CHAPTER FIVE:
evan 'family hopper' buckley has entered the chat.

An exhausted Aster sits on a chair by the kitchen table. Her head rested into the palm of her head and her elbows leaning onto the marble table.

"You know this wouldn't have happened if she was in a facility," Aster's dad's voice rings through the phone.

The young red-head sighs in exhaustion. "You know Dad, facilities aren't always the safest either."

"I'm just saying," Matthew says in a smug tone through the phone.

"Well stop saying it!" Aster snaps. "Grandma is missing , I don't fucking need an 'I told you so' I need you to get here as soon as fucking possible so we can find her," she shouts before hanging up. The red-head lets out a long scream cutting it off as she feels Carla gently rub her back.

"Let it out baby, let it out," Carla hums to the young girl.

Aster sits up wiping the tears from her eyes, "Okay," she breathes to herself.

She raises her phone and looks at the text Emily has sent her.

Emily: Nala just picked me up from work we're gonna search the Hollywood Area.
Aster: Thank you, I don't deserve you guys.
Emily: You would do the same for us.

And she would. Aster loved Emily and Nala like they were her own sisters and she wouldn't hesitate to put her life on the line if it guaranteed their safety.

A knock on the door distracts Aster from her thoughts. "I'll get it!" She yells knowing her aunt is on the phone.

You ever been heartbroken, truly heartbroken? You know that feeling where it's physically painful? That moment when it feels like somebody has shoved their hand into your chest, tore your heart out, and squeezed all the life out of it right in front of you. That moment when you grab onto your chest and you sob so loud for relief from the phantom ache. All those memories of that feeling came flooding to Aster as she stared into familiar blue eyes. Blue eyes that used to exuberate warmth and safety but now have been tainted.

"Aster?" Buck asks, his voice slightly breaking and his usual lost puppy dog look on his face. "Do I- do I have the right apartment?"

Aster struggles to get out a words, still unsure if this is a horrible nightmare or if her life truly is this unfortunate. "Evan?" Aster chokes out.

"Hi Buck!" Abby comes from behind Aster, a wide bright-eye smile on her face.

Aster looks between Abby and Buck, taking notice of the soft smile Buck has on his face. "You... you two know each other? How do you two know each other?"

Abby gently nudges Aster with her elbow. "He's the one from the phone calls," she whispers to her niece, her voice full of excitement.

Aster's eyes widen and she takes a step back at the feeling of Buck's burning gaze. "Oh," she says in a small voice before walking back to the kitchen island.

"Come in come in," Abby ushers in Buck.

"So what do we know so far?" Buck asks the three women that fill the room.

"I'm Carla," Carla calls out from next to Aster. The woman noticing the young girls sudden odd behavior.

Aster watches the floor as Abby explains how her and Carla have mapped out the Los Angeles area.

Buck glances at Aster who refuses to meet his eyes. "Um, okay that's good! It's good that we have a plan."

"Emily and Nala, are searching the Hollywood area. I know it's a long shot but Grandma always did walk like she was trying to get away from something."

Carla and Abby lightly chuckle, the curly haired woman rubbing the young girls back in comfort. Aster sucks in a deep breath as she watches Buck comfort her aunt, something that doesn't get past Carla.

"We got this, okay? We're gonna find your mom. I promise," Buck comforts Abby, his eyes discreetly flashing to Aster's.

"Okay, how are we gonna do it?" Abby asks, her eyes shining up towards Bucks.

"One mile at a time."

"Okay," Abby says grabbing her jacket and purse. She gently nudges her niece mumbling a 'come on'.

"Um, actually I think I'm gonna stay here. You know run the headquarters, answer any calls."

"Oh no, honey," Carla protests. "I can do that, you go ahead and find your grandma."

"Mmm," Aster hums in disagreement. "I think it would just be better for me to stay here."

Abby steps foward to comfort her niece. "I know this is overwhelming and a lot for you right now, but I would really appreciate if you came with us," the older red-head tells her niece in a soothing voice, softly squeezing her hand in comfort.

Aster bites her lip, a war going on in her mind. The young girl knew there was no way she would be able to sanely sit at the apartment while her grandma was god knows where. At the same time though, seeing Buck once again opened a whole new can of worms that she did not want to be anywhere near.

With a heavy sigh, Aster gives in. She grabs her coat and heads out with her aunt and Buck. Her conscious chatising her for even thinking of being so selfish. Her grandma was missing and her aunt needed emotional support, meanwhile she was upset about an old flame.

A burning, painful flame.

Not even the loud sound of The Doors blaring through Aster's earphones could block out the painfully awkward sex talk her ex and aunt were currently doing in front of her. As if she already wasn't cramped enough in Buck's jeep, the uncomfortable tension was practically suffocating to the point she felt almost claustrophobic.

A heavy sigh, releases from her lips as she pulls her knees up to her chest. A man's voice crackles through the police scanner on Buck's dashboard, which Aster doesn't pay no mind too. That was until she heard Abby's suggestion.

"We should go," Abby suggests to Buck. "We can't just pass it by."

Aster quickly rips out her earphones and leans foward. "Um, yes we can. They already have people on the way, we need to find grandma."

"The firefighters won't get there in time, we need to at least try."

Aster gives her aunt a dumbfounded look. "Grandma has been missing for over ten hours. If you really need to try something, let's try to find her."

"It'll just take a second," Abby dismisses.

"We have no idea what state she's in, we might not have seconds to spare," Aster pleads desperately.

"Buck turn up ahead," Abby says ignoring the girl.

Aster scoffs. "Unbelievable," she mutters. Her eyes meet Buck'a in the rearview mirror.

"Maybe, maybe she's right. Maybe we should keep looking, I'm sure they'll make it in time."

"They won't, this I know. I do this everyday," Abby says, determination in her voice.

Buck sighs, before making the turn. The blonde feeling Aster's burning gaze on him as he continues to drive towards their new destination.

   Buck and Abby quickly jump out of the car as they arrive at the house, Aster following suit. The street full of disarray. Abby asks the three people if they're okay before running into the backyard. Buck heads over to the man in a white truck, Aster closely behind him. The man slowly walks out of the car, Aster quickly notices the shard of glass in his chest. She catches him as he begins to sway, laying him down gently.

Buck kneels next to her, "Oh shit. Sir, hey, I'm gonna need you to keep your eyes open. He has concussion," Buck informs her noticing his pupils.

"Yeah, he also has a big ass shard of glass in his chest," Aster says, her hands attempting to stop the bleeding. She rips open his shirt to see if she can measure how deep it goes. "I can't pull it out, I don't know how deep it is. Judging from where it is, it's a possibility it punctured his lung."

"The best thing you can do right now, is try to stop the bleeding as much as possible."

"I'm aware," Aster snarks backs, her heated gaze landing on Buck's.

Buck's blue eyes soften as they meet hers, "Okay."

Aster, looks away not liking the eye contact. "Where's my aunt?" She asks, noticing Buck's slight flinch at the word 'aunt'.

Buck looks up and shakes his head. "I don't know, do you got this?" He asks, standing up.

"Obviously," she says, before watching him run off.

Aster takes note of the man's eyes start to flutter close. "Hey, hey, hey stay with me. Please stay with him. What's- what's your name?" Aster asks as an attempt to keep him awake.

"John," he barely makes out.

"My names Aster. It mean's star, my mom used to call me her little star. Do you have any kids?"

"Daughter."

"A daughter? How old is she?" Aster asks, her pale hands shake as she holds his bloodied shirt against the wound.

"Seven," he struggles to breath before coughing up some blood.

"Seven? She's so young. Too young to lose her father, you gotta fight for her. You gotta fight to keep those eyes open," Aster tells him softly, the sound of ambulance pulling up distracting her.

She watches as two EMTs run out the back of the truck and kneel down beside her. "He has a concussion and an obvious penetration. I couldn't tell how deep it went so I left it in. I think it might have punctured one of his lungs, he coughed up some blood."

"Okay, we'll take it from here," the EMT says his hand covering where Aster's were.

Aster wipes her hands on her shirt, not even caring anymore. An overwhelming amount of emotions hit the young girl like a tsunami as she watches the EMTs board the man into the ambulance. She takes a few deep breaths and grips her hair in distress, trying to stop the tears that are threatening to fall.

"Aster?" Abby calls out.

Aster blinks the tears away from her eyes, before glaring at the ground. She whips her head around to face the happy couple. "Great! I'm so glad you guys to play your little game of hero. Now that your savior complexes are satiated, can we go save my grandmother now? You know, the elderly woman who has been missing for damn near half a day? The person we are supposed to be saving? That one," she shouts at the two before angrily stomping towards the jeep and hiking herself in. She slams the door and crosses her arms, letting the sadness be pushed away by the fiery emotion and wrapping her in its hold.

Anger is just easier.

  Outside Abby apologizes to Buck. "I'm sorry, she's not good under pressure," she attempts to make an excuse for her niece.

"Yeah, I know," Evan replies mindlessly, ignoring the questioning gaze Abby gives him as he walks towards the drivers seat of the car.

The two Clark woman and Buck sit in silence as they drive towards the County General hospital. It was only a couple minutes that Buck's friend Sergeant Grant informed him of a woman with Patricia's description was checked into the hospital. The phone call completely 180 Aster's mood from hopeless exhaustion to a newfound determination.

  Aster, Buck, and Abby quickly rush into the doors of the hospital meeting up with Buck's friend. Sergeant Grant being a beautiful black woman, her face while showed hardness from what Aster was sure things she had to endure through her job, it also had a warmth too it. Aster also took note of how her voice was quite soothing and comforting.

"Hey, is she uh okay?" Buck asks the woman in front of the three.

"Doctor's looking at her now," Athena informs them. "You the daughter?"

"Yeah, I'm Abby Clark," Aster's aunt greets.

"You guys have actually met. Abby was the 9-1-1 dispatcher on that home invasion in Winnetka."

"Oh no fooling, and who is this?" Athena asks, making eye contact towards Aster who nervously smiles.

"I'm Aster Clark, the niece and granddaughter."

"Okay, well, I'm still trying to get the story on what happened to her but seems like your mother made it all the way to South Los Angeles. These fellas brought her in," she tells them gesturing to three men who now stood in front of them.

Aster's blinks away tears, "Thank you," she looks at them. Abby following suit and thanks them as well.

"What happened? Was she hurt?"Abby asks.

"Nah, she was confused and agitated. She didn't belong there and you could tell, so we brought her here. I've seen it before with my abuelita and I'm sorry to say but it doesn't get no better."

"Thank you so much," Abby says gratefully.

"No problem, no problem what-so-ever," the man tells her humbly.

Aster notices her grandma walk towards the door, she runs towards her and grips her tightly. "Grandma," she sighs in relief. The tension leaving her body.

Abby quickly makes her way to the two, gripping them both in a group hug.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry to you both," Patricia apologizes sadly.

   Aster carefully walks her grandma out from the bedroom after helping her change. Buck and Abby sit on the two chairs waiting for the two. Patricia takes notice of the boy.

"Oh, Aster," Patricia says holding the young red-heads hand. "Is this your boyfriend?"

"That's Buck," Abby replies softly. "He's Abby's... friend. He helped us find you."

Patricia sits down on her bed. "Where did I go?"

"Um," Aster says, distress filling her once again.

"Why don't you let me take it from here, Aster," Abby says noticing her nieces change in behavior. "Can you walk Buck out?"

"You should walk him out, it's okay I got it."

Abby stays by her niece, torn on what she should do.

"It's okay," Aster reassures her again, ultimately making Abby give in.

Abby tucks in her mom as Aster takes the seat near her bed. "I'm just gonna walk him out, okay? And I'll be right back," she says before giving Aster's shoulder a squeeze and heading to the door.

Buck steps foward, leaning down towards Patricia. "It was nice to meet you, Ms. Clark," he says with a genuine smile on his face.

"Thank you," Patricia says shaking his hand. She leans slight foward, "Um, be kind to her. To both of them."

Aster looks down as Buck looks towards her. "All right, listen now, be safe okay? Take care," he says before walking out. Her eyes glancing at Aster before heading out.

"How about I read to you Grandma?" Aster asks, scooting her chair closely.

"That's sounds wonderful."

NOTES.
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE, TURN IT UP!!
y'all don't know how long i have been waiting for buck to come in. let the drama commence!!
i just want to take a quick second to thank you all for all the support you've been giving Light My Fire lately i cannot express how much i truly appreciate it.
as per usual pls let me know your thoughts! comments and feedback are a huge motivator for me :)