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40 Minutes After
Eddie is in full blown panic mode.
Chris never got off the bus.
Usually, Eddie manages to get off work with just enough time to pick him up from the bus stop.
The truck rolls slowly to a stop right at the intersection across from the bus, high schoolers hoping off, enveloped in their phones.
Eddie shakes his head.
Thankfully, it's hard for Christopher to do that with the crutches. He knows that if his hands weren't otherwise already occupied, Chris, too, would be like those other clueless teenagers.
He could already imagine what reaction he would get from the teen if that was a conversation. It would be an eye roll and an “I know, dad. You tell me all the time of the horrors of technology that you have seen on the job. Can I go play video games with my friends now?”
Eddie wishes he could say that he doesn't know exactly where Christopher gets his sass from... but he knows it's all him.
The doors to the bus close and the bus starts to pull away. Eddie blinks. There's no Christopher. He never got off the bus.
He throws the hazards on and jumps out of the truck, running up to it with a hand out.
“Cal!” He waves him down and the bus driver opens the door.
“Where's Chris? He didn't get out of the bus.”
“No, he never got on.” Cal responds, confusion on his face.
Eddie looks around, not seeing his son anywhere.
“I can radio the school, see if he accidently missed it and is waiting back for you?” Cal offers.
“Please.” Eddie takes out his phone, dialing Chris. It goes straight to voicemail.
Alarms are sounding off in his head.
He dials the only other person that Chris would likely be with if he wasn't on the bus or at school.
Cal awaits a response, radio in hand.
“Hey, Eddie. You know I can't rescue you every time you forget your gel in your locker.”
“Buck,” his voice sounds foreign even to my ears, “please tell me I somehow forgot that you were going to swing by and pick Chris up to let him use your hot tub or something?”
“What?” Buck sounds confused, “No, I'm not with Chris. Eddie, what is going on?”
Eddie looks around, and Cal shakes his head. Chris isn't at school either.
“I think Chris is missing. He never got on the bus.” His voice wavers, his veins feel ice cold. “The school radioed the bus driver. He's not at school either.”
“Okay. Eddie, I'm on my way. I'm actually just ten minutes away. I'll meet you at your house, okay?”
Eddie paces back and forth in the living room. The blinds are up to the front of the house, he opened them the second he got home, hoping that he would see Chris walking up like nothing ever happened.
Instead, he sees Buck's truck pull up. Buck hops out of the truck, and runs up to the door.
“Call went straight to voicemail for me too. His last location is at the school according to the Find My Friends app.”
“I'm sorry, you have his location?” Eddie asks, taken aback.
“Yeah, we shared it a while ago.” Buck explains, “Technically with you too, but we figured you would be fearful of it.”
“Normally, yes. But I am glad you have it. So is he at school now?” Eddie asks, trying to prompt Buck into sharing more information.
Buck taps at his phone, and shakes his head. “I don't know. It's not updating. The last time stamp on it is 3:28, right around when he should be getting on the bus.”
Eddie runs an anxious hand through his hair. “So what's the point of that, then, Buck! We are back at square one.”
“Okay, okay. Look, maybe Chris turned off his phone,” Buck reasoned, “He's been moody lately. Testing boundaries, it's not like Chris hasn't ditched science club before to hang out with friends. Maybe that's what this is. While you are doing that, just to cover our bases, I'll call Athena, okay?”
Eddie feels like he is on a live wire, ready to bite. And without fail, just like he always does he snaps.
“Fuck, I'm a shitty dad. My parents said I couldn't do it and that's what is happening right now. I'm failing.” Eddie feels like he's snarling, that familiar hum of anger boiling under his skin. “And they are right. Chris is missing and I'm losing it, right now, Buck! Not knowing where my son is, is terrifying.”
Buck crosses the room to Eddie and pulls him into a bone crushing hug. The pressure calms the hum.
Buck pulls back, but his arms still hold him, like if he lets go Eddie will completely shatter. Which he very well might.
Tears well in Eddie's eyes, and Buck angles his head to try to get Eddie to look at him. His jaw flexes as his breath heaves.
“Eddie,” Buck reassures, “Eddie, look at me.”
Eddie reluctantly meets his gaze and the tears begin to fall. Buck takes one hand and catches the tear. “We are going to find him. We are. You told me once that you have failed that kid more times than you could count, but you love him enough to never stop trying.”
Eddie nods, swallowing thickly, and hugs Buck back tightly.
“Okay. Okay, I'll call some of his friends' parents. You call Athena.” Eddie pulls away, pulling up the contacts on his phone.
1 Hour 10 Minutes After
Not one of Christopher's friends could tell their parents about his kid's whereabouts. The closest Eddie got is that one of them swears they talked with him in the line to get on the bus before they continued playing Brawl Stars on their phone.
Typical.
He looks at Buck and shakes his head silently.
“C'mon, let's go. We're meeting Athena at the school.” Buck grabs his keys, and guides Eddie out the door.
1 Hour 30 Minutes After
It usually takes about thirty minutes to get to the school. Buck got them there in twenty.
They rush into the front office, Athena stands there in full uniform with the principal and head of security.
“We were just pulling up the outside cameras.” Athena says. “C'mon.”
They gather around the computer screen.
Sure enough, there is Chris waiting to get on the bus.
Eddie swears his ears ring when he sees Abigail enter the frame and say something to him. His knees feel weak as Chris walks off with her.
He had a feeling. He had a feeling when she showed up at the house. Had a feeling when she thought he was going to offer the couch.
He actually, he might—
“Is that Abigail?” Buck asks.
Eddie turns suddenly and violently, searching for anything he can let this rising feeling that is begging to be released out.
He makes it, but barely. A hand is on his back, rubbing soothingly. He doesn't know how long he's there, or how there can be anything left in his stomach. He can't hear anything except an intense ringing in his ears. He squeezes his eyes shut and slumps down on the ground.
He just got his son back. They weren't perfect, but they were working towards being good.
“Eddie?” Familiar very muscular arms are holding him upright. He can't bring himself to respond. The words get stuck in a spiral of it’s my fault.
He was the one who saw too much of himself in Abigail. Who tried to help, and she saw it as something so different than what it actually was. She showed up at his house. How did she know where he lived?
How was that not the first fucking clue?
She met Chris. She questioned if he and Alex were together. And then he, like a fucking idiot, told her that he can't even pick Christopher up from school because of his shift schedule.
It's my fault. I put my kid in danger.
2 Hours 15 Minutes After
“Eddie, can you please respond?” Buck's voice breaks through, desperately. Eddie blinks repetitively, eyes feeling horribly drained.
How the hell did he get here?
“I... I think you dissociated.” Buck answers. Did he say that outloud?
“Uh.. yeah. You did.” His eyebrows furrow.
Eddie swallows, his mouth is so incredibly dry. Buck notices and passes him some water. He sips it and lets the coolness run down his throat before speaking.
“What happened?” Eddie asks, he hears it now. It's raspy.
“Abigail took Chris. Athena is on the case, she went to the station to put an APB on the car.”
“We should be there, Buck! Why'd you drive me home?” Eddie says, exasperated.
“Because, Eds, as much as it pains me to say this— there's nothing we can do right now.”
Eddie blinks. He hates that answer.
“It's me she wants. She... She's jealous, Buck.” Eddie says, “I can do something!”
“Eddie, no. There's nothing right now. We don't know if that will escalate things. If what you are saying is true and you manage to get a hold of her, what if it makes her more angry? That the only reason that you are giving her attention is because of Chris?” Buck reasons. And it makes sense. Abigail isn't stable right now. There's no telling what could happen if Eddie reaches out to her.
“What do I do?” Eddie feels small. So unbelievably small.
“Shower, go change. You uh. Didn't quite make it to the trash in time.” Buck grimaces, “Then we can head to the station. Athena wants to get a fuller picture of what's been going on with Abigail.”
Eddie nods and goes to shower quickly.... Hopefully the sooner he gets to Athena, the quicker she can find Chris.
It takes maybe 7 minutes for him to scrub the smell off him and get dressed.
When he comes back out, he finds Buck sitting at the kitchen table anxiously tapping his foot, chewing on a cuticle on his thumb.
The sight of Buck right now, reminds Eddie how much he means to him. The ache in his chest pangs a little deeper.
When Buck jumps to his feet, Eddie barely has time to register it before Buck is in front of him, hands hovering like he doesn’t know where to put them.
“You good?” Buck asks softly. Too softly.
Eddie nods, even though his chest still feels hollow. “Yeah. Yeah. I'm going.”
Buck grabs his keys off the counter. “Okay—”
“No.” The word comes out sharper than Eddie intends.
Buck freezes. “What?”
“You’re not coming with me,” Eddie says, and immediately hates the way Buck’s face falls.
“Eddie—”
“I need you here.” Eddie exhales, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I need one thing in my life not moving right now.”
Buck stares at him. “You think I’m just gonna sit here while Chris is missing?”
“That’s not what I said,” Eddie snaps, then reins it in. He lowers his voice. “You’ve been with me for everything. And I know, I know how much you love Chris. But this is on me, okay?”
Eddie presses on killing the protest that builds in Buck's lips, because if he stops, he’ll cave. “Athena doesn’t need both of us crowding the station. She needs me. I’m the connection. I’m the one Abigail’s fixated on.”
“So you think that makes you safer?” Buck asks incredulously.
“No,” Eddie admits. “But it makes you safer.”
Buck shakes his head. “That’s not how this works.”
“It is for me,” Eddie says quietly. “If something happens to you too—” His voice breaks despite himself. He swallows hard. “I can’t do that. I can’t lose both of you.”
Silence stretches between them.
Buck’s jaw tightens. “You’re planning something.”
Eddie looks away.
“Eddie.”
“I’m not doing anything stupid,” Eddie lies. Or at least, redefines. “I just… need to talk to Athena alone. I need to hear it without you trying to shield me.”
Buck studies him, clearly unconvinced. “Then I’ll drive you.”
“No,” Eddie says again. “I need you here. In case—” He stops himself. Shakes his head. “Just. Please.”
Buck hesitates, every instinct screaming at him to refuse. But Eddie looks wrecked. Smaller than Buck has ever seen him.
Finally, Buck exhales. “Fine. I’ll stay. But you call me. Every update.”
“I will.”
“And if I don’t hear from you—”
“You’ll come find me,” Eddie finishes. A ghost of a smile flickers. “I know.”
Buck nods, reluctantly handing Eddie his keys instead. “Be careful.”
Eddie pauses at the door, hand on the knob. “Buck?”
“Yeah?”
“Lock up after me.”
Buck frowns. “Why?”
Eddie doesn’t answer, he's already out the door.
3 Hours After
Alex is there.
At the station.
Of course, she should be there.
For one, she works here... And she was the one that Eddie called to help Abigail.
He should have thought of all this. But he was on overdrive, and the only person he could think of to call to help him through it was Buck.
It's always Buck.
Eddie wishes he let Buck come. But if there was an inkling of where Chris was, Eddie was going to jump on it. Eddie knows Buck would be right there next to him, regardless of if it put him in danger.
And Eddie couldn't lose Buck. He thinks that if he did, it might destroy him.
“We have an APB on her vehicle and an amber alert. So far we have only got false alarms. But as soon as we get a hit we are ready to go, Eddie.” Athena assures. “Why don't you fill in some gaps for me.”
Eddie nods and swallows down the lump in his throat. He starts from the beginning. The conversation in the court house. Realizing Abigail needed more help than what was provided. Taking her to the 118 and getting Alex on her case. He mentioned how it was weird, that she knew where he lived and showed up on his doorstep.
“I think she was following me.” He mentions before continuing on. He flushes slightly at the embarrassment of her mentioning Alex, and how her eyes flashed with jealousy. The conversation in the kitchen, the hug and how she wanted to stay, how upset she was when she left.
“This is a big escalation.” Athena sighs, “Abigail has been through a lot. There's some real anger there.”
“She likely placed you as her... Knight in shining armour.” Alex chimes in, Eddie isn't entirely sure why, but his blood hums in anger. “Abigail has been through some trauma, the minute someone showed her kindness and empathy, she latched on. When her fantasies didn't match her reality, she snapped.”
“I don't want you on this case.” Eddie says harshly.
“Wha—”
“You were wrong when we went into the grocery store.” Eddie levels as she clamps her mouth shut, “I called you to help Abigail and you sent her, a religiously traumatized child, to a faith based healing facility. A facility that clearly did not help her at all, otherwise we wouldn't be here at all. Exchanging one chain for a shiner, newer one, right?”
“I...” Alex is dumbfounded, at a loss for words for Eddie's outburst that turned heads in the station. “I understand. If you need anything, please let me know.”
She nods to them both and heads off.
“Sargent Grant!” A young officer runs up, “I think we got a hit. A mom at a park saw the car off South Bedford.”
Athena levels him with a look, "Don't you—”
Eddie is gone before she can stop him.
3 Hours 30 Minutes After
It's dark by the time Eddie pulls up to his house.
He didn't see Abigail's car anywhere as he drove up.
Buck. Buck can help. He runs to the front door, and goes to unlock the door.
Except it's already unlocked.
“Buck?” He calls, “Buck! We got a hit, Abigail was last seen on our street. I need your help.”
There's no answer.
He goes through every room to find no sign of Buck. His keys aren't where he left them, strewn on the counter like he always does when he comes over.
“Buck?” Eddie can't help the fear that rises in his voice.
Eddie makes his way up front. Buck's car is still there, but a flicker of light in the tire catches his eye. Eddie rushes up, and pulls it out of the tire.
The air hisses from the gash in the tire of Buck's car as Eddie holds up the knife to the light. He looks around again.
Nothing.
“Fuck!” He yells out, kicking at the quickly deflating tire. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck!”
Buck is gone. Christopher is gone.
His entire world, slipping right through his fingers and he feels hopeless.
The cycle of pain continues.
His phone vibrates.
I am your most loyal disciple.
Meet me at Kings Lodge.
Eddie doesn't even hesitate.
Doesn't think to bring anything with him, just hops in his car to the motel just 5 minutes down the road.
He hears the gears crunch as he barely brakes enough to throw it into park. Abigail's car is there, right in front of room 10.
He goes to bang on the door, only to find it swinging wide open.
“You came!” Abigail smiles widely, a stone settling in Eddie's stomach.
He pushes in, ignoring her. He sees Buck and Christopher sitting on the bed, both in one piece, alive.
Buck eyes are fierce, but slightly dazed.
“Christopher!” Eddie goes up to him, kneeling next to the bed, he takes his son's face in his hands. “Are you okay?”
“I'm fine, dad.” Christopher says, annoyed. “Buck's the one that got hit on the head.”
Eddie's eyes flicker over to Buck, that's why he looks dazed.
“Hey, hey. Buck,” Eddie takes Buck's heads in his hands this time, he sees them narrow and tries to focus in on Eddie's face. “There you are. What's your name?”
Eddie hears the sound of a gun being cocked. “You didn't even look at me.” Abigail sounds heartbroken, Eddie raises his hands up in the air and twists to face her. “It’s him, isn't it. You had a look when I asked you if there was something more between you and Alex. It was because it's him. He's the reason you won't look twice at me.”
“Abigail, I can only understand how lonely you must feel. But kidnapping my son and my best friend isn't the answer to that.” Eddie tries.
“Don't lie to me!” Abigail hisses, the gun shakes as she aggressively points it toward Eddie. “You didn't before, I don't understand why you are lying to me now. He's not just your best friend! That day at the station, when you were looking at me... I thought there was something there, that maybe you felt something for me.
“But then you turned me away. And when you made it clear it wasn't Alex, I was confused why you were pushing me away.”
“So you kidnapped my son?” Eddie can't help the bite of his words.
“I kept him safe. Safe from bad people like my parents who would want to hurt him.” Abigail retorts, “you were so ashamed, that you couldn't be the one to pick him up. That Chris had to take the bus. I protected him so that you can protect others like me. We even stopped to get a milkshake.
“But then, when we got to your house. He showed up. I watched how he hugged you. How you look at him. And I realized it was different from how you were looking at me. You were looking at me like you look at Chris.
“That’s not how this is supposed to go!” It's clear she is coming apart at the edges. The gun in her hand is waiving wildly, and it's making Eddie nervous as he tracks it.
He needs to calm her down. She can't think he's lying, but it's clear her version of the truth is distorted.
“How was it supposed to go, Abigail?” Eddie asks, leveling his voice as much as he can.
“You saved me, Eddie!” Abigail wails, “My parents, the priest, they were the seven demons and just like Jesus to Mary Magdalene, you freed me from their grasp.”
Eddie’s chest tightens. Of all the things she could have said, that one lands the hardest.
“No,” he says softly. Not sharp. Not angry. Just firm. “That’s not what happened.”
Abigail shakes her head, hair sticking to her damp cheeks. “You were there. You saw it. You didn’t look away.”
“I didn’t,” Eddie agrees. “Because what they did to you was wrong. Because locking someone in a room and calling it faith is violence, not salvation.”
Her breath stutters. The gun dips for half a second—then steadies again, resolute.
“You don’t get to take that from me,” she says. “You don’t get to tell me it wasn’t real.”
“I’m not,” Eddie says quickly. “I’m saying you survived something terrible. And surviving doesn’t mean you owe anyone your life afterward.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” she insists. “You saved me. That means I don’t let anything happen to you.”
Eddie swallows. There it is.
“I didn’t save you,” he says carefully. “I showed up. That’s it.”
“That’s not what it felt like,” Abigail snaps. “They called me possessed. They said I was dangerous. And you looked at me like I was human.” Her voice rises, frantic now. “You stood between me and them. You didn’t pray. You didn’t chant. You didn’t try to cast anything out of me.”
Her eyes shine with something fierce. Devoted.
“So now it’s my turn,” she says. “I stand between you and the things that would hurt you.”
“By taking my son?” Eddie asks, pain bleeding through despite himself.
“By keeping him separate,” she corrects sharply. “You don’t see how exposed he is. How much of you he carries. Innocent things draw attention.”
Eddie’s stomach turns.
“Christopher isn’t a symbol,” he says. “He’s a kid.”
“He’s a lamb,” Abigail says immediately. Certain. “And lambs don’t belong in the world you live in.”
The gun wavers again as she gestures helplessly around them. “Fire. Blood. Sirens. You walk into hell every day and act surprised when it follows you home.”
“That doesn’t mean you get to decide what he needs,” Eddie says, keeping his voice level even as his hands tremble. He hides Buck behind him intentionally as he stands. Right now, Abigail is hanging by a thread. But it is clear isn't trying to cause harm to Eddie or Christopher. He has a feeling the same cannot be said for Buck.
“I'm trying to protect you! Both of you!” Abigail insists.
“You’re not protecting me,” he says quietly. “You’re trying to make the world make sense again.”
Her eyes flicker. Just for a moment.
“I’m keeping the demons away,” she whispers. “From all of us.”
The gun lifts again, not in threat—but in conviction.
“And I won’t stop,” she says, tears streaking down her face, “not when I finally know what God wants me to do.”
“Abigail,” Athena's voice booms from a bullhorn outside, “Let those three go, Abigail.”
Abigail covers her ears, and stalks to the window anxiously, barely peeking out through the curtain to the outside.
“I told you!” She paces, “The demons, they are here. I won't let them get you though!”
She rushes past Eddie and grabs at Buck, pulling him off the bed. Buck stumbles up, still dazed. Buck goes surprisingly pliantly, which goes to show that Abigail must have really hit him hard.
He stumbles slightly, but follows, his eyes flicking to Eddie anxiously.
Eddie sees it. Buck is complying because Chris is too close to all of this.
The risk is far too great.
“Buck!” Christopher calls out, Eddie places a hand on him to stop him. He gives a small shake, and tries to give him a reassuring look that it will be okay.
She opens the door a sliver, just enough that Buck can be seen, the gun pressing harder into his back.
“Copy my words exactly. Or I shoot.”
Buck swallows, raises his hand.
“You are not welcome here,” he calls, voice shaking but loud.
“If you cross this threshold, the blood is on you.”
There is no response.
Abigail exhales through her nose, sharp and displeased.
“He hesitates,” she murmurs, not even pretending Buck isn’t just a vessel. “That’s how they work. They always hesitate.”
The gun digs harder into Buck’s spine.
“Say it,” she whispers. “And don’t soften it.”
Buck swallows, Adam’s apple bobbing. His eyes flick once toward Eddie—an apology, a plea—and Abigail sees it.
Her grip tightens.
“Eyes forward,” she snaps. “You don’t get to look at him like that.”
Buck stiffens.
“You are standing at the gate,” he calls out hoarsely. “And gates close.”
Abigail smiles faintly. That’s closer.
She leans in again, her voice low, venomous.
“Tell them what happens to false shepherds.”
Buck’s jaw trembles.
“If you force entry,” he says, louder now, steadier in that awful way people get when they’ve accepted the inevitable, “she will cleanse the house.”
A beat.
“Starting with me.”
The air outside changes. Eddie feels it like pressure in his ears.
Abigail hums softly, approving.
“They always think sacrifice is theirs to choose,” she whispers. “But temptation never gets the last word.”
She shifts, pressing Buck more squarely between herself and the doorframe—making sure the message is clear to anyone watching through scopes and shields.
“He doesn’t belong to me,” Buck continues, her words wearing his voice like a mask. “He never did. I was placed in Eddie’s life to test him.”
Abigail’s voice sharpens, edges fraying.
“And tests don’t get rewarded.”
Abigail leans closer, her mouth near Buck’s ear, breath shaking with something that sounds almost like prayer.
“No more riddles,” she whispers. “They need to understand what I’m willing to do.”
The gun presses harder into Buck’s back, enough that Eddie sees him flinch.
“Say it.”
Buck’s voice comes out rough.
“If you come inside,” he calls, “she will not let them be taken.”
Abigail clicks her tongue, impatient.
“Wrong word,” she snaps. “They don’t take. They corrupt.”
She adjusts her grip, forcing Buck straighter, forcing his voice louder.
“If you cross the door,” Buck says, swallowing hard, “she will send Eddie and Christopher where you can’t reach them.”
The words hang in the air, ugly and absolute.
Abigail smiles.
“Heaven is sanctuary,” she murmurs. “You can’t stain what God has already claimed.”
Buck’s breathing is shallow now.
“She won’t let them live long enough to be touched,” he continues, her will threading through every syllable. “Not by you. Not by anyone.”
Outside, someone inhales sharply.
Abigail’s voice drops, intimate and terrifying.
“Say this part carefully.”
Buck closes his eyes.
“If you force this,” he says, “she will take them with her.”
A beat.
“And she will call it mercy.”
Silence slams down.
Eddie can’t breathe. Christopher makes a small sound behind him, and Eddie clamps a hand back blindly, grounding himself in the feel of his son’s sleeve.
Abigail’s gaze flicks to them, softening, almost tender.
“I won’t let them drag you back into the world that hurt me,” she says, not to Buck, not to the door—but to Eddie alone. “I will keep you clean. I promise.”
The gun stays pressed to Buck’s spine.
“And if the only sanctuary left is heaven,” she whispers, “then I will open the door myself.”
10 Hours After
The lights outside bleed through the blinds. Christopher is lying down on the bed now. Eddie and Buck lean against the bottom portion of it.
Abigail paces at the window, gun still in her hand. One misfire and it could kill one of them. They have to play it safe. For Chris.
Eddie’s stomach pangs. He can last longer without food, but he knows if he’s feeling it, Chris must be feeling it so much more.
He is a growing boy, afterall. Oftentimes Eddie resorts to doubling recipes because Chris will eat more than his fair share.
The officers outside offered food many hours ago, but Abigail adamantly refused. She insisted that they were poisoned, tainted by demons, sent to lure them into sin.
“They starved Samaria,” She had whispered to Eddie, eyes hopeful that he would understand, her voice tight, fraying at the edges. “The faithful cannot eat what the enemy gives. You cannot let them touch what is holy.”
Eddie’s chest tightened. He swallowed, trying to keep his voice calm, steady. “Abigail... I get why you’re scared. I get why you feel like it’s us against them. But Chris hasn’t eaten since lunch. He’s a teenager, he needs food. We can keep him safe and still...stay alive.”
“I won’t break the siege. We will stay strong.” She snapped at him.
She is pacing now. Back and forth. Muttering to herself rapidly. She isn’t showing any signs of stopping. Of exhaustion. But she has to be. It’s only a matter of time before she shuts down.
Eddie just hopes that it's a quiet wind down and not explosive.
“How's your head?” Eddie asks quietly to Buck.
“Throbbing.” He admits, his eyes are squeezed shut. Everything seems to be sending stabbing sensations to the base of his skull. “But I’ll live. I should have known better.”
“It’s not your fault, Buck.” Eddie wants to put his hand on his shoulder to reassure him, but he knows that Abigail would hate that. “What happened?”
“I got a text from Chris.” Buck admits, sheepishly, “Asking to pick him up at the park nearby because a friend dropped him off there. I... I don’t know. I was hoping that maybe Abigail was just innocently trying to help and crossed a boundary a bit. But I rushed out the door to find my tire slashed. I was bent down to look at it. I was so stupid, I should have known. The next thing I know I felt a heavy hit to the back of my head, I didn’t see it coming.”
Christopher shifts on the bed, pushing himself up slightly.
“She had the metal stick,” he says quietly.
Eddie’s breath stutters. “The metal stick?”
“The one from the car,” Chris says, eyes fixed on his hands. “She was holding it before you came outside, Buck. She told me you were dangerous.”
Buck opens his eyes slowly.
“Dangerous how, buddy?”
Chris hesitates. “She said you make my dad forget what he’s supposed to do. That you… tempt him. She said something strange. Something about a roaring lion trying to devour someone.”
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Eddie quotes, “1 Peter 5:8”
“Yeah. That.”
“Buck, you need to be careful. I don’t think she plans on having you survive this.”
Buck swallows.
“...Yeah,” he says after a moment. “I got that feeling when she hit me.”
Eddie looks at him sharply.
“She doesn’t see me as a person,” Buck continues, voice low. “Just a problem she hasn’t solved yet.”
He glances toward Abigail, then back to Eddie.
“She’s going to have to sit down at some point. She is going to lower her guard. We just need to be smart about how we play this.”
Eddie nods.
“Chris, when we signal, you need to roll off the other side of the bed quickly and stay low. Cover your head and your ears.”
“Dad—”
“Christopher” Buck hisses.
“Okay.” Christopher resigns.
16 Hours After
Buck dozed off and on. Eddie thinks he is trying to play off the concussion he has. His eyes continue to daze off. He winces periodically at the incessant flashing lights outside.
Every time they attempt the bullhorn or Abigail raises her voice in any way, he lets out a small whimper of pain.
Eddie would be worried about Buck sleeping, but he never stays out for long. He’s fighting it, trying to keep an eye on an opportune moment to swarm Abigail.
She has a lot more energy stored in her than either of them were hoping for, but now she sat in the chair that she pulled to sit between the door and the window so she could periodically peer out.
There is a small part of Eddie that wonders if this is what it was like for Abigail, in that small room, chained up, with nowhere to go.
What happened to her was horrible, but now the two most important people in his life were in danger. No amount of sympathy could override the fierce protectiveness he feels over them.
If it comes down to it, Eddie knows what he must do to keep them safe.
Buck catches it before Eddie does, surprisingly. The slight drop of Abigail's arms, her grip loosening as she starts to doze.
Buck is fast as he bolts up to rush her.
“Christopher!” He yells. Eddie hears a thump behind him and he’s moving but it feels like it's in slow motion as Abigail jolts.
A bang resounds in the room and Eddie feels a warm wetness splatter across his face, he flinches, squeezing his eyes shut as it does.
“Buck!” He cries out. It can’t be him. It can’t.
They are both down on the ground but Eddie can’t tell which one is hit.
Athena kicks in the door. “LAPD!”
She kneels down to Abby, and flips her over. The wound is in her chest, blood steadily pumping out, but life is quickly leaving her.
“Hey,” Eddie taps at Buck, who is lying on his stomach, clutching at his head. It was a brutal loudness for him, his ears are still ringing. He can only imagine the pain for Buck.
“Dad? Buck?” Christopher calls.
“We are okay, bud.” Eddie tries to reassure.
“He,” Buck huffs through the pain, “He shouldn’t see, Eds. ‘ll be okay,” Buck slurs, “Get him ‘side ‘fore he sees her.”
Eddie nods, and then moves to shield Christopher from the gore, guiding him out.
“Dad, I’m not a kid!” He complains on the way out, “Buck is hurt, I am fine. Check on him, please.”
“I am. I am. Just stay out here please, preferably in my line of sight. Just... don’t look towards me right now.”
“Whatever, just go!”
40 Hours After
“Jesus, Eds.” Buck complains, “I’m concussed, not completely incapable of doing something as simple as walking up to the front door.”
Eddie winces, “Let’s not talk about Jesus right now.”
Buck hisses, “Yeah, good call.”
“Is that why you never took me to church?” Christopher asks, walking in front of them both.
“Bud, I think that is a longer conversation than any of us are prepared for after Buck just got discharged from the hospital and you know, the whole being kidnapped thing.”
“Touche” Chris says as he waits for the door to be opened. “Also, Buck, you're not just concussed, you have a skull fracture. Pretty sure the doctor said that you need ‘strict rest and close monitoring’.”
“See?” Eddie gestures to Chris, “Even Chris knows this.”
Chris shrugs, “Yeah, well... good luck resting when you’re basically chained to Dad for the next who-knows-how-long.”
“The doctor said three weeks, and I am holding him to it,” Buck swears. “But what could go wrong? I am concussed and trapped with my second favorite person in the world.”
Eddie smirks faintly. “Exactly.”
Chris mutters under his breath as he opens the door, “This is going to be fun.”
Buck starts to make his way to the couch, but Eddie steers him to the bedroom.
“If you think I am letting you lay on a couch for your recovery, you are dead wrong.” Eddie chides, “Plus the doctor said you need close monitoring. I can’t do that from the other room.”
Christopher's door slams shut, and Eddie turns back to the sound.
“Typical, he gets kidnapped and he goes right to being a hermit.”
Buck huffs a laugh, as Eddie rushes forward to arrange the pillows so that Buck can sleep elevated.
“He’s a teenager who has your sass, what did you expect, Eds.” His eyes are squinting, the prolonged light exposure taking its effect. Eddie gestures for him to lie down as he rushes to the blinds to pull them closed. Then he lays on his side of the bed.
It’s technically morning, but none of them have had a good rest in two days. They are all too tired to even change out of their clothes... Which they definitely should. But the bed was too tempting.
They could just wash it all after they lie down for a bit...
Eddie sets a timer for two hours.
42 Hours After
Eddie awakes to the soft vibration of his phone alarm. He made it silent so that the noise wouldn’t cause Buck any pain.
Eddie rolls over and taps at Buck.
“Hey.” He says softly, “Wake-up check.”
“Ugh,” Buck whines, “Why?”
“You know why.” Eddie replies.
He runs through the check, quickly checks on a still sleeping Christopher before returning and setting another alarm.
It is silent for so long when Eddie tries to fall back asleep, that he assumed that Buck had too.
“‘M sorry.” Buck murmurs.
Eddie’s brows furrow, “For what?”
“She... She thought that maybe I was tempting you, that is why she escalated.” Buck says quietly, “Plus, she’s right. That wasn’t really a way that a friend would comfort a friend. I... I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Buck,” Eddie says a bit astounded, “I am pretty sure I am the one who insisted we share a bed right now. Clearly, I am not uncomfortable.”
Buck lets out a small hum in acknowledgement.
“She... She wasn’t looking at you though, Buck.” Eddie continues, “She was looking at me. And... And I don’t think she was wrong.”
Buck shifts his body to try to look at Eddie through the dark room.
“What do you mean?”
Eddie lets out a long sigh.
“When the gun went off, for a moment I thought it was you that got shot.” Eddie admits, “And in my head, I was thinking that I never got the chance to tell you. You’re my best friend, Buck, I... I share everything with you. But this time... this time I didn’t share what was going on with you first. I talked to Hen. Because I was so scared that if I told you, I would lose you.”
“Eds, you could never lose me.” Buck promises, his hand finding the sweet spot on Eddie’s shoulder.
“You said that I haven’t looked at a woman in a year. But I don’t know if I... If I really looked at a woman.” Eddie’s voice is a whisper, “Not like...”
He trails off. He can’t finish that thought right now.
“When we went to the club, I was purposefully striking out.” Eddie admits, “I... I wasn’t interested. It’s always been so performative. And fake. I wanted something that feels natural... It wasn’t until I almost lost you that I realized that... you are what feels natural, Buck. You always have. I changed my will within a year of knowing you, putting full trust in you to take care of the other most important person in my life. And Abigail saw it before I really did... That I looked at you the way that you do when you love someone.”
Buck’s breath hitches.
“Buck?” Eddie asks, voice tentative and unsure, “Can I— Can I kiss you?”
“Please.” Buck begs.
They fumble close in the dark, lips sliding against one another, basking in each other's warmth. It’s everything Eddie has been looking for. Abuela was right. He was just looking in the wrong place.
“I love you, too.” Buck says, as they pull back slightly “You and Christopher are my entire world.”