BUT DADDY I LOVE HIM, ᵉᵛᵃⁿ ᵇᵘᶜᵏˡᵉʸ

037

Season 4, Episode 8/9

"YOU'RE LATE." BUCK SAID AS Eddie walked through the door. Buck and Rylin were watching Christopher while Eddie went out on a date.

"There was construction on Sunset. Had to take a detour." he replied. "Christopher already in bed?"

"Oh, yeah." Buck said.

"You're a miracle worker." Eddie said.

"No, I'm a miracle worker." Rylin said. "Chris likes me more than Buck, so he actually listened to me."

"You told him you'd make sure Eddie takes away his laptop if he didn't go to sleep." Buck said. "That's no miracle, that's just evil."

"He's sleeping, is he not?" Rylin asked. Eddie laughed when Buck nodded reluctantly, knowing she was right.

"Thanks for watching him, guys." Eddie thanked them as he started to walk away.

"Uh, how was the big date?" Buck asked.

"It was nice." Eddie said. "She taught me math."

"Math?" Buck asked.

"That's... unusual." Rylin said as she and Buck laughed before leaving.

"Woah, you good?" Rylin chuckled as she watched Buck trip over something. He bent over as he picked something off the floor.

"That is not mine." Rylin said as she watched Buck pick up a bra from the floor. She then gasped once she remembered another girl lives with Buck. "Madison?"

Buck immediately dropped the bra in disgust once Rylin said Madison's name. He watched as Rylin turned the light on in the living room, waking up Madison and a guy who'd been laying next to her.

"Rylin? What are you-" Madison mumbled as she woke up. Once she opened her eyes fully, she realized what she and Buck were witnessing. "Oh, my God. I thought you guys were babysitting."

"Yeah, were." Buck said, slightly disgusted as he avoided looking at Madison until she was fully clothed. "We're home now."

"Yeah, yeah, I see that now." Madison said awkwardly as she basically pushed the guy out of Buck's apartment.

"Sorry, guys." Madison cleared her throat. "I didn't think you'd be home until much later."

"You know, you're almost an adult now, so obviously you can pretty much do whatever you want, but please, don't do 'whatever you want' on my couch." Buck told her.

"Yeah, okay. Sorry again." she laughed nervously once more as she walked to the bathroom.

"That's the third time she's brought home a guy in the past few weeks." Buck said, wiping his hands over his face.

"The third?" Rylin asked as Buck nodded in response. "Do you think this is her way of coping with what happened with her dad?"

"I don't know, maybe." Buck shrugged. "I know I'm not her dad, and I obviously never will be, but I feel like I need to do something, y'know? I mean, I'm used to helping out with Christopher, but Madi's almost 18 and not to mention, a teenage girl. I mean, the only teenage girl I've ever had to deal with was my sister, but even then she was the one taking care of me. I'm so lost. I just want to help her."

Rylin smiled at his concern for Madison. "Look, you took her in not only because she needed someplace to live, but because you know each other pretty well and have a great bond. She trusts and admires you." she told him. "This is still your home, try setting some boundaries. I did it with Sarah when she first moved in with me."