#yeahhhh don’t be stupid you’re fine!!! haha!!!! just a very bad dream your legs are working perfectly (COPE)

[mellowwhumps]

me throughout this entire fic (the blur and void in the photo is part of my agony)

whumperless whump event day 12: it's going down (i'm yelling timber) @whumperless-whump-event

building collapse / trapped under rubble / “i can't move my legs.”

see this post for character information!

caretaker: Cassidy

whumpee: Gene

THIS FIC IS NOT CANON! I REPEAT, THIS FIC IS NOT CANON! i just wanted to try my hand at something very whumpy and angsty but for all intents and purposes, this is simply a dream cassidy had or something like that. GENE IS ALIVE AND WELL.

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There was a fire in the schoolhouse. And it was spreading.

At the rate it was going, it'd reach just about all the buildings on the west side of town. One of those buildings happened to be the town jail.

Gene gritted his teeth and let his gaze flicker to the cell. Of course, there just had to be a certain outlaw locked up at the most inconvinient time.

Good ‘ol Silver.

As soon as Gene heard the crackling and screaming coming from outside, he knew he had to make a decision quick. If he left Silver in the cell, he would surely burn to death. 

On the other hand, releasing him could prove more dangerous if he decided to use the chaos as a distraction for his gang to come in and pick the place clean.

In the end, it was an easy decision.

Gene tossed his key ring to Silver, who blinked at him owlishly.

“You’re.. settin’ me free?”

“Yes. Now don’t just sit there lookin’ stupid, run,” Gene growled, stripping of his coat.

"Well, whatta 'bout you?" Cassidy's voice was small.

"Get outta here 'fore I change my mind."

He had more urgent matters to attend to.

He dashed over to the schoolhouse, where a frenzy of crying children crowded around their teacher, Miss Lowry. She looked positively panicked, looking around erratically. Her eyes finally landed on Gene and she all but collapsed at his feet in relief.

“Oh thank goodness you’re here! It’s Annie, she’s still trapped up there in the building! She was in the hall when it started-- oh lord mister, please help her!” She cried, clutching at Gene’s vest.

Gene steeled his resolve and nodded. "I'll get her, miss. Don't you worry."

He didn't look back as he headed straight for the flames.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the rickety doorway was how hard it was to breathe. He felt the familiar sense that his lungs were seizing up, but he could deal with it later. He had to focus.

“Annie! Where're you!” He shouted out, erupting into coughs.

“Hello?! I’m r-right here, mister!” A small voice responded, coughing through sobs.

Gene hacked even harder as he followed the voice. He ducked under charred wood and pushed school desks out of the way before eventually meeting the face of a terrified little girl, surrounded by burning rubble.

She let out a blubbering cry and launched herself forward into Gene’s arms. 

Gene let out a soft oof before hoisting her up over his shoulder. "S'all gonna be alright, sweetheart. I'm gonna get you out."

Once Gene actually finds a way out.

He held Annie close as he scanned for an escape route. The smoke was stinging his eyes, and his breaths were quickly becoming slow wheezes. One look at Annie and he saw she was dealing with the same thing. Her coughs were becoming louder-- more desperate. He needed to be fast if he wanted to save this girl.

Finally, he saw a sliver of hope. There were two beams resting against eachother, creating a pocket free of debris. It looked stable too, so long as it wasn't jostled too much. The only trouble was that it was entirely too small for Gene himself to fit through.

Oh well. I’ll figure something out.

He made a beeline for the exit, cradling the back of Annie’s head. His eyes were watering now. The air scorched his throat on the way down, and he looked down for a brief moment to see he was absolutely covered in soot.

As he finally reached the beams, he set Annie down very gently.

His voice was gravelling when he spoke.

“Alright darlin’, you have to head through this hole very carefully, okay? Don't touch the sides. I ain’t gonna be able to follow, but I’ll be right behind you. You hafta be brave, okay?” 

Annie’s eyes widened in pure panic.

“N-No! You have to come with me, mister! I’m too scared! Please!” She cried, clinging to Gene’s leg.

There was a sudden snap, and Gene saw a beam in the distance go down. Christ. They didn't have time for this.

“Alright! Alright. I’ll go with you. Promise. Just start walking, alright?” He reassured quickly, leaning away to cough.

She whimpered and nodded, holding Gene’s hands behind her as she inched her way through the beams.

Gene crouched, following her the farthest he could without disturbing the way the beams were balanced together.

She was about a foot from being out, when there was another sickening crack-- this time right above them.

“Shit!” Gene barked, and before he had time to think, he was shoving Annie as far forward as he could right as the beams gave way.

Right on top of him. 

All he felt was white-hot pain before everything went black.

••••

Cassidy watched from behind a tree as the bucket brigade finally started making a damn dent in the flames.

It had been nearly 7 minutes since Gene went in after that little girl, and there was no sign of either of them.

Cassidy was just about ready to head into the building himself. He was expendable. Deptuty Eugene Delaney was not. He rolled up his sleeves and took a step forward before--

He saw a soot-covered figure fall onto the grass, sobbing as hard as she could. That must be Annie, then.

So where the hell was the deputy. 

Cassidy took another experimental step forward, straining to look for any sign of a taller figure emerging.

All he was met with was the sickening sound of wood splitting, and a choked out scream as the building collapsed.

His legs were moving before he had time to think.

The bucket brigade, seeing the situation at hand, focused their efforts where the deputy presumably was. The worst of the flames had been snuffed out by some miracle, but the rubble was still creaking and falling all around. No one dared to get too close.

No one but Cassidy.

He crashed to his knees in front of where Annie escaped, ripping apart the rubble piece by piece, searching for any sign of life.

“Goddamn you, Delaney, always trying to be a goddamn hero,” He muttered, tearing away another plank of wood. The terror in his voice came out before he had a chance to surpress it.

His heart stopped when he heard a soft groan coming from below.

He wasted no time carefully, slowly lifting up a large scrap to reveal a soot-covered cotton vest, and just above it, a tuft of dirty blonde hair.

Cassidy felt his breath hitch as he lifted all the rubble he could hold in one go and.. Christ, it wasn’t good.

Gene was lying face down on the dirt, gasping for air. The entire left side of his face was blood-soaked, and more blood poured from his nose, seeping into his teeth. His lower half was obstructed by heavier rubble that Cassidy couldn’t lift on his own, and he wasn’t sure he liked what that meant for Gene. 

Still, he crouched towards the deputy, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder blade.

“Delaney? Delaney, you with me?” He questioned, voice tight with worry.

Gene made a pathetic attempt to nod, before erupting into a wheezing coughing fit again. 

“S-Still.. alive,” He rasped, gasping for air that would not come.

Cassidy urged his voice to be something gentle, despite his racing heart. “Alright cowboy, you gotta help me by wigglin’ out when I get this damn wood off’ya.”

Cassidy stood and got behind Gene, fingers hooking underneath part of the beam. Finally, some of the bystanders gained some sense and a few men stepped forward to help Cassidy lift.

They finally cleared out the crumbling beam, leaving Gene’s lower half lying limp against the dirt.

Gene blanched, sputtering out a cough as he tried to push himself up with his arms.

“C-Can’t.. can’t feel my legs..” He choked out, voice thick with panic. He clawed at the dirt in front of him. “Silver..”

Cassidy felt his heart sink.

“Sure you can. Don’t be stupid, Delaney, sure you can.” He knelt beside Gene. “It’s just the shock. Nothin’ more.”

Gene shut his eyes tight and shook his head. Tears were spilling freely now. It was the first time Cassidy had ever seen the other man cry.

“N-No.. s’like they’re not even there.” He wheezed, lowering his face to hide it from the onlookers’ staring.

Cassidy felt something akin to sorrow bubble up inside of him. He turned frustratedly to the group of bystanders. 

“Would someone please go get a doctor? Any time today?” He shouted, shooing off the crowd.

He turned back to Gene and ran a shaking hand through the singed hair on the back of his neck.

“You’re gonna be alright. We’ll fix this. I swear it.”

All Gene could do was sob.

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