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As Evan Buckley stepped out of the arrival’s terminal at LAX, he was bone tired and smelled like an aeroplane. He was hungry and felt dehydrated and could so with a good shower. The shining lights made his tired eyes sting as he shuffled through the sea of other commuters. His luggage, a large duffel bag, was heavy over his tired shoulders as he followed Bridget and Sam, his fellow crewman from B shift at the 118, towards the exit.
“Buck!”
All Buck wants to do is find his jeep, stay awake long enough to go through a drive through and make it home before crashing.
“Buck!”
Buck winced as a sharp elbow poked him in the ribs. He turned to see Bridget giving him an amused look.
“I think that’s you.” Bridget pointed to their left.
Buck followed her gaze and he blinked at the sight that was waiting there for him.
A large colourful piece of paper his held up high between Hen and Chimney, big glittering letters “Welcome Home, Buck!” on display. Pictures he can’t quite make out at the distance are scattered around the writing and he felt his heart trip in his chest.
Beside Chimney and Hen, Bobby and Athena are smiling widely and waving. Maddie was there too, smiling bright, proud, and relieved. Eddie was smiling brightly, eyes flickering between Buck and the way Christopher was moving swiftly on his crutches towards Buck, closing the distance between them.
Buck’s stomach erupted into butterflies and his heart soared in his chest. His duffel bag hit the ground with a heavy thump and his voice came out choked as he yelled out, “Christopher!”
Things at the 118 had still been a little tense since Buck had returned from his lawsuit. While things had slowly started to get back to the way they once had been, they weren’t quite there yet. Even after his breakfast with Bobby and patching things up with Eddie, Buck still could feel the lingering tension that he had created.
When the Chief had arrived one afternoon, Buck had immediately thought he had done something wrong when the chief had called him over. Buck’s spiralling thoughts had slowed when he saw that he wasn’t the only one the chief had called over, seeing both Bridget and Sam from B shift already standing to attention.
“Buckley,” the chief had shaken his hand tightly. “I’m going to make this quick. I assume you are aware of the bushfires currently happening in Australia?”
Buck nodded alongside Bridget and Sam. Buck had been following the news of the bushfires on the news, his heart breaking at the loss of wildlife and flora, not to mention the many homes and lives that were being taken.
“The LAFD is loaning out some firefighters to go help,” the chief explained. “You had all put your names down to volunteer and we are taking you up on the offer if you are still interested.”
“Yes, chief,” they had all answered.
The chief gave them each a proud smile. “Thank you. We’ve got three fire fighters from each house going over and your flight leaves tonight.”
From there it had been a whirl wind. Buck had barely enough time to say goodbye to the crew before he went home and packed a bag. He had enough time to see Maddie before he left –
“Please be careful,” Maddie had begged. “Don’t be a hero.”
“I’ll be fine,” Buck had promised, extending his pinky finger to her. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
And a quick call to Christopher before he was at the airport and boarding a plane to Australia. It had been a long flight and the three of them had hit the ground running. The fires had been brutal, and the hours were long. It had been devastating but Buck was proud to be there to help.
He rescued kolas and kangaroos, volunteering to help the rescue wildlife centres whenever he had free time. It broke to his heart to see so many animals suffering and he did his best to rescue as many as he could when he was out on the engine.
He tried to call Maddie and Christopher as much as possible, but reception with the fires had been spotty at best. He took some photos, sharing them with them in the group chat and sharing the facts he had learned about Australia that the crews had shared with him. Responses came through at odd times due to time zones and the lack of reception.
Buck missed his family. He did his best to stay out of trouble for Maddie’s sake and was proud that he didn’t end up with any life-threatening injuries- just a few bumps and bruises. After six long weeks, the fires had finally been contained and Buck, Bridget and Sam had packing up their things and saying goodbye to the crews.
Christopher collided with Buck, the taller man wrapping his arms around Chris tightly and holding him close.
“Hey!” Buck greeted, voice muffled by Chris’s hair where his face was tucked into it.
“Buck! I missed you,” Chris said, hugging Buck back just as tightly. “Welcome home.”
With the jet lag and exhaustion, Buck can’t be faltered for tearing up as fast as he did. Buck had never had a welcome home party waiting for him. He hadn’t been back to Hershey since he had left, and he doubted his parents would ever give him a welcome home.
“Missed you too, Superman. So much,” Buck said, voice coming out choked.
When Chris finally ended the hug, Buck looked up to find that the others had now reached them, crowding around the two of them. They were all wearing bright smiles, looking relieved to see him in one piece. It made Buck’s heart flutter in his chest, and he carefully straightened.
Chris remained pressed into Buck’s side, Buck automatically wrapping an arm around him to keep him steady.
“Hey,” Buck said, grinning around at the group he could call his family.
“Welcome home,” Athena said for the group. “It’s good to see you, baby.”
Buck felt his cheeks flush pink. “It’s nice to be home.”
Maddie came forward, enveloping Buck into a hug, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I’m so glad you are home.”
“Missed you,” Buck said. “Sorry I couldn’t call more.”
Maddie ended the hug, shaking her head. “It was enough. I’m so proud of you.”
Buck ducked his head. “Thanks.”
“We’re all proud of you,” Bobby said, giving Buck a proud smile. “You did really good work, Buck. The captains had nothing but good things to say about you. About all of you.”
Buck blinked with surprise. “Really?”
Bobby nodded; his smile proud. “I got a lot of emails about you and if there was any chance you would be up to relocating.”
“I enjoyed it,” Buck said as he looked around at his family. “But I’m happy where I am.”
Everyone seemed to relax at that statement.
“We’re very happy your home, Buckaroo,” Hen said.
“Yeah,” Chimney nodded. “We missed you. And it’s not fair you got to see so many kolas.”
Buck chuckled. “Missed you guys too.”
“Did you bring one home?” Chris asked, tilting his head to look at Buck with hopeful eyes.
“I couldn’t bring one with me,” Buck said. Carefully, he released Chris and knelt down to his duffel bag. “I did bring you this though.” Unzipping his bag, he quickly pulled out the stuff animal he had picked up at the airport.
Handing over the stuffed kola, Chris took it with one hand, hugging it to his chest. “I love it! Thank you!”
“Thanks, Buck,” Eddie said, putting a hand on Buck’s shoulder and squeezing it.
Buck tilted his head to look up at Eddie. “It was no trouble.”
“I bet you’re tired,” Athena said, breaking the staring spell he had going on with Eddie, making him flush. “We should get you home so you can rest.”
“Yeah, okay,” Buck said.
“We’re all going to have dinner tomorrow night,” Bobby told Buck as he got to his feet. “To celebrate you coming home.”
“I – you don’t need to do that for me,” Buck protested.
“We want to,” Bobby said firmly. “We really did miss you, Buck. Let us welcome you home properly.”
Buck ducked his head, giving a nod. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Ready Chris?” Eddie asked.
Buck turned to find that Eddie had Buck’s bag slung over his shoulder, an easy smile on his lips.
“Ready,” Chris said.
“I can take my bag,” Buck said, following after Eddie as they all started walking towards the exit.
“I got it,” Eddie said. “You remember where you parked?”
Buck nodded dumbly. They said another round of goodbye’s at the exit, Buck giving Maddie an extra hug before they all separated to go get their cars. Buck was surprised when Eddie and Chris walked with him, even more surprised when Eddie fished out his keys and unlocked the car, helping Chris into the back seat.
“Uh – Ed’s?” Buck asked.
“You didn’t think we’d let you drive yourself home, did you?” Eddie asked, arching a brow. “Come on. Carla left us dinner.”
Buck was hopeless but to climb into the passenger seat after putting his bag in the back, Eddie already sitting behind the wheel. The drive home took a while, but Buck happily answered Chris’s questions about his time in Australia.
When they reached the Diaz home, Buck didn’t have the energy to argue about going to his loft. Stepping into the Diaz home felt like coming home and Buck was more than grateful that he could have this in his life again. His heart ached with how much he had missed this, and he swallowed around the lump that formed in his throat.
Eddie reheated the meal that Carla left them, and they sat around the table, Chris, and Eddie filling Buck in on everything that he had missed while had had been away. The entire time, Eddie’s ankle was hooked around Buck’s, making Buck stutter and his heart thump in his chest.
After dinner, it was later than usual, so they go Chris ready for bed. After a lot of goodnights, Buck felt the exhaustion coming back to him.
“Come on, bed,” Eddie said, taking Buck’s elbow and steering him towards the bedroom.
Buck allowed himself to be steered by Eddie. He took the offered clothes and changed into them, Eddie’s gaze not going unnoticed. They climbed into bed, Buck sighing as he stretched out. He hummed when he felt Eddie roll into his side, ankle hooking around his one more.
“Eddie?” Buck asked in the quietness of the room.
“I missed you,” Eddie said, voice just above a whisper. “A lot. I hated that you were gone.”
“I missed you too,” Buck admitted.
Slowly, Eddie hand slid over Buck’s stomach and up his chest until he was resting over his heart. Eddie’s head came to rest on Buck’s shoulder, his breath coming out into a stutter.
“Ed’s?” Buck asked, voice thick.
“We can talk in the morning,” Eddie said. “I just….is this okay?”
“More than,” Buck said.
“Good,” Eddie said. “Welcome home, Buck.”
“It’s nice to be back,” Buck whispered.
As Buck drifted off, he knew that tomorrow would bring something new, and a little scary, but he was happy to be home with those he loved most in the world.