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Nights to yourself were basically nonexistent if you were a single parent, even more so when you were also a firefighter, but tonight Christopher was at a sleepover and Eddie was determined to savor his evening alone. A six pack of his favorite beer had been chilling in the fridge all afternoon and a pile of movies that he loved but never watched because they were too violent for a middle schooler was stacked on the coffee table.
Eddie was halfway through his second movie and his first beer when Buck texted and ruined everything.
hey any chance you can do me a HUGE favor?
It’s one I’m going to hate isn’t it?
yes
What do you need, Buck?
so taylor is out on a date and the guy is being creepy. will you go pretend to be her ex to scare him off?
pls?
Well, that was worse than what he’d been expecting. Why couldn’t Taylor have gone out with this sketchy guy on a night when Buck wasn’t covering someone’s shift so he could rescue her himself? Though likely Buck would have joined Eddie for movie night in that case. He sighed.
Where is she at?
thank you!!!!!
she’s at julio’s. that bar on 2nd st
seriously ty
Eddie had pretty strong feelings about Buck’s exes. Mostly negative feelings. All negative actually. He hadn’t met Abby until the train crash but the way she manipulated Buck into risking his life to save her new fiancé made Eddie’s blood boil. Ali traveled so much she was barely around and then she dipped out when things got too hard. Buck had deserved so much better, and it certainly hadn’t helped with his mental state after the explosion. Taylor was worse than both of them combined.
He wouldn’t say she broke Buck’s heart, but her betrayal hurt him immensely. His friend was the most loyal man in the world, and Taylor had thrown away the best thing she would ever have like it meant nothing. Why was Buck even talking to her still? If he hadn’t then Eddie wouldn’t be struggling to find parking outside this shitty bar right now.
Taylor was easy to spot once he got inside. Her red hair stood out and the guy she was with did really look like an asshole. He was leering at Taylor and leaning into her space in a way that her crossed arms and frown clearly discouraged. Feelings about Taylor aside, Eddie certainly couldn’t allow this guy to harass her.
“Taylor,” he said, giving an awkward wave as he headed over to her.
“Eddie?” She was either a very good actress, or Buck had failed to tell her he was sending a replacement instead.
“Who’s this?” her date asked, his eyes flashing with annoyance at Eddie’s presence.
“Jack, this is Eddie. He’s my ex,” she said. Eddie tried not to flinch at the words. That was the part Buck had sent him to play after all. “Would you like to join us?”
“I’d rather he didn’t,” Jack said. “I think he should leave.”
“I’m going to stay actually,” Eddie said, getting in Jack's space just enough to ruffle him.
“Eddie’s former military and was once an illegal street fighter,” Taylor warned. How did she even know about that? He glared at her, and she smirked at him obnoxiously.
Jack sized him up. “Looks rusty to me.”
“I wouldn’t try it,” Eddie said casually. He could definitely take this guy if necessary, but he really didn’t want to cause a scene in a crowded bar. The bartender was eyeing them suspiciously like she sensed she might be about to the police. “You should just go home, man.”
Jack glanced at the bartender and back to Eddie. “Fine,” he spat. “I’m sure you would have been terrible in bed anyway, bitch.”
“Thank you,” Taylor told him after Jack had stormed out of the bar. “That guy could not take a hint. I would have just left but I was worried he would follow me home.”
“No problem,” Eddie said gruffly.
“Can I buy you a drink as a thank you?” she said. “Don’t worry, I’m not hitting on you. I think we both know I’m not your type anyway.”
“Yes, I prefer to date people with a soul,” he said. She looked back at him, unaffected. He thought of the half-finished beer he’d left sweating on the coffee table. Something stronger might be good right now. “One drink.”
“Just to set the record straight, I am very good in bed,” Taylor said once they were handed their drinks. Eddie really did not want to think about that.
He took a long sip of his whiskey sour. “I really don’t care.”
“Hmm,” she said, much too amused. “Well, you can tell Buckley his debt is repaid. I helped him escape a similar situation a few weeks ago.”
Eddie had not heard about that, but his stomach crawled at the idea of Buck being in the same situation, and at him asking Taylor for help. “So, what you guys are friends now?”
“What can I say, he’s someone worth keeping around. Even if we don’t work as a couple,” Taylor said. Eddie knew that, but he wasn’t convinced Taylor actually believed it. All of her actions said otherwise.
“What you did to him was shitty.”
She shrugged unapologetically. “We’re both people who put our careers first in our life. I thought he’d understand.”
“He almost got fired,” Eddie said, unable to keep the disdain from seeping into his voice. “It would have destroyed him. He loves that job more than anything.”
“You’re wrong. Buck loves you more than anything. I think that was one of the things that attracted me to him in the first place,” she said bitterly. “You can only hurt people the most if you love them the most, and I would never be that for him.”
It was a dark perspective, but one that Eddie understood a little too well. All the punches he’d ever thrown at strangers were nothing compared to the pain he’d inadvertently inflicted on Shannon while they were married. Still, he cringed at her words. Buck loved more loudly than anyone and he deserved to be loved the same way.
“Why do you think it’s me he loves the most?” Eddie couldn’t help but ask. Sure, they were best friends, but he was close with everyone from the 118. Bobby was like a father to Buck. Maddie had been back in his life for years now.
“I saw the footage from that well rescue a few years ago and that’s when I knew that he will always love you more than anyone.”
“What footage?”
“You haven’t seen it?” Right. There had been several camera crews around when Eddie had emerged from the water that night, but he had only been able to focus on shaking off the feeling of dread about everything he’d almost lost, and the warmth of Buck’s hands around his.
“No. I haven’t seen it.” He didn’t really want to. Reliving one of the worst nights of his life seemed like a bad idea. Being buried alive. Drowning. Thinking he was about to leave his son an orphan. His nightmares took him back there often enough.
“I think you should,” she said, scrolling through her phone to look for the video. Her nails were long and painted dark red. He tried to push the image of her fingers tracing across Buck’s skin out of his as she found what she was looking for. “Here.”
Reluctantly, Eddie took her phone. Firefighter’s partner gets trapped after rescuing child. He took a deep breath and pressed play.
Eddie hadn’t thought too much about what happened on the surface that night. He’d been too overwhelmed by the feeling of being trapped, from the painful burning in his lungs. The reporter cheerfully recounted how the 118 had rescued the kid and then lightning hit the crane.
“Eddie! Eddie! No! Eddie!”
Buck’s reaction was pure panic. He clawed through the mud like he would dig through thirty feet of rocks and wet dirt with his bare hands to reach Eddie. Vaguely, he remembered Buck’s torn nails and scrapped knuckles afterwards but he’d been too out of it to ask.
Bobby pulled him away and Buck fought him before collapsing onto his back, crying Eddie’s name like his heart was broken.
It was horrible to watch. Even worse because now Eddie knew exactly how Buck felt in that moment. He knew how it was to be inconsolable trying to reach Buck, drenched in rain and agony.
“Buck,” Eddie whispered. How desperately he longed to give Buck comfort for this timeworn grief.
Taylor took the phone out of his hands gently. “See, he loves you a lot.”
Slowly, Eddie’s mind was pulled away from the storm and Buck’s screams. The sounds of laughter and loud music swirled around him. Eddie drained his glass and let the strong taste of his drink ground him.
“I have to go.”
“Thank you for coming tonight,” Taylor said.
Eddie nodded. “Thanks for…” It felt odd to thank her for dragging some of his worst memories to the surface, but she’d been right. As much as it pained him to watch Buck’s reaction, he’d needed to see it.
She smiled like she understood. “Tell Buck I’ll see him around. You’re welcome to tag along next time if you’d like.” The idea wasn’t as unappealing as it would have been before tonight. There were still things she had done to Buck and the 118 that he couldn’t let go of, but he felt like he understood her a little better now.
It was raining as he drove home because of course it was. His mind still echoed with the anguished way Buck had screamed his name. He will always love you more than anyone. It went both ways, didn't it? He’d never managed to care about any of the women he’d dated since Shannan anywhere close to how much he cared about Buck.
He texted Buck as soon as he got home, partially to update him but also because he needed the reassurance that he was alright after all the memories that had resurfaced tonight. Eddie hoped it was a calm night, and he was safe and dry at the station.
Taylor’s fine.
But next time you need a rescue from a bad date please ask me instead.
you want to play the role of my jealous ex?
There’s not a lot I wouldn’t do for you.
It was the closest thing to the truth he could put into words. Eddie would claw through the mud to get to Buck. He would risk bullets to drag him to safety. He would break Buck’s ribs to make his heart beat again.
But please don’t ask me to rescue Taylor again.
deal
thank you eddie