Taylor tapped her nails against the smooth countertop, checking the time on her phone again. It had been hours since Buck texted her and let her know that Eddie was getting discharged soon and he was going to take him home. She'd rushed back over to Buck's loft, wanting to be there when he showed up at home again.
Like the dutiful little girlfriend, she'd scrubbed the place top to bottom. It didn't actually take much effort, since Buck kept his place clean, but she made sure he would be able to smell all the cleaning products she used. It wasn't a complete lie, since she had taken a bag of garbage out to the dumpster. Granted, most of the garbage was takeout containers she made sure to toss before Buck could see them. If she put the stuff in different pans and warmed it back up, that counted as her cooking, so she wanted all the credit.
It was going to be difficult to distract Buck from Eddie while he was on the mend, but Taylor was sure she could do it. All she needed to do was get him alone for a little bit. No one could resist her when she pulled out the works. Taylor's hair was shiny and perfect, falling over her shoulders. Her makeup was light with a subtle shimmer, just the way Buck liked it. The real showstopper was what she was wearing. The lingerie set was one she didn't break out often, since it was a pain to put on and take off, but it was worth it this time. It was lacy and strappy and left very little to the imagination. Buck wouldn't be able to take his eyes off of her and Eddie would be a distant memory.
The sound of a set of keys sliding into the lock jolted Taylor out of her daydreaming and she quickly shifted into position. She hopped up on one of the stools next to the counter, leaning seductively. Buck wouldn't know what hit him.
"Hey there, handsome."
"Oh."
Taylor was confused by Buck's unusual response, until the door finished opening and revealed the bane of her existence.
"What the hell?" Taylor exclaimed.
"Ugh," Eddie groaned, before slapping a hand over his mouth and hunching over. Taylor watched in bewilderment as Buck herded Eddie to the kitchen sink as fast as his battered body could move. He immediately started gagging, bringing up whatever meager offerings he'd been given at the hospital. Taylor's jaw dropped at the rudeness of it all.
"What the hell?" Taylor repeated.
"His stomach is just a little off," Buck explained, rubbing Eddie's back as he panted above his mess.
"What's he doing here?" Taylor asked, unable to keep all of the tightness out of her voice. She'd just been walked in on practically naked, so Buck could cut her some slack. "I thought you were taking him home."
"Change of plans. Eddie and Chris are going to be staying with me for now." Buck had to be joking. Or Taylor was asleep and this was a nightmare. There was no way her plan had backfired this badly. Instead of getting rid of Eddie, now he was going to be around Buck 24/7. This couldn't be happening.
"I- you-"
"I was already going to be staying with them, so it's just a change of location," Buck shrugged, turning his full attention back toward Eddie as he slumped against the counter. "Want to go to the couch?"
"Yeah," Eddie mumbled, bracing one arm against his stomach as they shuffled toward Buck's living room. Neither of them even glanced in her direction as they passed by. Buck settled Eddie onto the couch, fussing over him like he was a child. It made Taylor sick to her stomach as well.
"Are you good?" Buck asked, fluffing the cushion under Eddie's head.
"I'm good, Buck. Thanks," Eddie replied tiredly, draping an arm over his eyes. Taylor felt a glow of satisfaction at the peek of bandages she could see. Hopefully the wounds would get infected.
"Should I ask Hen and Karen if they can watch Chris a bit longer? I'm sure they won't mind."
"I need to see him. In my head I know he's safe, but I just-"
"Of course! It makes total sense," Buck insisted, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch and draping it over Eddie. If he was about to tuck him in, Taylor would walk out and never look back.
"I still have to call Athena too," Eddie groaned, trying to sit up. Buck forced him back down with a firm hand on his shoulder.
"I'll text her and let her know that tomorrow would be better," Buck said, pulling off Eddie's shoes before he could protest. Should Taylor start warming up a bottle for him? Prepare the changing table? If Buck was expecting this sort of treatment from her if he ever got laid up, he was in for a rude awakening.
"Dammit, I hate this," Eddie sighed, thumping his head back on the pillow.
"Me too," Taylor muttered under her breath. Two sets of eyes snapped in her direction and she blanched. "I hate seeing any of you guys hurt." That was as good of a save as she could muster.
"Um, ha," Buck chuckled uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at her pointedly and she felt a tendril of annoyance burn up her spine.
"What?"
"Well, you look great, but-"
"Shit!" Taylor hissed, remembering her state of undress. She darted up the stairs to Buck's bedroom, feeling her cheeks heat up in anger and embarrassment. Taylor grabbed a robe and wrapped it around herself, seething at the turn of events. Buck was supposed to forget about everything when he saw her. She was supposed to be the most important person in his life.
"Hey." Taylor blew out a long breath before turning to face Buck, who was standing at the top of the stairs. "I'm so sorry about all of this. If I'd known you were here, I would've given you a heads up."
"A heads up? Buck."
"I know this wasn't the plan, but I don't think any of us could've seen this coming."
"Can't he stay with his family? His grandma?" Taylor argued.
"Maybe if it was just Chris, but Eddie's gonna need help moving around for a while until his abdomen heals some more. That's too much for her to handle."
"What about other family?"
"His family in Texas?"
"Yes. Maybe getting away from everything is exactly what he needs." That amount of distance could really work in Taylor's favor. And perhaps Eddie would realize that's where he belonged permanently. This town wasn't big enough for both of them, let alone Buck's loft.
"There's no way he would want to do that."
"But-"
"And I wouldn't want him to do that. This is his home and I'm his family. Me and the rest of the station. When something bad happens to one of us, we take care of them. We don't ship them off."
"That's not what I'm saying," Taylor insisted. This discussion was spiraling and if she wasn't careful, Buck was going to see her as the enemy. She was his biggest ally. "I just don't want you to get overwhelmed. This is a lot for you to take on. I worry about you."
"I know you do," Buck said quietly, deflating as the tension that had been building between them eased. He walked over to her and ran his fingers up and down her arm. "I appreciate it, but the stress of Eddie and Chris being so far away would be worse on me. I can handle them being here for as long as they need, but I can't handle not knowing if they're okay."
"They are okay." Unfortunately.
"I know. But that phone call from Chris…" Buck trailed off, shaking his head. "That was one of the scariest moments of my life. And I've dealt with a lot of scary moments. I'm gonna need you to understand that I might be a bit overprotective of them. At least until Eddie is back on his feet."
"I understand," Taylor replied, using all of her control to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She didn't understand, because Eddie wasn't worth all this trouble. How many times did he have to almost die before it finally stuck?
"I gotta go. I have to pick up Chris. And they already have things here, but they'll need more of their stuff from the house soon. I should update Abuela and Tia Pepa of the new plan. Should probably tell Carla, but I don't want to worry her when she's dealing with her own stuff," Buck mumbled, listing off all the responsibilities he'd foisted onto himself. Taylor wasn't going to bother offering to help. This was his decision and his burden to deal with.
"I should go too. You've got your hands full and I don't want to be in the way," Taylor said. She waited to hear him say that she could never be in the way. That every second she was around made life that much more bearable. That no matter what he was doing, he always wanted her to be there with him.
"I'll call you later."
Taylor flew around her apartment in a rage. She was supposed to be getting worshiped by Buck right now, but instead she was all alone. Buck was probably spoon feeding Eddie dinner, so the poor baby didn't have to raise his arm.
All she wanted was a few days of Buck all to herself, but Eddie always found a way to ruin things. If Eddie was a real man, the big, strong hero that Buck claimed he was, he would've been able to handle the guys at his house by himself. But he had to rely on his son to call for help? It was pathetic. Taylor was honestly embarrassed for him.
When would they all see that Taylor was the best thing that ever happened to Buck? He had never been happier than he was now. His career had never been better. These people didn't deserve him. If she'd been around during the lawsuit, she would've supported Buck wholeheartedly. She would've told him to take the money and start a new life with her, instead of staying with people who didn't appreciate him.
Eddie only caused him pain. If Taylor asked Buck to list the other scariest moments of his life, they would probably all involve Eddie. Couldn't he see that it wasn't supposed to be like that? That if someone was constantly causing you stress, it was better to drop them and move on? And Taylor knew she should be taking her own advice right now and drop Buck, but she couldn't. She'd be dropping him right into Eddie's hands. Now was not the time to quit. If Eddie was going to be around, so was she.
Taylor grabbed the bag she hadn't unpacked from her canceled trip and marched out of her apartment. She made a pitstop in the basement of the building, doing a thing or two before she left. It would suck for the other tenants, but she didn't care. If Buck checked up on her story, which would be overstepping and rude, she needed proof.
She drove to Buck's loft, practicing her flustered face. It wasn't like Buck was the most observant guy, but she didn't want him to suspect she was being dishonest. She had too many stories to juggle at the moment.
Taylor knocked on Buck's door and waited for him to answer. She could've used the key she made a copy of during all this chaos, but then Buck would know she had one. That was her business.
"Taylor? Hey, what's up?" Buck greeted in surprise when he opened the door. She could hear Christopher laughing from somewhere inside the loft and she mentally cringed at the thought of having to be around a kid constantly, but she was willing to make this sacrifice.
"Sorry to drop in on you like this. Something happened at my building and there's no running water," Taylor explained, blinking up at him with wide eyes. "Do you think I could stay here for a few days?"
