Buck's Baby (By Accident)

Distress

Buck felt numb. He stood there in the lounge, letter clutched tightly in his fist, not sure what he should be feeling. Eddie was blinking at him in confusion, and it was clear neither of them were truly processing the words Buck had uttered. Buck swayed a little as his mouth went dry and Eddie caught his shoulder, steadying him.

"Dead?" Eddie repeated, his eyes boring into Buck's as if looking straight into him would make it clearer.

Buck cleared his throat and glanced down at the letter again. "Dead" he confirmed, and Eddie let out a long breath, running a hand over his eyes. He looked back at Buck, confusion replaced with concern.

"Are – are you okay?"

The question was laughable really, but Eddie didn't know what else to say. This wasn't like when Shannon had died and Eddie had felt simultaneously like his whole world had been ripped apart and that he was finally, truly free. He'd observed Buck and Taylor's relationship from a respectful distance and what he'd picked up was that Buck gave a whole lot more than Taylor did and the woman had been more than happy to take as much as she could. At the time, it had eaten Eddie up inside, watching Buck constantly bare his soul for Taylor just to be dismissed, for her job to take priority over him every time. He'd tried his best to be a supportive friend, but it had gotten harder and harder to watch Buck wilt. When Buck had told him that he'd ended with Taylor, Eddie could have whooped with joy.

All that was to say, Eddie understood when Buck shrugged and replied, "I don't know, I feel like I shouldn't be but – I don't know what I feel". He sounded uncertain and it broke Eddie's heart.

Buck reread the letter again and slumped onto the couch with a sigh. The news had thrown a spanner into the works, no mistake. He hadn't had a plan on what he was going to do once Aidan was older and asked about his mother. He hadn't thought about how he was going to tell his son that he'd been abandoned by his mother, but he supposed this news would make it easier. Taylor hadn't just abandoned Aidan now, she'd died. And honestly, reading the letter, it made sense.

Eddie plucked the piece of paper from Buck's limp grasp and read, his eyebrows creasing further together with each line he read. He dropped next to Buck and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Cancer?". It was more of a statement, but Buck knew what Eddie was asking.

"I had no idea" he replied, staring straight in front of him, expressionless. "Do you think – is that why she left him with me? Because she was dying, and she didn't want him to be thrown into the system?"

"Buck, you're going to drive yourself insane if you start asking questions like that". Eddie's voice was gentle, but firm and Buck knew deep down that he was right. He'd never know what Taylor's motivation had been when it came to their- no his­- son. She'd kept Aidan's existence from him for 2 months, 11 months if you count the pregnancy, and then had shown up out of the blue and left him on Buck's doorstep with no explanation.

"I don't know what to do about this, Eddie" Buck admitted, running a shaking hand over his face. "Should I be upset? I can't – I don't – my brain isn't making any sense."

Eddie took Buck's hand in his and squeezed gently. "I think you should call the lawyer to clarify some things."

Buck nodded, swallowing. The lawyer had access to Taylor's will and would be able to shine some light on the situation. Based off the letter, it was clear Taylor had updated her will recently, recently enough to state that she was leaving half her money and assets to Aidan. That's what confused Buck the most. If she'd abandoned him, if she'd truly not cared for him then why would she do something like that?

Steeling himself, Buck pulled out his phone and dialled the number at the bottom of the paper. Eddie stayed firmly by his side, a comforting presence as Buck learned about the last few months of Taylor's life. How she'd gotten the diagnosis of Stage 4 breast cancer after consulting with a doctor about a lump she'd found, initially assuming it was a blocked milk duct from feeding Aidan. How she'd found that it had spread to the surrounding lymph nodes and up into her brain. Her lawyer told Buck that she'd contacted him a week later and had updated her will, leaving half her assets to Aidan and the other half to her aunt, and that she'd appointed Buck as Aidan's legal guardian in the event of her death. Not that that had mattered because within another week, Aidan was on his doorstep and the rest was history. The lawyer hadn't been able to explain Taylor's reasoning behind this but agreed that it seemed likely that she knew her time was limited and wanted Aidan to be provided for.