Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The weeks after Buck’s move from probationary firefighter to fully fledged firefighter was business as usual, people got themselves into stupid situations, which in turn meant that the 118 were busy getting them out of the situations that they were in.  And now Los Angeles was in the grips of a heat wave, and where there was hot weather there were even bigger idiots.

Bobby had been in an annoyingly good mood recently as well, and if Buck was being honest it was starting to get on her nerves.  She missed her semi-surly captain.  But both she and Hen had also noticed that Athena had also been in a weirdly good mood lately too.  The two of them had a theory that Athena and Bobby were secretly seeing each other and had even started one of the good old fashioned firefighter bets on it.  So far, they were the only two who though that Bobby and Athena were in a relationship, but they both had a good feeling about it.

There was also a lot of competing amongst the male firefighters of the 118, as it was calendar time again.  This was buck’s first year working as a firefighter during calendar season, and she had to admit it was cutthroat.  But she also had to admit that it was also disappointing.  The LAFD only did a men’s calendar, and there were loads of strong, sexy, women in th LAFD, and those women deserved to be celebrated too.  So, Buck had spent weeks petitioning for there to be a women’s calendar alongside the men’s.  Now she was sat in Chief Alonso’s office, hoping, and praying that it was going to be good news.

Meanwhile back at the station Bobby was walking through greeting the firefighters, and he was in a ridiculously happy mood.  “Looking good, Sam.  You make that shine, Tanika.  Outstanding haircut, Martin.”

“You are cheery.”  Grumbled Hen.

“Why shouldn't I be?”

“I don't know.  Maybe 'cause you've been like this for weeks, and it's starting to get on mine and Buck’s nerves.  What's going on with you?”

Bobby smirked.  “Maybe I am just excited for the up-and-coming calendar submissions.

Hen Groaned.  “Seriously, you are applying for that idiotic, reductive, sexist calendar that insults the dignity of this organization and further perpetuates the myth that all firefighters are male."

Bobby snorted.  “Hen, come on, it's for charity.  And besides, they say a man is at his sexiest when he reaches fifty.”

“Is that what they say?”  Snorted Hen.

Chimney came sauntering up, popping his gum, and with a smug look on his face.  “Okay, you're both wrong.  All right?   You see, I think sorority houses all across this great nation are ready for a new Asian sex symbol.  It's our time.”

Hen and Bobby both burst out laughing.  “Besides Hen,” added Bobby.  “If Buck has anything to say about it, there will be a women’s calendar too.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her.  Wouldn’t you Chim?  Chim?”

Hen looked over at Chim and saw that he was staring at something in the locker room, and when she looked over at the locker room herself her jaw dropped.

“Okay.  That is a beautiful man.”  Admitted Chim.

“Where's the lie?”  Agreed Hen.  “And I like girls.”

“That’s Eddie Diaz.  New recruit.  Graduated top of his class just this week.  Guys over at Station Six were dying to have him, but I convinced him to join us.  I will do proper introductions during the morning briefing.”

Hen and Chim took their eyes off the man and started looking around.  “You know Cap, I’m surprised that Buck’s not here yet.”  Said Hen.

“Yeah.  I thought that she’d be here either drooling all over him or flexing because she’s insanely jealous.”

Bobby grimaced.  “I hope that it’s neither.  Because he’s going to be Buck’s new partner.”

Hen and Chim glanced at each other before bursting out laughing.  “Oh my god.  Please let us be there when you tell her that.  Because I will pay to see that.”

“It’s not going to be that bad guys.  Now get dressed and get ready for the day.  And Buck’s going to be a little bit late today, she has a meeting at HQ.”

Twenty minutes later the 118 were gathered up in the loft for their morning briefing.  Bobby was going over any information that they needed to know, and the chore rota for the week, when Buck jogged up the stairs.  “Sorry Cap.  I know that I’m later than expected, but I come bearing good news.  This year there are going to be two calendars one men’s and one women’s.  The women of the LAFD deserve to be celebrated on their own calendar too.

“And you are looking at the first person to be part of that calendar.  I am going to be Miss August.”

A cheer went up amongst the assembled firefighters, people went up to congratulate Buck, and several of them even asked how Buck managed to persuade the Chief to make a second calendar.  Buck Laughed and said, “I gently reminded the Chief that the LAFD was all about equality.  That and I discovered that the NYFD was doing a women’s calendar this year, and how much he hates it when New York beats LA.”

“Well, we’re proud of you Buck.  But back to the morning meeting, Buck you’re on hose duty this week, so make sure that they’re all up to standard.  Now I have one further thing to add.  With Martinez’s shoulder injury being so severe and therefore unable to return to full time firefighting we have had to get someone in to replace him.  So, with that I would like to introduce probationary firefighter Eddie…”

“Diaz?!”  Yelled Buck, and everyone turned to look at her.

Buck was stood there, her jaw practically scraping along the ground.  She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, Edmundo ‘Eddie’ Diaz, her former friend, was stood in her fire station.  And judging by the look on his face he was not expecting to see Buck there either, and Buck could tell that he was not happy to see her.  Everyone was looking between the two of them and no one really knew what to say.  Hen and Chim looked like they had just heard the best piece of juiciest gossip ever.

Bobby was stood next to Eddie looking like he had just made the worst decision in his life, and Buck could see him regretting whatever monster he had just unleashed.

“Well, I guess no introductions are needed for the two of you.  Buck, Eddie here is going to be your new partner.”

Buck and Eddie both looked at each other with a look of horror and disgust on their faces. 

“No.”

“Not a chance.”

They said simultaneously and Bobby looked up to the sky, praying for god to give him strength to get through whatever hell he had possibly just unleashed on the station, before turning to Buck.  “Buck, my office.  Now.”  And with that he walked off towards his office leaving a floundering Buck and a smug Eddie in his wake.

“What did I do now?”  Yelled Buck to Bobby’s retreating form before turning to Eddie and giving him a look that could make a grown man wet himself.  “If you have something to do with this, I swear to god that I will make your life miserable.”  Before following Bobby down the stairs and to his office.

As she made her way to Bobby’s office, she thought about the last time that she had met Eddie, the look on his face as Buck had told him that him preventing Buck from doing her job had cost the lives of four Marines, as well as injuring five others was not a look, she wanted to see on somebodies face.  But what he did in Buck’s eyes was as unforgiveable as what she did in his eyes, even if she felt that what she did was justifiable.

Walking in she flopped down in the seat opposite Bobby, and she could tell by the fact that Bobby had his eyes shut, and was rubbing his temples, while breathing deeply, that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.  For either of them.  “Bobby, if this is about that asshole up there then you can forget about it.  Why didn’t you tell me that I was getting a new partner, and why does it have to be him?”

“Firstly, I do not have to run any hiring or firing decisions past you.  You have barely finished your probationary period, and secondly, as I told Hen and Chim earlier, Eddie finished top of his class at the academy, and with someone as quick at thinking, and even quicker at acting as you, I needed a new recruit who could keep up with you.  He’s ex-military.”

“I’m well aware of that Bobby.  That’s where I know him from.  And I can tell you that our time together in Afghanistan did not end well, for either of us.  I could have gone quite happily for the rest of my life never seeing that man again.”  Snapped Buck.  “Personally, I would rather have acid injected into my eyeballs than have to work with that man again.”

Bobby sighed.  This was not how he expected this whole thing to go.  He thought that there might be some jealousy surrounding Buck and the new guy, but he did not expect them to have history.  And he knew getting the answers out of Buck as to what happened between the two of them was going to be about as painful as pulling teeth.  Even though Buck had told everyone about her being a Navy SEAL, she had told them very little about what she did in the SEALs.  Other than she was a breacher, and she had some EOD training.  Bobby still wasn’t sure if it was because the missions were classified, or if it was because Buck just didn’t like talking about her past in the military, and if Bobby was being honest with himself, it was probably a little of both.  But despite their pasts the two of them needed to work together and if they couldn’t Bobby needed to know sooner rather than later.

“Look, you don’t need to like the guy, but I need to know that you can be professional when we are at a scene.  Because our patients come first.  If you can’t then we have to talk about possibly moving one of you to another station.”

Buck could hear what Bobby was implying in his tone and it made the anger that she was holding in bubble up inside of her.  Despite the fact that Eddie had only just arrived, and that it would be easier to move him than Buck, it would be likely that Buck would be moved.  And that thought alone made Buck see red.

“You asshole.”  She bit out, causing Bobby to look at her alarmed.  The last time Buck had been that angry at him he had spoken to her about wanting to kill himself.  “You beg me to stay here after the catfishing incident, despite the fact that I was worried about what that would mean for me and my mental health, and for the most part it has been alright so far.  But now you are telling me that if I don’t get on with the new guy then you are going to have me moved.

“I have been here longer, I am more established here, and I am the best rope and heavy rescue expert in all of Los Angeles.  You are really telling me that it is worth risking all of that.”

Buck stopped for a moment breathing heavily, trying to control her anger.  Bobby was just sat there not really knowing what to say, but he knew that he had fucked up.  And he knew that this whole thing was absolutely going to come back and bit him on the ass.  But Buck wasn’t finished and once she had regained a bit of composure she started back up again.

“I am insulted that you think so little of me Bobby that you would question my professionalism.  I know that I may go off on tangents every once in a while, but I have never, and I will never put anyone’s life at risk when I am on a scene.  You know that.”  Buck prayed that Bobby would not kick her out of the station over this.  But she needed him to be reassured that everything was going to be alright between the two of them.  “Look, just keep him away from me at the station, and I will do my very best to remain professional when we’re at a scene.  But I will not be held responsible for my actions if he gets all up in my personal space when were are here in the station.”

Bobby could see that Buck really felt strongly about this, and if truth be told he didn’t want to get rid of either of them, but if he had to then he would absolutely get rid of Eddie first, and the fact that Buck thought that he would get rid of her first meant that he still had some way to go in reassuring her over her place here at the 118, but that could be worked on, for now Bobby needed to make sure that they were both on the same page.

“Look Buck, I will not get rid of you if this goes wrong, unless you’re the one at fault.  But I need someone like Eddie to be your partner because I believe that he is one of the few people that could actually keep up with your craziness.  And I will admit that I probably should have told you that I was bringing in someone to be your partner, but as long as you keep it professional at scenes then I will do everything in my power to make sure that your chores never overlap here at the station.

“Oh, and before you say anything I am about to have this same conversation with Eddie.  But I would like the two of you to try and work on your relationship.  If for nothing else than not to create an uncomfortable working environment for everyone else.”

“Fine,” grumbled Buck.  “But I want reassurance that you will treat Eddie the same way that you do me.  He gets no preferential treatment.”

“Agreed.  Now send Eddie to my office so I can speak to him.”

“Fine.”

Buck stomped out of Bobby’s office and back up the stairs to the loft where Eddie was talking to the other firefighters.  “Diaz,” she barked out, “Cap wants to see you in his office.”

“Yeah, in a moment Buckley.”

“Now Diaz.”

Eddie glared at Buck before marching down the stairs and off to Bobby’s office.  When Buck turned around, she could see the others all looking at her.  It was at that moment that Buck knew that this was going to be a long difficult day for her.  “What?”  She snapped, and a couple of the team took a subconscious step back when they saw the look on Buck’s face.

“Seriously Buck,” snapped Hen.  “What is your problem with him?”

“My problem is my problem, and not yours.  He knows what he did, and that’s all you need to know.”  And with that Buck marched off downstairs to get started on her chores for the day, but before she could even make it to the truck the alarm went off, and all thoughts of Eddie went out of the window as Buck got into work mode.

The ride to the incident was incredibly awkward for everyone in the truck.  Buck and Eddie sat on complete opposite side of the engine, as far away from each other as they could.  Hen and Chim were sat in between the two of them and the silence was deafening.  Even Bobby, who was sat upfront kept glancing back awkwardly.

Chim was the first one to try and cut through the tension, by trying to bring up Eddie’s military service.  “So, Silver Star, huh.  What you do?  Save a platoon or something?”

“Or something.”

Chim, realising that he wasn’t getting anything out of Eddie then turned to Buck with a smile on his face hoping to get something out of her.  “What about you, Buck?  You got any medals?”  He asked before tuning to Eddie to clarify.  “She’s ex-military too.”

“I’m aware,” snarled Eddie through gritted teeth.

“So, come on Buck.  What medals have you won?”

Buck turned to face Chim expressionless.  “Firstly, it is none of your business whether or not I have any medals or not.  You know that I don’t like talking about my time in the military, and secondly you don’t ‘win’ medals.  You’re awarded them for bravery above and beyond the call of duty.”

Chim wisely kept his mouth shut after that, knowing that if he pushed Buck too much when she was in a mood would likely result in her biting his head off.  So, the uncomfortable silence returned, and when they arrived at the garage everyone was relieved to be getting out of the truck and away from the tension.

Buck was true to her word, and she kept it professional at the scene, well mostly.  There was a slight pissing match between her and Eddie about where the best place to place the needle to release the air was, and Buck was definitely butt hurt that Eddie took over and everyone just let him.  But she also recognised the seriousness of the situation so bit her tongue.

Watching Eddie work reminded her of what a good medic he was back in Afghanistan, and she remembered Eddie stitching her leg up after she took some shrapnel from a mortar explosion.  He had a feather light touch even then.  On the way back to the station Buck subconsciously rubbed her leg where Eddie had stitched her up while gazing out of the window.  Buck was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Eddie turning to look at her.

Back at the station Buck did everything that she could do to avoid Eddie, and she ended up joining Bobby in the kitchen helping him make lunch, the two of them had recently moved from breakfast foods and were now working on more substantial meals.  Buck loved helping Bobby, it felt comfortable, peaceful.  But today was anything but.  Buck was wound up so tight that Bobby was almost afraid to hand her a knife for worry that she would hunt Eddie down with it.  Even Eddie was in a foul mood and had spent the better part of an hour in the gym pummelling the punching bag to oblivion.

Bobby was determined to get rid of some of the tension in the firehouse, so he decided that while he and Buck were cooking dinner together, he would broach the subject.

“So, Buck.”  Buck looked up at Bobby, a small frown on her face.  “You can tell me to shut up, but I think that it would be good for me to know, as your captain…”

“You want to know what happened between me and Diaz?”  Bobby nodded and Buck sighed and put down the knife that she was holding.  “Let’s just say that man chose the life of one over the lives of many.  And for that I’m not sure if I could ever forgive him.”

“Look Buck, I cannot imagine what you had to go through out there, and I certainly could not ever fathom the decisions that you had to make.  But is it healthy to hang onto something that happened six-seven years ago?  I think that maybe you need to see Frank about this, because the tension between the two of you not only affects you both but the entire station too.”

“Are you going to say the same thing to Eddie?  Are you going to make him go to therapy?  Because in case you hadn’t noticed he is equally displeased to see me.  And if my attitude is affecting morale then his will be too.  In case you hadn’t noticed everyone is avoiding the gym because he’s in there attacking that punching bag with such veracity that they’re scared of him.”

Bobby glanced down and he could see everyone who was not upstairs at the opposite end of the loft to where the two of them were, were on the opposite end of the engine bay, throwing worried glances towards the gym.  He knew that he needed to have a more in depth talk with Eddie, their initial talk had been interrupted by the alarm.  But he didn’t really know the man compared to Buck.  With Buck he could recommend more therapy and she wouldn’t take it to heart, but he had no idea how Eddie would react.  But he also know that he couldn’t treat Eddie differently to Buck, because that would just be a sure-fire way to make the situation between the two of them worse.

Bobby had been considering talking to Hondo and seeing if there was something that he should know to help make this transition smoother, but he was worried that whatever issues Buck had with Eddie Hondo could have the same ones.  But then there was also the option of sending Eddie to station six.  Where he was originally meant to go, where he poached him from.  Then maybe getting Buck someone else to work with her.  But Bobby couldn’t helo this feeling that Eddie was going to be perfect for Buck.  Even if neither of them could see it yet.

After Bobby reassured Buck that he would be having a proper talk with Eddie too, the two of them resumed working in silence, apart from the occasional instruction from Bobby.  And before long everyone was sat at the table waiting to dish up lunch.

There was a brief standoff between Buck and Eddie when the latter tried to sit in Buck’s regular seat next to Bobby, but after Hen whispered that that was where Buck always sat Eddie moved down the table.

Once everyone was sat down, the food was served, and the conversations had started picking up, Buck found herself a lot more relaxed.  She was laughing with Hen about one of Denny’s latest escapades when the sound of someone calling out from the engine bay grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Hello.  Is anyone there?”

Bobby made his way over to the railing and he saw a woman with brown hair stood there, a couple of large bags on the ground next to her, looking around with worry.  “I’m Captain Nash, I’m in charge of this station.  Can I help you?”

“Umm, I hope so.  I’m looking for someone, my sister.  She’s a firefighter here, I think.  Her name’s Evy Bu…”

“Maddie?!”  Screeched Buck before she bolted down the stairs and engulfing her sister in a massive hug.

As Maddie saw Buck running towards her, she broke down in massive sobs, and when Buck had pulled her into her arms the two women sunk to the ground, crying their hearts out.  A few people had gathered at the railings to see what was going on, but Bobby managed to shoo them back to the table to give the women some space.

“I’m sorry,” sobbed Maddie, “I’m so sorry.  Can you ever forgive me.”

“Hush, Mads.  I don’t care about that right now, the only thing that I care about is whether or not you’re safe.”  Buck looked over her shoulder and she could see Bobby still looking at the two of them, concern etched on his face, but she also saw Eddie looking at the two of them, his expression unreadable.  “Come on,” whispered Buck as she helped Maddie back up to her feet before leading her towards Bobby’s office.

“We’re using your office,” Buck called up to Bobby, before ushering Maddie into the quiet and safety of Bobby’s office. 

The reaction up in the loft to the appearance of the mysterious women who Buck clearly knew very well was puzzling to everyone.  And the rumour mill was awash with speculation as to what was going on.  Hen was listening to everyone speculate, when she remembered something that Buck had told them all months ago.  “I think that’s her sister.”  She said quietly, and everyone looked at her.  “She told us a while ago, after the hostage situation, Maddie is her sister.  They haven’t seen each other in years.”

“Well, that explains so much.”  Muttered Chim.

Bobby looked thoughtful for a moment before taking away the rest of the lasagne that he had made and started boxing it up.

“Okay Maddie, what happened?  Why are you here at my station?  Where’s Doug?  Does he know that you’re here?”

Maddie sniffled and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.  “I need your help.  Please Evy, please help me.”

Maddie broke down into huge tears again, and Buck pulled her into a hug again, but this time Maddie winced and pulled away slightly.  Buck pulled back and looked Maddie over.  Maddie looked away and pulled her cardigan tighter around her.  “Maddie, what happened?”  Maddie looked away, shame in her eyes.  “Maddie, please.  I only want to help.  If you can’t tell me, can you show me.”

Sobbing silently Maddie slowly slipped her cardigan down her shoulders and when Buck saw the bruises and marks down Maddie’s arms, she saw red.  But she could tell by the look on Maddie’s face that getting angry about this was not going to be what she needed, so Buck took a couple of calming breaths before gently picking up Maddie’s hand and took a closer look at the bruising on her wrist.

“Maddie, do you mind if I get one of our paramedics to look you over.  I know that you’re a nurse, but it would make me feel better, and I promise that she would be incredibly gentle.  And the I will speak to my Captain and see what I can do about getting the rest of my shift off and taking you home.”

Maddie looked like she wanted to argue about it, but the look on Buck’s face made her think twice about it.  So, she nodded, and Buck ran off to grab Hen and speak to Bobby.

The moment that buck made it up to the loft she could see Bobby packing up the lasagne while everyone else was looking at her.  “Hen,” Buck gestured for Hen to follow her, and after quickly whispering instructions to her Hen rushed off downstairs as buck made her way over to Bobby.

“Hey Cap, I know that his is a big ask, but can I take the rest of the shift off please?  I need to get my sister home and get her safe.  I will explain more on our next shift.”

“Of course.  I figured that you might need to, so I have started packing up the leftovers for the two of you.  So, take this, get changed, and go and look after your sister.  I will keep everyone up here until you leave.”

Buck took the leftovers that Bobby was holding out, and she gave him a quick hug, and then made her way back down the stairs.  Buck made her way back to Bobby’s office, and she saw Hen dressing a burn on Maddie’s arm.  “She’s all fine, Buck.  I promise.”

“Thanks Hen.  Maddie, I’m just going to get changed and then I’m going to take you back to mine.  Cap has given me the rest of the shift off.”

“Are you sure?  I don’t want to put you out.”  Buck just looked at Maddie and rolled her eyes.  “Right, never mind.  Just don’t be long Buck.”

A few minutes later Buck was dressed and had her and Maddie’s bags and was making her way to the jeep.  Maddie paused when they reached the jeep and she looked at it astounded.  “I can’t believe that you still have this thing.  It’s so old now.”

“Yeah, and it’s got a ridiculous amount of miles on it.  But I have no desire to get rid of it.  I will drive this thing until it dies.” The two of them climbed into the jeep, and Buck drove off towards her place.

A couple of hours later, once Buck had gotten Maddie settled, and dished up the leftovers that Bobby had sent Buck home with, Buck decided that it was time to find out what exactly Maddy was doing here.  “So, how’d you find me?”

“Well, first, I went to the address the Christmas cards keep coming from, and the guys said that you had moved out.  But they told me that I could try your place of work, so they gave me the address of the station and the rest is history.”

“Wait.  So, you did get those Christmas cards?”

Maddie paused mid sip of her wine before she put her glass down with a guilty look on her face.  “I'm sorry I haven't been in touch much lately.”

“Three years, Maddie.  I haven't heard from you in three years.”

“Yeah, I know.  And it's not what I wanted.”

Buck looked at Maddie and she could see that she was tired, and she could tell that whatever had been happening had been happening for a while.  But she could also tell the Maddie was skittish, and if Buck weren’t careful with her questions, she could cause her to run, and then she would never be able to help her.  “Maddie, where is Doug?”

“Don't know, don't care.”  Scoffed Maddie.

“You left him?”

“Finally.”

Buck breathed a sigh of relief.  She had been keeping a subtle eye on Maddie for years, using her connections.  With the promise that one day she would get Maddie out, but here she was.  She had gotten herself out, and Buck couldn’t be more relieved.  “Geez, Mads.  Come on, what took you so long?”

“What can I say?  Mom was right.”

At the mention of her mother Buck started to panic a little.  The last thing that she wanted was for her parents to show up on her doorstep.  “Do they know?”

Maddie shook her head.  “No one knows.  And please don't tell them if they call.  I don't want anyone to know that I'm here.”

“Well, there’s no issue of them calling.  I haven’t spoken to either of them since I ran away from home.  And I would like to keep it that way myself.  But as for you, it kind of sounds like you're hiding out.”

“No.  More like laying low.”  Buck and Maddie continued eating and as they did Maddie looked around the place and she was impressed.  She never expected her sister to be able to afford such a nice place, and for it to be so clean.  “So, what happened to you?  Because this place is nice, and clean, and you just cooked me food, actual food.  Like you just made me fresh garlic bread to go to with this lasagne that your boss gave you.”

“Yeah, my, uh... my boss at work is like Guy Fieri.  He's been teaching me, I even helped make this lasagne.  We have only just started on lunch foods, up until now we have been working on breakfasts.”

Buck then got up and went to the kitchen to grab her phone, as she made her way back over to Maddie, she scrolled through her phone to find a picture for Maddie.  “And this is, uh... Let me show you...   This is my girlfriend's place.  I'm, uh... I'm looking after it while she's out of town for a couple months, but, uh, she-she should be back soon.  This is her.”   Buck showed Maddie the picture of herself and Abby at the beach. 

Maddie smiled, genuinely please to see her sister so happy, especially after her teen years being so miserable.  “Aw.  How soon?”

Buck winced as she put the phone back down again.  “Uh, I'm not really sure.  Um, she was in Ireland, and now she's in Italy.   Said she's looking to have an Eat, Pray, Love experience.  And, uh, if I’m being honest, I don't really know what that means.”

Maddie felt her stomach clench at how sad her sister sounded.  And she felt bad that her sister was being taken advantage of again.  “But you're still together?”

“Yeah.  I mean, I mean, she said I should, you know, do whatever I wanted while she was away, but... what I want is for her to come back.  I like the me that I am with her.”

“She's banging other guys.”  Maddie blurted out, and Buck looked at her in shock.  “I mean, that's the "love" part of her trip.”

Anger flashed through Buck.  The first time that she had seen her sister in almost a decade, the first time that she had spoken to her in three years, and all she could do was judge her and piss on her relationship. 

“Whoa!” She snapped.  “Did you come all the way from Pennsylvania to just crap on my life?  That's a thing now?”

“No, I'm sorry.  I'm just being protective.”

Buck could see that Maddie was feeling sorry for what she said, and she couldn’t stay mad with for not knowing, but she needed to make sure that Maddie understood that she was different from the last time that they had spoken.  “I understand, but I don’t need protecting.  I am more than capable of looking after myself.  I have been doing so since I was nine, remember.”  Maddie winced, and Buck felt bad for snapping, so she quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, uh, this is your first time here in L.A.  Have you got any plans?  Gonna see the sights, hang around for a little bit?”

Maddie shook her head.  “I'm just passing through.”

Buck felt saddened by the news.  She had hoped that her sister would stick around for a little bit longer.  “Listen, even if you are just here for a few days, uh, welcome to L.A.  It was getting pretty lonely around here.”

“Thanks, Evy.  I’ve missed you too.”

By the time that Buck’s next shift had rolled around Maddie was thoroughly settled into Buck’s apartment.  Buck had tried to get Maddie to talk about Doug, but she was still too afraid of what Maddie’s reaction to Buck’s questions might be, so she avoided too many probing questions.  But she did have Steve check to see if Doug was still in Hershey, just to make sure that he wasn’t coming after her.

When Buck made her way into the station, she thanked Hen and Bobby for their help, but asked them not to talk about the Maddie situation in the station until Buck figured out what was going on and how long Maddie was going to be in the area for.  She was still hoping that she could persuade Maddie to stay for good.  But she knew that might be a long shot.

During the shift she could hear some whispers about Buck and “The mysterious brunette” that had just appeared in the station.  But Buck knew better than to listen to the 118 rumour mill, which frankly was worse than high school.

Eddie was also going out of his way to avoid Buck that shift, which made her happy.  Because with everything that she was going through, the last thing that she needed to worry about was Eddie and his issues with her.  But Buck should have realised that she couldn’t avoid him all day, and early afternoon, when she was working out in the gym, Eddie joined her, along with Chim, and things got really tense between them.

Buck was minding her own business, doing some yoga to cool down after an intensive workout, when Eddie and Chim made their way over, Eddie to the punching bag, and Chim to the weights bench.  Once Buck had finished with her cooldown, she pulled out her phone and started taking some post workout selfies to post on the ‘gram.  As she was figuring out angles, she could hear tutting coming from Eddie, and every time that he did Buck found herself getting angrier.  Eventually Buck just snapped at Eddie.

“What?  What is your problem?”

“You're in the wrong light.”

Buck scoffed; “I don’t really care about lighting.  I just want some post workout selfies.  Besides some of us don't need lighting to look good.”

Chim piped up.  “Hey, Eddie, what'd you mean by ‘the wrong light’?”

“The light in this room is flat and blue.  Makes you look soft.  If you want to look lean and muscles to pop, you need warm side light.  I'll show you.”  Eddie pulled out his phone and pulled up some pictures of himself.  Even though Buck was rolling up her yoga mat, she was keeping a subtle eye on what Eddie was talking about.  “These are the ones I sent in for the calendar.”

Chim’s eyes practically bugged out of his skull when he saw them.  “Whoa.  Isn’t it kind of cheating submitting pictures by a professional photographer.”

Eddie chuckled.  “The photographer.  She’s, my niece.  She's a master at the iPhone filters.”

“Your niece did this?”

“Yeah.”

“You think she'd be willing to take my submission pics for me?  I'm told I photograph like an Asian Fabio.”

“Sure, she would, yeah.”

“Yeah?”

Buck scoffed at them.  “Ah, you know, you really shouldn't get his hopes up like that.  They still haven’t decided whether or not they’re having one person per station per calendar, or one person total over the two calendars.  No offense, Chim.”

“No offense taken, Evalyn.”

A hush fell over the gym, and Chim instantly regretted his words.  The look on Buck’s face was murderous, and Chim started backing up at the look on her face.  Eddie instantly sensed danger and moved in between the two of them.  Blocking Buck from reaching Chim.

“What's your problem, Buckley?”

“Stay the hell out of this Diaz.  In fact, I think that I said to you to stay the hell away from me.  This does not concern you.”

“Oh, it very much concerns me.  You looked like you were about to hit him, and I am not going to let you do that.”

Buck growled.  “I wasn’t going to hit him, I was just going to talk to him, remind him about my rule about calling me Evalyn.  If I was going to hit that idiot it would have been when he laughed at me for getting raped, or maybe when he bullied me over getting catfished and people assaulting me over it.  Pick one.”

Eddie looked at Chim shocked.  And Chim looked away embarrassed by his actions in the past.  Buck grabbed her stuff, but Eddie stopped her from leaving.

“Look I know that you and I don’t see eye to eye.  But we can at least get on.  I know that you’ve got a problem with me, and I am fairly sure that I know what that problem is, but that was a long time ago.  I mean I assume that you’re not torturing people anymore.”

Buck glared at Eddie, and she looked at Chim, who gulped and turned away when he saw the look on Buck’s face.  “I have a few problems with you, starting with you stopping me from doing my job all those years ago, and ending with your comfort level here.”  Eddie looked confused by Buck’s comment, so she elaborated.  “You're not supposed to just walk in here like you've been here for years.  It's meant to be a getting-to-know-you period.  For Christ sake, that asshole who you seem to be getting so familiar with hazed me so badly I nearly quit.  I wasn’t even treated that bad in my first couple of years as a SEAL, and those guys were complete assholes to me but at the very least I knew that they had my back.”

Eddie looked a little guilty.  He knew that when he was seconded to Buck’s unit, she felt a little out of sorts about him being the new person on the team.  And it took a few weeks for her to feel comfortable with him as part of the unit.  And he knew that if these guys were bullying Buck and he was being treated better than her then it would make her feel like she was being replaced. 

“Look, I in no way meant to, uh, be too familiar or step on anybody's toes.  And if anyone here knows that you are capable of doing the job then it’s me.  But I know you're going through some personal stuff right now.”

Buck looked at him and then turned to look at Chim who was going bright red and trying to look anywhere but at Buck.  “What personal stuff?”  She asked through gritted teeth.

“I know your girlfriend recently broke up with you and you're coming to terms with that.”

Buck glared at Chim, knowing that he was the only one here who had no issues talking about their co-workers personal lives so easily.  “No, I'm not.  And she didn't break up with me.  Give me two guesses who told you that?”

Chim squeaked and rushed off to the other side of the gym away from Buck’s gaze.  Eddie felt a little bad for asking Chim about what had been happening in Buck’s private life since she had been at the 118, but in fairness no one else was willing to tell him anything.  He mostly wanted to find out whether or not Buck had changed since her SEAL days.  And from what he could tell she had.  Although he did not like the rumour that he had heard in the academy about Buck killing someone who had taken her hostage.  And he still didn’t know if it was true or not.  But he still felt the need to explain.

“Look I remember that you were fiercely protective of your team, and I am going to assume that is the same thing here.  And I’m not here to take your place on the team, I am just here to do my job and get back home to my family.  And yeah, I asked around about you after you left with your sister.  But that’s because I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t going to be working with the same person that I saw torturing that guy in Afghanistan.”

Anger flashed through Buck as she remembered that day.  “And as I told you, the brass knew what we were doing.  You were the only one who had an issue with it.”

“Yeah, trust me when I say I don’t trust that you wouldn’t do it again to get what you need.”

“Well, if you think that little of me then this conversation’s over.”

The alarm went off and they all ran off, Buck dived into the front of the engine, wiping the tears that had been threatening to spill over.

When they arrived at the address Buck and Bobby were shocked to see that it was a house full of military memorabilia.  “Some kind of militia nut?”  Buck asked.

They could hear someone calling out.  “Can't tell where that voice is coming from.”  Mentioned Bobby.

“Back here.”  Came a muffled voice, and when they followed it back, they found an elderly man in his chair with a massive wound in his leg.  When Buck and Bobby walked into the room, he breathed a sigh of relief.  “Oh, thank God.”

Bobby crouched down and started looking over his leg.  “Hey.  What's your name, sir?”

“Charlie.”

“All right, tell us what happened, Charlie.”

“Damn grenade went off while I was taking it apart.”

Buck blanched when she heard that and prayed that whatever he had fired into his leg was not about to go off in their faces.  “Why are you taking apart a grenade?”  Buck asked, hoping that the answer was an innocent one.

“I was cleaning it.  I'm a collector.”

“No kidding.”  Muttered Buck.

“You pulled the pin?”  Asked Bobby as she looked around hoping to find one on the floor somewhere.

“Oh, it ain't that kind of grenade.  It's a 40-mike-mike.  A practice round for an…”

“M203 grenade launcher.”  Finished Buck, cursing to herself as she did.

“Yeah.  I picked it up at a flea market in Brea, part of my 'Nam collection.  My screwdriver must have touched the propelling charge.  I’m impressed you know your weapons.”

“I’m a veteran.  I know my military weapons.”

Bobby ignored them and was focused on the wound in his leg.  “All right, I see metal.  A lot of shrapnel.  Femoral artery has been nicked.  We got to get him transported now.”

Buck and Eddie wheeled Carlie into the ambulance while Bobby radioed ahead.  “I've got an adult male, age sixty-five, with a large piece of shrapnel in his right thigh.  Femoral artery damage with profuse bleeding, ten minutes out.”  Once Charlie was loaded Bobby turned to Buck.  “Buck, I want you to travel with him to the hospital, keep him stable.  Next to Eddie you’ve had the most experience with these type of wounds.”

Buck sighed and rolled her eyes.  “Copy that, Cap.”

“Hey.  You got to learn how to play nice.  It's one team, Buck.”

Buck grumbled but jumped into the back of the ambulance as Charlie called out to Bobby.  “Hey, Nash, am I gonna be all right?”

“My people have got you.  But you might want to consider switching to collecting baseball cards after this.  Or maybe model planes.”

As they were barrelling their way down the streets towards the hospital Buck and Eddie were doing their best to keep Charlie stable.  And as they were Eddie decided to strike up a conversation with Buck.  “Do you remember when I was pulling shrapnel out of your back after you ran through a field that was under heavy mortar fire.”

“Yep.”

“Remember how after I stitched you up you went off and then proceeded to rip your stitches less than twenty minutes later.”

“I remember you yelling at me for nearly an hour straight after that.”

Eddie leaned over and stage whispered to Charlie.  “She was always stubborn even then.  Now we need to change those dressings.  They're soaking through.”

Buck pulled back the dressing, and she realised that this was the first time that she had ever gotten a proper look at the wound, as Bobby was the one dealing with it back at the house, and the moment that she did she cursed loudly.  “Shit!”

“What’s wrong Buck?”  Eddie asked worried.

“Charlie, I thought you said this was a practice round.”  Asked Buck, worry setting in.

“It is.”

“Buck.  What is going on?”

“Eddie look.”  Buck pointed to the round that was in Charlie’s leg and when Eddie got a good look at it, he cursed too.  “You see that cap?  Do I need to remind you of your training?  Practice rounds have blue caps.  Gold caps are live.”

Eddie reached over and banged on the side of the ambulance yelling at the driver.  “Pull over!”

Ten minutes later the ambulance was parked up in the middle of an empty hospital car park, surrounded by bomb squad.  They had managed to use the portable x-ray machine to get a picture of the round in Charlies leg, and currently Buck, Bobby, Eddie, and pone of the members of bomb squad were looking it over.  “Yup.  There she is.”  The bomb squad guy pointed out.

Bobby was looking at the picture in disbelief.  “He's got a live round embedded in his thigh.  I thought this thing already went off.”

Buck shook her head and explained how this particular grenade worked.  “The launch grenade has two components: the gun which makes it travel, and an explosive charge that makes it go boom.”

“Okay then, so why didn't this one go boom?”

“It's fitted with a proximity fuse.”  She shrugged as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.  “It's a little smart sensor that tells the cap it's travelled a safe enough distance from the shooter to explode.”

“From his hand to his leg probably wasn't far enough.”  Eddie pointed out.

Now came to them figuring out the problem at hand.  What to do about Charlie.  He needed medical care, but they couldn’t move him with that thing in his leg.  Bobby was the one to voice the issue.  “Well, what do we do?  We can't bring him inside a hospital full of people, not with that still stuck inside him.”

“We called the military for help.”

They all looked at the bomb squad guy.  “The military?  Uh, can't you do it?  You're the bomb squad.”  Asked Buck.

“You can't diffuse a grenade.”

“Yeah, I’m well aware of that.  I have fired a couple of these things in my time.”

“Well, we need to find someone who knows how to pull that thing out of him without setting it off.  Now, they're sending someone up from Pendleton.  Should be here within the hour.”

“He doesn't have an hour.”  Eddie pointed out.

Buck looked at the x-ray again and sighed.  “I can do it.”  Everyone looked at her, and Bobby looked like he wanted to step in and stop her from doing whatever she was planning.  “If he doesn't go to surgery soon, he'll die.”

“You've done this before?”  Asked Bobby with some trepidation.

“Well, here’s the thing.  I am familiar with the ordinance, and I took some EOD courses in the Navy, but I am not a medic, so I am going to need some help to get the thing out of his leg.  Afterall, no one I know was stupid enough to shoot themselves in the leg with one.”

Eddie looked at Buck and back at Bobby.  When he looked at him, he could see a look on his face that made him think of how he looked at his son.  “I’ll help.  I’m a former army medic, and I am familiar with the ordinance too.”

The bomb squad guys got Buck and Eddie suited up in vests, and had handed Eddie a grabber and Buck a lined box to put the grenade in.  “You get that thing out of him, put it in here and get the hell away from it.  Let us deal with it.”

“Copy that.”  Said Eddie as he made his way to the ambulance.

“See you inside.”  Called out Buck as Bobby pulled her off to one side.

“All right, listen, Buck, you don't have to do this.”

“I know I don’t.  But if I don’t Charlie is going to die.  Besides, I am not going to let that idiot have all the fun.”

“Charlie’s not an idiot.”

“I was talking about Eddie.”

Buck hopped into the ambulance and made her way over to Charlie.  “How you feeling there, Charlie?”  She asked.

“Like a world-class idiot.  My wife if she were still alive, she'd be here now saying, ‘I told you so.’  Well, maybe she'll be able to tell me in person in about a minute.”

Buck patted Charlie on the shoulder while Eddie did his best to reassure him.  “Well, that conversation's gonna have to wait.  Nobody's leaving this life tonight.  Start the drip.”  He told Buck.

While they waited for the meds to start working Buck continued to try and distract Charlie.  “So, Charlie.  You never mentioned what branch of the military that you were in.”

Charlie sighed and looked sad.  “I wasn't.  I always wanted to be a Marine.  I tried to enlist during 'Nam, but I was 4F, an enlarged heart.  So instead, I spent the last years teaching seventh grade.”

Buck smiled and patted him on the shoulder.  “See there, Charlie?  Not all heroes serve on the battlefield.”

Charlie smiled, and drowsily he said, “That's very kind of you to say that.”

Eventually Charlie drifted off to sleep, and Buck and Eddie looked at each other.  “You ready?”  She asked.

“Yeah.”  Eddie grabbed the grabbed and as soon as he was braced and ready to move, he motioned at buck to move the dressing out of the way.  The moment that Buck did blood stared piddling out of him.  “He's losing a lot of blood.  Keep pressure on it.”  Buck put a hand either side of the wound and pressed down squeezing.  “Not—not too much pressure.” 

Buck adjusted her grip on Charlie’s leg, and once they were ready Eddie carefully grasped the grenade with the grabber.  As Buck watched Eddie wrestle with the grenade, she thought that it was apt to remind him how the grenade works.

“Remember, the sensor measures the distance travelled based on how many rotations the shell made after the launch.  The key is not to turn the shell while we pull it out.”

“I know Buck,” hissed Eddie.  “I know.  “Gonna have to just…”  Eddie had to turn the grenade a little bit, and Buck started sweating slightly as she watched him turn it.  After a moment, the grenade was out of Charlie’s leg.  “Get the box.”

Buck opened the box and held it out, Eddie gently placed the grenade into the box and Buck closed it.  Gingerly, buck placed the box down and breathed a sigh of relief.  But as she and Eddie moved Charlie out of the ambulance, they accidently knocked the box, and they heard the grenade shift around inside.  Quickly they rushed out and handed Charlie off to the waiting trauma team.

The bomb squad tech called in for the robot as soon as Buck and Eddie were safe, and Eddie looked at Buck impressed.  “Nice to know that you're the same badass under pressure that you always have been.”

“You too.”

“It doesn’t change anything though.  I still don’t trust you, Buck.  You are still the same person that was willing to do anything to get what you wanted.  But at least I know that we can at least work together.”

Buck mulled over Eddie’s words.  And she had to admit that this was going to be the best that things were going to be.  “Agreed,” she said, holding her hand out for Eddie to shake.  “Keep away from me at the station, and when out in the field I will be completely professional.”  Buck turned to Bobby who was watching the exchange with a curious expression.  “I think that we can all live with that.  Don’t you?”

“Agreed.”

The next second the ambulance exploded.  Bobby threw himself to the ground, Eddie flinched sightly but remained upright, Buck on the other hand didn’t even move.  She just laughed at Eddie and Bobby’s reaction and after the bomb squad guy had cancelled the robot, Buck started walking off to the In-N-Out that was just across the road.

“Where are you going Buck?”  Called out Bobby.

“Well, you’re gonna be here a while.  An exploding ambulance is a lot of paperwork, so I’m going to get some food.  I’m hungry.”

Buck walked off to Bobby laughing and she was smirking.

On Buck’s next shift the worst of the tension between Buck and Eddie seemed to have passed.  The two of them avoided each other at the station, and Bobby had made sure that their jobs in the station did not cross paths, and Chim had learnt to keep his mouth shut when it came to Buck’s private life.  But when the two of them got a call out, the two of them worked together like a well-oiled machine.  As was evident on the most recent callout.

They had arrived at a luxurious house in the hills, and they were greeted by a frantic looking young man.  “Quick.  They're in the back.”  He ran off up the stairs leading to the back of the house, and he was still explaining to the team as he went.  “We put a tube in so he could breathe.  I think the cement smushed it.”

Chim looked over at the others confused.  “What is it, a YouTube prank?”

“Don't judge.  Followers equals cash.”

When they reached the pool area, they found a blonde man with a phone out recording, while he was stood next to a man who was sat on a chair with a microwave cemented on his head.  “What's his name?”  Ordered Bobby.

“Jessie.”

“Jessie, this is Captain Nash, LAFD.  Can you hear me?”  There was no response from him, so they knew that they had to work fast.  “All right, he is totally cut off in this thing.  Let's get some screwdrivers, try to get this frame off.”

Eddie and Buck stared unscrewing the frame, while Bobby continued barking out orders, while getting vital signs from Hen and Chim.  As Buck and Eddie were removing the frame, Jessie started panicking.  Shoving them away from him he stumbled and staggered away from him.  “He’s panicking.  Hold on one second.” Butt jessie couldn’t hear them and he stumbled off towards the pool.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.”  Called out Buck but she was too late, and Jessie fell into the pool. 

With a single look at Eddie Buck jumped into the pool, followed a second later by Eddie.  The two of them worked to drag Jessie up and out of the pool and back up onto dry land.  When they got him settled, they immediately returned to getting the microwave apart.

“His pulse is weak,” Hen said, “I have no respiration.”

Chim looked at Shay and Mitch hoping to get some more information.  “Is there a plastic bag in there or something?”

“Yeah, we put it on his head before we poured the concrete.”  Confirmed Shay.  But when he looked at his friend who was still not breathing, he burst into tears.  “Please don't let him die.  He's my best friend since kindergarten.”

They suddenly lost his pulse and things suddenly kicked up a gear.  “We had minutes to get him out of there.  Now we got seconds.”

Hen and Chim tried everything to get a response from Jessie, but nothing that they were doing worked.  Buck and Eddie were removing the last few of the screws form the microwave frame, while Bobby grabbed the sledgehammer and the Halligan.  “All right, Buck, once we get this frame off, you and I are gonna go hammer and chisel on that block.”

The moment that the frame was off, and the cement was exposed Bobby held the Halligan out to Buck.  “All right, Buck, I'm hammer, you're chisel.  Let's go.”

Buck raised her eyebrow and reached for the sledgehammer.  “I can do this.”

There was a beat before Bobby handed the hammer to Buck.  “All right.”

Once the Halligan was in place, buck swung the sledgehammer down, driving the point into the concrete.  “Again.”  Commanded Bobby and Buck swung again.  And with one further swing, the cement cracked into two.

They removed the cement and started giving Jessie oxygen and it took a few seconds and he suddenly sat up coughing.  “Good job.  Good job.”  He tried to get up, but Hen just held him down and got him to stay down while they continued checking his vitals.  “Hold still, hold still.”

Shay had stopped crying and was back on his phone, much to Buck’s displeasure.  “Shay Reed here, fans.  And today's Shay-nanigan is maybe our most intense yet!  We are here with the LAFD Girl On Fire, and I swear that she is even more beautiful in person.  And she saved my buddy Jessie here.”

“Are you filming this?”  Asked Bobby incredulously.

“Yeah, bro.  If we didn't film it, it didn't happen.”

Buck looked at them disgusted.  “You were just crying like two minutes ago.”

Shay just shrugged and continued to film.  “Yeah, two minutes ago, he was gonna die.  Now he's gonna live and be a legend.  Say hello, Shay's Army.”

Bobby got right up into Shay’s face.  “Hello, Shay's army.”  And hr grabbed the camera from him and drop kicked it into the pool, much to the teams delight.  Shay tried to protest, but they all just laughed and left to get Jessie help, leaving Shay and Mitch standing there.  Before she left though Buck decided to pass on a word of wisdom to the pair.

“Just a heads up.  If we another call out to you, because you have almost killed your friend while doing a stupid YouTube stunt, I will name and shame you on my Instagram page, and maybe even my TikTok.  Bye.”

Bobby pretended to be disappointed by what Buck told them, but he spent the entire journey back to the station grinning to himself, proud of his Buck and secretly plotting to cook Buck her favourite meal for lunch.

Later as the team were all chilling out up in the loft, Bobby approached with a massive grin on his face.  “All right, everybody, listen up.  I've got an announcement to make.  I just got off the phone with the people from the calendar, and they have made their choice.”

Buck grinned at everyone.  “Well, no hard feelings, no matter whether or not they decide to pick men from this station to be in the calendar.”

“Well, that was the decision.  As there are not many women in the LAFD they have decided that the will be accepting submissions from the same houses with the men as they are for the women.  And we have an announcement for the men’s.  Eddie is exempt because probationary firefighters are not allowed to take part in the calendar.”

Eddie glared at Buck, and she just laughed.  “Oops.  Did I forget to mention that?  I’m sorry.  Not!”  She cackled meandering off towards Hen.

“Well.  If it’s not Eddie, then who?”  Asked Hen.  And Bobby looked over towards Chim who was eating celery and peanut butter, completely oblivious to what was going on around him.

“What?  What?”  It took Chim a moment to realise that he was going to be on the calendar and when he did his face split into this massive grin.  “No way.  You got to be kidding me.”

“No.  Congratulations, Chim.  Or should I say Mr. April?”

“No way.  Are you serious?”

Buck slapped Chimney on the shoulder, cheering.  “Chimney!  You're a calendar boy, now.  Welcome to the club.”

Chim looked so confused, his face was adorable.  “You serious?”  He asked.

Bobby nodded grinning.  “Mr April, buddy.  30 days of Chimney.  Congratulations.”

As everyone was congratulating Chim on his news Athena quietly made her way into the station.  When she made her way up to the loft she smiled softly when she saw Bobby.  “I hope I'm not interrupting anything.”  She called out, and everyone turned to her in surprise.

Bobby made his way over to her and buck could see that he was looking apologetic, and she and Hen looked at each other knowingly.  “Hey.  I'm sorry.”

Athena smiled and grabbed Bobby’s face and kissed him.  As she did there was a cacophony of cat calls, grinning Buck and Hen gave each other a fist bump.  Once Athena and Bobby broke apart Bobby turned to everyone grinning.

“What are you all looking at?  There's no more announcements.”

Buck and Hen held their hands out with huge shit eating grins on their faces.  “Pay up.”  They chanted.  And there was a unanimous groan, as all of the firefighters made their way over to the two of them, pulling cash out as they did.

Bobby and Athena watched as Buck and hen profited from their kiss.  “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you knew?”

Buck and Hen gave him the best ‘Bitch please’ look as Hen explained.  “Sir, first you two were happy at the same time, then you were both pissed off at the same time.  It wasn't hard to figure out.”

“And, uh, you good with this?”  Asked Athena.

Hen snorted.  “Girl, I'm just mad at myself for not fixing you up in the first place.”

“Are you staying for dinner?”  Bobby asked Athena, his hand still around her waist.

“I don't know.  Are you cooking?”

“Yeah.”

Buck left Bobby and Athena to it, with Athena introducing herself to Eddie, and Hen and Chim were talking about how Chim’s picture miraculously ended up submitted to the calendar, Buck left to find a quiet corner to count her winnings and call Hondo.  She figured that it was about time that she told him Eddie was back in town.

When their sift was over, and Buck eventually arrived home, she walked into Abby’s place to see Maddie’s bags packed and by the front door.  The moment that she saw then Buck’s heart sunk.  She had only just got her sister back and now she was leaving again.

“Leaving already?”  Buck asked.

Maddie was sat on the couch looking more tired than she had in the last few days, and when Buck looked across the room, she could see the broken remnants of Maddie’s phone on the floor.  Nodding to Buck’s question Maddie mumbled to the ground.  “Road ahead awaits.”

Sighing Buck planked herself down on the coffee table and took Maddie’s hands.  “I'm more concerned with the road behind you.”  Sighing Buck look over at Maddie’s bags again, and then to the marks on her arms.  It was time to stop tiptoeing around the truth and get down to the real reason why Maddie was here.  “Maddie, what really happened with Doug?  Why are you running away from him?”

Maddie looked up at Buck startled and Buck could see tears in her eyes.  “No. I'm not gonna bring my little sister into this.”

Sighing Buck looked Maddie directly in the eye and put every ounce of strength that she had learnt throughout her life into that look.  “Standing in between you and anyone who thinks they can hurt you is exactly where I want to be standing.  Maddie, are you in some kind of danger?  If you are I can help you.  But I can’t do anything without your say so.”

Maddie started crying again, and Buck engulfed her into a huge hug.  “The stuff that Mom and Dad hated about him, that you picked up on even as a teenager, it all got worse.  Much worse over the last year or so.  And when I threaten to leave, he threatens to kill me.  And he meant it.”  Maddie’s voice broke on the last sentence, and Buck hugged her tight.

Sniffling Maddie continued.  “You know when women in abusive relationships used to come into the hospital, I got to be honest, I would pass judgment.  Like, ‘Why don't you just leave him?’  Now I get it.  It's like, you can't even believe it's happening.”

“But you broke free.  And I'm proud of you.  But now is not the time to be alone, all right?  So-so-so you... you should stay here.  All right?  I-I got...  I got plenty of room, and-and, hey, if Doug comes looking, then I will rain hellfire down on him.  I have many guns; I have some friends in very nasty places that owe me a favour.  And I can promise, if I do get my hands on him, then I will show him exactly what I learnt in the SEALs.”

“Did you really just threaten to kill him for me?”

“Mads, I would kill anyone just to keep you safe.  Protecting you is my main goal.  God Mads, all you have to do is ask and I will make a phone call and have that human stain removed from the face of the earth for you.”

Maddie smiled and hugged Buck.  “Thank you for standing up for me.  And as for whether or not he will come here, he won't.  He doesn't know you live here.  He doesn't know what you do.  It's a real benefit to being married to somebody who doesn't ask any questions.”

“Okay, well, that's perfect.  You can start over.  I can help you.  I can help you get a great nursing job at one of the hospitals.”

“No.”  yelled Maddie making Buck jump slightly.  “I really miss helping people, but I can't do that job every day, looking over my shoulder, wondering who's walking in the front door.”

Buck sat back thinking.  “Okay.  So, you want to help people but not deal with them face-to-face.”

“Yeah.”

Buck looked over at the picture of her and Abby on the wall, and a when she saw that Abby was wearing her dispatch uniform in the picture a bright idea popped into her mind.  “I think I might have an idea.  How would you feel about being a 911 dispatcher?”