Archive of Our Own

It only took Evan's parents twenty one minutes to give up on him.

Twenty one minutes and thirty seven seconds, to be exact. He only knows because he crept down the hallway after he heard Doug's voice coming from downstairs and sat down on the top step, watching the clock above the door tick. His parents either didn't care about their voices carrying or haven't noticed. Either way, Evan was able to listen in on the entire conversation, start to finish.

When Doug first proposed the idea with a smooth I think Evan should come and stay with us for a while, he held his breath. When his father answered that summer break was in months and Evan had school and Doug had added Permanently, Evan's heart sank. He hated Doug and, as far as he knew, the feeling was very much mutual. Why would he even want Evan to move in? His dad said no, though. He sounded angry, too, accusing Doug of thinking they couldn't raise Evan on their own. His dad almost never got mad – his mom's short temper was responsible for most of their fights – but he did, then, chewing Doug out, asking if he thinks they're too old, if he thinks they're incompetent and can't take care of their own kid right. Doug responded with an eerie calmness that, no, he didn't think they were incompetent. But he knew that Evan was a troubled kid. He knew that Evan barely passed his math class this year and he knew about him breaking his nose on his skateboard and he knew about the PE incident where he got into a fight with a kid twice as big for no reason at all (except there was one, Evan wouldn't start a fight without one, he isn't like that–) and how tiring he must be. He said You can't even enjoy your retirement with Evan getting into trouble all the time. He's a lot of work, why not let us take the brunt of it? Maddie doesn't want kids yet, but she loves Evan. To which Evan had thought that it's weird that Maddie didn't come home. Doug's arguments continued, though, and Evan felt his father's resolve crumble after each one. I finished med school, I can get him back on track and prepare him for university. Me and Maddie will take this weight off your shoulders, you'll finally have some time to yourselves. He's a lot of trouble, isn't he? I'll keep an eye on him, make sure he's making the right friends. He'll be safe. He'll be well behaved, I– We will make sure of it.

It only took twenty one minutes.

Buck is quiet in the car. He tried fighting it, fighting his parents, kicking his feet, but they had made up their mind before he could even try to get a word in. Now, his clothes are in the back of Doug's car, haphazardly thrown into trash bags, his life upended in a singular evening.

They're still five hours away from Boston when he breaks the silence, too jittery with shock and unease to keep still.

"Does Maddie know about this?" He asks because, somehow, he's sure she doesn't. She didn't even have enough time to call him, why would she have decided to take him in? And why isn't she here?

The set of Doug's jaw says it all.

"Why are you doing this?" Evan presses, fists twisted into the fabric of his jeans. "You don't even like me."

"You're right," Doug says, tapping his index finger on the steering wheel. "I don't like you. As far as I'm concerned, you're a spoiled brat. I don't know what Maddie sees in you. I mean, your parents let go of you quickly enough." He breathes out something that might be a laugh. Evan ignores the hurt growing in his chest. He knows his parents don't like him. They love him, maybe, the way every parent does. It's more of an obligation than anything.

They just don't like him.

"I want to go home," He says, quietly, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. "I don't want to stay with you."

"I don't care." Doug doesn't even look at him, focused on the empty road ahead. It's barely past sunset and the road they ended up on stretches for miles, not a single car having passed them in a while. "You'll stay. And you'll behave."

"I'm not a dog–" Evan yelps when the car breaks suddenly, sending his body forward. The seat belt painfully digs into his neck, his head snaps forwards and all the air escapes his lungs in what feels like seconds with no time to brace himself. At first, breathing fast and clutching at the seatbelt, he thinks they just hit something. Or had a close miss, at least. But when he looks at Doug, his neck protesting painfully at the motion, the man is looking down at him, unimpressed, eyebrows raised as if Evan has just made an idiot of himself.

"Did you do that on purpose?" He asks, looking away from Doug and to the door. The moment he even begins to form an escape plan, it clicks shut.

Evan never did like Doug. He didn't like the way he shot Maddie down, never took her seriously, always controlled everything she did and had to know exactly where she was. It was creepy. But he never, ever thought of the man as scary. Unwelcoming, whenever Evan visited, too serious and weird, sometimes, but never scary. Not until now.

"You're going to behave," Doug says quietly.

Evan, shocked and scared and miles away from home, can only nod and try to calm his quickly beating heart.

For a split second, Maddie looks happy to see him. Then, she notices the bags in the trunk of Doug's car and her smile dies, quickly to be replaced with an expression Evan can only describe as horror.

"What's all this?" She asks with a nervous grin that she forces on her face too quickly. "I didn't know Evan was visiting?"

She hugs him close, her hands shaking where they rest on Evan's head. His hair is getting too long, so she brushes it out of his forehead, thumb pressing into his birthmark. Despite everything, Evan melts into the touch. It's been too long since anyone held him like this. Probably as long as he hasn't seen Maddie. It must have been three months now since she visited for his birthday and spent the whole weekend, just the two of them, going out to the movies and on long walks to get ice cream. Despite the ring on her finger and the dark bags under her eyes, it felt like it always did, the two of them a united front. And now he's here, with Maddie, so everything should be great. It would be, if not for Doug, but– It's still going to be fine.

"Evan's going to be staying with us," Doug explains.

"For how long?" Maddie pulls away, but her hand stays on Evan's shoulder, almost protectively.

"Indefinitely."

Her hand tightens over the fabric of his hoodie, but her expression doesn't change. She only blinks and nods, carefully choosing her words.

"It's late. You should go to bed," He tells Evan without looking at him. "We'll talk in the morning. The guest room is always made up, down the hall to your right."

Whatever silent conversation they're having, Evan doesn't want to be a part of. He does as he's told, too tired to process the day's events. He falls asleep as soon as his head touches the pillow, jeans and sneakers still on.

The following weeks are… Weird.

Maddie's the best, even if she's always busy with nursing school and doesn't really have the time for Evan. It's a little bit like home. Lonely. Cold and awkward, whenever Doug's around. They sign him up for school and show him around the neighborhood so that he can have places to go during the rest of summer break. It's mostly libraries and malls, but it's always better than an empty house with a TV and computer he can't touch and a yard that is strictly off limits for football. He can't even skate anywhere but the park because the street in front of their house is so busy.

But he has Maddie. The little time he manages to spend with her on the weekend and in the late evenings is worth everything. He doesn't miss his parents or his hometown at all. All he ever wanted and needed was his sister, and she's there. Busy and tired and sadder than she used to be, but she's there.

He hangs onto that thought whenever he starts to miss home.

The first time Doug hits him is preceded by months of warning signs.

Maybe Evan would have noticed the red flags if he wasn't so used to the thinly veiled insults and cold shoulders. If they weren't a watered down version of what he heard his mom say to his face countless of times.

Still, the slap stings and he can't help but blink furiously to keep his tears at bay. He's been in fights before, he knows what it's like to get hit. This shouldn't phase him. He's nearly fourteen, he should–

But Doug is so much bigger than him.

Before he can even think about running, Doug catches his face, fingers digging into his cheek.

"Don't you dare tell Maddie about this," He warns, his voice low and quiet. "Or It's going to be her instead of you."

Evan nods. He doesn't stop shaking for a long time after Doug leaves.

He never does tell Maddie about it. She doesn't tell him, either.

The days before Evan's eighteenth birthday are mostly spent packing. Maddie's careful about it, her duffle hidden in the back of her underwear drawer. She hides clothes after doing laundry, moves her documents and IDs while Doug isn't home and checks on the stash of money she's been saving up inside of her fluffiest pair of socks every evening, paranoid that it's going to disappear one day. Her car keys are permanently stuffed in her jean pocket, just in case they have to run earlier. Evan's custody agreement is tucked away under the passenger seat in her Jeep.

When they go out to get groceries on May 15th, barely six hours before Evan's birthday, Doug doesn't stop them. By the time they're crossing state lines and finding a motel in Ohio, he has no legal power over Evan. Not anymore.

Finally getting away doesn't feel as good as she thought it would have. Sometimes, laying wide awake next to her husband, unable to sleep, Maddie fantasized about leaving him. She imagined herself walking out, free. But then she'd roll over, look at Doug's profile and think: He used to be sweet to me. She'd roll the idea over in her head for hours, rubbing the aching bruises on her neck, and nearly always decide that maybe, just maybe, if she gave Doug one more chance, he'd be the husband she chose to marry. Maybe, if she was a good enough wife, he wouldn't have a reason to hurt her.

None of it was logical. She knows that now. Her false hopes died quickly when she found out Doug had been hurting Evan, too. She could keep lying to herself and deluding herself into thinking this marriage was worth saving when it was only her health on the line. But her little brother? Her little brother, who had apparently been keeping Doug's behavior a secret because he was convinced that would somehow spare her?

Finding out Doug would be willing to hit a child – her kid – was her breaking point.

And now they're here. Sleeping in her car and working any job people are willing to give them. They drive from state to state, never staying in one place for more than a few months because it's too risky to settle down and they can't go back to Pennsylvania because that's the first place Doug will look. Evan never complains, not about how little money they have, not about the odd jobs he has to take. Still, Maddie feels like she's failed him. What kind of sister allows her little brother to be– Abused, because that's what it was, and then drags him cross country and makes him sleep in the back of her car? She hates that she's dragged him into this. She hates that she can't take him out of the equation. Doug's words still ring in her head whenever Evan tries to propose that they go their separate ways. Tell anyone a word about this and I'll fucking kill him. I'll make it look like an accident. And if you try to run away I'll keep him here and make his life a living hell until he decides he'd rather kill himself instead of wait for you to come to your senses. Is that what you want?

He'd told Evan the same thing. He played both of them for years.

Maddie will never forgive herself for falling for it.

The longest they ever stayed in one place was nearly a year. It was a small town with a population of barely over six thousand – too small, in Maddie's opinion. The more people recognize them, the bigger the chance that their names and faces will be remembered. They can't leave any kind of trace for Doug to follow, even in the middle bum–fuck nowhere, Minnesota. Except, when they pull into a parking space near a gas station, the owner comes out and knocks on the windows. She tells them they can't sleep in her lot and, instead of telling them to fuck off, invites them inside.

That's how they end up staying in Edith's guest room. Buck works the register and inventory at her gas station because she's been getting too old for it and Maddie finds work as a dishwasher in a nearby diner. The community welcomes them, or at least tries to. They're still two strangers who won't tell anyone what they're running from, who flinch at odd times and shut down whenever someone tries to get them to talk.

But the people are nice. There's Martha, the cook who works alongside Maddie and takes her out for a cig break even though she stopped smoking when she met Doug. They just stand there and talk, using up the free time Maddie otherwise wouldn't have gotten. There's Alex, whose truck eats up so much gas that he has to fill it up every Friday because he drives out of town for work. He always has his change neat and counted out and he chats Evan up as he drinks coffee, even though it's in a to–go cup and he has no real reason to stay. Maddie isn't blind. She sees the way Evan blushes when he mentions the guy, but she doesn't press. There's Amelia, who only asks them to babysit for a few hours in exchange for dinner. It's a whole community that comes together in the smallest of ways to help them along. It's a free coffee, a spare blanket, a kind smile.

When they leave, equipped with a dozen turkey sandwiches, a postcard drawn by Amelia's daughter Macey, Alex's number burning a hole in Evan's pocket and everyone waving goodbye in the parking lot they pulled into ten months before, she's not ashamed to admit that she cries.

Years later, when she gets back on her feet, she'll remember to send them a postcard back. A postcard and a dozen gift baskets.

For now, she can only focus on how much she hates that she's running away again.

Eddie isn't a morning person. It's 6am and his infuriatingly adorable boyfriend is getting up to make them a healthy breakfast and he really, really would rather he just stay in and eat cereal like God intended.

"C'mon," He mumbles into his pillow, hands latching onto Buck's waist. "Stay. Five more minutes."

"I promised Chris I'd make him pancakes," Buck laughs, but still settles back against Eddie's side.

"You spoil him too much," Eddie says, voice muffled because he's currently pressing his face into Buck's shoulder.

"You love that I do," Buck points out and then leans down to place a kiss in Eddie's hair, which– He's too old to be melting at that. But he does, a lot.

"Yeah," He can't help but agree. He's warm and comfortable, laying in bed with his beautiful, sweet boyfriend. It's the best. He can't even pretend to be unhappy about it.

"I really do have to go, babe."

Babe. Again, Eddie's too old to be wanting to kick his feet a little at the nickname.

He untangles himself from Buck reluctantly and buries his face in the covers right after, ignoring the sound of Buck's laughter.

They met nearly one year ago, at work. Eddie never thought he'd walk into his new station and immediately get into a one–sided beef with the hottest firefighter he's ever seen. Or that they'd become friends within 24 hours and actually start dating less than a month later. They're in a comfortable stage of their relationship now, staying at each other's place when the time is right. Chris loves Buck, so that's never been an issue, and Shannon has assured the two of them that she doesn't have a problem with them dating. Their divorce was finalized a few weeks back and they haven't really been in love or even pretending to be in a happy marriage for much, much longer. Buck, thank God, understood and repeatedly told Eddie that he didn't feel like the other woman. Not that it stopped the man from spiraling more than a few times, because a divorce and a sexuality crisis happening at the same time is brutal.

They're in a good place now, though. Eddie's working through his problems and Buck– Well, he hopes Buck is working through his. Because he has some – a lot of them, even – and if he's not willing to talk to Eddie about them, he just hopes Buck isn't alone in whatever is clearly still bothering him.

He's been noticing it since the day they met, really. Even more when they started dating and especially now that Buck's in his house more often than in the apartment he still shares with Maddie. It's not often that it happens – the occasional flinch, a weird reaction to what otherwise would be a perfectly normal thing to say – but Eddie notices. It's Buck, of course he notices. And he's not stupid, he knows what a trauma response looks like.

There was a domestic call a few months back that finally made things click for Eddie. It was, unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence. The wife had called 9-1-1 from the bathroom, saying her husband was trying to kill her. The 118 was called as she said he'd managed to clock her across the head and she was slurring her words. Athena was there and she was the one to disarm the husband before letting them inside so that they could bring down the door and give medical care to the woman.

When all was said and done, Eddie expected Buck to be angry. He's always been the type to take things personally and turn his feelings into righteous rage. But when he finally closed the cab door and really looked at Buck, he just looked… Empty. His hands were shaking and when Athena dragged the husband outside in handcuffs, his breathing picked up, chest heaving badly enough that Eddie could tell he was panicking. He spent the rest of the shift absent and quiet.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that whoever was in Buck's past was abusive. He never mentioned his parents, so Eddie did wonder if they were the ones responsible for the pain Buck so clearly must have experienced. But he never asked, because he wanted Buck to be ready to tell him of his own accord. He was trying to do this at Buck's pace.

He finally gets up, missing his boyfriend too much to stay in bed without him. He's always been too soft in the mornings – clingy, according to Shannon – so he indulges, walking up to Buck, who's in front of the stove, making the promised pancakes, and placing his hand on the man's waist. Which, in retrospect, was a bad idea.

Buck jerks away, bumping into the hot pan and hissing in pain. He realizes it's just Eddie quickly, but not quickly enough for him to miss the second of shock and fear in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" Eddie reaches for his hand, eyebrows furrowing when he notices the angry red line already forming on Buck's skin. "Come on, under the tap."

He sets the water to lukewarm and drags Buck's forearm under the light stream, making sure the water drips down on the burn from above instead of directly on it. It doesn't look too bad. It's irritated and red but it's nothing like the burns they see on the job.

"I think it's going to heal on its own," Eddie says, turning Buck's arm over to get a second look. And a third. "I'm so sorry." He finally looks up and his heart sinks when he sees Buck's face. "I'm sorry, I should have remembered– I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's not your fault I'm fucked up," Buck mumbles, his hunched shoulders making him look small. Eddie hates it. "I know you noticed." He finally looks back at Eddie, eyes red and lip trembling. "You're nice for not calling me out on it sooner, but if you want me to go, I'll– I'll go."

"I don't want you to go," Eddie replies quickly and squeezes Buck's hand where he's still holding it up to the tap. "You're not fucked up. Whatever happened– It's none of my business unless you want it to be, but I promise I'll be more careful–"

"I don't want you to have to be careful around me, Eddie," Buck interrupts, shaking his hand out of his grip. "I don't want to be different just because–" He stops and takes a deep breath.

"You can talk to me," Eddie says quietly, but doesn't reach out to touch him. "Whatever it was, you can tell me. And we'll figure it out together, okay? You don't have to be alone in this."

"I'm not," Buck replies. "This isn't only about me."

"Maddie?" Eddie asks.

Buck only nods.

"When I was twelve," He starts after a few moments, visibly steeling himself before he continues. "Maddie's husband visited my parents. By that point she had moved out to Boston with him and started nursing school, so my parents didn't talk to her much. It was weird that he came without her, so I snuck downstairs and listened in." He blinks a few times, eyes glassy. Eddie wants to hold him, but he keeps his hands firmly glued to his sides instead. "He convinced them it would be best if he and Maddie took me in. Because I was failing one class and I was being reckless and a bunch of different shit."

"And they let him?" Eddie asks because he truly can't imagine giving Christopher away. He already regrets leaving him once, he'd never willingly let him go back to Texas now.

"It only took twenty minutes," Buck laughs sadly. "I was packed by the time it got dark." He rubs his face with his free hand. "He told me to behave, basically. Or else. At first I listened because the whole situation was weird and I didn't really want to upset Maddie. She had no idea I was coming to stay with them, at first. I think she tried to talk to my parents to give me back, which– It fucking sucked to hear back then, but now I understand why."

"Why did she?" Eddie asks after a beat, knowing that sometimes Buck needs a little push when he gets lost in his own head.

"Doug was beating her," Buck says and Eddie immediately regrets pushing. "He only took me in to control her better. He threatened to start hurting me, too, if she ever told anyone or stopped trying to be the perfect wife." He looks away, to the side, eyes distant. "I guess he lost his patience. I was only with them for about a year before he hit me, too, and told me the same thing. So I took it for Maddie's sake and she took it for mine and we believed we were saving each other for years."

Eddie watches him with a sinking feeling in his gut, hands itching to reach out. He shouldn't, and he won't, but he's never wanted anything as badly as he wants to comfort Buck. And kill anyone who ever hurt him.

"We ran away when I turned eighteen because he had legal custody of me before that." Buck sniffles a little, still refusing to look at Eddie. "We moved from city to city until we ended up here and decided we were far enough from Boston to settle."

Eddie doesn't know what to say. Rather, there are many things he wants to say, but he can't decide which one Buck needs to hear.

"I'm sorry," He says finally and immediately feels stupid because a sorry doesn't fix anything. It's inadequate to all the pain Buck had to go through– Buck and Maddie both.

"It's fine." Buck shrugs, looking everywhere but at Eddie. "It's been a long time."

"It's not fine," Eddie says softly, daring to reach out to Buck. He waits for a barely–there nod before actually putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "I hate that he did this to you."

"You and me both." Buck smiles weakly, a feeble attempt to cheer either himself or Eddie up. "I'm okay now, I promise. I just get… Jumpy."

"I understand." Eddie nods, rubbing his thumb across Buck's skin. "I mean, literally, I know what it's like. To be, you know."

"Traumatized?" Buck finishes for him.

"If you can call it that."

It's Buck's turn to look at him like he's being stupid, which he arguably is.

"I guess we're both fucked up, then." He tries to smile again and it's less sad now. It's more like– Well, like Buck. Something heavy finally dislodges itself from Eddie's chest.

"Match made in heaven," He tries to joke, does really poorly, but Buck still indulges him with a sweet laugh, just like he always does.

And then Buck's kissing him, a wet palm pressing into Eddie's shirt, their conversation momentarily forgotten.

Eddie's going to remember this phone call for the rest of his life.

It's supposed to be a regular evening. Buck's finally seeing his sister and Chimney for game night, which he's been excited about for the past week. Chris has an art project due, which means that Eddie has an art project due, so he's been gluing paper together for the past hour and a half. The poster is coming out… Well, like if a nine year old made it, which is true. Eddie doesn't really count, he's definitely worse at drawing than Christopher.

His phone rings while he's in the middle of cutting out the circle in the middle of an "O". He doesn't really want to pick up, at first, but then he notices the caller ID. Bobby. Which means the man probably needs him to come in or something's happened.

The grave tone of Bobby's voice hits him before his brain processes the words.

"Buck and Maddie are missing." There's a rough breath, some chatter in the background. "We think they've been abducted by Maddie's ex husband."

Eddie's throat closes up like a vice. He can't reply, doesn't even know what he could possibly say. He just looks at Christopher, hunched over the poster and oblivious to the way their world just tilted on its axis.

"Bobby," He chokes out, his hands beginning to shake now that the initial shock is slowly wearing off. "What– I don't understand."

"Chimney's in the ICU, he's been stabbed. He barely managed to call 9-1-1 and if he hadn't–" Stab wounds. He would have been dead. "There were signs of a struggle inside the house. We don't know where he took them. There are detectives on the case, Athena's on the case, but–"

"They could be anywhere." Eddie closes his eyes, barely keeping his composure. He's in front of Chris, who, thank God, hasn't noticed anything yet, but he doesn't know if he can do this. He doesn't know if he can act normal knowing Buck is–

"Athena's looking for them, Eddie," Bobby tries to reassure him, but he doesn't sound like he believes it himself. "Me and Hen are in the hospital with Chim. They're positive he's going to be okay but– He needs us. I think he would appreciate it if you were there, too."

Eddie hears Bobby's unspoken arguments clear as day. He shouldn't be alone with this news and when– If Maddie and Buck are found, they'll end up in the hospital anyway, which fills Eddie with even more dread.

"Is it okay if I take Chris?" He asks, swallowing heavily and blinking fast. He doesn't want to cry in front of his kid. "I don't have anyone to leave him with."

"Karen and Michael are at the Wilson's with the kids. But if you think that's alright with Chris, I don't see a reason why not."

"I think he'll want to wait for Buck when I tell him," Eddie says quietly. "We'll be there in thirty."

He hangs up and gives himself exactly ten seconds to breathe and let the fear–worry–rage wash over him. Then, he takes a breath and tries to figure out how he can tell Chris that Buck is gone.

Maddie hasn't been able to stop looking at the backseat.

It infuriates Doug. He's already hit her once over it, but she can't help it. She needs to make sure Buck is breathing. She needs to make sure his chest is still moving because he's not giving any other sign of life. There's a horrible looking gash on his temple where Doug pistol whipped him, blood slowly seeping out of it and on the car seat. His body jolts with every pothole, head lolling to the side and making him look– Liveless. Not dead, Maddie has to remind herself he's not dead. There's still time.

Except they're in the middle of nowhere, every mile taking them further and further away from Los Angeles, from Chimney, from the police looking for them and from a hospital. Buck could have brain damage, his concussion could be getting worse, he's actively bleeding out– It's bad. It's really bad.

And it's all her fault. It always has been.

She bites her lip hard enough to bleed and closes her eyes, willing the tears to stop. She won't give Doug the satisfaction. She just needs to figure out a way to get them out of the car and call 9-1-1. At the very least, get Buck some gauze before he loses too much blood. If she could just use her shirt to stop the bleeding– If she could sit in the backseat with her Evan, check his pulse, make sure he's alright–

"Stop fucking looking at him," Doug snaps, hands holding onto the wheel hard enough for the leather to creek. "Eyes on the road."

"He needs help," Maddie says quietly, willing her voice not to shake. "I need to stop the bleeding before–"

"Before what? Before he dies?" Doug smiles and it's cold and cruel. Nothing like the man she fell in love with. It feels like that man – the Doug who used to make her laugh, who gave her flowers every chance he got, who made her giddy and happy – died a lifetime ago. "I'll leave him on the side of the road if you don't calm the fuck down."

"You can't." Maddie grits her teeth, stubbornly looking away.

"I can. And I will."

"I'll crash this car if you touch him, Doug, I swear–"

"I know, he's all you live for, blah blah blah," He mocks, almost laughing. "You always were predictable. Easy to control." He taps his fingers on the wheel like this is funny. It makes Maddie's blood boil. "I played you two like a fiddle for six fucking years, Maddie, because you were both too stupid and stubborn to figure it out. But then, you ran away from me. You left me." Doug turns to look at her, the fake smile dying on his lips. "I told you I'd fucking kill him if you ever did. This is all your fault."

"You'll have to kill us both." Maddie shakes her head, looking back at her brother. His face is nearly white against the dark red of the blood oozing from above his eyebrow. The bruising around the wound makes him look dead, but his chest is still rising. Just barely. "I'll never stay with you if you hurt him."

"Trust me, I know." Doug tilts his head. "Except I've managed to hurt him so many times behind your back that it's making your promises sound a little empty."

Maddie has nothing to say to that. It's the truth.

Buck still hasn't told her everything that happened while he was living with them. She hasn't told him either. She had hoped that Doug wouldn't have it in him to beat a child as hard as he did her. But now Evan's bleeding out in the backseat and Doug's gun is in his lap, ready to be pointed at her or her brother if she tries anything and Chimney's probably dead. She's not sure if Doug ever had a limit to begin with.

Chris is upset.

Understandably so. He and Buck have gotten closer than ever in the few months since Eddie sat him down and told him they were dating. He always begs for Buck to come over and play games with him or make dinner or even help with homework, because apparently he explains things better than Eddie does.

He hasn't stopped quietly crying yet and it's breaking Eddie's heart.

Christopher, despite not even being ten, is the smartest kid he knows. He can probably tell from the grave expressions on everyone's faces that it's not good. He can probably tell just by looking at Eddie, who wishes he could fake a smile and tell him it's going to be alright but he just– Can't. Because Buck is missing and there was blood inside Maddie's house.

He holds Chris a little tighter, pressing his nose into his hair.

"Buck's going to be okay," He lies, more to himself than his son. "It's going to be alright."

Chris nods into his shirt, but he's still shaking. Eddie regrets telling him about this and bringing him to the hospital. He hates hospitals, even if he's always a champ about it.

Hen catches his eye across the corridor, slumped into the same uncomfortable chair and holding a cold cup of coffee. She doesn't say anything, because there's nothing to be said. Not until they know if Chimney is going to be alright and where Buck and Maddie are.

Bobby's been checking his phone for the past hour, waiting for an update from Athena. So far, nothing.

And so they wait.

Maddie contemplates catching the wheel and crashing Doug's car.

If they were lucky, he'd get knocked out and they'd have a chance to escape. She could steal his phone and get the gun and… Maybe, she could save Buck.

Except he doesn't have a seatbelt on and he already has one head injury. He's been bleeding for the past two hours or more, she's not even sure anymore. And if everything went wrong and Doug didn't get knocked out, he'd shoot Buck just like he promised.

There's no good way out. She's not getting out of this car and her little brother is bleeding out in the backseat. This is it.

She closes her eyes and allows herself just a moment to forget. Just a second, to think about the good years. When Evan was a little kid, cheeks chubby and hair still blonde and his favorite thing on Earth were spaceships. When a pinky promise meant everything was going to be okay. Before she went and ruined everything by trusting Doug.

When she notices the headlights approaching in front of them, she realizes with an eerie feeling of calm that they're not getting out of this any other way.

She turns the wheel at the last second, forcing herself into Doug's space quickly enough to surprise him. It's not enough, Doug fighting her back, and they steer to the left instead.

They crash into the incoming truck and the world goes black.

Everything hurts.

The last time Buck was in this much pain was– Never, he thinks, which says a lot about how bad this is. He can barely move his neck, the motion aggravating his whole body and sending a fresh wave of pain. Everything hurts and his face is wet. He's cold.

Cracking an eye open takes more effort than he could have predicted. One of them just won't listen, like there's something sticky forcing his eyelid closed. When the other finally opens, all he sees is the night sky. He thinks he must be dreaming, at first, because of the stars. They're everywhere, bright and clearly making up the Milky Way. You don't really get to see that anymore, at least not in LA. So he blinks and he blinks and wonders if he's dead.

"Evan," Someone whispers next to him, a gentle hand touching his face. He blinks again, trying to focus on the face coming into view. He knows it before he sees her, his brain catching up to what it heard.

"Mads?" He manages, voice weak and throat dry. "Wha–?"

"We need to be quiet," Maddie says, keeping her voice low and stroking his cheek. "He's looking for us."

"Who…" He tries to remember, but his brain is all fuzzy. But there's only person Maddie's scared of. "Doug?"

He's definitely slurring his words. He blinks again, because Maddie's gotten blurry, and frowns painfully when he sees the dark spots on her face. They look like cuts and bruises. His sister should never have cuts and bruises on her face.

Maddie confirms with a nod and presses something into his temple. It hurts, but it's like his body is too tired to process the feeling. All he does is flinch, his reaction a good few seconds too slow. He thinks he may be in shock, but thinking is hard, so he just blinks some more.

"I have his gun," Maddie whispers shakily. "If he finds us, I have his gun. I told the trucker to call 9-1-1, but then he started waking up." She presses her lips together, tears dripping down his face. Buck hadn't even noticed that her eyes were glassy and he wishes he had enough energy in his arms to help wipe them off. "So I dragged you into the woods. Help should be– Help is coming, you just have to hang on, okay?"

Buck nods, or at least tries to. Maddie smiles sadly and brushes her thumb on his cheek.

"I need you to stay awake for me, Evan," She tells him. "You have a concussion, possibly a brain injury and you hit the front seats hard when we crashed." She breathes in shakily. "I'm sorry, I just didn't– There was nothing I could do."

"'s alright," Buck mumbles. "Nothing hurts."

"That's not good," Maddie says. "You need a hospital. I'm so sorry you're here because of me."

"Not your fault." He closes his eyes for a second because he's just so, so tired and cold. Maddie pats his cheek immediately, then pulls his ear until he frowns and opens them back up. "Ouch."

"I told you to stay awake." She sniffles under her nose.

"'m cold."

"I know." She sighs, then leans down and places a kiss on his forehead. Buck wishes they were in a situation where she could just hug him. "I'm sorry."

"Isn't that sweet."

Maddie pulls away from him immediately and points the gun at Doug, her other hand hanging uselessly by her side. He's standing a distance away, but he still notices how badly her hands shake and scoffs.

"Leave us alone," Maddie demands, taking the safety off. "I'll shoot."

"You won't," Doug replies easily, taking a few steps forward. Maddie breathes in quickly and backs away, covering Buck with her own body. "You've always been too soft. Too soft to say no, too soft to raise him like a man." He points at Buck. "You're not going to hurt me."

"I swear to God I will. The police are coming and you're going to jail," Maddie grits out.

"And how long will they take to get here? Do you even know how close the nearest city is?" Doug laughs, then wipes his face, a streak of red left on his cheek. "We're in the middle of fucking nowhere. No one's going to hear you scream."

"The trucker–"

"He's not going to help you with his broken ribs and a concussion. You'll be dead before anyone gets here."

Maddie shakes her head, still standing her ground. Buck's having trouble following the conversation, his head pounding, but he sees the way determination settles in her shoulders.

"I'm not letting you hurt us anymore."

Doug starts walking towards them. He has a knife, Buck thinks, and it shines silver in the moonlight as he approaches. Maddie shakes, eyes trained on the man, finger at the trigger, and there's a second where Buck thinks that she's not going to do it. There's a second where Doug smiles, convinced he's already won.

And then a shot rings out.

Doug stops in his tracks, the smile dying on his face. He looks down at the growing dark stain on his chest.

"You bitch," He hisses, taking a step forward despite the gunshot wound. Except Maddie's crossed the line once and it's too easy to pull the trigger again. She hits the shoulder this time, Doug staggering backwards. She shoots again, missing by inches, and then again, hitting his stomach.

The next pull of the trigger is only accompanied with a soft click that makes her breath catch in her throat. Maddie's out of bullets and Doug's still standing. Probably out of pure spite. She scoots closer to Buck, ready to protect him with her own body if she has to, the gun in her hand nothing but a blunt object to defend herself with. Doug tries to come closer, but it's like his legs aren't working, bringing him to his knees.

And then he falls, face first, his body making a thud when it hits the ground.

It's over, just like that.

He's not getting up. There's a growing pool of blood on the snow.

God, it's over.

"Buck," She breathes out, dropping the gun, hands coming back up to his face. He's barely been keeping his eyes open, but her touch feels nice, so he closes them again. "We're safe, okay, just hang on. Hang on for me, Evan, please."

He really does try.

He thinks he hears a siren before he passes out again, Maddie's cries falling on deaf ears.

"Possible TBI and concussion, he was pistol whipped and then in a car accident." Maddie swallows, doing her best to speak clearly. "He was bleeding out for a long time."

The paramedic nods at his partners, who take care of Buck, and leads her away, helping her when she stumbles over the uneven ground.

"What about you?" He asks, flashing a light in her eyes.

"He hit me a few times and I think my arm is broken," She admits. "But I can wait, you have to help Buck, he's–"

"He's being taken care of," He interrupts her. "Let's get you in a sling so that you can ride with him, yeah?"

Maddie nods, tears filling her eyes again.

"How's the other driver?" She asks, only now remembering that she caused the accident and feeling horrible about it.

"Stable and already on the way to the hospital," The paramedic replies, working on her hand with practiced ease. "Nothing life threatening."

Maddie closes her eyes and nods.

"And him?" She asks after a moment, quieter.

The paramedic looks up and shakes his head. Maddie doesn't even feel relief. Just guilt.

Her arm hurts when he puts it in the sling, but she barely feels it. She feels numb. She just killed a man. She just killed her husband.

"Sergeant Grant," The paramedic says, looking up from Maddie's arm. Between one second and the next, Maddie's face to face with Athena. The moment she's finished checking her over and making sure Maddie's in one piece, Athena pulls her into a careful hug. Maddie, predictably, breaks.

"I'm sorry," She cries, burying her face in Athena's uniform. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to– They're all dead because of me." Now that she started, she can't stop crying, sobs wracking her body.

"Who's dead, Maddie?" Athena pulls away, her face pinched in concern. "What are you talking about?"

"Doug a–and Chim–" She has to stop to take a breath, chest heaving. "Buck's hurt–"

"Maddie, Chimney's alive," Athena says, holding onto her shoulders. "Chimney's out of surgery and expected to wake up any second now. He's alright."

Maddie only cries harder for reasons she herself can't comprehend.

"Buck is going to be okay," Athena promises her, pulling her back into a hug. "He's strong. You did good, Maddie, you kept him safe. You can rest now."

Despite everything, she does. In the ambulance, with Athena holding her close and Buck's hand between hers, Maddie allows herself a moment to rest.

Eddie's first thought when he sees Maddie is that she looks awful, her face covered in cuts and bruises. His second thought is: Where's Buck?

For a second, he's sure he's about to hear the worst news of his life. Christopher tenses in his arms, just as scared as he is, everyone in the hall looking to Maddie for answers.

"He's okay," She says shakily and it's like a heavy weight is lifted off of Eddie's chest. "He's sleeping off a concussion and some bruising, but he's okay. Athena's staying with him for now." She looks at the door to Chimney's room, eyebrows furrowed sadly. "Can I see him?"

"He hasn't woken up yet," Hen warns, but leads her inside. They've all been inside to see Chimney at this point, but didn't want to crowd him while the doctors were still monitoring his state.

Eddie just sits there, unsure of what he's supposed to do now. He needs to see Buck, that's all he knows. Christopher is tugging at his hand, clearly thinking the same thing.

"We have to–" He starts and Bobby immediately nods his head in understanding.

"Go. I'll be there soon."

Finding his room feels like it takes forever even though it's just a few minutes. When he finally enters the room with Chris in his arms and something like fear swirling in his stomach, he sees Athena first. She's still in uniform, keeping watch over the bed as if someone would try to take Buck again.

And, God, Buck.

There's a white bandage wrapped around his head and he looks too pale and too small in the hospital bed. He looks sick and hurt and so unlike himself that it breaks Eddie's heart.

"Buck!" Chris calls, as if hoping to wake him up. Eddie breathes in and steps inside, him and Athena exchanging a nod, and sits down in the opposite chair. He scoots closer, allowing Chris to reach out and rest his hand on Buck's arm.

"He's going to be asleep for a while," Athena tells him gently. "He needs to rest and recover."

"But he'll be okay?" Chris asks, eyes firmly set on Buck.

"The doctors were positive he was going to be fine," Athena confirms and smiles warmly. "How about I leave you three alone and go visit Chimney?"

"Thank you," Eddie tells her quietly before she leaves.

Athena only shakes her head and says: "Thank Maddie. It was all her."

Eddie will, once he's sure Buck won't disappear the moment he looks away from him. Carefully, he takes the man's hand in his, thumb brushing over his bruised knuckles.

They only sit there for a minute before Chris shifts in his lap and says: "Buck?"

Eddie looks up, heart coming up to his throat. But it's just his eyes, fluttering open, squinting at all the light. He groans quietly, looking around, but when his eyes finally settle on Eddie and Chris, he calms down.

"You're in the hospital. Maddie's fine, she's with Chimney," Eddie says quickly, squeezing the palm of Buck's hand where he's pretty sure he won't hurt him. "You can sleep. We're here. We're not leaving."

He thinks Buck smiles weakly before his eyes close. He really does need his rest.

Eddie whispers an I love you into the silent hospital room and hopes that he'll get to hear Buck say it back soon.

The first thing Chimney says to her is "Hi."

In Maddie's defense, she's had a very long day. She can't really help the tears that gathered in her eyes from falling as she smiles and says it back.

"Hi." She reaches out for his hand and holds onto it, sighing quietly in relief when Chim squeezes back. "I thought you were dead," She tells him, barely keeping her composure. "I thought he–"

"I thought you were gone," Chimney replies, just as shaken. "You're okay?"

"I'm fine, it's just– Just my arm and a minor concussion. Are you?"

"Been better," Chim admits, smiling weakly. "It's no rebar, that's for sure."

"I'm so glad you're okay." Maddie shakes her head, pressing her lips together. When Doug told her about what he'd done– She was convinced Chimney was dead. And that it had been all her fault.

"I'm so glad I got you back," Chim admits, looking up at her. And Maddie can't really stop herself – she rarely can around Chimney – when she leans down to kiss him. A soft oh escapes her mouth when his hand comes up to cup her face and she smiles into it, tasting her own tears and not minding it. When they stop they don't pull apart, Chimney resting his forehead against hers instead.

It's perfect, despite everything.

Buck's released from the hospital after two days. His scans come back clean and his concussion isn't getting any worse, so all in all, he's extremely lucky. At least that's what the doctors tell him, considering the amount of head trauma he sustained. And, you know, the part where Doug wanted to kill him.

Maddie and Eddie are both there to help him get dressed (which really isn't necessary but he's never going to complain about Eddie having to get close and personal for any reason whatsoever) and to make sure he listens to all of the doctor's orders. Maddie's arm is still in a sling, so when they finally leave the hospital, she and Buck wait for Eddie to bring the car around.

Neither of them had trouble with the police, mostly thanks to Athena. Buck's pretty sure the case would drag on for far longer if not for her involvement. There were a lot of uncomfortable interviews and questions that Buck either couldn't or really didn't want to answer. He had to tell them everything, as did Maddie. About her marriage, about the time they all lived together, about why they decided to run away.

But it's finally over. Doug is dead. He can't hurt them anymore. Neither of them has wounds that time won't heal.

And they have each other.

Maddie nudges him with her elbow, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Ready to go home?" She asks, smiling despite the scabbing cut on her lip.

"I'm staying at Eddie's," Buck reminds her, because they'd all decided it was the smartest course of action. Maddie was going to have her hands full with Chimney, who, thank God, was recovering well, but Buck's concussion still needed to be monitored. Staying at Eddie's just seemed like the easiest choice.

"Exactly."

"Shut up," Buck mumbles, cheeks warming. "As if you're not moving into your boyfriend's place literally as we speak."

"Shut up," Maddie replies, but she's smiling brightly. She leans into him, careful with her sling, and Buck throws an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"Don't ever scare me like this again," He says, squeezing her shoulder.

"No, you don't ever scare me like this again," She argues.

"Let's just not scare each other with near death experiences in general."

"Promise?" She offers her little finger, squinting against the sun as she looks up.

"Promise." Buck nods and intertwines their fingers. "United front, right?"

"United front," Maddie agrees, smiling softly.

Right then, Buck decides that as long as he has his big sister, everything really is going to be alright.