"Eddie?" Bobby's voice startles the man. His wide-doe eyes are wild and panicky.
"Eddie, I need you to take a deep breath," Bobby says. He can see that Eddie is trying to take deep breaths, but it's hard.
"Can I touch you, Eddie?" Bobby asks the younger man. Eddie reaches toward the older man. Bobby grabs him and pulls him close to him. The moment Eddie is in Bobby's arms, he releases a sob. Bobby holds tight to the hurting man.
"Bobby?" Athena calls out but moves to the sound of crying. She sees her husband hugging one of her crying sons. Eddie's been through hell and back, and for him to cry means he broke.
"What's wrong?" Athena asks her husband. The two sandwiches Eddie for comfort. Bobby knows that something happened with Eddie and wants to check on him. To find him crying on the floor means something happened.
"I think today is a down day," Bobby thinks, making Athena hum.
"Buck has Christopher for the day?" Athena asks.
"Hen and Karen. Buck's gone. He went to Boston," Eddie sobs to Bobby and Athena.
"Why?" Athena demands. Bobby holds him tighter.
"Maddie," Eddie sobs out. The parents are wide-eyed.
"He followed Maddie?" Bobby asks.
"He and Chimney. He didn't say goodbye to Chris," Eddie breaks, making Bobby and Athena hold him. When Eddie stops crying, he's asleep. The parents made their son and grandson stay with them. When Bobby returns home from dropping Chris off at school, he finds Eddie baking.
"Do you need any help?" Bobby asks gently. Eddie gives him a batch of cookie dough, which Bobby places on paper sheets.
"What's going to happen now?" Eddie questions his captain. They hear the door open and heavy footsteps down the stairs.
"What do you mean Chimney and Buck are gone!?" Hen demands Bobby. The man sighs. Karen goes and hugs Eddie.
Bobby tells the women, "Buck and Chimney called the department and told them they're going to Boston to help Maddie." Eddie is silent in all of this.
"They should've said something. We could've helped Maddie. Damn them," Hen curses. Karen is sad at the news. She knew her family suffered but did not think some would run away.
"Maddie didn't want people to worry about her. She's been told to push her feelings down and move on. It's bound to break. Pregnancy doesn't help women's hormones. Buck sees her as the woman who raised him, and Chimney sees her as the woman who needs someone to protect her. Both aren't wrong, but both handled it wrong," Eddie says. Hen looks at him with worry.
"Eddie?" Bobby worries about the youngest adult.
"My parents have defined gender roles—toxic masculinity and femininity. I was told to man up and face whatever issue I had by myself. I have a group of friends that I gained from the army. Chris's mother is a good friend of mine as well. She didn't want to be a mom but was willing to give me a kid. She saved me after trying to kill myself at fifteen. Sixteen was when I joined the army. Seventeen when I got deployed. Pain is my friend and enemy," Eddie explains to them. Hen gathers him into a hug.
"What now, Bobby?" Hen asks, still holding onto Eddie. Bobby nods at her look.
"We help Eddie and Chris. Focus on Chimney, Buck, and Maddie when or if they come back," Bobby says. Eddie gets back to baking but has yet to say another word.
"Hen, are you okay with Eddie as your partner?" Bobby asks his paramedic. She smiles warmly at him. She is pissed with how their partners left, but she has Eddie and Bobby. She can see Eddie is not well and is going to help him. He became her little brother after he arrived at the 118.
"I would love to have Eddie as my partner," She says, making Eddie smile shyly at her. The next day, Bobby officially made Hen and Eddie partners. However, Bobby had sat down with Eddie about therapy. They found a therapist with whom Eddie works well. Eddie's okay with this change as long as Bobby and Hen are not going anywhere.
However, he's pissed with Buck. He left his kid heartbroken. Chris tells him that Buck calls him at night and that Eddie can see the exchange. That doesn't make it right. Eddie felt abandoned by Buck, just like the lawsuit. Buck had yet to call.
"How are you doing today, Eddie?" ComfortCowgil asks Eddie. He looks at her. Comfort is his therapist, whom Bobby helped find for him. It took some time, but Eddie got comfortable with Comfort.
"I'm pissed with Buck, and I don't know how to approach this. Do I call him, or do I let him call me?" Eddie says. Comfort looks at him. Eddie's doing well with his feelings. She smiles at him.
"Why are you pissed with Buck?" Comfort asks, making Eddie groan. Eddie thinks for a minute and sighs.
"I...I feel abandoned. Alone. When I got to LA and met Buck, I felt like I could breathe. Finally, breathe that I'm not drowning and suffocating. Being with Buck made me feel alive. Losing him once was painful; losing him again is numbing. I used to trust him to have my back, but I feel like he doesn't and won't have my back. However, I don't know. I don't know his response because he doesn't talk to me," Eddie takes a breath.
"He talks to Chris, and I do love that. I don't ever want to break that apart. However, he won't talk to me. I want to call him, but I feel like that will make things worse," Eddie admits. Comfort writes something down and looks at him.
"What do you want to do?" She asks. She's patient with him, as he hates it.
"If I call him, and he picks up, I don't know what to say. However, if he doesn't pick up, I'll cry. If I didn't call him, then he would never call me, and I felt like he was using me. I know he will never do that, but it feels like I'm something he can use and still see and talk to Chris. I," Eddie paused, and Comfort wrote some things down.
"I don't want to believe I'm some toy to him. I've fallen in love with him and don't want to believe he's cruel. He doesn't sound like that, but I guess I don't truly know him," Eddie's heart tears at the confession. He takes deep and even breaths to calm his heart. Comfort nods.
"What do you want to do about it?" She asks. She can see how much Eddie has healed, and she wants him to continue to heal. Eddie thinks hard about it.
"I...I want to call him. I need to know," Eddie says, and Comfort smiles proudly.
"That will be your homework, Eddie. Call him. Next week, I want to know how that went," Comfort tells him, indicating that the session is over. Two days later, when Eddie returned to work, he found someone familiar at the firehouse.
"Hey Eds," They greet, almost shyly. Eddie stares at them.
"Buckley," Eddie greets. Love and pain are present, but so is anger. Buckley notices that he isn't angry but tired and hurt.
"Can we talk?" Buckley asks the other man. He wants to talk to Eddie. It's been four months since he left for Maddie, and he knows he made a big mistake. He had to make sure Maddie was alright, but leaving Eddie was a mistake. He will work hard to gain his trust.
"What do you want, Buckley?" Eddie asked in a defeated tone. Buckley holds his hands out for Eddie. The shorter man looks hesitant with him. Buckley feels anger, sadness, hurt, and stress, while Eddie feels sadness, happiness, love, relief, and fear. It's still there. Their relationship is still there. Low, but still there. They're still soulmates. Eddie doesn't honestly believe in soulmates, but he believed in Buckley once. He looks at him and sees sorrow and love in his eyes.
"I have a lot to make up to you, and I'm willing to do the work. However, I need to know if it will be worth it, Eds. I know you. I hurt you, and you don't forgive easily. If you're angry, you pretend you're fine with people but lie to them and yourself and stop being friends. I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you. Can we make a future together?" Buckley asks. Eddie thinks for a while, and the other man is patient.
"Couples and family therapy. We begin as friends again. You hurt me, Evan. Truly hurt me. I didn't think I was enough for you or worth your time. You didn't call me or tell me to my face that you were leaving. Bobby caught me almost burning myself. I do want a future with you, but not now. Right now, I can't see it," Eddie admits, and Buckley smiles sadly at this.
"I'm going to fight for us. I'm going to make it up to you. I love you, Eddie Diaz. I will forever love you and want to be in your life. I will wait for you if I can be with you again," Buckley tells him.
"Give me time," Eddie tells him, and Buckley goes to him, making Eddie look up.
"Always," Buckley tells him and kisses Eddie.