"No," Maddie denied as she shifted in her seat with her arms firmly crossed. "I--I don't have bipolar. That's what my uncle had, he-- he died because of it. He made irrational mistakes that cost him his life, and he died. I'm not like that!" The younger girl protested.
Dr Lucas didn't look convinced about that, "What about when you run into the building that was on fire?" she questioned.
"There was a reason. I... I saved a little girl, she would have died otherwise!" Maddie continued to protest.
Dr Lucas briefly looked down at her notes before she looked at the teenager, "Going from what you have told me, you're showing tell-tale signs of both depression and mania combined," she told her.
"What? I'm not depressed!" Maddie exclaimed upset.
The woman in front of her pursed her lips together, "You're showing clear signs of both," she explained.
Maddie looked at Dr Lucas and scowled at her slightly, "You don't know that, you can't diagnose that! You're not a doctor!" she declared.
"You're right, I'm not a doctor," Dr Lucas was quick to agree. "However, all the signs you are showing all point towards that," she explained carefully.
"I--I don't have it, I don't!" Maddie exclaimed as she began to feel annoyed.
"It's okay to be in denial, Maddie. I know it can be hard to understand but there are different ways you can get help with this," Dr Lucas explained to her with a kind smile.
Maddie let out a huff and slumped down into her chair, "Can we be done? I don't want to be here anymore," she stated.
"I know this can be hard to hear but once you accept it, you'll feel better," Dr Lucas told her.
Maddie exhaled a sigh and crossed her arms, "So it turns out that I am actually broken, huh?" she questioned sarcastically.
"You're not broken, Maddie... You're just sick," Dr Lucas told her.
Maddie shifted in her seat and avoided the look of the doctor, there wasn't any way that she had bipolar, it just wasn't possible.
"Can I go now?" The blonde questioned.
"Sure, but I would like to be able to talk to your Mom before you both leave," Dr Lucas told her.
"Alright," Maddie said as she exhaled a sigh and headed out the door to meet Maya who was now sitting back on the seat after her chat with Amelia.
"Hey," Maya greeted her daughter as she walked out of the room, taking note of the therapist next to her daughter. "How'd it go in there?" she wondered curiously.
"Fine," The younger blonde responded with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Hi, Maya. I was wondering if I could have a word with you?" Dr Lucas questioned.
"Sure," Maya agreed as she looked back at her daughter. "Will you be okay out here?" she questioned.
"Yeah," Maddie mumbled quietly and sat down on the seat, instantly turning her attention to her iPhone in her pocket.
"I'll be back out soon," Maya told her daughter before she headed into the room her daughter was previously in with the therapist.
"This won't take too long Maya," Dr Lucas stated.
Maya nodded slightly. "So, is everything okay? Can you help her? What can I-- What can we do?" she rambled her words.
"Maya, I'm concerned that your daughter is showing signs of bipolar," Dr Lucas told her as she watched the worried expression increase on the blonde's face.
"What?" Maya questioned.
"From what your daughter described to me, she shows clear signs of both depression and mania, which are an indication of bipolar," The woman explained.
Maya blinked her eyes in disbelief, "That's what Andrew had, my wife's brother... He--He died," she stuttered out.
The therapist nodded in understanding, "I know, Maddie told me that already," she paused before she continued to talk. "Maya, I am not a proper doctor so I can't confirm the diagnosis but I strongly believe that is what she has, it is best to set up an appointment with a doctor that can confirm it," she told the blonde woman.
"Will they be able to help her?" Maya wondered.
"They will be," Dr Lucas agreed. "I am aware of the self-harming, and I believe that it would be suitable to continue with routine therapy appointments," she stated.
Maya nodded in agreement with the dark-haired doctor, "I--I didn't think that she would have that. I thought she was just sad, I didn't think she was suffering from the same illness that her Zio had," she said in a state of shock.
"It can be common in the family," Dr Lucas explained. "Is there anyone else with mental health issues in your family?" she questioned.
"I... I don't know. I mean, maybe, but I don't know for sure," Maya said as she racked her brain for answers.
"Okay, and how about Maddie's father's side?" Dr Lucas questioned.
Maya shook her head firmly, "I'm not aware of that... He's not in her life, and I don't wish for her to have anything to do with him," she stated strongly.
"That's understandable," Dr Lucas said.
"Thank you for your help, Dr Lucas. I'll go ahead and set up an appointment with a doctor to get the proper diagnosis," Maya told the woman.
Dr Lucas stood up from her desk and walked around it, "No problem. I'd like to stick to the usual Thursday appointment this week," she told her.
"Right, of course, yes," Maya said in agreement before she walked out of the office.
"I don't get why we can't just go home now?" Maddie grumbled as she followed her Mom through the corridors of the hospital.
"Almost, we just need to go and find your mama first," Maya told her daughter.
Maddie let out a huff in annoyance, "Alright," she mumbled.
Both blondes' turned the corner as they were yet to find the Italian brunette when Maya spotted a familiar doctor that was there the night that Andrew was murdered.
"Hey, have you seen Carina-- Dr DeLuca-Bishop?" The older blonde questioned.
The male doctor looked up from his tablet and smiled kindly, "Oh, she's still in surgery right now... Oh wait, you're her wife, aren't you? I'm Dr Levi Schmitt," He introduced himself.
"Lieutenant Maya DeLuca-Bishop," Maya stuck her hand out for him to shake. "Do you know how long she's going to be at all?" she questioned.
"I don't really know, but you're welcome to wait in her office?" Schmitt offered before he turned and saw the younger blonde, "And you must be the daughter? I have heard a lot about you," he told her.
"Hi," Maddie mumbled quietly as she found interest to look at her converses.
Maya looked irritated with her daughters' current mood and gave her a look before she turned back to Schmitt, "Sorry, this is Maddie, she's not too talkative right now," she apologised.
Schmitt couldn't help but chuckle slightly, "It's alright, teenagers' are like that," he stated.
"Aren't you the one that dropped his glasses inside of a patient?" Maddie asked as she smirked.
"Maddie," Maya stated as she gave her daughter a look.
"What? It's the truth," Maddie said as she couldn't help but laugh. "Amelia told me that it happened," she added amusedly.
Schmitt looked completely embarrassed which the younger blonde found even hilarious, even Maya found the situation amusing.
"Can you let my wife know that we'll be waiting for her in her office?" Maya asked Schmitt who nodded. "Come on Maddie," she gestured for her daughter to follow her.
"Bye, Glasses!" Maddie said as she couldn't help but laugh.
"Bye," Schmitt said as he waved awkwardly and then scurried away to hide his further embarrassment.
"Maddie quit it!" Maya scolded as she sat inside her wife's office while Maddie found great amusement in spinning around in the chair, something that was starting to irritate the older blonde.
"I'm bored, like really bored!" Maddie exclaimed as she kicked her feet against the floor and spun around in the chair again.
"Then find something to amuse yourself with," Maya stated as she scrolled through her social media on her phone.
"Like what?" Maddie wondered as she continued to spin around in the chair. "I'm bored, bored, so very bored," she continued to whine as she sang jokingly.
"Maddie," Maya warned her daughter.
"What? I'm bored, mom!" Maddie complained.
Maya pursed her lips together and placed her phone on the desk, "Alright then, if you're that bored then how about we talk about your latest therapy appointment?" she offered.
Maddie's body stiffened at the mention of that, "No thanks. Hey, I have a better idea... How about we do one of those Tiktok trends?" she suggested as a way to change the subject.
"Maddie, we need to talk about this," Maya stated firmly.
"No we don't," Maddie disagreed.
"Yes we do," Maya said firmly. "Kiddo, Dr Lucas thinks that you have bipolar--" she was cut off before she could further talk.
"I don't want to talk about it. Dr Lucas has it all wrong and I don't have it!" Maddie exclaimed in protest.
"Maddie, I know you're in denial about this..." Maya started to speak again as her wife walked through the door, "Hello, honey," she spoke as she smiled at her wife.
"Ciao," Carina said as she walked over to her wife and placed a kiss on her wife's lips.
"Hi mama," Maddie said as she faintly smiled at the Italian woman.
Carina moved over to sit on the couch in her office beside her wife and looked at her daughter, "How did the therapy appointment go?" she wondered.
Maddie bowed her head low in an attempt to void the question, "It was fine," she mumbled quietly.
Maya and Carina both shared a look with one another.
"Maddie," Maya started as she looked at her daughter concerned.
"Fine," Maddie let out a small huff. "Dr Lucas has convinced herself that I have bipolar," she said.
Carina blinked in disbelief as if she wasn't quite hearing right, "What?" she questioned in shock.
It was like as soon as the brunette heard that, the noise around her turned muffled as she felt like she drowning. This was familiar to her, this was something she already understand. How could it be happening to her daughter? How did she not pick up on this?
"Well, it's not a formal diagnosis and we'll have to go to the doctors for that but the symptoms that Maddie's showing, she said it was pretty clear what it was," Maya explained to her wife.
The volume of noise around Carina still felt muffled as she tried to come to terms with the news herself, "Oh wow," she mumbled quietly.
"I haven't got it, the doctor doesn't know what she is talking about!" Maddie exclaimed as she let out a small huff.
Maya looked between her wife and daughter with concern. This was something her wife was well aware of, an illness that both her father and her brother had.
"Will you be home for dinner, mama?" Maddie questioned in an attempt to change the subject, unaware of how this news had unsettled the brunette. "I don't want to get food poisining if I can help it," she added.
"Maddie," Maya scolded as she gave her daughter a firm look.
"It's true!" The younger blonde protested.
"There are leftovers in the freezer," Carina told her daughter as she still was trying to come to terms with the news.
Maddie smiled slightly, "Thank god," she stated.
"Okay, listen, my cooking isn't that bad!" Maya protested. "The team never complain when I cook," she added.
"Yeah, well, that's probably because they don't have much of a choice," Maddie remarked as she couldn't help but laugh.
Maya gave her daughter an unimpressed look, "Mads, why don't you go and head to the vending machine? Go grab a can of soda and I'll come and find you soon," she offered to her daughter.
"Why? You want to talk about me, without me hearing what you're saying?" Maddie smirked.
"Just go and grab one, kiddo," Maya gestured for her daughter to head out of the room.
Maddie begrudgingly got up from the chair, "Well, I'm gonna need some money first," she told her.
Maya fished around in her pockets for some money, "Alright, here you go, now scoot," she said.
"That's it?" Maddie questioned.
Maya furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "You're only buying soda, how much more could you possibly need?" she questioned.
"Well, just in case I might find some candy or something," Maddie stated as she shrugged her shoulders simply.
"Fine, alright," Maya agreed and handed her some more money, not realizing it was twenty dollars, "But whatever you buy, you're not eating until after dinner," she told her.
Maddie eyed the money mischievously before she pouted, "Not even one piece?" she asked.
"Not even one," Maya stated firmly. "And I want the change too, so don't go and spend it all!" she added.
Maddie let out a groan, "Alright, fine," she mumbled before she walked out of the door towards the vending machine.
Maya stared at her wife, uncertain of what to even say at first as she could tell that her wife was lost deep in thought about everything, "So, we'll need to set up an appointment with the doctor to get confirmation," she said.
Carina exhaled a sigh and looked at her wife, "How-- How could I not know that my daughter has the same illness that my own brother has... that my own Papa is currently too blind to realise he does as well! The mania... How did I not see any of this?" she asked as she began to pace the room and use her hands as she spoke.
"It was hard to tell Car," Maya made the excuse.
"I should have seen the signs," Carina stated as she shook her head.
"Carina... My love," Maya moved in front of her wife and kissed her on the lips. "Neither of us knew. Hell, I didn't even know that she was cutting because she hid it so damn well...You know, I saw a towel with blood on, I didn't even question it. What kind of a mother does that make me?" she asked disappointed with herself.
Carina let out a shaky sigh, almost afraid to speak in case she broke down, "I...We can't let her go through this on her own," she said.
Maya shook her head in disagreement, "She won't be alone because she has both of us, and even a family of firefighters and doctors. We'll get a formal diagnosis and we can just take it from there," she explained to her wife calmly.
"Okay," Carina spoke quietly.
"You know, I spoke to Amelia earlier when Maddie was in therapy," Maya told her wife.
"You did?" Carina questioned.
Maya nodded slightly, "Uh-huh, she told me some stuff and explained things the best that she could," she told her as she smiled slightly. "Our daughter will be okay," she added.
"I hope so," Carina said as she let her own worries come to light. "This illness... It's the very thing that killed my brother in some ways and I fear that it could also cause our daughter to make some of her own drastic actions," she told her wife.
Maya placed her own hand on top of her wife's and smiled at her, "Maddie will have us both and she will be fine, we won't let anything happen to her," she told her wife with a reassuring smile. "But it would maybe explain things that she has done now like running into that house on fire," she added.
Carina nodded slightly in realization, "That would make sense," she agreed.
"We just have to make sure that she doesn't do anything like that again," Maya stated.
Carina couldn't help but laugh slightly, "This is our daughter that we're talking about, remember?" she said amusedly. Maddie often did things that neither of them had words to explain.
"Well... Yeah, I guess that you're right there," Maya said in agreement and let out a sigh. "Speaking of our daughter, I should probably go and find her before she raids the vending machine. I think I ended up giving her a twenty," she told her.
Carina chuckled amusedly at her wife and shook her head, "Alright, I will see you back at home in a few hours or so," she told her as she moved in closer to kiss her wife on the lips. "I love you," she added.
"You will," Maya said as she smiled and kissed back. "I love you too," she spoke before she headed out of the door to leave her wife to continue with her work.
"I said one piece of candy, Mads!" Maya exclaimed as she stifled a laugh. As she approached her daughter, she saw her with a bunch of different candy in her arm and her daughter with a guilty expression on her face, truly looking like she was caught in the act.
"They all looked so good and I couldn't decide between Skittles or M&M's," Maddie explained with a guilty look. "And then I saw the Hershey's and Snickers, and got a bit carried away..." she looked down at the variety of candy in her hands. "Whoops?" she said quietly.
Maya blinked in disbelief and shook her head, "Is there a difference?" she questioned.
"Yes! One of them is candy and one of them is chocolate, it's a complete difference Mom!" The younger blonde protested.
Maya exhaled a sigh and threw her hands up in surrender, "Fine, alright, well you can't put them back now," she said as she paused. "You're only having one today and after dinner, the rest you can put in the cupboard and have another day," she told her.
"Seriously?" Maddie pouted.
"I'm serious, Mads. It's either one or the whole of it I'll give out to the interns. I'm sure they'll be happy with extra chocolate," Maya warned her daughter.
"Nooo! You can't do that," Maddie pleaded. "I'll put it in the cupboard, don't give it to the dumb interns!" she exclaimed. "And before you say anything, yes they are dumb, who lets' their glasses fall into a patient?" she couldn't help but smirk.
"Ah, well, I-- Yeah, I have no words," Maya stated as she stumbled across her words.
"Exactly!" Maddie exclaimed in agreement with a smug smile on her face. "That's just so dumb," she added.
"I bumped into your wife earlier," Amelia stated as she appeared in the doorway of Carina's office. "She seemed more frazzled than usual," she added amusedly.
Carina looked up from her desk and smiled faintly, "I know, I heard about it," she remarked.
"Okay, and you both seem quite concerned. What's happened?" Amelia questioned the brunette.
"The therapist reckons that Maddie has bipolar," Carina explained to her friend.
Amelia gave her friend a look of shock, "What? Like what your brother had?" she asked.
Carina nodded slowly and sighed, "Si. I just keep wondering how I didn't see the signs. It was right in front of me the whole time!" she exclaimed.
"There's no point beating yourself up over this, Carina. You both know now, and you'll be able to get her the help that she needs, right?" Amelia questioned.
"Si," The Italian woman agreed.
"Alright then. Now, I don't know about you but I have some time to kill, coffee?" Amelia offered.
"I'll never turn down caffeine," Carina said in agreement as the two of them walked to the coffee cart.
"And we're home," Maya spoke aloud as she pushed the key into the door and opened it. "Alright, so we've got the whole afternoon so is there anything you want to do?" she questioned.
"Not really," Maddie mumbled quietly as she walked into the apartment.
Maya furrowed her eyebrows slightly, "You okay, kiddo?" she asked as she followed her daughter in.
"I'm fine," Maddie said as she shrugged slightly and started to move towards her bedroom. "I'm going to my room. I've got homework and stuff," she told the older blonde.
"Well, how about you do it out here? I can help you if you get stuck," Maya offered, she wanted to keep an eye on her daughter as well, she was being quiet and it wasn't normal for her.
Maddie shook her head in disagreement, "I'd rather do it in my room. I just need space," she said
"Mads..." Maya trailed off as Maddie walked past her and went to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
The older blonde sighed and placed her car keys on the kitchen counter, looking over to the couch where Lizzie was currently sitting, looking up at Maya with wide eyes.
"Looks like it's just you and me girl," Maya spoke as she walked over to the couch and petted the pups' soft fur before she sat down on the couch.
Inside Maddie's bedroom, the younger girl had all but abandoned her homework as she currently leaned outside of the window with a vape pen in her hand. It wasn't an actual cigarette, but it was the closest thing to that right now, and she hardly doubted that her mom would let her go and meet a friend.
In her head, the therapist didn't know what she was talking about, it wasn't possible. She was completely fine, there wasn't anything wrong with her at all. The therapist was completely wrong about this all.
"Hey, heading home for the evening?" Carina walked out of the elevator to come across Teddy in her navy scrubs and lab coat, heading towards the pit.
"Si," Carina nodded in agreement, throwing her coat over her arm. "I don't know what I'm going to walk into though," she stated.
Teddy chuckled amusedly, "Well then in that case I wish you luck," she told her.
"Thanks, Teddy," Carina said as she smiled. "See you tomorrow," she added.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Teddy said in agreement waving slightly before she headed off to the pit.
Carina made her way out of the hospital and towards her silver Porsche that was parked up, throwing her belongings in the back before she sat inside the car, staring at the car before heading out of the parking lot towards the apartment.
Arriving back home, the Italian took a deep breath before she exited her car with her coat and purse in hand and made her way over to the elevator.
"Maddie, dinner's ready!" Maya called from where she stood in the kitchen and sorted out dinner. Leftovers from Carina's cooking out of the freezer, per Maddie's request.
"Ciao, I'm home!" Carina announced brightly as she walked through the front door.
"Hello honey," Maya glanced over at her wife and gave her a smile. "Maddie, dinner!" she called out again.
Carina hung her coat up on the peg and walked over to her wife, leaning forward to wrap an arm around her waist and kiss her on the lips, "How was the rest of your afternoon?" she questioned.
Maya embraced her wife and kissed her back, "It was fine, Maddie's been in her room the whole time, I thought about going for a run--" she was cut off.
"Wait, the Bambina has been in her room this whole time?" Carina questioned wearily.
"Yes," Maya stated.
Carina glanced towards the direction of the bedroom door apprehensively, "And she's okay in there?" she wondered.
"I should think so, she just said that she wanted space..." Maya trailed off as the realization hit. "Oh," she spoke quietly.
"Maya she's been self-harming and we should be keeping a closer eye on her now," Carina stated.
Maya exhaled a sigh and shook her head, "It's hardly like we can remove the door and we should be able to trust her, Car," she told her.
"You're right, you're right... I just think she shouldn't be alone too much right now," The brunette said.
"I agree with that but if we crowd her too much then she'll get annoyed and retaliate," Maya told her wife as she stared at the plates of food that were bound to go cold with how long her daughter was taking. "Besides, we've made sure to remove any and all sharp objects from around the apartment," she added. "What's taking her so long? Maddie, dinner!" she called aloud.
"Maddie, dinner!" Maddie sat on her bed on the phone with Aaron as she heard Maya call her from the other room.
The younger blonde let out a groan, "Ugh. My mom's shouting at me for dinner. I've gotta go but I'll speak to you later," she told the boy on the other side of the phone.
Aaron let out a chuckle, "Yeah, I should probably go and eat too, so I'll call you later on?" he offered.
"Sounds good," Maddie was glad that Aaron couldn't see her on the other side of the phone because she was beaming right now as she spoke to him. "Speak later," she said at her end.
"Bye," Aaron said and ended the phone call.
Hopping off her bed, she made her way out of her bedroom and into the kitchen where both her moms' were now that her mama was back from work.
"Relax, I heard you the first time. I was just on the phone to Aaron," Maddie said as she automatically regretted what she said as she was given a look from both women.
"Aaron?" Carina questioned.
"Who is that? We haven't heard anything about Aaron before," Maya questioned curiously, almost protectively.
Maddie started to blush, "He's just a friend..." she mumbled.
"Uh-huh," Maya hummed, not entirely convinced. "And where did you meet this friend?" she questioned with fingers for extra emphasis.
"Mom, come on, stop!" Maddie whined in protest.
"You're my daughter, I have a right to ask these questions about who you're seeing!" Maya stated.
"Mom!" Maddie groaned as she threw her head back. "Seriously, we're just friends!" she insisted.
"Maya, leave her alone," Carina said as she let out a laugh and looked at the youngest blonde. "How are you feeling, Bambina?" she questioned.
Maddie resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that question, "I'm fine, you know that you don't both have to pussy-foot around me. I'm not going to have a break down at any moment!" she exclaimed annoyed.
"Watch your language," Maya scolded her daughter.
"Maddie, we just want to make sure that you're okay, Bambina," Carina said as she exhaled a sigh. "Bipolar is... It's something that makes people do some pretty irrational decisions and that," she explained hesitantly.
"I don't want to talk about it, I know what it is!" Maddie's shouted as she felt the sudden rage and had an outburst. "I know that's what practically killed Zio, I don't have it and the stupid doctor doesn't know what she is talking about!" she continued to yell.
"Bambina..." Carina started to say.
"So you don't have to worry about me because I'm fine! I'm not going to put myself at risk and get myself killed as Zio Andrea did!" Maddie yelled.
"Maddie, that's enough!" Maya scolded as she looked at her wife who looked completely taken back and on the verge of upset.
"I'm fine, everything is fine!" Maddie insisted. "There's no cause for concern because I'm great! Totally great!" she continued to protest as she got herself worked up.
"Bambina, you're not fine! You have bipolar and the sooner you realize, the sooner you can get help!" Carina stated firmly. "Whether you accept it or not, you have it and you can't go about and pretend like you don't. Now, enough of the attitude, sit down and eat your dinner!" she told her firmly.
It was rare for Carina to lose her temper so when she said this, it startled the younger blonde and for once she did as she was told, while the family all sat in silence around the table and ate dinner.
•
Another update,
Let me know what you guys think!