Transfer to Help Himself

Chapter 8- Buck, The Natural Disaster Magnet

"This just in, Austin is now under a severe tornado warning. Multiple tornadoes have been spotted in neighbourhoods around the city. Be on the lookout and seek shelter immediately."

The team looked up, wondering what they should do. Judd spoke up, "Right now, we take shelter in the station. Once the tornadoes have passed, that's when we get calls. The most important thing is to make sure we stay alive so we can save other lives." The team nodded before making it to the lower level of the house. They could hear the wind pick up and the screaming of the tornado. All of them quickly made their way to the bunk room. The bunk room was considered safer than anywhere else in the house as it didn't have any windows or heavy gym equipment, just bunk beds. They waited for 30 minutes before the bells went off, signalling that the extreme weather was over in their district.

Their first call was to a Porsche that had been taken by the tornado and placed in between two buildings. "Marwani, I want you to repel down there and get the lady out safely. Buckley, you go up there with her and watch her back. You are her partner and need to make sure that she gets to the car." They nodded and went inside to head to the top. The others were given the task of setting and inflating the air bag, just in case the woman, Marjan or the car fell. Up on the roof, Marjan got into her harness and Buck checked her over, making sure it was on correctly. After getting Buck's approval, Marjan hooked herself up and repelled down to the car. It took a few minutes, but Marjan had gotten the lady out and Buck pulled them up. When they reached the others, Captain Vega had her paramedics look over the older woman while Buck and Marjan put their gear away. "You know, usually I'm the one that would repel down and put myself in danger. It was honestly great to be on the other end for once. I got to experience using the repel gear for more than repelling down."

Marjan laughed at that and patted Buck on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Disaster Boy. You'll get your turn." Buck laughed and got back in the truck. They hadn't got back to the station yet when their next call came in. A father and his kids were trapped in a house that had collapsed due to the tornado. They arrived on scene to see the father digging through the rubble. "You have to help me find my kids. They were in the bathroom when the tornado hit. Please help me find them." Buck immediately started looking. He had taken the time during the search for an apartment to research how most of the houses in Austin were built. The living room was the main room, down the hallway on the right was four rooms. Master in the back; two guest rooms, one on each side of the hallway; the bathroom in the middle. Buck followed the mental image that popped into his head. Reaching what was left of the bathroom, Buck started to call out to the kids. He didn't even know their names; he just knew he needed to get them out before the house collapsed even more.

He called out that he was with Austin F.D and that he was here to help. A few seconds later, Buck heard the voice of a child. "Help, my sister and I are in the bathtub. Daddy told us to stay here while he went to get the kitty." Buck got to work clearing a path to the door. He got the door open and helped the children out and made it just in time. Right as he walked out of the house with the kids, the house collapsed completely. Buck walked over to the paramedics and the children's father, handing the girl over Captain Vega. "Thank you so much. You saved my children. Thank you. Thank y..." The dad hadn't finished before he fell on the ground. "Daddy!" Captain Vega handed the girl back over to Buck before telling him to take the children to the fire truck and she started working over the dad. Buck did what he was told, though he knew that Captain Vega probably wouldn't be able to save him. Buck knew what it was like to be crushed by something heavier than him. He figured that the father was internally bleeding, which was why he didn't feel like he needed to be checked over. Internal bleeding cannot be detected that easily, which is why hospitals use FAST scans. Buck knew this when they checked him over after the bombing and after the tsunami.

They didn't have any of that in the field, so no one would have expected the father to be that injured. He heard Captain Vega call the time of death after getting off the phone with a doctor at the local hospital. He could hear the pleading cries of the children, alone until their mother came to pick them up. He could suddenly hear everything. Everything was too loud. Buck had had sensory overloads before due to his ADHD, but this was worse. Suddenly, everything became too much. Buck quickly let the girl go before getting into the firetruck and tried his best to block out the sound. All of the sudden, he could see Chris. But Chris didn't look like he normally did. Chris was a pale blue due to hypothermia from the water. He was floating... face down in the water, glasses behind him and crutches floating in front of him. The water kept rising. It wouldn't stop. The water rose over the fire truck of the 139 that Buck and Chris had taken shelter on top of. He could hear Eddie blaming him.

"Buck"

He couldn't look away from Chris's dead body floating.

"Buck"

He couldn't breathe, the water rising over his head.

"Buck!"

Buck was shaken from whatever this was by someone yelling his name. Buck turned and found TK sitting next to him. "Buck, it's ok. Just breathe." Buck nodded and did his best to follow TK's breathing. "Are the kids ok?" TK nodded, his eyes never leaving Buck's. "They are. But are YOU ok? You seemed pretty freaked out." Buck could still feel the overwhelming sense of the overload as he winced at TK's voice. "Everything was just too loud. I had to get away. It's still too loud..." TK could see that Buck was wincing at every sound. He pulled out a set of headphones that he kept with him for when he went with his dad to the cancer treatments. "Here, wear these. They are noise cancelling headphones. You can listen to music if you need to. The others are waiting until the mom gets here".

Buck takes the headphones and thanks TK. He put them on and started a little breathing technique he found during his hours of research. Once everything was bearable, he removed the headphones and handed them back to TK. "Wanna talk about it?" Buck nodded. He felt that if he got it off his chest, he could feel calmer. "Those kids lost their father. I should have told Captain Vega to check him over because I know what it's like to be crushed by heavier objects. I knew that there were more than just external injuries. But I could only think about the children. It got too much, and I had to get away. But then I could see Chris, floating in the water from the tsunami. He wasn't moving... His dad blaming me for Chris dying... The water rising over the truck we had taken shelter on. The water rising over my head..."

TK sat and listened to Buck. The man had been through three natural disasters and had survived more near-death experiences than TK or Owen did combined. TK figured Buck could have PTSD, but he knew not to diagnose Buck. Only a licensed psychiatrist or therapist could. Owen tried getting Buck to see a therapist after his first shift, but Buck made it clear that he could not go to a therapist, stating something along the lines of "I can't go through that again". TK pulled Buck into a side hug. No words could make everything perfect, but they would reassure Buck. "All of us today should have pushed him to get checked by the paramedics. It was no one person's fault. As for you rushing in there, Dad was going to do the same thing before you went. Only, Dad didn't have the knowledge that I know you do of these houses. He would have found them a little later and the house could have collapsed on them. You saved two lives today, Buck. And for Chris, from what you told me, he is alive and it's all thanks to you. Probie searched up the tsunami a few days after it happened, and he saw where a firefighter had single handedly saved multiple lives while on medical leave and I'm guessing that is you. You saved him, Buck. Both of you are still alive."

Buck nodded through his tears and laid his head on TK's shoulders. He might not believe TK at the time, but that didn't mean that he would try. Buck needed to talk to someone about his troubles. Someone who was professionally licensed to listen. The thing was that the last therapist he went to took advantage of Buck self-diagnosed sex addiction and threatened that she could keep if off the job if he didn't. Buck had never gone to another therapist after that. Maybe, just maybe, he could try. If not for him, then for his team. For TK.