Mallie rubbed her face tiredly as she followed Carina and Teddy Altman down the hallway to Maya's room.
She'd been officially discharged and Amelia was just getting Myles' discharge papers signed before she'd meet Mallie in the car with the kids to go home.
They stepped inside the room, Maya looking over at them.
"Am I good to be discharged?" Maya asked, not even asking about the obviously fresh cut on Mallie's face.
Mallie didn't hold onto it. Maya was going to lose her mind in a minute, so, she had to stay focused.
"Maya, Dr. Altman and I have some concerns about your condition and about the events that have led to your collapse. And we both strongly believe that it's in your best interest to be admitted for a few days until we can get your numbers under control. Mallie also agrees with us," Carina said.
"I'm fine. I'm feeling better," Maya shook her head.
"We all believe it would be best for you to stay in the hospital," Carina said.
"Well, I'm not staying, so you can forget about that," Maya said.
"If you're not gonna stay on your own, we'll place you on a seventy-two hours hold," Carina said.
"What? No. No," Maya shook her head with a scoff, starting to remove her oxygen tube.
"We have some concerns that you would try to leave against medical advice, and your situation is critical, so we need to monitor you in order to protect your heart-" Carina said, moving forward to stop her from unhooking her wires.
Teddy also stepped over, though Mallie stayed back. She wasn't here as a doctor, just as support for Carina to show Maya she agreed with this.
"You're serious? You're fifty-one-fiftying me?" Maya whispered, looking at Carina with teary eyes.
"Yes," Carina nodded.
"Look, if you try to walk out that door and do anything even remotely strenuous, you could die," Teddy said.
"No, I'm... I'm fine. I'm fine. I feel fine, okay? Let me go home. We can figure this out at home," Maya pleaded.
Her heartrate picked up on the monitor and Mallie winced, stepping forward.
"Maya-"
"No, Maya, no," Carina whispered.
"You can help me at home," Maya said.
"You are not going home. I can't help you there. I've tried, but you don't let me, so this is me helping you," Carina said.
"No. No. No,"
"Maya-"
"No, no, wait. You... no."
"Maya.
"You can't do this!"
"Maya, stop!"
"I am a perfectly competent and capable person of making my own decisions," Maya scoffed, tugging her wires off.
"A perfectly competent and capable person wouldn't try to leave the hospital against medical advice, so yes-" Carina started, trying to pull the wires out of Maya's hands.
"No. Stop. Stop. N-No!" Maya tried to pull herself free.
"Maya, I can do this, and I'm doing it. Maya, I'm serious. If you try to leave-"
"No, Carina!"
"I will have you put in restraints. Please don't make this harder than it needs to be," Carina snapped.
Maya stared at Carina for a few seconds, disbelief fading into pure rage.
"Maya, this is for the best right now, okay?" Mallie said, stepping forward to Carina's side. "I was the one who suggested it and they agreed because you need help, and you are not accepting help, even when you get yourself in a hospital bed."
"Wow," Maya scoffed.
"You've left us no choice," Carina agreed.
"This is getting... I need you to-" Teddy tried to push Maya back down.
"This isn't support. This isn't love. When your brother died," Maya laughed angrily, "You could barely get off the freaking kitchen floor. You know what I did? I gave you space when you needed it. I let you figure out your crap on your own. I didn't call psych and have you committed! Okay? That is love. That is support. So, no... this is not helping me," Maya snapped.
Carina flinched back, lip quivering as she tried to hold back tears. Mallie took Carina's hand into hers, squeezing three times as she moved to step in front of her. She couldn't shield her from Maya's words, but she hoped Maya got the message that she'd gone too far.
"All right, Maya, I want you to lie back. Look at your heart rate. You need to try to calm down," Teddy said, trying to ease Maya back down in the bed.
"I just... I can't believe you would do this to me," Maya scoffed.
"I can't... Dr. Altman is gonna take it from here," Carina said, Teddy nodding.
Mallie let go of Carina's hand, watching her back away towards the door. Mallie stayed by Maya, knowing she wouldn't be able to leave until Maya's heart wasn't going off it's rocket.
"Oh, the lengths you'll go to get your way," Maya scoffed, shaking her head. She took a deep breath, "If you walk... If you walk out that door, we're done. Do you hear me? Do you hear me, hmm? Do you hear me? You walk out that door, we are done," Maya said.
Carina stopped in the doorway, turning to look at Maya with a broken expression.
"I lose you either way, bella. I'd rather lose you and have you be alive," Carina whispered.
She left the room, though Mallie could see her lean against the wall beside the door as Maya started crying loudly.
"N... Carina! Carina! How could you do this to me?! No, I can't! Carina! Carina! Carina! Carina, how could you?! How could you?! Get back here!"
Mallie grabbed Maya's arms, gently pushing her back.
"Hey, hey, lie down. Take some deep breaths, okay? You're going to give yourself a heart attack and then you really will end up in trouble," Mallie said.
"You did this!" Maya cried, trying to shove Mallie's arms away. "You suggested this? You're supposed to be my best friend! You're turning Carina against me!"
"I did this for you!" Mallie said, pushing Maya back down again. "I told you I'd punch you in the face, and I'm punching you in the face. You wanna get mad at someone about getting locked in the psych ward? Be mad at me. I'm only doing this because you refuse to get help. You have to get help, now. Carina's walking away because you are hurting her. You're bleeding on her and she never hurt you."
"You're both hurting me right now! I didn't hurt you and you're fucking with my life! What, is your life that much of a mess that you have to ruin mine, too? It's not my fault you can't fucking protect your kids from a house fire! You thought you'd broken the cycle? didn't you? But you didn't," Maya laughed angrily, tears burning in her eyes as she glared at Mallie. "You say I play with fire? You've been playing with fire since you got your brothers killed as a kid."
"Sedate her," Mallie looked at Teddy, heart aching in her chest. "She isn't going to calm down."
"Why are you doing this to me?!" Maya yelled, shoving Mallie away in the chest.
Mallie winced, rubbing at her chest as she backed away from the bed.
"Because you need it," Mallie said. "Because I love you and I'm done watching you set fire to everything good in your life. I'm not putting them out for you, anymore. You have to do it yourself," Mallie said. "You got this?" she looked at Teddy.
Teddy nodded, injecting a sedative into Maya's IV. Mallie nodded and left the room, crouching down beside Carina as she cried on a ball in the floor.
"Come on," Mallie said, easing her arm around Carina. "You have to get your things from the apartment."
Carina nodded, letting Mallie help her to her feet. Carina wiped her tears, tucking herself into Mallie's side.
"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?" Mallie asked.
"I have to do it on my own," Carina whispered. "But thank you. For everything."
"We told you, we're family," Mallie sighed, squeezing Carina's arm.
Mallie lay on the sofa in the living room of her house, Encanto playing on the television. Amelia was tucked under Mallie's arm with Myles asleep on her chest. Pru was curled up asleep on Mallie's chest, while Carina had Scout on the floor with her, having chosen to lie down in the blanket nest the kids had made earlier.
Microwave and Blender curled up with Carina and Scout, too. Scout was the only kid still awake, stroking his hands over the cats' fur as he watched the television intently.
Mallie's phone beeped and she pulled it out of her pocket, answering the call from Andy.
"Hey," Mallie whispered.
She shifted Pru onto the sofa and stood up, squeezing Amelia's cheeks gently before walking into the kitchen.
"Hey, I'm with the team. We're all here just to check in on you and Myles," Andy said.
"We're both okay. Back home," Mallie said, leaning against the kitchen island. "Myles is sleeping it off. He's tired and clingy, which is expected. Scout and Pru are the same, and Amelia's not much better herself. She managed to get a few days off work, but things are bad at the hospital right now, so," Mallie mumbled.
"How are you doing?" Vic asked. "Did you sleep?"
"I did sleep," Mallie said. "I'm okay. Stitched up and on painkillers. My chest doesn't ache with every breath and I'm already sick of having to drink my meals for the next few weeks while my stitches heal so I don't have a higher risk of infection than I would with solid food."
"That does suck," Theo said.
"Yeah," Mallie said.
"Hey, look, Ross is here, too, so, we're filled her and the team in about you guys and Bishop," Andy said.
"Hey, Mallie. How are you holding up? Honestly?" Ross said.
"I'm okay," Mallie said. "I'm gonna need to put in a call to Diane Lewis for some therapy, because that's the right thing to do, and I'm not medically cleared to work for the next two weeks, so, there's that."
"Good. I've already called Diane and she's gonna call ahead to make an appointment with you instead of just turning up, 'cause of the kids," Ross said. "She'll determine whether or not we can let you back to work, so, I'll call after I hear from her."
"Okay," Mallie said.
"We love you, mom. Take care of yourself and let us know when we can visit!" Vic said.
"We love you!" the team echoed.
"I love you, guys, too," Mallie chuckled, wincing at the tug on her stitches.
"Okay, it's just me, now," Andy said. "So, Jack filled me in about Maya. Everything. I'm gonna go and see her when shift is officially over."
"Yeah," Mallie said. "Uh, look, Carina is staying with us right now. Don't... Don't tell Maya. It's something she needs to learn for herself and she's already pretty pissed at us. I'm gonna give her a few days to cool off and then go and visit her at the apartment, check she isn't driving herself insane," Mallie whispered.
"Okay," Andy said. "Okay. Uh, call me if you need anything. I don't want to bombard you, but Vic is already making toy baskets for the kids and she's gonna drop them off in a few days and the others want to come and check on you, too. I do, too, obviously, but I have more sense than the others to just turn up."
"Thanks for the heads up. Uh, let me talk to Amelia and I'll figure out a day for you guys to visit," Mallie said.
"Okay," Andy said. "I'm sorry about what happened, Mal. About you being in another housefire. I'm sorry we weren't there faster to help you find Myles."
"We're all okay. You don't have to apologise," Mallie said. "And, yeah, it sucks, but that's why I'm gonna talk to Diane, get my head right."
"That's good. I'm really glad you're okay," Andy said. "I love you guys."
"We love you, too," Mallie said.
She ended the call and walked back into the living room, lifting Pru up and lying down, setting Pru back on her chest. Amelia tucked herself back under Mallie's arm, kissing the side of her neck gently.
"You okay?" Amelia mumbled.
"It was Andy checking in. I need clearance from Diane to go back to work," Mallie said. "And, uh, the team has been filled in. With everything. So has Ross. Ross called Diane for Maya, too."
"Does she need clearance, too?" Carina asked quietly.
"Yeah," Mallie said. "Andy's gonna visit her later."
Carina nodded.
Scout turned his head to look at her, frowning and lifting his hands to wipe away her tears carefully.
"Did tía Maya make you sad, Rina?" Scout asked.
Carina glanced up at Mallie and Amelia. They both shrugged, letting her make the decision what to tell him.
"She did, bambino," Carina said, looking back at Scout.
"Why? 'Cause she fell?" Scout asked.
"Yes," Carina said.
"Is Maya sick?" Scout asked.
"She just needs a little bit of help and then she'll be okay. You don't need to worry," Carina said, tucking his curls out of his face.
"Is her heart sick? Or her brain?" Scout asked.
"A little bit of both," Carina said quietly.
"Oh," Scout said. "An' that makes you sad. 'Cause you love Maya."
"It does, bambino, yes," Carina nodded.
Scout wrapped his arms around Carina and kissed her cheek.
"Hugs and kisses make me feel better when I'm sad," Scout said. "I can help. Like mama and mamí help."
"You can," Carina chuckled, wrapping her arms around Scout and kissing his forehead. "Ti amo," Carina whispered.
"Ti amo, zia Carina," Scout whispered in Italian, earning a chuckle from Carina.
"Very good."
"Grazie."
Amelia tightened her grip on Mallie and Mallie looked down, smiling softly when she saw the smile on Amelia's face.
"I love you," Amelia whispered.
"I love you, more, mi vida," Mallie whispered back.
"Okay," Amelia sighed, walking into their bedroom later that night. "Kids are all officially asleep for the night and Carina is also asleep in bed, which, honestly, I'm taking as a win. Poor girl looks exhausted," Amelia said.
Mallie looked up from the text she was typing out to Diane about setting up their therapy meetings.
"Ross called me," Mallie said.
"What?" Amelia said.
"There was a bad Crisis One call last night. Vic and Andy did it after Vic went back to the station. Ross got called out. Some kid trying to get home, got stopped by the police, had a panic attack, it escalated into a full show off between PD and us. There's a video and it's bad. Dixon wants to brush it all over and he's not happy because, somehow, information from a Crisis One call Maya and I attended at Dixon's place has got out and now he's being accused of domestic abuse," Mallie said.
"Let me guess, kid was black?" Amelia said.
"You know it," Mallie said.
"Jesus. Is he okay?" Amelia asked.
"He's okay, back with his mom. I told Vic to get in touch and offer them therapy, whatever they need. On us. Not much, but it might help," Mallie said.
Amelia nodded.
"This Dixon call," Amelia said.
"Maya told Travis and Travis' campaign manager leaked it when Dixon leaked Travis' assault records from when he defended Vic in that bar," Mallie said.
"What does this mean for Crisis One?" Amelia asked.
"Lawsuits," Mallie said. "A lot of them. We can get shut down, if Dixon wins mayor and keeps pushing it. It's bad. Maya fucked up telling Travis, but Travis fucked up telling his campaign manager. I don't even have the energy to be mad because, honestly, what else can happen to us this week?" Mallie said.
Amelia laughed emptily, rubbing her hands over her face. She nodded.
"This is fine."
"I ran us a bath. Figured we could do with some us time," Mallie said.
She sent off the text and put her phone on charge, standing up and holding her hands out. Amelia took Mallie's hands, letting Mallie tug her into their en-suite bathroom. Mallie closed the door behind them, letting go of Amelia to turn the taps off.
Mallie walked back over to Amelia, cupping her cheeks and brushing her thumbs over the soft skin.
"Are you okay?" Mallie whispered.
"It's just a lot right now," Amelia whispered. "Everything going on. Meredith leaving, Myles' appointment, then the fire, not knowing where you were, then finding out Myles was inside with you, then going to the hospital and not seeing you with our kids, that scared the shit out of me, Mallie. I can't do that again. I won't do it again."
"I know," Mallie mumbled, wrapping her arms around Amelia. "I'm sorry."
"It's not even your fault," Amelia laughed, tears on her cheeks as she looked up at her wife. "It's not your fault and I don't blame you. It was just so much worse this time than it's ever been and I wasn't expecting it because you weren't at work, and because our kids were in danger, too. I don't ever want to feel like that over our family again. We've both lost too much to lose anything else."
"I know," Mallie whispered, resting her forehead against Amelia's. "It's different when it's personal. It's harder to compartmentalize it."
She ran her fingers through Amelia's hair, then pulled back.
"Come on. Bath's gonna get cold," Mallie whispered.
She tugged Amelia's t-shirt off, smiling when Amelia's hair got messed up when it fell free from the shirt. Amelia rolled her eyes, pushing Mallie away gently as she tugged her pyjama bottoms off. Mallie stripped out of her clothes and followed Amelia to the bath, climbing in first and settling down.
Amelia climbed in after her, settling between Mallie's legs and leaning back against her chest. Mallie wrapped her arms around Amelia's waist, resting her chin on Amelia's bare shoulder.
"Ross talked to me, at my meeting. Vic is going to be Crisis One with me. But she was asking me about Beckett, too, and she basically made a comment about me being captain of the station if she got rid of Beckett. I told her it should be Andy over me, but that I'm on her side if she chooses to get rid of Beckett and pick a new captain within the station," Mallie said quietly.
"Do you want to be captain?" Amelia whispered.
"No," Mallie said. "God, no. I said I don't want it. But I needed you to know, and this is the first time we've really had a moment to talk about anything."
"Yeah," Amelia whispered.
"I'm gonna take you to a meeting tomorrow morning," Mallie mumbled. "Carina's taken a few days off, too, so, she said she'll take the kids to the park and for some lunch, get them out the house for a while. We'll go to the meeting and then go for some lunch, then meet up with them back here."
"Thank you," Amelia said. "For loving me for who I am. Bright and shiny and dark and twisty sides."
"You saved my life, Amelia," Mallie mumbled into her neck. "Just by being you. How could I not love you for that? You told me years ago to trust you and let you in. Trusting you was the best thing I ever did because we're here right now. We made it through everything and we made it through yesterday. We're okay," Mallie whispered.
Amelia turned as best as she could to wrap her arms around Mallie, tears on her cheeks as she buried her face in Mallie's neck.
"You saved my life, too. Even before we were together, you would drag me to meetings when you thought I needed one. You have no idea how close I was to relapsing sometimes before you'd turn up and take me to a meeting. I'm so glad your heart decided to love mine. I love you so much," Amelia whispered.
"I love you more, mi vida. Forever," Mallie whispered.