25. CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 25
Yup…..Maya was not prepared for this. Maya was not prepared for this at all. This morning her wife got called into the hospital early to take care of a delivery. This left Maya to take care of Ginny in the morning and get her to the hospital for her 1 year checkup. She put on her uniform and bundled up the almost 1 year old and managed to get her to Dr. Hayes for the appointment with just a little bit of spit up on the shirt and spilled granola in her car. Maya was just happy to be part of this milestone and forever grateful that Hayes could fit them in before her shift that day.
But Maya was not prepared. She was prepared for helping weigh the little girl and measuring her height. She was prepared for the nose check, and the mouth check, and the ear check. But she was not prepared for the scream that would come out of her daughter when Dr. Hayes pierced her little finger for a blood sample. Maya cringed and winced herself when the little girl started sobbing in her lap after Hayes collected the sample.
“There…all done.” Hayes says as he carefully wraps Ginny’s finger with a small bandage.
Maya stands up with the sobbing girl and immediately tries to calm the little girl down. “Hey, you’re okay…..you’re okay Sweetie.”
“Can you run this to the lab right away?” Hayes asks the nurse.
The nurse grabs the small vile and nods her head. “Absolutely.”
“Can Mommy kiss it?” Maya asks softly to the sniffling girl as she carefully grabs the little finger before placing a gentle kiss.
“Wow….this is crazy.” Hayes says with a slight chuckle as he writes something down in the chart. “She hardly ever cried when she was with us.”
“What?” Maya asks with a slight panic in her voice. “She cries with me and Carina all the time.”
Hayes sees the look on Maya’s face and tries to clarify. “That’s not a--”
“I mean not all the time…but I thought a normal amount.” Maya stammers as she continues to sway Ginny in her arms.
Hayes again chuckles before holding up his hand. “Maya….this is a good sign.”
Now Maya is completely confused as she continues to try to soothe the baby. “Huh?”
“Babies learn to cry mostly to get attention.” Hayes explains softly with a sigh. “I think when Ginetta was in infant she learned pretty quickly that nobody would come…so she stopped crying.”
“Oh.” Maya says softly as she looks down at her daughter whose cries have turned to soft whimpers.
Hayes smiles at the two and nods his head. “This is a good thing.”
“My little jelly bean.” Maya whispers sadly as she holds on tightly to the little girl who is still sniffling in her arms.
Maya kisses the top of Ginny’s head just as her wife comes rushing into the exam from the hallway waving her hands all around.
“I’m here! I’m sorry the delivery went long…” Carina explains frantically as she walks over.
Hayes laughs and waves off the woman. “You are just in time Dr. DeLuca.”
Carina smiles at Cormac before noticing her quiet wife with sad eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…we’re good.” Maya assures her wife before turning to the little girl to place a kiss on her little nose resulting in a fit of giggles. “Aren’t we Ginny?”
Carina adoringly watches her wife and daughter before placing her hands on her hips. “What did I miss?”
“We just did the preliminary exam.” Hayes explains.
“And?” Carina asks wanting more information.
Cormac raises his eyebrows up and down more than happy to relay the good news. “18 lb 7 oz….27 ½ inches.”
“Yeah Ginny!” Carina cheers as she reaches over and tickles the little girl on the tummy.
Hayes nods his head and smiles. “It seems as though Ginny is right back on track….great job moms.”
“She’s developed quite the love of cheese.” Maya explains as Ginny rests her cheek on her mommy’s shoulder.
“Did you get a look at her gums and teeth?” Carina asks as she motions to her mouth. “I think they look good but…”
“They’re good.” Cormac reassures the other doctor with a nod of his head. “We also pricked her finger to get a sample to check her hemoglobin levels in her blood.”
Carina winces lightly before looking to her wife. “How’d that go?”
“We’re just glad the worst of it is over.” Maya sighs a she continues to rub circles on Ginny’s back. “Right Gin?”
Cormac hears this and leans over to say something in Carina’s ear. “I guess Maya forgot about the shots.”
“What?” Maya blurts loudly.
“So what’s next?!” Carina exclaims…hoping to move on from the topic of shots quickly.
“All we have left is checking her developmental milestones.” Hayes says as she swipes to a new page on the chart.
“Ginny has already showed Dr. Hayes how fast she is.” Maya informs her wife with a grin.
Before the pricked finger Ginny was a bundle of energy running around the exam room.
Carina can’t help but roll her eyes. “Oh brother.”
“She takes after me.” Maya adds cheekily…still grinning.
Hayes chuckles and points to Ginny’s legs. “I watched Ginny pull herself up to stand…that all looks good too.”
“Awesome.” Carina says relieved to hear all the goods news.
“What about feeding herself?” Hayes asks going back to the check-up questionnaire.
“She does great with her fingers...tends to get frustrated when she tries using a spoon or fork.” Maya answers.
Hayes snickers under his breath as he writes more notes down. “So the Italian stubbornness has developed right on track.”
“Funny.” Carina deadpans back.
Hayes looks up amused at his friend before continuing on. “What about gestures?”
Maya squints her yes in confusion. “Umm…like waving?”
“Yea…or pointing.” Hayes goes on to explain to the fire captain. “Reaching.”
Carina thinks about it before shrugging her shoulders. “All of the above.”
“Great.” Hayes says before continuing on. “What about responding to her name?”
“Ginny?” Carina calls out to the little girl who immediately looks up at her mama. “Hi my love.”
“Good, good. What about speech?” Cormac asks.
Carina tilts her head back and forth before answering. “She sort of mumbles an “mmm” sound for mama and mommy.”
Cormac just nods his head and writes down a few notes….causing the uneasy feeling in Maya’s stomach to return.
“Is that okay?” Maya asks nervously.
The OB reaches over and places her hand on the small of her wife’s back. “Bambina, we talked about her speech.”
“I just read that babies start talking at 10 months.” Maya stammers on.
“It tends to fall in the 10-15 month range.” Hayes says jumping in to the conversation. “I wouldn’t worry too much.”
“She’s really close.” Carina says to her friend. “The sounds are there.”
“That’s great.” Hayes replies before glancing over to Maya who looks unconvinced.
Carina seeing the same look tilts her head and sighs. “Maya.”
“What?” Maya asks innocently.
“Who’s that?” Carina asks Ginny while pointing up to the woman who is holding her. “Who’s that?”
“Mmm-aa!” Ginny babbles happily.
Maya hears her daughter and the worry melts away. “Hi Jelly Bean.”
“Again, I wouldn’t worry.” Hayes tells the two mothers.
Carina rubs her wife’s back once more. “What’s next?”
“Well...normally I would do an observation phase but with DeLuca being a doctor I think we can skip the formal observation.” Hayes goes on to explain before addressing the women. “Have you noticed any concerns?
“Just the thing with her breathing that I was telling you about earlier.” Carina replies back before looking to her wife for confirmation. “Right?”
Maya nods her head. “Ever since she’s become more mobile there are times where we can hear a little bit of a wheeze in her breathing.”
“I’ve been observing her belly when she is having those moments and have noticed it moving more than normal.” Carina says as she too nods her head.
“Well, let’s take a look shall we.” Hayes says as he motions to the exam table. “I always end with the auscultation phase anyways.”
Maya gently places the little girl on the exam table before resting her hand behind her to keep her balanced. When it looks like Ginny is about to start fussing Carina reaches in the diaper bag to pull out her favorite little stuffed seal.
“Here Mimma, look it’s your friend.” Carina gushes as she hands Ginny the seal to keep her preoccupied.
“I’m guessing Ginny’s seen one of these before.” Hayes says as he puts his stethoscope on to check the little girl’s breathing.
“Once or twice.” Maya says a she adjusts Ginny on her lap. “Ginny likes Mama’s stethoscope.”
Hayes gives the little girl a smile before placing the instrument on her chest before moving to her back. The man listens carefully while under the watchful eyes of two concerned mommies. Cormac takes one more listen before placing the stethoscope back around his neck.
“Good job Ms. DeLuca-Bishop.” Cormac chirps as he goes back to the chart.
“Well?” Maya asks as she picks up their daughter back up into her arms.
“Timing and location seem to be okay…her pitch has some hiccups.” Hayes says with a sigh before turning to the other doctor in the room. “Is that what you’ve found?”
Carina nods her head and motions to her own chest. “The pitch does seem a little off at times.”
“What does that mean?” Maya asks somewhat confused.
“It could mean a number of things.” Hayes starts to explain as he lifts up his hand. “It could have to do with normal growing pains, it could have to do with development in the womb, it could also be early signs of adolescent asthma.”
“What do we do?” Maya asks.
“Just keep doing what you’re doing…let me know if anything changes.” Hayes tells the two mothers.
Carina exhales a breath before reaching her fingers over to graze Ginny’s cheek. “We will.”
“Definitely.” Maya adds before looking at her watch to check the time. “I’ve gotta go….my shift starts in about twenty minutes.”
Carina nods her head and smiles at her wife. “Just in time too.”
“For what?” Maya asks confused.
Hayes scrunches his nose. “The last thing we need to do is give Ginny two of the needed vaccines….MMR and HepA.”
“Yup…I’m out.” Maya states quickly before kissing her daughter on the head and handing her over to her wife. “I love you…see you later.”
Carina giggling adjusts the little girl in her arms and lifts up her hand to wave goodbye. “Bye Mommy.”
“Dr. Hayes, thank you again.” Maya says to the pediatric surgeon. “We know these 1 year appointments are not usually your job.”
“Please…I’ve been here since the beginning with Ginny.” Hayes says as he again smiles fondly at the baby girl in his colleague’s arms. “I demanded to Carina to be the one to conduct the 1 year check-up.”
“Thank you Cormac.” Carina adds sincerely.
Hayes nods his head. “Of course.”
“Is Andy still coming in for an ultra sound?” Maya asks her wife who nods her head.
“Yup…in a couple of hours.” Carina says before smoothing some wild stray hairs on top of Ginny’s head. “Then she’s going to bring Pru over to the house for a play date.”
Maya sticks out her bottom lip and starts to pout. “Maybe I should take the day off too.”
“Andy is taking it easy….per her doctor’s request.” Carina says back before pointing to herself.
“Right…and what is she having again?” Maya asks nonchalantly.
Carina snorts immediately at her wife trying to be sneaky. “Nice try.”
“I kinda hate that you know and I don’t.” Maya teases with a fake glare on her face.
“I know.” Carina teases back. She knows that Andy is waiting for the right moment to tell all of her friends the sex of the baby…..her wife will have to wait.
Maya gives in and huffs before leaning over to kiss Carina on the cheek. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” Carina says back as he her wife heads to the door. “Be safe…we’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“See you tomorrow.” Maya replies back before walking out.
Once the fire captain is gone Hayes turns to his friend. “Ready?”
“Let’s do it.” Carina huffs as she rests her chin on top of Ginny’s head. “And then we’ll get all the ice cream.”
“Mmmm….cherry nut.” Hayes hums.
Carina immediately scrunches her nose in disgust. “Seriously?”
“What’s wrong with cherry nut?” Cormac chirps back.
“Nothing…nothing.” Carina rebukes playfully. “Some people like the taste of tums.”
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When Maya arrives at Station 19 and walks through the door her attention is brought to Theo Ruiz and Ben Warren sitting on the steps eating breakfast, laughing about something. Maya smiles at Cutler behind the desk and grabs her messages before walking towards the two men.
“Good morning.” Maya says.
Ruiz smiles and waves to greet his boss before going back to his cereal. “Captain.”
“Hey!” Ben exclaims as he holds out his hand. “How did the one year go?”
“My child is perfect.” Maya brags blissfully as she clutches her chest.
Ben amused snorts in his coffee. “Of course she is.”
“I did manage to leave before she had to get a couple shots.” Maya says with a slight wince as she walks closer.
“Ouch.” Ben winces before taking a bite of his toast.
“Where is everybody?” Maya asks as she looks around for the other fire fighters.
“Eating breakfast.” Ruiz says as he points up to the sky with his spoon.
Maya squints her eyes in confusion at the two men. “Why are you two eating down here?”
“Hiding.” Ruiz mutters.
Warren nods his head in agreement. “It is not a safe space up in the beanery right now.”
“I’ve seen that look in Vic’s eye…” Ruiz sighs with wide eyes. “Someone could lose a limb up there.”
“Perfect.” Maya sighs before shaking her head and walking towards her office.
Meanwhile upstairs in the beanery the fire fighters are eating breakfast. Dean Miller is standing at the counter with a plate full of fixings and the start of his mega breakfast sandwich. As he adds each layer Travis and Vic stand by him with their tongues hanging out.
“What kind of aioli is that?” Travis asks as he continues to zero in on Dean’s sandwich. “Do I smell paprika?”
Miller ignores Travis licking his lips before continuing to add toppings to his perfect breakfast sandwich. “We put the perfect fried egg on top of the bacon….like so.”
Vic leans closer to the plate and closes her eyes. “That bacon smells amazing.”
“We carefully add the smoked pepper jack cheese and fried onions.” Dean says to himself.
Travis clutches his stomach and whines. “I love fried onions.”
“There….perfect.” Dean drawls happily.
“This is torture!” Travis shrieks before crossing his arms across his chest. “Since when do we only make breakfast for ourselves?”
Dean rolls his eyes and points to the stove. “There’s oatmeal on the stove.”
“Gibson threw instant oats in a pot and called it good.” Travis bites back bitterly.
Jack at the table looks up offended with a mouthful of oats. “Hey…I added brown sugar in there.”
“I can’t…the smell.” Travis whines pathetically. “It’s too much.”
“Consider this payback for eating my leftovers the other day.” Dean mutters back.
“It was an accident.” Travis says in defense.
Miller looks up and squints back at the man. “It had my name on it.”
“Your writing is like chicken scratch….I thought it said done.” Travis rambles on the explanation as he continues to glance down at the delicious food. “Like I’m done with this…it’s up for grabs.”
“Well…this you cannot have.” Dean says with a smile before going back to examine his breakfast sandwich.
Vic takes out a ten dollar bill out of her back packet and holds it up in the air. “I’ll give you ten bucks for it right now.”
“Hey!” Travis exclaims.
Vic looks over at Montgomery confused. “What?”
“You owe me ten bucks.” Travis says back before picking the bill out of her hand.
Vic looks at her empty hand and shakes her head. “Great…now I’ve got no money and gruel.”
“I’m not cooking for you people anymore.” Vic huffs back.
“It’s not cooking!” Vic yells out through a chuckle as she waves her hand around. “It’s gruel!”
Carter over by the sink looks over and holds up his bowl to the lieutenant. “I like it Gibson….it’s awesome.”
“Ewe…why are you kissing ass?” Travis asks the probie confused.
“I am not kissing ass.” Carter mumbles under his breath as he walks over to sit by Gibson at the table.
“He’s kissing ass.” Jack says with a smirk before he slaps his hand on Carter’s shoulder. “We went out last night and Willet figured out I am the ultimate wingman.”
“He is very good.” Carter says as he returns the smirk thinking back on the girl he hooked up with the night before. “Thank you Sir.”
“You are most welcome.” Jack says as he dips back into his oatmeal. “She was cute.”
Carter clicks his teeth against his tongue. “Yes, she was.”
“Well, that’s not fair.” Travis pouts as he looks between the two guys. “If I was getting laid, I could be happy with gruel.”
Jack smiles holds up his fist to Travis. “I’ll hook you up.”
“Fine…I’ll eat your gruel.” Travis grumbles as he gives in and walks to the stove.
“I also added a dash of cinnamon.” Jack adds quietly.
“Great…cinnamon gruel.” Travis says as he plops a spoonful of oatmeal in a bowl.
“Don’t do it Miller…don’t do it.” Vic growls under her breath as Dean lists the sandwich up to his mouth.
Dean eyes Vic before slowly taking a bite from his sandwich before moaning. “Oh my god.”
“That’s it!” Hughes exclaims as she tries to lunge towards Miller but is quickly held back by Travis. “I’ll rip the sandwich out of his hands if I have to!”
“Mmmmmmmm.” Dean moans again as he takes a second bite.
“Easy…easy.” Montgomery says as he picks up Vic up off the floor in his arms.
Dispatch: Truck 19, person trapped. Tiffany Park. 3590 East.
“Damn it!” Miller yells out at the interruption.
“Ha!” Vic cheers before pointing to herself and Travis who are on Aid Car today. “We’ll take that.”
Travis smiles and licks his lips at the sandwich. “It’ll be bad by the time you get back.”
Dean squints his eyes before glaring at Montgomery and Hughes. “If either of you touch this sandwich…heads are gonna get stuffed in the toilet.”
“Is he bluffing?” Travis whispers in Vic’s ear as they watch him put the sandwich in the fridge.
Hughes squints her eyes to try to get a read on her friend. “I’m not sure.”
“Let’s go!” Jack calls back for the stragglers.
“I’ll be right back….I promise.” Dean whispers one more time to the sandwich before closing the fridge door.
“Miller!” Jack yells out from the stairs.
“I’m coming!” Dean yells back before running past Jack to head down the stairs.
“This kitchen should be clean by the time we get back!” Jack yells over to Travis and Vic.
Travis rolls his eyes and waves the man off. “We got it, we got it.”The fire fighters of Station 19 hop in the rigs and quickly fly down the street to get to the park just outside of town. They park on the side of the road and can quickly see a group of people surrounding something about 50 yards away. Bishop is the first to jump out of the rig and walks over with Gibson and Willet while the other fire fighters start grabbing their tools. As they walk towards the scene a man comes running towards them.
“What's the problem?” Bishop asks.
The man out of breath waves them over quickly to the nearby woods. “Over here.”
They follow the man and notice a hole in the ground over in the brush, surrounded by people trying to look down it. Gibson steps over and recognizes the shape of the hole.
“Looks like an old utility hole….somebody must have removed the covering or something.” Gibson says to Bishop who nods her head.
The man nods his head and points at it. “She was chasing a loose ball and then just fell in.”
Maya nods her head before motioning for Gibson to keep crowd control. “Gibson.”
“Back up, everyone…please.” Jack tells the crowd as he tries to push the growing crowd of people back to give them space enough to work.
“Help, help, I can't hold on!” a small voice yells out hysterically.
Bishop leans over the hole and yells out to the young girl. “Hang on! We're coming to get you!”
“Hurry, hurry!” she yells out.
Bishop takes one more look down before calling out orders. “All right, Warren, Ruiz, we need two roof ladders, and a rope bag!”
“Got it Cap!” Ruiz calls back before jogging back to the truck with Warren on his tail.
“Copy!” Warren yells back.
Maya takes a deep breath and watches as Cutler and Willet help Miller with the harness. “You good to go down there?”
“Hell yeah, I am.” Miller chirps back.
Maya takes one last look at Miller before clicking on her radio and motioning towards the Warren running the ropes. “Warren we gotta move.”
“Copy Cap.”
“Hey!” Dean calls out downwards as he hovers above the hole. “What's your name?”
“Jenna!” the little girl yells back.
Miller nods his head and yells back down. “Jenna! Hang in there, Jenna.”
Maya getting impatient yells over to the truck. “Warren!”
“We're almost there!” Ben yells back as he and Ruiz finish up the last knots before lowering the two ladders.
Once the ladders are hovering above the hole the fire fighters take the clasp on the rope and connect it to Miller’s harness. They quickly pull up the rope to keep tension before swinging Miller above the hole.
“Okay, take him down.” Maya says in the radio back to Warren.
“Dropping now Cap.”
“Please hurry!” Jenna yells out.
“I’m coming!” Dean yells back before suddenly getting stuck on the sides of the hole unable to move any further. Miller tries to shimmy himself down through loud grunts before exhaling angrily. “Crap…..crap.”
Maya seeing that Dean has stopped moving looks down the hole. “Miller, what's wrong?”
“Cap! It gets tighter down here!” Miller yells back through heavy breaths. “I can’t fit!”
“Help!” Jenna shouts out helplessly.
Bishop curses under her breath before motioning to Warren and Ruiz to pull him up. “All right, get him out of there. Come on!”
Jenna starts to panic even more when she sees the fire fighter leaving without her. “Help me, please!”
“Jenna!” Miller calls back firmly. “We’re gonna get you, I promise!”
The little girl nods her head at Miller ashes watches the fire fighter get pulled out of the hole. Once Miller is out the fire fighters swing him away from the hole and onto the ground.
“Unhook him.” Maya commands to Gibson and Willet.
“Damn it.” Dean curses as they remove him from the harness.
Carter leans over and looks up to his captain. “What are we gonna do?”
“I’ll go.” Maya says as she grabs the harness from Miller before slipping it on. “Miller.”
Miller nods and helps the fire captain make sure the harness is secure on all sides.
“Bishop are you sure?” Gibson asks.
Maya nods her head and motions for Miller to attach the rope to her harness. “I am the only one that will fit…let’s go.”
“But--” Jack stars to say but is firmly cut off.
“Now!” Maya yells out to Warren and Ruiz as she pulls down to test the rope before swinging over the hole. “Let’s go!”
“Got it!” Warren yells back.
“Go!” Maya yells wanting them to lower her down quicker…knowing they could be running out of time.
“Please, help me.” Jenna begs as her feet start to slip on the wet rocks. “I’m slipping!”
“Yeah, faster! Speed it up!” Maya yells back to her team.
Jenna holds on to an old wet pipe but can feel her hands slipping. “I can't hold on. I can't hold on.”
“Yes, you can!” Maya yells as she continues to get lowered down into the hole.
Jenna crying shakes her head. “I can’t!”
“Yes you can! Hang on!” Maya yells to Jenna as she holds out her spare hand for the little girl to take. “Grab my hand!”
Jenna hyperventilating reaches out for the fire fighter’s hand. “Please!”
“Come on…come on.” Maya hisses to herself as she tries to stretch her hand out just a little bit farther. Jenna bites her lip and reaches out her fingers that finally connect with Maya’s. Maya grabs a hold tightly and instantly pulls the little girl up by her hands and grabs as hold of her arms.
“I got you!” Maya tells the little girl before yelling back up the hole. “Pull us up!”
As the fire fighters work to pull them up Maya is able to bring Jenna up and wrap her arms around the little girl’s waist.
“Thank you. Thank you.” The little girl cries.
“I got you Jenna, I got you.” Maya tells the little girl who wraps her arms around her neck tighter.
“Bring her up!” Gibson yells over to Warren.
“Hang on.” Maya tells Jenna as she looks up the hole. “They are going to pull us up now.”
“Okay.” Jenna says.
Maya holds on tightly to the little girl as they are finally pulled up and out of the hole. Bishop can’t help but release a breath of relief when Dean reaches for the little girl safely.
“Gotcha!” Miller says as he grabs the little girl from Jenna and brings her away from the hole before setting her down on the ground.
“You okay?” Miller asks.
Jenna nods her head yes before seeing her dad running towards her from the sidewalk.
“Jenna!” the man calls out frantically as he runs towards her. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“Daddy!” Jenna yells as the man runs towards the little girl and gets on his knees to inspect the girl for injuries.
When the man can see that his daughter is alright he looks up to Maya who is being removed from the harness with the help of Miller and Ruiz. “Thank you…thank you so much.”
Maya nods to the man before stepping over to the little girl and placing her hand on Jenna’s shoulder. “Hey, you did great.”
“Thank you.” Jenna tells Maya with an appreciative smile before walking away with her dad.
Theo watches them walk away before nudging Maya with his arm. “Nice job Captain.”
“Thanks Ruiz.” Maya says through a long breath as she tries to steady her breathing.
Jack with a big smile on his face walks over and watches as Maya rubs her brow before raising his eye brows at her. “How’d that feel?”
Maya rolls her eyes at the lieutenant before looking to the rest of the team. “Hey guys, let's get the plywood and cones out. We don't need anyone else falling in.”
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Later on back at the apartment, Carina and Andy are sitting with Ginny and Pru on the floor surrounded by toys. Dean was having a hard time finding somebody to watch Pru for the day and Andy volunteered to take her. So after the check up at the hospital the 2 women headed back to the apartment with two very excited little girls for a play date.
Carina sitting cross legged on the floor next to Ginny giggles as she watches Andy play with the little girls. She was not surprised in the least when Andy built the girls a building out of blocks and then surrounded the building with Ginny’s toy fire trucks.
“Probie DeLuca-Bishop…Probie Miller….I’m afraid this building is not up to fire code.” Andy says to the little girls as she dramatically sucks in a sharp breath through her teeth. “We’re gonna have to knock it down!”
“Down!” Pru yells before swinging her little hand at the tower of blocks causing the whole thing to topple down to the ground loudly.
Andy laughs and claps her hands together. “Good job!”
“Uh?” Ginny says confused to her mama sitting next to her.
Carina instantly gushes at the cute little look on Ginny’s face. “The building fell down!”
“Down! Down!” Pru giggles.
“Ahhh!” Ginny shouts out as she points to the block.
Carina smiles and repeats the word for the almost one year old. “Down.”
“Owe!” Ginny exclaims.
“Close.” Carina giggles before kissing the top of Ginny’s head.
“Dispatch! Station 19, structure fire…over by the table.” Andy says to the little girls as she pushes the fire truck over towards the dining room. “Boop, boop, boop, boop….”
Carina watches the two girls toddle off before sticking her bottom lip. “They are so cute together…I can’t stand it.”
“Right!” Andy agrees as she carefully stretches out her neck. “Station 19 now has the cutest babies in the city…they are way cuter than Lieutenant Carpenter’s twins over at Station 23.”
The doctor shakes her head and giggles. “Should you be saying that?”
“They’re a little homely.” Andy chirps before waving her hand down. “Their mom comes from money...those boys will be fine.”
“Mimma!” Carina calls after her adventurous little girl who almost clips the side of her head on a chair by the dining room table. “Be careful please!”
Andy giggles and shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe she’s a year old.”
“I know.” Carina gushes before letting out a small sigh. “Time has just flown by so past…I feel like my dad was just here.”
The day after her father came and talked to her about getting some professional help he flew out the east coast. The father and daughter have been keeping in touch via phone but...Carina can’t help but think and worry about her father constantly.
“How is your dad doing?” Andy asks before she reaches to grab her tea from the coffee table.
“He's doing well.” Carina says through a breath before tilting her head back and forth. “Or at least...he's telling me he's well.”
“He’s still in Philadelphia, right?” Andy questions.
Carina nods her head. “The plan is for him to come to Ginny's birthday party on Saturday and then go back to Italy the next day.”
“He's coming to the party?” Andy asks with a small smile. “That's great.”
“It...is.” Carina mutters hesitantly.
Andy snorts in her mug before looking over the rim to her friend. “It is?”
“I worry...I'm going to keep worrying.” Carina finally admits a she massages the back of her neck with her hand. “He’s acknowledging some of his behaviors…without acknowledging some of his behaviors.”
“Right.” Andy says before shrugging her shoulders. “But he is planning on coming….that’s good.”
“Yes.” Carina says with a smile before glancing back briefly to Ginny. “You're right….I need to concentrate on the positive and not worry about the negative.”
“I love being right.” Andy chirps as Pru goes flying by. “Right Pru! Your daddy loves that about me!”
Miller was more than happy to let Andy move in with him on the house boat for a little bit. It saved Andy on paying rent and she was available to help him with Pru.
Carina laughs out loud as she watches the giggling girl. “How's that going by the way?”
“It's good...he's a clean freak like Maya so it really hasn't been that much of an adjustment for me.” Andy jokes.
“What about when the baby comes?” Carina asks.
The fire fighter sucks a sharp breath through her clenched teeth. “I'm avoiding that….problem.”
“Oh yea.” Carina hums out with amused wide eyes.
“The baby and I will continue to bounce around Seattle.” Andy says as she waves her hand around in the air. “Just a couple of vagabonds.”
Carina giggles and shakes her head. “What does Sullivan think about this?”
Andy snorts before rolling her eyes. “I told him that if he asks me to move back in with him one more time, I'll hit him over the head with a phone book.”
“Phone book? Where are you going to find a phone book?” Carina asks as she chuckles out loudly before squinting back at Andy. “In the past?”
“He's trying….” Andy drawls through a loud sigh. “He's also excited and nervous and worried….the man is a human rubber band ball.”
“Though you would never know.” Carina jokes as she motions her hand down across her face. She can't help but poke fun at the zero emotion he shows most of the time.
Andy laughs and loud and shakes her head before her hands finds their way to her stomach and the baby growing inside. “I'm just trying to concentrate on the mentor program at work and...this little nugget.”
Carina smiles happily at her friend before a thought enters her mind and she holds up her finger into the air. “On that note...can you please tell your best friend the sex of the baby?”
“My best friend, huh?” Andy says back before squinting at the Italian. “Not your wife.”
Carina shakes her head as Ginny comes toppling into her lap. “I'd like your best friend to stop pestering me so I can have my wife back.”
“Here.” Andy laughs before reaching behind where she is sitting for her bag. “Open it.”
Carina confused takes the bag and opens it. “What's this?”
“How do you feel about going on a little field trip?” Andy asks as she reaches for Pru and pulls her down on her lap.
Carina rummages through the bag and her heart flutters at what she sees...causing her to gush immediately. “Stop.”
“I know.” Andy gushes back before turning Pru in her arms to look at the little girl. “The cuteness is almost going to be too much!”
“Too!” Pru yells out.
Ginny looks up at her mama and smiles brightly. “Ooo!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early that evening, back at the station the fire fighters are all getting ready for dinner. After the incident at the park with the little girl in the hole the team went out on two more calls including a pretty bad house fire. Luckily there were no people inside and they were quick to the vent the roof to save the house from being engulfed in flames. When they arrived back at 19 the fire fighters got cleaned up and Miller quickly started dinner.
“I’m starving!” Jack yells out as he walks in to the beanery from the rec room. “What do we got?”
“Leftover soup.” Dean says.
Carter looks up confused. “What?”
Dean rolls his eyes and waves off the young man. “Just eat it Probie.”
“Alright! The hoses are put away and I just took an antacid.” Ruiz says as he skips over to the kitchen while clapping his hands. “I’m ready for Leftover Soup!”
Travis takes a bite from his bowl before looking up confused. “What’s in this again?”
“No….!” Gibson huffs out annoyed. “What are you doing?”
“You never ask what’s in Leftover Soup.” Hughes argues back as she shakes her head. “Never.”
Travis rolls his eyes and points down to the soup. “Just tell me what the crunchy part is.”
“Probably those old breadsticks from a couple weeks ago….or it could be chickpeas.” Miller says as he fills up a bowl for Ruiz to take.
Montgomery just nods his head slowly. “You’re right….I shouldn’t have asked.”
“What’s this?” Carter asks confused as he points to something in his own bowl.
Ruiz scrunches his face and looks into the bowl. “Looks like a leftover chicken finger from our last shift.”
“Oh yea.” Willet says with a smile…finally recognizing the small item.
“I don’t even care.” Vic says as she dives into the soup before yawning. “Today has been such a long day...I’d eat anything and fall asleep anywhere at this point.”
“It was awesome.” Maya agrees as she puts a spoonful of mostly chicken broth and noodles into her bowl.
“We were so quick with that vent today and then…the little kid in the hole.” Warren starts to ramble on giddily. “Come on.”
Maya smiling walks over and sits at the table. “I di--We…we did good.”
“Oh god.” Vic mutters as he takes a sip of her water. “Cocky Bishop is back.”
Maya shakes her head and smirks before holding up her hand. “Do not mistake confidence for cockiness.”
“You’re all glowy.” Vic teases with her scrunched up face. “I haven’t seen it this bad since you, Herrera, and Gibson crashed out that window as the building exploded.”
“What?!” Willet yells out in shock as he drops his spoon down on the table. “You did!”
Jack nods his head proudly. “It was awesome.”
“I need details…lots and lots of details.” Carter says as he waves his hand.
Jack takes a breath before rubbing his hands together. “We were in this apartment building fire doing a sweep through some heavy fire.”
“Heavy?” Maya repeats with a raised eyebrow before filling in the blanks. “The fire was climbing the wall, it wasn’t breathing, we were at the flashpoint.”
Jack just nods his head before taking over the story again. “Andy and I were checking from vics when Maya came across our captain unconscious.”
“Captain Herrera?” Carter asks.
“Yea.” Maya says as she thinks back on that night. “The fire was getting out of control and we ended up pulling him into a bedroom to try to get his pulse back.”
“Woe.” Carter sighs.
“We were in the room and the fire was taking over all the walls, we were seconds from an explosion.” Maya continues on.
Jack nods his head again before eating a spoonful of soup. “So we jumped.”
“You jumped?!” Carter shrieks.
“We knew the second we broke the windows to get out that it was jump start the explosion so we had to get out as fast as possible.” Maya says through a long breath as she looks off into the distance in a daze. “So we all looked at each other and then jumped through the glass.”
Jack claps his hands together before pushing his left hand forward. “We flew through the glass!”
“What floor?” Willet asks with wide eyes.
Travis rolls his eyes and chimes in for the first time. “5th.”
“OH MY GOD!” Carter yells out…totally in shock. “And you survived?! What?!”
Gibson simply shrugs his shoulders. “Fly or fry.”
“Fly or fry.” Maya repeats.
Carter just shakes his head stunned before again yelling out. “WHAT?!”
“They called for a jumper on the side of the building.” Warren says before shaking his head and waving his hand around. “It was crazy.”
Travis rolls his eyes but has to admit that it was crazy. “It was sick.”
“Yea.” Maya sighs through a smirk before getting quiet again.
Vic notices the far off look and immediately drops her spoon before looking to the woman. “I’m sorry did you just have a firegasm over something that happened 5 years ago.”
“I’m having a good day…leave me alone.” Maya mutters before going back to her soup.
“Hey, no judgment…no judgment here.” Vic says with a smirk as she holds her hands up in surrender. “You should probably go take a cold shower.”
Maya rolls her hands and goes back to her soup. “Okay.”
“You look a little flush.” Vic jokes before pointing her spoon at the captain.
“Eat your dinner Hughes.” Maya huffs back.
“Hey, I almost forgot.” Dean says as his face brightens even more. “My sandwich from earlier.”
Travis’ eyes go wide as the panic starts to set in. “Uhh…”
But Travis is soon saved when he sees Sullivan walk up the stairs followed by Andy and Carina with the little girls.
“Hello!” Carina calls out from the stairs.
“We come bringing Station 19 probies!” Andy calls out.
“Andy and Carina!” Travis exclaims as he jumps up from his seat. “Look Miller! They brought Pru and Ginny!!”
Miller getting distracted by the sight of his daughter walks away happily. “Hi Baby!”
“You ate his sandwich didn’t you?” Ben says to Travis as he walks past the man.
Travis glares at Warren before again greeting the guests in the beanery. “Hey guys!”
“What are you doing here?!” Maya says surprised to see her wife and daughter. “I didn’t know you guys were coming.”
“Well….” Carina drawls as she looks over to Andy and gives her a wink. “The girls have some news to share.”
“News?” Maya asks confused.
Andy smiling looks over to Robert who smiles lightly and nods his head.
“It’s a…..” Andy starts out to say with a big smile before she and Carina unzip Pru and Ginny’s hoodies to reveal little light blue t-shirts that say…..It’s a Boy!
Vic’s mouth drops open. “What?!”
“It’s a boy!” Maya exclaims out excitedly.
Carina smiles and tickles Ginny’s tummy with her fingers. “A little Bambino!”
“No way!” Travis yells out with his hands out in front of him. “A boy?”
“Congratulations!” Dean cheers to Andy before taking Pru in his arms.
“Thank you.” Andy says back happily before being enveloped in a hug by Vic and Maya.
Ben smiles and walks over to Sullivan and holds out his hand. “Congrats Man.”
“Thanks Warren.” Robert says with a smile as he shakes his hand before placing his other hand on Ben’s shoulder.
“Are you excited?” Miller asks Pru before bouncing her in his arms. “Auntie Andy’s gonna have a baby.”
“Baby?!” Pru cheers loudly.
Carina kisses Ginny on the cheek before pointing to Andy’s stomach. “There’s a baby in Auntie Andy’s tummy.”
Ginny looks up at her mama confused before looking at her mommy. “Mm-a.”
“Hi Baby.” Maya laughs.
Dean laughs and looks at the two little girls. “Hopefully he can keep up with the dynamic duo over here.”
“It’ll just turn from a duo to a trio.” Carina says before reaching over to poke Ginny in the tummy resulting in more giggles from the tiny Italian.
Dean smiles and holds up his fist. “This calls for ice cream.”
“Ice cream!” Jack cheers as he walks over to Maya and her little girl. “Ginny you want some ice cream?”
Ginny lights up at the familiar words and leaps into Jack’s arms. “See….she loves me.”
“Calm down Gibson.” Maya says with a roll of her eyes as Jack walks away.
Carina laughs at Jack walking away with Ginny before glancing over to her wife who is staring at her with a giddy grin on her face.
“Uh-oh…I know that look.” Carina says with a giggle before tilting her head at her wife. “Tell me.”
Maya excitedly bites her bottom lip before bragging. “I jumped in a hole today and pulled a kid out of there with my bare hands.”
“Really?” Carina grins.
The fire captain nods her head. “Yup.”
“These hands?” Carina asks playfully as she takes the blonde’s hands in hers before biting her bottom lip and raising an eye brow. “What else can they do?”
Maya raises her eye brows up and down before leaning closer to her wife. “Tomorrow during Ginny’s nap…I’ll show you.”
“Bambina…you’ll have to be quiet.” Carina teases back.
“I’m not the loud one!!” Maya bites back…loudly.
The whole beanery stops what they are doing and turns to the fire captain with amused looks on their faces as Maya turns a bright shade of red.
“Hey.” Maya says awkwardly before swallowing the lump in her throat. “Game night…things get heated when we play Scrabble.”
“I play words in English and Italian.” Carina says playing along. “I play dirty.”
“I bet you do!” Vic teases.
Andy snorts and walks past her best friend. “You’re totally the loud one.”
“Shut up.” Maya chirps back before looking once again to her giggling wife. “Seriously.”
“What?” Carina asks innocently.
Meanwhile Carter still in shock over what he heard continues to star as Travis walks over to stand next to him.
“Probie….your mouth’s open.” Travis says to the frozen probie before leaning over and pushing his chin up to close his mouth. “There.”
“Thanks Montgomery.” Carter mumbles.
Travis pats the probie on the back. “No problem.”
“HEY! WHO TOUCHED MY SANDWHICH?!!”
“Gotta go.” Montgomery says with a clock of his tongue before walking away.