It was me in there( 9-1-1 )

Shes dead...

Buck's body was wracked with tremors, his hands still clutching desperately to Eddie's shirt, like a lifeline he feared would slip away if he let go. The world around him felt distant and disorienting, a blur of motion and sound, but none of it mattered. All that mattered was the burning weight in his chest, the panic consuming him whole.

His breaths were shallow, his lungs struggling to take in enough air, each one a battle. The tears hadn't stopped since he'd heard the scream down the phone. They were an endless, uncontrollable river that wouldn't stop, no matter how tightly he pressed his face into Eddie's shirt, as if somehow it would absorb the agony.

Eddie held him close, his hands resting on Buck's shoulders, steadying him, grounding him, but Buck could feel the warmth of Eddie's concern. It wasn't enough. Nothing was enough. The fear and the panic clawed at him, gnawing away at his insides like a sickness he couldn't shake.

"Buck..." Eddie's voice was gentle but insistent, his grip firm but comforting. "Please, talk to me. I need to know what happened. You're scaring me."

Buck's body shook harder, the sobs coming in harsh, ragged gasps as his chest tightened. His face buried deeper into Eddie's chest as if hiding from the world, from the suffocating pain that had overtaken him. His throat felt tight, raw—he couldn't speak. No matter how much he wanted to, the words wouldn't come. How could he even say it? How could he even think it?

His mind replayed the phone call over and over again, the tremble in his Mumma's voice, the terror she felt. And then, that scream. The scream that shattered everything inside him. And Phillip's words after. "Watch out, Buckley."

Buck's tears flowed harder, faster, his body trembling so violently that he couldn't control it. He thought he might break apart, that the weight of everything was too much for him to carry anymore.

"Bucky," Eddie whispered, pulling back slightly to cup Buck's face, wiping away the wetness that stained his skin. "Please. Whatever it is, I'm here for you. You don't have to face this alone."

Buck's eyes squeezed shut as his breathing hitched, the pressure in his chest threatening to crush him. His mind was a jumbled mess of emotions, guilt, fear, anger, confusion. It all swirled together until it felt like he was drowning. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't get enough air.

His voice broke on the first attempt, a choked sob escaping his throat. "Eddie... she's gone. Mumma's gone."

Eddie's heart nearly stopped, his grip on Buck tightening. "What do you mean? What happened, Buck?"

Buck's chest heaved with a desperate breath, trying to steady himself, but it was impossible. He couldn't catch his breath, couldn't find the words to explain. His Mumma—his protector, the one person who had always been there, the one who loved him unconditionally—was gone. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"I—" Buck gasped, another sob wracking his body. "I couldn't save her. I... I couldn't protect her."

Eddie held him tighter, urging him to go on, to release the words that were choking him. "Buck, talk to me. What happened? What's going on?"

Buck's hands trembled as he reached out, gripping Eddie's arms desperately. His voice was barely a whisper, but the rawness in it was enough to send a wave of pain crashing over Eddie. "He... He had a gun, Eddie. Phillip—Dad—he... he was going to find her. He—" Buck's voice cracked again, and he closed his eyes, trying to push the images away. The scream. The terror. "I couldn't do anything. I wasn't there in time. I wasn't fast enough. She—she's dead, Eddie."

A strangled sob tore from Buck's throat, raw and painful, as if the weight of his guilt and grief had suddenly become too much to bear. Eddie's heart broke at the sound, at the devastation in Buck's voice. It was the kind of pain that no one should have to experience—losing someone they loved, and feeling helpless in the face of it.