"A Perfect Day," Station 19 Maya/Carina

[Mems]

Hi guys! I know a few of you were waiting on updates on a couple of my previous stories, but I've had a bit of writer's block! I've had the inspiration for a date night fic for a while now, and it finally happened! This is set late season 6, while they are still rebuilding their relationship. We have a super sweet sick Carina who refuses to let her nose get in the way of her date and a loving Maya who just wants her baby to be okay. Hope you enjoy!!

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Maya was nervous for her date. She and Carina had slowly been working on rebuilding their relationship from the ground up and so far none of their dates had gone according to plan. Their first date had ended in delivering a baby while the mother was stuck in a vending machine and their second with a bloody nosed bride-to-be. She was just hoping to avoid too much blood tonight. She had perfectly timed her plans to be able to run home to shower and change after her shift and even stop for coffees and pastries at Carina’s favorite Italian bakery before picking Carina up at the hotel. She carefully pulled her car in front of the hotel’s entrance and sent Carina a quick text letting her know she was there, taking a deep breath and sip of her own coffee, trying to calm her nerves while she waited for her wife to come join her. 

 

Carina was still applying one last coat of mascara when she got the text that Maya had arrived. She was determined that today be perfect, the catastrophe of their previous two dates on her mind as well. Just as she touched the wand to her lashes for the finishing touch her nose began to twitch. She had been fighting an itch all morning and it chose the worst possible second to win over. Her head shot forward with a harsh “HEETCHXIEW!” Luckily she had avoided stabbing herself in the eye with the mascara wand but as her vision cleared she saw the spray across the mirror and sink and the smudge of black mascara across her face. 

 

“Cazzo,” she muttered to herself, grabbing a makeup wipe and attempting to clear the smudge off her cheek. She sniffled wetly, quickly rubbing her hand under nose before applying a quick swipe of gloss to her lips and running out the door. 

 

Maya grinned as she saw her wife exit the hotel she’d been staying at and make her way to Maya’s car. 

 

“Buongiorno!” Carina said lightly, stepping into the car, her scent quickly filling the car, making Maya’s heart beat even faster. 

 

“Buongiorno, my love,” Maya replied, handing a coffee over to Carina, and leaning over for a chaste kiss on Carina’s soft lips. 

 

Carina grinned, “Grazie, Bambina! Sorry I’m a bit late, small mascara disaster,” she explained, taking a sip of the coffee, feeling the acidic beverage burning as it went down her throat, which was starting to itch as much as her nose. 

 

“Let’s hope that’s the only disaster of the day, huh?” Maya joked. 

 

“Si,” Carina smiled again, ready for a happy calm day with her wife.

 

“Soooo,” Maya began, “You tell me how you feel, but I thought maybe we’d keep it simple today? I figured it’d be safer that way.”

 

“That sounds wonderful,” Carina replied, sipping her coffee again as a light cough threatened to spill out. 

 

“How would you feel about spending the morning at the arboretum and then Cafe Lago?” Maya suggested. She had the day planned perfectly, but she wanted to give Carina the opportunity to have some choice as well. 

 

Carina’s eyes lit up at the idea of Cafe Lago, the best Italian restaurant in Seattle and within walking distance of the arboretum. Her heart warmed at the thought that Maya had put into making a happy day for her. 

 

“That sounds perfetto,” Carina said, as Maya grinned and pulled the car away from the hotel and onto the streets. 

 

“How has your time off been?” Maya asked, remembering that Carina had been off shift for the past few days after a long string of 24 hour shifts in a row. 

 

“Good!” Carina answered, sniffling and rubbing at her still itching nose. “I ended up at the hospital for an emergency surgery which is never ideal, but I was able to make it to Scout’s birthday party which was very cute!”

 

“Aww, I can’t wait for Pru’s party in a few weeks,” Maya responded, “Vic is in full party planning mode.” 

 

“Miranda was so happy when Vic took over the party planning,” Carina laughed, coughing slightly, unable to hold the tickle back any longer. 

 

“You okay?” Maya asked gently, reaching over the center console to put a hand on Carina’s lap. 

 

“Si, sorry” Carina said, with another cough, “just a tickle.” 

 

They fell into a comfortable quiet, Maya focusing on the road and Carina sipping her coffee slowly. She set her coffee down into the cup holder as the itch in her nose took over again.

 

“HETXCHIEW!” she sneezed harshly, turning to the window to avoid spraying Maya and ending up spraying the window instead. She groaned as she saw the mess, rubbing her hand under her slick nose. 

 

“Bless you!” Maya exclaimed, glancing over to see Carina attempting to deal with her now runny nose. “There should be some napkins in the pastry bag if you need one.” 

 

“No, I’m okay,” Carina said thickly, hoping that would be the last of it. 

 

They approached the arboretum and Maya began searching for a parking spot as Carina’s eyes began to flutter shut again, this time wrenching into her hands with a wet “hetch-CHIEW!”

 

Maya pulled the car into a spot and shifted into park, pulling out a napkin from the bag herself and passing it to Carina, who was already gearing up for another sneeze, her wet hands now dropped down to her lap as her head tilted back and her nose ran. Maya gently placed the napkins into Carina’s hands and Carina responded instantly with a thick “HXTCHIEW!” into the rough paper. 

 

“Ay, Madonna,” Carina groaned, using the napkins to pinch away the dribbling wetness. 

 

“You feeling okay?” Maya asked gently.

 

“Si, sorry, I don’t know what is going on with my nose, I sneezed earlier and almost took my eye out with my mascara wand,” Carina said jokingly, grabbing Maya’s hand, her eyes still sparkling despite their watering. “Let’s go find a place to eat?” she said, eying the bag of treats Maya had brought along with their coffee. 

 

“Let’s go,” Maya agreed, smiling at her excited wife. 

 

They headed excitedly towards the entrance, holding hands, with Maya managing both the bag of pastries and her coffee in one hand so the other could be reserved for her wife. They began meandering through the trees, enjoying the unusually beautiful Seattle weather, looking for the perfect bench to enjoy their breakfast together. Carina’s breath hitched and she quickly pulled her hand up to cover an itchy, “hEH-chiew!” rubbing her knuckles under her nose until she realized that she still had Maya’s hand clutched in hers and was now smearing wetness across the back of her wife’s hand as well. 

 

“Cazzo, Bambina, I’m so sorry!” she apologized, taking one more swipe under her nose before dropping their hands back down to swing between them once again. 

 

“Carina, it’s fine,” Maya said with a laugh, “I think in the grand scheme of things a sneeze is the least of our concerns.” 

 

Carina chuckled as well, looking over to Maya with a smile. 

 

“Let’s eat here?” Maya offered, gesturing to a bench in a grove of lush green trees. Carina nodded in agreement and they settled down together, Carina immediately resting her head on Maya’s shoulder. What had started as a little itch was growing into thick congestion in her sinuses, made worse with each passing sneeze. Maya passed her a pastry, and Carina began nibbling, finding that despite the heaviness in her head, the buttery pastry was still delicious, especially with sips of warm coffee to help wash it down her aching throat.

 

“Mmm, perfetto,” Carina declared, chewing happily, nuzzled into Maya’s shoulder. 

 

Maya leaned her head against the top of Carina’s, happy that her wife was happy. 

 

“Tell me about you, Bambina,” Carina requested, still chewing contentedly cuddled up with her wife.

 

Maya laughed a little and began telling Carina the goings on at the station, Vic’s over the top party planning, and even sharing a little bit of what she’d been working on in therapy. 

 

Carina listened quietly, just enjoying the sound of her wife’s voice until her nose began to slowly drip again. She attempted to quell it with repeated sniffles, but eventually it was running down her upper lip, the sensation giving way to another sneeze. “HEhXchIEW!” she released, tucked her face even further into Maya’s neck, trying to avoid spilling her coffee and sneezing directly into Maya’s face at the same time. 

 

Maya felt the splatter, noting Carina’s releases were getting thicker. 

 

“Here baby,” Maya murmured, grabbing a napkin and pulling away from Carina just enough to wipe her wife’s dripping and splattered face. 

 

Carina, for her part, said nothing, twisting the sleeve of her coffee cup between her fingers and allowing her wife to take care of her for the moment. 

 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Maya inquired, trying to get a good look at Carina’s face. 

 

“Si, I’m sorry,” Carina apologized again, “I really don’t know what’s going on, it was just a little itchy this morning.” 

 

“Do you want me to take you back to the hotel? You can rest and we can do this another day?” 

 

“No!” Carina said quickly, “please no, Bambina, I am alright, I want to spend my day with you please. I want to enjoy our date.” 

 

“Okay, just checking,” Maya said soothingly, not wanting to work Carina up, “you done eating?”

 

Carina nodded, using the napkin in her hands to finally give her nose a deep blow, feeling immensely better after clearing some of the congestion from her head. 

 

“Can we go to the Shoreline and see the birds?” she asked, giving her nose one more rough rub before sticking the napkin into her pocket. 

 

“Of course, my love, anything you want,” Maya said, tucking the rest of the napkins in her pocket before throwing out the empty bag and coffee cups, presuming that they would be needed again before the end of the outing. 

 

Carina grabbed Maya’s hand again and began to lead her towards the shoreline trail. It had always been her favorite place to come with Andrea, the two of them laughing and marveling at the many species of birds they’d never seen in Italy as children. 

Carina began to cough as they approached the trail, the excitement and her quick pace catching up to her sore throat and newly irritated lungs. Maya placed a hand on her wife’s back as she finished coughing, starting to feel worried but not feeling quite at the point in the healing of their relationship to push Carina if she said she was fine, plus Carina seemed happy, already recovered from the fit and cooing over a flock of baby duckling waddling across the trail in front of them. 

They continued down the path, Carina now sneezing repeatedly and sniffling almost incessantly. After a trio of harsh sneezes into their joined hands, Maya pulled the extra napkins out of her pocket and passed them to Carina, who spent most of the rest of their trip rubbing and blowing her nose into the rough and quickly dampening wad. 

“Mmm, thank you, Bambina,” Carina said as they started walking back towards Maya’s car. “I have not walked that trail since Andrea died, I had forgotten how much I love it.” 

 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Maya chuckled. “I’m surprised you didn’t try sneaking one of those baby ducks home.”

 

“Next time!” Carina laughed, quickly giving way to another harsh cough as they approached the exit of the arboretum. 

 

“You up to food?” Maya asked, noting Carina rubbing her chest after that last coughing fit. 

 

“Si, si,” Carina answered quickly. She couldn’t deny that her body was being overtaken by a fairly awful cold, but she was desperate to drag out this perfect day as long as she possibly could. Plus, the staff at Cafe Lago was like family to Carina and Andrea, it wouldn’t be a stressful meal. 

 

Maya looked her over again, but accepted her answer and they grasped hands again, slowly making their way across the street to the restaurant. 

 

The staff greeted them warmly, always happy to see Carina and grateful to see her happy again with her wife after first the grief of losing Andrea then the loneliness of the separation. 

They ordered wine and antipasti, holding hands across the table and using their free hands to eat the plate of olives, crostini, spreads, and cheeses their server had brought them. 

Maya noticed that Carina wasn’t eating as much as usual, staying quiet about the matter, but watching Carina closely nonetheless. 

Carina was trying her best to keep the date going, nibbling at the food, enjoying the delicious flavors, but struggling to eat and breathe at the same time with her clogged nose. She sniffled hard, trying to get in some air, but failed miserably, suddenly sneezing uncovered across the table, “HEEH-CXCHIEW!!!” She quickly dropped her antipasto fork and Maya’s hand to bring her hands to her face as the sneezes kept coming.

“HEH-XCHIEW! HEAH-CHIEW! Heeeeh-XCIEW! HEXCHIEW! HETCHEW! Heeh-hEW-TCHIEW!”

Maya got out of her chair and walked to the other side of the table, taking Carina in her arms as Carina buried herself in Maya’s chest, releasing one more thick “HETCHIEW!” into Maya’s sweater before collapsing into a fit of rough coughs. 

 

“Car,” Maya started, brushing the hair out of Carina’s face and noting it was now slick with snot. 

Carina didn’t respond, didn’t remove her hands from her face, only buried her head deeper into Maya’s chest. 

 

Maya grabbed a napkin off the table, handing it to Carina, knowing one cloth napkin was a small price to pay for managing their current situation. 

 

“Take this and go sit outside, okay?” Maya instructed gently. “Just let me pay the bill and I’ll take you home.”

 

Carina took the napkin and covered her face with it, nodding glumly and heading outside to wait for Maya. 

 

Maya quickly took care of the bill, graciously accepting cartons of soup and gelato and homemade bread that the restaurant owner had packed up for them after seeing the state of Carina. 

 

She headed outside to find Carina leaning glumly against the wall, twisting the soiled napkin in her hands. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she started to say, but Maya quickly stopped her. 

 

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, okay? Everything is fine.” 

 

Carina nodded, still looking forlorn. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Maya asked softly, setting down the bag of food to cup Carina’s face. 

 

“All I wanted was one happy day with you and I have gone and ruined it,” Carina said, eyes filling with tears. 

 

“Carina, you have ruined nothing. All I wanted was to spend the day with you, my only stipulation being no blood this time. I said nothing about snot, so I think we’re in the clear” she teased lovingly, wiping a trail of wetness off of Carina’s upper lip with her thumb.

 

“Let’s go find the car now, okay?” Maya encouraged, and Carina nodded, taking Maya’s hand with one hand and using the other to blow her nose into the mostly used cloth napkin she was still holding. 

 

They made it across the street and Maya helped Carina into the car before going around and climbing in herself. She smiled when she saw Carina already asleep in the passenger’s seat, her head leaned against the window, mouth slightly agape, snot running down to her lips. 

 

She took her time driving back to the hotel, dreading waking Carina up, but eventually they arrived. Maya put the bag of food on one arm and used the other arm to gently open Carina’s door, trying to get the sick woman back to her room as easily as possible. 

 

“Mmm, bambina,” Carina mumbled, wrapping her arms around Maya before pitching into her neck with a thick, sleepy, “Heh-CHIEW!”

 

“Let’s go baby,” Maya crooned, pulling Carina to a standing position and helping her walk to the elevator, struggling a bit with both Carina and the food, but Carina made no signs of releasing her hold on Maya, so she did her best. 

 

Maya managed to get them into the elevator before Carina’s nose twitched and ran against her collarbone, releasing a shuddering triple into her neck, “HEEHTXCHIEW!! HEp-TCHIEW! HeeeeehCHIEW!”

 

Maya held tightly onto her wife’s waist and Carina’s whole body shook with the force of her sneezes. She could feel the thick globs of snot collecting between her skin and Carina’s face and willed the elevator to move faster. She pulled down her shirt sleeve and did her best to wipe away some of the wetness, hoping to aid Carina’s congested breathing just a little. 

 

They arrived at the right floor and Maya quickly guided them into Carina’s room, setting the food down on the table and leading Carina to the bed. 

 

“You okay, sweetie?” Maya asked, sitting Carina down on the side of the bed. 

 

“I’m tired,” Carina muttered, struggling to keep her eyes open. Her body had seemed to have taken her nap in the car as a concession to this illness, and she was suddenly feeling exhausted and truly unwell.

 

“I know, babe,” Maya soothed, “just let me get these shoes off you and get you some sweats and you can lay down, okay? Do you think you could eat some soup? The restaurant stocked you up with off-menu sick day treats.” 

 

Carina nodded as Maya pulled her shoes off and went to her suitcase to dig out some comfy clothes for her. She submissively allowed Maya to help her change then crawled under the covers while Maya dug the soup and some spoons out of the restaurant bag. 

 

She couldn’t help but smile as Maya toed off her own shoes as well and crawled in next to her, passing her some soup and a spoon. Her body was miserable but her heart was still full from the day with her wife at one of her favorite places. She took a spoonful of soup as Maya gently pulled her hair back behind her shoulders so she could eat. 

 

“Mmm, soooooo good,” Carina moaned. It was the first thing she’d eaten all day that didn’t hurt to swallow, not to mention the comforting taste of childhood. 

 

“I’m so glad,” Maya said, happy to see Carina happy and eating.

 

Carina took a few more sips, the warmth of the broth causing her nose run thickly down her upper lip until it could suddenly hold it any longer and she sneezed, “HEHtchIEW!” a thick string of mucus shooting across her face and into her soup.

 

“Carina,” Maya said compassionately, taking the soup container out of Carina’s hands and using her sweater sleeve to try and get at least some of the thick splatter off of her wife’s face. 

 

“Ugh! Naso stupido,” Carina grumbled. 

 

“I’m sorry your poor nose didn’t cooperate with you today,” Maya said, setting the rest of the soup on the bedside table and pulling Carina into her arms. 

 

“I’m sorry my stupid nose ruined our nice dinner,” Carina said, still pouting. 

 

“Hmm… it seems like we’re having a perfectly nice night right here in bed,” Maya said, beginning to gently thread her fingers through Carina’s thick hair. 

 

“Mm, si,” Carina agreed, snuggling deep into Maya’s arms. 

 

“Thank you for a perfect day, Bambina.” 

 

“Anytime, my love,” Maya responded. 

 

Maya’s fingers continued running through Carina’s hair until Carina was deeply asleep against her chest, gently snoring, snot leaking onto Maya’s sweater once again.. Even if their date hadn’t gone exactly as planned yet again, she couldn’t say she minded the way this one turned out at all. 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Mems

[SleepingPhlox]

I know of this show, but I've never actually watched it, so I don't know the characters, but I absolutely enjoyed reading this fic anyway! You portray the relationship and their dynamic so wonderfully and I just adore the whole sick person wanting to power through a date thing. 

Is this a canon relationship in the show? Because, if so, I might need to get watching it.  Love to see LGBT representation in media!

[Mems]

11 hours ago, SleepingPhlox said:

I know of this show, but I've never actually watched it, so I don't know the characters, but I absolutely enjoyed reading this fic anyway! You portray the relationship and their dynamic so wonderfully and I just adore the whole sick person wanting to power through a date thing. 

Is this a canon relationship in the show? Because, if so, I might need to get watching it.  Love to see LGBT representation in media!

Yes, it is a canon ship! I highly recommend watching! Carina doesn't come in until season 3 but Maya is openly bi from the start. If you are into care taking, here's a little clip from the most recent season of Maya taking care of Carina with a bout of food poisoning as well as a clip from a bit earlier that is just one of my faves. Thanks so much for reading and for the kind words!! I have a few other Marina fics on here as well if you decide to go down the rabbit hole 😂

. 

 

[SleepingPhlox]

6 hours ago, Mems said:

Yes, it is a canon ship! I highly recommend watching! Carina doesn't come in until season 3 but Maya is openly bi from the start. If you are into care taking, here's a little clip from the most recent season of Maya taking care of Carina with a bout of food poisoning as well as a clip from a bit earlier that is just one of my faves. Thanks so much for reading and for the kind words!! I have a few other Marina fics on here as well if you decide to go down the rabbit hole 😂

 

Openly bi character? Caretaking scenes?  Okay, I'm SOLD. I'm totally going to watch this and when I do it will be the second show about firefighters I started watching because of wlw relationships in it, lol.

And you best believe I'll be looking up your other fics!

[sneezemeister]

I love these two characters! Love to see content of them here

[arambolia]

Beautifully written

[Mems]

Something about this story brought it back to me, so here’s a part 2! Hope you all enjoy!

———————————

Maya laid in the soft bed for a while, holding her wife while she slept. She wasn’t sure if they had reached the point of spending the night together in their reconciliation, but she also knew simply leaving Carina to fend for herself was not an option either. 

 

She shifted slightly to pull out her phone, seeing it wasn’t even 8 pm yet. She laid there for a few more minutes gently rubbing Carina’s back while she snored and sniffled and coughed in her sleep. Carina groaned in her sleep after a particularly harsh cough, rolling off of Maya and curling up on her side as she slept. 

 

Maya took the opportunity to slide out of the bed and slip her shoes back on. She tiptoed to the side of the bed, checking in on Carina, seeing her poor wife’s nose red and running down her chapped lips. Maya gently pushed Carina’s hair out of her face, noting that she was becoming warm and sweaty. Despite all this, Carina seemed to still be sleeping deeply, so Maya decided to go out for some supplies before the stores closed for the night. She quietly grabbed a hotel key from the desk and slipped out the door. 

 

Maya tried to make her trip quick, and was grateful there was a pharmacy just around the corner. She quickly made her way through the store, collecting all the essentials plus anything else she could think that Carina might like. She knew they had all of this stuff at the apartment already, but she didn’t want to leave Carina long enough to drive home and back, and she wasn’t sure Carina was capable of moving from the hotel bed at this point even if she was willing to come home. 

 

She was just digging the hotel key out of her pocket as she approached the door of Carina’s room when she heard her wife coughing raggedly and deeply through the door. She quickly slipped the key through the lock and opened the door to reveal Carina curled up in bed where she had left her, but clearly awake now, coughing much too hard to be sleeping through. 

 

“Car, baby, are you okay?” she said, quickly dropping the bags of supplies and going to Carina. 

 

Carina struggled to open her eyes through her coughing fit, revealing the tears that had begun spilling down her cheeks. 

 

“Carina, love, what’s wrong?” Maya asked, pulling Carina up to a sitting position, rubbing her back in hopes of helping her get a breath in. 

 

Carina slumped back into Maya’s arms, still crying and coughing, but Maya could feel her starting to calm down. 

 

“I thought you had gone home and I missed you,” Carina eventually choked out between coughs.  

 

Maya could feel that she was now burning up with fever, clearly leaving her feeling needy and emotional. 

 

“Shh, no baby, I’m right here, I didn’t leave you. I just went out for some supplies.” Maya soothed.

 

Carina continued to cling to Maya, but her breathing slowly began to settle until she was quietly sniffling against Maya’s chest. 

 

They sat in silence for a moment, just holding each other, until a sudden sneeze propelled Carina against Maya’s chest, “HEEEEH-TIEW!” 

 

Maya could feel Carina’s chest swelling against her own as she inhaled, her warm breath against Maya’s neck, hitching and sniffling, her nose clearly not done. 

 

“Shh, let it out,” Maya soothed, bringing her hand to the nape of Carina’s neck, gently threading her fingers through her hair. 

 

The touch sent a shiver down Carina’s back and Maya felt her take in a deep breath before practically catapulting into Maya’s neck, “HEH-tchiEW! HeeehTHXiew! HeEh-gnxiew!  HEHtchiew! HEEEHtxgCHKIEW!”

 

Maya held Carina tightly against her, feeling the thick spray against her neck and collar bone, but not willing to let go until Carina pulled back, desperate to get in a deep breath. 

 

“Oh babe,” Maya said gently, seeing the state of her wife’s face. Carina was red and sweaty with tear stains still on her cheeks, the lower half of her face covered with wetness from her recent sneezing fit. 

 

Maya bent down and grabbed the pharmacy bag with the tissues in it and tore open the box, pulling a handful out to gently mop up her wife’s poor face. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Carina said thickly, her voice heavy with congestion and emotion. 

 

“What are you sorry for, babe?” Maya asked.

 

“For being needy and clingy and crying and sneezing all over you,” Carina answered, her voice starting to crack from the strain of all the crying and coughing. 

 

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Maya said firmly, taking Carina’s face in her hands and looking her in the eyes. 

 

Carina nodded, then went to lay back down against Maya’s chest, before seeing there was no longer a clean dry place on her wife’s sweater to lean against. 

 

“You need a clean shirt,” Carina sniffled, pulling out a tissue from the box next to Maya and rubbing her runny nose. 

 

“Hmm, maybe,” Maya said with a smile, not minding that her poor sick wife had sneezed on her, but seeing that Carina wanted to cuddle. 

 

Carina crawled to the other side of the bed and grabbed the shirt she had discarded sometime in her sleep earlier, opting for just her undershirt as her fever rose.

 

“Thank you, baby,” Maya said, quickly pulling her soiled shirt off and pulling Carina’s on, pushing up the sleeves when she noted they were almost as soiled as her own sweater. 

 

“Let’s get you all taken care of now,” Maya said, digging back into the pharmacy bag for a thermometer. She opened up the package and Carina passively allowed her to slip it under her tongue. She attempted to sniffle while holding it still in her mouth, feeling her nose starting to drip again. 

 

Maya smiled indulgently, pulling out another tissue to gently wipe her wife’s nose for her. Maya pulled out the beeping thermometer just in time for Carina to catch an itchy sneeze in her hand, “hepTCHiew!”

 

“Bless you,” Maya said, passing another tissue to Carina. At this rate they were going to go through that box quickly.

 

“102.1. Not good.” Maya read. “We probably need to get you in for a Covid and flu test.” 

 

Carina began tearing up again at this, feeling both guilty for possibly exposing Maya to something awful and dreading the idea of having to go out and get tested. 

 

“Hey, don’t cry, it’s okay,” Maya said urgently as she saw Carina’s eyes begin to water again. 

 

“I’m so sorry, Bambina, I didn’t mean to,” Carina said glumly.

 

“Carina, you have nothing to be sorry about, we just have to get you feeling better, okay?” 

 

Carina nodded, wiping her eyes and taking a shuddering breath, trying to keep her fevered emotions in check. 

 

“Here, take this,” Maya instructed, popping out two fat nighttime cold and flu pills and opening a bottle of Gatorade. 

 

Carina took the pills and sipped at the fluids. 

 

“I’m just going to run down to the station and get us a couple of tests from the clinic supplies, okay? You just rest.” Maya said. 

 

“No!” Carina said, more loudly than she had intended. “Please don’t leave me again,” she said more softly this time. 

 

“Okay, it’s okay, I won’t leave you,” Maya reassured her, placing a hand on her knee. 

 

“Can you text Jo for me?” Carina asked. “She should be getting off shift soon and can bring some from the hospital.”

 

“Of course, let me have your phone, babe,” Maya said, taking the phone as Carina handed it over, quickly finding Jo’s contact and sending a quick text. 

 

“Done,” she said, passing the phone back to Carina. “She’ll be by in about half an hour.”

 

“Thanks,” Carina said, crawling back under the covers as the medicine started taking effect. 

 

Maya was about to get up and try to tidy the room up a bit when Carina patted the space in the bed beside her. 

 

“Come, Bambina,” she mumbled sleepily.

 

Maya bit back a smile at her wife’s cuteness, crawling over to the other side of the bed to lay next to Carina. 

 

Carina passed Maya the remote from the bedside table, “Find us something to watch?” she requested, curling up to Maya’s side.

 

Maya flipped through the channels, landing on a light hearted comedy that she knew would be easy to watch even with a high fever. She was officially worried now. Only a few hours ago Carina had barely had a cold, this had come on fast and hard.

 

They lay quietly together, Carina drifting in and out sleep, coughing and sniffling still, but clearly more settled now that Maya was with her and the medicine had kicked in. 

 

Carina’s phone buzzed and Maya picked it up to see a text from Jo saying she had arrived. Maya slipped out of bed, Carina groaning at the loss of cuddles, but not opening her eyes. 

 

Maya opened the door and Jo came in quietly, properly masked and holding two tests. 

 

“Hey,” Maya greeted quietly. “Come on in. Thanks for coming.”

 

“Of course,” Jo replied. She had truly grown to love Carina as both a boss and mentor and as a friend. She was concerned to see the state of her when came into the room. 

 

“Hey Car,” Maya said softly, walking back over to the bed, “Jo is here.” 

 

“Mmm,” Carina mumbled. The combination of the fever and meds was making it feel almost impossible to open her eyes. 

 

Maya helped her sit up and slipped a mask over Carina’s mouth and nose, at least as long as Jo was there and they didn’t know what was wrong. 

 

“Hi Wilson,” Carina said groggily, forcing her eyes open and attempting to rub her nose before remembering the mask was there. 

 

“Hey Carina,” Jo said sadly. “I’m sorry you’re feeling so crummy.” 

 

Carina simply nodded in response, leaning against Maya for support. 

 

Jo quickly began unpacking the test kits, handing the swabs to Maya to collect the samples while she set up the testing supplies. 

 

“Alright baby, let’s see what’s going on, okay?” Maya said gently. Carina nodded again, the heaviness in her head making even that feel difficult. 

 

Maya slipped Carina’s mask down just enough to insert the first swab, trying to be quick and gentle but still thorough. She could feel Carina’s breath start to hitch as she was finishing up the swab, having just enough time to catch the sickly sneeze in her hand, “HEHtchiEW!” 

 

Maya gently used her other hand to remove the now splattered mask, pinching as much of the mess as she could into the rough paper of the mask before throwing it away and passing the completed swab off to Jo, who traded it for a new mask for Carina. 

 

She gently wiped Carina’s face with a soft, clean tissue, noting that they were already halfway gone, before slipping the clean mask back over her wife’s face. 

 

“Alright Bishop, one more” Jo said, passing another swab over to Maya to collect a sample for the flu test. 

 

Luckily she was able to collect the sample without irritating Carina’s inflamed sinuses anymore, and soon it was done and Carina was snuggled back up under the covers, coughing harshly into her mask. 

 

“Alright, covid test is negative, congratulations on that one,” Jo said, reading the results of the first test. Maya let out a sigh of relief. She knew covid wasn’t as dangerous as it had been a few years prior, but she still didn’t need her wife struggling with such a miserable illness. 

 

“That’s good,” Maya said, rubbing Carina’s back. “You hear that babe? No covid.” 

 

Carina nodded in response. She was grateful to not have covid but honestly felt awful enough she wouldn’t have been surprised by the news. 

 

“Oof, there it is,” Jo said, reading the results of the flu test. “Influenza A and B. No wonder you are so sick.”

 

Maya sighed sadly, not sure if that’s better or worse than covid. She looked to Jo for more information. 

 

“Both strains seem to be particularly awful this year, but the shot is pretty effective, so we can probably remove the mask.” Jo answered her silent questions without Maya even having to voice them. 

 

“Did you not get a flu shot yet, baby?” Maya asked her wife, glad to be removing the mask in hopes it would help Carina breath a bit better. 

 

“I forgot,” Carina said hoarsely.

 

“Someone hasn’t been the best at taking care of themself the past couple of months,” Jo said kindly but pointedly.

 

“Car,” Maya scolded gently. She hated the idea of her wife neglecting herself, but couldn’t find it in her to be upset when Carina was so clearly feeling miserable. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Carina peered up at Maya, eyes filling with tears again. 

 

“Shh, no, don’t be sorry, let’s just take care of you now, okay?” Maya gently wiped Carina’s tears away before leaning down to place a kiss on her hot forehead. Carina made a soft happy sound at the kiss, leading Maya to place another gentle kiss on Carina’s warm lips.

 

Jo cleared her throat, breaking Maya out of her love haze. Carina whined slightly as Maya pulled away, too groggy to care that her co-worker was watching her cry and kiss in bed with her wife. 

 

“Can I come check you out, Carina?” Jo asked quietly. She was glad to have covid off the table, but she also knew the flu could be dangerous too, especially for someone who had been working as much and eating and sleeping as little as Carina had been recently. 

 

Maya climbed to the other side of the bed, giving Jo access to Carina without having to leave her wife’s side.

 

Jo did her best to quickly and gently assess Carina, checking her pulse and heart rate first before asking Maya to help her get Carina sitting up a bit so she could check her lungs and sinuses. 

 

Not having an otoscope, Jo did her best with a pen light, checking Carina’s eyes and ears and nose and throat, noting how inflamed her sinuses and throat were and how red and weak her eyes were. 

 

“No secondary infections yet, but watch out for those ears and sinuses, okay?” Jo instructed.

 

Maya nodded, knowing Carina likely wouldn’t remember much of this. 

 

“Can you take a deep breath for me, Carina?” Jo asked kindly, placing her stethoscope on Carina’s back. 

 

The cold touch of the instrument instantly sent a chill up Carina’s back.

 

“HEEEHptchIEW!” she sneezed groggily, spraying herself and Jo, her nose dripping again. 

 

Jo attempted to pass a tissue to Carina, who was now coughing harshly. 

 

Carina failed to notice the tissue, so Maya took it gently from her hand to cover her wife’s cough, gently wiping her nose as the fit ended. 

 

“Sorry,” Carina told Jo congestedly. 

 

“That’s okay,” Jo said kindly. “Unlike some of us, I actually got my flu shot and eat and sleep on occasion. I think I’ll be fine. Try and take a few deep breaths for me.”

 

Carina did her best to take in deep breaths without triggering another coughing fit, succeeding only partially.

 

“Alright, well you don’t sound great, but you’re okay for now. I want you on Tamiflu though, okay? We can’t have this getting any worse.”

 

Carina nodded, cuddling back down into the bed, eyes already slipping closed. 

 

“Thank you, Jo,” Maya said, climbing out of the bed to get the medication from Jo and help her collect her things. 

 

“Of course, anytime. Carina means a lot to me,” Jo told her. 

 

“Has she really been that bad?” Maya asked sadly. 

 

“It’s… not been great,” Jo said honestly. “But you’re here taking care of her now and she’s letting you, and that’s really good.”

 

Maya nodded, trying to hold back tears herself. She knew she had done awful things to Carina leading up to the separation, but she hadn’t realized how difficult the time apart had been for Carina as well. 

 

“Keep her eating and hydrated,” Jo instructed. “Tamiflu instructions are on the box, and make sure she doesn’t take it on an empty stomach. Keep on with the over the counter meds. Usually I would say only use if needed, but I think it’s pretty clear they’re needed here.”

 

Maya took the box of pills from Jo, thanking her one more time before letting her out the door. 

 

As she closed the door, Maya turned and looked back at Carina, fully knocked out on the bed. She couldn’t bear to wake her up for medicine, she looked so exhausted and Maya knew she would likely be up again before the end of the night anyways. 

 

She quickly got herself ready for bed, grabbing a pair of Carina’s sweats, changing her jeans out for her wife’s soft joggers. 

 

Maya checked Carina’s forehead one more time before slipping into bed behind Carina, spooning and holding her from behind. Carina coughed quietly in her sleep, shifting her body even closer to Maya’s. Maya ran her fingers gently up and down Carina’s arm, waiting for her wife’s rumbling cough to stop before finally succumbing to sleep herself. 

 

 

[MIN]

I've just read both parts! This was so cute! Poor carina but at least she's got her Maya taking care of her