Chapter 8: Calling firefighter Buckley
A/N: This chapter will contain a flashback to a previous incident where Buck gets injured. The incident is made up and does not necessarily fit with the 9-1-1 timeline, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway.
Buck's POV
Most of the water had retreaded. The streets were still floated, but now the water was about knee high, at least here where he was walking. Everytime he met someone he would ask if maybe they had seen Christopher, and everytime the answer would be the same; He kept searching, knowing he couldn't return to face Eddie without Christopher. He had gotten a small hope at one point, hearing some people call out for help with a trapped child; Turned out to be a girl in her early teens, but he didn't give up. He had found Chris glasses only moments earlier from helping save the girl, he knew it didn't mean much, but to him at the moment it was all he had. He looked to the sky for a moment, praying: "Please let him be okay. Please don't take the only light left in my life". He was walking in the direction of some cupcakery or cupcake bakery or something, he wasn't exactly sure of what the young guy who had pointed him in this direction had called it; The guy was the only one of all the people Buck had asked, who had inspired hope by having seen a boy matching Chris description move in that direction, so that was where he was headed now, clinging on to that small hope.
Chris hadn't been at the cupcakery place; At first he had thought to have seen him, but it was some other kid. He was getting weaker; He knew he was bleeding, someone at the cupcakery had made him aware of the fact, but the only thing that mattered was finding Chris safe. He had bandaged his arm as best he could with some cloth or something, getting control of the bleeding for now. He had to move on, to look for Chris. He got up and started to move, clearly Chris wasn't here but someone had talked about emergency refugee camps at the Promenade and the high school. Walking to the emergency refugee camps he heard someone mention the VA hospital being used to triage and treat wounded, he would definitely have to look there if anything else failed, not wanting to think about Chris possibly being wounded. 'I should have done more to protect him. He would have been safe at the firetruck if I hadn't moved him so he didn't notice the dead bodies; How could I be that studpid' he thought, mentally kicking himself for not doing a better job at protecting Eddie's son.
His body was starting to tremble from exhaustion and pain, and probably from the adrenaline levels going down as well since he was feeling the pain and exhaustion. He knew that his condition was becoming more and more critical at the moment, but he had to focus on finding Chris before buckling under. 'Buck buckling' he laughed at himself, thinking of how Chimney and Hen would have laughed and joked about that sentence, had it not been for the seriousness of the matter; Clearly he was starting to go into shock, his brain not making sence do to the lack of blood and oxygen. He stopped laughing; He had to focus, where was it again he was headed? He had already been to the emergency refugee camps at the Promenade and at the high school, so where was he headed now? And why was it again that he was headed there? 'Chris. You're looking for Chris' he thought, right he was looking for Chris; But why was it again he was looking for Chris? Who was Chris again? Why did his head hurt so much? And why was it so hard to focus? And was it him, or was the earth suddenly getting closer? Why was it wet? Who was he again?
"Calling all 118 personal to report" everyone, except for Buck of course, answers the call from Cap stating that they are alive and well; "Firefighter Buckley, report" Cap tries, still no answer. "Anyone have eyes on Buck" Cap tries over the radio, hoping that maybe it's just a glitch with the radio system; "Negative Cap" Hen states, followed by a double "No Cap" from Eddie and Chimney. Part of the floor on the first floor where Buck and Cap had been, had collapsed seconds earlier, and now Buck was nowhere to be seen. Bobby had tried calling out for him first, but after not receiving an answer had thought to use the radio, apparently to no avail. "Calling firefighter Buckley. Buck can you hear me" still no answer, but just then Bobby had heard the alarm from Bucks uniform go off, indicating his position to them. He had been unconscious when the others had found him, but other than that he had escaped with no major injuries from this incident, just a concussion and a small laceration on his forehead.
This headache was definitely worse he thought, and he was no longer 'firefighter Buckley' just Buck; It pained him to think of his 118 family, especially Eddie. 'EDDIE' he thought, and he wanted to jump up, how could he be lying here when Christopher was still missing. He didn't move, tried to but his body didn't listen; His eyes wouldn't open either, how was he supposed to find Chris lying here with his eyes closed? And what if nobody found him, was this how dying felt like?