Here's the next part!
Maya woke up at some point to an alarm going off in her room. She looked around a little, seeing her oxygen numbers were down again. Bailey came in pretty quickly, looking at her.
"I am going to put you on 6L," the general surgeon said, noticing Maya was awake, "That's about as high as we can go before we move on to other interventions."
"Intubation?" Maya asked, terrified of having to go on a vent, knowing so many people never came off.
"We would try CPAP first, probably," Miranda said, adjusting Maya's oxygen flow at the wall, making sure everything else was ok, deciding to use this time for an all-around vitals check.
"Alright," she said, running the thermometer over her forehead, "Bishop, you are burning up again, 103.9. Oh, it's almost time for more meds. I'll send a nurse in here with those in a few minutes. Can I get you anything else?"
"Time is it?" Maya asked, sleepily.
"4 am," Bailey said, looking at the clock.
Maya nodded, knowing it was too early to call Carina and the more she thought about it, the more she just wanted to pass out again.
"Get some rest, Captain," Bailey said, offering her a small smile.
Maya nodded, already heading that way, coughing as she did so.
The next time Maya's eyes opened, it was again to the same annoying alarm. As she opened her eyes, feeling worse than she had the last time she was awake, suddenly, Teddy was running in.
"Hey Maya," Teddy said as Maya started coughing, "I bet you are feeling pretty bad right now?"
Maya nodded, looking up at the oxygen monitor, seeing her sats were 85 and falling.
"Ok," Teddy said, looking at the monitor, her tablet, and then Maya, "I think it's time for a bit more of an aggressive intervention. I am going to get you on CPAP. Do you know what that is?"
"Yeah," Maya said as she started coughing again.
"Ok," Teddy said, "Let me go grab a nurse to get one. I am going to stay right here with you, ok?"
"Carina," Maya rasped out, not liking the feeling in her body right now and wanting her girlfriend.
"Let's facetime her," Teddy said, knowing it might freak her friend out a little, but also that Maya needed to feel a little less alone, and Teddy was genuinely worried the fire captain was going to go into a panic attack which would not be good under the circumstances.
Carina answered after two rings.
"Bambina," she smiled until she saw how bad Maya looked, "What's going on?"
"Hey," Teddy said, coming into view, "We are getting ready to put her on CPAP. She's not maintaining even after Bailey upped her oxygen again in the middle of the night."
"Carina," Maya said, lungs finally settling a little.
"I'm right here," Carina said, offering Maya a watery smile, "Just relax. Teddy, what is her O2 please?"
"Right now she's sitting at 83," Teddy said as the nurse came in, "But hopefully this helps. Maya, this is going to be tight and feel strange, but it is going to help."
"Just breathe Bambina," Carina reassured as Maya's eyes found hers.
Teddy got the machine on her, turning it on and letting out a sigh of relief as Maya's numbers started going up.
"There we go," Teddy said, picking up the tablet and showing Carina what her vitals were. "
Good," Carina nodded, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, "What was her temp this morning?"
"103.9 before meds," Teddy said, pulling up the chart.
"Don't feel good," Maya said, body exhausted from fighting for her breaths.
"I know Bambina," Carina said, deciding she was going to go down to Grey Sloan and sit with Maya for a while, her fears starting to become overwhelming, "You just rest now."
"Talk to me?" Maya requested, trying to get her brain to calm down so she could sleep.
"Of course," Carina nodded, knowing what was going on, "Just close your eyes. Let your body rest. That was a lot. How about the time Andrea and I tried to walk from Wisconsin to LA to try to find a movie star?"
Maya nodded, stories of Carina's childhood always calming her down, especially when her brother was the other player and not her father. As Carina talked, Maya continued coughing some as her breathing got more regular and Carina could tell she was asleep.
She then quickly hung up the phone before going to get ready. It was about noon, Carina having just gotten back from her daily walk. She jumped in the shower, dressing in clothes quickly. She then realized she should probably call Vic and Andy, knowing that for now, Maya was sleeping.
She grabbed her phone, trying to settle in a chair, but finding herself too antsy and anxious, choosing instead to walk around the small room while she called.
"Carina, hey," Vic said, picking up her phone, "Is everything ok?"
"Um, I think," Carina said, taking a shaky breath, "They put Maya on CPAP about an hour ago."
"Are you serious?" Andy said, joining Vic on the couch.
"Yeah," Carina said, looking up at the ceiling, trying not to cry, "I am going to go down there, check on her, sit with her for a while. I just…"
"I know," Vic nodded, feeling tears fill her own eyes, "But she's not on a vent yet so that's good, right?"
"Si," Carina said, wiping her eyes, "But if this isn't enough…"
The three of them were silent, no one wanting to think about Maya being on a ventilator or worse.
"I am going to go," Carina said, "I will keep you updated, maybe see if she's up to calling you guys later. You are both still doing well?"
"We are both fever free as of this morning," Andy nodded, "And other than the bone deep exhaustion and Vic not being able to enjoy the taste of food, we are good. Oh, also, when you see Maya, tell her the rest of the shift was cleared this morning."
"Good," Carina smiled, wiping at her eyes, "Well, I will see you both later."
"Let us know if there's anything we can do," Vic said, nodding.
"Grazie," Carina said, hanging up.
As she did, for a split second, she felt anger flash through her body that her girlfriend's friends were getting better while Maya, her beautiful, amazing, precious Maya, was just getting sicker, finding herself, for the briefest of moments, wishing that it was one of them, and not Maya, who was struggling. As soon as she thought it, she felt guilty for wishing that anyone was there, struggling to hold herself together. She wiped her eyes again, knowing she needed to get these emotions together before she went to see Maya, not wanting to scare her or make anything worse than it already was.
She let herself have a few minutes to just wallow in her feelings before getting up, wiping her eyes one more time before putting on her mask and leaving. She quickly made her way to the hospital, going to her office and changing into her scrubs and PPE before going down to the COVID unit.
"Hey Carina," Teddy said as she walked in, "I was wondering if you were going to come down here today. Maya is getting a bedside x-ray right now, just to check her lungs. They'll be done soon."
"Is she still doing ok?" Carina asked, grabbing a gown and gloves.
"She is doing well right now," Teddy nodded, "She had mostly just been sleeping, but her oxygen is still at 98 so that's what I want. I'm hoping she can break that fever soon. It's so damn high."
"Si," Carina nodded, "I have only ever seen her sick one time other than this. There was a gastro thing that went around the station maybe two months after we got together, not long before we went on our trip, and she ran a high fever then too. She told me it is what happens when she is sick."
"Well, it's good to know it's how her body normally responds to illness," Teddy said, "Hey, I have something to ask you that I wish I didn't, and I hope I don't actually ever need to know, but with her here and how she is, just in case something gets worse, do you know who her power of attorney is?"
"I… um… we never…" Carina said, the gravity of the situation hitting her again, harder than before.
"It's ok," Teddy said, putting a hand on Carina's shoulder, "Just take a breath. I'm sure someone at the station could help you out. It looks like she's waking up right now, so why don't you go sit with her until she's sleeping again, and then we can sort it out, ok?"
"Yeah," Carina nodded, already trying to figure out who she should call to ask.
She didn't want to freak Vic and Andy out because they couldn't do anything to help given that they were stuck at home. She knew the one person who would probably have the most access to the files and such, deciding to give him a call once she had Maya settled down again.
She made sure everything was in place before going into the room.
"Hi Bambina," she smiled, going over to the bed where Maya was just waking up.
"Car," she said, coughing a little.
"Shhhh," Carina said, sitting down in the chair, "I am right here. No talking. Save your energy. Your oxygen is still looking good. Do you need anything?"
"Thirsty," Maya said, Carina barely hearing her over the hum of the machine that was helping keep her lungs open.
"I'll go get you something," Carina said, going to get up only to have Maya's hand clamp weakly on hers, not letting go.
"Ok," Carina nodded, understanding what Maya wanted, "I will ask a nurse."
Maya nodded, still holding Carina's hand as the Italian pushed the call button.
"Yes?" a nurse asked, coming in.
"Can she get something to drink?" Carina asked.
"Of course," the nurse said, nodding as she left.
About five minutes later, Teddy came in with both a cup and her tablet.
"Here you go Maya," she said, setting down the cup.
Carina helped Maya hold it, the blonde's hands shaky.
"So I have your chest x-rays," Teddy said, "Can I also show Carina?"
Maya nodded, smiling a little at her girlfriend.
"Alright," Teddy said, pulling them up, "So you are showing some of the signs in your lungs that we see with COVID patients, see this clouding here? Now, your is not too severe right now, but lungs like this can turn quickly either for better or worse. Right now, you are on exactly supports for this. We will take another one tomorrow to see if things have changed unless something drastically changes. Any questions?"
Maya shook her head, looking to Carina.
"No," Carina said, trying to calm her racing brain because she had seen x-rays that looked like that on patients who didn't survive 24 hours, "No. Grazie Teddy."
"Alright," Teddy said, seeing the look in Carina's eyes, "For today, everything is ok."
Carina nodded, keeping how she was feeling inside as Teddy left, knowing she did not need to break down and scare Maya right now.
Once the other doctor left, Carina turned her full attention back to her girlfriend. Maya offered Carina as much of a smile as she could, everything in her body hurting.
"Sleep if you need to Bambina," Carina said, brushing a blonde piece of hair off her forehead, "Your body needs all the rest it can get right now."
"Stay?" Maya asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I have something I need to take care of while you are sleeping," Carina said, "But I will come back, promise."
Maya nodded, letting her eyes close. Once Carina was sure she was sleeping, she got up, finding Teddy at the nurses station.
"I am going to go make some calls and get her power of attorney sorted," Carina said, tears filling her eyes.
"Hey," Teddy said, seeing what was going on, "I can get someone else to do it. I have interns who could."
"I do not know if the person I need to call knows how sick she is," Carina said, shaking her head, "Teddy, I know you said her lungs are fine for today, but…"
"You know what the scans look like," Teddy nodded, "I know. We have a close eye on her. She's doing well on CPAP for now though, so we are going to be hopeful and try not to think about what could happen."
Carina nodded, wishing she could take off her PAPR and wipe the tears off her face, but knowing better.
"I am going to my office," Carina said, "I hopefully won't be more than twenty minutes."
"Take your time," Teddy said, already grabbing her phone to text someone to go make sure Carina was ok.
Carina left after casting another glance at Maya, going up to her office. She sighed as she pulled off her PAPR, scrubbing her hands before grabbing a tissue and wiping her face.
She then grabbed her phone and called the one person who, until a few months ago, she never thought she would call ever.
"Dr. Deluca," Jack said, answering the phone, "Hey, what's up? Is Maya ok?"
"Well, that depends on your definition of ok," Carina said, trying to keep her voice strong, to not let the tears escape, "She is in the COVID ward on CPAP with a less than great chest x-ray. I was calling because… well… I need to know who Maya's power of attorney is."
"Is she that bad?" Jack said, fear filling his voice.
"No," Carina said, shaking her head, "Not right now. But this is just in case. We need it in her file here."
"I can check," Jack said, "I'm actually at the station now, just getting some stuff ready because I am acting captain this week."
"Thank you," Carina said, hearing Jack going through papers, "We should have talked about this before. I should know this. I…"
"Hey," Jack said, cutting her off, "This is not a thing you think about until you have to. We all work together, doing things that put our lives at risk regularly, and I don't know anyone's power of attorney. Maya probably knows everyone's though. She is so on top of all that. Oh, here's her file. Let's see… Shit."
"What?" Carina said, not liking the sound of his voice.
"It's Lane," Jack said, sighing.
"But… how," Carina said, anger filling her at the mention of Maya's abuser, "I mean, we have a restraining order against him. He cannot make medical choices for her."
"I know," Jack said, "You need to talk to someone, maybe Maya can change it. I'm sure she didn't even think about this. We normally have to review our paperwork once a year, just to make sure everything is up to date and all that. I think we are due to do it next month."
"I will talk to… I don't even know," Carina said, trying hard to keep her tears at bay, "Thank you for looking Jack. I need to go get this sorted out."
"Of course," Jack said, "Let me know if there's anything else you need. Sorry you are going through this. But it's Maya. She's going to be ok."
"I hope so," Carina said, hanging up.
The minute she did, the tears started running down her face, fast and without her permission. She sobbed, letting all the fear and anxiety and worry take over. She was still sobbing when she heard a knock on her door. She grabbed a mask, trying her best to wipe the tears away before opening the door.
"Dr. Bailey," she said, really trying hard not to cry in front of her boss.
"When was your last test?" Bailey asked, looking at her.
"Oh, um, this morning," Carina said, having come to Grey Sloan on her morning walk to get her once every three day test.
She had almost gone in to see Maya, but Teddy had sent her a picture of her girlfriend sleeping so she decided to wait.
"Me too," Bailey said, coming in and closing the door behind her, "Now, what can I do? Do you need to talk or cry or scream?"
"I need my fidanzata's papa to not hold power of attorney," Carina said, frustration evident in her voice, "Her papa who we have a restraining order out against, and now, she might need medical decisions made on her behalf and he is the one who is in charge of that."
"I can work on getting it changed," Bailey said, knowing that Maya had a complicated and volatile relationship with her father and that, according to Ben, that man was not allowed anywhere near the station, let alone his boss, "The hospital lawyer can help and I can probably get the proper papers drawn up in an hour or two. Is she going to be able to sign and declare competency?"
"Si," Carina nodded, "She is all there, just very sleepy and weak. The hard thing will be keeping her awake to sign."
"Do you think she would transfer to you?" Bailey asked, catching Carina a little off guard.
She hadn't even thought of who would get the POA, just that it needed to not be her father.
"I guess she might," Carina nodded, "We have not talked about it."
"Would you be willing?" Bailey asked.
"Yeah," Carina said, "Absolutely. I hope I never have to use it though."
"Me too," Bailey said, "Let's go see if we can get Maya awake to talk to her about it."
Carina nodded, getting her gear back on. They went back down to Maya's room, Teddy seeing them as they walked into the ward.
"Do you have the papers coming?" Teddy asked.
"So, no," Carina said, "We have to get new ones. Her dad is her POA right now, and that will not work."
"Wait, the dad with the restraining order?" Teddy asked, having talked to Carina a little about it when the Italian just needed a listening ear.
"Si," Carina nodded, "And obviously that won't work."
"So we are going to try to talk to her and get it worked out," Bailey said, Is she awake?"
"No," Teddy said, shaking her head, "And normally, I would say to let her sleep, but this is important."
"I will go wake her up and talk to her," Carina said, "Bailey, I will let you know when to come in?"
Miranda nodded, patting Carina on the back as she walked into the room.
"Bambina," she said, gently shaking Maya, "Come on. I know you want to sleep, but I need to talk to you, just for a minute."
Maya's eyes opened, soft groan escaping her lips.
"I know," Carina said, seeing the frown, "But I need to talk to you about something very important."
"What?" Maya asked, looking at her.
"Your Power of Attorney," Carina said, "It's just paperwork they need because you're here, just in case."
"Does Teddy think I am not going to make it?" Maya asked, fear filling her eyes.
"No," Carina said, shaking her head, "No, Bambina, you are going to be fine. But when you are in the hospital, they always need one."
"Lane," Maya groaned, "That is my POA right now."
Maya started coughing, Carina holding her hand and helping her calm back down.
"I know," Carina said, helping Maya take a drink, happy she seemed to at least being doing better with oral fluids, "Which is why Dr. Bailey is going to help get it changed, if you want."
"You," Maya said, "Will you?"
"Of course, Bambina," Carina nodded, motioning for Bailey to come in, "Of course I will."
"Hey Maya," Bailey said, coming in, "Carina told me what's going on, and I just need to hear from you that you want to change your POA."
"I want to," Maya said, "Carina, not Lane."
"Alright," Bailey said, nodding, "I am going to go get things rolling with the lawyers. They might have to zoom with you to talk to you, but other than that, it should just be some signatures. Just relax until then."
"Thank you," Maya rasped out, coughing. Bailey left, going to start doing what she did best, moving mountains and getting things done.
Carina, meanwhile, sat back down next to Maya.
"I meant to change it," Maya said, coughing a little, "After… everything. But then…"
"Then we started a global pandemic and everything got crazy," Carina finished, seeing Maya was getting tired, "Si, I know. It is fine."
Maya nodded a little, just looking at Carina as she let her body relax.
"Sleep," Carina encouraged, "I will wake you when they need you."
"Stay this time?" Maya requested.
"Of course," Carina nodded, "I will be right here."
Carina knew she wasn't going to be able to stay forever, but until they had the POA situation resolved, she wasn't going to leave. Teddy came in a few minutes later, just checking everything.
"Do you need anything?" the cardio surgeon asked her friend.
"Can I get a basin of water and rag?" Carina asked, "I want to try to cool her down a little."
"Of course," Teddy nodded, "I am going to get her on a little bit of a stronger fever reducer too. Normally, I wouldn't, but I think if we can get her fever down, it might help everything else a little more."
"That was my hope too," Carina nodded, "Is she still over 103?"
"Her last check was… 102.9," Teddy said, "About two hours after meds."
Carina nodded, not loving that number, but happier with it than 104.
"I'll have a nurse bring you the basin and get her some more meds," Teddy said, looking at the sleeping blonde in the bed, "She's strong, Carina. She's going to be ok."
"She had to be," Carina said, biting her lip.
Teddy rested a supportive hand on Carina's shoulder for a second before leaving. Over the next few hours, Carina alternated between wiping down Maya's face and arms with the cool water and just holding her hand. About four hours later, Maya's sleepy eyes opened, looking at her girlfriend.
"Hi Bambina," Carina said, smiling at her, "How are you feeling?"
"Less like every part of my body is on fire," Maya said, coughing harshly.
"They gave you stronger fever reducers," Carina said, rubbing her back as she coughed.
Maya nodded, leaning back against the bed.
"Is she awake?" Bailey asked, walking in.
"Just woke up," Carina nodded as Maya lifted her hand, waving at Bailey a little.
"Are you ready to change your POA?" Bailey asked, "I have the paperwork, and the attorney is standing by to zoom."
"Let's do it," Maya said as Carina helped adjust the bed so Maya was sitting up.
Luckily, Maya was able to stay awake and sign everything so that her girlfriend, and not her abusive father, had her power of attorney.
"Thank you Bailey," Carina said after they finished.
"Thank you," Maya also rasped out, exhausted from being awake for close to an hour.
"Of course," Bailey said, nodding, "Now I just hope you never have to use it."
Both women nodded as the chief left.
"Thank you, Car," Maya said, eyes lids heavy.
"Of course Bambina," Carina nodded, squeezing her hand, "Now, I have to go because I work tomorrow, and Teddy is not going to let me sleep here, and it is also not safe for me to sleep here."
"Can you stay until I fall asleep?" Maya asked as Carina laid the bed back down a little.
"I was planning to," Carina smiled, nodding, "Just close your eyes."
"Love you," Maya mumbled, offering Carina a small smile.
"I love you too Bambina," Carina said, rubbing circles on the back of her hand, "Rest now."
Within five minutes, Maya was sound asleep. Carina sat there for a few more minutes, just watching her girlfriend's chest rise and fall and hoping that tomorrow, things would be better.
What did you think? I randomly got this idea yesterday, and had to go with it. Did you like it? Do you think Carina will have to use her POA? Thanks for reading and commenting!