2. Chapter 2

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Link walked with her to post-op, "She's probably just starting to wake up. You know what to expect?"

Carina nodded as she walked up to Maya's bed. She had a wrap around her leg along with a bulky hinged knee immobilizer, oxygen on her face, and an IV line running out of her hand.

"So she has three screws in her knee," Link said, pulling up the scans, "I only had to make three small incisions so the scaring shouldn't be too bad only, two of them needed more than one stitch so they're small. She's probably going to be in a good amount of pain for the next couple days. I'll make sure she gets meds to help with that."

"mhhh, Car," Maya mumbled, her eyes opening a little.

"Hello Bella," Carina said, smiling at her.

"I'll leave you two," Link said, "I'll be back to check in later today."

"Thank you Link," Carina said before giving Maya her full attention, "How are you feeling?"

"Weird," Maya said, rubbing her eyes, "Loopy. And thirsty."

"I'm sure we can find you a drink," Carina said, looking and seeing a nurse coming over to them, "What do you want?"

"Grape juice," Maya said sleepily.

Carina looked a little surprised, knowing Maya normally didn't drink juice.

"I'll get some," the nurse said, adjusting a few things before leaving.

"Your entire team is here," Carina said, holding Maya's hand.

"They all stayed?" Maya said, opening her eyes, "They should be home with their families."

"They said they need to be here for you," Carina said, kissing her temple, "They really care for you."

Maya nodded sleepily, "Even Jack?"

"Yes," Carina said with a sigh, "Even him."

"Sorry," Maya mumbled.

"It's ok," Carina said, laughing that even when Maya was out of it, she was still thinking about how Carina was feeling. It took about an hour for the anesthesia to wear off, but soon enough, Maya was sent up to a room in the ICU.

"Can you go tell my team I'm up here so they can check on me and go home?" Maya asked.

"I'll go tell them," Link said, having walked in the room right behind them, "Normally, we have a three person rule here, but I'm gonna let it slide as long as it doesn't last too long."

"Promise," Maya said, nodding.

She was pretty groggy and not feeling very well so she just wanted to see her team, show them she was fine, and get them to go home. About five minutes later, her entire team was piling into the room.

"How are you feeling?" Vic asked as they stood around her bed.

"Like someone just put three screws into my broken knee," Maya said, cracking a small smile, "I don't feel too bad, although I think I am pretty doped up right now."

"Is there anything we can do?" Travis asked.

"Just respect whoever they put in charge," Maya said, rubbing her tired eyes, "And watch out for holes in the floor."

Everyone chuckled a little.

"Alright," Maya said, "I promised Dr. Lincoln I wouldn't have you all stay too long and I'm about to fall asleep, so I'll see you all later."

"How long are you going to be here?" Andy asked, giving her friend a hug.

"At least through the night," Maya said, yawning, "Maybe tomorrow night too. I don't know yet."

"Alright," Andy said, "I'll be back later to check in."

"Get better soon Captain," Ben said, heading out.

Jack, Travis, and Andy all left.

"Is there anything you need from the house?" Vic asked, "Cause I can bring by whatever you need."

"Some clothes," Maya said, rubbing her eyes, "And maybe my toothbrush."

"Of course," Vic said, nodding, "I'm going to go home and sleep a little, but I'll bring that stuff by tonight if that's ok?"

"Whenever," Maya said, her eyes drifting shut.

"Thank you so much Vic," Carina said, smiling at her girlfriend's roommate.

"Of course," Vic said, nodding, "And just let me know if you guys need anything else."

"Thank you," Carina said as Vic walked out the door.

Carina just sat next to Maya, holding her hand for a while until her pager went off. Carina groaned, looking down.

"I can sit with her," Amelia said, walking in just then with a stroller, "I just got off and I wanted to check in before I took Marcus home, but he's asleep and I can sit here with her. Besides, I'm sure Link would like to see his son before I take him home. You go, I'll sit."

"Thank you," Carina said before going to check on her patient.

Amelia just sat next to Maya as the younger woman slept. Amelia could tell she was uncomfortable based on the furrow in her brow. Link was walking by a few minutes later and looked in, seeing her girlfriend and son.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, coming in and smiling at her, giving her a kiss.

"Carina got paged, and I was here to check on both of them so I told her I'd stay," Amelia said, "Marcus is asleep and I don't have any reason to go home. Plus, I thought you might like to see Marcus before we went home. And I wanted to see you."

"I'm glad you stayed," Link said, smiling as Marcus started to stir, "Hey Buddy."

Marcus smiled when he saw Link, reaching for his dad.

"How'd she do?" Amelia asked as Link picked their son up.

"She flew through," Link said, nodding, "Everything looks good. She's tough. She'll be ok."

"Physically, she'll be fine," Amelia said, nodding, "She's going to drive Carina up the wall though. She never slows down."

"Well, this is going to slow her down big time," Link said, making a face at Marcus, "Tib plat fractures are horrible. How long are you guys going to stay?"

"Until he gets fussy or Carina comes back," Amelia said, smiling as she watched Link with Marcus.

Marcus Atticus Derek Shepard-Lincoln was the best thing that had ever happened to Amelia and having Link there made it even better. Just then, Maya started to stir.

"Carina?" Maya said before opening her eyes, "Oh, hey Amelia."

"Hey," Amelia said, "Carina got pulled into a delivery so I told her I'd sit with you for a while."

"I gotta get back to work," Link said, "Maya, everything looks great. I stop by after you see PT and OT to see how that went."

"Thanks Link," Maya said, smiling.

"Bye Ames," Link said, kissing her before handing her Marcus, "Bye Marcus."

"You can go if you want to," Maya said, sitting up a little, "I'm good here."

"We can stay," Amelia said, "He's happy."

"Can I hold him?" Maya asked, looking at the smiling little boy.

"You sure?" Amelia said, knowing that surgery was pretty good at knocking people around.

"Yeah," Maya said, "I feel ok."

Amelia nodded, handing the six month old over to Maya.

"Hey Marcus," Maya said, smiling down at the little boy, "How is your life going today? Because mine has been pretty awful. I broke my knee because I fell through a hole in the floor while I was fighting a fire. Your dad put three screws in so hopefully that'll take care of the problem. I am not looking forward to the recovery though. I think that is going to be horrible."

"The way you talk to him is still so weird to me," Amelia said, shaking her head.

"Babies are people too," Maya said, shrugging when Amelia laughed as Marcus looked up at Maya, grabbing for her nose, "And I chose to talk to them as such. He's getting so big."

"Yes he is," Amelai said, nodding, "He's learning so much every day. Sometimes, I feel like from the time I drop him off at daycare at the beginning of my shift to the time I pick him up, he's a different kid."

Maya smiled. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about having kids of her own, but she did like other people's kids, ones she could hold when they were cute and give back when they were fussy. Just then, another knock came at the door.

"Hey," Teddy said, sticking her head in, "I was just stopping by to see how you were. I saw your name on the OR board earlier."

"I'm fine," Maya said as the plonde came in, "Exhausted and sore, but fine."

Just then, Marcus started fussing in her arms.

"He's hungry," Amelia said, taking him back before sitting down to feed the little boy.

Teddy stayed and chatted for a few minutes before Carina walked back in.

"That little bambina was in a hurry to meet her mama," Carina said, shaking her head, "That was one of the fastest deliveries I have ever had. How are you feeling Bella?"

"Better now that you're here," Maya said, smiling.

Just then, another nurse walked in.

"Someone's popular," the nurse said, looking around and smiling at the doctors she knew so well, "Are you feeling up to some lunch?"

"I guess," Maya said, rubbing her eyes.

"I can go get you something if you don't want to eat the food here," Carina said.

"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "The food here isn't too bad."

The nurse showed Maya the menu and told her how to order before she left again.

"I need to go," Teddy said, looking down at her pager, "I'll stop back by later. Feel better Maya."

"Thanks," Maya said, leaning into her pillows.

She looked down at the menu, ordering lunch before looking at Carina.

"If you need to work, you can go," Maya said, smiling at her, "I'm not going anywhere, and I'll be fine."

"I am right where I need to be," Carina said, shaking her head, "I may go get my things and do some charting here, but unless I need to go to a patient, I am going to stay with you."

Maya nodded, closing her eyes again. The next time she opened them, Amelia was gone and there was a tray of food in front of her.

"Did you have a good nap?" Carina asked when she saw Maya's eyes open.

"Kinda," Maya said, struggling to sit up.

"Let me help," Carina said, handing Maya the bed remote to the bed.

"Thanks," Maya said, using the remote to move herself into a sitting position, "Did Amelia leave?"

"She wanted to get Marcus home," Carina said, nodding as she moved the food closer to Maya.

Maya nodded, grabbing the turkey sandwich and taking a bite. She ate most of her food in silence.

"Do you need anything else?" Carina asked, moving the plate away from Maya.

"I'm good," Maya said, leaning back.

Just then, there was another knock at the door and a nurse walked in.

"I just have more fluids and antibiotics for you along with some Toradol," the nurse said, "How is your pain?"

"Fine," Maya said, "Maybe a 3."

"She has a high pain tolerance," Carina warned, "Her 3 is most people's 6."

"Good to know," the nurse said, "It's still about 2 hours before we give the hard stuff, but if your pain levels increase before then, just let someone know and we can take care of it."

"Thanks," Maya nodded as the nurse pushed the meds before checking the monitors and leaving.

As soon as the nurse left, there was another knock at the door.

"Hospitals are the worst place to rest," Maya groaned.

Dr. Bailey walked in.

"Hey Miranda," Maya said, smiling at the chief.

"I heard the Captain was in here," Miranda said, going to her bedside, "I thought I would come by and see how you were."

"I'd be a lot better if I didn't break my knee," Maya said, smiling a little, "But other than that, I'm fine. I'm gonna be out of the station for months."

"Sorry Bishop," Miranda said, placing a hand on her hand, "If anyone gives you a hard time, just let me know. I will take care of it."

"Thanks Bailey," Maya said, smiling at her.

"I need to get back to work," Bailey said, "But like I said, let me know if you need anything."

"I'm so tired," Maya said with a yawn.

"I can turn down the lights so you can sleep," Carina offered.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep," Maya said, shaking her head, "I'm too uncomfortable."

"Do you need more meds?" Carina asked, worried.

"No," Maya said, "No, I'm fine Babe. What are you doing?"

"Just reviewing some research," Carina said, "It's something Amelia and I are working on. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"

"You can keep working," Maya said, "Do you have any headphones? I'll text Vic and ask her to bring mine later."

"Of course," Carina said, handing Maya her headphones.

Maya plugged them in, turning on some music before closing her eyes. She left them that way until she heard voices. She opened her eyes, pulling out the headphones when she saw Dr. Grey in the room.

"Hello Dr. Grey," Maya said, pausing her music.

"Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing Captain Bishop," Meredith said, "Carina was just telling me that you did amazing in surgery."

"Yeah," Maya said, nodding, "I guess. It doesn't feel amazing, but hopefully it'll heal quickly."

"You will be great," Meredith said, smiling at the Captain before leaving.

"This place is a revolving door of people I know because of you," Maya said, giving Carina a side eye.

"Sorry?" Carina said, shrugging.

"It's actually kinda nice," Maya said, cracking a real smile.

Just then, physical therapy came in.

"Hello Maya," the woman said, walking in, "My name is Jenna. I'm from physical therapy. My goal is to get you up and moving around today. I know you've only been out of surgery for about three hours, but I just wanted to get you sitting, get your leg over this side. Maybe help you to the bathroom. Does that sound alright?"

Maya nodded, already sitting up. Carina put down her research, wanting to help if she was needed.

"For now, we are going to use a walker," Jenna said, grabbing a walker she brought in, "I will get you on some crutches later."

Maya nodded as the physical therapist helped her move over the side of the bed. Maya hissed a little as her leg hung off the side of the bed.

"You alright?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah," Maya said, nodding, "Just sore."

"Alright," she said, "I'm going to wrap this belt around you so I can stabilize you if you need me to. Now, when you're ready, stand up, putting all your weight on the walker and your good leg."

Maya nodded, getting up. Her leg hurt pretty badly as she stood, but she pressed on.

"Good," Jenna said, "Now, when your ready, move the walker and then move your leg."

Maya nodded, moving the walker.

"Good," Jenna said, nodding, "Keep going."

They walked to the bathroom, Jenna helping Maya put a trash can under her foot to take the pressure off her knee as she sat on the toilet. Maya used the bathroom before getting up, Jenna helping her to the sink before guiding her back to bed.

"That was really good," Jenna said, nodding, "I'll be back in a few hours and we will get you walking around more. Get some rest."

Maya nodded as Jenna helped her back into bed, lifting her leg for her.

"Why can't I lift that myself?" Maya asked, concern filling her face, "Why aren't my muscles able to lift it. I broke my knee, I didn't tear anything."

"It's normal," Jenna said, "Basically, your brain knows you've been injured and all the muscles that you need to move your leg are connected to the part of your knee that you broke so your brain is protecting the injury by not allowing the muscles to work. As you heal, the muscles will get better, but for now, just rest."

Maya nodded as Jenna left.

"You did amazing Bella," Carina said, going over to Maya.

Maya's eyes filled with tears as Carina sat down next to her.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Carina asked, concern washing over her.

"I'm exhausted just from walking to the bathroom," Maya said, tears running down her face, "All I did was walk 50 ft to the bathroom and it hurt so much and I'm so tired."

"It will get better Bella," Carina said, climbing into bed with Maya, wrapping her arms around her, "It will. I know it's hard right now, but it will get better."

Maya just clung to Carina as the doctor rubbed her back. Maya eventually fell asleep in Carina's arms. A nurse came in about an hour later, giving Maya some pain meds and antibiotics through her IV.

"This will probably keep her asleep for a while," the nurse said to Carina.

The doctor nodded, knowing that heavy pain meds typically knocked people out. Carina just held her girlfriend until her pager went off yet again. Groaning, she carefully moved from Maya.

"Where are you going?" Maya mumbled as she woke up.

"I got paged," Carina said, "But go back to sleep. I will be back as soon as I can."

As Carina headed out the door, she saw Vic and Andy walking in.

"I got paged," Carina said.

"We'll go sit with her," Vic said, nodding, "I brought her clothes and the other stuff she needed. We'll stay for a while."

The two walked into the hospital room, finding Maya waking up a little.

"Hey," Vic said, sitting down in the chair next to Maya's bed as Andy grabbed another one, pulling it up to the other side, "I have all the stuff you asked for. Clothes, toothbrush, phone charger, book."

"Thanks Vic," Maya said sleepily, "Hey Andy."

"How are you feeling?" Andy asked.

"Kinda awful," Maya admitted, rubbing her eyes, "They gave me pain meds about an hour ago and I hate how that stuff makes me feel."

"It's pretty awful," Andy agreed knowingly.

"I had physical therapy earlier," Maya said, reaching for her bag.

"How was it?" Vic asked, helping her put the bag up on her bed.

"It honestly sucked," Maya said, digging in the bag and pulling out her phone charger, "My knee hurts a lot when I move and having it down is pretty terrible."

"I'm sorry," Vic said, frowning, "Is there anything you need me to have at the house for when you get home?"

"I don't know," Maya said, plugging in her phone, "I'm assuming I'm going to have to sit to shower I guess, but maybe Carina can snag a seat from here. Other than that, I have no clue. Unless you want to get me a new job because no one wants a fire captain with a bum knee."

"You'll be fine in a few months," Vic said, putting a hand on Maya's shoulder.

"And Robert already decided that Jack and I are going to take over as interim captains like when my dad was sick," Andy said, "We have a new probie starting next week and our team has been through enough in the past few months."

"Good," Maya said, nodding, "You can keep me up to date on everything."

Just then, there as another knock at the door.

"Hello, my name is Tess. I'm with Occupational therapy," a young looking woman said, coming in, "Are you ready to do a little work?"

Maya nodded, sitting up.

"We can go if you need us to," Vic said, standing.

"You're welcome to stay," Tess said, "As long as it's alright with Miss Bishop."

"It's fine with me," Maya said, shrugging, "Vic's gonna be stuck with this for the next few months anyways, and I'm sure Andy's gonna be around too."

"Alright," Tess said, moving to help Maya up, "Now, let's get you up. Have you been on crutches yet?"

"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "Only a walker. But I busted up my ankle pretty bad when I was in my early twenties, and I was on crutches for a few weeks then."

"So you know how to use these then," Tess said, grabbing the crutches from where someone must have left them while Maya was asleep, "Alright. Now, I want to show you how to shower. Are you feeling up to a shower?"

"I need one," Maya said, nodding, "I still smell like smoke."

"Were you camping or something?" Tess asked as she helped Maya swing her leg over the edge of the bed.

"I'm a firefighter," Maya said, wincing as she stood up, "I fell through a floor during a call."

"Wow," Tess said, helping her take a few steps, "That is impressive."

Maya just concentrated on taking steps.

"Vic, can you grab me a pair of clothes out of my bag?" Maya asked, "If I'm allowed to wear clothes."

"Of course," Tess said, nodding, "As long as we have access to the lines and your knee."

"I brought you shorts and one of Carina's long sleeve t-shirts I know you love," Vic said, pulling the clothes out.

"That'll be perfect," Tess said, nodding.

She helped Maya into the bathroom, teaching her how to wrap her leg to keep the water out. She also showed her how to get dressed. She had to keep the brace and ace bandage on for the next two weeks until the stitches were ready to come out, meaning she had to completely wrap her leg in a trash bag and tape in order to keep it dry.

Once she was wrapped, Maya showered as quickly as she could because her leg was starting to hurt pretty badly. After that, she got dressed carefully before standing back up.

"How's it going?" Tess asked, knocking.

"I'm done," Maya said as Tess opened the door.

The OT then helped Maya back to bed.

"That was really good," Tess said, "I'll be back later to check in, but that was really good progress."

Maya nodded as she got situated on the bed. Once Tess left, Vic and Andy moved to be closer to Maya's bed.

"That was really good," Vic said, "You are truly a beast."

"Except now I am exhausted," Maya said, letting out a frusterated groan, "Earlier today, I was running into a fire. Now, I can't shower without feeling like I need a nap."

"It'll get better," Andy said, putting her hand on Maya's shoulder, "You just had surgery like 5 hours ago. And we will be there for you, and Carina will, and the rest of the team. You are going to kick ass and be better before you know it. Besides, it might be good for you to get some rest."

"I don't rest," Maya said, shaking her head, "I don't slow down. I don't know how to slow down."

"Well, you're about to learn how to," Vic said, laughing, "It's only a few months. And I'm sure it'll be even less time than that before you're a pro on the crutches and moving around more. Maybe you can even come work at the station on desk or something."

Maya nodded, able to keep the tears at bay. Just then, a nurse came in, checking all of Maya's vitals.

"Time for some more Tordal," the nurse said, grabbing her IV line, "And another dose of antibiotics."

Maya nodded, rubbing her tired eyes with her other hand. Just then, the PT came back in.

"Looks like you had a good session with OT," Jenna said, "Ready to practice some longer crutch walking?"

Maya nodded as Jenna helped her navigate getting out of bed. Maya grabbed the crutches, having used them before for various injuries. She made it one lap around the floor easily before going back to her room.

"That was really good," Jenna said, helping Maya back into bed, "I don't often have patients do this well just a few hours post-op. Get some good rest tonight and I will be back in the morning. If you keep doing this, you'll be out of here tomorrow morning."

Maya nodded, settling back into bed.

"Tomorrow, that's pretty good," Andy said, smiling at her friend, "I actually need to get going. Robert should be off soon and we were going to go to salsa night at this club downtown."

"Thanks for stopping by," Maya said as Andy leaned down and hugged her.

"Let me know if you need anything," Andy said, grabbing her purse, "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Maya and Vic both called as Andy walked out.

"Hey, I'm starving," Vic said a minute later, "I was going to go grab some dinner from the deli next door. Want something?"

"Soup," Maya said, nodding, "The food here is a lot worse than I remember."

"You got it," Vic said, getting up.

Maya pulled her headphones out of her bag, turning them on and popping them in her ears, turning on some Italian music Carina had turned her on to recently. She closed her eyes, just listening to the beautiful music. The next thing she knew, Vic was walking back into her room.

"They had your favorite potato and leek soup," Vic said, pulling a container out of the bag, "And I grabbed Carina that veggie soup she loves so much."

"Thanks," Maya said, pulling out her headphones and sitting up.

"Did you get some rest?" Vic asked, handing Maya a spoon.

"Yeah," Maya said, nodding as she opened the container, "What time is it?"

"It's almost 9," Vic said, taking a bite of her own mac and cheese.

Just then, Carina walked back in.

"Sorry it took so long," Carina said, going to Maya, "I had twins that decided to come naturally."

"Vic and Andy were good company," Maya shrugged, "Andy had to leave, but Vic got dinner."

"I have your favorite soup from the deli," Vic said, pulling the last container out of the bag.

"Thanks Vic," Carina said, taking the container.

She was starving. She hadn't eaten since the morning when she grabbed breakfast before work with Amelia.

"I had PT and OT while you were gone," Maya said, taking a bite of her food, "I showered and walked a lap around the floor."

"Good job Bella," Carina said, smiling at her girlfriend.

"After we finish eating, you guys should go home," Maya said, rubbing her tired eyes, feeling throbbing starting in her leg again.

"I can't," Carina said.

"No," Maya said, "You should go home and rest. I will be fine."

"But my boss will not like it if I leave in the middle of my shift," Carina said, laughing.

"Oh," Maya said, "Sorry. I forgot you were working a 24 hour."

"That's ok," Carina said, leaning over and kissing Maya's forehead, "You have had a long day."

They all finished eating before Vic got up to leave. Carina had to get back to work and Maya fell asleep after another round of pain meds.

The night wasn't restful for Maya at all. She woke up to pee every two hours and her pain was up and down the entire night. Carina checked on her once around midnight, but Maya told her to go sleep in a real bed, which Carina obliged.

By 8 am, Maya was wide awake and Carina was off shift. She brought Maya breakfast and coffee.

At 9, PT came back and did a few more exercises with Maya before clearing her. Link came in and checked everything out before giving Maya the news she had been waiting for.

"You are free to go home," Link said, as he looked at Maya, "You'll need to be on blood thinners and I'm send you home with some pain killers. I want to see you back in two weeks for suture removal and a follow up x-ray. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Link," Maya said, smiling.

"A nurse will be up in a few minutes to get you ready to go," Link said, "See you soon Captain."

"Thanks Link," Carina said, helping Maya pack her bags.

Within a half an hour, Maya was back home in her own bed.

I hope you liked it! I have one more slot open in my month of Marina series so if there's anything you're dying to read, let me know!