Author's Note: So I spent the last week binge watching the first 3 seasons of 9-1-1 to get caught up for season 4. I want to apologize now because it has been years since I've written anything, just go look at the dates of upload for my older stories from another fandom. Anyway, I thought I would give a little information for the story to make sense. This is a "What if it had been Buck married to Doug instead of Maddie?" scenario. In this Maddie moved to Los Angeles for college. She is now married to Chimney (though she only calls him Howard or Howie), and they had two daughters. Bobby and Athena are also already married. Eddie and Christopher are also already living in Los Angeles. Eddie has been raising Christopher alone since he was 2 (instead of 6). As more information is needed, I will write more author notes. Please, if there are any mistakes let me know. I know my writing isn't the greatest. I try to proof read my work before I post, but I still miss things. I will try and post at least weekly, if not twice a week as I have new chapters. Thank you and enjoy!
A slight breeze rustled the trees outside the window as Maddie Buckley Han settled her four year old daughter into bed. Pulling the Frozen blanket up to the little girl's shoulders, she smiled down at her child. Reaching up to push a strand of chestnut brown hair from her daughter's face, Maddie smiled again as the girl's nose scrunched up and her almond brown eyes opened.
"Hey," Maddie whispered, "Go back to sleep, baby."
The girl snuggled deeper under the covers and shut her eyes. When Maddie believed she was falling back to sleep she stood up and headed for the door, turning on the fish bowl night light on the child's play table in the middle of the room as she passed. She had just reached the door, hand hovering over the light switch to turn out the overhead light when she heard shuffling behind her.
Turning to look, she smiled once more as the little girl was sitting up in bed. Maddie sighed and turned back to her daughter, "Olivia."
The girl looked up at her name being called and smiled, "Momma."
With another sigh, Maddie crossed back over the room to the bed, gingerly sitting on the edge as Olivia laid back down once again. Maddie readjusted the blanket over the girl's shoulders, leaving her hands on either side of her child's head and just smiled down at her. Olivia giggled and smiled back before getting a more serious look on her face.
"What's wrong, Lulu?" Maddie shifted, bringing her leg up on the bed, bent at the knee.
Olivia looked at her mother, "Is Dad home?"
Maddie shook her head, "No. Remember this afternoon we told you he was working the night shift. He wont be back until you're at school tomorrow, but you'll see him when you get home."
"Oh."
It was so quiet but Maddie still heard the huff exit her daughter's mouth.
"Tell you what, I'll make sure Daddy picks you up from school and the two of you can go have a Daddy Daughter date." Maddie smoothed out the blanket over her daughter.
"What about you and Bethy?"
Maddie nodded, "Well then Beth and I will have a Mommy Daughter date." At the frown on her daughter's face, Maddie continued. "And next week we'll switch. How does that sound?"
"Yeah!" Olivia squealed a little too loudly.
"Okay, but you have to go to sleep now," Maddie leaned forward and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Otherwise you'll be too tired after school to spend with your dad. He'll have to bring you home so you can go to sleep even earlier."
Olivia scrunched her nose but nodded, rolled to her side and closed her eyes. Maddie huffed a laugh and shook her head. Sometimes her daughter reminded her so much of the person she had been named for. She could still remember when she had learned she was pregnant with her first daughter. She and Howard had only been dating eight months. It had came as a shock to the couple. They had been scared, but Maddie knew instantly that she wanted her child. She was very happy when Howard felt the same way.
After a moment of watching her eldest, Maddie knew she had to go and check on her youngest. She had put two year old Elizabeth to bed before going back for Olivia, who had fallen asleep on the couch after dinner. Maddie stood and returned to the door, flipping the overhead light out and closing the door only halfway before she crossed the hall and entered her youngest room.
Elizabeth was sound asleep in her crib, bottle still in hand. Maddie reached in and took the bottle from her little hand and just listened to the little huffs of breath. Elizabeth had been another surprise for the couple. Olivia had been a year and a half when they learned they would be adding to their family once again. When they had learned they were expecting another girl, they had agreed instantly to name her for Howard's late mother.
Just as she was grabbing the baby monitor off the dresser at the door, lights moved across the room through the window indicating a car had pulled into the driveway. The way the shadows moved, whoever it was had pulled around the circled drive in front of the house. With a final glance at the crib, Maddie closed the door halfway like she had with Olivia's door before turning the corner and heading downstairs.
The stairs being right in front of the front door helped as an advantage point but because it was dark outside, Maddie could only see the shadowy figure of someone walking up her porch. She stopped at the bottom step, baby monitor and empty milk bottle in her left hand, right hand held onto the bannister. She panicked as the seconds ticked by with no doorbell ringing or knocking.
She knew it wasn't her husband. First, like she had told her daughter, Howard was working the night shift. Second, even if Howard had somehow come home early he would have called or texted Maddie on his way home. It was just their way. Whenever either of them were heading home from work, they would always, always, let the other know.
It had started shortly after Olivia had been born. Maddie had been home alone with the then four month old when she had seen movement at the door. Thinking Howard was home from work Maddie, with her daughter in hand, had opened to door, to find a man wearing a ski mask and holding a crowbar standing there. Maddie had screamed and tried to close the door but the man had shouldered his way inside.
Maddie shivered at the memory. Thankfully that day she and her daughter had survived. The man just locked them in the downstairs closet while he ransacked the place. Howard had found them there almost three hours later. From that day they started the messaging. They had moved into their current house just six months later.
Maddie looked up when she saw the shadow move on the porch again, but this time she realized it was moving back down the stairs. Taking a deep breath, Maddie rolled her eyes and stepped off the last stair. What if it was one of Howard's coworkers? One of hers? What if it was her brother-in-law?
Setting the items in her hand on the table by the door, Maddie flipped on the porch light quickly. She moved the blinds out of the way just slightly to look out the window. What she noticed first was a tall man wearing a dark jacket and jeans. The second thing she noticed was the baby carrier in his right hand. The carrier was facing her and Maddie could see movement inside. So the man had a child.
With another breath Maddie moved over to the door, unlocking the deadbolt and pulled it open, leaving the screen door between her and the stranger, who was still facing the street, and what she assumed was his silver jeep in her driveway.
"May I help you?" She called out to the man.
She watched as the man seemed to struggle with his decision to turn around and answer or return to his vehicle. Maddie looked the man up and down now that she could see him a little clearer, she really needed to wash the damn windows. He had slightly long-ish brown hair that curled behind his ears. He looked to be very well built, Maddie could definitely tell that this man was either very muscular or was wearing clothes too small for his frame.
"Sir?" Maddie tried again.
The man's shoulder's slumped and he turned around. Maddie's breath hitched, and her eyes widened as she realized who was standing on her porch.
"Evan."
It was just a whisper but the man smiled.
"Hey, Maddie."
"Evan!" Maddie almost squealed as she pushed at the screen door, itching to grab her baby brother.
The door didn't budge and Maddie frowned as she looked down, huffing in annoyance as she realized it was locked. She heard her brother chuckle as she unlatched the lock and swung the door wide as she practically flung herself at her brother.
The man, Evan, caught her in one arm as he took a slight step back to stop them from toppling down the steps behind him. Last he would want is for either of them to get injured, especially the child in the car seat in his occupied hand.
Maddie's arms wrapped around her brother's shoulders and her cheek pressed against his as she hugged the man she hadn't seen in four years. Not since her wedding to Howard. She had sent many letters and pictures to her brother, but never got a single response back. She never even knew if he got any of them.
She could feel the tension in her brother's body as she hugged him but then, slowly, he began to melt against her. His arm tightened around her middle and his face found the nook of her neck. He sighed into the hug and closed his eyes.
They stayed like that for a moment, just relishing in the fact that brother and sister were reunited after so long apart. They didn't pull apart until little snuffles could be heard coming from the carrier. Maddie took a step away, her arms dropping down to her sides as she looked at the child in the carrier. The baby couldn't have been older then a few months.
"You and Doug had a baby?"
Maddie didn't miss the flinch at her brother's significant other's name but she chose to ignore it, for now. She looked back up at Evan, and dammit she still couldn't believe he was so much taller then her now that he was grown. She stood at a mere 5'2" while she knew Evan was reaching around 6'2", a good foot taller.
"Evan?"
"No," Evan shook his head and looked down at the baby before looking at his sister once again. "Grace and I had a baby."
"You and Grace?" Maddie was more confused now, then she was moments ago finding her brother standing on her porch at nearly nine at night. "You and Grace... had a... baby?"
Evan laughed, "She wanted a kid and asked me to be the father." He looked down at his child again. "Didn't really expect to be in her life though, let alone be raising her now."
"Oh." Maddie nodded and then what he had said registered, "Oh! Grace..."
"Died giving birth." Evan nodded, a sad look in his eyes.
Maddie bit her bottom lip as silence fell upon them, Evan's daughter having fallen back into her slumber. Then Maddie realized where they were still standing.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. Come inside." Maddie turned to open the screen door and ushered her brother and niece, and oh my god that was something she'd have to get use to, into the house. Evan stood awkwardly by the stairs as Maddie relocked the screen door and then closed and locked the front door before turning to her brother with a smile.
"Come in, sit down. Would you like something to drink?" Maddie turned to her left and walked into the living room, grabbing the baby monitor and empty bottle as she went, continuing into the kitchen at the back of the house.
Evan slowly followed. Once they were both in the kitchen, Evan carefully placed the car seat onto the breakfast table. He turned to see Maddie looking into the refrigerator.
"We've got ice tea and lemonade."
"Ice tea sounds good."
Maddie nodded and pulled the pitcher of dark liquid from the top shelf, placing it onto the kitchen island counter as she hip bumped the fridge door closed with a snap. She then pulled down two glasses from the cupboard next to the fridge.
Evan pulled out a chair and sat down while looking around. The downstairs was an open concept. You could see the whole living room from the kitchen and out the large front bay window. To his right there was another sitting room with a fireplace, sunken into the ground with two small steps. The only room divider was the stairs just slightly to Evan's back. He could see a door he assumed led to a pantry under the stairs, or stairs for the basement. Around the opposite side of the stairs was a hallway that led back to the front door, with a hall that branched off towards what Evan assumed was the garage.
"So," Maddie sat down in the chair next to him, placing a glass of tea in front of her brother, holding her own on the table. She glanced at the carrier once more. "How old is she, and what's her name?"
Evan took a large gulp of his tea before answering. "She's two months old, and her name is Lily." Evan took another, smaller sip. "Liliana Grace Buckley."
"That's beautiful." Maddie smiled at her brother.
"Grace already had the name Liliana picked when she learned she was having a girl but when she..." Evan swallowed hard and Maddie could see tears springing up in the corner of his eyes. "When I got the call and learned she had lost too much blood, that they couldn't save her. I knew Lily would have her name too."
Maddie was so sad for her brother. She wanted to cry for him as he looked like he was trying not too. She couldn't remember a time growing up that Grace Tilsley wasn't at their house playing with her brother. The little girl and her parents had moved in across the screen from the Buckley's when Evan was just six. Grace was five. Maddie had been fourteen at the time and ended up babysitting Grace often for the girl's parents. At first Evan couldn't stand her. She would follow him around like a puppy and he hated it. Then he grew to love having her around.
As they grew older, they grew closer. Both sets of parents, the Buckley's and the Tilsley's, believed they would be high school sweethearts. Their mothers were already planning a wedding and grandchildren for the pair and neither Evan, nor Grace, had come out to say they were ever dating.
And then one day, at sixteen, Evan was caught making out with a boy from down the street.
From that day Maddie watched as Evan and Grace stayed close as they dated a pair of twin brothers. But when Grace came home crying a week before prom their senior year, saying that Dylan Peterson had dumped her for Rachel King, Evan came home with a black eye the next day and bruised knuckles. A call from the principal to their parents told Maddie that Evan and Dylan fought.
Evan had broken up with Dylan's twin brother Cody the same day and announced in a tone that booked no questions or arguments from their parents that he would be taking Grace to prom.
"And Buckley?"
"I wasn't going to give her that man's last name." Evan bit out.
"Evan, it's your last name too." Maddie placed her hand over her brother's on the table. "He's your husband. How did he feel about all of this?"
Evan looked at his sister's hand over his before making eye contact with her. "He didn't know."
Maddie sucked in a breath. "What do you mean? Having a child is life changing. Yes, you were helping Grace have a child, but you're still this little girl's father."
"I wasn't suppose to be." Evan shook his head, bringing his hands up to his eyes and pressing hard. "Grace was going to have the baby and then move to New York." Evan's hands dropped to his lap and he looked at his sleeping daughter. "I was never meant to be in her life."
"Okay." Maddie was still confused as she sat back in her seat. "So obviously Doug found out after Grace died and you suddenly had an infant."
Maddie watched as fear coated her brother's eyes and he looked around like he was afraid someone was going to jump out at them.
"Evan?" Maddie tried to get his attention. "Evan, where is Doug?"
Evan's attention snapped back to his sister, "Boston."
"Okay," Maddie nodded, starting to get a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. "And where does he think you are?"
Evan's shrug was her only answer.
Before she could ask again there was a wail over the baby monitor Maddie had placed on the counter when they had entered the kitchen. Maddie stood and went to the fridge, pulling out another bottle before turning back to Evan.
"Just give me a few minutes."
Maddie headed upstairs to Elizabeth's room, entering to find the little girl standing in her crib, hands holding the side, trying to pull herself out. Maddie shushed her as she picked her up, cradling her in her arms. Elizabeth quickly took the bottle her mother offered once she was in the nook of Maddie's arm. Maddie paced the room as Elizabeth drank from the bottle and her eyes began drooping closed once again. Carefully, Maddie placed her daughter on the changing table to quickly change her diaper before settling her back into her crib. She waited a moment before returning downstairs to her brother.
She found Evan had moved while she was upstairs. He was now in the den, looking at the family photos on the mantle. There were a total of nine framed photos. The center was of her and Howard's wedding; to the left was Olivia's baby picture and to the right was Elizabeth's.
The other three to the left where of Maddie's family. The first a picture of a family portrait in front of their house when Maddie had just graduated high school, Evan had only been ten at the time. The second a picture of Evan and Maddie when her brother had graduated high school; and the third was of a boy maybe three years old and looked a lot like Evan, but wasn't.
The three final photos on the right side of the mantle were of Howard's family. The first a picture of his late mother Elizabeth; the second of Howard's adoptive parents John and Anne Lee, with their boys: Howard and Kevin. The pair were fifteen at the time the photo was taken, just weeks after the couple had adopted Howard. And the third was of Howard and his paternal younger half-brother Albert, that photo had only been added to the mantle a little over four months ago when just like Evan this night, Albert had shown up unannounced six months ago.
It seemed that this was the year for family reunions.
"He tried to kill us when she was only a week old."
Evan had his back to her as he studied the photographs. His statement so normal sounding, like he was talking about the weather. Maddie bit back a sob as her brain caught up with what her brother had said, realization that she apparently almost lost her brother, and a niece she didn't know about until tonight, two months ago.
Evan turned to look back at her, his hands clasped behind his back. "He failed, obviously. But it was close." Evan's hands fidgeted. "He beat me pretty badly."
Maddie stepped closer.
"Lily was asleep in her cot upstairs but I could hear her screaming. Doug had turned and headed for her." Evan hiccupped, Maddie now noticing he was crying too. "I couldn't let that happen. He was already halfway up the stairs before I could even get off the floor. But once I was up." Evan shook his head and took a deep breath. "I caught up and grabbed his leg. We both tumbled down the stairs. I think..." A shaky breath. "I think he hit his head because he wasn't moving and there was blood pooling. I struggled to get back up, Lily was still crying. I got upstairs and to her, but after I had her in my hands and turned around..."
Another shaky breath and Evan looked at Maddie who had made her way into the den and was only feet away from him now. "I locked us in the bathroom. He just continued to pound on the door. It felt like hours before I heard someone crash through the front door downstairs. At first I thought he had gotten through the bathroom door. A neighbor had called the cops after hearing a commotion."
"He was arrested?"
Evan nodded and sucked his lips into his mouth before taking a slow breath out, this time more even.
"I spent a week in hospital while Grace's parents looked after Lily. They helped me leave the state when we learned he was released."
"What?" Maddie's eyes widened, "He almost killed you and he was released from jail!"
"He's friends with the police chief." Evan huffed. "Apparently been sleeping with the guy's son for years behind my back."
"Oh, Evan." Maddie reached for her brother and was happy when he allowed her to pull him into another hug.
Maddie use to like Doug. Key words: use to. When she had first met the man, Evan was nineteen and had brought him to family dinner at their parents during Christmas. Maddie had flown back to Pennsylvania to see her family during the holidays. She had heard a little about Doug from phone conversations with her brother, but had yet to meet the man.
She had been more then shocked when Doug turned out to be six years older then herself, and she was already eight older then Evan. Six months later Maddie had returned to Pennsylvania for Evan and Doug's wedding. The following year her parents, Evan and Doug had flown out for her wedding to Howard. That had been the last time she saw or spoke to her brother. Until now.
She had learned from their parents not long after that her brother and his husband had moved from their hometown in Hershey, Pennsylvania to Boston, Massachusetts. Maddie never understood why, her brother was going to college. He wanted to be a lawyer. Or so she thought. She had gotten an address from her parents weeks later and she sent weekly letters with photos of her girls, but never heard a response back. She learned it had been the same with their parents.
Maddie sat herself and Evan down on the couch, still hugging. She just held her brother, rocking slightly, as they both silently cried. She didn't know how long they sat there but eventually Evan had fallen asleep. Maddie carefully got up and laid his head down on the couch, adjusting his body so he was stretched out, or as best as his 6'2" frame could be on her small couch.
She pulled a blanket that sat folded under the coffee table free, shaking it out, and laid it across her brother's body. As she had done with her daughter upstairs earlier, Maddie leaned down and pushed a strand of hair out of her baby brother's face before she stood up straight and looked to the sleeping newborn on the table.
With a sigh, she walked around the couch and up the two steps to the table, carefully grabbing the carrier. As much as she didn't want to leave the baby in the stupid thing, they had thrown out the baby cot they used for the girls after it had broken; and Maddie didn't think Evan would do good waking to find his child gone if she went and placed her in the crib with Elizabeth.
Plus Maddie wasn't fully comfortable with that idea since Elizabeth was much bigger then this little one. She was a little over two years old, and totally getting too big for her crib now, and Lily was only two months old and so tiny. Maddie feared if she placed her niece, yeah still weird, in the crib something would happen.
Instead she placed the carrier on the coffee table right in front of Evan, that way it would be the first thing he saw when he awoke sometime hopefully in the morning, or earlier if the little one woke first. As she was grabbing their only half drank glasses of tea, Maddie realized Evan hadn't brought in a diaper bag.
Returning to her brother's sleeping form, Maddie crouched down and carefully lifted the blanket to reveal Evan's jacket he never took off, also eying the shoes he never removed either. Ready to leave at a moment's notice. And that scared her a little.
Carefully Maddie felt in his jacket pocket and instantly found his car keys. Just as quietly she moved from the den and down the hall back to the front door. Slipping on her shoes, she unlocked and opened the doors, grateful she had left the porch light on as she stepped outside.
She jogged down the stairs and up to the jeep as she hit the unlock on the key fob in her hand. She popped open the passenger backdoor first, seeing the connector for the car seat to snap into, and a diaper bag on the floor!
Grabbing the bag, she glanced over the back seat into the trunk and saw a foldable playpen, a duffle bag, and a lockbox. Pulling the diaper bag with her, she closed the door and rounded the car, pulling the trunk open. Grabbing the duffle bag, she unzipped it just enough to see it was full of clothes, both for Even and a baby.
Zipping it back up, she snatched it up along with the folded playpen and closed the trunk, making sure to lock the car back up before returning to the house. She sat the stuff down, locked the doors back up, and switched off the porch light as she slipped back out of her shoes.
Grabbing the items back off the floor Maddie returned to the den. Evan was still sound asleep, but Lily was awake, seemingly taking in her new surroundings. Maddie smiled down at her as she placed the duffle bag in the recliner chair kiddie corner from the couch, and leaned the playpen against the arm.
Taking the diaper bag however, she unsnapped the buckles of the carrier and released the newborn from her restraints. Arms flailed as she lifted Lily to her chest but quickly settled as she was nestled against Maddie. Digging through the diaper bag at the kitchen table she located a diaper, clean bottle and can of formula. Maddie quickly went about changing the little girl and feeding her a nice warm bottle before burping her, and then rocking her until she was back to sleep.
Once that was done, Maddie returned her to the carrier, making sure to snap her in carefully. The diaper bag was placed next to the coffee table and then Maddie was grabbing a pen and pad of paper off the desk in the corner of the room. She quickly jotted down a note to Evan, placed the pad on the table next to the car seat and went about turning out lights, leaving a small lamp in the main living room on. It gave enough glow to the downstairs without being too harsh in the den to allow sleep.
She grabbed the baby monitor as she left the kitchen. Double checking the door was locked, Maddie headed back upstairs. She checked on her girls once again before heading into her own room to finally go to bed for the night.
As she sat on her bed, now in her own night gown, Maddie vowed to talk to Evan more in the morning. Thankfully she had the weekend off from work after having worked almost three straight months. She needed to know why, if he ran from home when Lily was only a few weeks old, why had it taken Evan two months to show up? Why hadn't he called her?
She just needed more answers. And sleep. With a sigh, she got under the covers, turned off the lamp to her left and closed her eyes. It took a while before sleep took her.