AN: We never got to see Carina's reaction to Alex beating up Andrew on Grey's. Now, obviously, that was because Carina technically did not exist yet. However, I thought that it was important that we get that reaction. Since I am trying to be as canon as possible, it seemed necessary to include it in this story. I hope that I did it justice. -L

A Call about Andrew

Growing up as the sole caretaker of her brother hadn't always been easy. For much of her adolescence Carina couldn't afford to have the same carefree attitude as her peers. She had someone depending on her, entirely on her. She had never been the type to be reckless anyway, but she sometimes wondered if that would have been different had the circumstances not been what they were. Even before she'd become Andrew's guardian she had been in charge of their father. She had been twelve when their mother had announced her move to America. She had been twelve when she'd been forced into premature adulthood. Carina's senior year of high school, she had allowed herself to go a little crazy, which had continued into her first semester at UCLA. For the first time since in over six years, she had only had herself to worry about. However, being roommates with a division 1 athlete, who also happened to be her girlfriend, had kept her in check. Plus, neither of them really knew how to let go of the responsibilities that had dominated their lives for so long.

Maya had never been much of a kid either. All of her time had been split between extensive training, and in the off moments, trying to keep her father away from her brother. Upon graduating college, Carina had immediately gone to med school, then directly into her career. Maya had gone from the Olympics to part time work supporting Carina through med school, to the fire academy. Maya had dedicated her entire career to Mason. Carina was not one to coddle, but she often struggled with a desire to call and make sure that Andrew was keeping on top of his personal hygiene, that he was eating enough. Especially now that he was a surgical resident. Carina knew how all too well how difficult it could be to stay on top of such things during a residency. So, although it had been close to ten years since Carina and Andrew had even lived together, Carina still felt responsible for his wellbeing.

When the call came, she had just pulled into the parking lot of the Roman Kaminski Fire Station, where Maya had worked ever since passing her CPAT (Candidate Physical Ability Test) a year before. This was a test that all fire fighters were required to pass before entering the line of duty. It's somewhat similar to the physical fitness test that they make you take in P.E. in elementary school, except it is way harder, and the whole thing must be completed in full turnout gear. Unsurprisingly, Maya had been the fastest of anyone in her graduating class at the academy. This had given her choice of stations, being the number one pick and all. She had decided on Roman Kaminski because it was the closest to Johns Hopkins and she had wanted to be as close to Carina as possible. It also kept her workplace within a comfortable distance of their apartment. Maya was at the tail end of a shift, and Carina was picking her up to take her to out to dinner. Their most recent pillow talk conversation had resulted in the conclusion that neither of them could remember the last time that they had been on a real date. Carina was looking to change that.

The unknown number led her to believe that it was Maya calling her from the station's main line. Maybe she did not have access to her cellphone, or maybe she was just too lazy to go get it. It was not Maya.

"Hi, is this Dr. Carina DeLuca?" the voice on the other end asked. Carina did not recognize it. She shifted the car into park and repositioned all of her focus onto the unexpected call.

"This is her. Can I ask what this is about?"

"My name is Dr. Benjamin Warren. I work with DeLuca, uh Andrew. I work with Andrew at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital." Carina did not like where this was going. There was no reason for someone from her brother's workplace to be calling her, unless he was unable to himself. She felt her big sister protective instincts begin to engage.

"What happened? Is he alright?"

"There was an incident. DeLuca, Andrew, your brother suffered massive trauma to his head and neck. He has a possible zygomatic fracture, and a broken nose. He may have sustained a brain injury. Our head of plastics, Dr. Jackson Avery is examining him now. We're waiting on CT. Our best neurosurgeon, Dr. Amelia Shepherd is on the way here."

"Why is she on the way? Why isn't she already there?" Carina knew that she was being unfair. She knew more than anyone that doctors had lives outside the hospital, but it was Andrew. It was her little brother. She couldn't help but to be unfair.

"Dr. Shepherd got married today. She was at her wedding when we found out about DeLuca, Doctor." Carina sighed. She already felt bad enough about snapping at the kind man that had taken the time out of his likely busy schedule to inform her about what had happened to her brother. Now she felt like an ass. When the time came for her and Maya to get married, she couldn't imagine a single reason that she would be willing to leave their wedding, not even if a plane crashed into a prenatal yoga class and all the mothers went into labor at once. Andrew must have been pretty important to his colleagues.

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to sound ungrateful. I essentially raised Andrea, so my judgement is not always intact when it comes to the question of his health."

"It's alright, Dr. DeLuca. I understand. I do not have a brother, but I did have a friend growing up who was like a brother to me, and I could not think straight for months after he was in an accident." Carina sighed. She was not sure the last time that she had been this scared. Her little brother was lying in a hospital bed, beat to a pulp, in another state. Dr. Warren had not been specific about what had happened, but Carina knew from the nature of his injuries. He had been beat up. Whether justified or not, Andrew had made someone angry enough that they had almost beat him to death.

"Call me Carina. It is clear that my fratello means a lot to all of you, so call me Carina."

"Okay. Carina." They fell into silence, neither of them quite sure what to say next. Carina was startled by a knock on the window. She had forgotten all about where she was and why she was there, too distracted by the news. Maya was standing outside of the car, which Carina hadn't gotten the chance to unlock, wearing a pale blue suit. Her hair was curled, and it appeared as if she was wearing lipstick. Carina was not sure she had ever seen Maya in lipstick before, in all the years that they had been together. Maya was sporting a devious smile, hiding something behind her back with her hands. However, the smile soon began to fade when she took in Carina's demeanor.

"Grazie, Dr. Warren. Thank you for calling me and letting me know what was going on. I have to go because my girlfriend has just arrived but give Andrea my best. We will be there as soon as we can."

"Of course. I will call back as soon as I have an update. Looking forward to meeting you, Carina. Although I wish that it were under better circumstances."

"Si. Ciao, Dr Warren."

"Goodbye, Carina." When she had successfully hung up, Carina unlocked the door. She was not looking forward to the conversation ahead. She had managed to keep it together so far, but as soon as she told Maya, that made it real. As soon as she told Maya, it was back to their apartment to pack, and then they were on the first flight to Seattle, to her brother's bedside— her brother who had been turned into a human punching bag.

"What's going on?" Maya asked once she was situated. She had set whatever had been in her hands at her feet, still attempting to keep the surprise intact.

"Mi dispiace, Maya. We cannot go on our date."

"Carina. I do not care about the date. Well I do, but you know what I mean. Tell me what's wrong."

"I want you to wear that suit again next time we have date night. I do not think I've seen it before. You look bellissima," Carina said. She was grasping at straws, anything that would put off the reality of what she was about to say a little longer. Maya knew her well enough to see right through it.

"I will, I promise. But, Carina, I need you to tell me what is going on." Carina turned, her eyes finally meeting Maya's. She desperately reached for Maya's hand, and Maya gave it to her. She brushed her thumb over Carina's knuckle in a soothing manner.

"Andrea was in a fight. It would appear that he lost. I did not get all of the details, but according to his colleague that I talked to, it is bad," Carina finally explained. Maya felt her heart stop in her chest. She was no stranger to finding out that her brother was in the hospital, and she wouldn't wish that on anyone, especially when the someone was her girlfriend, and the brother was Andrew. Carina and Andrew were the only two people in the world besides Mason that Maya considered family.

"I can drive or look for flights. Whatever you need me to do, I will do it. Carina, he's going to be okay."

"You don't know that."

"Except that I do. He called me. After you told him that I was going into firefighting. He called me, and he was angry, because I was supposed to always be there. Meeting me got you to finally think about yourself and what you wanted. I was the first person that you allowed to break down your walls. And 'what the fuck was I doing putting myself in a position to leave you all alone.' After we talked about it, why I needed to do it, he understood. Then I reminded him that God forbid something did happen to me that you wouldn't be all alone. You would have him," Maya recalled, "Andrew knows that if he were to even think about dying, I'll kill him myself. It's the same for me. Why do you think I have never gotten more than a cut and a scrape?" Carina chuckled. This was why she needed both her girlfriend and her brother. Who else would collectively cheer her up when she was otherwise incapable of being cheered up?

"Grazie, bambina. I needed that. I am okay to drive if you could look for flights. I do not have the head room to worry about logistics right now."

"Of course, my love. You do not have to. I will do all of the worrying about such things; you just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Or, in this case, one foot from the brake to the gas." Carina gave her a weak smile, her hand stopping to squeeze Maya's thigh on its way back to the steering wheel.

"He was right, you know. I was a caretaker all of my life. I did not know how to be cared for. There were mountains of walls around my heart. Who was going to take care of my papà or Andrea if I was nursing my own hurt feelings? All of that flew out the window when I met you, Maya. As soon as we talked that day on the field, I realized that I could not let you be the one who got away. Perhaps part of that was me seeing you as another person to care for, but it does not matter, because I wouldn't have been willing to let that get in the way of my preexisting responsibilities unless I already loved you," Carina took a deep breath, realizing that what she had intended to say was getting away from her, "My point is I was wrong. You took care of me. You take care of me. Ugh, this is not coming out right."

"Carina, it's okay. You do not have to-"

"Si, I do. I used to think that my only purpose was to care for my papà and Andrea. The thought of losing one of them was insopportabile (unbearable), because what was I without them to take care of. Meeting you showed me that I was capable of being the one who was cared for. I realized that sharing a life equally with someone was also a good reason to live. Now the thought of Andrea not surviving this makes me feel sick, but I know that I am capable of making it through. I know that you would be by my side the whole time, and that when I was ready, I could go back to work and bring new life into this world in his honor."

"It is not going to come to that, but you are right. Even though Andrew is not going anywhere, I am still not going to leave your side. Not just because you didn't leave mine each time it's been Mason in the hospital bed, but also because I love you more than words can express and as long as I am I alive I will always be here for you. Carina, you are so much more than a caretaker, but you are an amazing one, and Andrew and I are both blessed that you have decided that we are worth your time. As are each one of your patients," Maya said in response, "I may have changed the course of your life that day on the field, but you changed the course of mine too. You showed me that there was more to life than running. We showed each other that falling in love was not a distraction, but rather a necessity."

"We're the reason Andrea believed in love. Growing up with parents like ours, parents whose marriage was a series of blow ups and ultimatums, love was nothing more than something we read about in romance novels. It was a fairytale that we dreamt about, but never thought we would actually find. Meeting you changed that for both of us. Here I am, nose deep in the middle of my own great love story, and Andrea was finally provided with an example of a healthy romantic partnership."

"Believes. We're the reason he believes," Maya corrected her, "Last time I checked we are still in love, and Andrew is still alive."

"See this is why I need you. As annoying as it is that you refuse to allow me to be cynical, I need you here to not allow me to be cynical."

"I will continue to do so until we are sitting at Andrew's bedside at Grey Sloan listening to him tell us that we should see the other guy."

"He will say that."

"It will not surprise me if it is his opening line." For the first time since Dr. Warren had introduced himself, Carina felt like everything might be okay. She was cautiously optimistic that he would call back with good news, that when she and Maya arrived in Seattle, Andrew would be awake, driving the nurses insane with how excited he was that his sisters were finally coming to visit.