Chapter Text
“Hi, Travis.” Carina said as she entered the station, balancing a baking dish covered with tin foil in one hand as she pushed the door open with the other.
The man behind the desk looked up and smiled at the doctor. “Hey, Carina.” His eyes landed on the dish and he took a deep breath, eyes widening when he perceived the delicious smell of the brunette’s cooking. “Oh, God, is that lasagna?” He asked, getting up from his seat to take the food from Carina’s hands.
The doctor turned her torso to get the dish out of his reach, playfully slapping his extended hand. “It is lasagna but it’s not for you, it’s for Maya.”
“Ugh, come on!” Travis raised his hands and let them fall, slapping his thighs. “Just a little taste, please.” He joined his hands, pleading. “She get’s to eat your cooking all the time, it’s not fair.”
Carina shook her head. “Life’s not fair, Travis.” She shrugged. “Now, is Maya in her office? Is she busy?”
The firefighter’s shoulders dropped in defeat. “She’s not busy but she’s in a mood. Maybe your lasagna will cheer her up.”
The brunette’s brows knitted. “She’s in a mood? Why? Did you have a bad call?”
Travis shook his head. “No, it’s not work, she’s been like that since shift started. Didn’t you see her in the morning?”
Carina’s eyes were focused on the captain’s office door as she answered. “No, I was in the hospital all night, I got home after Maya had already left for work.” She returned her gaze to Travis. “Is it bad?”
Travis shook his head. “Not really. She’s just really quiet and basically ignores everyone unless we’re on a call. She didn’t eat breakfast with us and she’s been holed up in her office all day but at least she doesn’t have us running drills.”
The Italian nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll try to figure out what’s going on.”
The man sighed and placed a hand on the brunette’s shoulder. “Good luck in there, Carina.”
The doctor gave him a half-smile and walked to the door, opening it without knocking as she usually did.
She found Maya sitting behind her desk, chair turned to the side so she was looking at the window facing the street. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her feet were up on the desk, something she usually didn't do. And even if her eyes were looking ahead, she was clearly lost in thought as she didn’t turn to see who had entered her office.
Carina silently closed the door behind her and cleared her throat to get the blonde’s attention.
Maya turned her head at the sound, her eyes widening when she saw her wife. “Carina, hi.” She lowered her feet from the desk and placed her hands on the armrests of her chair, pushing herself up. “What are you doing here?”
The brunette reduced the distance between them, setting the food on the desk and cupping the firefighter’s face when she got close enough, pulling her into a kiss that lasted several seconds.
“I haven’t seen you since yesterday and I wanted to surprise you.” Carina gently scratched the sides of Maya’s neck, just below her ears.
The captain placed a hand to the brunette’s hips and the other tapped her desk twice, pointing at the dish. “And you brought lasagna with you.” She commented with a smile.
Carina pecked Maya on the lips again. “I did. I thought you’d be hungry and a little birdie just told me you skipped breakfast so I guess I was right.”
Maya chuckled. “Is that little birdie called Travis? Did he tell you anything else?”
“Mmhmm.” Carina hummed in confirmation, playing with the captain’s earlobes. “He told me you’ve been moody all day. Wanna tell me about that?”
Maya’s happy expression dulled at that, looking away to try to hide it from Carina but failing miserably. “There’s nothing wrong.” She lied.
The doctor followed the blonde’s eyes with her own until she returned her gaze. “Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything.”
Maya stayed in silence for a few moments, her eyes drifting from Carina’s to her lips. She drew her lower lip into her mouth, her tongue peeking for a second. “Everything’s fine, the hunger is making me act like that.” She arched a brow and he tongue touched the roof of her mouth. “Good thing you’re here, maybe you can help me with the other kind of hunger as well.” She leaned into the brunette, deepening the kiss immediately.
The doctor kissed her back just as hard, twirling her tongue alongside Maya’s, biting her lip when they tilted their faces to the other side when air became necessary again.
But suddenly, she pulled away, holding Maya’s head in place so she wouldn’t chase after her. “Wait.”
“Wait what?” The blonde breathed out, pulling her wife closer by the hips.
“Don’t do this, don’t try to use sex to ignore your problems.” Carina whispered, resting her forehead on Maya’s. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
The firefighter sighed. “There’s nothing wrong, I’m okay.”
“You clearly are not. Why are you so weird toda—?” Carina stopped herself as she realized something. “Today… isn’t today your brother’s birthday?”
Maya sighed and let her forehead drop to the brunette’s shoulder. “Carina…”
“Bambina.” The doctor’s hands traveled to the blonde’s waist and pushed her away just enough so she could see her face. “Talk to me?”
The captain sighed again, this time pulling away from Carina to lean against her desk, arms crossed. “Yes, that’s why I’m in a mood.” She finally admitted. “It’s just…” She uncrossed her arms and grabbed the edge of the desk. “I miss him. And I don’t know how he is or where and I feel like everything bad that’s ever happened to him is my fault.”
“Maya, that’s not true.” Carina tried to cup the blonde’s face again but she turned her face, not abruptly but enough to make the brunette back away. “You can’t blame yourself for his decisions.”
The firefighter’s jaw tensed. “It’s like a boulder. Like, everything that happened when we were kids, every time I got my parents’ attention over him, pushed him away from me and into a life of struggles.”
“That’s not on you, Maya. You were a kid yourself, it’s the parents job to take care of their children.” The doctor got closer to her wife again, placing a hand on her hip, happy she didn’t flinch or pulled away.
“But what about now? Hmm? I’m an adult now, I have the means to help him but I can’t even find him.”
“And he’s an adult too. Mason can take care of himself or ask for help if he needs it. I understand the need to help your little brother, even when he doesn’t want your help, but he has to give in a little bit too.” This time, when Carina placed her hands at the sides of Maya’s neck, she didn’t pull away.
“But I have to find him first.” The blonde said, pursing her lips.
The doctor smiled. “And we will. I promise.” She leaned down, pressing her lips on Maya’s forehead, then on her nose, her cheeks and finally her lips.
“I’ve already tried many times in the past. For our wedding, remember? And after. I’m always looking at the homeless’ settlements, I call shelters and nothing.” Maya said once they pulled away, a line appearing between her brows.
“Maybe you can’t find him there because he’s not homeless anymore.” Carina mentioned, caressing Maya’s jaw with her thumbs.
“Or maybe, I can’t find him at all because he’s already —” The captain stopped herself before finishing her sentence, clenching her jaw and tightening her grip on the edge of her desk.
The doctor’s smile became slightly smaller. “He’s not dead. You cannot think that, bambina.”
Maya swallowed loudly and looked down. “It’s a possibility.”
Carina sighed and bit her lip a second later. “You’re right. It’s a possiblity but you will go crazy if you think about that. You have to hope he’s okay, hope we will find him soon.” She let go of the blonde’s neck and grabbed her hands, making her release her grip on the desk.
The firefighter lifted her chin and looked into the taller woman’s eyes. “We will find him soon.” She squeezed Carina’s hands.
The corners of the Italian’s lips curved up. “Yes.” She left a chaste kiss on her wife’s lips. “But now we have to eat because the lasagna is getting colder and you need to put something in your stomach. We can’t have you passing out from starvation in the middle of a fire.”
Maya returned the smile and pushed herself off the desk, making Carina take a step back. “It would be a shame if the lasagna went cold and there’s no way we’re going to the beanery to reheat it. Everyone will smell it and will come like hyenas to steal some.”
The couple laughed at that and cleared the captain’s desk so they could have lunch.
A few months went by with no news of Mason’s whereabouts. Maya had even contacted Ryan’s old partner and asked him if he knew anything or if he could look into the police’s data base with no luck.
Carina, who didn’t have the contacts Maya had, could only help by calling different shelters every week, trying to get some information, but the youngest Bishop had not been in any of the shelters she reached out to and decided to start asking on community kitchens, hoping he had gone by for a meal but the search was still unsuccessful.
“The mom in bed 7 looks fine but I need someone to take her to observation, just in case.” Carina said as she handed the tablet to the nurse behind the ER’s admissions desk.
“Right away, doctor.” The nurse said.
The brunette smiled in reply and was about to turn around to leave when someone came from behind her and leaned on the desk next to her.
“Patient from bed 3 needs an x-ray, can you page an intern to take him, please?” Link said, tapping a few things on his tablet before leaving it on the desk.
“Of course, doctor.” The nurse politely answered again, taking the tablet and setting it on the charging dock.
“Anything interesting?” Carina asked, starting to walk away with Link by her side.
They weren’t really close but Carina and Amelia were and the OB had also delivered Link's baby so the two of them considered each other as friends.
“Ugh, not at all.” The blond sighed. “Just a broken wrist. I had to come take a look because my Ortho fellow is out sick and the interns in the pit are clueless. What about you?”
“A mom took a fall. Nothing serious, grazie a Dio, the baby looks fine but she does have a bruise on her belly so I’m admitting her for 24 hours observation.” The OB explained, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
Link nodded as he pressed the elevator button to get it to open it’s doors. “I hope everything goes well.” He said with a charming smile. “Hey, your wife’s last name is Bishop, right?” He asked out of the blue.
The Italian chuckled at the odd question. “Technically, that’s my last name too.” She pointed at the name stitched into her lab coat.
She had hyphenated her last name with Maya's, making them both Bishop-DeLuca, but in the medical community she was still known as DeLuca since it would take too long to change her name in every article and study she had participated in. Within the hospital, the people who knew her from before she got married still called her DeLuca while the newest employees refered to her as Bishop and she was fine with both. DeLuca was the name she shared with her dear late brother and Bishop was the name of the woman she loved.
Link laughed under his breath at his slip. “Of course, I forgot for a second.”
The elevator dinged open and they both stepped inside. “Why do you ask?” The Italian wondered, pressing the button for the third floor.
“Because my patient’s last name is Bishop as well, I just thought it was curious.” The Ortho doc commented nonchalantly, stuffing his hands in his scrub pants’ pockets.
Carina’s brows knitted as she turned to face the man. “What’s his first name?” She inquired.
“Mason. Mason Bishop.”
The OB’s eyes opened wide at the revelation. She stuck her hand out to stop the elevator door’s from closing and got out of it, practically running to the ER, ignoring Link’s confused calls.
Carina made it to the emergency room in a few seconds, slowing down as she got closer to the desk to scan the place. Her eyes landed on bed 3, remembering Link’s words from before, and saw the curtain closed.
She nervously grabbed the lapels of her lab coat and adjusted her scrubs as she calmly walked to the bed, not directly to it but a few meters in front of so she could see the person behind de curtains.
The OB’s shoulders dropped and she let out a sigh at the sight of a lean built blond man with light stubble on his face who was cradling his left arm against his chest as he scrolled down his phone with his free hand. Apparently, she stared at him too hard because he looked up and his blue eyes connected with her brown ones.
Those blue eyes were almost identical to Maya’s.
It was definetely Mason.
Mason’s brows snapped together after a few seconds passed and the doctor didn’t say or do anything. “Are you here to take me to X-rays or…?”
That snapped Carina out of her bubble of thoughts. She shook her head and took a few steps towards the bed and, in consequence, towards the youngest Bishop.
“No, that’s not why I’m here.” The Italian admitted, grabbing the railings of the bed near his feet to keep her nervous hands from fidgeting.
Mason’s eyebrows twitched again and confusion could be seen in his face. “Then why are you here, doctor…?”
Carina immediately extended a hand for him to take. He set his phone on his thigh and shook the Italian’s hand. “I’m doctor Carina DeLuca, I’m an OB/GYN.”
That only made him more confused. The blond tilted his head to the side, still shaking the woman’s hand as she hadn’t let go of his. “I’m pretty sure I don’t need that kind of doctor, thank you.”
The doctor nervously chuckled and finally let go of him. “No, of course you don’t. I’m…” She paused for a second to wet her lips. Then, she sat on the edge of the bed and looked down for a moment before returning her gaze to meet Mason’s. “I’m your sister’s wife.”
Mason’s nostrils flared as his mouth set in a hard line at the mention of his sister. “You’re what?” He asked, instinctively moving away from the doctor. “You must be mistaking me for someone else’s brother.”
The brunette shook her head slowly and let out a breath. “No, I’m not. You’re Mason Bishop, Maya’s little brother. I’m married to your sister.”
The blond scowled at Carina and made a move to get up. “I need to go.”
Carina raised her hands in front of him to get him to calm down. “Wait, you still need medical attention.” She tried to reason with him.
With his left arm still cradled to his chest, Mason got up. “I can get it elsewhere. I’m leaving.”
The doctor rounded the bed to be in front of him and placed a hand on his uninjured arm. “Please don’t leave, I haven’t told her you’re here.”
Those words seemed to calm him. Still frowning, he gave her a once-over to try to figure out if she was lying. “You haven’t?”
Carina shook her head twice. “No, I haven’t. I had to make sure it was you first.” He flinched again. “But, even now that I know, I won’t tell her if you don’t want me to.”
Mason’s jaw clenched for a few moments before he let out a deep breath and, with it, the tension on his jaw and shoulders, sitting down on his bed again. “I’ll stay but don’t tell her… there’s that doctor-patient confidentiality thing, right?”
Carina observed as he pulled his feet up again and leaned against the side of his bed. “Well, technically, I’m not your doctor and I wouldn’t be breaking HIPPA if I don’t disclose your medical condition but I won’t say anything. Not unless you want me to.” She crossed her arms over her chest with a hopeful expression.
The blond chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Not gonna happen.”
The Italian wanted to say something but she bit her bottom lip and only nodded, giving Mason some space.
After a few moments, the man finally spoke again. “You’re really married to my sister? You seem too nice and she was never the relationship type.”
The brunette laughed at the last part and uncrossed her arms. “I was not the relationship type before I met her either but I’m not lying.” She wiggled her left hand fingers to show him her ring.
Mason’s eyes narrowed and a small smirk grew in his lips. “That could be just a random ring, I’m gonna need more proof.”
Carina returned the smirk and pulled her phone out, looking for a picture of her and Maya. “See?” She handed him the device.
The blond’s eyes widened at the photo she showed him. The two women were looking at the camera as they stood the closest to each other as possible, both of them with white outfits and bright smiles on their faces. Mason couldn’t remember seeing his sister that happy, not even when she won her medal.
“This is from your wedding day?” He asked even if it was obvious, not returning Carina her phone yet.
The Italian nodded. “Yes. She tried to reach out to you so you could come but she wasn’t able to find you.” She added with a hint of sadness.
Mason swallowed and gave the brunette her phone back. “When was it?”
Carina pocketed her phone again and looked at Mason. “A little over two years ago.”
The man tilted his head back as he let out a quiet laugh. “You got married during the pandemic?”
The doctor laughed as well and started playing with the cords of her scrub pants, remembering the day. “We did. We had a small ceremony but even without COVID, it would have been small. All of my family is in Italy and both Maya and I have very small circles of friends.” She commented and then placed her hand over Mason’s free one. “She would have loved to have you walking her down the aisle.”
Mason quickly retrieved his hand and his shoulders tensed. “Isn’t that supposed to be the dad’s job? Last time I checked, Lane was still alive.” He bitterly said with a scowl.
Carina raised her brows at that comment as she brought her hand closer to herself. “Mason, Maya hasn’t talked to your dad in years.”
Mason’s face twisted in disbelief. “What do you mean? She’s his star, the perfect child, the prospect.” He spat and gave the doctor a hard look.
The Italian’s forehead furrowed at his tone. There was a lot of resentment there. “It’s really not my place to talk about your family but…” She looked down at her hands, trying to find the right words. “Maya realized that what he did to her, to your mother and to you wasn’t okay.” She raised her face again to meet Mason’s eyes. “She’s still dealing with that. She feels guilty for not having realized it sooner, for not helping you.”
The blond scoffed and looked away, clicking his tongue. “She’s not capable of feeling guilty. She’s a carbon copy of Lane.”
“No, she’s not.” Carina rebuked immediately, her eyes flickering with a hint of anger at the comparison. “She has changed a lot since the last time you saw her. She misses you and wants to make things right with you but she can’t if you don’t let her.”
Mason slowly turned his head to look at Carina again gritting his teeth. “Am I supposed to just give her a chance? Just like that?”
The Italian sighed and then wetted her lips again. “What’s the alternative if you don’t? Never speak to your family, ever again?”
The man shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t see anything bad with that option. “I haven’t talked to them in half a decade. What difference would it make?”
The doctor’s shoulders sagged at that.
Standing up, she stuck her hands in her lab coat’s pockets and took a deep breath. “Speaking from experience, I can tell you that your sister really wants to reconnect with you now that you can, before it’s too late.”
Mason stared at Carina for a moment, trying to decipher what she really meant. “What do you mean by ‘too late’?”
The doctor stayed in silence for a few seconds, trying to swallow the knot in her throat that appeared every time she talked about her brother. “I am an older sister, like Maya. My little brother and I were really close growing up, we played together all day and I used to tuck him in and sing until he fell asleep at night.”
She smiled at the memory of her running her hands through his unruly hair when they were kids. “But then our parents got divorced and he and mom came to the States and I stayed with my papà back in Italy.” Carina took a breath and let it out.
“We stayed in contact, of course. He and mom would call and we wrote letters and they would fly there or I would fly here but it was not the same.” The brunette chewed on her bottom lip. “After mamma died, we drifted apart even more to the point where he almost never answered my calls. I tried to give him space, chose to think he was just busy with college and then with work but after months of not hearing from him, I decided it was enough.”
She glanced up to the ceiling to prevent the tears that flooded her eyes from falling. “I came to Seattle and got a job here, in the same hospital as him. He was not happy with my work.” She chuckled, remembering how awkward he got every time she talked about her study. “But we became close again, almost like when we were children. There were bumps in the street –”
“Bumps in the street?” Mason interrupted her for the first time. He was attentively listening to the woman but that slip almost made him chuckle, however, the way Carina’s voice started to crack sometimes told him he shouldn’t laugh. “You mean ‘bumps in the road’?”
That made the doctor laugh softly. Maya was the one always teasing her when she got an idiom wrong and it was fitting that Mason did the same.
“Yes, you are right. There were still some bumps in the road to become close again, we fought and he sometimes didn’t want my help but we were working on it.” Carina’s smile began to fade again, her expression dulling. “And then he was taken from me just when we became us again.”
Mason’s jaw tensed and instinctively clenched his fists, wincing as he felt pain coming from his injured hand. “He died?”
The Italian nodded once as sadness clouded her features. “He did. Right in this hospital.” She looked around the ER. “And every day I wish I had more time with him, I wish I had come to Seattle sooner to fix our relationship.”
The blond’s eyes bored into the doctor. “Are you trying to guilt trip me into talking to my sister? That’s why you’re telling me your sad story?” He wasn’t trying to be an asshole to this obviously kind woman but his defense mechanism made him distrust everyone.
Carina placed a hand on his calf and have him a light squeeze. “No, that’s not why. I know my situation with my brother and yours with Maya are different. But I know that she loves you and she misses you very much, just like I missed my brother.”
She removed her hand from his leg and crossed her arms again. “When Andrea died, a part of me died with him. He was my baby brother and I couldn’t protect him. But at least I knew. I knew he was gone and I had the chance to grieve him. But Maya hasn’t heard from you in years and that uncertainty eats her up from the inside.”
“I don’t see how that’s my problem.” Mason hissed, twisting his mouth.
“Look, Mason, I’m not saying you should forget about the problems between you two but you should give her the opportunity to prove to you she has changed.” Carina said as she uncrossed her arms.
The blond didn’t have a chance to reply as an intern interrupted them as she pushed a wheelchair.
“Excuse me, Dr. Bishop, I have to take him to X-rays.” The young doctor said.
Mason’s eyes went round at the doctor’s last name.
Carina only nodded and moved out of the way. “Of course.” She said to the other woman and then turned to Mason. “Just think about it, okay? If you need anything, have someone page me.”
The man got up in silence and sat in the wheelchair, still looking at the brunette.
“I don’t like to lie to my wife so I will tell her I saw you but not right now, I’ll tell her when I get home.” The Italian added before giving him a nod and turning around. “Take care.” She said over her shoulder as she walked away.
Carina arrived to her office and let herself fall heavily in her chair, feeling absolutely drained after that conversation with her brother in law. Lacing her fingers over her stomach, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, replaying the entire exchange in her head. She didn’t realize for how long she stayed that way and was only pulled out of her thoughts by her phone ringing.
She grabbed the device from her pocket and saw the text.
Link – 17:53: My patient is asking for you, can you come? We’re on procedure room 3.
Carina got up from her seat in that instant and made her way to the room Link told her. He found the Ortho doctor just outside, tapping some stuff in the tablet.
“Mason asked for me?” Was the first thing the brunette said as she entered his ear shot.
The blond doctor looked up and nodded. “Yeah, I was telling him about how long he will need his brace and he suddenly asked for you.” Link studied her reaction. “The name isn’t a coincidence, is it?”
Carina sighed. “It is not. He’s my brother in law.”
Link nodded and then smiled. “Well, he’s gonna be just fine. He didn’t break his wrist, it’s only a small fissure on the triquetrum so he’ll only need the brace for a few weeks, maybe a month.” He set the tablet on the nearby nurses’ station. “Good luck in there.” He gently patted Carina on the shoulder before walking away.
The OB stood in front of the door for a few moments, working up the courage to go inside. The fact that Mason asked for her was a good sign but she didn’t want to get her hopes up.
She knocked on the door and opened it, not waiting for a reply. She found the blond sitting on the bed with his legs swung to the side like he was about to stand up.
“You wanted to see me?” The brunette said when blue eyes focused on her.
Mason nodded and then lowered his gaze. “I did.” His chest inflated as he took a deep breath and let it out. “I’ve thought about what you said and…” he pressed his lips together. “I don’t know if I’m ready to see Maya yet.”
Carina’s hopeful expression faded away at those words. She scratched her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s okay. I never wanted to force you.”
The man took a few steps towards the brunette, one hand on his pocket and the other —the one with the brace— pressed against this belly. “But you can tell her I’m okay.”
“Minus the injured wrist.” Carina joked, pointing at the hand.
Mason chortled. “Minus the injured wrist.” He repeated.
The doctor took a step closer as well. “But, are you, really? Okay, I mean. Maya said you didn’t have a home and that you —” she stopped herself before she mentioned his drug problem.
However, the blond understood what she meant. “I’ve been clean for three years. I relapsed once since the last time I saw Maya but I’ve been better ever since.” He scratched his cheek and looked away as he admitted that. “I have a job as a cashier in a grocery store, it doesn’t pay much but I can buy some art supplies and pay my part of the rent for a small flat I share with… someone.”
Carina caught on his slip as well but didn’t comment on it. “Can I ask how you got hurt?”
“I was painting a mural and the ladder was a little wobbly. I didn’t think it was a big deal until I fell and landed on my wrist.” He said with humor, showing his hand.
“You have to do as Dr. Lincoln said. Try not to take the brace off so the fissure can heal quickly and it’s okay if you need pain killers.” Carina extended a hand to brush Mason’s injured wrist.
“No pain killers for me. I can take the pain.” The man rubbed the underside of his nose nervously.
The brunette nodded in understanding and then her lips started to curl in a smile. “‘Embrace the pain’.” She muttered.
The blond’s brows knitted at those words. “My dad used to say that.”
“Your sister did too. ‘Eyes forward’ was her other motto. But they’re not anymore. She let go of them.”
Mason scoffed, not totally believing the doctor. “She always has a motto or mantra. She likes to repeat it to herself when times are hard.”
Carina gave him a lopsided smile. “I never said she didn’t have a motto anymore, I said she let go of those two.”
The blond crossed his arms carefully and tilted his chin up. “Yeah? What’s the new one?” He playfully challenged her.
“Più forti insieme.” The brunette simply said, smiling at the crinkle that formed between Mason’s brows when he didn’t understand her. “It means ‘stronger together’. It applies to both her fire family and to our own family.”
“Is she still a firefighter? I bet she’s a burned toast by now.” He smirked.
Carina chuckled but her brow furrowed as well. “Never joke about that.” She chastised him. “Yes, she’s still a firefighter. Maya is the captain of her station, in fact.” She pulled a business card from a pocket of her lab coat and a pen from the breast pocket. “But I think she would prefer to tell you all about it herself if you ever want to ask her.” She wrote the captain’s number in the card and handed it to him. “My number is in there too in case you need anything.”
Mason examined the card in his hand, first reading the number in the back and then flipping it to read the printed information of the Italian physician.
Dr. Carina Bishop-DeLuca, MD, FACOG, Head of OB/GYN, Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Followed by the extension to her office.
“I promise I will think about it.” Mason said, grabbing the card with his injured hand to pull out his wallet and place the card inside.
Carina’s smile turned into a full grin. “That’s all I ask.”
The man walked past her towards the door. “See you later, Dr. Bishop.”
The Italian turned to watch him leave. “You’re family, Mason. Call me Carina.”
He nodded in response. “Carina.” He tested the name and then he was gone.
The Italian sighed in relief. Looking at her wrist watch, she noticed she had a little under an hour left of her shift so she headed towards the OB floor to check on her patients before grabbing her stuff to leave for the day.
Carina arrived at the apartment she shared with Maya a little before 7:30, tired but also nervous about telling her wife what had happened with Mason.
“Ciao, bella, I’m home.” She greeted as she opened the door.
Maya, who Carina could see was in the kitchen, didn’t answer. She had her back towards the brunette and was humming under her breath.
The doctor hung up her coat in the hanger by the door, left her purse on the table and silently walked to the blonde, wrapping her arms around her middle when she got close enough.
The firefighter was a little startled, quickly removing her airpods from her ears and turning her face to look at her wife. “Hey, you.”
“Hey.” Carina simply said before leaning into the blonde and pressing a short kiss on her soft lips. “What are you cooking?” She asked as she loosened her grip to allow Maya to turn around in her arms.
“Chicken and broccoli bake. It’s almost ready, we just need to wait a few minutes to take it out of the oven You can go change while I finish cleaning up.” Maya said with her hands wrapped around Carina’s neck, leaning closer to leave another peck on her lips.
“That sounds great, bella. Be back in a second.” Kissing the blonde on the cheek, the doctor detached herself from the other woman and walked to their bedroom to change into some more comfortable clothes and also freshen up a bit in the bathroom. By the time she returned to the kitchen, Maya had already served their plates and had set them in the glass table.
“It looks delicious, Maya.” Carina said as she took her seat in the head of the table, Maya already sitting in the adjacent chair.
The firefighter smiled at the praise. “I’m glad you think so. Let’s hope it taste the same.” She lifted her fork and scooped some of the food, watching as Carina did the same.
They ‘made a toast’ with their forks before taking the bite at the same time. Both women made a sound of approval at the taste.
“Mmmm, bambina, this is so good.” Carina said, immediately scooping some more with her fork.
The corners of the blonde's mouth turned up as she chewed. “I’m glad you like it.” She said after swallowing her food.
“Like it? I love it, Maya.” The brunette remarked, taking a sip of her drink. “So, how was your day?”
Maya took a few moments before answering as she still had food in her mouth. “It was fun. Vic, Andy and I went to that new Mexican place for lunch and the food was so good.” She took another bite but didn’t wait to pass it to start talking again, placing her fist near her lips as she spoke. “But as we were eating our papadzules –”
“What are papadzules?” Carina interrupted before taking another bite.
“They’re like… boiled eggs tacos but the eggs are crumbled and the tortilla is soft, not like those fake taco shells.” Maya started to explain. “Then, they pour this green sauce on top made of squash seeds and later tomato sauce is added. It sounds weird but it tastes good, I promise.”
Carina smiled at the blonde’s enthusiasm as she talked about that dish. “Okay, we’ll go together to eat papadzules one of these days.” She scooped more food and held the fork to her lips before speaking. “And what were you saying happened?”
Maya, who was drinking from her glass, nodded as she set the drink on the table again. “Oh, yeah, we were eating and this lady three tables away from us started choking on an empanada.” She tried to suppress a laugh. “The three of us stood up and offered to help since her family was just patting her in the back and no one seemed like they knew how to perform the heimlich maneuver.”
“Oh, so the big, strong firefighters offered to save the damsel in distress?” The Italian said with faux jealousy.
The captain arched a brow and smirked at the taunt. “But of course, that’s our job.” She teased. “So, I started the maneuver but that empanada was really stuck, I was on my third try, trying not to hurt the woman but also concerned about loosing her airway, when someone shouted we should slid her throat.”
“What?” Carina asked in disbelief.
“I want to believe they meant we should trach her and I was about to ask Andy and Vic to help me get her on the floor when, finally, the empanada flew out of her mouth.” Maya closed her lips around her fork and started to chew, shaking her head. “Everyone around started clapping but when I looked at Vic and Andy I knew they wanted to laugh as bad as I did. I don’t know how we controlled ourselves. But, on the bright side” she lifted her index, “we got a free meal out of it. The restaurant owners called us heroes and said they would not charge us for our food.”
“And you saved a life.” The doctor added, trying to hide a smile.
“I mean, yeah, but we do that every day.” The blonde saved a hand, dismissing the heroic act.
Both women laughed after that.
“What about you? How was your day?” Maya asked, cleaning the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
Carina took her eyes away from the blonde, staring at her food instead, trying to figure out how to tell her about Mason. “It was good. Same as always, really.” She looked up for a moment to give her a smile. “Scheduled check ups, a consult in the pit, post ops. But I saw a familiar face in the ER.”
Maya narrowed her eyes but the smile on her lips made her look playful. “And who was this mysterious person?”
The brunette left her fork on the plate and placed her hand atop Maya’s left. Her serious expression made the blonde’s forehead crease.
“I saw Mason today.” She finally revealed.
The firefighter’s face twisted. “You saw Mason? My brother Mason? Is he okay? Why didn’t you call me?” She asked in quick succession, almost standing up but not being able by Carina’s hand moving to her shoulder.
“Calmati, Maya, he’s alright.” The Italian said, squeezing the blonde’s shoulder.
“You just said he was in the ER.” Maya rushed to say. “Why didn’t you tell me when he was there?”
“Sì, I saw him in the ER but he’s fine.” Carina reassured her again. “He broke his wrist, that’s all.”
That seemed to calm Maya, who let a big exhale leave her lungs. “Why didn’t you call me?” She asked for the third time a little more calmed but her expression hardening.
Carina’s hand went from Maya’s shoulder to her hand again, rubbing her knuckles to get her to loosen the fist she had made. “Because he asked me not to.”
The firefighter squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. Of course Mason didn’t want to hear from her.
“Did he tell you anything else?” Maya asked in a whisper.
“He did.” Carina replied, her tone soft. “We talked for a little bit, actually.”
That got Maya to open her eyes, fixating them on Carina’s chocolate ones. “What about?”
The doctor gave Maya a shy smile and started to recount the event. “I told him who I was, of course. He didn’t believe his sister was married so I had to show him a picture of our wedding day.”
The blonde snorted at that. Of course Mason wouldn’t believe she had gotten married. No one who knew her from her twenties would.
“I told him that you miss him and that you have changed and want to reconnect with him.”
Maya looked down at their joined hands and placed her other one over Carina’s. “Did he believe you?”
The doctor sighed. “Not at first but I think I managed to convince him.” She said with a hint of hope in her voice. “I gave him your number and he promised to think about calling you.”
The blond scoffed, not sharing her wife’s hopefulness. She peered around them to avoid Carina’s gaze for a second. “How was he? How did he look?”
“He looked good. Clean. Well, except for some paint splatters here and there.” The brunette started to describe him. “He’s thin but not too much and he’s sober. Three years, he said.”
Maya’s eyes darted to Carina’s and her forehead puckered. “Three years? I saw him last over four years ago and he claimed to be sober then.”
“Mason told me he had a relapse shortly after the last time you two spoke.” Carina admitted. “But he’s doing well now. He told me he has a job and shares a flat with someone. He’s not homeless anymore.”
Maya’s glossy eyes sparkled with hope at that. “He’s not? That’s great.” Her bottom lip quivered as the corners of her mouth turned up in a small smile.
Carina brought the blonde’s hand to her lips and planted a kiss on her knuckles. “It is. He’s okay.” She muttered against her skin.
A single tear rolled down the firefighter’s cheek, who quickly brushed it away with her free hand. “Uh, I’m sorry, I’m ruining dinner.” She apologized, looking away and trying to take her hand from her wife’s but the brunette didn’t let her.
“You’re not ruining anything, bella. You’re worried about your brother, that’s normal.” The doctor comforted Maya.
The blonde sighed and looked at Carina again. “It’s just… I miss him, Carina, and I feel so relieved he’s okay but it hurts that he doesn’t wanna see me, you know? He’s my little brother, I want to talk to him and hug him and tell him I’m sorry.”
The brunette nodded. “I know, bambina, I know.”
“Shit.” Maya said, covering her eyes with her free hand to avoid looking at the other woman. “I’m here crying about my brother being okay when Andrew…” She didn’t finish the sentence.
Carina extended her other hand to remove Maya’s from her face and cupping her cheek to get the blonde to look at her. “Hey, not because my brother is gone it means you can’t worry about yours.” The brunette brushed Maya's cheekbone with her thumb.
“But —”
“No buts.” The doctor quickly interjected. “I don’t want you to feel guilty for missing your brother just because mine is dead.” She played with a lock of blonde hair before pushing it behind Maya’s ear. “Mason is alive and you have to take the chance to make things right. I don’t ever want you to feel the same way I did when Andrea died and this could be your opportunity to have Mason in your life again, sì?”
Maya nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Okay.”
Carina’s lips curved in a soft smile as she grabbed Maya by the back of her neck and pulled her closer, leaning over the table so she could give her a short kiss. “How about we finish eating and watch a movie before bed?”
The blonde turned her head to kiss the doctor’s wrist as her hand was still on her neck. “That sounds good.”
The rest of the dinner was quieter than usual. Carina talked about one of the cases Jo was handling while Maya listened attentively, making a few comments here and there.
After leaving the dishes on the sink, Carina would deal with them later, the couple moved to their bedroom and selected a movie on Netflix, curling under the covers embracing each other.
They were halfway through the movie when a phone dinged, making both women look at the bedside table to see which phone was it. Maya reached out for it when she realized it was hers. She had a text message.
Unknown number – 22:34: hi sis
The captain smiled at those two words, tilting the screen to show it to Carina.
“What should I tell him? Should I ask for us to meet?” The blonde wondered, her fingers over the tactile keyboard ready to type.
The doctor snuggled closer to her wife, pressing her lips on her shoulder. “How about you start with something simpler?”
Maya simply nodded and started typing.
Maya – 22:36: hi Mason, it’s been a while