Brotherhood lasts a lifetime

Chapter 7

A few hours later, a knock at the door startled Deacon out of his thoughts. If you asked him, he couldn't tell you, how much time had passed.

He had entered Street's hospital room in the hope, to get through to the young blond man sitting at his bedside. To be able to help him. Now, hours later, he wasn't sure, if anyone could.

Evan was still as non-responsive as before. He would answer (or sign to be exact), when the doctor would come, to update him on Street's condition and treatment, but that was it. Deacon counted it as a win, that the younger man had accepted the hot chocolate, he had brought him.

Deacon turned away from where Evan was curled up in bed, his arms protectively around Street, and looked towards the door. There Hondo was gesturing for him to come outside. He sighed but complied.

As soon as the door closed behind him, he turned towards his boss.

"Good to see you up. How is the shoulder?"

"Had worse!", Hondo winked up. "How are they?" Deacon raised an eyebrow.

"As for Street, well it was touching and go for a while. The doctor said he is stable now. He has a hell of a recovery in front of him through. As for your baby SEAL, well he hasn't said anything since I picked him up at the scene. He's communicating with the doctors in sign language and I got him to drink a whole cup of hot chocolate, which, is a win. But other than that, he is non-responsive. I heard the nurses mutter about catatonia and trauma response."

Hondo cursed. He had really hoped, that this time, would be different. That he wouldn't shut down. Why did the universe hate their kid so much? What had the younger man ever done to deserve shit like this? Hopefully Street would be able to help him, as soon as he woke up.

"I called a friend. An old friend, who served with us. He will be here in around six hours. Steve and Evan always had a special connection. I hope, he will be able to help." Hondo took a break and looked calculating at Deacon.

"Just spit it out!", the older man commended. Hondo sighed.

"I know, it is much to ask. But I am sure, if he sees me, it will just make things worse. And he seems to response positively to you, so... Could you stay with him, until Steve gets here?"

To say that Deacon hadn't expected this, was an understatement. But his heart had already claimed the younger man as part of their family, so there was nothing he wouldn't do for him. So he just nodded.

"I just need to call Annie, then I will head inside again. But you should probably call his boss and let the LAFD know, that he will not be able to work for the next few days. They are probably wondering what's going on already. And I need you to get me another hot chocolate for him and something you know he likes to eat."

Hondo nodded and was thankful for Deacon's gift to help, whenever Hondo needed someone to take the lead. To be honest, the commander himself was on edge right now. The whole situation had triggered some unwanted memories, he had hoped would never surface again.

As he first woke he had to fight down images of Mac lying there in the dusty village. He could still feel the blood on his hands.

After dropping the requested food off with Deacon he decided to head back to the office, to make some calls. He didn't get there fast enough.

Just as he was leaving the ICU his cell phone started ringing. He looked skeptical at the unknown number before he answered.

"Am I talking to one Daniel Harrison? With the SWAT of the LAPD?", an unknown voice asked. Hondo frowned but decided to roll with it.

"Yes. Who do I have the honor, of talking with?"

"Sargent Athena Grant. LAPD. I am in search of my husband's college." Hondo was honestly confused. Why was she calling him then?

"Okay... And that leads to this call because...?"

"Well said man was picked up by one of your officers today at a scene they were working. That was hours ago. And neither my husband nor anyone on the team, including his best friend is able to reach him since. So WHERE is Evan Buckley? And is he safe?"

Hondo was overwhelmed. He had hoped that their kid had built new relationships. But from what Street had told him, he barely left the house or attended parties and stuff. Apparently, his firehouse had still claimed him as theirs. It made the officer smile. If only Evan knew how much he was loved and cared for.

"Thanks for calling then, Sargent Grant. I was just about to call the LAFD. There was a situation with a family member of Mr. Buckley. I work with them, so I sent my officer to pick him up. He is currently here in the hospital and taken care of."

Sargent Grant seemed to take a deep breath on the other end of the line.

"Well thank you, Commander. Can you tell Buck that we are just one call away?" Hondo smiled.

"I will Sargent Grant. I am sure, it is appreciated. I am now going to call the LAFD headquarters, but since your husband is probably next to you, could you let him know that Mr. Buckley will not be able to work for the rest of the week?"

Sargent Grant sounded confused when she responded. "I can, but didn't you just say, that Buck is fine?"

"I did. And physically he is. But the person, which got hurt, and he are really close and right now he is in no condition to work. He is with them right now, but he asked me to inform his workplace about the situation."

Hondo didn't even feel bad about lying. They were his colleagues, maybe they cared for him, but as long as Hondo didn't get the okay from the SEAL he wouldn't give them any specific information. And to be honest? Their kid was in no condition to work right now and wouldn't for a few more days.
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As soon as Athena finished the call she turned towards Bobby and Eddie. Both had approached here after their shift had ended with pleading eyes to find out if Buck was okay.

"He is okay. Apparently, a family member got hurt at work and is in the hospital right now. Did you know, that Buck has family in L.A.?"

Eddie and Bobby looked at each other before her husband turned towards her.

"To be honest, we don't really know much about Buck. We know that he knows Chimney's girlfriend but refuses to talk to her. We know that he adores Christopher and kids in general. But other than that? He doesn't go out with us after shift and we know he has his fair share of trouble with strangers. In the beginning, we didn't want to press and later we thought he was just a private person."

Athena raised her eyebrows at them before Eddie spoke up.

"He opened up a little more to me but I will not share those pieces of information without his consent. It's true, he loves Chris like he is his own. He would do anything for him. Even go under people. Which he does, whenever Chris asks him. But he isn't comfortable around big crowds. From the way he moves and catalogizes certain things, I think he had some kind of military training, but as Bobby said, he doesn't really talk. He speaks through actions rather than words."

Athena signed and nodded. She had expected as much. Since she knew the younger man, she could probably count on two hands, the times he had joined them. He came to the kid's birthday parties, but other than that, his visits were rare. They even seemed to get less and less over the last few years.

"Well then, we will respect this. Buck has his reasons, and we will be there for him if he decides otherwise!", she stated and both Bobby and Eddie had to agree with her.

They all loved the younger man and had adopted him into their families, but it was Buck's decision on how deep he would let these relationships run.

"By the way Bobby, Commander Harrison asked me to pass along, that Buck will not work for the rest of the week. His family needs him right now!", she told him and left the room.

She hoped she had been vague enough with them.

While talking with the SWAT Commander she hadn't missed how he had used gender-neutral terms. He also had never stated the relationship his officer had with Buck. It had sparked her interest and if her days as Sargent had taught her something, that such terms usually meant a partner. Like "being in a relationship"-partner. It had put a smile on her lips.

And the S.W.A.T. commander seemed to care deeply for their Buckeroo. So she could only hope, that he was in good hands.