Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned the rights to 911 or its characters. It all belongs to Fox TV and the show's creators like Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy and whoever else.
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Chapter 2
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" No."
That single word, a sentence onto itself, the denial of reality seemed to echo though the quiet loft. All eyes were on the one who had uttered the word, the brown haired and dark eyes woman who'd world they were all witnessing being shattered before their very eyes.
" M-Maddie." Howard "Chimney" Han breathed as fresh tears trailed down his face and his breath hitched hard inside his chest as he stood across from his girlfriend.
His girlfriend whom he had just informed of her little brother's death. Beside Maddie, dressed in her full duty uniform was Sergeant Athena Grant of the LAFD. The regal black woman's face was a picture of shock and disbelief.
" No." Maddie said again as she shook her head and back away from Chim when he took a step closer and reached out for her.
" Bobby?" Athena asked finally as her dark eyes went to her own husband.
Captain Robert Nash was standing in the middle of the loft, paler than a sheet and his own expression slack. Athena walked past Maddie and Chim and made her way across the loft to stand before her husband, askance on her features as she spoke.
" Bobby is what Chimney just said true?" The veteran cop asked slowly.
" They are still clearing up the scene, and haven't even begun the identification process... from what Chief Alonzo learned after he called the police in Colorado, it looks like they are gonna need dental records and DNA." Bobby replied without emotion, almost vacantly.
A barely stifled sob had everyone turned to see Henrietta Wilson clamping a hand over her mouth and breathing through it while her hand scrambled for her phone in her pocket, Deputy Chief Rosa Myers keeping a steadying hand on Hen's other arm and looking about the devastated room stoically. A few feet away Edmundo Diaz was off in a corner by the railing pacing around like a caged tiger with his own phone practically glued to his ear.
" Pick up damn it!" Eddie suddenly roared as he was yet again sent straight to Buck's voicemail, his outburst jarring against the pall that had fallen over every inch of the station.
The rest of the 118 were littered about the loft, many collapsed into chairs and sofas while others were leaning against walls of standing with arms crossed or around each other. Some were in shock, others were already crying, and still yet others stood there with naked regret and guilt on their features. Many were gathered around Chaplain Henry Paxton as he did his duty, providing words of comfort and assurance, though he did so quietly. Chief Alonzo himself was on his own phone, still speaking with whoever his contact with Colorado State Police was, though his dark eyes were trained on Maddie Buckley.
" HE'S NOT DEAD! MY BROTHER'S NOT DEAD!" Maddie finally wailed as Chim rushed forward and tackled her into his arms.
" EVAN NO! OH GOD EVAN!" Maddie screamed, causing everyone to collectively flinch as they witnessed her denial, her despair.
Outside a little white butterfly fluttered about the small grass lawn border around the parking lot of the fire station before coming to land on a brilliant yellow dandelion flower to rest.
From where he stood, Eddie turned away from Maddie and screwed his eyes shut against the burning onslaught of his own tears, stubbornly pushing them back as he pulled up the messaging on his phone and started furiously typing with his thumbs.
Buck where are you? I keep calling you and I just get your voicemail. ANSWER YOUR FUCKING PHONE DAMN IT! PLEASE! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!
He had actually left nearly a dozen such messages, as had Hen, Chimney, and Bobby one right after the other once Chief Alonzo had made his dire report of Buck's name being among those who were lost to the Greyhound bus crash, all of them refusing to believe it.
This can't be real, Buck was NOT dead damn it.
" This is a mistake, this has to be a mistake." Eddie said quietly to himself as he brought up Buck's number and once more called it.
A few feet away Athena reached up and took Bobby's face into her hands, her husband's expression still eerily and terrifyingly blank. Years of handling crisis kicked in as Athena spoke.
" Bobby, Bobby look at me." Athena ordered firmly, waiting for her husband to meet her gaze with his own brown eyes dull and listless.
" We don't know for sure Bobby, his name is on the list but like you said, they have only just started to process things... there is no accepting anything until we have solid proof." Athena said firmly with conviction.
" Not till we have a burnt up body right?" Bobby gritted out as all at once his dulled eyes suddenly grew bright with desolation, rage, utter despair.
The grief of a father bereft of his child... yet again.
" Oh Bobby." Athena breathed before she clenched her jaw and yanked Bobby to her by the collar of his uniform, enveloping the much taller man in a crushing embrace.
" I... uh... Oh God... Oh my God." Bobby groaned before he raised his arms and wrapped them around Athena, crushing her in turn.
By the stairs, Maddie had fallen to her knees, taking Chimney down with her as she sobbed in despair, her own phone in her hand but her calls to her baby brother tellingly going unanswered.
From where he stood watching the emotional destruction of the 118, Chief Alonzo could only stand tall and morose as he shook his head and sighed, looking up at the ceiling and sending out a prayer to the heavens that though terrible a thought, that those doing body recovery would find all who were lost and hasten the identification process. He had just gotten off the phone with the detective who was running point of the investigation in Colorado, who informed him that it would be best if they would be able to send something over to them that contained Evan Buckley's DNA, like a hair or toothbrush and also his dental records if things were... too charred to get any DNA off of.
The very thought of just what state not only Evan Buckley, but also the other eighty victims of this terrible event were most likely in left Chief Alonzo with his stomach rolling almost violently. He pushed back the feeling, he was the fire chief after all and Los Angeles would not stop for anyone. He would take the 118 offline and have others fill in, he would handling thing as he always did.
But good God, did days like this one suck like Hell.
True to his word, Chief Alonzo took the 118 offline, mercifully news of this tragedy not yet getting out and it being chalked up to giving the team a chance to rest after the giant fire they had spent all morning putting out. Athena had been able to call in the situation to her boss and got the rest of the day off herself. The seasoned Sergeant wasted no time in wrangling her listless Husband and Maddie into her cruiser, calling ahead to Michael to come to her house and watch after them while she went back to the station to turn in her duty vehicle and come back home in her own car. Hen, Chim, and Eddie all changed out of their uniforms in a bit of a daze before they had each gone to their respective vehicles with Bobby and Athena's as their destination as well.
They all managed to get there in one piece somehow, all of them parking along the sidewalk leading up to the Grant-Nash residence. Hen and Chim both had fresh tear stains on their faces, while Eddie was cold and immune, refusing to break or even bend to the possibility of Evan Buckley being gone. He had places so many calls and sent so many texts his phone had died and Buck's inbox had become full. The trio shuffled listlessly towards the front door, Chim pressing the bell.
When the front door swung away, it revealed a pale a teary-eyed Michael Grant, his face drawn and his jaw quivering, no doubt having been told of the unthinkable loss the 118 had suffered today.
" Hey guys." Michael said quietly.
" H-Hi Michael." Hen all but whispered back, Eddie nodding wordlessly while Chim gave a half-hearted wave with his face crumbling.
" C'mon, Bobby and Maddie are in the living room." Michael said as he stepped aside and ushered his three new guests in.
Chim all but flew down the stairs as he rushed to a quietly sobbing Maddie who was sitting on the couch, while Hen and Eddie caught sight of Bobby in the kitchen making coffee once they had come down the stairs themselves. When Bobby turned around at there approach, the three of them simply stood facing each other in silence. They were pale, they were shattered, they were completely wrecked. With a choked off sob Hen finally broke the stalemate as she rushed forward and all but tackled Bobby, whose own face crumbled as he wrapped his arms around the distressed woman. Eddie just averted his gaze and clenched his jaw, startling when a hand reached out and gripped him by the shoulder of the jacket he had on over his grey Henley. Eddie closed his eyes shut tightly against the oncoming burn of tears but put up no resistance as Bobby pulled him into the embrace he and Hen were sharing, the two of them wrapping their arms around him and all but crushing him. Eddie let out a shaky breath and allowed himself to crumble, if only a little as he rested his head on Bobby's shoulder and raised his arms to return the embrace.
They said nothing, they could say nothing.
Several hours later, as evening began to set over the City of Los Angeles...
" Daddy what's going on? Why is everybody sad?" Christopher Diaz asked softly as he looked around Aunt Athena and Uncle Bobby's living room.
Denny, Harry, and May all had similar looks of askance on their face as they looked to the adults in the room. Maddie could only shudder and bury her face into Chim's neck, Karen tightening her hold around a quietly crying Hen and Athena doing the same for Bobby as they watched Eddie kneel in front of his precious son.
" Mijo... y-you know how I told you that Buck went away on vacation for a bit?" Eddie began, fighting tooth and nail to keep his voice steady as Christopher instantly perked up a little at the mention of Buck as he nodded vigorously.
" Uh... Uhmm... Christopher... something happened, something really bad. There... There was an accident mijo and..." Eddie fell silent as Christopher jerked sharply, his little eyes widening in understanding and realization.
" Like Mommy?" He asked quietly.
It was now that Eddie could no longer hold it in as he let out a loud, unashamed sob and all but tackled his son into his arms.
" Mom, Dad, Bobby?" May Grant asked as he took hold of Harry's shoulders and looked to her mother, father, and stepfather in horror.
Athena, Bobby, and Michael could only stare back at her with tears in their eyes.
Denny Wilson stood silent and stunned and then without a word he was running straight into the waiting arms of his mothers, burying his face into Hen's chest as his little body began to shake almost violently.
From where she sat watching this new nightmare unfold, Carla Price, who had brought Christopher directly to the Grant-Nash house after picking him up from school and getting a harried call from Eddie, could only watch on in horror, too stunned to do anything but gawk is utter disbelief.
There was only the sound of breathing and sniffles throughout the house, no one saying another word. Then this oppressive near silence was broken by an even worse sob.
" Bucky no!" Christopher yelled as he started to cry loud and without shame.
" No Daddy no, Bucky wouldn't leave us like that! He promised he'd always be here. Daddy are you sure?" Chris asked frantically as he leaned back from his father's tight embrace and took Eddie's pale and tearful face into his little hands, his dark green eyes, so very much like his mothers, desperately searching his father's face for answered.
" I-It was a bus crash Christopher, a really really bad one. Everybody that was riding in it they... they didn't make it out mi corazon." Eddie said with his jaw trembling, his own hope slowing starting to fade into all consuming despair.
" But how can you know?" Chris still argued as he wiped clumsily.
" Mijo." Eddie sighed in despair.
" What if you're wrong? You didn't see Bucky! What if it was a mistake daddy?" Chris said steadfastly.
Eddie could say no more as he just shook his head and pulled Christopher back to him, clinging on to only love of his life he had left.
" Why did you stay mad at him Daddy?" Chris sobbed as he clung to Eddie just as hard.
There was no defending himself, no satisfactory answer he could give to his son, he had just been that stubborn, that stupid and now there would be no fixing any of it. Eddie could only bury his face into his son's dark, curly hair and breath as total despair washed over everyone in the room.
Meanwhile, a few hours later and thousands of miles away in Phoenix...
The hotel room was completely dark, not even the TV was on. The only source of light came from outside, where the moon was shining like a smiling crescent up in the sky. It had just stuck 10pm over Phoenix and for some it was only the start of their evenings, the cities youth coming out to play since it was a Friday night.
There was no desire to go out and mingle or hookup, not even to have a nice drink for the single occupant of the darkened hotel room. Instead the solitary figure sat curled up in bed, hugging his knees tightly to him.
Buck let out a shaky breath, tears streaming down his face as he stared into the darkness of the room. The warmth and joy of the day had faded away as night fell and there wasn't anything to distract him, his heart crumbled yet again as his thoughts immediately turned to those he had temporarily left behind. Now in the dark of the night was the heartache, the yearning, the loneliness.
He was here on vacation, he would even go back to LA before his mandated week was up, but what would he go back to? More chores and berating? More glares and distance from Eddie? More not being able to hold Christopher in his arms? More of being treated like a pariah when all he had ever wanted was to come back to his home at the 118?
With a hitched breath Buck buried his face into his crossed forearms over his knees and started to sob in earnest. He was fine all day, he had been happy and enjoying himself, so why now? Why now did it feel like he heart was being ripped to pieces?
Buck just didn't understand it, so he stopped trying to make sense of it all and just wept. He wept for himself, he wept for the little boy he had been denied his chance to fully love for three agonizing months and probably would still be denied once he returned home. He wept for the man he loved, who would never love him back, who couldn't find it in himself to hear him out or forgive his mistakes with the lawsuit and sharing such personal details with his lawyer. He wept for Hen, who he had to ask to hide her love for him, and for Chim who was the older brother he never knew he needed, who now kept himself away. Finally, he wept for the very same man who had lied to him, who had hurt him, who he stilled loved like a father with all his heart, he wept for Bobby who now did not see him as a son, but just someone less than even the greenest probie.
Buck wept, he wept and wept for what felt like hours before he had nothing left to shed, not tears or sobs and fell into an exhausted, uneasy sleep under the bed covers, still curled up tight in an effort to hold his broken pieces together.
Outside the moon and the stars twinkled happily in the night sky, there serenity a sharp contrast to his turmoil.
On his bedside table, Buck's phone sat dormant and still, unable to convey the many desperate pleas that had been sent to it by those who loved Buck still.
A couple of days later on a bright and clear morning over Arizona...
The signature red cliffs and green shrubbery passed by rapidly, standing out against the clear blue sky as Buck drove down the long and straight Arizona asphalt road. Sitting behind the black Toyota Corolla he had rented for the day with the AC blasting and the radio blaring Fleetwood Mac, Buck smiled as he saw the sign welcoming him to the Grand Canyon National Park.
For the past two days, Buck had been forcing himself out of the funk that had tried to settle over him, going out and exploring more of Phoenix, from the museums and historical sights, to actually going clubbing and enjoying the night life responsibly. He had used his laptop, avoiding any and all social media, and researched car rentals for his main adventure here in Phoenix, seeing the Grand Canyon. Now here he was about to see one of the greatest natural wonders of the earth itself.
He was dressed in an oversized green t-shirt and black cargo shorts with his hiking boots on, his duffel bag with his high powered camera in it among other things in the seat beside him. He was going to go all in on getting a good hike and maybe go for a dip in Havasu Falls while he was at it.
Once he had arrived at the main gate he paid the necessary fees and found a parking spot before he was eagerly making his way to the entrance to the canyon. He nodded and smiled to other visitors as he made his way down the paves path, coming to a halt mid-step when the canyon came into view.
" Holy shit." Buck whispered in awe.
" Yup." A Park ranger said with a grin as he walked past buck, chuckling at the newcomer's astonishment.
Grand was not an accurate enough word to describe the carved earth and massive structures before him as Buck slowly walked the rest of the way to the railing. There was a little placard there that red that for at least ten minutes no pictures, no talking, just looking at the canyon and nothing else. When it had been well beyond ten minutes, Buck finally dug his camera out of his bag and started snapping away, thankful he had install a brand new and completely empty memory chip into it the night before.
While Buck eagerly headed down the rest of the trail to get into the canyon itself, back in Los Angeles the weather was stormy, gray clouds hovering over the city, threatening to unleash a torrential downpour. Inside an apartment complex a key was being placed into a lock, the doorknob turned as a lone, dark haired figure let himself into the loft.
As he stepped over the threshold into the space, Eddie did could barely suppress the shudder that passed through him. Everything about Buck's apartment was now cold and desolate, the person who filled it with warmth and made it a home was gone forever. Letting out a shaky breath and feeling like nothing more than an invader, Eddie steadied his nerves and forced his feet to move.
Eddie slowly made his way up the stairs that led to Buck's bedroom, his skin buzzing in protest, not wanting to carry out the task for which he was here. With his jaw clenching tighter and tighter, Eddie made his way up to the second level where Buck's bed was still neatly made, none of his items or trinkets out of place. Keeping the almost hallowed silence, Eddie slowly made his way around the corner and into the bathroom.
As he looked about, Eddie caught sight of himself in the bathroom mirror. He was barely recognizable to himself. His face was leached of color, dark purple smudges under his eyes and a few days worth of stubble while his hair was half-haphazardly combed. Shaking his head Eddie refocused himself. He wasn't surprised when he found that the toothbrush was missing from the holder, Buck having taken it with him for is teeth only for it to turn to ashes along with him in the crash. Eddie pulled the mirror away to reveal the medicine cabinet in the hopes of finding anything useful. Eddie found a small, wan smile coming to his face despite himself when he saw how immaculate the cabinet was. Buck was actually very neat and organized normally.
Feeling his eyes beginning to burn again, Eddie quickly shut the cabinet mirror and moved out of the bathroom. Eddie looked around until he caught sight of the mirror and small vanity Buck kept by the far wall of his bedroom area. Steeling himself again Eddie made his way over to the dresser and let out a shaky breath when he saw the items that were left resting on it. There was no hairbrush, but there was a small black comb beside the little metal dish where Buck kept loose change.
He'd found what he had volunteered to seek out for Chief Alonzo to personally send to the authorities in Colorado since Maddie was still in no condition to do much of anything, items of that held DNA so that they could be sent to Colorado for DNA identification to see which of the charred and mangled human remains still being pulled from the wreckage was Evan Buckley, their Buck.
His Buck.
Eddie reached into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out the pair of latex cloves he had brought with him. He pulled them on before he also fished out the large ziplock bag he had brought too. Eddie reached down and picked up the comb, hyperaware of the feel of it even with gloves of. He brought it closer to his face and felt his heart give an almighty lurch when he saw that there were a few strands of dark, golden hair still trapped within the teeth of the comb. Eddie gazed at the strands of hair, all that was left of Evan Buckley, his best friend... the man he loved and lost without Buck every getting to know how he truly felt.
Hellish memories of a brunette woman wearing a yellow top with flowers on it, laying broken and dying in the middle of a crosswalk danced mercilessly across Eddie's vision.
Shannon.
His wife and mother of his precious son, who had also been violently ripped away from him.
With a soft grunt Eddie shook his head and quickly placed the comb into the ziplock. Not knowing if the comb was enough, Eddie looked around for anything else that might be useful. Eddie pulled open some drawers, finding several trinkets and odds and ends Buck had collected, his heart lurching again when he saw one of Chistopher's red Legos among them. Eddie ended up adding an old lip balm and a pair of tweezers to the bag as well. Eddie hastily did up the ziplock and shoved the whole thing back in his pocket. He yanked off his gloves and shoved them into his other pocket before he turned to make fast exit. He was almost at the staircase when he glanced at Buck's bed and paused when he caught sight of something on the bedside table.
Eddie stepped closer even though every instinct in him was telling him to get out of there now. When he got a good look at the item a small rectangular wooden frame that held a picture inside it, Eddie felt his knees grow week. He sank down heavily onto the side of Buck's bed and reached out for the picture frame.
It was a picture of him, Buck, and Christopher that had been taken while they had enjoyed a wonderful day at the zoo together last year, before the tsunami, before the lawsuit, before he had stubbornly held onto his grudge rather than accepting Buck's many apologies and forgiving him, before it had become too late for anything as it now was.
Buck had had the photo developed and framed it, keeping it in a place of prominence beside his bed.
With shaking hands and his eyes finally blurring with tears he could no longer hold back, Eddie brought the picture to his chest and hugged it as he hunched over and gasped for air, letting out this loud and unashamed broken sound.
" Oh God." Eddie whispered as he actually tipped over sideways, collapsing onto the bed with his head coming to rest on Buck's pillow.
As he laid there with tears streaming, Eddie sucked in lung-fulls of air in an effort to calm himself but as he did so his nose caught the faint scent of shampoo and sandalwood that still clung to the material of the pillowcase beneath his head. Eddie gritted out another broken sound before he fully buried his face into Buck's pillow and breathed in more, hungrily breathed in as much as he could take, chasing after the shampoo and sandalwood, remembering the bluest eyes and the brightest smiles next to Christopher's.
Eddie didn't know for how long he just laid there and sobbed, the sound muffled by the pillow but with a shaky gasp he finally rolled over onto his back and stared up at the loft's ceiling with bleary eyes.
" Please... Please don't let this be the end... I am begging you please, let it be a mistake... Please." Eddie whispered.
To whom Eddie spoke, he had no idea, he just hoped they were listening.
Outside the dark clouds over Los Angeles actually did begin to calm and dissipate somewhat, just very slowly.
Thousands of miles away again, back at the Grand Canyon where the sun was shining brightly...
The Havasu waterfall roared proudly before him, Buck standing in the pool of pure blue water up to his calves with his camera nearly glued to his face as he took in the natural wonder. Once he was sure he had gotten enough pictures, Buck turned and headed back to the shore, smiling at some of the other visitors sharing the pool. The shore was plain rock instead of sand, so Buck didn't have to worry about making a mess and getting sand everywhere. Buck made it back to his duffel bag and sat down beside it, letting the soft breeze get to drying his wet legs.
As he put his camera away and just sat back to admire the waterfall, Buck found his thoughts wandering again to the future.
More specifically what he wanted to do regarding his situation with the 118. Coming here, stepping back from all the negativity and just de-stressing had done him wonders, but what would be the point of it all if he went back to what he had left behind? All those unfair chores, no affection, only anger from everyone and sadness from Hen and his own misery? No, Evan Buckley was done with what he had put up with for three fucking months.
As he stubbornly held back the tears that came to his eyes, Buck came to a decision. He was going to transfer out of the 118, maybe even the LAFD all together and switch over to anywhere else, maybe even right here in Arizona. He'd be far enough away from those who no longer loved him, but close enough to still see those who did. Instead of a bus he could hop on a plane.
Buck felt sadness and resistance war with his resolve. He truly didn't want to leave, but there wasn't much left making him want to stay either. Yes he had Chris and Maddie, but he wanted everyone back, he wanted his father in Bobby, his brother in Chim, and most of all the man he loved in Eddie, but they just were never going to forgive him and come around, accept him back into the fold.
Buck quickly shook away the deep yearning that overtook him again, he was well and truly fed up with feeling this way. Feeling the beginnings of hunger in his stomach, Buck reached into his duffel back and pulled out the small gray towel he had packed, drying off his legs and feet the rest of the way before he donned his socks and boots once more.
Soon he was heading back up the trail for the hour long trek that would get him back to the start of the Canyon. The walk back up was a bit tougher but no less invigorating, helping Buck happily work up his appetite. The hour or so passed by relatively quickly and Buck actually caught site of the large log cabin that stood as the national park center. He had just started climbing up the winding path when a woman's shrill, panicked voice sounded.
" Oh my God my baby! My baby is choking!"
Buck was running before the last word fell, running up the path and seeing the crowd gathering as a mother frantically looked around for help while her child, a three year old little girl was already going limp in her arms.
" Let me through, I am a firefighter! LAFD!" Buck roared, the crowd instantly parting as he barrelled through.
A park ranger came running and Buck distantly heard him say he'd radioed it in to 911 and that help was on the way. Buck was focused on the little girl who was turning blue. Buck quickly but gently took the child from her mother, rapidly asking what got lodged in the kid's through.
" We were having ice cream, and I think it was a gumball!" The mother sobbed.
Buck nodded before he set about doing the child's version of the Heimlich maneuver, holding her across his larger forearm and tilting her head downward as he vigorously tapped at her back.
" C'mon, c'mon, c'mon sweetie." Buck whispered and he redoubled his careful efforts, vivid memories of his own choking incident playing over in his head.
After what felt like an eternity something white and spherical finally popped out and fell to the pavement.
" It's out!" Buck yelled before he turned the baby over, dismayed to see that the child was not making immediate breathing sounds.
" Ok airway is clear but no breath sound, beginning CPR." Buck said out of habit as he laid the girl down flat on the ground and titled her head back, bringing his ear down, still finding no sound before he started doing gently one handed compressions on her chest and then blowing tiny puffs of air into her mouth.
" Oh God, Katie please, please baby!" The mother pleaded desperately.
Buck stayed calm and did more tiny compressions. He then gave her one breath, then two and finally there was a soft, tony gasp from the little one. There was a moment of complete and utter stillness from everyone gathers, no one moved a muscle or even breathed and then a loud and angry wail shot through the air, shattering the silence as the resuscitated toddler let the entire world know that she was back and alive.
" Oh thank God baby!" Buck said as he gasped himself and leaned back for a second before he quickly reached for the girl, pulling her up into his arms and cradling her close, tenderly stroking her curly brunette locks and murmuring nonsense to her in an effort to calm her before rising to his feet and handing her off to her near hysterical mother.
" Thank you, thank you so much. Oh my God, oh my God Katie!" The woman yelled as she pulled Buck into a bone-bending one armed hug.
" You're welcome ma'am, the paramedics should be here soon." Buck said as he hugged her and the baby back carefully.
No sooner had Buck gave these reassurances, the sound of sirens filled the air as a bright red fire engine and an ambulance came roaring into the park. As the first responders all came rushing and more chaos erupted, the mother letting go of Buck, Buck took the chance and quietly slipped away into the crowd.
He picked up his bag and snaked his way towards the parking lot, fishing his keys out and making a run for it once he caught sight of his rental car.
Buck quietly and calmly took his leave of the Grand Canyon, and the little life he had helped save. He didn't even know why he was running off, he just had the urge to not be there and draw attention to himself. The on-duty local first responders could handle things from here.
Within a few minutes Buck was on the road back to Phoenix, hoping to crap a quick lunch along the way. It had been so long since he had actually performed the duties of a first responder, actually helping someone, saving a life. As he sat behind the wheel and the Arizona scenery passed him by, a couple of lines of salt carved trails down Buck's face as a shaky smile spread across his lips.
He then let out this watery little chuckle and shook his head, reigning in his emotions and focusing of driving and finding some place to have lunch in peace.
Evan Buckley had no idea how his actions of saving a choking little girl would reverberate back to him in the future.
Three days later in the early afternoon over Phoenix...
The bus terminal in downtown Phoenix was bustling with people going every which way, coming in and going out. Unlike his previous experience at the start of his trip to Arizona, this time around Evan Buckley found himself already comfortably seated at the front of a long silver Greyhound bus this time, no problems with his booking and having to wait for the next one. Everything appeared to be right on schedule for his trip back home to Los Angeles.
After the very unexpected events that had gone down at the Grand Canyon, Buck had decided to keep a low profile for a day, ordering room service and just sleeping in. He watched movies and avoided the news. When no one came breaking down his door or anything like that, Buck relaxed and went back to enjoying the rest of his time in Phoenix, meeting people from all walks and actually writing down names and numbers to connect with later once he lifted his self-imposed social media embargo.
Now it was Friday and he was heading back home, leaving him the weekend to actually address a few things.
Like whether or not to actually fill out and send in the necessary paperwork for a transfer out of the 118. Hell he needed to decide if he wanted to print anything out at all for starters.
With his phone still off and firmly in the inside pocket of his jacket, Buck leaned back in his chair and waited for the rest of the passengers to check in their luggage and board the bus.
" Let's hope we don't end up like that bus that was on it's way here last week." This one older gentleman said with a sigh as he and his wife shuffled past.
" Oh Hector quit being so cynical we're going to get to LA just fine. But all those poor people though, gone just like that when the bus' tire blew out and the whole thing caught fire and rolled down a hill. They never stood a chance" The wife replied with a sad shake of her head as she and her husband disappeared towards the middle of the bus. Buck frowned a little as the words registered to him.
A bus crashed on its way here earlier this week?
Buck shrugged and settled back in his seat. He'd just have to google the incident once he got home.
About twenty minutes later the bus was packed full of passengers and the driver had made the obligatory safety announcements, the gleaming silver Greyhound bus was rumbling to life and backing out of its parking spot and onto the Phoenix streets. Buck watched on with a sigh as the city passed by outside the window, till the building became the signature rugged red and green terrain.
Buck was finally heading home, heading back to the City of Angels.
Back to a family he honestly wasn't even sure would be happy to see him upon his return.