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“Christopher!” he called, stumbling down the street. “Christopher!”
He nearly tripped over his own feet and stopped for a second to lean against the side of a building. He was shaking and feeling lightheaded and he knew that he couldn’t help Christopher if he passed out.
He gave himself a minute before he pushed off the wall and started back down the street. He noticed a field hospital a block or so away and did his best to jog there though he wasn’t very fast.
“Chris?” he called out.
“Are you looking for someone?” someone asked, startling him.
“Yes, yeah. Little kid, eight or nine. His name is Christopher, he has CP. He was wearing a striped shirt?” Buck said, hopeful.
“Follow me.”
Buck did, and a few seconds later he saw Christopher sitting on a cot.
“Christopher!” he called.
Christopher looked up, a huge smile on his face. “Buck! Buck, you’re okay!”
Before Christopher could even make a move to get up, Buck had run to him and scooped him into his arms.
“Oh thank god, you’re okay. Are you hurt?” he asked, setting Christopher down on the cot.
“I’m okay, thanks to you!”
Buck was shaking and he jumped when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned to see a nurse, who was looking at him concerned.
“Sir, you should sit down. Is this your kid?”
“I- I was watching him. He’s my friend’s.”
“Okay, I want you to sit on the cot with him. I don’t want you to pass out.”
Buck nodded and sat down, pulling Christopher back into his arms. Christopher wrapped his arms around him and Buck sighed in relief, the tears leaking out of his eyes quickly turning into a sob.
“Buck? Are you okay?” Christopher asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay, buddy. Just really happy that you’re okay.”
“Do you know if Dad’s alright?” Chris asked quietly.
“Gimme a second,” he replied, looking around. He saw a person on the cot next to them on their phone and asked them, “Hey, is there any chance I could borrow your phone to call his dad and my sister?”
“Of course!” the woman said, handing her phone to him.
“Thank you so much.”
He dialed Eddie’s number and prayed that he would pick up.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Oh thank god you’re okay,” Buck said, sighing in relief.
“Buck? Whose phone is this?”
Before he could reply, Chris grabbed the phone out of his hand. “Daddy!”
“Christopher?”
“You’re okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, kiddo. I’m alright. Can you give the phone back to Buck for a minute, please?”
Christopher handed Buck the phone.
“It’s me again.”
“What’s going on Buck?”
“Eddie… Eddie, we- we were on the pier. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have taken him there-”
“ Slow down, Buck. It’s not your fault you couldn’t have known. What matters now is that you’re both okay. Where are you?”
“The VA hospital.”
“I’ll get there as soon as I can, okay?”
“Okay. I’m going to give you back to Christopher for a sec,” he said, passing the phone over.
“Daddy? Are you going to come to get us?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Chris. I promise.”
“Okay, Dad,” he said. “Goodbye!”
“Bye, Chris.”
Chris handed the phone to Buck, who hung up and immediately called his sister.
“I’m a bit busy at the moment, whoever this is.”
“Maddie…”
“Buck? You know how busy the call center is right now, why are you calling?”
Buck just let out a muffled sob.
“What’s wrong, Buck?” she asked, her tone immediately switching from annoyed to worried.
“Maddie, Maddie, Christopher and I- Maddie, we were on the pier.”
“Oh my god, are you guys okay?”
“Yeah, just a little banged up. Nothing bad, though,” he said, sniffling.
What’s wrong, then?” she asked softly.
“I- god, I was terrified, Maddie. I thought I was gonna die, I was never gonna see you again…” he felt Christoper wrap his arms back around him as he let out a sob.
“Oh Buck,” she said softly. “You’re okay, baby brother. You’re okay, Christopher’s okay, and I’m okay.”
“I know, I know, I just- I can't-”
“Hey, hey. Ev, I need you to breathe. Can you take a breath for me?”
He just let out another sob, tightening his arm slightly around Christopher.
“Ev, Evan, breathe. I need you to take a deep breath,” she said, using her 9-1-1 operator voice, the one that was kind but also left no room for argument.
He managed to suck in a breath, doing his best to breathe deeply and slowly from there. She coached him through breathing for a few minutes and he did good, though he was still crying.
All of a sudden, he heard someone calling his name.
“Buck? Christopher?”
“Dad!” Christopher called, drawing his attention.
Eddie ran over to them and pulled Chris into a huge hug. He took one look at Buck and took the phone, which he’d been ignoring for the last few seconds.
“Buck? Buck, you good?”
Hey, Maddie,” Eddie said.
“Oh thank god, you’re there. You can take care of him?”
“I’ve got this, Maddie. Go save some lives.”
She hung up immediately and Buck pointed to the lady on the cot next to them, indicating that he needed to give her back the phone. He passed it over before making sure Chris was okay and setting him back down on the cot to see if Buck was okay.
“Buck?” he said, crouching down in front of him. “You okay, Buck?”
Buck let out a sob and Eddie pulled him into a hug.
“It’s over, Buck. It’s over now. You’re okay.”
“Eddie, Eddie,” Buck said, wrapping his arms around the other man. “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.”
Eddie looked over at Christopher for a second to make sure that he was okay, but he just looked concerned for Buck. Knowing that Chris was okay, he turned his attention back to Buck.
“Hey, I’ve gotcha, Buck. You’re okay,” he said softly.
“Eddie, Eddie I lost him, I couldn’t find him, he said quietly. “I couldn’t find him…”
Eddie felt a flash of fear, but it was quelled when he glanced over at his son. All that mattered was that they were both okay, it didn’t matter how.
“You did, though. He’s safe, you found him. You did good, Buck.”
Buck nodded against his shoulder and he could feel tears soaking through his shirt.
“You’re safe now, Buck. Everything’s going to be okay.”