A/N: IT'S GREYS/STATION 19 DAY!! I absolutely loved the premiere and am so excited for what's to come this season! I loved all your reactions to the previous chapter and am glad it got you all in the feels - this one is a bit of a mix between action/angst so enjoy!! Enjoy!!
Chapter Ten:
It had been four days since Maya's 'breakthrough' in the gym, and it had been two since the funeral. Alberto had had very clear instructions of what he had wanted and given he'd had the time to prepare he'd had every last detail sorted out from music, to flowers - he'd left nothing to be contemplated which was in true Alberto fashion. It had also meant that when Maya and Carina had offered to pay for the services Gianna had quickly declined, saying he had already sorted the payments out as well.
Maya and Carina had both made speeches as well as Gianna and every single one of them had cried throughout the service. It had been a fairly small gathering, with some of Gianna and Alberto's friends arriving, as well as the team from 19 who had come in support. Maya had told the team about what had happened, knowing how worried they had all been about their Captain and as soon as they'd known they'd all be there to support the couple as best they could, even going as far to drop off some meals to Gianna as an offering of their condolences.
It was now a Tuesday and while Maya was off of her bereavement leave, A shift wasn't working today which meant she still had another day before she was due back at work. It was still early, but the sun was beginning to stream in through the blinds as the day signalled its beginning.
Maya scrunched her face up as she felt her body begin to rise from its state of unconsciousness from a small poke in her shoulder. At first she thought nothing of it because between Carina and Enzo she was always being woken up by one of them, whether it be Carina rolling over and clinging to her in the night or the golden labradoodle licking at her face or working his way in between the two women at night. But, as her brain began to process the fact that the intrusion on her shoulder was coming from the wall side of the bed, which was on the right and the fact her wife was currently on her left side made her eyes open, a small scream escaping her lips as she jumped so far back into the bed that she almost sent Carina flying off the end of the other side.
"What the hell!" She yelled, seeing her brother-in-law stood in her bedroom.
"Okay, in hindsight maybe I should have just called," he said, realising he may have chosen the wrong tactic.
"What is going on?!" Carina cried, untangled herself from the covers that she'd almost been thrown out of. "Andrea! What are you doing?!" She yelped, seeing her baby brother.
"Can we all stop yelling!" He said, trying to calm the two women, who he'd just scared the life out of.
"Not until you explain what you are doing?!" Maya protested.
"This wasn't even my idea! It was Carina's!" Andrew deflected, not wanting to be totally subjected to the blame.
Maya instantly turned around to face her wife, her eyes wide and confused, gesturing for her to explain.
"Stupido," Carina sighed, rolling her eyes. "I didn't mean like this!" She argued.
"Can one of you explain please!" Maya interjected - wanting to understand why Andrew was in her house at this time in the morning.
"Carina told me that you deserved to get away from everything and asked me if I could help, but she asked me to surprise you so....here I am," he explained quickly.
"I definitely need to take your spare key," Maya mumbled, running her hand down her face.
"When I said surprise I meant ring the doorbell or something not coming into our room and scaring the shit out of us!" Carina complained, throwing a pillow at her brother.
"As I said, I made a clear mistake. However, the reason still stands. Maya you have ten minutes, get dressed and ready - oh and bring your leather jacket, we're going for a ride," he said, walking out the room. "I'll feed Enzo while I'm downstairs," He added, throwing the pillow back, leaving no room for discussion.
Maya and Carina both collapsed back on the bed, their hearts both racing at the unexpected morning wake up call. "You asked him to take me on a ride?" Maya asked, facing her wife.
"I did. I know how much you love to ride and how much it calms you down, plus Andrea has been asking you to go out for ages so I thought it would be a good opportunity to....help you clear mind your before work tomorrow," Carina said giving her a small smile, her head resting against her palm.
"You're amazing," Maya sighed, leaning forward to give her wife a soft kiss. "Thank you...for everything. For being there with me through all of this, I know it hasn't been easy for you either but you've been there for me..."
"You don't have to thank me bambina," Carina interjected. "For better and for worse right?"
Maya just nodded and gave her another kiss.
"Hmm as much as I'm enjoying this if you don't get dressed soon Andrea may come back up here and drag you out himself," Carina chuckled.
"You may be right," Maya laughed, she threw the covers off her body and slid up off the bed and wandered into the bathroom - Carina watching her as she did, she'd never miss a moment to see her wife's strong and toned legs in all their full glory.
There was nothing like the wind whipping through your clothes and the feeling of complete and utter freedom right at the end of your fingertips, the world completely at your mercy as you took in the simplistic beauty that was nature and its elements, each individual in its own right but together the most powerful things in the world. That was what Maya felt as she glided down the coast at just over 60 miles an hour, her inhibitions gone and the pain from the past few days escaping her brain as she continued down the long stretch of the road, the blue expanse of the ocean to her right and a forest of trees to her left. Andrea was just ahead of her, in his own imitation of the world and that was what was so amazing....it was all about perspective...how we view the world is all about the eye that it is viewed through.
She wondered what Alberto would have said if he'd been here. He loved the ocean. He'd always said he loved the sea because it reminded him of home, while the Italian oceans were a far cry from those in Seattle it was the small things that he liked to remember.
She felt the roar in her chest as they pushed on, cruising further down the coast and the hillside edges, every time she sat down on her bike she felt those tingles creep throughout her entire body - it was like she was electric and after everything that had happened in the past few days, she needed to feel electric, she needed to feel alive because the one person who she wished could be....wasn't. She needed this.
As they began to near a straight stretch of road Maya's head turned to face as Andrea's as they levelled up against one another - while their eyes were covered by their helmet visors they knew what that look meant. They both looked back at the road, then each other, then the road again and as soon as they passed a rusty, large sign they sped up, Maya edging forward then Andrea, a push and pull as they both vied to win, each just as competitive as the other. Maya knew she was holding back, so when she finally let go and let the bike work its magic she easily pulled away from her bother-in-law and crossed the self-deemed finish line which was a rest stop dirt patch. She threw an arm in the air in victory as she turned and watched Andrea hang is head in shame.
They pulled into a small cafe a few miles up, the bikes roaring to a stop as they kicked down their stands and let the bikes rest. Maya pulled off her helmet with a wide grin.
"I totally smoked you," she laughed.
"I was right behind you..." He protested.
"I beg to differ," Maya quipped back.
"You have a faster bike than me - and it's practically brand new!"
"That sounds like a you problem."
"I hate you sometimes, you know that," he chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked in.
"I hate you too," she smiled, doing the same round his waist.
"Thank you," both Maya and Andrea said as a waitress placed two cups of coffee in front of them.
"So, I'll get the elephant out the room now. How are you?" He asked.
"I'm....getting there. Day by day right?" She said, repeating what Carina had said to her after the funeral.
Andrea nodded.
"I mean it's not like I haven't experienced loss before, when Mason died it was one of the worst things I have ever felt because I felt like I failed him. I felt like I should have done more, that I should have been there but I was a kid y'know. You compartmentalise everything and push it all down, but I'm different now. I can't just run away and escape all my emotions, well I guess that's what I'm doing here..." she rambled.
"No you're not. You are just getting out of your own head for a bit, and that's totally okay. It's healthy - if anything you'd be worse off if you just sat at home and surrounded yourself with all your emotions," he said.
"How are you DeLucas so smart?" Maya said, shaking her head as she sipped her coffee.
Andrea just shrugged with a cheeky smile. "You're one of us now," he pointed out.
"Ah that is true."
"Almost a whole year at that," he said, wanting to lighten up the tone.
At his words Maya couldn't help but smile, even just the thought of her brown eyed, brunette wife would make her heart warm. "Ten months next week," she replied.
"I'm happy for you," he smiled. "For both of you, and I known I've told you this about a million times over the years but I'm so thankful that she has you."
"I'm the lucky one, I don't know how I would do this without her - she's...my everything," Maya said, unafraid to pour her heart out.
"I think she would say the same about you," he chuckled remembering the countless conversations, that he still had with his sister, about how much she loved Maya.
"What about you then? Are you just going to be single your whole life?" She teased, knowing he hadn't ever had too much luck with romantic partners.
Instead of answering he gave a small smile, making Maya gasp with intrigue. "There is someone!!" She cried. "Who?!" She asked. "Do I know them?"
"You do," He replied coyly.
"Someone at Grey Sloan?" She questioned, realising she wasn't too up to date on everyone who worked there, only really knowing him and Bailey and a few of the trauma doctors from their time in the ER.
"No."
"So how is it someone that....at the Station? At my Station!"
"Maybe..."
"Vic!" She yelled - causing a few heads to turn in the diner. "Vic?!" She whispered - realising she was the only other female in the Station.
"It just sort of happened," he defended, narrowly avoiding getting hit in the arm.
"When?!" She asked, her protectiveness over her best friend coming over her.
"We started talking at your BBQ when you got back from your honeymoon - plus we run into each other in the pit a lot too, and we just hit it off. She's really great and I really like her," he smiled, a small blush coming over his face.
"Does Carina know?"
He shook his head, "I didn't want to subject myself to the inevitable teasing - but I think you will be just as bad," he laughed.
Maya nodded. "Well as long as you are happy and you don't break her heart then we are good," She smiled, realising she had seen Vic a better mood these past few months, but then she'd also always been a very optimistic person so it had never seemed questionable. She internally grinned, now realising all the teasing she could get in with her fellow firefighter.
"Thank you Maya - I appreciate that," he smiled, happy he hadn't been stabbed with her fork for his admission.
They continued with their coffee, followed by getting a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes - a very typical, roadside American breakfast but it would fuel them for the rest of their ride.
"Does it get easier?" Maya asked suddenly, dropping her fork and knife against the plate as she looked up at the brunette.
"What?" He asked, his brow furrowed.
"Losing a parent - you and Carina lost your mama and Alberto is the closest thing I have to a parental figure and everything that happened with Mason was different, but does losing them ever get easier?" She rambled.
Throughout the past few days, she'd found her emotions had been all over the place, she'd go from feeling totally okay, or as good as she could be, to feeling like the weight of the world was back on her shoulders. It was exhausting and she needed to know if this would ever go away.
"It does and it doesn't," he replied cryptically.
"Care to elaborate?" Maya asked.
"Well it never ends so to say, but it changes. You learn that it doesn't define you, but it will always be a piece of you. You won't ever forget them but you learn to live without them. It makes you feel weak when you are at your lowest and it hurts. It hurts so bad that you feel like you will never get out of it, like its a weight you are dragging around on your foot- all the 'what ifs' just circling your mind. But, you can't let it, instead of dragging it around you have to pick it up. Don't let it slow you down, let it be something that you learn to overcome."
At Andrea's words, Maya was cast back to two moments. The first being that night in the beanery, five years ago when she'd held Carina in her arms as she cried for a family that had passed away. The second being, around 4 months ago when they'd had their first argument, pushed by a smiler circumstance. In a way it was somewhat ironic - the words she'd told Carina all those years ago, were almost the exact same that were being said to her now by Andrea.
She let out a small, but sad laugh as the thoughts circled her head.
"Uhm - everything okay?" Andrea asked, confused at the blonde's reaction to his advice.
"Sorry - it wasn't what you said, well it was, sort of. Long story short - five years ago I gave Carina some advice on how to deal with death at work. She asked me if it ever gets easier and what I told her reminded me of what you just said - I guess I sometimes need to listen to my own advice," Maya explained, pushing her bacon around her plate with the prong of her fork.
"What did you say?" He asked.
"You never learn to deal with the death; you just learn how to cope with it. How to let it exist in your life without letting it destroy you. Unfortunately, it takes time for your body to do that," Maya recalled, the wording engrained into her mind.
"I agree," Andrea nodded. "You should take your own advice."
Maya just gave a small smile.
Twenty minutes later the pair were back on the road, their stomachs full and Maya's head feeling a little lighter. They were back to cruising down the road, nothing too fast, just the right speed for them to feel comfortable and to take in everything around them without it all whizzing by in seconds.
They were a good few metres behind a sedan and it was pretty quiet around, it was tranquil - until it wasn't.
From behind them they heard a loud roar of an engine followed by raging music, speed past them, weaving in and out of the road as the sports car only got faster as it gained on the tarmac road. Andrea shot Maya a look and they both shook their heads in contempt, knowing how many accidents are caused by reckless drivers. They slowed down, and dropped back wanting to keep themselves out of as much potential danger possible.
They watched as the car began to swerve its way around the sedan only for it to turn in too early and collide with its front wheels. The combination of screeches, metal crunching and the smashing of glass was enough for them to both know that what had just happened was in no way going to end well. The cars tumbled through the air, each doing multiple flips as thick smoke erupted into the air, before they both came smashing back down into the ground with a loud crash, skidding across the road as they did so.
Maya and Andrea both jammed on their brakes, turning the bikes inwards as came to a stop. They ripped off their helmets and ran towards the cars - their first responder instincts immediately kicking in.
"Andrea you take the sedan I'll take the other car," Maya said, her profession becoming the overarching one for this scenario.
He nodded and took off, careful to avoid the smashed glass and chunks of metal splayed across the tarmac. The car was in its side, the windscreen cracked and a woman in the driver's side, blood rushing from dripping down her head. He climbed up onto the car and peered into the side windows as he heard the woman begin to call out a name. "Winnie!" She cried. "Winnie!"
"Hey - I can't open the door," he said, seeing it jammed shut. "Hey, I need you to listen to me. What's your name?" He asked kindly.
"Sarah," The woman replied shakily, desperately tugging at her seatbelt as she continued to call out the name Winnie.
"Okay, Sarah, my name is Andrea. Who's Winnie - is she your daughter?" He asked, doing his best to visually check for any other injuries to the woman.
"Yeah - I've being calling her name, but she's not responding and I don't know what to do. I can't get out," she rambled.
"I need you to take some deep breaths for me okay - I'm going to find Winnie and then I will be right back. Try not to move," He advised. He then shifted his way over to the next set of windows and saw a small girl in the back, she looked to be around ten with dark hair and a yellow t-shirt on.
"Are you Winnie?" He asked with a smile, trying to offer her some sense of calm in a situation that was very much not calm at all.
She gave a small nod.
"Can you move your neck - does anything hurt?"
She shook her head.
"I think I'm dead," She whispered, looking around the car.
"Can I feel your wrist?" He asked, reaching his hand down through the gap in the window. Winnie did the same and he felt the side of it. "Well, you are definitely not dead." He promised.
"How do you know?" She asked.
"Because I can feel your pulse, which means your hearts still beating," He said. "Can't be dead if your hearts still beating, and I'm a doctor so I should know," he chuckled.
Meanwhile Maya was searching the overturned sports car, her brow furring when she saw it was empty. She guessed that the driver must have been thrown out in the collision so she stood up to search the surrounding areas.
Her heard turned when she began to hear a whimpering noise coming from the trees. She ran over and saw a woman on the ground, clutching her stomach as she begged for help, blood covering her face and dirt staining her clothes.
"Hey there - can you tell me your name?" She asked, squatting down beside her.
"Alannah," she replied, her eyes frantically flickering left and right, the adrenaline and shock still weighing heavily on her body.
"Hi Alannah," Maya smiled. "I'm Captain Maya Bishop. You really got the wind knocked out of you huh?" She asked, gently feeling around the Oman's collarbone for any trauma or damage - once again thanking Carina for making her, Andy and Jack all take the advanced medical skills course. "Do you feel any pain?"
"No," Alannah replied. "I shouldn't be here," she began to ramble. "I have to go to school!"
"Listen to me," Maya said, guiding her back down to the ground from her attempt to get up. "You are still in shock and there might be something wrong so what I need is for you to lay down okay? Can you tell me what day it is?" She asked.
"Thursday. I'm supposed to have a quiz, oh god, the quiz!" She cried, trying to sit back up again.
"No, no, no - you need to lay still alright," She said, putting her back down again, if there was one thing she'd learned over the years from her job it was patience. She'd dealt with countless numbers of people that wanted to get back into their houses, or would try and ignore medical advice but having the patience to talk to them and calm them down was something that had taken a while for her to grasp.
"What subject?" Maya asked, trying to keep assess the cut on her head.
"Biology," The woman said with a groan.
"Bio huh - I can't say that was my best class, my wife however she's pretty good at it," She smiled, receiving one back in response. "Was that why you were driving so crazy?"
"I wasn't driving," Alannah replied, confused.
"Who was driving the car?" Maya quickly asked, realising she now had another victim.
"Charlie. It's his dad's car!"
Maya sprung up from the ground and began to look around to see if she could see anything.
"Charlie?!" She called out. "Charlie!!" She focused her eyes on the dirt tracks and tried to see any evidence of the driver when her eyes landed on a shoe. She immediately sprinted off and continued to look around until she saw a man aimlessly wandering around the road, a slight limp in his left leg.
"Charlie - are you okay?" She asked, unable to see his face.
"Yeah I'm fine," he replied, slightly turning his head. Maya breathed a sigh of relief, until she had to hold back a gasp as he fully faced her.
Half of his hair was slicked back with blood, sticking to his skin almost looking black as it dripped down his face. His shirt in a similar condition paired with holes and tears through it.
"You are very not fine," Maya mumbled.
"I don't feel good," he began to say, his eyes still dazed and confused as he wasn't totally focusing on any one thing.
"You were in an accident Charlie," Maya said, holding onto his arms as she saw him sway.
"What happened- I don't- I don't feel goo-" before he could finish his sentence he collapsed to the ground, narrowly avoiding hitting his head thanks to Maya's quick reactions as she caught him.
Maya pulled this arm up over her shoulder and began to walk him back over to the car where Alannah was.
"Oh my god Charlie!" She cried, seeing all the blood on his face.
"Okay - I'm going to get you both out okay?" Andrea said, receiving a pair of nods. He rushed back over to his bike and lifted up the seat, pulling out a car wrench he used for spare tyres.
He ran back over to the car and saw Maya running over to him.
"How are you doing?" She asked.
"Both are awake and stable - a young girl and her mum. The mum is trapped but I'm going to brake the rear windshield and try and get the daughter out," he explained.
"Want me to brake it?" She asked.
"Go for it," he said, handing over the wrench.
"What's her name?" She asked.
"Winnie."
"Hey Winnie, I'm Maya I'm going to break this glass and get you out of there okay?"
"Where's Andrea?" She asked.
"I'm right here!" He called out. "Maya is a firefighter - one of the best in the city and she's my sister-in-law so I trust her okay. She's going to get you out," he assured.
They saw Winnie nod, "It's only safety glass but can you turn your head away for me Winnie?"
As soon as Maya saw her head turn in, she swung the wrench into the glass and watched it shatter to her feet.
She quickly climbed in, pushed aside a pile of dry cleaning and grabbed Winnie from her seat. "I've got her," She said to the mother.
"Okay, good. You've got her," Sarah whispered to herself.
"Andrea grab the first aid kit," Maya said, nodding down at the supplies she saw when she smashed the glass.
"Hey Winnie - why don't you come with me and help with the others?" Andrea suggested, knowing Maya would need to get Sarah out and it wouldn't be a nice sight for her daughter.
"The people that crashed into our car? No. Not really," She replied.
"I'll need some help?" He pushed.
"She's going to be in a lot of pain - right. You don't want me to see it?" She gushed.
"You're a smart kid," Andrea smiled.
"Fine - let's go," She agreed, taking Andrea's hand as they ran towards Alannah and Charlie.
Maya clambered her way on top of the car and saw the mother trapped inside.
"Hi, you must be Sarah?" She asked, receiving a nod in response. "Okay - I'm going to smash the glass okay? Turn you head in and close your eyes," She instructed. She then pulled the wrench up and smashed it down onto the glass seeing it fall into the car, she cleared the remaining pieces and then held onto Sarah arm.
"Oh I loved this car so much," Sarah groaned. "First car we ever bought."
"Yeah?" Maya asked.
"Yeah and you saw the guy who hit us right? Total pig right?"
"He was a seventeen year old kid," Maya replied.
"Crap - now I can't even be mad. Bet his parents are awful," she sighed, making Maya chuckle.
"I need to get you out of this car," Maya said. "I'm not going to sugar coat it - it's going to hurt. You've dislocated your hip and the longer we wait the more it will start to cut off your circulation so we are going to move fast," she said, already mentally figuring out how she was going to extract this woman with little to nothing but her bare hands.
"What happened?" Charlie asked as Andrea kept pressure on his head wound.
"You hit us with your car!" Winnie replied.
"What - what happened?" He asked again.
"There was an acc- ah, ah!" Alannah cried out.
"What's wrong are you okay?" Andrea asked turning to face the blonde.
"My stomach hurts!" She replied, clutching her shirt. "I think I'm going to throw up or something..."
"Where are we?" Charlie asked.
Winnie was about to answer when she heard a yell come from her mum. She as well as Andrea watched as Maya gently put her down on he ground and grabbed a hold of her leg.
"I need to put it back in," Maya said.
"Alright - okay just count to thre- ahh!" She screamed, a small snap sounding as Maya put her hip back in place.
"Sorry," Maya shrugged. "But you did good," she smiled.
"Andrea should we be worried about that?" Winnie asked her attention shifting to the liquid dropping down onto the ground around the car.
"About what?" He asked until his eyes landed on the oil spill. "Maya!!" He yelled, the blonde quickly jogging over to them.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Do we need to worry about that?" He asked, gesturing at the floor. Maya saw the oil spill and her body went into panic mode.
"Yes we do - let's move. Winnie run over to your mum, Andrea you grab Charlie and I'll take Alannah let's go!" She cried, her urgency shifting everyone into gear as they all moved as fast as they could.
Just as Maya had crossed over half way through the road, Alannah on her left side, Winnie already with her mum and Andrea essentially dragging Charlie onto the grass, when the car exploded like a rocket in flames. A large fireball shooting off sending a loud thundering noise into the sky, metal flew everywhere and glass smashed across the road, the heat hitting them all, even from a distance away. Thick black smoke began to pillow into the clear blue air up above as everyone dusted themselves down.
"That was massive!" Winnie cried.
"You see all that smoke?" Maya asked. Winnie nodded. "That will send a smoke signal and hopefully someone will see it and come help us," She said, trying to remain as positive as possible.
"We are so rescued!" She cheered, returning to her mum.
"I'm not supposed to be here," Alannah mumbled. "I'm a mathlete, I take five A.P classes. I'm first chair in cello, perfect attendance record, haven't missed one day of school. I'm boring. Charlie Abbot's prom king, he's in remedial math, he's never heard of A.P Math and then he asked me to go for a drive with him this morning and the earth must be crazy or something because Charlie is not supposed to kiss me - ah, ah!" She interrupted herself by clutching at her chest again.
Andrea quickly ran to her aid and helped her down onto the ground.
"Something is wrong," She cried.
"Alannah I need to undo a button to see what is going on okay," he asked reciting a small nod to go ahead before he quickly undid it and slid her t-shirt up, hiding his shock when he saw all of her intestines hanging out of her stomach from a large gash across her skin.
"Oh okay," he nodded, trying to process what he was seeing.
"What's happening?" She asked.
"You have a small cut on your stomach - it's no big deal, I can fix it," he said, giving her a reassuring smile.
"How?" Maya pitched in, also seeing the exact same problem as her brother-in-law.
When Andrea didn't reply right away she began to cry, "You don't know! I"m going to die out here!"
"Hey - you are not going to die. Right now, you are in the hands of two of the best people possible, a firefighter and a doctor. We save lives every single day and we are very good at our jobs so just take a deep breath for me," He said. "I need something to wrap it in - if it gets exposed to the air too much, it could get infected," he thought aloud.
Maya racked her brain for a solution, "Dry cleaning!" She suddenly yelled out. "Use the cellophane wrap?" She suggested.
"Go get it," He instructed as Maya rushed off. "See I told you - we are the best," He smiled.
Maya returned with the wrap and handed it back over to Andrea who instantly began wrapping it around Alannah's stomach to protect her from infections.
"So Charlie kissed you this morning. Was that your first kiss?" Andre asked.
"Yes, except the guy who plays second chair cello - but that doesn't count," She said through gritted teeth and her stomach continued to sear in pain.
"Why's that?" Maya laughed.
"Practice kissing," She replied.
"Should I be practice kissing?" Winnie asked her mum.
"No!"
"Why - she just said-"
"And how much trouble do you think she will be in when she get's home?" Her mother proposed.
"She has a point," Alannah replied. "I'm not a role model and I don't think kissing Charlie was worth all this."
"Every kiss before the right one doesn't count anyway," Maya winked. "I've kissed a lot of women, men too-" She was interrupted by a slap on her arm from Andrea making her laugh. "The first time I kissed my wife, well she wasn't my wife back then, but it was the most magical thing I've ever experienced. When you kiss someone and you feel as if the world has finally shift into place, when you feel like nothing else in the world matters - you know you've found the one," Maya smiled.
Five minutes later they all heard the wail of the sirens and Winnie jumped up in the air.
"They got our smoke signal," she cheered, giving Maya a high-five.
"They sure did," Maya smiled.
Paramedics and firefighters instantly ran up to them as Maya and Andrea reeled off information to them about the incident and what had happened.
Thankfully, Maya knew the captain from various city meetings and he'd thanked her and Andrea for their ingenuity and help in the scene, a compliment they both shrugged off - helping people was in their DNA they didn't need any praise.
"Well that was certainly a bike ride we'll never forget," Maya said, as they watched everyone be loaded into the aid cars.
"One hundred percent," he laughed, scratching the back of his head as he processed everything that had just happened.
"Don't tell Carina?" Maya asked, turning to face him.
"Don't tell Carina," He agreed with a nod.
They both knew how worried the brunette was whenever either of them went out on there bikes regardless of where they were, or who they were with, so by telling her they'd been involved in helping in a car crash, where one of the vehicles had blown up and a woman's intestines had been all over her stomach they felt it was best to keep that one to themselves. After all, if she did find out they knew they would never be allowed on their bikes again...
"I'm just going to go down there - take a moment?" Maya said, pointing her thumb behind her in the direction of the sea and the rocks.
"Yeah - okay. Take your time," he said with a nod, understanding that maybe Maya needed a moment for more than collecting herself after what had just happened. "I'm just going to try and make a few phone calls and have a word with the paramedics," he added.
Maya turned and made her way down through the grass and onto the small sandy area where a few large rocks were situated as well as the small waves of the sea that were coming in.
She let out a sigh as she breathed in the cool air, a combination of the salty tinge of the sea, the woods and the coolness of the Seattle temperature. She slowly made her way through the smaller rocks and the uneven ground before she managed to clamber onto one of the larger rocks, it was almost boulder like but had flat surface on the top which meant it was perfect for her to sit down on.
She dangled her legs over the side and watched as the water gently crashed against the bottom of the surface bed. Her hand found its way into the inside pocket of her leather jacket and with a shaky breath she pulled out a letter. Alberto's letter.
Before she'd left she'd seen it on the side table by the kitchen, in the exact same spot that carina had left it the day Gianna had given to them. It had been hanging over her like a weight, something that was constantly in sight just taunting her. But like Andrea had said to her, she needed to pick it up, she couldn't let it hold her back anymore.
She carefully opened up the flap and slid the paper out, holding it between her fingers as she began to read the words.
Dear Tesoro,
Now, I know you are mad. I know you wished I would have told you what was going on but trust me I was doing what was best for you. You may not realise this now (especially if you are reading this soon after my death) but it was what was best for you and for me. But before I go into the details and the questions I know you will have I need you to know something. I love you Maya. You were the daughter I never had, actually no. You are my daughter. Maybe not by blood but you are just as much as mine as you ever could be. You have given me some of the best moments in my life and along with Gianna you became my family, and of course I could never forget that amazing wife of yours, so I guess you could say I gained two daughters...
I was diagnosed with heart failure 4 months ago but in typical stubborn Italian fashion I ignored my symptoms and put it down to age: the harsh coughs, the tiredness, shortness of breath and the aches which meant when I was told what the true problem was it was too late. Any sort of treatment plan would result in surgeries and medication and I knew that that wasn't how I wanted to spend my final months of my life. I wanted to be surrounded by my wife and my family, I wanted to feel at home.
When I was 'sick' you and Carina came over and you brought your special homemade tomato soup - you knew it was my favourite and we sat by the bed and told stories. Ones from when you were in Italy for a year, from when Carina was a kid, small stories from when you first started dating and all the moments in between. That was one of the times when I could forget about everything that was happening to me - when I felt like nothing bad could happen.
I wanted to go out on my terms and being able to do so gave me the freedom to not let this disease take over my life. Now, why did I never tell you? Well, this answer is simple - you didn't deserve to live through the months of pain and guilt. You were staring a brand new chapter of your life, while I was closing the book on my own. You didn't need your pages to be stained by my destiny - I never wanted that for you. You deserve all the happiness and all the joy this life can give you, because it is long and it is wonderful, if you let it be. If I'd told you, every memory you would of had would have had a tinge of sadness, of pain, of guilt and that was never what I wanted to end my life with. I wanted to spend it being happy and I had that.
When you are dying you realise how many things you never got to tell someone, whether that be from old friends to family - they will always coming flooding back to you in those last moments. But, I wanted to write you and Carina these letters as an eternal statement of my words to you. Something that can withstand the power of time, something that I unfortunately do not possess.
You have grown into such an incredible woman Maya, and I am so proud of you. When I first met you you were young and eager, so determined to conquer all the challenges life could throw at you and you did, you conquered them all and I have always admired you for that. Your determination, your ambition, they are both great qualities to have in this life. But then, someone came into your life and made you see this world in an entirely new light. Carina, made you realise that life wasn't always about challenges but about living in the moment and being free to be yourself, she unlocked something in you that I think you only ever shared with us.
I have no doubt in my mind that you will go on in this life to do remarkable things, and I also have no doubt that you will do them all with Carina by your side - each supporting each other in a way that could only ever be described as true love. I will be looking down on you Tesoro and cheering you both on.
Do amazing things bambina and never forget to take in every moment with those that you love.
All the best,
Alberto x
Maya brushed away her tears as quickly as they came, Alberto's words jolting something deep inside of her that opened up the floodgates, but as the tears streamed down her face she felt herself getting lighter. She felt her body picking up the weight and carrying it - the need to drag it, gone.
Maybe this was her new beginning, the end of one chapter and the new page of another...
A voice brought her out of her thoughts as she turned, "Hey, are you ready?" Andrea asked, his helmet under his arm.
Maya took a moment. A moment to look out at the sea. A moment to breathe in the fresh air. A moment to pick up the weight. A moment to turn the page.
"I'm ready," She said with a resolute nod. "I'm ready."
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! I felt that this Greys Anatomy episode fit really well with what I wanted to do in this Chapter so I hope you enjoyed - and this was also one of the reasons I had Carina buy Maya a bike so there could be a moment like this one! (Process to everything!)
Quick question for you all!! I have a gap in my timeline for a chapter - the one after next weeks and I was hoping for some suggestions - even if they are just some small moments I'd really appreciate it! Only three more chapters to go for this book - so we are nearing the end!!
Enjoy the episode tonight and follow me on twitter @justanotherw123 !!
See you next time!!