Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

Act 3 – Fire

Eddie accepts the mug Karen hands him and takes a sip of the bitter coffee, relishing the strong taste and hit of caffeine.

Karen motions to the doorway leading to the dining room where Hen is setting up a craft project for Denny and Chris.  “I’m glad you were able to step in and bring Chris over for his playdate.  Denny’s been looking forward to it.”

“Chris too,” Eddie says.  “Shannon was disappointed not to visit, but she says this new client of hers is a bit of a nightmare.”

“I’m disappointed,” Karen smiles and waggles her eyebrows, “I wanted to quiz Shannon on her new guy.”

Eddie chuckles.  He sips his coffee.

“You haven’t met him yet?” Karen probes.

Eddie shakes his head.  “This past couple of weeks have been crazy,” he acknowledges, “and Shannon’s had this client stealing up a lot of her time.  She says Derek’s been understanding about that which Buck thinks is a good sign.”

“What does Buck think is a good sign?” demands Hen as she steps into the kitchen.

“Shannon’s new boyfriend understanding that she has a job,” Karen replies before Eddie can say anything. 

Eddie appreciates the pointed look Karen sends Hen.  Maddie leaving has dropped like a rock into a pond, and the ripples have disturbed the group dynamics in a negative way. 

Chimney’s on emergency family leave, assuming the role of full-time parent for Jee.  Maddie’s discussion with Ravi had made it clear that he was to give Jee to her father. 

Fundamentally, Eddie and Buck have no issue with that.  Chimney is Jee’s father and, as he had so bluntly told them at the diner, he had rights.  What they have an issue with is Chimney’s refusal for Buck to have any interaction with his niece until, in Chimney’s words, he tells them where Maddie is.

The emotional blackmail and blatant manipulation is almost as infuriating as Chimney’s mistaken and stubborn belief that Eddie and Buck are lying to him about their knowledge of Maddie’s actions.

Eddie regrets encouraging Buck to tell Chimney about the call Maddie had made to him.  Eddie had thought it would have given some comfort to Chimney to know that Maddie had outlined a decision to get help, but instead it seems to have fuelled Chimney’s delusion that Buck influenced Maddie and is trying to ruin Chimney’s relationship with her.

Unsurprising given that they are best friends, Hen has planted herself firmly with Chimney since the fallout.  Whatever doubts or concerns Hen had expressed about Chimney’s behaviour with Maddie before Maddie left had apparently disappeared in the wake of her wanting to provide Chimney with support for the latest crisis.      

Hen deflates as she takes in Karen’s look and slides onto a bar stool at the other end of the kitchen island from Eddie.  “You guys haven’t met Shannon’s new guy yet?”

Eddie shakes his head again. 

“It must be odd to know that at some point your co-parenting is going to extend to include another person,” Karen murmurs.

“We always knew it would eventually when we decided not to get married when Shannon fell pregnant,” Eddie says, shrugging.  “Bobby and Athena manage it with Michael and David so that gives us hope it’s possible.”

Karen raises her mug to that.

“Where is Buck?” asks Hen, ignoring Karen’s exasperation at her question.  “I thought he’d come with you.”

“He’s filling in for Edwards,” Eddie states briskly.  He knows he would have come alone even if Buck hadn’t been working.  He wouldn’t have wanted Buck to have to endure Hen’s attitude.  “Captain Opi called and asked if one of us could cover the shift.”

“Keith’s sick?” asks Hen, concern for a colleague overcoming her actual agenda for a moment.

“Stomach bug,” Eddie offers succinctly.

Determination settles into Hen’s features, and Eddie braces himself.

“Has Buck heard from Maddie?” demands Hen.

“Hen…” Karen remonstrates.

“It’s OK,” Eddie waves her off.  He meets Hen’s demanding gaze with a hard stare of his own.  “Buck hasn’t heard from Maddie since she called him when we were away,” he reiterates, holding his hand up sharply when Hen looks as though she’s going to interrupt, “and even if she does contact him in the future, he’ll be under no obligation to tell Chimney anything if she asks him to keep it to himself.”

“Chimney is Jee’s father!” Hen protests.

“Which doesn’t give him any rights to any information Maddie doesn’t want him to have,” Eddie points out bluntly.

Hen visibly winces at that. 

Eddie sips his coffee.

Karen clears her throat.  “I know I’ve said the same thing to you, Hen,” she says gently.  “Chimney’s not entitled to know everything just because he loves Maddie and is in a relationship with her.”

Hen deflates again under Karen’s chiding words.  “It’s just hard for him right now.”

“You think this situation is not hard for Buck too?” questions Eddie brusquely.  “Maddie is his sister.  He’s worried about her.  He really doesn’t need to be harassed or bullied – ”

Hen flinches.

“– because Chimney can’t over the fact that she called her brother and spoke to him in person when she left, and only left him a video message.”

Hen waves a hand at him.  “He just wants to find her.  Wouldn’t you in his shoes?”

“I would hope that I’d respect her decision to seek help, and believe that she’ll return when she’s ready,” Eddie states.  “I’d hope that I’d focus on taking care of my child.” 

Hen flinches again at that because she must know that Chimney is spending a lot of his emergency leave focused on tracking down Maddie and leaving baby Jee in the care of the Lees or Albert or, Eddie suspects, Hen herself.  He and Buck had discovered as much when Albert had called them for help when he’d been babysitting alone.

Truthfully, he doesn’t know what he’d do in Chimney’s place, Eddie thinks to himself.  He can’t imagine a scenario where he and Buck wouldn’t tackle any challenge together – but that’s the way it is with soulmates.  Maybe the closest he can get is when Shannon took herself off for in-patient treatment for her depression, but even back then he and Buck had been nothing but supportive of her decision to get help.  Of course, they’d known where she was…

“Chimney’s a good father,” Hen begins to protest.

“Who isn’t showing that he is right now,” Karen cuts in.

Hen shoots her a look of betrayal.

Karen holds her gaze firmly.  “How many times have we looked after Jee since Maddie left, Hen?”

“I didn’t think you’d mind,” begins Hen.

“It’s not that I mind,” Karen argues, “of course how home is open to Jee, but Eddie isn’t wrong about what Chimney’s priorities should be and as Chimney’s friends we should be trying to get him to see that, not enabling his obsession with finding Maddie!”

Hen squirms on the stool.  “I didn’t realise you felt so strongly about it.”

Karen blows out a breath.  “Well, now you do.” She glances at Eddie.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that in front of you, just…” she waves a hand, “it all just came out.”

Eddie accepts her apology with a lift of his mug in a silent acceptance.

Hen’s sheepish expression is its own kind of apology.  She gets off the stool and walks around to hug Karen. 

“I’m sorry,” Hen says, “I know I’ve been caught up in Chimney’s problems a lot over the past weeks.”

Karen hugs her back.  “You’re trying to be a good friend to him, I understand.”

Hen eases back and looks Karen in the eyes.  “But I’m not really being a good friend if I’m not calling him out for poor behaviour,” she says.  She turns to Eddie.  “I owe you and Buck an apology.”

Eddie raises his mug again.  “Buck will be relieved not to face an inquisition every shift.”

Hen nods slowly.  “How is Buck?”

“He’s hurt,” Eddie states.  “Maddie promised him when she came back into his life that she wouldn’t just abandon him again.  He knows it isn’t exactly an abandonment in the same way, but…”

“Poor baby,” Hen says sincerely, shaking her head.  She leans against the kitchen island.  “You really think she’s getting help somewhere?  Chimney didn’t think she could afford it.”

Eddie frowns at that.  He’s a little suspicious that this isn’t a new tactic to get information out of him, but then maybe if he says something, maybe Hen relaying it to Chimney will hopefully help stop him bugging Buck.    Lots of maybes, Eddie muses.

“Maddie got a good divorce settlement from her former husband,” Eddie says succinctly.  “Buck says she told him that she didn’t want to use the money and put it away, but potentially that’s funding her.”

Hen nods.  “You don’t think she’d go back to him?”

Eddie blinks at the question because he had never considered that as a possibility.  “No,” he says firmly.  “She won’t go back to him.”

“You seem absolutely certain about that,” Karen says, her curiosity evident.

Eddie’s about to say it’s not his secret to tell when Hen pipes up.

“According to Chimney, Maddie’s ex ended up in a psychiatric institution,” Hen says, “but if he’s had treatment and gotten better, he could have been released.”

Eddie sighs at Hen just giving up the information.  He considers her theory.  “Even if he was released,” he demurs, wondering if that has happened, “Maddie’s not going to back to that toxic relationship.  She made it clear to her parents at that awful dinner we had with them that it was over when they complained about the divorce.” 

Even though they hadn’t wanted Maddie to marry the guy in the first place.

Eddie shoves the thought away – he’ll never understand the Buckleys.

Hen sighs.  “Chimney’s new friend has put a bug in his ear about it.  That’s all I’ve heard for the last forty-eight hours is that if Maddie has somehow gone back to her ex, then Chimney has to save her from him.”

Her irritation makes her tone snappy.

Eddie raises his eyebrows.  “Still not a fan of, what was his name, Jack?”

“Jack no-last-name,” Hen says, throwing her hands up.  “Chimney says he won’t give it to me because then I’ll give it to Athena to run a background check on the guy.”  She snorts.  “Like I can’t just use Google!”

Eddie smiles at that.  He takes another sip of his coffee.

“That’s why I’ve been trying to stay on Chimney’s side in all this,” Hen explains, apologetically.  “At least if Chimney thinks I’m with him, he’s not just listening to that bozo.” She accepts a mug of coffee from Karen.

Eddie holds out his mug when Karen gestures with the pot and asks if he wants a top-up.

“Jack has been trying to get Chimney to dump Jee with the Lees to go and find Maddie,” Hen says in disbelief.

“They have a lead on where she went?” asks Eddie, surprised.

“Oh, no,” Hen shakes her head, “no leads, no direction, he just thinks Chimney should take off on a road trip searching for her.”

“That’s insane,” Eddie says.  He stops himself from saying that Maddie left by air.  They hadn’t disclosed that to Chimney when they’d told him about the call.

“I know, so…” Hen grimaces.  “I didn’t want Chimney feeling like Jack is the only one on his side.”

Eddie sighs.  “I get it, and so will Buck, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve made the last couple of weeks difficult for Buck, Hen.”

“I’ll apologise,” Hen promises.

Eddie hums and sips his coffee.  He’ll believe it when he sees it.  His phone buzzes.  He picks it up and looks at the text with concern.

‘Last call was another home invasion w arson. ☹

I was man behind.

Tyler and Pete said they didn’t see any soul animals though when they went in for the family. 

One fatality.’

“Everything OK?” asks Karen.

“Buck just texted that there was another home invasion and arson,” Eddie says sombrely.  “They couldn’t save someone this time.”

“That’s what four invasions?” Karen says.

Eddie and Hen both nod.

“First time there’s been a fatality though,” Hen says.  She looks at Eddie keenly.  “Did Buck go in?”

Eddie shakes his head.  “Tyler and Pete.”

“Did they see the soul animals like you and Buck?” Hen asks.

“Not according to Buck,” Eddie shrugs and sets his phone down.  “Maybe the couple this time weren’t soulmates.”

The third incident had ruled out the Marine connection as the couple had been geneticists working for a private lab. 

Maybe the fire Buck had texted about would rule out the soulmate angle.  Eddie pushes the case from his mind as Chris calls out for him from the dining room.  He has more important things to focus on.

o-O-o

“So, they were soulmates?”

“That’s what Athena said,” Bobby passes Eddie tomatoes to chop into small pieces.

Eddie hasn’t quite worked out what they’re making.  Buck’s chunking up chicken thighs.  Bobby is toasting some kind of spice mix.  He’s hoping they’re doing a butter chicken curry, but he doesn’t want to get his hopes up,

“But Tyler and Pete said they didn’t see any soul animals?” Eddie questions.

“Nothing,” Buck says.  “But if that paper from Doctor Beckett is true then potentially they don’t have the gene to see soul animals.”

“Or maybe as they’re both still single and without soulmates they’re not attuned enough for soul animals to see them,” Bobby says as he carefully pours the spices into a grinder.

Buck and Eddie both give him a surprised look.

Bobby catches their expressions and raises his eyebrows.  “What?  It’s Athena’s theory.”

Eddie exchanges a quick smirk with Buck.  “I’m not betting against Athena.”

“Good plan,” Buck says cheerfully.  “Me either.”

“Athena will be very happy to hear that,” Bobby says dryly. 

“I’ll be very happy about what?” Athena steps into the loft with a smile for Bobby who immediately walked over to give her a kiss.

Eddie notes the casual clothes.  It’s rare that they see Athena out of uniform in the fire station.

“Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but what are you doing here?” Bobby says.  “I thought you were intending to go home straight after your shift?”

“Hen asked me to stop by,” Athena says.  She walks back with Bobby to the kitchen.  “Are you making your butter chicken?”

“With rice or flatbreads,” Bobby nods. 

Eddie inwardly celebrates.

“Well, I’m happy about that,” Athena says.  She puts her bag down on a stool and leans against the kitchen island.  “What else will I be happy about?”

“Your theory on why soul animals didn’t show for Tyler and Pete,” Bobby says.

Athena nods.  “Wish it wasn’t so,” she says quietly, “that man is devastated.”

“Are they close to finding out who’s behind the raids?” asks Buck.

“If they are, they aren’t telling us lowly LEOs,” Athena huffs.  She accepts the coffee Bobby hands her.  “All we know is that they have established a connection with all of them through a confidential military project based in Antarctica of all places, and I doubt we’d know that much except the men in black showed up to take over the case after the scientists were targeted.”

A shiver works its way down Eddie’s spine.  He’d heard rumours of a project based out of McMurdo.  Typically, it was sourced from the Marines, but occasionally they’d reach out to the Army.  He had never been approached himself, but he’d had a friend disappear down that rabbit hole just before his second tour.  If this was about that, then it’s no wonder the men in black have shown up, and he wonders if Athena appreciates how apt her description is – if the rumours are right.

“All I know is that lunkheaded NCIS agent has been put in his place,” Athena states with smiling eyes.

Buck grins at her.  “You really hated him, huh?”

“If he has no respect for LEOs,” Athena says firmly, pointing her mug at Buck, “I have no respect for him.”   

“He’s off the case?” Bobby asks, examining the ground spices.

“Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky,” Athena says.  “But he’s no longer in charge and that’s all that matters.” 

Any other questions are arrested by the arrival of Hen who charges across the loft from the stairs and hugs her friend.

“Athena,” Hen steps back from Athena, her face flooded with relief, “thank you for coming.”

“I’m not sure how much use I’m going to be,” Athena says. 

They slide onto the bar stools near to the kitchen.

Eddie exchanges a questioning look with Buck who shrugs.  Neither of them know why Hen wants to talk to Athena.

“I’m worried about Chimney,” Hen begins.

And Eddie really wishes that they’d chosen to talk some place else.  Beside him, Buck tenses.  Things have been better in the past week since Hen apologised to Buck for hounding him about Maddie, but it’s hard to be objective when Chimney still won’t let Buck see Jee and won’t speak to Buck unless Buck will tell him where Maddie went.

“More specifically I’m worried about this new friend of his,” Hen continues.  “Chimney says this guy is encouraging him to go and find Maddie.”

“Does she know where she might be?” asks Athena.

Eddie feels her darting look towards Buck and himself rather than sees it.

“He has no idea, no plan,” Hen sighs.  “I barely managed to talk him out of it yesterday, and I’m seriously concerned that this new friend of his isn’t actually a friend at all.”

“Do you have any proof?” asks Athena briskly.

“I suggested Chimney introduce us,” Hen says, “Chimney arranged a coffee meet, but the guy didn’t turn up.  Chimney refuses to give me a last name and…Chimney just isn’t acting like himself!”

Athena sighs.  “He’s under a tremendous amount of pressure.”

“I just need something to get him to stop listening to this guy, Athena, and start using his own brain again!” Hen states.

“I don’t think Chimney’s been thinking with that particular organ for a while,” Athena says.

“I did not need to hear that,” Buck mutters under his breath.

“Agreed,” Eddie says quietly.

Bobby shoots them both a chiding look, but when they both stare back at him pointedly, he subsides and nods.

Buck clears his throat noisily.  “You could follow him to his next meeting with the guy and crash their party.”

Hen’s gaze snaps across to Buck.  “What?”

Buck waves the tongs at her.  “Just…find out when they’re meeting next and follow Chimney there.  Then, you get to meet him and he has to give you his name,” he gestures, “you can even get a selfie with him which gives you his picture.”

Athena beams at him proudly. “That is an excellent idea, Buckaroo.”

Buck smiles warmly back at Athena at the praise.

Eddie gives him a proud grin of his own.

“I think Chimney might spot me following him,” Hen points out.

Athena shakes her head.  “Not if I help you.”

Hen starts smiling.  “You’d do that?”

“For you,” Athena says, “and for Buck here who deserves to have Chimney extract his head from his behind.”

Buck grins at her.

Eddie wants to hug her for putting that smile on Buck’s face; for making him feel wanted and loved.

The alarm sounds.

“I’ll finish the curry,” Athena promises as Bobby pauses by her and steals a kiss.

“You are a goddess,” Bobby says already running for the truck.

Eddie ends up riding the ambulance with Hen.  He’s had to step in on some shifts to cover for Chimney’s absence.  Bobby still hasn’t got a floater in.  Eddie knows it’s because he’s keeping Chimney’s place for him, and it irritates him deep down.

He sighs.

Hen shoots him a look.  “You could try to sound a little more enthusiastic to be partnered with me.”

“I could,” Eddie teases, “but I’d be lying.”

Hen’s lips twitch upwards in amusement.

The radio crackles. 

“It looks like we have another home invasion,” Bobby communicates.  “We have a couple, Jasper and Kenny, trapped inside.”

They pull in behind the truck.

Eddie pulls on medical gloves as he jogs after Hen who is already examining a man stooped over coughing on the sidewalk.

“I tried to go in,” the guy says, “but the smoke was…” he coughs harshly.

Eddie responds to Hen’s instructions to hand her things while he watches Buck and Laura heading into the house.

“We have a crow in the hallway,” Buck’s voice crackles over their radios.  “We’re following it.”

“That’s Kenny’s soul animal,” the guy coughs.

Eddie grimaces.  He’s glad that the animal appeared to Buck, but he wants to be in there with him.

Laura emerges first with a slim blond guy. 

“Kenny!” The neighbour tries to stand.

Hen and Eddie hurriedly tell him to stand back before they rush to help Laura place him on the waiting stretcher and take over.  Kenny is barely conscious.

Eddie spots the stab wound on the lower abdomen first.  “Hen.”

She immediately moves into action.

Their focus is on the patient.

The radio crackles to life again.

“Coming out,” Buck reports.  There’s a quality to his voice that Eddie recognises, a dull note because they haven’t been able to save someone.

Eddie briefly looks up from his work to see Buck laying a man down on the ground.  Bobby steps up and places a hand on Buck’s shoulder as a second set of paramedics from the 133 dart in.

“He’s not breathing; starting compressions,” says Paul, his louds words carrying to Eddie.

Hen shakes her head, determination on her face.  “Let’s get ours in the ambulance.”   

Eddie climbs in the back.  He adjusts the straps as Hen starts the engine, the sirens wailing.  He absently hears her call forward to the hospital.

The pulse monitor spikes and Eddie freezes as Kenny’s eyes snap open.  They are a cold grey, anguished. 

Kenny looks around him and his gaze settles on the end of the stretcher.

Eddie looks, almost unwillingly. 

A crow sits there with a beautiful dove.

Kenny’s hand moves to shift his breathing mask away.  “Jas…”

There is a beat, a moment, and…the dove blinks out.

It’s gone.

Eddie doesn’t know how he knows, but he just knows.  Kenny’s soulmate hasn’t made it.

Kenny’s breath catches in a sob.

Eddie turns back to his patient.  “Kenny, just hold on, alright?  We’re almost at the hospital and…”

Kenny shakes his head.  “My fault, this is my fault.  I should never have listened to Leonard.”  He mutters low under his breath.  He moves, avoiding Eddie’s grab to stop him.  Kenny shifts blankets, panting as he reaches and takes something from his pants’ pocket.

Eddie swears under his breath, ignoring Kenny as he tightens the straps back down and checks on the stab wound.  It’s bleeding again.

Kenny grabs him as Eddie goes to repack the wound.  “Here.”  He whispers as he forces something into Eddie’s hand.

It’s a silver cylinder. 

Something buzzes in Eddie’s blood, tickles the edges of his mind.  Unthinkingly he puts it in his top chest pocket out of the way.

“They said it was something that would hurt soulmates, so we stole it to make sure it was in safe hands, my team, my team stole it,” Kenny whispers, gasping. “Stupid.”

Very, thinks Eddie as he continues to deal with Kenny’s wound. 

“It’s a bio-weapon,” Kenny continues to whisper, his voice too low to travel to Hen in the front of the ambulance. “Dangerous.  Takes down anyone without the ATA gene.  When we realised.  We stole it back, but we sent it to Dylan’s grandparents asked them to send it to an old CO…tried to keep it out of their hands and keep them guessing.  When Lila’s Mom died, we…we intercepted it.  I was going to give it back.”

Eddie finishes with the wound and moves to replace the mask on Kenny’s face.

Kenny grabs his hand.  

“Give it to General O’Neill, two ‘Ls,’ he’ll know what it is.”

O’Neill…Eddie remembers that name bandied about with the project that the rest of the military pretends doesn’t exist, the one based out of the Mountain.

His hand grips Eddie’s tightly, squeezing as his eyes meet Eddie’s intently.  “Don’t trust the agents they have on the case.  They have spies everywhere. Trust no-one.”

Kenny lets go and Eddie gets the mask back on him. 

“Take a deep breath…”

The crow flies in and lands on Kenny’s chest.

No…

Kenny’s fingers briefly move to stroke the crow’s feathered head and…

The crow blinks away in the same final way as the dove before it as the pulse monitor goes flat and the alarm sounds…

Eddie tries to save him anyway, but he knows in his heart, in his soul, that it’s too late.

o-O-o

When they get back to the station, Eddie goes straight to the showers.

He’s sad at losing people.  It’s part of the job – they can’t save everyone – but they always mourn the losses.  Eddie’s therapist calls it healthy; Eddie calls it human.

Eddie’s sadness is somewhat muted by his distraction over the silver cylinder that Kenny had handed him.

He’s put together the threads of what’s going on. 

A team assigned to the confidential project which still sends a shiver down his spine was told the cylinder was something that would bring soulmates to everyone and they stole it.  But somehow, they had found out it is a weapon and instead of handing it over to whoever orchestrated the theft, they hid it by sending it to a safe place – someone’s grandparents with instructions to send it on.  Maybe some of the families targeted weren’t involved in the relay at all, but the cylinder ends up back with Kenny.

Clearly, whoever wants the cylinder has no compunctions about coming after it with force.  And given Kenny and his soulmate were assaulted before the fire was set, it’s likely that the group are getting desperate to recover it.

Eddie knows he needs to get somewhere and think about what he’s been handed, the mission the ill-fated Kenny has given him.  He knows he’s in danger just carrying the thing and he has very little want to place his own family in danger alongside him.

Buck comes out of the shower and into the changing room, one towel wrapped around his waist while he rubs another over his hair.  Water glistens on his skin and Eddie remembers their truncated vacation with a sigh. 

 “I heard he didn’t make it,” Buck says.

Eddie nods.  “He felt it when his soulmate died.” He shakes his head.  “He just…gave up.”

Buck tosses the towel he’s holding on the bench and opens his arms.  Eddie accepts the wet hug gratefully.  They don’t do this type of comfort often at the station, but Eddie just needs the reassurance of Buck’s physical presence.

“Don’t ever give up, Evan,” Eddie whispers.

Buck’s hold tightens.  “Neither of us can give up.”

It feels like a promise, a vow.

Eddie nods sharply.  “I need to shower.”  He doesn’t let go of Evan.

They stay holding each other for a long moment.

There’s a bang outside of the changing room – a door closing somewhere too loudly and Eddie finally stirs.

He drops a kiss on Buck’s cheek and they ease away from each other.  Buck turns to his locker to start getting dressed.  Eddie starts to strip.  He takes the cylinder out of his pocket and as soon as his skin makes contact, the buzzing in his blood sharpens and he just knows what it is.

He’s holding a biological weapon.

He almost drops the thing.

Instead, he forces himself to bury it in his shaving bag, before dumping the rest of his pocket on the floor of the locker itself. He refuses to think about as he finishes stripping, dumping his uniform into the laundry bin as he heads into the shower.

A dressed Buck is waiting for him when he gets out.  He’s holding the cylinder, a frown on his face.

Eddie freezes.  “Buck?”

“I felt it when I went into your kit for some lotion,” Buck says.  There’s an unspoken question in his worried gaze.

Eddie walks over and gently takes it from him.  “I’ll tell you all about it when we’re home,” he promises.  “Could you occupy Bobby for me for a little while?  I need to use his office.”

He can see Buck’s mind starting to put the puzzle pieces together. 

Buck nods.  “I’ll get Bobby helping me with something in the kitchen.”  He stands up and slides his hand over Eddie’s cheek.  “Be safe.”

Eddie catches hold of Buck’s hand and kisses the back of it.  “Thanks for having my back.”

Buck attempts a smile.  “Always.”  He slips out.

Eddie dumps the cylinder back into the shaving kit and hurriedly dries off and dresses.  It might be a record for how quick he’s back in his uniform.  He slides the cylinder into a pants’ pocket and closes his locker.

He slips out of the changing rooms and without thinking slides into the mission mindset ingrained from his Army training.  It’s easy to avoid his colleagues, walking softly but swiftly through the station, keeping to the pathways he knows are not used. 

The office door is open and the room itself is empty.

Bobby shares his office with the Company Captains assigned to the 118; there are three desks.  There’s a bundle of mail sitting in the Outgoing stack on top of the filing cabinet.  It’ll go out with the morning mail. 

Eddie snags a bubble envelope from the supply drawer.  On the outside he prints neatly the General’s name.  He hesitates over the address.  He has no idea where O’Neill is based. He frowns.  He needs to keep his actions as untraceable as possible.  He heads to the computer on the desk and searches for the address for the Cheyenne Mountain complex.  He wipes the history from the browser once he has it down on the envelope.  He picks up a nearby notebook and scrawls a simple message on one page.

‘Kenny Matheson asked me to return this to you.  They made a mistake.’

He doesn’t sign his name or make any other reference.  He just wants this General to know that Kenny did the right thing in the end.

He carefully rips it from the notebook, folds the paper and slides it inside the envelope.  He takes the cylinder out of his pocket and thinks hard at it.

‘OFF’

The buzzing in his blood and the sense of there in his mind dulls to a glimmer.  He hopes, hopes that will keep the weapon inactive.

He drops it into the envelope and seals it.  He adds the word confidential to the outside of the envelope in neat print.  He places it carefully into the middle of the outgoing mail stack.  He takes one final look around to make sure he’s left the office the same as he found it otherwise.

He takes a breath and opens the door carefully, listening for footsteps or voices close by.  There’s nothing.

He steps out into an empty corridor.

He heads away from the office without looking back.  He’s done what he can without compromising his own safety, and more importantly the safety of his family.  He hopes it’s enough.

He takes the stairs to the loft and finds Buck and Bobby deep in discussion in the kitchen, making flatbreads to go with the butter chicken curry which apparently Athena had completed before she’d left.  The smell of spices reinvigorates Eddie’s appetite.

Hen is on a bar stool watching them with a bewildered expression on her face.

Eddie sits on the stool next to her and looks over at the animated discussion with interest.  “What are they talking about?”

“They’re debating the benefits of Mexican oregano, Buck was thinking of making a chilli with it,” Hen says with a tinge of horror in her voice.  “They’ve been going for over ten minutes.”

Eddie hums.  His stomach growls.  “I’ll set the table.”

“I’ll help,” Hen says eagerly.  “Anything is better than listening to this.”

o-O-o

It’s the second day of their off time.  They’ve got a lazy Sunday planned with Shannon coming over to play games and stay for dinner.

Eddie sees Bobby’s number and sighs.  He hopes this isn’t a request for one of them to cover the rest of someone’s shift.  After that last stressful shift, all he wants is to chill out with his family and forget that cylinder ever existed.

He knows the mail was picked up and the package to O’Neill with it.  He’d parked himself close enough to the office to check without it being obvious.

Buck glances over from where he’s prepping the roast pork for the oven.  He raises his eyebrows, worry written into his blue eyes as though he’d spoken his concerns out loud.

Eddie had whispered what had happened, everything to do with the cylinder, in the dark of their bedroom, curled up with Buck’s arms holding him.  They’re in agreement that Eddie did the right thing, the only thing he could do without bringing undue attention to them.

Eddie checks over to make sure Chris is still distracted by his homework before he answers his phone.  “Hey, Bobby.”

“Hey, Special Agent Manetti wants to speak to you about that last home invasion since you were the last one with Sergeant Matheson,” Bobby gets right to the point.  “I know it’s your day off, but could you go down to the police station and meet with them?  You’re entitled to have either myself or Darrow there.  I’d be happy to come with.”

Darrow was their union rep.

Eddie figures he’s probably entitled to a lawyer, but he guesses that the LAFD is trying to cooperate with the investigation and the offer of Bobby’s presence, or the union is a compromise.

He rubs a hand through his hair, frustrated.  “Sure, I’ll meet you there in an hour?”

“I’ll let Manetti know,” Bobby promises.  “Wear your uniform.  See you there, Eddie.”

Eddie ends the call.

Buck frowns.  “What’s going on?”

“The investigators want to talk to me as I was with Matheson,” Eddie says. “The request must have gone through the LAFD office since Bobby called me.  He’s meeting me at the police station.”

“Good,” Buck says.  “Do you want me to come with you too?  We could message Shannon get her to come over early.”

Eddie shakes his head.  He’d rather remain a single target, a single point of interest.  “No, Bobby’s coming with me. You stay home with our kid.  He’s been looking forward to trouncing you at Monopoly all week.”

“I’m going to take all his money!” Chris agrees loudly, confirming that he’s overheard.

An hour later, Eddie meets Bobby in the parking lot of the police station, and they walk in together.

Athena greets them and escorts them back to a meeting room.  She brings them bottles of water, winks at Bobby, and leaves.

Eddie takes heart that they’re not in an interrogation room. 

A minute later, the door opens and three people enter.

The lead pair are dressed hilariously in black suits.  They look like a movie poster: a tall dark and handsome man with a blonde petite beautiful woman.

The man who follows them is dressed more casually in jeans and a sweater.  There is a badge attached to his belt.  He looks like he belongs on a beach; blond hair streaked by the sun, a healthy tan, and a slim surfer’s build.

“Thank you for coming in, Captain Nash, Firefighter Diaz,” the woman says taking the seat opposite him across the table.  “I’m Special Agent Manetti with the Department of Homeland Security.” She points to the man beside.  “This is my partner, Special Agent Lee Donald.”  She gestures at the surfer dude. “We’re joined by NCIS Special Agent Bill Palaski.”

She opens up her laptop, takes out a pair of glasses which she puts on, and smiles at the screen before redirecting her attention back to them.

“We’ve invited you here to ask you a few questions about the recent incident you attended as part of our wider investigation into a series of connected home invasions,” Manetti rattled off the date and time.  “We understand you were assigned to the ambulance?”

Eddie nods.  “That’s right.”

“From reading your reports, that’s not your usual assignment, is it?” probes Manetti.

“I’ve covered the ambulance on other occasions,” Eddie replies.  “Our senior paramedic is on emergency family leave and we’ve yet to have regular cover.”

“And that’s my fault,” Bobby adds, “I’ve been trying to ensure Firefighter Han’s return is as easy as possible for him.”

Manetti looks unhappy with the interruption.  She types something and motions at Donald.

“We understand that you were in the Army, Firefighter Diaz,” Donald states, hands resting in a loose hold on the top of the table.

“Yes, I was a combat medic,” Eddie says.

“Did you have any prior relationship to Kenny Matheson before this incident?” Donald asks bluntly.

Eddie shakes his head.  “I understand that he was a Marine, so it’s possible we were deployed somewhere at the same time, but I don’t recall ever meeting him before seeing him brought out of the house by Firefighter Alderman.”

“You were with him when he died?” asks Donald, keeping hold of his gaze.

“Yes,” Eddie confirms.

“Your report is very minimal,” Manetti looks up from her computer.

Eddie falls back on his military training to keep his face and demeanour calm.  “We focus on specific actions in our reports and the outcome.” He’s pleased when Bobby nods along at his statement. 

“Unless someone asks us to record or communicate a set of last words, we rarely do capture specifics in our reporting,” Bobby adds.

Manetti looks displeased at Bobby’s comment, but she keeps her attention on Eddie.  “Did Sergeant Matheson say anything before he died?”

Eddie frowns.  “As I reported, he witnessed the dissipation of his soulmate’s soul animal and became distraught.  He tried to physically move and reopened the wound he had.  I think he said something along the lines of it being his fault.” He pauses.  “I was more focused on trying to deal with his wound.”  He allowed his real regret and sadness to drift across his face.  “Unfortunately, my efforts weren’t enough.  His grief over his loss was shattering; he gave up.”

“You didn’t think an expression of guilt was important given the context of the home invasion and fire?” asks Manetti sternly.

“I thought he was expressing regret about not saving his soulmate,” Eddie replies evenly.  “As he was the latest victim of a series of home invasions and arson, I didn’t think he was responsible and that it was a confession.” He waits a beat and lets his eyes widen.  “Unless he was involved?”

Bobby shifts beside him.  “Is that what this is about?  You have evidence that Sergeant Matheson was part of it?”

Manetti sighs and takes off her glasses.  “We can’t comment on that, Captain Nash.” She turns back to Eddie.  “He said nothing more?”

Eddie shakes his head.  “No.”

“What happened to his personal items?” Donald asks brusquely.  “His clothes and anything in his pockets.”

Eddie shrugs easily because he really doesn’t know the answer to that.  “I think the hospital will have taken ownership until they’re claimed by his next of kin unless the police requested them as evidence?”

“Did you remove anything from his pockets before you reached the hospital?” Palaski pipes up. His smile is mocking. 

Bobby stiffens with indignation in the seat next to him.

Eddie glances to Manetti who has gone red at the interruption.  “I didn’t remove anything from his pockets,” he answers honestly.  “We didn’t need to since the wound was on his abdomen, and we could easily access it.”

“Are you accusing my Firefighter of stealing something from a patient?” Bobby bites out.  He looks furious.

“Obviously I meant that he might have removed something in order to treat him,” Palaski says, folding his arms and glowering belligerently.

Manetti shoots the NCIS agent another furious look.  She turns back to Eddie.  “Firefighter Diaz, are you certain that there wasn’t a silver cylinder about this big,” she demonstrates with her fingers a length that matches the device he’d mailed away, “with Sergeant Matheson things?”

“I don’t know what he had in his pockets,” Eddie says, “like I said, we didn’t have to do anything with them as his wound was visible.”

“I think this line of questioning has gone far enough,” Bobby states crisply, standing up. 

Eddie follows his lead.

“We came here to help given the seriousness of the arson and home invasions, but I will not countenance you questioning one of my best Firefighters as though he’s a criminal,” Bobby stabs a finger down into the table. 

Manetti gets up hurriedly and raises her hands as though in surrender.  “Please, Captain Nash, Firefighter Diaz, I realise the direction of questioning is sensitive but if I can explain the importance?”

Bobby stares at her.  He looks over at Eddie questioningly.

Eddie shrugs and leaves the decision with Bobby.  It’s his best call not to look eager to get out of the room.

Bobby sighs and sits back down; Eddie follows his lead.

Manetti retakes her seat and closes her laptop.  She looks over at Bobby. “We’ve connected all the home invasions to individuals who once worked on a confidential project for the US military in conjunction with an international research group.”

Eddie’s skin prickles.

“Sergeant Matheson was involved in stealing a dangerous artifact from that project, an experimental device,” Manetti continues.  “Our theory is that the thieves turned on each other, and one group has been trying to retrieve the device from the other using home invasions and arson to cover their tracks.”

Bobby nods.  Eddie knows the theory isn’t too surprising to him since Athena has shared what titbits she can with them about the investigation.

Manetti’s gaze returns to Eddie.  “The device is dangerous.  If it came into anyone’s possession, they’d be in grave danger.”

Eddie puts a hand on Bobby’s arm before he protests again at the implication Eddie has taken the device from Matheson. He leans forward. 

“Your theory explains why Matheson was mumbling about it being his fault,” Eddie states briskly, “and I appreciate that you need to warn me about this device in case I picked it up innocently and had no idea it was dangerous.”  He holds her gaze.  “But I will swear in a legal affidavit if necessary that I did not take a device as described by you from Matheson’s pockets or picked it up from the ground or accidentally ended up with it.  In fact, I will swear that the device is not in my possession.”

There is a long moment where Manetti considers his answer, but she nods finally, accepting it.

“Sergeant Grant did say if you’d found something you would have immediately handed it into the hospital or to an authority,” Manetti says wryly.  “But we did have to check for ourselves.”

Bobby huffs.

Eddie nods.  “If that’s all, then? This is meant to be a rest day.”

Manetti sighs.  “That’s all.”

Eddie and Bobby get to their feet.

Bobby pauses just as they reach the door.  He looks back at the three agents.  “If I were Matheson and I’d stolen this device, I’d know these people would coming look for it by now, surely?  He’d have to have known about the other home invasions and attacks.  Why wouldn’t I get it as far away from me as possible?”

Eddie nods.  “I’d have gotten rid of it at the first opportunity.”

“Thank you,” Manetti says dryly.  “Why didn’t we think of that ourselves?”

Bobby blushes and opens the door.

Eddie follows him back along a corridor and out.  They find Athena waiting for them by the front desk, chatting to another officer.  She makes her excuses and comes over.

“Well?” Athena demands like a queen.

“They know you were right,” Eddie quips.

“As if that was ever in question,” Athena drawls, smiling.  She pats Bobby’s chest.  “Don’t forget I’m helping Hen with Operation Meet-Chimney’s-Friend tonight.”

“Right,” Bobby sighs, “and the kids are over with Michael, so I’ll have the house to myself.”

He sounds forlorn.

“You’re welcome to join us for dinner if you don’t mind getting cleaned-out at Monopoly by a cut-throat child,” Eddie offers.

Bobby raises his eyebrows, his eyes twinkling madly.  “I have you know I’m the reigning champion at Monopoly in the Grant-Nash household.”

“That’s because you cheat,” Athena claims.

Eddie’s phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out, a little grateful to have the distraction from their flirting.  It’s a bit like watching his parents and he would really rather not see it, hear it… 

He stares at the text message from Shannon.

Stares at it again.

“Eddie?” Bobby’s concerned voice breaks through the shock that’s stolen Eddie’s breath.

Athena just plucks the phone from Eddie’s grasp and gasps.  “Oh no, he did not!”

“Athena…” Bobby questions impatiently.

She hands her husband the phone with an apologetic look at Eddie.

“‘Come home, Eddie.  Chimney just hit Buck!’” Bobby read aloud.  His eyes widen with the same shock that had run through Eddie.  “Oh no.”

Sunshine appears in front of him and barks.  His soulmate needs him.  His son needs him.

Eddie plucks the phone from Bobby’s hand.  “I need to get home.” 

He texts as he walks to make sure Shannon knows he’s on his way back. She sends a thumbs up in response with eases some of his worry.

“We’ll follow you,” Bobby shouts as Eddie gets to his truck.

Eddie barely registers the promise, he hadn’t even realised they’d followed him out of the building. 

He focuses on driving safely, Sunshine sitting in the passenger seat reminding him that he won’t be able to help his soulmate if he gets into an accident.

Chimney’s car isn’t in front of the house when Eddie pulls up.  Athena’s patrol car is just behind him, with Bobby’s truck behind her.

Eddie’s focused on following Buck’s soul animal inside.  He finds Chris cuddled up to Buck on the sofa in the den, Shannon hovering, and Sergeant guarding his family.

“Daddy!” Chris sees him first and begins to squirm off the sofa.

It takes Eddie two steps to get to him, picking him up so he doesn’t struggle.  He’s getting so much older, his kid.  He hugs him fiercely. 

Chris bursts into tears in the safety of Eddie’s arms.

Eddie holds him, murmurs comforting words, and looks over at a devastated Buck.  Sergeant goes over to press himself against Buck’s legs while Eddie is comforting Chris.

There’s a bruise forming around his right eye and cheek.

Shannon huffs and nudges Buck into pressing an icepack against his face.

“Well, that is some shiner, you have there, Buckaroo,” Athena says, walking past Eddie.  She sits on the coffee table in front of Buck and eases the icepack away to take a look. 

“Athena?” Bucks says, confusion creasing his face and making him wince.  His eyes widen.  “Bobby!”

Bobby pats Eddie’s shoulder on his way over to Buck.  He gently manoeuvres so he can examine Buck properly. 

Eddie feels frozen.  Chris’ sobs have lessened into snuffles.

“What happened, Buck?” Athena asks gently as she moves aside for Bobby.

“Chimney hit him!” Chris replies in a thick voice, squirming in Eddie’s hold.

Eddie places him back down on the sofa where Chris immediately glomps onto Buck’s arm.

“I’m so sorry, Eddie,” Buck says. 

Shannon sighs.  “Chimney arrived unexpectedly.  We were setting up the game,” she points at the dining room table, “and he asked to speak to Buck in the kitchen.  Chimney shouted a lot of accusations at Buck about what Maddie had told him…”

“And then he hit him!”

“We heard a smack,” Shannon says tersely.  “I went into the kitchen and Chimney was lowering his fist, Evan was turned away from him holding his face.”

Eddie can feel his fury bubbling up inside him. 

“I shouted at him,” Chris says, “and he left!”

Shannon nods.  “I didn’t realise Chris was right behind me.”

Eddie steps forward to slide in front of Buck as Bobby steps away.  He cups Buck’s unharmed cheek.  “He hit you.”

Buck nods miserably.  “He didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t know anything about Jee ending up in hospital.”

“Jee’s in hospital?” asks Bobby.

Buck shakes his head and winces.  His hand automatically reaching up to his injury.  Eddie finds the icepack and presses it gently on the bruised flesh.

“No,” Buck sighs.  “Apparently Chimney found out that Maddie had taken Jee to the hospital the day before Maddie left.  I didn’t even know Jee had been to the hospital!  Maddie didn’t say anything!”

“She didn’t,” Eddie agrees softly.

His fury at Chimney is churning his stomach into a knot.  He takes a breath, remembering how self-destructive his anger had almost become in the wake of Buck’s leg injury.  He takes another breath.

Bobby grimaces.  “Buck, I think we need to take you to the hospital and get an X-ray.  Make sure nothing’s broken.”

Buck pouts, but Eddie’s nodding.  He doesn’t like the look of the bruising and the swelling is severe for a mild punch.

“You’d make me go to the hospital if someone hit me,” Chris says with kid logic that works.

Buck sighs in defeat.

Eddie kisses his forehead gently.  “Come on.  The sooner we go, the sooner we can come back.” He throws a look to Shannon who nods her agreement. 

“Chris and I will hold the fort here until you get back,” Shannon says.

“The dinner…” Buck protests weakly.

“I’ll take over,” Bobby says.  “Eddie invited me over just before we got the text.”

Athena helps Eddie get Buck to his feet.  His shaking and Eddie thinks he’s probably in a bit of shock.  “I’ll follow you to the hospital.”

Buck leans into Eddie’s support gratefully as they make their way out. 

Eddie settles him into the passenger seat.  He closes the truck door and almost runs into Athena who’s standing at the back of his truck.

“You look after Buck,” Athena instructs, her eyes meet his firmly.  “I’ll deal with Howard Han.”

A part of Eddie, the angry, furious part that wants nothing more than to drive over to Han’s place and thump him, wants to protest.  But…his gaze drifts to Buck sitting in the truck with the icepack pressed against his face.

He has something, someone, more important to take care of than Han.  He nods. 

“You’re going to arrest him, right?” asks Eddie gruffly.

“You bet your ass I am,” Athena says, sliding on her sunglasses and striding away to her car like the queen she is.

Eddie gets in his truck.  She’s taking care of Han; he’s taking care of Evan.

o-O-o

Eddie tucks a wrung-out and in pain Buck up into bed.  Chris immediately crawls in beside him.  He changes out of his uniform and leaves them in the bedroom, cuddled up and sleepy.

Shannon hugs him and makes him promise to call if they need anything.

Bobby fixes him a plate of food and sits at the dining table while Eddie eats without really tasting anything of what he’s sure is an excellent pork dinner.  The older man is dressed casually in a polo shirt and jeans, clearly changing out of his uniform sometime while Eddie had been at the hospital. 

Bobby doesn’t say anything he sits quietly until Eddie finishes.  “Athena called earlier.”

Eddie nods and reaches for the water Bobby had given him.  “Is he in jail?”

Bobby sighs.  “When she got to Chimney’s, Hen was there.  Apparently, Chimney called her to let her know that he was leaving with Jack to go and find Maddie since his friend found them a lead in Boston.  He was gone by the time Hen reached his apartment.  It looks like they took Jack’s car and left Chimney’s behind.”

Eddie sighs.  He know what Buck will want to know.  “Did he take Jee with him?”

“Hen didn’t know,” Bobby says.  “He didn’t ask her to look after Jee though.”

Eddie shakes his head.  “I hope to God he did leave her behind rather than dragging her on some kind of road trip trying to find Maddie.”

Bobby nods slowly.

Eddie clears his throat.  “I won’t work with him, Bobby.”

Bobby sighs, but he meets his eyes with a look that says he’d been expecting Eddie’s assertion.  “I know.”

“I won’t trust him with Buck,” Eddie continues, “and we can’t work like that.”

Bobby rubs his forehead.  “I’ve already reported the situation to HR.  Chimney has been automatically suspended.  There’ll be an investigation and a determination made about his future.”  He waves his hand.  “That will be held pending the criminal investigation.  Athena reported the assault and issued a warrant for his arrest.  Buck will have to go in and make a statement.”

Eddie grimaces.  Buck won’t want to do it, but he’ll do it. 

“Not that it changes anything, but I can’t believe Chimney in his right mind would hit Buck,” Bobby says quietly.

“No,” Eddie agrees.  Chimney would never usually do anything that might put his relationship with Maddie at risk and he also believes that Chimney wouldn’t have hit Buck if he’d been home.  He can appreciate that Chimney is likely under undue pressure.  But Bobby’s also right.  It changes nothing.

He won’t work in the same team as Chimney, and he’s not even certain he wants him at the 118 at all.

“I’ve requested a permanent replacement for him on our shift,” Bobby says as though he’s read Eddie’s mind.  “When Buck’s back at work, you’ll be back on the truck with him.”

“Thanks, Bobby,” Eddie says, relieved.

Bobby nods.  He sets his mug down.  “I’ll leave you to it.  You need anything just give me a call.”  He pats Eddie’s shoulder and leaves him at the dining table.

Eddie clears up mechanically.  He goes to the bedroom to check on Buck and for a moment leans in the open doorway against the doorjamb looking at his two boys.

They’re fast asleep.

They’re precious and his, and he’ll do anything to protect them.

The doorbell sounds.

Eddie frowns and pads back down the hallway to the door.  He checks through the peephole to see who is there and his eyes widen.

He immediately unlocks and opens the door wide.

Jee wails in her carrier.

Albert Han looks flooded with anxiety and panic as he looks at Eddie.  “Eddie, thank God!  You need to help me!  Chimney’s not answering his phone and he’s not at his place, and I can’t stop her crying!”

Eddie ushers him inside.  He guessed Chimney did leave his daughter behind after all.   

Act 4 – Blaze

Eddie slides into a seat at Bobby’s large dining table.  Athena had offered up her home for the war council which Eddie appreciates because he’d rather keep mention of Chimney out of his own home.

In the twenty-four hours that have passed, Chris has bounced back from the incident with the resilience of youth, diverted in part by Jee coming to live with them, but neither Eddie nor Buck want to do something which would bring back the trauma of knowing someone he’d trusted had hit his beloved Pops in their own home.

Buck comes back from settling Jee into the spare bedroom.  He puts his phone out on the table to enable the baby monitor app to alert him if something is wrong.

Eddie puts his hand on Buck’s thigh, a reassurance and a comfort for the conversation they’re about to have with everyone.

“I don’t know how you manage to get her to sleep so easily,” Albert complains from the other side of the table.

“Not being terrified of her helps,” Athena says dryly, taking her seat at the head of the table. 

Bobby sits beside her.

Hen elbows Albert playfully.  “It just takes practice.”

“Well, we all know why we’re here,” Bobby says briskly. “Has anyone heard from Chimney since he told Hen he was leaving with this friend of his to look for Maddie?”

Albert shakes his head.  His eyes are shadowed with worry.  “I’m really concerned.  It’s not like Howard not to call when I have Jee.  He usually checks up on me hourly.”

Buck grimaces. “I’m worried too.” He shrugs as everyone turns to look at him.  “He was very angry when he confronted me, and I don’t think he was thinking clearly.” He pauses.  “For all he’s acted like an idiot about Maddie, he’s always been a good father to Jee.  I just…I can’t believe he left her behind with Albert without checking on her, or telling Albert he was going.”

Hen sends Buck an appreciative look.  “Me either.”  She sighs.  “He’s changed since he met this Jack character.  It’s like he encourages his paranoia and obsessions rather than talking him down.”

Athena sighs.  “I think we need to report Chimney as missing.”

“Isn’t there already a warrant out for his arrest?” Hen says with a bite to her words which gives away that she doesn’t approve of dealing with the assault on Buck legally.  She would rather they all talked it out as friends and teammates. 

Eddie’s already told her he disagrees with that approach, and they’ve agreed to disagree.

“There is,” Athena says evenly, raising her eyebrows at Hen, “but given the lack of contact with you and with Albert, I’m no longer convinced he’s just fleeing the jurisdiction after assaulting Buck.”

Hen grimaces at the bald assertion that Buck was assaulted.  Her eyes flicker to Buck’s vibrant bruising and back to the table.

Bobby leans forward.  “Albert, would you be willing to file the missing person’s report?”

Albert nods, looking relieved to be given something concrete to do.  “I can do that.”

“I’ll go with you to the station after this,” Athena promises.

“So, we file the missing person’s report and then what?” Hen asks bluntly.  “I’m not in favour of just sitting around and waiting for news if Chimney’s in trouble!”

Athena sits straighter in her chair, pinning Hen with a look.  “And what do you think we’re going to do that the police can’t?”

Hen stabs a finger at her.  “You can’t tell me that the police are immediately going to be investigating Chimney’s disappearance even if Albert makes the report.”

Bobby sends Athena a questioning look. 

“She’s right,” Athena concedes, lifting a hand from the table.  “Albert will have to inform the officer that the last contact Chimney had was with Hen, and that he told her he was leaving to find Maddie with a friend.  An adult declaring an intention to leave won’t be considered urgent.”

“Even if he abandoned his daughter which is atypical behaviour?” Bobby asks.

Athena waves a hand.  “Plenty of deadbeat dads abandon their children every day.”  She gestures at Hen who looks about to protest.  “I’m not saying Chimney is a deadbeat father, but that’s how his behaviour reads cold.”

“So, because they think he has made the decision to leave himself, it could be days before his departure is investigated?” Albert questions, a little horrified.

Athena nods.  “Unfortunately.  But,” she stresses, “his assault on Buck is on record as is the warrant.  Maybe I can argue for it to be investigated quickly for that reason if nothing else.”

Hen harrumphs and sits back in her chair with her arms folded.  “I think we should investigate ourselves.”

“And where would you start?” Athena asks pointedly.  “We don’t have a picture or a name for this Jack character.”

“But the bar where they met might,” Buck says.

They all turn to look at him.

Buck shifts in his chair, a touch uncomfortable at the attention.  “I mean, that’s where they kept meeting up, right?  Maybe one of the bartenders will be able to give a description or the bar might have a camera on the door or in the parking lot.”

“I could request the footage on the basis of the warrant,” Athena muses.  “Do we know which bar it was?”

“The Golden Ladder on Malibu Park Drive,” Hen recites immediately.  “That’s where I was supposed to meet him that time.”  She sends Buck a grateful look.

“Well, that’s a start, is there anything else Chimney said about this Jack guy that might help?” Bobby asks.

Eddie shrugs.  “He never talked to me about him, so I have nothing.”

“Same, he hasn’t really…” Buck says before he freezes. 

They all look at him again.

“Sorry, it’s just, before he,” Buck points at his face, “he said Jack had told him that he’d found out Maddie had been to the ER with Jee.”

“Had Maddie been to the ER?” asks Bobby.

Everyone looks back at Bobby with almost identical looks of bemusement. 

“We can find out,” Eddie says.  “CPS confirmed Buck and I as temporary guardians based on the legal paperwork Maddie did after Jee’s birth this morning.  We could check with the ERs and see if they have a record of Jee being examined as concerned guardians.”

“We should probably do it regardless of Chimney,” Buck notes, nodding.  “If Maddie really did take her to the ER, then we should know why even if it was for something minor.”

“Good plan,” Bobby says.

“So, assuming Maddie did take Jee to the ER, how did Jack find out?” asks Athena.

“And how did he find out that Maddie might be in Boston?” asks Hen abruptly. 

“Maybe he didn’t find out anything and just said he did to wind up Chimney,” Eddie suggests.

“But he’d have to know something about Maddie’s background to give Boston as a potential clue,” Buck says slowly.  “She went to nursing school there.”

“Chimney could have told him?” suggests Albert.

Eddie’s sceptical and Buck looks uncertain, but it is an explanation.

“I know we’re assuming that something has happened to Chimney because of his lack of contact,” Bobby says crisply, “but we have to consider that there is a possibility that Chimney is exactly where he said he was going: with Jack in Boston looking for Maddie.”

“I’ll be able to contact the Boston Police Department and have them issue a BOLO,” Athena says.

“Do you think Maddie is in Boston?” asks Hen directly, looking at Buck.

Buck starts to shake his head and stops.  “I don’t know.  She rarely talks about that time of her life.”  He sighs.  “I don’t think she has any friends back there, but it would be somewhere she knows well.  It’s just…” he shrugs, “I think she associates it with her ex-husband so…”

“So why would she go back to somewhere with potentially negative connotations for her,” Athena concludes.  She taps the table.  “Well, we all have our assignments.  Eddie and Buck will confirm whether Jee ended up at an ER and if so, which one.  Hen, you and I can head to The Golden Ladder after we help Albert report Chimney missing.”

“What about me?” asks Bobby.

“I think someone needs to go over to Chimney’s apartment and take a good look around,” Athena says.  “You have his key, right?”

“Right,” Bobby nods.  “I can do that.”

They all get up from the table. 

Eddie and Buck retrieve Jee and there is a touch of chaos as everyone heads out.

They wait until they get home before tackling their task.

Buck is designated caller while Eddie feeds Jee and looks over Chris’ homework before settling him in front of a movie.  Eddie’s burping Jee when Buck wanders back into the den from the dining area where he’d been making the calls.

Silently, they determine to leave any discussion until Chris is in bed.

The evening slips by quickly. 

Jee goes to sleep in the crib they’d brought over from Chimney’s place and rebuilt in their spare room.  She’s slept better since they did it and Eddie thinks the familiarity of it is helping to give her a sense of security.

Chris goes to bed, protesting because he’s old enough to pick up on the fact that something is preoccupying them.  He’s out like a light a chapter into his book.

Buck and Eddie retreat to their own bedroom and lock the door.

“I texted Athena already,” Buck says without preamble, sitting on the bed with a thump as though all the energy has gone out of him.

Eddie sits down next to him, shoulder pressed against shoulder.  “Jee was in hospital?”

“Maddie took her to the hospital closest to the park she uses,” Buck says.  “It was the second one I tried.  According to the records they sent me, Maddie went in with Jee late in the afternoon to check that Jee was OK after her pram rolled into the street and had a near miss with a car.”

Eddie frowns.  “There’s nothing wrong with the pram brake.”

Buck nods.  “The nurse wrote in the notes that Maddie told her that she thought she had set it, but hadn’t so…”

“So blamed herself,” Eddie says.

“She advised Maddie to go to a doctor and get her hormones checked just in case they weren’t responding the way they should after the birth,” Buck says, wringing his hands.

Eddie put his hand over Buck’s tangled fingers, and they hold hands for a long moment. 

“It makes sense of why Maddie decided to leave that weekend,” Eddie murmurs.  “Jee has a near miss which makes Maddie realise she needs to get help.  I mean, the way she left was crazy, but I can see why.”

“Me too,” Buck says.

Yet there’s a note in his voice and Eddie tilts his head, looking at Buck. 

“You think there’s another explanation?” asks Eddie.

“I called my parents,” Buck admits. 

Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up.  Buck and his parents hadn’t spoken much after the whole Daniel reveal.

“I asked them if Maddie’s ex was still in treatment,” Buck says.  “My Dad said he didn’t know but he’d find out.  He texted me when you were getting Chris settled.” He looks at Eddie, worried.  “Doug Kendall was released from psychiatric care six months ago, just after Jee was born.  Dad couldn’t find out anymore.”

Eddie squeezes his hand.  “How bad news is this guy?”

Buck hesitates and sighs.  He turns to face Eddie fully.  “You know I trust you?”

Eddie nods.

“I’ve always thought that this is Maddie’s story to tell, not mine, so…” Buck explains.

Eddie squeezes his hands again.  “I get it, Evan.  You haven’t told me before because you wanted to protect Maddie’s privacy.”

“Exactly,” Buck says, relief flooding his face.  He sobers quickly though.  “Maddie was in medical school training to be a doctor in Philadelphia when a soul animal appeared to her, a fox.  She was immediately smitten and followed her soul animal to her soulmate.”

“Kendall,” Eddie states, his mind whirling. 

It’s rare for soulmate relationships to become toxic, almost as rare as the soul animals showing up after two people had already met.  He isn’t surprised that Maddie never speaks about it.  The toxicity of living with a corrupted soul bond is horrifying for many people. 

“He was in Boston,” Buck says. “Maddie’s soul animal is a dog, an American foxhound.”

“Interesting combination,” Eddie comments.  But it spoke to Maddie’s ability to best her soulmate at the end of the day.

Buck nods.  “Maddie used to joke that they were like the old Disney film, ‘The Fox and the Hound.’  She was so happy to meet him, they bonded straight away.” He takes a breath.  “The way Maddie tells it is that they played Rock, Paper, Scissors for which one of them would remain in med school as they couldn’t afford to have both of them go through at the same time; that they both played to lose wanting the best for their soulmate.  Ultimately, Maddie lost, she gave up her place in Philadelphia, moved to Boston and started nursing school.”

Eddie smooths his thumb over Buck’s knuckles soothing his soulmate. 

“I think they were genuinely happy for a time?” Buck shakes his head.  “I mean, I was in high school, and they rarely visited especially when Mom and Dad didn’t approve of their bonding and Maddie dropping out of med school.”

“And then the abuse started,” Eddie says.

Buck nods. “She hasn’t really talked to me about the detail of it.  When I left home, I went to see her, and I could see she was unhappy.  But she gave me the Jeep and wouldn’t come with me; said she and Doug were having problems but they were soulmates, and they’d work it out.”

Eddie nods.  He figures Maddie was protecting her younger brother from the reality of her situation.

“Anyway, a few months before she came to L.A., Maddie finally called in the Soulmate Registry for help,” Buck explains.  “They helped her have Doug committed, severed their bond, and looked after the divorce.”       

Which explained how Maddie had gotten away.

“They let him go though?” Eddie asks.

“He was released to the care of his parents and absconded according to Dad,” Buck grimaces.  “It’s the first time I’ve heard Dad actually sound worried about one of us.”

“You think he came here for Maddie,” Eddie states.

Buck nods.  “I think so.” He shrugs.  “Chimney kept complaining about me constantly texting, but we both know I wasn’t.  What if Maddie told him it was me to cover for Doug texting her?”

That made a horrible kind of sense, Eddie muses.  It would explain why Maddie was so stressed and anxious; why she’d withdrawn from them.  Maybe she’d thought she’d actually seen Doug at the store and that was what had spooked into coming to visit them. 

“You think Doug was involved with Jee’s accident somehow,” Eddie realises.

Buck nods again.  “Or, at least, I think Maddie thinks he was involved.”

“She ran to make sure Jee was safe from Doug,” Eddie surmises sadly.  He shakes himself a touch.  “You think this Jack guy is connected to Doug?”

“Maybe,” Buck sighs heavily.  “I don’t know.  Maybe Doug maybe hired someone to interfere with Chimney’s relationship with Maddie?”   

Eddie leans in and kisses Buck softly.  “I think we should tell Athena as much as you feel comfortable with in the morning.  She needs to know about Doug’s potential involvement.”

Buck nods.  He kisses Eddie.  “Are you OK?”  His concerned gaze meets Eddie’s.  “I know you’re worried.”

“I am,” Eddie admits.  “I’m furious with Chimney for hitting you, but him disappearing and this Jack business…” he sighs and shrugs.  “I’m hoping Maddie really is getting help, because I know you’re worried about her.”

“And?” presses Buck because he just knows Eddie and Eddie loves that about him.

Eddie rubs the back of his neck.  “I’m concerned about we might still be a target because of that cylinder business.”

Buck’s eyes widen at that.  He nods slowly.  “I’d kind of forgotten all about it with the whole getting hit thing.” 

Eddie wishes he had, but he’s too aware of the potential threat.

“Do you think that it’s safely delivered by now?”

Eddie considers that and shakes his head.  “Maybe by the end of this week?  I scribbled for the General’s eyes only on it, but it can take a while for higher-ups to actually get the mail sent to them.”

Buck frees up one hand to cup his cheek lovingly.  “You did the best you could to keep everyone safe.  It won’t be your fault if we get targeted.”  He frowns.  “But maybe we need to consider sending Jee and Chris somewhere safer.”

“I’ve been debating it,” Eddie admits.  Worry about whether they’ll be the focus of a home invasion has him checking locks and securing their house every night.  “At the moment, I’m thinking pretending everything is normal,” he winces, “well, as normal as it can be with Chimney’s disappearance, is the way to go.”

“Whereas if we act like there’s a threat, they may think we know something,” Buck nods.  “I get that.”

They sit for a moment in silence, absorbing everything.  How is this their life, Eddie wonders. 

“Let’s go to bed,” Buck suggests tiredly.  “Jee will be up for a feed in a couple of hours and we both need the rest.”

Eddie kisses him.  “That’s a good idea, Buck.”

Everything will hopefully look better in the morning.

o-O-o

Eddie’s in the middle of paying bills when he catches sight of a standard dark SUV pulling up in his drive.

He sighs.

Buck is out.  He’s dropped Chris at school and is taking Jee to a medical check-up.  It leaves Eddie time to get a few errands sorted before Athena comes round with news. 

It’s a hard choice, he muses as he watches Manetti and her partner getting out of the car.  Does he ignore them and continue doing finances or does he go and answer the doorbell, escaping the hell of accounting for a few more moments?

The doorbell rings.

Eddie sighs, locks the screen and goes to answer the door.

Agent Manetti and her partner are on the other side.  He nods at them, leaning across the doorway, indicating without words that he’s not inclined to invite them in.

“Agents, how can I help you?” asks Eddie.

“We have some follow-up questions,” Manetti says.  She motions to the house behind him.  “If we can come in?”

“Shouldn’t this request have gone through the LAFD?” questions Eddie, folding his arms over his blue t-shirt.  He catches Manetti appreciating his muscles before she smooths her expression.

“This won’t take long,” Manetti says firmly.

Eddie considers telling them to make their request to the LAFD, but he knows ultimately it’ll only postpone whatever they want to ask him rather than prevent it.

He pushes off the door jamb and opens the door wider to usher them inside.  He herds them to the dining room table, closes his laptop and directs them into seats.  He doesn’t offer them drinks.

“You said you had follow-up questions,” Eddie states, sitting down.  He focuses his attention on Manetti.

“Yes,” Manetti says.  “You mention in your reports on the home invasions that you and your soulmate, your partner, Evan Buckley, see the soul animals present?”

“Yes,” Eddie says without expanding.

Manetti looks at him.

Eddie spreads his hands open.  “What specifically do you want to know, Special Agent Manetti?”  

“Do you often see soul animals of other people?” Donald asks with a brute bluntness that Eddie might admire in other circumstances.

“We can all see soul animals when they want to make themselves visible,” Eddie points out.

As if he had heard him, Sunshine shimmers into view and walks past the agents to snuggle with Eddie who pats him as the dog sits beside him.

“That’s your soul animal?” asks Manetti with a hint of disbelief.

“Buck’s,” Eddie says.  He figures Sergeant is probably off guarding Buck and Jee. 

They’d talked about whether Buck going out alone would make him a target for his ex-brother-in-law, and Buck’s confident that if Doug is going to target him, then he’ll target him when he’s alone at the house rather than out in the open.

Eddie knows he can’t wrap Buck in bubble-wrap.  He ruffles Sunshine’s fur.  He relents a little.  “The soul animals we saw at the Lockeys are the first time as firefighters we’d seen soul animals show up and help us save people.”

“What do you think it means that you’ve seen soul animals at every one of the home invasions when you’ve responded?” Manetti regroups to ask him.

Eddie shrugs.  “You’d be better asking the Soulmate Registry.  I don’t really pay attention to soulmate science and theory.”

“You must have some kind of theory,” interjects Donald again.

“My Captain’s wife thinks Buck and I are attuned to seeing them because we’re soulmates ourselves,” Eddie offers.  “She thinks that Tyler and Pete didn’t see them on the one they attended because they haven’t found their soulmate yet.” 

Manetti shoots Donald a look and turns back to Eddie.  “What if I told you that it was a genetic anomaly?”

Eddie raises an eyebrow.  “You mean like in that paper from the Scottish guy?”

“I thought you weren’t interested in the science and theory?” Donald says mockingly.

“Buck was interested in reading it.  He said the guy thought only people with a certain gene would ever see and find their soulmates through soul animals,” Eddie answers him evenly.  Donald is definitely trying to bait him for some reason.

“The gene is linked to some experimental technology which can only be initiated with the same gene,” Manetti says.  “That’s why we believe this group was sending the missing tech to people who were known soulmates.”

Eddie acknowledges her theory with a sigh.  “I’m not sure what any of this has to do with me.”

“You have the gene, you could use the technology,” Donald states before Manetti can speak.

Eddie looks back at him blandly.  “I think my Captain already expressed his view of you insinuating that I stole property from a patient.”

“Firefighter Diaz,” Manetti states.  “We’ve established that Airman Delaney sent Kenneth Matheson the cylinder.  His Father informed us that he had dropped a package for his son into the mail addressed to Matheson a week before the home invasion.  The cylinder was in Matheson’s possession.”

Eddie’s half-impressed by their investigative skills.

“We also made a full search of Sergeant Matheson’s property.  The technology is not there.  It was not included in the personal items handed over to his next of kin.  The only people who had contact with the Sergeant after the home invasion is Firefighter Walker, Firefighter Wilson, and you.”

“Walker notes Matheson was unconscious for the entire time she carried him out of the house,” Donald picks up.  “Wilson notes that she worked on stabilising him with you, but he was unconscious until he woke up and had some kind of conversation with you in the ambulance.”

“I’ve already told you about that conversation,” Eddie says evenly.  “He expressed regret and he was distraught at losing his soulmate.  That’s all I’m ever going to say about it.”

Donald suddenly slaps the table and growls.  “Damn it, Diaz!  This is important!  You could destroy the entire world with the technology we know Matheson gave you!”

Manetti places her hand on Donald’s arm.  “You have an outstanding military record, Firefighter Diaz.  You served with honour and distinction.  I would hate to see it ruined because you wanted a pay day.”

Eddie is a little taken aback that she had actually threatened him.

“I don’t have any kind of technology that Matheson gave me,” Eddie states clearly.  “If you don’t believe me, you can come back with a search warrant for the house.”

Movement outside the window catches his eye and he sees their truck pull in beside the SUV in the drive.

Eddie stands and gestures at them both.  “Unless you have any relevant questions for me, you need to leave now.”

“We’ll leave, but we will back with that search warrant, Firefighter Diaz,” Manetti says as she and Donald get up and follow him to the door.  

“I look forward to it,” Eddie bites out.

Buck stays back, fiddling with Jee’s carrier as Manetti and Donald leave the house.

“Hey, Agent Manetti,” Eddie calls out, leaning insouciantly in the doorway, “you might want to consider what someone with my military record, honour and distinction,” he stresses, “might have already done to eliminate a threat.” He smiles humourlessly at her.  “I look forward to your search warrant.”

Eddie watches them leave.

Buck approaches with Jee, staring back at the departing SUV.  “Do I want to know?”

“Nope,” Eddie says, reaching out to help him carry the oversized bag which accompanies Jee everywhere, “but you’re my soulmate so you kind of have to know anyway.”

Buck drops a kiss on Eddie’s lips as he walks in.  “I can live with that!” he calls over his shoulder.

o-O-o

Somehow, Athena coming around with news expands into Athena, Bobby and Hen showing up.  They’re just missing Albert who has a shift.

They gather in the living room, dressed in their casual clothes except for Athena who is on duty and in uniform.  Bobby and Athena are on the sofa, Hen in the only chair.  Buck has dragged a chair over from the dining table and Eddie hovers behind him.

“Let’s start with this,” Athena says.  She hands Buck a tablet with a video poised to play. 

Eddie leans in with a hand on Buck’s shoulder to watch it with him.

It shows the grainy surveillance camera footage of a bar parking lot.

Chimney and a Caucasian man leave the bar together and cross the parking lot. 

Beneath Eddie’s hand, Buck stiffens.

Chimney gets into his car and the other man waves him away before heading to his own; a non-descript sedan.  The focus is atrocious but as the other man drives away the license plate is clear for a brief moment.

“That’s Doug Kendall,” Buck says grimly, handing the tablet back to Athena.

Eddie isn’t surprised after Buck’s reaction.

Hen’s eyebrows rise above her glasses.  “Maddie’s ex?”

“Yes,” Buck says.

Eddie tightens his hand on Buck for a second to give him support.

Buck relays the story he’d told Eddie the night before, leaving out that Doug and Maddie are soulmates and focusing in on Doug’s committal, the divorce and his release from care.

Athena’s steady gaze gives away that she knows there is more to the story, but she won’t press in front of Bobby and Hen.

“Do you have the details of where he was sectioned?” Athena asks.

Buck nods.  “I’ll send them to you.”

Athena keeps her gaze on Buck.  “How dangerous is he?”

Buck shrugs.  “I really don’t know,” he admits.  “Maddie protected me from a lot of his behaviour.”  He shakes his head.  “I have to think that he was the reason behind why she didn’t contact me for years so I just don’t know.”

“Did Maddie know he’d been released and was here?” asks Hen bluntly.

Buck pushes a hand through his short blond curls.  “I don’t know, Hen.  I think she knew he’d been released because I think he was texting her.  Did she know he was here?” he sighs.  “Maybe?  She got spooked thinking she saw someone and came here one day.”

“Do you think she ran away from him rather than ran towards help?” asks Bobby with a gentle tone Eddie is grateful that he uses with Buck.

“Maybe,” Buck says.  “We found out Jee was almost in an accident the day before Maddie left.  It’s a reason for her thinking she couldn’t keep Jee safe.”

“Does it matter?” Eddie asks seriously.  “Whether Kendall added to her post-partum stress or was the cause of the stress, she left to keep her daughter safe.”

“She ran thinking he’d follow her and wouldn’t pay any attention to those she left behind,” Athena surmises.

“I think so,” admits Buck quietly.  “She’s trying to protect us from him.”

“Well, that was a dumbass decision,” Athena comments dryly.  “If she’d let one of us know about it, we could have stepped in and helped her get him re-committed.”

Buck is affronted and also sheepish which means that he wants to defend Maddie’s decision, but really can’t.

Hen throws up her hands.  “Not to mention it didn’t work!  Her psycho ex just turned his attention to Chimney!”

Eddie can’t argue with that.

Bobby clears his throat noisily.  “Right, so we’re all thinking the same thing: Doug Kendall has Chimney.”

They all nod.

Athena sighs heavily. “Given the lack of contact, even if Chimney went with him willingly believing him to be his good buddy Jack, it’s likely Kendall must have locked him down quickly.”

“Why though?” Bobby asks.  “He has to know that Chimney doesn’t know where Maddie is.”

“Bait,” Athena offers.  “Maybe he’s using Chimney to lure her back.”

“If he really wanted to lure Maddie, he’d use Jee,” Buck says, worry coating every word.

Eddie doesn’t want to be the one to say it, but it looks like he’s up.  “He took Chimney to take a rival off the board.” He stands straighter and folds his arms as he looks around their gathered friends.  “He either wants Maddie back, or he wants revenge on her getting him committed, severing their bond and moving on with her life.”

Athena nods.  “And if he just wanted Maddie back, he’d have kidnapped Jee and lured Maddie that way.”

“Or he offered her a deal,” Hen muses out loud, eyes wide behind her square frame glasses. “I hate to say this,” she says, gesturing to Buck, “but can we be certain she left of her own volition?  That she is somewhere safe?”

Buck swallows hard and shakes his head.  Eddie places his hand back on Buck’s shoulder to comfort him and he leans into Eddie’s touch.

Athena stands up and paces.  “We have nothing but theories.  Theory one,” she whirls to a halt and holds up a finger, “Kendall comes back because he wants revenge, he uses the threat of hurting Jee to bring Maddie back under his control and she uses the excuse of running away for help to cover her surrender to him.  He takes Chimney because he can’t have Maddie’s baby father running around trying to find her.”

That unfortunately sounds all too likely, Eddie thinks dismayed.

“Theory two,” Bobby stands up, “Maddie realises Kendall is a threat, she runs using the excuse of her struggling as a cover; she thinks that will be enough to draw his attention away from loved ones here.  Only she doesn’t know that he’s already started to lure in Chimney.  He takes Chimney to lure her back.  Maybe he intended to have both Chimney and Jee, but he gave himself away before Chimney could pick up Jee and as soon as he gave himself away, Chimney would never put Jee in danger.” 

Hen gestures at Buck and Eddie.  “He knows he can’t approach Buck because Buck knows him, and Eddie’s an unknown except for his military service.  He’s potentially a threat.”

“Potentially?” Eddie repeats.

Buck pats his hand.

“Theory three,” Buck says slowly, “Maddie truly did go away to get help for her anxiety and stress.  She suspects Doug is behind some texts to her, and maybe that he’s in Los Angeles, but she doesn’t know for certain.”  He sighs.  “And Doug only takes Chimney because he wants to get rid of someone who threatens his potential future relationship with Maddie.”

“Either way, none of this sounds like a good thing for Chimney,” Athena states.  She shakes her head.  “I need to bring a detective in on this.”

“Do you have a way to reach out to Maddie?” Bobby asks Buck. 

Buck nods slowly.  “I have an old email address for her.  I used to send her messages and things when I left home.  I don’t think Doug knew about it.  We joked one time about it being a secret way to contact her if I was ever in trouble when she decided to keep it after she moved here.”

Athena nods.  “Try and get confirmation she’s safe, what she knows about Kendall, and why she left.”  She sighs and shakes her head.  “Let’s just hope we aren’t too late to find Chimney.”

Alive.

Eddie supplies the word Athena has left out.

He can see realisation fall over Bobby and Hen.

None of their theories bode well for Chimney.

Eddie inwardly sighs.  He’s never really liked Chimney, doesn’t like him at all after his hitting Buck, but he doesn’t want the man dead.

o-O-o

Eddie goes to work the next day, hating leaving Buck behind.  His soulmate is headed over to Shannon’s for the day just in case Kendall decides to visit while Eddie is at work.  He’s glad that he could use Jee as a reason for Buck to acquiesce because he’s certain that otherwise Buck would be dangling himself as bait for the psycho.

Hen meets him at the changing room door once he’s in uniform.  “Any news?”

Eddie shakes his head.  “Maddie hadn’t replied before I left for work.”  He looks over at her.  There are bags under her eyes, and she looks worn.  He’s reminded for all he’s never gotten along with Chimney that Chimney and Hen have been best friends for years.  “Anything your side?”

Hen shakes her head.  “Albert confirmed this morning that he still hadn’t had any contact, and the Lees haven’t heard anything either.”

Bobby’s already dishing up breakfast.  Cooking is his way of dealing with stress.  He looks at both of them questioningly and they shake their heads.

The rest of the crew appears, and Eddie focuses on serving himself some of the scrambled eggs with Bobby’s sourdough toasts. 

He lets the chatter of the rest of the team wash over him. 

Neither he nor Buck had slept very well.  Christopher is quiet, responding to their tension even though they’ve tried to maintain a normal front.

And it’s not just worry about Chimney, Eddie thinks wearily.  He’s still got the threat of a search warrant hanging over his head. 

Buck’s less worried about that, pointing out that every other person inveigled into that mess had ended up with a home invasion and a fire.  Which Eddie concedes is a valid concern.  They’d spent the previous evening going back through their home fire drill with Chris.

The alarm sounds.

Eddie has managed to clear most of his plate.  He spoons the leftover egg onto the remaining toast and crams it into his mouth as he jogs down to the trucks.

Laura is munching on another protein bar when he gets himself settled in his usual spot.  She offers half to him and he shakes his head to refuse. 

“I’m good,” he says.

“Dispatch says we have an unidentified male hiker who has been found on a cliff ledge out by Hillsbay Peak; unconscious.  His soulmate found him on a search,” Bobby lists off.  “She called 911.”

Eddie grimaces.

“Eddie, I want you on ropes,” Bobby says.  He radios the accompanying ambulance to speak to Hen and their new paramedic, Angie.

“Let’s hope she didn’t find a mostly dead body,” Laura mutters.

Eddie nods.  There are some stories of soulmate animals showing up and leading their soulmates to the rescue, but Eddie had heard a heartbreaking one from his Abuela about an old friend of hers only finding her soulmate in hospital in time to say goodbye to them.

He shudders because he and Buck hadn’t gotten close to that scenario when they’d met.  He doesn’t want to imagine how devastated Buck might have been to have gotten all the way to Ramstein and…

It’s not worth thinking about, Eddie tells himself sternly.  It didn’t happen.

The truck pulls into an access road that leads up to the cliff.  It rocks and rolls on the uneven ground and Laura grips onto the seat tightly.

Eddie breathes a sigh of relief when they pull up in a clearing.  He gets out the truck and starts to organise himself for a rope retrieval.  He pays a little attention to two women running towards them.

One is a beautiful Asian woman; sleek blue-black hair, warm brown eyes, and a flawless café latte skin tone.  The other is the image of a Californian girl with blonde flyaway hair, blue eyes, and flawless make-up.

Eddie sees what appears to be two red pandas sitting on the cliff. 

“I’m Stacy…” the blonde says.

“I’m Kim…” her friend adds.  “I’m here for moral support.”

“I called you,” Stacy says.  “My soulmate is down that cliff.” She points towards where the two pandas sit. 

Bobby nods, starting to stride to the cliff edge.  “How long has your search been?”

Eddie, Ravi and Mario follow lugging the equipment with them.  Laura heads over to Hen and Angie to fill them in.

“Do you know his name?” asks Bobby calmly.

The women shake their heads.

Eddie peers over the cliff with Bobby.  They can see the still form of the hiker on the ledge. 

“Looks like a head injury,” Bobby says.

“Broken leg?” Mario points to the way one of the legs is definitely not aligned in the way it’s supposed to be.

Eddie finishes getting himself into the harness while Mario and Bobby set-up the crank and ensure the stability, hooking it to the truck.

He loops the strap of a first aid kit bag around his body, pulls on his gloves, double checks everything and gives the signal to start rappelling.

It’s a quick descent. 

It’s a sunny day with a mild breeze.  There’s no other obstruction to consider and the cliff is steep but stable.

Eddie gets to the ledge and keeps himself tethered.  The ledge is small and he can’t afford to fall himself.  He inches closer to the hiker and –

It’s Chimney.

Recognition floods through him making him dizzy.  He leans on the cliffside to get his bearings for a second.  He inches closer kneeling beside his teammate and confirms his identification.

He reaches for his radio.  “Cap, the hiker is Chimney; repeat, the hiker is Chimney.”

He swallows hard and forces himself to put everything else out of his mind and focus.  He starts examining Chimney’s condition.

“He’s breathing; pulse is weak, but there.  He has a TBI, multiple contusions and cuts,” Eddie reports dispassionately, “one broken leg, likely dislocated, and I think he’s lying on a broken arm.  I’m going to need help to stabilise him for transport.  We should call for an air ambulance.”

There is a pause.

Bobby’s voice crackles over the radio.  “Understood.  Angie is suiting up and will be with you shortly.”

The rest of the rescue is a blur.  Eddie holds tightly to his training.  He and Angie give Chimney as much first aid as they can; they get him splinted and bandaged.  They transfer him to a stretcher basket for transport.  Chimney is transferred immediately to the waiting helicopter and Hen goes with him.

Eddie stands on the clifftop watching as the helicopter lifts off.

Mario puts his hand on his shoulder.  “You OK, brother?”

“Just…” he shakes his head, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Bobby walks over from where he’d been talking to the two women.

“Stacy Armitage,” Bobby says quietly.  “She and her friend are going to head to the hospital to meet up with Hen.”

“I’ll call Buck, let him know,” Eddie says.  “I’m not sure his going to the hospital will be a good idea.”

He’s not sure how he would have taken it if he’d turned up to meet his soulmate and had been greeted by his soulmate’s lover’s brother, and finding out that there was a child involved.  He’s grateful every day that Buck had just accepted the existence of Chris without anything other than what appeared to be joy at Eddie having a son.

Bobby nods.  “I’ve already contacted Athena.  She’ll make sure the LAPD is aware of the latest development.”  He twirls his hand in the air and gestures to their crew.  “Let’s wrap it up!  Eddie, can you ride in the ambulance with Angie, please?”

Eddie nods.  He strips off the harness and helps Mario and Ravi stow the equipment back in the truck before he jogs over to the waiting vehicle.

Angie is a great addition to the team.  She’s a sturdy brunette with cat-green eyes and an easy smile.  The 118 is a good transfer for her as it is closer to her sons’ school.  She has twin boys aged eight.  Their father is a deployed Marine and Angie served in the Air Force herself.

Eddie takes the passenger seat as Angie is already in the driver’s seat.  “Hey.”

“Hey,” Angie’s gaze runs over him methodically.  “You doing OK?  Had to be a shock finding him like that.”

“Bigger shock for his soulmate,” Eddie states.  He plucks his phone from his pocket.  “Sorry, I should call…”

“Buck, right,” Angie grimaces.  “Wow, that’s going to be a complicated mess, huh?  Han’s got a kid with his sister, right?”

“Right,” Eddie says absently as he calls Buck.

Buck listens to Eddie patiently until he falls silent.  He heaves a sigh.  “I guess I should stay away from the hospital until someone has a chance to tell his soulmate about Maddie and Jee?”

“I think that’s probably sensible,” Eddie says.  “I’ll call you when I have more news or you could call Hen – just give her a little time to get to the hospital.”

“I will,” Buck promises.  He sighs again. “Do you think Doug dumped him there?”

“Yeah,” Eddie says.  “I do.”  He presses his lips together.  “Be safe, OK?”

“Promise,” Buck says.

Eddie finishes the call and puts his phone away.  He stares out of the window.  Kendall had clearly beaten Chimney and left him for dead.  He can’t trust that Maddie’s insane soulmate wouldn’t come after Buck and Jee.  All he can do is try and protect them as much as he can.  Once they get to the station, he’ll call Athena, maybe a protective patrol will help keep his own soulmate safe.

o-O-o

Eddie walks into the waiting room of the hospital, nods to the police officer at the door, and goes immediately to Hen.  He sits beside her and hands her the coffee he’d procured for her.

“Thanks,” Hen says, taking a large gulp, apparently uncaring of the scalding liquid.

“Any news?” asks Eddie, handing over a packaged sandwich.

Hen opens the sandwich absently as she shakes her head. “Not since they briefed us after the triage before he went for surgery.”  She stuffs almost half the sandwich triangle into her mouth.

He glances around the waiting room.  “Where’s, uh…” he gestures weakly at the room.

“Kim took Stacy off for food and rest,” Hen says after she’s swallowed.  “She’s nice.  His soulmate.”  She sighs.  “I like her even though that feels so completely disrespectful to Maddie.”

“Did you tell her?” asks Eddie.

“About Chimney and Maddie?” Hen nods. “Not…not everything, just that Chimney and Maddie were together and have Jee.  I said that Maddie went away to receive help for PPD, and we think Chimney ran into her psycho ex-husband.”

“All true,” Eddie states.

“She’s from Seattle, a vet,” Hen continues, tearing a chunk from the sandwich.  She pops it into her mouth, chews and swallows.  “I’m not sure how that’s going to work with Chimney here.”

“I guess it depends on whether he intends to pursue his soul bond or whether he’ll stick with Maddie,” Eddie says.  Rejected soul bonds were rare, but they did happen.

Hen sighs and finishes her first sandwich half. “You know that’s why Chimney hates his father?  His father and mother were together when a crane turns up for his father and leads him all the way back to South Korea and Albert’s mother.  Chimney never forgave him for choosing the soul bond over their family.”

Eddie rubs his chin. “It’s one of the first things Shannon and I talked about when we found out she was pregnant.  Both our parents wanted us to get married, but…” he sighs. “Both of us slept together without strings because we wanted to remain open to our soulmates.”

“Karen and I talked about it once just before we got married,” Hen confides.  “I mean, statistically it’s actually not that typical for people who have gotten married to have a soul animal show up for them.  Buck told me once it was less than five per cent.”

“He’d know,” Eddie says fondly.

Hen sighs heavily.  “Chimney doesn’t want to admit it because of his father, but he really wants to be with his soulmate.”

“He’ll have some thinking to do when he’s recovered,” Eddie says diplomatically.

“Yes,” Hen repeats, “when he’s recovered.”

They both look up as Bobby enters.

“Any news?” asks Bobby.

“Just that he needed surgery for the brain injury and the leg,” Hen sighs.  “He’s still in surgery.”

“Detective Ransome has put an arrest warrant out for Kendall,” Bobby informs them.  “The police are going to treat this as an attempted murder.”

“Which they should,” Hen states.

Eddie’s phone buzzes. 

Buck’s text makes him frown.

“Eddie?” asks Bobby.  “Is something wrong?”

Eddie grimaces and stands up. “I have to get home.  Those agents we spoke to have shown with a search warrant for the house.”

o-O-o

Eddie isn’t at all surprised that Bobby follows him back to the house.

His Captain is irate at Eddie’s honour and good character being impugned.   He’d shown all the signs of anger when Eddie had admitted as they walked out of the hospital that he’d all but dared them into it after their previous unexpected visit to his home.

Eddie parks the truck on the street and gets out.  There are SUVs and police cars in his drive.  Buck sits on the front stoop, head in his hands.  Both of their soul animals are guarding him. 

Eddie joins him, kissing him gently to greet him.  “You OK?”

“Maddie still hasn’t replied to my email,” Buck says, worry written all over his face. 

Eddie pulls him into a sideways hug. 

“How’s Chimney?” Buck asks looking up at Bobby who’s hovering just in front of them.

“Still in surgery,” Bobby says. “He was in a bad way.”

“He’s lucky he was found,” Buck says quietly.  “I can’t help thinking what if he has had Maddie all this time? What if…?”

Eddie simply tugs him closer.

Buck leans into him.

Bobby stoops to crouch in front of Buck and puts a hand on the back of his neck.  “I can’t promise you it’s going to be alright, Buck, but if Kendall has got Maddie, we’re going to do everything we can to get your sister home safe.”

Buck nods, his eyes shiny. 

Special Agent Manetti steps out of the house and Bobby stands up.

“Special Agent Manetti,” Bobby says sternly. 

“Captain Nash,” Manetti’s chin comes up, “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“I expect not given that you did not inform me about your last visit to my Firefighter,” Bobby states crisply, in full Captain mode despite his casual dress of jeans and polo shirt.  “I’ve reported this to the Battalion Chief who is contacting the Fire Chief to make a formal complaint about your treatment of Firefighter Diaz.”

Manetti squares up to him.  “We have every right to issue a search warrant.  We believe Firefighter Diaz to be in possession of specialist and dangerous technology.”

“No,” Eddie says dryly, “you assume that I have the technology because you’ve established it was sent to Matheson a week before his death, and because it hasn’t come up in your searches, therefore, of course, the firefighter with him at his death must have it.”

Bobby folds his arms and glares at Manetti.  “Is that true?”

Manetti’s cheek flush red but she holds her ground.  “I’ve explained this to Firefighter Diaz.  He’s the only person Matheson had a chance to give the technology to or to gain the technology from Matheson’s person.”

Bobby takes a breath as though he’s trying to calm himself down. 

Buck’s eyes are wide.  “Oh, she’s in for it now,” he mutters in a low tone.

“Matheson had a week to get rid of the technology,” Bobby bites out.  “You know that, I know that, and that is the more likely route that he took given he was likely aware that his compatriots were being targeted.  Can you say for certain that Matheson didn’t just post the damn thing somewhere long before my crew got called to his house?”

Manetti shifts her weight, almost imperceptibly, but it’s the equivalent of a tell for her that she knows that point stands.

“I don’t know why your investigation is targeting my Firefighter,” Bobby continues, holding her defiant gaze with an angry glower of his own, “but I will be present for your search to make sure that everything is left in good condition and ‘evidence’ doesn’t just get found where there is none.”

Eddie keeps his face expressionless not wanting to give away his own surprise at Bobby’s announcement.

Manetti flushes bright red.  “That’s…we are not targeting Firefighter Diaz because he’s Latino!”

Bobby simply raises his eyebrows.

Her phone starts to ring.

“You might want to get that,” Bobby says mildly.  “It may be the Fire Chief.”  He nods at Eddie and Buck and simply sidesteps Manetti to walk into the house.

Manetti turns and glares at Eddie.

Eddie looks back up at her. 

Buck clears his throat.  “Uh, aren’t you going to answer your phone?”

Manetti whirls away, finally answering the call.

They watch as she walks down to the sidewalk outside of their house in an effort to keep it somewhat private.

Eddie sighs.  He rubs a hand over his face.  He’s tired.

Buck nudges his shoulder with his.  “Why don’t you walk down to Shannon’s and take a nap?”

That sounds like bliss, Eddie thinks.

He nudges Buck back.  “Are you sure you’ll be OK here?”

“I have Bobby,” Buck says simply.

Eddie nods.  He leans in and kisses Buck.  “Come get me when it’s over.”

“I will,” Buck promises.

Eddie stands and stretches getting the kinks out of his back.  He makes his way down to the sidewalk and almost runs into Manetti coming back.

Manetti glares at him.  “I’m sure you think this is funny!  Getting your Fire Chief involved and…”

“My Captain was with me when I got the text from Buck and he got the Fire Chief involved,” Eddie points out sharply.  “You’re the one who’s stuck on my having the technology when I’ve said I don’t have it.” He waves a hand up to his house.  “You and I know you’re not going to find anything.”

“Has it occurred to you that my doing this is for your benefit, Diaz?” Manetti bites out, her blue eyes flaring.  “If I rule you out of having this technology then maybe you won’t end up getting your home invaded and set on fire!”

“Or maybe,” Eddie states bitingly, “you focusing so much on me has already put a target on mine and my family’s back!”

Manetti swallows hard at that and he can see that his point has landed and made its mark.  She hadn’t even considered it, Eddie realises.

He shakes his hand and turns to leave.

There’s a squeal of tires and a sedan pulls up in the street. 

Palaski gets out and marches over to them.  He stabs a finger at Manetti.  “You cut me out of the fucking loop!”

Manetti takes a breath.  “You didn’t need to be in the loop for a simple search to ensure Firefighter Diaz is completely eliminated from the investigation.”

At least she was sticking to her story.

Palaski sneers at her.  His head snaps to Eddie.  “You should just come clean.”

Eddie sighs and throws up his hands.  He looks at Manetti.  “As my bonded and my Captain are staying to oversee the search, I’m going to go and take a nap at Shannon’s.  Call me if you need me to come back to the house.”  He keeps his tone civil with Manetti because he much prefers her to Palaski regardless of her own stupidity.

She nods.

Eddie leaves as she begins to remonstrate with Palaski about saying anything to him without following due process. 

When he gets to Shannon’s, she takes one look at him, herds him into the spare room and he’s asleep as soon as he’s horizontal.

o-O-o

Eddie leans back against the fire truck and accepts the coffee that Hen hands him.  The fire crew is waiting for the police negotiator to finish talking with the woman brandishing a gun on top of the bridge.  It’s stopped all traffic and Eddie is slightly grateful that he’s not caught up in the middle of the ensuing commuting disaster.

The 118 is under the bridge manning the inflatable cushion.  Personally, Eddie is more worried about the gun going off accidentally and taking them out.  He’s stayed back behind the front of the truck to ensure he has cover.  The entire crew has followed his example as soon as they got the inflatable up.  He’s just pleased that Buck, newly returned to work after his injury, is man behind so he doesn’t have to worry about him getting shot.

Hen slumps against the truck rather than leans.    

“No news?” asks Eddie, giving her the opening that she clearly needs.

Hen shakes her head.  “He’s still in the coma.  Stacy says she’s arranged for some leave, but she’ll have to head back before the end of the month.”

“It’s good of her to stay in the circumstances,” Eddie says diplomatically.  “Albert says he’s doing well apart from the coma.”

Chimney’s brother had come round at the end of his shift the previous day to visit with Jee and finalise arrangements.  Albert and the Lees had been coopted for babysitting while he and Buck were on duty.

“On the mend,” Hen agrees.  “Leg is in traction, arm is in a cast, two broken ribs and bruised kidneys, but the head injury is the worst of it.”

Eddie grimaces.  “At least he’s alive.”

“I just want him to wake up,” Hen admits in a rush.  She pauses.  “Mostly so I can say ‘I told you so’ about Jack, but also because I just want the stupid jerk to wake up.’

Eddie chuckles.

Hen shoots him a look.  “How are you after everything?”

“You mean the police searching through our entire house?” Eddie tries for a light-hearted tone but from the look on Hen’s face, he fails.  He shrugs.  “Buck insisted we put all the underwear through a wash.”

Hen mock shudders.  “I didn’t even think about that.”

“He’s also thrown out his favourite vibrator,” Eddie says, allowing himself some amusement at what had happened as Bobby joins them.  “Apparently the NCIS agent found his box of toys and thought one of them could be the technology they were looking for.  He brandished it right in front of Bobby.”

Hen starts laughing.

“I was mortified,” Bobby admits.  He gestures back at the bridge.  “They say they think she’s responding.”

“You know what this reminds me of?” Hen muses, gesturing back to the bridge.  “You remember that woman who climbed up and just wanted her husband to pay attention to her?”

“You mean the one who almost shot Buck?” Eddie says dryly. 

“That’s the one,” Hen says.

“Hopefully nobody is getting shot today,” Bobby says.

“Amen to that,” Hen mutters.

There’s a sound from the bridge and they all turn to look.

The woman is yelling at the police negotiator and…

The gun goes off in her hand.

Eddie yanks Hen down behind the truck as Bobby ducks.  The bullet hits the truck and ricochets back into the inflatable which hisses as it begins a slow deflation…

The woman tips over the edge of the bridge and falls…

Eddie runs out, keeping low in case the gun discharges again, and clamps a hand down where the inflatable was hit.

The woman lands with a thump, and he almost loses his grip on the cushion as she bounces…once, twice…

He lets go and without thinking clambers up to snatch the gun from her hand, disarming it quickly before she can recover from the fall.

Bobby is suddenly beside the woman, pushing her back into the cushion.  “You need to stay down for a moment, ma’am, until we can examine you…” he gestures at Eddie, “get that to the police, Eddie, please.” 

Eddie nods.  He and Hen exchange places.

There are police officers waiting wide-eyed just by the fire truck and Eddie hands them the dismantled gun, placing it into the waiting evidence bag.

He heads over to where Mario is examining the bullet hit.  There’s a large dent in the door of one of the compartments but they’re lucky it didn’t get through and hit the hoses.

Mario pats his back.  “I bet you were a hell of a combat medic.  I’ve never seen someone move that fast under fire to save a life.”

Eddie knows he’ll have nightmares later from the whole scene.  It’ll either be flashbacks to Afghanistan or it’ll be the shooting he went through.  He doesn’t mention that, but he simply offers Mario a fist to bump.

Hen, Bobby and Angie have the woman off the inflatable and sitting on the back of the ambulance.

Eddie gets out some duct tape and heads over to mark the hit; the cushion may be repairable, but more likely it will have to be replaced.  One of the police officers follows him to take a picture.  He and Laura work together to get the inflatable sorted and put away.

By the time they’ve finished, the woman has been carted away by the police in handcuffs having been declared perfectly fit by Hen and Angie.

They all get back in the truck and head back.

Eddie texts an update to Buck and receives a picture of brownies back.  “Buck’s made brownies.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Eddie, but I love your soulmate and if you weren’t around, I would be stealing him,” Laura says brightly.

Eddie shakes his head and smiles at her, knowing she’s teasing him. 

“Hell for brownies, I’d be stealing him,” Mario quips.

“After dealing with that call, we all deserve brownies,” Bobby mutters.

“What was her deal anyway?” asks Laura.

“She was protesting…something political,” Bobby shakes his head.  “It wasn’t particularly clear what.”  He sighs.  “She’ll be lucky to get off with a warning the amount of disruption she caused.”

They pull into the 118 and disembark.

“Does anyone else smell chilli?” Laura says, sniffing dramatically.

They all smell chilli.

It’s Eddie’s favourite thing that Buck makes.  Eddie feels warmed because he knows Buck has made him his favourite food to help him feel better; to smooth the stress that Eddie’s been feeling ever since Matheson handed him that strange cylinder.  He just hopes to God O’Neill has actually gotten his mail.

They all turn as a pack towards their Captain with beseeching eyes.

“Fine,” Bobby says, amusement rolling off his tongue, and twinkling in his eyes, “wash-up and we’ll eat first, chores second.”

Nobody argues.

They’re all seated around the table eating within ten minutes of the declaration, passing each other chilli, rice and flatbreads. 

Eddie is beside Buck who is flushed from the compliments, and by Laura proclaiming that she was going to steal him from Eddie.

Hen excuses herself to take a call and comes back looking shell-shocked.  The table quiets because they all know about Chimney and are worried.

“Hen?” Bobby asks quietly.  “Is everything OK?”

Hen looks back at him, bewildered.  “I’m not sure.”

Eddie and Buck exchange a quick look of concern between them.

“That was the hospital,” Hen says, “Chimney’s awake…”

Relief floods through the team; pleased faces line the table and murmurs of supportive commentary…

“…but…”

But.

It’s amazing how worry at a ‘but’ can drown out relief like a tsunami, Eddie considers, his fork frozen half-way to his mouth as he looks at Hen anxiously.

“But?” prompts Bobby when Hen remains silent.

Hen lifts her phone almost as an explanation.  “They say he has amnesia.  He doesn’t remember who he is!”

And of all the things Eddie was expecting, none of them were that Chimney had completely lost his memory.

o-O-o

Eddie follows Athena and Buck into Maddie’s apartment. 

There’s a sense of stale air.

Chimney had asked them not to come by once Maddie was gone and they haven’t visited since they took custody of Jee.

He wonders what’s going to happen with Jee now that Chimney has amnesia.  In the short term, of course there is no question that he and Buck will look after her, but she still is Chimney’s daughter even if he can’t remember her.

According to Hen, the doctors they’d brought in to examine him didn’t know if he’d ever recover his memory.  There was immense physical damage to the part of his brain dealing with long term memory.  Combined with the trauma of how Chimney had likely ended up injured and on a cliffside, no-one in Chimney’s medical team is confident about memory recovery.

There has been a slow re-introduction of people into Chimney’s life: Hen, Albert and the Lees predominately.  They’re holding off introducing Jee and any of the rest of the 118, although Chimney has apparently been told the basics of his life before his injury. 

What worries Eddie is that he’s also been introduced to Stacy and is over the moon with his soulmate who is kind and patient.  It had been unavoidable given the presence of the soul animals.  Hen had told them that Stacy has suggested they hold off bonding for a few months to allow Chimney to recover and for them to truly get to know each other. 

Hopefully, Eddie thinks, Chimney will have recovered some memories to make an informed decision by then, and most importantly, hopefully they will have found out what has happened to Maddie.

Which brings them to their outing.

Athena had come over that afternoon to ask Buck more questions and they’d realised nobody had been to Maddie’s apartment since Chimney had been abducted by Kendall. 

Buck wrinkles his nose adorably at the stale smell.

“Let’s get some air in here,” Eddie suggests.

Buck nods and moves to open the windows.

Eddie figures that they should plan to come back and scrub the place down.  He gestures over to Athena.  “What are we looking for?”

“Did Maddie have a laptop or a tablet that she might have left behind?” asks Athena.  “It would also be good to check her clothes and personal products; see if she did pack and leave.”

Buck opens a drawer in the sideboard and sighs. He takes out a laptop. “I had hoped she’d taken it with her.” He sets it down on the coffee table.  “Should we open it?”

Eddie thinks the answer is probably ‘no’ and that they should consider it evidence to be handed immediately over to the police.

“Do you know the password?” Athena asks bluntly.

Buck nods.  “I set it all up for her.”

“Then, maybe Eddie should show me through to the bedroom while you take a look at a laptop I did not see you get out of that drawer,” Athena says easily. She heads away into the bedroom.

Eddie and Buck exchange a look. He pats Buck’s arm before he quickly follows after Athena.

His Captain’s wife is already rifling through the wardrobe. Eddie notes the empty hangars and points at them.

“Her clothes are missing,” Eddie says briskly. His eyes dart up to the top shelf where Maddie had stowed her suitcases. “Suitcases are gone.”

Athena hums.

Eddie wanders after her as she goes into the bathroom. There are toiletries missing.

“Everything is pointing to her taking a trip,” Athena notes. “The only indicators against suggesting she didn’t do this of her own accord are what’s happened with Chimney and in how she left Jee behind.”

“Maybe she wasn’t coerced to go with her ex,” Eddie thinks out loud, “but maybe she felt compelled to leave anyway.”

“Hey guys!” Buck calls out from the living area and they make their way back swiftly to join him.

He has the laptop open on the breakfast counter and he spins it to show them the screen. “I found this in her browser history. It was the last page she loaded.”

It’s the contact page of a well-known charity which helps women dealing with domestic violence.   

“You think she reached out?” asks Athena bluntly.

“I know she did,” Buck says. “She sent an email to them and they sent her a name and phone number of someone to call when she reached Philadelphia.”

Athena nods. She pulls out her phone and snaps a picture of the webpage and the email. “Close it down, Buck. I’ll follow this trail because they are unlikely to give you boys any information.”

“This is good news, isn’t it?” Buck asks urgently, his blue eyes shining with hope. “She got herself safe.”

Eddie puts an arm around his soulmate in silent support.

Athena’s expression softens and she nods slowly. “It sure looks that way, Buck, but I’ll follow up and make certain.”

“She should stay there,” Buck says abruptly. “She should stay there until we find Doug.”

Eddie squeezes Buck gently because he isn’t wrong.

Athena nods again. “I don’t think you’re wrong, Buck, but she may want to come back when she finds out about what happened with Chimney.” She holds his gaze firmly. “I know you want to protect her but it is her choice to make.”

Buck grimaces and he pushes a hand through his curls.

“Come on, let’s close this place back up,” Athena says briskly, “I’ll take the laptop as evidence.”

Eddie stays a silent support as they head back out to the truck but as soon as they’re on the road, he reaches over and takes hold of Buck’s hand and squeezes gently.

“She got herself safe, Buck.”

“Yeah,” Buck slumps into his seat and shoots him a grateful smile. “She got herself safe.” He repeats. “I just hope she stays that way.”

Eddie just hopes they can find Kendall soon. Maddie staying away is the right call but he’s not so sure she won’t come running when she finds out about Chimney.

And maybe, Eddie considers thoughtfully, maybe that’s exactly what Kendall is counting on.

Act 5 – Rescue

It is a slow shift.

Eddie stares up at the bottom of the bunk above him. It is empty. Buck is curled up asleep in the cot next to Eddie. He’d resumed his usual place on the truck in the past week. Hearing from Athena that Maddie had decided to stay away has helped Buck’s stress levels enormously. Athena had also told them that while Maddie’s initial contact had been in Philadelphia, she had been quickly moved on to another place.

Eddie suspects that Athena knows Maddie’s general location but he appreciates that she hasn’t told them. What they don’t know they can’t tell someone.

He fidgets.

He’s been staring up at the top bunk for the last thirty minutes.

They’ve gone a week without an arson home invasion.

He has no idea if O’Neill got the technology and whether it is safe. He’s kind of regretting not asking O’Neill to confirm receipt of the package, but then he had deliberately sent it without any identifying markers; plain post-it, generic ink, generic envelope. Nothing that would tie it back to him or the station.

The Feds involved have kept their distance since the house search. Well. Relatively speaking. Eddie is certain that he’s seen the NCIS guy Palaski tailing them once or twice.

He figures if Palaski is tailing them, he has to be getting bored. Since they’re still looking after Jee, their off-duty time is picking the kids up, looking after the kids, shopping so they all eat, and that’s about it.

Their time away for their anniversary feels like a dim and distant memory.

They’ve also not picked up the conversation about another kid. Looking after Jee is giving them insight into what it would be like with a baby in the mix and Eddie cannot deny that it is hard work. Of course, they’re also keeping Jee pretty close since there is a possibility that Kendall might try to use her to bait Maddie back to California. Carla had introduced them to a former Marine who had turned to nannying and it settles something with Buck and Eddie that Nellie is more than capable of killing someone to protect Jee.

That thought unsettles Eddie and he finds himself moving without consciously making the decision to get up. He slides out of his bunk silently, grabs his shoes on his way out and heads up to the kitchen to grab himself a warm drink and a snack. Buck had made cookies earlier with Bobby.

He’s not surprised to find Hen sat at the dining table intent on her laptop.

“Hey,” Eddie lifts the coffee carafe.

Hen shoots him a look of gratitude. “Please.”

Eddie makes both of their drinks and loads a few cookies onto a plate. The ritual doesn’t take any thought and is quickly done. He sniffs appreciatively at the blend as he carries everything over to the table. He sets one mug down in front of Hen before he takes the chair across from her and points at the laptop.

“Anything interesting?”

Hen picks up her mug and slumps back in her chair. “I’m reading up on the latest literature about traumatic amnesia.”

Eddie grimaces. “Chim still doesn’t remember anything about the last few years?”

Hen shakes her head. “Bobby went to see him a couple of days ago and he kind of remembered him taking over the 118 but nothing else.” She sounds so despondent that Eddie can’t help feel for her even if his feelings about Chim remain somewhat ambivalent. He doesn’t think Chim deserved to be thrown over a cliff and left for dead, but he also can’t forget that Chim hit Buck either.

“You think he’s going with Stacy to Seattle eventually?” surmises Eddie.

“I know he’s going with Stacy to Seattle,” Hen corrects with a grimace. “He told me yesterday that’s his plan. He’s talked to the Lees about them helping him get situated in a rehab place up there.”

“You tried to talk him out of it,” Eddie guesses. He takes a sip of coffee and pulls a face at the slightly stale flavour.

“I told him he should meet Jee before he makes that decision, she’s his daughter,” Hen admits. She shakes her head. “He just…he has no interest in her. I just…I’ve shown him pictures, a couple of the videos he sent me when she was just born…nothing.”

Eddie grimaces. He can’t imagine it. He can’t imagine forgetting Chris or even if he had forgotten him, not wanting to know about his own child. He can’t imagine a world where he wouldn’t have wanted to reconnect with him. He looks over at Hen and sees the same confusion in her dark eyes.

“Maybe he’s protecting himself from the choice he thinks he’d have to make if he acknowledges her,” Eddie suggests.

“Maybe,” Hen concedes, “but I just…I just never saw him as someone who could just walk away like this.”

“Psychologically he’s still dealing with the trauma, right?” Eddie gestures with his mug. “He could be projecting his fear over his near death onto the idea of meeting his daughter. If he meets her and she triggers his memory…”

Hen harrumphs and peers at him. “That’s not a bad theory.”

Eddie shrugs. As a former combat medic, he’s seen all kinds of responses to trauma. “It could just be what you think. He could just be avoiding meeting her because it complicates things with his soulmate.”

“Do you think we should just…” Hen waves her own mug at Eddie, “ambush him with her?”

“No,” Eddie says, “but that’s more to with the potential impact on Jee than Chim. She might only be a baby, but Chimney was one of her primary caregivers up until a few weeks ago. If she recognises him and he rejects her, it could be traumatic for her.”

Hen sighs. “I can’t argue with that.” She takes a gulp of her coffee and gestures at him to hand over the cookies.

Eddie rolls his eyes and pushes the plate closer to her.

“Karen thinks I should just accept Chimney isn’t getting his memory back,” Hen says moodily. She reaches out and closes the laptop. She looks up, an apology writ large across her face. “I know he wasn’t coming back here after hitting Buck the way he did, but…” she takes an aggressive bite of a cookie.

“But he would have been somewhere in L.A. Now you’re losing your best friend to Seattle,” Eddie says picking up a cookie for himself.

“Exactly,” Hen points her half-eaten cookie at him. “I can’t help thinking that he’s going to remember at some point and regret heading to Seattle without Jee in his life in some way.”

“What does Stacy think about all this?” asks Eddie. “She knows about Jee, right?”

Hen nods slowly. “I haven’t asked her.” She chews down on the remainder of her cookie, thinking. “I guess I could reach out. She may get through to him better than me. I mean, he remembers we’re close friends, but he has lost years of our friendship in there too.” 

Eddie washes down the cookie with another gulp of his bitter coffee.

“Hey, is there any news on Kendall yet?” Hen asks.

Eddie shakes his head. “The detective on the case says Kendall’s probably gone to ground. They got his alias from Chimney’s phone records, got his rental apartment downtown, but it was cleaned out. Detective Ransome thinks that it’s likely he moved out when he threw him off the cliff.”

“It might be best for Chimney if he does go to Seattle,” Hen mutters. “At least he’d be away from Kendall coming after him again.” She reached for another cookie. “I’m just glad you found that Marine to look after Jee.”

“Carla definitely came through for us, Nellie is great,” Eddie notes. He stretches to reach for the last cookie and…

The bell rings.

They exchange a sheepish look and head down as the others start to pour out from the bunkroom.  Eddie grabs the cookie on his way.

o-O-o

They see the flames a couple of minutes before they pull up in front of the warehouse. Eddie and Buck are in synch as they pile out of the truck and start grabbing equipment, Bobby’s orders calling out into the breezy night sky.

A dishevelled security guard, belly overhanging his belt and wobbling with every step, hurries over, not quite running, but not quite walking.

Eddie half listens to the stumbling rendition of the guard walking the perimeter on patrol only to return to the building to find it on fire. He pays more attention when the security babbles how there’s a couple of warehouse operators unaccounted for from the night shift.

Eddie checks Buck’s equipment and waits while Buck does a check on his. They bump fists as they turn to enter the building, masks on, oxygen tanks strapped to their backs. Buck is carrying an axe in case they need to get through locked doors.

Eddie follows Buck as they make their way inside.

It’s a mess.

The far walls are already on fire, smoke is gathering along the ceiling, crawling over the top walkway which leads to an upper floor office.

They make their way steadily through the space, calling out. They note the confirmation from Bobby that they’re starting fire suppression outside and the observations on the path of the fire.

They continue on.

There is a locked door and they take it down to get into a storage space. They find the two operators huddled into the centre space, tops pulled up as makeshift scarves. They quickly help them up and out of the room.

They start making their way out carefully backtracking.

The smoke is worse.

Eddie feels the heat of the fire. They’ve got protective blankets over their charges.

Suddenly a movement on the upper floor window catches his eye. The shape of a person forms in front of the window, waving their arms frantically.

Eddie signals to Buck. He gestures for Buck to continue out without him. He sees Buck’s reluctance in the concerned look he shoots him but his partner nods and gestures to the men following them. Eddie knows Buck will come back in to back him up once he’s got the operators to safety.

“We have another person on the upper floor,” Eddie radios through. “Buck is on his way out with the operators. I’m headed to the upper floor office, over.”  

“I hear you, Eddie,” Bobby replies, his voice strong and sure in Eddie’s ear. “Stay on the line; there shouldn’t be anyone else in there according to the security guard.”

Eddie grimaces. The guard hadn’t exactly filled Eddie with confidence, but he also knows that warehouses can offer shelter to the homeless sometimes. Maybe a vagrant had snuck in looking for a dry warm place to sleep.

“Copy that,” Eddie says even as he starts for the metal staircase.

He reaches the upper metal landing and carefully makes his way to the office door. He bangs on the door a couple of times to warn the person inside he’s coming in.

He opens the door and…

A flash of light zaps out in front of him and…he instinctively dives for the floor.

“What the hell…” he breathes out.

Mentally he’s cataloguing the military style black fatigues his attacker is wearing along with a mask. Whoever it was had come prepared for the fire. They’d probably set the fire.

“Eddie?” Bobby’s voice is calm and authoritative in his ear but Eddie cannot respond.

He’s already rolling away awkwardly away from a second flash of light, hampered by his gear…and he lands straight into the path of another bolt of light coming from his left unexpectedly and he doesn’t even have time to say a warning before he shudders into unconsciousness.

o-O-o

Eddie drifts back into consciousness with the knowledge that something is wrong even if he feels groggy. The memory of the flash of light hitting him flickers through his mind and he stays still. He keeps his breathing deep and even, cataloguing his surroundings.

The weight of his gear is missing. He’s been stripped of his coat and , his tank, and his mask. His feet are bare. He is lying on a flat hard surface and he can feel a chill in the air against his skin. As he breathes, he catalogues the fact that he’s somewhere with air conditioning; he can hear the hum of it even as he recognises the feel of it in his nose and lungs.

He’s not tied up.

He cannot feel any kind of rope or binding around his legs and ankles. His arms are in natural positions; not tied together but lying either side of him, with one hand resting on his stomach.

He stretches out his hearing.

There is no other sound in the space he’s in. No other hint of breathing. Nothing.

He carefully opens his eyes.

He’s in some kind of cell.

There is a door a few feet from the foot of the bench he’s stretched out on. No window. Across the room there is a small alcove with a basic toilet and sink. A vent is visible close to the ceiling but Eddie would never fit into it. Chris would be hard pressed to fit into it.

In the far corner of the room, there is a camera mounted close to the ceiling with a red light signalling it was on. They’re watching him and will know he’s regained consciousness.

He shifts in one fluid motion to sit on the bench. The combination of navy turnout pants and undershirt isn’t the outfit that he would choose to be kidnapped in but it’s the one he’s got. He runs a hand through his sweaty hair and considers his predicament.

He’d been snatched from a fire; ambushed.

It spoke to planning and forethought. It was very likely that whoever had taken him had set the fire.

It reminds him of the house invaders. They had set fires to cover their tracks, uncaring of the collateral damage.

It is too much of a coincidence for him to rule out that the same house invaders who had searched for the bio-weapon have now snatched him for some reason.

He gets up and heads over to the toilet. He takes off the turnout pants leaving him in his usual uniform pants and makes use of the facilities before his kidnappers turn up. He washes up at the sink. He cups his hand under the meagre trickle of water and drinks. He doubts that the running water is drugged but he has to take the risk. His mouth is too dry. He splashes water over his face. There is a small paper towel dispenser on the wall to the side of the sink and he strips off a piece to dry his face and hands.

He makes a circuit of the room, the linoleum cold beneath his bare feet, and finds nothing useful.

He has his turnout pants, his t-shirt, his uniform pants, his underwear and nothing else. He checks his pockets.

Nothing.

They’ve stripped him of his watch which is disheartening but not a surprise. It is standard practice in torture situations to deny the prisoner the concept of time, Eddie thinks.

He lies back down on the bench. He might as well conserve his energy. He can’t escape from the room until they let him out for some reason. He’ll just have to wait and take his chance.

He isn’t all that surprised when they come from him soon after he gets comfortable on the bench.

Alerted by the sound of someone outside the door, Eddie stands up as it opens. He keeps his stance loose. If he finds an opportunity…

There is a strange slightly phallic looking weapon in the hand of the burly guard who enters. Tall and muscular, a former jarhead from the haircut, he gestures for Eddie to move to the centre of the room.

Eddie complies. He needs to make it out alive; make it back to Buck and Chris, to their family.

A second man enters and Eddie’s jaw almost drops. “Agent Donald.”

“Not who you were expecting, I’m certain,” Donald said crisply. “Agent Palaski has his uses.”

“He was a distraction,” Eddie surmises. “You kept my attention on him, leaving you to…what? Ambush me at work? You know I don’t have your device, Donald.”

“I do,” Donald says. “It arrived safely back to the custody of the programme it was stolen from by post not too long ago.”

Relief that at least that threat is contained ripples through him.

“That was a good move,” Donald says briskly. “Nothing I wouldn’t expect from a man with your record.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows. “So if the device is back where it belongs, why am I here?”

“Because we need men like you,” Donald says.

Eddie’s brow lowers.

“Come,” Donald turns around and walks back to the door, “I’ll show you.”

Eddie glances at the guard who pointedly raises his weapon. Eddie follows Donald. He keeps track of the direction they travel; down a corridor, down a set of stairs, along another corridor, right at the intersection and into an adjoining building across a covered walkway…

It looks like any other corporate building.

Generic tile carpet which is rough and prickly beneath his feet, industrial paint choice of a bland beige.

There are offices, some open, some closed with people in generic suits talking. He sees a few people in white coats over their clothing. There are even badge IDs and lanyards.

Eddie feels like he’s walked into the corporate headquarters of a Bond villain.

Another corridor, an elevator down to the basement. The guard is shadowing them, his weapon constantly on Eddie.

Concrete under his feet as they walk down another corridor and Donald slides his badge through a reader, stares into an eye scanner and the door clicks open.

Eddie feels the buzz of the technology. For a split second he worries that they’ve got the bio-weapon before he instinctively realises that none of the tech reaching out to him is the same. It’s enough to make him freeze at the doorway instead of following Donald into the room. He gets poked in the back by the weird weapon the guard is using and takes a step forward.

The room stretches out in a long oblong separated by lab benches. There are scientists in white coats performing experiments.

Eddie starts to catalogue the technology which is speaking to him and that which is dead to him. He looks over to Donald and finds him staring at Eddie speculatively.

Donald points towards a bench and leads the way over. A small grey-haired man is stood on the opposite side peering at a silver disc and making notes on a tablet.

Eddie feels every single piece of tech reach out to him. He just knows what each piece is like someone has whispered the knowledge straight into his mind. He lets his gaze skate over a clunky device at the end of the bench. It is a personal shield.

“These devices all come from the same programme that the cylinder Kenny Matheson and his team worked for,” Donald comments almost casually. He makes a sweeping gesture in the air just above the bench. “The really interesting thing about this tech is that they’re all coded to work for a certain gene. It’s very rare and even people who have the gene can struggle to make the tech work.”

Eddie keeps his face blank. A perfect soldier’s countenance just like he was trained.

“The cylinder was a weapon which was switched on albeit in safe mode,” Donald continues. “The most surprising thing for everyone when it was returned was that it was completely switched off. One of our known and strongest gene users in the programme had already tried and failed to get it to do that. It was being stored securely awaiting a visit from the strongest gene user we have when Matheson stole it.”

Eddie crosses his arms. “I’m not sure what that has to do with me.”

Donald smiles coldly at him. “I know Matheson gave you the cylinder. You were careful, I’ll give you that, but the programme command found a smudged fingerprint on the envelope which matched your service record.”

Eddie refuses to react. “That means nothing.”

“Please,” drawls Donald with a thick layer of sarcasm, “I have no doubt that technically you did not lie to Manetti and I in your interview. You didn’t steal the cylinder, Matheson gave it to you. He told you to give it to O’Neill.”

Eddie stays silent.

He and Donald stare at each other uncomfortably for a long moment.

Suddenly the radio of the guard crackles. “All teams, code red! Code red! Burn it down!”

Eddie’s moving before the end of the sentence. He veritably leaps towards the bench and snatches up the shield. He slaps it onto him with a mental command of ‘WORK!’ and dives over the bench as the guard tries to shoot him with the weird zap gun.

The scientist cringes away from him, scuttling backwards, their frantic eyes darting to the disc.

Eddie knows it’s the equivalent of a stun grenade. He grabs it and throws it down.

Electricity erupts from it in a cascade of lightning like bolts which shoot around the room impacting every single human. They all drop like flies.

His heart is pounding as he hurries around the bench, grabs Donald’s badge ID from his unconscious body, and makes for the door.

He’s running up the stairs when he meets another security guard.

Eddie simply sidesteps the effort to shoot him with a regular old gun and punches the big guy in the jaw. The guy drops like a brick to the floor.

He picks up the gun and continues trying to find his way out. There’s a fire escape door on the next landing and he pushes through it and…

Buck’s Sunshine is suddenly right in front of him, the yellow Labrador wagging its tail madly as it bounds towards Eddie.

Eddie stoops to hug his soulmate’s soul animal briefly and takes in with wide-eyes the circle of military vehicles surrounding the building.

The sound of footsteps approaching to his left has him whirling to meet the threat only to pause when the soldier lifts their hands.

“Sergeant Diaz? General O’Neill sent us. We’re here to rescue you,” the Colonel says dryly. He’s wearing black fatigues with most of the identifying patches and insignia removed except for his rank, Marine badge, and the stitching on the name tag.

“Sounds good to me, Colonel Reynolds.” Eddie says relieved. Sunshine stays close as they follow the Colonel away from the building towards the barricade.

They get past the first set of vehicles and head over to a control van.

A grey-haired General is standing in front of the open door talking animatedly with a slightly bemused brown-haired man with glasses and a large dark-skinned man with a gold tattoo on his forehead. They’re all wearing the same kind of fatigues.

Eddie’s gaze lands on the General’s name tag. O’Neill.

“Sergeant Diaz,” O’Neill greets him cheerfully. “I see you rescued yourself and helped us track down our missing technology and catch some thieves. Good job.”

“Thank you, sir,” Eddie says dryly.

O’Neill waves another man over. “Major Davis will take your statement and see you back to L.A.,” He motions at the labrador. “You might want to give your soulmate a call before he tries to evade our people and board a flight to New York following your bond.”

Eddie nods. “As soon as I get a phone, I’ll do that, sir.”

Davis gestures at him. “If you could follow me, Sergeant.”

Eddie is bundled into the back of a non-descript sedan. Sunshine follows him and sits the footwell pressed up against his legs.

Davis pulls out a phone and makes a call as they drive away from the building which looks like it is situated in its own country estate.  “Operation Sergeant was a success. Can you give the phone to Mister Buckley? Sergeant Diaz would like to assure him.”

Eddie is immediately handed the phone.

Davis offers him a small smile. “Don’t give him details. Just inform that you’re safe and on your way back.”

Eddie recognises an order when he gets one. He presses the phone to his ear.

“Eddie!”

Eddie’s eyes close in relief. “Buck.”

And finally, with the voice of his soulmate in his ear and the press of Sunshine against him, he feels like he is truly safe.

o-O-o

Three days after being kidnapped from the scene of a fire, Eddie finds himself back in uniform. He’d feel like the whole thing was a fever dream except for the way his family clings to him in the aftermath.

That and the hundred-page copy of the Non-Disclosure Agreement Davis had put in front of him to sign before they transported him back to L.A.

He closes the locker and turns to smile at Buck. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Buck agrees with a flash of his own smile.

It makes Eddie melt a little inside like it always does.

They head up to the loft.

Bobby already has the spread of ‘make your own breakfast burrito’ lined up on the counter.

Eddie’s stomach rumbles at the smell of the spiced meat which scents the air.

Buck pushes him aside and Eddie watches as Buck meticulously makes them both a packed burrito. They both load up with slices of melon on the side before taking their place at the table.

Laura eyes them speculatively. “Cap says you can’t talk about the whole getting taken thing?”

Eddie nods. “It’s classified.”

“But it was linked to the home invasion-arson thing?” Mario asks, his expression showing less curiosity and more concern.

Eddie nods again. “And that’s as much as I can say.”

“Which we all understand,” Bobby says sitting down and staring at the crew around the table.

Angie grins and raises her mug. “Classified is classified,” she says cheerfully. She turns to Hen on her other side. “How’s Chimney doing?”

“He leaves tomorrow for Seattle,” Hen sighs. “He still won’t see Jee.” She shoots a pointed look at Buck.

Buck grimaces around a mouthful of burrito and hurries to swallow it. “I’m not going to ambush him with his daughter, Hen.”

Eddie looks over at her, surprised. “I thought we agreed that it was best for Jee that she didn’t get put in front of her father if he’s not willing to see her.”

Hen winces at his sharp tone but Eddie doesn’t care. Hen has a blind spot sometimes with Chimney. He gets it. Chimney’s her best friend. But that does not mean she gets to push an agenda which involves Jee.

“I know,” Hen says, holding a hand up as she accepts the criticism. “I just…I can’t help but think it would help jog his memory.”

“Maybe not,” Bobby says, picking up his coffee, “he seemed pretty determined not to remember when I spoke with him yesterday.”

Hen slumps back in her chair. “I really thought you might get through to him.”

Eddie exchanges a quick glance with a frowning Buck. Silently they both acknowledge the way Bobby phrased his words.

Maybe Chimney remembers something after all. If Chimney does remember, Eddie muses, he was clearly making a conscious decision to move away to Seattle with his soulmate and leave his daughter behind – something Bobby was very aware of looking at the way he’d slid a mask of professionalism over his usually friendly face.

Eddie looks back over to Hen to see if Bobby’s words have registered with her and knows they haven’t from her continued clear confusion.

Angie catches Eddie’s gaze and nods subtly.

Eddie wonders if Angie will try breaking the news to Hen and if he should stop her. He has half an inkling that Hen knowing Chimney remembers something will only result in her storming back to his hospital room to demand that he stays.

“Any news on the guy who attacked Chimney?” Mario asks, pushing his empty plate away with a satisfied smile.

“Still at large,” Bobby answers before either Eddie or Buck can get their words organised. “The police think he’s gone to ground.”

Eddie wonders if Kendall is simply waiting on Maddie returning. While Eddie has never bought wholly into the characteristics of the soul being manifested in what animal they take, Kendall’s sly and cunning predatory fox seems a good fit from everything that he knows about the guy.

The conversation moves on and so does the day as the bell goes for their first call. The shift turns into an unrelenting stream of small callouts; a kid stuck in a fence, a girl locked in a service station bathroom, an old man who’d taken a tumble down a flight of steps, a dog who’d wandered out on to the window ledge and who can’t turn around to get back in…

At the end of their shift, Eddie feels exhausted.

Buck herds him to their truck and pushes Eddie towards the passenger side. Usually Eddie drives them home, but he’s too tired for their usual pattern and clambers into his seat.

A part of him wants to keep his eyes open but he feels himself dozing off with the steady hum of the engine, the familiar songs playing on low, and Buck’s competent driving. He wakes as they pull into their driveway.

Eddie yawns and stretches. “Sorry.”

Buck shakes his head. “You needed the rest. I got more sleep before that last call.”

Eddie nods. The last callout had been a guy who had decided to try sticking his hand into a grate to collect his dropped phone.

They are almost at the door when their spirit animals appear in front of them. Both Sergeant and Sunshine turn and look pointedly at the door.

Eddie and Buck look at each other with matching frowns of concern.

Chris is at school. The only people in the house should be Nellie, the nanny they’ve hired for Jee, and Jee.

Eddie silently indicates he’ll go first. Buck scowls but he doesn’t argue. He’s close behind Eddie as they step up to the door.

Eddie puts his key into the lock and opens the door. He’s barely over the threshold before he sees Nellie sprawled in the kitchen doorway, clearly unconscious. He takes a step towards her and checks the pulse on her outstretched wrist.

It is strong, but her skin is cold as though she’s been on the floor for a while.

She’s alive but the dark bloodied bump on her head worries Eddie.

“You should come in now,” a smooth male voice calls out.

Eddie rises back up slowly and walks silently into the living room and stops at the sight of a dark-haired man holding a sleeping Jee to his chest.

There is a dirty-looking fox by his feet. It snarls at them.

Behind him, Buck takes in a sharp audible breath drawing the attention of their intruder.

“Doug Kendall, I presume,” Eddie states roughly.

Kendall hums. “She’s very beautiful, isn’t she? I always thought we shouldn’t have children, but Maddie has made a very beautiful daughter.”

Buck takes a sideways step and Kendall raises the arm which has been out of sight. He points a gun at them.   

“Hello, Evan,” Kendall says casually as though they’ve run into each other in a store.

“Doug,” Buck greets him quietly.

“Why don’t you both take a seat on the sofa,” Kendall gestures with the gun.

Eddie nudges Buck and they both gingerly sit down.

“If you’re trying to draw Maddie out, this won’t work,” Buck says tersely. “She’s safely well away from you.”

Kendall hums. He shifts his body a little as Jee stirs. It is a parody of a comforting sway but it settles the baby back to sleep.

“You think I don’t know exactly where my soulmate is?” Kendall smiles coldly. “I know exactly where she is. I always have.”

“But they broke the bond between you,” Buck blurts out.  

Kendall chuckles darkly. “Like they can ever sever a bond between souls.” He bounces a little although the gun never wavers from its position pointed at them. “Apart from a brief trip to the East, Maddie’s been here all along, you know, keeping watch. She would never go far from her daughter; you should have known that.”

Eddie clears his throat to draw Kendall’s attention to him. “What do you think will happen here, Kendall?” He tilts his head a touch. “Do you think she’ll come and you’ll all leave to be one happy family? You almost killed Chimney.”

“Howard Han wasn’t worthy of her,” Kendall snaps, mania distorting his face into a mask of craziness.

Buck sighs. “Maybe not, but he still didn’t deserve to be thrown off a cliff.”

Kendall shrugs, the crazy seeping out of his features leaving behind an aesthetically handsome if cold-looking man. “He was a lying insecure bastard. His soulmate’s soul animal appeared in front of him and he immediately tossed Maddie aside.”

“That’s why you threw him off the cliff?” Eddie asks taken aback. “Because he was going to abandon her?”

Kendall nods almost absently. “I know I’m…wrong,” he says, “I hurt my soulmate. I can’t undo that, but I can make sure she’s safe now.”

“You befriended Chimney to check him out and see if he was good for her,” Buck states out loud, sounding as incredulous as Eddie feels.

“By holding her daughter hostage, holding us hostage, you’re not making sure she’s safe,” Eddie comments, “you’re forcing your way back into her life.”

“We’re meant to be together,” Kendall retorts. “You’d be the same if it was Buck.”

“I would rather shoot myself than hurt Buck,” Eddie points out tersely.

Jee starts to stir again and this time Kendall’s weird bouncing move doesn’t settle her. She begins to cry and Kendall starts to regain the manic glint in his eyes.

“Let me take her and get a bottle,” Buck suggests hurriedly.

“You can keep the gun on me,” Eddie says. “You know Buck won’t do anything if you’re holding me hostage.”

Kendall’s lips twist into a snarl in the same way as his fox. “Nice try. Like I’m going to risk being alone with a former soldier. Evan stays with me; you can deal with the baby.”

“That’s fine,” Buck says quickly, darting a beseeching look in Eddie’s direction.

Eddie sighs and nods. He gets up, careful to keep his body language loose and open. He holds his hands out openly and Kendall pushes Jee towards him.

Eddie catches and holds Kendall’s gaze even as he adjusts his hold on Jee to bring her close to his chest, his hand protectively covering the back of her neck, one arm supporting her bottom and spine.  A surreptitious sniff gives away the issue; she needs a change.

“You hurt a hair on my soulmate’s head and I’ll kill you,” Eddie promises.

Kendall simply smiles back at him. “Don’t try to be a hero and he’ll get out of this without a scratch. Feed her, change her, whatever and come back with her.”

Eddie backs out of the den with Jee. He almost startles as he finds Maddie lurking by the wall just outside, between the den and the bedrooms. He realises she must have come through the back of the house.

She looks tired, dressed simply in jeans, a button-up flowery blouse and blue cardigan. Her hair is loose as usual, her make-up minimal. There are shadows under her eyes, but they look back at Eddie with clear determination as she ushers him past her to continue to the bedroom with Jee.

Eddie nods. He calls out to Buck. “You alright, Buck?”

“We’re good in here, Eddie!” Buck responds.

There’s a note of stress in his voice, a tremor.

Eddie spares a quick glance towards Nellie who is still out cold which is worrying. Jee bats him with a small hand and Eddie takes hold of it gently. It is a good reminder that he has a baby to take care of first and maybe then he can think of a way out of this.

Maddie presses her lips together grimly and hands him her phone as he goes to move past her. He takes it from her smoothly and realises it is already dialled into 9-1-1. Dispatch is listening and there will be help on the way.

Eddie nods and keeps walking with Jee. It is the hardest walk of his life to leave his soulmate behind but Jee needs his protection. As he enters the bedroom to change her, Maddie moves and enters the den.

Eddie immediately puts the phone to his ear, puts the sound on, and speaks softly but clearly. “This is Firefighter Diaz. Be advised that Maddie Buckley has just entered the den of my home where her former husband, Doug Kendall, is holding Firefighter Evan Buckley, my soulmate and Maddie’s brother, hostage. Our nanny was knocked out by Kendall and is unconscious in the kitchen doorway.”

“We understand, Eddie,” Sue Blevin’s voice comes back, assured and confident. “Maddie already reported the incident. Police are approaching with sirens off and the 118 has been dispatched to your location.”

“I have a baby to change and hide, and I need to get back to the den,” Eddie tells her. “Going silent.” He mutes the audio and puts the phone down.

He quickly changes Jee. It takes him less than five minutes and he promises her that he’ll come back and do a better job once the situation is over.

He places her in the cot and puts it in their bathroom. He closes the door. He grabs his baseball bat from the corner, toes off his boots, and makes his way back down the corridor on silent stockinged feet.

“…and I’ll come with you, just leave Evan out of this!” Maddie’s voice is thick with tears.

“You don’t have to go with him, Maddie!” Buck says.

Eddie knows that the situation is deteriorating without hearing another word. He’s moving before he can register the decision, turning the corner into the den and…

Kendall shoots Buck.

Eddie charges across the room as Buck falls back with a pained groan and the echo of Maddie’s screaming. He slams the baseball bat into Kendall’s arm as the bastard tries to aim at him and slaps Kendall in the face on the return swing.

Kendall crumples to the ground.

Eddie drops the bat and hurries to Buck.

Buck’s blue eyes are blinking up at the ceiling, dazed as though he can’t quite believe that he’s on the floor.

Maddie is already putting pressure on the wound with her bare hand.

Eddie strips off his t-shirt and pushes her aside to take a look even as he scrambles to get the phone out of his pocket. He tosses it to her as he looks at the wound.

It’s a solid hit to Buck’s chest but it looks like the bullet’s lodged in his collar bone.

“Stay with me, Buck,” Eddie says as he presses down on the wound firmly drawing a groan from Buck.

He’s faintly aware of Maddie on the phone reporting the shooting.

Buck wets his lips and tries to move.

“Stay still,” Eddie orders.

“Jee,” Buck says thinly.

“Safe,” Eddie says. “Just stay still. Ambulance is on the way.”

“Hurts,” Buck admits, blinking.

Suddenly Kendall lurches up with an inhuman growl, his soul animal leaping towards them, and…

Sunshine and Sergeant are suddenly in front of them, teeth bared and growling a warning…

Maddie’s hound barrels into the fox, teeth clamping down around its throat at the same time that Maddie grabs the abandoned gun and shoots Kendall.

Her former husband staggers back, shocked, staring at her like he’s never seen her before.

His soul animal winks out and Kendall crumples to the ground.

Eddie doesn’t need to check on him to know he’s dead.

Maddie gingerly puts the gun on the coffee table.

Jee cries out, catching their attention.

Eddie can’t go and check on her or Maddie. He’s all but sitting on Buck to keep him in place.

Maddie hesitates.

“She’s in the bathroom,” Eddie says roughly.

Maddie looks at him uncomprehendingly for a long moment before she reacts and darts away. Her hound follows without a second look at Kendall.

“Did she…did she just shoot him?” asks Buck weakly.

Eddie nods. He’s not sure what to say.

“Police!” Athena’s voice is a benediction.

“In here!” Eddie calls out. “I need paramedics now!”

And suddenly the room is filled with the familiar uniforms of the 118 and their colleagues from B Shift surrounding them.

It’s over, Eddie thinks wearily as he’s carefully manoeuvred to the side so the paramedics can treat Buck.  

Buck looks back at him and his hand twitches towards him. Eddie slides his hand into Buck’s and holds on.

Epilogue

Eddie sits in the hospital waiting room, bent over with elbows on his knees, hands clasped tightly together. Bobby sits beside him quietly.

Buck is still in surgery.

Maddie had left with Jee as soon as they’d gotten the all-clear from the doctors. Eddie might have been more concerned about finding out if they were fine except for the fact that he was focused on Buck. He did know that Athena had taken them home but not before calling Bobby to come sit with Eddie. Nellie had been admitted since she was suffering from a severe concussion and a broken arm.

“Coffee?” Bobby asks.

Eddie shakes his head.

“I’m going to grab some from the coffee shop downstairs,” Bobby says. “I’ll be right back.” He clasps Eddie’s shoulder briefly before heading out.

Eddie rests his head on his hands for a long moment, his eyes closing. He’s bone tired, but his body buzzes.

He senses someone approaching and lifts his head sharply.

O’Neill nods at him. He’s in civilian dress; jeans, a grey t-shirt, a blue shirt over the top, a leather bomber jacket. He gestures at the seat Bobby has just vacated.

Eddie shrugs.

O’Neill sits down. “Your soulmate’s going to be fine. Our people are helping with the surgery.”

“He was shot,” Eddie says succinctly.

“He’ll make a miraculous recovery,” O’Neill counters. “We have a healing device thingy. It’s pretty useful.”

Eddie stares at him for a long moment before shaking his head in disbelief. He’s trembling from the relief of knowing Buck is going to be fine. He takes a deep breath.

“We didn’t get the chance to talk the other day. I wanted to stop by and thank you for sending the original device back,” O’Neill says.

Eddie rubs a hand over his mouth. “It was the right thing to do.”

“It was,” O’Neill agrees, “and you did it. Just like you got yourself out of trouble when Donald and his goons grabbed you.”

“You were watching him,” Eddie realises.

“We were watching you,” O’Neill says. “We were aware that the Trust might try to invade your home even though we arranged a search to prove you didn’t have the device.”

“Thanks for that,” Eddie says dryly.

O’Neill grimaces. “Our plan to keep you safe didn’t really go to plan.”

“Because my ability to use the device became the valuable asset,” Eddie says bluntly.

O’Neill nods. “There aren’t many of us who come by the gene naturally.”

Eddie hums. He really doesn’t want to think about the fact that he has an alien ancestor lurking in the family tree.

“Even less of us who use the tech as easily as you do,” O’Neill says. “Your gene is stronger than most.”

Eddie looks at him sharply.

O’Neill raises his hands as though in surrender. “I appreciate that you’d likely turn down any job offer I made to you.”

“I have a family and a life here,” Eddie says.

O’Neill nods. “I get it.” He stands up. “If the world needs saving and we need you though…”

“You know where I am,” Eddie agrees.

O’Neill gives him a small smile. “Thank you for your service, Sergeant.” He heads out of the waiting room.

Almost as soon as he’s gone, Bobby arrives back carrying two takeout cups. He hands one to Eddie.

“It’s hot chocolate,” Bobby says.

Eddie takes a hesitant sip. The rich flavour soothes him. He takes a breath.

A doctor enters briskly. It brings Eddie and Bobby to their feet. She’s a slim Asian woman with a fierce expression.

“Mister Diaz? I’m Doctor Lam,” she holds his gaze firmly. “Your husband is out of surgery and being made comfortable in a private room. It looked like it had broken his collar bone, but the bullet just chipped it. He was very lucky.”

Since Eddie knew that the bullet had in fact broken Buck’s collar bone but he got that she was giving him the cover story.

“Thank you,” Eddie says. “Can I…”

“Someone will come and get you shortly,” Lam says. She nods at Bobby and departs as swiftly as she arrives.

“Thank God for that,” Bobby murmurs.

Eddie sweeps a hand through his hair, unable to speak for a long moment. “Thanks for being here, Bobby.”

“We love him,” Bobby pats his shoulder, “and we’re kind of fond of you too.”

Eddie chuckles. He and Buck had a family at the 118. They weren’t going anywhere.

o-O-o

Eddie can’t help but think about how their roles are reversed. When they’d first met, Buck had been the one sitting by his hospital bed. Now Eddie is the one in the chair and Buck is the one in the bed.

Sergeant is on the bed, tucked up next to Buck.

Sunshine stays close to Eddie.

Buck stirs awake. His blue eyes blinking open in slow sweeps until finally his eyes are open fully and he stares at Eddie with so much love it makes Eddie’s heart ache.

“Hey,” Eddie says. He gets up and offers Buck some water.

Buck sucks the water through the straw greedily until he slumps back clearly exhausted.

Eddie sits back down and takes hold of Buck’s hand. “Maddie and Jee are fine. They’re with Athena. Shannon’s taking care of Chris.”

Tension seeps out of Buck like air out of a deflating balloon. He sags back against his pillows.

“I think I got abducted by aliens,” Buck murmurs, his gaze questioning.

“Maybe,” Eddie teases gently.

Buck squeezes his hand. “I’m not going to stay awake long.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Eddie promises.

Buck smiles in that sweet shy manner he’s never completely lost. “You have my back.”

“Like you have mine,” Eddie kisses his fingers. He watches as Buck slips off to sleep.

Tomorrow, they’ll have to deal with the fallout of Kendall’s death. They’ll need to reunite with Maddie and understand her plans. They’ll need to reset from the madness that has been the last month and more of their lives. Maybe they’ll even find time to talk about their future plans for a baby, the conversation about it on their anniversary trip feels like it was years before.

But before all of that, they need to rest and recover.

Eddie takes one long look around the room. Sunshine looks back up at him with a doggy grin. On the bed, Sergeant lays his head down on Buck’s leg. Eddie settles into the chair and lets himself follow his soulmate into sleep.

fin.

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