The ride to the scene was a quiet one. It was Bucks first time back out on calls since of the lawsuit. No one was really talking to him, not even Hen nor Chimney. Eddie was still pissed at him and Buck could only imagine how Bobby felt. The man he looked to as a father figure hadn't really looked at him. Buck glances at the Captain. It was brief but Bobby must have felt eyes on him and their eyes met briefly before Buck looks away out the window.
"Call we're responding too is by the pier. Apparently, a kid was dared to jump off the pier and ended up not being a good swimmer. Lifeguards had to bring him back in. We're just going to check the kid over and decide whether or not there's a fear of dry drowning." Bobby explained the situation. Everyone nodded. Buck had tensed slightly in his seat. His heart beating faster and a little color drained from his face. No one was paying him any mind, which Buck was extremely thankful for.
He hadn't been back to the pier since the tsunami. He had even shied away from pools too. No one knew he even had issues with the water. He was sure that their might have been assumptions right after the tsunami but because there was never any calls for him personally after it, his issue was never a forefront of his mind, nor his teams.
"Uck! Let's go" Eddie snaps lightly at him. Buck came back to the present and jumps into job like he was supposed. Eddie shakes his head. He had told Buck he had forgiven him, and he had, but…Eddie took a deep breath. Him and Buck were going to have to have a long talk about Blue Falcons and idiot best friends.
The call hadn't been too serious. Hen was looking over the kid, listening to his lungs. It was another incident that led the firefighter further up the pier and closer to the water. An older man was having chest pains, so they were responding to that when it happened. One of the kids friends had climbed the railing to jump. He looked a touch afraid before his remaining friends all encouraged him to jump and not to be a chicken. Buck saw it first, then Bobby and then the rest of them. Buck saw the kid shaking his head, backing down when one of the other kids shoved him while laughing. Buck took off running. He heard the kid land with a splash and then one of the kids yelling-
"Oh my God, he cant swim!" before Buck sheds his turnout coat and with one hand leaps in over the railing separating the ocean and dry dock.
Bobby knows something is wrong. He knows Buck is an excellent swimmer. For Christ sakes, he almost went with the Navy Seals.
"Dispatch, 118, We need additional medical dispatched to our location. Another kid was shoved into the water. We got a man in rescue now." Bobby calls for. He and the rest of his crew are watching the waters for Buck to reappear with the kid. Hen and Chimney are looking for the kids parents. Buck resurfaces with the kid, holding onto him in the rescue position for dear life. Buck swims them to one of the poles and holds on.
"Eddie, get a harness down there" Bobby orders. Eddie, doesn't hesitate but he does look slightly confused. The waters current wasn't too bad, stronger by the pier for sure, but manageable. Bobby is worried.
"Buck!" Bobby notices the delayed response.
"Cap?" Buck asks.
"We're sending you a harness, hang on!" Bobby informs. Buck nods, not questioning it.
"Im sorry, I'm so sorry!" The kid is sobbing.
"Hang on kid, we'll get you on dry land in just a moment. I'm Buck, what's your name?" Buck tries to calm the kid down.
"Chris" The kid answers. Buck felt his breathing pick up. What a strange occurrence.
"I'm scared of the water! I didn't want to go in but I didn't want to be left behind!" Chris sobs loudly.
"It's okay Chris." Buck soothes.
"Harness, ready" Eddie yells. Buck shifts Chris so that he can grab the harness. It takes a couple minutes but Buck fits the harness to the kid and waves his hand so that they can pull the kid up.
Bobby watches as the kid is raised but he's also focused on his man in the water, who has a white knuckled grip on the pole and his shaking.
"You okay, Buck?" Bobby asks into his radio. He gets a jerky nod but no reply. Bobby looks at his crew, who look confused at him.
"Take care of the kid and get everything ready to go" Bobby orders everyone.
"But Cap, Buck-" Eddie stops at his Captains expression. He's worried too.
"I got him" Bobby promises. Eddie hesitantly nods, following the others hesitant lead to withdraw from the scene.
Buck was lost in the memories of the tsunami. He had nearly drowned a couple different times. He was holding on to the pole for dear life. The waters current wasn't nearly as strong as what it had been in the Tsunami but with Bucks current panic, it hadn't made a difference. He was hyperventilating. Buck hadn't noticed anyone else beside him; but Buck heard a familiar safe voice and he looks around confused. Buck frowns, as the memory of hanging onto to a different pole slips from his sight and the one presently taking place shoves itself into view. Bobby is in the water in front of him. One hand is hanging onto the pole and the other is touching his neck and shoulder. Bobby is talking calmly to him.
"Come on Buck, back to me, I got you, your safe, Buck, I got you" It must have been a mantra, but every word he said, Bobby meant.
"Sorry" Buck immediately apologizes.
"Nothing to be sorry for" Bobby reassures.
"I lost Christopher" Buck retorts, sounding so despaired. Bobby frowns, recognizing he's not talking about the kid he just saved but rather Eddie's son, the son that Buck was basically co-parenting.
"It wasn't your fault, Buck. It was a natural disaster. He fell in while you were saving people." Bobby says.
"They didn't matter. Christopher, I should have stayed with him" Buck disagrees. Bobby understood where he came from. There was nothing more important that a child, especially one you thought of as your own. And looking at Buck suffering, Bobby felt that strike his heart.
"You couldn't have known that he was going to fall in with the shift of the wave, Buck; but he would have had to listen to people calling for help and dying if you hadn't been there with him." Bobby reasons. Buck takes a moment but he doesn't disagree.
"I couldn't find him" Buck repeats, the self blame wasn't good for the kid.
"Buck, listen to me, it isn't your fault" Bobby says firmly. Buck is still shaking.
"Okay" Buck says, not fully confident but nods his head anyway. His hands still wont stop shaking, and his breathing is still fast.
"Hey Bobby" Buck says.
"Yeah, kid" Bobby asks. Buck looks at him fully in the eyes with a sobbing laugh.
"I think I'm stuck," Buck admits. Bobby shifts closer to him. He knows that there are still onlookers that noticed Buck not coming back up, or how the Captain had treaded into the water. Bobby takes one of Bucks shaking hands.
"I'm going to help you out, kid, but you need to let me help you, okay" Bobby says. Buck sucks in a breath. He's embarrassed, of course, but more so he's terrified. He knows what Bobby is going to do. He's going to put him in the rescue position and get him out of the water. Buck knows that being in such a position is going to cuz him to be more so in the water than he already is.
"I can swim" Buck says.
"What happens IF you panic" Bobby asks. He's not making fun of him. He's asking to ask, because he needs to know.
"I didn't panic when I got that kid" Buck points out.
"But you are now at the thought of being more in water that what you already are" Bobby says, knowingly. Buck takes a deep breath.
"You're going to bench me, aren't you" Buck asks, dread filling him. He wasn't inured, just developed a knew phobia apparently.
"No" Bobby answers readily and honestly, though very slightly confused.
"I don't want to be left behind" Buck adds, his teeth starting to shatter by how long he's bene in the cold water. It hadn't been too cold before, but it was getting later in the day.
"I only filed the lawsuit because I thought you were leaving me behind. I didn't want to be left behind" Buck rambles slightly. Bobby takes Buck into a one armed hug, holding as tightly as he could.
"I'm not leaving you behind, Buck. I wasn't trying to before. I just wanted you safe, kid. Whether I wanted you to or not, you guys have all become a second family to me, especially you. I'm just trying to keep you safe, not behind. That backfired…We're still working through this Buck. We all made mistakes." Bobby admits. Buck nearly tears up at the admittance.
"Do you trust me?" Bobby asks. Buck instantly nods.
"With my life" Buck says.
"Then let me help you" Bobby states firmly. Buck gulps but nods. It turned out that Buck was not ready to swim back. Bobby had to gently pry Bucks fingers off the pole and had to reassure Buck that he was fine and safe. After two panic thrashes, Bobby realized that Buck was suffering flashbacks of the Tsunami. Bobby helps support Buck up to the shore and allows Buck a moment before pulling the kid into a hug.
"Thank you" Buck gulps in air. He's freezing and if Bobby's skin color was anything to go by, so was he.
"I got you, kid" Bobby promises. Buck nods his head.
"OI!" Both men look to see Eddie jogging to them, looking worried.
"You guys ok?" Eddie asks. Bobby nods and Buck grimaces.
"Hen says she's got the blankets ready for you two, she's going to check you guys out" Eddie warns.
"Nothing a warm shower won't fix" Buck says, sounding exhausted.
Before anyone could say anything else, they all heard the horn on the latter truck honk. They all snapped their gaze to see Hen standing cross armed looking impatient with Chimney waving from the truck.
"I told you she was a mother Hen" Buck supplies causing the two other men to laugh. They start to make their way to her when Bobby clasped a hand on Bucks shoulder.
"You did good saving the kid, Buck" Bobby says. Buck grimaces.
"His name is Chris" Buck informs.
"Well, that's two kids with the same name that you've saved." Eddie says. Buck blinks at him.
"I lost your son, I didn't save him. That woman did!" Buck blurted. Eddie stops and turns to his idiot best friend.
"What are you talking about Buck. I've seen the footage of you running with my kid over your shoulder when the wave hit. There was even drone footage of you saving other people. Buck, Christopher fell in, that wasn't your fault! Christopher has bene drawing you in him assignments from his therapist with you saving him and the others. Buck, you saved my kid! And besides," Eddie says with a side smirk, "You said Christopher is always right, well, listen to the kid then, he says you saved him, take it as a win"
Buck stands there and thinks about it. He's prodded along by Bobby.
"You're both pre-hypothermic" Hen declares. Buck turns to Chimney and was mid warning not to tell his sister when he saw the apologetic look of his face and traces his vision to outside the ambulance.
"YOU ALREADY CALLED MY SISTER!?" Buck squeaks.
"I was worried, man. You went in and then the Cap went in and then neither of you came out right away" Chimney was rambling for excuses. Buck sighs.
"Buck! Are you alright?" Maddie asks, climbing into the already cramped ambulance.
"Yeah, Chimney over reacted, Mads. Besides, the Caps getting older in age and he was in too" Buck tried to redirect. Bobby was almost certain that Athena was going to hear about this before he even got home.
"I'm good" Bobby raises a reassuring hand to Maddie who turned to him with a worried look.
Bobby watches as his team interacts with each other. Buck was tucked in the warming blanket, like he was, under Hens stern watch. Maddie was worrying over Buck, and Chimney was teasing Buck. Eddie looked like a concerned guard dog.
"How about dinner at my place tonight?" Bobby offers. Buck perked up.
"Can I help cook?" Buck asks. Bobby swallows the lump in his throat as he nods his head.
"Yeah, of course" Bobby answers.
"I'm in" Eddie says, knowing that Christopher was always invited as well.
"Shoot, if we got that tag team duo back, count me in to. Karens out of town visiting her parents" Hen agrees. Chimney looks to Maddie for her answer, whom nods with a grin. Bobby felt whole and he hadn't realized he hadn't before now.
"I'll tell Athena to expect us then" Bobby says.
"Already done Cap" Buck waves his phone before it was plucked out of his hand by Hen.
"Arm back in the blanket Buck!" Hen orders. Buck sighs dramatically causing everyone to laugh. They weren't healed all the way, but they'd get there.