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

Courtroom

( Just as a little heads up, this is going to be a long  chapter buts its really important for the story and i didnt want to put it across multiple chapters because that would be confusing and yeah so enjoy :) )

Buck's POV

The courthouse felt suffocating—silent, looming, like a predator stalking its prey. The air was thick with tension as Buck stood in the hallway with Eddie and Bobby, just outside the courtroom doors. His palms were slick with sweat, his heart racing in his chest. The weight of the moment pressed down on him, and no matter how much he tried to breathe, it felt like he couldn't get enough air.

"You're not alone, Buck," Eddie said, his voice calm but firm. He stood close, his hand gently resting on Buck's shoulder, a silent anchor in the storm.

Buck barely registered his words. His mind was a whirlwind, spinning out of control. The thought of walking into that room, standing in front of everyone and telling the world what Phillip had done to him—it was like stepping into a nightmare he couldn't escape. He didn't know how to face them all, how to speak those truths aloud.

Eddie, sensing the storm inside him, stepped closer. "Look at me," he said, tilting Buck's chin so their eyes met. "You don't have to do this perfectly. Just tell the truth. That's all you need to do."

Buck nodded numbly, swallowing the lump in his throat. He was trying. He really was. But his body refused to cooperate, his legs like lead beneath him, his hands still trembling.

"You ready?" Bobby's voice broke through the haze of Buck's thoughts. The older man's gaze was steady, reassuring, as if he were giving Buck permission to take the next step.

"No," Buck whispered. "But I have to be."

The doors to the courtroom swung open, and Buck felt the air around him change. A coldness seeped in, a sense of finality. He was walking into the lion's den.

Bobby's hand on his back nudged him forward. "You've got this, Buck. We're right behind you."

And with that, they stepped across the threshold, into the silence of the courtroom.

The Courtroom

The room felt overwhelmingly sterile—white walls, metal chairs, cold, unforgiving. There were people everywhere, faces that Buck didn't recognize, all turning to look at him as he stepped in. His throat tightened, and he instinctively clutched the folder in his hands, the legal documents that had been handed to him earlier.

At the front of the room, the judge sat in his high chair, his gaze sharp as he looked over the proceedings. The DA's table was filled with professionals, including one woman who was speaking softly to a man who Buck assumed was the lawyer representing the state.

But it wasn't the lawyers or the judge that made Buck's stomach twist into knots. It was the sight of Phillip—his father—sitting across the room, at the defendant's table, his cold eyes watching Buck with an expression that made his skin crawl.

Phillip didn't look like the monster Buck had remembered. He looked ordinary. Even well-dressed, like some respectable man who hadn't tormented his family for years. But there was no mistaking the chilling familiarity in his gaze—the same smirk, the same controlling presence that had filled Buck's childhood with fear.

Buck froze.

Eddie, walking beside him, noticed the shift. He gently guided Buck to the witness stand. "You're safe, Buck," he whispered. "We're here. You're in control now."

Buck nodded, his lips pressed tight together as he climbed up to the stand. His legs felt like jelly beneath him, but somehow, he managed to sit down, facing the judge.