2. Chapter 2

Andrew ends up fitting into her life far more easily than either of them could have expected.

One week in, they happen to have the same day off and decide to spend it together. They take a trip to Ikea so Andrew can buy a bookshelf and bedside tables for his room. They spend way too long trying to put it all together, but after one jammed thumb, two paper cuts, and a lot of swearing and laughing, they finally manage to assemble everything. They end the day eating Chinese takeout and watching Netflix comedy specials until they're in tears from laughing so hard.

Two weeks in, they're inviting each other out to drinks with their friends and weaving their friend groups together. It isn't long before Andrew and Travis have a full on bromance going on, bonded by their use of the same brand of hair care products and their love of Seattle's women's basketball team. Stephanie and Jo get along so well with Maya, Vic and Andy, that Vic officially dubs them all a girl gang after one too many shots.

Four weeks in, Andrew starts joining Maya for ride-alongs when she's working the aid car and he has the day off so he can get some more experience with trauma. If his off days don't line up with Maya's turns manning the aid car, he still drops by for lunch at the station. He teaches Travis how to cook his favorite Italian dishes and joins in with the team when they tease Miller on his latest girl drama.

Five weeks in, she's helping Andrew assist Dr. Hunt in trauma certification for the surgical interns and letting Andrew teach her tricks and techniques she's never learned before.

Seven weeks in, Maya finally convinces Andrew to start joining her for runs some mornings and he actually starts enjoying it. He challenges her to a race every single time and though he never comes close to winning, he refuses to stop trying.

Two months in, they drunkenly get matching tattoos that say "C12" in honor of their townhouse number. The bright blue ink was inspired by the color they thought their front door was, only to remember once sober that their door is dark green. They laugh about it and start bumping wrists instead of giving each other high fives and exclaiming, "C12 forever!"

Three months in, Andrew convinces her they should adopt a cat to keep them company. Maya isn't thrilled about the idea at first, but Andrew makes a really good pouty face and honestly having a cat to snuggle sounds nicer than she'd care to admit. They go to the animal shelter and fall in love (though Maya denies it at first) with a scrawny, three year old orange cat they name Dr. Whiskers McBurney. Maya swears it’s a ridiculous name and only ever calls him Whiskers, but she still insists on adding “McBurney” to his name so there’s something a little fire related.

Four months in, Maya throws Andrew a surprise birthday party at their house, the fellow partygoers a well balanced blend of doctors and firefighters. Andrew doesn’t stop smiling the entire night. Once everyone leaves, he drunkenly cries a little bit when he thanks her for the surprise party, telling her no one has ever done that for him before. While he may be drunk, she knows the sentiment is still genuine. She kisses his head and sends him to bed with a glass of water while she starts cleaning up some of the mess so there's less to do in the morning.

Things are honestly almost perfect. Andrew has become one of her closest friends and she’s grateful to Warren for setting this up. She basically won the roommate lottery as far as she’s concerned. She can’t really see anything messing it up.

That is until five months in when a wrench gets thrown into the mix. A tall, hot, Italian wrench named Carina DeLuca.

++++++++

When she steps through the front door, she's greeted with the rich smell of tomato sauce, basil and fresh mozzarella. She assumes Andrew must have come home early today and is busy cooking away. He usually doesn’t go all out with cooking until dinnertime, but every now and then he gets in the mood to cook something amazing for lunch and it always makes Maya’s day.

She truly couldn’t have found a better roommate.

"That smells great!" She calls out as she kicks off her shoes by the front door and drops her car keys on the table. "How was your day?" She asks, walking towards the kitchen, pausing by the couch to scratch Whiskers' head.

"It was great, how was yours?" Says an accented, feminine voice that is most certainly not Andrew.

Maya stops in her tracks as she reaches the kitchen and watches as a woman she doesn't know turns around in front of the stove.

She might just be the most beautiful woman Maya has ever seen in her life. She's tall, with impossibly long legs that are barely covered by the tiny pair of red shorts she's wearing. She has a black tank top on and no bra, which leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. Her wavy brown hair falls over her shoulders and her deep brown eyes study Maya with curiosity. The smirk she's sporting does something to Maya's stomach she can't really explain at the moment. She has a wooden spoon in one hand and a glass of white wine in the other--long, thin fingers curled around the glass stem.

She half thinks she might have walked into the wrong house, but figures she must just be the girl Andrew has been crushing on that he's been hush-hush about lately. "Nice work, dude," is all she can think.

Maya has to swallow hard, her throat having gone completely dry. "Oh I uh…" she swallows once more and then tries again to speak. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize Andrew had company."

"He did not know I would be here until I found him at the hospital earlier. He must have forgotten to tell you after," the woman says, turning back to the pot on the stove and stirring whatever she's making.

The change in view just makes Maya's throat go dry all over again as she gets a look at strong thighs. She shakes her head and goes to grab a glass of water.

"Andrea should be home soon," the woman says.

Maya is confused for a minute how she already knows Andy and why she's coming over before remembering Andrew's real name is Andrea too. She hums in acknowledgment and then takes a long sip of her water, letting the cool liquid chip away at the lump in her throat. She does her best to be respectful and keep her eyes on a socially acceptable place, but given the small amount of clothing she's wearing, that just means Maya ends up staring at the back of the woman's head.

She must sense Maya's eyes on her because she looks over her shoulder with that damn smirk again. Maya doesn't miss the way the woman's eyes flit across the length of her body or the way one of her eyebrows cocks up as she clearly appreciates what she sees. She might be here for Andrew, but she definitely isn't discrete about her interest in Maya. Not that it matters. She and Andrew promised each other not to interfere with anyone the other was seeing after they realized they'd both been flirting with the same girl at Joe's Bar one night.

"You are Maya, yes?" The woman asks.

Maya nods to give herself a moment to remember how to form words. "Yeah, that's me," she finally manages and after an almost too long pause adds, "and you are?"

"I am Carina," she says, looking over her shoulder again and winking at Maya.

She knows she should probably just go upstairs to get some sleep, she's far too exhausted to think rationally right now, but she doesn't want to lose any time being around this girl. Even if she is off limits because she's with Andrew, that doesn't mean Maya can't enjoy some mild flirting.

"Andrea tells me you are a fighter of fires, yes?" She takes a long sip of her wine as she waits for a response.

Maya enjoys the way Carina's tongue rolls over the 'r' in Andrew's name way too much. Simply saying a name, especially a name that isn't even hers, shouldn't turn her on as much as it does. But honestly she just wants to hear it again and again.

"Yes, that's right," she says confidently, always proud to tell people her profession. "I'm a firefighter with Station 19, best firehouse in Seattle."

"That is impressive," Carina says, slowly stirring whatever she's cooking. She looks over her shoulder and adds, "that job seems very…hot." Her tone makes the intention of her words clear.

Maya feels her stomach roll as Carina bites her bottom lip a little. Hot. She called her hot. Well, she called firefighting hot, but Maya is a firefighter so therefore…

No. She has to stop this, she can't. This girl is with Andrew, she can't blur any lines. No flirting allowed.

"So uh--how long have you known Andrew?" Maya asks, trying to steer the conversation away from herself.

Carina shoots her a suspicious look. "His entire life," she says with a little laugh. "I was there the day he was born."

That catches Maya off guard. She figured she was just the secret girl Andrew has been not so secretly obsessed with the last few weeks, not a girl from his past.

She's about to ask for clarification when she hears the front door open. Andrew bumbles into the room and takes in the scene in front of him, eyes darting back and forth between the two women. He sighs and slides his backpack off his shoulder and onto one of the chairs under the kitchen island.

"Maya, I'm sorry. I thought I would make it home before you got back, but my surgery went long," he huffs, out of breath like he ran the whole way home. "I should've asked an intern to call you, I'm sorry."

Maya opens her mouth to speak, but Carina says something in Italian before she can. Maya isn't sure what she says, but it sounds sassy and it kinda makes her swoon a little.

Andrew replies in Italian, tone just as sassy as Carina's, and then he sighs again and turns to Maya. "I had no idea she was coming to town. She just showed up at the hospital and ambushed--" he glares at Carina, "--me with zero warning."

"Always so whiny, Andrea. Is it so bad I came to visit you?" Carina asks.

"I'm not whiny," he grumbles. "How did you even get in here? I told you to wait for me in the lobby and I would bring you home after my surgery. I looked all over for you before a nurse told me he saw you leave."

"I got bored waiting so I found your backpack in the residents' lounge and borrowed the key," she shrugs like it's no big deal.

"You went through my stuff?" Andrew asks incredulously, hands scrambling to the front pocket of his backpack in search of a key that obviously isn't there. "You went through my stuff!" He exclaims upon confirming his key is missing. "Why would you do that? You could've asked. You can't just steal things from me."

"You were in surgery and I did not want to bother you," Carina says. She waves her hand as if the simple gesture can brush away all his concerns. "And I did not steal the key, I borrowed the key. It's there on the counter for you."

Andrew looks down and snatches the key quickly, shoving it in his backpack as if that will keep it safe.

"You do things like this all the time," he says, more than frustrated. “What are you even doing, drinking at this hour?” He nods towards her wine glass in her hand.

“It’s after 9:00pm in Italy. I’m still adjusting to the time difference.”

“Yeah, well it’s 12:30pm in Seattle, so maybe slow down. And you tell me I need to grow up,” he digs.

He starts ranting in Italian after that and then Carina joins in as well until they're having a full fledged argument in a foreign language and Maya has no idea what the hell is going on. She looks back and forth between Andrew and Carina, eyes wide with confusion as she watches the scene unfold. She half wonders if she's actually dreaming this, if she really just fell asleep back at the station and none of this is real.

She pinches her arm and the quick, sharp jolt of pain tells her she's definitely awake and this is definitely happening. She has no idea what it is that's happening, but she at least knows it's real.

She listens to them argue back for a few more seconds, both gesturing wildly with their arms speaking over each other, their volume increasing with every word until finally she's had enough. As hot as it is listening to Carina speak in Italian, she can’t handle not knowing what's going on.

"Hey!" She shouts, making sure she's louder than both of them. She never yells like that outside of work, but it felt appropriate and even necessary in order to diffuse the situation.

Andrew and Carina both stop arguing immediately and turn to stare at Maya.

"Okay, now that I can actually hear myself think," she sighs. "Will one of you please explain to me what the hell is going on here?"

Andrew runs a hand through his hair, letting out an exasperated sigh as he leans forward with his forearms resting against the counter. "Maya, this is my sister, Carina."

Maya takes pause at that. She focuses on Carina again, the deep brown eyes, the ridiculously good hair, the charming smile, the multiple mentions of visiting from Italy. It's all so clear now, how couldn't she recognize it before? Of course this is his sister.

"Well, at least if she isn't his date then she isn't off limits," she catches herself thinking.

Wait, no. She absolutely is off limits. Andrew made her promise on day one she would never sleep with his sister. Though, if Maya knew Carina looked like that, she might never have agreed.

Maya shakes those thoughts away quickly. Of course she would have agreed. And she's going to uphold that promise no matter how hot and clearly interested Carina is. Andrew isn't just her roommate, he's her friend and she isn't going to go back on her word.

"Oh," Maya says, knowing she's already been silent a couple seconds too long and things are starting to get awkward. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

Carina mutters something in Italian that sounds accusatory.

"Of course I told her about you," he huffs. "I guess I just didn't tell her your name." He at least looks a little remorseful at that, hand raising to scratch nervously at the back of his neck.

"You also have no family pictures, not even in your room. Why not?" Carina asks.

"You went in my room? You can't just--" he stops short, standing up from where he was hunched over the counter. He shakes his head and takes a deep breath to calm himself back down. He looks away from his sister to keep his emotions in check and turns to Maya. "Carina said she's in town visiting and asked if she could stay here for a few days. I was going to talk to you about this," he explains.

"A few weeks, actually."

Andrew whips his head back to Carina. "What? No, no, no, you totally said ‘a few days’ earlier."

Carina shrugs and says, "that was before I spoke to Dr. Bailey about my research and she agreed to let me continue my study here."

"You what?" Andrew almost shouts. His brown eyes are wide and burning, and his cheeks are tinged red with what looks like embarrassment. "You spoke to my boss about your study? Why would you do that? I have to work there with those people! You can't just barge into my life with something like that without talking to me first. What am I supposed to tell people when they ask me about it?"

"You tell them I'm doing very important research on a topic that has rarely been studied. What is so hard about that?" Carina is still completely calm, the opposite of her brother. She's speaking slowly and rationally, like she doesn't understand why he's so upset.

"What are you studying?" Maya asks, jumping in before Andrew can complain again.

Andrew turns to her with flushed cheeks, his bottom lip bouncing up and down as he tries and fails to formulate words.

Maya turns to Carina instead and is met with a heated gaze that makes her think she shouldn't have asked.

"I am studying the effects on the female brain during orgasm," Carina says, dropping her voice to a tone that's so sensual it feels like the temperature has been cranked up.

Maya feels a shot like electricity down her spine. Her eyes lock onto Carina's and the way she bites her bottom lip sends Maya's stomach to her throat. She contains it well, swallowing it down and keeping her demeanor composed. Considering how ridiculously hot Carina is, Maya's proud of herself for staying so calm while she is clearly flirting with her. She usually has no trouble keeping her confidence when flirting, but something about Carina unhinges her just enough that she loses her composure.

"That sounds uhm…very interesting," she says, trying to keep it together. "I'd love to hear more about it sometime." She means it in a neutral way. It seems like the appropriate thing to say to someone about their research, but given the subject matter, she doesn't realize the underlying meaning until after she's said the words.

Andrew's eyes go wide as he looks at her, embarrassed beyond belief. "Dio mio," he huffs, turning to look at Carina. "A few weeks wasn't the plan."

"Plans change sometimes," Carina shrugs. "I have reason to stay a little longer now." Her eyes glance over at Maya.

It makes her heart race a little knowing she's a reason Carina wants to stick around, but she breathes slowly and makes it stop. She can't feel like this. She promised Andrew and she won't go back on that. A little flirting never killed anyone, but she can't let it go beyond that. Carina staying in town certainly wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, though.

Andrew eyes them both suspiciously before shaking his head and focusing on his sister. "Can you please go somewhere else for a minute and let me discuss this with Maya? A few days is a lot different from a few weeks."

"Fine," she sighs, stepping away from the stove. "I'll go snoop through your room some more," she teases. She tops off her wine glass from the bottle on the counter. "Don't let that burn!" She warns as she points at the pot on the stove and glares at Andrew before leaving the kitchen, making sure to throw a smile at Maya before she slips into the hall.

The second she's gone, Andrew leans forward on the counter again, resting his elbows on the granite and letting his head fall into his hands. He takes in a deep breath and lets out a slow, steady stream.

Maya shuffles on her feet, not knowing what she should do in this situation. "Are you okay?" She asks quietly, at a loss for what else to say.

Andrew takes a few more seconds to take another breath before lifting his head. "I'm sorry. I love her to death, but she can stress me out like nothing else can sometimes."

"It's okay," Maya says. "I understand family drama."

"I didn't know she was planning to stay in Seattle so long or I never would've told her I would talk to you about her staying here. I only thought it was a few days," Andrew explains. "I'll tell her she needs to go to a hotel or something."

Before she really even considers the words, she hears herself saying, "it's fine. She can just stay here."

Andrew tilts his head in confusion. "Wait, really? That's such a big ask, I never meant to put you in this position."

"You didn't ask, I'm offering," Maya says. She still isn't entirely sure about this arrangement, but her mouth just won't stop endorsing it and she can't really change her mind at this point. "She's your family and there's a futon in the office. It isn't a very big room, but if she's okay with it there's no reason she can't stay here. With the hours we work, we aren’t home at the same time a lot so it’s not like we’ll be crowded or anything."

She doesn’t mention the fact that this could potentially lead to alone time for her and Carina while Andrew is still at work. That’s so not an appropriate thought to have right now, but it still turns her stomach upside down and makes her palms sweat.

"You're serious?" He asks, shaking his head. He walks over to the stove, making sure to follow Carina's instructions and not let whatever she's cooking burn. "She can be a lot sometimes and she's very forward. I'm surprised she hasn't hit on you yet."

"Oh she did," Maya laughs, remembering the way Carina grinned at her and called her hot. Well, kind of called her hot.

Andrew whips his head around. "Oh my god, she's unbelievable." When he notices the slight smile on Maya's dazed face he narrows his eyes at her. "Wait, did you hit on her too?"

Maya wipes the smile off her face immediately. "What? No!" She immediately denies, but she knows her anxiousness only makes her more suspicious. "Okay, there might have been some very mild flirting, but I swear I had no idea she was your sister. I wouldn't have done that intentionally if I'd known. You never told me her name! My brother's name is Mason, by the way. I don't think I've ever told you that either. We should probably know that about each other. We're close enough friends." Once she realizes she's rambling, she clamps her mouth shut.

She doesn't know why she's acting like Andrew just caught her red handed doing something she shouldn't have. She barely even flirted with Carina. That's it. And now that she knows who she is, she won't allow anything to happen. She made a promise and she isn't going back on that. Maya Bishop doesn’t break her word. She especially wouldn't do that to Andrew.

Andrew gives her an endearing smile, amused by her rambling. He sighs, and shakes his head. "I'm sorry, you're right. I know you wouldn't do that. She just has a pretty long track record of hooking up with my friends, classmates, coworkers, ex girlfriends, basically anyone I've ever crossed paths with. I guess I'm automatically defensive about it."

"Ex girlfriends?" She asks without thinking. That really shouldn't be the detail that catches her attention, but she can't help it. She was already sure Carina was interested in her, but it's nice to confirm there was actually a possibility of something happening and not just her being a flirt.

"Yeah, a few times," Andrew rolls her eyes. "She says it's her way of getting revenge for them hurting me? She gets them interested and then drops them? I don't know, I've always told her not to. Carina does what and who she wants, though." He focuses on stirring the pot for a moment, letting silence settle between them. "You're sure it's okay she stays here? It's really okay if you want her staying at a hotel instead. I won't be upset."

"Seriously, it's okay." Maya looks down as Whiskers starts rubbing up against her leg. She leans over and picks him up, cuddling him against her chest and focusing on the way he purrs softly. "She's family, therefore she's always welcome here. Especially as long as she keeps cooking whatever that is. It smells so good."

Andrew grins, "it's our mom's bolognese recipe. Carina was always better at cooking it than I am." He gets lost in thought for a moment, the same way he does sometimes when he's thinking about his mother.

Maya walks over and pats his shoulder, wanting to comfort him without making a huge deal out of it. "She's family, she stays."

"Thank you," Andrew says, looking over at her with a grateful smile. "As much as she gets on my nerves sometimes, I have really missed her. It'll be nice having her around for a while." He sets down the spoon in his hand and reaches up to scratch Whiskers' ears. "You hear that, buddy? We have a new roommate for a while. She doesn't like cats, but I know you'll make her come around."

Maya laughs lightly as Andrew continues talking to the cat, but her mind is elsewhere.

She's wondering if letting Carina stay here is really the best idea. She meant what she said, Carina is family so of course she's always welcome. However, she can't help but feel nervous about the arrangement. There's this pit in the bottom of her stomach that tells her this is risky. Of course she promised Andrew nothing would happen with Carina, but she can't shake the thought in the back of her head that there's maybe something there between her and Carina, and she'd like to explore it further.

It doesn't matter though. She shuts the door on those thoughts just as quickly as it opened. She promised Andrew and she doesn't break her promises. Andrew's friendship is too important to her to let that happen.

So she'll be cordial. She'll be kind and she'll be a good host while Carina stays here, but that's it. There won't be anymore flirting or charged looks or sultry smirks. Nothing. Carina is Andrew's sister and that's it. That's all she'll ever be.

Still, Maya can't help but wonder what she might be missing out on.