Just us║E. Buckley x O.C.

Moving on after a traumatic event is never easy; it's a long journey that lasts months, if not years, with the help of the right therapists. Moving on after a traumatic event with your husband who is facing the same trauma, while both of you are taking care of twins who became triplets after this particular traumatic event, is even worse. Especially when your life changes completely, and one of you has to struggle hard with yourself to get back to the job you love so much, from which you were already knocked out by a previous traumatic event. But life goes on, and you must not give up; you must fight with yourself and keep your goals in mind.

"He fucking hates me," is the first thing I hear Evan say as soon as he enters the house. It's been months since the tsunami, and Evan has just returned to the team. He's done a lot of desk work in these months and many stupid things, like suing the fire department. He thought it was the right thing to do; he just wanted his job back, his life back.

"He doesn't hate you, he's just angry. You're like a son to him, you'll see, it'll pass," I reply, sitting down next to him.

"He left me at the station for days, he hates me. Today he sent me home early from work..." he continues, a single tear running down his face. For him, his job is everything; helping others comes first.

"Come with me," I say, holding out my hand, which he immediately takes with a curious look.

"Where are we going?" he asks as I take the stroller with the kids and head towards the elevator.

"To the Santa Monica Pier," I reply as the elevator doors close. We haven't been back to the pier since that day, but maybe after months it's time to return. Sure, it will be difficult, but we can't spend our lives trying to avoid going near it.

*30 minutes later*

Everything is so different from that day; the renovation work is ongoing, but no one can erase what happened, and the dead won't come back to life.

"Come on, I know it's hard, it's so hard for me too, but we have to close with the past, otherwise we can't move forward," we head towards a nearby bench. You can see clearly what was once the pier. We have a flower with us, which we'll place along with all the other flowers and notes now ruined by time.

For a few minutes, no one says anything, but our silence is broken by my sobs as Evan hugs me, and he cries with me too. The children are sleeping in their stroller, and seeing Charlie's face so serene makes me think about how she came to us, her parents she won't remember, and the fact that she will have to grow up knowing that they loved her but can no longer tell her...

*Two hours later*

We spent two hours at the pier, we cried and talked. Now it's late, we're heading home, but we've just stopped at a gas station. We both got out of the car, but my eyes meet something that shouldn't be there like that.

"EVAN," I scream, pointing to the car a few meters from us. There's a person in the front window. Evan turns, and his eyes immediately meet the man. He tries to approach the car, but the woman at the wheel drives off before he can reach her. Immediately, we both look at each other and head to the car. Within a few minutes, Evan manages to stop the car. He's with the man while I'm with the woman.

*A few hours later*

And here we are, we've been at the hospital for hours. Evan cut himself, and because of his medication, the bleeding wouldn't stop. Both the woman and the man are fine now. We are waiting for the discharge papers.

I called Bobby to tell him what happened, and he just arrived. As soon as he sees Buck, he heads straight to him. I don't want to approach them because they need to resolve things like adults, which apparently they have done since both are smiling and hugging within minutes.

"Do you want to go have breakfast?" I ask, approaching the two, pushing the stroller with the kids, and a smile on my face.

After a nod of agreement, we head to the first diner we find.

In the end, for now, things are resolved; everything has returned to normal. These have been difficult months for everyone, but we must move forward and not look to the past, otherwise, we see only pain...

*A/N*

GUESS WHO IS BACKKKKKKK

After spending two weeks in New York to study, I experienced an American school (totally different from an Italian school), and I finally lived my lifelong dream. I got a taste of what it's like to live in America, and there are many things I really like. This chapter has been in the works for months and was almost finished after this trip (not me seeing a New York Fire Department vehicle with "118" written on it and immediately wanting to write). Finally, after countless revisions, it's here. (I'm sorry if it's not a lot🥹)

I will follow my own timeline, so things might happen before they occur in subsequent episodes.

(In Italy, only a few episodes of the new season have been released, so if you're Italian or know any site where you can watch it, please let me know!)

Have a nice night/day/afternoon (idk where you are from)

M.P.✨