"Alright everybody, gear up. Hen, Chimney, grab the winch and the guidelines and the basket just in case. I'm gonna radio aero recon and have them on standby," Bobby ordered. Mariana, Eddie, and Buck were all gearing up to repel down the side of the cliff. She reached into her bag and paused, spinning on her heel when she realized she couldn't find her harness.
"I gotcha," Buck called, tossing her the harness. "Other shift must have put both into my bag."
"This is why we check gear guys!" she sang, sliding the straps over her body and clipping them together. Eddie handed her one of the rope ends and they worked together to secure the line for them to lead down.
By the time Hen and Chimney had everything ready for a basket, Mari and Eddie had secured the drop lines. Buck descended first with Mariana and Eddie close behind. Buck was pointman and they eyes and ears for them so he called out where to step and when to jump. Getting down to the ledge was easy enough but there was no evidence of a victim anywhere.
"You guys see anything down there?" Bobby asked over the radio.
"Just a million dollar view," Buck replied.
"I will shove you off this rock," Mariana groaned at his cheesy line.
"Cap, we found something," Eddie announced. Mariana stepped over from where she was standing to his side to be able to see what he was looking at. The sight of the skeleton made her startle and stumble back. Eddie caught her quickly, one hand pressed firmly against her back.
"You okay?" he asked. She mutely nodded and then glanced back down at the remains.
"Just wasn't expecting that," she muttered.
"Is it our hiker?" Bobby came over the radio.
"A hiker. Don't think it's the one we came looking for. It's human remains. Skeletal remains."
"Alright, flag it but don't disturb it. We'll call it in."
"Unless…" Buck whispered, holding up the hiker's phone. Mariana and Eddie both shot him an unamused look.
"What? You think a ghost called 911?" Eddie scoffed.
"I'm just saying…"
"I hate you," Mariana groaned.
Before they could descend into a full arguing match, someone cried for help farther off.
"Ok, so no ghost."
Mariana was the first to find the injured hiker and she waved the boys over, kneeling down so she could get a better look at his injuries.
"We got a live one Cap. Can you tell me your name, hon?"
"I-Ian," the man gasped out.
"Alright Ian we're going to get you out of here, okay?" Eddie assured him
"My leg is broken."
"Yeah, that's a compound fracture but a simple surgery and some PT and you'll be right as rain."
"How'd you find me?"
"Wasn't easy," Buck admitted. "You weren't on long enough for them to ping your phone."
"On with who?"
"...with 911."
"I dropped my phone when I went over. I didn't call 911."
The three shared an equally confused glance before Mariana slowly looked back to where they found the remains and then back at Buck.
"Coincidence. That's all," she argued.
"I'm just saying we should consider it!"
/
If you asked Mariana what her least favorite holiday was, she would without hesitation say Halloween. It came in close behind the Fourth of July. She loved most of the Fourth of July but the fireworks always had her on edge. Halloween, however, was full of creepy crawlies and blood and gore. She had seen her fair share of dead bodies and bloody corpses. The jump scares didn't help either considering she had PTSD from...well, a lot.
That did not stop her from helping decorate the firehouse for when Trick or Treaters would come by on Halloween. She balanced precariously on a ladder while Chimney passed her strands of bat shaped decor to hang over the lockers.
"Hey Mari, can you help me for a quick sec?" Eddie called from the front of the house.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a second!" she shouted back, quickly descending the ladder. Chimney looked grateful to quit being her little helper and he dashed off to go bug Hen.
"What's up?" the brunette asked as she came outside and found him standing on another ladder.
"I can't tell if this looks good," he admitted. "Also, I dropped the bag of cobwebs."
She shook her head with a fond smile on her lips and jogged over to grab the bag. "It looks fine!"
He gratefully took the bag she was holding up to him and then stepped down on the ladder to get a better look. "Does it need anymore?"
"I don't think so," she hummed. "You're kind of a perfectionist."
"I just want the kid to be happy," he sighed. "Carla and I toured this fancy school for Christopher and it's really great. It has all these accommodations and everyone seems so nice and the education is great…"
"I'm sensing a "but" in there," she said.
"They do parent interviews before they admit him."
"You have to call Shannon."
He sighed, his shoulders drooping at the heavy weight settling across his mind. "Yeah. Whatever's best for Christopher right?"
"You're a good dad, Eddie. Honestly. I've seen my fair share of bad ones," she joked. Her hand reached up and she brushed her fingers through his hair, pulling back and holding up the fake cobweb in her hand. He grinned and tugged her braid in response, his hand brushing against her shoulder. "Thanks mariposa. Would you mind watching Christopher when Shannon comes over? I don't...I don't want him to get hurt."
"Can I pump him full of ice cream as we make friendship bracelets?"
"I thought you and Buck were bad influences but I think Christopher is the one corrupting you."
She threw her head back with a bright laugh, the LA sun catching against her dark hair and tan skin. She looked absolutely radiant.
/
Knock. Knock.
"LAFD, open up!" Mariana sang.
The front door swung open, revealing an amused looking Carla. She looked the younger woman up and down and a wide smile spread across her face.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I work with kids so I've gained a closet of costumes, okay? The kids watched Grease a few weeks ago and insisted that I go as Sandy."
She followed Carla into the house, stopping short once she saw the two Diaz boys. "Well, don't you two look cute!"
Christopher slowly made his way to her and he held his plastic claws up like Wolverine. Mariana stifled her laughter and gave him a very solemn nod. "Glad to know that we have a superhero here to protect us!"
She raised her head to look at Eddie who was staring at her with an unreadable expression. The brunette raised her hand up to touch the mound of fluffy hair on her head that she had tried to make match Sandy's iconic greaser look.
"What? Did I smudge my makeup or something?"
"Nah, nah. You just...you look really good," he stammered out. She fought the rush of heat that bloomed in her cheeks and pulled her eyes away to look at Carla. The older woman shot her a knowing look and glanced between the two.
"Are we ready to trick or treat?" Mariana exclaimed, looking back to Eddie. Her eyes betrayed her as they flickered down to look at his muscular arms.
"Yeah!" Christopher cheered.
They took turns helping Christopher walk up to houses and Eddie just couldn't tear his eyes away from his son and Mariana everytime they interacted.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were falling for her," Carla mused.
"She's my coworker. And a friend," he denied. "She's just really good with Christopher."
"Is she a part of why you don't want Shannon back in your life?"
Eddie sighed. "I don't know. I always wanted Shannon to come back mainly because I didn't want Christopher growing up without knowing his mom. But then I met Mariana and the 118 and I realized...Christopher doesn't only need Shannon. He has a group of people willing and ready to help me raise this kid. Mariana especially has been so good with him."
Their conversation ended as the two in question bounded over to rejoin them. Mariana was grinning, her face flushed with exertion and excitement and she was practically bouncing around like a little child.
"Man, I forgot how fun trick or treating was!" she cheered. "I never got to do it when I was younger."
Hearing things like that just broke Carla's heart and she patted the latina on the shoulder, a motherly expression on her face, and then headed off to help Christopher up to the next house.
"Looks like you two are having fun," Eddie commented.
She shrugged and fell in step with him. "It's impossible to not have fun with Christopher. You raised a funny kid."
Before he could respond, a loud bang sounded right behind them. Mariana jerked back and Eddie reacted instantly, grabbing her waist and yanking her into his chest to cover her with his body. His head swung back and forth until he spotted two teens wearing purge masks and holding pop rockets sprinting across the street.
You're not in Afghanistan. You're here in LA. You're safe. He reminded himself. His heart rate slowed down and he could finally stop his fight or flight reaction when he realized that Mariana was practically trembling in his arms.
"Hey, hey, look at me," he whispered. She seemed completely frozen and he slid his hand up to cup her cheek, tilting her head so their eyes met. He had never seen her look so deathly frightened and shaken.
"You're fine. You're here with me and Christopher and Carla. We're going trick or treating and some assholes thought it would be funny to throw fireworks at us. You gotta breathe for me, mariposa. In and out."
She slowly but surely settled her breathing and pulled out of her catatonic state, her honey brown eyes soon filling up with unshed tears. Mariana stepped out of his hold and quickly wiped the tears away.
"I'm sorry, I should have better control over that," she muttered.
"It's been two years since I was in Afghanistan and I still reacted to that. You were shot less than a year ago. It's okay to be thrown off by it. It doesn't make you any less strong. Mariana, it's okay to need to take a moment."
She spun on her heel and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. He could still feel her shaking and he tightened his arms around her waist and shut his eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered before she pulled away and walked ahead to meet Christopher and Carla who were standing at the end of the driveway. Mariana plastered on a happy face and scooped up Christopher, swinging him around as he giggled.
Eddie slowly joined them, wanting to watch them goof off for as long as possible.
"Are you reconsidering the answer you gave me earlier?" Carla asked quietly.
"Yeah...definitely."