So I got a prompt from someone requesting Can you do a Marina where Carina has bronchitis and Maya has either laryngitis or sinusitis from a cold they caught together? This is the fufillment of that prompt.
Maya sighed as she looked around the Grey Sloan ER that was surprisingly quiet, although it was a Wesdnesday night, or rather thurday morning at 3 am so she shouldn't be as surprised as she was.
She looked down at the woman who was in the bed next to her, running her fingers through her long, brown hair that was slightly damp with sweat. Her own hair was a mess, pulled up in some version of a messy bun, also damp with sweat from the fever they both were sporting.
Carina coughed in her sleep, snuggling closer to Maya if that was even possible. The blonde looked down, making sure the mask that was delivering much needed medication to Carina's lungs was still in place. After seeing that it was, Maya leaned her head back, almost rubbing her eyes, but stopping short, remembering that was not a wise move.
She continued rubbing Carina's back as she thought back on the past ten days that had led them here, to the ER at 3 am on a Thursday with Carina getting a nebulizer treatment so she could actually breath again.
It had started during a meeting with the brass over a week ago. Maya hated having to talk the heads of the fire department because they never came for a happy reason. This time, it was to go over an incident that had resulted in their engine crashing. She was going over it when all of a sudden, she turned her head, sneezing into her elbow.
"Sorry," she said, grabbing a tissue off her desk, "Now, as I was saying…"
As the rest of that shift continued, she noticed that her throat was starting to get sore, she was still sneezing, and a cough was developing. She actually turned in for the night around 10 pm, which was extremely unlike her because sleeping on shift was not something she did, and woke up at 1 to the alarm, realizing she was defentaly coming down with something.
She made it through the rest of the shift before going home, groaning when she thought about how she was going to keep from sharing this with her girlfriend. As she drove to the place they had been sharing for the past year, she reached for another tissue from her center console, wiping her nose again.
She got home, walking inside and smiling when she saw Carina's shoes by the door because even though she didn't want to get her sick, a hug from her girlfriend was all Maya wanted right now. She went into the bedroom, hearing the shower running. She had already showered after their last fire, so she just changed into her pajamas, hearing the water turn off as she pulled on a sweatshirt. She heard the bathroom door open, turning and smiling at Carina as she walked out of the bathroom.
"Bella," Carina said, smiling back before she broke off into a cough.
"Oh no," Maya said, "Did you catch it too?"
"Cosa?" Carina asked, grabbing her own pajamas out of the drawer.
Just then, Maya sneezed multiple times into her elbow.
"This cold," Maya said, sniffling as she looked for a box of tissues, "Do you have it too?"
"I think so," Carina said, coughing again as she pulled on her clothes, "I woke up from my short nap last night feeling not right."
"Same," Maya said, nodding, "I was going to try to get a nap. I didn't sleep much last night."
"Me too," Carina said as she went to hang her towel before climbing into bed next to Maya.
"Well, there's one good thing about us both being sick at the same time," Maya said, grabbing another tissue and blowing her nose.
"And what is that?" Carina asked tiredly.
"We can still do this," Maya said, leaning over and giving Carina a kiss.
The brunette smiled into the kiss.
"That is a good thing," Carina said, pulling back before turning her head and coughing.
"As much as I want to continue this," Maya said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend, "I am about to fall asleep."
"Same," Carina nodded as she gave Maya one more quick kiss before closing her eyes, both of them falling asleep in minutes.
Maya woke up first, her mouth feeling like a desert as she moved to get up. She went to the bathroom before going into the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water in an attempt to put some moisture back in her mouth that she had clearly been breathring through the whole time she was asleep.
She then pulled out some ingrediants to make soup, deciding to make a large batch because this cold was probably going to last at least a few days. Once the soup was simmering in a crock pot, she debated what she wanted to do.
She decided to go for a run because even though she felt like someone had stuffed her head with cotton, she needed to run. She scribbled a quick not to Carina before going out for her run. She ran for about a half an hour before going home, coughing as she walked into the apartment.
"I will never know how you do it," Carina said from where she was sitting on the couch, curled up with a cup of tea, "I feel terrible right now."
"I don't feel great," Maya said, shrugging as she stretched, "But the only thing worse than being sick is being sick and anxious and running is the best way I know to prevent that."
Carina nodded, knowing Maya was right. The blonde had gotten so much better at dealing with her mental health issues in the past year and a half since they got back together, but running was one coping mechanism that was still necessary in her daily life in order to help with that.
"I'm going to go take a shower," Maya said as she finished stretching, "And then all I want to do is nothing for the rest of the day."
"Sounds good to me," Carina said, coughing a little.
The Italian continued reading and sipping on her tea. She heard the shower turn on, then off a little while later, and then, before she realized it, it had been almost forty minutes and Maya still hadn't come back. She went into the bedroom, finding her girlfriend sound asleep on the bed, snoring lightly because of all the congestion. Carina thought about just letting her sleep, but she knew Maya would kill her if she let her sleep all day and then she couldn't sleep tonight.
"Bella," Carina said, rubbing Maya's back gently, "You need to wake up."
"Mmm, don't want to," Maya mumbled, moving away from Carina's hand.
"Come on," Carina said, poking her.
"Fine," Maya said, opening her eyes, "Uh, I did not mean to fall asleep. I just laid down for a second and then it's now."
"Do you want to stay in bed or go hang out on the couch?" Carina asked, putting a hand on Maya's forehead, glad it still felt cool.
"Let's go out to the couch," Maya said, getting up.
They curled up on the couch together, watching a movie. When the movie ended, Maya got up, grabbing them both a bowl of soup.
"Is this Travis's special magic soup recipe?" Carina said, taking a bowl from Maya.
"Yep," Maya said, sitting down, "And you're the only reason I know how to make it."
Carina smiled, knowing Maya was right. About four months after they had started dating, Carina had gotten really sick with the flu and Maya freaked out a little bit at work one day, not knowing how to help her.
Travis had a secret soup recipe that he made any time anyone at the station got sick, but he refused to share it with anyone. However, when he saw how much Maya was panicking about taking care of Carina, he came over after their shift and taught her how to make it. Maya had been so grateful she cried, although she would later blame that on the fact that she was also coming down with Carina's flu. But ever since then, Maya had made the soup any time either of them was feeling bad.
They finished up with dinner, before they both decided to call it a night, exhausted and knowing they had to work the next day.
The next morning, Maya was up early, going for a run even though her body was screaming at her to stay in bed. She stopped at a coffee place near their apartment, grabbing them both some much needed caffine before going home.
She went into the bedroom, smiling when she saw Carina curled up in bed, snoring softly. She didn't want to wake her up, but she knew that if she didn't, Carina would be late for work.
"Come on Babe," Maya said, rubbing Carina's back, "Time to get up."
"Don't want to," Carina groaned, batting Maya away with her hand.
"I know," Maya said, leaning down and planting a kiss on Carina's slightly chapped lips, "Do you want me to call you in sick today?"
"No," Carina said, sitting up, "No. I am not that sick."
"I brought coffee," Maya said, grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose, "I'm going to go shower."
"Can I join you?" Carina asked, smiling at her.
"I won't say no to that," Maya said, reaching out her hand and guiding her into the bathroom.
They both went to work, Carina for her twelve-hour shift and Maya for her twenty-four.
When she finished working, Carina came to the station with Maya's favorite hot chocolate.
"Hey," the blonde said, smiling when her girlfriend walked into her office, "Did you just get off?"
"Si," Carina said, nodding, "And before I went home, I just wanted to stop by and see you. How are you feeling?"
"Like I have a cold," Maya said, grabbing a tissue and wiping her reddening nose, "But not too bad. How are you feeling?"
"Tired," Carina said, nodding, "I brought your favorite hot cocoa from the place by the hospital."
"You're the best," Maya said, taking the cup from Carina, sighing as she felt the warm liquid go down her sore throat.
The two of them just sat there together for a while, enjoying the few minutes they had together before the alarm went off.
"I'll see you in the morning?" Maya asked, giving Carina a quick kiss.
"Only if you get off on time," Carina said, "I work at 9. Be careful. Love you."
"Love you too," Maya called as she pulled on her turnouts, jumping into the engine.
Unfortunately for Maya, she did not get off on time the next morning, having to work until almost noon which meant she missed seeing her girlfriend.
They didn't see each other much over the next few days because of work. They would stop by the other one's office on their way to or from work, but they would only get a few minutes before something interrupted them, and the visits were short and lacking in their usual spark because both of them weren't feeling well.
As the week went on, neither of them were feeling any better, and by the next time they were off together, eight days after they got sick, both of them were beyond miserable.
"How is this still hanging on?" Maya asked, blowing her raw nose for what felt like the millionth time, "It's been a week."
"I know," Carina said, coughing harshly as she climbed into bed, "This cold is terrible."
"That cough is not sounding good babe," Maya said, rubbing at her eyes as her voice cracked a little.
"It doesn't feel great either," Carina said, rubbing her chest.
"Let me get you some vapor rub to help," Maya said, going into the bathroom and finding the container, bringing it back.
If they weren't both feeling as bad as they were, this would have been sexy, but with how miserable they both felt, it was anything but. Maya rubbed some on her own chest too, hoping to help with the major congestion in her head that was starting to become painful.
They both fell asleep that night, waking up the next day feeling worse than they had all week.
"I do not feel well," Carina said, coughing as she sat up in the morning, "I think I have a fever."
"Same," Maya said, her voice barely coming out above a whisper, "And my ears are killing me, and apparently I sound like this."
"Maya," Carina said, looking at her girlfriend, "Your eyes. Oh Bella, they look infected."
"Great," Maya said, trying not to rub at her eyes, "Just when I thought this couldn't get worse. I'm gonna go grab the thermometer. You look rough babe."
"I feel terrible," Carina said, coughing.
Maya ran the thermometer over Carina's forehead.
"101.7," Maya said, frowning, "You should be getting better, not worse."
"I'm fine," Carina said, brushing her off, "What's yours?"
"101.5," Maya said, touching her face that was feeling really swollen and painful, "What should we do?"
"Sleep," Carina said, already closing her own eye, "Maybe we will wake up feeling better. We just have a virus. There is nothing to do but rest."
"I'm going to go grab us something to drink," Maya said, grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose, groaning a little in pain as she did so.
They spent most of the rest of the day sleeping and watching movies, just trying to feel better. Or rather, Carina watched movies, Maya's swollen eyes too sensitive to look at the TV for long. They took a shower together, hoping that maybe the steam would help with the congestion in Maya's head and Carina's chest. It didn't really work, and that night, Carina was up half the night coughing, and Maya couldn't really sleep either, the pain in her head keeping her up.
"I'm going to go sleep on the couch," Carina said around 3 am, "You are sick, and you need sleep."
"I'm not sleeping anyways," Maya said, shaking her head, "You're sick too. We're both off tomorrow so we can sleep all day if our bodies will let us."
Unfortunately for them, that was not the case, and neither of them slept for more than thirty minute stretches the following day.
By the following evening, neither of them were feeling any better.
Maya's voice was close to completely gone, her eyes were swollen, her ears were painful, and her face felt like someone had stuffed it full of cement and was running a drill through it. She debated going to urgent care, but after talking to Carina, they both decided it was probably just a viral infection and there wasn't much that the urgent care could do that they couldn't do at home. She kept warm compresses on her eyes most of the day, trying to get them to calm down.
Carina's cough was getting worse and her breathing was starting to sound wheezy. Her own eyes yes were also starting to get irritated, probably because whatever infection Maya had going was contagious.
They had spent almost an hour sitting on the floor in the bathroom with the hot shower running, trying to help Carina's breathing and Maya's congestion, but it didn't do much.
Maya somehow managed to fall asleep around eleven, probably thanks to her fever which she could tell was starting to climb.
Around midnight, she woke up, realizing she was in bed alone. She groaned, rolling over and seeing that the bathroom door was open, meaning Carina was not in there. She coughed a little before climbing out of bed, wrapping a blanket around her tired and achy body as she went to go look for her girlfriend.
"Car," Maya said, seeing the Italian woman sitting on the couch, "What are you doing out here?"
Carina let out a long, harsh cough as Maya sat down next to her.
"I couldn't sleep," Carina said, leaning her head on Maya's shoulder, "And I kept coughing. I didn't want to wake you up because you need to sleep."
Carina started coughing again, clearly struggling to catch her breath. When the coughing didn't stop, Maya got worried, rubbing her back.
"Ok," Maya said, getting up as the coughing fit ended, "I'm going to go get a stethoscope. You are not sounding good."
"I'm fine," Carina said, leaning back against the couch.
Maya disappeared into the bedroom, coming out a minute later with a stethoscope, warming it in her hand before pulling up Carina's shirt, listening to her girlfriend's lungs.
"Car, your lungs do not sound good," Maya said, shaking her head, "You sound really wheezy."
"I'm fine," Carina mumbled, rubbing her itchy eyes as she started coughing again.
"Car, that cough is bad," Maya said, and putting her hand on her girlfriend's forehead, "And you're burning up. Come on. Let's go."
"Where?" Carina asked, opening her eyes and looking at Maya.
"Your breathing is not ok. You need a nebulizer and maybe some steroids," Maya said, getting up, "We're going to Grey Sloan."
"I'll be fine until morning," Carina said, coughing again.
"Nope," Maya said, shaking her head, "We're going in now. You can't keep going like this. You haven't a decent amount of sleep in two days, and it looks like you are in physical pain when you breath. You need medication."
"You should call someone else," Carina said, moving to get up, "You're sick too. You need to sleep."
"Car, it's almost 1 am. I'm not going to wake anyone up when I'm perfectly capable of taking you," Maya said, guiding Carina into their bedroom so they could put on something besides the damp t-shirts they had been sleeping in, "Besides, I won't sleep knowing you're at the hospital."
Carina nodded, too tired to argue and knowing Maya was right. They both threw on some sweats, Maya grabbing both of their purses before turning to look at Carina.
"Ready?" Maya asked. Carina nodded and they headed to the car.
Maya held her girlfriend's hand as she drove the familiar route to the hospital. As they pulled up, Maya looked at Carina, noticing the tears on her cheeks.
"Hey," Maya said, "Don't cry. We're here and they are going to help. You're going to be fine. It's probably just bronchitis or pneumonia, worst case."
"I know," Carina said, wiping her tears, "I don't even know why I'm crying."
"Because you're sick and feel terrible," Maya said, rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb, "Come on. Let's get you feeling better."
And that was how they found themselves in the ER in the middle of the night, Carina finally resting on Maya as the albuterol opened her lungs that were indeed infected with bronchitis, an IV dripping fluids into her arm along with a fever reducer and steroid to help with the inflammation.
"Maya?" a familiar voice said as Maya opened her swollen eyes to see Amelia walking toward them, "What the hell happened?"
"She's sick," Maya said, voice still barely audible, "And she wasn't breathing well so I brought her in."
"She's not the only one who's sick," Amelia said, looking at the blonde, "Didn't you both just have a cold last week?"
"It never went away," Maya said, coughing a little, "We both started getting worse a few days ago. Hers settled into her chest and now she has bronchitis and mine stayed in my head."
"I'm sorry," Amelia said, frowning a little, "Do you need anything? Something to drink? Or something to help you feel better?"
"Actually, yeah," Maya said, "Could I get some water? I would get it myself, but she hasn't been sleeping basically at all in the past few days and I don't want to move."
"Of course," Amelia said, disappearing and returning a few minutes later with a bottle of both water and orange juice.
"I thought maybe you could use a little more than just water," Amelia said, handing the drinks to Maya.
"Thanks," Maya said, grabbing a tissue from the box next to the bed, blowing her nose as quietly as she could.
"Did they give you anything?" Amelia asked.
"I don't need it," Maya said, shaking her head, "It's all just from whatever virus gave us the cold. I just need to ride it out."
"What are your symptoms?" Amelia asked, pulling out her stethoscope, deciding Maya needed to be checked out, knowing her best friend's girlfriend was excellent at downplaying when things were bothering her.
"Don't you have a brain to go cut into or something?" Maya asked crankily as Amelia listened to her lungs.
"No one schedules brain surgery at 4 am, shockingly," Amelia said, "I just had to do a concussion assessment, but the CT results won't be up for an hour and the patient is stable so I have time to kill. Your lungs sound clear by the way."
Amelia grabbed an otoscope, looking into Maya's ears.
"Your ears are infected for sure," Amelia said, "Although you're probably right about it being viral. I can write you a prescription for some numbing drops if you want, just to help with the pain."
"Really?" Maya said, not usually one to go for pain killers but a little bit desperate for some relief from the pain in her ears.
"Yeah," Amelia said, having Maya open her mouth, examening her throat before looking in her nose as well. She then grabbed a thermometer, running it over Maya's forehead.
"102.1. You really struck the cold complication jack pot here Captain," Amelia said, shaking her head.
Just then, Carina started coughing, waking herself up.
"Hey," Maya said, helping the brunette sit up a little.
"Sorry," Carina said through her mask, "I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"It's ok," Maya said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend, "You needed rest."
"Amelia?" Carina said, looking over and seeing her friend, "What are you doing here?"
"Just giving your girlfriend an exam," Amelia said, "Because you are right. She never does anything small. She's got a lovely combination of otitis media in both ears, conjunctivitis, laryngitis, and sinusitis. I can get you some drops for the pain in the ears, and recommend Advil and Tylenol to help with the fever and pain, but everything is just going to have to run it's course. Sorry."
"It's what I expected," Maya said, shrugging, "Thanks Amelia."
"Of course," the neurosurgeon said, "Feel better, both of you. If you need anything, just let me know. I'll be right back with those drops for your ears. And if you aren't feeling better in a few days, go to urgent care."
"Thanks," Carina mumbled under her mask, "Bella, you must feel terrible."
"I'm fine," Maya said, shrugging, "I'll take something when we get home. How are you feeling?"
"Better," Carina said, "At least a little bit."
Just then, a nurse came over, taking off Carina's mask, the meds having just finished.
"Alright Dr. Deluca," the nurse said, "So Dr. James has a prescription for an inhaler and some oral steroids for you. As soon as those are ready, I will bring them over. I'll let Dr. James know your meds are done and have her come over and do one more exam, but then you should be good to go."
"Thanks," Carina said, leaning heavily on Maya's shoulder.
Within an hour, they were heading home, both of them exhausted.
"Thank you for making me go in," Carina said, looking over at her girlfriend as she drove, "I really do feel a lot better."
"Good," Maya said, smiling tiredly back at her, "You sound better too. Less like you might stop breathing on me tonight."
"I wouldn't have stopped breathing," Carina said, shaking her head.
"I know," Maya said, "But at least now maybe you will be able to get some sleep."
"I doubt it," Carina said, "Albuterol is a stimulant. I'll probably be awake for the next few hours. My body kinda feels like it does right before I have a panic attack."
"Oh babe," Maya said, sighing, "Is there anything I can do?"
"I'm not actually going to have a panic attack," Carina said, shaking her head, "Or at least I hope not. It's just how those drugs make me feel."
"That sucks," Maya said, frowning, "Well, we can watch movies or something until you get tired."
"No," Carina said, shaking her head, "No, you are going to sleep."
"I'll be fine to stay up with you," Maya said, trying to cover a yawn.
"No," Carina said, "You took care of me, now it's my turn to take care of you. You are going to go home, take something to help with all the swelling going on in your face and head right now, and then go to sleep."
"But I want to sleep with you," Maya said, wincing at how whiny her voice sounded when she said it.
"I'll listen to an audiobook in bed," Carina said as they pulled into the parking lot of their apartment complex.
Maya nodded as they got out of the car. It was close to 6 am as they walked through their front door.
"Shit," Maya said, "I have to work in 2 hours."
"Bella," Carina said, looking at her, "You have a fever and multiple infections going on in that beautiful face of yours and you didn't sleep all night. You are not going to work. The only place you need to go is bed."
A year ago, Maya probably would have argued with her girlfriend, insisted she was fine, but after being with Carina as long as she had been, she knew her girlfriend was right.
"I need to call in," Maya said, grabbing her phone.
She texted her team, telling them she was taking the day and hopefully she would be back for their next shift. The next thing she knew, her phone was ringing.
"Hello," she said, not sure her voice would even be audible on the phone.
"Maya?" Andy said, "Is everything alright?"
"I'm sick," Maya said, "I know I've been sick all week, but it got worse and I spent last night in the ER with Carina and I just can't work today."
"Is Carina ok?" Andy said, worried.
"Yeah," Maya said, voice going even more, "She has bronchitis and it got really bad last night. She's alright."
At this point, Maya's voice went out completely at this point and she handed the phone to Carina.
"Andy," Carina said, "Sorry. Maya has laryngitis."
"Oh," Andy said, "Well, tell her that I will take care of everything today. If you guys need anything, just let me know."
"Thanks," Carina said, "I'll tell her."
"Feel better," Andy said as they hung up.
Maya looked at Carina with grateful eyes.
"Now, you need to sleep," Carina said, guiding her sleepy girlfriend into the bedroom.
They were both back in pajamas within seconds, Carina going into the bathroom and getting some meds for Maya, handing them to her before helping her put the drops in her ears. After she was thoroughly medicated, Maya laid down, falling asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.
Carina was wired thanks to the meds but also exhausted. She put in her headphones, listening to an audiobook with her eyes closed, trying to get some rest. She managed to fall asleep after about two hours, happy to finally be getting real rest.
So there was part 1! What did you think? I have part 2 coming soon. And if you have any prompts, I am always looking for more!