This is initially meant to be a brand new chapter for an existing story of mine. But after much contemplation, I've decided to post this as another mini-fanfic instead. I hope you'll enjoy this story!

Disclaimer: I don't own this. Shonda does. But I do own Sophie though.

Sophie

Arizona's POV

As a paediatric surgeon, I see hundreds of sick kids daily, and I operate on at least five kids daily. Initially, I would feel remorse for each of these patients, and it eventually took an emotional toll on me. So I learnt to let go...to let go of each dear and adorable patient who I couldn't save despite my uttermost efforts. And I learnt masked depression, which is to appear cheerful and happy on the outside, even though you're in actual fact feeling depressed and crushed on the inside. I guess masked depression is a skill that we surgeons have acquired all the way back from our med school days.

The moment I set my eyes on her, I just knew that she was different from the other kids. Something about her just stood out for me, but I couldn't quite point out what it was. Maybe it is her huge hazel eyes staring back at me. Or maybe it is her long dark brown wavy hair which reached her shoulders. Or maybe it is her Minnie mouse hairband and the little French doll which she holds in her hands.

But what stood out the most about her is that both her arms and legs were wrapped in cast. Maybe she had a bad fall? Or maybe, just maybe…

I shake the thought out of my head.

Now, her mother is approaching me, holding her daughter in one hand. The mother, I've to say, looks like a stern woman with her dark hair rolled back into a bun. She'll tall and looks to be in her early forties.

She extends her hands to me and I shake it.

'Is this the Paediatric Surgeon?' she asked.

'Yes, it's me.'

' Ah…, glad to meet you finally! I've heard so much about you…how you do all these amazing surgeries….how you saved the lives of so many children'

I smile and blush slightly at the compliment. 'Thank you.'

' Ermm….I'm Mrs. Wright, and this is my elder daughter Sophie.'

'Oh...' I say as Sophie now looks up at me with those hazel eyes. There is a tinge of sadness in her eyes

'Sophie was born with type 3 OI, she has sustained hundreds of fractures throughout the five years of her life. I heard that you're the top paediatric surgeon in this country, and I thought that maybe you can fix her, you know, like insert prostheses into her…'

'Fix her?' How on earth do you expect a Paediatric surgeon to fix a child with OI? I think.

But what came out of my mouth before I could stop myself was 'We'll see what we can do, Mrs. Wright.'

Sophie is staring at me again.

' Sophie, remember your manners….it's rude not to greet people who are older than you.'says her mother sternly.

' Hello ' Sophie said in a shy voice.

I bend down so that our eyes were at the same level and smile warmly at her.

'Hello Sophie. You can call me Arizona.'

She slowly lets out a shy smile. 'I've a friend named Arizona too.'

'Oh cool! Does she look like me?'

'No…she has brown hair like me.'

Now I'm in Sophie's room. Her mother has gone down to the hospital canteen to get some drinks. We sit in silence for a while.

'Sophie, you ok?' I ask, not knowing what else to say to her.

'Yeah, I guess' she answered, staring at the carpeted floor.

' Look, your mother isn't here at the moment, so if there's anything in your mind that has been bothering you, you can tell me.' I try to sound nice enough to convince her. Although I'm not a child psychiatrist, but the lack of eye contact is a strong indication that something is not right.

Tense silence fills there room. I can just feel that she's contemplating on telling me something.

Then suddenly she breaks the silence.

' She's not my mother'.

'I'm sorry?'

' I said she's not my mother'

I am puzzled. 'But she just told me that she's your mother….'

' She's not my real mother. She's my step-mother. My real mother is not here anymore. She's in heaven.' She said matter-of factly. Suddenly, she sounds much older than her age.

' Oh…I'm so sorry to hear that…' I said genuinely. 'How about your dad?'

' He is busy at work. He always comes back drunk at night.'

Now, I feel terrible for her.

' And so now my step-mother is looking after me and my sister. But she always yells at us..'

' Maybe she means well…you know, she loves both of you and wants to teach you to be good'

At first she said it in such a small voice that I've to ask her to repeat it.

' She hits me'.

Suddenly, I wonder if the whole OI thing was just a cover up…a means of disguising non-accidental injury. In other words…she might have been abused.

If that's the case, I would need the help of social services.

And there's only one way to find out…

I quickly ask her to remove her clothes and examine her entire body. Her right arm is wrapped in a figure eight sling and backslab. Both her legs are wrapped in an above knee cast. There are no bite marks, no torn frenulum, no stab or strangulation marks….

Suddenly I spot a multiple bruises on her left and right thighs and on her neck as well.

Some seem to be more recent compared to the others. Children with OI get fractures and not bruises. Even children with haemophilia (which is more common in boys) suffer from swollen joints and not this. There is only one other possibility left besides non-accidental injury, and that was thrombocytopenia, the lack of platelets. Maybe she also has ITP?

'Sophie, how did you get this?' I ask softly.

She looks away from me, ashamed. ' I bruise easily'.

'Sophie…'

' She pinched me' came the pained answer.

And it pinches me even more to hear the answer.

I'm having none of this… how can such an innocent little girl be treated in such a manner?

I call my girl Callie, who also happens to be an Orthopaedic surgeon.

'Callie, I have this patient a 5 year old girl who her mother says is diagnosed with type 3 OI, and she wants me to fix her.. so I need your help desperately.'

'Sure' came the reassuring voice on the other end of the line. 'I'll drop by after I check on my patient'

'My girlfriend is the best' I say… not realizing that Sophie is staring at me now.

' Oh…and Callie…. 'I now lower my voice

' I suspect might have been abused. I want to investigate this further. Can you also send me one of the residents to order the CBC, Dexa Scan and upper and lower limb XRays…

'Alright….hey Alex! Can you do me a favor?' I hear her call.

Just as I hang up, Sophie's mother enters the room, holding two cups of hot chocolate.

She smiles at me and puts down a cup on the bedside table and hands the other cup to Sophie.

Then she walks over to me and whispers in my ear…

' I love Sophie. I would never hurt her.'

She hands me some of Sophie previous medical records- all her previous hospitalizations and previous outpatient visits.

She then takes her sit beside Sophie, and both of them begin to chat casually like nothing had happened at all.

Me thinks that Sophie can qualify to be the youngest ever Oscar winner.

Moments later, Callie and I are standing in front Sophie's XRay scans. They showed exactly what we've expected, several closed fractures on both her upper and lower limbs.

And her DEXA scan showed that she indeed did have osteopenia. Her CBC results were normal though, with no indication of anemia or thrombocytopenia.

It turns out that Sophie does indeed have OI but doesn't have any coagulation disorders. I still cannot ignore the fact that Sophie told me that her mother (or stepmother) had hit and pinched her. Those are some serious allegations.

' Well, there's nothing we can do at the moment.' Says Callie. My girlfriend reads my mind, this is one of the things I love about her.

' Whether she has been abused or not, we have nothing to prove it'

' The only thing we can do at the moment is to treat her current fractures' she says with a sigh. 'I've to put her on internal fixators asap.'

' You know, Callie, I always wonder why life is full of misery. Why innocent people, innocent children have to suffer. Why is life so unfair?' I ask suddenly.

' Because God wants to test our faith.' she says simply. 'Life is just a test, a test to see how well we can endure this race, because our real life begins up there in heaven.'

I'm not a religious person, but I love it when Callie goes all spiritual like this.

' Life is a test.' I repeat, leaning against her shoulder, suddenly feeling exhausted and worn out by the day's events.

' Pizza?' Callie suggests, and I smile. 'Naked?' I suggest back, and Callie laughs.

'Not in this hospital. But tonight when we end our shift…'

I kiss her on the cheek.

'Can't wait….'

That night, as dear Callie and I chat our way through a meal of pizza, and had a long nice shower together, I just cannot stop thinking about Sophie.

Well, this is the first chapter of my new story. Please do review…I need to know whether you like it or not. And if I get enough reviews, I would proceed on with this story.