Chapter Text
~~~~Buck~~~~
Family was the one thing that Buck had longed for his entire life, yet repeatedly failed miserably at. His first family with his parents and Maddie basically fell apart the second she left for college and his parent's apathy towards him fully took over. Family number two consisted of his SEAL Team and now that was scattered across the globe, the only one whom he had regular contact with being Steve but even that had been limited as of late. His fourth family had been the 118, or so he thought. He knew he messed up with the lawsuit he really really did, but all of his attempts to fix it had been met with nothing more than harsh words and a cold shoulder. He realizes that he hurt them but why couldn’t they even attempt to see his side? Bobby wasn’t talking to him at all except to bark orders at him. Maddie and him weren't talking at all currently, he had tried to reach out but she always had some excuse. It was always “Sorry I have to work” or “Some other time”. Normally he would try and talk to Eddie but that was probably the worst of all, every attempt at an apology, or inquiry about Chris was met with harsh indifference or cruel words. So, family four was now down the drain. All Buck had wanted with the lawsuit was his family back, but instead he had just lost another.
Family three wasn’t lost he reminded himself on occasion, just currently unreachable. Mac and the boys all still loved and cared about him, he reminded himself when it got to be too much and Eddie's words from the Grocery store crept back into his mind screaming at him that he was exhausting and to suck it up. He had sucked it up his entire life and he was done with that. For two years he had sucked it up while his husband and kids sat on a different continent waiting to come home, unable to because Mac’s psycho former boss Patricia Thornton was planning on killing him and the boys as revenge for exposing and then putting her away. Not even allowed to mention them to anyone around him. Seeing them only twice in that time, and speaking on the phone only twice a month with a video chat once every other month. It was more than some got he tried to remind himself, but every day it seemed to be working less. Realizing that to his youngest son that dad was now, the guy on the other end of the phone. Was the most gut-wrenching experience of his entire life, but now, now Thornton was dead, and they were coming home for good.
Thornton hadn’t considered Buck a target worthy of her time. When he worked for Phoenix, she made it clear that she thought he was little more than a stupid omega. It seemed she underestimated all omegas, as she had always underestimated Mac, utilizing him only when she absolutely had to. In Buck's opinion, her vendetta against Mac has just as much to do with him putting her away as it did with him being an omega, he was the only one she targeted outright even though the others were involved in her capture. Sending Murdoc after him first, and then going after him herself when he failed to get the job done. Forcing his family to go into hiding, and Buck got left behind like he said she didn’t want him, and those at The Phoenix Foundation said it would be safer for Mac and him to be apart. A single omega dad drew some attention, but not nearly as much attention as two mated male omegas would. So, he stayed behind and bid his time until they caught Thornton and his family could come home, and now they could. No would he reminded himself, just after the new year. He would finally have his children at home with him.
The 118 had often taken jabs at his intelligence, not that he truly minded, he would always be the first to admit he was the dumb one in his family. Mac came from a family of geniuses and had obviously passed that on to their children. Their intelligence was one of the reasons why Buck had become so invested in fun facts. Wilbur the youngest had started reading right before they left at only four, something Buck hadn’t done till he was nearly eight. Aside from his superior intellect Wilbur was all Buck kind and forgiving always running around and trying to please everyone. Kirby was only eight when they left and was the most similar to Mac, he had always viewed the world as a puzzle to be solved and had at five started taking things apart and trying to put them back together usually with rather unfortunate results when he did so unassisted. While he was often stubborn like both his parents, he often tried to find the bright side or a new solution. He had always taken life in stride, when he had gone almost completely deaf at age six, he simply accepted it and did his best to live with the way things were. Felix their oldest was an enigma of sorts, he was kind and intelligent just like all their other children, but also a spitfire, not letting anyone bother him or his family. While Mac and Buck would both lose their temper if pushed too far, Felix never let it get to that point if someone wanted to mess with him, they were going to settle it then and there. Buck assumed it may have had something to do with the fact, that Felix was adopted and had always either had to deal with those who judged him because they either assumed he was born when his parents were extremely young, or those without enough tact to avoid pointing out that he resembled neither his parents or siblings. In all honesty, if Buck had to say that Felix looked like any member of the family it would be Maddie and even that resemblance was limited to their hair and eye color.
In all honesty, while he loved Maddie, he could easily see her disapproving of Mac writing him off due to his absence or perceiving him as some sort of loon, that just attracted trouble. Not that it would be unfounded as far as Buck was concerned most of his husband's relatives and friends were complete and utter nutcases, but it's not like he could say anything against them after all most of them had saved his life at one point, or another. Not to mention he was pretty certain that Steve his former Commander whom the kids regarded as their grandfather had committed at least one crime in every category of misdemeanor not to mention multiple felonies. However, neither he nor Mac had room to talk though. It was truly a miracle that neither of them had ended up with prison sentences. They would both admit there were times they were little more than delinquents in their youth. While he did stupid and reckless things like underage drinking, Mac's teenage rebellion may actually have been classified as terrorism, doing things like causing a nuclear meltdown on the high school football field. Not that any of that mattered now, it was all in the past where it would stay.
Actions had consequences and choices had been made by everyone. If he had learned anything it was that even without the lawsuit the 118, would not have reacted well to learning about his family. So, this is where he drew the line and cut his losses. His family would need help getting back the normal and he didn’t have the time or strength to fix his relationship with the 118 as well as his relationships with his sons. They mattered more, they were his children they had to come first, is what he told himself.
It was exactly two weeks until Christmas, three days before that he would have his final shift, and he would say goodbye to the 118. HR and the Chief had already been informed of his resignation and promised not to tell anyone till he was already gone. There had been questions of course, all of which he had refused to answer. Aside from telling them it was for personal reasons and nothing else.
Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he told himself “You can do this, you can fix things”. However, for the first time in months, he wasn’t talking about Maddie or Eddie or anyone else at the 118. No, he was talking about his family, and this was no longer a hopeful thought or wishful thinking. No this was a promise, one he intended on keeping with everything in him.
