Of course, all good things must come to an end. Maybe it was the fact that she was now aware of the baby growing in her stomach, but Mariana woke up to one of the worst feelings in the world: morning sickness. Eddie found her bent over the toilet and glaring daggers into the porcelain throne.
"You need some food in you," he commented as he gathered her hair into a ponytail and snapped a rubber band around her dark curls. She let out an undignified groan and shook her head.
"I know how much you hate throwing up but you gotta keep up your energy for you and little Diaz."
"Peanut and I will be fine," she bit out.
"Peanut?" He rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down.
"I'm not going to call them an "it" for the next few months!"
"Okay, okay, how about I go make you some toast and while you eat it, I get the boys up and ready for zoom. Pepa will be here in an hour. Are we telling her today?"
His only response was rechting. Eddie winced and left for the kitchen. As the toast was cooking, he texted Buck and asked for any tips Maddie used in the first trimester. A quick response revealed peppermint and ginger tea and Eddie added that to his shopping cart right next to three different copies of pregnancy books.
Stopping by the bathroom, he placed the toast in Mariana's hand and kissed her cheek as glared at him through the mirror while brushing her teeth. She rolled her eyes but her lips quirked up in a small smile as he left the bathroom to go wake up the boys.
Eddie was impressed by himself when he made edible scrambled eggs and toast for the boys. His wife appeared in the kitchen dressed in her usual LAFD departamental t-shirt tucked into her NOMEX pants. He couldn't stop himself from pausing and taking her in. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow in his direction as she slid on her watch and he grinned.
"You can't blame me for checking out my wife," he said. "Feel better?"
"Yeah," she sighed before inhaling deeply. Her face screwed up and she shook her head. "Nevermind."
"Hey, four more weeks and morning sickness isn't supposed to be a thing anymore. Until then, we'll grab some stuff after work."
"Ugh, thank you. If I puke at a scene today, Chimney will never let me live it down."
///
They told Pepa but swore her to secrecy. Eddie wanted to hold off and tell her and his Abuela at the same time, but they knew the boys would spill the secret within seconds of them being out the door. Pepa had practically crushed the two of them in hugs before shooing them out the door so they weren't late to work.
"Are you ready?" Eddie asked as he parked the truck in the team parking lot. Mariana looked up at the firehouse and let out a soft hum, her eyes darting around the bricks with a sense of longing. Eddie squeezed her hand to catch her attention and she turned to look at him. "You okay?"
"I'm just thinking...I came here five years ago with no idea what would happen and now we're here and this will be my last shift for a while. I know I'll come back, but it feels...unfamiliar."
He nodded and leaned across the console to pull her in for a gentle kiss. "I get that. If it helps, I'm terrified."
Mariana laughed at his words and nodded. "It does. Because I know that where I suck, you excel. We can do this. I'll come back."
"Yeah," he teased. "We need our engineer back."
It was a calm shift thankfully and Mariana opted for paramedic work rather than joining Eddie and Buck inside any burning houses. By the time dinner came around, she was practically dead on her feet and now she knew why.
"Hey, mom's trying to work here," she muttered as she backed the truck up into the station as Buck directed her.
"What was that?" Bobby asked.
"Nothing! What's Athena making for dinner?"
"Roast, I think. Are you feeling okay?" They stared down each other and she narrowed her eyes.
"Yes...why wouldn't I?"
"No reason," he said quickly. "Let's go set the table."
Athena hugged her daughter when Mariana joined her in the kitchen. The brunette leaned over the pot to inhale the mouth-watering aroma of Athena's pot roast and she almost practically moaned right there. Peanut finally decided to stop torturing her around two in the afternoon and she was starving.
"Hi honey, how are you? Feeling okay?" Athena asked. Mariana looked between the couple and then turned to look at Eddie who was putting dishes on the table with the help of Hen, Chimney, and Buck.
"Did you already tell them?" she asked.
"Tell us what?" Bobby said innocently.
"No, I didn't tell them," Eddie sighed. "Well, I asked them..."
"Asked them what?"
"If it was just me or if they had noticed that you were off."
"Off? You asked them if I was fat?"
"No! Not that."
"What is going on?" Hen declared.
"Edmundo, did you spill the tea?"
"No! I haven't told anyone."
"Me either," Buck chimed in.
"Tell us what?!" Athena boomed. The entire firehouse fell silent and Mariana sheepishly turned to face her. The latina reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper, holding it out for Bobby and Athena. The older woman took it gingerly into her hands and opened it, her eyes widening as she realized what she was looking at.
"Oh, honey!" Athena cried, wrapping Mariana into a hug. Mari laughed and hugged Athena in return. She looked up at Bobby who mutely stared at the ultrasound in his hands. He raised his head to look at her with tears in his eyes.
"Hi grandpa," she joked, her voice thick with emotions. Athena let her go so Bobby could wrap his arms around his daughter. Mariana clutched him tightly as tears dripped onto her shoulder.
"Thank you for everything. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," she whispered.
"I'm so proud of you, Mariana. So unbelievably proud."
"Consider this as putting in my leave request," she chuckled wetly. "Eddie and I agreed that we don't want to risk it but I'm coming back. I promise."
"Take all the time you need. Your spot will always be here."
"Can someone tell us what's going on?" Hen exclaimed. Everyone who was in the know burst into laughter. Eddie joined his wife's side, accepting Bobby's handshake and Athena's hug.
"Hey Chimney, can we get matching baby outfits?" Mari called. Hen's scream of delight could practically be heard outside as she pounced on them in a hug.
And the next morning when they went to leave the firehouse, Mariana looked into her locker for the last time in a long time. She studied the photos that lined the metal. From Luis giving her a piggyback ride to Buck covered in flour from their baking escapades to her and Eddie grinning at the camera fresh out of a fire. She raised the new photo to her collection and slid it into place, her fingers brushing along the grainy image of their baby.
"Welcome to the 118, Peanut," she whispered.
A/N: no this is not the end. I realized as I was reading this over that it sounds like the end but it's not LOL
I will say...I have decided not to continue with 4b. We're going to divert from canon because I feel that my time writing this is coming to an end soon. Not soon soon, but soon. There's only so much I can write before it starts getting redundant and bad and that's not fair to you all. I will, of course, still be writing many, many stories on this platform (and others). I hope y'all stick around for more.
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In Flames // 9-1-1 Fox (seasons 1-4)
Fanfiction"Keep your confessions Cause babe I'm no saint We're playing with fire" - In Flames, Digital Daggers Mariana Ramirez doesn't let people into her life. At twenty-six, she has seen her fair share of loss not only in her life but also in her ER. After...
