After yet another night of Norman ignoring Buck's rules of not being allowed on the bed, Buck wakes up when his phone goes off.
It takes a moment before he finally opens his eyes, but then he's reaching for it, signing when he sees who's on the caller ID.
"Taylor...hey. What's up?"
"Bucky! Good morning! I didn't wake you up, did I?"
Yes. "No, not at all. My shift isn't till later." Buck lies, and of course Norman has to meow right at that second, a judgemental look on his face.
"Please tell me I didn't just hear that cat. It doesn't sleep with you, does it?"
Buck looks down where the smug little bastard's still laying on the bed, then says with a completely straight face, "Not in a million years."
Then he compromises, "Once or twice."
Then he caves altogether, "Yes."
"Buck! That's completely ridiculous! That's it. Come tomorrow, we're bringing it to my dad's pet supply store, and he'll take it off your hands to adopt it. It's that or a shelter. Your choice."
It's really not, but Buck can overlook that. For now.
"He's not really much of a bother to look after. All I really have to do is feed and look after him."
"And what if you wanna take off for Iceland on a romantic getaway to see the Northern Lights? Or go skiing in Aspen? Who's gonna look after it?"
Buck's taken by surprise at that, "You wanna go on a romantic getaway with me?"
He hears a scoff before she lies, "No...be serious. I don't particularly feel like freezing to death. I was talking hypothetically. And can you really see yourself walking around with a ball and chain?"
"I told my sister and her husband that I'd bring the guy to a charity event so they could meet him!" Eddie fills Hen in the next day, as they walk into class.
"Oh there's ways around that!" Hen's quick to say. "We still have a few weeks to figure something out. We just need to find you a date that's also a firefighter."
She sits in her seat, pulling her laptop open, and at the skeptical look Eddie's giving her, she says, "I'm gonna make you a dating profile for Kiss or Dismiss."
Eddie throws up his hands to try and stop her, "Nononononono, please don't do that."
Hen reminds him, "Do you want Sophie off your back or not?", and when Eddie doesn't argue, she adds, "Then make a profile. Go to a Kiss or Dismiss event. Get a date for the charity event, then shut down the profile after it's over."
Eddie's still not convinced, "I don't know about that..."
Hen's had enough, "Eddie, can you really tell me you'd be okay dying alone surrounded by animals and loneliness?"
Eddie doesn't argue, but he does tilt his head at the description.
Hen backpedals, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? It's just what my mom told me when I told her I was going to vet school."
Then she narrates, "Okay, easy start. Name: Eddie Diaz. Age: 31."
Eddie corrects her, "I'm 34."
Hen waves him off, "Ed, be serious. The 30s are the age where you can afford to shave a few years off without anyone noticing.", then asks, "Occupation?"
Seeing she's not going to back down, Eddie answers, "Med student and...pet store employee?" he winces at the last part, suddenly aware of how pathetic it sounds.
But Hen's got other plans, "Vet. Big time animal lover. Will drink a nice red wine just as easily as a good chardonnay."
Eddie interrupts, "Hen, you know I drink beer."
Hen ignores him again, "Okay, so what are you looking for in a date?"
With a sigh, Eddie replies, "Someone who loves animals as much as me.", then enunciates, "And understands that this is just. One date. For a party."
Hen gives him her rewrite, "Looking for someone who's no stranger to dating, loves animals, and isn't scared to say so. Loves working out, and is a firefighter."
Eddie throws out a hand again, "Please do not put that in there.", right as Hen pulls out her phone and they can hear the telltale sign of the camera going off.
Eddie stammers, "D-did you just take my picture?"
Hen leans in, "When you get engaged to a hot firefighter, I call dibs on being your maid of honor. And I demand to be your first pick for godmother when you have kids."
She types a few more keys, a few chimes are heard, then she says, "Whoa."
Eddie braces himself, "What, what's wrong?"
Hen tells him, excited, "You already got five kissy lips."
That snaps Eddie out of his mini freakout, "I got five what? "
"Five people already wanna meet up." Hen explains. "You gotta go to the next event. And it's..." She checks the website, "A holiday event at the end of the week. A member's putting it on. I'll text you the address."
Eddie's about to shoot the idea down, when Hen looks right at him, begging, "Eddie, please just go."
Eddie's shaking his head, but Hen pushes, "Pretty please?"
Oh goddamnit. Eddie already knows his answer before he even says it.
"Okay, fine. I'll go."
Buck calls, "Morning!" to Bobby as he carries Norman into the fire station.
"Hey, Buck!" Bobby greets back, walking next to him, petting the cat's head. "Nice to know you're still here."
"Enjoy it while it lasts." Buck tells him. "He's going to the pet store to get adopted."
"Oh. Really?" Bobby asks. "That's too bad."
"It actually is." Buck finds himself agreeing. "He's starting to grow on me a little."
Which prompts Bobby to ask, "Then keep him! Why not?"
"Because Taylor's not a fan." Buck admits.
At that, Bobby stops moving, which prompts Buck to stop too. "Taylor? Huh."
It looks like he's going to say more, but all the captain says as he scratches Norman's chin is, "You do what you think is best, Buck. But if you ask me, someone who admits they don't like cats is a bit of a red flag."
Buck doesn't reply, just stands there with the cat in his arms, petting his back to keep him calm, thinking over Bobby's words.
Later, after Taylor shows up at the house, she orders, "He's going in the back."
Buck is not about to give in, "No he is not. He's going in the front. But if you wanna go in the back..."
Taylor stops, clearly offended by how her mouth drops open, but Buck's not done, "Or you can sit in the front with him. Have him on your lap."
Taylor's nearly speechless, "M-me? Have that thing? On my lap?"
Buck pulls the passenger door open, "Yeah. Why not? He needs to feel safe.", then pets Norman's back. "The carrier freaks him out."
Taylor squints at him, "Sounds like you care more about him than me."
Buck looks down at Norman, "I care about him enough to let him find a better home than I'm able to give.", then lifts him up for Taylor to take. "A home where they can actually play with him and take care of him."
Taylor looks slightly put out by this, but adjusts to it quick enough, and assures Buck, "I'm sure my dad will find him a new home in no time."
Then she shudders, "And I can not be happier that we're finally doing this." as she gets into the car.
Buck shakes his head in bafflement as he closes the passenger door.
Is this really a red flag, or am I just fishing for excuses?
Eddie's doing an inventory check when Lena walks up to him, "Well look what the dog crapped in your shoe."
Eddie turns to look, and sees Taylor Kelly, walking in holding a cat like she's scared it's gonna explode.
"What could possibly be so important she decided this place was worth her time?" Eddie wonders out loud.
"Maybe she's finally getting spayed?" Lena jokes, but Eddie just shoves her to both be quiet and to stop himself from bursting out laughing.
And just in time, too, because Taylor's suddenly walking over to him, holding the cat at arms length, saying without so much as a hello,
"You work here?"
Eddie forces a politeness he doesn't feel as he says, "Yes, Taylor, I've worked here for two years. You called me Andy once."
Taylor's already breezing past that, "Right right, I remember.", shoving the cat into his arms. "Please just do something about this damn cat."
The poor tan colored cat meows at the sudden movement, so Eddie quickly adjusts so the poor furball's more comfortable.
"Find him a new home or something. I don't care."
Eddie's focus stays on the cat, as he talks to him in a soothing tone, "Hey there, buddy. How are you?", then once he sees a tag on his collar, checks it, looking up in shock when he reads it out loud,
"Norman?"
Taylor looks surprised, "It has a name?"
Eddie points to the collar, "It has an ID tag with his name on it."
Taylor sighs in exasperation as he explains, "It's my boyfriend's. We absolutely can't stand to keep it for another second."
Behind her, someone comes in through the front door, which gets Eddie to look towards it as Taylor continues,
"Hey, why don't you? I'll be sure my dad will keep you fully stocked with food and litter for the rest of his life!"
Eddie tries to reply, but Taylor's already walking past him towards her dad, and right as Eddie turns around to speak up, he hears behind him,
"Okay this is getting creepy. You a PI or something?"
Eddie would know that voice anywhere, and sure enough, when he turns back around, there's Probie.
The shock alone leaves Eddie unable to speak for several moments before he thinks to finally say, "Uh, no, actually. This is my job. If anyone's the PI, it's you."
Probie asks politely, "So how goes vet school?"
Eddie struggles, "I uh...you know. Finals. Busy busy busy. Studying..."
"I just settled it!" Taylor pops up next to them out of nowhere, prompting Eddie to turn around yet again. "Andy here is going to take the cat off our hands."
Eddie can't allow her to think that for a longer second than necessary, "Oh, I'm sorry. I really can't, unfortunately. My landlord doesn't allow cats in the building."
Taylor sighs loudly, like Eddie's just ruined her whole day, "Fine! He's going to a shelter."
"No!" Both Eddie and the firefighter say at the same time, and even Norman has something to say, growling as he swipes a paw in mid air.
"Omigosh. Did you see that?" Taylor demands. "That thing needs to be locked up! It just tried to attack me!"
Eddie defends, "I'm pretty sure he was just messing around.", scratching Norman's head as Probie agrees, "Taylor, be serious. He wouldn't hurt anyone."
Taylor sneers, "You really think a dangerous animal is capable of being harmless?"
Eddie says calmly, for the cat's sake, "They're not dangerous!"
Taylor crosses her arms condescendingly, "Oh my bad. I didn't realize I was talking to a cat psychic."
Now Eddie's getting mad, "Cats have feelings too. They don't attack unless someone gives them a reason to."
Taylor doesn't even bother responding to that, just looks at Probie, "We're going. Now.", and marches right past the both of them, calling out, "Daddy!" as she approaches him.
Probie says apologetically, "Right, I guess we're going."
Eddie admits, "So that's Taylor Kelly. Never would've guessed she was-"
"A walking talking red flag?" Probie finishes for him.
"Histrionic." Eddie says instead.
Probie waves it off, "I'm sure it's just a small hiccup.", as they both watch Taylor talk to her dad, pointing at them, as her dad shakes his head and walks away.
Taylor calls out, "Stop dicking around! We're leaving!", crossing her arms impatiently.
Probie turns to Eddie, taking Norman back in his arms as he says, "Oh by the way, my name's Buck. In case you need that for your PI file."
Eddie laughs halfheartedly, "I'm Eddie, in case you need that for your PI file."
Buck just looks down at Norman, "Let's get outta here, pal.", then walks over to Taylor, who literally sticks her hand in Buck's back pocket as she smirks back at Eddie, as they both walk out of the store.
"God, that woman is a real-" Lena says sudden;y from behind Eddie, but right as he jumps, his boss calls over, "Eddie?"
Eddie turns his head, prompting his boss to give him a very guilty look as he says, "I need to talk to you in my office.", then walks away.
Lena smirks, "Oooh, getting called into the office. Maybe wishing you a happy birthday?"
Eddie's not too sure, "Well, I did get a birthday bonus last year. Maybe?"
They both shrug, then Eddie goes to follow the boss into his office.
A completely different Eddie walks out of his office not even 10 minutes later as he walks right past Lena, still shocked to where it barely registers when he hears Lena cheer from behind him,
"Happy birthday, Diaz!"
And when he turns around, he sees her holding a cupcake with a candle.
And Lena, bless her, knows immediately something's wrong, because the smile falls right off her face, demanding,
"What the hell happened?"
He knows it's not her fault, none of this is, but really, how is he supposed to explain to her when he can barely admit it to himself.
"I uh..." Eddie tries, then tries to shrug it off, failing miserably, "He just fired me."
Lena's mouth drops open, "Are you serious? Why?"
Eddie's voice sounds drained as he explains, "So apparently Taylor told her dad I called her an animal abuser."
Lena scoffs, "What? That's ridiculous! Anyone who lets their pet spend even five minutes with her would call her that!"
Eddie admits, "Honestly? I think she scares him more than he likes me."
He shakes his head in utter confusion, "Why would Buck ever go for someone like that anyway?"
Lena reaches out a hand to squeeze his arm in sympathy, but Eddie can't take any more pity, so he just sits at the breakroom table with her, and slowly starts eating the birthday cupcake.
Got my hopes and dreams for my dream guy crushed and I lost my job, all on my birthday.
Why couldn't I just get tacky stuff like everyone else?
It's with a very heavy heart that brings Eddie to the Kiss & Dismiss mixer. As he approaches, he sees Hen talking and laughing next to a window with someone, and the sight almost makes him want to turn around and just go home.
In fact...
"Hey, it's Hen. Leave a message."
"Hey, Hen. It's me. I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna make it to the mixer tonight. I'm just...really not up for it."
He knows his friend will be disappointed, but the further he walks away from the party, the less he's capable of feeling anything but relieved.