3. Chapter 3

Here's the next chapter!

"I feel awful," Maya groaned as Carina helped her prop her leg up.

"I know Bella," Carina said, "Do you want some more pain medication?"

"I don't really want to take anything but Advil and Tylenol if I can help it," Maya said, leaning back into her pillows, "Except maybe at night. Man, this sucks."

"You will be back on your feet before you know it," Carina said, "Now, can I get you anything? A drink? Some food? Something to watch?"

"Will you just cuddle with me?" Maya asked, rubbing her eyes, "And maybe read in Italian?"

"Of course," Carina said, pulling on a pair of sweats and one of Maya's t-shirts before climbing into bed.

Maya leaned her head on the Italian's shoulder as Carina pulled out a book of Italian poems they both loved. Carina read to Maya for a good half hour before the blonde fell asleep. Carina put her book down, falling asleep next to her girlfriend.

An hour later, Carina woke up when she felt the bed moving next to her, "What's wrong Bella?"

"I need to go to the bathroom," Maya groaned, sitting up.

"Let me help you," Carina said, getting up and handing Maya her crutches.

"Thanks," Maya said, taking them and hobbling slowly to the bathroom.

When she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror, wincing when she saw how terrible she looked. Her eyes had dark circles under them, her hair was sticking out of the braid Carina had done for her before she fell asleep the night before, and her face was slightly puffy from all the crying the day before. She just washed her hands before walking carefully back to bed.

"You alright?" Carina asked, helping Maya into bed.

"Just tired," Maya said, nodding, "I hate this. I feel so weak."

"You had surgery 24 hours ago," Carina said, kissing Maya's forehead, "That's normal."

Maya nodded, grabbing her phone as Carina left the room. She had messages from her entire team, asking how she was doing. She texted back in their group chat, telling them she was home and fine, that Carina was taking care of her.

Just then, Carina came back in with a plate and glass.

"I made lasagna," the Italian woman said, setting both the plate and cup down on Maya's bedside table.

"Thanks," Maya said, smiling as she took the plate, "I love your lasagna."

Carina smiled, sitting down next to her girlfriend.

"You need to eat too Babe," Maya said, taking a bite of her food.

"I will," Carina said, nodding, "Do you need anything else? It's almost time for more Tylenol."

"I'm good," Maya said, "Go get your food."

Carina got up and went to the kitchen, grabbing her own plate.

When she got back into the bedroom, Maya had already eaten over half her food. Carina smiled, climbing into bed next to her.

"You are such a good cook Babe," Maya said, leaning her head on Carina's shoulder.

"Gratzi," Carina said, laughing a little, "How is the knee feeling?"

"It's kinda throbbing," Maya said with a sigh, "Not too bad though."

"You need more medicine," Carina said, grabbing the Tylenol she had taken from the hospital, "Take these two."

Maya took the pills without arguing, a sign she was in pain. They ate the rest of their lunch in relative quiet, just enjoying each other's company. Once they were done, Carina took the plates into the kitchen, cleaning up a bit before going back into the bedroom.

"Need anything else?" Carina asked.

"Just you," Maya said softly.

Carina smiled, climbing into bed with Maya, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. Maya struggled to get comfortable, letting out a long sigh after about twenty minutes.

"What's wrong?" Carina asked, sitting up.

"I'm just uncomfortable," Maya said, shifting again, "My knee hurts and my body hurts and I just don't feel good."

"I'm sorry," Carina said, kissing her forehead, "Do you want to watch something? Maybe distract you a bit?"

Maya nodded and Carina got up, grabbing her laptop. She put on Parks and Rec, a show Maya loved. They watched it for a while, Carina falling asleep before the first episode ended. Maya smiled when she felt her girlfriend snuggle close to her. The blonde just hand her fingers up and down Carina's back, happy that her girlfriend was getting some rest.

The rest of the day was mostly just spent in bed, Carina diligently getting ice for Maya. She was supposed to ice it as often and as long as she could. There was no real risk of tissue damage from the cold because there were so many layers of gauze and bandages on Maya's leg and the ice might help with the swelling.

They ate dinner, Maya finding herself not nearly as hungry as she had been earlier.

Around 10, she relented and took her narcotics because she was in pain and wanted to be able to sleep. Carina gave her the pill and had Maya set alarms on her phone to make sure she woke up to take her Advil and Tylenol throughout the night so they could stay on top of her pain.

However, the alarms were almost unnecessary when about two hours after she fell asleep, she woke up with an upset stomach. She groaned, getting out of bed and going into the bathroom. When she finished, she made her way back to bed.

"Everything alright?" Carina asked, helping Maya back into bed.

"My stomach is not happy right now," Maya said, rubbing her eyes as she tried to get comfortable.

"It might be from all the medications you were given in the hospital," Carina said, frowning, "Can I get you anything?"

"Do you know where my heating pad is?" Maya asked, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Yeah," Carina nodded, grabbing the device from its place in the drawer where Maya kept it for when she had cramps.

"Thanks," the blonde said, rubbing her eyes as she put it on her stomach, "I'm going to try to go back to sleep."

Carina nodded, climbing in next to her. The rest of the night was not as restful as either of them hoped. Maya was up every hour or two because her stomach was unsettled.

Around 4 am, she caved and let Carina get her some Pepto because she really just wanted to sleep and not keep getting woken up with stomach issues.

She ended up sleeping until her normal 5:30 when she woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. She got up, careful not to disrupt Carina who was sleeping soundly finally.

She crutched to the kitchen, grabbing herself a glass for water. However, she then realized she was going to have no way to carry the glass so she grabbed a water bottle with a handle instead, filling it. She also found the Tylenol on the counter, throwing two of them back before grabbing an ice pack from the freezer and crutching to the couch. She got her leg up on a few pillows before laying down.

She pulled out her phone, turning on some music before closing her eyes. She knew she probably wouldn't fall asleep, but her body was exhausted.

She ended up drifting into a weird state between being awake and asleep for a while until she heard a noise. Her eyes opened and she looked around, seeing Carina in the kitchen.

"What time is it?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"It's a little after 8," Carina said, "You've been out here since 5:30?"

"Yeah," Maya said, nodding, "Not even a broken knee can break that habit. It's drilled in too deep. But I think maybe I fell back to sleep out here. I don't know."

"How are you feeling?" Carina asked, "How's the pain?"

"Not too bad," Maya said, "My stomach is still not feeling great, but it's better than last night. And my knee is sore, but nothing I can't handle."

Carina nodded, carrying two cups of coffee to where Maya was on the couch.

"Thanks," Maya said, taking the cup that was hers, "Sorry I kept you up so much last night."

"I don't mind," Carina said, shaking her head, "I just hate seeing you in pain and not feeling well."

"I'll be alright," Maya said, leaning on Carina, "Hopefully whatever is making me feel so terrible will get out of my system soon."

Carina nodded, kissing the top of Maya's head.

"Are you working today?" Maya asked, not really remembering what day it was.

"Si," Carina said with a sigh, "This afternoon, but Vic will be home if you need anything."

"I can take care of myself," Maya said, "I broke my knee, I didn't lose a limb."

"But you need to rest if you are going to heal," Carina said. Maya had no desire to argue and just relaxed back against her girlfriend.

"You need to eat," Carina said, kissing Maya's temple.

"I'm not hungry," Maya said, shaking her head.

"But you need to take more Advil," Carina said, "Which means you need to eat or you are going to feel worse than you do now."

"Fine," Maya grumbled.

"Want me to make you a smoothie?" Carina asked.

"Sure," Maya said, wining a little when Carina got up. Carina chuckled, walking into the kitchen and grabbing out the smoothie ingredients.

"Thanks for taking care of me," Maya said, yawning a little.

"You don't need to thank me Maya," Carina said, laughing as she poured each of them a smoothie before carrying the glasses to the couch, "I will always take care of you."

"I am going to get really grumpy," Maya warned, "I don't do well when I have to slow down, stop going all the time."

"Maybe this will be good for you," Carina said, sitting back down so Maya could lean on her, "Maybe you will finally learn how to relax."

"Sounds like something Dr. Lewis would say," Maya said, taking a sip of her drink, "Crap. I am supposed to have an appointment tomorrow morning."

Maya had been seeing Dr. Lewis since she and Carina had gotten back together to work through everything that had happened both with Carina and Jack and with her family.

"I think it will be alright if you skip this week," Carina said, knowing Maya had been so dedicated to going to therapy every week, "You are not going to feel like going out tomorrow."

"Maybe I can do a video appointment," Maya said, really not wanting to let this injury slow her progress in therapy.

"Whatever you want to do," Carina said, smiling as Maya looked at her.

"I'm gonna text Dr. Lewis and ask," Maya said, grabbing her phone and texting her therapist.

"Your dedication to your therapy never fails to amaze me," Carina said, kissing Maya's cheek as she texted.

Maya just shrugged as she finished her text and set her phone down, leaning back into Carina.

"If I stop going, I'm afraid I'll never go back," Maya confided, "I go because I have an appointment, but if I cancel, then I'll have to reschedule and I don't know if I will. I mean, I think it's helpful and I feel better, but sometimes it just sucks so much."

"I know," Carina said, squeezing Maya gently, "I quit my first therapist three times in the first year I went. And I've quit the one I go to now more than once, and going back is so hard, but not going is worse."

Maya nodded, just enjoying being in Carina's embrace. Dr. Lewis texted her back and said they could do a video appointment tomorrow and that she hoped Maya felt better. They finalized the details before Maya set her phone down, closing her eyes. They just sat there for a few minutes, enjoying being with each other in the quiet of not being in the hospital.

The quiet only lasted a few minutes before Vic walked in.

"Hey," the perky firefighter said, walking in, "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," Maya said, laughing a little as she sat up, "But I feel alright. How was shift?"

"Andy captained today," Vic said, "We didn't have any big calls or anything. She did amazing as expected. Travis and I had a weird call on the aid car today. This guy called us because he said he and his wife had an emergency and when we got there, they were handcuffed together, his hands to her feet and vice versa. I don't know what they were trying to do, but whatever it was, it didn't go well."

Maya and Carina both laughed a little as Vic shrugged.

"The rest of the team was wondering if you were up for visitors later?" Vic asked, looking at Maya, "I know you work at noon Carina, right?"

"Si," Carina said, nodding.

"They can come over if they want," Maya said, nodding, "I'm not the most amazing company right now, but if they want to come, I'm good with that."

"Perfect," Vic said, pulling out her phone, "I'm going to go grab a quick nap because we actually got halfway decent sleep last night. I'll tell the team to come over around 2?"

"Sounds good to me," Maya said, nodding as Vic headed down the hall to her room.

"I am probably going to go to my place tomorrow after work and start packing my stuff," Carina said, smiling at her girlfriend, "I already texted my landlord and said I was going to be moving out so I have until the 15th to be out."

"Are you sure about this?" Maya asked, not wanting to pressure Carina into anything.

"I am sure," Carina said, nodding, "I was actually planning on telling you when I got off work yesterday that I was ready to move in. I love you Maya."

"I love you too," Maya said, tears pricking her eyes as she leaned up and kissed Carina deeply.

They just relaxed on the couch for a while until Maya had to get up to use the bathroom. Once she was done, she hobbled out, seeing Carina sitting in the bedroom.

"How about a shower?" Carina asked, "I stole a shower chair from the hospital and I can shower with you."

"Ok," Maya nodded, "I need a garbage bag and some medical tape."

Carina nodded, grabbing the necessary supplies before helping Maya into the bathroom where the chair was already in the shower. Maya sat on the closed toilet, pulling off her shirt before standing up and pulling her pants down. Carina helped Maya wrap her leg in a plastic bag, getting the tape on before starting the shower.

Once the water was ready, Carina undressed before helping Maya up and into the shower. Carina helped Maya shower, the blonde woman happy to be clean.

Once they got out, Carina helped her dress in pajamas.

"I think the bag leaked," Maya said, touching her leg.

"The wrap doesn't look wet," Carina said, confused, "Where does it feel wet?"

"By my knee," Maya said, looking down, "Exactly where it doesn't need to be wet."

"Maya," Carina said, gently putting her hand on the area Maya was complaining about, "This is not wet."

"It feels like there's something running down my leg," Maya insisted.

"Bella," Carina said, "Nothing is there."

"Maybe it's blood," Maya said, eyes wide, "What if I ripped my stitches or…"

"Bella," Carina said, guiding her to the bed, "I don't think your bleeding. And if you are, it's just a little post op bleeding. If it was worse, we would see it through the bandages. Just relax."

Maya nodded, taking a shaky breath as Carina helped her prop her knee up on some pillows.

"Can I get you anything?" Carina asked, brushing a piece of hair from her face.

"Can we just listen to music?" Maya asked, rubbing her eyes. Her body was so tired, but she wasn't sure if she was going to fall asleep or not.

"Of course," Carina said, climbing into bed with Maya.

"When do you have to leave?" Maya asked, leaning her head on Carina's shoulder.

"In about an hour," Carina said, kissing the top of Maya's head. Maya nodded, yawning.

"You can sleep Bella," Carina said, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend as she put on some soft music.

"I might," Maya said, closing her eyes as she cuddled closer to Carina.

The next thing Maya knew, Carina was carefully moving her off her shoulder.

"Sorry Bella," Carina said, "I didn't mean to wake you. I have to leave for work. I'll see you in the morning. I love you."

"Love you too," Maya mumbled, eyes slipping closed again.

There it was! Another chapter coming tomorrow! If you have any ideas for a story, let me know!