Cinder and Smoke

by Tea_and_Arsenic

Summary:

Evan Buckley was tired. She was tired of the chores, she was tired of being man behind. She was tired of the glares, the shoves, the barbed comments. She was fucking tired.

As Buck is weighing her options, she remembers a call she got from Owen Strand, the new captain of the 126 in Austin, Texas. He offers her a job, well aware of everything that’s happened with the lawsuit and the blood thinners. She jumps at the chance to get away from the 118 and their treatment of her.

After about a few months in, she starts noticing some changes, and now she has to make a tough decision that not only effects her, but a certain someone from the 118 as well.

Chapter 1: Moving On

It was time. Everything was becoming too much for her.

It was time for Evan “Buck” Buckley to leave the 118. The thought alone crushed her. She couldn’t imagine leaving these people; these people that have become her family, but they’ve made it perfectly clear that Buck was no longer family to them. Buck couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been invited to a family barbeque at Bobby and Athena’s. Or the last time that one of them called her up just to talk or ask about her day. She couldn’t even remember the last time that one of the spoke to her without malice in their tones.

The only two that really talked to were Athena and Maddie. Athena didn’t know what was happening at the firehouse, and Buck wasn’t going to be the one to tell her and possibly ruin her and Bobby’s marriage. And Maddie seemed indifferent to the whole thing. Buck was pretty sure that she agreed with Chimney for the most part, which hurt. Buck was her baby sister! Maddie should have her back. But she didn’t. No one did anymore.

When Buck had first found out she was able to come back after dropping the lawsuit, she received a call from Captain Owen Strand again. He was rebuilding the 126 in Austin, Texas and wanted her on the team. He had called before, after the truck bombing and right before the embolism. She had, stupidly, declined both offers. Buck thought she was returning to her family. She thought she was returning home, but she was wrong. So, so wrong.

The worst was Eddie. He started out ignoring her, but then he just got mean and nasty. He kicked over her bucket once while she was mopping up the shower area with a dark chuckle. “Missed a spot,” he had taunted with a cruel smirk and dark, angry eyes. Buck had thought that he had forgiven her when he invited her over to his home for the first time in weeks. Christopher was going to be over at Abuela’s, so she assumed they were finally going to hash some shit out. Instead, Eddie had fucked her up against a wall. Buck had enjoyed it. Eddie was rough, though, and never kissed her, but he didn’t hurt her. So, Buck assumed that it was a step towards forgiveness.

By the third hook-up, with Eddie still kicking her out and basically telling her to keep it quiet, she realized that it wasn’t forgiveness sex. It was an angry fuck for him. It was just a way for him to work out his aggression concerning her without hurting her. Buck was devastated when the realization hit her. She laid in bed, staring at the wall in her loft, tears streaming down her face after it happened. She loved Eddie. Probably more than anyone. Well, besides Christopher. That kid would forever hold her heart in his little hands. But Eddie didn’t love her, and all this proved was that he would never forgive her for the lawsuit. None of them would.

Buck let out a tired sigh and reached for her phone. She was the man behind, again, and had finished all of her chores. She was sure that Bobby would find more for her to do as soon as they got back, but until then she was resting. She never thought that she would feel uncomfortable in the firehouse, but she did.

It didn’t feel like home anymore.

She scrolled through her call log, finding the one from Austin, Texas rather quickly. Her incoming call list was much shorter than the outgoing. Taking a deep breath, Buck hit the call icon and listened to it ring. She didn’t know why she was doing this. Captain Strand had probably already filled the position, and why would he want a backstabbing traitor like her in his house?

“This is Captain Strand,” a voice on the other line said as the call connected.

“Hi, Captain, this is Evan Buckley. We spoke before,” she reminded just in case he forgot.

“How could I forget? Your times were incredible. What can I do for you Firefighter Buckley?”

“I was- I was wondering if that position was still available, Captain.” She paused. “I know it’s been a while and that you’ve probably already filled it, and-”

“Evan, please, take a breath. I have to admit I’m a little surprised to be receiving your call. I thought you were happy in LA.”

“I was,” she answered honestly. “It’s time to move on, though. I would very much like a chance for an interview for your team if you’d let me.”

“Of course. We do actually have a spot available. When would you be able to set up an interview?” She informed him that she was scheduled for a twenty-four hour shift the next day, but then had two days in a row off. They worked out a time and date and Buck hung up the phone feeling as if a bit of the weight on her shoulders had lifted. Now all she had to do was look up airline tickets.

||

The twenty-four hour shift went by like all of the others. Chimney and Hen ignored her, Eddie sent her glares and scathing comments, and Bobby – Bobby, the closest thing to a real father she’d ever had, kept sending her disappointing looks for everything she did. She didn’t clean good enough, she was in people’s way when they’re trying to do their jobs, Buckley. Something you should try doing. While they were out for a call, Buck was looking through some ads online for apartments or houses in Austin for rent.

She found a nice three bedroom, two and half bath townhome for rent that was a ten minute drive from the 126 firehouse. There was a number associated with the rental, so Buck pulled out her phone and dialed. It rang twice before a sweet voice came through the speaker. “Hello, this is Jan!”

“Hi, Jan! My name is Evan Buckley and I was inquiring about the townhome you have up for rent.”

“Which property, dear?” Buck gave the address listed on the website. “Ah, yes! Not many people are interested in that location. It’s ten minutes from a firehouse, and two from the police station. Too much noise!” Jan chuckled. “When would you like to take a look?”

“Would Thursday be alright?”

“Of course, dear! How does one o’clock sound?”

“Sounds perfect, thank you so much for this opportunity!” They said their goodbyes, thankfully right on time. The bay doors opened as the rig was backed in as the crew got back from the call. Buck quickly stuffed her phone back into her pocket and finished up getting food heated up for dinner.

Everyone came up the steps, crowding around the hot food and dispensing plates, laughing about something that happened on the last call, completely ignoring her.

Yeah, she thought morosely. It was time to move on.

Chapter 2: Austin, Texas

The almost three hour flight from LAX to Austin flew by in Buck’s opinion. She spent most of it watching a movie that she downloaded on to her phone, and then when that was over, she listened to music. When her plane landed, Buck ordered an Uber, and arrived at the Austin Fire Department fifteen minutes before her interview. “Thank you,” she said to the Uber driver who flashed her a bright smile.

“Not a problem. Hope you get the job!” The brunette said before pulling away. Buck took a deep breath, steeling herself. She wanted this job. She needed to get out of the LAFD; she needed out of LA period.

“Hey, are you Evan?” Buck flinched a bit at the unsuspecting voice and whipped around to see a man a little taller than her with kind green eyes and dark hair and a soft smile wearing a paramedic uniform.

“Hi, yeah. Evan Buckley,” she confirmed, shaking the man’s hand. She guessed they were around the same age.

“I’m TK Strand,” he greeted. “Come on, I’ll take you to the captain for your interview.” Buck nodded, following TK into the building. There was a beautiful woman with a hijab talking shit with a tall African American man who gave the woman just as much sass as she was giving him. There was a smaller man with olive skin asking questions to a man who was huge. He probably towered over most people he met.

TK led her up some steps to an office with glass walls in the front and sides. A man was seated at the desk inside, writing on some forms. He looked up at TK’s soft knock and smiled brightly at them both. “Hi, you must be Firefighter Buckley!” He stood up, and as he got closer Buck noticed that he had what was quite possibly the most beautiful blue eyes she’d ever seen.

Why was this department so pretty? Jesus.

“Please, come in,” he continued, motioning her into the office and shutting the door behind her. She saw TK give her a quick thumbs up before moving down the steps and out of her sight.

“He seems nice,” she commented.

“Always has been, ever since he was a kid.” Buck was confused for a split second before she remembered TK’s last name matched the captains. They were related. “Alright, let’s get this started.”

||

The interview went by so much more smoothly than Buck thought it would. “To be completely honest, this interview was just a formality. I’ve wanted you here since I saw your scores all those months ago. I am curious, though. Last time I talked to you, it seemed like you would never leave the LAFD. May I ask what changed?” Captain Strand questioned with a head tilt. Buck studied him for a moment and decided that there was no malice on his face, just genuine curiosity. Good, news of what happened didn’t reach him.

“I made a mistake,” she started softly. “After I took the recertification tests, I pulled a clot. I was told I wasn’t allowed back, even though I was cleared by my doctors after being but on blood thinners. Captain Nash told me that it was the chief and higher ups that were keeping from coming back, but it turns out it was him. He allowed one of my coworkers back after having a rebar removed from his head as soon as he was cleared, so I didn’t understand what made me so different. He even allowed another coworker back after his wife died as soon as he said he was ready! It didn’t – It didn’t seem right to me that I wasn’t allowed back after being cleared medically, but everyone else was. So, I sued him,” she admitted.

“As you were well in your right to do,” Captain Strand agreed. Buck’s head shot up in surprise. Was he really agreeing with her? “I take it your team took personal offense?” He questioned and she nodded slowly.

“The city offered me three million to settle. I didn’t take it. I just wanted my job back. My family back. Once I was back, I realized that maybe they were never really my family. They’ve either been ignoring me or belittling me. I’ve been the man behind since I got back.” It was like a floodgate opened up and she couldn’t stop. Fuck, he was easy to talk to. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to drop all of that on you.”

“No apologies needed. Did you go to your chief about their treatment of you?” She shook her head.

“No, I didn’t want to make any more waves than I already have over there. I believe a smooth transfer would be the best option.” Captain Strand studied her for a heartbeat before he nodded.

“When do you head back?”

“My plane leaves in five hours. I’m looking at townhome in about an hour, and then heading back.”

“I’ll put in the transfer request tomorrow, and your first day will be next Wednesday. That gives you a full week. I want to give you some time to settle in.” He stood up, Buck following suit. “Would you like to meet your new team?” Buck’s heartbeat picked up, but she nodded, following him out of the office and down the steps.

There were two other women that joined the group. A beautiful, tall African American woman with a kind smile, and a tall brunette with matching dark eyes and tan skin. They were both wearing the same paramedic uniform as TK. “Everyone, I want to introduce you to our newest member, Firefighter Evan Buckley! Evan, this is paramedic Captain Tommy Vega,” the tall African American woman. “Paramedics Nancy Gillian,” the brunette with matching dark eyes. “And my son, TK Strand.” He smiled brightly at her and she returned it with her own smile and small wave. “Over here we have our firefighters. Judd Ryder,” the extremely tall man. “Marjan Marwani,” the beautiful woman wearing the hijab. “Paul Strickland,” the African American man. “Last, but not least, is our Probie Mateo Chavez,” the small, energetic looking man that was asking Judd a bunch of questions.

They all greeted her kindly, and she talked to all of them a bit before her Uber arrived to take her to view the townhouse. Just from their quick exchange, Buck could see a real connection brewing between herself and TK. She had guessed correctly, and they were around the same age. TK was a year younger than herself. She also heard a bit about his cop boyfriend, Carlos Reyes.

When it was time for her to leave, Captain Strand walked her out to the Uber. “Thank you for this opportunity, Captain Strand.” Strand waved his hand dismissively with a smile.

“Pleasure is all mine. And you can call me Owen, kid,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you, Owen,” she repeated, feeling her smile become a bit more genuine.

“Feel free to stop by before your shift if you want,” he offered before backing away so she could climb into the car and waved her off. As she drove off, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her chest. Everything went better than she could ever have hoped for.

When she got to the townhouse, the first thing she noticed was that it had a very modern and dark aesthetic to it. It was three stories with the entrance on the first floor and the second and third story each had a balcony. A woman was waiting in front with thinning honey colored hair, and healthy glow to her olive skin. She looked over at Buck and smiled, showing off white teeth that were a bit crooked. “You must be Evan!”

“Jan?” Buck questioned, reaching out to shake the woman’s hand.

“That’s me! Come on, I’ll give you a quick tour.” The townhouse was narrow, but long. “The first floor is the garage in the back, which holds two cars comfortably, a dining room, the half bath, and the kitchen. There is no basement, I’m afraid.” The dining room was nice with a matching set for the table and chairs. There was a lamp hanging above the table with squares throughout the lamp frame. There was matching desk pushed off to the side with a potted plant, another lamp, and few decorative pieces.

The kitchen was modern with a long, white island that had four steel chairs pushed up against it. The fridge matched the steel chairs with a built in oven and microwave next to it, and there looked to be plenty of cabinet space. The half bath was just a sink with a door separating the toilet from the sink area. Buck giggled a little at the pufferfish wallpaper lining the wall.

The second floor had the master bedroom, the master bathroom, and the living room. The living room was spacious with a mustard yellow L-shaped couch, a large table next to it, and a white chair with pillows that ranged from solid whites and blacks to striped. The floors were hardwood, with a rug that was made to look like hardwood but going in the opposite direction and were a lighter brown. Buck didn’t think it should work together, but it does.

The master bedroom was what really took her breath away. The windows were floor to ceiling and had gray drapes that were also ceiling to floor. The walls were done in shades of dark gray, as were the sheets. The floors were hardwood, with a gray rug and a small white one to accompany it. The bed frame was what she thought was a red oak, maybe? It was larger than the bed, and the mattress was inserted into the frame so they were all the same height. There two low hanging lamps flanking the bed, and two gray end tables on opposite sides of the bed.

The master bath had both a shower and tub. The shower had glass walls and the tub was round and looked like a large, dark bowl. The floors had hexagons littered throughout the design, and the walls were marble. The third floor had two extra bedrooms and another full bath. All in all, the townhouse was decorated beautifully.

“My niece is an interior designer,” Jan said after Buck voiced her thoughts. “The townhouse comes fully furbished, so you will get to keep everything in here.” Buck blinked, surprised at that. “The monthly rent I’m asking for is two thousand, and nine thousand dollars.” Buck’s jaw dropped. “I know, it’s a lot to ask for.”

“Done,” Buck agreed quickly. In LA, this townhouse would probably go for more than five thousand a month. Jan smiled again.

“Great! I’ll email over the leasing contract. Just bring a signed copy, the first month’s rent, and a one thousand dollar deposit in two days, and I’ll get you your keys.” They shook hands, and when Buck Ubered to the airport, she couldn’t get the happy smile off of her face.

She was ready to start this new chapter in her life.

Notes:

Find me on tumblr!

 

Pictures of how I imagine the townhouse to look will be on my Tumblr, as well as female Buck.

Chapter 3: The Move

Packing up what little she was taking with her was extremely cathartic to Buck. She was finally getting out and moving on. She was sticking the last box of things in her Jeep when her phone dinged. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and saw it was a text from Eddie asking for her to come over.

She shouldn’t. She knew she shouldn’t, but it would be the last time Buck would have with the man she was in love with. She ignored the text for a moment, going into another message asking Rodrigo with station 58 wanted head over in a few hours to see if he was still interested in subleasing the apartment before finally agreeing to meet with Eddie. After sending the text, she hopped into her Jeep and drove in silence to Eddie’s place.

Buck’s heart pounded louder and louder the closer she got, and she was honestly thinking of chickening out. This is stupid, she thought. What was she doing? This is the last time, a little voice in the back of her head whispered. You know he’s never going to want to see you again after this. Make it count. Fuck, the little voice was right.

She was never going to see this man again. She knew it, deep in her heart. She grabbed a note that she had written for Christopher out of the center console and slipped it into her purse. She was planning on stopping by Carla’s and asking her to give it to him, but this worked, too. He was the only one she felt deserved an apology for leaving so suddenly, and she hated that it had to be through a note.

Buck made her way to the front door and had only knocked twice before the door swung open and Eddie pulled her inside. He pushed her up against the door, using her body to shut it closed, plastering himself against her front. She could already feel his hardness pressing against her hip and she let out a moan when he bit the underside of her jaw. “We have forty minutes until Chris comes home,” he growled against her skin. “You have to be gone by then.” Buck placed her palms against Eddie’s broad chest and pushed. He stumbled back, looking at her in surprise.

“You better hurry up, then,” she responded. She was going to get as much enjoyment out of this as she could. She sauntered up to him, shoving him a few more times until his calves hit the couch and he sat down. Buck was suddenly glad that she decided to wear a sundress, it was really hot that day, so it made it easy to climb on top of him. Buck reached down, unbuckling and his belt and then unzipping his jeans. She wasn’t entirely surprised to see that he was commando, most likely in preparation for this moment. She had the same time idea and had slipped her underwear off in the Jeep. He sprang out of the confinement of the jeans, already fully hard and erect. She gripped him in her hand, giving a few strokes before lifting her hips and letting Eddie sheath himself inside of her. They both groaned out in unison.

She rolled her hips and lifted before seating herself again in his lap, a motion that had her moaning with her head titled back. Eddie reached behind her, unzipping her sundress so it fell off her shoulders and revealed her breasts. He cupped one in his warm palm and mouthed at the other while Buck rode him slowly. Clearly her pace was starting to irritate him because he grunted in annoyance. He lifted her off of him and made them both stand up before pushing her into the dining room table.

He gently pushed her face down onto the table and lifted up her dress before pushing his way inside of her again. Buck moaned at the new angle, loving how deep he was going this time. With each thrust, her hips were driven into the side of the table, which was a bit painful and made her grunt a couple of times. She was probably going to have bruises.

After a little bit longer, Buck was finally reaching her peak, and with a loud moan, she came. As her internal muscles clenched around Eddie, she felt him come inside of her. She rested against the table trying to get her breathing under control.

Eddie pulled out of her and fixed her dress before she pushed herself up and away from the table. “Mind if I use the restroom before I head out?” She questioned. Eddie nodded before making his way to the kitchen. Buck grabbed her bag and slipped into the bathroom quickly. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she inhaled shakily to get a hold of herself.

Buck took Chris’ note out of her bag with shaking fingers and walked out of the bathroom and down the hall. She passed Christopher’s room, sliding the letter under his bedroom door and made her way to the front door, pausing for a moment. Buck looked over her shoulder to where Eddie was standing. “I am truly sorry, Eds,” she muttered. “I hope that one day you can forgive me.” He scoffed, thinking she meant the lawsuit. Without waiting to hear whatever scathing remark came out of his mouth, she slipped out of the door and towards her Jeep.

As soon as she sat down in the driver’s seat, tears threatening to leak from her eyes, her phone rang. It was a number that didn’t look familiar, but the area code matched Austin, so she answered. “Hello?”

“Evan, hey!”

“TK?” Buck laughed, not expecting to hear from him. “How did you get my number?”

“Don’t tell my dad, but I definitely saw your information on his desk, and I wanted to check in,” he admitted.

“I suppose I won’t tell him,” she teased, starting the Jeep up.

“The main reason I called was to see if you wanted to have dinner with my boyfriend and I after you settle in?” He questioned.

“God, you’re sweet. Yes, that would be amazing, thank you.”

“Great! Carlos can’t wait to meet you. He’s with the APD,” he explained. Buck just listened to him prattle on about the firehouse as she made her way back to the apartment to meet with Rodrigo. She heard the alarm go off over the phone and realized that TK was working. “Got to go! I’ll call you later to check in. Bye, Evan!”

“Bye, TK, be safe,” she said before hanging up right as she pulled into the parking lot. Rodrigo must have just gotten there, as she saw him climbing out of his truck as soon as she parked.

“Hey, Buckley,” he greeted, shaking her hand warmly.

“Ready to see the place?”

|||

Thankfully for her, Rodrigo loved the loft and was willing to sublease it from her. They went to the office to get the paperwork filed and she handed him her key once they made it back to their vehicles. “Are you sure about this?” He questioned. Buck nodded.

“Yes. I’ve thought a lot about it, and this is what I need to do.”

“And you’re sure that I can keep all of the furniture?”

“All yours,” she agreed with a smile.

“Thanks, Buckley. Have a safe drive to Texas.”

“Be safe out there, Rodrigo,” she called back and got into her Jeep again. She took one last look around at the apartment complex, and almost felt like a huge weight had just been lifted off of her shoulders.

Buck put the Jeep in drive and made her way to the highway to make her way to her new home.

Chapter 4: Highway Blues

The almost twenty hour drive was going to be the death of Buck. She could feel it. The 126 must have been on a forty-eight hour shift, because if she wasn’t talking to TK, then Owen was checking in on her. It felt nice to have someone care and worry about her again. She was almost eight hours in, and a heavy feeling settled in her stomach when no one from the 118 messaged her or even called. It really just cemented that she was making the right decision by leaving. Her shift at the 118 was set to start in an hour, and she expected for at least Maddie to give her a call to see what was going on.

Thinking about Maddie hurt more than thinking about the others did. She was Buck’s older sister, the one person that was supposed to be there with her through thick or thin. Now that she didn’t have her rose-tinted glasses towards the 118 anymore, things started occurring to her concerning her team and Maddie. Like how Athena started to invite Maddie to Buck and Athena’s days when they spent time together, which, okay. Maddie was new and alone at the time, so it made sense for a little bit, but then it was almost like Buck got pushed to the side, and the day became about Athena and Maddie spending time together.

Or when Bobby would give Maddie one of those tender smiles that he normally reserved for Buck. Chimney would grin up at the man and say something cheesy, like, “she’s the daughter everyone wished they had, huh, Cap?” Bobby always just smiled at Maddie, and Buck realized she stopped getting them even before the lawsuit. It almost felt like she and Maddie were fighting for their parents’ affection, and it was only a fight to Buck, and Maddie was always going to win.

Chimney was always the worst, though. Every time Buck did or said something that not everyone would agree with, he would always ask if Maddie knew? Maddie didn’t have to know every little detail in Buck’s life! She was an adult and was capable of making her own decisions in life. She didn’t her older sister’s permission for anything.

Her phone started ringing, and she glanced down, sighing in relief to see Owen’s name flash across the screen. She pressed the accept button, the call coming through the Jeep’s speakers. Buck was very glad she remembered to grab an AUX cord before leaving so she could talk hands free. “Hello?” She answered.

“Hey, Evan! Just wanted to make sure you were doing okay,” Owen responded.

“Yeah, I’m doing great, Owen. Probably going to stop in a few hours for some rest and food. As long as I don’t run into bad traffic tomorrow, I should be in by eight or nine tomorrow night.”

“Glad to hear it. Don’t push yourself too hard to make it in tomorrow night. Stay safe and keep us updated.”

“Will do, Owen. Thanks for checking in. I’ll text you and TK once I stop for the night,” she promised. They said their goodbyes, and Buck let the soothing croon of Isak Danielson pour out of her speakers.

After about another four hours, Buck let out her fifth yawn in fifteen minutes, and realized it was time to stop for the night. She was nearing Las Cruces in New Mexico so she drove for a little bit longer until pulling off at an exit and stopping the parking lot of a Hilton.

She got a room, went back to her Jeep to grab her overnight bag, and went up the five floors to her room. She decided to spring a bit for a king sized room and fell back onto the bed as soon as the door closed behind her. Buck slipped her phone out of her back pocket and started a group text between herself, TK, and Owen.

Stop in Las Cruces, NM. I’ll hit the road again the morning.

It only took a minute before two texts came in at around the same time from Owen and TK respectively.

Glad to hear it, kid. Get some sleep, and if you need to rest a bit more in the morning, do it. Let us know when you hit the road again.

Thanks for the heads up, Ev! Sweet dreams!

She could already see a friendship forming between herself and TK, and she was glad that she’d at least have one friend going in this time. She told them both thanks, wished them a good night, and then took a quick shower and went to sleep.

It didn’t even occur to her that no one from the 118 messaged her to see what was going on. Not even Maddie.

||

Earlier that day; LA, California

Captain Robert Nash walked into the firehouse thirty minutes before his shift with an aching feeling in his chest. He wasn’t sure what it was about, but it was there. The B shift were still out on a call, so we waved to the man behind from their shift and made his way up to his office. Bobby opened up his laptop, checking his emails. He saw one from the fire chief but decided to ignore it for now. He didn’t want anything to add to the weight he already felt on his shoulders.

“Hey, Cap,” a voice said from open doorway. Bobby looked up to see Hen standing there.

“Hey, good morning,” he greeted back. Chimney was the next one in, Eddie following behind at a sedated pace. The man looked a bit angry, and Bobby could easily see the bruise dusted along his jaw. He made a mental note to discuss that with him later. He had picked up on the way Eddie had been gingerly moving and holding himself for the past few weeks, and how angry the man seemed to be lately. Bobby was sure it had something to do with Buck. He still couldn’t get over how betrayed he felt by the young woman. She sued the whole department, and himself personally! Buck should be grateful that she was allowed back to work after that stunt.

Speaking of Buck…

“Has anyone seen Buckley?” Bobby questioned out loud after looking at his watch. It was nearing the start of their shift, and Buck was usually always there by that point, eager to do whatever chore he had for her to do that day.

“No, Cap,” Hen said, looking around curiously, like maybe Buck would pop out from behind one of the trucks. Bobby sighed, annoyed with the young blonde now. After how much she begged and pleaded to come back to work, this is the shit she pulls?

“Have her come to my office as soon as she shows up.”

“Um, Captain Nash?” Bobby turned to see a young man with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes to rival Buck’s standing there. It was almost as if he was looking at a male version of his youngest member.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

“Hi, I’m Peter Daniels. I’m the temporary replacement for your team.” Bobby was pretty sure his brain just stuttered to a halt.

“Temporary placement?” He repeated.

“Yes, sir, that’s correct,” Daniels said.

“Replacement for who?” Eddie demanded. Daniels shrugged.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t given that information. I was just told by Chief Preston to cover for someone at the 118 until a permanent replacement could be found.” Bobby remembered the email from the chief and made his way back up to his office to look over the email, barely noticing the thundering footsteps behind him signaling that the others followed him. He looked over the email and felt like something was constricting his chest.

Buck was gone.

“It’s Buck, isn’t it?” Eddie questioned. Bobby nodded, looking up to see a pissed off expression on Eddie’s face. “Of course it is. Its’ bad enough she sues us, but now she’s going to leave us high and dry?” He scoffed out a laugh.

“I’m going to try to call her,” Hen said, pulling out her phone. Before she could finish dialing, the alarm went off, and Buck was pushed to the back of Bobby’s mind for the time being.

Notes:

Sorry, I know this one is kind of short, and I'm sorry about that. Hope everyone enjoys.

Oh, if anyone has any questions about when this takes place as far as 9-1-1 Lonestar is concerned, I guess it would be mid to the end of season one. The only difference is that I made TK a paramedic a little early.

Chapter 5: Welcome Home

Buck hit the road at about eight the next morning, feeling refreshed and ready to be at her new home as soon as possible. She sent a message to TK and Owen, letting them know she was leaving, and then continued on her drive. She had been driving for about an hour, still having a little over eight hours left until she reached Austin, when her phone started ringing. “Hello?” She answered.

“Hey, Ev,” TK greeted brightly, his voice warm through the speakers.

“Hey, TK,” Buck greeted back. “What’s up?”

“We just wanted to check in on you and see how you were doing,” he replied.

“Who’s we?” She questioned with a chuckle.

“All of us, kid,” a deep voice that she had only heard a couple of times before said back. It had to have been Judd, the extremely tall man she had seen at the station before, who TK described as a giant teddy bear.

“Well, I’m doing great. Should be there at around six,” she replied.

“If you want, you can come by the station,” Owen offered. “We usually try to have dinner at around that time, if you’re interested.” The offer made Buck’s chest clench. The team in Austin seemed like such a welcoming bunch and she was afraid that she’d ruin it, but Owen sounded so hopeful that she’d take him up on his offer.

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” she answered. “You mind if I stop by my condo first and drop some stuff off?”

“Of course! Just let us know when you’ve reached your condo, and I’ll get dinner ready,” Owen said, and Buck could practically hear the smile in his voice.

“When he says he’ll make dinner, he definitely means me,” Judd added, making Buck laugh. She was surprised at the fact that it was a real laugh, not one of the fake ones she’d been using since the lawsuit. Maybe even before that; since the firetruck.

“Can’t cook, Cap?” She teased lightly, toeing the line to see how he’d react.

“Nope!” TK supplied happily, and Buck could hear Owen grumbling about backstabbing kids in the background.

“Either way, food will be ready for you,” Owen added.

“Thank you, I can’t even tell you guys how much this means to me.”

“I’m just glad to have another badass woman on this team,” a voice she’d hadn’t heard yet came through, and Buck realized that was probably Marjan. She was one of the only few firefighters, besides Buck herself, that had a hashtag trending on social media for something they did. She made a mental note to make sure Marjan was saved in her phone is ‘Firefox’ once they got to know each other better and exchanged numbers.

She talked with her future team for a little bit longer before she heard the alarms blaring. TK said a quick goodbye, promising to call her later when they had some free time. Once Buck hung up, a slow melody started playing from the speakers as she drove.

It was one of Maddie’s favorite songs and Buck immediately skipped it. Even thinking about her big sister made her feel nauseated. It had been a full ten hours since the start of her shift in L A, and still nothing. Not even a ‘where the hell are you’ text. Nothing. It really proved to Buck how little she truly meant to her so-called friends and family in LA. And then on the other hand, she didn’t even know the team in Austin fully yet, and they checked in on her every few hours just because she was driving by herself.

It was a nice change.

||

As she predicted, Buck crossed the city line in Austin, Texas around six twenty. She dialed the number for Owen, only waiting a couple of seconds before he answered. “Hey, Evan!”

“Hey, Owen! Just wanted to let you know that I’m a couple of minutes away from the condo, so I’ll be heading over soon.”

“Great! I’ll have Judd get started on dinner. We’ll see you soon.”

They said their goodbyes, and Buck pulled into the driveway of her new condo a few minutes later. She parked the Jeep and stretched as she unfolded her body from the driver’s seat. She wasn’t super tall – five foot ten and half, and she was mostly legs than anything else. That being said, she felt so cramped up from the long drive and her bad leg had been protesting the lack of moment for the past four hours. She noticed that she limped a bit as she made her way into the condo and hoped with everything in her that moving around would make the limp go away. The last thing she needed was to appear weak to her new co-workers or make Owen think he made a mistake in hiring her.

Once she moved all of the boxes from the Jeep into the rooms she had marked them with, the last one she was carrying was marked ‘bedroom’, so she climbed up the steps to the master and sat the last box down with a sigh.

Her leg was feeling a bit better, but was still a bit cramped, and her limp was almost gone. She slipped her phone out of her back pocket and a notification beeped as soon as she looked at the screen.

Food will be ready in about ten if you want to head on over.

Buck replied with a thumbs up emoji before checking to see if there were any other missed calls or texts.

There weren’t.

She had been gone for almost two full days and no one from the one eighteen had bothered to reach out and see if she was okay. If she had any lingering doubts about the move and her decisions, they were gone. Her previous family had just made it perfectly clear what they thought about her, and how much they truly wanted her gone.

Buck sighed, and pulled up each contact from the one eighteen and blocked them; Bobby, Hen, Chim, Eddie, Maddie. Her thumb hovered over Athena’s contact, but she couldn’t bring herself to block the woman that had wormed her way into Buck’s heart. She was the closest thing to a real mother that she had, and Buck loved Athena as much as she loved Bobby.

The thought of her surrogate parents brought tears to her eyes as she took a shaky breath and put her phone back into her pocket, deciding to call Athena later. She didn’t need to be worrying about Buck with everything else going on in their lives. If she could ease one burden, Buck would.

She gave herself a mental shake and jogged back to her Jeep so she could get to the station on time.

When she arrived, she was surprised to see TK already waiting outside for her. “Hey, Ev!” He greeted loudly, pulling her into a tight hug. Buck didn’t realize how much she missed the feeling of someone holding her, so she leaned into the hug, wrapping her own arms around the man tightly. “Glad you made it in one piece.” They both pulled back, smiling at each other. She noticed the second TK clocked her red-rimmed eyes, but he thankfully didn’t say anything, instead of motioned to handsome man behind him in a uniform. Must be the boyfriend, she thought, already reaching out to shake his hand. “Ev, this is my boyfriend, Carlos Reyes. ‘Los, this Evan Buckley, she’s my newest friend!” Buck expected TK to introduce her as his co-worker, or something similar, but he didn’t. He said friend. It made her chest hurt a bit and she had to fight to keep more tears from forming in her eyes. Fuck, what was wrong with her today?

Carlos reached forward and shook her outstretched hand with a smile on his face. He and TK certainly made a beautiful couple. “It’s nice to meet you, Evan.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Carlos. TK had told me great things about you.” Normally, this was the point where she’d correct people and ask them to call her ‘Buck’, but she almost felt like a new person after everything that happened in Los Angeles with the lawsuit and the one eighteen. When they called her ‘Evan’ here in Texas, she didn’t mind. Her name didn’t grate at her ears and make her feel like a kid again.

“Ready to eat?” TK questioned, breaking Buck out her musings. She nodded, allowing him to lead her inside as she and Carlos talked a bit on the way in. Owen met them near the bottom of the steps leading to the main seating area with a large smile.

“Welcome home, Evan!”

Home.

Yeah, Buck thought with a grin that was about to match Owen’s. She could get used to this.

||

LA, California

After a grueling forty eight hour shift, Bobby tossed himself onto the couch at the firehouse with a groan. They had ten minutes left on their shift, and he was exhausted. The others joined him, plopping down in various positions. The only one not joining them, however, was the temporary replacement, Peter Daniels. He was a decent firefighter, Bobby could admit, but he was no Buck. Thinking about the girl made his chest hurt. He loved her, and she betrayed them with that stupid lawsuit, and then instead of toughing it out and waiting for them to forgive her for her betrayal, she quit.

“I need to call Maddie,” Chimney sighed, digging his phone out of his pocket. “She needs to know what stunt Buck decided to pull now.”

“She’s going to furious,” Hen added, rubbing at her forehead. Bobby agreed. Maddie did so much for Buck, and the blonde seemed to either take what her sister did for granted or just ignore her advice completely. Though, she did that a lot. She ignored Bobby’s advice to take it easy after the explosion and he was trying to protect her! He was always trying to protect her, because that’s what fathers do. They protect their children. He didn’t understand why she couldn’t see that and understand.

He sighed loudly, leaning his head back onto the couch cushion. Eddie had been unusually quiet throughout the forty eight hour shift. He was quiet and angry and Bobby was a bit worried. He had also noticed some bruising on the younger man’s side once earlier in the day while they had to change and shower from one of their calls. His knuckles were also a bit bruised and red as if he had punched something.

He opened his mouth to ask, but Eddie beat him to it. “I don’t want to talk about it, Cap. I’m fine,” he ground out, dark eyes cutting to Bobby’s with a light glare.

“Eddie, if you’re in trouble-”

“I’m not,” the younger man snapped, standing up quickly. “I just want to get home to Christopher and get some sleep. I’m just tired, Cap.” Bobby let out a hum in agreement. They all needed sleep.

“Maddie is pissed,” Chimney sighed, coming back from across the room. Bobby didn’t even notice that he had left to call her. “She’s going to swing by the loft and see what’s going on with Buck. Maybe talk some sense into her. She was on her way there anyway to talk to her.”

“’Talk some sense into her?’” Eddie repeated, that anger from before flaring back up in his eyes. “About what? It’s not like we want her back! If she wants to quit, let her! We don’t need her! She’d probably just sue us again for something once she got hurt again, anyway.”

“Eddie, she’s family,” Hen said softly, trying to meet Eddie’s gaze, but the man just snarled.

“She is NOT family! I’m not sure she ever was! She can stay gone for all I care!” With that, Eddie stormed off to the locker room. Bobby sighed, leaning forehead with his head resting in his hands. His team was completely fractured, and it was Buck’s fault. Chimney’s phone started ringing and he quickly answered.

“Hey, Mads, that was-” He was cut off by something Maddie said and his eyes started widening before he looked at Bobby with devastated eyes.

“Someone else is in the loft. Buck’s gone.” Bobby shook his head in disbelief before pulling out his phone and pulling up her contact. He hit call and waited. He didn’t have to wait long before it went straight to an automatic voicemail.

“Hi, you’ve reached Evan Buckley! Sorry I can’t get to the phone right now-”

He tried again.

“Hi, you’ve reached Evan Buckley! Sorry I can’t-”

Once more.

“Hi, you’ve reached Evan-”

She was gone. Buck was really gone.

Notes:

Ugh, hi? Sorry it’s been so long!

Chapter 6: Mama Bear

Dinner with the one twenty-six was almost like it was with the one-eighteen. The biggest difference? No one was glaring at her or tossing scathing comments at her. Buck was brought into as many conversations as she could manage, answering questions, breaking a tie for something. It was a nice, and honestly a welcoming, change. TK and Carlos were the two that were questioning her the most. It didn’t feel probing or like she was being interrogated; it felt like two people trying their best to get to know her.

She learned about TK’s sobriety and what had caused him to break last time, so fuck you sideways, Alex. She learned that Carlos’ parents still didn’t know about him dating TK, and that it wasn’t that they didn’t know he was gay, they just weren’t accepting. Buck reached forward to gently give Carlos’ hand a gentle squeeze in apology. Unaccepting parents were the worst.

“Have any of your ex-teammates reached out to make sure you got here okay?” Nancy, a tall and beautiful paramedic that worked with Tim and TK under Tommy Vega, the Paramedic Captain. Buck paused, not expecting the question, before shaking her head slowly.

“Oh, um, no. I haven’t heard from them, but it’s really not that surprising.”

“Not surprising?” She continued. “If TK left, I’d be worried sick until he let me know he made it to wherever he was going in one piece.”

“I’m not even sure they’ve realized I’m gone.” Nancy blinked, her dark brown eyes disbelieving.

“What do you mean? You would’ve had a shift by now, right?” Buck nodded.

“Yeah, but after the lawsuit and me coming back, none of them really paid me much attention unless it was to yell at me for something. Other than that, they didn’t seek me out, and I tried my best to stay out of the station’s way.” It was a miserable existence, Buck realized, after saying it out loud to someone. She truly had no idea how she lasted as long as she did. She was completely isolated.

“What about your sister?” Tommy questioned. “She was there for you, wasn’t she?”

“Maddie – she said she didn’t want to choose sides, said she’d still be there for me, but she eventually stopped talking to me, too.”

“That’s literally choosing sides,” Tim huffed.

“So, you had no one?” Tommy asked, seeming a bit angry on Buck’s behalf. “No one supported you?”

“I had Taylor,” Buck realized, thinking about the redheaded reporter that she’d slept with a couple of times the year before. They realized they were much better off as friends, even though the friendship was relatively new. “I need to call her, now that I think about it. I don’t even think I told her I was leaving.” Taylor would be pissed that Buck didn’t tell her what was happening but would probably be understanding at the same time. The redhead knew about most of what was happening with the team, knew the best think for her would be to step away.

Buck told them about how they met and how their friendship blossomed over trying, and tiring, year.

“She sounds like a good one,” Nancy commented. “You’ll have to ask her to come see you sometime. I’d love to meet her.”

“Me, too,” Mateo chirped, inserting himself into the conversation with a cute little grin. “Taylor Kelly is hot.”

“She’s so out of your league, Probie, it’s not even fair to you,”Marjan sniped playfully.

“Mean,” Mateo pouted, leaning back in his seat.

“It’s not like she’s lying,” Paul laughed, egging the two on. Buck smiled, enjoying the easy banter the team had. Talking about her friend, though, made her want to contact Taylor, so Buck eased her phone out of her pocket, sending a quick. Hey, I have news. Talk later?

It took less than a minute for Buck to receive a reply.

It’s about damn time. Give me four hours. Finishing up a story.

She messaged back a quick affirmative, doing a quick check to see if anyone else had messaged her, or if anyone else even cared.

“How do you even know what Taylor Kelly looks like?” TK questioned as soon as Buck tuned back in.

“I have a cousin in LA, remember?” Mateo seemed to remind the paramedic. “He’s sent me videos of her news reports. Also sent me a video of that helicopter crash she was in.”

The rest of dinner went by smoothly, Buck learning more about her team, and them learning about her in return. “Alright, Evan, go back home and get some rest. I’m sure you’re exhausted,” Owen suggested and walked her to her car after she said her goodbyes to her new team.

“Thank you,” Buck said as soon as she got to the Jeep, turning to face her new boss. “You’ve all been so welcoming to me, and I just- I really appreciate it.” Owen’s blue eyes softened a bit and a soft smile crept along his face.

“Evan, it is our genuine pleasure to have you on this team.” Buck smiled and drove off, feeling a bit more lighthearted than she had in a while. As soon as she pulled in to her new driveway, her phone started ringing, startling her. At first, she thought it was probably TK, or someone else from the one twenty-six, but it wasn’t one of their names that popped up on her screen, but a name Buck wasn’t sure wanted anything to do with her anymore. She accepted the call with shaky fingers.

“Athena?”

||

Athena Grant was not having a good day. She and May got in to a little spat that morning over something stupid, as usual, and Bobby was acting weird, and so was Hen. It was all starting to really bother her and she needed to get the bottom of what was causing her husband and her best friend to act so strangely. It only took an hour sitting at her desk later that day to realize something that both of them had in common in recent months.

Buck.

Neither of them had mentioned the sweet blonde with her cute birthmark over one of her blue eyes that were always so warm and shining with joy. Athena hated to admit it, but she barely remembered the last time she’d even seen Buck. It had to have been the night Bobby admitted to being the one holding her back from her job. It seemed like so long ago, but it also felt like no time had passed at the same time. The couple had hosted loads of family barbecues, yet for some reason Buck never showed up to them, even when everyone else did.

Grabbing her phone off of of her desk, Athena finally did what she should have done weeks ago. She called Buck. The phone rang twice before she heard a quiet, yet hopeful voice.

“Athena?” She felt her heart clench as she heard the pain in the young woman’s voice.

“Hi, baby,” Athena replied. “I was just thinking about you and wanted to check in. Are you at work? Is everything going okay at that station?” There was a long pause on the other side, and for a second Athena thought Buck had hung up.

“No, no I’m not at work.” The police sergeant felt the frown forming before she’d even thought about it.

“What do you mean? Is Bobby not letting you out on calls still?” Obviously Athena knew that Bobby was holding the girl he loved like a daughter back for a few calls. He claimed it was to make sure she was ready to go back into the field, but Athena knew it was because he wanted to keep her safe. She couldn’t exactly argue, she’d do the same for Harry and May in heartbeat.

“I’m not at the station anymore, ‘Thena.”

“What do you mean? Did Bobby transfer you?”

“No, it was my choice.” That didn’t make any sense. Buck loved the one-eighteen. She loved her family more than life itself. Why would she choose to leave them?

“What happened, baby?”

“I don’t – I don’t want to cause any trouble between you and Bobby, Athena. It’s for the best I left, though.”

“Where are you? Are you still in LA?” The heavy pause was more than enough for an answer. Buck had left LA, maybe even the state, and it had something to do with her idiot husband and his even more moronic team.

“I understand, but I need you to realize, Evan Buckley, that anything that happens between my dumb husband and I is not on you. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah, mama, I hear you,” Buck replied, her voice choked and teary. “I love you, Athena. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving.”

“I love you, too, baby. You don’t worry about a thing over here, though. I’ll take care of my husband.”

“Please don’t do anything rash,” Buck sighed and a grin started crawling across Athena’s face.

“When have I ever done anything rash?”

 

Thirty minutes later, Athena was storming into the station of the one-eighteen. Bobby was sitting at the table with the team, all of them eating breakfast and looking exhausted. He looked up, brown eyes brightening when he caught sight of her. “Athena! What brings you here?”

“I just got off of a very interesting phone call,” she replied, voice cool. Bobby obviously sensed the trouble brewing, as did the rest of the team.

“Is everything okay?” Hen questioned.

“No, Henrietta, everything is not okay,” Athena snapped. “When were you going to tell me Buck requested a transfer?”

“We just found out at the beginning of this shift,” Bobby defended. “We’ve had back to back calls. I haven’t had time to tell you. I haven’t had time to call her.”

“Right, because she got pushed to the back of your mind. I guess that’s been happening a lot with you lot, hasn’t it?” Athena could see Eddie’s shoulders start to square defensively, and she shot him a look, warning him to stand down. “Why hasn’t she been to any family dinners lately? Why is Maddie the only Buckley I’ve been seeing and hearing about?”

“Does Maddie not matter anymore to you?” Chimney snapped, standing up.

“Did I say that, Chimney?” Athena shot back, barely sparing the man a glance, making sure her eyes were set firmly on Bobby’s. “Now answer my question; why did Buck request a transfer?” Eddie’s fist slammed on to the table, the whole shaking with the force.

“Why does it matter? She betrayed us with her fucking lawsuit! If she wants to be a coward and run, let her!” He stood up, storming off down the steps and she assumed into the locker rooms.

“Eddie’s right, Athena,” Hen said. “We’ve lost trust in her since the lawsuit. How can Bobby put her on calls with us when we don’t trust her to have our backs?” Athena felt her heart break at Henrietta’s words, realizing the deep pain Buck must have been buckling under if this was the attitude her team had towards her for months.

“I can’t wait for you all to realize the mistake you’ve just made.”

Notes:

I know this one's kind of boring, but I wanted to get something out since it's been forever and a day since I've updated this. It shouldn't take me a year again to get the next one out.

Notes:

So, I've decided to jump on the "Buck goes to Austin" bandwagon.