AN: This happens before the season finale and the awards ceremony. All I can say is that I really wanted to Tommy holding a kid and Jee's about three I think (at least here she is). Also wanted him taking care of his man. I wasn't sure what kind of animal to make Tommy in the story Buck's telling Jee so I left that up to you all, but if you want to give a suggestion feel free. I thought about something that flies, but then just left it blank.
Summary: Buck's watching Jee while Maddie and Chimney are away. There's a really bad storm and even though Buck told Tommy they'd be okay, he shows up.
Title: Scary Storm Campout
Buck closed the door to Jee's room hoping that she would stay asleep this time. The storm had mostly left. He loved watching her and spending time with her. She needed to be watched like a hawk at times though. They'd played hide and seek earlier and he'd nearly panicked when he couldn't find her. She had fallen asleep in a pile of her stuff animals, under the bed. He'd taken a picture before he'd carefully gotten her out from under it. She hadn't even woken up which wasn't surprising. They had been playing pretty hard before the hide and seek game.
Maddie and Chimney had taken off for a couple of days. Sort of like the honeymoon they hadn't gotten to do. It was kind of like a spa, it had been his gift to both of them for the wedding. He figured his sister and brother in-law needed some time to feel special. He had offered to watch Jee while they were gone. He was staying on their house that way he wouldn't have to take half of it with him It was a lot easier this way and he didn't mind at all.
He got back to the living room picking up his phone. He had been videoing with Tommy before Jee had started screaming. There had been a bad storm going on outside and it had woken her up. He still hated them himself; it was why Tommy had been videoing with him. He didn't panic like he did sometimes. He thought it might be because he needed to focus on Jee. She didn't like loud noises either and was scared. He didn't even remember if he told Tommy he'd be back or anything. He'd just dropped the phone and ran because she'd been screaming for him.
Buck groaned seeing that the service wasn't working for some reason. He'd checked earlier in the evening and there was supposed to be back-to-back storms all night. It was raining too and he was kind of grateful he didn't have to work for another twenty-four hours. The Santa Ana winds were wrecking havoc right now on his sleep too. He was fixing to put the phone on the charger since it wasn't much good and put a movie on low, but he heard knocking at the door.
Who on earth would actually show up in this kind of weather was beyond him. He had been talking to Eddie before his best friend had crashed. It had been hilarious and he'd ended the call, after he'd taken a screen shot for evidence later. It had been half an hour after that when Tommy had video called him. He'd been checking on him. The weather had gotten so bad out that even if his boyfriend had flown into a hurricane to rescue Bobby and Athena all aircrafts had been grounded unless an emergency happened. There hadn't been a need for four pilots with the helicopters grounded and Tommy had already worked all the over time he could for the week so he'd been sent home. It had been closer for him to go home and Buck told him not to even think about coming here. He would be okay, they could video once he got there. He also had Jee so he was sure that his mind wouldn't start wondering.
"Hey, can I come in?" Tommy asked.
"I should have known you wouldn't listen." Buck said moving out of the way of the door to let his boyfriend in. "It's dangerous out there and being in the air is different than driving through a possible flood zone." He said giving Tommy's back a look as he got his jacket off. "You could have gotten in a wreck, and I would have thought you were home."
"You know when you are trying to pull of the glare it doesn't work. It makes you look even more adorable." Tommy said moving so that he was in front of his boyfriend. "I'm sorry, I was worried about you two. The phone went dead and I couldn't get you back. It's supposed to get even worse before morning. I risked it so you two wouldn't have to deal with the storms alone." He said. "I know how much they still get to you, baby." He added before wrapping Evan in a hug.
"You know this isn't fair. I can't be mad at you when you're hugging me. Or you show up here to be with us." Buck said with a sigh of relief.
He was falling in love with Tommy. The man showed up in practical hurricane weather here by car to make sure they were okay. A huge crack of thunder and flash of lighting outside had him even more glad Tommy was holding him. Then the lights went out and he groaned because even worse than storm was no power.
"I got you, won't let it hurt you, Evan." Tommy said tightening the hold. "We can go to the couch and sit. You tell me where lanterns are I'll get them." He offered carefully walking them towards the couch. It was kind of like slow dancing, which he didn't mind at all with Evan. They did it a few times when they'd slept over at each other's places.
The sound of Jee screaming from her room was heard right after a loud crack of thunder which brought Buck back to reality. "I gotta get her or she's going to freak out more. It's completely dark in there without her nightlight." He didn't want to, but he let go of Tommy.
"Here, take the flashlight to get to her room. I always keep one on me when power goes out, which it had before I left to come here." Tommy said.
Buck smiled taking the light going towards Jee's room where his niece was crying. Lighting flashing and more thunder had her holding her stuffed unicorn to her chest. He walked over to the bed sitting down and she came right into his lap burying her face in his neck. He rubbed her back telling her he had her. She was safe and he wouldn't let the storm get her. He was trying his best not to jump too at how loud the thunder was. He usually didn't hear it this badly at his loft. The weather person had said it was going to be sever though.
"It's okay Jee, I know it's scary right now, but hopefully it be gone quick." Buck said, but he wasn't sure how long it would be until the next one happened. The lighting wasn't far apart and the thunder seemed to go on. He had his own eyes closed trying not to think about the weather.
"Want hide." Jee said sniffling.
"Okay, we can do that." Buck said making sure he had a secure hold on Jee and then got the flashlight too. He was exiting the room and almost crashed into Tommy. "Sorry, she wants to hide. I'm not going near the bathroom, but there is the laundry room. I highly doubt the closet will fit all three of us." He said. "It's the place she usually loves to hide out or under the bed, which also no way we're fitting under there. I about never got her out earlier."
"We can get some pillows and blankets. Do a makeshift fort." Tommy offered. "Be kind of an adventure."
"Would you like that Jee Jee? We can camp out for the night, the three of us. I know you and I will be safe with Tommy there to protect us." Buck said. "I'll even tell you the story about how he flew into a hurricane to save Bobby and Athena, it was so cool." He smiled looking right at his boyfriend. "And heroic, your dad and I was there too, but if he wasn't brave enough to fly the helicopter into it, we wouldn't have them back."
Jee lifted up slightly looking at Tommy. She'd seen him at her parents wedding and a couple other times. She gave shy smile before the next crack of thunder came. Her head going back into her uncle Buck's neck so she was hiding her eyes. "Hide." She said in a whimper.
"Okay, we're going to hide, but you think you can let Tommy hold you while I get a few things?" Buck asked. "I know where it is so it would be faster." He got a slight nod so he carefully transferred her over. "He's really strong and his hugs are the best." Buck said rubbing her back.
"Don't forget a couple of lanterns too, Evan." Tommy said giving his boyfriend a look. He would not think about that right now.
"I won't." Buck replied with a smirk because if it was only the two of them he knew what they'd be doing. "Laundry rooms beside the bathroom. There's no windows so it be perfect." He added before he went the opposite way to look for what they'd need.
~BTJ BTJ BTJ BTJ~
Tommy shook his head carrying Jee the short distance to the laundry room. The washer and dryer was on one side, but was open on the other. He thought the special latch on the door was a good idea to keep her from going in without supervision. He didn't want to sit on the floor even if it was wood. He hoped that Evan thought to bring the couch cushions with him. It would be better than directly sitting on the floor. The room was almost completely dark, but the flash of lighting from the door being open gave some light. He made sure that Jee wasn't looking towards the door as he kept swaying in place. His hand moving up and down her back as the thunder sounded.
"Too loud." Jee said covering her little ears.
"I know, it doesn't feel good to my ears either. When I was little older than you, I was scared of them too. I'd think about really happy things." Tommy said. "There was this song that the teacher at school would sing to us. I'd pull the covers over my head and sing the song over and over." He didn't dare tell her that if he went to seek comfort from it he would have been yelled at.
"You sing it?" Jee asked pulling her head up looking at Tommy. "Mommy sings all time, but she not here. Daddy and Uncle Buck does too."
"I can sing it." He replied giving her a smile. He was fixing to start when Evan came in with his arms full. "Hey, you get everything?" He asked.
"Almost, I got some sheets so we can make the fort look almost real. I'll have to go back and get the couch cushions though." Buck said setting what he had brought down. He set the lantern he'd gotten on top the washer so the room had some light. "Thought we could use two of the kitchen chairs to keep the sheet up too." He explained.
"Okay, when you get back I'll help you set it up." Tommy said. "Unless you need me to go get the other stuff?" He offered.
"NO, you said you sing." Jee said taking hold of Tommy's shirt in a death grip in case he tried handing her back over to Buck.
"I promise I'm not going to forget. Maybe Evan needs to hear it too. He's not a fan of storms either." Tommy explained.
"I'll be okay, I think this one's almost gone. There is no getting out of the Jee death grip. Trust me, I know." Buck said. "When she was one she used to grab hold of my hair, and not in the fun way either. I didn't think Maddie was going get her free." He said before he left the room again to get the rest of the supplies.
"Why you call him Evan? He's uncle Buck." Jee asked.
"He never told me to call him anything else when I called him Evan, so I didn't." Tommy said.
"Okay, now sing." Jee said with a yawn resting her head on his shoulder.
Tommy kept moving back and forth while he started singing. Jee wasn't the only Buckley that had heard him sing before. He'd done it while he'd been dancing with Evan at his house the last time they'd had a shift off together. Evan had about fallen asleep on his feet. He had sworn he hadn't, but he knew he had. He was hoping that maybe Jee would. It seemed that the worst of this storm was almost gone. He couldn't even see the lighting and the thunder was off in the distance. Maybe if they had more they'd be just as fast moving. The wind was helping them move even if it cased a lot more noise.
Buck got back with the couch cushions standing at the door watching in the lantern's light his boyfriend. There was no way on earth any of his exes would have been here doing this tonight. They would have been begging him to come to them more than likely. He wouldn't have though; he'd stayed here with Jee. He smiled because more and more he was falling in love with the man in front of him. He could tell that Jee was asleep, and he wished his boyfriend was holding both of them right now. An image popped into his mind of it being a little girl or boy that was theirs that Tommy was singing too trying to get to go to sleep. That was something that never had come into his mind. Not even when he'd been helping his friends by donating sperm.
"I know something that's hotter than my boyfriend flying into a hurricane or him dressed in all his fire gear. It's him holding and singing to my niece so she's not scared of the storm." Buck said moving farther into the room. "If I could kiss you right now I would, but she's finally asleep." He sighed happily.
"I'll make it up to you later when we're alone." Tommy said.
~BTJ BTJ BTJ BTJ~
Buck nodded before he got to work on setting up the makeshift fort. It didn't take much time and he'd made a few before when Christopher was younger. They had even done a camp out in Eddie's back yard a few times. He kind of hoped when Jee was older she might like that too. He had gotten her a tent for Christmas the year before. Somedays she didn't want to come out of it. He put the cushions on the inside and then the pillows. He also put in one of the lanterns that was battery operated. Then he carefully untangled Jee from Tommy so he could get in first. Once his boyfriend was inside he handed Jee back over hoping that she would stay asleep. He crawled inside after that.
"It's been about year or so since I last camped out. Christopher used to love it, I guess with him being thirteen now it's not a high priority anymore." Buck said. He sat back with his back against the sheet covered wall for support. "A few times Eddie joined us, but it was kind of mine and his thing. This one time we did a sleepover at a library. It was awesome, the two of us were in there basically alone. The librarian was there, but we had gone upstairs to the far back section." Buck said with a huge smile on his face.
He kept going telling Tommy all about how they stayed up all night reading ghost stories. It had been near Halloween. Another firefighter had needed to switch a shift so Eddie had taken it. Christopher hadn't wanted to go trick or treating that year so they had done the library thing instead. Eddie had picked them up the next morning when he'd gotten off. They had crashed for hours since they hadn't slept. He really hoped that Jee might want to something like that. If not spooky stories, he could still take her to the library and read her the fairy tales.
"Christopher told me about the library camp out. Showed me the pictures too." Tommy said with a smile. "I'm sure that Jee will love to do something like that too."
He had no doubt the little girl loved her uncle. He had laid her between the two of them after Evan had gotten in the fort. She was laying on her side hanging onto her unicorn. Her back was facing him while her front was towards Evan. He was gently rubbing her back to keep her asleep. He hadn't really had much experience with kids besides on calls before he'd met Eddie and Evan. He spent a lot of time with Christopher and Jee too now since he'd started dating Evan. More than once it had been both of them.
He knew from the first time he was over at Eddie's that his friend was a package deal with not just his son, but his best friend. He got it too watching how things were. He didn't mind a bit either, though when Christopher had told him if he hurt his best friend he'd come for him, he hadn't doubted the teenager. He was sure if he hurt Evan in any way he would regret it. The idea of doing that killed him though. All that Evan had gone through, he didn't want to be another person that hurt him.
"I was hoping that that was the last one." Buck groaned when loud crack of thunder came. Thankfully with the door shut they couldn't see any lighting since there were no windows in the laundry room.
Jee opened her eyes as another one came seconds later. "Too loud." She complained covering her ears.
Buck lifted her up into his arms before he moved over so he was leaning into Tommy's hold. "I got you, Jee and Tommy's got us both." He said feeling the safety of his boyfriend's arms. "You want me to tell you a story?" He asked.
Jee nodded resting her head against Buck's shoulder. She was had her unicorn secure in one hand, but her other one was holding onto the one that Tommy had given her to hang onto. She'd been reaching out wanting the safety of both of them. Since she couldn't have her parents then they were the next best thing. They had protected her so far from the scary storms. She could hear her uncle Buck's heart beating under he ear.
Buck thought for a moment before he started telling Jee about a family full of misfit animals that came together. They had all been alone in the jungle until someone brought them together. The big giant scary bear wasn't scary at all. He had lost his family after a horrible accident and only needed a fresh start and people that could show him there was still life to be lived. It was basically the 118, but kid friendly and animals instead of people.
Tommy couldn't help smiling as he listened to the story. He added a few things in there too when Evan started trying to figure out what animal to make him. At first Evan had said rooster, and he'd about said something worse than fudge no, but remembered Jee and caught it with fudge no instead. He hadn't been a fan of chicken or roosters before that call years ago. He'd spent a month or so in the summers at his grandparents house. They had chickens there and there had been one rooster that would chase him every time. It was like the thing had waited for him to come out the door. It would come out of nowhere and one time it had gotten on top of his head. His grandma had fussed over him, but of course his dad had been there that day told him stop being a baby. The thing had tried going for his eyes, but it had later died. He hadn't been sad about that.
"Another one." Jee said in a sleepy voice. She was fighting sleep wanting for them to keep talking. It wasn't as scary with the thunder if they were talking. She really liked that they were both telling it to her. "Bird."
"Bird? You want a story about a bird?" Buck asked.
"Copper." Jee said letting her eyes close.
"I think she means a helicopter or bird as we sometimes call them." Tommy said which got a small nod from Jee.
"Oh, well you know Tommy's taking me this coming weekend so I can start getting a few hours in to learn to fly." Buck said. They had gone a few other times, but it always ended up with distractions. He was determined to learn this time.
Tommy laughed knowing good and well they couldn't tell Jee those stories. He did come up with some that could be told to her. He also thought about talking to Howie and Maddie about taking her up. She would be four before long and the legal age was 3 that a child could go up in a helicopter for sightseeing. He had taken Christopher up a few times, one when he'd spent the day with him while Eddie and Evan had both been working. The teenager had loved it and the next time he'd seen him Christopher had been telling him so many facts. He had known them, but he'd listened anyway.
He didn't stop talking until he could hear light snores coming from Jee, but when he said Evan's name there was no response. They were both fast asleep which was a good thing. He closed his own eyes hoping to get a little sleep before the next storm started. He really hoped that they wouldn't be as close or scary for the two. He was glad that he was here with them.
~BTJ BTJ BTJ BTJ~
Maddie and Chimney came in the door after ten the next morning. They'd had a wonderful time at the retreat. Though the power had been knocked out the night before and they had come home this morning. The place had given them a pass to come back at another time because of what happened. They had said the power would be restored by midday, but they had wanted to come home after the vicious storms. It it had been safe they would have left the night before. On the way back there had been multiple roads closed and washed out areas. It had taken two extra hours to get home with the detours.
"I don't hear anything, you don't think something happened do you?" Chimney asked slightly worried. The cell service had been back up, but Buck hadn't answered. He'd called Eddie in case he'd gone there, but Eddie said when he'd fallen asleep Buck had been fine.
"No, Tommy's car's out front. They might be sleeping, it was bad where we were, just think what might been like here." Maddie said knowing her brother still got scared at times. She'd been relieved seeing Tommy's car there. It gave her peace of mind knowing he was there for her brother. She hadn't seen Buck as happy as he was in a long time, if ever.
They made their way towards Jee's room checking it, but Jee wasn't there. The next room they checked was their own. Jee would sometimes go get into their bed if she was scared or had a nightmare. It was empty and so was the spare room. Maddie still wasn't worried even though she could tell her husband was getting nervous. The bathroom was checked, but no sign. The last place was the laundry room was stayed shut and had a special lock that Jee couldn't reach since it kept the laundry detergent. Even though that stayed on a high shelf that needed a stool to reach, they took no chances.
Chimney opened the door flooding light into the room and they could see the makeshift fort. "Thank god." He breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn't doubted Maddie, but he always worried about his little girl and the woman he loved. He also worried about his brother because he knew how much Buck hated storms. He had been killed in one by lighting. Those were the longest three minutes and seventeen seconds of his life.
Maddie got closer to the opening squatting down looking inside. "Aw." She pulled out her phone taking a picture. "He's holding them both." She said trying not to get emotional. She couldn't help it, she always wanted to protect her little brother and daughter. She knew that Buck would protect Jee with his life like he had done with Christopher. The fact that Buck had someone that was doing that for him it pulled at her heart.
She stood up showing the picture she'd taken to Chimney. Jee was lying on top of Tommy's chest, his right arm secure around her and his left was holding onto her brother who was laying on his side, his head on Tommy's shoulder. They carefully backed out of the room not wanting to wake them up. It had probably been a long night with he storms. Chimney sent the picture to his self so he'd have a copy on his phone as well. He also sent one to Eddie with caption they found them. He couldn't help but send it a few more times to the rest of their family. That also included a copy on both Buck and Tommy's phones.
"Never thought when I pulled him out of that building that he'd be protecting my brother and daughter." Chimney said. "Even if it's from scary storms."
"And one day he's probably going to be your brother in-law too. No way those two are ending. Might only been a few months, but I've seen the way he looks at Buck. Buck's giving the same look. They haven't said it out loud, but they are already in love." Maddie said looking at the picture. Anyone tried saying otherwise would have to go through her and she wouldn't let their negativeness reach the love that was screaming back from the picture.
Chimney wrapped his arms around his wife kissing the side of her neck. "When it comes I'll be proud have him as that." He said.
~THE END~
EN: I hope that you enjoyed this. I had a lot of fun writing it yesterday and today. Thanks in advance for reviews and kudos.