Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Buck had just arrived at the firehouse. He was walking up the stairs where Eddie, Hen, and Chim are already eating breakfast together.

"So Buck, what are your weekend plans?" Hen had already asked him before he could even sit down properly.

"Eddie and I are taking Chris to the zoo on Saturday." Buck answered.

Buck and Eddie both had the weekend off since they took some extra shifts this week, so Buck suggested they take Chris to the zoo again. They used to go all the time, but ever since Chris and Eddie came back from Texas, they never really did that anymore. He loved spending time with two of his favorite people in his life and was excited for the upcoming event.

"I still think we should put it on our account, by the way." Eddie chimed in.

"No way. It was my idea; I’m paying for it.” Buck argued.

“It’s a family event, so we should both be paying for it.”

“I know, but it’s been so long and—”

"Wait“ Chim interrupted, "Did I hear that right? You have a joint bank account??“ He was definitely confused.

"Yes, Chim, that’s a normal thing to have.“ Buck said. Now he was confused. Why wouldn’t it be normal? They’re partners. And they did so much together that it just didn’t make any sense for them to be worrying about who paid for what all of the time.

Hen now joined the conversation again after shooting a few looks Chims's way. "And you seriously don’t think that’s a weird thing to have as ‘friends‘?“

"No, why would we?" Eddie now asked. Clearly, he was as lost as Buck was in that moment.

Ravi, who heard the conversation from the kitchen, now joined in too. “Maybe because that’s more of a couple thing? Wait, you’re not married, are you?”

"No, Ravi, we're not married, but we just thought it made sense since we are eating dinner together a lot, and with Christopher in the mix, it just makes sense." Buck tried to explain the reasoning behind it as much as possible, but they just didn’t seem to get it. He never thought that a joint bank account could start such a discussion. It’s a normal thing to do for best friends. Right?

But Buck didn’t have the chance to spiral even further before the bell rang and everybody sprang into action.

They all rushed to the trucks, waiting for their briefing from Chimney while driving to the scene.

"There was a bomb in a villa on Windsor. The house should be clear, but we have at least 2 victims trapped in there, one cop and a civilian.“ Chim explained in the engine.

"Were they able to reach the cop?" Buck asked, concerned.

"Not yet, so we have no idea if either of them survived." Chimney answered.

The rest of the drive to the scene was very quiet. Nobody dared to say anything. It’s always hard to drive somewhere not knowing if anybody even survived it, but somehow it’s even more difficult if it could affect a colleague in blue. Especially since they know quite a few members of the LAPD.

When they finally arrived, the team stood in front of a completely shattered house. The LAPD was already on scene. A younger officer around Buck's age with blonde hair and an older officer around Hen's age approached the 118 immediately. The younger man wore three stripes on his uniform, which Buck recognized from Athena's uniform, indicating that he must be a sergeant.

"Captain Han, nice to meet you. My name is Sergeant Bradford. This is Officer Nolan; he was riding with the officer trapped inside. We were still not able to reach her, so we don’t know where she is or if she is okay. The house has been cleared for you to go in. There shouldn’t be any more bombs; otherwise, they would’ve gone off right after the first one.” The younger man explained.

"Nice to meet you too, Sergeant, although I must say it would’ve been nicer to meet you not on a morning like this. Officer Nolan, is it? What happened before the bomb went off?” Chimney then asked the other officer standing by.

“Sergeant Chen and I—” Officer Nolan started to explain but then got interrupted by Sergeant Bradford. "Wait, you were riding with Lucy? I thought you were riding with Officer Juarez today.“

Buck noticed the fear in his eyes. The sergeant looked like Buck felt every time something happened to Eddie. When the well collapsed or that time Eddie was shot by a sniper. Eddie might not know it yet, but ever since Buck had that conversation with Tommy, he thought a lot about what he said. Maybe what he and Eddie have isn’t as normal as he thought. But Eddie is straight. There is no way that he would ever love Buck back. So he’ll just keep those thoughts to himself for now.

Buck was quickly ripped out of his thoughts when Officer Nolan continued explaining what happened. Apparently Sergeant Chen must have heard someone upstairs and went to take a look when the bomb went off.

"Alright, Buck. Ravi, get your gear; you’re going in. Be careful; that building is very unstable, and I don’t want to have to send Eddie and Hen on a rescue mission for my own firefighters. I’m looking at you, Buckley.” Chimney ordered.

Chimney is not wrong. Buck normally is the one to be going into dangerous situations for other people's sake even if it might kill him.

Both Buck and Ravi have made their way toward the building now. It still felt weird for Buck to not be working by Eddie's side. He really liked working with Ravi, and they worked great together, but it just wasn’t the same thing. Ever since their very first shift, where they promised each other to have their backs, they’ve been inseparable. So not being able to look after Eddie, right next to him, is something that he was going to have to get used to.

They used a ladder to get inside since they assumed that both victims were still on the second floor. As soon as they stepped in, they could already see the first victim. An elderly woman with grey hair and a nightgown on was sitting on the floor, scared to move. She wasn’t hurt badly. Maybe a concussion and a few broken ribs, but nothing worse.

Buck reached for his radio to let Hen and Eddie know what was coming their way. “This is Buckley; we found the first victim. She’s not hurt badly, but we need a gurney ready for transfer. No sign of Sergeant Chen yet.“

"Copy that." He heard Hen answer.

He could only imagine the tight feeling in Sergeant Bradford's chest. Scared he might lose her. Scared he might never see her again. Buck didn’t know if they were dating, married, or just close friends, but either way, he knew that he would do everything he could to bring her back to them.

While Ravi escorted the elderly lady to the medics, Buck continued to look for Chen. He knew that going to look for someone alone was a bad idea, but as Chimney said, he likes taking risks, especially to save others.

"LAFD, Sergeant Chen, can you hear me?! Sergeant!” Buck yelled out. He took a few more steps into the house before yelling again, "Sergeant Chen!“

This time he heard coughing from his right and a weak and dry voice trying to yell back. "Yeah, I—I’m here.“

Buck rushed over to her as fast as he could and tried to help her up. "Sergeant Chen, are you okay?" He immediately asked her.

“It’s Lucy, and yeah— yeah, I’m fine. Just lost my radio somewhere during the explosion.” Lucy was clearly in pain but didn’t want to admit it.

“I’m Buck, and I don’t believe you.”

"No, no, seriously, I’m fine; it’s just my leg. Hurts like a bitch.“

"Alright, let's get you out of here." Buck reached for his radio again while trying to keep Lucy upright on her feet—well, on her good foot. "This is Buckley; I got Sergeant Chen. She’s alive, possibly with a broken leg, but alive.”

"Buckley I thought I told you no hero stunts! Why did you go look for her by yourself? I hope I don’t have to explain to you how dangerous that is.” Chimney sounded angry, but Buck didn’t care; everything went fine.

Buck rolled his eyes before answering, "Yes, Cap, I am aware. The most important thing is that we are both fine and—” But before he could finish his sentence, he heard the floor underneath them crack before the whole building completely collapsed.

Chapter Text

Eddie was standing outside, already working on the first patient and finishing cleaning up her wounds when he heard Buck's voice through his radio again.

"Yes, Cap, I am aware. The most important thing is that we are both fine and—“ All he hears next is the building behind him crumble into pieces.

He feels like his heart just stopped. Buck is still in there.

"Buckley, respond.“ Eddie said into his radio. Nothing. "Buck, come in.“ He tried again. Nothing. "Evan!" Eddie was getting impatient.

Dispatch chimed in, "Eddie, what just happened? Eddie!“ Maddie. God, she must have heard everything through the radio. But Eddie couldn’t answer her. He had already started to move when he didn’t hear a response, but Chimney held him back.

"Diaz, no, it's way too dangerous!" He yelled at Eddie.

“I don’t care Chim. Buck is still in there.” Eddie was shaking, scared to lose him.

Chim stepped closer, looking directly into his eyes now. “I know, Eddie, but I can’t let you go in there, especially not on your own.”

Eddie stopped, his attention was now directed on officers behind Chimney. They were talking loudly and stressed about what had just happened.

The Sergeant whose name tag read ‘Bradford‘ noticed Eddie and Chimney before he stepped closer to them.

"Captain, what just happened? Are you sending in more firefighters or not?“ He asked him.

A Lieutenant behind him placed his hand on Bradford's shoulder and spoke in a calming voice. "Tim, I’m sure Captain Han has a reason why he didn’t send in any firefighters yet.“

Eddie knew exactly how Sergeant Bradford must feel. The fear in his eyes. The fear of losing someone who means everything to you.

Chimney then spoke directly to Bradford and Eddie. "I will, I’m just waiting for backup, which should arrive at any moment. We then have to clear the building first. I can’t risk anyone else going in there and getting hurt.”

Eddie nodded even though he was eager to go inside and help Buck. He once promised him to always have his back. That’s a promise he’s never going to break.

Two detectives now joined them. The women introduced themselves as Angela Lopez and Nyla Harper.

Lieutenant Grey turned to them. "What have you got?"

Lopez looked at Harper before she started to explain, "We checked the security cameras that the homeowner gave us access to. Luckily they were backed up to the cloud, and we could identify the young man who entered the house about 10 hours ago.”

Harper handed a file to Grey and continued, "His name is Freddie Costas. He just broke out of prison, but nobody noticed because their systems were down."

Eddie knew that name from somewhere. He just couldn’t place it straightaway.

"What was he charged with?“ Bradford asked.

"Various charges, for example, murder, attempted murder, terrorism, and many more.“

Now it clicked. Eddie knew who that man was. "The fire truck," he said quietly.

"What? What firetruck?“ Ravi asked who just joined the conversation alongside Hen.

Eddie was shaking even more than before. He looked at Ravi and the others before he explained, "Don’t you remember? Freddie was the one who rigged our ladder truck a few years back. It exploded in the middle of the street and crushed Buck’s leg.“

He had tears in his eyes. It’s been years since it happened, but he will never forget what happened and especially what came with it. The lawsuit, almost losing Buck, and not being able to talk to him because of said lawsuit. Before that was the tsunami, where Buck saved his son and looked for Chris the whole day after he had lost him despite being hurt himself.

"Wait, so the same firefighter who is trapped in that building was crushed by a ladder truck a few years back, and the cause of it was the same man? That cannot be a coincidence.“ Hen stated.

"No, it’s probably not." Lopez responded.

She now turned her attention to Eddie, whose head was still spiraling, only listening with half of his attention.
"Can you think of any reason why Freddie would target Buckley? According to this file, he didn’t target him the first time but rather his former Captain. Captain Robert Nash.“

The mention of Bobby’s name didn’t help Eddie’s condition right now. But he had to focus on the question.

"I mean, the guy was furious at Bobby and Buck, and Bobby always had a father-son relationship. The guy isn’t stupid. He saw how worried we all were about Buck at the scene, so maybe he figured that Buck might be a good target.” Eddie thought out loud. He could feel himself shaking again. Although he isn’t sure if he ever actually stopped.

Grey cleared his throat and spoke up, "Alright, Lopez, Harper, look into that. Ask his inmates or family members—anybody he might have opened up to. Captain, do you know what the ETA on the other units is?“

"About 3 minutes.“ Chimney answered.

Grey nodded at his response before Bradford spoke up again. "Sir, what do you want me to do?" He spoke directly to his Lieutenant.

"I want you to sit down and breathe. I know this is difficult for you, and I do not want you out on the field right now.”

"Same thing for you, Diaz. You are not allowed anywhere near that building.“ Chimney added.

"Cap—" Eddie tried to speak up.

"That's an order.“

"Chim I promised him. I promised I’d have his back. Please I- I cannot let anything happen to him. Not after… Not again.“ Eddie had tears in his eyes. It was too much. The thought of losing Buck. The thought of someone else he loves dying and him not being there for them again.

"Son, he is going to be okay. Now go sit down with Tim. I think you two will be able to relate.” Grey said. Something about this man just calmed him down a lot.

Eddie didn’t say anything else after that. He knew it didn’t matter anyway because nothing he could say would change his captain’s mind.

He sat next to Tim after he got coffee for them as he tried to calm himself down.

"Hey, I got you a coffee. Didn’t know what you like, considering we just met today, so it’s just black.” Eddie said as he handed him his cup.

“Oh, that’s actually perfect, thanks.”

They didn’t talk for a few minutes. Just sitting in the silence as both thought. Eddie's thoughts were spiraling in his head so much he almost got dizzy.

The other man was first to break said silence. "How long have you been working with Buckley?“ He asked.

"About seven years now. Buck just finished his probie year when I started. It’s been a ride.“ He answered, thinking about everything that had happened over the years. From the well collapse to the lightning and all the various times where they’ve been off work in between.

"Yeah, trust me, I get it." Tim chuckled.

Eddie stretched out his hand to properly introduce himself. "I’m Eddie by the way.“

"Tim" He said while shaking Eddies hand.

"So Tim, how long have you been working with Sergeant Chen then?“ Eddie asked back.

"About five years now, I think? I don’t know honestly, I lost track of time at a certain point. I used to be her T.O. back when she was a rookie.“ He answered.

"What did you do before you started firefighting?“

"Well, I grew up in El Paso, married young, had a kid, and to pay the bills, I enlisted for two years in Afghanistan before I came to L.A. with Christopher.“ Eddie said. He usually had his troubles with opening up to strangers, but Tim seemed to be on the same wavelength as him.

"Oh, no way, I served in Afghanistan as well." And now Eddie knew why. Real-life trauma bonding.

They both didn’t say anything for a bit before Eddie spoke up again.

"Okay, I have to ask, are you and Lucy dating? Or do you have feelings for her?“ Eddie just had to know.

Tim smiled lightly before he answered, "We used to, but I was an asshole and broke up with her, but yeah I- I still love her. Why? Do you wanna ask her out?“ He asked with a light chuckle.

Eddie laughed lightly at that question. "No, no, I just… I recognized your look—well, the fear in your eyes, I mean.”

Chapter Text

Buck finds himself in pain. He can feel a heavy weight on his leg. He slowly opens his eyes to take in his surroundings. On his leg is a heavy block, or at least what he thinks was part of the ceiling.

He tries to lift it off his leg but fails. Only after changing his position can he manage to lift the weight off of his bad leg. Luckily he isn’t bleeding, but the impact did not do good for his previously injured leg.

Buck looks around properly. He seems to be trapped in here, the only light coming from a few gaps between the debris, which is piled up, forming a cave around the enclosed space.

When he looks to his right, he notices Lucy on the ground. As he rushed over to her, he noticed that she must be passed out.

He is hovering over her trying to find a pulse, which he does. Relieved, he tries to wake her up.

"Hey, Lucy, come on, wake up!"

After a few more gentle rubs and shakes, she finally opens her eyes. She is blinking at Buck, who lets out a sigh of relief.

"What—what happened?" She asks him.

Buck takes a few seconds to look around again before he answers her.

"Uh, I’m not sure, but we’re trapped… Are you okay? Are you feeling any dizziness?“ He says while helping Lucy to sit up.

"Just a bit, yeah. My arm is still hurting a lot. I guess the fall didn’t help with that either. Are you okay as well?” Lucy states.

"Yeah, I’m fine, just some bruises and probably one or two broken ribs, but it’s manageable. You probably have a concussion, so brace yourself. Let me try to reach someone.“ Buck moves away from Lucy just a bit so he can properly reach for his radio.

"Cap, this is Buckley. Do you copy? Cap?“ He looks at Lucy before trying again.

"Chim, Hen, Eddie, Ravi, do you copy?“ Buck and Lucy look at each other without much hope left.

"Probably broke during the fall,“ Lucy says.

"Yeah, probably." He answers.

Buck moves back some more so he can lean against the wall behind him. As he’s dragging himself across the floor, he feels his injured leg hurting again. He can’t help but wince at the pain before taking a deep breath, trying to calm the pain in any way.

He notices Lucy looking at him with what he guesses is a concerned look in her eyes. It took her a moment to say something, though.

"You’re not okay, are you?" She asks.

Buck takes another deep breath before answering, “I’m fine, really, just my leg, it’s…”

He pauses after that, but Lucy doesn’t let it go.

"What’s with your leg?“

"I injured it a few years back. Got trapped under a fire truck, and it got crushed. I guess the impact made it act up again.“ He doesn’t mention the debris that fell on it when they got trapped there. He doesn’t feel the need to say anything about it. But even thinking back to that incident hurts him more than any physical injury ever could. For Buck it wasn’t even about that night, lying on the street, or fearing and fighting for his life. It was about everything that came after and, with it, all the emotional pain.

Medical leave.

The tsunami.

The lawsuit.

Almost losing Eddie.

Buck is buried deep in his thoughts when Lucy speaks up again.

"I’m sorry that happened to you. I think I remember that evening. I was on my couch when the live stream of the incident came up on the news. It must have been terrifying. It was for me, and I didn’t even know you back then.”

"Thanks."

Buck almost goes back to the storm that’s going on in his own head, but before he does, he decides that they should distract themselves. If they’re going to be stuck here for the next hours, they should at least talk about something, right? So he mentions one of his favorite topics. The LAFD and LAPD, or more like the stories that they experienced in their years on the job.

"So Lucy, what is one of your craziest stories?" Buck asks.

He notices a small smile forming on her lips. She clears her throat before answering him.

"Depends, do you want an NDE or a funny story?“

"Both," Buck says with a chuckle.

"Well, the funny story is when my old T.O., who used to point out every single mistake I’ve made during my rookie year, lost his radio, and when I found it, I sent him anonymous pictures of his radio in places all over town so he had to chase it the whole day until I eventually gave it back to him."

Both Buck and Lucy laughed at the story. Before Buck asked with an insecure voice, "What about the NDE?“

It takes Lucy a minute to answer. She doesn’t look at Buck when she starts explaining the story.

"Well, I... uh, went out on a date after a hard shift at work..." Turned out my date was working with the serial killer Rosalind Dyer. He kidnapped me and tattooed my 'day of death' on my ribs before burying me alive in a barrel. Luckily my T.O. found me in time. I was dead, but he restarted my heart.”

Neither of them says anything for a bit.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Buck says eventually. It’s not the best response, but it made Lucy chuckle a bit, so he figures it’s fine.

"Yeah, shit.“ She replies.

Buck takes another deep breath. "And I thought getting struck by lightning was a crazy story.“

"Wait, you got crushed under a ladder truck and were struck by lightning??“

"Oh, there is so much more. I think everyone in the 118 has at least two crazy near-death experiences.”

"Tell me.“ Lucy demands.

"Okay, so… I got crushed by a ladder truck, which led to blood clots. During my time off I was on the Santa Monica Pier with my best friend's kid, Christopher, when the tsunami hit. I already told you about the lightning that hit me. I was dead for 3 minutes and 17 seconds and in a coma for a while because of that. Eddie was buried in a well collapse and shot by a sniper while on duty; Chimney had a rebar stuck through his skull and somehow survived. He was also stabbed by my sister's ex-husband. Hen was shot when she was about 16, and she was also trapped in the middle of a wildfire when we helped out in Texas, and Bobby—“Buck can’t get himself to finish. Thinking about Bobby and his death still hurts so much.

Lucy didn’t seem to notice, as she is still hung up on everything Buck had just said. "Wow… I mean, our station has some stories as well, but that is just crazy.”

Buck loves talking about his family, so he continues hoping to steer the topic in another direction.

“Yeah, and I know for a fact I’ve left out a few things… but you know the 118 is like a family. Everybody has their place. Hen is a bit like our aunt, who is always looking out for us but doesn’t want to take responsibility over us. Chim is like my brother—well, he is actually my brother-in-law; he married my sister. Ravi is either my younger brother or a nephew. I haven’t quite decided on that yet, and Bobby—” It happened again. It’s hard for Buck to think of the 118 and not include Bobby anymore. He will always be part of their family.

This time Lucy did notice. Maybe she even noticed earlier but didn’t say anything because she thought he just slipped up.

"Who’s Bobby?“ She asks.

Buck's eyes already have tears in them.

"He—uh—he is—was our captain. He passed away a few months ago.“ Buck answers, trying to keep himself together.

"I’m so, so sorry. I know it’s hard to lose someone so close to you. The people of Mid-Wilshire are like family for me as well. Maybe a bit different than yours, but still, they are so important to me, and I know they will always have my back any day.”

The words make Buck remember something.

You can have my back any day.

Eddie.

As if Lucy could read his mind, she asks, "What about Eddie?" You called out for him on the radio and mentioned him earlier. What’s his place in your found family?“

Buck can’t help but smile at the question. He doesn’t quite know what he and Eddie are. He knows for sure how much he loves that man. But Eddie is straight. He can’t be in love with him, and at the same time he keeps thinking to himself, What if he isn’t?

"It’s complicated… What about your T.O.? You’ve mentioned him twice as well? Seems like you two are close. The way you smile when speaking about him at least indicates so.“ Buck asks back, hoping he can avoid the original question.

"It’s complicated.“ She answers him. Which is fair, Buck thinks. He didn’t give her a proper answer either, so why should she?

Chapter Text

Eddie is still sitting outside next to Tim. Their conversation stilled down a few minutes ago, both deep in their thoughts and worries when the 53 arrives on the scene.

Eddie walks up to Chimney again when he notices a woman stepping out of the truck. She has brown hair, and her turnout reads "Nune" on it. Firefighter Nune steps to his captain a second before Eddie does.

"Captain Han, my name is Bailey. I'm the intern captain of the 53." She introduces herself.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Chimney, but let’s keep the small talk for later. We have an officer and a firefighter trapped in there. We haven’t been able to make contact since the second collapse.“ Chimney explains.

Bailey stiffs for a second in confusion before she speaks, "Wait, what, officer?“

Chimney looks confused at the question. "Uh, I believe her name is Sergeant Lucy Chen. She was in the building when the first collapse happened. She lost her radio and broke her arm but was otherwise fine.“

The woman takes a deep breath at the mention of the Sergeant. Eddie isn’t really paying much attention to her as he is looking at Detective Lopez and Harper approaching them.

"Firefighter Diaz, could we take you with us to the station so you can explain to us what exactly happened a few years ago? It could really help with finding Freddie Costas and identifying him. There are always details that are left out of the original report, and we would appreciate your help.” Lopez says.

Eddie didn’t even take a second to think before replying. "No, I have to stay with Buck. I'm sorry."

Chimney now shifts towards Eddie. "Eddie, I’m not letting you into that building anyways, and I would rather you be a bit distracted and help them than pace back and forth here.”

As Eddie takes a moment to think, Tim approaches behind him and speaks up, "I'll drive you there. I don’t think the LAPD has much to do here anyway.“

“Okay, I’ll come with you, but please keep me updated.” Eddie speaks to Lopez after a few moments of thought.

"We will.“ Chimney reassures him.

Eddie knows his team is more than capable of handling this, but walking away from Buck is hard. The thought of catching Costas is the only thing that convinces him at the moment.

*

At the station Eddie sees Officer Nolan, whom they met earlier, and a young woman who introduces herself as Celina Juarez. Eddie is still wearing his turnout gear. It’s not really comfortable, but he took off his jacket in the shop when he rode to the station with Tim.

"Eddie, hi, we set up everything in the roll call room; please follow me." Nolan says.

He follows him into a large room in the middle of the station. The walls are made out of glass with multiple tables and chairs in it. There are a few people in the room. He already met Lopez and Harper, and Tim, who followed right behind him, is standing in the front of the room. Nolan and Juarez, who brought him there, sit down at the desks. When he looks towards the people sitting in the chairs, he spots Athena and a man in a suit and tie who is sitting right next to her, as well as some more uniformed officers and two FBI agents.

When Athena spots Eddie, she stands up and pulls him into a tight hug. Eddie doesn’t have a lot of conversations with her, at least not one-on-one, but he always loved and respected her.

"Eddie, how are you doing?“ She says as she pulls away from the hug.

"Fine, I think. Happy I can help with this.“

"Alright, let's start then. Eddie, let me introduce you to ADA Wesley Evers, who is joining us today.” Harper says.

He takes a seat after shaking Wesley's hand before Lopez starts explaining the case to everyone.

"Freddie Costas was arrested after planting multiple bombs that he had built himself. He recently broke out of prison. Eddie, Athena, could you tell us more about what happened a few years ago?”

"Well, Freddie sought revenge after his father died in prison. My husband and I both testified in court as witnesses for the state. My husband was the captain of the 118 when his father committed arson. Freddie blamed us, and especially Bobby, for his father being locked up. He planted a bomb under their ladder truck after targeting multiple other people that were involved in the case.“ Athena explained. Eddie noticed the slight tears forming in her eyes at the mention of Bobby. It’s not easy for Eddie either, but he can only imagine what it must feel like for her.

"The explosion happened on our way to a call. Buck's leg was crushed under the truck. Freddie was wearing explosives and demanded to speak to Bobby. He was on leave at that time but was able to make it to the scene and took the detonator off of his person.“ Eddie adds.

It takes a moment for anyone to speak up again. Everybody had seen the news that day, and if they didn’t see it live, they saw it on social media or heard about the incident from friends, family, or coworkers.

Lopez is the first to say something again after clearing her throat, "We tried to get in touch with his mother, but we weren’t able to locate her yet. She is our best chance of finding him. So I would like everyone with a badge to come with and knock on doors. We need everyone out there. I don’t care if it’s their day off or they’re out of uniform. Get everyone you can. This is getting personal.“

At that, almost everyone stands up and leaves the room to get out there. Even Athena goes outside with the goal of getting that man as soon as possible.

Before Eddie can even start to think about what to do next, Wesley turns around and speaks to Eddie: “Come on, let’s get some coffee in the break room.”

He definitely must have some sort of surprised look on his face. To be fair, he really didn’t expect to be having coffee with an attorney today.

It takes him a second for his brain to catch up, but he does eventually respond, "Are you sure we can just go into their break room? This is not exactly our place of work, is it?”

Wesley chuckles slightly before answering, “Don’t worry, Angela is my wife. I doubt anybody dares to say something; she can be very… defensive.”

If he didn’t have such a fond look in his eyes while speaking about his wife, Eddie would’ve questioned their marriage, but they clearly have a lot of love for each other. That he can tell.

*

After Eddie made them each a cup of coffee with that fancy machine they have, they sat down at the round table in the room.

Wesley is the first one to break the silence. "How come you are a natural with that overly complicated coffee machine? Did you used to be a barista or something?“

The thought of him being a barista makes Eddie let out a small laugh.

"No, but Buck has the same one, and when he moved in, I happily threw away my old coffee maker." Eddie answers.

"It must be hard for you right now. I mean, I had to experience my fair share of worry about Angela, but still. Wesley says with a warm smile.

Eddie stiffens at the comparison, not because it doesn’t feel right but exactly because it does. He has gotten used to him and Buck being compared to married couples or couples in general. After all, they do live together, and not to mention what Buck means to his son as well. The thought about Chris having to lose another parent makes Eddie's heart race a hundred miles an hour. He remembers that Wesley just spoke to him and that he needs to respond. Even though he doubts that Wesley would think it’s weird for him to be deep in thought.

"Yeah, we both had some close calls, but it never gets easier, does it?" Eddie responds.

"No, never." Wesley states before saying something else that throws Eddie off again for a minute, "It's actually a wonder that Buck survived that explosion, right? Let alone that he can work again.“

Eddie normally doesn’t share a lot about himself and his loved ones, especially if it’s about things like this, but for some reason he finds himself opening up a lot today.

“Well, trust me, it wasn’t easy. He somehow fully recovered in only a few months from the crush injury, but his medications led to blood clots in his lungs. Buck became pretty much just devastated after that. He worked so hard to get back to work as soon as possible, but the throwback just destroyed that. I brought my son over so they could spend some time together, which they did, except they went to the Santa Monica Pier when the tsunami hit… I didn’t know. I—I was at work. Buck did everything to find him. Luckily he was fine, but obviously he was deeply traumatized. So was Buck. After that it just got more and more complicated with lawsuits because Bobby didn’t think Buck was ready to come back yet.“ The words bring tears into his eyes. Eddie can’t even express how thankful he is for Buck. He did everything he could to save him. And he did. He wipes them away before continuing.

"I just—I can’t lose him. He is everything to me, not to mention to my son. Christopher can’t lose another parent, and I can’t lose the—"

Eddie doesn’t get to finish his sentence since someone just opened the door to the break room where they’ve been drinking their coffee at a slow pace.

Chapter Text

When the door to the break room swings open, Tim steps inside.

"Hey guys, sorry I didn’t want to interrupt.“ He says as he moves to make himself a cup of coffee as well.

“All good, don’t worry.” Eddie responds, but he doesn’t get to say anything else when Tim’s phone rings.

He picks up his phone and sits down at the table where Eddie and Wesley already are.

"Hey Grey, any updates?“

Eddie can hear a deep voice at the other end of the line.

"Bradford, can you put me on speaker?"

Tim puts the phone on the table and on speaker before saying, "Alright, you're on speaker now, Eddie and Wesley are next to me."

"Great. They’ve secured the building. Firefighters Wilson and Nune just went inside to search for Buckley and Chen.“

Eddie can feel his heart skipping a beat at the mention of Buck.

"Can we come so we can be there when they leave the building?“ Eddie says into the phone.

"Yes, but under no circumstances do you enter the building, both of you, that is."

Eddie looks at Tim, who confirms that neither of them will.

They get up and leave the room after saying their goodbye to Wesley.

-

Inside, Buck and Lucy are still talking about their crazy calls and their families.

"When do you think we’ll get out of here?“ Buck asks while looking at the surrounding debris. He knows that Lucy doesn’t have the answer, and neither does he, but they ran out of war stories to talk about.

Buck waits a few seconds for Lucy to answer, but when she doesn’t, he takes a glance at her only to realize that her eyes are closed.

He quickly crawls over to look her over for any injuries. Buck checks her stomach and legs first, but when he pulls away his hand from her side, where he had placed it to steady her body and lay her on the ground, he notices blood covering his hand. Buck sits at her other side so he can properly look at the wound. The wound was gushing out blood fast. He is not sure how she had managed to stay awake for so long.

As he tries to put pressure on the injury, Lucy’s eyes open up again.

"Hey, hey, it’s going to be okay. How—how long ago did this happen?“ He asks. If it’s as long as he suspects, they are going to need help fast.

Lucy lets out a few weak coughs before saying, "I think during the second collapse.“

Buck's head was spinning. How did he not notice? But right now he pushed these thoughts away. He can worry about if he could’ve noticed it earlier once they are out of there. He needs to focus on Lucy.

"Hello?! Anybody hear me? We need help down here!“ He yells into the darkness, hoping anybody who was looking for them would hear it.

-

Eddie and Tim just arrived at the scene, where they were greeted by Chimney.

"What's happening, Chim?" Eddie asks without even giving his captain a chance to speak.

Chimney gently reaches up for Eddie’s shoulder, but he doesn’t quite touch him.

“We haven’t heard anything from the two who just went inside yet, but—” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence when his radio crackles to life.

It’s Hen. "Cap, we just heard someone yelling, probably Buck.“

Eddie stills again. An early and light relief washes over him, but he doesn’t let himself rest quite yet.

"Copy that Wilson.“ Chimney answers into his radio.

-

Buck hears some small debris falling around above them as well as voices speaking.

"Hello?! We are here! Hurry!“ He yells again.

Lucy has passed out again. He is still putting pressure on her wound, but she has already lost a lot of blood. If she didn’t get help soon…

"Buck?!" He hears a familiar voice yell back at them.

"Hen! We are down here!“

"We’re almost there. Anybody hurt?“ Now that voice he doesn’t know. A woman. Probably from another firehouse, he thinks.

“Lucy has a bad injury. She’s bleeding out and not conscious but breathing.”

Just as he finishes his sentence, a big part of the debris surrounding them is being pulled away. The two women are now standing next to them. Hen quickly moves Buck away from Lucy to treat her. The other, younger woman, who introduces herself as Bailey, helps Buck to his feet and checks him out. His leg is still hurting but nowhere near as bad as it has before.

Hen looks up at them after roughly but carefully treating Lucy's injury. “We can’t wait on a gurney. We have to get her out of here now.” She states.

Bailey doesn’t hesitate to move over and pick the Sergeant up and carry her out. Buck wraps his arm around Hen, who helps him out of the house, following right behind Bailey.

While walking, Hen speaks into her radio, informing the teams outside about their situation.

*

Once they finally step outside, everything moves fast. Ravi and another firefighter run up to both Lucy and Buck with a gurney. Buck insists on staying with Lucy, saying he doesn’t need to lie down, which they surprisingly agree to. As he walks to the ambulance with Lucy lying on the gurney, he is being pulled into a hug. He doesn’t need to pull away to know it’s Eddie. They do pull away after a moment.

Eddie has offered, or more like insisted on, driving the ambulance. Tim is sitting next to him in the front, and Buck, Hen, Lucy, and Bailey are in the back. The two women are still treating Lucy.

When they arrive at the hospital, Lucy is being rolled into surgery while Buck is being treated in a different room. He has some minor cuts and bruises as well as some broken ribs and a mild concussion. Luckily his leg didn’t break or anything, but Eddie hasn’t left his side once since arriving at the ER. Obviously it will take some time for Buck to heal, but it’s nothing major. He got very lucky.

When the last doctor who released him closed the door behind him, Eddie asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

The look in Eddie’s eyes is soft and concerned.

"Yes, Eddie, I’m okay.“ He answers.

Eddie lets out a small chuckle. "Good. Now I can yell at you for being reckless and stupid without having to worry anymore.“ He says, his smile never leaving his lips.

Buck allows himself to just look at his best friend for a moment before asking him something entirely else.

"Can we see if there’s any update on Lucy? We’ve been here for hours. By now they should know something.”

Eddie already reaches out for Buck’s things so he doesn’t have to carry them, and they both walk out towards the waiting room where a few uniformed cops are sitting and waiting. None of the 118 stayed after getting the news that Buck is fine and doesn’t need more than a few checkups.

Buck vaguely recognizes Tim Bradford as well as Nolan and Bailey. He is pretty sure he’s heard from the rest of them in Lucy’s stories.

Tim stands up and walks towards the both of them upon seeing them walking down the hall.

Eddie and Tim greet each other with a small hug before Tim turns towards Buck.

Buck is well aware that Eddie and Tim connected, when Buck was trapped but Eddie still wasn't really a 'hugger'.

"You must be Buck. I hope you’re doing okay. I heard a lot about you.“ He says.

Buck shakes the hand he was offered. He must have a confused look on his face since Tim starts explaining.

“Eddie and I drove to the mid-Wilshire station together, and he told me a few stories.”

Buck nods after shooting Eddie an interested glance. His cheeks took on a rosy color, almost as if he were blushing. "Of course, yes, Eddie told me about that. How—uh, how is Lucy doing?”

Tim takes a breath. "She's out of surgery. They said everything went well, but she is still sleeping." He responds.

Buck lets out a relieved breath that he felt like he was holding since Lucy passed out in his arms.

He can feel the slight pressure of Eddie’s hand on his lower back when he speaks, “Why don’t you sit down with Tim and I try to get us some coffee?”

Buck looks up at Eddie before doing what he suggested. Shortly after he sat down, Tim turned towards him.

"What exactly happened in there? I mean—I—sorry, maybe you don’t want to talk about it.”

Buck clears his throat before answering, "No, don’t worry, it’s fine. I’d want to know too.“

He takes another moment. "I went inside to look for her. When I did, she was fine, but she had lost her radio, but then we fell. I was pinned down. It didn’t hurt that much, but it took me a moment to get out of. I finally managed and found Lucy unconscious. She woke up easily, and I thought it was just the impact that caused it, but a bit later I saw that she had lost consciousness again. I laid her on her back when I noticed the wound on her side. She had lost a lot of blood already, and I didn’t notice.”

Buck took a moment when Eddie approached them and handed both of them a cup of coffee. The older man sits down next to Buck. He is sitting closer than he needs to be, but Buck appreciates the known comfort.

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve noticed when I checked her out for any injuries the first time. I—I could’ve reacted earlier. I should have—“

"Hey," Tim interrupts his spiraling. "It’s not your fault. Even if you had noticed, there was nothing that you could have done to get her out of there.“

Buck shakes his head. "I could have put pressure on it until help arrived.“ Eddie was interrupting him this time. Not by saying anything but simply by laying his hand on Buck's thigh, squeezing it gently.

Then, with a calm and soothing voice, he almost whispers, "Buck, there is nothing you could do. Okay? Don’t beat yourself up about this.“

Buck closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. He can feel Tim looking at them, probably wondering why they are sitting so close to each other or why only Eddie's gentle voice and touches can ground Buck. Or maybe he already knows how much they’ve been through and knows that they would do it again just to make sure the other is safe.

"Let’s go home. Chris wants to see you, and I’m not letting you stay alone in your condition.” Eddie says. Buck nods at him after standing up. Eddie laid his hand on his lower back again, but before they leave, Buck turns around to look at Tim once again.

"Can you let us know when she wakes up? Just so we know she’s okay?“ He asks. His voice is soft and insecure, not wanting to overstep.

"Of course. I already have Eddie’s number; I’ll call you as soon as she wakes up.” Tim answers.

Buck already turned away when Tim speaks up again, "Oh, and Buck?"

The two turn around again as the taller one answers, "Yeah?"

"Thank you.“