In the shower, Eddie was overthinking the events of the past week. The phone call had come in the middle of one of his Uber rides. Eddie and his client had nearly been at the destination when the navigation on his phone had been interrupted by his best friend's name on the screen.

"Hey Buck, can I call you back in-" Eddie had started, but had stopped when he'd heard Buck's voice on the other end.

"Eddie," Buck's voice had broken.

"Woah, what's wrong?" Eddie had asked, immediately feeling in his gut that something had been terribly wrong. Instinctively, hearing Buck say his name like that, had brought his thoughts to Christopher, but then he'd quickly remembered his son was safely with him in El Paso and if something was wrong with him, Buck would not be the one calling him. Hearing Buck sound so distraught though, had made him brace himself for the words to come.

"He's gone, Eddie." Buck had cried as Eddie had pulled the car over. He'd vaguely heard his client question his actions and say something about leaving a negative review and getting out of the car but frankly, none of it had registered after Buck's words.

With the car now safely parked, Eddie had taken the phone from the holder and asked Buck who was gone.

"Cap- Bobby. Bobby's gone, Eddie!"

The sounds over the phone had been a mix of sobs and words as Eddie had tried to gather more information.

"What? What happened? When?"

"Just now. He- he saved Chim and then locked himself back in."

"Just now? Are you still at the scene? Where are you?"

"No, I'm at home- at your house. I- I don't know how long it's been."

That had been the moment Eddie had gone into rescue mode. He hadn't had time to process, he'd just known he had to be there for his friend.

"Ok, Buck, listen to me. Stay there, don't go anywhere. I'm coming over."

"Ok, thanks."

"Hang tight, see you soon."

"Yeah." Buck's final words had sounded not so much sad, but rather defeated.

Eddie had quickly packed a few essentials and then left for LA. The whole journey to his old house had been a bit of a blur as Eddie had still been processing Buck's words, as well as worrying about his best friend and cursing himself for not being able to teleport by simply snapping his fingers. When he had finally made it to what was now Buck's place and knocked on the door, a wrecked looking, teary eyed Buck had opened it. Without saying a word, Eddie had put his arms around his friend and they'd stood there for a while before moving to the couch with a half empty bottle of tequila. The night had consisted of Buck and Eddie going over the events of the day together, processing what had happened, holding and comforting each other before finally falling asleep on the couch.

Christopher had come the next day, insisting he be there for Buck and the rest of the 118 and to attend the funeral a few days later. Christopher's presence had lifted both Buck and Eddie's spirits during the days of his visit. It had felt good to be together again, the three of them. It had taken some of the edge off the overwhelming grief and guilt Eddie knew both of them had to have been feeling. Christopher being there had given them a reason to look after themselves: feed themselves regularly and hold off on drinking their sorrows away. Whenever either of them had started spiraling, Christopher's voice had been there to say something that would ground them and remind them of what they still had. That same voice was the one Eddie now heard outside of the bathroom, five days after he'd left El Paso in a hurry.

"DAD!" Christopher yelled, "Come on, we need to leave soon."

Eddie didn't know how long he'd been in the shower for, but judging by the tone in Christopher's voice, it had been a while. He quickly got himself ready and unlocked the bathroom door.

"Sorry buddy," he said, "lost track of time in there."

Chris was standing there, two bags beside him, in one of which Eddie put his final belongings that had not yet been packed.

"It's ok, dad," he said, with an understanding look on his face that seemed way too wise for his age. Buck, who had been doing the dishes in the kitchen, joined them in the hall, awkwardly stepping back and forth and rubbing his arm.

"So, this is it then," he said. "Time to return to reality." Eddie thought he was speaking not only of him and Chris, who were flying back to El Paso today, but also of himself, who was set to return to work the next day.

"Yeah," was all Eddie could say for now. He was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of leaving unfinished business. Although he was glad he could be there for his friends during this week, he hadn't been there when they all watched Bobby die. He should have been there with them. Maybe if he had, Bobby would not have been where he was during the explosion and he'd still be alive. But he hadn't been there. He'd been driving around El Paso, tuning out clients' conversations and thinking of another game he could take Christopher to. And now he was already leaving the 118 again. Leaving them to deal with their grief while starting back in a firehouse that was nothing like the one they'd left on their final shift last week. With Hen still recovering and Chimney only cleared for light duties, there would have to be substitutes from other stations as well as an interim captain who would undoubtedly be inadequate.

"Come on, I'll drive you to the airport." Buck's voice made Eddie realise he'd zoned out.

"No, that's ok, Buck. You won't have a car to drive back. I can drive," Eddie said as he thought of the rental car he'd used to drive from the airport to his old house.

"I won't have it. You and Chris have been here for me this past week," he said resolutely. "I for sure would have spiraled without you two here, now let me do this for you."

And then, with a playful wink, Buck added: "I'll Uber home."

That face. Looking at Buck's smile, filling Eddie with warmth inside, he realised it was not just leaving the 118 that was hard on him. It was leaving Buck, too. Buck, who was doing his best to put on a brave face and make it seem like he would be ok so him and Chris would not feel bad about going back to El Paso. Buck who, even through his goofy smile, Eddie could see in his eyes was still going through so many emotions. Buck, who he'd seen getting smaller and smaller in his side mirror as he drove away all those months ago. Of course, when it came to it, Eddie would always choose his son, but he didn't think Buck knew even half how hard it was for Eddie to drive away after leaving Buck like that. And now he was going to do it again?

"Hey Christopher," Eddie said. "Can I have a word with you, bud?"

"Sure dad."

"Just give me a shout when you're ready to go," Buck said, and returned to the dishes in the kitchen.

"You feel bad about leaving Buck here by himself, don't you?" Christopher asked.

"How did you know?"

"Because I do too. I think we should stay."

Eddie thought of that for a second. He really liked the idea of the three of them being in the same city again, almost like a non-conventional family. "I think Buck would love having you around for longer," Eddie said, "but unfortunately, I can't let you miss any more school."

"Worth a shot," Christopher sighed. "You stay, then."

"Are you sure, son?" Eddie asked. "Just until I feel like he's doing ok, then I'll be back with you, promise."

"Yeah, our Buck needs you." And as Christopher said that, Eddie thought that maybe it was not just Buck who needed him. Although having Christopher around was a reassuring and calming thing, Eddie couldn't help but feel like he needed to be with Buck to help him through his own issues with the events leading to Bobby's death as well.

"Hey Buck!" Eddie called, "We're ready to go. But there's been a change of plans."