AN: Chapter 3 is here! Although I hadn't planned it this way at first, this is turning into a story, but, after reading your reviews, I couldn't leave you hanging.
I must say, I don't believe that either this or where I'm taking this story from now on, it's actually going to happen on the show, but I just enjoyed making it up.
PS: I probably won't be able to update in a few days, so I wrote this one as quickly as possible. I hope it's not too bad.
Trigger warning: Psychiatric and psychological struggle are mentioned briefly in this chapter. What you are going to read is not necessarily my opinion about the matter or the actual characters' on the real show, just wrote it for the purpose of this story.
"Can I come in, Captain?" Andy queried, after knocking on Bishop's office door, first thing in the morning.
"Sure. What do you need?" Maya said, not taking her eyes from her paperwork. "I'd like to be assigned to Aid Car, again."
Right then, the captain raised her head and stared at her quizzically, trying to figure out why she was making a request like that, for the second shift in a row. The Andrea Herrera she knew loved fighting fires. "Why?"
"I just prefer to stay out of fires, for now." The lieutenant declared, hands clenched in fists on her sides. "Andy, what's going on?"
"Nothing"
That answer earned a look of disbelief from Maya's part. "Andy, I'm asking as your friend. I know you have a lot on your plate, the news about your mom and everything that's going on with Sull..."
"I'm ok." Herrera cut her, not wanting to hear her say her husband's last name. "I'd just feel more comfortable taking a back seat. It's gonna be temporary."
"Can I trust you? We have people's lives on our hands on this job. I can't afford you not being focus." Bishop told her firmly. "You can trust me on the Aid Car." Herrera replied, equally adamantly.
"Ok, I count on you." Maya gave in, making a brief pause, before she continued. "But if you need to step back, at any time, I want to know. I expect you to be responsible. And, if for some reason, you're not and you don't back off by yourself, I'll put you on desk duty until further notice."
"Sounds good to me. Thank you, Captain."
Before lunch, Herrera was doing a light workout with Miller in the gym, while the latter was narrating Pru's more recent discovery to her. "Ooh, you need to show me some pictures of that." Dean smiled proudly. "I definitely will, when I finish this series. Parents love to exhibit their babies around, but I warn you, once you've started that, you can't be sure when or how it's gonna end. I've got like a million photos."
Herrera laughed at that, amazed of how much sensitivity the paternity had developped in him. "Bring them on, Miller!" He chuckled at her determination and opened his mouth to talk, but stopped to point out her lighted up phone. "Someone's calling you."
Without even look at it, Andy shook her head with dislike. "I know, my mom's been trying to reach me all morning, but I don't feel like talking to her right now...or anytime soon, for that matter." She admitted, bitterly. "No, It says Dr. Shepherd." Dean insisted, acknowledging that she would most certainly want to take that call.
"What!?"
Without saying another word, Andy jumped out of the stationary bike, picked her phone and left the gym, heading for her bunk.
Later that day, they were all back at the beanery, after a call at a multiple car crash, provoked by a driver who had suffered a psychotic break, and the debate was on. Miller was on the driver's side, as he considered that he wasn't to blame for his illness.
"But you shouldn't drive when you are under psychiatric medication, and we just witnessed it, today. Crystal clear. Thankfully, nobody died, but he endangered so many people." Vic differed, siding against Dean, in a way just led by her growing resentment toward him.
Jack frowned in disapproval, offended by her remark, as he had his own psychological issues himself. "That's the thing, we don't even know if he has a diagnosis. You can't ban people from living their lives or doing their jobs just because they might get sick."
"That's not what she meant, Gibson." Travis added, defending Vic.
It was then, when Ben intervened with a speech whose aim was to sooth the atmosphere. "Jack, don't take this personally, nobody's talking about you, here. In fact, I'm with you on this. It's true that chronic and severe psychiatric patients take strong medication, under which they shouldn't be driving, but many others just have isolated breakdowns, once or twice in their life. And then, they live symptom-free for long periods or even forever. I think it's important to bring awareness about it. These people don't choose to be like this, it's a disease, and under supervision, a great amount of them can have a completely normal life."
At that moment, Herrera, who had been making coffee quietly in the kitchen area, snickered, more loudly that she had intended, her teeth grinding afterward. When she lifted her head, her teammates had their eyes fixed on her, waiting expectantly for her to say something, confusion written all over their faces, since she had been especially silent after her workout.
"That's so nice of you, Warren. The world is a much better place for having such a conscientious guy in it." She snapped and left the room with the coffee mug, under the surprised look of the team.
After a couple of minutes, Maya decided to follow her downstairs and reached her at the front desk. "What was that?"
"What do you mean?" The lieutenant asked, pretending not to understand the question. "Andy, you know what I mean. We've talked about this, if you're not able to do the job…"
"I did my job. That was just a conversation in which everyone was disagreeing...I mean, but righteous Ben Warren." She stated, stressing her last words, irony evident in her tone. "Yeah, a conversation where you snapped at a teammate who you are supposed to work in sync with."
"I wasn't pair up with Ben, today."
"But you could, tomorrow. I need you at a hundred percent and that includes having, if not good, at least a respectful relationship with the people you work with."
"Well, Vic snapped at Miller too, and Jack at her, and I don't see you giving them a sermon."
Bishop was visibly starting to lose her patience. As much as she loved her best friend, Andy's temper could be challenging sometimes. "They didn't tell me they weren't in their right state of mind to fight fires, this very morning."
"That did not have anything to do with my state of mind." Andy corrected her, feeling insulted. "Then what else is there?" She didn't got an answer. "Herrera." Maya urged, using her captain voice and her last name.
"I think I might be pregnant."