Survivors.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE , WHO DUNNIT?

a/n : ATTENTION!!! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF SEASON 4 🗣️

Enjoy 🫶🏾

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As soon as the fire truck stopped, nurses and doctors flooded out of the hospital. Buck pushes out of the fire engine and waves his hand over to them. "Over here—Over here!"

One of the firefighters helps Emery up, and she weakly shakes her head. Emery steps out of the rig and weakly leans against the side. Mehta grabs Emery's arm, "She's right here!"

"No. No. Help Eddie first." She looks at Mehta.

As soon as the nurses approach with the stretcher, Buck and Mehta help Eddie out of the fire engine. "Through and through! Upper torso—large caliber!"

"We've got a transfusion ready." The doctor looks at Mehta. "Did you say large caliber?"

"It was a sniper." Emery swallows. Her eyes follow Eddie's body as he rolled into the hospital.

"Sharpe..." Mehta looks at the woman's arm.

"Evan." Emery walks over to her boyfriend. His eyes were glossed with tears, and they stayed on the hospital glass doors. Emery's lower lip quivers, and she gently grabs his arm.

Buck pulls his eyes from the building and looks at Emery. He sniffles, "Let's get you inside."

Emery's eyes were shaky, and so were her hands. "Is he gonna be okay?" She shakes her head. "Do you think—"

Buck cups Emery's face, and her words halt. She focuses on his face, which still has Eddie's blood painted on. Buck's eyes had tears blurring his vision. "I need to get you inside, p-please." There was a weak and desperate breath hanging off his words that caused Emery's heart to hurt.

Eddie's life was currently hanging in the balance, and Emery could feel how fuzzy her brain was. The last thing she wanted was Buck to be worried about her, too.

Emery nods her head, "Okay." She whispers.

Buck lets out a small relieved breath and helps her inside with Mehta. Emery lifts her eyes to Buck, "You should get cleaned up."

"So, should you." Buck softly retorts. As soon as they enter the chaotic hospital. "I need a doctor!"

Emery weakly lays her head against Buck's arm. "After they check me in. You should go and get changed." She softly murmurs.

"I'll do that once I know you and Eddie are going to be okay," Buck says.

A nurse runs over to them. "You were with firefighter Diaz?" He asks.

Emery begins to zone out as Buck describes her gunshot wound and what happened. She didn't realize she was being guided to a stretcher. Once they start wheeling her through the doors, Emery's heart drops, and she shifts her eyes to Buck. "W-Wait—"

"I'm right here," Buck says, following after her. "It's okay—"

"Sir, we can't have you come in with her." The nurse says to Buck.

"B-But..." Buck pulls his brows together and his eyes shift back to Emery. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were wide with fear. All she wanted was Buck to be by her side. And Buck wanted the same thing. He was going to stay with her, no matter what it took to get it.

"She's my wife." Buck quickly blurts out. "Please."

The nurse's eyes soften, and she looks between the couple. Emery's panicked and weary eyes never leave Buck's. The nurse could see the yearning to be by each other's side. Normally, she would feel torn by the decision, but this was a no-brainer.

"Fine, come on. You stay on the other side of that window until her surgery is done."

Buck lets out a breath and nods his head. "Thank you so much."

☆

When she got the phone call about Eddie and Emery being shot, Wren immediately grabbed her phone and called Buck. When she didn't receive an answer, she called Hen, and the woman told her what she knew so far. And it wasn't much. No one knew anything.

Wren had stopped by the hospital to talk to Emery, but she was in surgery, as well as Eddie. While the two first responders were in surgery, there was another firefighter who was rolled in. Seeing that another firefighter was shot solidified Wren's decision to go to the scene where the shooting occurred.

As soon as Wren arrived, she was met with Athena and another Detective.

"Marshall."

Wren holds out her hand, "Sergeant Grant, Detective Denvers, right?"

Athena shakes Wren's hand first, then Denvers. The Sergeant looks across Wren's face. "Have you heard anything from Emerson?"

Wren tenses, "No, she's still in surgery. So is Eddie. I was going to wait, but I saw another victim and..." she sucks in a breath and hesitates. "I needed to help. Or do something."

Athena's gaze softens. "I understand," she grips Wren's shoulder. "We'll find out who did this."

Wren gives her a strong nod. "Was there any footage?"

"We were just about to look at it," Denvers speaks, lifting the tablet. "Take a look."

Wren stands beside Athena and looks at the screen.

"They were responding to a fender-bender when the shooting started." Denver's explains. Wren watches the screen closely.

"You see it?"

"The police, the bystanders, the two drivers." Athens lists off. "Shooter had plenty of potential targets if he was looking for someone random."

"Yeah, but he didn't take the shot. He waited."

"Until Fire and Rescue arrived," Wren adds. "He's targeting firefighters."

...

"You can go in and see her now."

Buck swallows the hard lump in his throat and nods his head. He mutters out a soft, "Thank you" before walking towards the door. His hands were trembling, and yet he still managed to knock on the door.

It had been 4 long hours since Emery and Eddie were wheeled away to different ORs. All he could do was pace. Not a lot of people were in the hospital due to the pandemic rules still being upheld, so he was grateful that he could wait in the hall. Buck's head was spinning. It has been since he felt Eddie's blood splatter across his face. His skin began to crawl just remembering how pale Eddie's face got.

Then there was Emery...

Even though the doctor said her injury wasn't as bad as Eddie's, the moment he heard her scream of pain, it felt like he had been hurting too.

He couldn't stop replaying the shooting in his mind. If he had just moved and hid behind the fire truck himself, Emery wouldn't be hurt right now.

Buck gently pushes the door open and peeks his head in. His eyes immediately found the woman in bed, and any tension he felt in his body had melted away.

A breath of relief comes from Emery's lips, and a weak smile finds her face. "Hi." She croaks.

Buck's body felt heavy. He lowers his head, and his body begins to shake. Emery pulls her brows together, "Evan?" Her worry spikes.

In silence, Buck walks over to Emery's bedside. Emery tilts her head up at him and she watches as he tries his best to collect himself. Buck cups Emery's neck and kisses the crown of her head.

Emery closes her eyes out of comfort. She gently grips his wrist and runs her thumb across his skin. Buck softly speaks against her skin, "Thank God you're okay."

"What about you?" Emery asks. "Are you okay?"

Buck's eyes fall shut, and he exhales softly. Emery's chest tightens from the silence, and she continues to run her thumb across his skin.

"Have you heard anything about Eddie?" Emery softly speaks.

Buck pulls away from her and sits in the chair beside her. The relief that had been across his face had quickly left. He shakes his head, and Emery's stomach turns. With her good hand, she gently squeezes his. Emery looked across Buck's face that was now clean, and he had switched his bloody shirt out for an LAPD navy blue long-sleeve.

The couple sits in silence for a moment, trying to wrap their heads around the silent state Eddie was in. And when they thought about Eddie, their minds immediately went to his son.

"I have to talk to Christopher."

Emery bites the inside of her cheek. "Yeah, I know." She looks back at his eyes. "Give me 5 minutes and I can get ready—"

"Emi, you're hurt," Buck says, shaking his head. "I can't ask you to come with me—"

"You don't have to ask," Emery says. "It's Christopher. I want to be there."

"There's no way they're going to clear you," Buck replies.

"Well, they don't have to," Emery states. Buck tilts his head. "Fine." He sighs.

Emery throws the blanket off her body, and she quickly pulls the iv out of her arm. Buck winces. Emery shoots onto her feet, and Buck gently grabs her waist, balancing her. "Can you slow down?" Stress was entangling his brain, watching Emery move like this. He stands up, and Emery presses her lips together. "I'm sorry." She gently touches his chest.

"I'm gonna go get dressed," Emery says. Buck nods his head, "Here." He wraps an arm around her waist and helps her toward the bathroom. Emery chuckles softly, she wasn't going to tell him to stop. She knows Buck. And he wasn't going to stop worrying about her. Buck hands her an LAFD shirt and pants. "I'll wait out here."

Emery gives him a small smile and closes the door behind her. Buck's expression falls, and his tense body grows even tighter. He really did hate lying to her.

Buck leaves Emery's hospital room and quickly walks through the hospital, his mind still spinning. He makes it out of the building. Not only is he met with the shine of the sun, but he's met with voices. Buck looks at the swarm of news reporters, but his eyes meet the redhead, who slips past the news reporters.

"Buck—"

"No comment, Taylor."

"That's not why I'm here. Really." Taylor quickly steps in front of him, her eyes shifting across his face with worry. "I'm not working this one. I just heard firefighters were shot. You didn't answer my calls."

Buck shakes his head, "I-I wasn't checking my phone." He grabs his phone and looks at it. Taylor's breath catches in her throat when she sees the blood residue across Buck's pants. "Is that blood?"

"Oh, it's, um...it's not mine, it's Eddie's," Taylor says. "Maybe even Emery's."

Taylor's eyes widen, "Eddie and Emery were the ones shot?"

Buck could feel himself slipping from any kind of control over his emotions. "He was standing right in front of me and I f-froze. But Em pushed me out of the way and that's when she..." he trails off and swallows the hard lump that had formed.

"I need to talk to Christopher." Buck brushes past her. "I-I don't...I don't have my car."

"Evan!"

Buck tenses from the abrupt voice. Taylor turns to the curly-haired woman. "Emerson?"

Emery looks at the redhead. Her eyes trail her up and down. "Taylor. Not working today?"

Taylor looks down at her outfit. "Uh, no." She shakes her head. "I heard about the shooting and got worried. Shouldn't you be resting?"

"No." Emery's voice was stern, and her expression was pointed. But her annoyance wasn't aimed at Taylor this time. She was staring directly at her boyfriend. "I should be going with Buck to talk to Christopher."

"No. You should be resting." Buck turns to her. "That's why I—"

"Why you ditched me?" Emery cranes her neck forward. "You thought ditching me in the bathroom was going to get me to not follow you?"

Taylor looks between the couple, both obviously dealing with intense emotions surrounding this whole day. It truly wasn't any of her business, but for some reason she seemed obligated to help.

"I'll drive him."

Emery snaps her eyes over to the redhead with her breathing heavy. Taylor tensed from the unreadable yet hard look she was receiving from Emery in this moment. It felt like an eternity just waiting for Emery to speak. Taylor was sure it was a fear tactic.

Emery looks back at Buck, "You should get a ride from her. Talk to Christopher."

Buck nods his head. Emery inhales a breath, "If you need anything—"

"I'll let you know." Buck nods his head. He cups her face and kisses her forehead. Emery closes her eyes and lets out a content breath. Buck pulls away from her and begins walking down the sidewalk with Taylor.

Emery's jaw clenches, "Taylor!"

The redhead tenses and turns to the woman. Emery looks to the side, gathering a certain level of sincerity. Then she looks back at Taylor. "Thank you. Really."

Taylor raises her brows, taken aback. "Uh, yeah. It's no problem."

Taylor walks away to catch up with Buck, and Emery exhales. Emery could feel eyes on her, so she turned and looked at the nervous nurse. She gives the nurse a small smile. "You here to get me back inside?"

"Uh, yes, ma'am." He nods his head.

"Yeah, I figured." Emery walks into the hospital. "I thought I had another nurse assigned to me."

The nurse tenses, "Well, you did. But she was a bit overwhelmed by your need to...not follow her instructions, so I took over for her."

Emery hums, "That's fair." She scratches her ear. "I'm a rule follower until I'm not, I guess."

"You're just worried about the people you love." The nurse smiles. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Emery smirks, "You know what? I like you."

☆

"He couldn't have had much time to set up," Athena says, looking around the street.

"Probably listening to a scanner, then rushing to calls," Denver states.

"Last time, he got lucky," Wren says. She inspects the tall buildings that were littered across the streets. "Found a building he could access."

"So, where would 'be lucky' here?"

Wren taps her fingers against her waist, thinking.

"How good a shot do we think he is?"

Denver and Wren turn to Athena, seeing her pointing to the parking garage far away from the scene. Wren swallows, "I'll drive." She motions to her car.

The three officers make it to the top level of the parking garage with a replica sniper. Athena props the sniper up and aims it down at the street. As Athena empties the entire clip of the sniper, Wren's eyes follow the plastic casings as they roll away. She shifts her gaze to the sewer opening.

"We have forensics on the ground, right?" Wren grabs her walkie. Athena gives the woman a nod. Wren speaks into her walkie, asking for the forensics team. After a few minutes, forensics made it to the three women and began to search the sewer.

"You got something?" Athena asks.

"Almost got it." Forensics pulls his hand out of the sewer, and he holds up the shell casing, and Wren turns to Athena.

"Good eye, Detective." Athena lightly nudges Wren's arm. The brunette lets out a small chuckle.

"I'll head back with forensics and wait for them to find the weapon," Wren says. Athena pulls her brows together, "Shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

Wren chuckles, "Emerson texted me earlier. Told me to not even bother and to catch this fucker."

Athena chuckles, "Well, whatever Emery says goes." She motions with her head to the forensics team. "You better catch up with them."

Wren softly smiles, "Yes, ma'am."

...

Any chance Emery had alone, she would run off to find Eddie. Dylan had come to visit, but Emery wasn't in her room at the time.

Dylan was sitting in a chair next to the empty bed. His eyes were glued to a comic book and he was on the last page. Dylan's eyes blow wide, "TO BE CONTINUED?" he shoots up from his seat. His hands tighten around the comic, and his breathing quickens. "What the fuck kind of--"

The door to the room opens, revealing Emery being held by two nurses.

"Mrs. Sharpe--"

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry." Emery lets out a heavy sigh. "I just wanted to know where Eddie was."

"We understand that, but our doctor hasn't given you a full prognosis." The nurse states. "And until then, you have to stay in your room."

Emery rolls her eyes and looks forward. She realizes the young boy standing there with his comic book in hand. "Hey, kid."

Dylan keeps his eyes on Emery, then his eyes shift to her wrapped arm. Emery looks down at her injured arm and clicks her tongue. "Oh, this? Yeah, so apparently someone hates firefighters doing their job," she scoffs.

Dylan drops the comic book, and his sneakers squeak from quickly walking over to the woman. He wraps his arms around her waist. Emery stumbles into the nurses, but she wraps her arms around the kid. As soon as he came into contact with her, Emery could feel his body trembling. She touches the top of his curly hair. "Hey, hey..."

"We'll leave you guys to it." One of the nurses speaks. "Just don't leave again, please."

The nurses leave the room, and Dylan's breathing becomes more audible. "Dylan?" she ruffles his hair a bit.

Dylan pulls his arms off her and wipes his arms with his sleeve. "I'm sorry," he shakily says. Emery shakes her head, "You don't have to apologize for being worried." She sits on the bed and pats the spot next to her. Dylan shifts more weight from one foot to the other, lowers his head, and walks over to the bed--sitting beside her.

A deafening silence settles in the hospital room. Emery sat patiently waiting for the boy to speak. She's sure he was feeling so many emotions right now, so she wasn't going to rush in any way. Dylan fiddles with his fingers, trying to find a way to describe his emotions with his words.

"When I heard about you being shot..." Dylan gnaws on his lower lip and winces his eyes. "It felt like my dad all over again."

Emery's chest painfully constricts. Dylan inhales a breath, "I came into the room and didn't see you. Then I tried to distract myself with my comic, but there was a 'to be continued' at the end, now I have to buy the next issue before someone spoils it for me—"

"Dylan."

Dylan sucks in a soft breath and his eyes fill with tears. He pulls his eyes off his hands and looks at Emery. She gives him a small smile through her own tears. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

Dylan shakes his head and wipes his eyes with his sleeve. "No, you don't have to apologize for being shot."

"Well...I am." Emery shrugs. "Because I'm the adult and I can do whatever I want."

"Very mature." Dylan scoffs.

Emery then sighs, "I know." She looks back at Dylan, and her gaze softens. "I'll try harder not to get hurt or die."

"You're a firefighter," Dylan states. "It's bound to happen."

Emery purses her lips, "Hey..." she touches the top of his curls. Dylan could feel himself growing embarrassed. Not wanting to continue the conversation anymore, Dylan keeps his eyes on his hands.

"You're a grown woman. You can do whatever you want."

Emery frowns and her brows furrow from the sudden attitude change. "You can talk to me, you know that, right?"

Dylan's face gets hot. "I've got to go." He stands up. "I'm glad you're okay."

Emery stays seated on the bed with a small smile across her lips. She knew what it was like to run away from any scary feelings. So, she wasn't going to tell Dylan that he should deal with his own troubling feelings about the situation. Besides, he opened up enough for today.

"Okay. I'll see you later, Dylan." Emery holds the comic book out to him.

Dylan sniffles and grabs the issue from her hands. He looks down at the comic book, his eyes burning with more tears. "I'll see you...later." The boy turns and leaves the room.

Emery lets out a breath when the door closes, and her eyes trail down to her wrapped arm. Just seeing her gunshot makes her think about the state Eddie's in. Her frustration then rises thinking about not being able to see him. How was she supposed to stay in this room without knowing the state Eddie's in?

Emery feels tears forming in her eyes--everything finally begins to hit her. She inhales a shaky breath before exhaling a sharp one. She grasps at her chest as her breathing quickly morphs into hyperventilating cries. It felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

Eddie was one of the most important people in Emery's life. She couldn't imagine her life without him. And she knew Buck felt the same way. If her mind wasn't thinking about Eddie being shot, then she was thinking about how devastated Dylan was over her being shot. She almost left that kid with no one. Tears spill from her eyes, and her cries quickly turn into uncontrollable sobs.

☆

"Y-You climbed up there without the go-ahead?" Emery shifts her body to her boyfriend. "Evan, why would you do that?"

Buck looks down at her bandaged arm, and Emery notices. She inhales a breath, and her eyes soften.

"With you and Eddie in the hospital, life just seemed kind of...meaningless."

Emery's body tenses, "Oh, Evan..." She sits herself up, and Buck immediately tenses. He reaches his hands out to her, "Careful--"

"Shut up." Emery grabs his hand. "Eddie is going to wake up." She keeps her eyes on his. "And I'm going to be out of here soon."

"Just because we're in this hospital, it doesn't mean we're gone." Her tone was gentle. Buck could feel her voice wrapping around him and pulling him towards a sense of calmness that he hadn't felt since she and Eddie had been in the hospital.

She looks across Buck's face, noticing how his tense body calms down. Emery leans forward, her forehead pressing against his. Buck's eyes fall shut, and he lets out a small breath. His hands wrap around her arms, needing to feel her warm skin. "I'm scared," he lets out, his voice shaking. Emery's chest tightens from the tremble in Buck's voice.

"Me too," Emery replies. "And that's okay."

She pulls her face back to look at him once again. Buck opens his eyes, meeting Emery's soft gaze. He runs his thumbs across her skin and exhales. Emery wanted Buck to know that he wasn't alone with how he was feeling. The worry he feels for Eddie. Emery was feeling that same way.

"Dylan came by earlier," Emery says. "He was pretty terrified hearing about me getting shot."

Buck swallows, "Was...is he okay now?"

Emery bites the inside of her cheek, "I don't know," she answers. "He left before I could ask him anything else. He said this whole thing reminded him of Tom."

Buck's eyes begin to burn with tears. "I'm so sorry, Emerson."

Emery runs her thumb over Buck's jaw. "After Dylan left, I...broke down." She keeps her eyes on Buck's. "And it felt like I couldn't catch my breath--I honestly thought I was a goner."

"When did this happen?" Buck's brows furrow with worry. Emery presses her lips into a small smile, "Like an hour before you came by."

"Em--"

"Stop. I'm okay." She gently reassures him. Buck lets out another stress-filled breath. "My point is, what you're feeling right now, you're not alone, okay?"

"And whatever you need--if you need to cry on my shoulder, if you need to just sit here in silence with me running my hands through your hair, I'll do that for you."

Buck could feel the pain in his chest start again with every word Emery spoke. She was so good. He didn't deserve her. He didn't.

Buck cups Emery's face, "Can I just sit with you?"

A small smile finds Emery's lips. "Get over here, pretty boy."

Emery scoots over, making room for him on the bed. Buck hangs his head low, and he softly laughs. Buck stands up and sits on the bed, careful not to put pressure on Emery's arm. He lays his head against Emery's shoulder. Emery leans her head against Buck's. "Now..." she inhales. "...you gonna fill me in on Bobby ripping you a new one or what?"

Buck groans and tucks his head into Emery's neck, and she laughs. "God, you heard about that?"

"Heard about it? Please, Ravi couldn't stop laughing over the phone when he told me about it." Emery giggles at the memory.

"Well, Probie should learn to keep things to himself," Buck whines out of embarrassment. Emery then purses her lips, "When have you ever known a Probie to keep things to themselves?"

Buck lifts his head and looks at his girlfriend. She looks at him with a small smile, and Buck reciprocates. "I guess you have a point."

"In other words..."

"You're right," Buck says, nodding his head.

Emery then holds up her pointer finger, "As...?"

Buck lets out a low laugh and kisses her cheek. "...always."

...

"C'mon, come on!"

With his hands on her thighs, Buck lets out a quick breath, "I'm coming."

Emery lets out a low giggle. "Dirty."

"Grow up." Buck groans.

Emery and Buck ended up sleeping in her hospital bed. Buck got a call from Ana, waking them both up, but that didn't matter. She told them that Eddie was awake, and Buck fell out of the bed while screaming "HE'S UP HE'S UP"

Out of excitement, Emery jumped on Buck's back and told him to "get a move on". Now, Emery was on Buck's back, and he was holding her up while he ran down the hall.

"Can I smack your butt?"

"No."

Emery frowns, "Someone's a prude..." She then wrinkles her nose. "When did you become a prude?"

"This is a serious moment, Emery," Buck says.

Emery rolls her eyes, "You're giving me a piggyback ride in a hospital."

Buck makes it to the room and gently sets Emery on the ground. The couple quickly makes their way over to Eddie's door and see Ana standing at his bed side.

"Ana." Buck calls out. "Is he...?"

Ana turns to Emery and Buck with a smile across her lips. She steps aside—Emery could feel every tense and negative emotion expel from her body.

Despite his eyes barely being able to stay poke, Eddie kept them on the two with a small smile on his face. "Hey, guys."

Tears immediately spring in Emery's eyes and her lips part. "Eddie, oh my god!"

She tugs on Buck's arm. "He's smiling—he's smiling at us!" She looks at Buck, who was smiling with tears in his eyes as well.

"Miss Sharpe!"

Emery tilts her head to the ceiling, "Oh dammit!" She turns to her nurse. "Hi." A forced smile appears on her lips.

"You need to lie down." The nurse softly states.

Emery opens her mouth to protest, but Buck speaks. "She will be right there. I'm sorry for dragging her down here."

Emery whips around and looks at her boyfriend. "I'm not going anywhere, Eddie's awake."

"Only one person can be in here at a time anyway." Buck keeps his eyes on hers. "Besides, I've noticed that you've been in pain."

Emery blinks, "Well, I was shot."

"Yeah, but I mean you haven't had any morphine in your drip at all."

Emery's gaze softens. "It's better that I don't, you know that."

Buck gently grabs her hands. "I know, and that's why I'm saying to take it slow." He looks down at her hands in his, noticing just how perfect they were in between his fingers. "I want you back at 100%."

Buck runs his thumbs over her knuckles and Emery could feel the tension in her body ease. Her eyes shift back to Eddie and a small smile forms on her lips. "Yeah, I'll go back. Just give me a second."

Emery gently squeezes Buck's hands before walking over to Eddie's bedside. She gives Ana a polite smile. "This will be quick, I'm sorry."

Ana chuckles and waves her hands. "Do not apologize, I'm just glad to see you standing right now."

Emery softly laughs, "I appreciate that." She looks down at Eddie and her teary eyes become more apparent. "Hi."

Eddie manages a small smile, despite his lack of energy. "Hey, Em." His eyes trail to her bandaged arm and a crease forms between his brows. "What happened?"

Emery looks down at her arm. "I'm okay." She tries her best to avoid the question.

But just from her avoidance, Eddie got his answer. "That was from the sniper?"

The end of Emery's mouth twitches. She was going to lie to him. She was sure it would be impossible to, anyway. Eddie would've been able to see through it. Shot or not.

"Yeah." Emery softly exhales. "It happened a few seconds after you."

Buck couldn't help the guilt choking at his throat from those words.

"I have to get back to my room. But I just wanted to see you." Emery gently grabs his hand. Eddie's fingers twitch around her hand and Emery cracks a smile. "You scared the shit out of us, you know that?" Her quiet voice cracks.

"Yeah, I have a tendency to do that." Eddie lets out a soft chuckle.

Emery laughs and her eyes catch the tear rolling down his cheek. She quickly wipes it away. "I'll come back to bug you later when my nurse is doing his rounds."

"Miss Sharpe, can you at least talk about escaping when I'm not in the room?" The nurse holds his hands up.

Emery looks at him and winces, "Sorry." She had to admit...she forgot he was even standing there. Emery looks down at Eddie again and motions her head to her nurse. "Gotta go, I'm in trouble."

Eddie softly smiles, "I'll see you later, Em."

Emery gives Eddie one last soft squeeze of his hand before walking away.

☆

"Close the door."

Oh shit.

Anytime Wren heard those words, she was either getting laid or getting fired. And well, she was at work right now. So the latter seemed to be more likely.

"The casing that was found was from a .308-caliber round."

Wren had to admit, she was relieved this was about the sniper.

"Fits what a sniper would use and matches the slugs from both scenes."

Wren winces her eyes, still suspicious. "But none of that brings a deputy chief to deliver the news."

The deputy chief nods his head. "The ammunition was match grade." He explains. "More accurate, more expensive, and much more traceable. Down to the lot number."

Wren could feel a tightness in her stomach, bracing herself for the rest of the news.

"Ballistics reached out to the manufacturer to identify the purchaser." He explains. "Then they called me."

Wren's mouth drops open. Even though that tightness disappeared from her stomach, it had quickly moved to her chest.

"So our sniper didn't get his ammo from a gun shop..."

"He got it from us." Athena says. "That bullet belongs to the LAPD."

Wren sighs, "Okay, so what's the move?" She looks at Athena and Detective Denver.

"We sort through anyone who's had an issue with the department." Athena suggests.

Wren points at Athena, "Shave it down to anyone that's been fired recently." She holds a hand up. "They'd have a vendetta, right? And maybe still have access."

Athena smiles. She looks at the Deputy Chief. "That's my rookie."

Wren's cheeks warm and she smiles.

...

The three women had a lead, their lead swears by it that he's innocent. Now they were sitting at a desk, trying to think of anyone or anything else that could get them closer to finding the sniper.

"They found Malone's gun right where he said it'd be, buried in the yard." Denver states. "Hasn't been fired in months."

"Could be he used a different weapon." Athena suggests.

Denver's eyes squint with contemplation. "Doesn't really feel like that, though, does it?"

"I don't think he's our guy." Athena says.

Wren bites the inside of her cheek. "But this ammo was his. That can't be a coincidence and it sure as hell's not a mistake."

Athena nods her head in agreement. "So, someone else had access to it. But who?"

"Riflemen don't work alone." Denver says. "They work in pairs."

Wren pushes herself off the desk. "The sniper's still out there."

"And the LAFD have no protection out there." Athena says.

Wren grabs her walkie and speaks into it. "Dispatch this is 652-O-25 come in."

"652-O-25 this is dispatch."

"Is LAFD currently on a call right now?" Wren asks.

"Yes. They're currently working on a factory fire right now."

"Did anybody give a name?" Wren looks at Athens and Denver.

"Yeah it was Ethan."

Athena and Denver quickly run out of the police station.

"Dispatch, I need you to pull LAFD from that fire, right now." Wren speaks while running after them. "Whatever you can do to get them out of there—do it!"

☆

"Bobby's still inside?"

Hen turns to Athena and Wren. "They ordered everybody out the building but he didn't follow."

"He said he had eyes on our victim, Ethan." Chimney states.

"Ethan Copeland?" Athena huffs. "He's not a victim. He's the sniper."

Wren looks back at the burning building.

"Come in, Captain Nash!" Chimney speaks into his radio.

"H-How do you know he's the sniper?" Buck asks.

"The shell casing for the bullets that were fired is a match for one of our weapons at the station." Wren explains.

Hen raises her brows, "The sniper's LAPD?"

"Ex-LAPD." The deputy chief states. "After his partner quit, we realized Copeland was a problem and we removed him from duty."

"Now he's making everybody pay for it." Denver adds.

"Anybody have any idea where inside this building Bobby is?" Athena asks.

"He called it out when he found the guy." Buck points. "Third floor, bravo side. Somewhere around that window."

"All right, SWAT's right behind us. We're taking over this scene." The deputy chief says.

"You're taking over the fire?" Hen asks.

The deputy chief blinks at the woman. "Who are you?"

"Henrietta Wilson, 118. And I guess since my Captain's trapped inside that fire, I'm in charge of this scene." Hen states.

Wren softly smiles, "Hell yeah..."

The deputy chief turns to her and her jaw goes slack. "I-I mean—These firefighters. So disrespectful..." Wren holds up a thumbs down. "Who trained these, heathens?"

As soon as he looked away from her she could breathe.

"You're such a sellout." Buck shakes his head.

Wren snorts, "You say sellout, I say survivor."

Athena looks at Buck. "Can you get me in there?"

Buck looks at the building then back at Athena. "I don't think Bobby—"

"Bobby's gonna die in there, Buck." Athena's voice was filled with a stubborn urgency. "You need to help me."

"Help you do what?" Hen asks, catching the last bit of the conversation.

Athena looks at Hen, "Go get my husband."

Hen's eyes widen and she looks at Athena and Buck in complete disbelief. She then looks at Wren and the brunette holds her hands up. "Look, it's not my idea. But it's not a bad one either."

"It'll be easy." Buck says to Hen. "Cut in on the delta side,where most of the fire's been contained. She drops in, she makes her way across to bravo."

"Except she'll be in a fire." Hen exclaims.

"Put the gear on me. I'll be protected." Athena adds. "Trust me. I'm not gonna be in there that long."

Hen's shoulders drop, giving in. "You get in and then you get out with Bobby."

Athena nods her head. Buck puts his turnout coat on Athena. The two climb up the ladder to the building.

Wren lets out a breath, "She's got this." She looks at Hen.

Hen nods her head, "I know. I just wish I knew what kind of state Bobby was in right now."

☆

"Okay! The nurse is getting your meds and discharge papers ready. Then we can get out of here."

Buck walks over to Eddie, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his arm in a sling. Eddie nods his head, "Great." There was something on Eddie's mind that he couldn't ignore.

"Hey, since we got a minute..."

Buck pulls his brows together, "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just, uh, I've been meaning to talk to you about something." Eddie says.

Buck sits next to Eddie, his eyes in the side of his face.

"So, you might have noticed I almost died." Eddie nods. "Again."

Buck didn't know how to reply to that, so he just sat there. He had no clue where this conversation was heading.

"Yeah, I've had a lot of close calls." Eddie states. "This one wasn't even my closest."

"Yeah. Eddie—"

"Just let me finish." He looks at Buck with a soft expression. "After the last time, when the well collapsed on top of me..."

Buck remembers that day so vividly. The heavy rain and the feeling of the wet mud digging into his knees. He remembers how hard he tried to get Eddie back but he couldn't. And Emery's panic attack right after that happened...

He would never forget that day.

"Which you survived." Buck quickly speaks.

Eddie chuckles, "After that...it got me thinking. What would happen if I hadn't?" He explains. "So, I went to my attorney and changed my will."

"So, someday, if, I, uh...didn't make it...Christopher would be taken care of."

Buck still didn't understand why Eddie was telling him—

"By you."

Oh.

Buck jaw goes slack, "What?"

"Well, you and Emery." Eddie sighs. "If you don't screw that up. Which you won't." He gives Buck a pointed look. "It's in my will, if I die, you and Emery become Christopher's legal guardians."

Buck furrows his brows, trying to get his thoughts straight. "Uh...I mean, h-how does that even work? Don't you...don't you need my consent? Don't you need Emery's consent?"

Eddie nods his head, "My attorney said you could refuse..."

Buck keeps his eyes on Eddie, reading the small smug smirk on Eddie's lips. "You know I wouldn't."

"Nah, I know you wouldn't." Eddie clicks his tongue.

"I mean, he has grandparents—other family." Buck says.

Eddie softly chuckles, "Yeah...after Shannon left, they all tried to guilt me into giving Christopher to them. It's not what I wanted then, it's not what I want now." He looks back at Buck.

"If it came to that, wouldn't they fight for him?" Buck asks. He thinks about Thomas and how he wanted Dylan to stay with Emery. He never wrote it down, but Dylan ended up with his grandparents. Thomas' parents were kind and amazing, but Dylan was also their grandson and they fought for him. Buck could stop thinking about Christopher's grandparents fighting to get him back.

Eddie thinks for a moment. "I don't know."

"Maybe."

Buck frowns.

Eddie then nods his head, "Probably."

Buck's frown deepens.

"But no one will ever fight for my son as hard as the two of you." Eddie admits. "That is what I wanted for him."

Every day Eddie remembered how hard Emery and Buck fought to protect Christopher during that tsunami. Not only have they risked their life for his son, but they even treat him as if he was one of their own. There is no one else Eddie could see his son being raised by if his time were to come.

Buck glances away from Eddie. "Well, you said you did this last year. Why are you just telling me now?"

"Because, Evan,"

Buck quickly looks back at Eddie.

"you came in here the other day and you said you thought it would've been better if you had been shot." Eddie shakes his head in disbelief. "You act like you're expendable. But you're wrong."

Buck swallows the lump in his throat. Eddie then pulls his brows together. "I was supposed to be telling you and Emery this at the same time, but it looks like she didn't come to pick me up."

Buck blinks his tears away. Just because he was emotional from the information that Eddie had told him, doesn't mean he was going to give away his welcome back party Emery has been preparing for since she was discharged.

"She's working on her application." Buck says.

Eddie raises his brows. "For Lieutenant?"

Buck nods his head, "Mhm."

Obviously, Buck was lying. Emery had already finished her application for Lieutenant. He just needed to come up with something.

☆

"That's not right."

Wren sighs, "Emerson—"

"Don't Emerson me." Emery crosses her arms. "Just because she's been invited, doesn't mean I have to ignore her ability to not follow instructions."

Taylor swallows, "I was blowing up the balloons."

"The wrong way."

"There's a right way?" Taylor nervously chuckles.

"Yes." Wren and Emery speak at the same time.

Taylor turns to Wren and the brunette presses her lips together. Emery blinks, "I can't believe this." She points at Wren then at Taylor. "Can you help her, please?"

Wren snorts, "Why me?"

"Because you're the closest person to her." Emery shrugs. "Obviously."

Taylor looks at Wren then at Emery. She was stuck between the two women that most likely hate her the most in the world. Taylor hasn't made Emery's life easy, the redhead knew that. And she wanted to do better.

Wren lets out a small groan, "Fine. I will help her."

Emery nods, "Thank you. Because Buck texted 2 minutes ago and said he and Eddie are on the way."

"What?! Em—"

"Hey, less talky more blowy." Emery goes to walk away, but stops when she registers what she just said. "That last part was weird, but you get it."

Wren holds up a balloon and gives Emery a nod. Emery walks away with her clipboard tucked under her arm. Wren lets out a breath, "All right, here..." she turns to Taylor with the balloon.

Wren looks at the redhead then back at the balloon. "I don't know how I'm supposed to teach you how to blow up balloons—"

"I'm sorry."

Wren stops and looks at the woman. "Uh, for what?"

Taylor lets out a stubborn breath. "For how I've been acting." She rolls her eyes. "For how I am."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you being a shitty person doesn't have anything to do with your balloon blowing skills." Wren frowns. Taylor blinks, "Detective Marshall, I was apologizing for how rude I've been towards your friend."

Wren smirks, "I got that, Taylor. But what I don't understand is why you're not apologizing to my friend."

Taylor swallows, "Well, I...it's just..." she glances at Emery. Wren looks over at Emery and deadpans. Emery was talking to Dylan, Denny, Harry, and Christopher. Seeing her to them with such a gentle playfulness.

"She scares me."

Wren looks at Taylor. The redhead sighs, "I think she and I are just too similar."

"Oh yeah you guys are exactly alike." Wren giggles. "And I understand why you guys clash, but..." she squints her eyes at Taylor. "...you almost costed Emery her job." She blows air into the balloon. "You've got to get why she doesn't like you."

Taylor manages a small smile, "Yeah. I get it." She looks at the balloon in her hand. "Even though she and I are the same...she's different."

Wren didn't need much of an explanation. She knew what Taylor meant. "Yeah, she's just been through a lot and I think that made her better." She then softly smiles. "The people around her too. That made her better."

Taylor thinks about her life and the people she's been around her whole life. They didn't make her better just stubborn and determined. She's never had any kind of relationship—friends, family, or romantic where she's wanted to be better.

"Man, I've got a lot of work to do."

Wren presses her lips together. "At least, you're self aware." She ties the balloon and holds it out to Taylor. Taylor looks down at the purple balloon and a small smile forms on her lips. She grabs the balloon from Wren's hand.

"I can't wait to meet the you that's done the work." Wren chuckles. "I'm sure that'll be when hell freezes over."

Taylor looks at Wren with a brow raised and Wren sheepishly smiles. "Am I wrong?"

Taylor couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay! Okay everyone! They're pulling up to the house!" Emery holds her phone up with the map of Eddie and Buck's locations on it. "They are here! Get into your positions just like we practiced."

And they all did have a surprise birthday rehearsal. Planned by Emery, of course.

Wren stands up with Taylor and moves to her spot underneath the giant 'Welcome Home!' Banner.

"This was really nice of you to do, Emerson."

Emery turns to Ana and smiles. "Thanks. It wasn't a big deal. I mean, Christopher right hand man." She ruffles Christopher's head. "And the kids..." she motions to the other boys. "They made a masterpiece of a banner."

Ana laughs and looks at the banner. "It's amazing."

"Right?!"

The doorknob turns and Emery snaps her eyes over to the door. Buck pushes open the door and everyone holds their hands up and screams, "Welcome back!"

Just from Eddie's reaction he wasn't surprised that Emery was behind this. He kisses Christopher on the head and stands up, looking at Emery. "Of course, you're behind this."

Emery innocently smiles and bunches her shoulders. "I am only here to help make your son's wishes into a reality."

Eddie looks down at the boy. "Aw, Chris."

"I'm happy you're back, dad." Christopher hugs Eddie. Emery pushes her lower lip out as Eddie hugs his son back.

Buck found his way beside Emery and his hand slips into hers. Emery's face warms and she looks at Buck. "You did your job well, Buckley."

Buck's face lights up, "Well, that's a relief. I was hoping my part went smoothly."

Emery nods her head, "Oh it did. You followed my instructions perfectly." She wraps her arms around his neck.

Buck grips her waist, "Well you know me. I'm always good at following orders."

"My orders." Emery corrects. "You suck at following Bobby's."

Buck laughs and looks to the side. "Yeah, your orders." He looks back at Emery, noticing the small sparkle in her dark brown eyes. "Have I ever told you that your eyes sparkle?"

Emery pulls her brows together. "What?" Complete shock washes over her.

Buck nods his head, "Yeah. They look like they sparkle when you smile. And I mean like a real smile..." suddenly his face drops when he realizes the tears in her eyes. "Oh, god. I said something wrong, didn't I?"

"No, no." Emery quickly reassures him. "You said nothing wrong. It's just...I used to tell Helena the same thing about her eyes."

Buck glances to the side. "Oh. Well, is it okay that I said that?"

Emery laughs, "That's more than okay, Evan." She presses her lips against his and Buck's heart jumps. He kisses Emery back, his hand cupping the side of her neck.

"Gross."

Emery and Buck pull away from each other and look at Dylan. His arms were folded and his face read annoyed. "We haven't even eaten and I've lost my appetite." Dylan holds up his empty plate. "Thank you for that, by the way." He walks into the kitchen.

Emery rolls her eyes, "Nobody likes a hater, Dylan." She looks back at Buck and gives him a smile. "Make you a plate?"

"And I make yours?" Buck keeps his hand against her neck and runs his thumb across her lower lip.

Emery squints her eyes, "First person to finish whatever's on their plate wins?"

Buck pulls his brows together. "Wins what?"

Emery shrugs, "Bragging rights." She smiles. "The best thing ever to offer."

Buck looks across Emery's face, a playful glint was across her face. He couldn't stop his own smile just from how excited Emery was.

"You're on, Emi."

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

Aaaand that's the end of season 4!!!!!! Y'all it's crazy that we're already on season 5. I mean—Emery and Buck have been through so much together and separately.

I hope you enjoyed this season! EmiBuck officially getting together, Wren becoming Detective, Dylan coming around the house more ugghhhh I love them all!!!!

Anyway I'm gonna go start working on season 5 graphics because I'm EXCITED!!!

Also tmrw's episode of 911??? I'm actually genuinely scared—

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