The Family We Choose

Chapter 59

It is a quiet morning and afternoon with her Dad, Ana leaves shortly after Buck. Heading home so she could change for work, which Emelia is more than grateful for. The nurses check in a couple times, the nice brunette is her favourite. Bringing her some lunch and reminding her how strong her dad is.

May messages her when she is on the way to the hospital and it's the same brunette nurse Kassie who sneaks her in.

"You have one strong girlfriend," she says as they reach the room.

"Don't I know it," Kassie leaves them alone as May crosses the room to wrap her in a tight hug. May holds her until she is ready to let go, running a hand through her hair to remind her that she was here and she was not letting go anytime soon.

"Why don't we take a break? Get some fresh air?" May asks and Emelia knows that Kassie told her about the fact she hasn't left this hospital since this morning. She nods in response.

May finds a bench outside, nicely hidden by some trees and they sit, Emelia falling into her arms easily.

"How was work?" she asks, hoping to get her mind off of Eddie for just a minute.

"I got this really dumb call today, this guy got his hand stuck in a pipe not once but twice and I got both calls." May continues on with her story, even earning a few giggles from the girl in her arms.

For a little while she is able to decompress and breathe without the fear of her body shattering. May even manages to sneak some more food into her. The tea is a bonus

They make the short walk back to his room, and stay long enough for Emelia to say good-bye. Promising she'll be back sometime tomorrow for another visit. This time she is okay to wait for May to pick her up in the afternoon.

May comes in, messages Buck that she got Emelia home in one piece before heading home for herself. The poor girl had come off a 12 hour shift. She wanted to stay but Emelia wouldn't let her.

That's when Emelia sees the video, daring to pull out her phone and check the news. She expects to see another article, "Another firefight shot" but instead gets "Brave 118 firefighter climbs crane and rescues construction worker." She knows who the "Brave Firefighter" is before she can even click on the link.

The camera clearly shows him climbing the crane, one step at a time. There are a dozen different videos from different angles and it makes her stomach hurt at the thought. If that many people can record, imagine all the spots a sniper could be hiding. She watched the video through and by some miracle there was no gunshot. Buck lives but the anger doesn't subside once she can see him get to safety.

Then she sees him come through the front door and she is still angry, she throws the blanket covering her legs to the side before storming off to her room. Buck looks at her confused, dropping his bag to the ground before following her to her room.

He gently knocks on her open door before peeking his head through.

"Are you okay? Look I know I'm not your dad but..."

"That's not why I'm mad." She cuts him off before he could say something stupid.

"Okay." He takes a seat next to her on her bed, a few inches away to give her any space he thought she needed. She takes a deep breath so she doesn't misplace her anger on him.

"I'm mad because I saw the video. The one where you climb a crane with no protection. You could have been shot Buck." Emelia does her best not to raise her voice, she can feel it rising into her chest with every word but she won't let it out.

"Emelia I was just doing my job..."

"That's not the point," she runs her hand through her hair in frustration. Buck was never able to understand how much he was needed. "I know this is your job and I know how much you love it. I'm mad because you scared the crap out of me. I'm mad because you think you're not important. I'm mad because if something were to happen to you right now, Chris and I would be all alone. You are all we have left Buck."