"You're getting a call tomorrow from the Chief. You're being reinstated to active duty. The city gave me the option of transferring you to a different station...I declined."

"You won't regret it"

"You might"

He did

{~}{~}

2 months went by in the blink of an eye.

Not only did he realize that he wasn't welcomed back into the 118, but he also wasn't welcome back period. And while it hurt, especially when it was those, he considered direct family, Buck understood, because he knew he had hurt them, and they were just acting out in return.

But he took his 'lashings' and punishments without complaint. Doing the terrible chores that no one wanted to and were passed off to him.

Because he understood where everyone was coming from. Even if the month had passed, and Buck had thought they would, at the very least, be forgiving of him by this point. But no one was - no one was talking to him when he entered the firehouse or left it. No one was willing to partner with him, which sucked, because even if he was furious with Eddie, for not understanding, he would still have had the other man's back, but...maybe Eddie didn't have his back in the first place.

Eddie

Oh, how he begged, pleaded, and groveled for forgiveness when it came to Eddie. But it always fell on deaf ears.

"Even you'll never talk to me again...please let me see Christopher" Buck begged when he was on his way out at the same time as Eddie. One month of being ignored, he could handle it, but Christopher...that poor sweet boy didn't deserve this.

"I know I hurt him and you and I made so many mistakes when it came to this lawsuit and Chris and everything else... but please let me see him" Buck pleads with Eddie.

Eddie was going to ignore Buck as he had been doing for the past few times, but he received a text message from his abuela.

Christopher is having a nightmare

He keeps screaming out for that Buck boy

You better traer su culo especial aquí Ahora*

Eddie sighed and told Buck he can come to see Christopher, but nothing else

They haven't spoken since...

Buck was alone

Alone...god he hated that word

It was part of him

He was alone when his parents divorced and left him with his abusive drunk father

He was alone when Maddie left him to elope with Doug

He was alone when he left Hershey

When he bartended in South America

When he passed his Navy Seals testing

When he woke up in the hospital after the bombing

After his pulmonary embolism

After he lost Christopher

He lives alone

Eats alone

Sleeps alone

He is alone...

And as many times he or Maddie told himself/him that he wasn't, it can't change the way he feels

And it can't change the fact...he was meant to be alone...maybe forever

{~}{~}

It was another day in the 118 station when Buck walks in with his bag slung over his shoulder, prepared to be given grueling chores for the whatever time in a row. He put his bag in his locker and changed into his uniform. He had gotten a text earlier from Bobby...

Telling him to come to the pit the second he changes into his uniform. When Buck had read that, a wave of emotions surged through him. He was anxious, scared, happy, and terrified all at the same time.

He went to where the trucks were and saw that Eddie, Hen, Chim, Bobby and a few nameless figures were standing. They were huddled around Bobby, some looking anxious, excited, or expressionless.

He noted the expressions on his 'teammates'. No one said anything for a moment, it was the others standing and staring at Buck from the other side.

"Buck...there's no easy way for me to say this...but you're going to be transferred to a different station," Bobby said slowly as Buck tuned the rest out.

Transferred...he's being transferred

"C-can I ask why?" probably not the best thing to ask if Buck is being honest with himself. He wanted to take the words back as soon as he said them because the looks on the faces of his teammates were enough.

"Are you seriously asking us that?" Eddie chimes in after a beat of silence. Bobby holds up a hand in Eddie's direction, signaling him to stop and let him explain.

"It's only temporary, but the team took a vote and thought that it would be best if you went to a different station for a while," Bobby said, standing tall but masking the emotions behind his eyes.

"We can't work with someone we don't trust," Eddie said after Buck hadn't said anything. Buck only nodded, trying to keep the tears from welling up.

"Go get a box and collect your things. Some people from the station will be here to pick you up soon" Bobby said in a dismissive tone Buck knew that there was no room to argue. He looked to the others for help, but no one would even look at him the eye.

Just like he thought...he was alone

{~}{~}

Buck peered out of the locker room and saw the team mingling with two people he didn't recognize. The must be the people from the station that he is going to be at.

He took longer than necessary because he spent about 5 minutes gathering his things slowly and crying silent tears. By the time he packed what little he had from the station, he wiped his tears away and tried to get his breathing in control.

I did everything just right without complaint...just as they wanted me to...was it not enough?

It's never enough...

Buck was startled out of his thoughts when heard the captain yell

"Buckley let's go!" Bobby yells from a distance and Buck knows that it's time. He takes a shuddering breath to calm his nerves. No use in delaying this any longer. If they didn't want him...then he won't give them more ammunition that will destroy his emotions any more than they have already.

Buck is walking towards the group carrying a box with all his possessions and the bag that he came in with slung over his shoulder. As he's walking towards the group, he takes a closer look at the two-mystery people

That looks like...no that's impossible...it couldn't be... Bobby says something and Buck forces himself to listen.

"Buck, these two are here to pick you up and take you to your station." He looks to the two people "He's all yours" Bobby says as he waves a dismissive hand in Buck's direction. Buck tries to ignore the pang in his heart.

The two people perk up when they hear this and it stops Buck in his tracks. The 118 looks at him in confusion.

That hair...no one has that bright of an orange hair color...not even Abby...

And that gorgeous purple curled hair...he's never seen hair so thick...not since...

The two people turn around and Buck feels his heart and breathing freeze. He ends up dropping the box he's carrying and it causes everyone in the area to look at what's going on.

Buck covers his mouth with his two hands in shock and it manages to slightly silence a gasp.

{~}{~}

"Mi-Mike?! Becca?!" Buck asks as he snaps out of his daze. Buck then lets out a shocked laugh with tears running down his face.

"Evan?" asks the one with curly hair asks in disbelief. The shock is broken when the one with the red hair smiles and makes a beeline for Buck. As he closes in on Buck, instead of giving him a hug he bends down and scoops him up by his knees and spins him around. Buck laughs as he throws his arms around the neck of the one carrying him.

They're both laughing happily as the guy carrying Buck spins him one last time and walks to where the rest of the group is. The second Buck was put down he was immediately embraced by both of the people.

"Yo-you're here?" Buck asked as he looked into the eyes of these two. "I thought I'd never see you again," Buck says as he brings his arms around them both. He pulls back as he gets pelted with fast light kisses on his cheeks and forehead. The purple-haired woman gives one last loud kiss to Buck before she brings him in for the last hug.

"Wa-wait! What are you doing here?!" Buck asks as nostalgia fills his eyes.

"We finally left Pennsylvania. We made our way here and were able to become members of the LAFD. We've only been with our station for about 6 months but it's incredible here!"

"We did it guys..." the red-haired one lets out a laugh as a tear escapes his eye. "We did it...we're here...we're finally together now," He says as he brings them in for a group hug, a mixture of laughter and happiness are the sounds coming from them.

"What exactly is happening right now? You know these people?" The spell is broken and its Chimney who speaks. Buck looks at the 118 and sees the confusion written on their faces.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Everyone this is Mike Cooks" Buck says as the red-haired one stands straighter and waves. "and this is Rebecca Albany"

"You can call me Becca for short," says the purple-haired one as she flips her hair back over her shoulder

"We were...er...have been friends since childhood. I lived at Becca's house after...an incident and her best friend, Mike, would always come over to escape...a situation" Buck says as he looks over at the two standing next to him. Mike takes Buck's face in between his hands and looks closer at him in the eyes.

"You still have the same baby blue eyes Evan" Buck then blushes and nervously scratches his nose. "Hah, and you still use left thumb to brush your nose when you're nervous...god you haven't changed a bit!" Mike says as he slightly shakes Buck's head and releases him. Buck laughs nervously and smiles shyly at Mike.

"Oh, I don't know...lots of things have happened..." Buck says as he looks down at his hands.

"Like?" Mike asks as he leans closer to Buck. Buck is about to open his mouth when he hears someone shout from behind them all: A voice belonging to someone that he doesn't know

"You know this is the guy that sued the city, right? He did it to get a damn job back. How can you be friends with a traitor like that?" said someone was walking out of the station. It was Campo...

Buck tensed the second he said it. He knew this reunion would be too good to be true, and now the only ones in his corner are going to leave him, just like everyone always leaves. Buck feels the anxiety building and his breathing is beginning to get out of his control. He feels his thoughts spiraling until he's grounded when he feels hands on his own and his face. He opens his eyes and sees Mike standing in front of him, flashing a calm smile:

"Evan, get out of that head of yours...it's not a safe place right now" He feels Becca squeeze his hands as Mike says this.

They aren't leaving?

" We won't leave you, Evan... you can't get rid of us that easily," Becca says.

Buck, still not believing what they are saying is caught off guard when Hen, of all people, says:

"You two are seriously loyal to him..." Hen's mutters under her breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Becca and Mike snap their heads in Hen's direction and it throws her off guard to see the annoyance, disbelief and the rage in their eyes.

All directed at him.

"We aren't loyal to him; we are loyal to EACH OTHER. We've been through too much shit together not to be" Becca says letting go of Buck's hands and strutting forward.

"We trust Evan with our lives, so no matter who, what, when, where, and why he did what he did, we trust him. Because that's what it means to be a family, and that's what it means to be a true friend" Mike says as he puts his arms around Buck's waist and pulling him close.

Buck feels a weight come off of his chest at the thought of them not leaving.

"While this has been great and amazing and nostalgic and everything we've ever dreamed of, Stephy is going to have our hides if we don't get Buck to back to the station," Becca says as she steps in between the two groups to break up the interactions.

"Right! Right..." says Mike as he gently facepalms himself for forgetting why they were here in the first place.

"Let me get my stuff," Buck says as he turns around.

"Nonsense we'll help you! It is the least we can do after everything you've done for us," says Becca as she gathers the box and begins walking off with it. Mike meanwhile picks up Buck's bag and is stepping next to Buck. Before they walk out of the station:

"Nice meeting you Captain Nash, and everyone else too! We should all catch drinks some time!" Becca says as she balances the box in one hand and puts out her hand for Bobby to shake. He does, and so do everyone else, though some were still confused at the whole interaction.

Buck bids farewell to the 118 as he leaves with the two individuals, laughing along the way.

When they get to the car:

"Wait!" yells Mike suddenly as he puts Buck's bag down and digs through the box in Becca's arms.

"What are you doing?" asks Buck as he comes to a stop.

"Hold on...got it" Mike pulls out a screwdriver from the box. "Be right back," Mike says as he walks back into the station. He comes back out not a minute later.

"What did you do?" asks Buck but stops as Mike holds up a red sign that read BUCKLEY.

"You're going to need your locker, and we don't want anyone to claim this one! You're not replaceable Evan. Come on let's go!"

He not alone anymore...

{~}{~}

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asks Hen hesitantly, looking around the room and seeing the main group of Eddie, Chim, and Bobby.

"As much as I hate to say it...while we are glad that Buck is back with us, we can't be worrying about his safety. And even though he trusts us and we trust him, it'll be hard not watching his every move on his first call," says Bobby in a tired voice.

"But are you sure transferring him, even if it's for a month or two is the best course of action? We've basically been ignoring him for two months and now he's going to be transferred...how do you think he's going to take that?" asks Hen again, desperately hoping that they aren't going to go through with this plan.

"I know he'll be pissed at us, but maybe the month away from us will let him cool down...and meanwhile we can try to fully come to terms on what he did, and maybe understand," Bobby says with a voice of finality.

"I just hope we're making the right choice," says Chim looking up and walking away from the group. He should tell Maddie...but he can't handle her disappointing eyes right now, not with everything else that is going on.

Even if we aren't, he will finally know how we felt when he left us

{~}{~}

"Buck...there's no easy way for me to say this...but you're going to be transferred to a different station"

Eddie regretted ever thinking what he thought the moment he saw Buck trying, almost failing to keep his emotions at bay. He felt a wave of emotions when he saw the tears welling up in his eyes. But he pushed the feelings back down in order not to feel, Buck didn't deserve his feelings.

Not after everything he put Christopher through

But he came to Abuela's house and helped Christopher sleep through the night for the first time in a long time

He ignored his voice of reason; he's overwhelmed by anger at Buck for basically abandoning his son

And him...

He gets startled out of his thoughts when he sees two strangers come into the station, looking for Bobby. They say they're coming from the 99th station to pick up the recruit. Eddie wonders how Buck will fare with this new station.

Bobby then calls for Buck to hurry up. Eddie can see Buck peering out from the locker room

Was he crying?

As they see Buck come around the corner, Eddie can see how hard Buck is trying to contain his emotions.

And it hurts to know that he is one of the reasons why

Eddie becomes confused when sees Buck stop in his tracks and drop the box full of his things. He sees something pass through Bucks's eyes before he's crying.

Why is he crying? Is Buck so devastated about leaving us...it's only temporary...maybe this isn't a good idea...maybe

These thoughts are interrupted when the one with the red hair runs to Buck and scoops him up and spins him. Eddie then felt a pang of...something when Buck didn't push him away, he felt the pang worsen when Buck wrapped his arms and legs around the mystery man's body. Laughing

It isn't a lost thought when Eddie realizes that this is the first time, he's heard Buck's laugh in a long time.

Since the tsunami

" We did it guys...we're finally together now..." Eddie wonders what they mean, even an idiot can see these three are close...really close. Eddie had questions but it was Chim that spoke first. Asking what was happening.

Yea...what is happening?

Mike and Becca ...easy to remember

They've been friends since childhood. That's news.

Now that he thinks about it...Buck never talked about his childhood...like ever. Just this year he found out he had a sister

"I lived at Becca's house after...an incident and her best friend, Mike, would always come over to escape...a situation" Eddie gets a bad feeling in his chest that he can't explain. Did something happen to Buck in his childhood tha- Eddie's thoughts are interrupted when he sees Mike putting Buck's head in between his hands and it was then he understood the continuous panging in his chest

Jealousy

But that's impossible, Eddie has no reason to be jealous

You're jealous because you aren't the one who does that...

Eddie shook the thoughts away when he heard the comment of Buck's eyes...yea they were a beautiful shade of blue.

It's not like you are fascinated with them...or are you?

Eddie never noticed how Buck brushed his thumb across his nose...god had he always done that?

Eddie secretly cringed when Campo outed Buck on his lawsuit. He was waiting to see the reactions of the ones next to Buck but was thrown for a loop when he heard Mike say to get out of his head...had Buck been on the verge of a panic attack?

How out of tune was he with Buck?

And Hen's comment didn't put Eddie's mind at ease. What the fuck had they gone through? By the time he was brought back to reality, he saw that Buck and the others were gone. He hadn't remembered shaking her hand, agreeing to go out for drinks...

Eddie didn't know what else to expect but then Mike walked in with a screwdriver and began prying off Buck's name tag.

"What are you doing with that?" asked Eddie stepping forward to stop this guy, but the sign came off with a firm click noise.

"Evan is going to need his locker. He's one of us now and we sure as hell are going to make him feel welcomed" Mike said as he waved around the sign.

This is going to be one hell of a month

{~}{~}

It was two days later that the team minus Buck, gathered in the kitchen area to have some breakfast. They all arrived around 9:00 and Bobby had invited Athena over to the station for breakfast. A big part of him wanted to invite Buck, but he still saw his team on edge about him. But one person he did invite was Athena. She didn't start until later and had happily accepted the invitation.

"Well ain't that a bitch..." Athena said as she clicked her tongue, walking into the 118 station early one morning to have breakfast with the team. She's scrolling through some documents in on a phone. A professionally dressed woman is trailing behind her, holding a briefcase and what looks to be a box. Athena's hands back the phone.

"Everyone this is my friend Saleha, she's a DA, is Buck here? She needs to talk to him."

"He's not here. He's at a different station, temporarily at least" Bobby says as he finishes plating a ham and cheese omelet for Hen and spoons bacon on Eddie's plate. He looks away from Athena when she fixes him a knowing look.

"Oh, he's not here? I'll find him somewhere else then" Before she could leave Bobby told her to stay for some food.

"I can't believe you two did it...wow" Athena breathes out a sigh of disbelief as she walks to the island where her plate of food is. She gives Bobby a quick kiss and squeezes his wrist,

"Thanks, hun," she says as she and Saleha take a seat.

"What happened 'Thena? You look off." asks Hen as they take a seat next to her.

"Well Saleha is She used to be a detective but now she's a prosecutor. She told me a while ago that she and someone were working together to bring down some crooked lawyer...I just never thought that..." she snorts lowly "what a small world..." Athena says as she spoons her food. "I knew Buck was up to something. Just wish you could have told me..."

"We had to keep it under wraps for the information not to get out and blow the months of work we have piled up"

"Wait...what are you talking about? What does this have to do with Buck?" Bobby asks, standing next to the table where they are at. Eddie slightly tensing at the name Buck. It had been a sore spot ever since he and the lawyer revealed information about them that was supposed to stay between the team.

"Evan and I were secretly working together to bring down that lawyer that Buck had to take. He was practicing law without a license; he was running an illegal sting operation to gather intel and swindled people out of their settlements."

"What do you mean sting operations?" asks Chim

"He would use some dirty cops, they were all arrested by the way, for their power in the police records to gather secret information on the people his clients were suing. Evan told me about how the ex-lawyer knew information about your personal lives that he didn't disclose. I told him not to disclose any information about you all to see what the lawyer said...I had Buck record the session with all of you to get evidence. Sorry about that by the way, I didn't know he would dig that deep into your personal lives, but the good news is we got him" Saleha finished as she drank her remaining coffee

"Sal I think you need to start from the beginning," Athena says as she sees the looks of confusion on everyone's face.

"So, Buck and I have been...pretty decent friends since last year, and the day of the fire drill he told me that a shady looking lawyer approached people and him about suing the building and city for money. When I took a look at the business card, I knew this wasn't an opportunity that I could wait. I asked for his help as well as help from some officers I knew I could trust. I told him straight from the get-go that in order to help me with this case, he had to 'sue', note the air quotes, the city for his job back. He said he needed a day to think about it but later that night he told me that his captain is the reason he doesn't have his job back yet, by the way super fucked up thing to do and say. After one cheap beer and one helluva crying session later, we talked about the potential case and I said, jokingly by the way, that this would be the perfect opportunity to set the case into motion if Buck presented a fake lawsuit of suing the city to get his job back because what that lawyer was doing to people was unconstitutional and...he agreed. I didn't think he'd do it but he agreed. And I didn't think he'd get his job back, but he's back...win-win for everyone...'cept for that lawyer. Good thing too, he was planning to go after you all"

Sal finished explaining the story as she poured herself a glass of orange juice and was confused when everyone erupted with questions, Athena managed to calm everyone.

"What do you mean to come after us?" asked Eddie, speaking up for the first time since Saleha came in.

"You're Henrietta Wilson, right?" Sal asks as she looks to Hen, getting a confirming nod. "We found records indicating that the lawyer was planning on digging up dirt on you and your wife so you two could lose your son. If he couldn't find anything, then the cops would plant evidence and forge your records to make you look bad. And Eddie Diaz? He was planning on seeing you as an unfit parent so you could be arrested and lose custody of your son. For Bobby, he was planning on outing you and your past to the public. Athena, he wanted to paint you like a dirty cop and an irresponsible mother because of what happened to your daughter. And Chimney...we still can't find anything of you in his records...maybe he didn't get to you yet" Sal said as looked into her briefcase and handed out copies of the records to the respective people.

"Why would this sick bastard do this?" asked Hen, paling at the fact that she could have lost her son and wife. The rest weren't going so well either.

How did this pedazo de mierda know about the fighting ring...and how dare he try to take his son away

"He is still being fully investigated but I personally think it's cause Buck turned down the settlement money. 7 million dollars...can you believe it? The biggest settlement in the history of LA, and he turned it down all because he wanted his job back. I mean I know it was a fake lawsuit but still...I would have taken it and ran off to Barbados"

"Wait...7 million dollars? Was it really that much?" Eddie asked in disbelief, desperately hoping that he wasn't wrong. That he and the team didn't make a huge mistake.

"We couldn't tell the city about our plans because we didn't know who to trust, so they believed it was a real lawsuit, and if huge IF Buck had actually taken the money...well he certainly wouldn't be here right now. You all are seriously lucky to have such a loyal friend like him. They're so hard to find in this day and age" Saleha said as she downed the last of her orange juice.

"Look I have to get going, I have a hearing soon but thank you so much for having me and allowing me to explain on his behalf. And if you see him can you give him this box of cannolis, please? Or you can take them since he's not here. I'll just get him some more when I see him. If you have any more questions feel free to call me" Saleha said as she exited the station.

No one had said anything for a long while. The same thoughts had been running through their heads. Had Buck done all of this...for them? He went through the wringer just to protect them from suffering more than they had, and look at how they treated him.

They abandoned him and kicked him to the curb, only because of a supposed betrayal. And now they can't even apologize, he's not here right now.

"What have we done?" whispered Eddie as he struggled to stand. The force of what he had been doing to his friend coming back in full force. Ignoring him, denying him, brushing him off when he wanted to help with his son, cutting him out of his life.

His heart

" We fucked up," Hen said, voice thick with tears.

I'm so sorry little bro...I'm so sorry

What am I going to tell Maddie? She knows what's happening at the station, the tension, and transfer, but this?

Bobby felt like he needed a drink, but he shook those thoughts away, remembering that Buck was the one that helped him when he was going through a difficult time.

"We need to make this right," says Bobby with his Captain's voice. They agreed that they needed to apologize to Buck and make this right...

...But how?