Wow, thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews and Story Alerts! They really made my day!! :D Because of the good response, I'm continuing this story….

This chapter is shorter than initially planned, as I was being kept busy with my electives in the Autistic Home and therefore could only write a paragraph at a time.

I still hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Chapter 2- To call or not to call

Arizona's POV

The next day, I am about to enter Sophie's room, but I stop on my tracks about 10 feet away. There seems to be a commotion coming from the room. I strain my ears to hear, but I can only make up bits and pieces here and there, like 'why wouldn't you talk to me?!' The door opens and I jump in fright, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping here.

But to my relief, it was Alex, one of the residents who seems to have a genuine interest in Paeds. Well, to say that he looks upset is an understatement. He is fuming.

I walk beside him, falling in pace with his angry strides.

'Alex, what's wrong?' I finally ask when we are a considerable distance away from Sophie's room.

' I try to dig some information out of Sophie, but this girl just wouldn't tell me anything. Granted, her mother was with her the entire morning, but I tried to talk to her when her mother went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. But she was just as still as a stone, and told me that she was fine…'

' Maybe she just opens up to certain people….'

' Yeah, bright, friendly and perky people like you' Alex snickers.

' Yeah, maybe she likes me' I smile at him, which I know would aggravate his anger.

Alex lets out a huff. ' So now we're still in ground zero. We have no idea, no proof whether she has been abused or not. Who knows she hates her mother and might just be making this whole thing up…'

' Step-mother' I correct'

' What?'

' She told me she is her step-mother'

Alex glares at me and shakes his head as he walks away.


I am now in Sophie's room, examining her for pre-op. Together, Callie and I are going to operate on Sophie and insert some internal fixators into both her upper and lower limbs.

Hopefully, with the internal fixators, her bones would be stronger and will not be as fragile and easily fractured as before. And subsequently, we hope that Sophie would be able to lead a normal life- jumping, running and skipping about like other children her age.

I am taking her vital signs, which seem good to me. I also examine her neurovascular function, which seem intact.

Her mother was looking on as I did this.

After I gave her the all clear, Sophie, who was becoming restless, suddenly proclaimed that she was going to take a walk out of the hospital room. She must have been so bored, poor thing.

' No Sophie, came the stern reply. ' Remember what I told you? No walking out alone by yourself, I don't want you to sustain any more fractures'

But Sophie was adamant this time.

' Just this one time'

'Sophie Anne Wright' this time it comes as a warning.

' Mommy, just this once. You never let me walk myself. I'll use the crutches, I promise.

'NO!'

Silence.

Then after a while…' Sophie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound that harsh. I just…don't want you to get hurt and sustain anymore fractures. Do you understand?'

The little girl just shook her head, she looks so sad, like she's about to cry.


' Hmmm…, nothing seems to be happening' says Callie.

'She and I were sitting at the adjacent nurses counter ( we allocated Sophie to be in the room opposite the nurses counter so that we can observe her better),

Soon we were joined by Meredith and Cristina, who have just finished checking on their post-op patients.

'Hey, how's it going' Cristina greets us.

'Shh….' I silence her. She frowns.

' Nothing so far?' Meredith whispers.

Callie and I shake our heads in response.

You see, we are officially on Sophie Watch. Callie, I, Meredith, Cristina, Alex and Lexie would take turns to sit at the nurses counter, pretending to do charting and stuff, when in actual fact we were keeping watch of the room opposite for any signs of unusual interaction between Sophie and her mom. You can call us nosy, but we're just being concerned. For all we know, Sophie might have never been abused before, and if so, that's great. But we are not taking any chances, we want to find any evidence of abuse, to prevent Sophie from suffering even more abuse in the future. You know, as doctors, we need to have empathy for our patients.

Sophie Watch had been uneventful so far after 24 hours.

Callie and I leave the counter to check on some pre-op patients, leaving best friends Meredith and Cristina at the counter.

Half an hour later, I am checking on a little 5 year old boy who has retinoblastoma, when I feel a tap on my shoulder, and Meredith is standing beside me.

' Is it about Sophie?' I ask concerned.

' Cristina and I saw with our own eyes…Sophie had an argument with her mom, and her mom slapped her on the face and pinched her arm. I think she pinched her several times..'

That was evidence enough for me to pick up the phone to call Social Services.

Just as a female voice could be heard answering at the other end of the line, Meredith grabbed the phone receiver from me and put it down.

'Wha….' I stare at the smaller blonde, speechless.

'With all due respect, Dr. Robbins, I know your intention of calling Social Services is good.. But think about it, even if Sophie's mom really does abuse her often, what would happen to her if she is being taken away? Who would look after Sophie? Where is her father anyways? Do you just want to leave her with the Social Welfare people?'

Meredith has got me thinking. I've indeed made a hasty decision in calling Social Services. Who is going to look after Sophie if her mother/step-mother gets taken away from her? Does she have any relatives? What about her younger sister?

On the other hand, I don't think I can sleep at night knowing that Sophie is probably going back home to a lifetime of abuse if we do not do anything about it.


I'm at Joe's now, having a drink or two with my dear colleagues.

' So what do you think?' I ask them. We were, of course, discussing about Sophie.

' I say go for it, call Social Services' says Cristina. ' Girl's mother needs to get her ass kicked'

' But we've only seen one instance of abuse. And even then, it's not like her mother beat her up into pieces. We still have not enough evidence to prove she has been abused at home' says Meredith.

We all look at her.

' Oh Mer, you must have had a rough childhood….did Ellis beat you up all the time?' asked Lexie sincerely. ( This might have come off as somewhat sarcastic, but she had this sincere look on her face).

' Dude, I got beaten up all the time too as a kid' Alex chimes in.

' Well, she was too busy to beat me up' came Meredith's cold reply. 'But thanks for your concern anyways', she forced a smile in her sister's direction.

' Neglect is as bad as abuse' Callie says.

'Please, can we not talk about my past?' pleads Meredith. 'Pretty please?'

' Anyways….' I say, changing the subject, ' Like Meredith said this morning, if we call Social Services and they take her away, her mother might hate us forever. It's like we are telling her indirectly that she is a terrible mother and is not capable of taking care of her daughter' And this might just destroy her relationship with her mother forever.

'Or step-mother.' That was Alex.

'Whatever, it makes no difference'

I stir my martini absent-mindedly for the hundredth time. What shall I do now? Why is life full of difficult decisions that we have to make all the time? When it comes to medicine, there is never a clear-cut answer, no black and white, but just shades of grey.

I'll let you readers decide. Should Arizona call Social Services or not?

And yes, your reviews and comments are very welcome! : )

'