S I X
To say that the team, especially Bobby and Eddie, were rough and unwelcoming with Buck after his return to work would be an understatement.
Uncle Bobby would not let him join the team during calls, and Eddie would snap at him every chance he got. I felt terrible for the guy because it was clear that he kept trying to win them over. Luckily for Buck, once he stopped trying so hard after a few weeks, both Eddie and Bobby stopped being dicks.
Taking advantage of the slow day we were having at the firehouse, I decided to take the time to study for my written Firefighter Certification exam that was coming up in a month. At the same time, as I studied, I was looking for a new apartment after getting emails this morning about how the other two that I applied for got denied.
"Can I help you with something, Evan?" I asked, knowing full well that he was the one standing behind me looking over my shoulder.
Coming into view, I noticed he was holding something behind his back. Furrowing my eyebrows, I decided not to ask him about it knowing that he was going to show me whatever he was hiding any second. "How do you know it was me?"
"You are the only one here that sneaks up behind people without making a noise," I said matter-of-factly.
I watched as he made a face in agreement before taking a seat across from me, "I've been thinking," he started, stopping himself as I made a face trying not to laugh.
"Careful, we do not want you to lose your last neurons,"
"Haha, very funny," rolling his eyes, he took a familiar-looking pink box from behind his back, setting it on the table in front of him. "As I was saying, I was thinking of a way to repay you for saving my life and for not turning your back on me after the whole lawsuit thing,"
Leaning back on my chair, I looked at him confused, "I thought we called it even at the cafe,"
"We did, but deep down, I feel like it is not enough. You barely knew me, but still did all that for me," he admitted.
I noticed how he started to get nervous with every word he was saying, something that was not normal of him. For the short time, I have known him, I have admired the way he carries himself with confidence which kind of made it weird seeing him like this.
"You are not going to propose to me, are you? Because I must say that I am more of dating for a while before getting engaged type of girl," I teased, trying to ease him up.
Evan's eyes opened wide, his face suddenly flushing at my words, "What? No - no, I know you have been struggling with finding a place, and I just thought I could offer you the empty room I have in my apartment. The place is big, so you will have your own space without having to bump into me, and I would not mind some company," he explained, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"You want me to live with you?" I inquired while staring at him.
"You'll be paying rent and all that," he quickly added.
Taking a minute to think, I had to admit that it was not the worst idea I have ever heard. For starters, both Evan and I were around the same age, which meant that we could be into the same things. We have known each other for a while, hell I even saved his life. We also had the same job, which meant that there would be many times where our schedules will be different, giving us time for ourselves in the apartment. Another plus was the fact that the place was beautiful compared to the ones I have visited, and I did not have to go through the application process.
"When can I move in?" I smiled, earning an overwhelming reaction from Evan that I was not expecting.
"Whenever you want," he pushed the pink box towards me, a goofy smile on his face. "Before you open it, another part of this deal is to let me help you train for your physical exam. I've seen you run in the mornings, and your time can be a little better."
Putting my hand against my chest, I fake gasped, "Are you calling me slow?"
"I did the physical exam in record time after I had a million surgeries and physical therapies," he smirked.
"You are an ass," I cackled, throwing my pen at him.
"An ass that brings you cinnamon rolls,"
With those words, I rushed to open the small pink box. The smell of the sweet sticky cinnamon roll made my stomach rumble. "Oh how I love you,"
"I know,"
Glaring at Evan, I shook my head, "Don't be so cocky; I am not talking to you," Just as I was about to grab a piece of the delicious goodness in front of me the alarm went off. "You have to be kidding me,"
Multiple injuries at an ice skating show.
Once we got there, the hunger I was feeling earlier disappeared. It was a gruesome scene. Multiple guys were mildly injured while another one had four of his fingers sliced by skates of another performer. For some reason, the thing that made me squeamish was the couple who was sitting on the floor. The guy had the girl's skate impaled on his chest.
"For fuck's sake, Evan get it together," I whined when Buck tried to grabbed my arm as he slipped on the ice, almost making me lose my balance. Leaving him behind, I walked towards where Hen and Chimney were currently checking Hansel and Gretel.
"Hansel took Gretel's blade to the torso," Chimney explained to the Captain as I knelt next to Hen helping her out with the IVF.
"We propped him up to minimize the damage. The skate is buried about 3 centimeters into his chest, barely missed the heart," Hen informed, passing me the things to prepare to hook the guy up.
The girl scoffed, rolling her eyes. "He doesn't have a heart."
"Really? We are doing this now?" the guy sobbed in pain, trying not to move.
Ignoring the couple's bickering, Bobby leaned in closer to look at the situation. "You think you can cut her foot out of the skate so we can transport them?"
"It'll probably be easier if they stop arguing," Hen said, looking between both victims. There was nothing worse than trying to deal with an injury where the victim is arguing with another person. Those situations never ended well; it always involved the victim getting injured more or one of the first responders.
"Yeah, then you might wanna sedate her," Hansel said.
"How about we sedate the both of you?" I suggested preparing things for the IVF. The guy looked away, keeping his mouth shut.
"I need trauma shears, I can't find mine," spoke Chim as he was looking around his medical bag.
Hen passed him a laryngoscope making us look at each other before looking back at Hen.
These past few days, Hen has been off, which was something that was not normal of her. At first, I thought it was just me, but the concerning looks from Chimney and Bobby indicated that I was not the only one that noticed her distraction. "Oh, right, sorry," she apologized.
Looking through my bag I passed Chim the trauma shears I had, "I got it,"
As the three of us kept working on the couple, Uncle Bobby walked away to talk to one of the other performers. Meanwhile, Eddie and Buck kept announcing the fingers they found as if they were children looking for eggs on an Easter morning. I had to admit that I rather listen to them announcing their findings than having to listen to Sid and Nancy arguing about their whole breakup situation. It was starting to get on my nerves.
As if he sensed my lack of patience, Chimney stood up, nodding towards Hen and I. "You guys ready?"
Nodding, we all got in positions and carefully pulled Nancy's foot out of the skate without hurting Sid more than he was already hurting.
"You broke up with me so I wouldn't turn down Disney on Ice?" Nancy asked, looking confused. I put her injured arm in a sling until she got to the hospital where they could do some x-rays.
"It's always been your dream," Sid continued.
"No, this is my dream," Nancy motioned to her surroundings. "Being out on the ice with you,"
I could not help but snort at her comment. If she decides to stay and turn down something considered as the "big leagues" in the figure skating community, she was making a huge mistake. I am all in for love, but something I have learned along the way is that someone should never turn down significant opportunities that might never happen again for a partner. There are many times when those decisions come back biting in the ass.
"Hey, Cap, we are all done here," Chimney announced once we got the dramatic couple ready to go to the hospital. Uncle Bobby ignored our calls and kept looking at the ice, all concentrated until he found what he was probably looking for.
"What's that?" Eddie asked, pointing at the thing that the Captain held in the air.
"A sequin. When your blade runs across one of these, it stops your skates dead in their tracks," Bobby explained.
"Wait, one sequin did all this?" Buck asked, looking all puzzled.
"A wardrobe malfunction could be the most dangerous part of figure skating," added Uncle Bobby walking towards where we were standing.
Chimney looked around, raising his eyebrow, "so how come you know so much about figure skating?"
I laughed, earning a look from the team. I knew about my uncle's dark past as a figure skater. My mom thought that if she showed me the videos of my uncle figure skating in competitions over and over when I was a kid, I would suddenly learn to love the sport. Unfortunately for her, it never worked.
"I always thought you were a hockey player, Cap?" Eddie questioned after Bobby confessed to them about his past.
Uncle Bobby shrugged, walking past us, "who says you can't do both?"
Chimney nudge me with his arm following the Captain out of the ice, "You knew about this?"
"How could I not know about one of my uncle's greatest achievements?" I laughed.
• • • • • •
"Can you please say something?" I pleaded, putting the box I was carrying with some of my belongings on my new bed. After the day I agreed to move in with Buck as his roommate, I bought a few pieces of furniture for my new room and slowly but surely started moving in. My work and studying schedule kept intervening with the move, but I decided to stop prolonging it because, at that rate, I was never going to finally move.
My uncle put down another box on the floor next to the others, turning around to face me. I could not tell if he was either annoyed or mad at my decision to move in with Buck, but during the whole trip from his house to my new place, he barely said a word.
"I do not have anything to say, Agatha. You are an adult," he said, but his expression said otherwise. I could tell that he wanted to say something but was fighting against it.
"I am an adult, but I can tell that you feel some type of way about this. I can't have you mad at me, Uncle Bobby. You are all I have," I sighed. I hated being vulnerable, but after the tsunami, I realized that life is short; therefore, feelings should be share before it becomes too late. At the same time, he was the only person I had close as a father figure at the moment while my father saved lives across the ocean.
Bobby let his arms fall next to his sides before walking over to me and wrapping me in his arms in a warm hug. "No matter what choices you make, you will always have me," he whispered, kissing the top of my head. "I do not believe this is a good idea. Buck is a great kid, and I think of him as a son, but I do not want to see you get hurt."
I let go of him taking a step back so I could look at him, "get hurt? Why would moving in with a roommate hurt me?"
I could not say that I didn't saw this coming from the moment I told Buck yes to moving in with him. Uncle Bobby has always been strict with me, getting worse after my mother's death and my father being deployed so much. I understood where he was coming from. He has always been my second father even from miles away, and before May and Harry entered the picture, I was the only thing he had as a child after losing his kids. He was just an overprotective father. The only part that I could not understand was why moving in with Buck would hurt me.
"I was your age once. I can see the way you two-" the conversation got interrupted by a knock on the door frame.
"Maddie and Chimney are coming over for dinner. Would you be joining us, Bobby?" Buck asked oblivious to the conversation he just interrupted.
Bobby looked down at his watch, "Actually, I must get going. Tonight is my turn to make dinner for Athena and the kids. She had a long day cleaning the house after you know, getting suspended. Maybe next time," he said.
"Sounds good to me." Evan looked between my uncle and me. "Did I interrupted something?"
"No, I was just getting ready to leave," Bobby lied, patting me in the back. "Call me once you get settled, kid,"
With that, I watched as my uncle left, leaving Buck and me alone. "Are you okay?" Buck asked, probably sensing the mood that was left behind in the room.
I nodded, throwing him a half-smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Do you need any help with dinner?"
"Nah, those months I spent watching cooking shows while recovering are finally paying of. You just unpack. I'll let you know when the lovebirds get here," he added.
As soon as he left, I continued to unpack the little things I owned as the unfinished sentence my uncle said before getting interrupted kept repeating in the back of my head.