Black And Blue-E.Buckley (9-1-1)

TwentySeven

I'd walk through fire for you

Eleanor dug out her keys and raced to her car. She needed to find them. Her mind was racing with all the possible outcomes. Were they hurt? How badly were they hurt? Or what if it was worse? What if.. Eleanor couldn't even think about that right now. Buck's phone was now going straight to voicemail which did not help the thoughts in her head. So she tried Eddie again and again. He finally answered on what must have been her hundredth call. All she could do was cry as she tried to get the words out.

"El, El! Hey, calm down a little. What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Buck.. Christopher.." she could barely breathe at this point.

"What about them?"

"Pier.. they were.. at the pier," she finally got it out.

"When? Do you know if they were there when the tsunami hit?" Panic laced every word out of Eddie's mouth. He had no clue and Eleanor was the one who had to break the news to him.

She shook her head but realized he couldn't see her. "I don't know.." There was a long pause.

"El, I need you to breathe. We're gonna find them. Where are you?"

"Parking lot. Just got .. just got out of work," she tried to breathe as Eddie instructed. "Eddie, he's still on the blood thinners. What if-"

"No," he cut her off. "We're not gonna think like that right now. I know it's scary but you can't think like that. Okay? We're gonna find them."

"Okay," she wiped away some tears but more just took their place.

"Are you good to drive?"

"Yes."

"Come to me, you shouldn't be alone." Eddie gave her his address and they hung up. 

****

"Eddie," Eleanor called to get his attention.

Eddie turned in her direction and held his arms out for her. Eleanor ran straight for Eddie as soon as she spotted him. She fell into his embrace, slumping against him as he held her up. They were both so exhausted. Eddie held her tightly against him. This long hug was just as much for his comfort as it was for hers. After another moment they pulled away but Eddie still kept her at arm's length.

"Please give me something to do, I wanna help. I can't just sit around, if I do I might actually start pulling my hair out."

"Come on, you can help me," Eddie held his hand out for her to take. She did and followed behind as he led her toward the tent they had set up.

Eddie and Eleanor chatted here and there as they rushed around. They helped triage patient after patient, it seemed like it was never-ending. The amount of people that were affected by the tsunami was heart-wrenching. Eleanor held back her tears as they triaged small children and pregnant women. She tried to keep from thinking about Buck and Christopher, what they were going through out there. They weren't in the black tent which gave her a bit of hope but that didn't mean they were safe. 

"Where's the rest of the team?"

"In the field still," Eddie answered as he examined a head wound on a panicked teenager.

"How'd you end up here?"

"Another team was on the pier when it hit. We found one of them and she needed medical attention. Her captain is still missing so I knew she wasn't gonna come here herself. Then I just started helping."

"Sounds like you, always the hero," Eddie smiled at her. "And I can't say I blame her. I kinda wanna be out there looking.."

Eddie nodded, "I know, me too." They shared a look before going back to treating patients.

Eleanor had just finished with a patient when she turned and her heart dropped. Someone was carrying a small child, wearing a dirty striped shirt. She stopped, frozen in her place, and waited to see the face. Eddie stopped a couple of feet behind her. She turned and saw the same panicked expression on Eddie's face.

The man set the child down on one of the cots a nurse rushed over. It wasn't Christopher. Eleanor let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She turned back and saw relief wash over Eddie's exhausted features. Eleanor's heart ached for him, she couldn't imagine what he was going through. Having Buck out there, being worried about your partner was bad enough. She couldn't imagine being worried about your child out there.

****

Eleanor made her way out of the tent. She needed some fresh air, the trauma and loss were starting to get to her. She couldn't imagine doing this every day, she wondered how Buck and Eddie did it. Eleanor would lose her mind if she dealt with loss every day. That's exactly why she had chosen the maternity ward. The joy and happiness in it. Watching people smile as they experience such an amazing life event. Of course, there is loss in every area of nursing but not as often in maternity. 

Eleanor had dealt with enough trauma and sadness in her life. All she wanted to experience now was happiness. She just hoped one day she'd get to experience the joy that she saw every day..

"Buck!" Eleanor's head snapped in the direction of the voice. It was Chim who was now attempting to hold Buck upright with the help of Hen. Eleanor rushed over to them. 

"Is he okay?" She took in the blood and dirt covering his face. Buck stared at something behind her. She turned to see Eddie cradling Christopher. Thank god they were okay, was all she could think..