#alfieverse

For the first 4-5 minutes of his son's life, Buck didn't actually know what Alfie looked like cause he was crying so hard he couldn't see him through his tears.

Buck gets Alfie a little Moses basket so Alfie can sleep between him and Tommy without them having to worry about unsafe sleep. Buck often rolls over to find Tommy asleep with one big hand resting on Alfie's head.

Tommy's favourite time of day is just before Alfie goes to sleep, when the two of them snuggle into the rocking chair in Alfie's nursery. Tommy reads to him in low tones and rocks him till he falls asleep.

Buck definitely does the monthly photoshoots with blocks to track Alfie's growth and he cannot get over how damn cute his son is.

Buck and Tommy definitely have competitions to see who Alfie will crawl to first and both resort to heavy amounts of bribery (he crawls to Tommy first).

Alfie has a horrific time teething and Buck spends many a night pacing the house with a screaming baby while Tommy has night shifts. They work out that frozen strawberries and Tylenol for kids works a charm.

Buck wants Alfie to love swimming as much as he does so he takes Alfie to the beach the minute the weather is warm enough, and teaches their 5 month old how to "surf".

Something has shifted between them since Aster Dell, since their student days; she knows this is not the night to face it, and that they will have to, but she understands what he isn’t saying: too much has happened today not to awaken old demons and younger ones alike, and they both need comfort.

MY BOY!!!

Alfie is clearly delighted to have his Papa with him. He babbles away in insistent Baby, pointing excitedly as Tommy carries him towards the small, inflatable pool. When they reach the edge, Tommy crouches and Alfie reaches out, patting the water with his little hands. He turns and gives Buck the biggest, gummiest smile he can muster. “Dah!” he calls, one of his hands opening and closing in Buck’s direction. He’s too young to wave as yet, but Buck will take what he can get! Buck waves back and blows Alfie a kiss, chuckling as the baby slaps the water a little harder than anticipated and showers himself with droplets, startling in Tommy’s arms. There’s barely time for Alfie’s lower lip to wobble in protest before Tommy swipes his large hand across his chubby face, wiping away the offending water. Buck pulls out his phone as Tommy slowly lowers Alfie down into the pool. It’s his first experience with swimming, and the second his toe touches the water, it’s clear he’s not as big a fan as Buck might have liked. Maybe it’s soon since the water attacked him, maybe it’s a little too close to nap time, or maybe it’s because Jee is still enthusiastically splashing up a storm a couple of feet away, because Alfie’s face crumples and he lets out a pitiful wail. “Hey, hey baby it’s okay, it’s just like the bath!” Tommy valiantly attempts to soothe the baby but it has no affect as Alfie’s cries crescendo. Buck realises that he’s on the edge of his chair, clutching the arms as he goes to push himself and rush to comfort his son, but a hand on his arm stops him. “Tommy’s got him.” Athena’s mellow tone reassures him, matter-of-fact but soothing. She’s right – Alfie’s cries eventually subside as Tommy swings him up out of the pool and holds him close, gently shushing close to his ear.

I think we could all use some Alfie in these trying times.

“Babe, he looks ridiculous.” “I’m sorry, Tommy, but I won’t allow my son to drown!” Buck retorts as he stuffs Alfie’s other arm through the floaty bands. The baby looks less than impressed, his big sunhat flopping over his eyes and his arms sticking straight out as the bands sit tight around his elbows. “There’s barely a foot of water, he’ll be fine!” Tommy plucks Alfie from Buck’s lap and blows a raspberry on his stomach, before pulling off the arm bands. Delighted by his newfound freedom, Alfie lets out a loud squeal and pats Tommy’s cheeks with enthusiasm, giggling loudly when Tommy pretends to bite his palms. “Okay, okay, the bands were a bit much,” Buck admits as Tommy lowers Alfie back into his lap. He squirts a dollop of sunscreen into his palm and begins to rub the greasy lotion into Alfie’s delicate skin. “I just don’t want him to hate the water. I was such a water baby at his age, according to Maddie.” “A trait your niece seems to have picked up on.” While Buck has been getting Alfie ready, Jee has been dedicating the last 15 to splashing as many of her relatives as she can. Maddie sits at a sensible distance, close enough to grab Jee should she slip and go underwater, but far enough away that she won’t catch any stray drops of water. “It’s the Buckley family way.” Buck grins at Tommy as he holds up the newly-sunscreened Alfie. The baby kicks his legs with glee as Tommy lifts him into the air, spinning him around before settling him on his hip. “Come on, my little man, lets get you in the water! You coming, Evan?” Buck settles back in his chair, holding up his phone. “It’s okay,” he replies, swiping onto the camera app. “Someone has to take photos of you two!”

He is the most excited boy ever from the 31st of October all the way through to New Years Day because he loves Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and his birthday is on December 2nd!

The first year they do a matching Halloween costume Alfie is almost 11 months old, and Buck chooses for them to do a Wild West theme. Buck is a gunslinger, Tommy is a cowboy and Alfie is a teeny tiny little horse. He sits in the front pack on Tommy's chest the whole time and watches the world with big, excited eyes.

Alfie loves the Elf on the Shelf and Buck and Tommy's favourite thing is hearing Alfie's little giggles every morning when he sees what the Elf has done overnight. When he's 3, Eddie picks up the elf to have a look at him and gets told off by Alfie because Santa says you're not allowed to touch the elf!! And then Buck has to comfort him because he gets scared the elf won't tell Santa that he's been a good boy.

Alfie really only likes Thanksgiving because he gets to eat lots. He's a big fan of rolls and he likes pumpkin pie but he cannot stand green beans or stuff and he finds cranberry sauce confusing. He also does not subscribe to the idea of Food Comas and begs Buck and Tommy to play with him when they'd much rather be passed out on the couch.

Tommy starts a tradition where the month before Christmas, he and Alfie whittle a new decoration for the Christmas tree. Alfie gets to pick the design and then Tommy helps him sign his name at the bottom with a burning pen. His favourite one is the bunny shaped one he chooses when he's 2, that looks like Athena's bunny Hercules.

Alfie's biggest goal in life is to catch Santa when he's putting out Alfie's presents, so he likes to stay up as late as he can so he can tiptoe downstairs and try and catch him. One year Tommy almost tripped over him coming down the stairs in the morning because Alfie fell asleep on them while he was waiting for Santa. After that, Buck decided Alfie could come spend the night with them in their bed on Christmas Eve so he doesn't escape and cause more near death accidents.

Thank you for your patience on these! 9 Alfie sentences for you

“Diggin’, Daddy!” Alfie responds. He points at the small hole before them and sticks the trowel in again, dislodging a large clod and flinging it over his shoulder. Bobby ducks just in time, and Tommy stifles a giggle. “I can see that,” Buck replies, amused. “Are you listening to Grandpa?” “Uh huh!” Alfie nods enthusiastically as Bobby shakes his head behind him. “I think we’re just about ready to put the plants into their new homes,” Bobby announces as he gently prises the trowel from Alfie’s grip. The toddler lets out a volley of small whines in complaint as the tool is placed well out of reach, but his grumbles stop once he spots the seedlings Bobby pulls from the box beside them.

Sunny you may ALWAYS bother me about Fredo and Uncle Eddie. Have some more Lore™️

Eddie is the first person to care for Alfie for a night while Buck and Tommy go on a date, when Alfie is like 18 months. Buck is super nervous about being separated from him and Eddie sends photos of him and Alfie eating spaghetti for dinner (it's all over his face), Chris and Alfie playing with blocks, Alfie sitting on Eddie's bed with his hair all combed after his bath, Alfie asleep in his bed, and then him awake bc he had a scary dream but Eddie put on the TV, and then finally Alfie passed out on Eddie's chest with Eddie like 😀👍 and Buck feels much better about it

When Buck and Tommy are thinking of names, Eddie tries to pitch them a whole load of Ed related names. Almost every day he'll turn up at the station with a new one, like Edward, Edwin, Eduardo, Edgar, Edmund, Edison, etc. But he's also the one that mentions Alfie in passing and Buck's ears perk up immediately at it and to this day, Eddie is credited with naming Alfie

On days Eddie's tasked with looking after Alfie, he'll take him to the park or the zoo or the pools in an attempt to tire the kid out, but 80% of the time it ends with Eddie passed out on the couch while Alfie quietly watches Bluey

Because Eddie's main goal in life is to razz Buck, he buys Alfie a little toddler sized cap and convinces him to wear it backwards, and Alfie looks like the coolest kid ever with his muscle shirt and sunglasses and backwards cap, until Buck sees him and is like 😑 why are you turning my kid into a frat boy. But Alfie loooooves it and puts it on specially for Eddie cause it makes him laugh