When the rain had started, Buck had tried his best to keep Madison close and shield her but now as the rain had kicked up to a full-on downpour he had given up. They were soaked threw to the bone in only a matter of minutes and they were still trapped. He couldn't remember when he had last checked the weather but by the looks of the sky above, in any direction he look it didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon. He would be lying if the amount of water beating down on him didn't send him in to mini panic attacks; the magnitude was not a tsunami but he had acquired a small case of aquaphobia, for a straight week he was afraid to step foot in his shower or even run the sink. It had settled significantly but in a stressful situation like this he could feel himself struggle to breath. Panic surged through his body; he was slightly relieved he could pass it off as shivering from the cold of the raindrops, hiding it from Madison.

"Madison," his throat was sore and scratchy from trying to call out to anyone who may be rushing to beat the rain.

"Yeah," her voice was sluggish and quite which scared him.

"I just wanted to check on you," She didn't answer. For a moment Buck began to worry that she had fallen asleep, which he had been trying to avoid. "Madison!"

"Cold…tired," was all she had the energy to push out.

"I know, but you have to stay awake," His heart was pounding in his chest. He couldn't lose her, not after all of this.

"Buck…"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"If… if something happens…"

"Don't start thinking like that, you are going to be fine."

"Buck," She shivered in his arms, hers hung loosely around him as they tried to keep their body heat.

"Madison, you need to stay awake, what about Annie?" Annie was Madison's fiancé, he had asked her about Annie while trying to keep her awake.

"Will you tell her," he could hear the quiver in her voice as she forced out the words, "will you tell her I love her?" He didn't know how they had gotten here. A broken femur lead to infection and it had swooped in so quickly and had overtaken her so fast he didn't understand. He had seen a lot of things, heard a lot of stories but watching her decline so rapidly in a matter of what had to be 24 hours had just blown his mind, there had to be other damage he hadn't accounted for.

"No because you will tell her yourself."

"Buck," she squeaked out.

"Madison; you need to stay strong, keep going, for Annie." She squeezed his hand weakly as if to tell him she was listening; she didn't agree but she had heard him. He looked up at the cliffside, almost hoping by some miracle someone would be there, he felt silly when he saw nothing but the wisps of grass hanging over. He pulled Madison in close and held her tightly trying to give her a better chance, but he knew what he needed now wasn't body heat but a rescue, first aid… a hospital.

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Maddie laid in Howie's arms, lost in thought, not paying any mind to a thing around her. She felt trapped in a nightmare where she was unable to wake up and see this for all it really was, some sort of sick dream. But a dream it was not; Buck was still missing, hour 24 had come a gone and she was still left with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had even been desperate enough to believe that Buck may have gone to their parents, she had called them, but they hadn't heard a thing. She looked out the kitchen window; the rain still pelted down; the forecast had called for possible flash floods which only added to her worry. She had tired herself out trying to wrack her brain on all the possible places Buck could be, they checked his gym, favorite restaurants, bars, even the hiking trail he frequented everyday but there was no sign of him.

She suddenly had the urge to get up, feeling almost claustrophobic and that coupled with her panic over Buck was too overwhelming. She got up, careful not to draw suspicion she even had the fortune of not waking Howie as she untangled herself from his arms. As for the rest of the team, Eddie stared mindlessly at the television set as Christopher snored away on his lap, Henrietta, like Howie had fallen asleep mid texting and Bobby, he had been there a moment ago. She crept out of the Alcove and grabbed her phone off the kitchen island, no calls or texts from Buck.

"Maddie," She nearly jumped out of skin at Bobby's sudden appearance. "Sorry," he apologized seeing her reaction.

"It's fine, you just startled me," She continued on, shoving her cellphone in her pocket and grabbing her coat.

"Are you okay?" She knew he was just asking to be nice, but her anxiety level was sky high, she was on edge and now that overwhelming feeling was becoming unbearable.

"Of course, I'm not," She hadn't meant to sound so snappy, but she could see that Bobby still held that kindness in his eyes, he understood.

"That was a silly question, I know right now is stressful," he elaborated, "I just meant are you leaving."

"I just need to get some air; I feel so boxed in here."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"That's sweet really but I just need a minute," she ruefully smiled.

"Okay," his voice was always so calm and soothing, she liked that about him. Being a captain of the team, she thought it was a good quality to have in times like this. "Here, takes an umbrella it's still raining." She nodded and gratefully accepted his offer before opening the door.

"Bobby," she stopped. "Maybe a little company wouldn't hurt."

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Athena was worried, no that was an understatement she was terrified. Evan Buckley and she had gotten off on the wrong foot on day one but then he had redeemed himself and he quickly grew on her. When this whole thing started with the lawsuit, she hoped that same thing would happen for the team. She knew Bobby had guilt when he gave the report to not let Buck back after his PE and then after the lawsuit, he still wrestled with having him back at all. She had stood in the kitchen with him, cleaning the dishes after Buck brought the papers over. She had to talk him down from his anger, tell him that what he was feeling was what Buck was probably feeling too. The talk had helped simmer his anger, but she knew that the betrayal was still there, that the whole team had felt it going forward and when Buck had finally made his way back she knew it was going to still be there. She had seen it that day she saw him eating alone at the picnic table, she saw it the days before that when he was distanced from the others, keeping busy to not notice his loneliness.

She would be lying if she said she hadn't tried to call Buck four or five, maybe even 20 times as she worked on locating him. She had put in the call to the cellphone services to turn his phone back on but without another person on the account with him and state laws it was going to take some time to get it back online. She had gotten pushback from her boss from putting an APB out on Buck's truck, mostly because at the time it hadn't been the full 24 hours, but her Captain stood behind her. She knew this was something more than Buck hiding from his problems, she knew something wasn't right that he wasn't okay.

She looked at the clock, it was nearly 8:30, but had been missing for almost 30 hours which was too long. She looked at her phone, Michael had taken the kids, he had just texted her that the kids were asleep, and that Harry had asked close to 100 questions about what was going on. Athena was grateful that Michael had a way of calmly explaining things, not making them seem so scary to Harry or even Mae though she was old enough now to understand. She shot back a quick text to let him know that she hadn't gotten any word yet but she would let him know. He shot back a quick "Okay" before adding, "It will be okay."

It was as if Michael had sensed it because Athena was yanked from her thoughts as her Captain Elaine Maynard called her name from her office. Athena scuttled out of her seat and to Maynard's office, she didn't even get to ask if Maynard wanted to have her close the door before her captain spoke.

"That APB you sent out, they have a hit, Lafayette park officials have spotted the truck."

"Any sign of Evan Buckley," she asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no and in this weather the trails are pretty flooded, they will look for him but not until it lets up."

"I don't think there is enough time for that."

"I tried Athena but the trails are very dangerous in these conditions, they wont send out a search and rescue."

"Okay…" she had to think, there had to be a way."

"Sargent Grant, by my calculation, your shift ended about two hours ago, we aren't paying you overtime." It took her a moment to understand but she caught on.

"Thank you," She nodded gratefully.

"be safe and smart out there Athena," Maynard added as Athena ran from her office, grabbing her coat, keys and phone on the way out.

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Maddie finally let out a deep breath as she walked out of the complex and onto the empty sidewalk. Bobby opened the umbrella and held it above their heads, the rain water began to build up and was now well up to their ankles. She didn't feel better but the claustrophobic feeling had passed and now all that was left was the anxiety of this whole day.

"I should have gone after him," Bobby finally said after letting them stand in silence for about 5 minutes. "I should have realized he was just missing our family and the job."

"I wont lie to you Bobby, when he told me that he wanted to go to work after the ankle injury, I was livid."

"You were worried."

"Terrified; I had watched on national television as my brother cried out in pain and was threatened by a mad man." She kicked at the water that was biting cold at her ankles. "There was no stopping him, he wanted so badly to be apart of the team again."

"I know we had that talk when I visited him."

"I stood by him and after his second scare I wanted to force him to take a step back and you did that."

"By telling him he couldn't come back."

"But it was worse watching him deal with that and then you let him back and everything was different."

"Maddie…"

"No, Bobby, everyone treated him differently, he made a mistake and I told Eddie I don't blame you for this, I don't want to but you have to understand the defeat I saw in his face every day." Bobby stayed quite knowing she wasn't finished. "I watched as he began to realize he didn't belong, that he wasn't the same in your eyes or Eddie's or the rest of the station. He was discouraged and hurt, and he blamed himself and sure he made that mistake, he broke your trust but watching the old Buck disappear…"

"That wasn't my intention at all," he assured her.

"Just as his sister, seeing him lose himself… its been hard and now he quit the thing he fought so hard for and he's disappeared."

"I know and there is no way I can possibly apologize for how we have been towards him. We were all upset but I should have seen how hard he was trying, that he was taking this seriously."

"This job, it's the only thing I have ever seen him so passionate about, he was a troublemaker growing up but then he changes, and he made up his mind." The day he had come to her to tell her that he wanted to be a firefighter was one day she would never forget. He always confided in her first rather than their parents. She remembered this was one of the last big talks they had before she married Doug and distanced herself which she hated. She had just finished a 12-hour shift, Doug was on overnights and when she came home, she found Buck standing there. She was confused at first, it was in fact late and she was shocked that Buck wasn't working his bartending job, but she welcomed him in, pour some wine and let him talk. He beat around the bush for about half an hour before she forced the answer out of him. At first, she was shocked, taking in his sudden interest she had never knew he had, then she was quiet. It was clear to her that he was waiting anxiously for some sort of reply but when he didn't get one, he elaborated. She had half expected it to be because women loved men in uniforms, but he made key points about how he wanted to make a difference and help people. After listing out her pros and cons she finally hugged him and told him that she supported him no matter what. "It was the first real grown up decision I had seen him make," she recalled with a smile.

"He told me, one night in the beginning, his rookie days.

"I never want you to think I'm not grateful for you, the team and how you've shaped him."

"I lost touch with him, I hated that and he was and still is honestly a child at heart but you helped him and he has told me that and how you made him feel like he was actually good at something."

"He just needed direction."

"I think that's why he left, he lost your trust and he didn't see himself getting it back."

"I should have let him try; I am sorry Maddie."

"I know; I can see it now with all of you here waiting, hoping and trying to get him back." She took in another deep breath; the smell of wet asphalt and rain filled her nose. She turned to walk in, back to the small apartment with walls that were closing. Bobby was closing the umbrella, shaking off the water when his phone rang, he ushered Maddie in while he answered. She was just about to press the button to the elevator when Bobby stopped her.

"They got a hit on his truck."

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Hello All! I honestly have no clue how I got this chapter and the last posted but I did it😊 I just wanted to let you know that I love all of your reviews, a special thank you to for your well wishes, I hope everyone is doing good and that you are health and safe. I also wanted to note that I did not look up parks, I didn't have the time so the park in the story is fictional. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think !