"Buck?" Eddie questions the alpha, and to Eddie's surprise, Buck picks him up, slams him into the wall, and fucks him. Eddie gives Buckley everything he wants. After coming from sleep, Buck is gone. No note, no nothing. Gone. A month later, the three women he trusted the most took his son from him.
"I have Christopher, Eds. Everyone is telling me that I need to keep him. Eds, what's going on? Are you okay? How can I help you?" Buckley tells him. Eddie, pregnant, muffles his cries.
"I need you to come to LA to tell you something. I'll make sure that Chris is safe on my end," Eddie hangs up. Eddie curles up and cries. The following week, he sees a lot of money in his bank account and knows that Buckley had something to do with that. So many chances to come to LA were ruined by the Diaz family. Buckley gets Eddie's desire to never go near them again and protects Christopher from them. They keep rare contact with each other.
Hototo looks at Eddie with concern. The human is too thin for Hototo's liking, but he can't say anything. Hototo presses closer to Eddie. He sees tiny cubs coming towards them, and Eddie smiles. He kneels to Hototo's level.
"Does Buckley know that you're here?" Eddie questions the wolf. Hototo growls at him, and Eddie smiles. The cubs stay with Eddie, making Hototo wonder if Eddie has a wolf, but he can't see anything.
"Is Chris okay?" Eddie asks Hototo. The wolf licks Eddie's cheek, and Eddie relaxes. Eddie's on an LOA from LA, in Chigaco, for treatment for his youngest. CPS gave him Jee and a newborn when they couldn't get Buckley, Maddie was in a mental institution, and Han was in jail. Eddie renamed Jee to Alana and the newborn Travis. He gave birth to Tanya and Daniella but has yet to tell Buckley. Hototo would stay with Eddie sometimes. Travis got juvenile leukemia, like Buckley's older brother Daniel.
"Does Buckley know about Daniel?" Eddie questions the wolf. Hototo titles his head at him. Confirming that Buckley didn't know about him.
"Who's Daniel?" Someone interrupts them.
"Mikami!" Someone else hushes. Eddie sees a blond woman and a black-haired woman glaring at another dark-haired woman.
"I'm sorry, sir. We overheard the Buckley question. How do you know Buckley?" The black-haired woman tells him. Eddie grunts.
"Eddie?" Buckley's voice calls out. Eddie tenses. He looks at his alpha. Both know he's an omega human in a family of shifters. Christopher's biological alpha was a shifter. Shannon, Eddie's ex, was the only alpha he ever slept with. There was also one time without his heat, and he got pregnant.
"Buckley," Eddie responds, and Buckley looks at him. All three women look between them. Eddie sees an entire station of firefighters surrounding Buckley.
"Who's Daniel?" Mikami asks again. Buckley's confused when Eddie glares murderously at her.
"Violet!" The blond says harshly. Two men tense as the blond pulls her away.
"Daniel?" Buckley asks, making Eddie angry. The other woman looks at Eddie.
"I'm sorry, Eddie. We'll make sure that this never happens again. I'm Stella Kidd, Lieutenant of Truck 81, Station 51," She tells him. Eddie nods in thanks. Buckley gets closer to Eddie but stops when Eddie glares at him. Hototo brushes against Eddie's leg, making the human calm. Buckley's watching him. Concerned, kind, patient, and loving blue eyes that Eddie loves about him.
"Eddie?" Buckley's voice is filled with concern. His mate isn't healthy, and Buckley wants to help him again. Fix it. Not having Christopher has been rough, but the alpha has sent Eddie updates on Christopher.
"DADDY!" a tiny voice calls out. Eddie smiles, a happy dad smile that makes Buckley melt. Both men turn to see a little girl running towards them. Eddie bends down and picks her up, standing tall as he spins her. Buckley sees one resembling Howard Han's kid—Maddie's. His heart sinks at the thought.
"When?" Buckley asks softly. He knew Maddie left to get better but didn't know who had the children. She never told him what happened to Chimney.
"2020," Eddie says as he looks at the two. Buckley and the team winced. That was a challenging year all around.
"Travis, her son, has juvenile leukemia, like Daniel. He's your older brother. You were a survivor, baby," Eddie tells him, making Buckley inhale deeply. Everyone is tense, waiting for Buckley's reaction. Buckley reaches out to Eddie. The omega hesitates but reaches for him.
"How can I help you?" Buckley asks his mate. Eddie looks at him in bewilderment, which hurts Buckley.
"They're my children, Eds. You're raising my children. You're my mate, and I failed to be with you when you needed me. You're here. I'm helping," Buckley whispers to his mate. Eddie leans into his alpha and slumps, trusting his mate to catch him.
"When's the last time you slept, Eds?" Buckley asks.
"I don't know," Eddie admits.
"Daddy?" A little one asks. Eddie picks her up. Buckley sees a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes. She has twin marks on her left eye.
"Yes, Tanya," Eddie says. She blinks at them. Buckley can see another little girl identical to her, and he smiles. She reminds him of his omega.
"Is he our alpha?" Tanya asks. Buckley bends to their height. The twins approach him cautiously. The alpha smiles at the twins.
"I am your alpha, but you don't have to worry about that. I'm Evan Buckley; everyone calls me Buck. What is your name?" Buck tells her. She looks to her daddy, who smiles at her. Buck can tell that Eddie doesn't want her to see his pain.
"I'm Tanya Deanna. It's nice to meet you," she shakes her hand out to him. Buck smiles at her. He loved Tanya Roberts after seeing Charlie's Angles, and That's '70s show. He thought Deanna Lund was pretty good in Batman and Transylvania Twist. Eddie's calling their child those names makes him feel even guiltier for not helping him sooner. He looks at his other child with a smile. Tanya elbows her sister.
"Daniella Iris," Daniella says but runs off. Buck laughs. Eddie follows. Buck knows that Eddie's best friend from childhood, before her death, was named Daniella. Losing her made Eddie close off. Iris is one of Eddie's favorite songs by the Goo Goo Dolls. One twin for each name. Daniella is Eddie's kid. Before Eddie could go further, Buck grabs his wrist. Eddie looks at him with surprise.
"I want you to be checked out. I don't like how much weight you have lost," Buck mutters to him. Eddie shifts uncomfortably.
"I'm not healthy, Buckley. After you left, Nash, Grant-Nash, Grant, and Harry, and the Wilsons went after you. They're all here in Chigaco; Nash and Wilson are at Firehouse 105 here in Chigaco. Han and your sister are in Boston. My entire family is also here after stealing my child from me. When y'all left, I became a hot mess. No support from anyone. Just because you're my alpha doesn't mean we have that trust anymore. I want to trust you, and a part of me still does trust you, but we have to start at the beginning," Eddie tells him, and Buck flinches.
"Therapy? Family, individual, and couples?" Buck asks, and Eddie feels himself relaxing. He knows Buck would understand, but he is afraid he won't.
"But first, a check-up with you. I need to know how bad you are so I can help you heal," Buck says, and Eddie flinches. Buck frowns. Firehouse 51 can see how unwell the omega is and smiles sadly at this. They know that they will help the two men.
"Eds," Buck says. Eddie holds onto Daniella.
"Why?" Eddie asks so quietly that Buck is too lean forward to hear him.
"If the children get to be healthy, so does the parent," Buck reminds him. Eddie hugs his daughter, sweet Daniella, and lets her dad use her as a shield. Buck can see how uncomfortable Eddie is with this and wonders why. Buck takes Daniella and hands her to Stella. The woman takes the twins to Kelly.
"Eddie?" Buck whispers, causing Eddie to look at him. Fear in his eyes catches Buck off guard.
"What happened?" Buck asks.
"After giving birth to the twins, an alpha doctor..." Eddie pauses, but Buck connects the dots. Buck's pissed, but he isn't going to let Eddie feel or know.
"What happened, Eddie?" He sensed that Eddie needed to say it. He needed to help Eddie heal. He had failed the first time, but he could help him now.
"He raped me. The doctor raped me. So I avoid hospitals as much as I can," Eddie hisses. Buck nods in understanding.
"I'll stay with you," Buck says. Eddie looks conflicted.
"You need to get checked out, Eddie. How long ago did you spend time in the hospital for a real check-up?" Buck questions his mate. Eddie sighs.
"You'll stay?" Eddie wants to test his mate, which is a way to test his trust in Buck.
"Yes," Buck tells him.
"Buckley, I heard that you got some poor omega pregnant and then left them. This omega has your children, while you have his eldest. Where is this omega?" A voice comes from behind. Buck smiles softly at Eddie, putting the omega on the edge. Buck turns to see Crockett Marcel.
"Dr. Marcel, how are you doing?" Buck questions while soothing Eddie. Crockett looks at the omega with warmth. Eddie leans into Buck. 51 smile at the sight of them.
"I'm Crockett Marcel. It's nice to meet the only person who can put Buckley in his place," Marcel greets the omega. Eddie smiles while Buckley glares at him.
"Eddie," Eddie introduces himself. Marcel's eyes focus only on Eddie, which makes Buck grateful to him.
"Can I check you out? Buckley can be with you if he makes you feel safe," the alpha offers Eddie. Buck looks at him, and Eddie thinks for a while.
"Buckley comes with me," Eddie agrees, and those around them breathe with relief.
"Follow me," Marcel leads them to a room. He leaves the door open, making Eddie look at him.
"Hoi," Marcel speaks Frisian, making Eddie look at him.
"Hoi," Eddie mimics.
"Wannear is de lêste kear dat jo in dokter jo behannelje litte?" Marcel asks, and Buckley looks at the two. Eddie looks down.
"Fiif jier lyn. De dokter hat my ferkrêfte," Eddie admits, and Buck squezzes his hand.
"Kin ik hjoed in folslein eksamen op jo dwaan?" Marel questions, and Eddie looks at him. The warmth is still in his eyes, and kindness is being given.
"Ja dat kinsto," Eddie consents, and the doctor smiles. Both look at the blond alpha, who's always looking at Eddie.
"I'm getting a full exam done," Eddie tells him. Buck smiles at him.
"Thank you, both of you," Buck goes out, but Eddie grabs his arm, forcing Buck to turn back.
"Keep my babies away from my family. Please," Eddie begs the blond. Buck's heart breaks for him, and tears form his eyes.
"I won't let our children near Helena or Ramon. Even abuela and Pepa? Buck wanted to confirm.
"Everyone," Eddie tells him. Buck nods in understanding.
"Okay," Buck decides not to push this. He understands both sides of the issue, and no one is wrong. Although both parties' approaches are wrong, neither side is wrong. Helena and Ramon are good grandparents, but their views are old-fashioned, hurting their children, Eddie, the most. He sees Helena, Ramon, Pepa, abuela, Sophia, and Adrianna surrounding Chris, Tanya, Daniella, Alana, and Travis. The younger children are confused but happy to have them. Buck films this interaction.
"BUCK! Where's dad?" Chris asks. Buck takes a breath in. He sees everyone looking at him for some answers.
"Eddie is going to live with me, and he doesn't want any of you around his children or him. Give the children to 51, and leave. Once I know the details and give Eddie time to adjust, I'll talk to him about you and the children," Buck tells his mate's family. Everyone is about to protest.
"You kidnapped Christopher from him back in '19. You all left Eddie in LA to follow me to Chicago. You made Eddie feel like he hasn't done anything right by any of you for a long time. You see Omega and think that he's done for. He's proven over and over again how resilient he is and how successful he is in providing for his family. Leave now," Buck ends the protest with a firm reminder of the wrong they have done Eddie. They all finch.
"Will you let us know how Eddito is?" Abuela asks him. Buck smiles at her.
"Eddie's health is my number one priority right now. I will talk to Eddie when it's right for him. He will bring you up first. Not me. Leave," Buck tells them. Station 51 is proud to see Buck protective and honoring Eddie's wishes. The children are handed over to the firefighters and leave.
"Do you want to report them?" A voice came to their side. Buck sees Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton coming toward them. The couple look at the children and smile. They see Buck thinking about it.
"No," Eddie's voice comes from behind Buck. The alpha sees his omega walking towards him and the children running towards him. Chirs holds back.
"They committed a crime," Hailey says to him. Eddie looks square in the eye.
"So many people commit crimes that aren't reported. What are you going to do? Arrest them and then force them out of jail due to overcrowding? What would be the point? Some terrible people are not in jail because of money or power. We don't see them in jail. Yet poor innocent people are in prison for cover-ups, cops are too lazy to really look at the real killer, or cops are being paid to arrest the wrong person," Eddie says, taking a breath. Everyone is wide-eyed at what he's saying.
"Sure, the Diaz's took my son, but they were with him. They took him to Buckley. I never want them in my life or near my children, as I don't trust them. I don't trust Christopher's aid, as she helped kidnap him. However, they do care for him. I'll put up with the assistance as she's caring for my son. Unless we have a better system for criminals and cops not being corrupt, what's the point of reporting a crime if nothing gets done? There's no justice being served when we know that they will be released in time," Eddie finishes, stunning everyone. Chris looks at him.
"Buck has me do horseback riding, swimming, and basketball. Grandma and Grandpa support the sports," Chris tells him, making Eddie snort.
"That's amazing, kid," Eddie says, hiding his rage and bitterness. Buck can see the anger and hurt in Eddie's face and tone. Chris doesn't know how badly his grandparents hurt his dad. Buck knows that he will be playing interference between father and son.
"If that is what you want, we can't do anything," Jay tells him. Eddie looks at him.
"What I want will end me in jail. So I won't do what I want. I'll pretend to be the good civilian to keep my children," Eddie says, and people are weary of him.
"Eddie," Buck says so softly and gently. He wants to help Eddie but doesn't know how. They never talked anymore, and that's on Buck.
"NO. You don't get any right, Buckley. I'm okay with feeling this way," Eddie snaps at the alpha.
"It's not healthy!" Buck protested, and Eddie glared at him.
"It's not about healthy or not. It's about doing something with those feelings. I won't lash out and set things on fire because I want to. I'm not going to kill the people I want to kill because I want to. I won't do any of that because I know the consequences of my actions. What's the point of being a parent if I can't see my children grow up without me? People think those thoughts as much as they want. It's the people that are going through their thoughts that people need to be looking out for. I want my children to be safe and happy, and my family won't be in the picture if I can help it," Eddie vents to his mate. Anger and hatred in his body.
Kidd and Britt are before him, taking Alana and Travis from him. The two take him into a quiet room to let Eddie calm down. Buck wants to follow him, but Casey and Severide hold him back.
"Let him have some time to cool off. Now that Eddie is here, everyone will pressure him to forgive and forget. We don't know how much pain and suffering he had to go through alone. Give him some space. Focus on the children," Severide tells his subordinate. Buck feels two little ones holding each pant leg.
"Is our daddy okay?" The little girl asks.
"I'm Buck. Who are you?" He asks her. She brightens.
"I'm Alana Susan Buckley-Han. My little brother, this is my little brother Travis Matthias Buckley-Han. Is daddy okay?" Alana asks again.
"He will be," Casey tells the two. Then they go to play with their sisters.
"Buck?" Chris asks. Buck looks at his son.
"Yes, bud?" Buck answers back.
"Is Dad mad at me?" Chris asks, and Buck is sad at this.
"Bud, your dad has been alone with toddlers after you came to live with me. He loves you and will do anything for you. He's mad at the adults in his life for letting him down. You are someone whom he loves dearly and will always be there for. He loves you," Buck explains to Chris.
"Does he even love me anymore?" Chris asks and is swept into a hug by Eddie.
"I'll always love you, Chirs. I will be upset and hurt, but it won't be because of you. Adults are stupid and mean. They're nasty people who will try to do things to get their way. I know many of them. Those people make me mad and sad. However, you, mijo, will never be someone I can be mad at," Eddie tells him. Chirs breaks down into tears, and Eddie holds him. People wince at what he said and sigh. This is going to be a long road ahead of them.