#Blame the true crime podcast quote and Eddie in a suit for this

[mooresomore]

Detective AU

Here is my detective AU I had been teasing earlier. I was actually able to write a tiny bit of angst- which quickly turned back into fluff (what can I say, lol). This all started with my rewatch of season 2, when Eddie had to go to Christopher’s school in the suit. Add that in with the 4.3 “true crime podcast” comments and that was it. I still wanted Buck to be a firefighter, even though Eddie was a detective. Some of the cracks about police officers and firefighters in here are actual things I’ve heard between our local cops/firefighters. My brain immediately *short-circuited* and this idea wouldn’t let go. Hopefully you all like it!

Buck had been introduced to Patrolman Eddie Diaz by his captain Bobby Nash’s wife, Athena Grant-Nash. They had hit it off (even being able to laugh at everyone’s jokes about them being the current Montagues and Capulets), and they had been together for 4 years now. Eddie had been working his way up the ranks, and now he was set to take the detective’s test.

“You got this babe,” Buck said, coming over to sit by Eddie as Eddie was having a freak out about not being good enough the night before his test. “You are going to go there and knock it out of the park. I believe in you.”

“Thank you.” Eddie said, stealing a kiss. “I wish you could be there.”

“I wish I could too,” Buck agreed. “But Bobby told me that I can take your call, no matter what is going on, unless we’re on a call. Plus, Christopher and I gotta have our guy’s night.” Buck teased, knowing that Eddie would relax knowing that Christopher was in good hands. Buck leaned in again. “You got this Eddie Diaz.”

“Thank you.” Eddie said. “I needed to hear that. Bed?”

“Yes.” Buck said. “I was thinking we could get up early and make breakfast for Christopher- and you- and Christopher and I could walk you out to the car.”

“I’d like that a lot.” Eddie said. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

*

In the morning, Eddie helped Buck in the kitchen, and after breakfast, Buck and Christopher walked Eddie out to the car. Christopher gave Eddie a drawing for good luck, and Buck gave Eddie a kiss on the cheek and told Eddie to call Buck as soon as the test was over. With that, Eddie was gone, and Buck took Christopher to school. 

“Remember Superman, Carla is going to pick you up after school today. I’ll get you after shift, and we’ll have a boy’s night. Your dad will be home tomorrow.”

“Ok. Bye Buck. Love you.”

“Love you too kid.”

*

“Buck, stop pacing.” Bobby said. “He’s going to do just fine.”

“I know he is, but it just sucks waiting, you know?”

“I do,” Bobby said. “But Athena tells me he’s one of the best she’s ever seen. Just trust your boy ok?”

Buck was about to say something when his phone rang. “It’s Eddie!” Buck quickly picked up the phone. “Hey. Yeah, not on a call. Oh, nothing. Bobby kicked me out of the kitchen. Seems I was too aggressive with chopping the vegetables.” There was a pause and everyone held their breath (of course they were eavesdropping). Buck’s face broke out into a huge grin. “That’s great. I’m so proud of you. Told you you’d be able to do it. Mind if I tell everyone else on shift. Yeah, they’re listening.” Buck chuckled. I will. Christopher and I will FaceTime you tonight and you can tell him. Ok. Talk to you later. Love you.”

Buck hung up the phone and turned around to face everyone. “Eddie passed the detective’s test. He said thank you in advance.” Everyone chuckled.

“Let me know the date of the pinning,” Bobby told Buck. “You’ll have it off, no questions asked.”

“Thank you.”

*

Buck gave Carla a thumbs up when he got home from shift, letting her know that Eddie had passed. “We’re going to call Eddie in a few and Eddie wants to tell Christopher himself.”

“I am so proud of that man.” Carla said.

“Me too.” Buck smiled.

“You tell me what to bring to the party.” Carla said as she left.

“Yes ma’am.”

*

Eddie called Christopher and Buck right before Christopher’s bedtime routine was supposed to start.

“Dad!” Christopher smiled.

“Hey buddy. Are you and Buck having fun?”

“Yeah. He let me have ice cream for dessert and we watched “Finding Nemo”. It’s bedtime now.”

“Wow. Sounds like fun. I know it is-that’s why I called. I wanted to tell you goodnight and that I’d see you tomorrow.”

“Ok.” Christopher paused. “Did you do good on your test?”

“I did.” Eddie smiled. “I did really good on it. So I get a new job title.”

“Cool. Good job.” Christopher smiled. “Love you dad.”

“Love you too buddy. Go get ready for bed and be good for Buck, ok? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ok.”

“I’ll get him in bed and call you back?” Buck asked. Looking at Eddie, he added, “Actually, I’ll just talk with you in the morning. You look exhausted. Get some rest.”

“Thanks.” Eddie smiled. “Thanks again for watching Chris tonight.”

“Anytime. Go to bed.” Buck said. As Eddie shifted the camera around, Buck caught sight of the shirt Eddie was wearing. “You stole my shirt?” Buck chuckled.

“I wanted a piece of home with me and hoped it would bring me good luck.” Eddie said. “It obviously worked.”

“You did it all on your own detective.” Buck said, watching Eddie smile sleepily. “Seriously, get some rest. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Christopher hollered down the hall. “His majesty awaits.” Buck chuckled.

Eddie chuckled. “Goodnight. I love you.”

“Love you too.” Buck said.

*

After Buck dropped Christopher off at school, he came home to find Carla and the rest of the 118 at the house, ready to help him get everything ready for the surprise party. Buck left and went to intercept Eddie before he could see the surprise while the rest of them put the finishing touches on things and got Abuela and Pepa there.

They went out to breakfast as a reward. Buck then convinced Eddie to pull Christopher out of school for half a day and go home and have a “family day”. If Eddie suspected something, he didn’t say anything.

Buck made sure to have Eddie open the door. Buck caught Christopher’s eye and grinned while holding a finger against his lips. 

“Surprise!” Everyone yelled when Eddie opened the door; he looked Buck to Buck and Christopher, who were smiling.

“Thank you.” Eddie said. They had a small party, and as the three of them were sitting on the couch after everyone had left, Eddie looked at Buck. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes we did,” Buck said. “Because you’re special to us and you deserve to be celebrated. Christopher was the one who suggested it.”

“Thanks bud.”

Christopher burrowed into Eddie for a tight hug, and then he was asking for Eddie to put him to bed.

“Sure thing buddy. Say goodnight to Buck.”

“Night Buck.”

“Night Superman.”

“Stay here for a minute?” Eddie asked. “I want to talk to you about something.”

“Ok.”

*

When Eddie came back downstairs a few minutes later, Buck was flipping through channels on the TV. Eddie sat down, and Buck’s hand found its way to the back of Eddie’s neck, where it started running light circles. “What’s going on babe?”

“Um,” Eddie said. “I was thinking. We’ve been together now for four years, and I’d love to be together forever. I was wondering if you’d like to get married.”

The hand stopped moving and Buck looked like a deer in the headlights. “Oh.”

“If you don’t want to…” Eddie said, misunderstanding Buck’s shock as a no.

“No, no.” Buck quickly reassured Eddie. “I’m just a little surprised is all. I wasn’t expecting this tonight, but I would love to marry you.” Buck paused. “Can we elope and have a courthouse wedding? I don’t want anything fancy.”

“Yeah.” Eddie said. “That’s what I was thinking too. We can do a reception for everyone later.”

“Name the time and place and I’m there.” Buck said.

“How about next Monday at 3? You don’t have a shift that day- I already checked with Bobby.” Eddie said. “I was thinking we could pick up Christopher from school and then take him with us.”

“That would be great.” Buck said, leaning in to kiss Eddie. “I love you. I want to do so much more than just kiss you right now.”

“Me too,” Eddie admitted, knowing that they couldn’t with Christopher down the hall. Christopher had been waking up with nightmares recently and crawling into Eddie and Buck’s bed. It wasn’t happening too often, but it was enough that Eddie had scheduled an appointment with Christopher’s doctor.

“This weekend? We can see if Abuela will take him?” Buck suggested. 

“I’ll talk with her in the morning.” Eddie agreed. “She was asking about when he was going to come over again.” Eddie smiled. “Come on, let’s go to bed. It’s been a long day, and you have to go to work tomorrow.”

“So do you, Detective Diaz.” Buck smiled.

“You’re never going to quit calling me that now, are you?” Eddie asked.

“Nope!” Buck grinned, popping the ��p”.

“Come on,” Eddie said. He had a smile on his face too though.

*

In the morning, Eddie woke up to the smell of bacon. He felt the sheets, and sure enough, they were cold. Buck had been up for a while. Eddie didn’t mind, his boyfriend- no wait, now his fiance- was a great cook. Eddie had truly gotten spoiled to the home-cooked meals he got. It was definitely a change from all the pre-bought meals he’d heat up for him and Christopher, or the fast food burgers he lived on during shift.

Eddie padded down the stairs, finding his coffee mug on the counter with it made just the way he liked. Christopher and Buck were standing in front of the stove, flipping something in a pan. Buck looked up as Eddie hit the creaky floorboard at the edge of the kitchen counter. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Eddie said. “Morning superman.”

“Morning daddy!” Christopher grinned, and that’s when Eddie saw the smudge of flour on Christopher’s cheek. 

Eddie couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. “You helping Buck make breakfast?”

“Yeah. I’m his sous chef. Wait, I said that right, right?” Christopher asked, looking at Buck.

“You did.” Buck smiled, wiping the flour off Christopher’s cheek. “He’s been a great help in here.” Buck added.

“Awesome. What do we have today?” Eddie asked, even though he could clearly see they were pancakes.

“Pancakes. Made from scratch.” Christopher said.

“Take off your apron bud and go sit at the table. I’ll bring them over. The plate is kinda hot.” Buck said.

“Ok.” Christopher grabbed the orange juice on his way by and the plate of bacon. He sat them down on the table and took his spot beside Eddie.

They ate breakfast in a comfortable silence. Then it was upstairs for Christopher to get ready for school, and for them to get ready for their shifts.

“I’m working a 24 hour shift.” Buck said. “There’s a pan of lasagna in the fridge for you to heat up for dinner. I’ll try to call around bedtime so I can tell you guys goodnight.”

“Ok. If all goes well, I should be home by 5. Carla is picking him up, right?”

“Yep.”

“Ok. Have a great day. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

*

As luck would have it, they met up on a call halfway through their shifts. The 118 had got a call about a stabbing, and when they pulled up on scene, the police were already there. The victim was already dead, and they just needed confirmation. Hen and Chim went in to do their duty, while Bobby talked with Athena for a minute. Buck was scanning the various officers, knowing that Eddie more than likely would have been there-this would be one of his first chances to work a homicide case. Buck didn’t see him though and was about to ask Athena and Bobby if they had when there was a pair of hands over his eyes and a “guess who?”

Buck couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “I hope that’s you Eddie.”

“It is.” Eddie confirmed. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Well,” Buck teased, “We come help you guys out all the time. You know the saying- ‘God created firefighters so police officers could have heroes’. Just doing my job.”

Eddie laughed. “Right. I seem to remember the saying going the other way. Either way, it was good to see you. I better head in there. This is my first case that I get to assist on.”

“You’ll nail it.” Buck said. “Good luck. I’ll call you guys tonight. Love ya. Be safe.”

“You too. Love you.” Eddie said, watching as Buck climbed back into the fire truck and sped off to his next call. Eddie took a breath and headed into the crime scene.

*

“So? How’s the case going detective?” Buck asked when he called later that night to tell Eddie and Christopher goodnight.

“You know I can’t tell you.” Eddie smiled. “But I’m learning a lot and they say I’m doing a good job.”

“I bet you are.” Buck said, grinning as Christopher came into view. “Hey Buddy.”

“Hi Buck.” Christopher came and sat on Eddie’s lap. He then launched into a story about what they’d learned at school today. Buck listened intently and asked a lot of questions.

“Sounds great buddy. If it’s ok with your dad, we’ll go to the zoo next weekend.”

“Please?” Christopher looked at Eddie, who said, “Yes.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow after school ok buddy?” Buck said. “You take good care of your dad and get some sleep.”

“Yes Buck.” Christopher nodded, blowing a kiss to Buck, who caught it and sent one of his own. Christopher giggled and hopped off Eddie’s lap. “Night Buck. I’ll call you when I’m ready dad.”

“Night Christopher,” Buck said as Eddie said, “Ok.”

Eddie looked at Buck. “Be safe out there tonight ok?”

“Always am.” Buck said. The alarm bell went off. “Duty calls. See you in the morning. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

*

Buck wandered into the house the next morning as Eddie and Christopher were walking out the door. “Have a good day guys.” Buck said, kissing Christopher’s head and straightening Eddie’s tie. “See you tonight.”

“Night Buck.”

*

Buck went into the bedroom to grab his clothes prior to getting into the shower and found the note Eddie left him on the bedside table.

Buck,

I hope you get some rest. I can’t believe in 4 days I get to marry you and spend forever with you. Even if you are a hose monkey ;) I’ll see you tonight. Love you.

Eddie

Buck grinned. He grabbed the clothes out of the drawer, set the T-shirt on the bedside table and went into the shower. Afterwards, he set an alarm and climbed into bed and crawled in on Eddie’s side, letting Eddie’s smell lull him to sleep.

*

When the alarm blared, Buck sat up and shut it off. He slipped on the shirt and went downstairs to the kitchen.

*

Buck was just sliding the meatloaf into the oven when Carla came home with Christopher. “Buckaroo. How have you been?” Carla asked.

“Good. Work’s been keeping me busy.” Buck said, watching Christopher make his way over to the table without being asked. “I’m sorry I haven’t seen you much lately.”

“I’ve been busy with Christopher mostly,” she said, “and you and Eddie have gotten a pretty good routine down.” Carla pauses. “I think though, with him becoming a detective, that things will probably change.”

“Yeah.” Buck said. “You’re still…”

“Oh, I’m always going to be here for you three sugar.” Carla gave him a hug. “You boys are my family.”

“You’re ours too.” Buck said.

“Tell Eddie I said hi. I’ll see you guys next week.”

“Bye Carla.”

Christopher quickly finished his homework and set the table. Buck and Christopher played a round of Mario Kart while they waited for Eddie to get home.

*

The first thing Eddie noticed when he got home was the smell of meatloaf coming from the kitchen and Christopher’s laugh. Eddie made his way in. “Hey, I’m...” He said, pausing abruptly when he noticed it was his LAPD shirt Buck was wearing. “Home.” He finished.

“Ah, you’re just in time.” Buck said. “I was just putting dinner on the table.”

They ate dinner, and then decided that they could have a movie night since Christopher didn’t have school tomorrow.

“You’re wearing my shirt.” Eddie said.

“Yeah.” Buck said. “Needed a piece of you with me today.”

“Not that I don’t love seeing you wear my clothes, but let me get it in a bigger size so you don’t pop out of it.” Eddie said, smiling.

“Fine. But only if you wear it first so it smells like you.”

“I can do that.”

*

The wedding day was here- Carla was going to be one of the witnesses along with Maddie. Christopher had been over the moon since finding out Buck was going to stay forever.

The ceremony was short and sweet, and Abuela took Christopher so Eddie and Buck could “properly celebrate your marriage”. (And properly celebrate they did; they had matching hickies on their collarbones that their uniforms would thankfully cover.)

They settled into a pattern; nothing had really changed-other than Buck was in the process of adopting Christopher (Christopher’s request). They still ran odd shifts and saw each other on calls, but it was just like it had been. Just now they had rings and the “husband” title.

*

**6 Months Later**

Buck had just gotten home from a split shift and was trying to crawl into bed without waking up Eddie. Somehow he managed to be successful, and Buck closed his eyes. They’d be up soon enough to take Christopher to school (and Eddie would have to go to work).

It barely felt like he had closed his eyes when Eddie’s cell phone startled Buck awake. Eddie answered “Diaz. Uh huh. I’ll be there in 20.”

“Homicide?” Buck guessed, looking at the clock.

“Yeah, go back to bed.” Eddie said, getting up to get dressed.

“I’ll get Christopher to school and pick him up.” Buck said. “You call us when you’re coming home and we’ll have dinner ready.”

Eddie tied his tie and slid his suit jacket on. “Deal. I love you.” He said, coming over to give Buck a kiss.

“Love you too Detective Diaz. Be safe.”

“Always am.”

*

Buck got Christopher off to school and was working on cleaning the house when his phone rang. “Oh hey Athena. What’s up?”

“Buck? Are you sitting down?” Athena asked. “If not, you might want to.”

“Athena? What’s going on?!” But was immediately on high alert. “Is Eddie ok?”

“He will be.” Her voice was calm and soft. “There was an accident at the crime scene. He’s at the hospital and fine, but he won’t be home tonight. They want to keep him for observation.”

“Which hospital?” Buck asked, grabbing his keys. “I’ll call Carla to get Christopher after school. I don’t want to worry him.”

“He’s at General.” Athena said. “He’s ok, Buckaroo. I’ll make sure you have clearance to enter.”

“Thanks Athena.”

Buck made his way to General, where Eddie was on the observation floor. “Detective Diaz,” Buck said, leaning against the doorframe. “What happened?”

“Hey Buck.” Eddie said. “I’m ok.”

“Are you sure?” Buck asked, going to sit by Eddie.

“I am. I wasn’t planning on there being a victim in the closet still alive, and she attacked me with a knife. They’re mostly superficial, but she got a good one in to my shoulder and they want me to stay overnight. I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. Other than having Athena call me and scare the crap out of me.” Buck chuckled. 

“Sorry. I told her to let you know I was ok.”

“I got Carla to pick up Christopher after school. I wasn’t sure if you wanted him to be here or not.”

“He can come by.” Eddie said. “Instead of me calling you tonight.”

“Ok. I’ll have Carla bring him. I’ll be right back.”

Christopher came and visited for a while, and then it was time for Buck and Christopher to go. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Eddie said.

“Night dad.” Christopher said. Buck echoed, “Night dad. We love you,” and kissed Eddie’s forehead.

*

Eddie was home the next day and after a stern lecture from both Buck and Athena, he was allowed to go back to work.

*

“Diaz.” Eddie said when the phone rang early in the morning. “Give me 30 and I’ll be there.”

Buck was up and out of bed making Eddie coffee while Eddie got dressed. By the time Eddie came downstairs in his suit and tie, Buck had the coffee in Eddie’s “#1 dad” to-go mug Christopher had made. Buck straightened Eddie’s tie and smoothed out Eddie’s jacket. “Go get em Detective Diaz.” Buck said, leaning down for a kiss. “Be safe.”

“I will be.” Eddie said. “I’ll call you when I’m headed home. Have a good shift Firefighter Buckley.”

“I will. I love you.”

“Love you too.”