I'm Fine is a Lie

by SpacedOutWriting

Summary:

Buck's family has learned the words 'I'm fine' out of Buck's mouth is a lie.

Warning for a character dying/almost dying a few different ways.

(Just some random ideas of the 118 family being protective of Buck. May not be completely accurate to the television series).

Chapter 1

Eddie rushed into the ER. This was NOT how he pictured Buck watching over Christopher while he worked a double was going to go.
His son had called him saying Buck had to go to the hospital because he literally sliced off one of his fingers cutting vegetables and could he come be with him.
It was a good thing Christopher had an ex-army medic for a father and Buck worked with atleast three people who had varying degrees of medical knowledge along with his own experience as a firefighter. Between the two of them, they'd wrapped up Buck's hand in several towels and mananaged to get the finger packaged in ice with very minimal screaming.
Eddie did not want to imagine how that would have gone differently if they hadn't.
As soon as the dark haired firefighter rushed into the room, his eyes landed on Christopher then on the empty bed behind him.
Eddie's heart dropped.
"Dad!" Christopher rushed up to the dark haired firefighter. "You should have seen it. I got to hold Buck's finger and it wasn't even attached to his hand. His hand was oozing blood everywhere!"
"Where is he?" Eddie demanded.
The hospital room door opened.
The dark haired firefighter turned to see Buck bickering with a nurse pushing an empty wheelchair into the room.
Eddie let out a breath of relief.
Buck saw the dark haired firefighter before the nurse. "Eddie, you're a paramedic. Could you please tell Mr. Boyd that it's okay to walk around with an injury like this?"
The nurse stepped in front of the blonde firefighter. "Sir, you lost a lot of blood. Walking around could raise your risk of falling while your body works to replace the blood you lost."
"I'm not dizzy and my legs are fine. I can walk."
"It's not a good idea to put yourself in a position where you risk falling."
Eddie decided to intervene before the argument went much further. "The nurse is right Buck. You shouldn't be walking."
The younger firefighter looked at him in disbelief.
"Sit down in the chair."
"But I---!"
"Sit down."
Buck looked ready to argue with Eddie next, but stopped before whatever he was about to say came out. Instead, he huffed and sat down in the chair.
Eddie turned back to the nurse. "Is he ready to be discharged yet Mr. Boyd?"
"His finger's been sewn back on and wrapped. We've double checked with an x-ray just to make sure it's as straight as it can be. He'll be out of work for a few days as it heals, but he should be fine in the next couple days."
"But he's okay to check out?"
"Yes."
Eddie let out a sigh of relief.
"I'll go get the discharge papers now."
A couple moments later, the nurse was gone leaving both Diazes and Buck alone in the room.
Christopher immediately moved toward Buck. "Were they really able to sew it back on?"
"I'm back to ten fingers once again."
"Can I see it?"
"They have it wrapped up right now, but when I take it off to rewrap it later, I can send you a picture."
"Cool."
Eddie cleared his throat. "Hey Christopher, give us a minute."
"Why?"
"I need to talk to Buck about something real quick."
The younger Diaz huffed then moved toward the door.
The hospital room door slammed shut behind him.
Buck glanced between the door and Eddie. "Was it something I said?"
The dark haired firefighter took a moment to calm himself.
"Hey, if you're worried about the picture, I really won't send it to him. I'll tell him I wasn't able to take it."
Eddie couldn't respond.
". . . Eddie?"
"I thought you were dead."
"But I'm not."
Eddie glared at his friend.
"Unless I'm a ghost and just haven't realized I've passed on yet," Buck joked, switching to an awkward chuckle.
The glare didn't disappear.
All joking dropped from Buck's face. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm right here. I'm okay and Christopher's okay. It was just a freak accident."
Eddie sighed and examined the bandaging around Buck's hand. "What even happened?"
"Christopher and I were working together on dinner. I went to chop a carrot and wasn't paying close attention."
"I see."
". . . I'm sorry Eddie. I didn't mean to scare you."
The dark haired firefighter shook his head. It wasn't worth staying angry over.
"Look, Nurse Boyd's going to discharge me here soon. Why don't you and Christopher head on home, get some rest, and I'll---."
Eddie's eyebrows furrowed together. "We're not leaving you here?"
"What?"
"Do you have everything you need to take back with you?"
"Eddie, you don't---."
The dark haired firefighter moved around the room.
"What are you doing?"
"No sign of any personal belongings." Eddie moved back to the door.
"Eddie---."
The dark haired firefighter opened the room door. "You can come back in Christopher."
The younger Diaz stepped back in, not making eye contact with Eddie. "Dad, I'm sorry I had an attitude."
"It's alright mijo. It's late and everyone's a little a stressed." The dark haired firefighter clapped Buck's shoulder. "But guess who's coming back home with us?"
Christopher beamed. "Really?"
The blonde wanted to argue back, but he could not crush the excitement on Christopher's face.
Nurse Boyd popped back into the room. "Here's the paperwork. I just need a signature."
Immediately, Eddie signed off on it. "Not a problem."
"I can sign a piece of paper Eddie," Buck called out.
Boyd turned back to Eddie. "You taking him home?"
"Yes." The dark haired firefighter handed the nurse back the paperwork. "Does he need any sort of steroid or antibiotic?"
Boyd handed Eddie some papers. "Perscription should be ready tomorrow morning."
Eddie took the papers. "We'll make sure to get it."
"Do you need any help getting him to the car?"
The dark haired firefighter started pushing the wheelchair with Buck in it toward the door. "We're good."
Boyd held open the door. "See you later then."
Buck tried to get the dark haired firefighter to stop. "Eddie, I'm fine."
"I haven't listened to that the entire time you've been saying it."
The group of three stopped by an elevator and Buck tried to get out of the wheelchair. "Why are you smothering me?"
Eddie pushed on his shoulder to get him back in the chair. Just before the door opened, the dark haired firefighter scooped up his son by the armpits. "Come here Christopher. I have an extra special job for you."
Buck barely had time respond before he had Christopher in his lap.
"There." Eddie grabbed Christopher's crutches then pushed the wheelchair into the open elevator. "You keep him in the chair until we get to the car."
Christopher wrapped the blonde in a hug, a huge grin on his face. "Okay."
At first, Buck floundered for a response as he looked between Christopher and the older Diaz.
"Get used to it." Eddie punched the button for the lobby.
The scathing glare Buck was shooting Eddie did little to stop the dark haired firefighter from continuing.

Chapter 2

It had all happened way too fast.
Buck and Bobby were refueling the truck. Buck had stepped off to the side to throw away some trash and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground between the truck and the pump.
His head was pounding, his back was sore, and his vision was swimming.
"Buck!" Bobby's swaying figure dropped into his line of vision. "Buck, can you hear me?"
The younger firefighter tried to focus on the swaying form above him. One hand clumsily reached up to swipe at something sliding along his forehead, but the pain made him jerk away with a hiss.
Bobby pulled the younger firefighter's hand away. "Don't touch it."
Another person appeared in the space between the truck and the pump. "You two okay?"
Bobby turned his head enough to shout to the figure. "Go get an attendant."
Once the figure was gone, the older fire captain's attention was back on Buck. "How's your back?"
"Sore." The younger firefighter pulled away from the gentle pressure as Bobby carefully examined the wound on his forehead. "What happened?"
Bobby gripped his shoulder. "Don't move. There was a loose wire caught up between the truck tires and the pump. It slipped loose and hit you in the forehead."
Buck blinked, desperately trying to get his vision to clear. "How'd I hit my back?"
Bobby switched to carefully studying the blonde's eyes. "Wire threw you into the side of the truck. Do you see any floaters or black spots?"
The younger firefighter let Bobby finish his investigation, knowing it wasn't worth fighting over. "No. Just a bit dizzy."
"You're slurring your speech a bit though."
The conversation paused when the figure came running back up with a gas station attendant.
"What happened gentlemen?" The attendant asked.
"I'll tell you what happened," Bobby ground out as he stood.
Buck tried to stop him. "Cap---."
"A wire from one of your pumps came loose and because none of you cared to take care of it, it hit one of my firefighters in the head."
The attendant placatingly held up his hands. "Sir, I'm sorry---."
"Sorry?"
"We're usually much better at keeping an eye on the pumps to make sure nothing like this happens, but none of the morning attendants reported it."
"Well his concussion is reporting it to you now."
"Cap." Buck tried to grab the older fire captain, missing him the first couple times before finally grabbing his arm. "Cap, I'm fine."
Bobby shrugged out of the hold.
The attendant took a step forward. "I'm sorry this happened. We'll pay the cost for the fuel you're putting into the engine. If you need fellow medical professionals, let us know and we will contact them for you."
The anger slowly left the older fire captain. "I can take care of him, but don't let this happen again. This is negligence and it could have been a lot worse."
The attendant, much younger than Buck, nodded. "Yes sir. We'll take care of it immediately."
"You do that."
While the attendant hurried off to talk with his supervisors, Bobby finally turned his attention back on Buck. He knelt back down beside the younger firefighter once more, holding up one finger. "Follow my finger."
"Cap, I'm fine," Buck argued, but still complied with following the older fire captain's finger.
"Your heavily bleeding forehead and your pupils being two different sizes tells me otherwise." Bobby yanked a handkerchief out of his pocket and pulled Buck's hand up to hold it in place over the wound. "Still dizzy?"
"Yes?" The younger firefighter watched the older fire captain suspiciously as he opened the passenger door. "What are you---?"
Bobby didn't respond. He carefully yanked the younger firefighter up and practically manhandled him into the passenger seat.
Buck's head injury made him slower to respond. When he finally caught up with what had happened, a faint blush appeared on the blonde's cheeks.
It darkened when Bobby reached over to buckle in his seatbelt. "Cap, I'm fine."
His embarrassment was not curbed when he caught sight of the same civilian from earlier popping around the side of the door, barely holding back his amusement at the situation. "Captain?"
Bobby turned to the civilian.
He handed Bobby a couple waterbottles. "For you both."
The older fire captain took both bottles. "Thank you."
"Do you need anything else?"
Bobby shook his head. "Soon as we handle the fuel, we're out of here."
The civilian nodded. "Thank you both for watching over our city."
With that, the man disappeared back between the pumps.
Bobby turned back to the blonde currently sitting in the passenger seat. "We'll be out of here in a jiffy."
Buck tried to push himself back up. "Bobby, I'm fine."
The older fire captain set both water bottles in Buck's lap. "Hold those."
"You think a couple waterbottles are going to hold me down?"
"You stay or I'm using the cuffs Athena left in my jacket pocket."
Buck threw his hand up, wincing when the slight movement increased the spinning and ringing in his head.
Bobby squeezed the younger's shoulder. His voice sounded far off as he started talking with someone outside the truck.
Buck must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, Bobby was shaking him awake.
"No sleeping." The older fire captain hopped down from the truck. "Not until Hen or Chimney checks you out."
"M'fine."
Even Buck had to cringe at the heavy slur in his speech.
He blinked and Bobby was now in the driver's seat of the truck. Something dropped over the blonde's knees and legs while one of the waterbottles was placed in his hand.
Bobby nudged the younger firefighter's hand. "Try to open that."
Buck started at the bottle.
Bobby carefully pulled out of the fueling place, flipping the lights on. "You need to stay awake. Try to open the bottle."
"Bobby."
"Buck."
"Why are you smothering me?"
"I'm not smothering you."
Even in his half lucid state, Buck managed to give the older fire captain a look.
In response, Bobby nodded to the bottle. "Open the bottle Buck or I'm going to start asking you questions."
"Questions about what?"
"Whatever I can think of. Maddie's given me a lot to work with."
With a huff, the blonde worked on getting the bottle open. He did NOT want to know what his sister had told him.

Chapter 3

Buck blinked awake in the dark confined space, his head pounding from whatever had been in that rag.
Now he was stuffed in someone's trunk with his kneecaps close enough he could rest his forehead on them. When he tried to pull his hand up to his forehead, he couldn't get either of them out from behind his back.
Buck turned his head then wanted to smack himself when he realized he couldn't really see anything in the darkened space. He could, however, feel the sticky adhesive of duct tape around his wrists, both ankles, and around his mouth too.
The blonde plopped his head back down. Leave it to Buck luck to get himself kidnapped while on scene. Again.
Buck tried to shift and stretch out his bad knee a bit. It was painful having it bent in that position for so long. Not much he could do now except hope he could get away from whomever took him or someone managed to find him before something bad happened.
That's when he heard it. A nearby police siren getting closer to his moving spot.
The driver must have heard it too because the car he was in swerved hard to the left, pressing his feet into the side of the trunk.
A muffled sound of surprise made its way out of the blonde's sealed mouth. He tried pounding his feet into the side of the trunk when the car was righted again. He hoped he could get the police's attention if they weren't actually after him.
Then this time, the car swerved hard to the right.
Buck winced when his head collided with the side of the car. He heard several horns blaring around him before the car then swerved several more times after.
The blonde could feel the driver slowly loosing control of the vehicle. A moment later, his eyes squeezed shut as the car rolled.
After several hits, the younger firefighter blinked his eyes back open. His head was throbbing even more now and the rest of his body felt very stiff and sore
A beam of light hit the younger firefighter's eye as he got his bearings back in order.
It bobbed back and forth like an on coming flashlight.
Several voices shouted and surrounded the vehicle Buck was in. So the young firefighter kicked on the side of the car and shouted around the duct tape over his mouth.
A few seconds passed before the damaged trunk was yanked open.
Buck blinked as several beams of light pierced the dark of the trunk.
"Buck!" Someone ripped off the duct tape over his mouth. "Are you okay?"
The blonde hissed and carefully pushed himself up. "Yeah. I'm good."
The same figure helped him up before slicing through the duct tape around his wrists. He could feel the hand gripping his shoulder shake a bit.
He turned to the person. "You okay?"
Athena pulled back. "I'm fine."
"Uh-huh." The blonde rubbed his wrists before reaching for the knife.
Athena ignored it and cut the duct tape around the blonde's ankles herself.
Buck hadn't seen the older police sergeant this angry in a while. "You sure you're okay?"
Instead of answering, Athena pocketed her knife then pulled the blonde out of the back of the car.
"Wow, hey. Athena." Buck pulled his arm free from her hold. "What's going on?"
The older police sergeant turned to the younger firefighter. Anger hardened her eyes and she looked ready to snap.
"Athena . . . I'm sorry. I'm not trying to argue with you."
Now the older police sergeant's eyes went wide. She then squeezed them tight before taking a deep, calming breath.
Buck stayed quiet, letting her take a moment to calm down.
Once Athena had her anger under control, she grabbed the younger firefighter's arm again---less tight this time---and led him over to the side. "Come on."
Buck was forced to follow. "Athena, I'm okay. I promise."
"I need you to sit here for a bit."
Buck eyed the back of Athena's patrol car. "Okay?"
"I also need you to understand that I'm not mad at you."
The younger firefighter nodded. "I know."
Athena's shoulders lowered slightly. "Good."
Suddenly, a scuffle came from the crashed car.
The older police sergeant's attention snapped up.
Before Buck could get a good look, Athena shoved him in then slammed the patrol car door shut. "Stay there!"
"Wha-? Athena. Athena!"
The younger firefighter tried to get the car door back open, but it was locked tight. No lock release was visible on the inside handle or on the door, leaving the blonde trapped.
Buck cursed then shifted a bit to watch was happening outside. That's when a plain clothed male rushed the patrol car.
Buck scooted back on the seat and got his feet up. If the guy got in, he was getting a face full of his work boot.
The guy tried to wrench the handle open on the door before he was then slammed into the side of the car.
Following that, he was then yanked toward the front of the car and thrown on the hood.
"Stay down!" A familiar voice yelled.
Buck caught glimpses of what was going on through the glass between the backseat and the front. He saw Athena with the guy over the hood of her patrol car and how she was trying to pin him down herself.
When the guy refused to cooperate, Athena switched to yanking his upper half back up and slamming him back down on the hood again. "I said stay down!"
Two other officers rushed in around her and helped her to finally cuff the guy.
Both of the officers pulled the guy over to another patrol car, allowing Buck a better look at him.
He was wearing all black with a set of gloves covering his hands. His hair was covered by a beanie and most of his face was covered by a surgical mask, leaving just his eyes visible.
The man was blocked when Athena appeared in front of the window.
The back door was finally unlocked and opened.
Buck stood. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Athena assured him.
"Then who was that?"
"That's the guy who grabbed you."
Buck's attention jerked back toward the second car then back to Athena. "He nabbed me from behind. I never got a good look at him."
Immediately, the older police sergeant started scanning. "Did he hit you?"
"No." Buck tried not to pull back when she reached up to feel along the back of his head. "If I had to take a guess, I'm pretty sure he used chloroform."
Athena paused her examination. "Pretty old school for a guy like that."
"Thank you for rescuing me by the way." Buck huffed out a laugh. "If I had a nickle for every time I'd been kidnapped on scene, I'd have two nickles. Which isn't a lot, but weird that it's happened twice."
Athena didn't respond. She was currently using her eyes to bore holes into the kidnapper's head.
"Hey." The blonde gently nudged her arm to get her attention. "They've got him. He's not---."
"Do you have any idea who he is?"
". . . No. I am supposed to know?"
"Buck, he's the LA killer."
"The serial killer?" Buck glanced back over at the car again then back at the police sergeant. "Are you sure?"
"One of the officers found a bag in the back of his car. It contained items belonging to his past victims that were reported missing during the cases. That's why he tried to run."
Athena took something from one of the other officers.
When she held it up, Buck immediately recognized it. "That's my helmet. I was wearing it when he grabbed me."
"He came back for it and got noticed by one of our officers." Athena gave the other officer back the helmet. "If he wouldn't have noticed, we wouldn't have realized you were gone until it was too late."
". . . I got kidnapped by a serial killer?"
"Leave it to a member of the 118," the older police sergeant muttered.
"Hey, it's not like we walk around with giant neon signs that say 'kill us please'."
"Get in the car."
"Wait. Wait." The blonde held up both hands. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made that joke."
"No." Athena pushed him back toward the car. "Get in the car because I don't feel safe having you out here while he's still around."
"But he's literally cuffed in a police car."
The older police sergeant lowered her volume and her tone. "Evan Buckley, do as I say."
Buck's jaw snapped shut and he glared at her.
"I know you hate your full name, but I needed your attention. Now get in the back seat."
The younger firefighter did finally get in and Athena shut the door behind him.
However, instead of leaving him there, she moved to the driver's seat with one of her other officers in the passenger seat.
"What are you doing?" Buck asked.
"Make sure to have the paramedics come check him out when they get here," Athena told a second officer."
Catching the tail end of it, the blonde glared at her again. "I do not need to be checked over."
Athena sat down in the driver's seat and took out her phone. "Now, let's conduct this interview with the victim."
"Who are you texting then?" Buck asked.
"The group chat." The older police sergeant finally put her phone away. "Letting them know you're alive."
"Why are you smothering me?"
"I'm not smothering you yet." Athena looked at him through her rearview mirror. "Can you explain to us where you were when the kidnapping happened?"
Buck sighed and leaned his forehead against the divider between the backseat and the front. This was going to be a long night of Athena not letting him out of her sight.

Chapter 4

Buck blinked awake.
He had to jerk his head away from whatever was under his nose. It smelled awful.
"There we go," a voice exclaimed just as soon as the smell moved.
Buck's brain took a minute to catch up with what was going on. He looked around to see exactly where he was and what was going on.
"Hey." A hand patted his cheek. "You alive in there?"
"Chim?" The blonde muttered out.
Snapping pulled Buck's attention to the left. "Right here Buckaroo."
The younger firefighter's vision finally settled enough for him to see the shorter paramedic kneeling next to him.
"Delayed responses to external noises," Chimney muttered to himself.
A thumb lifted one of the younger firefighter's eyelids before a beam of light hit his eye.
Buck blinked as the light shifted to the other eye.
Finally, the light disappeared. "Pupils are normal."
The blonde pushed himself up. "I'm fi---."
Immediately, the younger firefighter had to lay back down. His head was spinning way too much.
"Easy, easy." Two hands squeezed his shoulders while cold metal slid across his chest. "Breathe normally for me."
"You don't exactly take my breath away," Buck muttered.
"Thank goodness." The metal moved away from his chest. "Roll on to your side."
The younger firefighter was more manipulated onto his side than rolled himself. He then felt the metal slide across his back.
The spinning made his brain slow to catch up with what was going on. By the time he realized he was on his side, he was already being rolled back onto his back.
"Breathing and heart rate are normal."
Buck scrubbed his face. "Please don't move me again."
"Dizzy?"
"Mh-hm."
"Answer me honestly." Chimney pushed down Buck's arm. "When was the last time you ate?"
The blonde's mind went blank. . . . hadn't he eaten before coming to work?
"Your silence speaks volume."
Buck looked up to see Chimney typing into his phone. "What are you doing?"
"You and I are having an early dinner." A moment later, the shorter paramedic's phone went back into his pocket. "Does anything feel broken or out of place?"
The younger firefighter paused before responding. "Not really. A little sore, but that's about it."
"Can you lift your arms?"
Buck lifted both arms up in the air like a zombie.
"You took a hard tumble." Chimney carefully manipulated each one. "Sure nothing's off with your back?"
"I promise."
"Good." The shorter paramedic moved down to check the blonde's legs. "Nothing off with arms or legs. Think he's safe to move."
Buck dropped his arms back down and tried to push himself again.
Once he tilted to the side again, two sets of hands gripped his arms.
The younger firefighter weakly shrugged the hands away. "M'fine."
"Would be believable if you weren't laying on the fire station floor," another voice pointed out.
Buck groaned when he recognized Bobby's voice.
Chimney helped Bobby pull the younger firefighter to his feet. "Nor when we had to use smelling salts to actually wake you up."
Buck stumbled along as the two pulled him toward the bunk room. "They smell disgusting."
"Kinda the point Buckaroo."
While the blonde tried to get his brain to actually produce a response, Bobby and Chimney led him over to one of the bunks before dropping him onto the mattress.
A moment later, Buck's brother-in-law was tugging off his boots.
The blonde kicked at the shorter paramedic's hand.
Chimney squeezed his knee. "You're not getting dirt on the blankets."
Buck squeaked and yanked his leg away. "Hey!"
The shorter paramedic used it to his advantage to yank the boot off the younger's foot. "Thank you."
"Listen to your brother Buck."
"Brother-in-law," the blonde emphasized.
"At this point." Chimney tugged off the other boot. "In-law doesn't work anymore."
That would have made the younger firefighter smile if Bobby didn't currently have his hands around Buck's face.
"You look really pale."
"Stop." Buck shoved Bobby's hand away from his face. "M'fine."
"Your blood sugar's probably low especially if you haven't eaten all day," Chimney pointed out while pulling the blanket over the younger firefighter. "I can check it and your blood pressure then you can sleep until the food gets here."
The blonde huffed. "Why are you smothering me?"
Chimney just chuckled. "Whatever, stay put."
Buck watched him leave.
Meanwhile, Bobby watched the blonde like a hawk.
"I'm not leaving," the blonde argued.
"Better not."
Buck plopped his head back on the pillows, scrubbing his eyes. How did he stop getting himself into these positions?

Chapter 5

Buck just stared at the lady sitting next to him.
She was beautiful, but she just wasn't his type.
But she wouldn't take no for an answer.
The young firefighter stood. "I'm sorry, I need to go."
The lady grabbed his arm in a vice like grip. "You haven't even touched your drink yet."
The drink she had still bought for him even when he said he didn't want one.
She forced it into his hand right now. "Just a couple sips. You may change your mind about me then."
If the roles were reversed, Buck would have been thrown out of the bar faster than he could have finished that sentence. However, no one batted an eye when a pretty young female kept making passes at a guy who was clearly not interested.
And if he put a hand on her in any way to get away from her, she'd be spinning all kinds of stories about him.
Buck took a breath. He could do this.
The young firefighter pulled his arm out of her grasp then set the drink back down on the bar. "I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but---."
The drink was pressed back into his hand. "You're hurting them by not taking a sip."
". . . I just got out of a pretty serious relationship a few months ago and I'm not ready for anything else just yet."
"A few sips of this and you'll be ready for anything."
Buck's eyebrows furrowed together. "A martini isn't exactly life changing."
"This one is."
"Why are you so---?"
The young firefighter never got to finish his statement.
Someone hit him from behind. Their hand gripped his arm and jerked it forward, sending the martini splashing across the front of the lady's outfit.
The look on her face made Buck desperately try to hold back his laughter.
For a long moment, neither side moved as the drink slowly pooled out across the fabric of her dress.
"I'm so sorry." A familiar figure stepped around Buck. "Did I do that?"
The lady glared daggers at her.
Hen juts shifted her purse a little higher, one hand never leaving Buck's arm. "I must not have been paying attention."
To try to prevent an argument, Buck reached for his wallet. "I'll pay you back for the---."
Hen pulled his hand away. "That won't be necessary."
"He spilled it all over my dress," the lady spoke up. "It'll have to be dry cleaned."
"Oh." Hen let go of Buck to take a step toward the lady. "Is your dry cleaner a professional at getting flunitrazepam out of fabric?"
"What's flunitrazepam?" Buck asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Hen tiltled her head just a bit to tell him. "You'd probably know it as rohypnol."
The lady's expression became unreadable.
"Or more commonly known as roofies," Hen continued as her stare returned to the lady.
Buck looked between them both. "You tried to drug me?"
The lady scoffed. "It was just to loosen you up. Make things more enjoyable for us both."
"And you know if the roles were reversed you would be screaming 'date rape' right now," Hen pointed out, her tone coming out very sharp. "So consider this your taste of actually equality."
Without another word, the lady gave Buck a once over. "Pathetic anyway."
The young firefighter looked away.
That's when he heard the slap.
Buck's head snapped back up.
The lady was facing the bar and holding one side of her face with her hand.
Hen lowered her hand back down to her side.
That was Buck's cue to set down the glass he was still somehow holding and grab Hen's arm before she lashed out again. "Okay, time to go."
"Nice meeting you," Hen called over her shoulder as the blonde hurried her to the exit. Her fake smile dropped the moment she turned back in Buck's line of sight. "That little---."
Buck cleared his throat. "Where's Karen?"
Another figure appeared on his other side. "Karen was catching everything on video. She makes so much as an X post and I'm sharing this for the world to see."
"Wonder if Athena's free," Hen murmured. "We could get a case started against her."
"She didn't do anything," Buck interrupted.
"She tried to roofie you!"
"I'm a white guy with a past for hooking up with girls like her," the younger firefighter pointed out as they reached the exit. "Who's gonna believe me?"
"We believe you," Karen assured him.
"Athena would too," Hen added on. "She knows you wouldn't make up something like this."
Buck looked up long enough to give the bouncer at the door a quick nod. "Night."
Hen dug in her purse. "I should call her."
"Call who?" Buck asked.
"Athena." The shorter paramedic located her phone. "Who else?"
"Don't!" The blonde immediately tried to grab it. "It's late. You'll wake her up."
Hen pushed his hand away. "It's not even midnight yet."
"Don't bother her," Buck pleaded.
Hen pulled a bit ahead, phone pressed up to her ear.
"Hen." Buck paused. "Hen!"
However, the shorter paramedic completely ignored him.
Meanwhile, Karen moved around to study him. "You didn't take any sips of that martini she gave you, right?"
"You watched the entire thing," Buck replied. "It all ended up down the front of her dress, not anywhere near my mouth."
Karen studied him. "Maybe Hen should check you just to be safe."
"I'm telling you. I'm fine."
"Athena's on her way with Bobby," Hen told the duo when she rejoined them.
Buck scrubbed his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger. "Great."
"You okay?" Hen asked him.
The younger firefighter dropped his hand. "Just an oncoming headache."
Karen's eyes widened.
"Not from the roofie!"
"Made sure of that," Hen muttered as she adjusted her purse strap higher.
Karen squeezed the paramedics shoulder. "Would you still check him?"
"Already planning too," Hen agreeded.
Buck looked at them both in disbelief. "I'm fine."
Karen looked around. "Where's Athena supposed to meet us?"
"Over at the corner," Hen replied.
Karen hurried her way over to the corner. "I'll flag her down when she gets here."
"Look for Bobby's car."
"Are either of you even listening to me?" Buck demanded.
"Yes." Hen pulled him over to the side of the street. "Now come sit down."
"Why are you two smothering me?"
"Because we care." The shorter paramedic guided him down onto a nearby step. "Now sit."
The blonde groaned as he scrubbed his face. This was NOT how he pictured this evening going.

Chapter 6

Maddie looked out over the pool. It was nice of Ravi's friend to let him borrow the pool and let him have this many of people over for a party.
The kids were splashing, having a blast under the watchful of her brother and Eddie. It warmed her heart to see them all having a fun time together.
A kick made her put a hand on her stomach. "Wow, patience please. You'll be joining them soon enough."
The baby kicked again in response.
Maddie simply smiled before looking back up at the pool.
Several of the kids had abandoned the pool to swarm Eddie, now standing off to the side, as he held up a box of popsicles. She scanned the crowd to notice her brother wasn't a part of the group.
The elder Buckley turned back to the pool, excepting to see him swimming around with the remaining kids. It was much less crowded since most of the kids were still hovering around Eddie and the adults were spread out around the lounge chairs.
At first, she couldn't find her brother admist the semi-quiet pool.
Then she spotted her daughter Jee-Yun kneeling on the side, reaching out to something in the water.
Maddie's eyebrows furrowed together when she finally found Buck floating face down in the water. Surely he must be playing around with Jee.
She would touch his back. He would roll around and splash her or grab her, making her squeal and laugh.
But even when Jee-Yun's tiny hand touched his back, Buck didn't move. For several tense seconds, Maddie watched and waited.
And Buck still didn't move.
The elder Buckley ran. "Buck!"
As she got closer, she could see Jee-Yun was patting along her uncle's still form and calling out to him. He still wasn't responding.
"Buck!" Maddie called again before sliding in to the pool. "Buck!"
"Mommy, he's not answering me," Jee frantically explained.
Maddie used the water's buoyancy to her advantage and flipped her not so little younger brother onto his back.
Buck didn't even flinch.
"Maddie!" A familiar voice exclaimed.
"May, Harry. Help me get him out."
Together, all three got the young firefighter out of the pool and onto the ground.
Once his back was on the solid ground, Maddie immediately pulled herself out and started CPR. "Come on Buck. Come on."
May knelt on the blonde's other side. "Do you know how long he was under?"
"Roughly a minute," Maddie explained without looking away from what she was doing. "Harry, go to my bag and get my mask."
The youngest Grant took off.
By now, everyone was crowding around to see what was wrong and what could be done to help.
Maddie didn't acknowledge any of them. She just kept up the steady rhythm of her chest compressions. "Come on Buck, please."
Harry finally came back with the mask.
Maddie used it to blow two strong breaths into her brother's mouth before launching back into chest compressions.
A moment later, a stream of water shot out of the blonde's mouth.
Maddie immediately stopped compressions then she and both Grants worked together to roll Buck onto his side before more water came spewing out.
The elder Buckley rubbed her hand up and down his back. "That's it. That's it."
It took a moment for Buck to get the remaining water out of his lungs. Once he was done, his body sagged onto the concrete.
"Buck." Maddie called as they rolled him back onto his back. "Buck, can you hear me?"
The young firefighter finally found his sister's concerned face. "Maddie."
"I'm right here." The elder Buckley rubbed her younger brother's arm. "I looked away for one second. Then I thought you were playing a game with the kids."
Buck carefully pushed himself up to a sitting position.
"Easy, easy," May warned as he sat up.
"Are you alright Uncle Buck?" Jee asked.
"I'm okay," Buck assured her.
"I was with the kids." Eddie looked between Buck and the pool from his spot behind May. "What happened?"
"My bad leg." The younger firefighter rubbed it. "I went to climb out and it cramped up."
Maddie scanned her younger brother, looking for any other injuries. "Did you hit anything on the way down?"
"I don't think so."
"Good." The elder Buckley started to move up. "Let's get you away from the edge."
As Buck stood, Eddie and Harry moved in on either side to help him.
While the young firefighter tried to brush them away, the elder Buckley looked around the crowd. "Where's Chimney?"
"He's grabbing something out of the car," Hen explained. "He'll be right back."
Finally working together, the small group got Buck over to the sidelines and into one of the chairs.
"You guys are over reacting." Buck carefully sat down. "I promise I'm fine."
"When I said do something cool man, I meant like a backflip," Harry teased instead. "Not almost drown."
Buck did crack a smile. "Sorry, I misunderstood the assignment."
Meanwhile, Maddie carefully examined her younger brother's bad leg. "Can you move it?"
"Yeah, I can move it." The young firefighter demonstrated by bending his leg. "It cramped for just a few seconds."
A hand squeezed Maddie's shoulder. "How are things looking?"
"He coughed up half the pool, but I think he'll be okay," the elder Buckley told her husband.
"I'm fine Chim," Buck tried to tell him.
Chimney held up his stethoscope. "Let me listen real quick."
"Seriously?"
"You did cough up a lot of water," Ravi pointed out.
"Shut up probie," Buck hissed.
Meanwhile, Chimney popped the stethoscope in his ears and dragged the metal along Buck's chest and back. "This'll take just a second."
The younger firefighter huffed, but complied.
Meanwhile, the baby kicked again, causing Maddie to place her hand back on her stomach.
"The baby okay?" Buck asked his sister.
"They're alive and well." The elder Buckley rubbed her side. "They're just leaving bruises."
"You sure?"
"Yes Buck, I'm sure."
Chimney squeezed his shoulder. "Shut up for a second."
"I'm fine."
"Shut up and let me hear it."
The younger firefighter rolled his eyes, but went quiet again.
"Thank you." A moment later, Chimney finally finished. "Alright, think your lungs are good. You just need to rest for a bit."
"That means no swimming," Eddie added.
"Or backflips," Harry mumbled.
"Yeah, I got that," Buck shot back.
Chimney's eyebrows furrowed together. "Have you had any water since we got here?"
"What?"
"You said your leg cramped up. I'm asking if you've had any water to drink since you got here."
The younger firefighter actually paused, his eyes showing he had to think about it.
Ravi yanked his wrist up and slapped a waterbottle into his open palm.
Buck huffed as he took it, a blush spreading across his cheeks.
"You know, for a firefighter, you don't take very good care of yourself," May sassed him.
"I can take care of myself just fine," Buck shot back. "It's all of you who are over protective."
Hen leaned closer to Maddie. "He drowns in a pool and has the nerve to call us over protective."
Buck glared at the shorter paramedic.
Maddie's eyebrows knit together. "Did you even put on sunscreen?"
"Yes, I put on sunscreen. No, that is not a burn on my face."
The elder Buckley dug out a bottle from her bag and tossed it to her brother. "Reapply."
"Why are you smothering me?"
"Reapply or I'm putting it on for you."
"I'll help," Hen added.
"You'd better listen to them Buckaroo," Chimney warned, desperately biting back a laugh. "They will do it."
"Honestly, that would be pretty funny to see," Eddie pointed out.
Both Ravi and Harry snickered.
Buck looked over at May.
"Don't look at me." The younger dispatcher crossed her arms. "I'm debating telling Mom and Bobby when they get back."
Hen glanced up from her phone. "Already texted the group chat."
With a huff, Buck scrubbed his eyes while grabbing the bottle of sunscreen. He wasn't getting out of this any time soon.

Chapter 7

Ravi scanned the scene.
The fire was out and he was counting heads. Chimney, Hen, and Eddie were loading up the gear in the truck. Bobby was talking to a few of the officers. Athena was gathering a witness testimony.
But Buck wasn't anywhere to be seen.
The younger firefighter's anxiety spiked. The blonde firefighter had the uncanny ability to get himself in dangerous situations quite easily. Unless he was hiding around a corner to scare the younger firefighter, this wasn't good.
Especially when the house fire they had been putting out had been at an uncovered grow house.
The younger firefighter wound through the wreckage and people inside, looking for any trace of the blonde. He found the entrance to a haphazardly made basement where the grow house had been and crouched down to look.
The stairs leading inside must have fallen because debris was everywhere.
At first, Ravi didn't see anything.
Then he spotted what looked like a boot was poking out from under some of the debris.
The firefighter carefully lowered himself down to the ground, not wanting to disrupt whatever was there.
Ravi then nudged the boot with his foot. It was solid, but didn't move.
The younger firefighter quickly squatted down and started to throw the wreckage aside. It took only a few boards before he revealed a familiar firefighter's jacket.
"Buck," Ravi called out.
No response was given.
Ravi shoved away the last few pieces of wood to find Buck's still form. The blonde was on his back. His eyes were wide open, but definitely unseeing.
"Buck." Ravi patted his cheek. "Buck, come on."
The blonde didn't even flinch.
The younger firefighter quickly moved up to Buck's head before positioning his arms under his armpits. He then wrapped his arms around Buck's ribs before yanking him over to a nearby window.
With a little bit of shifting and pushing, he finally got the blonde out the window and away from the house.
The younger firefighter the yanked off Buck's mask only to find that it was badly cracked.
Ravi tossed it aside then slapped Buck's shoulder. "Buck . . . Buck!"
When no response came, the younger firefighter placed his fingers over Buck's corrated artery.
No pulse. No breath.
A quick scan revealed what Ravi feared.
Ravi turned to the fire truck. "Chimney! I need narcan! Now!"
The paramedic reached into the back of the truck while Ravi turned back the blonde.
A few moments later, Chimney dropped down beside Ravi along with Hen and Eddie.
Chimney slid something up Buck's nose and sprayed.
"What happened?" Hen asked.
"Stairs collapsed and he was trapped underneath." Ravi patted the blonde's shoulder again. "Come on Buck."
A few more seconds passed and there was still no movement.
"No response." Chimney reached forward and sprayed another shot up the blonde's second nostril.
Eddie even reached over to shake his friend's shoulder. "Buck, let's go."
Another few tense seconds passed before Buck finally started, coughing a few times.
Ravi matched the breaths of relief from the others. "You okay?"
Buck started to push himself up. "I'm alright."
"Are you kidding?" Chimney asked in disbelief. "You were literally dead a few seconds ago."
"How'd you get trapped in the basement," Ravi interrupted, hoping to avoid an argument.
"I was checking the area to make sure no one else was there. I fell back in when the stairs went down."
"How'd you get exposed to what they were growing?" Eddie asked.
Ravi held up Buck's mask. "This cracked."
Chimney studied the mask. "Sheesh! You land on your face."
Buck's eyebrows furrowed together. "Maybe. I don't remember."
Chimney moved to stand. "Yep, you're getting checked out.
"I'm fine."
"After we just used narcan to bring you back?" Ravi demanded.
Hen patted Ravi's shoulder. "Now you know why we ignore the words 'I'm fine' when they come out of his mouth."
"Starting to."
Meanwhile, Buck tried to stand fully upright. "I am fi---."
Ravi jumped up when the blonde pitched forward. It took all four of them to keep him upright.
"You need to get checked out." Chimney helped Ravi pull Buck over to the truck. "Specially with what was going on in there."
"You worry too much," Buck managed to get out.
"You don't worry enough," Ravi jumped in.
"Not when it comes to himself," Eddie commented as they plopped the blonde onto the back of the truck.
"I'm fine," Buck argued again.
"Stop lying," Ravi argued back.
Chimney grabbed his pen flashlight and checked Buck's pupils. "Talk to me Buckaroo."
Buck jerked his head away. "I thought I was."
"What symptoms are we looking at?"
"Nothing."
Ravi huffed. "No you're not."
"Why are you taking his side?"
"Because you didn't have to watch yourself get resuscitated with two shots of narcan."
"Narcan's a miracle worker," Buck defended.
"Doesn't mean it's fun to have to use it."
Meanwhile, Chimney continued his examination. "Breathing's good."
"Great. Can I go now?"
"No," Ravi answered.
Buck's head snapped over to him. "I wasn't asking you."
The younger firefighter turned to Chimney. "Can I sit on him?"
The older paramedic poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. "You can try, but I don't know how well that would work."
"If you sit on me, I'm throwing you," Buck interrupted.
"Atleast it'll slow you down."
Buck huffed. "What is it with you?"
"What? Find it hard to believe someone actually cares about you?"
"I appreciate that you care. I don't appreciate being smothered."
"You literally died!"
"But I'm fine."
"You're not winning this argument," Eddie told Ravi.
The younger firefighter whirled to him. "But he---!"
Eddie moved forward. "If Buck doesn't think he needs to be checked, he will dig in."
"That's why you've just gotta go with it even when he fights back," Hen added coming in closer on the other side. "Or get Bobby on your side."
Buck scoffed. "Bobby doesn't scare me."
"You sure about that?"
The older fire captain suddenly appeared. "What's going on over here?"
Buck opened his mouth to respond.
No way he was arguing himself out of this one.
So Ravi pointed at the blonde. "He accidentally ODed on whatever they were growing and Chimney had to resuscitate him with narcan."
Bobby's eyes went wide. "What!"
"Loud mouth," Buck mumbled.
"Now he's refusing to get checked out."
Buck hit Ravi's arm and hissed. "Shut up."
The older fire captain turned to the blonde. "This true?"
". . . A small part of it," Buck carefully explained. "The rest is just---."
Bobby jerked his hand to the back of the truck. "Then et in the truck."
"Just listen to me for a second."
"Get in the truck Buck."
"You heard him." Hen nodded to the truck. "Get in."
Ravi crossed his arms. "Yeah."
Buck huffed at the younger firefighter. "Would you but out of this?"
Meanwhile, Bobby hopped in the back of the truck before yanking the blonde in by his jacket collar.
"Ah!" Buck scrambled to get up or risk being dragged along the floor of the truck. "Bobby!"
"Good work." Eddie patted Ravi's shoulder. "You hanging in there?"
"If that's what it takes, that's what it takes," Ravi commented. "And I'll be good in a moment. It terrified me more than anything."
"If you hadn't jumped in when you did, he wouldn't be able to argue any more," Chimney pointed out. "That was quick thinking."
Ravi blushed and looked away. "Just doing my job."
"You did good." Eddie jumped up into the back. "Don't let his stubbornness tell you otherwise."
Then Ravi turned back to the two paramedics. "Should we jump in to help too?"
Chimney shook his head. "Eddie can usually handle them both."
"We'll be on standby just in case," Hen added.
A moment later, Athena hurried over. "What's going on in there?"
"Long story short, Buck ODed, we got him back, he's given everyone a hard time," Chimney quickly explained.
"Bobby may need your handcuffs for this one," Hen added.
The police sergeant sighed before hopping into the back of the truck.
Ravi bit back a smile. Maybe now the blonde would listen.