Suspicion.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT , THE TASTE OF COPPER

a/n : oh boy...

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It has been almost an hour.

And Buck was relentless. The soft nips at her inner thighs, the small groans coming from him. Those were things that would normally turn Emery on. But with her meds being upped, she definitely wasn't feeling up for anything sexual. She appreciates the attempt to turn her on, at least.

"Anything?"

Emery keeps her eyes on the ceiling and softly hums. "Would it make you feel better if I just faked it?"

"God, no." Buck exhales. He pulls the blanket off his face. Emery looks down, meeting Buck's face. She then laughs, "You're so sweaty. Please come up here."

"Should I say something to help? A favorite word?" Buck shrugs. "Mitochondria? Puddle? A+?"

Emery drags her teeth across her lower lip and softly smiles. "You're sweet and I love that you want to take care of me, but..." she pulls her eyes away from his and looks at the ceiling. Buck tilts his head, "Hey, talk to me."

"I'm just not feeling it, right now," Emery says. "It's not like I'm not mentally there, I'm just...not sexually there."

Buck chuckles and climbs out from the blanket. "That's okay."

Emery pulls her brows together. "Well, why are you smiling?"

"Because I'm proud of you for talking to me." Buck meets her timid gaze.

Emery rolls her eyes but she pokes her tongue into her cheek in order to keep herself from smiling. "You say that all the time. That you're proud."

"And I will continue to say it." Buck shifts his eyes back and forth across hers. Emery's heart accelerates and she softly giggles.

Buck gives her a small smile and moves a curly hair out of her face. "When your meds are increased or whenever you start taking them again. Does the low sex drive happen every time?"

Emery looks at the ceiling, thinking. "No, there was this one time it didn't happen and I was like a fucking rabbit—"

"You're disgusting." Buck nudges her away from him. Emery laughs as she rolls away from him. "Pull me back! Pull me back!" Buck gently grabs her wrist and pulls her towards him until she is in his arms. Emery softly giggles and tilts her head up at Buck. He looks down at Emery, and a smile graces his lips.

The past month has been hard with Emery transitioning to a stronger dosage of medication. But the two have been making it work. It's been a lot of Emery telling Buck about every little thing that's been on her mind, and it's been a lot of Buck just listening without trying to "fix her". If Emery wanted to talk to someone and hear advice on what she was talking about, she would talk to Dr. Martin.

Which she does. Every week.

She was lucky she had Dr. Martin, but in all honesty, she wouldn't have done it without Buck.

Emery tilts her head up at him, meeting his gaze. "Thank you for being here with me." She softly speaks. "I know I haven't been the easiest to deal with when my meds were off, and trying to get back on track wasn't easy."

"So, thank you for sticking by my side."

Buck looks across Emery's face. There was a slight look of disbelief across his face. Of course, he stuck by her side. He didn't even think about not being there for her. Even with the number of stink eyes, Wren threw his way, he stayed. He would never leave.

Buck presses his forehead against hers, and Emery's throat tightens. "I will always take care of you, you know that?" His voice was soft. "No matter what."

Emery's lower lip quivers. "I love you."

"I love you too, Emi." He kisses her forehead and pulls her into an even tighter embrace. "So much."

...

"Circuit must've overloaded from all these power cords." Bobby looks over at the Paramedic. "Emery, how's our bride doing?"

"Just a second," Emery calls out. She gently helps the woman sit up. "Here we go..."

The bride coughs a couple of times and looks around the room with wide eyes. "Wh-what happened?"

"You experienced an electrical shock and passed out."

"Is this a polygraph machine?" Bobby asks.

Emery chuckles, "Cap, I don't think anyone would actually have a—"

"Um, yeah." The woman says.

Emery snaps her eyes over to the woman. "What?" She looks at the stand Bobby was looking at and Emery's eyes light up.

"Ooh!" Emery grabs Chimney's arms. "Tag in for me, would you?" She stands up and runs over to the polygraph. "Okay, well, it's a bit charred." She puts her hands on her lap.

"When did you become a big fan of polygraphs?" Eddie asks.

Emery turns to him, "Always have been." She points at it. "A machine where I can ask anyone anything, and I can see if they're lying to me? That would resolve all of my issues."

"Would it?"

Emery turns to Buck and squints her eyes. "Okay, not all of the—"

"Maybe like a good 2 issues." Eddie frowns. Emery wrinkles her nose. "Okay, this was "look at the polygraph" time. Not "Count Emery and her issues through the mud" time." She scoffs. "Asses."

Emery walks back over to the bride. "Chim, tag me back in."

"Oh. Oh no." Chimney laughs. "You wanted your time with the polygraph—"

"I-Is it still working?" The bride asks.

Emery purses her lips and shrugs a shoulder. "If you're hungry for some barbecue."

Chimney laughs, and Emery snorts. "Nice!"

"Right?"

Emery raises her hands, and so does Chimney. Before he could high-five her hand, he stopped. "Oh...you almost got me."

"What do you mean?" Emery blinks.

Chimney wags his finger, "Trying to get me to tag you in. Oh, you sneaky girl."

"One. I did not try to trick you; how could you say that? And two. If I'm to be referred to as "sneaky, at least call me a sneaky woman."

Chimney slowly nods his head, still unconvinced. "Oh, sure! I'll get right on that."

Hen and Chimney help the bride adjust to a more comfortable position, and Emery drops her shoulders. She was totally trying to tag herself in, and it didn't work. Dammit.

"Wait, so did we ever figure out why there's a polygraph in here?" Buck says. "I thought someone was getting ready for a wedding."

"Is this some kind of reality show?" Eddie suspiciously looks around the room, looking for a camera.

"Got a nasty exit wound on the sole of her foot from the electricity." Chimney examined her foot. "She probably absorbed at least 1800 watts."

"Bethany's just a little nervous about her big day. Wanting everything to be just right." The mother's voice from the side of the room.

One of the bridesmaids speaks, "She thinks one of us is a saboteur, mocking her online anonymously."

"One of you is." She points accusingly. "And I am gonna find out who "Trapped_By_Bridezilla_One-hundred-percent" is. Before I walk down the aisle."

Emery claps her hands, causing everyone in the room to jump. "That is exactly right!" She points at the bride. "The only way to find this monster is to ween them out."

The bride shifts her entire attention to Emery, relieved that someone was on her level.

"And I have a friend who's a detective. I can get you a new polygraph machine right now." Emery assures the woman. "You'll find the culprit in no time."

"Em, you cannot be serious." Eddie laughs.

"This is her wedding day, Edmundo."  Emery snaps her eyes over to Eddie, who tenses. "How is today supposed to be special, when she can't trust anyone in this room?" She then looks at the bride. "I would question your mother first."

"Excuse me?!" The mom pops up from her seat.

"Emerson!" Bobby calls out.

Emery rolls her eyes, "Listen to me. It's always the ones closest to you." She nods her head. "And that's not just my mommy issues talking, okay?"

The bride slowly turns to her mom, who swallows and sits back down. "This is ridiculous."

"Emery, I'm sorry. But I can't allow you to bring a polygraph machine in here." Bobby chuckles.

Emery opens her mouth, "But, Cap. She needs our help."

"The only thing she needs is an ER." Hen states. She looks at the bride. "There's no telling what that current did to you internally. We're gonna need to take you to the hospital for an ECG."

The bride pulls her hand out of Hen's and erratically laughs. "Unacceptable." She stumbles onto her feet while everyone tells her to sit back down. "Because I—"

"Ma'am, Ma'am!" Chimney winces at the woman.

"You poked the bear," Buck says.

Emery scoffs, "Oh, please. I'm helping her thin out the herd to find this traitor." She looks at the mom. "I still think it's her."

Hen and Chimney grab her arms.

"I'm getting married in less than two hours." She turns to everyone. "How's my makeup."

"Charred."

Eddie nudges the woman and she grunts.

"But I'm sure someone can help you with that." Emery gives her a pained smile. She jumps at the reflection of herself. But she quickly recovers and motions to her face. "Right, right. Cause we can just paint a new eyebrow on, right?"

"Yeah! I-I mean, I saw this makeup thing online and this woman made her face look like a skull." Buck says. "It was cool."

"You went down the rabbit hole, didn't you?" Emery smirks.

Buck exhales, "Yeah, that first video you showed me had me hooked."

Emery giggles with a triumphant smile on her face. "We'll just do a photo shoot after our honeymoon."

Emery smiles and nods her head.

"Yeah. Today, you have the veil." Eddie pronounces.

"Right. So, the only thing left to address is the snitch." The bride refocuses on her mission.

"Sweetie, can't we just let it go and celebrate the happiest day of our lives?"

"Our lives?" Emery points at the mom. Buck quickly lowers her hand. Emery turns to her boyfriend then Eddie. "Suspicious!"

"My life. My day." The bride seethes. "And I'm not going down the aisle when there is a traitor in my midst."

"I love the word midst." Emery shivers. "It gets me going."

"That's disgusting." Eddie chuckles. "Midst? Really? I can justify puddle and mitochondria, but Midst?"

"Don't forget risotto." Emery holds up a finger.

Eddie rolls his eyes and softly laughs.

The mom groans, "It was me!"

Emery ships her head around and points at the woman. "Aha!" She shakes her head and wags her finger. "I knew it—I knew it!"

"I'm Trapped_By_Bridezilla_One-hundred-percent!"

Emery shakes her head, "You can never trust mothers." She clicks her tongue.

"Okay, now you're just being biased," Eddie says.

Emery turns to Eddie, "Didn't your mother try to convince you to let Chris live with them?"

Eddie frowns, "Huh..."

"I'm Trapped_By_Bridezilla_One-hundred-percent." A bridesmaid stands beside the mom.

Emery raises her brows and a goofy smile forms on her lips. "First a polygraph machine, then a mystery, and now Spartacus? This might be the greatest day ever—and I didn't even have sex."

"Definitely TMI," Eddie says.

Buck squints his eyes at Eddie and he rolls his eyes. "I meant for being on a call."

Buck nods in agreement.

"I-I'm Trapped_By_Bridezilla_One-hundred-percent." Another bridesmaid steps up.

Simultaneously, Emery and Chimney take a small step forward. But Hen holds a hand out to Chimney while Eddie and Buck grab Emery's arms.

"Dammit! We're not doing Spartacus! I actually am Trapped_By_Bridezilla_One-hundred-percent." The mom spits. "Because have I been in hell this last year with you."

"Betrayer!"

"I always suspected we were too lenient with you, Bethany, that we spoiled you too much. But dear God, you're a monster."

"That's it!" The bride grabs the drink from her mother. "You are officially excommunicated from the wedding—"

"But I'm paying for it!"

"Well, the check's already cleared." She turns her mother and guides her out of the room. "So, I want you gone!"

Emery frowns, "You also trashed your daughter online because she was being a Bridezilla. Which I'm sure most brides are known for on their wedding day."

"All of you! Get out!" The bride shrieks.

The firefighters jump and quickly depart. "All I need are new eyebrows and my dress."

"Yeah...about that." Bobby points to what is supposed to be a beautiful wedding gown. The bride turns and sees a burnt wedding dress. The bride's face drops in horror and she screams.

"Sorry."

"Good luck with the wedding."

As soon as everyone left the room, Emery huffed. "That's it. For my wedding, it's official. No mothers." She shakes her head and walks down the hall.

Eddie pulls his brows together. "I didn't know you guys were thinking about marriage."

Buck's heartbeat was already pounding through his ears. "We weren't. We never have." He looks at Eddie, his expression reading "caught off guard". He then runs after the woman.

Buck makes it outside and he watches Emery walk to the ambulance with a pep in her step. His palms began to grow sweaty and he could hardly think about how he was going to phrase this question. Getting married was the last thing Buck thought was on Emery's mind. Especially after these last few months of him not being there for her when she needed it.

Buck feels a fear cloud over him. Maybe she was thinking about someone else? He pulls himself from his thoughts and swallows. He wasn't going to get answers standing over here.

Buck cautiously walked over to the woman, who was humming to herself.

"So...a wedding. Y-You've thought about it?" There was a slight squeak in his first word.

Emery pokes her tongue against her cheek to keep herself from smiling. Of course, Emery has thought about having a wedding. From her last marriage to her current relationship. It's basically all she could think about now.

"Yeah. Helena and I decided to elope. So, no friends or family besides Amaya and Wren." She leans against the ambulance and stares at Buck. "Why do you ask?"

Buck's heartbeat began to increase, and his mouth went dry. Everything became louder in his ears. His breathing, his heartbeat, that annoying voice that was telling him to "shut up".

"No reason, it's just..." Buck looks away for a second before looking at the smirking woman. "Have you thought of what your dream wedding would look like?"

Emery inhales a soft breath and holds it for a moment to control her pounding heartbeat. "Of course, I have. I am me, after all." She pushes herself off the ambulance and taps it a few times. "Granted, I've had to make a few adjustments over the years. But, it's perfect."

Buck swallows. He knows that Emery loves to plan every minute detail, but he could still make decisions about their wedding, right? Of course, he was talking about their wedding. He's thought about marrying this woman for years.

"And I would obviously let you decide what flowers would be best," Emery says, her eyes on the sky. Buck looks back at Emery, noticing the small smile across her lips. Emery couldn't stop her smile. "We would both do the cake tasting—"

"Obviously." Buck nods his head.

"But you would still make the final decision." Emery turns to him at the same time he turns to her.

"You really would want that?" Buck asks. "Me. Making decisions?"

Emery blankly tilts her head. "Of course, I know there are a lot of ideas I have in my head and in my binder, but...obviously if you think something otherwise, you would tell me." Her eyes were soft, and there was a warm smile across her lips that made Buck's heart melt.

"As much as I like taking control, I need someone to...take charge sometimes, I don't mind it." Emery giggles. "And it's okay to not be in control all the time. Someone taught me that."

Buck's shoulders sag slightly out of amazement. "Emerson Bailey Sharpe, I love you so much." He cups her face. Emery laughs and lightly touches his wrist that was cupping her face. "And I love you."

Recently, the 'No PDA' rule at the fire station has tightened due to the couple's need to kiss after one of them leaves the room. So, the last thing the two wanted was to kiss after wrapping up a call. Then again...they did just admit to thinking about marriage.

Emery presses her lips against Buck's, and a soft moan escapes his lips. Buck slightly parts his lips and kisses her back, his hand sliding to her waist. He lightly squeezes it and Emery softly giggles. She pulls her lips from his and meets his eyes. "In a couple of weeks...maybe months--you do that again, and I will be all over you."

Buck softly laughs, "Yeah..." he then pulls his brows together. "wait months?"

Emery sighs, "Yeah, that's usually how this thing goes."

"Y-You're kidding, right?"

Emery searches his eyes, and she wrinkles her nose. "Evan, don't be a horndog." she then shakes her head. "It's unbecoming of you."

Emery walks past him, and Buck's frown deepens. "You can't use my word of the day on me! That's not how it works."

"Oh really?" Emery turns to him, now walking backward. "Then why did I just do it?"

"Well, uh, you're being flippant."

Emery stops in her tracks, "You just used my word of the day."

Buck crosses his arms, "Not so nice now, is it?"

Emery's face lights up, "Are you kidding? That is the hottest thing ever."

The blonde wasn't even surprised. He just hangs his head low and laughs. "Of course it is."

He catches up to her. "So, since we both are going to be making decisions for this wedding..."

"Yes," Emery nods her head. "We would both have clipboards."

Buck raises his hands and jumps up and down, causing Emery to laugh. "And headsets?"

Emery blinks at the man with an incredulous expression. "Evan. That goes without saying."

☆

"So, you proposed?"

Emery rolls her eyes, "No. I didn't propose." She looks at Chimney while they both walk up the stairs. "I mean, I guess I proposed the idea of us having a wedding, but that's it."

Chimney slowly nods his head, "And is there a deadline for this 'proposal'?"

Emery's face gets hot when he notices the teasing smirk on Chimney's face. "No!" she straightens her uniform. They both get to the top level. "I'm fine with waiting," she shrugs. "We only just recently said 'I love you". Weddings are...too fast."

"So, are kids--"

"Who said anything about kids?" Emery grabs his shoulder. "Did Evan say something?"

Chimney's eyes widen seeing Emery's eyes practically bulging out of her head. "Oh, my god," he harshly whispers. "Have you thought about kids with him?"

"No..." Emery pulls her hand off of Chimney, and he painfully rubs his shoulder. She shifts and places her hands on her hips. "What does it matter anyway? You and Maddie weren't thinking about kids, and look now. Beautiful Jee-Yun."

Chimney nods his head, "We were also with each other for a little over a year."

Emery hums, "Obviously, I don't want these things right now, okay?" she softly speaks. "It's just nice thinking about the future."

Chimney's eyes soften. Despite him giving Emery and Buck a hard time, he thinks they're great together. And seeing Emery happy about the future, something she hadn't thought about in a long time, was nice to see. Emery pulls her brows together when Chimney's eyes start to shine. "Are you...crying?"

"No..." Chimney looks away from her and wipes his eyes. Emery smiles, "Aw, you love me and you're happy for me!" She wraps her arms around Chimney, pinning his arms to his sides. Chimney sighs and hangs his head low. "Oh, god--you're initiating a hug?"

"I know," Emery hums softly and places her cheek against his shoulder. "who knew that this day would come?"

Emery and Chimney finally noticed that Hen was on the phone, most likely speaking to her mom. Hen had told the team about her mother's fall. They had been asking in detail about anything new. But Hen honestly didn't know herself.

With her arms still around Chimney, they both scoot over to the couch where Hen is. "Are you going to let me go?"

"Your shoulder is soft," Emery says. "Maddie said it was nice to lay her head on your shoulders but damn. I didn't know it was this nice."

"Buck's are all broad and...strong."

Chimney pulls his brows together at the comparison. "Eddie's are all...well, you know."

"No, I don't know." Chimney looks at the girl. He finally sets out of the hug, and Emery pushes out her lower lip. "And I don't like your choice of words for Buck's shoulders--what about my shoulders, Em?"

Emery blinks at the passion he used to speak. "I was thinking that they were kind and gentle."

Chimney sighs, "That's sweet."

Emery smiles, her dimples deepening. The two Paramedics finally sit on the couch across from Hen. The woman looks at her phone in disbelief, "Aaand she hung up on me."

Chimney laughs, "Take it as a positive sign." he reaches for a book, but Emery grabs it first. "Must mean she's feeling better," she finishes his sentence.

"You're bugging me today." Chimney sighs. Emery bunches her shoulders. "What can I say? I guess I'm feeling better too," she looks at Hen. "The real question is. How are you doing?"

Hen lets out a breath, "Fine."

Emery and Chimney look at each other. The woman sets the book back on the table. They both turn to Hen with their undivided attention.

"I'm still a little freaked out not knowing what's wrong with my mom." Hen admits.

"Well, maybe you should take her to see a specialist." Chimney suggests.

"I would, but I need to have some idea of what's wrong first," Hen explains with frustration embedded in her chest. "And that doctor was no help. He practically dismissed us."

"Eh, you know how crazy it can get in the ER."

Simultaneously, Emery and Hen turn to Chimney with a pointed look. Chimney immediately speaks, "Not that I'm defending him, I'm just saying."

"He barely acknowledged we were in the room, Chim," Hen says. "And when I asked questions, he acted as if I offended him. Like "How dare you"?"

Emery's gaze softens. She remembers the many doctor visits with her father. The way the doctors brushed them off as if they didn't go through his last cancer scare.

"I mean, I hate to think it, but maybe our experience would have been different if he had looked more like us," Hen explains.

Chimney nods his head, understanding. "I was a 12-year-old Korean boy translating to the doctor on behalf of my sick mother. Makes you wonder how bad it is for a patient who doesn't have anyone, no one to advocate for them."

Emery slowly nods her head. "Having to use my firefighter title in a hospital to get my dad care should never have been something I had to do," she says. "Without that, I probably would've lost him sooner."

"That's why people like us can't put all our trust in doctors," Henrietta states. "Because they don't trust us. To know how we're feeling, to know when something's wrong. I know something's wrong."

"What you need are some brilliant medical minds to bounce ideas off of," Chimney says.

Emery chuckles, "Chim, thank you so much. But, I'm sure Hen could ask her friends who are currently in Medical school with her." She nudges his arm roughly and snorts. "This guy, am I right?"

Chimney grunts and rubs his arm. "Maddie's going to see these bruises, and I'm telling her you're beating me."

Emery gasps. "Then I'll just tell her you're sweet-talking me by calling me a 'medical mind'."

"I was talking about Hen's med school friends!" Chimney throws his arms up and sinks deeper into the couch. Emery follows his lead, throwing her arms up and sinking into the couch. Chimney looks at her and lets out a laugh of disbelief. "You're acting like this on purpose, aren't you?"

Emery scrunched her nose, "Of course, I am!" she giggled. "I wouldn't act like the annoying little sister for nothing. I wanted to try it out."

Suddenly, Hen laughs, which causes both Paramedics to look at the woman. "What's so funny?" Emery pulls her brows together.

"You have something on your shirt, that's why." Chimney points at Emery's shirt.

"No way!" Emery's jaw goes slack. "Evan flicked sauce on me and he told me that he used the Tide pen before he put it in."

"Em, don't look--"

Emeryy looks down, and Chimney smirks. He flicks her nose. Emery gasps, and her mouth stays wide open. "Chim..."

"I can't believe you looked down." Hen's laughter increases.

Emery growls and sinks onto her couch with her arms folded. Chimney smiles triumphantly, "She always looks down."

☆

Emery had decided to get to work early. Earlier than usual. She just wanted to do an early checklist to surprise everyone. They always tell her they hate the surprise checklists, but she knows they're lying (they're not lying).

Oddly enough, someone had beaten her to the early shift. Eddie couldn't sleep, and as soon as he told Emery why, she was ready to fight someone.

"She's been what?"

Emery's mouth drops open, olives falling out of her mouth. She jumps out of her chair, not caring about the mess for once. "What are you talking about--poisoning him?"

Eddie runs a hand through his hair. "There were some people on other GoFundMe pages she's created, and I tracked some of them down. She's been doing this for years."

"Where are the police in all of this?" Emery shakes her head. "Where is she now? Still in that danky-ass apartment?"

Eddie holds his hands out to the fuming woman. "Hold on."

Emerson Sharpe was a simple girl. She cares about people if someone has harmed them, of course. But if there was an animal or baby involved? Emery's prepared to go to jail.

"Em, hold on," Eddie says. "We need to think about this rationally, okay? Can I get rational, Emerson?"

Emery wrinkles her nose, "I hate that nickname, but yes." She inhales a deep breath and exhales. "Rational Em is here."

Emery scratches her brow, "Okay, we should. Call Social Services. Have them take a report. Rally the troops, and get Athena or Wren on the line. They're our fastest contacts to getting that bitch thrown into prison."

Eddie nods his head. Emery looks at her phone on her map. "Okay, Buck should be here in a minute," she follows Eddie's worried gaze. "Hey..." she reaches up and gently touches his arm. Eddie looks at the woman, and he lets out a small breath from her soft eyes.

"We're getting that kid out of there." Emery nods her head. "Yeah?"

Eddie inhales a shaky breath, "Yeah. Thanks, Em."

Emery gives him a small smile and walks down the stairs with him. Emery and Chimney had just walked into the station when they saw the two firefighters already in uniform. "Damn. You guys are early."

"Couldn't sleep." Eddie sighs.

"I just made a surprise checklist." Emery shrugs.

Chimney groans, "Emery, we have told you--and we have told you with nothing but love and respect. No one likes those, except for your boyfriend."

Buck bunches his shoulders and smiles. "I like that we all get clipboards."

Even with the current situation, Emery managed a soft smile. Emery looks at Eddie, "Uh, you want to take over?"

Eddie nods his head. Buck and Chimney exchange a look.

"You remember the mom the other day--Sheila?" Eddie questions. "With the sick kid?"

Buck and Chimney nod.

"He's not sick. Not really." Eddie states. "She's making him sick. Probably for years."

"Munchausen by proxy? That's a big accusation, Eddie." Chimney says.

"I tracked down some people that knew them before." Eddie continues to explain. "All signs point to it. The nonspecific autoimmune disease, the revolving door of doctors. He's frail, he's weak, he's always throwing up. She's poisoning him."

Buck and Chimney's faces simultaneously drop.

"Poisoning him? With what?" Buck asks.

Eddie shakes his head, unsure. But he quickly stops and thinks back. Emery pulls her brows together, "Eddie? What is it?"

"Eye drops," Eddie says. "I saw them in the kitchen."

"Eye drops. Tetrahydrozoline." Chimney speaks.

Emery's stomach clenches, "That could cause the symptoms you're talking about."

"It's lethal when it's ingested, doesn't show up on a standard toxicology report," Emery explains.

"You have to know to look for it to find it." Chimney adds.

"She's dosing him." Eddie seethes. "Not enough to kill him but enough to keep him sick."

"I called Social Services. They're coming here to take a report." Eddie says.

"Wh-why would she do that?" Buck questions.

"Well, sometimes it's to gain sympathy," Chimney says.

"Or maybe to make a profit," Eddie states. "I found multiple Fund Me pages. She's conning people out of their money."

Eddie's phone begins to ring, and he answers it. "Hello?"

"Eddie?"

Eddie pulls his brows together, and his worry increases. "Charlie? You okay?"

"I think I did a bad thing."

☆

"What about my mom? Will I see her at the hospital?"

Eddie glances at Emery and Buck, then he looks back at Charlie. "She's a little more sick. She's got to go to a different hospital. This is your ride."

From the other ambulance, Charlie's mom screams. "M-My baby! Where's my baby?" as she continues to cry, the doors close on her.

Emery blows out a puff of air, and her eyes widen. "Karma. It's a real thing," she points between the two men.

Eddie lets out a heavy breath he had been holding in. "Should've gotten here sooner."

"That kid is just lucky he met you," Buck says.

Emery nods, "Yeah, without you, we wouldn't have known what was going on with Charlie." She gives him a small smile. "You saved his life, Eddie."

"And that mom's," Buck adds.

"Oh, sweetie..." Emery shakes her head. "No one cares about that mom."

Buck thinks for a moment, he looks at the ambulance driving away with the mom and clicks his tongue. "Yeah, you're right."

Eddie softly laughs and shakes his head. "You two are terrible."

"Oh, stop it." Emery wraps her arms around Buck. "You love us."

Eddie waves a hand, "Yeah, yeah..."

"Diaz, you want to ride with the kid to the hospital?" Mehta calls out from the side of the fire engine. Emery takes her hand off from around Buck and looks at the Captain.

Eddie glances at the ambulance and nods. "Yeah. That'd be gr--"

Emery easily recognized the sound of the boom. It was a similar sound when Joe fired his gun before the bullet hit her. But it was quieter than a pistol. But by the time Emery had recognized the sound of a gun firing off, the bullet had already made its way into its victim.

Emery could taste copper. Her hand touches her lip, feeling the wetness across her lip. She looks down at the crimson-red blood and her brows furrow. Emery looks down at her body, blood across her uniform. But she was fine. Emery lifts her gaze and meets Eddie's glazed eyes and her eyes shift to his should that was leaking blood.

Her mouth drops open, and a ringing echoes through her ears. Eddie stared back at the two, staggering for what felt like hours. His body hits the dark pavement, blood spilling from his wound and onto the blacktop. Emery watches as Eddie's eyes flutter, and yet she's still frozen. He was on the ground and she couldn't move.

"Get Down!"

It's like noise had burst through her ears. Everything felt real again, and Emery was back in control. For the first time since the gun fired, Emery looks at Buck, whose eyes are still on Eddie's. The woman wraps her arms around Buck and pulls him to the side of the fire truck as another gunshot rings through the air.

"Shots fired," Mehta speaks into his walkie, his breathing ragged and panicked. "Shots fired. A firefighter is down--I repeat, a firefighter is down!"

Despite the chaos, everything in Buck's mind was distorted. His eyes didn't leave Eddie's body. Nothing rang through Buck's ears. He couldn't hear anything. That is until he heard his girlfriend's screams. He pulls his eyes off Eddie and looks at Emery. Just like him, her face was splattered with Eddie's blood. "Emi...?" his eyes travel over her body, finally seeing the blood leaving her arm. "Emerson?!" his eyes widen, and his breathing quickens. Buck cups her face and forces her eyes onto his teary ones. Emery could feel the tremble in his hands as he held her face.

"I-I'm okay." Emery shakily reassures. She inhales, "We need to get to him--Eddie, we have to--"

"Stand down, Sharpe," Mehta says.

Emery huffs and looks at the man. Even with her pain and her own blood across her face, she glares at the man. "Eddie, my best friend--our best friend is bleeding out, and we haven't gotten to him. I have to..." She inhales a breath and looks back at Eddie's lifeless body, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Her eyes fill with tears. "We have to get him back."

Buck's jaw clenches, and his eyes shift back to Eddie. Before anyone else could say anything, Buck rolled underneath the fire engine and crawled toward Eddie's body. Emery ignores the frantic cries of civilians on the street, she just watches Buck closely. Buck grabs Eddie's arm and pulls him under the rig.

Buck gets out from under the rig and pulls Eddie out. Eddie lets out a pain-filled scream from the pain flaring in his arm once again. Mehta helps Emery onto her feet, and she lets out a breath of relief. Buck picks Eddie up and throws him over his shoulder.

"Get him in the cabin!" Mehta shouts. Emery ducks behind the engine's door while she keeps the door open for Buck to lay Eddie inside. A bullet hits the window, shattering it. Glass shards land on her head and uniform. Buck quickly steps out of the rig and helps Emery into the rig. She keeps hold of his hand, pulling him inside. As soon as everyone jumped into the vehicle, it sped down the street away from the gunfire.

Emery stares down at Eddie with teary eyes. Buck rips open Eddie's shirt and looks around. "O-Okay, we have to..." Emery sucks in a pain-filled breath. "Fuck, where is the gauze?!"

Emery didn't know what was worse. Her pain or seeing Eddie come in and out of consciousness.

"It's okay." Buck softly assures her. He grabs the gauze and presses it against Eddie's wound.

"Eddie, stay with us, okay?" Emery's words were rushed and slurring.

Eddie's glazed eyes weakly shift between Buck and Emery. "A-Are you hurt..."

"No." Emery quickly speaks. "No, we are okay."

"Hurry up!" Emery cries out.

Another firefighter looks at the woman's bullet wound. "Sharpe, you need to sit down and let us--"

"Fuck you, I don't need to sit down." Emery unintentionally snaps. "We need to stop his bleeding!"

"Emerson."

Emery turned to Buck, and his eyes were wide, but there were sheets of tears blinding his eyes. Begging her to rest. Emery's anger simmers, and she exhales, reading his eyes. She looks down at Eddie, and she bites her lower lip. "Okay," she says, sitting down. As soon as she sits, the firefighter cuts her arm sleeve, revealing her wound.

Emery's teary eyes stay glued to Buck and Eddie the entire ride to the hospital.

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

The ending of this episode always makes me CRY

Butttt let's talk about something else—EmiBuck wedding in the future?? 🤭

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