desperately want to see buck calling bobby "pops" more!! there's something really sweet and heartbreaking to me that we never see it in canon, we just hear of it happening. but i think that's because buck called bobby pops before he actually knew him.
like that was season one! buck was learning how to not be a shitty person for the first time and bobby was deeply suicidal and unwilling to share himself with anyone close to him. they only had a working relationship at this point. he considered bobby his work dad, they went to a concert together (so funny to imagine lol), and bobby (mostly) put up with his bullshit. up until now, buck has only ever seen fatherhood presented as concern for safety or discipline. and s1!bobby fits that mold, so he's gonna latch onto that and display vulnerability the only way he knows how to- with jokes.
then bobby opens up to the team and him and buck continue to get closer and closer over the seasons, and it feels weirder and weirder to joke about bobby being buck's dad. because by now we know how shitty buck's real father is. and we've seen the deep care bobby has for buck, and how that's evolved from him stifling buck while trying to protect him, to finally letting buck grow and thrive on his own. there's a real relationship now.
so, ostensibly, there's a lot of pressure around what was supposed to be this silly bit but is now a deeply meaningful honorific. and i desperately want them to explore that tension!!! bobby will help buck with something small and he'll throw out a "thanks pops!" and walk away and bobby just kind of blue screens because that's his kid right there and he didn't even realize how much it would effect him to hear that said so flippantly and he kinda walks around in a daze til the next call. AND THEN maybe something almost happens to buck on that call and bobby is kind of freaking out more than usual and hen and chim are concerned, but not that concerned, like come on, it's buck, he'll be fine. but bobby is not fine, and when he finally gets a moment with buck he doesn't even know what to say, and he just kinda puts his hand on his shoulder and just looks at him and buck is gonna let him say what he needs to say but he can't seem to say anything. so buck is getting shy from being fussed over so obviously and he's like "i'm fine pops, don't worry" and bobby just sorta breaks and hugs him really tight and buck lets him. and when bobby pulls back, he's clearly steeled himself and is now more captain than he was before he went into the hug, but he still says "i always worry about you, kid" before he walks off to finish commanding the incident or whatever he does and buck is now in his own blue screen moment.
WAHHH FAMILY😭
