8x16 — 'THE LAST ALARM'
Following the tragic events at the lab, the 118 must come together to lay their fallen hero to rest. Meanwhile, despite her own grief, Athena re-investigates the death of a child to help a grieving mother. | Air Date: 05/01/2025
If you had told me ten years ago how much I'd enjoy retirement, I'd have called you nuts. But it really has been an amazing journey.
It all began with the beautiful honeymoon cruise I went on with my even more beautiful wife. The first couple of days we barely left our cabin. We later explored what else the ship had to offer. Athena even let me talk her into the occasional on-board and off-board activity.
Despite her initial apprehension, Athena decided to give snorkeling a chance and ended up loving it. Turns out she was only apprehensive because of the critters in the water. Big bad sergeant, scared of a couple little sea creatures. (Don't tell her I said that! She'll just remind you that she's the one who has to handle all spiders at home…) But once she got comfortable she was so adorable, admiring all the little critters while looking stunning in her fire-red bikini. We had a blast spending two weeks of uninterrupted time together, just the two of us.
During our last night on the ship Athena told me that she almost didn't want to go home. While I knew it was a touchy subject, I still brought up the idea of retirement again, hoping this trip would have made her see that retirement isn't just about what you're retiring from but also what you're retiring towards. And neither of us was getting any younger. Eventually we'd fail our annual physicals and then the decision would be made for us.
My wife made it very clear she wasn't ready to retire just yet but she was open to thinking about it and talking about the timeline. I wasn't ready then either, but we kept talking about it after our return to dry land. Especially when poorly timed shifts kept us from seeing each other for days at a time.
Eventually we did agree on a date far enough in the future for me to make sure my successor as captain of the 118 would be ready. (More on that later.)
Today I'm no less busy than I was when I was still running a firehouse.
Our honeymoon really made Athena and me fall in love with traveling and seeing the world. Now, every year for our anniversary we go on a big trip to a country we've never been to. I'll never get tired of trying new foods (learning new recipes too!), exploring foreign places, and seeing my wife excited, happy, and relaxed. Up next, cherry blossoms in Japan!
The rest of the year I keep myself busy with teaching Jee's little league team (with assistant coach Chimney, who comes up with a new story about how he got his nickname for the kids every week). It's an absolute joy seeing those kids grow and learn.
After the doctor told me that running wasn’t great for my knees anymore, I've gotten really into cycling. Athena wasn't a fan at first. She's just seen too many cyclists get injured or worse over the years. And so have I. (The nonnegotiable safety list includes: helmet, high-visibility vest, phone & battery pack, no riding tired.) By now, Athena even joins me on bike rides sometimes. And she always tells me how sexy I look in my biking shorts and how my hair sticking up all over the place after taking my helmet off reminds her of back when we still worked together. (After working up a sweat, getting clean together is our favorite part, though!)
Another joy in my life is gardening. While I naturally became the main caretaker of all outdoor areas of the house after I moved in, I've never really had the time to really do much with the place before I retired.
The first thing I did was bring back the little potted lemon trees Athena used to have on the deck. Not only are they great for cooking and baking, but they also smell really nice.
Next, I planted a couple of trees. The first one was an orange tree. I checked with Samuel to get the right kind for the lemonade they used to make when Athena was a little girl. (Despite the horrible things we uncovered back when we went to Belleville many years ago, my wife still loves those oranges.)
Then soon followed an apple tree, a peach tree, and an avocado tree. I’m still planning on adding figs, pomegranates, and olives, but there’s always so much to do and so little time.
Unlike the trees that are slowly growing and have yet to bear fruit, my vegetable garden has been feeding us for a while now. Today, I grow a wide variety of tomatoes and peppers, but after that first year, I’m no longer allowed to grow zucchinis, though. Apparently there are only so many zucchinis you can gift your family and friends before they plan an intervention… But they never say no to a nice hot sauce. Or homemade pies made with strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries from the garden.
Working in the garden always reminds me of growing up in Minnesota and helping my grandma with her yard work. While the soil and growing seasons are very different here, the satisfaction of seeing the literal fruits of your labor is the same.
And sharing the love for gardening with another woman who means the world to me is something I treasure. Athena wasn’t on board right away, but once she rediscovered and revived her pandemic herb garden, she started planting beautiful flowers all around the house that bloom almost year round.
One thing my better half would not allow me to get for the backyard was chickens. (She still pretends to be annoyed when I tell the story of how we first met due to our matchmaker, Maurice, but I know she secretly loves it.) But that’s okay, because my friend Walter and his wife Doris, who live just down the road, are raising chickens (who I take care of when the two retired teachers go visit their grandkids in Arizona). They even let me name their new rooster Maurice!
Gotta run now! My lovely wife is accompanying me to my quarterly blood donation (I don’t faint anymore, but it’s still nice to hold her hand) and we’re going out for our traditional post-donation lunch afterwards.
Another thing I'd like to see more of at some point in the show is Athena's parents tbh, or rather more specifically her dad.
I'm ready at any moment in time to square up with Beatrice Carter (she has her moments though), but I would go to war for Samuel, and I'd just like to see more of his and Athena's relationship. Everybody else has god awful relationships with their dads, so I like that there's at least ONE good one in the mix
[Image ID: six gifs of Athena from 9-1-1 episode 6.03, 1.01, and 5.01:
GIF 1: from episode 6.03, nine year old Athena wearing a white floral t-shirt asking her father, who is kneeling in front of her, "And waffles for breakfast?"
GIF 2: from episode 6.03, Athena's father in a white button down replies "And waffles for breakfast." and nine year old Athena smiles
GIF 3: from episode 1.01, Michael, wearing a light blue button down and navy zip up jacket, asks Athena "You want a waffle?" while he adjusts the waffle maker. Athena walks behind him
GIF 4: from episode 1.01, Michael brings a stack of waffles over to the breakfast table
GIF 5: from episode 5.01, Harry, wearing a red-orange henley with stripes on the chest, walks over and hugs Athena, in a blue silk bathrobe
GIF 6: from episode 5.01, Athena asks Harry "So am I going to get some special waffles?" as she walks towards the dining room table
