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“Bobby.” Buck knows his voice won’t carry with how soft it comes out. He knows in his heart that Bobby won’t hear his warning. The cold muzzle of the gun rests against his collar, just under his mask and helmet. The temperature difference between the chill of the weapon and the heat of the room is startling.
He hadn’t even noticed the threat until the man had grabbed his shoulder. The room had been filled with smoke. The fire nearly taking down the rest of the warehouse. The rest of the 118 were fighting the blaze while Bobby and Buck cleared the structure. It used to be part of the marina. Used to store boats, or something. Now it stands vacant, a maze of rooms and empty space. A fire hazard.
Bobby stands only ten steps in front of Buck, still searching the room for any occupants. Unaware that the occupant is behind them.
Slowly Bobby turns. Buck sees the second Bobby realizes what’s happening. How he freezes. His hands go up, slow in surrender. The face mask hides Bobby’s eyes, but Buck knows his captain’s gaze is on the gun.
“Move.” The man behind Buck says, giving him a shove. Another man appears on Buck’s left, moving to subdue Bobby without a visible weapon. The strangers lead them out of the warehouse and out a side door.
The small boat yard is just off to the side of the warehouse. A few rocks are scattered over the incline. A small fishing vessel is anchored conveniently in front of them.
“Get on the boat.” The man behind Buck instructs Bobby who only hesitates a moment before he obeys. Buck is ushered onto the boat by a shove on his lower back. Buck manages not to fall face first into the deck of the small fishing vessel.
Bobby is at Buck’s side in a flash. “Kid,” the nickname slips out as he pulls Buck closer. The gun is still trained on them.
“Strip.” The gunman says as his accomplice moves to unhook the anchor and then off to start the boat. Buck watches as they pull away from the dock and out towards the ocean. He doesn’t see anyone notice their departure. Everyone else is on the other side. Fighting the fire.
No one knows where they are.
“I said strip!” The gunman snarls, jabbing the gun towards them threateningly. Buck glances at Bobby who starts to take off his turnouts. He starts with his mask and helmet and Buck mirrors his captain’s movements.
“Toss your shit in the water.” The gunman instructs. Buck again follows Bobby’s movements. It feels wrong to throw city equipment into the ocean. They’ll likely never get it back.
The chief was going to be pissed.
Not at them—obviously they have no choice but to comply with the crazy kidnappers. The budget for the LAFD is already tight. Buying replacement equipment is a pain, even when the reason behind the destruction is reasonable.
Like being kidnapped and held hostage and forced to strip on a boat.
“Shoes too.” Gunman demands.
With more reluctance Buck and Bobby reach down and pull off their shoes and toss them into the wake of the boat. Now all they’re wearing are their short sleeve LAFD shirts and boxers.
“What do you want with us?” Bobby asks when they are made to kneel with their hands on their head.
“Insurance,” Gunman says, eyes flickering behind them. Buck glances back too. Land is growing further away. He can still make out the lights of the fire engines and ambulance. “Just in case we were spotted. But look at that—it looks like it wasn’t necessary after all.”
“I think people were more worried about the burning building.” Buck points out.
“Which is why we set it on fire.” The guy steering the boat says with a laugh.
Drugs. Buck thinks as he glances at Bobby. He can’t read his captain’s mind, but he feels like that’s the ultimate reason they ended up in this situation. People do a lot of weird things when drugs are involved.
They had been warned that there was a police presence in the area. Something to do with drug smuggling.
“Don’t provoke them.” Bobby mutters to Buck and Buck can’t help but roll his eyes. “Buck.” Bobby warns.
“Don’t whisper.” Gunman says, cocking his gun loudly. “It’s rude.”
“He’s just telling me to behave.” Buck informs the man in a snappy tone.
“Do you typically have trouble with that?” The man asks, tugging down the mask that had been covering half of his face.
Okay, that’s not a great sign. The man doesn’t care about revealing his face to them. Shit. That probably means…
Buck glances back towards shore. He can’t see land anymore. He also doesn’t see a rescue boat of any kind. Then again, it would take some time to alert the coast guard.
“Okay, we’re far enough out.” Gunman shouts to his companion. The boat immediately slows to a stop. The waves rock it as it starts to idle. The gunman and his companion turn to stare at their captives. “We just needed to make sure we got away clean.”
“This is your stop.” The second man says and motions with his hand off the side of the boat.
“You don’t have to do this.” Bobby says calmly.
“We don’t have to.” The gunman says, sounding bored. “But we want to.” The man moves closer and points his gun between Buck’s eyes. “Now. Get in the water.”
Buck holds his breath and stares at the gun in front of him. Behind him he hears Bobby comply. He hears the splash of his captain jumping into the ocean to keep him safe.
“Now it’s your turn, pretty boy.” Gunman smirks. He pulls back enough that Buck feels less shaky without the gun directly in front of his face. He stands on weak knees and jumps in the water in front of Bobby.
The water of the Pacific Ocean is freezing. No amount of sunlight can warm it above the low seventies. Today it’s probably in the sixties and as soon as the sun goes down it’ll drop further.
Buck knows they’re screwed the second the cold drives the air from his lungs. The shock of it freezes his body momentarily. It takes a moment to orient himself enough to realize he needs air. He kicks upwards and coughs as he breaks the surface.
“You boys were such good sports. I hate to kill you slowly.” One of the psychopaths says as Buck tries to catch his breath.
Buck looks up just in time to catch the glint of the gun. Instinctively Buck turns towards Bobby and grabs him. Buck drags the older man under the dark waves. Even under the surface he hears the blast of the gun. It goes off three times and Buck drags Bobby further down.
Eyes stinging from the salt, Buck listens to the boat speeding away.
Bobby coughs harshly as they break the surface.
“Are you hit?” Buck gasps.
“No.” Bobby winces when a wave slaps his cheek. “Are you?”
Buck can’t feel much of anything other than panic. “No, I’m good.”
They are lucky the ocean is as calm as it is. There are no promises that’ll last. The ocean could be unpredictable at best. Buck would know. He survived a freaking tsunami.
Bobby turns in a circle and sighs. “We-we need to start swimming.”
“We’re screwed, Bobby.” Buck winces as he turns in the direction he thinks they came from. He can’t see land. They’re never going to make it back alive. No one even realized they were missing. Or where they were taken.
No one would be looking in the water. Let alone this far out.
“It’s not over until it’s done.” Bobby says. “Come on, we need to keep moving.”
Keep moving. Keep their blood flowing and their bodies as warm as they can. Buck glances upwards and tries to figure out the time from the position of the sun. Without help there is no way they’ll make it back to shore before sunset.
If they make it back at all.
“Come on, kid.” Bobby sighs and starts to glide through the water back towards shore. Or where he thinks shore might be.
Buck starts to kick out and feels a pull of pain burn through his lower right leg. He frowns but keeps kicking, assuming he managed to pull a muscle when he jumped into the water. Or maybe when he was shoved into the boat.
It takes a few more kicks to realize the pain isn’t from a tweaked muscle.
“Bobby.” Buck slows back down to a stop.
“Yeah, kid?” Bobby slows and turns to look at Buck. “What’s wrong?”
“I might be hit.” Buck winces. “My leg. I-I didn’t feel it before.”
For a moment Bobby doesn’t move besides continuing to tread water.
“Graze?” Bobby asks. His face pale as he moves closer to Buck.
“I-I don’t know.” Buck admits. “I’ve never been shot before.” He glances down, but the water is too dark to see anything other than dark blue.
“Can you float on your back?” Bobby asks.
Buck complies without verbally responding. His body shifts with the rolling of the water around them. He winces when Bobby takes ahold of his lower right leg. Buck glances down and sees the red staining the water. His first thought isn’t, ‘yep, I got shot.’ It’s, ‘crap, if a shark is nearby…’
“I think the bullet is stuck in your bone.” Bobby says with a frustrated sigh. “There’s no exit wound. The wound is small and I don’t think it hit anything vital or…” He clears his throat. “I need to try and wrap it.”
“You shouldn’t be so close to me.” Buck tells him quietly. “If a shark is around it’ll smell the blood.”
Buck suddenly regrets all those nights he binged Shark Week. A million shark facts buzz in his head and there is nothing fun about them.
“Let’s hope nothing around us is hungry.” Bobby says, twisting out of his work shirt and wrapping it around Buck’s wound tightly. They lock eyes and Buck watches Bobby realize their odds of survival have dropped dramatically. Especially if they stay together.
“I can float for a long time.” Buck says. “You should go. Try and make it back to shore. You can send someone back out for me. Preferably in a helicopter or boat.”
“That’s not happening, Buck.” Bobby says. “I’m not leaving you. Can you swim?”
“It’s going to hurt like hell.” Buck sighs and turns back on his stomach. “Let’s do it.” He grins through the pain and Bobby winces. Buck doesn’t like the concern in Bobby’s eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m good at pushing through the pain.”
“I know.” Bobby frowns. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Come on.” He motions for Buck to swim next to him. Buck winces and kicks with Bobby.
The pain is bad enough that Buck tries to kick with his one good leg and drag himself with his arms for as long as possible. Eventually he slows to the point where Bobby has trouble keeping pace with him without simply treading water.
“This isn’t working.” Buck gasps, exhaustion burning through his overtaxed muscles. He turns to float on his back, giving his limbs a break as he stares up at the unrelenting sun. This had to happen on a cloudless day. His skin is already turning bright red from exposure. “I can’t.” He whispers as he glances towards Bobby.
Looking grim, Bobby glances away from Buck and back towards the direction they had been heading. What if they were heading the wrong way? What if instead of heading towards shore they were swimming away from it?
They were going to drown.
Bobby would at least have a chance if he left Buck.
“Think about Athena.” Buck changes tactics. “She’s probably worried sick right now.”
They would have noticed that Bobby and Buck were missing. They would have started a search. First going through the warehouse, then expanding the search to the surrounding areas.
Kidnapping wouldn’t be their first thought.
It might not even be their second or third.
“Yeah?” Bobby snaps and narrows his eyes at Buck. “Maddie is probably worried too. And Eddie and Christopher.”
Christopher. Buck sucks in a breath and looks back up at a cloud that looks a bit like a unicorn.
“I’m going to die either way.” Buck points out bluntly. “My leg is still bleeding, my body is already wearing out. Bobby.”
“Don’t give up on me now, kid.” The plea comes quietly. Powerful in its simplicity. “Just hang on a little bit longer.”
Buck inhales. He exhales.
He can’t say no. Not to Bobby. Not when the man had done so much for him. Not when Bobby Nash had believed in him when no one else had.
Besides, Buck has a long standing grudge against quitting.
“Fine.” The idea of putting Bobby’s life at risk turns his stomach. The idea of letting his captain down doesn’t feel much better. “Let’s go.”
They start off again. Buck moving only slightly faster than before their short break. The sun sinks lower and lower in the sky. Its position might as well be an hourglass. As soon as the sand runs out and the sun goes down their fate would be sealed.
“Please, Bobby.”
“Shut up, Buck.” Bobby cuts him off before he can try and convince Bobby to continue on without him again.
__
This is Bobby’s own personal nightmare. Okay, that’s not completely true. The nightmares Bobby usually has with Buck in mortal danger involve fire. Not water. This is a nightmare, though. Buck is struggling. Land is too far out of reach. Completely out of sight. If Bobby is being honest with himself, their fate had been sealed the second they were told to jump in the water.
They were going to die. Their bodies might never be recovered.
At least, not by humans. They’d be torn apart by the creatures of the deep. Sharks and other carnivorous fish.
Still, there was no chance that Bobby would leave Buck behind. The kid meant too much to Bobby to even consider it. If they were destined to die, they’d do it together.
The smoke in the warehouse had been dark and thick. That’s why they hadn’t noticed the two men until it was too late. Bobby still wonders if there had been a clue he’d missed. If he might have been able to avoid this if he had paid closer attention to his surroundings.
Maybe if Eddie or Ravi had been with Buck things would have turned out differently.
With every kick Buck makes a pained sound. Each sharp gasp cuts a little deeper into Bobby’s heart. Time passes but they don’t make much progress. Bobby’s body starts to feel the strain. The burn of his muscles, the boiling of his skin from the rays of the sun, and the all consuming cold of the water.
The strain on Buck’s body is worse. How the rest of his body has to overcompensate for his wounded leg.
Bobby’s eyes are fixed on something he thinks might be a boat in the distance when it happens. One minute Buck is beside him, the next his head slips under—and doesn’t immediately jerk back up above the water.
Fear strikes through Bobby as he reaches down and snags Buck by the shoulder. He pulls him up, turning him on his back so he can float again. Buck coughs weakly. His harsh breathing wet from inhaling salt water.
Dehydration is also a factor. The saltwater is pulling the moisture from their bodies.
“Buck?”
“Still here.” Buck whispers hoarsely. “You’ve got to—”
“I will not leave you.” Bobby interrupts firmly. He glances around again for the maybe-boat. With some effort he wraps Buck in a water rescue hold. Buck doesn’t protest. He breathes. Harsh and staggered with exhaustion and pain.
Bobby focuses on the movement of his own body. The pull and push of the waves. The darkening of the sky above them. He listens to his own breathing. His heart beating in his chest.
They are alive.
It’s not over until they give in. Whether by force or by acceptance. This is not the end. He won’t let it be.
As they draw closer to the maybe-boat, Bobby starts to realize that it definitely is not a boat.
It is a buoy. While not the salvation he was hoping for, Bobby picks up his pace. He pulls Buck closer to his chest. The distance is still greater than he’d like, but doable.
“Chris.” Buck whispers through chapped lips.
Bobby frowns. “Chris is safe, Buck. He’s home.”
“Chris!” Buck flails weakly in Bobby’s arms.
“Shh, kid.” Bobby soothes, not releasing his grip. There’s too big of a chance that Buck will slip under again. Buck’s breathing is already wet. He’s inhaled a lot of saltwater into his lungs. “Christopher is fine.”
“Fine?” Buck asks. “N-no. The-the wave.” He licks at his lips in a futile attempt to wet them properly. “He fell. I-I saw him fall.”
“He did, but we found him, remember?” The chill of the ocean has nothing on this moment. On Bobby realizing that Buck is hallucinating. That his kid believes he’s trapped in the nightmare of the tsunami again. “He’s safe.”
Buck has always refused to talk about that day. The only parts of the story they knew were told by Christopher.
“Eddie.” Buck sighs in pain. “Eds.”
“That’s right. He went home with Eddie.” Bobby nods and drags them closer to the buoy.
“Sorry.” Buck coughs and goes still in Bobby’s grasp. If it weren’t for Buck’s ragged breathing he might think the kid…
“Hold on, kiddo.” Bobby refocuses on his target. “I’m going to get you out of the water.” It isn’t salvation, but it is the closest thing they have.
Blissfully they reach their destination. Still too far from shore. A lifetime away from home.
It’s the best Bobby has.
The buoy is big enough for them to climb up on. To get out of the water for a bit. Away from any predators lurking in the deep. So far Bobby’s prayers have been answered on that front. Nothing with too many teeth have made an appearance.
“Buck.” Bobby says as he grips the side of the floating metal. “I need your help.”
“Chris?”
Bobby closes his eyes. “No, Buck. Chris is safe. I need you to help me get you up on here.”
“Need to find him.” Buck’s eyes slide closed and Bobby rests his head against Buck’s gently.
They have to get out of the water.
“Please, kid.” Bobby begs and manages to inhale salt water for his efforts. He coughs, the force of it rattling his body and Buck’s.
“Earthquake?” The word slips out with Buck’s confusion.
Bobby laughs dryly. “No, kid. No earthquake.”
“K.” Buck sighs. Body limp in Bobby’s arms.
They aren’t moving anymore. The cold seeps deeper into their core. Bobby knows he needs to get out of the water. Buck is spent and there is no way the kid can climb unassisted.
“Buck?” Bobby glances at the smooth sides of the buoy. He could probably pull himself up easily enough. His eyes clock the words painted on the side a moment later. Tsunami detection.
Bobby blinks.
“Mm?” The sound Buck makes is faint. He doesn’t open his eyes.
Bobby refocuses on the task at hand. “I need you to hold onto something for me, can you do that?”
“Cold.” The word slips out from the cracks in Buck’s lips.
“I know, kid.” Bobby’s heart breaks. “But we’re going to get you warm. We need to get out of the water first.”
“Chris?”
“Chris will get out of the water too.” Bobby closes his eyes. “But you have to hold on to this.” Gently but firmly Bobby guides Buck’s hand to the round metal ring of the mooring eye. The buoy looks like it’s active. A product of the tsunami, ironically. A way to detect waves and prevent the massive loss of life of that fateful day.
Buck holds on, gripping the metal ring with whatever strength he has left. Bobby, not sure how long it’ll last, pulls his own battered body up and reaches down to grip Buck’s arm. Bobby’s body is shaking. They are both far too cold.
“I’m going to pull you up.” Bobby tells Buck, trying to will his arms to cooperate. It takes two tries, but he pulls Buck up onto the buoy with him. The thing rocks dangerously, but remains upright.
“Eds.” Buck mutters, shivering against Bobby as they settle.
“He’s looking for us.” Bobby has no doubt. “They’ll find us.”
There’s very little they can do to call for help. No flare. No phone. No—nothing.
Nothing except for the transmitter on the buoy. Bobby glances at the transmitter sitting on the top of the metal buoy. It’s a new. Someone out there is probably monitoring it closely.
So if it suddenly stops transmitting…
It’s a long shot, but it’s the only shot they’ve got. Gently Bobby lays Buck’s body down. The kid is out. Shivering and unconscious. His leg still leaks red despite the tightness of the improvised bandage. If it weren’t for the sunburn, Bobby imagines that Buck would be paler than a ghost.
There’s nothing to break the transmitter with other than his hands. Bobby attacks it with as much ferocity as he can manage. The metal plate does’t crack as fast as the skin of Bobby’s knuckles, but it does eventually crack and break under the force of Bobby’s fists. When it is well and truly destroyed, Bobby falls back next to Buck. He cradles the kid in his arms and finally gives in to his own exhaustion.
It’s dark when Bobby wakes. The sky above them is brilliant. A mass of sparkling stars that normally aren’t visible in the city. The sight of it brings a feeling of unease.
No one has come yet.
Buck is still in his arms. Not shivering as much as he should be. Bobby forces his arms to move. Forces his fingers to check for a pulse.
A sob breaks from Bobby’s chest when he doesn’t immediately feel the beat. He shifts, trying to sit up and pull Buck closer. A groan slips from the body he holds. Relief hits Bobby about the same time a dizzy spell spins in his head.
“Kid.” Bobby chokes out. There’s no reply. He doesn’t really expect an answer. Buck is in bad shape. The air is getting colder. The wind brutal. The waves rocking the buoy. If Buck doesn’t bleed out there is a real chance they’ll both die of hypothermia. Exposure.
“Hold on.” Bobby mutters before he can’t keep his eyes open any longer. He falls asleep.
The next time he wakes there is a blinding light. Bobby raises his blood stained hand to block it, but it’s too heavy. Everything is heavy.
“Shit, there are people on here.” A voice says.
“Call it in,” Another person says.
The world zeros out again.
When he wakes the scenery has changed completely. He’s laying flat on his back in a bed that feels too small. Someone has dimmed the lights. There’s an IV stuck in the back of his hand. He’s in a hospital.
“Buck.” The panic slams into Bobby as he comes back to the waking world.
“Bobby.”
His eyes snap to the side. Blurry, but still able to make out Athena’s worried eyes.
“Buck?” The sound is jumbled. Tangled as it leaves his swollen tongue.
“Alive.” Athena reassures. “You’re both alive.” Her voice strains with barely contained emotion. “You really scared me this time.” She clears her throat. “You two just vanished from the scene. No one knew where you were.”
And they likely never would have known. If they hadn’t been rescued. Which they must have been. The memory is fuzzy. The bright light in the dark. The voices. The strange hands on his body. Someone unknown pulling Buck away from him.
Being completely helpless to stop it.
“Damage?” Bobby asks as Hen materializes and hands him a glass of water.
“Dehydration, severe sun exposure.” Hen starts to list. “Your left hand is broken.” She nods to the hand without the IV. “Three of your knuckles have fractures.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.” Bobby whispers once the water soothes his throat enough to talk again.
“You did good.” Athena reaches out and runs the back of her hand across his cheek. “You’re both alive because of what you did.”
“I can’t believe it worked.” Bobby breathes. “Buck—he’s okay?”
“Buck lost a lot of blood.” Hen says. “Severe dehydration and sun exposure, exhaustion—his bullet wound is fairly sterile thanks to the salt, but somehow he managed to get an infection anyway. He has some issues with his lungs because of how much ocean he inhaled, but they have him on oxygen and a ton of antibiotics.”
“He’s in the ICU.” Athena fills in where Hen left off. “He’s still unconscious. Maddie and Eddie are with him right now. Chimney went to get us all food.”
“Buck’ll be okay?” Bobby asks as he feels his body start to shut down again.
“He will be.” Hen answers as Bobby drifts back to sleep.
That’s the only thing he needed to hear.