Sick

"Amelia! Get off of there!" Eddie shouts. 

Millie looks up, making eye contact with her dad. She'd climbed to the top of his truck, trying to reach the branches of the tree he parked under. 

"It's okay, daddy. I won't fall." Millie shouts, reaching up for the branch. 

Millie can't reach the tree well enough to grip it, so she steps forward, and within a second, she's slipping. "Millie!" Eddie is screaming, watching his daughter slip and fall to the ground—the cement. 

Before Millie reaches the ground, someone grabs her, holding her close to their chest. Millie lets out a sob. "Shh, you're okay. I caught you." Buck whispers, heading back to Eddie, who had been frozen in his spot. 

"Oh my God," Eddie mutters as Millie reaches for him. 

"She's fine, Eddie. Just a little shaken." Buck says. 

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm sorry." Millie sobs. 

He holds Millie close to him until she stops crying before he takes her inside to stay with Maddie. 

+

"Okay, you've officially reached Fort Knox-level security," Chim says, climbing the ladder. 

"Oh, you think it's too much?" Maddie asks, stopping in the middle of the stairs. 

"Three motion sensors in the living room? Maybe if you're trying to keep Tom Cruise from getting his hands on your NOC list." Chimney says, leaving Maddie and Millie to look at him, confused. 

"Mission Impossible?" Chimney shrugs, wondering how neither of them got the joke. 

"Sorry, I haven't seen it," Maddie says.

"My daddy only lets me watch kids' movies." Millie shrugs, leaving the adults to find her dad.

+

"Maybe we pop the hinges off the door?" Eddie suggests, leaning on the wall. 

"Or we use the jaws of life," Buck says. 

"No, it has to fit. I measured it twice." Maddie interrupts them, stepping around Millie. 

"Can't you guys, you know, turn it around the other way?" Maddie asks.  

"Then the pizza will slide off," Buck says, nodding at the pizza they could've taken inside before the couch. 

"You have pizza on my new sofa?" Maddie sighs, grabbing the boxes. 

"It's on the plastic," Buck says, not that made it better. 

"You're in trouble," Millie whispers, passing him and following Maddie inside. Buck sticks his tongue out at the girl, and Eddie laughs, making Millie glare at them. 

Millie watches as Buck and her dad come inside with the couch. 

"Lift with your legs," Chimney says.

"Yeah, lift with your legs," Millie repeats as the couch finally sits on the floor, right where Maddie wants it. 

"Plates?" Eddie asks, grabbing the pizzas. 

"Kitchen, on the counter," Maddie says. 

"Let's go eat, bug." He says, nudging Millie to walk ahead of him.

+

Millie watches from inside the firetruck as her dad and the rest of the 118 stop near Athena, Bobby's girlfriend. They are in a field where a News helicopter has landed on the bleachers. Millie watches in awe from the truck as the team works to get everyone out and turn the helicopter's blades off. 

Once it's safe, Millie jumps out of the truck and weaves through bodies to find her dad. She finds Buck first and decides to stay near him. "Hey, do me a favor," Buck says, smiling at the lady. 

"Say, 'And on the 405, speeds are under five miles an hour, making your morning commute rough.'" Millie looks up at Buck before looking at Bobby or Hen for answers. 

"Seriously?" Hen asks, making Millie cover her mouth as she smiles. 

"I-I-I know that voice. It's, uh, it's Taylor Kelly reporting, right?" Buck says, looking between Hen and who they knew now as Taylor Kelly. 

"Right." Taylor Kelly nods. 

"Stop flirting when my daughter's standing next to you, Buckley," Eddie says, scooping Millie into his arms. 

"I was listening!" Millie frowns. 

"That is something you don't need to listen to," Eddie says, setting her on her feet. 

Millie sighs and climbs into the truck, waiting for everyone to come back in.

+

Millie follows behind Eddie a few days later, her eyes locked on her iPad, and she's very into the Netflix show she'd started the night before. 

"Hey, go find Buck, get you some human interaction," Eddie says, taking the iPad from her hands. 

Millie crosses her arms, but she does search the first floor of the fire station for Buck. He was outside, hosing down the captain's truck. "Buck!" She shouts, running at him full force. 

"Hey! How are you today?" Buck asks, catching her as she runs into him. 

"Dad took my iPad and told me I had to have human interaction." 

"I'm the best option?" Buck laughs, and Millie nods, squishing his face together.

For another few minutes, Buck lets Millie help him spray the soap off the truck before he leads her back inside, stopping to talk to Taylor Kelly. 

"Uh, Taylor Kelly?" Buck asks. 

"Are you here to flirt with Buck again?" Millie asks, smirking at the news lady.

"Um, no." Taylor Kelly says, addressing Millie first. 

"You can just call me Taylor. Uh, how was your drive-in? Did you miss me?" she asks, turning to Buck. 

"Bobby made breakfast; go get some," Buck says, nudging Millie away. 

+

Millie is in the loft when everyone comes. She has a late breakfast of Bobby's and some of the cookies that were brought. Eddie stops by her, picking up one of the cookies. He takes a bite before setting it on her plate again. Millie doesn't even mind; her tummy hurts, and she feels like throwing up. 

"Wait—Millie, did you eat any cookies?" he asks, turning back to her, some cookies still in his mouth. 

"I ate two, Daddy," Millie mumbled, her eyes filling with tears, thinking he was angry at her. 

"Shit! Where's your bag?" Eddie shouts, searching with his eyes for her backpack. 

"Eddie, what's going on?" Buck asks, clearly concerned. 

"She's allergic. Where the hell is her bag?" Eddie shouts as Buck helps him look for it. 

Buck finds it and throws it to Eddie before standing behind him. 

"Daddy, my tummy hurts," Millie mumbles, leaning on his shoulder as he searches her bag. 

"I'm sorry, bug." He says, pulling out the EpiPen from her backpack and injecting it into her thigh. 

"Ow!" Millie sobs, her hand going to push her dad away. 

"No, leave it for one more second," Eddie says, putting his other hand over hers.

Once Eddie was sure that the EpiPen had been fully injected, he removed it and set it on the table. He sat Milie on his lap, rubbing his hand over the spot where he had injected the EpiPen. Millie's face was slightly puffy and looked like she'd throw up any second. "Does your tummy still hurt?" Eddie asked. 

Millie nodded, too tired to physically respond. 

"Get the camera out of here! What the hell is wrong with you? " Bobby shouts. 

"We're trying to do our jobs," Taylor says. 

That's when Eddie finally realizes that everyone has stopped and is watching him and Millie. Taylor Kelly and her cameraman are right behind Buck, and the camera is pointed directly at them.  

"You've got to be fucking kidding me?" Eddie says, passing Millie to Buck. 

"Daddy, bad word," Millie muttered, her eyes closed. 

"Sorry, bug. I'll add a dollar tomorrow." Eddie says before turning back to Taylor. 

"You can not use that footage in your story. Two reasons: my daughter was having a damn allergic reaction, and you were just standing around recording her in distress. And number two, she's a minor, meaning you need my consent to put her on television, and I do not give it." Eddie rants, covering the camera's lens. 

Taylor Kelly stands there with her mouth open as Eddie takes Millie from Buck. Bobby lets him take her to his office, where Buck offers to call Maddie. The alarm rings, and Bobby tells Eddie to stay back until Maddie comes. Millie had fallen asleep on Eddie, and he held her as he used to when she was a toddler and would wake up from a nightmare. 

Maddie and the 118 arrive at the fire station at the same time. "Hey, Buck told me what happened," Maddie says, sitting across from Eddie. 

"She's allergic to literally all kinds of nuts. I can't believe I let her go up there alone." Eddie mumbles, moving a strand of hair from Millie's face. 

"You couldn't have known that would happen," Maddie says. 

"She's nine. She doesn't look at what she's going to eat. If it looks good, she'll want to try it." 

Maddie nods once, knowing exactly what he means. 

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Millie mumbled, her eyes meeting Eddie's. 

"It's not your fault, bug. I should've gone with you." Eddie says. 

+

Millie sits on Maddie's couch, tears covering her face, as she throws up again. She's been doing it on and off since she got there. All she wants is her dad, who works a twenty-four-hour shift and will not return until the morning. 

"Drink this. It'll make your throat and your tummy feel better." Maddie says, holding a spoonful of medicine. 

"Noo!" Millie cried, turning her head. 

"If you take it now, your dad won't have to give you any when he comes in the morning," Maddie says, offering Millie the medicine again. 

This time, she takes it, her tears starting up again at the bad taste it left in her mouth. 

+

"Maddie!" Millie sobs, holding her tummy. 

Maddie comes running into the room, hair all over the place. She'd woken Maddie. 

"I'm sorry, Maddie." Millie cries, laying her head back on the pillow. 

"There's no reason to be sorry. You're sick, and I promised your dad and my brother I'd be fine to look after you." Maddie says, sitting on the side of the bed. 

Maddie grabs the towel from the bedside table, slightly wetting it before laying it on Millie's forehead. "Will you sing?" Millie mumbles, her eyes dropping. 

"And there is something about the way you love me. That finally feels like home. You're my light; you're my darkness. You're the right kind of madness. You're my hope; you're my despair. You're my cope of everything, everywhere."  Maddie's voice sends Millie back to sleep, hopefully for the rest of the night. 

+

Eddie pulls into the parking spot next to Buck's Jeep the following day. He'd been texting with Maddie for a few hours and knew that Millie was sick all night and woke up multiple times. He'd told her he'd leave work, but Maddie promised they were fine and he didn't need to miss work. 

"Hey, she finally went back to sleep. She had been awake for two hours, either throwing up or crying," Maddie says, opening the door for Eddie and Buck. 

Eddie doesn't understand why Millie didn't sleep all night. Usually, when she's sick, she only wakes up once or twice. He doesn't realize why until he's sitting on the edge of the bed, pushing her sweaty hair out of her face. He'd never given her stuffie to her; he left it in his truck. She never sleeps without it, and he can't believe he didn't even see it on the drive to Maddie's. 

Eddie picks Millie up and heads back downstairs, where Buck is waiting near the door with her backpack. "I'll never be able to thank you enough, Maddie," Eddie says. 

"It was no problem, seriously," Maddie says. 

"Yeah, she's had more than enough practice," Buck says out of nowhere.

"Evan!" Maddie says, giving him a look. 

"I was talking about with me!" Buck says, putting his hands up in surrender. 

"Daddy?" Millie mumbled, lifting her head off Eddie's shoulder.

"Good morning, bug." 

"You're being too loud," Millie mumbled. 

"I'm sorry, we're leaving anyway," Eddie says. 

"Thank you again, Maddie. I owe you." Eddie adds, walking outside. 

"No, you don't," Maddie says. 

"Bye, Millie. Next time we hang out, we'll get some ice cream," she says, grinning at Millie. 

"Bye-bye, Maddie," Millie mumbled, her eyes closing again. 

+

Eddie puts the truck in park, leaving it running as Buck gets into the passenger seat. "I'll be right back, just running in to get her some medicine," Eddie says. 

Buck nods and leans his seat back, resting his hands behind his head. Millie is slumped over in the back, and Buck knows it doesn't feel great. The seatbelt is probably bruising where it's digging into her. 

Millie makes a noise before she jerks awake, scaring herself and Buck, who has been scrolling on his phone. "Jeez, kid, you scared the hell out of me," Buck says, turning in his seat. 

"Where's dad?" Millie asked, rubbing her eyes. 

"He ran inside to get some things," Buck says. 

Millie hums in response. She is so tired, and her tummy still hurts. She's asleep again by the time Eddie comes out of the store carrying a single bag, and Buck opens the backdoor to kiss the top of Millie's head before he leaves. 

"I'll be by later with some food for both of you," Buck says to Eddie. Eddie nods before getting into the truck.

+ 

Eddie pulls the keys from the ignition after pulling into the driveway. He crosses in front of the truck before opening Millie's door. He carries her to the front door before fumbling with his keys. 

"Daddy?" Millie whispers, lifting her head. 

"Just a second, bug," Eddie mutters, struggling to fit the key in the lock. 

"Daddy! I'm gonna throw up." Millie cries, and Eddie doesn't even have the chance to respond or set her on her feet before they're both covered in it. 

"I'm sorry!" Millie hiccuped, and tears covered her face. 

Eddie takes a deep breath as he finally unlocks the door and heads straight to the bathroom. He has Millie on the toilet seat as he removes his shirt before turning the water on and filling the tub. 

"Let's get you a bath, and then you can relax until Buck returns," Eddie says, helping Millie remove her t-shirt. He tries to avoid getting anything else on her face as he does. 

After her bath, Eddie puts her in the softest pajamas he can find and lays her in his bed with her stuffie. He gives her the medicine he'd picked up and kisses her forehead. "I'm going to shower, but if you need me, just call out," he says, heading toward his bathroom. 

"I'm really sorry, Daddy," Millie whispers. 

"It's not your fault, Amelia. You can't control it." 

+

"Get the hell out of here!" Millie is woken up by shouting. 

She pushes her dad's blanket off her before creeping toward the halfway-open door. She squeezes into the hallway, walking silently toward the living room. Millie peeks around the corner and notices Buck sitting on the couch. Her dad is pacing in front of a woman she's never seen before. 

"Eddie, you are not allowed to keep her from me." The woman says, pointing a finger in Eddie's face. 

"I can do whatever the hell I want. I'm her father." Eddie's voice rings through the apartment. 

"And I'm her mother. I have rights." Millie's mouth drops open. 

This woman was her mother? She never would have guessed because Eddie has no pictures of her. Millie looks nothing like her. She looks like Eddie. 

"You signed away your rights the same day that my son was born, which means that you legally are not her parent." Eddie's voice was getting higher, and his face was getting redder. 

"That was seven years ago, Edmundo. I've changed and am ready to be a mom again."

"Maxine, you barely even spent eight months with her; you were never a mother." A sob escapes Millie's mouth, and Buck's head snaps toward her. 

"Hey, uh, Eddie," Buck whispers, nodding toward the hallway. 

Eddie looks into the hallway, and Millie stands there with tears streaming down her face and her stuffie in her arms. "Shit," Eddie mumbles, stepping around Maxine. 

Maxine turns around and sees Millie as Eddie picks her up. "Oh my God, she's so grown up," Maxine mutters, her hands covering her mouth, and her eyes filling with tears. 

"Don't even think about it," Eddie says, holding a hand up so she doesn't come closer. 

"You're yelling. Are you mad at me, Daddy?" Millie whispers, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

"No, bug. I'm not mad at you," Eddie says, returning to his room. 

"Can Buck and I color? In my room?" Millie asks. 

"I'll go." The woman says from the doorway. 

"No, you won't. You aren't going to get any closer. You are not going inside her room, and you are not going to speak to her. You aren't even going to wave to her or the pol-" 

"Eddie! You're scaring her." Buck interrupts him, and Eddie sighs as he looks down at Millie.

"I'm sorry, why don't you take her to her room and color something? I'll be there in a minute." Eddie sighed, passing Millie to Buck. 

+

Twenty minutes later, Eddie puts pizza on plates and passes them to Buck and Millie, who have chosen a movie. "If you feel like you'll be sick, don't force yourself to eat all of it," Eddie tells Millie. 

A few minutes into the movie, Millie can't focus. She'd eaten half of her pizza; all she could think about was the woman. "Daddy?" She whispers. 

"Yeah?" Eddie whispers back. 

"Was that my mommy?" Eddie stops chewing. 

"Yeah, bug. It was." Eddie finally says. 

Eddie paused the movie and talked about Maxine to Millie for over an hour, answering whatever questions she had about whether he thought she was old enough to understand them. Buck sat on the other side of Millie, listening quietly. 

"Daddy," Millie mumbled after the movie was unpaused. 

She puts her hand over her mouth, and Eddie and Buck jump into action. Buck lifts her off the couch and carries her to the kitchen trashcan, which is closer than the bathroom. Millie leans against Buck as Eddie returns with a damp towel and more medicine. 

"I don't want that," Millie mumbled, glaring at the bottle of strawberry medicine. 

"It'll make you feel better," Eddie promises. 

"I don't wanna be sick anymore." Millie cries as Buck lifts her onto the counter. 

"I know, bug. It'll be over soon." Eddie mutters, filling the syringe. 

Eddie feels horrible. Millie was six years old the last time she had an allergic reaction, but it was nowhere near as serious as this. He'd seen her eat it and got it out of her mouth before she swallowed it. Eddie wanted to be able to wish away her pain, but he knew she'd be fine in a day or two. He'd had Pepa keep Christopher so he could focus on getting her better. 

"Buck's got to get home. Do you want to say goodbye?" Eddie asks, wiping the cloth across Millie's forehead. 

"Please, don't go," Millie mumbles, wrapping her arms around Buck's neck, keeping him from moving away. 

He knew he could get away, but what kind of person pushes a sick kid away? 

"I'll stay if your dad's okay with it." Buck grins at Eddie over Millie's head. 

+

The following day, Eddie wakes up to silence. Millie wasn't in bed anymore, and her stuffie was gone. He sits up and rubs his hands over his face and through his hair before getting up. He brushes his teeth before leaving his room to find his kid and best friend. 

Eddie opens the door to Millie's room, thinking that she might've missed her bed, but she's not there. He checks Christopher's room just in case, but it's empty. Finally, in the living room, the lights are all off, and the TV is playing on mute. Buck is watching the TV, and Millie is lying on top of him, passed out. 

"Hey," Eddie whispers. 

"Hey, Eddie." 

"She wake you up?" 

"No. I mean, not really. I was heading back from the bathroom, and she was sitting in your bed. I thought she'd been sick again, but she had a bad dream." Buck says. 

"That's weird. Usually, if she cries or screams, I'll hear her." Eddie mumbles. 

"She wasn't crying when I noticed her." Buck shrugs slightly. 

Millie turns her head, facing the back of the couch, and Eddie heads to the kitchen. He hopes that when Millie wakes up, she feels better. He needed to get both her and Christopher back to their routine.  

+

+

+

A/N: This chapter was my death. So much dialogue is happening, and I never know how to write it. So, hopefully, the next chapter will be better, and there will be a little less dialogue and a little more thought. Anywho, let me know your thoughts on this chapter. 

We'll also be seeing Maxine again VERY soon. 

Check out kammywp on TikTok for edits of this fic and my other published ones. They've all been related to Millie and Eddie lately.

New chapter this weekend!!!!!

- Kam :)

Slight Edits: March 2026