Someone requested this. Full disclaimer, I have not, and knock on wood won't, get COVID-19 (gotten one of my two vaccines) so everything I write is based on what I have heard from people or read. I understand this is a very serious illness for people and hope this is not disrespectful to the people it has impacted. In this story, Andrew is alive, and Vic lives with Maya and Carina.
"We have a problem," Maya texted Carina about half way through her shift.
Carina had been in surgery and had no desire to use a scrub nurse to try to figure that out. She finished her surgery before scrubbing out and deciding to call her girlfriend, sending her resident to update the family.
"What's going on Bella?" Carina asked, sitting down in her office.
"I just tested positive," Maya said, tears in her eyes, "I had a temp of 101 when I woke up this morning and I got my rapid test results back. I'm already back home quarantining. My whole team was tested and Andy and Vic also tested positive so Andy's crashing with us here because Sullivan got tested and he was negative. The whole shift is in quarantine for the next five days and then they have to get retested. I'm so sorry."
"Bambina," Carina said, "You have nothing to apologize for. You picked this up helping someone. There is nothing wrong with that. I am just sorry that you are going through this."
"You need to get tested," Maya said, trying not to let Carina hear the tears in her voice.
"I will as soon as we hang up," Carina said, "Hey, I'm going to call you on facetime."
Carina could tell that Maya was on the verge of a panic attack and was hoping she could calm her down if she could see her. She quickly facetimed her girlfriend, her heart breaking immediately when she saw how pale Maya looked, tears running down her fever flushed cheeks.
They hadn't seen each other in over a week even though they were living together because their schedules had been completely opposite and Carina was working a lot of overtime because one of the OBs was on maternity leave.
"Oh Bambina," Carina said, wanting so badly to reach out and touch Maya, to calm her fears.
Maya just cried as Carina spoke softly to her in a mix of Italian and English, eventually succeeding in calming her down.
"It's going to be alright Bambina," Carina said, "What are your symptoms right now, besides the fever?"
"A little bit of a cough and headache," Maya said, shrugging, "And my stomach is unsettled, but other than that, I feel ok."
"That is good," Carina said, "Many people have few symptoms and they resolve quickly, although you need to make sure you follow the proper quarantine even if you are feeling better."
"I know," Maya nodded, knowing Carina was right.
"I need to go get tested," Carina said with a sigh, "I will call you when I'm done. I am going to stay here in my office until I get the results. Once I have them, I will call you back and we can talk about what to do."
Maya nodded, wiping the tears out of her eyes, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Carina said, shaking her head, "We knew this was possible the whole time, it was just a matter of when and who. Besides, I haven't seen you in over a week so there is a good chance you didn't give it to me. Now, I need to go get my test. I'll call you later. Try to get some rest. And push fluids."
Maya nodded, "Love you."
"I love you too, amore mio," Carina said, blowing a kiss to Maya.
They hung up, Carina pulling on her N95 mask before heading down to the clinic where she could get a rapid test done.
Once she was swabbed, she went back to her office, locking the door behind her so no one would come in. She tried to focus on some research she was trying to do, but found it hard to concentrate.
She got a text from Amelia, asking if she wanted to grab lunch. Carina texted her back, letting her know what was going on. Amelia offered her support and told her she would leave food outside her office door if she wanted. Carina declined, not feeling hungry.
This waiting for the results was torture. After about an hour and a half, Carina got an email from the testing center. She held her breath before opening it.
She let out a sigh of relief when it said she was negative. Part of her was hoping she would be positive because then she could go be with Maya. However, she was also glad she was negative because then she didn't have to trace where she had been in the last week and also the idea of having the virus was terrifying.
She took a deep breath before picking up her phone. She facetimed Maya again. When Maya answered, she was lying in bed, her face still stained with tears.
"Andy and I think we figured out where we got it," Maya said, "We were working Aid Car together the other day because we all have to take extra shifts on it and we had a house where our patient told dispatch they didn't have COVID and the case was really emergent and we wore our masks, but it was an autistic kid who was absolutely terrified of the masks and we took them off to calm him down. It worked, but we think that's where we got it. And then Vic probably caught it from me because she lives here."
Carina nodded, knowing how hard calls like that were for everyone involved.
"Did you get you're your results?" Maya asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I did," Carina said, nodding, "I am negative."
"That's good," Maya said, smiling, "I'm glad I didn't give it to you."
"But it also means I cannot see you for the next 10 days," Carina said with a sigh.
"Oh yeah," Maya said, tears suddenly filling her eyes again.
"It's ok Bella," Carina said, "I will call you every day and you will get better."
"I know," Maya said, wiping her eyes, "I know. I don't even know why I'm crying."
"It's a lot of stress," Carina said, her hands actually aching to be able to comfort Maya, "It is ok to cry. I am going to go to the store after work to drop off some supplies for you three. Is there anything specific you all need?"
"Pedialyte," Maya said, "And soup. And maybe pasta. And whatever meds are supposed to help with this. Oh, and tissues."
"Alright," Carina said, jotting everything down on a piece of paper, "Oh Bambina, I wish I could be there with you."
"I'll be alright," Maya said, "I have Vic and Andy."
Carina nodded, knowing that this was true.
"Try to get some sleep Bella," Carina said, "And call or text if you think of anything else you need."
Maya nodded, "Love you."
"Love you too Amore," Carina said.
Maya hung up with Carina, feeling very anxious. She had been in therapy for four months and had been diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder and depression, and this was only making all of that worse. She got up out of her bed, padding into the living room where Vic and Andy were curled up on the couch with blankets. Both of them had low grade fevers and were just kinda feeling blah.
"How are you feeling?" Vic asked as Maya sat down on the love seat.
"Well, I didn't give it to Carina so that's a plus," Maya said, cracking half a smile, "Physically, I don't feel much different than if I had a really bad cold with an upset stomach. How are you both holding up?"
"It's just a headache," Vic said, shrugging, "And a little bit of a cough."
"Same," Andy said, "My stomach doesn't feel great, but I honestly feel ok."
"Carina's going to go to the store after work and drop off some stuff," Maya said, trying to get comfortable, but struggling to calm down, "Do you guys want her to pick anything up?"
"Maybe some crackers?" Vic said, "And orange juice."
"Rice," Andy said, "And some tea."
Maya shifted in her seat again before getting up.
"You ok Maya?" Vic asked, watching her friend go and walk into the kitchen.
"I'm good," Maya said, although it kinda felt like the walls were starting to close in on her.
"Maya," Andy said, getting up and got to her friend, "Maya, your spinning out."
"I'm fine," Maya said, shaking her head.
"Maya," Andy said, blocking her path and stopping her, "Hey, it's ok. You're having a panic attack."
"Carina," Maya managed to gasp out.
"I got it," Vic said, grabbing her phone and facetiming the Italian.
"What's going on?" Carina asked the second she answered, never getting calls from her girlfriend's friends unless there was an emergency.
"Panic attack," Vic said, handing the phone to Maya who was standing in the kitchen with Andy as she struggled to get any air.
"Bambina," Carina said as Maya looked at her with panic in her face, "Hey. Look at me. Eyes on me. Just focus on me."
Maya nodded, taking a shaky breath.
"Good," Carina said, "Good. Now keep breathing. Eyes on me."
Maya nodded, getting another breath. It took a good five minutes, but Carina helped her out of the panic attack, Maya leaning heavily on the counter.
"Good," Carina said, "Bella, you are going to be fine. I am getting an emergent page so I need to go, but Vic and Andy are both there yes?"
"Yeah," Andy said who was currently rubbing Maya's back, "We've got her."
"I love you Maya," Carina said, getting up from her desk.
"Love you," Maya squeaked out as Carina hung up.
"Come on," Andy said, guiding Maya to the couch, "What do you need?"
Maya shrugged, sitting down between her two friends.
"I just feel like I can't calm down," Maya said, rubbing her eyes.
"Ok," Andy said, nodding, "Do you want to talk about it or watch something or listen to something?"
"I want to go for a run," Maya said, running her hands over her face, "But I can't."
"Why don't you go for a mental run?" Andy suggested, "Like that one time at the raid."
"I can't calm down enough to focus on a mental run," Maya said quietly, looking down at her hands.
Just then, Maya's phone buzzed from where she left it on the counter, Andy getting up and grabbing it for her. It was a text from Carina.
"Don't forget you have your rescue meds in the medicine cabinet," Carina said, "I know you hate it, but you might need it. Love you. Call me if you need me."
"Rescue meds?" Andy asked, handing Maya her phone.
"For my anxiety," Maya mumbled, "I'm on regular meds, but when it gets really bad, I have what's basically a sedative to help me calm down."
"Do you want me to go get it for you?" Vic asked gently.
"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "No. I don't want to take it yet. It makes me feel weird. I'll take it before we go to bed if I still feel like this. I think I'm going to just go in my room, if that's ok?"
"Of course," Vic and Andy both said, nodding.
"Let us know if you need anything," Vic said as Maya got up and went into her room.
She really just needed to be alone to try to calm herself down. She decided to take a shower, knowing that sometime helped. The warm water did calm her down a little, but it didn't do nearly as much as she needed.
She then went and got dressed in a clean pair of pajamas, pulling out one of Carina's oversized sweatshirts and putting it on, inhaling her girlfriend's scent. That helped her calm down a little bit more as she climbed into bed, putting on some Italian music that Carina played often in the apartment. She just listened to it, feeling tears welling up in her eyes again. She wiped them away, coughing a little.
About a half an hour later, there was a knock at the door and Vic walked in with a glass of water in her hand.
"Andy fell asleep on the couch," the younger woman said, "And I thought I would come check on you. Would you mind if I just sat with you for a little while?"
Maya nodded as she sat up, taking the cup from Vic and taking a sip as her friend climbed into bed with her.
"Is this what Carina plays when you guys are cooking all the time?" Vic asked, listening to the music that was definitely not in English.
"Yeah," Maya said, nodding, "It's one of her favorite Italian artists. I don't know. It just makes me feel a little better."
"I like it," Vic said, smiling at her friend as the blonde put her head on her shoulder.
"How are you doing?" Maya asked Vic.
"I'm alright," Vic said, "A little stressed, but not too bad."
"Sorry we probably gave this to you," Maya said, rubbing her eyes.
"It's ok," Vic said, "Part of me feels like it's inevitable that we were going to get it."
"That's basically what Carina said," Maya said, chuckling a little.
"We are going to get through this," Vic said, holding Maya's hand.
"I know," Maya said, nodding, "It's just terrifying, you know."
"Yeah," Vic nodded, knowing how her friend was feeling.
They had seen what this virus could do to people, had transported people with it who they knew never left the hospital. Ben had lost his mother-in-law to it, Meredith Grey had almost died from it. Marsha was still dealing with post-covid syndrome and she had been out of the hospital for six months.
They just sat there for a while, listening to the music coming from Maya's phone. Eventually, Vic fell asleep next to Maya, the blonde still struggling with her anxiety.
She got out of bed, pacing around the apartment, just trying to get out of her own head. She thought about getting on the treadmill, but her lungs didn't feel awesome, and she didn't want to push them. She went into the kitchen, thinking about cooking but her stomach felt like garbage. She went into the living room, seeing Andy sound asleep on the couch.
All of a sudden, she got hit with a massive wave of nausea, running for the bathroom. She barely made it before she started throwing up.
Once she was done, she felt terrible, grabbing a towel from the rack for a makeshift pillow, finally falling asleep after fighting it all day. She had no idea how long she slept, but the next thing she knew, Vic was kneeling beside her.
"Are you alright?" the younger woman asked as Maya's eyes opened.
"Yeah," Maya nodded, pushing herself up to sitting, head spinning as she did so, "I threw up, and then I was too tired to get up. I feel a little better now, or at least my stomach does."
"Do you want to get up?" Vic asked, handing Maya a cup of water.
"I just want to go to bed," the blonde said, drinking a little water.
"Alright," Vic said, helping her up.
Maya shuffled down the hall to her room, crashing in bed as Vic followed her.
"Do you need anything?" Vic asked, a little bit shocked at how sick Maya seemed all of a sudden.
"My phone," Maya said, "I think I left it in the bathroom."
"Of course," Vic said, disappearing.
She came back a few minutes later with Maya's phone and a glass of water and a thermometer.
"Andy decided we need to take our temperatures twice a day until our fevers break," Vic said, "She made this whole spreadsheet on her computer in her very Andy way. She said just in case one of us ends up in the hospital, which hopefully doesn't happen, but she is having a hard time with this in her own Andy way and this is how she is coping."
Maya nodded, taking the device and running it over her forehead.
"102.1," Maya said, handing it back to Vic, "What's yours?"
"100.4," Vic said, "And Andy is 100.9 so like always, you are winning this contest too."
"Yay," Maya said sarcastically, grabbing her phone as she coughed a little, "Carina said she's going to drop off some supplies in like an hour. Oh, she's calling now."
Maya answered the facetime call, smiling a little as Carina's face filled her screen, Vic plopping down next to her for a minute.
"Hi Bambina," Carina said, "Hello Vic. How are you both feeling?"
"Better than your girlfriend," Vic said, outing Maya to Carina before she could even try to hide how she was feeling, "I just wanted to say hi. I'll give you two some time to talk. Oh, Carina, could you pick up some extra yogurt?"
"Si," Carina nodded, "Just text me whatever else you all need. I am willing to get anything."
"Thanks Carina," Vic said, "Talk to you later."
Vic closed the door as she left, giving Maya some privacy.
"Bambina," Carina said, "What's going on?"
"It's nothing," Maya said, shrugging, "I just threw up a few hours ago and my fever is trending up at the moment. I'll be alright."
"How bad?" Carina asked.
"What?" Maya asked, rubbing her eyes.
"How bad is the fever?" Carina asked.
"102," Maya said, "But I don't feel too bad."
"Oh, Bambina," Carina said, "I wish I could be there to help you feel better."
"Me too," Maya said, "But it's not safe. I'll be ok."
"How are your lungs?" Carina asked, knowing the fever was just a sign of the body fighting off the virus, but if Maya's lungs were struggling, that was when the real problems started.
"They feel ok," Maya said, "A little tight, but nothing worse than a normal bronchitis."
"Do you have a way to monitor your oxygen?" Carina asked.
"Yeah," Maya said, "Somewhere from when I had bad smoke inhalation."
"Ok," Carina said, "You need to try to find that, and all three of you need to keep track of your oxygen levels. If they drop…"
"Below 90, we need to come in, yeah, I know," Maya said, coughing a little, "We are all paramedics remember?"
"I know," Carina sighed, "I know you three will take good care of each other."
Maya yawned a little, curling up in her blankets.
"Get some sleep, Bambina," Carina said, "That is the best thing for you right now."
Maya nodded, eyes starting to slip closed as Carina smiled, hanging up. Maya woke up about forty five minutes later, still feeling terrible but deciding to go out to the living room.
"Hey," Andy said, "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," Maya said, laying down on the couch.
"You both need to drink something," Vic said, still feeling the best out of all of them, "What do you want?"
"Gatorade," Andy said.
"Water," Maya rasped out, coughing a little.
Just then, Vic's phone buzzed.
"Carina is bringing up the stuff," Vic said, Maya perking up immediately.
"I'm going to put on a mask and see her once she's down the hall," Maya said, pulling her achy body off the couch.
She pulled her mask on as she heard a knock. She then heard Carina walk away, pulling the door open.
"Car," Maya called, causing the brunette to turn.
"Hi bambina," she said, body physically hurting to not be able to go hold Maya who looked beyond miserable, "I wish I could be there for you right now."
"I wish you could too," Maya said, turning her head to cough .
"Oh, Maya," Carina said, wincing, "You sound bad."
"I'm ok," Maya said, looking back at her girlfriend, "Thanks for the groceries."
"Of course," Carina said, "Let me know if you guys need anything. I am staying at the hotel downtown that other doctors have been staying at so I'm not far."
"I miss you," Maya said, leaning on the doorframe.
"I miss you too," Carina said, "Now go rest. You look exhausted."
Maya nodded as Carina blew her a kiss, the two of them holding eye contact for one more minute before Carina left. Vic and Andy then appeared, helping bring the bags of food inside.
"Um, I think these are for you, Mai," Andy said, pulling some flowers out of one of the bags.
"Oh my god, why is Carina such a good girlfriend," Vic said, shaking her head. Maya took the flowers, sniffing them.
"These smell like nothing," Maya said, confused.
"Let me see them," Vic said, sniffing them too, "Huh, you're right."
"You two are both crazy," Andy said, smelling the flowers, "They smell great. Wait, can either of you taste anything?"
"I could earlier," Maya said, shivering a little bit.
Vic opened the fridge, pulling out some orange juice, pouring a glass for both herself and Maya.
"Tastes like nothing," Maya said, frowning.
"Same," Vic said, looking at the cup, "I guess we both get to add another symptom to our list."
"Yay," Maya said, yawning, "Guys, I feel really crappy. Is it ok if I go lay down?"
"Go," Andy nodded, "Go sleep. We'll bring you something to eat later."
Maya nodded, turning to go down the hall only to have her stomach revolt again. She ran into the bathroom, throwing up again.
After her stomach settled down, she got up, brushing her teeth which was the strangest sensation without being able to taste the minty toothpaste, before crawling back into bed. Andy came in a few minutes later with some water.
"Need anything else?" the lieutenant asked.
"Not right now," Maya said, pulling her blankets tighter as chills racked her body.
"Alright," Andy said, "Just text us if you need anything."
Maya nodded, letting her eyes close.
"I'm worried about her," Andy said, walking out of the bedroom, "This is hitting her so hard and fast."
"I know," Vic nodded as Andy sat down on the couch, "I think I saw a pulse ox in her bathroom once when I was looking for tampons a while back. We should probably dig it out and use it."
"Yeah," Andy agreed, "But we should wait until she's not sleeping."
Vic nodded, coughing a little.
"I'm going to go call Robert," Andy said, getting up.
Vic nodded, grabbing her own phone, deciding to call Travis because unlike her two friends, her only relationship at this point was the platonic love of her gay best friend.
The rest of the evening was calm, Vic managing to coax some water and saltines into Maya that evening but other than that, the blonde basically just slept. Vic and Andy crashed pretty early too, all of them hoping sleep would help the feel a little better in the morning.
What did you think? I have more if you want to read it. Thanks for reading.