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

fifty-four

"I wish I could say this was a first," Mariana commented as she stood next to Hen and Chimney on the street. "I really do."

The three paramedics stared up at the woman stuck in the window above them and Hen nodded in agreement. "Do you remember that time when the guy got stuck trying to escape his mother in law's visit?"

"He told me that being stuck in a window was better than hearing his mother in law beg for grandbabies," Mariana snorted.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your ha-" Chimney started to say when something came flying at them from the window ledge.

"Watch out!" the woman warned. The three stepped back just in time to see it land right in front of them. Hen gingerly stretched her foot out and lifted the towel, revealing something that they had seen before, but never enjoyed looking at. Shit.

"Oh! And I thought the new baby went everywhere," Hen gagged.

"Geez, you could probably name that thing," Mariana added.

"Can one of you three muppets get out of the balcony and check on her please?" Bobby commented over the radio. The two older paramedics swung their heads over to look at Mariana who let out a deep sigh.

"I hate everyone on this firetruck," she muttered as she grabbed her helmet and went to join Eddie at the top of the ladder. They still hadn't spoken about the fight and so things were tense to say the least. Everyone picked up on the lack of communication from the normally snarky couple.

By the time Mariana joined him, Buck and Bobby had rammed the door open and were looking for a way to get her out of the window safely.

"Oh god, he's never gonna want to see me again. I'm sorry! I'll pay to fix that," the girl shouted back at her date.

"Okay, guys, let's try to gently pull her through. Ma'am, I need you to exhale."

Mariana placed her stethoscope along the woman's ribs and nodded. Clear airways and decent breathing aside from some shallow breaths. Nothing serious unless they moved her the wrong way or something.

"She's not going to come out the way she went in," Bobby declared.

"Cap, this is original wood. We can't just poop out the top panel." Buck winced at his slip up. "Pop. We, uh, can't just pop out the top panel. Sorry."

Mariana stifled her laughter by burying her face into her shoulder which silently shook. Eddie glanced back at her with an amused expression. Their eyes met and they instantly looked away, that creeping sense of hurt digging into their hearts.

"We have to take apart the frame. Guys, we're gonna need saws."

"You're going to cut the window? This just keeps getting worse," the girl bemoaned.

"Ma'am, just try to stay calm. How's she looking, Mari?" Bobby asked.

"Vitals are good. Just breathing a little heavy. No fractures." Mari wrapped her stethoscope around her neck as she looked up at the girl. "Are you in any pain?"

"No, but has anyone ever died of actual shame? I'm sorry, Gary! This is not how I wanted our first date to go."

"It can only get better from here, right?" he called back. "I've always wanted a bay window."

"He's probably never gonna want to speak to me again," she breathed. "And you have no idea how hard it is to meet someone these days."

"Oh, believe me, as a fellow solo, I know," Buck crowed. "Eddie and Mariana here met their special someone in each other but then they both bit each other's heads off and now they don't speak to one another because they're stubborn and prideful idiots."