"I just got fired."
For a moment all Arizona could do was stand there and watch the brunette walk away, waiting for her brain to catch up.
"Wai- what?" she asked in shock, but the brunette was already halfway up the stairs- those same stairs where she had promised to make Arizona pierogi, and Arizona had first imagined naked plans with the gorgeous surgeon.
This can't be happening.
Turning on her heel, the blonde stormed down the hallway, passing several familiar faces without sparing them even a glance. She was on a mission.
Flinging open the conference room door and bursting into the room, she didn't care who was there.
"YOU FIRED ELIZA MINNICK?" she demanded, glaring at Bailey and Catherine, and then turning her icy blue gaze to Webber.
"You fired the only good decision that you've made since I- we- the board decided to make you chief?!"
Bailey's expression turned from confusion to shock.
"Well now, hold up-"
Arizona, the queen of authority issues, was having none of it.
"YOU brought her in to do a job without even having the GODDAMN DECENCY to discuss it with the board- the OWNERS of this hospital. YOU made that decision. And then, when people finally start to accept her, finally start to use her methods- methods that work by the way- you decide to FIRE her?! Without consulting us YET AGAIN?!"
Arizona was yelling because she knew that if she didn't she would cry tears of anger and frustration, and she was not giving the dictators in the room the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
"First of all, as chief of surgery, I have that right. And second of all, she almost had Edwards killed!" Bailey exclaimed.
"She- what?"
"She was so determined to follow protocol, that without Avery and Webber, Edwards would be in the hospital morgue right now."
"I'm sorry, determined to follow protocol? You're firing her because she FOLLOWED PROTOCOL? ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?! If PROTOCOL had been followed, then Edwards wouldn't have been in the hospital in the first place to be put in that situation! But OH NO! Richard, you had to one up her. You had to show her who was boss! Well guess what! SHE was the boss. But like you have done since she got here, you undermined her authority YET AGAIN, and gave Edwards permission to come back when you knew she wasn't ready!"
The other surgeons exchanged glances.
"Arizona, I realise that you and Dr. Minnick were personally invol-"
"Don't you dare Richard. Don't you DARE use that condescending tone with me. This has NOTHING to do with how I feel about Eliza, and everything to do with how I feel about your leadership skills."
She paused to give herself the chance to calm down.
"I used to have so much respect for you Dr. Bailey, and obviously you Richard," she continued calmly, "but honestly, it took an outsider coming in to show me how messed up this place has gotten. We are a TEACHING hospital, and yet we aren't even confident enough in our teaching abilities to trust our students with procedures they've seen done a dozen times. We expect to be able to hand them the scalpel in fifth year and for them to become fully confident in themselves in a short year, instead of nurturing them and encouraging them up along. I think we'll all agree that Cristina Yang is the best damn surgeon this hospital has produced in a VERY long time, maybe ever, and that's because from the beginning she was entrusted with procedures that most residents would never have dreamt of being able to do. Teddy had her act like an attending before she was even a fellow! And look where she is now- leading research in printing 3D hearts! All because she was years ahead of her qualifications in terms of training and knowledge. You and the others are right, Dr. Bailey, Richard's programme did produce excellent surgeons, world class even. But only certain residents who were helped along by attendings who had faith in them. And the people responsible for that are the attendings who allowed those residents to assist, and to lead, not the chief."
Arizona didn't wait long enough to see her friend's reaction, turning to Catherine Avery.
"I would recommend having your board at Harper Avery re-examine this case, given that the chief of surgery who fired Dr. Minnick is currently under review by the board. I'm calling a meeting to establish a vote of no confidence in Dr. Bailey's leadership", she stated coldly. "You may run the Harper Avery foundation, but Jackson represents the board at this hospital, and the other board members and I deserve a say in this too.
"Now han-"
Ignoring them, and without so much as a look over her shoulder, Arizona swept out of the room, all guns still blazing. She pulled her phone from her pocket, and aggressively typed out an email to all members of the board, including her ex-wife.
Emergency board meeting asap. I call a vote of no confidence in Bailey's leadership. We also need a neutral, non biased review of Minnick's programme. We've allowed ourselves, as owners of this hospital, to be told what to do for far too long.— AZ
Next she switched to her messages, and typed a message to Eliza.
Spoke to Bailey. Don't you dare go anywhere without talking to me, I'm coming over. I'm not letting you go without a fight.
Sending it before she could overthink the wording, Arizona made her way to the attendings locker room. Refreshing her emails she huffed in frustration seeing there were no responses.
"Hey! What's going on?" Meredith asked, walking in and sitting down wearily. "I just saw your email."
"What's going on is that Bailey has once again made a major decision without consulting the board. She fired Dr. Minnick."
"What?" Meredith asked in surprise. "Why? She was just here, she was helping with the patients, I saw her with Webber."
"Apparently following protocol in times of crisis is a fire-able offence."
"I don't understand…"
"Neither do I. Look, I know that you, or Jackson, or Maggie and God knows whoever else, aren't fans of Eliza. But we aren't just surgeons. We're board members. We need to look at her programme without thinking of Richard. We need to examine the case without personal bias. I care about both of them- Richard stood by me when Callie and I went to court, when nobody else did. But I gave Eliza a chance, and when I allowed myself, I was able to see how effective her programme was- is. I need you all to try do that."
Arizona pulled off her scrubs and hurriedly put on her street clothes as she spoke.
"Where are you going?" Meredith asked.
"To try and sort this mess out", Arizona replied briskly. "Talk to the others if you see them, would you?"
"Sure", Meredith nodded, still baffled as to how her evening had turned from introducing Riggs to her kids, to dealing with the aftermath of an explosion. "I'll talk to them."
"Thanks."
Arizona strode purposefully to her car. She had walked by Eliza's office to find it empty, both of its inhabitant and her possessions, save for a few scattered sheets of paper. She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to say to Eliza, but she knew that she had to see her. Stepping on the gas, she wryly wondered what would have happened if they'd just gone home, and had sex in a bed like normal people, instead of jumping each other in the car, and thus being there when the explosion hit. Pulling up outside Eliza's building, she took a deep breath. Getting out of the car, she walked to the front door, pressing the familiar buzzer.
"It's me", she said softly, when her call was picked up.
There was no sound on the other end, and Arizona was beginning to wonder if the brunette was just going to shut her out, when the intercom buzzed, and the door swung open. Arizona walked into the elevator, and found herself thinking of her elevator profession as she rode to the third floor.
Walking swiftly down the hallway she arrived outside of apartment 3F. Raising her hand she knocked, and the door swung open to reveal a tearful Eliza Minnick.
"Hi."
AN:I'm raging right now, I can't even express how disappointed I am. Hence me bashing out this in a fury instead of the essay I have due tomorrow. I'm not sure where it's going, maybe a two-shot, maybe more. Review and let me know your thoughts on both the finale and this.