Title: Tired Heart
Fandom: 9-1-1
Genre: Canon Divergence, Contemporary, Drama, Episode Related, Fix-it, Pre-relationship
Pairing: Gen, pre-Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Canon-level situations, Canon-level angst
Author Note: This was conceived and the first half written during the March 2021 during the combined podcast/write-in event. I wasn’t sure if it was the start of something bigger or a contained thing on its own. I decided to let it be.
Timeline: Takes place during season 3, episode 3, The Searchers, with changes due to divergence point.
Challenge: Just Write Create Your Own Bingo – Bad Things Happen, Prompt: Passing Out
Word Count: ~6,800
Summary: Eddie entrusted Buck with his son—the most precious person in the world to him. Buck managed to get Chris through a tsunami, through the wave retreating, through the long trek to the VA hospital. He’s not letting go of Christopher until he can give him back to Eddie.

~*~

Tired Heart

Buck felt like he’d barely caught his breath from the last person he’d pulled from the water when the water started to recede, flowing back out toward the pier. He held Christopher closer, hoping this would be a good thing for them.

One of the women gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. Buck followed where she was looking and saw the dead body floating toward them.

He quickly turned Christopher so that his back was to the water, not wanting the kid to see the fate of these people. To see what could have happened to them.

Someone calling out for help snapped the LAFD-trained part of his brain into action before he’d consciously decided to move. At the last second, he grabbed Chris and moved him back to a more secure position.

“Keep your eyes closed, buddy, okay?”

“Okay, Buck.”

“Don’t let him see,” he said to one of the women by them.

Then Buck was half in the water again, trying to pull people out. A debris field hit the fire engine, rocking it hard, but everyone managed to maintain their perch on the apparatus.

“Chris! You okay?”

“I’m okay, Buck!”

“Keep your eyes closed still.” Buck had a hold of the man and was trying to help lever him up on the roof of the cab. Buck got knocked fully into the water, but he managed to keep hold of the truck and not get swept away.

He broke the surface and gasped for air, pulling himself back onto the truck. Other people helped get him back to safety.

“You’re bleeding,” one of the men said softly, obviously trying not to be heard by Christopher. Buck’s arm was lacerated, which wasn’t great considering the blood-thinner situation.

He’d shed his over-shirt some time ago to use as makeshift bandages for a couple of people, but there was still plenty left to bind up his arm.

“How you doing, Chris?”

The kid was leaning against the shoulder of the woman who’d taken Buck’s seat, eyes closed. “Okay. Tired,” he mumbled.

“Yeah. I think we’re all tired, buddy.” From the top of the cab, Buck ran his fingers through Christopher’s hair. “The water is finally receding, so we’ll hopefully be out of this soon.” Buck just hoped he didn’t have to pull anyone else out of the water. It was sapping the strength he needed to get through the rest of the day.

~*~

A man calling for help caught their group’s attention. His wife was still stuck in their car. Their vehicle had gotten swept up on top of another car, which was the only reason why they didn’t drown.

Buck stopped, which meant their whole processional stopped. He’d told people they could keep going, but the group from the fire truck were all reluctant to leave him, and the new people they picked up along the way didn’t want to leave the larger group either.

They’d run across one fireman who’d told them to head toward the VA hospital and promised that he’d radio in that there was a large group of survivors with minor injuries making their way that direction. So far, no one had come to find them. Buck wasn’t resentful about it; he knew there were people trapped and dying by the hundreds or thousands, far outstripping the department’s ability to help them all. Their group was reasonably okay and well organized, so it made sense that they were being told to keep going and get out of the disaster zone.

One of the other men got Christopher off Buck’s back—Buck had been carrying him piggyback since they climbed down from fire engine a while ago. It felt like it had been days but was probably only a couple of hours. Every time they ran into new people who needed to be rescued, Christopher accepted being transferred to other people in their group. He never complained, but he was always grateful to be back with Buck.

It wasn’t that difficult for Buck to get the door open. They’d picked up several crowbars along the way as they trekked toward help; the door wasn’t egregiously damaged; it was just stuck.

They got her out, and she wasn’t showing any signs of spinal injury, but she had a broken tibia. She wasn’t the first person Buck had done an emergency splint for on this trek.

Buck directed people to help find the materials to make another stretcher. They had two people on them already. He didn’t want survivors exhausted by carrying them, so they’d improvised a travois that could be dragged. It could be a bit bumpy for the injured, but they had to deal the best they could. If things got rough, people pitched in to help lift and fully carry for however far was necessary.

While he was fashioning the splint with the help of Carmen, who’d become his right hand for medical issues, he looked around to see what was in the area.

He nodded to one of the couples with children that they’d picked up from a mini van about a mile back. They were generally calm and helpful. “That convenience store there. Gather some people and see if there’s any usable food or water. Particularly water. At this point, anything liquid would be helpful. Drinks with electrolytes might even be better than water. Also any usable medical supplies.”

Thomas and Marion kissed their kids, leaving them with a core group of women who seemed to be minding the ten or so children, some of whom were separated from their parents. They selected six people to go with them then picked their way through the debris and used a tree branch to break down the remaining glass in the small convenience store, then they all disappeared inside.

Buck looked to another woman. “That novelty shop. See if you can find some T-shirts or whatever we can use as makeshift bandages or to help fortify the stretchers. Everyone else should rest while you can.”

He’d finished with the splint when Thomas and Marion and their helpers came back with several cases of water and snack foods that had managed to weather the surges. They clustered on the ground and split up the supplies, making sure the wounded got water first. Buck got an extra bottle of water—everyone insisted—and he was grateful for the additional hydration. There was also a Gatorade for him that he fell on like he was dying for it. The electrolytes would be everything right now.

The convenience store was apparently pretty well stocked because they wound up with extra provisions to take with them. The novelty shop yielded piles of damp T-shirts, but extra fabric was extra fabric. Buck changed the wrap on his own arm, frustrated at how he kept soaking through his bandages. Damn blood thinners.

He knew everyone was tired, but they had to keep going. “Time to go.” He looked to the man whose wife they’d just rescued. “You up to helping us with lifting and pulling the stretcher?”

The man was effusively grateful, but Buck shrugged it off and got everyone back on their feet, checking the injured quickly. Then he accepted Christopher back for another stretch of piggyback ride through the devastated streets. On his back was the easiest position for him to carry Chris for long treks, but he knew it was more tiring for the kid to have to help hold on.

“How you doing, Chris?” Buck asked once they were walking again.

“I’m doing good, Bucky. How are you?”

“Well, I’m tired, to be completely forthright and honest with you.”

Chris giggled in his ear, though it was a muted sound compared to normal. “Me too.”

“I’ll carry you the other way in a little bit, okay? Just hang on like this for a bit longer.”

“I can hang on like this forever. It’s okay.”

“I know you can, buddy, but I can carry you the other way for a while, so just let me.”

“Okay, Buck.”

~*~

They found a health supply store that was pretty destroyed but had several wheelchairs in the back, allowing them to place their more seriously injured who could be upright in the chairs, which were much easier to handle than the stretcher-drag-and-carry.

Buck had switched Christopher to a princess carry and the kid was conked out in his arms. Unfortunately, Buck’s strength was flagging, but no matter how tired he was, he was determined to put Christopher back in Eddie’s arms himself.

Only a few people still had working cell phones, but cell service hadn’t been restored as of yet. Regardless, several people in their group were responsible for keeping a roll of every person, including where they’d joined the group, in case the group got separated and someone was able to get a message out later.

They’d picked up more and more people as they went. People wanting to be with a big group, thinking numbers meant safety. And maybe it did.

They’d interrupted one violent assault. Three men had cornered two women. The larger group had run off the assailants, and the two women were now part of the caravan. When they’d passed some police officers, they’d reported the event and given descriptions, but everyone knew the odds of anything being done about it were slim.

The distance to the VA from where they’d started was only a few miles, but their progress was slow. The more people they added, the slower they went.

Their last headcount put their group at over seventy. Buck had somehow remained the unofficial leader, and everyone looked to him for what to do. He had about ten people who he’d delegated certain tasks to, like forming teams to scavenge buildings for supplies, tending to the wounded, or looking after the children.

They were up to nine children with no parents in addition to the children who were with at least one parent or other relative. The poor kids on their own were freaked out, and Buck wished he could do more for them, but he had his own kid to focus on. Plus there was the stress of just putting one foot in front of the other to deal with, and that was becoming increasingly problematic.

“Break!” Buck called, hating to wake Chris, but he could see the energy flagging in everyone around him. The sun was setting, and they were going to lose the light soon. They’d already been preparing for a walk in the dark, scavenging flashlights and batteries where they could. “We should eat and drink before taking the final trek to the VA hospital. We’re going to have to do part of this in the dark anyway, so we might as well rest a bit while there’s still light and we can see where we’re sitting.”

Christopher was rousing in Buck’s arms, but slowly. They found a relatively clear section of street for the kids to all be in, and Buck set him on small stretch of curb and gave him a bag of chips and a bottle of water, trusting that the people minding the kids would be keeping an eye on Chris too.

He dropped a kiss on Chris’ head, getting a smile in return, and then went to go coordinate the next phase of their journey.

The few people with functioning cell phones, were still reporting that getting calls through was almost impossible though there had been an occasional burst of cell signal. However, when they’d tried to make calls, all the circuits were busy. Buck had tried to call Maddie twice and Eddie once. None of the calls connected. Ultimately, he figured there was nothing either of them could really do, and getting them on the phone would just freak them out, so he’d stopped trying. At a last-ditch effort, he’d tried a text, but even that had failed to send.

He’d give it a go again when they got to the VA. It may have been the wrong choice to give up trying, but he was exhausted and putting most of his focus on returning Christopher to Eddie. He’d bring as many others along for the ride as he could, and nothing else really mattered.

Marion sidled up to him. “Your bandage is soaked again,” she murmured softly.

Buck sighed. “I know. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it in front of Chris.”

“Let me wrap it again. We still have several T-shirts.” She wrapped it back up, giving him a worried look. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, Buck.”

“I know that too. I feel it, but it’s not critical yet. We’ve tried putting pressure on the wound; it’s not helping, so we just have to have faith that we’ll get there in time.” All his minor wounds had clotted off eventually, but the big one on his arm, which definitely needed stitches, continued to sluggishly bleed.

“You’ve given us backup plans for so many things, but what do we do if you fall?” She stared up at him, expression earnest.

“You keep going. Prop me up out of the way, take Christopher, and get to the VA hospital.”

“When we have carried so many so far, you think we would leave you?”

“I think I’m a big man, and it’s not going to be easy to carry me. Especially in the dark. You’ll probably get me help faster to go to the VA and bring someone back. I don’t think it’s much farther. A mile, maybe. Two at the most. But I’ll be fine for now.”

“Let Thomas carry Christopher for a time.”

“No. Christopher is my responsibility. If we’re walking, he’s with me.”

“You are very stubborn.”

He shrugged.

She patted his arm. “Don’t forget to eat yourself.”

The idea of food actually made him queasy, but he forced himself to drink the bottle of water, knowing he needed the fluids.

When they had their plan and the people with the flashlights were out in front, Buck gathered Christopher back into his arms and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Let’s go find your dad.”

~*~

It was one thing after another as Eddie tended to minor and major injuries alike. New survivors came into the field hospital every few minutes, and every one needed to be triaged.

His team had come in with trucks full of people who’d barely escaped a gas fire. The flurry of activity kept him busy for a while, kept him from wondering why he hadn’t heard from Buck.

He’d tried calling, but the call wouldn’t connect. He’d gotten lucky and briefly connected with Maddie, but she hadn’t heard from Buck either. Text messages seemed to be more reliable than phone calls, and she’d sent him an update a few minutes ago that she still hadn’t been able to reach him. Several cell towers had been reported as damaged in the flooding, and he’d heard that the cellphone carriers had already begun deploying their mobile cell towers, called COWs. Those were supposed to be fully up and operational anytime now, so more reliable cell service should resume. With his luck, it’d be about the time they were sent home out of the damage area.

Hen and Chimney were still busy helping triage the people they’d brought in. Eddie finished with the first aid he’d been doing and went to find Bobby.

“We going back out there?” he asked his captain.

“Probably not. They’ve called up all the search and rescue teams, and the National Guard has arrived. Now that the water has receded, it’s a different ballgame out there.” He eyed Eddie critically. “You okay?”

“I still haven’t heard from Buck.”

“Where were they headed today?”

“I actually don’t know.”

“You don’t think…?”

“No.” Eddie shook his head in emphatic denial. “That’s not possible.” But a little voice said it was possible. Christopher had been wanting to go to the pier, and Buck would easily give in if Chris asked. “No. They couldn’t have been here.” He looked at Bobby pleadingly. “Could they?”

Bobby put a hand on his shoulder. “It could just be difficult to make a connection. Even where cell coverage is good, lines are jammed. Let’s wait and see.”

He was about to say something, but the incident commander came running up. “Captain Nash, we were going to dismiss your team, but I’ve got report of a huge group of survivors coming in on foot. I could use help with triage.”

“How many?”

“Estimate is seventy to eighty.” He pointed down the larger street leading up to the VA. “Coming from that direction.”

Eddie could just make out lights flickering in the distance. “I think that might be them.”

The IC stared at the barely visible lights. “We need to get more beds and prep.”

“We should set up a whole new staging area,” Eddie said.

“Yes. Let’s move fast.”

It was a mad dash to have any cots or chairs ready for a huge influx of people. Nurses and doctors rushed around along with paramedics. Chim and Hen joined Bobby and Eddie to wait for the new patients as they moved around cots, and tables in the staging area. Volunteers ran out cases of water and basic medical supplies. Part of him itched to go meet the incoming survivors, but it had been decided by the IC to let them come to the tent if they could and only send people out if it were necessary.

The first to arrive actually seemed to be in good shape and carrying flashlights. The group was well organized. There were people on improvised stretchers and in wheelchairs, though where those had come from he couldn’t guess. There was also a gaggle of children, and Eddie’s heart broke at hearing they’d been separated from their family.

Everyone had sprung into action the minute the survivors began to trickle in, and they were able to shift a lot of the uninjured off to a recovery tent where they could check in and get food and water. Eddie was about to move to help a woman with a make-shift bandage around her head when he saw a familiar face. At first, he thought he was imagining it, but the bloody, dirty person limping toward him was Buck.

And in his arms was Christopher.

“Christopher?” Eddie whispered, feet moving without conscious thought. He ran, finding himself in front of his best friend. He wanted to snatch his son into his arms, but Christopher’s eyes were closed, and Eddie didn’t know if he was hurt in some way.

Feeling like his heart was being torn apart, he looked up and met Buck’s pained gaze. “He’s fine,” Buck rasped. “Just sleeping.” He handed Christopher to Eddie. “I promised we wouldn’t stop until I brought him back to you, Eddie.”

Eddie’s eyes burned, vision swimming with tears. “Buck.”

Then Buck’s eyes rolled back in his head and another man, one of the other survivors, caught Buck as he crumpled to the ground.

~*~

Eddie sat by Christopher’s cot, smoothing his hair back, watching his son sleep. Chris had woken up briefly, wanting Buck, but Eddie had explained that the doctors were working on Buck and he’d be back soon. Though Eddie had no idea what was wrong with Buck, and it was driving him crazy.

He’d checked Christopher over from head to toe and found him healthy. He had a few bruises and abrasions, but otherwise, he was perfectly fine. Which was a miracle because from what little Chris has said, they were standing on the pier when the wave hit.

How could they possibly have survived that?

Bobby appeared and sat on the opposite side of the cot, looking tired and like he’d aged ten years.

“Have you heard anything?” Eddie asked urgently.

“They stitched him up, and they’re going to bring him in shortly.” Bobby looked as exhausted as Eddie felt. “Hypovolemic shock. The doctor said it was hard to tell how much was actual blood loss and how much dehydration contributed to his condition. His hematocrit was low, but not critically low.” The field hospital had been set up to do simple emergency blood work, but anything complicated had to be sent to one of the local hospitals. “They’ve given him two units of blood and one of fluids. They want to give him another two of fluids before making a final call on whether he’ll be shipped to Cedars; he’s currently stable.”

Eddie scrubbed his hands over his face. Normally, Buck would absolutely go to the hospital, but all the hospitals were overwhelmed with serious injuries. Buck might not even be able to get decent care at this time at a hospital if his situation wasn’t critical.

“He had a lot of minor cuts on top of the big cut on his arm that was sluggishly bleeding all day. He’s pretty banged up, got some bruised ribs. The doctor feels sheer exhaustion is likely a significant factor in Buck’s collapse. I got the story from several of the people who were with him. He pulled easily thirty of these people out of the water himself. Hauled them up on a fire engine of all things. When that got full, he put them on cars and told them how to hang on if there was another surge.

“When the water receded, he took everyone he rescued and started making his way inland. Someone directed him to the VA. They picked up everyone else along the way. They were promised someone would come help with the injured, but they somehow managed to miss the rescue teams or they looked too organized, and the teams bypassed them.”

Hen had joined them while Bobby was speaking. She looked tired as she pulled up a chair next to Eddie. “I talked to several of the people while we were triaging injuries. They said he never stopped. He’d hand off Christopher, pull someone out of a car, rig up a splint, figure out how to put together a stretcher using whatever crap they could find, then take Christopher and keep walking.”

She gave Eddie’s arm a squeeze. “One of the women told me that unless he was rescuing someone, he wouldn’t let anyone else carry or take care of Chris.”

Eddie felt his throat get tight. “I don’t even know what to think.”

“I’m at a loss myself,” Bobby said, leaning back in his chair. “That kid.” He shook his head.

Hen gave Bobby a look. “Maybe it’s time to accept that he’s ready to come back to work.”

“He nearly bled to death,” Bobby snapped.

“Yeah, because he had a sluggishly bleeding wound all day,” she challenged. “In what world would that ever happen on the job, Bobby? You think he’s too impulsive and cavalier, but I’d say Buck has more than proven that he’s a firefighter to his bones. Maybe what you see as cavalier is him assessing a situation faster than we do. And if you won’t put him back to work at the 118, someone else is going to snap him up. Look what he did. The IC took note, other rescue teams certainly are paying attention. He’s going back to work one way or another. He’s going to get offers.”

Bobby buried his face in his hands. “I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

Eddie frowned. “That’s your reason for keeping him out?” Eddie shook his head and held up a hand. “I don’t want to know. You think Buck’s got to sort himself out to be back on the job, but maybe it’s you. Him coughing up blood all over you must have freaked you out, Cap, but this isn’t the way to handle it.”

Bobby didn’t get a chance to reply because Chimney came over and leaned against the wall. “I finally got through to Maddie. She’s not going to come down here because I figure we’ll be gone long before she’ll make it through this mess, but she’s freaked. I figure we’ll have a houseguest for a couple of days.”

Eddie sat up straight. “How do you figure?”

“Well, he’s going to need someone to look after him, assuming he’s not in the hospital.”

“Yeah, and that’ll happen at my house.”

Chim frowned. “She’s his sister.”

“I’m not talking about who has a stronger familial tie, Chim, but Chris and Buck have been through a significant trauma together. Do you really think they’re going to do well apart?”

Chim opened his mouth then snapped it shut. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

Eddie looked to Hen. “Normally, he’d need to be in the hospital at least for a night for observation, but are they even going to be able to do that with the sheer number of critically injured flooding the hospitals?”

“I doubt it. They could keep him here for observation or even let us handle it. We’ll have to wait and see what his doctor says. If he stays stable and wakes up, alert and oriented, I’d imagine they’ll let us take him home. Provided someone keeps an eye on him.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

~*~

Buck woke with Christopher’s name on his lips.

A warm hand curled around his wrist, squeezing gently. “He’s right next to you, Buck,” Eddie said softly, moving into Buck’s line of sight. “He’s fine. Look to your right.”

He followed the instruction, his head feeling like it weighed a million pounds, and found Chris curled up in Bobby’s lap, clean and dressed in kid pajamas with little rainbows all over them. Chris was conked out, head resting on Bobby’s chest.

Bobby offered him a wan smile. “Hey, kid.”

Buck managed a nod, not sure what that was even supposed to convey. “He’s okay?”

“A few scrapes and bruises,” Eddie murmured. “Nothing worse than he gets playing, which is something of a miracle.”

His gaze met Eddie’s, and he felt his eyes fill with tears. “I’m so sorry, Eds,” he croaked out.

“Hey, hey…” Eddie’s hand cradled his cheek, thumb swiping away a few stray tears. “You’re fine. We’re all fine. Let me get you some water.” Eddie helped lever him to a semi-seated position, taking most of Buck’s weight as he supported him on the narrow cot. He brought a straw to Buck’s lips, and Buck drank greedily until Eddie whispered, “Slow down. Don’t choke.”

Buck’s everything ached, and he felt like he’d been dragged behind a car. He drank slowly, gaze fixed on Christopher, until the cup was drained.

When he was lying back down, Eddie perched on the edge of the cot, his hip pressed against Buck’s. “What were you apologizing for?”

Buck blinked away another surge of emotion. “My choices put him in danger, and I—”

“No,” Eddie interjected. “I’m not entertaining this. You could have gone literally anywhere in this city, including staying at home, and been caught up in an earthquake. Natural disasters are no one’s fault. I’d planned to take Chris to the pier one of these days myself because he’s been asking; I’m hardly surprised he asked you. If you’d called me ahead of time, I’d have just said, ‘have fun.’ And then been stressed out and useless all day.”

Eddie got right in Buck’s eye-line. “I’m not sure Christopher would have survived in anyone else’s company, Buck. You saved him.”

“That’s not—”

“It is absolutely true. He told us you were on the pier when the wave hit. I don’t even know how you’re both here to talk to me, but I am grateful, Evan.” He framed Buck’s face with both hands, forcing eye contact. “So grateful. And anytime you start in with self-recrimination or any voice of doubt, I’m going to set Christopher on you.”

Buck gave a watery laugh. “That’s mean.”

“Appropriate,” Bobby said softly.

Eddie patted Buck’s cheek gently. “We’ll work on this need to blame yourself for acts of God.” Then he released Buck’s face but took hold of his hand.

“You pulled off a miracle today, kid,” Bobby offered. “And you dragged seventy-six people along with you.”

“I did not save seventy-six people,” Buck protested.

“Not directly, but nearly fifty seem to be crediting you as their savior, and over thirty credit you for pulling them out of the water. The others followed you because you represented what they needed on such an awful day: safety.” Bobby looked both soft and proud. “You did damn good.”

“Bobby.” Buck didn’t even know how to respond to that.

“You heal up and get back to feeling like normal and let’s talk. I think it’s time to get you back to what you were clearly meant to do.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, kid. We’ll work it out.”

Buck had no idea what that meant or how Bobby would pull that off, but that was a problem for future Buck. In this moment, just the hope felt good. He glanced down at himself. “What’s the damage?”

“Hypovolemic shock,” Eddie replied. “They gave you two units. Your kidney function looks fine so far. Heart rhythm has been stable. The doctor said you could probably do with one more unit at least, but they’re rationing blood supplies right now. They’ve given you a lot of fluids to bring your total volume up; your hematocrit is marginal. Normally, they’d want you in the hospital overnight, but the hospitals are overloaded, so there’d be no one to monitor you appropriately. After that bag,” he gestured to the IV pole, “you can leave if you’re able to stand without passing out. Then you follow-up in the next forty-eight for labs to keep an eye on your kidneys and heart.”

Buck blew out a noisy breath. “Well, that’s gonna be difficult. Everything hurts like a bitch. I’m not sure a lot of standing is in the cards.”

Eddie frowned. “How much pain are you in?”

“I don’t know. Like maybe seven out of ten…? Every muscle hurts, and my leg is both aching and on fire and the muscles are locked up.” He was reluctant to admit that in front of Bobby, but it’d be obvious if he tried to stand.

“You okay with me massaging it?”

“I’d offer to have your baby if you’d do that.”

Eddie gave a startled laugh. “Yeah, okay. You do that.” The massage on his leg was both sweet relief and incredible agony. The muscles were so locked up that Eddie dragged a doctor over to assess it before the massage got too far. The doctor okayed the massage but also promised to send someone along with some muscle relaxers. Buck figured they were eager to get them out of there and that wouldn’t happen if he couldn’t stand.

The three of them talked softly until the pain subsided enough for Buck to try standing. Hen and Chim had already left. Chim to try to intercept and calm Maddie, while Hen had left to get some sleep as she’d be the one checking on Buck in the early morning and tomorrow. Assuming he made it home.

“How are you doing?” Eddie asked with concern when Buck seemed set to try standing.

He was sitting on the side of the cot, and his shoulders slumped. “I’ve never been so tired in my life.”

“We’ll get you home, and you can sleep. Assuming you can stand without passing out.”

“I will not pass out,” Buck said adamantly.

“Says the guy who already passed out on me once tonight and took ten years off my life. All right, hot shot, let’s see it,” Eddie said challengingly, obviously braced to help Buck if he couldn’t make it on his own.

~*~

Eddie glanced in the back seat where Buck was conked out with Christopher tucked up under his arm.

There’d been no getting back to the station to get Eddie’s truck, so they’d had to do two hand-offs before Bobby was able to secure them a ride to Eddie’s place. Chris was tired and cranky and hadn’t wanted to be parted from Buck, so Buck had just climbed into the backseat with him, despite the fact that it was obviously painful for him to pretzel himself that way.

“You good?” Bobby asked.

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. When I think of everything that could have been lost today, I can’t be anything but good.”

Bobby nodded. “I’ll help you get them inside, and then I’m going to run to the pharmacy to pick up the scripts the doctor called in for Buck.”

“Thank, Bobby.”

“No thanks necessary.”

Maddie had been the one to make the emergency call to Buck’s regular doctor and get him briefed on Buck’s medical situation via a call with the doctors at the VA. Buck’s doctor had called in both the lab orders for the days ahead as well as pain medication and muscle relaxers in case it was necessary. Eddie knew Buck and Chris had been given a shot of antibiotics at the VA—anyone who’d been in the water had been—but due to the number of open wounds Buck had, Buck’s doctor had called in a ten-day course of oral antibiotics as well.

“After the drop off, you going home?” Eddie asked.

“We’ll, I’m going to return Kumar his vehicle, and Athena is going to pick me up. I’d throw some food in for you guys for the morning, but your abuela has already put you on notice that she’ll be here in the morning with your aunt to take care of everything. Which felt like an immense threat.”

“You have no idea,” Eddie said gravely.

“Well, let’s get them out of the car, so restful sleep can happen.”

Buck tried not to make a big deal out of how much discomfort he was in, but Eddie could see it, and the dead giveaway was how much he was letting Bobby help him as Eddie carried Chris inside.

“I’ll be right back,” Bobby said as he headed back out.

“He’s coming back?” Buck asked, sounding bewildered.

“Went to go get your prescriptions.” He settled Chris on the couch. “Let’s get you in bed, Buck. I’ll come back for Chris in a second.”

“I need to shower,” Buck said tiredly. “I can’t even the itch of the ocean water.”

“Me too,” Chris mumbled around a yawn.

“I gave you a bath at the hospital. You slept right through it, mijo.”

Chris yawned again. “Oh good. That’s why I don’t itch anymore.” He held up his arms. “Sleep in your bed. Then you can give Buck a bath too.”

“I can give myself a bath,” Buck said indignantly, then ruined the effect by yawning.

“You’re too tired,” Chris muttered as he let his head rest on Eddie’s shoulder, and Eddie started walking down the hall. “We should all sleep together. I don’t want to be without my Bucky.”

Eddie set Chris out on the bed. “Yeah, okay, kiddo. Let me go help Buck, and then we’ll all go to sleep. Don’t worry if you fall asleep first. We’ll be here soon.”

“’kay. Love you, Daddy.”

Eddie pressed a kiss to his head. “Love you too, Mijo.”

He found Buck shuffling his way down the hallway, looking like death had warmed over. Eddie sighed. “You sure about this?”

“The only thing worse than feeling this way is feeling this way and being this gross.”

“Pretty sure that’s not true, but I’ll enable your hygiene fetish. Good thing for you we need a walk-in shower for Chris. But this had better be the fastest, most perfunctory shower in history. I don’t think you’ve got the energy for more than getting the salt off. And I’m sitting in the bathroom the whole time because you’re not passing out again on me.”

“Less negotiating, Eds, more bathing; I’m tired.”

Eddie huffed.

Buck was in the shower, with the scrubs the hospital had provided in a heap by the shower door, before Eddie could finish fetching fresh towels. Buck’s body was a hazy figure through the shower glass, but what Eddie could see look like there was more purple than there should be.

Then Buck slumped against the shower wall.

“You okay?”

“I got my body washed.”

“That’s good.”

“I don’t think I can lift my arms to wash my hair.”

“Ah.” He refused to make this awkward. “Want help?”

There was a beat and then, “Yes.”

Eddie stripped off most of his clothes. “I’m down to just my boxers; I need to shower when this done anyway.” The he entered the shower and was mostly successful at keeping his eyes up but, as suspected, Buck was covered in a ton of bruises. “Damn, Buck, I think there’s more bruised skin than not-bruised skin.”

“I wouldn’t know; haven’t looked.”

“Well, let’s put off that perusal considering the bruises are probably still coming up.” He made quick work of shampooing Buck’s hair, and he only went as fast as he did because it seemed like a scalp massage would put Buck right to sleep. Once the suds were rinsed, he pushed open the shower door and grabbed one of the towels, handing it to Buck. “Dry off if you can do it safely, and sit on the toilet lid, okay? I need to change your dressing on your arm as soon as I finish showering.”

Buck mumbled something that was probably an affirmative, and Eddie took at as such.

He went through his own shower at light speed, washing away a day of rescues and sea water as quickly as he could while still being complete since he didn’t want to trigger anything for Buck or Chris with scent memory.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and found Buck half dried off, sitting on the closed toilet, looking asleep. “You awake?”

“No.”

“Right. Well, feel free to keep sleeping while I redress your arm and then we can get to bed.”

Buck was as cooperative as he could be all things considered, and it was only a few minutes before Eddie could pour him into the bed next to Christopher, who was completely out despite still being on top of the covers.

“You don’t have to let me sleep here, Eds,” Buck mumbled into Eddie’s pillow.

“Right. Tell that to Christopher.”

Buck grumbled, but didn’t argue as he curled his arm protectively over Chris.

Eddie went back to the kitchen and found the prescription bag on the counter. He grabbed the bag, three bottles of water, crackers, some kid’s Advil, and made sure everything was locked up.

He figured he’d get Chris up in a little bit for some water, a snack, and some Advil, but he’d let him sleep for a bit first. He sat on the edge of Buck’s side of the bed. “Buck? Pain meds, muscle relaxers, or both?”

Buck frowned. “Both.”

“Solid plan. You’re going to be unable to move in the morning otherwise. Come on, sit up for me.”

Ten minutes later, Eddie was crawling into his side of the bed, getting Chris tucked in properly and finding Buck was still awake, staring at him.

“You okay?”

Buck nodded, frowned, then shook his head.

“Tell me how I can help.”

Buck shrugged one shoulder. “I just kept thinking I had to get him back to you safe and then I could rest. And now he’s here, and he’s safe, and it’s on repeat behind my eyes, and I’m so tired, Eddie.”

Going out on a limb, Eddie reached out a cupped Buck’s cheek, stroking his thumb over Buck’s cheekbone, lightly touching the birthmark with his fingertips. “I need you to know you did absolutely nothing wrong today—nothing. In the end, you brought my heart back to me, no matter the cost to you. It’s my turn to have your back, Evan. I promise you are safe with me. It’s okay to rest now.”

Buck seemed to be searching for something in Eddie’s gaze, and when he found it, he nodded, curled his fingers around Eddie’s wrist, held Eddie’s hand close, and finally went to sleep.

The End