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

fourteen

"We have a man down. Paramedic Ramirez took two shots."

"Ramirez, stay with me!"

"Keep those eyes open!"

"Call Nash NOW!"

"Twenty six year old female with no history of illness or known allergies. One shot to the chest and one to the abdomen. Coded twice on the way here."

"Dear God, you never said it was one of our own."

It was too bright. Did she fall asleep with the lights on again? Did she have a long shift or something? Mariana started to open her eyes to check her alarm clock when voices began to fill her room. What the hell? Her eyes felt so heavy that she could barely lift them open. Did she pull a double last night or something?

"Mariana. Mariana, open your eyes," Leslie's voice demanded. A low groan spilled past Mariana's lips as she slowly but surely fought against her desire to go back to sleep. She was used to waking up in the on call rooms so what was so hard this time?

"Do you remember what happened?" Leslie asked once she came into view. Mariana tried to shake her head but she felt too tired. Too weak.

"You were shot, okay? You were shot and you coded twice but we're going to help you. I need you to fight, Mariana. I need you to stay alive."

I'm tired. I'm tired of fighting. It hurts.

The weight of the darkness tugged against her and she let her eyes fall shut once more, drifting off into nothingness.

///

Five hours and thirteen minutes.

Bobby Nash sat in the OR waiting room for exactly five hours and thirteen minutes. He got the call at the end of a great date with Athena. The second the call came, however, they were out of the restaurant and on their way to the hospital.

They rushed in only to be met with a blood covered Anna DuBois. Tears shone in her eyes and she just shook her head before collapsing in a chair.

"They're taking her up to the OR now. Leslie refuses to leave her so they let her scrub in and sit with her. It's bad. It's really bad."

"How long do you think the surgery will take?" Athena asked. Always the strong one. Strong, steady Athena Grant. Yet even she looked shaken at the thought that was hanging over all of their heads.

"Seven, eight hours? Internal bleeding, perforated kidney, punctured lung. Missed the heart by two inches. She coded twice on the way here. I don't...she has to live. Right? It's Mariana. That girl has been through hell and high water. She has to."

Anna stared down at her bloody scrubs and then hung her head with a defeated sob. Bobby realized that she wasn't the only nurse affected. There were two nurses crying at the nurses station, one who was blankly staring at the chart in their hands, and another who looked ready to punch a wall. This was part of her life. Part of her family.

"I need to call the others," Bobby blurted out. "They would want to be here. She needs the support."

"Will you be alright if I left?" Athena asked, turning to check on him.

"Need to get home?" he asked.

"No. Need to go to the station and find out which son of a bitch did this to her."

He nodded, finding his hand sliding along her arm and grasping her smaller hand. "Please be safe."

Athena pushed herself up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek before she settled back down. "You make sure our girl comes home to us."