"I don't know how to process what I saw yesterday," Maddie overheard Andy say as she walked into the equipment room where Andy and Jack were having a private conversation between the two of them.
"Mm," Jack said. "Hey, short-stack." Jack said, spotting the younger blonde troublemaker.
"What we talkin' about?" Maddie wondered.
"Yesterday, it was awful what happened," Andy said with a sigh. "My best friend was a cop. I know how hard his job was. I know how often he was just... terrified, and I-I know cops can be targets. I-I was always on his side. Cops and firefighters were on each other's side. But what I saw yesterday, I... I saw it with different eyes. I'm married to a Black man now, and... ...I saw it with different eyes." Andy exhaled deeply.
"Damn," Maddie mumbled. "Yesterday was difficult. I don't understand how PD would be so... brutal... yesterday changed my perspective a lot," Maddie said. Andy sighed and nodded in agreement.
"Agreed," Jack said. "Come on lets' head to the Barn and help the guys out with the Inspection," He said. Maddie nodded and followed the two adults into the Barn where the rest of the fire fighters were.
"Just call me back when you get this," Ben left a voice mail for his wife as Maya was on the phone with PD.
"O-Okay. Thank you." Maya stood by her desk on the phone to PD as she ended the call.
"Okay, I think Miranda has records, but I can't reach her. I think she took a sedative." Ben said as he fumbled with his phone.
"It's okay. They were able to look up the incident at Grey-Sloan without the report number, but the detective assigned to the case is not in today," Maya said frustrated.
"So? I mean, can't they get another detective?" Ben asked.
"They said they would try, but that it would take a while to process and to get them up to speed," Maya said.
"Unbelievable." Ben said annoyed, "Oh. What about Ryan's old captain? Can he do us a favour?" Ben asked.
"Captain Rendon? We can try." Maya said as she dialled the number, "Captain Maya Bishop, Station 19. Can I have Captain Rendon, please? I'll hold." She spoke.
"Eh, um... Andrew, he's... he's...?" Ben hesitated to ask.
"He's stable. He's been on his meds for months. He's getting sleep. He's good." Maya said as the voice on the other end of the phone got back to her, "Ugh. Okay. Will you please leave a message? Captain Maya Bishop, Station 19. It's urgent." Maya said as she slammed the phone down repeatedly and Ben gave her a look as she was frustrated and could tell.
"Just wait and see what happens," DeLuca says as they look out of the car window.
"Look. Look. Look, look, look." Carina pointed out as the woman, Opal, exchanged a brown package with the man.
"Okay. I think they're taking off." Andrew said as they ducked back, trying to not be spotted. "Okay." He said quietly.
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm," Carina said. "Should we follow him?" She asked.
"No." Andrew said as he takes another picture, "Keep following her." He said.
"Okay." Carina agreed, exhaling sharply as they restarted the car and moved to follow Opal down the road.
"I'm... I'm not manic, okay?" Andrew said with a sigh.
"I wasn't thinking that. I just don't think all this belongs on your shoulders." Carina said.
"You know, the only difference between our father and I is that I-I'm actually trying to make up for my failures. So, yes. This is on me. I have to make this right." Andrew said.
"No, A-Andrea. Our dad killed four people in the operating room because he didn't want to take care of his mental health. Even when you're manic, you're a brilliant doctor. Y-You diagnosed Dr Webber's rare condition in the middle of a manic episode." Carina said as she still focused on the road in front of her as she waved her hands around to express her words.
"Yeah, and the only reason anyone listened to me is because of Meredith. Meredith knows me, and she believed me when nobody else did." Andrew said and glanced at Carina, "Even you didn't believe me. When Opal had Erin at the hospital, nobody did, and Opal got away. She just walked out of the hospital... because of me. Because I was unstable. Because I was untrustworthy. And now two more girls are hurt because of me. So, yeah, I-I can't... I... I won't let this happen again." Andrew expressed his determination. Carina shook her head at his words.
"You're not like him. Not at all. Not even.... neanche un po," Carina said in disagreement.
"Listen up... Announcement," Maya announced loudly as she walked into the barn where the team were along with Maddie who was sat on top of the truck, "Carina and her brother, Andrew DeLuca, are..." Maya hesitated to look at Ben who stood beside her and reassured her.
"It's okay," Ben said.
"Are Carina and Zio okay?" Maddie asked frantic, jumping down from the firetruck. The firefighters all shared a look of confusion.
"What? What's happened with Carina and Andrew?" Andy asked. Maya sighed and looked at Ben again who nodded.
"They think they have eyes on one of the kidnappers," Maya said.
"Of Jada and Shanice?" Vic asked.
"No, no. The girls are okay. The girls are safe. The guy from yesterday is still in custody, but we think his partner was at the hospital last night." Maya explained.
"Wait, wait, wait. Carina and Andrew are doing what?" Jack asked.
"Following her," Ben said.
"Following her?" Andy repeated in question.
"Correct." Maya agreed.
"Okay, good. So, what do we do? How do we help?" Vic asked.
"I take it the police aren't rushing to the scene?" Dean asked, he was still upset over what happened yesterday.
"There's a lot of red tape," Maya said.
"Right, but you just keep calling it in," Dean said.
"Okay, look, I'm going. I'm just gonna take the aid car, and I'm gonna.." Ben started as they all jumped in and agreed to go.
"Hey, let me go!" Maddie piped in and looked at her mom, "I'm not needed here and I'll be safe with Ben," She insisted.
"Absolutely not, Madison!" Maya stated firmly. Maddie pouted and sunk back down in her seat while the rest of the team continued to argue about who was going, "You can't all go, not if we want to pass inspection," Maya told them.
"We just say that we're at an incident." Dean made up the excuse.
"It's not an incident, Miller. Right now, it's just my girlfriend and her brother chasing someone in a car." Maya said.
"Wow," Dean chuckled, "You really gonna just..." Dean said as Maya cut him off, annoyed.
"I'm what, Miller?" Maya fired back.
"Okay, I-I'm going. So who's coming?" Ben interjected to step in to save Dean from whatever he was about to say that would land him in hot water.
"Me!" Maddie insisted. Maya shot her a look which made Maddie pout.
"Madison, no!" Maya stated.
"I will go." Vic said.
"Okay, look... look, I need to do this." Dean insisted while stepping forward.
"No!" Vic said firmly.
"Dean, what are you..." Travis said.
"Why? Why?" Dean asked confused.
"Miller, you cannot get cuffed twice in 24 hours, man. For Pru. Maybe I can get some leverage as lieutenant or something." Jack stepped in.
"Or something?" Dean asked as he shook his head.
"Gibson, Warren, go." Maya declared, "The rest of you, there is still a lot to do around here." She told them.
"Miller, look. Let it go." Sullivan said as Dean chuckled and held his hands up all defensive.
"Aren't we gonna wait for the cops... like you made me wait yesterday?" Dean asked Maya who turned around in shock, "I told you what was going on in that house. I told you that I wanted to go in. No, and you ignored that Black mother's cries because you waited on a cop who refused to help her? Those girls had to set a fire to get your attention when you..." Dean said upset as he inhaled a sigh, "You could have just had my back." Dean said while Maya looked defeated, she really should have trusted her gut instinct.
"I still don't understand why I couldn't go with Ben," Maddie mumbled, once Dean had walked away and Maddie was left with her mom still.
"Because you already wanted to be a hero yesterday and pulled a stunt where you ran into a fire. No, I would much rather you stay here in the station with me where I can keep my eye on you," Maya told her firmly.
Andrew and Carina pulled up on the sidewalk behind Opal's car opposite the train station and Andrew exhaled a sigh in frustration when they saw that she was just sitting in her car.
"Come on," Andrew said.
"Maybe she's waiting to pick somebody up?" Carina suggested.
"I don't know," Andrew mumbled as his phone rang and he answered.
"We're on our way," Ben said from the other end of the phone call.
"Oh. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Carina sighed in relief.
"A-A-Are the police with you?" Andrew asked.
"Yeah. We're working on it. Uh, where are you now?" Ben asked.
"We're at a train station. She's just sitting in her car," Andrew said. "Look, I-I'm gonna send you photos of her, her license plate, and the address, okay?" Andrew said as he sent said photos to Ben.
"O-Okay. Yeah. Got it," Ben said as he received the photos on the other end of the call, "Listen, do not approach her. Just keep your distance, alright?" Ben asked as both Andrew and Carina nodded with each other in agreement, "We... We aren't far away." He told them.
"Good." Carina agreed, continuing to nod.
"The car is registered to Robert Corson. He's the guy from last night. The Idaho plates mean that they're probably trafficking over state lines. FBI's getting involved, and the cops are on their way." Maya radioed through to Ben who was in the Aid Car with Jack.
"Copy that, Captain," Ben said through the radio.
"So uh, Carina and Zio... there okay, right?" Maddie hesitated to ask.
"I don't know, kiddo," Maya said with a sigh.
"Well I would if you had just let me go with Ben instead of keeping me here at the station," Maddie muttered under her breath but Maya had heard what she said.
"Drop it, Maddie. I had my reasons," Maya said, trying to keep her temper in check. Maddie just rolled her eyes in annoyance, "I am going to and find Dean to let him know an update," Maya told her daughter before going to find the male firefighter.
The two DeLuca siblings' continued to sit outside of the train station as they waited for Ben and Jack to arrive there. There was incoming face time from Maddie that popped up Andrews' phone.
"Oh, someone's calling you," Carina mentioned, pointing to Andrew's phone.
"It's Maddie... I don't know whether to answer or not," Andrew said hesitantly to answer.
"Answer it, she will only keep on calling you if not," Carina said. Andrew shook his head.
"I don't want to worry her," Andrew said with a sigh as the phone cut off ringing.
"I think that she would be more worried if you didn't answer," Carina chuckled. A text popped up from Maddie on Andrew's phone asking if they were both okay. "Is that Maddie texting you now?" Carina wondered, pointing to Andrew's phone. Andrew nodded as he unlocked his phone and sent a reply back to try and not have the teenager in a complete panic about their whereabouts.
"Yeah, she has asked if we're both okay, you know when we saw her at the hospital yesterday, I couldn't believe she did what she did," Andrew said.
"Mhm, neither could I... it was a shock to see her with burns all over her," Carina said. Andrew nodded in agreement.
"Miller. Good news. The FBI engaged, and the local police are on scene." Maya informed Dean as she walked out of her office to spot to the firefighter.
"That's good to hear, Captain," Dean said as she walked towards the stairs.
"Dean," Maya said as he moved back off the steps to look at her, "I'm sorry. I got it wrong yesterday." She said.
"It might be a minute before I graciously accept your apology, Captain," Dean said.
"Understood." Maya acknowledged, standing with her hands in her pocket and walked back into the office where Maddie was frantically texting Andrew to find out what was going on as she was worried.
"I'm texting Zio, he's just replying now judging by the dotted lines," Maddie told Maya who just sighed and nodded.
"I'll see if I can get hold of Carina to let her know the cops are on their way," Maya said as she picked her phone up to call her girlfriend, silently praying that she did answer.
Carina and Andrew still continued to sit outside the train station in Carina's car, Andrew was beginning to get impatient while waiting for Ben and Jack to arrive. Carina's phone rang and Andrew let out a sigh.
"Maya, we have no news," Carina said.
"I do. The cops are on their way." Maya told them.
"Ah! Great." Carina exclaimed.
"Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Maya. You know, you're my favourite girlfriend Carina's ever had, and there's been a lot." Andrew insisted.
"No," Carina disagreed, "Don't listen to him." She said while Maya laughed. It was a few moments until Carina spotted Opal getting out of her car. "She's getting out." She said alarmed.
"Who's getting out?" Maya asked. Andrew put his mask on and unbuckled his seatbelt
"Okay, no, Andrea. No, Andrea. Abbiamo bisogno della polizia. Saranno qui da un momento all'altro," Carina said.
"Non la sto perdendo," Andrew said.
"Andrea," Carina repeated worriedly.
"Okay, w-what's he doing?" Maya asked from the other end of the phone call.
"Uh... Andr... Andre... Maya, I have to hang up." Carina said upset and concerned as she quickly ended the phone call.
"W-What? No. No. No. Don't hang up," Maya said as she exhaled sharply. Maddie looked up from her phone to see her mom's concerned expression.
"What's happened?" Maddie asked frantically.
"Andrew got out of the car..." Maya said with a sigh as she rubbed her temples in frustration.
"What? Why?!" Maddie asked shocked. Maya shook her head.
"I don't know... damn it!" Maya groaned and slammed her hands down on the desk and Maddie flinched. Maya caught her daughters expression, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she said. "I think that he is following the woman or something," she said.
"What, no!" Maddie said. Maya shook her head again and sighed, she really did feel like she couldn't do much right now. Just then, they heard Ben speak from over the radio.
"Captain Bishop, they are getting on a train. Now, we're not sure where they're headed, but we're driving to the nearest train station now. Tell the police to standby." Ben said. Maddie and Maya both looked completely shocked.
"What?! Why?! Why did they..." Maya said frustrated.
"Zio is going to get himself hurt if he's not careful," Maddie mumbled. Oh, if only they knew how true the words were.
Back in the train station, Carina was quick to follow Andrea as he was hot on Opals' tail.
"Okay, okay, okay. Andrea, if we follow her onto the train, we won't know where she's going." Carina was quick to catch up with him as he followed the women through the train station.
"What other option is there? Just let her go?" Andrew asked.
"But Ben won't know where to meet us," Carina pointed out.
"We can text Ben from the train," Andrew insisted.
"Andrea, they have her license plate now. They can find her." Carina told him.
"We don't even know if that's her car. We don't know her name. I can't live with that. Carina... io vado vieni o no??" Andrew asked, asking her if she was coming or not in Italian. "Huh?" He asked. They both looked at the woman in front of them, "Huh?"
"Sì. Avanti." Carina agreed, turning to follow her.
"Okay," Andrew said.
"Helmets are polished, hoses are stacked. You could eat off the floor in the beanery." Andy said as she walked into the office, Maya wore her formal wear and closed the lid on her laptop and straightened out a few things as Andy spoke, "I know it's not much considering everything, but my dad always taught me, sometimes, you take it from the outside in, and from the outside, this station is looking pretty good right now." Andy said she leaned against a shelf with a cloth in her hand.
"Battalion Chief Gregory's gonna be another hour, at least," Maya said, taking off her formal jacket and walking into the bunk area.
"Copy. You want me to make sure that..." Andy started. Maya walked back out of the Captain's bunk.
"I want you to be in charge of the station while I'm gone," Maya said as she grabbed her jacket off the coat hook, "I can't just stay here while Carina's..."
"Wait... Hold... Maya," Andy said taken back while Maya walked back into the Captain's bunk to grab her boots, "This inspection defines your role as captain, as the..." Andy said.
"First female captain of 19. I'm aware," Maya said while she sat down and put her boots on. "But I can't play by the rules I witnessed yesterday. The whole first female captain thing implies that if I don't play by every single rule, then I'm failing, and if I don't do this job like the men before I did it, then I'm not up for the task, but I played by every single rule yesterday." Maya continued to say.
"Damn, that's risky mom," Maddie muttered. "This inspection is important for you, even you said that yourself," She said as she saw the determined look on her mother's face.
"I went against my gut, and those girls had to set a fire to save their lives because I was playing by the rules because I was worried about how it would look on paper, and these people, these disgusting, soulless human beings are kidnapping children and holding them hostage and selling them," Maya stood up and continued to say, "From my perspective as a mother, that is just horrifying to think about and there is something more that we can do. So, I'm gonna show up. I'm a first responder. I'm gonna respond, and if that means it's the last day as the first female captain, then I can live with that." Maya said, quickly grabbing her keys and phone.
"I'll get everyone in their Class A's. Go." Andy said.
"Wait, wait, wait. I'm coming with you!" Maddie insisted. Maya shook her head.
"No, you need to stay here in the station with the team," Maya said, pointing her finger at her daughter to make sure she got her point across, "You got hurt going into that fire yesterday. I need to know at least that you are safe," Maya said. Maddie refused and shook her head.
"No, Mom! I want to be with you, please, let me come with you?" Maddie asked softly. "Please?" she repeated.
"Even if you say no Cap, she will still find a way to sneak out, you may as well just agree," Andy simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Alright, alright, fine." Maya agreed with a short nod. "But you stay in the vehicle the whole time, okay?" Maya said firmly. Maddie rolled her eyes but nodded, "Let's go!" Maya said.
Maddie was quick to pick up her phone and jacket and run after her mother as they headed down to a first responder car.
Carina and Andrew were now sat on the train as they had a conversation in Italian, there was a woman that took in their accent and was horrified so she moved away.
"Okay. Okay. My first time being profiled as an Italian. It's about as un-fun as I expected it to be," Andrew chuckled.
"Can you imagine Papa's reaction to this right now," Carina said as she laughed. "Wah." She empathized.
"Hmm. I'm sorry you had to grow up with Papa all alone. You didn't even get to be a kid." Andrew said.
"Mm." Carina agreed.
"You were responsible for his moods, his success," Andrew stated.
"Hmm," Carina said.
"Sorry." Andrew apologized.
"His failures, as he always reminded me," Carina said with a sigh. "And... I'm sorry I lied to you when Mama died. I guess I just wanted to protect you." Carina said as the train horn blared in the distance, "Do you remember when I used to tuck you in at night, and I used to sing you that song before you and Mom left for the States?" Carina wondered as they both chuckled, "So tiny," she added.
"Why do you think they split us up? I mean, I know I've always just kind of accepted it as what they did, but I mean, why would you do that to a couple of kids? Why send me away? Why not just keep us together?" Andrew wondered.
"Mm. Andrea, that was actually my idea." Carina stated.
"What do you mean?" Andrew asked confused.
"One night, I was tucking you in, and I heard them talking about divorce, and Mama said she wanted to move to the U.S. and start fresh, and Dad was screaming that he would rather tear the family apart than be left alone and childless, and I knew already there that something was wrong with him," Carina said. "You know, his extreme mood swings. I, um... " Carina continued to explain, her voice breaking. "But I can handle him, and I didn't want you to be stuck with him, you know? I didn't want you to be stuck with Dad. So I told Mom to take you with her," Carina said as she laughed, "I think it is a family curse. Hmm. The... The desperate need to... to help others, even if it hurts." Carina said as Andrew scoffed and Carina sniffled. Andre's phone chimed and he looked down at it.
"I know what you're thinking, but it's too dangerous," Carina stated.
"You don't know what I'm thinking," Andrew argued. Carina gave him a pointed look.
"You're thinking you should tackle her," Carina said.
"That's pretty close, actually." Andrew chuckled. Just then, Opal caught sight of the two of them.
"A-Andrea, no. She saw us. It's over. Look," Carina said as Andrew shook his head.
"No. We're wearing masks, okay? There's no way she could have recognized us. We have to keep our eyes on her." Andrea insisted as he stood up from his seat on the train.
"No, no, no. Andrea, Andrea, Andrea." Carina said, following her brother.
"What's the status?" Maya asked, arriving at the station, closing the door as she walked over to Ben and Jack.
"They should be pulling up soon," Ben explained, spotting the blonde teenager insight, "Maddie, what are you doing here?" He asked. Jack and Maya both turned around. Maya sighed annoyed when her daughter once again didn't listen to her.
"Maddie, what did I say?" Maya asked. Maddie grinned sheepishly and shoved her hands in her pockets.
"Wasn't running into a fire, enough heroism for one day?" Jack chuckled. Maddie couldn't help but cheekily laugh at the older man.
"I told you to stay put in the car, Madison," Maya repeated.
"I know... just don't be mad with me," Maddie pleaded. Maya exhaled a loud sigh.
"Too late for that," Maya said with a sigh and looked at two members of her team, "Okay. When the cops get here, we'll post at both exits."
Back on the train, the train was coming to a stand as Andrew decided to get up and continue to follow Opal through the station.
"A-Andrea, stop! Andrea? Andrea." Carina chased after her brother as he got off the train and continued to follow Opal.
"Carina, listen to me, okay? I want you to go find Ben and the police. I'm not losing her. I can't live with it." Andrew told his sister
"Okay," Carina said with a sigh as she watched Andrew leave her sight as he went after the women.
"Captain Bishop? We have the doors covered." A PD officer said.
"This is a photo of Opal," Maya explained, showing them the photo that they had of her. The officer looked and nodded.
"She's a 4100 suspect. Let's go. Take the right side and the left side. Let's move." The officer instructed,
"What can I do to help?" Maddie wondered, feeling the desperate need to do something to help.
"How about you just hang back here with me, short-stack? There's a lot going on already," Jack offered as he could tell Maya already looked stressed as it was. Maya nodded gratefully.
"Okay," Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "So, how long until they spot this woman?" Maddie asked.
"Train's been here for a few minutes now, so they gotta be around here somewhere," Ben replied, scanning the area for the women. "That's her!" He said, spotting a red-head.
"Ma'am, freeze! Hey..." The officer said, turning the woman around who was the wrong woman, "We're sorry. Mistake." He said. The woman smiled and nodded, the PD officer let her go and she carried on with her business.
Inside the station, Andrew was in a rush to try and follow Opal who he was adamant was not going to get away again, he pushed through the small crowd of people as an unknown man walked past him, he didn't think anything of the sharp pain he felt until he clutched his side and saw the blood that was coming out of him.
Carina who was running through the station to find her brother found Andrew who was now collapsed over on the floor in a state of shock.
"Oh. A-Andrea! Hey." Carina said, kneeling down on the ground next to her younger brother as Andrea groaned in pain.
"I think he stabbed me," Andrew said through the pain.
"H-Help! H-Help! Call 911! Help!" Carina cried out hysterically.
"Can we go inside and find them now that the woman has been arrested?" Maddie wondered.
"Yes we can," Maya agreed as all of a sudden they can hear familiar shouting.
"I think that I can hear Carina shouting inside," Maddie pointed out confused.
"It does, doesn't it." Jack nodded. The four of them ran inside the station, Ben and Jack carried the gurney and medical supplies as Maddie chased after her mom inside, they were met with the sight of Andrew collapsed on the floor with Carina clutched over him, trying to conceal the bleeding wound.
"Help! I think that he's been stabbed!" Carina cried out.
"Excuse us. Clear a path, please. Coming through. Clear a path." Ben said, pulling the gurney through.
"Zio!" Maddie shrieked, horrified when she saw Andrew lay on the ground as he was bleeding.
"Help him! Help him!" Carina pleaded.
"Clear a path," Ben continued to say as Carina sobbed.
"Carina..." Andrew groaned in shock.
"We're gonna have to work. Come on. Come on." Maya said gently as she pulled Carina away from Andrew while she continued to sob.
Maya held Carina in her arms as she had Andrew's blood on her hands from where she was trying to apply pressure on the wound. Carina sobbed completely. Maddie was stood frozen, stood watching the scene around her unfold, she couldn't muster the words to say.
"Stay with us! Stay with us!" Jack said, applying light pressure to Andrew for any way to stop the bleeding as they wheeled him back to the aid car.
~
I'm so so sorry for the late update, I tested positive for Covid and it really knocked me for 6.
Finally, after 2 weeks, I am starting to feel better!
So, here is a well over-due update that you guys have been waiting for, I'm sorry if it sucks and doesn't make much sense...
Hope that you enjoy it anyways!