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

seventy-four

"Does anyone need anything while I'm up?" Helena asked. "Eddie, do you want a beer?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine." He had made a conscious effort to not drink when he was with Mariana, even though she said it was fine. Before the pandemic, the team had gone out to sports bars plenty of times and he always had a beer or two. But since then, the only time he drank was with the other 118 members. Dinner time at the Diaz household meant no alcohol. Mariana didn't say anything about it, but he could see the appreciative look in her eyes.

"Mariana, anything for you? Wine? Beer?"

"Thank you but no. I don't drink."

Helena and Ramon stared at her for a beat before turning back to what they were doing. Mariana shut her eyes and inhaled deeply before opening them and plastering a smile on her face.

"So, Mariana," Ramon began. "Where does your family come from?"

The brunette shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a hint of a grimace pulling at her lips. She knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this without them asking about her parents at least once. Eddie grabbed her hand under the table and she squeezed it in a vice-like grip.

"Oaxaca. They came here on work visas and got their green cards a few years before they had me," she explained.

"And is it just you?"

"It is now. I had a little brother but he passed away a few years ago. My parents passed when I was young."

The silence at the dinner table was practically oppressive to the point where Mariana felt she was choking on it. She ducked her head and focused on the food in front of her, but her stomach didn't feel like eating.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Helena said as she rejoined them at the table. "So....ah, you're a firefighter?"

"Firefighter paramedic. I started as an ER nurse and still work there, but I mainly work at the firehouse."

"Certainly a dangerous job for all of you." Helena offered a tight smile at her new daughter-in-law. "As we've seen by you being in the hospital."

"I've been on the job for five years now and I can assure you that a truck being blown up is incredibly rare," Mariana replied sweetly.

"So was being shot," Buck supplied. Hen kicked him under the table as Mariana shot him a glare that could make paint peel off the walls.

"You were shot?!" Helena exclaimed.

"It is incredibly rare for paramedics and firefighters to be fired upon on duty. It was a failed ambulance robbery gone wrong," Mariana assured her. "It happened before Eddie joined us."

"Well, now that you two are married and you have Christopher to worry about, I presume you're going to stay home now?" Ramon asked.

Hen stamped her foot down on Buck's just to be sure as the blond hid his laugh into his cornbread. Mariana blinked in surprise and looked over at Eddie who sighed.

"No, Mariana will not be staying home unless she wants to. She's very good at her jobs and enjoys them," Eddie said shortly. She squeezed his hand and shot him a grateful look.

"Then who watches Christopher when you two are at work?"

"We had a bit of a struggle at the beginning of the pandemic with timing, but Pepa has been great help with taking care of Christopher and Diego."

"Diego?" Ramon asked.

"Yes, my nephew," Mariana explained. "Eddie and I actually just finalized adopting him and soon I'm going to start the process of adopting Christopher."