#engineer buck

It’s not even a headcanon so much as a perennial item near the top of my wishlist. Especially with Buck happy in a relationship, I want to see him making a move for career progression! We know he has some ambitions, and while he’s not quite ready to be captain, (though after this season I can finally see him actually getting there someday), nor would that be the right move for the show at this point, the two jobs between Firefighter/EMT III (which is what he, Eddie, Hen, and Chim all are) and Captain I (unclear if Bobby is Captain I, who runs a four-man team, or Captain II, who runs a station, but I think it’s implied that more than just our A-team report to Bobby, so I think he’s a Captain II, we just only see him with this team because TV) are Engineer and Truck Operator, which are equivalent to each other, but the Truck hates Buck, so.

Plus, in keeping with my actual headcanon that Buck was Sal’s replacement, they had that Probie driving the engine back then, which is uhhhh… unlikely under normal circumstances, and they knocked it off after S1, so I’m gonna continue in that vein that they were shorthanded at the time, hence Bobby training Buck personally, and a Probie with a few months of experience being allowed to drive a TWO MILLION DOLLAR piece of equipment and not always even with direct supervision. But he’s a good choice now!

I just think one of the dangers that shows like this, that are technically a procedural but very character-driven, face is stagnation. Like how we all knew Hen wasn’t going to actually leave to be a doctor. Them putting her on captain track works well to give her character a goal. I’d like to see the show end with her in that position, and with acknowledgement that someday Buck will be as well. I think that Chim is explicitly happy with where he’s at, and Eddie has never really shown interest in a leadership position (which is fine, god knows every time I’ve gotten to the point of being ~almost~ management, I’ve dipped on the job because fuuuucck thaaat! 😂)