Chapter Text
It was stupid really. Buck knew that whenever they got injured on a call, no matter what the injury, they should get checked out, even if its just a quick check over by their own. Buck knew that, he’d gone through it plenty of times over the years. But he was also a stickler for the rules and hated being kept behind for stupid reasons. He was fine.
A small piece of metal had nicked him as he explored the building, cutting straight through his jacket and right into his skin. He barely felt it at first, didn’t pay it any attention until he felt the wetness soaking through his clothing. He stopped for just a second to check it out, saw the blood wetting his shirt and spared a quick look at the cut itself before determining it was nothing to worry about. A small cut, nothing life threatening. He could deal with it later. And then he heard a shout, a scream for help, and he was barrelling through the building looking for others. And later never came, because there was always something else to do, always someone else who needed help.
He forgot he was even hurt at all until they got back to the station. They all left the truck and went off separately, Buck to change and hopefully shower, but as he took his jacket off and tried to drop his shirt, it clung and stuck to his skin, peeling painfully.
He hissed as the fabric shifted against the wound, every touch of the material causing agony throughout his side. He flopped down on the bench as he finally peeled it away from his skin and lifted it over his head, avoiding getting the blood elsewhere on his skin. It didn’t seem to matter as the wound began bleeding further, flowing over his side and down the fabric of his trousers.
He balled the shirt up and pressed it against his side, watching as it quickly soaked up the blood still freely flowing. What the hell? It was soaked in minutes, drenched in blood from the still shallow cut.
Fucking blood thinners. Shit.
His hands shook as he pressed harder against the wound, eyesight blurring and head pounding.
The shirt wasn’t doing much to help anymore, the blood still coming out of the wound and not stopping anytime soon. It dripped over his hands and began splashing in a small puddle on the floor. Great, he’d have to clean that up too. He went to stand and move away from the bench, hopefully shower and patch up the cut himself, but his body had other plans and as soon as he was up and on his feet, he was down again, falling weightlessly and staring at the ceiling before his eyes closed and he allowed himself to rest.
He was shaking when he woke again. No, he was being shook. And someone was there, at least one person, maybe more? Everything ached, his side was burning, and people were shouting around him, or at him? Why couldn’t they just let him sleep?
He tried to close his eyes again, tried to go back to the comfort of sleep, but he was being shook again, and warm hands were on his face, a head hovering above him.
“Buck? Buck! Hey, are you awake? Stay awake.”
He tried to mumble something but he wasn’t even sure himself what it was meant to be. It came out as a string of noises, and the person was shouting him again, both hands on his cheeks, keeping his head looking directly at them. Eddie?
“Buck, it’s ok. don’t try to move huh? Chim’s gone for the gurney.”
Gurney? Gurney! Fuck why did he need a gurney? He tried to push himself up and the stinging in his side came back tenfold, turning into a sharp pain, and it all came back then.
The realisation must have been obvious as it crossed his features because Eddie was nodding then, smiling at him as Hen stated a “Yeah, you idiot, why didn’t you say anything?”
“’M fine.” She scoffed and looked at him incredulously as she grabbed things from her medical bag.
Eddie was still just looking at him, that worried smile that Buck hated seeing. Eddie always got those pain lines on his forehead, signs that he was overthinking and too into his own mind; Buck hated it. “’M fine Eds.”
“Tell that to your slurred speech.”
“Doesn’t look too bad but you’ve lost a lot of blood. Gonna need a trip to ER for a top up.”
“’S not that bad.”
“Yes, Buck, it is.” Bobby appeared then, and Buck hoped that somehow they could deal with this whole thing without him noticing. “You should’ve said something, if you were on the floor alone any longer it could’ve ended a lot worse.”
He didn’t even reply, he knew exactly what reaction he would get. This is exactly what he wanted to avoid. He had spent months fighting for his job back, and the blood thinners were the main reason he had to prove himself so much. All he had done was prove them all right instead.
“Gurney’s here, come on.”
“I can w’lk.” He muttered, pushing himself to stand and being helped by Eddie and Bobby on either side, each holding an arm and guiding him to the gurney.
“I have to wait here, you tell me how he is, ok? ill come and see you later Buck.” Buck just nodded and let his head flop down on the soft cushion, allowing one last look at the puddle of blood he’d left behind and groaning. “I’ll clean it, don’t worry.”
The doors closed with a harsh thud and they were on their way, the ambulance quickly driving out of sight, leaving a worried Bobby and a sea of curious crewmembers watching on.