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„9-1-1, what’s you emergency?“ Josh Russo, the 9-1-1 dispatcher, asked.
„My daddy fell and hit his head. He’s unconscious and bleeding from a wound on his head.” A small voice replied calmly.
“What’s your name, sweetie?”
“My name is Christopher Diaz.”
Josh knew of Christopher. He typed the address of the Diaz Residence into the system and dispatched the station 118. At the same time, he talked to Christopher on the phone, while simultaneously texting Maddie, who was off until later today.
*~*
3 hours earlier
Eddie stepped out of the shower and quickly dried his body, got dressed and brushed his teeth. He had two hours before his shift at the firehouse started and he still needed to wake Christopher and get him ready for school.
He wandered out of the bathroom and looked at his blissed out and sexed out husband. Eddie woke way before his alarm and decided to wake his sleeping husband with kisses and a round of lovemaking. Nothing relaxed his husband more than an orgasm…so he gave him a couple, just to be sure.
Eddie loved making love to his husband. He never had that kind of intimacy that he had with Evan with anyone else. War had brought them together, but love and dedication to one another forged a bond between them, that not even Evan’s diagnosis two years ago could break apart.
Their sex life had limitations, but they made the best of it. More often than not, Eddie had to do all the work, but that was fine with him. Eddie loved nothing more than to ride Evan and boy did he ride him today.
Eddie took one last look at Evan, who dozed off and went to Christopher’s room to wake him.
After Christopher was up and moving, Eddie heard his phone ringing in their bedroom. He quickly went to see who was calling. He grabbed and quickly answered it, before it could stop ringing.
“Go for Diaz.”
“Morning, Eddie. It’s Bobby.”
Eddie looked at Buck, who was blinking lazily at him with a small smile.
“Good morning, Cap. What’s up?” Eddie asked and looked at his husband, with one only could describe as a love sick look. God he loved this man. Even after twelve years together, Eddie was still so in love with him, that it felt like they were still in their Honeymoon period.
“Eddie, are you still there?” The captain asked.
Eddie shook his head and grinned dopily at this husband, who had the same look on his face.
“I’m sorry, Cap. I’m still there. Could you repeat that?”
Evan had the audacity to quietly laugh in his face.
“I said, Monroe called in sick. Could you come in now?”
“Uh, I can, but I need at least an hour. I have to get Christopher ready.”
“That’s fine. Thank you, Eddie. See you in an hour.” They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Eddie pointed his phone at his husband and mock glared at him.
“You, Evan Diaz, are a menace.”
“Me?” Buck laughed. “I didn’t do anything. You were the one who was distracted.”
“And whose fault is that? Stop looking so gorgeous.” Eddie whined and Buck laughed some more.
It took Buck a while to come to terms with his diagnosis. After he sulked for about two weeks, he steeled his spine and went to tackle his diagnosis with the same determination he had during his service in the Navy. He still had bouts of depression and insecurities, especially after acute attacks, but Eddie was always there to reassure him, that he was still so much in love with him, as the first time they said it to each other.
Eddie bent down to kiss his husband, but before their lips could connect, he heard his child shouting for him.
“Daaaaad, I’m hungry.”
“Your son is hungry,” Eddie whispered and pecked Buck’s lips.
“My son? I thought he was our son?”
“When he’s a menace like his daddy, he’s all yours.”
“I’ll make him something, you get to work.” Buck nudged Eddie and struggled to sit up. A spasm in his right thigh made Buck’s face contort in pain.
“I’ll go get your meds, carino.” Eddie turned around to go to the kitchen but Buck grabbed his wrist.
“No, I’ll need to eat something before I take them. I’ll ride it out and then I shower. You should go.”
They could hear Christopher’s crutches.
“I’m not leaving you here like this. Come on. Up you go.” Eddie helped Buck to his feet with the sheet wrapped around his waist, thigh still visibly trembling.
Christopher’s head poked in.
“What’s going on?” Their eight-year-old took one look at his dads and Buck’s pained face to know what was going on.
“Good morning, baby. How did you sleep?” Buck wanted to put on a brave face for his son, but one look at him told Buck, he was failing miserably.
“Fine, daddy. Is your leg bothering you again?” That boy was way too smart. They never kept Buck’s diagnosis a secret from him. They couldn’t hide it, even if they wanted to. So they drilled into Christopher how to react and what to do, if Buck ever had an emergency.
“Yeah, kiddo. But it’s nothing a hot shower can’t fix. Go to the kitchen. Your dad will make you your cereals.” Buck told his son. The spasm in his leg was already subsiding a bit.
“No, it’s okay. I want an omelet. I’ll wait for you, daddy.”
Buck snorted and Eddie rolled his eyes. It was no secret that Eddie was a terrible cook. He worked at the 118 for two weeks and Bobby already roped him in and gave him cooking lessons. And Eddie was glad for it. There would come a time, hopefully far away in the future, where Buck wouldn’t be able to cook anymore. So Eddie needed to step up.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to today, baby. My vision is not the best. We’ll have to wait for Carla.”
Eddie’s head whipped around fast.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” He asked. He urged Chris to go back to the living room to do his stretches, while he helped his husband into the shower and on his shower stool.
“I didn’t say anything because it’s not so bad, babe.” Buck turned on the shower and sighed when the hot water hit his body.
“But bad enough, that you can’t cook. I’ll call Bobby and tell him that I can’t come in today.”
“You will do no such thing. Eddie, Carla will be here in two hours. We’ll be fine until then. She’ll make us breakfast, she’ll take him to school and then she’s keeping me company.” Buck listed off as he lathered his body.
“You worry too much.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it.” Eddie said helplessly. Buck didn’t reply to him. They had this argument often enough. Buck didn’t want to lose his independence, but he had to admit that his body had limitations. And there were going to be more and more limitations in the future. But until then, Buck clung fiercely to his independence.
After a couple of more minutes the shower turned off and the curtain was pulled aside. Eddie reached for the warm towel and helped his husband dry off and out of the shower. Buck put on his clothes and Eddie helped him up. The spasm was gone but Buck still had trouble walking.
He parked Buck on the couch, went to the kitchen to lay out his meds and got both his boys glasses of orange juice.
When he got back to the living room, Buck was on the floor coaching Christopher on his stretches and doing physical therapy himself.
Eddie smiled affectionately at his boys and put the glasses down on the coffee table. He bent down to kiss his son’s forehead and then his husband’s lips.
“I’m off. Call me if you need anything.”
“Don’t worry, Carla will be here soon.” Eddie pecked his lips again. “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Chris be good until Carla comes.” Eddie said, grabbed his bag and went to work.
*~*
Buck was hungry. Having sex with your husband and then dealing with his muscle spasm and shower made him hungry. His vision was slowly getting better, so he got up from the couch to go to the kitchen to find something to eat for them.
“Daddy what are you doing? Carla will be here soon.” Christopher looked worriedly at his father.
“I’ll just get us some toast, kid-“ Buck’s cell phone rang. It was Carla. “Good morning Carla. What’s up?”
“Hey, Buck. I’m gonna be late. My son threw up half the night and then I overslept. My boo is staying with him today, but I just left my house. So I don’t know how long it’s gonna take me to get there.” Carla said in a rush.
“Hey, don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Don’t drive recklessly, take your time. We’re not going anywhere.”
“Thank you, Buck. I’m still gonna be on time to take the little angel to school. See you soon.” They said their goodbye’s and hung up the phone.
“It looks like it’s going to be you and me for a little while longer, superman. Carla is running a little behind. I’m going to start breakfast.”
“But, daddy…” Chris looked at his daddy helplessly. “We should really wait for Carla. You have a bad morning.”
“I’m fine, kiddo. My vision is almost back to normal. And my leg-“ In that moment a couple of things happened at once. When Buck turned around, with a glass bowl in his hand, his bad leg started spasming really bad. Buck lost his balance, the glass bowl slipped from his hand shattering into a million pieces on the floor, and he fell down with his head hitting the edge of the counter before he landed.
Christopher watched in horror as his father fell down and hitting his head. It felt like it happened in slow motion.
Christopher got up as fast as he could, grabbed the phone and went over to his dad.
“Daddy?” The eight-year-old asked teary eyed. He got no answer, but he saw blood pooling beneath his dad’s head. He tried to stay calm and recite what his dads both told him over and over again. Taking a deep breath, he went to a cabinet in the kitchen, steering clear of all that glass and got a couple of clean towels. He went back to his dad, trying to find a clean spot without glass shards, got on the floor and pressed a clean towel to his head.
“I‘ve got you, daddy. Don’t worry. I’m going to call help.”
Christopher grabbed the phone and called 9-1-1.
*~*
So far it was a slow morning. Since Eddie came in, they had no calls. He was helping Bobby make breakfast for the team, while Hen and Chimney stocked the Ambulance.
“So, did you get Christopher sorted out before you came in?” Bobby asked and supervised Eddie, as the younger man cracked eggs to whip them together.
“Yeah, my husband is with him and our aid is coming in,” Eddie glanced at his watch. “Right about now.”
“When are we going to meet that husband of yours?”
“I don’t know. Maybe at the next famous family barbecue I heard so much about?”
Before Bobby could answer Eddie the alarm went off.
They abandoned what they were doing and ran towards their rigs. Eddie could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket but he didn’t have time to check. When they were halfway there, Eddie’s heart began to beat faster. It looked like the way to his house.
“Bobby what’s the address?” Eddie asked and took his phone out of his pocket with a sinking feeling.
Bobby rattled of the address and Eddie read Maddie’s text.
Oh god, Evan.
*~*
Buck groaned. Eddie was going to be mad. Really mad.
He tried to get up, but his body wasn’t listening to him. His leg still spasmed painfully.
“Daddy don’t move.” His son urged. ‘Oh god, Christopher’, Buck thought. “He’s awake.” Buck tried to look up to see who his son was talking to, but his vision started to blur as hot pain shot through his head.
“That’s good, buddy. The ambulance is almost there.” Buck recognized that voice.
“Josh?” He asked weakly.
He grunted as he tried to get up again, but Christopher urged him to stay down. Buck felt with his hands around him to find leverage, but he hissed when his hands were cut.
“Hey, Buck. You scared us.” Josh replied, still texting Maddie. He updated her on her brother’s condition.
“Daddy, stay down. You’re bleeding.” Josh could hear Christopher’s exasperation.
Christopher could see his dad was uncomfortable on the floor, so he slid under his dad’s head so it was cushioned on Christopher’s thigh.
Buck sighed. The towel, that Chris still had pressed to his dad’s head, was stained red. So he took another clean towel and replaced the soaked one. Buck hissed in pain.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, baby. You did really good. Just like we taught you. I’m really proud of you.” Buck would’ve patted his son, but he had glass shards stuck in his hand and didn’t want to hurt him.
“Are you hurt, Chris?” They could hear the sirens.
“A little. Just a couple of small cuts. But it’s okay. And you’re going to be okay kid.” Christopher petted his daddy’s head.
Buck let out a small sob. “Thank you, baby. For staying with me. I’m sorry you had to see this.”
Before Chris could answer, the door burst open and the 118 came in. Buck groaned again.
*~*
Bobby didn’t understand why Eddie was so agitated all of a sudden. He was the first out of the rig and sprinting towards the house.
The captain realized that it must be Eddie’s house, as he opened the door with a key. He urged Chim and Hen on to get the gurney and their things and ran after Eddie.
“Evan? Christopher?” Eddie called into the house. Bobby could hear a small voice.
“In the kitchen.”
When Bobby reached them, only a second after Eddie, he was met with a small bloodbath. There was glass everywhere, a lot of blood and blood soaked towels.
“Hey, honey, you're home early.” The young man said conversationally. That must be Eddie’s husband.
“Don’t ‘Hey, honey’ me. How did this happen?” Eddie asked and didn’t know where to start in this mess. He went to his knees, thankful he had his turn out gear on, so the glass didn’t bother him. He kissed Buck’s neck, as his temple and forehead was guarded by a tiny hand with a towel.
Chimney and Hen had a look of shock on their faces. Not only by the mess they saw, but also because they realized they were in Eddie’s home. And he apparently had a husband. They knew he was married. They all saw the black silicone band he wore at work, and the silver ring he wore before and after shift, but they didn’t know it was a man he was married to. And a gorgeous one at that.
“Don’t be mad at him, dad. Carla called to say she would be late and he was hungry. He lost his balance, his bad leg spasmed again, he fell and hit his head on the way down.” They couldn’t believe how clinical the little boy sounded. Like he had done this before.
“What he said.” The husband replied quietly.
As the stress of the situation waned, so did Christopher’s adrenaline rush. He burst into tears.
That had the team spring into action. Bobby gently took hold of Buck’s head, while Eddie grabbed Christopher under his arms and took him in his arms. He cradled his son to his chest and tucked his head in the crook of his neck. He soothed him and carded his hands through his messy curls.
“You did good, mijo. I am so proud of you.” He whispered into his son’s ear.
Chimney got Buck’s neck into a brace, while Hen took a look at his head wound and shine a light into his eyes, which Buck tried to flinch away from.
“Hi. My name is Hen and that’s Chimney. It’s nice to meet you.” Hen said to the younger man.
“Nice to meet you too. I heard so much about you.” Buck replied and flinched, when Chimney got the IV in. They moved him onto the gurney with Bobby’s help.
“Hopefully all good things,” Chimney said and started the fluids. He noticed the leg spasm. Eddie noticed the shared look between Hen and her partner.
“Evan has Multiple sclerosis,” The paramedics shared a sympathetic look. “Did you take your meds yet, carino?”
“No. I wanted to eat something first. But Carla is running late, so…”
Christopher’s head came up.
“I told him to wait for Carla, but he said his vision was almost back and he was hungry.” The eight-year-old continued.
Hen and Chimney both got the tiny glass shards out of Buck’s hand.
“You need to check out Chris. He said he got small cuts.” Buck looked at Chris.
“Traitor.” Christopher replied with a tiny glare.
“Who is the tattle tale?” Buck shot back and Christopher stuck his tongue out. It felt like an old argument and the 118 started to laugh. It lightened the mood immediately.
“Hey,” Eddie took his son’s tongue between his fingers. “Cut it out.”
They heard two car doors slam shut and a couple of seconds later Maddie and Carla appeared in the kitchen.
“What happened in here?” Carla asked, shock clear on her face.
“Oh my god, Evan. Are you okay?” Maddie went to her brother and took his hand in hers. Chimney stared at Maddie like he had seen an angel.
“I’m fine, Mads. Just a little tumble.” Buck said it like it happened every day. All who knew Buck, snorted at that.
Maddie then noticed the paramedics. She smiled at Hen and when her eyes met Chimney, sparks immediately flew between them.
The rest of the crew, including Carla and Buck, watched them in fascination. Maddie and Chimney continued to stare into each other’s eyes.
“Excuse me,” The pair startled when Buck called them. “I don’t want to rush you, but maybe you two could stare at each other later? I’m bleeding out here.”
Maddie and Chimney blushed furiously.
Hen snorted. “We dressed the wound, Evan. The blood hasn’t even seeped through.”
Buck pouted. “Well it could be.” They all laughed at him.
After that they packed everything up and loaded Buck into the ambulance. Eddie and Chris got in too, so Chris could get his cuts cleaned. Before the ambulance doors were closed, Carla handed Eddie Buck’s pouch. It contained his meds and a list of what he took, when he took it and which meds he didn’t tolerate.
They all agreed to meet at the hospital to wait with Eddie, while his son and husband got checked out.
*~*
They took Buck to radiology for a MRI, to eliminate a brain bleed and to see if he had new lesions.
Christopher was passed out on Eddie’s lap, after his wounds were cleaned. He got a couple of superman band aids on his hands that he gushed about. On Hen’s first run to the Starbucks across the street, she got Christopher a bagel and a muffin, which he both inhaled. Eddie gently carded his fingers through his son’s hair.
Hen handed him a Starbucks cup and Eddie took it gratefully.
“So how come Christopher did stay so calm during all of this?” Hen wanted to know.
“We taught him after Evan was diagnosed. We knew there would come a time, when I wasn’t there to help him and we needed to prepare Christopher. Evan got diagnosed two years ago. It started with tingling in his right side. Then he dropped things, his speech slurred and his vision blurred. He went to the doctor, they did a MRI, spinal tap, lab work. They found lesions in his brain. He was medically discharged from the navy.”
“He’s a marine?” Bobby asked.
Eddie snorted, almost spitting out his coffee. “Oh god, no. And if you value your life, you don’t ask him that.” Eddie shook his head fondly. “He’s a Navy SEAL.”
Evan may not look it anymore, because he couldn’t work out like he used to, but he was still fit. He lost a lot of muscle mass but he still tried to keep what he had left.
“And he was a damn good one. The MS diagnosis forced him to retire.”
“That’s how you two met?” Hen wanted to know.
“Yeah. I was in the Army. We met twelve years ago in Iraq. He was a demolitions expert and I a combat medic. A team member of Buck’s got shot with a grenade. Their mission went south; they were under heavy fire before they were extracted. When they were brought into the medical tent, Buck helped me remove the round and then he collapsed himself from blood loss. The idiot didn’t tell anybody he was shot.”
They stared at him in shock.
“He got a medal for it and I got a boyfriend.” Eddie laughed at the memory. “We married after two years of dating. After that we got a surrogate, because we wanted a kid and that’s how Christopher was born.”
“Do you know who the biological father is?” Chimney asked.
“Buck is the biological father, but my sister Adrianna donated the egg.”
“Must be tough. Raising a kid with CP and having a husband with MS. How are you handling all these medical bills?” Hen wanted to know. “I know our salary isn’t that much.”
Eddie agreed. “You’re right, but we get by. We’ve got our pensions but Buck got a trust fund.”
Maddie continued the story for Eddie.
“The Buckley family is loaded. And while our parents should never have had children, our grandparents made up for that. Our parents are not bad people, just bad parents. But our grandparents loved us. They set up a huge trust fund for us, that we got when were eighteen. So the trust fund paid for the surrogate, the medical bills and pays for Carla.”
“I don’t have to work, but I love helping people and the trust fund is Evan’s, not mine. He insisted on “What is mine, is yours”-routine, but I let him pay for the medical bills and that’s it.”
“I have a new found respect for you, Eddie.” Hen said in awe. “I mean, it can’t be easy dealing with Buck’s MS and Christopher’s CP.”
“It’s not, but we deal. He’s still the same man I fell in love with twelve years ago. And that’s never going to change.”
“If you ever need anything, you just have to ask. We’re all here for you. You’re part of the family now.” Bobby said and the rest nodded their heads.
“Thank you,” Eddie said touched. “That means a lot.”
Just then the doctor who treated his husband came out and went over to the waiting crew. Eddie wanted to get up, but the doctor motioned for him to stay seated.
“Mr. Diaz, your husband is settled into a room. I want to keep him for observation tonight to monitor his concussion. We stitched up his temple and gave him his Beta-Interferon.”
Eddie nodded along with the doctor. “What about his MRI?”
“Thankfully there was no brain bleed. His optic nerve is slightly inflamed and we’re treating it with an IV of cortisone. But we have found no lesions.”
Eddie sighed in relief. “Can we see him?”
“Yes, he is in room 201.” They thanked the doctor and Eddie gently woke Christopher.
“Come on, buddy. We’re going to see daddy now.” Chris rubbed his eyes and lifted his arms to be carried. He didn’t do it often anymore, he liked his independence, but he had small cuts on his hands from the broken glass.
A nurse pointed them in the right direction and they found Buck in his hospital bed. They cleaned him up and put him in a gown. He had two IV’s in both arms and his head was bandaged. He looked exhausted.
Buck turned his head when he heard the door open and smiled at his boys.
“Hey, guys.” Eddie carefully laid Christopher on Buck’s bed, mindful of his IV’s. Buck hugged his son and whispered in his ear. “Thank you for today, baby. You did really good.”
“I was so scared,” Christopher sniffled. “But I took a deep breath, just like you said and soldiered through.”
Tears welled up in Buck’s and Eddie’s eyes. They never wanted Chris to experience something like this so young.
“And you would make a fine Navy SEAL.” Evan said to his son. Eddie let out an offended huff.
“Excuse me? He would make a fine Army soldier.” His husband had the audacity to ‘pffft’ him. Christopher giggled.
The rest of the extended family laughed at them.
“Hey Maddie. Did I remember that correctly? You had a meet-cute over my broken and mangled body? Have you set up a date yet?”
Maddie and Chimney blushed furiously.
“You must obviously be feeling better. And if you have to know, yes we did set up a date.” Maddie answered her brother smugly.
They bickered back and forth for a couple of more minutes.
Bobby broke it up by announcing that they had to head back to the station.
“Guys we need to go. Eddie I’m giving you the next two days off to look after your husband.” Eddie wanted to protest, he didn’t need the time off. He was only working at the station for two weeks. “I know what you’re thinking, Eddie. But don’t worry about it. In my house, it’s always family first. You focus on your family. And on our next weekend off, my wife and I are hosting a family barbecue, so the rest of the fire fam can meet Evan and Christopher.”
Eddie nodded gratefully and went to hug his captain.
“I’m taking off too. My shift starts in a couple of hours and I go by your house with Carla to clean up the kitchen.” Maddie said and looked at Carla for confirmation. The boys started to protest. “Don’t worry about it. You stay here and relax.”
Carla and Maddie each kissed the boys goodbye and left with the rest of the crew.
Suddenly the hospital room was dead quiet.
Eddie took a seat on Evan’s other side, gently laid his hand on Buck’s bandaged head and just looked at him. Christopher was slowly dozing off again.
“You scared me,” Eddie whispered. “When I realized where we headed, I-“
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Buck quietly replied.
“No it’s not your fault. It was just a bad morning.”
“But something good came out of it.” Buck said after a while.
“And what’s that?”
“Maddie finally got a boyfriend and I have finally something new to gossip about with Josh.”
They both laughed and shared a long kiss.
The end