Chapter Text
The day hadn't started out bad, it was actually quite good.
Buck had an extra pep in his step that caused his coworkers to roll their eyes, but it didn't matter because Eddie was coming home.
It was the day he'd been dreaming about for months. Eddie would arrive at the airport, go with Pepa to pick Christopher up from school, then after a long shift Buck would finally be able to see his husband. In person!
The stupid, monitored FaceTime calls weren't enough, he needed Eddie to be there with him.
"What's got you so happy this morning?" Hen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing." Buck flashed her a smile as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Can't a guy just be having a good day?"
"Yeah, but you're being a bit extra today."
"Did you meet a girl?" Chimney inquired.
He scoffed in response.
"What?" The older man questioned, holding his hands up in defense. "You've got all those ladies flirting with you at calls, I thought you finally took one out."
Buck wouldn't dare, not when he had the world's most amazing husband waiting for him.
Of course, he hadn't mentioned Eddie to anyone. Or Chris. He kept his home life fairly private and his team respected that, for the most part.
His first couple of weeks he got questioned about the last name, but he kept his mouth shut. He made a promise to Eddie that he wouldn't spill anything until they could both be there.
Eddie never forced him to make that promise, but he insisted it would be good for him. He needed to learn how to keep a secret, this seemed like a great opportunity.
"Nah, they're not really my type." Buck answered with a shrug.
"None of those girls were your type?" Hen inquired with a raised brow.
He shook his head with a grin. "I've got a very specific taste."
"And that's why you're still single." Chim teased, nudging him with his elbow.
'If only you knew...' Buck thought with a laugh as he sipped his coffee.
Hen leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. "I don't think I've ever seen you with a partner this entire time you've been here."
"Stop interrogating the kid." Bobby laughed as he entered the loft. "It's perfectly fine if he doesn't want to date."
"See!" Buck exclaimed, motioning toward his captain. "Thank you."
"But it is strange." The older man said with a smile.
Buck groaned, but smiled good naturedly. "C'mon, it's not that strange."
Everyone just gave him a look, but didn't push it.
Over breakfast, Buck shared a few facts Chris had told him the night before. The kid was learning about bugs in his science class and was absolutely fascinated, so of course Buck listened. Besides, he loved learning new things.
"Did you know it takes honeybees ten million trips to produce one pound of honey?" He stated through bites of food.
"No, I did not." Bobby answered.
"And cockroaches are ground up with coffee beans and chocolate beans." Hen and Chim both choked on their coffee at that one. "Obviously they remove some, but it would take forever to remove them all. So, that means if you have an allergy to one of those three things, it could also be all three."
"That's enough about cockroaches for today." Hen announced, pushing away her cup of coffee.
"Do you wanna know how they got their name? It actually comes from the Spanish word cucaracha, which originates from the Latin term 'blatta' and that means 'an insect that shines light.' "
"Enough." Hen repeated. "I love you, but you know I hate bugs."
"Especially cockroaches." Chim chimed in.
"Okay, fine." Buck rolled his eyes. "I'll stop with the bug facts."
'Chris would appreciate them.' He thought. Of course Chris would like them, he was the one who informed Buck about them.
He kept his newly learned facts to himself as they cleaned up breakfast, listening to his coworkers chat amongst themselves.
He couldn't get his mind off the fact that Eddie was finally coming back. He couldn't wait to see him.
Glancing at the clock, Buck guessed Eddie was probably just now boarding the plane he'd take home.
His shift had barely started and he was already antsy for it to be over.
The tones sounded, signalling the last call of the night.
Buck slid on his turnout, the one donning his husband's last name in big yellow letters on the back.
He joined his team in the truck as they headed to the scene and Bobby gave a quick recap.
'Building fire, big, tall, high up...' Buck was exhausted, he was ready for his shift to be over.
He nodded along to show he was listening.
When they got to the scene, orders were already being hashed out.
It was supposed to be a good day.
"Diaz! Need someone on that ladder!" Bobby shouted over the pouring rain.
"On it, Cap!" Buck replied, already making his way up.
Flames soared high out of the building's shattered windows, rampaging despite the extensive downpour of ice cold rain.
Surely it's common knowledge that metal is an excellent conductor of electricity. Metal has plenty of free atoms for lightning to bond with and Buck was practically begging to be struck just standing on top of that ladder.
Tall, metal, mostly still- it was a perfect target for the next flash of lightning.
His entire body went from shivering and cold to burning hot in an instant, the warmth wasn't nice like a hug from Chris or a kiss from Eddie. It was painful, overwhelming. He couldn't keep himself up, couldn't stop himself from tumbling over as his vision went dark.
He was cold again.
Buck's team watched in horror as he fell, hanging on only by the supports tying him to the ladder.
"Chim! Help me get him down!" Bobby yelled, rushing toward the truck.
Chim followed after, heading up the ladder to lower Buck down to where Bobby and Hen waited.
The ride to the hospital was tense, Chimney and Hen switching out every so often as they tried to restart Buck's heart.
Three minutes had gone by and they were starting to lose hope, until-
"I got a pulse!" Hen informed them with a breath of relief.
As they arrived at the hospital, nurses and doctors took over.
"Firefighter Evan Diaz, he was struck by lightning. His heart stopped for three minutes and seventeen seconds." Bobby told them as Buck was taken off to be treated.
He was given some sort of acknowledgement, but he wasn't entirely listening.
Bobby joined Hen and Chim in the waiting room, taking a seat in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs.
"Is there anyone we need to call?" Hen asked.
"Outside of Maddie? I don't think he has anyone." Chim answered, having just finished calling Maddie.
"Check his phone. Maybe he has someone in there." Bobby suggested.
"Can't." Chim complained. "I don't know his password."
Hen rolled her eyes as motioned for the phone. "Let me try." She tried a few combinations, but none of them worked. Next, she opened his emergency contact list. "Uh, anyone know an Eddie?" She asked.
"Nope."
"None that I'm aware of." Bobby replied.
"What about a... Pepa?"
Again, no one was sure who that was.
Before they were given a chance to theorize, a call buzzed through the phone.
Incoming Call: Eddie 💖
Hen answered, but a voice came through before she could explain.
"Evan, I know you told me not to worry, but I can't help it. You were supposed to be home an hour ago and Chris is starting to worry. I'm starting to worry."
Hen looked to her coworkers, who looked back at her with equally confused faces. "I, uh, I'm not Evan. I have some bad news..."
Eddie went silent for a moment. "How bad is it?" He breathed out, finally.
"The doctors haven't told us much, but he's in the hospital right now." She explained.
"Where?"