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TDH 9-1-1
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Published:
2021-05-30
Words:
2,283
Chapters:
1/1
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194
Kudos:
7,655
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Your love got me slippin'

,

Summary:

Maddie blinks, her heart dropping into her stomach. That's Evan’s address.

“We have one male, late twenties with a concussion and a suspected fractured collarbone, and a second male with a possible fractured ankle.”

Suddenly, she recognises the voice.

"Eddie?”

There’s a moment of silence, then a muffled, "I think I got Maddie.”

 

AKA, the firefam responds to a rather embarrassing call at Buck’s place.

Notes:

@10pm last night:
An-Optimist-Prime: So, I’ve got a stupid idea
Tails: Yeah?
An-Optimist-Prime: Buddie sex injury fic
Tails: I’m listening
We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed writing this

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Confirming that the fire department has arrived, Maddie ends the call, standing to stretch her legs and glance across at the clock mounted on the far wall. Despite being an unusually quiet night at the dispatch call centre Maddie is relieved to see that her shift is almost over. 

Her computer screen flashes with an incoming call, and she sits, hitting the keyboard to accept one last call. 

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

For a second, there is only static, then the sound of scuffling echoes down the line along with an unintelligible whisper.

"Hello?" Maddie tries again. "9-1-1, is there someone there?"

“Stop touching it.” The voice is faint at first then comes in clearer. “Yes, sorry.” There’s something oddly familiar about them, but Maddie can’t quite put her finger on it. “We need an ambulance at Unit 6, 2080 Pine Street.” 

Maddie blinks, her heart dropping into her stomach. That's Evan’s address.

“We have one male, late twenties with a concussion and a suspected fractured collarbone, and a second male with a possible fractured ankle.”

Suddenly, she recognises the voice.

“Eddie?”

There’s a moment of silence, then a muffled, “I think I got Maddie.”

“What, no! Eddie, hang up the phone. Right now.” A second voice rises up from the background. This time Maddie recognises it immediately. 

“We need an ambulance. I can't drive with my ankle."

“Eddie?” Maddie tries again to cut across the bickering. “What happened? Why are you at Evan’s place?”

Her sharp tone draws Josh’s attention. From the corner of her eye, she notices him glance up and wander over to stand behind her at the terminal.

"Hang up the phone. I- I can drive us." Evan insists, his voice shaky, even through the tinny headset.

"Buck, you've got at least a mild concussion. You can't drive."

“I’ll call an Uber then.”

“Buck, no.”

The call now has an audience. Half the dispatch centre has crowded around Maddie's terminal, listening with barely concealed amusement as the two idiots bicker over the line. 

"Eddie!" Maddie has to shout to get their attention. "What happened?"

“We, uh, fell over?”

"Doing what?" Maddie’s fingers hover over her keyboard. "Can you give me more detail?"

"No." Evan cuts in, voice high and frantic. “Eddie, I swear to God. Hang up the phone.”

With a glance across at Josh, Maddie rolls her eyes. “Eddie, can I speak to my brother please?”

There’s a long moment of silence while they fumble over the phone.

“Heeeey Maddie.” 

“Evan.” Maddie can’t help the concern that bleeds through, despite the absurdity of the call. “What happened?”

"Nothing. We're fine. All good. So good. Sorry to bother you."

Maddie’s too tired to deal with this. It’s 7AM and she’s at the tail end of a twelve hour night shift. She decides it’s time to pull out the big guns and use her Big Sister Voice™.

“Evan.”

"It's nothing, really. Minor accident. We--"

"He's got a concussion." Eddie adds, over the top of him. “And a broken collarbone.”

“What were you two doing?” Maddie asks, adding the information to the call log. Something clicks in her head and she stops. “Wait, were you two--?” 

“Maddie!” Evan cuts her off with a strangled yelp. “Do not finish that sentence.”

There’s a muffled laugh from Josh as Maddie taps away at her keyboard. “Okay, I’m sending someone to you.” She puts the call out through the system and waits for a nearby paramedic team to respond. 

After a moment, one does. “Oh.”

“What? Maddie? Who is it?” Evan’s voice rises again in desperation. “Maddie?”

“You’re not going to like this.”

“No. Maddie, cancel the call.”

“I’m so sorry Evan.” 

"Maddie. Please!" 

"The 118 are on their way." 

There’s a muffled groan and a burst of rapid Spanish before the line goes dead.

***

“Alright, let’s wrap it up here and head back to the station.” Bobby glances at his watch. The fire had been contained quickly, and with any luck, they’ll be back to finish on time. 

The radio crackles to life and Bobby suppresses a groan. 

“Paramedics required at Unit 6, 2080 Pine Street. Please respond.”

“Wait,” Hen stops beside the ambulance, looking over at Bobby. “Isn’t that Buck’s address?”

Bobby reaches for his radio. “118 responding.” He turns to his crew. “Alright, let’s go.”

They race through the early morning traffic towards Buck’s apartment. They pull up out the front and Bobby meets Chim and Hen by the ambulance.

"What do you think happened?" Chim asks, reaching for his first aid kit. 

“You got any more information for us, dispatch?” Bobby asks, leading the way through the front door of the complex.

“Two adult males. One with a suspected fractured ankle, the other with a suspected fractured collarbone and possible concussion."

The news eases Bobby a little. The injuries don’t sound life threatening, but he won’t feel better until he sees it for himself.

“Two people?” Hen asks, swinging her kit over her shoulder. “Who’s with Buck at seven in the morning?”

Reaching the apartment, Bobby calls out, “Buck?” He tries the door handle, relieved to find that the door’s not locked. “Buck, you in here?”

“Yeah, we’re over here.” 

Bobby does a double take at Eddie’s voice. He’s sitting on the couch in a pair of briefs and a tank top, his left ankle up on the coffee table with an icepack resting on it. Beside him, Buck is half sitting, half slumping. There’s a towel wrapped around his hips and his arm is immobilized in a sling.

They’re both soaking wet. 

Hen and Chim push past Bobby to assess their patients. 

“Check Buck first,” Eddie tells them. “I’m pretty sure he’s concussed. Broken left collarbone as well.”

Hen sits on the edge of the coffee table and opens her kit. “And you?”

“Closed ankle fracture, left side.”

“So.” Chim saunters over and drops his bag by the couch, eyes dancing with unrestrained glee. “Eddie, what are you doing here?”

Bobby shoots him a warning look and Hen takes over.

“Okay, what happened here?” Hen asks, slipping into her professional paramedic tone.

"Well, you see," Buck starts. "I was in the shower and, I uh, I fell."

With a snort, Chim bites his lip to keep from laughing. “You fell?”

"Okay,” Hen drags the word out, gesturing towards Buck’s current attire. “That explains why you’re wet. But why is Eddie wet?"

"Because, he uh--" Buck looks at Eddie.

"I heard him fall and went to help him."

"Yeah, that.”

Bobby stifles his own snort at the audacity of the two men in front of him. They’ve all responded to calls like this, where it was abundantly clear what had actually happened.

There’s a wheeze from Chim as he bursts into laughter, bent double against the doorframe. 

Hen presses on, maintaining her professional tone. "But what happened to your clothes?"

Eddie flounders for a moment before offering, "They got wet?"

Bobby's gaze lands on a pair of jeans thrown haphazardly over the banister. There's another pair folded across the arm of the couch, bone dry.

"So, Eddie heard you fall?" Hen repeats. "Lucky he was here… at seven AM…" 

"Did he catch you too?" Chim wheezes, still clutching at the door for support. “Is that how you hurt your ankle?"

"I-"

Buck cuts Eddie off. "The floor was wet. He slipped."

"Uh huh." Bobby steps forward, folding his arms across his chest. "So, let me get this straight.” 

Hen snorts.

“You," Bobby points at Buck, "slipped and fell in the bathroom, where you were showering… alone?" Buck goes to nod, aborting the move quickly with a groan. "And, you," he turns to Eddie, "heard him, went to help and also fell…"

Buck shoots Eddie a warning glance before Eddie shrugs and says, "Sure." 

Chim manages to pull himself together. He pulls his phone from his pocket. “Hey boys, smile!” he says, quickly snapping a photo. He taps away at the screen and a moment later everyone’s phones ping with a new message.

"What was that?" Buck demands.

"Oh, nothing." Chim glances at his phone. "Maddie says 'hi' by the way.”

“Bobby,” Buck whines, gesturing towards the paramedic with his good arm. “That’s just unprofessional.”

“Chim.” Bobby shakes his head in warning, but he’s fighting to hide a smile. 

Hen sighs. “I need you to tell me what really happened, so I can treat you appropriately.” She uses the same tone she uses when someone won’t tell them what they really took, but her expression is amused. 

“I just told you what happened,” Buck insists. “I was in the shower and I slipped.”

“Why were you both in there?” She presses.

“I think the answer is obvious,” Chim pipes up. “Diaz and Buckley have been going to Poundtown!”

“Paramedic Han,” Bobby warns. “One more word and it’ll be an official warning.”  

Chim mimes zipping his lips.

“Buck,” Eddie sighs, from the couch. “They know.”

“But-” Buck groans, letting his head tip back against the cushions. “I want the record to state that I was only trying because you wanted to keep it quiet.”

“I know,” Eddie says, his voice going soft as he reaches to squeeze Buck’s good hand. “Thank you.”

From somewhere behind him, Bobby can hear Chim making fake retching noises and decides it’s time to wrap it up. “Alright, let’s get these two to the hospital,” he says, motioning for Chim to go help Hen get Eddie’s ankle splinted.

Chim kneels on the floor, working with a practiced efficiency. “So, how long have you two been, uh, bumping uglies?”

Buck lets out a shout, straining to reach the paramedic who lunges away. 

“That’s it, Chim. Outside, now.” Bobby points towards the door and Chim leaves the apartment, muttering something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like, “worth it.”

Hen finishes up, still fighting to keep the smile off her face. “No, but seriously,” she says. “How long have you two been together? And why did you think you needed to hide it from us?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Buck tells her. “Perhaps for this very reason.”

“We were going to tell you guys,” Eddie says. “We just wanted to wait, until we knew for sure. It’s only been about two months.”

“But that means…” Hen trails off and Bobby does the math in his head.

He raises his fist in victory. “Yes!” 

“What?”

“Nothing.” Bobby lets his hand drop.

“Wait, were you betting on us?” Buck’s eyes narrow in accusation. “I can’t believe this.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bobby tells him. “Are we ready to go?” He asks Hen, changing the topic. 

“Uh, no.” Buck gestures to the towel he’s still wearing. “Do you think you could, uh-” He lets the words hang in the air.

“Of course.” Bobby goes upstairs to find two pairs of sweatpants and carefully helps his firefighters get dressed. When they’re ready he helps Eddie hobble down to the elevator while Hen keeps Buck steady on his feet. 

He’s not sure how he’s going to cope with two of his best firefighters being out of duty for the next several weeks. “I’ve got to say,” he mentions as the elevator doors slide shut, “I expected this kind of behaviour from Buck, but Eddie… haven’t you boys ever heard of a non-slip mat?”

Eddie flushes red, but doesn’t say anything.

Chim is on the phone, standing by the ambulance when they get outside. “Maddie, I’ll call you back.” He disconnects the call and helps Bobby get Eddie into the ambulance, still chuckling under his breath as they get ready to hit the road.

As the ambulance finally pulls away, Bobby’s phone rings.

“Athena. I’m late, I know,” he starts, heading back to the truck.

“I don’t care about that. What’s this I saw in the group chat about Buck and Eddie? Does this mean we won the bet?”

With a laugh, Bobby climbs into the cab. “Let’s just say I can finally afford to take you to that restaurant you’ve always wanted to go to.”

***

It’s been a week since their accident and so far the teasing from the rest of the team has been surprisingly absent. Buck had been expecting non-stop torment, especially from Chim, but things have been blissfully quiet while they recover. 

He’s been staying with Eddie, making the joke that between his arm and Eddie’s ankle they make up one fully functional human. Chris had laughed at the joke, even if Eddie hadn’t. He was ecstatic that Buck had all but moved in with them for the foreseeable future. 

Right now, he’s sandwiched between Buck and Eddie on the couch, laughing along to the movie that’s playing on the television.

There’s a knock on the front door, dragging Buck’s attention away from the movie. He meets Eddie’s gaze over the top of Chris’s head.

“Don’t get up,” he tells Eddie, slowly pushing himself up from the couch. “I’ve got it.” 

Swinging the door open, Buck blinks in surprise.

“Who is it?” Eddie calls from the living room.

“Uh, there’s no one here.” Glancing down, Buck spots the gaudy gift bag sitting on the welcome mat. It’s a little awkward to pick up with one arm in a sling but Buck manages to carry it back inside and deposit it on the coffee table beside Eddie’s splinted foot.

“Oh, what is it?” Chris leans forward on the couch. 

“Dear Buck and Eddie,” Buck reads the Get Well Soon card out loud. “Missing you at the firehouse, and hope you get better soon. We hope you find this useful to prevent future ‘accidents’! Love, the 118.”

Reaching into the bag, Buck pulls out the non-slip shower mat.

“I’m going to kill them all.”

Notes:

Thank you for reading, and a huge thanks to anyone who takes the time to comment or kudos. We’re both super new to the 911 fandom, so we hope y’all enjoyed the fic ❤️

Wanna talk 9-1-1, or fandom more generally? You can find Tails on Tumblr, and Optimist-Prime on Twitter or Tumblr