Chapter Text
The apartment block is engulfed by the time they arrive.
Flames of red and orange dance in the frames of shattered windows, licking up the concrete facade of the building in a great convergence of bright, burning light. Thick plumes of black, acrid smoke fill the air. Ash bursts from the windows, floating gently to the asphalt like snowflakes. Shattered glass and paper litter the sidewalk, resembling something out of an apocalypse movie.
Buck jumps from the rig, the glass cracking beneath his boots. He glances at the ground and drags his toe through the collection of shards. The spider-web-like cracks across the glass reflect the blazing inferno above him. Readjusting his helmet, Buck looks up.
Flames erupt from one of the windows on the top floor, glass shards exploding out of the frame and crashing to the ground. He shields his face with the collar of his turnout coat, listening to the light tinkling of glass against the asphalt. The sound is a stark contrast to the roar of the flames and the chirping of the sirens.
The smoke burns Buck’s eyes.
People stream out of the building, coughing and staggering away from the glass raining down on them. Two men stumble out of the doors with a third slumped between them, blood trickling down his face. Some nurse small cuts on their faces, others emerge with burns on their forearms, and soot streaks their cheeks. They cough against the acrid smoke, trying to shield their noses and mouths.
“Jesus,” Ravi mutters. He jumps down beside Buck, his fingers curling around the lip of his helmet to lift it out of his eyes.
All Buck can do is hum in agreement.
They’ve seen apartment fires before — everything from small, toaster fires, to blazes that tear through multiple apartments — but this one is different.
The first has already taken over the top two floors, moving rapidly from window to window, soot scorching the exterior of the building. Buck watches the heatwaves ripple through the air, emanating from the flames still taking part in their mocking dance as they tear the building apart brick by brick. The smell of melted plastic hangs in the air.
This is the fire they all dread.
The self-proclaimed Big One.
It’s the one that lingers in the back of their minds whenever the tones screech through the firehouse. Every firefighter knows they might one day have to face it, but every one of them wishes they wouldn’t.
A fire like this is the one they fear they might never come back from.
Buck straightens up. He squares his shoulder, sets his jaw, and clenches his hands into tight fists by his side. None of them can afford to think like that, not before they’ve stepped through those doors to confront what lies beyond.
They have to do the job regardless of the risks it might pose because if they don’t, who will?
It’s what they sign up for, after all.
Blinking the smoke out of his eyes, Buck turns to Bobby, who stares up at the roaring fire. One hand rests on his radio, the other hangs limply by his side, and the flames flickering above them are reflected in his eyes. The usual calm, almost stoic expression Bobby always wears when they attend a scene falters. It’s only for a second; a minuscule twitch of his eyebrows, and a tug at the corner of his lips, but Buck notices.
He’s sure the others do, too.
None of them mentions it.
Bobby presses the button on his radio, the device crackling to life. “Dispatch, this is Captain Nash, 118. What’s the ETA on our support units?”
“Nearest unit is two minutes out,” Josh says.
Releasing the button, his hand still lingering on the radio, Bobby turns to the gathered firefighters. His jaw is tight, and his eyes are focused.
“Hen, Eddie, I want you two on triage.” He glances at the people running from the building, moving to those already gathered on the other side of the street to escape the waterfall of shattering glass. “Focus on any red tags; yellow and green can wait for the additional units.” Bobby pivots to Buck and Ravi. “You two, gear up and head towards the top floor, or as high as you can go. I want regular updates on the condition inside. The moment I call for an evacuation, no matter where in the building you are, or what you’re doing, you evacuate. No playing the hero. Not today. Do you understand me?”
Bobby narrows his eyes at Buck, who tries not to shrink under his gaze.
“Yes, Cap.”
Buck and Ravi turn back to the engine and grab their SCBA’s. They drop to their knees and pull the fireproof covering over their heads, making sure it sits tight against their skin. Buck pulls his mask on, tugging at the side tabs until the rubber suctions to his face and the low hum of oxygen floods his mask. He slips his helmet back on and stands up.
Swinging the oxygen bottle onto his shoulder, Buck glances at the gauge swinging close to his hip. He knows the tank is full, but he has to check anyway.
Someone’s hand brushes against his arm. Buck looks behind him, his eyes meeting Eddie’s through the haze of the mask covering his face. Eddie wears the same warning expression Bobby had, but there’s a softness to it. A small crinkle sits between his eyebrows, his lips press together in a small frown, and there’s a pleading look in his deep brown eyes.
Eddie’s gloved fingers dance across the sleeve of Buck’s turnout coat, and Buck wishes the fabric weren’t in the way. He’d give anything to feel Eddie’s skin against his own before he steps into the unknown.
“Please don’t do anything stupid,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “When Bobby asks you to evacuate, you listen. Promise?”
“Yeah.” Buck nods slowly. His mouth goes dry, and something stirs in the pit of his stomach. “I … I promise.”
“Good. You owe Chris pizza and a move since he passed that history quiz on Monday, and we both know he’ll hold you to it.”
Buck laughs, tugging at the end of his glove until it covers a small gap on his wrist that exposes his pale skin underneath. “Don’t I know it.” He glances over his shoulder towards Ravi, who lingers nearby — not close enough to listen, but close enough for Buck to know they need to move. “See you on the other side.”
Eddie opens his mouth, a small frown burying itself between his eyebrows. He closes his mouth and shakes his head. A small smile tugs on his lips despite the worry still resting in his eyes. He squeezes Buck’s arm, the touch lingering for longer than Buck expects it to.
“Come home to us,” he says.
With one final squeeze of Buck’s arm, Eddie crosses the asphalt to join Hen at triage, leaving Buck standing by the rig.
Although he’ll never say it, he wishes Eddie were the one going into the fire alongside him. With Chimney out on PTO after Maddie gave birth to baby Nash two weeks before, Buck’s been partnered with Ravi, so Eddie can partner up with Hen. Buck doesn’t mind working with Ravi; the two of them got close when Eddie was in Texas, and they learned how to work alongside each other with fewer words, but he isn’t Eddie.
Buck can’t read Ravi’s mind the same way he can read Eddie’s. The two of them had figured out how to work a scene with a glance and knew what the other was thinking before the thought even crossed their own mind. With a fire like this one, burning rapidly and spreading without mercy, Buck needs that ability to speak without speaking.
He needs Eddie.
Still, he trusts Ravi to have his back when Eddie can’t. They might not be able to communicate without words, but they still work well together. They have their own system and their own way of working.
At least Bobby didn’t decide to bring in a floater when Chimney took his PTO.
With Ravi by his side, Buck knows he’ll be able to keep the promise he made to Eddie.
Buck’s fingers ghost the spot on his turnout coat where Eddie’s fingers had brushed against the material. A small smile works its way onto his face.
Since he moved back from Texas, Eddie has been a lot more tactile than he had been before. His hand lingers on the small of Buck’s back first thing in the morning, their knees rest against each other in the rig, and his fingers rest on Buck’s forearms when he’s cooking in the kitchen. He’s even woken up to Eddie snuggled against him in bed after they both decided it would be easier to share rather than risk aggravating their old injuries by sleeping on the couch.
The touches between them are small, barely noticeable to anyone else watching, but Buck notices.
He notices, and he never wants it to stop.
He knows what he has to get back to.
“You ready?” Ravi asks, his voice muffled by the mask.
“Ready.”
Buck swallows the fear building in his throat, casting one last look towards Eddie on the other side of the street. Their eyes meet, and just for a moment, everything falls silent around him. Eddie smiles, nodding towards Buck, before he turns to Hen and the patient in front of them.
Taking a deep breath, Buck tears his eyes away from Eddie. The roar of the fire comes rushing back, and he stumbles, quickly righting himself before anyone notices. He looks at Ravi and nods.
The two of them race towards the building as fast as their equipment will allow them. Buck’s oxygen tank presses into his back, the strap of his helmet cutting into his chin, and the soft sound of oxygen flooding the mask is all he can hear over the flames. Another window shatters above their heads. Glass rains down on the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding them when they slip into the building.
A haze of smoke fills the entrance. The emergency exit signs glow green in the haze, the fire alarm screeching overhead. People continue to stream down the staircase, coughing into their elbows and scrambling over each other to escape the acrid smoke and the oppressive heat overwhelming the space.
“Take it slowly,” Buck yells, his voice muffled by both the screeching alarm and the mask. “Follow the signs towards the exits. There are medical personnel on standby for anyone who might need assistance.”
Most people ignore them, offering him and Ravi nothing more than a quick, passing glance in their desperation to escape the building. Buck begins to climb the stairs with Ravi on his heels. They keep to one side of the staircase to make way for those still coming down, their hands resting on the bannister to assist with the climb.
The flow of people begins to lessen the further up they go.
Heat floods the stairwell, the white paint chipping off the walls in small flakes. Buck runs a gloved hand along the wall as his visibility lowers through the thick, choking smoke. The entire building creaks and groans around them, flames crackling on the upper floors and beginning to lick down the walls towards them. An orange glow begins to break through the haze of smoke.
Flames settle on the stairs above them, blocking the path to the rest of the building.
Dread pools in the pit of Buck’s stomach. Even with their turnout coats, the fire is burning too quickly, and the flames are becoming too big for him and Ravi to move beyond it without knocking it down first. The stairs shudder underfoot, and Buck glances at Ravi. Their eyes meet through the smoke, and they both know there’s nothing they can do.
From their position, the top two floors are completely unreachable.
Buck fumbles for his radio, inhaling deep lungfuls of the oxygen flooding his mask. He knows their time is quickly running out. “Buckley for Captain Nash.”
The radio crackles to life. “Go for Captain Nash.”
“Panikkar and I have made it up to the eighth floor, but the fire is starting to work its way down to us. The stairwell is completely engulfed and inaccessible; there’s no safe path. We might be able to knock it down with two lines, but these stairs aren’t stable.”
Buck tries to hide the pain in his voice. None of them likes to admit or acknowledge when a rescue is fruitless. It’s like admitting they’ve lost before they’ve even started.
“Copy that, Buckley,” Bobby says, his voice calm and controlled. “Can you conduct your search, or do you need to pull back?”
“We should be able to continue our search before the fire spreads.”
“Sweep your floor and begin your descent. The 136 are here to assist and are sweeping the lower floors. Let us know if you need any assistance up there.”
“Copy.”
He releases the radio and turns to the door that leads to the eighth floor. Buck shoulders it open, thick smoke pouring into the hallway, lowering his visibility that little bit more. Glancing at Ravi, he signals for them to split up. Ravi nods. He heads to the left side of the hallway, and Buck takes the right, banging his fist against the closed doors.
“LAFD! Anyone in there?”
Only the crackling of the flames and the creaking of the building greet him. Buck tries the door handle and watches it swing open, a sign that the occupiers might have already left the building. He steps inside and begins to move from room to room, clearing each one. When he’s sure it’s empty, he heads back into the hallway.
Buck moves on to the next apartment.
And the next.
The smoke grows thicker with each apartment he clears until a state of near-darkness descends over the hallway. Only the occasional flash of the lights above him and the flickering of the orange flames disrupt the darkness. He glances at Ravi moving along the opposite side of the hallway, watching him disappear into another apartment.
Buck brushes his fingers along the wall, curling them around the edges of another door frame. He knocks. The crackling of the flames and the creaking of the building greet him once again. The door is locked when he tries the handle. Buck turns, slamming his foot into the bottom of the door.
Once.
Twice.
It swings open.
“LAFD! Call out!”
He moves into the living room, squinting through the darkness. The small flashlight on his turnout coat barely manages to break through the thick smoke. Buck steps away from the living room and towards one of the bedrooms.
“LAFD! Anyone here?”
“Here,” a small voice croaks in the darkness.
Buck barely hears it over the creaking of the building around him. He walks around the bed, stumbling over the upturned corner of a rug in the middle of the room. A small figure leans against the bed, a piece of fabric pressed against their face, and their knees drawn into their chest. Their blonde hair falls across their face like a curtain. They turn towards Buck with wide eyes, fear twisting itself through their features.
“Hey,” he says, crouching down in front of her. “I’m Buck. What’s your name?”
“Savannah.” The girl coughs into the fabric.
“Okay, Savannah, we’re going to get you out of here.”
She nods, her face still half-buried in the fabric. “I just wanted to find Mr Muffin.” Her fingers reach for a small cuddle bear on the floor beside her thigh, running her fingers over its white fur.
“We’re going to get both you and Mr Muffin out of here.” Buck keys his radio. “Buckley for Captain Nash.”
“Go for Captain Nash.”
“I’ve got a tender age child called Savannah on the eighth floor. Is anyone from the 136 available to take her down so I can continue my search?”
“Positive, Buckley,” Bobby says. “I’ll send Reynolds up to meet you. Are you almost done?”
“Just a few more apartments to go.”
“Copy that. Keep me updated.”
Buck drops his hand from his radio and turns to Savannah, who holds Mr Muffin against her chest, her nose buried in its fur. “Someone’s on their way to meet us, and they’re going to take you and Mr Muffin outside. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, but it hurts to breathe.”
“That’ll be from the smoke. What we’re going to do is keep that fabric up against your nose and mouth, okay? I’m going to carry you out to my friend.”
Savannah nods.
She pulls her face out of Mr Muffin’s fur and places the piece of fabric back over her face. Buck pushes himself up from the crouching position, his left leg aching when he moves. He reaches down and picks her up, cradling her small body against his so her face is buried in the thick fabric of his turnout coat. His right hand cradles her head, his other arm wrapped tightly around her.
“I’ve got you,” he mutters. “You’re doing really well.”
Keeping his grip on Savannah and Mr Muffin, Buck negotiates his way through the thick smoke filling the apartment. It’s darker than before, his flashlight barely making a dent in the darkness. Buck staggers through the apartment and into the hallway. Ravi emerges from the apartment opposite Buck’s at the same time. He looks at Savannah and checks his oxygen gauge. Ravi nods at Buck and moves into the next apartment on his side of the hallway, kicking the door open and slipping inside.
Buck moves back down the hallway until he reaches the door to the stairwell, using his back to push it open. Savannah keeps her face tucked into his turnout coat. She shakes with each cough being torn from her lips due to the smoke quickly filling the stairwell. The fabric and Buck’s turnout coat do little to protect her, and Buck knows he needs to get her out soon.
Orange flames move closer from higher up the stairwell.
“Buckley!” Marin Reynolds appears from the floor below, his body partially obscured by the smoke, and his flashlight breaks through the smoke to reveal his presence. “Need some help?”
“Can you get her outside? No injuries reported other than a tightness in her chest from the smoke,” Buck yells. His voice is barely loud enough to carry over the cacophony of the crackling and groaning building around them.
“Copy that. Are you and Panikkar okay? We’re almost finished downstairs.”
“Only a few apartments left, and we’ll be done.”
Reynolds nods, holding out his arms. “Give her here. I’ll let Captain Nash know you’re almost done.”
“Okay, Savannah,” Buck says. “This is my friend Martin. He’s going to get you and Mr Muffin outside and into some fresh air.”
She lifts her face out of his turnout coat, the fabric still resting against her nose and mouth. Mr Muffin remains tightly gripped in her hands. “Thank you.”
Reynolds takes Savannah from Buck’s grip, cradling her in the same way he had been. “Let’s get you and Mr Muffin out of here,” he says. He looks at Buck. “Good luck.”
“You too.”
Buck watches Reynolds disappear into the darkened staircase with Savanah resting against his chest. When they vanish into the thick smoke, he turns and slips back onto the eighth floor. The smoke blankets the hallway, and Buck can’t see the other side through it.
He drags his fingers along the wall, small paint chips and wallpaper flaking off against his gloves. Buck passes open doorways, smoke pouring out of them, and a slight orange glow beginning to take over the rooms.
They were running out of time.
Using the wall as a guide, Buck reaches the far end of the hallway, walking past the apartment he pulled Savannah from only a few minutes before. The apartment doors on the other side of the hall are all wide open, but Ravi is nowhere to be seen, no doubt searching through the final apartment.
Buck tries the handle on the final apartment, and it swings open without any issue. He searches through each room, checking any closets or cupboards for anyone who might be trying to hide. Flames begin to creep into the room, jumping through the shattered windows and crawling through the vents that connect the apartments together. The smoke grows thicker — a feat Buck isn’t sure is possible.
He clears the apartment and stumbles into the hallway, glancing at the gauge attached to his oxygen tank. He has less than half remaining, enough to get him out. Ravi emerges from the smoke-filled apartment opposite Buck’s, their eyes meeting.
“All clear?” Buck asks, yelling over the fire alarm still screeching overhead and the crackling of nearby flames.
Ravi nods. Buck can see the sweat trickling down his face through the mask. “All clear.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
He reaches for his radio, but before he can say anything, it crackles to life.
“All units, all units,” Bobby says, his voice clipped and sharp, “evacuate the building. I repeat, evacuate the building immediately.”
“This is Buckley. The eighth floor is clear. Panikkar and I are on our way out now.”
“Copy that, Buckley. Be quick. We don’t know how stable this building is.”
“Copy. On our way.” Buck turns to Ravi. “You first. I’ll bring up the rear.”
Ravi nods in confirmation and begins to walk up the hallway. They both keep one hand on the wall, tracing the concrete and open door frames so they don’t lose their way. Pushing open the door to the stairwell, Ravi flinches away from the flames beginning to fill the stairwell. Heat radiates off the concrete walls, beads of sweat trickling down Buck’s face, and he follows Ravi past the flames. They brush along his turnout coat, but the thick material shields him.
The two of them begin their descent to the lower floors, moving quickly but carefully. The entire building creaks around them. The floor sways. Small pieces of plaster peel away from the interior walls, the drywall cracking underneath the heat of the flames.
They’ve just stepped foot on the fourth floor when it happens.
The ground starts to shake beneath their feet.
A crack opens up on the stairs.
“Come home to us.” Eddie’s voice washes over him as the stairs begin to shudder.
“Sorry, Eddie,” Buck says into his mask.
Buck acts quickly.
He shoves Ravi back through the doorway leading to the fourth floor, the smoke enveloping him completely.
“Buck!” Ravi yells, but it’s too late.
The crack on the stairs grows wider.
The concrete crumbles beneath his feet.
Buck feels himself falling, the smoke and darkness swallowing him whole.