Eddie had not been expecting to end up with a kind-of boyfriend a week into his new job. He hadn't been expecting to have a boyfriend ever really, but he wasn't too fussed about that aspect of it. It was the 21st century and the earth was dying, so why worry about what another person had between their legs or the gender they were assigned at birth? He might feel a little differently if his parents were around, but they were in Texas and that was a problem for another day.

He and Buck had agreed to not saying anything to anyone about their budding relationship, since it wasn't even official. And they didn't want it to complicate things at work. If they decided in the end to stay friends only, they didn't want the commentary. And if they had a messy breakup, they didn't want the judgment. Eddie was just fine keeping things slow and quiet. It felt a little more exciting that way.

In addition to the Buck situation, Eddie felt like he was fitting in really well with the 118. Everyone was so inviting and they didn't treat him like the new guy at all. It was refreshing to not have to deal with office politics. Even at the part time grocery store job Eddie had years ago, there were people jockeying for position. Here, if you did your job and weren't a jerk, you were in.

Eddie wasn't the only Diaz doing well. His son, Christopher, was thriving. That was the most important thing. Even if everyone hated Eddie, he would grin and bear it for his son, if that meant giving Chris what he needed. It was hard leaving him for such long stretches of time, but he was still seeing him more than he had in El Paso. It was the new normal and Eddie was confident they'd settle in just fine.

Eddie was working on his chores for the morning. He'd only seen Buck briefly in passing, but they shared a look that said everything they couldn't out loud. They needed to have a few more conversations soon to hash more things out, but that could wait. There was no rush.

He was on the roller under one of the trucks when the world started shaking. His cart spun him out into the open, disorienting him for a few seconds. Hen, bless her, saw his predicament and was close enough to latch onto him, pulling him to a stop before any equipment could fall and land on him. They clung to each other as they staggered to a safer part of the station, meeting up with the others. Bobby and Buck joined them a few seconds later, looking no worse for wear. Eddie still gave Buck a more critical once over, just to be safe.

It felt like no time at all before they were in the truck, headed to a call. The mood was somber as they passed by damaged neighborhoods, but Eddie's attention was on something else. Every time his texts didn't go through, dread piled higher and higher in his stomach. The only thing he could think about was whether or not his son was safe. The idea that he would be stuck at work for hours without word made him sick.

Eddie was so distracted by his stress that when Buck asked him what was wrong, he answered without thinking. He realized what he'd done a second after he finished his sentence. Eddie held his breath, waiting for Buck's reaction. Thankfully, it was a positive one, but he knew they'd have to talk about it more later on. And Eddie had to admit, finding out that Buck genuinely liked kids was a relief.

When they got to the location of the call, Eddie had to shove thoughts of Christopher to the backburner. This demanded his full focus, if he wanted to be able to make it to his son at the end of the day. He listened with the others as Bobby gave them an out, but there was no way any of them would take it. Eddie knew what he was getting into when he took this job. He'd accepted being in danger the second he'd enlisted in the Army. This was no different.

He and Buck were sent off together to attempt a rescue, giving them time alone for the first time since the quake hit. It was going to be a while before they made it to where anyone was, so it wouldn't hurt to have one of their necessary conversations. Buck broke the ice by mentioning the safety of the school buildings in the state, which Eddie appreciated. He'd take any reassurances he could get.

"About that," Eddie said as he climbed in the window. He turned to help Buck in as well. "I'm sorry I didn't mention Christopher to you sooner. It's not that I was trying to keep him secret, I just don't know the normal protocol when it comes to stuff like that. I've never talked to anyone in this way as a parent."

"It's completely okay. I understand," Buck assured him, looking around to find the best route up. "This is still so new. I'm sure there's a lot we don't know about each other yet."

"I know, but this is the biggest thing. And I get it if this is a deal breaker. Chris is my number one priority and always will be, so I won't judge you if that isn't what you're looking for."

"Eddie-"

"You're so young. You have so much more life to live and it makes sense if you don't want to be tied down with someone else's kid."

"Eddie," Buck said again, more forcefully this time. Eddie glanced back at him, since he'd taken the lead on the stairs. He could see the fond look in Buck's eyes, even in the low light of the building. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay. Yeah, okay," Eddie murmured, concentrating on the climb again. It was easy for someone to say that, but Eddie believed Buck. He'd never been so quick to trust another person before.

"This is a pretty crazy emergency to deal with so soon on the job," Buck said after they'd climbed a few more floors. "How are you feeling so far?"

"An earthquake definitely wasn't on my bingo card this morning," Eddie scoffed, hauling himself up a few more steps. "We don't get ones like this back in Texas."

"Did you know that Southern California has about 30 earthquakes a day? Most of them are too weak to feel."

"Why do you know that? Is that part of the California school curriculum?"

"I just like learning about stuff," Buck shrugged, adjusting his light as it tipped to the side. "And I never went to school here. I grew up in Pennsylvania."

"Oh yeah? Looks like we're both far away from home."

"It hasn't been home for a while," Buck said, trailing off at the end.

"Story for another time?" Eddie guessed. At Buck's grunt of agreement, they continued on their way. It was only a few more minutes until they got to their objective floor. Going into the tilted hallway was a mind warp, but everything felt solid enough for now. He hoped they could get this over with before that changed.

As soon as they breached the room they were entering, it was like they were on an amusement ride from hell. Eddie jolted a little when he saw Buck sliding in, but he regained his footing quickly and got himself to a place he could anchor down. At Buck's word, Eddie carefully crept forward, taking in the whole scene. Floor to ceiling windows were usually coveted when you had a view like this, but after this, Eddie would happily stare at a wall.

The people they were saving were bickering and the guy didn't seem like the most ethical, but that didn't matter at the moment. They had a job to do and they would do anything they could to save everyone. Buck handled the woman, Ali, while Eddie focused on the man against the window. He was confident he'd be able to save him, since they were right there and the window had held this long. But mother nature had other ideas.

As soon as the ground started shaking under them again, Eddie knew deep down what was about to happen. Even so, he still tried to get to the man. He would never give up, even if there was only the slimmest of chances. But the pressure on the glass was too much and Eddie could only yell as the man fell from the building. He looked down, needing the confirmation that he hadn't been able to grab onto something to stop his descent. No such luck.

Eddie only had a moment to feel the loss before Buck was shouting his name. It was only years of training and reflexes that had him catching Ali as she fell from the window. He could hear Buck straining as he held both of their weights, but Eddie had to trust that he could support them for as long as they needed.

"I'm gonna pull you up. Don't let go," Eddie directed with a strained voice. This was gonna be tough, since both of his hands were occupied and the building was tilted toward the ground. "Buck, can you help us out here?"

"I'll do what I can," Buck panted, giving a little tug on the line that attached them.

"You pull and I'll pull and it'll be as simple as that," Eddie declared, trying to sound confident. One rogue piece of furniture sliding could knock them out, but Eddie couldn't think about that. He had to get Ali back into the building as soon as possible. "Pull!" Buck shouted in exertion as he yanked the rope, moving Eddie's body a surprising amount. Eddie didn't let his effort go to waste, using his whole body to slide backwards. It was awkward, but he imagined himself doing a sort of backward version of an army crawl, relying on his legs and core instead of his arms. Ali was doing her part, holding onto him with a vice grip.

It was slow going, but Eddie finally got back far enough that his whole upper body wasn't hanging over the edge anymore. Now that he had better leverage, he pulled Ali closer, instructing her to wrap her arms around his neck. She was hesitant to let go of his wrists, but eventually listened to his direction. Eddie wrapped one arm around her back and used the other to slide himself further into the building. As soon as Ali was able to, she swung her leg over the edge, finally ending her traumatizing dangling act. Buck threw down another rope and Eddie quickly secured Ali with it, before the three of them crawled into the relative safety of the hallway. They all sprawled out in various spots, trying to catch their breath as the adrenaline leaked out of them.

"That was insane," Buck huffed, swiping a hand across his sweaty forehead.

"You good?" Eddie asked. He was pretty sure Buck was fine, but he needed the confirmation.

"I'm good."

"Ali? Do you need any medical attention?"

"I could probably use a Xanax or ten, but other than that, I'm good," she replied a little breathlessly.

"Alright. We'll sit here for a minute, get our bearings back, then head for the stairwell," Eddie decided, rolling his sore shoulders.

"Are you hurt?" Buck asked, noticing the movement.

"Nah, just a little stiff. Nothing that two feet on the ground won't fix." They could worry about being sore when they were outside of this god forsaken building. After a few more minutes of sitting and getting their wits about them again, they carefully stood up. Buck insisted Ali wait where she was while the two of them checked out the stairs to make sure they were okay to walk down. Eddie wasn't sure why he wanted her to wait, since they'd just have to go back for her, but he didn't question it. Just as they saw that the stairs were tricky, but passable, Buck grabbed him by the arm and looked at him seriously.

"Are you okay?"

"Buck, I told you-"

"No, I'm talking-" Buck cut himself off with a sigh and glanced away. "That was your first loss on a call."

"Oh," Eddie mumbled, considering that fact. While that was true, it wasn't the first time he'd lost someone on the job. It came with the territory when you were a field medic in a war zone. And he knew going into this job that it was a matter of when, not if. But if Eddie was good at anything, it was shoving down his feelings and pressing on. That couldn't change now. "I'm okay."

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You were there too."

"I'm trying not to let myself think about it right now," Buck admitted. "It's not my first loss, but I feel like they won't get any easier." Eddie didn't want to lie and say they did. He still woke up some nights, reliving his failures, even when there was nothing more he could've done. He wore guilt like a second skin.

"If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here. No matter if it's big or small," Eddie offered. Buck flashed him an appreciative smile, before patting him on the shoulder and walking back toward where Ali was waiting. They'd get down these stairs, meet up with the rest of their team, and hopefully have some cell service somewhere in the middle of that. Simple as that.