When Worlds Collide

So It Begins...Because It Ends

Teddy, Carina and Andy rounded the corner on the far back side of the Peds wing and stopped in their tracks.  The bustle of activity and people reminded Teddy and Carina of the day of the windstorm.  Miranda was hopping between patients and yelling out orders while all available doctors, interns and orderlies moved to assist where they could. Andy reached for her comm and depressed the button.
"Chief, we're in the Peds ward on the back end.  The front is completely blocked and we have a ton of people here.  I don't think Bishop and the others are going to be able to access from their direction."
"Copy Herrera, what's the scene look like?"
"Honestly, it looks like they've evacuated other wings and the above floors to this section.  I'm guessing to centralize injuries, but we're going to need help moving them out.  There is one courtesy elevator accessible so I'll have to consult with Doctor Bailey on how to get gurneys up here and move beds out. Standby."
Andy turned to talk to Carina but she wasn't there.  Feeling a slight panic rising, she began scanning the area.  Her comm crackled as Maya's voice came through.
"Captain? Did you say you are INSIDE the hospital? Where is Doctor Deluca?"
'Fuck me' Andy muttered silently before gritting her teeth and responding.
"Doctor Deluca is with me.  Doctor Altman had orders from Doctor Bailey to come and get us so we could help. Everyone is safe Lieutenant. Be advised that the main Peds entrance is completely blocked.  We came up through the access stairwell on the southeast corner."
There was a long pause before Andy heard Maya's voice again.
"Understood Captain. We will see you soon."
Andy exhaled and started scanning for Carina again.  She knew the tone in Maya's voice all too well.  If Andy wasn't standing right next to Carina when Maya came through that door, she wouldn't hear the end of it.

Carina had spotted Arizona working on a pregnant woman and made her way over.  There was an unknown intern clumsily attempting to help so Carina tied her hair up before grabbing a gown and pair of gloves.
"What do we have?"
Arizona looked up and smiled in relief at seeing Carina.  The intern backed up and froze as Carina approached.  She locked eyes with him for a moment and squinted. Something about him looked familiar but she couldn't place it.  His eyes grew wide before he turned away from her gaze.
"Carina, I need you to go over there!  Isn't that your patient? The girl whose baby you delivered as the wildfire was starting?"
"Ana? Yes! Ok, are you good here?"
"Yes, and take this intern with you.  Her girlfriend is pretty banged up so you're going to need an extra pair of hands."
"You! Come with me!"
Carina motioned as she moved toward one of the rooms whose glass door had been shattered.  Mason swallowed hard, but followed silently.  He noticed Willy and Dom on the other side of the ward, clearly watching him and Carina.

Maya felt her anxiety rising with every step she took. Having to circle back around to get up to the Peds wing seemed to be taking forever. The comms had been going off as status reports were coming in from other stations about the situation inside Grey-Sloan. The bomb that had exploded had triggered an ongoing set of other minor explosions and breakout fires as it had created a chain reaction throughout the main oxygen feeds that traversed the walls of the hospital. Her team had run into Travis and Ben on their circle back and based on the information Andy had relayed, coupled with the arrival of station 88, Maya had them tag on and head up with her, Vic and Sean.
As she and Vic rounded the final stairwell before entering, Maya turned to her friend and let the secret out she and Carina had only shared with Andy.
"Carina is pregnant. The embryo has attached. We've only told Andy so far. I need you to find her and keep her safe for me Vic, because we both know she won't listen to me worth a damn in there."
Vic stared at her friend and smiled before setting her face in a determined expression and nodding.
"You got it. And Maya? Trust, we WILL be circling back to this news once we're out of this shitshow."
They pushed open the door and were making their way toward the cluster of people when another explosion rocked the structure and flickered the lights. Maya's panic began to rise as the fire cut through the drop ceiling and began to trace itself across the room. 'Eyes Forward' came over Maya while she scanned the crowds of people. She spotted Andy's orange captain's helmet and a moment later saw the back of her wife's head. Maya tapped Vic's shoulder and pointed in that direction. Vic nodded and took off as Maya surveyed the room.
"We need to get this ceiling fire contained! Spread out and attack it from the edges as we close in! Move Nineteen!"
The team dispersed and went to work as Chief Ross' voice came over the comms.
"Nineteen, be advised that Sullivan and Cutler are attempting to access the main oxygen shut off but are ha-"
The comm suddenly filled with static before the screech of reverb cut through the room as it echoed across all the firefighters units before cutting out completely. The abrupt silence was then filled with a dull roar from outside. Andy had been closest to a window and looked down before turning back toward her team.
"There's a ton of motorcycles creating a clusterfuck down there! We've got to get this under control on our own! Use your extinguishers sparingly so we-"
The chain reaction of explosions began near Maya as the individual O2 ports ignited and began spraying flames like a set of dominos toppling over as they made their way around the ward.
"Everyone to the center! MOVE NOW!"

Mason had been silently following all the instructions Carina was giving him while still keeping his eyes on Dom and Willy who had been pulled into helping other doctors. Dom hadn't noticed that it was Ana or the girlfriend yet, which was fortunate because Mason didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to them. He had seen his sister and the rest of the firefighters come through the back door and he watched her as she scanned the room before zeroing in directly on Carina. Mason felt his heart beating hard, worried that if Maya came over, she would definitely blow his cover. But she had pointed the black chick in his direction and had gone back to her work.
The feeling of time moving both slowly and at hyper speed came rushing at Mason and it reminded him of all the times he had gotten high. But this time, there was something very different about it. He wasn't in a drug induced haze which allowed his brain to process what happened from a completely new perspective. Everything seemed to converge at once. Carina was working furiously to stop the flow of blood on Sandra's body and having Mason assist in holding pressure. The black firefighter appeared at her side just as Mason saw Dom notice who they were working on and began pushing people out of the way to get to them. It was the series of explosions that caused Mason to look away and toward where his sister was located, seeing her working feverishly at her job while throwing glances back toward his direction.
He knew that face, it was the 'eyes forward' face Maya had always shown when she was making an attempt to protect him from their father. The mix of fear and determination was evident. Mason finally realized that Maya had never given up-not on school, not on training, not on pushing to always make sure their father didn't have a reason to focus on him and their mom. Maya had been his protector, she had been his cheerleader, she hadn't ever given up on him-even at his lowest, even when he had given up on her.
"Vic, I need you to help me with this! You! Go and find me some more supplies!"
Mason blinked as he realized that Carina was talking to him. Vic reached her hands in and on top of Mason's to take over.
"Go! I've got this!"
She looked at Mason and their eyes locked for a long moment. Something about her struck Mason deep inside his soul-and it suddenly felt as if everything he had been so angry about in life began to crack and fall away.
"You're fucking DEAD BITCH!"
Mason spun his head around just in time to see Dom pulling the gun from his waist. He pushed himself up and toward Dom, grabbing his wrist and forcing it upwards just as he was pulling the trigger. Dom's eyes were wide and wild as he struggled with Mason for control. Mason kept pushing him backward, away from Vic and Carina as Dom pulled the trigger again.
"YOU FUCKING PUSSY! I'LL KILL YOU TOO!"
Mason managed to get his forearm up and under Dom's neck as he forced him out of the room through the remains of the shattered glass door. Dom fell backwards and his gun went sliding under a nearby gurney. Dom landed a punch across Mason's chin just as Willy spoke up.
"CUT THIS SHIT OUT! I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING DO IT!"
The entire room felt as if the air had been sucked out of it as Mason looked at his friend, holding another one of Dom's homemade bombs in one hand with his other arm firmly around Carina's neck. Vic was still holding pressure on Sandra kneeling right underneath them and looking up helpless to do anything else as Mason heard the bloodcurdling sound of his sister's voice.
"CARINA!"
Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe the heightened tension maybe even that for the first time in his adult life, Mason Bishop was experiencing true clarity, but in that instant Mason finally felt his connection to his sister in a way he hadn't since the day they had that funeral for the dead mouse. The true sense of love and affection, not tainted by bitterness or hate or indifference or any other thing that had separated them for so long. Maya loved that woman in the truest way she knew how. It was as pure a love as she had always told Mason she felt for him. And he knew what he had to do.
"Willy, don't be stupid! Let her go! There's a door right there, we can all get the fuck outta here, right now! Mo's got the gang downstairs. Let's all just get the fuck outta here while we still can!"
An overhead O2 port ignited and sprayed a burst of fire over them, causing Willy and Carina to fall forward. He lost his grip on her as she fell hard to the floor and didn't move. Dom scrambled for the stairwell door and Willy followed close behind. Mason paused a second, staring first at Carina and then locking eyes with Vic once again before he got to his feet and headed toward the stairwell himself. He was just about to the door when the explosion erupted from the other side and flung him backwards as he slid and landed next to the unconscious Carina.
As his consciousness began to face, he heard Maya's voice.
"Mason? Oh my God NO! Mason Bishop! Don't you DARE die on me!"