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

forty

The sound of music erupting through the room was soon joined by muttered cursing and groaning from the occupant in the bed. Mariana rolled over, snatching her phone off her bedside table. She swiped her thumb across the screen and answered without looking at the screen.

"Hello?" she croaked out, sleep coating her voice.

"Morning, angelita. Did I wake you up?" Eddie's voice rang through the other line.

"I hate you," she grunted out, removing the pillow from her face and staring up at her ceiling. She could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"No you don't. Get up, it's nine thirty."

"I have an alarm clock and you're not it."

"Nine hours until you are on shift with us because you keep taking on shifts. Nine hours of putting up with Hen and Chim making fun of me."

"You do realize that I would be making fun of you if I was there right."

"Yeah but I actually like you."

She could hear the two paramedics yell out from behind him and she laughed, sliding out of bed and making her way towards the kitchen.

"You can last nine hours without me, alright? Now, I gotta make myself breakfast and go for a run."

"Beautiful weather for the beach. You should run there."

"Mmmhmm, you're right. A run on the beach sounds amazing. Then I'll go for a swim in my new bikini," she mused as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Nevermind, I regret calling you. You're the worst."

"You adore me, Edmundo."

"I do, querida. Sleep well?"

She faltered, the images of her nightmares flashing across her mind. "Yeah...yeah. Slept fine. Is Carla watching Chris today?"

"Nope. Carla is on vacation. Buck has him today."

"That should be interesting. You need to get back to work so I can go back to relaxing before I have to come in and make sure your ass doesn't get in trouble."

She hung up before he could interject, a grin playing on her lips as she grabbed the egg carton out of the fridge. A run by the beach actually sounded like a really great idea today.

That's where she found herself two hours later. The weather was beautiful in Los Angeles and she felt amazing. Five months after having a punctured lung and Mari felt like it never happened. Clad in a swimsuit that was essentially a lifeguard two piece uniform, shorts, a rash guard, and tennis shoes, Mari was ready to spend a few hours at the beach until she had to get ready to go into work at six. Thanks to covering Alex's partial shift two nights before, Bobby let her split her shift for the day.

With Kendrick Lamar blasting through her headphones, Mari's only indication that something was wrong was everyone around her stopping and staring at the ocean. She slowed down and turned to see what was happening, a feeling of horror growing in the pit of her stomach.

The tsunami sirens kicked on and all her years of emergency training flooded in. Ripping her headphones out of her ears, the brunette screamed as loudly as she could.

"RUN!"

Mariana bolted up the beach, sprinting towards the sidewalk. She knew she couldn't outrun the water, but she could give herself an advantage. Jumping onto a parked car, she gripped onto the street sign post and wrapped her arms and legs around it tightly. Mariana tucked her head in and began to pray as she waited for the water to hit.