They had Tommy express his confusion about Buck being able to afford his loft on purpose. Buck shouldn't be able to afford that place.
Eddie's U-Haul is too small for a reason. There's no way it's fitting a house's worth of furniture in there.
Eddie isn't selling his house, Buck’s going to move in there instead (because at that point Eddie has no plans on moving back to LA). Buck also doesn't want Eddie to sell his house because then he really WON'T ever come back. Moving into Eddie's is both fiscally responsible AND keeps the door open for Eddie to come back home with Christopher.
And won't it be fun when Christopher wants to go back to LA much faster than anticipated and now *OOPS* we are roommates! 😅
eddie diaz is truly a better person than i could ever be, because if my parents parentified me when i was a child and i was expected to step up and be the "man of the house" at age 10 or whatever that bs was, and then when i had my ACTUAL child whom i am ACTUALLY responsible for and am raising (something that i WANT to do and LOVE doing because hey, i LOVE my kid), and my parents where then like "you have no idea what you're doing. we should raise your kid. how could you think that you could ever do this" el paso simply would no longer exist. it would be burned off the map from the rage of it all. it would be fucking nuclear. if season 8b isn't just eddie eviscerating his parents for 10 episodes straight, then what's the point of it all? just to suffer??
anyways. good night to everyone except to ramon and helena diaz. you two are always welcome to go fuck yourself.
I think it's a good sign Lou is filming the big emergency in 814/815 because I feel like if he was gonna parallel Abby with the closure for Buck or Shannon with him dying they would leave that for the season finale, no? But having Tommy around so soon might mean we are gonna see more of his and Buck's relationship and have a big moment for them in the finale, whether is the reconciliation, or them deciding to finally move in together.
I also keep remembering this from Lou's latest interview:
It IS a pleasure, which maybe implies he already filmed something when he did this interview (grain of salt, but I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up before 14).
And
I am in a great professional position. This doesn't sound to me like he's there to film just a couple scenes.
But we'll see.
Either way, we need to be extra loud with our love once he's back on screen. We can't take it for granted this time.
I want Eddie to be the one kidnapped tbh because I want just two to three episodes of Eddie being a baddie and saving himself before anyone even notices he's gone because obviously it happened in between him leaving LA and going to El Paso and his parents don't know he's going and Buck is spiraling but assumes he's just spending time with his son and thats gotta be why he's ignoring his texts right? but Buck just wants to know how he is, if he got there OK, and then he's spiraling further to the point where he caves and texts Chris about it and Chris is like ?????? Dad isn't here?????? Where the fuck is my dad Buck?????? Then Buck gets a phone call from the police station or the hospital because he's Eddie's next of kin and Eddie has no money, no money, no car and a couple of broken ribs, definitely a broken nose but he's fine he just needs Buck to pick him up
The shouts of the rest of the 118 couldn't stop Buck as he ran into the fully engulfed house. Hell, he wasn't sure that he could stop himself if he wanted to. That seemed to be par for the course for Buck lately, taking off without caring even if the whole damn building was collapsing.
All he had heard was the little girl crying for her dog that still inside and he was gone.
Maybe it was the breakup or the Eddie of it all. Maybe it was the fact that everyone kept on leaving him, and he just couldn't keep caring about himself when it seemed like the world was crumbling around him.
He couldn't fix his love life. He certainly couldn't fix the Diaz's problems or the idea of losing Eddie and Christopher to Texas. But he could save this dog, even if it killed him.
In hindsight, Buck was pretty sure he had blacked out for most of his venture into the house. He remembered the flames lapping at his feet and the whimpering of the beagle, backed into a corner with no shot of escape.
He remembered grabbing the dog, and the next thing he knew, he was collapsing onto the damp lawn as Eddie rushed at him, heaving for air.
They made quick work after that, putting out the house in record time. Hen had shoved Buck onto his ass in the truck, ensuring he wasn't going to give out from smoke inhalation before rushing off to help with the family. The little girl was ecstatic to have her best friend safely beside her. Buck thought it was well worth the recklessness, though the scowls of the team revealed they didn't feel the same.
The ride back to the station was silent. Buck tried several times to spark conversation, but Bobby's glares were enough to shut him down.
Eddie wouldn't even look at him, steadily focusing his gaze out the window with a clenched jaw.
When the engine backed into the garage and the rest of the team cleared out, Buck was met with Bobby's stare. "My office. Now"
Buck begrudgingly limped behind Bobby into his office, closing the door behind him.
"I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm not going to watch you destroy yourself again." Bobby said sternly.
"Nothing is going on with me, Bobby. Ple-"
"Nope, we're not doing the denial thing either," said Bobby. "I know you've got a lot going on right now. The breakup was hard. Whatever dance you and Eddie are doing isn't getting any better with him leaving. But I will not tolerate you throwing your life around like it's nothing. You are not expendable, Buck."
Buck ducked his head, "I'm sorry."
"You're sitting the next call out. When I don't think you're going to throw yourself out the window, I'll take you off the bench," said Bobby. "People care about you, Buck. We love you. Please don't let us watch you give up."
"Yeah, Cap. Thank you." Buck said sheepishly.
Bobby's hand on his shoulder stopped him as he turned for the door.
"And Buck...talk to Eddie."
Buck nodded, heart both pounding and sinking as he headed for the bunk room.
***
"Hey, Eds." Buck said softly.
Eddie was lying on his usual bunk, scrolling on his phone. His hair was tousled like he'd been pulling at it. He didn't so much as acknowledge Buck.
"Can we talk?" Buck asked.
Eddie stared a bit long at his phone, eyebrows furrowed angrily, before he sat up with his elbows braced on his thighs and stared a hole through him.
"Please, Eds, you've barely been able to look at me," Buck pleaded.
"What's there to talk about, Buck? The fact that you ran into a fully engulfed house without any backup or orders or even a mask? Or maybe that you basically threw yourself off a building saving a jumper yesterday?" Eddie asked. He was standing now, and Buck hadn't seen his partner this mad since the day in the grocery store years ago. "Or maybe that you barely made it out of that collapsing high rise last week? Is that what you want to talk about?"
"I'm sorry, Eddie." Buck whispered. His heart was thudding, and it was crushing him.
The weight of Bobby's words sunk in as he watched Eddie get madder and madder. Tommy leaving was still on his mind. Of course it was. But it wasn't that he wasn't with Tommy anymore so much as it was the fact that the very idea of moving in with Buck had driven him away. He was more hung up on his departure than he was the lack of his presence.
Then, there was Eddie.
Eddie who had been with him for it all. Through his injuries and his shit show of a family and his absurdities. Eddie who he truly thought he would have forever. Eddie who he had been jealous over and had fought for and who had stayed no matter how deep of a hole Buck dug for himself. And now he's just going to be gone.
And he knows - God he knows - that Christopher needs him and that El Paso is the best place for his partner to be right now. He misses Chris almost as much as Eddie does, and he wants him to be happy. But Buck needs him, too. But what if Texas steals Eddie away? What if Buck is just another casualty to Eddie getting his son back? He couldn't blame him no matter how much it hurt.
He knows that Eddie, his Eddie, will be his final straw of loss before it all finally breaks him.
And oh God does he love him.
One would think that all of their near death experiences would have brought him to this realization sooner. Wells and gunshot wounds and crushed legs and lightning strikes.
But no. A different kind of loss, one that would put hundreds of miles between them rather than heartbeats, is what pushes Buck over the edge.
There's something poetic there, he knows, that has to do with the rest of his parents and Maddie and exes, but he doesn't have it in him now to string it together. All he can do is feel the sadness and anger welling in his chest.
"You act like you're worthless. Like your life is worth nothing compared to whatever danger you're going into. Sometimes, I think you don't want to come out of it. You're not expendable, Buck!" Eddie said.
Buck took a beat, staring at Eddie who was looking at him so fixedly that anyone else would have withered. Then the dam broke.
"Yes, I am!" Buck was yelling now, taking shallow and almost panicked breaths. "I'm here, and everyone goes on without me. I give every single piece of myself to everyone that I love, and they just keep leav-"
"Stop!" Eddie demanded. "Just stop."
He couldn't stop yelling. "And I keep thinking that maybe if I keep giving myself away and I keep saving people that that will fill this awful hole in me and I can finally be worth it for someone!"
"I love you!" Eddie shouted. He was in Buck's face now, surging into him. The kiss was gentle and sweet and passionate all at once. Of course it was. This was Eddie - his partner, his best friend, his everything.
Buck pulled back, unable to quell his racing heart. He shook his head, "You don't mean it, Eddie."
"I mean it more than anything I've ever said in my life. I love you, and you are everything to me, Evan" Eddie whispered, extending a tender hand out to cup Buck's face. "And I can't stand to hear you talk like you're nothing."
Buck leaned into Eddie's hand, taking a moment to feel something he never dared dream of. Eddie loved him. And he was leaving.
"You're leaving, Eds." It came out as barely a whisper. "How can I keep going without you here?"
Eddie closed his eyes and took a pained breath. "I won't be gone forever. I have to have him back, Buck. You know that."
"I know. I know, and I want him back here so bad, too," said Buck. "I miss him so much."
"Come with me." Eddie said softly. "There could be nothing that I want more than to have my family back together - and that includes you. It's always included you."
"What about work? And the loft, and your house, and -" He was rambling and he couldn't stop. It was too good to be true.
"We'll figure it out, Buck. Bobby said he'd let me come back. Of course, he'd let you come back, too. And sell the loft. Move in with us. Let me love you," pleaded Eddie. "Please, Buck. You'll never be alone again. You never were."
Buck melted, and tears that he didn't know had been building started rolling down his cheeks.
"Okay," he choked out.
Eddie was pulling him to his chest, running a hand through Buck's hair.
"We're going to Texas," Buck laughed, pulling back to look at Eddie.
"We're going to Texas," Eddie agreed, grinning. "C'mon, let's go talk to Bobby."
Eddie started walking towards the door, and Buck reached out to grab his hand.
"Hey, Eds?" Buck asked.
"Yeah, Buck?"
"I love you, too."
For the first time in his life, Evan Buckley truly felt like he was wanted.
so some of the things I've been thinking about lately in reference to the new episodes coming in the next two weeks are a few things:
-I do (😂😂😂) keep thinking about how we all kept saying last year "everyone's world is falling apart and Buck is just out here having the best time with his boyfriend". Something about that keeps me coming back to the fact that... life never actually stays like that. Like, effectively, we had to know that at some point, things were going to go sideways and he was going to face struggles of his own. I also think coupling this with dealing with mental health issues (which is where 8b seems to be leading) is a very valid thing to do with his character, considering the major changes that he's been through in the previous two years.
-"pulling on a thread continuously and seeing how it unravels"/"tension with characters we don't typically see tension with" (these are paraphrased).
I was thinking on the ways this could be played with, especially in relation to his struggles. Something got me on the concept initially that maybe it would be Hen, because if 8x11 is really intended to be an exploration on 704 and where all that comes from, I wondered if maybe we're going to finally discuss what brought the breakup on, and I could see Hen being a voice of reason to Buck as to why Tommy ended things and suggesting maybe "what have you done to actually solve any of the concerns he raised" (in an affectionate way of course, not that she'd be seeking to antagonize Buck).
But also. Then I was thinking more on the ideas of who else it could be, and truly we don't ever see him have tension with Bobby or Maddie almost at all. That got me thinking about the idea of how (with the videos we've seen), Bobby might call him out for being reckless (possibly going Full Buck?), maybe even to the point of putting his life in danger because maybe he's back to that mindset where he feels expendable and like he doesn't really matter enough to anyone, and that culminating in a scene with some version of Bobby voicing the recklessness and that it's unsafe, he's going to get hurt, etc. ...idk how it all comes together, I just know that I keep hearing Buck in my head saying some version of "Everybody that I love, leaves", and possibly even calling Bobby out for never mentioning his plans to retire in 709/10.
Obviously, you can play this into the "sometimes they come back" trope. Idk if we'll see the play out of Buck actually being so reckless that he gets injured and ends up in the hospital, but then another thing I was thinking about was this:
so much of the relationship with him and Tommy has been about him feeling secure, and comfortable, and safe, and I'm a little lot fascinated by the concept of, what if they get back together and he still isn't all fixed? What if we get to see him working through things with a partner who shows up for him, who doesn't expect him to have it all together; what if the discussion enters into a position where they really get to see the darker side of each other's struggles and see how they have to get through it?
I'm probably expecitng too much by thinking about these things...
but let me contineu to clown around just a little bit, okay? 🤡
