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Travis was exhausted. They had spent the entire day before working and then had been forced to talk to Dr. Lewis. Travis hated talking about his feelings. Growing up, feelings were not really talked about, especially not feelings about big things. For whatever reason, he had decided he needed to talk about him and Emmett which had been cathartic and helpful but also felt draining.

He had also spent all the time that he wasn't talking to Diane cooking food with Emmet while trying not to flirt with him only to have their food be rejected by Rigo's wife because she didn't want to be a widow. Travis understood how she felt and watching her grief even just for those few minutes, had made him feel the loss of Michael all over again. He had told Emmet to go home before taking the food back to the station, knowing that someone would eat it there.

As he walked past the Captain's office, he noticed her door was shut and Dr. Lewis was in with her. Travis felt for her, knowing she was feeling a lot of guilt about Rigo dying.

He wanted to blame her, call her inexperienced like Theo and write her off as someone who should never have been promoted, but he couldn't do that because it wasn't fair to her. She knew what she was doing and she trusted her team when they told her they could work together.

Was he pissed at Rigo and Jack for not being professional, absolutely. Did he think, in retrospect, that their captain should have made a different choice, also yes. But did he think it was Maya's fault that Rigo was an arrogant ass who decided not to listen and that Jack was an idiot who broke the code, no. He knew Jack was trying to make it right, not that that excused anything, but he was at least acting like a professional in the field.

He sighed as he put all the food they had spent so long cooking into the fridge, hoping B shift would enjoy it because honestly, while Rigo had been on A shift when he died, B shift was his shift and they were really his people and they deserved this food almost as much as his wife did.

Travis had already gotten all of his stuff together so he headed back downstairs as soon as the fridge was loaded up with all the food. He walked back downstairs, just wanting to go home and curl up in bed with one of Michael's old sweatshirts and a cup of hot chocolate.

As he walked out the door, he was very in his head, not really paying attention and all of a sudden, he literally ran into someone.

"I'm so sorry," he said, realizing he had caused the cup this woman was holding to spill all over her jacket.

"It's ok," the mystery woman said, looking down at her jacket, "It will wash out."

"Let me help you," Travis said, going back into the station with this woman, "Here, I'll go grab some paper towels."

Travis ran into the bathroom, grabbing some towels, wetting a few before going back out to the lobby.

"Here," he said, handing the towels to the woman, "What did you spill, coffee?"

"No," the woman said, shaking her head, "It was hot chocolate. I was just…never mind. It doesn't mind. Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Travis said, shaking his head, "I should be apologizing. I caused this mess. If you soak it in some dish soap and water, it should take it out."

"It's ok," the woman, who had an accent Travis knew was Italian because him and Michael had spent some time there for their first anniversary, "You seemed distracted. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah," Travis said instinctually, "No…Yes and no. We lost a firefighter a few days ago from this station and it's been hard. But I'll be fine, and I don't need to bother you with that. You probably came here for something. I'm Travis Montgomery. Can I help you?"

"I'm Dr. Carina Deluca," the woman said, "I am just here to see your captain."

"Is she expecting you?" Travis asked, seeing that the blinds in Maya's office were closed, "I think she's in another meeting right now, but I can go see…"

"No," Carina said, shaking her head, "It's ok. I can wait. She did know I was coming, but she told me I might have to wait a little bit."

"Are you going to be helping Warren on the PRT or something like that?" Travis asked, trying to figure out why this woman was there to see their captain.

"Something like that," Carina nodded in a way that normally would have made Travis suspicious, but today, with everything that had happened, he wasn't pay attention.

"Well, good luck with your meeting," Travis said, "Just so you know, today has been a really long day around here and the captain is probably exhausted so just…know that when you talk to her. She might be a little…more abrasive than normal. We've been here for almost forty hours and have barely slept so we are all kinda shot at this point."

"Si," the woman nodded, "How is the captain normally?"

Travis bit his lip, not sure how to answer because Maya was his boss, but he decided to be honest with this woman.

"She's driven and a little harsh," Travis said, "But she can also be very compassionate and caring. She's an amazing captain even though she's only been at it for a few months."

"Does everyone around here feel like that?" Carina asked, seemingly genuinely curious.

"Um," Travis said, not wanting to badmouth his captain to a member of the public, "The transition to her being captain has been rough as all transitions are so some people may feel a different way, but she is good."

"Thanks for the input," Carina said, nodding, "Well, I should let you leave. Can I just wait here for the captain?"

"Yeah," Travis nodded, "There should be someone at the desk. I can go find them."

"No," Carina said, "I can just wait here. You should go get some rest."

"Ok," Travis nodded, "Well, good luck with the captain. I hope I'll get to see you again."

"Me too," Carina nodded, "I hope you get some rest."

"Thanks," Travis nodded, heading out the door.

He got to his car, getting ready to leave when he couldn't remember if he had grabbed his headphones. He got out of his car, going to the trunk and grabbing his bag. He started shuffling around in it, looking for his headphones. He couldn't find them, sighing as he closed his trunk. He didn't really want to go back inside and get his headphones, but he wanted to go for a run and/or bike ride tomorrow so he turned back to the station.

As he did, Dr. Lewis walked out to the parking lot.

"Going home Travis?" she asked.

"I was," he said, "But I left my headphones. I'm gonna go grab them and then head home."

"Good," she said, nodding, "Well, have a good night."

"Thanks Diane," Travis said as they parted ways.

As Travis walked back into the station, he stopped, eyes wide at what he saw in the captain's office. Carina, the woman who he had just talked to, was now standing in Maya's office, holding her in her arms, pressing a kiss to the captain's hair. Travis's mind went blank as he slowly and silently stood there, not believing what he was seeing.

Just then, Maya looked out the door, seeing him.

"What are you looking at Montgomery?" she asked, clearly grumpy.

"Hey," Carina said gently and so quietly that Travis almost couldn't hear her, Maya calming down instantly.

"Sorry," Maya said, rubbing her eyes, "Travis, did you need something?"

"No," Travis said, "Sorry. I just came back in to…I don't even remember. Sorry to interrupt. I'm gonna go."

"Wait, Trav," Maya called, "Um…this is Carina Deluca, my girlfriend."

"We've met," Carina nodded, smiling as she heard what Maya just called her, "When I was waiting for you."

"Oh," Maya said, half smiling, "Ok."

"I am going to run to the bathroom," Carina said, looking between Maya and Travis, "I will be right back."

Maya nodded, letting go of Carina's hand. As soon as she was in the bathroom, Travis looked at Maya.

"Did you just say your girlfriend?" Travis asked.

"Yeah," Maya nodded, "We've been seeing each other for a few months. But no one else knows so can you just…not say anything?"

"Yeah," Travis nodded, "For sure. Seattle Fire Queers, gotta stick together right?"

"Yeah," Maya said, smiling a genuine smile for the first time Travis had seen since her promotion, "Thanks Trav."

"I'm gonna go home," he said, "And Maya, congratulations."

"Thanks," Maya said, smiling as she looked down, "Bye Travis."

Travis walked out of the station in a daze, completely unable to believe what he had just seen and heard. He wanted to call Vic, but he had promised Maya not to say anything and he was going to respect her requests.

He knew Maya wasn't one to date and the fact that she said she had a girlfriend was crazy. She had never called Jack her boyfriend in the few months that had lasted.

Travis thought about the fact that Maya told her he was the only one that knew as he drove home. It made him a little sad that Maya was in a relationship and seemed to be really happy about it, but yet she had told no one about it.

Maya deserved to have people to talk to about this relationship she was in, but they had all made it impossible. He decided that that needed to stop. Maya was their captain and that was how it was whether they liked it or not. She deserved their respect and support.

He pulled into his driveway, going to grab his bag out of the trunk. It was then that he remembered he had gone into the station for his headphones earlier. He was pretty upset he had forgotten them, but he was glad he had gone back to get them because Maya had told him about Carina.

What did you think? Thanks for reading!