Burning Flames ¦ Evan Buckley

Chapter 70 - Listen Before I Go

AN- Massive Suicide trigger warning for this chapter 

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Chimney had been off the past 2 weeks on paternity leave and today was his first day back. El of course was being kept up to date by an over excited Mikey. They were all upstairs being shown various pictures of Jee-Yun, Chimney's baby. "That's the first time she smiled" Chimney spoke excitedly.

Eddie and El both leant in closer to have a look, "Sure that's a smile? That's the same face Buck makes when he's gassy" Eddie spoke tilting his head.

El giggled and tilted her head, "I see it"

"I will take that as a compliment, cause it just means she looks like her Uncle Buck." Buck smirked.

"God, I love her so much. I don't even feel like the same person anymore. Is that weird?" Chimney spoke.

"What's that saying? Having a kid is like walking around with your heart outside of your body." Bobby spoke, placing down a few cups of coffee.

"Okay, that's weirder. And morbid." Chimney said.

"Just means it's a whole different kind of love" Bobby corrected with a smile.

"How's Maddie and Mikey doing?" Eddie asked, "Is he back at work too?"

"Yeah, he's been texting me all morning panicking. I wonder how he is a police officer sometimes" El chuckled a little.

"She's looking after Albert as well, I dropped him off this morning" Chimney confirmed.

"Offer still stands, you know. He can come back to my place" Buck spoke.

"Or I can set him up in one of my apartments," El added, still feeling guilty.

"He needs round-the-clock care" Chimney sighed, "He can't be on his own for a while 24 hours. With the schedule, one of us is always around. Mikey and Maddie have been really great about it all."

"If Maddie and Mikey are working opposite schedules, when do they actually see each other?" Eddie proposed to anyone in the room.

"Yeah, Mikey hasn't thought that far ahead yet" El laughed a little, "But when the restrictions ease I'm sure Aunt Ellie and Uncle Buck will be summoned more often than not"

"Oh, uh, she-she's coming" Buck spoke in a hushed tone as he saw Hen making her way over. Nia had just gone back to her birth mother and it was taking a huge toll on Hen and Karen. With many of them happy about the twins, they all made a pact not to talk about it around Hen to avoid causing any upset.

"So, uh, yeah. The doctor said Albert's physical therapy is going great" Chimney deflected quickly.

"Welcome back!" Hen sang.

"Hey! I was just filling them in on Albert's recovery" Chimney smiled.

"I am disappointed in you guys" Hen shook her head. "Where's the banner? Where's the balloons? This is not how we do it when somebody comes back to work." Hen sassed in a joking manner.

"I said it was okay. I don't need that kind of stuff. Not when, uh..." Chimney trailed off.

"No, no, no, no. We celebrate every good moment. When we can. Now let me see these baby pictures" Hen spoke with a small smile.

"Okay.." Chimney smiled, everyone laughing as relief filled the air.

"I've got some of Lexie too" El spoke with a smile, "Lexie Eleanor Buckley Andrews" El thought she would rub in with a smirk.

"We get it" They all said in sync, laughing hysterically.

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It was another day at work however a storm had rolled in over LA, which wasn't a typical event which meant they were all on standby, crashes and accidents being a lot more frequent at this time. After dealing with a crash, which luckily was a non-fatal one, Dispatch called over the radio asking for assistance only a block away from their position.