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

one

"Goooood morning, Los Angeles! It's time to rise and shine. The time is five AM and here's the weather forecast. It's going to be a hot but br-"

The radio shut off as soon as the hand landed on it and the room fell silent. The figure in the bed rolled onto their side with a huff of air and groaned.

"Rise and shine," Mariana Ramirez mumbled to herself, pulling the pillow off of her face. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and slid her legs out from under the covers. Sitting up, the brunette ran a hand over her face and nodded to herself. Each day was a new day, she reminded herself.

Her morning routine was simple. Brush teeth, wash face, brush hair, pull into ponytail, stare into mirror for a good minute. Her fingers curled around the edges of her sink tightly as she shut her eyes and bowed her head.

"Help me get through this day," she muttered before pushing away from the sink. Crossing the room, she stripped out of her pajamas and threw on some blue jean shorts and a tank top before pulling on socks and lacing up her sneakers. With her work bag in hand and keys in the other, the woman left her studio apartment and made her way down the four flights of stairs to the parking lot.

Los Angeles traffic could be killer but as a native to the city, Mariana knew a lot of the back roads. Not to mention, her apartment was pretty close to her work. Even with traffic, she arrived at exactly six.

"Morning, Mari!" one of her coworkers called as she passed by. She responded with a small nod of her head and continued straight for the locker rooms. Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, the only other female on the first shift of firehouse 118, was already partially dressed when Mariana entered and headed for her locker.

"How are you doing, Mari?" Hen asked.

"Okay," the brunette said with a shrug. "I worked at the ER two nights ago. Worked at the homeless shelter last night."

"So you're doing that thing where you neglect confronting your emotions by throwing yourself into work, right?"

Mariana pursed her lips as she buttoned up her uniform top and tucked it into the mandated Nomex pants. She pulled off her tennis shoes and shoved it into her locker before she yanked on her steel toed boots and pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail at the base of her neck, smoothing out the front pieces of her hair to ensure they laid flat.

"Mariana, there was nothing you could have done to save that girl," Hen spoke up.

"Doesn't matter. I still lost her."

With that, Mariana strode out of the locker room.

Within a few hours of being on duty, they had received a few calls. The most recent call resulted in a woman jumping which was something that always shook them. Captain Robert "Bobby" Nash slipped away for a bit, leaving Howie "Chimney" Han in charge. Mari knew where he was heading and he was back soon enough.

"Evan took the truck out again," she hummed as she made her way upstairs to their lounge. Bobby sighed from his place in the kitchen, glancing down at the apparatus bay. Chim ignored the brunette's announcement and continued his discussion about his girlfriend, Tatiana.

"-she's bored. One foot out the door. This woman's so far out of my league, but she's just once-in-a-lifetime. I just can't let her go."

"Lots of fish in the sea," Bobby noted.

"Not with the bait he's using," Hen added. Mariana smirked at her comment, leaning over to snag some of Chim's pretzels. She raised an eyebrow at his offended look and he sighed, but continued on.

"Cruel but true. I met her on this new dating site just for cops and firefighters, RomancingTheUniform.com. She's an adrenaline junkie so foreplay is me telling her stories about running into burning buildings and jumping into icy lakes and-"