Chapter Text
CARINA
I can't get used to Seattle. On one hand, I'm happy to be here and be close to Andrea, but I don't like this city.
This grey and humid city.
My stupid little brother tells me it's just a matter of habit, to give it time. It's easy for him to say, he lived in Wisconsin and not in Italy.
I hate this city especially now. I decided to walk from my apartment to Grey Sloan to measure my walking time. I can't wait to buy a car. Buying a car is on the list of a thousand things to do that I haven't done since I arrived from Italy.
As I turn the corner, I come across the imposing building. The Grey Sloan letters are prominently displayed on the top of the building. I've heard a lot of things about this place, some good and some not so good.
It was my first day of work here. As soon as I found out my brother was working for a female Chief of Surgery, I begged him to get me a meeting with her. And Miranda Bailey did not disappoint me.
I was eager to begin my research. It was something a little out of the ordinary and for a society like the American one, it was bold of me to study the female orgasm. It even took Miranda Bailey a few minutes to adjust to the idea.
Even I couldn't quite believe that I had achieved this. The pharmaceutical companies had agreed to fund my research with an idea of a female equivalent of Viagra in mind. I was only interested in learning about the effects of an orgasm as a means of pain relief during childbirth.
But what surprised me most was that Miranda Bailey also offered me a job as an OB/GYN. Apparently, when my brother told her about me, she did some research on my work and got very good references about me. And she asked me to work for her, saying she wanted the best of the best on her team.
I can't deny that it inflated my ego.
But now it was time to back up everything she'd heard about me. My first stop was Human Resources, where I had to sign my contract, the one I had already reviewed and that gave me very good working and payment conditions, something that I did not expect.
The next stop was the conference room, where Bailey would introduce me to the team. Everyone was nice to me and of course a blonde, blue-eyed woman laid eyes on me. That inflated my ego even more.
Finishing the meeting, Bailey led me to what would be my office on the sixth floor. The obstetrics floor. I introduced myself to the obstetrics team there, especially to the person who would be working alongside me. The resident was named Jo Wilson, and I could tell she was eager to learn.
Finding volunteers for my study wasn't difficult. Many women were interested in the project, although I always left the door open for more volunteers.
I was reviewing some images of my most recent volunteer, when someone knocked on my office door.
“Come in!”, I told whoever it was. I hoped it wasn't an emergency, as I was just starting out here.
Two women came in, a brunette with light-colored eyes and the blonde I had seen at the meeting a little while ago.
“Hi,” said the dark-haired woman. "We wanted to come and introduce ourselves. I'm Amelia Shepherd, neurosurgeon. And this is Arizona Robbins, pediatric and fetal surgeon.”
I stood up to get closer to them and say hello. They were friendly, and Arizona was very obviously interested in me.
They both offered to help with whatever I needed, but Amelia's beeper went off and she quickly left telling me how cool my studio was.
Arizona stayed in my office and she looked a little intimidated by me, so I decided to have a little fun.
“You look a little pensive. Something interesting on your mind?" I asked as I settled into the sofa I'd asked Bailey to keep in my office.
She shifted a little nervously, but sat down next to me. "My girlfriend ghosted me," she sighed. "Do you know what that means?”
“Sì. She disappeared," I explained simply. It was common knowledge.
She snorted. "When did that become something people do?”
"I think technology has allowed people to do things they wouldn't do face-to-face," I replied. She was relaxing a little. "They've become unsensitives.”
“Insensitive," she quickly replied, with a smile that told me it wouldn't be difficult to win her over.
“Insensitive," I repeated, testing the word in my mouth. Her eyes quickly focused on my lips.
‘Bingo’, I thought.
Her cell phone rang, but before she ran off, I asked her if she wanted to meet me at Joe's bar later. Her smile told me everything I needed to know. In those brief seconds of smiling I saw anticipation, lust and flirtation.
I would see her that night at Joe's.
–
What a flunk that was. The first two weeks were exciting, somewhat passionate, but enough to keep me excited. But quickly, she led us into a relationship, where we slept in pajamas, where we shared goodbye kisses in the morning, and even involved her daughter.
Here we are, two months later, where I need something. Anything that awakens my senses.
My daily life has become completely routine and flat. There's no excitement, no passion, nothing.
Today I was in the ER. Bailey had asked me to cover. There were a lot of sick staff, so I had no choice.
Another patient, another chart, another inteen making mistakes, another nurse informing me about another patient waiting. It was nonstop, a constant. Everything was the same, everything was repetitive.
There had been a commotion about 20 minutes ago, caused by a man who came into the ER with Dr. Avery. I heard something about a bear. But just as quickly as they came in, they took him quickly to an OR.
Now I was treating a guy who told me he was having trouble breathing, was asthmatic, a smoker, and sedentary. Yeah, buddy. I don't see why you'd have trouble breathing.
I heard quick footsteps. I looked up from my tablet and saw a woman talking to Helm. The woman had long blonde hair. I only saw her from behind, but her ass was spectacular, round and firm. I managed to see her side profile as she left, and she was actually a very hot woman.
Finally, she turned on my senses.
But that made me realize that if I had felt so much excitement just from seeing that woman, it meant that my relationship with Arizona had reached a dead end.
–
I'd ended my relationship with Arizona. There was no point in continuing. But I was back to that feeling of boredom. Maybe Seattle wasn't for me after all.
Work and my research were going well. I'd developed a good friendship with Amelia and Teddy, whom I hung out with regularly, and maybe I'd had a few casual encounters here and there, but it was no use. Nothing excited me.
It was like I was on autopilot.
A new day, new cases to review. Bailey had summoned me to her office, and I had to be there in ten minutes. But I was catching up with Andrea, whom I hadn't seen much because of his rounds.
"What do you mean, 'You might be leaving?'" Andrea asked me when I told him I wasn't comfortable in Seattle.
"It's just a thought, Andrea," I replied, as I finished reviewing a test. "I've been living a very routine life. Nothing exciting has happened since I arrived."
"Not even Arizona?" he insisted. He looked a little disappointed. After all, I'd only been here three months.
"You know, that went downhill pretty quickly," I explained, sighing. "It's just... Everything feels flat. Everyone I know feels that way."
"You should give it some time," he suggested, maybe trying to change my mind. "Maybe you'll meet someone."
I chuckled. "The way things are going, it's almost impossible. At this point, I need action, adventure, something exciting." At that moment, Bailey paged me, letting me know she was free. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to Bailey."
"Think about what I said," he insisted again, standing up to leave my office with me. "Maybe something exciting will happen."
"I doubt it," I told him before turning into a different hallway, leaving him behind.
When I arrived at Bailey's office, she immediately let me in. We chatted a bit about my research and my work. She was very happy with my work and the feedback from my patients. She also mentioned that the staff in the Obstetrics Department were very happy with me as well.
"So I think you'll be here for a long time," she concluded. I gave her a weak smile, because that might not be the case. "But that isn't why I asked you to talk"
"Oh? So tell me, how can I help you?" I replied, a little surprised.
"As you well know, my husband is a firefighter at Station 19." She began to explain, and I nodded. It was well-known information. "Well, he and another firefighter want to start a clinic at the station. They have the Captain's approval, and I suggested a specialty focused on women to Ben as well."
"Reproductive medicine," I said, beginning to see where Bailey was going.
"Yes. I wanted to know if you could volunteer at the clinic for a while,” she replied, almost testing the waters. “I think it would be a way to bring help to women who need it.”
I thought about it for a few seconds. I thought it would help me break out of my routine, something different. Not doing the same thing every day, being in a different place, talking to different people. But above all, doing what motivated me to become an obstetrician, which is helping women.
“Okay, Dr. Bailey," I replied. She looked at me, satisfied with my answer. "What should I do now?”
“You have to go to a meeting today at 4:00 p.m. at Station 19," Miranda continued. "It'll be a meeting with Ben, Gibson, and Captain Bishop”
"I know Gibson, but not Captain Bishop," I thought aloud.
"She doesn't normally have to be in the ambulance, which is why we see her less around here," Bailey followed my train of thought. "But she's very good at her job. Unfortunately, she's had some difficulties with the team lately, as you'll see this afternoon. She's very driven by ambition and demanding. That leads her to be an excellent Captain and keep her team safe, even if they don't want to see it that way yet."
"Let me guess. Is the team against her?" I asked. Bailey had been pretty obvious.
"Let's just say they don't agree with her being the Captain, and from what I understand, they think the daughter of a previous Captain should have taken over." While Bailey was telling me all this, she was still being cryptic. I assume she wanted me to make up my own mind.
"But those positions aren't 'heritable'," I said with air quotes. "If Captain Bishop was the best for the job, I don't see why that's a bad thing."
Bailey sighed, and I realized she'd had this debate with Ben on more than one occasion. "Just go to the meeting and see for yourself what happens. I'm just telling you this so you know it won't be the best work environment. But between us, I think the same as you."
With that, Bailey ended the conversation, and I went back to my office. I couldn't shake the feeling of unfairness toward Captain Bishop, even without knowing her, but I would have to wait and see how bad the work environment Bailey was talking about was.
–
Bailey wasn't kidding. As soon as I entered the station, I felt the heaviness, the subtlety of anger that filled the halls. Several firefighters were crossing toward the fire trucks, frowning, as if they wanted to be anywhere but there.
"Can I help you with something?" someone asked after a few seconds. I looked to my left and behind a counter, there was a woman with Latina features. I think I'd seen her more than once in the ambulance bay.
"Yes, thank you. I have a meeting with Captain Bishop," I told her. Her face immediately soured. Her disdain for the Captain was evident. "I'm Dr. Deluca. Dr. Bailey sent me."
That softened her expression a little. "Oh! Miranda! She didn't tell us anything," she said more politely, coming out from behind the counter with her hands in her pants pockets.
"It was a decision made this morning," I explained, though I didn't know why. "I understand it's a meeting with Ben anyway."
"Of course," she smiled at me. "It's about the clinic, right?" I looked at her suspiciously. I felt as if she was trying to get information out of me. "Sorry, I'm Lieutenant Andy Herrera," she said, extending her hand.
"Nice to meet you," I said, accepting her hand in greeting. "Is the Captain busy?"
"She isn't, but I'm not going to risk leaving you alone with her," Andy immediately told me. She again showed disdain on her face when she spoke of the Captain. "I wouldn't want you to be scared away from working here. You seem nice."
I didn't like that comment at all. This girl seemed nice, but the venom was evident in every one of her words. I think the way she spoke about her Captain to a complete stranger said more about her than about Captain Bishop.
"Hey Gibson! The doctor arrived". I heard her say to Gibson, who was coming in. I knew him a little better. "I didn't want to leave her alone with Bishop."
"What makes Captain Bishop so terrible?" I asked to see if Andy really had a good reason for speaking that way in front of a stranger.
"I have my doubts about whether she was raised in a Russian laboratory," Gibson chuckled. "It seems she has no feelings."
"I mean, she and I were friends. After my father retired, I was promised the Captaincy, but she intervened and took it from under my nose," Andy argued. She again gave me more reasons to see who she really was. "So, if she didn't care about her supposed best friend for a job, I don't want to think what she would do to a stranger."
Just then, Ben walked in, having overheard Andy's comment. "Are you still on that?" He turned to me. "Hi, Carina."
"Oh. Come on. You can't deny that's what Maya is like," Andy insisted again. "She dumped Gibson just to give herself a better chance at the Captaincy."
I looked at Gibson, who remained impassive, his gaze hardening at that reminder. Bailey's words resonated more than ever in my head. These people were truly creating a toxic environment.
Ben looked at me, his face clearly apologetic for the conversation they'd gotten me into. I shook my head slightly, trying to make him understand that it didn't matter.
Without further ado, Ben approached the door next to the entrance and knocked lightly, before hearing a "come in" coming from inside the office.
"Captain. The doctor from Grey Sloan has arrived," Ben told her with a smile.
"Okay, Warren, let's start the meeting then," the woman told him.
Ben gestured for me to come closer and enter the office. When I walked in, I found the Captain standing behind her desk. She was perfection incarnate. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a bun, tightly tied, not a hair out of place; her gaze was hyper-focused, her jaw stiff, and obviously very uncomfortable. Her short-sleeved shirt showed off how muscular she was.
She was beautiful.
But her blue eyes caught my attention. They were truly devoid of emotion, and I wondered what was behind that dissociation. Could it be the atmosphere I witnessed outside?
She extended her hand, forcing a smile. "Nice to meet you, Doctor."
"Carina, please," I said, taking her hand.
She didn't take her eyes off me until she saw Gibson walk in behind me, and again, she hid that smile. Something about her made me curious.
"Maya Bishop," she replied tersely, once Gibson was at my side.
"Nice to meet you, Maya."