A/N: I do apologize for updating only now (face palm). Sorry for the long wait. Thank you for all the new followers and favorites, I do appreciate it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own 911 or anything else, just my ideas.

Happy reading. Reviews are appreciated.

Chapter 4: Buck's Awakening

Eddie felt his heart break into millions of pieces as he watched how Christopher was looking at Buck with so much sadness in his eyes. It bothered him to see Christopher like this, and he could tell it was bothering Christopher as well to see Buck in such state. Christopher turned to Eddie, eyes brimming with tears, and Eddie couldn't even imagine what Christopher's thoughts were. A lump formed in Eddie's throat, and he could also feel the tears prickling at the back of his eyes. He hated to see his son heartbroken, and he hated to see his son crying.

"Is he dead?" Christopher asked tearfully. The question triggered Eddie's tears, and one slipped away from his eye, running down his cheek.

"No, no," Eddie shook his head. "He's sleeping; he just has to wake up." It was the lie of the year, and he frowned at his choice of words there, but it was partially true. Buck was in a sleeping state. Well, the correct medical term was that he was comatose, but Christopher wouldn't understand the term at his age. Christopher pondered on this for a moment before concluding on what he wanted to do. He came closer to Buck's head, and Eddie looked at Christopher, frowning. He wondered what his son was doing.

"WAKE UP!" Christopher shouted with full force that could wake up a whole neighbourhood. Eddie jumped from his seat. He clearly didn't expect his son to yell out of nowhere.

"Hey, hey, hey," Eddie called out as he pulled Christopher away from Buck's head. "You can't shout at Buck like that, buddy. It doesn't work that way."

"Oh," Christopher said sadly. "I thought it would help." He shrugged as more sadness crept upon his face, and he sank deeper into his chair. Eddie's heart felt like it sank to the bottom of the hospital's floor. The lump from earlier only grew larger in his throat, and he hated every moment. It killed Eddie from the inside to see his son like this, and he wished he could have done something to make it go away. Nevertheless, there was nothing more he could do except just to be there for his son.

"Come on, Chris," Eddie said. "We should let Buck rest a bit. We can come back later, I promise." Christopher gestured to be picked up by holding his arms out. Eddie did so, carefully picking him up from the chair and holding him firmly in his arms.

"Can you move me closer to Buck's head?" Christopher asked in a whisper. Eddie frowned for a moment, contemplating Christopher's request.

"You're not shouting again?" Eddie arched an eyebrow, his tone a warning.

"I promise," Christopher nodded. Eddie gave a faint smile before moving Christopher closer to Buck's head. Eddie hold on firmly as Christopher leaned closer before giving a kiss on Buck's cheek. He then leaned closer to Buck's ear, whispering into his ear only that he could hear.

"Please wake up." Christopher then sighed, turning and latched onto Eddie, burying his head into his shoulder. Eddie held his son tightly against him as Christopher started to sob quietly. Eddie grabbed Christopher's crutches that were resting in the corner and made his way out of the room, leaving Buck behind.

Buck swiveled and turned, looking for the source

WAKE UP!

He could hear it echoing around him. Who was it? The voice sounded so familiar to him. He quickened his pace, looking for the source.

"Where the heck is the voice coming from?!" Buck yelled as he raked his hand through his hair. Where was he? What was happening to him? He was so confused in the world he was in. He walked around aimlessly, nothing making sense to him. The world was all white to him, and yet he was looking for the voice. He came to a stop as he heard the voice again, whispering in his ear. It sounded so close, as though the person was right by his head. It was a voice that he recognized.

"Christopher?" he breathed as Buck spun around. He felt this sudden pull and then a jolt to his chest shortly afterwards. He stood there, confused and shocked. It was Christopher! His voice was doing something to him. But then, there was nothing, no voice. His world felt into silence again.

"Don't go!" Buck shouted. "Chris, buddy, you're helping! Say something else!" There was still nothing.

"CHRISTOPHER!" Buck shouted, his voice echoing. There was still nothing. Chris's voice was no longer there. Buck slumped down on his knees, burying his head in his hands as he started to cry.

"Christopher…"

"9-1-1 What's your emergency?"

"Please help! My wife is not breathing anymore!" the man on the other line yelled, hyperventilating through the phone.

"What's your location, sir?"

"We're at the Garden Cottage B&B on 8318 W 4th Street."

"Don't panic, help is on the way."

"Please hurry!"

Line disconnected…

...

LAFD arrived in minutes at the B&B, the team already running in at full speed. A man in his mid-thirties was waiting for them at the door and pointing at the direction where his wife was, which the team followed. His forehead was covered in sweat, a clear indication of worry. He quickly moved around the B&B where his wife was lying on the floor, her hand on top of her chest.

"Okay, so what happened?" Captain Nash asked the man as Henrietta and Chimney gently placed their equipment beside the woman and start checking her.

"I-I-I don't know," the man stuttered on his words, raking his hand through his hair. "One minute we were dancing to our song and the next… I'm coming back from the kitchen with rose pedals in my hand to see her fall to the ground, her hand clutching against her chest." Tears were brimming in his eyes now.

"Does your wife have any medical history of heart disease or issues?" Captain Nash asked. The man quickly shook his head.

"Not that I know of."

"Possible heart attack?" Henrietta questioned. She held her hand against the woman's wrist, looking for any sign of a pulse, but there was none.

"She's not breathing, Cap," Henrietta confirmed, hovering over the woman's chest. "I'm going to start CPR compressions." She gently placed the heel of her hand on top of the woman's chest, covering her hand with her other and interlocking her fingers. She nodded at Chimney as she started to do compressions on the woman, pressing hard on the woman's chest about two inches as she delivered 30 compressions while Chimney did two rescue breaths in between. They did this over and over.

"Still not breathing," Chimney said as Henrietta continued to deliver compressions. She pressed hard but subtle, giving it her all. Chimney continued to administer rescue breaths in between the compressions with the breathing bag, looking for any sign of breathing, yet there were still none. Eddie watched silently at how Henrietta performed CPR. His mind travelled to Shannon as he stared at the woman, who looked similar to his dead wife. The day they first met came into his mind as the song on the radio in the background played, the very song he'd sang to her.

-Flashback-

The bar was packed to the fullest, people chattering loudly over each other. It was the very first karaoke night that the bar was hosting, which had been Shannon's idea in order to attract some more people and bring it some more money, and due to her idea, it worked. She, of course, needed the tips, and even then, the tips she made was barely enough to cover her rent for the apartment she had downtown.

"Hey, Shannon, baby!" a man from across the room called out with his one hand in the air. "Can you give me another one?" he held up the empty bottle of beer with his other hand to show her. Shannon looked up and nodded his way, giving a thumbs up as she smiled and finished wiping the counter with her rag. He was one of her regulars at the bar, a very quiet man who'd always smiled and never bothered anyone. But of course, he was also the manager's best friend since high school about roughly forty years ago.

"Hey, Carl, one martini, a tray of Jell-O shots, and a regular beer for Mr. Bob over there," Shannon shouted at Carl, the mixologist at the bar. She hoped that he heard her because the bar was too loud to talk normally to each other. Shannon saw Carl nod his head and giving her the thumbs up as he continued to show his moves to the three ladies who were sitting in front of him and tittering at his constant jokes he made about his days in high-school. Shannon turned around the corner and grabbed the empty tray from the counter along her way as she searched for empty glasses around the bar. She placed the tray on one of the tables and started gathering all the glasses.

"Um, excuse me, miss?" a man from behind her called out. Shannon twirled around on her heel and bumped into the man. She stumbled backwards, almost falling down to the ground, when she was successfully caught by the man, who brought her right back up in seconds. Their faces were inches away, and she could feel his breath on her lips as she stared right in his hazelnut eyes.

"Sorry," she sheepishly apologized as the man let go of her and feeling embarrassed at her clumsiness. The man who caught her had dark brown hair, which was combed neatly to the side. He was tall and lean and had a great muscular body, which she had felt for a second when he caught her. The black shirt he was wearing hugged his frame tightly, which was a pretty good indicator that he was in shape. She swallowed hard, feeling a little bit flushed. How could she be so clumsy?

"It's no problem," he smiled at her, and Shannon could feel the butterflies in her stomach. She shook her head and cleared her mind.

"Hi, what can I get you?" she asked in the friendliest way she could as she picked up her tray from the table. But instead of saying his order to her, he grabbed the tray from her hands and smiled.

"Let me help you with that," he said, grinning. "We don't want you dropping this." He winked. She caught his teasing tone and rolled her eyes as they made their way over to the bar. She couldn't help but to flush again at his words. How on Earth does that work? She barely knew him, and he's already getting to her. He was handsome and very much a gentleman as he put the tray on the counter.

"Thank you," she politely said as she stood behind the bar again.

"The pleasure is all mine," the man said leaning over the counter with his elbows.

"What can I get you?" she asked.

"Give me a beer and your number possibly?" he said smoothly, grinning at her. It took Shannon a moment to actually hear what the man just said to her before she chuckled and shook her head. She grabbed a beer from the fridge and handed it over to him.

"I almost made a fool out of myself back there, and you still want my number?" Shannon asked in disbelief. The man chuckled, looking over to the spot and scratching the back of his head with his hand. Truth to be told, he was the reason why she almost fell to the ground after seeing him standing so dangerously close to her. But then again, the bar was packed and there was limited space to move anyway.

"Well," the man shrugged. "Blame it on how crowded it is in here." He gave her a slight smile as he stared into her eyes. The connection between them was as strong as steel; nothing could break it. The man shook his head and continued to talk.

"My name's Eddie," he said as he extended his hand towards her. Shannon reluctantly shook his hand, feeling the sparks between them grow more intense at his touch.

"Shannon," she smiled.

"So, Shannon, what about your number?" he asked again. Shannon scoffed this time, but the smile never leaving her face.

"I don't give my number out to anyone," she said, continuing her bar duties.

"But I'm not anyone, I'm the guy who just saved your life," Eddie said playfully, giving her a mock gasp and acting like he was hurt by her words. She continued to smile at him as she rolled her eyes.

"That doesn't mean anything," she said, grabbing her rag from the counter. "I don't know anything about you."

"Well, let's see. You know my name is Eddie. Actually, it's Edmundo, but my friends like to call me Eddie because it's just easier. I was born and raised in Texas. I'm currently an Army Medic. My mother is Swedish, and my father is Mexican. I do have multiple sisters as well," Eddie finished. Shannon just stared at Eddie. This stranger had just willingly shared half of his life story with her without abandon. She assumed there was more to it, but she didn't ask.

"Now I'm not a stranger anymore," Eddie grinned. Shannon smiled as she wiped the counter with the rag she had grabbed earlier. She couldn't believe how messy people tended to get when they were drunk. She looked at Eddie again, who couldn't stop staring at her.

"So, Eddie, what brings you here?"

Eddie smiled once again.

"Well," he started. "Me and my friends stopped by for a beer. I saw you and couldn't help but to notice how beautiful you are, so I took my chance and now I'm here." He grinned, knowing that was a cheesy line, but it was the truth. Shannon snorted, feeling her cheeks becoming warmer than usual as she tried her hardest not to look at Eddie, who had given her such a nice compliment.

"You mean clumsy," she corrected. "Not beautiful."

"Beautiful," he confirmed. Shannon looked at him for a second before she continued to wipe off the counter. She knew the counter was already spotless, but she couldn't look at Eddie for more than a second or else she would find herself staring. Eddie was an incredibly handsome and charming man in his own way. She knew that she would lose herself in his hazelnut eyes if she looked at them for too long, so, she tried her hardest not to make eye contact. There was a moment of silence between them before Eddie spoke.

"So, Shannon, are you currently seeing anyone?" he asked. He dearly hoped that her answer would be no. She shook her head, making him sigh in relief in his head. He had a chance.

"No, I'm single," she said as she tossed the rag over her shoulder, daring herself to look at Eddie.

"So why can't I have your number then?" Eddie asked.

"Because I don't give my number to strangers," she reminded him. "Regardless of whether or not they give me a quick rundown of their life in less than thirty seconds. And besides, even if I give you my number, how do I know you're not a psychopath?" She lifted an eyebrow and smiled at him. Eddie grinned at her question, making her flush for a moment. She scolded herself that he had this effect on her. No other man had this effect on her, so why him?

"Well, that is a chance you have to take," he said. "What can I do to get your number so that I can ask you on a date?" He arched his eyebrow and waited patiently for her to give her number. Shannon thought for a moment as she bit on her lower lip. She was making it hard for him, but she didn't want it to be too easy. Her eyes scanned across the bar until it finally landed on the empty karaoke stage, and she grinned.

"Sing me a song," she suggested. Eddie turned around and looked at the stage and at the crowd before turning back to Shannon.

"A song?"

"Yes, a song," she nodded her head, knowing she had won, but to her surprise, her victory didn't last long.

"Done," he said, grinning as he turned around and walked to the karaoke machine. She looked at him astonished, not expecting this at all. Eddie searched for a song until he found the perfect one, a song from one of his favorite series of all, Grey's Anatomy. Music filled the bar as the lyrics started to pop up on the screen

'We'll do it all,

Everything

On our own'

-End of Flashback-

Eddie was jolted back to reality when Bobby called out his name for the 100th time. Eddie shook his head, taking in his surroundings and realizing he had been in trance. He blinked a few times, noticing the room was now empty.

"What happened? Where is the woman? Is she okay?" he asked, panicking.

"She's fine," Bobby reassured Eddie as he gave him a concerned look. This wasn't the first time that he noticed Eddie phased out on a job, and this made Bobby even more worried than before. Eddie nodded his head as Bobby left the room, making his way back to the truck. Eddie stood there for a moment as the song faded out on the radio

'Would you just lie with me and just forget the world?'

...

The team safely arrived at the station, and all of them geared down and went upstairs to enjoy their meals except Eddie, who was sitting on the bench in the locker room, his face buried in his hands. Bobby noticed he was alone and made his way towards him. He knocked at the door two times before coming in and closed the door behind him, which made Eddie look up and started to straighten himself.

"How are you holding up?" Bobby asked as he took a seat beside Eddie. He noticed the tired look on Eddie's face, and Bobby could see the whole thing with Buck was killing Eddie on the inside, just as it was also killing him.

"I took Chris to see Buck," Eddie said. He gritted his teeth at the memory. It still hurt to see his son so sad while he looked at Buck.

"You told him?" Bobby asked.

"I had to," Eddie told Bobby. "He kept asking about Buck, and I couldn't lie to him anymore, so I told him. He took it as expected, not too good. But he has this hope inside of him that Buck is going to wake up anytime soon. The kid even shouted in Buck's ear, which was my fault because I told him he was sleeping." Eddie chuckled a little, but it faded away quickly.

"Kids, eh?" Bobby smiled. He felt a pang inside of him like he always did whenever he thought about kids. It made him think of his own.

"Earlier, I had a memory of Shannon," Eddie confessed, looking at his Captain. "When I saw that woman on the ground and hearing that song that was playing...I couldn't help but to think about her and how we met."

He paused for a moment, pressing his fingers together and trying not to cry. When would he stop crying? It seemed like a constant thing for him right now.

"But she is dead now," he went on. "Christopher already lost his mother, and I can't bear the thought of him losing Buck." A tear threatened to escape his eye and slide down his face, but he pushed it back. Bobby felt empathy for Eddie and knew what he was going through.

"I'm going to try to limit the visits," Eddie said sternly, nodding to his own words. "I don't want him getting upset every time." He was trying to protect Christopher, but nevertheless, he was protecting himself as well.

"Good idea." Bobby said, not wanting to tell Eddie what to do as it was not his place.

"I gotta run," Eddie said. "Thank you for checking up on me Cap." Eddie smiled gratefully before he went on his way. Bobby just sat there, watching from the distance as Eddie walked away. He was deeply concerned for his friend. He felt helpless as he had no idea how to help Eddie while he himself was dealing with the situation with Buck. He at least had Athena by his side, but Eddie had no one except for Carla.

A few days had passed, and Eddie was given some time off since he kept phasing out on calls, but he decided to go back to work today as he was feeling a bit better. That night, Christopher was asleep on Eddie's lap. They were watching a movie when Chris had fallen asleep, and Eddie did as well soon after. Carla didn't want to wake them up, so she just threw a blanket over them to keep them warm. Morning came, and Carla was already gone. She had left a note for him beside his head for him to read. Christopher stirred in his sleep, which made Eddie wake up. He carefully placed Christopher on the sofa as he went off to the kitchen to fetch some coffee. It was almost time to visit Buck again. They had visited Buck one more time since the other night. It was just as hard every time he went in there. At least the note from Carla had made him smile.

...

Christopher walked aimlessly around in the white world. He had no clue where he was or what he was supposed to do, but he kept on walking, searching. In a distance he saw a figure, but he couldn't make out who it was, so Christopher walked closer until he saw who it was.

"Buck!" he called out. Buck turned around and ran to him, embracing Christopher.

"Christopher!" Buck exclaimed. "I'm so glad to see you buddy." Buck smiled, holding tightly onto Christopher.

"I can hear you, buddy. You gotta keep it up. It's you, you are the one bringing me back," Buck told Christopher. "You gotta go back and wake me up!"

"Me and Daddy will go back," Christopher promised, holding out his pinkie. "I'll wake you up, I promise!"

"You can do it, buddy," Buck urged grabbing Christopher's pinkie with his. "You can wake me up Chris, wake me up."

"I will," Chris nodded. "I will."

Christopher woke up from his dream, he felt excited as a huge smile grew on his face. He had to tell his dad. He flung the blanket off of him and rushed to find his father in the kitchen as quickly as he could.

"Daddy!" Christopher shouted.

"Hey, little buddy, did I wake you up?" Eddie asked. Christopher shook his head as he came to a stop in front of his dad.

"We have to go back to the hospital!" Christopher urged as he tucked his shirt into his pants.

"Why?" Eddie frowned.

"I had a dream, and Buck was there. He told me I was waking him up. We have to go back!" Christopher said urgently.

"Oh, buddy, I don't think that will work," Eddie said, kneeling in front of his son and running his hand through his son's hair.

"No! We have to try! He said my voice was working. He just kept saying that to me. 'It's working, it's working.' We have to go back!" Christopher said more forcefully. Eddie looked at his son and knew he wasn't going to give up.

"Okay, okay," he caved in, nodding. "We can go."

"Right now?" Christopher asked hopefully.

"What about breakfast?" Eddie asked, but he could see his son wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

"I'm not hungry," Chris said on cue.

"Okay, right now," Eddie said, and they both got ready to go to the hospital. Before Eddie drove to the hospital, he texted Bobby and Athena about Christopher's dream and asked what they thought of it, but he didn't get a respond out of Bobby, only from Athena. She was encouraging. The ride was silent, and he wondered if Christopher was right, but he felt very skeptical. They got to the hospital, parked, and reached Buck's room, and there was Buck, still lying there in a coma like he always was. Christopher went straight over to his bed, right by his head.

"Buck, it's me," he said. "It's Christopher. I saw you in my dream. I'm here. I'm going to wake you up now." Eddie tried hard not to feel the heartache that was coming because he knew his son was going to be very disappointed when Buck didn't wake up. They spent an hour there, and Christopher talked nonstop. He threw in a "wake up" or two every so often.

"Come on," Eddie sighed. "I gotta go to work now. I'm sorry, bud."

"Noooooo!" Christopher cried. "He will wake up! He will, I know it!" Eddie didn't say anything. He just extended his hand for his son to take. Chris turned to Buck one last time.

"Come to my voice," Christopher tried one more time. "Buck, I know you can hear me." A tear escaped his eye.

"Chris..."

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!" he yelled with force.

"Christopher!" Eddie chastised. A nurse poked her head in to see what was going on, and Eddie apologized for his son's actions. He picked up Christopher, who was still shouting at Buck. Christopher tried to struggle out of his father's arms but to no avail. He just cried, tears streaming down his cheeks. Then he gave up. Eddie soothingly rubbed his son on the back.

"We will be back," Eddie promised as he went to the door, but he was caught off guard by someone weakly saying his son's name. He slowly turned around to see Buck's eyes open.

"Chris," Buck said again, louder now.

"Oh my God," Eddie said. "Nurse!"

"Buck!" Chris shouted. "I knew it! He woke up!"

A flurry of activity entered the room, and Eddie stood to the side in shock as the doctor and nurse checked over Buck.

"You heard me?" Buck asked, looking at Christopher. "You saw me?"

"I did. I saw you, and I came back like I promised," Christopher said, sharing a moment with his Buck.

"Thank you," Buck said. He felt his throat become sore as he talked. Eddie helped him take a sip of the water that was sitting on the bedside table. Buck gracefully sipped before he looked at Eddie.

"Hey, buddy, how have you been?" Eddie asked. He couldn't help but to chuckle, wrapping his arms around Buck and holding him as tightly as he could, but Buck winced at the pain that shot through his body.

"Peachy," Buck answered in a teasing tone.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Eddie ordered as he let go. Buck just smiled, holding out his hand, which Eddie took and shook with joy.

"Hang on," he said. "I gotta let the others know." Then Eddie quickly took out his phone to call Bobby.

"Bobby!" he shouted.

"Eddie? What's going on?"

"It's Buck! He's woken up!"