02 | ❝ EARTHQUAKE ❞

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CHAPTER TWO

❝ EARTHQUAKE ❞

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[ season 2, episode 2-3 ]

ROSIE POV

MARRIE WAS NOT IN A GOOD MOOD. She had never been so strange before, especially since they had returned to Los Angeles. Rosie could see the pure fear in her eyes. The last time she had been so scared was when they had been sitting by the hospital, when Chimney had had a metal rod in his head. It was not a common sight.

"Is she all right?" Chimney asked when he had come to breakfast with her, which he had been doing for some time now. "She hasn't paid any attention to me since I got here. It's not like her."

"She hasn't spoken to me either. She didn't even react to Lissie coming over tonight. I'm worried about her, Chim..." The girl didn't look sick, but they could both see that she was pale as a sheet. The complete lack of communication with her was really worrying her parents.

"I have a strange feeling," Marigold said, tired of her parents' strange looks. "Do you really have to go to work today? Can't we just have a day together?" They looked at each other, surprised by what she had said.

"Nothing's going to happen to anyone," Rosie replied, trying to calm her down. "You'll see that we'll be back safe and sound, and we'll go to the airport to pick up Auntie Lissie."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Marrie snapped, getting up from the table. "I know what your job is. You never know if you're going to get home safe!" With that, she ran to her room, leaving her parents completely bewildered behind.

THE SHIFT WAS PROCEEDING AS USUAL UNTIL EVERYONE FELT THE EARTH SHAKE. At that moment, Rosie, Hen, and Chim were checking to make sure the ambulance had enough medical supplies. As they closed the back doors, the lights above them began to shake dangerously.

"Six," Hen said. "We're going down! We have to get out of here!"

"I'm betting on a minimum of seven," Chimney replied. "But we have to evacuate. Do you hear me, Rosie? Rosie?" In the meantime, young Buckley went to help the other firefighters. She couldn't just leave the building without helping the others. Chimney wanted to go after her, but Hen practically dragged him out of the unit. She was furious, as was Han, but she knew she'd be fine. It was to be expected that she wouldn't stand idly by.

Rosie rushed toward Eddie, catching him just in time before he could get hit in the head with a pipe.

"Thanks," he told Rosie. "Are you okay?"

"Let's get out of here." Bobby and Buck joined them a moment later, and together made their way out of the firehouse. Before she knew it, she felt Chim hug her, full of relief.

"You're okay," he said, then punched her in the arm. "That's for not being able to stop throwing yourself into danger for a moment."

"Calm down," she mumbled, rubbing the sore spot. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

It wasn't long before they got a call – they were supposed to go to one of the hotels, the building of which practically hung over the street, but instead of focusing on preparing for the operation, Rosie tried to call Marigold as they drove there. And she wasn't the only one - Chim had also tried to contact their daughter, and it turned out that Eddie was also a parent. He had a seven-year-old son named Christopher.

"I'm sure he's fine," she told him. "The schools are really well secured in this regard. Chim and I have a daughter, and Hen has a son. We're freaking out too, but what parent doesn't, right? Let's hope the line comes back up as soon as possible, and we can get in touch with them again."

She smiled at him, trying to cheer the young father up.

A minute later they arrived at the scene - Rosie had seen a lot since she first arrived in Los Angeles, but this... Seeing the state of the building, she wondered how it hadn't completely collapsed yet.

"Have you seen anything like this?" Eddie asked as they looked at the hotel, the whole crew standing in front of it.

"Living here? Never," Rosie replied. "In the movies? They always get carried away there by the scenery."

They joined the other rescuers, and on the way Rosie noticed a couple being led out of the ruins, eager to get back and find their little daughter, whose name was Kat. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, because as a mother, she completely understood them. She herself wanted to know if Marigold was in any danger right now, but as a rescuer... the most important thing was safety, and they had to stick to that.

She knew Bobby was right – they had to focus on the here and now. That was what she was going to do, because she knew that no matter what happened, her little girl would be fine. After all, she was Buckley and Han at the same time, and they didn't give up, they just kept pushing forward as much as they could.

The captain gave them a chance to retreat, but none of the firefighters considered that option. After all, it was their job – they knew what it entailed. Buck and Eddie headed to the eleventh floor to rescue one of the hotel guests, while Bobby, along with Chimney, Hen, and Rosie headed for the restaurant area. Unfortunately, they passed a lot of bodies on the way, until someone finally answered their call.

"LAFD!" Buckley called. "Can anyone hear us? Hello?"

"Over here!" A male voice said. According to a firefighter from another team who was leading one of the employees out, they were supposed to find a black boy there. He didn't mention anyone else.

They headed toward the survivors to assess their condition – the man was in good condition, but the teenager with him was crushed. He didn't want to agree to be taken outside, but eventually Jeff, for that was the boy's name, convinced him to do it, and the firefighters were able to help him.

"I'll take care of him," Rosie assured. "We'll do everything we can to get him out of here alive. I promise."

"Firefighter Buckley is good at distracting patients from pain," Chim added, taking her side. "She really won't let him out of her sight."

Jeff's trainer agreed, and then he and the firefighter from Station 125 left.

"Are you that good?" The boy asked her. "An empath?"

"You could say that a bit. How did you say it? The heart of a champion? Let's stick to that."

Jeff agreed. He felt that this short exchange of words really gave him hope that he would still be able to get out of there. Even the options that Captain Nash had given him had not made him give up.

"Whenever you talk to them, I can't believe how you manage to push this will to fight into them," Chim said, handing Rosie the IV he had put in the boy. After a moment, he moved to call for a pillow that would help them lift the beam to get Jeff out.

"This time it's him," she announced. "If someone spends a lot of time on their passion, they won't let their chance go to waste."

"Exactly," Jeff agreed. "If it works out, and I get better, there's no way I won't repay you."

Bobby looked at Rosie, then at Jeff himself, then smiled.

"You don't have to. After all, it's our job," he assured the teenager. "The best reward for us will be getting you out of here alive."

Hen and Rosie agreed with their commander – that was their greatest joy. After installing the cushion, although not without initial difficulties, the three rescuers pulled the boy out, then handed him over to the other firefighters. Wilson and Buckley were crawling at the end of the group, or at least until the younger of them noticed the object in the hole.

"What's wrong?" Her older colleague asked her.

"I found something." Rosie reached into the hole and pulled out a purple child's shoe. "Maybe it belongs to the girl her parents were looking for outside. Someone needs to ask them if it belongs to her."

She looked at the captain, who nodded, then radioed a message. They waited a moment for confirmation or denial that the shoes belonged to the missing Kat.

"It's her shoe," Bobby confirmed. "She was on her way to the bathroom."

"I checked," Chim replied. "She's not there."

Rosie was certain that she had to be here somewhere. She couldn't have just vanished. That wasn't normal.

"She could be anywhere..." Hen said. "Trapped somewhere..."

"Let's get the thermal cameras," Bobby said, then looked at his two subordinates. "We'll find her. Whatever happens."

They both nodded. If the captain said something like that, it was bound to happen. At least, most of the time, that statement worked. The team worked as efficiently as possible. Hen and Rosie practically led the way, taking turns calling out to little Kat.

Suddenly, the ground shook again, but while the others were able to hide, both firefighters fell into the hole.

Chimney, who had seen the exact moment his friends disappeared, felt his heart almost stop in fear. Luckily, he recovered quickly, but he wasn't going to go back outside without them so easily.

"Hen! Rosie!" he cried with obvious terror in his voice.

FALLING INTO A HOLE, LIKE ALICE IN WONDERLAND, WAS NOT IN EITHER OF THEIR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS DAY. When Rosie opened her eyes, she tried to lift herself up - Hen wasn't next to her, which was terrifying. She felt a headache practically bursting her skull, but she had to focus. There was someone to come back to. There was no way she was going to give up – this was totally out of character for the Buckleys.

Marrie...

Chim...

Buck...

Maddie...

Lissie...

Seth...

Ian...

All seven of them were counting on her, and so was Hen, because she felt that Wilson had to survive – she was a fighter and nothing could happen to her, and neither could the others. It couldn't end this way. She wanted to see her loved ones again and there was no option that it wasn't going to happen.

"Help!" She called out. "Can anyone hear me? Hello?"

Silence. She heard nothing but her. This didn't exactly fill her with optimism. At a time like this, she felt the absence of Lissie at her side – the girl always knew how to breathe optimism into her. There was a reason she was the sunshine of their Chicago unit.

"Rosie!" She heard the voice of Hen, who had just managed to get through to her. "Are you all right? You're hurt."

"It's just a scratch," Buckley assured her, smiling. "My head hurts, but it's better now. I was afraid when you fell."

"The heart of a champion" she quoted their patient's earlier words. "Let's follow Jeff's motto. It will save us."

"Do you think? We're literally stuck, and our people can't hear us... Zero contact with the team."

Hen didn't let up on her – the two of them started searching the cars, as it turned out they had dropped to some part of the hotel car park. They found some of the tools they needed, but it was no use. They both felt themselves sagging. Hen pulled out her phone, then recorded a message for Karen and Denny. Rosie wasn't convinced about the idea at first, but her friend convinced her to do it. After all, they had no idea what could have happened even in five minutes - until they were outside, they could be so unsure of anything.

"Hey" she spoke into the recorder. "I'm really sorry... I've been trying to get back, we're still trying to get out with Hen, but we don't know what's ahead of us. If you're listening to this, it's clear we've failed. You were right, Marrie... We can't promise you we'll come back all right, but we always try to do that. Remember that I love you. Whatever happens, I will be there for you, even if not in person. As for you Chim... that relying on fate was stupid. I shouldn't have hidden anything at all, and now... it's too late. I wish things had turned out differently. I'm sorry..."

She felt tears standing up in her eyes, so she stopped the recording.

"Hey" started Hen towards her friend. "Don't cry. We won't give up. Is that clear?"

Rosie took a deep breath and nodded as a sign that she agreed with Wilson. One eighteen more will want them gone because they'll give them such a hard time.

At exactly the same moment they both heard whimpering. They looked around to finally locate the source of the sound.

"There," Rosie pointed, looking at the crack. Together she and Hen picked up a piece of rubble, only to see a small dog just afterwards, clearly intent on getting their attention. Buckley glanced at the collar. "I see his name is Paisley."

"What's that, little one?" Wilson asked. "Are you going to be our hope of rescue and get us out of here?"

The dog jumped off Rosie's lap and then took off ahead. Both firefighters, however, felt that they had one more stop to make before they reached the top. They were not wrong, as the pet brought them to the girl, who turned out to be the wanted Kat.

"Well hello," greeted Rosie. "Welcome to our Cinderella... Are you all right? Something hurt?"

"I just fell," she replied. "I'm fine, but it looks like you guys had it much worse."

Hen and Rosie just burst out laughing. Wilson handed the girl the shoe she had found so she could put it on, and once she had done so, all four of them, counting the dog too, set off for the exit.

They walked for a while until they heard a piece of rubble falling - they stopped to listen for what was going to happen next, but Paisley jumped out in front of them, so they moved on.

"Hen? Rosie?" They heard Chimney's voice.

"Are you there?" Buck spoke up.

Rosie looked at Hen. They didn't even know how relieved they felt to hear their voices. They had managed to survive... Hen moved forward, by virtue of the fact that she was carrying the little girl they had found on her back, while Rosie felt her head spin and the earlier pain return.

"Hi guys," Wilson said, getting out the door. She was sure Buckley was walking right behind her.

"Hen, where's Rosie?" A horrified Chimney asked her, not seeing his ex-girlfriend with her.

"She was right behind me. She told me to go ahead..."

Han jumped in without hesitation. Fortunately, he didn't have to look far for her because she was sitting hunched over, literally behind the passageway they had created. She was holding her head.

"Chim?"

"Show me that head" he ordered. "Without discussion."

She moved her hand away as he asked. Rosie didn't want him to see her like this, but it was inevitable.

"I just got dizzy and that was it. I probably have a concussion and nothing else."

Chimney sighed. He knew that paramedics really were the worst patients - of the three of them alone, it was Buckley who had the most problems with it.

"Can you manage to get up?"

She nodded, then Chimney helped her to get up – everything seemed lighter when he was next to her, even the headache.

Eventually they joined the others so that they could finally leave that place – Rosie was still clinging to her friend's arm and wasn't about to let him go any time soon.

THEY RETURNED TO HOME WITH MARIGOLD QUITE LATE BECAUSE CHIMNEY INSISTED THAT A DOCTOR NEED TO CONFIRM WHETHER ROSIE HAD SUFFERED A CONCUSSION. She herself thought it was not necessary enough, but her relatives insisted. Marrie had been worried about her parents all day, but fortunately this time they returned to her safe and sound. They told her what had happened, and the little one was proud of her dad and their co-workers who had pulled her mum out.

"Thank you," she said, eating her dinner. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier."

They both looked at their daughter.

"You had a right to do that" replied Chim, looking at the girl very carefully. "We shouldn't promise you something we're not sure about. However, we can promise to try as hard as we can to get back to you, okay?"

Marrie agreed to this arrangement. With that, they spent the whole evening with their daughter, watching cartoons to make her feel a little better. When she fell asleep, Chim took her very carefully in his arms, then carried to her room. Fortunately, she slept like a stone and didn't even flinch - in fact, she cuddled tighter in her dad's arms, which made him blush.

"It's settled," he said as he returned to the living room, where Rosie was also asleep on the sofa. He laughed quietly. "Shall I carry you to the bedroom too?"

"No... It would be bad for your back. But I won't say no to coffee, you know?"

"I don't think it's a very good time, lady paramedic," he laughed. "I can make you one in the morning."

They looked at each other. They were standing close enough to each other that they could feel heat radiating from the other person. She knew she should move away from Han, but... she just couldn't. Even if she wanted to take that step, she felt as if some force was even knocking her to the floor.

"Are you all right?" She asked him. "You're clearly tense."

"I really freaked out when you fell," he sighed quietly, then looked into her eyes. "I had no intention of leaving there without you and Hen. I would sooner have preferred to be buried under that ruin myself than I would have let go."

This is what Rosie was aware of – since she had returned to Los Angeles, they were a reliable trio who were downright invaluable during the various actions on shifts. They got along practically without words.

"I know you wouldn't leave us. Chim... I'm here, okay?" She put her hand on his shoulder. "And I'm not going anywhere. Neither you nor Marigold will get rid of me easily, do you understand?"

It was a moment when they even simultaneously joined their lips in a kiss. Rosie had the feeling that she had managed to forget what his lips tasted like, but she was wrong. She felt as if she had stepped back in time, and although it all looked very familiar, there was some kind of hidden longing this time. She was no fool and had long known that she cared for Han far more than she openly admitted about it, but she couldn't be brave enough. Although, was that just now changing? She wasn't sure herself who had initiated the kiss. Her, or Chim? Or maybe it didn't really mean anything at all, but was just a way to relieve the tension that had been created by the events she had recently experienced? Whatever it was, Rosie decided to make the most of every second of this moment.

She wove her hands into his soft hair and felt his arms encompassing her securely around her waist. The very touch of him made her feel shivers run through her whole body, and she only wanted more and more of him. She didn't want to act irrationally, because first she had to be sure that this kiss meant something more, but at the same time she couldn't tear herself away from his lips. And it looked like he had a problem with that as well, because they only paused for a brief moment to take a quick breath. Later, he leaned over her again and she could taste him again, as if nothing bad had ever happened between them. She was able to lose herself completely in it and dreamed that this moment would never end. Nothing else mattered.

Especially someone who had just grunted loud enough to get their attention. Rosie immediately moved away from Howard and was surprised to see Melissa Nash – her best friend – standing on her doorstep.

"The door was open," Lissie said in greeting, and Rosie already knew her friend wouldn't forget so easily what she had just seen.

A/N

Welcome, Lissie Nash - we waited for you <3

Thanks jorzay <33