Let Me Carry You (Carry You Home)

20: Rest and Recovery

The Bishop-DeLucas stayed at the hospital for a few days for Sarah to recover. While her broken leg and arm needed rest, Sarah's concussion and chest tube was what required them to stay for at least seventy-two hours.

Just after Sarah had been sedated, Maya and Carina had a chat, and while they wanted nothing more than to know who had hurt their daughter, they wouldn't push Sarah to tell them. Given just how much stress Sarah was under, the last thing Maya and Carina wanted was to add to that.

When Sarah awoke, Maya asked no more questions, and instead, joined Carina in showering Sarah with affection. They held her, combed her hair back, promised to give her the world, and Sarah basked in it, being thrilled to be cuddled, spoiled and kept in that bubble of love.

Of course, Sarah's doctors came by within minutes of Sarah waking to explain to her what was happening. Meredith gently explained that Sarah's chest tube would need to stay in for at least three days, and that they'd need to continually monitor its progress to ensure everything continued to go well. Sarah was less than thrilled to learn she'd have more time in the hospital, but her residual panic was quelled by Maya and Carina's gentle reassurances.

Next, Amelia stepped forward to do a cognitive test to check on the possibility of a concussion.

"Kiddo, welcome back. Do you know who I am?" Amelia asked cheerfully, and Sarah frowned. "Of course I do,"

"I need you to tell me my name," Amelia insisted, and with a huff, Sarah smiled.

"Amelia Shepherd,"

"Fabulous. Now, I'm going to give you three words, and I want you to remember them. Hockey, cat, pink. Okay, can you tell me what year it is?" Amelia questioned, grabbing her pen light. Sarah winced at the harshness of the light on her eyes, the pain in her head seeming to increase tenfold. Maya's hold on Sarah's hand strengthened hearing her whimper.

"Twenty twenty-three," Sarah grumbled.

"Now, who is that over there?" Amelia continued, pointing to Carina, while getting the other eye.

"Carina DeLuca. My... My Mamma," Sarah replied tentatively.

"She is absolutely correct," Carina hummed, beaming, and Sarah blushed contentedly.

"And that? Who's that?" Amelia prompted, and meeting Maya's eyes, Sarah smiled.

"Mom," Sarah murmured, and as far as Maya was concerned, her insides seemed to melt.

There was nothing beyond her horizon, her sunset that was her forever. Carina and Sarah were... They were her sunset, the ones who painted the sky for Maya each day. They hung the world, and without them, Maya would be hopelessly lost. There weren't enough words to describe how much they meant to her. Maya didn't know she was capable of having a long term girlfriend until Carina, until her beautiful, kind, gentle Carina softened Maya's heart. And Sarah... Maya used to be terrified of the thought of kids. It petrified her. Maya didn't know if she was capable of giving the kind of love that a child needed, but that had all changed when she met Sarah on a call that dark, snowy night in January on the side of Interstate Five. Maya knew that this girl, this redheaded girl, was special, and that she was meant to be in Maya's life.

According to Maya, nothing existed beyond Carina and Sarah. They were her home, her heart, her universe.

"I'm going to list some numbers for you, and I would like you to repeat them back to me in reverse order. Five... Zero... One... Seven... Four... Three," Amelia said, listing them off with enough time for Sarah to process each one. Sarah began gnawing on her lip almost nervously.

"Uh, okay. I think... Three, four... Seven... One... Zero... Oh, what's the last one... Give me a second... I... Six? My head is killing me. It's hard to think," Sarah admitted, and Amelia nodded.