911/911 Lone Star One Shots

Clingy

"Hey Buck." Hen greeted him as he walked upstairs at the fire station, joining the rest of the group.

"Look who finally graced us with his presence." Chimney teased lightheartedly, dramatically checking his watch. "Only 8 minutes late."

Buck made a face at him before sitting next to Hen at the table and leaning against her shoulder, hugging her arm. 

"You okay, honey?" Hen asked him softly, her other hand moving to card through his hair.

"Just missed you." He explained shortly, taking comfort in her touch as she continued to play with his hair.

"Awh, I missed you too Buckaroo." She smiled, more than happy to let him cling to her for awhile.

But then the ambulance got a call. Hen gave him a squeeze before getting up to respond to the call. Feeling too lonely now, Buck went to the couch where Eddie was sitting.

Buck sat nearly on top of him and Eddie looked at him with a smile.

"Hey buddy. You okay?" He spoke in the same tone he often used with Christopher.

Buck nodded silently, his entire side pressed against Eddie's. Eddie didn't mind, especially after seeing how he'd been clinging to Hen previously. He clearly needed his family right now.

"Wanna help me find a birthday gift for Chris? I'm looking on Amazon." He tilted his phone screen towards him to show him the search results.

Buck nodded and looked at the screen with him, pointing out things he thought Chris would like. They stayed like that until Bobby called Eddie into his office.

Eddie reluctantly got up, giving Buck's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he left the room. Just as he left, Hen and Chimney came back upstairs after their call.

"What's up, Buck?" Chimney greeted him, plopping onto the sofa where Eddie had been. Buck immediately gravitated towards him, his head dropping to Chim's shoulder.

"Sweetheart, what's going on?" Hen asked him worriedly, sitting on his opposite side and taking his hand in her own.

"I just wanna be close to you guys." He explained shortly, closing his eyes peacefully with two of his family members next to him.

He didn't remember falling asleep but he woke up later with his head on Chimney's leg and Chim's hand on his chest.

"Finally wake up?" Chimney spoke surprisingly soft as another hand laid against his cheek. He turned his head toward the hand and saw Hen sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

"I fell asleep?" Buck blinked groggily, looking between the pair for an answer.

"Mhmm, couple hours ago." Hen explained, her hand moving to run through his hair.

"Oh." He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes as Bobby came in from his office to start on lunch.

Buck followed him into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. He opened the bottle and took a few sips before capping it and setting it down.

He watched as Bobby started to get ingredients and dishes out for make lunch and without even realizing it, he started to follow him.

Bobby turned from getting out a mixing bowl and bumped right into him. He smiled and side-stepped him to continue gathering what he needed.

After getting some ingredients from the fridge, he ran into Buck again. And then once again after getting seasonings from the cabinet.

"Okay Buck, here." Bobby put the stuff down and brought a stool from the opposite side of the counter over. He set it right beside where he was going to be standing and guided Buck to sit.

Buck sat but made sure he was close enough to touch Bobby the whole time. If he stepped away to get something else, Buck followed.

Bobby wasn't sure what it was about, but he didn't mind. It reminded him of when Bobby Jr. and Brooke were toddlers and always underfoot as he did housework. After putting the dish in the oven, he turned around to face Buck, whose hand had been clutching onto his shirt as he'd worked.

He pulled Buck into a tight hug, one hand on his back and one hand on the back of his head. Buck immediately took comfort in the hug, his forehead pressed against Bobby's shoulder and his hands clutching the back of his shirt.

"What's going on, kid?" He asked softly, rubbing circles on his back.

"Nothing." He mumbled, staying right there in Bobby's embrace.

"Nothing, huh? Well, I don't typically have a Buck-shaped shadow while I'm cooking and you don't usually nap on Chimney. Wanna try again?" Bobby kept his tone soft and not accusing.

"I just missed you guys."

"Our last shift was only 48 hours ago, kid. And you saw Eddie and Chimney between shifts." He pointed out, trying to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering his boy.

"Yeah but..." he drifted off, not wanting to say it.

"But what? What's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare and you all-... you all left me." He spoke so quietly Bobby could hardly hear him. "I just want to make sure you're all really here with me."

Bobby frowned at that and squeezed him a little tighter. "We aren't leaving you. We are right here. I am right here."

Buck nodded in acknowledgement of his words but still clung tight to Bobby's shirt. Bobby didn't mind, keeping him held tight in his arms. A moment later Eddie, Hen, and Chimney joined the hug, surrounding Buck with the group hug.

"We're all right here, Buckaroo." Chimney assured him.

"We aren't going anywhere. Ever." Hen promised, giving his arm a squeeze.

"We love you, Buck. We're your family. We're here for you forever." Eddie spoke quietly, kissing the top of his head.