Chapter Text
Buck had felt the pressure rising in his lower abdomen throughout the late afternoon and evening.
At first, it had started by an ache in his lower back that kept him from finding any comfortable position. He had spent the evening at Eddie’s where they had kept each other company, Christopher away at a school camp for the next three days.
It had been kind of implied he was going to spend the night on the sofa there, but as the evening progressed, he started to feel more and more uncomfortable, like muscles pulling at his groin and his side abs.
He had not said anything to Eddie, obviously. They were close, but Buck had never been comfortable enough with anyone to share anything about this side of being an Omega. The tangible, gore-y side, if you will.
Buck wasn't ashamed of his designation, but he also felt uncomfortable sharing some of the physical effects it had on him. Sure, as of lately, since he joined the 118, really, he was less awkward about announcing his upcoming heat, but mostly because most of them were medical professionals and just perceived it as a biological urge rather than… emotional impact.
So he had decided to head home early, even before they had finished their movie, which was unlike him, and Eddie had looked worried and a tiny bit suspicious, but Buck waved him off, putting the blame on exhaustion.
But now, almost an hour later, the pressure had intensified significantly, almost to pain. It was weird, like it was growing, pushing against his internal organs, his reproductive organs, against his pelvic floor, and he couldn’t really sit down. Not only that but the backache had also carried on spreading, connecting everything, and now even his hip flexors were painful, like they were caught in between grinding gears.
He didn’t know what to do.
He knew for sure it wasn't his heat, he was in the middle of his cycle, he wasn't due for at least another six weeks. But he had not even considered it, because the pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
He was now leaning against his island counter, head low as he breathed through what kind of felt like a cramp, but it didn’t really go away, more like the pressure/pain was gearing up to the next level. He tried to move his hips in a circle, like something was stuck, he didn’t know what, but he couldn’t explain it in any other way.
Then suddenly, everything ramped up aggressively. Buck's breath caught in his lungs, as he went down to his knees on the floor, bent in half, hands still resting on the edge of his counter.
The pain was so violent and intense, he couldn’t breathe, and if he felt the pressure against his uterus and ovaries before, now it was as if a force was grinding them, almost pushing them out. Buck struggled to open an eye, expecting to see maybe his organs bulging against his lower belly, but it looked barely distended, similar to when he was about to go into heat or bloated.
He pressed his fingers though, just to see, and was afraid to find the skin taunt, as if there was an air balloon underneath it.
He was starting to panic. He didn’t know what to do. Yes, he was an EMT, but he had no idea what was happening to him, terrified what it could mean. Were his reproductive organs imploding? Was he dying? In all the emergencies he had responded to, he had never seen anything like that.
He still couldn’t take a full breath, just rushed little inhale and exhale, but he tried to stand up to grab his phone. He managed to get on his feet, but not straighten up, like a cord was running from his forehead to the bottom of his pelvis, and it was too short for him.
Should he call someone? But what would he even say? I think my uterus and my ovaries got mushed, or something is growing inside me- so that, no, definitely not saying that.
Buck knew he wasn't pregnant, but no one else would believe it, and he didn’t want to argue his case when obviously there was something really wrong going on. And he knew how people were dismissive about people with uteruses, treating a potential pregnancy before anything else.
And he was for sure not pregnant. He and Tommy never spent either a rut or a heat together, and they never had unprotected sex either, Buck made sure of that. Not that Tommy was unreliable, but Buck was simply not taking the risk.
Calling Maddie had been a brief option, but she didn’t like how he treated his body, wished he would take better care of himself, especially heat-wise. She would overreact and panic, and also assume a pregnancy. And he couldn’t fight with both doctors and his sister at once.
He considered calling Eddie too, but that would just be weird. They were best friends, and their designation had never come up between them before, treating each other as equals, so asking for help regarding that matter would be strange. Right?
The only other option would be Bobby, as he was an Omega too, but that also felt weird to Buck. Sure, he saw Bobby as close as to a father Buck ever had, but in case of being an Omega, he didn’t know why, Buck just saw the Captain Bobby, not Dad Bobby, and you wouldn’t talk about your reproductive organs exploding to your boss, would you?
When the intense pain hit the thirty minutes mark, Buck settled on calling an Uber. He had hoped it had just been a bad cramp and it would recede, but when it hadn’t, Buck knew he couldn’t carry on ignoring it. He was an EMT after all, he knew when to take things seriously.
Not enough to call 9-1-1, though.
The drive to the hospital passed in a blur, as Buck stayed twisted at the back of the car, shaking like a leaf. He guessed that his body was in some sort of shock, or at least under stress, which confirmed he had made the right choice by going to the ER. Even though the little voice at the back of his head kept telling him he was overreacting, he was being dramatic, and would make everyone lose their time, him included, when he was already so tired, and he had an early shift tomorrow morning.
Even through the pain, Buck still managed to be self-conscious as he went to the front desk. He still couldn’t stand straight, couldn’t breathe properly, and was on the verge of crying. He was worried, okay? What if something was actually really wrong? What if they had to remove his uterus? What then? He would have to pretend that everything was fine when it really wasn't.
“Just to warn you, there’s a three hours waiting time. Do you still need to be seen?” the nurse said before he could say anything. He rested an arm on the counter to keep himself propped up.
He then looked up at her.
“I think my uterus is trying to break free from my body,” he said, because honestly, he had to keep it short and straight to the point.
“Are you pregnant?” she asked.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Certain.”
“In heat?”
“Not another six weeks.”
“What are your symptoms?”
So Buck told her, dumping as much things he could, while unable to stand on both feet at once, moving his hips from one side to the other, trying to find the better angle where the pain didn’t cause nausea.
“Ok, follow me,” she said, before turning back towards him, “do you need a wheelchair?”
“No,” Buck replied through clenched teeth. He felt stupid for not taking the offer, but it was too late.
She took him to a row of cubicles, if they could even be called that, just beds separated by dark blue curtains. Most were occupied, but she then stopped in front of one that was empty.
“Have you taken anything for the pain yet?”
“Yes, Tylenol, around two hours ago. I’m allergic to NSAID,” Buck replied, making the nurse nod, as he laid down on his side on the small, uncomfortable bed. He was still shaking, but he didn’t know if it was still from the pain or how cold he felt. In his hand, he held onto his phone like a lifeline, almost like it was the only thing that could comfort him right now.
“Someone will be with you shortly,” she said, before leaving him there.
Buck was fully expecting to be forgotten, but less than fifteen minutes later, a doctor appeared. Or a resident, Buck couldn’t really tell the difference.
“Hi, Mister-“ the young girl, younger than Buck, looked at his chart, “Buckley! So you’re here for pelvic pain. Can you tell me a bit more?”
So Buck told his story once again, still on his side, in a foetal position. He tried not to linger too long on the pathetic feeling of such a vulnerable position and situation he was in. Also at the tears that seemed to run into his hairline. He wasn't even really aware he was crying, and he decided it was a body response rather than an emotional one.
“Ok, I see. Even though you say you aren’t pregnant, I still want to run a blood test, just to rule out an ectopic pregnancy or any thing of the like. And someone will come give you an ultrasound as well, just to see what is going on. How are you managing, pain-wise? I see here you can’t have NSAID, and that you’ve already taken Tylenol. The only next option for you right now would be morphine-“
“No, no, I’m good,” Buck said, still not having taken a full breath in ages. She nodded.
“If it becomes too much, we can discuss it again. Alright, Mister Buckley, I’ll send a nurse your way to get your blood drawn, and someone for your ultrasound.”
As she left, a nurse stepped in and took his blood. He never had problem with anything like that before, but the small blood loss seemed to make things feel even worse.
The shaking had still not stop, and it was stressing him, but he was in the hospital, wasn’t he? If there was something worrying about it, he was in the best place for it. He had come already, so he had fulfilled his part of the contract. Contract being take care of the body. Hopefully everyone would appreciate how mature he had been by coming here instead of riding it out at home.
He managed to doze off, but not really, everything too loud, too bright, too cold, too painful to really be able to fall asleep. But it was almost one o’clock in the morning now, and his body was exhausted and running on almost nothing at this point.
He had no idea how long it was between the doctor’s visit and the ultrasound technician arrival.
She made him turn on his back, but Buck couldn’t lie fully, the same he had been unable to stand straight. The technician inclined the bed up to help him, and he was grateful, and even if he felt even more pathetic.
He realized very quickly the ultrasound was actually transvaginal, and he considered briefly discharging himself on the spot. Buck never had an issue being an Omega, but sometime it sucked ass.
Weirdly enough, it wasn't as terrible, and definitely not painful. Uncomfortable, for sure, but it seemed the entire lower part of his body was numb with pain. Or like maybe his nerves were so focused with what was happening inside that it didn’t care for the rest.
“Hm,” the technician said as she looked at the screen. Buck frowned, also looking, but not understanding what he was seeing.
“What’s going on?” please don’t be pregnant, please don’t be pregnant, please don’t be-
“The doctor will confirm with you, but it looks like you have a ruptured cyst on your left ovary.”
“A ruptured cyst?”
“Yes, sometimes cysts grow on ovaries, and they can burst. A lot of people have it actually, and most of the time, you can’t either feel it or it’s benign. But sometimes the cyst is too big and requires a small surgical intervention for cleanup. The other worry is the internal bleeding too. If it’s small, it will stop and resorbs by itself. But sometimes, surgical intervention might also be needed to stop the bleeding. It seems like yours was of a considerable size, and is still bleeding, but the doctor will decide if it needs surgery.”
Buck wanted to cry. Not sure about what- there was definitely relief because even if he knew he wasn't pregnant, fucking hell, it was still great to hear it. Fear was also definitely a contestant. But he was hanging onto the not pregnant part. It did help manage the pain.
The technician offered him a smile as she packed up the machine, and Buck rolled back onto his side, turning the screen of his phone on, which had obviously no notification as it was the middle of the night.
Buck felt miserable.
He didn’t know what to do with himself, couldn’t imagine doing the trip back home just to go to bed and go to work in the morning. He was exhausted, run down, and so… so sad, even though he couldn’t imagine calling anyone. What was he gonna say anyway? I’m fine but I don’t like being alone?
Pull yourself together, Buckley.
The doctor was back in record time.
“So Mister Buckley, we still haven’t got the blood test back, but the ultrasound confirmed that there wasn't any pregnancy,” small win, “as well as it confirmed a ruptured ovarian cyst. Its size isn’t a worry, it wasn't small, but not one that requires much attention.”
“So no surgery,” he sighed with relief, to which the doctor winced.
“Yet. My current worry is that it is still bleeding, and regarding your past experience with blood thinners-“
“Fuck-“ Buck hissed.
“I want to keep you under observation for the rest of the night. If by morning it has stopped bleeding, then you can go home and rest. If it’s still bleeding…”
“Surgery,” Buck finished as he rubbed tears in his eyes to hide them.
“Yes. But there’s nothing that say it will be the case, it’s just a matter of precaution, to make sure you don’t bleed out.”
Buck nodded, not trusting himself speaking.
“Have a rest in the meantime, and I’ll put on your chart for another dose of Tylenol in three hours. Do you have any question?” she finished, and he shook his head. “Great.”
And with that, she was gone.
Buck looked at his lock screen once again, Chris and Eddie’s faces looking back at him with wide smiles, and he wanted to sob.
Should he call someone now? What would be the point of them being there with him anyway. He would have to let Bobby know by morning he probably wouldn’t make it to his shift.
He had to tell Eddie he wasn’t coming first, though, because Eddie liked to pop out of nowhere early on so they could grab breakfast beforehand, especially that Christopher wasn't there.
[To Eddie, 2:04]
Got a ruptured ovarian cyst
Probably won’t make it to shift
Buck looked at his messages for a moment, before adding:
[To Eddie, 2:05]
Lol
Just to make it less dramatic. It wasn't a tragedy, he was fine, overall. At least, he wasn't dying. He closed his eyes for a second, his fingers digging in his belly softly, just to see if it was as painful and- it was still a bit distended, but more tender than painf-
His phone rang in his hand.
Eddie was calling him.
“Hey-“ he started to say as he brought the phone to his ear.
“Have you called 9-1-1?” Eddie asked straight to the point, ruffling and shuffling in the background. He sounded really awake for being two in the morning.
“I’m at the hospital. I took an Uber,” Buck replied, realising that the first part had not answered Eddie’s real question.
“Which one?”
“West Presbyterian-“
“Okay,” and then Eddie, hung up.
Buck frowned at his phone, but turned off the screen once more. It was two in the morning after all, and Eddie still had a shift. He knew Buck was already safe, so he could just go back to sleep, and check on him with a call on his way to work.
But that confirmed Buck's choice to not let Bobby know now, and wait till morning, so that he wouldn’t get disturbed in the middle of his sleep.
Buck was freezing cold. He was still shivering, had not stopped since the pain had started. By the way, said pain had started to lesser a bit, less acute, but still very present in the background. Maybe he could sleep if he tried. But he was cold. He had not even bothered with a jacket when he left his loft.
In his defence, his mind had been pretty preoccupied, and also it wasn't cold outside in LA, at the moment. But the AC in the hospital was working hard. He was frustrated he didn’t ask anyone when they came to check on him to bring him a blanket or something. Now, he probably wouldn’t be checked over until at least the morning.
He curled up a bit more, or tried to at least, because if he couldn’t stretch to his full torso because of the pain, it also stopped him on tightening down too. Buck pictured himself like a ketchup packet if he pressed too hard.
As he wondered if he was getting delirious, the curtain opened once more. Buck lifted his head up, hoping to ask for a blanket, but instead of finding a nurse, Eddie stood there.
“Wha-“ Buck started, batting his eyelids, just to make sure that he actually wasn't having an hallucination. Eddie stood there for a hot second, eyes roaming over Buck like he was taking stock of any visible injury (there was none). In two steps, Eddie came to his side, crouching by the bed so his face could be at the same level as Buck. He brought a hand up, and settled it at the junction between Buck's neck and shoulder, his thumb finding Buck's pulse point without even trying. Or maybe it was instinctual at this point, that was where Eddie’s thumb was supposed to be. It grazed the soft skin there, but skittered around the fragile area by his scent gland, never touching, but never far from it either.
“What are you doing here?” Buck asked, confused.
“What’s going on? Have you been seen by a doctor?” Eddie asked and Buck nodded. “Is that a doctor that said you had a ruptured cyst?” Buck nodded once again. Eddie let out a long, slow breath, almost like he was deflating. “Okay, okay. How are you doing- are you in pain?”
Buck closed his eyes, because he couldn’t take the question right now, Eddie’s touch was already bringing out the fragility Buck felt. And he didn’t want to feel that right now, he couldn’t. And Eddie was an Alpha, it wouldn’t fair to put him in this position. His instincts would tell him to take care of the Omega in distress- worse, in pain- in front of him, and that wasn't what he wanted.
“Hey, hey, Buck- are you in pain? Have they given you anythi-“
“I can’t- I already took Tylenol, after I came back from your place. And I can’t have Ibuprofen, so…” Buck replied, voice stuffy, as he reopened his eyes, hoping that he could keep himself in line.
“Can they not give you anything else?” Eddie asked, worried lines etched on his face. Buck shook his head.
“It would be morphine. I don’t think I need that. I’m fine. The worst of it has passed.”
Eddie’s hand slid further down along his throat, fingers tangling with the hair at the base of his skull.
“What are they waiting for now? Are you waiting for the doctor to see you again?”
“No, I- it’s still kind of bleeding,” Buck said, feeling himself blush at what was implied here. My insides, my insides are still bleeding. “It wasn't big enough for surgery, but because of the blood thinners-“ Eddie’s face did something tragic there, as if his heart broke all over again, and Buck was going to sob, “because of the blood thinners, they don’t want to take the risk that I bleed out. So they’ll do another ultrasound in the morning.”
“What if you’re still bleeding?” Eddie asked in a low voice. Their faces were inches apart, breathing the same air, and Buck needed it so much.
“Surgery,” Buck managed to articulate through the lump in his throat. Once again, there was a multitude of emotions that crossed over Eddie's face, but Buck was too tired to decipher them all.
Then Eddie looked around the room, the plastic chair in the far corner.
“Have you called anyone?” he then asked, and Buck shook his head. “Do you want me to call Maddie?” Buck shook his head once again. “Buck…”
“There’s no point, I’m just going to hang here until morning. They’re not going to give me a room, so it’s as good as it’s gonna get. You know, I didn’t tell you because I was asking you to come, it’s just so that you didn’t worry if I fell asleep and forgot to send you a message before you came to the loft to pick me up-“
“Of course I was gonna come.”
“You didn’t need to, I promise. It would have saved you a trip, now you’ll barely have time to go back to sleep before you need to be up,” Buck stated.
“I’m not going, Buck. I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“You have a-“
“I’ll deal with it, but I’m not going anywhere. Except if you want me to-“
“No,” Buck almost gasped, “no.”
Silence fell between them, and with Eddie’s hand on his neck, its warmth spreading through Buck, he could imagine falling asleep. He still was cold, but the worst of the shivers had seemingly stopped once Eddie had arrived. It didn’t stop the dramatic tremor that coursed his body then.
“You’re cold,” Eddie said, not a question, already standing back up, looking around. “I’m gonna find you a blanket.”
At the loss of contact, a whimper almost escaped Buck, but Eddie was already pushing the curtain around and disappearing behind it.
Before panic settled in Buck at the thought he had maybe hallucinated Eddie’s presence, Eddie was back with a baby blue blanket. Buck must have made a face, because Eddie chuckled.
“I know you hate those, but that’s all they’ve got.” He unfolded the blanket and threw it over Buck's body, before going around to tuck him in. He was extremely gentle in his movements, in the touches he had for Buck. But he didn’t bring the blanket all under Buck's chin, instead stopping before it could come into direct contact with his skin, then removed his jacket and put that over Buck's shoulders and neck, pulling up to his mouth and nose, burying him in Eddie’s scent.
For the first time in hours, Buck felt his body actually relax. The pain was still there, just a bit more distant. He didn’t know when he closed his eyes, but there were noises, and scrapping on the floor, so he pulled open one eye, to see that Eddie had brought the chair over by his side. He put his forearms on the edge of the bed, leaning over, closed to Buck. He then rested his head down, their faces back to being inches apart.
Buck didn’t want to go to sleep anymore, watching Eddie bringing more peace to him than any rest could.
Eddie seemed to know, because he had an indulgent smile on. He brought his hand back through Buck's hair.
“Do you want me to call Tommy?” he asked, softly.
Buck sighed.
“No.”