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captain--sif · 3 years

Text

Lift me up

Words: 5.5k Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley, Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Maddie Buckley Additional Tags: minor Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, minor Eddie Diaz & Christopher Diaz, Trapped In Elevator, Elevatorstuck, Elevators, Flirting, Pining, Alternate Universe - Apartment Building, 5+1 Things, beta read by grammarly, Fluff, no angsty elevator drama, No Angst, just waiting Summary:

They are both intently staring at the lights changing from one number to the next. Then the elevator comes to a halt and Buck assumes he’ll soon be alone. But instead of pushing away from the wall, the other man is just furrowing his brows. Then Buck realizes the door isn’t opening. His eyes flit back to the current story: Four. That’s not where any of them wanted to get off. Buck groans. “I think we’re stuck.” Buck laughs a humorless laugh. “Shit.”

Buck gets stuck in his apartment building's broken elevator with his good-looking neighbor from the sixth floor.

for @lydiabennetts whose fault it is that I wrote this fic. All the descriptions of being stuck in an elevator are based off of my own experiences. I obviously can't talk for all elevators 🤣

Read the full fic on AO3, wattpad or under the cut.

It’s late , is all Buck is thinking when he’s opening the door to his apartment building. I promised Maddie I’d be on time.

He’s cursing his boss internally.

For a second, he’s contemplating taking the stairs as he knows he’d be faster running up the stairs than waiting for the elevator. But then he’d probably have to shower and he really doesn’t have the time to do that right now.

So he trots to the elevator instead, pushing the button more than just a few times for good measure.

“I don’t think it makes the elevator come down here faster,” a male voice says and when Buck looks up there’s an amused smile curling around the lips of the man who’s coming towards him.

Buck recognizes him: About as tall as him, short brown hair, probably a few years older, decently attractive (not that Buck has been looking). He thinks he’s living a story or two below him. Buck instantly resents him for the comment.

“It doesn’t hurt either,” Buck replies and sees the other man recoil at his sour tone. It’s probably immature but Buck doesn’t care. Why should he care about what some neighbor thinks of him? All he cares about at the moment is not to get late to Maddie’s.

The elevator doors slide open and Buck pushes the button with the number eight in passing, paying his neighbor no mind. He enters just behind Buck, pressing the six. Buck’s gloating a little internally over being right. Childish, yes.

He leans back against the wall of the elevator, his neighbor doing the same on his right. There’s not much space in these city apartment elevators.

“I think we’re stuck.”

Buck laughs a humorless laugh. “Shit.”

His neighbor steps towards the panel, presses and holds the emergency button. The tone it makes when it connects is obnoxious, but it doesn’t keep Buck’s thoughts from drifting away. He’ll be late to Maddie’s , is all he can think. Again.

“Please try putting your flat hands on the door and pushing it closed,” the person on the other side instructs them, and his neighbor steps towards the door to do as told. Buck watches but nothing happens. He sighs in frustration. Maddie will kill him.

“I’ve sent a technician your way. They’ll be at your place in around an hour to an hour and a half, depending on traffic. Is everything okay healthwise?”

His neighbor looks at Buck, who nods dumbly. He’s okay. He’s just gonna be at Maddie’s an hour late. He thumps his head against the wall behind him.

The worker disconnects and Buck’s neighbor looks at him. “Better tell that person you were rushing to that you’re late. Let me guess: Girlfriend? Parents? ”

Buck shakes his head.

“Boss?” he guesses again.

“Sister,” Buck replies and slides down to sit on the floor. The other man’s eyes follow him.

He takes out his phone, searches for Maddie’s contact and calls her.

“You’re late because you’re stuck in the elevator?” Maddie asks him incredulously and Buck starts to relax. She’s not mad she’s… laughing at him.

“Please laugh at my misery,” he quips, which only makes her laugh more.

Shifting to a more serious tone she asks: “But you’re okay?”

Buck answers in the affirmative and then proceeds to roll his eyes when she proceeds to fuss around his well-being. His neighbor huffs a laugh at that.

“I’m hanging up now,” Buck warns her. More softly: “But I’ll come around later.”

He lowers the phone.

“How much time remains?” he asks.

His neighbor looks at his watch. “At least forty minutes.”

Buck sighs.

“You got something with you to do during that time? A book?”

Buck lifts his phone with a smirk. “The internet is right here.”

His neighbor laughs and maybe Buck doesn’t resent him anymore. He has a nice smile. Buck wouldn’t mind looking at it for a while longer.

Then he takes out his own phone. “I guess I could play some games on my phone too.”

Buck raises his eyebrows. “You don’t look like someone who plays mobile games.”

The furrowed brows from earlier are back and Buck misses his smile. “I don’t know which way to take that.”

Then he adds: “Everyone plays mobile games.”

Now it’s Buck’s turn to furrow his brows. “They do?”

His neighbor laughs again.

It’s silent for a while and Buck starts scrolling through social media. They sit in companionable silence until the voice from earlier breaks it.

“Are you still feeling well?”

They do, they assure them and they disconnect again. Another twenty to fifty minutes. Buck sighs.

The other man lowers himself to sit down on the floor next to him, putting his phone down on the ground.

“So,” he starts, “you’re gonna go to your sister after we’re out of here?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s nice that you live so close to each other.”

“Yeah, it is,” Buck agrees, “It’s nice to have her around.”

“I have two sisters myself,” his neighbor shares, “they still live in El Paso, where my parents live. I don’t see them very often.”

Buck nods. “Maddie’s only recently moved here but it’s been nice. Having family near.”

He gets a nod in reply.

Then it’s silent again.

The voice checks in with them a few more times before the elevator finally starts moving again.

“Have a nice evening with your sister,” his neighbor wishes him when he gets off on the sixth floor.

“You too,” Buck replies when the doors close.

He calls Maddie again. “The elevator’s moving. I’ll be there soon.”

Buck’s on his way to work. He’s not running late but he also doesn’t have a whole lot of time to catch his bus. The usual.

The elevator is stopping on the sixth floor and Buck’s heart stops, thinking the elevator broke again. But then the doors open and one of his neighbors from the sixth floor is walking into the elevator. The neighbor he was actually stuck with. Buck laughs to himself.

“What’s so funny?” his neighbor asks, amusement playing around his lips. It’s the same expression that made Buck resent him initially. Buck’s come to appreciate it now.

“Ah, nothing,” Buck replies sheepishly.

“On your way to work?”

Buck nods.

“Me too.”

The doors close, and they’re moving. But not for long.

Buck looks at the lights in disbelief, then at his neighbor, who’s matching his expression. Only the scowl is new.

Buck waves at him. “You know the drill,” he says, and his neighbor gets to work on the door.

Again, nothing happens, so he presses and holds the emergency button.

The call connects and they go through all the steps again, the person on the other side reminding them that the crazy scenes they see in movies won’t happen and that they are totally safe. That the elevator can’t fall.

A technician will be there in an hour.

“I felt safer before the reminder,” Buck comments once they disconnect.

His neighbor laughs and again, Buck is quite pleased with himself.

Then he slides off his jacket, laying it on the floor, and pushes up the sleeves of his shirt over his forearms, before sitting down on the jacket.

Buck shrugs and sits down on his side of the elevator.

His neighbor turns to him. “If this becomes a pattern it might be nice to know each other’s names. I’m Eddie.”

“Buck,” Buck replies, and “it’s not a pattern yet.”

Eddie lifts his brows.

“One’s chance,” Buck recounts, “two’s coincidence, three’s a pattern. We’re at two now.”

Eddie laughs at him, and Buck is reminded why he started liking it.

“We’re on our best way to make it a pattern though,” he points out and Buck replies with a shrug.

Eddie leans his head against the elevator wall behind him. “I’ll have to call in late to work.”

At this reminder, Buck mimics him. “Oh shit,” slips out of his mouth, “me too.”

They both get out their phones to do the calls and Buck thinks that, no matter how much it sucks to call your boss, their calls will at least pass some time. It’s better than to just sit around and do nothing.

After they finish their calls, they sit around in silence for a few minutes, fiddling with their phones and staring at the walls.

“Ah!” Buck exclaims excitedly, “I downloaded a mobile game.”

Eddie raises an eyebrow at him, questioningly. “You did?”

Sheepishly Buck ducks his head, both at his not very subtle attempt at doing conversation, as well as the confession he was about to make. “The last time we were stuck in this elevator…”

Eddie huffs a laugh at that.

“... you said everyone played them. And well, I hadn’t so far. So I did some research.”

Eddie widens his eyes incredulously. “You did research? On mobile games?”

“Shut up,” Buck laughs, ”it’s not my area of expertise.”

Eddie shakes his head.

“So I downloaded Hay Day.”

“You downloaded Hay Day.” Eddie seems to ponder over it. Then he tilts his head. “Do you like it?”

“It’s surprisingly fun,” Buck admits, “but I don’t like the long waiting times.”

“Yeah,” Eddie huffs, “that’s how they try to get your money.”

“ Right? ” Buck latches onto it. “Why make the game free if you’re gonna charge for everything anyway? Just make people pay for it up front!”

“I can’t believe people spend thousands of dollars on that.” Eddie shakes his head. “But I assume that is exactly the reason. How much does a game cost on a console? Maybe sixty dollars, possibly eighty. They can [probably] get a lot more this way.”

“Yeah. I still prefer consoles. You can keep your mobile games.”

Eddie opens his mouth as if to say something but closes it again before a word can leave it. Instead, he chuckles.

“I hope your meeting with your sister was nice the other night.”

Buck furrows his brows at that obvious change of subject but it’s not more sudden than his exclamation about mobile games earlier, so he goes along.

“It was,” he reassures Eddie, “Maddie is a big fan of wine and I’ve been getting cooking lessons, so we’ve made it a thing of proving our knowledge to each other. I’m choosing the recipe to prove I can indeed cook, and she chooses a fitting wine to prove she knows her wine.”

“Does it work?” Eddie asks and Buck shrugs.

“Most of the time.” He laughs.

They jolt when the voice comes back through the speakers to check in with them and inform them of the technician's progress.

Buck starts laughing once they disconnect, Eddie joining in soon.

Once they calmed down, Eddie worries his lip with his teeth.

“I’m not a good cook,” he admits, “it’s one of the things my parents have always been criticizing.”

Buck shoots him a sympathetic glance, extending his legs for as far as possible in the small elevator.

“I haven’t been until recently either.” A shrug. “And if I was still talking to mine, they’d have probably bugged me about it too. But it’s been fun to learn.”

Contemplating, he tilts his head. “You say that like they criticize you a lot.”

Eddie huffs. “Yeah. I don’t think I can do anything right in their eyes.” He shrugs. “But I don’t wanna bore you with that.”

“Oh, you aren’t,” Buck rushes. For a second, none of them speaks. “Is that why you moved so far away from them?”

“One of the reasons,” Eddie nods and Buck can’t help but nod along.

“Yeah.”

It feels shorter this time, surprising them both when the emergency worker connects to tell them the technician is there and will soon get the elevator to work again.

They get up, slowly, collecting their things, stretching their limbs. It moves, and they both exhale in relief, sharing a smile.

“Let’s not make this a pattern,” Buck says when they leave, though he has the suspicion that he doesn’t quite mean it.

Eddie laughs at that and shoots him an “I’ll see you around.” when they part ways in front of their apartment building.

Bread, Buck thinks. Mayonnaise. Cucumber. Eggs. The elevator doors slide open and Buck goes over his grocery list another time while stepping inside and pressing the zero button. Bread. Mayonnaise. Cucumber. Eggs.

The doors close after him, then opening up again as soon as they touch the other side of the door frame.

Buck groans, stepping towards the panel again and pressing down on the “Close door” one.

It closes and Buck leans against the wall at the other end of the elevator, closing his eyes and waiting for all eight floors to pass by.

But then the door opens again and Buck really wishes he had taken the stairs today. He’s about to get out of the elevator to do so after all when he hears someone with crutches coming into the elevator and opens his eyes to see his neighbor, Eddie , coming in.

Eddie looks tense, subtly, but Buck is good at reading people and associated with the crutches he heard, he’s about to ask if Eddie’s okay.

But then he looks down and his eyes land on a small boy. His hair is longer and a lot lighter than Eddie’s but the resemblance is nevertheless unmistakable.

Before he can think better of it, he blurts out: “I didn’t know you had a son.”

Of course he didn’t. Despite being stuck together in this same elevator twice, they are still nothing more than strangers who live in the same apartment building. Neighbors who know each other’s names. Buck doesn’t know where this is coming from.

He doesn’t miss how Eddie’s jaw tenses and Buck fears he may have just ruined the tentative friendship? Acquaintanceship? That they formed during their conversations in the elevator.

“That’s Christopher,” Eddie says nevertheless, and then to the boy: “Chris, this is Buck. He lives on the eighth floor.”

“Ah, is he the one you were stuck with in here?”

“Yes,” Eddie agrees, “that’s the one.”

Buck chuckles at that. “I hope I don’t become known as the one people get stuck in elevators with.”

“You got stuck in the elevator with someone else too?” Eddie asks, his tone subdued. Buck thinks something is up with him but he doesn’t know Eddie well enough to feel confident asking about it.

“No,” Buck laughs self-consciously, “but I think I may have just jinxed it.”

As if on demand, the elevator stops moving.

Eddie’s eyes flit to the ceiling and then back to Buck. “I think you just did.”

“Are we stuck?” Christopher asks.

“Seems like it, buddy.” Eddie is ruffling his hair and Buck’s melting because of the softness in Eddie’s voice.

Buck pushes away from the wall. “So, the usual steps.”

Eddie nods, but before he can reply, Christopher asks: “What are the usual steps?”

“May I?” Buck asks, waiting for Eddie's assent to pass the two of them and put his hands on the door. Christopher’s eyes follow him, so once he’s got his hands in place, he half-turns to look at the boy. “Now I just have to push the door closed.”

Christopher watches as Buck follows up on his words.

Buck doesn’t expect it to change anything, and in fact, it doesn’t, but Christopher’s face lights up when he asks if he can try too. So Buck makes room for him by the door and helps him push after Christopher has given his crutches to his dad to hold.

“Nothing happens,” Christopher states afterwards, disappointment evident in his voice.

“It hasn’t the last two times either. But it’s worth trying.” Buck shrugs and then looks back to Eddie, checking that he’s not overstepping. He’s happy to find a small smile playing on the other man’s lips, the tension from earlier missing in his shoulders.

Christopher motions for his crutches again and Eddie’s quickly handing them over.

When Buck’s leaning back against one of the walls again, his eyes fall on the emergency button.

“I think we should…” he starts, making Eddie follow his line of sight.

Eddie huffs a breath. “Yeah…”

Now it’s Buck who’s standing closer to the elevator panel, so it’s him who steps towards it and presses down, waiting for the call to connect.

He’s answering the usual questions: how many people are inside, if they tried closing the door, how they’re feeling. Buck thinks about how it’s starting to become a routine.

That’s when Eddie says: “I think I’m allowed to call it a pattern now.”

Buck nearly chokes on his laugh.

“No no,” he argues, “the variables have clearly changed. It’s two times I’ve been stuck in an elevator with you, and one time I’ve been stuck in an elevator with you and your son. That doesn’t make three.”

“I assume you don’t have a college degree because you clearly failed math,” Eddie quips and Buck laughs, again.

“I can’t even object to that because I did fail math in college.”

“I’m good at math,” Christopher pipes up, “I got an A on all tests this year.”

“Impressive,” Buck nods in recognition. “You like math?”

“Yes. It’s my favorite subject.”

Christopher talks about it with glee in his eyes and Eddie’s features are equally soft while listening until they contort in a way that is best described by “Oh shit” .

He fumbles for his phone while addressing Buck: “Do you have anyone you have to inform that you’ll be late?”

“Oh no,” Buck shrugs, “I’m just on my way to buy groceries.”

Eddie nods. “I’m gonna have to…” He motions to his phone.

“Yeah, sure.”

Buck and Christopher patiently wait for Eddie to talk to whoever’s on the other side of the line, describing their situation and how long it’ll probably take them.

“I’ll text you if anything changes,” he ends with. There seems to be assent from the other person because soon after they’re disconnecting.

“So,” Buck asks, “who were you supposed to meet?” He thinks of Eddie’s questions the first time they found themselves in this situation. “ Wife? ” he corrects the voice in his head with a thought to Chris.

“Ex-wife,” Eddie answers abashedly.

“Dad is bringing me to mom, so I can spend the weekend with her and grandma,” Christopher shares excitedly.

“Shannon and I divorced two years ago,” Eddie feels the need to explain, “she’s caring for her sick mother, so we decided Chris would stay with me most of the time. Makes it easier for all of us.”

Buck nods. “You seem to have a good relationship with her.”

“We’re trying,” Eddie says with a half-smile, “for Chris.”

“It’s nice,” Buck reiterates, “my sister and her ex-husband split on really bad terms. And let me tell you, that sucks. For everyone involved.”

He swallows, then adds: “So it’s really great that you’re doing the effort for him.”

It’s then that the emergency worker reconnects for the usual check-in.

Afterwards, Eddie offers his phone to Christopher to play some games.

“What are you playing?” Buck asks the boy.

“Hay Day,” Christopher replies, concentrating on the game in front of him.

Buck shoots an amused look towards Eddie who seems to have reverted to his earlier state of discomfort and avoids meeting his eye.

Weird , Buck thinks and hopes he didn’t cause it by asking Christopher about his game.

He makes another try, “Cool! I recently started playing it too.”

“Really?” Christopher looks up at him, beaming, “what’s your farm’s level?”

“Oh, I barely just started, It’s only level thirteen.”

“Mine’s level 47. Look.” Christopher turns the phone over, so Buck can look at his little digital farm.

Buck chances another glance at Eddie, now leaning back and more or less relaxed. Confusing . Buck would love to figure him out.

Conversation comes easy for the rest of their stay. A little tenseness remains in his features but other than that he’s either sharing things with Buck himself or observing Chris talking to Buck. Soon enough, they get out of the elevator, into the corridor on the ground floor. Buck gets the door and holds it open for the two of them. He sees them walking towards a car on one of the parking lots in front of the building, Chris climbing in first. Eddie turns around and looks at Buck, so Buck seizes the moment to walk up to him.

“He’s a great kid,” he says, then follows it up with, “I love kids.”

Eddie smiles. He dips his head towards his car. “I love this one.”

Buck laughs and skips away to finally get his grocery shopping done.

“Keep the door open for me!” somebody calls out from the corridor and Buck would be lying if he said he didn’t recognize the voice. Instantly, he puts his hand in front of the sensor and, sure enough, Eddie hurries around the corner. He’s alone again and greets Buck with a smile as soon as he sees him.

“Thank you,” he pants.

“In a hurry?” Buck asks him, as the doors close behind him.

Eddie huffs. “No. I just don’t trust the elevator to come back down for me.”

Buck laughs. “Fair point.” After a contemplative dip of his head: “Probably wise, too.”

“We really need a new elevator,” Eddie sighs, “I don’t know what I’m doing with Chris if it breaks down with someone else inside and we have to take the stairs.”

It comes as a surprise to no one when the elevator comes to a halt. Buck and Eddie look at each other.

“Speak of the devil,” Buck breathes.

“I’m starting to think hell might as well actually be a broken elevator.” Eddie sighs.

Buck laughs. “Am I really that bad?”

Eddie’s eyes shoot up to his, red color flooding his cheeks. “I’d rather have met you in a different way but I do like the company.”

Then let’s meet somewhere else , Buck thinks but discards the thought as fast as it came up. He’s not even sure what he meant to offer.

Instead, he changes the topic: “Shall I try the door or do you want to?”

Eddie takes a dazed look at the door behind him before nodding in assent. “I can do it.”

Buck nods and proceeds to watch Eddie while he rolls up his shirt sleeves, puts his hands on the door and pushes it towards the opening. He leans back, expecting the elevator to stay as still as ever.

But for the first time, it actually starts moving again.

Buck nearly jumps in surprise and Eddie continues to stare blankly at the door that his hands are still touching.

Disappointment overcomes Buck and he can’t help but question where that feeling is coming from.

“We didn’t even have to call for the technician.” Eddie’s voice betrays the same feelings that Buck is feeling: confusion and a strange tint of disappointment, and Buck is relieved that he’s not the only one feeling that way.

Still, he got no time to mull that over before the elevator stops on the sixth floor. Eddie’s floor. The other man goes through the door as soon as it opens, but turns around to say goodbye.

Buck could swear Eddie is still standing in front of the elevator and looking at him when the doors are already closing. He tries not to think about it.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t just take the stairs?” Maddie asks, eyeing the elevator warily.

Buck rolls his eyes while setting down the bags he was carrying. “Sure, if you want to carry all of this, for eight full stories , then please do.”

She sighs as Buck presses the needed button, waiting for the doors to close.

Buck hears the doors open up again after having slid halfway closed; informing him that one of his neighbors is about to step into the elevator with them.

“I don’t trust your elevator not to break down on us.”

Buck huffs. Turning around and seeing that it’s Eddie who joined them, his brows furrowed, Buck decides to reply to his sister’s statement after all. “You might be onto something.”

Buck feels her perking up at that and stepping towards the unfamiliar man.

“So you’re Eddie,” it’s not really a question, and Buck winces. Maddie, unbothered, puts down her own grocery bag and reaches out her right hand to shake his. “I’m Maddie.”

A smile breaks onto Eddie’s face as he takes it “Ah, the infamous sister.”

Maddie nods, pleased. Buck isn’t quite sure what is happening.

“Is it one of your Wine and Dine sibling evenings?” Eddie follows up.

“Yes,” Maddie points at the bag they just set down, “we just came back from the supermarket. Now it’s time to cook.”

“What are you making?”

Buck started to feel like a fifth wheel but now Eddie is unmistakably looking at him.

“Coq au vin.”

Eddie lifts his eyebrows, looking impressed. “Sounds fancy.”

Buck laughs. “We’ll see. I haven’t really tried this recipe yet.”

He means to add another joke about his amateur skills, capitalizing upon Eddie’s demeanor having shifted back to the light-hearted and relaxed state he was in the first few times they met.

He doesn’t expect Maddie to ask: “You want to join us?”

Buck’s choking on his own saliva, trying to send a death glare towards his sister without making Eddie think he dislikes the idea of spending more time with him. He doesn’t. He just doesn’t like Maddie springing this on him without any warning.

Whatever the outcome he’ll have a bone to pick with her.

Even though the color rises into Eddie’s cheek, he keeps his composure. “I’m sorry, I can’t,” he apologizes, “my son is waiting for me at home. And I wouldn’t want to impose on your family time anyway.”

Maddie nods empathetically and shrugs, “maybe next time.”

Buck is so going to kill her for this.

Of course, that’s when the elevator stops moving.

Buck just rolls his eyes while Eddie sighs in exasperation. “You spoke too soon.”

“I didn’t speak this into existence,” Buck teases, “our elevator just sucks.”

The corners of Eddie’s mouth tick up but frustration [leeches] into his smile, “Truer words were never spoken.”

Buck takes note of his sister observing them with something that can only be described as apt fascination while they go through the usual steps to alert the emergency center and get out of this elevator as soon as possible.

“You make quite the team,” she remarks when the emergency worker disconnects.

Eddie shrugs and Buck is surprised that he can recognize that the nonchalance is only pretended, “I guess that’s just a given when this has now happened the fifth time in a row.”

“And it’s always you two?”

Eddie nods and Buck knows it’s a mistake as soon as he sees Maddie’s face.

She shrugs, so faux-casual that Buck doesn’t think even a stranger could miss it, and says: “If I were you, I’d start asking myself if the universe was trying to tell me something.”

“Well, your brother ,” Eddie starts and Buck realizes in alarm that he likes this turn of events even less, “thinks it’s not really a pattern because we haven’t quite been fully stuck in here for at least three times just the two of us.”

Maddie laughs and Eddie smirks at Buck, pleased.

“Now it’s your math that’s skewed,” Buck quips back, “I’m pretty sure we reached the three times just last week.”

“Oh?” Eddie lifts his eyebrows in question, the smile still on his lips, “We didn’t even get to call the emergency call center. You don’t consider that a variable change?”

“That depends on what we define that the action is. If it’s us having to wait for a technician to free us, then yes. If it’s just the elevator breaking down while we’re inside, it’s a no.”

“You never fail to surprise me,” Eddie says and Buck doesn’t think he imagines the fondness reflected on his face and in his voice.

Before he can help himself, he’s winked at him.

Once he realizes what he’s done, he refuses to look at his sister. He can feel her smugness anyway.

“I hear you have a kid,” Maddie asks then, and Buck is happy for the change of conversation before she adds: “Buck loves kids. He’s really good with them.”

“Yeah, he met Christopher already. They have a lot in common.”

Buck gapes at him in mock-offense. “It’s Hay Day! You told me that everyone played Hay Day!”

Now it’s Eddie who winks at him and Buck doesn’t think he’ll get out of the elevator alive this time.

By the time the technician arrives, Buck’s flustered and embarrassed and more than glad to get a breathing pause from the quick succession of bantering with Eddie and teasing from his sister that he’s been subjected to for the last hour. He hopes the last part has been subtle enough for Eddie not to pick up on the full extent of it but Eddie’s attentive, so he can’t say he’s positive.

“He’s cute,” Maddie remarks as they leave the elevator, “and he definitely likes you.”

Buck tries very hard to ignore her, but she’s his sister… She knows all his weak spots.

There’s a moving van parked in front of his apartment building when he comes home and at first, he doesn’t think anything of it. He has a lot of neighbors and he doesn’t even know most of them. It’s not uncommon for someone to move out or someone new to move in. They do it all the time.

The elevator isn’t working - to no one’s surprise - so Buck takes the stairs. He comes across quite a few people carrying boxes, some smaller, some bigger and he winces in sympathy for whoever’s moving.

When he finally arrives on the sixth floor - only two more to go- he sees that it’s Eddie directing them and his heart stops.

As quickly as the feeling overcame him, he’s waving it away. Being stranded in their elevator together for a few times does not mean they’re friends or - anything else, really. He’s got no rights to feeling like this.

But he can’t help walking towards Eddie anyway. He figures he can at least say goodbye to him and maybe - maybe even offer his help.

His heart constricts when he sees relief washing over Eddie’s face once he sees him.

“Buck!” he waves him over. “I hoped to catch you once more before I left.”

“You’re moving?” Buck asks and winces at how sad he sounds. You got no right to feel like this.

“Yeah,” Eddie breathes, “they refuse to repair the elevator and with Chris, it’s just - it’s not working anymore. We needed a new place with a working elevator.”

“I uh, I get that.” And Buck really does.

He pushes a smile on his face and motions to the object of their talk. “So as our good friend the elevator failed you another time, do you possibly need help carrying those boxes?”

Eddie returns his smile but shakes his head. “I wanted to talk to you about something else, actually.”

Buck thinks there’s nervousness laced into Eddie’s features but he’s so high strung himself that he doesn’t trust himself to interpret the signs correctly.

He nods, unable to speak and Eddie takes a deep breath.

“I really hope I didn’t misread things. I really liked spending time with you, even if it was just in a broken elevator.”

Buck huffs a laugh. “Yeah, we really could’ve met under better circumstances.”

“We really could’ve.”

“Point is,” Eddie continues, “I really like you. And you’re okay with Chris. And… as much as I’m looking forward to leaving this shitty elevator behind, I’m going to miss spending time with you.”

Buck nods, unable to speak, as emotions run towards his eyes. He swallows.

“Me too,” he finally manages to croak out.

“So,” and now Buck is sure he doesn’t imagine the awkwardness in Eddie’s composure, “if that is something you were interested in, I think we could go on a date. Somewhere that is not an elevator.”

“Oh God, yes,” Buck rushes out, the nerves falling off of him. Then he thinks better of it and replies a little calmer. “I’d love that.”

He starts tapping his pockets, looking for a pen but Eddie just reaches over and grabs a sharpie. Buck feels a little bad for writing his number on the side of a cardboard box but Eddie smiles at him and wipes away all his thoughts.

He does end up asking if he can help again and Eddie gives him the box with his own number on it with the words: “Make sure it’s stashed away properly.”

Buck winks at him and bounds down six flights of stairs.

Also find this fic on AO3 and wattpad.

#buddie #buddie fic #911 fic #911 fox fic #911 fox #911 #evan buckley #evan buck buckley #eddie diaz #elevator #fluff #buddie fluff #sif writes #fic

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lopithecusfanfiction · 4 years

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Blinded in Chains: Chapter Three

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4752 Alternate: AO3 Author’s Note: Bit of a longer chapter this time! Enjoy! Tag List: @justsmilestuffhappens @tkandbuck @poppy3019 @mysepticheartfan1 @idealuk @irrationalyperfect @claire-nyc @javachik

Buck does manage to eventually sit by Eddie’s side without causing a panic attack. In fact, he stays there the whole night, keeping constant vigil and obsessively reading his vitals. One of the downsides of being a first responder is knowing what they all mean. Maddie even brings him a change of clothes so he can change out of his turnout gear in the bathroom. Maddie hadn’t looked happy when he had handed her the heavy uniform and told her to bring it back to the station, that Bobby would know what to do with it. She ended up calling Chimney, who then showed up to retrieve it.

Eddie had spiked a fever during the night. Buck can’t drag his eyes away from the screen that is telling him Eddie’s temperature at the current moment is 103°F. The doctor, who had stopped by because of this, told him that it is most likely caused by shock. He orders a battery of treatments for it, including things to help stabilize Eddie’s blood flow and blood pressure, as well as changing some of the antibiotics they already had him on. He also informs Buck that the nurses will keep their eyes out for any of the burns becoming infected.

The next day, Eddie’s parents show up. Helena enters the room first, gasping at the sight of her son, followed by Ramon who frowns. “Oh my God,” Helena exclaims, reaching for her son’s face but stopping abruptly. She looks over to Buck. “Can I touch him?”

Buck nods and swallows. “Yeah.”

She lays her hand down on his cheek gently, right over a bandage. “My poor baby.” She sounds like she’s about to cry.

“We would have been here sooner but the earlier flight we booked got canceled,” Ramon informs him. He, too, approaches Eddie but doesn’t touch him. His eyes glance over to where Buck’s got a firm grip on Eddie’s left hand.

Buck follows his eyes, refuses to be ashamed by it, and says, “It’s probably best to not touch his right hand. It got pretty badly burned.”

“How bad?” Helena asks, not even looking away from Eddie’s face.

“Third-degree with nerve damage.”

“Nerve damage?” Ramon sits down in a chair next to where his wife is standing. “What kind of nerve damage?”

Buck shrugs, watching him closely. He’s glad Ramon has hopefully decided now is not the time to bring up why Buck is holding Eddie’s hand. Not that Buck would ever admit his feelings towards Eddie to his father when Eddie doesn’t even know how Buck feels. “Not as bad as it could have been.” He shrugs. “The gloves, they’re made for fires but this… our gear isn’t made for explosions hence why he got burned on his hands and chest.”

“So his left hand is burned too?” Helena finally sits down as well, pulling a chair over next to Ramon.

Buck nods. “Yeah, but not as bad as the right. No nerve damage as far as the doctor can tell.”

“And his face?” Ramon asks.

Buck hesitates, glancing at Eddie’s bandaged face. “Yet to be determined. Also, the thing about burns, is they can start out as a mild burn and then become worse. So a second-degree burn can become a third-degree burn.”

“Why?”

“Because the heat from it continues to do damage. Luckily, the doctor thinks they got to the ones on his chest quickly enough to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Buck informs them, lessening some of their worries.

“Why is his right hand worse than the left?” Ramon inquires.

Buck shrugs. “Who knows. The gloves were almost melted onto his hands. The right one probably… melted more.”

His parents don’t comment on that, looking more worried than before now. Helena is stroking Eddie’s arm while blinking away tears and Roman stares at the ground, scowl set in place. Buck wonders if he’ll cry about his son or if he’s too “manly” to do that in front of Buck. Buck has no qualms about crying in front of them. He would do it if he hadn’t exhausted himself earlier from already crying so much.

“Has Christopher seen him?” Helena speaks up, her voice jarring in the quiet of the room. They don’t even have the monitor that reads all of Eddie’s vitals making the beeping sound to go along with Eddie’s heartbeat.

Buck shakes his head. “No. Isabel, Carla, and I thought it best for Christopher to not see him for now, but he’s going to have to eventually. We don’t know how long they are going to keep him in the coma.”

Helena nods at that. “Maybe wait a few days, a week maybe.”

“You can’t keep a son from his father,” Ramon argues.

Helena turns to him, anger present in her eyes. “He’s nine years old, Ramon.” She gestures towards Eddie’s prone figure. “This will terrify him.”

“He’s still his father and he should see him.”

“Yes, but in a few days,” she snaps. “We don’t even know if Eddie is going to surv-” she cuts herself off, choking on the words and tears start streaming down her face. She tilts her head down and places a hand over her mouth to try and stifle her sobs but it doesn’t work well. Ramon is scowling in distress again but he doesn’t touch his wife or try to comfort her. So Buck does.

He gets up out of his chair, lets go of Eddie’s hand, and walks around the bed to kneel down next to her. He places a hand on her back gently and rubs up and down. “Eddie is going to be fine.” She shakes her head in protest, opens her mouth, but a sob only escapes, body jerking with the noise. “He is. He’s strong and a fighter. He’s not going to die. He’s not going to leave his family, especially his son. He will fight his way back for that kid. I’ve seen it before. He’ll do it now.”

Helena is looking at him now, tears falling across her cheeks every time she blinks, and her eyes are red and puffy. She nods, grabs Buck’s hand, and squeezes. “He will.”

Buck nods in affirmation and squeezes back. “And I think you’re right. We’ll wait a few days before Christopher sees him, give us time to explain what’s going on and prepare him. But I do think he should see him before the bandages come off.” Buck shakes his head regrettably. “I’ve seen a lot of burns in this line of work. It’s going to be scarier without the bandages than with them.”

“Okay,” Helena agrees and Ramon doesn’t say anything.

When the quiet starts to become deafening, Buck stands back up and goes back to his own chair, sighing loudly. “How long are you two staying?”

Ramon answers him. “About a week.”

Then Helena pitches in, as if she has the urge to explain themselves. “It’s not that we don’t want to stay longer and be here when he wakes up but we have work. We can only stay away for so long.”

Buck nods in understanding. “I understand.” He smiles at her, trying to convey that he’s not judging them. “I have a shift to go to in a couple of hours.” A twenty-four-hour shift to be exact and Buck has gotten zero sleep since yesterday. He’s going to have to chug gallons of coffee before and during the shift. He shrugs. “Life has to go on.”

Helena is frowning. “He’s our baby though.”

“The doctor is probably not going to wake him for weeks, Helena,” Buck informs her. “You can always try to come back when they do and in the meantime, Isabel and I will keep you informed.”

She smiles back at him but the look is sad. “I appreciate that, Buck.”

*~~~*

The next few days go from bad to worse, to back down to just bad. By day three of being in the hospital, Eddie’s fever spikes dangerously causing hyperpyrexia. Despite already pumping Eddie with antibiotics, the doctor suspects one of his burns might have gotten infected and caused sepsis. He takes some blood to test for it all while urgently telling nurses how he wants Eddie’s fever to be treated for now. Since they aren’t positive that it is sepsis, the doctor ups Eddie’s fluid intake to keep him hydrated, gives him fever-reducing medication, and tells the nurses to put some cold, ice packs around his body but to avoid the bandages. They also take out the feeding tube just in case Eddie ends up having a seizure due to the fever, which does end up happening and scaring the shit out of Buck who had just come to visit after his twenty-four-hour shift. After that, they give him some dantrolene to relax his muscles.

The treatments help reduce Eddie’s fever back to a more manageable temperature and, in the end, the doctor determines it is sepsis. The doctor switches Eddie off the IV and instead places him on a central line that will make it easier to give Eddie medication and nutrition for several weeks. He then begins treating Eddie for the sepsis by giving him, yet again, a different regime of antibiotics, vasoactive medications to increase Eddie’s blood pressure, insulin to stabilize blood sugar, and corticosteroids to reduce inflammation. The doctor also starts Eddie on dialysis to assist the kidneys and hopefully prevent any damage that could be caused by the sepsis.

Once Eddie is back to being stabilized and receiving all his treatments, the Diaz’s and Buck decide they should probably let Christopher see his dad sooner rather than later. The decision, to Buck’s heartache but something he can’t deny, is stemmed from the fact that Christopher has the right to see his dad one last time in case Eddie doesn’t make it.

In case Eddie dies.

So Isabel and Carla bring Christopher to the hospital after school where he meets up with Helena, Ramon, and Buck outside Eddie’s room. The curtain is drawn over the door so the nine-year-old can’t see inside yet, but Christopher glances over to it nonetheless. He looks nervous and scared. As soon as the three reach them, Ramon and Helena immediately start arguing on how they should approach and handle the situation.

“Stop!” Buck interrupts them, holding his hands up. “You’re just making this worse.” He gestures towards Christopher who has been standing there silently, biting his bottom lip and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “You’re scaring him.” Ramon opens his mouth to reply but Buck ignores him, shaking his head, “Just let me…” Buck kneels down and places his hands on Christopher’s shoulders, turning the boy to face him. “Hey, Buddy.”

Christopher tries to smile at him but it doesn’t reach his eyes and it’s the saddest thing Buck has ever seen. “Abuela said that Dad got really hurt. Is he okay?”

Buck doesn’t know how to answer that question. “He’s fine,” he tells the boy, deciding to not go with the full picture. Eddie is fine… for now.

“Why couldn’t I see him before now?”

Buck tries to give Christopher his best reassuring smile but he knows it doesn’t help. “Because the doctors needed to do their job and take care of your dad without a lot of people here first.” He pokes at Christopher’s chest gently. “But, now that they’ve gotten your dad all settled in, they say more people can come and see him.”

“Like us?” Christopher asks.

Buck nods and sniffles, feeling emotional. “Yeah, Buddy, like us.” He briefly looks over to the door to Eddie’s room and then back to Christopher. “Listen, Chris, when we get in there, it’s going to look really scary, but your dad is in the best hands possible, okay?”

“Abuela said that Dad has a lot of bandaids on.”

Buck squeezes the nine-year old’s shoulders. “Yeah, he does, and it’s okay to be scared but everything that is on him or attached to him is there to help him get better.”

Christopher is frowning. “Abuela also said Dad was going to be sleeping and that he will sleep for a long time.”

Again, Buck nods. “That’s also to help him get better. It’s so his body can focus on healing instead of him worried about us worrying over him.” That makes Christopher genuinely smile and Buck takes the win. “You ready, Superman?”

“You’ll stay with me?”

“I’ll be right beside you,” he reassures and Christopher nods bravely.

Buck stands back up and walks beside Christopher as they enter Eddie’s room, the rest of the family behind them. All the preparation in the world couldn’t have stopped Christopher from crying as soon as he saw his dad and Buck is immediately crouched beside him again, wrapping him up in his arms. Christopher encircles his arms around Buck’s torso, crutches smacking Buck in the back hard but he doesn’t mind. His only concern is comforting Christopher at the moment.

Christopher cries for a while and he won’t let anyone else touch or comfort him except for Buck. So Buck lifts him up and walks back over to the chair that he usually occupies. Christopher sits on his lap, crying into his shoulder, as Buck runs his fingers soothingly through his hair. After several minutes, he finally calms and glances over to Eddie, sniffling loudly.

“Do you want to sit with him?” Buck asks Christopher.

Christopher shrugs. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

Buck shakes his head and picks Christopher up as he stands. “You won’t, I promise.” He carefully sets Christopher down on the bed next to Eddie. Christopher almost immediately settles himself down into a lying position, pulling himself close to hug his dad and burying his face into the crook of Eddie’s neck.

Buck looks up at Isabel and the rest of the family to see them all watching Christopher with sad expressions on their faces. He exchanges a concerned look with Carla before he hears a knock at the door. Turning to face who it is, he’s not surprised to see Bobby standing there. Bobby has been visiting Eddie and Hammond every day just as Buck has been.

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” Bobby asks as he visibly swallows at the sight of Christopher lying with his dad.

“No, of course, not Bobby,” Buck answer.

“Actually, he is,” Ramon then speaks up, turning to face the two. “This should be family only.”

Carla crosses her arms. “Excuse me?”

Ramon scowls. “It should be family here to comfort Christopher, not the aid and,” he looks towards Buck, eyes narrowing and Buck knows he’s thinking about when Buck had held Eddie’s hand. “Some random adult friend of his father’s.”

Buck swallows down his anger as Isabel starts talking. “Buck and Carla are just as much Christopher’s family as the rest of us here.”

Carla looks just as pissed as Buck feels but before she can say anything, Bobby is stepping into the room more, holding up both his hands. “How about we don’t discuss this in front of Christopher?”

Buck’s heart plummets into his stomach as realization dawns on him that the kid probably heard that whole thing. He turns to Christopher who has sat up now to watch what was going on. Tears are streaming down his face at a steady pace. “I don’t want Buck or Carla to leave.”

Helena and Ramon share a glance but it’s Buck who makes his way over to Christopher, sitting down on the edge of the bed and hugging him close reassuringly. “We won’t leave if you don’t want us to.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Buck?” It’s Bobby again who has approached. “I do need to talk to you for a second.” He looks around the room. “Not in here.”

Letting go of Christopher and looking him straight in the eyes he says, “I’ll be right back, I promise. I’m just going to be right outside that door.”

“And I’ll still be here,” Carla inputs, coming to take Buck’s place on the bed beside Christopher.

Christopher nods and when Buck is sure that he’ll be fine, he follows Bobby outside the room. “What is it? Is it Hammond?”

“No,” Bobby says, shaking his head. He swallows, not unlike before when he had first arrived and seen Christopher, and then continues. “The funeral for Briggs, Garret, and Sinclair is tomorrow.”

A lump suddenly forms in Buck’s throat. “Oh…”

“All of the crew is going to be there but you don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” Bobby continues.

Buck shakes his head. “No, I’ll be there. Definitely. It’s just…” He peers over at the door to Eddie’s room. The curtain is drawn closed so he can’t see anything. “Eddie’s going to hate that he missed it.”

Bobby’s eyes are shiny when Buck looks back at him again. “Well, let’s focus on not having one for him as well.”

He nods in agreement, licking his lips and trying to swallow past what is lodged in his throat. “What about Hammond?”

Bobby sighs heavily, swiping a hand over his eyes. “No, change.” He then shrugs. “But as long as Eddie is still alive, Beth refuses to pull the plug.”

“Yeah, she basically told me the same thing.”

“If Eddie pulls through this, Buck…” Bobby doesn’t finish, shoulders slouching and Buck can see how much this whole situation is affecting Bobby. The older man looks tired with bags under his eye and a perpetual frown set in place. But Buck doesn’t need Bobby to finish. He knows what is being unsaid; that if — and Buck doesn’t even want to think about that if — Eddie survives this, Bobby is going to have to talk to Beth about finally saying goodbye and letting go of her husband and father of her child. Because they all know that Hammond is already dead, being kept alive by machines, whether Eddie makes it himself or not.

“I can do it,” Buck volunteers because he can’t stand the look of anguish and guilt and responsibility on Bobby’s face.

Bobby shakes his head. “Buck, no. It’s my job.”

“I can do it, Bobby,” he reaffirms, making it clear in his voice that there is no room to argue. “I’ll do it. I’ll tell her.”

Bobby watches him closely with so much pain in his eyes that it’s almost unbearable to see. He doesn’t argue with him though and instead nods minutely, resigning to Buck’s offer. Licking his lips one last time and taking a deep breath to steel himself, Buck turns back towards the room. “Come on, we better get back inside.”

Bobby follows silently and once back in the room, Buck goes and holds Christopher tight as they both sit on the edge of Eddie’s bed.

*~~~*

Buck decides he hates suits. Whenever he has to wear one, it’s either for something bad or something bad happens (when he choked during his date with Abby, the lawsuit hearing, and now the funeral of three of his crew members.) Everybody is dressed in nice outfits while Bobby is dressed in his Captain’s uniform. The universe even has the decency to rain as if it were crying right along with them in the most cliché way.

Buck also hates when funerals are depicted in movies and TV shows because it’s never realistic. Not everyone dresses in black and not everyone has a black umbrella to bring along with them. As Buck looks around the people gathered, he sees blues and purples and even a goddamn rainbow umbrella. But one thing the movies and TV shows always get right is the sad faces, the crying, and the sullen atmosphere. The air is so heavy with sorrow and grief and loss, that it makes it hard to breathe.

Buck holds his dark blue umbrella over his head, eyes downcast as he listens to the funeral conductor talk. He stands with Chimney and Hen while Bobby stands towards the front with others that have a higher standing than them. The three caskets upfront each have their own U.S. flag draped over them and when the funeral conductor is done, each one gets carefully folded and handed off to a family member.

It’s the first time Buck has had to go to a colleague’s funeral, let alone three of them with a possible fourth — Buck refuses to acknowledge there might be a fifth one to add as well — colleague in the future. They each are given the opportunity to say something but Buck doesn’t and neither does Hen or Chimney. Bobby makes a speech given that he’s the Captain and is expected to but Buck can tell it’s difficult for him to do so.

Eventually, the mingling starts, and Buck somehow managed to make it through the whole ceremony without crying. He briefly talks to Briggs, Garret, and Sinclair’s family, telling them his condolences. They all have sad, haunted eyes and it makes the heavy weight that has placed itself on Buck’s chest since the funeral started, even heavier. He feels like he can’t breathe and he’s getting too emotional he knows this, but these were three of his friends and it could have been — still could be — Eddie and Buck can’t handle that.

So he sneaks off a little ways away, rubbing a hand down his face and taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. He sits down on the ground, under a tree, and draws his knees up, tilting his head down between them. This is all becoming too much and he’s feeling too much and doesn’t know how to handle it, how to cope.

“Hey,” Buck jumps at the sound of Beth’s voice. He had seen her at the funeral but hadn’t had a chance to talk to her. “May I sit with you?” Buck nods. She has obviously been crying. With a heavy sigh, she lowers herself down next to Buck, leaning against the tree. “You okay?”

Buck shrugs. “I just needed a breather.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They sit there in silence for a long time, long enough to watch the crowd for the funeral start to disperse. Buck turns to her, frowning. “Beth, listen-”

“I’m not ready,” she says, cutting him off as if already knowing what he was about to say. Buck supposes she does, seeing that they are at a funeral for people who were in the same explosion as her husband.

“Beth, he’s gone,” Buck tries, voice gentle and soft.

“Eddie’s not.”

Buck shakes his head, twists to face her better. “That doesn’t matter. It’s not going to change Isaac’s situation.”

“Situation.” Her frown deepens and her eyes glisten over with fresh tears. “You make it sound so simple.”

“I know it’s not, Beth, but-”

“How?” She turns to him angrily, tears rolling down her cheeks. “How could you possibly know? Chloe is crying herself to sleep every night because she misses her daddy. I met Isaac when we were both in high school. He is my best friend, my husband, the love of my life, and father to our beautiful daughter. So, please, Buck, tell me again how you know how hard this is!” She yells the last part, standing abruptly.

Buck scrambles after her, standing as well. “Okay, so maybe I don’t understand completely but Eddie means a lot more to me than you think.”

“Yeah, and you’re giving him a chance to get better! Why can’t you give Issac the same?”

“Because he’s already dead, Beth!” Buck didn’t mean to say it as harshly as it came out but he’s feeling overwhelmed, hurt, mournful, and depressed. Taking a deep breath, he tries to calm himself and says more gently, “He’s gone, Beth. The machines are keeping his body alive now and once they turn it off… his body can’t do it for him. I’m sorry, Beth, but he’s too far gone to get better.”

Her eyes are fire, the glare she is shooting Buck filled with hurt and fury. Beth shakes her head, takes a step back. “No.” Another step back and she points at Buck. “No. Why does Eddie get to live while my husband dies?” She shakes her head again, tears slipping down her face. “I am not giving up on him.”

“Beth-”

“Stay the hell away from me!” she yells at him and then turns on her heels, stomping away.

Buck chokes on his heart that is beating in his throat and everything goes blurry as tears fill his eyes. They fall down his cheeks when he tries to blink them away. Everybody is gone now, having left the funeral, and Buck is standing there all alone.

Crying.

*~~~*

Weeks go by, Buck doesn’t talk to Beth and gets news on Hammond through Bobby or Hen or Chimney, and no one is surprised that he hasn’t gotten any better. Eddie’s parents also go back to El Paso, with Helena telling Buck to keep her informed and up to date on Eddie’s condition while Ramon barely says two words to him. It gets easier and easier for Christopher to see his dad and the kid now comes by almost every day after school with Carla to read a book to Eddie, either sitting on the edge of the bed or in Buck’s lap. He’s also staying with Eddie’s Abuela for the time being and sometimes with Buck when Buck actually bothers to go home.

It becomes routine for Buck, a habit now, to go see Eddie whenever he can. If he’s not working a shift, then he’s sat next to Eddie’s hospital bed, obsessively watching Eddie’s vitals. They spike and wane, spike and wane, and Buck swears he’s going to have a heart attack if Eddie doesn’t stop scaring him. He will sit there, next to Eddie, for hours just talking nonsense to him, rambling about anything and everything possible while holding onto Eddie’s left hand like a lifeline. Sometimes he joins Bobby in the cathedral, despite not being religious himself, but can tell on the really bad days that Bobby needs the company. Maddie becomes concerned about all the time he’s been spending in the hospital (he hardly ever goes back to his apartment now, only to take a shower and change his clothes. He eats at the hospital and sleeps in the chair next to Eddie’s bed), but he brushes off her worries and tells her he’s fine.

Because he is.

Maybe he’s a little stressed and maybe he’s having nightmares and so terrified to leave Eddie for more than an hour that he is practically having panic attacks at work, but he’s fine and managing. He manages to hide his anxiety from his coworkers and has his panic attacks in the bathroom instead of where he can be seen. Buck will call the hospital every hour while on shift to get updates and he’s sure the nurses are getting annoyed with him but he doesn’t care. It’s the only way to lessen the anxiety he feels while at work.

He doesn’t know what he would do if Eddie died while he wasn’t there with him.

But eventually, Eddie does finally stabilize out with his vitals looking more normal and the doctor is starting to actually look hopeful instead of his usual melancholy expression whenever it comes to Eddie’s outcome. To Buck’s relief, Eddie improves day by day. His fever finally comes down, his broken bones start healing nicely in their casts, and the burns are even starting to slowly but surely heal into pale scars. The nurses eventually take off the bandages on Eddie’s torso, leaving the burns out to get air and some of the bandages come off Eddie’s face. They leave the bandages on Eddie’s hands and over his eyes though, as those were the most significantly burnt areas. Overall, Eddie’s prognosis is looking better and better each day and the relief Buck feels at that is unmeasurable.

And then finally, one day, after seven weeks of being in the hospital, the doctor tells Buck on one of Buck’s many routine visits, that they are finally going to wake Eddie up.

In two days.

Buck’s heart almost beats out of his chest with the anticipation while at the same time he’s nervous. What if something goes wrong before then? What if something goes wrong after? There are so many different possibilities. But one thing Buck knows for sure.

It’s going to be a hard road going forward.

———————————————————————————————————–

A/N: Thank you all for reading!! ❤❤

#Buddie #Evan Buckley #Eddie Diaz #911 on Fox #911 #Buck #Blinded in Chains #My Fanfiction

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