Magical Shenanigans – Day Six – Duochanfan

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Day Six

Buck and Eddie walked into work together, both still riding high on their date last night.

“Well, we have you two in a good mood,” Hen smirked at the two of them, “What did you get up to?”

“We went on a date,” Buck answered as they got changed for work.

“Yeah,” Eddie grinned, “It was… good, really damn good.”

“Ten out of ten recommend to do again, except the part where we had to deal with Harry and Chris,” Buck grinned over at Eddie, who snorted a laugh.

“True,” he smiled back.

“What the hell did they get up to?” Hen asked, frowning as she stood up, all dressed and ready for the shift ahead.

“The usual things two kids can do when with grandparents. We had to sort out a few things, but it wans’t-” Buck cut off as Chimney entered the locker room, glaring at Buck.

“What’s got your panties in a bunch?” Eddie asked, subtly standing in the way of Buck.

“Maddie is upset,” Chimney said as he stalked over, “And I don’t like it when she’s upset.”

“Well, boo fucking hoo,” Buck rolled his eyes. “She’s upset because all her lies have been caught, and she doesn’t like it. She plays the doting sister really well, but some people never fell for the act. Maddie wasn’t part of my life for a long damn time, since I lived in the UK for most of my childhood and nearly all of my teen years.”

“She took care of you when you were little,” Chimney protested.

“She did, when I was a baby, I was her living dress-up doll. I bet you didn’t know that my first broken bone was because of her,” Buck snorted. “She didn’t like it when I started to get bigger and refused to be that for her. She was violent toward me. I was four and didn’t want to be dressed up in whatever she had found and thought cute for me to wear. I wanted to go outside and play. So when I said no, she started to rag me around. She pushed me down the stairs; she was fourteen at the time. Anytime I refused to do what she wanted, /I would be pushed, by being hit, dragged around, or something, by her and her parents.”

“Maddie isn’t like that,” Chimney protested, shaking his head.

“Yeah, she is,” Buck told him, standing up as soon as he’d done up his boots. “Maddie is violent, but only to me. She will hit me still if I’m not doing what she wants.”

“I did notice that,” Hen said softly, “She’s doing it because you aren’t what?”

“Dressing how she thinks I should dress, doing a job she wants me to do, and dating who she says is fine. She doesn’t like Eddie and Bobby,” he added.

“Of crouse they do,” Chimney stated, looking toward Eddie.

“No, I don’t,” Eddie shrugged, “I tolerate her for Buck’s sake, but that’s about it,” he answered honestly. “She comes across as very entitled, and I’ve never liked the way she treats Buck.”

“I-” Chimney said, looking upset at the news, “You really don’t?”

“No,” Eddie shook his head, “Look, Maddie came into Buck’s life again by breaking into an apartment that didn’t belong to her or Buck. That’s how she came in, breaking into someone’s home. What if it hadn’t been Bucks’ place? She would have gotten into some serious trouble.”

“She also had my number; she could have called me, told me she was in town, and I could have given her the key. Not only that, when I got home, she was showing, opened a bottle of expensive wine, which I had to reimburse Abby for, since it was a special bottle her mother had given her. She felt like she was entitled to anything in that apartment, even when I told her that it didn’t belong to me,” he stated, “she tried to open more wine bottles. In the end, I had to have them shipped to her brother to stop her from opening them. And yeah, remember the brusing on my arm about two weeks after she arrived?” he asked.

“Yeah, I remember, I checked your arm out, you had to be man behind for two shifts because of the damage,” Hen frowned as it clicked in her head, “You’re telling me that Maddie did that?”

Buck nodded, “Yep,” he said, popping the P. “If I were you, Chimney, when she has the baby, keep a close eye on her.”

Chimney looked startled, “Why would I need to do that?” he asked, frowning even more at where the conversation had gone.

“Buckleys have an issue with Postpartum thyroiditis. Margaret suffered from it for all three of her pregnancies. Maddie would be prone to it. Chances are, with a late pregnancy and that little bit, she’ll end up with it. Not only that, but if she’s how she was with me when I was a baby with hers, then you’ll want her as far away from the baby as possible. Hopefully, she won’t be,” he finished as he walked out of the locker room, not wanting got talk about his former sister anymore.

Chimney watched him go, “Does anyone but me like her?”

“I thought she was a little-” Hen trialed off, “Not really, Chimney, we all let her be around because of you and Buck. She does come across as entitled and a little manipulative at times. She also put Buck down all the time, like she knows everything about his life. It’s obvious now that she really doesn’t. Some were taking what she said as the gospel of Evan Buckley, but he isn’t even that,” she told him, getting up as she and Eddie left the locker room, as Chimney sat there contemplating what he was learning.

“You okay?” Eddie asked as he walked over to Buck.

Buck looked at him as he was now helping Bobby with breakfast. “Yeah, I will be,” he sighed, “I didn’t want to… I tried to keep the peace a lot. Not talking about what she’d done to me in the past or now. I had hoped that she had changed from the teenager that I had known back then. But she hadn’t changed that much at all,” he sighed in disappointment.

“I wish that,” Eddie began, but just shook his head, “No, I don’t, you wouldn’t be the man you are if you’d stayed with them.”

“Maybe, or maybe I would have been just the same,” Buck said, shrugging as he went back to breaking the eggs for some omelets. Bobby was cooking bacon and sausages.

“Everything okay?” Bobby asked, wondering what had happened this close to the start of shift for Eddie to be worried about Buck.

“Yeah, Cap,” Buck said, giving him a weak smile, just telling Chimney a few home truths about Maddie he didn’t know.”

“Most of how she has a history of violence against Buck, including when he was a baby and toddler,” Hen was the one to speak.

“And the main one we know, that she is a lying liar that lies,” Eddie snorted as he went and started getting the toaster ready to use.

Hen snorted, “Yeah,” she said, grimacing as she heard footsteps. They all turned and saw Chimney walking up. They could hear the chatter of more of A-Shift arriving.

XxXxX

Chimney avoided talking to them for the first few hours of the shift. He walked over to them after another call. “Look, I want to say that I-“

“Chim,” Buck began, interrupting him, “There is nothing to say. Just keep what she tells you to yourself, or better yet, ignore anything about me she says. She doesn’t know me. She never has and she never will because she’s not willing to acknowledge the shit she’s done in the past. I ignore it as well, I have to admit. But each time you come here telling me she’s upset because I’m not doing what she wants, it’s making it harder and harder to want to be around her and to forget what she’s done. I was happy, burying all that, until now, Chim.”

Chimney looked away. “I get that,” he said before looking back, “I do,” he repeated, and his words sounded sincere. “She’s the mother of my kid, Buck. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do. So much has been coming out about her in the last few days, and now I’m at a loss,” he shook his head a few times.

“Don’t let her lie to you,” he said, “The moment she does, is the moment you’re going to lose yourself. She will manipulate you into doing what she wants. Like confronting me about not giving in to her. Don’t do it again. If you do, and especially when we’re working.”

“What, you’ll report me?” he frowned.

“Yeah, I’m not going to work in an environment where I don’t feel safe. And in this job, Chim, I need to know that you’ve got my back when we’re going into a rescue,” he stated.

“I won’t… you…” he spluttered, eyes wide at what Buck was implying with his words.

“How would I know that?” Buck asked him. “Look, you’re a good firefighter and paramedic, one that I thought I could trust until you got with Maddie.”

“So that’s why you don’t work with me, and when hurt you go to Hen?” he asked, getting a nod, “I-“

“Yeah, because I’m not trusting you as I should and need to,” he told him.

Chimney nodded, “Yeah, right,” he said quietly before walking away again.

Buck closed his eyes and sighed, “Honestly,” he muttered, sounding much like his Aunt Hermione.

“We-“

“Abraxas Malfoy-Potter!” came a happy screech.

“Fuck, that sounded like her howler then,” he muttered as he turned around, and two people had just walked into the station. “Nan, Gramps,” he said, with a warm smile as he hurried over to them.

Molly Weasley had a few grey hairs now, but she was still mostly a fiery red. “Oh, look at you, you get bigger every time I see you,” she huffed before pulling him into a hug.

“Hey, Nan,” he smiled and held her just as tightly as she was holding him. 

“I’ve missed you, so has the family. You need to stop by again and soon,” she said as she finally let him go.

“Gramps,” he laughed as Arthur wrapped his arms around him.

Arthur hugged his grandchild just as much as his wife had. “You have gotten a lot bigger,” he laughed brightly. “Molly is right, you need to come home more often. The family has missed you at the Sunday roasts,” he said, letting him go and looking around the station. “So this is a fire station,” he murmured.

Buck closed his eyes and sighed, “Yes, Gramps,” he said, “I’ll show you around in a bit. We just got back from a call, and it’s lunch time,” he said, “Bobby and I will be making lunch.”

“Oh, lunch,” Molly said, “Oh, let’s see the kitchen,” she said as she put her arm through Bucks.

“Sure,” he sighed, wondering how long it would be before she had managed to kick him and Bobby out of it and cook for them. He was just glad that he and his Dad had shown her the mundane way to cook. She was still too damn good at it even then.

“Hello,” Bobby said, frowning at the woman who was hanging on Buck’s arm. There was a man who was walking up behind them, a fond smile on his face as he looked at the woman and Buck.

“Bobby, this is Molly and Arthur Weasley, my other set of grandparents,” he said, “Nan, Gramps, this is Bobby Nash, Captain of the 118.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Bobby smiled as he quickly washed his hands and dried them. “Welcome to the 118, Buck’s a great firefighter, and he is very compassionate.”

“Good to hear,” Arthur said as he patted Buck on the back.

“What are you making, Dear?” Molly asked as she wandered into the kitchen.

Buck sighed and looked at Bobby, “She’s a really good cook and loves doing so,” he said.

Bobby nodded and followed Molly. Buck went to the counter and sat down at the little bar area. Arthur joined him as they watched Molly and Bobby talking.

“I’m making a lasagna,” he said. “I was just about to cook the mince,” he stated as he gestured to where he was preparing the meat to be seasoned.

“That does sound good, but have you tried cottage pie?” she asked.

“I’ve not,” Bobby said, “I do larger meals to make sure I can get everyone to eat. There are no vegans or vegetarians on my shift, but there are two on C-Shift and one on B-Shift,” he stated.

“Right, so yes, a cottage pie would be good and filling, and sides would be veg,” she said as she began to hunt around.

“Nan,” Buck called, “No taking over.”

Molly turned to her grandson, “I’m not, I’m just seeing what’s available, lasagna is nice, but can’t be as filling as-“

“It is, Nan,” Buck sighed, shaking his head.

“Actually, Buck,” Bobby said, “I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at a cottage pie,” he said, “If you’re willing to show me how to make a good one enough to feed around fifteen people,” he added.

“I can make it feed at least twenty,” she smiled at Bobby, “I have the family over for dinner as often as I can. Altogether, there are twenty-three people that I feed. It’s nice to have the entire family around.”

Bobby hummed, “Impressive,” he said. “Then let’s have a look and see what we have on offer,” he smiled at her as they began to discuss different recipes they used to feed so many people.

Buck shared a look with his Gramps and sighed, “Well, we’ve lost Nan for a bit.”

“We have,” Arthur smiled, “That means you can show me around. Molly will be busy until there is food on the table being eaten,” he joked lightly.

“Arthur,” Molly huffed as she heard him.

“But I’m right, Molly,” he smiled at his wife, “I know you, my love, and you love to make sure those around you are well fed.”

Molly stared at her husband. “Arthur,” she said in the warning tone that told Arthur he was one step away from ending up in the shed for the night.

“Sorry,” he said, a little sheepishly.

Molly smiled and walked over, kissing him on the cheek, “Go and check out the station, Bobby and I have a few things to talk about,” she said. She went back to Bobby, and the two began to discuss recipes again.

Buck smiled at the two and then looked at his granddad, “Well, Gramps,” he said, “Let’s go look around,” he finished with a large smile as he got off the stool.

Arthur followed him as Buck began to show him around the station. “Eddie,” he grinned as he saw his boyfriend.

“Oh, so this is Eddie?” Arthur said before Buck or Eddie could say anyhting. “Oh, he is a handsome young man,” he added, “I can see why you like him, he’s a good soul.”

Buck nodded, “Yeah, he is, a great dad too.”

“I remember the letters,” Arthur smiled, “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Now, I understand that your son asked a question some time ago,” he began as he looked at Eddie.

“Questions?” Eddie frowned at him, “What would that be?” he asked, glancing at Buck as the man just sighed and shook his head.

“Do dogs know they’re dogs?” Arthur said. “It was a fascinating question. Buck passed it on to us, have to admit it was a whole family discussion, even young Draco got involved. So far, we still haven’t figured out an answer,” he sighed, “When we do, I’ll be sure to pass it on.”

“They’ve been debating it almost every Sunday since I sent the letter. I’ve gotten a… howler twice over it. Nan wasn’t pleased at all when it ended up in a food fight,” Buck laughed.

“I showed you the memory of that one,” Arthur said, just as quickly as his grandson.

Eddie laughed, “Well, you can meet Chris soon and see what he thinks. He still asks it occasionally, he’s… curious about the world in a way that I love trying to find out the answers for.”

“Same here,” Buck agreed, “He’s amazing, Gramps, you really need to meet him. He’s with Grand-mere and Grand-pere today. I can always message them and ask them to come by.”

“It would be nice to see Lucius,” Arthur said, a wicked glint in his eyes.

“No fighting, pranking each other, or anything!” Buck warned him, “I mean it, I will get Nan and Grand-mere involved if I have to,” he finished, glaring at his granddad.

“I promise I won’t do anything here,” he said.

Buck narrowed his eyes, “That just means here at the station, I mean in the state of California and the USA, no shenanigans,” he told him.

“Hmm,” Arthur said with a wave of the hand and then started to look around.

Buck sighed, “Gramps… this is my place of work,” he said, trying the same angle he had with Lucius.

Arthur nodded, but Buck knew from past examples that it didn’t make a bit of difference. “So, what does it all do?!” he asked, gesturing to everything around them.

Buck and Eddie shared a look, and they began to go through everything. “I’ll send you my avadamy books later on, so you can have a read through them, Gramps,” Buck finally said as he finished explaining about most of the equipment on the ladder truck.

“You have a lot of questions,” Hen comments as she had been watching the two explain everything.

“I do, there is just so much out there that I don’t know. When I find something, I like to know more. The universe is a large and wondrous place, full of beauty and danger,” he said as he turned to face her. “Ah, you must be Hen, yes?” he asked her.

“That I am,” she laughed lightly.

“This is my Gramps, Arthur Weasley, my Nan is upstairs cooking with Bobby,” he said.

“Molly loves to cook, and since we have a large family, she was happy to take over the kitchen,” Arthur joked.

“I heard that Arthur Welasey!” came a shout from above.

Arthur smiled fondly at the yell, “And that would be said wife, my wonderful and beautiful Molly,” he sighed happily.

“My wife is the same; she loves to know more about the world. She’s a rocket scientist, wanting to try and get us further into space,” she smiled, proud of Karen and her goals.

“That sounds fascinating,” Arthur said, “what does she do? What kind of subjects has she learned about?” he began to question as he got a little closer to her.

Hen flustered a little at the attention. “She learned physics, math, and anything she could. She learned a great deal about chemistry and how to create an explosive reaction. Quantum Physics was a favorite subject of hers. It goes over my head, I hate to admit, but I love listening to her when she’s explaining something.”

“Quantum Physics, hmm, and how things go boom. I would love to learn more-” Arthur started, looking excited at the prospect of learning something new, and something that he might be able to share with George.

“No,” Buck said, eyes wide, “I know where Uncle George got his talents from, and it wasn’t Great Uncle Fabian and Gidieon.”

Arthur looked at him, trying to look innocent, but it worked as well as the Weasley twins’ innocent look did when they were in school. “I’m curious, Rex,” he stated.

“Yeah, but I think you should stick to the rubber ducks,” Buck sighed, hoping to prevent the Burrow from exploding… again.

“Rubber ducks?” Hen frowned as she looked at the older man.

“Yes,” Arthur brightened, “I’ve never been able to get out of Harry, Rex or anyone, but what is the actual function of a rubber duck?” he asked, “I would really like to know.”

Hen blinked as she looked at him. “Rubber duck?” she blinked a few more times.

“Yes, the function of them, do you know?” he asked her, “Would your darling wife know?”

“They’re toys, for the bathtub, given to kids to just…” she trailed off, wondering if the man was being serious.

“Gramps, we told you, they’re just that, toys for kids when they have a bath. To keep them entertained,” Buck sighed, having said the same things as his dad for years. Arthur just wouldn’t have it that that was all there was to it.

“Honestly, there has to be more to it than that,” Arthur gave the usually little huff as he turned to Hen, “Maybe ask if your wife would like to speak with me, maybe we can discover the true function of a rubber duck,” he grinned.

“You know, maybe I will ask her to come by, I think it would be fun for the two of you,” Hen said as she pulled out her phone.

“Hen don’t encourage him!” Buck exclaimed as he went to try and grab her phone.

Hen danced out the way and laughed as she called her wife, “Karen, you’re at home today?” she asked, nodding, “Come by the station and bring some of your books, I’ve got someone who is curious about the universe, and I think you should meet him, he has an interesting question to ask,” she added, grinning as Buck groaned.

“Maybe ask Lucius and Narcissa to bring everyone over as well,” Eddie suggested, “just make sure Cap knows that we’re feeding the five thousand,” he snorted.

Buck huffed a sigh as he went to the stairs, “Gramps, no more.”

“I have questions, Rex, and I would like an answer!” he called back at him.

Buck rolled his eyes as he ran up the stairs, “Hey, Cap, would we be able to swing it for a few more people to join us?” he asked.

“How many?” Molly was the one to ask, as she was seasoning the meat as it cooked.

“Karen, Denny, my grandparents, and Harry and Chris,” he said, “So six more?” he asked,

“Oh, that would be easily done,” Molly smiled, as she looked at Bobby, “This is why you always prepare more. In case of suprise visitors, and of course you all need to eat a lot to keep on top of your work.”

Bobby smiled, “Let’s add my wife to that, Athena, she’ll be happy to meet you both as well,” he told her.

“Oh, how wonderful,” Molly clapped, “Come on then, we have work to do,” she said as she began to move around the kitchen, Bobby moving with ease around her.

“Damn, they get along,” Buck said, laughing lightly.

“She has some good recipes that I should try for you all. I’ll be able to feed you all, and then some with them,” Bobby grinned over at him.

“I have a few from him too, his five cheese mac’n’cheese,” Molly smiled, “Such a wonderful captain you have, Rex,” she added before going back to cooking alongside Bobby, who had messaged Athena to stop by for lunch. They were going to be offline for a couple of hours after the last call.

Buck went back downstairs to keep an eye on his Gramps, as he was now asking Hen about the ambulance and what everything did. Eddie walked over to him, and they leaned against each other.

“So,” Eddie said, something still between the Weasley and Malfoy families?” he asked.

“It’s not as bad as it was when my Dad and Pere were kids. Gramps and Grand-pere had a fist fight in the middle of a bookstore when they were twelve,” he said, “It’s toned down to pranks now. And the occasional fight via snowballs and light spells, to make each other change color. So mostly pranks. Though from what Dad told me, they went paintballing a few months ago.”

“Paintballing?” Eddie blinked, “Seriously?”

“Yep,” Buck said, “Dad promised me pics of it too. My family isn’t conventional even by those standards. The… war took a lot out of those over there. It changed people on a level that most don’t even realise. Nan took out one of the worst. Gramps is a gentle soul, not a fighter, but he can throw down with the best of the Aurors, especially when his family is in danger. We lost my Uncle Fred to it all, and it still hurts to family. Uncle George is his twin, identical twin,” he said. Grand-pere is still haunted by what he had to do during it. He was able to save a lot of lives, but that cost him. You saw his hands.”

“Yeah, he shakes a little at times,” Eddie nodded.

“Crucio, over and over again, it’s damaged his nerves. They can’t do anything to help either. Some days are good, and they’re minimal, and others, he can barely hold his wand,” he said, his words quiet so only the two of them could hear them.

“Damn,” he muttered, “I never really thought of what it was like over there. Since…” he trailed off, “Look, I know mundane warfare, I signed up and was part of the mundane side of things,” he said, “but that side,” he shrugged lightly.

“Yeah, the US didn’t really see the action this time. Nothing reached these shores. But the UK was ground zero, all the unexplained terrorist activities and that, the mysterious deaths. Even though I lived in the UK after, you could still see the effects of it everywhere. The weariness that some people held about them. They still looked over their shoulder half the time. Family gatherings were the most important thing to attend. It’s why Molly still hosts a Sunday gathering, and once a month, all those who survived go there to spend some time, watching the next generations grow in a time of peace,” Buck said softly, looking at his Granddad.

Eddie nodded, “Yeah, I can understand that. Being home seeing Chris, anytime I was on leave, it was like a balm to my very soul.”

It didn’t take long for some of the others to arrive.

“Arthur!” Lucius called out as he handed Harry to Narcissa.

“Lucius,” Narcissa warned him.

“I’m just going to ask something,” he protested, “My love, really, I’m not about to start a brawl in public,” he told her, kissing her cheek.

“That’s what you said last time, and I hear that you fought in the middle of a bookstore. Draco was there, along with Harry and several very impressive children,” she huffed.

“That was a very long time ago,” Lucius protested, “Decades ago.”

“And I’ll never let you forget it either,” she smirked at him.

“My darling wife, the light of my life, one day I shall,” he told her, taking her hand and kissing it.

“Suck up,” Arthur teased.

Lucius shot him a glare, “Like you aren’t the same with your own wife. Or do you lack the class that is needed to sweep her off her feet?” he smirked back at him.

“I can sweep Molly off her feet at any point,” he said as he turned to find Molly.

“Gramps! Grand-pere!” Buck called out as Christopher and Harry were giggling at the two.

“Molly,” Arhtur said as he walked up the stairs. Everyone else was following and wondering just what the hell was going on.

“Arthur, call everyone, lunch is almost ready. The table needs to be-” she began, only to end on a squeal as Arthur picked her up princess style and swung her around. “Oh, Arthur,” she said, patting him on the chest. “Put me down before you put your back out.”

“Just proving that I can still sweep you off your feet, sweetheart,” he said, as he gently set her back down.

“You’re an idiot, but I love you, and I don’t know why,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

“Love you always, Molly wobbles,” he said, turning her around and dipping her into a kiss.

“You lug,” she said, laughing as he helped her stand again. “I love you too,” she repeated, smiling softly, “Rex, start setting the table. Someone start with drinks as well. Get everything ready!” she ordered as she went back to getting the three large dishes she and Bobby had put together out of the oven.

Buck began to set the table with Hen as Chimney, and Eddie began to get the drinks brought to the table. Molly had made some homemade lemonade with what Bobby had brought last shift. Along with a few other drinks that could go in the middle to be shared out.

Buck sat down, looking at everyone together. He caught Eddie’s eye, and he smiled. Christopher was between the two of them, like he usually was when they were eating. Just in case he wanted help. Harry smiled at Buck. This was family, even if it was a little dysfunctional at times.