Chapter 10- Winter the Savior

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 Buck didn't have to wait long in the holding cell. Apparently, Carlos had called TK after he had brought Buck in and the rest of the team heard. After being in the cell for three hours, Buck had been released.

Buck had been staring at one of the walls when an officer had opened the cell and told him he could go. He was handed his belongings and was walked out to the front. Winter was standing there, hands on their hips and giving Buck a 'really?' look. Buck sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and followed Winter out to their car. "Thanks, Winter." Buck whispered. Winter nodded and then turned the music off. "So...I know it's not my place, but what happened today? And what happened with you three?" Buck sighed and looked out of the window. "Today? God, what didn't happen. My mother showed up, blamed me for my brother's death, and told me that if it was up to her, I would have been gone when I 'failed Daniel'. Then she falsely accused me of attacking her, causing me to end up at the station".

"Wait, your mother came to visit you? I thought she had been arrested." Winter implied curiously. "She was, but because the Buckley family apparently has a shit ton of money, they were able to get out a few days after being arrested". Winter shook her head and pulled into a McDonald's. "You can tell me the rest after we get our food. Come on". They got out of the car and went inside to eat. After they had got their food, they sat in a corner far from other people.

Winter just kept staring at Buck before he finally broke. "You really aren't going to give it up?" Winter sat their food down and responded, "Nope. Not until you tell me what happened to the three of you. I might not be your best friend, but I am your friend and you can talk to me. Now spill the beans Buckley". Buck chuckled and shook his head before taking a breath. "Things were said, feelings were hurt. I didn't want to leave, but I learned that sometimes, it's easier to walk away than to stay". Winter looked at him, urging him to continue. "It started after TK had snapped at me after the helicopter crashed. I kind of went into a little shell again and when he tried to talk to me, I told him about the letter. I guess that set him off? He said some things that I wasn't meant to hear and I left". They were taking in the information of what Buck had said and sat their drink down.

"I don't know what he said, but it obviously hurt you. I'm not the best with relationships, but I think you need to talk it out with them. Especially TK, because we both know how his anger gets the best of him. If you want, I can be there as the getaway driver if it goes awry," They said. Buck looked at Winter with awe. "I couldn't ask you to do that..." Winter cut him off. "You're not asking me to do anything. You are my friend, Buck, and I help my friends, especially those who have stuck up for me". Winter smiled at Buck and looked at the time. "Shit, I've got to be at the hospital in 20 minutes. I volunteer there when I have time. I won't have time to bring you to the station, but you can stay at my place for the night."

Winter stood up and started walking towards the door. "Wait, you volunteer at the hospital?" Winter nodded and got into the car, urging Buck to hop in. "I sure do! Now, rules: Do not go into my bedroom, do not pet the orange cat, and do not, for the love of God, drink the pink drink in the fridge. It's my roommate's. Don't worry, he won't be home for a few days." Buck just nodded along and stared out the car window for the 10 minutes it took to get to Winter's apartment building. "Here's the key. Hang out, play video games, do whatever. I'll see you after I'm done." Winter tossed Buck the key, which he successfully caught. Buck walked inside and was shocked with how much decoration the apartment had. There were different pictures hanging around, pride flags in almost all of the rooms...It was awesome. Buck had always wanted to decorate his room when he was younger, but was never allowed to, so seeing this made his inner child happy.

He sat on the couch and pulled his phone out of the bag he was handed at the station. The phone was still at 65% from when he had turned it off after he left. The lock screen had a picture of him, TK, and Carlos that Marjan had taken when they hung out at the station. It made Buck feel sad and guilty at the memory, but also happy. After his phone had completely started up, his notifications were going off constantly. Messages from his team, missed calls from Carlos and Eddie. Most of the messages were asking if he was ok, and some were a little harsh, but Buck understood. They were TK's team first. Winter had called and texted him a lot over the past few days, all asking if he was ok and who they needed to punch. While everyone else had been closer to TK, Winter had instantly felt more close to Buck than the others. Buck stuck up to homophobes for them and Winter would do dumb things when Buck felt sad after a call went wrong. It was the way they worked.

He sighed and pulled up Eddie's contact and hit the call button. "Buck! Dios Mio, are you ok?" Eddie instantly said after answering.

"I...honestly don't know, Eds. I'm just...numb? I think that's the right term"

"What happened?" Eddie asked.

"The same shit that always happens, I fuck up and get hurt because of it. But this time, my mother was more involved with it. She kept sending letters to the station and Mateo was starting to get suspicious of it, so I finally responded and she told me she would visit. Her visit landed me in the holding cell."

Buck could hear Eddie sigh. "Shit man, can't you get a break? Have you talked to TK and Carlos about it?"

Buck flinched, though Eddie couldn't see him. It was still a sore subject. "I actually...I told them about the letter I sent but couldn't explain before TK said some hurtful shit. I..We...I guess...are taking a break. I didn't want Carlos to choose sides, so I left both of them and the house. I had rented an apartment so when she visited, it wouldn't have been at their house".

"Buck...I'm sorry to hear that. You know I'm here for you right? I've always got your back."

Buck smiled. That was how they became friends in the first place, with those simple words. This time, they weren't taking a live round out of a guy's leg. "I know Eds. And I've got your back too. Even though we are in different states, you're still my partner man."

He could hear Eddie laugh on the other end when a female voice came through, "Eddie? Are you still up?" Buck could hear part of the conversation before Eddie said to him, "Hey man, I've got to go. Lils is gonna have my head if I don't go to bed on time. I'll call you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, Eds. Now go sleep with your woman. Try not to be too loud, Chris would have nightmares."

"Shut up."

"Love you too, Eds!" Buck got out before Eddie hung up. He got up and looked around the kitchen, hoping to find something simple to eat. He found some Ramen and cooked it, then went back to the den and turned the T.V. on when his phone started ringing. Buck picked it up and almost dropped it. TK was calling him. Buck answered the call right before the third ring.

"Buck?"

He was silent for a moment before responding quietly, "Hey..."

He didn't know what to say, but TK took that moment to talk first. "I am so sorry, Buck...for everything. I let my anger get the best of me and in result, you were hurt. Carlos told me what had happened earlier. Are you ok?"

Buck nibbled on his thumbnail, a soothing motion that always calmed him down, before answering. "I should be the one to say sorry, TK...I-I should have told you earlier about the letter, but she wouldn't stop sending them. I acted irrationally, like I did with the lawsuit, and got the same outcome." Buck laughed sourly before shaking his head. "I am so sorry. I didn't want to take a break, but with my mother constantly sending the letters and the wildfires...it all became too much." At this point, tears were running down Buck's face. There was no one around to see him cry, so it was ok.

On TK's end, he was staring at his phone, which was on speaker since it was only him around. He realized that he had been quiet for too long when Buck had asked if he was still there.

"I'm still here, B. You were right to act like that, ok? I was pushing you and I never realized how much stress you were carrying. When Carlos had told me you had been in the middle of an altercation, I was so scared. And then he told me that you were the one who was accused, I was worried. I wanted to be the one to bail you out, but Winter beat me to it. They had said that it wasn't a good idea. I wasn't going to call until I saw that you had read my messages. I miss you B, so much." TK had started to cry at this point, hoping Carlos, his dad or his mom did not come into his room.

Buck willed himself not to let a sound out. He was crying and he couldn't stop. He missed everyone so much and it hurt being away from the people who had helped him. "...I miss you too,T. I miss everyone."

"Where are you at, B?" TK asked.

"At Winter's apartment. They took me here instead of the station because they had to get to the hospital to volunteer."

He heard rustling around before TK spoke again. "Give me 30 minutes, B."

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