Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Mariana adjusted just slightly in her chair, clenching and unclenching her jaw as the polyester of her dress uniform brushed against her skin. She sat stoically in the seat, her brown eyes remaining fixated on the smarmy man seated diagonally from her. The person sitting directly across from her kept staring at her but she refused to look at him.

"Miss Ramirez, this is just a reminder that you are not in any trouble. This is simply a discussion and inquiry into Captain Nash's unfair firing of Mr Buckley," Chase Mackey informed her. "We'll just be asking you a few questions."

She simply tilted her head and glared at him, waiting for him to continue. The tight bun she wore at the nape of her neck added to the severity of her features coupled with her "nurse glare" revealed that the infamous "Brass Breaker" wasn't truly gone. The lawyer cleared his throat uncomfortably and began the questioning.

"Can you please state your name and position within the firehouse and your experience?" Mackey asked.

"Mariana Belicia Ramirez. Engineer, paramedic, ER nurse." Clipped and short.

"Miss Ramirez, can you please tell us your medical history since serving with the 118?"

"The full thing? Because I got a papercut yesterday that I think you would love hearing about," she drawled.

"Those that required hospital visits, please."

"A few smoke inhalations here and there. Comes with the job. I was shot two years ago. I was involved in the same truck bombing as Mr. Buckley."

"And when were you able to come back from those last two incidents?"

"Three months after the shooting. Four months after the bombing. I was recently reinstated."

"And you're already working both jobs again, I see. Now, Mariana, how often do you see a therapist?"

"May I ask for relevance here?"

"Well after the death of your parents, years of neglect and abuse at the hands of foster care and your uncle, the death of your brother, and the shooting, you started to see a therapist, right? How often do you see them?"

Her fingers curled around the pen in her hand tightly and Mariana felt her breathing pick up just slightly. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pulled back into a sneer. "I don't see a therapist anymore."

"No? Not even after bombing? The tsunami? You were in the tsunami as well, yes?"

"Yes. I was. I'm fine."

"So you would willingly state and attest that you were in the right state of mind to help Mr. Buckley the night of his embolism?"

"Maybe we should stop," Buck said quietly.

"What are you implying?" Mariana ignored him.

"I'm asking, Miss Ramirez, if you are fully capable of taking care of patients before you have a medical malpractice suit. A racing addict with PTSD could easily slip up in the field."

The pen in her hand snapped, splattering red ink across her skin and the table. Mariana's breathing was ragged and heavy as she threw the pen down, blinking rapidly as the red ink stained her fingers and looked a hell of a lot like blood.

"Listen, I get that you are a spineless, desperate, miserable man who just wants money. You weren't there when that truck exploded or when the wave hit or when the bullets hit. You don't know what it's like.

You don't know what it's like to be next to your best friend, terrified that they're going to die before help can get to you because a crazy fucking kid has a bomb strapped to himself above you. Buck is like my brother and the last thing I want to do is have to hold my brother again and watch him bleed out because guess what? If Buck got injured on a call and started bleeding out, it's up to me to save him. I held Luis as he died, I can't do it again and if Buck doesn't realize that, fine. But I can't. I just can't. I love my brother and the last thing I want to see is him dead in the middle of a building because I couldn't save him.

And Bobby? Bobby has stitched me together more times than I can count. He's a good man. The best man. Unlike you, Mr Mackey. You are a slimy, pathetic piece of shit who likes manipulating people because it makes you feel good. You're not here to help Buck, you're here to get his money. So go ahead, sue me. Fire me from the district. Every person in this room is ten times the man you could ever be."

The union representative grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Either shut up or I'll do it for you."

Shut up you little bitch. Shut up or I'll do it for you.

Mariana flinched back and stood, striding straight out of the room with no protest from anyone else. She heard footsteps follow behind her but she just sped up and made her way to the others. Eddie stood up the second she tore into the room and he quickly caught his girlfriend.

"Can we just go?" she asked, hiding her face from view by leaning into his chest.

"Yeah, we were just waiting for you, sweetheart. What did they ask you?"

She just shook her head and pressed closer to him, her fingers digging into his side as she clung to stability. "I don't... I can't talk about it."

"Okay, that's okay. Let's go home," he assured her. Eddie and Bobby exchanged a worried look over her head as they walked to the elevator. Buck stepped into the hall just as they entered the elevator and his eyes locked on Mari's smaller form leaning against Eddie. He opened his mouth to say something but Chimney just pressed the door close button and turned away. They might love Buck but...well, it's Mari.

/

While Eddie loved seeing his son and girlfriend fast asleep and curled up together on his bed, Mariana's behavior was worrying him. She was pulling away, refusing to sleep over during the nights, and she seemed standoffish overall. Once she and Christopher were out like lights, Eddie had stepped out and talked to Bobby and Athena on the phone as they tried to talk it over. Both Christopher and Mariana were worrying him but now he felt even worse thinking that she had been hurting and he never saw any signs.

So he told her that the next day they were going on a date after they dropped Christopher off at a birthday party. Mariana was surprised at first considering they hadn't really done any traditional "dates" during their entire relationship.

"C'mon buddy, let's goooo," Eddie announced as he scooped up Christopher and placed him down onto the asphalt. Mariana knelt down so she could brush the wrinkles out of his shirt and smooth down his unruly curls, a gentle smile on her face.

"Ay, pollito, estás demasiado lindo," she complemented before dropping a kiss to his cheek. "You promise to have fun, right?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed and Mariana laughed. "You better have fun, mister. Now go reassure your papa before he has a stroke."

"Are you sure about this? Carla could pick you up after the party," Eddie asked.

"No, dad. I wanna go."

Mariana flashed her boyfriend a triumphant grin as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey guys! You made it! Dylan is so excited. Maybe now he'll stop talking about it. Who am I kidding, no he won't," Tasha exclaimed. Mariana stood and extended her hand to shake which the other woman gladly accepted.

"Mariana Ramirez, nice to meet you."

"Tasha Covington. Christopher never stops talking about you. He's very lucky to have you."

Mariana's smile grew and she glanced down at the smiling little boy next to her. "Nah, I'm the lucky one here."

"You got my emails, right?" Eddie asked.

"I did. Very detailed."

"I'm so sorry about him. This is Christopher's first sleepover so we're a little nervous," Mariana explained. As the boys walked closer to them, Mari bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of Christopher's head.

"Have fun, be nice, play well, use your powers for good not evil," she whispered.

"Love you, Mari."

"Love you always and forever, pollito. Now, off you go!"

She joined Eddie's side as they watched him join his friends. Mariana slipped her hand along his waist and rested it comfortingly on his back.

"He's going to be okay, Eddie," Tasha assured him.

"I know. He hasn't had a nightmare in a week and the doctor says the sleepover will be great for him. Not sure how good it's going to be for me."

"Listen, don't worry. Dylan's got this whole camping situation set up in the backyard and Ron'll be in the tent next to them. He will call you if there's any problems. Now go! Relax! Take your beautiful woman on a date. I will return him to you both in one piece tomorrow."

"Thank you," Mariana said. She and Eddie made their way to the truck. He glanced back a couple of times until Mariana nudged him in the side.

"He'll be fine, Ed. He's been doing great with sleeping and the doctor says he's improving."

"You're right. I just worry," he sighed.

"And it's cute. But he's growing up! Soon he's going to be sixteen and going to his first dance," she sang. He groaned and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest. "Oh, he'll look so cute with his little bowtie and his date!"

"You're evil," he muttered against her neck before dropping a quick kiss there.

"Hey, you two know this is a handicap spot, right?" some guy announced.

"We know," Eddie replied bluntly. He opened the passenger door for Mariana but the guy kept speaking.

"Oh you know? That's rich. I had knee surgery and had to park three rows in, but uh, look at you! Must be nice to own the world!"

"Ed, just ignore him," Mariana muttered.

"Look, I'm not doing this with you, man. My kid has CP and I just dropped him off."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Like those guys that put a dummy in their passenger seat so they can use the carpool lane."

Eddie stepped away from the truck and walked towards the guy. Mariana shut the door quickly and followed close behind, not used to seeing this side of Eddie. She knew he was protective but he was also usually the level-headed one while she was getting in people's faces.

"Did you just insult my kid?" Eddie grit out.

"I'm not insulting anybody. I'm calling you out. You got something to say about that or are you too scared to embarrass yourself in front of your lady here?"

The punch was thrown before Mariana couldn't even react. Her whole body flinched with fear as he swung and then she stared at the bleeding guy in horror.

"Edmundo, what the actual hell?" she cried, hurrying to help the guy. "Sir, I am so so sorry. Please let me help you. I'm a nurse."

"Your boyfriend is crazy!"

"That I might actually agree with you."

Thirty minutes later, Mariana watched as her boyfriend was escorted to a cop car. She shook her head at the look on his face and let out an undignified snort. She had informed him that she wouldn't bail him out. He thought it was because she was mad.

The truth was, Mariana couldn't bring herself to be anywhere near the prison.

Instead, she drove his truck in a different direction than the prison to another part of the city. A thin package had been sitting in her purse for a bit and for some reason she felt emboldened now to send it.

Walking up the small walkway, Mariana knocked on the door of the familiar house and tried to keep her breathing even. The door swung open and she swallowed past the lump in her throat as the woman stepped out and slammed the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Valentina hissed.

"It's my nephew's birthday soon. I came to deliver his present."

"What? Your mailbox broken this year?"

"I just wanted to deliver it in person."

"And come here? You have some nerve coming here when you were the one that did this."

"You and I both know that once I came around, you were just grateful that Daniel had a different punching bag. Your husband tried to kill me and you just feel glad it wasn't you," Mariana spat.

Burning erupted across her skin and her head snapped to the side from the force of Valentina's hit. Mariana slowly raised her head and stepped forward, backing Valentina up against the door.

"If I hear of even one mark on Diego, I'll have your ass in court faster than you can blink. Your husband was a piece of shit and I really thought you would rise above. Am I understood?"

Valentina nodded, a hint of fear glittering in her eyes. Mariana stepped back from her and held out the package. "Tell Diego I said happy birthday."

/

"Okay, listen up. Last couple times we were here, mistakes were made," Bobby announced. "That is not gonna happen again. That is why I am pairing you up on your assignments. Eddie, Lena, you are on meats and deli. Nothing leaner than 92%."

"Someone save me," Mariana muttered to herself.

"Hen, Chimney, baking aisle. Unrefined flour this time, thank you. Mari and I will be covering fruits and vegetables. Once you have everything on your list, we will reconvene at the dairy case. Let's move!"

Mari pushed the cart around as Bobby inspected every single piece of produce on their list before picking what he deemed "the best". Finally, he looked back at her and sighed.

"Are you just wearing the glasses because it looks cool or because you're trying to hide something from me?" he asked. She huffed out a laugh and removed her sunglasses exposing the bruising surrounding the cut on her face. Bobby immediately turned serious and tilted her chin up so he could see it better in the light.

"Who the hell did that?!" he exclaimed.

"I went to deliver Diego's present last night and Valentina answered the door," she sighed. "I'm fine. Nothing a little hydrogen peroxide didn't fix."

"And she hit you?"

"She blames me for her life getting ruined," Mariana drawled. "Does this look like a good apple?"

"Buck!" Hen's voice exclaimed from two aisles over.

"Can we catch a break?" Mariana muttered, looking to the sky for relief. She followed Bobby as he marched over to Hen and Chim who were staring down Buck.

"What are you doing here?"

"Me? I'm just here to do some...some shopping," he lied.

Eddie casually made his way in front of Mariana, blocking her slightly from Buck. She let out a bark of a laugh and moved away from him and closer to Hen's side.

"You're buying cat laxative?" Hen asked.

"Yeah, I've been thinking of...getting a cat."

"And you're anticipating your new cat to be irregular."

"Uhm… Listen, I-I came here to apologize. Okay, I never meant for things to get so out of hand with the lawsuit a-a-and everything," he stumbled out.

"Yeah? And what'd you think was gonna happen?" Eddie asked. "The lawsuit's bad enough but you told your lawyer everything about us? Personal things."

"You're supposed to be truthful with your lawyer," Buck defended. "Why are you so pissed at me?"

"For fuck's sake, Evan, the man said I'm too mentally fucked up to be a nurse!" Mariana exclaimed. "He's a piece of shit attorney who only wanted the money. Congrats."

"You're exhausting. We all have our own problems but you don't see us whining about it. Somehow we just manage to suck it up. Why can't you?"

"Can you two not do this here and now?" Mariana sighed, stepping between the two.

"Yeah, that's kinda harsh. It's not like the guy asked to be crushed by a ladder truck," Chimney added.

"No but he filed a stupid lawsuit and now I can't even talk to you because of it. You know how much Christopher misses you? How could you? You're not around!"

"I didn't realize that. Maybe I could come visit Christopher, y'know? The lawsuit doesn't prevent that."

"No, it prevents me from reaching out to you. I couldn't even call you to bail me out of jail! ...if that was something that happened."

"Guys, let's just go. You're making a scene," Mariana muttered.

Buck ignored her and continued talking. "What are you talking about? Why can't you see my point of things?"

"Because that's all you see!" Eddie stepped forward right as Mariana raised her voice. "HEY!"

Two cars crashed together outside, drawing everyone's attention away. Mariana took that time to shove the guys away from each other, flashing them each a chilling glare.

"I'm sick of both of you and your dumbass attitudes. Figure your shit out or get away from each other. Do you realize the two guys I care about the most are now the two people I want to see least?"

She followed Bobby out, frustration filling her body. Rather than going to help the two cars, Mariana stepped to the side and dialed a number on her phone.

"Hey Dr. Allen, I think it's time I come back to therapy."