PLAYING WITH FIRE

Chapter 4: 12 Hour Shift

They walk into the station, greeting the other firefighters and making their way to the changing rooms.

Maya glances over at Andy as they walk. "You're gonna give me a hard time about Carina all day, huh?"

Andy laughs, clearly amused by Maya's frustration. "Of course I am! It's my job as your best friend to tease you mercilessly about your love life."

She bumps her shoulder against Maya's. "And you gotta admit, you make it way too easy."

Vic said "Hold up a minute, who's Carina?"

Maya rolls her eyes as they hear Vic's voice. Clearly, news travels fast at the station.

She stops walking and turns to face Vic, a small smile on her lips. "Carina's... the woman I'm seeing."

Andy chimes in, unable to resist chiming in. "Not just a woman. She's gorgeous, smart, and she's got this laugh that'll make your heart skip a beat."

Maya blushes slightly at Andy's description, but doesn't disagree. "Yeah, she's... incredible."

She glances over at Vic, bracing herself for the inevitable barrage of questions.

Vic grins, clearly intrigued. "Damn, Bishop. You move fast. I didn't even know you were seeing anyone."

She crosses her arms, eyeing Maya curiously. "So, when do we get to meet her?"

Maya laughs, knowing that the rest of the station will undoubtedly want to meet Carina at some point.

"Well, she just spent the night at my place, so I'm sure you'll get to meet her soon enough."

Andy grins, clearly enjoying the gossip. "Oh, yeah. And they're sickeningly cute together. They were practically attached at the hip this morning."

She nudges Maya. "You should've seen them. It was like watching a pair of love-struck puppies."

Jack said "Why are we talking about love-struck puppies."

Jack's voice chimes in, causing Maya and Andy to turn towards him.

Maya rolls her eyes. "Oh, great. You're here too."

Andy grins at Jack, clearly enjoying the drama. "We're talking about Bishop's new lady love, Carina."

Maya blushes slightly at the mention of Carina, but tries to play it cool. "She's not 'my new lady love'. We're just... seeing each other."

Jack raises an eyebrow, a small smirk on his face. "Just seeing each other, huh? So, she's not a full-blown girlfriend yet, then?"

Maya shrugs, feeling a bit defensive. "We're taking things slow, okay? And I don't see why it's any of your business, anyway."

Dean said "Because we love you and you're our captain."

Maya rolls her eyes again, blushing slightly at the sentiment.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You guys are all invested in my love life. But can we focus on the actual job, please?"

Andy grins, clearly not done teasing Maya just yet. "Oh, come on! We can multitask, can't we? We can talk about your love life while saving lives. It'll be like a real-life soap opera."

Emmett said "Ok guys can we please go to the beanery and get food? I am hungry."

Maya sighs, relieved to have an excuse to end the conversation about her love life.

"Yeah, alright. Let's go eat before Emmett starves to death. We can talk about my love life later."

They all head towards the beanery, chatting and laughing amongst themselves.