Chapter Text
Evan Buckley did not get sick.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he sneezed, let alone caught a cold. Even as child, Buck prided himself in his strong immune system. But there he was, hauling fifty pounds of gear on his back and feeling weaker by the minute.
It’s probably just allergies. His eyes were swollen and watering, tears involuntarily formed at the corners of his eyes. He had been blowing his nose all morning, leaving it dry and cracked, to match his cracked and bleeding lips. Buck was painfully aware of the burning feeling in his throat, as if every time he swallowed, he was putting glass down his esophagus rather than saliva. But, the worst by far, was the heavy pounding in his head, as if someone were using a jack hammer on his brain.
Buck tried to focus his watery vision on Bobby as he laid out their rescue, but the throbbing in his head was making it difficult to focus,
“Dispatch says there are two people on the second floor, you’re going to have to…” His ears began to ring and his eye sight began to turn blurry. Buck shook his head in a sad attempt to clear his vision. Bobby’s voice felt a million miles away. “… Buck and Eddie will take the second floor. Chim, you will…”
Bobby’s lips continued to move, but Buck couldn’t convince his attention to follow. He felt the overwhelming urge to throw up when Eddie grasped his shoulder and looked at him,
“You alright, Buck?”
Buck blinked a few times before focusing his vision onto Eddie, “Yeah, lets do this.”
Buck had been hot all day, but the minute the heat from the flames kissed his skin, he broke out in sweat. He knew there were two women on the second floor, get them out and get out of here. He followed Eddie up the staircase directly in front of them, he could hear the women screaming We’re in Here! from the end of the hallway. The railing of the stairs was engulfed in flames, each step creeping with their weight,
Eddie turned to him, yelling over the blaze, “This place is going down soon!”
Buck nodded in agreement and the two doubled their pace to the end bedroom,
“LAFD, can you open the door?!”
The woman on the other side replied frantically, “No! The doorknob is hot! Please help us!”
Eddie took a step back and braced himself, “Get away from the door!”, with one powerful kick the door was on the ground and the two women were revealed. “Are you okay?”
The first woman nodded, making a beeline out of the room and clinging to Eddie. The second woman was screaming in hysterics, clinging to Buck’s jacket. Through Buck’s ears, everything sounded a bit muffled, he couldn’t make out her words over the blaze.
His radio cracked to life with Eddie’s voice, “Alright, Cap, we got ‘em. Coming out!”
Eddie and the first woman began their trip down the stairs. As Buck went to follow, the second woman grabbed his sleeve screaming.
“We need to go!” He told her, trying to pull her toward the stairs. She dug her feet into the floor and continued to holler at him. Buck stopped for a moment looking at the moment of her mouth,
“My baby is in there! My baby!” She screamed. “We have to go back!”
Buck’s breath hitched in his throat, C’mon, Buckley, you can’t leave a baby. He let out a wet cough and uncovered his nose and mouth,
“Where?!”
“He’s in the bathroom!” The woman was still trying to force her way by him and make her way back down the hallway. She pointed toward the second door to the end of the hallway. Buck turned her around by her shoulders and nudged her toward Eddie and the first woman.
“You need to leave with them! I will get your baby!” He turned on his heal, only looking back over his shoulder to make sure she had followed Eddie. “GO!”
He reached for his radio as he made his way toward the bathroom door,
“Cap, the woman says her baby is in the bathroom! I’m going back.”
The door was engulfed in flames and the floor was making unsettling noises under his feet. He tried to open it with his shoulder first, but no luck.
Suddenly, Bobby’s voice rang in his helmet, “Buck, you get out of there now!”
“Cap! I’m not leaving a baby!” Buck felt a sharp pang in his throat, and let out a few more wet coughs. His head was pounding even worse than before and he felt like his body was a thousand degrees underneath his gear. He threw his shoulder into the door once again, and this time it began to give. One more shove and it would be open, for sure.
Next, was Eddie’s concerned voice over his radio, “Buck! Get out of there, now! The house is coming down!”
Buck just shook his head and stood back, ready to move the door. Just as he wound up, Eddies voice came to life again,
“Evan! Get out of there right now! She says, its a dog!”
Just as Buck’s shoulder made contact with the door, he felt regret in the pit of his stomach. The wood splintered from the frame and Buck’s watery eyes scanned the small room. There, yelping in a small crate, was a fucking poodle.
And that wasn’t the worst part. Buck shuffled his feet, moving quickly to scoop up the small crate, then just as he had it in his arms,
the floor beneath his feet collapsed.