Chapter Text

When the Water Left

Buck knew something was fucked up when he came to the designated pickup spot for the bus and no one was there. Chris was a little behind him; buck could hear his crutches hitting the hot concrete. Buck pulled his wrist up, checking the time on his watch. 11:30. Yep, this was most definitely the time Christopher’s teacher told him to show up to the parking lot. Christopher finally arrived at Buck’s side.

“Buck? Where is the bus?”

Buck turned to look down at Christopher, his brows furrowed with confusion.

Buck crouched to be level with Christopher, and he didn’t even try to lie to him.

“I don’t know bud, but I am going to try and find out,” He paused, standing up and looking back towards the pier, before looking back down at Chris. “Do you wanna come sit on a bench with me while I get in touch with Ms. Flores?”

The bright grin that overtook Christopher’s face was enough to make Buck forget about the whole situation. Chris hardly even nodded before he had turned around, his crutches clicking against the ground. Buck took a moment to just smile at the kid, Christopher Diaz who just moved to LA from Texas. Christopher, who has CP, but refuses to let that stop him from doing the things he loves. Christopher who doesn’t have a mom but doesn’t let that stop him from singing his father’s praises for being an awesome firefighter who saves people! Buck thought Christopher Diaz—seven years old, stubborn, bright—was the biggest ball of sunshine to ever exist. He felt stupidly honored to be part of his world at all.

He was snapped from his thoughts as he heard a drawn out and dramatic “Bu-uck!” from the kid. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he began to jog to catch up.

Buck frowned as he stared at his phone. Christopher was a couple of feet away, playing a game with one of the vendors, Buck was seated and reading over the texts he had received from Ana.

—

ANA FLORES

A: Hey, you are with Christopher, right?

B: Ya I am, is everything ok?

A: Yes, I just wanted to tell you that the time the bus will be here is 11:30AM.

B: alr, I'll make sure we r there

A: Great! See you then.

—

Okay... so Buck was right and 11:30 was definitely the time that Ana had said... So why was no one there? It was now about 12, and Buck was letting Christopher enjoy himself while he attempted to figure out this mishap. Buck has sent a few more texts questioning the situation, but Ana has not responded to a single one. This is very unusual since she is such a punctual person.

Buck sighed and pinched his nose, brows furrowed and nose scrunched up.

“Buck?” Christopher was suddenly right in front of him.

“Yea superman?” Buck looked at Chris, his frowny expression melting immediately as the bundle of joy was right in front of him.

Christopher looked like he was vibrating with joy as he pulled something out from behind his back, revealing a tiny but adorable otter plush. “Look, look Buck,” he whispered with such excitement. “I won an otter!” Christopher was looking up at Buck with such a sparkle in his eyes that it made Buck’s own heart swell.

Setting his phone down, Buck grinned and leaned closer.

“No way,” he said, then dropped his voice down to a whisper. “Otters are super special; do you want to know why?”

Christopher eagerly nodded, clutching the otter tighter.

“They hold onto each other when they sleep," he continued with a grin, “So they don’t get lost.”

Christopher paused for a minute, looking down at his new furry friend. His eyes were squinted, lips pursed, typical signs of a kid having cogs and wheels turning inside their heads.

Suddenly, Christopher looked back up and hugged his otter close.

“I won’t let him go,” he stated in a very serious tone. “No one deserves to be lost.”

Buck had to look away for a second, jaw tight, chest aching in a way he didn’t have a name for. This kid was seriously the best he has ever met, and he envies whoever has the honor of being Christopher’s parent.

Buck and Christopher are now sitting together on a bench right on the boardwalk— or at least buck is sitting. Christopher finds himself standing on the bench, gazing out at the ocean.

The clock now read 1pm, and Buck has since called an uber to come pick him and Christopher up since it was obvious that bus wasn’t going to. All texts and calls to Ana had gone unanswered, and when Buck called the school he found out that the bus had in fact returned to the school, “all students accounted for.”

Buck didn’t tell them that Christopher had been misplaced, because he didn’t want to blatantly throw Ana under the bus like that in case it truly was an accident, but it did make him angry. His hand tightened on his grip around Christopher’s shirt as he imagined what could have happened to Christopher if he wasn’t here.

He was snapped back to reality as a certain blonde haired boy called his name. Buck let the tension bleed from his shoulders, paying attention to his surroundings.

“Why did you become a teacher?”

Buck blinked, surprised by the question. He glanced up at Christopher and huffed out a quiet breath.

“Well,” he said, “that’s a change of pace.”

He turned his head back toward the boardwalk—toward the hundreds of people walking and talking, laughing and moving on with their lives. Buck took a deep breath.

“I guess I wanted to help people,” he said. He paused, pushing away the familiar weight of his childhood. “I wanted to teach kids that they have the possibility of doing anything.”

Another beat.

Then Buck slipped on a silly grin and looked back up at Christopher.

“But technically,” he added, “I’m only a teacher’s aide.”

“My dad helps people too,” Christopher said, puffing up a little. “That’s why he became a firefighter.”

Buck smiled at Christopher’s response.

“Oh, yea? Your dad sounds like a pretty cool guy.”

“He’s the best!” Christopher gushed, pride and excitement spilling into every word. “He gets to save people every day. Like—every day, Buck!”

“You know,” Buck continued, a far away look suddenly on his face, “My sister used to save people everyday.”

Christopher gasped, not sensing the wistful tone. “Your sister used to be a firefighter!?”

Buck chuckled and shook his head. “No, bud. But she was an emergency room nurse.”

Christopher frowned a little, the excitement dimming just a bit.

“Why isn’t she a nurse anymore?”

“Ah, well,” Buck paused, rubbing the back of his neck as he searched for something gentle enough to give a seven-year-old. Something that didn’t drag in all the ugly parts.

“I don’t know, Chris,” he said finally. “We haven’t talked in a long time.”

Chris momentarily looked confused, about to open his mouth again— but something made him pause.

“Buck..?”

“Yea bud?”

“Where did all the water go?”