31. Chapter 31

That night went pretty well. Maya ended up knocking out almost as soon as Carina started the movie, as the Italian expected. It took Carina a bit longer to fall asleep, but after watching a movie and doing some meditation, she managed to get her mind to settle down.

That lasted until about 2 am when she woke up in a full panic from a nightmare about Maya getting hit by a car. She almost sat herself completely up but was stopped by the weight on her chest. She tried to keep herself still once she remembered Maya was sleeping on her, not wanting to disrupt the sleep her wife so desperately needed.

Instead, Carina reached her hands around, finding Maya’s hands, planning to just use that to help calm her, but as soon as Maya’s hands were in hers, the blonde’s fingers laced into Carina’s holding them tightly. The doctor thought maybe she had woken her wife, but when she checked, her eyes were still closed, her breathing steady. Even in her sleep, Maya was offering Carina the exact comfort she needed.

It took a while for Carina to calm down fully, but she did manage to do it. It shocked her that her wife slept through it, something she had never once seen happen with the typically light sleeper. However, Carina knew Maya’s body was beyond exhausted from all the hard work that she had done during the day so she was glad she didn’t disrupt her sleep.

Once she managed to calm down, Carina forced herself to focus on the weight of her wife on her chest, the feeling of warmth her body provided, and the smell of Maya’s shampoo. It grounded her, reminded her her wife was indeed alive and did not just get hit by a car, that she, despite many injuries, was healing and getting better and was not in immediate danger. This helped keep Carina from slipping into an anxiety induced panic or flashback, keeping her grounded in the present.

Instead of focusing on her thoughts, she listened to Maya’s breathing, counting each breath and allowing that to calm her body down more because each breath reminded her that Maya was alive. It took her almost an hour, but she did eventually end up falling back to sleep, her hands still intertwined with her wife’s.

The next time either of them woke up was at 7 am, and shockingly, Carina was the first one up. She didn’t wake up form a nightmare or a flashback, but rather just because her body was done sleeping for the night, something she was grateful for.

As she woke up, she was stunned that her wife was still asleep in her arms. Maya was never one to sleep a lot, chronic insomnia, anxiety, and just general poor sleep habits from working 24-hour shifts causing her to wake up at least once a night, if not more, sometimes from a nightmare or panic attack or sometimes just because her body didn’t know how to sleep through the night. Carina could genuinely only remember a handful of times Maya had slept through the whole night, all of them either in the throes of a really bad illness or after an ungodly long five alarm fire.

However, Maya had fallen asleep the night before around 8 and here she was still sleeping at 7. This told Carina just how exhausting the day before had been for her wife, knowing that she was going to have to keep an extra close eye on her today to make sure she didn’t push herself too much.

Carina just laid there, enjoying the feeling of her wife on her chest, closing her eyes and imagining they were back home in their own bed on a lazy morning when Maya didn’t go for a run, neither of them had to work, no emergency pages or five-alarm fire, and no friends decided to invade their bubble of marital bliss.

Mornings like that were few and far between, but something they both made an effort to make happen at least once a month. Sometimes they made it happen more, and sometimes less, but they both knew to savor every second of it when it happened.

The last time they had gotten a morning like that had been about three days before Maya’s accident. This one they hadn’t exactly planned, both of them actually scheduled to work, but a massive 5 alarm fire that had Maya and her entire shift working for over 48 hours with very little downtime had required a change in schedule and meant Maya was home the night before instead of at work, and Carina had somehow ended up working three doubles to help out some of her friends and exceeding her allowed hours for the week before working her final shift of the week, meaning they were both home together on a night they had planned to spend apart. There was a thunderstorm that day, meaning Maya couldn’t go for a run if she wanted to, not that she had wanted to because her body was so tired form how much she had worked.

They had spent almost the entire day in bed, starting off the morning with lazy morning sex before just cuddling together until Carina’s loud and demanding stomach started growling, prompting Maya to grab her phone, ordering them breakfast.

“I could have made something Bambina,” Carina said, tracing circles on her wife’s bare stomach.

“Yes, but then I would be sad,” Maya said, “Because I wouldn’t get to have you here with me while you were in the kitchen. Plus, you have worked so hard this week. You don’t need to be cooking today.”

“Oh really?” Carina said, pushing herself up, “What do I need to be doing?”

“I can think of some things,” Maya smiled as she cupped Carina’s face in her hands, both of them laughing as Maya started kissing her again.

Carina smiled as she thought back to that day before she felt tears pricking her eyes, realizing that was the last time she had had sex with her wife, and probably would be for a very long time. It didn’t make her sad because she was going to miss they physical parts of their sex life while Maya healed, which she was for sure, but more so because the time after, or more often between, mind-blowing rounds of sex, was when they would have their most intimate conversations, both of them somehow able to be more emotionally vulnerable after being physically vulnerable with each other in a way they almost never were any other time. She knew they would get there again, but with the type of injuries her wife had, she knew it was going to be a long time.

“What’s wrong?” Maya asked sleepily, looking at Carina and seeing the tears in her eyes, “Did you have another nightmare?”

“No,” Carina said, shaking her head, “I was just thinking about our last day we spent the day in bed.”

“That was a good day,” Maya said, nodding, “God, I miss what we did on that day. How long is it going to be before we can do that again?”

“Probably a while Bambina,” Carina said as Maya frowned, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do this…”

Carina moved them a little bit so they were in a better position before pressing her lips to her wife’s, feeling the blonde smile before deepening the kiss.

However, before they could do anything else, there was a knock on the door and Amelia walked in before they even had a chance to break apart.

“Well, good morning Bishop-Deluca’s,” the neurosurgeon said, eyebrows raised as she walked over to the bed, “Did I interrupt something?”

“If I said yes, would you leave?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope,” Amelia said, shaking her head, “But I am glad to see you both feeling better. I just came to drop off breakfast and coffee and…a suture removal kit. Yay! So exciting! So much better than a heated make out sess.”

“Suture removal kit?” Maya said confused.

“For your wife’s head,” Amelia said, “It’s been long enough, and I figured I would take them out this morning.”

“I was going to ask about that,” Carina said, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Amelia said, “How are you both doing this morning?”

“I feel pretty good. A little achy, but not too bad. I think we slept all night,” Maya said, “Is it really 7:30?”

“Si,” Carina said, “You slept almost 12 hours. I was up for a while around 2 from a nightmare, but I did sleep well.”

“Wait, you woke up and I didn’t?” Maya said, looking at her wife, “You could have woken me.”

“Bambina, I don’t even remember the last time you slept as long as you did last night,” Carina said, “You needed it, and I was fine. You held my hands even though you were asleep, and that helped.”

“Why are you two so damn adorable?” Amelia said, shaking her head.

Carina leaned forward, pressing another kiss to her wife’s lips, Amelia groaning. They broke apart, both of them smiling at each other a little, eyes speaking volumes.

“Alright,” Amelia said, “Enough of that. Carina, do you want breakfast before or after stitches out?”

“First, I need to use the bathroom,” Carina said, “Bambina, can I get up?”

“Yeah,” Maya said, helping as much as she could as Carina carefully extracted herself from behind her wife, “Is your stomach still feeling ok?”

“Perfetto,” Carina nodded, “I don’t even feel a little bit sick anymore. I think it has been 18 hours since I last had any tummy issues.”

“Yay for no more c. diff,” Amelia said, smiling at both of them, “Look at you two getting better.”

Carina shook her head as she walked into the bathroom.

“How has the PT been going?” Amelia asked Maya, sitting down in a chair.

“Really well,” Maya said, smiling, “And I started OT yesterday. I showered, used the bathroom in the actual bathroom, and walked from there to bed.”

“Wow, Maya, that is amazing,” Amelia said, “I’m guessing that’s why you are achy today?”

“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “But it’s not too bad.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about this before, but should I have brought you something for breakfast?” Amelia said, “Sorry.”

“The answer would have been no,” Maya said, “I haven’t held anything down that I have taken not by tube in days, and even when I was, it was like three sips.”

“Yikes,” Amelia said, frowning, “Have they talked to you about what could be causing it?”

“They said it could literally be anything,” Maya sighed, “I’m sure they are going to make me try it again today.”

“Are you talking about your drinking?” Carina said, coming out of the bathroom, seeing Maya nod, “Si. They will probably have you try again today. But we can talk to Meredith about how to do that so you feel less sick.”

“Or I could just not,” Maya said, rubbing her eyes.

“You know that is not an option Bambina,” Carina said, going back over to the bed, “But we will go slow.”

Maya nodded as Carina gave her a small kiss before looking at Amelia.

“Breakfast or sutures?” Amelia asked.

“Sutures first,” Amelia said, “And coffee?”

“Sounds good,” Amelia said, handing the coffee to her friend before opening her suture removal kit and pulling on some gloves, “Alright. Let’s do this. I think there are 22 stitches. I think if you turn your head towards Maya, that will give me the best access.”

“You just like to make us look at each other,” Maya said, smirking at the neurosurgeon.

“I mean, I’m not complaining,” Carina said, smiling at her wife as she sipped her coffee, “Oh, did you go to Café Arnone?”

“I did,” Amelia nodded, “I was not about to give you your first coffee in a few days and make it coffee care coffee.”

“Grazie, Amelia,” Carina said, savoring the drink in her hand.

“After these come out, are you two suture free?” Amelia asked as she pulled another suture out.

“I think we are,” Maya said, “I don’t have any more so unless Carina has been hiding some, we should be done.”

“Wow,” Carina said, “That feels like a big step.”

“It is,” Amelia said, seeing Carina flinch a little as she pulled one out, “Sorry. I only have about five left.”

Just then, Carina’s stomach grumbled, making both her and Maya laugh.

“You good?” Amelia asked, laughing too. “Si,” Carina said, “Just hungry.”

“Well, good think I am done,” Amelia said, running her gloved finger over the area to make sure she didn’t miss anything, “Alright. Looks good. Don’t go in a swimming pool or bathtub for the next few days, but I don’t think that is going to be a problem.”

“No,” Carina said, shaking her head, “Thank you for doing that.”

“Of course,” Amelia said, taking off her gloves, “Now, I do not want to put stitches in any Bishop-Deluca for a long time, preferably never so try to make that happen for me.”

“We will do our best,” Maya said, shaking her head a little as Amelia handed Carina her breakfast.

“So, I got you a croissant and also some oatmeal because I wasn’t totally sure how hungry you would be,” Amelia said as Carina opened the bag Amelia gave her, “I hope that’s ok.”

“That sounds great,” Carina said, opening the oatmeal, “Bambina, is any of this making you even a little bit hungry?”

“No,” Maya said, shaking her head, “If anything, it’s making me nauseous.”

“I can go away,” Carina said, “And call the nurse for some…”

“Carina, I’m ok,” Maya said, grabbing her hand, “I don’t feel that bad. Please stay here.”

“If you’re sure,” Carina said. The three of them chatted for a little bit until 8:30 when Meredith walked in.

“Good morning,” Meredith said, “Oh, Amelia, hey.”

“Hey Mer,” Amelia said, “Shit, is it already after 8?”

“It’s 8:30,” Meredith said, raising an eyebrow.

“I gotta go,” Amelia said, “I have surgery at 9. Carina, I’m glad you are better. Maya, keep kicking ass in PT. I’ll be back later.”

“Bye Amelia,” Carina said, “Thanks for breakfast.”

“Alright Maya,” Meredith said, “So, those kidney numbers are still trending in the right direction which is exactly what I wanted to see. If you keep going like this, I am hoping to be able to take you off dialysis in the next few days as long as this continues.”

“Really?” Maya said as she held Carina’s hand tightly.

“Yes,” Meredith said, smiling, “Now, I want to talk about the issues you are having with drinking.”

“Yeah, everything I drink comes back up,” Maya said, frowning, “And I’ve been nauseous at least to some degree since I woke up.”

“I know,” Meredith said, “So what I want to do is try to give you some anti-nausea meds about thirty minutes before you try fluids again and see if that helps.”

“Which one?” Carina asked. “I’m going to try metoclopramide,” Meredith said, “It should help with the nausea and hopefully help keep the fluids down.”

Carina nodded, knowing that wasn’t the typical anti-emetic they used, but she also had an idea of what Meredith was trying.

“Why did you want to know?” Maya said, confused.

“Just curious,” Carina said, offering a calming smile, happy that Maya accepted that and didn’t probe more.

“Alright,” Meredith said, “Well, the reports I am getting from PT and OT are amazing. You are doing better than most of my patients who are twice as far post-op as you and had half the complications, not that I am surprised. Keep up the good work but remember that it is ok to take a break if you need to. I know you want to get out of here, but it is just going to take you longer to heal if you aren’t listening to your body, ok?”

“Yeah,” Maya nodded.

“Alright,” Meredith said, “And now, for the best news of all. You are officially out of contact isolation, and Carina, I talked to the nurses, and they said you have also been doing well, and because you were both on your antibiotics for long enough and no longer have symptoms, we have all agreed that all isolation procedures can be lifted.”

Both Maya and Carina smiled as they looked at each other. Since Maya had come down with c. diff. every single person who came into the room who was on staff at Grey Sloan had been in a gown and gloves. Without the isolation order on the door, people didn’t have to do that.

It also meant they could both leave the room now. Carina wasn’t sure if leaving was possible for Maya yet, but she was going to talk to PT and see if maybe it would be possible for her to just push Maya around the hospital, knowing how taxing it could be, especially on someone who was normally on the go as much as her wife.

“Alright,” Meredith said, “That’s all I have. Is there anything else either of you needed to ask?”

“No,” Maya said as Carina shook her head.

“Ok,” Meredith said, heading for the door, “Then I will either see you later today or next time I am on shift. Maya, excellent progress.”

“Bambina, you are doing so well,” Carina smiled, leaning over and kissing her deeply, “I am so proud of you.”

“And you are too,” Maya said, pressing her forehead to Carina’s.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, Maya’s nurse as well as Jared came in.

“Hey,” the nurse said, “So I have the new anti-nausea medicine that Dr. Grey wants you to have thirty minutes to an hour before you try fluids again so I am going to give this to you, let you do your PT, and then once that’s done, we can try fluids again. Does that sound ok?”

“Yeah,” Maya said, nodding.

“Alright,” the nurse said, going over to Maya’s IV pump to start the meds while Jared walked over.

“How are you feeling today?” he asked, “I heard you had quite the busy day yesterday.”

“Yeah,” Maya said, “I finally got to shower and I walked to the bathroom and from the bathroom and learned how to get out of bed.”

“And how are you feeling after all of that?” Jared asked, “Are your muscles really sore?”

“Kinda,” Maya said, “And I was exhausted last night. I think I slept almost 12 hours straight which I never do.”

“Si, I don’t think I have ever seen you sleep that long on your own,” Carina said, nodding.

“Alright,” Jared said, “So, I have some ideas for this morning. I want to start with some massage on your legs just to loosen everything up and then I have an idea. Since you are finally out of isolation, how would you like to get out of this room and either just go in a wheelchair ride around the hospital or you can do some walking.”

“That sounds amazing,” Maya said, smiling.

“Alright,” Jared said, “I am going to start the massage.”

“Would it be alright if I watched what you’re doing?” Carina asked, “Just to learn in case she needs it sometime when you are not here?”

“Absolutely,” Jared said, nodding, “This is something that is probably going to be helpful for a while as the recovery progresses.”

“Is that ok with you Bambina?” Carina asked, looking at her wife.

“Absolutely,” Maya nodded, “You know I always love a good massage, especially from you.”

“Stop,” Carina said, giving Maya a warning look as she got up to go stand near Jared.

Maya smirked as Jared started working on her tight muscles, Maya trying to let her body relax into the touches, though everything was so achy that it was hard to not tense up.

“Is this hurting you?” Jared asked as she flinched.

“Yes, but it hurts in a good way,” Maya said, “I’ll tell you if I’m in pain.”

Carina smiled up at her for a second as Jared got back to work, rubbing her finger gently on Maya’s ankle as the blonde smiled back at her.

After about fifteen minutes of massage, Jared finished up before looking at Maya.

“Alright, Are you ready to get up?” he asked.

“I am,” Maya nodded, “I just need some help getting to the other side of the bed.”

“Of course,” Jared said, both him and Carina getting into position to move her, quickly getting her to the other side of the bed.

“Alright,” Jared said, “Do you need help getting up?”

“I’ve got it,” Maya said, quickly going through the maneuver to get herself seated, Jared standing by just in case.

“Alright,” he said, “I’m impressed. I am going to go grab a wheelchair. Sit tight.”

“Bambina, how are you feeling?” Carina asked, going to her side.

“Good,” Maya said, “That massage really helped with the soreness in my legs. Hopefully I can stand and walk a little bit.”

“Just remember to not push too hard,” Carina said, brushing a piece of blonde hair off Maya’s forehead, “You are doing very well.”

Maya nodded, smiling a little bit.

“Alright, Jared said coming back into the room, “Ready?”

“Actually, can you leave the chair by the door and I walk to it?” Maya asked, “Just so I can see how walking goes in here before I try it somewhere else?”

“Of course,” Jared said, grabbing the cane as he went to Maya’s side, “Here’s a pillow.”

Carina and Jared got on either side of the blonde, just in case, before she stood up, Jared getting the cane into her hand as Carina took the pillow.

“Alright,” Jared said, “Go at your own pace.”

Maya walked carefully over to the wheelchair, her legs shakier than she would have liked, reminding her a little bit of how she felt the day after a really intense workout or fire. It mildly frustrated her that she felt like this after only walking back and forth to the bathroom a few times. She made it to the chair, Carina handing her back the pillow as she sat down, the blonde realizing she was mildly out of breath as she sat down.

“Good job Bambina,” Carina said, smiling at her, leaning down and pressing a small kiss to Maya’s cheek.

“Thanks,” Maya said as Jared got her IV pole where it needed to be behind the chair.

“Alright,” Jared said, “Do you want a blanket or anything? It’s kinda cold in the hospital.”

“Maybe,” Maya said, “Car, did Andy happen to bring any blankets from our house?”

“Let me check,” Carina said, going over to their bags, digging through one she had barely gone through since Andy brought it, “Ah, si. Here.”

Carina pulled out one of Maya’s favorite blankets, putting it on her wife’s lap.

“Grazie,” Maya said, smiling a little.

“Maya, are you thinking you want to do any walking outside this room?” Jared asked, trying to decide what needed to be brought with them.

“Um, maybe,” Maya said, “I don’t know.”

“I’ll bring the cane just in case,” Jared said, grabbing it and hooking it on the handles of the wheelchair, “Now, where to?”

Maya thought for a second before gesturing for Jared to come closer, whispering in his ear.

“Alright,” he said, clearly confused but not asking questions, “Sure.”

“Where did you ask to go Bambina?” Carina asked, giving her a weird look.

“Just come with and find out,” Maya said, reaching out her good hand, Carina taking it in her own as Jared started pushing the wheelchair.

“Wait, I want to grab one thing before we go,” Carina said. She went over to the cabinets, grabbing out an emesis bag.

“I don’t feel sick,” Maya said as Carina tucked it into the wheelchair next to her.

“I know,” Carina said, “And with the meds you are on, you shouldn’t have any issues, but just in case, ok? We don’t want a repeat of yesterday.”

“I guess you’re right,” Maya said, nodded.

“Anything else?” Jared asked, looking between the two of them.

“No,” Maya said, Carina also shaking her head.

“Alright,” Jared said, “Then here we go.”

Maya smiled as Jared wheeled her out the door.

“How does it feel to be out of that room for the first time in weeks?” Carina asked as they walked down the hall.

“Amazing,” Maya said, “I don’t even think I realized how hard it’s been only being in that room until now.”

“I’m sure,” Carina said, “I am curious to see where you have chosen to go on your first outing.”

“You’ll see soon,” Maya said.

“I can’t wait to hear the reason why this is where she wants to go,” Jared said, pushing them to the elevator.

“I’ll tell you later,” Maya said, “Promise. Will it be possible for you to just leave us there though? And Carina can just bring me back to our room when we’re done? Or is that against the rules?”

“Not at all,” Jared said, “You can stay as long as you want. Plus, your wife is a doctor. I know she knows how to help you.”

“Perfect,” Maya said as the elevator doors closed.

They got off the elevator, Carina still very confused as to where they were going. However, within about two minutes, they had stopped in front of the room.

“Alright,” Jared said, “Do you want me to push you in or…?”

“I’ve got it,” Carina said, still feeling a little confused.

“Thank you Jared,” Maya said, “See you later today?”

“Of course,” Jared said, “Enjoy.”

“Bambina,” Carina said as she opened the door before pushing Maya’s wheelchair into the room, “What are we doing here?”