17. Chapter 17

Turns out, Carina did not need her alarm because her wife’s stomach woke them both up with how unhappy it was about two hours after she fell asleep, gurgling loudly.

“Carina,” Maya groaned, the brunette already getting up as the blonde hit the call button.

“I’m going Bambina,” Carina assured her as she went to scrub her hands, “Are you ok?”

“I feel so sick,” Maya said, her stomach continuing to make itself heard.

The nurse came running in as Carina headed toward the door, everyone hoping to avoid the incident that had happened last time.

Carina stood in the hall, blinking a little as her eyes adjusted to the lights after being in the dark room. She hasn’t fallen asleep, her mind to busy and anxious, but lying next to Maya at least took some of the edge off of how she was feeling.

She was pretty worried about her wife, terrified that her kidney was going to shut all the way down again. Her poor body had been through so much, and while Carina knew they were trying to keep on top of her hydration, Maya’s body was pretty clearly not doing a great job keeping it in.

Carina stood in the hall, trying to remind herself to breathe when Bailey walked up.

“Deluca, how are you doing?” the chief asked, looking at her friend.

“Better than yesterday,” Carina said, almost reaching up to scratch the side of her head only to remember she had stitches, pulling her hand back down, “But Maya is really feeling sick today so it is hard.”

“I can’t believe she picked up c. diff,” Bailey said, shaking her head, “Have you been eating and sleeping?”

“Si,” Carina nodded, “I had breakfast this morning and then I am going to get lunch with Teddy later, hopefully, although we are hopefully going to talk to Andy and the rest of 19 when they get their new engine in about an hour.”

“Oh, Ben mentioned that was today,” Bailey nodded, “He is bringing Joey and Tuck down to see it I think. I’m sure your wife is wishing she could be there.”

“Si,” Carina nodded, “Although, I don’t even know if she remembers it is happening today. She had been so out of it because she is not feeling well.”

“I’m sure,” Bailey nodded, “What are you doing out here?”

“She does not want me in the room when…you know…she is still using a bed pan and…” Carina said, not really wanting to go into detail.

“Oh, of course,” Bailey nodded, “I didn’t even think. That makes sense.”

Just then, the nurse came out of Maya’s room.

“You can go back in Dr. Deluca. Oh, wait, take this,” the nurse said, handing Carina an emesis basin.

“What happened?” Carina asked, concerned.

“Nothing yet,” the nurse said, shaking her head, “And I am going to get her some Zofran so hopefully nothing ever, but she said she’s incredibly nauseous right now so just in case.”

Carina sighed, taking the basin.

“Well, I will see you later,” Carina said to Bailey.

“Let me know if either of you need anything,” Bailey said as she walked away.

Carina went back into the room that was pretty dark, finding her wife just lying there with her eyes closed.

“I hear you are feeling worse Bambina,” Carina said, gently stroking her hair as she sat down, keeping the basin close.

“Nauseous,” Maya mumbled, not opening her eyes, “And crampy and cold and tired.”

“My poor Bambina,” Carina frowned, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Maya’s forehead which was quite warm, “I am going to go grab a cool cloth for your forehead.”

Carina quickly got up, going to the cupboards by the sink, knowing they kept wash clothes there. She quickly wet one with cold water before bringing it to her wife, laying it gently across her forehead, careful to avoid her surgical incision on the right side of her head.

The nurse came in quietly, pushing some meds into Maya’s IV before hanging another bag of fluids.

“That should help you feel less nauseous soon,” the nurse said quietly, “Is there anything else you need?”

Maya shook her head a little, keeping her eyes shut. Carina just sat there with her for about ten minutes until the alarm on her phone started going off.

“What is that?” Maya asked, opening her eyes, her stomach feeling a little better finally.

“Sorry,” Carina said, “I set an alarm to make sure I woke up in time, but I forgot to turn it off.”

“In time for what?” Maya asked, not sure what Carina had planned.

“To make sure we could call 19 and be there when the new engine arrives, if you want to,” Carina explained, “But if you are not feeling up to it, that is ok.”

“No, I want to,” Maya said, “I am feeling a little better. Everything is still really crampy and uncomfortable, but I am like 85% sure I’m not going to puke in the foreseeable future.”

“That is good,” Carina chuckled a little, “Do you want to call now? I know Andy said the new engine was arriving at 1, but I am sure they are all there already.”

“Yeah,” Maya nodded, her face lighting up a little for the first time that day. “Let me get my laptop so it is easier,” Carina said, going over to her bag, “And are you feeling up to being sat up a little?”

“I think so,” Maya nodded as Carina started to move the bed into a more upright position.

“Is that ok?” Carina asked, knowing she had put the bed a little higher than earlier.

“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “Thanks.”

“And if you start feeling worse while we are talking to them, just tell me, ok?” Carina said, knowing Maya was famous at pushing through the pain when she really wanted to do something, “And we don’t have to hang up, but we can readjust or get you more meds or something, ok?”

“Ok,” Maya nodded as Carina pulled up facetime on her computer.

“Hey Carina,” Andy said, answering on her iPad, “Maya. Oh my goodness, it is so good to see you awake! I missed you.”

“Hey Andy,” Maya smiled, “I missed you too.”

“I was going to try to come by last night, but then the baby decided I needed to spend a couple of hours puking my brains out,” Andy said, shaking her head, “How are you? I heard you caught c. diff?”

“Yeah,” Maya sighed, “Unfortunately. I’m ok. Today has been worse than yesterday for sure.”

“Sorry you aren’t feeling well,” Andy said, “So I’m guessing you won’t be up for visitors later?”

“I want to say yes,” Maya said, “But probably not. Maybe tomorrow though? Hopefully the new meds will start working some by then.”

“Ok,” Andy nodded, “Well, do you want to see everyone else? I think they are all up in the beanery eating lunch.”

“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “Please.”

“And Carina, how are you feeling?” Andy asked, “How’s the strep?”

“That is much better,” Carina nodded as Andy walked up the stairs, “I am doing ok. Just making it through.”

Andy nodded, knowing how hard all of this was for the Italian.

“Alright,” Andy said, walking through the doors to the beanery, “Hey guys, look who’s on the phone?”

“Captain,” “Carina,” and “the Bishop-Deluca’s” were heard as everyone looked at the screen excitedly.

“Hey Cap, how are you feeling?” Dean asked from where he was sitting.

“I’ve been better,” Maya said, smiling a little at all of them, “But I’ll be ok. Just trying to avoid any more infections. How are things at the station?”

Carina sat there, half listening to the updates from various members of Maya’s team as well as people from other shifts, everyone all together as they waited for the new engine to arrive. The Italian wasn’t really focused on what anyone was saying though, instead focusing on her wife, happy to see the blonde looking a little more like herself for the first time since the accident.

Just then, Maya’s stomach gurgled again, Carina looking at her wife, seeing how uncomfortable she looked.

“Do you need the nurse?” Carina asked quietly into Maya’s ear.

“I…yeah,” Maya said, feeling the cramps getting worse, “Hey guys, I gotta go for a minute. I’ll call back soon.”

Before anyone could say anything, Maya hung up, Carina having already called the nurse, heading out the door.

She got a text from Andy once she was out in the hall, asking what happened. Carina told her Maya’s stomach was bothering her again and that she needed a few minutes to get it under control.

Carina checked the time, seeing it was already 12:55. She knew if Maya missed the new engine coming to the station, it would crush her.

As it hit 1 pm, Carina knew that Maya was going to miss this big moment and was already preparing herself for the tears that were going to come.

About five minutes later, the nurse came back out.

“Is everything ok?” Carina asked, knowing the nurse had been in there a lot longer.

“She had another accident,” the nurse said, “We had bed protectors down so the sheets didn’t need changing, but it took a while to get her cleaned up.”

Carina nodded, going back into the room.

“I missed it,” Maya said, tears welling up in her eyes, “I missed the new engine.”

“Bambina,” Carina sighed, sitting down in the bed, “We can call them. Maybe they were running behind.”

“19 does not run behind,” Maya said, tears running down her cheeks, “My stupid body. I just wanted to be there with them…even if it was just on a screen…I just want to not feel like this.”

The blonde pounded her fist on the bed, unfortunately pulling out her IV that was in that hand, blood squirting onto the bed.

“Bambina,” Carina said, grabbing her hand, pressing some tissues to it as she held her, “Shhhh. It is ok. It will be ok.”

Maya cried for a long time, Carina just holding her close. Eventually, the tears tapered off, Maya just staring at the ceiling.

“How about if I call the nurse and we get you a new IV because you need the fluids,” Carina said, “And then, we can call them back and you can see the new engine? Ok? Or we don’t have to call them back, but Bambina, I think they would like to see you and you like seeing them.”

“Ok,” Maya agreed, looking at her hand, seeing the bruise that was now covering at least half of it from the force with which she pulled the IV out, “Sorry.”

“You were frustrated,” Carina said, “It happens.”

The nurse came rushing in, looking worried.

“She pulled out her IV,” Carina explained, “It was an accident, but she needs a new one.”

“Oh, ok,” the nurse nodded, “I’ll be right back.”

Within five minutes, Maya had a new IV placed in her arm, more fluids running.

“Can I have another drink?” Maya asked, feeling surprisingly thirsty.

“Of course,” the nurse nodded, “I will bring that right in.”

“Should we call 19 back?” Carina asked, seeing the time.

“Yeah,” Maya sighed, rubbing her eyes, feeling absolutely exhausted but desperate to talk to her friends.

Carina set her laptop up on the table, calling Andy back.

“Finally,” the Latina said, answering, “Is everything ok?”

“Just a few little hiccups,” Maya said, not wanting to tell her team what had happened, “Can I see the new engine?”

“It’s still outside,” Andy said, motioning to the others, “We didn’t want to bring it into the barn without you.”

“What?” Maya said, tears filling her eyes, “You guys…what?”

“You’re the captain,” Andy said, shrugging, “You need to be here for this.”

The next thing Maya knew, the barn door was opening, revealing the shiny new engine.

“Wow,” Maya said, not taking her eyes off the screen as the nurse came in with another cup for her, Carina taking it from her.

“Want to come with to bring it in for the first time?” Andy asked, already walking toward the rig.

The station had decided that the firefighters who were in the engine at the time it crashed should be the ones to bring the new one in so Travis, Vic, and Andy all climbed in with Maya on the iPad.

“Here,” Andy said, handing the device to Vic, “I need to drive.”

Andy slowly pulled the rig into the garage as Vic showed Maya the inside.

“I can’t want to be there for real,” Maya said, smiling a little.

“I can’t wait for everyone to be back for real,” Andy said from the front, the only one of the four who was officially back at work, “The station is weird without you three.”

“I’ll be back in two weeks,” Vic said.

“I’ve got at least another three months,” Travis said.

“I just need to leave the hospital,” Maya sighed, leaning her head on Carina a little, starting to feel exhausted.

Just then, Teddy walked into the room.

“Carina, ready for late lunch?” Teddy asked.

“Is that Teddy?” Vic asked, having become fast friends with the cardio surgeon after meeting her at a party at Maya and Carina’s.

“Hey,” the surgeon said, coming around, “What’s up?”

“We just brought the new engine into the barn,” Travis said, smiling at her, “To replace the one that we were all in when the accident happened.”

“You should stop by and see it sometime,” Vic said, knowing Teddy loved coming by the station.

“I will,” Teddy nodded, “I just came to grab this one for lunch. Carina, you ready to go?”

“I…” the Italian said, biting her lip.

“I’m good Car,” Maya said, looking at her wife, “You need to eat.”

Carina took a deep breath, trying not to focus on the fact that this was the first time she was going to be leaving Maya with no one sitting with her.

“I’ll stay on the phone with her until you get back,” Andy said, seeing how Carina looked.

“I’m ok Car,” Maya said, “I’ve got the call button. I’m going to be ok. Go eat with Teddy.”

“Ok,” Carina said, giving Maya a small kiss, “Oh, do you want a drink?”

“Thanks,” Maya said, taking a few sips of the liquid, “Now go. I will be ok.”

Carina nodded, taking a few deep breaths before leaving the room with Teddy.”

“Ok,” Maya said, looking at her friends once she was sure her wife was gone, “Now, I need you three to help me with something.”

Meanwhile, Carina was in the cafeteria with Teddy, trying to decide what she wanted to eat. She grabbed a salad, a container of yogurt, and some fruit, not really feeling very hungry.

“Carina,” Teddy said, pulling the Italian out of her head, “You gonna pay?”

“Oh, si, sorry,” Carina said, handing her card to the cashier.

“Come on,” Teddy said, guiding her friend to a quiet table in the back of the cafeteria, “She’s going to be ok.”

“I know that logically,” Carina said, sitting down, “And yet I feel like I am suffocating being down here.”

“Let’s eat and then you can go back up,” Teddy said, knowing it was important for Carina to get used to leaving Maya but hating watching her friend struggling, “When is your next therapy session?”

“Tomorrow,” Carina said, taking a bite of her yogurt, “I have an EMDR session tomorrow afternoon.”

“That helped you a lot last time, right?” Teddy asked.

“Yeah,” Carina nodded, “So much. I’m hoping it helps this time too because I am so exhausted.”

Tears filled Carina’s eyes that she tried hard to blink away, Teddy immediately moving to sit next to her, wrapping her friend in her arms.

“Sorry,” Carina said after a minute, “I just…I don’t know.”

“You’re overwhelmed,” Teddy said, “And scared and sad and hurting because your hurting and hurting because your wife is hurting and it’s all just hard and that is ok.”

Teddy gave Carina another tight hug before pulling back.

“Now, eat your food so you can get back up to your wife,” the surgeon said.

Carina nodded, taking another bite of her lunch. She ate most of it before Teddy got paged.

“I’ll stop by before I leave tonight,” she said, taking another quick drink, “I’m proud of you for coming down here.”

Carina felt silly that her just coming down to the cafeteria was something her friend was proud of her for because it was something most people did every day without thinking.

Carina made her way back up to Maya’s room, finding her wife sound asleep in the bed. She went to move her laptop when she realized Andy was still on it.

“She passed out about five minutes after you went downstairs,” Andy said.

“Why did you stay on the call?” Carina asked, confused.

“Because I promised you I would,” Andy shrugged, “I know how hard it is for you to leave her.”

“Grazie,” Carina said, her eyes filling up with tears.

“19 isn’t just her family, Carina,” Andy said, “We are yours too, whether you like it or not.”

“Thank you,” the Italian said, wiping away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks, “For everything.”

“Of course,” Andy nodded, “Now, go cuddle with your wife and take a nap. I’m sure you need one almost as badly as she does.”

“Si,” Carina nodded, “Thank you for including Maya in bringing the new engine in. I know it meant a lot to her. More than I can explain to you.”

“She’s our captain,” Andy shrugged, “She had to be a part of it. That’s how it works here.”

“Family,” Carina nodded, having heard that from Maya so many times.

“Family,” Andy said, smiling, “I’ll talk to you later Carina.”

“Goodbye,” Carina said, handing up the call before climbing into bed with her wife, thinking how lucky she was to not only have her but also the whole crazy fire family she brought with her.