In Flames Extras

5 times they didn't know + the time they found out

A/N: literally spent all day writing this bc my depression is acting up and so im hyperfixating on stuff asljfalsdkjf enjoy this is a continuation of last snippet

ONE

"So...what do we call you?" Matt asked.

The team was seated around the table with tonight's dinner loaded onto their plates. They had moved over on one side, providing an open spot for Mari to sit across from Eddie. The chair at the head of the table was empty but Buck texted to say he was on his way back.

"Well, if Diaz is Cap and Buck is...Buck, then I guess you can just call me Ramirez or Mari. If we're at a scene where other houses are there or anytime we have to be formal, Captain Ramirez will do."

"And you've worked at the 118 before?" Brooklyn questioned. Mariana knew what this was - an interrogation. She was a new player coming in and they wanted to be sure she would fit well.

"Yes, for many years. I served under Captain Nash and worked with Buck and Diaz."

"Cool," Matt whispered.

"Do you have any family?" Jae asked politely. Mari could see that he was the sweetest of the bunch with his soft spoken sentences and gentle eyes. She also noticed how he gravitated towards Brooklyn and contrasted her harsh, snapping phrases.

"A husband and four kids." Eddie nudged his foot against her calf and she internally rolled her eyes.

"Oh sweet! Cap has four kids too!" Liam exclaimed.

"I've met them," Mari chuckled. "Cute kids."

"Have you met his wife too? He says she's too busy to come by the station but I dunno Cap, she seems like a real piece of work. I think she's just pulling your leg. Guy like you could get so much game."

Eddie choked on the water he had just taken a sip of and spluttered out a cough before looking at the younger man. "Excuse me? I love my wife very much and she loves me just as equally. She hasn't come by because she has work when we're on shift."

It wasn't a lie. They coordinated their shifts to be on the same day so when they were working, Grandpa Bobby and Grandma Athena were watching the girls. Mariana couldn't swing by the station and visit because she was busy working her own calls.

"Buck said that your wife is a pain in the ass," Matt parroted.

"What did I say?" Mariana turned to see her brother walking up the steps to join them. He glanced between his two friends, having already been filled in on the plan, and grimaced while he sat down.

"I said she's a pain in the ass because she's my friend and I love her but she's also a stubborn mule when it comes to game night."

He winced as her foot made sharp contact with his ankle. Yeah, he deserved that.

The next night, Eddie quietly shut the door to his youngest daughter's room and headed for the master bedroom where his wife was seated on the bed with an iPad in front of her. Clad in shorts and one of his old sweatshirts and reading glasses perched on her nose, Mariana looked as beautiful as ever. She raised her head and smiled in greeting. He bent down to capture her lips in a quick kiss, his thumb stroking along her jaw.

"Girls are asleep, house is locked up, and alarm is set," he murmured.

"I texted Diego and Chris and they both said good night." Their two oldest boys were at Stanford and UC Berkeley respectively and yet always texted or called good night every night.

Eddie pulled back the sheets and climbed into bed, settling onto the left side as usual. It was a habit he had picked up when they first started sharing a bed and Mariana never understood why he was so insistent on it.