Helena opened the top of the box and pulled out a scrapbook, handing it to a grinning Buck. Eddie groaned from his spot next to Mariana on the couch and ran a hand over his face. His wife snickered and leaned into her brother to see the photos.
"Oh, that's Eddie when we first brought him home from the hospital," Helena gushed. Mariana grinned up at her husband, a bright sparkle in her eyes. He knew the second his mom grabbed the box that he would never hear the end of it.
"You were kind of an ugly baby," Buck commented. Mariana smacked his shoulder and rolled her eyes.
"You were adorable," she declared, flipping the page.
"You have to say that," Buck complained. "You're married to him."
"Well there's a reason for that, Buckley," she drawled out. Eddie squeezed her hip and she smiled up at him, her brown eyes warm. Instinctively, he reached up to brush her hair out of her eyes. Mariana's face warmed at his affectionate action in front of others and she ducked her head. His hand slid down her back, coming to rest on the small of her back.
"I've never seen any of your baby photos," he said.
"Yeah, I haven't...looked at my parent's stuff since I was nineteen, I think."
He nodded in understanding. "Whenever you're ready."
Hen reached into the box and pulled something out, a curious look written on her face. She raised an eyebrow and flipped the paper over to display it for everyone. It was some shoddy graphic design work depicting a silhouette of a woman leaning against a muscle car.
"Hell, I forgot about that," Eddie laughed out. "My cousin was teasing me since I didn't have a girl to brag about at basic so he convinced Pepa to take him to a car show in LA and he got me an autograph by some girl he said was the hottest girl he had ever seen. I hung it up in my bunk to get the guys off my back and it actually worked."
"Eddie, can't wait till you come home. XO, Boulevard Babe," Hen read aloud, her words dissolving into laughter at the end. "You're kidding me."
"Hey, I never met this famous Boulevard Babe," Eddie exclaimed. Buck nudged his sister who was staring at the flyer with an unreadable expression.
"Oh, don't tell me you're jealous," Buck crowed. Mariana shot him a withering glare but her lips quirked up in a small smile.
"Like Eddie said, he never met this girl so what do I have to be jealous about?" she scoffed. Buck rolled his eyes at her and waved the flyer in her face.
"Sure, keep telling yourself that."
The garage door opened and everyone quieted down as Ramon entered. He cast a glance at everyone seated on the couch, his eyes falling on Mariana tucked neatly into his son's side. With a huff, he disappeared down the hall. Helena sighed and checked the time before offering them a tense smile.
"I should head off to bed. We'll have breakfast ready before you guys leave tomorrow morning," she reminded them.
"Thank you mom," Eddie said, pulling away from Mari and standing up so he could hug his mom. She knew his thanks had a deeper meaning than just letting them stay the night and feeding them. He was thanking her for making an effort.
"The guest bedroom is set up and Eddie can show you around," Helena said. Mariana stood and gave her a quick and grateful hug. Her mother-in-law pulled back and placed her hands on the younger woman's shoulders.
"I will talk to Ramon. I promise."
"I know you will. I can handle it regardless."
Mari insisted that Hen take the bed since she was still recovering from the helicopter crash. Buck eyed the couch with disdain and Eddie assured him that he could have the air mattress that was set up on the floor of the guest room. Mariana and Eddie would take the couches.
"So that went well," he announced to the dark living room. Mariana rolled her head over to the side, her eyes seeking out his profile in the darkness. She let out a bitter laugh and sighed.
"Better than expected, I think," she admitted. "They didn't call me a harlot and demand we get a divorce right now."
"I think there were a few harlot insinuations," he grunted. "You're not a harlot."
"You sure know how to charm a girl, Diaz."
He shifted so he could face her. She reached out from her couch, the simple silver band on her finger shining in the moonlight. A glow was cast across her face and he was struck by just how lucky he was as she tilted her head to the side, wide brown eyes studying the ring on her finger.
"Do you regret it?" Eddie wasn't one to voice his insecurities, but with Mariana it came easy. He knew there would never be any judgement. Rather, there was only understanding.
"Nah. Do you?"
"Never."
"Go to sleep, Edmundo. We have a long drive ahead of us."
He stared at the ceiling, the fan turning above him rhythmically, slowly, like the rotors of a helicopter. He looked over at Mariana once more, finding her curled up under an afghan fast asleep, and decided to try and follow her lead.
It lasted only a few hours. Mariana woke up with a start to the sound of a shout. Eddie was curled up on his side, occasionally twitching and crying out. His face was contorted in pain and fear and Mariana feels her heart stop. A fucking helicopter crash, Ramirez. He witnessed a helicopter crash.
"Pinned down...taking fire," he mutters, trashing under the blankets covering him. "Norwahl...stand down."
"Eddie," she said gently. Mari climbed off of the couch and moved to kneel down next to him, her hand hovering over his shoulder. "Eddie, it's just a dream. You're in El Paso."
"Greggs!" he shouted, his voice breaking and her heart shattering at the pain in his tone. Taking the risk, Mariana grabbed his shoulder. He grabbed her wrist, holding it firmly so she couldn't move her arm. Voices filled the hallways and she winced as the hall light turned on. Mariana couldn't worry about the others right now, she needed to focus on Eddie.
"Eddie, you need to wake up," she begged. "You're in Texas. You're safe."
His eyes started to open, a disoriented and wild look in the normally calm brown eyes and Mariana swallowed down the worry in her voice. She knew the one way to snap him out of it and she was going to feel incredibly guilty using this.
"Edmundo, you're scaring me," Mari said.
It was instantaneous. His eyes shot open and he dropped her wrist almost as if he burned himself on her. Eddie sat up and scooted back away from Mariana, his gaze darting down to her wrist and then back up to her face.
"I- I- What did I do?" he whispered so quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Oh, no baby, you didn't hurt me. You just scared me," she breathed out. "I'm okay. I didn't know how to get you to snap out of it. I'm sorry."
He buried his head in his hands and Mariana stood so she could reach him better. She slowly placed her hand on his shoulder and the second her hand touched him, he surged forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her into him. His head rested on her stomach and she leaned down to press a kiss to his head and smooth down his hair.
"In and out, boy wonder. One breath in, hold for two, one breath out."
He cursed against the fabric of her shirt at the sound of his father's voice and Mariana shook her head, pressing her forehead to his hair. "Don't worry about them. Just focus on me. Use my heartbeat. We're in Texas. Christopher and Diego are fine. Hen is fine. Buck is fine. I am fine."
Eddie sucked in a sharp, shuddering breath and his hands expertly started running over her body to check for injuries. She shut her eyes at his touch and scratched her nails down the length of his spine, feeling him shiver under touch. Raising her head, she met Ramon and Helena's eyes.
"Could you get him some tea, please?" Mari asked quietly. Helena nodded quickly and darted for the kitchen. Ramon hesitantly stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the sight of his normally strong and stoic son practically trembling in her arms.
"Is he okay?"
"He will be," Mariana assured him, curling her fingers at the nape of Eddie's neck and rubbing her thumb along the tension of his shoulders. "This is unfortunately common for veterans and first responders. We learn to deal with it."
Eddie tapped her back twice and she stepped back to give him the space to stand up. She looked up at him and he cupped her jaw and pressed a kiss against her forehead before delicately holding her wrist up to the light.
"I'm fine, Eddie. You didn't hurt me," she whispered. "Scared the shit out of me, maybe, but you could never hurt me."
He shook his head and glanced over to look at his father before drawing himself up to full height and puffing out his chest. Mariana ran her knuckles over his side to catch his attention once more and she gestured towards the front door with her head.
"Go get some fresh air for a second," she murmured. He kissed her temple and squeezed her waist gratefully before slipping outside, leaving Mariana with her father-in-law.
"He just needs some air," she explained to Ramon. "He'll be fine."
"Does that happen a lot?" he asked.
"Depends on how you define often. For a normal person, yes. For us...for what we do and who we are and the trauma we have faced, no." Mariana set about rearranging the pillows and blankets on the couch. "We work through it."
"My son is not the kind to be affected by this," Ramon scoffed.
"Your son is a silver star veteran and firefighter who saved his team and ensured that everyone came home. He is a good man, a great father, and a loving husband. But he is also a man who has seen more death than a reasonable person should. If you saw the things we did, you wouldn't be making such broad statements," Mariana said tightly. "You can hate me all you want, Mr. Diaz, but I will always have Eddie's back, on and off the field."
Ramon stared her down until Helena interrupted them, a mug of chamomile tea clutched in her hands. Mariana gratefully took it and slipped outside to find Eddie seated on the porch, his head bowed as he rested his arms on his thighs. She wordlessly sat down next to him, placing the tea in between them. He moved to rest one hand on her thigh, his thumb brushing back and forth over her skin.
"Will you schedule a therapy appointment once we get back to LA?"
He nodded in agreement to her question and let out a heavy breath, leaning back so she could scoot closer to him and rest her head against his collarbone. They sat in silence for another thirty minutes until he realized that her tank top and sleep shorts weren't aiding her in the cool Texas night and he swiftly helped her up and into the house.
The next morning, after a quiet breakfast and short farewells, Mariana headed for the truck while Eddie hung back to say goodbye to his parents once more. She was halfway up the sidewalk when Ramon called her name. The brunette turned and found the Diaz patriarch jogging to catch up to her. He reached his hand out and she hesitantly took it, surprised as he shook her hand.
"Thank you. For taking care of them," he said.
"No better job in the world," she replied. "Thank you. For raising him."
He nodded shortly and walked back to the house, trading places with Eddie who met his wife on the sidewalk. The taller man kissed her temple and turned back to wave goodbye to his parents once more. Grabbing Mariana's duffle bag off of her shoulder, he slung it over his own and led her to the truck with an arm slid across her back.
"Let's go home," she sighed.
"Home," he repeated. "Our own bed. The boys."
"A nice hot shower."
"Laundry."
"Don't taunt me like that, Diaz."
"Wouldn't plan on it, Ramirez-Diaz."
As Buck pulled the truck back onto the road and on the way to LA, Mariana thought back to the stupid little flyer Eddie had hung up in his bunk once upon a time. Hen had shot her a knowing look when Buck teased her about being jealous, but only Hen and Bobby and Athena knew the truth.
Because Athena had arrested Boulevard Babe ten years ago after a near fatal crash.
Mariana would take that secret to the grave.