Angel of the Waves

by FlamingSword_ofAzi

Summary:

Soulmate AU where Eddie joins the 118 after the ladder-truck bombing. Buck feels left alone and hopeless after the pulmonary embolism and decides to go to the pier to clear his head. Meanwhile, Shannon who never got into an accident takes out Christopher to the beach to get to know each other better.

What could go wrong?

Notes:

Hi there! English is not my first language and this is my first ever fanfiction :) Lmk if there are any major mistakes.

Chapter 1: Chapter One

Buck sighed as he lowered himself onto a bench at the far end of the Santa Monica Pier, trying to ignore the piercing ache of his leg. Today was a bad day and he had to use his leg brace and crutches. He winced when he stretched his leg out in front of him, staring frustratingly at it. He knew he shouldn‘t have gone out today, but his loft had been so suffocating it had felt as if the walls went smaller each minute that passed. If Maddie knew about this, she would be furious. He could already hear her lecture. You have to take better care of yourself, Evan. You have to take it slow, you know what happened the last time you overworked yourself.

Buck loved his sister, he really did, but he was sick of her constantly fretting over him. The pulmonary embolism wasn‘t his fault. He followed all of the doctor‘s instructions without complaint, he couldn‘t have known that the hardware in his leg could cause this. But it seemed as if the rest of the 118 still thought of him as the irresponsible probie he had been before.

Deep in his heart Buck knew that they only were worried about him and didn‘t want to see him hurt again. But Buck only wanted to get back to his family, to work beside them again. And now they had this new probie who was so perfect and who apparently fit right in. He hadn‘t met the man yet, but the others only praised him when he talked to them.

Buck couldn‘t help but feel like he was slowly losing his family. While they risked their life every day and worked together, he could only watch without helping them at all. And now they had the perfect replacement for him. He was scared that one day they would only see him as a burden if he couldn‘t be a firefighter ever again.

So even though his leg hurt so much not even painkillers could help he decided that enough was enough. He would reclaim his life, any costs be damned. So earlier today he forced himself out of his sad and lonely loft to do something. Anything but moping alone and spiraling out of control.

At first he drove aimlessly around LA until he finally decided to go to the pier. It had been his favorite place when he first came to LA but in the last few months he didn‘t exactly have the opportunity to visit. However his leg started to act up the moment he set foot onto the pier. He barely managed to get to the end before he couldn‘t go on anymore.

Tears of frustration gathered in his eyes. He was just so tired of being incapable of doing the easiest things. Luckily on most days he could use his leg normally, but today reminded him of his disability in full force. He would always need assistance, his life had changed irreversibly.

Without wanting to, Buck's eyes wandered to his soul mark. The first words his soul mate would ever say to him were standing on his left wrist, written in silver ink as he hadn‘t met them yet.

You‘re the angel of the waves.

These words were the only sense of hope he had left. He always imagined he would meet his soul mate during a call, probably while rescuing them. Without th3m, he would have long given up. He still held onto them because they meant that he would be a firefighter again. But the waiting drove him crazy, he wanted to be back so badly.

Buck closed his eyes and leaned back. He breathed in the fresh air, letting his thoughts float away. He listened to the sounds of laughing children and the noise of the shrieking seagulls who tried to snatch away the food of the unassuming tourists. He stayed like that for what felt like hours but it was probably only for a few minutes.

He barely noticed what a child next to him was saying but when he did his heart stopped.

“Mommy, where did all the water go?“

Buck tore his eyes open and looked frantically at the sea. The water had retreated hundreds of metres, but in the distance he noticed a huge wave heading straight to the shore.

His instincts kicking in, he jumped up and looked around the pier. Most of the visitors had noticed the odd sight but hadn‘t realized the danger they were in.

“Tsunami! Everyone Get off the pier!“, he yelled, leaving his brace and crutches behind and running in the opposite direction.

Panic slowly made itself present. People started to scream in terror, abandoning their belongings and following Buck towards safety.

Buck knew that they would never reach the end of the pier in time, but his survival instincts forced him to continue. The further he was away from the initial hit, the better. He tried desperately to ignore the others, knowing that he couldn‘t help them now.

Noticing a stall with a high edging, Buck made the quick decision to jump over the counter. He made himself as small as he could and held onto the wooden railing.

Buck had never been so scared before in his life. During the ladder-truck bombing, his senses were muted, he had barely noticed the pain and the traumatic situation. But this time he was highly alert, the adrenaline in his body pumping through him due to his rapid beating heart.

It felt like hours until the wave hit him, but it still surprised him. It felt like he was smashed against a brick wall, the water unforgivingly surrounding him. Buck almost immediately lost his grip and was washed away. The debris hit him from all sides, slamming into him at full force.

Buck didn‘t know which way was up and which one was down. His lungs screamed for oxygen and he had to stop himself from breathing in the dirty water. In his panic he almost gave in but finally his head broke through the waves. He greedily sucked in the fresh air, gasping and trying hard to keep his head up.

Desperately, Buck searched for anything he could hold onto. Finally he located a lamp post that had miraculously survived the initial hit. Buck gathered all his strength and began to swim against the current. He almost didn‘t make it, but his adrenaline luckily wasn‘t all used up. At last he reached the mast and clung to it with all he had.

Buck deeply breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. He survived. He was as safe as he could be in the given situation. He wasn‘t too seriously injured, hopefully. He was okay.

A terrified yell tore him from his thoughts.

“Help me! Please, help me!“

Buck whipped his head into the direction of the yell. There was a little boy, drifting on a broken branch in his direction. He looked terrified, his small red glasses sat crookedly on his nose. Buck’s heart ached at the sight.

“Don‘t worry, little man! I‘ll come and get you, just don‘t let go of your branch, alright?“, he tried to reassure the boy. He didn‘t think he did a good job, but the little boy hesitantly nodded.

Buck let go of the mast and set off into the direction of the kid, who stared at him with wide, tearful eyes.

“I‘ll be right there, superman, just hold on!“

He finally reached the kid, almost crashing into him.

“Okay kid, do you think you‘ll be able to let go of the branch for me? I promise I will catch you.“

The boy hesitated only for a second, but he put on a brave face and slowly let go of his makeshift boat.

“You‘re doing amazing, superman“, Buck smiled proudly, already completely smitten by the cute kid.

After the boy was securely in his arms, Buck let out a sigh of relief. The first hurdle was overcome, but the two of them still had to find a safe place where they could wait for rescue.

Breathing in deeply, he once again addressed the boy on his back.

“Alright superman, are you ready for a great adventure into the unknown?“

Chapter 2: Chapter Two

“What‘s your name?“, the kid asked after a few minutes of Buck silently navigating them through the labyrinth of debris in the water.

“Oh god, I can‘t believe I forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me“, Buck chuckled despite the dire situation.

“I‘m Buck, it‘s a pleasure to meet you, superman!“

The boy giggled. “What kind of name is Buck?“

“Well my real name is Evan, but all of my friends call me Buck.“

“I‘m your friend?“, the kid asked shyly. Buck‘s heart melted. It was so unfair that this sweet child had to endure so much pain right now.

“Of course I am, buddy! But for us to be best friends I‘ll need your name, if that‘s alright with you.“

“My name is Christopher, but everyone calls me Chris. I‘ve never had a best friend before“, the kid said excitedly.

“Well then I promise I‘m gonna be the bestest best friend ever“, Buck replied, hoping that he could fulfill his promise. His arms slowly grew tired, he didn‘t know how much longer he would be able to keep them both afloat.

“Buck, look over there! Do you see that?“, Chris suddenly cried out.

Buck followed Chris‘ pointed finger and almost cried out in relief. The boy ironically had spotted a fire truck whose surface rose just above the water. Ignoring the burning in his arms, Buck swam towards the truck, making out the number 133 on the front. He was relieved to see that it wasn‘t the 118, hoping that they were inlands when the tsunami hit.

Reaching their small island of safety amidst the chaos, he tried to heave Chris over the edge. It took a few attempts, but finally with joint forces they managed to get Chris relatively out of the water.

Buck clung himself onto the edge, taking a minute to regain some of his strength. He basically threw himself onto the truck, not caring about gentleness as he had with Chris. He laid flat on his stomach, closing his eyes and breathing deeply in and out.

He almost gave in to the exhaustion that was slowly creeping into his body but a small but insistent tuck on his t-shirt woke him up again.

“Buck, are you alright?“, Chris asked him, sounding a bit scared.

Buck could have smacked himself. Chris must have been terrified when he just laid there motionless, not giving any sign of being alive.

“Of course I am buddy, I‘m just a bit tired, that‘s all“, he replied, trying to sound as confident as he could.

Buck forced himself into an upright position and gave Chris a thorough check-up. Luckily he only seemed to have a few scratches on his face and forearms, luckily nothing too concerning. Not that he would be able to do something since he had no med kit let alone something sterile.

Only when he was completely sure that Chris was as fine as he could be right now he dared to check himself. The debris he crashed into at the pier had done its fair damage, his whole body aching. He already could feel the bruises spreading and he guessed that his rips were at least cracked.

Buck noticed with a great amount of relief that he didn‘t have a bleeding wound, only little scratches like Chris. With him still being on blood thinners this would have been a catastrophe.

“Buck?“

Chris‘ teary voice made his heart beat faster in concern. The kid‘s lips were wobbly and he suddenly looked pretty scared.

“Do you think my mom is safe, too?“

Buck froze. He was so stupid, he didn‘t even think about the boy's parents. His mother must have been with him at the pier. She must have lost him either in the crowd or they were separated after the wave washed over them.

Buck shuffled over to Chris and hugged him tightly. The boy burrowed his little face into his chest, his glasses slightly digging into him.

“If your mom is as brave and strong as you are, which I absolutely believe, then she will be somewhere safe now. I bet she‘s already looking for you“, he tried to reassure him, but doing a bad job at it. His experience told him not to lie to victims at a scene, but he couldn‘t just tell Christopher that there was a great chance that his mom was already dead or seriously injured.

“I don‘t want her to leave me again. She just came back!“, Chris cried and began to fully sob into his chest.

Buck didn‘t know what he could ever reply to that, so he only hugged him more closely, hoping to ease his pain a little by his presence. After a few minutes Chris calmed down enough to release himself from the hug. With shaking hands he wiped his tears away and readjusted his glasses.

Buck could have cried. Chris was so unbelievably brave and resilient. At this moment he decided that he would do everything in his power to reunite the boy with his mother, any costs be damned. But right now he couldn‘t do anything except try to keep him safe.

Buck searched desperately for a subject that wouldn’t remind the kid of the unknowing fate of his mother. His eyes fell to the truck they were sitting on and launched into the first topic that came to his mind.

“Hey Chris, did you know that I am a firefighter? It‘s pretty funny that we found this fire truck, don‘t you think?“

Chris lit up. “No way! My daddy is a firefighter too! He just started after our move to LA two months ago. Maybe you‘ve met him!“, he exclaimed in excitement.

Buck forced himself to smile. It was impossible that he met Chris‘ father since he hadn‘t been on a call for over six months now. But he didn‘t want to disappoint the kid.

“Well, what‘s his name, superman?“

“His name is Eddie Diaz!“

The name didn‘t ring a bell, though he could have sworn Hen once mentioned an Eddie. There were probably a lot of other Eddies in the fire department, as it was a common name.

“I don‘t think we have met yet, but after today you will have to introduce him to me.“

“Daddy has to work today, he could be the one to save us!“

The chances of that were slim, but Buck knew that the boy‘s father already searched for Chris. He couldn‘t imagine the terror he must have felt the moment the news of the tsunami hit. He really, really hoped Chris‘ mother was alright. The boy had gone through so much already, and apparently his mother had left him in some way before.

Buck was about to reply, when an ear-piercing scream tore through the air.

“Oh god, help me! Please, you have to help me!“

A woman was being swept into the direction of their truck, not able to fight against the strong current that tossed her around. She seemed to be struggling with keeping herself from going under.

Buck hesitated. He knew he could never forgive himself if he left her to fend for herself. But on the other hand he had Chris to think about. He didn‘t want to leave him all alone on the truck. Even though they were relatively safe, the kid could still fall off if a strong wave crashed against the fire truck.

“You can do it, Buck! You saved me, you can save her too!“, Chris encouraged him, mistaking his hesitation with insecurity.

Buck had decided. He couldn‘t disappoint Chris who already forced himself into his heart by his bubbly and cheerful personality.

“Alright superman, but you gotta promise me something. Please hold on tight to the railing and never let go, okay? You can‘t let go under any circumstances.“

Chris nodded solemnly and clung himself to the railing. Buck smiled one last time and then moved to the edge of the truck, leaning over and trying to open the compartment below him. He had an idea and he hoped that the water hadn‘t damaged the mechanism.

Luck seemed to be on his side. The compartment opened with little struggle and the truck‘s hose came to light.

Buck looked over to the woman who now clung to a branch of a half submerged tree. In seconds he had formed a plan.

“Alright Ma‘am, no worries, I‘ll come to you!“

Buck grabbed the end of the hose and jumped into the water, praying that he wouldn‘t hit any debris in the process. Carefully, he navigated through the water until he finally reached the distressed woman.

“You have to let go of the branch, Ma‘am. I promise I will catch you.“

The woman stared at him wide-eyed, shaking her head furiously.

“You have to trust me. I am a firefighter, I can help you, but you have to follow me“, Buck tried to convince her.

Finally, she let go. Buck immediately grabbed her and held her close. He used the hose to pull himself back to the truck. It took great effort but after a short while they finally reached safety.

Luckily the woman was significantly stronger than Chris and managed to pull himself over the railing herself. She thanked him profoundly, hysterically crying after her adrenaline had lessened.

Before Buck could heave himself again to the top of the fire truck, he heard another yell coming from where he just was. It seemed as if the current changed direction and now brought the victims directly to them.

Buck sighed and mentally prepared himself. It would be a long time before he would be able to be dry again.

 

Eddie was tired. Around an hour ago fatigue had settled itself deep into his bones. He couldn‘t shake it off, no matter how many energy bars he devoured. The 118 had just started a 24 hour shift when dispatch informed them of the tsunami that had hit Santa Monica Pier.

The calls came in shortly after and they had never since stopped. It had only been around four hours since the wave hit, but the chaos was unimaginable. On the last call they had to save a single mom with her two children who were trapped in their car. They were almost completely submerged in the oncoming flood when the 118 finally reached them.

Miraculously they were able to rescue the whole family relatively unharmed, but Eddie immediately thought of Chris and Shannon. He hadn‘t been able to reach them yet but that was probably because of the radio towers that were still mostly down.

He was just glad that they wanted to go to the movies today, which were inland. He once again pulled out his phone and pressed Shannon‘s contact. He still only reached the mail box.

Frowning, he stared at his phone, willing Shannon to call him back.

“Eddie? Are you alright?“, a concerned voice asked him. It was Bobby, his new captain. Despite being with the 118 for only a month they already felt like family. Bobby acted like the dad of the station, which was often hilarious but also pretty comforting. Hen and Chim meanwhile felt like annoying older siblings who still always were there for you.

He only hadn‘t met the youngest of the group due to a pretty bad injury which nobody wanted to talk about. He was excited to meet him soon though, since he would probably be his partner once he was recovered.

“I‘m okay Cap. I just still haven’t heard from Shannon yet, but I‘m sure they are safe.“

Bobby grabbed his shoulder, offering him a sympathetic smile.

“I completely understand, Athena still hasn‘t been able to reach Michael and Harry. But they all had no reason to be at the beach, right?“

Eddie nodded, forcing his worry deep into his heart to focus again on the situation before them. Currently the 118 was at a makeshift hospital. Chim and Hen just unloaded the family they rescued before and were now restocking the ambulance as best as they could.

He was about to ask Bobby if he could do something to help when he saw a familiar figure walking towards them.

Eddie‘s breath hitched, his blood suddenly pumping fast through his body. He felt panic slowly creeping in, his brain unwilling to comprehend what he just saw in front of him.

“Sh…Shannon?“

Chapter 3: Chapter Three

Notes:

I wrote this in the middle of the night, so if there are any mistakes please let me know :)

This had to be a dream. A nightmare, so horrendous it must have come from the deepest pits of hell. Soon Eddie would wake up, sweating and with a thumping heart, but then he would realize it was all just an imagination. It had to be.

Because if it wasn‘t, if this was real, it would mean that Shannon and Chris were caught up in the tsunami. And Shannon was approaching him alone.

“Shannon?“, he asked again. “Wha…What are you doing here? Where‘s Christopher?“

Eddie ignored the obvious signs, refusing to acknowledge what he already suspected. Shannon‘s clothes were filthy and torn, her hair a mess of mud and little twigs that got tangled up.

He didn‘t dare to look at her face, fearing her expression. But when he heard her soft and anguished voice whisper “Eddie…“, he couldn‘t stop himself anymore and looked up.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and rivers of tears streamed down her face. She looked so terrified and full of sadness, Eddie‘s heart twisted painfully. Even though they got divorced the day Eddie set foot in LA, she was still his best friend and the person who knew him best.

Eddie closed the few feet between them and hugged her gently. Shannon clung to him as if her life depended on it, sobbing loudly into his shoulder.

“Oh god I‘m so sorry, Eddie! It is all my fault, I couldn‘t protect him“, she cried, her whole body shaking with sobs.

“Shannon…Where is Christopher?“, he asked. Chris either got lost in the tsunami or he was… His head suddenly was filled with his son lying somewhere, not moving, not brea-

He shook his head, willing these horrible images to leave his head. Maybe Chris was safe, sleeping somewhere on one of the cots in the hospital, and Shannon was only so upset because of the horrible day they had.

But when he looked again at her utterly hopeless and guilty expression, his delusions vanished.

“I lost him Eddie, I fucking lost him! We weren‘t even supposed to be at the pier, but it was such a beautiful day and-“, she rambled on, getting more hysterical with each word.

Eddie could only hear his heart thumping wildly. He barely listened, he felt like he wasn‘t even in his body anymore. They were at the pier? The place where the wave hit the hardest?

He couldn‘t reply, any possible words stuck in his throat. He could only stare horrified at Bobby who was standing behind Shannon, his face pale and shocked.

“I‘ll look for Hen and Chimney, Eddie. We will head out as soon as possible, alright?“, his captain said, already grabbing his radio.

Eddie felt a rush of gratitude for Bobby wash through him. He needed someone right now he could lean onto. He had to be strong for Shannon and Chris. He felt the weight of the situation settle heavy onto his shoulders. He was glad Cap took the lead right now.

“Shannon, please look at me. It was not your fault. You could have never predicted a tsunami. I‘m sure you did your best to protect Chris“, he whispered into her hair.

Eddie tried to choke back the tears that threatened to spill over. Now was not the time to break down. They had to find Chris. They had to.

Christopher was his light, the only thing that kept him sane while he was in the sandbox. Whenever he felt like he couldn‘t go on anymore, he always grabbed his Saint Christopher medallion and thought of the little boy waiting for his daddy to come home.

Eddie slowly ended the hug and pulled the necklace he still wore today out of his collar. He and Shannon stared blankly at the medallion laying in his open palm. Their boy had to be alright.

Chris was the only good thing that came out of their relationship. In hindsight it was set up for failure from the beginning. Shannon only wanted to rebel against her controlling father and Eddie desperately tried to convince himself and his family that he was the typical straight guy everyone wanted him to be.

He and Shannon weren‘t soulmates, but they understood each other and were best friends even before they got together.

They would have never lasted as a couple hadn‘t Shannon pulled up at Eddie‘s house crying with a positive test in her hands. Both of them coming from catholic and conservative households, there weren‘t any other options besides marriage.

They tried, they really did, but they weren‘t good for each other. Eddie could hardly blame her for leaving Eddie as soon as he came back from his second tour. At first he was unbelievably angry at her, but soon he realized how exhausting her life was while he was in Afghanistan.

Eddie‘s parents were constantly criticizing every decision he made. They also made it absolutely clear that they deemed Eddie and Shannon to be unfit parents.

Being a single parent was hard, and Eddie had finally understood that Shannon essentially had to raise Chris all on her own for a long time. Her parents had cut her off after they found out she was pregnant and his weren‘t any help.

When Eddie‘s mom suggested Chris should live with her and his dad his final straw broke.

In the middle of the night Eddie had packed their stuff, carried a sleeping Chris to the car and had driven out of El Paso without a second glance.

That night was also the first time Eddie dialed Shannon‘s number since she left. He honestly didn‘t expect her to pick up but he had to try. He wanted to make things right.

Shannon hadn‘t answered that first call, but Eddie had tried again and again until she finally picked up after what felt like an eternity.

“Eddie, is something wrong with Christopher? I told you I needed time.“

Eddie at that moment had almost cried in relief.

 

A week after that phone call Shannon and Eddie had met up in the court house of LA and started the divorce procedure. Eddie had confessed to Shannon that his feelings for her were always only platonic, and that he was undeniably gay.

Shannon had surprised him by actually laughing at him and telling him that she suspected that a long time ago. She also had admitted that even though she once loved him these feelings long vanished.

Both had been relieved after that talk and decided to divorce as soon as possible.

The day Shannon and Chris met again was one of the happiest days Eddie ever had. Shannon had felt guilty and hesitated to reconnect with Chris, but he reassured her that their son desperately wanted to see his mother again and that she shouldn‘t worry.

The two of them slowly rebuilt their relationship day by day, and Eddie had felt like he finally began to settle in LA. His life was good.

Until today.

 

Eddie shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. Until they found Chris, his son was alive. He refused to think of anything else.

Out of the corner of his eye Eddie saw Chimney and Hen hurrying towards Bobby, both wearing worried expressions.

Eddie felt relief flooding through him. Despite only knowing the team for a month, he trusted them with his life. If anyone could find Chris, it was them.

“Hen, could Shannon borrow your phone, please? You‘ve already been able to reach Hen and Denny, right?“, Eddie asked, pointing vaguely in Shannon‘s direction.

Hen easily agreed and gave Shannon her phone with an expression full of sympathy.

Eddie turned again towards his ex-wife and tightly held her still trembling hand.

“We‘ll find Chris. Our boy is the bravest person I know, if anyone could survive this it would be him“, he tried to reassure her and himself.

Shannon jerkly nodded, her tears slowly drying.

“I promise as soon as we find him, I’ll call you on Hen’s phone.“

Breathing in deeply to fully ground himself, he addressed his team.

“We need to go to the pier.“

For the first time in almost 20 years, Eddie prayed.

 

Buck leaned heavily on the railing of the fire truck, forcing his dropping eyes to stay open. He has never felt so exhausted before, not even after the most intense 48 hour shift when he was still a firefighter. The flood of drowning and frightened people had no end. It must have been hours of diving and swimming and barely avoiding the debris and almost giving up.

But somehow, with the help of the previous saved victims and his hose Buck managed to save over a dozen people. Most of them sat on the roof of the truck, but it soon became too crowded so Buck had to guide them onto the roofs of almost fully submerged cars.

Almost nobody spoke, everyone too tired and traumatized to hold a conversation. Only Chris seemed to still have energy left. He sat beside Buck, talking without pause about his favourite movie, which apparently was Finding Nemo. Buck had never watched the movie but he intently listened to Chris‘ rambling.

“You truly amaze me, superman. I think you‘re braver than any firefighter that I‘ve met“, Buck smiled, throwing an arm around the boy‘s shoulder.

“You just got to keep swimming, like Dori!“, Chris exclaimed, pressing himself closer to Buck.

He was about to answer, but suddenly a few people sitting on the other end of the truck gasped. Buck let his gaze wander to where they were pointing at and his breath hitched.

There were bodies floating in the water, slowly drifting towards them. Buck immediately knew that they were all dead. A deep pit opened up in his stomach.

He was painfully reminded of the fact of how lucky he and Chris had been. The chances of surviving the initial hit of a tsunami were astonishingly slim. They could have easily ended up like those poor people in the water.

Buck didn‘t want Chris to see the floating corpses. To a certain extent the boy must know about the devastation that came with such a horrendous event, smart as he was. But he still wanted to shield him as much as possible.

To distract him, Buck began to play I spy with my little eye with him. He always chose the things the furthest away from the water, coming up with more and more ridiculous objects.

Luckily Chris found that rather funny and giggled the whole time, starting to guess even more funny things.

 

After a while the bodies stopped coming. In hindsight that was the first sign that something was happening, but Buck was just relieved that he managed to maintain some of Chris‘ innocence.

All of a sudden the truck started to shake. Everyone cried out in shock, some almost falling into the water.

“The water is receding!“, somebody yelled, and Buck sprung into action. He forgot all of his previous exhaustion, the adrenaline once again pumping through his veins.

“Everybody hold tightly onto something! The railing or somebody else!“, Buck called out, grabbing Christopher and pressing him to his chest.

“The floods will come back, there‘s a second wave!“

With one hand Buck held Chris, with the other he tightly grabbed the railing.

“Don‘t let go of me, superman, alright? Just hold onto me buddy“, he whispered into Chris‘ blonde curls, closing his eyes.

For the first time in his life, Buck prayed.

Notes:

TW: very brief mention of child death, mention of corpses

Chapter 4: Chapter Four

Even though Buck expected the incoming wave, he still wasn‘t prepared for the immense power of the water masses. The truck shook violently, sending the loose belongings of the survivors straight over the edge.

Buck clung to the railing with everything he had, his knuckles turning white with the effort. With his other hand he pressed Chris even more tightly into his chest, muffling his wailing.

Despite his best efforts, he still felt his grip slowly growing weaker with each millisecond that passed. The hours of dragging people out of the water had taken its toll after all. Still, Buck refused to give up, focusing completely on his slipping hand.

He was so immersed, he only noticed the 200 pounds heavy man tumbling into them when it was too late. The man slammed into Buck with full force. His arm was painfully ripped away from the railing, his shoulder dislocating on the spot.

Buck had no time to register the pain as he frantically tried to stay on top of the truck while holding onto Christopher at the same time. Suddenly another forceful wave hit the fire truck and Buck knew it was over.

The only thing he could do was hugging Christopher with both of his arms, embracing him as hard as he could and curling himself around the boy before they were thrown over the truck and into the raging water.

Buck and Chris were tossed around the water like a tennis ball. Buck lost the amount of times he hit the debris in the water, barely registering the pain as panic took over. He once again didn‘t know where up and down was, him hitting his head several times after they fell also didn‘t help.

An especially heavy piece of concrete hit him in the back and Buck‘s mouth opened forcefully. He reflexively inhaled the salt water which worsened his disorientation and panic.

Buck was about to lose his consciousness when his head finally breached the surface. He coughed up the dirty water, desperately gasping for air. Christopher was miraculously still in his arms, conscious and too coughing up a concerning amount of salt water. After Chris was finally able to breathe properly, all energy seemed to have left his little body. All he could do was silently sobbing, the horror finally catching up to him.

“It‘s alright buddy, we‘re okay“, Buck rasped, having no energy left to further reassure Chris. Instead he only focused on staying afloat and finding a new shelter. Luck seemed to be on their side since he almost immediately spotted the roof of a bungalow that survived most of the chaos.

Gathering the last bit of his strength Buck more or less paddled towards the roof. Somehow he managed to heave Chris safely onto the roof, black spots appearing in his vision. He only was able to lay on his back on the roof, still half submerged in the water. The last thing he saw before he finally lost consciousness was Christopher leaning over him, staring frightened at him.

 

 

 

 

When Eddie was ten he lost his favourite teddy. It had been a present from his abuela, with a little cowboy hat and a leather jacket. It had been his most treasured belonging, he carried it with him all day long.

One day however he couldn‘t find his teddy, which he named Buffy, anywhere. He turned the entire house upside down, searching everywhere, even in his mothers beloved flower beet.

When his dad came home from work that day, Eddie was hysterical. He ran up to his dad, who could usually fix everything, and tried to bury his head into his chest as he hugged him.

He begged his dad to help him find Buffy, bawling his eyes out, his voice trembling.

That day was the last time Eddie tried to ask his father for help ever again. From then on he was supposed to be a man. A man didn‘t run to his dad for something as useless as a teddy. A man could solve his own problems, and a lost stuffed animal certainly wasn‘t worth the effort. Eddie never saw Buffy again.

That day was also the last time Eddie cried in front of a person.

Until today. Eddie already felt the tears gathering in his eyes, not even attempting to blink them away. He couldn‘t care less about his team seeing him crying. It would not be the first time today.

They‘ve searched for hours, at first using a boat and later on travelling by foot. The destruction of the pier had been devastating. Eddie refused to believe that his little boy had been there when the wave hit. If he hadn‘t seen Shannon almost unscratched and alive the little hope he had still left wouldn‘t exist.

Hen and Chimney had to hold him back, otherwise he would have jumped into the water and searched for Chris there. Bobby quickly decided to move inlands, as the chance of finding his son at the fully submerged pier was basically nonexistent.

But with each block they had passed and with no sign of Chris at all for hours Eddie‘s hope diminished. They‘ve met many small groups of survivors, who all only reacted with pity at Eddie‘s frantic description of his son.

Before they had left the makeshift hospital, Bobby had finally managed to get in touch with Athena, who promised to alert her colleagues of the missing boy, searching for him herself too.

Maddie, Chimney‘s girlfriend and who worked at Dispatch, had also kept an eye on any call that involved a little boy, but neither Athena nor Maddie had found anything yet.

Eddie couldn‘t ignore the possibility of Chris being swept out to the sea, miles away from shore, anymore. At least then there would still be a chance he was still alive.

“Eddie?“

Eddie felt a hand grabbing his shoulder gently. He forced himself out of his stupor and looked at Bobby.

“Athena just called again, no news yet. But we thought it would be better to regroup at the makeshift hospital again. Then we could form a new plan.“

A huge part of Eddie wanted to protest. He didn‘t want to waste time going back to the hospital when he could search right now for Chris. But he realized that they‘ve searched for hours and found absolutely nothing. They were all on the verge of collapsing. The team needed rest, something proper to eat instead of dry granola bars.

He was about to reply when Chimney‘s phone rang.

“Hold on, that‘s Maddie.“

Eddie held his breath, praying for good news, any news about Christopher. But what came out of Chim‘s mouth threw him completely off guard.

“Guys, did any of you check in with Buck? Maddie wasn‘t able to reach him all day.“

Eddie needed a few seconds to remember Buck. The guy was supposed to be his partner but due to an injury nobody wanted to talk about they hadn‘t met yet. Everyone in the team spoke about him all the time, smiling fondly at the antics of the man who seemed more like a golden retriever to Eddie. So he knew Buck was important to his team, and he knew they all would be instantly worried.

Bobby‘s face grew pale, immediately pulling his phone out to call Buck. Even though he hadn‘t been on the team for long, he knew Bobby had paternal feelings for his colleague, though he wouldn‘t admit it.

“I‘m sure he‘s alright. One person can‘t have that much bad luck“, Chim weakly tried to joke, but it fell flat.

“There‘s only voicemail“, Bobby said, his voice slightly trembling. A bad feeling crept over the team.

“I‘ll call Athena“, Hen whispered, turning away from the group. Nobody wanted to admit it, but the team was now searching for two people, two family members.

“We‘ll find them“, Chimney eventually said, the tears in his eyes betraying him. Nobody could reply. Instead, they all silently made their way towards the direction of the hospital, waiting for a miracle to appear.

Notes:

I have no idea how tsunamis and floods work, so everything‘s probably a bit (very) unrealistic. Luckily this is only fiction, so who cares :) Lmk what you think!

Chapter 5: Chapter Five

The first thing Buck felt as consciousness slowly came back to him was the agonizing pain on his back. It felt like it was on fire, a thousand needles constantly piercing his skin. It was so overwhelming he could barely breathe, his thoughts tumbling all over as he tried to come back to reality.

The thing that finally pulled him out of this state was the quiet sobbing next to him. Oh god, Chris. He had to make sure Chris was okay.

Buck ripped his eyes open, blinking at the sudden brightness. Chris kneeled next to him, crying and hugging his heaving chest with one arm. The other one was hanging awkwardly on his side. Buck‘s heart sank. The little boy had obviously broken his arm, and it was all his fault. Why couldn‘t he have held onto the truck? Why had he been so weak?

He tried to call out Chris‘ name, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a weak groan. Chris‘ head whipped around so fast Buck was scared he injured himself on the act.

“BUCK! You‘re alive!“, he cried out, beginning to sob even harder.

Buck felt hot and cold at the same time. Had Chris thought he was dead the whole time he was unconscious, however long that was? He really was doing a fabulous job at traumatizing the boy, he thought morbidly.

He tried to sit up, but he had forgotten his dislocated shoulder. With a painful hiss he lowered himself back again onto the roof, his legs still hanging in the water. The pain in his back intensified, but Buck tried to ignore his agony as best as he could. He had other priorities right now.

“Of course, superman. I would never leave you alone, I promise.“ He weakly smiled at Chris, hoping to mask his pain.

Chris wiped eyes with his functioning hand and reached out to hold Buck‘s hand, gripping it tightly.

“I‘m so sorry about your arm, buddy. I‘m sure it must hurt a lot.“

Christopher just shrugged, glancing briefly at his arm and wincing slightly.

“Are you injured anywhere else? Does something hurt?“

Chris quickly shook his head, and Buck felt relief rushing through his body. As long as Chris was okay everything would be alright.

“That‘s great, Chris. Everything will be okay.“

But Chris didn‘t seem quite convinced. He only stared at Buck, his expression concerned and scared.

Chris‘ voice wavered when he finally replied.

“But Buck, you are bleeding. There‘s blood everywhere. That‘s why I thought you were dead.“

Buck froze. He slowly looked down, realizing that he hadn‘t paid any attention to his battered body yet. His concern for Chris had been too great to care for his own wellbeing. He regretted that now.

Buck lay in a puddle of blood that seemed to come from his back. The blood already dripped from the roof, and the flow didn‘t seem to stop. His clothes were soaked, not only with water but with his own blood.

Realization slowly dawned over him. The piercing pain on his back must have been open wounds. The debris had probably ripped open his back, leaving gashing flesh wounds in its wake.

Buck didn‘t need to be a firefighter to know these injuries could be fatal. But together with his godforsaken blood thinners his chances were practically zero.

He didn‘t know how long he had been bleeding before he finally woke up and the blood was mixed with water, so he had no way of finding out how much time he had left.

Buck forced the panic down that wanted to spread. He couldn‘t tell Chris how dire the situation was, he just couldn‘t.

“I‘m alright, buddy. Don‘t worry about me“, he smiled at the boy, putting on his best fake smile. He doubted he fooled Chris, but he didn‘t have the energy to properly sit up and act normal.

“What are we going to do now? Will we wait for my dad to find us?“

Buck didn‘t have an answer to that. He didn‘t want to crush Chris‘ hope, but the chances of Chris‘ dad finding them here were pretty slim. He hadn‘t seen any other survivors besides them and the rescuers would focus on the more popular spots. But there was also no way Buck could move, let alone swim in his current condition.

“That sounds like a pretty good idea, Chris“, he just replied, hopelessness sinking in.

Chris curled himself against Buck‘s side, which was a bit difficult because of the sloping roof and his injured arm. Buck helped him the best he could, suppressing a hiss as Chris pressed against his bruised hip.

They didn’t speak, both too exhausted to do anything else. Buck moved as little as possible, trying to reserve the last bit of energy he had. He had to stay awake until help came, he had to.

Buck slowly felt numbness creeping over his body. He shivered, the blood loss and his soaking clothes making him freeze. He focused on Chris‘ breathing, constantly reminding him why he couldn‘t just close his eyes and end his misery.

He didn‘t know how long they lay there, but it couldn‘t have been long, as Chris suddenly sat up and waved frantically with his good arm.

“Buck, there‘s a boat! With people on it!“

Buck wanted to reply, but the only thing he was capable of was a tired wheeze.

“Help! Please help us, Buck is hurt and we need help!“, Chris cried out, trying to get the attention of the people on the boat.

Buck must have blacked out for a bit as out of nowhere there was an elderly woman kneeling over him, slapping his face.

“Ow“, he murmured weakly, registering the relieved look of the woman.

“Oh thank god, you‘re alive“, she sighed as she leaned back.

Buck‘s gaze wandered around, searching for Chris. When he couldn‘t find him, his weak pulse quickened.

“Chris, where is Chris? Have you seen a little boy, blonde curls-“

“Don‘t worry dear, my son took him over to our boat“, the woman gently interrupted him, cupping his cheek with her soft hand.

“We thought he was lying next to a corpse, we decided it would be better to take him away before we checked you out.“

Buck nodded gratefully at the woman, relieved he didn‘t add even more trauma to the boy.

“We were on our way to an assembly point or a makeshift hospital. We still have room for the two of you, you look like you need medical attention, my dear“, the woman said, smiling concernedly down at him.

Buck never wanted to hug a person as badly as he did now.

“Thank you so much“, he whispered, feeling his eyelids dropping now that he knew Chris would be safe.

“Dear, you need to stay awake. I‘ll get my son and husband to carry you to our boat, I‘ll be right back“, she said sternly, brushing a few tangled curls out of Buck‘s face before she went.

Buck tried his hardest to stay awake, but as the two men heaved him up his body erupted into flames. He yelled, the pain so blinding and intense he only saw black spots. He felt himself slipping away, unable to stop his eyelids from dropping.

“It‘s alright, sweetheart“, was the last thing he heard before he finally lost consciousness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eddie stared at Shannon‘s sleeping body, who had finally cried herself to unconsciousness. After he had told her they hadn‘t found a trace of their son she had fallen into hysterics. Eddie‘s shirt was still damp from her endless tears as he had tried to console her.

Not for the first time in his life he wished he and Shannon had been soulmates. It would have made everything so much easier. His parents would have approved of her and he wouldn‘t have had to explain to his catholic parents why he would never date a girl ever again.

But most importantly, Shannon would have never ran away from him to LA and he wouldn‘t have had to follow her. And Chris would have been safe, far away from a tsunami, probably watching his favourite cartoon and trying to negotiate his bedtime.

Eddie knew he was being unreasonable, but he couldn‘t help it. His thoughts were all over the place, trying to make sense of this unbelievable situation. Christopher had to go through so much in his young life, this just wasn‘t fair. His little boy had to be alive. He had so much to live for, his life hadn‘t even started.

He absentmindedly looked at his watch, realizing with a sinking stomach that he and the team had arrived at the makeshift hospital already well over an hour ago. They couldn‘t waste any more time. Eddie knew his crewmates were worried about Buck and still tried to locate and reach him, but he couldn‘t wait any longer. The more time passed, the chances of finding Christopher still today slimmed.

He was about to reach for his radio when he noticed his soul words, which were almost completely hidden by the band of his watch.

Oh god, I am so sorry.

Eddie always wondered what his soulmate could have done that required an apology that sounded so desperate. He always imagined this person was in a similar position like him. Someone who had to hide like him, pretending to be somebody they could never be. Married, with a child, ignoring everything in them that said wrong, wrong, wrong!

But this person wouldn‘t choose Eddie. This man would stay right where he was. He would not give up his perfect life for him, choosing to take the easier path.

Right now however, another possibility involuntarily popped up in Eddie‘s head, so horrendous he immediately felt nauseous. He could picture it perfectly in his head. A man walking up to Eddie, holding Christopher‘s lifeless body in his arms, whispering all over I am so sorry, telling him exactly how his son had died.

Eddie shook his head, trying to remove these images from his mind. This will not happen, he told himself repeatedly, forcing himself to come back to reality. This has gone too far. He had to do something now or else he would come up with even more horrible scenarios.

As of cue Bobby came around the corner, an apologetic look on his face.

“I‘m sorry Eddie, but they need all available hands at the entrance. A group of survivors just arrived, and they told us they had to leave someone injured in their boat a few blocks away.“

Eddie nodded, rising from his uncomfortable chair and looking back at Shannon for a last glance. He didn‘t want to leave her behind like this but he had spiralled enough. Now he could at least feel useful.

He and Bobby almost ran towards the entrance. They didn‘t know how grave the injury of the person left behind was and had to act fast. Hen and Chim were already loading an improvised ambulance with everything necessary, and a bunch of stressed-looking nurses tried to coordinate about half a dozen exhausted and rattled people.

As Eddie jogged towards the paramedics, he noticed in the corner of his eyes an elderly woman awkwardly carrying a little boy who had buried his face in her shoulder.

Eddie stopped dead in his tracks. It couldn‘t possibly be, but… The boy had blonde curls, tangled and dirty with grime. He wore a torn yellow shirt, just like the one…the one Chris had worn today.

He tried to not get his hopes up, knowing the possibility of Christopher just being here right now was ridiculous. With hesitant steps he walked over to the woman, hands shaking and pulse skyrocketing.

It won‘t be him, it won‘t be him.
It can‘t be.
Please let it be him, oh god, please let it be him.

The boy looked up, and Eddie‘s heart almost stopped beating.

“Daddy?“

Notes:

TW: mention of (child-)death, blood and injury

My longest chapter so far! I hope you all liked it, I think its one of my favorites so far :)