The Years of Our Lives (Buddie Kid Fic)

Chapter One: Homecoming

The drive home from the hospital was easily the most terrifying of Buck's life. He was sat in the back seat of their Kia Niro, one arm wrapped protectively around each capsule containing his brand-new babies. His husband was driving, Buck had flat out refused to on the account of him being a complete coward, plus Eddie had already driven Christopher home from the hospital when he was born, so he was experienced right? Eddie hadn't been convinced with this argument, but when he saw how shaky Buck's hands had been when trying to put the babies in the car, he'd given in.

"I can believe we have two newborns now", Buck breathed, gazing down into the capsule on his left. The tiny baby was fast asleep, her small tuft of blonde hair sticking out from under the little hat that had been knitted for her by Bobby. Buck marvelled at how small she was as he looked at her little body all scrunched up, tiny hands up by her face. Eddie had needed to roll her sleeves back a couple of times in order for the onesie to fit past her wrists. They had truly underestimated how small 37-week-old twins would be.

"How are you guys doing back there?", Eddie asked, his eye flicking to the rear-view mirror where he watched his husband staring in awe at their daughter.

"Yeah, we're good, I just can't believe they're ours", Buck replied, running his finger across his daughter's soft cheek. He got a bit of a fright when she turned her head to his hand and opened her mouth slightly, tongue licking around her lips as if looking for something to suck on. Buck pulled his hand back quickly, not wanting to wake the baby from her sleep. He noticed Eddie raise an eyebrow in the rear-view mirror and grinned sheepishly.

"I forgot they did that", he said. Eddie let out a small laugh.

"It's called their rooting reflex Buck; she thinks your finger is a boob".

Buck blushed slightly and turned to his right, turning his attention to the second baby. This one was slightly bigger than his sister, but only just. Buck placed his hand over the baby's body, feeling his son's warmth under his fingers. The baby sighed gently and moved his hand to grasp his dad's finger. Feeling his baby's silky soft hand curl around his finger almost brought a tear to Buck's eye. For 9 months he'd been waiting for this moment, technically longer if you counted the time it had taken to find a surrogate and egg donor, and now that it was finally here, he could hardly believe it. He couldn't wait to see Christopher's face when he finally got to meet his younger siblings, but that would have to wait until tomorrow. Abuela had offered to take Christopher for an extra night, giving the boys time to settle into life with newborn twins.

Eddie pulled into the driveway of their home and gently bought the car to a stop. He leapt out of the front seat and opened the back door, helping Buck unclip the capsule from the car and gently lifting out the baby. He watched in amusement as Buck slithered out the back seat and stretched across, trying to wrestle the second capsule out.

"Babe, just walk around and grab him from the other side", he sniggered, gently pinching Buck's side. Buck rolled his eyes and exited the car, trudging around the side and opening the door, lifting his son out of the back in a much safer fashion.

Once inside the house, Buck and Eddie gently place the capsules on the floor in front of them and collapsed onto the couch. Buck rested his head on Eddie's shoulder and the other man placed a gentle kiss on his head.

"We did it", Eddie said, looking down at the two babies snugly tucked into their seats. He was still trying to get into his head that he now had 3 children, not just Christopher. He missed the kid like crazy, looking forward to him coming home, but for now, he had his two little ones to take care of. Untangling himself from Buck, he levered himself off the couch and crouched down in front of one of the capsules. As he unbuckled the straps, he watched as the baby stretched, his little face scrunching up and arms reaching up above his head, slightly dislodging the hat. His silky brown hair poked out from the brim of the hat, making Eddie stretch out a hand and softly stroke it. He put his hands under each of the baby's arms and gently lifted him out, enjoying the giddy feeling that spread through his body as he watched his tiny son tuck his little legs up in the classic newborn scrunch. Carrying the baby over to the couch, he placed him in Buck's arms and moved to pick up his daughter. The two men sat on the couch, each with a baby in their arms, just silently marvelling at the wonder of new life. Their new lives.

"So, do you think the names we chose work well for them?", Buck asked, jarring Eddie from his baby-filled dream. He tore his eyes away from the little girl he was cradling to look at his son.

"Yeah, I think so. He looks like a Romeo, doesn't he?"

Buck nodded, running his hands over the baby's smooth hair, the hat laying discarded on the floor next to them.

"Rafael Romeo Buckley-Diaz", Buck spoke, letting his son's name roll off his tongue. "Why aren't we calling him Romeo Rafael again?"

Eddie shrugged. "I dunno, Rafael Romeo flows better. Besides, we just call him Romeo anyway, it doesn't really matter comes before or after, right?".

Buck nodded, using his finger to trace a line from the top of Romeo's forehead, down his nose and onto his lips, pulling them apart slightly. He breathed out a small laugh as the baby's mouth stayed open, clearly completely dead to the world and his father's playfulness.

The boys turned their attention to their fair-haired daughter who was slumbering peacefully in Eddie's arms. She had been the hardest to name by far, both men having an extensive list of boy's names they agreed on, but only a handful of girl's names.

"Hi Emilia", Eddie cooed, lifting his daughter up so he could kiss her tiny nose. After weeks and weeks of going back and forth, Buck and Eddie had finally decided on Emilia Isabel Buckley-Diaz, after Abuela. They wanted to honour all she'd done for their family in the name they chose for their daughter.

Eddie gently transferred Emilia, so she was laying on his chest, using one hand to stabilise the back of her head as he allowed himself to lay back on the couch. It had been almost 12 years since he'd had a newborn anywhere near him, and even then, he hadn't been around for much of Christopher's fundamental early years. He was nervous as he rubbed Emilia's back; nervous that he would mess this up, miss his kids' lives again. Him and Buck had talked to Bobby, saying they were happy to come back to work when the babies were a few months older, but that they wanted to be able to come home to them again at the end of the day. No 24-hour shifts, if it could be managed.

A small snore brought him back to the present and he turned his head to see Buck passed out next to him, mouth open slightly, arms wrapped protectively around Romeo, who was slumbering happily on his father's chest. Eddie smiled and surveyed the peaceful sight. Tomorrow they would introduce their babies to Christopher, and the 118. But for tonight, they would rest. And rest they did.

For 30 minutes until the twins decided it was time for food.