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Buck was never going to live this down if anyone ever found out.
He’s not even sure how Jee-Yun had managed to get her favourite teddy stuck up in the tree. With Chimney covering a shift and Maddie being called into work, Buck had been on uncle duties. Not that he would ever complain. He loved spending time with his niece and was happy to look after her whenever his sister and brother-in-law needed.
They had been playing outside and Buck had turned his back for a second to get Jee her juice cup. When he had turned back around, the teddy was in the tree and Jee was looking up at him with big, wet, eyes.
Of course, Buck wasn’t going to leave the teddy in the tree.
“Don’t worry, princess. This is what Uncle Buck has been training for,” Buck had said, flashing her a grin.
Jee had grinned right back and clapped her hands as Buck climbed the tree to retrieve the teddy. It had all been going smoothly until a branch had snapped under Buck and he had gone tumbling back to the ground.
The good news was he had retrieved the teddy.
The bad news was that Buck was pretty sure he was going to need some stitches for the large gash travelling up his arm.
“Uncle Buck?” Jee asked, hugging her recently rescued Teddy to her chest, looing worried.
“I’m okay,” Buck told her through a strained smile as the sting started to make its presence known. “You want to play doctors?”
Jee had brightened and nodded.
They moved back into the house, Buck grabbing the first aid kit that he knew Chimney kept in the house. He sat Jee at the table and took a seat beside her.
“Okay, Doctor Jee. First thing we need to do is clean the wound,” Buck said.
With Jee’s help, he managed to clean the wound and he was in the middle of wrapping it when Chimney came striding into the house.
The grin on his face faded when he caught sight of them.
“It’s not what you think,” Buck blurted out.
“It looks like you are bleeding on my table,” Chimney said, moving over to them. He pressed a kiss to Jee’s head before he moved to Buck, taking his arm, and carefully undoing the bandages Buck had wrapped up.
“Uncle Buck rescued my Teddy from a tree,” Jee supplied helpfully.
“You need to call an arborist,” Buck told Chimney.
“And now we are playing doctor!” Jee cheered.
Chimney hissed as he peeled back the covering. “Buckaroo, that is going to need some stitches.”
Buck groaned. “I’m fine.”
“You are not,” Chimney said, putting back the covering and swiftly wrapping Buck’s arm again. “Come on. Family trip to the ER.”
Jee cheered as Buck groaned again.
Buck allowed himself to be bullied into Chimney’s car. When they reached the hospital, Chimney carried Jee in one arm, his other hand holding Buck’s elbow as he steered them into the emergency room.
Buck felt a little flutter in his chest at the care Chimney was showing him. Growing up, it had always been Maddie who had taken care of him when he had gotten hurt. Sure, his parents had finally started paying him attention but as soon as that initial fear was gone, they had gone back to ignoring him.
It still surprised him that he had people in his life that cared about him when he was hurt.
It took a little while for them to be seen and by the time Buck was taken back, his arm was starting to really sting and throb. Chimney sat Jee beside him on the bed while the doctor started gathering everything he would need to give Buck stitches.
“Alright Doctor Jee,” Buck said as the doctor got himself ready. “You make sure Doctor Green does a good job.”
Doctor Green grinned at Jee who nodded seriously.
Buck was vaguely aware of Chimney snapping a picture as the doctor spread numbing cream around the wound area. As the doctor begun to stitch Buck up, Chimney phone started ringing.
“Hey,” Chimney answered, moving away.
Chimney spoke to quietly for Buck to keep up with the conversation and he was distracted by the odd tugging sensation on his arm. The call ended quickly and then Chimney was back at his side, his hand landing on Buck’s shoulder, squeezing gently.
“How are you going?”
“Fine,” Buck said, glancing at Jee. “Nearly done, I guess.”
“Nearly done,” Doctor Green confirmed.
Chimney’s fingers started combing through Buck’s hair, pulling out bit of twigs and leaves that had snagged in his curls as he had fallen from the tree. Buck leaned into the touch, ignoring Chimney’s chuckle.
As Doctor Green begun to tie off the last stitch, Eddie Diaz suddenly came into the room. He looked like he had been running, a strand of hair falling across his eyes.
“Eddie!” Jee cheered.
“Hey princess,” Eddie grinned despite his flustered appearance. “You fixing up your Uncle Buck?”
Jee nodded. “All better!”
“Exactly,” Buck beamed at her. He looked at Eddie. “What are you doing here?”
“Chimney messaged,” Eddie said. He came forward as Doctor Green started wrapping Buck’s arm to protect the stitches. “Said you got hurt doing a rescue.”
“My teddy!” Jee said, looking at Eddie. “He got stuck in a tree. Uncle Buck saved him!”
Buck’s cheeks went hot as Eddie fought a smile.
“I bet he did,” Eddie said, voice soft and fond.
“All done,” Doctor Green said. “Mr. Buckley, you know the drill.”
“Sure do,” Buck said. “Thanks Doc.”
Doctor Green smiled at Jee. “Thank you for your help, Doctor Jee.”
Jee beamed back at him.
“We’ll go do the discharge papers,” Chimney said, scooping Jee into his arms. He gave Buck and Eddie a knowing look.
“You didn’t have to rush down here,” Buck said as he slid off the gurney.
Eddie hand was on his elbow in an instant as Buck wobbled slightly. “Yes, I did.”
Buck turned to look at Eddie. “It’s just some stitches.”
“You’re my partner,” Eddie said firmly. “And you know how much I hate seeing you in the hospital.”
Buck looked at Eddie, taking in the worry in his eyes. “I’m okay. It was just a scratch.”
“It may not have been,” Eddie said, voice quiet.
“Ed’s?” Buck asked.
Eddie sighed, squeezing Buck’s elbow. “I hate not having your back.”
“Eddie, come on! This was an accident,” Buck said.
“I don’t like you being hurt,” Eddie continued. “You don’t deserve to be hurt. You deserve… you deserve all the nice things.”
“So do you,” Buck said gently.
“I…,” Eddie swallowed thickly, his grip on Buck’s elbow tightening. He took a deep breath, like he was steeling himself. “I want to be what you deserve.”
Buck swayed, wondering if he had hit his head when he had fallen out of the tree. Because it sounded like Eddie had just said….
“You – I mean – Are you saying…?” Buck stuttered.
“I am trying,” Eddie said, cheeks flushing pink. “I’m not very good-“
“You are,” Buck interrupted. “Eddie, I love you. I don’t deserve you at all but I can try-“
“You do,” Eddie cut Buck off. “You do Buck. You are so good and so kind, and you got hurt rescuing a teddy for your niece and that sums you up entirely. I love you and I want to give us a try. Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone.”
Buck leaned into Eddie space and kissed him.
Eddie gasped under Buck’s lips but didn’t pull away. Only pulled Buck closer to him, deepening the press of their lips together. The kiss didn’t last long, the sound of the emergency room reminding them where they were.
Buck felt his heart racing in his chest, joy spreading though his chest. He couldn’t help the bright grin that spread across his face. “Wow.”
Eddie beamed back at him, cheeks an adorable pink. “Yeah.”
An alarm sounded close by, reminding them again where they were.
“Let me take you home,” Eddie said, dropping Buck’s elbow and linking their fingers together.
“Yeah,” Buck agreed, nodding furiously. “Home.”
Eddie squeezed their fingers together.
It was not the day Buck had expected, one that he had not dared to hope too much for, but he was glad that it happened. He didn’t know if this was going to work, but he had hope that this was it because this was Eddie. Eddie was the best person to ever come into Buck’s life. Eddie was everything and Buck couldn’t wait to try with him.