At First Glance- A Marina Love Story

Chapter 3

It was only Carina's third day on the job at Grey Sloan. So far she had spent the majority of her time on the OB floor assisting new moms and their babies. This was her first trauma involving a mother, so it did not help when the firefighter was unable to give her any information about the pregnancy.

Carina worked with the team of doctors to assess the pregnant woman. She quickly rolled the ultrasound equipment over to get a good look at the baby. Within moments the soft hum of a fetal heartbeat was heard in the room and the doctors cheered knowing that the baby was safe. However, Carina knew they were not in the clear yet. She needed to complete a full exam of the mother before they were out of the woods.

April Kepner, head of trauma, told Carina that they were going to run additional tests on the mother and would page her as soon as they knew anything. Carina's shift was set to end in the next hour, but she knew there was no way she could leave without knowing the status of the mother and the baby.

As the gurney rolled out of the trauma room, Carina thought back to the encounter she had outside with the female firefighter. She tried to shake the feeling of knowing that something was there.

Carina made her way to the attendings' lounge where she poured herself a cup of coffee. It may be 6:00pm, but Carina knew that she had a long night ahead of her attending to the mother and her child. Carina left the lounge and took her first sip, she immediately spit it out.

"Che razza di merda è questa? (What kind of shit is this?)" Carina mumbled in Italian before throwing the cup of joe into the nearest waste-bin. As she winced at the bitter taste left behind she couldn't help but notice her little brother, Andrea, laughing hysterically across the hall.

"Andrea, it is not funny. This so-called coffee is horrible. How did you become accustomed to it?" Carina asked.

Andrea, known by their last name of DeLuca to his colleagues, was a resident at Grey Sloan. He was the one who encouraged Carina to leave Italy and the grips of their father and move to Seattle. "You get used to it," he shared.

"I certainly hope not," Carina added. "I am off to find something to keep me awake. See you later, baby brother."

"C'mon Carina, I told you not to call me that at work! I am well respected here and hearing 'baby brother' is not going to work in my favor with the ladies, ya know?" Andrea smirked.

"Oh, is that so?" Carina asked. "Just wait until I show these so-called 'ladies' pictures of you as a baby or photos of you when you were in the phase where you refused to wear pants."

Andrea looked at Carina with a furrowed brow, "You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, I would. Actually, I think I have a few on my phone, where is this Sam girl you have been telling me about? Maybe I will go show her," Carina couldn't help but burst out laughing and Andrea looked up at her in defeat.

"Okay, enough enough," he said. "I will see you at home tomorrow. I have to work a 24 hour shift, so don't wait up for me." Andrea shook his head and laughed quietly as he walked away.

--

Carina was on the hunt for caffeine when her pager went off. She was in shock how quickly they were able to assess the mother and get the results from her scans. After reviewing everything and doing a workup on the mother and fetus she was able to give the all clear. At this point the mother had woken up and was able to tell the doctors bits and pieces of what happened. Carina learned that she was 34 weeks pregnant, so she ordered her to bed rest at the hospital for the remainder of her pregnancy.

By now it was only 7:00pm and her shift was officially over. Carina was grateful she hadn't had that cup of coffee to keep her awake. She wasn't quite ready to call the night quits, however. She didn't have to work tomorrow and she really wanted to make the most of her first week in Seattle. Carina made her way to the attendings' lounge to shower and freshen up before deciding to hit the bar across the street from the hospital.