Here's the next part!
Maya woke up feeling extremely disoriented as she opened her eyes. As she looked around the room, she remembered she had been admitted to the Covid ward at Grey Sloan in the middle of the night. She moved a little, her body feeling slightly less achy, probably thanks to intravenous fever reducers and proper oxygenation.
She looked around, seeing that she was in a room alone. She looked up at her monitors, happy that her oxygen was still 99. She raised the bed a little, leaning back on the pillows.
Just then, the door opened and Andrew walked in.
"How are you feeling this morning Maya?" he asked, checking the monitors.
"A little better actually," she said, coughing, "I think you got my fever down a little and having good oxygen is also a pig plus."
"Good," Andrew said, laughing at her a little, "Well, for today, I want to try some clear fluids for you. Any preferences?"
"Can't smell or taste so it will all taste the same," Maya shrugged, "Is Carina gonna come back today?"
"She should be down any minute," Andrew nodded, looking at the clock. "Good," Maya smiled behind her mask.
"Are you sure you didn't just fake being sick to see my sister?" Andrew joked.
"Positive," Maya said, coughing harder this time.
"Alright," he said, looking at her monitor, "Try not to talk too much. You need to save your strength."
Maya nodded, already starting to feel tired.
"Andrea," Carina said, walking into the room, "Isn't vitals normally a nurse's job?"
"I promised you I would keep an eye on her," he shrugged, running a thermometer over Maya's forehead, "103.0, down over a degree."
"And yet still much too high," Carina frowned, sitting down in a chair next to Maya, "How are you feeling this morning?"
"A little better," Maya said, eyelids getting heavy as Carina sat down.
"Good," Carina smiled, brushing a piece of sweaty hair off Maya's forehead, feeling the heat though her gloves, "You look exhausted Bambina. You should try to sleep."
"Can we call Vic first?" Maya said, coughing a little, "I just need her to know I'm ok."
"Of course," Carina nodded as Maya found her phone sitting on the table.
Carina took the phone from Maya, the blonde's hands incredible shaky.
"Hey," Vic said, picking up the phone, clearly in bed.
"Did we wake you?" Carina asked.
"No," Vic said, "Just sitting here waiting for Andy to get up so I can tell her about last night's adventure. How are you feeling this morning, Mai?"
"A little better," Maya said, coughing again, "Still pretty terrible. How are you?"
"Not too bad," Vic shrugged, "Feverish and achy. Oh, I think I hear Andy. Hey Herrera, come here."
"What?" Andy said, walking into the room, "Who are you talking to?"
"Maya," Vic said as Andy sat down.
"Too lazy to go next door?" Andy asked, confused until she saw Maya and Carina on the screen, "What the hell is going on?"
"I had to take Maya to the hospital in the middle of the night," Vic said with a sigh, "She was decompensating."
"So for now, I live in the COVID ward of Grey Sloan," Maya said, coughing.
"Are you ok?" Andy asked, feeling panic fill her body.
"She is doing better," Carina said, Maya struggling both to stop coughing and stay awake, "She will probably be here for a few days until she can maintain her oxygen levels without support. But it all depends on how her body reacts to the virus."
"'m ok," Maya said as she lost her battle with sleep, eyes slipping shut.
"She's asleep," Carina said, moving away from Maya a little, "I will keep you both updated on her condition. Right now, she is stable."
"Thanks for calling," Vic said, smiling at her, "You need to rest to Carina."
"I am going to go back to my hotel soon," Carina nodded, "I hope both of you feel better soon too and that I don't see either of you here."
"Bye Carina," Andy said as Vic waved before they hung up.
"Why didn't you wake me up when she had to go to the hospital last night?" Andy asked, looking at Vic.
"Because she was really sick," Vic sighed, "All I could think was to get her to the hospital quickly. Her finger tips were turning blue and she had to stop twice when we were walking to the car and probably should have stopped more. I was scared and trying to stay calm so I didn't freak her out any more than she already was because if she had had a panic attack, it would have been so so bad. I almost called the station to bring the aid car."
"It's ok," Andy said, pulling Vic into a hug, "I'm not mad. I'm sorry you had to do that."
"I'm just glad she's doing ok now," Vic said, shaking her head, "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Better, actually," Andy said, "My stomach has finally calmed down and my head feels better. I think my fever is going down too."
"Good," Vic said, "I am going to try to knock out for a few more hours if that's ok."
"Of course," Andy nodded, "I'm sure you didn't get great sleep last night. I'm going to go make some breakfast. Want some before you sleep?"
"No," Vic said, shaking her head, "I'll get something later."
"Ok," Andy said, "Sleep well."
Vic pulled the blankets up, letting heself fall into a peaceful sleep, feeling much better knowing that Maya was doing alright.
When she woke up, she was sweaty, but feeling a lot better, going out into the living room, finding Andy sitting on the couch, facetiming with Robert.
"Hey Sullivan," Vic said, smiling as Andy turned to look at her, thereby also turning her phone.
"Hughes," he said, "Hey, how are you?"
"I actually feel a lot better," Vic said, "Still a little bit of a headache, but better. I think I broke my fever while I was asleep."
"Check," Andy said, handing her the thermometer.
"98.2," Vic said, "I am officially fever free."
"Jealous," Andy said, making a face at Vic.
"I'm going to get in the shower," Vic said, "I'll be out soon."
Andy nodded before turning her attention back to her husband.
"So Bishop is really in the hospital?" he said, having just called his wife a minute before Vic came out of her room.
"Yep," Andy said, "Vic said she was turning blue last night and having a hard time breathing. She's doing better now though, now that she has some extra support."
"She's strong Andy," Robert said, seeing the fear in his wife's eyes, "She'll get through this."
"I hope so," Andy said, wiping the tear that fell down her cheek, "Because I don't think I can do it again."
"Do what again?" Robert asked, confused.
"Lose another best friend," Andy said, more tears filling her eyes, "After Ryan… I just…"
"Hey," he said, wanting to crawl through his phone and hold her, "You won't. It's going to be ok."
Andy just nodded, trying to calm her tears, knowing she was making things harder for Robert, "Can we talk about something else?"
She needed to not think about the fact that her best friend was laying in a hospital bed with a virus that was killing people every day that she herself was also currently infected with.
"I started working though one of those cook books your cousin gave you," Robert said, "I think I have had groceries delivered three times in the past four days. It's been an adventure."
"What are you doing with all that food?" Andy asked, laughing a little.
"Well, the stuff that's good, I'm freezing for when you are back home," he said, "And the stuff that's bad, I'm tossing. It's been quite the expereicne."
"What have you made?" Andy asked, laying down on the couch, feeling her body relax a little as her husband began to tell her of his adventures trying to cook traditional Puerto Rican food.
She ended up falling asleep while he was talking, her body finally settling some of the anxiety of hearing about Maya.
Vic, meanwhile, went into the kitchen, heating up some soup before going back into her room. Eating food that tasted like nothing was strange, but she was starving so she ate all of it before deciding to call Travis again, just needing someone to talk to.
"What's up?" Travis asked, slowing his pace on his stationary bike.
"Oh, sorry," Vic said, "I can let you go if you want to finish your ride and call me back."
"No," Travis said, "I was basically done anyway, just going a little more because I was bored. But talking to you makes my day less boring so I can stop biking. I cannot wait to go get retested tomorrow and go back to work."
"I kinda hate that you get to go back tomorrow," Vic sighed, shaking her head.
"But aren't you still feeling bad?" Travis asked, going into his kitchen and grabbing some water.
"My fever broke while I was napping," Vic shrugged, "And besides some congestion and not having my sense of taste or smell, I don't feel too bad. Still pretty tired, but just like I worked a long shift."
"Well, then you get a 6 day staycation," Travis said, starting his stretches, "So you can read or binge Netflix or do something else and just enjoy your time off."
"Yeah, while one of my best friends is in the hospital," Vic sighed, running her hand over her face, "Travis, I can't lose someone else there. I don't… I just… I…"
"Hey," Travis said, stopping her spiral, "Vic, we are not going down this road today or any day until we have to. Maya is fine. She is not Ripley. Beathe with me."
Vic nodded, taking a few deep breaths in time with her friend.
"Better?" Travis asked, noticing Vic slowly calm down.
"Better," Vic nodded, "Or as better as I can be right now."
"My mom tried to come by yesterday," Travis said, deciding to try to distract his best friend with a story.
"Nari?" Vic said, loving Travis's mom, "Wait, she can't come see you right now."
"Exactly," Travis said, nodding, "And I told her that when I called to tell her I was quarantined and I told her again when she told me she was coming over and yet, she still showed up at my door and couldn't figure out why I wouldn't let her in because she was wearing a mask."
"Parents, man," Vic said, shaking her head, "I told mine I had COVID and they told me to eat some garlic and take vitamin C and to come by and pick up some Rosol. I told them I couldn't leave my house and they were so confused. As much as I hate being sick and stuck at home, I am glad it's me and not them because at least I know how to keep others safe."
"How's Andy doing?" Travis asked.
"She's starting to feel better," Vic said, "She's still feverish, but it's going down. She's sleeping right now. That is the most common activity in this house these days."
"It's good for you," Travis said, "This pandemic has not been good for my sleep, and I know it's the same for all of you. Sleep as much as you can."
Vic nodded, having found herself awake in the middle of the night more often than not, struggling to calm her racing brain. There were nights when she, Carina, and Maya would all be up at 2 am, sitting on the couch with mugs of tea and talking until someone got tired. Maya had insomnia and had for years, the pandemic only exacerbating it.
Travis and Vic talked for about another hour before Travis wanted to go shower.
As Vic hung up, she got a message from Carina, saying she was leaving a container of soup outside the door. Vic got up, putting on a mask before opening the door, seeing Carina walking away.
"Hey," Vic called, grabbing the contailer, "Thanks for this. How are you doing?"
"I am… coping," Carina said, sighing, "Hence the soup. How are you two?"
"My fever broke," Vic said, "Andy's sleeping right now, but we are both feeling better today. Have you talked to Maya?"
"For a little while," Carina said, "She is on more oxygen than before, and so tired, but she's doing ok."
"Well, keep me updated," Vic said, shaking her head.
"I will," Carina nodded, "Enjoy the soup."
"I can't taste it, but you made it so I will imagine something amazing you have made while I eat it," Vic said, laughing a little, "Thank you."
"Feel better Vic," Carina said, turning to leave. Vic went inside, seeing Andy was waking up.
"Who came near this infection house?" Andy asked as Vic locked the door.
"Carina," Vic said, holding up the container, "She brought soup."
"That was nice of her," Andy said, sitting up.
"I think she's trying to destress," Vic said, leaving the soup out because it was still warm, "And distract herself from what's going on. She talked to Maya. She's on more oxygen but doing ok. How are you feeling after your nap?"
"I don't know," Andy said, "Better maybe? Still not good."
"Need anything?" Vic asked, already grabbing both of them glasses for water.
"No," Andy said, "Can we watch something?"
"Yeah," Vic said, handing Andy the water before sitting down next to her.
They spent the rest of the evening just chilling on the couch, eating some of Carina's soup for dinner which Andy said was amazing, and Vic took her word for.
Both of them went to bed pretty early, Andy still fighting her fever, and Vic just feeling exhausted.
Back at the hospital, after hanging up with Vic and Andy, Carina was just sitting next to Maya's bed, gloved hand holding Maya's too hot one as she slept.
"She's probably going to be out for a few hours," Andrew said, walking over to his sister, "I'm going home to sleep, you should do the same. You are no good to her or anyone else if you run yourself into the ground."
"Lo so," Carina nodded, gently taking her hand out of her girlfriend's, heading toward the door with Andrew, "Who's taking over while you're off?"
"That would be me," Bailey said, walking over to them, "I heard from Ben that Bishop, Hughes, and Herrera were sick, but I didn't realize it was this bad."
"It wasn't until a few hours ago," Carina sighed, "I hate this."
"I know," Bailey said, putting a hand on Carina's shoulder, "I've got her for the next 24 hours. Go home and get some rest. When is your next shift?"
"I have 48 off," Carina said, realizing she had no idea what the rules were for her being with Maya while she was here, "But can I come back to see her?"
"You can," Bailey said, "But it would be better if you just facetimed. You know all our COVID patients have access to a tablet whenever they want."
"Ok," Carina nodded, knowing keeping her exposure down was better and she couldn't really even touch her girlfriend anyways, "If anything happens though…"
"I will call," Bailey said, nodding, "After me, it's Altman and then back to your brother so she's in good hands."
"Thank you Dr. Bailey," Carina nodded, sighing, "Tell her to call me when she wakes up."
"I will," Bailey said, nodding before getting back to work as Andrew and Carina left.
Maya was asleep for almost six hours, walking up to the sound of her door opening.
"Car?" Maya said, coughing harshly as she turned toward the noise.
"No, sorry," Bailey said, walking over to her bed, "Just me. How are you feeling Bishop?"
"I've been better," Maya said as she started coughing.
"We had to up your oxygen a little," Bailey said, "You were starting to decompensate a little again."
"How much?" Maya asked, rubbing her eyes.
"You're now on 3 L," Dr. Bailey said, "But you are doing well otherwise. Are you ready to try drinking something?"
"I guess," Maya shrugged, "No promises I'll keep it down."
"You still need to try," Bailey said, "I'll have a nurse bring some in. Oh, and Carina said to call when you woke up. Here's a tablet."
"Thanks," Maya said, nodding.
She quickly called her girlfriend, smiling as she set the device on the table, leaning back into the pillows as the Italian answered.
"Hi Bambina," Carina smiled, looking at her, "How are you feeling?"
"Peachy," Maya coughed, chest aching.
"Oh, you sound so miserable," Carina said, shaking her head, "Are you still doing ok on oxygen?"
"Bailey said they upped me to 3 L," Maya said, "But yeah. I'm at 92 right now so its ok."
Carina sighed, trying not to panic at the thought of Maya needing more oxygen. Just then, the door opened and a nurse came in.
"Dr. Bailey said to drink as much as you can," he said, handing Maya the cup before leaving.
"I am glad I can't taste this," Maya said as she sipped on the sports drink," I can tell from the yellow color that it would taste bad."
"Is your stomach still upset?" Carina asked.
"They gave me something to help it," Maya shrugged, "But yeah, still don't know if this is gonna stay down."
"I wish I could be there for you," Carina shrugged, "To help you feel better."
"Just getting to see you is making me feel a little better," Maya said, taking a sip of the drink, "What are you doing today?"
"I just woke up from a nap," Carina said, Maya just not realizing she was still in her bed, "And I am probably going to do some cooking, and talk to my girlfriend as much as she wants."
"Why would you do that?" Maya asked, taking another sip, "I'm sure your girlfriend is very boring."
"Oh, well, because I love her," Carina said, smiling cheekily at Maya, "And because she is not feeling her best right now, and I want to make her feel better."
"She sounds like a very lucky woman," Maya said, setting down the cup, not enjoying the feeling it was giving her in her stomach at the moment, "God, all I have done today is sleep, and I still feel exhausted."
"It is your body trying to get rid of the virus," Carina said, watching as Maya moved, pulling the blankets up higher, another round of chills setting in.
Just then, an alarm started going off.
"What is that?" Maya asked, looking around.
"What is your oxygen?" Carina asked, knowing that alarm was never a good sound.
"It says…0," Maya said confused as a nurse came rushing in.
"Oh," the nurse said, seeing that Maya was awake and alert, "Good. Hang on. Did you just move?"
"Yeah," Maya nodded, still confused.
"You knocked the monitor off your finger," the nurse said, slipping it back on, seeing that the reading was 95, "Ok, that's good. Is there anything else you need?"
"Can I get another blanket?" Maya asked.
"Of course," the nurse nodded, "And it is time for more meds for you too."
"That explains the chills," Maya said, coughing a little.
The nurse nodded, walking out.
"No wonder you are looking so miserable right now," Carina said, frowning as Maya relaxed again, "Your fever is probably spiking again."
"I don't feel good Carina," Maya mumbled.
"I know, Bambina," Carina sighed, "Why don't you just close your eyes and get some sleep. You can call me when you wake up next time."
"Love you," Maya said, eyes slipping shut.
"Love you too," Carina said, hanging up.
The next time Maya woke up, she was nauseous again. She knew there was a emesis bag somewhere, but she couldn't find it, frantically pressing the call button as her stomach churned.
"Yes?" A nurse said, coming in a minute later.
"I'm going to throw up," Maya said, clamping her hand over her mouth.
In a flash, the nurse had another emesis bag in front of her, Maya grabbing it as she lost the battle to keep her drink down.
"I'll get you some more Zofran," the nurse said, taking the bag from Maya, throwing it out before handing her a clean one.
"Thanks," Maya nodded, laying back against the pillows.
Despite having just thrown up, Maya was feeling a little more awake than she had in a while, picking up the tablet from the table, calling Carina. Just as she answered, Dr. Bailey walked in.
"I hear someone is still not tolerating fluids," Dr. Bailey said, looking at the captain, "Oh, hi Carina."
"Hello Bailey," Carina said, "Bambina, did you get sick again?"
"Yeah," Maya said as Dr. Bailey pushed the medicine into her IV, "It's ok. I've got this lovely IV."
"We'll make sure she doesn't get dehydrated," Bailey reassured, "And she's still doing well. Oxygen is holding, temp is high but stable."
"Good," Carina said, nodding, "Thank you for keeping an eye on her."
"Alright, Bishop, need anything else?" Bailey asked as she checked her vitals quickly.
"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "Thanks."
"I will leave you two alone," Bailey said, walking out.
"I'm sorry your stomach is still so sick," Carina said, noticing the blue bag laying next to Maya in bed.
"It's ok," Maya said, "It feels better now because of the meds. What time is it even?"
"It's a little after 10 pm," Carina said, smiling at her, "Have you been sleeping sinc eth elast time we talked?"
"Yeah," Maya nodded, "There's not much else to do here, and sleeping makes everything less… Just less I guess."
"Less is good," Carina said, nodding, "You seems a little… more awake."
"I think I had two doses of meds while I was sleeping," Maya said, rubbing her eyes, "And one of them would have probably been not that long ago which means my fever should be down a little. Did you have a good day?"
"Si," Carina nodded, "Nothing too exciting. I did do some cooking and dropped off some soup for Andy and Vic."
"You are the best," Maya said, smiling, "Sorry I called so late. I should let you sleep."
"I slept this morning," Carina said, "Until noon so I am not ready to sleep yet. Would you like to watch a movie?"
"Sure," Maya nodded, not feeling much like talking, her chest feeling heavy and tight, but a quick glance at her oxygen told her she was still sating at 95.
Carina put a movie on on her computer, screensharing with Maya so they could watch together.
By the end of the film, both of them were sound asleep, thinking that if they couldn't be together, at least they were able to fall asleep to the same sounds.
What did you think? Is Maya going to keep improving or is she going to have some challenges? Thanks for reading, commenting, favoriting, and following!