Maya's First Day at Station 19
Maya was still getting used to having a piece of metal in her leg. It had been four months since the accident, but only half as long since she'd been back on her feet. Maya did not do well with setbacks. She never had. The move to Seattle had helped to occupy her, but she was starting to go a little stir crazy. Carina had commenced work on her research almost as soon as they'd arrived. When they'd visited Grey Sloan a year before following Andrew's beatdown, she had created a rapport with the doctor who had initially called her about Andrew being admitted. As it had turned out, that doctor, Dr. Warren, also happened to be Chief Bailey's husband. Though Bailey had been wary at first about Carina's proposed research, Warren had advocated on her behalf. Like his wife, he had little to no idea what medical advances could come about from masturbation, but Andrew DeLuca was Grey Sloan's most promising resident, and if Carina had raised him, she must know what she was doing. That had apparently been enough to get Carina an office and an MRI set aside to be dedicated to the study of orgasms. Maya was incredibly proud of her girlfriend, and she loved hearing all about how it was going over dinner in their brand-new state of the art kitchen. It did not hurt that she had an inkling that studying orgasms would only make Carina better at giving them than she already was. However, she was near ecstatic that the day for her to start work at the new station had finally arrived. Maya was ready to be a firefighter again, especially given that she now also got to boss people around.
Maya awoke to the smell of espresso. Over the course her recovery, she had grown accustomed to drinking Carina's coffee. To call it a masterpiece was an insult. Prior to falling through a roof and getting impaled with her own axe, she had rarely gotten the opportunity to have it since she was teenager. When Carina hadn't been rushing off to work, she had been. So her options had been making it herself, which was always a disaster, or drinking communal fire station coffee, which qualified as the type of emergency that they were called to respond to. With Carina designating her own hours, and Maya on injury reserve with nowhere to go, their mornings had taken on a new routine. A routine that closely resembled that of the first week they had ever spent together. They woke up in each other's arms, and took their time getting out of bed, at which point Maya would start on the French toast and bacon while Carina would make espresso. After breakfast they would go on a walk around the neighborhood, progressively increasing in difficulty to adequately rehab Maya's leg. Then Maya had been forced to occupy herself while Carina went to work, and upon her return, they would cook their evening meal together before sitting down to eat and update each other on their afternoons. Carina must have planned on getting up extra early that morning to ensure that they could fit in one more romantic breakfast before Maya was back on a crack of dawn schedule.
"Smells good," Maya said, walking up behind her girlfriend to wrap her arms around her, leaving a kiss on her shoulder in the process. Carina smiled and extended a fork in the direction of Maya's mouth. Maya leaned forward to remove the piece of French toast with her teeth. She let out a hum when she was done chewing. "Okay that might be better than sex." Carina laughed.
"I-uh- that sounds like a challenge."
"Well, you are the one who is studying how to get better at it. Maybe it is a challenge."
"Maya, we've talked about this. I am not studying how to get better at sex. I am mapping what our brains look like while we are achieving orgasm so that we can have a better understanding of what happens to the body during sex," Carina replied.
"Whatever. Same difference. I find it hard to believe that studying what a brain looks like during orgasm won't make you better at sex."
"You may be right. But if you do not stop talking about sex and sit down at the table so that we can eat, you are going to be late. And not because of our breakfast." Maya smirked, and put her hands on Carina's hips, twisting her so that they were facing each other.
"I'm sorry, is Carina DeLuca actually telling me to stop talking about sex? Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?" she asked.
"Idiota. You think you are so funny. Would you like me to say it? I need you to cease talking about sex, because if you continue, I will just have to rip off all your clothes, and then you will resent me for making you wait even longer to go back to work."
"I hope that you were joking at the end there, because if you weren't I might just have to be late after all, because I cannot have you going about your daily life thinking that I would ever prioritize my job over us." Carina nodded and brushed her thumb over Maya's cheek.
"I was just teasing you, bella. Do not worry," she reassured her.
"Good. Now let's eat the delizioso breakfast that my Italian goddess, who hates getting up early, got up before the sun to make for me."
Maya wasn't sure what to expect as she walked into Station 19 for the first time. Other than Roman Kaminski, she had only ever seen one other station when they'd been invited for poker night during a slow shift. Maya had been expecting them to look identical. It was a fire station after all; how much interior designing was really necessary? However, when they had arrived at the neighboring district's house, she'd realized that she had been very wrong. Maya knew that it was weird that her thoughts, upon entering her workplace for the foreseeable future, were focused on that of the potential decorations. However, she also knew that it was likely her mind's way of protecting her from the darker thoughts that were festering below the surface. Maya was used to being at the top. All throughout high school and college, she had been the star of the track team. Then she had won gold at the Olympics. Even at the fire academy, she had been the best in her class. She had taken to it all a lot more quickly than her peers and had gone on to have the fastest CPAT time ever recorded in the state of Maryland.
Being a probie had been different. Although, due to her many accomplishments, her experience had been better than other firefighters, she had still been treated like a probie. They'd called her the 'golden probie' but a probie nonetheless. Starting fresh at a new station, with a team that hadn't watched her breeze through the academy, hadn't placed bets on her being number one. It didn't matter that she was a Lieutenant. Maya had been a firefighter long enough to know how it worked. She was an outsider, infiltrating an established family like an unwanted stepmother. This was worse than being a probie because she had taken someone else's job.
"Can I help you?" someone asked, flinging Maya back down to Earth.
"As a matter of fact, yes. I'm Lieutenant Maya Bishop. This is my first day." For the first time in her life, Maya found herself faking the Bishop confidence that usually came so easily. It was hard not to hear Lane's voice in her head: "This is what happens when you get soft, Maya. These people don't matter. The person who had this job before you doesn't matter. You have to focus. You have to be the best." She shivered. Since she'd started going to therapy, Maya rarely ever heard him anymore. She had preferred it that way.
"Oh, hi! This is great. I am so glad I ran into you. My name is Andy Herrera. I am one of Nineteen's interim captains at the moment, but I am also a Lieutenant 50% of the time. My dad is the one who hired you, and if I can let you in on a little secret, I was pushing for you over the other candidates. A woman firefighter who also happens to be an Olympian, please. You have my vote any day." Maya was pleasantly surprised, and suddenly felt worse about allowing herself to think like her father, even if just for a second. "This place is in need of less testosterone. Until now, it's just been Hughes and me. Initially I tried to get her to apply for the job, but she didn't want it. That's Vic for you. Hell of a firefighter, no desire be anything more."
"Wow. She's a better man than the rest of us, or I guess woman," Maya said. Andy laughed.
"Anyway, my dad has been the captain here for years, but he recently had to retire due to his health. Lieutenant Gibson and I have been competing for the job— they're letting my dad choose since he knows us best. Now, you might think that they would be worried about nepotism, but this station means everything to Pruitt Herrera, and when we're on the job, I'm just another firefighter to him. We needed a new full time Lieutenant since Gibson and I are alternating Captains, and when no one in-house wanted it, my dad looked elsewhere. Hence, you."
"I am sorry to hear about your father. I have never met a firefighter who was excited to retire. But I am glad to be here. I grew up in Seattle, and my girlfriend and I have family in the area, so it's nice to be back."
"It's good to have you," Andy replied, "I am acting Captain today, so I will go ahead and show you around, and then introduce you to the rest of the team."
"Great." Maya was feeling better already. She was doubtful that the 'fake it until you make it' strategy typically worked so quickly, but she was glad that in her case it had.
An hour had passed, and Maya found herself standing at the center of the engine bay, equipped in her new blues with her brand-new Lieutenant Bishop badge. She was admiring the view. It had been a while since she'd laid her eyes on the majestic red of a fire truck, and similarly to when she saw Carina after being apart, seeing one again felt like coming home. Maya had initially wondered if Andy's enthusiastic reaction to her presence would be a fluke, but she had just finished meeting the rest of the team, and they had all seemed genuinely happy to be introduced to her. Besides Andy, there were four others: Jack Gibson, Travis Montgomery, Dean Miller, and Victoria Hughes. There was a mysterious fifth, the new probie, that was scheduled to start later in the month. Vic, as everyone called her, was equally as excited to have another woman amongst them. She had mentioned something about the need for a regularly scheduled girls hangout with copious amounts of alcohol. Maya liked the sound of that. She had been the only woman at Roman Kaminski, and despite being 'one of the guys,' it had not been the same.
Before Maya got the chance to fantasize further about having genuine friends again, her phone rang. It was Carina, likely wanting to hear how things were going. Maya had told her about her anxieties surrounding the new job, and how she might be received.
"Ciao, bambina. I just got to the hospital, so I thought I'd call and check in."
"Yeah so it turns out I was all in my head for nothing. The reason why they needed a new Lieutenant is because their captain retired, and the current Lieutenants are both gunning for the job. Everyone is actually happy to have me here, and there are two other women!" Maya said, glad that this was the report she was giving rather than the one she had been expecting to give.
"Oh, Maya, good. That makes me feel a lot better. I was worried. I also must say, I am delighted to know that you will no longer be surrounded only by the male energy. Maybe now you will stop coming home high on a kite of testes."
"Do I often come home 'high on a kite of testes?'" Maya asked, amused.
"Si. When you had a shift, without a doubt." They both laughed. Maya was not sure how, but Carina still managed to make her fall deeper in love with her every time she spoke. Their laughter was interrupted by the sound of the klaxon, signaling that there was an emergency somewhere that Station 19 needed to attend to.
"Okay. That's my cue."
"Enjoy your first call as a Lieutenant, bambina. I love you. Be careful."
"Always. I love you too. Have fun mapping orgasms."
"What about orgasms?" Vic asked as she ran by, on her way to the other side of the engine bay where the turnouts lived, ready to be jumped into at any moment. Maya took off after her, quickly catching up.
"I see why that would sound weird. It's not what you think. My girlfriend is an OB/GYN. She's researching the effect that an orgasm has on the brain."
"Woah. That's mega cool. How long have you and Dr. Orgasm been together?" The conversation continued as they boarded the truck. Andy did a double take from her place at the wheel.
"Dr. Orgasm?"
"Not what it sounds like. My girlfriend is an OB/GYN, but right now she's focusing on research. She's brain mapping what happens during an orgasm," Maya clarified once again.
"Oh, fuck yeah. I love that. Power to her."
"So, how long?" Vic repeated.
"Since our sophomore year of high school. So, it's been about thirteen years." They were about to celebrate the anniversary. It was on Maya's calendar to start planning.
"Wow." Vic and Andy said in unison. Maya knew that thirteen years was a long time. When it came to a relationship, being the age that they were, thirteen years was a lifetime. But she didn't often think about it that way, as it would appear to someone who didn't know them. To her, it was just her life. Maya did not want to think about a time that she hadn't been with Carina, so she didn't. Especially since the only time that she hadn't been with Carina was before she'd met her, and those had been some dark years.
"So you've been together thirteen years, and neither one of you has proposed?" Andy asked. Her tone was one of curiosity, but also something more, as if she was attempting to send a message. The only person in the truck besides her and Vic was Jack. Typically, one of the Lieutenants would have been in the aid car, but this was Maya's first call so Gibson was there to show her the ropes. Montgomery and Miller were the station's best paramedics and were perfectly capable of handling the aid car on their own.
"Obviously we plan on getting married one day, but I guess neither of us has felt the need to propose. By the time we were of the age that people start getting engaged, we had already been together for quite a while. There isn't as much pressure, I think. Each of us knows that it will happen one day. No need to rush," Maya explained. She and Carina had never really talked about it, but she knew. The whole point was that they didn't need to talk about it. They were soulmates, that much was obvious to anyone.
"Do you think that getting engaged would mess up what you have?" Now it was clear that Andy was attempting to send a message. As Maya would later find out, she and Gibson had been secretly dating for months, and that had come to an abrupt end when he'd surprised her by asking him to marry her in a supply closet. Andy appeared to be as anti-marriage as Carina had been before they'd met.
"No. At this point, I doubt anything would. But that's just us. I am sure that there are plenty of couples for which that is not the case," Maya tried to tell Andy what she was desperate to hear, wanting to make a good impression. Andy seemed to pick up on it.
"You know, Maya Bishop, I think that you and I are going to be great friends."
"I agree," Vic cut in, "I can't wait to get drunk off our asses off shift, and to hear more about this orgasm doctor of yours." Maya grinned.
"Believe me when I say that she is so much more than an orgasm doctor. She is an orgasm provider as well." Maya found sometimes that Carina rubbed off on her. The more that Carina talked about sex in ordinarily inappropriate settings, the more comfortable that Maya felt in her own sexuality, which led her to moments such as this one where she strayed away from her prude roots. "Shit, did I say that out loud? I thought I just thought it. I'm so sorry."
"That's the spirit!" Andy replied, "It may be best to save the oversharing for when we're four shots deep, but I like it." Maya shook her head, still in shock at the words that had come out of her own mouth. Carina was never going to let her live this down.
"I usually do not say things like that to people I have just met. I promise. It appears that thirteen years with my acutely sex positive girlfriend has begun to rub off on me," she explained.
"It's okay. We will not hold it against you," Vic reassured her, "Except Gibson. Gibson might hold it against you."
"Hey! I resent that."
"Oh shut up, Gibson. You're only mad cause you aren't getting any."
"I am too." Their attention was briefly dragged away from the conversation at hand by their arrival at the scene. As they climbed out of the truck, Andy preparing to assess the fire and give orders, Vic and Gibson still bickering about who was getting some, Maya smiled. She had finally found her people. This was the team she was destined to be with.