January
Mariana laughed as Diego breezed past her with some other kids from Isabel's neighborhood. She and Eddie were seated on the steps of the Diaz matriarch and keeping a watchful eye on the block party. Pepa was helping Christopher with the sparklers on the other side of the street away from Isabel's prized rose bushes.
"So, you survived meeting Abuela and Pepa," Eddie mused as he took a drink of his beer. Mari grinned and bumped his shoulder with her own.
"I think they like me," she hummed.
"Like you? Abuela doesn't just offer anyone lessons on how to grow roses like she does."
"I think it's 'cause I brought the pozole."
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her shoulder and she sighed into his touch. He stroked his thumb over her hip and she leaned into his side, a smile playing on her lips. The crack of fireworks didn't even faze him. In fact, he barely noticed them as he gazed at her. The light reflected against her brown eyes and illuminated her smile, casting an almost angelic glow around her. He was so used to seeing her hair pulled back that just seeing her dark hair hanging around her shoulder in messy waves made him want to tangle his hand in it and draw her in for the sweetest kiss.
"We should probably start heading home soon," she said. "There's going to be a lot of drunk idiots on the roads the closer we get to midnight."
Eddie pulled himself away from his girlfriend and stood up from the porch, offering her a hand. Mari took it and hopped up before she stuck her pinkies in her mouth and whistled sharply. Diego turned and immediately started running in the direction of his aunt.
"Time to go, mis pequeñitos," she called. Pepa and Isabel hugged them both tightly before hugging and kissing the boys goodbye. With the promise of meeting up soon to discuss recipes and rose bushes, the Diaz-Ramirez family was on their way back home.
"The ball has dropped in New York so that means it's technically 2020 in America," Eddie announced as Mariana pulled into the driveway. She engaged the parking break and leaned over to steal a kiss from him.
"Happy New Year's, Mr. Diaz," she murmured.
"I think it's bedtime for the kids, Ms Ramirez."
Eddie carried a sleeping Christopher into the house as Mariana directed a bleary-eyed Diego towards his room. They weren't too strict on the usual bedtime routine since it was an hour past their usual bedtime. Diego was out like a light before Mariana had a chance to close his bedroom door and creep back to her bedroom.
Eddie was still tucking Christopher in so she was the first in their room. She took that as a win, turning the lights off. Eddie quietly crept in and flipped on the lights, his look of confusion immediately changing when he saw her sitting on their bed with an innocent look on her face.
"Please tell me you're wearing red under that," he said hoarsely.
"I don't know, why don't you find out?" she asked.
He scooped her up and easily deposited her on her back, his hands sliding under her shirt and helping her out of it. Eddie let out a curse and drew her in for a kiss.
"It's a matching set," she hummed, nipping at his ear.
"If this is how 2020 is starting, it's going to be a hell of a year."
February
"What do you think they're talking about?" Buck asked as he tried to inconspicuously look over the railing at the four people standing on the apparatus floor.
"All I know is that Mariana has been nervous about this all week," Eddie sighed as he flipped through the book in his hands. He wasn't really reading it, it was just a thing to do with his hands to distract himself. "She woke up one night and started making a to do list at three in the morning."
"Yearly inspections are hell on both Mariana and Bobby," Hen mused. "But hey, dinner is going to be amazing because the two of them will have enough energy to power a small city that they need to let out."
"What is for dinner?" Chimney asked. "I'm already missing Valentine's day with Maddie so it better be a damn good meal."
"Chim, I really don't want to hear about your plans with my sister," Buck groaned.
"Karen is used to it by now. We'll just have our own Valentine's night when I'm off shift."
"Mari's not a flowers and chocolate kind of person," Eddie added. "Honestly, I don't think she realizes it's Valentine's day."
Chimney and Hen exchanged a look before turning to stare at him. "You're an idiot, Diaz."
"Wait, what?"
"Shh, guys, they're coming upstairs!" Buck hissed. They fell silent and pretended to act natural as Mariana and Bobby trudged upstairs. The latina headed straight for the couch and fell down onto the cushions next to her boyfriend, letting out a muffled scream into the pillow. He wordlessly started to pull the pins out of her bun, knowing that she hated wearing the departmental uniform hair. Mariana mumbled out a thanks and promptly burrowed in closer to his side.
"Well?" Hen asked.
"We passed," Bobby announced. "Mari's just a drama queen."
"They had it out for me and you know it," she groaned, her eyes falling shut in relief as Eddie finally released her hair from the tight bun and ran his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp.
"Athena's coming by to cook dinner with me today," Bobby informed them.
"Is there some special occasion today?" Mari asked, poking her head up over the couch cushions.
"...it's Valentine's day."
"Oh. Shit!" She looked up at her boyfriend with wide eyes. "I completely forgot."
"You were a little distracted, sweetheart. Don't worry about it, we can do something tomorrow."
If he shot a knowing look at Chimney and Hen as they rolled their eyes, he would never tell.
March
"I feel guilty. I have mom guilt," Mariana declared as she dropped her duffle bag next to the air mattress tucked under the loft. She fell back against the couch and sighed, taking a chip out of the bowl on Chimney's lap. He shot her an unamused look and moved his bowl away from her. She reached out and patted at the couch until he took pity on her and moved it back towards her.
"Why are we feeling guilty?" Eddie asked as he carried in some of the groceries with Buck trailing behind him with the other half.
"I miss my boys," she whined. "It's hard enough being away from them for a shift but who knows when they'll get this virus under control? I love my jobs but I miss them."
"I'm sure this will be all under control soon," Buck assured her. "Besides, you can FaceTime them every night."
She let out a frustrated sigh and lifted one of Buck's throw pillows to her face. Eddie grabbed the pillow out of his girlfriend's hands and rolled his eyes at her dramatics when she pouted up at him.
"The boys understand. No one expected a pandemic," he chastised her.
"I know. Buck, thank you for letting us stay here."
"It'll be fun!" Chimney declared. "The four of us. Me, the brother of my pregnant girlfriend, and the couple. Fun."
April
Breakfast was...interesting. Mariana ripped off a piece of the blueberry muffin in her hand, but she wasn't really hungry. Well, she was but not that kind of hungry. More along the lines of "I sleep next to my boyfriend on an air mattress every night but our best friends sleep on the couch next to us and on the loft above us" kind of hunger. The hunger that made her really irritable and Eddie uncomfortably shifting in his seat every five seconds.
Mariana tilted back her coffee mug to get the last of it before she set it down on the table in front of her, her dark eyes not breaking from Eddie's.
"Hey, don't you two need to do something? Like go get curbside pickup from someplace. Support a local business," she asked.
"No? I think we're good on stuff. We got groceries delivered two days ago so…" Buck trailed off as he shot his sister a confused look. Mariana levelled a glare at him.
"I think you and Chimney need to go entertain yourselves outside of this apartment for an hour," she hissed.
"But we have everything we need here. Buck and I were going to make a few more middle schoolers cry on Call of Duty," Chimney pointed out.
"Guys, just...just do it," Eddie groaned. "Just go."
"Uh, I don't know if you're aware but there's a pandemic outside."
"So go sit in the car and play Animal Crossing on the switch or something, Howard. I haven't had sex in almost two months so please go occupy yourselves for an hour," Mariana snapped.
The silence was quickly interrupted by the screech of chairs being pushed back. Buck stammered out something about getting curbside pickup from a new cafe as Chimney nodded along, grabbing his keys off the hook next to the front door. Mariana pinched the bridge of her nose and waited for the door to shut.
"Three. Two. One," Eddie counted down. He could barely finish his sentence before Mariana was up and straddling him. He picked her up easily, supporting her with his arm under her thighs as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"How is it easier when there are two kids in our house?" she gasped out as she yanked off her top. He let out a breathless laugh and trailed kisses up her neck, sucking on the sensitive spot under her jaw. Mariana gripped his shoulders tightly, her nails digging into the fabric of his shirt.
"We've never had airbed sex," he pointed out.
"First time for everything," she teased. "C'mon, old man."
"I'm thirty."
"And I'm still in my twenties, you dirty old man."
"You're twenty-nine!"
May
The stove light was on which wasn't unusual. It was the fact that it shone on the lone figure sitting at the island that caused Mariana to slide out from under Eddie's arm and walk towards the kitchen. She grabbed one of Eddie's old sweatshirts and threw it on over her tank top to ward off the chill that came from Buck's floor to ceiling windows.
"Hi," the said owner of the loft whispered in greeting. Mari wordlessly pulled out two mugs and filled them with water before sticking them in the microwave. She would have gone with her tea kettle but didn't want to wake up Chimney and Eddie.
"Nightmare?" she hummed, stopping the microwave from beeping. She dropped a tea bag into each mug and slid one towards Buck before she climbed onto the stool next to him. The latina pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them, watching him with her dark eyes.
"Yeah...it was weird. I-" Buck shut his mouth and tore his eyes away from her, instead choosing to focus on the city outside.
"Mine was about Eddie and that damn sinkhole," she mused. "I wake up feeling like my chest is collapsing and I can't catch my breath. I just lay there and stare at him like if I blink, he'll disappear forever and I'll wake up and find it was all a dream."
He sucked in a breath and ran a hand over his face. "Sometimes it's the tsunami. Sometimes it's Maddie the day we found her...a lot of time it's the truck. Being trapped under it. Seeing you next to me and doing nothing to help. Sometimes you're not even there. I wait for someone to come help and they don't. I'm alone."
Mariana took a sip of her tea and set it back down on the counter. She waited for him to continue and when he didn't, she finally spoke.
"I would have come. I will always come back. You're my best friend, Buck. Nothing can change that."
"How do I make this feeling stop?"
"Have you ever considered therapy? A better therapist this time who won't take advantage of you. Because that's what happened last time. You were in a vulnerable state and she was in a power imbalance with you. And she took advantage of you."
"I don't know how to find a good therapist. I don't want to do a departmental because of last time."
She nodded and grabbed his iPad that he had resting on the island. Mari tapped on the screen for a bit before pulling up Psychology Today. "Enter your info, insurance, and everything and it'll give you options. Telehealth is an option for now. You saw that I do therapy on the balcony sometimes and sometimes Eddie joins me when Dr Allen wants to talk to him about how I'm doing. It's a trial and error process for finding a therapist, but we won't give up until you find one."
They spent an hour looking through therapists and discussing options. The tea was cold by the time he caught her yawning and Buck nudged her with his elbow.
"Go back to bed, Mari," he told her gently. She nodded, too tired to argue, and slipped off the chair. He pulled her in for a hug and she grinned sleepily. "Can we keep this between us?"
"Of course. It's a hard, long road but I know you can do it," she mumbled before pulling away from him and heading back over to the air mattress. Mari tried to climb in as well as she could to prevent waking up Eddie. He slid his arm over her instinctively and she burrowed into her personal space heater.
And when Eddie went to wake her up in the morning for a run, Buck quietly asked him to let her sleep in. Eddie understood once he saw the two mugs of cold tea seated on the island. Instead he took that as an opportunity to lay in bed a little longer, admiring the woman next to him.
July
It started with a low grade fever. Mariana was honestly impressed that it took her this long. She worked in one of the nation's busiest ERs and she worked with the public as a firefighter. So when she woke up feeling like her entire body was hit by a bus (or better yet, blown up), she knew what was happening.
"Babe." She shook Eddie's shoulder and he grunted in response, burying his face into his pillow. Mariana shoved him gently and he cracked his eyelids open, looking at her with bleary eyes.
"Wha-?" he groaned.
"We need to call Bobby and then go get a COVID test," she sighed. He immediately sat up and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. He grimaced at the heat radiating off of his girlfriend and he cupped her cheeks, checking her pupil reactivity and lymph nodes.
"Any chest pain?" he asked.
"Not yet. Here's to hoping it's mild." He shot her an unamused look at her attempt of lightening the situation.
"Get dressed, I'll wake up Buck and Chimney and then I'll call Bobby." Clearly his military brain was working because he hopped out of bed and started ordering the guys around without another thought.
She didn't have much hope but the little amount she held onto disappeared when they got their results. Her and Buck tested positive while Eddie and Chimney were negative, but Bobby still put all four of them on two week quarantine from work. She had apologized profusely but Bobby reassured her that there was no way to tell how they got it. He ordered Eddie to give him daily updates on them and even promised to drop off some of Athena's famous chili.
They were incredibly lucky. Buck had mild symptoms and just felt tired. Mariana had minimal coughing and a low fever but she was exhausted and cold all the time. As the four of them sprawled out on the couch to watch TV, Mari was out within five minutes of the show starting. Eddie wrapped the blanket around her shoulders tighter and moved her a bit so her head rested on his chest and he could rub her back. He discovered that she was a cuddly sick person and constantly thanked him for everything no matter how many times he told her that she didn't have to.
He had the emotional effects of the pandemic weighing on her already. As a frontline worker in two different ways, Mariana had come many days looking completely devastated and telling them stories about how she watched patients lay in pain all alone. He was eternally grateful that her symptoms didn't require a hospital visit because he probably wouldn't be able to handle leaving her all alone when she wasn't feeling okay. Even if there wasn't a global pandemic, he realized, he wouldn't be able to see her if she was injured and incapacitated in the hospital unless family consented.
Mariana shifted slightly and he moved his hand from her back to her hair, knowing that she secretly liked it when he played with her hair. His chest tightened at the small noise that escaped her and he tightened his hold around her. This year more than ever was teaching them that life was short and being with your loved ones mattered more than anything. He missed Christopher terribly but knowing he was safer away from them made it all feel worth it.
Eddie grabbed his phone and sent a quick email to his lawyer to update his will. He then tossed his phone onto the edge of the couch and focused on the movie.
August
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Mariana asked nervously. "I mean, I work at the ER for fuck's sake."
"You also now have the antibodies, a vaccine is almost done, and we haven't seen the boys since March. I know you miss them as much as I do," Eddie reminded her. "We have a system set up for your scrubs and we'll shower before we leave the station and when we get home."
She nodded and grabbed her duffle bag before she hopped out of his truck. He joined her on the driveway and grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers as they approached the front door. Eddie unlocked it for the first time in months and opened the door.
"Dad! Mari!" Christopher shouted in greeting. Mariana grunted as Diego plowed into her legs and then she laughed, resting her hand on the back of his head as he hugged her waist. Eddie hugged Christopher tightly, smiling brightly. FaceTime meant nothing compared to actually being able to see them and hug them.
"We missed you guys so much," Mariana informed them as she hugged Christopher. "Were you two well behaved for Pepa?"
"Little angels," she assured them.
"Thank you so much," Eddie thanked his aunt.
"Don't mention it, Edmundo. You can repay me by making an honest woman out of that girl."
"Pepa!" he shouted as Mariana laughed. He looked over at his partner who was talking excitedly with the boys about their day and she glanced up at him, sending him a quick wink. No one could see but he knew that under her shirt rested his dog tags just above her heart.
September
Mariana looked up at the ceiling as the ground shook. It was a minor quake but still enough to unsettle her Cali native blood.
"What was that? A four?" Hen speculated.
"Eh, it felt like a dud," Eddie commented as he passed them. "I wouldn't put it anymore than a three."
"Oh, he survives one massive earthquake and now everything is tiny," Mari mocked. Eddie reached over to tug on her ponytail and she ducked under his arm with a shriek, dashing over to hide next to Buck who was looking at his phone.
"Hey, no cheating!" Chimney shouted at Buck.
"Caltech's been tracking microquakes the last few days," he reported. "Thousands of them."
"That didn't feel micro to me," Bobby said. As if on cue, the alarm chimed with an incoming emergency.
"Oh 2020, you never fail," Mariana sang as she headed for the driver's seat.