Therapy

Part 10

Trigger Warnings: Depression and some mentions of anxiety.  

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The next morning, Maya's ankle was still huge and painful, and she was seriously thinking about not going to work, not only because of her ankle, but also because she just didn't want to get out of bed. She laid there for almost two hours before there was a knock on her door.

"Hey," Vic said, coming in, "Are you thinking you're gonna come in today or take a sick day?"

"I'm coming," Maya said, sighing as she sat up, "It's just taking a lot to get out of bed today."

"Sorry you're still feeling so terrible," Vic said, coming in and setting a cup of coffee on Maya's nightstand, "If you want to take the day, no one would care."

"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "I need to go in. I'll be fine."

"Alright," Vic said, eyeing her, "Well, I'm leaving in about a half an hour if you want to go in together."

"Yeah," Maya said, nodding, "I'll come with you."

The blonde got up, wincing as she stepped on her ankle. She went into the bathroom, grabbing an ace wrap and carefully wrapping the tender joint in a way she had become so familiar with during her training.

She then dressed for work, throwing back some anti-inflammatories. She normally didn't take them, but she was in a lot of pain and not 100% sure her ankle would fit in her boots.

"Ready?" Vic called from the living room.

"Yeah," Maya said, limping out of her room.

"Oh, girl," Vic said, "Are you sure you should work?"

"I'm fine," Maya said, slipping on her shoes, "Let's go."

They drove to work, Vic heading up to her locker as Maya went into her office, changing into her uniform before sitting down in her desk chair, taking a few deep breaths. She was a little shaky, and felt super anxious, but she was determined to get through this shift.

She headed upstairs, her ankle a little less sore thanks to the meds she had taken. She walked into the beanery, getting her team going for the morning before sitting down to eat with them.

Vic thought she was being sneaky, checking to see if Maya was eating, but the blonde felt her eyes on her. She took a small bowl of fruit and yogurt, giving Vic a look as she did so. The younger woman nodded before turning back to her own breakfast. Maya didn't eat much breakfast but managed not to set off any alarm bells with her roommate.

She headed back down to her office to work while everyone else started chores. The alarm went off about an hour later and they all ran into the barn, Maya shoving her swollen ankle into her boots, trying to ignore the searing pain that came when she did so.

They headed to a house fire, working the call for several hours as sparks from the first fire spread to two other houses thanks to strong winds. Maya forgot about her throbbing ankle until they got back to the station.

As she stepped out of the truck, her ankle all but gave out on her and she grabbed the side of the truck to steady herself.

"Maya," Andy said, running up behind her from where she had just gotten out of the aid car, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine. Let's get the rigs restocked."

She pulled off her turnout pants and boots before slipping back into her regular shoes. She limped back to her office before pulling them off again, seeing the swelling in her ankle had gotten worse.