••••

VICTORIA SMILES BRIGHTLY AS
SHE HITS HER HANDS ON THE TABLE IN THE BAR. Their shift had ended and everyone had decided to take Victoria up on her offer to hang out. Well, they didn't think they had a choice. Even though Buck wasn't sure he was even invited to begin with but Eddie had dragged him along. "Shots, anybody?" She asks as she points around the group. Obviously she knew the only one who would abstain would be Bobby, the others had no choice in the matter.

"Uh, I'll take a beer." Eddie says, being the first to say something. Chimney nods as he clears his throat slightly, both of them gesturing toward the bartender.

"Me too." He adds. Victoria didn't seem all too pleased with their answers though.

"We came out to have fun though." Victoria points out, placing a hand on her waist, tilting her head. The bartender just starts to pour their drinks, handing them out as they're ordered.

"And most of us have young children to get back to." Hen tells her with a slight laugh, raising an eyebrow. Victoria scrunched up her nose.

"Literally just you, Athena and Eddie." She corrects and Hen laughs as she rolls her eyes playfully.

"Exactly." Hen responds. Victoria bites the inside of her cheek as she takes her glass in her hand before letting her eyes roam over the group.

"So, Eddie. You came from Texas right?" Victoria asks as she looks over at him. Eddie now saw that all the attention was on him and he didn't know whether he liked it or not. He just cleared his throat as he nodded his head.

"El paso." He adds, taking a sip of his beer. Victoria rests her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Do you like it better here?" Victoria questions. She knew her shift from Chicago to Los Angeles was big so she wondered if Eddie went through a similar feeling.

"Uh, I don't think I've had enough experience in LA yet to compare." Eddie denies as he shrugs his shoulders.

"I get that. It's hard to really compare until you've lived here long enough." Buck adds with a nod. Victoria rolls her eyes, not really speaking to Buck nor wanting his opinion. So instead, before he could say something else, she turned to Athena who was next to Bobby.

"Thena, how are you doing?" Victoria asks making Buck close his mouth, a bit caught off guard. Athena glances at Buck before settling her eyes back on Victoria.

"I'm good sweetheart." Athena says with a smile as she tilts her head before placing her hand on Victoria's. "How about you?" She asks, a bit of concern in her voice.

"Spectacular." Victoria responds, laughing as she takes a drink from her glass before her eyes move between her and Bobby. "And you and Bobby, you guys doing good?" She asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

"We're fine, Vic." Bobby replies as he nods. Hen clears her throat as she looked toward Chimney. Both of them knew this whole outing was going to be awkward. But honestly, they thought it was going to because of Buck.

"You find anybody yet?" Athena asks her curiously although she knew what the answer would be. In the time she's known Victoria, she hasn't displayed one ounce of real interest in any single person.

"What's the point?" Victoria responds as she just shrugs her shoulders. Athena furrows her eyebrows, sharing a worried glance with the others.

"Uh, to love someone, cherish them?" Chimney tells her but it didn't seem to really do anything in changing Victoria's mind.

"They'll die anyways." She mumbles as she shrugs her shoulders. Everyone was silent for a moment. No one knew where this suddenly came from but they knew it connected to the case they had. It affected all of them but it seemed to have hit Victoria the most.

"Don't say that." Hen denies as she places her hand on Victoria's arm but the woman moves it away.

"It's true." Victoria was quiet, only staring down at her glass. Buck frowns as he knew it was a bad idea to come out and yet no one listened to his complaints.

"Are you okay?" He asks softly as his eyes landed on her. But when she met his gaze, he was met with a hardened glare. He furrows his eyebrows, a bit confused.

"Now you care?" She sneers toward him, narrowing her eyes and Buck could only glance at the others for a moment.

"What?" Buck asks, oblivious to what she was talking about. But honestly, he should know. Everyone else could see how he was blatantly ignoring Victoria the whole day or barely speaking to her.

"You've been ignoring me all day or just giving me weird looks and now all of a sudden you care how I'm doing?" Victoria asks him with a scoff as she crosses her arms. Buck was a bit dumbfounded as he stared at her. "What the fuck is your issue, Buck?" She snaps at him, honestly thinking she wasn't being harsh enough.

"Okay, why don't we calm down? It's been a pretty stressful day." Bobby points out as he shares a glance with Athena. He had let Athena know of the recent situation that had stirred up in the house but neither of them could put together why the sudden change happened.

"Yeah, we came out to have fun right?" Athena asks as she raised an eyebrow, looking toward Victoria. The woman nods her head, looking away from Buck, mainly to get rid of the sour look on her face.

"Right." Viictotia says with a sigh before extending her hand. "Who wants to dance with me?" She asks as she looks around the group. Hen quickly takes her hand.

"I will." Hen says, forcing a smile on her face as she discreetly looks toward Chimney. "God knows I need to get away from the awkward tension." She mumbles toward him and he nods his head in agreement. Buck was just sulking in his seat and barely looking at anyone.

As the night went on, Victoria found herself alone once more when Hen had left a few minutes ago to go sit down. She frowned slightly as she finished off her drink before making her way back to the table only to find it empty. The only person left was Eddie who seemed to be keeping a close eye on her. "Eddie!"
S

he shouts, catching his attention fully along with people surrounding them.

"Hey." He replies as he stands up and meets her halfway. Victoria smiled as she stopped in front of him but it dropped slightly.

"Where did everyone go?"

"Uh, well, Buck left pretty much near the start in a tantrum, Athena and Bobby went home pretty soon after and then Chim left with Hen when you two stopped dancing." Eddie explains to her as he places his hands in his pockets. Victoria sighs as she rolls her eyes a little bit.

"So it's just us two?" She asks him but she sees the sympathetic look that forms on Eddies face. "No, you're gonna leave me too?" Victoria whines as she pouts her lips slightly. Eddie sighs as he tilts his head a little bit.

"Carla can't take care of Christopher too much longer." He points out. If Chris was staying at a friends or his abuelas that would be different. But he didn't want to make Carla watch him all night.

"Just stay and have one more drink with me." Victoria pleads as she clasps her hands together and she could see that Eddie was reluctant. "Please." She adds, taking a step closer to him. Eddie gives in because he honestly didn't want to say no to her after the call they had.

"Okay, one more." Eddie responds and he could see the immediate change in mood as she smiles brightly, practically jumping in her step.

"And a dance." Victoria states, pointing her finger at him. Eddie smiles softly as he meets her gaze once more.

"And a dance." Eddie responds, nodding his head as he chuckles lightly. Victoria smiled back at him before grabbing his hand and pulling him toward her.

••••

WALKING UP TO HER APARTMENT DOOR, Victoria turns to face Eddie who was trailing behind her. She puts a smile on her face as she tilts her head, resting against the wall. "Thank you." She says catching his gaze and he just furrows his eyebrows. "For bringing me home." Victoria adds and Eddie nods, smiling gently back at her.

"Well, technically that was the cab." Eddie points out and Victoria laughs, rolling her eyes as she turns to her door in order to unlock it.

"Still walked me up." She retorts and he just nods his head.

"Anytime." Eddie responds as she walks inside. Victoria turns, finding Eddie still stood out in the hallway. She bites the inside of her cheek as she leans against the doorframe, her eyes glancing over him.

"Eddie." Her voice was soft and there was a certain look in her eyes that Eddie couldnt place. "Do you wanna come in?" Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was Buck's behaviour, perhaps it was everything that had happened in the past few weeks. But nonetheless, she didn't regret this choice to invite him in.

"I shouldn't. We both had a lot to drink and we're not thinking straight." Eddie denies with a sigh, shaking his head. He knew Christopher would be waiting for him but he couldn't help but think about it for a split second.

Victoria steps out of the apartment, placing her hand on his chest as she gazed up at him. "I'm thinking just fine." She responds, although she doesn't really make a move on him. Victoria would never want to make him uncomfortable so she just stood there and allowed him to come to a final decision.

Eddie allowed his eyes to move down momentarily before he began leaning in. Victoria graciously met him halfway, slamming their lips together. She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him ever so closer. Victoria moves them back into the apartment, closing the door and pressing him up against it. Eddie allows his hands to move down her body, hovering over the zipper of her dress.

He moves them around so she was the one against the door now, the kiss deepening as he feels her move against him. Eddie turns them around, kissing along her neck and shoulder as his hand goes to her zipper, pulling on it. But as it doesn't budge, thus frustrated him a little bit. So he only pulled harder, causing the zipper to split and the metal clasp to go flying to the floor.

"Did you just break my zipper?" Victoria asks him with a slight laugh but Eddie just yanks her dress fully off before turning her back to face him. He had a smirk on his face as his hands gripped her waist.

"It was a faulty zipper." Eddie responds and she rolls her eyes playfully before leaning back into kiss him. He holds her against the wall as his hands gripped her skin. She groans into the kiss before pulling back from him slightly.

"We should move to my bedroom." Victoria suggests. She didn't know if Rosie was home but if she was, she didn't really feel like having her sister see them together. Eddie seemed to agree as he picked her up in one swoop causing her to squeal lightly. Victoria feels his lips on hers again and she felt like she couldn't get enough of him. "To the left." She mumbles against his lips so he knew where to go.

Now in her bedroom, Eddie had accidentally slammed the door behind them but neither of them paid any mind to it. He places her on the ground before she falls back against the bed, him climbing on top of her. Eddie hears her moan as he grinds down into her, the fabric of his pants adding extra pleasure. But Victoria wanted more as her hands moved to his belt. She tugged at it, too engrossed with his lips to really focus on it.

Eddie pulls back from her, earning a whine as she tried to yank him back to her. He only chuckles as he brings his hands to the end of his shirt, pulling it up and throwing it to the floor. Victoria bites her bottom lip as she let her eyes roam down him. As he brings his hands to his belt, Victoria moves forward, kissing his bare skin. She allows her hands to hold his sides as she starts to nip at the skin of his shoulder.

He groans slightly as he tries to focus on getting his jeans off. As soon as he does, Victoria moves her hand to the bulge in his boxers. His breath gets heavier as he moves back down, kissing her harder. She massages him through his boxers but he just moves his lips down her body causing her to lose contact. Victoria tilts her head back as he unhook her bra, taking it off and allowing his lips to close around her nipple.

A long moan leaves her lips as he continues moving downward until he gets to her underwear. His hands grip her thighs as he moves to position them around his head. And as much as Victoria would love for him to do wonders down there, she was very impatient in this exact moment. Reaching down, she pulls him back up, causing him to be a bit confused.

"I love the enthusiasm and honestly, no guy ever thinks to do that first but I really just need you in me right now." Victoria admits with a whine as she wraps her legs around him. She doesn't give him time to respond as she brings his lips back to hers. The kiss turns messy as both of them were just trying to become completely entangled. At one point Eddie had gotten rid of her underwear and had thrusted into her in one strike.

"O-oh, fuck." She whines as her jaw drops open, feeling him stretch her out. Eddie had gotten lost in the moment bur his demeanor changed as soon as she tensed around him.

"You okay?" Eddie asks, concern in his voice and that alone sent butterflies to her abdomen. Victoria nods her head as she squeezes her eyes shut for a moment. He was thick and definitely better than most of the guys she had been with.

"Mhm." She hums, trying to adjust so that he could completely destroy her. Victoria opens her eyes, her hands moving to his shoulders. "Please move." Victoria pleads as she squeezes her thighs around him. Eddie was hesitant at first, starting slow but when he sees the look in her eyes, his thrusts become harder, making sure to go as deep as possible.

His hands grip her hips as he keeps on quickening his speed, seeing the euphoria that spreads onto her face. He leans down, kissing her neck as he feels her hands rake down his back. Victoria lets one hand drop to the sheets, gripping them tightly as a series of moans and gasps leave her. Eddie felt her clench around him and that alone warranted a groan from him.

His moved his grip toward her thighs, lifting one of them onto his shoulder in order to get a new angle. This one had Victoria almost screaming but she knew when she was in the apartment she had to keep her noise to a minimum. Luckily Rosie wouldn't be able to hear anything unless they were significantly loud or she was out in the hall.

Eddie feels his jaw move and he is pulled into a sloppy kiss as Victoria moaned against his lips. She tried to meet his thrusts but he was already going so deep that she could barely do anything but take the pleasure he was giving her. She felt her stomach twist as her head dropped back, her back arching as her fingers clenched around the sheets.

"Eddie!" She moans out as she throws her head back, her eyes squeezing shut. Eddie's thrusts become more erratic, his hands gripping at her hips, his lips moving down her neck. Victoria felt bliss wash over her as she bites her bottom lip. It was another moment before Eddie completely buries himself into her, groaning as his body drops onto hers.

He tries to hold up his weight before rolling off of her. Victoria sighs heavily as she tries to catch her breath, feeling the sweat sticking to her skin. Her eyes move to Eddie who had put his arm behind his head and was just staring up at the ceiling. "You're clean, right?" She asks in a teasing manner but she didn't think Eddie was the type to just go around spreading diseases.

Eddie turns his head, raising an eyebrow. "Ask the single dad who just had sex for the first time in forever if he's clean." He mutters back, shaking his head with a slight laugh. Victoria gasps as she smirks at him, sitting up a bit.

"So, I'm your rebound?" Victoria asks him but it didn't really seem like Eddie was listening to her, his eyes closed momentarily.

"Mm." He hums before turning on his side and seeing the time on the clock. A sigh leaves his lips as he realized it was way past the time he told Carla he'd be home. She told him to have fun and that she was okay staying longer but he felt bad since she had only just started. "I should go." Eddie says as he sits up on the bed."Chris is probably wondering where I am." He states and Victoria nods her head.

"Yeah, no, that's fine." She understood that his kid always came first. Victoria was the same way. She gets up as she reaches for her robe but regretted it as her legs felt like jello. She grips the end of the bed so she didnt fall down. "You sure you don't wanna take a shower first?" Victoria didn't mean to intend more sexual innuendo, honestly she didn't think she'd be able to walk if they went another round. Eddie sure did know what he was doing even if it had been a while.

"Vic." Eddie says, not wanting to mess with anything, especially since they hadnt known each other long and he never really intended on sleeping with anyone he worked with. Plus, he knew Buck liked her and he felt guilty for even looking at her in a certain way.

"I'm not gonna read anything into this if that's what you're worried about." Victoria states with a smirk on her lips, leaning against him. Eddie seemed to relax slightly. "It was just sex." She says, tilting her head as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Really? You're good with that?" Eddie asks with furrowed eyebrows. He didn't know much about Victoria so he shouldn't be shocked by her choices. Victoria only shrugs her shoulders. She knew Eddie was a single dad who was not looking for any type of serious relationship right now. Neither was she.

"Totally." She replies as she nods, running her hands down his chest. "Seems like you needed it." Victoria states with a wink, teasing him a bit as she steps back. Eddie chuckles underneath his breath.

"Oh, really? Me?" He asks her. He remembered she was the one to invite him inside. But Victoria just laughs as she nods her head.

"Mhm." She hums before turning and heading into the bathroom. Eddie shakes his head with a smile as he reaches down to grab his pants. Pulling them on, he allowed his eyes to roam her room. It wasn't messy but there were a few things thrown around here and there. Not that anyone could really complain since after their shift, the last thing they wanted to do was clean.

Eddie sighs as he puts on his belt, his eyes stopping on the table in front of him. It was the only neat thing there. And it housed a bunch of medals in glass cases. He furrows his eyebrows as he steps toward them as he picks his shirt up from the floor. Eddie recognized some of them, mainly because he also had a medal of Valor. They were army medals.

"I didn't know you served." He says, a bit confused as to why no one would mention it. Why she didn't mention it when she knew that he came from the army. Victoria comes back out of the bathroom, not fully hearing what he had asked her.

"What?"

"In the army. These medals, they're quite the achievement." Eddie says as he gestures toward them. He didn't see the pain that flooded her eyes as she just stared back at him. Suddenly she was opening the drawer in front of them and shoving the medals inside. Eddie furrows his eyebrows as he looks at her but all he was met with was a glare.

"Get out." Her voice was barely audible, shaking as she could barely look at him. Eddie remained still, mainly because he was confused why she was all of sudden acting this way. "I mean it, get out." Victoria says, this time more stern as she gestures toward the door.

"Vic--" Eddie starts with a frown but she cuts him off, her heart racing inside of her chest.

"Get the hell out of my apartment!" She screams as she starts pushing against him causing him to stumble back. Eddie sees the tears in her eyes and wondered what he had done wrong. "Get out!" Victoria cries as she opens the door, shoving him out before slamming it shut. Eddie was just left standing with his shirt in his hands, his eyes widened as he stares at the door.

"Hi?" He heard a voice from behind him. Eddie turned around, seeing a younger girl standing near the kitchen. He was a bit taken aback to see her but he really wasn't thinking straight right now.

"Hi..." He trails off as he rubs his face a little bit. "Uh, I didn't... who are you?" Eddie asks curiously and Rosie could only raise an eyebrow.

"I'm Rosie, who are you?" She retorts as she crosses her arms against her chest. Eddie felt so familiarity with the name. He remembered Buck mentioning something about Victoria having a sister.

"Eddie." He responds as he just stares back at her. Rosie has a look of realization come over her face.

"Oh, you're the new guy." Rosie states, pointing at him. Eddie nods but his eyes go back to the door he was just shoved out of.

"Yeah.."

"What's going on?" She asks curiously, having come out of her room because she heard shouting. Rosie didn't expect to see a half naked man in the apartment but she was curious as to how he made Victoria angry.

"I don't know, we were fine and then i asked about the medals and she freaked out." Eddie explains to her and he could see Rosie's eyes soften. It seemed she understood what it was but kept it to herself.

"It's nothing you did." Rosie assures him. She knew exactly what it was that had set Victoria off. "Uh, you should probably go though." She suggests as she didn't think Victoria would be up for any more conversations tonight.

"Yeah." Eddie says as he clears his throat, putting on his shirt and making his way to the door. She opens it for him so he could leave.

"Have a goodnight." Rosie says with a tight smile on her face and Eddie nods before the door is closed. She lets out a sigh as she makes her way over to the bedroom. Knocking on the door gently, she opens the door, seeing Victoria laying on her bed. "Vicky?" She asks with a small frown. Rosie could hear the faint sniffles as Victoria had her face in the pillow. "Hey..." She says as she sits next to her. Victoria doesn't say anything so Rosie only lays down beside her, wrapping her arms around her sister.

••••

BOBBY COULD TELL THAT SOMETHING WAS DIFFERENT. No one had spoken yet as they rode in the firetruck toward the scene of the call. Usually Buck would be spouting out something random but he was completely silent, his eyes staring out the window. Bobby clears his throat as he looks toward the backseat. He sees Victoria hunched over, more to just avoid eye contact with Eddie. "Hungover?" He asks as he knew her and Eddie were left in the bar unattended and she was already tipsy when he had left with Athena.

"I'm fine." She mumbles back as she crosses her arms against her chest. Bobby is silent again for a moment.

"You're quieter than usual." Bobby admits with a sigh. Victoria rolls her eyes as she clenches her jaw slightly.

"So is Buck, you're not saying anything to him." Victoria points out. Buck looks at her and is about to say something when Bobby speaks up again, this time a little bit pissed off.

"All right, I don't know what's going on but whenever we're at work, you keep it professional, do you understand?" Bobby snaps at them, not wanting to be harsh but he seemed to have to do that in thise situation.

"Yes, Cap." Buck says as he keeps his eyes low while as Eddie and Victoria nod toward him.

"Yeah." Victoria mumbles and Bobby sighs as he nods.

"Good." He turns back to look out of the window. Victoria goes back to staring at her hands while as Eddie kicks Buck's leg. The man furrows his eyebrows as he looks at him. Eddie takes off his headphones, gesturing for him to do the same.

"Is there a reason you're not talking to her?" Eddie asks once Buck had taken the headset off. Buck tenses slightly before just shrugging his shoulders.

"Is there a reason you're not?" Buck retorts, noticing how he seemed to be avoiding Victoria as well, or the other way around.

"Buck." Eddie states sternly but Buck let's out a scoff.

"It's none of your business, okay Eddie?" He responds, luckily feeling the truck stop so that he could get out. Eddie shakes his head but follows after him.

"LAFD, step aside please." Bobby tells them as they make it through the crowd of people in order to get to the victim who was trapped under a car.

"I didn't know what to do. I was afraid to move the car." A woman tells them, seemingly the one who had ran the victim over.

"You did the right thing. We'll take it from here." Bobby says as he moves toward the victim. Victoria bends down to start accessing the situation.

"Does anybody have a pen? I have a partial license plate, somebody needs to write it down." She tells them frantically. Victoria just shakes her head. There would be multiple police officers who would grab the plate before letting the car leave the scene. Not that it could since it was on top of her.

"Don't worry about the license plate, ma'am. It's right here on the back of the car." Eddie points out, gesturing toward it.

"Not this car, the car that hit me." She answers. Victoria stops what she is doing, sharing a glance with everyone else.

"Uh, this isn't the car that hit you?" Buck asks her, furrowing his eyebrows, being just as confused as everyone else.

"No, this is the car that ran me over. Both better be insured." The woman tells them. Victoria was silent for a moment as she was trying to now figure out what exactly happened.

"I'm confused." Victoria admits as she brings her hand to her face.

"Let's just focus on getting you out of there first, ma'am." Bobby says, not needing her to move and injure herself more. Buck looks underneath to see what they were working with.

"I think there's enough room to slide a backboard under here and pull her out that way." Buck tells them as he looked toward Bobby. Victoria glances underneath the car.

"That's only if we can get enough leverage without injuring her more." Victoria retorts as she rests her arms on her knees. Buck glances at her but doesn't say anything back.

"Can you tell me your name?" Eddie asks her as he sees Hen and Chimney walking toward them.

"Lorraine." She answers.

Hen stops beside them, looking down at the victim before her face turns into one of confusion. "Hey, wait, don't we know you?" Hen asks her curiously and the woman stares up at her, eyes widening before shaking her head.

"Uh, no, I-I don't think so." Lorraine denies quickly.

"Last year. Hancock park." Hen says as she now remembers it and Chimney looks down at the woman.

"That's right. I never forger a femur." Chimney states with a slight smirk. Athena walks over to them, accessing the conversation before she raises an eyebrow.

"It's the damned porch pirate." Athena tells them. Victoria furrows her eyebrows, not knowing what they were talking about.

"What?"

"She used to steal packages, fell and got caught." Hen explains to her and Victoria raises her eyebrows.

"Hm." She hums as she looks at the lady who just weakly smiles at her. "So this is karma?" Victoria asks as she looks up at them.

"You damn right it is." Athena responds with a scoff as she shakes her head. Victoria laughs as she stands up straight. As she goes to turn, Eddie is there making her smile drop. She just clears her throat before moving past him and heading toward the truck.

••••

VICTORIA LETS OUT A SIGH AS SHE FOLLOWS AFTER THE GROUP.  "Sergeant Grant." Bobby says as they walk up to Athena who was waiting for them. She glances to her side, seeing Buck but she looks away before he could meet her gaze.

"Captain." She responds with a sigh before leading them over to the patient. "Mr personality over here started coughing, grabbed his side and fell over. Could be appendicitis, I'm not sure." Athena admits as she shrugs her shoulders.

"Sir, I'm just gonna examine you for a second here." Bobby says, looking over the patient before lifting his shirt. "Oh. Okay, we've got a colostomy bag, probably backing up. You're gonna have to intubate him." He says as he looks over at Hen who nods her head. "Sir, just try to relax. These paramedics here are gonna take care of you." Bobby explains but as the guy looks up, he lets out a scoff.

"Oh, hell no. You do it." He demands as he gestures toward Bobby. They all share a glance with each other.

"Sir, I am not a trained paramedic. I can't intubate you, they can." Bobby tells him but the man just shakes his head.

"I'm fine."

"Fine enough to be racist." Victoria mumbles causing everyone to look at her. She saw the look Bobby was giving her. "What?" She asks, shrugging her shoulders. She wasn't lying.

"Sir, you're not fine. Your bowel is probably obstructed. The contents of your colostomy bag are backing up into your system. You're about to choke on your own waste. You will suffocate and die." Chimney explains to him as he bends down but the man pushes him away.

"Get... away." He demands. Victoria just tilts her head as she placed her hand on her hip.

"Is that the worst thing in the world?" Victoria asks Chimney as she raises an eyebrow. Chimney has to fight back a smirk since he knows Bobby is looking at them.

"Okay, sir, if you refuse care, we cannot administer it by force." Bobby tells the patient who looks around at the group and Victoria saw the stink eye he gave her.

"What about him? Diaz." He asks, pointing toward Eddie who seemed not overly joyed to be chosen.

"Diaz?" Bobby gestures for him to walk over. Eddie moves toward the patient.

"What kind of name is that?" The man asks Eddie who stops momentarily.

"My father's from Mexico. My mother's Swedish, I can help you out with the Swedish half but nobody told me what half that is." He explains, raising his eyebrows. Bobby sighs as he rubs his face.

"Okay, would you like me to call you another paramedic team so you can have an all white one?" Bobby asks rhetorically, not expecting the man to actually answer.

"Yeah." The man says and Victoria rolls her eyes, crossing her arms against her chest.

"He's gonna aspirate." Hen tells them and when the man starts gagging, they all jump back. Victoria hits someone's chest and when she looks up, she noticed it was Eddie. Her cheeks turn red as she quickly moved away from him, avoiding his eyes.  "And he aspirated." Hen says with a sigh.

"Actual diarrhea of the mouth. Outstanding." Chimney says with a disgusted expression.

"Okay, guys let's just get to work." Hen tells them, knowing if they don't do something now, the man will die.

"We need to roll him over." Eddie tells them as he puts his hands on the man's shoulders. "Ready, Buck?" He asks as he looks over at him and Buck nods his head.

"Yeah."

"Three, two, one." They both roll him over so they could properly access him. "I need suction, this ain't cutting it." Eddie admits with a sigh, trying to get the gunk out of the man's mouth.

"We've got suction on the truck. Let's get him there." Hen says as he looks at the group.

Luckily they were able to get the man to the ambulance so that Hen and Chimney could transport him to the hospital. Victoria was left standing with Buck but luckily they saw Maddie heading their way. "Well done." Maddie compliments with a smile on her face as she stops in front of them.

"I heard your ride along was today." Buck says as he pulls his sister into a short hug. "You remember Vic." He says, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks toward Victoria.

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you're doing much better." Maddie admits with a bright smile on her face.

"Thanks."

"Hopefully my brother wasn't too annoying." Maddie says in a teasing way. Victoria shakes her head as she glances at Buck. He was perfectly okay during those weeks, It was only now he was being weird.

"He was fine." Victoria answers and Buck meets her gaze momentarily. He just clears his throat and looks toward Bobby.

"Cap, this is my sister Maddie." He introduces and Bobby smiles as he holds his hand out toward her.

"Great to finally meet you." Bobby tells her and Maddie nods her head.

"Yeah, you too. I've heard a lot of good things about you." She admits and Bobby raises an eyebrow, glancing at Buck.

"Well, don't believe everything your little brother tells you." He jokes.

"I meant from her." Maddie says, gesturing to Athena who was walking toward them. Bobby smiles brightly.

"The feelings mutual." He admits as he looks toward Athena.

"She's something. She never Let's anything get to her." Maddie points out.

"Get to me? You know how many times in a given day, someone's got the opportunity to get to me? If I start letting them get to me, I ain't making it past breakfast. Which reminds me, we should eat." Athena says, grabbing a hold of Victoria's hand momentarily and giving it a squeeze. It was kind of their silent way of asking the other if they're okay. Victoria just puts on a smile and nods.

"Eat? You want to eat after that?" Maddie asks with a laugh as she raises her eyebrow at Athena who was already making her way toward the car.

"It's lunchtime!" Athena calls out, waving at the others before getting on the driver's seat. Victoria glances toward Buck and she could see he wanted to say something but she just brushes past him.

••••

EDDIE WAS GRATEFUL TO WALK INTO THE LOCKER ROOM AND ONLY SEE VICTORIA. He had been wanting to talk to her about the other night at her place but it's either she's avoiding his texts or she's avoiding him. And even when he does get her alone, someone always interrupts. Victoria seems to notice him, tensing as she glances around the room.
"Can we talk?" Eddie asks her, although she didn't think he was giving her much of a choice. "Look, about the other night--"

"It's fine." Victoria cuts him off, shaking her head. "Let's just forget about it." She mumbles, closing her locker and going to move past him but he grabbed her arm gently.

"You got really upset with me Vic." Eddie points out. Maybe if it had ended different he wouldn't be asking, but she had screamed at him. Clearly he had offended her in some way.

"It was nothing." She denies.

"Clearly it wasn't." He looks at her but she only avoided his eye contact. "What's going on?" Eddie asks, his voice soft as he knew he was new, she didn't know him, but nonetheless, she could talk to him.

"We slept together." She states bluntly and she could see that he was starting to get a little annoyed.

"You know what I mean." Eddie responds but she just keeps her eyes on the ground. "Look, we only met recently but if this is something... if it has to do with the army, you know I'm here to talk with." He tells her and he could see the pain that flashed through her eyes.

"I can't." Her voice cracks as she shakes her head.

"I wasn't always in Christopher's life. For the first few months, I stayed in the army because I was terrified to go home. If that's what this is--"

"No." She stops him, shaking her head.  "No, of course it isn't. He would never--" Victoria stops herself, taking a deep breath. She grabs his hand, pulling him into Bobbys empty office and closing the door behind them. She just reaches into her pocket, pulling something out. She just holds it out to him. Eddie furrows his eyebrows but takes it from her.

It was a photograph of Victoria with a man. His arms were wrapped around her and she was smiling brightly. It seemed they were in a city, close to water where the picture was taken. Eddie smiles softly as he looks at it before glancing toward Victoria. "Who's this?" He asks curiously. Victoria just fiddles with her fingers.

"My fiancee." Those were not the words he had expected to hear. Eddies eyes widen as he just stares back at her. "Ex-- fiancee technically." She corrects herself as she clenches her jaw. Eddie was a bit confused.

"Technically?" Eddie questions.

Victoria fell silent. Just seeing the picture again, thinking about him, it hurt. Because she never got peace, she never got any sort of reassurance that he had been avenged. Her fiance. Her Anthony.
"

He died." She tells him and she could see the way Eddie's face fell. "Over there." He didn't even need to be reminded what she was insinuating. Those were his medals that Eddie had saw. Her fiancee was the one who was in the army.

"I'm so sorry." Eddie apologizes, realizing what pain he must've caused her just asking about those damn medals.

"It was only supposed to be a few more months and then a few weeks before our wedding, he was told he had to stay a couple more weeks." She starts to say, remembering that phone call. Victoria had argued with him but in the end, decided it was his choice. "I was fine with it because that's what he wanted. He was happy there, helping people, fighting for this country." Victoria wasn't happy herself but she never wanted to sway Anthony from his dreams. She was happy to support him.

"He was supposed to.... he called me the day before our wedding. Telling me not to worry, that he'll be there." Victoria takes a deep breath, her mind going over that final call that she had with him, not knowing that was the last time she would hear his voice. "That day... I got a call saying his helicopter had been shot down. That he died." She states, her voice cracking. Eddie closes his eyes, shaking his head as he couldn't imagine what that could've felt like.

"So, there I was standing in my wedding dress, hearing that the man who was supposed to be my husband, who I was supposed to live my life with, was murdered." Victoria tried not to feel anger, to feel resentment, but she felt it building. Because the army didn't care. They didn't care that they lost him, they cared that they lost a soldier who did what they told him to. "And all we got was a flag." She scoffs, shaking her head.

That was the worst part. They got a flag. She was the one who told his family. She was the one who planned the funeral. She did everything. And they just said their grievances in a false way and gave her a flag. They couldn't even give her his body back because they said there was nothing left. It made her sick. Knowing she would bury an empty coffin, that his parents, his brother, his nieces, they would never get a proper goodbye.

"Vic, if I knew--" Eddie starts to say, he had no idea about any of this. And he wouldn't have mentioned the medals if he knew this was what it was a result of.

"No one does." Victoria denies. "No one here anyways." She admits. She never meant to keep it from everyone but honestly, she couldnt bring herself to tell anyone. She knew they would be there for her, theyd understand. Hell, Bobby would probably be there for her the most. But she hated talking about it. Because it just left her heart with a piece missing. "I left Chicago and I never looked back because the memory was too painful." Victoria states.

"You still have his medals." Eddie points out and she nods her head slowly, sniffling.

"Because that's all I have left." She admits. She had been stupid and she had abandoned everything she had in Chicago. The only thing she had was his medals now and that's because Kelly saved them for her and brought them to LA. "Those stupid medals that he risked his life for, that he died for. And for what?" Victoria wasn't really asking him, it was more rhetorical. Because she didn't understand why she had so much pain in her life, because of a single decision that happened.

"Was it worth it?" Her eyes shift to eddie now. She didnt mean to pass the pain onto him but she was curious, because he was in the army. He had a choice as well. "Knowing you could die? Knowing the pain you would cause on your family?" Victoria states as she stares at him, her eyes flooded with tears. "Was it worth it?" She asks him. Eddie could only say if it was worth it for himself, not for her fiancee. Only he couldve answered that.

"I can't answer that for him, Vic." Eddie denies and he could see her eyes softening. She nods as she looks down. He reaches over, grabbing onto her hand. "But I do know that nothing will ever take away from the love he had for you. I can tell just by this picture that he loved you with all his heart." He assures her. Victoria didn't doubt that for a moment. But she did hold the slightest grudge, the slightest resentment, that he didn't come home when he was supposed to.

"He was my world." Victoria admits as she felt yet another tear fall down her cheek. Eddie wraps an arm around her, pulling her close and allowing her to rest against his chest. Victoria sniffles as she holds onto him, the ghost of Anthony's memory going through her mind.

••••

"HOW'D IT GO?" Chimney asks as he sees Hen walking up the stairs. He knew she and Karen were meeting with Denny's biological father because Eva had brought him. No one knew how it would go but by the smile on Hens face, it clearly didn't go badly.

"Good. Great. I think it's gonna be okay." Hen admits as she nods. Athena hums, looking over at Hen who rolls her eyes playfully.  "Yes, Athena. You were right." She says with a slight laugh.

"She usually is." Bobby says as he sits down at the table. "in fact, I find it best just to not argue with her." He points out making Athena smile toward him.

"Where's vic?" Hen asks when she notices that Victoria wasn't at the table with everyone else. They all share a glance with each other. Bobby was the only one who knew why, but she had taken some time off.

"She took some personal days." Bobby states which makes Hen instantly become worried.

"Why? Is everything okay?" She questions and Bobby nods his head.

"I figured she just wasn't ready to come back." He admits. Bobby knew the doctor wanted her out for another week but Victoria pushed to come back. She probably just wasn't fully ready to get back into the job.

"Or maybe Buck scared her away." Chimney suggests and Buck snaps his eyes over to the man, a glare set in his face. Bobby gives Chimney a stern look.

"Chimney." He scolds, not needing him to escalate the situation.

"What? Seriously dude, why have you been brushing her off?" Chimney states as he shrugs his shoulders, looking at Buck who clenches his jaw.

"I haven't." He denies but Chimney snorts, not believing him for a single second.

"Right."

"You went from being her own personal butler to ghosting her." Hen adds, agreeing with Chimney. Buck had definitely changed his mood toward Victoria, it's just no one could figure out why.

"And why do you guys even think it's any of your business?" Buck snaps at them with a glare set in his eyes. Hen and Chimney share a glance, knowing they were somewhat right about him ignoring Victoria.

"All right, let's just settle down everybody." Bobby tells them, more demanding as he didn't need the whole station not being able to work with each other.

"Hey." They hear from beside them. The group glance over, seeing Rosie standing there, a bit awkwardly. Hen immediately smiles as she goes to greet the girl.

"Rosie, hey." She says, not knowing how much of their conversation she had overheard.

"I know my sister isn't here but--"

"Nonsense. You know you're always welcome here. Have a seat." Bobby tells her with a soft smile. Rosie nods her head, keeping her eyes down as she passes Eddie and sits in the empty seat. Eddie tried not to look at her, mainly because she had probably heard more than just Victoria shouting at him.

"Eddie, this is Vic's sister Rosie. You two haven't met, right?" Hen asks him and Eddie just stares at her momentarily before clearing his throat.

"No, we haven't." He lies, placing a smile onto his lips. "It's nice to meet you." Eddie says as he looks at Rosie who nods her head slowly.

"Yeah."

••••

Wrap it before you tap it ! ;) also I didn't mean for this chapter to be thing long lol