The ride to Buck's apartment building, while quick, was filled with a heavy silence that made it feel as if it lasted hours. In the passenger seat Evan couldn't help but fidget nervously, his eyes shifting from looking out the window at the passing scenery to Bobby's firm grip on the steering wheel. He wasn't sure how to broach the topic.. of anything really. From his and Eddie's new found relationship to their own cracked relationship broken by the lawsuit and everything thereafter. If things had been different, Buck would have been able to see Bobby's own internal struggle by the thin line of his lips bitten by the gnawing of anxiety and the stiff set of his shoulders.

Bobby wasn't faring any better from his position in the driver's seat. As he navigates through the streets of LA, all he can think about is the sad sleeping bag Buck's been using as a bed and the rough state of his clothing still folded neatly in a basket in the back seat of his Jeep at the firehouse. Anything he could think of to say is cut short. It doesn't feel like enough. Nothing he says could take away the experiences that Buck has had to endure in the last few weeks and while he's vowed to never let Buck feel so alone again, he can't help but think in the back of his mind that he will fail again.

Soon enough they're pulling into the parking lot of Buck's soon to be old building. Bobby would never let him go back there after this and every time they drive by it, it will be a grim reminder of how they had let Buck down. He claps a reassuring hand on Buck's shoulder before they climb from the vehicle. Buck offers a warm smile in response that Bobby feels wholly undeserving of.

As they enter the building Bobby notes the presence of two persons behind the front desk. One he recognizes as the skinny boy who couldn't be much older than 20 that was there yesterday. The other Buck helpfully supplies as Ronnie the super of the building. Bobby gives a little wave as they pass only to have both men shrug it off in dismissive fashion. He tucks his hand back into his pocket feeling slightly affronted and follows Buck's lead up the stairs back to his apartment.

As he fishes for his keys in a pocket Bobby can't help but notice the slight tremor to his hands and knowing that Eddie would have forced him to eat both last night and this morning Bobby can't help but feel like the tremor is unrelated to his recent eating habits. Bobby standing beside him, rings his hands uncomfortably in a fashion entirely uncharacteristic of the usually steadfast captain. Both of them know they're not just here to pack up Buck's belongings. It's also the place that will bear witness to their reconciliation. No chance they were making it all afternoon together without some kind of conversation to re-establish their footing with each other.

Once Buck manages to unlock the door they hesitate for just a moment, steeling themselves for the tumultuous afternoon ahead. They meet each other's eyes and Buck can't help but bark out a laugh at the situation. They've never been so uncomfortable around each other. His laugh brings a smile to Bobby's face and sees him joining in the laughter at just how ridiculous they're both being. As they entered the apartment Bobby slings an arm over Buck's shoulder in fatherly fashion and decrees, "Let's get the easy stuff out of the way first."

Buck knows that he doesn't just mean the smaller things that are easier to pack and he nods gratefully, relieved that Bobby isn't forcing this conversation and rather is allowing Buck to set his own pace.

Buck still has boxes left over from when he moved in 2 months ago, never having gotten around to getting rid of them and they come in handy now as they set about gathering his belongings. As they go Bobby slides related questions into the conversation. Questions like, "Have you told the landlord or the super that you're moving out?" and "Talked to that old woman from yesterday?"

He peppers in questions regarding the status of his electricity and learns that while Buck had gotten around to setting up his account he soon lapsed and lost the service after being unable to pay the bill.

Buck for his part answers all of Bobby's questions, unsure of which he dreads more. He knows the super will be upset to lose out on regular income but he's sure that Delia will be more upset to lose a companion in the building. He vowed to give her his phone number and drop in to visit her as often as he could. She had been the first person in his adult life that he had shared his passion for playing music with. He'll be sad to not see her smiling face every morning by the mailboxes and he'll definitely be missing her cookies.

As they go through the motions organizing Bucks belongings Bobby's eyes land on the still crumpled sleeping bag in the corner. His heart hurts knowing that this is how Buck lived on his own for weeks. He wonders how long it would have taken them to realize that this was Buck's reality if not for the spectacle of yesterday. Would they have sat back blind as he withered under the weight of his circumstances until he faded into the background? He chokes on a heavy sigh drowning in the guilt clawing its way up his throat.

Buck looks up and from his task of carefully packing each of Christopher's drawings made for him in the last 3 years into a shoebox. He treats them with such reverence someone would think they were made of gold and to Buck they probably were. He sees the look in Bobby's eyes as he gazes mournfully at Buck's sleeping arrangements. He stands, crossing the few steps across the threshold of the living room and grips Bobby's arm trying to ground him in the knowledge that Buck would not be sleeping there anymore.

Bobby looks at him then and without much warning pulls Buck into a crushing embrace and Buck's not sure he's ever been hugged so much in one day before. Nevertheless he returns the embrace eagerly having missed Bobby in his life in this way. Buck realizes he can hear a whispered mantra coming from Bobby's lips right next to the curve of his ear.

"I'm so sorry Kid. I'm so sorry."

Bobby whispers this over and over not once breaking his hold on the younger man in his arms. Buck wants so desperately to tell Bobby it's Ok. And in some ways it was. Buck understands why he was cast out now, but the part he is having difficulty overcoming was Bobby holding him back in the first place. Holding him back from his team, his job, his family.

He has to ask why. So on the next breath that Bobby takes he does.

"Why, Bobby?"

Bobby knows what Buck is really asking about and swallows hard preparing himself. "I couldn't lose you. Not like Bobby JR. Not like my daughter and my wife. You're my family kid and I couldn't see you like that again. You got hurt because of me. Because I failed again. That bomb was meant for me. And because of me another person I love got hurt."

Bobby's voice breaks again, struggling under the weight of his admission. He pushes through though knowing that Buck needs to hear this and he needs to say it.

"When you filed that lawsuit I felt betrayed and like all I was trying to do to protect you wasn't good enough. I'm sorry the silence has gone on for so long. We should have seen you were struggling. I'm so proud of you!"

At this Buck finally looks up from where he's being crushed to Bobby's chest with a question on his face.

"I'm so proud of you for working so hard to get back to what you love and the people you love. For being brave enough to fight through everything. Every appointment, every surgery, every setback you pushed through. I'm proud of you for pushing through everything including me."

Buck was so sure he was out of tears after that morning but it seemed that Bobby was determined to prove him wrong. He lets a few tears escape the corners of his eyes clinging to Bobby like the scared and lost kid he's been feeling like in the last few months.

"I'm sorry too. "

‐-

Back at the Diaz household, Maddie has begun to divvy up the labor needed for the day. She gets Eddie and Chimney to move the boxes stacked in the guest room to the garage and then begins the task of dusting and sweeping as that's all they would permit her to do even though she is not so far along to worry about straining her body. Maddie rolls her eyes internally at the overprotectiveness that has enveloped Chimney since he heard the news that they were expecting.

Once she saw the state of the garage she then ordered the pair to load up Eddie's truck with everything that could go to a donation center and Eddie, while he wanted to argue, decided not to at the look of warning Chimney sent his way. He knows that he is on thin ice with this Buckley and decides to let her call the shots for the rest of the day. That is how they find themselves packed into the cab of his truck with the tailgate full of boxes and furniture while Maddie channel surfs his preset radio stations and Chim barks directions at him from the back seat to navigate to the donation center.

He pulls in with a grateful exhale for the brief reprieve of the two expecting parents. He almost jumps out of the truck to help the workers unload the tailgate. The exchange is pleasant and short lived before he's clambering back into the driver's seat. Maddie turns in her own seat to face him.

'So you saw the state of where he was staying and know what to expect him to bring. What else is he going to need? '

Eddie shakes his head almost mournfully both at knowing Buck had been without these things and that Maddie would be dragging him and Chimney through every department store this side of L.A. He answers honestly though, willing to endure a busy afternoon to take care of Buck the way they should have been all along. 'Everything'

He doesn't like the wicked gleam in her eye but can barely think too much on it before she's ushering them out of the parking lot and towards the nearest Target.

Several hours later sees the trio return to Eddie's home with a tailgate just as full as when they left.

They had gotten everything he would possibly need from a new bed, the fancy kind Eddie knows Buck is fond of and he deserves it after spending so many nights in a sleeping bag on the floor, all the way to some new curtains for the room.

There were bags filled with toiletries and Bucks favorite foods to stock the kitchen cupboards. Extra linens for the oddly sized bed because Eddie didn't have them. New accessories for his room like a desk with a lamp and a desktop computer. A TV and a mount to hang it on the wall just like the one he had before in his loft. A rug to absorb the cold shock of the hardwood floor in the early mornings and a nightstand for him to lay his cell phone at night. The even got a new charging pad for his cellphone, the kind that you have to set your cell phone on in order for it to charge. Eddie has seen Buck lose way too many charging cords in the past to think anything other than a mounted charger would survive him long.

Eddie had taken the time while at the store to pick out a whole new wardrobe for Buck as the one closest to his size and in tune with his preferences. He had seen the sorry state of affairs his clothes were in as of late and Bobby had given him a heads up the day before that Buck would be needing new things. He picked out jeans and button up tops, jackets and shoes, sweat pants from that fancy athletic brand Buck likes and some slippers for around the house. He embarrassingly slipped some boxers in the cart underneath the packages of socks as well because of course he knows Bucks preference and size! He's folded them plenty of times! Face red he slides some t-shirts into the pile as well trying to bury the evidence of their intimacy even more. He can only imagine the heckling Chim would throw his way once he saw the package land on the checkout counter.

He even threw some belts and athletic shorts in the basket as an afterthought unsure of exactly what Buck was in need of but unwilling to chance it. They were only gonna get one shot at this and Buck would definitely be protesting when he sees how much they've amassed in one short afternoon.

Chim and Eddie start unloading and dragging everything into the house depositing the groceries on the island for Maddie to sort while they attend to assembling the desk and bed in quick fashion. They quickly determine that they work better individually when it comes to furniture assembly soon after beginning the task and Eddie tackles the monstrosity of a bed while Chim handles the desk.

Soon enough Maddie is dragging in a ladder insisting that she is going to change the curtains in the room to complete the 'look'.

Chim balks at this and abandons his task in favor of hovering over his partner. Eddie shakes his head in mirth at the pair and secures the last few fasteners to hold together the bed frame. He hauls the box spring and mattress over on his own, sure that trying to drag Chimney away from Maddie would be fruitless. He leaves making the bed to Maddie and makes short work of finishing Chimneys work on the desk.

He slides the desk into position and secures the lamp they bought to match the curtains in the corner. He leaves the boxed parts of the PC on the desk to worry about later. He's got the bags full of Bucks clothes sprawled out on the bed and goes about the motions of hanging each piece or carefully folding them to fit in the dresser they'd dragged in from the garage. He moves to laying out the carpet and arranging the new shoes in orderly fashion at the bottom of Buck's new closet.

Maddie had moved onto the task of making the bed and Eddie chuckles as she slaps at Chimney's hands when he tries to help claiming, 'it was fine!'. Chimney, feeling thoroughly reprimanded, sets about the task of assembling the computer for Buck's desk with a petulant frown. They work in content silence to prepare the room for Buck, finishing just as Eddie's phone rings to signal that Bobby and Buck would be returning soon.

‐-

After their emotional encounter, Buck and Bobby made quick work of the items strewn across the small apartment. They take turns dragging the boxes out to the car and packing them in carefully, unwilling to make two trips if they can avoid it.

As they work Bobby slowly draws information from Buck. He's gathered the fact that the super would absolutely lose his mind once he catches on that Buck is leaving. He's also gathered the fact that Buck's been struggling financially due to the substantial fees that skeevy lawyer levied on him after he'd dropped the lawsuit. The biggest bomb of all was that Buck had turned down a substantial payout by dropping the lawsuit. All this time he'd been without basic necessities like food power, heat, a bed! If he had taken the settlement he would have been living the high life. It was never about that though and Bobby hates himself for taking so long to realize this fact.

They're moving the last of the boxes when they run into Delia. Buck who's been dreading this encounter fills with a warm sense of relief when Delia takes in the sight of the boxes and offers him a warm and understanding smile. She takes both his cheeks in her hands and whispers fiercely "Good for you! You don't belong somewhere like here. I'll give you boys something for the road!"

She gives his cheek a pat and Bobby's arm a squeeze, grateful that he was taking Buck from this place. While Buck hadn't known her long he can't help but feel a sense of loss akin to the day he learned that Rosa had passed all those years ago. He scribbles his phone number and new address on a piece of scrap paper plucked from the desk, wanting her to have some way to contact him if ever she was in need. Delia takes a piece of paper delicately folding it and holding it to her chest for safekeeping before returning to her own apartment undoubtedly to whip up some of her famous oatmeal cookies in abundance.

While he had been spared the difficult conversation with Delia thanks to her understanding soul, he was not spared the wrath of Ronnie the super who had overheard their conversation and seen Bobby and them passing back-and-forth with arms full of boxes all afternoon. He stands behind the desk in the entryway with a pinched expression drawn on his face. Buck would have laughed in other circumstances as he looked like he was sucking on a lemon.

Delia was barely back into her apartment when Ronnie came scurrying around the front desk attempting to get right up in Buck's face and yelling obscenities about his rental agreement and the lease he had signed.

Bobby had learned in their conversations that Buck had in fact not signed any sort of lease for this little hell hole and the man was mistaking Buck's kind demeanour for the type that could be easily taken advantage of. Bobby braced himself to have it out with this man but he didn't need to. Buck was more than capable of fighting his own battles and argued back that he had not signed any formal agreement for his tenancy. He spoke calmly with an even tone that left no room for argument regarding the fact that he was leaving this building and would not be paying the monthly stipend from this day on.

"You're not getting your deposit back!"

Bobby almost laughed that the man would be so stupid to say that with a witness present before even having taken a look at the dwelling to determine causation for withholdin the deposit. It was at this point that Bobby couldn't help himself and had to step in astounded by the idiocy of this individual.

"Sir, I'm Captain Nash of Firehouse 118 and I'm sure our district chief and the regulating authorities would love to pay your building a little visit to ensure that it's up to code. Of course a man such as yourself would know by law if the building is not up to fire Marshall code, the building's owner or other persons who collect rent on this premises will have to forfeit that revenue until such a time that the fire Marshal decrees it as inhabitable and up to code."

Bobby lowers his voice a bit as he speaks in a low tone, "I'm sure we can come to some kind of an agreement regarding this young man's deposit today. Maybe I hold off on filing that paperwork for just enough time for those persons to get this building back under control."

Ronnie had gone near white at this point, panic evident on his face. Without a word Ronnie reached out and blindly slapped his associates in the chest prompting him to withdraw the exact amount of Buck's deposit from the drawer and hand it over. Buck takes the money and tucks it securely in his back pocket, happy to have it though unexpected. Bobby offers a curt nod at the men positioned behind the desk.

They pack away the last of the boxes in the back seat before taking one final sweep through the building to check on his mail and make sure that they grabbed everything from his apartment. Bobby gleefully shoves the old sleeping bag down the trash shoot as if the thing had personally offended him. Buck locks the door behind them and soon they're at the base of the stairs again and Buck is handing his key back to the super who wisely keeps his head down

It's at this point that Delia returns with a small tin undoubtedly filled to the brim with cookies. Buck takes them in one hand and wraps the other arm around the older woman, careful not to squeeze too hard. The exchange a few whispered goodbyes with promises to visit and write interspersed within and then Bobby is walking him through the door. While he will miss Delia greatly he's happy to leave this building behind.

Buck piles into the car with his shoe box full of artwork carefully placed on his legs in the passenger seat. He didn't want to chance that they would be damaged during the move by putting them in the back so he cradles the box carefully after securing his seatbelt. It seems Bobby had just been finishing up a conversation on the phone as he hears him say goodbye while he's sliding into his own seat.

Bobby turns to him and says with a laugh, "That was Eddie. I guess Maddie dragged him and Chim all over the county shopping today. Is there anywhere else you need to stop before we head back to the house?"

Book looks down, almost ashamed and says, "Well I don't have any more clothes, they're all in the back seat of my car at the station. Can we go pick them up? Maybe I can take my can take my car back to Eddie's so it's not taking up space in the parking lot at the firehouse." He's quick to justify his request.

Bobby agrees with a nod and pulls out of the parking lot taking a left turn towards the fire station. He bites his lips so as not to give away the surprise he knows is waiting for Buck. They're enjoying lazy conversation during the drive to the firehouse, just trying to catch up on some of the things they've been missing in each other's lives. Buck shares how he came across Delia soon after moving in and the elderly woman had always been kind to him. Bobby is grateful that someone had shown Buck the kindness he needed while the team had been out of the picture. He's sharing a story about May and Harry when they pull into the station.

The story gets cut short with a violent exhale as they pull into the parking lot. There in front of them is Buck's car. While still in its same position, someone took it upon themselves to vandalize the vehicle while the owner was absent. Bobby can tell from here that it's nothing permanent, the culprit having used red spray paint to potentially avoid legal charges. While Bobby sits back in his seat stunned into silence Buck just heaves a sigh as if this is commonplace. A mild irritant as opposed to the hurtful act that it is.

It's that reaction that has Bobby turning his gaze to Buck searching for some kind of answer, "Buck? What is this?"

Buck shrugs off the question with, "It's nothing Bobby. Just some of the guys are having a harder time coexisting with me after the lawsuit and everything. This is why I had to request that uniform a few weeks ago. I couldn't get the paint to come out." Buck laughs as if the situation is funny as he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.

Buck exits the car leaving Bobby entirely gobsmacked in his stead. Buck's reaching for the hose coiled up on the side of the building when Bobby finally comes back to his senses and quickly climbs from his car.

"They've been harassing you for this long ? Why didn't - -" Bobby cuts himself off knowing the answer to his own question before he even asks it. He knows why Buck didn't ask for help or say anything. He doesn't need to ask to know that Buck felt as if it was deserved. Buck, as if knowing the train of thought coursing through Bobby's mind again shrugged in response gearing up to wash the evidence from his car. Bobby holds up a hand to stop him and takes several photos using his cellphone camera determined to learn who the culprit was behind this and punish them swiftly.

He then takes the hose from Buck and proceeds to spray the scrawled word decorating the side of Buck's Jeep. He watches silently as the word traitor drips down the side of Buck's Jeep and off of his rocker panels to the ground, leaving a red stain on the pavement. Book smiles his appreciation and takes the hose back from Bobby once the task is complete. He coils it back up neatly and returns it to its storage space on the side of the building.

In his mind Buck is just grateful that someone had had the presence of mind enough to lock his doors yesterday, otherwise who knows what they would have done to the interior of his Jeep.

Bobby saves the photos on his phone with the intent to send it to his superior. He can tell that Buck doesn't want to talk about it quite yet and decides to let it go for now. He knows that Buck has had a very emotionally charged day and decides to give him a brief reprieve by putting this off until tomorrow.

Buck is climbing into the driver's side of his Jeep, signaling to Bobby that he'll be following him back to the house. Bobby gives a thumbs up and they're soon pulling out of the driveway. In the car Bobby makes another call to arrange a meeting with his captain later in the week. He gives only a vague description of the events they would need to talk about but it's enough for his supervisor to know this would be a serious and long discussion. As they end the call his supervisor's remarks echo in his head all the way to Eddie's house.

"I'm glad you and Buckley were able to come to some kind of resolution on your own. If he had taken the settlement the city offered, it would have been your ass on the line. I don't think I need to tell you it could have been the end of your career Captain."

Bobby finds himself even more grateful for the forgiving nature of Evan Buckley as they head towards their destination.