Transfer to Help Himself

Chapter 3- The 118 Find Out Buck Left

Their shift started an hour ago and Buckley was still not here. To say Bobby was upset was an understatement. He was furious. Not only had Buckley not show up, but Bobby also found out that he left during his shift. This is why Buckley was always the man behind. Never putting his all into his work. Buckley's chores were never done correctly, he was always found by other coworkers slacking off in the locker room. Hell, even Bobby found Buckley laying around. That did not end well for Buckley, but Bobby needed to show that he meant it was his rules. He needed Buckley to know how bad he hurt the team with the lawsuit. This was the only way to do so.

"Hey Cap, have you heard from Buckley yet?" Henrietta "Hen" Wilson asked. Bobby shook his, "Not yet, but when I do, that boy is in a heap of trouble. Who does he think he is leaving in the middle of a shift and then not showing up for his next one. If he wanted so goddamn bad to be here, this is a great way to show it." Hen nodded along, not to get on Bobby's bad side. She tried to be there for Buck, she really did. She knew what it felt like to be the man behind and how it felt to be discriminated against. But she knew that if she disobeyed Bobby, she wouldn't have a job anymore. Bobby made it clear to everyone that they were not allowed to speak to or interact with Buck. Something Hen regretted.

The next to ask Bobby about Buckley was Eddie. Though Eddie gave his best friend the silent treatment, he had already forgiven the golden retriever of a man. Eddie just had his own problems to deal with first. The bruises he is currently hiding tells it all. He had to take time to get his mind back together, and those fight clubs were helping. He also had Chris to look out for. That poor kid had been having nightmares ever since the tsunami. Eddie was looking forward to asking Buck to join him and Chris tonight for a movie night. He missed his best friend, the co-parent of his child. Even if he hadn't forgiven Buck, Eddie would still invite the man to see his child. But Bobby denied that he had heard anything, so Eddie left for the locker rooms, a dejected look on his face.

The only person not to ask was Howard "Chimney" Han. He understood that Buck probably didn't feel like coming in, after they all had been treating him. Chimney always wondered why the department had held Buck back when he himself had a life altering event yet had been approved to come back right after he was given the go ahead by his doctors. He had taken it upon himself to look into why, then the lawsuit meeting came around and he found out that Bobby had lied to Buck. Chimney's heart went out to the kid. When they were in the elevator, if it wasn't for Bobby and Eddie being there, Chimney would have held the doors for Buck. Instead of asking Bobby, not believing that he would tell the truth, Chimney texted Maddie to see if she had heard from her brother. Chimney was worried for the man. He saw how tired Buck was. How the man avoided coming up to the loft and avoided the bunk rooms. He hadn't even seen the man change in the locker rooms.

A few minutes later, Maddie had texted back saying she hadn't really spoken to Buck since the tsunami. That was a big red flag for Chimney. Before the fire truck, the two Buckley siblings were attached at the hip. Chimney knew they had been through a lot together. But to hear that she barely contacted him after the tsunami was worrying. Chimney then contacted Athena, begging her not to tell Bobby, to go check Buck's apartment to see if he was there. Surely the man is just in bed. His phone pinged, but before he could check, the bell rang, signaling the start of his next shift. Chimney would check it later, away from the team.

After Chimney had texted her to check Buck's apartment, Athena was in high alert mode. She knew something was wrong when Bobby stopped inviting Buck to the hangouts at their place. Bobby always made an excuse saying Buck wasn't feeling good. After Bobby had come out to Buck about him holding Buck back, Athena kept an eye on her husband. This wasn't like him at all. He had let Chimney back with no problem and didn't tell Eddie to take time off after his wife's death. So to say that she was suspicious about the man she came to love, was an understatement. Athena texted Chim back, saying that she would look, and took off to Buck's apartment. In her job, she had come to learn to always expect the worst as to not be surprised. Reaching his apartment building, Athena had a bad feeling in her gut. Buck's jeep was not in his parking spot. She walked in and went straight to the worker there. "Excuse me sir, I am Sergeant Grant of L.A.P.D and I need to know if a tenant, Evan Buckley, left this morning. He has not shown up to his station and I was asked to check in." Athena stated. The worker typed away on his computer before looking at her. "Ma'am, I'm sorry to tell you this, but Mr. Buckley canceled his lease last night and left at 6 o'clock this morning with his belongings."