A/N: this chapter is short and imo not v exciting bc I do follow the episodes. There's a fun lil tidbit into Mariana's past (again) at the end BUT....I could just...update another chapter...I have 26 currently written so...if you WANT
"It's a fact. Gravity is heavier during full moons, scientists have proven it!" Buck exclaimed as he, Bobby, and Mariana walked towards their next call.
"You read this in a peer-reviewed, scientific publication?" Bobby asked.
"Uh, I don't know. Is the Internet considered a "scientific publication"?"
Mariana let out an amused snort. "Oh man, my nursing degree would have been finished a lot faster if it was."
"Buck, the idea that the moon causes odd behavior and happenings goes back to the first century. It's folklore. Magical thinking," Bobby sighed.
"As much as I hate to be caught agreeing with Buck, the crazies really do come out on a full moon. The ER is full of them."
"Which is why you're doing a split shift today. I promised Leslie that she gets you starting at one."
"So let's get this over with so I can take a nap," she grunted, hoisting her EMT bag higher up on her shoulder.
The elevator doors opened, revealing a pretty, panicked young woman. "Hey, she's this way. Jackie's six months pregnant. She's new. This class is only open to moms who are at least twenty-six weeks. I warn them about overexerting themselves. And behold, the Salabhasana!"
The door swung open revealing a moderately pregnant woman stuck in a yoga pose practically upside down.
"Yeah, Locustt pose," Buck commented. Mariana and Bobby both turned to him with confused looks. "I've dated like fifty yoga instructors."
Mariana rolled her eyes and pushed past the two men to reach the crowd of women. They parted at the sight of her and she kneeled down so she could reach the woman's growing stomach.
"I can't move! Everything hurts," Jackie cried. "The baby, is he okay?"
"I'm gonna check your baby now, okay? You're going to feel me touch your stomach. Don't be alarmed," Mariana informed her, stretching her hand out to press her hand against her baby bump. "No trauma to the abdomen, baby feels good. How's her vitals?"
"Vitals seem normal," Buck announced. "Fetal heartbeat's normal.:
"Jackie, your baby is fine. We will still take you to the hospital to ensure his and your health and safety," Mariana assured her.
"He's not mine. I'm a surrogate," she gasped out.
"Where's the pain localized in? Your neck? Your back? Arms, legs?"
"Arms and legs but it's worst in my butt and down my thigh and calf."
"Slipped disc?" Bobby asked Mariana. The brunette nodded as she leaned back and examined Jackie's spine. "Definitely."
"Alright Jackie, we think you slipped a disc so we're going to need to get you on your side, ok? Buck, very carefully support her head. Bobby, maintain tension on the waist. Very gently, ease her onto her right side."
As they began to lower her down, another one let out an anguished cry and Mariana shut her eyes, not daring to turn around and check.
"Let me guess, water broke?" she mumbled out.
"I'm gonna take care of that. You take care of this," Bobby said to Mari and Buck.
Mariana began to stabilize Jackie, ensuring that there couldn't be any movement or spinal injury on the bus when another woman cried out. She raised her head, seeing the amniotic fluid splashed onto the yoga mat.
"I'm on it!" she called out, jogging over to the woman. "Dispatch requesting additional paramedics to 232 Hope, possible spinal disc herniation. Need transportation to hospital immediately."
The woman began to kick off her pants as Mariana degloved and threw on a new pair. She kneeled down as another expecting mother helped the woman sit up.
"It's coming! It's coming now!" the woman yelped.
"Is this your first?"
"Fourth!"
"That makes my life easier. Alright, sit back and be ready to push. You know the drill. Can someone get me towels?! Buck, get some towels."
The woman let out a yell as Buck dashed over with some towels. "Great, now hold her hand. She might break it but honestly, that would be fun to watch."
A third woman cried out and Mariana held back the groan that threatened to slip out. Buck glanced between her and Bobby, panic written all over his face.
"Go, Buckley! We've got this!"
"I've never done this before!" he hissed.
"Bobby and I will talk you through it. Besides, baby's almost out so I can help you soon."
"They say with a full moon's halfway between the eastern horizon and its highest point, it can induce labor," the yoga instructor said.
All three women let out agonized yells as contractions hit.
"Just saying, I did tell you!" Buck called.
"We will discuss the moon later!" Mariana barked.
"If you're not in labor right now, could you go out into the hallway and give us some space. Thank you," Bobby ordered.
Mariana draped a towel over the woman's lap and ducked under to check her dilation. Yep, she was right. The baby was coming now. She pulled her head back and offered the woman a smile.
"Three more big pushes, okay?"
Mariana didn't give her time to answer, just went back to focusing on getting the baby out. Buck darted between her and Bobby, trying to find who to help as Bobby assisted the other women. In three pushes, the baby was out and Mari caught him quickly and supported his neck while wrapping him in a towel.
"Congrats, it's a boy!" she exclaimed, handing the baby to his mother.
"Well, I'm Buck and that's Bobby just in case you want to name him after us!"
"Ignore him," Mariana scoffed. "But if you have a girl after this, Mariana isn't a bad name."
On the way back from the hospital, Buck asked Mariana a question that had been on his mind. "So, would you ever have kids?"
She shrugged as she leaned back in her seat. Bobby was driving for once and she was grateful. The brunette had three more hours of this shift before she got a two hour break and then switched over for a twelve hour ER shift. She needed every chance of rest and relaxation she could possibly get.
"Nah, not a chance," she finally answered.
"But you're usually so good with them on the school tours!"
"Yeah but those kids aren't my actual children. I'd fuck up raising a kid. I mean, I'm a legal foster parent but that's so I can work with the group home kids and help if there's overflow. But I can't possibly raise a kid. I got too many problems of my own to ruin their lives. It's why I gave up the chance to-"
Her mouth clamped shut and Buck leaned forward in his seat, obviously interested by what she was going to say.
"It's nothing, Buckley. I misspoke. Leave it."
He did. For now.
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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...
