A Double Date in New York

Carina had always wanted to visit New York City. The 'Big Apple,' as it was often referred to as, was one of the main destination spots in America for those who immigrated from other countries. She had yet to go. The majority of her time living in the U.S. had been split between Seattle, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. On the way to London to see Maya compete, the first of their many layovers was at LaGuardia Airport. Carina and Andrew had spent two of the three hours eating subpar tuna salad croissants from a kiosk and playing iSpy by a window that looked out over the water onto the NYC skyline. That was the closest she had ever gotten. When Arizona had suggested that she and Maya come stay with her and Callie for a week, Carina had barely been able to hold back her excitement and had immediately rushed into the kitchen to bring the idea to her wife.

It had been another successful clinic day, and as usual, Carina had been invited to stay for dinner. Ever since Andy's assault, Carina had even found herself spending the night on more than one occasion. Given that she was just a volunteer, and not a firefighter, having her in the bunks was against protocol. However, the only person that might have considered reporting them or putting a stop to it was Captain Beckett, and ever since the power trip he had taken the night of the assault, he had gone soft. He had barely said two words that weren't related to a call subsequent to telling the detectives to get out of the station. He had been absent and spacey, and it seemed likely that even if he hadn't been drinking on the job before, he was now. Carina might have been worried that Sullivan would tell Chief Ross, but they barely spoke anymore. Some combination of Ross being upset with Sullivan that she'd gone out on a limb to subject Beckett to a urine test just for it to be clear, and Sullivan not having the time due to barely leaving Andy's side.

Carina had been wary of him in the past for a multitude of reasons. From being partially responsible for Maya's demotion, to the divorce papers that had taken up residence in her freezer while Andy tore herself down from the inside out and ate copious amounts of ice cream, his behavior made her nervous. However, he was finally acting like Andy was actually important to him, like she was actually the woman that he had once loved, if not still loved. To see him support her unconditionally even after everything that they had been through made Carina realize that she hadn't been entirely fair to him. He was far from blameless, but she had also been projecting. Andy and Sullivan were not her parents, who never should have been together, and whose entire toxic relationship had been teetering on the edge of explosion since before they'd even gotten engaged. Maybe Andy and Sullivan's marriage had been equally as doomed, but had her mother endured a similar trauma, her father would have sent her flowers and a get-well card on a good day. Odds are, he would have ignored it altogether. Carina had witnessed this firsthand when she'd gone to inform him of Andrew's death, instead finding out that he'd known for three days and hadn't bothered to call. Apparently it had been featured on the news that an arrest had been made in connection with a human trafficking ring, and that unusual circumstances had led them to the suspect. The story had additionally mentioned local doctor, and hero, Andrew DeLuca, who was stabbed in the process. There had a been a special report later on to update those who were curious about his death. Vince's lack of reaching out combined with the nonchalantness of his tone during the whole interaction had left Carina furious. She could think of plenty of times when her father had frustrated her, but never once had she been quite so angry with him.

The way that the entire station banded together to support Andy that first night, and in the days following, especially after she was arrested, reminded Carina of the only other time in her life when she had truly felt like she belonged to a family. Sure she had a few friends at Grey Sloan, but many of them still saw her as Andrew's older sister rather than as a separate person. Until Maya had started working at Station 19, or rather after the whole stolen captaincy fiasco had passed, it had been years since it had been anyone but her and Maya. It had been years since days off from school had been spent at the park with their brothers, sledding, or climbing trees. It had been years since their Monday night tradition of the four of them eating dinner together in order to have something to look forward to on the dreariest day of the week. In fact, it had been years since they were even aware of Mason's whereabouts. With Andrew gone, and Mason missing, it would be impossible to recreate. In the past, Carina had often wondered why she even bothered going to the station. At any moment she could go from surrounded by people to standing alone listening to the sound of the alarm. However, she'd come to realize that any chance she got to be surrounded by Maya's team was a chance that she would take, because they made her feel safe, and supported, and unconditionally loved. They too had a tradition of eating dinner together, not just on Mondays, but as often as they could. And one day, when the time came, each one of them would chip in to help raise Maya and Carina's children as they had with Pru. It took a village to raise a baby, and Station 19 was theirs.

"Bambina?"

"Yes, darling?" Maya had said, turning away from the stove to look at her wife. She loved having Carina around at the station. Her two reasons for living in one.

"Did you just call me 'darling?'" Carina had asked, giving her a look.

Maya had shrugged, replying, "It just kind of slipped out." Something about seeing Carina so often, about having her around all the time like they didn't have demanding jobs that kept them occupied far longer than 9 to 5, was making Maya go a little haywire. She was dizzy with domesticity, constantly thinking about her wife and how to show her appreciation for Carina's help with the clinic. Thanks to the clinic and Crisis One, Station 19 had become the most valued and talked about station in Seattle. And though she longed to be captain again, just being a Lieutenant at the house was giving Maya a taste of her glory days, of standing on top of the podium at the Olympics while a golden medal was placed around her neck.

"Okay, darling, I have a proposition for you," Carina had said, placing emphasis on the "darling" in an attempt to tease Maya for her own use of the word.

"What is it?"

"I know that you have vacation days since you have not used any since our honeymoon."

"Yes…"

"Well I was on the phone with Arizona, and we got to talking about how much I've always wanted to see New York, and she invited us to go stay with them for a week. Apparently she and Callie had already discussed the possibility," Carina had paused, before continuing, "I know that you haven't wanted to leave Andy alone since what happened, but I'm not sure when we'll get this opportunity again now that we're going to start the process of having a bambino. Andy will have Sullivan-"

"Carina," Maya had interrupted.

"Si?"

"I think it sounds like a great idea."

"Really?"

"We spent our honeymoon binging reality television on the couch in our apartment, eating wedding cake for every meal because of a global pandemic. I would say that we well deserve a baby moon in New York City."

"Does it still count as a 'baby moon' if there is an eleven-year-old in the next room?" Carina had asked, referring to Sofia, Callie and Arizona's daughter.

"It does," Maya had assured, "Last time I checked an eleven-year-old will not keep us up all night with tears and dirty diapers. Especially when that eleven-year-old is Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres who is more grown up than half the adults I encounter on a daily basis." Carina had laughed. Maya was right. The only kid that she knew who was more grown up than Sofia was Zola Grey Shepherd. There was definitely something in the water at Grey Sloan. Or maybe it was the fact that both girls had lost their father to freak accidents at a young age. She wondered if Pru would turn out the same way.

"What are you thinking about?" Maya had noticed the way that Carina's laughter had faded, replaced instead by an inquisitive look.

"Pru. There is a reason that Sofia and Zola Grey Shepherd have turned out the way that they have. I am just pondering if Dean's absence will do the same to Pru. I know that it's different because Sofia and Zola consciously remember their papas, while I am not sure that Pru will. Also Pru will have Warren. But Sofia still had her mammas, and Zola had Grey and Amelia and Dr. Pierce." Maya had approached Carina, taking her hand.

"Are you sure that this is only about Pru? I know that Miller's death only exacerbated your worries about something happening to me. Is it possible that you are thinking about this because you are concerned that our future baby might lose a parent as well?" she'd asked. Carina had looked up, her eyes meeting Maya's.

"Si," she'd nodded. Maya had sighed.

"There has been so much death recently. We need some life. I cannot wait to have a baby with you, Carina, and I know that I say this all the time, and that it only means so much, but I promise you that I will do everything that I can to ensure that our baby will never lose a parent, that you will not lose another person you love. But right now, let's focus on New York City, where we're going kiss at the top of the Empire State Building, and take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, and go out to fancy restaurants for double dates with your best friend and her wife."

"Okay." Carina's smile had returned. Maya had smiled too, then kissed her.

They were in Callie and Arizona's brownstone on 5th Ave. Carina was standing on the balcony, admiring the view as she applied her lipstick. Maya was in the shower. It was family day at Sofia's school, so they were alone. They could have planned their trip around it, but they did not mind having a day to themselves to do all the touristy things. The week had been great so far, with Callie and Arizona showing Maya and Carina all of their favorite spots in the city, from breakfasts at a hidden cafe to evenings in a secondhand bookstore. It was the advantage of visiting friends who knew the city rather than just going on their own and staying in a hotel.

However, as first timers, neither of them had ever experienced the cliches, had ever been to the places that made New York City what it was. So, while Callie and Arizona were making macaroni art with 5th graders, Maya and Carina went to the museums, and the monuments, and the parks. They stopped for sketchy street vendor hot dogs covered in mustard, and fed the pigeons stale bread, and threw pennies in the fountains. They rode the subway to the end of the line, and spoke to each other in exaggerated Bronx accents, and purposefully walked against Times Square foot traffic, holding hands to stay together as they forced their way through a wall of pushy New Yorkers in a hurry. It was everything that Carina had always wanted and more.

As the perfect ending to the perfect day, they were getting ready to go to out on the final double date. The Robbins Torres gang was due back at any moment— school had been over since three, but Callie and Arizona had taken a page out of Maya and Carina's book, and had gone on their own adventure with their daughter, enjoying their city with a fresh set of eyes— and the sitter was scheduled to arrive at exactly seven p.m. Sofia had honestly been enjoying the dates most of all, as they meant that she got to eat pizza every night and watch teen dramas while Greta, who was living one, told her all about what it was like to be in high school. Sofia had been incredibly excited for Maya and Carina's visit in general. She loved hearing all of Maya's stories about the strangest or funniest calls she had responded to. She loved seeing Carina, because even though she wanted to follow in her mama's footsteps, she was anxious about the thought of becoming a surgeon. OB was a lot more her speed. Sofia would sit in Carina's lap for hours asking her mama's best friend every question that popped into her mind about her chosen profession. She was especially curious about Carina's first delivery at Grey Sloan, which had transpired while the hospital was being controlled by hackers. Sofia had heard Arizona's account of the incident many times but had never heard Carina's.

Carina watched as a taxi pulled up to the curb. The right-side door opened, and there was a flash of blonde ponytail before Arizona emerged, followed by Sofia, and then Callie. Sofia was holding a stick of cotton candy in one hand, a mini teddy bear wearing what Carina could only imagine was an "I love NYC" shirt in the other. There were stars face painted onto both of her cheeks, likely a result of a parent day activity. Callie had a MOMA tote bag swung over one shoulder, and the strap of Sofia's yellow backpack was visible on the other. She and Arizona were looking at Sofia, and each other, like there was no one else in the world. Carina knew that look. She and Maya had exchanged that look many times. Just as her thoughts began to shift from the scene in front of her to her wife, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. Maya's wet hair touched her exposed collarbone and she shivered.

"Sorry," Maya muttered, holding her closer.

"You should use the blow dryer before we go, bella. I do not want you to catch a cold."

"I will. I was going to. I just missed you and couldn't bear to be apart any longer."

"Maya, we spent the whole day together."

"Okay, fine what really happened was a I came out of the bathroom to get the blow dryer, and I saw you standing here looking so you, and I decided I love you too much not to come give you a hug," Maya explained. Carina chuckled.

"Ah, si, that sounds more plausible. I love you too, bambina," she replied, "But Callie and Arizona are back with our dio figlia (god daughter), and we have reservations at 7:30, so as much as I appreciate the hug, you need to finish getting ready." Maya groaned. Her hands traveled from their spot on Carina's waist up to her chest.

"We could forget about dinner tonight, stay in instead, and eat something else," she said, her lips against Carina's ear, "I seem to recall seeing a bottle of chocolate sauce in the pantry we could borrow." Carina felt herself shiver once again, this time for a very different reason.

"Mayaaa," she whined, turning so that they were facing each other. Maya made an attempt to kiss her, and Carina almost let her, but pulled away at the last second. "No. No. Callie and Arizona have hosted us all week. We cannot ditch them to have sex. We can have sex at any time. We can only go out to dinner with our friends now."

"But I want to get freaky in the sheets with a view of the Empire State Building."

"Shhh, there will be time for that later, I promise. Go dry your hair, bella." Maya groaned and backed out of Carina's arms.

"Fine." Carina smiled, rolling her eyes at her wife's antics. She blew Maya a kiss as she disappeared into the bathroom, blow dryer in hand.

"Knock knock," Arizona said, leaning against the doorway. Somewhere on the way from the taxi to the guest room, she had changed into a lavender colored dress and let her hair down.

"Ciao."

"You and that sexy firefighter of yours actually left the house today, right? You didn't just christen our home for hours?"

"Yes we left the house," Carina gave her a look, "We have the souvenirs to prove it." Arizona nodded.

"Hey just making sure. Callie and I had a bit of a bet going honestly. There is just something about this New York City air."

"That something is smog, no?"

Arizona laughed, replying, "Well there's definitely smog. But I would say there is also a little bit of magic."

"Si. A certain type of magic," Carina paused, looking dreamily in the direction of where her wife was, "Love." Arizona smiled. Getting to know Callie all over again when she'd accompanied Sofia back to New York had been one of the greatest experiences of her life. Falling in love with Callie the first time had been amazing, but it had also been littered with obstacles that had continuously gotten in the way. Falling in love with Callie the second time, in a brand new city, with their beautiful daughter along for the ride, well that had been perfect. They had almost lost one another, and had lived apart for years, which had taught them that no obstacle, big or small, was worth growing old without each other.

As she studied the menu, Carina's took ahold of her wife's hand under the table. Maya glanced up briefly, shooting her a soft smile. They'd been on more actual dates in the past week than they had been on since high school, and not only had it strengthened their already rock-solid relationship, it had also got Carina thinking a lot about their first date. They'd both been so nervous, Maya not as good at hiding it. However, Carina had taken her off guard by asking if she wanted it to be a date. When Carina recalled all of their little moments over the years, it was one of her favorites. She had watched in real time as Maya began to break out of her shell as the socially anxious unrelenting athlete whose life was dominated by crossing finish lines and her father's plans for her, into the wonderful, immensely caring and loving, funny girl that she would come to love so much. The Maya she'd gone to dinner with that night had spent the first part of the evening declining calls from Lane with increasing panic while stressing over the mere idea of picking what to eat, especially as she had rarely ever strayed from a strict diet. Now she was engaged in friendly banter with Callie about how good everything sounded, and whether they should order dessert at the same time so that it would be ready as soon as they finished their entrée. It did not matter how often Carina witnessed the growth that her wife had made, it still caused her heart to swell with pride every time.

"It looks as if we may have to wait a little longer to order since our women seem to be fairly distracted at the moment," Callie said.

"I think you may be right," Maya agreed. Carina had not been the only one focused on her wife rather than what she wanted for dinner. Arizona too had stayed silent, both of them getting lost in the eyes, the voice of their respective soulmate.

"Oh mio. Did we miss the waiter?" Carina turned to Maya who shook her head, giving Carina's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Carina, I believe that we were caught in the act," Arizona cut in.

"Is that so? And what act would that be?" Carina asked, her eyes still locked with Maya's. Maya winked. Carina tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, then released it.

"The act of being head over heels," Arizona replied.

"It really is the New York City air, babe, I'm telling you," Callie said, "It just heightens all of the emotions. Why do you think that all of the classic romcoms take place here?"

"That is because all of you Americans are obsessed with this city." Maya folded her hands in her lap and cocked her head skeptically.

"Hmm is that so? I seem to remember you jumping up and down in excitement every morning since we bought our tickets that we were one day closer to being in the 'biggest apple.'" Carina pouted and there was laughter all around.

"I am not the one who up and moved here," Carina pointed out, crossing her arms at her chest as she looked towards Callie and Arizona. Arizona threw her hands up in defense.

"I left Seattle for my daughter and my romcom ending. Before my favorite people were here, I hated New York City. Take it up with this one," Arizona nudged Callie with her finger, "She is the one who dropped everything to follow a resident across the country. The very same resident that was responsible for Derek Shepherd's death I may add."

"Guilty. That was not my finest hour. Callie picked a less than perfect Penny," she shrugged with a sigh, referencing the famous line that a drunk Arizona had blurted out at the mess of a dinner party at which Callie and Penny had made their official first appearance as a couple. "Although may I add that Arizona seems to have forgotten that I was a resident when we met. One who was working overtime in the ER to make ends meet, and during a particularly hard shift, lost every single patient. One who was also a fledging gay, strictly on her 'no fly list.'"

"Look at that face. Could you turn down that face even if she had only recently lost her women loving women virginity?" Arizona asked, placing her hands under Callie's chin.

"Well, Carina and I have no room to talk. Neither of us had been in any type of relationship before we started dating."

"Ah see that is not entirely true, bella. You were in a relationship with running."

"Hey!" Maya paused, thinking it over, "Okay that's fair." Maya had been in relationship with running, and Carina with the desire to never be in a relationship. Nevertheless, once they'd met, both partnerships went downhill fast. Maya's commitment became one of inclusivity, and Carina's lack was replaced by a desire for the ultimate commitment.

"I would say an Olympic gold medal is a pretty good substitute for marriage," Callie said.

"Nope. Never," Maya objected, "Not when it's a marriage to the tall, dark, and sexy woman to my right. Honestly, I would have given up my medal just for the chance to feel even an ounce of the love that I receive from Carina on a daily basis." Beaming, Carina lifted her middle and index fingers to her lips to blow Maya a kiss.

"As sweet as that is, it's good that you didn't have to. Not sure I would have hung out with an intern if she hadn't been married to the Maya Bishop. And then Carina would have just been Andrew DeLuca's sister, the OB from Hopkins studying orgasms, and the two of you would be in your Seattle apartment rather than in a fancy restaurant in the city that never sleeps with the only other couple that comes close to being on your level." Halfway through Carina's first shift at John's Hopkins, while hopelessly lost, she had seen her new friend for the first time since they'd entered the hospital. Much to Carina's surprise, Arizona had not been helplessly following after a resident, but instead there were interns following helplessly after her. As Arizona had helped her find where she needed to be, she'd explained to Carina that she'd been one of a few non interns at the mixer, that when she'd run into Carina that morning it was obvious that she'd needed an equal to help get her through those doors, not a boss. Carina was forever grateful for it because she'd been right.

"We were not married yet."

"Oh please, you were. You might not have been legally married, but everyone within a mile radius of the two of you could tell you would always be together."

"She's right," Callie said, "I hadn't even met either of you, but all Arizona had to do was share the stories and I could tell."

"True. In my mind, I married Maya the second our RA left us to unpack in our freshman dorm room. We were engaged the momento she turned to me in our high school library and told me that she loved me 'like Montalbano loves Livia.'"

"Is that why you were so quick to propose when I showed up to your boards?" Maya smirked. Carina rolled her eyes playfully.

"Si but you had to talk me out of it with all of your logica, and then wait years to return the favor, just in time for the world to completely shut down." Maya gave her a sheepish look. Carina smiled.

"That is one category where I win, I'm afraid. I did ask Callie to marry me on a whim and then immediately proceed to crash our car, putting the lives of both her and our baby at risk."

"Arizona does have you beat there. Yet, I would not change what happened if even if I could, and I bet that neither of you would either. Those parts of our story make us who we are; they make us the power couples that we are. They also individually contribute to how incredible each of us is, to making us better mothers to Sofia, and the two of you one day to your kids." Callie took a drink from her wine glass, then continued, "That is also why Arizona is right about you giving up your medal, Maya. You were destined to be an idol of Zona's, so that one day she could meet and become best friends with Carina, so that Sofia could realize her dream of being an OB, so that we could be here right now having this conversation, and so much more."

Maya and Carina looked at each other, eyes so full of love that they were both afraid they might explode. Carina had been destined to ask Maya if she was alright that day on the field. They had been destined to end up at the restaurant, and in the fort on floor of her living room, and sitting in the bean bags at the back of the library, and holding each other as they slept in their pushed together beds at UCLA, and looking out over the London Bridge the night before Maya's name went down in history. All of it had been written in the stars from their very first breaths on their very first day on Earth, perhaps even before that. It was all meant to happen the way that it had so that their names could go down in history together, forever. It was also in that moment that Carina realized that there would come a time when she could think about Andrew and be grateful for the time they had spent together rather than grieving for the time they had lost. That knowledge would change everything.

She and Maya spent the rest of the night eating food meant for Upper East Side bureaucrats and enjoying their final moments in the city that never sleeps with the only other couple that came close to their level. Then they returned to the brownstone and made love for hours in view of the Empire State Building, and when their alarm sounded, they said their tearful goodbyes to the Robbins Torres family and went home to Seattle to start on their own.