Drowning on Dry Land

Sister, Sister

As soon as Buck could breathe properly, he shrugged off the nurse and began walking the rows of cots, scanning for Christopher. He could feel exhaustion on the edge of his mind, but shrugged it off and kept moving even though he was limping slightly from the pain in his bad leg.

When he reached the end of the makeshift hospital, he begged a doctor to let him use his phone. Dialing Maddie's number and praying that even though there was chaos going on, she would be able to answer her phone. He didn't want to tie up the emergency line. Even though Christopher missing was an emergency– the worst one he had ever dealt with.

"Maddie Buckley. 9-1-1 Dispatch." Buck was so grateful that he could hear his sister's voice again. But he wished it was under better circumstances.

"Maddie. It's me."

"Buck, where are you calling from? I don't recognize the number."

"I had to borrow someone's phone. That doesn't matter. I need your help, Maddie." Desperation leeched into his voice, but he held in his tears.

"Buck. I am coordinating the mobile hospitals from this number. I'm sorry, I know you wish you could be out there, but for once I am so glad you have a condition."

Buck couldn't help but sigh. "Maddie, I was on the pier with Christopher-"

"Oh, god. Evan. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Her concern was evident, but she didn't seem to understand that he didn't matter. Only Christopher mattered. He needed to save him.

"No, I'm fine, it doesn't really matter anyway. Maddie. Christopher is gone." A sob wrenched it's way from his throat. "I lost him Maddie. God. It's my fault. I should have held him and never let go once we were safe, but that second wave..."

"Buck, breathe. I have every mobile command coordinating with me right now. We will find him. But I need you to calm down and tell me what he was wearing the last time you saw him."

"A yellow striped long sleeve, khakis, and sneakers. I have his glasses and we lost his crutches in the wave. God, Maddie. One of the last things he said to me was I saved him. And then I lost him." Buck dropped down to the ground sobbing.

"Evan, you did so good. I am putting an alert out to every hospital right now. And every dispatcher here will be looking out for calls that could be him. We will find him. You kept him alive through a tsunami and now we will find him. It's not just the 118 that loves him. Everyone is looking, I swear. Does Eddie know? Do I need to alert the 118?"

"He knows. They are out there looking. God, he is going to hate me."

"Evan, you need to be calm and get looked over. Let us do the job now. You need to rest. You sound exhausted. No one will hate you. Especially not Eddie. You saved his son. Eddie could never hate you. I love you. Call me if you need me to come down there, okay?"

After the call, Buck wandered in a haze through the rows of people back toward the edge of the water where he was found. What good was he as a firefighter if he couldn't save the people who mattered to him? Maybe he didn't deserve to be one after all. Bobby was right to bench him. What kind of firefighter couldn't get through a tsunami? Couldn't save his loved ones? He obviously wasn't good enough.