Monsters.

chapter forty-three , It's Not Going to Be That Easy
a/n : *CONTENT WARNING* this chapter depicts mania episodes

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"Birds, man..."

Tom lets out a small breath. "They freak me out."

Everyone turns to the brunette boy.

"What like cockatoos?" Chimney asks.

"Exactly those!" Tim points at him. "And umbrella cockatoos. When they squawk and their feathers ruffle." He shudders. "And Bald Eagles freak me out too."

Emery nods, "Because of America?"

Tom slightly opens his mouth. "Well, yes. But also, because of how big their talons are. And their big eyes when they squawk."

"Maybe you just don't like squawking," Chimney says.

"I'd agree with that." Emery frowns. "Squawking annoys the shit out of me. For instance, when Eddie squawks. An anger fills me."

Eddie rolls his eyes. The entire team then tenses and looks between the two. "So, what I do is plug my ears."

"And if you think my squawking's bad, then I have no idea how you're going to handle Em's." Eddie looks at Tom, not even glancing at the girl. It's been a week since Emery and Eddie had got into their fight and the endless digs at one another hadn't stopped. It was making everyone feel so awkward. Eddie and Emery never argued, so seeing them on the outs was confusing and uncomfortable.

Tom sinks in his seat, "I should've driven when I had the chance..."

The fire engine slows to a stop with the ambulance behind them. The team gets out of the vehicles and walks over to the school bus filled with kids.

"Two of my students, they were attacked by crows." The teacher speaks through the bus doors that were cracked open. "They're trapped in there." she points to the barn.

Emery's skin begins to crawl. "Aw, shit."

"I think I've seen this movie," Chimney speaks. Emery swallows, the same thought entering her mind.

"All right, listen up." Bobby speaks. "Turnouts and head protection. Let's go."

Everyone headed back to the fire engine and put their turnout gears on along with their helmets. As they were walking to the barn, Chimney's badge falls off. He picks it up, "Damn Clasp."

"It's fine, Chim, forget the nametag."

Emery holds up a finger, "No, Chim's got a point. The clasps we first get are terrible."

"Wait, you said "the clasps we first get are terrible"." Chimney repeats. Emery nods, "Yeah, that's what I said."

"Did you change your clasp?" Chimney asks.

Emery turns to him, "Uh...no—"

"You changed your clasp." Chimney whispers harshly to her. Emery rolls her eyes, "Okay, I may have changed my clasp—"

"I can't believe this—"

"I was going to tell you—"

"Oh, right. When? In a year? When I couldn't find my nametag?" Chimney tilts his head to the side.

"Okay, guys, can we focus, please?" Hen voices.

"Yeah, you guys can deal with your clasp drama later." Eddie voices.

Emery scoffs, "You're only saying that because you lost your nametag the second week you got here."

Emery and Chimney look at each other and chuckle. "Amateur."

"This is weird." Tom voices, trying to return back to the task at hand. "I mean, we have crows all over the city. I've never heard about any of them attacking anyone."

"That's because crows are very docile." Hen states. "They don't attack unless they're provoked."

"No sudden movements, and we should be good."

Chimney's name tag falls again and he huffs. "Dammit." He crouches down to grab it. "Whoa, wait." Emery grabs Chimney's shoulder.

Chimney freezes, he looks up and sees the crow in front of them.

"Just leave it, Chim." Bobby says.

Chimney nods his head, "Copy that."

"Everybody stay calm." Bobby instructs.

"Tom..." Emery looks at him. "You calm?"

Tom swallows, "S-So calm."

The group slowly walk around the crow that was in front of them. As soon as the firefighters got into the barn, they saw two kids sitting inside. One of the kids shoots up, "Over here. Dean's cut up real bad."

"How about you? You okay?" Bobby asks.

The kid slowly nods his head, "Yeah, I think so."

"Eddie, Tom, check him out."

Chimney walks over to the kid that was injured. "All right, kid, let's get you up, so we can take a look." The kid stands up and pulls his hand away from the back of his neck, revealing the skin that was peeled from his neck.

"All right, let's get those irrigated, and make sure no major arteries were hit." Hen says.

"Major arteries? Am I gonna die?"

Emery chuckles, "Only if you keep messing with the birds."

Chimney nudges Emery's arm.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" The kid shifts, his eyes immediately shooting to the ground.

"Dean, tell us..." Hen starts. "Those crows just attacked you guys from outta nowhere?"

"It was crazy. Tell 'em, Riley." Dean looks at his friend.

Riley opens his mouth, ready to back up his friends lie. Then he sees the stern look across the curl-haired girl's face. It's like some fiery Hell was being sent his way just from the look she was giving him. Riley's stomach drops in fear and he points at his friend. "He did it—he threw the rocks."

"Liar!"

"I tried to stop him!" Riley cries.

Dean growls, "Shut up."

"Nice going with that mom glare, Em." Hen says.

Emery looks at Hen with her brows raised. "Mom glare...really?"

Hen nods her head with a small smile on her lips. "Karen uses it all the time."

Emery pulls her brows together and a smile forms on her lips. She felt warm hearing that she looked like a mother. Even if it was because of the scary look she just gave a kid.

Crowing is heard outside and Tom's skin crawls. "Oh, God...we're surrounded." He points at the window. Bobby looks out the window.

"They know we're in here." Tom exhales.

Emery shakes her head, "Nah. They no they're in here." She points at the kids.

"Crowd are smart. And they hold grudges."

"Sounds like someone I know." Eddie sighs.

Emery quirks a brow and turns to him. "We're on a call right now. So, unless you have something helpful to say. Keep it to yourself." She looks back at Hen. "So, are they waiting for them to come out of here?"

"They've been known to remember the faces of their tormentors years later and still attack." Hen says.

"Oh, they're bye-crows, great." Chimney rolls his eyes.

"Wh-what are bye-crows?" Tom asks. "Is that bad? It sounds bad."

"How do we get these guys past them?" Eddie asks.

"Well, they're looking for two kids." Hen states.

Bobby slowly nods his head, understanding. "So, we give 'em something else."

The team had led the kids through the crowd. One was laying in the stretcher with his face wrapped in gauze; while laying on the stretcher, while the other kid was wearing Bobby's helmet and turnout gear.

When they took the kid to the hospital, Chimney could've sworn he saw a crow cawing at him from ontop of the ambulance. Sadly, no one else saw it; so he just seemed downright crazy.

After her shift, Emery went straight home with no extra stops. And as soon as she opened the front door, she was greeted with that mechanical witch laughter. Emery slightly jumps from the abrupt cackling. She looks at the mechanic witch hanging from the ceiling and lets out a heavy breath. "It's there everyday. I was the one who put it up and yet it still gets me." She hangs her bag up and walks over to the kitchen.

"Dad, I'm home!" Emery washes her hands and pulls the fridge open. She looks through the refrigerator and her brows slowly begin to pull together. "What. The. Fuck?" She puts her head into the fridge and begins to rummage through it.

"Dad?!"

"Yeah, I'm here!" Elijah walks out of his room, he slows his walking when he sees Emery's entire body practically in the refrigerator. "Was it super hot outside or something?"

"What?" Emery turns to him. "No, no. It's just...there's no olives." She puts her hands behind her back. "I almost got killed by crows today and I wanted olives. But...there are no olives..." she presses her lips together and awkwardly rocks back and forth on her heels. A small hum leaves her lips. "This changes everything."

Elijah slightly opens his mouth. "Crows?"

"Yeah. Some kids were throwing rocks at them and well they felt provoked—I thought I bought a new jar a couple days ago." Emery looks back in the fridge.

"Uh, you did, Emerson."

Emery turns to her father.

"You ate them all."

Emery blinks, she then chuckles. "No, that's not possible."

"You've been eating olives a lot more than normal," Elijah states. "Do you think it has anything to do with—"

"It doesn't have anything to do with the trial or me losing my Captaincy."

Elijah presses his lips into a small smile. "Oh, good. Because I was going to ask if it has anything to do with the fact that Bobby assigned you to keep an eye on Buck tomorrow."

Emery raises a brow but doesn't speak. After Emery had been forced to step down as Captain, she's been restless. She had no more extra paperwork, and she loved paperwork. So, Bobby decided to give her a new responsibility that would take up a lot of her time. And that new responsibility was Evan Buckley.

Emery really wished she worked at a different fire station at this point.

Emery lets out a small breath, "Dad, he comes back on the 30th and that's..." She looks at her watch. "...tomorrow. Oh, crap."

Elijah pulls his brows together as he watches Emery pull open each cupboard without closing them. "Emerson, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, Yeah. I'm okay." Emery turns to her father with a small smile. "You know what? I'm pretty tired. So, I'm gonna take a shower and head to bed." She closes the cupboards and gives her dad a quick squeeze on the arm before entering her room.

☆

"Are you kidding me?"

Tom slows his chewing, when he sees Emery's entire body practically shoved into the refrigerator.

"Uh, Emerson?"

Emery softly grumbles to herself as she gets out of the fridge and turns to him. "Yeah?"

"Whatcha looking for?"

Emery lets out a huff, "O-Olives." She places her hands on her hips, trying to act natural.

Tom looks to the side and Emedy squints her eyes. "What?"

The boy raises his brows, "What?"

"You had a look. What was with that look?"

Tom looks down at his cereal. "You ate the last of the olives a few days ago."

Emery huffs, "What?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay, well then..." Emery lets out an unstable set of laughter that has never left her lips before. It causes Tom's eyes to widen. "If I don't have olives...how am I supposed to get through this shift and this shift specifically?"

Tom scratches the side of his neck. "Well, you could try saltine crackers."

"Saltine crackers—are you comparing olives to saltine crackers, Tom?" Emery quirks a brow.

Tom blinks, "Th-They're both...salty."

Emery closes the refrigerator door. "Wow. Thank you, for letting me in on that unknown information, Thomas Fletcher." She inhales a deep breath. Tom opens his mouth, "I-I'm sorry."

Emery opens one of the cupboards and grabs the box of saltine crackers before stalking away from Tom. The brunette boy sits there for a moment. "I have no idea what's going on around here anymore." He goes back to eating his cereal.

Emery runs back over to Tom, grabbing his shoulders and he jumps.

"I forgot to tell you. I need you to watch after Buck." Emery says, her breath hitting his ear. A chill rushes down Tom's spine. Emery sits next to Tom, her brown eyes never leaving his face that was gradually growing hotter.

"Uh, wasn't that the job that Captain Nash assigned you?" Tom finally gains the courage to look at her.

Emery tilts her head and puts her hands on her hips. "He did." She admits. "But, as my...final order as captain. My send-off, if you will...is for you to take care of the Probie. So, what do you say?"

Tom looks to the side, hesitant. "Is...Bobby okay with this?--"

"It's my final request as captain, Tom. So, I don't think it's up to Bobby." Emery then nudges his arm. "Eh? Eh? Come on..." she then shakes his arms.

"If I say "yes" will you stop?" Tom speaks through groans.

"Yup."

"Then, yes. I will watch after Buck for you."

Emery stops shaking Tom and grips his shoulders. "Great!"

"You're a good man, Thomas Fletcher. And I'll remember this." Emery lightly pats his face. "Also, just think of him as your own Probie. It's not a big deal."

Emery stands up and walks away from Tom. The brunette boy looks at the box of crackers she left behind. "You left the saltine crackers."

"You thought I was actually going to replace those with olives?" Emery then snorts. "Nice try, Fletch." she walks down the stairs. "Let's go, Bobby needs us for the morning briefing."

Tom hangs his head low and groans. He picks up his half-eaten cereal and tosses it out. "Can't eat at home because I have a kid running around all day. And I can't eat at work, because no one wants to talk to each other. So, they end up bugging me." he inhales a breath and plasters on his golden smile before walking down the stairs.

Emery sees Bobby with the group of firefighters and her chest tightens. Her boots stop against the linoleum floor and her dark gaze stays glued onto Buck. She chews on the inside of her cheek, needing to distract herself from every feeling she's been experiencing lately.

Emery walks over to the group. As soon as she came into his line of sight, Buck's heart jumped into his throat. He didn't know if he should feel elated to see her or guilt-ridden. The last time they talked, Emery had told him how much he hurt her. She had told him that he was her everything. And all he could say back was "I'm sorry". What a fucking idiot.

What was he even supposed to say to her now?

"Em, you okay?" Hen asks with a chuckle, noticing her blank stare.

Emery raises her brows, "We ran out of olives."

"Because you ate them all," Chimney says.

"You could've stopped me." Emery tilts her head to the side. "Anyway, Tom said I should try saltine crackers instead. But, I chose against it."

"Can you even last a shift without olives?"

Emery's body tenses and she shifts her eyes to meet Buck's storm-blue ones. "I can, actually." She tilts her head. "I don't like olives that much."

Buck frowns, "Since when?"

"Since forever." Emery looks away from him. "And ever."

"Clever..." Eddie rolls his eyes.

Tom nervously chuckles, "That rhymed...isn't that funny?" He folds his arms.

"Okay, guys, stop. Look at what you're doing to Fletch." Chimney puts a hand on Tom's shoulder. Tom shrugs and sputters. "What? I'm fine—great, actually."

Everyone keeps their eyes on the boy that was rocking back and forth on his heels. He lets out a breath, "I have stress hives."

"I knew it." Emery sags her shoulders. "Thinking about seeing Probie all day stresses you out, huh?" She pats Tom's arm and looks at Buck.

Buck blinks, "Wait...are you calling me Probie?"

"Well, I sure as hell am not calling anyone else that." Emery tilts her head. "You're the new one here."

"What? I've been reinstated. Re-instated." Buck emphasizes.

Emery hums, "Whatever you say, Probie."

"Someone's in the doghouse big time." Chimney whispers to Hen, who nods in agreement.

The alarm begins to go off and everyone begins to run towards the fire engine. "Buck, you're man behind today," Bobby says.

Buck pulls his brows together, "Uh, I'm not going with you guys? Cap--"

"My house, my rules, remember?" Bobby says with a pointed look that makes Buck stay quiet. The Captain then turns to where Emery was standing, "And Em, you're staying with Bu..." he trails off his words when he sees Tom standing there instead. Tom holds a hand up, "H-Hey..."

Bobby drops his hands to his side. "She pawned Buck off."

"W-Wait, what?" Buck interjects.

"No, No. I wanted to be the one to help, Buck." Tom says.

Bobby squints his eyes and Tom tenses. "Then again, Emery did say this was her "final request as captain"."

"Oh, she did, did she?" Bobby folds his arms.

Tom swallows, "Uh, well, actually--"

"Tom show Buck how we switched some things around," Bobby says before stalking over to the fire engine.

The two boys watch as Bobby gets into the fire engine and the vehicle drives out of the station. Tom lets out a sharp breath, "I screwed up, didn't I?"

Buck presses his lips together. "Yeah, but then again...it wasn't as bad as my screw-up."

☆

"So, tell me..."

Tom looks up from the checklist.

"From 3 being least mad to 1 being the most mad--"

"Emery, Bobby, and Eddie." Tom answers, his eyes back on the checklist. "Now, Captain said that he wanted me to show you--"

"How'd you come up with that?" Buck asks.

Tom clicks the pen a few times. "Simple, really. I noticed that Bobby is only talking to you because he's your captain. Eddie told you about him roughhousing with Christopher, so there's got to be some kind of leniency there, and Emerson..." he lets out a small chuckle. "...she may be talking to you, but she is not putting a lot of effort into those conversations."

Buck shifts, "Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah." Tom laughs. "I mean, it's every time she looks at you or your name is mentioned a hellfire surrounds her..." he trails off his words when he notices Buck's solemn expression. "Crap, uh...look, Buck."

"I think they just need some time to...heal," Tom says. "You get that, right? That you hurt them?"

Buck looks at the ground, "I get that I hurt them, but I just wish they understood. What firefighting meant to me."

Tom presses his lips together and looks back at the list. Buck notices his hesitance, "What?"

"Hmm? Nothing..."

"You want to say something. What is it?"

Tom lets out a small breath. "You say that you want them to know what firefighting meant to you. But...don't you think they want you to know how much you mean to them?"

Buck pulls his brows together, needing clarification. Tom taps his pen against the table a couple of times. "Okay, uh...Bobby lost his wife and two kids," he states. "Emery lost her wife, her sister, her mother walked out on her, and her father is going to die."

"Don't you think that they had every reason to be hesitant about you coming back?" Tom asks. "I mean, you're important to them, Buck. Really important. They just haven't said that to you yet."

Buck pushes his guilt away and looks to the side and Tom blinks. "Unless...they did tell you and you chose not to listen. Or you heard too late."

Silence settles between the two boys and Tom watches as Buck takes in his words. "Look, maybe we can pick up later on everything. Tomorrow, I'm supposed to be helping you set up the Halloween table."

"Thanks, Fletcher."

Tom clicks his tongue, "The only time I'll be going easy on you, Probie."

Buck arches a brow and turns to Tom. The brunette boy's jaw goes slack and his jaw drops. He clears his throat, "It was a joke...I'll be quiet now."

The fire engine makes a beeping sound. Tom sucks in a breath, "They're back." he stands up and makes his way down the stairs with Buck.

Everyone else slowly gets out of the Fire Engine, exhausted from the last rescue of their shift.

Well...not everyone.

Emery hops out of the Fire Engine with a laugh. "Oh My Gosh—can you say we killed that or what?!" She trots over to the locker room. "Good work, team!"

Hen lets out a sharp breath, "I can not keep up with that girl."

"Am I getting older or am I out of shape?" Chimney stretches.

"Should I--"

"I just told you to give her some space," Tom whispers. "But, hey, if you're not gonna listen then--"

Buck brushes past Tom and follows Emery into the locker room. Tom clicks his tongue. "Of course, you're not going to listen. Why would you?" he turns on his heel and walks away.

Buck jogs over to Emery. She was unbuttoning her shirt. Buck quickly looks away from her. "Hey, Em?"

Emery stops unbuttoning her shirt and lets out a breath through her nose. "What do you want, Probie?"

Buck softly chuckles, "Oh, come on, are we seriously going back to that?"

"Why not?" Emery rummages through her locker. "I mean, it's not like anything we had was that important anyway."

Buck pulls his brows together. "Emerson, that's not true and you know it."

"Do I?" She turns to him, slamming her locker shut which causes Buck to jump. "You made me feel pretty fucking stupid at that trial, Buck."

"That wasn't my intention." Buck walks closer to her. Emery folds her arms and doesn't move away from him. She wanted Buck to be intimidated by her. Too bad, Buck couldn't get enough of her. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Emerson."

"You ignore me for a month. Then, you supboena me, and it wasn't face to face..." she digs her nails into her arms. "Do I have to continue or do you remember the trial clearly enough for me to not have to go through that again?"

Outside of the rage room, Emery's voice was shaking and weak. Like she was exhausted and she was barely hanging on. But now, it's like this hellfire was lit within her and she only had a loaded gun pointed at him. Her fists were clenched and her voice was wrapped in a blinding wrath that she wished she could let fly off the handles. But, Emery realizes just how worked up she was getting. She pulls her brows together and covers her face. "I don't know why you came in here..." Emery murmurs, but Buck could hear her loud and clear.

His chest begins to tighten and he feels like he's drowning. "I never wanted this to happen to us."

Emery takes her hands off her face and turns her back to him. "I have to get changed, so could you give me some space?" her voice was quiet. Buck inhales a breath, "Yeah, of course." he lightly taps the wall before walking out of the locker room. Emery closes her eyes and presses her forehead against the lockers, her heart pounding so fast she thought it was going to shatter.

Once Buck walks out of the locker room, he sees Tom shaking his head with his lips pressed together. "I told you..."

Buck lets out a small growl and walks up the stairs.

☆

"Okay, teal bucket is for kids with food allergies."

Tom points at the bucket. "Everything in there is nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and gluten-free."

Buck holds a smoke detector up, "And who are these for?" he frowns. "Kids allergic to fun?"

Tom chuckles, "Those were Emery's ideas." he states. "She said it's a good idea for the parents to have them. And she stocked some pamphlets about basic fire safety that should be in the closet."

"Let me guess, those pamphlets are laminated?" Buck asks.

"You know, Emery." Tom laughs. "She loves laminating things."

"And exactly how long is Bobby going to be punishing me?" Buck asks. "I mean, I figured that if Bobby forgives me Eddie and Emery won't be too far behind."

"That's the spirit, Buck. Ignore what I said yesterday and just rush the process..." Tom shakes his head. "Look..." he flips through the file that Emery had typed and printed out for him. Buck pulls his brows together.

Tom smiles and points at the words. "Aha! You know, Probie, some day you're gonna figure out when to stop pushing and learn some patience." he frowns. "Huh, would you look at that. Emery and I's words are basically the same. Which means that she and the captain's words are the same." he sends Buck a two-finger salute before walking away.

Buck slightly opens his mouth. "Wait, that was a file of scenarios?!" he lets out a harsh breath. She really does think of everything.

"You know being stuck here isn't actually the end of the world, it just feels like it, Buck." Chimney walks over to him.  "Trust me, I know."

Buck rolls his eyes while he chuckles. Chimney shakes his head, "No, I do."

"My first few months here, only time I saw the outside of this building was at the start and end of my shift, on my way in, on my way out." Chimney explains.

"How'd you cope with it?" Buck asks.

Chimney chuckles, "Cleaned every inch of this place,"

Buck rolls his eyes.

"learned where everything was, how all the equipment worked. Set a new world record for getting in my turnout gear. And then eventually, someone took pity on me, and they let me outside."

"So basically, um, suck it up and be patient." Buck raises his brows, a huff escaping his lips. "Just like what Bobby, Tom, and Emery said."

Chimney holds his arms out. "You know, Cap's not always wrong. And Tom's not always absent-minded and Em...she's not always a monster." he then winces. "But these..." he picks up the smoke detectors. "...these make her a monster. Nobody's gonna want these tonight."

Buck laughs, "Nope, but I am gonna hand them out anyway."

Chimney raises a hand, "See? It can be taught."

"In fact, I'm gonna go find those pamphlets." Buck plasters a fake smile across his face, but it quickly drops and he rolls his eyes.

Chimney then pulls his brows together. "Hey, uh, have you talked to Maddie today?"

"No, I think she's working." Buck tilts his head. "Why?"

"Nothing, just wondering..."

Buck frowns and walks away.

Chimney hears a caw behind him. He turns and sees a crow standing on top of the ambulance. He freezes. Was this the same crow? Was it following him?

"Okay, are you a good omen or a bad one?"

Emery pulls her brows together as she gets closer to the scene.

"Cause, you know, I googled you and the old wives are kind of divided in this question." Chimney says.

Emery stands there, grabbing candy from the bowl. She looks between Chimney and the crow. She raises her brows, a sinister smile forming on her lips.

The crow flies away and Chimney's eyes widen. "Is anybody else seeing this?" He turns to Emery.

Emery blinks, she then tilts her head. "Seeing what?"

Chimney's jaw goes slack. "So, you didn't...?" He points at where the crow was. Emery presses her lips together and bunches her shoulders. "Sorry, Chim. I don't know what you're talking about."

Terror was written across Chimney's face when he quickly walked away. Emery's confused expression drops and she softly laughs. "God, I love Halloween." She takes a bite out of the chocolate and turns. Emery stops when she comes face to face with Eddie.

For a second, they both stand there with an uncomfortable tension between them. Eddie didn't know what to say to her. But he was tired of the snarky remarks he's been throwing at her. In all honesty, he couldn't even keep up with the creative comments Emery would throw at him.

Emery grabs another piece of candy from the bowl.

"I thought you don't eat sugar." Eddie pulls his brows together.

Emery stops and looks at Eddie with a blank expression. Why is he talking to me?

Emery raises her brows, realizing that she's been quiet for a little too long. "Uh, I don't eat it often. But there's also no olives in sight right now. So..." she holds up a Twix bar. "...these will do for now."

"Let me get out of your way." Emery presses her lips into a small line. The action was curt, it was obvious Emery wanted to be anywhere else right now. She brushes past him and rolls her eyes.

...

"Hey, Mom look,"

The kid points at the fire engine approaching. He then looks at Buck with a smirk. "the real firefighters are here." the kid grabs more candy from the bowl.

"Oh, my gosh. Is he trying to get more candy out of you?" The mother stands behind her son.

Buck clicks his tongue, "Uh, no, no, he's fine." he chuckles. "In fact, here, why don't you take a smoke detector." he hands the object to the mother.

Emery ruffles a kid's hair, she looks over to the candy station and a small breath leaves her lips. Buck explains to the mother.

"Nice work, Buckley. Keep it up." Bobby calls out with a smirk on his lips.

Emery scoffs, "Nice work, my ass." she folds her arms. "He's giving them two pieces. Not one." she looks at Hen and Chimney. "I mean, he has done this before, right?"

"He's done this before, but he had you by his side."

Emery arches a brow, "Yeah, well...if I'm gonna let him fly out of the nest; he's gonna have to do it my way." she unfolds her arms.

"You know, for someone who vowed to stay away from Buck, you seem to be finding your way back to him an awful lot." Chimney tilts his head.

Emery's jaw clenches, "We work in the same station."

Hen and Chimney look at each other. Emery notices the silent beat. Anytime, Chimney and Hen had silence between each other that meant they were discussing something with their eyes. "What?" she looks at them.

"It's just...you never told us what Buck said at your arbitration," Hen says, her voice soft.

"Or why you stepped down as Captain."

Emery tenses, "The arbitration stuff was...a lot. And the captain thing got to be too much." she shrugs.

Hen and Chimney share a glance that read they weren't believing her for a second. Emery rolls her eyes, "Okay, can we table this conversation, please? I have to teach Buck how to hand candy out..." She walks away from Hen and Chimney. The two best friends keep their arms crossed while they watch Emery stalk over to the candy table. "He's totally doing this on purpose."

"Oh, yeah definitely."

"What the hell, Buck?"

"She said the word!" The kid points at the girl.

Emery rolls her eyes. Buck raises his brows and points at Emery in a teasing manner. "She's a bad girl."

Emery then squinted at him, "Stop it." her voice was low.

Buck chuckles and drops his hands to his side. Emery turns to the group of kids with their disappointed parents. "I-I am so sorry. You know I wouldn't have said that if I knew they could hear me." she gives the group a bashful smile and walks around the table, standing beside Buck.

Buck tenses and tries his best not to freak out over the close proximity. "You're only supposed to give them one piece," she states. "I know you're a bit of a doof, but stupid you are not." Emery grabs a piece of candy and hands it to one of the kids. "Happy Halloween!"

Buck frowns, but a mix of a smile forms on his lips. "Did you just call me smart?"

Emery holds her pointer up, "I called you a doof." she keeps her eyes on the candy bowl. She hands another one out, "Happy Halloween!"

Emery looks at Buck, "Can you do that?"

Buck pulls his brows together. "Sorry, what?"

"Unbelievable." Emery scoffs. "That lawsuit proved you're 100%, but it doesn't seem like you are."

Buck's chest tightens with guilt and he looks down at the bowl of candy. He leans forward and touches Emery's hand. She freezes and looks at their hands interlocked. She looks at Buck and her stomach clenches. Her face heats up as Buck keeps his soft remorseful eyes on her dark gaze. Emery pulls her brows together and her breathing heavies.

Emery hated how warmly comforting his hand felt.

Emery wanted Buck to know how hurt she felt. She needed Buck to know that she didn't want to forgive him.

She pulls her hand from his.

"Em--"

"Serve the candy however you want, I don't care anymore." Emery looks away from him and walks away from the candy station.

☆

"This is insane."

Wren and Emery watch as the malnourished kids are rolled into the back of ambulances. The brunette inhales a breath, "I can't believe someone would do this to kids--who would do this to kids?"

Emery quirks a brow, "I don't know, but whoever it was better not let me see them."

Wren shifts her eyes to Emery with her brows raised. Emery feels Wren's eyes on her and turns to her. "What? Why has everyone looking at me like that lately?"

"Probably because you're being...hostile," Wren states. "Moreso than usual, by the way."

Emery looks at Wren, she opens her mouth to explain why she's been this way. Irritable, pissy, miserable. Then she realized that she hadn't told anyone except Bobby about why she wasn't Captain anymore. And only he knows what Buck told his lawyer. Emery closes her mouth and lets out a breath through her nose. "We should get over there." she motions her head to the firefighters talking with Athena. Emery walks away and Wren lets out a quiet sigh before catching up with her.

Emery joined the group just in time to hear Chimney speak. "They're all in various stages of dehydration, malnutrition, any number of infections, and probably have diseases we invented the cure for 100 years ago."

Emery digs her nails into her palms and her jaw clenched.

"No gas, no running water, God knows how they bathed or cooked food," Eddie informs the group while walking back over to them. "Give it a hard enough kick, the house would fall down."

"All we found was canned food, bibles, textbooks, all from the 1950s."

"I just got one of the kids to talk. You're not gonna believe this."

Everyone looks at Hen. Her face was shaken and her eyes were big. "Those kids weren't abducted. They live here."

Emery pulls her brows together.

"They're siblings. Their parents did this to them."

"Holy. Shit." Wren's mouth hangs open. A car honks, catching everyone's attention. They all step into the grass out of the driveway, allowing the car to park. The man and a woman get out of the car in a hurry.

"Those are my kids." He walks over to the group. "What the hell are you doing with my children?"

"Your children?" Wren scoffs.

"Did you find her? Where's Bethany?" The woman asks.

"Who?"

"Our daughter." The woman cries. "We've been looking for her for hours."

"She's lost and alone."

Wren shakes her head and lets out a bitter chuckle.

"Alone, right, just like you left the rest of your children." Bobby huffs.

"They were secure. They were safe." The man says.

"Chained up." Emery finally speaks. "They're your kids. How could you do something like that?!" she takes a step forward, her anger not going unnoticed.

"We were just protecting them--"

Emery's fist collides with the man's jaw and he falls to the ground. "Bullshit."

"Emerson!" Bobby shouts.

Emery shakes her fist for a second, she then turns on her heel and punches the woman in the face. The woman falls to the floor and Emery lets out a harsh breath. "I hate shitty parents." she looks away from the groaning adults on the ground. Emery looked at the group that was standing before her. Some of their expressions were shocked while others were filled with worry.

...

Emery wasn't surprised that Bobby made her sit in his office. She was sitting there, her knuckles throbbing (in a good way, oddly), and her leg bouncing. Emery bites her fingernail and softly scoffs.

The door opens and Emery turns her head. "Bobby, I don't know what came over me." she scratches the spot behind her ear. "Those parents were promising that they were the best parents and I just snapped."

Bobby sits behind his desk and sighs. "I get it. Calls like these..." he shakes his head. "...they're not easy."

"But hitting people. That's not what we do, Em." Bobby's voice was gentle, but there was still a disciplining tone to it. Emery looks down at her knuckles and runs her fingers across the bruising. "Yeah, I know."

"They just...didn't understand." Emery's eyes begin to burn. "They thought they were good parents, how can someone swear they care about someone and then just h-hurt them?"

Emery sits up again with her heartbeat pounding through her ears. She leans back in her seat, unable to keep still. Bobby watches Emery not only sit with her own unresolved emotions but also her energy which makes her feel like she was spinning out of control.

"I'm gonna let you off your shift early--"

"Captain, I'm fine." Emery softly urges with her fingers against her temple.

"And I'm requesting an appointment with our counselor," Bobby adds.

Emery lets out a breath of disbelief. "I-I'm seeing a therapist--"

"No, you're not. Not anymore at least, and tonight made that very clear." Bobby gives Emery a pointed look. The same pointed look that meant he had caught her in a lie. Emery lets out a breath and rolls her eyes. "Am I excused?"

Bobby softly chuckles. She sounded like a teenager.

"Yeah, you're excused. Get some sleep, Emerson."

Emery stands up and walks out of the office. Her breathing was quick and her brain was jumbled. "This is bullshit, this is bullshit..." she opens and closes her fist four times. Emery walks into the locker room and grabs her bag. She slams the locker shut and stalks out. As she goes to walk out she sees Eddie and Buck hugging.

Emery softly scoffs as the two separate. The two men look at her and a bitter chuckle leaves her lips. "Glad you guys were able to work your shit out." the sarcasm was heavy in her voice.

"Where are you going?" Buck asks.

Emery looks down at her duffel and huffs. "Bobby let me off early." she pulls her brows together and shrugs. "Says something about...getting my emotions under control?--Honestly, I think he might be drinking again."

Emery then points at the two, "That was a joke, by the way."

Eddie exhales, "That was a...harsh joke."

"Yeah, still working on that..." Emery looks to the side. "Anyway..." she looks between Eddie and Buck. A ball of anger forms in her chest. Was it just that easy to forgive him?

"Have fun...making amends, Buck." she presses her lips together. "Some may be harder than others."

With that, she walks out of the station.

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