"Could you pass me the pepper?" Buck asked, gesturing to the shaker on Eddie's end of the table. Eddie silently slid it over to Christopher, who handed it to Buck. Eddie couldn't even reach across to hand it himself. Taylor liked that.

What she didn't like was being part of the most awkward dinner of her life. Buck whipped up some sort of pasta, but Taylor wasn't sure what it was. Too many carbs, that was for sure. Her takeout had been packed away into the fridge sometime after she left. So much for the effort she put into making dinner. There was no conversation happening, so all she could hear was the clinking of silverware and the sound of Christopher chewing. It was driving her insane and it was all she could do to not strangle the kid. But that would be an uncrossable line for Buck, so she held back.

Eddie had barely acknowledged her when she walked into Buck's loft with her bag. She wasn't the type of woman to expect men to stand at attention when she entered a room, but she thought she deserved more respect as the significant other of his supposed best friend. Eddie just stayed laying like a lump on the couch, all of his drug addled focus pointed toward his son.

"So, I texted Athena. She agreed to come over tomorrow morning, after I get back from taking Christopher to school," Buck said, flashing Eddie an uncomfortable smile.

"Thanks," Eddie mumbled, looking only half awake.

"I don't want to go to school," Christopher grumbled, stabbing at the noodles on his plate with his fork.

"I know this isn't how any of us expected the past few days to go, but that doesn't mean we can't make up for it. I don't really have any Buckley family recipes to teach you, but I can show you some Bobby Nash recipes," Buck offered. Taylor bit back an angry retort. Her plans had been the ones that were ruined. She was supposed to be in a hotel room being lavished with attention, not playing babysitter to an invalid and his kid.

"It's not the same," Christopher sighed. They could've all been enjoying Bobby's recipes from the source. He definitely would've provided some good food for Eddie's funeral. Too bad the man had messed that up for them and stayed alive.

"Maybe you can teach Buck some of the recipes you've already learned?" Eddie suggested, trying to rouse himself a little. Christopher perked up at that, babbling a list of dishes they could try. It all sounded disgusting. Would it kill them to have a family salad recipe?

"Dad, are you alright?" Christopher asked, his forehead pinched in concern.

"I'm okay, Mijo. My medicine just makes me sleepy," Eddie replied, reaching over to ruffle his son's hair. He did his best to hide his grimace of pain at the movement, but Taylor noticed. Each of those moments were more decadent than a dessert.

"I remember how you were after you got- you know, after," Buck said, stumbling over his words a little. Taylor wasn't sure why he couldn't say the words out loud. Eddie getting shot by a sniper was what helped bring them together. It was practically their anniversary. She'd have to plan a really big party to commemorate the occasions. "You'd fall asleep in the middle of our conversations."

"Your rambles about the latest facts you've read about are practically sedatives, even without the help of painkillers," Taylor teased, nudging his leg under the table.

"I like hearing about the things you've learned," Eddie said softly, flashing him a sleepy smile. "Gives me something to focus on, so I can tune everything else out." Buck beamed as if he'd just been given the biggest compliment in the world, instead of Eddie pretty much calling him a verbal fidget toy. Sue her for preferring her conversations to have a point, instead of being on the receiving end of an info dump. It was different when she needed to vent about something she was dealing with at work, since that was important. No one needed to know about the habitats of emperor penguins or the invention of weather balloons.

"Speaking of being tired, I'm exhausted," Taylor said, interrupting whatever moment Eddie and Buck were building up to. She was not going to sit back and watch that, when Buck's focus should've been on her.

"Oh crap, I forgot about sleeping arrangements," Buck groaned, scrunching his face in embarrassment.

"Why does it matter? I'm just going to be joining you in your bed," Taylor pointed out.

"Well, I was planning on having Chris and Eddie take my bed and I was gonna take the couch."

"You don't have to give up your bed for us. Chris can take the couch," Eddie proposed.

"And where will you be?"

"I'll take the floor."

"Eddie."

"It doesn't matter where I sleep. The second I'm flat, I'm gonna be out," Eddie argued.

"But that's gonna be hell on your back. Especially while you're healing. You and Chris can take my bed, Taylor can have the couch, and I'll take the floor."

"The couch?" Taylor questioned, hoping her face wasn't telegraphing how little she was liking this idea. She didn't crash on couches like some friend who was overstaying their welcome. Taylor practically lived there. She had a damn key.

"Going up and down your stairs doesn't sound particularly pleasant."

"You know I can carry you."

"But you aren't going to. Chris takes the couch, I take the floor, and you sleep in your bed. I know you still have all that extra bedding from the lockdowns. I'll pile it up and it'll be fine," Eddie insisted, shaking off his exhaustion to fix Buck with a stare. And her boyfriend was feeble enough to be cowed by it. Even though it was the outcome she wanted, she still didn't enjoy seeing him acting so weak.

"I'm gonna fluff your pillows like you wouldn't believe," Buck grumbled, slumping in submission.

"Well, you all have fun with that. I'm gonna go get ready for bed," Taylor said tightly, pushing away from the table and leaving without another word. Buck could clear her dishes, since he wasn't above being a butler for Eddie.

Taylor took her time in the shower, making sure to use up almost all of Buck's favorite body wash. Now she'd inconvenience him like he had her. And it wouldn't be terrible to walk around Eddie smelling like her boyfriend either. Just another reminder that she was on a different level than him, even if Buck was acting as his pity carer.

The extra time in the bathroom was also helpful in making sure she wouldn't have to see Buck fawning over Eddie and Christopher. Taylor could picture him constantly asking what else they needed, if they were sure they were comfortable, if there was anything else he could do. Buck was supposed to be tripping over his feet to please her, not them.

Taylor did have a little plan up her sleeve for the rest of the night though. Or rather, Buck's sleeve. She snagged something on her way to the bathroom that would surely distract Buck from his unwelcome company downstairs. Taylor waited until she heard Buck come up the stairs before she left the bathroom.

"Hey, sorry about all the chaos. And thanks for being understanding," Buck said quietly, facing away from her as he fiddled with something on his nightstand. She leaned against the doorway, waiting for him to turn around. "I know this isn't at all how things were supposed to go, but- oh."

"Like what you see?" Taylor asked, pitching her voice low.

"I- that's-"

"One of your first LAFD shirts," Taylor finished for him, running her finger along the hemline of the shirt that just skirted the top of her thighs. It was from when Buck was built more like a teenager than the man he was today, and the perfect length for this display.

"Well, we have guests. Don't you think you'd be a bit more comfortable in a pair of pajamas?" Buck asked, looking a bit awkward. Not the reaction she'd wanted, but she could work with it.

"I brought the bags I had packed for our trip. And I hadn't packed any pajamas, since I wasn't planning on wearing any," Taylor shrugged. She could see Buck visibly swallow at the thought. Now he really knew what he missed out on. Eddie wouldn't have existed in his mind at all. "I'll make sure to stay up here. Although we wouldn't be having this issue if you had a real bedroom."

"I thought you liked my loft?" Buck asked with a slight pout. Taylor gave Buck a coy smile before sliding into bed and facing away from him. She did enjoy the loft in general. The big windows that let her look down over the city made her feel powerful. The only real problem she had with it was the fact that Eddie seemed to have carte blanche over it. If Taylor's name was on the paperwork, that would stop. And that wasn't really a bad idea.

Buck moved around behind her but Taylor barely paid attention, considering her newest line of thought. She'd never lived with a significant other, cherishing her privacy and freedom over any sort of companionship. Taylor liked doing what she wanted, when she wanted, without having to worry about anyone else.

But it would be a good way to keep an eye on Buck. And if she was an equal partner here, which she should've been without having to do anything, she'd be able to set new rules. Who could argue with healthy boundaries?

Taylor felt the bed dip behind her as she grinned into her pillow. It would be so easy. A comment about needing space to feel comfortable here, changing a few things to make it harder to have overnight company there. Soon enough, it would be like Eddie Diaz had never set foot in the place at all.

And she'd already laid the perfect groundwork without even trying earlier. If she could make Buck believe her apartment building was unreliable and even unsafe, he wouldn't hesitate to let her move in. And if she kept her lease there, just in case, who needed to know? It wasn't like Taylor would be expected to pay rent in Buck's loft.

Taylor stretched, turning over to cuddle into Buck's side and drop a couple hints to get things started. But when she finally laid eyes on him, it wasn't to her attentive boyfriend, ready to bend to her will. Buck's eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly open, letting out barely audible snores. He'd already fallen asleep.

Taylor huffed in annoyance, turning over again before she could give in to her knee jerk reaction to shove Buck's shoulder and wake him up. She couldn't have an attitude while having this conversation, so she'd wait to start it once she was well rested. Maybe she'd do a few domestic things to show Buck the kinds of things he could expect if she were around more. It wasn't like she'd keep it up when she moved in and she shouldn't even have to put on that kind of performance, but it was a low effort way to convince him. Taylor would save the real effort for getting rid of Eddie.

She was just dozing off when there was a sound from downstairs. Taylor thought nothing of it, but Buck snapped to attention, sitting straight up like someone waking from a nightmare in a horror movie. Before she could utter a word in question, Buck was out of the bed and down the stairs, moving like the alarm had just gone off in the station.

The answer to what was going on came when the quiet, shaky voice of Eddie Diaz drifted across the loft. Taylor silently seethed as she listened to the hushed tones. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she could tell that Buck was comforting whatever ruse Eddie had concocted. Of course he couldn't stand the fact that Buck had chosen to spend the night with her in their bed. Of course he had to do something to come between them. Maybe Taylor had underestimated Eddie, since he was playing the part of wounded hero so well, but that was through. She wasn't gonna play nice anymore.

Taylor wasn't sure how long she laid awake, staring up at the ceiling as she imagined every way she could get back at Eddie and get him out of their lives. But by the time she fell asleep, she was still alone. And Buck never made it back to bed.