+1 Everyone
Eddie watches wide eyed as Buck runs back into the building, shouting his name as Buck disappears into the flames. Bobby has a hand on his arm, holding him back as Eddie glares towards where Buck disappeared.
‘Evan.’ He starts, low and annoyed as he stares, part of him hoping Buck will pop back out but knowing he won’t. ‘The hell do you think you’re doing?’
‘Someone’s still inside.’ Buck answers, like it explains everything. Eddie hates that it does.
“Firefighter Buckley,” Bobby’s voice draws him back, and Eddie looks up at him, “Firefighter Buckley, pull back.”
“What the hell is he thinking?” Hen asks, watching the building with worried eyes.
“Someone’s still inside.” Eddie answers, watching the look that flashes on both Hen and Chimney’s faces. They understand it the same way he did.
“Firefighter Buckley, do you copy?” Bobby asks, and Eddie turns towards him worriedly.
‘Evan.’ He tries, still a little annoyed at Buck for running into a building that was on fire and about to collapse.
The response is almost instant, and his shoulders relax with it. ‘Edmundo.’
‘You’re just ignoring Bobby then? You know that’s a worse look, right?’
Eddie can practically feel Buck’s confusion as he answers with a , ‘Wait, what?’
The radio on his shoulder crackles, muffled words that none of them can hear, and then Buck’s voice is in his head again. ‘Radio’s fine.’
‘Radio’s not. We can’t hear you.’ Eddie replies, glancing worriedly at where Bobby is asking for Buck to answer.
‘Fuck.’ Buck whines, pushing open the door in front of him and practically cheering when he sees the out of place stuffed animal. ‘I think I found them.’
“Fire department!” Buck calls, watching the way the pile of blankets shifts. “Fire department, anyone in here?” He repeats, and then a little head pokes its way out of the blankets and Buck has to bite his lip so he doesn’t whoop.
‘Great. Get your ass out here.’ Eddie sounds relieved, and Buck smiles, carefully making his way over to the kid and holding his hand out.
“My name’s Buck.” He starts, smiling when the kid takes his hand and lets him pull them out from the pile of blankets. “I’m gonna get you out of here, okay?”
The kid nods, and Buck carefully grabs one of the blankets from the ground, wrapping the kid in it before lifting them up into his arms. “Keep your head down, okay? It’s a little loud and a little hot but we’ll get out just fine.” Buck explains, ducking through the doorway and out into the hall. He’s halfway across the living room when he hears the floor creak, eyes widening as he tightens his grip on the kid.
‘Check in.’ If Buck didn’t know Eddie as well as he did, he’d think the other was annoyed.
‘You can’t get mad.’ Buck starts, and he can practically see Eddie rolling his eyes, shoulders tensing.
‘Well at least you’re conscious this time.’ Eddie bites, and Buck manages a laugh at that, looking around the apartment they fell into carefully. He glances up, brows furrowing as he realises they fell two floors. He might’ve blacked out there for a bit then, he definitely didn’t remember that.
‘I’m pretty sure I’m in apartment 302?’ Buck supplies, checking the kid in his arms carefully. They’ve passed out, probably from fear, but their pulse is strong and they don’t seem to have taken any injuries.
‘302? Patient you were talking to was on the 5th floor.’ Comes Eddie’s reply, and Buck takes a deep breath. ‘Please don’t say what I think you’re about to say.’
‘I was in apartment 502. Found the kid, have the kid, kid is not injured.’ Buck rattles off, and Eddie drops his head into his hands.
“He’ll be okay,” Hen tries to reassure him, and Eddie looks up at her, sighing as he shakes his head.
“That’s not what,” Eddie cuts himself off with a groan, dropping his head back into his hands. ‘I know we haven’t really discussed the whole sharing the telepathy thing with the team. But I’m sharing the telepathy thing with the team.’
‘You’re what?’ Buck sounds so confused Eddie would smile if he didn’t know Buck was now in an apartment on the fire floor with a kid and probably injured.
“Buck’s on the 3rd floor.” Eddie tells them, watching as Bobby and Chimney snap their heads towards him.
“He’s texting you?” Chimney wonders, looking over Eddie for any sign of his phone.
“No, no. But he’s on the third floor. I know it.” Eddie tells them, filtering his words through to Buck.
‘I love you, you’re the best.’ Buck says, and Eddie holds back an eye roll.
“You’re-” Chimney cuts himself off, looking between Eddie and the building. “His radio’s either busted or he’s ignoring it. Listen, I want to believe he’s okay too, but we don’t know he is. We just have to wait for him to come out.”
Eddie groans, dropping his head back against the rig and taking a breath. “Buck’s fine, he’s on the third floor with the kid from apartment 502 your patient told him about. I’m not guessing or trying to convince myself that he’s okay. I know he is because I can hear him just fine.” Eddie tries not to sound too snappy, but he knows he fails when he hears Buck.
‘I’m okay. Bruised but not injured other than that. Take a breath.’ Buck instructs, and Eddie does as told, opening his eyes when no one says anything.
“You’re telling me you can hear Buck?” Hen says unsurely, reaching for her pen light and Eddie drops his head back into his hands.
‘Hen thinks I’m concussed.’ Eddie relays, ignoring Buck’s sputtering that definitely means he’s laughing.
‘Repeat after me.’ Buck says, and Eddie narrows his eyes. ‘Just do it. Hen and Chimney were both in apartment 502, so was I. Just repeat what I tell you, yeah?’
“Go ahead then,” Eddie mutters, avoiding looking at the team as he starts repeating after Buck. “There’s red and white striped curtains at the windows and an orange couch in front of them. The TV is on top of a shelving unit crammed full of books, most of them looked like textbooks but he didn’t really look. There’s a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter, it has oranges and bananas. The fridge is a pale yellow colour with a drawing of two people on pink construction paper that’s held up by an LA zoo magnet.”
Chimney and Hen are both staring at him like he’s grown a second head, and Eddie can tell they recognise what he’s listing off as Buck continues.
‘The doors inside the apartment were both baby pink, one of them was more a purple colour though. A bunch of legs on a rug in front of the orange couch, I think the rug was a flower?’
“You weren’t on the fifth floor.” Chimney says, and Bobby looks between the three of them curiously.
‘You can stop.’ Eddie says, glancing at the building worriedly. ‘Where are you?’
‘Can’t get out of the apartment, fire’s right outside the door. Trying to find a window, might be able to get the ladder up to one of them.’ Buck answers after a moment, and something about his words causes worry to bubble in Eddie’s chest.
‘Be careful.’ He scolds, turning back to the group in front of him.
“I wasn’t on the fifth floor, Buck was. He’s got the kid in apartment 302. Fire’s keeping them trapped in the apartment but he’s trying to find a window we could get the ladder up to.” Eddie tells them, watching the windows of the third floor for any sign of Buck.
“So you’re telling me you and Buck can communicate telepathically?” Hen asks slowly, clearly struggling to believe the words but also unable to deny the facts.
“Since we met, yeah. We don’t really know why, never bothered to try and figure it out. It helps with the job, makes it easier sometimes. Like when he runs into buildings and his radio’s not working.” Eddie smiles at the annoyed, ‘Hey!’ he gets in response.
“So you’re telling me you’ve been able to talk to each other in your heads since you met and never said anything?” Chim repeats, clearly struggling to catch up with the concept.
“We can discuss this later,” Bobby cuts in, turning towards Eddie. “Third floor, that’s the fire floor, we don’t have a lot of time. He find a window?”
‘Find a window yet?’ Eddie asks, holding his breath when Buck doesn’t answer right away.
‘I’ve got one I think might work? I was trying to find one near the road, the angle would be awkward and you’d have to drive the truck up between some trees and the building but I think it could work.’ Buck answers, and Eddie glances towards the building just as he sees a window shatter near the end of the third floor.
“There,” Eddie says, pointing the window out to Bobby who nods and yells for someone to move the ladder truck towards it.
“Wait, wait, so we’re just ignoring this? Eddie tells us he and Buck can communicate telepathically and we take it like it’s them telling us Chris won his science fair? What the hell, you’re not even asking questions? Oh, by the way, we’re telepathic.” Chimney rambles, looking between the group wide eyed as they jog towards the building and wait for the ladder truck to pull up into position.
Eddie shrugs, quickly climbing up onto the truck as soon as it’s been parked.
“Diaz,” Bobby starts, and Eddie snaps his head to look at him, ready to argue his place but Bobby shakes his head. “Harness up, I want you and Wilson going up. Wilson get the kid, Diaz get our boy.”
“Copy that, Cap.” He agrees, Hen nodding as Eddie climbs back down so he can harness up.
“This makes so much sense.” Hen tells him as they’re securing their harnesses, and Eddie smiles at her.
They climb back up together, Hen heading up the ladder first with Eddie behind her, the basket being dragged along behind her. Buck passes the kid through the window as soon as they reach him.
Hen smiles, looking him over before turning back and helping Eddie buckle the kid into the basket. She starts back down slowly, and Eddie moves up past her to grab Buck’s arm and drag him out of the window and onto the ladder. Eddie wraps him in an awkward hug, taking a moment to remind himself that Buck is there and alive before letting him go. Eddie starts back down slowly, Buck right there with him.
As soon as they’re back on solid ground Eddie yanks Buck tight against him, and Buck hugs him back, pushing his head into Eddie’s shoulder.
“I fucking hate you,” Eddie breathes out, and the words are a little heated, but he knows Buck can hear the stream of ‘love you, love you, love you, love you.’
“I love you,” Buck mumbles against his shoulder, taking a deep, steadying breath before slowly pulling back from Eddie.
Eddie keeps an arm around his waist as he guides Buck over to the rig, sitting him down on the bumper and standing firmly between Buck’s legs as he looks him over for injuries.
“Just bruising, just like I told you,” Buck reassures as Eddie pushes at his turnouts, letting the jacket slide off his shoulders as Eddie’s hands pat down his sides. “I’m good.”
“You scared the shit out of me.” Eddie argues, and Buck smiles, reaching up to push his hands through Eddie’s hair.
“I love you.” He repeats, and Eddie shakes his head, stooping down to drop his head against Buck’s shoulders.
“I love you too.” Eddie answers, hands lightly squeezing Buck’s waist.
Buck smiles, tangling his fingers in Eddie’s hair and letting himself relax into the “here” and “now” and not the “what ifs” or the “could haves”. Bobby walks by, tells them to get ready to head out but doesn’t say anything else and Buck smiles at him thankfully. Eddie pulls back just enough to grab Buck’s arm, yanking him up across his shoulders as Buck yelps in surprise.
Hen shakes her head at them, grabbing Buck’s turn out and pushing the ambulance doors closed before following them over and climbing into the truck after them. Eddie and Buck sit next to each other, pressed together from thigh to shoulder, Buck halfway in Eddie’s seat.
Chimney climbs up into the truck, lips pursed together as he stares at them before his eyes widen. “Wait, does Maddie know about this?!”