Acrid smoke filled the air and curled around them as they hurried up the stairs of the apartments. Mariana banged on the doors as she passed, shouting out "LAFD!" to encourage people to cry out. Bobby sent her a thumbs up to signal they were good to move onto the next door.
"Are you okay?" she called over the roar of the flames. "I know it's not easy for you."
"I'm fine. Thanks." Bobby shot her a grateful look just as Buck called for backup. He broke the door open, leading them into the apartment.
"LAFD! Is there anyone in here?" Eddie shouted.
"Cap! Mari! Over here!" Buck yelled.
Eddie moved back so his girlfriend could kneel down next to the man. "I need O2 and a mattress carrier ASAP."
Her boys moved quickly, passing her the oxygen and prepping the stretcher as she stabilized the man's neck and ensured he was set for transport.
"Wait! Gladys," the man groaned. "Need to get Gladys." He tipped back into Mariana's arms and she lowered him onto the carrier.
"He's out."
"Gladys? Who's Gladys?" Buck exclaimed.
"If I knew, Buckley, then you wouldn't have to ask me," Mariana shot back.
"Might be a cat or a dog," Eddie offered.
"Buck, we've got this. You go look around out there and see if you can find a pet."
"I'm on it!"
Reynolds replaced Buck with helping them carrying the man on the stretcher. As they entered the hall, the evacuation order came over the radio and Mariana glanced back at the apartment they left her best friend in.
"Buck! Let's go!" Bobby yelled.
Transport was easy and it looked like they were getting the fire contained on the lower levels as the four hauled the guy out to the triage area. They lifted him up and onto one of the cots so Hen could check him out. Mariana pulled off her helmet and mask, exposing her soot and dust covered cheeks and the tendrils of dark hair that curled around her face from the sweat beading her forehead.
"He passed out as soon as we got to him. Hit his head but I couldn't see any other injuries due to low visibility. I don't know his medical history," she reported.
"Sir, can you hear me?" Hen asked.
"Did you get her? Did you get Gladys?"
"I got her! I got Gladys," Buck announced as the grey cat in his arms meowed. "She is okay."
"That's not Gladys. That's Hoover. Where's Gladys?"
"Atwater Street incident, this is Metro Fire Command. Please respond," Maddie said over the radio.
"Go for Captain Nash!"
"I have a deaf woman trapped in apartment 10G."
They stepped out of the tent in time to see glass rain down onto the street below from a shattered window. Mariana and Eddie exchanged a look before turning their attention back to the apartments.
"Gladys," Buck said simply.
And somehow, Mariana found herself planning out how they would be getting her out alongside her two idiots.
"The building next door isn't on fire!" Buck pointed towards the rooftop where it aligned perfectly with the apartment roof.
"Get to her from the roof?"
"Repelling kit's got 150 feet of rope. That'll get me down to the street with her."
"You want to do a rope rescue? Of course you do!" Eddie exclaimed.
"Hey, the last person who should be complaining about rope rescues is you!" Mariana replied.
"Well, he's not doing it alone! He's going to need you two on the pulleys," Bobby ordered.
Mariana shook her head as she bolted towards the building, knowing that Eddie would grab the pulley system. No elevator, of course, thanks to the blazing inferno next door, so the three amigos found themselves hauling ass up eighteen flights of stairs. She was really grateful for her daily runs after the truck crash and for Eddie making sure she kept up with her runs in the morning because he was a stickler for routines thanks to his Army days.
Buck led the charge through the emergency exit door and out onto the rooftop. The three sprinted along the concrete until the boys slowed to a stop at the edge of the roof, glancing between the gap that descended into the alley below.
"Catch up, boys!" Mariana shouted as she breezed past them, launching herself over the gap and onto the roof where she tucked and rolled to a stop, hopping up onto her feet. She waved at them before unzipping her pack and starting to prep the ropes.
"You're insane," Eddie announced as he dropped his bag next to his girl and set up the pulley.
"Yeah, you've said that before," she replied cheekily, winking at him as she secured the fastener to Buck. "Ready to go, Buck?"
"Anything to get away from you two," he groaned.
The smoke made it hard to see Buck as he descended and it stung their eyes. Eddie grimaced and Mariana bumped her shoulder against his for reassurance. After the mud incident, he became uncomfortable in situations he felt that he couldn't control. He had always been protective, but now he was even more wary of anything that could harm her.
"I'm okay. You're okay," she reminded him. "Buck will have this done quick and then we'll be back on safe ground."
He sent her a grateful look and she offered him a gentle smile before looking back down at Buck. He had entered the apartment and so now they just had to wait and see to make sure he got out and down alright.
"I got her. Coming back out," Buck reported over the radio.
"Copy that," Eddie replied. "Fire's getting a little close up here. We need to double-time it."
As soon as he said that, part of the roof gave way. Mariana grabbed onto the railing to steady herself as the building practically shook.
"Cap, the roof is gone!" she shouted on the radio.
"Then Buck's gonna have to lower himself the rest of the way. You secure that rope and you get out of there."
The Diaz-Ramirez duo secured the rope and fastened it to the railing. "Line's all yours, Buck."
"I got it. I'll see you two down there."
Eddie gently pushed her forward to indicate that she needed to jump first. Mariana didn't argue and she quickly bolted towards the edge of the roof, launching herself to the other building. She cleared the area and waited for Eddie. He wrapped his arms around her in a quick moment of comfort as if he needed to reassure himself that she was okay.
"C'mon, we gotta go," she murmured. As they began the descent down the stairs, Mariana shot him a wicked grin and yanked her helmet off, tossing it onto the stairs where his promptly joined it. She pulled him down to meet her height in a searing kiss. He grunted at the force of her actions but easily fell into step, backing her up against the wall of the stairwell. His hand protected the back of her head as her back collided with the stone. Pulling himself away from her lips, he pressed his cheek against her jaw and inhaled the thick scent of smoke that clung to her and the underlying hint of her vanilla shampoo.
"What was that for?" he groaned.
"One of our first big rescues. The earthquake. You saved my ass from getting thrown out of the building. It was kind of hot," she laughed breathlessly.
"I love you but you are not my favorite person right now I cannot go back to work like this," he hissed.
"You are so welcome," she drawled, her teeth nipping at his jaw.
"You are the worst."
She grinned and pulled away from her, grabbing her helmet. "C'mon, baby. You don't want them to think we got lost."
/
"Whoo! And that was something, huh?" Buck crowed. "A fire that big and no fatalities. We have to celebrate. We should hit up that bar on Pico. Y'know, the one with the loaded fries. First round's on me."
Eddie shut his locker and grabbed his bag as he slung his other arm around Mariana's shoulders. She shrugged her duffle bag strap onto her shoulder and fished his keys out of his pocket, holding them up so he could see that she had them.
"Wish we could, man. Christopher's hosting his first sleepover tonight. Hey, you're more than welcome to come and celebrate with a bunch of nine-year-olds," Eddie explained.
"We're off to be responsible parents," she chuckled. "See you later guys."
Eddie opened the passenger side door for her and grabbed her bag, tossing them in the back, and jogged around to the driver's side of his truck. The second he was in the driver's seat, his lips were pressed against hers. She smiled as he casually pulled away and started the car.
"Was that payback?" she asked.
"Oh no, that will be coming when all the kids have been returned to their parents and Christopher is conveniently visiting Pepa."
She bit her lip and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, tangling her fingers with his as he rested his hand next to the gearstick. Mariana lifted their clasped hands to her lips as she kissed his hand.
"Love you," she said softly. The corner of his lips lifted and he reached out and tugged the end of her braid.
"Love you too, mariposa."
/
"Snacks are ready, pizza will be delivered at six, the living room couch has been moved to make room for sleeping bags, and kids are arriving any minute now." Eddie checked off her to-do list. "And I grabbed the mail. For you."
He deposited a few letters in front of her and Mariana hummed her thanks as she focused on getting her earring in. Instinctively, she tilted her face up towards him and he pecked her cheek before heading out of their bedroom. The brunette successfully secured her earring and grabbed the letters, flipping through the few bills until she paused.
The return address stared up at her as if it was taunting her. She felt her chest tighten and Mariana shut her eyes as if she could push it away from her mind. Shoving the unopened letter into her jewelry box, she shook her head to get rid of her thoughts and straightened up.
The doorbell snapped her out of her reverie and she plastered a smile on her face and headed out to greet parents and kids. Christopher was practically beaming from excitement. Mariana glanced up at her boyfriend as he pulled her into his side while they greeted the parents.
I'm going to have to tell him. I just don't know how he'll react.
The sleepover was perfect. Mariana leaned against the kitchen door frame and watched as the kids stared at the new Power Rangers film as if it was the most interesting thing created in the world. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she slipped into the kitchen to answer it, finding Eddie putting away dishes from the washer.
"Hen? What's up, I thought you were having a date night?" she answered.
"I can't stop thinking about that guy you pulled out of the apartments. Anton. He died at the hospital, Mari. I told them that he might have a thyroid condition and then he died from a heart attack. Is there anything you can do? See his records?"
"I'm sorry, Hen. It's not my shift and that certainly breaks HIPAA. I can ask around tomorrow when I go into work, but I can't do anything right now," Mariana sighed.
"I understand. Thanks."
Mari set her phone onto the counter with another lengthy sigh. Eddie looked at her with a raised eyebrow and he closed the dishwasher. He didn't even have to tell her that he knew something was wrong. She simply just hung her head and he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her.
"We can talk about it in our room. We'll check in on the kids later and make sure they're lights out," he whispered. She nodded and pulled out of his embrace, brushing her hair out of her eyes. He led the way to their room and they quietly snuck by the kids who were already dozing off. The sugar crash was starting to set in and soon they would have a handful of fast asleep nine year olds.
Eddie left the bedroom door open a crack just in case the kids called for them or anything and sat on the bed. He didn't push her and just waited for her to react. Mariana silently pulled the letter out of her jewelry box and passed it to him.
"I haven't opened it yet. I...I can't," she admitted. "I saw who it was from and I just can't."
"Do you want me to open it?"
"Please." Her voice broke at the end of the word and Eddie just wanted to rip the damn letter up and burn it. This one piece of paper had her more rattled than he had ever seen her. She was practically shaking in front of him.
He opened it and scanned the contents of the letter, his jaw clenching tighter with every word he read. Eddie had to stop himself from balling it up and launching it across the room. Instead he tossed it onto the bed and hauled his girlfriend into his lap. She tucked her face into the crook of his neck and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Eddie leaned over and grabbed the teddy bear off of her nightstand and held it close to her chest.
"I'm not going to let him anywhere near you, okay? No matter what the court decides, he's not going to know where you are or come near you. We'll talk to Athena and Bobby. I promise, my heart, he's not going to hurt you ever again."
He stared at the letter as he whispered these words to her. Los Angeles County Prison. Daniel Holloway...re examining the case...grounds of false testimony...Valentina Ramirez and Mariana Ramirez...due to appear in court.
May be released from prison as he awaits retrial.