Full Summary:

After going to a bar after work, Buck ends up on a bus because he got a little too drunk and did not want to chance driving home. The bus driver never saw the truck as it went through an intersection. The truck never stopped moving as it ran through the red light. Athena is on shift and must call Bobby to tell him that Buck was involved in a serious accident. Does Buck survive?

The Bus Crash:

Buck sat at the back of the bus, near the heater. It was an unordinary cool night and he as trying to warm his hands. The bus had stopped and a young woman in scrubs got onto the bus. She also decided to sit in the back. They nodded at each other and then went back to their own space. The young woman pulled out a textbook with a notebook stuck in the middle. She grabbed a pen and began to do the work that had been asked of her by her history professor. She'd been going to school while working as a nurse in a local Emergency Room. Her car was in the shop and she'd been forced to take the bus.

Once warm, Buck looked over towards her and noticed the history book and notebook. He wasn't meaning to pry or bother her; he just got a little too curious for his own good. She could feel him staring and when she looked over at him, he tried to look away but knew that he'd been caught. She shut the book with the notebook still inside and put the book into her backpack. She put her pen away as well and turned towards him with a smile on her face.

"Did you need something?"

"Who…me?"

"Yes, you, you were staring over my shoulder. What can I do for you?"

"I was just curious as to what you were studying. That's all, I swear."

"Well, if you must know, it's a history assignment. I'm studying anthropology."

"But, you're a nurse."

"Yes. Nursing is putting me through college. And it's paying for my student loans. My bosses at LA General all understand my higher education and give me the schedule that I need to stay up with my classes."

"Well, that's nice. I'm Buck by the way."

"Buck huh? Is that your first name or last name?"

"Well, my full name is Evan Buckley, but everyone including my sister calls me Buck. And I like it better. What's your name?"

"I'm Karissia Campbell. You can call me Kari or Sia. People tend to miss-spell and miss-pronounce my name all the time. So, it's easier to abbreviate it for people."

"Ah, I see. What brings you to the bus this late at night?"

"My car is in the shop so hence the bus. How about you? What do you do for a job? And what brings you to the bus?"

"Well, I'm a firefighter out with station 118. And I went to a bar tonight and didn't want to chance driving. I asked the bar owner if he could keep my car overnight at the lot and he said he would. We moved it together, locked it up, and then I headed for the closest bus stop to wait. It was chillier than I thought it would be, hence me sitting next to the heater."

"Yeah, it's supposed to dip to at least 30degrees tonight. You should have brought a coat."

"Yeah, I just had my sweater in my Jeep so it's better than nothing."

"I get what you are saying. So, how long have you been a firefighter?"

"A little over three years. How long have you been a nurse?"

"A little over four years. Jealous?"

"Nope; my sister Maddie was a nurse for the better part of a decade. I know how hectic it can be. She ran the Emergency Room she worked at in Pennsylvania. She was very good at multi-tasking."

"Well, she sounds like a wonderful sister. Can I ask how long to your stop?"

"Only a couple miles. I live in an apartment with a loft. It's pretty nice."

"Oh yeah, I just moved into one of those. I was living in the student housing and the nursing school because I would help teach on the days that I didn't have to work. It was time for my own place."

"I hear you. I moved in just before I had an accident at work. Luckily, the agent I rented from was pretty understanding and I was still getting paid with workers comp and all that so at least I was able to pay my bills."

"Well then, I think we are getting off at the same stop. I think that's a good idea. I don't much like walking in the dark alone."

"Well, in that case, let me be of some help. Also, in the morning I have to take the bus to go get my Jeep that I left at the bar because I didn't want to chance getting pulled over and being arrested for drunk driving."

"How very responsible of you."

Buck stopped talking for a moment and had just looked out the window when his eyes went wide. Kari saw his eyes and got a confused look on her face. Before she could ask what was wrong, Buck had grabbed her arm and yanked her out of her seat all the while yelling at the driver to speed up. The driver didn't understand what he was yelling about until it was too late. The next moment, there was pain as both hit the window on the opposite side of where they had been sitting. And then darkness encased the pair.

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Buck woke slowly. He could hear sirens in the background racing to the crash site. When he tried to move, pain enveloped his head. He moaned a little and then remembered Kari. His eyes flew open and he saw her lying on his arm. There was glass imbedded in his arm but she looked unhurt. Ignoring the pain in his head he moved so that he was sitting up and as he moved, Kari's eyes started to flutter open. She looked up at Buck and he helped her sit up. She was in immediate nurse mode. She examined his head and told him he most likely had a concussion and that his arm would need to be debrided to get all the glass out. She asked if he could stand to which he said that he could. She grabbed her bag and then the two got to work helping those that had been on the bus.

The sirens in the background steadily got louder until a police car came to a halt on the other side of the bus. The bus had been hit so hard that it had flipped three times before coming to a halt on its side in the middle of the intersection. As Athena got out of her vehicle, she assessed the situation and could hear people moving about inside the bus. She went to the front of the bus and climbed through the destroyed windshield. The glass was gone but she did her best to keep her hands off the sides to prevent herself from getting cut. She had her flashlight out and was scanning the inside of the bus, trying to see if anyone was alive.

Her flashlight landed on a pair of passengers that looked to be assessing the other injured. She moved forward as best she could without disturbing any of the crime scene. When she got to the pair of passengers helping the injured, she sucked in a breath. She couldn't believe who she was seeing.

"Buck? Is that you?"

"Athena, how'd you get here so fast?" Buck asked as he looked up to see his friend.

"Doesn't matter. Are you sure you two should be moving around?"

"He'll be fine. He has a concussion and some glass imbedded into his arm where we landed, but he's fine to help."

"And you would be?"

"I'm Karissa but you can call me Kari. I'm a nurse."

"Alright, how about we get these people out of here. The rest of the rescue teams should be here any minute."

"Bobby?" Buck asked.

"The 118 is working tonight. Though why you weren't has me a little curious."

"Bobby sent me home early. I kind of got into a small argument with one of the other members and Bobby sent me home to cool off. I went to a bar instead."

"So that explains why you are on the bus. Did you leave your Jeep at the bar?"

"Yeah; the plan was to go back tomorrow to get it. Now, I'm thinking I may just stay home."

"Enough talking you two and help, please. A girl can't do it all on her own you know."

"Sorry; on it."

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As the 118 pulled up to the scene, they saw people laid out of the pavement. Bobby saw as Athena and a young woman brought out a passenger before the young woman disappeared back inside. Buck was busy moving people to the front of the bus to make it easier and faster to get them out. His headache had been steadily increasing as he worked but he figured it had something to do with the fact that you aren't supposed to overexert yourself when you have a concussion so he didn't mention it to anyone. He didn't want to be sidelined from helping. He knew the second the rescue crews got there, him and Kari would be sidelined, but at the moment it was just the three of them.

As Bobby and the 118 moved in, Athena stepped up to her husband. She put her hand on his chest to keep him from going any further. There was a look of confusion on his face.

"Athena, what have we got?"

"Bus crash, about twenty-five passengers, most with minor injuries. The bus driver went through the windshield when the bus flipped. His body will need to be recovered. It's back a ways. The truck driver was drunk and barely injured himself. Luckily for us, some gang members saw the crash happened and stopped the driver from leaving the scene. Some of my guys picked him up a couple of minutes ago."

"Alright, so why did you stop us from going any further?"

"Bobby…"

"What happened?"

"Buck was on the bus when it was hit. He's okay for the most part, but he was banged up a little. He's been helping the nurse get everyone off the bus. They were assessing the injured when I got here and saw him." Athena had been watching there faces as she relayed her information. They had all grown steadily worried as she spoke.

"You're sure he's okay?" Eddie asked.

"He's fine. There were only a couple of people left on the bus when you guys pulled up. They should be bringing out the last of the passengers now."

Right as Athena finished talking, Eddie moved past her and over to where Buck and Kari had come out with one of the last passengers. He had a trail of blood running down his face from where he'd been cut and some blood on his arm from the glass but other than that, he looked okay. He helped them lay the passenger on the ground but before Buck could move back into the bus, Eddie stopped him and looked him over. He wanted to make sure he really was okay.

"Eddie?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"He'll be fine once he gets a CT. He does have a concussion and some glass in his arms and I'm pretty sure we both have cracked ribs, but I don't think we are too badly hurt. There are two more people still on the bus."

"We'll get them. You guys should get looked at by the medics. Let Chimney and Hen look at you." Bobby said walking over to them to see if Buck really was okay. Hen and Chimney had started in on the numerous passengers lying on the pavement.

"Yea, sure, we can do that. Come on Buck; don't need your captain yelling at the two of us."

Kari laughed a small laugh as she maneuvered herself and Buck over to where the medics were working. Chimney had them both sit down on the back of the ambulance so that he could look at them. It seemed that the adrenaline had finally worn off the pair because as Chim poked and prodded them, they winced in pain. Athena took the chance to come over to the group.

"How are they really doing, Chimney?"

"Buck here has a concussion, glass that needs to be debrided from his arm and possibly a couple cracked ribs. His friend here," he was interrupted before he could go on.

"My name is Karissa but you can call me Kari."

"My bad; Kari here has a couple of cracked ribs. Possibly a sprained wrist, definitely a sprained ankle by the way she was limping over here and a couple pieces of glass in her arm as well. It's like she had a nice teddy bear to land on."

"Well actually…"

"You landed on Buck, didn't you?" Hen asked coming up.

"I owe my life to Buck. I was sitting where the truck hit the bus. He saw it a minute before it hit us and yanked me out of the way and tried to get the driver to speed up. We both blacked out as soon as the bus started to flip."

"Yeah, you are both going to the hospital. Don't need anyone collapsing on us. And Buck, I've put a call into Maddie. She'll be at the hospital when you get there."

"Of course she will." Athena laughed a little at the sigh that came out of Buck as she relayed the information about his sister. She shook her head and then walked off to make sure the scene was in order.

"Maddie's the amazing sister you told me about?"

"Yes, she is. And she is going to kill me."

"You were a hero. I doubt she'll kill you."

"Come on, let's get going. Bobby will want to know that you guys have been taken to the hospital. And you'll bet that the rest of the team will be there as soon as this scene is picked up." Hen said as she ordered Kari and Buck into the back of the ambulance with Chimney so that he could bandage their wounds properly.

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Maddie was indeed at the hospital when the 118s ambulance pulled up. But it was a good sign to be seeing her brother walking into the ER and not on the stretcher. He smiled at Maddie as he and Kari were escorted through the doors and onto awaiting beds. Chimney and Hen recited their vitals and told them what they had seen when they'd pulled up, and then both went out to the waiting area. They were sitting with Maddie when the rest of the 118 showed up with Athena.

"Maddie, have we heard anything?" Athena asked.

"They were sent up for a CT scan. Other than that, not much. The doctors will probably want them to stay the night though."

"I don't doubt it."

"What happened, Athena?"

"A truck driver ran a red light and hit the bus as it was going through an intersection. The bus driver never saw the truck and never had a chance to get out of the way. He was thrown out the window as the bus rolled. From what I know and what Kari told me when I first got on the scene, nobody saw it coming."

"But what was Buck even doing on the bus in the first place? He was supposed to be at work."

"That's a question for Bobby," Athena said turning towards her husband. "Since when does a small argument get one person sent home and not the other?"

"What are you talking about Athena?" Bobby asked, slightly confused.

"Buck said that he'd gotten into an argument and that he was sent home to cool off. He didn't say anything about the other person getting sent home."

"Buck didn't get into an argument. That's not why he was sent home."

"He seems to think it is."

"That may have more to do with his concussion though. Why was he sent home then?" Maddie asked.

"He had a half day. He had a dentist appointment to get to and I told him he could just go home afterward. It had nothing to do with an argument."

"So, maybe it was the alcohol and the concussion working against his memory then?" Athena said.

"Alcohol? He was drunk?" Maddie questioned.

"No, just drinking. He said he went to a bar before he got on the bus. His Jeep is back at that bar."

"Well, we can find out which bar it was and one of us will pick his Jeep up on the way back to the station. We should get his keys."

"There's no need to ask him. He gave me one of his spares just in case I have to drive him."

Maddie grabbed the extra key off her key ring and handed it over to Eddie, who pocketed the key so he didn't lose it. The talking stopped for a little while. Nobody really had anything to talk about. Eddie got up at some point to call Carla and tell her what had happened. She said that she'd bring Chris by if he wanted but Eddie told her to let him sleep. They both understood the implications of waking Chris up in the middle of the night, especially on a school night. As he walked back into the waiting room, the doctor walked out to talk to the group.

"How's Buck doing? And his friend Kari?" Maddie asked.

"Both have concussions and will need to stay the night. But they shouldn't need to stay more than one night. We debrided the wound on your brother's arm and removed all of the glass. Both have three cracked ribs, but those will heal with time. Karissa on the other hand has a fracture in her wrist so that was splinted and she did indeed sprain her ankle, but that should heal fine. You can see them if you want. They are resting comfortably. I've put them in the same room so you won't have any trouble finding them."

"Yes, we do want to see them."

"Alright, I'll have a nurse take you to their room in a few minutes."

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Two days later saw Buck sitting in the passenger seat of his Jeep. Maddie was driving him home from the hospital. Karissa was sitting in the back seat. She'd explained that giving her a ride home wasn't that hard since she lived in the same building as Buck. They'd had to stay an extra day since the doctors wanted to make sure they were really truly on the mend before letting them go home. Maddie said she keep an eye on Buck and Karissa had told them that she was a nurse so she could look after herself. They'd laughed at her and one of the other nurses said she'd stop by her apartment later on in the week to make sure she really was okay. The two had been taken to LA General Hospital, which just so happened to be where Karissa actually worked. She'd been given the next two weeks off and told only to come back once she'd gotten a doctor's note.

Maddie pulled up outside the apartment building and found Eddie, Chris, and Chimney waiting for her. Eddie looked like he had a backpack with him and Karissa's eyes kind of bulged at the sight of the bag. As they got out, Karissa made a grab for the bag as Eddie handed it over.

"You found my bag. I thought I lost it at the crash site."

"Well, actually Athena had put it into her patrol car so that it wouldn't get separated from the crash. And then she forgot to give it to you while we were all at the hospital."

"Thank you. I have important course work that can't be lost."

"So, I thought Maddie was giving you a ride home?"

"Yes, she did. I moved into this building a couple of weeks ago. Something Buck and I found out when we were talking on the bus."

"Well, isn't that nice. You'll have a friend in the building Buck. And since you aren't going to be working for a couple weeks to let those ribs heal, you two should get along nicely."

"Bobby won't let me come back even on light duty?"

"You told Athena that the reason you got sent home early was because of a fight that didn't happen. Your brain was doing the talking for you, not your memory. Bobby wants to make sure you are 100% healed before letting you back. But at least you have a nurse in the building to tell you what you can and can't do."

"That's what I have Maddie for."

They all laughed as they headed inside. They got up to Buck's apartment and Karissa said her goodbye. She headed up another floor and entered her apartment. Once inside Buck's apartment, they all sat down. Chris hugged Buck without hurting him and asked if he could watch TV. When he got a yes, he waddled over to the TV and turned it on. The adults stayed next to the kitchen table and talked a little more. After about an hour of talking, Maddie could tell that Buck was getting tired. She stood up and told him to go to bed. Eddie left with Chris and Chimney walked out the door a few minutes later, telling Maddie he'd be waiting by his car.

Maddie made sure Buck had access to his pain medication before telling him that she'd check in on him later. Before leaving the building she went up to Karissa's apartment and knocked on the door. Karissa answered the door with a smile. Maddie said she was leaving and that she wanted to know if Kari could keep an eye on Buck while she was gone. Kari said that she would and handed over a piece of paper with a number on it; hers. Maddie gave Kari her number as well as Buck's and then left the building. Her brother really needed to stop getting hurt. She was tired of all the hospital visits.

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AN-this was a little shorter than I had originally planned for it to be. I forgot what I originally had for the chapter, and it did take me a little longer to write. Sorry for the long wait.