Chapter Text
“ Hello? ”
Buck took a shaky breath. “Pepa ?”
“ Buck, cariño, is everything okay? ” Pepa’s voice was filled with concern on the other end of the phone.
“I-” Buck’s voice broke. “It’s Eddie and Chris. They were in a car accident. Chris is fine, just a few cuts and a minor concussion, but they had to sedate him because of his panic. Eddie…” Buck had to clear his throat so he wouldn’t completely break. “He’s still in surgery.”
“What happened?” Buck could hear Eddie’s abuela cry.
“They... They were coming back. It was a surprise.” He was now fully sobbing, hoping Pepa would understand him. “I need to call his parents, not his sisters, and I don’t know, maybe Abuela if she can come -”
“Evancito, take a deep breath .” Pepa’s voice stopped him from spiralling further down. “ I’ll call my family in Texas. Are you alone right now? ”
“Me? No. Everyone’s here.” Why was she worried about him? Her nephew and grand-nephew were in the hospital right now.
“ Good .” And Buck swore he could hear a small smile in her voice. “ I’ll take care of the family. Just take care of them. I’ll come as soon as I can, okay? ”
Buck nodded, a heavy weight suddenly lifted from his shoulders. “Yeah. Yeah okay. Thank you, Tia. I’ll text you any updates.”
“ I know you will. Go take care of our boys, Buc k.”
Our boys. She spoke as if she knew something, as if she knew Buck’s feelings about Eddie and Chris. And hell, maybe she did. So he promised her, and they said goodbye to each other. After the call, who was sitting against one of the 118 ambulances just couldn’t move. He felt like his whole world was falling apart, and maybe it was. What should have been one of the best days of his life, ight become one of the worst. He sighed, his body refusing to move.
“Buck?” He lifted his head. Maddie just appeared around the ambulance. She sat next to him, one of her hands on his. She didn’t ask how he was feeling, she just sat with him in silence.
“You were right.” His voice was barely a whisper. He turned to look at her. She didn’t say anything, waiting for him to elaborate. “I am in love with Eddie.”
“Oh, Buck.”
And her voice was so soft, Buck could do nothing but break again. He thought he cried every tear possible, but no. She cradled her head on her shoulder, running her fingers through his hair, whispering comforting words, just like when they were children.
“I need to go see Chris.” He said once he could breathe, once he could control his sobs.
“Okay. let’s go, we’re all here for you, little brother.”
***
At first, Chris forgot what happened. His whole body felt like lead, even his eyes. He blinked a few times and turned his head. On his left, he saw Buck, the man had a sad smile on his lips, but was still running a hand through his hair.
“Hey, bud.” And gosh, Chris had missed Buck’s voice, and how he felt safe as soon as he heard his dad’s best friend talk.
“Buck?”
His throat felt dry, like he hadn’t drunk in a month. Buck jumped to grab a cup and gave him ice chips.
“Easy, Superman. Take your time.”
So Chris took his time before speaking again.
“What happened?”
“What do you remember?”
Chris frowned. His memories were fuzzy and just out of reach. But slowly they came back. The car, the flash, Maddie, the tree, and -
“Dad!” He suddenly tried to sit up, but Buck pushed him back on the bed.
“Wow, easy. I don’t want you to hurt yourself even more.” Buck’s voice was full of worry and seriousness, not like he sounded normally. More like the voice he used after his dad got shot.
“Buck, is dad -” He couldn’t even dare to finish the sentence, too afraid of the answer.
“No, no. He’s not, don’t worry.” And Buck’s voice was so reassuring, Chris wanted to wrap himself in it.
Buck pointed to the bed, and Chris nodded. Both of them sat next to each other on it. Chris is leaning a bit on Buck.
“Eddie’s…” Buck took a deep breath, and Chris felt him tense a bit. “Eddie is still in surgery. We’re waiting for any update.” Buck put a gentle hand on his back. “I’m sorry, Chris, I can’t tell you more.”
And, oh , this disposition reminded Chris so much of what happened four years ago. It was so long ago, but it sometimes felt like it happened just yesterday. But this time it wasn’t because of his dad’s job. It was because of him. Because of Christopher. And, the teenager just felt something break inside of him. What if he just killed his dad?
“Buck?” He felt his throat close.
“What’s going on, Superman?”
“It’-” he was now fully sobbing. “It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.”
And Chris sobbed for a long time, as he kept apologizing because he might have killed his dad, he might have killed Buck’s best friend, Buck’s love. And Buck was doing his best to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault. Buck, who held him tight, like any father would hold his crying child.
And unlike four years ago,
Buck didn’t break down
.