Chapter 3
The first thing she notices is the softness and warmth that surround her. Maya slowly opens her eyes to see her bedroom window. A flicker of morning light passes through the curtains. Then suddenly, slender, tanned arms are wrapping around her waist, pulling her close. Maya sighs contently, letting herself be embraced with so much love and care. She shivers when her favourite voice whispers quietly in her ear: "Buon Natale, amore."
Before she can turn to face her wife, everything goes black and she startles awake.
Her ankle is throbbing and her head hurts. Someone is shaking her, and Maya finds shining little eyes looking at her. She notices, at that moment, how strangely familiar they appear to be. A shade of brown so very similar to her favourite pair of eyes.
Carina.
For a second, as she tries to shake off the dizziness, she thinks about her wife, about whatever dream she was having while she was unconscious. How she wishes it was true. How she longs to wake up with Carina's arms wrapped around her. She so desperately wants to see the Italian. She decides, right there, that she will call Carina once she is out of there. There's so much she needs to say to her.
Her attention, however, quickly moves back to the little girl in front of her once Maya's head stops spinning. Luckily, they missed the brunt of the collapse. There are some big pieces of cement on top of Maya, but the girl seems to have escaped unharmed.
The blonde smiles at the girl. "I'm sorry about that. Thanks for waking me up. Are you hurt?"
The child only shakes her head, still not uttering a single word. When a small cough leaves her throat, however, Maya is quick to move the mask to the girl's face.
"This will help you. Take a deep breath, please."
The little girl does as she is told. Suddenly, there is a small smile on the child's face. "Astronaut."
Maya smiles widely, glad to hear her speak. "Yes, just like an astronaut."
The firefighter tries to move but feels her ankle stuck. She internally curses the universe for hurting the same ankle again. It was getting repetitive by now, she thinks to herself, annoyed.
"Do you like astronauts?" She keeps talking with the girl, trying to distract the little one from the sound of falling rocks and Maya's own grunts of pain.
The child nods but startles once again at the loud sound of more debris falling over a few feet from them.
"It's okay. We're going to be okay." The firefighter tries to reassure her.
Maya then grabs her radio to call out for backup, only to realize that it is broken - which means she has no way to contact the team. She fights the urge to scream and curse since the last thing she wants is to frighten the child even more.
The lieutenant looks around the room, trying to find a solution. She won't be able to remove the rubble at her feet with the girl so close to her chest.
"Hey, can you stand up for me, please?"
The girl hesitates, looking at Maya confused and scared.
The blonde grabs her helmet, which she belatedly realizes had fallen off because of the impact of the collapsed floor. "This here will protect you. Don't worry."
Slowly, the child stands up, still staying close to Maya.
"You can put this on. It's not an astronaut helmet, but it is still pretty cool, right?" She gives her best smile, hoping it will convince her to wear it.
Maya softly sighs once again in relief when the little girl puts it on, the equipment obviously way too large for her head. The firefighter's mind daydreams about a mini Carina playing with Maya's turnout.
The blonde shivers at the thought. Yeah, she most definitely has a concussion.
She pulls her focus back to the present, to reality. She doesn't have time to think about her hypothetical children with Carina - though she really, really hopes that, one day, they won't be just a fantasy.
The blonde gathers her strength and starts removing the rubble on top of her. It goes quicker than she anticipated. After quickly assessing her ankle, she is glad that it doesn't look too bad. It has looked a lot worse in a very recent past.
Still, Maya can't help but grunt in pain as she stands up, trying to keep her balance. She feels dizzy, just another reminder of her possible concussion. She takes a deep breath and stays still for a few seconds, pushing through a wave of nausea.
Once she feels a little more stable, she looks at the little girl, who has been quietly standing there with Maya's mask and helmet. The firefighter smiles at her, a strange feeling in her chest that she can't quite place it.
"Now, I think we're ready to go, right?"
The child nods eagerly as Maya moves to hold her close to her chest. The lieutenant puts the helmet on her own head once again but keeps the mask on the girl. She limps and stumbles, but her arms keep the little one safe. She hears a loud rumble and hurries her step. She doesn't look around, her eyes set only on the building's front door. She can see the trucks, the lights, and her fellow firefighters.
Then suddenly, she feels the fresh air of the night as she walks out. Instantly, they are surrounded by a number of firefighters. She carefully tries to pass the girl to a paramedic, but the child has a tight grip on her neck. Maya looks at her and finds terrified little eyes.
The lieutenant holds out her hand, signalling to the team to stop for a moment, to give her time.
Maya slowly removes the mask from the girl's face, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Hey. You're okay. My friends here will help you. I'm not leaving. It's okay."
The girl nods, tears slowly falling. At the sight, Maya hugs her, gently stroking her head.
"It's okay. You're doing really good."
The blonde looks around and finds Ford, the firefighter who was with her earlier. She hopes the woman will be able to help her without adding more stress on the girl.
"Can you assess us together? I don't want to leave her alone."
Ford nods as she asks the rest of the team to give them space. Maya grunts as she moves inside the Aid Car and sits on the gurney. Every inch of her body aches. She is so incredibly exhausted.
The lieutenant can hear Ford talking with the girl and putting the oxygen mask on her. The woman's voice is calm and comforting, and Maya is thankful for her colleague.
The child is safe, she is okay, she is safe, Maya thinks to herself as she slowly starts to feel her energy getting drained. She can feel herself slipping on the gurney, her entire body going limp. She looks at Ford, she can see her mouth moving, but she can't make out the words. She tries to stay awake, she tries to pay attention. But it's too much.
Her vision starts to get blurry until, finally, Maya succumbs to unconsciousness.
……………….
She wakes up in a jolt. Completely disorientated. Her arms searching for the girl. What the hell happened?
In an instant, strong arms are pushing her to the gurney. She's clearly panicking now. Where is the girl?
"Bishop! Bishop! Hey, it's okay. You need to stay still."
Her eyes start to focus on the loud voice next to her. Maya sees that Ford is the one holding her. At that, she stops tossing around the gurney, her eyes moving to the tiny human sitting next to the firefighter.
The girl is looking at her with wide eyes. Maya sighs, glad to see the child is okay, though she can see she is still very scared.
Maya's voice is impossibly soft as she speaks with the little one. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
The kid just nods, extending her arm to the gurney. That's when Maya notices that the girl is holding the fabric of her turnouts.
As Maya finally calms down, Ford moves the oxygen mask to the lieutenant's face once again since she had yanked it out when she woke up in a panic. The younger firefighter leans in, her voice no louder than a whisper.
"She wouldn't leave your side. We had to bring her with us in the Aid Car. She's been holding on to your turnouts ever since you lost consciousness."
Maya nods, her eyes suddenly teary at the girl's actions. The blonde can't even imagine how scary it all must be, especially at such a young age. Maya herself was terrified when they were trying to leave the burning building, and she was an experienced firefighter.
"We're here!"
Maya doesn't know who's driving but hearing the words makes her stomach drop.
Please, be Seattle Pres. Please, be Seattle Pres. Please, be Seattle Pres.
The last thing she wants is to go to Grey Sloan. She doesn't want to face the people who have seen her at her lowest. She is well aware of the gossip that goes on in that place. Carina had told her so many stories. And she hates that she and her wife are part of that now. Another gossip. The doctor who had 5150'd her own wife. How hurtful it must be for Carina.
Without realizing it, she is holding her breath, hoping, praying that they have taken her to any other hospital in Seattle.
All her hopes vanish as soon as they open the doors of the Aid Car and she sees the very familiar ER entrance.