WARNING: References to Season 3...
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Eddie felt his phone buzz, before opening his eyes to see Buck was stilI sound asleep. He pulled out his phone without jostling the sick man, seeing he had a text from Cap. He opened the text and his eyes went wide, the team had caught them cuddling. He had no idea how to explain this, but he did know it felt right.

Suddenly, Buck moaned and stiffened, startling Eddie out of his revelry. The younger man shifted a few times before sitting up and looking around in confusion. Then he saw Eddie and where he was located, and blushed deep red, making his fever flushed cheeks a splotchy red.

"Eddie? What are you doing here?" he stammered in an anxious voice. He looked down at the pillow on the older man's lap. "Did I sleep on you?" he asked with wide eyes, as he tried to remember everything he had said before passing out.

Eddie chuckted, as he put his hands up in a surrendering motion. "Yes, you slept on my lap. I've been here since right after everyone left to put out that fire a couple hours ago." he explained, watching Buck's face closely for a hint at what the man was thinking about all of this.

"Did I say anything weird?" Buck asked in a low voice, even as the flush drained from his face to reveal an unnaturally pale face.

Eddie raised his eyebrows, before shaking his head. "No, you just told me that you're having nightmares about the tsunami, Chris drowning, and failing me." he said in a cdm voice, even though his heart was pounding in his own chest.

Buck swallowed hard before nodding slow movements of agreements. Just hearing Eddie mention the tsunami, set his mind spinning, as well as starting to panic all over again.

Eddie thought he was about to say something, only to be shocked when the younger man leapt to his feet and bolted from the room, nearly running over Bobby and Chim in his haste.

Eddie jumped off the bed, in pursuit of Buck, only stopping in order to not collide with Bobby and Chim.

"Where'd he go?" he asked in a rush, looking around for signs of the other firefighter.

"He..." Bobby started to say, when the sound of violent retching drifted to their ears. "Found him," he said with a worried look in the direction of the bathrooms.

Eddie shot him a look, before tearing off to the bathroom, hoping the younger man was merely nauseous, not actually sick. Of course, Buck never did anything the easy way. He found the bathroom ajar, and Buck hunched over the sink, dry heaving like his life depended on it. He closed easily make out that the sink was empty and plugged, so anything that came up wouldn't be able to go down.

"Buck, baby, relax. Try to breathe; do you even have anything in st omach to bring up?" he asked in concern, as he placed a comforting hand on the dry heaving man's back.

"N... yes, I ate breakfast." Buck said hoarsely, before going right back to dry heaving, as if all the dry heaving in the world would save him.

Eddie frowned, looking at his watch to see that it was two p.m. Which if his calculations were accurate, that meant Buck had not eaten or drank anything in roughly six hours.

"I'm going to get you some water." he said, stepping towards the bathroom door.

"Don't go," Buck whimpered in-between aggressive gags. He panted hard, trying to stop his stomach's churning. He was officially shaking so hard that he couldn't stop the rising panic, which led to more dry heaving.

Eddie stopped dead in his tracks, and turned to look at him. "Baby? I'm not leaving you, but you are probably dehydrated. Can I get you some water ?" he asked, hoping he could convince the younger man of his plan, but it didn't quite go as planned.

Buck's eyes widened in terror, just the mere thought of Eddie leaving his eye-sight was too overwhelming. He grabbed the older man's bicep, his trembling making this grip weaker than normal, but i was enough to stop Eddie's retreat.

"Okay, baby, I'll have someone else get you some water." Eddie said in a soft voice, as he grabbed Buck's arm in return. He pulled the younger man into a hug, keeping the man in his arms angled towards the sink, as he could feel the persistent gags before they erupted from the sick man's lips. He pulled his phone out without letting go of Buck.

'I need a bottle of water and two tylenol for Buck. He is feverish and dehydrated.' he sent to Bobby.

Bobby looked at his phone, before texting Eddie back. 'Would you prefer to do an IV with an antiemetic, a fever reducer, and fluids? Or is he too agitated?' he sent back.

Eddie looked at his phone, as Buck had stopped gagging and was fighting to stay upright.

"Do you want to go lie down, and I can set you up with an Iv?" he asked in a gentle voice, earning a miserable sniffle and felt the sick man shake his head. "What would you like to do?" he asked, hiding his exasperation with younger man's non-verbal response.

" Home, please," Buck pleaded as he staggered to the side and would have fallen if it weren't for the tight hug keeping him from losing his balance.

Eddie tightened his grip on the staggering man, not sure he'd be able to lift him should he fall. 'He wants to go home, but I don't think he is fully coherent. Can the IV and meds go with us? And can I take him home and stay with him?' he sent to Bobby, having a feeling Bobby wouldn't reject his request. No one trusted Buck with his own care, especially with his dreaded track record.

His phone chimed a moment later, with Bobby's response. 'Yes, take him home and stay with him. I will have Chim or ten prep a kit for you to take with you.'

"Okay, baby, would you like to leave now?" he asked the younger man, trying to keep this poor man awake and steady.

Buck groaned and nodded, his eyes drooping in exhaustion. He just wanted to sleep, even if his body kept shivering and trembling. He let go of Eddie trying to stand steadily, but only succeeded in a wobbly step forward.

Eddie grabbed Buck's arm, pulling it over his shoulders, before guiding the younger man out of the bathroom, down the stairs, and out to his truck. They had to stop a few times, due to how unstable the sick man was.

Bobby was waiting at Eddie's truck with their duffles and the medical kit that Chim and Hen had prepped.

"You've got multiple bags of Saline and a couple vials each of antiemetic, fever reducers, painkillers, and a sleep aid if needed." he explained, as he helped get Buck in the truck, helped him buckle up, and handed him an emesis bag, with an extra one on the center console.

Eddie nodded in appreciation, glad they were well prepared for everything. He let go of Buck to go climb into his own seat, earning a choked whimper as the sick man had tears pouring down his cheeks in his intense moment of panic.

Bobby stepped closer, before Eddie could even respond and nodded to the Army vet to go get in his own seat.

"Now, Buck, you're alright. I'm right here to help." he assured the younger firefighter, watching helplessly as Buck shook his head over and over again.

"You're not Eddie, you're Bobby, and you're mad at me too. Just like Eddie is; just let me go home. Then I won't be in anyone's Way anymore, and there won't be anymore lawsuits." Buck insisted in a rush of frantic words, as he waved his hands in agitated motions.

Bobby's mouth fell open, as his eyes met Eddie's, both their eyes echoing the devastation left hanging in the air. Just like that, Bobby took a step back, closed the door beside Buck with a gentle click, and walked over to talk to Eddie.

"You sure you got him by yourself? He seems quite out of it, and really confused." he commented, watching Buck curl towards the shut door, whimpering as his eyes drifted shut.

Eddie met Bobby's gaze, before looking at Buck with a look of pure sadness. "I failed him during the lawsuit, and now he walks around with never-ending guilt thinking I'm pissed with him. Which is the furthest from the truth... he means everything to me, and I know he feels the same about Chris and I. Now I just need to prove it to him." the words tumbling from his lips, as if he had no control over them.

Bobby nodded his understanding, squeezing Eddie's shoulder in a supportive fatherly motion. "Let me know if you need backup or a break, and one or more of us will head right over." he added while squeezing Eddie's shoulder.

Eddie nodded, as he started up his truck and drove back to his house, all the while thinking about the broken words that had come from the man who was simultaneously sleeping and whimpering in the passenger seat. He drove in silence, listening carefully to every whimper that the sleeping man made, worrying that if he missed one sound Buck would get hurt. They got home to Eddie's without any major incidents, but it felt like too quick of a drive.

He got out of his truck, closed his door quietly, walked around to Buck's door, and opened it slowly because the poor mess of a man was asleep against the door. He thought for a bated moment, before opening the door quickly and catching the younger man before even his seatbelt could catch him.

"Buck, baby, can you wake up? We are home," he said, trying to jostle him just enough to wake him, but not upset or scare him.

Buck stirred, blinking his eyes slowly as he registered Eddie's touch and voice. He looked at the house in confusion, before looking at Eddie like he didn't recognize him.

"This isn't the loft," he mumbled, sitting back away from Eddie, as if he just realized he didn't know who he was with.

"No, this is my house," Eddie said in a gentle voice, before an idea crossed his mind. "Chris lives here too," he added, hoping including his son would help Buck focus more.

Unfortunately, it only served to stress the younger man out leading to a fearful face, tears welling in his eyes, and hasty/panicked breathing.

"I... is... Ed... die o... kay?." he gasped out between frantic breaths.

Eddie grabbed Buck's hand, putting it on his chest over his heart. He waited for a moment, so his steady heartbeat could be felt. "I'm right here, feel that? It's strong and steady, just like yours." he said calmly, as he took Buck's other hand and placed it on the sick man's heart area of his chest.

Buck closed his eyes for a moment, a soft smile crossing his lips. As soon as the look of peace touched his face, all color drained from his face.

Eddie acted quick, rotating Buck out of the car, but let go to steady the door, giving him enough room to drop from his seat, landing heavily on his feet, before crashing to his knees with a strong retch.

The older man jumped in surprise, but recovered rather fast, as he carded his fingers through the younger firefighter's short hair. "You're okay,baby. Try to breathe through the nausea." He encouraged, as a few moments later the younger man leaned into the older man's side in exhaustion. "There you go, just take slow, deep breaths." he added, beyond relieved that Buck only tried to throw up one time.

"M dizzy," Buck admitted after a couple minutes of slow, deep breaths.

"You are dehydrated and trying to puke up air." Eddie explained, lifting the sick man to his feet and steadied him until he got more of his unstable bearings. He led the younger man to the front door, supporting most of his weight as he unlocked and opened the door. He helped Buck to the couch before walking away and returned a few moments later with a glass of water, which he handed to the man in front of him.

Buck looked at him comically, and almost rejected the water until he saw a look of pure determination cross the man he loved 's face.

"What's with the look, baby?" Eddie asked out of curiosity, as he sat down beside Buck on the couch.

"Puking up air sounds odd," Buck said with a shake of his head that elicited a groan, as the movement left the younger man dizzy again.

"Here lay down and close your eyes. Maybe some sleep will stop the dizziness, and before you try to argue, I'm not going anywhere. So if you have another nightmare, I will wake you up." Eddie vowed, after Buck drank a good amount of water.

Buck put the half-empty glass down on the table in front of him and looked at Eddie with a bit of a squint.

"Have a headache?" Eddie asked, as he grabbed a pillow off the easy chair beside him and placed it on his lap to make it more comfortable for Buck's head to lay on.

Buck nodded, as he was starting to notice the lagging sensation his brain was exhibiting.

Eddie patted the pillow with a reassuring smile, using his free hand to cup the younger man's neck and guided him to lay down. He grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch, covering the sick man's large frame.

"Eddie? Are... where's Christopher?" Buck asked sleepily, after a good ten minutes of comfortable silence.

"Carla will bring him here when he gets out of school... Wait, you know who I am?" Eddie asked in surprise, resting one of his hands on Buck's side near his hip. He wasn't going to lie, having Buck acknowledge who he was, was better than Christmas and his birthday rolled into one.

"Mhm..." Buck mumbled with an exhausted yawn. He rolled over just enough to look up at the man he was so in love with. The first thing he noticed was how relieved and tired Eddie looked. "Wait... did I not know you?" he asked, watching the older man's face for clues as to what he was feeling and thinking.

Eddie barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Buck's, not remembering that he didn't know him. "Yeah, you haven't known me all day, at least not in a rational way. I think past the sleep deprivation, guilt, tears, the fever which you are still sporting, and the headache; you registered you were safe and that whoever you thought I was would keep you safe." he mused, appearing to be locked deep in thought.

"Sometimes it was Bobby, or Chimney, and sometimes it was someone familiar but I don't know who he was." Buck admitted in an impossibly small voice for such a big man. His hands were trembling under the blankets, so he tried to ball them into fists in the hopes that the tremors would stop or be better hidden.

Eddie seemed to feel something, or his 'Buck-radar' went off, as he seemed to sense that something was wrong with the man whose head was on his lap.

"You okay, baby?" he asked barely a moment after the tremors started. He started rubbing slow circles against the hip that was facing.

"N... why are you calling me baby?" Buck asked in a tremulous voice, further cluing his lover's 'radar' into something being wrong.

Eddie froze in surprise, even his hand stopped moving as he took a slow and calculated breath while debating what or how to say his answer.

"Um... well... Do you not like it?" he asked after a very loaded silence.

Buck shrugged in response, his eyes were closed so he didn't see how much of a struggle Eddie was experiencing. "Did I say something that made you change how you talk to me? " he asked, as he had a vague feeling that he may have slipped up.

Eddie frowned, inwardly freaking out since calling Buck baby had felt so right. But now he was starting to wonder if he had misspoken, worrying now if by calling Back a love name he had lost the fever- confessed lover altogether.

"You may have mentioned something about how you feel about Christopher and I, " he admitted, his mouth suddenly drier than the Sahara Desert. He closed his own eyes, too afraid to look at the younger man that he realized he can't live without... even if it's only as friends.

Buck swallowed hard a couple times before sitting up slowly, hunching over as his stomach churned fast and hard. "Uh... Eddie?" he said in a questioning tone, when the older firefighter didn't respond to him sitting up.

"Yes. Buck," Eddie said in an unnaturally calm voice, but kept his eyes closed, too panicked to look at him and see disappointment.

"I...I..." Buck whispered, as a violent gag rocked his frame, resulting in all the water from a little while ago ending up in his lap, down his legs, and on the floor.

Eddie's eyes flew open at the gag, concern written all over his face. "You're okay, we'll try more water later," he said, as he hesitantly put a comforting hand on the younger firefighter's now sweaty back. What worried him the most, was the amount of heat radiating from Buck's clothed back. He used the now puked on blanket, that fell on the floor, to mop up the watery vomit.

"S... sorry," Buck slurred, his head falling onto Eddie's shoulder, as it was closer to him.

Eddie frowned, not liking how warm Buck felt against him. "Maybe you should take a cool shower," he suggested, knowing that bringing the fever down might ease some of the nausea, enough to hopefully rest.

Buck shook his head slowly, curling in on himself, over his stomach.

"Come on, baby, I can help you if you want it. " Eddie offered, worrying that the younger man was too worn out to actually rest, bring his fever down without being sick again. He stood up in silence, offering a hand to help the younger man up to his feet. It didn't surprise him in the least, when Buck hesitated before taking his hand and allowing the stronger man to pull him to his feet.

He led Buck to the bathroom, before having him sit on the toilet cover while he turned the water on and got it to temperature. He turned back to look at Buck who was pulling his clothes off with a look of fevered determination. He smirked thinking how adorable the firefighter looked, before he helped the man strip down to skin.

"In you go," he said, offering a guiding hand to help Back into the shower. Once the younger man was safely in the shower, he bit his lip for a moment debating if he needed to help Buck or if he shouldn't..

"Eddie, can you help me?" Buck's weak voice could be barely be heard over the cascading, lukewarm water. He hated having to admit he was so worn out and dizzy, that his vision was beyond blurry.

Eddie raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sick man's request. Everything in him wanted to strip and jump in with the man he loved, but he wasn't going to make it anymore awkward than it already was... for him anyways, he didn't think Buck was lucid enough to understand what was really going on.

"Sure, hang on," he said finally, steeling himself to see of the man in all his wonderous nudity. He took a couple breaths, listening as Buck sounded like he was pitting a lot. "You okay?" he asked as he finished stripping himself.

"Mhm, just rinsing my mouth out," Buck said simply,  sounding more lucid than earlier in the living room. He moved further forward when he heard Eddie move the shower curtains enough to climb in with him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Eddie asked, lifting a warm hand to check Back's temperature. He frowned when he saw how fever-bright the younger man's eyes were, and how much heat still was radiating from his skin.

Buck stayed quiet as he debated how to respond, when he suddenly leaned forward crashing his lips onto Eddie's lips, almost like a drunken kiss. His actions startled both men as he pulled back shyly.

"Sorry," he slurred, looking down at the floor.

Eddie, who had remained completely still when Buck kissed him, chuckled under his breath. "If you weren't sick, I'd kiss you until we were both absolutely breathless." he said, hooking his fingers under the younger man's chin lifting gently until their eyes met.

"Really?" Buck asked, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

Eddie nodded with a smile, before grabbing the shampoo to wash Buck up.
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Would you all like a sequel to the sequel? Lol. Let me know. :)

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