Sanctuary

Setting Fire to Your House

Eddie’s still laughing as he watches yet another set of fireworks go off, but when he turns towards his house, and sees the flames, he’s quickly turning the boat to shore.

“Chris! CHRIS!”

Chris moves a little sluggishly towards the stairs upon hearing Buck, but once he sees the stairs are on fire, he starts crying.

“Bucky...”

Buck’s vocabulary has apparently dwindled down to one word, “CHRIS!”, but he doesn’t get the chance again, as he’s grabbed from behind, one hand over his throat and mouth, the other around his chest as he’s forcefully yanked to the ground.

The second the boat touches the sand, Eddie’s taking off towards the house, staring in horror as he sees Chris is in Shannon’s hideout.

But he doesn’t stop, no way in hell, until he’s close enough to call out, and the second Chris seas him, he;s screaming,

“DADDY!”

 Eddie’s already working to get up there, grabbing the scaffolding under the garage roof to pull himself up, calling out,

“Hold on, Chris! Hold on!”

Buck elbows Jeremy in the solar plexus, succeeding in getting to Jeremy loosen his hold, long enough to get free and start dashing towards the house, desperate to get to Chris.

But it’s no use, as Jeremy quickly catches up with him, tackling him to the ground and forcing Buck to look at him.

Finally, Eddie reaches the window, as he keeps talking, “I’m here Chris. I’m here. I need you to back up for me, little man. Can you back up?”

Once he sees Chris’ silhouette is safely away from the window, Eddie doesn’t hesitate, just puts his foot right through the window, the glass shattering on impact and landing all over the floor.

The second he knows it’s safe, he enters through the now open window.

“I gave you everything!” Jeremy shouts in Buck’s face, as Buck tries to push him off.

Eddie immediately wraps Chris up in his arms, and once he's sure Chris isn't seriously injured, just scared, he slowly walks back through the window, careful to bump into any broken glass still on the hinges.

Once they're safely out, Eddie sets Chris down on a spot on the roof, telling him, "Okay, just sit here for a second, alright? Everything's okay."

But then he hears the yell from down below, and the sight that greets him is one he knows he's going to be seeing in his nightmares for quite a while.

Buck, being forcefully held down by a man that can only be his ex husband, raising a fist and straight up punching Buck right across the face

"Buck!"

Only, as he calls out, he completely forgets about the open window right next to him, and the blast of fire that comes out of it knocks him off his balance, making him roll right off the roof, into the hard concrete driveway below.

He'll definitely feel that in the morning, he thinks as he manages to get vertical again.

Buck and Jeremy keep struggling, until miraculously, Buck reaches into the back of Jeremy's pants, where he knows he keeps a gun, and pistol whips Jeremy hard enough to push him off.

But Eddie can't think about Buck at the moment because his son with cerebral palsy is still stuck on the roof, one that's going to give out before long.

Eddie reaches both arms up, encouraging Chris,

"Chris, I need you to come down, okay? I need you to slide down, stand up, and fall off the roof for me."

Chris moves towards the edge, but it's clear he's still terrified. How could he not be? Eddie's terrified from the safety of the ground.

"You can do it, Chris. Just like Superman, right?"

Chris is right there, but Eddie can see him start to tear up, and knows he has to keep talking.

"Count of three. Ready? One...two... three!"

Chris doesn't think, just lets himself fall right off, screaming as he lands in the safety of his dad's arms.

For the moment, Eddie just holds Chris close, simultaneously relieved and terrified of what almost happened.

Then, once he's composed himself, he walks towards where he last saw Buck.

By now, both Buck and Jeremy have a firm grip on the gun, struggling for control.

But Jeremy's looking to be the winner, as he forces both hands to point the gun towards Buck, right under their faces.

"I'm sorry." Jeremy says, knowing what he has to do. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

And then the gun goes off, and the struggle immediately ceases.

The second he hears the shot, Eddie's frozen in place, heart pounding.

"No. NO!"