Sideways

Chapter 19 Shining Path

The sizzling sound of meat on the grill permeates the backyard of the Grant-Nash house. Eddie Diaz stands beside Buck at the grill as he flips over the burgers and marinated chicken.

"So, seriously, did that conversation with Bobby go ok?" Eddie asks as he squeezes Buck's good arm.

"Yeah, much better than I was expecting, actually. I kinda laid something out there to see how he would react."

"Like?"

"My ADHD and RSD."

"And he took it well?"

"Really well. I was expecting him to have concerns about me working with it, but he didn't. He was concerned with supporting me and making sure he and the others knew how to, both in and out of the firehouse."

"Well, that's a step in the right direction."

"You know you need to talk to him, right Eddie."

"You're not going to tell me to ease up on him?"

"Fuck that. You worked hard to be able to be open about things with us. You would never have been this open with protecting me before. I refuse to ask you to stop. I'll warn you back if you take it too far. But no, I won't ask you to ease up."

"Thank you for that."

"Do you know what your actual issues with him are?" Buck asks, already knowing the issues he sees and relayed to Bobby.

"I do."

"You going to tell me?"

"It's all about how he treats you and us to a lesser extent. I also don't like how he hides things from us. He should never have lied to us about why he benched you. I have had shitty COs before. Bobby isn't one of them, but he needs to make up his mind on who he wants to be with us."

"Dad or Captain?"

"Exactly. The 118 is a family. You and Bobby did that. If he wants to be a Dad outside of the station, great. We all need that. But he can't play roles at the firehouse."

"When you say all of us?"

"Yeah, all of us. You're not the only one that sees Bobby in a sort of paternal role in their lives. But you and Bobby are bonded tighter than the rest of us in that way, with our found family. The family we chose, right?"

"We did, didn't we." Buck says to Eddie as he flips the burger again. Eddie opens the package and hands Buck the sliced cheese for the Burgers. Then opens the bag of rolls so Buck can throw them on the grill and toast them.

"You know you're the only one he trusts on that grill, don't you, Buck?" Athena's voice comes from behind them. She has serving trays for the food Buck is preparing.

"Really?" Buck asks.

"Why do you sound so surprised? You have some of his recipes he won't even give me." Buck laughs. "I still can't figure out what the damn secret ingredient in that Chili of his is." Buck smirks at her. "He told you that?" Buck nods, and Athena laughs. "You boys want a beer?"

Buck shakes his head, and Eddie answers, "Not today; I'm driving."

"Can I ask you both something?" Buck asks, and both Eddie and Athena nod at him in approval. "When did you guys figure out I was hiding something about me being a SEAL?"

Athena answers first. "You're good at being a bonehead or at least pretending you are. But there's always been more to you. The thing with Doug is when I knew for sure. There were smaller moments before that where I thought there was more behind those baby blues. But that's when I knew for sure. You were a mess worried about Maddie. But even in that state, you were focused on the task at hand."