they're only asking because they care, but honestly, that's the last thing he wants to think about right now and instead of a warm feeling it usually gives him, it makes his skin crawl instead. Their care shouldn't be wasted on him. Not when he doesn't deserve one ounce of it.

"Nothing that's important right now anyway," he mutters to himself.

Athena moves to sit next to him wrapping her arm around his shoulders and allowing him to collapse into her like he used to do when he lived here and needed the comfort of a motherly embrace.

"It's okay, you don't need to say anything."

"This isn't good," a voice says from behind them.

Buck jumps. "Eddie?" He says in alarm, he had barely been gone for a few minutes and already he had something for them. Once again that unsettling feeling in his stomach comes back.

"I knew I recognised the name before," Eddie explains, a grim look on his face. "I was just never able to piece it all together and now that I've met…" he looks to Buck. "Everything is starting to make so much more sense."

Bobby looks as if he fears the answer, but needs to hear it anyway. "What is it?"

"Doug," Eddie grits out. "Is the leader of a group of angels who call themselves 'The Resistance.'"

"Doug's an angel!" Buck exclaims, pulling away from Athena's grip that had tightened at the reveal.

"The group has been on our radar for a while," Eddie explains. "No one knew that he was inhabiting on Earth though," Eddie looks angry more at himself than anything like he could've been the one to stop all of this.

"If Doug's an angel," Bobby says slowly with narrowed eyes. "What is he doing on Earth in the first place and why did he marry Maddie?"

"Like I said he's part of a bigger force of angels who are rebelling."

"But, I thought you lot down there were the ones rebelling?" Buck points downwards, a furrow on his brow.

"No," Eddie deadpans with a roll of his eyes but doesn't expand on it anymore much to Buck's annoyance. "As I was saying, I think that Maddie was never the intended target." He turns to meet Buck's eyes.

Everyone seems to be looking at him, realisation crossing their faces. "What?" He demands, he'll be damned if he lets them keep secrets from him again.

"It's you, Buck," Athena says, furiously. "You're the intended target."

He gapes, "Me?"

Eddie nods shortly, a grave look in his eye.

"But… I don't understand," he trails off, unable to fathom any of it. "Why me?"

Eddie hesitates and seems to think over what he's saying before he opens his mouth, "You're special."

"Special?" Buck repeats, with a disbelieving gleam in his eye. There's nothing special about him, up until a week ago Buck believed himself to be ordinary, insignificant, nothing really. Why would he, in particular, be of any importance to a group of rebelling angels?

"The angels have this theory," he says with a glance towards Buck. "That you're more powerful than all of them?"

"What?" Buck squeaks.

"So, you would either be a great ally or their biggest opponent," he continues, despite Buck's interruption.

Everyone around them seems to be speechless, Buck himself can't believe what he's hearing. This whole time, no one has even hinted at the possibility that Buck may have powers - obviously, no one had seen a hint of them since being with him. Even he can see how far-fetched these other angels' theory may be.

It was always assumed that he was different to the other angels, in that he was more human, weaker, easier to touch.

"That's impossible," Buck chokes out. "I don't have powers."

"I mean, you are an angel, Buck," Chim offers.

"Yeah," he says with a dark laugh. "One who couldn't even save his own brother. I don't have powers."

"Okay," Bobby says. "We know what they want then."

"That's not all," Eddie says, angrily. He seems to be unsure. "It seems the whole rebellion started because some angels disagreed with Buck being created. They believe that leadership should be shifted to them."

Buck feels as if the whole rug had been pulled out from underneath him, he wasn't drifting down, no he was falling - falling so hard that he knows that his doom is about to come.

Buck never thought that he would be the cause of a supernatural rebellion. But, for some reason the rebelling angels wanted him, and well, if they wanted him - they could have him, as long as no one else got hurt at his expense.

"What if I just hand myself over?" He offers.

Eddie's head snaps over to him. "Are you out of your mind?" He says, fiercely, his eyes once again ablaze and Buck can see Eddie has to stop himself from storming over to grip onto him - as if to make sure Buck isn't going anywhere. He looks as if he regrets telling Buck the real reason the rebellion began, but Eddie knows by now that he can't bring himself to lie to Buck ever again.

"Maybe they'd give us back Maddie that way?"

Eddie goes to open his mouth, but Bobby cuts him off. He shakes his head, full of pain. "Buck we aren't doing that."

"But-"

"What's the point in rescuing Maddie, if we end up having to rescue you?" Athena asks, pointedly.

Buck shuts his mouth and purses his lips.

"The whole reason Maddie was captured was to get to Buck," Hen points out.

Buck is filled with the pain that it's all his fault but jumps at that hope. "So, Maddie could still be alive?"

Hen gives him a sympathetic look. "She's no good to them dead."

Buck holds onto that hope, pulls it into him hoping that his overactive mind gets that hint too.

"My demons also say that he and Maddie might be somewhere called Big Bear?" Eddie mentions, he had retreated to the very corner of the room - the distance between them has never felt greater.

"Did you say Big Bear?" Buck asks, warily.

"Yes," Eddie drawls, with a raised eyebrow.

"That was the one place our parents took us on vacation," he says, quietly. It had been so random their parents had packed them both off one day and whisked them away to a cabin. Buck remembers his face was constantly flushed from the snow and excitement, he would drag Maddie into it every day for snowball fights, making snowmen and creating snow angels on the cold floor. Every time they would do that his parents would look weirdly to one another and Maddie would gaze wistfully at the floor before looking at Buck. "We don't need to make any more snow angels when I have my own one right here," she would tell him with a tap on his birthmark when he begged her to make more with him. It was obvious now she was trying to prevent him from seeing his parents' discomfort at the reminder of what Buck was and what he had failed to do for them.

To this day, he never did know why they took that trip away to the snow.

"Why would he go there?" He voices aloud.

"Let's not try to delve into the mind of this psycho," Chim mutters.

"Okay, we have a location now," Buck looks around at them, expectantly. "So what are we doing still standing here?"

"Are you sure you want to come with us, Buck?" Bobby asks hesitantly, as though he wishes Buck to say no.

Buck looks at him, incredulously. "She's my sister. There's nothing that would stop me right now."

"No I suppose not," Bobby deflates.

"If Maddie is in danger then that's where I want to be, right in the middle of it - standing between her and anything that can harm her," Buck promises, seriousness crossing his face and something heavy weighing him down that shouldn't be at his young age.

"But, you've never had to fight before."

Buck raises his eyebrow. "And you all have?"

They don't say anything choosing to shuffle their feet instead, Eddie refuses to do anything staring at Buck with his arms crossed and a stormy look in his eye.

"Chimney can only talk to animals and you're still letting him come," Buck points out.

Chimney's eyes narrow and he grits his teeth, it was a low blow from Buck but it wasn't any less true - remove those powers and he was just as powerless as Buck seemingly was. "She's my girlfriend."

Buck's eyebrows raise at the admission not knowing they had finally made it official, any pleasing thoughts leave him though at the severity of the situation and how they're trying to force him to take a back seat on his own flesh and blood. "And she's my sister." He doesn't add it but if anything his and Maddie's connection runs so much deeper than anyone else's - with years spent looking after and protecting one another.

It isn't going to stop now.

"Look, you guys can try and convince me to stay behind. You can even try and do it forcefully," that gets Eddie's attention who throws glares around the room as if daring anyone to try. "If you do not only is Eddie going to stop you," he throws out, not daring to look at Eddie. "But I'm going to get myself to Maddie one way or another, I don't care if it messes up your plan. So include me or I do this by myself."

Bobby raises his hands trying to mollify the situation, "Buck, kid, it's okay we're not stopping you, alright? We're all in this together."

"Good." He was going to get Maddie back or die trying.

"How are you doing, Buckeroo?" Hen asks, hovering over him. It makes his head raise from where he had it between his knees, waiting for when they could finally get to Maddie and get her out of there.

Buck doesn't reply choosing to look around at where they were currently hiding out instead. "Where even are we?" It looked like an old church that had been abandoned, but it could easily have been a castle that had been left unused - there was a big table in the middle of the room and candles hanging around in swinging chandeliers covered in cobwebs, displaying the obvious age of the building. It stood tall with a high ceiling and stained glass windows painted around the outside and if he looked closely he could see familiar shapes in between the cracks. One looked like a wolf howling at the moon, another someone standing over a cauldron, another even had wings spread out as if they were preparing to take off.

However there was one that he had trouble looking away from, it was none other than Eddie himself - sitting on a dark throne with a wicked look that Buck doesn't think he's seen before.

Hen looks around the room with him, "This is a sanctuary for the supernatural, it's where we can come for a safe haven. This one obviously hasn't been used in a while, they're less common nowadays," she admits, sadly.

"Why?"

Hen shrugs, "I guess we're all trying to cohabit together now, it's not really supernatural versus human or vampire versus werewolf anymore." She smiles slightly, "We're all trying to live together, most of the time peacefully."

"That sounds kind of nice," Buck whispers.

Hen nods.

"Why are we even here?"

Hen gives him a fond look at his tone of voice. "Because old sanctuaries like this," she gestures around. "Even Doug can't get inside of, if he means to cause ill intent that is."

"Oh."

There's a brief pause of silence before Hen breaks it. "Karen is human."

"I didn't know that," Buck looks at her in surprise. "Does… Karen knows about you?" He questions, a little shy.

"Yes," Hen just smiles. "I don't even see it anymore, don't see her as a human," Hen gets this look in her eye, Buck can see the love, the adoration and he yearns for it. Then almost flinches away at the thought that he could have this if he would just allow himself to, instead of being afraid. "I just see her as Karen, and I love her."

Buck blinks away the tears. "That's beautiful, Hen." After being around Hen and Karen for years, Buck would never have guessed they were from completely different worlds - to him, they had always been perfect for one another.

He once again silences that voice in the back of his head that whispers, so why can't it be that way for you?

Hen laughs softly, "Thank you, Buckeroo." She pauses before adding, "will you tell me what happened between you and Eddie?"

Buck lets out a sigh, "I can't Hen," he whispers, with a shake of his head. "I can't think about that right now."

She seems to understand, "Whatever Eddie did, you should know that he really does care about you."

He stiffens, "Yeah?"

"I don't think I've ever seen Eddie care for someone more."

Buck scoffs, unable to let himself imagine or even think about it.

"It's true," Hen adds with a slight tinge of force. "Buck, you should see him when he thinks you're not looking at him… the way he looks at you," she seems to hesitate before pursuing on. "It's the same way I look at Karen."

Buck flinches back in shock, keeping his mouth from opening wide, and instead pressing his lips together so tightly that they go white.

He takes in a shaky breath before repeating, "I can't let myself think like that right now," unable to mask the hope, despair, and hurt in his voice.

Seeming to know where his thoughts went, she raises a hand and puts it on his shoulder, squeezing it once, gentle yet firm. "We're going to get her back."

He nods, letting her words wash over him - unable to think about the alternative. "Thank you, Hen."

She squeezes his shoulder one more time, before walking away leaving Buck to his thoughts. He pushes them away from Maddie and instead thinks of Eddie.

Buck doesn't know what to do about Eddie, the big reveal completely knocked him off-guard - he thought that Eddie was on his side. When his family were keeping the massive secret from him and Eddie was desperately trying to bring Buck into the light, he truly thought he had found someone who was there purely for him. But it turns out he was keeping Buck in his own kind of darkness, not revealing his true intentions in the first place.

Eddie's excuse that it all changed for him linger in the back of his mind, but he's already been ripped raw by all the secrets thrown around. Buck can't find it in himself to trust the words coming out of Eddie's mouth or try to understand what Eddie's actual intentions are towards him right now.

Buck never thought it would be Eddie scrambling to gain his trust again.

His head raises at the sound of scuffed feet kicking stone across the floor alerting him that someone was there.

Eddie.

Speak of the devil…

From the sheepish expression, Buck realises that Eddie probably purposely kicked the stones out of the way, so as not to scare Buck when he walked up to him.

Eddie sits down on one of the many knocked down stone pillars beside him, only the bottom of it left. He takes a look around at the sanctuary they had set up in, noting its abandonment and the crumbling rocks that make noise every time someone would move near an unstable part.

Eddie expects to see Buck looking uncomfortable, maybe a little uneasy - but all he sees when he looks at him is determination.

"I told Maddie," Buck begins, Eddie's head moves to look at him in surprise - ever since finding out about Maddie, Buck had shut himself off from everyone refusing any kindness or comfort. Especially from Eddie."When she first came to me," Buck meets Eddie's eyes with brimming tears. "I said that she didn't need to keep on running, that she could start over here, that she would be safe…" he lets out a shaky breath. "That I would keep her safe."

Eddie's warm eyes don't look at him in pity, they never do, it's something he's always been grateful for. Instead, they show sympathy, understanding and another emotion Buck has never been able to pin before. He thinks he might be beginning to understand it though. "This isn't your fault." He swings his body around, not caring that dust rubs against his jeans leaving smears along the fabric - Buck wishes he could reach out and brush them away. "What if she had kept running? Do you think he wouldn't have found her? Only then, she'd be alone."

"She's alone right now," Buck shakes his head, and his voice cracks as he adds, "with him. All because of me."

"Hey, this isn't on you. Maddie's a fighter, just like you," Eddie emphasises, despite Buck's disbelief at his mention. "Yes Buck, like you," he repeats. "Look at the team you both have around you, we're going to get her back. Together."

Buck gets a look in his eyes, it's something Eddie can't read. "Yeah, together," he echoes, clenching his pinky into the open air.

Eddie goes to say something else but before he can, he stiffens looking around the building with narrowed eyes. "Someone's here."

Buck straightens up, "What?" He says with a hint of alarm trying to look around to see where Eddie is looking.

Eddie quickly stands up and walks off in a direction, Buck stumbles to his feet and goes after him. "Eddie," he hisses, the man still doesn't turn around - not until he stops at the entrance to the sanctuary and freezes at what he sees.

Buck hurries towards him, desperate to see what has surprised Eddie.

"Buck!"

Buck whirls around at the sound of a voice, not daring to believe that whoever yelled his name was the actual owner.

Until he sees her for himself.

"Maddie?" He cries.