Chapter Three
Carina helps Maya get into the car, slightly laying back her seat so her wife can rest on the short drive to the hospital.
She tries to remain calm, but between Maya's shortness of breath and lethargy, she's extremely worried.
The sun was rising in the horizon, it being the only source of light as Carina walks around the car, mindful to not slip on ice or wet snow as she makes her way to the driver's side.
Quickly sliding into the vehicle, Carina turns on the ignition, rubbing her cold hands together in an attempt to warm them up.
She turns her head to the side, glancing at her wife, who's eyes are closed, leaning heavily against the back of the seat. It still appeared that she was focusing especially hard on taking deep breaths.
And with all the rush out of the apartment, Carina completely forgot to get Maya into a winter coat, leaving her in just a tank top and a pair of shorts amidst near freezing temperatures.
She looks over her shoulder at the backseat, thanking whoever it was that left a blanket strewn across the seats. Carina never has a use for a blanket in her car, but she thanks her lucky stars as she pulls the fuzzy material towards her, gently throwing it overtop of her wife to help cover her up and hopefully keep her warm.
Although, Carina doesn't think Maya will have any trouble with staying warm given her extremely high fever.
"Here you go, bambina," Carina says gently as she spreads the blanket out to cover Maya from her shoulders down.
Without waiting any further, Carina promptly pulls out of the apartment complex parking lot, beginning the short five minute drive to Grey Sloan.
"Are you still having trouble breathing?" Carina asks, wanting to keep Maya awake more than anything, especially since she's showing signs of difficulty breathing.
"A little," Maya coughs, placing a hand on her chest underneath her blanket. "My chest is tight."
"Okay," Carina replies, keeping mental note of all her symptoms so she will be able to relay them to the doctor, given that Maya's basically out of it. "We're almost there."
"Almost where?" Maya questions sleepily and Carina tries to not get too worried over her question, knowing that it's probably her high fever or exhaustion that's causing her delirium.
"The hospital, bellina," Carina answers, wishing she could take Maya's hand into her own, wanting that physical comfort not only for Maya, but for herself. However, with the bad roads, she figures that keeping both hands on the wheel is safer.
By the time they pull up at the hospital, Carina helps Maya out of the car, the blonde deciding to take the blanket with her.
A particularly cool breeze flows past the two of them, reminding Carina that she also forgot a jacket, but at least she has on pants and a sweatshirt, even if those pants are pajama pants.
Carina leads Maya by the hand into the hospital entrance, immediately being met by Jo who happened to be walking by the doors at the same time as they arrived.
"Carina? What's going on?" Jo asks curiously as she picks up on how Maya's tiredly leaning against Carina's side.
"Maya's sick. She has a really high fever and difficultly breathing. She needs a bed," Carina informs firmly, getting straight to the point. She can practically feels the heat radiating off of Maya like a furnace, as if they hadn't just walked outside in subzero temperatures.
"Okay," Jo replies, switching from friendly to serious in a matter of seconds. "Follow me," she states as she turns around, walking through the hallways and stopping at a closed door. She pushes open the door, leaving an empty room with a bed inside.
"Grazie," Carina responds as she walks Maya into the room, guiding her into bed. Jo follows behind, grabbing a thermometer and rushing over to Maya's bedside.
Holding the medical device over her forehead, it beeps once, revealing a bright red screen. Jo's face remains neutral as she memorizes the number, writing it down on her chart.
"What is it?" Carina asks, wanting to know if it went down from the last time she checked.
"104.2 °F (40.1 °C)" Jo responds and Carina's jaw drops. "It's very high, but we will get it down," she assures. "I want to put her on an IV and an oxygen mask to help her breathing."
Carina pulls over a chair from the corner of the room, sitting down close to Maya's side. She rests the palm of her hand against her wife's forehead, smoothing back blonde hair in a soothing motion. She can feel the heat of her skin against her hand.
She lifts her hand momentarily as Jo slips a mask around her head, resting it over her nose and mouth as if supplies much needed oxygen.
"We can go home, Carina. I'm fine," Maya attempts to persuade, almost like she wasn't even the one to suggest going to the hospital in the first place.
"No, bambina. You're very sick. You need to get some tests done," Carina states calmly, using her free hand to take Maya's into her own, her thumb rubbing circles against silky smooth skin.
"Is she keeping food and fluids down?" Jo asks and Carina nods, knowing the one time she threw up was from overexertion. "What are her symptoms?"
"I originally thought she had strep throat because she had a sore throat, a fever, body aches, chills, and pretty much any other symptom of strep," Carina explains. "But now i'm not so sure with her breathing problems and cough."
"It could still be strep throat that turned into an infection," Jo declares. "I want to get a swab test, a blood test, and a chest x-ray."
Before doing anything, Jo sets Maya up with an IV, the blonde wincing at the needle piercing through her skin. She then leaves the room to get all the supplies she needs.
"I'm sorry," Maya whispers and Carina shakes her head wondering what she could possibly be apologizing for. Though, she's aware that Maya's probably having a lot of thoughts that are all over the place, especially some about her childhood.
Maya wasn't allowed to get sick growing up. Everyone gets sick, but Maya couldn't show it. There were no sick days for her.
Carina imagines that Maya's feeling a lot of guilt for being sick right now, even if it's completely out of her control.
"Don't apologize, Maya. You have nothing to be sorry for," Carina states firmly, wanting to make sure she knows that. "We are going to get you the help you need. I'm sorry I didn't take you in sooner."
Maybe if she would've brought Maya to the hospital earlier than she had, the possible strep wouldn't have turned into anything serious.
Although, it's only been a little over twenty four hours. She figured that she would've had more time and that Maya would've been okay for a couple of days.
Yet, she was wrong and now Maya's paying the price for her poor decision making.
"It's not your fault," Maya whispers, feeling absolutely terrible.
As Carina opens her mouth to speak, Jo returns into the room with needles, a blood vial, a few swap sticks, and a portable x-ray machine.
"Okay, which one's first?" Jo asks overly enthusiastic, wanting to give Maya the choice, knowing that absolutely none of these tests are particularly fun.
Maya simply shrugs, feeling completely miserable. Quite frankly, she doesn't care what Jo does first, she just wants her to do something that will help make her feel better.
There's a knock on the door before a nurse walks in, handing Jo a blanket. The doctor thanks the woman as she leaves, leading Jo to place the material overtop of Maya's body.
The coolness of the blanket hits her immediately, causing her to shiver. Carina rubs her hand up and down Maya's arm, almost like she's attempting to warm her up, even though her body's practically on fire.
"It's a cool blanket which will hopefully help bring your fever down a little," Jo explains and Maya nods, having figured that was the purpose.
"It's freezing," Maya mumbles, not happy with the use of the blanket, but aware that it will probably help, so she sucks it up.
Carina sets a hand on the material, noting that it's not extremely cold, only enough to lower Maya's internal body temperature. Although to Maya, it probably feels a lot colder than it actually is.
"I know. I'm sorry. You might only need to have it on for a few minutes to give yourself a chance to cool down a little," Jo assures. "How about a blood test first?"
"Okay," Maya mutters, sniffling a little before it turns to full blown coughs.
"Are you still having trouble breathing, Maya?" Jo asks and Maya merely nods, causing Carina's hand to find her wife's as Jo turns the oxygen level up on her mask some more.
Jo sets up the vials and needles, finding Maya's free arm, the one not occupied with Carina holding her hand. She searches for a vain, sliding the needle into her hand.
Maya winces, almost retracting her hand before remembering that there's a needle connected to a tube currently inside her skin. She would much rather stay still and let Jo do her job so she can remove the needle as quick as possible.
"I feel dizzy," Maya mumbles and Carina is quick to reach for the juice box that was left on the table, bringing the straw to her lips.
Maya takes a few sips, frowning at the uncomfortable feeling of the citrus making contact with her raw throat.
"Buono?" Carina questions once Maya finishes taking a few sips. Maya nods and the brunette places the drink back on the table, her free hand finding Maya's forehead, searching for a fever.
She finds that Maya's just as warm as she was a few minutes ago, causing her to sigh.
"Okay, now time for the strep test," Jo announces, leading Maya to realize that she already finished drawing her blood without her knowing. "Can you sit up for me?"
Maya groans, her whole body so achy and tired that even the thought of sitting up could bring her to her knees. However, Jo's giving her a look that she knows she can't argue against. This is mandatory.
"Come on, bambina," Carina soothes as she helps guide Maya up into a sitting position, fluffing her pillows behind her to help bring her some comfort.
"I haven't had a strep test in so long," Maya admits, the fever making her feel a little loopy. "My dad wouldn't let me. He said it was a waste of time and money," she whimpers a little, starting to get unsettled.
Picking up on Maya's discomfort, Carina slides into bed next to the blonde, aware that there's room for another body. She wraps her arm around Maya's shoulder, holding her close as she whispers calming words into her ear.
"It will be quick," Jo promises. "I just need to swab the back of your throat a few times and that's it."
Maya nods, leaning her exhausted figure into Carina's side as the brunette rubs her hand up and down Maya's arm.
"Can you open your mouth?" Jo asks and Maya does what she says, momentarily pulling down her oxygen mask. The doctor quickly, but gently, shoves the stick into her mouth, going to the back of her throat and swiping the area a few times before withdrawing her hand.
Maya breaks out into a fit of coughs, leading Carina to pull her mask back over her nose and mouth, that same hand moving to rub circles against her back.
"Sorry. That's the worst part. But if it's positive we will be able to put you on some antibiotics that will make you feel better in no time," Jo declares.
Maya feels tears spring into her eyes as she rests her head on Carina's shoulder. She hates being here. At the hospital where she's the center attention, being pricked and poked. She just wants to be in bed, at home.
"Can we get a quick x-ray? Then i'll be on my way," Jo states softly and Maya sinks down onto her back, wishing she could've stayed closer in Carina's embrace and comfort.
Jo quickly scans her lungs and chest, seeing the telltale signs of pneumonia, causing her to sigh.
"What? What's wrong?" Carina question's nervously, not enjoying the sound that just came from her coworker.
"Oh nothing, sorry. I'm seeing clear signs of pneumonia," Jo replies, calming Carina down slightly. "I want to get her on some antibiotics to help with the infection."
Carina nods, understanding Jo's diagnoses.
The doctor moves around the room, grabbing an otoscope off of the wall, going back to her patient.
"Can I just take a look in your ears?" Jo double checks and Maya silently nods. Jo uses the medical tool to look into both her right and left ears, making a note on her chart.
"It appears that you also have an ear infection in your right ear. Your left, on the other hand, looks okay," Jo supplies and Carina holds Maya closer, wishing there was something she could do to take all this pain away from her wife.
"This will also be treated with some antibiotics," Jo adds. "I'm going to go run your strep test and blood test and then push some antibiotics into your IV."
"Grazie, Jo," Carina says, trying to smile, although she's sure that it comes off forced. She just can't pretend that she's happy right now. Her poor wife is so sick.
"Of course," Jo replies, grinning as she leaves the room to go do as she announced.
"How are you feeling, bella?" Carina asks, knowing that her answer can't be good.
"Oh I feel great. Never better," Maya responds sarcastically, causing Carina to hold back a chuckle. She's glad that her wife appears to still have some of her humor in tact.
"Maybe with some medicine you'll start to feel better," Carina reassures as she scoots closer to Maya's side, allowing the blonde to lay her head on her chest.
"I'm sorry if I get you sick," Maya whispers as she closes her eyes, starting to feel like she might need a nap. She barely slept last night anyway.
"Shhh. Don't worry about that," Carina states softly as she runs her fingers through her hair, lightly scratching at her scalp, causing Maya to hum at the feeling.
"Can I take this off?" Maya asks, gesturing to her oxygen mask. Her breathing feels a little better and it's hard to get comfortable with it on.
"Are you breathing okay?" Carina questions and Maya nods. "Then you can take it off," she answers, knowing that she'll have to keep an eye on her wife to make sure she's really telling the truth.
Maya pulls the mask up and off her face, handing it to Carina, who places it on the table nearby. She then wordlessly takes Maya's cool blanket that has somehow made its way to the end of the bed, crumpled up and in a pile, tucking it back over top of Maya's body.
Maya shivers at the familiar chill, huffing in annoyance that she has to even use the cool blanket in the first place.
Seeing this, Carina's hand finds Maya's hair again, trying to lull her into a much calmer state. "Go to sleep, tesoro," she soothes and Maya listens to her words, closing her eyes.
Her breaths are still sharp inhales, but it sounds more like a stuffy nose than difficulty breathing.
Eventually, Maya's breathing evens out, signaling that she's asleep. The small snores that fall from her mouth are an added sign.
Carina also decides that now would be the perfect opportunity to get some rest too, knowing that she has been up more than she's been awake, taking care of her sick wife.
Closing her eyes, she allows herself to fall into a light sleep.
A knock on the door is enough to walk Carina up. She was in a state between not fully asleep but not completely awake, floating between the conscious and unconscious.
Amelia sticks her head through the door, walking further into the room as Carina signals that she needs to be quiet since Maya's still sleeping.
Carina's aware that rest is the best thing for Maya right now. The more sleep she gets, the better.
"Hey," Amelia whispers. "I heard that you guys were here and that Maya's sick. How is she doing?"
Carina hums, nodding to confirm that what Amelia said was true. "She has a high fever, pneumonia, an ear infection, and possibly strep throat," she answers.
"Wow," Amelia states. "That's a lot."
"Sí," Carina agrees. "You know Maya, she never does things small. It could've just been strep, but I think it turned into multiple infections."
Amelia nods, holding up two small containers from the hospital cafeteria. "I brought you both some soup," she explains and Carina smiles.
"Grazie," Carina replies gratefully. "That's good actually. Maya hasn't eaten much in the last twenty four hours."
"And what about you?" Amelia asks, quirking her eyebrow as Carina sighs, knowing she's been caught. She shouldn't lie her way out of this.
"I've been...managing," Carina answers and Amelia shoots her a knowing look. "Look, Maya's sick, like really sick. She's my priority," she states defensively.
"You can still look after her, you just need to make sure that you're looking after yourself too," Amelia declares as Carina rolls her eyes, even though she knows her friend is right.
"It's okay," Amelia reassures, walking closer to her side. "Just make sure you eat this," she orders, handing Carina one container of soup, along with a plastic spoon. She places the other bowl and spoon on the table next to the bed.
Amelia takes a quick step back and Carina shoots her a questioning look, wondering why she did that. "I would rather not get sick," she supplies.
"You're literally a doctor," Carina retorts, knowing that Amelia is around germs all day.
"A brain doctor," Amelia states. "Not a pneumonia doctor," she jokes.
"And i'm an OB," Carina declares, gesturing to the woman laying almost directly on top of her. Germs and all.
"Yes, but she's your wife. You can get all snotted on. That's what you signed up for," Amelia playfully argues, earning a small smile from the brunette.
"She's not that snotty," Carina defends quietly, causing Amelia to laugh.
"Maybe not. But she's definitely germy," Amelia adds. "How has she been? I know Maya Bishop doesn't get sick," she says, changing the topic slightly.
"Not too bad actually," Carina answers, looking down at her wife in her arms, seeing how messy her hair is, causing her to gently attempt at smoothing it out. "I think she's just feeling so sick that she can't even pretend that she's not."
"She just stayed home willingly? You didn't have to give her a sedative?" Amelia asks in shock, throwing in a little joke, acknowledging that it would sometimes go to the lengths where giving Maya a sedative in order to make sure she stays put would make sense.
"Pretty much," Carina nods. "She got called in early this morning because of the storm and she really wanted to go in, but I managed to convince her to stay home and rest."
"Good," Amelia replies.
"But it tells me that she's really not feeling well and that's hard to watch. The only thing that benefits me is that she's clingy when she's sick," Carina says with a smirk.
"It looks like it," Amelia responds, her eyes going to Maya's sleeping figure. There's a buzz coming from her pocket, causing her to pull the device out, sighing as she reads the screen. "I'm being paged. I have to go. Make sure you eat and I hope Maya feels better," she rambles off as she heads out the door.
Almost bumping into Jo on the way out of the room, Amelia says her apologies before sprinting down the hallways. Jo smiles at what happened as she walks into the room.
"I see she's getting some sleep," Jo points out and Carina nods. "That's good."
"Sí," Carina agrees. "Hopefully it will help her feel better."
"This should help too," Jo states as she holds up some antibiotic medication that will go in Maya's IV. "I'm still waiting on her strep results, but her blood test shows that she is currently fighting off an infection."
Jo supplies the antibiotics into Maya's IV bag, using a thermometer to retake her temperature afterwards.
"102.5 °F (39.2 °C)" Jo announces, reading off the number. "Much better than earlier."
Carina nods as she presses a small kiss to Maya's forehead, still feeling the heat against her lips, however it isn't as intense as it was a few hours ago.
"What are the side effects of an antibiotic?" Carina asks, already knowing the answer. Though, she just wants to be prepared.
"It's possible that she could be dizzy, nauseous, tired, and maybe even develop a rash, but that doesn't always happen," Jo answers.
"Okay," Carina replies.
"Let me know if she has any of those symptoms because we might be able to do something to help," Jo states and Carina nods. "Can I get you anything? Maybe something to eat?"
"Grazie, but Amelia brought Maya and I some soup," Carina answers.
"Perfect," Jo smiles. "I'll leave you two alone and be back with her strep results soon. Just continue to rest, maybe wake her up to get some food into her."
"Okay," Carina replies as Jo leaves the room. She turns her attention to the woman in her arms, wishing she didn't have to wake her because for the first time in days, she looks somewhat comfortable.
But all Maya's had to eat this morning was a popsicle a few hours prior and it's now midmorning. She needs something of substance to give her some energy.
"Maya," Carina whispers tenderly as she rubs her wife's back in small circles. "Come on, bambina. It's time to wake up."
Maya groans a little, eyes still closed, but squinted under the harsh light.
"I know. I'm sorry, but you need to eat," Carina explains. "Can you open your eyes?"
Blue eyes appear, blinking tiredly as she adjusts to her environment. Maya doesn't know if it's the fever or something else that's causing the loopy feeling.
"Amelia brought us some soup," Carina states as Maya merely nods, leaning against Carina's side.
"My body hurts," Maya whispers and Carina nods in understanding as her hand leaves her wife's back, using it to pick up one of the soup containers.
"I know, bellina," Carina soothes softly. "You just got some antibiotics so that might help take the body aches away."
Carina silently helps Maya into a sitting position, much to the blonde's dissatisfaction. She feels like she got ran over by a bus. Sitting up is not on her list of things she wants to be doing right now.
The brunette sets a tray on Maya's lap, the soup and juice sitting on top.
"I'm not hungry," Maya sighs, leading Carina to take her hand, rubbing in a back and forth motion with her thumb on the back.
"Just try and eat a little. You need some food in your stomach," Carina says, opening her own container of soup, using her spoon to bring the hot liquid to her mouth.
The soup tastes amazing going down her throat, leading her to realize that she really hasn't had much food either. At least, not as much as she thought.
Maya manages to eat half of the soup that was in her bowl, whereas Carina finished the whole thing.
Her chest wasn't as sore, leading her to lay down on her stomach as Carina rubbed her back, played with her hair, just really doing anything in her power to bring her wife some comfort.
Jo returns a few minutes later, confirming that Maya did in fact have strep throat and that she wanted to keep her in the hospital over night to monitor her fever before releasing her in the morning with medication.
The blonde was in an out of sleep over the course of the next few hours, the fatigue forming from the antibiotics and high fever making her absolutely exhausted.
Unfortunately, because of their rush to the hospital that morning, Carina didn't have much to do. There wasn't really anyone to talk to since Maya was mostly unconscious, and scrolling through work emails was exciting until it wasn't.
Nearing ten at night, Maya's breathing became more challenging, causing Carina to have to persuade her wife to get her to use the oxygen mask again, much to Maya's disappointment.
"I'm sweating so much," Maya points out, feeling extremely clammy and hot. It's either she's really cold or hot. No in between.
"That's good," Carina reassures her. "It might mean that your illness is starting to wear off.
"No, it doesn't feel like that," Maya states, shaking her head. "I feel like I have a high fever again."
With a frown at Maya's words, Carina brings her hand to her forehead, feeling the scorching skin against her palm, causing her to sigh.
She hits the nurses button, starting to believe that Maya's right. That she does have another high fever.
Maya flips over to her back, Carina laying on her side, leaning her head against her fist as she uses her elbow to hold herself up.
Looking down, she sees tears pooling in those beautiful blue eyes, a few of them spilling down her rosy cheeks. Carina wipes them away with her thumb, sadly smiling down at her wife.
"Don't cry," she whispers, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead, wishing she could actually kiss her, but the oxygen mask is making that a little difficult. "Va bene."
Instead of a nurse walking in, Jo returns to the room, coming to a stop in front of their bed.
"What's wrong?" Jo asks, directing her question to Carina, seeing that Maya's in tears and most likely not in the mood to talk.
"Can you check her temperature? She thinks it's high again," Carina states and Jo nods, grabbing the thermometer.
She holds the device up to her forehead, pushing the button and hearing a beep, revealing yet another red screen.
Jo frowns, making Carina's worries only grow as she looks at her for answers.
"What is it?" Carina asks nervously as Jo moves around the room, getting more medicine to go into Maya's IV to lower her fever.
"104.4 °F (40.2 °C)" Jo answers and Carina eyes nearly bulge out of her head. "A high grade fever."
"What?!" Carina questions. "Why is it that high?"
"It's okay. I run high fevers," Maya mumbles, but Carina doesn't pay her any attention, knowing that this isn't just a high fever. This is dangerous.
"I don't know why it's that high. It's most likely her body just trying to fight off multiple infections at once. I'm going to continue monitoring it to make sure it doesn't turn into something more and cause any complications," Jo explains, pushing some more medication into Maya's IV. "This should help lower it."
"Is it possible for her to take a bath? It might help lower her temperature," Carina asks, going into doctor mode, knowing the implications of a dangerously high fever.
"Sure. That sounds good," Jo agrees.
Luckily, Carina's perks of working at the hospital gave them a bigger room, one with a bathroom attached. There was a bathtub inside, along with a shower.
"Can you go turn on the water in the tub while I get her out of bed?" Carina asks, aware that getting Maya up is going to be a task easier said than done.
"Of course," Jo answers, going straight to the bathroom.
Once Carina hears the water running, she climbs out of bed, Maya's weak grip of her clothes not being enough strength to keep her there.
"Where are you going?" Maya rasps out, hinting to Carina that she’s completely oblivious as to what's going on.
Confusion is a symptom of a high fever.
"We need to get you in the bath, bambina. Your temperature is too high," Carina quickly explains, pulling off the cool blanket that isn't very cold anymore. It's more of a lukewarm temperature.
She makes a mental note to get Maya another one once she finishes her bath.
"Can you get up for me?" Carina asks softly, holding out her hands to give Maya extra assistance.
"I'm fine, Carina," Maya says quietly, trying to get her wife to believe her. "Can we go home?"
"Not tonight, tesoro," Carina simply answers. "You're really sick."
"But I feel okay," Maya argues. Her tone isn't harsh or firm, not even in the slightest. It's almost like she can't understand where Carina is coming from.
It's a scary sight for Carina to witness.
"You might feel okay, Maya, but you aren't. You're sick," Carina repeats. "Can you take a bath, for me?" She asks again, attempting to convince her enough to make a move to get up.
"Okay," Maya agrees, holding onto Carina's hands as the brunette pulls her up. Maya closes her eyes, adjusting to the feeling.
"Are you okay?" Carina asks with concern.
"Dizzy," Maya replies as she fights off the spell. She opens her eyes once her dizziness goes away, leading Carina to help guide her out of bed and onto her feet.
Carina clips Maya's IV before they walk slowly hand in hand toward the bathroom, Carina helping Maya sit down on the closed toilet lid.
The blonde wraps her arms around herself, her body shaking now that it's away from the warm bed and blankets.
Jo signals with a nods that the bath is ready and Carina nods back.
"Can you stay here for a second? I want to ask Jo something," Carina questions, feeling a little nervous about leaving Maya alone. Although, she won't be far, just a little out of her wife's earshot.
"Mhm," Maya nods.
"Don't move. I'll be right back," Carina orders as she temporarily leaves Maya's side, meeting Jo just right outside the bathroom.
"Okay, how bad is this?" Carina asks nervously, not even recognizing her wife because of how sick she is.
"It's not great, but i'm sure she'll be okay. I promise that I will monitor her closely. Like I said before, I think it's just her body fighting off multiple infections and if she's being truthful with her normally running high fevers, that could have something to do with this," Jo explains.
"But I don't understand," Carina sighs, rubbing her temples. She can feel a stress headache starting to form. "Maya's healthy. How does a healthy person get this sick from viral infections?"
"It just happens," Jo shrugs. "Healthy people get sick all the time."
"Not this sick. She's dangerously sick, Jo. I mean, we're in the hospital with sicknesses that most people are able to treat at home," Carina replies firmly.
"It will be okay, Carina," Jo states as she wraps her friend into a hug, knowing that she needs it. "Things happen. Maya's really sick, but she's going to be okay."
Carina wordlessly nods as she pulls away, rubbing her itchy, exhausted eyes. It's been such a busy, hectic day that it doesn't even feel like it's almost the middle of the night.
Jo leaves the room and Carina rejoins Maya in the bathroom, glad that Maya stayed put.
"Okay bambina, let's get you into the water," Carina says with a smile, trying to remain calm for Maya's sake, knowing that although she feels terrified, Maya probably feels ten times worse.
Carina helps Maya stand, sliding down her shorts and pulling her tank top over her head.
With one hand, Carina guides Maya into the tub, lowering her to a sitting position. The sick woman's body trembles as she wraps her arms around her legs, pulling her legs up to her chest.
"I'm sorry that you feel so sick," Carina declares quietly, cupping water in her hands and pouring it over Maya's head, lightly soaking her blonde hair.
"I want to go home," Maya confesses in a wavering voice and Carina so badly wishes she could wrap Maya up into a hug and take away all of her pain.
"Tomorrow," Carina reassures. "Then we can lay in bed and watch some movies while eating popsicles," she says with a small smile.
"I feel like i'm dying," Maya whispers and Carina quickly shakes her head.
"Shhh, don't say that," Carina replies quietly, pushing down the burning feeling in her throat with the want to cry. "It's just a little complication. You're okay."
Maya let's out a shaky breath before more tears spill down her cheeks. She attempts to hold down her tears, but with the feeling of Carina's placing a comforting hand on her bare back, it's too soft to keep any tears inside.
Her cries are silent as she practically hyperventilates. "I want to feel better," Maya cries and Carina nods, trying to find the right words.
"I know. I'm so sorry," Carina settles on saying, knowing that it's not enough. No words she can say will make Maya feel better. "Breathe," she soothes quietly, feeling her unsteady breathing against her hand.
"Can you come in with me?" Maya asks, something she wouldn't say in such a vulnerable way if she wasn't sick.
Carina thinks about her question. She desperately wants to get in and comfort her wife, but she doesn't want her body heat to contradict what the bath is trying to do in the first place.
However, the sight of Maya in tears is enough for her heart to win over her head as she quickly pulls off all her clothes, settling behind her wife, pulling her close.
Maya's body is enough to be a heated blanket because of how hot she is.
"I'm here. It's going to be okay," Carina reassures, rocking their bodies back and forth, hoping that she's not doing more harm than good.