Chapter Text
"Mamma, Sabbatore bees driving so veloce! It bees like when Mamma Bina goes ta fires! Is we going to a fires?"
Andrea stared through the front windshield of Maya's SUV as Salvatore sped around highway traffic on his way to the airport. Sitting next to her, Carina rested her hand on the back of Maya's seat to steady herself.
"No bellazza, we are still going to l'aeroporto. He's just in a hurry to see Nonno."
From his car seat in front of his sister, Liam looked over at Maya.
"Mamma Bina, we is going more veloce den ours jet even! We is going ta be der before Nonna!"
"Honestly love bug, I'm really hoping that they get there before us."
Reaching over her shoulder, Maya gave her wife's hand a reassuring squeeze as Salvatore crossed three lanes and headed for the off ramp.
Enrique was standing outside the hanger as Salvatore sped in and came to a stop, jumping out and heading toward him.
"Mamma Bina, we gots here before Nonna! I telled you we was more veloce den dem!"
Unbuckling his harness, Maya blinked rapidly as she pushed a smile across her face and kept her voice neutral.
"Yes you did love bug. And that’s why you are the smartest little boy I know."
Opening her door, Maya let Liam jump down as Renaldo came around the front of the SUV.
"Liam, I want you and Andrea to go with Naldo into the hanger and stay in there because it’s going to start raining soon. I need you to check and make sure that there are snacks and cold water for when Nonna, Nonno and your sisters get here. You know what else? Why don't you teach Andrea some more ASL too? So that she can help you teach Gianna and Aria when they land."
Giving her a thumbs up, Liam turned and grabbed Andrea’s hand as she jumped down and followed him out of the SUV. Giving Renaldo a nod, Maya hit the button to slide the second row seat forward as she reached her hand in to help Carina out. Keeping a tight hold of Maya's hand, the pair hurried toward Enrique as Salvatore turned to look at them, his jaw set tightly. Enrique bowed his head and began to speak.
"Leonard radioed that they were experiencing heavy turbulence due to an electrical storm that came on suddenly. He was relaying the coordinates for the new course he intended to take around it when we lost contact. We haven't been able to reach them since and the ADS-B is completely offline. The tower did manage to get a short burst from the MLAT but not long enough to pinpoint an exact location before we lost that signal as well. Lo prometto, I have every available resource working to get us answers as quickly as possible."
Carina licked her lips and nodded in silence as Maya spoke up.
"What was their last location and altitude?"
"The course adjustment had him diverting over water at approximately forty seven thousand feet with a speed of five hundred fifty mph. They were only a little over an hour and a half from final approach."
Carina took a deep breath and exhaled shakily as she glanced toward the empty hanger to watch Liam and Andrea with Renaldo.
"Do we tell them?"
Maya shook her head.
"No. Not yet. We can't let them know anything. They are excited and I'm not taking that from them. Plus, Leonard is a former Air Force special ops pilot and..."
Maya looked at Enrique again, swallowed hard and asked the question she was dreading.
"Have...have there been any reports of....crashes?"
She felt Carina's nails dig into her skin as she said a silent prayer. Shaking his head as his phone began to ring, Enrique wiggled his finger and pulled the phone from inside his jacket pocket.
"No. And as per Salvatore's instructions, we immediately alerted SAC Whistler. She...ahhh, scusami, this is the tower calling me back."
Taking two steps away, Enrique answered and listened as Salvatore reached out and rested his hands on Maya and Carina's backs.
"Mi dispiace Principessa, but I had spoken to Enrique when Nonna and Zio left with the girls. And then I called Kate. I just wanted to make sure..."
Carina wiped her eyes and smiled at him.
"Don't apologize. You did the right thing. Grazie mille. We just need to find my bambini."
"Come desideri Principessa."
Maya walked out of the hanger's lounge area and onto the catwalk as the sound of the rain created a rhythmic pattern on the roof. Spotting Carina standing at the edge of open bay with her arms hugging her body as she stared at the grey skies, Maya started to make her way toward the stairs when she felt her phone begin to vibrate. Pulling it from her back pocket, Maya felt her stomach begin to turn as she saw Kate's face on her screen. Clearing her throat, Maya answered the call.
"Katie..."
"Listen to me. There are NO signs of a crash. I have a friend over at NORAD and he has been doing a continuous sweep with one of the weather satellites that tracks the area Leonard normally flies. He has them expanding it out for fifty miles on both sides and no one has called in anything on local emergency channels. Jane called in a favor and got two Navy jets scrambled from San Diego to scour their last known flight path. We are going to find them Lightning, I promise."
Maya took a deep breath and exhaled as she smiled tightly at Kate.
"I...I ca-....we can't lo-....Katie, I just don't know what to do."
"Stay positive. You know as well as I do that Leonard is one helluva pilot. That background check proved it. Don't lose hope. I mean it. They are all going to be just fine, I can feel it."
Blinking back tears, Maya nodded.
"I know. I think the fact that Andrea is still excited to see Gianna again is what's keeping me from losing my mind. They have a bond and I know that if somet-"
"Maya, don't even say it. I'm sure this is just some fluky thing and they are going to land any time now. How's Carina?"
Glancing up, Maya's forehead crinkled as she watched her wife's back shaking. Shifting her gaze back down at Kate, she wiped her eyes and pursed her lips.
"She's a wreck. And it doesn't help that we have been in the middle of something."
"Is everything ok?"
"Yeah...well, it's getting there. Listen, keep me updated and we have to talk about all the other shit that's going on but-"
"But not right now. I'm handling that other issue. Go. Give Carina a big hug from me and I'll call you with any new details."
"Thanks Katie."
The call went dark as Maya opened her text messages and sent the update she'd just gotten to her brother before shoving her phone back into her jeans and hurrying down the stairs and across the empty hanger. The sound of Carina crying had always cut through Maya's heart like an axe through a door on fire as Maya came up behind her, slipped her arms around Carina's waist and kissed the back of her neck.
"Hi."
Wiping her eyes before resting her hands against Maya's, Carina spoke softly.
"Where are Liam and Andrea?"
Lacing her fingers through her wife's, Maya pulled her closer against herself.
"In the lounge with Salvatore and Renaldo. I told them they could have whatever junk food they wanted and to stay in the lounge because of the rain. Liam is hoping to see lots of lightning."
Despite her mood, Carina let out a small chuckle.
"I still can't believe you stood in front of the windows with him at the villa and exposed him to a huge thunderstorm when he was so little."
"Hey, you were out there somewhere in that storm waiting to be brought back to us so Liam and I needed to be in it too."
"Just like now. Maya...tell me they are all ok. I don't even care if you lie to me, just make me believe you."
"They are all ok my love. We've worked too hard to build this life, it's not going to be taken from us."
Standing in silence as they watched the rain fall on to the empty runway, Carina squeezed her hands against her wife's.
"Bambina, I know that I hurt you by not telling you about what happened to me when I was at university, and I hope that you truly can forgive me, but Maya, you can't shut me out like that anymore either. You know how much that hurts me."
Resting her chin on her wife's shoulder, Maya stayed silent as Carina continued.
"I am so incredibly proud of you for all the work you have done to strengthen us and our marriage over the years, and I know that walking away and staying silent is still what you are used to in order to process your thoughts. But Maya, you need to understand that when you shut down so completely in that way, it scares me. Ever since that night we met, you have been the one constant in my life, the person that allows my heart to continue beating. You are my everything Maya. I love our children more than I could ever express, but I wouldn't have them if it wasn't for you. I can't even imagine what would have happened if you hadn't come home this morning. Would I have been standing here alone or with you on the other side of this hanger, us ignoring each other and feeling as scared as I know we both are right now? Maya, if you need a moment to sort yourself, I can accept that. But you can't shut me out completely."
Kissing the nape of Carina's neck, Maya nodded.
"You are right. I'm sorry I put you through that, I was wrong. And as for forgiving you? My love, there is nothing to forgive. You and I may have very different ways of dealing with things, but like you said, YOU are my heartbeat too. I shouldn't have had such a knee jerk reaction, but...and I'll only ever admit this to you...I'm not perfect. Listen, you can imagine how much I hate when you are hurting and I hate myself if I'm the one who's hurt you. And even though I do wish you had told me, I can accept the reasons why you were scared to. I mean, I guess I do have a tendency to be a bit.."
"Overprotective?"
"...hahah, yes. But it's because I never knew the beauty of unconditional love, even with my faults, before you. Losing you would absolutely shatter me because I can't live in this world without you by my side. So, no more secrets..and that goes for me too. We are in this life together as equals. And that's a forever contract Principessa, especially when it comes to something major. Our babies are growing up and before we know it, it’s going to be just you and me again. But until then, we need to make sure we are united so they don't take over. Deal?"
Turning around in Maya's arms, Carina's tears began to fall down her cheeks as she nodded, reached up to twirl Maya’s hair in her fingers and stared at her wife’s face.
"Deal. Now, can you go run really fast up into those stormy rain clouds you love so much and find our bambini? I need them, your mom and Vincent back here pronto, safe and sound."