Chapter Text
It all started with a yawn. By itself, it seemed completely harmless, and it should’ve just indicated the need for a nap. But the more Eddie yawned, the more everyone noticed. The more everyone noticed, the less Harry could keep himself from saying something about it.
“Dude, have you just not slept in like a week or something?” he asked with a laugh as Eddie had a particularly large yawn.
“Yeah, every time I look at you lately you’re yawning or about to,” Ravi agreed.
“I can’t help it,” Eddie replied as he threw his hoodie into his locker. “It’s like non-stop. I’m sleeping as much as I normally sleep.”
“Maybe you’re just getting old and need more?” Ravi asked with a raised brow and a cocky smirk.
“Thanks, Ravi, you’re such a good friend.”
“I’m just sayin’,” Harry chimed back in, “If you need to crash, just go crash. I’m sure we can handle the next couple hours without you.”
“Who needs to crash?” Buck asked as he entered the room, ready to change out of his gym clothes.
“Apparently I’m not getting enough sleep because I’m old,” Eddie said, immediately yawning, which caused Harry and Ravi to immediately laugh.
“You are not old,” Buck replied, then narrowed his eyes at Harry. “You’re just a baby who thinks everyone that’s not also a baby is automatically old.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re even older than Eddie,” Harry shot back with a wide grin.
“I’m not that much ol—” Buck stopped himself from finishing the sentence. “If anyone needs an extra nap it’s probably because of you two,” he said, gesturing between Ravi and Harry before pulling his shirt off over his head.
Harry laughed and started to head toward the exit with Ravi. “We’ll go up and make sure there’s a couple free bunks for you guys when you’re done down here.”
“Honestly I’m not gonna turn down a free nap,” Eddie said with a shrug when Buck looked over at him.
It was Buck’s’s turn to laugh, especially since that ended with another yawn. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, smile still in place as he pulled on his LAFD shirt.
“Man, it’s kinda like having the hiccups. Maybe somebody needs to scare them outta me?”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Please no,” Eddie replied with a bit of a laugh before leaning forward where he’d been sitting on the bench. “My head is already killing me and I’m pretty sure it’s just sick of the yawning as much as I am.”
Buck looked over at him as he slipped his pants on, eyes narrowing a bit now. “You didn’t say you had a headache. How long has that been going on?”
“On and off a couple days I think,” he replied, rubbing his temple.
“You think you caught that head cold Christopher had last week?”
“I...hadn’t thought about that, honestly, but you might be onto something.”
“I just remember him talking about his head hurting, so it reminded me.”
“Yeah maybe I need to take some pseudofed on top of the ibuprofen,” Eddie said before getting up from the bench, swaying for a moment before steadying himself with a hand on the glass wall in front of him.
“Whoa,” Buck said, suddenly more concerned before reaching out to assist in steadying him with a hand on his shoulder. “You getting enough water?”
“I’m good,” Eddie said with a slight laugh. “I should probably eat, seeing as how much I’ve taken to try and ease up this ache in my brain.”
“Ya know,” Buck said after slipping his shoes on and catching up to Eddie where he was headed to the stairs. “Your brain doesn’t actually feel pain. It’s the—” he was cut short when Eddie put a foot up on the first stair and immediately collapsed. Buck was quick to reach out and catch him before he faceplanted the stairs closer to his head.
“Okay seriously? Eddie, I think you need to get checked out,” Buck said, his entire demeanor now laced with concern.
“I...That was so weird,” Eddie said as he turned himself around to sit on the step.
“Hen!” Buck shouted, seeing her now at the top of the stairs. She quickly headed down toward them. “Is this the first time you’ve fallen?” he asked when he looked back at Eddie, kneeling down in front of him. “Are you dizzy?”
“No it...It just...”
“What’s going on?” Hen asked when she got down to them.
“Eddie’s had a headache for days,” Buck started. “Ibuprofen hasn’t helped. Excessive yawning on top of that, and now...what? Dizzy spell? Did your leg feel weak?” he asked Eddie.
“No, that’s just it,” Eddie replied. “I don’t feel weak. It felt like...like my leg didn’t get the message.”
“We thought he might’ve caught Christopher’s head cold, but then this...”
Hen had Eddie’s wrist in her hand, fingers feeling for the rhythm in the artery. “Look at me,” she told Eddie as she pulled out her penlight with her free hand. She shined it in each eye, watching them dilate normally. “Now look at my finger,” she told him after slipping the penlight back into her shirt pocket, then held up a pointer finger. “I want you to touch your nose then touch my finger, okay?”
“I think I know the drill,” Eddie replied, touching his nose and then moving his hand toward Hen’s finger. He was surprised when he had trouble getting to it. His hand was shaking and he couldn’t fathom why.
“He’s got clear dysmetria,” she said, dropping her hand to her radio and pressing the button. “Chim, we need to do a medical transport,” she said before looking at Buck. “He completely missed my finger, and that intention tremor gets worse the harder he tries to focus. His cerebellum is taking a hit.”
"Copy that, Hen. What's going on?" Chim's voice sounded over the radio.
"Eddie is showing signs of increased intercranial pressure," she said back into the radio.
“But that doesn’t make sense,” Eddie said in a quiet voice. “I...”
“He hasn’t had any head injuries or started any new medication,” Buck said, then looked to Eddie. “Right?”
“Yeah. Am I...Am I having a stroke?” he asked, eyes widening.
“I don’t think that’s it,” Hen replied. “But you need to get to a hospital.”