In Flames // 9-1-1 Fox (seasons 1-4)

twenty-seven

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing," he shrugged her off.

"It's clearly not. C'mon Boy Wonder."

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "She wants visitation rights but she also wants a divorce. I'm not against it, but she insisted on not taking on a role of parent again. I get it, I do. But what do I tell Christopher? I mean, what if she never comes back some day and he's just left waiting?"

Mariana shook her head. "You don't worry about that. All you have to tell Christopher is at the end of the day, you will never leave him. No matter who comes and who goes, you are always by his side."

"How do you always have the right thing to say?"

"Because those are the words I wanted to hear my whole life." She turned her head, seeing Buck and Chimney watching them. "We should go back to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumbass."

///

"I offered to wait in line with him but he said it's private," Eddie said as he raised his phone. "Christopher!"

"I really admire that kid," Buck gushed. "I love the way he always wants to do everything on his own."

"Yeah," Eddie laughed before he pocketed his phone. "So? Not gonna say anything?"

"About what?"

"You know what about?"

"I figured it was none of my business."

"It's not."

"That's what I'm sayin'!"

"Ok, it just...I didn't plan it. It just happened."

"I never said you did."

"She's just a really good person and she helps out with Christopher."

"Totally understand."

"And then I kinda started having feelings for her!"

"And now your wife is back in town."

Eddie sighed. "I only asked her to come back to get Christopher in the school. I didn't think she would keep coming back. I don't want to confuse Christopher and I don't want to hurt Mari. I don't know what to do."

"Mariana has had a lot of shitty stuff happen to her. Emotions are hard for her, but I can tell you that she really does like hanging out with you and Christopher."

"She feels like a second chance. I've only known her for eight months and yet it feels like she's already a part of my life. She treats Christopher like her own kid and she makes me feel invincible. But I'm scared that I'm going to hurt her because that's the last thing I want."

"Or that she'll leave and hurt you, right?"

"Yeah. It was my fault that Shannon left. I left her to go back to Afghanistan and she was left to raise Christopher alone. I got to pretend that when I ran away, it was for a noble cause. When she left, she was called a terrible mother."

"You're just scared that if you let Shannon back in and both she and Mariana leave, you and Christopher will be left behind again. But Mari doesn't leave people behind. One of her biggest fears is losing her family or being left behind."

"Ugh, emotions complicate everything."

"If you at all hurt Mariana, I hope you understand that I will always take her side. We might be friends, but...she's Mari."

They shared a look. Maybe one of understanding. Maybe something territorial. The two men stood as one of the workers dressed as an elf helped Christopher walk towards them.