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“Have you decided on dinner yet?” Buck asked, meeting Christopher’s eyes in the rear-view mirror.
Christopher shook his head. “I’ve got time. Besides, I’ll be deciding on breakfast before we get out of here.”
Buck laughed.
The kid had a point.
Normally, Buck didn’t have too many issues with LA traffic, but, then again, normally he was navigating it in a big ass firetruck that people had to get out of the way for.
“It’s not that bad.” Buck said lightly, getting to move his Jeep forward just a little bit.
It was that bad, actually.
They’d only moved 3 feet in the last hour.
“Yes it is.” Christopher argued, though the slight smile tugging at the corner of the 10-year-old’s mouth ensured that Buck knew there was no heat to the argument.
“Tell you what.” Buck grinned. “If we can get off an exit before Van Leeuwen closes, we’ll get some ice cream before I take you home.”
Christopher perked up. “Really? How long do we have?”
Buck checked the clock on his radio display. “4 hours.”
Christopher’s eyes widened. “Do you think we’ll make it?”
The Jeep moved forward an inch, and the car behind them laid on its horn in that irritating way that people stuck in traffic tend to do, but Buck just smiled at Christopher in the rear-view mirror.
“I think we might, buddy.”
An hour later, the two of them weren’t feeling quite as optimistic about their chances.
“How much further is the exit?” Christopher whined.
“Not far, buddy, I promise.”
12 feet. That’s how far away the start of the lane to the next exit was.
They’d somehow managed to move a mile in the last hour, but that last 12 feet was more annoying than the entire rest of the 2-hour traffic jam.
Because it was just 12 feet.
And it had been 20 minutes since the Jeep had even been able to move forward a millimeter.
A part of Buck was half-tempted to do what some other cars were doing and pull off into the shoulder to get to the exit.
But a much larger and much smarter part of him knew that both Athena and Eddie would kick his ass if he even dared to try it.
Which was awfully hypocritical of them, because Buck was sure they’d both done it. They were both too hot-tempered to sit this close to an available exit in this much traffic.
But Athena would definitely pull a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ on him if he used that defense, and Eddie would not be talked down if Buck drove even slightly recklessly with Christopher in the car.
It was another 10 minutes before the Jeep was able to pull up 7 inches.
Not even an entire foot.
Buck sighed, and slumped in his seat.
He’d wanted to get back to Eddie’s place before the latter got off shift.
Buck had the day off, since McKinnon from B Shift had needed last Saturday off. His 5-year-old had lost her first baby tooth and was feeling super insecure about it, and he’d wanted to spend a daddy daughter day with her to reassure her.
It was such a sweet gesture that Buck hadn’t even hesitated before agreeing to the proposed shift swap.
So, Buck had worked last Saturday in McKinnon’s place, and McKinnon was working with A Shift today in repayment.
Since it was Saturday, and Christopher didn’t have school, Buck had begged Eddie all week to let him have the kid for the day.
They both knew that the only reason Eddie hadn’t agreed on Monday, was because he’d wanted to see how far Buck would go.
And Buck certainly didn’t disappoint, upping the ante, until on Friday Afternoon, he’d got down on one knee with a box and scared the shit out of Eddie. The only thing inside had been a yellow sticky note with ‘Christopher???’ written on it.
Eddie hadn’t found it quite as funny as Hen and Chim had, and had thrown the little velvet box out the window of the firetruck the next time they got called out.
The memory made Buck snort as he got to pull the Jeep up another 3 inches.
At this rate, they weren’t making it back before Eddie, even if they skipped out on the promised ice cream.
Half an hour later, Buck was still 7 feet away from the lane to get on the exit ramp, and he sighed as he watched the clock on his radio display tick over to 8:00.
Eddie was now officially off shift, and they were still stuck on the 187.
Buck pulled out his phone, glancing briefly into the backseat to see Christopher sleeping with his curly head leaning against the back passenger side door.
He then opened his contacts and reluctantly clicked on one of the 4 ‘favorited’ contacts at the top.
Eddie picked up on the third ring.
“Yeah, Buck?”
“Sorry, Eddie,” Buck said. “looks like we’re going to be a bit late.”
“That’s fine.” Eddie said nonchalantly. “Why?”
“Because we’ve been stuck on the 187 for 2 and a half hours and are still 7 fucking feet away from the only exit ramp we’ve seen in that time.”
“Woah. Calm down.” Eddie sounded almost amused. “If you’re that close to the ramp, just use the shoulder.”
Buck huffed. “I didn’t figure you’d want me to.”
“Buck, it’s 7 feet. It’s literally just one car length. Use the shoulder.”
“Fine, but if Athena kills me for this, I’m not leaving you anything in my will.”
Eddie huffed a laugh. “I think I can live with that.”
Buck pouted as he pulled his Jeep out of the lane and into the shoulder. “You’re laughing. I’m about to be murdered, and you’re laughing.”
“No one’s going to murder you over 7 feet, Buck.”
Buck grinned as the Jeep finally, finally started going down the exit ramp.
The grin dimmed just slightly when a car sped up behind him, but he ignored it. The driver was probably just as eager to get off that damn thing as he was.
“Hey,” Buck said. “You want some ice cream? I promised Christopher we’d go to Van Leeuwen if we got off the exit before it closed.”
“Buck, it’s 8 at night.”
“And Van Leeuwen is still open for another 3 hours. Do you, or don’t you want ice cream?”
A fond laugh echoed through the speaker. “Yeah, Buck. Yeah, I want some ice cream.”
“Great!” Buck said, coming to a stop at the red light at the bottom of the exit ramp. “I guess we’ll see you ther—”
Buck cut himself off when the car that was behind them screeched up next to the Jeep and he saw at least 2 guns pointing out of it.
He didn’t even have time to react before bullets were flying.
“Buck!” Eddie’s panicked voice echoed out of the phone, which Buck had dropped to the passenger seat. “Were those gun shots? Buck!”
There were two things that Buck registered in that moment.
Pain.
Blood.
And there was a lot of both.
Buck groaned, and looked dazedly towards the other car, eyes widening when he saw one of the guns reload and then point back towards the Jeep.
Buck immediately gripped the steering wheel and stomped on the gas, speeding out into the intersection, despite his light still being red.
The Jeep barely made it through before a garbage truck would have broadsided it, but the car with the shooters wasn’t as lucky.
Buck didn’t have to glance in his mirrors to know what the crash he heard was.
But his racing heart didn’t let him slow down.
Christopher.
Christopher wasn’t talking.
Christopher was hurt, and Buck needed to get him to a hospital.
It wasn’t too long before a police car started chasing him, but Buck didn’t stop.
Couldn’t stop.
Christopher.
“Buck!” Eddie’s frantic voice called out from his phone, as it skidded across the passenger seat and onto the floorboard when Buck took a sharp turn.
Buck didn’t reply.
He didn’t even really hear anything to reply to.
“Dad!” Christopher cried out.
“Christopher, what happened?” Eddie asked in panic.
“Buck’s shot!”
Buck didn’t hear any of it.
“Can you tell me where?” Eddie asked.
“N-No. There’s more than one, b-but I don’t know how many, Dad he’s driving really fast and there’s a cop chasing us!”
Eddie cursed. “Where are you right now?”
“On Lincoln Boulevard, just past the I Hop.”
“Chris, listen to me, I think he’s going to Cedars. I’m going to meet you there.”
“Dad—”
“Stay on the phone with me, and I’ll try to smooth things over with the cop and the doctors. I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay?”
“I-I don’t know where Buck’s phone is. He must’ve dropped it.”
“That’s okay.” Eddie said calmly. “I can hang up, and you call me on yours.”
“Dad, no, please—”
“It’s okay, buddy, call me on yours, I promise I’ll pick it up right away.”
“O-Okay.”
Christopher pulled out his phone and pressed on Eddie’s contact just as he heard the line click on Buck’s phone.
Eddie picked up on the first ring.
“D-Dad.”
“It’s going to be okay, Chris, just hang on.” Eddie said softly, truck roaring loudly in the background. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
“N-No. Just Buck.”
“Can you see the hospital yet?”
“Yeah.” Christopher’s voice was shaky. “Y-Yeah, I see it.”
“I’m not too far away, okay?” Eddie said. “I’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
The Jeep came to a screeching halt in from of the Emergency doors, and Buck flew out of the driver side door, covered in blood from more than one bullet wound, and wrenched open the back door.
“B-Buck?” Christopher asked.
Buck’s eyes were unfocused as he reached in and unbuckled Christopher’s seatbelt, before quickly grabbing the child and picking him up.
Buck then turned, and ignoring the wide-eyed Athena, who had been the cop chasing them, ran towards the sliding glass doors.
“D-Dad, he’s carrying me into the ER!”
“It’s okay, buddy, I’m almost there, just stay calm, and tell the doctors what happened.”
“Help!” Buck called out as he ran through the doors. “Help! I need help!”
Doctors and nurses immediately rushed towards the pair.
“10-year-old male, GSW, but I don’t know where.” Buck rattled off.
“No!” Christopher denied. “I’m not hurt, but he is! He’s been shot! More than once!”
“It’s okay, baby,” A nurse said kindly, pulling Christopher out of Buck’s arms and laying him on a gurney. “we’ll help both of you, don’t you worry.”
“But I’m not hurt!” Christopher argued. “I need to wait on my Dad!”
“I’m almost there,” Eddie’s voice echoed out of Christopher’s phone. “just let them look you over, okay? You know Buck’s not going to let them do anything until he knows you’re okay.”
“Sir?” The nurse asked hesitantly.
“I’m his father.” Eddie explained quickly. “The guy who brought him in is a friend. He’s 29, severely allergic to Naproxen, and he’s had issues with overreactive clotting factors in the past, you need to be very careful.”
The nurse nodded, then looked over her shoulder at Buck, eyes widening when she saw that he did, indeed, have multiple gunshot wounds.
“Somebody get him in a trauma bay!” She called, gesturing to the confused looking Buck. “Now!”
An ER Doc and a nurse ran up with a gurney and carefully pushed the quietly protesting Buck onto it, before starting to roll it away.
“Christopher!” Buck called out, reaching towards where he could see the boy’s silhouette sitting up on a gurney. “Christopher!”
“I-I’m okay, Bucky.” Christopher tried to assure, but the panicked look in Buck’s eyes didn’t go away.
“Christopher!” Eddie called out frantically as he ran through the glass doors, eyes darting around until they fell on his son.
“Dad, something’s wrong with Buck!”
Eddie’s eyes darted to the other side of the ER, where Buck was struggling against a doctor and a nurse, blood flowing from no less than 4 different gunshot wounds.
“Christopher!” Buck called out again.
Eddie immediately rushed over to the blonde, placing hands on either side of his pale face, and forcing the hazy blue eyes to look at him.
“He’s okay, Buck.” Eddie said quickly. “Christopher’s okay. He’s safe. You kept him safe.”
Buck relaxed instantly, and finally allowed himself to be wheeled into a trauma bay, where 2 more nurses and another doctor soon ran in.
Eddie stood there for a moment, watching as they cut open Buck’s clothes and started running lead wires and an IV, before he tore his eyes away and rushed back over to his son.
Christopher all-but dove off of the gurney and into Eddie’s arms, sobbing into his father’s chest, shirt covered in Buck’s blood.
“I’ve got you.” Eddie whispered hoarsely. “I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay, Mijo.”
Buck knew where he was the moment he woke up.
He didn’t even have to open his eyes.
A hospital.
He hated hospitals.
But, even more than that, he hated that he was so familiar with waking up in them that he had been able to identify he was in one based on nothing more than the feel of the hard bed and the scent of strong cleaner.
‘I really need to stop waking up here’ Buck thought miserably.
And then, he remembered why he was there this time, and his eyes snapped open.
Pain ripped through his abdomen as he shot up in bed, startling everyone in the room.
“Buck!” Eddie said in panic, jumping up out of his chair and easing Buck back down.
“Ow…”
“Yeah, well.” Eddie said tightly. “That’s what happens when you sit up that fast less than a day after 3 major surgeries.”
“3?” Buck asked.
“You got shot 5 times.” Eddie explained. “The arm was a through and through, so it didn’t need surgery, and the two on the right side of your chest were close enough together that they could take care of both with a single surgery.”
“And the other 2?” Buck asked.
“There was one in your right hip that they had to dig out, and the last one was in your thigh.” Eddie said softly. “It was in your femoral artery, and they said, in the state you were in, you’d have died in less than a minute if it had shifted.”
Buck winced, and tipped his head back. “How’s Christopher?”
“Fine.” Eddie replied. “He doesn’t even have a scratch on him. He’s very worried about you, though.”
“I’m sorry.” Buck croaked.
“No, no, no, Buck,” Eddie shook his head quickly. “you did nothing wrong, okay? None of this is your fault.”
“If I would’ve just waited for traffic to move—”
“You don’t know that it would have made a difference. They could have already been trying to get to you before you pulled off.” Eddie said firmly. “In any case, you were going to wait in traffic, and only went into the shoulder because I told you to.”
“Eddie, it’s not your fault—”
“Nope.” Eddie agreed. “And it’s not yours either.”
Buck sighed. “How fast can I get out of here?”
“3 days.”
Buck groaned.
“And then you’re coming to stay with me and Christopher for a while.”
“How long?” Buck asked.
“Until I’m comfortable letting you out of my sight again.” Eddie replied.
Buck sighed, and gave Eddie a small smile. “Fine. What about work? When will I get cleared for that?”
“No less than a month.” Bobby cut in. “That’s how long it could take your artery to fully heal.”
Buck groaned. “A month?”
Eddie laughed and moved some hair back from Buck’s forehead. “A month isn’t too long.”
“Easy for you to say.” Buck pouted. “But if you were the one out for a month, I know you’d be arguing.”
Eddie hummed. “Maybe. But you’d be giving me the exact same talk I’m giving you.”
Buck slumped back on the bed, because, yeah, that was a fair point.
“C-Can I see Christopher?” Buck asked.
Eddie shook his head. “Not yet. Kids aren’t allowed in the ICU. But, they should be moving you soon, now that you’re awake.”
Buck nodded, and Eddie’s eyes softened.
“Thank you.” He said. “For saving my son. Again.”
Buck waved it off. “Anytime. I’d do anything for that kid.”
“I know you would.” Eddie leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Buck’s forehead. “I know you would.”