Black And Blue-E.Buckley (9-1-1)

Eleven

Take my hand, we'll be fine

Promise I won't let you down

When Eleanor woke the next morning the apartment was quiet and empty. Buck had already left for work. She decided to take a quick shower before starting her day, not that she had much to do but she wanted to try and be proactive. Buck had told her where he kept his laptop and the password for it so she planned to start looking into nursing schools. She knew that Buck didn't mind her staying with him but she didn't wanna intrude on his life any more than she already was, she felt like a burden. 

After her shower, Eleanor walked to the kitchen to make some coffee but something on the counter caught her eye. On the counter sat a bright pink Post-it. She picked it up and read it. 

'El, I wanted to see your reaction but I also couldn't wait. There's something for you in the closet in my room. I hope you have a good day. -Buck'

She smiled to herself. Eleanor quickly made her way up the stairs and to the closet. She opened the door and found a shiny red bag on the floor. She grabbed it, walked over to the bed, and sat down to open it. Inside was a laptop box and a phone box. She opened the phone first since the plastic was already off. As she was opening it the phone vibrated inside. The text on the screen was from Buck, whose number was already saved on the phone.

'Hope you like it, call me when you find it.' Followed by a smiley face emoji.

She smiled again. Buck had managed to pull off more kind and romantic gestures in the two weeks that Eleanor had known him than Michael ever had in the eight years that they were together. Buck was probably the most thoughtful man Eleanor had ever met. His actions made it hard not to fall for him. Eleanor opened the phone and hit the call button on Buck's contact.

"Hey," Eleanor could tell Buck was smiling as she heard his voice through the phone.

"You really didn't have to do all this."

"I know, I wanted to though."

"Buck, thank you. I really appreciate everything you've done for me but this is too much. I can't accept all this."

"I won't take no for an answer and besides, think of it as a thank-you gift."

"For what? What do you have to thank me for?"

"A lot actually.." Buck was quiet for a moment. "You've cleaned my apartment more in two weeks than I have probably the entire time I've been there."

Eleanor laughed, "In your defense, it's not that bad. I mean you're not here that often."

"True. In the past two weeks, I've eaten actual food. No takeout, no frozen dinners. I usually only eat like that when Bobby cooks here. And I've learned some new stuff. You've changed my life a lot in just two weeks."

"That's nothing compared to what you've done though."

"I haven't done that much."

"Buck, you saved my life.." Buck was silent on the other end. "I owe you way more than you owe me." 

"El-" Buck was cut off by the alarm. "I, uh, gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Be careful." 

"I will." Then he hung up. Eleanor pulled the phone away from her ear and sighed. She was starting to really like Buck. Was it too soon after Michael to have feelings for someone else? She thought but then she realized, her feelings for Michael had died a long time ago. She had lost hope of being happy but being around Buck made her believe it was still possible.