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

thirty-eight

"That might be a bad phrase to use around Buck," she chuckled gently. "But I'm glad too. It's helped me realize a lot of stuff."

"Like what?"

Her gaze trailed back to look at Christopher and she just shook her head. "That while I love the team and love working with you, I miss Buck and raising hell with him."

That was her signal to stop discussing it and Eddie caught on quickly and changed the subject. Christopher was happy to entertain them with various stories about school and his classmates. They pulled up to the Grant household and Eddie parked farther down the street than usual so Buck wouldn't see. Mariana stacked the cakes on top of each other while Eddie carried Christopher and his crutches down the street and to the house.

Athena welcomed them in with a huge grin and massive hugs, after Mari set the cakes down of course. Mari shooed Eddie and Christopher to go hang out with the others while they waited for Buck as Mariana helped Athena and Bobby set up for the party.

"Mari!" May called in greeting.

"May!" the brunette replied, opening her arms for a quick hug. "How ya doing, girl?"

"I'm so ready to go back to school. Harry has been driving me nuts."

Mariana chuckled and winked at her. "Believe me, my brother drove me insane for years. Now, c'mon, help me bring the bowls to the table."

"I'm actually on the hunt for some more platters for Bobby."

"Ah, well don't let me keep you. And if you see Eddie please make fun of his hair for me. You have my permission."

"New haircut?"

"He thought it would be a nice surprise but it just makes him look like he wants to sell me real estate."

May grinned and left to go tell Bobby she couldn't find anymore platters just as Eddie walked in carrying another platter of ribs. He set it down on the table while Mariana arranged the veggies and dip next to it.

"I hope you realize that I will be stealing food off your plate all night," she warned. He dropped a kiss to her cheek, a small smile on his face.

"I expect nothing less from you," he teased.

The doorbell rang indicated that Buck was here and everyone quieted down, hurrying to the living room so they could surprise him. Buck's deer in the headlights expression was perfect once he realized what was happening but he quickly recovered and greeted them all with hugs.

"You little liar," Buck laughed as he swept his best friend into a hug. She grinned and shrugged, sending him a quick wink.

"Not my fault you're gullible enough to think Eddie and I would want to go camping," she teased.

After a few weeks in the hospital and months of PT together, the two best friends were practically glued at the hip. Eddie couldn't even be annoyed at the fact that Buck and Mari were literally always together because it gave him a chance to hang out with his girlfriend and his best friend. Not to mention Christopher lighting up when they all hung out and Buck spoiling him rotten.

She had felt a twinge of guilt when she was medically cleared before him, but Buck told her it wasn't a big deal. He caught up to her soon enough and now they could raise hell once more on the 118 trucks.

Everyone scattered to interact and talk with one another but Mariana found herself seated in the corner of the room, studying people as they walked by. Chimney, her loyal older brother, extracted himself from Maddie's side and casually took a seat next to her.

"You know what I'm going to ask," he said dryly.

"I just feel off," she admitted. "Looking around and seeing these people, my family...it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like I deserve this."

"Why wouldn't you deserve this?"

"Why would I?"

"Have you considered talking to a therapist again? You stopped seeing yours a while back."

She shrugged. "I'm not sick, Chim. Others have it worse."

"Hey, just because you're drowning in three feet of water and someone else is drowning in thirty feet of water doesn't mean you aren't drowning. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. I would really like it if you saw a therapist again."

Mariana's dark eyes scanned his face for any sense of a lie before she huffed out a breath of air. "I guess...hey, when are you giving me my twenty bucks? I was right about Maddie."

Chim threw his head back with a laugh and then took a sip of his beer. "Nice try. I was right about Eddie so we're even."

She spied Eddie and Chris talking with Harry and May and then glanced over at Bobby and Buck discussing something. "Yeah, I guess we are."

Call it the nurse and paramedic in her or maybe it was some deep rooted mom intuition that was clawing to the surface, but Mari was out of her seat before Buck even collapsed. She had been watching him talk and noticed that he was a bit pale and kept touching his chest as if it hurt.

"Call 911 and tell them to roll a bus!" she barked out as she pushed past Bobby, kneeling next to her best friend. Blood stained his lips, his chin, and his shirt. Mariana pressed her fingers against his neck and cursed under her breath. His pulse was slow and thready and based off of the coughing up blood, she guessed an embolism.

"Eddie, purse," she ordered. He appeared at her side in seconds, passing her the mentioned bag. Mariana pulled out her extra pair of medic shears and cut open Buck's shirt, motioning for Maddie to join her on the other side.

"One off, one on compressions," Mariana said. "I'm thinking embolism. You?"

"Agreed. He'll be okay, right?" Maddie asked, voice small and quiet.

"After I lay out his ass and read him the riot act, he fucking better."

Mariana began compressions, muttering out the count while her mind raced with fears. This felt eerily similar to the situation they had found themselves in months earlier but this time, she wasn't bleeding out next to him.

"Stay with me, Evan. You gotta," she gritted out. "Because I don't know what I will do if you aren't next to me."