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Chim swears it’s not even on purpose this time. It’s all Eddie’s fault for assuming things. And Buck for not leaving that building. And everyone else for agreeing on Chimney as the one to let Eddie know. Really, this could have happened because of anyone.
That morning, the one-eighteen had been called to assist the one-thirty-six with an apartment building fire. The combined efforts of the two stations kept the scene contained while also evacuating each of the residents.
By the end of the day, nearly everyone was out, save for an elderly woman and two young children. Chimney was treating a minor burn wound, not really paying attention when Bobby sent Buck and Ravi back inside. The flames had all but died down and nothing appeared amiss.
“I’m fine,” the twenty-something Chim was working on insisted.
Chim rolled his eyes. “I understand, sir, but this is procedure—“
“Buck’s still inside!” Ravi shouted, running outside. He was trailed by the elderly woman and one of the missing kids, Buck noticeably absent.
Chim snapped his head up. Ravi had been Buck’s partner since Eddie left for El Paso. Though they didn’t work as perfectly together as BuckandEddie, Ravi turned out to be the only partner Buck didn’t run off (“Once he’s chased you around with a chainsaw, everything else seems tame in comparison,” Ravi explained).
“Buckley, report,” Bobby spoke into his radio. Nothing. His face tightened. “Firefighter Buckley, report,” he said, slightly more panicked.
“All good, Cap. I’ve got the last kid. Headed out—“ The radio crackled and went silent.
Inside the building, something collapsed, sending debris everywhere. A little girl came running out through the dust and smoke, alone.
“Buck!” Bobby shouted, his radio briefly forgotten.
For a few moments, everyone waited, hoping that Buck would come waltzing out of the building, perfectly okay. Dust settled around the rubble and still no Buck. The guy couldn’t catch a break, it seemed.
Bobby unfroze first. “We need to get back in that building.”
As soon as the Incident Commander cleared the scene, the fire barely burning, two of the one-thirty-six’s firefighters were sent in.
Chim busied himself with the new patients, trying and failing not to think about Buck’s current predicament. If Buck wasn’t okay, it would crush Maddie. She’d already gone through enough in her life. The last thing she needed was an injured, especially during another pregnancy.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of scouring rubble, the firefighters found Buck. He was quickly loaded up on a stretcher and put in the ambulance.
Chim cursed as he and Hen looked over Buck’s injuries. His right side was badly bruised and a trickle of blood slipped down his face.
“Think I’m bleeding,” Buck slurred.
“Looks like it,” Chim said. “We’re gonna get you to the hospital, okay?”
“I hate the hospital,” Buck groaned.
“We know, Buck. Just hang in there and stay awake for me, okay?” Hen said, shining a pen light in his eyes.
“Two minutes out,” Chim said.
“—ddie’s gonna kill me,” Buck said before promptly passing out.
“Damn it, his side’s bleeding.” Hen rushed to pack the wound.
Two minutes later they rushed Buck inside, staying behind the glass doors. Bobby took the A-shift offline for the rest of the day, knowing they wouldn’t be able to work with Buck in the hospital.
Hours later, the one-eighteen were all still in the waiting room, now joined by Maddie, Karen, Athena, and the kids. With much reluctance, everyone took a brief respite to get coffee, if nothing else.
As a medic, Chim knew the most dangerous part of Buck’s injury was internal bleeding. It didn’t help the mood that the last time Buck was in the hospital, it was because he died.
At long last, a nurse arrived with an update. “Family of Evan Buckley?” He asked.
“That’s us,” Bobby said.
Everyone stood up. The nurse raised his eyebrows, though declined to comment. At this point, Chim wouldn’t be surprised if the hospital staff knew the one-eighteen by name.
The nurse explained that Buck was suffering from smoke inhalation, a mild concussion, and a crush injury. For now, Buck was unconscious but they were confident he would wake soon. As long as his vitals continued to improve, it was likely he would be out of the hospital by the end of the week. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, though Bobby collapsed back in his seat as Athena gently rubber his arm.
“Someone should call Eddie,” Maddie said. “He’d want to know that Buck’s going to be fine.”
“I’ll do it,” Chim offered. No one said anything to dissuade him. He almost wishes they did.
And that is how Chimney ends up in a quiet corner of the hospital, staring at the ended call on his phone. Once again, he’d like to reiterate that this situation is not his fault.
Since moving to Texas, calls between Eddie and any member of the one-eighteen who aren’t named ‘Buck’ are rare, which is why he picks up the phone almost instantly when Chimney calls. Hell, he and Chim barely texted even when Eddie was in LA.
“Chim, what’s wrong?” Eddie asks, trying to keep the waver out of his voice.
“It’s Buck.” Chimney hesitates. “He’s in the hospital and it’s—“
Eddie doesn’t have the capacity to hear the rest of the sentence. His chest squeezes, stealing the air from his lungs. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he promises. The call ends as Eddie’s phone falls from his hands, clattering loudly on the floor.
“Dad?” Chris asks distantly.
Vaguely, Eddie is aware that he should turn away. Chris shouldn’t have to see this. Chris shouldn’t have to hear about Buck being hurt while they’re eight hundred miles away. What if Buck dies before they see him again?
Eddie blinks through the tears in his eyes. “I have to get to LA.”
“It’s Buck,” Chris says simply. Eddie nods.
They rush to the airport, buying two plane tickets to LA a week earlier than they should have been. Instead of professing his love in a grand, sweeping gesture, Eddie’s racing to the hospital because Buck might be dying. He’s not sure what he’ll do if he never sees Buck again.
“Eddie…knows?” Chim asks when he comes back. “But he might think…that Buck’s dead. Or dying.” He winces.
“Howie!” Maddie hisses.
“Chim, you promised you wouldn’t do it again!” Hen exclaims.
“What do you mean, again?” Athena asks incredulously.
“It’s not my fault this time!” Chim protests.
“He told Karen that I was dead,” Hen explains.
“But, but, I came clean before she could freak out too much!”
“Why didn’t you do that with Eddie?” Maddie asks.
Chim winces again. “He might have had a panic attack and hung up the phone. Like I said though; not my fault!”
“We need to make sure Eddie knows that Evan’s okay,” Maddie says pointedly. Everyone quickly fishes their phones out and starts texting.
It’s not until Eddie gets on the plane with Chris that he realizes he’s left his phone on the floor of his rental. Buck could already be dead and he wouldn’t know.
Chris squeezes Eddie’s arm. “He’s gonna be alright, Dad. It’s Buck.”
Eddie just nods. It was Buck. Buck, who lived through a crushed leg, a tsunami, being struck by lightning, and now this. He will hold on. Eddie had to have faith in that. Maybe a little selfishly, Eddie hopes Buck will hold on for him.
“Evan Buckley?” Eddie asks the desk nurse when he and Chris arrive at Cedars Sinai. She directs him to the recovery wing. When he enters the waiting area, Maddie and the rest of the one-eighteen were there, excluding Buck.
Bobby sees Eddie first. “You came all the way from El Paso.”
“Yeah.” If he were a less tired man, Eddie would be embarrassed by his answer. He knows how he and Chris must look, cried-out and bone-tired. Everyone understands, though. It would be strange to see Eddie anywhere else except by Buck’s side in a situation like this.
“Uh, Eddie, I owe you an explanation,” Chim says, stepping forward. Eddie tightens his grip on Chris’ shoulder, who insisted on sticking together. “Buck’s gonna be fine.”
Eddie feels himself deflate completely, collapsing in one of the plastic chairs. Buck is okay. Buck is going to be okay.
Chim’s voice zones back in “…texting and calling, but—“
“I left my phone in Texas,” Eddie whispers. Chris squeezes his hand.
“I’m really sorry, man,” Chim starts. “I swear it was an accident this time—“
Eddie didn’t really care. He couldn’t be angry right now because Buck was alive. Buck was okay.
Buck groans when he sees the blinding lights of the hospital. At this point, he should really think about upgrading his insurance. Maybe he should opt for a permanent suite. Shifting slightly, Buck feels a giant pad of gauze on his side.
A nurse enters the room, smile on his face when he noticed the now-conscious Buck. “Nice to have you back, Mr. Buckley.”
“What— happened?” Buck croaks out. His throat feels like sandpaper.
“Minor smoke inhalation, mild concussion, and a crush injury,” the nurse rattles off. “If your vitals look good, you could be out by the end of the week.”
“Thank god,” Buck groans.
“I have to change this dressing, if that’s alright,” the nurse says. Buck nods. “You have an impressive crowd of people waiting for you. If you want, visiting hours aren’t over yet.”
Buck smiles. He’s a little sheepish at the thought of his one-eighteen family waiting for him. He’ll have to apologize to Bobby, of course, but it’s nice to have people who care.
A male nurse comes out of Buck’s room. “Mr. Buckley is awake. Only two visitors at a time, though.”
Eddie stands up, but hesitates, letting Maddie see Buck alone.
“He’s glad you’re here,” Maddie says softly when she walks out. That’s all the confirmation Eddie needs before he practically bolts toward Buck’s room.
The first thing Eddie notices when he walks into Buck’s room is how pale Buck looks. Seeing him in a hospital bed never gets any easier. Still, he was alive.
“Buck,” Eddie sighs. He’s not sure how to put all his relief in a single word, but he tries.
“Eddie?” Buck’s voice is a little hoarse. Though a little worse for wear, he seems alright. “These painkillers must be really good.”
“Not a hallucination,” Eddie says with a smile.
“Good.”
“I thought—“ Eddie’s voice chokes, his stoic demeanor fading (well, as stoic as one can be with red-rimmed eyes and dried tear tracks). “I thought you were dead.” He hovers by the door until Buck motions for him to come over.
“Hey, hey, I’m alive,” Buck says, moving Eddie’s hand to his chest. “My heart’s still beating. It’ll be okay.”
“You weren’t okay two years ago,” Eddie whispers. He closes his eyes but leaves his hand on Buck’s chest. If he moves at all, Buck might not be okay.
“I came back,” Buck says simply.
“I can’t lose you again. You can’t die on me, especially not when I’m two states away.” Eddie’s chin trembles.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Buck promises.
Eddie takes in every rise and fall in Buck’s chest before daring to look into Buck’s ocean blue eyes. He’s already committed Buck’s face to memory, but Buck soothes him anyway. They sit like that for a few moments.
“How did you get here so fast anyway?” Buck asks. “You didn’t have to,” he adds quietly.
Eddie laughs wetly. “Of course we did. Chris and I hopped on the plane the second I heard you were in the hospital.”
“Chris is here?” Buck’s eyes sparkle. “Can I see him?”
Eddie nods, then hesitates, hand still on Buck’s chest. “I—“
Somehow Buck always knows what Eddie needs and this time is no different. “Hey, it’s okay. We can sit here for as long as you need.”
“Chris! You’re so big now!” Buck exclaims. He only has one free hand to hug Chris as the other one is currently occupied by Eddie. Buck doesn’t seem to mind, so Eddie doesn’t let go.
“Every adult says that,” Chris says, wrinkling his nose. “I’m glad you’re okay, but I’m not mad about coming home earlier.”
“Home?” Buck asks.
“You didn’t tell him yet?” Chris asks Eddie. Shit. “You guys have been in here forever.”
“I was getting to it,” Eddie protests. He just got a little caught up in making sure Buck was okay, is all.
“We were gonna come home next week. Dad was supposed to tell you,” Chris explains.
Buck nods. “Guess that means you’ll want your house back, then.”
Chris groans. “You didn’t talk about that either? You really are hopeless, Dad.” With that, the fourteen-year-old leaves the room.
“Talk about what?” Buck asks quizzically. Eddie thinks he’s kind of adorable.
The heart monitor speeds up, making Eddie very much aware of Buck’s current panic. “It’s nothing bad,” he says assuringly. “I— I’m just not how to start.”
Buck nods, the as long as you need, going unsaid.
“I don’t regret going to Texas. Chris needed me and I needed to go there for him. But I realized some things while I was there. El Paso hasn’t been home, not for a while. My home is in LA and I’m not just talking about my house.” Eddie takes a shaky breath. “You’re my home, Buck. You and Chris.
“You’ve been Chris’s co-parent for years and if I’d realized that sooner we probably could have saved ourselves a lot of time on other relationships. I don’t need another girlfriend or a replacement for Shannon because I already have you. And it’s not just because of Chris. It’s because you’re you. Buck, you’re it for me.”
Chim stands out in the hallway, watching as Eddie pours his heart out to Buck. It’s nauseatingly romantic and Chim can’t help but think he’s at least a little responsible for their newfound love. He smirks as he walks back to the rest of the group. “Pay up!”
“Uh uh,” Hen says. “I’m pretty sure lying about Buck’s death disqualifies you from the pool.”
“I concur,” Bobby says.
“You’re just saying that because you win if I don’t,” Chim says, pointing an accusing finger in his captain’s direction. “My technique is patented with a one-hundred percent success rate! We should take a vote!”
As expected, Bobby wins the pot.
“Still think it should have been me,” Chim grumbles. Secretly though, he’s just glad he won’t have to keep dealing with Buck and Eddie’s endless pining anymore.