#the way these scenes are the exact same except instead of eddie it's chris

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

5x13 | 7x10

[matan4il]

Buddie 513 meta

As if 512 (among other eps) didn’t make the Madney and Buddie parallels obvious enough, then this ep really drove the point home. For example, just like Albert calls Maddie because she’s Chim’s partner and those two are raising Jee Yun together, so we also get Christopher calling Buck, because that’s Eddie’s partner and his co-parent in raising Chris. They’re a family, your honor! (as demonstrated in this gifset) We discover in this ep that Madney have broken up, mentioning the distance between them for all these months. Except we see in this ep that even when romantically apart, they still hover around each other, and their most significant, intimate moments are shared with one another. Does that remind you of other partners we know?

But that’s not just a comparison in general terms. The ep’s very structure regarding Buddie also reflects that exact narrative progression: throughout most of it, Buck and Eddie are apart, dealing with their own issues. And yet the most important moment they each have during the ep is the one they share at the end of it. In fact for Buddie, it’s the very climax of the ep (as I mentioned in the same gifset), that pivotal moment, the one that holds the greatest emotional importance in the ep, it’s reserved for these two men and their family, their relationship, the trust and closeness that they have developed which allows them to reach a breakthrough at the very end of the ep. ~~~

If that wasn’t enough, the ep did provide us with foreshadowing for this. For example, when Maddie shows up and we see her getting updates from Buck, the very first thing she hears from him is that Eddie has quit the 118. After that, she also hears an update on Taylor. Even just having Buck mentioning these two people together would have shown that Eddie is no less emotionally important to him than his actual gf... But then Buck actually mentioned Eddie first. I’m at a loss for words. Another hint is the scene with Frank telling Eddie that he needs to talk to someone who understands his trauma, which then transitions into a scene with Buck. And in case it wasn’t evident enough, Frank also mentioned to Eddie “anyone else around you” and this ep made it very clear that while Eddie referred to the whole team as his chosen family back in 311, the people he actually surrounds himself with in his daily life, the ones so close he might unintentionally drag down with him, are Chris and Buck.

Lastly, we get Eddie listening on the radio to Pauline speaking, and he clearly identifies with her (just think about how she says she feels empty, much like Eddie mentions to Frank in 309 that there are moments which he knows should fill him with joy, but they don’t), then who pulls her off the ledge, before she’ll self-destruct completely? Buck does. Just like he’s going to do for Eddie before the end of the ep. ~~~

On the job, Buck and Lucy started off getting in each other’s way, which although the context is very different, made me think their “chemistry” is more like Eddie and Hen getting in each other's way in 505 than like Buck and Eddie always working seamlessly together, even before they became proper friends. I’m just saying, this can’t hold a candle to our battlefield boyfriends. I can’t wait until Buddie are officially back to that! ~~~

With Buck and Taylor, this ep demonstrated, even before bringing the kiss into the mix, that these two don’t belong together romantically. Taylor moves in and doesn’t communicate with Buck at all about what to bring and what to do when they have potential clashes (like two couches), instead she simply overrides Buck. That is not what a good partnership looks like. Then, it takes Maddie no time to figure out that there’s something wrong with this moving in together, but Taylor, who actually lives with Buck, can’t tell something’s up, showing very low levels of communication and familiarity (just think in comparison of how well Buddie know each other, for example Buck realizing within two seconds that Eddie isn’t okay during their dinner in 511).

I was proud of Buck for finally being honest (and clearly, he needed one of his loved ones to return to him so he’d have the strength to overcome his abandonment issues to do that). And not just about the kiss, I think it was really important that he didn’t stubbornly insist the moving in suggestion was detached from those issues. Taylor was fully within her rights to be upset with him. At the same time, after thinking about it, I have to say she was also a bit unfair to him. She’s in the same city she has lived in for years, it’s not like he uprooted her to move in together in a place where she has no one other than him, so it would stand to reason that she has friends she can stay with. She also has enough money to afford a hotel room for a couple of nights if she has no friends, even to buy extra clothes if she doesn’t feel like returning to the loft to get some. It’s not great, but it’s a possibility. So while I think she has every right to be upset, her being unfair still ended up feeling like another time when she was right, but still took things one step too far for me by putting too much blame on Buck, meaning when she told him off after the double date in 408. And then this arc concludes for this ep with the “no more lies” line, which is TV code reminding us there is still a lie hanging over a couple and that it WILL come out and they WILL break up. I just continue to hope 911 handles it in a way that allows Buck to grow. At least in terms of how he coped with most of the romantic entanglement in this ep, it does feel like his approach was more mature than it might have been in the past. ~~~

(The rest under a cut. Thank you so much for reading! Huge thank you to the incredible @judsonryder​ and @whosoldherout​ for the gorgeous gifs!)

I have said this before, more than once, but somehow Buck and Eddie’s romantic trajectory always seems to be so similar, and this ep continues that theme. They both felt in s5 that they “owed” their respective girlfriends to stay with them. At the beginning of 5a, we got to hear Eddie verbalize what’s off about his relationship with Ana, and now Buck had the same thing with Taylor. It still took Eddie a moment to find his footing and break up with Ana for his own sake, and in this ep we saw Buck in the same place, having the required insight to end things, but not yet taking the naturally following action of breaking up with Taylor for his own good. ~~~

I wanna say something about Eddie hearing in therapy that a part of the issue is how he’s so busy looking after everyone else and helping them that he’s neglecting himself. This has been a recurring theme with Eddie since 210, when he wondered aloud to Buck whether he’s with Shannon because of him or for Christopher’s sake, and it was of course magnified when every time Eddie mentioned how he was taught not to consider his own pain (301) or that he was only going to therapy for his son (309) or sticking it out with Ana because she’d be the perfect mom to Chris (502). And then Frank, in this ep, doesn’t actually manage to break through to Eddie about the importance of not ignoring his feelings without bringing up how his current course might actually end up hurting those he loves. So basically, Frank gets Eddie to understand he HAS to take care of himself by using that same sense of care and responsibility for others that’s been burdening Eddie all along, and if that doesn’t break your heart, IDK what will. Oh yeah, I do. “They’re all dead.” OMG, that was so much, and I just need someone to tell Eddie that the good we bring into this world matters even when we think it doesn’t. That his sacrifice and trauma make a difference and his heroism matters. That the extra years that those people got thanks to Eddie? They matter. The moments of joy they experienced during that time? Matter. The good that they might have been responsible for during these years? Matters. The joy and gratitude of those people’s families and friends for that duration? Matter. Someone please hug that man and tell him that HE IS ENOUGH. (*cough* Buck! *cough*) ~~~

Hey, remember when we, collectively as a fandom, found out in 301 that Eddie had a key to Buck’s place? It was implied that they had exchanged keys much like Hen and Bobby had back in s1, because that’s what firefighters do, in case anything happened to them. Still, I pointed out here that the reason 911 gives for why the platonic Hen & Bobby exchanged keys doesn’t actually work for Buddie in 301, because at the time, Buck had quit the team. He wasn’t a firefighter or in danger. Now we have confirmation that months after Eddie has left active firefighting, specifically to avoid danger, Buck still has a key to his house... No, they really went all out on showing the parallels even in the smallest of details between Buck’s arc in s3 and Eddie’s in s5, as well as just highlighting for us again just how bonded these two are. ~~~

I’m not sure I fully have a way to talk about the end scene of the ep, with Eddie breaking down in front of Buck and them talking after that. I just love everything about it. It means so much in terms of Eddie’s story (the way we see this man who’s kept all his pain to himself naked of all his defenses) as well as Buck’s ('coz this is the one place where he KNOWS he’s needed and wanted and will never be abandoned, which stands out even more in contrast with his failing r/s with Taylor, and it’s a continuation of the natural way he has ALWAYS stepped in, since 204 at the latest, into Eddie’s mess with him, as opposed to the way he had to be talked into it with Abby, never got to that point with Ali, and was partly driven to do this out of his own insecurities with Taylor). BUT. A part of why I’m not sure any one meta post can ever cover everything about this scene is because it’s not just about these men separately, it’s also the culmination of 4 seasons in which we have seen Buddifer really becoming an intertwined family, so this scene feels like a kaleidoscope: the number of colors and reflections seems endless, and as you turn it a little, you discover a whole new image, 100% as real and valid as the last one.

Just think about this example of the endless reflections we have in that scene: Buck answering Christopher’s phone call with the biggest smile reminded me of his smile as the two of them teased Eddie together in 403, and of course it also reflected 408, the first time we saw Chris canonically go to Buck when he was distressed over trouble with his dad, while back then, it was Eddie’s turn to talk on the phone to Buck and be reassured that even if in that moment it doesn’t seem that way, they WILL be okay. Which is in itself another row of parallels, as we consider all of the times these three have asked each other whether they’re okay or promised one another that they will be... this one gets so long, I fear it will get too much to gif in this post.

Or another one would be showing how Buck is and always has been Eddie’s person to go to, to talk to, to confide in, just like we saw Eddie opening up in 210 about Shannon, or how we saw him struggling in therapy in 309, but talking to Buck and spending the evening with him was “[his] kind of therapy” or 312 when it’s Buck’s advice that helps Eddie in his biggest challenge with his son at that point... and in 513 we literally have Frank and Buck asking him the same question during this ep, “What are you afraid of?” But it’s not the professional, competent therapist who gets Eddie to spill. Buck was and continues to be the one person Eddie truly opens up to. Honestly, this is going to be one of those moments on the show that we are going to return to endlessly, much like the tsunami arc, the kitchen scene or the guardianship reveal, because it’s not just the depth and intensity of their experience together that’s so meaningful here, it’s also the way it’s so naturally a part of this family’s journey together. And the best part? Their journey isn’t over yet and we get to keep enjoying it.

~~~ These posts take a lot of work from multiple people, so thank you for every reblog, for every time you share the link to the post, for all support! xoxox

[sevensoulmates]

Eddie reaction to Abby I found interesting because obviously he never met her but more the fact it was Eddie who told Bobby that he was abby fiaince when he said about working on the outside of the trian because I feel like it was the first time Eddie didn't trust bucks ability to do his job and think clearly(I feel like buck would said about the outside of the trian anyway because he always want to save everyone)

What do you think about eddies reactions to Abby and buck from the train crash, cause personally I feel like even if buck didn't know that Sam was abby finance he would still have tried to save both risking the train falling on him and yet Eddie basically told bobby to try to stop buck

So I’m gonna put these two asks together since they’re pretty similar. Strap in, this is gonna get long and analytical.

First of all, I think the choice to make Eddie be so prominent in these scenes between Buck and Abby was deliberate. There is only one time when Buck and Abby are talking that Eddie is not physically there watching everything. The whole rest of the time Eddie is there in every frame, every shot, and even gets close ups of his reactions. 

I think about the choices they make when choosing which characters will be in each scene. Because as we’ve seen before, they are willing to switch out certain characters to change the tone/impact of a scene. For example, we have Hen and Eddie being switched out for Karaoke with Albert, because (in my opinion) the writers felt that having Chim’s best friend Hen be the one singing karaoke with his brother would hurt Chimney MORE than just Eddie singing with Albert. Now the reason I point out switching characters, is because if the overall point of the Abby/Buck reunion was to make the other characters worry specifically about if Buck will continue his work professionally or if he will let his emotions affect him (ie. risking his life), who is the best character to get that reaction from? In my opinion, Bobby. We see it later on, but Bobby is the one who makes the decisions on if Buck can/cannot work as a firefighter any longer. The person Buck needs to prove he can be professional and put his emotions aside to is Bobby. Bobby is the reason we had the entire lawsuit storyline and Bobby is the one who can’t put aside his fatherly feelings for Buck and let him do his job. Their job literally is risking their lives to save people. 

So if they wanted the whole emotion vs. professionalism theme to be the main focus of conflict for Buck, in my opinion, the character to bring that out most would be Bobby. And yet Eddie is the one in this scene. I’ve heard people saying it had to be Eddie because he’s the only one who doesn’t know Abby. I kinda disagree mostly because I think if you had let Abby run into Bobby first, we would’ve had a whole new layer of “oh shit this is the woman who broke my adopted son’s heart” AND “Buck is going to act irrationally because Abby’s back”. Bobby would understand that implications of Abby being back on a deeper level than Eddie would (in my opinion given that Eddie never actually met nor saw any interactions between Buck/Abby). So why choose Eddie of all people to be the one who meets Abby first and have him be the one through which we as an audience are latching onto (since we are also the third party observers watching their reunion with an emotional stake). 

I think that Eddie was chosen to be the reaction conduit for multiple reasons. 1.) Eddie is Buck’s closest person other than Maddie and Bobby. Buck is a part of Eddie’s immediate family unit, and Eddie (alongside Christopher) is Buck’s person. Just like was stated in 3x16 everyone else has someone outside of work, except Buck, and even though he has Maddie, Maddie has her own person (and now will have a baby to prioritize too). The logical conclusion to who is Buck’s person/people, even without stating it within the episode, is obviously Eddie & Christopher. It’s shown throughout the entirety of this season. Eddie, Christopher and Buck have carved their own little family unit together, even if they don’t outwardly realize it yet. So who is the most at threat if Abby were to re-enter Buck’s life? Eddie. But then we get the information that Abby has a fiance and...

2.) Eddie is witnessing years of bitterness, heartbreak, confusion and betrayal wash over Buck in this moment. Buck has always been Eddie’s #1 support system with everything and now it’s Eddie’s turn to be his. Eddie recognizes that more than this being an emotional vs. professional time, that this is causing tremendous personal pain for Buck. Eddie understands that pain. He knows what it’s like to have a woman you loved come back and have to face that pain head on. But to see that that woman has completely moved on and forgotten about you? It’s a dead ringer back to 3x16 where Buck feels like everyone leaves him for bigger/better things and that he feels he’s not worth staying for. Eddie felt the exact same way with Shannon. Eddie understands Buck’s pain the most in this moment. And that’s why he’s not immediately like “hey, you gonna keep you’re head on straight and be professional about this?” but instead when Buck starts to zone out, Eddie steps in, he becomes the professional Buck needs him to be in that moment. He shields Buck bodily and only leaves when he has to. It just reminds me of when Eddie was mad at Buck for “making things all about him” and yet, in that moment, when Buck could make it about him again, instead Buck shuts down his emotions. It’s only when they’re presented with the choice of Abby’s fiance vs a stranger that it finally gets brought up again.

3.) Eddie and Abby are and have always been parallels of each other. They are/were both single people taking care of a disabled family member (Eddie & Carla’s scenes are the new Abby & Carla scenes). They both moved to escape crippling situations and found their forever families. They’re both strong-willed, cool-headed, good in a crisis, etc. They’re both people who become close to Buck very quickly. And, I’m just going to say it, they’re both the main loves Buck has had over the course of the show. Buck absolutely loves Eddie (even if it might not textually be romantic at the moment) with all his heart as seen by how he reacted to nearly losing him in 3x15, as seen by how hard he fights to be back with his team (with Eddie), how much he gives to be a partner and parental figure to Chris. This is all information we know PRIOR to knowing Abby has a fiance AND that that fiance has two kids who have become like Abby’s own kids. It’s just the most blatant and obvious parallel I’m actually shocked. Abby moved away and met a single father with kids, fell in love with him, became his fiance, and became a surrogate mother to his kids. I just...WHO DOES THAT REMIND US OF, HMM???

4.) Then we get the shift from Abby being a parallel to Eddie, to being a parallel to Buck. Eddie then becomes paralleled to the role of Abby’s fiance. Now it’s not just that Buck is fighting to save Sam because of Abby, but Buck’s fighting to save Sam because Sam is the love of Abby’s life, and they have kids who need them. Does that remind us of how hard Buck worked to make sure Eddie could go home to his son who needs him? Yes, yes, it does. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Abby’s present is Buck’s future. Abby’s past is Buck’s present. In the scene where Abby and Buck talk post-train crash, everything Abby talks about the person she was and the place she was before leaving, is exactly who Buck is at the moment. Living life solely for the job. Putting work above himself and his relationship. Putting OTHER PEOPLE before himself always. And who Abby is now is someone who found herself, and through that found her fiance and kids who became her family. And we know that that is all Buck wants. He wants to find his people. He wants to find his family (he just doesn’t realize that he literally has it already). 

Yes, 100% Buck would’ve tried to save both of them, even if he didn’t know Sam was Abby’s fiance. But yes, knowing who Sam was and knowing Abby was waiting did color his motivations and again that’s why we have Bobby there to be like “here we go again”. Bobby could’ve been the sole voice of reason there. But instead, Eddie (once again) let’s HIS OWN FEELINGS get in the way of being professional. This time it’s Eddie who snaps, tells Bobby it’s because of Abby, and then storms off in a literal vertical train car but I digress. Eddie doesn’t just seem fed up with Buck in that moment, he seems hurt. And as we know an Eddie who feels hurt by Buck is an Eddie who lashes out. He’s hurt (and mad because Eddie Diaz has an unhealthy coping mechanism of getting mad when he gets his feelings hurt) that Buck is so willing to risk his life for someone who broke his heart. That Buck is willing to get himself killed, willing to let himself die and by extension shatter the hearts (and essentially abandon) everyone who loves him (Eddie, Chris, all of the 118, Maddie, etc). 

Eddie is mad because Buck is so willing to get himself killed (so willing to be torn from their lives) and for who? A woman who doesn’t love him anymore? A woman who has her own family and will move on with life even if Buck is not in it? No screw that, Eddie tells Bobby in the hopes that Bobby will talk him out of it, but when they just squabble Eddie has to shut that down too. Because Bobby is equally afraid of losing Buck. He’s been proving that all season. It’s the reason Buck has to pull the Athena card to try to get through to Bobby. Because at the end of the day, regardless of their familial feelings for each other, this is their job. And Bobby has to let Buck do it.

Buck actually has a good plan that could work. If Eddie had been the one to suggest this plan, I have no doubt that Bobby (and Buck) would’ve been right behind him. They’d be worried, but they would not question Eddie’s judgement. But because Bobby and Eddie are so invested in Buck emotionally, they don’t want Buck to risk his life even though that’s literally all of their freaking jobs. Now it’s Eddie’s turn and Bobby’s turn to put aside their personal feelings. Put aside their fear of losing Buck. They let him use his proven creativity and intelligence in near-impossible situations, and they let him make the risky save. And in the end, he’s right, and he saves both of them. And this proves that Buck’s heart, and his drive to save people no matter what, the way that he never gives up, makes him a better firefighter--and a better person. And it’s the reason why the people in his life love him so much. So, yes, while I think both Eddie and Bobby doubted Buck in that moment. I think Buck proved that when he is given the chance to prove himself, his head and his heart are the winning combination (this is also why I adore Oliver’s tattoo because it fits Buck’s character so well).

I think the finale was so buddie heavy, and so buddie positive despite there not being anything super concrete about their romantic relationship in the ending moments. I think we’re slowly but surely getting there, and I’m so excited to see it unfold.

[ssfghfrrggf]

Burning

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25286518

Eddie’s not sure if it’s the incessant beeping blaring through the air or Chris’s loud cries that ripped him out of his sleep first; frankly it doesn’t matter, it isn’t really even something that registers as important. What’s important is the smoke detector is blaring, Christopher is screaming for help, and now that Eddie’s awake he can actually tell that the air is almost too thick for him to breathe.

***

“You’re up late,” Hen comments and sets a mug of coffee down next to Buck’s arm. He can feel the heat of it against his skin, and wishes he could find comfort in it.

“It just feels wrong not having Eddie on shift,” he shrugs and reaches for the mug. Truthfully, he can’t sleep with Eddie not there. He does it all the time, but something about tonight… he just wishes Eddie were there with him. They aren’t technically supposed to share bunks, but they do it anyway. No one knows they do it, except maybe Hen; the only reason Buck suspects she knows is because she’s Hen and knows everything.

“And you can’t sleep because he’s not in bed with you?” Hen says knowingly.

Buck ducks his head trying to hide his smile. He’s never been good at holding a poker face.

“It’s just tonight I guess,” Buck replies looking back up at Hen. “I sleep without him all the time. Tonight I’m just lonely I guess.”

Hen smiles understandingly and pats his hand gently. “It’s what? 4:00 a.m. now? That gives you four more hours until the end of the shift. Four hours and then you go home and curl up in your boyfriend’s incredibly muscular arms.”

“Four hours? How am I going to survive that?” Buck declares and leans back in his chair, only half kidding. Four hours might as well be four years. “Who even gets a cold here? It’s L.A. colds shouldn’t be a thing.”

“You’ll survive, Buck,” Hen promises with a tired smile.

“So, why are you up?”

“The sound of your pining woke me up and I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

“Ha ha,” Buck says dryly and sips the hot coffee.

“No, I got up to go to the bathroom and I saw that you were up,” She replies shaking her head. “You should go back to bed and at least try to get some-”

Hen is interrupted by the tones sounding, ringing through the sleeping fire house.

“So much for trying to sleep,” Buck is about to say, but the words die in his throat at the voice coming over the intercom rattles off the address… Eddie’s address.

He’s up before he even knows what he’s doing, and like a bullet from a gun he’s running for the pole. He usually takes the stairs, there’s less of a chance of breaking your ankle and they’re just better in every way but one: the pole is faster.

***

“Chris!” Eddie shouts, but really comes out as more of a choked cough, as he stumbles into his son’s room. He knows he should be crawling, the air is more breathable close to the ground and visibility is better, but he doesn’t care about any of that. Moving on his own two feet is faster and will get him to Chris faster.

“Dad!” Christopher yells back as Eddie reaches his closed bedroom door.

“I’m here buddy,” Eddie coughs and feels the door handle before attempting to open the door. The smoke sticks in the back of his throat and stings at his eyes as he twists the handle and pushes against the door. Nothing happens.

“Dad, what’s happening?!” Christopher’s panicked cry is muffled by the door separating them.

“Chris, listen to me,” Eddie manages to wheeze, “I need you to get low and get away from the door.”

Eddie casts a quick glance over his shoulder at the smoke filled hallway behind him. He can’t see any fire yet which is a good sign, at least so far. Brief afterthoughts of flashovers and backdrafts do flash through his mind as he tries the door again, but he pushes those thoughts away. It’s too soon for any of that. The door refuses to budge. Biting his lip, Eddie tries a third time, this time he throws his whole weight against it, but again nothing happens. He tries again, this time he hits the door so hard it makes his shoulder ache; he sinks to the floor in a coughing fit and tries to blink the thick smoke out his eyes. He can now see an orange glow reflecting off the smoke down the hallway from him. On a good he almost definitely kicked the warped door open, but it’s not a good day. He’s been in bed for the past two days with a cold so bad he thought his head was going to explode, and it’s made him weak. Weak and tired, and now the smoke is only making everything worse.

“Okay new plan,” Eddie rasps, barely managing to get the words out. “I need you to break your window and jump out.”

It’s only a four foot drop from Christopher’s window to the ground. He’ll get some scraps and bruises from jumping out, but he’ll be fine. He’ll be safe.

“What about you?!” Christopher cries. The hoarseness in his wail only makes Eddie feel all the more helpless. He’s a firefighter, he should be able to do something… anything, but he can’t breathe let alone bust down a warped door.

“I’ll be fine, just… Chris, you gotta break the window,” Eddie chokes and sinks to the hard floor. The air is a little clearer close to ground, but he barely pays attention to that. 

“But-”

“Now Christopher!” Eddie all but shouts, and catches a mouthful of bitter smoke. He can see fire now, even through the thick smoke filling the air. “You have to do it now.”

The reply he gets is the sound of glass breaking; almost immediately the fire at the end of the hallway flares up, and now Eddie can feel the heat coming off it.

***

Buck is out of the truck before it’s even come to a full stop and before Bobby can even tell him to wait. Another crew, the 117, is already on the scene, but Bobby knows that’s not going to stop Buck from muscling his way straight into the burning. There was a time when Bobby would’ve done the same thing, in fact there was a time when he tried to the exact same thing. It’s Buck’s family in that house. Eddie and Christopher are the whole 118’s family, but they’re Buck’s in a special way.

“Buck wait!” Bobby shouts after him, running to catch up to him. If Buck hears him, he doesn’t reply. He’s making a B-line for the little house belching big red flames into the night sky.

“Buck!” Bobby tries again, louder and firmer this time, and grabs Buck’s shoulder.

“I need to get in there,” Buck says and makes an attempt to shrug Bobby’s hand off him.

“No, you need to wait!” Bobby snaps and tightens his grip. He can see Christopher sitting on the back bumper of an ambulance getting air. There’s no sign of Eddie.

“No Bobby! I have to-”

“You’re too close on this,” Bobby interrupts. They’re all probably too close on this one; he knows Buck won’t stand for getting benched, but he might stand for sitting with Christopher. The kid has a calming effect on Buck, not to mention someone who he actually knows should be there with him.

“Bobby-”

“Go be with Christopher!” Bobby orders and points toward the ambulance.

Buck freezes and blinks like he doesn’t believe his eyes. “But-”

“Go be with him,” Bobby says a little more forcefully and gives Buck a nudge toward the kid.

Buck hesitates, turning his head back toward the burning house and for half a second Bobby thinks he’s going to tear away toward the building anyway, but instead he swallows whatever lump has surely risen in his throat and he takes off at a fast jog in the direction of Christopher and the ambulance. He lets his  gaze linger on Buck as he embraces Eddie’s son for a few seconds before turning his attention to the captain approaching him.

“I understand this house belongs to one of your guys,” the other captain says as she comes to a standstill next Bobby.

“That’s correct, did he get out already?” Bobby asks hopefully, craning his neck to look around the scene again looking for some trace of Eddie.

“I’m afraid not,” she replies. “I have a team of guys in there looking for him now, as well as a hose team making an offensive attack from the inside.”

“Where do you want my people?” Bobby asks, letting his gaze wander back to the burning house.

“Start running hoses,” the other captain replies. “And have your paramedics on standby.”

“Yes ma’am,” Bobby says, turning his back on the blaze. He wants more than anything to go in and look for Eddie himself, he’s one of his firefighters. More than that he’s family, but there’s a chain of command, one that has to be followed for the safety of every firefighter on the scene. The 117 were the first on scene and therefore have incident command. Frankly he’s surprised that the captain is going to let the 118 take point on the medical side of this call.

“Is there someone who can come be with the kid?” She asks, glancing over her shoulder at Buck and Christopher. “He should go to the hospital to get checked out. I can send him in our ambulance, but it’d be less scary if someone he knows goes with him.”

“Yeah, I can send one of my people with him. He knows them all,” Bobby says and turns to go to where Buck is sitting with Christopher on the back bumper of the ambulance.

“Any news?” Buck demands, jumping up as soon as his gaze meets Bobby’s.

“They have teams inside looking,” Bobby says. “But Buck, I need you to ride to the hospital with Christopher so he can get checked out.”

“But I need be here, what if they need me? What if Eddie needs me?!” Buck argues desperately. “I already called Carla, she’s on her way; she can come be with Chris.”

“Buck, you’re too close to this,” Bobby says firmly. “Stay with the kid.”

As turns to go, Buck grabs his arm and yanks him back around.

“Bobby, you have to let me stay,” he insists.

“Captain Nash, is your guy coming?” One of the firefighters from the 117 asks before Bobby can say anything. They’re already prepping the ambulance for take off.

“Buck, go with Christopher. I promise we’ll take care of Eddie.”

Buck hesitates.

“Captain, we gotta go!”

“Buck-” Bobby breaks off as Buck’s eyes widen in horror and focus on something behind him.

Bobby turns his head to see two firefighters emerging from the black smoke dragging a limp body with them.

“Eddie!” Buck cries and before Bobby can do anything he’s sprinting across the yard.

“Captain-”

“Go,” Bobby tells the two paramedics who are still waiting. “Get the number for Carla and have her meet you at the hospital. Christopher knows the number.”

And then he takes off after Buck.

*** They already have Eddie on a stretcher by the time Buck reaches them.

“Eddie! Eddie!” Buck cries and falls in next to the stretcher being wheeled toward the waiting ambulance.

“Buck?” Eddie questions softly. His words are muffled by the oxygen covering his mouth and nose.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m right here,” Buck promises and slips his hand into Eddie’s.

“Chris…?”

“He’s fine,” Buck chokes, as he follows the stretcher into the ambulance. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Eddie manages a weak smile, but doesn’t say anything else; Buck turns his gaze to Hen, who has climbed in behind him. There’s concern on her face, but when she notices Buck looking to her, she gives him a reassuring smile.

“He’s going to be just fine,” Hen promises. 

“Yeah,” Chimney agrees. “He’s got smoke inhalation and a few first degree burns, all nothing some oxygen and morphine can’t fix.”

“You’re sure?” Buck asks looking between Hen and Chimney who both look very sure of what they’ve just said.

“We’re sure,” Hen says reassuringly and gives Buck’s hand a comforting squeeze.

He believes them, but he still can’t push back the worry still bubbling up inside of him. There can always be complications with smoke inhalation. If the air was too hot it could’ve burned the insides of Eddie’s lungs which could cause bleeding and easily kill him, or there could’ve been chemicals in the smoke that will cause problems later, possibly even cancer, or the smoke inhalation in addition to Eddie’s cold could cause an infection and make him get even more sick.

***

Eddie wakes up with a heavy weight resting on his chest, for half a second he feels like he’s still trapped in the hallway of his house, choking on smoke and suffocating, before realizing it’s Buck’s head that’s resting on his chest. His boyfriend seems to be out cold where he is, half sitting in an uncomfortable looking hospital chair and half slumped over the bed. Eddie smiles and rests one hand on Buck’s head, running his fingers through his hair.

“He fell asleep,” Christopher says, making his presence known.

“I can see that,” Eddie says as quietly as possible so he doesn’t accidentally wake Buck up. 

His son smiles at him from his own hospital chair. “He was really tired.”

“I bet,” Eddie says in agreement. “What do you say we keep letting him sleep?”

“Yeah,” Christopher agrees. 

“Hop up here, buddy,” Eddie offers. “We’ll join him.”

Christopher doesn’t waste a second clamoring up onto the bed with Eddie and curling up next to him. He wraps his free arm around Chris and holds him close. He’s safe. They’re both safe. Everything is going to be okay.

[matan4il]

Alright so after binging the show and watching all episodes within a week, I’m now doing a slower rewatch to appreciate the Buddie moments more and I’m on season 2. More specifically 207, where Shannon comes back and I noticed something that I don’t think I’ve read about in your Meta on Ao3 and was just wondering about your opinion on it. (I’m new at this Meta stuff so bear with me)

Shannon comes back and she and Eddie talk a bit, before they get into a fight. He asks: “What did you need that I didn’t give you?” And she replies: “You! I needed a husband and a co-parent. And instead all I got was a life alone in Texas with a baby and you on another continent. I needed someone to have my back.”

Which in the context of Buddie just, blows my mind! Like the very fucking first thing Eddie and Buck talk about is having each other’s back. And then they co-parent Chris in so many ways. They’re everything the other needs.

I just fucking love these two

(Sorry, I don’t think I have a point just wanted to scream about this, hope it doesn’t bother you)

Hi lovely!

Awwww, first of all, congrats (or condolences?) on being a part of the beautiful, soul-stealing madness that is Buddie! I'm so happy you're here with us for this ride!

Second, I actually did cover that exact point here, so I am with you 10000% on this one, it is SO DAMN MEANINGFUL that in 201 vs 207 (only 6 eps apart and when building up a new character introduced into an established show, so every word counts even more) we get a repetition of those EXACT same words, exchanged between Eddie and his partners, except with Buck in 201 it's a promise they give each other unprompted and almost immediately and they actually come through on it every time, while with Shannon, those words are used to point out Eddie's failings in their relationship.

I also feel like I need to point out that in addition to how they really do have each other's back in so many ways, that scene with the hand shaking and promise exchanging personally always reminded me a bit of a marital vow. Why? Maybe because sometimes a scene like that IS used on TV to imply who's the couple you should watch for. When it is, you will see the two people meant to become a couple exchanging some promise or committing to a common goal, their hands will somehow be connected, and a third person will be in the background right between the two of them. Why? Because it's meant to visually tap into the connotation of a wedding ceremony, with the couple holding hands, exchanging vows and rings, while the person officiating the wedding watches them joyfully.

And please, always feel free to come screaming at me, I love doing that together with others who also love these morons so much! Thank you and I hope you're having a GREAT day! xoxox