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

ninety-one

The call came at noon. Mariana had been doing the dishes when her phone rang. She answered without the expectation of anything but the words on the other line of the phone caused her to grip the counter tightly.

"I'll be right there," she stammered out. Buck and Travis, who had come over to help her with chores and online school for the boys, looked at her in concern. Mariana leaned her back against the counter, her hands raising to cover her mouth as her eyes shone with wet tears.

"Mari? Is everything okay?" Buck asked as he rose from the kitchen chair he was seated in.

"He's waking up," she whispered, a brilliant grin spreading across her face. "The swelling is completely gone and he's responsive."

Buck wrapped her in a hug and squeezed her tightly. "We'll get the boys ready. Go grab your shoes and I'll drive."

///

Eddie Diaz wasn't an overly religious man. Sure, he went to Christmas and Easter Mass, usually at the request of Abuela. He wore a St. Christopher necklace around his neck. Sometimes, he prayed. But he wasn't big on religion.

But when he woke up to find a doctor shining a penlight directly in his eyes, Edmundo Diaz sent the biggest prayer up to Heaven. The last thing he remembered was the line snapping and a free fall before it all became fuzzy after that. When the nurse informed him that it had been three weeks, Eddie wanted to know one thing and one thing only.

"Where's my wife?" he asked. "Mariana, is she okay?"

"Your wife is completely fine. She's already on her way here. It's a miracle in itself that we got her to leave," Gretchen, the nurse, answered.

That was enough to get him to relax back against the pillows and let them continue their tests. No long term memory loss, slight concussion still, and a broken arm that would take about five more weeks to heal. Considering he fell through a building, Eddie would count that as a win.

And then the door to his room opened and the most beautiful sight in the world greeted him. Her dark hair was pulled back into a disheveled ponytail as loose tendrils framed her face and he just wanted to tangle his hands in those curls and kiss her senselessly. The large window in his room bathed her in sunlight that gave her an ethereal glow, one that was highlighted with her pregnancy.

"Mariana," he breathed, her name on his lips like a reverent prayer.

She turned to thank the nurse, giving him a full view of the curve of her stomach that rested under the tank top she was wearing and Eddie had the air knocked right out of him.

Mariana is unlike anyone he'd ever been with before. Not the cheerleaders that tumbled into his bed after football games or Shannon's tall, willow frame. Mariana is built strong and lean. He's traced his hands along the marks of her skin hundreds of times but he's never satisfied. He always wants to be touching her. Her and her rough, calloused hands that brush against him so delicately and yet saves lives on the regular.

He could know her by touch alone.

And here she was, her strong shoulders and muscular frame softening to provide a place for their child to grow. He looked at the growing bump that seemed to have appeared since he last saw it and couldn't believe that this was real.

She surged forward, her hands coming up to cup his cheeks as he breathed her in over the antiseptic sterility of the hospital. His good hand rested against her bump and he stared at it in wonderment.

"You're in so much trouble," Mariana choked out, her red rimmed eyes a good indication of what she had been doing on the car ride over here. He moved his hand up to wipe away her tears and she took that as her chance to lean in and pull him in for a sweet kiss, careful of the still tender spot on the back of his head.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured when they broke apart for air. "I told you I would be here through this and then I just abandoned you for three weeks. I'm sorry."

"You cannot blame yourself for what you couldn't control," she insisted fiercely before her face fell. "They kept telling me to be prepared for the worst. I couldn't. I just couldn't. I wouldn't give up that hope."

"I promised." He pressed his forehead against hers. "I will always come back to you. You and the boys and Peanut."

"Peanut is very glad her dad is awake. She's started to move around and she's definitely going to be an athlete."

"She?"

Mariana nodded with a grin. "Ultrasound confirmed it last week. It's a girl."

He rubbed his hand along her bump and uttered a single word that made Mariana's eyes light up. She smiled down at where their fingers interlocked over her stomach and whispered it to herself.

"I think we have a name," she murmured. He kissed her temple and shut his eyes, savoring this moment.

"You can tell Buck to bring the boys in," he said dryly. Mariana laughed and peeled herself away from him to poke her head out of the door and usher the boys in. With enthusiastic cheers, the family huddled together around Eddie's bed, the boys rambling a mile a minute about all the antics they had gotten up to that week. Eddie found Mariana's hand with his good one and tangled his fingers with hers, bringing her hand up to his lips so he could press a quick kiss to her hand. She winked at him before turning her attention back to Diego's story about something stupid Buck did earlier.

///

Mariana shoved her hand sanitizer in her purse as she passed the nurse's station of the recovery ward. Her attention was focused on a text on her phone so she nearly missed the blonde seated near her husband's door.

"Mariana," Rachel spoke up. The brunette's head snapped up and she tucked her phone in her back pocket, shooting the younger woman an unimpressed look.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Mariana growled.

"I apologized to Eddie. You were right, it was my fault that he was hurt. I'm sorry."

"Yeah well, you're lucky the 118 is down two men or I would have your ass fighting fires in the Pacific Ocean."

Rachel gestured to two of the chairs. "Can we sit and talk for a second?"

"I'd rather stand."

The younger woman blinked at her owlishly before nodding. "Okay. I just wanted to say I'm sorry to you specifically. I've heard so many stories about you and how you're an amazing firefighter and knowing that I was taking your spot made me want to prove myself. Try to be better than you."

Mariana held up a hand to indicate she should stop talking. "I'm going to stop you right there. Nothing I've done has made you do anything. You chose to disobey rules and in doing so, you seriously injured a teammate. That was not only reckless, foolish, but also insulting if you think I would ever leave my post when I knew my teammates depended on me. Frankly, I don't understand why you keep trying to make amends with me when you continue to dig yourself a hole. I'm done with you, Rachel, and I fully intend to see that you are gone when I return to the 118. I am not your competition. I am your teammate just as much as everyone else. We're a family on and off the field and you can't seem to grasp that concept. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to bring my husband home so he can recover there."

Mariana wasn't surprised to find out that Rachel left the 118 the next day and they got an experienced member of the 138 to take her place. Maybe the Brass Breaker still had it in her.

A/N: oop double update I'm just really in the writing mood and not the kind of writing that would produce my 5 page paper for class lol