9-1-1 boss on Maddie's pregnancy reveal — and what Jennifer Love Hewitt asked to change in the scene

The "Madney" family is growing.

On Thursday's episode of 9-1-1, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) revealed to husband Chimney (Kenneth Choi) that she's pregnant with their second child — a development that delights but also terrifies the soon-to-be father of two. And for good reason:

After caring for Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen's (Tracie Thoms) foster daughter, Mara (Askyler Bell), Chimney is eager for his and Maddie's daughter, Jee-Yun, to have a sibling. But he's worried about a repeat of Maddie's first pregnancy: She suffered major postpartum depression, leaving the newborn and Chimney and going off the grid for six months. (In real life, Hewitt was on maternity leave after welcoming her third child with husband Brian Hallisay, who happens to play her violent ex-husband Doug on 9-1-1.)

What did you think of this episode of 9-1-1? Let us know in the comments below.

In an emotional final scene on season 8, episode 6 (aptly titled "Confessions"), Chimney opens up about his fears, laying some ground rules: "If you're ever feeling sad or overwhelmed, you come tell me. And you don't get to leave or try to manage this all on your own. We have total and complete transparency." And Maddie replies with one of her own: "We can't go into this acting like I am broken or a bomb that's gonna go off any second. Give this a chance to be what it is: joy." (Was that a baby-name seed being planted?)

With that joy on the way, we asked 9-1-1 co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear to break down that touching scene — and why this pregnancy will be different than their last.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you come to the decision that Maddie was pregnant again?

TIM MINEAR: I was just thinking about all this stuff that we maybe didn't see during the hiatus [between seasons 7 and 8]. What was life like for Maddie and Chimney having Mara in their home? I think it was a blessing for them. It was obviously a blessing for Hen and Karen, because she was in a safe place. I think maybe a lot of fans thought that, 'Oh, there might be some friction between Hen and Chimney because he's got their daughter in his home, but to me that was never really a question that there would be friction there. It did feel like a very natural continuation of that story, that Maddie would start thinking about maybe having another kid.

And why jump right into pregnancy rather than showing them trying for a second kid?

I'm really trying to not repeat storylines that I've done before. Now, granted, when she was first pregnant with Jee-Yun, there was also a little bit of a "I'm going to run in the bathroom and do the home pregnancy test." But I just wanted to approach it in a different way. I felt like they deserved a reward, but you can't ignore what she went through the last time. There's definitely some fear on Chimney's part after all we went through the last time. It's a very scary thing. I think for Maddie, she was really taking his temperature before she sprung the news on him.

It was a very sweet moment, when they went over their "rules."

Interestingly enough, that scene originally was Chimney saying, "I have some rules. You don't get to run away. You don't get to deal with being sad on your own." Then Jennifer Love Hewitt called me and she's like, "I think Maddie should have a rule too." I'm like, "Well, tell me. What do you think that is?" She's like, "I just think that he can't treat me like I did a bad thing or that I'm broken." That part, her addendum to those rules, that's straight from Jennifer Love Hewitt. That was her note. Great note, perfect note, and actually I think helps the story going forward.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.