Bobby
They’re doing a rope rescue, a drunk driver had swerved into the other lane and in an attempt to avoid it the second car had ended up going over the side of the road. It’s dark, and there’s a light rain going that makes it incredibly risky. Bobby sends Buck down alone, they don’t have the time or space to get to people down there, not when he’s not sure if they’re running rescue or recovery.
Eddie and Buck are standing by the trucks, Eddie tightening Buck’s harness carefully, tugging and checking on it as Buck stands there silently, staring off over the side of the cliff. Bobby can’t hear what Eddie says, doesn’t even realise he’s said anything until Buck’s head is snapping towards him and he’s gnawing on his lower lip.
“Promise me,” Eddie pushes, and Buck sighs, Eddie tugging on the harness a little harshly so Buck is practically pressed against him. “Evan,” Eddie starts and Buck sighs.
“I promise. If there’s no sign of life,” He cuts off, Eddie squeezing his arm before patting his back and stepping back.
“If it’s a recovery, don’t turn it into a rescue.” Eddie orders, walking over and clipping Buck into the lines as Chimney finishes setting up the winch for him.
“If it’s a recovery I won’t make it into a rescue.” Buck repeats quietly, and even Chimney looks over at them, surprised by Buck repeating the words.
‘The radio might not work, but I want updates.’ Buck glances over at him before nodding, offering Eddie a cheeky smile and a wink as he starts down the edge of the cliff.
Chim and Bobby both stand by the edge, watching and signalling to Eddie. Eddie loosely pays attention to them, focusing more on Buck’s weight on the ropes. There’s a sudden tug, and Eddie stops quickly, looking up at Bobby worriedly.
“Buckley, what’s going on?” Bobby asks over the radio, and Eddie hears the radio crackle but can’t make out whatever it is Buck’s saying.
‘Fuck, Eddie I got a carseat a little up from the car, it snagged on something on this overhang.’ Buck sounds a little panicked, and Eddie glances at Bobby and Chim before sighing.
‘Tug, make some sort of pattern, ’ Eddie tells him, and Buck quickly starts tugging on the rope. 1, 3, 4, 2. Eddie smiles, at that, shaking his head. Buck had thrown together their normal rope codes. ‘Check in. I love you. Just keep swimming. I’m still here.’ Eddie thinks, quickly waving for Chimney to walk back over to him.
“Chim! Rig up and send down an extra line! He’s got a carseat with a kid.” Eddie relays, and Bobby turns back to him with furrowed brows, leaning towards the edge to try and see Buck better.
“What?” Chimney asks, but Hen is already grabbing another line from the truck and shoving it in his arms.
“Firefighter Buckley. Do you copy?” Bobby says into the radio, and Eddie bites his lip hard.
‘Bobby’s trying the radio. Pretty sure he’s questioning my judgement.’ Eddie relays, watching as Chimney and Hen rush to set up the second line. ‘Chim’s about to send that second line over to you.’
‘I’ll get it up to the edge, pass the car seat off and then I’m going back down. Don’t wait for orders, just do it. I can hear them. ’ Buck answers, and Eddie takes a breath, tugging the line quickly, three times.
Buck tugs back instantly. ‘Eddie, I need you to agree or I’ll secure the car seat and send it up by itself. ’ Buck pushes, and Eddie takes a deep breath before nodding.
‘Yeah, yeah, okay. But if the car starts going,’ Eddie cuts off, taking another deep breath and tugging the line once to tell Buck the second rope is coming down to him before he continues. ‘Evan, if it starts going, you get the hell out of the way. ’
‘Eddie-’
‘No, you don’t get to argue about me on this one. If the car starts to go, no heroics, you push out of the way.’ Eddie tugs the line again, waiting until Bobby is looking back at them and motioning for them to start pulling Buck and the kid up. ‘Evan, if you make me go down over that cliff after you, I’m pulling the same heroic shit you do. ’ He knows it’s low, but he also knows it’s the only way Buck is going to listen to him.
“Almost to the top, Cap. Chimney, get ready to take the carseat. Kid is unconscious but breathing. I can’t see any obvious injuries.” Buck’s voice comes over the radio, and from the set tone of his voice Eddie knows he got through to him.
“Copy that, Buckley.” Bobby agrees, glancing back and watching Eddie curiously as Buck’s head pops over the side of the cliff.
Eddie lets out another breath, tugging the rope, three sharp tugs that have Buck turning his attention from where he’s shoving the car seat into Chimney’s hand to stare at him. Buck smiles, winks and then Eddie’s giving the line some slack as Buck starts back down the side of the cliff. He can see Bobby staring at him, opening his mouth to reprimand him before shaking his head and turning back to the cliff to motion to Eddie as Buck makes his way back down.
“Car’s…Wind is…Need more…” Buck’s voice cuts in and out on the radio, and Eddie looks up at Bobby wide eyed as the other man reaches for his radio.
“Firefighter Buckley,” Bobby starts, and Eddie sighs, tugging on the rope again. Buck sends two sharp tugs back almost instantly.
‘I need some slack.” Buck tells him, accompanying the words with another quick tug of the ropes and Eddie sighs, carefully giving Buck a little more of the line. ‘That’s it.’
‘What are you looking at?’ Eddie asks, tugging on the line after another fifteen seconds have passed. Buck tugs back quickly, another two tugs and Eddie sighs. ‘Buck, talk to me.’
‘I’ve got two passengers, both conscious. April and Juniper. I can get the passenger out, April, but the driver is pinned. Need the basket and the jaws. ’ Buck says, and then Eddie hears him over the radio, “Two pass- …Driver is… Need ba- … -aws.”
‘You’re cutting out too much. We’re getting every couple words. ’ Eddie relays, watching as Buck starts tugging at the line again. It’s a different pattern than before, and Eddie instantly snaps all of his attention to it.
1, 2, 4, 1, 2, 3. Check in. I’m here, Just keep swimming. Check in, I’m here. I love you.
“Cap!” Eddie calls, watching as Chimney steps up to keep watch as Bobby jogs to his side. “He’s got two victims, both alive. He needs the basket and the jaws.” Eddie explains, and Bobby is looking at him like he’s not sure.
1, 1, 1, 4. Check in, Check in, Check in, Just keep swimming.
“They’re both conscious, he needs those fast.” Eddie adds, ‘You’re a fucking genius. Perfect timing.’ Eddie praises, and Buck tugs the line three times causing him to smile.
“Sending down the basket and the jaws.” Bobby says into his radio, Hen and Chimney quickly working it over the edge. “How’d you manage to catch all that?” Bobby asks, and Eddie takes a breath.
Buck had been the first to figure out thinking what he was saying in a way the other could hear, and Eddie really hopes it’s working as he starts to answer. “The pattern of the tugs. First one was honestly a guess. He used the order he uses with Christopher, I was just hoping I was right.” Eddie says slowly, it was working then, if Buck’s reply was anything to go by.
‘I fucking love you.’ Eddie tugs the line three times without looking, keeping eye contact with Bobby as he continues.
“The second one was easy after that. Get my attention, two tugs for two passengers. The basket is an easy guess from having two passengers. He’s been into angel numbers recently, 12 is something about divine intervention, so the jaws.” Eddie answers, and he can hear Buck again.
‘You remember that?’ He sounds so surprised Eddie forces his attention away, giving the rope a quick tug.
‘You told me,’ Eddie answers, and then, glancing at where Chim is standing stiffly at the edge, ‘Fast as you can, yeah?’ There’s three sharp tugs on the line in answer.
“What about the other one?” Bobby asks, and Eddie can’t help but wonder why he’s so curious. He’d seen them work their patterns enough, and yeah, this one was a bit of a stretch, but they’d done it before.
“That the passengers were conscious?” Eddie wonders, and Bobby nods.
‘Three separate tugs, three separate people who were awake and still swimming. Make sure no one misgenders Juniper when they get up there, the driver. I’m sending up the passenger now, April, she/they.’ Buck says, tugging the rope once and then giving into the slack. Eddie understands instantly.
“Start pulling up the basket!” Eddie calls out to them, pulling Buck up a bit before starting to lower him again at the next tug on the rope.
He turns back to Bobby, repeating Buck’s words, “Three tugs, three people who were conscious.”
“Car’s shifting!” Chimney shouts, loud and a little panicked, and Bobby is back to the edge of the cliff in seconds.
“Buck, pull back.” Bobby orders into his radio, shouting as loud as he can to try and get Buck to hear him.
Eddie tugs the rope, a little rougher than usual, and Buck tugs back just as harshly.
‘Give me a minute.’ Buck sounds a little panicked, but mostly confident, and Eddie groans.
‘45 seconds left,’ He answers, counting each second carefully.
“It’s not gonna hold!” Chimney yells, and Bobby is snapping into the radio for Buck to move.
‘15 seconds.’ Eddie reminds, trying not to sound as panicked as he feels and knowing he’s failing when Buck tugs three times.
‘I love you too. Move your fucking ass. Time’s up.’ Eddie orders, watching wide eyed as Chimney screams.
“BUCKLEY MOVE!”
Eddie can hear it, the car creaking and then the few moments of silence before it slams into the ground below. The rope in his hands is eerily slack, and Eddie starts tugging at it roughly. Leaving just enough time in between his yanks for Buck to respond.
Chimney and Bobby are both standing still at the edge of the cliff, waiting for the cloud of dust to clear. Neither of them have visibility of Buck from the way they’re holding themselves.
‘Evan. ’ Even in his mind his voice is cracking, and Eddie tugs the rope harshly, ‘EVAN!’
The rope pulls taught, and Eddie holds his breath, tugging harshly. There’s three tugs back, and Eddie can feel himself shaking as he breathes out. There’s another tug, and then several more without pattern or reason. Eddie’s shoulders tense again, and he looks up to Bobby quickly.
“It’s not Buck!” He yells over to them, carefully trying to start pulling the rope up. Whoever’s on the other side goes with it, and Eddie keeps going, agonisingly slow.
‘Evan. Evan, please. Tell me you’re okay.’ A head pops up over the side of the cliff, dark brown hair and tan skin.
“Get a gurney!” Chimney shouts, rushing to help pull the person up. Eddie wants to scream at them, and then a dirty blonde head pops up over their shoulder and he’s rushing to secure the winch and running forward.
Chimney and Hen are both looking over Buck, and before he can slide down beside them brown hair and tan skin falling into his arms. They hug him tightly, and after a minute Eddie manages to listen to what they’re saying.
“You’re Eddie. Oh thank god. Thank you, Eddie. Thank you, thank you.” They rush, and Eddie looks down at them quickly, trying to figure out who they are.
“You’re-” They cut him off quickly, shaking their head with a soft smile.
“Buck told me you’d get us up. Said to tug three times, and then not to stop. That you’d know what it meant.” They say, and Eddie wants to sob right then and there at how sure they sound, at how sure Buck must have sounded.
“He’d do that,” Eddie croaks, and they smile at him, Eddie motions towards the ambulance. He grabs his radio, looking around for the ambulance they’d gotten April into. “I’ve got the driver with me, taking them to the 118 ambulance. They don’t seem to have any serious injuries. If anyone’s got the passenger I can send them over to you. Think they’d both like that.”
The driver, Juniper, is looking at him with such wide, surprised eyes. Their pronouns, Eddie realises, Buck had been so sure to tell him to use the right pronouns, clearly it wasn’t something they were used to. “They might’ve already taken her to the hospital. If she’s still here, I’ll do my best to make sure you two can ride together. For now, let me check you over, make sure I’m not missing anything serious. They’re in good hands.” Eddie reassures, finding his voice again as he tugs on a pair of gloves.
Bobby walks over, standing close enough to the ambulance that he can hear what’s happening. Athena is at his side, and they’re talking for a minute before Athena steps forward, says something that has Juniper nodding. Eddie doesn’t catch it, but he can guess.
“When that car came at us, I swerved, didn’t realise we were going over the cliff until April started screaming. I was sure we were going to die. Was so sure that was how we died. I passed out, April said she did too, she woke up first though. Started shaking my shoulders and by the time we both woke up we could see Buck starting back up the cliff again with that carseat. We thought for sure he was leaving us, but he came right back down.”
“I was so scared.” Juniper admits, and Athena nods, giving them time to put together the words. “He tried his radio but started cursing and saying it wasn’t working, and then he just started tugging on his rope. He looked us over and promised us he’d do his best to get us out. April was so scared, she kept asking how he was going to get us out when he couldn’t talk with his team and he just tugged on his rope, and you tugged back, and he told us he wasn’t alone because his partner was up there.” They explain, and Eddie nods as he wraps a shock blanket around their shoulders, grabbing the pen light to check their pupils. “He sent April up, but there was only one basket and I was so sure I wasn’t going to make it. He tugged on the rope and you were pulling him up and I was so sure he was leaving me until he appeared in the window next to me. He said his partner was up there, making sure we were all going to get up and out of there. Told me I had nothing to worry about because he’d keep me safe and you’d keep him safe.” They cut off, looking over Eddie’s shoulder where he knows Hen and Chimney are working on Buck. Eddie forces himself to keep his attention on treating their wounds.
“The car started slipping and he didn’t even look panicked. He got my seatbelt off, guided me to grab onto him. Said it wasn’t the best situation but we didn’t have time. The car moved some more but I couldn’t get out because I was stuck. He didn’t let me go, got this look on his face and then told me he was going to pull me out when it started falling. Made me promise I’d hold onto him tightly. He said he’d do his best to make sure I didn’t get hit, but the car slipping would bring down rocks. Told me if something happened to tug three times and then not stop. Promised me you would get us up safely, swore you wouldn’t give up on us. He sounded so sure of it.” They let out a shaky breath, eyes still trained over Eddie’s shoulder and Eddie lets his shoulders relax a little. “I wasn’t really afraid, because he sounded so completely sure that no matter what happened you’d get us up. The car fell, and he yanked me out, managed to pull himself up a bit so I was stuck between him and the cliff. I could hear the rocks falling but I wasn’t afraid, then one of them hit us and he let go. He said your name a few times, I tried to get him to stay awake but he wouldn’t and I started panicking and then you were tugging on the rope.”
Eddie closes his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. ‘Selfless bastard.’
‘That’s why you love me though,’ Buck’s voice is clear, and Eddie turns quickly, eyes snapping to where Buck is sitting up on a gurney near another ambulance, Hen and Chimney standing worriedly in front of him. Chim says something but Buck pushes his shoulder, stumbling as he climbs off the gurney and starts walking towards Eddie.
Eddie shakes his head at him, turning and meeting Bobby’s eyes before sprinting the short distance. He yanks Buck into his arms as soon as he reaches him, pressing Buck tight against him and burying his face into Buck’s shoulder.
“You keep them safe and I keep you safe?” He asks, and Buck laughs, tilting down and burying his head into the crook of Eddie’s neck.
‘You did, didn’t you?’ He asks, and Eddie shakes his head at him, pushing his chin into Buck’s shoulder and catching Hen’s eyes.
“Running away from the paramedics isn’t a good look on you.” Eddie tells him, trying to pull away and look him in the eye but Buck’s grip on him is tight.
‘Hey, I ran to a medic. That has to count for something. ’ He argues, and then he pulls back, eyes wide and searching past Eddie’s shoulder.
“Juniper-” It’s the first thing he’s said aloud since he woke up, and his voice is rough and it hurts but he ignores it.
“They’re fine. A few scrapes and bruises. They’ll be happy you’re awake.” Eddie says, wrapping an arm around Buck’s waist and carefully guiding him toward’s the 118’s ambulance. Hen and Chimney both rushing to follow them.
“Buck!” Juniper shouts when they see him, and Buck smiles, dropping tiredly onto the bumper of the ambulance next to them.
“Told you he’d get us up.” Buck says, and they smile, turning to Eddie thankfully.
“You didn’t doubt him for a minute,” They agree, and Buck chokes on another laugh as he raises a brow at them.
“You did?” He asks, teasing edge to his voice, and Juniper looks down at their shoes and shrugs before looking back up at Buck.
“I might’ve thought you were a little crazy when you said he’d understand what you meant and just started tugging at your rope,” They admit, voice barely a whisper, and Buck smiles, that contagious smile of his that lights up a room.
“I might’ve thought I was a little crazy too,” Buck agrees, looking up at Eddie, his smile softens a little, fond as he looks at him. “But I knew he’d figure it out.”
“We’re all just glad he did.” Chimney agrees, showing up a couple minutes after Hen reached them. “I found the passenger, she’s still here, refusing to leave without you. I can take you over to the ambulance they’ve got here in,” Chim offers, and Juniper nods quickly, stepping down from the ambulance.
“Thank you.” They call, and Eddie and Buck both wave to them as they disappear past the trucks.
“That was a hell of a risk you took,” Bobby says, dad voice in full form as he looks down at Buck.
“I had to do it,” Buck whispers, and Bobby shakes his head, patting his shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re okay, kid. Don’t do it again.” Bobby smiles at the two of them, looking Buck over but deciding if Hen and Chimney didn’t actively force him to stay on the gurney he was probably fine and nodding towards the truck.
“You two go sit for a few, we’ll finish packing up and then we can head back to the station.” Buck doesn’t argue with that, letting Eddie help him up and guide him over to the truck.
Eddie works the harness the rest of the way off Buck carefully, and Bobby watches them for a minute before shaking his head and moving to help Hen and the others pack up the ropes.