Sideways

Chapter 8 Emergency Contacts

Maddie Buckley taps the elevator button in the parking lot of Cedar Sinai way too many times to actually be productive. She exits the elevator and runs down the hall and across to the emergency entrance to the hospital.

She enters the emergency area and starts looking for Chim and the team. She stops, asks an orderly where the firefighters are, and is directed to a smaller private waiting room.

She enters the room to find Bobby, Hen, and Chim all standing around a seated Eddie Diaz. Eddie looks like shit. His face has small cuts and will likely be bruised in the morning. He has gauze covering the ear on the left side of his head. Chim is helping him pull the gown off his chest when she notices the marks on his chest, neck, and left arm. Maddie immediately knows what they are. In another life, when she was a nurse, she helped take care of the survivor of a lightning strike. But, God, is this what happened to Buck? Were Buck and Eddie both struck by lightning?

"Oh my god, Eddie!" she yells as she approaches him. "Someone tell me what happened to him and my brother."

Chim pulls her up a chair, and she sits down next to them. Bobby, Hen, and Chimney get her caught up. She pauses to ask questions as she processes the extent of what she is being told. The others leave her alone with Eddie for a moment.

Maddie takes Eddie's hand in hers. "I am so sorry, Maddie." Eddie sobs.

"Eddie, you have nothing to be sorry for. You saved him."

"Maddie, I..."

"No, Eddie, you would never let anything happen to him. None of this is your fault."

"Why is it always him, Maddie? God, he doesn't deserve to go through this."

"We will get through this, Eddie, just like we have gotten through everything else. Together." She holds Eddie's hand until the nurse arrives a few minutes later.

The nurse walks in and says I am looking for the family of Evan Di..." and is cut off by Eddie. "That's us." As the group of them stand to greet the Doctor.

"That's nice, but I am looking for his immediate family. I need to speak to Edmundo or Maddie. Preferably, Edmundo." He says, looking down at his file.

"That's us." Eddie says as he grips Maddie's hand in his. "Great, if you will both come with me, please." The nurse walks them back to a private office. Tells them to have a seat and hands Eddie a bag with Buck's personal items. "The Doctor and Surgeon will be with you in a few minutes.

They take a moment to look around the room. There are MRI scans on a light wall. Maddie walks Eddie to one of the seats and helps him sit down.

"Eddie, not that I am not glad you are here with me, but why are you here with me? Why would they have preferred talking to you?"

"Maddie, I, hang on." Eddie says as he takes the bag of Buck's personal items and looks through it until he finds what he is looking for. He palms and pulls out Buck's chain and wedding band. "He was going to tell you tomorrow." He lifts the chain from his hand so she can see the ring hanging from it.

Maddie takes a second to focus on the ring before realizing what it means. Her mouth falls open for a second before she closes it with a snap. "This was what he was hiding from me yesterday?" she asks. Eddie nods at her as she takes the ring from his hand.

"When?"

"Monday. I love him, Maddie—more than anything. Last week, I told you that your brother and I needed to talk about some things. After you guys left my house, we had those conversations. We didn't want to wait anymore. It felt right. I'm sorry."

Maddie smiles at him, "I'm not mad, Eddie." She laughs, "I knew it would move quickly when you two finally figured this out." She laughs again, realizing something... "Aunt Maddie. God, it's been in front of me all week, and I didn't see it. I told Chim last night that I thought you were finally together." Eddie laughs. "That was some show you two put on yesterday."