Chapter Text
Buck has not been having a good day. Scratch that- he has not been having a good week. From still getting over his break-up with Tommy, to Eddie's interest in moving to El Paso, and Brad's violatile moods at work, he can't seem to catch a break. Not even now, as the 118, along with a couple other firehouses, are on a call that's a multi-car collision at a busy intersection. Tiredness is seeping into Buck's bones as it's particularly hot today. He's just transferred a patient over to Hen and looks around for what else he can do. He spots Bobby and Brad not far away. Bobby looks like he's getting quite agitated while Brad is glued to his side.
Now, while having another video of Bobby and Brad arguing going viral would be hilarious, it's the last thing that Bobby or the LAFD needs. Buck heads over to them, seeing that Brad's waving a crowbar around in the air. He must've gotten that from the truck that he was supposed to be sitting quietly in. "Hey, what's going on?" Buck asks in a friendly manner, flashing a smile.
"Well, Captain Nash over here is being a little tough on me, isn't that right? I wanna get out there, get in the action and help! I gotta get experience, you know? Really get into the mindset and world of firefighting," Brad says excitedly. He's quite the energetic guy, Buck's learned. It's not always a bad thing, except for the fact that Brad has no experience with firefighting. He's not qualified for this, even though he doesn't seem to realize that.
"How about we take a walk? Maybe we can find something for you," Buck suggests, patting the actor on the shoulder. He doesn't have any real intention of letting Brad help, but he has to get him to agree before Bobby's brain explodes.
With an encourging nod from Bobby, Brad agrees. They walk together, with Buck steering them in the direction of the streets not impacted by this mess. Brad's talking his ear off, complaining about how often he has to stay in the truck, how this wasn't what he talked about with the Chief, then he abruptly switches gears to admiring Buck and Bobby, how well they work together, how close they are (though, he does grumble about the reprimiand he got earlier from Bobby). It almost sounds like he's a bit jealous, but Buck doesn't mention that. Instead, he tries to remind Brad of all the notes he's been taking as he's observed the 118. He must have a lot to study and go over and it's getting a little late, right? He should head home before rush hour, he's done a lot today.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to kick me out!" Brad exclaims with a hearty laugh.
"Oh, no, that's not it," Buck's quick to assure him, trying to match his smile as he shakes his own head. "Just, you know, we all have a job to do, right? Yours is to shadow Cap, but Cap also has to be able to take command of the scene. He'll gladly talk with you and answer all your questions, but he can't really do that on calls."
"He doesn't seem to be able to answer my questions at the station, either," Brad says, his face dropping. "He's always off with you and the team, cooking and talking with you and-" he switches up again, spotting something over Buck's shoulder. "Oh. she looks like she needs help."
He walks right around Buck, to where a woman is sitting in a car. Eddie is crouched down next to her, trying to work on getting her out. She must be stuck somehow, pinned inside.
"Brad!" Buck calls, following him (and now starting to get annoyed), but he gets ignored. "Brad!"
"Hiya, darling. Don't you worry, we'll get you out of here in no time. What's your name? Mine's Brad Torrence, you might've heard of me," he says to the woman, squatting down next to Eddie. It's quite plain to see that he has no idea what to do with the crowbar.
"Hey, man, I've got this," Eddie says, putting his arm out to block Brad.
"Brad, Eddie has to do his job," Buck says firmly.
"I can help!" Brad protests in a childish manner.
"No, you can't! Let's go, c'mon," Buck says, his voice rising. He's tired of Brad's behavior and everything, from the difficult day to his recent break-up and how much he misses Chris, is getting to him. Brad's just about pushing him over the edge. He's really the stereotypical Hollywood actor, treating everyone like crap, like they're inferior to him. It's hard to tell whether he's going to be happy or pissed off and if there's one thing he hates to do, it's listen.
Eddie keeps his arm there, turning his attention back to the woman and continuing to help her. Brad scoffs and stands up, walking past Buck and away from the scene as he mutters to himself. Having to get the crowbar back from him, Buck follows again. "Are you leaving, Brad?" He asks. No response. "Brad? Man, just wait a second." He jogs to him and catches up.
"Now you want me to wait?!" Brad says, stopping and turning to face him. They're now about two blocks away from where they saw Eddie. "You think you're tough, huh? Ordering me around, talking to me like you're in charge because you're a firefighter and I'm not." He's right up close to Buck, using his hand to slightly push at Buck's chest.
Buck had been trying to reign his frustrations in but now, all he wants to do is knock Brad off his high, high horse. "Oh, like how you talk to everyone else?" He retorts, gesturing his arm out wide. "When we're out on a call, it's our scene. You're not in charge because we have to be able to help people. You were making it hard for my captain to help people, like you've been doing the entire time you've been with us, so I had to step in."
"The Chief wanted me with the 118 and you're saying I'm the problem? I'm doing my job!" Brad argues, his face heating up as he gets angrier and angrier.
"You're not doing it well! This is why the writers put your character in a coma, to get rid of you because of the bad press you attracted!" Buck says.
Brad shakes his head, steam practically coming out of his ears. "I'm the problem, huh . . . I'm the problem, the distraction, the one getting in the way . . . You know, I think it's YOU! I don't know why Bobby adores you so much, talks about you like you're God's gift to earth. You're stopping me from doing my job, you're distracting Bobby from what he has to do to help me, he wasn't like this at all on set! It's you!" He raves.
"You can go whine about me to Bobby later-" okay, maybe that's Buck 1.0 coming out, but he deserves to let loose. "Give me the crowbar and go home."
There's a tense second where both men are staring at each other. Then, Brad says, in a forced calm voice, "Alright, I'll give it to you."
The moment Buck relaxes his shoulders, Brad swings at him, hitting him in the side with the crowbar. He shoves Buck back into the alleyway next to them and pounces. He's enraged and he's not going to stop now. Being a big guy himself, Buck starts to fight back. He gets some hits in, even almost takes control of the crowbar, but Brad targets his head, kicking him repeatidly and then hitting him with the crowbar. Now that Buck's disoriented, Brad gets the advantage. He pummels the firefighter into the pavement with a mix of the crowbar, his fists, and his feet, all the while telling him that he's getting in the way, that he's a burden to Bobby, that he needs to be taught a lesson. All Buck can do is try to dodge and hit back where he can, but that gets harder as the pain consumes him.
Finally, it all comes to a stop. Brad's towering over him, but Buck sees blood dripping down his face. He really hopes he broke Brad's nose, and manages a small smile at the thought.
"You're never gonna get in the way again," Brad seethes. With one last swing, he brings the crowbar down on Buck. Its hooked end pierces - no, stabs - the firefighter, going deep.
Buck passes out from the pain before a scream can escape from his throat.
When he comes to, Buck hears muffled voices, all sounding like they're saying his name, maybe asking him something? He opens his eyes slowly and everything rushes back to him. He feels like his insides are burning. The voices are coming from his radio, he realizes. He needs to grab that.
"M-mayday, mayday . . . This is Buckley. I'm down. Attacked. Need help," Buck says, gasping for breath. He glances around, thankful that Brad isn't there.
"Where are you?" A concerned, yet firm voice replies to him. Recgonzing it as Eddie's, Buck's able to relax a bit. Eddie's gonna come and he's gonna make it all better. Just like he came to the hospital with him for his dislocated shoulder, took care of his boils, and offered him company after Tommy broke up with him.
"Alley. Couple blocks 'way," Buck tells him. Man, sleep is luring him in. He knows he's supposed to stay awake and he can hear Eddie respond to him, but he can't make out the words.
It's okay, he thinks, Eddie's gonna be here soon.