Shine your light

4

Chapter 4

POV Maya

I sighed, placed my coffee cup on my desk, and sat down. I had gotten through nearly the entire shift, which was ending at midnight. 'Only a few hours left to go' I reminded myself every time I longed for Carina's comfort, which was pretty much all the time.

Thinking and worrying about Olivia had my anxiety running wild, something only my wife could ease. I had tried to let it go, tell myself she was just another civilian we helped, but nothing worked. The overwhelming need to protect her never seized. Maybe it was just because of our similar experiences. Maybe I somehow thought I could help her through it because I understood her. It was hard to put it into words, I had never felt like that before.

I heard the reception door open and close, and thought it was a weird time for someone to visit the fire station if it wasn't an emergency. Since I knew everyone was sleeping, and no one was at the front desk, I decided to see who it was. They might need help after all.

I slowly walked to my office door, trying to see through the blinds, and failing, so I decided to open it.

"Hey, do you need an-" I began, quickly being cut off when someone jumped onto me, wrapping their arms around my neck and legs around my torso.

I stumbled back a few steps, then stood still in silent shock for a few seconds. When I looked down and saw the blonde hair and familiar little body, I realized who it was. I circled her with my arms, hugging her as close to my body as possible. My tears fell in a steady stream, landing on her head, which I kissed repeatedly.

When I was over the initial shock, I noticed she was also heavily crying. I attempted to lift her head so I could see her face, but her grip on me was too tight. I walked back to the couch in my office, and sat down with her straddling my lap, still holding on for dear life. When her breathing also sounded labored, I knew I needed to try to calm her down.

"Hey sweetheart. It's okay, I'm here. Can you try to breathe for me" I gently said while stroking her hair.

When I got no response, I took her arms and managed to loosen her grip around my neck so she could look at me. I gently cradled her face in my hands, the teary, Carina-like eyes breaking my heart.

"Breathe with me, breathe with Maya, okay?" I whispered, getting a small nod.

She copied my breaths, continuing to cry and hiccup. After a while, she had calmed down and slumped forward against my chest. I wrapped my arms protectively around her body, the backpack she was wearing making it slightly difficult.

There were so many thoughts swirling around in my head, but when she was in my arms, safe, all I could feel was relief. Eventually, she fell asleep, and I carefully slipped the backpack off and placed it on the floor. I lifted her off of me, and laid her down on the couch, much like I had a few days ago. I tiptoed away to my bunk, closing the door just enough to hear if she woke up. I got my phone out, deciding to call Carina.

"Bambina? What's going on? Are you okay?" She groaned sleepily, since I had forgotten it was the middle of the night.

"She- um... she's here" I whispered, starting to cry again.

"Who? Oh, Olivia is there!? What- how?" She sounded equally surprised and confused.

"I- I don't know, she just showed up, and now she's sleeping in my office, and I have no idea what to do because I don't want to calm CPS again, she obviously ran away, and-" I rambled, being interrupted by my wife.

"Shh, Bambina, breathe. Is she okay? Is she hurt?" Carina asked and I shook my head, realizing she couldn't see me.

"Yeah she seems okay, I don't think she's hurt, but she was crying a lot" I said, drying the stubborn tears with the back of my hand.