Chapter Seven
So, This is meant to be a Carina-based story and I am just so used to writing Andy so please don't give up on this story if you're a Carina fan, it'll start to be more about her either towards the end of this chapter or definitely the next chapter.
Also, I'm a fucking dumbass calling Maya and Carina girlfriends in earlier chapters, my apologies.
"Hey, let's get you up to the apartment and settled before you have to do that big interview." Vic kissed her forehead and Andy nodded, tearing up. "Hey, baby, what's wrong," Vic asked.
"It was Theo that did this, wasn't it?"
Vic looked up at Carina with a confused look on her face and Carina's expression matched hers. "What are you talking about, babe?"
Andy frowns. "You guys haven't seen the news? It's the whole reason for this interview."
"What news are you talking about?" Cariana asked and Andy looked at her with confusion in her eyes.
Andy turned to look at Jo and Meredith. "How did you two find out about it but they haven't?"
Meredith and Jo look at each other. "Well, I was on my phone and was scrolling through new news when I saw it. We don't know who the firefighter was though."
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Vic asked, quickly getting more concerned.
Meredith, seeing that Andy couldn't get a word out and that Jo didn't look like she was going to say anything, so she spoke up.
"There was a firefighter who spoke to the press about what happened. They said some things that are less than true which is why we scheduled this interview. We thought you guys knew. That's why we wanted it to be here and not at the hospital." Meredith told them, running a hand through her hair.
Vic's mouth opened but Carina was the one who asked the question she and, probably, Vic were thinking.
"What was said in the article, Dr Grey?"
Meredith looks at Andy and when she sees her nod she explains. "In the article, it was said that Andy told the crew that 19 should help her out before helping Maya." Vic gasps and Carina looks at Andy, whose head is down and back up to Meredith.
"I haven't been told what happened so can someone please tell me," Carina asked, crossing her arms.
Andy looked up, disbelief showing on her face. "You don't actually think that's true right?", Vic asked, resting a hand on Andy's shoulder.
Carina shakes her head right away. "No. No of course not. But I have yet to learn what actually happened."
Andy was about to tell her the sad tale when she heard a knock on the door, and she sighed, knowing it was the news crew people.
"I guess you're about to find out," Andy told her, sighing and asking Vic to move her to the couch while Meredith went to the door to let the reporter inside.
When Andy saw the camera and mics she began to panic, realizing how real this was becoming and how much she hated it. Vic saw this and moved in front of her girlfriend, resting her hands on her thighs.
"Hey, Andy." Andy wouldn't look at her, so Vic brought a finger under Andy's chin and made her wife look at her. "it's going to be okay. We'll be here with you every step of the way. Especially me. I promise, Sweetheart. You're not going to be alone in this." Vic told her, pulling her into a quick hug and letting go.
Andy looked at her and just nodded, not knowing what to say but she wiped her cheeks clear of any tear tracks.
The reporter and cameraman walked into the room and Andy took a deep breath and let it out, not ready for this but knowing that it needed to be done to correct the wrong information another news outlet put out.
"Hi, Captain Herrera. I know you just got out of the hospital so are you sure you want to do this?" the reporter, Natalie Spencer, asked.
Andy nodded. "I need to set the record straight before the news gets too out of control," Andy told her, giving her a polite smile.
"Okay, well we have a few minutes while Micheal sets up the camera so is there any topic, you'll want me to avoid?" Natalie asks, surprising Andy since reporters normally don't seem to give a shit about the people they're interviewing and only the story.
"Um, not that I can think of right now," Andy told her after a brief hesitation.
Natalie looks towards Jo and Meredith. "I'm assuming you two are doctors from Grey-Sloan?"
Jo nods while Meredith answers. "Yes, we both are but Jo is just here for moral support. I was in the ER when the firefighters came in."
Natalie nods, "Okay, so you'll be joining Andy in the interview, right?"
"Yes, I will be." Meredith nodded.
"Okay, all set up, Nat" Micheal told her, and Andy took another deep breath, preparing herself for what was surely going to be an emotional interview.
"Okay, Andy, are you ready?"
"I guess so." Andy answered in a small voice. Natalie looked at her and could see that she was struggling.
"Andy, like I told you before. If you don't want to do this now, we don't need to. We were told you only just got home an hour ago." Natalie said, trying to show Andy that she wasn't trying to make things worse.
"I need to get this over with now or I never will." Andy spoke more confidently, and Natalie nodded.
"Okay, let's get started then." Micheal counted down from five and then pointed to Natalie.
"Hi everyone, I'm Natalie Spencer and today we are with firefighter captain of Station 19 Andy Herrera and Doctor Meredith Grey of Grey-Sloan hospital to set the record straight on what really happened just a short 30 hours ago." Natalie paused. "Captain Herrera-" Natalie started but Andy interrupted.
"Just Andy is okay." she said softly.
"Okay." Natalie gave her a small, supportive smile. "we're here to talk about what happened during the snowstorm just over a day ago and to get your side of the story since the information that was put out was wrong?"
Andy nodded, "Yes." Andy took a deep breath. "When we got onto the scene, we saw that a car had gone over the bridge."
"What happened next, Andy?"
"I started to give orders to my team. Some were staying on the bridge to help lower me and three other members of the team with repelling down. Once everyone was in a harness, I made sure everyone was okay."
"Everyone good?" Andy watched them nod and they moved to the edge of the bridge. Shit! It's almost all ice and even with our boots we can still slip. Andy recalls asking and thinking.
"The edge of the bridge was almost all ice, and I was worried that even with our boots it was still possible that we could slip." Andy paused and ran a hand through her tangled hair. "I mentioned to the team that was coming down with me that we needed to be careful, and that one slip could be bad for all of us."
"Did any of you slip?"
Andy looked down, "No, I just kept checking with the bridge team that we needed to be sure that we were all good." Andy let out a breath. "I kept being told that everything was all good by my lieutenants."
"But it wasn't?"
"I'll get to that, Natalie." Andy said, once again softly, knowing she needed to be careful with this interview. "We got down to the bottom and two of my members got to work on getting the car door open and then we would all work on getting the woman out."
"Was that successfully done?" Natalie asks, wanting to advance the tale.
"The woman was lifted up successfully. The snow started to fall faster so we started to move faster while making sure we weren't rushing anything."
"What happened next?"
"Two firefighters worked on getting the woman out and me and..." Andy choked up. "I- uh."
"I'm sorry to interrupt but do you think you can use names?" Natalie asked carefully, not wanting to push Andy.
Andy looked past Natalie and to Carina and when she saw her nod she looked back at Natalie and nodded.
"Travis Montgomery and Victoria Hughes worked on getting the woman out of the car and when they were sure that she was stable they loaded her into the rescue basket. I instructed Hughes and Montgomery to go back up the hill, and then pull the woman up so that the four of us weren't all freezing down at the bottom."
"Who was the other firefighter down there with you?" Natalie asked softly, knowing this next part would be the hardest of the interview.
"I- Uh. It was Lieutenant Maya Bishop." Vic watched her girlfriend swallow and close her eyes and she just wanted to run and hug her.
"What happened next, Andy?"
"Once the woman was pulled up, me and Maya made sure that the three of them were clear and then Maya and I were making sure we had all the equipment we brought down." Andy swallowed and looked at Vic, trying to regain composure and gain some strength from her girlfriend and then continued. "Maya and I were talking about having a movie night after shift" Andy had to stop and rub a hand over her forehead, Natalie just let Andy take her time and didn't push. She knew this was an interview that needed to happen, and she didn't want to scare Andy. "We were halfway up the hill when we heard the rope begin to snap and I tried to keep my composure while asking the team to hurry up and bring us up." Andy had to stop.
"Cap, you're good. I don't see any problems with the ropes." Ruiz told them. Andy recalled.
"One of my lieutenants tried to convince me that the ropes were fine even though I clearly heard them snapping. We got up about two more steps maybe when I tried telling the same lieutenant that it didn't look good when the rope snapped and me and lieutenant Bishop fell and screamed. I think I heard another one of my Lieutenant's swear and say that they needed to get down there right away."
Andy paused again and Natalie was about to speak and offer her a break when Andy surprised her and continued to tell the sad tale.
"Both Maya and I were still awake at the bottom of the ravine. I had an obvious broken leg, which you already see right now." Andy motioned to her leg and Micheal followed her motion with the camera. "I also felt some blood coming down my forehead. I reached up to feel my forehead when I took my fingers away and saw blood and then after my haze cleared, I looked around and saw Maya." Andy looked down at her broken leg.
"What did you see, Andy?"
"I saw," Andy's voice broke, "I saw Maya with a tree branch sticking through her stomach. I told her to hold on." Andy let a couple of tears fall. "She said that she loved me and that" Andy paused and looked up to Carina, wondering if she could share the news. When she saw Carina shake her head she just continued. "She told me that she loved me and that she loved her wife too," Andy told her, wiping the tears away.
"Who was lifted up first?" Natalie asked, knowing that this was a critical part of the interview.
"Maya Bishop was" Andy replied quickly. "I told the team that Maya needed to be taken up first. The team looked hesitant, so I made it an official order." Andy ran a hand over her forehead, feeling the effects of a headache coming on and she felt Meredith's hand running up and down her back, trying to ground her.
"Did the team listen?" Natalie asked Andy.
"They did, yes. They worked fast and carefully and got her lifted where Travis and Ben Warren began to work on her in the aid car" Andy told her.
"And where were you?"
"I was still at the bottom of the ravine getting my leg set by other members of my team, I'd love to give names but honestly, besides my girlfriend being there I don't remember getting to the hospital," Andy told her, leaning forward, the headache starting to take over. Natalie noticed this and spoke.
"Alright, I think we can take a commercial break and we will return with Andy Herrera and have Meredith Grey share the medical information she's legally allowed to share with us in just a few moments," Natalie said, looking into the camera and then turned to Andy when Micheal said they were clear. "Andy, are you okay to continue or do we need to pause for the day?"
Meredith was about to speak up when Jo beat her to it. "She took some pain meds a couple of hours ago, but we can give her some more and see if it helps at all." Jo looked at Andy and then Meredith, knowing that she may know more about this than she did. Meredith nodded and walked to the bag of medicine from the hospital and grabbed two pain meds, and some water from the kitchen and then walked back to Andy. Meredith took the water and pills from Jo and helped Andy sit up and then took the pills and sat back on the couch.
"Are you all sure that you're going to be okay to continue, Andy?" Natalie asked, concerned for the firefighter.
"I want to get this over with. I need to focus on getting healthy for the baby growing inside of me" Andy said, not realizing she let the baby news slip. Oh shit. Andy thought. "I. Um. If you could just pretend like I didn't say that I'd appreciate it." Andy looked at Micheal and Natalie.
"No problem. We're focused on setting the record straight, not your personal life, Andy." Natalie told her, smiling gently. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Headache is still there but not as bad," Andy told her.
"Alright, we have about 10 seconds left in the break. Do you want some more water to keep with you during this last part of the interview?"
Andy nodded. "Might be a good idea." Natalie gave her a small smile and grabbed the bottle of water Vic was holding out. Andy nodded her thanks and Meredith, and she went back to sit down in their seats while Micheal, once again, counted down from five.
"Alright, we are back with Andy Herrera and Meredith Grey to talk about what happened less than 30 hours ago and the events that have followed." Natalie turns from the camera to Andy and Meredith. "Before the break, we were talking about you telling your team to bring up your lieutenant from the ravine before you and you not being able to remember who else helped you get up and drive you to the hospital in another aid car."
"On the ride to Grey-Sloan, I was in pain, but my heartbreaking was what hurt more. Knowing that my best friend was dying and there was nothing I could do about it." Andy paused, composing herself. "I remember whoever was driving the aid car that we were a few minutes out from the hospital."
"What happened when you got to the hospital?" Natalie asked Andy but Meredith spoke up.
"When she got to the hospital, I told her that we needed to stop meeting like this." Natalie looked confused. "What I meant was that whenever Andy comes to the hospital, she's more likely to be injured than coming for a visit. So, I was trying to kid around with her but then she broke down in tears and I know the situation was more serious than I originally thought." Meredith picks up the medical file. "In this medical file, it shows all the details from that night."
"What can you tell us about that night without breaking patient, doctor confidentiality?" Natalie asked, treading carefully.
"I can tell you that Maya Bishop arrived 10 minutes before Andy Herrera did," Meredith said, handing the file to Natalie. "In the document printed, you can clearly see the date and time."
"12:02 pm." Natalie read aloud. "So did Andy arrive at 12:12 pm then?" Meredith nodded and handed her Andy's full file, having gotten Andy's permission. Both women watched Natalie read it and frowned.
"So, wait, Andy had a grade two concussion, and she was already let out of the hospital?" Natalie asked.
"Andy wasn't showing any additional symptoms, and I chose that if she were to come straight home and stay on bed rest for at least the next week, that she would be okay to come home and be with her girlfriend."
"So, in your medical opinion, she's okay to be doing this interview?" Natalie asks and Meredith frowns at Natalie's tone.
"I know this may seem abnormal, but I've been a doctor for years, I know when someone is okay to go home and when someone needs to stay for more than just one night," Meredith explained, defending herself.
"Over the years I've been injured more times than I would like and the doctors, including Dr. Grey, at Grey-Sloan have always made the best decisions regarding my health." Andy stood up for Meredith.
Natalie nods. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything bad by that." Natalie looks regretful and moves on with the questioning. "Is there anything else we should know about what happened that morning?" Natalie asked, giving the files back to Meredith.
"I just wanted to set the record straight, Natalie. I don't know which firefighter decided to stab me in the back, but I plan to figure it out and set things straight with them." Andy looked at Natalie. "I need to know who would betray me like this."
Natalie nodded. "I'm glad I'm able to be part of your truth being told. Thank you for being on this show and being so brave right now and a big thank you for your service to Seattle."
Andy smiles. "Thank you, Natalie," Andy said, leaning forward and shaking her hand. "It's a relief to know that my truth is now out there."
Natalie smiled back, "It's been nice talking to you, Andy. I hope you heal quickly." Natalie told her and turned back to the camera. "Alright everyone, thank you for toning in. I'm Natalie Spencer of the Natalie and Ryan show. Toon in again tomorrow for more local news stories." Natalie finished and Micheal called out "Cut". Ending the show.
"Thank you for letting us do this, Andy. I know it couldn't have been easy."
"I need to try to set the record straight and it starts with this interview hopefully," Andy told her, sounding truly confident for the first time today.
Natalie smiled. "We better get going but it was nice talking to you, Andy. Stay safe." Natalie said before walking out the door, following behind Micheal.
Vic turned to look at Andy and grabbed her face in her hands. "I am so proud of you, baby," Vic whispered, trying to be sensitive for Carina's sake but when the couple heard a door slam, they knew that Carina had seen them. Andy sighed and nodded to Meredith that she and Jo should leave to give them some privacy.
Once the pair was gone, Andy stood up, with the help of Vic and used her crutches to walk to the guest bedroom Carina entered.
"Carina," Andy called out softly, knocking on the door. "Look, I know you're devasted, I know this is a devastating time for you, for all of the people who loved Maya, but we need to stick together, okay? We both need to take care of the little humans that are growing in us. Carina, we will be here for you through it all." Andy paused, hoping to hear a response but just heard sniffles and her face formed into a frown. "Carina, I have a key. I'm going to come in, okay?" Andy just heard a sob come from Carina and motioned to Vic to get the key.
Once she got the key from Vic, she put it in the door and unlocked it. She motioned for Vic to stay back and used her crutches to move into the room but whimpered when she lost her balance and stumbled a little bit, landing on her broken leg. Carina seemed to register that and went into doctor mode.
"Oh my god, Andy," Carina said, moving over to help Andy get off her injured leg and helped her to sit on the bed. "You have got to be more careful with this leg, Andy. I know you want to heal as quickly as possible, but you cannot be reckless." Andy nodded and Carina helped Andy to sit against the back of the bed and put a pillow under her leg, elevating it.
Carina got onto the bed after grabbing a throw blanket and turned to face the opposite direction from Andy when she felt a hand on her back, Andy's hand.
Carina turned to face her and when Andy saw the tears, she opened her arms and Carina turned to face her, wrapping an arm around Andy's stomach, clutching onto her shirt with her free hand. Andy looked down sadly at the, now widowed, woman and her heart broke. Carina didn't deserve this. Maya had so much more life to live. Especially with her unborn baby.
Whew.