Work Text:
No 118 A-Shift
Blues - 106B: Why is it so hard to find someone to cover for ONE shift?
Mehta- 133B: Because everyone is down
Giraud - 122A: I blame the floaters who gave the flu to the whole LAFD
Joeys - 118B: I might have heard something about your replacement.
Blues - 106B: Wait. If you know something, it means my replacement is from your house.
Please tell me they're from your shift or Carlson's.
Carlson - 118C: Not from mine.
Jessie - 26A: Oh. He's having someone from the cursed shift.
Mehta - 133B: Come on. They're not cursed.
Carlson - 118C: Jeshan, please. You were involved in one of their call.
At least half of the LAFD health insurance goes into the 118 A-Shift medical bills.
Giraud - 122A: Blues had gone suddenly very silent.
Jessie - 26A: Maybe he's contemplating quitting.
Or just crashing out like the young people say these days.
Giraud - 122A: You spend too much time with said, young people.
But you're probably right.
Blues - 106B: I was not crashing out or contemplating quitting. Chief Simpson just called me to let me know that they have found someone to cover.
Jessie - 26A: Well, we need to know now.
Blues - 106B: You just want a good laugh and gossip.
Giraud - 122A: Of course. We're first responders.
Blues - 106B: Buckley.
Jessie - 26A: Oh wow. I got the side eye from my team when they heard me laughing so hard.
Giraud - 122A: Wait. Buckley? Didn't he just come back after an injury?
Carlson - 118C: Lighting strike. He died.
Joeys - 118B: For 3 minutes
Carlson - 118C: and seventeen seconds.
Mehta- 133B: How do you know such specific details?
Carlson - 118C: Diaz.
Joeys - 118B: Every time Buckley talked about it, or he heard someone talk about he would remind them of this detail.
Mehta- 133B: Doesn't surprise me coming from them, actually.
Carlson - 118C: At least he lost his math power. He's not going to steal your team's money.
Mehta - 133B: He was very good at Math.
Blues - 106B: I have an announcement to make to my team.
Joeys - 118B: Good luck. Nash is even more protective of him since he came back.
Jessie - 26A: Ish. Don't let anything happen to him.
I don't want to go to your funerals.
Blues - 106B: Don't you all have work to do?
106 C-Shift
Captain Blues: Hello, everyone. The chief called me; he found someone to cover for Ennis.
Ennis: Sorry, guys. I wish I were with you.
Hicks: Don't be, dude. You're supposed to rest. Don't make me call your husband.
Smoke: Is it related to Maria sending me a good luck with a bunch of laughing emojis?
Captain Blues: I hate how fast news travels in the LAFD.
Smoke: She didn't give me any details
Captain Blues: It's Buckley
Cassis: Buckley?
Ennis: From the 118?
Hicks: 118 A-shift?
Docky: Why are you blowing the chat off during my vacations?
Oh. Nevermind. Good luck from Texas. I've never been so happy not to work lol
Cassis: Cap. You can't let that happen.
Nothing against Buckley, but nooooo. I'll even take Diaz.
Hicks: Trust me, you don't want to. Bosko worked with him when Buckley was out. She still hasn't recovered.
Smoke: I think we're missing the real point here.
Nash.
Probie: Why are y'all acting like it's the end of the world?
Hicks: Because if anything happens to the kid, Nash will kill us.
Cassis: Or Sergeant Grant will.
Probie: he's their kid?
Smoke: Yeah.
Problem, the 118 A-shift, and especially Buckley, tends to like having dates with death.
Hicks: I mean, Buckley did die.
For three minutes and seventeen seconds.
Ennis: ????
Hicks: I was at a poker game. Don't ask.
Cassis: all of this to say. We're fucked and cursed
Captain Blues: And this is why I wanted to give you a heads up.
Please give him a warm welcome and don't do anything embarrassing.
Cassis: We would never Cap
Probie: I didn't know LAFD allowed parents to work with their child… wonders how it is…
Cassis: You should def ask Buckley, you'll see it's interesting
Buck comes in for his shift at the 106, bouncing and happy to help, blissfully ignorant of the stress of the team.
"Buckley," Captain Blues greets him. "Nice to see you on your feet. And thank you for covering."
Buck blushes a bit and gives him his best smile. "My pleasure, Captain. Always happy to help."
Blues introduces him to the rest of the shift, and he offers them some baked goods, and the team happily dives in.
"Oh my God," Cassis, don't ask him, he didn't ask either, moans. "Did Nash teach you this one? I heard he's like a chef."
Buck chuckles. "He taught me a lot of cooking, but we learned this one together. Actually, I wanted to learn it to bring some to you. So I'm glad you like it."
Smoke, one of the oldest of the shift, puts an arm around his shoulders and laughs. "Are you sure you want to go back to the 118? We could use our own chef."
Buck blushes; he's truly happy his chocolate and raspberry brownies are a success.
"No offense, guys, but I truly love the 118." He gently nudges Smoke. "Plus, I'm sure you'll be glad to have your guys back."
His phone pings with a text, and he dislodges himself from Smoke's hold. He finds a text from Bobby.
Bobby: Have a good shift, kid.
Please, be careful.
Buck chuckles and rolls his eyes fondly. He texts him a reassuring text and pockets his phone.
Buck: Don't worry, Cap. Everything will be fine
Enjoy your day off!
"Nah," he shakes his head with a smile. "Bobby. Told him to stop worrying."
The alarm rings, and Buck rushes down to the engine, missing the crew's horrified faces.
Buck's happy. His shift is going pretty well. Sure, they're not his team, but they're a good team. They're nice, funny, and as nosy as his house, so it doesn't change a lot.
Well, no, there's one thing he finds strange. Mike, their probie, keeps looking at him like he's a mystery. It all comes to a head during a simple, normally out-of-danger emergency.
The call is about a family dispute. The paramedics are taking care of them, while the Captain is talking with Athena and another officer on the scene. Buck and Mike are here in case they need to hold people back.
"You know, you can ask me questions if you want," Buck says after catching Mike looking at him.
"Sorry," Mike starts, and Buck sees him blush; he chuckles.
"Don't worry." He gives him a playful smile before looking back at the family, who are arguing again, and he's ready to intervene. "Shoot."
Buck shoots him a look from the corner of his eye, but his main focus is on the scene. He braces himself to put himself in the middle when he sees one member of the family grab a weight.
"How is it to work at your dad's fire station?" The probie blurts out.
The question totally takes Buck by surprise, because why does the probie of the 106 think Buck is working with his dad? Who does he mean? Surely he's not talking about Phillip. He spins so quickly to face Mike that he almost falls.
"WHAT?" His voice cracks, and he's not focused on what's happening anymore. "I-"
He doesn't finish his sentence as he feels something hit his head, and he falls on the ground. He hears someone, maybe Athena, scream his name, and he hits the floor.
Mike is fucked. He is truly fucked. He should have known it was a bad idea to ask this question, but apparently, he wasn't as smooth as he was.
He watches with wide eyes as Buck gets hit by the weight with a sickening sound of his skull cracking, and he freezes.
"Buck!" He looks up from Buck and sees Sergeant Grant marching down toward them. Oh shit.
"Buckley!" Next, it's his captain, and finally, Mike snaps back into reality and kneels next to the other firefighter.
Buck still has his eyes open, and he rolls onto his back. His head is bleeding, and his pupils are dilated. Athena kneels next to him.
"Hey, honey," she smiles, putting a hand on his cheek. "Nice catch."
Buck chuckles and mumbles something sounding like "years of practice."
Captain Blues kneels next and inspects the wound and sighs. "Well, Buckley, you win a trip to the hospital with our victim." He shakes his head, "I can't believe you're more hurt than our patient."
"Nooooo," Buck whines and pouts like a child, and not the thirty-something firefighter he is. Honestly, Mike is kind of flabbergasted. "Thena come?"
He gives the sergeant puppy eyes, and Mike sees her transform from scary sergeant to something soft. Not that he will ever tell her that.
"I'll come as soon as I can," she says, giving him a small smile. "But don't worry, Bobby will join you soon."
Shit, Mike is truly fucked. Next time, he'll just keep his mouth shut.
106 - No Caps
Cassis: Probie put Buckley in the hospital
Probie: I just asked him a question, and he got distracted
God… I put Buckley in the hospital
Docky: My vacations are going so fine right now
Goldie: Thank God I'm not in your shift
Ennis: Damn it, probie
Smoke: Hey. Leave the kid alone. He already feels horrible
Jens: Damn, guys. You had ONE job.
Probie: I'll go apologize later
But I'm scared to meet Nash
Hicks: You should, dude
Hensens: Come on. He's not that bad
Carl: You never saw him in protective mode, did you?
Ennis: How's the cap?
Hicks: Crashing out, I guess
No 118 A-Shift
Joeys - 118B: So, how is it going with Buckley?
Blues - 106B: How do you know?
Joeys - 118B: Bobby was at the station dropping some paperwork I needed when Sergeant Grant called him.
Mehta- 133B: What happened?
Blues - 106B: He just needed a few stitches
And he might have a concussion, too.
Giraud - 122A: Hey, he made it 10 hours into the shift.
Blues - 106B: And I have to reassure my probie, too. He feels guilty about distracting Buckley.
Carlson - 118C: Blame the probie.
Or plan your funerals. But I wasn't planning on wearing my dress blues anytime soon.
Blues - 106B: Very funny. It's not that bad.
Giraud - 122A: Sure.
Jo, how worried was he?
Joeys - 118B: Not bad.
He might have paled a lot, and maybe he broke a few traffic laws.
But you know…
Blues - 106B: I need to transfer to the East Coast
Bobby is at the station, in Joeys' office, when his phone rings.
"Sorry, I might have been distracted this morning when I packed my bag." He says, embarrassed, giving him the files.
"Wonder why," he hears Joey mutter, but Bobby chooses to deliberately ignore the comment. "Thank you for driving there, though."
Bobby raises his hand and chuckles, "I mean, of course, my mistake."
Finally, his phone rings with Athena's personal ring, one that the kids (May, Bobby, and Buck) had chosen during Buck's recovery. He smiles and excuses.
"Sorry," he excuses himself to the other Captain.
"No worries," Joeys answers.
"Hey, Thena." He greets, answering the call.
"Hey, baby," she answers, and he frowns. There's something weird in her voice. "First of all, I need you to know that he's going to be okay, from what I heard."
He has to grab the chair in front of him not to fall, because he's sure the floor just opened under his feet. Buck. Buck got hurt during his shift, and Athena was there.
"How?" Is the only thing he can tell.
A sigh from the other side of the phone. "An accident on a scene. Someone threw a weight at him, and he didn't see it coming."
He forces himself not to picture Buck getting hit as he asks his next question. "Where?"
"L.A. general." She pauses. "Please drive safely and keep me updated. Love you."
"Love you too." He hangs up and looks at the Joeys. "Sorry, I have to go."
"Everything is okay, Bobby?" The captain asks.
"Uh, yes," no, of course not, because the kid who works without my team for the first time since he died is now at the hospital, of course it's not okay. But he doesn't say it, he keeps his smile even if he feels like screaming and crying, like in that song May likes to listen to. "I need to go, Buck got hurt."
Joeys' eyes widen, and his eyebrows rise on his head. "Right."
Bobby nods, tells him goodbye, and doesn't wait for the captain to tell him anything. He also doesn't see the captain of the B-Shift get his phone out to gossip with the other captains of the LAFD.
Bobby rushes into the hospital and sees Pamela at the welcome desk, who gives him Buck's room number without even looking up.
"Hi, I'm-"
"Room 104, Bobby. He's fine."
He thanks her and takes the stairs. When he enters the room, the light is dimmed, and Buck is staring at a cup of Jell-O with a frown on his face. One of the nurses intercepted him before giving him the rundown. Few stitches and a concussion. Can go home today if someone looks after him. Which Bobby intends to do. He knocks gently on the door. Buck slowly looks at him, and Bobby sees the kid's eyes illuminate when he understands who's here.
"Bobby!" Buck greets him like he hasn't seen him for at least a week, with a big sunny smile.
Bobby immediately relaxes and goes to sit next to the bed. Buck follows him with his eyes, big sparkling eyes and a smile.
"Hey, Kid," he says, keeping his voice low not to disturb the kid. "Heard you got banged up a little."
Buck huffs out a laugh and shakes his head before he winces. "Yeeeeah. But look, I have Jell-O!"
The kid shows him the cup with so much excitement, and Bobby's heart melts. Then Buck's face morphs into a pout.
"But I can't open it." He says, giving him puppy dog eyes.
Bobby chuckles and extends his hands. "Here, give it to me, kid." Buck beams and gives him the cup. Bobby opens it and gives it back. "Here you go."
"Thanks, Bobby!" He takes a spoonful. "You da besh."
"Don't talk with your mouth full, kiddo." He chastises Buck, but there's no heat in his voice. He's just happy to see him well enough to smile and be happy.
He uses the time Buck takes to eat Jell-O so he can update Athena, and to tell their family what happened and that he'll bring Buck to theirs, and to ask them to at least wait until tomorrow to break their doors down. Of course, Maddie and Eddie start blowing his phone. He answers and puts them on speaker so they can hear Buck. Thankfully, Hen only asks for a picture because 'I know you'll have to deal with two worried sick people, so I just need a picture as proof.'
Once the calls are over, there's a knock on the door, and a young man stands in the doorway.
"Uh, hello," the young man says nervously.
Buck points at him, "Ooooh, you're the 106 probie." His smile is so big. "Bobby, this is Probie."
Bobby smiles and forces himself to swallow the laugh that wants to escape him.
"Mike. You can call me, Mike." The firefighter looks scared. "I, uh… I wanted to say sorry. And sorry I distracted you. And sorry I put your son in the hospital."
Buck is still smiling, but Bobby can only blink in surprise at the 106 probie words. Suddenly, Buck laughs loudly.
"It's okay." He looks at Bobby with those big, happy eyes. "Right, Pops?"
Bobby chokes on air but nods because he knows Mike is waiting for an answer.
"Right. Fine." He clears his throat and turns back to Buck. "I'm going to get your discharge papers, kid. You're coming home with me, I asked Athena to grab what we need for your favorite."
Buck beams, "May will be here?"
Bobby's heart melts a little more; he smiles softly, forgetting about the probie. "Yeah, I'll ask her to come. She'll be happy to see you."
God, he loves this kid. He loves all of his kids.
106 - No Caps
Probie: Why did Nash look surprised when I said sorry for hurting his son
Cassis: Wait. You actually went and did that?
Probie: Yes?
Also, he wasn't that scary
Smoke: You were shaking, leaving the station
Ennis: Oh, I think he just wasn't expecting your visit
Maybe more of a text to Buckley
Probie: mmmh…
Cassis & Ennis
Cassis: We're not telling the probie?
Ennis: nah. Let him make assumptions
He'll understand soon enough
Maybe
106 - No Caps
Cassis: Yeah. Generally, we send a card or a text
Jens: What did they say
Probie: Buck said that it was okay, called Bobby Pops, and Nash said right, and that he'll bring him back to his house
Goldie: Probie. You sweet summer child
Thank you for this
Probie: Did I do something wrong?
Wait. Are you gonna use this information for gossip?
Why can't I keep my mouth closed?
Smoke: We wouldn't, Probie. Don't worry.
Docky: Damn, I'm missing this
Hey, at least Probie met the dad.
Probie: I'm going to HR
Jens: And explain how you hurt Nash's baby?