Chapter Text
“She looks like you…” Maddie immediately trailed off, internally admonishing herself for saying something so obvious.
“It’s a real wonder,” muttered Buck, lips twitching in spite of himself, then he sighed, “She’s not biologically mine, Mads.”
Maddie’s brow furrowed in confusion, but she didn’t press Buck on the point. She simply waited.
A nurse came through, checking Harlow’s vitals and chatting with Buck as she did, and as she left, Mike came back through. Buck’s eyes snapped to him, taking in the other man’s posture and pursed lips. “Who’d you read the riot act to? You were rather quiet about it.”
“Nash and the rest of them.”
Buck’s face went stony, “You’d think they’d realize I’m not giving them any answers today. They can wait to yell at me tomorrow.”
Mike grumbled in agreement. “That Sergeant though, Athena, right?” Buck nodded, “She asked about you, they all kind of did in a roundabout way but she seemed to be the most on level.”
Buck nodded, “Makes sense. I’m not sure she knows what has been going on.”
“And exactly what has been going on, Buck?” Maddie’s voice wasn’t loud or firm, it shook but she pressed this point, “What happened?”
Instead of answering her immediately he looked at Mike, “Could you run and get us some food?” gesturing at himself and Maddie, “Harlow asked her to make sure I eat but if she goes out now and they’re still there.”
“Course, kiddo. Harlow’s requests aren’t to be trifled with,” he replied, eyes flicking over to Maddie, “Any allergies I should know about, Maddie?”
Maddie shook her head, then she dug into her purse, intent on extracting her wallet. Mike made to wave away the money she pulled out, but she pushed it forward, “I’ll just drop it on the ground and leave it there if you don’t take it,” she threatened, then her voice softened, “Harlow asked me to make sure he ate, so help me out here, please?”
Mike’s eyes assessed her then, he took two of the bills, folding the rest back toward here.
“Maybe you’ll get to know her after all,” with those words he walked over to Buck, resting a hand on the young man’s shoulder, whispered something soft that Buck nodded to, and then he left the room again.
“I met Harlow when I was 17, I tried out for the SEALs and I got in,” Buck’s voice was quiet as he spoke and he wasn’t looking at Maddie. He only had eyes for Harlow, “That’s where I met James Montgomery III.” The ghost of a smirk passed over Buck’s face as he said the name, especially as he drew out the ‘r’ in third.
“James was one of my training officers and eventually, when I made it through training, he was the head of my team. We were close.” Buck’s hand gripped Harlow’s tighter, “Close enough that when my head was all scrambled up after our first real mission that he took me home and introduced me to Chelsea, his sister-in-law and Catalina, his wife.” a smile unconsciously spread over Buck’s face, “They were my family; they took me in and after that first mission, Cat set me up a room and that’s where I stayed for my first two years. I couldn’t very well leave when this one,” he brushed some of Harlow’s hair back from her face, “finally said her first word and it was ‘Buck’. I’d only been there a few months.”
Buck choked a bit on the words as he closed his eyes for a moment.
“Harlow was five when it happened. Cat… was the type of person who helped, everyone, no matter what. She and Harlow were out for a walk when they came across someone standing at the edge of a bridge. She told Harlow to stay and wait, away from the water, and tried to talk the person down. But they wanted to die and as they jumped, Cat made a grab for them and fell.” Buck was crying now, his hand still in Harlow’s.
“Eventually, they dragged her body out of a river near their house. James lost himself that day. He was a SEAL through and through in the field, but at home, he began drinking. When I mentioned it, he kicked me out,” Buck’s other hand fiddled with a chain around his neck, “so Chelsea and I split the rent of a place together, close by and we did whatever we could. My last mission with James, he saved my life, murmuring only Harlow’s name. He died in my arms and I came home numbed, only to find out that James and Cat had named Chelsea and myself as her guardians.”
“What did Chelsea do?” Maddie asked, voice even quieter than her brother’s in an attempt to respect the moment of vulnerability Buck was having in her presence.
“She was a cop at the time. When I got back, I left the SEALs and enrolled in med school. We were doing school at the same time, she was finishing out her degree, and we raised Harlow together.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Maddie asked, the question had been burning in her since she’d watched Buck in the operating theatre.
“Things got complicated awhile back, with some threats to Chelsea and they went into WITSEC. I was instructed to move away and start something new, to keep them safe. It became second nature not to talk about her, about them, to keep them safe.” Buck looked up at Maddie, who had understanding in eyes, which helped him continue speaking, “After a few years, they came out of it, but they settled in D.C. and I had just started fitting in here. Harlow told me to stay, to make sure she always had a place in the sun. We traded off on holidays. She even snuck a surprise plane trip after the bombing. She’s mine, Maddie. In a way you might not understand or approve of, but she’s my kid. It was all she wanted for her thirteenth birthday when they moved to D.C. – official adoption and name change papers in a FedEx box arrived on my doorstep and I flew down to sign them in person a few hours later.”
“Sounds like your kid loves as fiercely as her dad,” Maddie murmured, tentatively, she stretched out a hand over Harlow, pinky finger outstretched, “I’ll do whatever I can to help you protect your daughter.” Buck extended his free hand to hers and linked up their pinkies.
“I’ll hold you to that, Mads.”