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Buck whines as he feels the cold seeping into the bed at his back. He flails an arm out, waving it around uselessly.
"Where you going?" he mumbles, barely coherent.
There's a soft chuckle, and he feels the bed dip again, then a tender kiss pressed to his temple.
Tommy murmurs into his ear, "I've got a couple of errands to run before shift."
Struggling to drag himself back to full consciousness as he says, "Give me fifteen, and I'll come with you."
"You need the sleep before your shift today." Tommy says, his voice warm and amused. "Sleep. I'll see you tomorrow after work."
Buck huffs but doesn't fight him; he just makes sure to say, "Love you."
He feels the smile on Tommy's face, probably matching Buck's own sleepy grin, as he presses his lips to his head again, lingering a bit longer.
"I love you too."
Buck feels Tommy tuck the covers in behind him, and he sighs contently. There's quiet noises as Tommy pads around their room, gathering his things, taking a shower, then packing his bag.
On the edge of sleep, he hears Tommy whisper a very familiar request: "Come back to me in one piece, Evan."
Bobby is just tidying up from breakfast, casting a glance over to Athena lounging in the chair on the patio. She was home in time to eat with him before he had to leave for his own shift.
He's ready to go over and convince his wife to get some proper rest before he starts to head out when there's a knock at the door. Wiping his hands off on the kitchen towel, he moves to answer the door. Passing the patio, Athena twists around to look over the back of the chair, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow arching over the top of her sunglasses.
"Guessing you're not expecting anyone?"
"No."
She doesn't make any moves that make it seem like she's going to follow him to the door, but he can feel her gaze track him as he goes to answer it.
A small ball of anxiety settles in his gut when he finds Tommy standing on their doorstep. "Tommy?"
"Uh, morning, Bobby. Glad I caught you before shift. If you've got a minute, could we talk?" There's a hesitancy to Tommy's question, which is unusual to hear.
Since the cruise ship rescue, Tommy has always been respectful but confident when interacting with him—he has never been intimidated by Bobby's rank or position as the head of their little makeshift family. (The same can't be said for his interactions with Athena in the beginning, but she is very protective of Buck, especially after hearing all of Tommy's history while at the 118.)
"Sure." He stands back and waves him inside.
Tommy comes to stand awkwardly in the centre of the living area, next to the dining table.
Athena joins them, removing her sunglasses as she re-enters the house, assessing the situation. "Tommy, this is a surprise." She makes it sound like a question rather than the statement it is.
"Athena," Tommy smiles, but, again, it isn't as easy as it usually is. "I'm glad I caught you too."
Athena shoots him a questioning look, but Bobby just tilts his head and shows her the confusion he's feeling over their unexpected visitor at such an early hour.
He quickly looks back to Tommy and asks, "Is everything okay?"
Tommy looks between the two of them and winces, "Yeah, sorry. Everything is fine. Evan is okay."
"And the two of you are good?" His wife scrutinises the firefighter.
Tommy's eyes widen. "All good, definitely. Never been better." His expression morphs into a dopey grin, obviously thinking about his boyfriend.
He seems to come back to himself after a second, though not before Bobby shares an amused look with Athena, who is similarly entertained. Tommy looks down and takes a deep, steady breath before he faces both of them again, squaring his shoulders.
"Actually, that's why I'm here. I've already spoken to Maddie, and, well, I know it's old-fashioned, but it only felt right that I speak to you too." Tommy is looking at him now, and he's not quite understanding...
Out of the corner of his eye, he can tell Athena is fighting to stay quiet, trying to keep her expression neutral. Seemingly two steps ahead of her husband, which is no surprise there.
"I'm going to propose to Buck."
"Oh." And just like that, the ball of anxiety is washed away by a wave of happiness and excitement.
Tommy looks over to Athena, then back to him, "I'm not looking for permission because the only person who has that right is Evan." Tommy's voice holds no room for arguments on that point. "However, it would really mean a lot to Evan if you both would give us your blessing. Assuming he says yes, obviously," he chuckles nervously.
He can't help but state the obvious: "Of course he's going to say yes."
Tommy's eyes widen.
"I am so grateful Evan has someone in his life who loves him entirely the way he is and entirely the way he deserves. I see how happy you both are, so of course you have my blessing."
Tommy's eyes shine, paired with a watery but genuine smile. Bobby turns to his wife, stretching a hand towards her; she smiles as she joins him, taking his hand in hers. "Our blessing, you have both of our blessing. Now c'mere you."
Athena beckons him over too, and they both envelop the younger man in a tight hug. "We're so excited for you both!" Athena exclaims.
Giving Bobby one final pat and squeezing Athena's shoulder as he lets her go, and he looks at her and says, "Thank you." Then looks between them both, "Thank you, I-" He seems lost for words for a moment, like this outcome was in any way unexpected.
He clears his throat and blinks a few times to gather himself. Bobby doesn't bother to hide his own emotions; life is too short, and sometimes good news is too few and far between not to embrace and enjoy it. He lets go of Athena's hand to wrap his arm around her, tucking her into his side and grinning along beside her until Tommy finally finds his words again.
"It will really mean a lot to Evan," he pauses, then quietly admits, "and it means a lot to me too."
Despite the shift being hectic so far because of the weather, Bobby was in a great mood. A bright smile for each of them as he welcomed them onto shift, then patient amusement for their antics in the truck as they raced to calls, and enthusiastic praise (more than really necessary) during clear-up for a job well done. None of them knew what was the cause of it, or at least, no one was fessing up to having any knowledge.
They all pile in the back for the next call, Bobby up front with Carson driving. Usually it doesn't take more than a minute or two for Bobby to start briefing them on the call; however, he's unusually quiet now.
"What's the details, Cap?"
Buck ignores the argument Chim and Eddie are having about the game last night after Bobby fails to acknowledge Hen's question. He cranes his neck, trying to find out what has Cap distracted, and sees he's already in a heated discussion with someone over the radio—it must be a private line as they can't hear anything through the headsets.
Turning to Hen, she must see his concern and starts to twist around so she can try to see what is going on. This distracts Chim and Eddie enough that their argument drops, and in the moment they are about to ask what is going on, Bobby's voice comes back through their headsets.
Tension settles over them immediately from the tone of his voice. "Listen up. A helicopter has crashed on the cliffside."
Hearing that sends an icy chill through him; it's one of his worst fears when it comes to his boyfriend's job. He once made the mistake of looking up the statistics on helicopter accidents, hoping it would alleviate his concerns, then sent himself into a panic attack when the answer he found was the complete opposite of what he was hoping for. It took a week, in between shifts, for Tommy to talk him out of his spiral.
In the end, Tommy asked him to trust his skill and judgement in the field, like he trusted Buck's, because that's what brings them both home at the end of the day. (Also, Tommy made him promise that he'd never do research on helicopter accidents again since even Tommy could admit that it is a grim rabbit hole to get sucked into.)
"We have four people onboard. Everyone is conscious; no major injuries, though the pilot is pinned in place. The body of the chopper caught on a narrow ledge about halfway down and is unstable." Bobby turns to look at them all now, and Buck doesn't miss how Cap seems to spend an extra second looking his way when he sweeps his gaze around the cabin.
"Hen, take Carson and set up an area to triage and treat until transport for all our patients arrives." Hen and Chim exchange confused looks at this instruction, which is only made worse by Cap's next order. "Eddie and Chim are on rope rescue; we'll use the engine as our anchor." Eddie and Buck now join in on the confusion.
Chim, out of Bobby's direct line of sight, silently mouths to the three of them, 'What is going on?'.
He's about to ask what role he's playing when Cap turns himself back around to face out of the window, "Buck, you're with me."
"Uh, Cap-"
"I'm not looking for feedback or suggestions. This will be a dangerous rescue, and I need you all to prepare yourselves and focus on your jobs." Buck can feel his eyes widen at the tightness in Bobby's tone; it almost gives him whiplash at the way his demeanour has changed in the minutes since they got in the truck.
He's not the only one to be affected; Chim straightens in his seat; Hen tightly purses her lips, brows drawn together; and Eddie tense up next to him.
It's another few minutes until they arrive on scene, and if there are any further updates, Cap doesn't share them. The uneasy feeling between them all grows as the time passes in a silence only punctured by the wail of the siren.
They jump out of the truck as it comes to a stop. A couple of police cruisers are already there, as well as a park ranger vehicle, and he thinks he can see a coast guard vessel being buffeted about between waves some distance out from the cliff line. The winds are even stronger out here than in the heart of the city; they're completely exposed up here with the force of the sea weather breaching land.
"What idiot thought flying in this weather would result in anything but a crash landing?" Chim calls out loudly as they gather around Cap. Their leader gives Chim an angry look, which has his brother-in-law shutting his mouth instantly.
A police officer jogs up to them, looking relieved to see them, and starts in on briefing them straight away. "Captain, the chopper had just-"
"We'll get to that in a minute. Whereabouts is it?" Buck can't help but openly gawk because he's never heard Bobby be anything but polite and professional when dealing with other first responders on scene.
Although taken aback by the harsh interruption, the officer's gaze only briefly flickers around the rest of them in question before landing back on Bobby to answer his question. "It's down over there," gesturing over to where a cop and the ranger are standing, cautiously glancing over the edge.
Cap doesn't let the officer speak again, "We're going to get the truck lined up, then we'll be over to join you."
The dismissal clear in his voice seems to have gotten the officer's back up, but he straightens and nods, only saying, "Be careful not to park too close; a piece of the cliff edge over there gave way earlier." Again gesturing, now over to an island of rocks not far along from the scene. He turns and marches over to rejoin his partner and the ranger.
"Buck, help Carson get the engine turned around and in place, then start setting up the anchor for two lines. The rest of you with me." Buck has to swallow down the half a dozen 'why' questions he has right now.
He has a really bad feeling about this call.
Buck watches them approach the cliff edge, though he thinks he sees them pause as group just short of it first. He turns away before he can confirm because he needs to focus on directing Carson right now so they don't end up with a helicopter and a fire engine halfway down a cliff.
By the time he's grabbed the rope kit out and started setting lines, the crew has returned, but none of them acknowledge him or will even look at him. Hen rushes right by him, going around the other side of the engine to pull out their medical supplies. Then, Chim and Eddie studiously begin harnessing up.
Bobby looks at him though, and the pity in his eyes makes his stomach drop.
"Carson, finish that off. Buck, over here with me."
They walk a few meters off to the side, and Buck would usually be full of questions and demands because something is going on and he seems to be the last to know; however, the feeling of dread is choking him now.
Bobby takes a step towards him, placing himself in between Buck and the cliff while he puts a heavy hand on Buck's turncoat-covered upper arm.
"Evan," Buck inhales sharply, because this is so bad. "I need to listen to everything I have to say right now before you move from this spot." He doesn't know how to respond, and he figures that must've been the right response as Bobby continues, "The helicopter that went down was an LAFD chopper."
He hears the words, but every time his brain tries to make sense of them, it doesn't work. The wind turns to white noise, and it feels like he's in breathing apparatus with no air left in the tank.
"It's Tommy's crew."
His brain still isn't understanding the words, but instinct kicks in and Buck is trying to move, forgetting Bobby's hand on his arm. Forgetting that Bobby is a firefighter too and deceptively strong. Bobby tightly grips Buck's uniform, his other hand coming up to ensure he stays in place.
"Cap-" he chokes out.
"He's okay, Evan. He's okay." Bobby looks him right in the eye; his voice is sure and steady.
Buck feels the strangling tightness in his chest ease a tiniest of fractions.
Though it's all for naught when his mind snags on Cap's earlier words.
"You said the pilot was trapped."
Bobby takes a second to respond, and Buck just knows he's editing the truth for him: "A metal bar is pinning his leg in place."
Buck narrows his eyes. "That all it is, Bobby?"
Bobby breathes out through his nose and thankfully ignores his insubordination, probably only because Buck is right in calling him out.
"The bar went through his leg." He rushes on to reassure Buck, "The medics onboard both said it looks like it went through without hitting anything important, and blood loss has been very minimal so far. However, you have to understand, because we'll need to cut him free; Chim and Eddie will bring him up last."
"Bobby! The longer he's down there, the greater the chance of-"
"I know, but we can't bypass three people free and ready for extraction just to get Tommy out first." Buck knows what he's saying is right, and in some distant corner of his mind he can hear his thoughts agreeing with what his captain is saying, but still he opens his mouth again. "Even if we did that, there's not enough room in the helicopter for us to work with three other people in there, and it probably won't take the weight of two more people moving around inside it too." He closes his mouth. "You're too close to this Buck; you need to take a step back and trust us to get him out. You being down there will not do anyone any good, even Tommy."
For a long minute, he and Bobby just stare at each other. Buck can feel himself trembling against Bobby's strong hold. Eventually he evens his breathing out and nods. However, this doesn't satisfy Cap.
"I can't have you going rogue here, Buck; you have to promise me you won't interfere. I need to be able to focus so I can keep everyone safe." His gaze flickers over to the team, just finishing up with their assignments.
Buck swipes the wetness from his eyes, then steels himself.
"What can I do up here to help?"
Tommy is having a bit of a day.
He finally crossed off the last thing on his to-do list before he proposed to his boyfriend, and then he crashed a very expensive fire department helicopter.
Tommy would have never attempted a rescue in these conditions, but after part of the cliffside had collapsed, leaving the kid stranded from her friends too far out from land for anyone to reach, they'd called in the Coast Guard and Harbour. The winds were getting worse, and the jagged rocks and large swells meant reaching her by sea was a no-go too. The weather was forecast to get worse as the day went on, so being blown off the rock was a legitimate concern, plus she wasn't wearing clothes that would prevent hypothermia.
In the end, the final decision on whether it was possible to rescue the kid by air came down to him, which was a really shitty decision to leave him with if he's being honest. The weather was borderline in terms of his ability to fly in it safely. He figured if they got up in the air right away, then they might have time for one shot at lifting her out. He briefed his teammates and stressed how dangerous it was going to be, but they were as crazily determined to make an attempt as he was apparently. He guesses that's what makes them all a great crew.
If it wasn't for the strong downdraft that came out of nowhere just as they were securing the girl in the back, then it would have been a pretty amazing rescue to pull off. He definitely would have regaled Evan with the details of it tomorrow, and he definitely would have been appropriately rewarded for it. (He'll probably get an LAFD commendation for this either way now, considering he and the crew did get the girl back to safety.)
There's another loud creak and a notable shift to the aircraft; he sees Eddie freeze, waiting to see if they are going to keep moving. Thankfully it's brief, but the movement in their position has only become more frequent since Eddie and Howie came down to begin extracting them all.
Tommy lets his head fall back against the headrest.
"How's the pain?" They've come to a silent agreement that they don't acknowledge the fact that the wind is slowly buffeting the helicopter closer and closer to a drop into the rocky water below.
"Bearable."
"If you let us give you-"
"We don't have that luxury, Eddie. Quickest way out of here once we get this bar cut is in a harness. I doubt we'll have time for the basket."
"Won't be quick if you pass out on us."
"I'm a tough guy, Diaz. I'll be fine; you and Howie will need my help to get me out of here. Less risk to you two as well."
Eddie huffs angrily but doesn't pick that fight again, thankfully. He's not accidentally dragging anyone else down with him if they can't get him out in time.
They hear Howie clambering carefully back in through the rear of the helicopter. Except, it definitely isn't Howie saying "Oh shit" when the chopper creaks ominously again.
Tommy doesn't know whether his body wants to sag in relief or tense up even further at the sound of that voice.
"What are you doing down here?" Eddie pauses momentarily to throw Evan a look mixed with annoyance and concern. Tommy grits his teeth as he starts up the angle grinder again, and taking a quick glance down to check—the bar is almost cut on this side to his relief.
"Look, I love Chim. I mean, he's my brother," Evan pauses while he slowly steps towards the cockpit, "but I can bench-press him, Maddie, and Jee altogether without breaking a sweat."
What Evan isn't saying is that this is a complex rescue, and that is his area of expertise. Tommy knows that's probably the only card Evan could have played that would have actually convinced Bobby to allow him to come down here at all, especially after Eddie had assured him that Bobby was keeping Evan up top.
Tommy laughs, then winces. Eddie tuts. At him or Evan; he's not really sure, maybe both of them.
There's another shift in the chopper, and the silence is even louder than the wind and rain outside their shelter. It's only a couple of seconds before the three of them breathe a sigh of relief again.
"I'll just stay back here." Tommy hears the hint of trepidation in his voice. "Don't want to put too much weight at the one end."
Eddie hums in agreement.
"So, I don't normally do this—I mean, I was warned meeting people on calls never works out—but you're really hot." Tommy starts to smile already at the mixture of teasing and nervousness in his boyfriend's tone. "You think I could buy you a drink once we're back up on solid ground?"
Eddie sighs loudly as Tommy laughs again, while Evan giggles.
"Depends. I can't really see what you look like from here." He looks down at Eddie. "Is your colleague cute, Firefighter Diaz?"
It's perfect timing since Eddie has finally separated the first end of the bar in his leg. A crazy voice in his head is telling him to suggest that they just pull him off it, but he knows if Eddie doesn't have something to say about that idiotic idea, then Evan sure as hell will.
Eddie pauses, assessing the other end, which is on the side of his body pressed against the cockpit door. He spares a glance behind him before he replies, very put upon, "Disgustingly so."
Tommy grins while Evan mutters, "I don't know whether to be offended by that or not."
Eddie starts trying to get into position to begin cutting, only to be interrupted from the back. "Eds, switch places."
"Buck." Eddie looks over his shoulder, and even though he doesn't hear anything, he can feel the heated conversation silently taking place.
It's over in less than ten seconds though, and Evan seems to have won because Eddie is gingerly backing out of the cockpit. He feels more hopeful since there are only a couple of short creaks and quiet groans while they reshuffle.
"The harness is in the bag if you want to get it ready. Hey." Evan settles himself carefully next to him, immediately picking up the grinder and picking the right place on the bar to start cutting.
"How are you doing?" It's a quiet question, barely audible above the whirr of the saw and the storm outside.
He means to give Evan a serious response, but he can't stand to see the tension in the younger man's face—the tightness around his eyes, the thin press of his lips together, and how pale his skin is.
"Much better now that you're here, cutie."
Evan flicks his eyes up to Tommy for a second, raising an eyebrow. Tommy will give him a real answer now; however, he doesn't regret the cheesy line one bit since it's brought a bit of colour back to his boyfriend's cheeks.
"I'm kind of glad he didn't take that morphine now." Eddie states aloud for no one in particular, so he's very much ignored.
"I'm okay. Can't wait to get out of here."
"Can't wait to get you out of here too."
There's a beat before Evan seems to try to force himself to relax before starting up conversation again.
"So, you going to tell me what the surprise was for this weekend?" Evan nods towards his leg. "You know, since it looks like our plans have changed."
Tommy rolls his eyes when he hears Eddie drop something behind them, cursing in Spanish. He's starting to question the decision of letting Eddie in on his plans, but it had been unavoidable; he had needed his expert opinion on Evan after all.
"Eh, I'll just reschedule. You'll have to wait a little while longer to find out."
He lets out a hiss that has Buck pausing immediately, while Eddie calls out from behind him, "Tommy?"
He waves them off while taking a deep breath, "I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just that I can feel it more as the bar becomes more unstable."
Evan opens his mouth, though Tommy cuts him off, "Keep going. Quicker we get through this, then the quicker we all get out of here."
Nodding seriously, Evan goes back to cutting, and Tommy squeezes his eyes closed and clenches his jaw, gripping the sides of his seat.
Bobby comes on over the radio requesting an update, which Eddie responds to. Tommy just lets it wash over him as he tries to focus on not throwing up or passing out from the increasing pain in his leg.
Evan is moving around more, trying to stabilise the bar and reduce the vibrations as he gets closer to severing it completely when there's a foreboding, metallic-sounding snap. Evan cuts the saw just in time before the whole helicopter jerks and quickly tilts backwards.
The movement violently jostles his leg while gravity pushes him back into his seat.
The next thing he knows, he's blinking awake against the blinding pain that thankfully subsides slightly as he focuses more on taking stock of what has happened.
The chopper feels like it's tilted almost ninety degrees. He's not been in a helicopter at this severe an angle since his military days, though he pushes the thought aside because those memories are not helping in this moment.
Bobby's stern voice breaks through his scattered thoughts: "-the other skid caught on the rockface, but it isn't going to hold. I'm sending Chim down to meet you. Buck, you need to get out now!"
There's no response.
"Evan?"
"Yeah, I'm here," comes a shaky reply. He sounds far enough away that he must be at the back of the chopper.
While waiting for Evan to continue, that's when he hears it—the continuous, slow screech of metal against rock, the quiet juddering through his body coming through from the aircraft's frame, and the absence of Eddie.
"Tommy," Evan chokes out.
"Is Eddie okay?" He needs to keep them both focused; they can't get caught up on emotions right now. They'd been doing so well up until this point after all.
"Unconscious but breathing." His voice is more steady; good.
There's a tiny lurch in the position of the chopper again, but thankfully it settles back to the preferable pace of glacial as it slides off the cliff ledge.
"You need to get Eddie out."
"If I move, then this whole thing is going to go."
"It's already started to go. You can feel it, right? We're sliding."
"But-"
"Remember the conversation we had."
It's such a generic prompt, and they've had so many silly, forgetful talks. However, he trusts Evan to remember the important ones, especially since Evan is the person who broached this particular one.
"Eddie comes first. Always. For Chris."
"That- That was for me. Not you!" Tommy's heart breaks at how angry he sounds at his own words seemingly being turned against him now.
"I know, and I hated it," he says it so quietly that Evan probably never heard him.
Closing his eyes to hold back the tears, it takes all his strength to keep his voice even as he tells him, "I love you so much, Evan. Please, get Eddie out of here." Get yourself out of here too.
"I'm coming back for you." Tommy knows that he will, if he can. That nothing will stop Evan Buckley until he runs out of options.
"Yeah, once you get Eddie to safety, then come back down." He can't keep the resignation from his voice because Tommy has never been a naturally hopeful sort-of guy, though Evan has always been more than happy to share his with him.
Evan starts moving then, and that's when everything gets shakier and louder.
Above it all though, he hears, "I love you too."
"Where is he?" Maddie demands quietly.
Athena's eyes are bloodshot and puffy-looking, her hair slightly unkempt, and her expression grim. She leads her down into the living area.
Slumped at the end of the couch is Howie, looking shell-shocked. It's almost as if he's looking right through her at first, taking a second to process the fact that his wife is now here.
"Mads," his voice breaks, eyes welling up as they land on hers. He stands shakily, and Maddie can feel the tears slip down her face.
She moves over to meet him and wraps him in her arms, squeezing him tightly. "Oh, Howie," her own voice shaky too.
They take a few minutes to just hold one another, providing each other the comfort and strength they need right now.
Eventually they part; she squeezes his upper arms before gently nudging him to sit back down. She takes a breath before turning to face Athena again, standing in between the living area and the hallway to the bedrooms like a sentry.
"Where is he?"
"Bobby took him into the spare room to lie down." She gestures to the room door, closed almost all the way over.
She moves towards the door, intent on seeing her brother and being there for him.
Athena catches her arm as she passes, causing her to pause. "He's in bad shape, Maddie. Hen had to sedate him at the scene. He's not said a word since; he's still in shock. Reality hasn't set in for him yet."
She nods at Athena in understanding. "Is Hen in with him too?" Come to think of it, she is now only realising that Eddie is nowhere in sight either.
"What?" Dread grows in her when she sees Athena look away. She hadn't gotten much out of Howie when he called to let her know, and she had to drop Jee off with Mrs. Lee before she came over, but he did reassure her that no one else had been seriously injured.
"Maddie, he had to choose." Howie's voice is raw. "The helicopter tipped, and Eddie got knocked unconscious. They both needed pulled out, and Buck decided to get Eddie out first."
"Oh, god," she whispers, bringing a trembling hand up to cover her mouth.
Athena answers her previous question now, "Hen went with Eddie; he needed someone at the hospital with him."
Athena squeezes her arm before letting go. She immediately heads for her brother.
At first she can't comprehend how that is her brother in the bed; he's curled over so much lying on his side that he looks small. She slips into the room.
Bobby is perched on the side of the bed behind Evan, gently rubbing circles on his back in comfort. The fire captain has a faraway look in his eyes as if he's focused on something across the room, so it takes him a few seconds to realise Maddie is there.
When Bobby finally looks her in the eye, she sees the haunted look on his face, along with the unshed tears in his eyes. He looks away, and there's no other acknowledgement or movement from him, except for his hand on Buck's back.
Maddie quickly crosses the room and is climbing onto the bed with her brother. Buck only moves with the dip of the mattress, and the wide-eyed, vacant look on his face doesn't change. She mirrors his position, curling up in front of him. It's now she sees his silent tears, running over his face and onto the pillow. She gently brushes one away and then pets his hair, needing the comfort of the contact herself.
She isn't sure how long passes, though at some point Bobby quietly exits the room with a reluctant look towards Buck after she hears someone lingering at the bedroom door.
Suddenly Buck takes a loud, ragged breath in.
"Maddie?"
She's not heard her brother's voice sound this wobbly since she was patching up his cuts and scrapes when they were kids.
"Yeah, I'm here," she assures him in the most soothing tone she can muster. "I'm here, Evan."
He looks her right in the eyes as he struggles to control his breathing.
"Is he- Is he really- Is he-" He can't seem to finish that sentence, but he doesn't have to.
Maddie can't get one word out of her mouth just now either. Her own face crumples as she nods.
She swears that in that second, as she nods, she sees something break inside her brother as he curls fully into her embrace, sobbing. Later on, she realises she saw Evan's heart breaking right in front of her eyes.