"What the hell?! Shannon?" Sophia questions her little brother in front of the LAFD. Buck looks at Eddie with hurt and confusion, while the 118 are angry with Eddie. The chiefs see Eddie pissed.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He hisses at her. Buck frowns while Sophia looks at him with hurt. People are surprised at his harshness.
"I'm here to help you," She says. People can hear the defensiveness in her tone. Eddie isn't having it.
"Now! You're here now! Where were you three months ago?! Where were you when I asked for help? Even when I did ask for help, you laughed in my face, saying that I deserved everything I got. Shannon was there three months ago. She pulled me off the ledge again, and she didn't laugh at me for asking for help. She found a new therapist that I responded to. She was there when I needed someone the most. I love Buck, but he's an asshole right now. I don't want to talk about that right now, and Shannon is the only one who's ever letting me vent my anger about him," Eddie takes a deep breath. The 118 flinches and the chiefs are hardening at what's being said. The captains look at Eddie. That one was new.
"You were never there, Sophia. You want to lecture me about street fighting. You got me into street fighting! You didn't repay mom and dad for the seventy-five million you took. I did! I got the money back at the cost of my relationship with them. I don't remember you trying to pay them back! I paid for my college diploma with my own money. I don't have any debt. That's because I got the money from street fighting and the Army. The street fighting had helped a lot, but that gig is over for me. I'm a firefighter, ER nurse, a dad to a great kid, and a partner. I had to withhold my trauma from being a POW for my first three tours. I was tortured during the two tours. On my fourth tour, I got shot at and got sent home. You or Adriana needed help; I pushed my pain aside and helped you," Eddie takes another deep breath, making everyone look at him with wide eyes. Buck stands close to him but does not touch him.
"You got sober, and I'm glad for you. But goddamn it, Sophia! That's not what I needed from you. I needed a sister, and I never got one. Shannon was the one that was there for me. She's Christopher's mother, and we are on good terms. I don't ever see you or Adriana helping out. You upped and left me to deal with our parents. You never came back to help. I took the brunt of the abuse. You gave them fule to use on me. Now! Now you show up to help! What the fuck do you think you are accomplishing? Do you think that I want your help? Do you think I want a relationship with you? I don't want any of you coming into my life thinking that you know what I do. You don't know me," Eddie takes another, and Buck puts a hand on his shoulder.
That makes Eddie look at him. Love, understanding, and sorrow in his ocean-blue eyes. The LAFD tries to digest what Eddie is saying while Sophia is crying. Chief Aetos looks at his firefighter with concern. Eddie had hidden well, and now things are making sense with him. He's pleased to hear he has a therapist to whom he responds. Aetos is going to take Buckley and Diaz away from Nash. They are going to Captain Kimathi. She had wanted Diaz, but she knew Buckley would come with him. Eddie turns to his sister.
"If you want a relationship with me, you must do it my way. I'm putting myself first. Shannon is one of my oldest friends, and I'm not losing her because you hate her for whatever reason. We do talk to each other. If you can't accept that, get out," Eddie tells her, and Sophia walks out. Pain fills him, and Buck wraps him into his arms. Eddie breaks. People flinch at the raw pain as Eddie sobs into his partner's chest. Bosko goes to him, and the two blonds comfort the hurting man. Bobby feels the shame in his veins.
It took a while, but after Eddie calmed down, Buck refused to let him pull away, and Bosko left the room. Eddie's too tired to fight Buck and wants everything to slow down. Buck takes Eddie out of the room and into the bedroom. He feels like an ass for not giving Eddie a chance to explain. He can see that the 118 turned on Eddie. The 118 isn't family anymore, and Buck wants out.
"I'm sorry, Eddie. I should have trusted you when you told me Shannon was your important friend. I'm sorry," Buck says, making Eddie kiss his cheek.
"I love you, Ev, but you truly hurt me," Eddie says, making Buck hold onto him more.
"If you allow me, will you let me make it up to you?" Buck asks, making Eddie choke on his tears, allowing water to run down his face.
"I'm here, Eds. I'm not leaving you," Buck says, letting Eddie cry again. Someone knocks on the door, and Buck sees Captain Kimathi at the door.
"Captain Kimathi? Is everything okay?" Buck asks. She, a beautiful dark-skinned woman- smiles at the two men.
"Are you willing to transfer to the 221, Buckley?" She has an African accent. Buck blinks at her.
"Absolutely," He says, making her smile.
"I want you to take the Lieutenant exam. Diaz, I want you as my primal paramedic. However, I want your permission to talk to your therapist," She tells the men. Buck smiles at her, and Eddie is sniffling and rubbing his eyes clear of tearstains.
"Okay, Captain Kimathi," He says.
"Melokuhle, or Kuhle," She says, making them smile. She only allows the people that she likes to call her that. Sometimes, Eddie and Buck would help Kuhle out when the 221 were down members. Eddie had expressed staying with Kuhle to learn from her team. Buck helped her team and wanted to help out more. Buck and Eddie like the team.
"When's your next appointment?" She asks Eddie. The man gives a slight smile.
"Tomorrow. I'm also at a gym afterward," Eddie says. They give him a confused look.
"I was street fighting for three weeks before transferring to the gym I go to now. A former First Sergeant runs it. She was there before me and got me to be a Staff Sergeant. She came back a month after I did and opened up a gym for us to go to. A lot of us go there and help each other out. Some people I served with have set a date for us to meet. I go to the gym after therapy," Eddie explains. Kuhle smiles at the man. Buck kisses the side of Eddie's forehead.
"I'm proud of you, Eds. I love you. I'm sorry that I hurt you," Buck says, forcing Eddie to stop the water from coming. Kuhle smiles with pride at the man. He's been through hell and back, but he pulls through.
"I'm sorry too for not being open to Shannon. She's hard to explain without ruining her trust, and I didn't expect you to see her the way you saw us. I love you too," Eddi tells him. Buck caught them cuddling on the couch and ran out before letting Eddie explain.
"You weren't ready to tell Buckley. You were trying to figure some things out and needed to do that first. Buckley tries to help, but he does more damage than good sometimes. We like that you want to help, but how you go about it is a tad frustrating," Kuhle says, making Buck blush.
"What will happen now?" Eddie questions his captain.
"Starting two days from now, you two will get your turnout and bring them to the 221. Diaz, I want a report from your therapist and gym. Buckley, the same goes for you as well. After I get an all-clear from the two of you, you will be working for me," Melokuhle says, and both men nod. She steps out of the room to be with the rest of the other LAFD. Chief Williams looks at her.
"Are they okay?" She asks. She had begged the Chief to protect the two from Nash. She knew that Buck would, but with the lawsuit, the blond couldn't. During the lawsuit, she noticed Eddie falling apart, and no one was helping him. When he lashed out, the Chiefs started to look into Eddie.
"They're permitting us to speak to their therapists. Diaz has Wednesdays off, as that's his therapy and gym time. Diaz was street fighting for three weeks before the gym opened up, and he was the last to go when the guy broke his nose. Diaz never fought the man. He has a gym that is for him. Buckley has Tuesdays off for the same reason," Captain Kimathi tells them.
"We can work with that. Captain Nash, please note that they won't go to the 118 unless the 221 and the 118 work together." Chief Aetos tells his captain. Bobby nods in understanding, as that's a fair punishment for him. He has let his personal feelings get in the way for the last time, and Buck and Eddie are being put on a different team because of it. Hen and Han wanted to protest. The door opens, and a woman with dark hair and blue eyes enters.
"Eddie?" She calls as she walks to his room. The LAFD can hear the panic in her voice. In the bedroom, she sees Eddie and a tall, blond man. He's taller than Eddie. She sees dry water on his cheeks and goes to him.
"Are you okay?" She asks, making Eddie smile slightly.
"I'm okay, Shan. What's wrong? Are you okay?" Eddie asks worriedly. Buck waves to the woman. Shannon waves back but looks at Eddie.
"Sophia came barging into my house and started to yell at me. After that, she broke down. I had to call her husband to come and get her. She said how much of an asshole you were to her, so I knew she talked to you first. Are you okay?" Shannon explained. Eddie smiles that bitter smile that Shannon knows so much about.
"No. She won't accept our friendship, and I'm tired, Shan. I'm tired of this bullshit that my family's doing. I want it to end," Eddie admits, making Shannon rush to hug him from the front. Buck hugs him from the back. The two sandwich Eddie as the man holds onto the woman.
"Eddie, you have to set those boundaries. She will continue to use you if you don't," Shannon says to her ex. They will forever be friends, whether or not their romantic relationship sailed. They wanted two different things, and she will always be willing to give him another child.
"I know. I don't think I can do it alone," He admits. Buck holds him tighter.
"I'm still with you, Eds. I'll help with the boundaries," Buck says, making Shannon smile at Buck.
"Are we ready to go meet the others?" Buck questions. Eddie snorts at this while Shannon holds onto Eddie.
"I'm Buck. It's nice to meet you, Shannon," Buck says, making the woman smile.
"It's nice to put a face to the name. Thank you for taking care of my boys," Shannon says. Buck blushes, making Eddie laugh.
"Why didn't you let us meet earlier?" She asks her ex. The three come out, making Eddie lean into Buck.
"You were always busy, and the two had different schedules that never matched. So it was hard for you two to meet," Eddie says, making Buck and Shannon look at him with surprise.
"You wanted us to meet?" Buck asks. Surprise in his tone, making Eddie look at him with shock.
"Why do you think I wanted to visit the museum or zoo? You two are a big part of my life, and I knew you would get along. I never tried to hide anything," Eddie says. He's in disbelief that Buck would think that low of him. Shannon laughs, making Eddie fidget. Buck looks at him with a laughing smile and love. He puts his head on Eddie's head and holds him there.
"I love you," He says. Pure love hits Buck, making him happy and gitty. Eddie laughs as he sees Buck almost bouncing. Some of the LAFD laugh at their actions. Chief Aetos smiles at his firefighters. Shannon looks around and tilts her head at them.
"Who are they?" She asks. Eddie looks at her with amusement.
"The LAFD," Eddie says without care if he is insulting. Most of the captains and chiefs knew why. Buck holds onto him. Trying to hold the anger back.
"Why are they here?" She asks. Tone casual. Buck can see why they get along so well. Two peas in a pod.
"To make sure that Eddie is safe," Buck answers quickly before Eddie can say anything. Eddie gives him an indignant look, making Buck kiss him.
"I love you, but you will lose your job much faster now that they are here," Buck mutters. Eddie looks put out, making Shannon smirk.
"Invading your privacy?" She questions.
"Yes," Eddie answers. Buck laughs.
"Who are you?" A chief question. Eddie looks at him in disdain.
"No one you will ever get to know," Eddie says sharply. Most sigh at the harshness he is displaying. They're known to not like each other, as Shannon looks at Eddie. She can see this person doesn't like her friend.
"Are you good?" She asks, making Eddie smile.
"I'm good. Thank you. Text me when you get home," Eddie says. Shannon kisses him and leaves. Eddie looks at the LAFD and sighs.
"You are invading my privacy, so why are you truly here?" He asks, and Buck holds him back. Bobby feels guilty for not putting his feelings aside until it's too late. Bobby and the 118 harmed them, so they don't realize that the chiefs have gotten them out of the 118.
"We heard that you were hiding things, so we came to investigate," The dislikeable chief says, making Eddie turn to Buck. Buck can see the murder in his eyes and tries to get this situation to dissolve.
"What kind of things?" Buck puts Eddie behind him while holding onto the man. Chief Aetos frowns at his Battalion Chief. The chief has been after Eddie ever since Eddie told him off. It was the most respectful way for Eddie to tell the chief that he was in the wrong. Since then, the man will go after Eddie at any chance.
"Street fighting, almost killing a man during a fight, taking weekend trips to San Diego and San Francisco to deal with drugs," He listed, making Eddie brisk. Bobby frowns at Eddie while Buck looks at his partner. People are confused about this.
"How do you know this?" Chief Aetos questions the chief, making Eddie blink at him. The chief looks flustered at the question, making Eddie's eyes widen. This is no secret to him, as Eddie asked for his help. Eddie was needed to stop firefighters and some military from street fighting. The cops needed Eddie's help with some gang takedown.
"It was you. You're the one behind everything!" Eddie says. Nothing can be hidden from how Eddie said it. You can hear the anger and hurt. The man narrows his eyes at him. Chief Aetos's eyes widen with fury and rage as people can hear police cars coming.
"Elijah Abbott, you are under arrest..." Athena's voice comes in, reading his rights. She handcuffs him and takes him to one of her officer's cars. Buck feels Eddie leaning on him and stands close to him.
"What's going on, Eds?" Buck asks. The door opens, making Eddie sigh when he sees his parents.
"What do you want?" He asks in a restraining way. The LAFD can hear how much Eddie is fighting his tone. Roman smiles slightly at that. He's trying to change his practices. Helena was flustered at how hard the tone was. She knew that they had failed their only son.
"Sophia called saying that you and Shannon are friends. I told her you two are adults with history; if you can be friends, leave them alone. You two have always bounced off each other well. I told her to leave you alone," Ramon tells his son. Helena smiles at Eddie. She can see that he's close, almost behind Buck, giving her hope.
"We should've asked what was going on between you two. I should have never made assumptions about her. When I see her, I will tell her that. I'm also sorry for how I acted toward you and her. You were always happy with Shannon, and that's all I want from you. Happiness. I'll support you and Buck if you two are a thing," Helena says, making Buck smile at them. Eddie's struggling to breathe.
"Thank you, you two. That means a lot," Eddie tells his parents. The two exit, making Eddie breathe again. Buck holds onto him.
"Well, don't you just keep getting better?" Buck says, making Eddie look at him. The LAFD sees how gentle Buck is with Eddie. The 118 are shocked to hear what their quietest member has gone through.
"When I think I understand you, stuff happens, making me think twice," Buck says. Eddie leans on the taller man. Buck can see that Eddie needs to get away and looks to the Chief.
"Are you done?" He asks them. They can see the same thing.
"We are done. I will see you in two days," The captain of the 221 says, making Buck nod in understanding. After that, everyone but the 118 is left.
"Get out before I call the police. We are done. Hen, you made everyone believe that Eddie was cheating on me. Shannon and Ana are friends outside of the 118, and I have Taylor. We don't need your approval to have outside friends. We don't even have to tell you about our friends. The 118 have caused us harm that it's hard to recover from. We are done with the 118. Get out," Buck says. Bobby moves them out.
"We hope you will let us make it up to you someday," Bobby tells them. Once they are gone, Buck turns to Eddie.
"Let's get you something to eat, Eds," Buck says as he leads the older man to the kitchen. Buck's worried about how quiet Eddie is.
"Eddie?" Buck asks the man. Eddie grabs Buck's arm and begins to tap, and Buck learns all of the taps from Eddie.
"That's okay. We don't have to talk," Buck assures him. It became easier when Buck learned sign language to help with the nonverbal cues from Eddie.
Eddie leans into Buck. The taller man holds him close and lets Eddie make all the moves. He's following Eddie's lead, as the man needs to be in the lead. Buck takes charge whenever they are in the bedroom, but everything else Eddie does.
Once Eddie has eaten, the two men curled up on the bed. Buck spoiled Eddie and Chris with his money. His parents and grandparents had left him a lot of money, and with the money, Buck bought him new furniture and a new bed. Eddie had fought him over it, but it makes sense why Eddie kept fighting him.
The Diaz parents restricted their money from the kids. Eddie was never that way with Chris, and Buck always made sure that Chris and Eddie were covered. Eddie tries to make ends meet, but Buck forcing himself into Eddie's life is a game changer, as Buck was always around. The younger man will make sure that his favorite boys get spoiled.
"Are we going to be okay?" Buck asks his partner. Eddie taps, making Buck smile sadly.
"I agree," Buck says, making Eddie nuzzle into Buck's chest.
"Dads," Chris's voice calls out.
"In the bedroom," Buck answers. Both men hear the crutches coming and see Christopher barging into their room.
"What's up, buddy?" Buck asks their son. Eddie had ingrained in him that Chris is Buck's son and to adopt him. Buck wanted to propose to Eddie, but with the 118 being the hot mess as it is now, he lost that chance.
"Is everything okay?" He asks. Eddie beckons Chris to come over, and the child comes to the bed. Eddie gathers his son into his arms. Eddie is trapped from behind by Buck and in the front by Christopher and is content.
"Marry me," Buck blurs out, making Eddie look up at him.
"Yes," Eddie says without hesitation. Christopher giggles at both of his dads. The pre-teen lets his dad cuddle with him because he looks sad. Eddie kisses his forehead. After a while, the family of three got out of bed. Chris goes to do his homework, Eddie starts cooking, and Buck stays with their son.
Chirs and Buck were shocked to taste Eddie's cooking. Everyone joked that Eddie was a disaster in the kitchen, but the truth was, he was a chief. Buck was shocked to see his favorite food after the lawsuit.
"You made me food?" Buck asks one day. Eddie turns around in surprise.
"Buck! What are you doing here?" Eddie asks, making Buck frown. He looks at how thin Eddie is.
"I wanted to know if you wanted to discuss the lawsuit," Buck says. He goes for the rice dish that he missed so much. Eddie blushes at being caught.
"What about the lawsuit?" Eddie questions the other man. He has five different dishes out, all Buck's favorite meals. He wanted the comfort food. The five dishes are his comfort food. Buck looks at him with shock.
"I wanted to let you know I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I want to talk about the lawsuit," Buck tells him, and Eddie sighs. He hands Buck a plate.
After that, Eddie explains his whole side, and Buck cries. That very next day, Buck showed Eddie love. The blond showered Eddie with love that made the man break down, and Buck would be there to pick him back up.
"Do you want to bottom, Evan?" Eddie asks. The blond had noticed that Eddie had taken to calling him Evan instead of Buck. He didn't mind it because whenever Eddie says Evan, it means that Eddie loves him.
"No. I like showing you how much I love you. I've bottomed before and didn't like it," Buck tells him.
"Eddie?" Buck questions his partner.
"Let's get married now. Just the three of us. I want Chris to be with us. However, I want to submit to you. I want you to be my dom, no. I need you to be my dom," Eddie says. When Buck introduces BDSM to Eddie, the man is reluctant to try, but after, Buck puts his mind at peace. That was the game changer. Buck looks at him.
"Are you sure?" Buck questions him. Eddie submits to Buck. Answer is clear. Buck smiles.
Three months later, Eddie and Buck are married, working at the 221. Well, Buck's working at the 221, and Eddie's on a LoA for taking care of their newborn daughter. Shannon and Buck are good friends who love to gang up on Eddie, but Eddie's happy they're getting along. He and his parents are in therapy to repair the relationship, and Sophia has left him alone.
Some days are harder than others, but with Buck, it's easier to handle. Eddie's safe. Buck has him.
