Secret Sister (Station 19)

Over My Head

By the time Maya showered and got back to her office to pack up, she figured A shift would be long gone so she was surprised to see Andy waiting for her.

"Oh! Hey!" Maya said, still toweling off her hair as she walked in. She stopped, noticing that her best friend looked upset. "What's wrong?"

"You were spending extra time with her again?" Andy asked, failing to contain the anger in her voice even though she tried.

"I'm just training her. She's our probie. It's nothing personal." Maya responded trying to reason with her. She didn't understand why Andy was so upset about her running drills with Elle.

"Yeah okay. It's just..." Andy trailed off.

Maya cocked her head as she sat down next to her. "It's just what?" she asked, swapping out her defensiveness for gentle concern.

"I just needed you. It's whatever." Andy said brushing it off.

Maya sighed. "Okay.. well I'm here now."

Andy proceeded to show Maya the letter she received from her mom. She got it just before the shift started and tried as hard as she could to put it out of her mind. She got through most of the day okay but by midnight, she couldn't sleep and finally read it. It was a mix of apology and explanation. In the letter, her mother was remorseful yet hopeful, saying how sorry she was for all the pain she caused Andy, both as a child and now, but how she hoped that one day, when Andy was ready, they could reconcile. More than anything she wanted her daughter in her life again and to get to know the incredible woman she had become. Elena ended the letter explaining that Elle didn't know she was sending it, hoping that Andy wouldn't place blame on her or question her about it.

Maya read through it and finally looked up at Andy. "So what are you gonna do?"

............

It had been a week since Elle and Vic moved in together. They found a cute apartment just 8 blocks from the station and spent their days off making it feel like home. Elle was relieved to finally be off on her own and so happy that living with Vic was actually going well. The only time they ran into trouble was mornings when they had work. Growing up, Elle was notorious for always running late, and as much as she'd like to think that she'd grown out of it... she hadn't. Vic wasn't much help there, and mornings typically consisted of the two of them struggling not to bump into each other as they raced around the house trying to get ready and to the station on time. Most days they made it on time, typically laughing as they ran through the front doors.

It had also been a week since Sullivan came back to the station. Elle managed to get busy with calls and all the extra training exercises that Maya had her doing so she hadn't crossed paths with him yet. Finally, he called her into his office to introduce himself. Although she was nervous, Elle didn't think much of it assuming that he was just doing his job. While that was true, Sullivan also wanted to meet the infamous Elle that his wife kept talking about.

"Walsh" he addressed her with a nod.

"Chief," she nodded back anxiously.

"I know you've been here for a while now, but I wanted to officially welcome you to 19" he said. His words were kind, but his tone confused Elle.

"Thank you sir," she replied with a smile. "It's been great to be here." While she was kissing up a little bit, she was actually starting to believe it too.

His tone was still gruff but he gave her a slight smile back. "That's good to hear." He paused a moment before asking "and how are you getting along with the team?"

The question seemed innocent enough but they both knew what he really meant.

As soon as Sullivan dismissed her, Elle ran to find Vic and tell her everything. Not only did she want her advice and input, since she actually knew Sullivan,  but she also knew Vic would kill her if she didn't spill the tea.

Not only had Elle gone a week without meeting Sullivan, but she had barely seen Andy either. They were getting better at avoiding each other. Andy steered clear of Elle, not even wanting to look at her, and Elle tried to stay out of Andy's way not wanting to upset her or give her more reasons to be mad at her. Bishop picked up on the fact that they were avoiding each other more than usual and thought that it was bad for the team. Even if they had their personal differences, she needed to make sure they could work together if they needed to.

The team got called out to a 2 alarm house fire and Maya took the opportunity to test them. "Gibson, Hughes, Miller, I want you getting hoses set up, get in position, and be ready to hit this from the outside," she barked out. "Herrera, take Walsh and sweep the building, make sure no one is inside."

Andy looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious?" she questioned.

"Yes, Herrera. Take Walsh and clear the building. That's an order" Bishop called back.

Elle tried to be compliant, and resisted the urge to look at Maya begging her to change her mind.

Andy huffed but didn't fight it further; she had a job to do. Pulling her oxygen mask on she looked over at Elle, "Let's go."

They made their way through the house, clearing it one room at a time. No civilians were inside so Andy radioed back to Maya telling her they would be clear to hit it from the outside as soon as she and Elle were out. Just as they were about to leave, the fire jumped and the floor above them started to collapse. Andy was looking back up the stairs and didn't see the large piece of ceiling coming down right above her. Elle gasped as she saw it starting to fall, "Watch out!"