In Flames // 9-1-1 Fox (seasons 1-4)

seventy-three

July 28, 2020

Evan Buckley's Apartment

Eddie held the door open as Buck passed him, arms full of shopping bags. They did curbside pickups for groceries and for some pots and plants the blond could put on the balcony of his apartment. Chimney looked up from where he was seated on the couch, reading a pregnancy book.

"Did you guys buy the whole store?" he exclaimed, tossing the book onto the couch and getting up to help put the groceries away.

"I don't think you understand just how much four grown adults eat," Buck grunted as he dumped all the bags onto the counter. Eddie added his share onto the counter and glanced up at the loft where the bathroom door was shut and the shower was running.

"Before you ask, lover boy, she got home twenty minutes ago," Chimney answered his unspoken question. Eddie hurried up the steps two at a time, leaving the other guys to gripe and complain about having to do all the work themselves.

Knocking out their pattern, Eddie waited to hear his girlfriend call out a "come in!". He slipped into the bathroom and sat on the sink.

"Hi," Mariana laughed warmly over the sound of the shower.

"How was work?" he asked, swinging his legs slightly. She poked her head around the shower curtain and grinned at him before going back to her shower. Her first nursing shift back had been today and Eddie wouldn't lie: after spending two solid weeks with each other, he missed her curled up next to him on the couch.

"It was good. I was a bit more worn out than normal but nothing a coffee couldn't fix. Did you guys just get back from the grocery store?"

"Yeah and we stocked up your clif bars," he assured her.

"This is why I love you," she teased. "I called the boys on the way home. They're good but they miss us. We've missed both of their birthdays so whenever we can go home, I'm throwing a little party."

"Marry me," he blurted out.

A thud came from the shower and then the water shut off. Mari yanked the curtain back so her head was visible and she stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Are you being serious right now? I can't tell."

"Dead serious."

Her hand shot out and she grabbed the towel hanging from the bar before disappearing behind the curtain again. In seconds, it was ripped away and she stood there wrapped in her towel as her wet hair dripped down her shoulders.

"Okay, where did this come from? What is going on?" she squeaked out.

"My will was updated today. This year has made me realize that we work a dangerous job and live in a world where the unexpected can happen. When I married Shannon...we were two young adults who thought marriage was just the logical next step. I don't want this to be just another step with you. I want you to have everything. I want...I want to grow old with you. I want to be by your side until the end. And if for some reason I don't...if I don't come back from a shift-"

"Don't say that," she interrupted him, her voice thick with emotion. He held his hands out and she stepped closer to him, grabbing his hands.

"If I don't come back, I want to make sure you and Christopher and Diego are provided for."

"Eddie," Mari breathed.

"I want you to have the house, guardianship over Chris, and all of my savings. I love you, Mariana Belicia Ramirez. I will fight to come home to you everyday but I need to know that you will be cared for if I can't be there. My will states that everything will go to you, but I want to make sure that's official. That you and the boys will be safe even when I can't be there."