Sitting on the edge of his bed in just a towel, Evan ran a second towel through his hair, soaking up as much water as possible from his shower. He stretched his back out as he did so. It was hard to get use to his body not actually hurting in some sort of capacity. Before, before he never went more then a day or two without a new bruise marring his skin, a new sprain or broken bone; now here he was three months gone from that source of pain.
Evan knew he wasn't fully safe, and he was still struggling. A few times in the last two weeks he knows he's woken his sister and brother-in-law with his nightmares. He was always questioning if showing up on Maddie's doorstep that night was still a good idea. Of course Maddie and Howard both told him that yes, they wanted him there. They preferred knowing he was with them and safe, then not knowing where he was and if he was okay.
Evan had taken a few days to finally tell his story to Howard about why he was really there. Evan had only met the man a handful of times when Maddie had started dating him, and then married him. Their wedding had been the last time he'd seen him. Four years ago. But Evan knew the man was perfect for his sister, and just from her letters over the years and the now two weeks he had been living with the couple, Evan was glad his sister had created such a good life for herself.
Having only been ten years old when Maddie had left home, Evan hadn't understood why. Why she had left him alone with their parents. It wasn't like they were abusive, they weren't bad people. But they were people who probably shouldn't have had children. Or at least that's what Evan always believed. They never seemed to care what Evan did unless he was being reckless and getting injured. So that's what he did. Biking, skating boarding, climbing trees, whatever he could do for the attention he wanted.
But the older he got, the more that attention faded. When he was nineteen and met Doug, everything changed. Doug was attentive, caring, loving. But then he wasn't once he had Evan to himself. Evan couldn't fully remember the exact moment Doug's persona changed, it was subtle. Moments of not allowing Evan to spend time with his family or friends, then criticizing everything he did. And then they moved away from everything Evan knew, everyone he loved, and the abuse had started.
Evan was brought out of his musing by a knock on the half closed door. "Yeah?"
The door was pushed open and Maddie stuck her head in, "Morning."
Evan smiled at his sister. "Morning."
"Breakfast is ready," Maddie smiled back at her little brother.
"Okay, thanks." Evan nodded, "I'll be up shortly."
Maddie nodded back and left, a soft click closing the door behind her. Evan moved from his spot on the bed and rummaged through his bag of clothes, quickly getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. He tossed the towels in the hamper by the door and made his way upstairs, running a hand through his still damp hair as he went.
Evan hadn't really left the safety of his sister's home in the two weeks he had been there other then out into the backyard to play with his nieces, or help his sister and brother-in-law to decorate around the house for Halloween. The spooky holiday was only in a few days and usually the couple decorated at the beginning of the month but they were both so busy with work and the girls they hadn't gotten around to it, but now that they had a third pair of hands, they finally did.
Now the house had spider webs with plastic spiders in almost every corner, inside and out; a skeleton sitting on the porch swing; and fake tombstones scattered throughout the front yard.
It wasn't until later in the day that Maddie had asked Evan to join her and the girls at the park for the afternoon. He had hesitated for just a moment before nodding and agreeing. He knew that he needed to start living his life again. Evan still wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He missed being a firefighter, it was the one thing back in Boston that actually made him happy, besides the times he spent with Grace; but because he was away from Doug at those times. He could pretend to forget about his abusive husband for hours at a time.
Evan and Maddie sat at a picnic table a little away from the other families milling around the park. Olivia and Elizabeth were playing in a sandbox just to their right, while Evan used his foot to slowly rock the stroller that held Lily.
"Will you be alright here to watch Beth if I take Lulu to the bathroom?" Maddie asked from his left.
Evan looked at his sister and blinked. He hadn't even seen his niece walk up to them, now leaning against her mother's leg. He swallowed and nodded. Maddie patted his arm before lifting Olivia into her arms and standing, making her way towards the bathroom just down the pathway behind them. Evan looked around and his eyes landed on Elizabeth still playing in the sand, or eating the sand as he now noticed. Evan snorted as he stood, moving the stroller to make his way over to his youngest niece.
"Are you suppose to be eating that?" He asked as he knelt down on the edge of the sandbox, his knees digging into the hardwood that outlined the box.
Elizabeth looked up at him and giggled, thrusting a fist full of sand towards his face. Evan wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No thanks, I'm full already."
Another giggle, sounding more like from an older child, came from behind him and Evan shot up and spun around. A man stood behind him, holding the hand of a child maybe six or seven years old. The man held his hand up in surrender.
"I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
Evan took a deep breath, to calm his beating heart from nerves or from seeing this gorgeous man standing before him. The man had short brown hair and hazel eyes that seemed to be digging into Evan's soul.
This man now in front of him cleared his throat and carefully stuck his hand out. "I'm Eddie, a friend of your sister Maddie and brother-in-law Howard."
Evan blinked and then smiled, taking the man's hand. "Sorry, yeah I've heard some about you. You work with Howie." Evan pulled his hand away a little too quickly. "I'm Evan."
The man, Eddie, nodded and looked down at the stroller. "Christopher saw Maddie take Olivia into the bathroom and then we spotted Beth here, and you, thought we'd come and introduce ourselves. Again, sorry if we scared you."
"No, no, it's fine. Just wasn't expecting it." Evan shook his head and turned towards the little boy who was beaming up at him. "You must be Christopher then."
"Yup!" The little boy's smile seemed to grow.
There was an awkward silence only broken by Beth tugging on Evan's pant leg. He looked down at the little girl and huffed a laugh as she reached up to him. Her indication that she wanted to be picked up. Evan bent down and pulled her into his arms before turning back to Eddie.
"Would you guys like to join us?" Evan nodded back towards the table they had originally been sitting at.
"Sure." Eddie nodded and once seeing Evan trying to figure out how to maneuver the stroller back through the uneven grass to the table while holding Elizabeth in his arms offered to help. Eddie took hold of the stroller and as did Christopher.
Together they made their way back to the table. Eddie stopped the stroller and locked it in place with ease while Evan sat down so he could use his foot to rock it once more, Elizabeth now sitting in his lap, facing him and playing with the pocket of his hoodie. Though it was pretty warm outside, Evan was still use to covering his body from the cold of Boston, and from prying eyes seeing his bruises. Eddie sat down a few inches from him and whispered to his son that he could go play but to stay within sight. It wasn't until the kid was walking away that Evan even noticed the crutches the kid had been carrying.
"He has CP." Eddie stated.
Evan nodded, not needing to know anything else. Maddie joined them soon enough as the two men caught sight of Olivia running back onto the playground and up to Christopher.
"Hello, Eddie." Maddie smiled at the other man.
"Maddie," Eddie nodded. "How have you been?"
"Good, great actually." Maddie smiled at her brother as she sat down next to him. "I've got my baby brother back in my life, and a new niece."
Eddie laughed and nodded. The group continued to talk while Christopher and Olivia played together. Elizabeth stayed occupied with toys at Maddie's feet while Evan and Maddie both took turns holding Lily when the baby had woken. Evan even found himself allowed Eddie a chance to hold the two month old when she had grabbed onto Eddie's finger.
After an hour of the kids playing Maddie and Evan had packed the girls up in Maddie's car and said goodbye to Eddie and Christopher. Maddie found herself watching the way both Eddie and Evan looked at one another as they said goodbye and she couldn't help but smile. She could instantly see a spark between the two men. In her mind she knew that Evan was technically married but she was hoping now that he was settling down with a new life that maybe he'd file for divorce from Doug and move on. And see something between her brother and Eddie Diaz, she hoped it happened.
She knew it would take some time to talk Evan into filing for divorce, knowing that as soon as he was served, Doug would know where Evan was, if he didn't already. She was hoping to talk with Athena about it in hopes they could take extra steps to keep Evan and Lily safe. She knew the firehouse families were going to get together for a Halloween party in just two days and she was working to get Evan to agree to come with them. She wanted her brother to make friends in helps for his new life.
Two days later Maddie had gotten her way. She, Howie, Evan and the three girls stood outside Bobby and Athena's house. Olivia was dressed as Elsa while Elizabeth was dressed as Anna, both from Frozen. Evan had found a little pumpkin outfit for Lily and he couldn't deny, she looked the cutest. None of the adults were dressed up. The party was mainly for the kids, and then the group was going to go together with the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.
Howard knocked on the door and within seconds it was swinging open. Bobby smiled at the group and ushered them inside. "Hey, right on time."
"Are we the last one's here?" Maddie asked as she excepted a hug from Bobby. The girls had already ran off for the treat table where Athena gushed over their costumes and handed them each a cookie.
"No," Bobby shook his head, "Hen and Karen haven't arrive with Denny, yet."
Maddie nodded and then turned towards Evan, "Bobby this is my brother, Evan. Evan, this is Captain Bobby Nash."
"It's nice to finally put a face to the name and stories from Chimney." Bobby held out his hand to Evan.
Evan shook the man's hand with a smile, "Same. So since I'm meeting everyone officially tonight, do I, uh, get to finally learn why everyone calls Howard, Chimney?"
"Uh, no." Chimney shook his head as he walked further into the house to greet Athena.
Bobby laughed, "Maybe another time for that story."
Evan nodded and followed his sister into the house, the car seat with his daughter in hand. He stopped at the bottom of the steps into the living room when he spotted Eddie and his son. Christopher was playing with another little boy. They were both dressed as Power Rangers; Christopher was green and the other boy was red, their masks laid out on the coffee table. Shaking his head, Evan continued to follow Maddie and Bobby over to the treats table where he was introduced to the boy, Bobby's stepson Harry, and Bobby's wife Athena. Evan also gave a wave to Howard's brother Albert who was standing nearby. They had met just four days after Evan had arrived on his sister's doorstep when the other man had shown up for the weekly family dinner the Buckley Han's had. Both Maddie and Howard seemed happy their younger brother's got along.
Ten minutes later Evan was being introduced to Hen and Karen Wilson, and their son Denny, who was also dressed as a Power Ranger, this one yellow. Everyone fawned over the kids but it seemed Lily, being the youngest, was getting the most attention from the woman of the rag tag family. Evan had panicked at first when he realized Maddie no longer had Lily in her arms when he turned to ask her something, but when he noticed the little bundle of pumpkin in Athena's arms, he relaxed. Having only heard stories of the firefighters of the 118 from Howard, and just now meeting them all, he trusted them already. He knew within this group that considered each and every one of themselves a family, Evan knew he and Lily were safe.
An hour later found the whole group minus Athena's teenage daughter May and her two friends outside the house. They were all getting ready to take the kids trick-or-treating through the neighborhood. May and her friends were staying behind to give out candy to other trick-or-treaters. Evan had pulled out the stroller he and Maddie had bought for Lily, clicking her car seat into it so he didn't have to carry her the whole time. As the group headed out, Bobby and Athena led the march with the five kids, Albert holding the hands of both Olivia and Elizabeth, taking it slow for Christopher using his crutches. Hen, Karen, Howard and Maddie followed. Evan was last but soon found Eddie falling in step with him as they followed the group down the sidewalk.
"So how are you liking L.A.?" Eddie asked, glancing down at Lily in the stroller. She was content watching them while she sucked on a pacifier.
"It's hot for October." Evan laughed, "By now Boston is usually getting cold."
Eddie nodded, a chuckle falling from his lips. "Yeah, Chimney told me you are from Boston."
"Well, technically from Hershey, Pennsylvania." Evan stated, "Moved to Boston with my hu.. ex."
"Maddie told me you were married."
Evan sighed, "Recently separated. I uh, haven't filled for divorce just yet. I plan too, it's just... complicated."
"I've only know you a few days but I'd like to offer if you ever need to talk." Eddie shrugged.
"Thanks," Evan smiled at the other man, "I may just have to take you up on that."
"Anytime, day or night." Eddie added, clapping Evan on the shoulder.
Evan found himself not flinching away and his smile grew.
Two hours later the group was back in the safety of the Grant Nash household. The kids were gathered around the coffee table, including May, her friends having headed home once everyone returned, trading out candies they didn't like for candies they did from each other. May was just stealing candy from each of them, laughing when they just rolled their eyes at her. The whole time the kids were trick-or-treating Evan and Eddie stayed towards the back of the group talking.
Evan had learned Eddie had only learned about Christopher when his son was two years old and the kid's mother, Shannon, had shown up, handed him to Eddie, and disappeared. He had been a single father since. Eddie learned about Grace and how Lily came to exist, and how Evan was now a single father. He didn't question why Evan's husband seemed to have nothing to do with the little girl.
Over the next month Evan became really good friends with the 118 family but mainly with Eddie and his son. Christopher loved hanging out with Evan and his daughter. It had been Christopher calling Evan 'Buck' that got everyone else to do so as well by Thanksgiving. The firehouse family had gotten together for the holiday once again and now almost two months living in Los Angeles, living with his sister and her family, making friends, Evan was finally starting to relax and feel at home. He had even agreed with Maddie about filing for divorce, so the day before Thanksgiving he did. He knew it was a gamble, he was sure Doug already knew exactly where he was. He was just hoping the older man had decided he wasn't worth the trouble and leave them alone.
By Christmas Evan and Eddie had started going out on coffee and lunch dates when Eddie had the time off from work. Then it was turning into movie nights at the Diaz household. Sometimes Evan would bring Lily, sometimes Maddie would keep her. Sometimes Evan would fall asleep on the couch and Eddie would drape a blanket over his shoulders and shoot a text to Maddie to let her know her brother was staying the night.
Christmas Eve was a combined fifth birthday party for Olivia and Christmas party for the family at the Buckley Han household. Everyone had a good time, celebrating with a Frozen inspired Christmas birthday party.
Evan and Eddie shared their first official kiss at the stroke of midnight New Year's Eve at Bobby and Athena's as the family gathered to celebrate the new year together.
Two weeks into the new year, Evan and Lily moved out of the basement of Maddie's house and into their own two bedroom apartment with the help from the whole family.
At the start of March Evan "Buck" Buckley was a firefighter with the 118.