Work Text:
"Hey," Maya said, holding the phone with her shoulder, as she logged onto her work computer to get a report written up. They had just got back from an easy enough fire at a little restaurant which they had a manged with fire extinguishers.
"Hey to you too, everything is okay? You're on shift, no?"
"Everything is fine, I'm just writing up a report following a little fire. I figured Jack and Andy could do with an evening off, plus I miss the easy reports sometimes. No, I was just calling to wonder if you wanted to come over to mine for dinner tomorrow, are you around?"
"Like a dinner party?"
"No, like a date but I cook," Maya clarified, "just you and me."
"I would love to; I get off at eight so nine-ish?"
"How about you just come to my house straight after?"
"Maya," the captain could tell her girlfriend was smiling, "I would love to, but I am usually covered in stuff and sweaty by the end of my shift. And it's a date, I need to dress up, Sì?"
"Uh, well it can be casual. It is casual," she emphasised, "Hey, why don't you shower at my place, and you can wear my clothes and then we'll eat?"
"Ah you know how to treat a girl, Captain Bishop. Sure, so I'll see you tomorrow at eight for dinner and then I can stay over?"
"Absolutely, bring your toothbrush and are you in work the next day?"
"No, and why can't I use yours?"
"It’s unhygienic."
"Maya, I have literally had my tongue all over your body," Carina chuckled, "of course I'll bring one and do I take it that I'm staying the next night too?"
"If you want."
"I do, I do want. See you tomorrow, Fidanzata."
"Bye, love you," it still felt weird to say it, but Maya was learning to just let it out whenever it felt right.
"I love you too, stay safe."
"I will, bye Carina, sleep well."
"Ciao." Maya heard the phone disconnect and lifted her hand to put the phone down so she could continue with her report. As she wrote about what caused it and what they did to pick it she thought about their 'date'. She thought she ought to work out what to cook then for dinner. Carina was such a good cook that it was a little intimidating, but she thought it was worth having a go because she thought it was a pretty romantic date.
She picked up her phone again. "Maya."
"Sorry, sorry," she said, she had clearly woken her girlfriend up this time, and she glanced at the clock realising half an hour had passed since she first called and it was nearing midnight so of course she would be asleep, "I'll go, sorry for waking you up sweetheart."
"Hey, no, you obviously called for a reason."
"Do you like steak?"
Maya heard Carina chuckle and then say, through a yawn, "Maya, bambina, I will like anything you cook."
"Okay, I love you."
"Love you too, make sure you get some sleep too, Bella."
"Okay, you too, night baby."
"Buona notte ci vediamo domani." [Goodnight, see you tomorrow.]
Again, Carina hung up first and Maya concentrated on finishing the report so she could heed her girlfriend's advice. Except the alarm went off and she was jumping up to go and tackle whatever Seattle had to throw at her.
Maya felt like she was already up against it, as they pulled into the garages nine hours and a three-alarm fire later. Instead of being able to focus on just preparing dinner and maybe napping she now had the first report to finish and a whole very complicated report to start. She had consulted Travis, their best cook, on the way back and had formulated the perfect meal plan to make for Carina. She got into the house, work computer in hand and jumped into the shower, needing to re-wash, as she could still smell smoke. As the water washed over her, she recited the meals and mentally wrote a shopping list, planning to go as soon as she was done showering. Except she lay on her bed drying off for five minutes which turned into a three-hour nap where she was flat out for the entire time, wrapped in her towel, on top of the covers.
When she woke up she was incredibly disorientated and felt more tired than when she had fallen asleep. She slowly got herself dressed and made herself a mug of Carina's coffee, as she wrote the list down properly. Whilst it wasn't vital she got the reports done before her next shift, she always liked doing them when it was still fresh in her mind. Coffee consumed she pulled on her trainers and ran the mile and a half to the grocery store where she picked up the items for dinner and some flowers for Carina. After a brisk walk back, Maya's coffee had kicked in and she started typing up the reports sat at the kitchen table. It took well over four hours and by the time she was finished it was 6 and she was definitely up against time, as she started cooking. Drinking a smoothie when she realised she had forgotten to eat anything all day.
"Mai?" A knock at the door pulled her from her cooking frenzy.
"Hi," Maya pulled the door open and kissed Carina quickly. The Italian laughed and trapped her in a hug, as she went to turn. Maya scowled at her as Carina stepped back to have a proper look at her. "What?"
"You could have just got takeout."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Maya asked, offended, as she pulled Carina through the door.
"You just look stressed, is something going to burn, or can I have a proper kiss and hug?"
Maya glanced back at the kitchen and then pulled Carina into her arms by her hips, crossing her arms around her waist. She kissed Carina's forehead and then her lips, "hi beautiful."
"Ciao," she mumbled, head dipped and buried into Maya's shoulder.
"Everything okay?" Maya asked, bringing one hand up to tease her girlfriend's head, the other moving inward to rub her back.
"It is now."
Maya hummed sadly and hugged her tighter, deciding not to probe, "if I had a bath I would've run you one. But I don't. The shower is ready though, just need to turn it on, I've turned it up to the absolute burning temperature you like it at and I've laid you out a fresh towel and some options for you to change into. I am running a little behind, do you need a snack?"
"No, thank you though, Bella, very kind."
"Mmhmm, I'm gonna go, I love you."
Carina watched her practically skip off, tea towel over her shoulder, food spilled down her front, looking completely adorable. "I love you."
What Carina didn't realise was Maya had purchased them matching pyjamas when she was at the shop, well two pairs actually, and they were on the bed. She knew Carina would want to wear her clothes but Maya was enamoured by the idea of matching pjs so had gone for it.
A pair of hands snaking around her waist and a chin resting on her shoulder alerted Maya that her girlfriend was done and out of the shower. She stirred the sauce she was working on, which was the last bit of prep she had to do before they could start eating. Finally she turned around and examined Carina's makeup free face. She stood on tiptoe and kissed her before looking at the rest of the outfit. Carina had picked the checked pyjamas with the slogan top that had Washington written on it. "I'm going to put my matching ones on," she tugged Carina's top, "then we can get on with dinner."
"Matching!"
"Yep. Oh can you keep and eye on that sauce for me, babe?"
"Uh huh," Carina thought it all smelled delicious.
Maya returned in her matching pyjamas and pulled Carina over to the table, "Maya Bishop, is that a real candle?" Carina feigned shock. She could see the amount of effort Maya had put in. There was a perfectly curated bouquet of flowers, arranged flawlessly in a vase. There was a little sage green runner that Maya had turned so it was like a mini table cloth over the end of the table where they would be sitting. The offending candle was a tiny tealights in a little dish. There were two plates, opposite each other, and each had two forks, two knives and two spoons around it and they'll little napkin folded into a fan on the plate. "It looks so beautiful Mai, incredible."
"I borrowed some stuff."
"Well, it's beautiful and I feel so treasured already. Ti amo, tanto, tanto."
"Sit down and I'll serve the starter," Maya bossed, taking the plate from in front of each seat, as Carina sat on the left side so she could watch Maya in the kitchen. She watched, as Maya pulled a baking tray out of the oven using an oven glove. She put it down and served each item onto a small plate. Carina smiled, as Maya garnished each plate with two sticks of chives crossed over each other. Completely unaware Carina was watching her, Maya took a deep breath, intending to steady some nerves and carried the plates over.
"Stuffed mushrooms," Maya said, placing the plate in front of Carina.
"This looks," Carina brought the fingers and thumb of her right hand to her lips and kissed it lightly before tossing her hand into the air; a joyful Italian motion.
"Thanks," Maya went to sit down before she realised she hadn't got them a drink, "oh shit, the wine, one second." She shuffled away and returned back with a carafe of red wine and the bottle it had come in. "Its been airing for a while, is this one okay?" Maya passed Carina the bottle.
"Sì, sounds lovely, thank you."
"My pleasure," Maya said, pouring the wine. She watched in anticipation as Carina took the first bite and closed her eyes groaning in pleasure. "Good?"
"Amazing, Bambina."
"Okay, phew," Maya said and tucked into her own mushroom, impressed with herself. As they ate they discussed their previous shifts and any good jobs they had seen recently. Maya told Carina all about her day and falling asleep accidentally and needing to finish incident reports and cook which lead Carina to remark she was working too hard.
Eventually Maya stood to clear the table and start their main course, a steak with broccoli and Hasselback potatoes with a peppercorn sauce. Carina watched her for a while before excusing herself to the bathroom.
She was feeling a little bit warm and her stomach was feeling a little unsettled too. She kissed Maya's cheek on the way past, answering that she'd like a medium steak when Maya asked. Once in the bathroom she splashed her face with some water and took some deep breaths. Turning to the side she lifted her top up and looked at her stomach which was definitely bloated. Just as she was dropping her top she felt a wave of nausea that propelled her towards the toilet. She lifted the lid and waited but her body seemed to check itself and the nausea subsided. Her stomach gave a small rumble but no pain came, to Carina's relief. Unsure what had just happened she washed her face again, drying it on the towel she had used and took a few moments to regain composure. The logical side of her said she ought to tell Maya she wasn't feeling well and either go to bed without eating or ask the blonde to drive her home. However the part of her that loved Maya and had seen how much effort she had put in overruled and chocked the episode up to nerves. She looked down at her swollen stomach one more time, ignoring rationality, and exited the bathroom with a smile on her face.
"Everything okay?" Maya asked for the second time that evening. She was sat at the table again and their next course was served.
"Yes, this also looks amazing, who knew I'm with such a talented chef."
"Travis gave me the recipes."
"Stop diminishing your achievements, Bambina."
Maya smiled at her and reached over, holding Carina's hand, "I love y-" she didn't get to finish her confession, as Carina was pulling her hand back and scrambling to get off her chair and run to the bathroom. This time the nausea sustained and as soon as she was crouched over the toilet she was throwing up.
Meanwhile in the dining room Maya was very very confused. Her girlfriend had just sprung up, looking very distressed and run off. She stood herself and then rushed, hearing an awful sound coming
from the bathroom. "Oh my god, oh dear," Maya said, as she found Carina clinging onto the toilet still being sick. "Oh god, what do I do?" She had said it to herself more than Carina but the doctor had replied in between heaves, "rub my back."
"Right," Maya said and crouched down next to her girlfriend. She put her palm flat on Carina's back, between her shoulder blades and rubbed in a circle there. She then realised Carina was holding her own hair so Maya gathered it up and pulled a hair tie from the counter and tied up her freshly washed hair before returning to rubbing her back. Maya felt like it went on for forever before Carina fell back finally relaxing.
"Sorry," she croaked, sitting up to spit in the toilet.
"Don't be," Maya shuffled herself around and pulled Carina onto her lap, wrapping her arms around her. "Was it my cooking?" Maya asked, kissing Carina's cheek, as she managed to flush the toilet.
Carina cuddled further into Maya, tucking her face into the crook of Maya's neck, regaining control of her breathing. She shook her head, "no, my tummy's not felt right all day. I thought it was just because I was presenting the clinical action plan for the quadruplets. I felt really tired too. I'm sorry."
"No, babe, you poor thing," Maya kissed her forehead, feeling excessive heat against her lips, "you have a fever too."
"I was nearly sick before, but I ignored it."
"When?"
"Between the starter and main."
"Bless you," Maya cuddled her closer, "you should have said you weren't feeling good."
"I didn't realise," Carina was aware it sounded like a silly excuse but until the first wave of nausea she hadn't even considered there was something going on other than the usual shift tiredness and some nerves.
"How do we want to deal with this?"
Maya had quickly jumped into both concerned girlfriend mode and paramedic mode after her momentary panic, "do you want me to drive you back to your apartment, I've only had a few sips of wine?"
"Can I stay here?"
"Absolutely, I just wasn't sure if you wanted your own bed."
"I just need you," Carina mumbled.
"I can set up camp at your house too," Maya reminded her, tucking a piece of Carina's hair behind her ear, resting a hand on her cheek.
"I'll stay here."
"Okay, will we get you tucked into bed now?"
Carina nodded, feeling as settled as best she could be. She stood up slowly but wobbled, frightening Maya who jumped up and steadied her. "Okay?" She asked, Carina eyes shut, all colour deserting her lips.
"I'm gonna be sick again," she said and kneeled back down. Maya remained standing, rubbing her back. "Can you get the bed ready. And something to be sick in before I get up again?" She asked after another five minutes of regaining composure and back rubs from Maya. The firefighter kissed the top of her head and frowned at the shiver her girlfriend elicited.
She left and started by untucking the duvet cover. Whilst they hadn't picked a side of the bed yet and had been known to just sleep on whatever side they landed after nightly escapades, Maya folded back the cover on the side closest to the bathroom door, hoping it might lessen the journey for her sick girlfriend. She then walked into the kitchen and remembered they were in the middle of dinner when this all happened. So she quickly discarded Carina's plate, knowing her girlfriend wouldn't be up for eating anything and especially not steak, potatoes and broccoli. She covered her own plate in foil and put it in the warm oven to keep it hot until she had a chance to eat it, maybe when Carina was resting. She checked the desert was in the fridge and quickly cleared the sides into the sink for her to also deal with later. She blew out the candle, not wishing to start a fire. She ran back to check on Carina, who was fine, brushing her teeth into the toilet and then darted back out. She fetched one of her water bottles and filled it with ice water, so Carina could easily sip it. She went into her living room and emptied a little waste paper bin out, putting a bin liner in it. She set the bottle and bin next to the bed and went back into the bathroom. Carina was now sat on the toilet, knees drawn up to her chest, forehead resting on her knees. "Do you have any drug allergies?"
"No."
"Good, do you take any regular medication?"
"Birth control."
"Okay," Maya kissed the top of her head, "I want to give you Tylenol but I think we should wait for your belly to settle," Carina was amazed at how easily she swapped from paramedic questioning to caring girlfriend who used belly and kissed her head.
"That sounds good."
"Can you walk to bed or should I carry you?"
"I would love for you to carry me, but I can walk."
"Okay," Maya wrapped her arm around Carina, as they walked to the bedroom.
"Thank you," Carina said, as Maya pulled the covers up and pointed out the bin in case she got ill again.
"No problem, can I take your temperature so we know what you're dealing with."
"Sure." Maya dipped back into the bathroom and returned with the thermometer and pill bottle for later. Carina was curled up on her side, making it easy for Maya to get the thermometer into her ear. She waited for the beep and then repeated it once more just to check. "What is it?" Carina mumbled.
"102.0, babe, so high, but we'll give your poor tummy an hour to settle before trying some medicine. You can sip some later. I'll leave you to rest."
"Can't you stay?"
"Sure," Maya said and slipped into bed on Carina's side. She shuffled forward pressing her back to Carina's front. Her left arm was tucked up under Carina's pillow, her right wriggled its way under Carina's top and settled atop her stomach. "Is this okay?" Maya asked, her hand lightly rubbing circles on the skin there.
"How did you know that would help my stomach?" Carina said, sounding sleepy rather than sick.
"I noticed you rubbed mine when I had those cramps. I just figured that was how you liked it. Is it helping?"
"Its distracting me from the bleugh. I'm sorry, I'm falling asleep." She said through a yawn.
"That's okay, that’s good. I'm sorry you're not feeling well."
"Mmm."
"Sleep tight, babe."
Maya waited until Carina was definitely asleep before getting up. It was a relatively easy move as Carina basically appeared to be deep in sleep and had dropped her hand off Maya's arm. Free from her poorly girlfriend, Maya tested her own temperature. She was feeling absolutely fine but there was just a level of paranoia going on that she might also be sick with Carina's illness and not know. Her temperature was fine, in both ears, so she felt reassured. She stood in the bathroom for a good two minutes assessing whether she felt unwell at all and determined she was fine. So then she pulled on a pair of gloves and grabbed the bleach spray. Logically cleaning the bathroom was completely futile, as Carina would probably be unwell again but Maya wanted to get ahead of it and maybe prevent herself from getting unwell. Though, this was unlikely, if it was contagious she was probably already screwed.
Bathroom smelling strongly of bleach, Maya checked back on Carina who was still in a deep sleep and hadn't so much as moved. She kissed her forehead, which was still warm and then left for the kitchen. She pulled her plate out, glad to see it was still warm and quickly ate it. She was sad Carina couldn't enjoy her effort but relieved that she had at least found some relief, even if it was almost certain to be temporary.
Maya reflected as she washed up and loaded the dishwasher. This was uncharted territory. She had never been in a long term relationship, never had a girlfriend and never said I love you. So naturally she had never looked after someone with a sickness bug. Carina had never even had so much as a headache since they had been together. So she was really feeling a little lost because surely looking after your girlfriend should be different than looking after a patient. And it was. Maya just wasn't sure she was doing it absolutely brilliantly. Like should she have stayed cuddling Carina in bed. Were there extra other thing she should be doing. Especially, as Maya wasn't very good at being sick herself. She couldn't even draw on her childhood experience because one) she was very rarely ill and two) her dad usually still forced her into a run or conditioning even if she was feverish or had been throwing up. So maybe she could conclude that she knew how not to look after someone. In reality she was probably overthinking but she just loved Carina so much that she didn't want to mess anything up.
Feeling just a little lost and a little stupid, Maya took her laptop to the sofa and opened Google. She typed in 'how to look after sick girlfriend' first but was stumped when she found lots of articles geared towards men and tips that weren't useful because they were common knowledge for how to be a decent person. She did a little research on stomach bugs and then gave up hoping if Carina needed anything more she'd tell her. Or Maya's girlfriend-ly instincts would kick in and work it out.
She looked at her watch, she was feeling tired and realised why when she saw it was half past ten and she had a total of 3 hours nap in the last 27 hours. She quickly wiped down the counters and locked the front door before making her way back to bed and Carina. She came in and saw the Italian was just stirring awake. Maya wasn't sure if she had woken Carina up or if it was something else but she perched on the edge of the bed and waited for her to wake up a little more.
"Hi, feeling any better- ope-" Maya said as Carina rolled over and grabbed the bin, "obviously not," she said sweetly, leaning forward to rub her back again.
"Where did you go?"
"Just tidied a little and ate. I was on my way to bed, here," she passed over the water bottle, patting her thigh.
"I'm sorry I ruined your dinner."
"Its okay, I'm sorry you didn't get to finish it all. Desert should last until you're feeling better."
"Wait there was desert? It wasn't just you?"
Maya chuckled and shook her head, "Nope. It was tiramisu. But I suppose I could have been desert too. That'll have to wait thought. Because you aren't feeling so hot now, hmm?" Carina shook her head, sitting up a little. "No, ma babe's got a bug," Maya said in a sing-song voice, as she cleaned up the bin and put a fresh liner in, "and her tummy's all sicky and she's feeling pretty icky."
"Maya," Carina laughed.
"I'm gonna throw this away, brush my teeth and then I'll be right back to snuggling."
"I need to brush my teeth too."
"Sure," Maya quickly put the bag in the kitchen and then ran back to pull Carina up. Maya loaded each of their toothbrushes up and kept one hand around Carina, her thumb running up and down the little exposed skin on her side. At the end she exchanged a chaste kiss with Carina and then pressed one to her forehead too. "How sick do you feel now?"
"It's," Carina shrugged, "not super sick."
"Should we try some Tylenol before you go to sleep, the way I see it you've just been sick and the last time you made a whole hour and a half."
"Okay," Carina put her head on Maya's shoulder, as they walked to the bed, both tired. Maya fixed the medication for her and then laid down, as Carina snuggled close.
"Sleep well, Car, I hope you feel better," Maya whispered, her hand back stroking her stomach, hoping it continued to help.
Carina continued to be sick through most of the night. By three o'clock she had just resigned herself to curling up on the floor in the bathroom. She had disturbed Maya every time and she wanted Maya to at least get some sleep after a long shift and a busy day. She grabbed her pillow from the bed and a blanket from the sofa. Whilst she missed Maya's arms wrapped around her, Carina knew this was the right thing to do. Strangely laying on the floor she didn't end up being sick again.
At 7 am Maya came into the bathroom and nearly tripped over her.
"Ciao."
"Hi," Maya crouched down, "are you okay?"
"My tummy was hurting and I couldn't sleep so I came to sleep in here and then I haven't been sick again."
"Since what time?" Maya asked, putting a hand on Carina's forehead.
"3."
"That's great. And you fever feels like it's broken. You look way better."
"My tummy is still tender but I think I feel a lot better."
"Great, unfortunately," Maya said, pulling Carina upright, "my stomach is not feeling great."
"Bambina." Carina pouted at her
"I'm not sick yet," Maya mumbled, "but my tummy doesn't feel brilliant, bloated."
"Yeah," Carina put her hand on Maya's head, "that's how it started, bambina. And you have the start of a fever too," Carina pouted, "I'm sorry."
"Great way to spend our three month anniversary," Maya shrugged, standing up to use the toilet.
"Is your brain working?" Carina said, also getting up, stretching after four hours on the floor "we've been together 9 months Tesoro."
"3 months since I said I love you, yesterday."
"Bambina. You're so cute." Carina kissed her head and then made her way back to bed, her stomach churning.
"I didn't even know it was possible for my stomach to get this big," Maya said to her. She was stood next to the bed, top rolled up. She was rubbing it gently. "Are you okay here?" Maya asked, pulling the covers over her girlfriend.
"Sì, I'm going to sleep. Why, where are you going?"
"For a run," the blonde answered, walking into her closet to change into some running clothes. Whilst she would normally run in a crop top and shorts, she didn't fancy having her bloated stomach out, so found a long-sleeved top she could wear and also so high-waisted shorts.
"I'm sorry, am I missing something?" Carina said, if her stomach wasn't feeling so unsettled again, she would have stood up, "Maya Bishop come here."
"What?"
"Did I hallucinate the fever, the swollen tummy and the fact you told me your
stomach didn't feel great?"
"No, but I can go for a run, just a mile or something."
Caring managed to get hold of Maya's wrist, and pulled her closer, "listen to me. I know you don't feel absolutely terrible but if you go on a run you're going to hugely deplete your energy and then two things will happen, 1) you're going to feel absolutely horrendous later, worse then if you just relaxed. And 2) you won't be able to look after me and I'm still not right," she knew playing up to Maya's caring side would help.
"I'm no good at being sick," Maya sighed, pulling her shorts off, as they were pressing on her tummy and making her feel uncomfortable.
"Sì, I know," Carina said, as Maya got back into bed with her, "and I'm sorry you got it off me."
"Actually, I think you got it off me, all of A shift have come down with it. The group chat has been very active this morning. It's still early, should we go back to sleep?"
"I'm probably going to be sick again," Carina informed, "I can feel it."
Maya kissed her temple and they just set cuddling until Carina's prediction came true. Maya followed her to the bathroom and rubbed her back, her own stomach beginning to hurt now.
"You know what's really frustrating?" Maya said, as they laid back down in bed, Carina offering to be big spoon, which was their preferred configuration.
"What?"
"I can't have a hot water bottle because I'm feverish, or so you say, but my tummy hurts."
"Sì, it is frustrating. Hopefully sleep will help, my nausea is subsiding and you've got a good few hours before yours starts," Carina said, pressing a kiss to the back of Maya's neck.
"I think knowing how I'm going to feel later, isn't helping."
"No," Carina moved her hand down to Maya's stomach, "are you feeling anxious," she asked, dipping her head to kiss Maya's shoulder. Whilst she was feeling not great her priority was Maya, who she knew didn't do well being sick.
"I've been feeling anxious since you weren't well yesterday."
Carina sighed and shuffled a little closer to Maya, lifting her head to kiss her jaw. "I'm okay, and you're okay, it's just gastroenteritis. A tummy ache," she rubbed along her abdomen, "some sickness, and a fever," she put her hand up to Maya's forehead, "we're just sick. That's all. We need sleep and we need cuddles."
Maya moved Carina hand back down to her stomach and kept hold of it for a few minutes. Some how she still didn't feel close enough to Carina, so she rolled over and buried her face into the doctor's neck. Carina put her hand on Maya's back and circled it, feeling her breathing even out pretty quickly. "Sweet dreams, amore."
After another sleep, Carina was feeling a lot better. She took her own temperature and found her fever was none existent. Her stomach felt like it was easing off. And her nausea had practically disappeared. With Maya still asleep and her fever still at a safe level the doctor decided to have a shower. She found the towels Maya had given her yesterday and picked some clothes from Maya's drawer. This was one of her favourite things about dating Maya, the blonde had lots of clothes that fit her just fine. Once out of the shower she decided to leave Maya sleeping and go and lie on the sofa to watch a film. Maya wasn't really a film watcher. Nor did she like TV so Carina found herself surfing through cable TV for something to watch. Eventually she gave up and just decided to log into Netflix on the TV and find a film there.
About halfway through clueless, Maya came wandering out of the bedroom, hair strewn everywhere, holding onto her stomach with one arm and the bin with her other. Carina shuffled back and patted the sofa in front of her before leaving her arm up waiting for Maya to cuddle up. The blonde did, slotting herself into Carina's arms, the bin finding a home on the floor. "I hate this film," she said, as Carina pulled a blanket over her, "Andy and Vic like to quote it all the time."
"Ooh someone's grumpy," Carina teased, turning the film down.
"Not grumpy just not well."
"Have you been sick?"
"No," Maya huffed.
"Do you want to go back to lying in a dark room?" Carina suggested.
"Want you."
"Well I will happily come with you. I'm feeling better," this got another huff out of Maya, "I know I'm sorry but I did endure almost twelve hours of on and off vomiting."
"I just want to feel better."
"I know, come on, back to bed, and I think we should try some paracetamol, sì?"
Maya sighed and nodded, sitting up. "I just feel awful."
"Sì."
"Sorry for being so whiny. I don't do sick very well."
"I know," Carina said, arm slung around Maya's shoulder. Her hand was stroking the opposite side of Maya's face, as they walked to bed, blankets and bowl in tow. She pulled Maya’s head closer and kissed it, "it’s not your fault but I'm gonna have to teach you how to rest. It's positive at least that you're off today."
"Do you think I'll make it to shift tomorrow morning? It's only 12 hours with C." She asked, as Carina passed her tablets.
"I think you should, er what's that phrase. Play it by hear?"
"Close, play it by ear. Okay, I'll do that." Maya nodded, if she was vomiting she knew she shouldn't go in, it was station policy. But of she was just feeling like this then she didn't see why she shouldn't be fine to come in.
"Just rest for now," Carina instructed, deciding to stroke Maya's hair, the blonde facing her again, though she wasn't tucked in as tightly as she had been earlier. She felt Maya's hand on her head and realised the blonde was reciprocating the movement. "Goodnight, Bella."
"Mmm," Maya hummed, already drifting back off.
They spent the rest of the day entirely in bed. Carina caught up on a little research whilst Maya slept and only got up to have a piece of toast at 8, almost a whole twenty-four hours after she was first sick. She was still feeling less than brilliant and exhausted and weak so turned in early for the night next to a very warm Maya who really hadn't so much as stirred the whole day.
To the couple's surprise Maya made it through the entire night without being sick. She ignored her first alarm the next morning and got up at 7, to get ready for the day. "I don't understand how you haven't been sick," Carina said, watching her girlfriend dress.
"I don't know," Maya said through a yawn.
"Are you actually feeling better?" Maya nodded, she was ignoring the body aches and the less than settled feeling in her stomach, plus the fever. "Is it okay if I stay here today?"
"Sure, but don't you have work at 9?"
"I'm taking it off," Carina replied simply, snuggling into the covers even more.
"But you're feeling better and your stomach's better and it's been over 12 hours since you were sick. And," she paused pulling on her socks, "you don't have a fever anymore," she pointed out, hand on Carina's forehead.
"My tummy still isn't right. I haven't been sick, sì, but-"
"But." Maya frowned at her confused, then realisation washed over her "Oh, oh I'm sorry."
"Its okay. Its not really bad, but I want to give myself enough time to get better. I'd rather take one day off then go to work, come home ill and then have to have more days off."
"Oh."
"Yeah, and I know I can't persuade you to do the same but do you promise me of you're not feeling right you'll come home. I appreciate that's not something Maya Bishop does but just keep it in mind?"
"Yeah," Maya said and sat down on the bed next to Carina.
"You don't look well still," Carina said quietly, "nausea and a fever is a reasonable excuse to have work off," she gently pointed out, her thumb rubbing circles on the top of Maya's hand.
"I really don't feel well," Maya mumbled, "and Marsh is a good lieutenant," to Carina's surprise she was crawling back up the bed, "I'll call him."
Carina opened her arms and kissed the top of Maya's head, as she put her head on Carina's chest, phone to her ear. "Hi Tom, listen, I've come down with a stomach bug and I don't want to give it to anyone, it's already gone around A shift. Oh brilliant, thanks lieutenant, nothing needs desperately doing. Obviously keep on top of scene reports and normal routines. I should be in to relieve you with A at the end of your 24 but I'll call if that changes. Text me with the absences for A shift if anyone calls and I'll sort staffing from here. Thanks Tom, you're great. Bye." Maya hung the phone up and sighed, "I'm going back to sleep."
"Just take more tablets first, Bambina," Carina could feel the heat coming off her girlfriend, as it had been for the last day. Maya obliged and then fell right back to sleep on Carina's chest, not even stirring, as the brunette answered a call to her resident to give her instructions on the day.
It turned out to be a good idea that Maya stayed home because by lunch she was in a cycle of being sick and falling asleep in the bathroom and would have been absolutely useless in work.
24 hours later, they both returned to work, the brunette feeling back to herself, the blonde still just a little unwell.
They had survived their first joint illness and hoped they wouldn't have to do it again any time soon.