The next morning, Buck’s sitting on Eddie’s front porch, eating breakfast with his two favorite Diaz boys.
Once they finish, Eddie goes to put the plates away, only to see someone already trying.
“Trying to help, huh, buddy? I appreciate it, but I got it from here.”
On the road, Jeremy’s still driving, not entirely sure how he’s still awake after who knows how many hours of no sleep.
But then he sees the watch he gave Buck hanging from the rearview mirror, and it becomes crystal clear.
Buck’s not getting away, not this time, never again.
Eddie gestures for Chris to follow, and as he puts the dishes in the sink, he tells Chris patiently,
“Listen, little man, if you have a problem with Buck being here.”
Chris is already shaking his head, “No! I like having Bucky with us. And I like Bucky.”
Eddie’s face lights up hearing that, “You like Buck?”
Chris nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, I do.”
Eddie tells him, “Well, I like him too.”
Chris gestures for Eddie to come closer, and when Eddie leans down, Chris whispers, “I think he likes you back.”
Once again, Chris has managed to surprise Eddie, “Yeah?”
After Jeremy had finally made it to the airport, he’d managed to catch a seat on a plane that wasn’t fully booked, the watch firmly on his wrist when he eventually finally lands in LA.
Unfortunately the LA traffic has his rental in a standstill, so he just opens the driver’s door, gets out, and starts walking.
The moment he finds the source of the traffic, he throws his bottle of scotch at them angrily, then storms back to his rental and drives away.
Finally, finally, he makes it to the 118 fire station, only to find that most of the team is gone, most likely out on a call.
But he just walks right inside anyway, frantic as he searches the other trucks, the gym, anywhere he can see.
When his search attempts are thwarted, he kicks the side of one of the trucks, before marching upstairs to start looking there, gasping for air.
The first thing he sees is a kid with glasses and crutches sitting on the couch, drawing in a coloring book, with a girl that has to be in her teens sitting with him, the heat making her doze.
“Do you need something?”, the kid asks.
At this point, Jeremy’s covered in sweat and can barely think straight, but he just starts looking around the loft, as he hears the kid ask behind him,
“What’re you looking for?”
At that, Jeremy turns, almost sneering, “You’re a little young to be here by yourself, aren’t you?”
At this, the kid says cheerfully, “My daddy’s a firefighter.”
Jeremy tries to ask, “So where’s your daddy now.”
The kid’s smile gets so big when he says, “He’s out saving people!”
Jeremy takes a chance, “What’s your name?”
The kid eagerly replies, “Christopher.”
Glad to have a kid on his side, he shows his badge, “Christopher, I’m a police officer. I’ve come a very long way to come here.”
Chris’ face lights up in recognition, “D-do you know Aunty ‘Thena?”
This just keeps getting better. “Yes I do. She invited me herself. You know how I can call her?”
But that was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Chris then asks, “If you’re a cop, where’s your uniform?”
Seeing he’s gonna have to cover for himself, Jeremy tries to explain, “Christopher, I’m a detective. You know what that is?”
Chris nods. “Y-you catch the bad guys.”
Jeremy agrees, “That’s right. But what you may not know is I also help find missing people.”
Jeremy pauses here to pull out a piece of paper, “And that’s why I’m here now, Chris. Can I call you Chris? I’m looking for a missing person.”
Jeremy smooths out the paper, holding it up so Chris can see the picture of Buck on the person of interest flier.
“Have you seen this man, Chris?”
By now, Chris is too smart to not know something’s wrong, so when he sees the picture of Buck, he studies it for a second, then shakes his head, “No.”
Jeremy wants to snap, but he manages to keep it under wraps as he pushes, moving it closer, “Are you sure?”
Chris nods, “I’m sure.”
Jeremy warns, “You know it’s bad to lie to a cop, right, Chris?”
“I know.”
Seeing he’s not getting anywhere, Jeremy puts the flier back in his pocket.
“Alright then. You have a nice say, Christopher.”
Only, right as Jeremy walks towards the stairs, the team finally pulls into the station.
A quick glance proves Buck is not with them, so he walks right past the rest of the team, right past Eddie, who follows him with his gaze for just a second, before shaking it off to join Christopher and May up in the loft.
“You two ready to go?”
With no one watching, Jeremy walks to his car, this time moving to grab a very shiny loaded gun out of the backseat.
If he can’t have Buck, no one can.
YOU ARE READING
Sanctuary
RomanceEvan "Buck" Buckley moves to LA, determined to make a new life for himself. He takes a job as a firefighter and keeps a low profile, but he is soon won over by the warmth and caring of the close-knit fire family, especially that of widower Eddie Dia...
