Transfer to Help Himself

Chapter 7- Why Did They Do That?

TK softly woke Buck up, whispering that their shift was over. He didn't ask Buck to explain what happened. He gave Buck his space. Buck, on the other hand, was silently berating himself for breaking down around TK and Judd, if he remembered correctly. Buck didn't really remember what all had happened after TK asked if he was alright. All he knew was that he couldn't find Chris. But that was over now. He wasn't at the pier. He was at a different station.

Buck grabbed his phone and headed to his Jeep. His phone was turned off at the time because of how many calls they had. He hadn't had time to charge it, so he just turned it off completely. Getting in, Buck connected his phone to his car charger and drove off. Instead of going back to Captain Strand's house, Buck went to Lady Bird Lake. The first time he went there, he felt calmness wash over him. Hopefully, it will do that again.

He arrived and walked to a secluded spot, taking in the sights. Taking a deep breath, Buck laid down and closed his eyes. His mind wandered to the calls. He couldn't help but to think about the tiny things he could have done better. He was so into his mind that he didn't see the person walking up to him.

"Buck, you ok?" The voice startled Buck. He looked up to see Carlos standing over him. "Oh... yeah. I'm good." Carlos nodded and sat down next to Buck. "Nice spot you picked. It's pretty, secluded and has an amazing view." Buck gave a little smile before bringing his knees to his chest. "It is. It's calming too."

"TK is worried about you. He said that you just drove off and hadn't answered your phone. I told him I was in the area and that I would look for you." Great. In his hurry to get out of there, Buck forgot to let TK and Captain Strand know that he wasn't going straight to the house. He wasn't used to having people worry about him like that anymore. "Hey, it's ok Buck. TK said he understood that you might have taken a drive. He told me your first shift was a rough one."

Buck hadn't realized he had started crying until Carlos had said that. He wiped his eyes and got up. "Thank you for checking on me, but I'm fine. Sorry for taking time away from your shift." Carlos got up as well and turned to face Buck. "There's no need to apologize, Buck. My shift was ending anyway. In fact, I was on my way to see TK. Tonight is a family dinner."

Carlos told Buck that he would follow him back to the Strand residence and they left shortly after. Buck thought now was a good time to turn on his phone. He has people who will actually contact him now. A few minutes later, his phone was going off. He pulled into the driveway and looked at his phone. Buck was not ready for what he saw. 5 text messages. One from Athena telling him to be safe and to call her soon. One from Chimney, expressing that he was on Buck's side. One from Hen, saying she knew how he felt but was sorry for treating him the way she did. Eddie's was the saddest. Buck knew Eddie was dealing with a lot and never blamed him. But the way Eddie said that he didn't know if he even deserved to call Buck his best friend anymore hurt Buck.

Then there was Maddie's text. She was disappointed in him. For running away. This made Buck angry. Maddie ran away from her problems and Buck supported her, but when Buck does it, she gets upset.

Carlos pulled in behind Buck and watched him before getting out. He saw Buck check his phone and could see the way he tensed up. Carlos thought it was a good time to knock on Buck's door to get his attention. Buck quickly shut off his phone and got out. "Sorry." Carlos frowned. "No, I can tell that whatever was on your phone upset you. You don't have to be sorry, Buck." The blonde nodded before the door opened.

"Carlos! You found the missing man!" TK shouted before running into his boyfriend's arms for a hug. "Was pretty easy once I saw the Jeep with the L.A. license plate. What's Owen making for dinner?"

"He's making this chicken and spinach thing. It smells pretty good. Why don't you head in?" Carlos nodded and headed inside. TK turned to Buck and took his arm. "Hey, you feeling ok?" Buck thought for a minute. "Not really. My old teammates texted me. Their texts were ok. But..."

"But what?"

"My sister also texted me. She told me she was disappointed at me for running away. Told me to come back and to talk about it. I supported her when she ran away from her ex, why can't she support me?"

TK didn't know what to say, so he hugged Buck. The blonde hugged TK back. "She had no right to say that to you Buck. She should support your decision. Here, let's go inside. I know you have to be hungry. You rarely at anything on shift."

Buck nodded and followed TK inside. He was starving and whatever Captain Strand was cooking smelled good. They sat at the table and had a nice evening. TK told his dad about the texts and Carlos had looked at Buck. This man went through a lot. But they were going to help him.