Black And Blue-E.Buckley (9-1-1)

Nine

"Wow," Maddie spoke as she set her bag down on the table. "You staying with Buck is gonna benefit him so much."

Eleanor put the last cup in the cabinet and closed it. She turned to face Maddie. "For someone with no food in his apartment, he surely has a lot of dishware," the girls shared a laugh.

"I think most of that was gifted when he moved in honestly."

"How does he survive?"

"I bring stuff over sometimes or Bobby cooks a lot on shift." Eleanor nodded. "Do you wanna get out of here for a little? I can't imagine it's very fun being stuck inside all day."

"I'm pretty used to it but yeah, if you wanna go out we can," Eleanor smiled. Maddie smiled back, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door. Eleanor followed behind her.

Maddie picked a quiet little diner not far from Buck's. The girls placed their orders before finding a table in the corner of the diner. 

"How was your day? What did you do besides clean Buck's entire apartment, which he'll love by the way."

"Not much else, I watched TV."

"I'm sorry," Maddie gave her a sympathetic smile. "We'll have to plan a girl's day."

"That would be nice. How was your day?"

"Crazy," Maddie laughed. As they waited for their food Maddie told Eleanor about the incident with Norman and his wife, Lola on the bridge. 

"Wait, how did she even get up there?"

"I have no clue," the girls laughed. 

"Wow, I mean I know how she feels. I felt invisible too but that just seems crazy. She's definitely being seen now."

"Yeah by a therapist." The food finally arrived and Maddie continued to tell Eleanor about some of the crazy things she's encountered at work. "If you think my stories are crazy though you should ask Buck about some of his. I only hear it over the phone, he actually sees it."

"I couldn't imagine, wow. I guess I'll probably see some of it eventually." Maddie gave her a confused look. "I wanna finish school and become a nurse. It's always been my dream."

"Oh, that's amazing. You'd be a great nurse. I used to be but after Doug and everything that happened, I just needed a change. I loved it though. What kind of nurse?"

"I don't really have a specific area I wanna be in yet."

"That's fine, you'll figure it out. There's no rush." 

"Maddie, can I ask you something kinda crazy?"

"Of course, anything."

"Do you ever think about Doug? Like, wonder where he is or what he's doing. Not in a caring way."

"All the time. I hate thinking about him but yes. I think it's like a trauma response or something. Not knowing and being afraid that he's just gonna show up."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one."

"You definitely aren't El. You are not alone. I won't tell you that everything is gonna be fine and that you shouldn't be scared because I still feel like that myself. But I understand. I'm here whenever you need to talk or just don't wanna be alone." 

"Thank you, for everything. You and Buck have been absolutely amazing, I really appreciate everything you guys are doing for me."

****

Eleanor was on the couch watching TV when Buck finally arrived home. He set his stuff done on the table before making his way into the living room. He sat down opposite Eleanor on the couch. She turned and smiled at him. "How was your day?"

"Crazy. I almost got shot."

"What?" Concern spread across her face as she looked him over for any injuries.

"Did you watch the news today?"

"I don't watch the news, too depressing."

"Fair point. So we got called to the bridge 'cause some lady was up there with a sign."

"Wait, is this about Norman?"

"How..?"

"Maddie."

Buck nodded. "So I went up to try and get her down and then she pulled out a gun. Here," Buck pulled his phone out of his pocket and searched for the video. He handed it to Eleanor to watch.

"Wow.. people are crazy." She handed his phone back.

"Yeah. Anyway, how was your day?"

"It was okay. I, uhh, hope you don't mind but I cleaned and reorganized." Buck laughed a little. "Maddie stopped and we went out for a little."

"I don't mind at all. I did say to make yourself comfortable so if that makes you more comfortable then it's okay. I don't really do much around here except eat and sleep."

"I can tell. It's a nice place though, nice view."

"It is a pretty nice view. Gets kinda lonely sometimes though."

"Well, you're not alone anymore," they shared a smile. After a few moments, they turned back to the TV and started watching whatever was on. Eleanor laughed at a joke they made and Buck couldn't help but smile at her. He stared at her in awe. All the trauma she had been through and she still managed to smile.