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Buck, full of energy as usual, was singing along to one of those 80s radio channels that only played classics. Looking over to Eddie in the drivers seat, he couldn’t stop grinning. It was rare to see Eddie let loose but something changed in the last few months. He could tell his best friend was working out some stuff, indulging more and more in things that made him happy.
One of those things, apparently, was singing along loudly to old classics in the middle of the night on an empty, dark road, with Buck in the passenger seat. The sight made Buck sing along even louder, the joy of seeing Eddie like this rushing through him and warming him up from the inside.
Sometimes, Buck thinks to himself, "Only I can make him feel safe enough to let loose like this". It filled him with pride and a little possessiveness that he tells himself is completely normal between best friends. Everyone would feel this lucky if they got to make Eddie relax and have fun.
Turning up the radio a little more, he called out to Eddie, "Now this is my jam!", not holding back singing the next song that started playing. Grinning at Eddie, he was taken by surprise by the sudden burst of light in their car. "What the hell.", Buck squinted his eyes in confusion. Eddie didn’t bear any better, squeezing the steering wheel to keep the car going straight on the road.
"What’s this guy’s problem?", Eddie muttered in annoyance, adjusting the rearview mirror while pressing on the gas. Buck wholeheartedly agreed, there was no reason for the truck behind them to get this close to them. The entire road was empty except for their own car, no lights anywhere on the horizon headed for them.
"Just keep driving, I’m sure it’s nothing. Maybe that person got distracted or is tired from driving all day and night like the two of us and didn’t notice how close they got to us.", Buck tried to reason. There had to be a logical explanation. This wasn’t like one of those bad thriller movies, where they would get attacked in the middle of the desert. As if Buck or Eddie would have any enemies. There was no need to overthink, he thought.
Bad luck, however, Buck could agree they had in leaps and bounds. Maybe they should be concerned? But that would be insane. They didn’t have people out to get them, no real enemies or the likes.
"It’s nothing, I’m sure of it.", Buck muttered into the quiet. Eddie had already turned down the radio, his body locked up with anxiety. He could tell Eddie was preparing for the worst. Eddie always prepared for the worst. His hands kept squeezing the steering wheel in a death grip, his shoulders slowly locking up the closer the truck got to their car again.
He checked the rearview mirror every other second, checking out the road in front of them just as carefully. There was nowhere else to go. Nowhere for them to get off this road or stop by the side of it.
"Buck", Eddie got out in a rush just before their car lurched forward with a sudden crash. One moment they were on the road, Eddie's anxiety so heavy Buck could taste it on top of his own, and the next moment, they veered off the road and were airborne.
Buck's breath caught in his throat and he could feel a hand slamming against his chest, holding him steady while they flipped. Another crash and there was dead silence, everything going black.
"Ugh.", Buck moaned, his breath labored. His eyes fluttered open and he could feel something wet slide along his temple dripping onto the ground beneath him. "What?", looking around, he saw they were upside down. With another groan, he slowly turned his head to the left. Eddie, Eddie was in the car with him.
"Eddie?", he whispered at first. Once his eyes adjusted fully to the dark, he noticed Eddie’s slack face, his body unconscious. "Eddie!", he called out now. "No! Come on, wake up, man.", he started pleading while scrambling for his seatbelt. He didn’t wait to check out for any injuries of his own, fully focused on Eddie’s body hanging limply next to him. Was he even breathing? He had to be breathing. There was no way in hell Eddie wasn’t breathing while Buck continued to take breath after labored breath.
Once he got himself free, he tried to buffer his body crashing into the ground with his arms. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he noticed that he didn’t have any major injuries after all. Then he remembered the hand slamming into his chest when they crashed, keeping him in place. Eddie had kept him safe from harm, like he always did. Like they always did for each other.
"You can have my back any day.", came to Buck's mind while he was crawling over to Eddie's side. They promised each other so long ago to always have each other’s back. Buck took in a deep breath and got to work.
He checked Eddie's breathing. Shallow, but there. Next, Buck softly put his hands on the back of his head, slowly feeling along his skull, temples, cheekbones, jaw and neck. His hands came away wet with blood. His breath stuttered. "Okay, this could be worse. You’re breathing and nothings broken, I think.", Buck muttered to himself.
Eddie was the paramedic, the war veteran, the one to keep his cool no matter what he faced. He would be so much better equipped for a situation like this. Eddie would stay calm and collected. Eddie wouldn’t have to fight the panic threatening to overwhelm him at seeing his best friend injured.
But this wasn’t just anyone, this was his best friend, his partner, his person. Buck couldn’t do this. He couldn’t lose the most important person in his life. He barely survived losing Bobby last year. He couldn’t loose Eddie, too. With new resolve, he told himself, he wouldn’t loose Eddie, not now, not ever.
"Okay, I’ll get you out of here. Don’t worry, Eddie. You’ll be safe and sound in just a moment.", Buck whispered into his best friend's ear. He positioned himself beneath Eddie as much as he could in the cramped space of their crushed car. Getting his hands around Eddie, he got him out of his seatbelt and let him drop, his own body cushioning the fall.
Buck's breath got knocked out of him while Eddie let out a groan of pain. Once they both caught their breath again, Buck got his arms around Eddie. He was surrounding and holding onto as much of Eddie as he could. Eddie's back to Buck's front, his arms encircling him and hands clutching him. He buried his nose in Eddie's neck for just a moment, breathing him in, knowing he would be safe in his arms for now.
A handful of breaths later, Buck started to collect himself again. His job wasn’t done. Eddie laid in his arms, no closer to consciousness and the interior of the car started to smell of gasoline. He had to get Eddie out of here and to safety. He had to get him medical help now.
Buck squeezed Eddie one more time for good measure and then let go. He slowly got out from beneath and carefully laid him down on the ground. Turning to the passenger side door, he kicked out with as much strength as he could muster.
"Ugh, come on!", Buck swore under his breath, his body fighting against the pain and exertion after a couple of tries. One more kick and the door cracked open on one side. He needed to rip it off the other side, but his bad leg protested against any more harsh movements. "Why is this leg so useless!", Buck called out harshly. The smell of gasoline got stronger, panic and frustration was slowly making him choke. He couldn’t fail Eddie. Even with his bad leg, he had to have Eddie's back.
Focusing again on the task at hand, he realized he needed something to protect his hands if he wanted to rip off the rest of the door. One more look around the wrecked interior of the car, he found his jacket lying just behind the driver’s seat. Quickly, he grabbed the fabric, covering the exposed edge of the door and pulled with all his might. After the metal gave one more groan, it crashed onto the ground.
Quickly turning around again, he grabbed his jacket and put it around Eddie's head and neck. He needed to protect him from any more harm if he wanted to drag him out of the car. After securing the jacket around Eddie’s head, he grabbed his feet, dragging him slowly out into the open night. Once outside, he put a safe distance between the car and Eddie, in case the car caught fire.
When he deemed the distance save enough, he let out a breath of relief. "Okay, step one done. Now, I need to get you help. In the middle of fucking nowhere. Fuck.", Buck muttered into the night, fumbling for his phone. When all of a sudden, he heard a groan from Eddie's direction.
Buck's head whipped around so quickly, he almost gave himself whiplash. With wide eyes, he stared down at Eddie, who slowly blinked his eyes open in confusion. "Oh my god. Oh my god, you’re awake! Eddie! Eddie, keep your eyes open, please! I need you to stay with me. Please, stay with me.", he started to plead, his voice cracking with a broken off sob at the end.
Eddie slowly turned his sight on Buck. The confusion and pain clear in his eyes, but his gaze stayed unfocused. "Buck?", Eddie whispered brokenly. "Eddie!", Buck hovered over him so he could look down into his face. When Eddie didn’t say any more, just kept staring at Buck in a daze, with unfocused, pained eyes, Buck couldn’t help but softly graze his fingertips along Eddie’s cheek and jaw, letting his hand rest there to ground himself. Eddie's eyes softened at the touch.
"Eddie, just keep your eyes on me, okay? I’ll get you help and you’ll be just fine. You just need to keep your eyes open and focused on me, okay?", Buck started to anxiously rant, when he noticed Eddie’s unfocused gaze slowly shifting to the side, just behind Buck.
Buck froze, sensing danger. All of a sudden he could hear the crunch of footsteps approaching. Already, way too close to his back. Why didn’t he notice them sooner? Eddie would’ve noticed them. Eddie would’ve stayed focused on the task at hand. Why didn’t he stay focused?
Before he could turn around, someone forcefully grabbed the back of his neck, pressing a wet cloth against his mouth with the other. Instantly, the biting smell made his eyes tear up.
His gaze was frozen on Eddie, who blinked up at him in confusion, one hand grazing Buck's weakly in an attempt to hold onto him, before his eyes rolled back and he was out again. With horror, Buck realized all at once that Eddie would be left here, defenseless and hurt, because Buck was too stupid to stay alert. Just because he couldn’t stay focused when confronted with the truth that Eddie might not survive this night.
With one last horrified look, Buck fought unconsciousness while being dragged away and let out a panicked scream.
"Eddie!"