(A 911 Buddie fanfic) Every Breath You Take (I'll be watching you...)

Chapter 3

The firehouse was unusually still when Buck and Eddie arrived shortly before eight o'clock. They shared a look but shrugged it off, heading to get ready for the day as they continued their conversation.

"She said the table is booked for seven," Buck said, pulling his plain white shirt off and gently tossing it into the locker before grabbing his work shirt. It was a little tighter than some of his others, but Buck enjoyed catching Eddie looking him over from the corner of his eye whenever he was wearing it and enjoyed the way Eddie would awkwardly shift and clear his throat whenever he was caught.

"Seven?" Eddie asked, without looking Buck's way, his head still in his locker as he searched it. "Maddie does realise we might not even get finished until six, right?"

Finishing up getting dressed, Buck closed his locker and leaned against it, watching Eddie as he buckled his belt. "She said there's less chance of us getting distracted if we go straight from work, and since Carla will already have Chris, we'll have no excuses."

"Distracted?" Eddie scoffed, raising an eyebrow and looking to Buck.

But Buck was barely paying attention, his gaze focused much lower than Eddie's face. It took him another moment to catch onto the fact that Eddie had spoken and he shook his head, attempting to clear away the dirty thoughts that had entered it. Blinking, he met Eddie's gaze. "Huh?"

Eddie smirked and shook his head, but said nothing and Buck was beginning to see that maybe Maddie had a point.

She had called him that morning to set up a 'double date', as she called it, because he and Eddie had missed their get togethers on the last two Saturdays and she wanted to see her little brother. Apparently, the table was already booked for that evening, all they needed to do was show up. She had them trapped and she knew it.

Buck was still smiling as he climbed the stairs to the loft two at a time and caught site of everyone crowded around the table closest to the kitchen area. Everyone, it seemed, also included a plain clothed Athena. He frowned a little, tilting his head as he got closer.

"Hey, Athena, what are you doing here?" he questioned, confused but no less happy to see her.

Everyone's attention snapped to him, their faces a mixture of emotions that Buck couldn't quite read. Bobby was the closest and stepped forward, blocking his view of the table but not enough that he didn't see the small red box sitting there.

"Buck," Bobby said, in that calm and commanding voice he often had when dealing with something serious, "I need you to head downstairs to my office, okay?"

But Buck didn't move, the smile falling from his face as he tried to twist around so he could see what everyone was looking at, but Bobby shifted, making it impossible for Buck to see. "What's going on?"

"Eddie," Bobby said instead, placing one hand on Buck as he tried to redirect him to the stairs as he used the other to beckon Eddie forward, "take him to my office."

"Sure thing, Cap," Eddie responded, confusion clear in his tone. Though his movements were slow and unsure, he gripped Buck's upper arm lightly and tugged him along until Buck's feet were moving willingly down the stairs and toward Bobby's office.

They were silent at first, as Eddie leaned against the front of Bobby's desk, his arms folded over his chest and his brow furrowed deep, and Buck paced back and forth across the floor. He could feel the nervous energy running through him, tensing his muscles up as his mind raced.

The red box. It was the same kind that had been showing up for him over the last couple of weeks. The same one the cupcake had come in, and the red string. It was weird and it was creepy, but that was it. Why wouldn't they let him see?