A/N: As previously stated, a one-shot has become a multi-chapter because I'm debating the ending of the next chapter of "Relationship Status". But hopefully I can get out soon-ish and not be absent for so long. So I apologise for anyone waiting for an update of that story.
After their discussion early on in the flight, the couple had come to the silent decision to wait and have a proper discussion once they reached Blantyre; the city in Malawi where the clinic is located. They felt that planes weren't the most suitable location to have a life-changing discussion – especially with an armed Air Marshall sitting several rows back. Mixing a fiery Latina, a stubborn blonde who hates flying and an armed man together seems like a disaster in the making. So for the flight, the pretty pink bubble is reassembled and the couple make light conversation and pretend that they didn't just have a public breakup in an airport. But the nervousness is obvious as Callie bites at her nails as she plays and replays their break up in her mind.
Not to be outdone, Arizona furiously chews on her bottom lip as if it's going out of fashion. A firm believer the planes are the invention of the devil which were put on Earth to torture humans, Arizona does anything and everything to take her mind off the fact that she is flying in a steel death trap. Double and triple checking the paperwork for the clinic is a necessary evil to ensure all the required staffing positions had been filled and equipment have been requested. But this does nothing to stop Arizona continuously glancing at the seat beside her – making sure the Callie is still by her side.
With tunes pumping through her headphones, Callie reads through the pile of information provided to the couple about the health care in Malawi. Medical facilities in Malawi fall into three tiers; firstly there are the rural clinics that operate in isolated villages. These clinics usually have no medical personal and limited, if any supplies. Second tier medical care in Malawi operates in each of the 27 regions of the country and any serious medical issues are supposed to be transported to these hospitals. But such transportation is expensive and doesn't usually happen. The equipment in these regional hospitals tends towards antique and there is severe shortage of medical staff. The final tier is marginally better equipped but still suffers from chronic staff shortages. Statistics estimate that fewer than 150 over worked registered doctors work in Malawi for a population approaching 12 million. It seems that in Malawi, you really do need to pray to get better. As Callie flicks through the pages her heart fills with love for her partner who has identified a problem and wants to save as many tiny humans as possible.
Arizona's brain child is a privately run facility which would treat children with an absence of out of pocket expenses for families. The Malawi Government had welcomed the clinic with open arms and cut a lot of the red tape to get the facility up and running in a short span of time. After all, it doesn't happen every day when a foundation essentially throws money at a crippled health system. Looking at the raw figures, Callie knows that they are doing the right thing going to Malawi on a professional level. But on a personal level, Callie's not so sure but she could never walk away from Arizona.
Stepping off the airplane after a twenty-six hour flight which included three transfers, Arizona half considers kissing the ground as bitumen tarmac has never looked so good. But Arizona knows that Callie would never forgive her for such an indiscretion. And the customs officer would probably question her sanity. So Arizona keeps moving with one foot in front of the other as they head towards their new life at the ends of the Earth.
The hot and humid weather of Malawi is like a slap in the face as the couple quicken their pace to reach the air conditioned customs centre. Glancing around at her first look at Blantyre, Arizona can't see much of the largest city in Malawi other than the industrial park that the airport is located in. Before leaving Seattle, the couple had organised with a local doctor working in their clinic to purchase a car and meet them at the airport. Finally getting through customs, Callie and Arizona scan the arrivals lounge looking for Dr Azibo Bwana. Tapping Arizona's shoulder, Callie points them in the direction of a man holding a sign with the word "Robbins" on it.
"Hello, I'm Dr Robbins," Arizona says as she steps up to the man as she and Callie introduce themselves.
"Good afternoon, I am Dr Azibo Bwana but Azibo is fine. We aren't very formal in Malawi," the man replies with a strong British accent as he holds out his right hand. Arizona quirks her eyebrows at Azibo's accent, he continues to speak. "I studied at Oxford in the United Kingdom and practiced there before returning to Malawi," answering the question that he knows is coming.
"You grew up here?" Arizona questions.
"Holidayed here. I lived in South Africa but my mother's family is from Malawi and it's where I always knew I would return to once I had finished my fellowship. I worked at one of the public hospitals here before I caught wind of your clinic and applied."
"Well, I can't thank you enough for applying as I feel as if I'm running blind working in this environment," Arizona responds in a truly grateful voice.
"I can imagine it will be a bit of a shock when you compare a clinic in Malawi to one of the finest hospitals in the States," Azibo replies with a grin, leading them in the direction of the car park.
"Maybe just a little bit. And please call me Arizona," the blonde replies.
Climbing into the car, Azibo switches topic to the clinic, "The facility is located on the east side of town in the business district. The local hospitals are aware of our existence and any serious surgical child patients will be transferred to us. Also, rural doctors have also been informed and we may get patients from there as well – assuming that transport can be organised. And that's a big if at the moment."
"A majority of surgical patients will become ours? That sounds like a lot of tiny humans," Arizona queries as she doesn't want her clinic to become overloaded. The money from the clinic can only stretch so far and Arizona doesn't want the facility to be inundated with patients that they don't have the room to treat. Turning away a sick child would be a nightmare for both surgeons and a bridge they hope they will never have to cross.
"There's a chronic bed shortage in public facilities with nearly 30% of those patients suffering with HIV/AIDS complications. And that doesn't include the people suffering from malaria and tuberculosis. So the children will be moved because it frees up another bed. No doctor in Malawi will ever be accused of underworking and you have now joined our numbers. We'll always be able to keep our head above water – but only just."
"What are the main types of injuries we will be handling?" Callie questions as although both women had researched this question, first-hand knowledge will be more accurate.
"You are an orthopaedic surgeon?" Azibo asks to which Callie responds with a head nod. "Some of your surgical cases will involve poorly set bones and childbirth accidents. You'll also have the standard run of the mill emergency cases that you would receive in any western hospitals. Although, some cases will have added complications of HIV, malnutrition or any number of other chronic diseases that can the rife in Malawi. We'll also be doing education on hygiene, AIDS prevention and so on."
"Shouldn't the Government be doing that kind of education?" Arizona queries, still trying to get an understanding of how the health care system works in a third world country.
"In theory yes, but the economy in Malawi has slowed and education programs have been scaled back. Cost cuts are the bane of every person's life, not just the economies of Europe. So your Grant has come at a perfect time as it fills a hole in the market. There's also a chronic drug shortage in Malawi so prevention is the key to stemming the flow of some of these diseases."
"Well, we're glad to be of assistance." Arizona replies, knowing that she had made the right decision in coming to Africa - whatever the consequences are on a personal level. If Arizona had turned down the Grant, the award would have been offered to another person and the Malawian people would have never seen a cent of this money. And that would have been a travesty on a monumental scale.
Finally pulling up at the clinic, Arizona and Callie come face to face with their lives for the next three years. The clinic has been adapted from an old facility run by another charity that simply ran out of funds. The couple's initial impression doesn't give them much to go by as the clinic is surrounded by a twelve foot fence. Noting their silence in regards to the wall, Azibo explains, "A certain level of protection was deemed necessary by the previous owners. Malawi is a safe place to live and work – generally. But the fence is more of a deterrence than anything. Keeps the local riff-raff out."
"Won't it deter the patients with a gigantic fence staring them in the face?" Callie asked, sceptical that such a gigantic engineering monstrosity is required. The concept of the Berlin Wall springs to Callie's mind.
"The charity that uses to work out of here never suffered from that issue. Most charity run facilities in Malawi have some sort of barrier. Sadly, that's just the way of the world," Azibo replies as he pulls the car to a stop. "Not that you need to fear for your safety or anything – but everyone will sleep at lot better knowing that it's there."
Before getting out the car, Azibo points out the buildings inside the walls, allowing the couple to get their bearings of their new hospital. "The largest building is the clinic. Your house is off to the side along with the second building which has been converted to a supplies shed for the time being. It will eventually become a second house for the other set of surgeons coming for the States. Although 'house' is a bit of stretch of the imagination – just a couple of rooms with a hodgepodge of furniture. But it's the best we could do at short notice."
"I'm sure it's fine," Callie assures Azibo as a house is an infinite improvement of the conditions she had while in the Peace Corp.
"I can show you around know or should you like to wait for tomorrow? I know you two must be dead on your feet," Azibo asks, knowing that the two surgeons are likely to be exhausted after their trek across the world.
"Can it wait til tomorrow?" Arizona asks, just wanting to collapse in a bed and not face the life altering situation they are now in. Agreeing to Arizona's wish, Azibo helps carry the couple's luggage into their new home and leaves them in peace. Closing and locking the door behind her, Arizona turns and faces her girlfriend who is standing in the middle of their living room, surveying the place.
Sadly, the atmosphere inside the house is far from peaceful as the tension rolls of Callie's body as she aimless move from suitcase to suitcase. Chewing her bottom lip in nervousness, Arizona desperately wants to pretend that the Departure Lounge breakup didn't happen. Being an expert at avoidance and deflection, Arizona knows she could keep living in their fake fairy tale for another couple of days or weeks. But common sense overrules Arizona's worry and she decides to bite the bullet.
"Alright, let's down to this then," Arizona huffs out. As much as Arizona wants to curl up in her bed and sleep till next year, she knows if they don't have this talk now; they'll sweep it under the rug and return to living in their pretty pink bubble. Then as time passes, this will eventually all blow up in the face like baby-gate did when talking was the last thing that either did.
"Roll up our sleeves and get to it?" Callie asks as she pulls her head out of the box she'd been looking through. Callie internal muses that this has got to be the oddest argument they are ever going to have as it almost feels like they are planning it. "Is there are a finish time for this argument as well? Should we consider the option of a time-out?" Callie mutters out loud as she watches Arizona roll back on her heels.
"Calliope," Arizona says with an exasperated sigh. "This isn't a joking matter, we are in Malawi not a field trip to the zoo and I'm not if you understand the gravity of the situation."
"Well then, you explain it to me," Callie says, her voice losing all its lightness as her eyes harden.
"Do you really want to spend three years living in the closet?"
"This house is a little small but calling it a closet is a little harsh," Callie replies, reverting back to joking about the situation. Callie hates to fight with Arizona because it always ends up with someone (usually her) sleeping on the couch.
"Callie for God's sake, can you be serious? We are in Malawi." Arizona says in a slow voice, as if she is speaking to a child.
"Fine, you want me to be serious?" Callie asks with the volume of her voice increasing as her temper takes hold.
"It would be a nice change," Arizona cuts in, "Because we can really only joke about this for so long."
"I know what I signed up for when my girlfriend told me that she won the fucking Carter Madison Grant which apparently no one turns down. My girlfriend's proposal was to run a clinic in Malawi, a country where homosexuality is illegal. This already raised a red flag for me because last time I checked neither my girlfriend nor I had male genitalia. But you saw no issue with that and accepted the offer as if you had no strings tying you to Seattle."
"When I wrote the proposal I wasn't in a serious relationship and I figured I could be celibate for three years." Arizona snaps back.
"Sure you could Arizona," Callie responds sarcastically, "You suffer withdrawals and end up accosting me in an on-call room when our shifts don't align after a couple of days. So tell me, how were you going to last three years?"
"That is not really the point here and you look really hot when you roll up the sleeves of your lab coat," Arizona replies hoping that they can return to the topic at hand.
"Fine, so my girlfriend calmly told me that she had already accepted and looked at me with her pretty blue eyes and an adorable pout which has already been made illegal in several states. She was silently begging me to say that I'd go with her because she doesn't believe in long-distance relationships because she freaked out when I considered moving to Portland."
"Are you serious saying that you agreed to move to Malawi because I pouted? Arizona says, slight astounded that this is Callie's reason for moving to Africa. "And the Portland incident happened over a year ago when we were hardly girlfriends," Arizona adds as an afterthought.
"No, the Portland incident occurred when we were well and truly girlfriends. But we're off topic. You seemed to have forgotten about me when you won the Grant. I didn't even factor into your decision."
"That's not true," Arizona hotly retorts but raised eyebrows from Callie makes Arizona rethink her statement and elaborate. "I did think of you. Every moment. In fact, when I won the award, you were the only person I was thinking of. You were the first person I told and you never even congratulated me. Instead you acted like a stuck-up brat who had their favourite toy confiscated. So stop making out this is all my fault – you didn't talk to me about any of this. I can't read your mind. You just assumed that everything would sort itself out but this isn't a fairytale."
"You had already made your freakin' decision!" Callie yells at the blonde.
"I made a commitment. That's not something I could just walk away from."
"But you could just walk away from me because I seem to remember someone doing that in an airport," Callie replies with a humourless laugh.
"Callie, that's not the same thing," Arizona retorts but is quickly cut off.
"You were right; I shouldn't have got on the plane because it's become crystal clear what your priorities are. God I'm such an idiot," Callie walks towards her bedroom, not sure if she's just leaving the room or the entire relationship.
Reaching out, Arizona grabs Callie's hand and prevents her escape. "Calliope please…" Arizona pleads. "I'm explaining this all wrong."
"Well I as sure as hell hope this isn't the right way to explain it," Callie snaps back as her fiery persona takes over although she still keeps her back turned away from Arizona. Callie doesn't want to see what Arizona's eyes are telling her.
"I made a commitment. I can't just walk away because I need to be here and make a difference. And I admit, I called the situation wrong in the airport. But this," Arizona says gesturing at the four walls surrounding them, "was never your dream."
"But you were," Callie says in a small voice, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
"But with me comes Africa," Arizona replies slowly, praying that Callie turns back around.
"So where do I fit into any of this?" Callie asks as she slowly turns around, wanting Arizona to say something, anything to make the light reappear at the end of the tunnel.
Running her hand through her hair, Arizona chooses her words carefully. "My dream is still you. Nothing has changed."
"Except that we are in Africa" Callie mutters as she turns back around to face Arizona and slumps onto the couch.
Joining Callie on the couch Arizona, grabs her partner's hand, craving the physical contact. "Africa won't destroy us if we don't let it. Our dreams don't have to change, we just postpone them. Make the plans so that when we return, we can have the wedding that you have always dreamed of. And then we can work on those ten kids." While speaking, Arizona had slowly got up on her knees so that she stares into Callie's eyes and becomes lost in them. The words simply tumble out of her month as Arizona admits to her lifelong dream.
A grin slowly spreads over Callie's face at the words Arizona utters, "Did you just propose?" Callie asks with a slow chuckle. Hearing Arizona's dream that mirrors her own chases away most of the doubts that have consumed Callie's mind for months. Their location may have changed, but nothing else needs to change. They weren't ready for the marriage and kids in Seattle, but Africa will allow for them to continue growing in this relationship.
"No…" Arizona says as she moves and straddles herself on Callie's lap, knowing that the storm has passed. "When I propose, you will all about it. I'll have a ring in my hands and chances are I may even be down on one knee. You deserve the world, and I will eventually give it to you," Arizona promises.
"Eventually," Callie agrees as she wraps her arms around Arizona's waist. Snuggling into Callie's embrace, Arizona realises that this is home. In Callie's embrace, the pain and heartache of the last day just fades away and becomes a memory.
The minutes past and neither woman has the energy or drive to move, simply basking in each other's presence. "I'm sorry," Arizona whispers, hiding her face in Callie's shoulder.
"So am I," Callie says, pulling Arizona impossibly closer. "Bed?" Callie asks, knowing that they have a big today tomorrow. Their first working day at the clinic is sure to be a roller-coaster.
'With you, always," Arizona says as she de-tangles herself from her girlfriend and leads her into their new bedroom.