Chapter Text
Absence
⿻
Hen swatted Chimney’s hand away from the hot muffin tray. “At least wait until it won’t burn you,” she chastised.
Chim pouted and held his hand as if grievously injured. “Hen hit me,” he tattled to Eddie.
“Good.” Eddie returned to the table and sat down. “Hen, these muffins look amazing.”
“Karen found the recipe on some kitchy blog the other day,” Hen explained, smiling as she spoke about her wife. She saw Chim reach for the muffins from the corner of her eye and hit his hand away again.
Chimney grumbled, “bet Buck would’ve snatched one already by now.”
Chimney’s comment elicited a small laugh from Hen, but Eddie only managed a slight smile. Buck’s absence weighed on him, and Bobby’s absence seemed to amplify that. He hadn’t realized how quiet the station had become.
Hen tried to lighten the mood. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t miss Buck tripping over his own feet every two seconds.”
Chimney joined in. “Personally, I miss the chaos.”
Eddie frowned, not sure why the conversation bothered him so much. He couldn’t help the gnawing feeling that this was more than just a sick day. Buck hadn’t been taking care of himself for a while, and this could be a tipping point. A knot formed in his stomach at the thought.
“Wait, wait—let’s make a bet. What do we wanna bet Cap comes back and puts Buck on latrine duty?” Hen asked with a mischievous grin, looking over to Chimney.
“Nah, Buck’s the golden boy. He’d get away with anything.”
Crossing his arms, Eddie listened to the pair bicker and settle on putting dish duty on the line. Eddie figured he should be laughing along, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was more serious. Something about Buck’s recent behavior, combined with his not showing up this morning—this was a bigger problem.
“I don’t think Buck’s coming in,” Eddie finally muttered, unable to hold it in any longer.
Hen glanced over at him, brow furrowed. “That your bet?”
“Sure,” Eddie shrugged, shifting his stance and trying to ignore the tightness lingering in his chest.
As if on cue, the battalion truck pulled into the station. All three firefighters turned to look, two overly invested in seeing Buck step out.
Except there was no sign of the man. Eddie grimaced; he hadn’t wanted to be right. But maybe Buck was sick—and if so, why hadn’t he called?
“Cap,” Hen called over the balcony railing, “where’s Buck?”
Bobby shook his head. “Needed a sick day.”
“Then why didn’t he call in?” Eddie worried, standing from where he was leaning against the kitchen island.
“Too sick to even pick up the phone, I bet,” Hen lamented.
Chim scoffed. “What kind of sick?”
Shooting the paramedic a look, Bobby chastised, “the kind where he can’t come into work.” He walked away, clearly irritated, and disappeared into his office.
Hen looked over at Chimney with a questioning gaze.
The man just shrugged. “All I’m saying is the only type of sick where I can’t call into work is when I’m hungover.”
Eddie’s jaw clenched. He hadn’t even considered this, but the idea wiggled its way into his mind, lingering long after Chimney’s suggestion fell silent.