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“I’m so sorry,” Ravi moaned for the umpteenth time, his wide eyes and downturned lips miserable with regret. Buck knew it wasn’t really the probie’s fault. The firehouse alarm startled the younger man causing him to slam a compartment door on the blonde’s arm.
“I know, Probie,” Buck gritted through clenched teeth while Eddie examined his injury.
“I didn’t know your arm was in there, I swear.”
“I know, Probie,” Buck said, involuntarily jerking away from Eddie’s probing fingers.
“Stop moving,” Eddie said, trying to concentrate on the torn, bruised skin. The cut wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it was long and awkward on the underside of Buck’s upper arm.
“... Is compartment safety gonna be added to the list?” Ravi asked tentatively.
“What do you think, Probie?” Buck flailed, so Eddie jumped back to avoid getting hit.
“Stop moving.”
Buck glanced sheepishly at his boyfriend, letting the older man position his arm until he could see the injury again. Eddie saw the accident and had the foresight to grab his med bag before hopping in the fire engine’s cabin. They had band-aids and Steri-Strips, but skin glue was their best bet for the cut to be as unobtrusive as possible.
Buck hated skin glue. He vividly remembered applying the liquid adhesive almost every other day when he was on blood thinners. He could go his entire life without smelling those chemicals on his skin again.
“It’s either this, or I bandage your arm and wrap it with tape,” Eddie said, seemingly reading Buck’s mind. He was getting good at that. It was easier to read the subtle cues and slight facial tells since they’d been dating for over a year. Even before they were dating, their near-telepathic bond was scary at times.
He hated the smell of skin glue, but the feeling of tape sliding around his arm and pulling at his skin all day was even worse. Buck grumbled but Eddie knew what he meant. The Latino man dug in his bag pulling out the tube of skin glue. Buck turned slowly, focusing a glare on their newest member. He knew Ravi didn’t do it on purpose, but that didn’t make him any less annoyed.
Ravi smiled like he was afraid Buck would noggie him. The thought had crossed the blonde’s mind, but they weren’t in high school, and Ravi didn’t deserve that.
“It doesn’t really help that you're so accident-prone, huh?” The younger man’s smile got quieter in the face of Buck’s prolonged glare.
His eye twitched as he looked from Ravi’s innocent face to Eddie's bowed head. Hen hadn’t said anything, but she also could’ve been consumed with thoughts of her partner who’d left a few weeks ago to find Maddie. Chim’s absence was hard on all of them, but the only thing they could do was hope for the best and wait for news.
“I-I’m not accident-prone,” Buck squawked. Hen glanced at him with her eyebrow raised. Buck cocked his head to the side, surveying his teammate's faces.
“Okay,” Ravi said, before blurting out the rest of his thoughts, unable to help digging himself into a deeper hole. “I just meant, sometimes it seems like you’re prone to… be… in… accidents?”
“Yeah, I know what it means, Probie, and that’s not me,” Buck whined, turning wide eyes on the love of his life. “Right, Eds? Right? I’m not accident-prone.”
Eddie loved Buck, they’d said it to each other every day for months. He would marry Buck one day and vow to make him happy for the rest of their lives. This was why he resolutely didn’t look up or answer his boyfriend. The lesser, more selfish reason was that he didn’t want Buck turning sad puppy dog eyes on him. He was only human, and Buck knew his effect on the other man.
“Eddie?” Buck asked again while poking Eddie’s cheek like he could annoy the brunette into replying. Eddie hummed but didn’t agree or disagree in any way.
“Okay, well, despite this betrayal,” Buck pouted. “I don’t know where you’re getting accident-prone from. I haven’t had an accident in months!”
A suspicious silence took up all the space in the cabin. Ravi looked scared, Eddie was ignoring him, Hen squinted out the window, and Bobby didn’t say anything, but he could feel the catholic judgment hovering over him like a dark cloud.
“Sweetheart, you fell up the stairs two days ago,” Eddie said, finishing gluing Buck’s skin back together.
“O-Okay, but-”
“Last week, your belt loop got stuck on the handle of a pot of boiling water and we treated you for second-degree burns,” Hen chimed in, a small amused smile playing on her lips.
“I didn’t even-”
“Didn’t I have to come help you break into the jeep when you locked the keys and the backup keys in the cupholders a few weeks ago?” Bobby added, unhelpfully.
Buck’s nose scrunched while deftly avoiding Eddie’s gaze. He may or may not have shared that piece of information with his partner.
Suddenly, everyone’s minds were steel traps.
“And didn’t you-” Ravi started, but Buck was done like three examples ago.
“Okay,” Buck threw his hands up. “So, I can be a little clumsy. It’s not like that’s the same thing.”
“Yes, it is.” The entire cabin replied, including their driver, Deeter.
“Oh, look, we’re here,” Buck said, instead of arguing. He wasn’t really mad, but Eddie grabbing his hand and kissing his knuckles in apology did make him feel better.
They’d been called to Griffith Park to assist in a zipline rescue. A woman was stuck 100 feet above the ground, suspended in a harness. The zipline dipped too far down, sloping into a grove of trees. She hit a tree or two before stopping at the halfway mark of the attraction.
Unfortunately, there had already been one casualty. The young guide, who’d just finished his training, followed protocol and went to help the woman belay down when she got stuck. He accidentally unhooked the wrong line and fell to his death.
There was also the added problem of the Santa Ana winds picking up and making it impossible for another guide to get to the platform safely. Helicopter rescuers were waved off because it was too dangerous with how windy it’d become.
The 118 were dispatched to the scene having the best rope rescue record in LA. A big part of that record was Evan Buckley and Eddie Diaz. The pair had such trust and seamlessness with each other that no other company could compete.
They hopped out of the engine to trek up the incline to the starting platform. A blond woman in her late twenties met them at the top.
“Hi,” she greeted, speaking loudly to be heard over the howl of the winds. “I’m Kara, I’m the spotter for this location.”
Bobby introduced them and got a rundown of what happened. Kara repeated the information dispatched relayed, including her coworker, Arden’s, tragic fall. She held it together remarkably well, but Buck could see her lips trembling as she stuttered over Arden’s name.
Hen placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, supporting her as she kept talking. The woman on the line was Hera Chapllen. She was part of a Mom’s group who booked a zipline tour. Kara pointed out that this course was one of five that spanned the entire park. This was the last line in the tour, and they didn’t realize the winds had picked up until Hera was already headed down.
Kara explained that Arden had already sent the rescue kit to Hera’s position and went out after it. But, before he could check in, he made a mistake and paid for it with his life.
Bobby and Buck asked questions about the zipline and their regular rescue protocol. Kara knew the manual back and forth, so she could tell them everything they wanted to know. After their quick conversation, Bobby pulled his team away to hand out orders.
“Alright, since we can’t rely on the copters because of the wind, we’ll do this manually. Buck, you and I are staying up top. I’m sending you to grab the victim and belay down with her. Eddie, Hen, and Ravi, you’ll go down with Kara, set up a bag, and recover the other victim.”
Bobby saw the protest on Eddie’s face. He knew the other man didn’t like Buck doing dangerous things without him, but with Chim out, he had a different role to fulfill. Bobby put a hand on Eddie’s shoulder and squeezed. He tried to convey, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got Buck, I’ve always got Buck’ without saying it out loud.
Eddie tensed but nodded in deference to his Captain. Nothing on this earth could stop Bobby Nash from keeping Buck safe. They split up, Bobby and Buck going back to the engine to grab the necessary gear, and the rest of 118 following Kara down a trail through the grove.
Before they left, Buck grabbed Eddie’s hand. He wanted to pull him into a kiss to reassure him everything would be alright. He saw the concern and fear lurking behind the chocolate orbs he’d been falling in love with for years.
Eddie locked their fingers, smiling shakily at the younger man. Their conversation in the engine played in his head like a broken record. He knew his boyfriend was a competent firefighter and an expert at rope rescue. He had nothing to worry about, but that didn’t stop his heart from wanting to jump out of his chest when they let go.
Eddie risked one last look at Buck before grabbing his gear and following Hen, Ravi, and Kara. Buck sighed, watching his partner disappear down the hill, and then got to work.
The setup for this rescue was relatively simple. It really helped them out that they had a sturdy rope ready for use. They didn’t need a winch or extra hooks, the zipline was made for this. Bobby helped Buck into his harness attaching a bag of tools to one of the carabiners.
He secured Buck’s helmet and did a radio check. He wouldn’t send his kid to a 100-foot rescue without ensuring he would be safe.
“Okay, this should be easy, just set the equipment and ride down with her,” Bobby said, pulling Buck in close so they could hear each other.
Buck nodded, “Easy as pie, I’ve got this, Cap.”
Bobby smiled, patting Buck’s helmet proudly. He trusted his firefighters, and Buck was one of his best. It didn’t stop the kernel of worry sitting in the back of his throat, but what could he do?
“I know you do, kid,” Bobby rechecked his gear just to be safe. “Once you get to her, switch to an open channel so you can keep your hands free.”
“Roger, Roger,” Buck said, smiling obnoxiously. He started his ascent to the starting platform after tapping Bobby’s shoulder reassuringly.
He skillfully climbed the ladder that led to the platform. The wind battered the metal cage surrounding the path, but it was nothing Buck hadn’t dealt with before. He vaguely remembered the time he climbed a crane to help an injured construction worker while an active sniper was trying to take out LAFD members. The Santa Anas barely phased him.
He immediately hooked a safety rope to the zipline once he reached the top. Bobby arrived and set up an anchor point behind him. He made sure Buck’s line was secure and threw him a thumbs-up.
Buck looked down the zipline trying to figure out the best way to do this. His biggest concern was gaining too much speed going down the slope. He didn’t want to come in too fast and barrel into Hera. That would create a whole new set of problems.
His best bet was pulling himself across the line hand over hand. That way he could control the speed and feel more secure if the winds picked up. He strapped on his gloves and started moving. He let the cable slide through his grasp, stopping every few seconds to ensure he wasn’t speeding up.
Kara told them the zipline was roughly 200 feet across, and Hera was pretty much dead center. Despite focusing on the task at hand, he couldn’t help but glance at the ground. He could see the spot where the team set up the airbag. They were tiny, but the giant bullseye on the safety cushion was hard to miss.
Buck couldn’t see Bobby since he was behind him, but the woman they were sent to rescue dangled helplessly a few yards ahead. By the time he was within earshot, his palms were aching from the strain.
“Hello,” he called, against the wind. Hera didn’t acknowledge him, but the closer he got, the more he could see the tremors that shook her body. “Hey, Hera? I’m from the fire department, I’m here to help you.”
She was curled into herself so all Buck could see was bushy, curly brown hair that spilled out from under a helmet. She wore black leggings under denim shorts. Her colorful blouse fluttered in the unruly wind while she clung to the ropes of her harness. Buck could see scratches on her olive skin, he assumed from when she crashed into the trees.
“Hello?” Buck tried again when he got closer. He was maybe five feet away when she finally moved. Her entire frame shook as wide, terrified hazel eyes found him.
“H-h-hello?” she stammered, her voice shaking as much as her body. “Hello?”
“Hi, I’m Buck,” He tried to convey a sense of comfort. Kara said she’d been up there for over an hour, so Hera probably wasn’t too excited to meet new people. “I’m a firefighter, and I’m going to help you get out of here, okay?”
Harsh, sputtering breaths ripped from her mouth. She sobbed, nodding rapidly before a gust of wind made her curl up tighter.
The first thing he did was hook a line from his harness to hers. If at any point she went down, he could take her weight and ensure there wouldn’t be another casualty that day. She glanced at him from under the curls that covered most of her face.
“Rough day?” he asked trying to lighten the mood while he worked. He opened the kit Arden sent out when Hera first got stuck. “Are you hurt at all?”
A huffy laugh that sounded just this side of hysterical was his reward. She gripped her rope so hard he could see crescent moon-shaped welts from where her fingernails were embedded in her palms. She shook her head but immediately stopped when it made her body sway.
“I’m not even supposed to be here,” she cried, stuttering every other word. “This was so stupid, I should be in bed with my Kindle.”
Buck worked quickly, pulling out more rope and clips so they could start their descent. “Oh yeah? What are you reading?”
Her lips trembled in a pout. “I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s like a romance and there were tentacles or something.”
Buck’s eyebrows raised, disappearing under his helmet. “Interesting. What made you put down the book and do this instead?”
She laughed wetly as he lowered a rope between them. They watched it unfurl, falling until the excess pooled on the ground near the safety cushion. Someone from the ground team pulled it taut to establish an anchor.
“Dumb shit and exactly what I deserve for joining a divorced mom’s group, god this is so dumb!” She jumped fearfully when Buck started hooking her up to the belay line.
“Sorry,” he said, going through his checks.
“It’s okay, I’m just… scared. I’m not great with heights.” She watched his hands skim over her harness and tighten or loosen things where he needed to. “By the way, what happened to that guy? Is he okay?”
Buck glanced down at the ground. He couldn’t see if they’d recovered Arden’s body, yet, but it wasn’t something Hera needed to worry about while they were still on the line.
“I’m not sure,” Buck wasn’t a good liar, but he knew how to keep someone calm. “Let’s get you down and then focus on that, okay?”
She jerkily nodded, whimpering when the movement momentarily swung her away from Buck. He grabbed her rope, holding on until she stopped swinging.
“I shouldn’t have said yes,” she cried. “I’ve been scared of heights since I was a kid, and suddenly because my bum of a husband left me I decided to do the stupidest thing I’ve ever done?”
“I mean, what? I come out here to prove I’m just as fun, brave, and cool as his new wife, and now I’m never going to see my kids again.”
“Hey, no, you’re gonna see your kids again,” Buck said while placing the clips on either side of the belay line. “And I-I guarantee they think you’re fun, brave, and cool, even if they don’t say it.”
Despite the shaking and sobbing, she looked at Buck like he said something she’d never considered before. “That was nice. That was a nice thing to say. You’re nice, thank you.”
Buck grinned, relieved when he felt her trembling shoulder settle where it was pressed into his side. He unhooked the last clip and moved it to the belay line while she was calm. He knew the ride down would probably make her nervous. It was one thing to fly over the ground when you’re afraid of heights, but intentionally dropping toward it was a different ball game.
“How’s it going, Buck?” Bobby’s voice came through his radio. Buck and Hera jumped at the unexpected noise, and if Buck weren’t in the middle of something he would have facepalmed. It wasn’t that he ignored Bobby’s order to radio in when he got to the victim, it was just that he forgot about it the second he left Bobby’s side.
He flipped the radio to an open channel to answer, “H-Hey, Cap, sorry about that. We’re good to go out here. Everything’s hooked up and our patient is doing just fine.”
“Alright, Buck, sounds good,” Bobby said, and if Buck tried really hard he could ignore the exasperation in his Captain’s voice choosing to focus on the fondness instead. “They’re ready on the ground. Take it slow, the winds are shifting, and Hen said the underbrush is too dense to set a good anchor.”
“Copy,” Buck replied, glancing down at the slack belay rope fluttering in the wind.
“Alright, Hera, we’re gonna take this nice and slow. I’m going to do all the work, all you have to do is hold onto me and try not to move too much, okay?” He readjusted his grip on the auto-locking devices. He could feel the calluses on his palms stretching like they wanted to tear. Even with his gloves on, he’d been overcompensating for their weight and hanging on for too long.
Hera nodded while wrapping her arms under Buck’s to tuck her head tightly under his chin. He took as deep a breath as he could with the smaller woman’s arms clamped around his ribs like a vise.
Rope climbing was kind of like surviving a Tsunami, in that, you just had to keep swimming. The good thing about belaying was that all he had to do was control their descent. The bad thing about their situation was when they dropped the first few feet, Hera started shaking again.
There was a clear difference between when she shook while hanging in one spot, and how badly she was shaking as they inched their way down.
A gust of wind knocked them into the first tree they passed when they broke the treeline. It wasn’t like running into a brick wall or anything, but you couldn’t tell that from the deafening yelps of the woman clinging to him.
“It’s okay, w-we’re okay,” Buck said, grunting as he pushed them away from the browning leaves and thinning branches of the treetops.
She muttered something into his shoulder, stifling a scream when they sank ten more feet. Buck was afraid of many things, but heights had never been one of them. Hera gave off anxious, fearful energy which could be problematic if he didn’t hurry.
Another blast of cool air whipped around them blowing leaves and dust into their faces. Buck spat Hera’s hair out of his mouth, doing his best to blink away the debris. He mentally cursed, remembering he left his goggles back on the rig.
He stopped them to reorient their position and Hera’s arms loosened enough for a full breath to fill his lungs. The tree trunks around them were thickening, but he didn’t trust them to support their weight if necessary.
“Buck, we might have a problem coming in,” Bobby said frantically, which spiked the younger man’s anxiety and adrenaline.
“Bobby, what’s-” A wind funnel tore through the grove surrounding them. Hera screamed into his chest but he couldn’t hear her over the howling noise.
His radio burst with a sound like a thundering marching band as he tightened his grip to ride out the draft. He felt wet spots seeping into his shirt from where Hera pressed her weeping eyes.
Once the air current died down, Buck relaxed, letting his harness take most of their weight. Hera shook like the leaves circling them while talking under her breath too quickly for Buck to understand. He quickly realized it wouldn’t matter if he could hear her properly, she was speaking in a different language.
Shuddering breaths worked their way out of Buck’s mouth. The wind hadn’t moved them, mostly due to his arms and shoulders burning with the effort to keep them in place. They needed to get to the ground as quickly as they could.
“Buck, Buck report!” Bobby yelled over a garbled static spilling out of his radio.
“We’re still here, we’re alright,” he said, panting harshly. He looked down at the top of Hera’s head only able to see the helmet and her bushy curls that danced in the air. “What’s going on down there, Cap?”
“Tree fell,” Hen said, the distress in her voice coiling around Bucks’ heart. “Not on anyone, but it clipped the safety cushion.”
“D-Do we have another one lying around?” Buck gasped, doing his best to return circulation to his fingers.
“Buck, how much further do you think you can go?” Bobby asked.
Buck blinked at the question, he didn’t want to freak anyone out, especially the terrified woman clinging to him, but they weren’t in a good spot.
He looked around, estimating they were probably thirty feet down the belay line. That meant they still had to make it another seventy feet without a safety cushion to break their fall. His arms shook as he used his shoulder to wipe away the sweat collecting on his face.
“Another thirty or so feet, but that still puts us forty feet up,” he said, testing his grip on the hooks.
“Okay, keep going, we’re gonna figure something out. If the wind picks up again, try to get closer to the trees so it doesn’t knock you around as much.” Bobby advised.
Buck nodded even though they couldn’t see him. “Alright Hera, we’re doing good.”
She said something Buck could tell was a curse without even knowing the language she spoke. “Forty feet is still too high.”
Buck stifled a groan, he hoped she was too out of it to hear what he said over the radio. He didn’t make a habit of lying to the people he was trying to save, but if she really started to panic, that forty feet could turn into a splat real quick.
“I know, but, my team’s on it, they’re gonna figure something out before you know it,” he said, instilling as much hope in his voice as he could.
They got ten more feet before another gale-force wind picked up, blowing them back into the trees. Buck braced for their rope to pendulum them in the opposite direction, but something held them in place.
“Oh God, I’m stuck, oh my God!” Hera shrieked, struggling against the tree that snared her harness. Wood splinters wove between the ropes and hooks surrounding her lower body. She screamed again when Buck tried to dislodge her from the tree.
“Stop, stop, it hurts,” she cried.
Buck couldn’t let go of her, she was attached to his harness. She was stuck to a sixty-foot tree and he was stuck to her. The longer they stayed like that the more pain she was in. He wasn’t escaping unscathed either. It wasn’t hard to feel the scratches on his neck and back where her hands scrambled so hard they tore into his skin.
“Buck, what’s happening?” Eddie yelled through the radio. Buck couldn’t see him with Hera’s arms encircling his neck.
He reached behind his passenger to feel where she was connected to the tree. His gloves caught on branches and bark that broke off, but he still couldn’t pull her away.
“Por amor de Dios, Buck, por favor,” Eddie’s voice cracked in distress.
“I’m here, we’re stuck, I-I can’t see-” The belay rope tugged from above. The only thing he could see when he threw his head back were thick branches and leaves rustling restlessly. “Cap, can you see if the belay line is free?”
“It looks like it’s wrapped around the top of a tree. Can you push away?” Buck knew it was too dangerous for Bobby to harness up and slide down to the belay line to untangle it. He also knew they were still hooked to the rope considering they weren’t free falling to their deaths.
Hera lurched forward falling into Buck’s arms. They swung with the motion almost crashing into another bunch of trees behind them. Her rapid, panicky breath puffed next to his ear.
“Hera?” Buck asked, wrapping her in one arm while white-knuckling the rope hook with the other. She didn’t answer him, probably because she was hyperventilating. “H-Hey, can you hear me? I know it’s hard, but I need you to try slowing down your breathing.”
Fast, cut-off air wheezed through her lips. Her head lulled on his shoulder like she didn’t have the strength to keep it up. With her grip relaxing around his neck, it was harder to keep her steady, let alone check if she was conscious.
She moaned between breaths, struggling to move away. He pulled her closer trapping her arms against her sides. She jumped in his grasp, whimpering as she struggled harder. Buck felt a warm, wet liquid seeping through his sleeve.
He wondered if the tree bark cut him, but the only pain he felt was from the strain in his arms, shoulders, and hands. Hera wept and even though he couldn’t see it, he knew she was hurt.
“Buck, can you move?” Bobby asked, reminding Buck they weren’t alone.
“I think Hera’s hurt. I can feel blood coming from somewhere, but I can’t see it,” he said, leaning back to take her weight so they wouldn’t fall forward. They weren’t doing too badly as long as they were upright in their harnesses.
“She’s panicking, I don’t think she can breathe.”
“Buck, can you reach her mouth?” Hen asked, ever the calm and collected paramedic.
“Yeah, yeah, I can, Hen, what do I do?” Buck blindly swept the hair off her face to get to her mouth.
“Okay, just hold her mouth shut and try to cover one of her nostrils, if you can’t do that, then just hold her mouth until she starts breathing normally again,” Hen instructed.
His breaths stuttered out in bursts with the effort of keeping them steady. He cupped his hand over her mouth waiting for something to happen. A few moments later, Hera took a giant breath through her nose, breathing like she’d just run a marathon.
“Hera? Are you with me?”
Her weak hand covered his where he encased her trembling mouth. She nodded faintly in his grasp pulling at his wrist until he let go of her lower face.
“Ow,” she whispered, her fragile voice filled with pain. “What happened?”
She looked past him at the ground still sixty feet away, and Buck saw the moment her panic came back. She reared back like she could step away from her fear, but only ended up dislodging herself from Buck’s grip.
Her body tumbled backward, pulling him with her. His harness strained with the extra movement, the hooks binding them together twisting and pulling until the fabric of the harness couldn’t take it anymore. Buck teetered forward to catch her, knowing the situation was unstable. They were still attached, but her falling body would rip her away and send her hurtling to the ground if he couldn’t stop it.
Hera’s scream echoed over the trees and through the wind. Everyone below them gasped, shouting as the woman slid out of her safety gear and started plummeting down.
Luckily for her, Buck had quick reflexes. He let go of the hook to throw himself forward, grunting as his fingers clutched her broken harness and fluttering clothes. If Buck could get a word out he would have sworn loudly. His already fatigued arms couldn’t hold her for long.
“Buck, hang on!” Eddie’s voice was so loud the blonde could hear it without his radio. His boyfriend was panicking, hell, he was panicking. His team was close enough to see their faces, but all his concentration was taken up by the singular thought of not letting go.
“I know you can’t talk, kid, but we’ve got a plan,” Bobby said.
Buck groaned through gritted teeth into his radio hoping they could tell he was listening. He tried to readjust, pulling Hera toward him but was stopped by a jolt of pain running from his fingertips to his toes.
“You’re gonna swing, as hard as you can, and hit the tree,” Bobby continued.
Buck couldn’t have heard him right, because that sounded like a ‘Buck plan’, and Bobby didn’t have ‘Buck plans’, in fact, he was very often against them.
“Wha-” He wheezed, trying his hardest to suck in any air. His ribs protested, squeezing where his harness bit into his skin. Blood rushed to his head from the angle he was forced into while trying to keep the dangling woman from slipping out of his grasp.
“Kid, you gotta trust us, the cushion is partially functional, and they’ve padded it as good as they can,” Bobby sounded confident in the plan, but it was the next part that gave Buck pause. “As soon as you hit the tree, you’re going to pull your harness release and try to hit every branch on the way down, okay?”
Was it possible he wasn’t getting enough air to his brain, and for some reason, was hallucinating his Captain telling him to drop sixty feet with an injured victim while purposefully crashing through the limbs of a tree?
Hera cried out when his fingers started to slip, kicking listlessly in the air to find purchase. Her frantic movements made Buck decide that even if he was hallucinating, he trusted Bobby. He gathered his strength, pulling Hera up to get his hands around her forearms. He couldn't help yelling as he swung their bodies back and forth to gain momentum.
Hera’s head fell back, her giant terrified eyes meeting his. He couldn’t tell her that everything would be alright, he could barely breathe, but he knew she got it when her thin, shaking fingers clutched his wrists in return.
Buck could hear his team talking through his radio, encouraging them, but he couldn’t make anything out. After four or five swings, he felt the brush of leaves and the drag of branches digging into him.
He swung hard into the tree, pulling the hook from the harness and turning into the crash. He wasn’t sure who was screaming, but it didn’t matter with the roar of sound from their bodies colliding with the tree’s limbs.
He spun, pulling until Hera was encased in his arms so his back and legs took the brunt of the abuse. He felt wood splinter and stab him on the way down, but from what he could tell, he had yet to be impaled.
He wasn’t sure how long it took to reach the bottom, but as he braced for another branch to break under their weight, his back met cold plastic that gave away under them.
Any air was driven from his lungs as they sunk into the cushion and kept going until wet, dirty underbrushes exploded around them. Buck froze, afraid to break the spell. He felt Hera’s quaking form pressed into his chest. Her helmet dug into his cheek, probably bruising the hell out of his face.
Within seconds, hands grabbed them, pulling Hera from his tightly wound arms. Buck blinked his eyes open, squinting at the hole their bodies created through the branches. Sunlight streamed into the grove through that hole and above it all, the zipline cord and belay line swayed in the breeze.
A shadow fell over him, blocking the sun. He tried to breathe, but a deep ache resonated in the middle of his chest. Bruised or fractured breastbone if he had to guess. He took short, gasping breaths until the adrenaline faded enough for his brain to stop thinking he was dying.
The shadow shifted until Eddie’s face came into focus. His warm, brown eyes were alight with worry. The lips Buck loved to kiss were pulled into a deep, quivering frown. If Buck didn’t know any better he’d say something was wrong.
“Please tell me you’re alive,” Eddie pleaded while carefully examining his boyfriend for open fractures or bleeding gashes.
Buck groaned, doing his best to control the throbbing pain spider-webbing out from his sternum. He tried to lift an arm, aiming to caress Eddie’s cheek to rub away the frown lines next to his mouth. Instead, his shoulders vibrated with fatigue refusing to move.
“Eddie, Hen, someone tell me they made it,” Bobby said, sounding out of breath. Buck knew the second he unhooked from the line, his Captain was probably racing down the hill to get to them.
“He’s here,” Eddie replied, checking his neck, and once satisfied that Buck wasn’t paralyzed, helping him take off his helmet. “They both are. We’re checking them out now.”
Buck tried to sit up, but Eddie’s gentle hands and exasperated look stopped him. The younger man's breathing slowed enough for him to ask what he really wanted to know, “Is she okay?”
Eddie glanced at the commotion a few feet away where Hen, Ravi, and a few other firefighters were tending to their victim. He nodded at them before turning soft eyes back on Buck.
“She’s going to be just fine, please focus on yourself for like two seconds, okay?”
Buck knew he scared the other man, and that was never something he wanted to do. He raised a trembling hand just enough to grab his partner’s probing fingers. Eddie looked at him with plenty of emotions playing on his face. Fear, worry, and relief were the three most identifiable.
The blonde blinked slowly, leaning heavily into the hand Eddie used to brush sweaty curls off his forehead.
“There’s a chance,” Buck rasped, feeling sore and tired beyond belief. His throat hurt from the screaming and yelling, and the rest of him hurt from the fall. “I might be a little accident-prone.”
Eddie huffed despite himself, his eyes welling with unshed tears. At least this time it had been Bobby’s idea instead of Buck’s. His partner couldn’t possibly get mad at him for obeying orders for once in his life.
“Yeah, maybe a little,” Eddie said wetly, taking a deep breath steeped with relief before returning to ensure Buck stayed alive for the foreseeable future.
Buck tugged Eddie’s hand again until the older man looked at him. “Don’t tell Probie.”
Eddie finally smiled, smothering a laugh beneath the fondest look Buck had ever seen. It was okay that he got into accidents every once in a while, he would try not to make a habit of it, but thankfully, his family was always there to get him out.
-fin-