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Buck would like the record to show that while he had planned on his day turning into a hostage situation, he hadn’t planned on dangling a guy over the loft railing at the firehouse…but he digresses.
Shit happens and he’s learned to adapt to things on the fly.
***
His day had started out normal. He’d woken before his alarm, meandered his way through his morning routine, eaten breakfast, and then grabbed his stuff to head to the firehouse. He drank his coffee on his way in, not in any hurry since he knew he was going to be arriving early but he also knew it didn’t matter how early or late he arrived, Bobby wasn’t going to let him go out on a call.
Now, however, his day was finally about to get interesting. All because the text he’d been waiting to see had finally arrived.
Buck was about to be bait, and he couldn’t wait.
Biting his lip to keep from grinning, Buck did as instructed and put his phone in his locker before making his way up to the loft where he “busied” himself with making the kitchen look spotless.
It was already spotless since Buck had started maliciously complying with Bobby’s orders to make the place clean enough to eat off the floor every shift. He got the satisfaction of seeing everyone realize he’d been holding back on chores and see Bobby’s jaw tic every time he realized Buck hadn’t given him anything to bitch about.
Since it was already spotless, Buck decided to just put away the dishes that were in the dishwasher, killing time until the signal was given.
The signal being the gun now pressed against his temple.
***
The 118 potentially arriving back at the station while he was still being held at gunpoint had, in fact, been planned for. Which was a good thing, because they showed up just as the plan was about to be set in motion, which meant that they needed to recalibrate their timing and now account for more people.
It was funny, he'd spent the last month with only Hen and Chimney speaking to him around the firehouse while Eddie switched between glaring at him and pretending he didn't exist and Bobby tried to drown him in chores and kill him with detached professionalism. Now the two people who were angriest about his return looked seconds away from a full blown panic attack upon seeing his roughed up appearance and the gun currently held against his head.
They didn't know this was a set-up. They didn't know that Buck had been purposefully chosen as the bait. They didn't know two of the bad guys were actually undercover cops. They didn't know Buck was exactly where he wanted to be.
They just knew Buck would be shot if any of them so much as twitched to try and help him. He'd laugh if it wouldn't potentially ruin all of their hard work, as it was he had to fight hard not to smile.
It was almost showtime.
***
Buck would, again, like the record to show that he didn't plan for this turn of events.
Somewhere between the second signal being given, Steve and Danny revealing themselves, taking down the bad guys, and Steve deciding to start his interrogation before LAPD, NCIS, and the rest of his 5-0 team arrived, it was decided that Buck should be involved in the interrogation process.
Probably because Steve knew Buck was just as unhinged as he was and Danny couldn't stop them both…not like he could stop Steve on a good day anyway.
So here they were, interrogating one of the suspects with Steve quickly losing his patience. The 118 were standing off the the side, watching on in shock while Danny attempted to interview them. Honestly, Buck was also quickly losing his patience.
A quick shared glance between him and Steve led them to the moment they were in now: Buck holding a guy by his legs over the railing of the firehouse loft while the man screamed, the 118 and Danny freaking out behind them, and Steve standing next to him cool as a cucumber.
“You know what this reminds me of?” Steve raised an eyebrow at Buck's random question. “The time you pushed our target out of a plane to scare him into talking, then made me parachute after him and catch him.”
“Ha! I was going to say the time you tipped the helicopter you were flying until the guy was being held onto by Sam and I. You didn't straighten out until he started talking.”
“It worked, didn't it?”
“Both times, yeah.”
“Oh, my fucking God. There's two of them.” Buck looked back in amusement to find Danny rubbing his temples in defeat.
“It worked then, maybe it would work now?” Buck grinned at Steve's less than subtle nudge as he carefully readjusted his grip on the guys legs.
“Hey!” He leaned forward slightly, pushing the guys wriggling body further over the railing. “If you stop screaming for a moment, I have a proposal for you.” He waited patiently for the guys yells to quiet down into terrified whimpering. “You've got two choices. One, we lift you up and you start talking. Two, I hand you over to my buddy here so that I can back out that ladder truck. If I have to do that, you'll be dangling a lot higher than you are now, especially since that one can extend up to one hundred feet in the air.”
“Which will it be, Gunner? The easy, closer to the ground way or the harder, higher in the air way?” You'd think they were discussing the weather with how calm the two of them sounded when giving the guy his options.
“Gunner? Really? Did your mother hate you or something?” Buck just shook his head as Gunner made a weak noise of indignation.
“C'mon, Gunner, you need to decide soon. My friends arms are going to start getting tired here pretty quick.” Steve casually leaned more against the railing, checking his watch as Buck made a show of letting his grip go slightly lax, leading to Gunner's renewed screaming and begging.
“O-option one! P-please!”
“Smart choice!” Buck looked at Steve, “Mind helping to get him up?” Steve looked slightly exasperated, but quickly moved to help.
Within no time, Gunner's feet were back on solid ground, Buck patting his back in a vaguely comforting way while he caught his breath between sobs.
“That's it, man, deep breaths.” Buck guided Gunner back to the nearest chair, correctly assuming that the mans legs had turned to jello. “All yours, Smooth Dog.”
“Thanks for the assist, pup.” Buck gave him a mocking half-assed salute before walking away towards Danny.
“I'd say, after watching that, those other guys would absolutely be willing to talk now.” Buck grinned maniacally as he watched Danny lean over to lightly bang his head on the counter.
“You know, after everything I've heard about you, you'd think I would've realized that you were just as unhinged as he is, but I'm realizing I've vastly underestimated you.” Buck snickered in response to Danny's defeated words.
“I mean…he did train me, so that's on you, Danno.”
He laughed when Danny's only response was the look skyward in an obvious plea for patience…or maybe to ask why him before picking his notepad back up and wandering off towards the much paler group of would-be hostage takers.
He tilted his head when he heard the approaching sirens, sighing as he hopped up to sit on the counter in order to wait for Sam to debrief him. He pointedly ignored the gobsmacked members of the 118, deciding that he'd deal with that mess once he was done dealing with this one.
“Pit!” Buck's head snapped up, following the sound of Sam's voice as a smile spread across his face.
“Tank! Took you guys long enough.”
“I don't want to hear it. Someone,” Sam looked pointedly over at Steve, “took their sweet ass time giving the signal to approach.”
“Ah, you know Smooth Dog. He likes when he gets to have the first crack at them.”
“Uh-huh, and the guy looking like he's seen a ghost?” Sam arched an eyebrow, now directing his pointed look at Buck who raised his hands in mock surrender.
“Remember the helicopter?” Sam's mouth dropped open, looking back and forth between Buck and Gunner. “Let's just say the loft is a preferable height to hang from when faced with the height of a fully extended ladder.”
“Oh my God. Tell me you didn't, I seriously do not want to do more paperwork.” Sam was looking at Buck with mild horror.
“I may or may not have helped Steve get this guy to talk by hanging him over the railing and threatening to hang him from a fully extended ladder truck.”
“Seriously? Pit, now I have to do more paperwork!” Buck yelped around a laugh as Sam playfully tackled him, pulling him into a headlock and ruffling his hair.
“H-hey! It took forever to gel down my hair!”
“Well, maybe this will encourage you to let those curls back out.” Sam released him, snickering as Buck tried in vain to smooth his hair back down, a pout in full effect. “Ready to debrief?”
“Yeah, let's do this.”
***
An hour later, Buck was left with no choice but to face at least Bobby. With a long-suffering sigh, Buck approached his captain as he fought to keep his face from twisting into a grimace.
“Captain Nash.” Bobby spun around, eyes wide as he stared at Buck. “Can we speak in your office, privately?”
“Buck-"
“-Privately.” Buck had no issue cutting off his captain’s words, his tone reflecting the fact that he wouldn’t be compromising.
Bobby’s jaw snapped shut, his back straightening before giving a curt nod and leading the way into his office. The door had barely shut behind Buck before he was speaking, once again cutting off whatever Bobby was about to say.
“I recognize that you likely have many questions, but I can’t give you any answers beyond the basics. I was contacted my first shift back and asked if I would be willing to assist with a joint operation, I obviously said yes. This day has been coming for a while, and I apologize for the fact that the team was caught in the middle of it all.”
“My only pressing question is whether you’re okay.” Buck blinked in surprise, not expecting the genuine concern radiating in waves off of Bobby.
“Uh, yes? It looks worse than it is due to the blood thinners, but I promise it’s nothing more than superficial damage.”
“I would still feel better if you’d let Hen check you over.”
“Okay…? I was planning to let her since it’s the only way I can avoid going to the hospital.”
“You seem confused.” Buck threw Bobby an incredulous look.
“You’re damn right I’m confused,” To hell with professionalism, “I’m trying to figure out where this sudden concern for my well being is coming from.” He watched Bobby look away, a look of guilt flashing across his face.
“I’m always worried about you, kid.” Buck looked away at Bobby’s words.
“Could’ve fooled me.” He couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice.
He looked up at Bobby’s defeated sigh, watching as he sat down heavily before a hand was rubbed down his face.
“Buck, kid, I’m sorry. I never meant for this to go on for as long as it has, I swear. I was angry about the lawsuit and about you pushing so hard to come back and I just…I let things go too far.” For a long moment, Buck just eyed him critically.
“I’m not you, I’m not a kid, and I’m not your kid.” He watched confusion wash over Bobby’s face before deciding to elaborate. “I get that you were worried about me coming back too soon and getting hooked on pain pills to cope with the strain like you did, but I’m not you. I’m a grown adult, not a kid. I’ve lived a life you will never fully know about, and it’s well past time you realized that and stopped treating me like a child.” Buck stepped forward, placing his hands on Bobby’s desk as he leaned over. “You also need to realize that I am not your child. I lived my entire childhood as the unwanted replacement kid, I refuse to spend my adulthood acting as a replacement for your kids, wanted or not.”
“Now,” Buck stood, stepping back as he ignored the crestfallen expression on Bobby’s face. “I will need a few days off while the investigation is wrapping up, that way I’m available for interviews. I’ll make sure you’re informed when I’m available to return to my janitor duties.”
He turned and walked out of Bobby’s office, not bothering to shut the door behind him as he walked towards the stairs, intent on catching Steve and Sam to make sure he was good to head out after he was checked over by Hen…only to be stopped by a hand wrapping around his wrist. He jerked to a stop, barely stopping himself from reacting further as he turned to see who’d grabbed him.
“Eddie.” His voice was flat and full of caution while Eddie watched him with uncertainty.
“Can I follow you to the loft? So that we can talk.” They stared at each other for a long moment before Buck gave a curt nod.
“Yeah, we should talk.”
***
The door shutting behind them echoed through the open space, an awkward silence descending over them. Not knowing how to start their conversation, Buck dropped his bag on the dining table before moving into the kitchen to get some afternoon coffee going for them.
“You don’t have to…”
“It’s too early for beer, so…coffee. Plus, you have to go home to Chris in a couple of hours.”
“Right…okay, thank you.” Silence fell again as the coffee brewed, both of them standing on opposite ends of the island as they avoided each other’s eyes.
“Buck,” Eddie blew out a breath, “I’m sorry, man.” Buck looked over in surprise. “I promised I’d have your back and I didn’t.”
“It’s not like I went to you for help.”
“You’re right, but I also didn’t even stop to question anything Bobby told us. I know you, and I still chose to believe Bobby.”
“You don’t know shit about me.” Buck leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms.
“And who’s fault is that?” Eddie was glowering at him now. “You could’ve told me you’d served, I wouldn’t have said anything.”
“Maybe I could have, maybe I should have, but by the time I met you I just wanted to keep flying under the radar. Bobby hadn’t read my file, and yeah they all treat me like I’m an incompetent child, but none of them looked at me like they thought I was a loose cannon. I could finally have a fresh start. I wasn’t ‘Evan’ the disappointment, or ‘Pit’ the soldier, I was just…Buck. I was finally just me.”
The coffee finished brewing, but neither of them moved to touch it.
“To me, you still would’ve been just you even if I’d known.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But by the time I knew you and trusted you? It felt like too much time had passed to be able to tell you the truth, so I just…didn’t.” Buck shrugged. “If they hadn’t needed assistance with their case, no one would’ve ever known.”
“So where does this leave us? You didn’t come to me for help and I didn’t question Bobby. I turned my back on you and you’ve just…taken it. Why?”
“Right now, this leaves us with a very broken friendship…if we can even still call it that. As for why I’ve just taken it…firefighting is my life, Eddie. After I got out, it’s the first job where I finally felt settled in my own skin…I wasn’t going to let Bobby’s personal fears or your cold shoulders run me off. If things kept going the way they were, I probably would’ve just put in for a transfer. I honestly still might do so, we’ll see how things go when I’m back on shift.”
“Can we try being friends again? Please? We both messed up. but I’m the one who took it too far that day in the grocery store…”
“Did you mean what you said that day?” He watched Eddie look away, shame bleeding into his expression.
“Yeah…I meant it at the time. I regret it now, but I still meant it when I said it.” Buck nodded slowly.
“You could’ve lied to me just now, but you didn’t.”
“What would be the point?”
“Increasing the chance of me saying yes? I don’t know, Eddie. As it stands, you told me the truth and for that reason alone I’m willing to try being friends again. We probably won’t get back to what we were…but there’s a chance we could be better.” He watched Eddie’s shoulders relax slightly, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“Okay, we go slow and we communicate this time.”
“It’s not just communication, Eds, it’s listening. Actually understanding what the other person is trying to tell you.”
“Alright, so we communicate and we listen to each other. It sounds like a good enough starting point to me.” Buck nodded once in agreement, turning away to pour them both some coffee. “I also meant it when I said Christopher misses you that day…you should take him to the zoo or something soon, spend some time together again. Maybe keep him for a sleepover?” Buck almost spilled their coffee’s with how fast he whipped around.
“You’re serious?”
“Dead serious, Buck. I meant what I said after the tsunami, there’s no one I trust more than you with my son.” Buck set both of the mugs down, fighting the urge to just sit on the floor from the overwhelming amount of emotion he was feeling.
“Eddie, I…thank you.” He saw Eddie hesitate for only a moment before he was stepping closer and pulling Buck into a brief hug.
There was still a lot of damage to work through, but at least they finally had a good starting point.