Work Text:
“Did you know the Grand Ole Opry House is one of the most famous venues for country music?”
“I’m not really much of a country fan,” Eddie replies, adjusting his neck pillow as he tries to get comfortable.
“Really?” Buck tilts his head like a puppy, though his eyes stay glued to his travel guide.
Eddie sighs and wiggles down in his seat, trying to recline as much as the tiny airline seats will allow. “Not all Texans like country, Buck. Besides, I thought that place burned down.”
“No, it’s still standing,” the woman in the seat next to him adds, not looking away from her movie. “Just a bit of damage.”
Buck gestures across Eddie at the woman as if to say ‘exactly’, earning an eye roll in response. He closes his eyes and tries to put his earphones back in so he can get some sleep, but Buck continues.
“Well there’s the Raleigh Reserve!” He turns the book to face Eddie, who keeps his eyes closed, and follows the next sentence with his finger. “The Louis Vuitton of craft whiskey!”
“Oh, that one caught fire recently too. Pretty badly, from what I hear,” the woman supplies again. This time she glances at the two men next to her. “Sorry, Bree, hi. I live there,” she quickly explains.
Buck frowns. “Why is everywhere in Nashville on fire?”
Eddie snorts lightly. “I mean, that is the whole reason we’re heading there, Buck. Not for a vacation.”
“I know, I’m just… spitballing,” he mumbles, turning back to his guide.
Eddie cracks open an eyelid and leans in closer to Bree. “We’re firefighters, we’re helping with the wildfire.”
She nods, clearly impressed. “I thank you for your service. It must be scary, sacrificing your safety to help people. Very admirable.”
Buck smiles bashfully. “Its not that bad most of the time, but we appreciate that.”
“Hmm… Speaking of sacrifices”, Eddie emphasises with a teasing tone, removing his earphones completely to focus on his friend. “I’m surprised you even agreed to come.”
“Uhh, w-why’s that?”
“Weeelllll,” Eddie continues, and Buck braces himself, “you’ve been playing nurse so much this past week or two, I don’t think anyone expected you to be willing to leave him by himself. I thought you’d chain yourself to his house in protest.”
Leaving Buck floundering, Eddie turns to his neighbour again. “His boyfriend was in a helicopter accident.”
“He’s NOT my boyfriend-”
“Yet.”
“-and I’m just helping him out until he’s back on his feet.”
Eddie clicks his tongue. “Pretty sure he’s been back on his feet for a while now.”
Buck rolls his eyes and picks his guide back up, covering his face with it.
“So,” Bree draws out after a moment of silence, “why isn’t he your boyfriend?”
“Good question.”
“Things are still… complicated,” Buck replies with a sigh, dropping the book in his lap. “And I don’t want to come on too strong, especially not while he’s injured. I don’t want to pressure him or make him feel uncomfortable while he’s vulnerable.”
She looks at Eddie with a raised eyebrow, who simply scrunches his nose and nods in confirmation at Buck’s explanation. Shrugging, she returns to her movie.
Eddie leans closer to Buck. “How’s he managing with you being gone, by the way?”
Playing with the corners of the book, Buck avoids his gaze. “I’ve… left him some provisions and made sure he stays occupied.”
“And you didn’t go overboard, right?”
“Of course not.”
-
At the sound of rapid knocking on his door, Tommy pushes himself from the sofa with a soft sigh and limps to the doorway. Pulling it open, his eyes scan the empty space that greets him before dropping his gaze lower, a fond smile stretching across his face as he spots his guest.
“Well if I’d known my next babysitter was gonna be this adorable I would have put some nicer clothes on,” Tommy jokes, earning a cute giggle.
“Hi, Tommy,” Jee greets with a grin. She steps past him into the house, placing the plastic medical box she brought with her on the floor as she removes her backpack and shoes. Tommy turns away, smile still in place, and nods a ‘hello’ to Chimney as he finishes grabbing his things from the car.
“I told her to wait, but she was too excited,” he explains on his way up the driveway. “I hope you like colouring, she packed plenty of books. Just a warning: she’s in a princess phase again.”
Tommy chuckles. “I’m sure I’ll manage. It certainly sounds more fun than that,” he adds, gesturing to the stack of files tucked under Chim’s arm.
“The perks of being the captain,” he sighs. “I’m hoping I’ll get through it all before shift, though I forgot to grab a pen so let’s pray Jee has something other than crayons in that backpack.”
A beeping rings out through the house, cutting off their conversation. ‘SCHEDULED ALARM: 9AM. LABELLED: TAKE MEDICATION’
Chim raises an eyebrow. “You have a HILDY?”
Tommy rolls his eyes, though his smile doesn’t leave. “Trust me, it wasn’t my idea. Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right back.”
He slowly makes his way to the bathroom, careful not to overexert himself. He could hear a familiar voice in his head softly berating him for not bringing his medication to the living room for quicker access, but doing that would deprive him of the sight that greets him when he reaches his medicine cabinet.
[STICKY NOTE] don’t forget to take your meds! You’ll get through this <3 - Evan
[STICKY NOTE] 9am: Oxycodone, 3pm: Naproxen, 8pm: Oxycodone
[STICKY NOTE] get plenty of rest, wish I could be there with you :(
-
Tommy looks around the stacks of tupperware boxes trying to find the correct one. Evan had left a colour-coded food schedule on the fridge door, correlated to the colours of the lids and sticky dots on the containers he’d stocked the fridge and freezer with before he left for Nashville. Inside the fridge was another sticky note, stuck to some soda cans:
Don’t have too much sugar!!
Drink these instead →
The arrow pointed to the carrot juice and protein smoothies Evan had made in bulk for him.
He grabs the green tupperware box and puts it in the microwave before grabbing a bag of pre-made popcorn he had stashed at the back of his pantry. Once his food was heated, he carefully carried both into the living room.
“What’s the prescription, doc?”
“Moana,” Jee shouts happily, putting the disc in and running back to the couch.
“Careful, Jee, the chicken might scare him,” Chim jokes from the dining table he’d manage to turn into a makeshift office.
Tommy passed Jee the bag of popcorn and settles down next to her, trying to readjust the pillows around him so he was propped up safely. Jee sits up on her knees and helps him move the pillows until he is nestled comfortably within them, which Tommy promptly thanks her for. As she sits back down, she scrunches her nose at the food in Tommy’s hand.
“What’s that?” she asks.
“It’s bone broth,” Tommy answers, mirroring her ‘icky’ face. “Your uncle made me a bunch because it’s good for me and helps me heal better.”
“Aww, isn’t that sweet of Uncle Buck?” Chim teases, and Tommy doesn’t hesitate to throw a piece of Jee’s popcorn at him. The loud giggles she lets out is worth the pain in his ribs.
-
“Sorry to leave you both,” Chim apologises again on the way out the door. “Maddie should be here soon.”
“We’ll be fine,” Tommy reassures him as he leans against the doorframe. Once Chim has left the driveway, he turns to find Jee standing behind him, now wearing a doctor’s coat and holding her medical box.
He makes a show a checking his watch. “Would you look at that… It’s time for my appointment.”
‘SCHEDULED ALARM: 1PM. LABELLED: AFTERNOON SNACK, BLUE STICKERS’
He sighs fondly. “I know, Hildy. Hey, why don’t you go set up and I’ll be right there, okay?”
-
After sharing an Evan-approved packet of walnuts and running multiple diagnostic tests, Jee wraps up her evaluation.
“I think I know what the problem is,” she begins with a serious expression, hands on her hips as she looks down at Tommy on the couch.
He takes a deep breath. “Give it to me straight, doc.”
“I think you have… dragonwingtitis.”
He throws an arm over his eyes. “Oh my god. Is it terminal?”
Jee leans in close. “It means you’re growing dragon wings,” she whispers.
Tommy frowns in thought. “Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad.”
She smiles, but not as brightly as usual. “It means you’ll be able to fly without a helicopter. And that way you won’t get hurt again.”
He doesn’t quite know what to say to that.
Shuffling upright as gently as he can, Tommy meets her eyes. “Are you worried about me getting hurt again?” After a second, she nods softly, looking away from him. “I’ll be okay, Jee,” he reassures her. “And if I do get hurt again, I know you’ll be able to help me. You’re doing a great job.”
Her face lights up at the compliment. “Really?”
“Absolutely. I feel so much better already,” he adds, happy to see her cheering up. “Do you like helping people?”
She nods again. “Everyone in my family helps people. Like mommy and daddy.”
“And your Uncle.”
“And you.”
Tommy feels a stutter in his chest that he’s sure would have Evan dialling 911 if he was here. He blinks rapidly as he pretends to fix the pillows around him. “I, uh- Maybe I can help *you* by Ubering us some better food?”
She starts bouncing excited. “Like chicken tenders?”
“I won’t tell if you don’t.”
-
“I hope she wasn’t too much trouble,” Maddie says, packing Jee’s bag while she puts on her shoes.
“She was an angel,” he swears. “So who’s on the schedule for tomorrow, then?”
Maddie tilts her head as she thinks. “It might be Hen. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Buck’s called in the big guns.”
“The big guns?”
“I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” she whispers loudly as she hooks the backpack over her shoulder, “but I will say: Josh knows how to make sudoku fun.”
Jee stands, now fully dressed, and gives Tommy a cuddle. “Bye, Tommy.”
“Bye, Jee. Thank you so much for the help today,” he says sincerely.
As soon as the door opens, Jee runs off towards the car, but Tommy stops Maddie before she can follow.
“I do really appreciate what you guys are doing. I… I didn’t expect any of this, and I’m just… thank you.”
Maddie smiles at him warmly. “We all want to make sure you’re okay. And I know Buck can kinda go overboard with the concern, but there’s no harm in being cared for.”
Tommy nods weakly. “I suppose. I just assumed- y’know, after everything-”
She places her hand on his arm. “We don’t hate you, Tommy. We understand that things are complicated. Buck knows what he’s doing. If this is what he wants, then… I’ll support him.” She squeezes in reassurance. “And besides, even if we did all hate you, you still don’t deserve to go through this alone.”
Maddie pulls him into a hug before saying goodbye and joining Jee in the car. He watches them leave from the doorway until they’d disappeared down the street and out of view. Even as he closes the door, he stays leaning against it, eyes closed and breathing steadily.
‘SCHEDULED ALARM: 3PM. LABELLED: TAKE MEDICATION’
A smile spreads across his face. “Thanks, Evan.”
-
Unlocking the door, Buck quietly lets himself into the house. He’s exhausted, and definitely needs a long shower - he can still feel the grit on his skin, somehow - but he couldn’t wait any longer to check on Tommy.
As he makes his way into the living room, he finds Tommy snuggled into the sofa, surrounded by pillows and blankets like a makeshift cocoon. The coffee table in front of him has a few empty tupperware boxes and smoothies spread across it. When he looks up and sees Evan, he immediately lights up.
“Hey, welcome back. Everything go okay?”
Buck sighs heavily. “It was… eventful, to say the least,” he starts, walking around the sofa to perch on the edge next to Tommy. “But we met this really cool team there.”
Tommy watches him with a fond look before leaning over and briefly pressing a kiss to his lips, leaving his stunned. “I’m glad you’re back. I missed you.”
Buck can merely nod, words failing him. Tommy lifts one side of his blanket.
“Care to join me? I have more blankets upstairs.”
Buck’s nodding gets faster. “Y-yeah, sure, of course, yeah. I’ll just- uh, I’ll be right back,” he says quickly, standing from the sofa and gathering the empty containers. “I’ll just- yeah.”
He rushes off to the kitchen, the sound of Tommy’s laughter following.
“Wait, why are there fast food packets in your trash?!”