GONE (BUCK X EDDIE)

GONE

It was the day it all came crashing down.

The day he died.

His love. His hope. His heart. His soul. Gone. All too soon.

Eddie Diaz sat in the stark, sterile waiting room of the hospital, his mind racing, and his heart pounding in his chest. Dressed in grimy bloodstained turnouts, he was expecting to stand out, but no one spared him a glance. The usual bustling sounds of the hospital—clinking gurneys, beeping monitors, the hurried footsteps of nurses—seemed distant, muffled by the haze of anxiety that had settled over him.

He was waiting for news about Evan Buckley, his best friend, his partner in every sense of the world. The clock on the wall ticked away each agonizing second, and Eddie's thoughts spiralled.

The fluorescent lights overhead did nothing to dispel the gloom, casting everything in a harsh, unflattering glare. He couldn't sit still, his body tense, foot tapping nervously against the floor; and his hands clenching and unclenching in his lap.

It was then that Evan's sister Maddie walked past, her face pale and her eyes wide with fear. She moved with a mechanical stiffness as if any sudden movement might shatter her fragile composure. He watched as a solemn-faced doctor approached her and place a gentle hand on her shoulder. Maddie's face crumpled, and she brought a trembling hand to her mouth as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Unable to endure the uncertainty any longer, Eddie abruptly stood up, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. He needed to see Buck, needed to know for himself what had happened. He moved through the hallways with purpose, his mind numb to the maze of corridors and the blur of medical personnel. When he reached room 143 he hesitated for a moment, his hand hovering over the door handle. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

A body sprawled on the hospital bed, his face covered with a blood-stained sheet. Eddie's legs felt weak, and he had to steady himself against the doorframe. He couldn't bring himself to lift the sheet and look at his face. The memory of his smile, so bright and infectious, was something he couldn't bear to tarnish with this final image.

Eddie's mind drifted back to hours before. When it all happened. Every step Buck had taken towards him had radiated urgency. The loud "BANG!" that split the air, followed by Buck yelling his name. "EDDIE!" Evan had raced towards him, but before he could reach him, he was intercepted by Chimney, pulling him towards cover.

Eddie's hearing had faded, the scene around him blurring as he struggled to stay conscious. Pain seared through his chest, a throbbing, red-hot agony. He had looked down to see his hands-stained crimson, his skin soaking in the blood. "ED!" Buck's voice had called out again, filled with panic. "DIAZ!" The world had been a dissonance of words, sounds, screams, all blending together. He had seen the flash of blond hair—Buck—rushing towards him again, but it was too late.

Another "BANG!" and the deafening sound of the second bullet had grazed their ears. Eddie had looked up, his eyes meeting Buck's, both of their eyes glazed with tears. They had mirrored each other's movements, their hands pressed to their wounds, blood soaking through their uniforms. The stupor had faded as they were suddenly surrounded by other first responders, whisked away in separate directions into the freshly arrived ambulances. Amid the chaos of the scene Eddie's attention remained fixed on Buck's direction up until he was out of sight. As he had glanced back, he had seen his safety helmet left abandoned next to the parallel blood patches on the pavement.

Now, standing in the hospital room, Eddie's felt numb like an out of body experience as his thoughts were a jumble of grief and regret. He looked at the body as he thought about how Buck had always made everything better, no matter the situation. Buck had been his better half, his soulmate, even if he had never had the courage to say it out loud. He had never got to tell Evan how he truly felt, but he hoped that somehow, Buck had known.

"I love you" he thought into the silence of the room, Eddie opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He couldn't breathe. "I love you," he whispered, although no one would hear those words again. He waited for a response that would never come, the silence was deafening.

Unable to stay there any longer Eddie turned away and left the room compelled towards the bright exit doors, unable to take it any longer. He was gone.

---

Further down the hallway, Maddie and Buck embraced, her sobs muffled against his shoulder. Buck's hand placed against the white bandage held snug around his waist. He shuddered as a chilling shiver ran down his spine, causing goosebumps to appear on his arms and the hair on the back of his neck to stand up tall. Maddie then choked back the words "He's gone".

The love, the hope, the sadness—all of it was now just a part of the past. Eddie's presence just a memory that Buck would carry with him forever.

---

Buck sat tentatively next to the grave, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks, his face red and splotchy. He reached over and slowly lifted a safety helmet out of his bag placing it on the pile of lively flowers.

"I loved you too."