The Keeper
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy; Shonda does!
-AU-
Arizona's still not sure why she's here.
She got a message half a few minutes ago, requiring her presence for a meeting at two this afternoon. Then nothing more was said. The unknown has made her a bit anxious, maybe even slightly panicked. Did she fuck up? Did she misdiagnose someone? Did she leave the hospital liable? She looks at the other people in the conference room, and she deflates when she notices that nobody shares her sentiment. They all look relaxed and calm. One of them, Dr. Cristina Yang, looks utterly bored and impatient.
As the clock hits the two pm mark, Richard Webber — the Chief—finally enters the room, stands tall, clears his voice and begins addressing everyone from the head of the table. "Thank you all for coming out this afternoon despite the short notice. I'm sure a few of you have been clued in on why you're here. For the rest of you who weren't, we have a VIP patient being admitted anytime now. She suffered a compound fracture of her tibia and fibula —."
"Excuse me Chief Webber." Yang interrupts impatiently. "I'm sorry but I think Dr. Garrity should be here. Not me." She nods towards the Attending Orthopedic surgeon who only purses his lips tightly.
"Dr. Yang, I would appreciate it if you allow me to explain everything first."
"Fine. Sir." Chief Webber crosses his arms on his chest before continuing.
"The patient will be looked after by staff that I approve of. I want the best nurses around the patient and I am personally giving them direct orders -."
"I'm sorry Sir but I think this is a bad idea. That VIP shit is something that I think is unfair. Who are we treating? Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Seattle? Because the last time I checked, we are not under a monarchy. We don't pay taxes to the King or Queen. This is a waste of time. Sir. And you know it. A patient is a patient. Are you saying that a patient could be more valuable than the others? Sir." Cristina questions passionately.
"Two points. One. We are treating one of biggest donors in this hospital, Dr. Yang. Six million dollars for four years and it started last year. And two, our patient is slated to play for the upcoming World Cup, representing our country. She is a beloved athlete and the whole nation will be watching us either succeed or fail." He explains. "I don't know about you Dr. Yang, but I don't want to fail."
"Wait. She?" Teddy Altman, the Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery asks, eyes darting from the chief to her bestfriend then back to her boss.
"Dr. Garrity?" He nods at the Ortho attending who stands up from his seat to address his colleagues.
"Alright guys. I think you all know who Chief Webber's referring to. Callie Torres, 24, Goalkeeper of the Seattle Sounders and a superstar-athlete. They were playing against Portland about an hour ago. She got tackled and appeared to have her tibia and fibula fractured as well as her ankle dislocated. She also has a concussion. She's undergoing a series of tests as we speak. It's pretty bad and we're under pressure to do really good. I believe my department has everything under control. But your help will be greatly appreciated. I know some of you are wondering what you may be doing here, especially if your field of specialty is not at all related to the case - but Chief Webber and I know that your opinions matter and could very well be helpful to the situation. Thank you."
"Any questions?" The chief asks, to which the people in the room just shake their heads. "Alright, you're all dismissed."
Seven hours later
What are the odds that they would cross paths again this way?
There is very little of the young woman Arizona had once known left in the woman she is looking at right now under the pretense of checking up on the patient to see what she could do to help. As a physician of course. She looks at the charts, trying her best not to fall into the same trap her co-workers have as soon as news about the famous athlete's condition broke out. 'Stay professional', she told herself before her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself walking the hallway leading to this room.
Yet sometimes - just sometimes - Arizona Robbins couldn't help herself. She just couldn't help herself. So with a heavy sigh, she darts her eyes to the sleeping woman a few feet away from her.
Calliope Torres is no longer pretty.
Her facial features have changed, etching her face into a thoroughly feminine countenance. Darkly winged rows and thick lashes frame those infamous eyes of rich, deep brown. In the fading light of the setting sun and the flickering flames of the room, her coal black hair gleams with health and vitality. Previously, her beauty had been strikingly cute, but now, she is gorgeous - more worldly and mature.
She looks undeniably formidable. Breathtakingly feminine and strong (yes, she says that despite the fact that the younger woman is lying on the hospital bed looking so broken).
"Calliope," she greets her softly, straightening her back. "It's great to see you again." She mumbles, eyes trailing to the sheet-laden legs. She doesn't have to pull the covers to know how bad the damage is. She heard the talks and, when she was positive that she was alone, watched the video of the game itself.
"Dr. Robbins. It's been some time since we last crossed paths." Arizona jumps in surprise at the sudden sound of that voice - a little bit lower and deeper in pitch than she can remember. It still has a soft, rumbling quality to it. She looks up to catch her gaze and as soon as she does, she took a sharp intake of breath. Callie is looking at her sharply and intensely, assessing even. The look is challenging. Like before, it feels as if she's looking right into the very heart of her, daring her to deny that she could.
She sucks in a shaky breath again, trying to compose herself. "Years." She offers. She diverts her eyes, knowing full well that Callie's looking at her and she couldn't help but think of that night in New York. A rush of heat sweeps up the side of her face where she can feel Callie's boring holes into.
"Five." Callie clears her throat. Arizona just nods, not fully trusting herself to speak. "I didn't know you work here."
"Yeah?" She asks with a raised brow, not completely believing the statement.
"I thought you'd be back in Mass Gen after your Malawi stint."
"I thought you'd signed up for Boston or New York or LA, not Seattle." Arizona shrugs, trying hard to sound nonchalant about it.
"Believe it or not, Seattle offered the most lucrative deal."
"Good for you." The surgeon replies monotonously, looking everywhere but at the famous athlete in the room.
"Why are you so snappy?" The injured woman chuckles at her, finding the situation funny instead of awkward. "Wait. You're not still mad at me, are you?"
"Why would I?" The Peds surgeon huffs, starting to get worked up. This time, her eyes are fixed on the annoying woman lying on the bed.
"I don't know. You tell me, Dr. Robbins -."
"You were bearable when you weren't talking."
"Ohhh...Upset?" Callie ribs further.
"Just. Just stop talking, will you?" Callie just held her hand up and signalled 'okay'. There's a moment of silence before the doctor decides to break it. "You're ready for your surgery tomorrow?" She waits for a response but doesn't get one. "You can talk."
"I'm always ready."
"Cool."
"You're a pediatrician, right? So you're not part of the team that would operate on me?"
"I'm a pediatric surgeon and no, I'm not part of the team. But I'll be watching from the gallery and offer some opinions whenever needed."
"Right."
"How are you feeling?"
"Numb. Dr. Robbins -."
"Can you drop it, Calliope?" Arizona snaps once again but the taller woman disregards her.
"I need you to tell me the truth, Doctor. My arms and legs are insured, but this sport is my life. So I need to know if I can play again?"
"When the surgery's a success, coupled with therapy, you can walk in -."
"Not walk. I need to know if I can play. I've heard what the other doctors have to say. I need to know your opinion."
"Wow. Look at you." Arizona couldn't help herself.
She just couldn't help herself.
"You want to know my opinion. Look at you. You've grown up a little."
"I'm taking that as a compliment, Dr. Robbins. So?"
"Dr. Garrity is the best Orthopedic surgeon in this coast. I know that the operation will be successful. You need a lot of therapy after. But I don't think you should play again."
"You said should. That means I could still play."
"Now, Calliope, don't be stubborn. You asked for my opinion, remember? But yeah, I should have known better." Arizona huffs, crossing her arms on her chest.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means that right now, you, are being stubborn and acting like a child. As always -."
"Really? Do you need me to refresh your memory about stubbornness? Oh wait... you'll need that, you old lady."
"And you'll need an intensive surgery to fix your shattered legs, you daft prick."
"Did you know that the word daft was first used in the fourteenth century? No wonder you love using it, you're that old."
"Are we really doing this, Callie?" Arizona mutters in a dangerously low voice.
"Whoa! Whoa! Easy there, cougar. Still a tad bit touchy about the age thing, huh?" Callie Torres continues to tease. "Look, you're seriously over thinking this thing. It's not that bad. Like, when you were a senior in high school, I was in second grade, probably wiping my boogers on my Hello Kitty backpack - ."
"You're so gross -."
"You weren't so grossed out five years ago when you were -."
"Shut up! Just! Shut the hell up!" Arizona paces in the room, massaging her throbbing head.
"Oh come on, Arizona! You know I'm just messing with you -."
"Well then stop it! We didn't work out before because of this -."
"Because of my jokes? Really?"
"No! See? You were too immature. We were never on the same page."
"Huh. We were not even in the same book." Callie mumbles under her breath, but Arizona hears her nonetheless.
"You were childish. Immature. Irresponsible. You didn't want the same things as me -."
"Hey. Not fair. I did want the same things as you. Just not all of the same things, in the same way that you wanted." Arizona could only scrunch up her face in confusion. She wants to understand what Callie's trying to say, really, she does. But she couldn't.
"You know what, Callie? I should go. You have an early surgery tomorrow and I myself have had a long day today. You should rest." Arizona tiredly moves towards the door, only to be stopped by that rich, raspy voice. "Yeah?"
"You can't see it, but right now, I'm doing the happy dance."
"Calliope..."
"I'm happy to see you again. And thank you for dropping by."
"I'm glad to see you again too." Arizona offers softly before opening the door. As soon as she closes it, she hears Callie shout.
"And you can't see it, but right now I'm giving you the finger for calling me childish, immature and irresponsible!"
A/N: Callie and Arizona sure look like they have some interesting history together :P Let me know what you think!
Also! The next chapter of There's Something About Callie will be up in a few hours.