One Shots - Capt. Maya Bishop and Dr. Carina DeLuca

Part IV: It's Ours. Just Ours

August 2024

The sun is shining, the water is clear and the skies are clear. She looks up and sees her wife walking towards her "your mama is so beautiful, Lena" she whispers to her daughter.

Carina spent the day showing Maya her favourite places in Catania. Retelling her stories of when she was a child. They've overindulged in food and drinks, Maya trying everything Carina put in front of her. They had decided that for Elena's first birthday, they would spend it in Catania. Maya being adamant that her daughter learn about her mama's home even if she is just a baby. They had surprised Gabriella and the doctor had spent her all the free time with Elena. Gabriella was putty in her hands. Gabriella had cooked for them and given in to her every indulgence for Elena.

Gabriella sat down at the table with Maya "okay, so I got her some more dresses, her own Italia football uniform and some things for Pru". Maya looks at Carina and shrugs "I couldn't stop her. She's going to have more clothes than any 1 year old should need".

"And you were worried about me spoiling her. Gabriella hasn't stopped since we got here" Maya laughs

"Well the bambina needs to know that I am her favourite" Gabriella says taking Elena from Maya and gently kissing her "you are so perfect, bella" she whispers to the baby. She looks at Maya and Carina "I managed to reserve a table for you at Marco's tonight. The bambina will stay with me and you two get a night to yourself" she tells them.

"You didn't have to do that" Maya tells her

"When was the last time you two went on a date. I know you haven't been away from Elena since she was born and I understand first time parents, even though you have Bailey and Warren. You're a little anxious. So go to dinner and just have fun tonight".

Six months after Elena was born, they talked about celebrating her first birthday in Italy, even though she would be too young to really remember anything. When having kids was only a discussion between the two, Carina told Maya that she wants their children to know their culture and the language. A month before they were set to leave for Italy, they called Gabriella to let her know they were coming and she had taken it upon herself to show Maya as much as she could. The two had grown closer due to their shared love for Carina and her happiness.

Maya looks at Carina and agrees "okay. We'll go, thank you, but no teaching my daughter how to drink" Maya says looking at Gabriella as they laugh.

They've had dinner at Marco's and now they're walking the streets of Italy. Maya looks at Carina "are you happy, my love" Maya asks

Carina stops to look at Maya, she runs her fingers through Maya's hair and gently presses a kiss to her lips "yes bambina. I am happy. I have you, our Elena and we're in Italia. I could only ever do this with you. I could only marry you, have your babies and build a life with you. I love you, Maya. Our love story is beautiful and it's ours, just ours" Carina pulls Maya closer and kisses her.

The day after their date, they started packing. The last 2 weeks have been magical. They got to spend Elena's birthday in Italy, Maya got her first Italian vacation, Maya tried all the food Carina recommended, they had so much wine and they laughed. She will never tire of the sound of her wife's laugh or the way her eyes shine when she's happy.

"Can we go somewhere? I know we need to pack, but can we go somewhere later once we've packed. We can go at sunset" Maya asks gently kissing Carina in her neck.

The sun is setting. The air is cooler. It's the same beach from her dream. She looks and she smiles. Carina has Elena in her baby carrier while holding Maya's hand. They don't need to exchange words yet. They're happy to just be in this moment.

"You know the day after we got here, you brought me here. I already knew that you and Andrea used to come here. You've told me about this place, you've described it to me but being here is different. Remember when I was in hospital for my ankle" she asks not looking at Carina "Link gave me pain meds and a muscle relaxer. You know how I get on strong pain medication. I don't know if what was happening was a dream or if it was my mind tricking me, but I was here. It was such a beautiful day, the sky was clear, the air was fresh, the water was perfect with it's little boats, I just felt peace you know, it was just quiet. Then...." she pauses for a few minutes, gathering her thoughts, taking a deep breath she continues "then Andrea told me he might have made a mistake about me" Maya says waiting for a que from Carina but she doesn't say anything, she just shifts her gaze from the water to Maya.

"We talked about you" she chuckles "how your mom brought you here. How you could just be a child when you were here. You taught him how to swim, you accidentally let him drown, him chasing you around, everything happened here. He told me how you had to learn to read your dad, how you gave up everything to look after your dad and then uprooted your life for him. It didn't matter how hurtful he was towards you, you would always be by his side. That's what you do for family. He told me about a story involving Dr. Webber and poisoning, I didn't really know what that had to do with me, but then he said there's another way. There's always another way. We spoke about other things, I remember him mentioning Elena, I can't remember everything. I just knew that I needed to get back to you" she turns to look at Carina "do you think I'm crazy"

Carina has tears in her eyes as she wipes it from her face "thank you".

Maya looks confused "we had a difficult year, Maya. People react differently when they're on medication. Given the extent of your injury, Link gave you enough to help you rest but not too much that it would be harmful. You needed help, bambina and if that's what it took then I'm glad we have Andrea watching over us. Making sure that we're healthy, that we're happy. We all need help sometimes, it doesn't mean that we're weak. You've had that drilled into your head for a very long time and it's not something that you unlearn overnight. You're stronger than you know for knowing that you needed help and then doing the work to get healthy. You have me, you have us, we're your family and we love you. The way you love Elena, sometimes I wish you could see what I see you when you're holding her or talking to her or telling her stories about your calls and what she should do" Carina tells her.

"I know I deserve to be loved and to love. I don't know what I did Carina to be loved by you, but it has been my greatest accomplishment to love you and Elena and to be loved by you both. There is no greater feeling. Though, I do feel that DeLuca's don't know how to stay away from me" she says laughing.

Carina laughs "we do have a weakness for blonde, blue eyed fire Captains. Thank you for telling me, bambina".

They walk back to their room to settle in for the night. Tomorrow they start their journey back home. After all the hurt they've been through, the arguments, the disagreements, the failed pregnancies, Carina's frustration with her job, not being able to help patient's like she wants to, Maya's demotion, her fight with SFD; all of that is part of their love story. Their crazy beautiful love story. And it's their's. Just theirs.

A/N: I started writing this before 6x06 because I was so frustrated with Maya. I just wanted to write Maya's awakening and get this out of my head.