(A 911 Buddie fanfic) Every Breath You Take (I'll be watching you...)

Chapter 12

A/N: The final chapter. Thank you so much for reading!

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Chapter 12

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When Buck woke, he didn't dare open his eyes at first. Instead, he listened to the light beeps and whirrs from the machines around him, and focused on the weight pressing into his side, Eddie's chest rising and falling against him with each breath. It was peaceful and terrifying all at once. What if he opened his eyes to find it all faded away? To find himself back in that basement, or worse…

"I can hear you thinking," Eddie murmured against him, breath warm on Buck's neck as his fingers intertwined with Buck's and he gave Buck's hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry," Buck answered, the response automatic.

Eddie shifted, pushing up, leaving Buck feeling empty and lost on that hospital bed. "Buck…"

Swallowing hard, Buck forced his eyes open and sought out Eddie's gaze, a light relief settling over him at the sight of the man in front of him. His best friend, his partner, the man he loved. He tried to smile, wanting to reassure Eddie, but Eddie shook his head, his fingers lazily moving through Buck's hair, the simple gesture soothing.

"You don't have to pretend with me," Eddie said, seeing right through the forced smile.

Buck's gaze fell, landing on Eddie's leg. His jeans were sliced up the side, revealing the bandages beneath, the bloodstains dirty against the dark denim. "He was going to kill you."

"But he didn't."

"Eddie…" Buck breathed out, but he was silenced as Eddie placed a curled-up finger beneath his chin, forcing his eyes back to Eddie's face.

"Buck, I know how that mind of yours works. This was not your fault. I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done for me." There was determination in his eyes, the pointed look on his face leaving little room for argument and if Buck had even tried, he knew Eddie would have immediately shut him down. "He's gone, Buck, and we're not. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"I saved him," Buck said after another moment, the words feeling thick and vile in his throat. "If I hadn't… If I didn't go up that ladder, or if I had taken one wrong step, fastened the harness wrong… None of this would have happened."

"You did your job. We don't get to choose who lives and dies. We do the job."

Buck let go of a light huff. "You know, once over, I thought that was the job. I thought we had this like… power to make that call. Does that make me a bad person?"

"No," Eddie answered with a shake of his head. "It makes you human, because the Buck I know, he does everything in his power to get everyone out alive, even if it means putting himself at risk. You told me once that we give people a second chance, and you were right. But that doesn't mean we have control over what they do with that."

A small cough from near the doorway broke into the conversation, and Buck had been so focused on Eddie that he hadn't even heard the nurse enter. She smiled politely once she had their attention and moved closer, clipboard in hand.

"Mr Buckley," she said, before looking at Eddie with a raised eyebrow. "And Mr Diaz, I presume?"

Buck nodded, as he pushed himself up in the bed until he was sitting up, cringing at the pain the action caused. The numb feeling the drugs David had given him was wearing off, making him very much aware of the aches and bruises.