#they're so careful to not let hen or chim or bobby catch them

[mattzerella-sticks]

It might take weeks before any of the primary cast notice when things change between Buck and Eddie but I bet you the background/ancillary members of the 118 clock their shit immediately.

[jmagnabo92]

9-1-1 8x4 Live Reaction

Under the cut.

I've heard good things so... Let's do this!

LOL not Buck and Gerard out golfing.

"Baby's belly" - soft.

LOL - he doesn't want to be beloved - FEARED THAN LOVED. OMG.

OMG he wants BUCK to help him make the 118 tough?? OH SHIT OH SHIT. FIRING!!!

12% is better for firing???

"That's what you get for saving the boss' life - instead of being on the list, you get to make it" - SHIT.

I don't care about Bathena house-shopping.

Shit, Ortiz is running for mayor. OMG she's bringing it up with Hen and what happened with her son. FUCK - EYES AND EARS???

She wants to hold Hen responsible.

LMAO Chim correcting Gerard. What is this scene? Body cams???

OMG.

OH Shit! This poor cheerleader.

"The cheerleader is ass-backwards." - the 9-1-1 explanations are hilarious.

It's nice to see the other three rocking it since they were sidelined last episode.

Aww this kid assuming his dad wouldn't come.

Eddie's like "you know, let's just do this here - in a moving vehicle."

Loving Hen and Eddie working together and it works!!! Naturally.

ooooh he called him dad. Poor Eddie.

Wait, photos of the child with them??? OH this things with M/C backfired like I suspected. Of course Ortiz would be able to catch that & point out that it's (or would be) a problem to stay in contact with a child that was taken from you.

OOOH, is this going to work? I doubt it. But Hen's got a good speech.

Now they can't even see her!!! Awwwww :(

At least she's not being taken from Maddie and Chim and to a group home. Wouldn't be surprised if M/C got THEIR license revoked.

LOL the META on TV shows.

Aww "I don't want another house, I want my house."

LOL considering stealing another truck.

Oh no, they're going to rebuild - and Micheal sent over the old plans.

OOOOH, Bobby's not happy because he went into her house and was hoping for a shot to build something together rather than go back to HER place. More stones in their marriage?

Oh, Hen. Why would you do this? Ortiz doesn't care.

"We're all she has" - "yeah, well, my son was all I had. So she can go on too."

WHAT SHE DESERVES???

OF COURSE THEY"RE FRIENDS!!!

"Lack of leadership???"

LOL - "hey,... is my phone off?" "No, I didn't call." IDK why I find it so funny.

Oh, Hen, it's not on you. WHY DOES ORTIZ HAVE THIS AUTHORITY???

Ohhhh Buck. He went to Bobby!!

"Buck, you can't quit because your captain likes you." <3

if he did, then he'd not have stayed with the 118 so long. LOL

Bobby's back to being the 'unofficial captain', I love it. It reminds me of 'Chim's brief stint as captian'.

LOVE IT.

Bobby doesn't like the STACHE!!

Chim's like "The 118 needs you".

OOOOH Gerard doesn't wanna be there? OH RUDE CHIM.

This guy looks really hurt!! No way this was a dog.

OH SHIT. This woman is about to get hurt.

RUN LADY RUN.

IT"S A TIGER!!!!!

Awww this woman. I feel bad.

I really like these 'try and help themselves' scenes with Maddie.

AW CGI BABY TIGER.

LOL Chim with the gun - "where'd you learn to do that?" - "I have layers."

Tiger jumping up at him!!

She opened the door! OH NO!

Oh good. Down kitty!

This lady - no pets!

Oh Bobby at Hotshots. He called Gerard down there.

LOL they made the brit joke again.

The voice of god around here? LOL.

He thinks Bobby is living the dream.

Bobby telling him to quit himself. "She's been using you Vincent and laughing at you."

Oh Eddie what the fuck are you doing? It's not your business to get involved.

You're not a therapist. You don't know what their relationship is. Don't project your shit onto other people.

He showed him the body cam footage???

Gerard & Ortiz. "You're going about this all wrong."

She's a sick SOB. A JUDGE IN HER POCKET. No wonder the judge looked sad at Hen's speech.

WHY GERARD??? SHUT THE 118 DOWN???

New Fire Chief??? NO!

Wait a second - he was wearing his uniform with the body cam - was he RECORDING HER????

OMG, she's really doing this??? FUCK.

OH SHIT HE WAS!!

GERARD SAVES THE DAY. DIDN'T EXPECT IT!

LOVE BOBBY doing this and getting Gerard on their side!!

I LOVE IT!

Glad to see the kids doing much better!!

Oh shit, the dad showed up!

A family reunited!!

Love it!!

Aww, Bobby admitting it was never his house and them deciding to create their own :)

Bobby's BACK!! YAY!!

AND GERARD IS AT HOTSHOTS!! LOVE IT!!

This was great!!! :)

[tails89]

Run into trouble

911 - 1.4k - G

Written for the Bad Things Happen Bingo: doesn't realise they've been injured.

"This— firefighting— it's just something that I'm meant to do, same as you," Eddie says, without any hesitation. "Plus, Hen and Chimney are pretty damn good at their jobs. They've patched you up enough times."

"Too many times," Buck groans. "They're never going to let me live this down."

Read on ao3

"Holy shit that was close." Buck climbs to his feet and brushes off his jacket, his fingers catching in a tear in the thick material. "Maybe, uh— just a bit too close." He grins, turning to Eddie. "You good?"

"Am I good?" Buck can hear the disbelief in Eddie's voice. "I'm not the one who was just sent flying. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, barely got me." Buck almost can't believe it himself, but other than getting the wind knocked out of him, he's fine. 

"Only you," Eddie says with a shake of his head, and Buck catches the fond eye roll beneath the mask. 

He can't help the quick smile as he keys at his radio. "Hey Cap. We're on the second floor, where do you want us?"

"We've got reports of people trapped on the delta side."

"Copy that, Cap." Buck gestures for Eddie to lead the way. 

They work together to clear each apartment as smoke pours into the corridor, and Buck can't believe how much he missed this— working with Eddie. 

They move from door to door, calling out as they go. The heat from the floor above is intense, pushing back against them with every step. Buck can feel the sweat pouring down his side as he pounds on the door. 

"LAFD! Anyone in there?" 

"Yes! Oh my god, help!" 

They find who they're looking for in the next apartment— two young women with ash-streaked faces. 

"Are either of you hurt?" Eddie asks, going straight into medic mode while Buck radios Bobby to let him know they've found them. 

"I'm going to check the last apartment," Buck tells Eddie, clapping him on the shoulder as he brushes past. 

"Be careful." 

"Always am." That earns him a scoff from Eddie as Buck ducks back out into the hallway. 

The last apartment is empty, so Buck heads back to join Eddie and the two women, breathing heavily as he returns to their apartment. 

"Okay, the floor's clear," he tells Eddie, still panting as he catches his breath. "You ready to get out of here?"

"God, yes," the blonde woman says nodding. "Can we please get out of here?" 

Eddie chuckles and turns to Buck. "Yeah, we're ready. Let's go."

They head back out into the hall with the two women in tow. Eddie takes the lead, guiding them over towards the fire stairs, and Buck takes the rear, making sure no one gets left behind. 

They're just reaching the first floor when Bobby radios the order to evacuate the building. 

"Firefighters Buckley and Diaz, we're clear," Buck responds as they step out into the parking lot. 

They usher the women away from the building and over to the gathering crowd of emergency personnel.

 

"So?" Buck bumps his shoulder into Eddie's as they make their way over to the rest of the 118. "Does it feel good to be back?" He pulls his helmet and mask off, turning to glance at Eddie. 

"Yeah." Eddie has his own helmet in his hands. "I can't believe how much I missed this. Missed us."

"You say that like the two of you haven't seen each other in months," Chimney says, falling into step beside them. "When I know for a fact that Buck was over at your house yesterday."

"It's different," Buck argues, glad they have then flashing red and blue lights to hide his flushing face. 

"How?" Chimney asks, coming to a stop. 

Buck shares a glance with Eddie.

"It just is."

"Sure," Chim says, dragging the word out. "I'm just glad that Buck has stopped moping around the station. It was getting sad."

"Hey." Buck goes to take a step forward but stumbles, suddenly light-headed.

"Woah, you okay there?" Chimney asks, clapping a hand on Buck's shoulder.

"Yeah, I—"

His legs buckle as a wave of dizziness crashes over him. 

There are twin shouts from nearby, and hands catch him before he can hit the ground. 

"Hen! Cap!" Chim calls, helping Buck to sit. "Need you guys over here."

Eddie kneels on Buck's left, his hands tugging at Buck's jacket.

"You said you were okay!"

"And you believed him?" Hen scoffs, kneeling on Buck's other side to help him out of his heavy turnout coat. 

"In my defense," Buck says weakly, shutting his eyes at the sudden sharp flare of pain. "I really did think I was okay. I didn't even feel anything."

The jacket gets tossed to the side and a hand on his shoulder pushes him back to lie flat. 

"That was probably the adrenaline," Chim tells him.  "What about now? Any pain?"

"'s kinda numb," Buck mumbles, blinking up at the worried faces above him. 

The scissors are cold against his skin as his shirt is cut away, and somewhere above him there's a hiss as his chest is revealed. 

"You really didn't feel this?" Hen asks, her hands prodding at the bruised skin along Buck's side.

He sucks in a harsh breath.

"Can feel it now," he mutters, eyes screwed up as Hen continues to work. 

"Yeah, I'm not surprised,"Hen says, sitting back on her heels. "He's bleeding internally. Chimney, can you start a line?"

"On it." There's a pinch in the back of Buck's hand, but it's nothing compared to the fire in his side.

"What can I do?" Eddie asks.

"You just keep doing what you're doing."

"What's he doing?" Buck mumbles. 

There's a warm pressure on his hand, like someones squeezing it. 

"This." 

"Oh." Buck squeezes back. "Yeah, keep doing that."

"Bobby, can you radio the hospital?" Hen asks. "Let them know we're on our way?"

Buck lets her voice wash around him, letting it all fade into the background. 

"Hey, eyes open." Fingers tap at the side of his face, and Buck glares up at Eddie. "You know the drill, Buck."

"'m awake."

"Good. Let's keep it that way," Eddie tells him. "Tell me about the zoo last weekend. Chris said that one of tigers had cubs."

"Mm, twins—"

His body feels so heavy. It would be so easy to just close his eyes and drift away.

"His BP's dropping," Hen says, her voice little more than white noise. "We need to get moving."

And then there's nothing.

"You know, I didn't come back to work just to watch you get hurt again."

Buck drifts, letting the sound of Eddie's voice wash over him.

"I should have noticed. I should have known something was wrong."

Someone— Eddie?— is holding his hand, rubbing circles into the skin above above his wrist.

"You could have died and I— I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"It wasn't your fault."

The hand on his disappears and Buck immediately mourns the loss.

"Buck, I—"

"It wasn't your fault," he repeats, shifting to look at Eddie. "And I didn't even realise— I would have said something, I swear."

"Yeah, I know." Eddie leans forward in his chair. "You scared me though. Scared all of us."

"I'm sorry. I—"

"Don't." Eddie cuts him off. "Don't apologise. It's— one of the hazards of the job."

"Yeah. Are you sure you're okay with that?" Buck watches Eddie's face for any sign of indecision, but all he sees is determination. 

He wouldn't blame Eddie for having second thoughts about returning. He's been back less than a week and Buck's already proving all his fears to be true. 

"This— firefighting— it's just something that I'm meant to do, same as you," Eddie says, without any hesitation. "Plus, Hen and Chimney are pretty damn good at their jobs. They've patched you up enough times."

"Too many times," Buck groans. "They're never going to let me live this down."

"Yeah, it's up there." Eddie grins. "Just promise me it won't happen again, and I'll promise not to take their side when the teasing starts."

"I thought you'd always have my back," Buck complains, setting back against the pillows. 

"Always," Eddie tells him before his smile turns sly. "Well, mostly," he teases and Buck sighs. "I'll make it up to you though. If you want I can ask Carla to drop Chris over later."

"I like him better than you," Buck mutters, but he's grinning, even as the drugs threaten to pull him back under.

"Uh huh." Eddie nods, still teasing. "How about you go back to sleep. We'll be here when you wake up."

Buck doesn't argue. He's not sure he can when his eyelids are already too heavy to keep open.

As sleep pulls him under he feels Eddie's hand slip around his once more. 

[hotshotsxyz]

Yes your writing is so cool!! If you ever have time my prompt would be sth along the lines of - what if Buck gets insecure abt whether or not people like him? Most of the time he knows the 118 loves him, but sometimes he feels like he's exhausting them. And there is that one time they joke abt sth but he interprets it wrong and gets his feelings hurt so he starts to withdraw. But they're having none of it and WHEN they figure it out? Oh boy, he gets showered with love. Maybe tears up a lil.

I finally did it!! Thank you so much for sending in a prompt, I really enjoyed writing it! I hope you like it!!

not then, not now

buddie (1.6k) (read it on ao3)

The thing is, Buck knows that when Chim’s jokes are a little more biting than usual, it’s because he’s dead on his feet. Having a baby at home will do that to you. He knows that when Hen ignores him in favor of her textbooks, it’s because she’s stressed and being pulled in too many directions all at once. When Bobby lectures him, it’s because he cares. When Eddie retreats in on himself and won’t talk to him, it’s because he’s had to be fiercely independent his entire life, and he still struggles with leaning on the people that care about him.

In his head, Buck knows all of these things. It’s like he told Maddie, though: sometimes, he just doesn’t feel like he can trust it. Objectively, he can point to a hundred times his teammates have shown him they love him. Hell, they’ve told him. But in those little moments, he doesn’t feel it.

(“Exhausting.”

“What makes you say that, Evan?” Dr. Copeland asks.

“Eddie said it once.” Buck squirms uncomfortably.

“Do you think he meant it?”

“No,” Buck says, looking away.

“How did it make you feel?”)

So he does little things to make them feel better, and he tries not to make it about himself. He makes a cup of tea for Hen and doesn’t try to bring up the article he read the night before. He offers to babysit for Chim and Maddie and makes sure to laugh at Chim’s jokes, even if he has to force it. He spots Eddie in the gym and pointedly doesn’t ask why his jaw’s been clenched for the better part of an hour. He helps Bobby in the kitchen and does his best to look contrite when he’s scolded for not leaving the fire fast enough, even though there’d still been a bedroom left to check.

It’s been that kind of week. Still, he can’t help but chatter excitedly on the way back from a call that involved a sinkhole, because, like, sinkhole! It’s the first one he’s ever seen, and maybe the only natural disaster he’s never been called to before.

Hen shakes her head (fondly, right?) and sighs. “You’re a walking, talking Wikipedia, you know that?”

“Yeah, one that never shuts up,” Chim jokes, elbowing her.

He doesn’t mean anything by it. Buck knows he doesn’t mean anything by it, but he snaps his mouth shut anyway and offers a sheepish smile. Eddie shoots a glare at Chim, which Buck appreciates, but honestly, he’s not wrong. He keeps quiet the rest of the ride.

The rest of the week, actually. They could all use a break from him, Buck’s sure of it. They love him, he knows that, but it doesn’t mean they want to deal with him 24/7. That’s fine. It is.

Eddie ambushes him in the locker room on Monday morning. They’re just coming off a 24-hour shift, and Buck’s barely keeping his eyes open. They’d had call after call, virtually nonstop, and the only thing he can even begin to think about is going to bed. So when Eddie asks him what’s wrong, he’s genuinely confused.

“M’fine,” Buck yawns. “Tired,” he amends.

Eddie chuckles softly. “Yeah, me too.”

“Pretty sure I could sleep for a week,” Buck says.

Eddie nods in agreement. “If you’re willing to trade a week for ten hours, you want to come over for dinner? I know Christopher would love to see you. He’s been dying to tell you about the book he’s reading in class. Something about extreme weather?”

Buck wants to go. Of course he does. And Eddie’s inviting him, which means he wants him there. It wouldn’t be too much. Still though… “I don’t want to take up your family time with Chris,” he hedges, pulling his duffle onto his shoulder.

Eddie frowns. “You’re family too, Buck. You know that, right?”

To Buck’s horror, his eyes begin to sting. The combination of his exhaustion, a week’s worth of walking on eggshells, and Eddie being nice, just like he always is, is about to push Buck over the edge.

“‘Course,” he says roughly. “I’ll be there.”

Eddie narrows his eyes. It’s times like these when Buck curses just how well Eddie knows him. If he’s not out of this locker room in 30 seconds, Eddie’s going to clock that he isn’t just tired, and then he’s going to make Buck explain, and then Buck’s going to be putting his shit on someone else all over again.

“Buck,” Eddie starts.

“Gotta go, see you tonight. Text me the time!” Buck says in a rush, pasting a bright smile on his face and turning to leave as quickly as he can.

Eddie catches his elbow.

Too late.

“Please talk to me,” Eddie asks softly.

Buck feels himself deflate. “It’s stupid.”

“Not if it’s bothering you. And don’t tell me it’s not. We’ve all noticed something’s been off this week. We’re worried,” Eddie says. “I’m worried,” he amends, when Buck won’t look him in the eye.

He looks at Eddie and sees the care and concern written all over his face, and he just… can’t keep it in anymore. A tear slips past his lashes and rolls down his cheek. Eddie’s eyes widen. He raises a hand to Buck’s face and brushes away the tear, then leads him to the bench.

“Tell me,” he pleads.

“I don’t…” Buck trails off. It’s not that he doesn’t know what he’s feeling, not even that he has trouble putting it into words. He just can’t say it. “I can’t,” he whispers, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands.

“You can, Buck, I promise. Whatever it is, I’ve got your back, remember?”

Buck nods miserably. “I’m not going to make you carry my shit,” he says. “You’ve got enough to deal with as it is. I know something’s been bothering you, too.”

Eddie sighs. “You would notice that, wouldn’t you?”

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but whatever it is, I’m not going to add onto it with…” he trails off and waves his hand, as if to encompass everything he’s thinking.

“My parents want to visit,” Eddie says after a moment, “and I’m not looking forward to defending every decision I’ve ever made all over again. Especially not after… well, you know. That’s what’s been bothering me. Your turn.”

“Eddie, I-“

“Look, Buck. I appreciate you letting me work through it in my own time, but I’m not… keeping things from you. I just needed a minute. And I’m your friend, alright? I always want to know what’s going on in your head, even if I’ve got shit rattling around in mine, too. So tell me? Please?”

“I don’t want to be exhausting,” Buck says, voice small and quiet. He hunches his shoulders in, just like he did as a kid.

Eddie looks stricken, and Buck’s immediately hit with a wave of guilt and regret.

“I’m sorry,” Buck backtracks, “I shouldn’t have said that, I don’t-“

Eddie surprises him by surging forward and pulling him into a bruising hug. “I’m sorry,” he says into Buck’s ear. “I don’t think I ever said it, but I am. I didn’t mean it then, and I don’t think it now.”

“I know,” Buck says quietly. He returns the hug, but doesn’t quite relax into it.

Eddie pulls back a little and looks him in the eye, not letting go of his shoulders. “I don’t think you do,” he says.

“You don’t have to-“

“I do. Buck, you’re the most selfless person I know. You care about everyone else so much, and sometimes I wonder if that leaves enough space left for you. You matter, Buck, to all of us. Whatever it was we did this week that made you feel like this, we’re sorry. Every single person here loves you, and we want to know when something’s wrong, okay?”

Another tear tracks its way down Buck’s face. “Okay,” he whispers.

“C’mon,” Eddie says, standing and holding his hand out.

Buck takes it and stands, wiping his face with his other hand as he does. To his surprise, Eddie doesn’t let go; instead, he threads his fingers through Buck’s and pulls. Buck follows him helplessly as he leads him out of the locker room and back up the stairs to the firehouse loft. To his even greater surprise, the entire team is still there.

“What, uh, what are you guys still doing here?” Buck asks. His voice is steadier than before, but still comes out rougher than he’d like.

“Waiting for you,” Hen says, standing from the couch.

“Why?” Buck can’t help but ask. He knows. He knows, but… maybe he wants to hear her say it.

She gives him a look, like she knows he’s fishing, but indulges him anyway. “Because you’ve been down all week, and we care about you.”

Buck’s knee-jerk reaction is to tell her he’s fine, but then Eddie nudges him. It makes him want to laugh, because of course Eddie knows exactly what he was going to do. He shakes his head and smiles.

“I was feeling a little, uh, insecure, I guess.” Buck looks at his feet, but looks up as Hen walks closer, Bobby and Chimney following behind.

Hen nods, like she already knew. Honestly, she probably did. “And now?”

Eddie squeezes his hand. “Starting to feel better,” Buck grins.

“Good,” Hen nods, and then she’s hugging him.

“We love you, kid,” Bobby says, joining in.

Chim wraps his arms around all three of them. “Yeah we do, Buckaroo,” he says.

Eddie plasters himself along Buck’s back and puts a hand on his waist. He leans in close to his ear and quietly says, “and I’m not going to let you forget it.”

Buck sighs and relaxes into the hug. So what if he gets a little stuck in his head? He’s got a family that will always be there to pull him back out.