#meaning. eddie and chris b plot.

[buddivorce]

gavin mchugh (chris) asking instagram who's gonna watch the new episode on thursday because it's "reeeeeally gonna be good." confirming that chris is in the episode and therefore eddie. promoting this episode specifically for a nebulous reason. gavin what the fuck do you know

[lover-of-mine]

Okay, still on this post I made a few months ago, also this post on how they could've accidentally set up buddie, I keep trying to find an equivalent to buddie in the Chris front to compare the way that Chris is added to the dynamic, but after rewatching the way Grace is introduced in h50, I have to accept that 911 has a unicorn when it comes to Eddie/Shannon/Chris and that's the thing. Eddie was always written as a widower. He's the widower single father archetype from the get-go, which means he has that doing everything for my kid while dealing with this tragic loss sympathy around him, but Shannon isn't dead yet. Which makes Shannon the screw up parent. Media as a rule doesn't do unredeemable mothers and perfect fathers. If the mother is still alive and there's a custody battle, the mother has the primary custody and the father's plot is getting the mother to trust him again. 911 is quite literally the only piece of media I can think of where it's the other way around and the father is the main character.

And putting Buck in a space where he is doing things to make Christopher's life easier and better, mostly because they were using the space around Buck to establish Eddie after Connie decided to leave the show, before we even meet Shannon is what accidentally made Buck Eddie's love interest. Because considering Eddie was created to be Maddie's love interest but that fell through when Jen decided she preferred madney, and they never fully removed the little bits from Eddie's character that give him a love interest vibe, the things that were probably there so that Buck would work as a bridge between Maddie and Eddie end up setting up Eddie with Buck because it's not there to take them from point a to b anymore, it's just establishes Eddie and their partnership. And since Buck doesn't get a compelling love interest parallel to Eddie's introduction and Shannon is fully unredeemable because leaving Chris is an unforgivable act, they accidentally created a perfect storm of slowburn crack.

A lot of the similarities between Maddie and Eddie would work to make them bond, and Maddie being a nurse parallel to the issue Eddie is having that are solved by Carla, could've created something where Buck is only a means to make them meet. But the show never followed through and they're not gonna fully rewrite the plan for Eddie, so the stuff that was supposed to lead Eddie to a love interest, lead Eddie to Buck. And Buck, who was supposed to be the best friend but not the solution to Eddie's problems, becomes the solution to Eddie's problems. What was probably outlined as ways to make Eddie appealing as a love interest that was never used with a female character, set Eddie up with Buck. We don't trust Shannon, Eddie doesn't trust Shannon, and Buck is doing stuff to make Chris' life easier while being Eddie's only friend on screen. And that's what makes us latch onto the 2 of them together even if the show wasn't leaning that hard on them in s2 beyond what was necessary to make Eddie real for the audience.

Things like the way it feels like they decided last minute that Shannon wouldn't be dead upon Eddie's introduction, Buck's struggle with wanting family, Christopher being a disabled kid who needs more assistance than Eddie knows where to find but Buck does, and little things that were definitely planned to make Eddie a love interest not a main character, considering Ryan said he was not supposed to be a lead initially, put them in this very odd spot because there aren't any single women developed around them, Shannon sucks and we are never made to root for her and then she dies, and Buck doesn't get a stable love interest until they reintroduce Taylor in s4 (I'm disregarding Ali because she isn't developed and she just exists in the background until the 218), made them this thing that exists fully on accident but it's impossible to compete with because since they were planned to be best friends they don't know how to adapt to the concept of separating them.

And obviously, the way that the show never drew a hard line between them and the way that no love interest was ever developed enough to stand a chance against their connection doesn't help, but given recent events, I totally believe that this is the product of them not knowing how to pivot out of initial plans and Ryan and Oliver having too much chemistry, and the show just leaning into it more and more as time passed until we ended up here. Which is an insane thought to process.

[ganxiously]

If there's going to be a reconciliation (which I think will happen for reasons I am going to elucidate below), I am completely certain that it's going to be in 15 or at the latest, by 16 because logistically, it wouldn't make sense otherwise. If Ryan Guzman is not leaving the show then Eddie and Chris have to come back by the new season, especially since wdym one of your main firefighters is not a firefighter anymore. And since things are now okay between them, it is not wrong to expect that they'll be back before Chris' school year starts.

This brings us to the other point (which I have talked about in another post) that is the housing situation. I think it'd be completely absurd for them to find a whole another house for Eddie especially since he has lived in that house since his first appearance. And as much as those people might want it, it is ridiculous to think Eddie and Chris are going to share with Buck. I mean what about their stuff? Where is Eddie going to sleep? If he takes the main bedroom, then where is Buck going? Back on the couch? And if Buck is not sharing the house, where is he living? Back to his loft that has been somehow sitting empty for months waiting for his return? I don't think even 911 would push our suspension of disbelief to that particular limit. Plus it would completely negate the narrative significance of him changing his life and moving out of his bachelor pad because what was even the point of it all if he's right back to where he started from? Similarly, giving Buck a new apartment which would be a complete waste of money don't you think? Like do you really think they would break down one set, move all his furniture into a house and then build up a whole another set that serves the exact same function to the story just so that Buck can start over from step 1?? When they could have simply bypassed all of those redundant expenses just by having Buck not move in the first place?

So the most logical option? Buck and Tommy get back together now which gives them a few months to get their footing as a couple so that when the end of season comes around, Eddie can drop the bomb about his return, have Buck panic a bit about his living situation and then have Tommy finally end the conflict with a suggestion for them to move in together with a call back to the line 'why be alone when we could be together?'. This not only ties up Buck's arc this season with a nice little bow but also gives them the whole hiatus to prepare a new set so that when s9 begins, it can do so with Eddie back to where he belongs and Buck starting the new phase of his life at Tommy's place.

I don't know about you guys but I genuinely believe that the plan all along was to get Buck from point A to point B in the most dramatic way possible. I think I've said it somewhere else but the plot honestly feels like they had had it in bullet points from the beginning. It's just the story that is getting written the day before.

[buddieisgoingcanon25]

my only concern is that we’re here literally a year after buck was confirmed bi and we’re no closer to gay eddie… like yeah we’ve had a couple of passing moments alluding to eddie maybe not being straight, but as far as eddie’s story he hasn’t even started to begin to even consider the possibility that he might not be straight, let alone in love with buck… and we’re quickly running out of time this season for that to be a reality, and if they continue the trend of having the finale eps be bathena focused, then we’re stuck with eddie getting the b or c plots of the episode which means by 8x18 if anything we’ll have it be questioned to him outright, but i’m starting to doubt that we’ll actually get any confirmation… and knowing how tim likes to drag eddie’s storylines out far longer than they need to be, i can see him just flat out not addressing it until midseason 9 and brushing it off like he did the chris thing in interviews during 8a, and then spending the entire backhalf of s9 focusing on eddie’s snail pace reconciliation with being queer and s9 ending w eddie having a feelings realization of some sort, so then at that point he and buck will both be in new relationships that tim “wont want to just end out of nowhere” so a hypothetical s10 would just be about them denying their feelings for each other at first and then slowly starting to slip away from their partners, and s10 would end with a confession.

tim is the master of stalling and brushing storylines like this that the fandom actually want to see to the side while he bloats the narrative with his old movie fanfiction episodes and random side characters that have no importance whatsoever or giving madney a whole multi-episode arc where they’re in danger yet again just so he can ignore the things he opened up that he doesn’t view as a priority… i mean if the rumors are true that eddie’s stuff from 14 has been cut due to time and tim’s desire to inject a random action thriller that doesn’t move forward any characters’ arcs (beyond presumed deas bobby), we’ll only be left w three episodes for him to have any kind of sexuality arc or feelings realization- but that arc will be whittled down to side plots so that tim can give bathena another multi-episode season ending arc, while storylines that fans have been begging for are cast off to the side like they always are

8x13 would have been THE perfect opportunity for eddie to have his gay crisis in, especially with the whole narrative around pleasing his parents, but tim refuses to give eddie a whole episode to himself and- while i love a hen focus and wish we had more- the hen plotline was out of nowhere and felt a little clunky to me as if it had been added last minute bc they were like “oh- we haven’t given hen anything since 8x04 let’s just split the ep between hen and eddie, why not!”

but again- they skipped out on that perfect opportunity to both continue stretching out eddie’s potential gay arc, and to inject the show with a plotline that in all honesty didn’t serve much of s purpose besides providing filler for the other half of the episode’s screentime.

All of this is a yes from me. What does everyone else think?

[midnightsgift]

Trying to link Maddie’s plot with Eddie’s as usually there’s a common thread between the a- and b- plot/two stories in an episode. When we had just had the episode title I was happy to believe it be Eddie missing calls from the 118, mostly buck, and feeling that disconnect. While i don’t believe everything Tim says, I do believe we will see some calls and FaceTimes.

So now, I’m more leaning towards Eddie still feeling disconnected with his family (Chris), despite having moved to Texas. And that it wasn’t this quick fix that he’s perhaps hoped. I think it be nice to see Maddie physically lose her voice, as suggested in the promo, while Eddie loses his almost metaphorically.

And perhaps this links to Chris discovering himself in an unfamiliar situation. I’m personally reading into the word unfamiliar and making the leap that it’ll have to do with family. Chris primarily has seen Eddie as his strong father who’s able to do it all. And now Chris sees his father in this complete different context: in Texas, around his parents, away from the 118. And the hesitance in his dad now is nothing like he’s seen before, him being the son that left when he’s around his parents and not just Chris’ dad. It’s like Eddie has willingly regressed just for Chris, to be close to him.

Maybe Chris would be able to process that and understand how much he means to his dad, and acknowledge he’s not untouchable he’s just human and made mistakes. Or maybe Chris carries a little bit of resentment for how flippantly his dad could destroy what he thought was becoming a nice life.

[lemotmo]

Ok, now that's there been some time between me watching 8x13 and my brain actually feels awake (Also, sorry if this repeats the same points in my previous ask, I don't really remember it all that well, I was kinda sleep deprived when I sent it) so I'm going to give my new prediction on the season.

So. Right now, it feels unclear if Buddie will get together this season or at season 9. (Me: Very glad at renewal, am very confused as to how the story will look now.) I still have my hopes on this season but they'd have to do it in a way that doesn't rush the storyline.

First Things First: El Paso.

They need to get Eddie back to LA. We know that Eddie will likely still be in Texas in 8x14 - that is the tail end of my initial estimation of how long Eddie would be in Texas, the issue is are they going to move him during the big episode or after. I said it to one of my friends - 8x13 would set the precedence for the rest of the season. And given that Eddie didn't have a realization and the entire focus of the episode was on getting Eddie and Chris under the same roof, they're drawing the Buddie Timeline out. Anyways, back to El Paso, either Chris needs to express the desire to go back or "something crazy" has to happen to get Eddie back. Given the manipulations given to Chris ("You'll be my dad now?") by his grandparents, I'm not sure Chris will make the push for LA. But I think there should be a push for it in 8x14 - the issue is that it takes time to sell a house and with 8x14 and 8x15 being a two parter, it means that there's going to be no time jump, so the soonest they can be in LA afterwards is 8x16.

Second: The 8x14 & 8x15 of it all.

If this wasn't a two parter episode, I could detail out a timeline fairly easily but because it is, I have to struggle with it :( Looking at prior two parter episodes, there's 6x10 and 6x11, 8x09 and 8x10 and feasibly 2x11 and 2x13, the major emergency always happened at the end of the first episode and the second was dealing with the fall out of it all. If this follows that pattern, then the 118 won't get trapped until the tail end of the episode. So if anything were to draw Eddie back to LA, it wouldn't be emergent enough until 8x15 to get him back. (I think this is fairly likely given that the FBI, the helicopters, Buck and Athena investigating, the Army are all seen in 8x15, from what I could see) The biohazard event will likely cover the back half of the episode and likely mimic 6x10. Which leaves space for the El Paso B plot that I know exists - but it hasn't been mentioned at all. (Cough cough, Eddie getting out of that closet, cough cough? Either that or the moving back to LA conversation.) I'm going to leave out my general speculation and questions on the two parter because this ask is already monstrously long, but I will mention that none of the main characters are exactly equipped to assist in this type of emergency - and I'm not exactly sure what Athena and Buck are investigating. So it looks like it might be more character focused than any other major emergency - think 5x17.

Third: 8x16 and the Funeral of it all.

Bobby's Funeral is like 95% a fakeout - coma dream, buried alive Bobby, the possibilities are endless. I think that this episode will be the start of the Buddie relationship. I've mentioned how they've made it a point to make Eddie stand out in the crowd and Eddie's been overdue an NDE, and if he doesn't have his realization in 8x14, he will absolutely have it in 8x16. And confessions hopefully? (If it turns out that it's a Bobby gets buried alive sort of situation, I have no idea how that would play out, but maybe a similar scenario if Eddie already knows he's gay in 8x14?)

Finally: 8x17 and 8x18

If they don't confess in 8x16, they will in 8x17. Buck is not normal about Eddie already, him realizing he has feelings for Eddie will double that sort of energy - this man will not be able to hide it. I think the show will take these two final episodes to wrap the fallout from the last three episodes. Something I like about 911 is that they do closed endings to their seasons. (With the exception of Season 7) You could walk away from the show from any other season and you'd be more or less satisfied. I think they'll go for a Season 5 finale emergency - kinda chill when you think about it in terms of the entire show. I'm thinking first date and maybe telling Chris happening in this strand of episodes?

FINAL THOUGHTS: aka I try not to extend this ask further than it already has been.

8x16 is my new favorite for Buddie Canon and it makes the most sense, it gives us time for some insight into early honeymoon Buddie while also leaving some good parts for season 9. (I bet before the B season started that they would be engaged by the finale, now I'm just hoping they'll be together before the finale.) I had honestly hoped that Eddie would be involved in the emergency in a reverse tsunami arc, but that's evidently not happening, so I'm going to hope for confirmation of moving to LA in 8x14 and Gay Eddie by 8x16.

Hope you have a Great Day!!! (Also, sorry this got so long!!)

No no no, don't apologise! It's always so great to read your thoughts and speculations. I love how your mind works. 😋

If it's okay for you I'll only be posting this ask, because your previous one does touch upon some of the same issues.

Your timeline is very interesting and I love how you put a lot of thought in the way 911 tends to structure its two-parter episodes and finale episodes.

I also think that 16 revolves around an Eddie nde and it's his coma dream or hallucination. But I don't think they'll get together straight away. It might take some time first.

My guess for Buddie actually confirmed canon is actually the season 8 finale. I really think they'll try to draw out the pining era as long as possible.

If something happens to Eddie in 16 it might shake Buck awake that he is in love with Eddie, but he won't tell him yet because he's still under the assumption that Eddie is straight.

Eddie will figure it out somewhere in 14 or possibly during the two-parter episode and his hallucination/coma dream will be based on that. He'll be afraid to tell Buck, because he doesn't want it to change anything between them.

So there'll be pining up until the end of the s8 finale when they finally come clean to each other. It will give us Buddie canon in the finale and then they'll be able to dig deeper into the Buddie relationship development in season 9.

But what do I know? It's all speculation at this point. 😋 Watch 16 be all about another Bobby nde and we'll both be wrong. 🤣🤣🤣

You have a great Sunday! I hope it's sunny outside wherever you are! 🌞😎

[outrunningthedark]

Meanwhile, Eddie confronts his parents and takes a big step in his relationship with his son.

Huh. Seems like the diaz parents are awful as the fandom knew. Who could have known?

"The Diaz parents are awful" meanwhile Eddie and his father already handled their issues three seasons ago. They were even getting along in the latest episode. Are you watching the full sixty minutes or just staring at the gifs of Eddie in his tank top? I'm sure Eddie "confronting his parents" (but really, his mother) will end with Helena learning to take a step back so Eddie can feel like he's in full control of the situation. You can thank Tim for making sure neither one ends up being "the bad guy" in this scenario ;) And btw? Just because she doesn't baby him the way this fandom wishes she would doesn't mean she's ever been wrong. In fact, it's her choice to NOT baby him that HELPS Eddie learn to trust himself and his instincts. That is the definition of a plot device. 🫢 (You need examples? Eddie telling his parents he and Chris aren't going back to Texas with them in season two (and his parents accepting that!), Eddie realizing he has to stick to one career and make time for Chris if he doesn't want his parents to take his place in his son's life, and, ofc, Chris feeling safest and happiest with his grandparents being the thing that made Eddie confront just how badly he fucked up. If Helena made excuses for him, Eddie would not be in Texas right now. Tim wanted Eddie to go to Texas. Take it up with him.)

Y'all want to talk about media literacy and can't even get from Point A to Point B in a straight line. Please.

[idiotsinkdaisies]

(longer post) once again over analyzing network tv shows trying to recreate the high i felt when S8x06 "Confessions" first aired - the one scene that I never liked was the Josh Glee speech, but now looking back I have thoughts about the why/who of it all:

Josh comes in and the first few lines of dialogue are him saying "right, you're with Tommy. Unless there's another boy?" and Maddie replies with "There's another woman."

reading in, this is on the nose about bucktommy as a relationship not just being between buck and tommy!! There is a third person in that relationship - and this scene frames that third person as being Abby Clark.

(Third person as a disruption/source of conflict, not in a poly way.)

Regardless of how you feel about Abby, she was Buck's first real adult relationship and made him realize what he wants within one - he learned how to "step into the circle" and meet his partners where they are at with her - it was Abby and Patrica in S1, and Eddie and Chris in S2 onward.

he never steps into the circle with Tommy because that relationship never developed emotional depth

(IMO) Buck realizes that Tommy left Abby in a way that mirrors how she leaves him - a serious partner coming to terms with the fact that they have to leave you to find themself/do what is right for them. He's both emphasizing with Abby for being left, and realizing Tommy hurt her in a way that she hurt him. Buck jumps to a logical conclusion, very much an if A=B and B=C does A=C? Could Tommy hurt him?

Abby is less a third person in bucktommy and more so haunting the narrative with great hair, a well traveled passport, and her annotated copy of eat pray love.

Still, she's talked about and discussed a few times that episode (introduced during the bucktommy date as a conflict, at dispatch, then during the breakup scene.) So explicitly - is she why they break up? no... but is it a part of it... yes (?)

Is she the third person?

Bucktommy always had a third person!! And It is not Abby Clark!!

buck bothered and bewildered was like look! he's so jealous eddie has a new friend. and then 9-1-1 goes um actually he's jealous of the new friend :) obviously :)

even tommy replies to "I wanted your attention" with "my attention?" just for buck to go "I guess so."

buck lurks in the diaz home but eddie lurks in buck's relationships... who is the real #obsessive...

They never explicitly said that eddie diaz is the reason bucktommy struggles/falls flat as a relationship.. but there were signs for those with eyes to see ("bring eddie" "really?" "and die")

Back to the Josh scene - we get into this part I like a lot, which is what is right before he goes into the Glee bit:

It was scarier, more confusing, and not half as accepting. And so sometimes we did things to protect ourselves, things that we might not be proud of, that now look less noble.

The Glee part is.. a choice.. and as someone who watched Glee and would attribute Santana as part of my lesbian awakening and being amazed that they were allowed to have LGBT characters on screen.. I should have fully emphasized with Tommy. At face value it's a scene to make Tommy more relatable/empathetic/forgivable. Unfortunately for Tommy, i think he's at best uninteresting and at worst racist/misogynistic and the scene really didn't do anything to change my opinion for better or for worse.

So then there's a choice that was made - why have Josh give a speech about repression and the struggles queer characters have to Buck in the same episode where he breaks up with the boyfriend in question?

Buck (seemingly) is not going to have any internalized homophobia plot lines, so it is a good theme to introduce! Just because Buck had an "easy" sexuality realization where his queerness is not a point of angst, that does not mean other characters are going to have a simple one.

(we do see this with Micheal in S1 specifically - but if this is truly introducing a theme - it's a little late for it to be related to him)

Is there another character on 9-1-1 that might have battle scars related to sexuality, might have seen a scary confusing world that is not accepting and done things they're not proud of... who might have married a woman and lived as a heterosexual man for years...

in summary: it feels clumsy because they're talking about a "third person" haunting the bucktommy relationship and they have the wrong third person!! they talk about repression influencing a character's choices and they have the wrong character!!

will josh's speech be referenced/re-quoted in reference to Eddie i can only wonder ...

is this intentional or am i reading too far into things?? anyways.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Finally we’ve got the season two AUs!

🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️🧜‍♂️ (this one is so much fun!! First of all I was so completely entertained with Buck and Eddie misunderstanding each other. It was so funny! Also loving reading about trans-Eddie and his backstory! It works really well as an exploration of his character and I’m really enjoying it. And mermaid Buck who just was reminded of the word merman 😂 Love me some unexplained plot-developing magic and can’t wait to see this one play out!)

🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼 (okay I know this one is technically very much in season three territory but it all stems from an AU season two so I’m counting it :p So excited to meet baby Jane!! And loving that established Buddie and can’t wait to see everything play out with Shannon!)

🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟(lol it took me a bit to remember that this one is also technically an AU of season two because of just how alternate that universe is. I can’t believe this one’s almost done! I’ve absolutely adored it! Such a wonderful fire fam story that I’ve loved so much! Very excited to see it all wrapped up in the epilogue!)

I hope you have fun writing Cal! I’ll definitely be having fun reading!

- PCA <3

HI PCA!!! Thanks for sending in more <3

I am going to start with this one because I am hoping to finish zombie fic soon and this is my only request for it. So thank you!

84 for 🧜‍♂️ (Ah yay thank you!!!!! This one has been SO fun to write):

tagging @steadfastsaturnsrings

---

Eddie can tell this is sort of a sore subject for Buck, and changes topic. 

“So what are you looking for?” Eddie asks. 

“I’m not too picky,” Buck shrugs. “Just not further away from the ocean than I already am. And, uh… I don’t know. Something between the fire station and you would be nice.”

“Between the fire station and me?” Eddie asks. 

“Yeah,” Buck shrugs, cheeks heating a little. “I mean, I’m sort of here all the time, anyway. Might as well cut down the commute.”

Eddie smiles. “Okay, then. Let’s narrow down the search range.”

A bit later, Buck brings them each a coffee from the kitchen, sleeve riding up on his wrist as he hands a mug to Eddie. Eddie looks at the clear skin of his arm, curious. Fair enough. There had been a lot of bruising and scratches there yesterday. The result of trying to rescue a terrified dog from a house fire. 

“Went for a swim last night,” Buck says, shrugging. 

“And it healed you?” Eddie asks. “Just like that?”

“Yeah,” Buck shrugs. “It always erases minor stuff. Haven’t encountered anything bigger though, so I don’t know how far it goes.”

“That’s pretty sick,” Eddie admits. 

“Doesn’t work on a hangover,” Buck grumbles. 

“Maybe the ocean knew you deserved it,” Eddie laughs. 

Hell, maybe it did. 

🌊

A few weeks later, Buck is moving into a ground floor unit in a building between work and Eddie. A bit closer to Eddie, just based on pricing. There were two units available in the building. The second floor walk up was a bit cheaper - not hugely, but enough to consider it - but when Buck thinks about who really comes over, beyond his sister, it’ll be Eddie and Chris. And the ground floor would be way easier for Chris. So that’s what he chose. 

He doesn’t tell Eddie this. Just makes the decision. But the first day he’s moved in, with proper furniture that he actually owns, he has them over for pizza and video games, and he knows he’s made the right choice. 

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to enjoy the new apartment for very long. Sooner rather than later, the world sort of ends. There’s a bank heist, which the 118 is framed for. Buck is terrified, being a suspect. Dragged down for interrogation. What if they do some sort of test on him that reveals what he is? Eddie looks sort of sick too. Probably not for dissimilar reasons. Just wildly different results. 

The 118 is cleared. But Bobby is not. Or at least, he’s cleared of the robbery, but he’s still under suspicion. The LAFD is looking into his past. Poking around at all his trauma; the loss of his family, rehab, all of it. Buck doesn’t think it’s fair. Doesn’t think it’s any of their business. 

Apparently it is.

Bobby is put on suspension pending the results of the inquest. Chimney is made acting captain. And it all sort of overlaps with a disaster. Or, rather, many repeated disasters. Serial disasters. A package bomber. The city is sort of in collective panic. 

Buck is concerned, of course. But not really about anyone he knows. Not at first. At first, the people being targeted seem to be all too wealthy for him or the people he loves to fit the pattern. A judge, an attorney, etcetera. But then a package is discovered at Athena’s house, and even though no one is hurt, Buck can’t help but feel sick about it. Her son discovered it; her child. Bobby could have been there. Bobby. The thought of Bobby being hurt makes him want to writhe. Stresses him so badly he can feel the phantom sensation of scales running up his spine. He knows Bobby is fine. That he wasn’t even there. But he still feels physically ill. 

He doesn’t have long to feel sick about it, though. He doesn’t have long to feel anything but panic and pain for very long. Because the next victim of the package bomber, as it turns out, is him. 

---

57for 🔼 (It definitely started in S2 so you're right! And yay! Thank you!!!)

---

That makes him freak out. Or at least the possibility of missing it. Not that Buck can blame him. She’s not even Buck’s kid and he sort of feels like if he wasn’t trying to keep Eddie calm, he’d be freaking out a tiny bit, too. 

It’s not all bad freaking out. Some of it is positive. He’s a bit like a yoyo. 

“We’re really going to meet her,” Eddie says, excitedly to start. “She’s really going to be here.”

“She is,” Buck grins in response. 

A few minutes later, as traffic seems to plunge into doom territory, Eddie is filled with despair. 

“I made it home from Afghanistan to be there when Chris was born,” he laments. “Afghanistan, Buck! That’s three continents of travel. I had a half day layover in Germany. I still made it home in time. But now I won’t make it across town for Jane?”

Oh boy.

“Eddie, you’ll make it in time,” Buck promises, willing himself to be right. “You’ll definitely make it. I will turn on the siren, I swear.”

“That’s technically not allowed, Buck, I-”

“I’m the one driving,” Buck shrugs, and turns it on. 

Immediately, cars start moving out of the way.

“Okay,” Eddie sighs, fitting a headset over his ears. “Alright, good idea.”

“Told you I got you,” Buck smiles.

“I feel like I’m going to puke,” Eddie admits. 

“Well, don’t do that. It’ll delay us,” Buck teases. 

Eddie just groans. 

◀️

Shannon really can’t believe Eddie is going to miss this. If she wasn’t currently experiencing active labor - a much more active labor than her previous experience - she might not be so pissed about it. She understands he was out there, on a call, saving people. Which is good. She won’t die without him, but the people out there in accidents sure might. Whatever. But he should be here. He promised he’d be here every step of the way, and this is a pretty big step. Also, he did this to her. He should at least be here to have his hand crushed and to be snapped at. 

“He’s on his way, okay?” Maddie promises. “He’s rushing over.”

Not fast enough. 

Not fast enough, because the last time she was checked out, she was told she’s almost ready to start pushing. And even though last time she was told she could start pushing, it took hours and ended in forceps, she’s been assured this is progressing fast and easy. There is nothing easy about it, thank you. But she believes the fast part. She can already just tell, compared to Chris. Their daughter is eager to make an entrance. Which is fine with Shannon. It’s the opposite of what she’d feared. 

She just needs Eddie to be here for it. 

Shannon’s worried. She’s sad at the prospect of him missing it, mostly for him. But she’s also in a lot of pain, which turns all that to frustration.

“If he’s not here,” she tells Maddie. “I’ll kill him.”

---

66 for 🧟 (THANK YOU! I am very excited to wrap it up)

---

 It wakes her, but slowly. Sunlight warms her face. The other thing warming her is Chimney. He draped over her middle. His chest against her back. She feels completely at ease, right here. 

Sometimes Maddie has a habit of gaslighting herself a little. Her brain intrusively suggests she shouldn’t trust her instincts. That they were her problem to begin with; the reason she got hurt. That if she’d been smarter, she would have avoided it. And maybe she’s not being smart now. She’d thought that when she got in the truck with Eddie. She thought that when she started getting closer to Chimney. She’s fighting off thinking about it today. It’s just not true. Every decision she has made has kept her alive. 

When the sun eventually wakes Chimney, too, she feels him take a deep breath, then lean forward to kiss the back of her head. She smiles, pleased.

“Good morning,” she says quietly. 

“Yeah,” Chim replies. “A really good one.”

Maddie’s smile widens. There’s a lot to like about Chimney. So much. But one of the things she thinks she appreciates most is how he makes her feel good without being overly complimentary. None of it feels like attempted flattery, or trying to butter her up. He’s completely just sincere with her, in whatever he says. Another reason to trust him. She can recognize now how a lifetime of her parents’ criticism left her vulnerable to Doug piling on empty compliments. How that led to a frantic need to please him again when they went away. 

Maddie is stronger than that now. She survived the outbreak. She escaped the husband who would have kept her trapped in hell, and then killed him when he would have killed her. She made it across the country, found her brother. She learned how to survive, how to fight against threats she would have never expected a year ago. She helped make bombs to defend against a home she would have never expected, either. 

So Maddie feels safe now, more often than not. Even when her brain tries to fight her on it. Even when she’s scared. She’s safe. 

She rolls over in bed and looks at Chim. He takes a deep breath.

“Hi,” he mutters.

“Hi,” she replies. “Thank you.”

He gives her a funny, confused smile.

“For what?”

She shrugs a little. “I don’t know. For being here when I showed up?”

His cheeks redden a little. “Well, uh… Thank you for showing up.” 

She laughs brightly. “Anytime.”

And when Chim kisses her again, something inside Maddie just feels entirely, perfectly settled. 

October 11th, 2018

They’d expected Shannon and Taylor to come back around this time. They’d said monthly visits for Shannon and Chris at a minimum. More if they could help it. And Shannon wasn’t going to travel alone. Not while Taylor was around. Hen still wonders if Shannon knows Taylor is in love with her. 

What they’re not expecting is for Shannon and Taylor to show up with a child. A child that wasn’t mentioned last time. A little girl. 

[bekolxeram]

Again, I don't really do blind specs (so prepared for completely off the mark posting), but I've seen people in the tag being worried about journalists baiting in a different way than usual.

I don't think it's Bucktommy related?

Ever since Bucktommy became a thing, we've been putting too much emphasis on them. I mean they're important characters, but not important enough to dwarf over the rest of the ensemble cast and have a multi-episode arc with them as protagonists just yet.

Eddie's storyline about his grief and Chris has been hinted at since the end of S7, but we haven't seen any resolve or even development from it at all. I think 8x06 will be an Eddie centric episode, and it'll be cathartic and dramatic.

Most of the BoBs are die hard Eddie stans, but so far in S8, we haven't seen any Eddie focused episode (other than 8x04, but he was the B-plot). So I believe the change of tones regarding baiting journalists are based on this. Eddie's about to make a major decision, and it's going to stir up the Eddie stans.

Bucktommy, on the other hand, will be the comic relief, light hearted B-plot.

[mazzystar24]

Okay, everyone is excited, it's very nice and all... Although I find it weird that Buck of all people will have no time for Eddie especially at times like this when Chris is ghosting his father?😅

I'm glad I'm almost falling asleep or else I'd get really depressed (sorry, I'm not a fan of jealousy plots (though, I believe that just spiralling about it in my head is much worse that it's actually gonna be playing out on screen😅)), but yay I'm happy everyone's happy😂

Omg I’m killing myself I typed this all up three times and none of them saved

Back to the answer

Hey babe!

Okay so I get what you mean but i do think tims wording was just him trying not to give too much away

like if the storyline WAS buck not trying to prioritise his friends/family it would go against the very fundamentals of who he is as a character to such a polar extreme that its not something the writers would entertain even for the sake of drama because you never wanna subvert what makes a beloved character beloved

also the way tim was like ' well not out in the cold so much but buck has less time' (im paraphrasing i think) again is just not giving buck not msking time for eddie blissfully

i think its most likely either:

a- eddie is self isolating but this time by pretending he has a handle on things because he doesnt wanna interfere with bucks life or happiness after he already views himself as having failed with his son's happinness

b- buck is trying to balance everything and it causes problems with bt

crack option- that one trope where the asshole bf tells the bestie to leave them alone but no one tells the love interest of the bf/ bestie of the bestie

(not the smallest man who ever lived coming on as i typed that- its fate whenever talking about tommy i fear)

like i dont feel there is any scenario where buck is like i know youre legit on the verge of a breakdown and your relationship with your kid is in shambles and this family unit ive been so deeply ingrained in for the past - one sec gotta do maths- 6 years is currently in shambles but i have a boyfriend now so sorry but sayonara i got date night🥰

also back to serious for a sec like we gotta consider the context this was bought up in- it wasnt about whether eddie and buck's dynamic is changing or if bt is having an effect on them or like if there are any issues there etc the question was about tommy and buck's relationship which bringing this eddie topic up in makes me think its indicative of it being a n arc relating more so to them if that makes any sense.

also back to jokes- jealous eddie serves so much cunt tho i fear i enjoy it immensely like jealous buck serves kicked puppy so i hate it but jealous eddie is a petty bitch and i love it

my favourite analogy for this is eddie gives 'i pictured you with other girls in love and threw up on the street' meanwhile buck gives ' i was good just wasnt good enough'

yes that was a taylor swift reference followed with a maisie peters reference straight away - im just a girl🫶

love ya and sorry for the late reply

[maygrcnt]

Here’s a quick little meta on buddie in regards to the 7x01 episode name— Abandon ‘Ships— and its influence on the implication of plot lines.

Meant to be wordplay on the concept of literally abandoning ship (re- the pilot and the cruise) and bumps in a romantic relationship (re- … well everything else)

In the A plot (note that my use of A, B, and C plots has nothing to do with plot importance but rather just what order the plots started in the episode) the relationship in question is Bathena, the B plot Madney, and the C plot being Eddie dealing with Chris’ relationships.

What interests me in this situation is the way that the two characters who aren’t inherently involved in any of these situations— Buck and Hen— are employed to be of use.

Hen’s reduced role in this episode sees her in the spot where she’s most familiar: talking to her two best friends. She does what she does, gossiping with and encouraging anything Athena says, and snapping chimney back into reality when he spirals. But Hen overall has no influence or bearing on either storyline. She only feeds into Athena’s theories that turn out to be true, and Chim has to navigate himself to his own ending (even though Hen was telling him from the start)

All that is to say that when you look at the contrast between the two characters with lesser roles in this episode, it’s obvious which of them was a supporting friend and which of them has a firm place in the family dynamic of another character. And to be clear by family dynamic i don’t just mean the trust and closeness of the team, but rather the domesticity of entering another man’s house and advising his child on matters of the heart. Chris would never have divulged the matter of his mom if Eddie had been the one talking to him, it’s Buck’s conversation that brings out the topic of Shannon, the presence of one is directly influenced by the other

This dynamic— and its heavy presence in the premiere episode that is supposed to be about rocky times in long term relationships— had a goal of both introducing and reintroducing the concept of buck and eddie as a pairing that is not just a friendship, that there are lines in the sand this duo crosses that we almost never see elsewhere in the show. (for example: the only time we’ve ever seen chimney act as an advice giver to denny was very prominently shot on the porch of the wilson house, rather than the intimacy of having buck inside eddie’s home, where he’s not a guest)

[userautumn]

I won't hold my breath but I'm excited for the potential reality that we're actually getting buddie roommates now that Eddie is officially back (whether that actually leads to anything romantic is just bonus, buddie roommates is still solid gold content platonically)

I think a really fun, lighthearted B-plot would be them adjusting to living together. like, as far as we know, Eddie's house only has one bedroom. So imagine both of them waking up shuffling sleepily to the bathroom only to bump into each other. Or Eddie is running late to work (they can't carpool every day because Chris still has to get to school) and he reaches for something in the cabinets that's not there anymore because Buck changed things around. Each time something like this happens, Buck hurries to apologize and that annoys Eddie for reasons he doesn't really understand. Meanwhile Buck thinks Eddie is annoyed because he regrets renting his out to him.

Anyway, fast forward to the end of the episode, Buck goes to Eddie and is like, "hey, I was thinking about having someone (like a date/hookup) come over, is that..."

and Eddie is like "no."

and Buck blinks at him before he's like "oh... oh okay..."

and then Eddie is like "no goddamnit Buck, you're not supposed to say okay, this is YOUR house."

and Buck is like "but it's your..."

and Eddie, very gently, takes him by the shoulders (you know how he does), and is like, "no, it's not. Stop acting like a guest in your own home. You haven't been before. You're not one now." he pauses. "You're definitely not one now. That's your money going to the bills, chief."

and it makes Buck duck his head and do that little smile-laugh he does for only a moment, and then he looks up at Eddie, soft and serious, and is like, "You know that's the same for you too, right?"

and Eddie's like, "What do you mean?" but he knows.

Something in him just wants to hear Buck say it and Buck's never denied him anything so he's like, "This is my house, right? You're not a guest here either." in an obvious callback to the whole this is Eddie's house, I'm not exactly a guest of it all.

and then Eddie nods and smiles and is like "alright, deal"

and then they sit on the sofa and watch movies together while the episode goes to black.

Anyways I think that would be really fun.

[inell]

It's not even his episode! He's sharing with Maddie!

Like, I get it. They're gonna show how she deals with been back at work 6 weeks after her attack, but Eddie... We need to move this storyline along!! They wasted so much time in 8A, and they've five episodes left of S8... and we've seen nada of Eddie and Chris' storyline because they wanted an arc around Brad when they could've used it to show Eddie and Chris WERE in communication with each other! (I mean, how else are we supposed to know Chris is supposedly absolutely fine with his Dad moving to El Paso suddenly?)

Hey Nonnie! You seem very passionate about this, which is understandable! It’s Eddie, a favorite of many of us. However, I always advise people to consider taking a step away from fandom if it causes anger instead of joy.

While I definitely agree that I would have made some changes to 8a, I’m trying to be optimistic (though I’ve given myself very low expectations) that they’ll make up for the slow to no movement in Eddie & Christopher’s plot so far. We know that Eddie is supposed to have time for his story in 8x12 and 8x13, probably the B plot tonight but maybe more equal. And next week is Hen and Eddie sharing the spotlight. Hopefully, Ryan will have a chance to shine and give us development for Eddie to help make this awful doppelgänger plot somewhat worth it.

[buddieisgoingcanon25]

https://www.tumblr.com/buddieisgoingcanon25/779551537711267840/all-this-aside-what-i-am-worried-about-is-eddie-is

I feel like if they were discussing buddie any further then we’d actually have signs of it? Like Oliver has said that it’s not being discussed any further for Buck and we know Eddie’s arc is being hyper-lazer-focused on Chris and his parents, and if he’s still in Texas by ep 16 then we know for a fact nothing has happened on the buddie front… And if the last 3 episodes are bathena focused like they always are every season now, then there’s no room for them to discuss buddie anymore- and if they push things back to s9, all they’re gonna do is ignore it like they did the eddie and chris plot until the last few eps of the season (if they don’t just change their minds and choose to do nothing at all) and then we’re stuck with maybe an episode of buddie canon before the show ends, bc at this rate the show getting a s10 isn’t a given- s9 barely feels plausible at this point (regardless of viewers/ratings bc despite that it’s a network procedural drama, it’s unheard of for shows like this to last this long and they already were canceled once before abc saved them and tim proceeded to tank the show’s quality)

i feel like tim’s realized that he needs to garner viewership for the b-season so that he can get the s9 renewal and once he has it, he’ll stop bc he did the same thing in s7; as soon as he got the s8 renewal, he completely scrapped eddie’s original storyline and rewrote it into a fucking mess 😭 he doesn’t care about buddie beyond a money making commodity and all of this to me just feels like textbook queerbait- especially w tommy still being here after tim implied he was going to become recurring… that just feels like they’re setting up a plotline for bt to get together again (regardless of if they’re endgame or not) to stir up fandom drama so that they show gets views/fandom interaction ahead of s9

I’m really hoping Buddie does get something happening in the last 3 episodes. I mean if not then what were episodes 9-12 (maybe 13) about?

[lover-of-mine]

Regarding the anon that had the quote about Eddie “barely having time for his kid”

A. Do they think single parents aren’t allowed to have free time or fun ever and if they ever have someone babysit so they can have fun they’re terrible parents??

B. What evidence do they have for him “barely having time for his kid”? Just because Gavin wasn’t in this season much does not mean Eddie didn’t spend any time with him. It just means they didn’t have many onscreen storylines involving him (which is understandable in a shortened season)

C. Everything else you said in your response about free time when Chris is at school, about Eddie having a support system and a community

People who genuinely believe that quote are exactly like Eddie’s parents. Acting like Eddie should be doing it all himself or else he’s failing. I’m sure they like his parents taking Chris because they don’t like the idea or actually helping and supporting Eddie.

The other funny thing is (and I’ll admit I’m making an assumption here that the person that said that about Eddie is a Tommy fan because those typically are the ones to hate on Eddie) they will operate on this “if I didn’t see it on screen then it doesn’t exist” mentality for Eddie’s quality time with his son but yet they will bend over backwards to make assumptions about Tommy and his character based on no evidence on screen.

We're literally fighting to get Eddie out of the mentality that taking care of himself doesn't make him a bad parent and that he's actually doing a really good job despite the world being against him since he was introduced. Do you know how good of a parent someone has to be so that their kid will feel comfortable enough having A FIRST DATE AT THEIR HOUSE? My parents still don't know when I had my first kiss and that happened 14 years ago, they only found out about my first boyfriend because they caught me with him. Except for 705 where Chris was shipped off to plot convenience land, everything else, Chris is somehow involved? We saw the date and the great parenting moment from Eddie in 701, 702 and 703 happens in the same shift, so Eddie would have been working anyway, 704, sure, we have Eddie hanging out with Tommy a lot but Buck's pov is the least reliable thing ever, and considering Chris met Tommy, it's not like Eddie was abandoning him, 705 has some issues but, again, plot convenience land, 706, Chris was at the wedding with Eddie and Abuela, and we know she now lives in Texas so she was probably very happy to get some time with Chris, 707 we literally see them out for ice cream, 709 Chris is at the station and Eddie mentions Chris is in his room later. Chris is a teenager. He's not a baby who needs around the clock care. He has school, and friends, and family, and there was a whole plot last season about Chris wanting more independence. It's not like Eddie is leaving a toddler with strangers to go do shit. And Eddie should be allowed to have a life outside being a parent. And Eddie needs a network of support because that man works shifts and sometimes will spend 24 hours at the station. We have multiple episodes with montages of Eddie and Chris' morning routine, we see them watching television together, we see Chris sitting in the kitchen while Eddie cooks, we see Eddie helping Chris with projects, Eddie doing a literal presentation at Chris' school. That man bends over backwards to make sure Chris is as well taken care of. They're not even pretending to watch the show at this point. Are we really crucifying him for playing basketball while his kid is at school? For having a few nights out with some friends? Are we fucking for real?