When Worlds Collide

Well This Is A Twist

Maya was struggling to hold on to her wife as the smoke surrounded them and she could feel Carina slipping away from her until there was nothing but thick black smoke and Maya's outstretched hand grasping at the nothingness surrounding her as she screamed.
"CARINA!"
Maya bolted upright from her bed and looked around as she tried to catch her breath.  Sunlight was coming through the window and she was all alone.  In a panic, Maya threw the covers off herself and adjusted her robe as she hurried down the hall to Liam's room.  It was empty and for a fraction of a second Maya panicked until she heard Carina's voice from the backyard.  Leaning against the doorway, Maya dragged her hands down her face and let out a deep sigh.  She composed herself as she was making her way through the kitchen and paused a moment to grab a glass of water before heading outside. 
Carina was holding Liam in one arm while she watered her herb garden with the other.  They were both chatting away, Carina in Italian and Liam in baby gurgles and raspberries.  Maya stood and smiled, just watching the precious moment in front of her.  She had never in a million years imagined this would be her life, a cute little home, an adorable son and a gorgeous wife.  Maya had never seen herself as the family type, but Carina had walked into Joe's bar and completely transformed Maya's world.  Now, Maya couldn't ever imagine her life without Carina being the center of it.  The nightmares were taking a toll on Maya and she really didn't know what to do about them.  'Diane is going to love picking my brain apart this afternoon.' she thought to herself.  Maya cleared her throat to announce herself and not scare her family.
"Good morning, I'm glad to see you finally made it home last night."
"Good morning Bambina.  Yes, it was a hellish day yesterday, but in a good way.  I delivered babies and saved mama's and got just about everything on my to do list completed."
"You just didn't have time to let your wife and son know you were going to be home so late?"
Carina looked up from her watering and tilted her head at Maya.
"My love, I was so slammed yesterday in the ER long after I expected to be home.  By the time I finished, all I wanted to go was get out of there and come back to you both.  Mi dispiace but I figured it would be best if I just came right home.  I didn't want to wake you."
"I was worried about you.  It's very unlike you to not at least send a text."
"I sent you a text when I got to work.  I loved my sorpresa amore mio."
Maya crossed her arms and snorted slightly.  Carina closed the few steps between them and leaned in for a kiss which Maya grudgingly accepted. 
"Maya! Che cosa si tratta? You're mad because I didn't tell you I was going to be late?  No raga! Since when do we need to be so strict?  Should I start demanding you tell me every second of your day at work?"
"That's different."
"Why?  Because you fight fires and I only deliver babies?"
"Yes...well, maybe, but...ok, no.  It's just, with everything that's happened lately, I just want to make sure you are okay.  Yesterday Mr Thompson next door said he saw some guy in his driveway and he just took off.  Jack and Travis were here but none of us saw him.  I'm just on edge since the parade and the market and you getting cornered by that guy."
"Ok, first of all I wasn't 'cornered', he just stopped me on the street.  And yes, some unknown guy in the neighbor's driveway is odd, but Maya, we have the house protected with the alarms and the cameras and there is always someone just a phone call away.  Besides, I don't put it past Andy that she didn't ask her tio to have friends drive by all the time."
Maya stared at Carina who stared back. 
"Ok maybe you're right and I'm overreacting.  But I worry about you and when I don't hear from you...well...y'know."
Carina blinked at Maya before handing Liam to her and taking her wife's face in her hands.
"I do know, you get very 'I'm Maya Bishop' and I love you for that."
She kissed Maya deeply until Liam put his hands on both their cheeks and started playfully slapping them.  Carina pulled away laughing.
"See?  Our son, the Prince of Stopping Romance."
Maya smiled and nuzzled him.
"And he's so damned good at it.  But at least he's cute."

Maya was scanning the video footage from around the time Mr. Thompson had seen the mysterious stranger but whoever it was, they had eluded the camera in the driveway.  She fast forwarded to when Carina got home and watched as her wife pulled into the driveway.  Carina came up behind Maya and leaned against her back, wrapping her arms around Maya's neck and dropping them across her chest as she watched the footage with her.
"Ahh! See? I remembered to lock my doors!"
She kissed Maya's neck as Maya smiled.  But her smile disappeared right after Carina came into the house and Maya watched a car from across the street turn its lights on and drive off.  Hitting the rewind button Maya, studied the video until she saw the car pull up about twenty minutes before Carina had arrived.  She couldn't make out faces, but she did see that there were two heads.  She rewound more but the car didn't appear during the time that Mr. Thompson had seen the mystery man.  Both she and Carina watched as Maya, holding Liam, talked to him while Jack and Travis were scanning the street.  The city bus drove by and Maya was about to stop the feed when Carina pointed to the bus.
"Go back and zoom in.  There, stop, right there! Maya, is that your brother on the bus?"
Leaning toward the screen, Maya studied the somewhat grainy picture and felt her heart sink.
"Fuckin A, it is Mason."
"Do you think he was in the car last night too?"
"I-I just...I just don't even know.  But what the hell was he doing here?"
"Maybe he just wants to talk to you?"
"Maybe, but I don't like the idea of him sneaking around our home.  It's just not cool.  And the fact that you saw him at the market-"
"Bambina, he was not carrying a gun and for that I am grateful.  He is struggling, it's obvious from all of this that's going on.  Maybe...maybe you could...talk to him? Somewhere public though, where there is more safety for you.  Do you think he would come to the station?"
Maya stared at the screen and chewed her bottom lip.  She definitely did need to have a talk with her brother and it needed to happen sooner rather than later.