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artzzyb00-27 · 2 months

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Buck's Baby Deer

Buck has a daughter AU. You all love it. I know you do. Anyway her name is Calliope Buckley. And she's four years old. This takes place Post-Lawsuit(our favorite). Pretend the loft has two bedrooms, please. Jealous Eddie, of a male friend of Buck's who is flirty with everyone. So all in all, good fun. Might make a part two to this, but not immediately taking place after.

If you had told Buck that he would've ended up straining his relationship with the 118 more. He never would have officiated the lawsuit. Considered it, yes. He had a kid to think about.

Calliope Buckley. Buck's pride and joy. Truly, she was a sweet kid. She was smart, which she got from her mom, and had sass to her which came from Buck.

The swearing came from her staying up late without Buck knowing and watching what he was watching secretly. Rick and Morty is the favorite. Of course, she got grounded, but hey at least she never whines when she gets punished. Due to it happening often, and never being extreme punishments.

Also, she only does small things, like drawing on the wall. So then she can't have her crayons and markers for a week. Till she started with black pens, which artistically impressed Buck, and gave her stuff back.

Her mom? Well to put it simply, she didn't want kids. Well not yet. She didn't feel ready, but she told Buck because she knew how much he wanted his own family. She said she'd go through the pregnancy for him, but after that, they were done. Buck was heartbroken, but it was healed with a tiny baby with a birthmark running across their nose.

Reckless Buck had been mainly a ploy, yeah Abby had been a thing, and Ali had loved Calliope, but Calliope never liked the women that came. So after Taylor, he stopped dating.

Which, yeah probably got rid of free babysitter but he had Carla. Who swore to not tell anyone about Callie. That's how he ended up at the store that day. He needed to go buy kid snacks and nutritional values. And he picked up some cat stuff for his neighbor Caleb.

He had forgotten the 118 showed up there to get their supplies. It slipped his mind, especially with a hungry four-year-old wandering around inside because she saw Nemo flavored Oreos posters outside and couldn't help but run in to look for them.

"Because you're exhausting! We all have our own problems but you don't see us whining about it. Somehow we just manage to suck it up." Eddie yelled at him, that he was exhausting. It made him freeze. For one, the guy he liked, maybe even loved, hated him. Two, his daughter was around and he didn't want her to hear this. Especially cause it was true. At least to Buck, it was. Caleb had been great at making sure he knew how much he mattered.

But sometimes no matter how hard you helped, the brain would hotwire itself to not listen. His ears were ringing. Breathing was shaky and suddenly something exploded behind them. They ran out. Callie.

He grabbed her, grabbed the cookies, paid, and got the hell out of there. When Mackey told him they won and that the fire department wanted to give him 5.6 million dollars. He refused. He already had money from Callie's mom. Who was stupid rich, and gave him extra money than he needed for child support. How did Bobby and Maddie not know about this? Well it was in the files that weren't allowed to be shown to everyone, and Maddie hadn't probed questions at him while she was with Doug.

Callie's grandparents(maternal) were godsends. When he was too busy to make a flight for Callie, they would come and visit from Michigan. Good ole Harold and Ellie. Old but sturdy. Kind yet honest. Heart driven, yet logical.

When he denied the settlement, Chiefs Williams and Alfonso had called him in. Asking why he didn't take it. When he explained the lawsuit from his perspective, they told him they'd make Bobby let him back in. He agreed, only on the terms that no one got fired. He knew what Bobby did wasn't professional, but he didn't want the man to lose his job.

He had already given up on the idea of having his family back immediately. But that didn't matter. He needed money. He couldn't rely on others for it too much.

And he damn well wasn't going to get it from a settlement. He felt sick at the thought. So when he returned to work. He sucked up the way he was being treated.

Wasn't easy at first, but he'd been treated like this for most of his life. So he got used to it quickly. Callie was keeping him going, making sure to get up in the morning and to make food. For the both of them, because despite being young, Callie was an observant kid. Hen too, but she'd tried to keep the peace on both sides.

Guess the secret couldn't be kept any longer, as he was on a twelve-hour shift when Caleb called.

"Caleb?" He had been cleaning the kitchen counter. The 118 was dispersed everywhere throughout the station, but Eddie, Hen, Chim, and Bobby were in the dining area nearby.

Looking over, Eddie frowned his eyebrows. Who the hell was Caleb?

"Slow down-,... Shit. I'm on my way." Buck hung up the call and sped walked to Bobby. "I'm so sorry Cap, but I need to leave. Family emergency."

"What? Maddie didn't call." Chim said confused. Buck just rolled his eyes and continued talking. Taking the others aback.

"No, not Maddie, but someone who is family to me needs help and I can't wait around. Besides I only have thirty minutes left."

Contemplating for a brief minute, Bobby gave him the go-ahead. Giving his boss thanks, he ran downstairs, grabbed his duffle, and ran out. Didn't even bother changing out.

"Who'd you think needed help? I didn't even know he had other friends outside of us." Hen's questioning made Eddie and Bobby think. Had Buck ever mentioned anyone he knew outside of work?

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Heading to the hospital had been teasingly slow. Buck didn't know what exactly happened, but his daughter was there and needed a cast.

When he got there, he saw Caleb's car in the front. Luckily there was a spot next to it so he just parked there. Running in, he saw Caleb pacing around the waiting room. This guy is the guardian angel of his daughter.

"Caleb! What the hell happened?" Buck asked running up to his new best friend. Eddie had been demoted recently, which hurt Buck more than when he admitted to himself that he was in love with the man. Wasn't that hard of a realization as Caleb was studying to be a therapist and became a free one for Buck. He was gonna be great for younger kids.

"I'm so sorry, we were at the park and she was climbing the monkey bars like usual but some kids ran underneath her. I think she freaked and let go. She broke her list when she landed. I'm so sorry, Buck." Pulling the smaller man into a hug, Buck thanked him.

"You, confident Caleb, is worried? Relax, you did the right thing. Nothing worse happened so she's going to be okay. She's a tough nut to crack remember?"

"Yeah, she didn't fuss except when we were driving on our way to the hospital. Pulled out my phone to call you but she told me not to because it, 'Wasn't a big deal.'" Yup, his daughter all right. At that moment, the doctor came out.

"Family of Calliope Buckley." Both of the men walked up to her. "She's a brave and happy girl. She insisted on a cast with monster trucks on it." Chuckling softly, Buck just imagined his baby girl talking to the doctor casually as they were adjusting her broken wrist to fit into the cast.

"Yeah, that- that's Callie. My little warrior." Smiling at Buck the doctor extended out a hand. "I'm Callie's father by the way. Caleb is her godfather." The doctor smiled and read over her clipboard telling them what kind of pain meds she would need. Caleb, however, wasn't exactly listening. Godfather. Holy shit.

After the doctor told them she could have one of them go in, he gave Buck the go-ahead. They'd talk later, right now his friend needed to see his goddaughter. Damn, that feels good to say.

After a few minutes of waiting, the Buckleys walked out and Buck handed Callie off to Caleb to go check out. Walking out with the kid towards their cars he swung her around a bit, placed her on top of his hood, and just let her play games on his phone. She was good at Clash of Clans for a six-year-old.

When Buck walked out of the hospital, Caleb saw him look around to check for cars and when he turned right he froze. Then speed walked toward his daughter and best friend. Still half watching Callie, Caleb put her in the back seat of Bucks jeep.

"What happened?" He asked with Callies door still open. Her seat was always right behind Bucks. She liked being a tailgunner for some reason.

"The 118s here." Not wanting to look suspicious, Caleb pulled Buck into a hug with his eyes closed. Then when he opened his eyes as he was about to let go, he locked eyes with one of them. A relatively smaller guy who had brown hair and tanned skin. He looked confused. Mad? Who knows, but it wasn't happy.

"We'll talk about it later. Right now, this little fighter needs an ice cream." Callie shot out of her seat and yelled out.

"Fuck yeah!" Throwing their heads back, slightly looking around for parents who thought they were better, Caleb and Buck laughed at the six-year-old. Shaking his head, Caleb shriveled her hair and practiced his handshake with Buck. Then went into his pickup and drove off. Buck settled Callie down and told her to sit down. She did so immediately, already deciding what three flavors she could mix up conveniently.

Closing her door, Buck opened his door and drove off to the small ice cream business near his apartment to get their usuals for him and his small family. Meanwhile, the 118, specifically Eddie, watched him drive away.

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Watching Buck drive away with a kid was strange. Watching Buck with another man and kid, was even more strange. Was that Caleb? And who the hell was that kid Buck had in the back seat? After that, he decided to confront Buck about it next shift but then realized that Buck wouldn't be at work for another three days.

When he came to work the next morning, he noticed the small tension because no one could ask about what the hell they saw yesterday at the hospital parking lot. So they waited. And when the time came, Bobby said they were gonna have Bosko take over for Buck.

"He's on paid family leave." He explained but wouldn't go into detail.

"Why?" Eddie asked. Maddie wasn't hurt, or Chimney would be gone as well.

"Can't say. He told me not to. Leave it at that." For some reason, Bobby looked apprehensive. Which made Eddie more frustrated. He'd already dropped the street fighting. He didn't want to see Lena right now. So that's how he somehow found himself sitting in his car. In front of Buck's apartment building.

He hadn't decided if he wanted to go in, yet he was sitting out here like a stalker. In the end, he walked into the elevator and walked towards Buck's apartment. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

After what felt like the longest minutes, Eddie heard the door unlocking. His heart beating in his chest, preparing to face whatever was behind that door. Then it opened. It wasn't Buck opening the door no. But a guy slightly taller than Eddie, with darker skin, side shaves, and braids that went over the top of his head. He had muscle and yet looked so meek. Slight stubble and a scar on his right eyebrow.

"Can I help you hermoso?" His accent seemed Dominican. Shook, Eddie froze, till he heard a familiar voice.

"Eddie?" Behind the beautiful man blocking Eddie, was Buck. In a hoodie with basketball shorts and sneakers. The hoodie was not baggy, as it clung to Bucks biceps making it look like it was about to rip. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I thought you were alone."

"Daddy? Who's that?" A little girl behind both of the men walked out of the hall from the spare room. Okay, what the fuck? Eddie thought as he stumbled slightly and opted to leave. Buck followed him down the hall closing the door, leaving Caleb to distract Callie.

"Eddie! Eddie! You can't just show up, a-and not explain why you're here randomly at 3 p.m.." Buck said after pulling Eddie to a stop with a firm hand on the shoulder. Eddie spun around breathing rapidly.

"Me? Me not explain!? You have a kid that none of us know about!"

"Why does it matter?! You've done a really good job at pretending I'm not there at work." Not wanting a repeat of the grocery store, Buck left to go inside and left Eddie frozen in the apartment complex hallway. Unconsciously doing the same thing the older man had done to him.

Finding his way, Eddie headed home to his son. Who was playing online with his friends, so it gave Eddie an excuse to lie down on his bed. Staring up at his ceiling, Eddie contemplates back. To when he first met Buck. Then to the fire truck bombing and the backyard incident at Athena and Bobby's place. It had scared him so much that he had initially agreed with the idea of Buck staying away from the 118. Hell, the whole fire department.

But when he filed that stupid lawsuit, it hurt worse to have Buck out of reach. Then he came back. And Eddie did not want to talk to him. Despite his heart longing to and making it break every time he snarked at anything Buck said or did in his general vicinity. He was angry at Buck but hated himself for being angry at Buck. The street fighting had started as a good outlet to let out the anger. But it went too far, and he blamed Buck for not being there when he needed someone to bail him out.

Now it turns out he has a family. A daughter, he had said he'd be better at raising girls than boys, and a man who looked like the perfect,... husband? Buck never talked about sexuality. Sexual innuendos yeah, but anything else no. But that didn't make sense because he had dated a woman while working at the 118. Unless it was recent. Then that Caleb guy was most likely his boyfriend.

That absolutely didn't sting.

Eddie was his best friend and yet he didn't know Buck's sexuality. Except,.. they hadn't acted like best friends had they? They(Eddie) haven't talked about the lawsuit properly and how it affected everyone(them).

Thinking back to the little girl at the apartment, Eddie couldn't help the small fond look that formed on his face. She was definitely Buck's. Seeing as the blonde curly hair and birthmark over the nose didn't give it away, she had the specific head tilt and eyebrow raise Buck had when he asked questions before going down a rabbit hole of information.

The fond expression quickly vanished as he remembered her arm. She had a cast on. That explained Buck's Paid Family Leave. Eddie could agree with Buck on this one, kids come first.

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After the Eddie pop-up two weeks ago, came Hen and Karen. Caleb was babysitting his goddaughter when knocking from Buck's apartment three doors down was heard. Repeated knocking. Sighing, Caleb threw the hand towel he was using to wipe down the island of his kitchen over his shoulder and told Callie to stay in her playroom.

Peeking out into the hallway, Caleb saw two black women waiting in front of Buck's door. His Bob Marley Vinyl could be heard from outside, so it drew their attention.

"He's not home. He'll be back in thirty minutes." They nodded and looked back at the door. Then he walked up to him.

"Hey there, I'm Hen. This is my wife Karen." Hen greeted shaking Caleb's hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"Always glad to meet beautiful faces, I'm Caleb by the way. I'm Bucks best friend." Hen and Karen gained shocked looks at different things. They gave each other a look that Caleb couldn't describe and thanked him while walking down to the lobby of that floor.

Caleb could've sworn he heard, 'Eddie's not gonna like this.', but who cares. Callie wanted Neapolitan, and she was gonna have it goddammit. After thirty-five minutes, Caleb counted, Buck opened the door and joined them for ice cream.

After they finished, they stood up and got ready to relax in their apartments separately. When Callie went in she bolted towards her room to catch up on homework she had procrastinated on accident. She had a bad memory and would forget about when to do things.

"Oh yeah, these women came by earlier. They said they were Hen and Karen?" Buck's eye widened. Then his eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought.

"They're friends through work. Why'd they come here?"

"Not sure, but they weren't happy about me saying I was your best friend. They said Eddie wouldn't be happy." Weird, they said goodbye and continued their normal weekend routine like normal. With Buck being off work for a bit and Caleb off at his work as a mechanic for big trucks, Buck decided to take Callie to the mall. She loved Hot Topic, especially with all the new pins and Bluey merch Buck told her they got.

He wanted the anime and Coraline merch they had. When they got there, they quickly went to Barnes & Noble for a gift card for Caleb's birthday and to look for Vinyls that they wanted. They ended up getting one from Bob Marley and a CD from multiple oldies artists. Callie had gotten a CD player for her birthday a few weeks back so it was perfect timing.

Though she did like her dad's music, she wanted her favorites that she had heard from Buck's Spotify and put on a special playlist for her. Heading to Hot Topic, they browsed the store together. They found some cool earrings that were based on space that Callie liked. So Buck got the punk leather bracelet pack to get another piece of jewelry for half off.

Once leaving the store, they went to the food court and ordered a pizza for the two of them. Pepperoni on one half and sausage and olives on the other. Buck got his pizza whilst Callie ate her olives individually before eating the slices. A habit that she developed from when she was a baby. Olives were always eaten separately.

After they were finished, they put the tray on the stand above the trash can and then left to go back home. Getting boba on the way though. Callie claimed that her stomach needed some liquid to calm the food in her stomach.

They got out of the car, ordered, and sat at the tables outside to enjoy the warm sun cascading down. This made everything worth it to Buck, all it was missing was,... well.

"Buck?" Hearing that voice in particular made his heart beat fast. Whether from fear or feelings. Either way, he didn't want to deal with this. "And little girl."

"Who you calling little?"

"H-Hey now, Callie, remember what I told you?" Sighing, the sassy child responded.

"'Not to speak disrespectfully to anyone you don't know.' She had used a deeper voice to repeat her father's words. "I know, I'll try to be better."

"I know." Buck's gentle reply did something to Eddie that he wasn't ready to admit yet. Turning back to Eddie, Buck asked him why he was there.

"I came to pick up and order Chim did online for us. Didn't know you'd be here, I swear." Buck just said it was fine and to ignore it. But Eddie couldn't. He went inside, grabbed the five drinks, and walked back to his truck. He placed the drinks in the passenger seat momentarily before walking back to the father-daughter duo. "Look, I know you probably don't want to talk to me after what happened at your apartment, but I need to get something off my chest."

"Is it about that overused grey shirt that's probably been through more flannels than you have relationships?"

"Callie."

"I said I'd try to be better."

Dang, Callie had some attitude. It was oddly loveable. Hearing Buck sigh and seeing him get up gave Eddie the go-ahead to speak.

"You were right. I wasn't there for you after the truck ladder. I didn't try to understand the lawsuit or your side of the story. Hell, I did the opposite and indulged in street fighting." A look from Buck made him feel smaller than he already was. "I stopped, don't worry. Anyway,... I messed up. We all did. But especially me. I promised I'd have your back and I didn't. And I swear that right here right now, if you're willing to let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it. Calling you exhausting was the worst thing I could have done. Especially because it's not true, you've helped me out a lot with Christopher. And you were taking care of your daughter to add to everything else! I'm not asking for forgiveness but I am offering it to you. And even if you don't want to, I want you and Christopher to be able to hang out again. I want Christopher and your daughter to properly meet and for your boyfriend-"

"Boyfriend? Caleb's my best friend, not boyfriend." Oh. That hurt a little less than Eddie thought it would.

"Oh, well, good to know. And for you. Buck, you deserve someone who will be there for you. Platonic or not. Assuming that Maddie doesn't know yet, I won't say anything to the others about her." With that, Eddie began to walk off. Till a hand got placed on his shoulder.

"I don't forgive you yet. But I'd like to try." Letting out a sigh of relief, Eddie nodded and drove off. Quickly wiping his tears before getting out of his truck and walking inside Bobby and Athena's house. It was a start.

If he wanted his friend back, he'd have to work for it. He'd die for Buck. He'd make that clear.

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The day after the boba apology, Buck had considered introducing Callie to the 118. Only his close friends. With Caleb there for support. And to officially introduce him as the godfather to Callie. He didn't want to make anything official yet though. He wanted to get her opinion first.

"Okay." Easier than he thought.

"You sure kiddo? You've only heard stories about them." Calliope was mature for her age, but she was still a kid. He didn't want to force her into something that would make her uncomfortable.

"I mean, I'm not happy it took this long. Especially if I can have friends after school." Buck hadn't let her have friends come over from her school. The only reason was he didn't want his parents being bitchy or weird towards him and Carla about why he didn't stay home. Or why the mom wasn't around. "But Pops told me that sometimes people take time to adjust to changes. Like how I had to get used to wearing normal shoes and not light-ups all the time."

Buck didn't think he deserved her, but Caleb and Carla had reinforced multiple times that they weren't one without the other.

"Alright. I'll tell them to come over tomorrow. Is that fine?" With a small head nod, he shot a text to the group chat and one separate to Eddie. Saying to bring Chris to keep Callie comfortable. He then went over to Caleb's with Callie and spent the afternoon there.

After sending the text messages, ten minutes later Buck's phone started going off. With responses to the invitation to his apartment. They all had accepted.

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118🚒

Hen:

Sure, got nothing going on

Tried swinging by earlier and you weren't there

Chim:

Down to go, wanna bring Maddie

Is that okay?

Buck:

Yeah that's fine

Bobby:

I'll be there, Athena will be too

Hen:

Karen will be working so I'm flying solo tmr

Eddie:

I'll be there

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Eddie

Hey thanks for the invite, Chris will be there too

Good to know, I was thinking of making pasta or ordering

Just order pizzas, we'll be fine

Alright, see you tmr

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A few minutes after the pizzas arrived, so did their visitors. Callie claimed that she had to make a good impression on Athena. So Buck styled her hair in Dutch braids and put on her best green shoes paired with her black overalls and striped yellow shirt.

She set out a LEGO box of Hogwarts on the coffee table for her and Chris to build together while the adults talked. When knocking was heard at the door, Callie and Buck got ready to receive them. All of them arrived near the same time so they decided to walk in together.

Taking a deep breath, Buck opened the door and smiled at them. However, their attention was quickly drawn to a young girl's voice yelling.

"Surprise bitches!" Callie was doing a dramatic pose whilst wearing sunglasses that Buck had bought a while back. They looked comically huge but somehow they went with the outfit. As they walked in, they all had shocked faces. Except Bobby, Athena, and Eddie. Caleb was still in his place fixing something with his sink.

"Guys, meet Calliope Buckley. My daughter of six years old." Maddie looked distraught yet enamored. Hen looked like she wanted to kill Buck but hugged the hell out of Callie. Chris was shaking with excitement. Chim was looking between father and daughter. Probably making comparisons in his head. Athena was smiling with a fond look in her eyes.

Bobby had probably told Athena about her already, which was fine, but the look Bobby had was heartwarming. Eddie had a small smile on his face and glanced at Buck.

"What?" Maddie asked looking to Buck for answers. But before he could answer, Callie began chatting with Chris.

"Hi, I'm Callie."

"I'm Chris."

"Wanna build a LEGO Hogwarts?"

"YEAH!"

As the kids walked away and sat at the coffee table, Buck led the adults away as best he could from the kids.

"Questions and theories, I know. But right now, have some pizza." So they did, and while they were serving, Caleb walked in.

"Hey lovely's. How's it going?"

"About to explain." They all looked at him to continue and not leave them on edge. Breathing in a sigh, he started talking. "A few years back, I met a girl. She was sweet and cool and I thought we had something special. Then, she got pregnant and she explained to me that she didn't want kids. I respected it and decided to break it off. She had Callie because she knew how much I wanted kids. I was a teen dad by technicality. Callie's grandparents took care of her while I lived with my mom and dad. After I got my job here, I was able to have her move in with me." Waiting for it to register in their heads, he silently let them ask questions. Then Chim raised his head.

"So, who's mom?"

"Penelope Smith. She has a master's in medicine and is a practitioner for athletes specifically. She sends me money when she can. Doesn't mean I don't have to work though."

"Grandparents are sweet. They come to visit from Michigan when they can." At Maddie's eyebrow raised Buck explained further.

"After having Callie, they moved to Michigan for Pen's college and to raise Callie in a more communal area. Meanwhile, I went off to travel. Mainly to get my parents off my ass. I didn't want to at first but Harold and Ellie told me to go for it."

"Nah, Harold practically dragged you into that Jeep." Laughing at the memory the 118 smiled at the pair. Eddie too, his was just dimmed slightly.

Running into the kitchen, Callie looked up at Buck.

"Can we get our slices? Me and Chris want to multitask." Earning smiles from everyone in the kitchen, Buck got four slices and put two on each plate. He turned around and sighed at his family.

"Who's hungry?"

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