Timeless

Epilogue: Buck

6 months later

Evan was running late. Eddie had to leave early, for reasons he did not disclose to his husband, so he couldn't take Chris to daycare like he normally had been. That meant that Evan had to get Chris to daycare and by the time he had dropped his son off, LA traffic had taken over. So he was running into the station. He dropped his bag in the locker room and ran up to the loft to meet everyone for breakfast.

Bobby was not up there when he reached the top of the stairs which was odd. Normally he'd be finishing up breakfast and calling everyone to eat. Chimney and Hen were sitting at the table, debating about who knows what.

"As far as Bobby needs to know, I was on time," he said, sitting next to Hen and trying to catch his breath.

"He already knows you're late, bud. He's in a meeting right now," Chim said, standing up from the table to get more coffee. Bobby being in a meeting this early in a shift was odd. He didn't have meetings often but ones this early in the morning were extremely rare.

"So what made you so late, Buckaroo? Trouble in paradise this morning?" Hen asked.

"Never," he laughed. "But Eddie did have to leave early this morning so I had to take
Chris to daycare. Which was nice I will admit. I haven't gotten to do that really since Eddie's been home."

"Is he adjusting to being home?"

"He is. I do think him being in the academy helped a lot. Before he started, he was going absolutely stir-crazy at the house. He can never sit still."

"He graduated on Saturday, right? Does he know what station he'll be at?" Chim asked, coming back to the table with a coffee for Evan as well as his own. Evan thanked him, needing the energy boost.

"If he does, he hasn't told me. Not that I haven't tried to get it out of him," Evan sighed. Eddie was so tight-lipped about his placement. Evan knew they wouldn't be able to be placed together, so he didn't know why Eddie didn't want to tell him.

Bobby made his way up the stairs, breaking Evan from his thoughts. He didn't say anything about him being late, not even a joking comment about it, which was odd. The whole morning had just been strange.

"You guys come on down. Want you to meet the new recruit," Bobby said.

"New recruit?" Evan asked, following everyone down the stairs. He didn't think they were going to be getting a new recruit. The time they had worked great together. Plus he had seen how small Eddie's class was compared to his class in Texas. He thought they would have all been distributed out to other stations.

"Isn't it a bit odd to only get one recruit from a class, Cap?" Hen asked. "Why are we only getting one?"

"This one is a special case. I had to fight a bunch of the other captains to make sure he came to us. Plus Buck needs a partner out in the field."

"But why, Bobby? This team is fine. Don't you think we're throwing off the dynamic? Besides, I'm perfectly fine without a partner." Evan said, moving to stand in front of Bobby. To be honest, he didn't want a new recruit. Especially not one that he was going to have to be partnered up with.

"It's a little late now, Buck. He's already on board. I don't think you'll be this hesitant once you meet him. And you do need a partner. I need someone to have your back out there"

"I can take care of myself out there, Bobby. I've proven that."

"You don't want me to have your back, my love?" a voice he was all too familiar with teased from behind him.

Turning around, he came face to face with Eddie who was standing right outside the locker room. He was fully dressed in uniform, the same as the rest of the crew.

"What?" Evan asked, trying to fully process everything that was happening.

"Everyone welcome our new recruit and Buck's new partner, Probationary Firefighter Eddie Diaz," Bobby smiled.

"That's why you wouldn't tell me where you were placed?" Buck asked, still shocked.

"Bobby had been talking to my instructors since I joined the academy. He wanted to make sure that I ended up here so I'm able to watch your back and keep you from doing anything too crazy," Eddie laughed.

"But I thought we couldn't work together."

"There's nothing that says you can't," Bobby explained. "I had a talk with the Chief and you two just have to keep it professional at work and be able to control yourselves on calls. There's some paperwork you need to sign which is why I had Eddie come in early today and get it all settled."

Evan stood there for a second, processing everything. That's why Eddie left early this morning. That's why he had been so secretive about his placement. Everything started to fall into place. He couldn't help but surge forward, wrapping his husband in a hug. He couldn't be happier that Eddie would be by his side in the field. They would finally be able to be a team both on and off the clock.

"Alright, you two. Keep the PDA to a minimum," Chim teased, jokingly blocking his eyes.

Eddie and Evan parted right as the alarm went off. Everyone started racing towards the trucks, getting their gear together.

"So what do you say? Can I have your back, baby?" Eddie asked.

"You can have my back any day, Eds."

"And you can have mine."