9-1-1 quotes

9-1-1, what's your emergency???

Buck

Never lost anyone before. Does it get any easier?

Bobby

No.

Chimney

Look, people die and that's part of the gig, right? Your problem is, you're looking at your job like it's a long-term relationship. They're one-night stands, man. In that moment they mean everything to you. Once morning comes, [snaps] it's on to the next one.

Athena

You know why they make us wear these uniforms right? Cops, firefighters, paramedics?

Chimney

Uhhhh, sex appeal.

Buck

So people can easily identify us.

Athena

True, but it's also for our own good. Because when we take the uniform off at the end of the day, it symbolizes letting go of all the sad, crazy, inhumane things we've seen that day.

Buck

So is your full name Eduardo?

Eddie

No.

Buck

Do people ever call you "Diaz"?

Eddie

Not if they want me to respond.

Buck

Something's gotta give. We got Cap, Hen, Chimney, Buck. We can't just call you Eddie.

Eddie

[to Chimney] Can't tell if he's being serious or not.

Chimney

I always like to operate on the assumption that nothing he says is serious.

Buck

What about "G.I.", like G.I. Joe. "Hey G.I.!" You know, that's a great nickname.

Hen

Sounds like "gastrointestinal".

Eddie

Yeah, I don't think so.

Maddie

[voice-over] We all feel real high but don't tell no one, but it's how we respond that matters.

Being a 911 dispatcher will be challenging, exhausting and can take an emotional toll. The people who call in are scared, in need and we are their lifeline. But it can also be rewarding. Calling us is probably the scariest moment of their lives, but if we do our jobs right and help arrives in time, if we get a little lucky, then maybe it doesn't have to be the worst moment of their lives.

Maddie

Pressure doesn't have to break us down. It can show us who we really are.

Bobby

If you weren't doing this what would you be doing?

Chimney

Fighter pilot, Top Gun, call sign: Shogun.

Bobby

What about you Hen?

Hen

Editorial cartoonist, The New Yorker. [Chimney and Bobby stare at her] I have a lot to say.

Bobby

You draw?

Hen

No, it's a dream, it's not supposed to attainable. [looks at Chimney] Top Gun? You can barely drive, you rebar head.

Chimney

Alright, Buckeroo, if you were not a member of the LAFD, what would you be doing?

Buck

Uh, I don't know. I'm not getting fired am I?

Chimney

That's inevitable.

Hen

He'd be a golden retriever.

Chimney

Bartender. No, no, a bouncer at a bar.

Hen

Bouncer at a strip club.

First thing, everybody lies. Dr. Gregory House was right about that. Sometimes they know that they're lying. "Oh, I had no idea that this would happen, I just slipped and fell on the cucumber." Other times, whatever they're experiencing in the moment is scrambling their brains. They are the ultimate unreliable narrators.

Maddie

Uh, who's "Dr. House"?

You're one of those aren't you? A reader. The point is you can't trust people, only yourself. If it sounds like bull, it probably is.

Athena

Where you planning on running, Marvin? This is your house. You know, if you're going to keep stealing cars, you might want to consider a less memorable hair color. When I hear a felonious act, the suspect matches your description, I know where to find you. This is the third time I've had to arrest you this year.

The hair is my signature. All master criminals have one.

Athena

Yeah, all stupid ones.

Bobby

Listen up, here's how you make it to the end of the day. You don't worry about the things that you can't do anything about. Focus on one task at a time. I can't order you guys to go inside that building and I'm not gonna judge if you decide not to.

Chimney

Hen, you've got a kid.

Hen

Yeah, and I'd hope if someone whose job it was to save him would do it, no matter what.

Maddie

[voice-over] The Oxford Dictionary defines "rut" as "a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change." The word is also defined as "a long, deep track made by the repeated passage of the wheels of vehicles." There is some comfort to be taken in the second definition, for when you find yourself stuck in a rut, you can be sure others have been there before you.

Buck

Hey, so is your son really the reason you don't date?

Eddie

That, and...they weren't my type.

Buck

Not mine either. Not anymore. But I'm talking in general.

Eddie

It's complicated when you have a kid.

Buck

Come on, that's a weak excuse.

Eddie

You live in your invisible girlfriend's house and you're telling me about weak excuses.

Athena

I keep thinking of the twenty-something me. Her dreams, her goals. She had a vision of what success looked like. It was all about stars and bars, climbing up the ladder, blowing through that glass ceiling. I don't need that anymore. Success is now about...those kids, this family. People in my life who love me. People out there who count on me. I am finally in a place where I'm comfortable in my life and in my own skin. I don't know if I want to upend that for a pay bump.

Athena

[to Maddie] Your brother's boss is my boo. Your brother and I got off on the wrong foot but he's grown on me. Kid's got a heart of gold. So I don't have to call you "Buckette" or anything do I?

[sees Hen kneeling over him] Oh hell no. [looks at Bobby] You do it.

Bobby

Sir, I am not a trained paramedic. I can't intubate you, they can.

I'm fine.

Chimney

Sir, you're not fine. Your bowel is probably obstructed. The contents of your colostomy bag are backing into your system. You're about to choke on your own waste. You will suffocate and die.

Get away!

Bobby

Sir, if you refuse care we cannot administer it by force.

[looks at Eddie's name tag] What about him? Diaz. What kind of name is that?

Eddie

My father's from Mexico. My mother's Swedish. I can help you out with the Swedish half but no one told me which half that is.

Bobby

[annoyed] Would you like me to call you another paramedic team so you can have an all-white one?

Hen

He's gonna aspirate.

Chimney

Actual diarrhea of the mouth. Outstanding.

Buck

[voice over] If there's one hard thing you learn in this job, is that one way or the other, this day or the next, eventually everything dies. For most people, the only thing worse than loosing someone you love is knowing that one day you will.