Part Two

Amelia
It's 5:28am and the sun is just starting to rise, creating an orange hue across Seattle; a beautiful morning for a run. Downtown is best for this; the party people are all still in bed. That's one of the reasons I chose to buy a penthouse around here. At times like this, it makes me feel like I have the whole town to myself.

I put my earphones in and select my running playlist. Banquet by Bloc Party starts to blast into my ears and my pace falls in time with the music. The crisp spring air hits my face and fills my lungs. It washes away any lingering drowsiness.

This burst of exercise before work is perfect for me. It takes my mind away from any early morning substance cravings and allows me to focus on the day ahead.

I'm into the flow of my run when I'm stopped dead in my tracks by the most horrific sight. A blonde woman, early twenties, is lying unconscious in a pool of blood down an alleyway. She's in fetal position. Her coat lies open and her pulled-up dress just about covers her dignity. Torn underwear lies a few feet away from her. I run to her and fall to my knees, pressing two fingers to her jugular vein. Her pulse is very weak, but it's still there. I dial 911 and hold the phone in between my ear and my shoulder as I start to put her into the recovery position. Suddenly, I notice the stab wound on her stomach. I whip my jacket off and use it to apply the appropriate amount of pressure to it as I give the operator our location. They advise that they'll be there within three minutes. I hang up so I'm able to put all my energy into saving the woman in front of me.

Only now do I get the chance to study her tear-stained face. I recognise this woman; she lives in my building. Her name is Arizona... That's all I know about her. She seems like a sweet girl. She has a smile for everyone she encounters and I've spotted her helping out the older residents of the building a few times. I don't see her that often though. We must be running on different schedules.

I can hear sirens already. The ambulance can't be more than a couple of streets away.

"They're nearly here," I say, in case any part of her can hear me. "You're going to be okay."

There's no reaction. Her eyes remain shut tight and she's perfectly still. I scan her body for other injuries whilst I wait. There's a few bruises up and down her arms and a nasty gash above her eye. They're going to be busy in trauma.

About a minute later, the ambulance screeches to a halt outside the alleyway. Two paramedics rush out of the vehicle and straight towards us. I relay the details to them, but there's not much more they can do here. She's strapped to a gurney and rushed into the back of the ambulance. I follow them in and slam the doors behind us.

...

Arizona
A high-pitched ringing fills my ears and confuses my mind. As I try to open my eyes, I'm blinded by fluorescent lighting. I close them again as I start to really feel the pain that I'm in. I ache from head to toe, but there are particularly strong pains in my stomach and vulva. A whimper escapes my throat as I blink a couple more times, trying to figure out what's happened and where I am. Then realisation hits me and I remember why I'm in so much pain. My breathing speeds up as my body automatically goes into 'fight or flight' mode. I can't move. Internally, I'm screaming but no sound leaves my mouth. I feel like I'm going to be sick...

"It's okay..." Though soft, the voice that's trying to reassure me makes me panic. "You're safe. You're at the hospital." A gentle hand touches my forearm. I open my eyes to look at a woman with blazing red hair. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Arizona..." I croak out. "Arizona Robbins."

"Arizona, I'm Dr Kepner," she says with a sweet smile. She's so composed that it makes me feel a little calmer. "I'll explain more about your situation a little later, but first we need you to rest for a while, okay?" I nod in agreement but I'm already worrying about how I'm going to pay for this hospital stay. "We couldn't trace your next of kin, is there anyone we can call for you?"

"Uh... I... Um..." Why am I struggling with this so much? I know what my answer is. "No."

"Are you sure? What about your family?" She asks. It wasn't meant to be an intrusive question. She's only trying to help.

"I... I don't have family," I reply, awkwardly.

"Oh... I'm sorry," she says, staring at me with sympathetic eyes. "Any friends we can contact?"

"No, I... I..." I'm trying to look for excuses. Truth is, the only person I'd be comfortable with being here is Teddy. But, I don't want her to freak out. She's got her own stuff going on.

"Teddy Altman!" My best friend appears as though my thoughts summoned her. "The answer to that question is always Teddy Altman!" She rushes me into an embrace. "God, I thought you were dead." She holds on tight to me but I can't respond. I'm completely numb. Dr Kepner slips out of the room to give us some privacy as Teddy holds me at arms-length and looks at me, seriously. "I've got half of Seattle out there looking for you, you know?" I give her a half-hearted smile and she already knows my head is elsewhere. "Are you alright?" She asks in a whisper.

"I'm fine," I try to convince her, but even I can hear the lack of sincerity in my voice.

"You don't look fine," she says, honestly. "What happened?"

"How did you know I was here?" I ask, ignoring her question.

"You know Amelia? The woman who lives in the penthouse?" She asks. I nod my head in response, remembering I'd introduced myself when she first moved in. "Well, it turns out she's a surgeon here. She came to our door to tell me you were here."

"Can she do that? Doesn't that break doctor-patient confidentiality?" Obviously, I'm not going to take this any further, but I feel like some rules have been broken here... Teddy shrugs at me.

"Well, it's a good job she did, otherwise you'd be here by yourself!" She scolds. "So, what happened?" She asks, again. Her question takes me back to the incident.

"I- um-" I struggle with what I'm supposed to say. I can't tell her everything - she'll kill him. Or, he'll kill me. "I was... attacked and... stabbed."

"Stabbed?" Her eyes fill with tears. It's probably a good job I didn't tell her the rest. She looks to me for answers, but I don't provide her with any. As if on cue, the wound in my stomach begins to throb. I grit my teeth and swallow down the pain as my hand automatically moves to cover it. I feel her eyes follow my every motion. When I look up at her, I notice they've turned dark. "Who did this to you?"

"I don't know," I say, quickly looking to the floor, avoiding eye contact at all possible costs.

"You're lying to me," she states, plainly.

"I'm not..."

"Yes, you are!" She says, irritated. "Arizona, who was it?" She never calls me Arizona. She means business. Either I tell her now or she's going to launch her own investigation.

"Cohen," I feel sick as his name leaves my mouth. "It was Cohen."

"Cohen... right..." She stands up and marches towards the door, obviously intent on hunting him down and seriously fucking him up, or getting someone else to. I don't want her to. I don't want her to throw her life away over some assault charges against that asshole. And, I don't want to be alone right now. I'm terrified he's going to find me here and finish the job.

"Teddy, please... don't," I cry out. She stands completely still at the door. "I need you here. Please, don't go!" I say, desperately. She pauses before turning to face me, rushing back to my bed. She takes my hand and wipes away a tear that I didn't realise had escaped.

"It's okay, Zo," she says, gently. "I'm not going anywhere."

...

Teddy
Visiting hours are almost over, but the thought of leaving my best friend here by herself fills me with dread. She's trying to laugh and joke with me, but she's clearly terrified. Every time there's a lull in our conversation, she fills it with random rambling. She doesn't want to stop to think about the attack for even a few seconds.

"Teds," she says out of the blue. Her voice has changed. It's low and quiet. She's not smiling any more. All colour has been drained from her face. "I need you to get me a doctor... nurse... anyone..."

"What's wrong?" I ask, panicked.

"I'm bleeding," she says, vaguely. My brow furrows as I notice the wound is still clean and fresh.

"Zo, your stomach's fine, honey," I try to reassure her.

"It's... it's not my stomach..." she stutters. I frown in confusion. She shifts uncomfortably and I notice her squeeze her legs together. My eyes widen as I watch the thick, red liquid pool at the lower end of her bed. I look back at my friend's frightened expression before rushing into the corridor.

"Can you help?" I call over to one of the nurses by the reception. "M-My friend... she's bleeding," I say, unable to get anything else out.

Two nurses rush to help. They exchange a look when they notice the amount of blood, but remain professional as they speak to Arizona.

"Ms Robbins, we're going to have to take a quick look down there, okay?" One nurse says, calmly. "It won't take longer than a minute," she says. My friend's eyes fill with tears but she nods her head slightly, giving permission. As soon as the nurse begins to part her legs, they snap back shut.

"No. Stop... STOP!" She yells. What the hell is going on?

Amelia
As I walk through the trauma ward, I'm stopped by the sound of some sort of commotion coming from Room 2428; Arizona Robbins's room. I rush in to find two of our nurses trying to calm the distressed woman. Teddy stands to the side of Arizona, looking completely bewildered. She doesn't know what to do. Arizona is screaming at the nurses, telling them to get away from her. It's not angry screaming; she's begging them to stay away from her. She's petrified.

"What's going on?" I ask Nurse Liz.

"She needs an exam," she explains, motioning to the bloody end of the bed. "We can't get near her." That's a lot of blood. We need to calm her and quickly.

"Arizona," I touch her arm and her head turns so quickly she could have snapped her neck. It's as though she didn't notice me enter the room. "Hi. My name's Amelia Shepherd. I live in your building," I state, gently.

"I-I know," she stutters. Beads of sweat start to run down her face as her entire body trembles.

"Take some deep breaths for me," I instruct. She tries to do as she's told, but she's too scared to calm her erratic breathing. I take a cloth from the nearest cupboard and wet it, before draping it over her forehead. The cold water seems to soothe her slightly. "Look at me," I say, quietly. Her eyes dart to me and I manage to hold her gaze. "You're safe here," I reassure her, taking one of her thin, shaky hands in mine. "We need to get you checked out, okay? It's going to be a little uncomfortable for a minute, and then it's going to be over." She swallows and closes her eyes tight, nodding her head as she tries to suppress the sobs that are desperate to escape her body. I turn my attention to Teddy who is wearing the exact same look she was wearing when I first walked into the room. "Hold her hand," I instruct, gently. She follows, taking Arizona's hand from mine. Arizona immediately clutches her friend's hand close to her chest, but doesn't take her frightened eyes off Nurse Ann.

Teddy
I don't know what the hell has happened to make her this scared, and I don't know what to do to make it go away. I feel utterly helpless.

"Talk to her," I hear Dr Shepherd say. I don't really know what to say... Humour. I need to make her laugh.

"C'mon, Zo... You don't usually have this much trouble letting pretty women near your..."

"Nothing sexual," the doctor interrupts. What? I knot my eyebrows together as I look at her. Amelia avoids my gaze, keeping her attention on my friend. Then it hits me like a tonne of bricks. He didn't just stab her... and there's a reason that blood isn't stopping. How did I not realise this sooner? I'm a qualified M.D for God's sake!

A gasp escapes her throat and a tear rolls down her cheek as the nurse starts the examination.

"Zo, hey..." I grab her attention. "It's gonna be okay," I say as I start to stroke her hair, soothingly. The grip she has on my hand doesn't loosen. She continues to stare at me with terrified eyes, looking for answers that she knows I don't have. I need to distract her. "You know what I was thinking of on the way here?" I ask rhetorically, with a smile that I'm hoping eases her a little. "I was thinking about the meerkat dance... You remember we were arguing about when we started it? ...You thought it was on my birthday, and I thought it was the night that Tim wouldn't stop throwing up in that bush outside of The Unicorn?" She nods her head, but her expression doesn't change. "We were both wrong. It was in Percy's." With this statement, there's a look of realisation on her face. "Remember? The dares from Nick? The awkward table dancing?"

With this random anecdote, I feel like I'm almost getting her mind away from what's happening. There's a hint of a smile... but, then a short, sharp cry of pain echoes around the room. I glance in the direction of the nurse who looks awkwardly at Amelia. I don't pay too much attention to their exchange because I've got to focus on my best friend.

"It's gonna be okay," I whisper, rubbing a hand up and down her arm.

Moments later, the nurse stops probing and moves to talk to Amelia. Their voices are quiet and low. I watch them, waiting for some advice. My best friend leans back into the propped up pillows of the bed. She looks completely out of it.

"That's it; it's done," I say, quietly, continuing to run my hand through her hair in an attempt to comfort her. She gives me a brief, weak smile and I know it's the best she can muster.

"Arizona," Amelia's voice makes us both turn to her. She places a compassionate hand on my friend's shoulder. "There's some internal tearing that seems to have been missed."

"Which idiot missed that?" I ask, outraged. With my doctor head on, I know that this shouldn't have been hard to spot if they were checking her properly.

"Teddy," Arizona's voice is quiet. She grabs my hand and looks at me as if to say, 'Please don't make a big deal out of this'. I bite my tongue as I listen to the rest of the information.

"You're going to need some stitches," she says, sympathetically. "I'll page one of the trauma doctors and they can explain the process to you properly." That really won't be necessary. I know exactly what they need to do. Hell, Arizona knows exactly what they need to do. It's not going to be pleasant. "I'm going to be close by, so if you need me, just let one of the receptionists know," she says, squeezing Arizona's arm before exiting the room.

I look at my best friend; a broken shell of a woman. I want my thoughts to be wrong. I want her to tell me I'm wrong. I want her to tell me he didn't rape her.

"Arizona..." I whisper. She looks at me, vacantly. "Did he... Did he...?" I can't finish the sentence, but she knows what I'm going to ask. She grits her teeth and nods her head with closed eyes. "Oh, God," I breathe out, letting tears escape. Sobs start to rack through my body. How could anybody do this to her?

"Teddy, stop," she says so quietly that I almost don't hear her. "Teddy, you have to stop!" She repeats, shouting this time. "You have to stop because you're going to make me cry, and if I start crying... I won't be able to stop."

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry," I apologise, getting my own feelings under wraps and stopping my tears. I hold her hand, and look at her, attentively. "What do you need?"

She's quiet for a few moments, blankly staring at me, and then she lets out this heart-breaking cry. It's like nothing I've ever heard before. It's a sound that will be burned into my memory forever. Without hesitation, I climb into the bed with her and hold her tightly as she sobs. She buries her head into my shoulder and clings to me as though her life depends on it. Only pure evil could cause this kind of devastation. And, I'm not going to let him get away with it.

...

Teddy
"Excuse me, Miss..." a gentle voice stirs me from my sleep. As I blink a few times, I realise I'm still holding on to Arizona protectively. "I'm so sorry," the voice comes again. I look over to the redhead it's coming from. "Visiting hours are over."

"Can't you make an exception?" I ask, agitated.

"I wish we could," she replies, genuinely. "I'm sorry," she says, again. I look down at my sleeping friend and my heart aches. I really don't want to leave her by herself.

"Will you get someone to call me? If she needs someone?" It's not really a request I'm making.

"Of course," the doctor reassures me with a soft smile. "My colleague Dr Hunt will be here if she needs anything. Dr Shepherd has insisted on checking on her, too."

Delicately, I start to remove myself from the small, sleeping woman. I lower her upper body onto the pillows and she begins to stir. Her eyes snap open and she immediately grabs my arm, looking at me with terrified eyes.

"W-Where are you going?" She asks, clinging to me.

"They're making me go home," I say, sitting in the chair next to her bed. "You're not going to be on your own, okay? There's a lot of doctors here looking out for you."

"Okay," she whispers with a nod.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I promise with a kiss to her forehead.

I hear a quiet "Bye, Teds," as I head out of her room. I turn the corner and head towards the exit, a million things running through my head. One thought, however, screams at me more violently than the others; Cohen needs to pay for what he's done.