Canon divergent AU. Maddie and Doug never got together or are broken up the summer after her senior year. She meets Tommy who is attending training in a nearby military base or in town on the way too/out on liberty from training. They hit it off, they write, have a long-distance long-term thing. Maddie moves away to follow Tommy, not Doug, but Tommy never meets the family because he's deployed for most of this time and/or maybe the Buckleys approve of them as a couple less. Maddie/Tommy were engaged or married until Tommy ends it and heads to LA for a new life. Nobody knows that Buck's hot pilot is also Maddie's ex until he arrives at the wedding.
[Maddie is in Abby's place, but Tommy isn't in Doug's - whether Maddie/Doug story in canon still happens some other way is up to you.]
I did not expect to have as much fun as I did working on this one...and it is a long one with way more than just five facts...
Maddie’s best friend’s boyfriend has been gone for basic training and she’s been missing him something fierce. Maddie has had to hear about it ad nauseum. So much so that Maddie has complained to her own boyfriend, Doug, about it so often that Doug is sick of hearing about it. This gives Maddie a small glimpse at Doug’s anger. On top of that, Evan has been a nuisance to Doug by constantly calling Maddie while they’re on dates and a few times Maddie has even cut dates short to go see to her brother. And Maddie’s parents don’t like him. So, as much as Doug does like Maddie, he decides she’s too much of a hassle and breaks up with her. Maddie is devastated. She thought she was in love with Doug and maybe she even tries to get back together with him, but he tells her he’s going to school in Boston and gives her an ultimatum and she would need to go to Boston with him and leave everything and everyone behind for good and for some reason, Maddie realizes that that would entail leaving Evan and her best friend, let’s call her Sarah. So, she says no and off Doug goes.
2. The boyfriend, let’s call him Matt, is done with basic a few weeks later and his graduation comes along. His parents can’t attend for some reason, so Sarah asks Maddie to go with her and Maddie figures why not. She was friends with Matt too so she should go and support him. She also knows she’s going to be a third wheel but she’s okay with that. So, they take Maddie’s Jeep and drive all the way to where it’s taking place and this is where Maddie meets Tommy. He has no one there at graduation for him, but he and Matt are really close friends. Does Tommy maybe have a crush on Matt that he doesn’t want to let on about? Yes. Absolutely. But Matt invites Tommy to come along with Sarah and Maddie to celebrate and of course Matt and Sarah are a little all over each other so Tommy is left to talk to Maddie. Maddie is a little awestruck by how hot Tommy is and she’s only a girl so of course she’s flirty and Tommy is still trying to convince himself he’s straight and he had already heard some of the other guys checking Maddie out and talking about her and he also has eyes and maybe he thinks that it will buy him some straight points if he gets with the hot girl that everyone was looking at. So, he’s flirting back a little and it isn’t too hard because Tommy is just charming without really trying and it is so much easier to be that way with women because there are no real emotional stakes.
3. So, at some point they all go on a walk and Tommy kinda makes Maddie hang back to give Matt some alone time with Sarah because Tommy knows that Matt is planning on asking Sarah to marry him. He’s had a ring the whole time and Tommy is supposed to take pictures of them once they get to the right spot. Maddie is super excited and they get to know each other even more and Tommy tells her about why he had no family present. His mom left him and his dad when Tommy was younger. His dad turned to the bottle and he’s bitter and awful and hates Tommy (he doesn’t explain it’s because his dad is homophobic more than anything else). Maddie tells Tommy about her parents and how distant they are with her and her younger brother and she even spills about Daniel because Tommy is just such a good listener. Then the proposal happens and Maddie and Tommy take a bunch of pictures and then Sarah and Matt go off on their own back to a hotel room that Matt had already set up and Tommy and Maddie just decide to keep hanging out. Maddie will later think about the night with a lot of fondness but also remember that Tommy never touched her and never even tried to kiss her.
4. Tommy and Matt only have the week off and Tommy decides to join them on their trip back to Hershey because it’s not like he wants to go home. Tommy sits up front with Maddie and they find out that they have a similar taste in music. That week they hang out a lot and maybe there’s even a run in with Doug who hasn’t left for Boston yet and Tommy stands up for Maddie and tells her that she’s better off without Doug. Maybe Doug reminds Tommy of his dad…or Tommy is just that good at reading people and he knows he’s not a good guy. This convinces Maddie that Tommy likes her. Maddie doesn’t really know what to do with Tommy not trying to get into her pants like any other guy would. It’s a little confusing, but on his last night there, he does kiss her but they don’t actually talk about being in a relationship or anything. Maddie actually rationalizes that he’s being respectful and a gentleman and it makes her like him even more.
5. Over the next year, Maddie has started college (nursing) and Tommy has his army career. They write to each other weekly and very rarely get to talk on the phone. They both grow to really like each other despite the long distance. Tommy doesn’t ever make Maddie any promises though and while he may allow the guys to call her his girlfriend, he doesn’t refer to her that way. Somehow, Tommy does get to come home for Sarah and Matt’s wedding and that’s when they really solidify how serious they are about each other, making promises about getting married someday. Maddie thinks about Tommy as her best friend and why shouldn’t she also be in love with him? She never questions that her feelings aren’t actually that deep or that what she really loves is the safety of Tommy and the being able to tell people that her boyfriend is in the army. Tommy does care about Maddie, but he is also being selfish in that she’s a great cover for anyone that even suspects anything about his sexuality. By that point, Tommy is pretty sure that he is gay and he’s had his share of encounters while in the army to know for sure and even after him and Maddie put a label on things, he continues his dalliances with other closeted guys. He feels super guilty about it, but not enough to break things off with Maddie.
6. With how little they manage to actually see each other…Tommy’s time off just seems to always coincide with Maddie being in the middle of school exams or other life things. But, eventually, several years in, Maddie begins to realize that what they have is not physical at all. They really have only kissed a few times. This is maybe also around the time when Maddie is starting to really recognize sexual attraction because maybe she’s met someone that is that enticing and that she is literally daydreaming about climbing like a tree. She recognizes that Tommy did make her feel that way back when they first met, but that maybe the lack of proximity has meant that she hasn’t allowed herself to think about them together like that. So, Maddie decides to tell Tommy that next time they see each other they have to talk about where things are going. So, they do talk and Tommy tells her that he could see them getting married and being happy someday, but that he understands if she doesn’t want to wait around for him because he knows how much it sucks. Up to this point, Tommy has tried to have sex with women and failed at it, so he doesn’t want to put himself in a situation where he hurts Maddie if they try, so he pivots and tells Maddie that she is free to explore things with other guys. Maddie is at first offended and then she realizes that she and Tommy have years to go before they could be in the same place at the same time consistently and that maybe opening the relationship is smart as long as they both remain committed to each other. She doesn’t even give much thought to her lack of jealousy at the idea that Tommy might find someone out where he’s stationed. So, Maddie’s one caveat is that they get engaged. Tommy gets her a ring, nothing too crazy, but meaningful.
7. The engagement falls apart within the year. A big part of it is Maddie graduating and realizing that she can’t sit around waiting for the scraps that Tommy gives her when he is allowed to come stateside. It’s never enough and she just wants more. The thought of waiting even more years hurts despite how much she likes Tommy. Sarah’s life is also influential in that decision because Sarah is pregnant and Matt is about to come home for good, but Tommy’s contract due to him deciding to become a pilot is a lot longer. So, they break up. They’re both a little broken up about it, of course, because they are best friends, but they decide to cut off contact to make it easier.
8. Maddie lines up a job in Hershey and she’s starting to look for a place of her own so she doesn’t get stuck living back home with her parents. She also starts dating again and suddenly, Doug has moved back from Boston and gotten a job at her hospital. Maddie is a little vulnerable and she gives him a second chance. Tommy hears about it from Sarah and he still cares about Maddie so he calls her. He convinces Maddie she deserves better and Maddie had been considering a job out of state, but she had figured that she’d be better off staying closer to her parents and brother, but Tommy tells her to dream big and encourages her to take it and leave. So, Maddie does and maybe Tommy writes or calls Doug and tells him to stay away from “his girl” and never tells Maddie about it. Doug is intimidated enough by the army pilot that he knows Maddie was engaged to so he lets her go and turns his eyes to another woman.
9. Buck is devastated when Maddie tells him that she’s moving out of state for a job she can’t pass up. He’s just about to finish high school and so Maddie promises that Buck can come visit her for the summer before he starts college and then she gives Buck her Jeep because she wants a new car and that way he has some freedom from their parents and he doesn’t buy a motorcycle like she knows he was planning to. Buck does go visit as soon as High School is over and he really enjoyed driving out to see Maddie and he realizes that what he really wants is to just travel and see where the wind takes him. At first, it’s just for the summer, but then he just doesn’t go back to Pennsylvania. Maddie gave him a bit of money and Buck had some savings, but he did apply for college and got in and his parents, convinced that he’s going to be back in time for school to start, deposit the money that is meant for his first semester into an account so that they don’t have to worry about dealing with paying and Buck can just do it. (They did the same for Maddie and expected Buck to be responsible). So, Buck has enough money to get him going and eventually he starts to pick up jobs. While he does break contact with his parents, he updates Maddie and they’re in touch all the time and Buck even sends her post cards. Eventually, years later, Buck settles down in LA and starts at the fire academy.
10. Tommy ends his contract with the Army and doesn’t go back. He does go see Maddie after and he finds her dating someone and happy, so they part as friends and try as he might, Tommy can’t make himself tell her the truth about his sexuality. They say they’ll keep in touch, but they don’t. Tommy goes to California and he joins the LAFD and gets placed at the 118. He pretends to be a serial dater with made up stories and never once tells anyone about Maddie and his engagement to her. Eventually, Bobby takes over as Captain and Tommy finally starts to open up. Bobby is actually the first person that he ever actually tells that he’s gay and Bobby keeps it secret from everyone else until Tommy is ready to tell them. Shortly after that, Tommy transfers to Harbor. He does consider calling Maddie to tell her but then decides against it figuring that she settled down with her boyfriend and doesn’t need Tommy popping up again. He finally starts to live his truth openly and yet he never seems to actually find the right guy.
11. Years go by. Maddie and her boyfriend break up and it is awful. They also work together and that makes it even worse. Maddie really loved him and thought he was the one. She decides to take leave and go visit Buck in LA. He tells her she should move out there and after some consideration she agrees. She decides that she wants a change at least for a little bit, so Buck puts her onto dispatch. She and Chim meet and everything goes as it did in the show except no Doug. Sometimes Chim will mention his old friend Tommy who used to work at the 118, but Maddie never once thinks it’s her Tommy. Even after the night the 118 and Tommy fly out to save Athena and Bobby because Maddie never gets to meet him despite many attempts by Chim to get him over for dinner (he was too busy hanging out with Eddie. lol). Then, Buck starts dating the guy and asks if he can invite him to the wedding and Maddie is excited to meet the guy that has made his little brother realize something so big about himself. Of course, then Chim goes missing and the wedding is moved to the hospital and Maddie hasn’t given Tommy a thought the whole time. Then, Buck ducks out and comes back face covered in soot with Maddie’s ex-fiance’s hand in his and she is oh so very shocked. But Tommy has been working for close to 24hrs nonstop first in the air and then on the ground and he doesn’t even know if he’s seeing correctly.
12. Maddie corners him first chance she gets while Buck is getting them cake and they have a quick conversation both of them laughing about the whole thing and promising to get another talk soon. Tommy offers her congratulations and praises her choice in husband. Buck returns and is a little confused because they did just meet, right? And then Tommy just spills. He and Maddie were in a long distance relationship while he was in the army. “A really, really chaste one, which makes so much sense now,” Maddie adds and that makes all of them feel better about it. Chim in particular thinks it’s hilarious and he tells Tommy that the laugh is the best present he could have gotten.
13. Years later when Buck and Tommy are finally getting married, a wedding that actually goes to plan with no emergencies or anyone going missing, Maddie’s speech includes something about her and Tommy dating first but how she can attest that Tommy is a good guy and that she wouldn’t trust anyone else with her baby brother.
Bonus: At some point (before her wedding) Doug is found dead in his own house and Sarah, who Maddie lost contact with, reaches out to send her an article about how he’d abused his wife and she lost it and stabbed him to death…Maddie remembers to thank Tommy sometime after her wedding because without him, that might have been her.
Send me an AU and I'll give you five (or more) facts
I rarely make these posts but I've been in a mood and I stumbled upon the Kratt Brothers "Dad what were you like in the 90s?" reel, and well, my brain couldn't help but imagine them and the debate in their minds around the "forced proximity" of being somewhere in a cold jungle and needing to sleep skin-to-skin to keep warm and the subsequent acts that could follow and my brain just... 😵💫🫠
how shane and ilya are sitting at their daughter's preschool after she got put in time out for saying "hello gay boy" (ilya has used this greeting to piss shane off for years and did Not know she could repeat it)
