Turning Point
Summary: Buddie fic. Caught off guard by a sudden self-revelation, Eddie is faced with a crossroads that could lead to the point of no return for his relationship with Buck. Meanwhile, Buck is trying to figure out why his best friend is suddenly pushing him away, determined to get answers and fix whatever has broken.
Disclaimer: I do not own 9-1-1 or anything associated with the show.
Author Notes: Currently living and breathing 9-1-1, which is probably not healthy... but hey!
Set after season 6.
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Chapter 3
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It was proving to be a quiet Thursday shift, most of the calls mundane and routine. A cat stuck in a tree, a man who managed to get his hand wedged into a cookie jar, and now a call from someone trapped on some playground equipment. Eddie was thankful for the distraction. Being out there, on a call, no matter how simple, it gave him something to focus on. It gave him the opportunity to shut out the inner thoughts, and also a chance to pretend he didn't see the knowing looks from Hen every so often.
"What are we walking into here, Cap?" Hen asked as the engine came to a stop.
"Yeah," Chimney chimed in, "jungle gym accident? Head stuck between the bars?"
"Hey! That happened to me once!" Buck grinned and jumped down from the engine. "Took Maddie a whole hour to get me out."
"That's because your head is so big." Hen rolled her eyes and shook her head, following him out onto the road. "I'm surprised it doesn't get stuck more often."
Eddie was the last to leave, jumping down onto the road and taking a few quick steps to catch up. He looked out across the way at what he could see of the playground. It was set behind a short and colourful metal fence and was made up of equally colourful and metal pieces of equipment, from monkey bars, a twisting slide, and even a couple of see-saws side by side.
"Actually, according to dispatch, it's a young lady who was trying to relive her youth," Bobby explained, leading the way through the park entrance. "So please, be delicate and don't laugh. We've all done something stupid in order to recapture some of our youth. Especially you, Buck."
"What are you talking about? I'm still practically in my youth."
"My point still stands."
Buck huffed at that, but they continued forward, Bobby calling out over the small crowd that had gathered around some swings. The crowd, and their cameras, parted way enough for them to pass, revealing a young woman trapped in a child seat swing, her head buried in her hands. Next to her stood two others, one who must have been on the phone to 911, and the other who was consoling her friend whilst also trying to supress laughter.
"Okay, okay," Bobby called out, waving at the small crowd. "Show's over. You can all go back to enjoying your day now." He lowered his voice once they reached the swings, his tone gentle and soothing. "How are we doing? What's your name?"
"Liz. My name is Liz and I'm fine. I'm just so embarrassed," the lady answered, and her friend patted her shoulder. "This is going to be all over the internet, isn't it?"
"'Fraid so," Buck answered, casting a glance back toward the departing phone cameras and earning himself a silent glare from Hen. "But hey, people have gone viral for much worse, right?"
"Oh really? Such as?"
When Buck failed to come up with an answer, Hen stepped in. "Getting their big heads stuck in railings?"
"Hey!" Buck whined. "Once! It happened once!"
"You're just lucky they didn't have camera phones back then."
"Hen, Chimney," Bobby said, nodding his head toward Liz, no words needed in his order. Check her out, make sure there were no injuries. Once they confirmed she was physically fine, Bobby lowered himself to his haunches so he could meet the young woman's eyes. "Okay, we're going to try and lift you out, Liz. Are you sure nothing hurts before we start?"
"Just my pride…"
He gave her a small smile and a reassuring pat on the knee before pushing up again. "Buck, Eddie, I want you both round the back to lift her out. Gentle, okay? Hen, help with her legs, make sure she doesn't twist anything."
Eddie obeyed, trying to ignore the way his heart skittered in his chest as his arms brushed against Buck's, or the way he could feel heat rising at the sight of Buck's childish smile. It took a couple of tries to get the angle right, but within ten minutes she was free and straightening up her clothes.
"You do realise that they make flat swings, right?" Buck asked, his smile as bright as his eyes. "You know, the kind you won't get stuck on?"
"It was a dare," she admitted, casting a quick glance to her friends. "A really stupid dare."
"Most dares are," Chimney answered, giving her another quick once over to make sure they hadn't missed anything.
"Don't mind him, he's just sore that he lost his last dare." Buck flashed a grin, and Eddie found himself routed to the spot, unable to fully look at Buck but also unable to tear his attention away from the conversation that was unfolding in front of him.
He clenched his hands, trying to swallow a familiar feeling that clawed at his chest. It was happening more and more often. A deep irrational anger and frustration, an unreasonable animosity settling inside of him, a possessive force that gripped him tight.
"Well, at least I got to meet a really cute firefighter," Liz smiled, small and shy. "Buck, right?"
And there it was.
Her words came with a sense of clarity that stilled Eddie. Jealousy. Was that really what this was?
Buck's eyes fell, a small laugh escaping as he raised his hand to his head, scratching just above his birthmark. A habit, Eddie noted, Buck had whenever he put on the spot or when he was feeling self-conscious.
"I don't suppose you have a phone number, do you?" Liz asked, "In case I get stuck again?"
Buck's smile grew and his tongue snaked out to dampen his lips. "It's er… it's against policy to…"
But Buck stumbled over his words and Eddie raised his eyebrow him, feeling himself settle just a little.
"Right, yeah, that makes sense," Liz answered, disappointment clear as she shrugged.
"I should er," Buck said, hitching his thumb over his shoulder and almost tripping over his own feet as he began to make his way back toward the engine.
Eddie followed closely, looking down at his hands to distract him from the sight of a flustered Buck, but by the time they made it out onto the sidewalk, he couldn't bite his tongue any longer, couldn't hold himself back, and his gaze flashed to Buck. "Why'd you lie to her?"
Buck came to a stop, confusion resting on his brow as he turned to face Eddie. "Huh?"
"Against policy?" Eddie answered, his jaw tight and tone clipped, "She was totally eyeing you up and last I checked, you weren't above fraternising with people you meet on a call."
"Well, maybe I wasn't interested." Buck splayed his hands out in front of him.
"Oh really? That's not the impression I got."
Buck took a step forward, closing the gap between them. "Oh yeah? And what impression is that?"
"I'm just saying, seemed to me there might have been a little something going on back there. Or is there something else going on that I don't know about?"
"I'm not the one keeping secrets." Buck took a breath before continuing on, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "I had to hear from somebody else that my best friend is apparently in love with someone."
Eddie felt his stomach drop, his face falling too, head suddenly spinning as he struggled to get his thoughts in line. He shot a quick glance toward Hen, his heart thudding in his chest at a mixture of anger and hurt. "What?"
"Marisol told me."
"You talked to Marisol?" He wasn't sure if he felt relief from the answer, or simply more hurt. Not that he had much chance to dwell on it.
Buck's next words went unheard and Eddie found his eyes drawn toward the screeching of tyres from down the road. He caught sight of a red car driving erratically, jumping the curb, and swerving as it went far too fast. His mind went into overdrive, adrenaline already pumping through his veins as he could see exactly where that car was headed.
"BUCK!" he shouted, launching himself forward and latching his arms around Buck as they both went tumbling, narrowly missing getting hit by the car that continued on.
He was vaguely aware of everything happening around him, the shouts and cries from the others, Bobby's voice going over the radio to dispatch, a rush of movements. But it faded away into the distance, melting away to a sea of blue that stared up at him from the sidewalk. Buck, silent beneath Eddie's still tight grip, eyes wide and mouth agape.
Finally, Buck let go of a light laugh, the shock seeming to wear off a little as a smile played at the corners of his mouth. "My hero…"
Heart thudding in his chest, Eddie slowly began to regain himself, though it wasn't until Hen and Chimney were beside him and Buck that he remembered how to breathe and move and think. He could feel hands on his back and arms and he pushed up from the ground, only vaguely aware of the others. Anger flooded him, his gaze darting back and forth, searching for any sign of the red car. But it was long gone.
"Eddie, Eddie…" Hen's voice broke through his stupor. "Are you okay?"
Her hand firmly gripped his upper arm, forcing him to look directly at her. From the corner of his eye, he could see Buck wince as Chimney looked him over, and his head span, all of his thoughts colliding at once. If Hen's grip hadn't been so tight, he swore he would have stumbled.
"Eddie," she said softly, catching his gaze and searching it, repeating her previous words. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he pushed out.
"Well, I'm gonna need you to sit down for a minute, okay? Let me check you over."
"I said I'm fine."
She pursed her lips and shook her head. "Eddie, you're bleeding. I need you to sit down."
He frowned, but looked down to his arm as she motioned, seeing the blood smearing his skin. "Buck…"
"Buck is fine, Chimney is checking him over now," she reasoned, gentle as she led him toward the open ambulance doors. "Now let me check out this arm so I can make sure you don't need stitches."
The adrenaline was finally wearing off by the time Hen was finishing up bandaging his arm, and Eddie looked out toward Buck and Chimney. Apart from what looked to be a scrape near his hairline and a couple of possible bruises, Buck looked to be fine, even to the point of trying to swat Chimney's hands away.
"There we go," Hen said. "Nothing too serious but you know the drill."
"Thanks." He nodded numbly, looking down at the bandage and turning his arm around, testing his grip.
"Eddie… I know you don't want to hear this, but you have to tell him."
"What? No…" Eddie shook his head. "No, I can't."
Hen raised her eyebrow and looked toward Buck before focusing on Eddie once more. "Look at him. He nearly got run over and the kid is smiling, the first genuine smile I've seen in days. Don't tell me you haven't noticed him moping about like a damn puppy that had it's favourite chew toy stolen…"
"Hen…"
"You're not saving anyone from anything by pushing him away. He's hurting, and so are you. Think about it, Eddie."
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After a quick check up and the all clear from the doctor, Buck was back at the firehouse with a little more enthusiasm than he had felt for a good few days. He would deny, if asked, that he practically skipped back into work or up the stairs to the loft, swinging himself around the barrier to join Hen and Chimney at the table. His brow furrowed though when he saw no sign of anyone else, or of the dinner he had been looking forward to all afternoon.
"Where's Cap?" he asked, taking a seat.
"In his office," Hen answered without looking away from the cards in her hands, concentration lining her features as she seemed to be thinking about her next move in whatever card game they were playing.
"Huh…" Buck answered. "And Eddie?"
"He went to see Bobby about ten minutes ago," Chimney answered, somewhat distracted as the grin on his face grew and he placed a makeshift poker chip onto the pile between him and Hen. "I'm calling it."
"Fine," Hen huffed out, and laid her cards out on the table for all to see.
The look of triumph drained from Chimney's face as he glanced down at his own cards and then at hers again before finally laying his on the table also. "How?"
A small smile played on Hen's lips and she dragged the chips towards her. "Because you're just too easy to read."
"No, no… best out of five."
"I'm not exactly sure that's how this works, Chim."
Chimney grumbled and pushed his cards away in defeat, Hen claiming them and piling them together before shuffling them. Buck offered them a distracted smile, his attention taken away by the sounds of footsteps down below. He pushed up from his chair and moved toward the edge of the balcony looking over to see Eddie with a brown folder in his hand, striding toward the front of the firehouse.
"I'm gonna…" Buck started, but Chimney and Hen were already starting their next game, leaving Buck to head down the stairs, the rest of his words trailing away to nothingness.
He kept his focus on Eddie all the way, until he was out of sight, worry seeping in. Then, making a decision, he moved off toward Bobby's office and knocked on the open door, peering in at Bobby sat behind his desk.
"Buck! Come in," Bobby said, waving a hand toward the empty chair in front of his desk.
But Buck didn't take the offer of the seat, instead lingering by the door and shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot. "Er, hey, Cap…"
"How's your head?"
"It's fine. Clean bill of health," Buck answered, hands going into the pockets of his trousers. "Can I, er… can I ask you a question?"
"Athena called," Bobby said, closing the file he had been looking at to give Buck his full attention. "They arrested the guy from earlier, caught up with him a half mile from the park. Turns out he had just got done robbing a gas station and stole the car at the scene. No one else was hurt, thankfully…" Bobby trailed off, taking a breath and looking Buck up and down. "But that's not what you wanted to ask me…"
"No," Buck answered, coming a little further into the room.
"Then what is it?"
"Eddie, he was in here just now, right?"
Bobby nodded. "He was, yes. He was handing in some paperwork."
"Paperwork?" Buck froze at that, a slight tinge of fear threatening to spread throughout him. One of the last times he had seen Eddie talking with Bobby so seriously, he had made plans to leave the 118.
"Relax, Buck. It was just a report on the incident from earlier." Bobby leaned back in his seat. "Matter of fact, he's heading down to the station now to give a statement."
Buck nodded, but he didn't feel anymore settled, and Bobby seemed to pick up on that, pushing up from his seat to round his desk and lean against it as he studied Buck.
"So, he's not leaving…"
"Leaving?" Bobby questioned. "As in the 118? Why would Eddie be leaving?"
Buck had no answer to that. He knew it was his fear talking. He'd had the same talk with his therapist many a time. His fear of change, of being abandoned, left behind… No matter how much he had grown, those feelings still lingered. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever truly be rid of those fears and thoughts.
"Okay," Bobby said, concern clear in his tone and eyes, "I've tried to stay out of it… but this is clearly affecting you, Buck. What's going on?"
"That's the thing, I don't actually know," Buck admitted.
Bobby raised a sceptical eyebrow, a small smile appearing on his face. He didn't need to say anything, his face said it all.
"Okay, yes, I know," Buck started, "I'm not exactly known for thinking before I act and I'm the first to admit I can push things too far sometimes, but I swear, this time, I don't know."
"Have you tried talking to him?"
Buck let go of an exasperated breath and held his hands out in front of him as he shrugged. "Just before the whole car thing was the most he's spoken to me in days. He won't talk to me."
"Try again."
"How? Every time I go near him, he finds a reason to not be there."
"Then try somewhere else, when he's got nowhere else to be."
"Like where?"
"You know where he lives…" Bobby answered, pushing away from the desk and moving back around to his chair, his movements nonchalant and words almost dismissive.
"Are you suggesting I go to Eddie's and force him to talk to me?"
"I didn't say that," Bobby answered, holding his hands up, but the small smile on his lips and glint in his eyes said that he didn't NOT say that.
Buck nodded and took a breath, a smile of his own playing on his lips. "Thanks, Bobby."
"Hey, don't thank me," Bobby continued, taking his seat again and flipping open the folder on his desk. "I haven't done anything. Though, I feel I do have to warn you, if this thing between you and Eddie isn't sorted out soon, I'm not above locking you both in a room until you figure things out."
Buck let go of a laugh before taking in the raised eyebrow and somewhat serious look of Bobby's. "You're joking, right, Cap?"
Bobby shrugged, his features giving nothing away. "You tell me."
"You wouldn't really… would you?"
And in all honesty, even with the mischievous glint in Bobby's eyes, Buck wasn't entirely sure whether or not Bobby would.
"Well, then," Buck answered, "looks like I'm calling at Eddie's then…"
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A/N: Thank you for reading. More coming soon...