••••

BUCK GROANS AS HE OPENS HIS EYES, the tiredness hitting him like a ton of bricks. He lifts his hand to rub his face, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. As he reopens them, he notices that he wasnt in his own apartment, nor abbys. He was in victorias. Furrowing his eyebrows, he couldnt really remember falling asleep but they did have a long day at work.

He could feel something on his shoulder which makes his head turn. It was then that he noticed that Victoria was asleep next to him, her head rested on his shoulder and her hand on his stomach. Buck was a bit shocked to say the least but with the blanket draped over them and the movie playing on the TV, it was clear that they had just fallen asleep together.

Hearing a low buzz, he looks toward his phone that was on the couch, seeing that Abby was calling him. Buck let's out a yawn as he grabs it, answering the call.
"Hey, Abby." He mutters, his voice cracking since he still wasn't fully awake.

"Hey, where are you?" Abby asks him, wondering why he wasn't there. Buck furrows his eyebrows for a second before his eyes widen. He was supposed to over after shift but he had completely forgot. Victoria had invited him over and he didn't even stop and think that he had other plans.

"Sorry I, uh, lost track of time and fell asleep." Buck states, which wasn't a complete lie. He felt awful that he had practically stood her up, not that it was intentional.

"But you're on your way, right?" Abby questions with a sigh leaving her lips.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there soon." He tells her, resting back against the couch as he felt Victoria stir a little bit, her hand clutching his shirt as her head nuzzles into his neck.

"Alright, see you soon." Abby responds. Buck ends the call, putting his phone down. His eyes move back to Victoria and he hated the fact that he had to wake her up. Otherwise, he wouldn't be moving until the morning.

He shakes her a bit, hoping to just nudge her awake but it didn't do anything. Buck sighs as he leans his head toward her, shaking her a bit more rough. "Vic." He says in a soft voice, brushing her hair out of her face. Buck noticed the way she scrunched up her nose, a groan leaving her lips as she holds onto him tighter. Resting back a little bit, he just watches the woman sleep.

Buck knew he had to leave though, and as the time passed by on the clock, he couldn't wait anymore. So, instead of just trying to shake the woman awake, he just tried moving his arm that was underneath her. But as soon as he even tried, she just clung to him even more. Buck sighs, his free hand moving to her arm. "Vic, wake up." He says, his voice louder now as he grips her arm, shaking her. This seemed to snap her out of the deep sleep, her eyes slowly opening.

Victoria furrows her eyebrows, realizing that it was Buck who was trying to wake her up. She moves the hand that was on him slightly but keeps resting her head on his shoulder for a moment. Victoria meets his gaze, her features obviously still very tired

"What time is it?" She asks, moving up slightly. Pressing her hand on him to give her some leverage. Bucks eyes move to her hand which was resting on the top of his thigh. He knew she probably wasn't even realizing it but he couldn't help but turn red a bit as he clears his throat a bit.

"Uh, half past eleven." Buck says as he glances toward the clock. Victoria groans, sitting up fully on the couch which allows Buck to move freely.

"Damn, I guess we worked a lot huh?" She mutters, rubbing her face as she yawns lightly. Buck nods his head as he gets up from the couch.

"Yeah." He mumbles, reaching for his jacket.  "I have to go, but I'll see you later?" Buck says, looking toward the woman who nods. He sends a smile before turning to head toward the front door.

"Hey, probie." She calls out after him making him turn around to face him. "I guess you're not so bad after all." Victoria admits with a shrug. Buck stares at him for a second before just looking down at his phone.

"Can you say that again? I just want to record it for proof." He tells her which just makes her throw a pillow in his direction. Buck laughs loudly as he smiles over at her.

"Get out of here." She mutters, placing her hands on her hips. Buck bids her another goodbye before leaving the apartment. Victoria walks over, locking the door behind him. She starts to head toward Rosie's bedroom, knocking on the door as she opens it

She notices Rosie sitting on her bed with her phone in her hand. "Hey." Victoria says, crossing her arms against her chest as she leans against the door frame. "Can we talk?" She asks as she looks at her sister. Rosie just shrugs her shoulders.

"I guess."

"Look, I understand that you're growing up, I do. I just want you to be responsible." Victoria tells her as she walks over to the bed, standing in front of it.

"And I was. I called Buck." Rosie points out as she crosses her arms. It wasn't like she got into a car or walked home. She had called Buck for a ride.

"But you should've called me. Or at least told me you were going to that party." Victoria points out. She wanted to know that Rosie was safe, and she couldn't do that if Rosie wasn't truthful with her.

"I know, I'm sorry." Rosie admits with a sigh. Victoria was a bit overprotective, mainly just because she was the big sister. "I just didn't want to worry you." She states with a small frown.

"I was worried when Buck called me and said you were passed out on his couch." Victoria points out. It wasn't making it any better when she wanted Buck to lie for her. "Look, I don't mind you going to parties, I don't mind you doing teenage things, but you have to be honest with me." She explains to the girl, leaning against the wall. Rosie nods her head.

"Okay, I will."

"Okay, that's all I ask." Victoria admits with a smile. She never wanted to create any bad blood between them, but she knew communication was key, especially since they just had each other.

"You and Buck looked pretty cozy." Rosie states, changing the subject and Victoria could see the girl wiggling her eyebrows. Rosie had noticed them when she had gone out to get a glass of water.

"Oh, don't even start." Victoria mumbles, shaking her head. Of course Rosie would end up trying to tease her.

"What happened to, that guy's a prick and I'll never like him?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. Just a month ago really, Victoria was not the biggest fan of buck. And now she was inviting him over.

"Things change." Victoria responds as she shrugs her shoulders.

"I'd say." Rosie mutters underneath her breath. Victoria couldn't help but blush slightly, but she clears her throat.

"He has a girlfriend." She points out, raising an eyebrow. Rosie let's out a snort as she crosses her arms against her chest.

"I'm pretty sure he would break up with her for you." Rosie responds which makes Victoria's eyes widen lightly.

"Don't say things like that." Victoria says, pointing her finger at her sister. Rosie just smirks to herself. "Now, go brush your teeth and get ready for bed." She states. Rosie gets up from her bed, making her way past her sister.

Victoria didn't know why Rosie would say something like that. Just because she started tolerating Buck, did not mean anything. And he was perfectly happy with Abby, she would never try and ruin that. Abby may not he her favourite person but she could tell that she was important to Buck. But one comment did stick with her.

Why did Rosie believe Buck would leave Abby for her?

••••

SITTING NEXT TO ATHENA IN THE BOOTH, they both watch as Hen just stares at the food in front of her. They knew she was going through some stuff at home. "I didn't ask you to lunch just so I can buy you a hot dog you won't eat." Athena denies as she leans against the table. "Talk to me. Is this about Karen? Did you tell her?" She asks curiously, although they both knew she wouldn't keep it a secret.

"I didn't have to. She already knew." Hen admits with a sigh. "And she presented me with papers." She adds making Victoria's eyes widen. She understood Karen's pain, some people just couldn't get past cheating.

"Oh, a divorce?" Athena asks.

"That sucks." Victoria mumbles, shaking her head.

"Custody." Hen corrects them making both of the women confused. "My ex is suing us for custody." She states. Victoria couldn't help but rub her face, anger flooding her veins. Athena shakes her head.

"On what grounds?"

"Cause she's the birth mother. And that she gave up the baby under duress." Hen tells them, crossing her arms.

"The bitch just got out of prison and this is the first thing she does?" Victoria asks with a scoff, shaking her head. Hen just fiddles with her fingers.

"Does she have a chance?" Athena asks curiously, wondering if Eva actually had a shot at winning Denny back.

"Well, I read about a case in Michigan where they took a five-year-old little boy away from the only family he ever knew and gave him to his birth father." Hen explains to them. "I mean, her chances are slim but not zero." She admits, knowing her time in prison would probably be the determining factor. "And now she's saying that...That Denny's living in an unstable home because I stepped out on my wife." She finishes. It was clear that both Athena and Victoria were pissed because of it.

"With the same damn woman who's suing for custody?" Athena asks with a scoff, clenching her jaw.

"All I know is that I just feel like...covering myself in all that garbage we just dug through and letting the compactor just squish me into nothing."

"You're gonna get through this. And we're here to help." Athena says and victoria nods her head in agreement. "I mean, if you need a number of a good lawyer." She says with a slight laugh, rubbing her face.

"Divorce or custody? Between my wife and my ex, I don't know who I'm gonna face in court first." Hen explains to them and Victoria frowns lightly. She knew Karen found out about the affair but she had hoped they could work it out.

"You know, my recommendation for you will be to make divorce the last option. It's hard work, especially if you have kids." Athena tells her.

"You and Michael, yall gonna get a divorce?" Hen asks curiously and Athena nods her head slowly.

"It's time." Athena admits, sighing a bit. "I mean, I'm not sad about... I am, but I know it's the right thing. And I feel excited about the future, you know, about not feeling so confused all the time." She explains to the two women.

"Sometimes it's for the better." Victoria admits, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Says the woman who's too afraid to get into a long term relationship." Athena retorts making Victoria roll her eyes a bit. She just wasn't ready for that type of commitment and she didn't know if she ever would be.

"You hear? Her and Buck are becoming.... friends." Hen states, smirking lightly. Victoria glares at her, not getting why she thought she had to tell Athena that.

"You're kidding." Athena responds, shocked that they weren't constantly at each other's throats anymore.

"Nope. She left her sweater in his car." Hen adds which makes Athena smirk. Victoria groans as she tilts her head back.

"Can you two stop with that?" She asks them, raising her eyebrows. Victoria hated when they teased her but it was even worse since Buck was involved.

"What? It's just surprising that's all." Hen points out with a shrug. No one would've figured that they would become friends.

"Trust me, It surprised me." Victoria mutters as she bites the inside of her cheek. Buck wasn't so bad, he still annoyed her quite a bit though.

"So, your sweater, huh?" Athena asks, raising an eyebrow at her. Victoria's eyes widen as she realizes what the woman was trying to insinuate.

"Ew, no. Never." Victoria denies, scrunching up her face as she shakes her head. Just because she left her sweater in his car, did not mean at all that she would ever sleep with him.

"You never know." Hen teases with a smirk. Victoria slowly turns her eyes to the woman, narrowing them.

"Hen, I will shove that hot dog down your throat." She threatens and Hen raises her hands in defence. Victoria sighs, crossing her arms against her chest.

"You finding anyone new?' Hen asks turning her attention to Athena. The woman looks down at her hands. "Damn, girl already?" She questions with a smirk and Athena just tosses a napkin at her.

"Get out of here with that."

"I'm still trapped in my past. You just got free. You gonna tell me about this." Hen states, crossing her arms. Athena looks over at Victoria who seemed like she also wanted to know.

"The other night, I met a guy... at a bar." Athena tells them reluctantly, already knowing what their reactions were gonna be.

"Wow. Athena Grant let a stranger pick her up and take her home?" Hen asks, raising her eyebrows, both her and Victoria shocked that she had a one night stand.

"You're like a whole new person." Victoria teases her and Athena nudges her from beside the woman.

"Oh, I did a background check." Athena points out making Victoria laugh as she shakes her head. She expected no less from a police sergeant. "My plan wasn't to go home with him but he was just... I needed to feel like a woman. I left there thinking that, it was a one-hit wonder." She explains to them and Victoria just shares a glance with Hen.

"But?" Victoria asks, raising an eyebrow at her and she could see Athena smirk to herself.

"Guess I made an impression." Athena admits as she shrugs her shoulders.

"Round two's on the books?" Hen questions.

"Tomorrow right after my shift." She tells them and they both smile brightly.

"Get it girl!" Hen says and Victoria just nudges Athena who laughs loudly.

••••

VICTORIA FOLLOWS THE GROUP INTO THE HOTEL WHERE THERE WAS A STUCK ELEVATOR. "All the cars are locked down." The manager tells them as they all walk up to him. "Car three was headed up to fourteen and somewhere around eight, damn thing just started dropping like a rock." He explains as Victoria glances toward the elevator door.

"How many passengers in the car?" Bobby asks curiously.

"Dispatch says two: a mother and her teenage son. The mother's hurt." Hen tells the captain who nods his head.

"Where's the car now?" Bobby questions as he looks back toward the manager.

"Halfway below basement level." 

"What's the other problem?" Buck asks curiously since they knew there was something else wrong with the elevator.

"Basement's flooded, since this morning. Third one this month. Pipes in this place are ancient." The manager tells them and Victoria sighs. Of course the elevator would be filling with water. "Everytime the construction guys go near them, they burst." He explains to them.

"And did you replace the elevator cables afterwards? The water corrodes them." Bobby states, just staring at the man. Most people either didn't have common sense or just wanted to save some money.

"We were gonna do that after we took care of the flooding issue." The manager admits.

"We're gonna have to go in from above." Bobby says as he turns toward the group. Victoria just glances toward Buck for a moment.

"Buck and I should just go down with the basket." Victoria states as she looks at Bobby. The man nods his head, flickering his eyes between the two.

"I'll get the winch." Chimney says, walking back toward the front door.

"I'll lock and tag out the power of the cars." Bobby says before walking to the hotel manager. Buck followed Victoria as they started to get harnessed up along with Hen.

"I knew you loved working with me." Buck teases her with a smirk on his face. Victoria meets his eyes, narrowing hers.

"You're too full of yourself, probie." Victoria responds, shaking her head. Buck just crosses his arms against his chest.

"Nope, admit it. You like working with me the best."

"In your dreams." She mumbles, shaking her head but she couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

"I make your day." Buck states, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Victoria shoves it off, giving him a playful roll of her eyes.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Victoria retorts as she nudges him away slightly. She double checks her harness is on correctly before making her way to the edge.

"Winch is ready, cap." Chimney tells the man who nods his head, looking at Hen, Buck and Victoria.

"All right, lets go." Bobby tells them. Victoria was the first down, getting on top of the elevator and opening the hatch. She was able to see the mother and son almost immediately,  but she also saw the rising water.

"Thank goodness." The mother says with a sigh of relief.

"We'll be right there, guys." Buck states as he goes to move toward the hatch but Victoria grabs his arm, holding him back.

"Hey, you sure you wanna go?" Victoria asks him, she would go if he wanted to stay behind. But Buck just smirks at her, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I got it." He responds, grabbing the rope that was next to them. "Watch yourselves. Rope coming in." Buck tells the mother and son before going into the elevator himself. It was a moment before the mother was coming out of the hatch.

"Thank you." She says as Hen and Victoria help her stand up. They give the all clear to Chimney who brings the woman up. Suddenly the elevator jolts causing Victoria to grab the bar next to her.

"What the hell happened?" Bobby asks as he looks down toward the elevator.

"The weight of the water, it's pulling us down." Buck tells him.

"All right, grab the kid and get the hell out of there." Bobby announces through the walkie. Victoria looks inside the elevator, seeing Buck holding the teenager close.

"Yeah, but we both won't fit, i need another harness." Buck tells him. Victoria glances up at where Bobby and Chimney were.

"We got you, we got you." Hen says as they grab the boy so that he didn't fall. They then send him up to the top before the elevator suddenly jolts again and Victoria could see Buck get pushed back into the water as it completely fills the elevator.

"Buck!" Victoria shouts as she bends down, trying to see the man. Hen was behind her, both of them beyond worried for him. "Buck, are you--" She goes to say but Buck's hands grab the top of the elevator, lifting himself out of the water. Victoria places her hand on her chest.

"I'm good. I'm good." Buck says, a smile on his face as he was dripping wet. Victoria just stares at him, her heart practically falling from her chest. She just covers her face as a sniffle leaves her.

••••

BUCK WATCHED AS VICTORIA STOOD AT THE KITCHEN COUNTER, cutting something up on a board. He makes his way over to her, much to her acknowledgement. "Ooh, what are you making, it looks good." He asks her as he leans over her shoulder. Victoria tenses as she barely glances over her shoulder to look at him.

"It's not for you." She denies, trying to focus on what she was doing. Buck gasps as he places his hand on his chest, leaning next to her on the counter.

"Wow, a guy can't even get some food around here?" Buck teases her but Victoria stays silent. He clears his throat, glancing around the station for a moment. "Hey, so I was thinking, there's this festival going on after shift. Maybe you want to--" He starts to ask her but she just cuts him off.

"I'm busy." Buck furrows his eyebrows at her tone. But he didn't think too much of it, maybe she just had plans.

"Oh, uh, yeah sure." He responds, nodding his head slowly. "Or maybe we can just grab a bite whenever you are done with what you have planned." Buck suggests, shrugging his shoulders. Victoria couldn't help but roll her eyes as she looks over at the man.

"Don't you have a girlfriend that you can bother? Last I checked, I wasn't her." Victoria points out in a harsh tone. Buck was a bit taken aback by her comment, just staring at her for a moment.

"Well, she left the last plan I set to go help her mom, so." He points out, although he knew Victoria couldn't care less right now. He clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "Did I do something to offend you?" Buck asks her, not wanting to have done something without realizing it.

Victoria slams the spatula down, her body turning to face the man. "Maybe not everything's about you." She snaps toward him and he couldnt really think of something to say back to her. "Now can you leave me alone? I'm trying to do something here." Victoria points out before turning back. Hen had walked over just in time to hear making her stop in place.

Buck didn't say anything else, only turning and heading down the stairs. Hen watches him for a moment till she heads over to Victoria. "What's with the cold shoulder?" She asks curiously, wondering what Buck might have done now.

"Nothing." Victoria mumbles, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Vic, clearly something is bothering you." Hen points out, her eyes looking over toward Buck who was practically sulking his way into the locker room.

"Hen, nothing is wrong, okay?" Victoria retorts, not wanting to talk about it. Hen just leans against the counter, raising an eyebrow.

"So, you're all buddy buddy with him one minute, and the next, you act like he's the villain." Hen states, it was clear that her bad mood had something to do with Buck. "Does this have something to do with him not coming up from the water right away?" She asks curiously and Victoria snaps her eyes toward the woman.

"What, no."

"Mhm." Hen hums, clearly not believing her in the slightest. "He's fine, Vic." She assures the woman. Buck had come out of the water unharmed, there was nothing to worry about.  "Pushing him away will do nothing." Hen tells her and Victoria just narrows her eyes.

"Oh, so now you want me to be friends with him?" Victoria asks her, crossing her arms. Hen shakes her head, a laugh leaving her lips.

"Oh hell no, no one is replacing me." She denies with a smirk, placing her hands on Victoria's shoulders. "But maybe stop treating him like he's a bad guy who's trying to hurt you." Hen points out, Buck wasn't so bad once you got to know him. Victoria did see that but it was just completely letting him in that she was hesitant about.

"It's not that easy, Hen." Victoria denies as she shakes her head. "He just... I don't know what he is, honestly." She admits with a sigh. Buck was something but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She understood that she had started to hang out with him, but she didn't know if it was a mistake or not.

"Well, maybe you want to figure it out before it starts affecting our job." Hen points out, squeezing the woman's shoulders before walking away. Victoria just keeps her eyes in front of her, her jaw slightly clenched.

She knew people died, it happened all the time and they saw a lot of it. But it was when it was the people close to her who were hurt, or that were so close to death, that it seemed to scare her. Victoria didn't want to lose anyone else, but she wouldn't really be living her life if she was walking on eggshells around everybody.

Victoria knew she had to start living instead of being afraid. But somedays it was hard. Because some days,  they actually came toe and toe with death,

And who wouldn't be scared of that?

••••