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They’d been running from call to call all afternoon and into the evening with barely any rest. While no one had actually jinxed them again (at least, no one had fessed up to it yet, but the night was still young), it at least felt as if the shift would never end.
The 118 had been forced to split up on the latest series of calls, all minor medical calls within the same overly tall condominium. Buck ended up being the odd man without a partner, so Athena’s colleague Detective Ransone had volunteered to tag along and offer some assistance. While it turned out to be what amounted to be a false alarm (an eight year old girl had called because she’d cut herself on broken glass that she’d dropped while her mom was in the shower, Mom had already banaged the cut and cleaned up the glass while telling dispatch no one was needed), it had been a welcome reprieve for both of them. The mom had given them coffee and the girl had been adorable in the gentle chastising Lou had given her, before both men received a soft hug in apology.
As both men stepped into the elevator, pleasant conversation flowed. They’d become fast friends at various emergency scenes across LA, mostly ones that involved Lou’s brand of expertise. Buck had grown to respect the man that could go toe to toe with Athena and come out alive afterwards.
The elevator had barely started moving when Buck broke off in the middle of a sentence. He held up his hand, straining to hear something. Something was wrong, out of the ordinary…
The lights went out, the car jerked and came slamming to a halt, sending both men to the floor.
As the emergency lights came on, Lou was the first to regain some semblance of balance. He took stock of any injuries on himself - bruises mostly, a few sore spots where limbs hit either the tile or the railing. He didn’t pull himself to his feet, already hearing the ominous creaking of the elevator car, suspended and stuck.
He looked over at Buck, who had landed in a heap in the corner. "Buck?" Within just a few seconds, he watched Buck try to raise his head twice, before letting it lull backwards. He clearly wasn’t able to focus.
Lou quickly checked his phone - no service. He’d left his radio in his car, not even thinking of grabbing it before agreeing to come with Buck. But Buck did have his own.
Carefully, Lou crawled across the small space, going slowly, just to avoid any more loud creaks. He’d seen Buck wince already at the first one. No need to make it worse. As soon as he was by Buck’s side, he carefully pulled the radio free from where it was hooked to Buck’s shift.
“Dispatch, this is Detective Lou Ransone. I’m trapped in an elevator with Firefighter Buckley. Both injured, Buckley not conscious. We could use some backup.”
Almost immediately, dispatch confirmed his location and informed him that the 118 was on their way to him. After acknowledging, Lou went to try to wake Buck. He’d barely turned before another voice came out of the radio.
“Buck, you copy?”
Lou winced. That was Bobby’s “I’m worried but I’m going to try to hide it for professional reasons, even though I’m going to miss it by a mile” voice. He’d heard it before, when Athena put herself in danger not too long ago, as well as whenever one of Bobby’s own did the same.
“Buck, I need you and Ransone to head for the 15th floor. Report of trapped individuals in the elevator. Do you copy?” The detective could just make out chatter in the background, mostly people also asking if Buck had reported in yet.
He took a deep breath and answered the call. “Captain Nash, it’s Lou. We’re the team stuck in the elevator.”
Another voice cut in. “Where’s Buck, Lou?” His wince got deeper. Athena was there. He knew how she felt about Bobby’s youngest team member. She was practically his adoptive mother on a good day at this point.
“With me. Not conscious. He hit his head on something when the elevator jammed.” Lou used his free hand to carefully feel around his friend’s head, not feeling a bump, but his hand did come away bloody. “He’s got a cut somewhere, I can’t find it.”
Buck’s eyes fluttered again at the feeling of a hand in his hair, before his body went limp with unconsciousness again.
“Keep his radio handy, Lou,” Athena said, voice still stressed. “Bobby and the 118 are almost where they think you are stuck. And if you can wake Buckaroo, go for it.”
He could just make out voices coming from beyond the doors. “Looks like our rescue got here quick, Buck.” As soon as the doors started cracking open, Lou let out a sigh of relief. At least this was done.
Now, just to make sure that Buck was actually okay…