A/N: I was listening to Demi Lovato's song Stone Cold and I got this incredible idea for a one-shot which then turned into a two-shot and we'll see how many chapters I end up with.
This might be hard to read if you have a weak stomach. Also I'm just experimenting with the storyline from Grey's Anatomy. Just because it sucks doesn't mean I can't make it so that Callie and Arizona are end game.
April helped Arizona got in the taxi but then a moment came where she really messed things up. April let Arizona say the address. And Arizona's clouded mind didn't process information the way it should and she somehow told the driver the address to the apartment building across the street from the hospital. The apartment she and Callie shared for almost 5 years. Arizona hated Penny. Well, no she didn't. But she hated what it meant. Callie was moving on. Penny was smart, funny and pretty. And Callie was the happiest she's ever been apparently. Arizona huffed in the taxi. She spent years loving her and they even got married just for Callie to tell Arizona right in her face that she's never been this happy. Did Arizona fail to make her happy? Arizona also missed Sofia. She hasn't seen her daughter in almost a week. She didn't think it was Callie's fault, but on all the nights that Sofia was supposed to stay with Arizona she was on call or on the night shift. Arizona got out of the taxi and squinted at the apartment building. Was it always this tall and leaning just a little bit to the left? Arizona laughed to herself and walked up the stairs. Which was a really bad decision. And she didn't stop on the fifth floor either, no, she was going straight to the roof. The last time she was on the roof was when she was smoking, right after she moved back into the apartment from the hotel and she was feeling unwanted and uncomfortable. Arizona pushed on the roof door, nearly whining when the door refused to open, before realizing that she had to push. She giggled and stumbled on the roof. She always found the view beautiful from here. Sometimes in the summer she would lay here with Callie on a blanket and they would watch stars. It also always made her feel so fearless. There was no railing on the roof. Just a flat cement. She neared the edge of the roof, but not too close, and sat down.
What Callie assumed was going to a perfect day turned into a disaster. Penny, her Penny, was a doctor that was involved in Derek's death. She knew Meredith's accusation was pretty irrational. Penny didn't really kill him. But she was there and she was partly responsible for not giving Derek the proper care. Callie shook her head. Sofia was staying with Zola, Bailey and Elis and she didn't want to be home alone. She parked her car in front of her former apartment building. She loved watching the hospital lights from the roof of the building. Arizona always claimed she loved the stars, but no, Callie loved watching the lights. And hearing the ambulances rush by. It never meant that something positive happened but to her it was home. Callie skipped up the stairs, her eyes widening when she realized the roof door was partly opened. Nobody ever came up to the roof. It was locked for the children and adults just never bothered to check it out. There was nothing up here. Callie pushed the door further open before she realized there was someone sitting there. She could only make out the silhouette in the darkness and reflection from the city lights. But as she walked closer, she realized it was actually Arizona. Great, just the person she needed to see today. Arizona tried really hard at the dinner to get to know Penny and Callie couldn't be more grateful but it was hard. Having her around constantly. Because you can't just stop loving someone overnight. Callie pulled her black jacket tighter around herself. She noticed smoke coming from Arizona's direction. "Arizona," Callie called out.
Arizona's eyes widened and suddenly she had the urge to hide the cigarette away from Callie like she did from her parents when she was younger. "I wasn't smoking," she said quickly and giggled as she threw the cigarette away.
"Aha," Callie said. "How much wine did you have? And please don't tell me you drove here."
Arizona, with some difficulty, scrambled to stand up, swaying slightly. "I didn't really have as much wine as I later had scotch. And I got here with taxi."
The way Arizona was squinting at Callie she knew that Arizona wanted to tell her something. "You can say what you want," Callie said. Because Arizona was drunk and wasn't going to remember this tomorrow.
Arizona's jaw dropped at how well Callie knew her. But then again they were together for a long time and Callie could read her like an open book. "Penny's nice. Penny's lovely," Arizona started rambling. "It was intimidating at first but then later I realized she was there when Derek died so I feel better. But I shouldn't because this could happen to anyone. But it happened to Penny. And our friends, your friends, are all mad at her which goes back to making me feel better. But you said that she makes you happy. The happiest you've ever been in your whole life. Did I fail you? Did I fail to make you happy? But you know what? If… If happy is her, I'm happy for you. I am, really." Arizona finished her stuttered and slurred ramble and hung her head low.
Callie shivered in the cold night. Her throat closed up a little. Because Arizona did make her happy. They were married. They had Sofia. But their last years together were breaking her apart and it didn't seem fair to either of them to stay in a relationship that caused them pain. So Callie decided to say something just because she knew that Arizona wasn't going to remember any of this. "I was happy with you. We have so much history, Arizona. Everything that happened in the past 7 years is us. You gave me so much happiness. But just because I was happy with you, doesn't mean I can't be happy with her. Penny's a great person. Whatever happened that night is obviously something that she's not taking lightly. But Arizona," Callie spoke softly causing Arizona to look up to her with her big eyes, making her look so childlike, "you did make me happy. And I'll always have these wonderful memories of you."
Arizona nodded. "I get it," she murmured. "Doesn't mean I understand or that it doesn't hurt but like I said, if happy is her I'm happy for you."
"Thank you," Callie said genuinely.
Arizona then suddenly laughed. "I keep thinking that if I stopped loving you all of this would be easier but I can't seem to stop. And I'm just so dizzy right now." She tried to make a few steps forward but ended up stumbling backwards.
Callie's eyes widened. Arizona was already close to the edge of the roof as it was. "Arizona!" she yelled. She ran towards her, trying to catch her or grab her. Something. But the material of Arizona's jacket sleeve slipped right through her fingers. Suddenly Callie felt nauseous. Arizona was falling. Right in front of her. And she was never going to forget the horrible sound of her body hitting the ground. Her brain blacked out. Every rational decision left her mind. Was it for a minute that she stood there? Longer? Ambulance lights turned on by the hospital and sirens filled with her ears. A woman ran out of her former apartment building trying to get a closer look of Arizona. Callie was a doctor, she was supposed to be down there trying to help her. Callie's stomach turned and she emptied its content on the roof before it all came back to her. Arizona needed help. Tears burning in her eyes, her lips trembling and her hands shaking Callie ran down from the roof and in front of the building. The woman looking at Arizona's motionless body couldn't figure out what to do as she spoke on the phone with 911 dispatch. "I'm a doctor," Callie rasped out. But right now she didn't feel like one. There was blood. A lot of it. Most likely a head injury, Arizona's usually flawless face scratched, her jaw broken. Callie's hand was so unsteady she wasn't even sure if Arizona had a pulse or if is imagined it. And then the ambulance came and she was being pushed away while the medics were trying to save Arizona. Callie felt at loss. She didn't know what to do, what to say, who to call. She needed someone. She dialed a phone number. "Karev?" she whispered after his grumpy reply. "It's A-Arizona, can you meet me in the hospital?"
It was after the ambulance left and the lady moved away from the scene to talk to police officers that Callie inhaled sharply and broke down on the ground. She couldn't stop her tears and she couldn't catch a breath. The police officer tried to talk to her, to console her but Callie was barely able to hear him.
"Torres?" Alex asked. "I rushed to the hospital and you weren't even there." It was 2 in the morning. He was tired and confused. "Why's there blood next to you and what happened to Robbins?"
Callie ended up coughing as she tried to speak. "S-she... The roof," Callie managed to stutter. "She fell."
Alex's eyes widened and he looked up. "Shit," he said under his breath. "She fell from the roof? What happened? She survived right?" But at his second glance towards the roof he shuddered.
"I-I don't know. The ambulance came. They took her away," Callie said absently. "Oh god, I don't know if she's alive. I can't." She shook her head. "I can't. I… Mark's already gone. Sofia… She's only going to have me. I can't do it on my own." And she realized how terrible Meredith must have felt. She was alone with three children.
Alex knelt down in front of Callie. "Robbins is like immortal. She survived the plane crash and car crash and shooting. She'll survive this too. Look, I left a sleeping half-naked girl in my bed, come on."
Callie cringed. "That's too much information," she muttered. She took a look at the spot where Arizona landed and wiped her tears away. "What am I going to do if she doesn't make it? Oh my god, this is all my fault. She got drunk because of me. I know she wasn't comfortable with meeting Penny. But I wanted you guys to meet her. Today was a disaster," she cried again.
"Actually yesterday was a disaster," Alex said. "Look, unless you pushed her down the roof this isn't your fault. You didn't push her did you?"
Callie glared at him. "Of course not!"
The police officer realized Callie has stopped hyperventilating. "Miss, may I speak with you for a couple of minutes?"
Callie just nodded.
"Why where you on the roof with the lady?"
"A-arizona, her name is Arizona," Callie said. "I, uh, I didn't know she was here. I just wanted a few minutes of peace when I noticed she was there."
"So you knew her?"
Callie swallowed audibly. "We were married."
Officer's eyes widened but quickly went back to normal. "Was she intoxicated? Has she been acting strange lately? Any suicidal thoughts?"
"She wasn't suicidal!" Callie nearly screamed. Or was she? No, she was just too drunk. "She tried to get up and she stumbled backwards and she lost her balance." And Callie knew why Arizona lost her balance. "She doesn't have one leg. She lost her balance," she repeated quietly.
Alex noticed Callie was on the edge of another break down. It reminded him of that time she was crying in an on call room after Mark died. "Come on," he said quietly, pulling her up in a standing position. "We'll head to the hospital. I'll call Jo and tell her what happened. People will wanna be here."
"We can't lose another one of us," Callie gasped, tears falling again.
"We won't," Alex encouraged her. He helped her into his car and drove across the street. He wasn't sure if Callie could handle walking there. "You're not gonna pass out will you?"
Callie just shook her head. She couldn't form a word, she didn't know what she was thinking or feeling. Alex opened the car door for her when they arrived to the hospital and helped her out. They got to the information desk. They weren't doctors right now. "Can I get any information about Doctor Robbins? Arizona Robbins?"
The lady behind the counter wasn't new, she knew all the surgeons, but she still had to act professional. "I can only give information to her family."
"I'm her emergency contact," Callie said, taken back. Everyone knew she used to be married to Arizona.
"I'm sorry, Doctor Torres, but she must have changed her emergency contact. It says that Barbara Robbins is now in charge of her medical decisions," she spoke.
Callie turned to Alex with a panicky expression. "Alex, I can't call her mom and tell her that Arizona fell off a roof. Do you know how that sounds? Oh god, they're going to have to fly here from Baltimore."
"We already contacted her mom," the lady at the counter said.
Alex sighed. "Can you at least tell us if she's alive?"
He ignored the glare she sent him and continued to stare at her. "She was rushed to surgery. Her condition is critical. That's all I can say."
Callie whimpered and Alex led her to the waiting room. "Do you want me to call anyone? I don't know how to handle this stuff. Maybe I should call Meredith. Or Maggie."
"No, no. Meredith's had a hard night enough as it was," Callie said, shaking her head.
"What about Penny?"
Callie shook her head even faster. "She wouldn't understand. I mean she knows Arizona and I dated and that Sofia's ours but she doesn't know… us. About Mark and Africa and all other horrible things."
"You and Robbins had some good times," Alex said with a shrug. "I know for a fact you tried to do her in an on call room before you got chicken pox."
Callie cracked a smile but it disappeared seconds later. "Do you ever miss Stevens?"
Alex scrunched his face. "Izzie? Why would I miss her?"
"You got married. She was supposed to be the love of your life. Didn't you love her?" Callie asked.
"Uhm, I did, I guess. But look, things were different back then. She got cancer, nearly died, got fired and then left. I thought I loved her or whatever, but I'm with Jo now. Why?"
Callie shrugged. "Do you think Penny's my Jo? That I'll just forget about Arizona?"
Alex chuckled. "You have a kid with her. And me and Izzie weren't together for that long."
"But still," Callie argued, unsure why. "She said that it was the worst night of her life. That the day Derek died was the worst night of Penny's life. But what if she also meant that today was the worst night of her life? You're my family, my friends. All I have left."
"You brought her into Mer's house. Obviously everyone freaked out," Alex said, trying to comfort her but it wasn't going so well.
Callie chewed on her lip for a few moments. "I talked about friends to her. I mentioned their name. I said that Meredith lost her husband Derek in a car crash because they didn't give him the proper care. She knew. She should have said something."
Alex shrugged. "People suck."
Callie snorted, wiping her tears away with her jacket sleeve. "She's Arizona."
"What?" Alex really wished he understood women. One minute they were crying and the next they said one word that he was supposed to understand. Well he didn't.
"Penny. She's Arizona but from before the plane crash. They have the same sense of humor, we finish each other's sentences and share same thoughts, just like I did with Arizona. And they both like donuts." Callie sighed. "Do you think I'm making a mistake?"
"I so don't get women," Alex grumbled. "Want me to call Jo?"
Callie shook her head. "I meant with Penny. Obviously she lied to me. But then again, Arizona lied to me before too. What if I'm just meant to be single forever?"
"You're too hot for that," Alex said unapologetically. "Look, it's almost 4 am. I have work today. You have work today. Robbins is probably gonna be in surgery for a while and there's nothing for us to do. Let me drive you home."
"Can I stay with you and Jo?"
Alex groaned. "What is it with you and lesbians and staying at my place?" he complained under his breath. He walked next to Callie, making sure she wasn't as unstable as before and drove her to his house.
Callie called in sick in the morning and no one asked her any questions. She didn't really get much sleep, her mind replaying the awful sound of Arizona's body hitting the ground. She couldn't lay in bed all day though as Arizona's parents were coming and she had to pick up Sofia. Sofia has been going through a lot lately. She didn't understand why her mommies didn't live together anymore and why she had to move out of the house and she also started preschool which of course Sofia didn't like. Callie smiled at Sofia. "Hey, princess. Did you have fun with Zola?"
Sofia nodded. "We maked muffins," she said with a bright smile. "No school today?"
"No school today," Callie confirmed. "Your grandpa and grandma are in town," she said excited. Sofia knew them mostly through Skype, though they did visit when Callie and Arizona were going through therapy. It was a part of the program.
"Can we go to the zoo?" Sofia asked with a wide smile. Callie nodded but she wasn't really sure. "With mama?" Sofia asked again.
Callie's breath caught in her throat. As she sat Sofia in the car and helped her with the seat belt she decided to tell her. "Your mama had a little accident last night. She's in the hospital and won't be able to go to the zoo." Also the weather wasn't on their side because dark clouds were already gathering.
"Oh," Sofia said with a frown. "Can I see her?"
"She's sleeping," Callie said. She wasn't really sure what Arizona's condition was. "But when she gets better we're going to visit her."
Sofia pouted. "Will mama fall asleep forever like daddy? I don't want her to sleep."
Callie's heart broke. "I don't know yet, little miss. Come on, we're going to see grandma and grandpa." She drove them to the hospital where she was meeting with Barbara and Daniel. She was closer to Barbara and honestly, Arizona's dad still scared her. When she got to the waiting room Barbara was crying. Callie's eyes closed for a moment. "Please don't," she murmured to herself, applying to Arizona's life. "Hi," she said softly.
"Oh sweetie," Barbara cried even louder, embracing Callie.
Callie felt her chest tightening. "Is... Arizona?" Barbara just stayed in the hug and Callie turned her head towards Daniel.
"She's in a bad shape," was all he said.
Owen walked up to them and Callie released Barbara to walk up to him. "What happened? What are her injuries?"
Owen looked over at Arizona's parents that were in no condition to take in the information he had. "You need to listen to this as a doctor and not someone that was close with her." At Callie's nod he started. "She suffered a severe break of her right leg, her prosthetic was crushed and we had to take it off but it pretty much saved her life. Her lung collapsed and she broke a few ribs. One wrist sprained and the other broken. Broken jaw and a skull fracture which led to a brain bleed. There's a lot of scratches. She suffered no injuries to her spine and neck though."
Callie visibly relaxed at that but it didn't mean that Arizona was okay. "So what now?"
"We keep her sedated for as long as possible. She just went through 9 hours of surgeries and there's more to come. I'm saying this as a friend. Wait, until you see her. There's a lot of bruising. And while you can take it I don't think they can."
Callie turned around to face her former in laws. They were already crushed enough as it is. "Okay," she said quietly. "But she'll live right? She's going to be okay?"
"We had to revive her. And there was a lot of internal bleeding. Right now she's as stable as she can be," was all Owen said.
Callie returned to Arizona's parents, picking up Sofia and making her giggle and squeal in delight. She wasn't aware of the horrible things that were happening around her. And Callie needed that. "He said we probably shouldn't see her today. Give her some time to heal. It'll be a while before she wakes up."
"Callie?"
Callie turned around, taking in a shaky breath. She wasn't sure if she could deal with Penny right now. She put Sofia back on her feet with a kiss on the cheek. "Excuse me for a minute," she apologized. She walked towards Penny, her hands in her jeans pockets. She changed before picking Sofia in the morning.
Penny had a worried expression on her face. "I heard about Arizona. I'm really sorry. I thought you called in sick."
"I did," Callie said. "I'm not working today. Uhm, I only met with Arizona's parents. Sofia wants to go to the zoo with them."
"Oh," Penny muttered. "Can I call you later?"
Callie shrugged. "I don't know if I'll be available. I'm going to take a few days off to spend time with her parents, see how things are going. It's… She's one of us. We can't lose another one."
"I get it," Penny said, a little too harshly. "They said that you were there on the roof with her. You weren't, like, trying to get back together?"
"Of course not! I'm not a cheater," Callie said defensively. "She was drunk. And I didn't even know she was there until I got to the roof. Look, I can't really talk about this right now," she said distractedly as she looked back at Sofia and her former in-laws.
Penny nodded. "Okay."
Callie just sent her a small smile and walked back to Barbara and Daniel. "It's going to rain later so how about we head to the park and go to the Zoo some other day?" she suggested, looking mostly at Sofia.
"Okay," Sofia said, smiling from the attention she was getting from her grandma and grandpa. Daniel looked tough but he still tickled her tummy and hoisted her in the air.