Prologue

A/N: If any of my Rizzles readers are here, please know that I have NOT abandoned any of my stories. I know it's probably frustrating to see me writing in a new fandom, but please take this as a good sign that I am getting back into writing. I promise to return to Rizzles soon!

"Ciao!" Carina called over her shoulder, forcing one last smile as she waved goodbye to Jo and Miranda. Today was a good day, she reminded herself. The Elena Bailey Memorial Clinic for Reproductive Health was officially open. Today was a good day.

Except it wasn't. Today – just like the previous 175 days – was just another unbearable day in another awful week in another terrible month. And yes, Carina was counting. She was counting the days since Maya last gave her a real smile…the days since they had last been truly happy.

Today was day 176.

When she reached her car, Carina placed her hands on the frame of the car door, her head hanging between her shoulders as she leaned her weight against the car. She tried to focus her mind on the pain of her keys pressing into the palm of her right hand, which had trapped them against the car, but it wasn't enough. Carina squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears not to come. She wasn't sure if she had ever been this exhausted, not even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But at least, she had Maya back then. Now…now, she had no one.

And she wanted to hate Maya for that. Maybe hating Maya would make all of this hurt less. But if there was one thing she had learned from all the pain in her past was that love was stronger than hate, and her love for Maya would always outweigh her anger at her.

Carina pushed herself away from the car and reached for the handle. She let herself drop into the seat in the least Carina-like way possible. No one was around; no one would know. She sighed as she turned on the car, intending to head home, but her hand paused on the shifter.

"Agggg, ma dai!" Carina groaned. "Mannaggia la miseria! Che casino." Seriously! Damn it! What a mess.

Carina angrily reached into her pocket in search of her phone. She pulled it out, her finger finding Bambina in her contact list a little too easily. It rang four times before going to voicemail. Carina ended the call without leaving a voicemail before dialing again…and again…and again.

After the fifth unanswered called, she gave up, feeling even more frustrated than she had five minutes ago. She dropped the phone in the passenger seat and moved both of her hands to her abdomen.

"Cosa devo fare con tua mammina?" she whispered before letting out a shaky breath. What am I going to do with your mommy?

Carina shook her head slightly in a vain attempt to clear it. She took one last deep breath and shifted the car into drive, resignedly heading home.

Andy's mind wandered as she rode back to the station. House fires always hurt just a little more than industrial fires. It was hard to watch people lose their homes…to lose their sense of security. It was even worse to watch it happen to your friend. Luckily, no one had been hurt. Thank God for that. Meredith hadn't been home at the time of the fire, but Maggie and Winston had gotten Zola, Bailey, and Ellis out quickly. Everything else was replaceable.

"Fuck!" Andy cursed loudly, sitting up in her seat. "Maya." Andy instantly felt like a shitty friend. She hadn't thought of the fact that Maya hadn't responded to the call since she'd pulled Maya's equipment from the truck. Her mind had been on the call and only the call. However, now that they were headed back, she realized how odd it was that not only had Maya failed to respond to the call, but she hadn't contacted anyone – at least as far as Andy knew. Andy was pretty confident that Maya would have either shown up at the scene or contacted her directly.

As soon as the truck was parked in the station, Andy threw herself out of it. Screw protocol. She had to find Maya, and she knew exactly where to look first.

Andy skidded to a stop as she entered the workout room, her eyes finding Maya's still body instantly.

"HELP!" Andy yelled over her shoulder before running to Maya's side. She gently pressed two fingers to Maya's neck, searching for a pulse. "Gracias a Dios," she said under her breath. Thank God. "HELP!" she called again, gratitude flooding her body when Vic rushed in.

"Wha-…holy hell!" Vic exclaimed when she saw Maya.

After that everything was a blur. Somehow, more people showed up. Somehow, they were able to get Maya on a backboard. Somehow, they got Maya loaded into the aid car and in route to the hospital.

As she watched the aid car pull onto the main road, tears clouded Andy's eyes as guilt and fear flooded her system. She could have called someone on the drive to Meredith's to check on Maya. Why hadn't she called someone? No…why hadn't she helped Maya before this happened? It was clear to everyone that Maya was spiraling hard. Why hadn't Andy forced Maya to get help?

Because Maya was the most stubborn person Andy had ever met, that's why. It was her tunnel vision that made her an Olympic athlete, and it was this focus that made her a damn good firefighter – one of the best. But this was also the trait that shoved a stick of dynamite into the best relationship she'd ever had, and it was the trait that led to her current situation.

Andy spun on her heel, walking slowly back to the locker room. She knew that there were things that needed to be done, and of course, she would do them in time. But at the moment, there was one more thing that she had to do.

Andy found her phone in her locker. She scrolled through her contacts, quickly finding the number she was looking for. She took a deep breath before pressing call.

The first ring hadn't even finished when she heard a worried "Andy?" over the call.

"Carina, I…I'm sorry. Um. I…" Andy stuttered.

"Andy, where's Maya?"

"On her way to the hospital."

A/N: Please forgive my attempts at Italian. 😉