There's some Spanish in this one towards the end. Translations are at the end of the fic. The next chapter will be an epilogue of sorts. Thank you all for sticking it out with me and this fic and I am so excited to write more for this fandom.
Buck pulls into the driveway of Eddie's home just in time to see Chimney rolling up one of the garage bay doors. With a stupid grin on his face, he motions for Buck to pull into the bay with all the gusto of an air traffic controller. Buck rolls down his window as he pulls into the spot and Chimney leans in the open space still sporting that grin.
"What do you think? We've been working on it all day!" He sees Maddie and Eddie hanging back by the door leading into the house from the garage and he is filled with gratitude humbled by the kindness of his friends. He knows just how much work they would have had to put in to clear the bay in one day. He'd been after Eddie to do it for months before everything happened with the lawsuit.
"Wow, guys! This is amazing. I've been trying to get Eddie to do this forever!" He jests in a teasing fashion while climbing from his car.
Eddie shuffles forward to meet him and claps a hand on his shoulder, 'I just needed the right kind of motivation. I know how much you love your Jeep so we cleared this out for you to park it from now on.' The pair share a smile, only for it to be interrupted by Bobby laying on the horn in his car parked at the end of the driveway.
'Anyone feel like helping me with this stuff?' Maddie calls back before anyone else can answer. 'Chim can help you, I'm stealing Evan and Eddie for a minute.' Chim pouts a bit at being volunteered for more heavy lifting but one look at Maddie has him hopping to do it quickly. Bobby laughs at the look in Chim's eyes as he comes down the driveway to meet him at the car. They share conspiratory smiles as they watch the trio enter the house, knowing what was awaiting Buck inside but wanting to allow them the moment of revelation to be held in private. The all know Buck will feel a certain way about being gifted everything that's coming to him today.
Before Buck really knows what's happening, Maddie is digging her nails into his arm and pulling him behind her with an equally as manhandled Eddie on the other side. They pull up short in the living room and Maddie releases them calling over her shoulder, 'Wait here while I finish up in there.'
Eddie holds a small frown at bay unsure of what they had missed that she would need to 'finish'. Really Maddie had left to allow the two men a moment to themselves. Buck is far from a prideful man but Maddie knows her brother and knows that he will be overwhelmed by what's about to happen. She knows that Evan will have a difficult time accepting everything that will be laid out in front of him and everything that has been done for him in the last day. Left abruptly in the living room Buck turns to Eddie with a question in his eyes. Eddie only smiles with a shrug in return.
'Oh!' Buck jolts suddenly remembering the night before. 'I have something for you!'
Eddie watches as Buck fishes in his back pocket for the wad of bills he'd been given earlier. He pulls a few twenties from the bundle and holds them out for Eddie to take. 'It's for dinner last night.'
Eddie was going to turn it down but quickly rethought that action. While Eddie didn't want to take the money from Buck he can't ignore the opportunity in front of him. 'If I take this,' he says with emphasis, 'then you have to take the next thing given to you without question OK ?'
Buck feels a confused frown pull at his face before he mutters a quiet, 'Uhm, sure. OK.' He hesitates only due to the nerves bouncing in his chest anxious about what lies beyond the door Maddie went through. The need to pay Eddie back outweighs his apprehension in the end and he hands over the bills.
At that point, Maddie returns and hands Buck a cloth. 'For your eyes.' is all she says by way of explanation. He looks down at the cloth and then back at Eddie who only laughs in return before taking the cloth from his hand. He steps behind Buck and pulls the cloth over his eyes, securing it with a knot in the back, careful not to get his golden locks caught in the knot. Buck tries in vain to suppress the shiver that runs down his back at the hot puff of breath ghosting along his neck from Eddie. The moment is over quickly as Maddie presumably grabs his hand again and tugs him forward hasty in her eagerness for this whatever was awaiting him on the other side of the door. He hears the soft footfalls of Eddie following behind them and the light clattering of the doorknob being turned before he is pulled across some type of threshold if the transition strip he had stumbled over was any indication.
Maddie releases his hand and says in her soft voice, 'Ok you can look now.'
He peels off the makeshift blindfold and blinks to adjust his eyes to the light. He looks up and his jaw drops. Buck thinks if his jaw could reach the floor it probably would have. He turns to Eddie behind him and says with a chuckle, 'You finally renovated your spare room?'
Eddie blinks a bit unsure of how to answer the pseudo question Buck had posed. He watches as Buck explores the room running his hand over the shiny new surfaces and feeling the texture of the comforter on the bed. 'This is your room now.'
Buck jerks back towards him. 'My room?' he says while pointing at himself. Eddie nods with a small smile. It was understandable that Buck had not thought this was his to claim after everything but it still hurt a bit that he would think they put up all this effort for a spare room rather than for their friend and family member. He takes a step forward joining Buck and Maddie in the middle of the room. He takes Buck's hand in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze as Maddie takes them through the room highlighting everything that they had bought to furnish the space. Buck can only follow her with his eyes as he takes everything in, too floored to come up with any kind of intelligible response
'Eddie I- I can't- I don't-' That's all Buck manages to get out before Eddie is cutting him off with a stern look.
'You agreed, remember ?' With that Buck closes his mouth with a click of his jaw as the look on Eddie's face grants little room for argument and the hopeful look on Maddie's was something he was unwilling to play a part in removing.
It's at that point that Bobb and Chimney pile into the room laden with totes and the basket of clothing left in Buck's jeep. Buck takes the basket from Bobby with a grateful smile. He takes a few steps and hauls open the closet door only to find it bursting full with new clothes still donning tags and packaging. There's several pairs of shoes still lying in their boxes piled on the floor and if Buck opened the drawers to the small bureau he was sure they would be filled as well. He turns sharply and shifts his gaze from one person to the next. 'This is too much guys. I can't repay you for any of this right now.' Buck's face held the sharp angle of self-degradation as he spoke.
Chimney is the one who is first to speak surprisingly. 'You don't have to pay any of this back. This is what families do for each other. You were there for me after everything with the rebar accident and then Doug. Let me be there for you a little too?' Buck winces as the reminder of Doug and another time he had failed to protect someone he loves. Chimney grips his shoulder and leans down to meet Buck's gaze. 'Please? I know this doesn't make up for everything that happened after the lawsuit but-'
It's the please that has Buck caving and pulling the older man into a hug. He hadn't been outright cruel to Buck so he was unsure of what the other man felt the need to make amends for but he would take it. He was still feeling awfully greedy and the best thing Chimney could give him right now was this moment and the chance to rebuild their relationship after everything. He nods jerkily and pulls back from him wiping at his face a bit. 'As long as you didn't pick out anything too ridiculous, I think I can live with it.'
Chimney's face splits into a smile and he replies too happily, 'Actually, it's Eddie who picked out all the clothes. All the way down to the underwear.'
He hears Chim laughing heartily with Bobby and Maddie at the uncomfortable look gracing Eddie's face. There's a bit of red staining the tops of his ears and a flush crawling up his neck and into his face. He can't help but laugh along with the group and it feels a lot like coming home.
Much later after everything has been moved into the house and Bobby makes lunch for the group, Buck finds himself seeking a brief reprieve from the sharp 180 that his life had taken in the last few days. He retreated to his room for a minute citing the need to 'find something' as an excuse that everyone sees through easily but no one gives him any grief for. He's not even sure it's worth pulling out a 'something' to confirm the ruse when he returns to the living room.
He'd been surprised to find Hen at the door earlier with Athena and the kids in tow. Apparently, they had been volunteered to play host at an impromptu party at the Diaz home. Athena cupped his face in a motherly fashion searching with her eyes. She had shared a smile with him and promised/ threatened that they would be talking later about everything that's been going on. Buck can't blame her for anything, sure that she had been kept in the dark this whole time. Nevertheless, she apologizes as she pulls him into an embrace for not being there for him while things got so rough for him. Buck returned her embrace greedily, soaking up all the motherly love he could in the brief moment. He fists bumps both May and Harry as they come in behind her as well, glad that they would be around this evening to hang out with the crew. He had come to see them as almost siblings and had really missed their mischief-making.
Hen had come in last, closing the door behind her and shooing the Grant family into the living room to greet everyone else. She had insisted on checking over his injury from the day before and tutted when she found evidence of worse damage. 'You got lucky, kid. That could have gone a lot worse, you know.' Buck smiles at her and he is the one to initiate the hug this time, slowly accepting that his family was coming back to him even though he was unsure of the why behind it all. She returned his hug eagerly trying to ignore the fact that his frame had much less muscle than it once had and the edges of his bones would take much longer to become less sharp.
'I'm sorry, Buck. I really am. I should have seen how bad you were struggling as a friend and a medical professional. I never should have turned a blind eye especially with my own history of being the outcast at the 118. I know how that feels and I can only imagine how much worse it had to have been for you.'
'It's ok, Hen. Everything is ok.' Buck says this into her shoulder as he's reluctant to release their hold.
Hen huffed a watery laugh and pulled away, 'No, it's really not ok. But we will figure it out. We're family.'
Buck had managed a jerky nod and they walked side by side back down the hallway toward the gathering taking place in the living room
That had been two hours ago and Buck was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the mass of people in the Diaz home, so many of which were focused on him. He felt like a coward for retreating but the need to get away had been more pressing. He's sitting on his bed running his fingers over the quilted patterns decorating the blanket when there's a soft knock at the door. It's Maddie who pokes her head through opening the door a crack.
'Can I come in?' She's giving him the opportunity to be alone and while he is grateful for it, the comforting presence of his sister was welcomed right now.
He nods and scoots over on the bed a bit inviting her to sit down with him. She does so and grabs one of his hands up in hers. 'Are you doing ok? I know that it's a lot and we probably shouldn't have gone so overboard, but man it was fun to watch those two idiots run around a Target all day.' She says this with a tinkling laugh at her boyfriend's expense and well maybe his boyfriend too? It was all still very confusing.
'I wish I could have seen that.' Buck speaks with a grin. His tone takes a harder edge as he continues, 'It is a lot. I was not prepared for any of this. I really thought that they would all hate me for a long time. I didn't think that they would ever forgive me for the lawsuit and well everything.' he's rubbing at the back of his neck in that stressed manner he's taken to lately. Maddie wants to reach out and pull his arm down but she decides to allow this new character trait to slip by uncontested.
Maddie sighs gathering herself before saying, 'I think it's the other way around Evan. I'm not sure how you're ever going to forgive them. '
Buck's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 'What do you mean forgive them? I realize that there's still a lot of stuff for us to work through but they're my family too. All I wanted was somewhere to call home when I came to L.A. and people to call my family. I found that when I came to the 118 and I'm not willing to lose it by holding onto a grudge.'
Maddie laughs a bit at the irony of the situation and the fact that Buck doesn't seem to recognize that the exact scenario is almost what had played out in reverse.
'What? Why are you laughing at me? We're having a very serious conversation, Maddie!' Buck's exasperation only makes her chuckle harder.
She shakes her head and says, 'Only you, Evan. Come on, everyone's going to be heading out soon. Come say your goodnights.' With that, she's pulling at his arm and dragging him away from the quiet of his room and into the kitchen where Hen thrusts a sandwich into his hands and Bobby an apple. He doesn't even bother to argue and takes them into the living room where everyone is currently gathering their artifacts and readying to return to their homes.
Athena is the first to pull him into a tight hug and whispers into his ear, 'I'm serious Evan Buckley. I expect you to make an appearance at my house tomorrow so we can have lunch and talk ok?' Buck nods slightly intimidated and promises that he will do just that. He bids goodbye to Bobby and the kids in similar fashion handing out hugs and fist bumps and promises to come over for lunch tomorrow, yes with Christopher if Eddie didn't care who snorts in the background with a muttered, 'As if I get a say.' This rips a laugh from the group as they make their way down the hall and out to their car.
Hen leaves soon after having strict instructions to both Eddie and Buck about caring for the wound on his head and the importance of eating enough as if Eddie wasn't also a trained medic. She gives them both a hug and is out the door on her way home to Karen and Denny agreeing that she'll be sure to make it to the lunch tomorrow with them in tow.
Finally, it's Chim and Maddie's turn. They exchange a series of hugs and are out the door with the promise to return the following day so Chim can get the computer fully set up in Buck's room. Buck is only slightly affronted that they thought it was beyond his capacity to manage the task on his own. Then he remembers the last time he had been in charge of a computer and the very distinct smell of burning wires before the thing had all but self-combusted.
Maddie pushes Chimney out the door directing him to start the car before turning around at the last minute. 'I'm really glad you two are giving this a chance. We all knew it would happen eventually and this could be really good for you, Evan. Just let yourself be loved and taken care of for a bit ok?' Buck nods and gives his sister one more quick hug before she's gone and he's shutting the door.
He takes a deep breath leaning against the door frame and smiles at Eddie when he does the same at the other end of the hall. Neither had been prepared for a long night after their long days but neither really had any say in it either. Buck groans a bit when he hears footsteps on the walkway, assuming that someone had forgotten something. He soon realizes that it's not just footsteps coming up the path but also the familiar clacking of crutches.
He beams then and whirls around to open the door. 'Hey, kiddo! I missed you today!' Suddenly all of the energy that had been sapped from him from the day of moving and the evening of gathering reappeared in the presence of Christopher.
He's collecting Christopher into his arms when he notes the presence of another on the steps leading into the house. 'Isabel! It's been a long time.' He allows her to draw him into a hug of her own. She was unsurprised to see the tall man at the door though she was surprised to see how skinny he had become since the last time she had seen him. 'My god Evan, you're like skin and bones! Doesn't Edmundo feed you?'
Buck winces at that a little, sure that she hadn't meant it in jest and that she had simply been unaware of the strained state of their relationship up until recently. It's Christopher who pipes up in response, 'No Abuela, Buck hasn't been here in forever! But not anymore!' All this seemed to do was create more questions in the elderly woman's mind and Buck can only offer a noncommittal shrug before Christopher is talking his ear off about the event of his day.
He sees Isabel enter the house, closing the door behind her with a kick before heading into the kitchen area where Eddie was cleaning up from their impromptu visitors.
'Abuela! You're here early.' Eddie says this with a warm smile before he notices the look on her face. 'What's wrong?'
'What did Christopher mean when he said that Evan hasn't been around here lately? What happened to him? He looks like he's been on death's doorstep.' She says this with a wild gesture of her hands and Eddie is in for an uncomfortable conversation.
He fills her in on some of the basic details of the last few months, leaving out the part where he had been street fighting for a few weeks up until recently. He watches her cycle through the emotions of his tale and she becomes more and more exasperated with him as he goes on.
'I asked him yesterday to move in with us. With Christopher's permission of course but he never would complain. He loves his Buck.' He says this with a fond smile towards the pair enveloped in conversation at the coffee table in the living room.
'So do you, Edmundo.' She says this with surety and he can't argue. 'I've known it from the moment you introduced us.' She gives him a warm smile and waves her hand nonchalantly. 'Neither of you have been exactly secretive about it.' At that Eddie chokes on his drink a bit, coughing a few times and wiping at his mouth. His Abuela laughs at his struggle while leveling him with a raised eyebrow.
'Yeah, well, I didn't know he felt something similar until last night. I don't know where this is going to go or how fast but I'm ready for it.' Eddie again smiles at the pair in the other room, his chest filling with a contented warmth as he takes in the sight.
'Ah? I see you two finally figured it out then! Pensé que tendría que golpearles la cabeza ! '
Buck had heard her from the living room it seems as he whipped his head around with an indignant, ' Para qué ? Averiguar qué ?'
Eddie hadn't known that Buck could speak Spanish and his mind flashes to all of the times he had said something even remotely embarrassing in the language in Buck's presence, assuming that he did not understand. His jaw is slack and Christopher is giggling at him from his perch in the living room.
His Abuela stands from her chair gathering her items before saying with a flourish, ' Por ser estúpido y ciego '. Eddie can't help but laugh at the offended look on Buck's face and bids his grandmother goodnight by walking her to her car.
'Take care of him, Edmundo. Don't mess this up. He's really good for you and Christopher.' She says this in a teasing fashion but if the last few weeks had taught him anything it was that he could not risk messing this up again. Buck was a saint in many regards but even saints had a breaking point and he did not want to play any part in pushing him towards that breaking point.
'Don't I know it.' He kisses her on the cheek and waves as she pulls out of his driveway.
When he comes back in it's to the soft tune of a violin's careful notes. He leans on the wall watching the scene in front of him unfold. Buck is sitting on the floor leaning his back on the couch with Christopher in a similar fashion only leaning over Buck to see the instrument in his hands in greater detail. Buck is showing him the markings on the front and explaining their history while also describing each piece of the instrument to his son who sits utterly enraptured with Buck and the violin in his hands.
Buck hands the instrument to Christopher, trusting him entirely, and is showing him how to tune the instrument when Eddie decides that this is exactly what he wants for the rest of their lives.
He comes into the living room taking a seat on the floor opposite his son and asks Buck, 'Will you play something for us ?'
Buck is a little shy, having never really played for anyone before but he nods tentatively, encouraged by the gentle grip Christophers got on his shirt and the hopeful look in both Diaz's eyes.
They spend the rest of their evening this way and Buck feels like he's finally come home.
Pensé que tendría que golpearles la cabeza ! - - I thought I would have to knock your heads together!
'Para qué? Averiguar qué?' - What for ? Figure what out ?
'Por ser estúpido y ciego' -For being stupid and blind -