CHAPTER SIX

Saturday came too quickly, and while Maddie was excited to see Amanda and celebrate her new freedom, she was apprehensive about the rest of the guest list. She'd never met any of Buck's coworkers, and she wasn't good with new people.

She almost wished she had taken up Howie's invitation to get a coffee, since at least then there would be something else to be nervous about and distract her.

She bit her lip, having changed clothes three times already, wondering who she was trying to impress.

She finally settled on ripped jeans, trying to give a casual feel, and a white shirt, ready for this night to be over already. She already knew she'd have a nervous stomach ache and not be able to eat anything for most of the evening.

It was already five, so she reluctantly grabbed her bags together to go to Buck's place. She was already regretting accepting his offer, but she knew it meant a lot to him, and at least Amanda was coming. Honestly, if she wasn't, Maddie might have flaked on Buck out of sheer panic.

She'd just pulled up to Buck's place, was gathering her things and Buck was coming out to greet her, when her phone buzzed. Her stomach sank when she checked it. Amanda couldn't come.

She really didn't want to do this, but she swallowed her apprehension, as Buck came to greet her. "You ready for this?" He said. "Finally a single woman!"

"Yeah," she said. "It feels good."

"I told my friends that tonight is not just about me," Buck said. "So they'll be cheering you too."

"Buck," she protested. "Why would you tell everyone that? Now it's just going to be weird, I don't even know them."

"You might as well, I talk about you all the time, and you know I talk about them when I hang with you," Buck said. "I'm sorry, I just thought we were celebrating that. I didn't think it was a secret."

"It wasn't a secret, I just didn't need strangers congratulating me on things that are private," she said. "I need a minute, okay?"

"Maddie," Buck said, but she grabbed a sparkling water and stepped onto his patio, trying to breathe for a minute.

She knew it wasn't a big deal, but she really hadn't come here expecting this, and now Amanda wasn't coming. And, honestly, she hadn't had time to process the fact that her marriage was over. As much as she'd been waiting for it, it felt weird. It felt like a letdown, like she'd waited so long for this, and she'd been expecting it to change her life, but, really, she was the one who'd have to change it. She'd have to put the work in.

She bit her lip, taking a sip of the blackberry flavored soda, trying to come back to herself and adjust to this evening. "Mads," Buck said, poking his head onto the patio. "People are getting here. Hey, I really am sorry, I didn't mean to overwhelm you."

"I know," she said. "You're fine, Buck. I should have clarified if I didn't want you telling people." He reached to hug her, and she let her brother embrace her.

When Chimney walked in, beer in hand, Buck's arm was around a woman, which surprised him. He didn't think Buck was dating. Their backs were to him, so he cleared his throat, too loudly. "Hey," he said, as they turned around, and his heart skipped about ten beats. "Maddie?" He asked, and her jaw dropped.

"Howie?" She wondered, and Chimney felt his heart dropping. Goddamn, that was her complication? She was dating someone else?

"You guys have already met?" Buck asked. "That's awesome."

"Yeah, I see her at St. Elizabeth's," Chimney said, unable to believe anything that was happening now. He wanted to be happy to see her but how could he be when she was with Buck?

"Well, I don't need to make introductions now," Buck said. "Congratulate her, Chim."

"Chim?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah, Chimney," Buck said. "See the beer? I told you he'd bring some."

Buck came to grab the beer and Chimney stared at Maddie, his heart thudding dully.

"So how long have you known Buck?" He finally asked.

She tilted her head, confused. "I mean, all his life?"

His brain wasn't processing things, and he felt like there were two wires trying and failing to connect up there.

"I'm his sister, Howie," she finally interjected, and sense flooded back into his brain. Oh my god. She was the sister.

"You're the Buckley sister?" He gaped. "God, you are not how he describes you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Should I be offended?"

"No, god, no," he said. "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"Well, neither did I but I guess we should have done the math that firefighters and paramedics might know each other," Maddie said. They were alone in the room, and suddenly they were standing much closer; both had been stepping forward.

"So Buck says you just divorced your husband," Chimney said.

"Yeah," Maddie said. "That was my work in progress, that was why I didn't want to take you up on that coffee. I was waiting for it to finalize, but it was a sensitive subject and most of my coworkers didn't know."

"You're a very private person," he said. "You want to know something hilarious? I already have your phone number, Buck texted it to me earlier this week if I had any questions about the party. He just didn't include your name."

"He's just spreading my business all over," she groaned. "But in this case, I guess I'm not mad."

Silence. Buck came back, and others started to arrive. Chimney didn't know how to make this not feel awkward.

Maddie couldn't believe that Howie was here, and she felt like she was on fire from how hard she was blushing, the whole evening. She grabbed a beer thinking it would help her relax, but it ended up making things worse, and she just wanted to go sit in a corner and process for a minute.

She hadn't been able to talk to Howie since everyone else had come in, and she wasn't sure what to say. She was interested in him, very interested, but she didn't want to come on too strong, she didn't want to rush things, and now that he was Buck's coworker, she didn't know if this changed things.

Hen raised an eyebrow when they were introduced, and Maddie knew that this was Howie's paramedic partner, so she'd probably put two and two together pretty soon, which meant any illusion of privacy would be gone by the time the party ended.

But…

She took another sip of beer, staring at Howie over the rim. She felt like he was worth it. Maybe.

She shook her head at herself, knowing that this was a dangerous path that she wasn't ready for.

And yet...when he looked at her as he was doing right now, making eye contact across a crowded room...she felt ready enough.

"Walk me to my car," she said softly, a long time later. Eddie and Buck were still chatting in the kitchen, but everyone else had slowly filtered out, making their goodbyes. She liked Buck's coworkers; Bobby and Athena were professional and friendly, and Hen and Karen were very warm and welcoming.

Howie put down his beer immediately. "Yeah, let me say goodbye to Buck and Eddie," he said.

She already had made her goodbyes to her brother so she waited patiently, until Howie was back in the living room, grabbing his jacket from the couch, and opening the door for her.

"I really didn't expect to see you here tonight, but I guess that goes without saying," he rambled, and she felt like his nervous chatter was just because he was afraid she'd asked him to call this whole thing off.

He wasn't far off. She wasn't sure how she felt about this thing now that she knew Buck worked with him, but really, that wasn't a reason to change how she felt about him.

He had been so respectful of any distance she'd put between them, and she knew that if she said something today he would pay attention and back off.

Thing is, she didn't want him to.

The evening air was cool and she shivered. "God, I'm a clod," Howie said, immediately slipping his jacket around her shoulders.

"You really don't have to," she began to protest, but he'd turned around to face her and now they were staring at each other. His hands were still on the jacket's collar, and she found herself wishing it was the opposite, so that she could use his collar to pull him towards her.

She wanted to kiss him.

"I'm not cold," he said, his voice soft, unsure.

"Yeah," she breathed, and they just stood there, frozen in place.

He ducked his head finally, stepping back, his hand dropping from where it had been holding her collar. "Well, here's your car," he said. "I think, since it's the only one left here besides Buck's, Eddie's and mine."

"Right," she said. "Yeah, early morning, I have to get going."

"Of course," he said, as she fished for her keys and hit the unlock. He gripped the door handle before she could, opening for her, and Maddie was transfixed by his hand on her door.

"Howie," she whispered, suddenly overwhelmed, stepping towards him again, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders.

He erased the distance between them, stepping forward into her arms, and their lips met in a rush, a culmination of too many moments they'd held back.

Her arms wrapped tight around him, and his hands were on her upper back, pulling her closer, as their tongues tangled.

It felt like an eternity before they pulled away from each other, yet it was over far too soon.

"Hey, I'll see you later," Maddie whispered. "You have my phone number now so text me."

"I will," he replied, his eyes like stars. He leaned to steal one more kiss, and her hand came to cup his cheek.

"I"m ready for this," she told him when he pulled away.

"I've been ready," he replied. "It was never about the coffee."

THE END

A/N: It took me about four hours to write this, so I guess I still have it in me sometimes! Hope you guys enjoyed this little fic :) ~Meowser