Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sky was gorgeous that night.

Normally Buck couldn’t see much of the sky in LA due to all of the light pollution, but here, in the middle of the park away from everything, he could see a couple of stars shining brighter than they could be dimmed out beside the soft glow of the moon. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and just let himself be.

Buck liked to come out here in the evenings occasionally when things at work started to weigh heavy in his head and even heavier on his heart. Out here, it was easy to just not think about anything. He could focus on the soft rustling of the leaves from the breeze in the air. He listened to the soft chatter of birds making their last rounds for food for the night. It was easy for him to ignore his thoughts, if not just for a while.

Maddie knew he came out here sometimes, though no one else knew about his secret little getaway. She used to be obsessed with keeping track of where he was, terrified something would happen to him, so eventually, he explained to her his nightly trips to the park and their importance to him.

It was hard to explain even to himself sometimes, so he just stopped trying and just let it be.

Sitting on this bench in the middle of the park, Buck opened his eyes when he heard footsteps near him. Slowly sitting down on the bench next to him was an older man, maybe a year or so older than Maddie, he thought. He had dark, neatly-trimmed hair and was dressed in high quality, but comfortable looking clothes. His eyes though—something about the sharpness left Buck uneasy.

“It’s a beautiful night.” the man commented, glancing over at Buck and Buck quickly looked away, turning his gaze back up to the night sky.

“It is,” he agreed politely, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I used to come out here with my wife,” the man said quietly after a few moments of silence, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his knees and folding his hands together. “On nights like these, she used to love trying to find the stars and tracing the constellations.”

There was sorrow in his voice when he spoke and Buck’s uneasiness began to fade, empathy replacing it. “What were her favorites?” he asked because Buck was nothing if not kind to those who were struggling.

“The Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.” he answered after a moment, a hint of fondness accompanying the sorrow. “She said that one day her little girl would be the little dipper to her big dipper.” he gave a small chuckle. “I told her that didn’t make any sense but she always had a big imagination.”

“She’s sounds nice.” Buck offered, finally daring a glance over at the man. He was staring up at the sky now, twisting his hands together and Buck noticed the glint of moonlight shining off his wedding ring. 

“She was.” He murmured quietly, sounding conflicted before he let out a soft sigh.

“I’m sorry for your loss, man.” Buck said consolingly, automatically, so much time on the job the response was practically drilled into him at this point. And he did. The man seemed genuinely upset, and though it was kind of odd, perhaps he just needed someone to talk to.

“Thank you.” The man finally looked over at him and met his gaze with a smile that didn’t quite seem to reach his eyes. “You remind me of her a lot, actually.”

“Oh really?” Buck asked, indulging the man.

“Yes,” he murmured, his eyes flitting across Buck’s face. “It first struck me when I saw you sitting here, looking up at the sky for a second I thought you were her. Your eyes, the shape of your nose, and even your cheekbones—” his hand raised up as if he was going to try to touch Buck’s face, a lost look in his eyes.

Buck leaned back slightly, the uneasiness returning twofold, and the man’s hand froze in the air. He slowly lowered his hand, an apologetic smile crossing his features. “My apologies. Sometimes I get caught up in my head.”

“No problem, man. Happens to the best of us.” Buck felt the edges of his lips quirk up into something resembling a smile, but that look in the man’s eyes was back and the uneasiness was building like a lead ball in the pit of his something. He casually shifted his weight, leaning backwards a little farther away from the man and disgusting it as adjusting his gaze back up to the sky. He licked his dry lips, searching for something to say but his mind coming up blank.

“She should be here right now.” The man spoke again, and when Buck looked back the man was back in his own space, away from Buck, his posture once more relaxed as he gazed up at the nigh sky.

“I’m sure she would have enjoyed the view of the stars tonight.” Buck murmured.

“Yes. Yes I’m sure she would. I’m disappointed you didn’t bring her, tonight.” he said casually enough, but there was something dark in his tone that made Buck straighten and glance back at him. The man was still staring towards the sky but his posture had grown tense, his hands clasped together as if in prayer so tightly even in the dim light Buck could see the whiteness in his knuckles.

“I’m sorry?” he asked then, confused and unsettled with the change in tone. A sudden tension seemed to crackle in the air between them that was absent before.

“She went running to you. Why? What can you give her that I can’t?” the man continued, as if Buck hadn’t even spoke. “I gave her everything, everything she ever wanted, ever needed. A stable home, a stable family, a life, a child—” The man’s head snapped around and he locked angry, rage-filled eyes with Buck. “Why would she go to you? You can’t even protect her!”

Terror shot down Buck’s spine as the pieces clicked together and because he’s seen that look before he knew what it meant—

He couldn’t move fast enough.

The man shot forward before Buck could even blink, hands wrapping tightly around his throat as he shoved Buck against the bench, slamming his head into the metal and—shit, fuck, that hurt.

“You! You took her from me.” he hissed, fingers digging deep deep hard against Buck’s throat.

Buck struggled and thrashed under him, mouth open and gasping desperately for air as he tried to shove the man off of him. Terror coursing through his veins, (he had to get away he had to warn Maddie he was back) in a wild move Buck twisted his body enough so they both fell off of the bench and onto the ground. The man’s hands loosened around Buck’s throat just a fraction upon impact, but it was all he needed.

Shoving back with his feet, Buck kicked the man in the chest and quickly stumbled to his feet, intent on taking off as a scream for help bubbled in his throat. But before he got the chance to make a sound, something rough and tight wrapped around his throat and tugged him backward, cutting his scream off into a choked whimper.

Pulled back up against the man’s chest, Buck struggled desperately, fingers clawing against the tie—because that what it was, he knew absently, from the feel of the fabric cutting into his throat—but it wasn’t enough. Spots danced in front of his eyes as his struggles grew weaker, his hands still desperately trying to claw it off his throat but to no avail. The fear running through his veins only grew as his vision slowly began to fade and his lungs burned and his brain went foggy until—

“My name is Doug Kendall, by the way. Rude of you not to ask.”

The tie around his neck tightened and Buck choked something out—a cry, a sob, a scream— before his gaze drifted upwards towards the sky as his body began to go slack and his mind turned numb.

The sky was gorgeous that night.

Chapter Text

When Buck finally regained consciousness, the first thing he became aware of was the ropes tied tightly around his wrists. He clenched his hands into fists, the bonds tightening around his wrists at the action as he struggled to figure out where he was. He was in a chair. Definitely. He knew that from the way he was sitting, but—an involuntary groan escaped his lips as the pounding in his head made itself known, the constant, harsh throbbing words than any hangover he’s ever had and making it a struggle to think.

And fuck, his throat hurt . Swallowing made it feel like it was burning and every breath he took was a struggle he never remembered ever having. He winced as he licked his dry, chapped lips. Wherever he was, he could almost taste the moisture in the air.

“Oh, good, you’re awake.”

Buck’s train of thought halted and his entire body froze for a moment before growing tense at that voice. What the fuck? He… He knew that voice. It flitted in the very corners of his mind, the answer right on the tip of his tongue but the memory of the voice was so old and— shit , how did he get here? The last thing he remembered was—

“I was getting quite worried I might have been too rough with you, but, well, you are your sister’s brother.”

Slowly, Buck managed to open his heavy eyes, forced to blink a few times before everything came into focus. The scowl that appeared on his face was involuntary as he saw who was sitting in front of him, vague memories from the night before flashing in his head. Doug, Maddie’s lousy ex (he remembered that mean smile, that look of triumph gazing down at a confused and upset six-year-old Buck—) was sitting in a chair not three feet in front of him. There was concern shining in his eyes and a glass of water in his hands that had Buck involuntarily licking his dry lips when he saw it. God, his throat burned .

Doug stood to his feet and walked towards Buck, kneeling down next to his chair and making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He struggled against the bonds again, anything to get away from this monster. “Get away from me.”

Doug ignored him, grabbing his jaw and tipping his head back, rough fingers digging painfully against his cheek as he forced his mouth open. “Don’t be difficult,” he said evenly, pouring the water down Buck’s throat. “You need the water.”

At first Buck choked slightly on the water, trying not to swallow it. He didn’t want anything this man was trying to give him, no matter how much he craved it. But Doug tipped his head back more until Buck had no choice but to swallow the water.

“There, better?” Doug asked once the water was gone, letting go of his hold on Buck’s face and returning to his seat in the chair across from Buck.

A hate-filled glare was the only response Buck gave him, refusing to admit the relief he felt in his throat. It still ached, but it didn’t burn like it had before. God, he could only imagine the mess of purple and black bruises splotching his neck.

Taking a deep breath to center himself, Buck ignored Doug and glanced around the room he was being kept in. It was dim, only a single light hanging ominously above him shedding any light in the room. It was like something out of a bad horror movie. Only it wasn’t, it was real life , and Buck had to bite back a bark of hysterical, terrified laugh. He could barely see the rest of the room, only able to make out the shapes of several stacked moving boxes littered around the room.

To his right, if he squinted he could almost make out the outline of stairs leading above them, so he could only assume they must be in some kind of basement. “Were all of the creepy abandoned warehouses taken?” Buck rasped, finally returning his gaze to Doug.

“You’re young, aren’t you?” Doug asked, ignoring Buck’s question as he tilted his head slightly to the side in what seemed to be genuine curiosity. “Twenty-six, right?” An unsettling smile spread across his face, one that sent a spark of fear in Buck’s chest. “I almost had forgotten about you.” he admitted, folding his hands together in front of him. “You were only six when I married your sister, weren’t you? She never talked about you after we left. I assumed she’d forgotten about you.”

She had , Buck thought bitterly, growing wary as he tried to figure out what Doug was playing at. “What do you want?”

Immediately Doug’s demeanor shifted, turning from something pleasant, if a little unsettling to danger danger danger the way his eyes darkened and his posture shifted into something more familiar. More threatening. “I want my wife back.” he said quietly, hatred like Buck had never seen burning through Buck’s soul. “And you’re going to help me.”

Buck couldn’t help the scoff he made, ignoring the burning ins throat from the action. “You’re delusional. Like hell I’d ever help you. She’ll never come back to you, you worthless piece of shit—” The punch to his jaw happened faster than he could blink, cutting off the rest of Buck’s insult.

A rough hand grabbed his jaw and Buck glared back at Doug, ignoring the fire in his throat and the ache in his jaw. Rage sparked in his captor’s eyes when he spat, “She will always come back to me. Especially with your help. And, sweet Caroline, of course.”

For a moment, the fear was replaced by confusion. “Caroline?”

He shoved Buck’s head to the side, making his neck ache from the odd angle and his the pounding in his head return at full force.  “Yes, she wouldn’t have told you, would she?” Doug mused, the eerie calm back as if he hadn’t just been spitting with fury in Buck’s face. “Our daughter, of course.”

Buck’s brain screeched to a halt.

“Daughter?” his voice cracked when he asked, staring disbelievingly at Doug. “No. She would have told me.”

“She thought she died.” Doug shrugged. “An error in judgment. Caroline is an abomination. I underestimated the impact her death would have on my wife.”

He watched through heavy eyes as Doug walked away, still trying to process the fact that Maddie has a daughter, he has a niece , his body tensing in preparation for whatever was going to happen next. Doug walked further into the darkness of the basement before returning with something in his hand.

A box.

He tossed it carelessly at Buck’s feet and Buck couldn’t hold back the choked gasp of horror when he looked in. A sweet little baby, barely six months old by the looks of it, tears streaming down her face and her mouth open in a silent scream as she wiggled around in the multitude of blankets in the box. Her face was scrunched up in pain and she was obviously terrified and it just broke Buck’s heart.

“What kind of a monster are you?” Buck hissed, tears in his eyes as he glared up at Doug with renewed vitriol, wishing for nothing more than the ability to punch him in his smug face.

“She’s the monster, not me.” Doug sneered down at the baby in the box. “An abomination . The doctors told us she had cerebral palsy. I told my wife she was worthless, but she refused to listen. So I told her she was dead. Died during the night” The way he said it so casually made Buck sick to his stomach. “Unfortunately, she ran off. I don’t understand how she harbors love for this… thing.” he spat. “But she will do anything for her, and she will do anything for you. So you two will be getting her back for me.”

He pulled something out of his jacket pocket then.

A camera.

Not just any camera. But a camcorder. God, Buck hadn’t seen one of those since the early 2000s.

Alarm bells rang in his head and he started struggling against his bonds again, the ropes cutting tightly into his wrists due to his efforts. It was no use. What the fuck was he planning on doing with that camera? He couldn’t let him do this. He couldn’t let Maddie—

“Say cheese,” Doug said as he pressed the recording button on the camera, a small red light flashing to indicate it had begun to record.

“Fuck you.” Buck spat venomously, glaring hatefully at Doug behind the camera. The rage and terror thrumming through his veins fought against each other, but so far the terror was winning.

“Now, that’s not very polite. Surely my sweet Maddie raised you better than that?” Doug frowned disapprovingly, like a parent who had been disobeyed by their child. “Come on, tell everyone watching what your name is.”

“You’re insane.” Buck growled instead, tugging violently once more at the ropes tied against his wrists. He needed to get out of here.

“I said,” Doug narrowed his eyes, walking forward with the camera still trained on him. He pulled a long, sharp dagger from his other pocket, pointing it at Caroline. “Tell them your name.”

Fear flashed through Buck then, hot and sharp unlike anything he had ever felt before. He couldn’t let him touch her. “Buck.”

Doug tsked at his answer, waving the dagger slowly through the air like he was wagging his finger. “Your full, real name.”

“Evan.” he answered quickly, his eyes locked on the dagger and praying it stayed away from Caroline. “Evan Buckley. Please, just, don’t touch her.”

“Ah yes, sweet, sweet Caroline.” The sarcasm was thick in his voice as he trained the camera on the baby, kneeling down and reaching into the box with the dagger, the tip hovering only inches above her little face.

“Don’t touch her!” Buck snarled, a fierce wave of protectiveness flooding through him and he kicked out with his foot, making contact with Doug’s side and making him stumble to the side, the camera almost falling out of his grip.

Slowly, Doug glared at him as he regained his footing, turning the camera back on him as he stalked towards him threateningly. “My sweet Mads, you really should have done a better job of keeping this one in line.” Then, faster than Buck could comprehend, Doug lunged forward and stabbed Buck in the shoulder with the dagger, dragging a rough scream from his already damaged throat.

Doug ripped the dagger out and Buck let out something between a scream and sob as the white-hot pain blossomed through his shoulder. Hot, thick blood trickled in a heavy, steady stream from the wound and tears dripped down Buck’s cheeks from the pain.

Through his tears, Buck watched as Doug kept the camera trained on him, a satisfied smile on his face. “Now, he probably won’t last very long with that wound. So if you would ever like to see him, or your abomination again, you will come back with me. No negotiations. And you will stay with me. Or else you will find yourself with one less brother running around.”

“You won’t get away with this. They’ll find me.” Buck hissed through gritted teeth.

Doug hummed noncommittally, barely even sparing him a glance as he shut off the camcorder and turned on his heel. “Enjoy your last few hours, Evan.” he said over his shoulder as he walked into the darkness. There were faint footsteps as he walked up the stairs before Buck heard the loud slam of the door shutting above them.

Immediately, Buck resumed his struggle against the ropes tied around his wrists, trying desperately to ignore the pain in his shoulder. He needed to get free, check not he baby, stop the bleeding, and then find somewhere to hide. Dumbass hadn’t taken the phone out of his inside jacket pocket.

“Come on, Buck, come on,” he muttered to himself, blinking away the tears as he twisted and pulled his hands. His wrists were starting to bleed, but it was no use. He couldn't get loose, he couldn’t get free, he can’t do this—

A soft cry.

Buck’s gaze shot down the box at his feet, his gaze locking with Caroline’s tear-filled eyes. Soft hiccups and cried were now escaping her little mouth, her arms weakly raising themselves in the air and her hands made grabby motions with her fingers.

Fuck this .

A steely determination like anything Buck had ever felt before thrummed alongside the protectiveness in his veins and he bit his lip to keep in a scream as he pulled against the ropes restraining him. He almost started crying again when the ropes around his right wrist snapped and he made quick work untying the ones around his left wrist.

“Shhh, don't worry, Caroline, I’ve got you, baby, Uncle Buck’s got you.” Buck cooed soothingly as he gently reached into the box, wrapping her in the blanket and pulling her into his arms. He cradled her gently against his chest, one hand gently wiping the tears off her cheeks. “Don’t cry anymore, sweetie, I’ll get us out of here. I promise.”

First, he needed to do something about the wound on his shoulder or he was going to pass out and then they would never get out of here.

Glancing around the basement, Buck quietly walked around, searching desperately for a place to hide. There were moving boxes, literally everywhere. it was the only choice he had. in the darkest corner of the basement, Buck shoved a bunch of the boxes together to create a makeshift fortress. It wasn’t much, but hopefully it would do until help arrived.

Sliding down the cold, dirty wall, Buck sat heavily on the floor and let out a deep breath. He was a firefighter. He could do this. He blossomed under pressure. This was just another test of his abilities. He could do this .

Laying out his legs, Buck gently placed Caroline on his thighs and unwrapped her from the blanket. Grunting, he tore a strip of it off, biting his lip against the pain that flared in his shoulder at the movement. Gritting his teeth, Buck took a deep breath before reaching around to tie the piece of cloth around his shoulder, looping it under his arm and using his teeth to tie the knot as tightly as he could manage. It was all he could do and it would have to be enough.

Buck used the rest of the blanket to swaddle Caroline and held her tightly against his chest pressing a soft kiss against her forehead. She snuffed slightly, turning her face towards Buck’s uninjured shoulder but otherwise remained silent. “Don’t worry, sweetie. They’ll find us.”

Carefully, Buck reached into the inside of his jacket and prayed his thanks to the God Eddie prayed to every night that Doug had been stupid enough to not check him for his work phone. With fumbling, shaky fingers Buck dialed Maddie’s number, bringing the phone up to his ear and closing his eyes as he prayed for her to answer.

“Buck?” Disbelief was evident in her voice.

“…Mads?”

Someone was crying into the phone then, until he heard,

“Evan?”

“Oh my— Eddie.” Buck bowed his head as his voice cracked, fresh tears welling in his eyes.

“Buck, baby, where are you?” He sounded calm, but Buck knew Eddie, and he could hear the panic on the edges of his voice. “We saw the—” his voice cut off and when he started speaking again, Buck could hear the tears in his voice and it broke his heart. “Baby, we saw the video.”

“I’m okay for now.” He took another deep, shaky breath, keeping his voice low and quiet. “I’ve got it tied off but I won’t last long. It’s deep.” he glanced down at Caroline and a small smile crossed his face at the peacefully look she had while she slept. “Caroline’s fine too. Perfect. I don’t know where I’m at. A basement, I think, with a bunch of moving boxes in it.” His hands were shaking so hard he might drop the phone.

“Mads, please find Athena. Get somewhere safe he’s coming for you he—” Something clattered on the floor above him, making Buck flinch violently back into the corner he had shoved himself in, an involuntary whimper escaping his mouth.  “Mads, he knows where you live. He got me at the park and he knew things—he’s been watching us. You’ve got to run, now, get somewhere safe.”

“No, Buck, we’re not going anywhere. Athena is already tracing the call, we’ll find you I promise—”

Buck didn’t listen to the rest of what she said, his gaze shooting upwards when he heard the soft creak of the basement door opening. He squeezed his eyes shut as he heard slow footsteps walk across the floor above, hot tears dropping down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, Mads. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, I promise.”

“Buck, no, we’ll find you we will—”

“I know you will.” Buck replied, hoping and wishing if he repeated it enough times it would come true. “Eddie, Eddie, are you still there?”

“Yes, Buck, yeah I’m still here. We’re going to find you. We’ll find you, I promise.” Eddie swore.

Buck let his eyes fall close and he licked his dry lips as he nodded, even though he knew they couldn't see him. “I love you. I love you all.” his voice cracked slightly before the heavy footsteps began to descend down the stairs.

Buck shut the phone off in a panic, shoving back into the inside coat of his pocket. He cowered back into the corner as the footsteps slowly descended down the stairs, curling protectively around the precious bundle in his arms.

“I’ll protect you, sweetie.” Buck swore, pressing a gentle kiss on Caroline’s head. “They’ll come for us.”

“They’ll come for us.”

Chapter Text

Buck refused to die here.

Caroline was safe, for now. She was curled up with the tattered blanket and Buck’s jacket in one of the smaller moving boxes, blissfully asleep to the world around her. He hid her as best he could in the farthest corner of the basement, gently pressing a kiss to her little forehead. Now, he stood hidden in the shadows, his heart in his throat as he anxiously waited for those ominous footsteps to descend down the basement stairs.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The loud rushing sound of his heartbeat in his ears almost drowned out the creaky door opening, followed by heavy footfalls descending the wooden stairs. Buck waited, his sweaty hands tightening around the wooden chair in his hands as he waited for his opportunity to strike. Whatever happened here, he only had one goal—keep Caroline safe.

At the moment, that meant baiting Doug out of the building and as far away from her as possible.

The moment Doug’s foot hit the floor, Buck launched himself from the shadows behind him with a shout, slamming the chair as hard as he could against Doug’s back. It splintered into pieces on impact as Doug collapsed with a surprised cry onto the ground, momentarily disoriented.

Knowing the time he had bought himself was limited, Buck rushed up the stairs, his heart pounding in his chest as he reached the top and shoved the door closed behind him. Pain shot up from his shoulder at the action, making him grind his teeth together in an effort to ignore it. Barely a heartbeat had gone by after he heard the blissful ‘click’ of the lock sliding into place when Doug slammed into it from the other side, the force of it making him stumble backward.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, he thought to himself. The door shook as Doug slammed into it again, the hinges creaking ominously. 

He fumbled with the phone in his pocket, pulling it out and calling Athena as slowly backed away from the basement door.

“Buck?”

“Athena!” Buck barely got her name out as the door shook again, groaning in a way that slowly had Buck backing out of the cabin. “Please tell me you guys are on your way.”

“We’re only a couple minutes out, Buck,” she reassured him, though he could hear the tension in her voice. “We tracked your location to the lodges up in the mountain. Just hang in there, okay?”

“Not an option.” Buck breathed out, flinching and turning to run down a cement path when he heard a loud crash from inside the cabin. “Caroline’s in the basement, Athena, please, you have to make sure she’s safe,” he said hurriedly, panting from exertion with his injuries and sweat beading along his forehead.

“Buckley!”

Buck cursed under his breath and shoved the phone back in his pocket, unaware of Athena’s response over the phone. Doug was going to be on his heels in seconds—he needed to get him away from the cabin but he also didn’t want to get captured by the psychotic man again. He just needed to ride it out until Athena got here.

Wherever here was. Outside of the cabin he was trapped in, all he could see in every direction was snow-covered pine trees, rocks, and mountain tops along the skyline. It was beautiful but—Christ, Doug must have taken him to the most isolated cabin out here. Muttering a string of obscenities under his breath, Buck took a chance and veered off into the woods, hoping he might be able to keep him busy following his trail before losing him in the forest.

At least, that was the plan, until one of the trees next to him seemed to explode, sending splintered pieces of bark flying into the air and making Buck stumble to the side.

The gun.

Buck chanced a glance over his shoulder and instinctively ducked when he saw Doug pointing the gun at him and heard the crack of the shot through the air. He didn’t immediately feel any pain and took that as a good sign, scrambling back to his feet and running through the woods with renewed vigor as the other man screamed his name and gave chase.

Holy shit, what have I gotten myself into? Buck wondered, fighting back the urge to break into hysterical cries as he heard the gun go off a third time behind. The only good thing, he supposed, was that Doug was apparently a pretty lousy shot.

Adrenaline was a hell of a drug. At the moment, not even the pain he knew he should be feeling in his shoulder could register in his brain as he half-scrambled, half-slid down a rocky ravine. He dove behind a large, snow-covered boulder and held his breath as he pressed his back against it, hardly daring to breathe.

From behind him, he could hear Doug’s screaming grow louder before it lowered into mumbled cursing as Buck’s trail disappeared into the ravine. Another gunshot rang out, making him flinch against the boulder he’d hidden behind. He wished he had been keeping track of the gunshots; he didn’t how many shots Doug had left in that gun.

“You can’t run forever!” Doug’s voice sent a cold shiver down Buck’s back that had nothing to do with the cold. “I will get her back, Evan, you can’t keep her from me!”

Buck’s breath hitched at the implication but he tried to keep the panic from overwhelming him. He couldn’t afford to lose any more of his cool. The sound of Doug’s footsteps grew closer and Buck tensed, shifting slightly on the balls of his feet. The moment Doug’s shadow passed by the boulder, Buck lunged and tackled him the ground, managing to knock the gun out of Doug’s hand and send it skittering across the snow.

“Bitch!” Doug cursed, throwing his elbow back and nailing Buck in his injured shoulder. 

The action made stars dance across his vision and he cried out as the pain flared in his shoulder. He fell off of Doug and into the snow as the other man stumbled to his feet. Buck thought he saw the silver glint of a pocket knife in the sunlight before the man was on him again. Faster than he could blink, Doug crouched over top of him and Buck was too slow to stop him from stabbing the knife into his abdomen. Buck screamed as white-hot pain flared in his side, instinctively shoving Doug off with all the strength he could muster. The wound pulsed agonizingly in time with his heartbeat when he scrambled to his hands and feet, swinging his fist down and landing a punch crookedly on Doug’s jaw that left his hand aching.

Doug swore, lunging for Buck again but missing as Buck managed to dive out of the way. The bastard grabbed onto his foot, dragging him back down to the ground and pulling him back. “You’re going to regret that, Evan!”

“Fuck off, you psychotic asshole.” Buck snarled, twisting his body around in the snow.

Doug lunged on top of him again, the knife once again in his hand as it came swiftly at his head. Buck barely managed to block the blow in time with his arm, knocking the knife out of his and skidding across the ravine.

The psycho was taken aback for just a second by the move—but that was all Buck needed,

Guess those MMA lessons with Eddie weren’t a complete waste of time after all.

Buck had Doug flipped in a second, gritting his teeth against the pain shooting up his shoulder. He trapped one of Doug’s legs to the ground with his own as he wrapped his right arm tightly around Doug’s neck, using his left hand to brace against his elbow in the chokehold. Doug shouted and cursed in his hold but Buck ignored it; ignored the way Doug’s nails left cuts in his arms in his desperate attempt to force Buck to let go. His body thrashed and buck underneath him but with every second that passed, every attempt grew weaker and weaker.

Buck screwed his eyes shut against the tears in his eyes when Doug finally let out a choked breath and then slowly fell still in Buck’s grip.

The panic and adrenaline thrummed through Buck’s veins and still, he did not let go, tightened his grip even—he knew Doug and it was entirely possible the man could just be holding his breath and playing opossum. 

When it became clear after several long minutes (or it could have been hours or seconds or days) that Doug would not be moving, Buck finally let go, shoving him off with a soft sob.

He couldn’t bring himself to check if he was breathing.

He scrambled to his feet, leaning heavily against a tree to get his bearings as the world around him tilted on its axis. Closing his eyes, Buck breath out shakily. His head was pounding and every heartbeat seemed to throb in time with his wounds. And he had just—

Buck pressed his hand against his mouth to hold back a sob as he opened his eyes again.

He couldn’t even bring himself to finish the thought.

Caroline. The thought was like a bucket of cold water over his head. That’s what he needed to focus on. He needed to get back to Caroline.

Buck pushed himself off the tree with a groan of pain, stumbling his way back up the ravine. Belatedly, he realized his phone was still in his pocket and pulled it out as he made his way slowly back to the cabin. “Athena?” 

“Buckaroo?”

Buck couldn’t help the sob that escaped him at the sound of her voice.

“Oh, God, Buck, are you okay? Where are you?” Athena asked quickly, sounding even tenser and stressed than she had before. “We found Caroline in the cabin, she’s okay, but where—”

“I had to get him out, Athena,” Buck’s breath hitched slightly. “I couldn’t let him hurt her.”

“Are you outside? We saw tracks—we’re following them, Buck, how far?” 

“I-I don’t know. I—”

“Buck?”

Buck froze, the words falling off his lips when he heard Maddie’s voice shout through the air. “Maddie…” he breathed out.

“Buck?”

“Maddie!” he finally shouted back, his voice straining and breaking slightly on the cry.  He stumbled forward in the snow, desperate for the sight of his big sister. “Maddie!”

“Buck!” Maddie’s voice grew louder and more urgent and—there! A flash of bright blue against the white snow and muted colors of the forest, practically jumping through the snow when she caught sight of him. “Buck!”

“Maddie!” Buck couldn’t hold back the tears anymore as they fell, practically falling into his older sister's arms as she dove to catch him from falling. “Maddie, I-I didn’t want to, I swear!” he sobbed, clutching at her shirt like he did when he was younger and scared.

Maddie was shushing him but he could feel her warm tears against his skin. “It’s okay, Evan, it’s okay. You’re safe now, I promise. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

The EMT’s weren’t far behind her and Buck doesn’t think he has ever been happier to see Chimney and Eddie arriving with their kit and the backboard. Maddie stood, tugging gently at Buck to try and stand up with her. The moment he did he felt himself sway dangerously on his feet, the world blurring in front of him before he felt strong arms steady him and gently lower him back to the ground.

“Hurts.” he croaked out, whining as hands started firmly pressing around the area of his neck.

“Sorry, Buckaroo,” Chimney said, sympathetic, the hands retreating immediately. “I just needed to make sure that impressive collection of bruises wasn’t anything more serious.”

The pain didn’t improve as Chimney started working on patching up his other wounds. His face screwed up in pain as tears dripped down the side of his face, squeezing tightly against the hand he only belatedly realized he was holding. “You’re gonna be okay, Evan,” Eddie’s soft murmur was like a gentle balm to his pain, the light kiss on his head more soothing than any pain medication they could give him.

“You’re both going to be okay,” Maddie added, her voice thick with emotion. “Thanks to you.”

“Eddie, start him on a bag of saline and some morphine, while…” Chimney’s voice trailed off into white noise as Buck slowly opened his eyes again—this time gazing up into the sky above him.

The sky was lighter now, time carrying on and moving at a gentle, yet steady, pace despite the tragedy around them. The sky was painted in an enchanting array of pinks and yellows and soft-toned blues. The sunrise shined through the sky—through the darkness—like the promise of a new beginning through the winter frost.

He had a feeling so peculiar, that this pain wouldn’t be for evermore.