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It was supposed to be a routine call. A possible gas leak in an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district. Bobby had insisted they check it out, even if the dispatch details had been vague. The building looked run-down, falling apart, but there was always a chance someone was inside. Someone who needed their help.
Buck had been the first to enter, flashlight in one hand, gas mask in the other. He’d volunteered without a second thought, always the first to jump into the unknown. Eddie had wanted to go, but Buck had insisted, he had this.
The air was too quiet, too still. His breath echoed in his ears as he moved through the narrow hallways, the smell of dust and decay thick in the air. He could hear Bobby and Eddie talking through the radio, their voices a distant murmur in his earpiece. But the further in he went, the less he could hear them.
“Buck, you copy?” Eddie’s voice crackled over the comms. “Buck?”
Buck tapped his earpiece. “Yeah, I’m good. Just checking the back. It’s probably nothing.”
But it wasn’t nothing.
The blow came out of nowhere.
One second, Buck was moving towards the source of that sound, and the next, something heavy collided with his back. He hit the ground hard, gasping. His flashlight skittered away, the beam flickering against the cracked walls.
He scrambled to get up, but another blow slammed into his side, sending him sprawling again. His body screamed as he tried to roll away, but whoever—or whatever—had attacked him wasn’t done yet.
A boot connected with his ribs, and Buck felt a sharp crack as pain exploded through his chest. He tried to scream, but it came out as a ragged cough, blood filling his mouth. His vision swam, dark spots clouding his sight as the relentless assault continued.
“Get up,” a voice growled from above him.
Buck blinked, trying to focus. A man stood over him, masked, his eyes cold and dark. Buck struggled to move, but his body wouldn’t respond. He was trapped, pinned under the weight of his own pain.
The man crouched down, grabbing Buck by the collar of his jacket and hauling him up. Buck gasped, the movement sending fresh waves of agony through his battered body. The man’s fist slammed into his face, and Buck’s head snapped back, blood spraying from his mouth.
“Where’s the rest of your team?” the man demanded, his voice low and dangerous.
Buck tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. His head was spinning, and his vision was fading in and out. He could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance, but they felt a million miles away.
The man growled in frustration and threw Buck back to the ground. He landed hard, his body collapsing like a rag doll. He felt the cold concrete beneath him, rough and unyielding, as the pain continued to radiate through every inch of his body.
This wasn’t just a random attack. Whoever this guy was, he had been waiting for them.
His thoughts were jumbled, incoherent, as the man circled him like a predator. Buck tried to push himself up, but his arms shook with the effort, his muscles barely able to hold his weight.
Before he could get far, another blow came—this one to his already fractured ribs. He heard the sickening crunch before he felt the pain, and then it was everywhere, an all-consuming fire that tore through him. He collapsed again, a strangled cry escaping his throat.
His world was shrinking, the edges of his vision going dark as his body began to shut down, unable to cope with the overwhelming trauma.
"Buck! Buck, can you hear me?" Eddie's voice echoed faintly through the radio, but Buck couldn't answer. He was drowning in the pain, in the darkness.
The man loomed over him once more, kneeling down beside him. He grabbed Buck by the hair, lifting his head just enough so their eyes met. Buck could barely see through the haze of blood and sweat, but he could feel the cold malice in the man’s gaze.
"You’re gonna die here, firefighter," the man whispered, his voice soft but filled with venom. "And no one’s gonna save you."
The last thing Buck heard was his own ragged breathing, shallow and weak, before everything went black.
**********
Eddie was the first to find him.
They’d heard the crash, the muffled sounds of a struggle through Buck’s open comm line. Eddie had called for backup, sprinting through the hallways, following the faint sound of Buck’s gasping breaths. When he found him, lying broken and bloodied on the floor, it felt like the ground had been ripped out from under him.
“Buck!” Eddie dropped to his knees beside him, his hands trembling as he reached for his partner. Buck’s face was barely recognizable, bruised and swollen, blood matting his hair. His chest barely moved with each shallow breath, and Eddie could see the unnatural angle of his ribs—too many of them broken.
Eddie’s heart pounded in his ears as he gently cradled Buck’s head, trying not to jostle him too much. “Stay with me, Buck. You hear me? Stay with me.”
Bobby and the others arrived moments later, Hen immediately dropping to assess Buck’s injuries while Chimney called for an emergency airlift. The severity of the situation was clear to all of them, but they had to act fast.
As Hen worked to stabilize him, Eddie couldn’t tear his eyes away from Buck’s face, the way his chest stuttered with every labored breath. Eddie had seen him hurt before, but never like this.
The helicopter arrived, and they loaded Buck onto the stretcher with the utmost care, knowing that even the slightest movement could send him into shock. Eddie stayed by his side the entire time, gripping his hand tightly.
“We’ve got you,” Eddie whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “You’re not going anywhere. Not on my watch.”
********
Hours later, the team sat in the waiting room of the hospital. Buck had been rushed into emergency surgery the moment they arrived, but no one had come out to give them an update yet.
Eddie paced the length of the room, unable to sit still. His mind was a whirlwind of emotions—fear, anger, guilt. He should’ve gone in with Buck. He should’ve been there, by his side, like he always was.
“Eddie, you need to sit down,” Chimney said softly, his voice weary. “You’re going to drive yourself crazy.”
Eddie shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t. Not until I know he’s okay.”
“He’s strong,” Bobby said quietly from his seat.
But even Bobby’s voice lacked its usual conviction.
Hours stretched into the night, and finally, after what felt like an eternity, a doctor emerged from the operating room. They all stood at once as the doctor approached.
“He’s alive,” the doctor said, and Eddie nearly collapsed in relief. “But it was close. He suffered multiple fractures.. We’ve repaired the damage.”
Eddie swallowed hard, his throat tight. “Can we see him?”
The doctor hesitated, but finally nodded. “One at a time. He’s unconscious, and he will be for a while. “
Without hesitation, Eddie followed the doctor down the hallway, his heart pounding in his chest. When he stepped into Buck’s room, the sight that greeted him nearly brought him to his knees.
Buck lay still, his body swathed in bandages, tubes and wires snaking around him. The steady beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room, a reminder that Buck was still there. But he looked so fragile, so broken, it was hard to reconcile the image with the Buck he knew—the Buck who was always so unbreakable.
Eddie sank into the chair beside the bed, his hands shaking as he reached out and gently took Buck’s hand in his.
“You’re not allowed to do this,” Eddie whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “You don’t get to leave us. You don’t get to leave me.”
He sat there in silence, gripping Buck’s hand.The weight of everything pressed down on him, the fear, the guilt, the anger. He’d failed Buck. He should have been there..
********
Days passed, and Buck remained unconscious. The team took turns sitting by his bedside, refusing to leave him alone. Eddie barely left at all, spending every moment he could with Buck, willing him to wake up, to fight his way back to them.
It wasn’t until the fifth day that Buck’s fingers twitched, a small movement, but enough to send a jolt of hope through Eddie’s heart.
“Buck?” Eddie leaned forward, his voice shaky. “Evan, can you hear me?”
For a long moment, there was nothing. And then, slowly Buck’s eyes open.
Eddie felt a wave of relief so powerful it almost knocked him over.
“Hey, you’re okay,” Eddie whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “You’re okay.”
“I thought we talked about you calling me Evan..:”