Frank "Buzz" Cooper, grew up on Springfield's 5th Street. Though his father, who opened the Wheels and Meals Diner after immigrating to America from Greece, had high hopes for his son, Buzz's life was changed forever in the 1960's when he got the 17-year-old Nadine Corley pregnant and was forced to marry her. After graduating from high school, Buzz left Springfield to serve his first tour in Vietnam. In the 70s, he volunteered for a second tour of duty and never came home. Nadine, realizing that he had deserted them, told their children, Frank and Harley, that their father had died honorably. In reality, Buzz was awarded the Silver Star for heroics for killing a deranged soldier turned sniper. Feeling guilty and believing that the award was just a ploy to cover everything up, Buzz went to the Philippines in search of the GI's pregnant wife Sylvie, and told her what happened. She miscarried her baby. Feeling guilty, Buzz stayed with Sylvie and decided to stay with her and start a new life. Though still married to Nadine, Buzz married Sylvie and they had a daughter, Lucy. Sylvie left them when Lucy was five and Buzz took different jobs everywhere to survive and to raise Lucy alone.

Buzz returned to Springfield in February 1993, when he learned that Harley, the daughter he never met, was searching for him, and went to see Nadine. Since he had some minor facial surgery after being beat up by loan sharks he wasn't immediately recognizable. However, Nadine did realize who he was, but was forced to keep quiet when he blackmailed her since at the time she was faking her pregnancy by her husband Billy Lewis. So Nadine passed him off as her long-lost cousin "Rex Mancini." At the time this was going on, Harley's boyfriend, Detective AC Mallet was growing suspicious and began to look into Buzz's past. Realizing he was about to be found out, Buzz decided to cut his losses and leave town. But before he could make a clean break, Mallet discovered the whole truth and forced Buzz to confront his family. Reality hit Buzz like a ton of bricks when Harley and Frank refused to have anything to do with their long-lost father, since they were happy with their image of the war hero, not the truth that their father had abandoned them. Realizing what an impact his absence had had on his children, Buzz set out to make amends. The best way to do that, he figured, was to pay for Harley and Mallet's impending wedding with money he had stashed away in Santa Fe, money that he had set aside for Lucy. Lucy knew her father, but was unaware that she had any siblings and Buzz wanted to keep it that way. However, when his headstrong daughter discovered that the money was missing, she headed to Springfield to reclaim it. Buzz eventually mended his relationship with all three of his kids and Lucy remained in Springfield with her new family, while Buzz began to run the Diner.

Throughout all of this, Buzz had developed a close relationship with jewel thief Jenna Bradshaw, whom he met the first day he returned to town and who'd helped him avoid his children. But Jenna was involved with the town villain, Roger Thorpe. While Buzz tried to convince Jenna that he was the man for her, Jenna began to be disenchanted with Roger and was drawn to Buzz. However, in the end after Roger apologized and proposed, she decided that Roger needed her more and she was committed to a relationship with him. Roger and Jenna married and Buzz and Nadine then grew closer even though Buzz still wanted Jenna. Jenna, meanwhile, discovered that she was pregnant. At the same time, Buzz found a document proving that Jenna's father was paid $5,000 for his invention and thus, Jenna wasn't the rightful owner of Spaulding. Jenna kept her pregnancy a secret from Roger, but Nadine found out and in an effort to keep Jenna away from Buzz she told Roger he was going to be a father. At the same time, Jenna helped Buzz with information on Eleni's whereabouts and told Roger that she wanted a divorce. Roger then informed Buzz that Jenna wasn't ever going to leave him because she was having his baby. By now, Buzz thought about giving Nadine what she wanted and proposing. He was going to do so on Thanksgiving when he saw Jenna looking through the window and then changed his mind. Later, he went after Jenna who told Buzz it was over with Roger. However, when she tried to leave, Roger threatened her and said he'd have Spaulding, her and the baby. Meanwhile, Buzz brought the document to court that proved Jenna didn't have a rightful claim to Spaulding. Unfortunately, Jenna was furious because now she had nothing to fight Roger with to keep her baby. She became ill from the stress and almost miscarried. At that point, Buzz discovered that there was no need to fear Roger—he was presumed dead. Buzz then took Jena home to The Firehouse to take care of her. Buzz and Jenna grew closer again.

On New Year's Day, 1994 after Buzz had to stay at the diner so the others could celebrate, Jenna was alone at The Firehouse when Roger showed up! Jenna pulled a gun on him and ordered him to leave. When Roger said that he didn't believe that Jenna would shoot him, she lied and told him she already had and pulled the trigger (the gun wasn't loaded and she knew that) just to scare him and convince him of her hatred for him.. AS Roger cruelly insulted Jenna, she began to miscarry. At this point, Buzz came home and threw Roger against a wall as Jenna fell to the floor screaming. Roger left as Buzz called the police and an ambulance. Tragically, Jenna miscarried and her marriage to Roger was annulled.

Jenna admitted her love for Buzz and Buzz helped her convince Alex Spaulding to invest in Jenna's new antique business, unaware that she was planning to steal antiques from Alex. When Alex found out, Buzz convinced her to not press charges by giving back the money and the stolen antiques. Then Jenna decided to market Eleni's hand lotion, without telling Eleni, figuring out the ingredients herself. She was going to use to $10,000 from her divorce but Buzz in a series of miscommunications gave it to Lucy to make up for stealing her money. Jenna then went to Alex's nephew Alan-Michael for backing. Buzz, jealous and feeling like he was being cut out, entered into a scheme with ex-con Pauly Hardman to recover the $125,000 that Pauly stole years before and left in a locker while he was in prison. When Jenna found out, she was upset but they decided to keep the money while Jenna turned down Alan-Michael's continued backing because she didn't want to hurt Buzz. However, Nadine found the money and decided it was best to flush it down the toilet. Jenna was furious when Buzz defended Nadine for what she'd done since she was tired of him always sticking up for Nadine. Afterwards, Buzz shocked Jenna by proposing. Buzz and Jenna then agreed to meet at the top of the Towers to get married; if one didn't show then the other would know that person didn't want to get married.

That same night, with the police closing in search of the missing money, Buzz was dressed to meet Jenna when Det. Patrick Cutter arrived to question him just as the plumber came out of the bathroom saying he just found some money. Caught, Buzz ran off and Jenna waited and left thinking Buzz had decided not to show. Buzz arrived late though and thought Jenna had decided not to show. Buzz, distraught and fleeing the police, wandered in the rain and became ill. Nadine hid him but Jenna found out and nursed a delirious Buzz while trying to figure out a way to get the money back to get Buzz off the hook with the authorities. Later, when Buzz came to his senses, Nadine lied about Jenna being there. Jenna then decided to sell her company to Alan-Michael for the money. Buzz saw the news on television and thought she was selling him down the river. Nadine and family then paid the money via mortgage on the diner and Eleni's catering business and Buzz was remanded into Nadine's protective custody but had to do community service while Pauly again went to prison. Buzz and Jenna finally realized that the other had shown up at the top of the Towers and Buzz again asked Jenna to marry him but she ultimately refused since she was jealous of his bond with Nadine.

Meanwhile Nadine convinced Buzz they could get back the money by being on the game show Soul Mates. At the same time, Jenna found out she was pregnant and was about to tell Buzz when she saw him and Nadine on television posing as a couple. Jenna called the studio and asked if all the couples had to be married to participate. The answer was yes and the producers asked Buzz and Nadine for verification that they were married. To secure the money, Buzz and Nadine married in Las Vegas. Jenna located Buzz just in time to see he and Nadine proclaimed man and wife at a tacky chapel. She left unseen and went home. Buzz and Nadine won the money and Buzz was a free man and he decided to try to make his marriage to Nadine work since he felt he owed it to her. Nadine later found out Jenna was pregnant but didn't tell Buzz. Jenna once again tried to tell Buzz, on the advice of Vanessa Reardon, but Buzz told her he was with Nadine now and didn't want to talk to her. So, Jenna, tired of being pregnant and unable to enjoy it, decided to leave town. Meanwhile, Nadine started to feel guilty and while out of town with Buzz, tried to tell Buzz about Jenna. Unfortunately, Buzz only caught part of what Nadine said and rushed out before he heard about the baby. He hitchhiked his way to Springfield and finally saw Jenna at the airport but the fence divided them, and he still didn't realize she was eight months pregnant! Buzz pleaded with her to stay but Jenna felt it was too late and left. Jenna later called Vanessa and Henry Chamberlain and told them she had a boy on Christmas. Nadine never told Buzz about the baby but finally divorced him in 1995 at her own request while Buzz saved the Diner at the second 5th Street fire from burning down.

Buzz tried to get on with life after Jenna was gone. When psycho Brent Lawrence raped Lucy, Buzz supported her and, together with Frank, drove Brent out of town but, unfortunately, Brent would later return as a woman named Marion Crane and kill Nadine, who recognized him while being in his apartment. One day, while driving through a town called Goshen, Buzz's car broke down. He met an Amish woman named Rebecca Blume and became intrigued although he didn't know that she was in fact and amnesiac Reva Shayne, who was presumed dead for over five years. When Nadine's dead body was found in the lake in early 1996, Buzz was devastated while, around the same time, Reva suddenly remembered her past. Realizing that her children had bonded with their new stepmother, Annie Dutton, Reva arranged to marry Buzz to prove to her husband, soon to be ex-husband, Josh Lewis that she no longer loved him. Although the marriage was platonic at first, in time she and Buzz became romantic and decided to make an honest go of their marriage.

Together, Reva and Buzz temporarily renamed the Diner "Buzz's and Reva's Place" and rallied the community to fight Alan Spaulding's attempts to oust 5th Street property owners in favor of a multimillion-dollar development project. Meanwhile, around Thanksgiving, Buzz learned that Reva's mother, Sarah, now living in Italy, was in the hospital. Upon learning that her mother was dying, Reva secured Josh's help in using the Lewis jet and she, Josh, and Buzz flew to Italy to see Sarah. There on her deathbed, Sarah confessed to Reva her darkest secret--years earlier, she'd had an affair, got pregnant and gave the child up for adoption. Meanwhile, weeks later, Buzz received a letter from Jenna saying that she was planning to come to Springfield and wanted him to call her if it was alright. Buzz dialed the phone and told her that it was okay with him, but before he could tell her he was married, the connection became bad. Weeks later, Buzz, suspecting that Reva was hiding something confronted her about meeting with Josh at Laurel Falls. Told she could tell him anything, Reva told Buzz about her mother's secret and assured him that she and Josh only met to discuss their children.

In early 1997, Jenna, as promised, returned to Springfield. Shocked at being introduced to Buzz's wife, Jenna, who seemed to be about to tell him something important, kept the conversation safe, as if she was there to simply talk about old times. At the same time, Buzz was helping Reva locate her mother's long lost child. Days after they discovered that Sarah had given birth to a little girl, Reva shocked Buzz when she announced that their marriage was a lie. Although she admitted that she cared deeply for him, Reva finally confessed that her heart belonged to Josh Lewis. Needing to get away, Buzz decided to leave town; at the same time Jenna had decided to leave as well. The two spotted each other, and chatted, with Buzz meeting a toddler named Henry, that Jenna claimed she was the nanny of. Seeing how depressed Buzz was about losing Reva, Jenna made the decision to stay in town. Soon after, Buzz was shocked to meet Jenna's husband, a man named Jeffrey Morgan, who she claimed was Henry's father. Although Jenna maintained that she was happily married, it was clear to Buzz that Jenna did not love Jeffrey. Meanwhile, though still smarting from Reva's rejection, Buzz attempted to recapture their friendship by offering to help her locate her long lost sister. Although Reva didn't think it was fair for her to let him help her, she accepted his help when he informed her that he could get around the sealed adoption records, in a way her lawyer, Ross Marler, couldn't. But Buzz needed help breaking into the records and called upon an expert in breaking and entering--Jenna.

With Jenna's help, Buzz and Reva broke into the Hall of Records and learned the name of the people who adopted Reva's sister--the Dwights. Unfortunately Mrs. Dwight was less than cooperative, and Reva freed Buzz from his obligation to help her. Buzz then realized he still loved Jenna. When he tried to convince her to leave Jeffrey, Jenna finally admitted to him that Henry was her son, but not Jeffrey's! Jenna knew that Jeffrey wouldn't let her go so easily. Trying to help Jenna get away with her son, Buzz sneaked into Jeffrey's apartment (disguised as a maintenance worker) in Dallas and was able to grab the child. Then to stop Jeffrey from following, Buzz alerted the airport that Jeffrey had a bomb. Back in Springfield, Buzz let Jenna and Henry stay at his place, after asking Jenna questions about why she'd lied about being the child's mother. Jenna maintained that it was just embarrassment over getting pregnant so soon after she'd left and wouldn't tell Buzz just who the father was. Just then, Frank came in and arrested Jenna for a a burglary at the Grant house that had happened several weeks earlier.

Although Jeffrey tried to blackmail Jenna into returning to help--in exchange for him helping her out of jail, Buzz was able to convince Vivian Grant to drop the charges against her and Jenna was released into Buzz's custody and sentenced to do community service. Not long after, Buzz would receive a shock when during an argument with Alan Spaulding, Alan revealed that Jenna had been carrying Buzz's child when she left Springfield! When confronted, Jenna finally admitted that Henry "Coop" was Buzz's son. Not long after, Jeffrey returned to Springfield and played hero by finding a missing Coop. However, Buzz had a strong hunch that it was all a set up--that Jeffrey kidnapped Coop in order to "find" him. Buzz got the proof, but then Jeffrey blackmailed Jenna into staying with him since he had evidence that she had stolen jewels all across Europe! The evidence, along with a lot of money, was in a safe in Switzerland. In order to nab Jeffrey, a returning Harley acted as con Starla Russo to nail Jeffrey while at the same time, Jeffrey was trying to con Phillip Spaulding out of $ 25 million to escape with Jenna. Eventually, Phillip and Harley were able to work together and nail Jeffrey for extortion during a business trip to New York, while Buzz and Eleni posed as Jeffrey and Jenna Morgan in Switzerland and found and discarded any evidence Jeffrey had to frame Jenna.

Buzz was reunited with Jenna, only to find himself stalked by a secret admirer, who was sending him mysterious love letters and mysterious gifts. Although everyone, except an irritated Buzz, tried to dismiss it, the situation became serious when Buzz's home was broken into and a picture of him and Coop was stolen. Suddenly Buzz's secret admirer was stalking him. Things seemed to get more dangerous when the stalker broke into Buzz's home while Jenna was there to leave behind a picture frame. Jenna realized there was someone in the house and screamed for Buzz. Buzz and Frank arrived to confront the stalker who escaped down the fire escape. Although Buzz's friend, Nola Reardon, tried to ease his fears that perhaps the stalker was just a harmless person with no malicious intentions, Buzz was convinced that this person was psychotic. Amidst all this turmoil, which was taking its toil on Jenna, Buzz asked Jenna to marry him. Soon after, Buzz figured out who his admirer/stalker was--Nola! Shocked, he went to the Bauer cabin and angrily confronted her. Found out, a tearful Nola confessed that she meant no harm, that it started out innocent and then snowballed. Sympathizing with how lonely she must have been to do this, Buzz quickly forgave her. Unfortunately, while carrying in some firewood, Buzz fell down some stairs and hit his head. After falling, he suffered amnesia and was cared for by Nola, who deeply regretted what she'd done.

Trying to make things right, Nola tried to tell Buzz about who he was. However, for Buzz, his world started with Nola and he believed that she was his love. Though tempted, Nola did the write thing and tried to tell Buzz about the people in his life, including his true love, Jenna. Later, Nola tried to convince Buzz to return to Springfield, but hit a snag when she confessed about her role in his memory loss. Frustrated over having not remembered anything, Buzz lashed out at Nola. When she tried to console him about his son and fiancée in Springfield, he simply became more agitated because he had no memory of them. Suddenly there was a knock at the door; who should be there but Harley! When Buzz failed to recognize his daughter, Harley figured out what happened and had him finally brought home. However, being surrounded by people he didn't remember who spent their time trying to jog his memory greatly unsettled Buzz and he sought out the one person he knew--Nola. But Nola knew that he belonged with his family and tricked him into returning to Jenna's. That same day, Buzz saw Jenna's pre-natal vitamins and figured out that she was pregnant. With that revelation, Buzz realized he had a future and finally started to bond with his family. That was until he discovered that the baby Jenna was carrying wasn't his--it was her ex husband Jeffrey's! Disgusted, Buzz made plans to leave town. However, after finding an abandoned baby at Christmas, Buzz had a change of heart and, Buzz returned to his family, including Jenna whose child he agreed to raise as his own.

Soon after, in 1998, Buzz's memory had returned while Jenna had gone to England. When she returned, Buzz asked her to marry him as soon as possible, but she needed to think about it. Later, in June, while at one of Vanessa Reardon's "Second Chances" meeting, Jenna went into labor and Buzz put together a rushed wedding ceremony so that the two could be married before the baby was born. They were married on June 15, 1998 just before Jenna gave birth to Ian Stavros "Rocky" Cooper. Things were going well since everyone believed that Ian was Buzz's son. However, Holly Reade found out the truth and confronted Jenna, while Jeffrey, who'd escaped from prison and was standing right outside the door overheard everything. Jeffrey then demanded to see his son immediately. Fearing for her son, Jenna offered to drive Jeffrey to him and then purposely crashed the car. The wreck killed Jeffrey instantly. An injured Jenna asked Buzz to take care of the children just before dying in her husband's arms.

Still healing from the devastation of losing his wife, Buzz then began to put his life back together. Part of his plan to get on with his life was to help his friend, Selena Davis, locate the daughter who was taken away from her. Over the course of months, Selena told Buzz her story of being a prostitute, getting pregnant, and having her child taken away from her. Finally near the end of the year, not long after Jenna's death, Selena shared her suspicion that Springfielder Drew Jacobs was her daughter. Wanting to help his friend, Buzz promised to confirm that Drew was Selena's child by seeing if Drew had the birthmark Selena told him about. The birthmark was there... Drew was definitely Selena's kid. As 1999 progressed, Buzz tried to convince Selena to tell Drew the truth, but Selena was determined to keep quiet. Meanwhile in order to keep up Selena's deception, which he strongly disagreed with, Buzz agreed to supply her with a fake birth certificate, so Drew would think someone else was her biological mother. In the end though, Drew discovered the truth and she and Selena would form a close bond. In the course of helping Selena, Buzz began to get over his grief over Jenna and the pair grew closer. However, when he and Selena kissed, they both suddenly backed away since Buzz still wasn't over Jenna. Meanwhile, the Fifth Street Diner was lost in a fire, accidentally started by Buzz's granddaughter, Susan Lemay and her friend Max Nickerson. When Buzz learned that Jenna had won the British Lottery, he bought Springfield's popular restaurant, Company, and remodeled it, and temporarily changed the name to "Petulia's" in honor of Jenna--it was his nickname for her.

In the meantime, Buzz's feelings for Selena were growing stronger, which scared him since he felt he was betraying Jenna. Things finally came to a head between Buzz and Selena when Buzz fired Selena when she asked for a night off to go on a date with Billy Lewis. Although Buzz later regretted his actions and asked Selena to come back to work, she agreed - if he agreed not to fire her out of jealousy again. His feelings finally exposed, Buzz later asked Selena on a date. As he was trying to deal with Selena's dark past in Chicago, he and Selena suddenly learned the name of the client who may have been Drew's father, town villain Ben Warren! Unsure and not wanting it to be true, the pair kept quiet. Soon after, Selena found herself paralyzed from the waist down after a serious fall.

Meanwhile, Ben figured out for himself that he could be Drew's father and arranged for a DNA test. Buzz, not wanting Ben in their lives, doctored the tests to reveal that he wasn't the father. However, Ben wouldn't settle for that and "lied" to Drew that he was her father. Not able to contradict Ben, since he knew for a fact that Ben was Drew's father, Buzz was forced to keep silent. After some prodding from Harley (who Buzz confessed the truth to) Buzz's conscience got the best of him and he finally confessed to Ben that he tampered with the paternity test results - Ben really was Drew's father. Buzz asked Ben to keep mum about the incident, and Ben agreed. Unfortunately, Ben reneged on the deal and immediately told Selena what Buzz had done. Disgusted, Selena broke things off with Buzz, but agreed to move in with him on a platonic basis for her rehabilitation. In the process of helping her regain the use of her legs, Selena realized that she was deeply in love with Buzz and soon forgave him for what he did. Finally, on New Years Eve, Selena had regained the use of her legs enough to share a dance with Buzz.

Finally, in early 2000, Buzz and Selena consummated their relationship. Meanwhile, Buzz decided that perhaps his sons would be better off with Jenna's family in England and flew there with the boys. When Buzz returned from England early to surprise Selena, he was disappointed when she wasn't there. Later, Selena returned and admitted to Buzz that she was a little hurt that he didn't ask her to go to England with him. Though Buzz tried to make it up to her by proposing, he couldn't find the ring! Luckily, Selena finally found it at Company and gladly accepted Buzz's marriage proposal, as all of the customers cheered. Not long after, Selena began working with novelist Blake Marler on a book involving her past, specifically her affair with married mobster, Miguel Santos. Over time, Buzz noticed that Selena was upset, but she refused to admit that working on the book with Blake was bothering her. However, it was clear that something was wrong when Selena started having nightmares. Later, Selena surprised Buzz by suggesting that they elope. Very soon after, Selena was injured after an attack. Upon regaining consciousness, Selena stated that she was mugged. Though Selena gave a vague account of what happened and attempted to dismiss the robbery as a random act, Buzz vowed to protect her while Harley looked into Selena's story. Though Buzz thought Danny Santos might have some answers, Selena surprised Buzz by asking him not to investigate the robbery.

Finally, when it seemed as though Selena was being stalked, she informed Buzz that she was leaving town because he didn't deserve the trouble she's brought to his life. At Buzz's urging, she then revealed her darkest secret. Years earlier, she was the mistress of mobster Miguel Santos and bore his child. Now thanks to Blake's book, the truth was out, Selena feared for her life and pleaded with him to let her leave town. So, he agreed to help her leave town. Soon Maria Santos's men arrived looking for Selena and Buzz was beaten up trying to protect her. After making sure Buzz was alright, Selena shared a heartfelt goodbye with him and rushed out. Although Harley tried to get Buzz to reveal the truth about Selena, he wouldn't give in.

Although he remained angry with Blake for a while, he seemed to soften toward her mother, Holly, the woman who kidnapped his sons years earlier and inadvertently caused Jenna's death. When Holly criticized Buzz about his decision to buy a motorcycle, Buzz accused her of being afraid of life. Billy witnessed the argument and agreed with Buzz. That Thanksgiving, still reeling from Selena's departure, Buzz alienated his friends and family on with scathing comments on their respective miseries, including toasting the anniversary of Phillip's adultery. At he end of year, Holly lashed out against Buzz for the things he'd said to her earlier. As 2001 progressed, the pair's sparring turned into a friendship. Then Billy returned and Holly found herself caught in the middle when both Billy and Buzz vied for her affections. However, later, when Blake offered Buzz an advance copy of her book as a peace offering. Buzz, still furious about the way Blake handled the subject matter involving Selena, refused to read it and lashed out at both Blake and Holly. But, despite himself, Buzz found himself engrossed by Blake's book and admitted to her how much he enjoyed it, and surprised Blake by agreeing to host a book signing event at Company. Although part of his motivation was that he truly thought the book was well written, he admitted to Blake that he was also trying to get into Holly's good graces as well. However, the day of the book signing, Buzz was shocked to see Holly walk into the party with Billy. Though he tried to apologize to Holly for his previous behavior, she ignored him. However, her resolve crumbled, especially when FBI agent Gus Aitoro started harassing Blake, Buzz, and anyone involved as to the source of Blake's book. Months later, despite her objections, Buzz accompanied Holly in Chicago, where they both bonded over seeing master villain Edmund Winslow reduced to being a lounge singer.

Later, after enjoying a night on the town in Springfield, Buzz spotted Holly talking with Billy and immediately thought they were on a date. Furious that Holly was apparently flaunting her relationship with Billy, after the memorable night that she and Buzz had, Buzz and Holly ended up arguing, which collimated in a kiss. Not long later, Buzz proved he was no longer angry with Blake when he acted as her agent in order to get her a good deal on her book being made into a movie. Meanwhile, Buzz and Billy creatively fought for Holly's affection, including challenging each other to a hot-pepper eating contest. Later, when Billy overheard Holly and Buzz discussing the details of their trip to Moon Lake, Billy convinced Buzz to go with her to Las Vegas instead. Then Billy lied to Holly about Buzz's old gambling problems to separate the couple. Holly and Buzz realized Billy's plans and stayed together anyway while Buzz exacted his revenge on Billy by ordering a basket of manure to be delivered to him.

In 2002, Buzz and Holly became a de facto couple. As a gesture of goodwill, Holly tried to persuade Buzz to go to England to visit his children. Although he resisted at first, figuring they'd be better off without him, he finally relented and asked her to accompany him. In addition to his relationship with Holly, Buzz also supported his family, especially his runaway granddaughter, Marina, who had come to town, and Harley's growing feelings for Gus, who hardly anyone in town, Buzz included, could stand. However, the situation with Marina and Gus collided when Marina was found in a sleeping Gus's bed! Although Marina claimed that Gus seduced her, Harley wouldn't believe it and defended Gus. Unsure what to believe, since he and Harley discovered that Marina had help to get in Gus's room, Buzz tried to get the whole truth from Marina. Although he was unsuccessful, Marina soon confessed that she lied about the whole thing--she only wanted to protect Harley since everyone kept saying Gus was a bad man. Realizing that his critical attitude toward Gus attributed to what happened, Buzz resolved to be more open minded toward Gus. Meanwhile, that summer, Holly's ex-husband, Ed Bauer returned after four years in Africa. Soon Holly started befriending Ed, who was trying to settle back into his old life. When Holly refused Buzz's offer to go to London with him again, he saw the handwriting on the wall and asked Holly where they stood, but she was unable to answer. Later, on advice from Frank, Buzz decided to wine and dine Holly, but she was growing even closer to Ed. In the meantime, Harley's relationship with Gus was growing, despite resistance from Phillip, who was threatening to take their son away unless she ended it. But Harley refused, and Buzz soon became impressed by Gus's support of Harley. Meanwhile, by the end of the year, Buzz realized that his relationship with Holly was going nowhere past friendship, Buzz told Holly they would be better off as friends. Though Holly regretted it, she agreed.

In 2003, Buzz spent his time at Company providing support and advice to the Cooper family. He also bonded with Alexandra Spaulding, who had returned to town after a short absence. On October 17th, Buzz paid his annual visit to the grave of Maryanne Caruthers, a woman who died 26 years earlier. Not long after, Buzz was shocked when Marina suddenly asked him if he knew a woman named Maryanne Caruthers! Though he denied knowing who Maryanne was, it was obvious that he was lying since he seemed visibly shaken. Upon learning that Josh Lewis's daughter, Marah, asked him about Maryanne and Michelle Bauer asked her father, Ed, about him, Billy arranged between himself, Josh, Buzz, and Ed telling them to calm down since the only ones who know happened that night are them. All anyone else had was hearsay and speculation, so as long as they keep quiet, everything will be fine. Unfortunately, Buzz started to get nervous because Marina kept continually asking him about Maryanne despite him repeatedly asking her not to discuss it. Finally around Christmas, the secret of Maryanne was in danger of being found out when a newspaper headline announced her car had been found at the bottom of the river. in January 2004, that Alan met with the Lewis men, Buzz Cooper, and Ed Bauer to discuss a very deep dark secret. On the fateful night of October 17th, 1977, Alan would visit the Springfield Fair with his new acquaintances, Josh and Billy Lewis, Buzz Cooper, and Ed Bauer. At the Fair, drinking beer and carousing, Alan would point out the lovely, very conceited Maryanne Caruthers and form a plan. Wanting to see the cold Maryanne make a fool of herself, Alan showed the other young men a vial of powder that contained a drug that he wanted to use on Maryanne to loosen her up. Although the other men weren't fond of the idea, they knew that Alan would do what he wanted.

Though Billy warned Alan to not drug his brother's drink, Alan decided to drug the entire pitcher of beer, thus affecting all of them. Not long after, the group, plus Maryanne, went joy riding, but an ill Maryanne asked to be driven home. It was then that Alan, who was driving the car, sped across Cutter's Bridge and suddenly unexpectedly went off the road! All five men made it out of the river Maryanne didn't surface. Wanting to preserve their lives, Alan persuaded the others to move on with their lives and forget that they ever knew a woman named Maryanne Caruthers. Now, almost 30 years later, it appeared as if their secret was in danger of being discovered. Knowing they all had too much to lose, Alan convinced them to maintain their silence and they sealed their agreement by placing their hands on top of one another's as if to say "all for one, and one for all. After all the men, including Alan, received pink envelopes from an anonymous witness who claimed to know what happened that night and that they would pay the price, it became apparent that someone else knew their secret was feeding this story to the girls and that person was out for vengeance.

Finally the mystery was solved on Valentine's Day when a mysterious older woman approached all 5 men separately and made veiled references to an event that happened almost thirty years ago. Instinctively knowing that she was the mystery person, their suspicions were confirmed when the woman, who was Maryanne's Aunt Carrie, met with them and demanded that they meet her at the old Fairgrounds, where it would all end. Days later, the men met at the Fairgrounds and were confronted by a horrific scenario. Led into a hall of mirrors, Carrie announced her plan--one of the girls would be killed in place of Maryanne; the men would have to choose. Horrified by her insanity, the men realized that the girls, who seemed in a dazed state, were in the Hall of Mirrors, but had trouble locating because the mirrors kept them from seeing what was real and what wasn't. Although Ed was able to locate Marina and Michelle and lead them outside to safety, Marah remained missing for a while longer. Then came a startling chain of events. Carrie suddenly appeared brandishing a gun, poised to shoot. However, because of the mirrors no one could tell what was the real Carrie. Although Buzz got out his gun (that he brought at Alan's insistence, so that they could take care of the threat), he was caught unaware by Carrie who shot him in the arm! Then Carrie pointed her gun at Josh and was set to fire when a shot rang out, apparently killing Carrie! Shot in the back, Carrie fell through the trap door at the bottom of the Hall and her body was rushed away by the river below.

Seeing a dazed Marah holding the smoking gun, Josh decided to take the blame and there and then, he and the others created an elaborate story about how he shot Carrie in self-defense. Although Josh was more then willing to take full responsibility for Carrie's death, Marah suddenly remembered the events of that night and confessed to the police! With the other men urged by D.A. Jeffrey O'Neill to change their police statements, the truth about Maryanne Caruthers finally came out. Before the news became public, however, Alan confided the truth of that night in 1977 to Gus, taking full responsibility for Maryanne's death. Finally, Reva helped close the door on the entire Maryanne Caruthers situation when, using her psychic visions, she learned that not only had Carrie faked her death, but had been the one who caused Maryanne's death.

Months later, Buzz found himself with something to celebrate--Harley's engagement to Gus Aitoro. To his surprise, Alex offered to throw the wedding. Although he was suspicious of Alex's newfound affection for Gus, she was able to get him enthusiastic about a Spaulding style wedding for Gus and Harley. At the same time that Alex was planning Harley's wedding, Frank was investigation a Spaulding connection to the Antimonious drug ring. Even though Spaulding executive Brad Green was found guilty of helping to smuggle the drug to the mob, Frank was convinced that he had an accomplice, who he believed was Alexandra. Dismissing Frank's claims, Buzz innocently told Alex that Frank was investigating her. Almost immediately after, Frank found himself under investigation after someone accused him of being Brad Green's accomplice. When evidence was found in Frank's suitcase, he was suspended from the force. The day of Harley's wedding, the events suddenly collided when Frank showed Buzz a security tape he had just stumbled upon--the tape proved that not only was Alex Brad Green's accomplice, but Gus knew about all along! Completely incredulous, Buzz refused to believe it and tried to find a reasonable explanation, but Frank pointed out that the tape was straightforward, Alex was guilty and Gus knew about it.

Although Frank was torn about whether or not to tell Harley, Buzz believed the best thing would be for her to get married first since he knew this would destroy her. Unfortunately, Harley picked that time to come into the room. Although Buzz and Frank tried to hide the truth from her, she was on to them and demanded to know what was on the tape. Not able watch Harley's heart be broken, Buzz left the room while Frank showed her the incriminating tape. That same day, Buzz confronted Alex, giving her an opportunity to confess, but she refused to incriminate herself. Disappointed, Buzz turned the incriminating evidence to Ross and soon after, Alex was arrested as Gus, Alan and Buzz looked on. Meanwhile, Phillip Spaulding decided to wage a vendetta against the Coopers by forcing Company to be closed down. When Buzz discovered that his former son-in-law as behind everything, Phillip remained cold and unapologetic stating that it was just business and offered to compensate Buzz fairly. Although Buzz was ready to turn in the towel, Harley convinced him to fight.

But Phillip refused to make it easy on the Coopers, visiting Company at every turn and basically rubbing salt in the wound. Finally, Phillip's ruthless, relentless pursuit of Company caused Buzz to have a heart attack. In the hospital, Buzz was pleasantly surprised by the return of Coop, a young man now. Before being wheeled into surgery, Buzz made Harley promise to give Gus another chance. Luckily, the operation was a success and Buzz recovered. Having heard about Buzz's heart attack, Alex pulled some strings to get a pass to see him. He told her that while he couldn't forgive her, he believed they had to work to help Harley and Gus reconcile. Although Buzz tried to convince Coop that he should leave town and enjoy his youth by traveling the world, Coop assured him that he wanted to stay and help the Coopers. Finally, just as Buzz was ready to give up and give Phillip what he wanted, Company was saved when it was discovered that the area around the restaurant was home to an endangered bird. As the weeks went by, Phillip was becoming more and more insufferable and finally shocked everyone by taking off with his children! Finally, one night he summoned Buzz to Company at 9pm, stating that if he complied, Harley's kids would be returned. Buzz complied to find Company dark and ran into Alan outside. Together they spotted a broken window, entered the restaurant and saw Phillip bleeding from a gunshot wound! Little by little, other Springfield residents started coming in, having been given the same offer from Phillip. That night Phillip was declared dead and days later Gus located the missing children. Later, Buzz again tried to convince Coop to leave town, but again his son refused. A day later, Harley started asking Buzz about the new security code at Company that only he had access to. (someone must have shut off the alarm since it didn't go off the night Phillip was killed) but he evaded the question and simply gave a cryptic comment about his desire to protect his family from the Spauldings at all costs.

Later, the family was shocked to learn that as a truce, Buzz sold Company to Phillip right before his death. Meanwhile despite Harley's efforts to keep quiet about the new security system, Frank learned about it and when Buzz's prints were found on the gun that killed Phillip, Buzz was arrested for Phillip's murder. Later, Buzz saw Alexandra (who had been released from jail) at the police station and informed her that he saw her at Company the night Phillip was killed. However she saw him as well. Alex then called upon their old relationship and made a desperate plea to Buzz not to tell anyone, so he kept quiet. Unfortunately, Gus went looking into Alex's possible involvement in the murder and found another strike against Buzz--he was spotted outside Company as well. Although the case looked grim against Buzz around Christmas, he was released when the police had a confession--Ruth Karloff.

Unfortunately, on Christmas, Frank realized that Ruth was actually Harley and was forced to arrest her for murder. So, Buzz spent the early part of 2005, supporting Harley who was preparing for trial. Although the situation looked bleak, with Harley not even able to remember if she was innocent or not, Gus took it upon himself to defend Harley. However, Gus was so intent on proving Harley's innocence that he wouldn't even take into consideration the possibility that she could be guilty. When Buzz became concerned that Gus was jeopardizing Harley by failing to take a deal with the DA that would give Harley a much lesser sentence, Buzz fired Gus. However, he quickly relented when Gus convinced him that he would fight to save his A few days later, Buzz confessed to Harley that believed she was guilty and offered her plane tickets to get out of town to avoid prosecution. Although tempted, Harley declined the offer and decided to go forward with the trial. Unable to convince her to run, Buzz tried to convince her to accept the plea bargain, but to no avail. Weeks later, Harley was found guilty of Phillip's murder.

With Harley in jail, Buzz was not happy to see a familiar face in town--Mallet. Buzz was not happy to learn that Mallet was the new warden at the prison since Mallet's infidelity caused Harley so much pain eight years earlier. Meanwhile, Gus had never stopped searching for Phillip's true killer and kept Buzz abreast on how his investigation was going. After telling Buzz a few times that he had some potential leads in the Spaulding mansion, Gus suddenly disappeared. When Buzz later informed Harley, she became convinced that Gus was in danger and tried to talk Buzz into breaking her out of jail to look for Gus. However, Buzz was able to talk her out of that idea. Soon, Gus was freed from captivity (having informed Buzz that he believed Alan imprisoned him), but Harley's situation became perilous when she was slated to be transferred to another prison, one nicknamed Hell Hole. Desperate to save Harley, Gus informed Buzz that he needed to get into the prison. An opportunity suddenly arose when a drunken prison guard stumbled into Company. After Buzz plied him with some more drinks, the guard passed out and Gus commandeered his uniform. Later, despite Gus and Mallet's best efforts, the transfer went through only for the transport bus to crash! Buzz was told that Harley was dead and went to the morgue to identify the body. To his relief, it wasn't her but he lied to the police and said it was since Harley and Gus were now on the run from the law. Although Buzz tried to persuade Frank to go along with the cover-up, Frank had a hard time defying the law and went in search of her. Terrified of the danger Harley could be in, Buzz later asked Danny to use his underworld connections to find and help out Harley but to leave Marina out of it. Danny agreed to help and set out to throw the police off Harley's trial by making them believe she was in Chicago. Later,, Harley and Mallet discovered the identity of Phillip's true killer--Alan! That day the stage was set and after summoning Alan to Company, Harley got him to confess that he'd killed his own son. With that, Alan was imprisoned and Harley was cleared of all charges. Weeks later, Harley and Gus finally married.

His worries about Harley over, Buzz immediately started worrying about Coop and his future. Learning that Coop had been accepted to a writing seminar at Oxford, Buzz was disappointed when Coop seemed reluctant to leave Lizzie behind. Although Buzz tried to encourage Coop to go after his dream, in the end, Coop chose Lizzie. Meanwhile, several weeks later, Buzz lent Olivia Spencer a friendly ear during her divorce from Bill Lewis. Unfortunately for Buzz, who was intrigued by Olivia, she still had feelings for Josh (who was separated from Reva) As Buzz was opening up his new restaurant, CO2, he was also subtlety attempted to woo her (with baklava and conversation) since kept going back to Josh. A few weeks later, Buzz learned that Frank had feelings for Olivia. So, Buzz swallowed his feelings and encouraged a lonely Frank to pursue her. In 2006, Buzz supported his children--Harley who was consumed with worry when Gus went missing, and Frank who was interested in winning Olivia. Despite his efforts to push Olivia toward Frank, Buzz was still drawn to her himself. .Later, on Valentine's Day, Olivia (in an effort to seduce Josh) invited him and all the Coopers to an inn. However, Josh realized he was being played and rejected Olivia.

Crushed by his words, Olivia broke down. In the other room, Buzz heard her and went to comfort her. As Buzz was telling Olivia what a wonderful woman she was, things took a passionate turn and the two made love. The next day, Olivia told Buzz that she didn't want to screw up their friendship, so Buzz gave Olivia permission to never mention their making love, again. Just then Frank came in and asked Olivia on a date. Although Olivia was slightly reluctant, she finally relented. When she left, Frank raved to Buzz about the kiss he and Olivia shared the night before and how he thought there was a future with her. He then asked buzz to help him win her heart. Although Buzz tried to get out of it, Frank pleaded with his father to help him win Olivia, since Buzz knew her so well. Deciding his son's happiness had to come before his own this time, Buzz agreed. Later, Frank confided in Buzz that he was planning to take Olivia back to the inn where "it all started" for them. For obvious reasons, Buzz didn't think that was a great idea. Later, Buzz asked Olivia if she was happy with Frank and she insisted she was. She then suggested they forget their encounter ever happened, but was offended when Buzz quickly agreed.

Unfortunately, Frank overheard their discussion--thus finding out about their tryst. Angry, Frank railed at Olivia and his father, asking Buzz why he wasn't honest enough to go after Olivia himself. He then angrily denounced them both. Afterwards, Olivia asked Buzz if he still had feelings for her, but he wouldn't admit it. About a week later, Olivia informed Buzz that Frank agreed to give their relationship another try. Worried about his relationship with one son, Buzz found out unsettling information about another--Lizzie was pregnant with Coop's baby! Rocked by Lizzie's announcement (even more startling since the pair had broken up), Buzz raced to the airport since he thought Coop was leaving the country. (since he was offered his Oxford writing fellowship again) When he got there, Coop informed him that he was just refunding his ticket--he did intend to stick around for the baby. Meanwhile, Olivia approached Buzz with a hotel problem, and Buzz asked if she was trying to ruin his relationship with his son. At the same time, Frank was ranting to Harley about Buzz and Olivia, and she ordered him to make up with their dad. Pronto. Though Frank tried, it only ended in another fight, which Olivia broke up with a shrill whistle. She then demanded that they make up, to no effect.

Weeks later, as Buzz was giving Ava Peralta a pep talk about Coop, who should walk in but Olivia and Frank? Olivia again asked Frank to make up with his father. This time, Frank tried and admitted that he wanted to reconcile, but needed to know if Buzz still had feelings for Olivia. Buzz says he did-- he cared about her a lot, and would love to see her with his son. Frank then made up with his father, telling him he didn't care if he'd had feelings for Olivia. Later, on the Fourth of July, Olivia tearfully informed Buzz that Frank had broken up with her. As Buzz comforted her, they fell into a passionate kiss. The next day, Olivia infuriated Buzz by confessing that she may have overstated Frank's position--he didn't technically break up with her, but he did reject her so she was confused. Meanwhile, Ava was telling Frank about what she'd spotted the previous night--namely Buzz and Olivia's kiss. Later, Frank angrily confronted Buzz on the roof of Gus and Harley's new house (which they were helping Gus build in an effort to win back Harley) about his feelings for Olivia. As Buzz tried to get away from Frank grabbed him by the collar demanding that Buzz to stop lying to him. As they struggled on the roof, Buzz started to slip, but Frank grabbed onto him, and told Buzz to stop lying to himself. AT that movement, Buzz admitted that loved Olivia from the very beginning, but Olivia didn't share his feelings. Frank then advised Buzz that if he really loved Olivia, he had to stop lying and just go for her. Later, Buzz told Olivia what Frank said and even though he admitted he wanted her, and that she made him feel alive, he was uncertain about whether he was the right man for her.

That same day, something horrible happened: the Beacon Hotel caught on fire. Buzz and Coop rushed over to find Ava and Olivia who were working at the Hotel. While Buzz rescued Olivia, Coop frantically looked for Ava who was rescued by Alan-Michael Spaulding. Afterwards, Ava heatedly told the Coopers that Olivia left her trapped under a collapsed door to die in the fire. Although Olivia tried to defend herself by stating that she needed to leave to look for Emma. Though neither Ava nor Coop was satisfied with the explanation. Buzz, however, defended Olivia, which drove a wedge between him and Coop. Olivia though was touched by his support and the pair shared a kiss. A few days later, Olivia apologized to Buzz for coming between him and his sons. After Frank implied that he believed Ava's story, Olivia asked Buzz if he believed she purposely left Ava in the fire. Instead of answering, Buzz kissed her. Later, Frank found pictures in Olivia's handbag--pictures taken from the voyeuristic Springfieldburns website. When questioned, Olivia insisted that she was being framed and accused Ava of not only framing her but being behind the website. To prove her innocence, Olivia went to her laptop to access the site. There on the front page is a picture of her with this message: FAMILY FIRST. NOT FOR THIS SPRINGFIELD MOM. REMEMBER LABOR DAY." Shocked, Olivia promptly fainted. She later revealed to Buzz her darkest secret--she killed her mother. Actually, her mother had a stroke during a vicious argument with a teenaged Olivia. Still guilt-ridden, Olivia expected that Buzz to leave her, but he insisted that he was there for the long haul.

When Buzz asked what the argument was about, Olivia became evasive, Afterwards, Buzz convinced Olivia to let Ava and Coop babysitting. Unfortunately, while babysitting, Emma snuck a bottle of Ava's perfume out of her bag and drank it. Olivia arrived home to find her daughter unconscious and blamed Ava. Buzz, Olivia, Coop, and Ava rushed the child to the hospital. Ava blamed herself while Olivia accused Ava of deliberately hurting Emma as payback for Olivia. Though Olivia tried to have Ava arrested, Frank refused and Buzz warned Olivia not to play the Coopers against each other. Through the next several weeks, things got more and more tense between the two women until finally a drunken Olivia lost control and almost ran Ava down with her car! Though Buzz initially told Olivia that they needed a break from each other, he soon relented. Afterwards, Ava was almost killed by a hit man that she believed was hired by Olivia. Though Olivia denied it, Buzz wasn't so sure. Though hating what Olivia was capable of, he had to admit that he loved her and wanted to save her from herself. However, Ava was determined to have Olivia arrested for attempted murder. During a confrontation with Ava, with the Coopers present, Olivia was forced to admit what she'd learned---Ava was her daughter! Olivia confessed that when she was 16, she went to a party and was drugged by a boy there. The next morning she realized she'd been date raped. She got pregnant and gave the child up; Ava was that child. Realizing Olivia held a lot of misguided resentment toward Ava, Buzz tried to persuade her to put the past behind her for the sake of both of her daughters. Unfortunately, Buzz's later attempts at playing peacekeeper proved futile. Soon after, Buzz, Coop and Ava were shocked to find out that Ava's father was none other than Jeffrey O'Neill. Though Buzz tried to caution Olivia that she needed to get past her anger toward Jeffrey, she continued to obsess about Jeffrey and his relationship with Ava.

Meanwhile, Olivia found out about Buzz's intention to propose and asked him why he hadn't done so yet. Buzz, who had been putting it off, revealed that her hatred for Jeffrey seemed stronger than her love for him. Soon after, Olivia went to San Cristobel and dealt with her past and later accepted Buzz's marriage proposal. In 2007, as Buzz was planning a lavish wedding for Olivia, tragedy struck when young Tammy Winslow was struck down by a hit and run driver, one hired by Alan to kill Jonathan Randall. Buzz pleaded with Alan to finally relent and take responsibility for what he had done, to no avail. Meanwhile, Buzz started to become jealous of Jeffrey and Olivia's connection and warned Jeffrey not to come to his wedding, but Jeffrey wasn't refused to concede to Buzz's demands. Later, Buzz was able to convince Olivia to drop all the planning and elope with him to Las Vegas but Jeffrey interrupted when he approached Olivia about his concerns about Ava and Alan-Michael. Though a frustrated Buzz announced to Coop that the wedding was off, Coop convinced his father that Olivia still loved him. Weeks later, when Olivia lied to Buzz about talking to Jeffrey, Buzz got angry because he had been lied to.) Meanwhile, several weeks later, Olivia confessed to Buzz that she and Jeffrey briefly kidnapped Alan-Michael to warn him away from Ava. Though understanding, Buzz couldn't help but be affected when Alan-Michael himself hinted about the incident and goaded Buzz about Olivia's character. That day, Buzz speedily arranged a wedding through the internet and asked Olivia to marry him ASAP.

Unfortunately what was to be one of the happiest days of Buzz's life turned into a disaster when he received photos of Olivia and Jeffrey kissing. Confronted, Olivia realized that Alan-Michael had taken the photos and tried to tell Buzz that she pushed Jeffrey away after he kissed her. Since there were too many photos Buzz knew she couldn't have pushed him away immediately. Though Olivia insisted that she loved Buzz, he was unforgiving and walked out. After storming out, Buzz returned to Olivia's to see her again in a kiss with Jeffrey. This time, Olivia owned up to the kisses and stated that although she did love Buzz she had feelings for Jeffrey that she didn't understand. Though Buzz was willing to forgive Olivia, she was unwilling to marry him, thinking that she didn't really deserve him. The next day Buzz talked to Jeffrey about his feelings for Olivia. When Jeffrey seemed noncommittal, Buzz warned that Olivia deserved to have someone who could be counted on.

Weeks later, Buzz was pleasantly surprised when a lonely Lillian asked him out on a date; no pressure, just a casual dinner. Following bad advice from Josh, Buzz poured his heart out about how relationships always end badly for him which scared Lillian off; she just wanted a little romance, not a mess. Luckily, Buzz was able to convince Lillian to give him another shot. In the meantime, Doris Wolfe announced she was running for mayor, unopposed. When Buzz learned that Doris planned to help Alan renovate the town by tearing down old businesses (among them CO2), he announced that he was running against her. Though Coop was concerned about Buzz's health and Ashlee warned Buzz how her mother would do anything to win, Buzz was adamant about running against Doris. Though Doris tried to paint Buzz in a bad light during a press conference by attacking his family, Buzz took the high road and refused to sling mud at Ashlee. Later, after receiving a veiled threat from Doris, Buzz tried to cool things off with Lillian for a little while, but Lillian refused to back away from Buzz because of Doris.

In the meantime, to Frank's chagrin, Marina had a new love interest—an ex-jewel thief named Cyrus Foley. Though Frank despised Cyrus, Buzz warmly welcomed him. Later, the Cooper family was worried about Marina who had been kidnapped following Cyrus's scam to rob Alexandra and others at a charity ball. Though Buzz wondered how he could even think about campaigning while she was missing, Coop urged him that they would win for her sake. Soon after, Marina was rescued and Doris suggested to the press that Marina staged her kidnapping, Upset that Doris was going after his family, Buzz asked Coop to look into Doris's past. What they discovered was that Doris hurt anyone who got close to Ashlee and exposed her. In the meantime, though Marina was rescued, Cyrus was apprehended and Harley set out to rescue him. Marina was convinced that Alexandra had been behind her kidnapping and knew where Cyrus was. Marina got Buzz to tell Alex that Harley and Cyrus returned to town. As she expected, Alex slipped and said that was impossible. She then admitted that they were trapped in a demolished building and probably dead. Luckily the Coopers were able to rescue the pair. Meanwhile, Election Day finally arrived. Though Buzz had been leading in the polls prior to this, Doris was capturing the popular vote. Realizing it was all over, Buzz was ready to concede when suddenly he learned that a huge surge in votes came his way—he'd won! Soon after, Bill Lewis congratulated Buzz on his win and hoped that they could do business together. Having heard of Bill's questionable ethics since he returned to town, Buzz rejected his offer of friendship. He already knew that Bill had backed Doris and her plan to renovate Main Street. Unfortunately, Bill was not eager to lose out on this huge business contract and blackmailed Buzz with the knowledge that the election was rigged. Either Buzz let the Main Street project go through (with Bill promising to spare Company) or Bill would go public with what his proof.

Troubled, Buzz enlisted Marina to find out if the allegation was true. Although Buzz wanted to resign, Marina convinced him to keep quiet until she learned more. Not long after, Doris made a scene at Company by ranting that the election was fixed. When Buzz told her to relax, Doris became outraged and started choking Buzz until Mallet dragged her out and threw her in jail. Soon after, Marina contacted Buzz and told him that she talked Mallet out of investigating Doris's claims but warned him to keep Doris quiet. In that vein, Buzz got Doris released from custody and offered her a job with his administration.. Days later, Buzz was further impressed with Doris agreed not to block Marina's reinstatement to the force. In the meantime, Mallet had apparently not dropped his investigation into the election fraud but Marina was able to give him a false lead. Though Buzz regretted getting Marina involved in this, she insisted that she wanted to help him. She then went to New York to follow the real lead.

In 2008, Marina informed Buzz that the election was fixed but she didn't know at whose request. Marina tried to convince Buzz not to reveal the truth since she felt that he'd make a better mayor than Doris. At the same time, Buzz overheard Ashlee talking to Ava and realized that Ashlee was the one who rigged the election! Buzz confronted Ashlee who defended her actions by pointing out that Doris wanted to destroy the Coopers. Ashlee echoed Marina's sentiment that Buzz would make the better mayor. Though disappointed in Ashlee's actions, Buzz was amazingly supportive. In the meantime, while at Harley's looking for something for Zach, Buzz overheard her and Cyrus talking about seeing each other naked. When Buzz confronted Harley confronted her about what happened Harley insisted to her father that nothing happened. Buzz though was not convinced that Harley's feelings for Cyrus were as innocent as she claimed and Harley admitted that ever since the end of her marriage to Gus she felt that she was in free fall and the only one who made her feel safe was Cyrus. Meanwhile, at his inaugural, Buzz's conscience got to him and he confessed all to the press. Though Buzz expected to Lillian to bolt, she assured him that she could handle the heat. In the meantime, a disappointed Frank had no choice but to arrest his father. At the station, Buzz told Frank that he did not now until that day that the election had been rigged but refused to name who was responsible. Suddenly, over Buzz's objections, Ashlee arrived and confessed to everyone that she was the one responsible. At the same time, Bill was caught in a suspicious fire and left temporarily blinded. At this point, Billy was at rehab and Buzz visited him and suggested that the fire might not have been an accident considering the way he had been acting.

Not long after, Coop confessed to Buzz that he was responsible. Coop told his father that he was drunk and tossed a flaming object through the window without knowing anyone was inside. After Buzz convinced Coop to turn himself in, Buzz called Bill to tell him about Coop. Buzz made it clear to Bill that it was an accident and urged forgiveness. Meanwhile, Doris surprised everyone by declaring the incident a tragic accident and dropping the charges against Coop. She also decided to drop the Main Street renovation project and offered Buzz a job in her administration. In the meantime, Buzz knew there was trouble brewing with the Harley/Cyrus/Marina situation and warned Cyrus to make a choice. Though Cyrus appeared to do so when he became engaged to Marina, later he broke Marina's heart by revealing that he was in love with Harley. Harley it seemed felt the same way and Buzz made it clear to his daughter that, while he understood, he was disappointed that she hurt her niece this way. Afterwards, while visiting Lillian at Cedars, Buzz was shocked when Gus was wheeled in following a motorcycle accident. Seeing that he was in critical condition, Buzz personally went to Harley and told her. The Coopers then put aside their troubles as they supported Harley during her grief.

At the same time, Alan's assets had been seized as a result of a financial audit. However, the loss of his home and money was nothing compared to the loss of Alan's son. Taking pity on him, Buzz offered Alan a room above Company. As the weeks went by, Buzz not only befriended Alan but he also comforted Harley who was trying to deal with Gus's death. Gus's death also took its toll on Gus's son, Rafe, and when the teenager learned that Gus was going to be revealed as a dirty cop, he confronted Jeffrey with a gun and accidentally shot him while distracted. Desperate to save Gus's son, Harley went to Buzz with her plan to flee the country with Rafe for a short while. Since Harley was short on funds, Buzz gave her some and promised to watch over her children. When Frank learned what Buzz did, he railed at him not only for allowing Harley to go on the run with Rafe, but also for giving her money to do so. When Frank demanded to know where they were,Buzz kept quiet. However, when Buzz saw how worried Natalia was about her son, he arranged for Rafe to call Natalia. Meanwhile, before Harley had even left, she broke things off with Cyrus who now demanded to know where the missing Harley was. Though an emotional Cyrus tried to intimidate Buzz, Buzz gave it right back and told Cyrus that he couldn't tell him where Harley was since his attitude could end up putting Harley in danger. Buzz did admit that Harley was on the run with Rafe but wouldn't tell him where.

Later, Buzz and Reva had to deal with the arrival of Grady Foley—Cyrus's younger brother and the hit man who killed Tammy Winslow a year earlier. Grady was Daisy's first love and Reva and Buzz did everything they could to dissuade the teenager that Grady was bad news. Unfortunately, Daisy refused to listen and resorted to stealing money from Company to help Grady, who was hiding from the law. It didn't take Buzz long to figure out who took the money and he forced Daisy to repay him by working at Company. Ultimately, Grady was arrested as was Cyrus who just happened to be with him. Knowing that Cyrus was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, Buzz bailed him out of jail, to Frank's chagrin. In the meantime, Harley was horrified to learn that, while they were still together, Cyrus had a one-night stand with Cassie. Distraught, she asked Buzz to bring Zach to her. Though Cyrus pleaded with Buzz to let him know where Harley was, Buzz refused and warned Cyrus to stay away. In the meantime, Daisy was still obsessed with helping Grady and Buzz visited him in jail and menacingly warned him to stay away from her. Later that summer, Rafe returned to Springfield without Harley and was promptly placed in jail. Meanwhile, Buzz helped Jeffrey pull off an impromptu wedding for Reva at the last minute and the Cooper family gathered to see Jeffrey and Reva become man and wife. Not long after, Buzz received surprising news from Harley—she was staying in Greece permanently. Though he didn't quite understand her reason, Buzz told Daisy his suspicion that Harley met a man. Knowing how unsettled Daisy was by the news, Buzz arranged for Frank to let her visit Rafe in jail. He also convinced a reluctant Marina to let Daisy volunteer for on the police force youth task force.

In the upcoming weeks, Buzz also lent an ear to Olivia and Natalia. Knowing that Natalia was desperate to save Rafe from jail no matter the cost, Buzz warned Rafe that his mother might go to extremes to help him. Buzz's warning led Rafe to seek a plea bargain. Throughout the remainder of the year, Buzz provided sage advice to his family and friends. He cautioned Cassie about her brief relationship with Cyrus and was a sounding board for Marina during her relationship with Mallet. Meanwhile, Buzz announced an open invitation to the public for Thanksgiving dinner at Company. Of course, Daisy correctly guessed that Grady would not be invited. However, when Grady saved Ashlee from a mugger, Buzz showed his gratitude by telling Grady that he was welcome in the restaurant. A few days later, Buzz delivered a meal to a scantily clad Beth at the Beacon. Beth broke down and confided to Buzz that she was having an affair. Buzz warned Beth that if she cared about her lover, she had better hope that Alan never found out. Several days later, Buzz revealed Beth's secret to Lillian. Soon after, Buzz was shocked when Coop told him that he was Beth's lover. Though Buzz tried to warn Coop about how dangerous Alan could be, Coop was determined to keep seeing Beth. As the weeks went by, a worried Buzz tried unsuccessfully to convince Coop to end the affair. At the same time, the Coopers attempted to throw Marina and Mallet a wedding at Company. Unfortunately, the wedding was interrupted by Shayne Lewis and so Marina and Mallet ended up getting married at city hall.

In 2009, a discouraged Coop asked Buzz to destroy the manuscript—a fictional account of Coop's affair with Beth. However, Buzz refused to destroy the manuscript that Coop spent so much time on. Later, Blake asked to read the manuscript which was just lying out in the open. Unbeknownst to anyone, Blake called her publisher and arranged for the book to be published. In the meantime, Coop went over Buzz's financial books and discovered that Buzz was seriously in debt. With a danger of the Coopers losing the restaurant, Coop went to Beth who persuaded Alan to buy Company until the financial situation was resolved. Meanwhile, Blake finally informed Coop that she had his book published. Though Coop tried to stop it, it was too late. Not long after, Coop was offered a position in Stanford University as a writer in residence. By this point, Alan had learned about Beth and Coop's affair and offered to franchise Company if Buzz made certain that Coop left for Stanford. Buzz was unwilling to sell out his own son and refused.

The same day, Beth informed Buzz that Alan was forcing her to marry him ASAP. If she did not, Coop would die. Realizing that Alan could carry out his threat, Beth agreed and asked Buzz to keep Coop away from the wedding. Fearful for Coop's life, Buzz lured him to Marina's and then locked him in the basement. However, Jenna appeared to Buzz in a dream and convinced him to let Coop fight for the woman he loved. Unfortunately, that would have tragic consequences. While Coop raced to the church to stop the wedding, he was involved in a terrible accident. Post-surgery, Coop lingered for several hours and finally lost consciousness. When Coop was pronounced brain dead, a devastated Buzz had no choice but to pull the plug on his beloved son.

Learning that Alan called Coop at the time of the accident, a vengeful Buzz pinned Alan in between his car and the Spauldng gate. Before Buzz was able to attack Alan, Phillip, who had just returned to town, stopped Buzz from harming Alan. As the days went by, Buzz was unable to deal with his loss and continued to blame Alan for Coop's death. Though Lizzie warned Buzz that he was becoming like Alan, Buzz could not let go of his anger and finally tried to persuade Phillip to kill Alan. When Phillip refused, Buzz went to Grady and convinced him to testify that Alan had hired him to kill Jonathan. Unfortunately, Grady failed to show up at the hearing and the case against Alan was dismissed. Desperate, Buzz decided to go find Grady. When Lillian implored Buzz to give up his vendetta, Buzz became rough and forcefully pushed Lillian away. Buzz's anger frightened Lillian and she warned Buzz that if he left, she might not be waiting for him. However, all that Buzz cared about was vengeance and he and Daisy set out to locate the missing Grady. When they were unsuccessful, a distraught Buzz had a vision of Jenna who urged him to forgive himself for being unable to prevent Coop's death. His demons on the road to being healed, Buzz went to the Spaulding mansion to find Daisy holding a gun on Alan. Buzz gently took the gun from Daisy and led her out of the mansion, consoling her over Grady's disappearance.

Afterwards, Buzz met the newest member of the Cooper family, Marina's adopted baby—Henry Cooper Camaletti. Later, Buzz tried to apologize to Lillian for his behavior but she refused to listen. In the meantime, Phillip got Alan to sign over the deed to Company and attempted to sign it over to Buzz. However, Buzz was in no mood to accept anything from the Spauldings and refused. Not long after, Marina decided to accept the deed herself on behalf of the Cooper family. In the midst of all of this, Frank was falling in love with Natalia and finally asked her to marry him. The trouble was that Natalia didn't seem as in love with Frank. Unfortunately, when Buzz tried to tell Frank about this, Frank angrily accused Buzz of not believing that a woman would be in love with him. Despite his reservations, Buzz supported Frank only to be proven correct when Natalia ran out of the wedding. Meanwhile, Lillian finally decided to give Buzz another chance.

Meanwhile, Company was going through some financial straits and Buzz was desperately in need of a new stove. Weeks later, Buzz was shocked when a brand new stove was mysteriously shipped to the restaurant. Not long after, Daisy received a check paying for her college tuition. Like Buzz, she had no clue who her benefactor was. In the meantime, after several week's worth of hesitation, Buzz finally opened a package that had been sent to Coop. In the box, Buzz found a stack of books about robberies and jewel thieves. Later, Cyrus revealed to Buzz that Coop was writing Jenna's life story and wanted to surprise Buzz with it for Christmas. At about the same time, Buzz realized that Cyrus was the one who bought the stove and gave Daisy a check to go to Berkley. Touched, Buzz mortgaged Company to bail Cyrus out of prison after he was arrested for stealing diamonds. Unfortunately, that put Company in even dire straits than it was before. In the meantime, Buzz, over Frank's strenuous objections, asked Cyrus to help him go over Jenna's notes since he wanted to learn what Coop was trying to learn about his departed mother. As the weeks went by, Buzz and Cyrus scoured over Coop's research which included Jenna's journal entries and audio recordings. Reliving the experience as Coop would, Buzz asked Cyrus to help him break into a place to get a feel for how it felt. Cyrus complied and, although they were caught, Remy let them go when Cyrus told him what they were doing. Thanks to clues in her journal, Cyrus and Buzz located a safely deposit box which held mementos from Jenna when she was a young teenage girl.

Later, Cyrus suddenly announced that he had to leave the country. While he was gone, Buzz noticed that a page of Jenna's diary had been ripped out. Thanks to Frank, Buzz learned about the missing page referred to a "hidden treasure in Australia." Believing that Cyrus was going to double-cross him, Buzz set off for Australia. Cyrus and Buzz arrived at Jenna's old home in Australia at the same time and found a box with a letter. Apparently, when Jenna was fifteen, she had gotten pregnant and was sent from England to her family in Australia where she gave the baby up. Also inside the box was a dog tag with Jenna's birthday engraved. Jenna stated that she gave an exact replica to her baby boy and planned to use it to find him one day. Amazingly, Cyrus had the identical dog tag. Cyrus admitted to Buzz that he had spent his life in and out of orphanages. The only clue to his mother's identity was the dog tag which contained her birthday. Realizing that Cyrus was Jenna's son, hence Coop's half-brother, Buzz warmly welcomed him as an honorary member of the Cooper family. Weeks later, Blake informed Buzz that thanks to Cyrus and Ashlee, she finished Coop's book and used the money to stop the bank from foreclosing on Company.

Not long after, Billy and Vanessa unexpectedly got engaged. Before he and Lillian left for their wedding, Buzz got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. To his delight, Lillian accepted. At Billy and Vanessa's insistence, Buzz and Lillian married in a beautiful double ceremony surrounded by their family and friends.