Buck drifts. Eddie and Bobby get to Virginia Beach and finally see the shape Buck's in.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Bobby and Eddie had boarded a flight to Virginia Beach first thing Saturday morning. Buck had already landed in the states and taken to the hospital. Cage had informed him that the surviving members of the team had come back with him as well and would meet them at the hospital.
Buck had always spoken very fondly of his team and Eddie had to admit this wasn't how he wanted to meet them. He would have preferred to meet them at a more informal setting while his boyfriend wasn't in a hospital bed in bad shape.
When they arrived at the hospital, they were greeted by a tall man in uniform. Eddie could tell that the man was extremely high ranked from the way he carried himself with an air of power and dominance.
"Commander Jackson." He said extending his arm for Bobby and Eddie to shake.
"I wish we could have met under better circumstances. Buck hasn't shut up about you all for the entire deployment."
Eddie raised his eyebrow. This man was not what he expected for a commander in Special Ops. He seemed way too chill and informal. Eddie was a bit put off by this.
"But then again he doesn't ever shut up so I suppose that wasn't anything new." The man continued fondly.
Buck clearly had a good relationship with his commander just by the way he spoke about him. No other commander Eddie knew of would go out of his way to greet loved ones at the hospital after a deployment.
"Come on. Let me show you to the waiting room where the rest of the team are." The man led him to a private room where a handful of burly men were scattered about.
"Boys." The men looked up at Bobby and Eddie curiously. They were clearly examining them with their intense gazes.
"Buck's dad and his boy."
Recognition dawned on their faces and a tall man with long blonde hair (that was clearly out of regs Eddie noted) approached them.
"I'm Ty. Nice to meet you."
Eddie smiled unsurely.
"We don't bite..unless you want me to." An dark haired man teased.
The man put his hands up in surrender.
"No hitting on Buck's dude. He'll kill you when he wakes up." Another man with a backwards cap said.
"That's Jake, Trent and JT." Ty continued as he pointed to each of the men. Eddie vaguely recognized them from a picture Buck had sent him when he had gone back to Virginia Beach for training.
"Come sit you two." Ty said and guided them to some chairs in the corner of the room.
"How is he?" Eddie asked a bit scared at their answer.
"He's uh not doing so well. When we found him he was in and out of consciousness. By the time we got to the field hospital he was still incoherent." JT said.
Eddie let out a deep breath, "What's his injuries?"
The men shared a look unsure whether to tell him
the truth or not. Usually they wouldn't to try to protect the family but these circumstances were unique.
"I was an army medic I can handle it." Eddie asserted. The team had known that. Cage had let it slip when he called to check in with them. Leave it to Buck to find a military man to date.
"Leg was broken in more than one place. Obvious head injury. Definitely a major concussion. His ribs were bruised but not broken. He uh went into septic shock. They had to sedate him. They've said that if things don't improve they're going to have to get rid of the leg." Trent explained.
Eddie let out a shaky breath and Bobby grabbed his hand and squeezed it in support. Losing his leg might just be Buck's breaking point. God knows it'd kill him. Buck was super independent. He hated asking for help. Having to lean on someone for basic things if he lost his leg would break him.
Buck didn't deserve this. Nobody did. The man had already been through so much in life and now this. Losing his mom. Having no family until recently. The universe dealt Buck with the shitiest hand of cards Eddie had ever seen.
The room lapsed into silence for a bit before the Commander announced, "I'm going to see if there is any news."
He left the room and the room continued in silence.
"So uh you guys' commander seems...chill?" Eddie said not being able to take the silence anymore.
"He and Buck are close. Pretty sure Buck is the reason for all his greys." JT said.
"We're all close. Like a family." Jake contributed. Both Eddie and Bobby understood that. When you're in a career where you're running head first into danger you learn to lean on your team. You get close and cherish those people who have your back no matter what just like a traditional family.
"But from what Cage has told me Buck found his own family eh?" Ty said.
Eddie smiled choosing not to reply. The moment was ruined by Commander Jackson coming into the room with a doctor.
"This is Dr. Taylor. She's Buck's doctor."
Eddie launched up from his seat eager for any news. The team followed suit desperately hoping for good news. Buck was a fighter. They knew that but there was only so long someone could fight for.
"How is he?" Bobby asked.
"Evan is hanging in there. He has bruised ribs and a major concussion but no other head trauma. His leg is what we're most concerned about. It's broken and we had to install a rod and screws. It's also infected which we expected given the circumstances. He's in septic shock. We're
managing it but like I relayed earlier if it gets worse he'll have to lose the leg. For now to treat the infection we're put him into a medically induced coma. It's the best thing we can do for him right now."
Eddie ran his hand over his face. Buck may have come home but the fight was far from over.
"Can we see him?" Ty asked.
"Yes but one at a time please." Dr Taylor said.
"Eddie should go first. Then Bobby...we can wait." Jake said and sat down with the rest of the team following suit.
Bobby gave him a shoulder pat in support before he followed the doctor to Buck's room. She stopped him in front of the room's door.
"Now I have to warn you. This might be scary."
"I can handle it." Eddie said just wanting to see Buck already.
She opened the door and ushered him into the room. Eddie gasped as he saw the state of the love of his life. Buck was hooked up to a ventilator that was breathing for him among other countless machines. His leg was propped up in a cast and Eddie could see a peak of stark white bandages on his chest.
Buck looked so small and fragile in that hospital bed. It broke Eddie's heart to see him laying there all banged up.
He took a seat in the chair next to Buck's bed and traced his cheek with his fingertips.
"Hi baby. I'm here. I'm not leaving you. I love you." Eddie said before breaking down in tears.
"You fought so hard to get home to us baby. You just have to fight a bit more okay? And when you're all done I'm gonna marry the hell out of you because I can imagine living life without you baby." Eddie said and carded his hands through Buck's blonde curls. His hair hand grown out a bit since he last saw him in the flesh. Eddie liked it alot. It made him look more softer.
"I'm gonna give Bobby a chance to see you. He's been worried sick about you. Athena was scared that he'd drink again when we found out you were MIA but he didn't. He knew that you wouldn't want that so he hung in there for you baby. We all did."
Eddie give him a kiss on his forehead and left the room to call Bobby in. Bobby steadied himself outside of Buck's room before going in.
It took everything Bobby had to not burst into tears at the sight of his son laying in that hospital bed.
"Hi Buck. I'm here. You're dad's here and he's not going anywhere. I promise." He said holding Buck's hand tightly.
Bobby felt helpless. He was transported back in time to when Brook and Bobby Jr had died. He hadn't been able to help them and now he couldn't help Buck.
"You have to fight okay? Not just for me but for Eddie and for Chris and for everybody back home." He sunk into the chair at Buck's bedside as he continued talking to the seemingly lifeless body.
"Eddie hasn't slept since the call that you were missing. Chris hasn't smiled since. You are their world and you cannot give up okay? I won't let you."
"Your team is eager to see you so I'm gonna give them a chance okay? I'm right here." Bobby said before leaving to get Buck's team.
The day passed with various Seal's rotating in and out of Buck's room. Buck was clearly well liked in his unit. He had the personality of a golden retriever but his team had likened him to more of a pitbull. Loving but aggressive when threatened. The only constant was that Buck stayed asleep.
The visitors passed time by telling various stories about Buck. Eddie and Bobby were eager to know the kinds of things he got up to before he had met them. Buck was clearly surrounded by lots of people who loved him. Eddie hoped that he could hear and feel the love in his hospital room even though it was unlikely in Buck's state.
Buck was drifting again. This time he ended up on a beach. He could feel the sand between his toes and hear the waves crashing on the shore. He felt at peace but he knew something wasn't right. The last place he remembered was being in the desert. He had been deployed so how had he ended up here?
A beautiful woman sat next to him on the beach. Buck recognized her instantly, "Mama?"
Notes sorry for the delay summer has been so busy and had not been able to get to this will be updating 3 more chapters today and 3 more chapters Sunday
Friday Saturday Sunday are the days I will hopefully be able to get some more chapters done
thanks for your understanding
