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The debris above them shifted, and Buck took a moment to make sure the stability of the debris wasn’t weakening and placing them in more danger. The structure still seemed sturdy though, so he held Christopher with a tighter, reassuring squeeze.
“We’re okay, buddy,” Buck said, even as a wave of exhaustion swept over him.
He was lying to Christopher, he knew that. They were as safe as they could be, considering that just a couple hours ago the little debris pocket they’d found themselves trapped in had been filled with receding seawater. But it was well into nighttime now, and Buck and Christopher had so little room to maneuver that Buck couldn’t put himself in a position to start trying to dig their way out. They were stuck at the mercy of whenever rescue teams would make their way to them, and while he was beyond thankful that Christopher was uninjured, it was only a matter of time before dehydration and hunger took their toll.
When Christopher had fallen off the ladder truck, Buck had blindly dived in right after him. May it be luck or providence, Buck’s hand had found Christopher’s shirt in the water and latched on. Holding him tight and trying to keep his head head above water, the pair were swept farther down the street, until they found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place; or rather, a storefront and a wave of incoming house debris.
With nowhere else to go, Buck had turned his back to the debris, putting Christopher between himself and the clay storefront, and braced himself.
All things considered, it could have been much worse. He could feel some nasty bruising throughout his torso and his back was on fire, but it was far better than being crushed (he had more experience with that than he wanted, thank you very much).
As it was, it could also be much better.
The debris shifted again, and maybe it was his exhaustion and growing lightheadedness because he didn’t realize right away—
“Buck, I hear people,” Christopher said, poking him lightly.
There were people, above them, shifting debris and looking for survivors.
“HEY!” Buck yelled, placing a hand to the ear that wasn’t braced against his chest. “HEY, WE’RE DOWN HERE!”
“Hello?” a faint voice called.
“WE’RE DOWN HERE!” Buck repeated, feeling as though his throat would tear open.
“We got ya, we got ya,” the voice repeated, and Buck nearly cried. Actually, forget nearly, Buck was pretty sure he was crying.
“Are you okay, Buck?” Christopher asked, and Buck just laughed.
“I’m great, buddy. I’m just happy. Can you hold on for just a few more minutes?” he asked.
Christopher nodded, and Buck knew the kid was smiling.
The sounds of shifting debris were getting much closer now, and Buck shielded Chris’s head from the minor pieces that rained down on them. He couldn’t believe the debris pile had gotten so massive; the large cabinet that was currently providing the majority of their shelter must have been holding up more than he thought.
“Don’t worry, we’re working on getting down to you,” the voice above them said, and it took Buck a moment to realize that he knew that voice.
“Chim? Is that you?” Buck asked, hoping he wasn’t superimposing the familiar voice.
“Buck?!” That answered that question.
“We thought you were at the movies!” Hen’s voice trickled down. Buck almost laughed. If only...
“We were at the Pier,” Buck explained, holding Christopher tighter. He felt more lightheaded now, but he told himself that it was just the relief of having been found and rescued, the relief that Christopher would be okay. It most certainly had nothing to do with his newly soaked shirt.
“Christopher is here, he’s fine,” Buck said, wanting Eddie to know immediately that his son was okay. But now that he thought about it, if Eddie were here, he definitely would have said something by now.
“What about you?” Chim asked.
“Where’s Eddie?” Buck deflected, because that was important right now, Eddie needed to be okay. After just losing his mother, Christopher shouldn’t have to deal with losing another parent.
“Escorting someone to the VA—”
“He’s sticking around,” Bobby informed them, “they need any medic they can get their hands on.”
So he’s okay, Buck sighed. He squeezed Christopher slightly, “Hear that, buddy? Your dad’s fine and you’ll see him really soon.”
“We’ll see him,” Christopher said, and Buck didn’t have the heart to correct him. Maybe the team would pull a Hail Mary, but he was pretty certain by now that the pool of liquid steadily increasing beneath him wasn’t seawater and he’d already had his fair share of medical miracles. He’s just glad that it’s nighttime now, because the last thing he wanted was for Christopher to see him like this.
A flashlight shined down on them as the gaps above them increased, and Buck had never been happier to see Chim’s face smiling down at him. Not for the first time, Buck was thankful that Maddie had found him; anyone was better than that dirtbag Doug, but at least Buck knew for a fact that Chim was a good guy.
“We’ve almost got a path large enough to get you guys out,” Chim assured. “Hopefully you guys can entertain yourselves just a little while longer.” True to his word, the gap widened steadily and soon enough there was plenty of room to fit a body through. Buck shifted, wincing as he did so but covering the reaction with his movement.
“Okay, I’m gonna boost you up first,” Buck said, adjusting Christopher to hand off to Chim and Hen. “You ready?”
“Ready,” Christopher nodded.
“Ready up here,” Hen called.
“Alright, I want you to lift your arms as high as you can, okay? Awesome, okay, one, two, three!” Buck said, using mostly his core and arms to lift Christopher’s waist up. Chim and Hen quickly took most of the weight and then Christopher was gone, pulled out of the debris pile and safely in the care of the 118.
“Your turn, Buck. You can probably stand and get your torso through the hole at this angle.”
“Ahhh, probably not,” Buck wheezed. He slumped against the clay storefront, drained from the exertion of lifting Christopher. The flashlights above him were dancing now, fading in and out of focus into fuzzy circles and halos of light.
“Buck? Buck!”
Buck was so tired. Christopher was safe now, surely he had time to rest for a bit...
“Shit, where’s that blood coming from?!”
“We need to widen this hole and get down there, he’s bleeding somewhere—”
“He’s still on blood thinners—”
“Shit—”
“Buck, hang on!”
“Stay awake, Buck!”
“Buck!”
So tired...
The bright lights were back, but they were different this time. They seemed to be coming at him from all directions, a different intensity than the flashlights from earlier, and yet they weren’t simply room lights, nor ambient lighting. Salt crystals on his lashes further refracted the light as he blinked, and he realized absurdly that he had never before in his life cared about the properties of lighting—
“Evan! Oh, thank God—”
Buck blinked again and looked to his right. Maddie was sitting there, face pale and eyes distressingly red, but she was smiling, genuinely, so Buck knew not to worry too much.
“Wha’ happn’d?” he slurred; his throat felt coated in sandpaper and he couldn’t quite get his mouth to move the way he wanted to.
“You were caught in the tsunami,” Maddie explained gently.
“Yeah, I know,” Buck said, clearing his throat painfully. “But how’d I get here? I—Christopher! Where’s Christopher, is—?!”
“He’s fine, Eddie’s got him,” Maddie assured immediately, squeezing his hand to ground him. “He’s just sleeping right now, it’s late.”
Buck sighed, relaxing back into what he realized was a cot. “Where are we?”
“Field hospital; they repurposed the VA as a fourth triage and treatment location in the safe zone,” Maddie explained. She turned a reproving look on him. “You’re lucky you only needed stitches and a blood transfusion. Buck, you could have died, your blood wasn’t clotting and you didn’t put any pressure on the wound—”
“I didn’t know it was that bad,” Buck defended petulantly. “I wasn’t really worried about myself at the time—”
“Exactly. Buck, you need to take better care of yourself—”
“No, I needed to make sure Christopher was okay. Maddie, I-I almost lost him, okay? I had him and I lost him!” Buck fell into a coughing fit, the well of emotion constricting his already battered throat. Maddie pulled him up into a sitting position, rubbing his back over what felt like fresh gauze.
“You saved him,” she murmured once he settled down. “He wouldn’t stop telling everyone who’d listen that his Buck saved him.”
“I lost him in the water,” Buck insisted, eyes burning. “I thought he was safe, I turned my back for one second and he was gone and I thought I lost him—”
“But you got him again,” Maddie insisted. “Buck, that’s what’s important. You’re both alive, and that’s all anyone cares about. The inbetween doesn’t matter.”
“Eddie’s gonna hate me, I almost got his kid killed—”
“On the contrary, I think he could kiss you,” Maddie said wryly, startling Buck into silence.
“Wha’?”
“You saved his kid, numbnut, he doesn’t hate you.”
“Oh,” Buck mumbled, not buying it. He hated himself for putting Christopher in that situation, it was only logical Eddie would hate him, too—
“Buck! You’re awake!” Speak of the devil.
Buck winced, finding it harder than it ever had been before to glance up and look Eddie in the eye.
“You had us worried there, you had a pretty nasty laceration below your shoulder blade,” Eddie said, and still Buck couldn’t look up at him. “Christopher was worried sick, he kept asking for you.”
That made Buck look up. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, thanks to you,” Eddie said earnestly, and there was something undecipherable in his gaze. “Seriously, Buck, thank you.”
“Why?” Buck whispered.
Eddie blinked, startled. “What?”
“Why don’t you hate me?” Buck asked, looking away again. Maddie had disappeared at some point after Eddie showed up, and he childishly wanted to call for her to come back.
“Buck, you’re not making any sense—”
“It’s my fault we were at the pier, I tried to hold on to him when the wave hit, I lost him when I turned my back for a second, I almost got him killed, why don’t you hate me?”
Eddie moved until he was sitting in Maddie’s vacated seat. He grabbed Buck’s hand, held it and squeezed gently until Buck looked at him again. The insistent burning sensation in his eyes returned the longer Eddie watched him. “Why would I hate you?” Eddie asked, voice soft.
“Because I hate me.”
Something shuttered in his Eddie’s expression, but it cleared a moment later, replaced with determination and something that Buck didn’t want to allow himself to recognize. It was near unbearable to look at Eddie now, but Eddie didn’t allow him the chance to languish on his thoughts.
“Buck, Evan, you listen to me,” Eddie said, forcing Buck to keep him in his line of sight. “I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. You did everything in your power to keep Christopher safe today. There may have been bumps along the way, but you always fought for him. Christopher loves you, and I—I would never trust anyone with my kid more than I trust you.”
Buck was crying in earnest now, but he was smiling, too. He twisted his hand in Eddie’s grip so he could squeeze back. It would take time for him to believe it himself, but for now, knowing that Eddie believed in him, that was enough.