Your number 1 fan

Confrontation Is The Way Forward

MAYA POV
I assume Andrew had told his sister I was here. I know she's stressed by me knowing, I don't know what I'm feeling about this situation but taking Andy's advice led me here to Carina's brother to ask if she's truly a stalker.

"She's not a stalker, I swear" he burst out into the silence around us... I guess he was straight to the point. "She was just a fan; you were the blonde beauty to her. That was her nickname for her. I promise there's no wrong intentions between you two now." He continues.

"You know saying she isn't a stalker makes her sound more like she is" we awkwardly chuckle together at the realisation. "How much of a fan was she? I ask her as I collect my thought. We're both feeling more relaxed in each other's presence, both of us now moving ourselves into a comfortable position on the couch.

"You caught her attention; she cared a lot about you. I did tell her that you were coming to my high school, and she wanted to come with, you were just this mystery to her. Nothing dangerous at all about it" he talks.

"Just a mystery? Was she the one who distracted me from running, the one who winked?" I whisper after a few seconds of silence between us, the only other sound was the faint knocking from the wind onto the windows.

"Yeah, she probably was. God, I'd forgotten all about that. She definitely was that person." He chuckles with a look of reflection.

"It's just weird. Tell me, I'm not weird for thinking this is weird as fuck." I respond, desperate for my point of view to be recognised.

"It is weird but that's not necessarily a bad thing. You should talk to her, I bet my sister is freaking out and probably on her way to the station to see you" He explains, and it sounds exactly like something she'd do.

"I guess I have somewhere to be" I mutter, we hug, and I leave their apartment to go back to work.

-

CARINA POV
I don't know what's worse, the fact that I drove to her work while knowing she thinks I'm a stalker or turning up and her not being there. Instead, I had to wait in the reception with a tall angry man who goes by Sullivan. He's muttered a few times about his captain and others on his team, he's not one to trust for sure.

"Hi" a voice I recognise comes from behind me as Maya grabs my forearm and pulls me into her office. She hastily pulls the blinds down and brings her phone out to text someone.

"I don't know where to begin" she says as we settle onto the couch, there's a lot of distance between us.

"Hopefully somewhere positive" I say in a high-pitched questioning voice, a small smile appears on her face as she thinks for a few seconds.

"It's weird okay, you stalking me. Maybe stalking is the wrong reason, but I knew I'd seen you before. But to know you'd purposely gone to your brother's school to see me and went and watched some of my Olympic training. It's like there's a boundary that was crossed but I don't understand it myself. Look, I don't know what to do from here. I like you, but it's just weird" She gets her thoughts out of her head, and I can't help but feel a lump forming in the back of my throat.

"I'm sorry okay, if it means anything I hadn't seen you in person for years since that race. That was right at the start of my residency and now I'm the head of the department, things have changed. I know I crossed a line as a teen, I just hope that my teen hormones haven't ruined a maybe relationship." I mutter, looking at my feet. I probably look like I'm cowering away, I guess I probably am. It's uncharted ground, not many people have probably experienced this situation.

"I don't know what to do from here, is there anything I can do?" I ask her after what felt like hours ticked by.

"I feel like 'I don't know' is becoming some type of mantra for us in this situation." She jokes and for a second it feels light in the room, as if the tension had dissipated.

"Can I give you a few days to think, maybe I could cook dinner for you in two days and we can see where we go from there?" I suggest, feeling as if my heart is slowly breaking as she thinks. The only sound surrounding us is the ticking of her clock and footprints of her team shuffling around.

"I'll let you know, thank you for telling me before anything between us went further" I appreciate what she says, maybe it was some reassurance that no matter the outcome, I did the right thing by blurting the truth out.

With that, I left her office and didn't turn back. Time to see my stupid little brother and interrogate him about the meeting with my beautiful blonde.

MAYA POV
The talk was calm and not as awkward as I thought it would be. It's a weird situation and she's giving me a few days, a few days where I will probably completely ignore this issue. Is it an issue? Maybe this situation while plague my brain for the better part of the next few days.

"Who was that?" Travis asks me as he carelessly walks into my office, hitting the door against the wall, a dent slowly forming. I can't help but wince at his carefree nature.

"No one that you need to know about" I shortly answer and look towards my laptop as a sign to leave, however he doesn't.

"Why wouldn't you tell us? We're your family" He tries to carry on the conversation, I can't help but scoff in his direction. His eyebrows rise in surprise at my reaction.

"Family? Trav, you really should consider becoming a comedian. We're not family, we haven't been in months" I say, deciding to walk to my door and essentially forcing him out of my office. The fact he looked so bewildered shocked me more than I thought, how could he not see his own behaviour and the effect it's had on me.

"Why did you kick Trav out of your office?" Andy barges in and again knocks the door against the wall, the paint is now peeling from the damage.

"Does no one know how to open a fucking door without hitting a wall? Fucking hell." I direct my annoyance in a different direction, not wanting to explode.

"You're not upset about the door, what are you actually upset about?" she questions cluelessly, a sarcastic and tired laugh escapes my lips.

"How does no one recognise how they treat me at work. We're not a family anymore, we're not best friends anymore. No one listens to me or respects me" I say just before an alarm starts to ring through the station. I thank the high Gods for the much-needed distraction.

-

"Gibson and Miller search and rescue. Hughes and Warren on triage. Sullivan and Herrera hoses" I shout pointlessly. Hughes and Warren are the only ones to listen to my orders, the others take the roles they obviously prefer. Another tired laugh fills my chest as I think back on the conversation I just had with Andy about my role in the station and in the so-called "family".

"19, here now" I shout, despite the roaring red fire behind us, I need to prove a point. The team begrudgingly trundle back over to my spot at the scene.

"Gibson and Miller are on search and rescue. Sullivan and Herrera hoses. If I see you disobey me again, I won't hesitate to transfer any of you. You wait for my orders and my respect. Listen to your captain and do your jobs" I demand, I see Gibson look at each person in our huddle as if looking for reactions.

"19" each member mutters quietly as they finally do as said.