Work Text:
'Cause I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
- Tenth Avenue North
i. trembling hands
“No,” Buck moans weakly, trying to push Eddie away. “Don’t wanna.”
Eddie’s heart, already beating fast for the last few hours, threatens to crack in two. He hates causing Buck distress but he’s out of options. Medication, fluids and ice packs haven’t worked to bring Buck’s fever down — and it’s creeping dangerously close to 103°F. His last-ditch attempt at a cool shower hadn’t worked either, only serving to make Buck even more miserable than he was already feeling after a day spent getting progressively worse.
“Please, sweetheart,” Eddie begs. “We need to go to the hospital. I’ve done everything I can here and I’m getting seriously worried.”
But Buck just shakes his head, shoving weakly at Eddie’s shoulder as Eddie tries to extract him from the nest of blankets he built while Eddie had his back turned. Normally Buck can match Eddie in a contest of strength, but now he can barely make Eddie move an inch.
Eddie takes Buck’s trembling hands in his own, noting that the shaking chills are getting worse. That, combined with the high fever, phlegmy cough and confusion has Eddie just about ready to toss Buck over his shoulders and rush him to the nearest hospital. The only thing holding him back is his desire to not completely traumatize Buck.
“Baby, please,” he tries again. “I can’t make it better. The hospital will make you feel good again. You want to feel good, right?”
Buck blinks up at him, his normally bright eyes dull with misery. “You promise?” he asks tremulously.
Eddie’s lower lip starts to wobble and he has to choke down the sudden lump in his throat. He hates this, hates that Buck is miserable and he can’t make it right. “I promise.”
Buck’s shoulders slump in defeat. “Okay,” he rasps.
Not even a second later, Eddie has Buck in his arms, supporting most of Buck’s weight as he hurries them to the front door.
ii. don't leave
Eddie keeps thinking, at least we’re out of the ER.
After a few hours spent sitting in uncomfortable chairs with Buck shivering away at his side, a bed had finally opened up for him. Buck is still shaking, despite the fact that his temperature hasn’t gone down at all since they arrived at the hospital. At least now he’s in a bed with a care team trying to figure out what’s wrong.
“We’re going to take him for a chest x-ray to see if we can confirm it’s pneumonia,” the nurse says.
“Pneumonia?” Eddie echoes. How in the hell…?
But his attempt to think back to try and figure out how Buck could have possibly come down with pneumonia is interrupted when Buck whips his head in Eddie’s direction, eyes wide and panicked. “Can he come with me?” Buck asks, distraught.
The nurse smiles sadly. “Afraid not. But we’ll be quick, I promise.”
She does allow Eddie to help get Buck out of bed and into a wheelchair. Just as she’s about to wheel Buck out of the room, Buck’s hand shoots out, curling around Eddie’s wrist. “Please don’t leave,” he whispers, looking up at Eddie with shining eyes.
Eddie’s heart aches. He knows that Buck isn’t thinking clearly thanks to the fever trying to cook his brain, but it still cuts him deep to see Buck’s old insecurities swimming to the surface. Gently, Eddie pries Buck’s hand away, then brings it up to his lips so he can kiss his knuckles. “I’m not going anywhere,” he vows. “I’ll be right here when you get back.”
Buck sucks his lower lip between his teeth, but he nods. The nurse wheels him out of the room, and he keeps his eyes on Eddie until he disappears around the corner.
iii. collapse
Eddie doesn’t remember the drive home, which will scare the shit out of him later. The relief at Buck’s fever finally breaking after his chest x-ray confirmed that he did indeed have pneumonia, combined with the guilt Eddie felt at not noticing something was truly wrong sooner, had Eddie almost delirious as he got Buck settled into the passenger seat of his truck.
The next thing he knows, he’s pulling up in front of their house with no memory of actually driving them home. Eddie blinks, suddenly coming back to himself, hoping to God it was a case of highway hypnosis.
Buck is more alert now, at least, able to make it to the bedroom under his own power. Eddie trails after him, feeling like he’s been hit by a truck. Still, he can’t rest yet. He needs to make sure Buck has everything he needs.
Groaning, Buck throws himself onto their bed, burying his face in the pillows. After a second of attempting to smother himself, he turns his face to the side, brow furrowing when he sees Eddie still in the doorway.
“What’re you doing over there?” he asks, his voice a croak.
“What do you need?” Eddie asks, straightening up. “Water? Juice? Another blanket?”
Buck’s confused expression softens. “Babe. I’m fine now. Come here.”
Eddie peels himself off the door frame and slumps over to the bed. Still, he hesitates. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?”
In response, Buck rolls onto his back, making grabby hands. “Just you.”
The last of the tension melts out of Eddie’s body, and he allows himself to collapse onto the bed, Buck immediately pulling him into his arms.
iv. help
When Eddie wakes up to banging in the kitchen, he spares a brief moment to wonder if he’s being robbed. Then he hears the unmistakable sound of something being dropped, following by a quiet curse, and a smile spreads across his face.
Turning his head to the side, he sees that Buck is still dead to the world. His mouth is hanging open, a wet patch of drool on the pillow, and he’s snoring away. The snores are a little deeper and more congested than usual, but when Eddie carefully feels Buck’s forehead, he finds his temperature at an acceptable level. Deciding to let Buck sleep a little longer, Eddie eases himself out of bed. When he pads into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes, he’s only a little surprised at what he finds there.
“What’re you guys doing here?” he asks around a yawn.
Bobby freezes mid-way through putting a casserole dish in the oven. Chim continues cleaning up the frozen hashbrowns that are littering the floor, and Maddie presses a mug of coffee into Eddie’s hands.
“You didn’t really think we were going to let you fend for yourselves this morning, did you?” Maddie asks.
Honestly, Eddie had been resigned to ordering takeout and then dragging himself to the grocery store later so he could pick up ingredients for healthy meals to help Buck recover. But, as he surveys his kitchen countertops and notices the grocery bags in various states of being unloaded into his kitchen, he feels his throat constrict.
“You didn’t have to do this,” he says, audibly choked up.
Bobby sets the timer on the oven and comes over to clap him on the shoulder. “Yes, we did,” he says.
Chim springs to his feet. “It’s okay to ask for help, man.”