Buck sits in the waiting room with his knee tapping up and down, he had been told off once by a nurse for doing it and can see she was now watching him again. As he looked at the clock he could have sworn it was purposely taking it time to move faster.
"Right, I know you're worried but I have told you once already, can you please stop it? He may be gone for a while, the best thing you can do is go home and rest." The nurse says, staring at him.
"Sorry, I'll go out, could you call me when he's out please?" Buck asks.
"I can do it." She smiles back.
"Here's my number." Buck says get his phone.
"Mr Buckley, you know we have your number, you are Mr Diaz's main emergency contact as you well know." She explains.
"I know but I just want you to make sure, you know, you hear things about numbers being wrong." He explains.
The nurse concedes and shakes her head as she turns the computer so Buck can look at the screen and he smiles as he sees the number on there.
"Happy?" she asks.
"Yeah , sorry." He replies and walks off.
He leaves the hospital unsure what he was going to do, it could be a few hours before Eddie was out and Chris was at school, he did contemplate on taking Chris out but knew Eddie would be pissed if he did.
Walking towards the car he scrolls through his phone wondering if he should go see Maddie, talk it through but knew she would tell Chim who would pass it on, so he hops in and heads to Abuela's he knew she would keep him busy.
The drive was a long one and Buck didn't know what to do or expect when he got there, he was turning up unannounced after all, yes he and Eddie had just got together but he couldn't just expect Eddie's family to put up with him just turning up at their homes. Before he could think he had turned the car around and started driving the other way he didn't know where he was going he just drove.
The drive brought up his worse worries which he hadn't told Eddie just so he didn't scare him, the main one was what if he had a reaction to the aesthetic and died, he had not thanked google for that one, others were when Eddie woke he may not want Buck because he felt less of a man which Buck was ready for that conversation for when it happens.
Soon enough he finds himself pulling into a car park and just sitting there, his phone had rung a few times with Bobby's face on it and he just cleared the notifications away he was in no mood for him.
Griffith Observatory, he looked at the sign and smiled, it was somewhere he wanted to bring Chris, it was a great place to lose all thoughts of the outside. He took hold of his phone and started to make his way towards the doors. It wasn't too busy, one of the other reasons he liked it here. Once he had brought his ticket he headed in and started looking at the exhibits, he ended up in the planetarium, the show was about to start and would take 35 minutes.Throughout the show BUck found himself checking his phone which he had turned on to silent not to disrupt anyone else, but he had seen that one guy kept looking over at him and he couldn't place where he had seen the man before, it didn't help it was dark and only when the lights of the show moved he saw a quick glimpse. So he carried on watching the show and got into it so much he forgot to check his phone till it had finished.
As he walked out he checked his phone, again messages off Bobby and some off Maddie, he just cleared them off and let out a sigh before looking at where he wanted to go to next but couldn't focus on anything so made his way to a bench and just sat there watching the world go by twiddling his fingers over his phone just wishing it would ring.
"Penny for them." A voice says from his side and he looks and sees the man again from the planetarium.
"It's ok, just life, do I know you?" Buck questions, after everything that happened he still had to watch out just in case.
"Well maybe, sorry let me introduce myself, Im Owen Strand, fire captain of the 126 in Texas." Owen says holding his handout.
"Nice to meet you,I'm Evan Buckley, firefighter for the 118 but everyone calls me Buck a bit far from Texas though ain't ya." Buck chuckles.
"Well you know just life. But you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders." Owen states.
To be honest that's how he felt, everything was happening to Eddie but in the same way he was there to pick up the pieces which he knew would be all on him, but the stress of it all was something he didn't expect, he thought it would all be plain sailing which it was turning out not to be, and after his research binge he had more worries and than calmness.
"Something like that." Buck remarks his fingers running over the phone.
"So, I'm guessing with the way you did not focus on the show and the fact you kept playing with your phone while waiting on a phone call, a loved one fell out with you?" Owen questions.
"No, I wish it was something as easy as that." Buck replies. He didn't know this man and didn't want to open up to a stranger.
"Important call then, I know all about them kinda calls. Thats why I am here to be honest, Lung cancer." Owen states and Buck shifts.
"Sorry to hear that." Buck says.
"It's fine I'm in remission thankfully but still lots to do, and I'm guessing the way you shifted you have it?" Owen questions.
"Oh no, my boyfriend, he's currently in surgery having it removed hopefully." Buck finds himself saying.
"Ah so you're the one waiting for the call, people think it's always the person with it who suffers but they don't see the impact on the person closest to them and the struggles they face. My son went through a hard time accepting it as did I, but it's having support from others and talking that gets you through it all." Owen explains,
Buck sat there letting what Owen had just said sink in a bit, he was right, he and Eddie would need support for all their stubbornness; this was something they wouldn't be able to do alone, especially with Chris and work.
"It's true, but at the moment I feel I've let him down, you know, not being able to take away this evil diese. He doesn't deserve this." Buck mutters.
"Unfortunately cancer doesn't care who you are, if it wants you it gets you, all you can do is fight, and talk. If you can't talk to people close to you there are always groups or even me. I know you don't know me but I know the job as well as the illness and both together is a lot of stress." Owen explains
"Yeh I already can see it's gonna be hard, to work and care at the same time. But I need to do everything as he wont be able to, I've got to show my worth." Buck says.
"Your worth, no one should have to prove their worth to be loved, you should be loved for who you are not what you can do for them and if that's how he is with you then he doesnt deserve you." Owen states.
"Oh no, Eddie is never like that, this stems from my parents, sorry I don't know why I'm rambling all this to you." Buck says.
"Because you need someone to talk to and I'm a pretty good listener. I'll go get us a drink and then we can go for a walk and talk some more and that's not a request, it's an order." Owen smirks.
"Well the drink sounds like a good idea just water though please, but you ain't my captain so you can't give me orders." Buck smirks back.
"I think you will find, if there aint your house captain around the next closest captain can take command so sorry looks like you do have to follow orders, you would definitely get on with my son." Owen chuckles as he walks off.
Buck watches as Owen walks to the coffee shop near the gift shop. It felt nice to let off some steam and talk about things, hearing Owen talk about the way cancer affected him made Buck hopeful.
"Come on, let's go on a walk and you can vent to me." Owen says passing a bottle of water over.
They head out and walk along one of the many trails, BUck spoke and explained everything, his worries and fears, Owen tells him off for reading stuff on the internet as they always show the worst case first. That he should listen to the doctor and more importantly Eddie. They continue to walk along towards the Hollywood sign and talk turns to work.
Buck is in awe when he learns Owen was at 9/11 and it clicked to the whole lung cancer, as he had heard loads of people who were there ended up ill years down the line. The fact they had set up a brand new house after a fatal accident made him wish he and Eddie could start somewhere new.
"I still can't believe you sued the fire department. That was a gutsy move, to be honest though I would have done the same, I love this job." Owen says.
"Right, it's not just the job though." Buck says.
"It's the family you build there, I get it. When you're apart from something you do everyday, you just can't give up on it." Owen replies.
"You get it, wish you were my captain and then I would have been able to come straight back." Buck says.
"Oh no, I would have held you back, but spoken to you, asked you to show me you were ready and no risk to yourself or the team." Owne states.
"See, if Bobby had just said it like that I wouldn't have gone down the whole lawsuit route and pissed everyone off." Buck replies.
"But in the same way I see why he did, we as captains see our teams as family which makes the younger ones like yourself our kids which means we get over proactive, just like you have over Eddie and his cancer, telling your captain to get lost is a ballsy move, but he will understand and if not well you can come work with me." Owen says
"You really give me a job?" Buck questions, it seemed so random.
"You and Eddie yes, I see how devoted you are, but that's only if you don't sort things out with your captain and team, they mean well but unless they know the full picture how can they fully understand." Owen states.
It was true, the team didn't know the full picture so we're only going off what they heard and saw, but the thought of a fresh start for all of them was maybe something they needed. But for now he had to focus on Eddie.
"Thanks Owen, not just for that but for the talk, I hope everything turns out while you're here." Buck replies.
"Oh it will, life has a funny way of bringing people to each other when they need it the most." Owen smiles.
They are interrupted when Buck's phone starts ringing, he looks at it and starts to shake, he knows the number is the hospital.
"Well answer it." Owen says.
Buck nods and swipes to answer it.
"Mr Buckley, this is nurse Riley, I'm calling you to say Edmundo Diaz is out of surgery and back on the ward, you are able to visit when you're ready and the doctor can go through the results." The nurse says.
"Thanks, I'll be on my way in a sec, thanks." Buck says and hangs up.
"So I guess he's out." Owen says.
"Yeah, look I hate to dash but I got to go, thanks again for the great talk." Buck says and pulls Owen in for a hug.
"Oh you're a hugger, but it was nice meeting you Buck, here let me add my number." Owen says, pulling away from the hug and taking Buck's phone.
Buck takes his phone back and sees the number and smiles, they both walk back to the carpark and say goodbye and Buck drives back to the hospital, his heart is pumping faster and faster, yes Eddie was out but what would the results be, would he be ok now or would more treatment be needed. He shook them thoughts away; he just needed to see Eddie.
He pulls up at the hospital and walks in as he walks through the main door he bumps into Hen and Chim and they all stop and there's an awkward silence.
"Buck, what are you doing here?" Chim asks.
"Nothing, look I got to go." Buck says.
"No, Buck, you need to talk to us." Hen says, placing her hand on his chest.
"Ah Mr Buckley, I'm nurse Riley, if you want to follow me I'll take you to Mr Diaz's room." The nurse says and Buck feels the blood drain from his face as his teammates look at him in shock.
"Thanks." He mutters.
"Buck, explain now." Hen states.
"Sorry, I have to go." Buck says and starts to follow the nurse, he can feel Hen and Chim following and then the nurse stops and turns around, Buck stops but doesn't turn.
"Hi, unless you are family or on the emergency contact list you are not allowed to follow, I would kindly ask you to leave and let us be on the way, Mr Buckley doesn't need the added stress of being followed when he clearly doesn't want to talk. So goodbye." The nurse states and then Buck feels a hand on his back and looks to see the nurse and they start walking.
"Thanks." He says
"It's fine, I know how hard this is without people trying to barge their way in." She replies.
They walk to the room and Buck can feel his heart pounding, as they get to the room they stop by the window and Buck can see Eddie on his bed asleep.
"As you can see he is asleep, but will be in and out of it for a while. I will let the doctor know you are here, so they will pop down in a while. Is there anything else I can do for you?" She asks.
"Just keep anyone who asks to see us away please, if they're allowed i'll let you know the names, but for now just these two names." Buck says writing down Abuela and Chris's name on the paper she smiles and leaves BUck alone.
He takes his phone out and turns it on silent and slowly opens the door and creeps in not wanting to disturb Eddie once he's in, he takes a seat on the chair next to the bed and takes hold of Eddie's hand, it was nice to just touch him again.
"Hey." a groggy voice makes Buck look up and smile.
"Hey." Buck smiles back.