911/911 Lone Star One Shots

I'm Not Depressed?

They'd all noticed it for nearly two weeks. Buck was not himself. He'd been just barely making it through shifts, and that was with Bobby giving him relatively light duty to cut him some slack. He wasn't communicating with anyone when he wasn't at work and barely did so there.

Finally, Bobby had enough. He showed up at his apartment with Athena, knocking to no avail.

"He's not answering." Athena pointed out anxiously, rocking on her heels impatiently as Bobby knocked once again.

"I'll use his spare key." Bobby decided, pulling his keys from his pocket and finding Buck's spare key that was only for emergencies. This felt like one.

"Whoa." Athena spoke lowly as they opened the door and took in the state of Buck's apartment. Dishes were piled high, trash hadn't made it to the can, dirty clothes hadn't made it to the hamper, and the place did not smell good.

"Buck?" Bobby called out, not seeing him in the kitchen or living area.

"Upstairs?" Athena looked towards the loft. Bobby took a deep breath and nodded, heading for the stairs that were littered with clothes, trash, and dirty dishes.

The couple got to the top of the stairs and their hearts sank at the sight; Buck was lying on his unmade bed, his tv playing a YouTube video that he wasn't watching as he stared up at the ceiling with a blank expression.

"Buck?" Athena tried to get his attention but didn't get any response or indication he'd even heard her.

Bobby moved to sit on the edge of the bed and laid a hand on his chest. "Buck." He spoke firmly.

Buck blinked slowly. "When someone doesn't answer the door, that doesn't usually mean to come in."

Athena rounded the bed and sat on the other side of him, lying a hand against his cheek. "What's going on? You feeling okay?"

Buck shrugged, still staring at the ceiling. "I can't."

"Can't what?" Bobby pushed, the sight in front of him not making him feel any better about his concerns.

"I just can't do it." He sighed sadly.

"Can't do what?" Athena gripped Buck's face gently in her hand and turned his head to face her. "What can't you do, sweetheart?"

"This. Exist. I just, I don't know what's wrong. I have no energy to do anything or even feel anything." He didn't make eye contact with her as he spoke, instead staring at a pile of discarded takeout bags behind her.

"Okay, we're gonna get up." Bobby decided, grabbing Buck's arms and pulling him to sit up.

Buck whined at the movement, pouting when Bobby wouldn't let him lay back down. "No."

"Yep, come on. We're going to get up, clean up a bit, and have a talk. The first step is getting out of bed." Bobby explained, dragging Buck to the edge of the bed. He expected him to stand up but instead Buck slid to the floor, landing in a heap.

Sitting on the floor, Buck whined again. Bobby knelt beside him on the ground. "Up. Come on. You need a shower."

"No, I just-I can't do it." He turned his head away from Bobby.

"Evan Buckley." Athena spoke authoritatively, coming to stand over him and Bobby now.

"Okay, okay." He gave in, letting Bobby help him off the floor and to his feet.

"There he is. Let's go get you cleaned up, okay? You need a shower and some clean clothes." Bobby gave him a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll get started on cleaning this room up." Athena decided as Bobby led Buck to the bathroom.