They don't know (I've waited all my life)

chapter 12

AN: Finally here! The last chapter...

Fire had never really scared Maya. Even when she was a kid fire had always been a source of wonder for the blonde, fire possessed the ability to be the one thing she couldn't be, free. Free from pressure, from expectations, from her dad.

She'd always been naturally drawn to fire, she'd never run away from it, rather towards it. Even as a firefighter she'd only been taught to run towards fire, to fight it, to tame it, to control it. But fire can't be controlled, and that's something she'd learned early in life.

Fire would follow its own path and take everything that stood in its way with it.

Maya knew all of this, and yet none of it had ever scared her, instead she'd found it admiring and made it her life's goal to become like it, strong, fearless and untouchable. She'd accomplished that too, getting free of her dad, making captain and not changing her ways for anyone, never giving up control ever again.

But it had always been different with Carina, with the Italian it wasn't giving up control, it was sharing it. It was like coming up for air after living in a sea of smoke, but it also meant being scared for the first time in her life, scared of fire, scared it could take her away from Carina at any moment, whenever it chose to. It could take Maya away from her home and leave her alone once again.

She thought she would live with that fear all her life, and she'd learned to live with it too, but she never thought that fear would extend to Carina. No, her wife was the one with the safer job, the one Maya didn't have to worry about being taken away, the person Maya had always sworn to keep away from fire.

But it wasn't just Carina she had to worry about now.

Maya was all of a sudden really aware of the commotion around her, her team, jumping out of the engine while she sat there unable to move. She felt the door on her side open and someone place a light hand on her shoulder saying her name Maya, Hey Maya she made an effort to move her neck, to see who it was that had been calling her begging her to move.

Chief Bishop, Maya knew the voice this time, maybe it was the fact that it had been cold and emotionless or that it was the fact that she had used Maya's title, but the blonde shook herself out of it and turned towards the door to be faced with a worried Vic with her hand on Maya's shoulder and a confused Andy standing behind her.

She stepped out of the engine instantly stepping into her role as Battalion Chief, there wasn't a minute to lose, she had to be strong for Carina and for every other person currently still inside. She looked towards the Captains of the three stations in her battalion that had already been called in including Andy.

"Captain Higgins you and the rest of 21 are on water supply, attack this fire from all sides, we need to control it as much as we can" she said looking towards the man "Captain Larson I need some of your men at 18 to go with Warren and set up Triage" and then she finally looked at Andy "19, you are on search and rescue, but before that Vic, I need you to find whoever's in charge and bring them to me-" just as she was saying that she saw a shorter women biting a cops head off "never mind hold that thought". She walked towards the two of them and said "Chief Bailey, I'm glad to see you're safe"

"Bishop, oh thank God you're here, I was just telling this man that I'm the Chief of this hospital" she woman said eyeing the man up and down "and that I need to be here helping"

Maya nodded, she understood what Bailey was feeling but there were also ways the woman could help without putting herself in immediate danger like she had been "It's okay I got from here" the blonde said looking at the man who just shrugged his shoulders and walked away "Dr. Bailey do you know who's still in there, it would be great to have a rough idea"