"Thanks, Maddie. I'll keep an eye on him."

Chimney tugged on her arm, trying to pull her out the door as she babbled on. "He won't want to be babysat but I don't want him sleepwalking alone. If you have any trouble just call me and I'll be right over!"

Eddie laughed as Christopher pushed at her. "We'll take care of Buck. You go home."

Maddie smiled and gave in, lifting her hands in surrender. "All right. Fine. I'll go. Goodnight you two."

"Night, Maddie!" Christopher closed the door, the last of their party guests gone and in the quiet Eddie could hear retching coming from the bathroom.

"Chris, can you get some of the cups off the table for me? I'll be back in a minute."

He turned before he could see the kid nod, making his way to the bathroom and pushing the door open to find Buck on his knees in front of the porcelain, heaving his guts up.

Eddie sighed and closed the door, wetting a cloth before pressing it to the back of Bucks sweat-slicked neck. "I told you running around after all that cake was a bad idea. Aw, buddy."

Buck coughed and spat, shaking his head as he lifted his tear-streaked face. "It's not that."

Eddie felt a shiver run through him at the look in his friend's eyes. He was scared.

"I called him. I thought that with everyone here I'd feel safe enough to finally figure out what he wants but…" A choked sound escaped his throat and he sunk down to his haunches, tipping back against the wall as he let out a sob.

"He's coming. He said he wants to visit and I just-I can't, Eddie. I can't see him." His breathing started to pick up as he panicked, likely the reason he'd thrown up in the first place.

"I can't even hear his voice through the phone without having a panic attack. I can't see him. Not after all Maddie and I went through to get away in the first place."

Eddie didn't know what to do with so much information at once, clues and admissions that he'd have to reflect back on later but for now he needed to stop the spiralling that was starting.

"Buck, take a deep breath."

Each gasp seemed to rip up his throat, choked and strained in a way that made Eddie worry he was going to asphyxiate if he didn't calm down. His shaking hands gripped his hair as he started to rock slightly, back hitting the wall harder and harder with each swing.

"Oh god, I was so stupid. Of course, he'd see me on the news all those times. Of course, he'd know where I was. Everythings ruined. I'll have to leave again. This is all my fault and now Maddie's going to have to go through it all again too. Fuck!"

"Buck!" Eddie pressed his palms to the blonde's cheeks and forced him to meet his eyes, voice hard and undeniable. "Slow down and breathe with me. Just one slow breath in."

Tears dripped off his chin but he nodded and sucked in a shaky breath, closing his eyes as a whine escaped.

"Good. And another." Eddie watched as he did, his whole body shivering and pulled his hoodie off, shoving it over Bucks head as his breathing finally calmed. Buck gratefully shoved his arms through the sleeves and unscrunched his legs, folding them as he wiped his face and sighed.

"I'm scared, Eddie. I don't think I can go through it all again."

It was clear that while he was ready to ask for help, talking about exactly who he was afraid of would only send him back into a panic. So, Eddie took Athena's advice and didn't ask.

Whoever it was that made Buck so scared it made him sick, that had him huddled and shivering in the corner of a bathroom, had to be bad. But Eddie was determined not to let him anywhere near his best friend.

"You don't have to. I don't care who this guy is, he's not getting anywhere near you without your say so. You understand? I'll make sure of it."

Buck looked at him, blue eyes searching for something in Eddie's steady gaze. Whatever it was, he found it, relief soaking through every muscle as he sagged and tipped forward, pressing his forehead to the others warm shoulder.

"Thanks, Eddie."

It wasn't something that needed a thank you but Eddie pressed his hand to the back of Buck's head anyway, fingers kneading at his neck, pressing at his hair and feeling the tension melt away under his touch. "I got your back, remember? No matter what it is."

There was a tiny knock at the door then and they both looked up to see Christopher pushing the door open, disregarding anything else in the room and plopping himself right in Bucks lap.

"Hey, Buck."

Buck smiled and wrapped him up in a hug, closing his eyes as dopamine flooded his brain. "Hey, buddy. What are you up to?"

Chris snuggled in, liking the smell of his dad's hoodie mixed with Bucks own scent. It was like being hugged by both of them at once. "Tryin' to make you feel better. Is it working?"

Buck let out a burst of laughter and hugged him tighter, eyes wetting again even as he smiled. "Definitely."

:::::::::::::

Buck was exhausted after his meltdown and Eddie sent him straight to bed, insisting he take his room for the night. Eddie didn't plan on doing much sleeping anyway, too occupied with how best to help his friend to think about resting.

He pulled his phone from his pocket with one hand as he used the other to clean up his living room. "Hey, Maddie. Can I ask a favour?"

::::::

Buck woke up to the smell of blueberry pancakes and the sound of his two favourite Diaz boys singing.

"Dad, Can I bring it to him?"

Buck sat up and ran his hands through his hair as he heard Eddie agree, followed by excited footsteps and a squeal of delight. He couldn't help but laugh as Christopher came in with a giant smile and a plate of pancakes, almost dropping them he was so excited.

"Good morning, Buck!"

Eddie righted the plate before he could tip them onto the floor and lifted Christopher onto the bed with one arm, holding orange juice with the other.

"Good morning. What have you been making?"

Christopher stole a pancake and took a bite, smiling through his words. "Pancakes!"

Eddie poked his son in the side, his chiding dampened by his snicker. "Don't steal his food. I brought juice and your anxiety meds."

Buck took the glass gratefully, staring at the bottle of pills, amazed. "I haven't taken these since I was a kid. Where did you get them?"

Eddie absentmindedly wiped a blueberry streak from Christopher's chin as he answered. "I called Maddie. She called your doctor. You don't have to take them, I just thought it might help. I also set up an appointment with a psychiatrist for this afternoon if that's something you wanted to do."

Buck was more than grateful. "With everything going on I didn't even think about it. Thank you."

Eddie was glad that Buck seemed so accepting of his meddling. "Look, maybe you should talk to your sister today. If whoever is bothering you is coming to see her too, she should know. Maybe she can help."

Buck pressed a hand to his eyes. "I know and I know I have to tell everyone else I just...I don't want everyone looking at me differently. I'm supposed to be the big strong hero. Not some scared kid who needs his big sister to save him."

Christopher tipped his head back to smile at his Buck. "You saved me."

Eddie wrapped an arm around his two boys and squeezed. "I know it's hard to let yourself be vulnerable but there is nothing that could ever make us think any less of you. You'll always be the team himbo. I promise."

Buck burst out laughing. "You shouldn't even know that word."

"Dad, what's a-"

"Don't worry about it. Let's all eat our breakfast and get going. We have a lot of leftover cake to get through today."

::::::::

Buck took a deep breath as he stood in front of his sister's door. "I can do this. She'd want to know. She needs to know." He'd taken his medication, he had Eddie waiting in the car if he needed him and he was safe. He could do this.

He only needed to knock once, his sister's smile fading a little when she saw Buck's expression. "Hey, everything okay?"

He wished it was. "We need to talk."

She ushered him in and sat him down, watching him wring his hands as he prepared to spill the beans. "So, I should have told you as soon as it happened but I...I didn't want it to be real."

Maddie leaned forward and took his hand, being the strong one when he needed it just like always. "Hey, whatever it is I'm here. Okay? Tell me."

Buck swallowed. And let it out.

"Dad called."

Her eyes went wide, face paling. "What? When?"

"The day before the sleepwalking started. He said he'd seen me on the news and had been working on finding out how to contact me. I could barely speak, hearing his voice again...I almost couldn't breathe."

Maddie's head was spinning, trying to take in everything he was saying and what it meant. Their dad. Jesus. She thought they'd never have to see him again.

"What did he want? Does he know where we are?"

Buck nodded. "He wants to visit. Apparently, he's sobered up since we left and he wants to...reconnect."

"Visit? Do-well, do you believe him?"

Buck shook his head, thankful that he finally had someone to share his burden with, someone that understood just how heavy it was. "Of course not. I don't know what he wants but he says he's coming and he's going to see us."

His hands were shaking again and he took a breath to settle himself.

"God Evan, I'm so sorry."

Maddie, always taking care of him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want to scare you. To bring it all up again."

He stared at his shoes, feeling guilty for ruining the sense of peace that she'd finally won for herself. After everything, she deserved to feel safe but she didn't bat an eye, comforting her brother instead.

"You never have to deal with this by yourself okay? I'm here, Evan. I'm never going to leave you again. Okay? And I won't ever let him near you."

He gave a half-laugh, not a trace of humour within it. "You'd think with so many people telling me they'd keep me safe I'd believe it. I want to but...all my memories of him are when I was small. He was huge to me as a six-year-old and even now I feel like I'll be that small again when I see him and I won't be able to stop him."

Maddie didn't say anything. She knew how that felt.

Buck lifted his gaze to hers. "You're the reason we got away. You got us out and you kept us safe. I can never thank you enough for that. For what you did for me."

Maddie moved to sit beside him and leaned against his shoulder, sharing her warmth with him and feeling him relax as she did.

"Of course. You're my brother. And you should have seen how cute you were at that age. You think Chris is cute, you try looking into ten-year-old Evan's blue eyes when he asks if he can keep a rolly bug as a pet."

Buck laughed, remembering the exact bug she was talking about. "They're called Pillbugs and Peter was a good friend."

Maddie laughed and rested her head on his shoulder, looping her arm with his.

"We're gonna be okay, right?" Buck looked down at her, finding comfort in her confident smile.

"Yeah, we will be. Even if he does come. I promise."