Chapter Text
As soon as the baby was placed in Buck’s hands, he knew his life was never going to be the same. She was so small and precious and resilient. And her mother literally tried to flush her away. He argued with the police officer who tried to put them in the same ambulance- she shouldn’t be anywhere near this baby after what she did. But Buck was quickly put in his place.
He tried to follow the doctors as they started caring for the baby, but Bobby pulled him back.
“We don’t go past the glass doors,” Bobby said, “Our work is done and now it’s the doctor’s job.”
But that didn’t feel right. He had no problem passing off any other patient. But that baby… she needed someone who loved her and would care for her.
After shift- when he lost his job and got it back again- he ended up back at the hospital.
“I know you probably can’t tell me anything,” Buck said to the receptionist, “But I was one of the firefighters who brought in the baby who was flushed down the toilet? I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”
The receptionist’s face softened, “I can’t tell you about her condition- but between you and me, the mother gave up parental rights. Social services has done their initial check in and will get her when she’s released. But I think she needs someone to sit with her.”
“Um, yeah. That would be great.”
He knew she could probably get in a lot of trouble for doing this. He should have said no. But he wanted to make sure she was okay.
She was sleeping peacefully. There were a lot of wires, but he was told those were just for monitoring. He wanted to pick her up and hold her again, but he knew that would be crossing a line that would get him kicked out.
“Hey, little girl,” Buck said, “How’s my little warrior doing?”
“I thought she didn’t have anyone to visit her?” A woman at the door said.
“Oh, um… I was the firefighter? I just… wanted to check in,” Buck tried to explain, “I should- I should go.”
“You don’t have to,” She said, “With the mom giving up parental rights and the grandpa not wanting to have anything to do with her, we haven’t been able to find any family. Right now she’s looking at eighteen years in the foster system. Unless someone decides to adopt her.”
Buck looked back at the little girl and his heart ached for her. But his life wasn’t built for a kid right now.
“Take my card,” she said, “I also have some pamphlets on what fostering and adopting look like and those processes. Just, look it over?”
“Um, sure. Thank you,” Buck said as he took the offered items.
The next time he was on shift, he was reading through the pamphlets. He would have to get his own apartment- which would be hard with probie pay- and he would need reliable child care- also hard with little to no connections in the city.
“Whatcha reading there, Buckaroo?” Hen asked him as she joined him. Her eyes went wide when she saw what it was.
“I went to visit the baby from our call the other day,” Buck admitted, “I know we’re supposed to hand it off, but I couldn’t do that with her. Someone from social services was there and gave me all this stuff about adoption.”
“And what do you think about that?” Hen asked.
Buck looked between her and the pamphlet and his mind went back to that strong little girl recovering all alone.
“I want to do it,” He admitted, “I already love her so much. I want to be her dad. But I’m not set up for it. There’s no way I’ll ever get approved.”
“Karen and I can refer you to the childcare agency we used to help out with Denny,” She said, “We’re both high achieving working moms, we couldn’t do it alone.”
“And that’s great, but what about housing?” Buck asked, “I can’t bring her back to the sharehouse and between rent and childcare? I don’t think I can afford it.”
“If this is something you really want to do, you’ll find a way,” Hen assured him.
He had no idea how that was going to work out, but he appreciated that she didn’t automatically say he wasn’t ready to be a dad.
He lost someone for the first time on a call and he heard from Abby from dispatch not too long after that. It was weird, but nice. They spoke on the phone a few times and he told her about the baby and wanting to adopt her and Abby told him about her mother. During this time, he kept visiting the baby when he could.
He was at the hospital with her when he got a frantic call from Abby that her mother was missing. He went over right away to help with the search and met Carla- Patricia’s home health aid. Between the three of them, they found out Patricia was involved in a hit and run and hadn’t survived.
He didn’t know Abby well, so he did his best to try and show support. But a few weeks after the funeral she asked him to come over.
“I’m going to Europe,” Abby said, “And I’m not sure when or if I’m coming back.”
“That sounds like it will be a good adventure,” Buck said.
Abby smiled, “It will. And I wanted to do something for you. I want you to take over the lease of my apartment. Any of the furniture is yours or you're welcome to throw it out.”
“Really?” Buck asked.
“Really,” she said, “And I talked to Carla- she’s great with babies and kids, too. She’d be willing to provide childcare for you.”
“How much is the rent?” Buck asked- knowing it couldn’t be cheap.
She told him how much it was and that she would cover utilities until her lease ended and he resigned on his own.
They went to the leasing office and made it all official. Then he pulled out the business card that had been living in his wallet and made a call that was a long time coming. They were able to expedite his background check since he already needed one for the fire academy and they set up his classes for his next set of days off. The next week, they had the home assessment and the family evaluation. They also took the time to meet with Carla as well, since she would provide the care when Buck was working.
The shift before he was able to bring her home, they were welcoming Chimney back. It was like everything was finally working out.
“Got any valentines plans?” Chimney asked him.
Buck’s face split into a big grin, “I’m finally bringing my girl home!”
Chimney gave him a confused look, “I didn’t think you were the kind of guy to wait to get a girl in bed.”
Hen overheard and started laughing, “He’s talking about his daughter .”
“You have a daughter?” Chimney asked.
“Yeah, it’s new,” Buck said, “And you all have met her before.”
“Have you given her a name?” Hen asked.
“Cordelia Evelyn Buckley,” Buck said.
“Cordelia?” Bobby asked, “That’s a unique name.”
“Did you get it from Buffy?” Chimney asked.
“What’s Buffy?” Buck asked.
Chimney gaped at him.
“So if you didn’t name her after a TV character, how’d you settle on that name?” Hen asked.
“It means daughter of the sea,” Buck explained, “I figured with how she came into this world it was fitting.”
He had the carseat all set up in his jeep and went to the hospital. She was getting discharged and was approved to be in his care. The official adoption paperwork would take longer to process, but that didn’t matter. She was coming home.
The dining room that used to house Patricia was turned into a nursery. But for the first few months he had a bassinet set up in his room. He also had one in the living room, which was where she was laying as he folded some laundry with some procedural on in the background. The main guy was on a date and started choking. Buck winced when his date started performing a trach on him right there in the restaurant.
“Imagine something like that happening on valentine's day,” He said to Cordelia, “Glad it’s not me.”
Buck wanted to be careful with his time off. Paternity leave wasn’t paid and he needed to save some PTO for if he got sick or injured on the job. So he took the first two weeks off to get adjusted to caring for a baby and then was back at work.
He wished he could have taken longer, but he didn’t have enough saved up to make that doable. He was lucky as is that Carla and Abby were helping him so much by cutting costs more than they normally would.
But finally finally Buck graduated his probie year and was a fully fledged fire fighter, which meant a pay raise. He knew they would have to find an actual two bedroom apartment, so he was always looking at rental websites to know how much he should be budgeting.
“You guys would not believe what Cordie did last night,” Buck said as he walked into the station, “She made the cutest little spit bubbles!”
“You think spit bubbles are cute?” Chimney asked.
“They are when Cordie does them,” Buck shrugged.
Hen walked in and joined them, but she was looking over their shoulders, “That is a beautiful man. And I like girls.”
Buck turned around to see a guy he didn’t know changing in their locker room.
“Who is that?” Buck asked.
“Eddie Diaz, new recruit,” Bobby said as he approached them, “He likes to be called eight-pack.”
He could tell Bobby was teasing about that, but suddenly no one wanted to see Cordie.
After he brought her home, they were all clamoring to come over and spend time with her. They all wanted pictures every time he came to work. And now just because there’s a new guy his baby girl was old news? He would not let that stand.
He and Eddie clashed all shift and when he finally got home, all he wanted was to settle down on the couch with his little girl in his arms. He heard some movement in the kitchen.
“Hey, Carla,” Buck called out, “How was she today?”
He came around the corner to see Carla finishing up the dishes and someone else holding his daughter.
“Maddie?” Buck asked.
“Hi, Evan,” Maddie said.
“I, uh, go by Buck now,” Buck said, “Too many Evans in my class at the academy.”
“Buck,” Maddie quickly corrected, “I’ve missed you a lot. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch and somehow I missed my niece being born.”
Buck’s face softened at the mention of his daughter, “Yeah, had to save her from a toilet drain. But she’s so healthy and happy now. Aren’t you my sweet girl?”
She was eight months old, now and getting so big . She clapped her hands and then held her arms out- almost falling out of Maddie’s hands trying to get to her father. She started banging on his chest and babbling away and Buck couldn’t look away from her.
Finally he tore his eyes away to look at his sister, “I’m glad you’re here, Maddie. But I don’t want you to get involved in her life if you’re just going to leave again.”
“And that’s my cue to go,” Carla said. She gave Cordie a kiss on the head before leaving.
“I get that, I do,” Maddie said, “What I did to you wasn’t fair to you. But it wasn’t easy for me either.”
“I would love for you to stay,” Buck said, “I just need you to mean it.”
Maddie started tearing up, “I don’t know if I can. He’ll find me.”
And that’s when all of Buck’s worst fears became a reality. He had his suspicions about Doug, which was why he was so insistent on Maddie leaving with him all those years ago. But to have it confirmed was a whole other thing.
“You’re safe here,” Buck said, “None of my postcards had this address on it. Wait… how did you find me?”
“Went to your old place and they told me where you moved,” Maddie confessed.
“I’m going to call Connor and ask him to just play dumb next time,” Buck said, “Doug isn’t going to find you here. I have friends on the force who can help make sure of that.”
She wrapped him in a big, forceful hug and Cordie squealed from excitement.
“Now, I just got off a twenty-four hour shift,” Buck said, “Mind sitting with her for an hour so I can take a nap?”
“Of course! I’ll never say no to time with my niece.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
His day off went well getting acquainted with Maddie. He had suggested going out, but it was clear she wasn’t ready for that. So they just had a quiet night in- doting on Cordelia.
The next day coming into work was… interesting. It had been a slow day, and Eddie was as annoying as ever. And no one asked about Cordelia or even gave him an opening to start talking about how his sister came back into his life.
It came to a head when they were working out and Eddie said something about Buck’s form and he (pretty rudely) brushed him off.
“What is your problem, man?” Eddie asked.
“You! You’re my problem!” Buck yelled back. And great. Now everyone was staring, “You come in here and you just fit without trying or paying your dues. And no one has asked about Cordelia since you got here. It’s just all ‘Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.’”
“Oh, Buck,” Hen said as she joined them, “We still want to hear all about Cordelia and see her pictures. It’s just Eddie’s new and we wanted to get to know him and make him feel welcome. I’m sorry you got pushed to the sidelines.”
“Who’s Cordelia?” Eddie asked.
Buck took out his phone to show a picture, “My daughter.”
Eddie smiled, “She’s adorable.”
He then pulled out a picture and showed him a photo of a little boy, “Christopher’s got a few years on her, but I’d say he’s just as adorable.”
“I agree with you there,” Buck said. And he smiled at Eddie for the first time since he started at the 118.
However, later that day, their newfound comradery was put to the test when they had to remove a bomb from a guy’s leg.
“You don’t have to do this,” Eddie said, “You have a kid at home.”
“So do you,” Buck pointed out.
Eddie just nodded and then they got to work. Thankfully everyone got out alive. But it wasn’t long after they all got out of the ambulance that it blew up.
“Anyone want to get something to eat?” Eddie asked- as if this had no effect on him at all.
He went home the next day with a spring in his step having just made a new friend and feeling closer to his firehouse family.
However, when he arrived he noticed Maddie’s bag was packed.
“I can’t put you and Cordie in danger,” Maddie reasoned, “If I keep moving, he can’t find me.”
“But that’s not living ,” Buck said, “I was on the road for years. You deserve more than that. Stay. Let me help you.”
Maddie cried for a bit, but ultimately agreed to stay.
“I can help you get a job at one of the hospitals,” Buck offered. But Maddie shook her head.
“I would just keep looking over my shoulder thinking Doug was about to walk in. I want to help people, but not like that anymore.”
“I have an idea.”
With his recommendation and her past as an ER nurse, she was quickly hired at dispatch. Carla had taken some time off when Maddie was waiting for a response, but now it was her first day on the job and Carla was back taking care of Cordelia.
The morning was going well so far, but then the station began to shake.
“Earthquake!” Chimney yelled.
They had just gotten everything stabilized when the bell started ringing. It was going to be a long day.
When he came home it was to a screaming baby.
“She’s been like this since the earthquake,” Carla explained, “Nothing would calm her down.”
Buck took his sobbing daughter into his arms and tried to sooth her and thankfully it worked. Well, that or she just finally tired herself out.
“Thank you, Carla. I know this couldn’t have been easy.”
Carla just waved him off, “That little girl is an angel. She can have a bad day every now and then.”
Carla opened the door to leave and then called out, “You’ve got a visitor!”
He turned around expecting to see Bobby going into over protective mode to make sure the apartment was stable for them, but instead he saw a man he had never seen before.
“Um, I think you have the wrong apartment,” Buck said.
“No, it’s the right one,” The man said, “I’ve been here several times, but it’s been about two years.”
“Oh! You’re a friend of Abby’s!” Buck said, “She’s in Ireland right now. Or maybe she finally moved on to Greece? It’s hard to keep up. But she’s having a great time.”
The man’s eyebrows pinched, “And she just left you with the baby? Where’s Patricia?”
“Oh. You really have been out of the loop,” Buck said, “Patricia passed away a few months ago. Abby let me sublet this place so I could adopt this little angel, and now she’s backpacking through Europe.”
“So… You and Abby aren’t-”
Buck shook his head and smiled, “No, we’re not together. We only met on the day her mom died.”
“I’m, um, I’m Tommy. Abby’s ex,” Tommy introduced himself.
“I’m Evan,” He was so tired he had no idea why his real name slipped out and not his nickname, “And this sleeping beauty is Cordelia.”
“Well, Evan, it’s nice to meet you,” Tommy said, “I was just coming over to make sure everything was stable and that Patricia was okay.”
“That’s really nice of you-”
“You would not believe the day I had,” Maddie said as she walked right into the living room, not even looking at their guest, “My first day at dispatch and we got an earthquake? Talk about being thrown in the lion's den. But I guess everything else will seem easy next to this.”
“Tommy, this is my sister , Maddie,” He had no idea why he put the emphasis on sister, but it seemed like something important Tommy needed to know.
A small smile graced the man’s face before he turned to Maddie, “It’s nice to meet you. I uh, should get going.”
“Wait!” Buck said surprisingly loud, “Um, you should give me your number. It’s hard to find friends as a single dad.”
Tommy’s face crinkled as he smiled and Buck was so wrapped up in how charming that was that he almost missed Tommy handing him his phone.
“Put your number in there,” Tommy said, “I’ll text you so you have my number, too.”
Buck smiled and put his number in and as soon as he gave it back to Tommy, his phone was buzzing with a new message.
“Be seeing you, Evan,” Tommy said.
And Buck just sighed. He couldn’t wait to see Tommy again.
“Okay, what was that?” Maddie’s eyes were wide and curious. All her exhaustion was gone and she was ready to hear all about the hot guy who had just been in their living room.