Christmas Spirit.

chapter forty-six , The Long Game

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The second Emery heard about Bobby being exposed to Cobalt, she had become restless.

She knows she was supposed to be patient and not rush any healing the team had to do as well as healing on her side, but she was worried about them.

Emery had practically forced herself into the holiday spirit. She was trying to heal and if that meant opening herself up to things she had completely void off, that's what she was going to do.

Emery was standing on the ladder, putting lights on the Christmas tree with Christmas music playing in the background. Every so often, she would hum along to one of the songs that was on but she would then look over at her phone, debating on calling anyone she had hurt.

After decorating the Christmas tree, she had moved to bake a pie. She's never baked a pie in her life, but she has followed instructions to the tee. Emery has heard that baking helps others, so she figured why not let that be one of the things that helps her? Even though she was a terrible cook.

Emery lets out a small gasp of pain as she pulls the pie out of the oven. She looks at the pie and sighs. "This actually looks good," she smirks. Emery then hums and looks back at her phone. The small smile on her lips falls and she groans. "Shit..." she grabs her phone and begins to dial a number.

"Hey, this is Maddie leave a message at the beep."

Emery inhales a breath, "Maddie, Hi!" she bashfully laughs. "Uh, it's...Em. Emery...of course." she rolls her eyes and silently berates herself. "I was decorating the house then I baked a pie." she tilts her head and keeps her eyes on the pie. "And it actually looks pretty good."

"Anyway, I just...wanted you to know that I'm okay." Emery bunches her shoulders. "Tell everyone that I'm okay. And...Merry Christmas." she ends the voicemail and sets her phone down.

Emery bites the inside of her cheek and presses play on the Christmas playlist again.

...

"Sir, this burning is going to go away, it's just gonna take a couple hours."

"Long before you need to be back in the North Pole," Buck adds.

One of the kids behind the firefighters sniffles. "Is Santa Claus gonna die?"

Buck and Tom look at each other, trying to come up with something to reassure the kids. "Oh, hey, no no. Of course not and don't you worry." Buck walks over to the kids and crouches in front of them. "He's not really Santa."

"He's not real?" One of the kids squeaks.

"No, no, sweetie. He's just pretend."

"Oh, god," Tom whispers. He looks at Bobby. "Did he just--"

"He did." Bobby groans.

"Santa's pretend?" Another kid whimpers.

"That's right!"

"Uh, Buck, Buck!"

Buck turns to Bobby and Tom, who are both shaking their heads.

"What?" Buck blinks.

A mother walks over and pulls her kid into her side. "Did you just tell my kid Santa isn't real?!"

Buck whips his head back over to the woman and his jaw goes slack when he sees the kids all crying. He turns to Tom and Bobby, hoping for assistance but they look away from him. Buck's heart drops, he turns back to the mother and nervously laughs. "Uh, no--no. I was--I was just explaining that this Santa isn't Santa."

One of the kids wails and his father runs over to him. "Hey, Cody, what's the matter?"

"Santa Claus isn't real."

The kids and parents all look at Buck and he bashfully smiles. Tom frowns, "I'm actually surprised I didn't mess anything up for once."

Bobby raises his brows, "You're right..." he clasps Tom's shoulder. "Nice going, Fletcher."

Tom rolls his lips into a smile and pumps a fist.

☆

"After I said I had to work on Christmas, he went straight to his room and wouldn't speak to me for the rest of the night."

Tom presses his lips into a small smile. He understood that kind of conversation, all too well. He had just had it with Dylan. Tom's son was a bit older than Christopher, so Dylan had more of an understanding why his father couldn't be home for Christmas.

"It's just new. He'll get over it." Hen assures Eddie.

"Abuela's bringing him to my aunts," Eddie tells them. "I know he's gonna have a great time. He just--last Christmas was...special." his mind thinks back to Sharon. "This one's harder."

"Is that why you invited us all here?" Hen questions. "Trying to cram in as much Christmas cheer between now and then?"

"I mean, I don't mind it." Tom raises a hand. "But, yeah...this does feel like a Christmas cram."

The three softly laugh amongst themselves.

"Well, thought it'd be nice to bring the boys together for a playdate." Eddie chuckles.

"All four of 'em." Hen laughs.

Tom softly laughs and looks over at the living room. Buck was sitting with Denny, Christopher, and Dylan. The four were all making gingerbread houses, all of them seemed to be having a good time except for one of the kids.

"All right, who needs more cement?" Buck asks, mixing the frosting together.

"I do!"

"Me!"

"More cement!"

"Denny, we will do you first with this big ol' piece." Buck spreads the frosting on the piece of gingerbread.

"Hey, Buck?"

"Yeah."

"Can I spend Christmas with you?" Christopher asks.

Buck's smile lessens and he shifts his eyes to Eddie, Tom, and Hen at the table. He then looks back at Christopher, "I'm sorry, buddy, but I'm gonna be working on Christmas with your dad."

"Stupid work..."

Eddie looks back at Tom and Hen, waiting for more advice.

"I promise you. He'll forget he was even mad by New Year." Hen shrugs.

"Dyl's had to have this conversation many times before with me when I was going to the academy. Luckily, his grandparents don't mind hanging out with him." Tom looks at his hands with guilt. "Still sucks I can't spend time with my kid on Christmas."

"He doesn't say it, but I know it hurts him too."

Hen raises a hand and lightly squeezes Tom's arm.

Buck walks over to the table, leaving the three kids to continue their gingerbread houses. "Is it just me, or does Christmas suck this year?" he sits with them.

"Definitely not just you," Eddie speaks into his mug.

Tom sinks into his chair. Hen slowly nods her head, "It's been a rough year...for everyone. So, I'm happy to immerse myself in the magic of Christmas, and I just look forward to putting this year behind me." a smile was on her lips.

A small smile forms on Tom's lips.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there's one more smack in the face to come." Buck huffs.

Silence settles between the adults at the table. "Emery's supposed to be coming back soon."

The three men tense from the words Hen spoke. Hen then moves her head from one side to the other. "She's going to be on desk duty, though."

"So, then she's not really back." Tom's voice was soft.

They all look at the boy and his face gets hot. "I-I mean, Emery isn't Emery without being a firefighter." he shrugs. "I know she's said she doesn't care about being a firefighter, but...she loves it."

"Yeah, but, if Emery has been getting help," Buck starts. "then maybe she's realizing how much she can handle and how slow and steady she should be going." he then shrugs. "Starting off on desk duty could be good for her."

"Wow, look at you..." Eddie leans back with his arms folded. "...knowing everything about your girlfriend."

Hen laughs and Buck's face becomes deep red. "W-wait--wait. We're not...she's not..." he shakes his head. "Emery isn't my girlfriend."

"At least he finally said it." Hen snorts. "How long did that take you to get out--an hour?"

Buck lets out a scoff mixed with a chuckle. "You guys are the worst." he points at Tom. "Thomas is the only good guy here."

Tom softly smiles, "Yay." he holds up his hands and softly cheers.

...

Emery keeps her eyes on the prescription bottles on her counter. She then shifts her eyes to her beeping alarm on and she turns it off. Emery pops open the bottles and places 2 pills in her palm. One was a capsule for her mania while the other was a capsule for her depression. In the past, Emery had only taken mood stabilizers, but Dr. Martin had suggested an anti-depressant for her as well.

A knock is heard at the door, which causes Emery to slightly jump. She grabs her glass of water, puts the pills in her mouth, and swallows them with her water. She quickly makes her way over to her door and opens it. "Hi--"

Wren leaps forward and wraps her arms around Emery's waist. Emery squeals as Wren picks Emery up and spins her around. "Hi! Hi! Hi!" Wren screams.

"I'm gonna be sick!"

Wren sets Emery down and claps her hands together. "I'm sorry!"

Emery shakes her head and softly laughs. "No, you're..." she closes her eyes for a second, trying to gather herself. "...you're good." she opens her eyes and is greeted with Wren's wide smile.

"You're okay--you're alive!" Wren walks around Emery. The curly-haired girl was wearing a red and blue Christmas sweater with black jeans. "You smell clean, you look healthy--"

"And I've brushed my hair." Emery holds her arms out. Wren chuckles and she folds her arms. "You look really good, Em."

Emery presses her lips together, "Thanks, I'm starting to feel good."

"Okay, sit down." Emery motions her head over to the couch.

Wren giggles and both the girls sit down. "So, how's everything going with Dr. Martin?"

Emery sighs, "Good. I mean, the things we talk about are tough, of course--but it's good." she presses her lips into a small smile. "It feels good to talk about everything."

"Okay, so...is he cute?"

"Wren--"

"I'm kidding!" Wren laughs. Her smile drops and then she tilts her head. "Kind of." she then squints her eyes at Emery. "So, is he--"

"Cute? Yes."

Wren cheers, "And will you hook me up?"

Emery snorts and grips Wren's hand. "Oh, sweetie, no." she shakes her head. "There will be no dating my psychologist."

"Why not?"

"Because he's mine." Emery laughs. "Also he has a husband." she sighs. "You want some water?"

"I'll have some tea." Wren holds up a pointer. "And I'll come and help you with it. So, I can berate you about putting me through that thirsty inquiry."

"You put yourself through that." Emery stands up from the couch, she walks to the kitchen with Wren behind her.

"I noticed you put up some decorations." Wren looks around. Emery nods her head, "Yeah."

Wren presses her lips into a small smile. She looks over at Emery, who is still making tea. "The same decorations that Amaya used to put up."

Emery stops making the tea and her chest tightens. She closes her eyes and inhales a breath through her nose for a moment, then she exhales. Emery turns to Wren, "Yeah." she presses her lips into a smile. "I don't want to forget her, y'know? Christmas was her favorite."

"Christmas is my dad's favorite too." Emery looks at her hands. "I tried calling him." she looks at Wren. "Have you talked to him at all?"

Wren's eyes soften, "Of course, I have." she presses her lips together. "I wasn't gonna let your father stay in that hotel room every night."

Emery lets out a breath of relief. "Thanks, Wren."

Wren shrugs, "It wasn't just me. We all hung out with Mr. Sharpe."

"Everyone?"

Wren purses her lips. "Yes, Em. Even Buck."

Emery sighs, "Did you want honey in your tea?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice, thanks." Wren leans against the counter and stares at Emery. "You've been calling everyone, does that include Buck?"

Emery shakes her head, "No, it does not."

"Should it?"

Emery laughs and turns to Wren. The brunette holds up a finger, "You know what? Normally, I would just roll my eyes at you. But, right now? I'm just glad to hear you laugh again."

☆

"I also did not know you knew who Madam Curie was."

"Well, I had to look her up. But she was a really smart lady." Buck nods his head. "And she still died from too much exposure to radiation."

Bobby lets out a sigh, "Buck, listen. I appreciate your concern but I am fine."

"So, please, stop with the internet research." Bobby chuckles. "You're going full-on Emerson mode right now."

Buck raises his brows and he can't stop the smile from forming on his face. "R-Really?"

"Yes, really. Now can we discuss our real problem?" Bobby asks. He places the small woven basket down that is filled with pieces of paper. "We have a fire for Christmas dinner."

"Five votes for burgers and five votes for Chinese."

Buck pulls his brows together. "Five people voted Chinese food? I voted turkey."

Bobby couldn't stop his chuckle. "You were the only one. The falafel place for more votes than turkey."

Buck pouts. Bobby then snaps his fingers, "You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna switch my vote to Chinese. I am just not up for cooking Christmas dinner this year."

Buck's eyes widen, "Ah! Fatigue. Also a symptom. Come here." He places the back of his hand against Bobby's forehead. Bobby presses his lips together and pushes Buck's hand away from his face. "Buck. Listen. I know you're worried."

"But there is nothing to worry about yet," Bobby reassured the boy. "So as my grandmother always used to say don't go borrowing trouble."

"Bobby, I know...I do dumb things sometimes and generally drive you crazy." Buck softly speaks. "You're an important person in my life, Bobby. One of the most important."

"I don't know what I would do...if anything were to happen to you." Buck lets out a small breath. "I'm just tired of not being able to help people I care about."

Bobby's eyes soften, "Hey." He grips Buck's shoulder. Buck forces his eyes on Bobby's. "Emery is doing good."

"Yeah. Everyone knows that except for me." Buck sighs. "I'm not expecting a call or text. And I know she's still mad at me, but that doesn't mean I can't still worry about her."

"No one is saying you can't." Bobby gives him a small smile. "But I am saying that she has talked to each of us and told us she's doing good. You can trust us on that."

Buck lets out a small breath before nodding, the tight feeling in his chest not going away.

...

"This is not okay!"

"Smurf!" Tom points at the girl.

Everyone looks at the boy and his smile drops. "I-I meant...Smurfette...?" They all shake their heads.

"I'm sorry." He looks at the ground.

The woman clutches at her jaw, "Ouch!"

Bobby guides her back into her house. "Okay, ma'am, ma'am, please take a seat. And tell us what's going on."

Tom pulls a chair out and helps the woman to sit down.

"Look at me!" She cries. "I'm a Smurf! And I need a root canal."

"Pulse is steady. Pupils are normal." Hen pronounces. "How long has this been going on?"

"The teeth since last week. The Avatar look since I woke up." Her breathing quickens. "And on top of that I have to work today—on Christmas!"

"I mean, what kind of loser has to work on Christmas?!"

Silence settles in the apartment and the firefighters all exchange a look. The woman's face drops, "Right. Sorry."

"Ma'am, do you mind if my guys here take a look around?" Bobby points to Eddie, Buck, and Tom.

She looks at the three men and lets out a breath. "Oh, that's fine! You very handsome men. Please go look through my messy apartment!"

Tom raises his brows and smiles. The three men split off to different parts of the apartment, searching through it.

"Because this wasn't humiliating enough already." She pouts.

"Okay, ma'am, have you taken any colloidal silver supplements?" Hen questions.

"What? No!"

"Any silver-based eye drops?"

"No."

"Nose sprays?"

"No."

"Any medications we should know about?"

"Benzocaine."

They all turn to Eddie, who is holding a tube. "Toothache gel. She used the whole thing."

"And more." Tom holds up a wastebasket. "A lot more."

The woman in the chair starts to have a seizure.

"She's seizing!"

They all run towards her and help lay her on the floor.

"Could be Methemoglobinemia." Tom voices.

Hen nods her head, "Okay, put her on the CO-oximeter."

Chimney places a clamp on her finger. "Methemoglobin levels are 60%."

"61. Climbing."

"Anything over 70 can be deadly." Chimney voices.

"Hen, get her on O2," Bobby instructs. "Run a fluid line."

"I'll grab the methylene blue chloride," Chimney says.

"It's the benzocaine," Eddie states. "Overuse can prevent the body from releasing red blood cells."

Hen pricks a vein in the woman's arm and her blood is practically black.

"Uh, why is she bleeding chocolate syrup?" Buck asks.

"Because, blood thinner boy," Chimney starts. "Methemoglobinemia causes her blood to appear much darker than normal which then causes her skin to only reflect blue light hence—"

"The Smurfette," Tom adds.

Chimney points at Tom, "Exactly."

"Methylene blue converts the ferric iron into ferrous iron and turns the blood back to red." Hen adds.

"I've never seen a case this advanced, Hen. Let's give her two doses."

They push the fluid into her veins and the blue from her skin begins to fade.

"Methemoglobin levels dropping."

"Skin color's turning back to normal."

The woman pulls the oxygen mask off her face and gasps. "Oh my god..."

They help the woman up.

"I'm..." she looks at her hands. "I'm not blue!" She then groans and clutches her jaw. "Ow, but my tooth!"

"How am I gonna get through work?"

Tom shrugs, "Well, I would say this is an earned day off."

Hen chuckles, "And a morphine drip."

☆

"Oh my god..."

Emery laughed, but before she could say anything back; she saw Maddie hesitate. "Uh, how are you doing? I mean—"

Emery wraps her arms around Maddie. "Let's skip the formalities, okay?"

Maddie hugs Emery back.

"It's really good to see you." Emery softly speaks.

Maddie swallows the lump that has formed in her throat. "It's really good seeing you too."

"Wow..."

Maddie pulls her brows together and opens her eyes. Wren was standing in the apartment while sipping tea from her mug. "...aren't you guys two peas in a pod."

Emery rolls her eyes and chuckles. She and Maddie separate from the hug. Maddie walks into the apartment and hugs Wren. "I'm sorry I'm late." She lets out a breath. "I went through this exposure therapy and..." her voice gets caught in her throat.

Wren and Emery exchange a look of worry.

"The short version is, I had to go back to Big Bear."

"Whoa, what?" Wren holds a hand up and pulls her face back.

"Holy shit..." Emery softly speaks. "Is everything okay? Are you okay?"

"Did it help or just stir shit up?" Wren asks.

Maddie inhales, "It did stir shit up, but it also helped." She nods her head. "I feel like there's this weight lifted off my chest and I can breathe again."

Emery softly smiles with a look of pride across her face. Maddie shakes her head, "Doug is gone and he's behind me now." she looks at her friends. "So, what's up with you guys?"

Wren blinks, "Um...I find it weird that you want to move on from the discussion that fast, but all right." she holds a hand up. "I'm doing great. I have my own squad car now."

"So, if you guys ever want to go on a ride-along with me..." Wren winks. "Call me."

Emery frowns, "I will keep that in mind." she bunches her shoulders. "We should probably get going. Don't want to be late."

"Again, sorry." Maddie holds her hands up.

Wren throws an arm around Maddie's shoulders. "Don't apologize for healing, Mads." she then shakes the girl. "We love a healing woman."

Wren and Maddie look at Emery. "Same goes for you, Em."

Emery presses her lips into a smile as the girls motion her towards them. She painfully rolls her eyes and walks over to her friends, joining the hug.

...

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!"

The firefighter's faces light up seeing their friends and families awaiting them upstairs. Tom already had a smile across his face and his smile grew when he saw his son holding his grandparents' hands. "Dylan!" he runs over to his kid and engulfs him in a warm hug. Dylan laughs and hugs him back. "Merry Christmas, Dad!"

Tom lets out a small breath, he touches the back of his son's head. "Merry Christmas, Dyl..." he stands up with Dylan in his arms. He looks at his parents, "Merry Christmas, you guys."

His parents wrap their arms around Tom and Dylan.

"Maddie!" Chimney walks down the stairs. He slows to a stop and his smile drops when he sees the mom from the call he had earlier.

"Sorry, we're late. I had to make a few stops." Maddie smiles.

"You're one of the paramedics that saved me." The woman walks over to Chimney and hugs him. Chimney hugs the woman back. "Thank you."

"My pleasure. Though, I can't believe you got them to spring you already." Chimney pulls his brows together.

"They were sending her home tomorrow anyway," Maddie speaks while waving a dismissive hand. "I just needed someone to give the doctors a little convincing."

Chimney pulls his brows together. "What are you talking about?"

Maddie turns around and Chimney follows her eyes to see Wren and Emery walking into the station. They were both wearing Christmas hats and Emery was holding a pan in her hands. "You got Em to come?" Chimney raises his brows.

"Wren and I caught up with her at her house before coming." Maddie smiles. "She wanted to come today."

"Did she...cook?"

"Yeah, she baked a pie." Maddie raises her brows. Chimney and Maddie exchange a look, both thinking the same thing. It was good to see that Emery was focusing her energy on more positive hobbies. But the couple also knew that Emery was a terrible cook.

Emery and Wren walk over to the group. "Hey, guys." Wren beams. "You should've seen Emery at the hospital, those doctors were putty in her hands.

Emery waves a hand, "Don't talk me up too much now." she laughs softly. Then she exhales a breath, "But they did practically fall to their knees for me, so..." she shrugs.

Wren grips Emery's shoulders and lightly shakes her.

"I wasn't going to miss Christmas with my boy."

"Mom--Mom!"

The kid runs over to his mom and hugs her tightly. "I can't believe you're here." he gently grabs her hand as she kisses his forehead. "Come on, let's go!" they both make their way upstairs.

"That was very nice of you guys." Chimney looks at each of the girls.

Wren smiles, "Yeah, I'm the nicest person ever!"

They all laugh. Emery looks at the ground and scratches the side of her neck.

"Em, made a pie."

Emery looks up and slightly opens her mouth. "Y-Yeah, I hope that's not too much trouble." she chuckles nervously. "I worked really hard on it."

Chimney's eyes soften, "We will treasure this pie with our lives."

Wren grabs the pie from Emery's hands. Emery opens her mouth, "Wha...?"

Chimney wraps his arms around Emery, "Merry Christmas, Emerson."

"Merry Christmas, Chim." Emery hugs him back.

The two separate and Emery smiles. "So, you're gonna try the pie, right?"

Chimney's smile drops, "Uh, well...I mean," he looks at Maddie and Wren, his eyes begging for help.

"Okay!" Wren exclaims. "We'll give you lovebirds a minute to chat." she motions upstairs. "Em and I will be upstairs."

Wren hands the pie back to Emery. Chimney mouths the words, "Thank you".

Wren sends Chimney a smile and guides Emery up the stairs. "Whatever you do...don't drop the pie."

Emery pulls her brows together, "Why would I drop my pie?--I took way too baking this pie just to drop it..." She trails off her words when she sees her father laughing with Bobby and Athena.

"Oh my..." Emery's hands begin to shake. Wren notices and quickly grabs the pie from Emery's hands. "Dad...?" she quickly walks over to her father with tears in her eyes. "Dad!"

Elijah stops laughing and turns, just to be greeted with a tight and desperate hug. Emery's breathing was quick and her body was shaking. "Are you okay? Do you feel tired?" she pulls away from the hug and inspects her father's face. "Have you been eating--"

"Emery, sweetie." He cups his daughter's face.

Emery meets her dad's eyes and he has tears in his own. "I'm okay."

Emery sniffles and nods her head, "O-Okay. I'm glad." She whispers. "I'm..." she bites her lower lip. "I'm sorry I told you to leave. I didn't—I didn't mean it, I swear I didn't—"

Elijah touches the back of Emery's head and pulls her into a warm hug. Emery softly cries into her father neck and hugs him back.

"Who invited Mr. Sharpe?"

Eddie rolls his head to the side and looks at Hen. She raises her brows from the incredulous look across Eddie's face like she was supposed to know. And she slightly opens her mouth, realizing. "Buck."

Eddie nods, "Yup."

"And let me guess...he doesn't want her to know?"

Eddie sips his water, "You are correct."

A smug smirk forms on Hen's lips, "I always am."

Simultaneously, Eddie and Hen turn to Buck. He was watching Emery with her smile with hearts practically im his eyes and a smile across his face.

Buck didn't want Emery to forgive him because he was able to get her father to come to the station today. So, he asked Elijah and anybody else who knew that he had a hand in his return to keep quiet about it. If he was going to gain Emery's trust back, he needed her to know he wasn't capable of just doing one kind and thoughtful thing.

So, if that meant that Emery wasn't going to forgive him anytime soon, Buck was fine with that.

He could play the long game.

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author's note.

Buck willing to play the long game makes me so giddy

words : 4427