May and Harry were out of the truck before Bobby had the truck on park.
"Buck!" Harry called as both he and May ran towards the lone Jeep parked on the beach, leaving their mother and Bobby behind.
Right after Harry exclaimed that he found Buck's location using the Find My app on his phone, Athena demanded that May explain what was going on. Left with no choice and after having asked Buck his permission to tell her what was going on, May told her mother all she needed to know.
She was glad when her mother threw Bobby and the rest of the 118 daggers with her eyes the moment she was told of the situation. Her mother kicked the rest of the team out and ordered Bobby to come with them to take Buck home.
"Buck?" Harry's voice brought May out of her thoughts as he rushed to open the door of the Jeep but Buck was nowhere to be found.
Harry grabbed something from inside and May felt her heart stop.
It was Buck's phone.
The one that Harry had located.
Heart pounding, May whipped her head towards the beach, eyes scanning the vast expanse of the shoreline as blood rushed to her ears when her eyes landed on a lone figure.
"Call 911! Now!" she called back to Harry as she took off running towards the beach.
Because Buck was walking towards the sea.
May ran as fast as her feet would carry her and pulled him by the wrist just before he could reach the water.
"Buck, no!"
She didn't have enough time to balance herself when she pulled him, and they ended up falling onto the sand. May wasted no time as she righted herself and turned to check on her brother who fell on his backside, looking so much paler even under the moonlight.
"Buck, hey. Look at me," May requested when she saw that his gaze was fixed on the water behind her.
When he remained still, May gently cupped his face with one hand and blocked his view of the sea, prompting him to finally look at her.
The broken look Buck had in his eyes nearly had May in tears. He looked utterly distressed; hair sticking up from all ways, eyes bloodshot, hollow, and lost. And before she could say anything else, Buck beat her to it.
"I tried, M-May. I t-tried to f-fight.. to g-go back.. but I-I'm tired, May.. I-I'm so, s-so t-tired."
Buck then fell forward, resting his forehead on her shoulder as he sobbed. Hard.
May swallowed the lump in her throat as she ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to comfort him.
"I'm here, Buck. I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. It's okay, we'll figure this out and we'll get you help, okay? You're going to be okay, big brother," she told him softly as she drew circles on his back with her other hand.
The sound of sirens gradually coming from the distance made Buck close his eyes. "You called 911?"
"I told Harry to. I was worried enough as it is that you're all alone in the middle of a beach an hour away from home and that you almost crashed the Jeep, Buck. And then you told me that you wanted to..," May trailed off, blinking away the tears that were pooling in her eyes as she tried to calm herself before she shook her head and looked him in the eye.
"You were walking towards the sea, Buck. You were going to drown yourself, weren't you?"
May watched as Buck bit his lip before nodding his head yes.
"N-Nobody wants m-me," he added, voice breaking as he tearfully held her gaze.
"You and I both know that that's not true, Ev," May told him softly.
Buck broke eye contact at that and settled his eyes back to the sea behind her before closing his eyes, only to open them back at the sound of hurried footsteps against the sand and a pair of arms wrapped around his neck in an awkward back hug.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Harry beat him to it.
"I thought we agreed to keep nagging May to file a leave from work so we could go to the beach together?"
That got a choked sobbing laugh out of Buck, and both May and Harry were quick to catch him when he broke into another gut-wrenching sob.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. We've got you, Buck. We've got you, we're here. Right here," May murmured against his hair as Buck continued to sob.
"We're not going anywhere, Buck. May and I promised, didn't we?" Harry added softly as he gently tightened his arms around his brother.
At that point, Buck wondered if he'd ever run out of tears. He was beyond exhausted; physically, emotionally, and mentally. After running off in the middle of nowhere straight after his shift, sobbing his heart out all the way, and the fact that he never had a proper meal or even a proper night's sleep for the past few months since he got reinstated, Buck wasn't surprised that his body decided that it had run its course of non-stop mental gymnastics and an intensely emotionally fueled night.
After a moment, Buck gently pulled away from May and looked into her eyes as he struggled to keep his open for longer.
"I-I'm tired, May," he repeated, sounding just as tired as he felt.
May nodded at him as she wiped away the tears she had running down her cheeks before wiping Buck's.
"We know, Buck, we know," she whispered, cupping his face as she did, not missing the way Buck leaned into her touch.
May caught Harry's eyes and smiled sadly at him before slowly getting up on her feet, prompting Harry to untangle himself from behind Buck and standing next to her sister. And in a very coordinated move, both sister and brother held out a hand to Buck.
Buck swallowed another sob threatening to be released as he slowly took both of their hands, allowing them to help him up as he got up from the sand. Almost immediately, their arms supported him when his legs almost gave out.
"Easy, Buck. We've got you," Harry said as he and May put each of his arms over their shoulders to support some of his weight.
"T-Thank you," Buck replied quietly as they started the walk back.
"Always," Harry said as he looked up and smiled at him.
Buck managed to smile back before he was pulled away from his siblings and was on the receiving end of Athena's bone-crushing hug. He swallowed hard and slowly hugged her back.
"H-Hey, 'Thena," he said softly.
"Oh, Buckaroo," Athena replied as she pulled him closer.
Just then, the RA unit dispatched to their location arrived and a team of paramedics hurried over to them, but Buck immediately waved them away as he pulled away from Athena.
"I'm okay," he managed to say in a steady voice, though he wasn't able to keep the exhaustion he felt from his tone.
Athena gently cupped his face, prompting him to look back at her.
"Let them give you a quick look over, baby. Just to make sure you didn't hurt yourself when you almost crashed your Jeep, okay?" Athena said as she held his gaze.
Buck wanted to protest but he knew this was something he couldn't win, and he was so goddamn tired of everything that he just agreed.
"Okay, Mom" he nodded wearily as he absentmindedly used the appellation, not giving it enough thought as the paramedics came over and gently guided him toward the ambulance.
Athena watched as May and Harry immediately followed after them, not wanting to leave Buck out of their sight just as much as she did.
Tonight was a lot to take, especially since she had no idea that her husband has been stonewalling Buck for the last three months. Athena had suspected, of course, that there were still some grudges about the whole lawsuit, but it's been three months. And finding out that Bobby had been acting like Buck was just some subordinate he could boss around and actually ignore him for that long, and the fact that the rest of the 118 had followed his lead? Athena was beyond furious, and she was going to have some words with her husband and his team.
But as much as Athena would like to rip her husband and his team's heads off for what they have been doing to Buck, it would have to wait.
"Mom," May's voice brought Athena out of her thoughts.
"Everything alright?" she asked as she spared a glance at the ambulance where Buck was seated inside, head resting on Harry's with his eyes closed before turning back to her daughter.
Bobby suddenly appeared next to her and Athena watched as May narrowed her eyes at him before eventually answering her question.
"Low blood pressure, mildly dehydrated, other than that, he's good. No injuries from the swerving accident, no concussions, just extremely fatigued. The paramedics wanted to take him to the hospital so a doctor could further look him over but he refused. He said he's really tired and just really wants to get a proper night's sleep for once."
Athena sighed before nodding her head.
"Tell the boys to get into Bobby's truck. We're going home," she said, and before May could protest she added, "I need to talk to your stepfather, so go get your brothers and tell them to get into the truck."
Athena watched as May debated on whether to protest or not before she eventually nodded and did as she asked. The police sergeant then turned to her husband who was already handing out his keys over to her.
"I'll go drive the Jeep while you and the kids take the truck," he said, making Athena raise an eyebrow at him.
And at that moment, Bobby was really making it hard for her to control her temper.
"What the hell, Bobby?" Athena hissed at him, careful to not be heard by the kids and taking her husband by surprise.
"What do you mean?" Bobby asked, eyebrows scrunching in confusion but Athena glared at him.
"You're really going to keep ignoring him? At a time like this?! He was just on the verge of death if it weren't for May, Bobby!" Athena whispered angrily as she glowered at him.
"I know that, 'Thena. I was here and I watched as May pulled him back, didn't I? I watched as she talked him out of it, didn't I? I watched as Harry ran and-" Bobby cut himself off and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.
Athena's fierce exterior softened a bit at that. She knew how her husband felt about Buck, but knowing exactly how he felt about the man and him acting the way he did did not sit well with her.
"Bobby, I love you. Lord knows that I do. But what you did to that boy– what you allowed to happen to that boy?" Athena started, her dark brown eyes locked with her husband's coffee-colored ones.
"I cannot, for the life in me, accept that. I am beyond furious with you and your team right now. But I can't deal with you lot because our son needs me more than I need to whip your asses for what you idiots did to him," she told him seriously, her anger flaring briefly as she put an emphasis on Buck's need.
Bobby opened his mouth to protest but one look from Athena had him closing it in no time.
"I don't want to hear it, Bobby. Not now. What I want is for you to get your ass in the truck where our kids are waiting so we can go home. Harry had the foresight of requesting a towing team when May had him call 911 so don't worry about the Jeep," she continued as she nodded her head toward the towing team that was now working on the Jeep.
Athena watched as Bobby followed her gaze before trailing his gaze to his truck and then back at her with a sigh. He nodded at her and it didn't escape her notice how he swallowed hard. If Bobby noticed that she noticed, he didn't let it show.
Satisfied with his wordless answer, Athena gave him a curt nod before walking towards the truck knowing he'd be following her without a word.
She checked in on the kids as soon as she and Bobby got in the truck, a sad smile pulling on her lips when she saw the way Buck was curled in on himself even as he was leaning against May as he dozed away.
May caught her mother's eyes and gave her a sad smile of her own. "He was out like a light as soon as he got in the truck."
"Yeah, he was really tired, barely even sitting properly so I had to maneuver him gently so he would be comfortable. He told me he hasn't been sleeping well when we were waiting in the ambulance," Harry added from his seat on the other side of Buck.
May saw Bobby glance worriedly at Buck through the rearview mirror before focusing his eyes on the road as he started the drive back home.
The young dispatcher bit her lip to prevent an incredibly rude yet well-deserved comment from coming out of her lips. She didn't want to wake her brother up, and she honestly just didn't want anything to do with her stepfather at the moment.
May was angry and hurt and upset on behalf of Buck, and she knew her golden retriever of a brother wouldn't want her to feel all that with Bobby, but she did, and rightly so.
She knew Harry felt the same and was leaning more toward being upset rather than being angry at Bobby. May didn't know if Harry knew or found out the real story of her attempt, or if he still remembered it only as an innocent little accident, as their mother explained it to a younger Harry, back then.
Buck suddenly shivered against her, bringing her out of her thoughts as she glanced at him. May looked around and spotted Bobby's Minnesota Wild hoodie hanging at the back of the driver's seat. She grabbed it and gently tucked it around him. Once she made sure he was warm, May looked up and addressed their parents.
"You can drop us off at my apartment," she said to no one in particular, but immediately caught the attention of not only their parents but Harry as well.
"May, honey, I don't think that's a good idea," Athena replied shortly.
Something about her mother's response made the need to protect Buck make itself known in her chest, and May knew better than to have her brother wake up in that house.
"Maybe not. But it's better than having him wake up in the guest room of his captain's house which he hadn't been invited into for the past three, four months," May countered firmly.
And before either of their parents could come up with a reply, May couldn't help but add a rather biting and insinuating remark to further prove her point.
"I'd rather he wake up in a familiar environment that he doesn't associate with the feeling of being unwanted if it's all the same to you."
The silence that followed the remark was deafening, and May found that she didn't particularly care at that moment. All she knew was that she wanted to keep her brother away from Bobby and the 118.
May watched as their parents shared a look before Bobby eventually had to focus on the road again, his jaw clenching and hands gripping the wheel tight.
"Alright then," her mother conceded as she continued, "We'll just stop by his apartment so–"
"It's fine, Mom," May immediately cut her off, pausing when Buck whimpered in his sleep.
Harry gently rubbed his arm in a soothing motion just as May ran her fingers through his hair, effectively making Buck settle back into an undisturbed sleep.
Looking up to see that their mother twisted around in her seat to check on Buck, May continued.
"Buck has some clothes over at my apartment from when he would stay over sometimes. Harry has some things over as well. We'll be fine."
Athena sighed and looked at her husband who had his eyes fixed on the road, jaw clenched and eyes full of guilt as he tried his best not to glance at Buck again through the rearview mirror.
Athena looked back at the kids, or more specifically, at Buck, and the weight of the letters she found in his bag when she was looking for a change of clothes for him to get rid of the sand, now stashed in her back pocket, suddenly felt like a ton of bricks.
And it was a weight she was all too familiar with following May's attempt a few years ago.
A weight that she never really got the privilege of forgetting as a mother of an attempter.
A weight that she was feeling more intensely knowing what Buck was so close to doing.
Knowing that her daughter saved her brother just in time from a path she had once taken.
A path she knew her daughter understood better than anyone else in their family.
A path she wished none of her kids ever thought to take.
But alas, she now has two who did think and take it.
One she was able to save just in the nick of time, and the other she wanted nothing more than to keep within her line of sight.
But Athena knew that May wouldn't be swayed to have Buck stay at the house, and as much as she wanted that, she knew this was a battle even she wouldn't win.
And it warmed her heart to see how the relationship Buck had built with the kids blossomed into something more throughout the years.
Athena spared one last glance at Buck's sleeping form before meeting her daughter's eyes.
"Okay, then," she said quietly.
May gave her mother a curt nod before she looked back at Buck and Harry who had also fallen asleep leaning against Buck. She ran her fingers through Buck's curls as she directed her gaze out the window where the view of the vast sea was slowly fading into buildings and establishments as they slowly reached the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Soon enough, they arrived at her apartment complex. May woke Harry first before gently poking her older brother on the cheek.
"Buck? Wake up sleepyhead, we're here," she told him softly as she continued her gentle poking on his face.
The firefighter showed no sign of stirring even as May gently added pressure to her poking. Normally, Buck would've been awake within the first three pokes she did, but then again, tonight wasn't a normal night.
May looked up to see all three other occupants of the car looking at them.
"He must be so exhausted to be so out of it," Harry remarked quietly, turning to their parents and explaining when they both looked confused.
"Buck's a light sleeper, as a firefighter he needs to be up at a moment's notice. So he really must be exhausted if he's so out of it," Harry explained, but May knew they didn't need any explanation.
They were both first responders. They both knew how important it was to be up at a moment's notice to be able to respond to calls, and they both knew that to be able to do just that, one needs to have proper rest and sleep.
Shaking her head, May slowly grabbed her keys from her coat pocket and handed them over to Harry.
"Go ahead with Mom and get everything set up. You and I are sleeping on the pull-out tonight. Buck can take the bed so he can sleep undisturbed."
Harry nodded his agreement as he took the keys from his sister, opening the door to the truck before looking back at her.
"Should I run him a bath, too?" he asked, eyes taking in Buck's sandy work pants and undershirt.
"I think that you prepare him a change of clothes that Bobby and I can change him into tonight so he can have all the sleep he can get. He can have a bath tomorrow when he wakes up. That sound good?" their mother suggested before May could respond.
May looked at her mom and gave her a small nod. "Yeah, okay."
Athena smiled back at her daughter before giving her husband a look as she got out of the truck to go with Harry. Bobby nodded to himself before he got out of the truck and opened Harry's side of the door, noting how May stared at him as he moved.
Bobby had to admit that he knew how to handle anger and disappointment from his wife, but he had no idea how to handle it when it was coming from her daughter. Sure, he had disappointed the kids over little things before and he knew how to deal with those little things, but it wasn't just a little thing this time around.
It was Buck.
Bobby was brought out of his thoughts when May sighed rather audibly before turning her attention back to Buck, who was still deep into his sleep.
"Buck, wake up. Come on, you'll sleep better in a bed, not in a truck," May said as she continually poked her brother on the cheek.
It took a few more prodding before Buck eventually stirred, his blue eyes blinking up at her owlishly as she smiled at him.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" May asked softly.
Buck blinked two or three times before he eventually responded. "Tired."
"I know. Come on, let's get up so you can go back to sleep on a bed," the young woman whispered as she ran her fingers through his curls again.
She watched as Buck scrunched his face as he looked up at her, still addled from being woken up before slowly shaking his head.
"Don't wan' go back to the loft. Don't wan'be 'lone again," he murmured sleepily as he leaned his head against her shoulder again, unaware of Bobby's presence.
May caught the way Bobby tensed upon hearing that before she looked back at her brother, shaking her head at him as she tapped his cheek to make him open his eyes again, which he did.
"You, me, and Harry are having a sleepover at my apartment," she informed him.
That got Buck's attention as he directed his sleepy gaze to meet May's. "We are?"
"Yep, now come on. Let's get you to bed, okay?" she responded.
"Bed?" Buck asked, face scrunching in confusion and still dazed.
May chuckled softly before repeating. "Yes, Buck, bed."
"Hmm'kay," the man said as he tried to get up.
Buck was still so out of it that he moved way too fast and uncoordinated that he almost fell out of the truck if it weren't for Bobby who caught him before he fell face-first on the ground.
"Easy there, Buck," the fire captain said as he helped him sit right back up so he could get his bearings.
"Wha- What happened?" Buck asked just as May stood next to Bobby, having gone out of the truck on her side before Buck almost fell.
But before May or Bobby could answer, Buck's eyes suddenly caught Bobby's. He scrunched his face as he tilted his head, eyes dazed as he stared at the fire captain like he didn't recognize him at all.
"Dad?" Buck called sleepily, eyes barely open as he tried to fight his fatigue.
Bobby froze the moment it left Buck's mouth, gaze locked with his as he swallowed hard. He opened his mouth to say something–anything–but came up blank.
May, sensing that her stepfather was taken by surprise, easily stepped into the conversation.
"Yeah, Buck. That's him. Ready to go in and into bed?" she said, knowing full well that he won't be remembering this exhaustion-induced conversation.
Buck blinked at Bobby and then at her before he slowly nodded his head, his movements still uncoordinated due to the exhaustion May knew his body was most likely already catching up to. She helped him get out of the truck, snaking an arm around his waist and putting one of his arms around her shoulders to support his weight, prompting Bobby to move, closing and locking the truck before supporting Buck from his other side.
The younger firefighter immediately felt the pull of sleep and Bobby gently nudged him by the side, making Buck grunt and open his eyes.
"We're almost there, kid. Just a few more steps, okay?" Bobby said softly.
"Hm'kay," Buck responded sluggishly.
They kept walking in silence following that, with either Bobby or May nudging him on his side to keep him from falling asleep as they carried him all the way to the apartment on the second floor. The walk and elevator ride was silent as neither May nor Bobby didn't want to cause Buck a headache they both knew he likely had.
Once they entered the apartment, Athena took May's place and she and Bobby steadily guided Buck into the bedroom where Harry had laid a pair of Buck's shorts and one of his faded LAFD t-shirts on the bed. They sat him on the bed, with Athena prompting him to keep his eyes open every now and then as Bobby slowly removed his undershirt and work pants, leaving him with just his boxers. They worked in tandem to get him changed and soon enough, Buck was allowed to get some much-needed sleep. He was dead to the world before his head even hit the pillows and Athena tucked her boy in before pressing a kiss on his now unkempt curls.
She straightened up and saw her husband staring at Buck's sleeping form before blinking and looking up at her. Athena could see the guilt pooling in his coffee-colored gaze, but it wasn't enough to calm the anger simmering within her at the expense Buck had to go through before Bobby and his team showed any kind of care for his well-being.
So as much as it was warming to see him caring for Buck tonight the way he should have been doing all along, the warm feeling had suddenly turned into a burning inferno of anger inside her.
Bobby must have sensed the change in the atmosphere because he nodded to himself and led himself out of the room with Athena following suit. They were met by May and Harry as soon as they got out of the room.
"We've changed him out of his clothes and he's already asleep," Athena informed them as May got up from the couch.
The eldest of the two looked at her brother, who seemed to get the hint because he got up without a word, carrying the spare pillows and blankets with him to the bedroom and closing the door quietly behind him.
"I didn't know he stayed over often enough to have some of his things over," Athena said quietly as soon as Harry was out of earshot.
"Harry and I ask him to have a sleepover at least twice a month for the past few months. Buck sometimes stays here with me when he doesn't like being alone in the loft. I told him he can come and go as he needed, I gave him a key to my apartment and he gave me one of his," May explained, sighing as she shook her head to herself before looking at Bobby.
"Bobby, I love you; you know that I do. But I am so angry at you right now," May started.
The man in question opened his mouth to speak, but May held her hand up, effectively making him close it.
"You have no idea how much of that has been going on, Bobby; how much Buck tried to fight the urge to do that," the young woman continued as she locked gazes with her stepfather.
"He's been trying so hard to come back. He's apologized about a thousand times at this point. He's been through literal hell and back trying to make peace with you and the team about the damn lawsuit which, in my opinion, was justified by the way," she told him, not a bit feeling bad at the guilt that was now plain to see in Bobby's eyes.
May didn't want to hurt Bobby, she really didn't. But she couldn't let him and his team hurt her brother the way they have been hurting him the past few months.
Buck had asked her to let him deal with them on his own, even told her that he could handle it.
May remembered asking until when could he handle the treatment he was being given by the lot of them; remembered asking until what point was he going to keep trying until he gave up.
She remembered the way he joked when he said that he would keep on trying until he couldn't anymore.
May couldn't get the sound of his voice when she picked up the phone earlier that night out of her head.
She couldn't get the lost look on his face when she pulled him away from the sea out of her head.
And she couldn't get the deeply rooted pain that was so clear for her to see in his eyes when she asked him to look at her out of her head.
Tonight was it. Tonight was the end of Buck's rope, and May was going to make sure he was okay, even if that meant she had to hurt Bobby.
"I know you care about him, Bobby. More than you probably should for someone who is your subordinate at work. You see him as a son, and I understand that. Hell, everyone we know knows that he is yours and Mom's kid. And believe me, I know where you're coming from; Harry and I have a police sergeant with a protective streak for a mom– I should know," May continued as she held her stepfather's gaze, wiping away the angry tears that have pooled in her eyes.
May watched as Bobby could only nod tearfully at her words, gaze locking with her mother briefly before she let out a shaky sigh.
"You care so much about him that all you can think about is to protect him which is why you don't realize that your plan of keeping your distance and preventing him from getting close to you again is doing more harm than good," May told him, eyes once again meeting Bobby's.
Bobby opened and closed his mouth, and May waited for him to say something, but no words were forthcoming, and a rather uncomfortable silence suddenly hung around the atmosphere, making her angrier than she was.
"I won't let you hurt him like this again. I can't. Buck has always–always–been there for everyone, and yet you all turned back on him the moment he tried to fight his way back to get back to you–to his family," she declared firmly.
"May, sweetheart–" her mother tried to intervene, but May wasn't having it.
"No, Mom! Buck asked me specifically to stay out of it because he said he could handle it, said he could handle them. But not anymore, especially not after what almost happened tonight," May said hotly as she looked from her mom to Bobby.
She didn't give either of them enough time to respond.
"Buck would've been dead if he hadn't called me. He would've been dead because you and your team couldn't let go of your grudges and because you want to protect him. How is this protecting him if you're the ones who are hurting him?"
The silence that followed stretched for quite a long time until Bobby spoke.
"I'm sorry."
And this time, May didn't hold back a scoff before she replied.
"Good to know that you're only sorry because Buck almost died because of you," May shot back hotly.
"Okay, that's enough, May," her mother finally stepped in.
May wanted to protest, but one look from her mom had her zipping her lips and looking away.
Athena took the time to calm herself, the events of the night finally catching up on her. She chanced a glance at her husband before finally addressing her daughter once more.
"Will you and the boys be okay?" she asked softly.
May nodded. "Of course, Mom. This isn't exactly our first rodeo with having sleepovers."
"But it is the first one resulting from a highly emotional situation," her mother reminded her, but May nodded her head in reassurance.
"We'll be fine, Mom. Harry and I got him," she answered quietly, knowing without a doubt that her mother was making sure they were okay to look after Buck.
Her mother held her gaze for a moment longer before finally nodding.
"Okay," she said shortly before looking at Bobby.
May watched as her stepfather nodded at her mother before heading for the door. Once he was gone, her mother gently pulled her in for a tight hug. They stayed like that for what felt like a lifetime, and May felt the weight of the world suddenly vanish as she buried herself in her mom's arms.
"Better?" she heard her mom ask against her ear.
May pulled away from the hug and gave her mother a small smile and a nod.
"Good," Athena said before planting a soft kiss on her forehead and adding, "I'm gonna go ahead so you're stepfather and I could go home. Look after each other."
"Always," May replied instantly, earning herself a soft smile from her mother.
"We'll help him deal with this together, okay? Buck's not alone," Athena told her daughter.
May smiled as she walked her out. "He never was to begin with. He always had me and Harry."
Her mother smiled at that and nodded her head, giving her one more kiss on the forehead before she was gone.
May sighed heavily before locking up the apartment and going into the bedroom. She smiled when she realized Harry didn't sleep on the pull-out bed as they planned and instead was fast asleep next to Buck on her bed.
Lucky for her, she had a bed big enough to fit all three of them.
She grabbed her spare pillows and scooted over to Buck's other side, the need to be close to her brother suddenly overwhelming her. May moved to place a hand over his chest, where his heart was beating and wasn't surprised to make out the form of Harry's hand already in its place.
Guess she wasn't the only one who needed the reassurance that Buck was well and alive.
May settled for placing her hand a little above Harry's where she can still feel the beating of Buck's heart and closed her eyes with the promise of not letting anyone hurt him again as she fell asleep.