Café Casualties
The sun had just begun to rise over Los Angeles as Buck pulled into the parking lot of his favourite bakery that Karen had shown them. He loved bringing pastries for the team, a small gesture that always seemed to brighten their long shifts. He parked his truck, humming a tune, and headed inside.
The smell of fresh bread and coffee greeted him as he walked through the door. "Morning, Buck!" called the baker, a young woman named Rose.
"Morning, Rose! The usual, please," Buck replied with a smile.
He exchanged pleasantries with Rose as she packed up an assortment of pastries. Cinnamon swirls for him and Eddie, apple strudel for Chim, Bobby loved the chocolate twists, and a strawberry shortcake for Hen.
With the box in hand, Buck made his way back to the truck, unaware of the dark figure watching from the shadows. As he reached his vehicle, placing the box of goodies and drink carrier of all the team's specific coffee orders on the roof of his car, he searched for his keys. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. Stumbling, Buck tried to turn, but another blow to the side of his face sent him sprawling to the ground.
Blinking through the pain, Buck caught sight of his attacker—a tall, muscular man with a cruel smile. Recognition dawned on him as the man stepped closer.
"Jensen," Buck managed to croak.
"Surprised to see me, Buckley?" Jensen sneered. "Thought you’d seen the last of me, didn’t you? You ruined my life."
Buck tried to get up to fight back, but Jensen kicked him in the ribs, sending a fresh wave of pain through his body. "You got yourself fired, Jensen," Buck gasped, clutching his side.
"Shut up!" Jensen spat, delivering another blow. "You and your friends think you're so high and mighty. Well, let's see how mighty you are now."
The attack continued until Jensen seemed satisfied, leaving Buck bruised and bleeding on the pavement. "Consider this a warning," Jensen said, before disappearing into the early morning shadows.
Buck lay there for a moment, struggling to catch his breath. He groaned as he began to sit up. The bakery carpark was hidden around the back. No one saw what happened, however Buck did notice the CCTV cameras facing in his direction, at least he could try to get the police involved. But he still needed to get to work. Filling a report would have to wait. He also needed a first aid kit and prayed that none of his team saw him using it. He didn't want them to worry about Jensen again, he always said nasty stuff towards Chim and Hen to their face and always managed to piss Eddie off enough that he would almost punch him. That pleasantry however had been awarded to Chim, his hand was a bit scuffed after but Jensen apparently deserved it. Buck thought it was best to not bring up the past and just try and push through the day without having to worry about Jensen ever again.
——
For once it was quiet down at the 118 station. The overnight crew had just headed out with a few stragglers still hanging around. Hen glanced over at the kitchen entrance, mid-conversation with Chimney, when Buck slid into the room. Something about the way he was moving—too careful, too stiff—caught her attention. Her eyes narrowed as she took in his appearance. Dark bruises marked his jaw, and there was a cut just below his eyebrow.
"Morning, everyone!" Buck called out, his voice a touch too cheerful. "Brought pastries!"
"Buck…" Hen’s voice was a mix of disbelief and concern. "What the hell happened to your face?"
Buck laughed it off, waving a dismissive hand as if it were no big deal. "Oh, you know, I just ran into something. I'm fine!"
Hen and Chim both stood and made their way over to him. Sharing a look of concern as they got a closer look at the injuries decorating Buck's face.
"Ran into something?" Chimney echoed, as he went to place a hand on the side of Buck's face to better inspect the injuries. "Buck, you look like you went three rounds with a wrecking ball."
Buck ducked out of Chimney's grasp as he stepped away. “Don't worry it's not too bad really!”
He began to head down to the locker rooms but at that moment Eddie had just reached the top of the stairs to join them.
Eddie froze. Hen watched with a raised eyebrow as Eddie's eyes widened in alarm when he looked towards Buck and his appearance, his whole body going tense. He was over at Buck’s side in two seconds flat, hovering so close he might as well have been touching him.
“Who did this to you, Buck?” Eddie demanded, his voice low, almost dangerous. "Tell me who did this!” His hand slowly graced the side of Buck's face as the other snaked down his arm and around to the centre of his back, holding him in place as he examined Buck.
There it was again—that intensity, that protectiveness that seemed just a little too… intimate. Hen glanced at Chimney, who was watching with a similarly curious expression. He then looked towards her with a raised eyebrow with the silent statement of “we will discuss this later,” she nodded in return.
Buck was trying desperately to reassure Eddie that he was okay. Eddie held a dangerous look in his eye as he discovered more bruises dotted around Buck's wrist, the individual fingerprints visible from where he was grabbed. Slowly his hands moved to the hem of Bucks shirt.
His eyes meet Bucks as he silently asks for permission. They had softened from their murderous gaze as he saw Buck's distress. However Buck simply nodded his head and looked away as Eddie slowly started to lift his shirt.
The sight of abused skin met Eddie's eyes. He only lifted the shirt up partially before he had to bring it back down. He inhaled as he looked towards the sky and slowly looked back down, words releasing as he held his breath. “dios mío” he muttered.
Eddie was seething. He wanted to yell, to scream and throw his fists as something. But one look into Bucks' concerned eyes brought him back as he calmed himself. His hands moved to Bucks sides carefully so as to not aggravate any bruises. He gently coaxed him over to a nearby chair.
Hen had gotten up and retrieved the first aid kit from under the sink. Making her way back over, she placed it on the counter and began to open it.
“Sit down. Let’s take a look at you." She said nodding to the seat Eddie had moved him towards.
“Hen I’m okay it's just a few bumps, come on you know I've had worse” he tried to laugh it off.
However the joke didn't land as she gave him a stern look. “Buck, Sit” she practically ordered.
Reluctantly he did. Not without a comment of how he was not a dog in response to Hens command. Chim laughed as he began to move in closer, already inspecting the bruises and cuts with a critical eye. "Yeah, this isn’t from 'running into something.' What happened, Buck?"
Eddie stood close by with arms folded, watching like a hawk with a piercing gaze. Buck sighed, clearly realising there was no way he was getting out of this without telling them the truth. "Okay, okay. It was Jensen. Apparently he blames me for getting him fired. He, uh… he jumped me in the parking lot of the bakery this morning."
"Jensen?" Eddie practically growled, his hands flexing at his sides like he was itching for a fight. "That piece of—"
"Whoa, whoa," Hen cut in, raising her hands in mock surrender. “Lets see to Buck before we go all John Cena on that son of a bitch”.
Hen couldn’t help but notice the way Eddie was practically vibrating with barely contained anger. The way he kept hovering around Buck, standing just a little too close, his gaze flicking from Buck’s face to his hands to the now bare bruised and battered torso Hen and Chim were examining.
To their surprise, Buck didn't seem bothered by Eddie's obvious hovering or concern. If anything Chim noted that his eyes grew soft, a small smile pulled at Bucks lips as they looked between one another.
Hen caught Chimney’s eye, and they both shared another look. Oh, yeah. This was definitely something. They could practically imagine the increase in the betting pool as they bore witness to the scene before them.
Hen finished cleaning up Buck’s cuts, but Eddie was still on edge, pacing back and forth in front of him like a caged animal. "Buck, you can’t just brush this off. Jensen had no right to do this.” He huffed.
Just then, Bobby entered the kitchen. He took one look at Buck—bruised, bandaged, and looking way too sheepish—and his fatherly concern kicked in immediately.
"Buck, what happened?" Bobby’s voice was full of worry as he moved closer. "Who did this to you?"
Hen leaned back, folding her arms as she watched Buck sigh for what had to be the hundredth time that morning. "It was Jensen, Bobby. But it’s fine, really."
"Fine?" Bobby echoed, his voice rising. "Buck, you’re clearly not fine” he turned to Eddie. “Did you know about this?”
"Oh, I know about it," Eddie replied, his voice tight with barely contained anger. "And I'm going to take care of it." He growled as he took a step towards the stairs.
Bobby raised a hand, stopping Eddie in his tracks. "No, you're not. We're going to handle this the right way” he said as he reached for his phone and hit a name in his contact list.
Buck glanced around at his team. They always had his back. Even when he didn't want to burden them with his problems, they always had his back.
Bobby's phone rang a few times before the familiar voice of Athena filtered through the speaker.
“Bobby’s calling in the cavalry. Looks like Jensen picked the wrong family to mess with” Chim said.
Bobby proceeded to fill his wife in on what was happening and who was responsible.
Athena’s voice crackled through the speaker, steady and reassuring. Bobby nodded along, grateful as always for her unwavering support.
"Thanks, Athena," Bobby said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I knew I could count on you."
“I'll be there as quick as I can, tell Buck I'll get this sorted and Jensen will definitely see repercussions for this!”
“Oh tell her the bakery has CCTV facing the car park” Buck said as he started to help himself to the abandoned pastries.
“She's already on it, don't you worry,” Bobby said, hanging up the phone. “In the meantime I have put us on emergencies only. Chim, Hen, once your done here I would like you to do stock and clean the ambulance until Athena arrives”
At that they both sighed, knowing that Bobby only assigns the easy tasks to simply keep them busy when they’re on standby.
Chim piped up, “What about Mr broody over there” he motioned towards Eddie. “ What's he gonna do?”
“Well whilst I have to go and make a few phone calls, and Buck not being able to do much” Buck made a protesting noise at that statement which was quickly hushed by Chim poking a bruise in his ribs making him wince, followed by Chim receiving a death glare by none other than Edmundo Diaz.
Bobby continued “Eddie will be in charge of food preparations for lunch”
This was followed by a collective groan, including Eddie. Bobby held up a hand as he added “Supervised and instructed by Buckley, and after he files a statement, He is then going to go home” buck began to protest. “Nope no arguing, you're off for today we will find someone to cover. You are going to rest and I may perhaps bring around a casserole when this shift ends. If you're lucky”.
Buck silences his protest and simply follows Eddie to the kitchen, his limp evident as he didn't feel the need to hide it anymore.
Later that evening the betting pool increased significantly