Work Text:
The call comes at 2:43 in the morning, El Paso time.
Blindly reaching out for his phone, Eddie nearly sends it crashing to the ground before he gets a firm grab and drags it into his eye line. A photo from Maddie of Buck in an apron greets him. With only a half-hearted grumble, Eddie swipes to accept the call and brings the phone to his ear.
“Hey, Buck. It’s real late, any chance we can catch up in the morning?”
There’s a too long pause on the other end and Eddie pulls himself closer to consciousness.
“Buck?”
“Eddie.”
For a moment, he’s deeply confused. He recognizes the voice but it’s definitely not Buck’s. Giving his head a shake he checks the caller ID again. Definitely Buck’s phone.
“Eddie. It’s me. It’s Tommy.”
What the actual hell? Why in the world is Tommy Kinard calling Eddie from Buck’s phone?
“Eddie, you there?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m here. Tommy, what the hell man? Why do you have Buck’s phone?” Eddie’s barely awake mind scrambles for possibilities. Buck should have gone off shift hours ago. He’d actually been a little annoyed Buck hadn’t called him on the drive home as he’d gotten used to him doing. Had he gone out after shift? Run into Tommy? Were they hanging out? But why would Tommy be calling him? Was Buck drunk and thought it would be funny to have Tommy call Eddie and tell him they were back together?
“I’m calling for Evan, Eddie. There’s something you need to know.”
The tone is all wrong. If they were back together Tommy would sound happier right now. Not…whatever this is. Tired and nervous and…careful. A thrum starts under Eddie’s skin and a whine starts in his ears.
“Put him on the phone.”
A sigh. “I can’t really do that right now, Eddie. Listen-“
“Put him on the damn phone, Tommy.”
A pause. “Eddie. I can’t. He’s in no shape to-“
Alive then. Breathing, somewhere. Somewhere Eddie can’t see or touch. But hurt. Who knows how bad. Eddie doesn’t even realize he’s gotten out of bed, left the phone on the covers as he pulls on clothes.
“What happened? How bad is he hurt? I’m his medical proxy, what do they need?”
“It’s not like-you’re his medical proxy?”
“Tommy!”
“Eddie, take a breath, man. Buck’s not hurt, he’s…he’s okay.”
Eddie stops with a hoodie just pulled over his head.
“What do you mean he’s not hurt? You’re calling me from his god damn phone, Tommy. If he wasn’t hurt he’d have called me himself.”
There’s a shaky breath on the other end of the call. “He’s not physically hurt, but he just can’t talk right now.”
“Where are you?”
“Hospital, Chim and Hen are getting taken care of now, Ravi’s here…”
Okay, something happened on their last call, a scare, Chim and Hen were hurt, must’ve been bad to shake Buck this badly.
“Put Bobby on the phone.”
The longest pause yet. “What?”
“Tommy, put Bobby on the phone. No offense, but you’re not telling me much and you’re saying Buck can’t talk so I need to talk to Bobby and find out what the hell is actually happening.”
“Eddie. I can’t do that.”
“I’m telling you to. You said they’re working on Chim and Hen, Ravi’s a probie, he’s probably even more shaken up than Buck, so I need Bobby.”
Tommy stops answering and for a long minute Eddie thinks he’s been disconnected.
“Tommy, did you hear me? Get Bobby-“
“I can’t get Bobby, Eddie.”
Before Eddie can start throwing some more colorful language around, he hears it. And his whole body goes cold. Not from Tommy, the sound is in the background, farther from the phone than Tommy’s voice. A hitching moan, followed by a weak sob. There’s a rustle of fabric and Tommy’s voice comes through muffled and echoey, like he’s pressed the phone to his chest, but Eddie can still hear him clearly.
“Evan…you gotta breathe. Breathe for me, honey. Look, Ravi’s here. He’s gonna sit with you while I finish talking to Eddie, okay? Thanks, Ravi.”
It takes another few moments before Tommy’s voice comes through sounding normal again. “Hey, sorry, had to move…had to move away from him.”
“Where’s Bobby, Tommy?” He wishes he couldn’t hear his own voice shaking but at least it matches the rest of him.
A deep breath and a sharp huff. Bracing himself to say the words Eddie somehow already knows. “He’s gone, Eddie. Bobby’s gone.”
He’s only half listening as Tommy explains: the lab, the explosion, the virus and Buck and Athena’s race to beat the feds to the anti-viral for Chim, culminating in Buck’s call to Tommy for an emergency roof rescue as a decoy for Athena, only to make it in time to save Chimney, at the cost of Bobby, who’d hidden his own exposure to save their friend’s life. He sinks weakly to the edge of the bed, the phone balanced on his knee as he drops his face in his hands.
“Hen had a collapsed lung, but she’s gonna be okay, and the anti-viral is working for Chim. They’re both going to be okay. But look, Eddie…can you get here? Fast?”
“What?” His voice is a ragged croak.
“Eddie…I stood in that tent and watched him shatter like glass. They had to give him a sedative here at the hospital because he kept having panic attacks. He’s…not calm now but…it’s like he’s barely here. And he won’t stop shaking. He hasn’t said a word since the lab until a few minutes ago and then…”
Eddie lifts his head and stares at the phone. “What did he say?”
A long, slow exhale. Resigned. “Eddie.”
“What did he say, Tommy?”
“That is what he said. He said ‘Eddie.’ And he looked around like he was looking for you and started getting upset again. And he just kept saying it. So I told him I’d call you. It…settled him a bit but…man, you need to get here, if you can, the sooner the better. Hang on. What’s up, Ravi?”
Some more muffled speech, he can barely make out Ravi’s voice and after a long minute he hears Tommy’s voice again.
“I’ll let him know. Thanks, Ravi. Hey, Eddie? Ravi got you a flight. It leaves El Paso at 5:10am for LA. He’s emailing you all the info. I’m gonna drive Ravi home and then take Evan back to your…his…place. They’re giving him something to take when he gets home to help him sleep, but he needs to be supervised so I’ll stay with him ‘til you get here, okay?”
“I-yeah, that’s-okay? Yeah. I’ll do that.” He’s on his feet again, hands still shaking as he pulls out a duffle and starts throwing clothes in. He reaches into his closet and his fingers brush against a black suit and he freezes again. Oh, god.
He must say that out loud. “Eddie? You good? Shit, man. I’m sorry, I’m probably overwhelming you.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’m. I’m okay. Thanks. Thank you, Tommy. For calling. For. For staying with them. With him. Until I can get there. Tell him I’m coming.”
“I will. See you in a few hours.”
“Yeah, see you soon.”
He ends the call with hands that have steadied as they’ve found even a fleeting purpose. He’s letting his mind race even as he pulls out the black suit, a tie and a shirt and carefully folds them, adding them to his bag.
He completely misses the squeak of crutches as his door is pushed open.
“Dad?”
Eddie jolts. Oh, god. Christopher.
A sleepy yawn from his son. “Dad, what are you doing?”
Eddie sets down the clothes and moves to Chris. “Mijo. Hey. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“It’s okay, what’s going on? Why are you packing?”
He gently steers his son to the bed and sits beside him. “Bud, I’m gonna call Tia Sophia and drop you off there in a little bit. I have to go back to LA. There’s been an accident.”
He sees the flash of fear in his child’s eyes. “Buck?” he asks.
“No, mijo. Buck is…okay, he’s not hurt. But Captain Bobby…bud, he-he’s gone.” Eddie’s voice breaks on the last few words and he can feel the tide of tears rising.
“Oh,” Chris says, his voice small and sad. “I’m really sorry, dad. Are you okay?”
Eddie wraps Chris in his arms and feels his son easily return the hug. “Honestly? No, pal, I’m really not. But I have to get to LA.”
“For Buck,” Chris says firmly. “Bobby was like his dad, he told me. Buck must be so sad.”
Eddie rests his cheek on Christopher’s curls, hugging him just a little bit tighter. “Yeah, he was, Chris. And Buck isn’t okay at all, and Chim and Hen got hurt, they’re gonna be okay, but…”
“The team needs you.”
Eddie swallows back the whine of agony that’s desperately trying to claw its way out of his throat.
“Yeah, the team needs me. So go get some clothes and your school stuff, okay? I’ll call Tia.”
“Okay, dad.”
From the moment he dropped off Chris to the moment he touched down in LA, Eddie’s world had been a blur. He, ironically, finds himself in the back of an uber for the ride to his old house, but can’t appreciate the moment the way it deserves. He thanks the driver and tips generously before making his way to the door. It opens before he can even pull out his spare key.
Tommy stands in the doorway, looking exhausted and wary.
Logically, Eddie knew Tommy would be there, he’d told him he’d stay til Eddie arrived, and it’s really for the best that Buck wasn’t left alone. But he can’t help the visceral feeling in his gut rejecting the mental image it presents. The one of this being Buck and Tommy’s house now. That in the space of his leaving, Buck found his way back to Tommy and has started a whole new phase of his life that Eddie isn’t privy to, that relegates Eddie to the role of guest in a house that was once his and Christopher’s and, by extension, Buck’s. A house he’s not welcome in anymore.
“Hey, man. Heard the car. Figured I’d catch you before you could knock.”
“I have a key.”
Tommy blinks owlishly. “Right. Of course. Your old place. Come on in.”
It rankles a bit, on the heels of his most recent uncharitable thought, being invited into his own home by Tommy Kinard. Tommy, who he stopped responding to after he unceremoniously dumped Buck with some bullshit about firsts and lasts like it wasn’t a god damn privilege to be loved by Evan Buckley.
“Where is he?”
Tommy runs a hand through his hair in a few frustrated swipes.
“Bed, he’s slept but not much or well. He started calling out for Bobby a few times and kept waking himself up.”
Eddie lets his head drop to his chest, half in grief, half in shame. Here he is thinking about how frustrated he is at Tommy’s renewed presence in his life and his house, when all he’s done is be here for Buck as the world fell out from under him. And Bobby’s still gone. God, he’s an idiot.
“I’m gonna head out.”
Eddie’s head snaps up. “Huh?”
Tommy’s smile is weak and sad. “Listen, Eddie. I’ll probably go to my grave regretting letting him go. And even more for fumbling it so bad a few weeks ago when I asked him to get back together now that you were gone-“
Wait, what?
“-but you’re the only thing he’s asked for since…since. Even just telling him you were coming was enough to get him breathing again. And I may want him, and I maybe even love him, but I’ve always known this was a fight I’d lose.”
No, seriously, what?
Tommy moves past him to the door but hesitates before pulling it shut behind him.
“If you guys really are on two different pages about this…at least, be gentle with him. I’m really not sure how much more he’ll be able to take and still be…Buck.”
Eddie is left standing in his own entryway, dazed and confused. But before he can try to sort through the minefield of his thoughts, from down the hall he hears a miserable whine.
He’s at the door before he knows it and is stepping into his old room. He can’t even appreciate the new decor because all he can see is Buck, curled up fetal on the bed, his hands grasping weakly at nothing, the whimpers bubbling out of him in between heartbreaking pleas.
“Bobby.”
And what was left of Eddie’s heart shatters, his own bitten off cry swallowed back ruthlessly. Sitting down beside him, Eddie reaches over and around for Buck’s restless hands.
“Buck. Buck, it’s me. It’s Eddie.”
There’s a hitch in Buck’s breathing as his fingers curl into Eddie’s. He struggles his way towards the surface and devastated, swollen, red-rimmed eyes turn to meet Eddie’s. His bottom lip wobbles.
“Eddie? You’re really here?”
Their fingers still entwined, Eddie reaches up with his free hand to brush back Buck’s curls. “Yeah, Buck. I’m really here.”
Buck’s body rolls stiffly towards Eddie, and wraps both arms around his middle, burying his face in Eddie’s stomach.
“Whado’I do, Eddie? What ‘m I s’posed to do?”
He sounds like a child and Eddie is reminded of Christopher’s words. Eddie lost a Captain and a beloved friend last night. Buck lost a father.
Turning his body, Eddie slips off his shoes and lays down, facing Buck, one hand keeping their fingers curled together, the other he rests on the back of Buck’s neck and pulls Buck’s forehead to rest against his.
“Right now, just sleep, Buck. You need to sleep.”
Buck squeezes his eyes shut. “Can’t. Bad dreams.”
“I’ll be right here, Buck. I’ll stay with you the whole time and when you wake up, we’ll figure out the rest together.”
Buck tucks his head under Eddie’s chin, curling more tightly into his chest.
“You’ll stay with me?” He mumbles pitifully, his voice raw from his sobs.
The impulse is too strong to resist. He presses a soft and lingering kiss to Buck’s curls, not unlike the way he would for Chris after a bad dream, though the warm sensation that floods his chest is decidedly new.
“I’ll stay. I won’t leave you.”
Buck lets out a soft sigh. “Missed you, Eddie.”
“I missed you too. Now, sleep, Buck.”
It takes only a few moments for Buck to drop off and go slack in his arms. Before he can do the same, Eddie thinks about what’s coming when they next open their eyes. Reuniting with his team in the worst way he could imagine, a funeral he can’t bear to attend…but the warm feeling in his chest won’t abate and with all the terrible things waiting for them in just a few too short hours, Eddie can’t help his last thought before exhaustion takes him.
‘I think, if I can keep holding his hand, maybe we’ll both survive this.’
He’ll figure out what that means tomorrow.