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Chimney’s speech had been a nice sentiment in theory; but a speech couldn’t magically undo the bureaucratic nightmare of the government paperwork involved in reversing an already finalized transfer to another firehouse and task force.
“Real life isn’t a tv show Chim,” Buck snapped, rubbing a hand down his face and wishing he could glare through the phone at his brother-in-law, who hadn’t stopped ranting since he found out Buck was still transferring from the 118. “You can’t just say “Oops. I changed my mind” at the last minute and have all the working parts of an entire battalion suddenly do what you want them to do. I mean, at least I have an actual job. If you want to help anyone maybe you should try to get Eddie reinstated instead of just wishing on a star it’ll happen? What exactly were you two thinking with the last minute shit?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone, where prior to that there had been ranting over the fact that Buck’s transfer had not actually been stopped, and then Chim asked, “Do you even want the transfer stopped?”
Buck frowned and considered how to answer that very loaded question with its very complicated answer.
After a brief moment he finally decided to trust that Chim might treat him like an adult for once and take his answer for what it was, the truth, “Not really. There’s not exactly a whole lot of room for advancement inside a light brigade like ours and I think it’s about time I consider my long term options.” The dead silence on the other end of the phone had him rolling his eyes and adding, “And apparently based on your non-reaction familiarity breeds contempt is still alive and well.”
“No. No,” Chim quickly insisted. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just, I’m surprised. You’ve never really said anything about moving up the ladder.”
And here Buck did roll his eyes, because that was blatantly untrue, “No. I was just never taken seriously about it. By anyone. Bobby included.”
“Well, did sort of go about it in a ridiculous way Buck,” Chim pointed out.
Buck kept the comments about Chim making them all re-coil ropes repeatedly to himself and instead pointed out, “I wouldn’t have been ridiculous if there had been any sort of career mentoring offered at any point in the entire time I’ve been a firefighter.”
“It hasn’t been that bad,” Chim defended. “You spent your probie year fucking anything that could move.”
“That was eight years ago Howard!” Buck snapped, genuinely aggravated again. “I had to do everything else myself. I’ve been taking any extra certifications at the Academy that I can fit into my schedule. But anytime I mentioned to Bobby privately that I wanted to test for Engineer he all but patted me on the head. Problem is, they don’t just teach Captain 101 at the Academy. Usually your Captain takes someone under his wing to train up. And it’s fine if it wasn’t me; but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn elsewhere.”
Chim sighed and Buck could almost picture him, looking exhausted and strangely understanding, “Yea, well, Bobby had his faults and with you it was slotting you into a very specific spot on the family-tree and never letting you off it. And maybe it didn’t do you much good for upward mobility.”
“Maybe?”
“Okay, so it was shitty,” Chim admitted quietly. “Is that why you’re still transferring? Because I will have zero problem with you taking the Engineer test; and even if I’m not offered Captain I doubt whoever is brought in will question it either. There’s never an issue with people being more qualified at their jobs.”
“Yea well, I still can’t just say oops I changed my mind Chim,” Buck reminded him, letting his exhaustion over this conversation finally leak into his voice. “And honestly after the recent building collapse, I’m not sure I’d be allowed to say no,” he admitted sheepishly. “I am going to a Search and Rescue task force. It’s more me.”
“Yea,” Chim groaned out loud. “Maddie’s going to lose her mind over that part you realize that right?” he asked the younger man.
“Don’t start,” Buck warned seriously. “I’ll be at Station 27. I’m staying in the West Bureau. You’ll practically be able to spit and hit me.”
“Not quite but I get what you’re saying.”
“This really isn’t meant to be personal Chim. It’s not like I won’t see you and Maddie and the kids,” Buck pointed out. “Just, 27 is a larger house. They’ve got the West Bureau’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force operating out of it on top of their regular Ladder and Engine crews. I can find myself there easier; I think. They aren’t going to look at me and constantly still see a twenty-six year old idiot.”
“I get it,” Chim finally admitted. “Sometimes I wonder if it would have been easier on me if I left the 118 years ago but, at the same time, I’m happy at a smaller house. You, however, will be excellent at the 2-7. And don’t forget we were all twenty-six year old idiots at one point. You just did it in front of all of us unfortunately.”
“And again, you are sounding like you’re never going to see me again. Usually I’m the one who’s going to spiral about that. I should not be the calm one.”
Chimney chuckled lightly and responded, “Very true Buck.”
“Alright, so if this is finally sorted I do have to finish unpacking since my first shift is in three days,” he pointed out, glancing around the cluttered living room of his new two bedroom, one and a half bath apartment, on a cul-de-sac side street, in the vicinity of West Hollywood that he had managed to get approved for very quickly.
It was a ground floor unit, in an old building, with an enclosed court yard and community garden. There was no pool but he was happy enough with the small patio he had access to right out his front door and the shocking lack of traffic noise. The bonus was off street parking available for all the residents. He had decided not to research any suspicious deaths in the building.
“Yea Buck, get to that,” Chim agreed and then Buck heard him speaking to someone off the phone, muffled though it was. “Uhh, Buck?” his brother-in-law’s voice came back on the line.
“Yea?”
“So Maddie’s in labor,” Chim informed him. “You unpack. I’m going to take her to the hospital. We’ll call you,” he added and Buck was left staring into space as the call suddenly cut off.
“Well, guess I better get this done even quicker now,” Buck muttered to himself, looking around at all the stuff he had haphazardly packed from Eddie’s house, in the whole week he had to find an apartment, before the other man had with no apparent thought to logistics, just decided to come back to L.A. because Chim gave a good speech. “And at least Maddie won’t have time to yell at me anymore.”