#witsec au

In Chapter 19, Ford gets a visitor! Stan is less than enthused.

(Rewatched the 1990 Mel Gibson/Goldie Hawn RomComAction Bird On A Wire and kept thinking it would make a great AU, my brain settled on BuckTommy.)

Before Buck dropped out of college he had a torrid affair with Tommy. They were set to get married. Sal and Tommy would occasionally get extra money via minor drug running (pot). Then there was plane crash and Buck thought Tommy was dead. He was devasted and that's what the reason he end up dropping out of college. Buck ended up married to Abby briefly before divorcing her. He was trying a serious relationship after years alone with Josh, a dispatcher to Buck's firefighter career. But no matter how much he wanted it to make him happy, his heart still belonged to Tommy. In fact he still carries a strip of photos of Tommy and him in his wallet. Buck could actually quit work because of a trust fund that became available after he turned 35.

In truth Sal & Tommy had been forced by corrupt DEA agents to run drugs. But it all went to shit the moment their plane was unloading. It was a shoot out with the FBI. Sal & Tommy tried to stop the corrupt DEA agents but it lead to Sal being killed. Tommy spent time in prison before agreeing to testify against the corrupt DEA agents. When he got out he saw that Buck had got married so decided it was better not to contact him ever again. Instead he enters WitSec.

DEA agent Doug Kendall is released from prison, picked up by his corrupt partner Vincent Gerrard. They have an inside woman at US Marshalls office, Olivia Ortiz.

Buck is in Detroit for a first responders conference and stops to get gas. There he sees Tommy for the first time in 15 years, even if Tommy tries to pretend he is a very different person. Including no longer having a tattoo he got in honor of Buck.

Tommy panics and tries to get in touch with his WitSec handler. Only to find out the man retired and he is handed over to Agent Ortiz. Who lies telling him that Kendall is still behind bars and someone will be at his location in two days. She then erases all evidence of Tommy from the system except for a backup file she carries with her.

Buck is still positive it was Tommy. He stalks the gas station that night. Just as the DEA agents try to kill Tommy. No matter the conflicted feelings Buck is always going to try to save Tommy. Even if it puts him in danger too. Tommy gets shot in the ass but they escape back to Buck's hotel.

"Eddie, I have a hypothetical medic question for you. Is it better to leave the bullets in or remove them, the person was shot in the gluteus maximus."

"Buck, that sounds a little too specific to be your normal hypotheticals. Just call 911."

"Can't."

"Evan Christopher Buckley."

"My Shannon is alive. Apparently."

In Chapter 16 of All of These Things, All of the Time, Stan faces off against surprising allies, and Ford is still struggling against his captor.

And...wait a second...you DID hear that right! There's plot!! Yippee x2!!

Ford finds a new science experiment: Stan. Only one twin is happy with this development, and y'all get a single guess as to which one it is.

Hmm, good question! I've been thinking about this as well. I think that Stan currently being in Gravity Falls means that the circumstances will change (i.e., he will have a problem with Ford imprisoning a certified Little Guy™️), but I also think there are already some good fics out there that focus on Shifty. This fic focuses pretty strongly on the relationship between Stan and Ford, and also only takes place over the course of a few months. In this version of events, Shifty is still a ways off from being found. While they might not show up in this particular fic, a sequel would be the perfect place to explore Shifty's alternate fate 👀