Family Only

Maya hated hospitals. Grey Sloan was different, because Carina worked there, and her memories there were mostly happy ones— getting engaged and becoming a mother. But it was far from exempt, and she often couldn't fathom how Carina could spend all day there without picturing the image of Andrew's lifeless body lying in the morgue. Maya couldn't set foot in any hospital without seeing Mason violently throwing up, without hearing the sound of his voice pleading for just one more dose. She hated feeling out of control and watching her little brother go through detox over and over and over was the least in control she'd ever felt. Even less so than before she'd met Carina, when her entire life has been in the hands of her father.

However, on an impossibly hot afternoon in July, a week after dropping Andrea off at Scouts camp, Maya found herself in an unfamiliar ER with Mason's past the furthest thing from her mind. Drew was hurt. He was miles from home, miles from his family, and he was hurt. Maya had bolted to her car as soon as she'd gotten the news, calling Carina from the road. It had gone straight to voicemail, and when finally, on the sixth attempt, Amelia had picked up, she'd informed Maya that Carina was in surgery. Then it had clicked. Maya had been so focused on Drew that her wife's early morning declaration had slipped her mind. Arizona was in town, performing a very delicate in utero procedure on triplets, during which she needed Carina by her side to monitor the fetal heartbeats and be on standby in case they needed to be delivered. On the off chance that delivery was necessary, due to how premature the babies would be, Dr. Wilson was not yet qualified to handle such a task. Therefore, there was no one to take Carina's place. Maya instructed Amelia to keep her in the dark until she was finished, then send her to Bonney Lake Medical in Sumner.

Sumner, Washington was a small town, roughly halfway between Seattle and Mount Rainier National Park, where Drew had capsized in a canoe and hit his head on a rock. It was also the closest residential area to Mount Rainier, hence the commute. Bonney Lake Medical hardly counted as a hospital, a clinic more than anything, but Maya still hated it. She hated the suffocating smell of Clorox, which, despite its best efforts, did nothing to hide the even stronger smell of blood. Most of all, she hated how out of place she felt. It had been years since Maya had last found herself at Mason's bedside, losing track of him after he'd run away from rehab. And she had to admit it was strange, once again being just another scared family member looking lost in the chaos, swept away in a sea of doctors moving seamlessly from one cot to the next. Maya scanned the room, her eyes helplessly searching for familiarity, for her son.

"Can I help you with something?" The man who'd addressed her was wearing forest green scrubs that appeared to be one size too small, overly snug against his protruding gut. He wasn't wearing a lab coat, but there was a Bonney Lake Medical ID pinned to the chest pocket of his top. Dr. Leo Byrider.

"I'm looking for my son, Andrea. Andrea DeLuca-Bishop. He fell out of a canoe at camp, and I was told they brought him here."

"Ah, yes, you must be Dr. DeLuca. It says on his chart that you work at Grey Sloan. I did my residency over there, back when it was Seattle Grace-"

"Actually, no," Maya cut him off, "Dr. DeLuca is my wife. I'm Maya Bishop, Andrea's other mom."

"Oh." Dr. Byrider briefly looked down at his tablet before shifting his gaze back to Maya. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Bishop, you weren't listed on the paperwork that Andrea's counselor gave us."

"Lieutenant Bishop. Lieutenant DeLuca-Bishop if you really want to get technical. I'm a firefighter," Maya said in response. "I apologize, because I don't want to be accusatory, but whoever put his information into the system must have made a mistake. I filled out those camp forms myself, and I know that I am listed as one of Andrea's parents."

"That may very well be the case, Mrs. Bishop, but unfortunately since you are not on the chart, I am going to have to escort you to the waiting room until his mother gets here."

"I am his mother. I couldn't care less about what it says on his chart. While we're having this pointless argument, my son is all alone with a concussion. What you need to do is take me to him." Maya was trying hard not to make a scene. Usually, she wouldn't hesitate to put an ignorant SOB who cared more about protocol than human decency, in their place— it was a sore spot for her after all— but right now Drew needed her.

"Like I said, Mrs. Bishop, I unable to do that until Dr. DeLuca gets here." But she would make a scene if she had to. She would make a scene if it was the only way to get to Drew.

"Okay, it's Lieutenant, not Mrs. And we don't need to wait for Dr. DeLuca, because I am legally Andrea's mother, just as much as she is. I refuse to stand by and be treated otherwise just because someone in your middle of nowhere clinic left my son's information incomplete." Maya watched as another doctor approached them. She momentarily smiled to herself, feeling accomplished.

"Is everything okay here?" This one was a woman. Same colored scrubs, but she had a lab coat. Dr. Nelle Hitcham, Chief of Staff.

"Yes, Chief. I was just explaining to Lieutenant Bishop here-"

"Hi. Chief Hitcham? Dr. Byrider here has informed me that there was a mistake on my son's chart, and that only my wife is listed as his parent. My son, Andrea, had an incident at camp. It took me over an hour to get here, and I would really like to go sit with him if that could be arranged. I am sure he has been putting on quite the show, but he is only eight, and his bravery can only last so long." Dealing with the higher ups in the fire department had made Maya thoroughly talented at code switching, and she was hoping if she was nice enough, she could pull one over on the boss.

"I am so sorry about this, Lieutenant Bishop, but unfortunately there isn't much we can do until your wife gets here. Legally, if you aren't in our system, we are not allowed to let you see him without the listed guardian or emergency contact present." Maya could feel the familiar lump in her throat, a thin layer of sweat accumulating in her palms. Whether it was tears of frustration or fear that were gearing up to accompany her increasing anxiety, Maya wasn't sure, but she did know that she wasn't going to be able to hold any of it in much longer.

"Right. Okay. Could you at least pass on a message that we're on our way. Carina's in surgery, and I am not sure how long it will be before she gets here. I do not want him to think that we are not coming."

"Of course. Again, I am very sorry about this. I'll see to it that Andrea gets treated like a king. Dr. Byrider here will take you to our waiting room. There's muffins and strawberry lemonade." Chief Hitcham was grinning at her like a pastry and a fancy kid drink could make up for keeping her away from her injured child.

Maya made a fist, crushing the muffin that had been placed in her hand, watching as it crumbled onto her lap, the blueberries leaving stains in between her fingers. She was glad that Dr. Byrider had left her alone, that he wasn't there to witness her break. Maya laughed pitifully at the mess that she was making. Her tears were christening the massacred muffin, creating deep purple blotches on her jeans, which was a stark contrast to the denim.

Suddenly a paper towel was presented to her, and having recognized the hand that abetted it, Maya looked up.

"Bambina, what's going on?" There was so much love on Carina's face that Maya thought that she might pass out. She started crying harder.

"I did something dumb." Carina gave her a soft smile and sat down. She took the paper towel back and began to fill it with the pieces that remained in the seam of Maya's thighs.

"I can see that. Would you like to tell me why you are in here composing abstract art with a cupcake instead of with our son?" Carina asked, admittedly curious about what had led her wife to this point.

"I promise I will tell you, but right now could you just keep helping me clean up so we can go see Andrea who has been without his mammas for far too long?"

"Si. Certo, bella." Carina felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach. She hated to see Maya so upset. Yes their child was hurt, but he was going to be fine. Something else had happened. Something else had thrown Maya enough to take it out on a pastry. Whatever it was had also kept her from seeing Drew.

"Where are the twins?" Maya asked as they approached the E.R., Carina's hand tightly in hers. She'd ducked into the bathroom to wash away the stains to the best of her ability while Carina had found a dustpan for the floor.

"Still at daycare. Amelia offered to get them when she gets Scout," Carina explained, "I am hoping we'll be almost back by then." Maya nodded. She was glad that Carina hadn't brought them. As much as she loved her daughters, and always wanted to see them, they would have just been another thing to worry about. She was also glad that Carina hadn't bothered to change out of her scrubs. Now there was no way that Dr. Byrider or any other doctor could deny them access. A nurse pointed them in the direction of one of the curtains, behind which was their son. At last.

"Mommy! Mama! There you are!" Drew called out as soon as he saw them. "Chief Nelle said you were coming, but I started to think she lied to me." Maya had him in her arms before he could even finish talking, the last of his words muffled against her shirt.

"Oh, bambino, I'm so sorry. We should have been here earlier. You must have been so scared." Maya began to cry again, pressing an abundance of kisses into Drew's hair. Carina came up behind her, placing a soothing hand on her back.

"What matters is we are here now, and we are not going anywhere without you, Andrea," she said, more to reassure Maya than their son, but for both of them. They stayed that way for a while, securing comfort from each other, from being together. Ultimately, the moment was interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Byrider and Chief Hitcham.

"Alrighty then. Dr. DeLuca, welcome. We had our neurologist look over Andrea's CT, and he said that everything looks okay there. He would have told you himself, but he is currently on vacation so he's examining charts virtually for the moment. Now, Andrea does have a minor concussion, and a head lac that had to be stitched up, but we trust that you two are well equipped to handle those. Therefore, we feel comfortable releasing him into your care as soon as we get the discharge papers taken care of."

"Grazie." Carina could tell from the anger seeping out of Maya's pores that her wife wasn't feeling so grateful, but it was the expected response, and until she knew for sure what had happened in her absence, she was still going to be decent.

"Again, Lieutenant Bishop, we are so sorry about the mishap earlier," Chief Hitcham reiterated, though Maya was almost certain it was all a front to keep from getting sued. "We will definitely put a rush on those discharge papers, and I will personally see to it that the chart gets fixed so that this won't happen in the future."

"Oh, I assure you that this will not happen again in the future. And you can go ahead delete Andrea's chart once we're done here. We won't be back."

"We are legally required to hold on to it."

"Yeah, well, you seem to be legally required to a whole lot." Maya knew that she was being nasty, but she couldn't help herself. One of her greatest fears, a fear that had only been exacerbated by her dad's refusal to accept Andrea as his grandchild, had become reality, and they were to blame. She did not much care anymore about holding herself back. Especially considering that it was also in the name of protecting her family.

"Maya," Carina scolded, giving her a look. She was sure that Maya was justified. She didn't often act this way. However, the sooner Andrea's discharge was processed, the sooner they could get the hell out of Sumner and never look back, and these doctors did seem like the type to be petty. Before Carina could offer them a halfhearted apology, they had disappeared. She turned to her wife instead. "I need you to tell me what happened, bella."

"Piccolino, Mama and I are going to have a private talk real quick, but we'll be right over there if you need us. You'll be able to see us the whole time, I promise."

"Okay. I trust you." Drew smiled, repeating the phrase that he had heard from his mammas on many occasions. Maya smiled back, blowing him a kiss. Once they were out of earshot, she turned to her wife. Once again she felt the lump, the sweat in her palms. The thought of talking about it put her right back in that moment, desperate to get to her wounded son, and being told that she wasn't enough. Carina sensed her hesitation, and stepped closer, tucking her thumb through Maya's belt loop, as she had done so many years before on the night Maya met the first Andrea.

"Kiss me?" Maya said, longing for the proper greeting she had yet to receive. Carina obliged. She knew that Maya was stalling, but she too had missed the gesture, and it was likely it would calm Maya's nerves.

"You are starting to scare me. Just say it."

Maya sighed, her eyes shifting to meet Carina's. "I got here an hour before you did. Whoever inputted Andrea's camp paperwork into the system left me off of it. I tried to explain that I'm his mother too, that you were in surgery, but they refused to let me see him until you got here."

"You have got be kidding. Questo è scandaloso. Non hanno il diritto di impedirti di vedere tuo figlio a causa di un errore che hanno comm-" (This is outrageous. They have no right to prevent you from seeing your child due to a mistake they have made). Before Carina could finish, she spotted Dr. Byrider, followed closely by Chief Hitcham. Maya's eyes bulged, and she placed her hand on Carina's arm in an attempt to stop her, but it was too late.

"Are you stupida? Are you actually dumb? My son was bleeding from his head, and you had the audacity to insinuate to my wife that she was not his 'real' mother, so she could not go be with our son that was sanguinante dalla testa? I ask you again, are you stupida?"

"Dr. DeLuca, I assure you that it was not our intention to insinuate anything of the sort. As you know, being a doctor yourself, there are certain protocols in place that we must follow. It wasn't that we did not acknowledge that Lieutenant Bishop was also Andrea's mother. She just was not on the chart, so we could not allow her to be with him on her own."

"No. Do not try and tell me that we are the same. There is protocol, and then there is keeping a mamma from her bambino over a clerical error."

"We could not be sure that it was a clerical error."

"Si, well in that case, I cannot be sure that I will not be seeking legal action against your clinic for homophobic discrimination."

"We are sorry you feel that way. Anything that we can do to make it up to you, we are happy to oblige."

"Absolutely. Anything." As to be expected, Dr. Byrider was ready with the rehearsed line to connect with Carina in order to defuse the situation. "I did my residency over at Grey Sloan, back when it was Seattle Grace. You could say we're almost colleagues."

"I would not say so. Obviously, Seattle Grace was no Grey Sloan if it was raising its surgeons to believe that following protocol is more important than human decency and the interest of your patients. Or did you learn that here?" Carina paused, knowing that she'd caught them in a trap, "Now if you are done trying to justify your horrid actions, I would love to take my son and my wife and vai via da qui (get the hell out of here)."

Back at the house, Maya was more than happy to crawl into bed and put the whole day behind her. She never wanted to think about Bonney Lake Medical Center again. Drew was set up in the girls' room; that way if he needed anything during the night he could just wake them over the baby monitor. Normally they would have had him stay in their room, but Carina wanted them to have their own space that night, to ensure that should any residual feelings Maya had about what happened come up, she wouldn't have to hide them in the interest of their son. Plus, Drew had been over the moon about a sleepover with his sisters. Sleeping in his sisters' room made him the protective big brother watching out for them, whereas sleeping with his mammas made him the bambino in need of protection.

Carina placed her toothbrush in the cup in between their joint sinks. It was a feature that they'd both immediately agreed on when looking for a house. They wanted to be one of those cute married couples that had two sinks so they could brush their teeth at the same time. It had been the dream ever since the first time they'd gotten ready for bed together at the station. Carina exited the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe, observing her wife as she slept. Or at least, she thought she was sleeping.

"Are you going to join me, or are you just going to stand there like a Peeping Tom?" Maya asked.

"Hey. I am not a Peeping Tom." She crossed her arms in front of her chest in fiend annoyance. Maya grinned.

"Oh of course, sorry. I meant Peeping Tina."

"Maya, stop it." Carina's nose scrunched up in the cute way that it always did when she was genuinely upset. As was what she was doing now, Maya often pushed Carina's buttons so she'd have the opportunity to see it. One of these days she had to get a picture so she wouldn't have to go into the danger zone whenever she wanted to see her wife's adorable angry face.

"Come lie down then."

"Fine." Carina climbed over Maya, purposefully bumping into her whenever she got the chance. Maya swatted her away, and they collapsed on top of each other in a fit of laughter. Carina eventually situated herself on her side of the bed, and Maya rolled after her, throwing an arm across her stomach, attempting to use her shoulder as a pillow. Carina brushed the hair from Maya's forehead with her hand and turned her head ever so slightly to give it a kiss.

"I am his mother." It was barely a whisper, but Carina heard it. She pulled Maya closer, as close as their existing positions would allow. She was furious that because of the bureaucracy of a podunk clinic in the middle of nowhere, Washington, her wife, the mother of her children, was questioning the status of her motherhood.

"Yes. Bambina, you are unequivocally Andrea DeLuca-Bishop's mother. Voglio dire, per favore, the boy's response to sleeping in the girls' room was to jump with joy over being able to protect his sisters. If that is not the most Maya Bishop nonsense."

"DeLuca-Bishop. My name is Maya DeLuca-Bishop, and I'm married to you, my Italian goddess, Carina DeLuca-Bishop, and we have three beautiful DeLuca-Bishop children."

"DeLuca-Bishop doesn't even sound like a real word anymore."

"It's not a word."

"It is in our dictionary. Our anglitaliano mess of a DeLuca-Bishop family dialect dictionary." Maya removed herself from her wife's grasp, just enough so that she could look her in the eye. Carina smiled. She loved all of the little things that only she knew about her wife, because they'd been so intimate for so long. Every time their eyes met, Carina couldn't help but notice all over again how her left was bluer than her right. She wondered if their daughters' eyes were the same way. She'd have to check in the morning.

"From now on, we have to make sure that we're both listed in bold letters on all the kids' paperwork." A single tear rolled down Maya's cheek and Carina brushed it away.

"It will be of utmost priority!"

"I mean it, Carina. I never want you to ever have to go through what I went through today. Knowing that Andrea was right there, was hurt and all alone, and right there, and I wasn't allowed to see him? I won't survive that again." Without warning, she was sobbing, unable to control the emotions that flooded over her now that they were home and she knew Andrea was safe. Once more, Carina hugged her as tight as worldly possible.

"Mai più, amore mio, lo prometto." (Never again, my love, I promise.) Upon registering Carina's words, Maya muttered her own of gratitude, and traced along Carina's jawline with her lips, leaving in her wake a trail of zealous kisses.