7.1 Earthquake

A few weeks into his new job, working under Captain Bobby Nash of the 118, Eddie was finally settling down. His kids were happier and adjusting well, and he liked to think that staying in Texas would have been horrible for them all. However, the school situation was becoming a problem. Amelia was a good student when she wasn't in the classroom with the other kids. What happened in Texas made school sound like the worst place to be, so he agreed to let her do it online until he could convince her to go. 

That day needed to be today. He didn't have another option. He had also waited to tell his daughter until this morning. 

"Millie, Christopher? Are you ready?" Eddie calls out, knocking on their bedroom doors.

"No," Millie says, as Christopher yells yes simultaneously.

"Millie, hurry, please; we need to go," Eddie says, opening her door.

"I don't want to go," Millie says, crossing her arms and staring at Eddie.

"You have to go to school, Millie; I have a lot of stuff to do today." Eddie insisted, going to her closet and pulling out clothes for her.

"Why can't Abuela watch me?" Millie huffs, pulling her blanket over her face.

"She's busy today. It's one day, and you might even like it," he says, pulling the blanket off his daughter. 

"Daddy! School is boring. I already know everything my teacher is teaching." Millie whined.

"Then maybe I need to talk to your teacher about you skipping ahead. But you need to hurry; Christopher is waiting for us." Eddie grabs clothes from her dresser and sets them on the edge of her bed. 

"Daddy, please," Millie whispered, her eyes burning with tears. 

Eddie sits on the edge of the bed, "It's one day, Millie. I will be there waiting for you after school. Christopher is so excited for his sissy to join him finally, so can we please not have any problems?" 

"No, please," Millie says, the tears finally falling. 

"I'm sorry, bug. It's only a few hours," he says, pulling her onto his lap. 

Eddie waits a few minutes before wiping away her tears, kissing both cheeks as he does. He tells her he'll wait for her in the kitchen. He brings breakfast to the table, kissing Christopher's head as he passes. Eddie sets a plate in front of both kids as Millie joins them. "You guys got to eat quickly; we're running a little late," Eddie says as he finishes braiding Millie's hair.

+

"Let's go, Amelia!" Eddie sighed, setting Christopher on the sidewalk so he could make his way to the truck.

"I don't want to go!" Millie shouts. She has started crying again and has thought about locking herself in her room, but her dad will kick the door down. 

"Millie, please. I can't do this today." Eddie mumbled, coming back inside the house and picking her up. 

"Daddy! NO!" Millie screamed as he locked the door and buckled her into the back of the truck. 

Eddie didn't speak on the drive to school, and Christopher watched as his sister continued to cry and scream, kicking Eddie's seat as well. After parking, Eddie took Christopher out of the truck, telling him to wait. He caught the eyes of multiple parents as they glared at the truck and the kid screaming inside it. 

"Stop it, Millie. Just stop!" Eddie says, opening the other door and grabbing Millie's legs so she stops kicking. "I promise I will figure something out so that you don't have to come here again, but today is a busy day for everyone, and me. If Abuela or Aunt Pepa could be with you, they would." 

"I don't wanna go." Millie cried. 

Eddie felt horrible. Millie's face was redder than ever, and he couldn't say anything to calm her down. He grabbed her backpack and unbuckled her seatbelt, carrying her to the sidewalk. He nodded for Christopher to start walking and whispered to Millie that everything would be fine and he'd be back in a few hours. 

"Hey, Dad, do you think dogs know they're dogs?" Chris asked, looking at his sister, who had hidden her face on her dad's shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, a little laugh escaping.

"You- you know, like, I'm a person and a dog is a dog."

"Mm-hmm," Eddie mumbles, kneeling in front of Christopher so they are face-to-face.

"But do dogs think we're bigger, less hairy, smarter dogs that walk funny?"

Millie knew that Christopher wanted her to laugh. He'd never seen her act the way she did in the truck, and she never wanted him to see her anything but happy. 

"Chris, I think that dogs probably assume we are human because we care for them, but I also see why you said that," Eddie explains.

Eddie smiles between his children, "Thank God for you kids."

The bell rings, and Millie stands next to Christopher.

"Alright, you guys gotta hustle up," Eddie says, nodding to Millie.

"Okay?" He says, pulling them into a hug.

"Love you," Christopher says.

"I love you too."

"Don't leave me here, please, Daddy," Millie mumbles, using the back of her hand to wipe her tears. 

"I'm sorry, I love you," Eddie says, taking two steps away from them. 

Christopher starts walking, but Millie stands in the same spot, watching her dad turn to leave. "Millie!" Christopher calls, forcing her to turn to him and leave her dad. She smiles for her brother, but the tears return when she's alone again, walking to her class. 

Millie had never met any of the students, so while everyone was talking to someone, she stood near the door until the only other girl sitting alone waved her over. Millie ambled toward her before taking the empty seat next to her. "Are you okay? You look sad," the girl asked. 

Millie doesn't say anything and shrugs. "I'm Ivy, but everyone calls me Vee." 

"I'm Millie," Millie whispers, keeping her backpack on her lap. 

"Eyes up here, class!" A young woman says from the front of the room before Ivy can respond. 

"Good morning, Mrs. Parker!" The entire class says.

"We have a new face; come up here, sweetheart." Mrs. Parker grins at Millie. 

Millie shakes her head no, looking back down at her lap. "That's alright. Class, this is Amelia Diaz. She's new to our class, and I expect everyone to show her around and be nice to her." 

"I'll be her guide, Mrs. Parker!" Ivy says with a massive smile on her face. 

"Thank you, Ivy. You are a sweetheart." Mrs. Parker says. 

Mrs. Parker turns to the board and starts writing as everyone pulls things out of their desks and opens a book. Millie sees Ivy's; it is a math workbook. She sets her bag by her feet and opens it, pulling out her own workbook, thankful Mrs. Parker gave it to her weeks ago. Millie also pulls out her stuffed cow, quickly shoveling it into her desk, but the boy on her left has already seen it. 

"The New girl brought a stuffed animal!" he shrieks as the other boys laugh. 

Millie shoves it further into her desk, keeping her hand on it, even as Mrs. Parker comes and kneels next to her. "Amelia, did you bring one to school?" 

Millie nods, tears gathering in her eyes already. She was embarrassed but mostly angry at the boy. Why couldn't he have left her alone? Now, she'd get into trouble, and her dad would be disappointed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, you are not allowed stuffed animals in school. How about I take it to my desk until the end of the day?" Mrs. Parker asks.  

"No! I'll keep it in my bag, I promise." Millie begs, finally making eye contact. 

"That wouldn't be fair to the other kids. I promise I'll leave it on my desk, right where you can see it, until the last bell." Mrs. Parker says. 

"No one else uses stuffed animals! We're not babies." The boy next to her laughs. 

"Logan, shut up!" Ivy shouts, glaring at him. 

"Logan, Ivy, hallway, both of you, please." Mrs. Parker sighs, standing up straight again. 

Once they leave the room, Mrs. Parker convinces Millie to give up the cow. Millie watches as it is set on the corner of the teacher's desk. Mrs. Parker smiles at her before telling everyone to get started on their math as she goes into the hallway. 

+

Eddie Diaz got stuck in traffic on his way to work, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He had turned the radio off, but couldn't help but think of Millie. She'd never acted like that before, not even when they lived in Texas, and she was going through horrible bullying. He had hoped she'd gotten to class okay. He hoped the other kids were friendly and that she was making friends. Did she like her teacher? She seemed to when they'd met her a few weeks back. He couldn't wait to pick her up, hoping she'd tell him only good things. 

+

Millie was swinging back and forth on the monkey bars when everything started shaking. She lost her grip on the bars and fell, landing on the woodchips. "Everyone, stay down! Don't move until it's over." Mrs. Parker shouts, her body covering another girl from Millie's class. 

As soon as the ground stops shaking, all the outdoor teachers call for everyone to line up. Millie grabs Ivy's hand, and they follow everyone, who line up in alphabetical order. Mrs. Parker counts heads as they head back inside in a single file. Back in the classroom, she has students taking things off the walls and pushing desks in front of the windows. After everything is moved, the first aftershock starts, and Millie stumbles. She lets out a sob as she grabs her side, right where the edge of Mrs. Parker's desk hits her.

"Amelia! Come sit down, sweetie." Mrs. Parker says, grabbing Millie's hand. 

"Wait!" Millie shouts, the only word she'd said all morning. 

Millie tugs her hand away from Mrs. Parker and grabs her cow off the desk. She sits beside Ivy on the floor, holding her cow as close as possible. No one is laughing at her now. Some of her classmates are crying; she can tell they are scared. 

"Listen to me, class. The aftershocks are not over yet. You know this. So I need everyone to stay where you are until a parent comes for you." Mrs. Parker says. 

Millie is scared. Her dad will not be coming for her for hours. He was going to be out there, helping people. She hoped he'd be here first but knew his job was important. She also thought about Christopher. Where is he right now, and is he okay? 

+

Eddie was working underneath one of the trucks when the earthquake started. He's forced out from underneath, trying to steady himself. Not able to stop himself or even get up, he keeps rolling before Henrettia Wilson is there, and she pulls him to the side. Eddie thanks her as they wait for the earthquake to stop. 

Eddie first thinks Millie will never return to school; no one can convince her again after this. He regrets forcing her into the truck that morning and making her enter that school. He hopes she and Christopher are both okay and will stay that way. 

Captain Bobby Nash starts ordering everyone around, making sure that no one is trapped somewhere or injured. When everything is still again, Eddie ensures everyone is accounted for. Almost immediately, the bells and intercoms go off. Everyone loads into the trucks and heads toward a building collapse. 

Eddie tried to contact either of his kids' teachers, but no texts went through. He is getting nervous; he only wants to run into that school and find his kids.  

"Is everything okay?" Evan Buckley asks, nodding toward the phone. 

"Yeah, there's no service. Texts won't even go through." Buck looks at Eddie briefly before asking, "Who are you trying to get ahold of?" 

"My kids. I'm trying to reach my kids." Eddie sighs. He wished he hadn't had to tell his co-workers about Christopher and Millie this way, but he'd never mentioned it before. 

"Whoa, you got a kid?" Buck asks, not as surprised as Eddie would have thought. "Two," he replied instantly.

"Millie, she's nine, and Christopher, he's seven," Eddie says, showing Buck the picture of his lock screen. It was from the last time they were in El Paso.

"And super adorable. I, uh, I love kids."  Buck smiles at Eddie. 

Eddie is thankful that Buck is so friendly and hopes that when he finally introduces his kids to the 118, they will treat Millie and Christopher the same way. 

"I love these two. I'm all they have. Their mothers are not in the picture," Eddie says, trying to send another text. 

"They are at school?" Buck asks. 

"Yeah." 

"Hey, I'm sure they're fine," Buck says. Eddie nods, hoping his coworker is right. 

Once they arrive on the scene, Eddie stops behind Hen and Chimney and looks up at the halfway collapsed hotel. 

"Have you guys ever dealt with anything like this before?" He asked. 

 "No." Hen answers. 

After speaking with the incident commander, Bobby stops everyone. 

"Okay, listen up. Here's how you make it to the end of the day. You don't worry about things you can't do anything about. Focus on one task at a time." He looks at his team.                             

"I can't order you guys to go inside that building, and I won't judge you if you decide not to." After he says this, Bobby looks at Eddie and Hen for the longest time. 

Eddie didn't want to go inside the building, but this was his job, and he also knew that the school was probably the safest place for his kids right now. 

"Hen, Eddie, you got a kid, so," Chimney says, shrugging lightly. 

 "Yeah. And I'd hope if someone whose job was to save them had the chance, they'd do it." Hen says. 

"No matter what," Eddie adds. "Where do you want us?" 

Bobby assigns each person a task, and Eddie and Buck start their way inside the hotel. 

+

Neither Eddie nor Buck speaks as they collect ropes and a saw and head to one of the windows. After climbing the ladder, Eddie smashes the window, and Buck finally says something. 

"Hey, after Northridge, FEMA spent $200 million retrofitting every school in the LAUSD. Ceiling tiles, lighting fixtures, all of it, Eddie. Your kids are in the safest place they can be." 

"Thought that was a high-rise." Eddie grins, turning to look at Buck for only a second before they climb through the window. 

+ 

Millie was now sitting outside under a tree. The police and firefighters had told them to move outside; that way was safer. No ceilings could collapse on them, and nothing could fall on them. Christopher was nowhere outside, and Millie didn't know if she could find him, so she and Ivy sat under the tree. 

"Millie, is your mom or dad coming?" Ivy asked. 

"No," Millie mumbles, running her hand over the blades of grass. 

"Why not? Don't they care if you're okay?" 

"My dad is a firefighter; he's saving other people." Millie shrugs. 

"What about your mom?" Millie never knew how to answer that because she had no idea where her mother was. 

"I don't have a mom." 

Ivy looks away from Millie, silently wishing she'd shut her mouth. "My dad won't come get me either; he doesn't care." 

When Millie says nothing, Ivy says, "My brother, Blake, will be here to get me. He's always the one to find me after the earthquakes. He takes care of me." 

"I have a brother," Millie says, closing her eyes tightly so she won't start crying. She wanted to find him and make sure he was okay.

"IVY!" Someone shouts, making Millie jump. 

"Blake! Over here!" Ivy shouts, getting to her feet. 

Millie watches as an older boy runs toward them. He must be old enough to drive, she thinks. Ivy's brother hugs her before glancing at Millie. "Hey Vee, who's this?" He nods toward Millie. 

"Millie! She's new." 

"Hey there, Millie. How's it goin'?" He asked. 

Millie shrugged, looking anywhere but his face. She'd barely spoken to Ivy; she was not responding to him. "She doesn't talk much," Ivy says. 

"Mm, well, let's get you home and cleaned up before Dad returns." 

"Bye, Millie. Maybe tomorrow we'll have a better day." Ivy says as she grabs her backpack from her previous spot. 

Millie doesn't respond. She knew she wasn't returning to school, but she would not tell Ivy that. She liked the girl and wanted to be friends with her, but not during school. Maybe their dads could exchange numbers; Ivy could come to her house.  

+

Another two hours went by, and Millie was now sitting on the playground with no idea where Christopher was, and most of the other kids had already gone home. Not too long ago, she heard someone shouting for Harry, who had been sitting near her, and she watched as the boy's father and sister hugged him. It only made Millie miss her dad even more. Mrs. Parker still hadn't been able to reach Eddie, and it made Millie's anxiety skyrocket. Was he injured? Was he dead?  

"Amelia?" Mrs. Parker says, looking around until she makes eye contact with the girl. 

"Your brother is inside. He would like you to join him." Mrs. Parker says. 

Finally, Millie thinks. 

She follows Mrs. Parker inside until they reach Christopher's classroom, where only he and the teacher are. Mrs. Parker introduces Millie to the man, but she ignores him and goes straight to her brother. She hugs him and grins at him as she sits at the desk beside him.

"Is daddy okay?" Christopher asks. 

"I don't know. He won't answer the phone." Millie says. She wished she had a different answer. 

"Alright, you two. You'll stay here until we get a text from your dad," Christopher's teacher says, setting a bottle of water on each of their desks. 

"He's busy saving people!" Christopher says proudly. 

+

When Eddie got out of the high-rise and could get service, it was dark. He texted both the kids' teachers and waited for a response. Mrs. Parker, Millie's teacher, responded, telling him she had left Millie with Christopher and his teachers a few hours earlier. Either way, both kids were safe and together. It made him feel a hundred times better. He couldn't wait to get to them. 

Eddie quickly changes after arriving at the fire station, and everyone works together to clear it and put everything back. Buck watches Eddie from his locker, worried. He'd been checking it every few minutes since the service returned. 

"Hey, Eddie, everything alright?" Buck calls out. 

"Yeah, just waiting to see if my aunt can take me to my kids." Eddie sighs, looking back at his phone. 

"Why make her leave? I can do it." 

"Really? That'd be great. I'd hate to make her drive after today." Eddie texts his aunt that he'd gotten a co-worker to take him. 

"I don't mind. Plus, I told you I love kids." Buck grins at Eddie as they head to the jeep. 

+

Buck watches through the doors as Eddie picks up Christopher and hugs him tightly. Buck hasn't seen Eddie smile this much; his kids are clearly the light of his life. Eddie said he had two kids, though Buck didn't see the girl from the picture. 

After another minute, Eddie heads back to the car with Christopher in his arms. "Hey, Chris, this is my friend Buck. Buck, this is Chris." Eddie says, pulling the seatbelt across Christopher. 

"Hey, Chris." Buck grinned at the boy. 

"I have to go back in. Millie's asleep in the classroom. You guys don't plan anything evil." Eddie says, pointing a finger at Buck.

"Don't point at me!" Buck says, putting his hands up. 

Eddie laughs to himself as he backs away from the car. 

Millie had given up on waiting for her dad hours ago. She drew multiple pictures with Christopher before she curled up on the floor, using her backpack as a pillow. Christopher's teacher had been given a blanket that he laid over her. 

Eddie uses one arm to lift Millie's head off her backpack before using the other to grab the bag. "Millie, wake up." He whispers, kissing her forehead. 

Millie's eyes fly open, and she looks around the room with wide eyes until her eyes meet her dad's. "Daddy!" She cries, her eyes filling with tears immediately. 

"Hi, bug. I'm sorry I took so long," he whispers as she wraps herself around him. 

On their way out of school, Eddie thanks Christopher's teacher again. "I never want to go to school again, " Millie mumbles, wiping her tears with the backs of her hands. 

"I know, bug; we'll talk in the morning," Eddie says, opening the door behind the driver's side. 

"Daddy, this isn't your truck," Millie whispered when he pulled the seatbelt across her. 

"It's daddy's friend's car," Christopher says, and Millie finally looks up, noticing that the man in the driver's seat is watching her. 

"Who's that?" She whispered in Eddie's ear. 

"I'm Evan, but everyone calls me Buck." 

"Like the deer?" Millie mumbles, confusion written across her face. 

Eddie laughs loudly as Buck stares back at her with a raised eyebrow. "If that's what you want to say." Buck shrugs. 

"No, bug. His last name is Buckley. The others at work shortened it to Buck," Eddie says, finally back in the front seat. 

"Like, my name is Amelia, and you call me Millie? And Christopher is Chris?" 

"Exactly like that," Eddie says before giving Buck directions to their house. 

+

Millie and Christopher both fell asleep on the short drive back to their house, giving Eddie two options: He could take them in separately and make Buck sit there even longer, or he could wake up Millie and then have to deal with her not going back to sleep for hours. 

"Do you want me to take one of them?" Buck asks, putting the jeep in park. 

"Do you mind? I don't think waking either of them up is a good idea." Eddie sighs, looking back at their sleeping forms. 

"It's quicker if we both grab one of them," Buck says. 

Eddie gets Christopher out of the car, making sure that his house key is in his hand. Buck grabs Millie and both of the kids' backpacks and follows Eddie to the door. Eddie puts Christopher into his bed, taking his shoes off quickly before leading Buck to Millie's room. Once both kids are in their beds, Eddie sits at the table. 

"Do you want a beer?" He asks, looking at Buck, who has sat across from him. 

"Got anything stronger?" Buck laughs. 

"Nope, just the beers tonight." 

"It's good enough, been a long day." 

For the next hour, they either sat in silence or talked about Millie and Christopher. Between the two of them, they'd finished six beers; Eddie wasn't going to let Buck drive home, even if he was sober. They'd had a long and exhausting day, plus he had a very comfortable couch. 

"I know you're probably sober enough to drive, but the couch is comfortable, and you're half asleep now," Eddie says, putting the empty bottle on the counter. 

"Yeah, thanks," Buck mumbles, already yawning.

Eddie lets Buck get settled on the couch while he searches the closet for an extra blanket and pillow. As he's handing the pillow to Buck, Millie screams, "DADDY!" 

Buck jumps up from the couch, now wide awake. "You can go to sleep, Buck; she's fine; she just wants to go in my room." Eddie chuckles. 

"Right. Goodnight, and thanks, Eddie." 

"No problem. Thank you for everything today." 

+

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A/N: I hate this chapter with every single cell inside my body, but at least it's finished. I'll probably edit it again later, but this is what you get for now... Anyway, check out my TikTok for my edits of all of my fanfics; my user is kammywp

Slight Edits: March 2026