The Dive
Giving herself a mental shake, she slips off her BCD and removes her fins to move faster in the confined space. "Ok. Dr. Deluca, Anna. I’m Maya Bishop. I will still have to check you before we are able to bring you both out of here”. She wades closer.
“My partner will be joining us shortly” Maya pointed to the light beam coming from the door opening, not wanting to alarm the two of them when Kilan surfaces later.
Maya gives the Doctor a once-over and takes note that despite the calm expression on her face her fingers are doing serious tapping on her crossed arms. She gives a folded space blanket to the Doctor and covers the girl with another. “Hey Anna, are you injured or hurt anywhere?” Maya asks the girl gently. Not getting any response, Maya glances over to the Doctor.
Noticing Maya looking at her, Carina puts a comforting hand on the shivering teenager's back. “Anna, it’s OK. Maya here is just trying to make sure you are OK before they get us out. I’m sure your parents can’t wait to see you”. Even though Carina has checked on Anna earlier, she knows that Maya needs the girl to answer to access her level of alertness.
“Dr. Deluca is right, we just need to make sure you are ok before we get you all suit-up" Maya smiles at the teenager.
Anna looks up with a wild look in her eyes at Maya before saying, "I … I think, … I’m ok…b…but…I.. can't swim. " Anna's eyes fixate on the dark hole beneath the surface from where Maya and Kilan emerged. “Please, don’t make me go through there”, her pleading eyes move to look back and forth between Maya and Kilan.
Maya quickly glances at Kilan who, like her, has dispensed his BCD and fins for the time being. Both of them share a knowing look. Diving is a challenging activity and diving at this depth, murky waters with a scared victim is very dangerous, not only for the victim but also for the divers. Kilan nods again to Maya indicating that he will take over Anna’s assessment and talk her through the diving process. Maya has worked enough with Kilan to know that he has a way with people. In a way, Kilan reminds her of Ben with his whole dad vibe, gentle, comforting and competent.
“Hi Anna, my name is John. You don’t have to worry about that for now ok. Let us check you but first, let’s get you warmed up”, his voice gentle. “Here, put this under your arms”. He shakes two more heat packs and says “And hold this in your hands”.
With Anna taken care of, Maya turns her attention to the Doctor who has become very quiet, just observing all three of them. Maya wades closer to Carina and guides her away from Anna and Kilan to give each of them more space to assess and work faster.
“Here Doc, take this, let's get you warm” Maya hands two heat packs to Carina but after a few seconds with the packs still dangling from her hand, Maya looks up to find Carina still looking at Anna and John. Her expression, indecipherable. Maya takes hold of both Carina’s arms and gently turns her to face her fully. “Hey Carina, Anna is ok. John is taking care of her and we are going to get both of you out” Maya reassures Carina.
When Carina finally looks at Maya, she gives a nod and a tight lip smile. “Sorry, it has been … a lot”. She laughs a little bit and adds, “That’s an understatement”. The Doctor then straightens her shoulders and says “Ok, let’s do this. I’m ok, I’m not hurt and I’m cold but not hypothermic and I could use a really hot, hot, HOT coffee right about now”. She plastered a smile.
Maya can see the worry behind the Doctor’s eyes and she marvels at how Carina manages to pull herself together in this situation. “Tell you what, Doc. When we get out of here, I’ll personally buy you one”. She can see the spark of interest in those brown eyes as the Doctor took the heat pack and she was quick to respond too. "I will hold you to that". Maya can’t stop her face from showing a goofy grin as she feels her heart skips a beat and it has nothing to do with the situation they are in.
Changing the subject, Maya pulls out a wetsuit from her dry pack and asks “Have you dive before?”.
“Hmm...I think breathing fresh air is better than air from a steel tank, no?” Carina smiles, eyes twinkling.
Maya chuckles at the response and can’t deny the truth in that statement. “So, I’ll take that as a no”. Carina nods to that.
"Ok then. Now, this wetsuit is 7mm thick and it will be quite hard for you to move but it's meant to protect you from the cold to some extent”, Maya explains. “You will need to put this on.”
Carina looks at her for a beat before glancing back. Maya followed her eyes to find Kilan facing the wall, his back to all of them. Anna, still perched on the overhead compartment, is already pulling the suit sleeves up her arm and about to zip up. Kilan apparently manages to calm Anna to get her going.
Shifting her gaze back, she can see Carina already starts to unbutton her blouse. Maya then holds the Doctor by the arm and switches their position, standing between the other two and Carina, essentially giving her some semblance of privacy. The Doctor gives her a small appreciative smile and Maya then turns, leaving the wetsuit floating behind her for Carina to take when she’s ready.
Maya looks up at the window above her. The water that was dripping earlier is now a small stream of water. She shines her light to the glass and sees a small hairline crack has started to appear at one corner of the exterior glass. She’s not sure how much time they have before the double glazed window breaks under pressure and she doesn’t want to wait to find out.
“Hmm, Maya? .. Help?”
Maya turns back and she is momentarily distracted by the black lacy undergarments that are in stark contrast to the expanse of pale skin. Being half submerged makes it extremely hard to put on the suit and Carina is struggling. Helping to hold Carina’s hand to make sure she doesn't fall wouldn’t help and they need to move fast. “Doc, turn around. I’m going to hold you from behind and you will float your legs up and pull the suit, ok?”. Carina nods and Maya gets into position. She wraps her hand around Carina’s waist, very well aware how intimate the position is. She lifts the Doctor slightly, letting the water carry some of the weight while Carina wrangles the suit up her legs. Once Carina finds her footing again, she quickly pulls the sleeves up her arms and Maya zip-ups the suit. “How does it feel?”, Maya asks.
Turning back to face Maya, Carina pulls at the neck opening of the wetsuit and says “A little bit snug and still cold”. She tucks her hand under her arms.
Maya smiles at her and gives her arms a quick rub. “It takes a bit of time but your body heat will warm the water trapped between the suit and your skin to warm you up. Put this on and after that, lean against the seat and lift your leg up. I’ll put the booties on for you”. Maya waits for Carina to put on the gloves and even though she knows that Carina can put the booties on herself but it’s faster this way. There's less risk of Carina falling into the water and getting fully drenched again before the need to do so.
Once that’s done, Maya asks “Are you good? I need to speak to Kilan for a while”. Carina nods. Giving a slight squeeze to Carina’s arm, Maya wades through the water, back to the door opening where two more divers ,Carter and Adams just appeared.
Both Maya and Kilan have been following their progress from the constant updates received through their earpiece. With Kilan now by her side, all four divers have a quick discussion on the best way to proceed to bring the survivors out. They decide to have three divers including Kilan to escort Anna out when Kilan adds that he wasn’t confident that she will stay calm during the dive out. Anna will be tethered to Kilan via her harness, Carter to flank her and Adams to lead the way. Since the current has picked up, they will drift dive following the current direction and exit on the opposite side from their entry point. Adams will also be laying out guide lines for the next extraction. Maya will wait for her back-up divers to arrive and for the first extraction team to surface so that the guide lines will be secured to the inflatable boat. They all understand that the next step in the extraction process is very delicate and has to be done carefully and time is of the essence.
With the decision made, Maya and Kilan quickly get to work. Despite Anna getting more agitated as they went along, they didn’t slow down.
Maya stands close to the door opening after they left, listening intently to the chatters of the extraction team reporting before setting into motion in preparing Carina. “Ok Doc, your turn”, she smiles sensing that the Doctor is feeling anxious. “Why don’t you get up here”, Maya indicating the compartment for Carina to sit.
“No, no. I’m fine. Just tell me what is going to happen. I know there are some things you guys left out when Kilan explains things to Anna”. Carina states, her hands suddenly more animated. “How much time do we have? Look, look at the water! It is higher now, no?". She gestures wildly and starts to pace in the small space.
Maya furrows her brow and studies the Doctor. She has seen this so many times, but she is surprised that it took this long for the Doctor to lose her composure. “Hey, hey… hey, Doc?” Maya says gently and takes two long strides to stand in front of her. She takes hold of Carina’s hand and pulls her slightly before Carina can step back. She waits until Carina finally looks at her.
“I am scared”, Carina finally says in a small voice.
Maya is not sure what makes her pull Carina into a hug. She has comforted many people in crisis, in her line of work. The most she would do to comfort them is to hold their hands or a hand on their back but never had she felt the need to extend herself beyond that. But with the Doctor, it just feels right and by the way Carina tries to hide her face in her neck and hold her tight, it is the right move. “You have the right to be scared. This is a scary situation. I’ll be worried if you aren’t”, she added gently.
Maya pulls back after she hears a soft thank you coming from the Doctor only to see Carina looking slightly sheepish. “Hey, it really is ok and I promise you, we are going to get out of here”. Maya ducks her head slightly to catch Carina’s eyes and only moves back slightly after she spies a half smile coming from the woman. “Were you keeping it all together for Anna’s sake?” Maya asks, although she thinks she already knows the answer. Seeing the corner of the Doctor’s mouth quirked up, confirms her suspicion. “You are a very good person, Doctor” Maya says before pulling Carina to move towards where her gears are floating.
“Carina, call me Carina”.
“Carina. Come on, we need to finish gearing you up”
Like Anna, Maya secures the harness to Carina and walks her through everything that she is doing. “This harness…” Maya once again tugs the fluorescent yellow straps, triple checking that it is secure. “You will be tethered to me all the way until we reach the surface. It’s for safety and also the fact that your full face mask will be connected to my second tank”, she pointed to her BCD. “This mask allows you to breathe normally through your nose and you will be able to communicate with me at all times.” Maya looks up to find Carina scrutinising the mask. “Carina?”
“What if the mask leaks?” Worried brown eyes search Maya’s face.
“Most of the time when a mask leaks is because hair gets caught in the seal and we are going to make sure that doesn’t happen. Other than that, it is actually very difficult to flood the mask”. She explains gently, leaving out the more technical reasons why a mask would leak. Carina gives small nods, not entirely convinced but it is enough for now.
Maya hears a crackle in her earpiece before she hears Lopez's voice. “Bishop, you need to hang tight for a bit. We are having some difficulties in getting the divers to you”.
“Copy that”, Maya replies leaving out the part that they were running out of time. She didn’t want her communication with Lopez to alarm Carina when the Doctor could only hear one sided conversation. Maya would prefer to explain to Carina first then only report to Lopez.
Suddenly, a long metallic groan reverberates around them and the floor beneath shifts. "Maya!", Carina moves closer to the diver and grabs her arm. Maya looks around them. A few large bubbles race to the surface from the door opening along with gushes of water, further alarming Carina. They now find themselves in chest deep water, a significant increase from when she arrived. The small stream of water from the window above them is a cascading waterfall.
"It’s ok, it's ok, we are ok”, Maya tries to calm Carina when the grip on her arm gets stronger.
“Lopez? What’s going on? ...... Yea, we are ok…….ok………….. ok…. not an option…no, I’ll get back to you in a few”. Maya replies calmly and turns back to Carina. “Ok, they are thinking that there is a slight dip in the ridge and the ferry tilted into it. They are still trying to get confirmation”.
“In the meantime, let’s continue. You will need to put this on too”, Maya holds up a diving hood only to realise that Carina’s eyes have narrowed looking at her closely.
“There is something that you left out”, Carina states.
Maya is slightly taken aback that Carina can read her so easily. In her line of work, especially during a rescue, she doesn’t divulge all the information or risks involved, especially not to the person being rescued. First responders have learned early in their career to adopt a professional facade no matter how dire the situation is, and this situation is no different than the rest. Either Carina is very perceptive or Maya needs to up her game in schooling her expression. She narrowed her eyes, mirroring Carina’s look but relented after a beat. “They are worried about hull integrity and are pulling the divers out for now, until they know more”. Maya wasn’t worried that Carina will lose her composure, she has seen how Carina handles herself. The way she ranted earlier, was nothing compared to what Maya has seen. She left out the information simply because it doesn’t affect her plans. She’s extracting Carina as soon as she finishes going over the details. They both go, or they both stay. There is no way Maya is leaving without Carina.
“You have to go,”.
Maya's professional facade slips momentarily when she catches the waver at the end of the Doctor’s voice. It breaks Maya’s heart that Carina thinks that she will be left behind. Taking hold of both of the Doctor’s hands, she looks intently into the brown eyes. “Carina,... I’m not going anywhere, not without you”. Maya playfully hooks her finger on one of the many 'D” Ring on the harness. “You kinda stuck with me”, she smiles, trying to lighten the situation. “Okay?" She waits for Carina to nod and she gets to work.
"We will dive through this door, towards the open deck and out the bow. From there, we will follow the guide line that Adams have laid for us right up to the surface", Maya explains methodologically.
"Ok, that sounds… doable", Carina says, psyching herself up.
"It is. But there are some things I need you to know. Down there and outside, the water is really murky. We won't be able to see beyond close to a metre. So we are going to move slowly and make sure we avoid anything that is floating in the water". Maya stops for a bit until she sees Carina nodding to indicate for her to continue.
"I won't lie to you, there would be some things down there that might be scary. This is a rescue mission. We are looking for survivors…..But, not everyone survives" Maya speaks slowly over the grim subject. "And we might see them". Maya knows as a doctor, Carina would have seen her share of dead bodies, but bodies that have been submerged underwater, it's different. Having suddenly bump into one, will shock anyone to their core. She sees Carina take a deep breath trying to calm her nerves.
"Okay….I … okay", Carina is lost for words.
Maya nods and continues. " Out in the open deck and beyond, the current is strong but just streamline your body and let the current move you, don't fight it. I have you, I'll be right beside you, and I will navigate us. We will need to do a safety stop between 3 to 5 minutes about 5 metres below the surface. During that time, just relax your body and hold on to me"
"Safety stop?" Carina interrupts Maya. Her face quizzical and not liking the idea of stopping anywhere but the surface.
"It allows us to decompress during that stop,.. hmm.. off-gassing the excess nitrogen that builds up in our body during diving". Maya explains.
"Oh, to prevent the bends", Carina states. Maya nods, happy that the Doctor is quick to understand.
With both of them geared up, Maya holds both of Carina’s arms and slowly pulls her down to kneel in the small space. Fully submerging both of them as a trial run before the actual dive.
"Ok? Just breathe in… and out… in…. out", she guides Carina. "Breathe normally, don't hold your breath. How's your mask?"
Carina touched her mask for a while before grabbing Maya’s arm again. "I think it's ok. It's… more comfortable than I expect" .
Even though Carina can’t see, Maya smiles. "It is and it gives you better protection too". This one time practice before the actual dive is for Carina to trust her gears and if there are any issues, Maya can attend to it above water.
They resurface in the small room. Maya gives a quick update to Lopez, checks their gears again and turns to the Doctor who is visibly nervous. "Ready?" Maya asks.
"No, but I really would like to get out of here". Carina says and gives a nervous chuckle and feels Maya tightens her grip on her hand in a comforting gesture. One last glance around the inundated room, she allows herself to be pulled for the first dive of her life.
"Are you ok?" Maya checks, looking at the woman beside her. The vice grip Carina has on her arm, never relents.
"Yea…yea.. I’m ok", Carina nods to Maya before turning to look at the limited view in front of her, afforded only by their torch light.
"So… Deluca.. What is that? Italian?" Maya asks, making small conversation, glancing again at the Doctor but at the same time keeping a close eye on their surroundings.
"...Hmm… yes. I'm Italian" Carina replies slowly, distracted and anxious. Being surrounded by dark cold waters, seeing small wriggling things in the murky water where the light shines and whether it is just a trick of mind, she keeps seeing something moving in her peripheral vision, but when she turns, it's nothing but darkness. People talk about the feeling of weightlessness being underwater but she feels far from it. At times she feels as though she's floating up like a balloon and at times sinking like she weighs a ton or careening off or bumping into the diver next to her. She is struggling. The only thing anchoring her is the gentle hand guiding her.
“Which part?”. Maya asks. She knows by the way the doctor’s seem to be looking everywhere and sometimes jerking her head to look to her right, Carina is nervous. They are approaching the door that leads to the open deck where they will start to drift dive. Regardless of what Maya has informed the Doctor prior to the dive, non-divers' instinct is always to fight against the current. It is taxing on the body and can quickly escalate into a distressed situation.
Maya looks down to see her tank pressure gauge when she hears a scream coming through her ear piece. Her hand being pulled roughly and her body slams hard into the woman next to her, followed by a hard kick to her leg. She quickly turns to see Carina thrashing wildly in the water trying to get away from whatever that frightens her. With quick reflex, Maya grabs hold of Carina’s arm before she careens away and pulls the Doctor to face her.
"Hey, hey, Carina. … Carina!" A firm grip to both forearms, Maya tries to make Carina to look at her and stall her wild movements. "Carina, look at me, look at me. You are ok, you ok” Carina still has the wild look but her movements are more restless rather than the violent jerking. Hovering in the world of isolation, Maya pulls her closer, worried that the Doctor might tear away from her. "Carina, look at me, eyes only on me". She chases after Carina’s gaze and when Carina finally looks at her, she continues " You are ok, I've got you, you are ok. Breathe". Carina tries to look away but Maya ducks to follow her eyes, she doesn’t allow Carina to break eye contact. "Look at me", she says gently. "Breathe… that's right,... in and out….in… ". One hand holding Carina, the other hand swipes nearer to the regulator to imitate breathing in and swipes out for exhaling for Carina to follow. Carina’s eyes dart between looking at the hand gesturing and Maya’s blue eyes. When the Doctor seems calmer and the bubbles coming out of her regulator at an even pace, Maya does a cursory glance to see if the woman hurt herself anywhere and if her gears are all intact. Noting nothing is amiss, Maya scrutinises the Doctor’s face. "Ok?" Both of Maya’s hands once again on the other woman’s forearm, anchoring her both emotionally and physically.
The Doctor squeezes her eyes tight as if trying to make sense of what she saw and when she opens her eyes, she sees Maya concerned. "I…I’m…sorry. I thought I saw something there", Carina tries to turn to look at what she saw earlier, wondering if her mind was playing tricks. The grip on her arm stays firm, stopping her from turning. "Carina, … don't " the voice gentle. She turns back to look into the blue eyes, and Maya just shakes her head, eyes solemn. Maya caught a glimpse of what spooked her when she was trying to calm Carina earlier. Vacant eyes staring, hair wildly floating around the pale face, hand fluttering as if reaching out from the void; another fallen. She doesn't want Carina to see that again.
"Oh…..No!" Carina's voice chokes and eyes widen in realisation. She tries to turn again to see if what Maya said is true. That the scary creature she thought she saw earlier was someone's loved ones. "No… no", a sob escapes her. Tears fill her eyes and she tries to swipe it away but Maya is quick to capture her hand before she knocks on her mask.
"Carina, look at me. There's nothing we can do. We have to go" the diver's voice gentle, imploring.
"B.. but.. we can't leave her here!. Her family will be waiting".
"Another team will come for her. They will get her back to her family. We have to go". Maya once again is in awe of the Doctor. Always putting others first before her own interest even in this environment where her own life is on the line. She waits for the downcast eyes to look at her and when Carina gives her a tired nod, she says " Eyes on me, ok. Only on me. Don't look there". Little of what she knows of Carina, she can imagine the Doctor is feeling guilty for not being able to do more. The temptation to look will be too strong and even though she knows Carina has seen the body, she doesn’t want that image to be reinforced. It wouldn't do her any good.
Maya guides them closer to the open deck. "Out there.." , she motions with her head, "Remember, don't fight the current. Just go with it and hang on to me. I won't let you go". Leading Carina by the elbow, Maya keeps a close eye on the Doctor. The nervous, frightened energy that exudes from Carina earlier has been replaced by grief and somehow this disturbs Maya more.
As soon as they are out in the open deck, both of them are pushed by the current to the side, with Maya taking the brunt of it, sheltering Carina. “Maya?” Carina’s voice sounds alarmed, at seeing how fast they are moving. The only way she knows they are going the right way is by looking at the bright guide rope that disappears into the murky waters.
“It’s ok, we are ok. Just hold on to me” comes the calm voice through her earpiece. Hearing Maya's soothing voice, alley’s Carina’s fear slightly. Maya has locked her arm around Carina’s elbow guiding them. Carina is not sure how long they were drift diving and despite trying to heed to Maya’s advice, her body is tense. If earlier in the ferry she was struggling, now out in the open water with the current sweeping them, it is a battle to maintain her buoyancy and fight the fear that they won't be pushed into the abyss. After some time, she feels they are slowing down.
“The current is slightly weaker here”, Maya says. “We are getting nearer”. The diver checks again her dive comp on her wrist and turns, the edges of her eyes crinkle slightly, the only indicator she is smiling at Carina. "Are you ok?", she asks.
“Yea, I am ok”, Carina says.
Maya can hear the fatigue in the Doctor’s voice but there is nothing much that she can do right now. “Which hospital are you working at?”
Carina glances over at Maya, not wanting to let the guide rope out of sight. The only thing in her direct line of sight that has colour and she's not even sure anymore which way is up or down. "Grey Sloan".
"Oh, that's just like 2 blocks away from me" comes a reply that sounds almost cheery.
Carina doesn't understand how Maya can be lively right now. They have been diving for what almost seems like forever and despite Maya saying that they were nearer, they are still there; underwater, struggling, or at least she is struggling. To her, it looks the same, confined in the world of black and white from the beginning until now.
She turns to look at the diver by her side and sees the blue eyes staring back at her, looking calm. But she doesn't have the energy to ask or comprehend beyond simple facts. So, she nods.
"What kind of a doctor are you?"
Carina glances at the diver and turns back to look at the rope. "I’m an OB", she answers, distracted. She is tired but unless her mind is playing tricks on her again, Carina doesn't think that they are moving or drifting if she remembers the term Maya used earlier.
"Oh, wow! Why OB? comes a curious reply.
This time, Carina doesn't take her eyes off the rope. "I… are we …not drifting anymore? " The rope is moving, more like dancing but other than that, it is almost vertical rather than slanting
Maya is glad that Carina actually notices. She has been observing the Doctor very closely to see if she suffers any kind of discomfort or decrease in alertness. "Yes, we are doing our safety stop right now”. With one arm still hooked to the inside of Carina’s elbow and Maya looked at her dive comp to confirm. “And we are approaching the 5 minute mark. We can surface very very soon!”. The crinkle around the blue eyes appears again. Carina looks heavenward, and despite knowing she’s nearer to the surface, it looks insurmountable when there is nothing to see. She looks down to the void and involuntary shudders. She feels Maya’s other hand slowly rubs her arm, reassuring her before she hears “Ready?” and she can only nod tiredly to the diver.
Maya extends one of her hands up above her head and slowly fins both of them up. If not for the mask, Carina thinks the diver looks very much like Superman in that pose. Once they breach the surface, before Carina can get a chance to glance at the sky above, she is being jostled by the strong waves pushing her in every direction including back down into the abyss. Fighting the waves, her arms lose their strength to hang on to Maya but the diver grip on her is steadfast. Above the sound of the crashing waves, she hears Maya’s voice. “Carina,... Carina! I got you. I've got you! Just float on your back and I will pull you in”. She doesn’t know what the last sentence means and she just didn’t have it in her anymore to power through but she choked back on a sob upon hearing those three words."I got you".
She barely remembers the feeling of being tugged, pulled and finally situated near the bow of the rescue boat. She sits in a daze, her focus slowly returns when she feels someone helping to take her mask off and wrapping a blanket around her shoulder. Her own arms feel like lead as she pulls off her hood and gloves. Looking over the shoulder of the person helping her, she sees the horizon, with the last remnants of the sun afterglow. The world seems so different than when she left the hospital earlier, it didn't seem real to her. She wasn't sure that she was ever going to feel wind in her face or breathe the fresh air again but here she is. Looking around, her senses slowly come back alive. She feels the spray of the waves crashing hitting her exposed face, taste the salt on her lips and she feels the boat beneath her rocking. She turns to follow the voices coming from her right and she sees the person helping her earlier securing Maya’s gears. The diver in question is walking towards her and this time, she can see her full smile.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Maya asks, sitting back on her heels with one arm steadying herself against the boat. Carina looks into the blue eyes for a long time before she hurls herself into the surprised diver, finally letting all the emotions she's been holding back rise to the surface. She barely registers the arms that encircle her body, holding her, slowly pulling back the blanket that has dropped and wrapping it back around her, warding off the cold. Maya’s comforting words slowly pull her out of her overwhelming emotions, soothing and calming her. "I’m sorry", she whispers.
Maya slowly pulls herself back while Carina quickly pulls her hand back to her lap looking down. "You keep saying that a lot today", a soft voice gently nudged her to look up. "Carina, there's nothing to apologise for. What you are feeling is perfectly normal. You just went through an ordeal and it's a lot to process."
"I know, it's just…I didn't mean to break down like that. Cry on your shoulder." Carina says sheepishly, looking up to see the woman in front of her smile, before it turns into a cheeky grin.
"It's ok, Doc. I got a waterproof shoulder!" Maya makes a show of her suit, still clad in her red drysuit. She knows her attempt at a joke is lame but she wants to lighten the situation. Carina seems to be self conscious and she just wants to put the Doctor at ease.
"Bishop! Get ready" call out the person who helped Carina earlier.
Maya peeks over the bow and turns to Carina. "We are reaching the dock". She helps Carina to stand and hold her steady as the boat slows down.
As Maya helps Carina cross over the landing, she waves at the waiting Andy and Vic. Station 19 has finally been called in, "Ok, Carina. These are Andy and Vic. They are going to take you to the hospital, .. and here is where I say my goodbyes. You take care, ok." Maya smiles but all she gets from the Doctor is furrowed brow and a quizzical look. The hand that is on her forearm tightens its grip for a while before the Doctor nods.
"Thank you!" Carina says softly. She is grateful to the diver and she wishes that she can properly show her gratitude instead of quick goodbyes. She takes two steps towards Andy and Vic before she turns and calls out to the diver about to jump back into the boat.
"Maya!” Can you let me know if the woman … if she gets to go home to her family?" They both know who she's talking about.
"I will", Maya nods and starts to turn.
"Maya!" Carina calls out again and when she sees the blue eyes on her, she continues, "Be careful". This time, she’s rewarded by a toothy grin that she can’t help but to reciprocate.
"I will! Thanks!". With a wave, Maya jumps into the boat.