Danger Zone (File One of The First Responders Files)

Chapter Sixteen

Well . . . at 8.6K words, this is the longest chapter so far. So, have 8.6K words of angst, feels, and (likely rushed) content that concludes one chapter and moves to another.

Yep, you read that right. The Buckleys spill, Buck a bit more than Maddie, Owen and TK get the (surprising) good news, hard conversations are had, and departures are made. Next stop, Austin!

***

"I cannot believe him!"

Buck winced, discretely checking the stopwatch he had running on his phone as Maddie ranted and paced his apartment. The moment they had entered the loft, Buck had plopped down on the stairs and Maddie had erupted. She had spent the last – he tapped the screen to light it up again – eight minutes and forty-three seconds going in-depth about how Chimney had betrayed their trust, how she couldn't believe Hen and Bobby hadn't tried to stop him, what she would be doing to Chimney because of what he did . . .

Eddie was right. Buck never wanted to be on the wrong end of Maddie's wrath. "Mads," he finally said, sounding more exhausted than he had ever been.

She abruptly stopped in her tracks, and she turned to face Buck, who was looking at his hands. "I'm so sorry that happened to you," she finally whispered, walking over and sitting next to him on the stairs. "We should have had the chance to tell everyone when we were ready."

"I thought we were close to that point," Buck said, letting Maddie take his hands in hers. "I really thought so. I was ready to tell Eddie, at least . . . but to have Chim drop that bomb in the firehouse, especially when he basically gave the wrong information, too?"

"I am going to castrate him, then butcher him," Maddie growled.

Buck tried to smile, but found he couldn't. "Don't let Athena catch you." He froze. "Oh, God, Athena – "

"Hey," Maddie put her hand on Buck's knee. "I'll text her and ask her to come over, OK? I'll ask her to stop Bobby from telling her anything. This is for us to share, not him."

Buck nodded, running his hands over his face. "I want Eddie and Christopher there, too," he said quietly. "Everyone we want to know, we meet up."

"Who do you want in that group?"

Buck thought it over. "Athena, Eddie, Christopher, Carla, May, and Josh," he decided. "I, uh . . . I don't know about Taylor yet. I like her, but . . . she's not family yet. Those are the six I want to know now."

"OK," Maddie nodded. "Josh and Eddie are on shift, which I know ends tomorrow morning . . . I don't know what Athena's schedule is, but since tomorrow is Saturday, Christopher doesn't have school."

Buck nodded absently, still feeling numb. "I hope the others can meet, too."

Maddie nodded in agreement, laying her head on Buck's shoulder. "I'm sorry this happened," she whispered again.

Buck leaned his head on hers, his heart breaking. "I am, too."

***

"Paul," Owen suddenly said after they were finished with dinner the next evening. "The CFD is headed by the commissioner, right?"

The abrupt topic made silverware stop clinking, and Paul cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah," he looked at Owen in confusion. "It is. Why do you ask?"

"Is it the same commissioner as when you left?"

Marjan and Mateo shared bewildered looks. "I think so," Paul said slowly. "Carl Grissom was the commissioner when I left. As far as I know, there hasn't been a new one. What's with the sudden interest in the CFD hierarchy?"