Storm

Epilogue

She woke up harshly to a cold sweat, her heart pounding against her chest in an uneven, fast pace.

The nightmares have been all too common lately and while they never fully went away after the accident, as the weeks get closer, that date starts to creep in.

Carina should've known that with the one year anniversary of their accident, would come with an increase in not only nightmares, but anxiety too.

And it wasn't only her who's been experiencing sleepless nights, which is why when she woke up with a start, sitting up and placing a hand on her chest as she works through her calming exercises she's been practicing in therapy, Maya wasn't too startled, having been in a light sleep herself.

"Stai bene?" Maya whispers, a comforting hand placed against her back and the action of the light rubbing was almost too much for Carina.

Too soft.

"Sì," Carina replies breathlessly, still working on calming her racing heart and limiting the flashbacks threatening to take over her mind. "Va bene."

"Do you want some water?" Maya asks and Carina could burst into tears at the way she's doing everything in her power to take care of her, even at such an early time in the morning.

Carina simply nods, giving Maya permission to climb out of bed, and she watches as her wife rubs her left leg as she limps out of the room.

Damn cold weather.

Maya tries to hide the pain that the freezing temperatures cause her leg that went through surgery, the screws and rods still in place.

But nothing can get past Carina Deluca, especially when it comes to her wife.

Maya returns with a glass of ice cold water, handing it to Carina with a kiss placed to the top of her head, causing the brunette to smile.

Climbing back into bed and under the covers, Carina stops her before she can get too far underneath the blanket.

"Give me your left leg, bella," Carina instructs, setting her cup down on the nightstand and turning her attention to her wife.

"It's okay, Carina. Really," Maya replies, already knowing what she's up to.

It isn't the first time Maya's dealt with pain in her leg and it won't be the last. Fortunately, she has a wonderful wife who will drop everything to help make her comfortable, even sacrificing her sleep.

"Come on," Carina relents, causing Maya to pull her leg out from underneath the blankets, laying it over Carina's lap like she wants.

Carina pulls up her pajama pant leg, getting to work on tenderly massaging the muscles, earning a small sigh from the blonde as she lays down on the bed, watching her wife's every movement.

"Feels good?" Carina asks and Maya nods.

"Don't you want to sleep? I'm sure you're tired," Maya states, noticing how Carina looks down at her lap with a sad smile.

"I don't think I could go back to sleep even if I tried," Carina answers and Maya nods absentmindedly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Maya wonders, wincing at a particular point of soreness from her leg, getting a small apology from the Italian.

"It's always the same," Carina shrugs. "I thought I lost you...again."

"I'm sorry," Maya whispers. It's not abnormal for Carina to have nightmares centering around Maya dying, usually taking place in a car accident.

It got so close for that to become a reality almost a year ago and her dreams won't seem to leave her alone.

"Hopefully your nightmares will start to go away next week," Maya adds, fighting the urge to fall asleep herself, Carina's actions on her leg pulling her into a sense of tranquility. "But i'm here. I'm safe and i'm okay," she reassures.