••••

VICTORIA LETS OUT A SIGH AS SHE WALKS INTO HER APARTMENT, Kelly holding one arm while Buck was holding the other. She had been released from the hospital but had to be on bed rest for a while. She felt pain in her abdomen as she took another few steps. "I can walk by myself." She mutters as she grimaced a bit and it wasn't exactly helping her case. Buck glances at her, raising an eyebrow at her.

"The doctor said to take it easy." Buck responds. Victoria just rolls her eyes a bit as she meets his gaze.

"That doesn't mean I can't walk." Victoria retorts. Kelly just shakes his head a hit.

"Listen to him, Vic."

"Yeah, when we're gone, he's gonna call the shots." Gabby points out making Victoria let out a loud scoff.

"Like I'd ever listen to Buck." She teases with a smirk as she looks over at Buck. The man playfully rolls his eyes as he helps the woman sit down on the couch.  "Getting impaled hurts a lot more than I thought." Victoria admits, holding onto her stomach.

"Well, relax. I'll make something." Gabby says, squeezing her shoulders before walking over toward the kitchen.

"No, Gabby, you don't have to." Victoria denies with a frown. "You guys came her to relax, not take care of me." She points out.

"We can do both." Kelly tells her, looking down at her but he saw the guilt in her eyes. "Hey, we're just glad you're okay." He states and she nods before he heads to the kitchen with Shay.

"No, you're not helping." Gabby instantly denies which makes Kelly furrow his eyebrows.

"Hey, I'm an excellent helper." Kelly points out.

"No, I'm with her. You'll ruin everything." Shay agrees with a scoff. Kelly narrows his eyes as he crosses his arms against his chest.

"Wow, Shay. I'm hurt." He responds and they all just laugh together. Victoria smiles as she looks over at her friends before her eyes return to Buck. She sees the pain in his eyes and she never meant for him to feel that way. Victoria just thought it was best to let Abby go. That doesn't mean he wasn't allowed to feel sad about it.

"I'm sorry." She says after a moment. He meets her gaze curiously. "About Abby." Victoria adds with a small sigh. Buck nods his head slowly, looking down at his hands.

"What can you do, huh?" Buck responds as he shrugs his shoulders.

"You don't have to be here." Victoria tells him. He didn't have to look after her, she had her friends. He could go out and drink his thoughts away if he wanted to. But Buck just shakes his head.

"I want to be." Buck responds as he gives her a smile. Victoria smiles back, nodding a bit.

"In that case, go grab me a blanket." She demands as she rests back against the couch. Buck laughs as he stands up from the couch.

"Aye, aye, captain." Buck says as he makes a salute. Victoria just rolls her eyes but she couldn't help but laugh.

"You're such an idiot." She replies and Buck just smiles at her before heading to grab a blanket. Gabby glances over toward the living room, narrowing her eyes a bit.

"How long do you think it'll be before they get together?" Gabby asks as she looks at Kelly and Shay. They both stare at her before looking at where Buck was walking over with a blanket. Shay watched as he puts it over Victoria before sitting down beside her.

"A day." Shay says with a smirk. Gabby just raises her eyebrow causing Shay to roll her eyes. "Kidding." She adds as she crosses her arms against her chest. "I'd say four weeks." Shay says as she watches Victoria laugh at something Buck said.

"I'm gonna say a week when she gets back to work. The tension will rise with him trying to make sure she doesn't get hurt again." Gabby states as she grabs a spoon from the draw. "What about you?"
She asks Kelly who thinks to himself for a moment.

"Six weeks."

"Twenty bucks to the winner?" Gabby asks them and they silently nod their heads before continuing on what they were doing.

••••

LAYING ON THE COUCH, Victoria lets out a long sigh. She didn't know what she was gonna do for the few weeks she had to stay home. She had only been let out of the hospital yesterday and she was already dying from boredom. Buck had stayed the night in the guest room even though she told him he didn't have to stay. He even took the day off to be with her. Victoria did appreciate the thought but she couldn't help but feel bad for leaving Bobby short of two firefighters.

She feels a tap on her shoulder making her turn her head. Buck was standing there with a mug in her hand. She sighs, smiling lightly as she takes it from him. But when she sips some of it, her nose scrunched up as she brought the mug back. "What is in this?" She asks with a disgusted expression on her face.

"Nothing?" Buck responds, a bit confused. Victoria's eyes widen just a little bit.

"You didn't put any creamer?" Victoria questions him, placing the mug down on the table.

"How am I supposed to know how you take your coffee?" Buck asks with a small laugh. Victoria tilts her head a bit.

"Ask." She responds. "What kind of helper are you?" She teases him and Buck just shakes his head with a small smile. A knock on the door catches their attention. Buck makes his way over to it and opens the door.

"Hey!" Maddie says with a smile and Buck just stares back at her, honestly wondering where she got the address from. "I brought some food." She tells him, holding up the bag.

"Great, and coffee. Apparently mines bad." Buck responds, taking some of it from her.

"Well, that's obvious." Maddie responds with a slight laugh. She makes her way inside, heading directly for the couch. Victoria glances over, seeing the woman walking over to her. "You must be Victoria. I'm Maddy, Evan's sister." She says, holding out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Victoria responds with a smile, shaking it. "You are very pretty." She compliments making Maddies smile grow wider.

"Thank you." She responds and Buck just sends Victoria an annoyed expression while Victoria just smirks at him. "I brought you some coffee and some food from the Cafe." Maddie tells her.

"Wow, you didn't need to."

"Of course I did. I know evan isn't the best cook." Maddie teases with a wink making Victoria laugh a little.

"Hey, my food is perfectly fine." Buck retorts while as Victoria didn't look all too convinced.

"Mhm." She hums a bit, narrowing her eyes. "That's why you ordered take out for breakfast?" Victoria says, pointing to the bags on the counter.

"That was Kelly's idea." Buck corrects her and Victoria just shakes her head with a small smile.

"Oh, are you friends still here?" Maddie asks curiously, glancing around the apartment.

"Yeah, but I told them to get out and see LA. Rosie went with them." She tells the woman who smiles gently.

"That's great."

"How can you be so bubbly and perfect and he's... Buck?" Victoria asks, narrowing her eyes. Buck looks slightly offended, gazing down at the woman who just smirks up at him.

"Wow, and to think I took days off to make sure you're okay." Buck says with a shake of his head, crossing his arms against his chest.

"I guess I appreciate it." Victoria says with a long sigh, in a slightly joking manner. Buck heads toward the kitchen to get some plates, Maddie following after him. She leans on the counter.

"So, she's cute." Maddie starts to say in a quiet voice. Buck furrows his eyebrows he grabs the plates from the cupboard.

"What?"

"So, you're telling me that you break up with Abby and now you're here being her personal butler?" Maddie asks him as she raises her eyebrows. Buck just sighs as he rubs his face a little bit.

"I'm being a good friend." Buck responds and Maddie just nods her head slowly.

"I thought you said you weren't really friends?" Maddie says with a teasing glint in her eyes. Buck shrugs his shoulders a little bit.

"I'm growing on her." He tells his sister. Maddie glances over at Victoria, tilting her head.

"So, you don't think she's gorgeous?" Maddie asks him curiously. Buck could only stare back at her, his cheeks turning slightly red.

"How attractive she is does not matter right now." Buck denies.

"Uh, yeah it does." Maddie responds with a slight scoff. She just raises an eyebrow at her brother. "If it didn't, you would still be pining over Abby." She points out. Buck clenches his jaw a bit as he shakes his head.

"I'm just taking care of her." Buck tells her and she just tilts her head, a slight smirk forming on her face.

"Like a true boyfriend." Maddie teases him and he just rolls his eyes, glancing over at Victoria to make sure she didn't overhear anything.

"Shut up." He mutters, making his way over to Victoria with Maddie following behind him.

"I have to get back to the call center but it was really nice meeting you." Maddie says with a smile on her face as she looks at Victoria. Victoria smiles back at her with a nod.

"Yeah, you too." She responds and Maddie heads out of the apartment. Victoria follows her with her eyes before looking back at Buck. "So, is she single?" Victoria asks curiously.

"Again. You're not her type." Buck denies with a shake of his head.

"I'm everybody's type." Victoria points out with a smirk playing on her lips. Buck just bites the inside of his cheek as he stares back at her. She only leans back against the couch, beginning to scroll through the movies once again.

••••

SHAY GROANS AS SHE SITS DOWN ON THE COUCH WITH A GLASS OF TEQUILA IN HER HAND. Victoria was leant against the couch, Gabby on the other side. "So, how are you and Casey?" Victoria asks as she looks over at Gabby. Gabby bites her bottom lip as she nods her head, bringing her glass over to her lips.

"We're good." She responds. Victoria raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Shay who just runs a hand over her face.

"Just good?"

"They're going through a rough patch." Shay tells her and Gabby just glares over at her before hitting her on the arm.

"Shay." She scolds and Shay just shrugs her shoulders.

"Why, whats wrong?" Victoria asks, flickering her eyes between the two.

"Just about the firefighter test and everything." Gabby admits with a small sigh, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"I thought he was happy about that?" Victoria asks with furrowed eyebrows. She couldve sworn Gabby told her that Casey was on board with her becoming a firefighter.

"Yeah, but he's trying to control where I become a candidate." Gabby responds.

"Oh." She responds, pressing her lips together tightly. "Right, you can't work under him." Victoria says, knowing there was a strict rule over lieutenants dating people who work under them.

"Nope."

"Meaning you could always come back." Shay suggests with a smile, clasping her hands together. Victoria sighs as her eyes drop momentarily.

"I love you guys and I love 51 but... this is my home now." Victoria tells them. She could tell they were both upset but they did understand.

"We really miss you over there." Gabby tells her.

"I miss you guys too." She responds with a soft smile, trying not to let the pain flood in. If she could move back she would, but she liked Los Angeles and if she moved back, she would just be chasing the past.

"So, are you hooking up with Kelly again?" Shay asks her, bringing the topic onto something less depressing. Victoria groans as she tilts her head back.

"Oh, my god. Shut up." She mumbles as she covers her face with her hands.

"Please, you two probably didn't waste one second last time." Gabby responds with a smirk. Victoria glares at both of them.

"You do realize I was impaled right?"

"Won't stop either of you." Shay mumbles causing Victoria to slap her. Both Gabby and Shay laugh as they smile at the woman.

"Unless you found someone." Gabby suggests, raising an eyebrow. Victoria shakes her head though.

"Nope. Still single." Victoria denies with a slight sigh. It wasn't like she didn't want someone in her life, she just didnt think she was ready.

"What about the guys you work with?" Shay asks her curiously and Victoria rolls her eyes.

"Oh, yeah. Bobby is definitely my type." She replies sarcastically. Shay just narrows her eyes a little bit.

"The new guy Eddie is pretty cute." Gabby points out, smirking over at Victoria. Victoria just raises an eyebrow at her.

"And there's Buck." Shay adds.

"Right...?"

"You're saying you're not attracted to them at all?" Gabby asks, really not buying it since she saw Buck and Eddie, Victoria would be an idiot to not find them handsome.

"Okay, I never said that." Victoria denies with a sigh. She wasn't going to say that Eddie and Buck weren't... attractive. But that didn't matter. Plus, dating someone you worked with was always messy. "But you both know I'm not--"

"Looking for a relationship." They both finish for her. They knew Victoria was taking her time, but it had been years and they felt she was ready.

"You have to move on eventually. You know that, right?" Gabby tells her, leaning over and grabbing her hand. Victoria bites the inside of her cheek as she blinks away tears, looking away from them.

The front door opens and Kelly walks in with Buck by his side, both of them laughing. "Guess who got most of our order free?" Buck asks them as he looks over at the group of women, neither of them feeling the tension in the air.

"Oh, please. She was eyeballing you." Kelly responds causing Buck to scoff a little bit.

"Yeah, that makes sense why she was flirting with you." Buck tells him. Victoria just gets up from the couch, both the girls going to help her but she just holds her hands out.

"I got it." Her voice was harsh, not meaning to be but her emotions got the best of her. Victoria made her way over to her bedroom, everyone just watching over her.

"What's wrong with her?" Kelly asks curiously as he looks at Shay and Gabby.

"Nothing." Shay responds as she shakes her head, getting up from the couch. "What did you get?" She asks curiously as she walks over to them. Buck glances over to the bedroom door, a confused look on his face as he wondered what had happened.

••••

VICTORIA TAKES A DEEP BREATH AS SHE SQUEEZES HER EYES SHUT. She felt her brain was like a wrecking ball. She lent against her knees, sighing as she opened her eyes. She looked at the pill bottle on the table. Reaching for it, she grabbed two out of it before putting it in her mouth and drinking it down with some water. She heard footsteps behind her but she felt too tired to even move her head.

"Buck needs more shampoo." Rosie says as she grabs her bag from the counter. Victoria almost forgot that Buck was in the shower. He was finally going back to work today but needed to wash up before he went.

"There's a bottle on top of the washer." Victoria responds as she gestures toward the cupboard.

"I'm late for school." She tells Victoria. Victoria looks toward her, a groan leaving her lips.

"It'll take two seconds." She points out but Rosie only shrugs her shoulders as she heads toward the door.

"Two seconds I don't have. Bye, love you" Rosie says with a smirk, opening the door. Victoria rolls her eyes but waves at her little sister.

"Love you." She responds before her eyes go to the cupboard. Victoria groans as she stands up slowly, wincing as she touches her stomach. She begins to walk over to the door slowly, honestly wanting to just Chuck it down the hall.

Once she got the bottle, she made her way to the bathroom and knocked on the door before opening it. "Hey, Rosie said you needed more shampoo?" She says as she looks inside. She was more looking at the wall even though the curtain was fully drawn.

"Uh, yeah." Buck replies, peeking his head out and looking toward her. Victoria clears her throat as she hands it to him. "Thanks." He says, pulling his hand back. He noticed how she seemed a bit out of it, her hand going to her forehead. "Are you okay?" He asks her with concern in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah." Victoria responds, nodding her head before moving back to the door. She didn't make it the whole way though as her vision got blurry and she fell down to the ground.

"Vic!" Buck calls out. Quickly turning off the shower and jumping out. He wraps the towel around him before bending next to her. "Hey, hey. I got you." He assures her as the girl groans, sitting up a bit.

"I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy. They said it could be a side effect from the medication." Victoria tells him but he kept his hold on her.

"Are you sure?" Buck asks her and she nods her head but he noticed how she could barely keep her eyes open. "Here, let's get you to the couch." He tells her, helping her stand up and walk down the hallway.

"You're all wet." Victoria grimaces as she feels her clothes start to soak from the water on his skin. Buck rolls his eyes playfully.

"I wonder why." Buck responds as he sets her down on the couch. By then, Victoria finally took an actual look at Buck, seeing how he was only in a towel. Her eyes ran over him for a second.

"Did I upgrade to the naked butler or something?" Victoria teases him with a slight smirk. Buck chuckled as he looks down at himself.

"I was really worried, okay? I didn't have much time to put something on." Buck points out and Victoria nods her head slowly. She tried to keep her eyes off of his half naked stature but it was a bit difficult. Luckily the door opened, catching her attention instead.

Victoria saw her sister walk back through the door. "I thought you were late?" She asks, a bit confused as she stares at her. Rosie just closes the door behind her.

"Just remembered I have a free period." Rosie says as she looks over at her sister. At that point, she could see the devious glint in Rosie's eyes. Victoria scoffs as she shakes her head, realizing now that she had done it on purpose.

••••