A few years prior...
"Alright folks, five minutes! House is open. $20 goes in, $100 pays out," Hen shouted from the apparatus bay.
"What's the over-under?" Chimney called.
"I got six weeks," Hen replied.
"Give me four...on credit," Tommy interjected. "I gotta run to the ATM!"
"Boy, I'm gonna eat your lunch and you better pay up cause I know the book and she's a madwoman. Sal, you in?"
"I'll give him one week, tops. Ramirez will be sure to have his resignation by then. Besides, guy's from, like, Nebraska."
"Minnesota, actually," Chimney replied.
"Whatever. There's New York, there's LA, and in between, there's Nebraska."
"Ooo, Chicago's gonna kick your ass."
"Hey, there's a whole lotta little leagues out there, but if you ain't the Yankees you're just not playing baseball."
"Doesn't everybody just hate the Yankees?"
"It's cause the Yankees fucking suck," a tight drawl came from behind Tommy. He jumped and moved to the side, exposing the shorter woman behind him. Her dark brown eyes were icy cold and the tight French braid that held her hair back made her expression look sharper, more severe. She was the youngest of the team but her icy expression and general demeanor made her appear years older than her current twenty-four years.
"Ramirez, fuck, I'm getting you a bell," Tommy hissed.
"Mariana, you putting in a bet?" Hen asked her gently, extending the box towards her. The younger woman narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as if she was sizing up an opponent.
"I don't bet. I can guarantee he'll be out within two weeks however. I'm feeling generous," she purred, a dark look passing over her face. The dark haired girl then marched off to go check the truck equipment, leaving the other four to watch her walk away.
"Is it just me or does she hate everyone?" Sal asked.
"Listen, we've had like six captains in two years. We're the Island of Misfit Toys for retiring brass. Might be nice for somebody to stick around for awhile," Hen sighed.
"If Ramirez doesn't rip him apart. Then if the barn burns down or the road needs salting, sure guys a rockstar. Fire at the fair, news at eleven. But LA's gonna look like Marks to the podunk and we're fresh out of training wheels."
The truck sirens jumped to life and the driver's door opened, a tall man jumping out. He slammed the door shut and addressed the gossiping group before him.
"You're also out of half the supplies that should be stocked on this truck. So, give me the odds on lasting longer than one or all of you," the man announced, dropping a bill into Hen's collection box before walking off. "Briefing in five."
If anyone said they saw Ramirez smirk, she would break their jaw.
///
"118, roll engine and RA unit to 1332 South Rosemont Ave. Caller is describing a domestic disturbance at a business," dispatch intoned as the lights and alarm alerted of an emergency. Before anyone else was in the truck, the driver's seat was occupied by the dark haired woman. She settled the headphones over her ears and flipped on the gauge switches, her eyes tracing over the buttons with ease.
"Are you our driver?" Captain Nash asked as he settled into the passenger seat.
"If you want to get to the emergency, you sit down and let me drive," she snarked as she pulled out of the firehouse. "Name's Mariana Ramirez if you wanna put that in your inevitable report. I've got five strikes against me so far."
"Yet you're still here."
"I'm not called the Brass Breaker for a reason. Can't fire me if the captain quits first."
She pulled into the parking lot and swore under her breath, hopping out of the truck. Three people laid on the ground with stab wounds as a woman shouted at the man that was trying to crawl away from him.
Ramirez was striding towards her before Bobby could shout at her to stop. Officers nearby lowered their weapons as Ramirez approached. No one could hear what the firefighter was saying but the woman slowly lowered her knife. She said something else and she hesitantly held out the knife, dropping it into Ramirez's open palm. In a flash, she tossed the knife to the side and forced the woman to her knees as officers moved in to handcuff her. Once they had her secure, Mariana immediately started to work on the injured.
"Is she always like that?" Bobby asked Chimney, a little afraid to hear the answer.
"Brash, aggressive, reckless, doesn't follow orders, distant, cold, kinda scary? Yeah. You're not the first captain to ask that."
///
"Here to befriend me? Try and get me to "open up" and be the captain that gets me to behave?" Ramirez snapped as she stirred the chiles into the sauce.
"I was actually hoping to get the recipe to your enchiladas," Bobby sighed as he leaned against the island counter.
"Food Network exists. Use it."
"I read the reports."
She grunted and set down the spatula in her hand, staring him down. Her lips curled back in a sneer. "So, already planning on a way to fire me? You can be the captain to finally get the crazy bitch from the 118 out on the streets. It's cool. I have another job lined up."
"I talked to Leslie."
She faltered, the defiance in her eyes faltering for just a second. She jutted out her chin and gnashed her teeth, a dark smirk settling across her lips.
"Oh? Did she tell you all my deep and dark secrets?"
"She told me that you're a good kid who has had a rough go of it. You care about your patients and your coworkers, even if you wouldn't dare let them know that you care."
Ramirez faltered, her eyes drifting down towards the simmering pot before her. She shifted her jaw back and forth and then shrugged. "So what?"
"I'm not going to try and get you fired. I'm also not going to force you to talk to me. But I am going to ask that you respect my authority just a little more. I'll listen to you if you listen to me."
"What's in it for me?"
"A captain that stays. I'm not leaving for a while, Ramirez. We have to learn to work together."
Ramirez hummed out a noncommittal noise and chewed on her bottom lip. "You're not leaving?"
"Promise."
She nodded and focused on cooking once more, indicating that their conversation was done. He made his way towards the stairs when her voice stopped him.
"Mariana."
"What was that?"
"My name. It's not Ramirez. It's Mariana."
"I'm looking forward to working with you, Mariana."
///
Present
Mariana swallowed past the lump in her throat and found herself pressing closer to the warm, steady form of Eddie behind her. He gently squeezed her shoulder before following the others down to the truck to answer the incoming call.
"You promised," she muttered, her eyes not meeting Bobby's.
"I'm not leaving you, Mari. Not now, not ever. Got it? Do you promise you'll listen to Chimney?"
"What's in it for me?"
He offered her a sad smile. "They'll watch over you while I'm gone. Let them take care of you. You don't always have to be the strong one. Now go save the world."
She jogged towards the pole when his voice stopped her.
"I'm proud of you, Mari."
"Thanks dad."
YOU ARE READING
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...
