Title: Against All Odds
Author: aseaofGrey
Rating: M
Summary: Dr. Arizona Robbins never wanted kids. Despite being the most outstanding Pediatric Surgeon in the country, saving their lives was where it ended. That was, until her older brother Timothy was killed in combat in Iraq, naming Arizona as the guardian of his daughter.
Author's Note: Welp, this is my first attempt at writing a story to post on here. I hope you all like it! This story takes place just after Arizona tells Callie that she doesn't want children. Clearly, the story is slightly AU since Timothy's storyline is different. From here, it will follow the same theme of Grey's, but not the plotline. This starts at 6x22, just after they break up.
I wanted to scream. The realization of where I was, by the constant buzzing of the hospital, prevented my eruption. My hands looped around my neck, tugging at the hair on the back of my head as I glared at my shattered iPhone on the floor. Tears clouded my vision as they streamed silently down my cheeks. Standing, I attempted to fix my disheveled appearance. I tried to step forward but my legs weren't strong enough. Grabbing at the silver trays beside me for leverage, I tried to catch myself. With a loud bang both me and the tray of equipment went crashing down as an influx of emotions took over. My body was trembling as the uncontrollable sobs finally sprung from my lips. Timmy is dead. The thought rang through my mind, crashing into me like a ton of bricks. It was merely seconds before the empty exam room door opened and someone entered.
"Arizona," I hear a gentle voice whisper as I feel a body slide beside me on the ground. Looking up, I come face to face with the light haired beauty I'd recently dubbed my best friend. She placed a small hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.
"What happened?" She asked grabbing my hands to pull me up from the ground with her. Teddy soon had us both on our feet and she gently pushed me back into the chair I'd previously been occupying. I could not will myself to speak as the tears continued to stream effortlessly down my face. A large puddle had formed on the front of my dark blue scrubs, but I didn't care. Teddy moved swiftly around the room picking up the scattered instruments. Handing me my shattered phone, she tried again, "What happened?"
Looking up, my eyes locked with hers, "My brother is dead." Another round of sobs took over my body as I cried out for him. I hadn't said it out loud yet, and hearing the words again made it all too real. Without hesitation Teddy wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close against her chest. Rocking me softly, she ran a hand through my hair, attempting to soothe me.
"What can I do?" She asked me finally. My obscene noises had finally ceased, though the tears hadn't yet dried out. Wiping my face with the back of my hand, I responded without hesitation, "I need Callie." Teddy barely gave me time to adjust to her letting go of me before she was out the door in search of the woman I no longer had a right to need.
My fingers ran over the cracked screen of my phone, the recent calls list coming up on the screen as it unlocked. Checking to see if the phone call had indeed been real, I stared in disbelief that my mother had just destroyed my entire world in a 32 second phone call. I'm sure my mother would have liked to talk longer, but the moment the words left her mouth the phone was out of my hand and hurling rapidly at the wall opposite me before I even knew what I was doing. I placed the phone on the table beside me and stood up.
Why did I call for Callie? I'm not her problem anymore. She'd made that perfectly clear. But this is Timmy, she knows. She knows I need her.
I was pacing now, trying to calm my mind, willing Callie to forgive me enough to come when I needed her. It wasn't until the door opened again that I was able to sit down. Closing my eyes before looking up, a sense of relief washed over me as the tall brunette rushed to my side immediately. I watched Teddy slip out of the room and I silently thanked her for finding me Callie.
"Callie," I breathed, exhaling a gasp of hair I hadn't realized I was holding. Her arms wrapped tightly around my body as she pulled me up, holding me against her chest. My arms wrapped around her waist, holding her closely. She didn't say a word as I slowly willed myself to calm down enough to speak to her. Something about those strong arms of hers never failed to bring me peace.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked me softly after a few minutes. I nodded slowly against her chest, gripping hard onto her white lab coat. Reluctantly I pulled away from her. For the first time in a couple days my eyes locked on hers. My heart erupted with feelings, like it always did when her dark eyes met mine. I had to remind myself that she wasn't mine anymore, and I quickly looked away. She placed a hand on my cheek, willing me to look at her again. The smile that previously sat delicately on her lips was now gone as she looked at me sternly, "I am here because you need me." I watched her features soften, "I'm here because I care about you, no hidden agendas, and no promises that anything that happens right now will change anything. You need me Arizona, and I'm here." Callie always knew what I was thinking and it never ceased to amaze me.
Nodding, I started to speak, "My mother just called. The phone call lasted 32 seconds." I stopped to laugh through a new set of tears. "She called to tell me that there was an air raid out in the desert last night. I barely let her get the words out before I threw my phone at the wall." I watched Callie's jaw drop as the realization of what I was saying hit her. My best friend, my brother, was dead. Her arms pulled me close again as she wrapped me even tighter than before.
"Oh, baby," she soothed softly, "it's going to be alright." Her right hand began playing loosely with my hair, trying to calm my shaking body. The tears had finally stopped, but the shuddering was not something I could control. It felt like hours that we stood like this, but it had only been a few minutes before the beeping of my pager brought me out of my trance. It was Chief Sheppard, he wanted me in his office. Before I could even say anything, Callie took hold of my hand and started to walk me from the exam room, "I'll take you there," she told me leading me down the hallway.
Callie barely had enough time to raise her arm to knock on the door before Derek opened it to let us in. Judging by the sympathetic look on his face, I guessed someone had told him the news and he was calling me down to kick me off the boards for the day. Callie pulled me closer to her and led me through the door.
"Please, Derek, before you say anything," I started defensively as he shut the office door, "please don't take me off the boards today. I need a distraction. I need to work."
Shaking his head, Derek signaled that my presumptions were correct, "I can't have you operating today. Charts and consults only, no surgeries." My head dropped, I had nothing left to argue. Deep down I knew he was right, surgery wasn't the best option for me today.
"Other than that, how are you?" Derek asked me, clearly already knowing the answer. "Is there anything I can do? We received a call about an hour ago from a lawyer. I know that this is probably the last thing you want to worry about right now, but I guess they tried your cell and failed, so called the hospital." I looked up to meet his gaze, silently requesting that he continue. "His name was Jacob Hunter, he was Timothy's lawyer in charge of his estate, in case anything happened. He left his phone number and requested that you give him a call as soon as possible, it seemed urgent."
I nodded, Timothy had updated and signed his will each time he left for a tour, and I expected the phone call. While he'd never told me much about it, I knew he had a few things he'd needed to square away. There was the house, his cars, his money, and a few sentimental knickknacks. Once, Timmy had promised he'd leave me his uniform, and his dog-tags had there ever come a time he'd no longer need them. That's all I wanted, and he knew it. I reached over and took the post-it with the phone number on it from Derek.
"Do you need some time Dr. Torres?" Derek asked, turning his attention to my raven haired goddess. I watched her glance at me briefly then back to Sheppard, then back to me. Placing my hand on her knee, I reassured her that I'd be fine. Callie gave me a half smile and shook her head at Derek, letting him know she'd be okay to finish out her day.
The locker room was dark and quiet. Sitting down on the bench, I leaned back, bending my legs at the knee to lay down comfortably. My eyes took note of the rain droplets on the windows, carefully trying to count each one. I'd finished all of my charts, done a couple consults and spent the remainder of my day sulking around the Pediatric wing hoping one of my kids would cheer me up. After my third failed attempt at smiling, I'd trudged my way down to the locker room to hide. Some soldiers don't make it out of the desert. For some reason I always let that fact slip my mind, or maybe it was because I never wanted to believe that Timmy could be one of the ones who didn't make it. My world was spinning. I'd yet to call Timmy's lawyer yet. My mom had blown up my phone about a hundred times, but I just couldn't bring myself to speak to her. Picking the lesser of two evils, I pulled my broken phone from my pocket and dialed the number Derek had given me.
"Ms. Robbins?" The voice on the other end asked as the phone clicked into use.
"Mr. Hunter?" I questioned back softly.
"I'm sorry we're not meeting on better circumstances, your brother always spoke so highly of you," the man spoke, the compassion evident in his voice. I could tell he cared about my brother.
"My brother was a smart man," I replied simply, "I'm sorry it took so long for me to get back to you, I've had a rough day since finding out about Timmy."
I heard the man sigh, "I understand." He paused, and just as I was about to speak, he started again. "As you know, I was Timothy's lawyer. I'm sorry that we couldn't wait for you to fly in, but, your parents and I went over the will today. I'm sure you understand, due to the pressing situation."
"Of course, Timmy's funeral needs to be dealt with, and I'm sure my parents don't want to drag this out longer than they need to," I told him, understanding.
"With regards to Dylan," Mr. Hunter started. Shit. I hadn't even thought of her.
"Wow," I replied, "I am a horrible aunt. Have you seen her? Is she alright? How is Arielle?" I knew that it was unlikely that the lawyer knew how my sister-in-law and niece were fairing, but I tried anyway.
I heard the man stutter for a moment before gathering himself. "You don't know?" He asked me. My lack of response must have told him I didn't because he quickly began speaking again, "Ms. Robbins, Arielle Robbins took her own life this morning after learning of Timothy's death…" There was a long pause again as I went into shock. ARIELLE DID WHAT? I couldn't reply. "Ms. Robbins, did Timothy and Arielle ever tell you who they would be granting custody of Dylan to…"
I didn't let him finish, "Oh, no. No. No. No. No." I couldn't form any other words as the realization of what was happening hit me. Timmy wanted me to take Dylan. Jacob Hunter was calling me because Dylan was sitting alone in a state appointed foster home waiting for me to come and pick her up. My six year old niece had lost both of her parents in one day and they wanted ME of all people to take her. My mind was spinning as I dropped the phone from my hand.
"Thank you for coming," I whispered as Callie appeared at my front door. She nodded and immediately pushed past me into my apartment. I closed the door behind her and followed her over to my couch. Instinctively I crawled into her lap and curled into a ball in her arms. Nuzzling up against her chest, I took in a deep breath of her, quickly becoming intoxicated by her scent. She held me close, placing a chaste kiss on my forehead. I was slowly getting lost in her. My head found a comfortable spot nestled into the crook of her neck. Within moments my lips found the smooth skin of her neck and placed feather-light kisses on the exposed skin. I felt Callie sigh below me and I took this as my chance to increase the pressure. My left hand slid up to cup the other side of Callie's neck while my lips pressed a little rougher against the soft tanned skin. My kisses trailed upwards, tracing a slow line up to her ear. I placed a few gentle kisses behind her ear and promptly began kissing down her jaw. As her beautiful lips came into view, I genuinely could not stop myself from lacing my fingers into the hairs at the nape of her neck and pulling her face closer to mine.
Our lips were mere millimeters apart, to the point where I could feel her breathing against my mouth. Our noses brushed softly against one another's, and my whole body shivered at the sensation. My tongue darted out from between my lips, slowly licking them over before crashing my lips down onto hers. The kiss started out slow, allowing myself to really remember how amazing it felt to kiss Calliope Torres. Once our pace was set and her lips were lightly mimicking my movements, I deepened the kiss. My hand gripped her hair hard, tugging her face closer to mine. I parted my lips, sliding my tongue along her bottom lip, begging her to let me taste. Her lips opened, her tongue slid out to meet mine. Until the need to breathe took over, our mouths fought a losing battle against one another in hopes of gaining dominance. Out of breath, I couldn't believe I'd just done that. Especially with what I was about to tell her.
Callie smiled and kissed my cheek, "What's wrong baby? What do you need?" She was being so perfect. Not even a week ago I'd crushed her dreams of a future with me. I'd broken both of our hearts, and now here she was holding me, comforting me
"Callie," I started to speak, trying to form the words I so desperately needed to say. I needed help, I needed someone to tell me what to do, someone who wasn't my family. Someone who did not have a personal stake in the situation. I'd tried to talk to my mother, but she turned straight to screaming the moment I hesitated. "Callie," I tried again, but nothing came out. I shook my head. A few more minutes past before I gathered the courage again to speak. "Calliope, Timmy's wife killed herself this morning…" I paused as her jaw dropped for the second time today, "Arielle is gone, and they want me to take Dylan."