Chapter Text
Carina sat at her desk going through charts. In fact, she’d been looking at the same chart for 45 minutes, not retaining any information. She hadn’t seen or talked to Maya since their fight in Maya’s office the day before. Maya had tried calling and texting her, but Carina just couldn’t face the disappointment.
She had thought the conversation about moving in together would be a simple formality. Maya would say yes, they’d go for dinner to celebrate, then go home to have amazing sex. Instead, she was in her office crying and trying to figure out where everything went wrong. It was the longest time she and Maya had gone without some kind of communication since their life changing three-hour conversation in the elevator. Almost a year in, she already couldn’t imagine a future without Maya. And, now, she might have to. She felt the tears come…again. How had it come to this?
There was a knock at her office door and before she could say anything, Dr. Bailey walked in. Carina wondered why she bothered knocking at all.
“Dr. DeLuca. Have you seen the…. Are you crying? Why are you crying in my hospital?”
Carina chuckled despite her sadness.
“It’s nothing. How can I help you, Dr. Bailey?”
Bailey rounded one of Carina’s guest chairs and sat down, her feet not touching the ground.
“You can help me by telling me what the hell is wrong with you and why there are tears all over hospital property. Oh, I see now. Those are love tears. I would know those anywhere. What happened with Maya?”
Carina started to answer, but instead started crying in earnest. Bailey rolled her eyes, stood up and went to close the door.
“Honestly, the doctors cry in this hospital more than the patients. What happened?”
Carina grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. “I said we should move in together and she basically said no.”
Bailey sighed and rubbed her temples. “Did she actually say the words, ‘No, I do not want to move in with you’?”
Carina hiccupped another sob and wiped her nose again. “Not really. She didn’t really say much except that she needed time. She said she loved me. But, we practically live together now anyway. Why would she need time?”
“So, let me get this straight. You sprung this on her? Without warning? And you wanted an answer right then and there?”
Carina nodded and wiped her nose again.
Bailey closed her eyes and cursed under her breath. “Are you telling me that you have been in a relationship with Captain Maya Bishop all this time and you have no idea what Captain Maya Bishop is like?”
Carina stopped moving and gave Bailey a puzzled look. “Cosa? Of course I know what Captain Maya Bishop is like.” She had no idea why she echoed Bailey’s use of Maya’s complete name and title.
“Apparently you don’t. Even I know the woman hates to be cornered. Hates to be pressured into a big decision. Hell, sometimes she hates to be pressured into a small decision. Just watch when they’re all ordering take-out and waiting on her to decide on what she’s having. She panics and shuts down. How do you not know this?”
Carina groaned loudly, leaned over and banged her forehead against her desk a few times. “Cazzo. I do know this. I forgot.”
Bailey gave her a patronizing smile. “Because you were excited about moving in together.”
Carina nodded.
“And you only thought about your own excitement.”
Carina nodded.
Bailey scooched herself to the edge of the chair and stepped down. “I swear I don’t know which of you is the bigger idiot. But clearly you deserve each other. Go fix it, DeLuca, and, for god’s sake, quit crying in my hospital. It’s pissing me off.”
Carina blew her nose one last time and reached for the phone, but it rang before she got hold of it. She looked at the caller ID: Destiny.
“Che diavolo è questo?” [What the hell is this?]
She dismissed the call as spam and went to punch in Maya’s number. The call came in again. Destiny
She went to dismiss it again, then reconsidered. Instead, she pressed the ‘accept’ button.
“Hello?”
There was some rustling of what sounded like paper on the other end of the phone.
“Uh…is this Dr. Carina DeLuca?”
Carina’s eyes narrowed. The woman’s voice sounded familiar.
“Yes?” she answered suspiciously.
The caller cleared their throat. “Um, yes, Dr. DeLuca. This is Destiny calling. I would like….”
Carina let out one loud, high pitched guffaw before covering her mouth. “Andy, I can tell this is you. What’s going on?”
“Dr. DeLuca, as I said, this is Destiny calling. Your next assignment is to report to elevator car 17 on the third floor of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital at 3:00 pm today. Wear something…nice.”
Carina waved her free hand as though she was erasing a whiteboard. “What?! Andy, stop it. Tell me what’s going on.”
“You have your instructions. Don’t be late. Uh…destiny waits for no one.”
The line went dead.
~~~~
Andy hung up the phone and exhaled heavily. She looked up at Maya for approval.
“I thought for a minute she was gonna block me. How’d I do?”
Maya stood with her hands on her hips. “I didn’t think you were gonna do a voice! Were you trying to sound like Mufasa from Lion King?’”
Clearly offended, Andy recoiled. “I was in character! I was trying to sell it.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “And what the fuck was ‘destiny waits for no one’?”
“I added that. Good, huh?”
Maya grabbed her by the sleeve and pulled her up and out of the office. “Come on. We’ve got a lot to do before 3.”
~~~~
Carina looked at the clock. Only two hours before her… ‘date with destiny.’ Obviously, Maya was up to something. An epic apology, no doubt. And, after Bailey’s admonishment, Carina realized now there was nothing to forgive. Carina knew her own impulsiveness was really the cause of her fight with Maya and, if anything, she was the one who needed to apologize. Her heart felt lighter and she had hope they would be able talk and move forward from this.
With nothing on her schedule, she decided to play along with whatever Maya was planning. She zipped home and decided to wear a black leather dress that was tighter on her than it was on the cow it came from. She called it ‘Goldilocks’: not too long, not too short. This dress literally brought Maya to her knees every time she wore it, and it had led to nights of unspeakable naughtiness. She hoped it would again. Her favourite heels, which would have her towering over Maya, completed the look…or, rather, the effect she wanted to create.
Before getting in her car to return to the hospital, she threw on and buttoned her lab coat. She didn’t want to be sauntering through the hospital corridors looking like she was on the prowl. Which, of course, she was.
~~~~
“Maya Bishop, you are bothering me,” Dr. Bailey complained as she waddled down the hallway toward the ER.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I only need, like, 15 minutes. That’s all. Well, maybe a bit longer after that, but maybe not. Please, Dr. Bailey. It’s important.”
Bailey stopped in her tracks and Maya almost ran into her. She looked up at Maya with a frown and then sighed.
“Fine. I will give you 15 minutes. That’s it. Not a second more. You hear me?”
“Oh my god! Thank you! Thank you!” Maya went to hug Bailey, but was quickly rebuffed.
“Do not hug me. There is too much damned hugging in my hospital. Now, get away from me. I have other people to yell at.”
Maya pumped her fists as Bailey walked away.
~~~~
“Maya, sei bellissima!” Matteo said as clearly as he could. He used his right hand to wipe away the excess saliva at the corner of his mouth. He was beaming with happiness. [You’re beautiful]
“I’m so nervous,” she told him, holding out her hand. “Look, I’m shaking.”
Matteo ambled up to her and put his right hand on her shoulder. “Amica mia, ho conosciuto Carina da molto tempo. Lei è innamorata di te. Con tutto il suo cuore. Va bene. Davvero. Listen to Matteo. He is very smart, on one side anyway.” He tapped his temple.
Maya choked up, feeling grateful to have her friend standing in front of her today of all days. “I understood some of that. Thank you. Thank you for not dying.”
He pulled her closer. “Shshsh. Is okay. I know I am awesome.”
Maya laughed and cried into his shirt.
~~~~
Carina was surprised to find herself feeling nervous. Why would Maya want to meet by the elevator where they got stuck? Maybe she was going to take her to the roof for something romantic. If that was the case, Carina would use the opportunity to unbutton her lab coat so Maya could see how deeply sorry she was. She looked at her phone to check the time. Seven minutes to three.
She took an elevator to the third floor and then strolled to the other end of the hospital to the bank of elevators by the ORs. She was enjoying the deliciously crisp sound her heels made on the tiled floor as she walked. She hoped Maya would hear it, too. As she approached the rendezvous point, she noticed the area was deserted. No bustle of staff. No one at the nursing station. Was there a fire drill no one told her about? She rounded the corner to get to the elevator and then came to an abrupt stop.
There in front of the doors of elevator car 17 was Captain Maya Bishop in her Class As. Her sun spun hair pulled back tightly in a ponytail. If Carina thought she was in love before, what she felt in her heart in this moment had no bounds, no conditions, no end. This is it for me, she thought to herself. She is it. There is no one else. There will never be anyone else.
Carina noticed Maya’s hand clutching something she couldn’t make out. Maya looked nervous. Scared even.
Carina approached slowly as though Maya might spook and run away. Finally, a faint smile appeared on Maya’s face.
“Come stai, amore mio? Stai bene? What are you doing, Bambina? And why are you in your very sexy dress uniform?” [How are you, my love? Are you okay?]
She saw Maya’s throat bob up and down, then she licked her lips. Definitely nervous.
She cleared her throat. “Hi” was all she could squeak out. Mindful of Dr. Bailey’s time limit, she took a deep breath.
“Carina, I planned to do this in a few weeks, closer to our one year anniversary. But you kind of messed that up when you asked me about moving in together.”
Carina moved to stand closer to Maya, but Maya put up her hand. “You have to let me finish or I will completely lose it,” she said in a shaky voice. Carina nodded.
“I am so sorry if I, for one second, made you feel that I didn’t want to live with you. I do. I love you. But you messed up my plans. And you know what I’m like when my plans get messed up.”
Carina giggled, still not sure where this was going.
“But, Carina, I don’t just want to live with you. I want to fall asleep with you and wake up with you. I want to eat with you and not cook for you. I want to cry with you and laugh with you. I want to fight with you and make up with you. I mean, you’ve taught me a lot about how great sexy angry can be. I want to rejoice with you and grieve with you.”
Tears were streaming down Carina’s face as she clutched her hands to her mouth.
“I don’t just want to share a house with you, Carina. I want to share a whole life with you. Forever. Longer if possible.”
Maya opened her hands to reveal a small box. Carina’s face fell in surprise.
“Oh, Maya…,” she whispered.
Maya came closer to Carina and bent down on one knee. She opened the box. Inside was a simple gold band, wider and more ornate than the ones Carina already wore on her hands.
“Carina DeLuca, this elevator is where I realized that you are my destiny. And I hope that I’m yours. I love you and I choose you. Will you please marry me?”
Maya looked up, her eyes wide with earnestness, apprehension and hope. In between sobs, Carina nodded.
“Yes, my love! Yes! You could have asked me that night in Rome and I would have said yes. I am yours, Bambina. Forever. Come kiss me.”
Maya stood and Carina jumped into her arms. And their kiss was one for the ages.
“Can I put this on you?” Maya asked, taking the ring out of the box. “I had it engraved.”
“Yes! Let me see, Bambina.” Carina took the ring and held it so she could see the inscription inside.
Siamo fuoco insieme [We are fire together]
Carina’s tears fell anew. “Bambina…I’m so in love with you.”
Maya took the ring from her and slid it on Carina’s left hand. Then they fell into each other’s arms again.
The crew from Station 19 flew out of one of the exam rooms yelling and cheering. They gathered around to offer their congratulations to Maya and their condolences to Carina.
Then came that unmistakable voice.
“Why is there all this noise in my hospital? Bishop, your 15 minutes are up. Now, let me see that ring before you all get out of here.”
~~~~
After a boisterous night celebrating at Joe’s, Maya and Carina finally got home just after midnight. They both made a point of staying sober because, for them, the real celebration was just moments away.
As Maya hung up her dress jacket and loosened her tie, she finally noticed that Carina was still wearing her lab coat.
“Did you forgot to leave your lab coat at work, baby. I just realized you’ve worn it all night.”
Carina gave her a grin so predatory that Maya was sure if she took a pregnancy test in the morning, it would be positive. Carina had purposely not taken off her heels. She took measured steps toward Maya, unbuttoning her lab coat slowly.
“It’s hiding your engagement present.” She undid the final button and shrugged off the coat, revealing the leather dress.
Maya groaned. “Oh my god. You wore Goldilocks.”
“I did. Just for you,” Carina purred. She took Maya’s hands in hers and put them on either side of her thighs at the dress’s hemline. Maya moved the leather up Carina’s body, her breath ragged and full of want. Carina held Maya close so she could whisper in her ear.
“You won’t find anything in your way when you get there, Bambina.”
“You drive me out of my mind, Carina. You make me forget my own name,” Maya said breathlessly.
Carina took Maya’s hand and put it between her legs.
“And you do this to me, Bella. Do you know why it is like this with us?” Carina moaned the words as Maya explored her.
“Tell me.”
“Perché siamo fuoco insieme. Per sempre.”