One single thread of Gold

Chapter 6 [Now]

"Don't read the last page, but I stay when you're lost, and I'm scared, and you're turning away"

Now, Seattle 2023

As the aid car screeched to a halt outside the entrance to the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, the doors burst open and firefighters rushed out, a gurney between them with Maya's pale body on top. Blood soaked her clothes and dripped onto the floor as they wheeled her toward the ER doors.

Andy ran alongside the gurney, her eyes fixed on her friend's face. "Maya," she said, her voice tight with worry. "Maya, can you hear me?"

There was no response, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow. Andy's heart sank as she watched the doctors swarm around the gurney, assessing her condition and barking orders to one another.

"What happened?" asked one of the doctors, looking up at Andy.

"We've got a 32-year-old female, Maya Bishop," she explained as she rushed towards them. "She's been impaled by a piece of metal, and she's losing blood quickly. She's been unconscious for a few seconds now, and she had a seizure before we got here."

The doctors and nurses were quick to take over from there, pushing the gurney toward one of the trauma rooms. Andy followed, feeling helpless and scared as they cut away Maya's clothes and began assessing her injuries. She knew that Maya was in good hands, but the sight of her best friend in pain was too much to bear.

"We need to get her into surgery right away. She's losing blood quickly." one of the doctors said grimly.

Andy watched as they led her best friend away, pacing back and forth, her thoughts racing. Maya had always been the strong one, the one who kept everyone together. She was the captain, the leader, the one who made the tough calls. Now, she was lying on an operating table, fighting for her life.

She felt numb as she walked towards the waiting room and sat down next to Jack and the rest of their team that had been on the call with them. She felt Jack's hand on her shoulder, offering a small bit of comfort. "Maya's strong," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "She's going to make it through this." Andy nodded at his words knowing she had to hold on to something. Maya was strong, she was going to make it.

***

Maya felt herself drifting in and out of consciousness as the anesthesia took hold. She could hear the beeping of the machines in the background, and the sound of the surgeon's voice as he prepared to operate on her impaled abdomen. She closed her eyes, hoping to drift away into a dreamless sleep.

But instead, she felt like she was floating in a vast ocean, her body weightless and free from pain. She could feel a warm breeze brush against her skin, the smell of salty water filling her nostrils. She opened her eyes and saw that she was on a beautiful beach. The sand was soft and golden, the water crystal clear and sparkling in the sunlight. The sun was beating down on her skin, and she could feel the heat seeping into her bones. She looked around, marveling at the beauty of her surroundings. The beach looked familiar, and she realized that it was one she had seen before, in Italy, with Carina .

She thought she was reliving a memory and looked around to spot the brunette but instead, she saw the figure of another woman standing near the shore, with long dark hair and a strikingly beautiful side profile. She walked up to the woman, prompting her to look back at Maya, who was struck with a sense of familiarity.

"Maya," the woman said, smiling warmly at her. "It's good to see you, even under these circumstances"

"Mrs. DeLuca?" she had seen old pictures of the woman on Carina's phone. Pictures of her with both siblings, on holidays and first days of school. She had even seen some of her standing on this exact beach, in this exact spot, looking out at the ocean. Maya wondered if that's where her imagination stemmed from.