Maya's First Sick Day

Part 1

Coming to the conclusion that her dad had been abusive had not been easy for Maya. She had fought it so hard, pushed Carina away so hard. She was barely sleeping because her mind would not shut off.

The afternoon before the party on the houseboat, she blew up at her again and Carina left, telling her that she needed space. Maya had gone and partied with her friends. Everyone else stayed the night, but she had left at around 2 am, going home and crashing in her bed, not sleeping at all, her mind just running. She missed Carina; she missed her friends; she knew she was starting to spin out, but she didn't know how to stop and she didn't have anyone to pull her out of it.

The next morning, she was out for her run to try to shut her brain up when they got the 5-alarm call. She ran to the station, getting ready for a long day. The call was one of the hardest of her time as captain, fearing for the life of her entire team.

When they made it back to the station, she let her team shower first, knowing they all had been in the fire, before she went into the showers herself. She looked at herself in the mirror, trying to keep the tears from running down her face.

She had brought the scissors from her office and slowly, she cut off her long hair. With each cut, she felt like she could breathe a little easier. She realized that since the moment she saw her dad that morning, she hadn't been able to get a full breath and as soon as the ponytail was in her hand, she took a full breath for the first time in a long time.

She looked at herself in the mirror, touching the tips of her hair before seeing Jack in the doorway. She turned and faced him, apologizing for everything that had happened between them. Jack gave her a hug, sensing that that was what she needed before looking at her.

"Go see your girl," Jack said, looking down at her.

"I think I might have messed that up," Maya said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"You'd be surprised how much a simple 'I'm sorry' would get you," Jack said, smiling at her.

Maya nodded, taking her hair and throwing it away before going to shower. She got cleaned up, psyching herself up to go talk to Carina. She was emotionally, physically, and mentally feeling awful, but she push it aside. She pulled on some clothes before drying her hair. She knew that she would need to get a proper hair cut soon because it was so uneven, but right now, all she could think of as making up with Carina.

She jogged to Grey Sloan, glad it was so close. She started walking around outside the hospital, trying to psych herself up. As she walked toward the coffee cart, however, she saw Carina standing there with one of her friends. She took a breath before walking past Carina. She almost just kept going, but stopped and turned around.

"Carina," she said, looking at her.

"What are you doing here?" Carina asked, "I told you I needed space."

"I know," Maya said, taking a deep breath, "And I promise I will leave if you want me to, but I need to say this first. You were right, about everything about my dad. He was...is abusive. You were right and I'm so sorry I pushed you away and yelled and fought. I'm so sorry Carina and...and... I love you Carina. And I've never said that to anyone before, except my brother which doesn't really count. And I am willing to spend every day trying to show you that. I'm sorry."

"Forgive her," the woman who Carina was talking to said, "If you love her, forgive her."

Carina gave her a look before looking back at Maya. She thought for a minute, Maya's nerves growing by the second and she thought she might pass out.

"You..." Carina started, "Are the most frustrating person I have ever been with, but I love you too Maya Bishop. Come over here and kiss me."

Maya's eyes filled up with tears as she walked over and kissed Carina passionately. She felt herself tense a little when Carina ran her hands through her hair, but Carina sensed it and stopped. They pulled apart and before they could say anything, Carina got an emergent page.