Chapter Text
NOVEMBER-FOUR MONTHS ALONG
The locker room smelled the same as ever, filled with the stale, salty, somehow-also-soapy scented air that always filled small spaces frequented by people sweating through their scent patches.
“So…”
Hen let it hang between them for a second. As much as she didn’t want to spring this on the omega, she had to know. Things hadn't seemed to be any different between Buck and Eddie these last few days, none of the usual tense awkwardness between them that always happened when they fought. A month or so back, Hen thought maybe something had happened. For a few days, Eddie took every chance he could to leave the room when Buck came into it. To make matters all the more confusing, he looked at the Buck like he desperately wanted to be closer.
Buck looked at the alpha in that usual lost dog way of his. But he left Eddie alone.
That had been weeks ago, though. If it really had been about Eddie moving, it would have been brought up by now. No matter how well-meaning Buck was, he tended to lash out when he was hurt. Especially when it was Eddie doing the hurting.
“Eddie’s leaving.”
Buck took a deep breath. It hadn’t been that tough of a shift, all of their calls going as smoothly as possible, but no day under Gerrard was an easy day. Just when Hen had let her guard down, the old alpha had stormed up to Eddie, huffing and puffing over something. At first, Hen had tried to keep her nose out of it, not give Gerrard another thing to be pissed off about. But with the words ‘Texas’, ‘pup’, and ‘failure’ filling the silence, it was hard.
“He told me last night.”
Hen nodded, tugging her laces tighter. Gerarrd had dropped the bomb on them right before a call, letting the knowledge they were soon going to lose one of their own chill them down to the bone. The house fire they attended never had a chance.
Hen and Buck had gotten the brunt of it. Hen hadn’t been able to work it out quite yet, if it was Hen and Buck’s carrier status or their sexualities, that offended the old alpha more. He’d been keen on taking his ire out on them either way, splitting Buck and Eddie in favor of partnering Buck with Hen as often as possible.
“How are you taking it?”
Buck sighed. Gerard had taken one look at them when they returned to the firehouse, sweat and soot caking their faces, and told them to clean up. Hen was sure he’d intentionally let them hear the remarks he was making about them still being carriers, no matter how much they tried to change it.
“As well as I can, I guess. We didn't really discuss it or anything. He just told me he was looking at houses in El Paso and I kinda shut down.”
Hen’s brows rose in surprise. That wasn't very on-brand for Buck and Eddie. Sometimes it seemed like they knew everything about each other. Certainly, they knew it before the rest of the 118.
“Really? You two talk about everything.”
Buck gave a stilted shrug. Nonchalance was not something he was good at. Especially when it came to Eddie.
“Not everything.”
It came out harsher than he meant for it to. He winced a bit, sheepishly looking up at Hen. She stared at him blankly.
“I mean, what do I even say to him? Anything I say, he'll either brush off or internalize. I can't do that to him.”
Hen blinked. She opened her mouth to respond but Buck forged on.
“I can't. With everything he’s been through, I just-”
He cut himself off with a ragged breath. His chest was almost heaving with the exertion it took to keep himself in check. He would not cry. In the locker room. Over an alpha. Again.
“Should I tell him? I should tell him, right?”
He looked at Hen for an answer, as if Hen had any idea what he was talking about. Hen rarely knew what Buck was talking about, if she was being completely honest. Sometimes this little white meg really stressed her out.
“I wasn't going to, not so soon after Chris, I thought I'd wait until he noticed, or someone pointed it out, which I know is terrible of me.”
It dawned on Hen, the idiot finally realized he was in love. At the worst possible time. There was no way this was going to end well. At least not for Hen’s sanity.
“But he's leaving, how can I not-”
Hen cut Buck off, laying a hand firmly on his shoulder. She waited until Buck was looking in her eyes and took a deep breath. There were a few ways she could go about this, but she figured some of the harsher ways might alienate the poor omega. She had to do this as nicely as possible while still getting it through Buck’s thick skull.
“I mean this in the nicest way possible, Buck, I really do, so don't take it the wrong way.”
Buck swallowed and nodded. Hen took another deep breath.
“I don't think telling him you love him is going to help anyone right now, you need to let him-”
Buck stumbled a bit, like Hen’s statement had literally knocked the wind out of him. He shook his head.
“I’m not- I'm not in love with Eddie, Hen.”
Hen raised her eyebrows again, leveling Buck with a distinctly unimpressed look. Just how blind did Buck think she was?
“I'm pregnant.”
It was Hen’s turn to get the wind knocked out of her. Just what had these idiots been up to now? Sure, anyone with eyes could tell that there was something going on between Buck and Eddie. They’d been jump roping with the line between friendship and courtship for the last seven years. But those eyes could also swear on the Bible that whatever it was that was going on between them had gone unaddressed.
“It's Eddie’s?”
Under any other circumstances, the offended, baby-eating-its-first-lemon pout on Buck’s face would have made Hen laugh. Now, it just made her sad. And a little tired.
“Who else would it be?”
Right, because the idea that he's in love with his best friend is just as offensive to him as the implication that anyone other than Eddie Diaz could be the sire of his pup. The odyssey that is Evan Buckley.
“Yeah, I'm not gonna touch that one, like, at all.”
Buck huffed. Hen plowed on.
“How do we feel about this… news?”
Buck blinked at her, tilting his head slightly. He really was an overgrown puppy. Hen sighed.
“I mean, am I congratulating you and throwing you an obnoxiously over the top baby shower, or am I taking you to Planned Parenthood, dropping Denny off at Karen's mom’s, and letting you get drunk and cry yourself to sleep in the guest room?”
Buck laughed. It wasn't his usual full body light-up-the-room laugh that he directed at Eddie, but it was a laugh, nonetheless. Soft and breathy and slightly sardonic, but proof he'd be ok. That everything would work out.
“I wouldn't mind some company tonight, to be honest.”
He rubbed a hand over his stomach, stopping as he realized exactly what he was doing.
“But I think alcohol is gonna be a no-go for me for a while.”