#6b lightning strike spec fic

[shortsighted-owl]

New Fic: Electrostatic Attraction

Chapter One: Charge Seperation (8.3 k)

-

In front of him Hen shifts, her body blocking his view of the ladder rising into the dark sky. Of the rain-slick figure of his captain charging hand over fist to the top of the rungs. Three points of contact be damned.

Her eyes, Eddie notices, are too wide, too bright from where she whips her head around to the sight behind her, only to startle and look at Eddie once again.

There's too much spinning round his brain, and he’s forgetting something, he knows he is.

He’d got Buck into his harness, double- no triple checked every buckle and loop, he’d looked Buck in the eye and asked him to come home with him. To him.

Then.

Then Buck had climbed as he had manned the controls. He’d stopped, with panic in his voice and then the world had lit up.

No.

His sharp intake of breath must tip Hen off because she starts to speak, to say his name as Eddie gets a skinned-hand beneath himself and pushes upward, looking past her.

Backlit by the highrise lights, Buck’s blurred form sways from his final stop two-thirds up the extended ladder, only the single strap of fabric suspending him from plummeting to the asphalt below.

- The 6b!lightinng Strike Spec Fic or, 'The boys get struck by lightning, a hospital bed is privy to yet another life-altering conversation, and even without his memory Buck's body could never forget his Diaz boys.'

[extasiswings]

hold onto me

More 6x10/6B spec fic because I am going Through It.

Once upon a time, Christopher was afraid of storms. It was one of those things Eddie hadn’t known about his own kid, that he learned when Christopher climbed into bed with him in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm a few months after his discharge from the army and maybe a week after Shannon left them. He hadn’t been sleeping himself—the rolling thunder reminded him too much of gunfire—so he had been awake when Christopher curled in next to him and pulled the blankets over his head.

It’s too loud, Christopher had said when Eddie asked what was wrong, and Eddie certainly hadn’t been able to argue with that.

Chris grew out of it. His fear of storms. Nowadays, thunder and lightning are cool, and he’s learned to enjoy the little things, like sitting under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and reading a good book while rain batters against the windows of the house. Or a rainbow peeking through the clouds after a long, dreary spat.

Eddie wonders if that’ll change tonight. As soon as he walks through the door and tells his son that a storm put Buck in the hospital.

That Buck might not wake up.

That Eddie couldn’t save him.

He doesn’t want to say the words. In fact, he’s been standing in front of his own front door for at least ten minutes, unable to make himself take the last step of fitting his key in the lock and going inside.

He can’t. Because the second he opens the door, that’s it, it’s real, there’s no going back. And of course, it’s already real—Eddie saw it happen, he watched from the ground, entirely helpless to do anything as Buck was blown off the ladder by a lightning strike that left behind the lingering scent of ozone. He watched Buck hang there for what felt like hours but could only have been minutes. He felt Buck’s lack of pulse, performed CPR himself because the thought of letting someone else take over was unfathomable.

He begged Buck to open his eyes. But Buck hadn’t.

So, yes. Eddie knows it’s real. Technically. But it’s also the nightmare scenario. It’s not supposed to actually happen.

Eddie’s not supposed to have to have this conversation again. He’s not supposed to have to figure out how to tell his son that Buck is—

He cuts off the thought. Buck’s not dead. He’s not. It’s not the same.

Except, logic unhelpfully offers, this is almost worse, isn’t it?

Death is final. Shannon died. Telling Christopher had been one of the hardest things Eddie had ever had to do, but at least it was final. This is the furthest thing from certainty.

Buck could never wake up. Buck could wake up and be fine. Or Buck could wake up completely changed. He could wake up not even knowing them. He could wake up, but need constant care for the rest of his life. It feels like there are infinite possibilities, but hope is a fickle mistress and Eddie has learned not to rely on it.  Possibilities are both a gift and a curse.

A gift because they mean he might not actually have to break his son’s heart tonight. A curse because if that break just ends up delayed, it’ll hurt so much worse.

God, he can’t do this. Not again.

It’s no surprise that Eddie’s mind takes him back to the aftermath of the shooting.  When Buck came to see him in the hospital and suggested that maybe it would have been better for Christopher if he had been the one to get shot instead of Eddie.  Eddie hadn’t agreed with the sentiment then, and he certainly doesn’t agree with it now.

This is not better.  There is nothing about this situation that is better.  

But Eddie understands the sentiment more than ever now.  Because he would trade places with Buck in an instant as long as it meant Buck and Christopher would be okay.  

And they would be.  Eventually.  As long as they had each other, Eddie knows they could be okay without him.

He’s let Christopher down so many times, failed him in so many ways.  Buck, though—Eddie doesn’t think Buck understands that he’s Christopher’s hero.  Hell, he’s Eddie’s hero too.  How many times has Buck saved them both?

Christopher knows what it’s like to lose Eddie.  Just like he knew what it was like to lose Shannon.  He doesn’t know what it’s like to lose Buck.  And maybe it was naive of Eddie to think that he would never have to, but as much as risk is an inherent part of their jobs, he really did think—

You act like you’re expendable, but you’re wrong.

Buck has always been Buck’s own worst enemy, the biggest risk to his safety.  But Eddie had stopped that, hadn’t he?  Hadn’t he made Buck see that he couldn’t be reckless with himself?  Hadn’t he given Buck a reason to want to stay? To live?  To be with—

Lightning.  Really?  Who the hell gets struck by lightning?  What kind of freak accident is that?

Buck would know.  With all the random facts he keeps locked up in his head, he probably knows exactly how likely it is for someone to be the victim of a lightning strike.

Knew.

Knows.

All at once, Eddie’s no longer exhausted and subdued—he’s angry.  Angry in a way that he hasn’t felt in a long time, maybe ever.

“You son of a bitch,” he whispers, and it could be to God, the universe, maybe even a little to Buck himself.  Because what is it going to take?  How much loss can one person be expected to bear?  How much grief?  

He did the work.  He went to therapy.  He got all whole and healed and he was working on the rest, okay?  Working on the last bits he needed to work on to be ready, to stop being so afraid.

He thought he had time.  He was supposed to have more time.

Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone, so if you love her, tell her.

A memory whispers in the back of Eddie’s mind, and a bitter laugh bubbles up in his throat, burning like acid.  Yeah, okay, so maybe he’s a hypocrite, sue him.  But whoever is running the show from the great beyond has a sick fucking sense of humor.  

Eddie scrubs his hands over his face and presses his forehead against the door.  

His phone buzzes in his pocket, and his heart skips a beat—he nearly fumbles the phone pulling it out to check the message.  Maybe Buck is—

But no.  It’s just Chim letting him know that Maddie convinced the night nurse to let her stay with Buck, but regular visiting hours start in the morning.

Clearly, the universe isn’t interested in doing Eddie any favors.

Which brings him back to the reason he’s still standing in the hall.

How is he supposed to tell Christopher?

Well.

He just has to do it, doesn’t he?  There isn’t another answer.  There’s no magical solution.

Just the truth.  

Taking a steadying breath, Eddie brings his keys up, turns the lock, and opens the door.  Crosses the rubicon.

Carla steps out of the kitchen, a smile on her lips that drops off the instant she sees his face.

“What’s wrong?”  She asks.  “What happened?”

Eddie shakes his head.  He can’t—he can only say it so many times.

“Is he asleep?”

“Yes.”

He closes his eyes.  Somehow that’s even worse.

“I think I have to wake him up.”  

“Eddie—”  Carla’s face has taken on a greyish tinge, but her voice is steady when she adds—  “I can stay.  If there’s somewhere else you need to be.”

For the briefest moment, Eddie wonders what would happen if he went back to the hospital now.  If he showed up at Buck’s room and cracked himself open, poured out the whole truth and begged Maddie—a woman he barely knows—to let him be the one to stay.  

He could do it.  Run away from this conversation that he doesn’t know how to have with Christopher and let Carla deliver the news and pick up the pieces.  It would be one of the most selfish things he’d ever done, but he could.  He could do it.  

But no, no, he really couldn’t.  This is his job and only his.  Just like how when their positions had been reversed, it had been Buck’s job.  It couldn’t be anyone else’s.  

“I’m exactly where I need to be,” Eddie replies, sounding steadier than he feels.  And with one more breath for strength, he steps into Christopher’s room.

It’s dark, quiet.  Eddie doesn’t turn on the main light—instead, he waits until he gets to the bed and sits on the edge of it before flicking on a lamp.  

Christopher doesn’t stir then, or when Eddie runs a gentle hand over his curls.  His breathing is deep and even and he looks so much younger than he is in sleep, without his glasses.  

Eddie’s eyes burn, a lump forming in his throat.

He can’t—

He has to.

“Christopher,” he rasps, shaking his shoulder lightly.  

Chris wrinkles his nose and slowly blinks his eyes open, squinting in the dim light through the haze of sleep.

“Dad?”

“Hey, kid.”  His voice cracks.  And his son changes in an instant, his focus sharpening, every line of him going tense and too still.  

“What happened to Buck?”  Christopher asks, seeing right into the heart of it.

“There was an accident.  He’s in the hospital.”

To his surprise, Chris laughs—a little shaky and tense, but still a laugh.  “Well that’s just—he’s fine though, right?  I mean, he’s been in the hospital before.  He’s always fine.”

There’s a pause that stretches a little too long when Eddie can’t find the words to respond.  And Christopher is the one to break it, his tone abruptly questioning, sharp, a little desperate.

“Right?  Dad?  He’s fine?”

And god, Eddie doesn’t think he has ever been in this kind of pain.  He would give anything, anything to make it go away.  For both of them.

“I don’t know,” Eddie admits, because he can’t lie, Christopher wouldn’t forgive him if he lied.  “It might be a while before we know anything.  I wish I could say more than that, I wish I could promise you that he’ll wake up tomorrow and be just like he always is, but I don’t know.”

And I don’t want to lie to you.

Christopher stares at the wall for a moment.  His lip quivers before he pulls it between his teeth.  But when he looks back to Eddie, his eyes are dry.  Strong.  Resolved.  

“He will be.  You’ll see.  It’s Buck.”

And of the two of them, Eddie’s the one who feels like crying.

“Yeah.  Yeah—it’s Buck.”

He just wishes he could convince himself that matters as much as Christopher believes it does.    

[cinematics123]

Spec Fic

Well... I had been working on a speculation time fic for 6B for Buck/Eddie... and... well seeing the 6B preview this morning made it more important to get it out into the world (for manifesting purposes).

So, it's not done, but I guess we can call it a Whump-in-Progress.

“Dad’s awake!”

The shout sounded like Chris. The voice brought Eddie up out of the deep, out of his black sleep. For a moment the world brightened.  Eddie stirred, groaned, and opened his eyes.

“Dad!” Chris shouted again and Eddie could feel his son’s body land on top of him. He was still a kid, but he was growing too fast. The weight of him felt strange – too big for the small boy Chris always was in Eddie’s mind. Eddie winced performatively and then laughed.

“Hey, Bud. I’m here.” Eddie rasped. The blurry room began to come into focus, filled with too bright lights, too white walls, and several looming human shapes standing over him. Hospital. Eddie tried to remember. There had been a storm when they were out. He must have been hurt at work. Eddie’s arm moved like he was stuck in molasses, but he was able to bring it up to his son’s head. “I’m still here, Chris. I’ll always be here.”

Bobby’s face came into focus. He had a beaming face, full of relief, as he looked down at Eddie and Christopher. But looking up at Bobby’s face made Eddie somehow aware that something was still missing. There was something gnawing at the edge of his perception. Something was still wrong. Eddie wiggled his toes and fingers, but he only felt the dulled aching of the IV in his arm. “Hey Cap. Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, Diaz. You gave us a bit of a scare, but it looks like you’re on the mend.”

“Bobby, did I have surgery?”

“No, I don’t think so. They did have you in an arm brace at first, but the x-rays showed your arm was fine. You had a pretty serious arrythmia though, Eddie. They’ve had you out for about 24 hours and they’ll probably keep you a bit longer for observation.”

“Arrythmia from the storm?” Eddie narrowed his eyes and blinked. Maybe it was just a symptom from whatever work they had done to get his heart working, but it felt like there was a hole inside him. There was an absence, an emptiness, where something used to be. There were threads of him that once connected him to something; and they were cut.  “We were up on the engine tower when we got hit.”

“That’s correct. Lightning strike. You fell off the ladder and landed on your arm. Hen thought you might have broken it, but it looked good. Probably got a really bad sprain or a bone bruise, but you’ll be fine. You went into a pretty severe cardiac arrythmia, but Hen got you under control. You had a few more cardiac issues here in the hospital with your stent and they put you under, but they think you’ll be good. We’re glad you made it through.”

Eddie searched himself. There was something else, some feeling of being hollowed out – a feeling that a part of him was gone, ripped away from him, destroyed. Eddie looked around the room and swallowed hard.

“Bobby, where’s Buck?”

*************         

“How is he?”

Maddie turned to see Eddie standing quietly in the doorway. Still in his own paper hospital gown, Eddie leaned against the threshold. Maddie couldn’t tell if it was for strength, for balance, or just to feel something.

“Eddie!” Maddie breathed, getting up from her chair and rushing over to hug him. “It’s so good to see you awake. How are you feeling?” She hugged him tight, brushing her face against his shoulder.

But Eddie had seen her eyes. They were red and wet from crying. Maddie clung to Eddie for moment. Slowly Eddie realized Maddie must be wiping the tears away, trying to be subtle. But with Maddie hugging him, there was nothing in Eddie’s field of view except the man in the bed: the elephant in the room. Eddie changed the subject.

“So, when did “Aunt Maddie” happen?” Maddie pulled back, eyes still glassy and red, but no moisture on her cheeks.

“Chris was so cute. Carla brought him and your aunt here. Chris… well, Chris helped all of us keep it together. He said you’d been through worse. And I told him that both you and Buck have had some bad scrapes, but you both came through alright. And you both came back to him. And, so I guess I’m Aunt Maddie, for now.”

“For now?”

“Chris wanted to be in a room with both of you. He thought if you were both together, you would both wake up faster. He said Buck’s snores wake you up.”

Eddie chuckled a bit to himself. The thought of early mornings with Buck on his couch brought a smile back to his face.

“They have, on occasion, woken me up.”

Maddie put a steadying hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “We took him back and forth between your rooms for a bit early on. But it was pretty clear that you would probably wake up. And Buck…. We thought it might be best that Chris wasn’t in Buck’s room whenever they brought the news in. So, after a while, we stopped bringing Chris to Buck’s room…”

“What news about Buck?”

“Buck’s heart seems to be doing fine now. But he’s had an EEG that didn’t show a lot of brain activity. I joked that Buck hasn’t always shown the most brain activity, but he’s always been fine. I don’t anyone thought it was that funny. If I’m being honest I didn’t think it was too funny either.”

“Do they know what might have…?”

“When they got to Buck, his heart was already stopped. They don’t know for how long. Bobby said that they are not even sure how many times he was struck while he was up there. But they think his heart wasn’t pumping for some time, so no blood was getting to his brain.”

“So, no one knows how long he was hypoxic for?”

“Hen, bless her, somehow got his heart working again. Somehow. Chim said it was like a miracle. Seriously, she must be the best medic in the entire LAFD. But it seems like she bought him this chance. So, for now, his heart is beating, but the doctors said it’s unclear if there was brain damage or how long his brain was without oxygen-”

“Because they were busy working on me…” “No, Eddie. Buck was 25 feet up a metal ladder during a lightning storm. It was reckless, Eddie. He knew what he was doing was dangerous, he knew the risks, and he did it anyway. Both you and Buck were struck. Do you think Bobby wanted to send someone up again after that? Do you think he wanted to lose one more of you?”

Eddie knew it wasn’t really a question. He wondered who had gotten Buck down. Was it Chim? Was that the awful choice that had Maddie crying? That she could have lost her brother and husband the same day? Or worse, was she doing the math and wondering what the chance were that someday Chim would be here in this same bed? She knew how risky the job was, she knew Chim had been injured even off the job with the rebar and the stabbing.

Eddie had to change the topic, and he had to change it fast. “Did Connor and Kameron bother to see him?”

“Oh, you mean the couple that waltzed in and told me that if my brother dies then they’ll consider naming the son he is giving them “Evan” after him? The couple I never met before. That Buck never told me he was donating for? Yes, well they came in here and made Buck’s injury all about them.”

“Your brother did a wonderful thing for them-“

“He’s been giving himself away to people who don’t deserve him his whole life. And now that he’s here and they want to make his death about them too.”

“You don’t think he’s going to make it.”

“It's not that, Eddie. It's.. it's... I’ve seen this back when I worked in the E.R. The body survived somehow, but often their brain never recovered. All that’s left is the lingering before the brain activity goes and the body follows. Sometimes it would be weeks before they would let go.”

“Maddie, I can’t lose him.”

“I can’t lose him either, Eddie. He’s my brother. But you already know that sometimes we lose people that we can’t stand to lose. My parents were never the same after losing Daniel. There are some losses we don’t come back from. Not really.”

They both stared at the bed, the white sheets, the mostly white gown, the pale man lying on it. Eddie blinked and could feel the emptiness growing within himself.

“Can I have a moment with him?”

**********

Eddie stood over Buck’s bed, staring at this motionless body that wasn’t quite his Buck. Even when Buck slept there was movement, some tossing, his deep and heavy breathing. Now he lay motionless as a machine forced air in and out of his lungs. There was a long, forking burn mark running in a line from Buck’s head, across his face, and down his neck to his paper hospital gown. It was thin but tree-like, and seemed like it started to fork into a large fan where Buck’s neck joined his chest. The rest was hidden by the gown.

The hole inside Eddie stirred. It felt like the smile on Buck’s face. It felt like the laugh lines that gathered so often around his blue eyes. It felt like every mile of road between Los Angeles and Hershey, Pennsylvania. It smelt like pasta dinners with grocery store wine. The hole felt like the little touches they’d shared – the fist bumps, the shoulder nudges, the light elbowing in the ribs. But it also felt like touches Eddie has never had with Buck. Hugs that they let go on too long. Gentle kisses he had wanted, but never quite had the courage for. Rough passions he had dreamed of with Buck, but barely had the courage to even acknowledge to himself.

Tomorrow isn’t promised. How many times had he heard those works? How many times had he said them? He knew it firsthand with Shannon and with the soldiers he saved. But he thought he had time with Buck. Buck was his constant, his partner, his rock. Buck was there, Buck was the only one there, when the world had closed in on him. Buck was the one that got him out. Buck had to be ok.

“Please.” Eddie whispered into Evan Buckley’s body. “Please wake up. I can’t do this without you. I need you. I need you to keep fighting and I need you to wake up. I want you, Evan, and I – all I want is you. Please, Buck, please. Come back to me.”

It had been years now since they had gone on the call for the older couple – the one where the car hit one husband and the other passed moments later. Buck had told Eddie the one had said “You don’t find love; you make it.” Eddie knew it had meant something more to Buck – that Buck was always looking for it. Eddie touched Buck’s cheek with his hand and finally let the tears roll down his face.

That man was only half right, he thought. I found it when I found you. I found it when you found me. I found the person I could make a future with.

Eddie’s chest tightened like it was trying to press in on the void gnawing away in his chest. Suddenly, the light in the room seemed too bright. It felt like the room was moving. No, it was spinning. No. It was tilting. Eddie barely felt the metal rail of Buck’s hospital bed as his head fell on it. He barely felt the floor as he sprawled out against it. After that, everything was dark. Only the gnawing, stretching feeling of emptiness and absence remained. And Eddie let it take him.

**********

Eddie sat across from Bobby, Buck’s body stretched out between them. The slow rhythmic beeps of Buck’s monitor ticked away the moments. Bobby looked worryingly at Eddie. Eddie wasn’t sure the last time he had slept. He wasn’t sure when Bobby arrived either.

“Eddie, we should probably have Chim or Hen take you home.”

“I’m not leaving him.” Eddie shot back, trying to shut this line of converstion down before it began.

“Eddie, Christopher needs his dad. You can come back in the morning. I will stay here with Buck.”

“Chris has Carla at home, and he would want me here with Buck.”

“Eddie…” Bobby started. Eddie’s glare withered any hope in Bobby that he might take the evening off. Or go home to shower.

“You should see if they have somewhere for you to shower. I’ll see if they can arrange a cot for you, or we’ll set you up on the couch.”

“Thank you, Bobby,” Eddie responded.

“Just know, that I’m sure Buck's glad that you are here with him.”

“I never got to tell him. And I don’t think it counts if he can’t hear me.”

Bobby stopped then sat up. “Tell him, Eddie. I don’t know if he can hear you, but you should tell him to his face. But either way, he will find his way back to you.”

Eddie’s face fell. He stood up over Buck’s hospital bed and took Buck’s hand into his own. Staring down at Buck’s unmoving face, tears began to roll down Eddie’s own.

“What do you need to tell him, Eddie? What would you have to say that he doesn’t already know? He knows Eddie.”

“He doesn’t. I – I never got to tell him that I love him. That… I love him, Bobby. I love him. Buck, you can’t die on me. You can’t. I love you. Do you hear me? I love you. Buck, come back to me. I love you!” Eddie shouted into Buck’s unmoving face.

“Eddie…” Bobby warned.  Eddie turned around wiping tears from his face, making a strangled noise in his throat but dropped the words as he saw Maddie and an older woman standing at the door. Eddie placed Buck’s hand softly and gently back by his side and turned his face away from Maddie to wipe away the tears on his face. Maddie closed the distance between herself and Eddie and wrapped him in a hug.

“He made a good choice. The best choice.” Maddie said, tearing up. She put a comforting hand to Eddie’s cheek.

“Who did? Did…what?”

“Buck. When he registered his power of attorney with the Fire Commissioner. Eddie, this... this is our mom, Margaret. She made it down here to see Buck and we had to go over to the Commissioner’s office to unseal Buck’s will. It turns out his power of attorney is –“

“Eddie.” Bobby interrupted.

“How…? Bobby, how do you know that?” Maddie asked.

“I’m his captain, and I was the witness when he filed his power of attorney with the Fire Commissioner.”

“You knew…? When?” Eddie sputtered, flustered. How could Buck have not told him? How could Bobby?

Bobby sighed. “Buck changed his power of attorney when he came back to the station after the lawsuit. He… thought it meant that a future lawsuit wouldn’t be able to stop him from talking to you and Chris or… from bailing you out of jail for street fighting.” Bobby surveyed the faces around him and Buck lying down in the hospital bed. “That boy turned down a $5 million dollar wrongful termination payment and early retirement to come back and work at the 118. Trust me, he will wake up. And he will be coming back to you, Eddie.”

Eddie could only stare as Bobby walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Maddie gently rubbed his shoulder and glanced over to her mother.

“Eddie, if it’s ok with you, I think my mom also has some things to say to Evan. She might want some time with him to-”

“He can stay, Maddie. I think I want him to stay.” The older woman interjected.

Eddie searched her face but understood nothing.

**********

Eddie was back in his chair next to Buck’s bed.  Margaret, Buck’s mother, was sitting in Bobby’s chair across from him, her son’s motionless body in between them. Margaret clutched Buck’s hand, but it was Eddie she fixed her eyes on. Eddie was the one that still had life in him, no matter what the Buck’s monitor’s beeps said.

“Maddie said that Buck met you at work?” It wasn’t quite breaking the ice, but perhaps Margaret was trying to chip the ice a bit. Eddie stared at her. Buck had said much more about his parents, none of it good. None of it was really his to rehash with her either. He had only the hints of what Buck and Maddie had been through, and the saga of Buck finding out about his brother Daniel.

“We did.”

Margaret smiled expectantly at Eddie, but he had nothing else to tell her.

“Have you and Buck been together for a long time…? He never told us that he… well… that he… A parent has some idea, of course, but he never talked to me about… ”

“Mrs. Buckley, Buck and I are very close, but we are not together. There’s nothing that’s happened between your son and I that Maddie couldn’t tell you.”

“Please, call me Margaret. And, well, Maddie didn’t know that you were Buck’s power of attorney.” Margaret countered, sweetly.

“I didn’t know that either, Mrs. Buckley.” The moment stretched out between them. Margaret looked back down at Buck’s hand.

“If you had a child then –“

“I do have a child, Mrs. Buckley.” Eddie interrupted.

“If you ever lost a child then, you would know what losing a child does to a parent. If you lost your child, Eddie, imagine what it would do to you.”

Eddie paused.

“I once thought I lost Christopher – during the L.A. tsunami. It was only for a moment, but.. you’re right. It would have destroyed me. Buck was the one that saved him; he jumped into a tsunami full of cars and debris and electric wires to save my son.”

Margaret smiled sadly, “I never heard that story. He’s always been reckless, but I’m glad that some good has come out of it.”

“Buck is a life saver. He is a hero. He’s saved hundreds of people. Countless people. And… I wish you could see how hard he takes the ones he can’t save. Buck… Buck puts all of himself into saving others.”

Margaret looked down at her son.

“Even if he couldn’t save Daniel, Evan has spent his whole live saying people. He is a good person, Mrs. Buckley.”

“You don’t know a thing about Daniel.” Margaret snapped.

“Neither does Buck.” Eddie countered. “I love Buck, Mrs. Buckley. And my son loves him too. And Maddie and Chim and Jee love him. And maybe that’s not enough for him. But I will give him all the love I can.” Eddie got up and walked to the door. Not to walk out, but to open it to let Margaret out. She hadn’t shown Buck the love he needed in life, and … in whatever Buck was in now, Eddie didn’t need her hovering over Buck’s bed. Margaret looked up meekly at Eddie, but never let go of Buck’s hand.

“It was my fault. And it has ruined all of my kids’ lives.”

“I thought Daniel died of Leukemia…?”

“But it was in my genes. The Leukemia runs in my family. My brother, Arthur, was… he… he passed when I was a girl. Evan’s middle name is Arthur after him. I thought maybe the connection was a good sign for Daniel after we had Evan. I… tried. I tried for my son. And if you had known Daniel, you’d see how much Buck is just as reckless, just as messy as Daniel ever was. How could I look him in the face and not see my Daniel?! He was the spitting image of him. How could I push one out of the way? And… I lost both. I’ve lost both of them.”

Margaret looked down at the body laid out in front of her. She kissed Buck on the forehead and walked to the door Eddie still held open. Eddie looked her full in the face and stopped her, hand on Margaret’s arm.

“Buck has been there for me more times than I can remember. One thing that has stuck with me is he told me that maybe I’d been feeling hurt for so long that I didn’t remember what it felt like to be healed. He was right and he got me through it. I don’t think Buck would ever want you to forget Daniel. But Buck is still here. And I’m not giving up on him. You don’t have to give up on him either.”

Margaret’s eyes welled with tears, and she pulled her hands back from Eddie. Eddie closed the door behind her as she walked out into the hallway. He followed her briefly with his eyes, noting her walking down towards the reception, towards the exit. Eddie sighed heavily and plodded back to Buck’s bed. He took Buck’s hand and kissed it and sat down at his bedside.

“Is she finally gone?” A gravelly voice came from the body next to Eddie. “Buck…? Buck!” Eddie was on him, grabbing at the paper hospital gown, tearing it around the shoulders. Crystal blue eyes opened and twinkled weakly at him.

“How long have I…?” Buck croaked quietly.

“Evan, you’re alive. God you’re alive. I .. 9? No, 10 days, Buck. You scared the hell out of me. Oh, my God, Buck. Buck.” Eddie dissolved into tears, hugging Buck. Buck arms moved lightly and slowly, still without the strength that Eddie was so familiar with. “Buck, I need to get the doctor and – “

“Eddie. Please. Just hug me. The doctors can wait.” Eddie kissed Buck on the cheek and held him and held him and held him until the nurses found them.

[waywardnewcomer]

The Eye of the Storm

So I haven't written in a long long time, and never for 9-1-1. Buuut in the wake of 6b airing tonight!!!!!! I decided to write a little 6b spec fic, because I'm traumatised by all of the promos and I cannot wait to watch it and torture myself. So in the last few hours of speculation, Enjoy.

Summary: "The roaring thunder, dreadful in its ire, Is water warring with aerial fire." OR a 6b spec fic about the lightning strike.

Warnings: Lightning, character death (kinda) emotional turmoil

Word Count: 1.1k

Pairings: 9-1-1 core team, buddie if you squint.

It was pouring. The thunder rumbling through the sky, almost as a continuous roar. The rain was bouncing off the sidewalk with such a feat it hurt their icy cold skin. The storm was worsening. In hindsight it was a warning: they were being swept up in the eye of the storm, and about to be thrown for a loop.

But they had a job to do. 

The fire was roaring despite the torrential downpour. They needed to vent the roof, and fast. There were people stuck in the building. Bobby’s face was full of unease, he had to send someone up there. On a metal conductor. He looked as his team, the dread evident in his voice. 

“The only way up is the aerial,” He sighed, “The storm is getting closer. I’m not going to force anyone to go up there. That thing will be a lightning rod.”

“I’ll go.” Buck says a little too quickly. The only thing swirling in his mind was picturing Eddie stuck in the well and him clawing at the mud desperate to save his best friend, his partner. He could not go through that again. 

The team’s heads snapped to look at him. Eddie’s eyes darted to meet his, a look of sadness swirling in his brown eyes. He brought a hand to his face as he breathed out slowly.

Buck couldn’t meet his eye, the conversation of expendability playing on a loop in his mind. But this was different. He was doing this to save Eddie. 

“I want you harnessed and clipped to the ladder at all times. If it does get struck we do not want you falling 20 foot in the air.” Bobby looked to Buck in concern, it had been a while since he had done something reckless, but this was necessary: the roof needed venting. He had no other option.

“Got it Cap.” Buck nodded, moving to get harnessed up at the bottom of the ladder. Hen’s eyes followed him, a look of apprehension flashing over her features. She wasn’t even surprised when Eddie moved towards Buck.

“Buck are you sure about this? I can go with you.” Eddie spoke earnestly, he had a bad feeling about this. His stomach was falling to his knees. He moved to help Buck tie the rope to his harness, an action he had done a million times before but this time felt much more pertinent. As if the knot would snap if he didn’t check it multiple times.

“Christopher needs his dad. You all have kids, if I get struck no one will need me.” Buck spoke, not looking into Eddie’s crestfallen face. He didn’t notice the exasperated look on Eddie’s face as he climbed onto the top of the truck. Or maybe he didn’t want to. 

“Be careful up there Buckaroo.” Chim commented, watching his brother climb the ladder.

Bobby held his breath, it was oddly quiet as Buck climbed the aerial. The thunder having taken a pause, and the rain hitting the pavement with force being the only noise apart from the roaring blood rushing in his head. He looked up at the sky. Something was wrong.

The sky let out a deafening roar ripping through the city, almost inside their ears as it passes. 

“What the hell was that?” Buck pauses at the top of the ladder, looking at the sky. 

He doesn’t see the zap of lightning. He doesn’t see the white light pulsate through the sky and hit the ladder, or the sparks that flew from the impact; but he felt the force of being thrown downwards. He felt the searing pain as he tried to grapple to grab the harness, to break the fall. Grasping at any piece of rope he could get his hand on.

“BUCK!” Eddie’s voice screamed through the thunder. 

His blood rushed to his head, not hearing anything around him but knowing he had to get to his partner. His best friend could not die. Eddie practically threw himself on top of the truck, grasping to the ladder to reach his Buck, all while screaming his name. 

“Eddie it’s not safe! You need a harness!” Bobby’s voice didn’t register. His mind was on Buck and only Buck. He had to get his Buck.

Lightning isn’t supposed to strike twice; but it did that day. 

Eddie was taken by surprise as his body was thrown backwards. He tried to grasp anything he could, desperate to get to Buck. He needed to save Evan. He turned his head towards him and saw his lifeless body swinging back and forth with the force of the strike; before he hit the asphalt and his world turned to black. 

“Shit!” Bobby was trying to think rationally. The storm roaring in the background jumbling all of his thoughts. “Chim, work the aerial get Buck down. Hen you’re with Eddie!” He barked, looking towards his pseudo Son’s lifeless body.

As Chim slowly lowered the aerial to the ground, Bobby held his hands in the air desperate to feel his skin grace his fingertips. When he finally grasped onto his turnout he held his arms in a cradle as other firefighters rushed to get the gurney underneath him. Bobby held his breath as he places his fingers to Buck’s neck, crying out when he feels nothing. Buck is dead. He rips the turnout open and starts CPR.

“CHIM!” He shouts in despair, “Come back to me Son.” He pleads, tears dripping down his face as he pushes onto his flail chest. 

Hen looks over to the scene and holds a baited breath as she watches Bobby do compressions. She shakes her head and the tears away and looks back to Eddie, who is very much alive. 

“Eddie, I need you to wake up.” She sniffs and rubs his sternum with a knuckle, breathing out as he opens his eyes.

“Buck,” He mumbles trying to get off the ground. Hen tries to push him back down, but knew she didn’t have the strength once Eddie saw Bobby doing compressions. “Buck?” He questions in disbelief as he scrambles to his feet and refuses to acknowledge his clearly broken leg and arm. He could deal with the pain, but Buck was dying. He was dead. It was too late. He was too late.

Hen runs over to help Chim, all but forcing Bobby to take a break from compressions. Bobby steps back, the anguish clear on his face. Eddie watches in horror as they attach him to the monitor and sees the flat line and continuous beep. Eddie prayed to anyone who would listen, Buck could not die.

He didn’t even feel himself move forwards, until he felt himself take Buck’s cold, limp hand into his. “Evan, please.” He cried and squeezed onto his hand as if it would squeeze life back into his body. 

He holds his breath as Bobby comes behind him, hand on his shoulder with tears freely flowing down his face. Everything goes silent once again, the storm moving away. Until there’s a noise making Eddie’s head snap towards Buck’s face. 

A heartbeat. He was alive.

[shortsighted-owl]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Tagged by all these wonderful individuals: @alyxmastershipper @loveyourownsmiilee @spotsandsocks @rewritetheending @canonicallyobserving911 @spaceprincessem @hippolotamus @oldsouldreamer85 and @elvensorceress - Thank you all, you amazing lot - Tea and love to you!

So... How’s everyone after Fridays stills... I wrote this afterwards in all the excitment, for Chapter two of Electrostatic Attraction:

His own branched scarring runs into Buck’s as he cautiously, tenderly puts his hand on the younger man’s shoulder, pushing aside the thin gown, thumb tracing the thin skin of his pulse point slowly, reverently. 

Like he did all those years ago in a sun-filled loft, as Chris had sat and watched cartoons after the worst 24 hours of  both his and Buck’s life. 

Gently, the pad of his thumb sweeps the red, feathered edges of the lichtenberg figure before he puts a bit more pressure behind it, until he can detect the staccato beat there. 

To feel Bucks pulse, like he did then that day as Buck tried to dodge his gaze, not trusting the monotonous beep of the ECG or soft, well-meaning  comments of the nurses. 

He has to know.

He has to feel it himself.

That Bucks heart still beats, that the endless whine of the flatline is resigned to only his memories.

Tagging: @mellaithwen @bigfootsmom @monsterrae1 @thosetwofirefighters @the-likesofus @thekristen999 @rogerzsteven @ajunerose @jinxddiaz @swiftiediaz @leewithme

[shortsighted-owl]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by all these lovely individuals: @fiona-fififi @spaceprincessem @elvensorceress @loveyourownsmiilee @spotsandsocks @rogerzsteven @buddierights @monsterrae1 @alyxmastershipper @rewritetheending - Thank you!

Finally had a little time to outline Chapter two of Electrostatic Attraction - Here’s a little scene I’ve started:

-

“Oh, your son is with his pops.” The soft voice of a nurse drifts from the room as the squeak of Eddie’s wheelchair gives him away. He manages to push the chair far enough through the doorway to see an older man, broad and bear-like, tidying round his bay, folding back a sheet in a well-rehearsed manner. 

His brain shorts. The words fall out of Eddie’s mouth before he can even think to rein them back, hold them in. “He’s what?” 

“Oh sorry, please.” The nurse flaps, making sure to turn to face Eddie, lips enunciating each vowel and consonant carefully - which given the uncomfortable ring of blown eardrum, Eddie is quietly thankful for. “Your son, he asked where his pops was, said you’d be right in after him. Such a conscientious young man you both have.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Eddie thinks he should be upset that Chris has just blatantly lied about going to find the 118 in the waiting room. Should be annoyed that he has snuck away under false pretenses. 

But at this moment, Eddie wants nothing more than to bury his nose in his son's locks, inhale the scent of his shampoo, and thank him. For finding Buck. For getting to him when Eddie couldn’t.

-

Tagging: @hippolotamus @thosetwofirefighters @jinxddiaz @thekristen999 @bigfootsmom @jobairdxx @oldsouldreamer85 @fatedbuck @canonicallyobserving911

[shortsighted-owl]

Seven Sentence Sunday

A massive thank you to @rogerzsteven for the Tag! Thank you Simi! ❤️ More 6b!lightning spec fic? But of course! ⚡️⛈🚒

-

Humming in approval, Eddie nods along, imagining that comfort and warmth. His own plans weren’t as grand, but the thought of them warmed him through softly, gently, like a hug.

Like molten chocolate.

He was sure he could convince Buck to catch a ride with him, with Eddie's place being closer and all, and the added bonus of Christopher's presence.

He’d set the kid on Buck and get him to beg for breakfast the next morning; hide a laugh behind his fist as Buck easily relented.

He’d hear Buck’s off key shower singing through the moisture-swollen door of the bathroom and know both of them were safe and warm.

Together. And whilst Chris slept, he’d finally try and speak to him.

Waiting for Buck to come to him wasn't working. Not wanting to push had let Buck drift further and further away.

Eddie needs to cross the divide, to reach him.

-

Tagging: @hippolotamus @mellaithwen @thosetwofirefighters @spaceprincessem @elvensorceress @jobairdxx @rewritetheending @the-likesofus @monsterrae1 @spotsandsocks @jacksadventuresinwriting @bekkachaos @canonicallyobserving911 @thekristen999 @ajunerose and anyone who wishes to share their work!

[shortsighted-owl]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Tagged by the amazing @mellaithwen @rogerzsteven @spotsandsocks and @monsterrae1 - Thank you all! A little more 6b!lightning strike spec fic ⚡️🚒⛈

-

It's been three days and still the rain hasn't let up.

‘Torrential’, some news outlets ran with; ‘once in a generation’ Eddie hears from a brief snippet of Channel 8 news as it floats across the firehouse loft. And then a very familiar voice starts playing through the TV speaker.

Not missing a beat, Chimney scoops up the remote, promptly channel hopping until he finds an unassuming commercial -“a Hildy-brand food processor, hey Diaz found you your next present!” - much to everyone's collective relief.

He watches Buck's shoulders creep higher and higher past his ears where he sits slumped in his chair opposite Eddie, the younger man’s hair starting to curl after their scalding hot showers.

Sure, the change in channel helps release some tension in Buck's posture, but still Eddie can see plain as day, Buck is still wound tighter than usual. Frankly, he’s worried.

-

Tagging: @elvensorceress @spaceprincessem @two-cut-lines @jinxddiaz @hippolotamus @rewritetheending @thosetwofirefighters @the-likesofus @thekristen999 @ajunerose @jobairdxx and anyone else who wishes to share their work!

[shortsighted-owl]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by the lovely @spotsandsocks @canonicallyobserving911 @monsterrae1 and @oldsouldreamer85 - Thank you all!

A little more from the 6b!Lightning storm spec fic - its surpassed 3k for the first part!

-

“Hey, um, did you guys know lightning storms can just keep coming back to the same place over and over?”

Bobby's head turns slightly from his seat up front, whilst Chim and Hen glance at each other - small smiles forming - before looking over at Buck. 

A patented Evan Buckley info-dump - tried and tested to fill in the journey and give food for thought. 

“Like a never ending one or?” Chim ponders, fully invested now, swivelling in his seat.

“No no, there's a- this place - Islands off the north coast of Australia - and everyday there's a thunderstorm, same place, same time, turns up most of the year.”

Allowing his eyelids to slip shut, Eddie lets himself relax into his seat and listen as Buck continues, prompted by Hen’s further questioning about how a storm just keeps reappearing. 

Sometimes, when Chris decides that he - his own father - is allowed to be graced by his pre-teen presence, he will let Eddie in on his day. 

Not just a grunted ‘fine’ or a beleaguered five syllable sentence. 

But truly ramble on about anything and everything he’s discovered or found ‘cool’ - even as that pool of items is steadily shrinking with age, and Eddie can’t help but see the part of Buck that Chris has taken to heart, where Buck has been in their lives for almost half of Christopher’s now.

Of course something of Buck has burrowed itself into Chris’ marrow and made a home there, because Eddie’s damn sure it's taken root round his heart and ensnared it, slowly, carefully, then all at once.

-

Tagging: @hippolotamus @mellaithwen @spaceprincessem @elvensorceress @the-likesofus @two-cut-lines @rogerzsteven @jobairdxx @thekristen999 @ajunerose @thosetwofirefighters and anyone else who would like to  share some work! 

[shortsighted-owl]

Seven sentence Sunday

Happy New - and first Sunday of the - Year!

Tagged by the wonderful @spotsandsocks @rogerzsteven and @jobairdxx - thank you all!

Slightly more than 7 sentences from my 6b!lightning storm spec fic 🚒⛈⚡️

-

This ritual is theirs alone.

Eddie, handing Buck each piece of the harness, keeping an ever watchful eye as Buck steps into the loops, hikes the belt higher under the constant downpour.

Stepping closer and dropping heavily to one knee, Eddie can almost feel the heat of Buck’s breath ghosting the back of his damp neck as he tilts his head down to start pulling at each strap in turn, starting from the left hip, left thigh…

“Come over.” His own voice nearly startles him, definitely catching Buck unaware if the speed of his neck snapping up to look him in the eye from where he had been aimlessly staring over Eddie’s shoulder into the ever-growing puddles is anything to go by.

“Eddie.” Buck’s voice cracks round each syllable of his name, a warning, one that Eddie won’t heed right now.

He brings his hands round to Buck’s right thigh, slipping a finger between the coarseness of the loop and the slickness of his turnout pants. Tugs once, twice, three times.

“Look, you weren’t going to come to me and I wasn’t going to push, but this, I can’t take it, even Chris can see somethings up with you and you’re saying your fine?”

“I am.” A lie. Another damn lie.

“Not, not now, not here. We go in, we get the job done, you come home, we talk - me and you.”

His stomach twists as a plethora of emotions vie to settle on Buck’s face, before he shutters, facade-like.

Eventually, as Eddie’s hands leave his right hip, Buck’s voice cuts through the rain, small and tired, diminished.

“Home… yeah, yeah.”

-

Tagging: @hippolotamus @mellaithwen @spaceprincessem @thekristen999 @elvensorceress @two-cut-lines @thosetwofirefighters @ajunerose @monsterrae1 @amberlyinviolet @the-likesofus

[shortsighted-owl]

Seven sentence Sunday

Tagged by the wonderful @rogerzsteven @spotsandsocks @alyxmastershipper @monsterrae1 @hippolotamus @rewritetheending @dickley-buddie @loveyourownsmiilee @oldsouldreamer85 and @mellaithwen - Thank you all, you lovely lot!

A little from the intro to Chapter Two of Electrostatic Attraction:

It's taunting him, he sure of it.

The thin green line, dipping and rising and swooping to the left of his bed. Secretly, he’s glad his blown-out eardrum is facing the ECG, lessing the incessant beep that keeps mocking and mocking and mocking. 

He’s stared at it for a good 15 minutes now, and still no change. Just as he had said to the cardiologist as she had busied around his bed. 

Given one of Chris’s pens and a scrap of paper he’s sure he could draw his own personal trace blindfolded.

The P-wave, PQ interval, then the sharp peaks and valleys of the QRS complex, the sloped J-joint following onto the broader T-wave, and there it goes again, repeating and living and keeping pace, ticking away.

And Buck’s.

Buck’s hadn’t. 

Not for a horrifying number of minutes.

Tagging: @elvensorceress @spaceprincessem @ajunerose @canonicallyobserving911 @bigfootsmom @swiftiediaz @the-likesofus @thosetwofirefighters @thekristen999

[shortsighted-owl]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Well that new still has me HOOTING, how’s everyone holding up?

Tagged by the outstanding @rewritetheending and @dickley-buddie - Thank you <3

Some Maddie and Eddie for Chapter two of Electrostatic attraction.

“Sometimes… sometimes he goes on, rambles about some obscure safety code, or FDA finding, and I realise…” Her voice trails, eyes turning helplessly to the panelled ceiling. 

Any other day Eddie would realise why, if he wasn’t so caught up in the memories as he is in this moment, beside Buck’s prone form.

“Realise how smart he is? How much he cares and learns about stuff for others? That earthquake, the 7.1? I was so worried about Chris, and he just sits there spouting off school earthquake safety standards, even as we started climbing the damn stairwell. He got that attentiveness from yo-.”

“I realise how much he sounds just like our mom.” It pulls Eddie short, his jaw snapping shut as he turns to really look at her. There are tears coating her lashes, her index finger shakily tracing the length of the back of Buck's hand, trailing over the span of his fingers, the taped cannula tucked into the pristine gauze. 

Endlessly back and forth, soothing. 

Or something mimicking that. 

To her or buck, Eddie isn't sure.

Tagging: @mellaithwen @hippolotamus @spaceprincessem @elvensorceress @rogerzsteven @thekristen999 @monsterrae1 @spotsandsocks @bigfootsmom @the-likesofus @ajunerose @jobairdxx @yelenasbuddie @fiona-fififi @alyxmastershipper @loveyourownsmiilee

[shortsighted-owl]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by the lovely @fiona-fififi @dickley-buddie and @loveyourownsmiilee - Thank you ❤️

Sound off, hows everyone feeling after the promo last night? I fell into my Google Docs and wrote this…

From Chapter two of electrostatic attraction

-

He’d lurched upward, ignoring the crashing wave of dizziness that threatened to drag him back down, ignoring the bite of the charred remains of his glove stuck to his raw-scorched palms as he levered against the straps of the gurney criss-crossing his turnouts.

No matter how he twisted, or strained, biting his tongue and tasting blood as his back screamed in agony, he couldn't move. Couldn’t stand to slump at Buck’s side, hold his hand and try to feel his partner’s pulse under his finger tips.

There were voices - concerned, calm, professional - trying to placate him as the clear panes before Buck’s gurney opened with a swift ‘sffft’.

In a flash, Buck's gurney had crossed that sacred line.

And Eddie followed, only realising too late that Bobby was no longer by his side.

He had enough room to swing his head to the side, neck smarting, to see the devastation writ on Bobby’s face, rainwater and tears intermingling on his cheeks, eyes wide and lips pulled tight and bone-white.

Beside him, Hen and Chimney stood too, as broken as their captain as the doors hissed shut, the rain slick panes obscuring them just as a nurse's palm tilted his head to face forward once again.

Those pesky glass doors.

-

Tagging: @hippolotamus @mellaithwen @spaceprincessem @elvensorceress @alyxmastershipper @spotsandsocks @rogerzsteven @bekkachaos @rewritetheending @bigfootsmom @monsterrae1 @ajunerose @thekristen999 - and anyone who wants to share their work!

[shortsighted-owl]

Inspiration Saturday

Tagged by the lovely: @alyxmastershipper @spotsandsocks @monsterrae1 @hippolotamus @rogerzsteven

For Chapter 2 of Electrostatic Attraction - Charge Transfer

A lil snippet for you all - My chemistry degree coming in useful here!

“Spin the magnet, not the patient. I mean, I don’t think I would want to be span at 700 MHz... would you?”

Tagging: @mellaithwen @elvensorceress @spaceprincessem @thekristen999 @jinxddiaz @thosetwofirefighters @ajunerose @bigfootsmom @fiona-fififi @the-likesofus @mumucow @rewritetheending @jobairdxx @canonicallyobserving911​ @yelenasbuddie​

[shortsighted-owl]

Seven sentence Sunday

After a week out from wip/and sentences, I’m back and ‘on it like a car bonnet’! Having been tagged by all these amazing wonderful human beings: @bekkachaos @ajunerose @rogerzsteven @fatedbuck @elvensorceress @spotsandsocks @spaceprincessem @rewritetheending @dickley-buddie @jobairdxx @mellaithwen @hippolotamus @monsterrae1 @thosetwofirefighters @alyxmastershipper

Some more 6b!lightning strike spec fic because it’s still chugging away in the background as I hopefully finish my edits for my 3rd paper manuscript…

-

Brows knitting together, Eddie’s mind races.

The smell, the tingling, the glow.

Putting the pieces together hadn’t been the problem, that had been the speed of arriving at the answer.

Buck had once said that the speed of light was around 300,000,000 metres a second, Karen - in want of clarity and correction for Denny and Chris - had corrected his estimate to a still rather respectable in Eddies humble opinion speed of 299,792,458 metres a second.

You could go round the earth almost 8 times a second at that speed.

The flash then, was nearly imperceptible.

One moment, there was nothing but the glow of the street lights fighting through the downpour and dark of night, the next Eddie’s world was bleached white.

-

Tagging: @thekristen999 @homerforsure @amberlyinviolet @jinxddiaz @mumucow @canonicallyobserving911 @ronordmann and anyone who wishes to share their work! ❤️🦉

[shortsighted-owl]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Tagged by the amazing @homerforsure @rogerzsteven @alyxmastershipper and @spotsandsocks - thank you all, you wonderful lots

I’m so damn close to finishing off chapter 1 of the 6b!Lightning strike spec fic - Titled: Charge Seperation (because im a damn science nerd...)

-

Its not like it hasn't rained in LA since the tunnel collapse, not by a long shot, what with global warming and all - a voice that sounds suspiciously like Buck supplies sagely in his mind even as the man stands beside him, quiet and still cowed.

The sudden tightness of his lungs surprises Eddie. He brings a hand to his chest, closes his eyes, and tries to breathe.

There's no tunnel, no loose earth and hard-rock pelting his shoulders. He’s not racing against time to save a child. Water isn't rising around him, enveloping him in shockingly cold darkness, trying to slip up his nose and down his throat. There's no blinking red light or last ditch hail mary on a single breath. 

No moment of weightless fear.

Except here, the driving rain and the storm seem to snare him.

- 

Tagging: @hippolotamus @elvensorceress @spaceprincessem @mellaithwen @thosetwofirefighters @ajunerose @rewritetheending @the-likesofus @monsterrae1 @bekkachaos @fatedbuck @jobairdxx @thekristen999 @jinxddiaz @mumucow