A/N: Hi everyone! It's been a while! I've been buried in work and now I have a bit of a breather. Also, I'm trying to catch up with the latest episodes of Season 5 and I must say, all the emotions I felt were thrown in a blender.

Please enjoy this chapter and as always, thank you for your support! :)

[PS: I still miss Eddie's Season 2 heair]

Chapter 10: 2019 and New Beginnings

911, what's your emergency?

I counted backwards and now they're all dead!

Who's dead, ma'am?

All of them! Please hurry! The anesthesiologist is crushing my legs!

***LINE BREAK***

2019 March, Transformex Cosmetic Surgery Center

The 118 entered the center in their hazmat suits and were cautious as there was no one in the reception area. They were speculating what could have been in the air but Bobby confirmed it's nothing combustible and to keep their hazmat suits on as a precaution. "Where is everyone? It's too quiet." Buck said as they walked down the hall.

"Got one here!" Eddie called and dropped down to an unconscious nurse, "She has a pulse. Everything seems normal."

HELP! HELP! PLEASE HELP!

The 118 heard someone's pleas and hastily walked towards the voice. When they found the room where it was coming from, the doctor and another nurse were unconscious but a woman was very much conscious at the operating table. "Please help, they're crushing me." the lady cried out.

"Okay, Buck," Bobby started to give out orders, "give me a hand over here, Alisa, check on the patient, Chim and Hen check on the others."

"Why? What's wrong?" the lady began to panic.

"Ma'am, please don't touch your face." Bobby warned as he got one of the doctors.

"Ma'am," Alisa's face came into her view, "ma'am, please stay calm and do not touch your face."

"What's wrong?" she asked again.

"Ma'am, it looks like the medical team in charge of your surgery wasn't 100% finished before they lost consciousness." Alisa explained, "You're still under the effects of the general anesthesia, which is very good. My patients at the hospital said it keeps them nice and numb when they have to be awake for an operation."

"..." the lady nodded, "You're so… you're so beautiful. Did you have anything done?"

"Oh, thank you." Alisa kept her entertained while she reached for a cold compress, "I've never had any surgery done. My parents are just really gorgeous people, even my twin."

"There is no lie, ma'am." Buck reaffirmed her statement.

"I think you're beautiful too, ma'am." she smiled kindly, "Now, I'm just going to put a cold compress on your face, alright? You're still cut open and so we need to keep you cold to preserve the tissue. As I have said earlier, the doctors working on you weren't finished yet or have barely started."

"Tissue?" the lady sat up and the skin on her forehead covered her eyes, "Oh! My face! My face is off!"

"Ma'am," Alisa pushed her back down on the bed gently, "calm down. I'm here, I'm here. The 118 has you." she flipped the loose skin on her neck and forehead again, "There we go. I'm going to put the ice on you now so that Hen and Chim can transport you safely to a hospital after they assess the others."

"Cap, everyone has the same symptoms." Chim announced, "They're sleeping like a baby and they're all stable."

"There must be an anesthesia line running through this place." Bobby looked behind the machines.

"Then there's gotta be a leak or rupture." Hen thought aloud.

"Then why isn't she out?" Buck asked.

"She's receiving oxygen from the nasal cannula so it didn't affect her." Hen replied.

"Well, then…" Bobby cleared his throat, "Eddie, do you copy?"

Eddie: Yes, Cap?

"What's your status?"

Eddie: I found a couple of more patients in the back. Also, stable.

"Alright, our lovely lady is secured and ready for the ambo." Alisa finished prepping her.

"Wait… wait.." the lady was getting sleepy, "There were some construction guys earlier… I saw them before I went under."

"I don't hear them now." Hen looked confused as she switched places with Alisa, "Thanks, hun."

"No problemo, Henny!" Alisa's smile made Hen smile back.

"They must be knocked out…" Bobby deduced, "Okay, Hen, Chim, go with our patient to the hospital since she's ready for transport. Alisa, go with Eddie to check on the construction. Buck, we're going to check on the others."

"Roger, Cap!"

After finding the problem and doing an impromptu surgery by Alisa on one of the construction workers to keep him stable, she had the other ambulance transport the worker to Cedar-Sinai, a hospital she was working at part-time. It turned out that the head of the ER was her former professor in New York, Dr. Rachel Palmer, and she found out the Alisa was in LA (she was thoroughly scolded by the middle-aged doctor for not reaching out sooner) and struck a deal with her working at the hospital for a week every month. When she started her first week, the staff was skeptical until the auburn haired girl took charge when an influx of patients came in from a major accident and almost eviscerated an arrogant doctor who thought he could treat nurses like dirt.

***LINE BREAK***

The Diazes were training in their basement gym and had invited the Buckleys for another session. Earlier in the year, Maddie expressed she wanted to learn some self-defense and Buck taught her some boxing basics and word reached Alisa and Eddie who volunteered their services. It would help Maddie feel more confident since another woman was helping her and Eddie and Buck could release some pent up frustrations as they didn't want to hurt the girls, during mock fights. The Diazes became very protective of Maddie when the older woman shared what happened to her during her marriage to an abusive soon-to-be ex-husband, Doug. "Hiyah!" Alisa threw a high kick at Eddie who blocked her easily.

"Gotta be better than that, mi amor." Eddie teased.

"I'm going easy on you." she smirked and freed herself before throwing another high and low kick combo, "I wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face of yours."

"Yeah right." He rolled his eyes and went on the offensive.

The Buckley siblings watched in interest as the couple fought. If they had to be honest, they were so in sync that they could land anything on each other. "Gotcha!" Alisa smirked when she was able to grapple Eddie on the floor and sat on his back.

"Who said I wasn't going easy on you?" Eddie parrotted and patted the mat.

"Maddie, you see that? Just because someone is taller than me," Alisa helped Eddie up, "doesn't mean I can't bring him down. It's always good to use our little stature to surprise them."

"What about Buck's height?" Maddie asked, "I don't think I've seen you do so before."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Alisa smirkled mischievously, "Eddie, switch out with Buck."

"Uhhhhh he's not going to murder me right?" Buck nervously played with his collar.

"Unless you intentionally hurt her, I won't." Eddie sat on the bench beside Maddie and drank some water, "I taught her everything she knows."

"That and she was a state karate champion." Buck commented.

"Well, TK and I had to learn. New York isn't a safe place for us all the time and well, Mom and Dad were paranoid when we got kidnapped that one time." Alisa explained again, "Come at me!"

The tall blonde ran towards her with the intention of throwing a punch but Alisa anticipated it as she parried his arm and grabbed it to flip him over. "Eddie and you are 2 peas in a pod." she smiled.

"Buck, are you okay!?" Maddie was torn between laughing and being worried for him, "That was so cool! Like oh my gosh, maybe I should learn that!"

"Come on, Maddie, why don't you and Buck work on your punches." Alisa wiped the sweat from her brows, "I'll tap out for a bit and make us some food." Maddie nodded as she wore her gloves while Eddie threw the pads at Buck.

"Need help, mi amor?" Eddie asked as she placed a kiss on his forehead.

"No. Stay out of my kitchen, Eddie." she teased, "I'll be fine."

"Ay dios mio." he shook his head good naturedly, "I'm not that bad!" his only answer was the giggles that echoed in the basement as she went up to the main floor.

"Eddie, stop staring at your wife's ass!" Buck joked, "OW! Maddie, I wasn't ready!"

"Oops, sorry, Buck!" Maddie looked pleased with herself when Eddie laughed.

***LINE BREAK***

911, what's your emergency?

Sh-shark! Shark! A man's been attacked by a shark!

What beach are you on, ma'am?

We're not on the beach! We're on the freeway!

***LINE BREAK***

"Oh man, Christopher and Alisa's going to be so disappointed seeing this." Eddie commented to Buck as they reached the scene, "They are obsessed with marine animals. We're at the aquarium often."

"JAWS!" Bobby called.

"I got it!" Eddie went to the firetruck to get the jaws.

"How'd his arm get in there?" Chimney asked one of the California Marine Life Center workers as they secured the tiger shark and kept him wet.

"Diego was trying to get water what was left on our pump. She can't breathe without it!" he replied as Diego was screaming in pain.

"How much time does she have left?" Hen asked.

"Minutes." another worker replied.

"Do we have to wait long or do we just–" Buck was about to hit it with a halligan while Bobby was restraining him.

"No! No! No! Don't!" Diego protested, "She's come so far!"

"Okay, we're going to do this very carefully." Bobby instructed as Eddie arrived with the jaws, "Let's get in there."

Eddie placed the jaws in the shark's mouth as Bobby held Diego. He slowly powered up the jaw just enough for the shark to release the young male. When Bobby was able to do so, Eddie stopped what he was doing and let Chim and Hen check on their victim to transport him to the hospital on EMS 118. "Don't let her die." Diego said to all of them as they took him away.

"Any ideas?" Bobby asked as he watched the staff pour water on the shark.

"Cap, I have an idea." Buck piped up.

Minutes later, the 118 used Ladder 118 to transport the shark to the center's destination. When they reached the beach, Buck and Eddie guided the ladder operator, Jay Jameson, in bringing the shark down in the water. The staff of the center went in the water to release her and it was a momentous moment for all of them as they waited for her to swim out. They all had their phones out and Eddie sent the video to Alisa as soon as they were back in the station. As he predicted, she sent him a video of an enthusiastic Christopher who was home from school. "Looks like we're going to be at the aquarium again this weekend." Eddie chuckled.

***LINE BREAK***

Cedar-Sinai Hospital

"Hey, are you boys alright?" Alisa kindly asked a pair of kids as they entered the hospital ER.

"I… I… we're trying to get to the police station but he's hurt." the taller boy replied.

"Okay, what are your names?" their were red flags waving in her mind, "My name is Alisa."

"My name is Stevie and this… this is Bryan." Stevie replied.

"Okay, Stevie, I can see you two are really scared. Are your parents with you?" she asked, leading them to one of the bay rooms.

"N-no! Please don't call my dad… he…" Stevie looked ready to cry.

"Stevie's dad took me from my family." Bryan cried.

"Okay, let me check the both of you before I call Dr. Palmer, alright?" Alisa carried them up the bed.

After doing the initial diagnosis, Bryan was severely malnourished and both boys had angry bruise marks littering their body under their clothes. Alisa's motherly instincts wanted to hurt Stevie's dad as he was so cruel to do this to children, children close to Christopher's age. "Okay, I'm going to go get Dr. Palmer to see you. For now, stay here and don't worry. We won't be calling anyo–"

"Um, a police officer did a welfare check in my house earlier this week… Sgt. Athena Grant? I should've gotten her number but I didn't." Stevie sniffled.

"Oh, Stevie." she hugged him, "You must have been so scared but you are so brave. You brought Bryan here to get checked out and protected him. Sgt. Grant is my work mom. I can get a hold of her, don't worry." she hugged Bryan next, "You're going to be fine. We're going to reunite you with your family."

Sometime later, Dr. Palmer had transferred the children to the pediatrics ward where Alisa was with them. Both were scared out of their wits as they were in an unfamiliar place. Dr. Palmer had exercised her powers to keep everyone on the lookout for Stevie's dad in case he shows up and lets Alisa talk to Athena directly. "Athena, this is Alisa Diaz calling from Cedar-Sinai!" she said.

Athena: Alisa. Is something wrong?

"I remember you telling us to watch out for boys who could possibly come into the hospital. We've got a child named Stevie Pornel with Bryan who checked-in at the ER earlier this evening." she reported.

Athena: Oh lord, how are they?

"Scared but putting on a brave face." Alisa replied, "They said that Stevie's dad took Bryan away from his home."

Athena: We're on our way.

"?" Alisa saw Stevie's phone light up, "Athena, I think you should hurry… Stevie's phone has a tracker."

Athena: Alisa?

She looked up and raced to the door and went out of the room. She signaled for the other nurses to keep safe as a man showed down the hall. They nodded and went into the room that was occupied by the boys. "Excuse me, sir, can I help you?" Alisa placed a smile on her face.

"My sons are here. The hospital contacted me." he replied, hiding his hand behind him.

Knowing he was lying, she just nodded her head, "Alright, what are their names?"

"Stevie and Noah." he replied.

"I'm sorry but we haven't had anyone with those names here." she checked the clipboard.

"That's impossible. His phone clearly said he was here!" he started to get angry.

"Sir, hospital records state otherwise." Alsia replied and showed him the clipboard when he stood in front of her, "See?"

RING! RING!

"You bitch!" he screamed when he used his phone to call Stevie's cell and it rang, "Where is he!?" he took out his knife, ready to attack.

"There is no Stevie here. This is a hospital, put that away." Alisa raised her hands.

"I want my sons!" he charged at her but she managed to parry his arm by hitting it with the clipboard and subduing him quickly.

"Stay down!" Alisa ordered.

"WHERE ARE THEY!?" he yelled and before he could shove her off him, a gun was pointed at his face.

"You're under arrest for kidnapping, Pornel and assault." Athena had her gun trained on him, "Nice work, work daughter."

"No problem, work mom." Alisa nodded and got off the man when Athena cuffed him and other officers came in.

The night ended with Alisa and Dr. Palmer giving the boys one last check before releasing them to Athena's custody. It turned out both of the boys were taken from their respective families and the LAPD were able to track them down. Eddie almost had a heart attack when he received a call from Athena and found out what happened but was relieved Alisa was alright along with the children. "I'm so glad you weren't hurt." Eddie clung to her smaller figure.

"I'm alright, Eddie." Alisa hugged him back.

"Are you alright though?" he pulled back and cupped her face.

"I… I was scared at first because they were around Christopher's age but I remembered I was stronger than that." she replied.

"My beautiful, beautiful heroine." Eddie pulled her into a kiss, "Te amo."

"Te amo, Edmundo." she smiled, "Now, let's head over to Maddie's. We promised Buck we'd keep him company while Maddie was out and he watches her place for the evening."

***LINE BREAK***

"Chim!" Buck cried out when he kneeled beside the wounded paramedic, "What happened!? Who did this!?"

The blonde fumbled for his phone and called 911 as the Diazes arrived at Maddie's place of residence. Alisa's gasp caused him to notice their arrival and he desperately looked at her. "What happened? Is he breathing? Are you okay?" she immediately asked.

"He's still breathing. Several stab wounds… I'm okay. It's not my blood." Buck replied.

"Jason… Jason… Maddie…" Chim mumbled.

"Maddie… Maddie!" Buck ran towards Maddie's apartment.

"Go with him, I'll be fine." Alisa told Eddie.

"But I can't leave you alone if there's an attacker in the area. You can't protect yourself while doing first aid on Chimney." Eddie replied.

"BUCK!" Maddie's voice echoed in the area.

"MADDIE, RUN!"

That was all it took for Eddie to listen to Alisa as Maddie ran out of her apartment and ran toward Alisa. The brunette started to cry when she saw a motionless Chimney lying there as Alisa used her jacket to stop the bleeding from his multiple stab wounds to the torso. "Maddie, it's him isn't it?" Alisa whispered.

"He found me…" Maddie sobbed.

"Maddie, the keys to Eddie's truck are in my pocket. Take it and drive. Don't look back." Alisa ordered.

"What about you?" Maddie shook her head.

"Maddie, it's going to be okay." Alisa reassured her and Maddie prepared to run.

"Not so fast, Maddie…" a grave voice said from behind them.

Alisa immediately switched Maddie and her position, the former nurse automatically pressed Alisa's jacket on Chimney as the auburn haired girl stood in front of them. "What did you do with Buck and Eddie?" she asked coldly.

"Well, those boys are going to be knocked out for a while. After all, when you get hit on the head, it's not so good now is it?" he smirked as he pointed a knife at her, "Bleeding, for sure."

"They're firefighters, they're stronger than that." Alisa said, mentally readying herself to administer first aid to the two after she deals with Doug.

"We'll see about that as they bleed out then." he walked towards them, "Now, I just want Maddie and no one else gets hurt."

"No." she stood her ground.

"Alisa, no! I'll go! I'll go with him!" Maddie cried out.

"No." the auburn haired girl repeated.

"It's your funeral." Doug suddenly pulled out something else from his pocket. Alisa gasped in surprise.

BANG!

"ALISAAAAAA!" Maddie's cries echoed in the compound.

The auburn haired girl hissed in pain when she was able to dodge the bullet but it hit her arm cleanly but it missed Maddie and Chimney. Doug was a little surprised and it was enough for Alisa to take him down. She ran towards him and kicked the gun out of his hand first and then grabbed his arm with the knife before flipping him to the ground. The taller male used his elbow to hit her face and scrambled to get the gun again but she regained her momentum by grabbing him again. "Stay down!" she ordered, trapping him in a headlock.

"Never!" he managed to escape her hold when he hit her on her wounded arm causing her to let go and cry out in pain, "I've got the highground now, you bitch." he sat on her torso and trapped her arms with his legs, "Say goodbye…" he raised for his knife that he was able to reach and was about to plunge it.

BANG!

"!" Alisa looked in shock when a bullet hole appeared in between his forehead and he dropped down from her.

The auburn haired girl's adrenaline had disappeared as she sat up to push the dead male from her body and she saw Athena along with another station from the LAFD. The paramedics were tending to Chimney as soon as Doug was shot and Maddie was wrapped in a shock blanket. "Alisa, Alisa, are you okay?" Athena appeared before her with another paramedic.

"Uh…" she shook her head to clear her mind, "Shot in the arm. Athena, Eddie and Buck are still up there! Doug said he hit them on the head and they were bleeding!" the paramedic started on her.

"The other medics already got them. They're about to go down with those 2." Athena cupped her face, "Like I told Maddie, you were both brave tonight. You're so very brave, baby."

"..." Alisa's eyes started to tear up when her work mom wrapped her arms around her work daughter, "I tried to protect Maddie, Athena! I really did!" she started to cry, "I thought Eddie and Buck were going to bleed to death! I did everything I could for Chimney!"

"Shhh… you did so well tonight, baby. We got them and you." Athena kissed her head as the girl lost consciousness.

***LINE BREAK***

Cedar-Sinai Hospital

Alisa opened her eyes to the familiar ceiling of the hospital she worked at, she was in one of the private rooms. She looked around to find her husband sitting beside her bed with a bandage wrapped around his head from the attack and was surprised to find her mom and brother on the couch. "Glad you're up, Diaz." a voice said to her other side, "Your guests tuckered themselves out watching over you."

"Hey, Dr. Palmer." Alisa smiled, "How long have I been out?"

"2 days. I think you had quite the shift last Friday and your body just wanted you to rest." she teased to lighten up the mood, "It didn't help that that thug got you in the artery, too."

"How's my arm?" she asked.

"Your arm's going to be in a sling for a bit but since it was a through and through shot, it's going to heal up nicely, despite an artery getting hit, We stitched you up and you're all good, little to no scarring." Dr. Palmer replied.

"How about the others?"

"They're going to be fine. Your husband was discharged a few hours after monitoring, along with Evan Buckley and his sister, Maddie Buckley is fine as well. She's watching over him right now. Howard Han is still resting in a private room but he should make a full recovery in a few months."

"That's great." Alisa took a deep sigh, "Thanks, Dr. Palmer."

"You're welcome. So far, everything looks good and you should be discharged in the morning." with that, she left the room.

"Hnnn… this chair is killing me…" Eddie mumbled and yawned.

"You could have slept at home or slept next to me." Alisa replied.

"Like I would leave you here alone, Alisa." Eddie yawned again, "Alisa?" he stood up and was more alert, "You're awake!"

"I just woke up, actually." she replied, "How are you? Are you alright?" she used her good arm to reach out to him.

"No more concussions and the bandage is going to be removed tomorrow." Eddie replied, "Gwen, TK, she's awake!"

The Strands woke up from the couch and immediately went to cuddle and smother her. "Don't you ever scare me like that ever again, you hear me, young lady?" TK scolded her.

"You're only 12 minutes older than me." she pouted.

"Oh Leigh, you scared everyone badly. Getting shot and to hear about you being in danger twice on the same night had us scrambling to get here." Gwen kissed her forehead, "And to hear about Eddie getting injured as well… We're just so glad all of you are okay."

"Stop giving me gray hair, please." Owen's voice echoed in the room as he entered and went to kiss her forehead.

"Hi, mom, dad." Alisa smiled, "Really guys, you didn't have to fly here. What about the station and the firm?"

"Sweetheart, family comes first before work. That's the rule." Owen kissed her forehead, "Drop everything and go wherever we are needed."

"You can't get rid of us that quickly, sis." TK grinned, "We've been taking care of your house and Christopher the past couple of days while Eddie and you were here."

"Christopher!?" she sat up and winced a little when she moved her arm, "Is he alright?"

"He's fine, mi amor. He misses you and wants you to get well soon." Eddie pushed her back down gently on the bed, "He's just at Chimney's room."

"Okay… okay…" she gulped, "I… thank you for the help…"

"We always got you."

"Hi, Chimney." Christopher greeted with a smile when the Asian firefighter woke up.

"Hey, I'm catching up with you on the surgeries." Chimney groggily replied and Christopher giggled.