"Well Joseph it doesn't look like it's broken, so I'll just stitch up that nasty cut and you can be on your way." Arizona smiled as she sat down in front of the injured child, and pulled on some gloves.
Today was a painfully slow day for the Ped's unit, it seemed today kids were being extra careful, no surgeries, no broken bones, no nasty infections, nothing. Arizona practically ran down the the ER when Joseph turned up. He had fallen down the stairs and cut open his arm, his mom thought he might have broken it, but nope, no broken bones, just a few stitches, nothing exciting. Arizona was a surgeon she could do stitches in her sleep.
What made today even more boring was the fact that Callie was out of town. She had flown to Miami to see her parents. It was her mother's birthday, and she'd promised that she'd go and visit for the weekend. Unfortunately Arizona couldn't get time off. She was the only Ped's attending on call that weekend, and so had to let Callie travel alone.
No Callie, and no sugeries made Arizona a very dull girl indeed.
After discharging Joseph Arizona sat down at the ER station and let her head fall down onto the desk.
"What's wrong Robbins?" Mark sang as he walked over casually.
"I'm bored." Arizona sang back, her voice reverbarating through the desk.
"Slow day for you aswell?"
She lifted her head up off the desk and rested it in her hands as she looked up at Mark and nodded. "I need a surgery!" She whined.
"Don't we all? I think Yang might cut one of us open if she doesn't get a patient soon." Mark laughed as he pointed towards a grumpy looking Cristina pacing backwards and forwards in the ER.
"Nah, she always looks like that." Arizona laughed back as she picked up a pen and began clicking it.
Mark winced slightly at the annoying noise, but tried to ignore it. "When does Torres get back?"
"Her flight is sometime today, I can't quite remember when though." Arizona replied as she sat and tried to remember when Callie said her flight was. "Her flight number was 232 I know that much."
Mark nodded, but as he opened his mouth to speak he was interrupted by the Chief.
"Listen up everyone!" He announced to the doctors in the ER. "We have just recieved word of a mass casualty incident nearby. All available level 1 trauma centers have been asked to respond, I need to send a team into the field immediately!"
Mark glanced back at Arizona, excitement filled his eyes and a smirk played across his face. "Chief! I'm available to help!"
"Ok Dr. Sloan find another doctor to accompany you, Shepherd, Altman and Hunt, I have to-"
"Whoa, how come only attendings get to go?" Cristina interjected, almost hurt by the fact that the Chief didn't ask her.
"I need residents here to help out with the casulties that come back, you all handled yourselves well in your solo surgeries, consider this your next test." The Chief sighed as he looked at his watch and began walking away.
"What do ya say Robbins? Wanna come along? I'm sure there will be injured children for you to help." Mark smiled, but Arizona was distracted.
"Chief!" She called out, he stopped just before he disappeared from sight and came back into the ER.
"Yes Dr. Robbins?"
"What happened? What's the incident?" She probed.
"I was told it was a plane crash, one plane took off just as another was coming in to land, the plane that was landing turned out of the way, collided with the airport and is now sticking out the side of terminal 3, so get moving people!" He yelled before walking off again.
"Chief!" Arizona yelled. "What was the flight number?" But he didn't hear her, he had already gone.
Her heart raced, as she lept off the chair and ran for the attendings locker room. A big incident like this the first people to be there would be the news team. It had to be on TV. As she got there, the news was already on, as both doctors and nurses sat in silence.
"You are looking at the wreckage of flight 232 which crashed into the side of Seattle Tacoma International Airport earlier today." The news woman's voice rang out from the TV as images of the plane filled the screen. "The plane took off from Miami, but encountered problems as it came in to land. There are no known survivors."
Arizona's heart stopped, and a single tear fell down her cheek 'No known survivors.' The news womans voice echoed in her head. 'No known survivors.'
Mark came bounding down the hallway and into the locker room, trying to catch his breath. "Arizona, what is it? Arizona?" But she said nothing, she stood frozen to the spot as images of the incident did nothing to desensitise her.
"Robbins!" Mark yelled, trying to snap her out of her trance.
"It's Callie's plane..." She whispered, her voice trembling.
"What?"
"It's Callie's plane..." She muttered again.
"Arizona, I don't know what you're saying." Mark said as he stood in front of her.
"IT'S CALLIE'S PLANE!" She yelled, before breaking down into full blown sobs, falling to her knees in a crumpled heap on the floor.
Mark's eyes widened, and the colour drained from his face. "C-Callie?" He stuttered. He stood for a second taking in the information, before he turned to look at the wreckage on the news. He felt sick, he could feel the bile rising in his throat as he thought about all the lifeless bodies, his best friend being one of them. "Robbins we have to go..." He managed to say, still not tearing his eyes away from the screen. "Robbins!"
Arizona slowly lifted her head, mascara marks ran down her face from her swollen, red eyes.
"C'mon," Mark said again. "We have to go."
"Go where?" Arizona sobbed.
"We have to go find Torres," Mark said, clearing his throat.
"She's dead Mark." Arizona sobbed again. "Can't you see the wreckage?"
"She's not dead..."
"Yes she is! No one could have survived that!"
"SHE'S NOT DEAD!" Mark yelled as he too dropped to his knees in front of Arizona. Tears began falling from his eyes, but he wiped them away as quickly as they appeared. "I know shes alive, I just know she is..." He stammered.
Arizona stared into his eyes for a moment, before getting up, and running out of the room. Mark following closely behind. "You're right." She said grabbing her triage bag and stuffing supplies into it. "We have to go."
"Ok people, we're catching a ride with Seattle 34, space is tight, so hold on to your kits." Owen Hunt called out as he lead the team out to the waiting ambulance.
On the way over, no one spoke, only Mark and Arizona knew Callie was amongst the wreckage somewhere, dead or alive. Owen, being head of trauma, had taken charge of the team, and was quietly going through his plan of action to himself. Arizona took a deep breath and swallowed hard trying to choke back the tears as she thought about Callie. Mark noticed and grabbed hold of her hand reassuringly. "It's ok," he whispered, though deep down he was freaking out too.
The ambulance came to a sudden stop sending the doctors sliding forward before the doors opened, exposing the light from the outside world. They all piled out and ran to assist other paramedics and search and rescue, all except Mark and Arizona, who stood there taking in the surrounding carnage.
Sirens blared out, as firemen raced to put out the fires, and paramedics fought to keep people alive. It was 10 times worse than just seeing it on TV. The tail end of the plane was sticking up out of the side of the airport, just suspended above nothing. The cockpit was buried in the remains of one side of the airport. The other side however remained untouched, almost oblivious to the massacre.
The fires were emitting smoke, and mixing with the dust were almost creating fog making visibility tough. Finding anyone in this mess was going to be damn near impossible.
