Archive of Our Own

Marisol sighs when she hears the sound of two cars slamming together, the metal crunch audible from inside her home.

It would’ve been really helpful if the previous owners had warned her how frequently cars get into accidents at the corner. She had wanted a fresh start after her debacle with her house and then moving in and out of Eddie’s. But obviously, every home is going to come with some drawbacks. She’s been here for a few years now and has lost count of how many accidents she’s had to call in.

Marisol puts down the laundry she was folding, reluctantly stands up, and goes to peek out her window. One of the cars is smoking so she dials 9-1-1 as she always does.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“Hi, Josh, right? It’s Marisol. There’s been another car accident at the corner again.”

“Oh, wow. That’s the second one this week. Anything additional I should know?”

“One of the cars is smoking, but it seems like everybody was able to move away from it,” Marisol says, glancing out her window again. No one is panicking so definitely not the worst accident she’s witnessed from her house.

“Got it. Dispatching someone now. Nice to talk to you again, Marisol.”

She laughs. “You too!”

Marisol is glad it’s a mild accident today. She can’t not help when it’s bad, but she knows what she’s risking anytime she’s going to cross paths with the fire department. She’s gotten lucky so far but it’s only a matter of time until she runs into Eddie again.

She had to go to therapy to try and process all his bullshit. When they had run into each other at the hardware store, it had felt like fate. Vincent being an idiot leading to them meeting, followed by the pure happenstance of their second meeting. The universe had been trying to tell her something. Or so she had thought. She was so caught up in everything that she hadn’t even recognized how much of a red flag it was that he asked her to move out right after moving in so that they could “start over.”

Thankfully, she’s finally at a point where she gets why all of her best friends were making fun of her. The entire situation was ridiculous, but especially the end. He cheated on him with a doppelgänger of his dead wife. Like the man is insane.

Chris seemed like he was growing up okay though. She’ll give him points for that.

Marisol looks out the window again when she hears the sirens, and it takes all of her self-control to keep it together when she sees the 118 on the truck.

She’s a strong, independent woman. She can handle staring at her ex from a window.

It’s certainly not any weirder than anything he’d done.

Marisol peaks around the curtain to watch Eddie and the other members of the 118 exit their fire truck.

No matter what he does. She can handle it. She can handle that he’s still hot. Hot doesn’t mean that he isn’t crazy. She can handle him slapping his co-worker on the ass… she’s going to assume that’s weird guy behavior?

Or maybe not.

Her jaw drops as she watches Buck push Eddie back against the side of the truck and give him a quick kiss. They’re hidden from the rest of the team and everyone in the accident.

But not from her.

Everything makes so much sense now.

Eddie had never seemed like the kind of guy who would cheat. But if he’s gay? That makes more sense. She had seen how he had freaked out over her being a nun, Catholic-based repression could really mess someone up.

It had nothing to do with her at all.

Her therapist is going to have so much to say about this update, and her friends are going to lose their minds. Marisol smiles happily as she turns away from the window and picks up her laundry again. Today’s car accident was definitely a good thing.

--

Vivi was having a hell of a day.

Her daughter had thrown up after getting her outfit on. The strap on her favorite pair of heels had snapped on her way out the door. And now her car was smoking.

Her old silver convertible had never smoked.

But she accepted she had to give that up when she decided to keep Freya and become a mom.

This wasn’t her fault either. That asshole had run the light causing her to swerve out of the way, crashing into an SUV. She had quickly unbuckled and grabbed her daughter from the backseat. She’s smart enough to know not to stay near a smoking car.

Thankfully, the couple in the other car look okay too. It’s not long before she hears sirens either. Someone must have called it in. A fire truck pulls up and Freya squeals excitedly.

“Mama, can I go say hi, please?” Freya whines, yanking on her hand.

“Baby, give them a minute to do their jobs.”

Freya lets out a long-suffering sigh. Vivi chokes back a laugh. Seven-year-olds can be incredibly dramatic.

“Hi, I’m Eddie, mind if I check you out while Buck takes a look at your car?”

“I got us out before she could breathe in any of the smoke, but please, check her first.”

“Of course,” Eddie nods.

Eddie kneels in front of Freya and immediately draws a giggle from the young girl. Vivi lets her attention drift to her car now that her daughter is in safe hands. The firefighter checking her car looks familiar…

There’s no way though. It can’t possibly be the guy she hooked up with years ago. She laughs softly to herself when she remembers her past antics. It all feels like a lifetime ago. She’s certainly a different person now that she has Freya.

Eddie stands up and says, “Your daughter is perfectly okay. You did the right thing.”

Vivi lets out a sigh of relief.

“Hey, Mr. Firefighter. I thought you fight fires?” Freya says, pulling on Eddie’s pants to get his attention.

He smiles. “We do sometimes, but we also help anyone who is in need like you.”

“I’m not in need,” she huffs.

Eddie smiles knowingly at Vivi.

“Sorry,” she mouths.

Eddie gestures at Buck. “We’ve got an eight-year-old at home, so I get it. They’re non-stop.”

“Truly,” she leans down to scoop up Freya. “Say thank you, bug.”

“Why?”

Freya rolls her eyes as Eddie laughs.

“So unfortunately, you will need to wait for a tow truck, but your car has stopped smoking,” Buck says as he approached.

“Do you need assistance while you wait?” Eddie asks.

“No, we’re good. Thank you.”

“No problem,” Eddie says.

Vivi nudges Freya and gives her a look until Freya finally says, “Thank you, Mr. Firefighter.”

“Any time.”

She smiles at her daughter. Today may be a day from hell with everything that’s gone wrong, but it’ll be okay. Everything has a way of working out in the end in her experience.

--

“Did you text Dean that we’re going to be late?” Jade asks her husband.

“Yes, dear,” Zane says kissing her on the side of the head.

They’re standing next to their car waiting to exchange information with the other driver. They’ve only got a tiny bump, but her car is smoking. It seems like her and her daughter are going to be okay so that’s good. They can be patient.

It just means they’ll be late to meet up with Dean, a new guy they’re seeing. Jade isn’t optimistic it’s going to work out though.

The firefighters turn to walk away from the other car and Jade knows that body. “Isn’t that Buck?”

She glances knowingly at her husband. They’re on the same page. Buck is a unicorn. It’s definitely worth it to try again. Maybe after all these years he’s had a change of heart.

“Buck!” Jade yells, waving to get his attention.

He jogs over. “Are you okay? Do you need assistance?”

It’s sweet how professional he is. It’s not giving her much hope though.

“Oh, I don’t know if you remember, but I’m Jade and this is my husband, Zane.”

“I remember,” Buck says with a small smile. Jade’s delighted by the blush she can see building in his cheeks. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, totally fine. Just wanted to say hello. See if you had plans after your shift? Even heroes need a break,” she flirts.

“He’s taken.”

Jade jumps back a little. She was so focused on Buck that she hadn’t even seen the other firefighter come up. He laces his hand with Buck’s, and Buck flashes the sweetest smile at him.

“Happily taken,” Buck says.

“Of course, we’ll let you get back to your job,” Zane says, gently pulling his wife back.

Jade watches them walk away. It’s clear the unicorn is going to stay a unicorn, just out of reach.

“I told you that the other one was gay,” Zane mutters.

“It does explain why Buck wasn’t on board even though the sex was great. He did give off complicated relationship energy.”

“Doesn’t get more complicated than co-workers.”

“Good for them, that they figured it out.”

“I’ll text Dean that we’ll be there soon.”

They get in their car and have only just gotten down the street when their car is rocked forward from the blast of an explosion. Jade whips her head back and sees a building on fire behind them.

“Holy shit, that’s bad.”

--

Darlene stumbles out of the building.

She’s pretty sure her head is bleeding.

This is what she gets for trying to better herself and go to therapy. She should’ve gone to the bar. At least then when bad things happen it’s Ariel doing dumb things and not a building exploding.

She manages to stumble outside and trips and falls into the arms of an incredibly handsome firefighter. She swoons.

“Ma’am, I’m going to put some pressure on your head wound. Can you stand or are you dizzy?”

“If you’re helping me,” she says.

“What?” Hot firefighter says confusedly.

Damn, she must be off her game right now.

“My head is ringing,” she admits and glances at his jacket. “Like my phone should be when you call me later, Diaz.”

Hot firefighter laughs as he checks her pupils. “I’m going to have you wait here for an ambulance. Can you keep pressure on this?”

She nods.

He turns to another firefighter. “She’s here if you need help, okay?”

“What about your number?” Darlene calls out before he can leave. She deserves a reward for even attempting therapy.

“I’m in a relationship,” hot firefighter quickly adds, “with a man.”

“I can make that work.”

Hot firefighter gestures towards a different hot firefighter helping an old lady to the street. “He’s not a fan of sharing.”

He jogs off and Darlene takes the L. The hot ones are always taken. At least she’s alive. Her son will think her wound is cool too. That’s something.

--

This is worse than the time Spartacus had to be killed so that he wouldn’t suffocate her to death.

Fuck, she missed her snake.

Even so many years later and it still makes her sad. Looking back, she can recognize all the questionable choices she made after that. Fucking the firefighter who killed him was certainly a very weird way to handle her grief.

But with everything in life, Jesse can’t be too upset because it led her to where she needed to be. It was the slap in the face that forced her to take better precautions with her snakes which led to her meeting her girlfriend, Sage. And her life has never been better.

At least until this moment.

Because Sage was blown back when the building exploded and she’s not waking up. And despite all of the wriggling she’s doing, Jesse can’t manage to get herself unstuck from the debris she’s under.

She feels utterly helpless. She doesn’t even have a phone with her to call 9-1-1.

“Sage! Please wake up, baby,” she cries out, hoping enough volume might rouse her.

She won’t let herself consider any other possibilities.

“Sage!” Jesse screams repeatedly.

“Hold on, we hear you,” a voice calls out.

Two firefighters hurry into the room and immediately spot her.

“No, no, help her!” Jesse points to Sage when they start climbing over the rubble to reach her.

One of the firefighters splits to head over to Sage, but the other makes it to her.

“No, please, you have to help her,” Jesse begs.

“Eddie will, I promise. I’m Buck and while Eddie is helping her, why don’t I figure out a way to get you out so that way we can rescue both of you?” Buck says. His face is covered in dirt and sweat. Jesse knows she hasn’t had any sense of time since the explosion. Her head has been spinning, but they must have been working for a while now.

“Okay, okay,” Jesse finally agrees. She keeps glancing to where Sage is, begging the universe to give her some sign of life.

The firefighter lifts several pieces of furniture off her, lessening the pressure on her leg.

“I need her to be okay. I can’t lose her. She’s the love of my life.”

She doesn’t mean for Buck to respond but he smiles kindly at her as he lifts the last piece that was pinning her.

“Eddie is helping her. She’s in good hands.”

“I was completely lost until I met her. She gave me stability without wanting me to change anything about myself. Do you get how special that is?”

Jesse takes his offered hand to stand up. She’s woozier than she thought.

“I get it. The guy helping your girlfriend is the love of my life, so I understand. We both do.”

She watches Eddie lift up Sage and carry her out. It’s still unclear if she’s okay and the not knowing is wrecking her.

“Let’s get you out of here, okay?” Buck says.

She nods and lets Buck help her through the rubble. It’s slow moving through the building given how much damage there is, but they make it out.

Buck directs her to the staging area, and all other thoughts leave her head when she sees Sage sitting upright and awake. Jesse rushes over, falling to her knees next to her.

“Baby,” she cries, unable to say anything else.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Sage promises, stroking her hair. “We got out.”

Jesse nods, immeasurably grateful that she still has Sage.

She should thank the firefighters.

Jesse turns to say something, but Buck is already nearly back in the building on his way to save someone else.

She turns back to Sage and smiles at her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They made it.

--

It took years, but Veronica’s spite mission to learn about first aid is finally paying off.

After going on the date with the firefighter, she couldn’t stand the idea that she would need to rely on someone like him because she was simply uninformed, so she fixed it. She took classes, read strategies, and prepared herself. Honestly, not a bad way to spend her spite energy. And it’s finally coming to good use.

To be clear, she’s perfectly happy that it hadn’t come up before, being in a mass casualty incident is no joke.

But then the building exploded.

It’s obvious that everyone needs to evacuate as soon as possible. She doesn’t need any special knowledge to know that staying here is a bad idea, but she’s been stopping to help people as she finds her way out. She’s going to make sure she gets out, but she’s going to make sure that other people do too.

Veronica is working quickly though. Something in her gut is telling her that there might be another explosion. And she has limits on how much she can be a hero, not at the expense of her own life.

She helps shift the rubble to get out a man who is stuck. She uses her belt to tie a piece of her shirt against a wound to stop the bleeding. She keeps a man from falling to certain death when he goes charging ahead to where the stairs used to be but definitely aren’t anymore.

“Help,” Veronica hears someone mumble and she turns around looking to find whoever it is.

She’s pretty sure she’s nearly out of the building. She hasn’t seen any rescue workers yet. Either the city is taking its sweet time, or they don’t realize there’s a small outlet on this side of the building yet.

“Where are you?” She calls out.

Veronica freezes while she listens, finally picking up a faint thumping sound. She follows the noise to a woman who’s pinned under a block of cement. There’s no way Veronica is going to lift that on her own. Her only chance is leverage.

She quickly locates a metal pole that seems sturdy enough that it might work. She wedges under the edge of the cement and bears down with all of her might. The woman groans in pain.

The block lifts less than a millimeter. Veronica isn’t strong enough.

“Fuck. I need help.”

“Please don’t leave me,” the woman begs.

“I’m coming back,” Veronica swears. She won’t let this woman die. Screw the damn classes for making her feel like she could help people.

She scrambles over to the hole in the wall and shimmies through it. There’s a firefighter in her vicinity, but he’s walking away from her.

“HELP!” She screams as loudly as she possibly can.

The man quickly turns around and comes running towards her.

“Are you hurt?” He asks.

“No, I’m fine, but I need your help.” Veronica doesn’t wait. She turns to go back through the hole in the wall, but he grabs her arm to stop her.

“You need to stay outside of the building; we’re working on evacuating everyone.”

“Well, you’re doing a really shitty job of it so far,” she glances at his jacket. “I haven’t seen anyone from the fire department yet, Diaz. So, either come help me or let me go.”

He reluctantly lets her go and gestures for her to lead the way.

“Here, we have to get her out,” Veronica says once they make their way back to the woman who is clearly relieved to see them return.

“I’ve got it from here,” Diaz says.

“I literally only needed added strength.” She gestures to her point of leverage.

“That was good thinking,” Diaz affirms, checking out the pole she had positioned.

“I’m not a fucking idiot.” Veronica rolls her eyes. “Now, hurry up. The static charge in the air is making me nervous that this place is going to explode again.”

Her hair is sticking up on her arms, and she’s smart enough to know that it can’t be a good sign.

Diaz positions himself to push down on the pole before he thinks better of it and makes room for Veronica to add her weight as well.

“Finally realize that a woman may be useful, huh,” Veronica snarks sarcastically under her breath. Not so quietly that he won’t hear. He should hear what she thinks of him. “Pity for your girlfriend if that’s what you think of women.”

He doesn’t respond other than to count down. Both of them put everything they have into lifting the cement. The woman is able to pull herself free; the cement had been compressing her breathing but thankfully had been wedged in a way that it hadn’t actually crushed her.

Diaz quickly checks her over before helping her stand. He radios that he’s exiting on the back with someone, and the three of them hastily leave the building. Another female firefighter meets them at the exit and directs the woman to an area where she can be fully evaluated.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Okay?” Dear god, she hopes this man isn’t about to hit on her.

“I have a boyfriend and he’s a firefighter too.”

“Well, that’s progressive,” she reluctantly admits, still not sure why he’s telling her any of this.

“Okay,” he says, finally cluing in to how little she wants to talk to him.

“Okay,” she has absolutely no need to be in this conversation anymore.

Something in the air near them crackles, and it’s enough to break the moment. They scramble away from the building, and Veronica loses Diaz in the mad dash.

She makes her way away from the scene, feeling incredibly valid in her life choices.

--

Surprisingly, Tommy crosses paths with the 118 rarely these days.

It’s for the best.

He would always step up in a situation like the lab, but limited interactions other than that is for the best. He’s only seen them a couple of times over the past several years. But this is an all-hands-on-deck situation. He’s already flown multiple people to various hospitals in the area and is back to wait to see if they find anyone else who needs emergency evacuation.

He’s waiting in the triage area near Chimney and Hen. Tommy only briefly saw Buck earlier and has yet to see Eddie today. He has no idea if Buck ever told him about their conversation after the night they spent together at Eddie’s, but he still firmly believes everything he said. According to the rumor mill, neither of them has dated a girl in years.

“Cap!” Eddie yells, running up to Chimney. “Why hasn’t the call to evacuate the building come in yet?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The electrical charge in the air? We just came out the back, and you could hear the air sparking. The building is going to explode again!”

The blood drains from Chimney’s face and he immediately gets in contact with the IC on the scene.

This isn’t good.

Tommy eyes the distance to the building. They should probably move everyone further back. Whatever caused the explosion is likely to cause a great deal of damage again.

The incident commander agrees with him as they get the order to move everything 100 feet back and anyone still inside is ordered to evacuate immediately.

“Where’s Buck?” Eddie asks Hen urgently.

Tommy doesn’t know why he bothers asking. They all know exactly where Buck is.

“Buckley, status update?” Chimney asks.

There’s a long pause while they wait for him to come in.

“Still inside, Cap.”

“Did you hear the call to evacuate immediately?”

“Affirmative,” the radio crackles. “Something shifted and our original exit is blocked.”

“You’ve got someone with you? Are they hurt?” Chimney asks. He and Hen exchange anxious glances. Both keeping their bodies slightly angled towards Eddie like they expect him to do something drastic.

“Tess is fine. She’s doing a great job of staying calm while we find a way out.”

“What part of the building are you in?” Eddie interjects. “I’ll come and get you.”

“Negative,” Buck says firmly.

“Buck,” Eddie pleads, staring forlornly at the radio like he can will Buck to give him a different answer. Chimney moves so he’s standing directly between Eddie and the building.

There’s no additional answer.

Eddie grabs his helmet. “I’m going back in there.”

“No, you’re not.” Chimney stands firm.

“Get out of my way, Chim.” Eddie prepares to sidestep him.

Tommy feels the air crackle. He steps in front of Chimney to push Eddie back. “Come on, man.”

If looks could kill, Tommy would be dead. “Buck knows how to do his job,” Tommy argues.

“You don’t fucking get it,” Eddie snarls, putting in considerable effort to move past Tommy.

“Eddie, I get it. I do.”

The tension in the air is charged, literally and figuratively. Tommy knows something is going to set it off at any second.

“No, you don’t. You never loved him like I do.”

Tommy knew it. Eddie was the competition.

“That’s probably true, but I did know him well enough to know that he wouldn’t want you to die for him.”

“I’m not going to die.” Eddie shoves him to the side and dodges Chimney’s attempt to stop him.

It doesn’t matter. It’s too late.

The building explodes.

They’re all knocked back with the force of the explosion.

Eddie is the first to recover. He takes a half step towards the building before he realizes the futility. The entire building is consumed in fire. There’s nowhere for Eddie to even attempt to go. He collapses to his knees and yells in agony.

Tommy had thought he’d seen heart-wrenching grief when he watched Buck through the cameras when Bobby had died, but somehow Eddie is surpassing that. Tommy had cared for Buck, maybe could’ve loved him under different circumstances. But he knows he never would’ve felt as strongly as Eddie does right now.

It’s hard to watch.

He turns to go check on the people who were still nearby when the explosion happened. Tommy knows his presence isn’t going to help anyone at the 118 right now.

--

“Oh, shit!” Lucy exclaims as the force of the second explosion rocks the helicopter she’s in.

They’re lucky that they had cleared any nearby buildings before that explosion happened or this situation could have been much worse. She knows at this point to just accept the role that luck plays in all their lives and be grateful for it.

They hover for a moment trying to see if there’s any further damage she should be reporting. The entire scene has fallen nearly silent in the wake of the blast with everyone taking a moment to find their bearings. She’s sure everyone’s ears are ringing too. It makes it all the more haunting when she can hear Eddie cry out.

Buck was still inside. 

She can’t imagine what Eddie is feeling right now. She’d heard mention about the two of them finally figuring things out, but this confirms it in the worst way. 

There’s nothing she can do for him. The only thing she can do is her job.

The pilot flies slowly around the side of the building to get on course to the hospital they’re bringing their patient to, careful in case something else is going to happen. It’s only due to Lucy’s hypervigilance that she sees two bodies near a side wall. They don’t look good.

But the woman lifts an arm when the helicopter is overhead, clearly trying to flag help.

“Mayday, mayday, there are two people near the eastern wall of the building. One of them is trying to wave for help,” she radios immediately.

“Copy that,” the incident commander responds.

Lucy doesn’t let the pilot wait any longer. They have a patient to transport and a job to do.

--

Taylor tried to avoid these kinds of assignments most days. She’s not ignorant to the fact that the LAPD has complicated feelings about her. She’d like to think she could still be friendly with most of the 118 that she’s known for years, but she’s always going to do her job first and foremost. However, she did make sure that her station covered Bobby’s death with the gravitas and respect that he deserved.

Still though, it’s better for everyone when she works on other assignments. Luckily, as she’s moved up in her career, she’s been able to pick the stories she wants to cover, but not today.

A building exploded. That’s major news and she was the only one available.

She’s been watching Buck and the rest of the crew run in and out of the building rescuing people from her vantage point off to the side. She was close enough that she and Buck had exchanged respectful nods when they’d briefly made eye contact early on. All of the fire houses have been working as fast as they can, but she was still surprised when all of the news stations had been told to move further back. A mandate like that isn’t given without a good reason.

However, Taylor has never been one for following the rules to a tee. She’s too busy watching Chimney try to reason with Eddie while some guy she doesn’t know tries to push him back. She can’t hear them, not with the grumbling from the rest of the media as they pick up their stuff to move.

It doesn’t matter. She knows what it means. Buck is still inside.

“Come on, Buckley. Get out,” she mutters under her breath.

No sooner had she spoken then the building erupted. Taylor’s cameraman grabbed her by the waist as they were thrown back by the force, knocking back against their truck violently. The rest of the news crews weren’t so lucky as the majority of people and equipment hit the ground.

It’s surprisingly quiet in the immediate aftermath as everyone needs a moment to get their bearings. Everyone is aware of what has been lost. The people who had been still trapped inside.

A heart-wrenching wail catches her attention.

She wished it hadn’t as she watches Eddie fall to his knees in anguish.

Her cameraman moves into position to film him. Taylor knows this would easily go viral, but she stops him with a simple shake of the head.

“You sure?” He asks.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

She has never not willingly capitalized on a moment. She knows that this kind of emotion would do numbers, but Buck is most likely dead. She doesn’t need any official confirmation to realize that his and Eddie’s relationship had developed into something more. She’s a reporter; it’s easy to put the clues together.

Taylor won’t cover this. Not because it wouldn’t perform well. Or even because it isn’t a story that should be told. It probably is. But at one time, she had loved Buck and this is the only thing she can do for him now. She can protect one of the people he loves most on this earth.

Time seems to crawl by as she and her cameraman stand watching as Eddie breaks down. He abruptly gets up and runs around the side of the building she can’t see, but something must have come in over the radio. A spark of hope takes root in her heart.

Two gurneys are sent around the corner. Taylor taps her cameraman to start recording. The gurney is a good sign. They wouldn’t be rushing a gurney in for the dead. She wouldn’t capitalize on Eddie’s grief, but she will cover a potential miraculous save by or of Buck.

It takes her a beat to realize that the person on the first gurney is, in fact, Buck. He’s in bad shape. It’s impossible to tell the extent of his injuries with the amount of soot and grim covering him, but she’d also guess there’s a good amount of blood too.

Taylor listens to Eddie as he pushes the gurney towards the waiting ambulance near her. “Stay with me, Buck, come on. I love you. Stay with me.”

Buck’s alive, thank god.

He’s loaded into the ambulance, Eddie jumps in after him, and they’re off.

The next gurney comes around the corner. Hen pushing it towards another ambulance. There’s a young woman on this one. She’s wearing Buck’s turnout jacket and helmet, clearly a last-ditch effort to offer her some sort of protection. She doesn’t look like she’s doing that well either, but she’s awake.

This, Taylor can work with. Evan Buckley, the hero, saved a girl’s life.

“Don’t die on me, Buckley. This story is so much better if you live. The world is much better if you live,” Taylor says to herself as she watches the second ambulance drive away. She knows she’ll need to track down where the ambulances went. The public will want an update on Buck’s condition. Selfishly, she does too.

But Taylor puts that out of her mind, it’s time to work.

--

It’s been years since Ali had even been back in LA, but she can never fully escape it.

After the tsunami, she decided that was enough natural disasters for her, and she made her way back east. She’s built up her career even more since then, but she’s better about not only prioritizing work anymore. She’s met someone she can worry about now too, although thankfully, just a normal amount of worry.

It was definitely the right decision.

But once in a while, LA sneaks back in.

One of co-workers stops her to tell her that she has to see the newest viral video circling the internet, demanding she watch it to see the emotional outpouring between two firefighters. Ali takes the phone to watch, but somehow, she already knows it’s going to be Buck and Eddie.

She had purposefully never sought out information to see if Buck was still alive. She knew how he was though, how thoroughly he threw himself into things. It was bound to get him hurt more times than not, and she would rather avoid that confirmation. He remains one of her favorite exes even though they don’t talk. Their breakup was respectful and honest, and he did help save her life after all.

Ali watches the building explode from the viewpoint of a nearby building. She hears Eddie cry out in anguish despite how far away the person recording was, and her heart breaks. She watches as Eddie jumps up and runs around to the side of the building where he finds Buck. From the way he cradles Buck, it’s clear that they are more than just friends now. She doesn’t breathe again until Buck is loaded onto a gurney and the video ends. He’s not dead.

She sincerely hopes he’s okay.

Especially when it seems like he’s finally found someone who is capable of keeping up with him. He and Eddie both deserve happiness. They’re good people.

She passes the phone back to her co-worker. “Any word on if the firefighter is okay?”

“News was saying that he remains in critical condition.”

Ali nods and gestures to her work, casually dismissing her co-worker in a way she hopes isn’t too aggressive. She turns back to her desk to give herself a moment to compose herself.

Down on the street below, a firetruck races by with its sirens on.

She has no idea who’s in that truck or where they’re heading, but she wishes them well.

Ali hopes there’s a little luck left in the world for Evan Buckley too.

--

A mass casualty event was always hard, so many people hurt or in mourning or just lost. Which means it’s always the place where Father Brian knows he needs to be.

He’s visited with all of his parishioners who were at the hospital and impacted in some way, but something is calling him to the chapel. It takes him a moment to wind his way back through the hospital to get there, but upon entering, he immediately understands.

Sitting on a bench near the front row is Eddie.

It’s been years since he last saw Eddie, but Brian prides himself on his ability to recall people. It certainly makes it easier to do God’s work. And it is obviously God that directed him here today.

Eddie is mid-prayer, if you could call it that, so he waits, rather than interrupting.

“So please, not for my sake, but for his. He’s been through so much and he deserves to live. I- Theo and Chris need him too. You can’t take him from them. Not yet. I can’t- God, please don’t take him,” Eddie begs, finishing with a sob.

Brian waits a moment more before gently clearing his throat. Eddie immediately whips his head around and roughly wipes his eyes, but he melts back down when he realizes who it is.

“Eddie, right?” Brian asks.

After Eddie nods, Brian continues, “Mind if I sit?”

“Go ahead, Father,” Eddie replies. He’s sitting up straighter now, trying to put on a good show. It isn’t necessary.

“Did you have someone caught in the building explosion?” Brian asks softly.

Eddie nods. The cracks in his armor immediately showing again as the tears roll slowly down his cheeks. “My boyfriend.”

Brian waits him out, sensing that Eddie needs a moment.

“He’s in critical condition. It’s- we don’t- the doctors said all we can do now is wait.” Eddie draws in a ragged breath and drags his hands across his face. “I thought he died. He would’ve too if Lucy didn’t see them. He was barely hanging on when we got there. Coded twice in the ambulance.”

Brian had seen the video. Now that he knows that Eddie was there, it’s easy to realize it was him.

Eddie shakes his head to try and clear the memories.

“He shouldn’t have even survived in the first place, but he did. He always does. But, he might not-“ Eddie buries his head in his hands as he starts to sob again.

Brian lays a gentle hand on his shoulder. He knows there’s nothing anyone can actually do in these types of situations other than remind someone that they aren’t alone.

“I haven’t left his side since he got out of surgery, but Theo-“ Eddie’s voice cracks. “Our friends have tried to be there for him, but he’s only eight. He just wants Buck.”

Eddie trails off, then chuckles sadly. “I don’t know how Buck did this when I was shot.”

“How am I supposed to go and face two kids and tell them that I don’t know if Buck will be coming home?” Eddie pleads, turning to Brian, obviously hoping that he will be able to offer him some grand enlightenment.

“When you were a child what would you have wanted in this situation?” Brian asks gently. He’s no expert on parenting, but from everything he knows, Eddie is a good dad, who cares. He already has the answers he needs.

“I would’ve wanted them there. Want them to be as honest as made sense.”

“Sometimes the only thing we can do is be there, but it’s still enough.”

“You’re right.” Eddie nods but doesn’t make any move to get up.

“God, I can’t lose him. We haven’t even been together that long. It took me so long to even accept what I felt for him and what it meant-“ Eddie cuts himself off and glances carefully at Brian. It’s obvious that Eddie’s finally calmed down enough to realize that he’s been telling a priest about his boyfriend.

Brian’s heart breaks for Eddie, understanding that he’d been raised to believe that God would ever forsake love. “Love is always a good thing, my son.”

Eddie lets out a deep breath, some of the weight coming off his shoulders.

After a few more minutes, Eddie dries his eyes. “I need to go. Thank you, Father.”

“Of course. If it’s okay with you, I’ll pray for you and Buck.”

Eddie looks surprisingly touched by the gesture. “I appreciate it.”

Brian stays seated as Eddie leaves the chapel. He bows his head and begins to pray for all of the hurting souls he’s seen today.

--

Natalia cherishes her job and she’s good at it.

She’s even perfected the art of keeping her own emotions removed. But that skill is tested when she gets called for people unexpectedly on death’s door. This latest LA tragedy has far too many people like that.

Natalia gently shuts the door to leave her newest client’s room. The woman was caught in the initial explosion of the high-rise and isn’t doing well. She’s in intensive care in the burn unit and the doctors think she may have suffered from permanent organ damage. The woman had wanted to prepare herself for the likelihood that she’ll die. Natalia hopes she was able to give her some peace.

She slowly walks through the hall towards the elevators, ducking out of the way of a nurse pushing a patient. With her back against the wall, she can see into the room across the way through its open door.

Natalia watches as Eddie presses a careful kiss to Buck’s forehead.

“Buck,” she hears Eddie murmur, “you have to come back. For Theo and Chris. Neither of them can handle losing another parent.”

Natalia quickly decides to keep going down the hall. That scene wasn’t for her to see, and she wants Eddie and Buck to have the privacy they deserve.

While she waits for the elevator, she can’t help but think of them. While she normally encourages everyone to enter death with grace, she thinks if anyone can fight it back, it’d be Buck.

She hopes he can.

--

It’s only been four days since Sam got the phone call that brought Abby back to LA.

They had been ready to leave the house to go run some errands when his phone had rang. She’d watched as he’d slowly started to panic. Abby had immediately known that something had happened to one of the girls.

She’d listened as Sam said, “I don’t know,” and her long dormant 9-1-1 operator skills snapped back into place as she grabbed the phone, rapidly answering the information that the hospital needed, finding out the details that they needed, and booking a flight to get them there as soon as possible.

Abby had held her tongue when Tess had said she wanted to move to LA. Her baggage didn’t need to be Tess’s. She had reminded herself repeatedly that everywhere experienced tragedies. So after graduating college, Tess made her big move, ready to experience the world. That Abby could fully support. She knew how vital her European adventure had been to becoming the version of herself she wanted to be.

Tess had been there for a little over two months. But of course, it was LA so tragedy struck and from what they were told, she barely made it out alive.

Abby had gotten herself and Sam to the hospital in record time. She can’t even begin to express the complete and utter relief she felt upon making it to Tess’s room and seeing her awake. Tess still needed time in the burn unit. Additionally, they were keeping an eye on potential lung damage from the smoke inhalation, and she had a broken leg from the initial explosion, but she was going to be okay.

Seeing her bright smile made everything okay.

Despite Tess begging them to get a hotel, neither of them has left her side even as she’s mostly slept. Today is the first day that’s been able to stay awake for any sustained amount of time. Abby can tell that seeing her improvement is helping Sam. She’s not sure her husband would have been able to handle losing one of his girls.

“We’re just so glad you’re okay, sweetie,” Abby says, gently holding Tess’s hand.

“It was a miracle,” Sam says.

Tess vehemently shakes her head no. “It wasn’t. I thought I wasn’t going to get out. I had fallen to part of the building no one else was in and my leg was wrecked, but then I heard this firefighter. I yelled so much, but I thought he didn’t hear me. Honestly, I thought that was it. I couldn’t tell if he heard me. And then I heard him get the call on the radio to evacuate the building because they thought it was going to explode again and I figured that was it.”

The blood drains from Sam’s face as he’s once again reminded of how close it was.

“But then he was there, and he helped me get up and kept me moving even though I kept telling him that he should just leave me because I was making him so much slower. But he said we were getting out together. He even gave me his jacket and helmet. He pushed me through an opening in the wall just as the building exploded again. It wasn’t a miracle, he got me out.”

“And I’m so grateful he did,” Sam says, stroking Tess’s hair.

“See, I knew it was the right choice to be in LA since people like that are here,” Tess says. “I wish I could remember his name…”

Tess drifts off, and Abby can see the confusion clouding her eyes. The cocktail of meds they have her on is clearly causing some brain fog.

“Why do I want to say it had something to do with a deer?” Tess questions to herself.

Abby and Sam exchange a long look.

Finally, Abby says, “Buck?”

“Oh my gosh, yes! That was it. Did you know him when you lived here?”

“Something like that,” Abby replies.

“That’s so cool,” Tess says. “Wait, is he okay? Did he make it?”

“I don’t know,” Sam says.

“Can you find out, please?” She begs, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Abby, you have to know someone who would know, right?”

Abby still has Buck’s number but calling him feels a step too far. Especially if he isn’t okay. But there has to be someone she can reach out to…

“Please,” Tess pleads, starting to push herself into more of a sitting position, and Abby can’t have that. She loves her too much to let her put herself in any pain. Abby can fight through whatever awkwardness there may be to get her stepdaughter an answer.

“I’ll go see if I can track down any information,” she says.

“Thank you,” Tess says gratefully, sinking back into the bed.

Abby can’t even begin to fathom everything Buck has done in her life. He was there for her with her mom and helped her see how profoundly she had lost herself. He opened her eyes to the fact that she deserved more. Then he saved her husband, putting himself at great risk to do it. And finally, he saved Tess by pure happenstance.

She walks out of the room and scrolls through her phone, finding Sue’s number. She hasn’t spoken to Sue in years, but hopefully she still remembers her.

The phone rings a couple of times before Sue answers. “Hello?”

“Hi Sue, it’s Abby Clark, I used to be a dispatcher.”

“Of course, Abby. It’s good to hear from you. But I don’t assume you’re just calling to catch up,” Sue replies.

Abby lets out a sigh of relief. Sue remembers. It’s not surprising. Sue knows everything.

“My daughter was in the recent building explosion. She’s desperate to know if the firefighter who saved her life is alive.” Abby takes a beat. “It was Buck Buckley.”

“Ah,” Sues says in understanding.

“I didn’t think it’d be right to call,” Abby adds. “I just want to be able to tell my daughter if he’s okay.”

Sue hesitates for a long moment. “Well, he’s alive. He’s not out of the woods yet, but they think he’s going to make it. He’ll be in the burn unit for a while longer though.”

“Thank you,” Abby breathes out. “Thank you so much, Sue.”

Abby hangs up and continues down the hall. She’s looking for him. He could’ve been taken to a different hospital, but her gut tells her he’s here.

She finds his room, only around the corner from Tess’s and she never would have known. No one is in it when she gets there and that makes her heart ache. Buck deserves to have someone. But she feels a little better when she sees just how many cards are around the room. There’s a lot of art from a child too, drawings with two adults, a teen, and a kid. There’s an empty cup of coffee near the bed as well. Despite her initial worries, it seems like she just managed to catch him at a moment when he was alone, not that he actually is at all.

Abby steps up to the foot of the bed where he’s asleep, whether naturally or in a medically induced coma while he heals, she isn’t sure. “Hi Buck. It’s good to see you again, although I wish it wasn’t like this. You saved my life again and this time you didn’t even realize you were doing it.”

“He does that a lot,” a voice behind her says.

Abby whips around and a man walks past her, taking back his seat next to Buck’s bed and grabbing his hand.

“I’m sorry. I’m Abby, I-“ She begins before he cuts her off.

“I know. We met once, during the train accident. I’m Eddie.”

Abby was so flustered then, but she does remember meeting someone else from the 118 that she hadn’t known. “Oh, so you work together?”

“Yes, but we’re also together,” Eddie says softly, turning a loving gaze towards Buck.

She understands why he isn’t the warmest towards her then. She knows she caused Buck a lot of pain. It’s good to see that he has someone who is going to have his back like he did for her.

“I apologize. I didn’t want to intrude, but I just found out that he was the firefighter who saved my daughter’s life. I can’t ever thank him enough for that.”

“That’s the job we choose. He wouldn’t think thanks are necessary.”

“Still, he saved my daughter. That means more than he could know.”

Eddie lets out a small laugh. “He gets it. He’s a dad now.”

Abby smiles. She’s sure Buck is a great dad. “Still, thank you.”

Eddie nods but doesn’t say anything else. His focus is on Buck.

“I’ll leave you be. Bye Eddie, given the time’s we’ve met, I hope to never see you again.”

Eddie laughs, clearly taking the joke for what it is.

Abby slowly makes her way back to Tess’s room.

“What did you find out? Is he okay?” Tess asks as soon as Abby walks in. Sam watches her closely, knowing the long, complicated history that Tess is missing.

“They think he’s going to make it. His partner is with him.”

“Oh, thank god,” Tess says.

Abby smiles softly as she sits down next to Sam. Tess was right. LA is always going to be a good place if Buck is there.

--

Vanessa’s mom is lucky she loves her so much. It’s why she’s using her day off to drive to her Tía’s house just to get her mom’s purse that she accidentally left there when she got a little too tipsy during their weekly girls’ night.

It worked out though. Her fiancé suggested visiting a farmers’ market near there so they’re making a day of it now. He’s good like that, always able to find the best in a situation. She knows she can trust him to be steady. There’s no risk that he’s going to call off the wedding like her last fiancé did.

She knocks on her Tía’s door, but there’s no answer. Vanessa can hear people inside so she opens the door. She’s met with the sight of her Tía’s bunco group in celebration.

“Vanessa!” Her Tía yells happily, immediately coming over to embrace her.

“What’s going on?” Vanessa asks.

“Pepa just received the best news! Her nephew’s partner is finally going home from the hospital.”

“We’ve all been praying for Eddie and Buck, a true answer to our prayers,” Pepa adds.

Vanessa remembers Eddie. He handled her quick dismissal best of all the random men her Tía set her up with. She’s glad he’s found his person as well.

“Well, that is good news.”

“I’m just relieved, I don’t know what Eddie would’ve done if he had lost Buck. Now if only he’d marry him already,” Pepa says.

Vanessa laughs to herself. She’s very glad she has a ring on her finger if only to save herself from her own Tía.

--

Ana had seen Taylor’s news report of the explosion several days ago, but she can’t stop thinking about the fact that a member of the 118 was in critical condition. She’s long since moved on from Eddie, is in a good relationship now, but she can’t help but be curious. If it’s Eddie…she can’t imagine how that would impact Chris.

She’s smart enough to not text anyone in the 118, that’s way more connection than she wants. But she still has Taylor’s number.

They were never super close, but they had traded numbers to keep track of Eddie and Buck. The easiest way to get updates on one of them was to ask the other and Taylor was her easiest connection to Buck. Taylor had even reached out after her breakup with Eddie to make sure she was okay. They traded messages once in a while since then but nothing consistent.

Ana waits another day, but when she can’t find any updates online, she bites the bullet and texts Taylor.

Hi! I know it’s been a while, but I wanted to see if you knew any updates on the firefighter from the 118 that was injured.

Hey! I actually just got an update that Buck was released from the hospital.

Oh, thank God. No matter how long it’s been, the curiosity to see if they’ve survived the latest thing always persists…

I get it. Once in the 118 circle, it’s impossible to completely escape.

Exactly. I’ve avoided any news for years, but then they become the talk of the town again.

Wait, so you don’t know?

Know what?

Buck and Eddie are together now.

Ana should be shocked, but she isn’t. At all. That actually makes everything make more sense now. No wonder Eddie couldn’t love her. Huh. Good for them.

That makes a lot of sense.

Yeah, amazed it took as long as it did in hindsight. 

If you want to get drinks sometime to discuss, I’m down.  

Yes, that sounds amazing!!

She definitely needs to debrief with someone who understands that era of her life.

--

Kim’s shift is nearly over; she likes working at the flower shop way more than she did traditional retail. She’s learning a lot too, thinks there’s a chance for a promotion soon.

It’s good.

She knew she needed to take a step back from acting after the whole impersonating the dead wife of the guy she was dating thing.

Well, that and a lot of therapy.

None of that interaction had been the sanest thing she had ever done. She knows now that she should’ve left as soon as she realized that Eddie had been using her to fulfill the hole in his life of his ex. She definitely shouldn’t have tried to help him excise his regrets either.

And thus, the new job. She gets to bring a little joy to people’s days in a way that brings her a lot of joy.

Kim is picking up around the store while her coworker handles the customer checking out. The doorbell rings signaling someone new entering the shop. She sets down what she was working on to see if they need help, but she stops in her tracks when she looks up.

It’s Eddie.

He’s holding hands with another guy. She’s pretty sure he’s the one she spoke to at the firehouse.

There’s a split second where she considers going up to them, but then she remembers everything she learned in therapy and sneaks into the back.

She’s caused Eddie enough problems.

He looks happy now, no longer carrying the weight of everything on his shoulders.

--

Eddie slowly followed Buck and Theo through the cemetery, Buck racing to keep up with Theo.

They had stopped to buy flowers on their way to pick up Theo from school. Buck already knew that Eddie was going to go to Shannon’s grave first and would meet them at Connor and Kameron’s. Theo had asked them to go to the cemetery as soon as Buck was out of the hospital. Eddie and Buck were pretty sure the two things were linked, but they’re waiting to hear what his therapist thinks.

Eddie was just glad they’d finally been able to convince Chris to go back to college. He appreciated his support while Buck was in the hospital so much; he was so good with Theo. But Eddie still wishes that his first year of college hadn’t been interrupted.

He can’t help but smile as he watches Buck sit down in front of the gravestones. Theo continues to run circles around Buck, smiling the whole time.

Eddie takes his time traversing to Shannon’s grave, a gentle breeze keeping the California heat from being too overwhelming. It’s been a long month. He can’t comprehend how close he was to losing Buck. He’s pretty sure it would’ve broken him in a completely new way if Buck hadn’t made it. He’s still not sure how he did. Someone was definitely looking out for him.

“Hey, Shan.” Eddie lays the flowers down in front of the headstone and crouches down so he can run his hands over her name.

He doesn’t come here often anymore, even less now that Christopher is at school, but Eddie had visited when he’d needed help figuring out his feelings for Buck. He was so unsure of what it all meant at first that he didn’t feel like he could talk to anyone in his life. Not right away at least. So he came and talked to Shannon. There was a period in his life where she knew him better than anyone even if they had lost that by the end.

Talking to her had helped. It got him to a place where he felt ready to talk to Hen. And then finally to Buck.

“Sorry Chris couldn’t be here, but we finally convinced him to go back to school. I still can’t believe that our son is old enough to be in college.”

He pauses where she would’ve previously filled in the space. She was always so quick witted in her responses to him. Even after all these years, he misses it, misses her. He knows now that she was right in asking for a divorce. Coming to that realization allowed him to mourn Shannon in the way that he needed to, as the loss of one of his best friends.

“Yeah, I’m proud of him too. You can’t even begin to understand how hard it was to get him to go,” Eddie says with a chuckle.

“I get it though; the building explosion was pretty rough for all of us,” Eddie trails off.

He’s trying not to focus on what could’ve been. Frank’s been trying to get him to stay in the present. He’s not sure how much it’s working.

The breeze ruffles his hair and Eddie looks up. “Yeah, you’re right. I do brood too much. Especially when I’m pretty sure you’ve been looking out for us.”

Eddie’s not sure what he believes these days, but in this moment, he’s sure that Shannon is watching over him, making sure things are okay. It makes it easier for him to admit something that he’s been holding back from everyone.

“I have a ring.” Eddie waits a beat. “I know I wasn’t a good husband to you. I’m sorry that I wasn’t the partner you deserved, but I think I can get it right this time. Well, I think Buck and I can get it right together at least. I don’t want to wait any longer to ask him.”

Eddie is pretty sure Shannon would be supportive. At the end of the day, they only ever wanted each other to be happy. It took him far longer than it should’ve to accept that it wouldn’t have been together. But he got there eventually.

A flower floats softly, landing on his lap. He’s not under any trees where it could have fallen from. He takes it as the sign it is.

Shannon approves.

“Chris will be coming back for the weekend in a month. I’m going to ask then.”

Eddie smiles and moves to stand up.

He can hear Buck and Theo laughing gently in the distance, and he’s eager to join them.

“Bye, Shan. I love you too. Talk to you soon.”

It’s time to go home.