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It was a clinic day, which were Maya’s favorite days because it meant extra time with her wife at work which was always amazing. She loved getting to see Carina in her element at work, and she was so proud of everything the doctor had done for the community.
This morning had started like any normal clinic day. Maya and Carina had gotten up together, the Italian making breakfast for them which they enjoyed before heading to work. However, this morning, Maya found herself full after only about half of what she would normally eat. She didn’t think much of it, having had a pretty big dinner the night before.
As they got in the car to get to work, Maya let out a loud burp, slapping her hand over her mouth as she mumbled an apology.
“It’s ok,” Carina said, shaking her head, “Are you ok?”
“I think so,” Maya said as Carina started the car, “I don’t know what that was.”
“We all burp sometimes,” Carina shrugged, smiling at her, “Ready to go?”
Maya nodded, reaching over and grabbing her wife’s hand as they drove.
When they got to the station, both of them headed upstairs to changed, Maya handing Carina her uniform she left there for clinic days as the firefighter pulled out her own clothes. Just as Maya was about to pull on her pants, she let out another loud burp.
“Woah, Bishop, was that you?” Vic asked, walking into the locker room.
“Yeah,” Maya said, rubbing her stomach a little bit, “Sorry. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Are you feeling ok?” Carina asked, looking at her wife.
“I think so,” Maya said, taking inventory of her body, “I just feel a little bit bloated I think.”
“Is it painful?” Carina asked, a bit concerned.
“Not really,” Maya said, shrugging, “Just tight. Like there’s air stuck inside or maybe something didn’t sit quite perfectly. I’m ok.”
“Do you want some gas pills?” Carina asked, “We have some in the clinic supply.”
“Maybe,” Maya said, “I would prefer to not feel like this all day.”
“I’ll go get them,” Carina said, having finished getting dressed, “I’ll be right back.”
Maya finished getting dressed, her pants a bit more snug than she preferred, hoping the pills Carina gave her helped.
“Here you go,” Carina said, handing Maya two small green capsules, “This should help get some of that gas out.”
“Are these going to make me pass gas all day?” Maya asked, eying the pills.
“Probably,” Carina said, “But it’s stuck inside right now making you feel not so good so these should help get it out. It won’t be too bad.”
“Do you still need inventory done?” Maya asked, taking the pills.
“Si,” Carina said, “I was going to do it after clinic today.”
“Maybe I will work on it while clinic is happening today,” Maya said, sipping on her water, “If I am going to be dealing with the side effects of those pills, I don’t really want to be around people.”
“There is nothing to be embarrassed about Bambina,” Carina said, resting a hand on her wife’s bloated middle, “Everyone has gas sometimes. But if you want, you can do inventory. I’ll tell Beckett I asked you to.”
“Thank you,” Maya said, letting out another small burp, feeling a splash of acid up the back of her throat, “Uuuggg. These burps are annoying. And that one had heart burn with it.”
“Are you sure you are ok?” Carina asked, noticing her wife looked just a bit pale.
“I’m fine,” Maya said, brushing her off, “Just gassy for whatever reason.”
“Ok,” Carina said, “If that changes, let me know. Hopefully all these burps are a precursor to something more sinister in your stomach.”
The day got going, Maya and Carina heading down to help get the clinic set up, Maya’s stomach not feeling amazing as she did so. The burping kept up, but within about twenty minutes of taking the pills, Maya could feeling things moving the other direction too.
Not wanting to let it go in front of her coworkers, she darted out of the barn, taking the steps two at a time before making it to the bathrooms upstairs, sitting down on the toilet. When she did, she let out a decent amount of gas, but at the end, she had some loose stool too that made her tummy hurt even more.
“I must have eaten something that just didn’t agree with me,” Maya said, rubbing at her stomach some, groaning as this seemed to agitate things.
She eventually was able to finish up in the bathroom, cleaning herself up before heading into the supply room, deciding she was done being down at the clinic for now, wanting the bathroom close because she didn’t know for sure, but she felt like her belly was still not well. She got to work counting and organizing supplies in the way she knew Carina liked it, burping a bit more as she went. The burps were starting to hurt a little bit and a few times, the reflux they brought with them almost had her diving for a trash can. She did have to run to the bathroom two more times with an upset stomach too which she didn’t love but wrote off as nothing more than food disagreeing with her and the meds. About an hour into her organizing and not too long after her last bathroom trip, she heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Carina standing there.
“Hey,” Maya said, brushing a few pieces of hair off her suddenly sweaty forehead, “What’s up?”
“We ran out of pregnancy tests downstairs and I came to grab some more,” Carina said, looking her wife up and down, “How are you doing?”
“I’m ok,” Maya said, burping a little bit, “My stomach is a bit unsettled. But I looked and mild diarrhea can be a side effect of gas-x so it’s probably just that.”
“You look really pale Bambina,” Carina said, frowning, “How many times have you been to the bathroom?”
“Three,” Maya said, going over to where they kept the pregnancy tests, “But I’m ok.”
“Maya, three times in an hour is more than just mild,” Carina said, “You should go rest.”
“It’s probably just something not agreeing with me,” Maya said, “I’ll be fine.”
Maya bent down, finding the box of pregnancy tests, grabbing out another box of them when she felt another burp coming, going to let it out only to feel more than just air coming up. Before she had time to react, Maya projectile vomited all over herself, the box of pregnancy tests she was holding, and the shelf of supplies in front of her, completely unable to move as another wave forced itself out of her.
“Bambina,” Carina said, alarmed as she quickly walked over to her wife, rubbing her back.
“I’m sorry,” Maya said, looking bewildered, “I…I’ll clean it up. And find some more pregnancy tests somewhere.”
“I’m not worried about that,” Carina said, “Are you ok? Obviously you are not ok because you just threw up, but are you ok?”
“I…I don’t feel well,” Maya said in a small voice, looking between the dirty box in her hands, her shirt and her wife before tears welled up in her eyes.
“Hey, it’s ok,” Carina said, rubbing Maya’s back, wanting nothing more than to hug her but also having no desire to be covered in vomit, “Let’s get you to the showers and get you cleaned up.”
“You need to go back to the clinic,” Maya sniffled as Carina grabbed a large garbage bag, guiding Maya to put the box in the bag.
“They will be just fine without me for a little bit,” Carina said, “You are my priority right now. Let’s get you cleaned up and then you can rest in your bunk until clinic is over. Or, actually, I’ll just have Warren take over for the rest of the day and take you home. You should be comfy when you are so sick.”
“I’ll be ok here,” Maya said as Carina turned on the shower, “You are needed downstairs.”
“I am needed by my wife,” Carina said gently, helping Maya get her soiled clothes off, carefully rolling everything up so the dirty parts were on the inside, “You take as much time as you need to get cleaned up. I am going to go make arrangements for the rest of the day, ok?”
“I’m really ok,” Maya said, though the churning and bubbling in her stomach told her she was lying, “Probably just something that isn’t agreeing with me.”
“Bambina, you just projectile vomited after having an upset tummy three times in the past hour,” Carina said, “Whatever is going on is more than just something not agreeing with you. You probably have some GI bug that needs to run its course and the best place for that to happen is at home. No arguing. Now, get cleaned up. I’ll be back soon.”
Maya wanted to argue, but she was feeling worse by the minute so she just nodded a little before getting into the shower. She managed to shower, forgoing her hair which had thankfully been spared from her unhappy stomach, getting out and going over to her locker, deciding to pull on her sweatpants she kept for sleeping in because the thought of putting her jeans back on almost made her throw up again. She was just about to pull on her shirt when she felt her stomach revolting again, keeping her towel on as she ran for the bathroom, barely making it before she threw up again.
“Why are you so mad today?” Maya asked as she leaned back from the toilet, looking down at her stomach that simply gave her an ominous gurgle as she rested her hand there, taking a minute to catch her breath.
She stood up after a minute with every intention of going to get her shirt on, but her stomach had other plans, forcing her to sit down on the toilet yet again.
“Bambina,” she heard Carina calling a minute later.
“I’m in the bathroom,” Maya called weakly, “Can I have a few minutes?”
“Si,” the Italian said, Maya not hearing her coming closer.
Once her stomach finally settled down some, she got up, washing her hands before finally leaving the bathroom, finding Carina sitting on a bench in the locker room, her purse and Maya’s backpack sat next to her.
“Va bene?” Carina asked as Maya slowly walked over to her locker, pulling out her shirt and finally getting dressed.
“Whatever is happening to my stomach, it is awful,” Maya said, walking into Carina’s arms as soon as she was dressed, “I really don’t feel well.”
“I’m sorry,” Carina said, kissing the top of her wife’s head, feeling heat that had not been there just a few hours ago, “You have a fever too Bambina. Let’s get you home and into bed, ok?”
“I need to clean up the supply room,” Maya said, remembering the mess she had made.
“I already took care of it,” Carina said, “It’s clean and Victoria is going to go over it with another round of disinfectant this afternoon. All you need is to be home resting.”
“Ok,” Maya nodded, “Let’s go.”
“I honestly can’t believe you are letting me take you home right now,” Carina commented as they got in the elevator to go downstairs.
“I feel so awful right now, my brain is not functioning,” Maya said, hand on her stomach, “And considering I destroyed about 50 pregnancy tests with my stomach already today, it’s probably for the best that I am not here to ruin anything else.”
“Fair enough,” Carina said as she helped Maya into the car, handing her a blue emesis bag, “Hopefully you don’t need this, but just in case.”
“I still feel like there is so much air trapped in my stomach,” Maya said, hand on her tummy as Carina started driving, “But now, I am scared to let any of it out away from the bathroom because the last thing I want is a repeat of the storage room…or worse.”
“We will be home soon Bambina,” Carina said, stroking Maya’s hair, “And then, hopefully, you can get some of that out of your body and get you feeling better.”
“I hope so,” Maya said, shifting again in her seat, trying to get comfortable.
The drive home was quiet, Maya shifting in her seat every so often, trying to keep what was in her body where it belonged at least on their drive home.
“Can you drive any faster?” Maya asked, voice sounding pained when they were about three minutes away from home, “My stomach is really not doing well right now.”
“You have your emesis bag right there,” Carina reminded her, really hoping that was what Maya meant.
“Wrong end,” Maya said, shifting again, face contorted in pain.
“I am going as fast as I can,” Carina promised, looking over and seeing how miserable Maya looked, “We will be there soon. And as soon as we are, you just run upstairs ok?”
“I don’t know if I’m going to make it,” Maya said, holding her stomach.
“Just do your best,” Carina said, feeling so bad for her wife, “And I will come up after you and grab you out some clean pajamas and leave them outside the bathroom door for you, ok? Whatever happens, things can be cleaned.”
“Just hurry,” Maya said, her stomach gurgling ominously.
“We are pulling in now,” Carina said, “I’m going to drop you off at the door. Go, ok?”
“Thank you,” Maya said as Carina stopped the car, leaping out, hand on her stomach as she ran for the door.
Carina drove to park the car in their spot, grabbing their bags out of the back seat before heading upstairs, just hoping her wife was ok. The apartment was quiet when Carina entered, the Italian hanging up their bags before going into their bedroom, pulling out a light t-shirt and clean pair of boxers for Maya, approaching the bathroom door.
“Bambina, I have clean clothes right outside the door for you, ok?” she said after knocking lightly, “Are you ok? Do you need anything?”
“I will be,” Maya said, voice sounding strained, “Can I have a few minutes?”
“Si,” Carina said, “I am going to go into the kitchen. I will come back and check in soon.”
“Thank you,” Maya said through the door, Carina hearing what was unmistakably vomiting right after.
It took everything in Carina to respect her wife’s privacy and walk away from the door, heading into the kitchen. She checked their cabinets as she went through everything they would need for a stomach bug. They had a few bottles of Pedialyte left from when Carina had come down with food poisoning after a potluck gone wrong in the OB department but most of it was the grape one she liked and not the strawberry lemonade one Maya preferred so she added a few of those to the delivery order along with some saltine crackers, unsweetened apple sauce, chicken bone broth, and some popsicles. She also ordered some jello, remembering Maya had mentioned once that her mom had let her have some during a stomach virus as a kid and that she always liked it when her stomach was upset now.
She added a bottle of bleach cleaner to the cart, hoping maybe she could avoid whatever nasty virus Maya had managed to get. The last thing she added was some potatoes because just in case the bleach didn’t work and she managed to get sick, she always found mashed potatoes to be palatable when recovering from a sick stomach.
With the groceries ordered, Carina grabbed a cup, filling it mostly with ice and a little water, adding a spoon and straw to it before heading back into their bedroom to get changed. Once she was done, she turned back to the bathroom, seeing that the clothes she had left outside the door were gone.
“Bambina, how are you doing?” Carina called again.
“You can come in,” Maya called weakly. Carina went into the bathroom, finding Maya sat against the wall, dressed only in the boxers the Italian had left.
“Not feeling the clothes today?” Carina asked, sitting down next to her.
“It’s too hot and sticky,” Maya said, leaning her head on her wife’s shoulder, “Plus, the less I have to get off when the sickness comes, the better.”
Carina looked around the bathroom, seeing what appeared to be Maya’s sweatpants and underwear in a tied-up bag in the corner, sighing a little at the implications of that.
“How is the stomach doing?” Carina asked, kissing Maya’s boiling forehead, “You are so warm.”
“Not great,” Maya said, putting her head in Carina’s lap, the Italian immediately running her fingers through Maya’s ponytail, “This bug is horrible. I wish my stomach could just pick one direction to be sick, but nope, it has to be both at the same time.”
“I’m sorry Bambina,” Carina said, “What do you need? Do you want to try the bed or stay here for a little while?”
“Stay here,” Maya said, “I don’t want to have to run the next time my stomach decides to.”
“Ok,” Carina said, rubbing Maya’s bare back, “I wish there was something I could do to help you feel better.”
“You are,” Maya said, uncurling a little bit to look up at her, “Just you being here and not making me feel like a burden is helping. I was sick like this once in high school and Lane made me run. It went so poorly, and I will spare you the details, but let’s just say I ended up squatting in bushes using my underwear as toilet paper.”
“Bambina,” Carina said, unable to decide if she wanted to laugh or cry, “I am so sorry that happened to you. In this house, we will be resting and hydrating as we can and not running until your tummy is all the way better.”
“Thank you for always taking care of me,” Maya said with a little bit of a yawn, curling back up, her head still in Carina’s lap.
“I will take care of you forever,” Carina said, leaning down and kissing Maya’s sweaty forehead, “There is nothing I love doing more than reminding you of how much I love you, and this is just another way I get to do that.”
“There are definitely other ways I prefer you showing me how much you love me that involve a lot less bodily fluids,” Maya said, curling up a little more as her stomach cramped up again, “Or at least different ones that are much less gross.”
“Just rest Bambina,” Carina said as Maya yawned a little bit at the end of her sentence, “I will be right here, ok?”
Carina, true to her word, was right by Maya’s side as long as her wife let her, giving her some space when her stomach was particularly sick. Carina used this time to grab the groceries she had ordered, getting everything put where it needed to be, bringing a small amount of Pedialyte into the bathroom with her when Maya let her back in along with a syringe she had also bought from the store. Ten minutes after they settled again, Carina grabbed the syringe, pulling up 5 milliliters of Pedialyte.
“Open up Bambina,” Carina said, bringing the syringe to Maya’s mouth.
“No,” Maya said, turning her head, “My stomach hurts and that will make me throw up again.”
“You need hydration,” Carina said, “Come on. Just a little bit. I even got your favorite flavor.”
“If this makes me puke, I am going to be mad at you,” Maya said, opening her mouth and letting Carina put the syringe in, “This makes me feel like a baby.”
“Si, you are,” Carina said, setting the syringe aside, “You are my bambina.”
“Not a baby,” Maya mumbled, curling back up.
Carina chuckled a little bit, rubbing Maya’s back. The next few hours were a blur of sickness and comfort and Carina trying to get tiny bits of hydration into Maya between bouts of sickness.
By 8 pm, Maya had managed to go an hour without sickness of any kind, even managing to keep down some Pedialyte.
“I think maybe I am ready to try going to bed,” the blonde said, looking at her wife, “I still don’t feel great, but I think maybe I am safe to go to bed. Or actually, I want to try the bathroom one more time and then go to bed.”
“Ok,” Carina said, moving to stand. She helped an extremely shaky and wobbly Maya up, getting her situated on the toilet before turning to leave.
“Just yell when you are done, ok?” Carina said, “I don’t want you walking on your own. You are very dehydrated.”
“Ok,” Maya said, feeling a sharp cramp in her stomach, “Oh, Carina. Go please.”
The Italian hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her. How Maya had anything left in her was a mystery to the doctor who headed into the kitchen to scrub her hands with soap and water.
Carina had managed to eat something for dinner earlier, knowing that the best way for her to be able to continue caring for her wife was by making sure she was taking care of herself. She then went about getting more Pedialyte together for Maya, opening the cabinet to grab a different cup, eyes landing on her shot glass collection that Andrea had gotten her. It wasn’t really something Carina would have collected herself, but her stupid baby brother thought it would be funny to pick his big sister up shot glasses from his travels. It had been a little bit annoying at first, but now it was something she loved and missed.
As she looked at the little glasses, she got the idea to use them as a different way to help Maya hydrate. Carina took down several of the rarely used glasses, rinsing them out quickly before adding Pedialyte to each glass and carrying them into the bedroom, lining them up partly on her end table and partly on Maya’s. Just as she finished up, adding the rest of the Pedialyte bottle to Maya’s nightstand so they could refill the glasses as needed, she heard Maya calling for her.
“Coming Bambina,” Carina called, pulling back the covers on her side of the bed, planning on having Maya sleep there so she was closer to the bathroom.
“Can you bring me some clean underwear?” Maya called as Carina approached the door, “And maybe a tank top? Or actually, maybe one of my cut off shirts? The ones I took the sleeves off?”
“Of course,” Carina said, going to the dresser, grabbing out a clean pair of boxers and a tank for Maya before heading into the bathroom.
“Ok?” Carina asked, walking over to her wife.
“Yeah,” Maya said, “I just feel like if I am going to get into bed, I want to be semi clean, but I think if I showered, I would pass out.”
“That is the dehydration,” Carina said, pulling the shirt over Maya’s head, “I have more Pedialyte for you. It’s been a while since you have vomited so hopefully you’ll be able to handle more hydration.”
“I want to brush my teeth before we go to bed,” Maya said, slowly walking over to the sink, Carina’s hand on her back.
While Maya brushed her teeth, Carina grabbed a hairbrush, taking Maya’s hair out of the tight ponytail it was still in from work, brushing it gently before quickly getting it into a braid, knowing it would be much more comfortable for Maya to sleep with her hair like that.
Once they were both done, Carina wrapped an arm around her wife, guiding her into their room.
“You are going to sleep on my side tonight so you are closer to the bathroom,” Carina said, sitting Maya down on the bed.
“I’m really hoping my stomach is empty,” Maya said as she got into bed, “I don’t know how it isn’t with the amount that has come out of me today.”
“Well, if it is not, I have a trash can here,” Carina said, showing Maya where it was next to the bed, “And accidents happen so don’t worry if something happens. Are you still feeling like there is a lot of air trapped in your stomach?”
“Not as bad,” Maya said, laying down, “But it comes and goes. I am going to try to get some sleep I think.”
“Wait, before you do, Pedialyte,” Carina said, grabbing one of the shot glasses off the nightstand.
“What the hell is this?” Maya said, looking at the cup Carina handed her, “A shot of Pedialyte?”
“Well, you said the syringe made you feel like a baby,” Carina said, “So now you can feel like a frat boy. And I put out several so every half hour or so while you are awake, you need to take one.”
Maya looked over at the nightstand, laughing a little bit when she saw all the shot glasses lined up there.
“Now, take it so you can rest,” Carina said, gesturing to the cup in Maya’s hand.
The blonde did as she was told, downing the electrolyte drink as if it was a shot before handing the small glass back to Carina.
"Now, get some sleep Bambina,” Carina said, rubbing her back a little as she tucked the blankets in around her.
“Will you come hold me for a little bit?” Maya asked in a very small voice.
“Of course,” Carina said, “I would love nothing more.” Carina got into bed, Maya immediately moving closer to her, laying her head on Carina’s chest.
“Just wake me up if you feel sick again, ok?” Carina said, gently scratching Maya’s too warm back, “I will be right here.”
“Thank you Carina,” Maya mumbled, still feeling absolutely horrible, but being in her wife’s caring embrace helping her feel ever so slightly better.