Sideways

Chapter 11 Christopher's Other Dad

Monday - Bobby

Bobby Nash wears a great many hats in his life, and he is proud of all of them. Friend, partner, firefighter, mentor, Captain, husband, and father. He won't ever say it out loud, but of all the roles he plays in his life, his favorite has always been that of being a father.

He may not always be the best father, but by god, he loves his kids more than anything else in this world. While losing Marcy destroyed him, losing Bobby Jr. And Brooke devastated him beyond repair. He thought he would never fill that hole they left in his heart.

Boy, he was wrong on that front. Bobby now knows the exact day his life started to turn around. It was the day Evan Buckley walked into the firehouse.

Now it took Buck and Bobby a long time to start to mesh. Buck's so-called sex addiction, his firing, Bobby's relapse, and a ton of other things. Slowly but surely, Bobby's view of Buck started to change. Buck started calling him Pops, and everyone laughed at it. Bobby will never admit it to anyone, but he loved it. Before he knew it, he was giving Buck dating advice and helping him tie a tie and get ready for a date. It was something he had always dreamed about doing with Bobby Jr, and to be able to have that back, something shifted in Bobby's heart.

Somewhere along the way, Evan Buckley started to fill that unfillable hole in his heart, and while it will never be completely filled, he doesn't need to worry about falling into the hole and ever finding his way out anymore.

Buck helped him heal in a way he never thought would be possible. After that, Bobby was finally capable of moving on. He soon found his way to Athena, and with that came May and Harry. It was as if Buck handed Harry and May a shovel, and they joined him in filling that hole.

This is exactly why Bobby was sitting at Buck's bedside, wondering exactly what the fuck he was doing with his life right now.

He almost lost his pseudo son— no fuck that - Buck was his. He almost lost his son this week. Bobby watched Buck get struck by lightning and fall off the ladder truck. It stirred up all those feelings when he lost Bobby Jr and Brook and when May was trapped in dispatch. But this was so much worse because he watched it happen with his own two eyes.

He then had to witness Chim and Hen desperately trying to check on Buck and Eddie, only to find Buck's heart stopped. Seeing the usually calm and composed Chim fall apart when Buck coded for the third time only made it worse. Bobby knew it was way past time for them to call it. But he let Hen and Chim continue anyway. When Eddie took over for Chim, Bobby was almost relieved. While Chim would fight for Buck, his clinical mind would eventually kick in, and he would know it was too late. Eddie, on the other hand, would do anything for Buck. Eddie wouldn't stop until Buck was back; you would have to pull Eddie off him, and even that wouldn't work. Bobby tried. But Eddie succeeded where Hen and Chim hadn't, and Eddie bought him back.

So, after all that he went through this week, why was he about to let another one of his kids get involved in a risky situation? Sure, he and Athena would have her back, but letting May get involved with these people, the ones who killed Wendel, no, he was going to put a stop to this now. They have tempted fate enough, and it stops now.

Bobby sits up and holds Buck's hand.

"Son, I need you to wake up. We need you to wake up. Please, Evan, I know I haven't always done right by you. But I need you to come home. I can't lose another son." Bobby stops and wipes the tears from his eyes. "I know we joke about being father and son, but you have to know nothing would make me prouder. I once told you that this team wasn't a family. I was wrong; I was so wrong. We are a family, and it's because of you. You made us a family. Just look at what you've done. You brought all of us together. You're the heart of this family, Buck. You have saved each of us in more ways than we can count. Some of us, literally. I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for you." A rapid beeping noise breaks Bobby's attention as he looks at the heart rate monitor. It beeps in quick succession for a moment before returning to normal.