Chapter Text
The apartment was quiet as Andy Herrera slowly woke up. She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was past 7 a.m. She rarely woke up before 8 a.m. on the days she had a day off, she much preferred to sleep in and enjoy her morning in bed. Her best friend and roommate Maya Bishop was the opposite of her. Every single day, she woke at 6 a.m. and went on her 10-mile morning run. Even after years of knowing Maya, Andy still considered her crazy for that, but Maya was a gold medal Olympic winner so that was her norm. Right now, she figured that Maya was either still out on her run or just got back and was showering. She didn't hear the shower running though, so she figured Maya was still out. Since she was wide awake, she decided to get up and have an early start on her day.
After doing her morning business in the bathroom, she went to make herself some breakfast. That's when she noticed that Maya's running shoes were still there and Maya's bedroom door was still closed like she was still sleeping, which was impossible. She headed to Maya's bedroom to check on her and found her in bed, sleeping.
Maya came awake when she felt someone's hand on her forehead. Groggily, she saw Andy's face above her with a weird expression on her face.
"Andy, what's going on?" She asked her sleepily.
"I should be asking you that. You don't feel hot so no fever but are you okay?" Andy asked with concern in their voice.
"Yes, why would I not be?"
"I don't know, maybe because it's past 7 a.m. and you're still in bed?"
Maya frowned and checked her phone, confirming that indeed it was past 7 a.m., close to 8 a.m. She rarely slept till this slept, usually like clockwork every day, her internal clock woke her up for her morning run.
"I must have been really tired from yesterday's shift," Maya told Andy even though yesterday's shift had only been 12 hours and less chaotic than others. She had felt really tired though.
"Are you sure you're not coming down with something? Andy asked, still concerned. She'd seen Maya wake up at 6 am sharp even after a 24-hour shift so to see her sleeping in after just a 12-hour shift was significant.
"I'm fine, don't worry," Maya assured her as she got out of bed. Andy nodded but vowed to keep an eye on her best friend. She knew that Maya often ignored being sick and pretended to be okay. She'd go to shift with a fever and deny being sick even after sneezing nonstop. Good thing they were roommates and had the day off so if Maya was sick, she'd have a day to get better, provided she didn't overexert herself which she probably would, wanting to make up for not being up at her normal time.
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Maya had hoped to have a longer run to make up for waking up late, but she weirdly still felt tired and kept a slower pace than usual. She prided herself on being able to run 10 miles or more every single morning but today, she only managed 5 miles before deciding that she had enough and couldn't go on. Maybe Andy was right, and she was coming down with something. God, she hated being sick, it made her weak, and she absolutely hated being weak. Even worse, she hated being seen as weak. No matter how sick she got, if she had to work that day, she would. She never took a day off and preferred to push herself harder so she could get better. That's what her dad taught her, sickness was a weakness. She knew no one agreed with her on that and she was fine with that. She didn't consider her friends weak if they were sick and took a day off, she just preferred not to, nothing wrong with that too.
When she got back to her apartment after her run, Andy constantly checked up on her and that soon got annoying.
"Andy, I'm fine, stop hovering."
"I'm not hovering, just making sure that you drink enough water," Andy told her.
"I've drank plenty of water and I'm not sick," Maya insisted.
"Even if you were, you wouldn't admit it, even to yourself," Andy muttered.
"Sickness is a..."
"Weakness, yeah, you say that all the time and I'll tell you once again, it's not."
"We can agree to disagree but still, I'm not sick."
"Okay, fine," Andy surrendered. "Want to watch a movie?"
Maya agreed and let Andy pick one. She went to make some popcorn and was still putting it in a big bowl when she heard her phone ping with a message notification.
"Can you check who it is?" She shouted to Andy.
After a few moments, Andy shouted back to her, "It's Jack, and looks like he wants to fuck. God, the two of you are still weird together."
Maya returned to the living room with a bowl of popcorn and took her phone from Andy, reading Jack's message. He was inviting her to hang out at his place which was obviously code to say fucking.
"Ugh, I'm not in the mood today," She told Andy as she quickly texted Jack and told him not today.
"Really?" Andy inquired casually though Maya knew what was on her mind.
"Yes, and that's not because I'm feeling sick or anything."
"I didn't say anything."
Maya rolled her eyes and told Andy to put on the movie.
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For the next two weeks, Maya grew more exhausted with each shift, and she struggled during her runs. She would now be out of breath after only running a few miles and this frustrated her. She tried to ignore this, thinking that it would fade soon, but it only became worse as she struggled during her shifts. Everyone at the station knew that she was the most active of them all. Running into burning buildings, climbing ladders, and carrying heavy equipment was a joy for her. She loved the rush of adrenaline that came with her job, and she took pride in her physical strength and endurance.
Lately though, she was struggling to keep up with the team during drills and often felt exhausted even after a good night's sleep. Andy had been the first to notice and kept telling Maya to take some time off to properly rest and Maya obviously refused. Jack was also on her case, especially because she kept blowing him off when he wanted to fuck but she just wasn't in the mood for sex.
Maya thought that she could fight off whatever she had, even though with each passing day, she felt that it might be serious. She kept ignoring it and brushing off the team's concern, but all went south during a big fire. The fire call came in as a major emergency. The team rushed to the scene and as they got closer, they could see smoke billowing from a large building as the sound of sirens filled the air. When they got to the scene, they quickly donned their gear and followed Captain Sullivan’s orders.
Maya's adrenaline surged as they entered the building, she was paired with Vic to search the fourth floor for victims, so the two firefighters ventured through the smoke-filled corridors. They had their oxygen tanks and masks with them so hopefully those would last them. The heat was intense, and the smoke was thick, making it difficult to see. Maya and Vic moved cautiously, searching for anyone who might be trapped. As they made their way deeper into the building, the fire roared around them. Flames licked the walls and ceiling, casting an eerie orange glow. Captain Sullivan’s voice echoed in their radios as he advised them to finish their sweep quickly as it looked like the building would come down soon.
The smoke in the building was growing denser and Maya's air supply seemed to deplete faster than she had anticipated. She monitored her tank gauge with growing concern, realizing that her air was running out more rapidly than she'd hoped. She was about to warn Vic that they should retreat when they heard someone calling for help. The two quickly rushed to the woman and helped her up. She was out of breath and looked like she was about to pass out. Maya took a calculated risk and gave her oxygen mask to the woman so she could get a few breaths. Vic looked at her in alarm, but Maya just shrugged her off.
"19, the building's structural integrity is severely compromised, get out now!" Captain Sullivan’s commanding voice came through their radios. Vic responded that she and Maya were heading down with a victim. Maya and the woman had been exchanging her oxygen mask but soon the blaring sound of the alarm on her mask indicated low air so Maya just gave it to the woman. She figured she could handle going down the three flights of stairs and make it outside safely, maybe with a little smoke inhalation.
As the three made their way down the stairs as quickly as they could, Maya's breathing became labored, and she struggled to keep up.
"Maya, come on, we're almost out." Vic said to Maya, seeing how much distress her fellow firefighter was. She tried giving her oxygen mask to Maya, but Maya didn't take it and instead ordered Vic to share it with the victim who had finished off the little air that Maya had in her tank.
After what felt like hours but was just a few minutes, Maya, Vic, and the woman finally got outside. Maya was coughing uncontrollably, and her face was pale. The others in the team also seemed to have some smoke inhalation but Maya looked worse for wear.
"Maya, you don't look good. We need to get you to the hospital right away." Ben told Maya as he quickly attended to her. Maya nodded weakly, realizing that something was seriously wrong.
At the hospital, Maya underwent a battery of tests including an electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood work. This seemed too excessive for just smoke inhalation, but Maya was in too much of a bad shape to complain.
After the tests, Maya lay in the hospital bed, feeling anxious and exhausted. Dr. Teddy Altman, the cardiologist who had ordered the dozen tests soon entered the room with a grim expression.
"Lieutenant Bishop, I'm sure you're probably wondering why we ran extra tests," Dr Altman began, her tone gentle yet serious.
Maya nodded; her eyes fixed on the doctor. "Yeah, I'm a bit confused. Is it just the smoke inhalation?"
"The smoke inhalation was certainly a concern, but during the tests, I noticed some irregularities in your heart rhythm. Your ECG showed signs of atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heartbeat that can lead to complications. Have you had any concerning symptoms lately, fatigue, shortness of breath, or dizziness?” Teddy asked her.
Maya's head reeled a million thoughts in her mind. "Yeah, I've had all of those in the past 2 weeks. What does this mean, what's atrial..."
"Atrial fibrillation or AFib, is a condition where the upper chambers of your heart beat irregularly and faster than normal. It can increase the risk of blood clots and other heart-related problems. The stress from the fire and smoke inhalation today made your condition worse."
Maya's heart sank. She hadn't expected this. She was healthy and active, a heart condition was the last thing she expected to have. "What does this mean for me?"
Dr Altman continued, "We're going to work on managing your condition. You'll need medication to control your heart rate and reduce the risk of blood clots. You'll also need to make some lifestyle changes to reduce potential triggers."
Maya nodded, trying to take it all in. She had always prided herself on her physical fitness and her ability to keep up with the demands of her job. But now, she felt like her body was letting her down, she felt weak. "How long will I have to be in the hospital?"
Teddy smiled reassuringly, "You won't have to stay in the hospital long. We'll monitor you for a few hours, and then you can go home with a medication plan. You'll need to come in for follow-up appointments to monitor your progress, but you'll be able to resume your normal activities."
After answering a few more of Maya's questions, Teddy soon left, and Maya was alone with her thoughts. She worried about doing her job. Teddy had said that she could continue firefighting though she needed to take it easy. That probably meant no fighting fires for a short while just to avoid being in the situation she was in right now.
After a while, Andy and Vic came in to check up on her.
"Hey, sorry we couldn't come sooner. We also had to get checked out for smoke inhalation but we're good." Andy said.
"Yeah, how are you doing? You really scared me in there, you looked terrible." Vic asked with concern.
"Gee, thanks, Vic." Maya muttered sarcastically, trying to buy herself some time. How could she tell them that she had a serious heart condition? Sure, they were her friends and would want to know and would support her, but they'd see her as weak. They'd think that she couldn't do her job anymore. Even if they didn't, they'd worry about her too much. Andy already hovered around her these days. If she told them her diagnosis, they'd all hover and overwhelm her. No, she wasn't ready to tell them yet.
"So, what's the verdict?" Andy asked.
"Just really bad smoke inhalation. They'll be keeping me here for a few hours." Maya lied smoothly.
"Whew, that's good. Not that you have bad smoke inhalation but that it isn't anything more serious than that." Vic said.
Maya agreed though she felt bad about lying. The two firefighters offered to stay with Maya, but Maya insisted that they head back to the station and that she'd be fine. Andy still looked concerned so Maya promised that she'd call when she got released and Andy could come to fetch her. Andy and Vic soon left, and Maya was once again left alone to her thoughts.
A few hours later, Maya was discharged. Teddy explained the medication for atrial fibrillation, which included arrhythmic drugs, beta-blockers, and blood thinners to prevent the formation of blood clots. They talked through Maya's treatment plan and the potential side effects of the medication she would be taking.
She texted Andy to fetch her and the two drove back to their apartment.
" Sullivan said you could take the next two shifts off, plus more if you need it. I say take a couple more days off, you need to rest." Andy told her.
"Two shifts is fine."
She wasn't used to taking time off and though she probably should start now, she just couldn't bring herself to. If she did, the team would know that something was wrong, and Maya just wasn't ready to tell them about her heart condition. She'd have to tell Captain Sullivan though which she knew meant fewer fires for her and probably more desk duty or aid car assignments. God, this heart condition would derail her career plans.