Every Breath You Take (I'll be watching you…)
Summary: Buddie fic. Mysterious gifts start appearing at the firehouse for Buck from a secret admirer, but as the gifts get progressively more sinister and the 118 grow increasingly worried, they must uncover the mystery before someone close to them gets seriously hurt, or worse. Protective!Eddie. Established Buddie relationship. Follows on from Turning Point but can be read as a standalone.
Disclaimer: I do not own 9-1-1 or anything associated with the show.
Author Notes: I'm back with my second fanfic for 911 and Buddie! This takes place after the events of my first fic (Turning Point) but it can be read as a standalone.
Set after season 6.
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Chapter 2
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If Eddie thought he would get to sleep in on his first Saturday off in weeks, he was greatly mistaken. Chris was awake and calling on both him and Buck before the sun had even fully risen. Of course, he only had himself to blame. He had, after all, agreed they would spend the day shopping for Halloween decorations. He huffed and he puffed and he grumbled away, but the truth was, he secretly enjoyed it. He enjoyed the shared excitement of Chris and Buck, and enjoyed listening as Chris rambled away about all the plans he had, from skeletons in the garden to ghosts in the windows.
As he sipped on his coffee, Eddie rolled his eyes every so often, playing the part of irritated father, but he couldn't hide the smile. He couldn't hide the way warmth spread throughout him when he glanced Buck's way and saw the pure joy that lit up his face. By the time they reached the first of many shops, Eddie had given up pretending, embracing the chaos of it all and loving every minute of it.
Chris was the first into the Halloween store, wide eyes taking everything in before looking back to Eddie and Buck. "I'm gonna see if they have any werewolf costumes."
And he was moving before either of them had a chance to say anything to him on the matter.
"I guess he wants to be a werewolf," Buck chuckled, taking a step toward the closest shelving and looking through the items on sale there.
"I guess so," Eddie agreed, letting go of a snort before joining Buck at the shelving. "Which just leaves us to decide on our costumes." He pulled a mask from the shelf, taking in the fake green skin and cheap bolts, and held it up to Buck with a grin. "What about Frankenstein?"
Buck looked to him, head tilting as he pointed his finger at him, a small smile on his face that lit up his eyes. "Did you know that Frankenstein is actually the doctor, not the monster?"
In truth, Eddie did know, but he wasn't about to say so. He enjoyed it too much, watching the shine in Buck's eyes whenever he started telling Eddie random facts. He enjoyed the random research binges Buck would go on, somehow getting from 'why does the moon look red' to 'what was the number one cause of death in the 17th century' within a matter of minutes.
"I don't know," Eddie answered with a shrug as he put the mask back, "guy sewed a bunch of dead people together just because he could. Seems pretty monstrous to me."
"Fair point," Buck said with a click of his fingers and a smile, returning to costumes on show.
"So, no monster doctor then…" Eddie continued. "Then, what are you gonna wear?"
"I don't know," Buck answered, soft and thoughtful.
"Come to think of it, I've never seen you dress up for Halloween before. Unless you count sexy firefighter."
"Which you totally should."
Eddie let go of a light chortle, but stopped in his search for a costume, his eyes locked on Buck. "Why don't you ever dress up for Halloween?"
"I guess it wasn't really a big thing growing up in the Buckley household." Buck shrugged, seemingly at peace with it, but that only added to the twinge of sadness that Eddie felt.
"Well, in the Diaz family, Halloween is a big deal." Eddie grinned. "Granted, it's more Dia de los Muertos than actual Halloween and it's more about honouring and remembering the dead than candy. But like my Abuela always says, why can't you do both?"
Buck toyed with a headband with a fake, bloody axe on it before placing it on his head and turning to face Eddie, holding his arms out. "What do you think?"
Eddie twisted his nose up and shook his head, taking a step forward and removing the headband as he did so. He cast a quick glance at the shelves and smiled when he found just the thing. He picked up a dark brown tricorn hat and placed it gently on Buck's head, turning him from murder victim to rugged pirate.
"There," Eddie breathed out, hooking his fingers into the pockets of Buck's jeans and tugging him close, "my very own 'Buck-aneer'."
A blush spread across Buck's skin and he smiled down at Eddie, lowering his head enough so that their lips could touch. Of course, Eddie sighed, that would be when Chris shouted out from further into the store for them, bringing them to a halt and back to the reality that was shopping.
"Dad! Buck! I've found it."
Buck's breath brushed against Eddie's lips as he let go of a laugh, which only served to make Eddie's frustration worse. He forced himself to let go of Buck, cursing the way Buck bit at his lip when he looked over Eddie, but he pushed it down, swallowed the want for now, knowing they would have time later when Chris was worn out and tucked up in bed.
When they found Chris, he was admiring an elaborate and detailed werewolf costume, complete with mask and gloves that served as claws. It was the first of many items he picked up to buy, Eddie eventually giving in and retrieving a cart until Chris finally declared they were done.
The lady at the checkout was just finishing ringing up the last couple of items when she looked up at them, her eyes flicking to Buck several times before she finally spoke. "Are you purchasing the pirate hat as well…?"
Buck immediately floundered, his face falling and hands rushing up to remove the hat. His apology was small, the embarrassment clear, making Eddie smile as he realised Buck had completely forgotten he had the hat on his head. But instead of allowing Buck to put it back on the shelf, Eddie passed it to the lady. "Yeah, we'll take it."
.-.-.-.-.
"So, why did Buck say he and Eddie couldn't make it tonight?" Chimney asked as he set the table for two instead of six. Not that Chimney was complaining about them bailing on their Saturday night get together. With Jee out like a light in her room, and the prospect of entertaining Buck, Eddie, and Chris now gone, it meant Chimney could have some quality time with his wife to be. And that was never a bad thing.
"He said something about something coming up," Maddie answered, clearing her throat a little and shooting a coy and knowing smile at Chimney, "which I'm pretty sure is code for… well, you can probably guess."
"I swear, they're like a couple of randy teens." Chim placed his hands down on the table and looked across it at Maddie. "It's sickening, that's what it is. With their lovey dovey looks and the constant touching. All day, every day… I feel like a background character in some Hallmark romcom movie."
"I think it's sweet." Maddie moved around the table and leaned her back against it as she came to a stop beside Chimney. "Remember when we couldn't keep our hands off each other?"
"What do you mean, remember?" Chimney asked, taking a step closer and running a finger along her jaw. "I still can't."
She smiled, her cheeks flushing red and a strand of hair falling in front of her eyes. Chimney brushed it away, smiling back at her, lost in her eyes. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips before they went back to setting the table and getting dinner ready.
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot," Chim said, coming to stand by the fridge as he watched Maddie cook. "We ran into an old 'friend' of yours at a scene the other night."
She furrowed her brow and looked to him. "Friend?"
"Yeah, and by ran into, I mean Buck literally ran into him… or he ran into Buck. I'm not sure really." Chim pursed his lips in thought but quickly shook the questioning from his mind. "Some guy called Shawn… Harrold? Harris?"
The colour drained from Maddie's face and she dropped the wooden spoon she was holding. It landed on the floor with a thump and Chimney swooped down to pick it up.
"Woah, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't have brought it up. Buck was right… the guy is a creep."
"Buck spoke to him?" she questioned, her voice hoarse, hand going up to her chest.
"Well, not exactly willingly. He was being polite. I'm sure he wanted to knock the guy off his feet for whatever he did to you."
"What?"
"I'm just saying I know how protective he is of you." Chimney placed the spoon down on the counter and reached out to grab her hand, gentle and cautious. "He said they went to high school together and the guy was obsessed with you. I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was this bad. After Doug, I should have-"
But Maddie shook her head. "I wasn't the one he was obsessed with."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"He was obsessed with Buck. I always knew that Buck knew something was up, but I didn't think… I told Buck to stay away from him. I just figured he always thought I didn't like the guy. Which, surprise, I didn't and still don't."
"And Buck doesn't know any of this?"
"The family moved away before it could get any worse… before Shawn could actually do anything." She met Chimney's eyes, worry reflected in her own. "I can't believe he's back."
.-.-.-.-.
The rose with the thorns still attached came next. It was a creamy ivory colour and Buck let out a pained 'ouch' when he picked it up, dropping it again immediately and sucking at the fresh cut on his fingertip. Bobby put it in the trash without a word, and Buck was too distracted by Eddie looking after his superficial wound to protest.
Bobby shared a look with Eddie, both their expressions serious and thoughtful, and Bobby wondered how much of his own thoughts echoed inside of Eddie's mind.
He didn't like it.
As firefighters, they were used to receiving gifts. Small thank yous and tokens of appreciation. After the dosing incident, they had put stricter rules in place, but it was always nice to feel that warmth from the general public. But this was different.
After the cupcake, Bobby had asked around, but no one could tell him who left it or at what time. The same with the rose. Each time, they had been clearly left for Buck and with each, a heavier weight settled in Bobby's chest.
He couldn't put his finger on it, whether it was because it was too personal or because the gifts were getting increasingly weird. By the time the small box with the red string inside showed up, alarm bells were ringing in Bobby's mind and by the way Eddie stood that little bit closer to Buck whenever they were out on a call, as if protecting him from an unseen force, Bobby could tell he felt the same.
So, when the bell rang out and they got the call to return to the same club they had visited the week prior, Bobby should have known that things were only going to get worse.
There was a small crowd gathered outside of the Midnight Ace, passerby's intrigued by the sight of smoke and the arrival of both police and firefighters, as well as drunken patrons that had been inside the club. As it turned out, it wasn't the actual club that was on fire, but rather the dumpsters around the back. They had evacuated the club as a precaution in case the fire spread, according to Athena who was already at the scene when they arrived.
Bobby gave her a quick hug and kiss in greeting as she filled him in, and then set to work commanding his team. The fire was easy enough to deal with, but the crowd made work harder. That was why police were on the scene. Crowd control. Of course, that didn't stop them from also doing a little crowd control themselves, though as Bobby caught the scene from the corner of his eye, he wished certain members of his team would think before they acted.
Once the fire was out and they were packing up, Bobby heard the commotion before he saw it. A couple of drunken club goers demanding to be allowed back into the club now the fire was out.
"Hey, back off," Buck's voice called out, "they're just doing their job."
The they in question being the staff of the club blocking the entrance until they received the go ahead to go back in. Bobby saw Buck take a step forward, placing his hand on the shoulder of a particularly aggressive drunk, only for the man to spin around and land a punch right on Buck's jaw. Bobby was moving immediately, and he wasn't the only one. Eddie was there within seconds, stepping between Buck and the guy, his hands forming fists at his side. He no doubt would have swung if it hadn't been for Athena placing a hand on his chest.
"I've got this," she said, a warning in her eyes and voice. "You check on Buck."
Bobby placed his hand on Eddie's shoulder and nodded to Athena, guiding Eddie toward Buck as she pulled out her handcuffs and starting telling the drunk man his rights.
"I'm fine," Buck said, rubbing at his jaw. "Though I'd like to know if that ringing was always there…"
"Buck…" Eddie breathed out, anger and frustration filling that one name. He put an arm around Buck's waist and all but dragged him over to the ambulance despite Buck's protests that he could walk by himself.
"That was a quite a blow," Bobby said, brow furrowing as he watched Eddie attend to Buck, concern written into the lines of his face.
"I've had worse," Buck answered with a sharp hiss when Eddie placed a cold compress on his jaw. "Ey, Chim?" he added as Chimney approached them, looking over his shoulder and at the crowd.
"Huh?" Chimney questioned, pulling his gaze toward them.
"You okay, Chim?" Bobby narrowed his eyes at Chimney, his own gaze flicking briefly toward the crowd of people once more before focusing on his team.
"Yeah… just thought I saw someone." Chimney shook his head and forced a smile onto his face. "Guess I was wrong."
.-.-.-.-.
After working several lates in a row, Chimney was glad to be on an early shift by the time Wednesday rolled around. He climbed the steps to the loft of the firehouse with enthusiasm, a smile on his face as he greeted everyone there. There were a couple of firefighters by the game machines, whilst Hen was pouring herself a coffee and Bobby was working in the kitchen – a sight that always brightened Chimney's mornings. Cap's breakfast was possibly his favourite kind of breakfast.
"Oh jeez, another one?" Chimney questioned as he got closer to the table and could see the small red box sitting there. "I'm starting to feel a little insulted that I don't have a secret admirer."
Hen shook her head. "I don't know, I think the whole thing is kind of creepy."
"Oh come on, this is Buck." Chimney let go of a small laugh. "Between him and Eddie, I'm surprised we haven't had fangirls leaving stuff for them before now."
He picked up the box, ignoring the pointed look from Hen, and turned it over.
"Don't do it, Chim," she warned, raising her eyebrow at him.
"You telling me you're not the least bit curious?"
"It doesn't belong to you."
Chimney considered that for a moment, before shaking the doubt from his head. "Screw it."
He pulled the ribbon from the box and opened it up, almost dropping it at the sight of what was inside.
"Hen… please tell me that isn't real."
Hen moved closer and looked into the box, her sharp intake of breath answer enough for Chimney. "I'm afraid I think it is."
She swallowed hard and lifted her gaze to Bobby as Chimney very carefully placed the box back down on the table.
"Cap," Hen said, "you might want to call Athena."
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A/N: Much more to come...