••••

VICTORIA SAT ON THE CHAIR LEANING AGAINST THE KITCHEN COUNTER. It had been a few weeks since the tsunami and she had fully healed from her little time in the water. The doctors told her she was really lucky to have survived with no major deficits. She barely even remembered the tsunami, only bits and pieces flashed through her mind. Seeing Christopher on the pole, helping the young boy and his mom and then waking up with Eddie hovering over her as she practically puked her guts up.

It was all a pretty big blur. Not that she really wanted to remember it. Just seeing videos of the event didn't sit right with her. To think she was in that was insane. That her sister, Buck, Christopher, they had all survived it. Victoria counted herself blessed to say the least because she hadnt lost anybody, unlike other people who lost their entire family or someone close to them.

"I still can't believe you survived an actual tsunami." Shay's voice comes through the phone and Victoria had almost forgotten that she was on a FaceTime call with her and Gabby.

"Now, I'm officially cooler than you guys." Victoria says with a small smile, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. Gabby scoffs as she rolls her eyes a bit.

"Oh, please. Surviving a little natural disaster does not make you cooler." Gabby teases her with a slight smirk. Victoria hums as she raises an eyebrow.

"It totally does."

"But you're okay, right? Fully healed?" Shay asks with a small frown. She didn't really want to ask constantly because she knew it was probably annoying to Victoria, but Shay wanted to make sure she was truly alright.

"Yeah, going back to work today actually." Victoria admits. She was finally starting work full time again as Bobby and the fire department had cleared her to resume active duty.

"That's good. Considering you know, you kind of died." Gabby points out. Whenever Hen had called them to tell them what had happened, to say they were all shocked was an understatement. They were falling the tsunami on the news but none of them had expected Victoria to be caught up in it.

"I was brought back." Victoria states with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Wow, that makes it so much better." Shay responds as she just shakes her head.

"Gabby, your sarcasm is rubbing off on her."

"It's been rubbing off on her for years." Gabby says with a laugh as she wraps her arms around Shay.

"It's nothing compared to how you were when you were working with us." Shay adds, remembering how Victoria always used to be the one with the sarcasm and the jokes.

"Oh, my god. We were literally the best trio in the station." Victoria says, smiling at them. She would say her, Kelly and Shay were second best but nothing compared to how they were together. Gabby and Shay were one of the only reasons she was kept together while Anthony was in the army.

"We still are." Gabby states as she gives a soft expression to Victoria.

"Please come visit us soon, we all miss you." Shay pleads, wanting to physically see her again. They hadnt seen each other since Christmas and it had been longer for Gabby.

"I will." Victoria assures them. She knew she had to at some point. She really did miss her Chicago family and wanted to see them again someday. Maybe she just had to get it out of the way and stop being so afraid.

She was so engrossed with her call that she didn't realize Buck had emerged from the bathroom until his arms were wrapped around her from behind. "Morning, baby." He says in her ear causing her to tilt her head toward him. Buck kisses her softly, Victoria returning it almost instantly.

"Ew." Gabby fake gags but she couldn't help but laugh with Shay.

"Get a room." Shay teases them as the couple pull away from each other and Victoria sends them both a playful glare.

"We have to get to work." Buck tells her, running his hand over her back before moving into the kitchen.

"Right. We." Victoria states, glad he was deciding to the do the light duty that the LAFD offered him. She knew it was only a matter of time before he was finally back at the 118.

"What's with the uniform?" Gabby asks curiously as she knew that wasn't what they wore to the firehouse.

"He's running the fire drill today." Victoria tells her and Shay just raises an eyebrow.

"So, he's in charge of you?" She questions and Buck smirks brightly as he holds up his finger.

"Precisely." Victoria snorts as she gives him an amused expression.

"No, you're not."

"Uh, who has the clipboard?" Buck points out and Victoria gives him a blunt expression back before just glancing at Shay and Gabby.

"He's mentioned that like five hundred times." Victoria admits as she just shakes her head.

"Well, good luck with that." Shay says with a laugh as Gabby furrows her eyebrows a bit.

"Authoritys hot, what do you mean?"

"Right, forgot she's dating a leutenient." Shay teases with a smirk on her lips and Gabby just hits her.

"Mhm, well, Buck is no leutenient." Victoria jokes and Buck throws the towel beside him at her causing her to laugh.

"Hey." He whines and she just winks a bit at him before her eyes move back to her phone.

"Talk to you guys later." Victoria tells them, waving lightly.

"Bye, babe." Shay responds before the call was ended. Victoria lets out a sigh as she reluctantly pushes herself off of the chair, narrowing her eyes over at Buck.

"I'm up, happy?" She asks him, raising an eyebrow and he just smiles gently as he grabs his bag from the counter.

"I'm gonna drop you at the station and then I'll see you at the office building." Buck states and Victoria crosses her arms against her chest.

"So fun." She says sarcastically and Buck tilts his head.

"You'll have a blast." He tells her and Victoria raises an eyebrow, moving over toward her boyfriend.

"Right, fighting fake fires is always so exciting." Victoria says, stopping in front of him.

"I'll be there." That will make it tolerable but she'll still have to do all the hard work because apparently you're not allowed to fake carry a hose.

"Don't see how that will help, you'll only distract me." Victoria points out as she just rests her hand on his chest. Buck chuckles as he shakes his head.

"I'll try my best not to."

"You with your clipboard? What if I find it insanely hot?" She asks him, smirking up at the man, her tone flirtatious. Buck bites his bottom lip as he rests his hands against her hips.

"Mm, that'll be quite unprofessional." Buck responds as he watches her fingers trail along his lower stomach.

"Would it be unprofessional for me to flirt with the fire marshal as well?" Victoria adds, fluttering her eyelashes at him, allowing her hands to rest against his belt. Buck chuckles as he closes the gap between them even more.

"I think I could allow it." Buck admits and there wasnt one more wasted second before their lips were grasping at each other. Victoria moans softly against his lips as she deepens the kiss ever so slightly. She presses his back into the counter, allowing her hands to smooth down his back before moving to untuck his shirt. Buck relucantly pulls away, their lips still only millimeters apart. "We really don't have the time." He tells her, knowing they would be late if they continued.

Buck still doesn't move his lips away though, wanting to continue to kiss her like his life depended on it. But he really didn't want to be late one of his first days. "Fine, but I'm holding you to this tonight and you better still be in the uniform." Victoria states as she presses her finger into his chest. Buck looked a bit sorry as he now pulled his head back fully.

"Bobby and Athena invited us to dinner, remember?" Buck reminds her and Victoria closes her eyes momentarily. She had completely forgotten about that.

"Ugh, can we skip it? Say we're sick." Victoria suggests as she leans against him. Buck raises an eyebrow, not seeing how it would work out given how Bobby would see Victoria all day and know it wasn't true.

"I don't know if that excuse will work." Buck denies. Victoria clicks her tongue as she just fiddles with Buck's pant loop.

"Fine, you want to tell them that we want to miss dinner to fuck because we've been desperate for months?" Victoria asks him. It seemed with every opportunity they tried to take, nothing seemed to work out. They were either interrupted, one of them had to work, Buck's problem still lingered or, well, their current sleeping situation made it a touch bit more difficult.

"Or, we could do it after dinner." Buck suggests as he brushes her hair behind her ear. Victoria groans as she rests her chin against his chest.

"I still like my plan better." She admits and he smiles, pressing a kiss on her forehead before pulling away and taking her hand in his own.

"Come on." He says, bringing her toward the front door. Victoria just swings their arms gently as they make their way out of the apartment, starting back to their semi-normal lives because really, when was anything ever normal nowadays?

••••

AS THEY GET OUT OF THE FIRETRUCK, they all look up at the building in front of them. "My god, that's the biggest damn fire I've ever seen." Chimney says with a gasp, shaking his head. Victoria places his hand on his shoulder, acting just as dramatically as he was as she places her other hand on top of her head.

"How will we ever save everyone in time?" Victoria asks them with an exaggerated frown. Bobby only glances over at them, shaking his head at their antics.

"Very funny guys." Bobby responds, knowing they didn't want to be doing this drill but it was mandatory. Victoria only let's out a groan as she tilts her head back.

"Seriously, do we have to do this?" Victoria asks, wanting to just sit it out and let everyone else do the fake work.

"We're already wasting time, let's go." Bobby demands and Victoria begrudgingly starts to get her stuff prepared so they could put out a fire that isn't actually there.

"Maybe we should start an actual fire so we can actually do something useful." Victoria mutters as she was bent down next to the others, finishing up trying to get the hose hooked up to the hydrant. Hen shared the same look of distaste as she did.

"I hate fire drills." Hen grumbles.

"City mandates we do 'em every three years. Can't fight city hall." Eddie says with a shrug of his shoulders.

"We can still call them idiots." Victoria tells him and Eddie gives her a smirk.

"Greedy vultures." Chimney adds.

"Bitches." Hen scoffs.

"First alarm was triggered at 12:20. Call came in thirty seconds later. Boots down, hoses out, 12:43." Bobby tells them, reading off of his notebook. Eddie stands up from his hydrant.

"That's what?" Eddie asks him curiously and Bobby sighs as he looks at his watch.

"Four minutes over our allotted response time." He admits. Victoria rubs her face, standing up beside Eddie.

"Ouch, that's gonna cost us some points." Chimney points out.

"Someone's gonna have to explain that to the new fire Marshall." Hen says before they all look over at Bobby. Bobby scoffs as he stares back at them.

"Why can't Vic do it? She already wants to be around him." Bobby states as he gestures to Victoria. Victoria wasnt about to deny it. Although she had spent countless months with the man, she missed working with him.

"Well, yeah, he looks stupid hot in his uniform." Victoria admits with a smirk, thinking back to that morning.

"Because if you don't, she'll end up jumping his bones in a janitors closet." Hen points out. Bobby looked like he didn't exactly want to know that information, but he did know it was true.

"Good point." Bobby says with a nod before heading inside. Victoria grimaces as she looks over at Hen.

"Ew, that's so unsanitary." Victoria states, shaking her head. Hen looks amused as she meets the womans gaze.

"Oh, so you would do it, just not in a janitors closet?" Hen teases her and Victoria just innocently stares back at her.

"Sorry that my man is super sexy, hen." Victoria says, shrugging her shoulders while Hen rolls her eyes playfully.

"I think I might vomit." Chimney mutters, faking a gag. Eddie chuckles from beside him.

"At least that'll give us a real medical emergency so we can leave." Hen adds, a long sigh leaving her lips.

"True, keep saying disgusting things about Buck." Chimney provokes and Victoria only glares at the laughing partners.

"You two are annoying." She admits and Hen raises an eyebrow.

"Don't you want to leave?"

"I'd rather use other methods." Victoria says, holding up her halligan. Hen snorts as she smirks lightly.

"Girl, I'm only teasing. You and Buck are like two peas in a pod." She points out. Hen could see they were lovesick fools for one another. She was surprised they didn't get together a heck of a lot sooner.

"Yeah, couples who almost die together traumatically, stay together." Chimney states with a nod of his head. Everyone slowly moves their gazes toward him. "What, too soon?" He asks, pressing his lips together tightly.

"Actually, give me that." Hen says, referring to the halligan and Chimney quickly stands up, glad to be done if his task so they could go inside. You know, with more witnesses incase they tried something.

"Hey, Buck. How we doing?" Chimney asks as he sees the man standing by the door.

"You don't wanna know." Buck denies with a shake of his head. Victoria stops beside him, glancing around momentarily before resting her hand on his hip.

"Maybe you can add a few points because one of the firefighters is really cute?" Victoria suggests, sparkling her eyes up at him. Buck hisses as he scrunches up his nose a bit.

"I don't know if my girlfriend would like that." Buck retorts, looking around a bit to make sure no one was glancing in this direction. Victoria giggles as she leans up toward him.

"She doesn't have to know." She responds quietly. Buck just smiles down at her, rolling his eyes a bit. "God, I wish I could kiss you right now." Victoria admits, frowning lightly. She would much rather be doing that than a stupid fire drill. Buck leans toward her ear.

"Later, baby." Buck says in a low voice before pulling back and she felt the butterflies grow in her stomach. "Get back to work." He tells her, moving her hands off of his hips even though he desperately wanted to keep her touch.

"Yes, sir." Victoria says firmly with a smirk, making a salute. She turns and heads toward Bobby who was with the team when suddenly there was a large commotion near the stairs and as she looks over, she just sees a bunch of people tumbling through the door.

"Oh, uh..." Victoria just stares at the group that had fallen, blinking a few times. She glances over at Bobby who didn't even know what to say. Buck walks over toward them, his eyes moving to the group before looking back at Bobby.

He just lets out a huff of air as he writes something on his clipboard. Bobby glares at him while Victoria bites her tongue to hold her laugh before heading over to help some of the fallen workers.

••••

"REALLY WASN'T SURE WHAT TO SAY AFTER THAT." Chimney tells Eddie and Victoria as he explains how Maddie had ran out on him after dropping a plate the previous night. "Hey, Maddie, you know I'm nothing like your psycho ex husband, right? I'm not the kind of guy you need to be afraid of." Chimney says as he shakes his head. Victoria frowns gently. "Because she was. I mean, it was just for a second, but... she looked scared. Not really sure what to do with that." He admits and Victoria goes to respond when Eddie suddenly yawns.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is my crisis boring you?" Chimney asks him with a scoff as he narrows his eyes at the man. Eddie groans as he shakes his head, rubbing his eyes a bit.

"Sorry, uh, didn't get much sleep last night." Eddie admits, trying to force himself awake. Victoria just sighs as she looks up at Chimney.

"Maddie is still in autopilot mode. Just because you won't hurt her doesn't mean her reactions will be any different." Victoria tells him. Maddie went through years of abuse and just because it was over and he was dead, didnt mean those responses magically disappeared. "Dropped a glass? Oh, please don't hit me. Forgot the stove was on? Are you gonna make my life hell now? You just gotta give her time to adjust to not having to have the automated responses." She explains to him.

Chimney nods, understanding what she was saying. Maddie had to realize she was finally safe on her own, he couldnt really force anything other than not reacting when she did something apparently wrong. "Yeah, I just felt bad when she flinched." He responds. Victoria tilts her head, offering a comforting smile.

"Maddie loves you Chim, just show her you're there for her and show her you love her too." Victoria states and Chimney nods, smiling back at her.

"Thanks, Vic." He tells her before his eyes move to eddie. "Now, why were you yawning?" Chimney asks in an accusatory manner, crossing his arms.

"Christopher's been having nightmares ever since the tsunami." Eddie admits as he finishes off the coffee that Victoria had gotten for him.

"He and half the city. Gotta be expected though, right?" Chimney states, it wasn't unnatural to have nightmares after a huge disaster, especially when caught in the middle of it.

"He's waking up screaming and crying. I tried talking to him about it, but he won't open up to me. Say he's fine." Eddie says with a sigh, not knowing what to do.

"Yeah, lot of that going around." Chimney admits.

"How about Rosie? Is she doing okay?" Eddie asks curiously as he looks toward Victoria. Victoria raises an eyebrow as she just brings her hand up to rub her face.

"If by okay you mean ruining my sex life by sleeping in my bed every night, then yeah, she's okay." Victoria answers him. Chimney and Eddie share a glance with each other.

"She sleeps in your bed?" Chimney questions and Victoria let's out a sigh as she nods her head.

"She tries not to but every night she knocks and comes in because she wants to be with me. It's her response when she's hurt, sick, or you know, scared of losing someone in a raging tsunami." Victoria explains to them. She didn't mind that Rosie was staying in her room, but she didn't want her to feel like she was going to lose her. Victoria understood that Rosie was there when she was brought in, but she wasnt going anywhere now. And Rosie had to get that.

"So, no nightmares?" Eddie asks and Victoria shakes her head.

"I don't think so. But not that her response is any better." Victoria responds. Rosie hadn't woken her up by jolting or screaming. Then again, Victoria was a heavy sleeper so what did she know.

"How does Buck like having a third person in bed?" Chimney questions, smirking a bit as he knew the man probably hated it.

"He wouldn't know. He gets kicked to couch." Victoria admits. Both Chimney and Eddies eyebrows raise. "He snores and she hates it." She tells them and they both nod, knowing how Buck snored. They stayed countless nights in the station, there was no way you worked here and didn't know that Buck snored like a dinosaur. "But it's not like my sex life would be there even if she wasn't." Victoria mutters, tilting her head back a bit.

"Why?" Eddie had asked it without even really thinking about it. Did he want to know about Buck and Victoria's sex life? Not particularly. But it wasn't like he didn't hear enough about it from Buck himself. The man was quite the oversharer. At least before the whole firetruck explosion happened.

Actually, scratch that, Eddie had still heard a lot of inappropriate things from Buck since then. For example how 'just because he wasn't allowed to do physical activity, didn't mean he couldn't pleasure her in other ways'. Yeah, Eddie didn't need to be a genius to figure that one out.

"Well, you know the doctor told Buck no physical activity during his recovery." Victoria starts and Chimney looks a bit confused, not that he cared if they were having sex or not.

"But he recovered weeks ago?" Chimney points out.

"Mhm." She hums before clearing her throat. "One part of him apparently didn't." Victoria says as she leans back against the wall. Chimney just burst out laughing, kneeling over as his hand slapped against his knee.

"Never once did I think that Buck wouldn't be able to get it up." Chimney states, wiping the tears from his eyes. Victoria just narrows her eyes.

"And if you speak one word of this, I will cut out your tongue in your sleep." She warns him, her tone very serious. Chimney instantly stops laughing, his eyes widening as he knew she would very well live up to that threat.

"Is it the medication?" Eddie asks curiously, resting back against his arms. Victoria sighs as she shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't know." She admits. Victoria hoped it was the meds he was taking, that would at least mean he was still attracrted to her. "I think he thinks it is but I wouldn't be surprised if it was me." Victoria has had a shitty life because of the universe sending her grievance after grievance, what's one more thing added to it?

"Oh, come on. He loves you and you two have never had problems before." Chimney points out, wishing he didn't know that but since Hen and Victoria talk a lot, mainly around the ambulance, he had to hear a lot about it. And he knew more about Buck than he ever wanted to know.

"Yeah, but what if it is me?"

"Has he been able to do other things?" Eddie asks, raising his eyebrows to be suggestive as he didn't want to actually ask if Buck masturbates out loud. He had to clear his throat, his heart slightly racing just thinking about it.

"I don't think so?" Victoria hadnt heard Buck get himself off and she would definitely hear it. But he had been alone a few times in the apartment. "But then again Bucks a people pleaser and he probably is just telling me what I want to hear." She says, fiddling with her fingers.

"Life isn't all about sex, you know." Eddie points out as he stands up from the bench.

"Says the man who never gets laid." Victoria teases him and Eddie just crosses his arms against his chest.

"That's my personal choice." He admits causing Chimneys eyebrows to raise.

"Is it?"

"I don't see myself in a relationship right now and I'm not really one for one night stands." Eddie tells them with a sigh as he shrugs his shoulders. Both Victoria and Chimney just stare at him, and he moves his gaze to Victoria. "Usually." He adds, clearing his throat a bit. Victoria only moves closer to him.

"So, you're saying I was so good and that makes you feel bad for all the girls you may potentially hook up with because they will never live up to me?" Victoria asks him. Eddie rolls his eyes as he just chuckles, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, that's totally what I am saying." Eddie responds, shaking his head as he felt her lean against him gently. "No, I don't know. Maybe with the right person." He states, a small sigh leaving his lips.

"Good to know." Victoria says quietly but Eddie heard her because he was right beside her.

"Don't even dare set me up with someone." Eddie warns her quickly, knowing where her mind was going. Victoria laughs, totally ignoring him as she exits the room with him and Chimney in toe.

"Careful, guys. Hall monitors here." Hen warns them, gesturing toward the doors. Victoria looks over, smiling when she sees Buck walking over to them.

"You guys paint? Why does this place look smaller?" Buck asks as he glances around. Eddie slides his arm off of Victoria as she goes to greet her boyfriend.

"Maybe because your gigantic ego is no longer in it?" Victoria suggests, raising an eyebrow as she stops in front of the man.

"Yeah. I think your head just got bigger." Chimney adds with a smirk. Buck scoffs as he glares playfully at them.

"I'm hurt." Buck says before Victoria is leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lips. She heard the others teasingly groaning behind them as Buck all but melted into the kiss. He almost got lost in it when Bobby's voice makes them break apart.

"So, fire marshal Buck decided to drop off his report in person. Is that a sign of maturity? Or is it just revenge for all the times I've written you up?" Bobby asks with a raise of an eyebrow. Victoria moves back over to the group, seeing the smirk Hen was sending her.

Buck turns around to face the man and Victoria didnt miss the way Eddies eyes slid down Buck's back. Victoria watches him carefully, biting her tongue to hold a smirk back. She wasn't completely blind, she saw the looks Eddie sometimes gave Buck. Victoria didn't know if he was doing it purposefully or if he was so genuinely unaware when he was doing it, but she noticed it. And she honestly couldn't blame him. Buck was fine as hell.

Most people would be jealous of someone else checking out their man, but Victoria was very content with herself. And Eddie was harmless. She knew Eddie would never do anything to hurt either of them. Did she occasionally see Buck checking out Eddie? Of course she did. The boy was not exactly subtle. But again, he most likely didn't even realize he was doing it. While as Victoria does it willingly. If Buck was allowed to check out Eddie than so was she. She knew what Eddie looked like without clothes on, so she was winning. Of course everything's a competition to her.

"Actually, uh, you passed. I bumped up the numbers and got fancy with the math." Buck's voice brings her back as she lifts her gaze to him. Eddie had moved over beside Bobby now and was just gazing at Buck.

"You don't know math." Eddie jokes with a smirk.

"Which will be my excuse if anybody calls me out on it." Buck retorts, pointing at the man who just shakes his head. "Speaking of, did you guys get a call from that lawyer?" He asks curiously.

"The ambulance chaser?" Hen questions.

"Yeah, he wants to talk to me about building violations. Think someone might be suing them." Buck tells them.

"Yeah, he was passing out cards like candy." Chimney points out with a scoff, shaking his head.

"Hey, Diaz. I need a spot over here." Lena calls out from the bench. Victoria could see Buck glance over, confusion washing over his face.

"Got you." Eddie responds before putting his hand on Bucks shoulder. "Hey, good seeing you man." He tells him with a smile before moving past him to head over to the gym.

"Uh.. who-- who's that?" Buck asks, looking at the group. Victoria awkwardly takes a step back, sharing a glance with Chimney and Hen before quickly walking off causing Bobby to deal with it.

Victoria just makes her way over to Lena and Eddie, lingering around the bench. "So, Lena... you seeing anyone?" She asks curiously. Eddie furrows his eyebrows as he looks at the woman, silently asking what she was doing. Victoria just has a hint of a smirk on her lips as she just stares back at him.

"Nope." Lena denies, shaking her head before tilting her head. "Why, you offering?" She asks in a teasing tone, winking up at the woman. Victoria laughs gently.

"I'm in a committed relationship, thank you very much." She says, placing her hand on her chest. Lena stares at her for a moment before she snorts, covering her mouth as she laughs hysterically. But when Lena just sees Eddie and Victoria just staring at her, she ceases her laughing, a look of pure shock moving over her features.

"Oh, you're serious?" Lena asks, very surprised that Victoria was actually in a relationship because she always thought Victoria wasn't one for anything more than casual.

"Yes." She says, placing her hands on her hips. Lena raises an eyebrow before a smirk grows on her face.

"Damn, didn't think I'd see the day. Who is it?" Lena asks curiously. Victoria only glances over in Bucks direction. Lena follows her gaze and her eyes widen. "Oh." Was all she could say, her face wincing up a bit. "Shit, I'm not like causing a problem by being here right?" She questions, having not realized that Victoria was dating the guy she practically replaced.

"Bucks not like that, he knows you're just doing your job." Victoria denies, shaking her head. At least she hoped Buck didn't hate Lena just for coming to the 118. Her captain had died during the tsunami and her team was spread out throughout different stations. It wasn't like she willingly transferred.

"Wait, so whyd you ask?" Lena questions, furrowing her eyebrows a bit.

"Just for a friend." Victoria responds as she only shrugs her shoulders innocently.

"Friend better be cute." Lena warns, pointing her finger at Victoria. She could feel Eddies lingering glare on her but she just blissfuly ignored it and was saved by the alarms going off.

As she made her way to the truck, she felt Eddie trailing closely behind her. "I'm gonna kill you." Eddie mumbles in her ear and Victoria tilts her head in order to look at him.

"Is that before or after you get laid?" Victoria says with a smirk playing on her lips. Eddie just narrows his gaze, clenching his jaw a bit before nudging her toward the firetruck. She just laughs as she climbs inside, Eddie right behind her, not seeing Buck's lingering gaze as he watched the firetrucks leave the station with nothing but sorrow in his heart.

••••

VICTORIA AND BUCK ARRIVED AT THE GRANT-NASH HOUSEHOLD. She still tried to convince Buck to skip out on it but he only kept kissing her to cut off her words until she eventually gave up. So, now they stood beside each other as they waited for the front door to open. Buck had his arm wrapped around her waist as he pressed soft kisses to the side of her head. As the door opens, Athena stands in front of them. "Hey, you two." Athena says with a smile on her face, pulling Victoria in for a quick hug.

"Hey, Thena." The woman replies before Athena does the same to Buck.

"Hey." Buck says before they walk into the house. Victoria grabs Bucks hand again and he just pulls her against his chest, resting his head on top her hers.

"You're right on time, foods just about done." Athena tells them and Buck glances toward the kitchen.

"It smells great." He admits. Athena turns her attention to Victoria as Bobby made his way over to them.

"First day back go okay?" Athena asks her curiously and Victoria nods, sighing a bit.

"Yeah, I'm just glad to be back out there."

"Rosie back to school yet?"

"Uh, yeah, she's just a bit on edge still." Victoria admits. Bobby sighs as Victoria had told them about the current situation that she was in.

"Still sleeping in your bed?" He questions and Victoria rubs her face.

"Yeah. I mean, she thinks of it as her safe space, being near me so I've just let her." Victoria admits and Buck presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek.

"It would be nice if it didn't kick me out of the bed." Buck adds causing Bobby and Athena to give him amused looks. "Apparently I snore." He states with a groan, wishing to sleep in an actual bed but he had been banished to the couch ever since the tsunami.

"Big time." Bobby says with a chuckle. Buck frowns as he looks down at Victoria who was just resting against his side.

"You never complain though." He points out. She had never kicked him out of the bed or even nudged him in his sleep.

"This one is a very deep sleeper, she has slept through earthquakes before." Athena tells him with a smile. Victoria nods her head.

"Yeah, as long as I'm asleep before you, it really doesn't bother me. Even if I fall asleep after you, if I'm tired enough, I'm out like a light." Victoria admits as she gazes up at her boyfriend who scrunches up his nose, an annoyed look on his face.

"And she's a very light sleeper?" Buck asks with a small groan and Victoria presses her lips together tightly.

"Apparently." She replies. Victoria felt bad kicking Buck out every night, but honestly maybe now was a good time to suggest he go back to his loft. She had a solid excuse. "I'm sure she'll sleep in her own room soon enough." Victoria says, rubbing her hands together before they make their way to the dining room.

As they finish up their meal at the table, Buck starts to talk about his meeting with the lawyer. Apparently he tried to get Buck to sue the department for not letting him back yet. "So, I told that lawyer off big time. You know, I said, you're not gonna get me to sign any affidavit that blames the 118 for anything." Buck says as he shakes his head.

"Appreciate that." Bobby says and the tone makes Victoria furrow her eyebrows a bit.

"No, please, the nerve of that guy to think I would turn on my friends?"  Buck asks with a scoff and Victoria smiles sweetly at him.

"You know i would punch you if you did." Victoria retorts and Buck laughs but he knows she indeed would hurt him, very badly.

"I missed your cooking, Cap." Buck admits as he looks toward Bobby

"Well, I missed your eating. Never had to worry about leftovers." He points out. "Now that this one's back in the house though, I think I'm safe." Bobby states, gesturing to Victoria who had a mouth full of food as she just feels everyone look toward her.

She narrows her eyes, simply sticking up her middle finger as she continues to chew. "Collard greens?" Athena practically forcing them toward the couple. Victoria raises an eyebrow at her sudden change in behaviour.

"Oh, no. Not for me. I can't eat those, not while I'm on the blood thinners. Too much vitamin K." Buck tells them as he politely declines.

"You can't do a lot on blood thinners."  Victoria mumbles, fiddling with her fork. As she lifts her eyes, she sees everyone looking at her.

"Do I wanna know?" Athena asks, narrowing her gaze and Buck quickly shakes his head. She just chuckles before looking back at the man. "It sounds like you're taking your health very seriously." She states and Buck nods.

"I figure the sooner I manage this, the sooner I can go back to work." Buck tells her and Victoria pouts.

"I don't know, i like clipboard Buck." Victoria admits, giving him a small wink. She could see the blush form on his face.

"Oh, yeah. Hen has said." Athena says with a snort. Victoria snaps her head to the woman who only smirks back at her. She didnt realize Hen was blabbing about it to everyone.

Victoria glances toward Buck who had an intrigued look on his face. She only rolls her eyes. "I praise you behind your back, sue me." She mumbles, crossing her arms against her chest.

"That's what you call praise? Wonder how you speak of me then." Athena teases her, laughing loudly as Victoria glares at her.

"You, shut up." She demands, pointing her finger at Athena who holds her hands up in defense before bringing the topic of their conversation back on track.

"That's very mature of you, Buck." Athena says with a smile, giving a knowing look to Bobby.

"Thank you." Buck says, returning the smile. "Hey, that-- that lawyer, uh, he did get me thinking. There's strength in numbers right? Maybe I could get everyone to sign a statement of support or something, show the higher ups that you guys dont think im a liability." He explains, looking toward Victoria who nods her head but Buck already knew she'd help him without blinking.

"Buck--" Bobby starts but Buck continues talking.

"They'd have to listen right?"

"I want you to listen to me." Bobby says.

"If you told them that I was ready, I mean, these dumbasses, they would- they would have no right to keep me--"

"I'm the dumbass." Bobby states firmly. Buck stops himself while as Victoria looks at Bobby in shock.

"Uh, what?" Buck asks, confusion spreading over his face. Victoria felt herself deflate as she sunk in her chair a little bit.

"Youre not ready."  He denies. "Thats what I told them when they asked." Bobby admits and Buck was just staring back at him with betrayal written all over his face.

"Would anybody like any corn bread?" Athena asks as she clears her throat, obviously trying to difuse the awkward tension that was building.

"Thank you." Bobby says as he takes one from the basket. Athena moves it to Victoria who just sends her a warning look. The woman presses her lips together tightly as she places the basket down.

"You're the reason they won't let me back?" Buck asks, trying to make sense of why Bobby would keep him from the 118.

"The medication is the reason." Bobby corrects him.

"Bobby is just worried about you, Buck, that's all. We all are." Athena tells him, not wanting him to think it was anything more than that.

"I thought you were on my side. I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend. I am also the captain of almost twenty other firefighters who's lives and safety depend on decisions I make, and I can't put them at risk. If you're not operating at one hundred--"

"I am at one hundred percent!" Bucks voice is raised as he bangs on the dinner table. It startles Victoria a bit as she looks at him. "M-maybe even more, you know? I-i I've never felt so good." He admits as he tries to contain his tears. Victoria looks toward Bobby who only glanced down.

"Buck, I know that you went through a lot in that tsunami and maybe you feel like you can survive anything." Bobby points out.

"Anything." Buck scoffs before standing up from his chair. "Like a knife in my back?" He asks in a low tone before looking at Athena. "Um, Athena, I just wanna say thank you for inviting me." He tells her and Athena gently smiles at him.

"Buck." Athena says, reaching out to him but he pulls away, moving away from the table.

"I have to go." Buck admits.

"Buck, you don't have to leave." Athena denies but he was already halfway toward the door.

"Buck--" Bobby calls out after him but the front door was slammed shut. Victoria gets up from the table as well, not even glancing at Bobby as she moved past him. The man reached out to stop her.  "Vic, please can you talk to him--"

"No." Her voice was hostile as she just glared at him. "What, you think lying to him is gonna get me on your side?" Victoria sneers at him, shaking her head as she felt disappointed in the man she looked up to. "No, you can do it yourself. And maybe apologize while you're at it." She just pushes past him, heading toward the door and ignoring Athenas calls.

As she makes her way to the jeep, she notices Buck was sat in the drivers seat with the car turned on, most likely waiting for her to also get in. She takes a deep breath as she moves to the passenger side, opening the door and climbing in. Once she has her seat belt on, Buck just puts the car into drive.

It was eerily silent as they drove down the road. Victoria wasn't sure if Buck wanted to talk about it or if she should just hold his hand to let him know she's there. She settled for both as she reached her hand over, resting it on top of his. Victoria felt him soften underneath her touch but his eyes were still full of betrayal and pain.

"Buck..." She starts, her voice calm as she didn't want to create a bad atmosphere between them. Victoria knew he was upset, probably full of rage, and she wished she could fix it all but Bobby had to do that himself.

"And to think I told that lawyer to shove it." Buck mutters as he just scoffs, glaring out into the dark road ahead. Victoria squeezes his hand, rubbing her thumb along his skin lightly.

"What Bobby did was wrong, he should've at least told you." Victoria states with a small sigh. Buck furrows his eyebrows and suddenly they were pulling to the side of the road with their hazards on.

"Told me?" Buck asks, now fully looking at the woman. "N-no, he shouldn't have even said anything like that in the first place." He points out. Victoria nods her head, showing she understood.

"If he had concerns though--"

"Then he could've talked to me." Buck cuts her off with a frown. Victoria raises an eyebrow as she tilts her head lightly.

"Would you have listened?" She asks curiously, knowing Buck, just like her, was pretty stubborn when someone tried to tell them what to do or how to live their life.

"Why are you on his side?" Buck asks, his tone a bit annoyed as he glared lightly at her. He didnt want to leave their house only to get in the car and fight with Victoria as well.

"I'm not." Victoria responds, a bit defensively and this just causes Buck to let out a scoff.

"Sounds like you are." He retorts, shaking his head as he looks back out the window. They were still pulled over because honestly, Buck wasnt sure if he could drive and have this conversation.

"Bobby is worried about you. I mean, so am I. The lying, yeah i have a problem with, but he has the right to be worried." Victoria wasn't taking Bobby's side at all. She saw his point of view and she saw bucks. Bobby going behind Buck's back was definitely something she didn't agree with, but it was to protect him and the team.

"He's keeping me from my job." Buck points out and Victoria sighs a bit as she rubs her face.

"I know."

"Screw this, I'm not gonna just sit around and wait for him to make up his mind about me." Buck mutters as he shakes his head and Victoria frowns softly. "I'm gonna get my job back." He states and Victoria knew what he meant by that.

"You're gonna sue?" She asks curiously and Buck clenches his jaw as he nods his head slowly.

"Yeah." Buck says before his eyes move over to her. "Will you have a problem with that?" He asks, genuinely curious if she'll try and talk him out of it. It won't affect her directly but she is part of the 118.

But the soft smile that forms on her lips makes a rush of relief flood through him. "Buck, I would do the same thing." Victoria admits. If something was keeping her from her job and it was something that didn't have to be there, she would take the same action he did. She understands where his pain and anger is coming from.

Again, she understood Bobby's concerns as well but there was worrying about someone and there was overstepping. "If you feel like you are one hundred percent ready then, yes, I am with you." Victoria would trust Buck if he said he was ready to go. Now, if he lied to her, that would be a problem. "Now. Get out." She tells him as she opens her door and he just stares at her confused. "I'm not having you get us in an accident by your reckless driving." Victoria teases him with a smirk.

Buck rolls his eyes playfully but gets out of the car so she was able to drive. He was glad that he would have one person with him through this. Because truthfully, he didn't know who else he would have on his side.

••••

Authors note;

The drama has officially started and it'll only get worse from here :) I don't think there's really a truly happy period during this season. We have the lawsuit era, then it goes into... a different era, and then the worst era of this season... actually, the ending is ... nope the ending isn't even good either. Well, the FINALE will be good. If you don't count that bitch Abby showing back up.