1. Chapter 1

This story was requested a while back by Not Gonna Happen Ever, and I finally got around to writing it. Just a disclaimer I have never had appendicitis so all of this is just what I gathered from reading online. Also, not a doctor or nurse (yet) so any medical inaccuracies are on me. Enjoy part 1!

It has started the previous day. Maya had gone for a run after Carina, her girlfriend of close to two years, left for work, and when she got back, her stomach was crampy and painful. She figured maybe she was just dehydrated or something, pounding water, but all that did was make her feel bloated and nauseous.

She thought maybe her period was coming early or something and spent the afternoon curled up on the couch with a heating pad, working through files. She tried to eat some toast for dinner, but she ended up throwing up half way through, opting instead, to just call it an early night, hoping that whatever was making her feel like this would pass by morning.

The next morning, she woke up feeling just as bad, puking before she even tried to go for her run. She debated trying to go for a run, but she really didn't feel great so she skipped it, opting instead for a warm shower. Once she was done, she headed off to work, hoping she could make it through her shift.

She knew Carina wouldn't be thrilled at her choice, but she had only been sick a few times, and it didn't feel like a normal stomach flu or anything, maybe food poisoning or a really, really bad period. .

She skipped breakfast, but that was mostly because they got called to a massive car accident. While on the scene, Maya forgot about her aching stomach until she got back in the engine, wincing a little as another painful cramp engulfed her belly.

When they got back to the station, she went and showered before joining the team for lunch, finding her appetite all but gone. She forced half a bowl of soup down before going back down to her office.

They got another call, Maya struggling to work though it for the first half of the call, but suddenly feeling quite a bit better in the middle of it, hoping that whatever had been making her feel so bad was finally over.

She still wasn't feeling great as they headed back, knowing she had a fever, but her stomach was feeling less terrible.

However, after she took her shower and went back down to her office, her stomach ache came back with a vengeance.

After about an hour, the pain got to be too much, and she grabbed her heating pad out of her dresser drawer before laying down in her bunk, hoping that maybe it would help. She was glad she thought ahead and stuck a trashcan next to her bed, because she started throwing up violently not long after she laid down.

She knew she probably needed help, probably need to go home, or maybe to the hospital, but she had left her phone at her desk and moving sounded terrible right now.

About twenty minutes after she laid down, there was a knock on her door and she was so happy when whoever it was just came in.

"Maya," Carina's voice called.

"In here," Maya called, wincing in pain.

"What are you…" Carina stopped as soon as she saw Maya, pale, sweaty, and sick laying in the bed, "Oh, bambina. What happened?"

"I don't know," Maya admitted, "My stomach was upset yesterday and today, but it started feeling better during our last call so I thought it was just something I ate, but now, it hurts so much I can't move."

"You have a fever," Carina said, frowning immediately flipping from concerned girlfriend to doctor, "Where exactly does it hurt?"

Before Maya could answer, she felt her stomach rebel, reaching for her trash can, vomiting into it.

"Ok," Carina said, rubbing her back, "You are going to be ok."

"It hurts," Maya breathed.

"Where?" Carina asked, knowing if Maya said she was in pain, it was bad.

"It started down here earlier," Maya said, pointing to her right side, "But now, it's all over… Shit"

"Appendicitis," both of them said at the same time.

Just then, there was another knock at the door.

"Hey capt…" Vic said, coming in before wrinkling her nose, "What is going on?"

Maya was about to answer, but she leaned over, throwing up again.

"I think she has appendicitis," Carina said, wincing as Maya threw up, "She has a fever, pain in the lower right side that migrated to the entire abdomen, and I think it might have ruptured because she said she started feeling better earlier, but now she's much worse."

"Can you move?" Vic asked, immediately going into paramedic mode.

"Not really," Maya admitted, curling up more as another round of pain ran through her.

"Let me go grab someone," Vic said, "And we will take you to Grey Sloan in the aid car. Just hold on."

Maya whimpered as pain rippled across her body, Carina just rubbing her back gently, whispering to her in a mix of English and Italian that always helped calm the blonde down. Two minutes later, Vic and Andy were in her bunk with the gurney from the aid car.

"Alright," Andy said, "Let's get you onto the gurney and then we can put you in the aid car and get you some meds."

Maya nodded a little, Carina helping her sit up, tears running down Maya's face as she sat up.

"It's ok, Bambina," Carina said softly, "Just go slow."

Maya was doubled over in pain, just trying to breathe through it.

"You ready to move again?" Andy asked after a minute, knowing the sooner they got Maya into he aid car, the sooner they could get her feeling better.

The blonde nodded, leaning on Carina as she moved from her bed to the aid car bed before curling up in a ball again.

"Alright," Vic said, "Let's go."

They headed into the barn, Carina holding Maya's hand the whole time. Once they were in the aid car, Andy handed Maya a emesis bag while Vic hooked her up to their monitors.

"Her heart rate is high," Vic said, looking at the monitor, "But about what I would expect for someone in this much pain. And her temp is 103.6."

"We need to go," Andy said, eyes wide, "I'll go call Grey Sloan and let them know to expect us."

"Let's get her shirts off," Vic said, "It'll help with the fever."

Carina nodded, expertly unbuttoning Maya's shirt, helping her slip it off before helping her with her t-shirt as well, leaving the blonde in only her tank top and bra.

"Maya," Vic said, coming back over to them, "I'm going to start an IV and get you something for the pain, ok?"

Maya nodded a little before she threw up.

"Can I sit with her?" Carina asked, desperate to give Maya a little comfort.

"Yeah," Vic said, getting her IV kit set up.

Carina was in the bed with Maya in a second, the blonde shivering in her arms.

"Alright," Vic said, "Here we go."

Once the IV was placed and Maya was given morphine and fluids, Andy started the short drive to Grey Sloan. By the time they got there, Maya had relaxed a little, the drugs alleviating the worst of the pain.

"Carina," Meredith said, concerned when she saw her colleague.

"Maya's got suspected appendicitis," Vic said, climbing out, "And her pain got better around maybe 3, but then it got a lot worse."

"Sounds like it ruptured," Meredith said, nodding, "Let's get her straight to CT."

"I'm fine," Maya mumbled.

"She had morphine," Carina explained to Meredith.

"Maya, you're not fine," Meredith said, "But we are going to fix you up. Just relax."

Within twenty minutes, Maya was in CT and Meredith confirmed a ruptured appendix.

"When was the last time she ate?" Meredith asked Vic and Andy who both decided to stay.

"She ate half a bowl of soup at the lunch, around noon," Vic said, thinking back, "But she's been throwing up so I'm guessing she's probably got nothing left."

"Good," Meredith said, "We are going to take her up to surgery now. If it's been almost five hours since it ruptured, she's probably got a pretty bad infection starting in her belly. It's going to be longer than a normal appendectomy, but I will send someone with an update as soon as I have one. I think Andrew is the other general on right now. Is it ok if he assists?"

"Si," Carina nodded, knowing that despite the breakup between her brother and the general surgeon almost eighteen months ago that they still made an amazing team in the OR.

"Alright," Meredith nodded, "Carina, you can come see her if you want, just for a minute."

"Thank you," Carina nodded, leaving Vic and Andy without even saying anything, too focused on getting to Maya's side.

The blonde was just lying in bed, looking worse than she had before.

"Carina," she said loopily, clearly very doped up on pain meds, "Hey. It's my very hot girlfriend."

"Hi Bambina," Carina smiled, coming to the bedside, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel great," Maya said, "I think I can probably go back to work. I was just over reacting."

"No, Bambina," Carina said, shaking her head, "You have a ruptured appendix. Meredith is getting ready to take it out."

"I don't have a ruptured appendix," Maya shook her head, "That would really hurt and I feel fine."

"That is because you have a lot of pain medicine in you right now," Carina laughed at Maya's slightly slurred speech, reminding her a little of when Maya would go out and get drunk with Vic and Andy or when they would have a little too much wine together after long weeks of work.

"I need to work," Maya said, "I need to go back to the station. I need to make sure everyone is ok."

"They are all fine," Carina reassured, "Jack and Andy will take care of everything."

"You hate Jack," Maya said, looking confused at her girlfriend.

"Jack and I are fine," Carina said, shaking her head, "He will never be my favorite person, but I do not hate him. Also, I do not have to go work with him."

"Good," Maya said, nodding.

Carina smiled, brushing a piece of hair off Maya's burning forehead. It had been a long time since the incident with Jack had been brought up. Both of them had worked hard in therapy to get through the issues the cheating had caused, and they never really spoke about it anymore because why drag up the past. However, this was the first time it had been brought up where Carina didn't feel all the emotions of that day come flooding back, showing her that she had really made progress.

"I don't feel good," Maya groaned, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"I know," Carina said, frowning as she rubbed her back, "Soon, you will be in surgery and you should wake up feeling a bit better."

Maya just grabbed the emesis bag from where it was sitting next to her and started to gag.

"Shhhh," Carina said, helping her get in a slightly better position.

Once Maya finished, Carina took the bag, tossing it out before grabbing a fresh one and going back to her girlfriend. Carina just sat there with her for a little while longer until a nurse came over.

"It's time for us to take you back," he said, handing Maya a hair net which Carina helped her put on.

"Have you met my hot girlfriend? She's a doctor here. The best doctor," Maya asked the nurse, pointing to Carina.

"I do know Dr. Deluca," the nurse nodded, smiling a little as Carina blushed.

"I will see you when you wake up Bambina," Carina said, pressing a kiss into Maya's forehead, wanting to kiss her on the lips, but deciding to wait until Maya had had a chance to brush her teeth first, "Ti amo."

"I love you too," Maya said, "But I can't remember how to say it in Italian."

As the nurse wheeled Maya down the hall, Meredith walked in.

"I'll send someone with an update once we get in there and see how bad the infection is," the general surgeon said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, "She's gonna be alright Carina."

"I know," Carina nodded, "I am going to go down to my office I think."

"I will tell whoever I send to go there," Meredith nodded, "Now, I need to get going."

"Thank you Meredith," Carina said as she walked away.

The OB then went downstairs, finding both Vic and Andy waiting in the waiting area near her office.

"How is she?" Andy asked as Carina walked up to them.

"She is in surgery," Carina said, "She's pretty sick, but hopefully not septic."

"It's going to be ok, Carina," Vic said, standing up and putting a hand on Carina's shoulder.

"Lo so," Carina said, "I've never seen her in that much pain before."

"Me neither," Andy said, also standing, "But she's tough. She'll be alright."

Carina nodded, looking at the two women.

"Don't you have to get back to the station?" Carina asked, rubbing her eyes.

"We should," Andy nodded, "But we can stay for a little while longer. Is there anyone we can call for you? You shouldn't just sit here alone."

"I will be fine," Carina shrugged, "I will probably go up to my office to wait."

"Wait for what?" Amelia said, walking over to them, noticing that Vic and Andy were both dressed in their uniforms, "Wait, did Maya get hurt?"

"No," Carina said, shaking her head, "Her appendix ruptured. Meredith and Andrea have her in surgery now."

"Oh, Carina," Amelia said, shaking her head, "I'm off in twenty minutes. I'll come wait with you."

"You don't have to do that," Carina said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but I want to," Amelia said, putting a hand on Carina's back, "Plus, Link hasn't had a night with Scout by himself in months, and those two are thick as thieves these days so I'm sure both of them would appreciate a mom free bed time."

Carina cracked a small smile, "Thank you. I am probably going to go to my office because it is much better than the waiting room."

"I'll see you there in half an hour," Amelia said, walking away.

"You can go," Carina said, looking at Andy and Vic, "I will be alright until she comes back. I know how tough it is without a captain on your shifts."

"Oh, does Maya tell you she's so important we can't function without her?" Vic said, cocking an eyebrow.

"I just meant…" Carina started before Andy cut her off.

"We know what you meant," Andy said, shaking her head, knowing Carina was missing Vic's joking nature because she was stressed, "And we do need to get back. Being down one person is hard, but they can't go on many calls without us. Plus, leaving the boys to run the shift is never a good choice. We can stick around until Amelia is off though."

"I will be fine," Carina said, "Go back to work."

"You've been spending too much time with Maya," Vic grumbled, "Now you sound like her too."

Carina gave Vic a playful look.

"Text us updates?" Andy said, giving Carina a hug.

"Si," Carina nodded, "It is probably going to be a few hours, depending on how bad the infection is."

"Do you think she'll have to stay?" Vic asked.

"Probably for at least a few days," Carina nodded, "She will probably have to have a drain to remove the rest of the infection and she's going to need heavy antibiotics."

"We'll come by tomorrow," Andy nodded.

After they left, Carina went to her office, starting to straighten her desk, an anxious habit she had from when she was a child. Amelia came in not long after, watching Carina cleaning.

"So I don't need to ask how you are doing?" Amelia asked, raising an eyebrow, knowing her friend's compulsion to clean when she was freaking out.

"I… It's… I'm worried about her," Carina said, biting on her lip.

"I know," Amelia nodded, sitting down and gesturing for Carina to join her.

Just then, Andrew walked in.

"She's doing well," he said, seeing the worry on his sister's face, "We just got into her abdomen. The infection isn't too terrible. I need to get back to help Mer with the wash out, but she's going to be alright."

"Grazie, Andrea," Carina nodded as her brother left.

"So her appendix burst?" Amelia said, raising an eyebrow.

"Si," Carina nodded.

"Was she working?" Amelia said, trying to piece together what had happened.

"Yes, she was," Carina sighed, "She told me she had been feeling unwell all day yesterday and today, but did she stay home and rest? No. She went to work and pushed herself."

"Well, she'll have to rest now," Amelia pointed out, "Ruptured appendix is a 6 week recovery period. I burst mine in med school, and it was rough."

"She is going to be a monster," Carina shook her head, "She cannot work until she is fully recovered."

"Well, she is going to probably have a tube sticking through her ab muscles so she probably won't want to," Amelia pointed out, "She's gonna feel like shit for at least the first two weeks."

"I am going to have to take some time off," Carina said, shaking her head, "I thought we were past her hiding when she was sick."

"Well, in her defense, I thought I had food poisoning and my period when I had appendicitis," Amelia said, "It's easy to miss."

"She still should have at least stayed home from work," Carina sighed, "I have spent the last two years trying to convince her to take better care of herself when she's sick, and now she's in surgery because she didn't listen."

"Well, we can't change what happened," Amelia said, "Besides, surgery is pretty much inevitable with appendicitis no matter what so even if she would have stayed home, she still would have ended up in surgery."

"I know," Carina said, trying not to cry.

"Hey," Amelia said, seeing the tears gathering in her friends eyes, "She's going to be fine. Watch, in a few hours, she is going to be back to her normal self, trying to fight the nurses and insisting she's fine."

"I hope so," Carina nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"Do you need anything?" Amelia asked after a while.

"No," Carina said, shaking her head, "Unless you want to go back in time and make my stupdia girlfriend go to the hospital earlier."

"No can do," Amelia said, "I need to step out for a minute. You good on your own?"

"Si," Carina nodded, grabbing her phone as Amelia walked out.

About five minutes later, Amelia reappeared with two cups.

"Coffee for you," the neurosurgeon said, handing the cup, "And herbal tea because unlike you, I am actually planning on sleeping tonight."

"I never said I wasn't going to sleep," Carina said, taking a long sip of the coffee.

"But I know you," Amelia said, "You're not going to sleep, not with Maya just having had surgery."

"You are probably right," Carina sighed.

They talked a little more as they waited for an update. Finally, almost three hours after Maya was taken back, Meredith came out with Andrew.

"They are getting her cleaned up and moved to recovery right now," Meredith said, smiling, "She did very well. Everything went according to plan. We placed a drain, but hopefully, it will only need to be in for two or three days. The infection wasn't too bad, but she'll be on antibiotics for the next few weeks just to be safe. Would you like to go up to recovery and see her?"

"Si," Carina nodded, wiping a tear from her eye.

"I'll take you," Andrew said, nodding.

"Amelia, thank you for staying," Carina said as her friend gave her a hug.

"Of course," Amelia said, nodding, "I'll come by before my shift tomorrow. Do you need anything from your place?"

"No," Carina said, shaking her head, "I have extra clothes here, and I will probably go home tomorrow at some point."

"Alright," Amelia said, "Well, if you need anything, text me."

"Grazie," Carina nodded, heading out with Andrew as Amelia walked the other way.

"She is going to be ok," Andrew said, seeing how anxious his sister looked, "She's probably going to feel pretty terrible for the next few weeks, but she'll be fine."

"Si," Carina nodded, "Lo so. I just wish I could make her feel better. Andrea, I have never seen Maya in the kind of pain she was in tonight, her friends either."

"I know," Andrew said, wrapping an arm around his sister, "But she is going to be fine. We've got her on good pain killers and the antibiotics should knock the infection out."

Carina nodded as they approached the recovery area.

"She's right here," Andrew said. Carina nodded again, sitting down in a chair next to Maya's bed.

"She should be waking up soon," Andrew said, "Do you want me to stay?"

"No," Carina shook her head, "Grazie Andrea."

Carina took Maya's hand, just looking over her girlfriend. There was oxygen on her face, a blood pressure cuff on her arm, pulse oximeter on her finger, IV in the back of her left hand. There was also a tube leading from under the blankets that led into a bag where the remainder of the infection was draining from Maya's abdominal cavity, and another one coming out of her nose, helping keep her stomach empty to give her intestines a chance to rest. Her heart rate was slightly higher than normal, but nothing like it had been in the aid car. Carina took Maya's right hand in hers, rubbing small, gentle circles on the back of it.

"Mmmm," Maya moaned as she moved her head from side to side, clearly fighting to wake up.

"I'm right here bambina," Carina said softly, trying to calm her down, "Open your eyes. You are alright."

"Car," Maya rasped out, eyes opening, "What…"

"You're in the hospital," Carina said, leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss to Maya's temple, "Your appendix ruptured and you had to have surgery."

"Oh, yeah," Maya said, remembering what had happened, "I feel terrible."

"Are you in pain?" Carina asked, ready to go get a nurse for some meds.

"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "Not a lot of pain. Just nauseous and achy."

"Well, the tube that is going down to your stomach is keeping it empty," Carina said, "But I can see if you can have something for the nausea if it's bad."

"Not right now," Maya said, eyes heavy, "I just don't feel well."

"Well, you had an infection in your abdomen," Carina nodded, "Meredith and Andrea washed it out, but you still have a drain in to finish removing it. You are also on pretty heavy antibiotics to help with that."

Maya nodded, feeling the odd sensations in her abdomen.

"When can I go home?" Maya asked.

"Probably once the drain is out," Carina said, "And after you get enough IV antibiotics and your body starts working properly again. I would guess 4-5 days, maybe more."

"That's so long," Maya whined.

"Si, I know," Carina said, deciding to let someone else tell the blonde she wasn't going to be allowed to work for the next 6 weeks, at least not actively in fires, the weight of her turnouts alone too much, "But I will be here when I can, and I am sure our friends will stop by too."

Maya nodded a little, letting her eyes drift closed for a little bit.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick," she said suddenly a few minutes later, clearly uncomfortable, "But also like I can't puke. God, Carina, I feel so terrible. Make it stop."

"Shhhh," Carina cooed as Maya started to cry, "Nurse."

A nurse quickly came over.

"She is very nauseous," Carina said, rubbing Maya's back, trying to calm her down.

"I'm going to give you something for the nausea," the nurse said, drawing up a syringe, "You are maxed out on the pain meds Dr. Grey has for you, but I can go see if we can get you something else if you need it."

"No," Maya said, trying very hard to not keep crying, "I'm not in a lot of pain. I just feel so sick."

"Let me know if this doesn't help in the next five minutes," the nurse said, pushing the anti-nausea meds, "Or if you need anything else."

"I'm sorry you feel so terrible Bambina," Carina said, wiping a tear off Maya's cheek.

"I'll be ok," Maya said, already feeling the nausea start to ebb, "I'm feeling better already."

"Good," Carina nodded, pressing a kiss to Maya's forehead.

They sat in recovery for a while, Carina shooting a text to Vic and Andy, letting them know Maya was out of surgery and doing better. After that, they just sat there, Carina rubbing calming circles on the back of Maya's hand.

Soon enough, Maya was heading to what would be her room for the foreseeable future. By the time she was settled, it was nearing 2 am, and both of them were exhausted.

"Will you lay with me?" Maya asked, knowing the hospital bed was small, but needing to feel close to her girlfriend.

"I don't want to bump the drain," Carina said, shaking her head.

"Please?" Maya begged, "On the left side? There's nothing there except my IV."

"Fine," Carina relented, knowing how much Maya needed to be held when she wasn't feeling well.

There had been plenty of nights where the blonde was sick with something or had a really rough day emotionally where she would just lay in Carina's arms for as long as the brunette would let her, something she had once admitted to Carina that she had never done with anyone else.

"When do I get this tube out of my nose?" Maya asked, scratching around it a little.

"Once your bowels start moving again," Carina said as she got into a good position, "It usually takes a day or two. Is it bothering you?"

"It just feels weird," Maya shrugged, sleep starting to take over.

"Go to sleep," Carina encouraged, pressing a kiss to her temple, "I promise, I will be here when you wake up."

Maya nodded, eyes slipping shut. Carina just played with her hair, keeping her calm. Carina knew the next few weeks were going to be long and hard, but for tonight, she was just going to let herself be grateful that Maya was alright.

What did you think? I think this is going to be a 3 parter, but I will see how it goes. Any ideas for other stories are always happily taken!