Sorry it took so long. Here's the next part!
Over the next two weeks, Maya's pain continued to get better which was both good and bad.
It was good because it meant she was feeling better, but she wasn't taking pain killers anymore, meaning what little sleep she had been getting had disappeared, and she was struggling.
Her feeling better meant she was also getting more frustrated by the things she couldn't do which, in her eyes, was a lot. She couldn't really stay home alone which meant that someone was usually coming over to stay with her while Carina was at work.
Today, however, Carina had to work, Maya's friends were all on shift, and Carina's friends were all busy. Carina had been talking about it to Vic when she was over a few days ago, and Vic had suggested Maya come to the station.
The blonde really didn't like the idea, but she knew if she didn't, Carina was going to take off work, so she pretended it was a good idea, and that she was excited about it. There would be someone on desk all day, and Carina only had to work from 9 am to 7 pm because today was her day to just see patients for exams.
Carina had reluctantly agreed, knowing Maya was going stir crazy. Maya was excited to get to go out of the house, but that morning, as Carina drove her to the station, she was feeling nervous. She had really only seen Travis, Vic, and Andy since her injury. She didn't really want anyone to see her like this because it was embarrassing. She couldn't do most things for herself, and for her, her image of being strong was important because she needed them to respect her as a leader.
Carina had made a large batch of pastina soup the day before for the entire shift so Maya could eat with them without feeling weird, something the blonde greatly appreciated.
"I packed stuff for smoothies for you too," Carina said, pulling Maya out of her head, "Vic said she was going to be on desk today, so she'll be there to help you all day so just ask her to help you."
"Ok," Maya said, trying to smile but failing.
"What's wrong Bambina?" Carina asked, looking over at her girlfriend.
"I just…I feel like a little kid who has to have everything done for them," Maya sighed, "And normally, when I walk into work, I am the one who is in charge, who they all know the can turn to for help, and right now, I can't do much. It's stupid and I should just get over my pride, I know, but it's…It makes me feel weak, and I hate feeling like that."
"I know Bambina," Carina said, putting her hand on Maya's shoulder as they parked at the station, "I know this has been so so hard, but no one is going to think you are weak because you cannot use your arms right now. It was an accident, and you are getting better. And you can still do some things. You figured out how to get your own pants on which I'm still not totally sure how you did, but you did. And you are able to open doors again which is a big plus, and you managed to flip pancakes the other day even though you couldn't eat them yourself. You only have another three weeks until you get to go back and see Link and hopefully get at least the right cast reduced to below the elbow or off completely. You can do this Bambina."
Maya nodded, Carina brushing the tears out of her eyes.
"Ok," the blonde said, "You are going to be late if I don't get out."
"Come on," Carina said, helping her out of the car, "Let's go."
Maya took a deep breath as Carina grabbed her bag before they headed into the station. Downstairs was quiet, Maya knowing the team would all be upstairs eating breakfast. She had eaten at home with Carina this morning, but she was still going to go upstairs and hang out with them.
She and Carina walked up to the beanery, Maya taking a deep breath before pushing open the door with her hip.
"Hey," Vic said as they walked in, "Welcome back Cap."
"Thanks," Maya said, smiling a little as her entire team turned to look at her, "Though I'm not much of a captain right now with two bricks attached to my arms."
"You'll always be our captain," Travis said, smiling at her, "And Carina, always good to see you too."
"It is good to see all of you too," Carina said, putting the food she had brought for her wife in the fridge, "And I brought food for you all, pastina soup. I will put it in the fridge and then you just have to heat it up. Now, I need to go, or I will be late. Bambina, I will be back tonight. I love you."
"Love you too," Maya said as Carina gave her a kiss, "Have a good day."
A round of "Bye Carina" and "Thanks Carina" was heard from the team as the doctor left.
"Where are Gibson and Sullivan?" Maya asked sitting down at the table, "Did aid car already get called out or something?"
"Yes, but Cutler and Finch are on it today," Andy said, "Gibson and Sullivan are out sick."
"What?" Maya said.
"Yeah, Warren brought some virus earlier last week. Gibson caught it a few days ago and Sullivan woke up with a fever this morning," Andy said, taking a bite of her food, "You know how these things go."
Maya nodded as Miller offered her something to eat.
"I'm good," Maya said, shaking her head, "I ate with Carina this morning."
They all chatted for a while until the alarm went off, calling for the engine and ladder both to go out.
"And then there were two," Vic said as she started clearing off the table from breakfast, "So be honest, how bad is this for you? Being here and not able to go out on calls?"
"It's not the missing calls that is making me crazy. It's the not being able to do anything," Maya said, picking up a plate, "Here, let me do the clearing because I can carry stuff, but I can't wash the dishes."
"Ok," Vic nodded, "Hey, carrying plates is something. And from what I've seen at your house, you have figured out how to do plenty. Most people would just sit around and let four broken bones be a good reason to be babied, but you just keep pushing to see what you can do. And you know the team doesn't care what you can and can't do, right? They're just happy to have you back here, even if it's just to hang out."
"Thanks Vic," Maya said, smiling a little.
They got the beanery cleaned up before Vic went to sit at the desk, grabbing an extra chair for Maya.
"I could watch the desk if you have other stuff you want to do," Maya said as Vic spun in her chair.
"How are you gonna answer that phone?" Vic asked, looking at Maya, "I know you have figured out how to answer your own and use it on speaker, but this phone, you actually have to hold it to your ear most of the time. Plus, I would rather just sit here and chill than try to check the hose lines. We have a probie for a reason."
"As your captain, I should not endorse laziness," Maya said, "But as your injured friend, I like having your company."
The two of them chatted, listening to the radio to see how the call was going, Maya smiling as she heard Andy giving orders. There were talks amongst other captains that their battalion chief was thinking about retiring in the next year or two, and Maya had every intention of applying for the job if and when it became available, and if she got it, Andy was her pick for captain of 19. She knew it was a long shot, but it was fun to dream of running the station with her best friend.
One of the old ladies from the neighborhood came in with a plate of cookies for the station, something she did at least once a month.
"Thank you, Mrs. Smith," Vic said, taking the plate, "How are you and Howard?"
"I told you, call me Pat. We are doing well," the woman said, "His hip has healed nicely from his surgery. Oh, captain, what happened?"
"I had a bit of an accident while running," Maya said, getting up, "I broke a few bones. It's no big deal."
"You poor thing," Pat said, "How long are you in those?"
"Another three weeks," Maya said, "Maybe more depending on how things heal."
"My son broke his arm when he was about 6," Pat said, "He was climbing a tree, trying to keep up with his big sister, and he fell out. Snapped the bone in his upper arm right at the beginning of summer. He spent the whole summer in a big cast and not allowed to swim."
"I broke that bone in this arm," Maya said, holding up her left as best as she could, "I can imagine it would not be fun as a kid."
"He survived," Pat smiled, "Is the rest of your crew out on a call?"
"Yep," Vic nodded, "They are at a restaurant fire."
Just then, the phone started ringing, Vic picking it up.
"I'll let you two get back to work," Pat said, smiling at Maya, "Oh, are you all still having the pancake breakfast next month?"
"On the 30th like always," Maya nodded, smiling, "Will you and Howard be there?"
"Wouldn't miss it," Pat said, heading toward the door, "I hope you feel better dear."
"Thank you," Maya said as the older woman left.
"I promise you," Vic said into the phone, "You are not smelling the carbon monoxide your neighbor is trying to poison you with."
It was quiet for a second while Vic listened to the response.
"How do I know?" she said, clearly getting angry, "Well, because carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless."
Vic rolled her eyes at Maya as the person on the other end continued.
"Ma'am, if you are worried your neighbor is trying to poison you, you should call the police," Vic said, "It is not carbon monoxide because again, I reiterate, you cannot smell it so the strange smell coming from their house into yours is not carbon monoxide. Now, thank you for calling the Seattle Fire Department. Have a nice day."
Vic hung up the phone, taking a deep breath before looking at Maya.
"This woman has called us every day for the last two weeks," Vic said, "She is convinced her neighbor is trying to kill her with carbon monoxide and that she can smell it. Gibson went out there the first time, but he said it just smelled like curry and spices and maybe sweaty shoes. Not that he expected to smell carbon monoxide because even Gibson has a brain big enough to know that's insane, but just to make her feel better. Well, it didn't work and now she calls every damn day."
"I do not miss getting put on phones," Maya said, laughing as she shook her head.
Just then, they heard over the radio that the team was on their way back.
"I should probably go get lunch started," Vic said, looking at the clock, seeing it was close to 12:30, "They're going to be hungry when they get back."
"I can sit here if you want," Maya said, "I think I could probably get the phone on speaker if I need to."
"Alright," Vic nodded, heading upstairs.
Lucky for Maya, the phones were quiet, the rest of the team getting back about an hour later, going through their normal routines after fires, cleaning up and getting everything restocked before they all headed up to eat.
Maya stayed downstairs at the phone, wanting to make sure Vic was able to eat. She also knew that Vic was going to make chicken and rice for lunch meaning that she was not going to be able to eat it easily.
About twenty minutes later, Andy came down the stairs with a smoothie in her hand.
"Here you go," Andy said, setting the glass down on the desk.
"Thanks," Maya said, "Why aren't you eating?"
"I'm not super hungry," Andy said, shrugging as she turned her head to cough into her elbow.
"Are you sick with whatever is going around?" Maya asked, looking at her.
"I might be coming down with it," Andy nodded, "But I don't have a fever so I'm ok. I need to go work on some reports."
"Go home if you start to feel worse," Maya called as Andy walked away.
The rest of the afternoon had most of 19 in house working on maintenance and cleaning, Maya helping out here and there where she could.
They ate Carina's soup for dinner, Maya this time opting to eat with her team ac Cutler took over the desk.
"Wait, what is happening here?" Dean asked as Vic put a glass of soup in front of Maya with a straw.
"Well, Miller, how do you want me to eat?" Maya asked, raising an eyebrow, "Because I don't know if you've noticed, but my hands can't exactly reach my mouth."
"I didn't even think about that," Dean said, shaking his head, "What do you do when it's not soup?"
"Usually, Carina feeds me," Maya said, embarrassment flooding her cheeks.
"It's cute, Vic said, poking her elbow into Maya's side.
"It is not cute," Maya said, shaking her head, "But it works."
They continued with dinner, Andy looking worse and worse by the minute, startling everyone, including herself with a series of violent sneezes.
"Andy, go home," Maya said, "You look like hell."
"You're not my boss," Andy said, grabbing a tissue, "I'm fine."
"You have a fever," Vic said, reaching over and putting a hand on her friend's forehead, "Get out of here before everyone else gets it."
Andy grumbled but got up, heading downstairs to call another sub and go home. round 8, when everyone was in the longue watching the news, Carina came to get Maya.
"Thanks for dinner tonight Carina," Ben said, smiling at his friend, "It saved me from having to cook."
"I'm glad you all liked it," Carina smiled as Maya got up off the couch, walking over to her girlfriend, sleepy look on her face, "We will see you all later."
"Bye," Maya said, smiling at her team, "Thanks for letting me hang out today. I didn't realize how much I missed all of you."
Everyone said goodbye as Maya and Carina left the longue, heading downstairs.
"How was your day Bambina?" Carina asked as she and Maya walked out of the station.
"It was good," Maya said, yawning, "I mostly just hung out with Vic at the desk and then wandered around the barn while everyone did maintenance. It was weird to be back, but less awful than I thought. I'm tired. Maybe even tired enough to sleep."
"We can go home, take a shower, and go to bed," Carina said as she drove them, "I'm glad you were able to enjoy your time at the station."
"Did you have a good day at work?" Maya asked as they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex.
"I did," Carina nodded, "I just had a regular day of appointments. Most of them were fine. I did have one mamma who I had to tell that she was going to have a stillborn."
"I'm sorry," Maya said, knowing how hard that was for her girlfriend, "But the rest of the day was good?"
"Si," Carina nodded, "It was all routine."
"Good," Maya said as they walked into the apartment.
They went through their normal nightly routine, Carina helping her in the shower before they both got into bed.
"Goodnight Bambina," Carina said, kissing her gently, "I hope you get some sleep tonight. I love you."
"I love you too," Maya said, kissing Carina back before both of them miraculously managed to fall asleep.
Two days later, Maya had spent the day with Vic, Travis having come down with the virus that was going around the station.
That night, Maya herself started feeling not great. Her head was achy, and she was tired, tired enough that she fell asleep on Carina's shoulder while they were watching a movie at 8 pm.
If it had been a normal time, that would have sent up about 100 red flags for the Italian. However, Maya had been struggling to sleep since she broke her arms so she would fall asleep on Carina often when they sat together on the couch.
Carina woke her up, coaxing her to bed before they both fell asleep for the night.
The next morning, Maya woke up feeling congested and just not great. She coughed as she sat up, groaning as she felt her nose running. She sniffled, realizing she had caught the virus that was going around the station.
Carina woke up as Maya was trying to figure out how in the hell she was supposed to blow her nose.
"What's wrong Bambina?" Carina asked, sitting up.
"The station is passing around a virus," Maya said, coughing, "And I think I have it. I don't feel particularly great right now."
"Oh Bambina," Carina said, frowning as she grabbed a tissue, wiping Maya's nose, "I'm sorry you don't feel well."
"I am literally like a toddler," Maya said, "You have to wipe my nose. You are going to catch this."
"I probably will," Carina nodded, shrugging, "But we have shared worse. Now, what can I get for you?"
"I don't know," Maya said, coughing a little, "I am alright."
"You feel warm," Carina said, frowning, "I'm going to get the thermometer."
Carina came back to the bedroom a minute later, running the thermometer over her girlfriend's forehead.
"101.7," Carina said, frowning, "You are sick for sure. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Can I have something to drink?" Maya asked, coughing again.
"Of course," Carina nodded, "What would you like?"
"Orange juice?" Maya asked, "Watered down."
"Of course," Carina nodded, knowing Maya through juice that wasn't mostly water was way too sweet, "Anything to eat?"
"Not really hungry," Maya said, shaking her head.
"Is your stomach upset?" Carina asked, putting her hand on Maya's forehead again.
"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "No, that's not part of this. I just don't really have an appetite."
"That's ok," Carina said, nodding, "Orange juice coming up."
Maya coughed miserably as she tried to get comfortable, her body aching from the fever.
"Here you go," Carina said, holding the glass so Maya could take a few sips, "And two Tylenol because between the body aches from the fever and your arms, you are going to need something to help. Now, do you want to sleep or watch something or something else?"
"Can we watch something?" Maya asked, taking the pills without arguing, the achiness already getting to be a lot, "Or can I? I'm sure you have things to do."
"Nothing that is so urgent that I can't make sure my sick girlfriend is comfortable," Carina said, grabbing her laptop and climbing into bed, grabbing a tissue for Maya's nose, "Now, what do you want to watch?"
"You chose," Maya said, "I'm tired."
Carina put on a sitcom before pulling Maya into her lap, helping her get comfortable.
"Sorry I'm sick," Maya said, leaning back on her girlfriend.
"There is no need to apologize Bambina," Carina said, pressing a kiss to her warm temple, "You didn't get sick on purpose."
Maya nodded, closing her eyes as Carina started playing with her hair, something had been such a big part of Maya's healing from what her dad had done to her.
After her dad had pulled on her hair, Maya had struggled to let anyone touch her hair. Carina had cut it for her after her impromptu station chop, and Maya had had a massive panic attack during that to the point that Carina almost couldn't finish.
Once they had gotten through that, Carina had kept her hands off Maya's hair for the next week, something that was hard because she loved playing with her girlfriend's locks.
About a week after they had gotten back together, Maya had gone to therapy for the first time and had come home absolutely exhausted. Carina was holding her on the couch when Maya did something surprising. She took Carina's hand and put it on her hair. The Italian was surprised and had paused the movie to look at her girlfriend.
"What is this Bambina?" Carina said, Maya holding her hand to her hair.
"I talked to my therapist about what happened with my dad," Maya said, "And about how I couldn't let you touch my hair even though I really wanted you too, and she suggested maybe if I was the one who put your hand there, maybe it would help."
"How is it feeling?" Carina asked, not moving her hand.
"A little better," Maya said, "It still is making me feel a little panicky, but better."
Over the next few weeks, Maya had continued to move Carina's hand into her hair, let her play with it in different ways.
Then, one night, they were sitting on the couch and Carina had just absently put her hand in her girlfriend's hair, just playing gently with it. About five minutes later, Carina realized what she was doing, looking down to make sure Maya wasn't having a hard time with it. Carina smiled when she saw Maya looked extremely relaxed and calm in her arms.
From then on, Carina's hands were in Maya's hair all the time whether it's when they are relaxing together or making out or having sex. It became something soothing for both of them and was even something Carina used to help Maya calm down from a panic attack.
Carina got pulled out of her thoughts by Maya letting out a series of sneezes before groaning miserably.
"Can I have a tissue Car?" she asked, "Or a couple?"
Carina helped Maya with the tissues, using one to wipe her eyes which were watery as well.
"Thanks," Maya said as she leaned back against Carina.
Soon enough, Maya was sound asleep on Carina, snoring slightly because of the congestion. Carina turned off the TV show, thinking about working on charts, but realizing that was going to be hard with Maya in her lap so instead, she just turned on some music before laying them back a little, Maya shifting a little, but luckily staying asleep.
Carina didn't quite fall asleep, but she did let herself rest for about three hours until Maya woke up coughing.
"You alright Bambina?" Carina asked, helping her sit up.
"I guess," Maya said as the coughing stopped, "My chest hurts."
"I'm sorry Bambina," Carina said, listening to Maya's breathing for a second, not hearing any audible wheezing, "Is there anything I can do?"
"Can we take a shower?" Maya asked, "Maybe that will help."
"Sure," Carina nodded, grabbing a tissue and helping Maya with her runny nose again before they got out of bed.
For the first time since she broke her arms, Maya was happy to have Carina helping her was her hair and body because she was so tired that doing anything besides just leaning on her girlfriend sounded like a lot of effort.
Once they got out, Carina helped Maya get dressed.
"Can I go lay on the couch?" Maya asked, "Just for a change in scenery?"
"You can do whatever you want, Bambina," Carina nodded, "Are you feeling up to some soup or something else?"
"Soup sounds good," Maya said before letting out a series of sneezes, groaning as she sniffed.
"I hate this," Maya said as Carina grabbed another tissue, "I can't even wipe my own nose."
"Well, it's a good thing your cute and I don't mind doing it for you," Carina said, smiling as she threw out the tissues, "Now come on."
Carina tucked Maya in with a few blankets on the couch before going into the kitchen to heat up some soup.
"I need to eat at the table," Maya said as Carina walked over with a cup of soup, "There's nowhere to put the cup here."
"I can just feed you if you are not feeling up to the table," Carina said, seeing how miserable Maya was looking.
"No," Maya said, getting up, "I'm ok."
Maya sipped on her soup as Carina brought over another glass of juice and some crackers along with her own lunch. Maya coughed as she finished her soup, groaning miserably.
"Ok Bambina," Carina said, having finished her own food earlier, "Let's get you back to the couch. You look like you are about to fall asleep at the table."
"I feel like I might," Maya said, blinking heavily, "God, this virus is kicking my ass."
"It is probably because you weren't sleeping well before this," Carina said as they settled on the couch, "So your immune system is not what it normally is. Just sleep, Bambina. It will help."
Maya fell asleep quickly, Carina grabbing her phone as she played with her hair. She had a few messages from people.
One was from Vic saying she wasn't going to be able to come over hand hang with Maya while Carina worked tonight because she was down with the virus going around the station. Carina texted her back, saying Maya also had it, and that she was going to be taking off work for the next few days while the blonde recovered.
She then texted Bailey, telling her that Maya was sick and that she needed some time off. Bailey, who had had this virus when Ben got it, said she understood and to take good care of Maya.
She then answered a few questions from her nurses about various patients and Teddy asking if she wanted to go out tomorrow night.
Once that was done, she flipped through her emails and her Instagram account.
She ended up dozing off for a while herself, not waking up again until she felt Maya shaking and crying in her arms.
"Bambina," Carina said, immediately realizing it was either a nightmare, panic attack, or, most likely, a combination of both, "Hey, wake up."
Maya's eyes snapped open, tears running down her fever flushed cheeks.
"It's ok," Carina said, "Can you look right here? Come on. Eyes on me."
Maya managed to stop sobbing after a few minutes, just cuddling into Carina as best as she could with her arms.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Carina asked as Maya pulled away, Carina wiping the tears off her cheeks, grabbing another tissue for her.
"It was just a weird nightmare about being trapped in a hot garage," Maya said, "And not being able to get out and being cooked alive. I haven't had a dream about that in so long."
"Wait, that actually happened to you?" Carina said, looking at Maya.
"Yeah," Maya said, cuddling back into Carina, "Andy, Jack, and I along with Ryan and his partner and a homeowner. It was a long time ago. The door got stuck because the homeowner was a mildly paranoid crazy tech person who made her garage impenetrable."
"How did you get out?" Carina asked, always intrigued by Maya's firefighting stories.
"We rigged a water heater to blow through the door," Maya said, "It was not really a big deal, though I did go intermittently deaf for like a month after that."
"What?" Carina said, looking at her.
"I tried to stop a piece from coming off and the thing blew as I tried to stop it," Maya said, "I had a mild concussion and I probably perforated at least one eardrum, maybe both."
"Probably?" Carina said, eyes wide, "You never got them checked?"
"It was fine," Maya said, "I got my hearing back."
"If that ever happens again, you have to get checked," Carina said, looking at her, "Now, how are you feeling?"
"Feverish," Maya said, stretching her legs a little, "And achy."
"I think your temperature is up again," Carina said, pressing a kiss to Maya's temple, "You need more medicine and more hydration."
"Can we watch a movie?" Maya asked as Carina got up, going to the kitchen.
"Of course," Carina nodded, grabbing some orange juice, "Anything specific?"
"I don't care," Maya said as Carina walked back in with the meds and juice, "Something funny."
Carina put on a movie as she made sure Maya was drinking her juice before both of them just relaxed into the couch.
The rest of the evening was calm, Carina getting some pasta into her girlfriend before Maya decided she needed to go to bed for the night, her fever high even after the meds.
By the time Carina got into bed about two hours after her girlfriend, she had a sore throat, body aches, a runny nose, and according to the thermometer, a temperature of 100.6. She knew she had whatever Maya had picked up, but as she looked at the snoring blonde with her two broken arms, sweaty forehead, and runny nose, she decided it was worth feeling like garbage for a few days if it meant she could help her girlfriend feel just a little more comfortable.
What did you think? I think this story has one more chapter. No promises as to how long it will be before I get that chapter up, but thanks for reading!