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“Any plans on your days off?” Hen asked Buck as the two of them sat companionably on the couch, the television quietly playing a rerun of Six Feet Under.
Buck, who had been aimlessly scrolling on instagram, put his phone back into his pocket and leaned back, getting more comfortable on the couch. “Eddie invited me over to Pepa’s for an early Christmas dinner and gift exchange.”
Hen grinned as she stretched her arms above her head. “Denny is going to visit his cousins so Karen and I will have the house to ourselves.”
Buck wiggled his brows playfully while he nudged Hen’s shoulder with his own. “All alone huh?”
Hen rolled her eyes fondly. “We have a couples massage booked in the morning and then we’re going straight home to binge Star Trek Discovery.”
“I didn’t take you for a science fiction fan.”
Hen shrugged. “My wife, the Trekky. It’s amusing when she contradicts the physics of the show.”
The pair fell into companionable silence as they both stared at the tv, becoming intrigued by the latest plot of the show.
“Y’know, Bobby almost kinda looks like…” Buck started.
Hen began to nod. “Yeah…I see it too.”
Chim and Eddie came up to the loft shortly after, likely having finished restocking the ambulance. Hen watched with growing amusement as Eddie’s eyes scanned the room before landing on Buck. It was as if his entire demeanor took a sigh of relief. Hen wondered if Eddie realized he was doing it.
In her peripheral, she caught the small smile that grew on Buck’s face.
“You going to tell me what that was about?” Hen asked in a stage whisper. Chimney, who was now in the kitchen making himself a cup of coffee perked up, clearly hearing something but not quite catching what she said. Eddie, ever the oblivious one, sat at the table, busy with something on his phone.
“It’s nothing.” Buck answered.
Hen just stared at him in lieu of a response, a brow slowly arching up. Buck tried to focus back on the show but failed spectacularly as he felt Hen’s eyes burning a hole in his cheek.
“I don’t know if it’s anything, I swear.” Buck sighed in defeat. He risked a glance over towards Eddie who was now chatting with Chimney. The two men were currently showing the other their phones which Buck suspected was photos of Christopher and Jee-yun. “But sometimes…” Buck sighed, a blush beginning to lightly paint his cheeks. “Sometimes there’s these quiet moments and I think he wants to say something or…or do something but then the moment passes.”
“Why don’t you do something?” Hen asked, the teasing tone gone.
“He’s my best friend. What if I’m wrong? I don’t want to mess anything up.” Buck admitted.
“He does that every time, you know.” Hen told him.
“Does what?” Buck asked, glancing past her to look over towards Eddie before quickly averting his eyes back to Hen.
“Looks for you every time he enters a room. Does it on calls too. And at any event or gathering we’re at.” Hen smiled at Buck as she put her arm around his shoulders. “I could be wrong but…when am I ever wrong?”
Before Buck could answer, or attempt to avoid answering, he was saved by the bell.
——-
In no time, the 118 were rushing to the Hollywood Bowl.
“I love the Bowl. The Philharmonic is amazing.” Hen said.
“Me too. I see concerts here all the time.” Buck agreed.
“I haven’t been in a few years but Maddie and I are going to see an Abba Tribute show next month.” Chim added.
“What about you Bobby? Have you been?” Hen asked.
“I’ve been a couple times. I think it’s something everyone should experience if they live here at least once.” Bobby replied to her. At their stares, he smirked. “Parking is a nightmare and the lines for concessions are always wrong. I’d rather go to The Greek.”
As the silence fell on them, all eyes trailed towards Eddie. Eddie noticed after nearly a minute and shrugged. “Haven’t been.”
“That’s all you’re going to give us?” Hen teased.
Eddie rolled his eyes fondly at his team. “I’m just not really a concert guy.”
They all quieted down as the call came through to Bobby.
“So what are we looking at Cap?” Hen asked as they sped down Hollywood Blvd.
“There was a running club in the middle of a workout when there was an explosion heard somewhere behind the stage, followed by fireworks. There’s no sign of smoke or a fire. One of the runners fell down a flight of steps when they were startled. Likely an ankle injury. They also reported hearing shouting nearby.” Bobby explained as they turned onto Highland Ave.
“One of the runners called it in?” Chim asked.
Bobby nodded. “Yeah. They said the shouting sounded like an argument but they couldn’t see anyone.”
As they arrived on scene, Bobby spotted a familiar figure speaking to someone dressed in a tank top, a sweat band and…a tutu. As he looked around, he noticed he wasn’t the only one dressed mostly in workout gear. Everyone had something else added to their outfits to stand out.
“Is it Halloween?” Chim asked with a pop of his gum.
“No, they’re the Tutu Bros.” Buck answered him without skipping a beat.
“I’m sorry. The who?” Hen asked as all eyes turned to face Buck.
“They’re a non profit that raises money for Children’s Hospital. They started as a running club but do all sorts of events on top of this.” Buck told them.
“You learn something new everyday.” Hen replied.
Athena turned around as the engine arrived, nodding in acknowledgment towards Bobby as he got out. Bobby walked over towards the two.
“Are you Alexander, who called it in?” The guy nodded. “Your injured friend, where is he?” Bobby listened as the guy gave him directions, pointing up the hill.
“Hen! Chim! Up the hill to our injured runner.” Bobby instructed after he finished talking to the runner. “Buck! Eddie! Check behind the stage, see if we can find out what happened.”
“I didn’t know the public could enter without an event going on.” Bobby said as he and Athena stood next to each other staring towards the venue.
“According to Alexander, it’s open to the public whenever there’s no show day of. They’ve been meeting here weekly for years.” Athena informed him.
“Have you tracked down any of the Hollywood Bowl employees yet?” Bobby asked as they began to walk towards the venue, tracing Hen & Chim’s steps.
Athena shook her head. “There’s a couple cars in the employee parking lot.” She explained as she pointed to said cars. “But the office is empty. No one is answering the number listed either.”
“Got a working theory?” Bobby asked.
Athena shrugged. “My best guess? A couple coworkers were messing with something they’re not supposed to, argued about what their plan was, set off too many fireworks too close to one another and caused a scene. Got spooked and hid.”
“You think they’re still here?” Bobby made a gesture for Athena to go in front of him politely as they got onto the escalator.
“Their only options to run is the 101 or Hollywood. Why not jump back into their car and take off?”
“There’s only one way out and they knew the police would likely catch them.”
“If this was an accident, why hide?” Athena and Bobby both looked at each other, unease spreading through both of them.
“Was the back checked out by your officers?” Bobby asked, his fingers twitching to grab his radio to check on Buck and Eddie.
Athena nodded. “They only saw the remains of what was likely the storage unit for fireworks. It had its own compression system to put out any fires, in case something like this could happen.”
They were lucky for that. California was still in a drought and it was fire season. It could easily have taken one stray ember to catch the hills on fire.
——
“How have you never been to a concert?” Buck asked Eddie as they walked around the main area, looking for the gate that would take them behind the stage.
Eddie rolled his eyes. “Why is that so surprising to you?”
“Everyone has been to a concert at some point, somehow in their lives. Your parents never took you to the fair? Or- or what about performers in restaurants?” Buck pried.
“Bands in Cheeseburger in Paradise counts?” Eddie asked as he and Buck parted to let a couple officers walk by.
“No…it doesn’t count. The Forum? Staples Center? The Pantages, Wiltern, Fonda? Oh, or the Viper Room or Whiskey.” Buck said as he began ticking off venues around town on his fingers.
“I’ve been to some of them…because we’ve had calls there.” Finding the gate, the two went through it, smelling the remnants of the fireworks. “I didn’t really care about concerts when I was a kid and then I joined the army and became a dad. Going to a concert didn’t really become a priority.”
“We should come back here and bring Christopher. They’re doing a screening of the Nightmare Before Christmas live. The music is played live by the band and Danny Elfman comes and sings his parts. Most of the time, the entire cast comes and does theirs too. It’s really fun.”
Eddie couldn’t help the fond smile that grew on his face. “Christopher would love that. Sure, let’s see if we can get the date off and go.”
As they approached the ruin of the shred, a strong, horrible yet familiar smell hit both of them. “Ugh…this smells awful.” Buck complained as they walked in opposite directions around it until the met in the back.
Eddie made a face as the smell got to him too. “Someone got hurt.”
“Badly.” Buck agreed as they started looking around them. “There should be a blood trail right?”
They met again in the front of the ruined doors. Buck continued looking around the grounds as Eddie stared at the shed. “Not if they didn’t get out.”
Buck felt ill at the thought.
“C’mon, let’s see if we can pry this open.” Eddie said as he walked towards the doors.
With Eddie on one side and Buck on the other, they began trying to force the doors open. When trying to use brute force didn’t work, Buck grabbed his crowbar, managing to pop one of the doors off from the busted hinges. Carefully, the two managed to extract the left door and slid it to the side.
“LAFD, CALL OUT!” Eddie shouted as they both shined their flashlights into the shed.
“It’s a miracle the fire system worked. This was essentially a bomb.” Buck muttered as he crouched down, trying to look through fallen beams.
“I don’t think anyone is in there…why don’t we…” But Buck paused as both of them perked up at the same time. “You heard that right?”
Eddie nodded. “Make a sound again! We can hear you.”
This time it was quicker. It was weak, but it was what sounded like a cough, coming from the back of the shed.
“Stay where you are, we’re coming to get you.” Buck said as he and Eddie both grabbed the second door and pulled, forcing it open a few inches.
“It’s going to be impossible to get through here without risking collapse.” Buck whispered in case the injured person could hear them.
“What about the back? It looked like part of the metal was bent. Maybe I can force a panel to open.” Eddie suggested as he left to run around to the back of the shed.
Hearing rustling and knowing it wasn’t Eddie yet but coming from inside the shed, Buck got as close as he could. “Hey. My name’s Buck. My partner Eddie and I are going to get you out. You need to stay still though. We have to go a little slow, but we’re coming.”
Buck shined his light into the shed, trying to find a path he could make to get to the person. He could see a potential path he could walk but the problem was they weren’t sure how many more fireworks had yet to go off. The system had done its job for the most part, but that didn’t mean hundreds of fireworks were just waiting for the right movement to go off.
“Eddie to Buck. Can you grab the jaws? I think we can force this open.” Eddie said over the walkie.
“Copy that.” Buck responded back into it. “You hear that? We have a way in. Just sit tight!” Buck called into the shed before taking off back towards the truck.
“What’s going on Buck?” Bobby asked as he met Buck at the engine.
Buck, panting slightly, opened the compartment that housed the jaws. “We can hear someone in the shed that housed the fireworks but we can’t see anything. We don’t think the structure is safe to go in without securing it first. Eddie thinks we may be able to get through one of the damaged walls in the back, without worry of a collapse.”
Bobby nodded. “Take a medic bag with you for Eddie. I’ll send Chim with a stretcher.”
“Copy that Cap!” Buck said as he jogged over towards the ambulance, grabbing a go bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “Headed back to you, Eddie!”
“Hey Eddie! Bobby’s going to send Chim over with…” Buck said as he started to round the shed but trailed off at what he saw.
An injured looking man was standing over Eddie with a gun in hand. A gun that just happened to be pointing at Buck’s best friend.
The man, startled by Buck’s sudden appearance, shifted his arms so the gun was now pointing at him. “Drop what you’re holding.” He had a wild look in his eyes.
“Oh-okay.” Buck said as he slowly lowered himself until he could put the jaws on the ground before letting the strap of the bag fall off of his shoulder. He placed the kit down as well before slowing rising back up to his height, hands up in a non threatening manner.
The man gestured with the gun towards Eddie. Buck, understanding, carefully walked over until he was standing beside Eddie’s sitting form. “You said someone is coming over here?”
“Someone needs our help. We need backup.” Eddie responded before Buck had to.
“Tell them not to come. Do it! Do it now or I shoot him!” The man said, anger snarling his face as he pointed the gun at Buck.
Eddie glared as he slowly raised his hand to his radio. “Eddie to Chimney. Disregard the request. It’s a Mitchell Trent situation. DOA.”
The man looked anxiously between the two. “What’s a Mitchell Trent situation?” Buck watched as the man’s finger twitched on the trigger.
“There’s a story we’re told in the academy…about a captain sending his team into a factory because he was convinced someone was still alive. He was wrong and the factory had a secondary explosion. None of them survived, all because he was desperate to-to have any survivors.” Buck explained.
The man didn’t look convinced.
“It’s just a way to tell them we were wrong in our assessment. No one will come back here.” Eddie told him calmly. “But you don’t have much time. There’s police all over the place and soon our Captain will wonder what we’re doing.”
“Look, whatever happened, it’s okay. You took a nasty hit to the head…we should really check you out…” Buck said as he started to take a step only to retract his foot as the gun leveled with his eyes.
“I don’t need a Doctor. I just need him to die.” The man said, his eyes looking between the two as if he could look through the wall.
“If you let us help him, whatever happens to you won’t be as severe as it could be. We don’t know what happened which means you might get away with everything. You just need to put the gun down and turn yourself in.” Eddie said as he tried to reason with the man.
The man shook his head, jumping as he heard someone shouting to another nearby.
“That’s not an option.” The man looked between the two of them both times. “You. You’re going to get me out of here.” He said to Buck.
Eddie jolted as if shocked before he started to try and get his feet underneath him to stand up.
“Stay down or I’ll shoot him and then you.” The man threatened.
“Take off your radio…both of you. Now!” He demanded.
Buck and Eddie did as they were told, unclipping their radios and tossing them closer towards the man. He bent down so he could quickly grab them and attach them to his belt.
“Now you..take your belt off and tie his hands together.” He ordered Buck.
With shaking hands, Buck carefully unbuckled his belt before kneeling down. He had never bound someone’s wrists together before with a belt so he was unsure how to do it.
He wrapped the leather around Eddie’s wrists a couple times until he ran out of length, twisted the ends and then looped the belt through the buckle until a notch held it together.
“I’m sorry.” Buck whispered to him.
“It’s going to be okay Buck.” Eddie whispered back, his hand catching onto one of Buck’s. Buck clung back as he felt his heart begin to pound in his chest.
“Stop talking. Now come on.” The man grabbed Buck by his bicep and yanked him back up to his feet. “You alert anyone and I’ll put a bullet in his head. Got it?”
“Loud and clear.” Eddie answered.
“If anyone asks, you’re helping me find my phone so I can call my wife.” The man muttered as they began to walk away from the shed and towards the employee parking lot.
“The police will want to question you and my Captain will want to get you checked out first. There’s no way you can drive out of here without being seen.” Buck told him as he tried his best not to nervously glance around for anyone to see them.
“You have an ambulance right? Take me there and tell them it’s an emergency. That we have to leave now.”
Buck couldn’t help but flashback to being a hostage in the ambulance once before. It was something he never wanted to go through again.
The two of them turned, walking towards their vehicles, and a bunch of first responders, instead.
“Make any attempt to get help and I’ll start shooting. Got it?” He whispered against Buck’s face.
Buck flinched at the warmth of the man’s breath against his ear. “Got it.”
Buck grabbed the handle of the gate they had previously walked through to get to the back area and pulled open the door. Buck had a horrible poker face and he was no actor. He was terrified that Hen or Bobby or Athena or Chim, anyone from the 118 really, would take one look at his face and know something was wrong.
As they walked through the gate, it was suspiciously empty.
“Where’s the ambo?” The man rasped, clearly agitated.
“Just over there, near the entrance.” Buck said as he pointed towards the right.
They had just rounded the corner when suddenly, all the police were there. Not only were they all congregated in one area, but they were also pointing their guns at them.
“Drop the gun and let him go!” Officer Williams, Buck recognized, shouted.
The man instantly pressed his body against Buck’s back, one arm pinning Buck’s left arm to his side as it wrapped tightly around his side. The barrel of the gun pressed against Buck’s throat.
“You drop your guns or he gets it!” The man threatened.
Buck couldn’t breathe. He felt as though his life was flashing before him. And the life he didn’t have. The things he didn’t get to do. Or say. Maddie was going to be devastated.
“I mean it! I’ll kill him!” The man was getting antsy. Buck could feel him practically vibrating.
“I won’t give you a second to try. Drop it.” Athena’s voice came from behind Buck, startling both him and the man.
The man instantly let the gun drop and the grip lessen on him. On instinct, Buck took a few stumbling steps forward and turned to see his savior.
Athena’s gun was still pressed to the back of the man’s head. Officer Williams ran towards them, cuffs already in his head.
“You okay Buck?” Athena asked, her body coiled like a snake, ready to strike if the man tried to move as the Officers moved in.
“Y-yeah.” Buck answered her. To his left, he noticed for the first time his team. Bobby looked ready to kill. Hen’s face was hard but he could see the shine in her eyes. Chim’s hands were tightly gripping his medical bag. To their right a couple feet, Buck saw the stretcher.
Buck jogged over to them. “That guy…he’s still inside the shed. I don’t think he has much time. C’mon!”
Buck took off back towards the gate, hands going towards the knob but missing it as the door suddenly opened. Buck’s momentum threw him through the doorway, only to slam into a wild looking Eddie.
Eddie’s wrists were still bound but he’d obviously followed, likely to make sure his warning had worked.
Buck wrapped both of his arms around Eddie, both to hug him in relief and also to steady the both of them.
Eddie wiggled out of the hug, his arms raising up, as if to check over Buck. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Buck shook his head as his hands grabbed onto Eddie’s forearms to bring them down. “I’m okay. Here.” Buck grabbed onto the end of the belt and worked the material until he was able to free Eddie.
“Are you okay?” Buck asked but Eddie just looked over his shoulder, seeing the man being led away to a cop car. And then without a word, he turned and ran back towards the shed. Buck followed.
———
Needless to say, the rest of their shift was eventful.
After managing to create a hole in the wall of the shed, Ravi was able to shimmy inside to check on the injured person. Although he had multiple burns all over his body, the man was rushed to the hospital and expected to survive.
Buck and Eddie then had to give their statements to Athena about what had happened to them.
Bobby, clearly shaken up by nearly losing Buck again, had remained within feet of the younger man, almost at hovering levels once they were back at the station.
“I’ve restoked the engine a million times, you know I’m doing it right.” Buck said without looking up from what he was doing.
Bobby walked over towards him, placing his hand on Buck’s shoulder.
“You worried me today kid.” Bobby admitted.
Buck felt a blush begin to grow on his cheeks. “But we got lucky today.”
“Yeah, because of Eddie’s quick thinking.” Buck mumbled, feeling slightly ashamed that he’d been a damsel in distress.
Bobby placed his other hand on Buck’s other shoulder, waiting until Buck met his eye. “You did everything right. You were cautious and smart. And yes, Eddie was able to give us a hint which is a blessing. We don’t need to worry about what was, only that everyone is okay today.”
Buck chewed on his lip, letting his eyes lower.
“Right?”
Buck looked back up, feeling the corners of his lips rise. “Right. Thanks Bobby.”
Bobby pulled Buck forward, giving him a tight hug. Buck reciprocated, deciding to give himself this moment. Truth be told, he was shaken up by what had happened but hadn’t let himself think about it. Something he was planning on waiting to do once he was home tonight.
“Now go ahead and take the rest of the shift off.” Bobby ordered, clapping him on his back.
“I can still work. I’m okay, I swear.” Buck began to protest.
“Not up for debate. Eddie’s leaving too. It’s been a stressful day. We’ll see you two in a few days.” And with that, Bobby headed towards the stairs.
As Buck made his way towards the locker room, he spotted Eddie sitting on the bench, seemingly lost in thought.
“Hey.” Buck greeted him as he leaned against the doorframe.
Eddie blinked once then twice before looking at Buck. His previously troubled facial expression softened up. “Hey.”
“Heading home too?” Buck asked as he walked over towards his locker, opening it and pulling out his duffel.
“Yeah. Cap’s orders.” Eddie answered him.
Buck began to unbutton his shirt, swapping it out quickly for his LAFD hoodie instead. He looked at Eddie again, realizing he was already dressed in his civilian clothing. “Are you okay?”
“Huh?” Eddie asked before looking at himself, almost as though he realized he had indeed changed clothing. “Yeah. I was just waiting.”
“Waiting for what?” Buck asked, trying to tamp down on the gnawing worry. Eddie had said he hadn’t been physically hurt when the man had approached him. If Buck hadn’t shown up, it would have been Eddie who would have been the hostage instead.
“You.” Eddie glanced up at Buck, a serious expression on his face. Buck waited for something. But whatever it was, Eddie looked like he changed his mind. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Are you still coming to Pepa’s tomorrow night?”
Buck let the moment break and nodded. “Yeah, of course. If, if that’s okay?”
Eddie smiled, a genuine one. “Yeah, it’s definitely okay.”
Buck changed the rest of his clothes and then he and Eddie walked out towards the cars together. Hen and Chim stopped them to give them hugs and to tell them they’d see them soon. And if they needed anything to call. Buck also made Chim promise not to tell Maddie and that he’d do it himself once he got home.
“Okay..I’ll uh, see you tomorrow then.” Buck said as they got to their cars which were parked a few rows away from one another.
“Yeah. Tomorrow.” Eddie agreed as he started towards his truck.
Buck felt silly for feeling kind of sad that Eddie didn’t give him a hug but, he figured that they’d see each other in less than 24 hours and so it was silly to say bye, when it wasn’t so.
Unlocking his jeep, Buck tossed his bag into the backseat. Before Buck could open his door, he heard his name being called. He turned his head and watched as Eddie jogged over towards him.
“Everything okay?” Buck asked, concern etching onto his features.
“No..I mean yes.” Eddie answered him as he stopped a few feet away from him. “Today was…awful.”
Buck laughed, more from surprise than it actually being something funny. “Yeah. It was.”
Eddie scrubbed his hands over his face, something Buck noticed he did whenever he wanted to say something, but was holding back.
“I don’t know what I’m doing.” Eddie admitted, dropping his chin to his chest.
“I would help you, but I don’t know what you’re doing either.” Buck grinned.
Eddie sighed, straightening up. He squared his shoulders and let his eyes find Buck’s. “I had a plan for this but…we could have died. Again.”
“But we didn’t.” Buck replied, an echo of a familiar conversation coming to mind but he ignored it in favor of listening to what Eddie wanted to say.
“No…we didn’t.” One corner of Eddie’s lips lifting, as if he were also recalling the conversation in the hospital over a year ago. “Tomorrow isn’t promised.”
“No, it’s not.” Buck whispered, his throat suddenly starting to constrict with emotion.
“I’m not good at this Buck.” Eddie admitted and Buck was certain he was nervous. Something Eddie rarely ever was.
“Eddie.” Buck said, taking a chance and placing his hands on either side of Eddie’s neck. “It’s okay.”
Eddie reached up, his hands grabbing onto Buck’s wrists and holding on. His thumbs gently swept over Buck’s pulse points.
Taking a chance and hoping to whatever God or Being or Universe that was there, that he was right, Buck brought one of his hands up so he could cradle the side of Eddie’s face. Eddie’s eyes closed as he took a deep, relaxed breath.
He opened his eyes as he smiled at Buck. “Come home with me tonight.” He stepped closer as his hands slid up Buck’s arms until they rested on his shoulders. “Tell me there’s something here. Between us.” He removed one of his hands so he could gesture between them.
Buck nodded before he finished his sentence. “There’s something here.”
“What we have now is perfect and I understand if you want to keep it where it is. But I want to take you on a date. I was going to ask after Pepa’s but after today, I couldn’t wait anymore. Christopher loves you and I don’t want to worry him if…” Eddie said as he began to ramble.
Buck, not wanting Eddie to let himself spin out, stopped him with a kiss. Eddie melted against Buck, the tension in his body disappearing.
Buck had wondered what it would be like to kiss Eddie. He had daydreamed about the moment they’d kiss for the first time. There had been pick up lines and flirting and built up tension. Some became sexier the longer Buck thought about it. This kiss though? It was hurried and unplanned and clumsy - their teeth knocked together - but it was perfect.
After they parted, Buck rested his forehead on Eddie’s.
“So ask me.” Buck whispered, his lips brushing against Eddie’s.
Eddie couldn’t stop smiling if he wanted to. He tilted his head, those few inches allowing him to slide his lips over Buck’s. He didn’t want to part from him ever again.
“Would you like to go on a date with me?” Eddie whispered against Buck’s lips.
“I’d love to.”