Chapter Text
Laughter fills the beanery as Ben, Vic, Travis, and Andy put the finishing touches on lunch. Since shift has been slow, their new superior decided it would be a good idea for a big family meal this afternoon. It’s been a bit rocky since Chief Ripley named Bishop from station 14 as their captain, bypassing Herrera and Gibson, but she’s making an effort, and that’s all anyone can really ask.
“Warren, you have a visitor.”
Ben steps away from the stove, his brow furrowed at the unexpected announcement from Green, but his confusion quickly shifts to delight as the brunette steps through the door. “Oh, hey.”
“Miranda asked me to bring this over on my way home.” Carina smiles, handing him his phone.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem at all.”
“Are you hungry? You wanna join us?”
“Eh, I just got off a 12-hour shift.”
“Come on. I know you’ve got to be starving.”
Carina looks around, meeting the eyes of some very curious people as the smell pulls her exhausted body in. At least she won’t have to cook when she gets home. “Okay.”
“Everybody, this is Dr. Carina DeLuca, an OB at Grey Sloan and a good friend of mine. Carina, this is Vic, Andy, and Travis.”
The brunette follows the former surgeon further into the kitchen with a tired smile across her face. “Nice to meet you all.”
“Ohh, your accent is beautiful.” The woman Ben introduces, as Vic says, her eyes lighting up.
“Grazie mille.” Carina nods, feeling the warmth come from her sentiment.
“What’s for lunch?”
A voice fills the room in question, and Carina waves her hands towards her face, wafting the smell towards her nose. “It smells like chicken risotto made with Frank and Sal’s parmigiano reggiano.”
“Dr. DeLuca, for the win!” Travis cheers as everyone starts to grab bowls and cutlery.
Carina snorts as she takes a bowl from Ben, coming up behind Maya and realizing she has yet to be introduced to the blonde. “You must be capitano.”
“Maya Bishop.” The blonde nods, offering her hand with a tight smile.
Carina squints, trying to size up the blonde and her clear agitation as she accepts her hand. “Dr. Carina DeLuca.”
Maya knows that with a new house comes a new environment and new coworkers, but the one thing that apparently slipped her mind was new guests. “So, what are you doing in my fire house, doctor?”
The OB can feel the excitement rush through her veins, knowing it’s time to test this woman. “I was here looking for volunteers. Ben said you’d probably be the first to sign up.”
“Volunteers?”
“For my study.”
“What kind of study?”
“The female brain and what happens to it before, during, and after orgasm.”
Ben drops the spoon in the pot with a resounding thunk as everyone else’s eyes go wide. The silence is deafening as they look back and forth between the captain and the doctor.
The former surgeon lets out a nervous laugh really not wanting to get on his captain’s bad side. “She’s joking, Cap. I didn’t say that.”
“So there’s no study? That’s too bad.” Maya clicks her tongue, her voice laced with disappointment, as she meets the brunette’s eyes once more.
“No, there’s a study. The waiting list is quite long, though, but I might be able to make an exception for you. You know, since you’re a fire captain and all.”
“Is anyone else seeing this?” Andy whispers out of the side of her mouth, eyes glued to the two women, as the tension continues to build.
“I can’t look away.” Vic says as her eyes light up in mirth.
A spark forms in Carina’s eyes as a smirk pulls at the corner of her lips. This may be a place of work, but it’s not her place of work. “If you stop by the hospital tomorrow, you can pick out a toy, and we’ll get started.”
“If you’re there, toys won’t be necessary.” The words are out of the captain’s mouth before she realizes where she’s at. She’s known this woman for five minutes, and already she has her flustered and in front of her new team at that.
Andy isn’t sure where this side of the blonde is coming from, but it’s reminding her a bit of the woman she met five years ago at the academy. Maybe she should’ve taken her offer up to be allies. “What is happening?”
“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it’s an HR violation.” Travis takes a sip out of his cup, ready for what comes next.
The words shake both Maya and Carina out of their little sparring match, with the blonde quickly shifting the subject to what they’re about to eat.
As they start to take their seats at the table and settle in, it’s all but five minutes before Vic is itching for more info on Carina’s study, but the OB is adamant that if she wants to know so badly, she could always use another volunteer.
Lunch is filled with questions and curiosity from both Carina and the crew. It’s nice. It feels like something special is brewing, and Maya takes note of how easy it can be if she just lets loose a little bit.
A little while later the dishes are cleaned and put away, Carina thanks them all and bids farewell, stating that she’s super tired and needs to get home. And once again thrown off by her actions, before the brunette even reaches the door, Maya finds herself calling out to her. “I’ll walk you out.”
As the pair walk out the door, Travis turns to Vic, who already has a knowing grin plastered across her face. “I think Cap has a crush.”
After making their way down the stairs and through the station, Maya and Carina step out into the parking lot in silence as they approach Carina’s vehicle. “Thank you for showing me around, capitana. Even though you were rude.”
Maya’s smile tightens as she follows the tall brunette between two cars before stopping at the driver's side of the Porsche. ”I hope you get some much-needed rest after your long day.”
“Yeah, I’m just going to go home and take a long hot bath with a glass of wine, and maybe use my favorite pink toy to lull me to sleep.”
The blonde looks to her left and then right before stepping into the OB's space once she sees there’s no one lingering around. As soon as she does that challenging look, staring back at her in the form of brown eyes returns, and she can’t take it any more.
Closing the distance, Maya brings her body to Carina’s, her hand finding the other woman’s jaw, cradling her head as she connects their lips and presses her against the car. “God, you drive me crazy.”
“Captain Bishop, where’s your professionalism?”
“It’s over there on the other side of the parking lot.”
Carina smirks, gladly accepting the captain’s advances, as her tongue swipes her bottom lip, begging for entrance. “Mmm, I taste strawberries.”
“I thought you might like that.” Maya grins, their lips dancing around one another as she gives herself a mental high five for picking out the new chapstick. The small breaths that they’re sharing between kisses make the captain weak in the knees, and it’s like a drug she can’t get enough of.
A few glorious seconds go by before they’re suddenly pulled out of their trance by the resounding bell going off nearby. “Ugh. I guess we’ll have to finish this later.”
“That’s too bad.” Carina bites her bottom lip; seeing Maya in action definitely does things to her. “Vai a salvare la situazione, mio capitano.” (Go save the day, my captain.)
“I love you. See you later.”
“Ti amo, bambina. Make sure to come back to me, okay?”
Maya can’t help but close the gap between them once more and give her a quick peck. “Always.”
Just as soon as their lips part, the blonde runs back into the station to the engine and quickly dresses before hopping in. When the truck pulls out of the barn and into the road, she immediately senses eyes on her.
Carina’s visit hadn’t been planned this morning, and Maya had been so wrapped up in paperwork that she had missed the text informing her of the spare of the moment visit. To say the new captain was shocked when she walked into the beanery earlier and saw the big brown doe eyes that she wakes up to every morning she’s not on shift stare back at her is a bit of an understatement.
She’s lost in her thoughts, but the way Travis keeps sneaking glances at her doesn’t go unnoticed, and she realizes it's best to get this out of the way. “Out with it, Montgomery.”
”Are you always bothered by gorgeous Italians, or is it just Carina?”
”I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
”I think he’s talking about how you and the good doctor were undressing each other with your eyes all throughout lunch.” Vic smirks. Their new captain is a bit of a hardass, but today they’ve seen a new side of the blonde, and she kind of wants to see how far she can push it.
Maya can feel her heart rate picking up speed. Why does she feel like a teenager being interrogated by her parents? ”We definitely were not. Like, really, you think I would openly flirt with someone at work? No. I’m very professional.”
A curious gaze furrows in Andy’s brow. ”You took her to her car.”
”I was just being polite. Taking care of the guest. I mean, she saves lives every day, and yeah. Yes.“
Andy turns to Vic, both sharing a knowing grin.
Travis briefly looks over at the captain, whose eyes are zeroed in on the chart in her hand. ”Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”
”Look at that; we’re on scene. Time to work.” Before anything else can be said, Maya grabs her clipboard and helmet, opens her door, and hops out of the engine. Clearly, she and Carina aren’t great at being discreet.