Chapter Text
Eddie was waiting for the boarding to start when he got the call. He had tried to read some murder mystery novel he had picked up from the kiosk across the gate earlier, but he hadn’t been able to read through even a page. His mind had been unusually loud, full of thoughts and worries.
What if Christopher didn’t want to live with him even in El Paso? What if he was already a stranger to his own son, again? Because it had felt that way already during all those awkward facetime -calls lately. Eddie hadn’t known about any of Chris’s new hobbies. Chess? That didn’t even sound like Chris. It was unfair.
If his parents had the audacity to take his son away from him, they could have at least updated Eddie about Chris' life. Yes, Chris wanted to go, and Eddie knows he hurt him badly with that whole... mess he made. But at no point had Eddie thought Chris would be gone this long. And he knows his parents have something to do with it.
And then there was the fact that he was moving away from the 118. That crew was so important to Eddie that he felt an urge to throw up any time he even thought about not working with them anymore. Moving away from Buck, his best friend, not seeing his stupid grin everyday, not have him show up at Eddie's house unpromted with a beer... Yeah, Eddie was going to miss that.
He was also going to miss Bobby, the way that man looked after Buck like he was his son. He was going miss Hen and Chim and Maddie and Karen and Athena... All those people really mattered to Eddie, a lot more than he had even realised when looking up the listed houses in El Paso. He didn’t really want to move back to Texas, if he was being honest. Sure, they had a great fire department also, but whatever house he’d end up in was not going to be the 118. The 118 was his family, really.
But, Eddie nervously tapped the book with his fingertips, Christopher was his son. And he was always going to come first.
Not only was he going to move away from the 118, he was also moving close to his parents... He didn't really want that either. Just the idea of having to attend weekly family dinners at his parents house - which Eddie was sure his mother would insist on - gave him a headache, too. He is not a goddamn Lorelai Gilmore, but God he was going to be too close.
Eddie had always enjoyed Bobby's 'family dinners' at the station, they were full of laughter, great food, and simple comfort. At his parents' though, all of the good things about a family dinner would be ripped away. He would have to deal with his mother's passive agressiveness and his father's indifference, the atmosphere of the dinners would probably freeze Eddie to death.
His parents would meddle in on every aspect of Eddie's life outside of the dinners too. He could already feel the cold fingers on the frame of the puppet Eddie was. His mother would try and tell Eddie what was best for Christopher. Try and find him a wife. Now he was really gonna be sick.
Before he got the chance to run to the nearest thrash can to vomit, the phone rang. He had never been as thankful of a sound in his entire life. His head was all crowded and heavy, the world even span a bit. Honestly, he was almost at the brink of a panic attack, not that he would ever admit it.
But the phone rang, and Eddie answered without even giving a look at the caller ID, while a wave of relief washing over him. Yes, dear who ever is calling, give the man somthing else to think about! But when he heard the voice on the other side of the line... he regretted his wish instantly. Something else to think about indeed. Just not in a good way.
“It’s Buck” Chimney’s voice sounded suffocated. “Or actually it’s Maddie and Buck… he went after her. He’s… please just come, okay. We are at the hospital at Marengo Street. How quickly can you get here? Please.” Chim's voice broke down, it was desperate and hurt.
“I’m on my way,” Eddie replied at the instant, already running through the airport back to the cars. He had asked Buck to get the car later, to keep it or sell it, Eddie didn't really care. He had planned on buying a new one from Texas. But now he was happy about the familiry of his car, it felt like a safe cradle. Cold chills travelled his spine. Eddie had never heard Chimney sound quite so distraught. That meant... It must be bad.
Eddie must have broken a dozen of traffic laws. At least twice that many cars had honked at him and surely the drivers had cursed like sailors in their vehicles. Eddie hardly noticed. He's mind was in a blurr. What had been the last thing he even said to Buck? He had told Buck that his flight was the day after tomorrow, he had not wanted to say goodbyes. So the last time they had spoken must have been about something mundane. He couldn't remember. He wished he remembered.
While driving (like a maniac), he called Chris. It went straight into voice mail. “Hi Chris, it’s dad. Uhh, Buck is hurt, so I’m not gonna come with the flight I had planned to after all. It’s quite bad I think, and I’m on my way to the hospital now. I’ll call you when I get some updates, okay?” Eddie wasn’t sure how he managed to get all of that said when his throat felt as dry as a desert and his heart was racing like crazy.
The drive from LAX to the Los Angeles General Medical Center on Marengo Street took approximately 25 minutes. Eddie was at the hospital in exactly 16 minutes and three seconds. Not that he counted.
Buck was still in surgery when Eddie made it to the lobby. The entire team was there, and Eddie could have sworn they all looked like they were waiting for the world to end. Bobby and Athena were sitting down, holding each other’s hands tightly. Chimney was pacing back and forth, eyes red. Hen was leaning against a wall with a coffee cup in her hand, looking down at it as if it were a crystal ball that could tell her if Buck was gonna live or die. No body was speaking, seemed like they were hardly even breathing.
Then they noticed Eddie. Like syncronised, they looked up to him. Eddie would never in his lifetime forget the look on Bobby’s face. Comforting and compassionate, but also absolutely broken and hopeless. Tears Eddie didn’t know had built up started to stream down on his face. "He is dead. Buck is dead", was all Eddie could think of. Because in no other scenario would Bobby look like that.
That man has lost already two children, and Eddie's heart broke for Bobby's sake. It was not fair he had to lose yet another one.
Bobby opened his mouth but closed it again. Next to him Athena seemed to pick up that her husband couldn’t get up or speak. She stood up, patted Bobby’s arm and came to hug Eddie. Buck was a son to Bobby, Eddie thought as Athena embraced him. If Christopher was dead, he couldn’t speak either. He would probably just stare blankly at a wall until he’d wither away.
“He’s in surgery”, Athena said quietly.
He was in surgery. He was alive. Buck was alive.
“How bad?” Eddie managed to mumble back at her while wiping away his tears. When he got no answer, only a look of sorrow, he pushed himself away from Athena’s embrace and cried out, begging, “How bad?” again in a tone so full of pain that the silent beg sounded nearly shouting. Hen looked at Eddie pity in her eyes. Chim looked at Bobby with something similar in his.
Athena put her hand on Eddie's shoulder. “It’s bad”, she admitted reluctantly, “He’s got three gunshot wounds and his back has some serious damage from the whipping too. Broken ribs, major blood loss, just generally badly beaten up. it’s a miracle he was alive when we found him.”
Eddie’s mind is a storm. Gunshot. Whipped. Major. Miracle. The words throb against his head with the force of a thousand hammers.
“Ho- How? How did it happen?” he spat out before collapsing on his knees. He felt too weak to stand. Athena catched her, and within seconds Chim was there too, helping Eddie to sit on the bench.
“We’ll talk later about it. Right now, you need to sit down and breathe. You hear me okay?” Athena’s voice came from somewhere far away. It was warm but sturdy, maternal. Hen sat next to Eddie slowly, giving him a plastic cup filled with water. She told him to drink, or at least Eddie thought she did. Eddie drank the water with one big gulp, then shook his head as if it could clear his mind.
“What about Maddie? And the- is the baby alright?” Eddie realised that on the phone Chim had said something about Maddie too.
“She’s okay. She’s hurt, but she’ll be okay, they’ll both be”, Chim answered quietly. “She’s resting now.”
Eddie nodded, good, that’s good. “That’s a relief”, he vocalised the thought too. At least Maddie and the baby are on the clear. Okay, good. Buck will also be okay. He must be and like, he’s already been through worse, and walked out alive, right? And not only has Buck survived, he has fully recovered. This time is not going to be any different.
"Buck..." Eddie wispers. His mind is slipping somewhere out of reality. His eyes darken and he falls with only one name on his mind and on his lips.