Erica was a punctual person by nature and regarded time wasting as the eighth deadly sin. If one of her residents stepped into the OR so much as thirty seconds behind schedule, they were kicked from her service. Being late was about as common for her as hugging strangers.
So when her alarm failed to go off at seven o'clock thanks to a power outage, she found herself in a pissy mood before the sun had even risen. Oh, she could hear Callie gloating now - how many times had she told her to use her phone as a backup just in case? But no, Erica was old fashioned and preferred the same alarm clock she had been using for years. Now she was late - exactly the opposite of what she needed to be.
Luckily, Callie had awoken much earlier and taken care of some things before she left for work. Somehow Erica had managed to sleep through her partner's morning routine and never even felt her stir. There was an extra piece of burnt toast left on the counter, a jam jar sitting beside it, along with a scribbled note to say they could catch up before Erica's shift started. Erica sent Callie a quick text and agreed to meet by the front doors.
She took a quick shower and spent ten minutes preparing the necessary case files for her meeting with Webber. In her haste, she nearly forgot the most important documents on her way out the door and had to backtrack in a hurry. The combination of sleep deprivation, caffeine withdrawal and stress provided enough of an excuse to stop for coffee despite her tardiness. If either she or Callie were going to get through today with some shred of sanity left over, large amounts of caffeine were non-negotiable.
The moment she stepped through the front doors, she knew she'd made the right move. Callie was cemented to the far wall, trying not to look as though it was the only thing keeping her upright. She seemed almost gaunt with her eyelids barely squeaked open and an expression that clearly read 'don't talk to me right now'. The combination managed to be fairly attractive, although Erica wouldn't have recommended any of Callie's inferiors approach her for a favour just yet.
Erica was smirking when she strolled over and extended a coffee cup in greeting. "I ordered an extra shot of espresso in yours. Figured you would need it, given the way you spent the entire night tossing and turning."
Callie sheepishly averted her eyes and sipped the mocha, straightening up. She followed Erica to the second floor mezzanine, her legs burned with every step. Being awake before nine sucked . "You noticed that, huh?"
"It was kind of hard not to. Like an earthquake relegated to our bed, only not in the good way."
Callie set her coffee on the admin desk when they arrived and leaned against it while Erica juggled multiple bags. "Sorry if it kept you up. I've just got a lot on my mind."
"You don't say?" Erica mused, vaguely sympathetic. "I'm starting to think I might need to slip some codeine into your wine at night. Maybe it'll help you sleep."
"Or make it impossible for me to wake up," Callie chuckled. "Right now I don't think I'd object."
"If I didn't know you so well, I'd suggest taking a day off, get some rest before you burn out," Erica suggested. She sloughed the briefcase off her shoulder - only to be blindsided by an intern before it could reach the desk. He ran right into her, bouncing off her shoulder, and the briefcase flew from her grasp. It burst open on the floor and a thousand sheets of paper fanned out in all directions. Her coffee went with it.
"What the hell?!"
Callie's reaction time was non-existent and all she managed was a feeble hand wave to try and catch a paper that shot by her head. Everything else was already spread out over a ten foot radius. Steam was pouring from Erica's ears and Callie felt a hard lump grow in her stomach.
Oh, hell.
Erica's ferocity landed squarely on the intern who was now scrambling to help clean up, blubbering like an idiot as he went.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Dr. Hahn," he blubbered. "I-I was looking for - I didn't see you and-"
Erica snatched a report that was soaked in coffee stains and held it up, watching it drip into a puddle at her feet. "Get out!" she barked, stuffing the ruined mess back into the case. "Do you really think you belong here? You can't even walk in a straight line! You think some poor schmuck is going to trust you with a scalpel? I wouldn't trust you with a toothbrush!"
The intern paled. "Dr. Hahn, I-I -"
"Just get out of my sight," Erica snapped as she stood up and slammed the briefcase on the desk. The intern tripped over himself and ran for his life. Erica's scowl deepened while she crouched down again to grab the rest of her files.
Callie stood there like a bump on a log throughout most of it, too exhausted to jump to the poor guy's defense. Truth be told, she kind of wanted to kill him herself – for just one single moment, she thought it was possible for Erica to be in a good mood today. Maybe they would get along without any drama, maybe share a few laughs. Now, knowing her girlfriend, this would set the tone for the entire day. Erica was not gifted with getting over things quickly.
Groaning, Callie bent down and started to help.
"I've got it," Erica said hotly, shoving everything into a haphazard pile. She shooed Callie's hands away. "Christ, are you kidding me? I'm supposed to brief the new surgeon in less than twenty minutes. Like I need another reason for Richard to bite my head off."
Callie's mouth ticked as they both stood up. "About that. Have you heard who the–"
"Oh for gods sake," Hahn cut in. She held up a sheet that looked like it had gone swimming in a puddle. "Please tell me you know who that was, I want to make sure he ends up working from a janitorial closet sooner rather than later."
Callie's eyes grew wide and she subtly retracted a few steps. She felt bad that Erica was having such a crap morning, but at the same time, that was her excuse every day. If it wasn't an intern bowling her over, it was the rain, or her residents, or a case, or the Chief, or Yang. Erica was always unhappy. She knew it, Callie knew it, hell, everyone who came within ten feet of her knew it. Erica did have a soft spot for her , at least, it just didn't extend to the rest of the human race. Part of what attracted Callie to Erica in the first place was that she made no apologies for who she was. Nobody walked all over Erica Hahn - she hit you with a wrecking ball and danced on your broken corpse if you tried.
Sometimes those admirable traits came back to bite her in the ass. Callie found herself on the giving and receiving end of numerous fights these last few months. The smallest things would set Erica off and Callie knew that she wasn't any more pleasant to be around when she was pissed off. They argued, they said things they regretted, they made up and moved on with their lives. It was the same thing every time with a different subject attached . Remembering the good times was becoming increasingly difficult; some days it felt like Callie was sharing her bed with a stranger. She hated feeling so estranged from someone she had been with on and off over the years. Something between them just wasn't clicking the way it used to.
She was yanked out of her daze by Erica's voice, which had escalated due to Callie's lack of response.
"Torres!"
Callie blinked. "Hm?"
"I would think twice about stepping into the OR today if I were you," Erica said, frowning at her while stuffing more papers into the briefcase. "Generally speaking surgeons are supposed to be awake when they cut into someone."
Callie's mouth opened but she couldn't form any sort of a worthy defence. Her mind was still operating somewhere between 'sloth' and 'fossil'. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just tired. Coffee is good, though." She took a large gulp and burnt off the top layer of her tongue.
"I can see that," Erica mumbled. "I asked if you've heard anything about this new surgeon. Norman McHale opted to stay behind and send one of his pupils in his place. He never got back to me who he chose."
That surprised Callie. She would have put money on at least part of Erica's frustration stemming from Arizona's arrival. The fact that she didn't know yet meant that this afternoon was about to get much, much worse for everyone involved.
Swallowing with what she had left of her tongue, Callie stuffed a hand into her lab coat and shrugged a second time. "I haven't heard anything, sorry." Technically that wasn't a lie - Arizona could have been there for any number of reasons. Maybe she was just on vacation. Either way, it was all very clear to Callie how much she did not want to have this conversation, especially after such a horrible start to their morning. Erica's fondness for her could only take them so far before even Callie found herself needing to duck.
Speaking of violence and all things bad, Callie's realization that Erica and Arizona were about to be in the same room together scared her shitless. It was like girlfriend thunderdome without the sexy outfits.
Hahn didn't pick up on Callie's nerves. "Whoever they are, they had better not be an idiot, or Webber and I are going to have an issue."
"Maybe you should just step away from the whole thing," Callie suggested. "You know, focus on your other patients. Let Webber and the new one do their thing. It's not worth stressing over."
"I don't like being cut out of my own cases," Erica argued. "You wouldn't be too happy if he authorized a procedure you weren't convinced of on one of your patients, would you?"
Callie knew she had a point. "No, that would probably make me angry. I just don't like seeing you all worked up over this."
Erica's smile was forced. "Because I'm usually the low key type who's exceptionally talented at letting things go. Do you even know me at all?"
Callie had to laugh. Trying to talk Erica out of anything was like trying to convince a brick wall to become a flower pot, it didn't happen. Inevitably, her former and her current would end up working together on this kid, and Erica was already raring for a fight. Callie decided it might be safer to speak up while she still had the chance. "Listen, Erica, I want you to let you know that I-"
"Ah, hell," Erica interrupted when her cellphone started vibrating. She struggled to find it in her coat. "Hang on."
Callie fell silent again, allowing her the opportunity to pick up on something she might not have otherwise. It was a laughter permanently seared into her brain, not even three years could make her forget it.
Abandoning her confession, she moved to the railing and overlooked the lobby. Arizona was walking through the front doors with Bailey and Tucker Jr. in tow, wearing dark skinny jeans, black heeled boots and a loose fitting top beneath a bomber jacket. She walked with the same confident stride that Callie remembered. She would know who she was even if Arizona had a paper bag over her head.
Arizona was focused on Bailey's son trying to teach her some sort of secret handshake. Her other hand held a coffee cup that she took a sip from every so often, though her attention never strayed from her little companion. Tucker looked thrilled to have a new playmate.
Callie knew exactly what was in that cup without thinking it through - a triple-shot, extra large, half-coconut mocha with light whipped cream and chocolate flakes. The cup came from Arizona's favourite café about three blocks down. It had been her choice of fall beverage back when she lived in Seattle.
"I have a meeting to get to," Erica spoke up while she scrolled distractedly through her phone. Where she was once late, by now it could be construed as tardy. Just perfect.
She snapped the ruined briefcase shut and picked up her purse. "I'm going to go pretend to do my job because apparently Richard thinks someone else can do it better. I'll see you later." She didn't get a chance to see what had Callie so captivated and left in a hurry.
Callie watched her go before returning her gaze to the lobby. It was the same moment Arizona chose to look up at the second floor.
If it weren't for Tucker pulling insistently on the tail of her scarf, Arizona probably would have stopped all together and stared at Callie like a fool. A few stumbling steps forward kiboshed any graceful rhythm she had going and she was forced to corral her thoughts back into the moment.
"See? My dad showed me how to do that!" Tuck exclaimed, bouncing around in front of Arizona, showing her some type of karate move six-year-old style.
Arizona was suddenly finding herself tongue-tied and more than a little flustered, glancing distractedly between Tucker and Callie. "Yeah, that's really cool, buddy," she agreed, ruffling his hair. "Are you sure your Mama likes it when you run around the house kicking pillows everywhere?"
Tucker scrunched his nose. "No, she tells me to wait until it's recess, but we only get one recess and I like doing it. Want me to show you another one? I'll race you!"
Before Arizona could say otherwise, the boy scampered away, doing laps around the atrium with a perturbed Bailey in hot pursuit.
"Robbins! A little help here?" she demanded. "You wound him up, you catch him."
Arizona tore her eyes from her ex-girlfriend again and set off to wrangle the rambunctious boy. Getting on Bailey's bad side was not on her list of accomplishments for this trip.
Tuck was too busy making karate noises and running from his mom that he didn't see Arizona sneak up and grab him from behind. He squealed with delight as she hoisted him into her arms and started to tickle him in the ribs.
"No fair! Let go!"
"Say Uncle."
"Uncle! Uncle!" Tucker stopped struggling when the tickling ceased and settled contently into Arizona's arms. "I'm hungry."
"Well then, someone had better get you some breakfast," Arizona mused, adjusting her grip. "Gosh, you're getting heavy. What do you eat these days, elephants?"
From upstairs, Callie soaked in the image of Arizona and Tucker Jr. for all it was worth. It brought her right back to where they were almost three years ago - how could someone so wonderful with kids not want one of their own?
Mussing up Tuck's hair again, Arizona tossed him back to his feet with a loud 'oomph!'. "You're getting so big," she laughed. "The last time I saw you, you were pint-sized and in diapers."
"Was not!" Tuck pouted at the accusation that he had ever been anything but the same age he was now. It didn't last long as he took Arizona's hand and started pulling her in the direction his mom was waiting for them both.
"Did you pet the lions when you were in Africa?" he asked excitedly. "My mom says you got to pet the lions!"
"Petting them is a bad idea, little man," Arizona chuckled. She risked another glance up at Callie. "I did see some lions, though. They're dangerous but very pretty."
Tucker's eyes widened. "Awesome!" He released her hand and scampered over to his mother, just about knocking her over. "Mom, mom! Can we go see the lions in Africa too?"
"Don't go giving him any ideas," Bailey scolded. She caught sight of where Arizona's eyes kept darting to and lifted an eyebrow at Callie. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Robbins?" she asked pointedly. "Somewhere that's not here, staring at Torres like a little lost puppy?"
Arizona hesitated. "I don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled unhappily.
Tucker got distracted by someone else he knew and tried to walk off, so Bailey wrangled her son by his jacket sleeve and held him in place. "No lions, little man. Except for ones at the zoo."
Arizona shifted her weight before refocusing on the boy. Getting karate-kicked in the gut by a six year old was a safer option than gawking at Callie like an idiot. "Lions are cool but very mean, Tuck. Don't ever pet them, okay?"
"Why?"
"Because they could eat you."
"Why?"
Arizona grinned. "Because people taste good to them."
"Why?" Tuck repeated.
"Time for your breakfast," Bailey cut in, pulling him away before his questioning got out of hand. "Good luck today, Robbins." She didn't specify with what exactly.
Arizona watched them go before she worked up the nerve to head upstairs. If they could just get this over with, everything else would go a lot smoother.
She was halfway up to the mezzanine level when she realized that Callie was no longer alone. Rather than barge in, she hovered awkwardly a few steps down. Cristina was arguing over Hahn's service from the sounds of things.
"Are you kidding me? You want me to get in between you two? No way ," Callie growled at her. She kept looking around like she was expecting to be mugged at any moment.
Cristina was too busy scowling to notice that they had company. "It's because we aren't roommates anymore, isn't it? You revoked my special status because we don't get drunk and make fun of other people under the same roof. That's really, really petty, Torres."
"I am the last person who can talk Erica into anything right now," Callie sighed. She started to say more but caught sight of Arizona and the words died in her throat.
Cristina almost punched Callie just to get her attention again. "Do we need to test you for ADD? You have the attention span of a squirrel lately."
Arizona cleared her throat. "Hey."
Cristina did a double take. "Holy crap," she said bluntly. "Robbins, when did you get back?"
"Late last night," Arizona replied. She switched her focus to Callie and tried to quell the apprehensive ball growing in her stomach.
Callie was frozen to the spot and starting to look like she had just seen the Ghost of Christmas Past. Arizona offered her a shy smile and came to the top of the stairs. "Calliope," she said, nodding politely.
Callie blinked a few times. "I…"
Arizona lifted an eyebrow and waited.
The only thing Callie's mouth could seem to do was flap around uselessly without making any noise. She panicked. "I-I have to go," she blurted instead. In a flash, she was hightailing it in the other direction.
Arizona's heart plummeted as she watched her flee. She adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag and gave the other surgeon in the vicinity a weak wave. "Hi, Dr. Yang."
"Hey," Cristina said, surprised. "I had no idea you were back." She jerked a thumb after Callie. "I don't think Torres did either. She's a little weird these days, try not to take it personally."
Arizona snorted. "Not many people did," she admitted. "Let me guess, she had a major surgery to get to or something equally as pressing and convenient."
Cristina shrugged. "Maybe. Or she's a giant chicken and ran away when she saw you coming. Take your pick."
Arizona had to resign herself to the fact that this would be a very long and awkward trip to Seattle. "Well, I tried. I guess I'll see you shortly, Dr. Yang."
Watching the pediatric surgeon head for the stairwell, Cristina shook her head, miffed. What in the hell Robbins was doing back in Seattle escaped her. Maybe Chief Webber was sick of Stark's shining personality and had finally kicked him to the curb. That would make a lot of people happy. Well, most people, except for maybe Callie and-
I'll see you shortly.
"Holy crap!" Cristina's outburst caused other people to stare. Pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place.
If she had to be in the same room as Hahn and Robbins all day, she was a dead woman. Between the rage and the perk, something was bound to go horribly, horribly wrong. Hahn could barely stand to teach her and Robbins was astronomically more pleasant to be around if anyone were to poll the masses. Hahn hated happy people.
"Oh this is so not fair," Cristina groaned to no one in particular. Maybe it wasn't too late to induce vomiting and hide herself at home for the afternoon.
#*#*
The trial meeting was scheduled for the conference room on the fourth floor, giving Arizona access to the big screen and her audience the comfiest chairs. She was grateful to have ten minutes alone while she plugged her laptop into the projector and sorted through four stacks of paper. Seeing Callie take off that fast had really thrown her and she needed to have her head in the game today.
Bailey hadn't had much to say about her ex-girlfriend in front of Tucker Jr., so Arizona was left wondering what she had missed in the last three years that would make Callie too frightened to speak. A lot of different scenarios popped into her head and she had no way of knowing if any of them were true. Callie was still someone she thought about over the years, Arizona had just never called her. For the longest time it was too painful and, after the initial mourning period, she got busy living her life again. Turning back the clock had seemed counter-productive, even if Callie still popped into her brain unannounced every once in a while.
The first two people to arrive were Chief Webber and Dr. Jennings from the Board. "Chief," she greeted with a smile. "It's good to see a friendly face."
Webber was beaming as he shook Arizona's hand. "And it's nice to have you back, Dr. Robbins. Our Pediatrics department hasn't been the same since you left."
That tickled Arizona and she grinned at him before looking to the other gentleman present. "Dr. Jennings, I didn't expect to see you here, sir."
The head of the Board of Directors gave her a bland smile that hadn't become any cheerier over the years. "Webber insisted on it. If we want to spin good press on this I'd better know what the hell I'm talking about, am I right?"
Arizona arched a brow but kept the fake smile plastered to her face. "Er, right. Of course."
Jennings hiked up his trousers and sat at the head of the table. "Don't mind me, I'm just here to listen. This clinical trial is fascinating."
"Are you sure there's nothing we can say to lure you back?" Richard insisted. "I will call Dr. McHale myself if I have to pay ransom. You can continue your work right here, new office and your own lab. I'm willing to sweeten the deal, just say the word."
"Richard doesn't like the new pediatric attending," Jennings said bluntly. "He's kind of an asshole."
Arizona bit back a smirk. "I had the, uh, pleasure of meeting Dr. Stark when I stopped by last night. He wasn't too happy to see me."
Webber moved around the table and skimmed the paperwork she had laid out. "Dr. Stark is good at his job, but let's just say he lacks your bedside manner. Some of the longer term patients still ask about you."
Arizona loved that but she didn't dare say anything further on the subject. She didn't want to bad mouth anyone she would have to work with in the coming months and she was pretty content with her gig at Hopkins. "How many should I be expecting this morning?"
"Dr. Hahn and Dr. Yang should be here any minute to brief you on the patient," Webber replied, checking his watch. "Have you had a chance to visit with the girl?"
"Unfortunately no," Arizona said. "That's my first stop after this meeting. I'd like to see her and her mother, try to ease their minds. It's a long process and I don't want anyone expecting lightning-fast results. I'm sure they have a lot of questions."
"This must be quite a change for you," Jennings said off-hand, flipping through a report. "Three years in a foreign country, working with the bare minimum, to harvesting and growing stem cells in a state-of-the-art laboratory to regenerate the heart of a seven-year-old. It's the stuff of fiction. You're like Mother Theresa or Angelina Jolie or something."
Arizona let that one slide by. "I ended up only spending two years in Malawi," she corrected, frowning at her computer while making changes to her presentation. "I've been running the pediatrics department at Hopkins for about seven months now."
"The number one teaching hospital in the country," Jennings added. "Quite the illustrious career for someone so young. Is the African program over?"
"I still fly out to the clinic two to three times a year to check on it and make sure the funding is going to good use," Arizona replied. She glanced up from her computer. "If you're interested, I can brief you on the clinic sometime. We've put a ton of work into it."
"I hear Alex Karev got himself involved after he left Seattle," Webber added. "Is he still in Baltimore with you?"
"Yep," Arizona grinned. "He's in the last year of his fellowship, actually. He's turning out to be quite a fantastic surgeon and he accompanied me to Malawi once already. Sorry for stealing him," she added for the Chief's sake.
Webber planted his hands on his hips. "You still owe me one resident, don't think I've forgotten."
"I'll see what I can do," Arizona laughed.
Having Alex in her department back at Hopkins was really the only reason she felt comfortable leaving Baltimore for so long. She had no way of knowing if she would be here for a few weeks or a few months, and how many trips back east she could manage in between. With him holding the department together, she could focus her energy here in Seattle.
Of course, he was still Alex. His parting words when he'd dropped her off at the airport had been "Good freakin' luck". She amended it a little to, "He says hi."
The door opened and Dr. Hahn arrived. It was impossible to miss the surprise that registered as soon as she saw Arizona. That surprise turned to distain for half an instant, then Erica rounded on Richard.
"I nearly got killed by an intern downstairs," she complained. "You need to post some 'No Running in the Halls' signs because apparently we're supervising a bunch of kindergarteners around here."
Arizona reluctantly looked up from her computer, arranging her face into what she hoped was a professional smile. "Dr. Hahn, it's good to see you."
"Dr. Robbins," Erica said coolly, setting her files on the table and shrugging off her jacket. She reached out to shake hands, although it was a token gesture. "How nice of you to fly out here for this case. Unnecessary, but nice."
Arizona noted the dig. "Hopefully once we're finished this morning, you'll feel differently."
"Doubtful," Erica muttered as she turned away. Arizona pursed her lips.
"Let's get started, shall we?" Webber suggested. "I'm sure you both have busy schedules."
"What about Cristina?" Arizona looked to the door. "Shouldn't we wait for—?"
"Yang can be filled in later," Erica interrupted. "If she can't be bothered to show up on time, that's not my problem." She had to fiddle with her patient files a little more than she would've liked, given that the soon-to-be-extinct intern had messed up what she'd spent an hour organizing the night before and again this morning. Eventually she passed a thick stack of paper across the table to Dr. Robbins. Arizona noted the coffee stains but kept her mouth shut.
"The patient is a seven-year-old female suffering from cardiac toxicity brought on by the use of anthracyclines during chemotherapy," Erica started. "She was diagnosed with lymphoma two years ago and underwent aggressive treatment for almost sixteen months before it went into full remission. Unfortunately, the treatment also damaged her cardiovascular system beyond repair and her history with cancer is keeping her from being the top of the donor list. The chance of rejection is too high."
Arizona furrowed her brow and scanned the information provided. She'd seen it all before but it never hurt to have a refresher. "Her immune system was wiped out and hasn't had sufficient time to recover. Chances are it won't with the heart she has now."
"Which is why keeping her on the transplant list is the best course of action," Erica agreed. "So, unless you brought a beating heart of the same blood type with you from Baltimore, I'm not really sure why you're here."
Arizona smiled blandly, willing herself to keep a level head. She wasn't opposed to being challenged professionally once in awhile, but certain people doing the challenging in really unnecessary ways tended to get on her nerves. "I trust you met with Dr. Frazer last month when he was here consulting with Allison's parents. He explained how her saved cord cells would be grown over the course of several weeks."
"I was in surgery while he was here," Hahn said. "I'm a busy woman with a lot of patients who aren't being subjected to unnecessary experimentation."
Arizona ground her teeth together and was about to respond when the door to the conference room flew open. Four sets of eyes re-directed to Cristina.
"Sorry," Yang panted, half-stumbling to Hahn's side. "ICU paged, false alarm. What are we doing?"
"Yang, sit down and be quiet," Erica barked. "If you can't be bothered to be here on time, then–"
"It's okay, Dr. Yang," Arizona said hurriedly. "We were just getting started."
Cristina's eyes shifted between the two attendings, noting the standoffish atmosphere before she sank into the nearest chair. If she didn't make any sudden movements, maybe they wouldn't notice her when the violence started.
When she was settled, Arizona continued. "I was explaining to everyone how we're going to be using the patient's stored cord blood to inject her with several doses of her own stem cells, with the hopes that they'll regenerate the damaged muscle tissue. There's also a very good chance it will help in the rebuilding process of her immune system."
"I was under the impression that I would be leading the debriefing, Richard," Erica said directly to the Chief. "She hasn't even seen the patient yet."
Webber held up a hand. "Just sit and have a listen, Dr. Hahn. Robbins will fill us in on the trial first."
Hahn looked furious, but she cast a look at Jennings and opted to obey. The listening part, anyway. She remained standing with her arms crossed.
Arizona breathed deeply and continued on. "Dr. Gordon Frazer is the leading surgeon on this clinical trial and Allison Tanner will be only the second minor involved. I was brought on about six months ago when they decided to include a fifteen year old male from New York in the study."
She turned to the projector and started flipping through slides as she spoke, boasting detailed diagrams, pictures of other surgeries and explanations of the trial's current successes. Everyone aside from Hahn took a seat but even she begrudgingly sat down after a few minutes.
"Not only was your patient's immune system eradicated during her chemo treatments, she unfortunately became one of the rare cases where the damage to her heart was pretty severe. A transplant would seem like the ideal choice, but we all know the chances of her receiving one in this condition are slim. And quite frankly, even if she did, I wouldn't give her more than three to six months to live as an absolute best case scenario. More than likely, she would only survive for a couple of weeks, even if she made it through the transplant surgery."
Hahn continued to look annoyed but before she could object to anything, Cristina spoke up. "So you're literally going to try and re-grow her heart inside her own chest."
"It's a procedure that's shown extremely positive results in mice since stem cell research began," Arizona said. "Only recently have human trials begun to utilize this as an option to treat chemo damage. There have been a few cases of successful tissue regeneration in adults that show a really promising prognosis for future patients."
"Fascinating," Jennings commented as he pulled out his glasses and studied one of her reports in more detail.
"Dr. Frazer and Dr. McHale brought me on as the leading pediatric surgeon for the trial since it branched out to patients under eighteen." Arizona brought up some images of the first pediatric patient's surgery on-screen. "Normally Dr. Frazer isn't keen on experimental procedures when it comes to children, and neither am I, but in Allison's case she doesn't have any other options. Right now her body is too sick to heal itself and with a younger heart like hers, we really believe this might have a chance at prolonging her life."
"How many surgeries is she looking at?" Webber asked.
"Ideally we want three to four dosages to be administered with several weeks in between each." Arizona went through more slides. "It all depends on the quality of cells produced in the lab. There may also be some follow-up surgeries if necessary. Dr. Frazer sent out one of his partners last month to extract the sample from the cord bank and work on reproducing more cells. If we have to, we can try to harvest some adult stem cells for an extra round, but given that she's had a bone marrow transplant once before, that would be a real challenge. We need to cross our fingers that the first sample provides a bare minimum of two doses."
Jennings, Webber and Cristina shot more questions her way over a period of forty-five minutes, all three of them engaged and genuinely fascinated by the process. Arizona was proud to be a part of this study and knew the results could make a huge difference to future patients. Not since working in Malawi had she felt such a professional satisfaction. She loved her job.
Hahn only spoke when everyone else was finished. "I don't agree."
"And what don't you agree with?" Arizona asked politely.
Erica stood up and leaned her palms into the table. "With subjecting my patient, whom I've been working with for the past several months, to this experimental procedure out of left field. You have no way of knowing how her body will handle this - only two other patients in the entire trial had anything resembling the level of chemotherapy she underwent. One of them died."
"I'm aware of that, Dr. Hahn," Arizona began slowly, "but the trial is branching out into patients suffering from various degrees of cardiac toxicity. And yes, Allison will be an entirely new type of patient when it comes to this study, especially because of her age. I didn't jump to the conclusion that she should become a part of the trial within thirty seconds of looking at her scans. If I didn't think this was in her best interest, I wouldn't be here."
"Look, it's a fascinating process, I'll give you that," Hahn allowed, "but I do not agree to it being used on my patient. It's too early and you know too little."
"Dr. Hahn," Jennings said lightly, "Miss Tanner is already a patient of Dr. Robbins', so you need to wrap your head around that if you want to be involved."
"She is my patient," Hahn snapped, looking at the Chief for some form of support. "Richard, I'm telling you this isn't a good idea. I don't do bad outcomes and this has bad outcome written all over it."
Arizona's eyes widened in disbelief. "Bad outcomes?" she echoed. "My only obligation is to my patient, not your percentage rates."
"How dare you," Erica growled. "You can not walk in here like you're still running the pediatrics department after three years spent squatting in a bush, pretending to play 'doctor'. Dr. Stark is just as against this as I am and he was with the girl through her entire cancer treatment."
Arizona bit back a snide remark about just what Hahn and Stark could do with their ill-placed judgment. She was tired and achy from the plane ride and didn't need a full-blown argument to break out. "No one is forcing you to be a part of the process," she pointed out. "I have every intention of including or excluding you both to your own liking. The fact of the matter is that Dr. Jennings and Chief Webber have officially signed this patient over to me and the trial is in progress as of this morning. Allison Tanner will remain here at Seattle Grace for the duration of her treatment, but if either of you wish to walk away, no one is stopping you."
While Jennings chose to sit back and watch, Webber jumped in before things got uglier. "I've reviewed the case myself several times, Dr. Hahn," he said in a loud voice. It didn't leave much room for argument. "I respect your opinion but we're going ahead with it. Your patient is in good hands. Dr. Robbins is the best of the best."
"Richard," Erica argued. Her whole physique radiated anger. Cristina subconsciously shrank away.
"Dr. Yang, why don't you go grab everyone here some coffee from the break room?" Jennings spoke up, picking at his nails and acting as though war wasn't about to break out between the two attendings.
"Seriously?" Cristina was about to point out that she wasn't an intern but given the way Hahn was looking at Robbins, she'd rather be elsewhere anyway. Getting blood stains out of her lab coat was such a pain in the ass.
"Okay." She jumped up and didn't look back.
Halfway to the door, she noticed a figure looming through the window, trying to peek around the frame in an inconspicuous manner. She slipped outside and closed the door quietly. "What on earth are you doing?"
Callie was a nervous wreck. "Oh god, this can't be happening."
"Your stomach must be one giant circus parade, huh?" Cristina asked wryly. "Man, you have the worst luck."
"This is just..." Callie felt sick with stress. "How? What did I do? God hates me. That's what this is. H-he's punishing me for the women. I'm doomed."
"Calm down before you pass out, I'm sure everything will be fine," Cristina sighed. "Where is the nearest coffee machine?"
"Is that your idea of reassuring?" Callie snapped. "I haven't slept in days and now my girlfriend and ex-girlfriend are working together professionally. I think I'm seeing spots."
Cristina was only half paying attention while she flipped through the report she'd taken with her. "Look at it this way, they'll probably kill each other before the next time you have to talk to either one of them. Problem solved."
Callie straightened again and glared at her. "Thank you, that's amazing advice. What would I do without you?"
"Ok, ok," Cristina shut the file and tucked it back under her arm. She turned to look Callie squarely in the eye. "You really want my advice? Walk with me. I'm on coffee duty."
Callie cocked an eyebrow. "By choice?"
"Yes, by choice. Do I do things any other way?"
Callie snorted. "You usually scoff when people throw you peon crap."
"It's called being a bigger person," Cristina replied coolly. The loud voices emanating from the boardroom faded away the further they got down the hall.
"Since when?"
"Since about five minutes ago."
Callie let out a small laugh and pushed up her sleeves. "Erica scared you into doing it, didn't she?"
"Jennings, actually. Your girlfriend was in Beast mode so I didn't argue."
They made it all the way to the elevators in silence before Callie stopped in place. "Was it really that bad?"
Cristina turned to her while they waited. "I don't know, you tell me. You had your face smushed into the glass like it was a zoo exhibit."
Callie frowned while trying to form a clever retort but she came up empty. She was kind of pathetic. "I have no idea how I'm supposed to feel right now. My ex and not-ex were in the same room, having it out." The elevator came and they rode in silence, reaching the main floor and migrating to the nearest coffee cart.
"Were you always this whiny?"
"You're supposed to be helping me here," Callie whined. They ordered coffee for seven and stepped aside to wait.
Cristina rolled her eyes. "Just let it play out. Don't intervene because it will only make things worse. For me," she clarified. "You're screwed either way."
"Last night you were begging me to talk to Erica about giving you a spot on this case," Callie shot back. "This morning you were doing the same thing. Now you want me to shut up about it?"
"That was before it became a blood bath. You weren't in there, Torres. It is ugly .
Callie fidgeted with her hands. "So, I shouldn't get involved? I should just act like I don't know Arizona's back when I'm with Erica?"
"No." Cristina paid for the coffees and asked for an expense receipt. "It's just going to seem like you're taking sides." She really did not want to get stuck in a mud slinging competition. She had her own problems to deal with, but if helping Callie cope with her predicament kept her from being lined up in front of a firing squad, so be it.
Several minutes passed. "What if it comes up while we're at home?" Callie asked. She fixated on a piece of pound cake but didn't dare touch it, let alone pick it up and purchase it.
"Ignore her. That shouldn't be hard, you've mastered it already." Cristina shoved one tray into Callie's hands and grabbed another.
"Okay, I can do that. Play it cool, don't get involved." Callie thought about it and that didn't seem too crazy.
There was also the option of stepping onto the next lunar shuttle launched into outer space. That was a close number two.
"If this blows up in my face, I'll feed you to Erica personally," Callie clarified. "Then I'll break all your bones. Got it?"
"Oh so scary," Cristina mocked in baritone.
Callie really tried to psych herself up for this. A nervous smile formed the longer she thought about it - she could totally do this. Ignoring the problem was a special skill of hers these days. What was one more non-conversation between her and her girlfriend? There were plenty of those already in progress. And Arizona, they never even crossed paths professionally in this type of situation. She was free and clear of all the awkward conversations she didn't want to have.
Cristina, on the other hand, was beginning to reconsider her advice the more she read of the report she'd stolen. There was definitely room for her name on anything that got published out of this and having that kind of street cred would never rub off.
As they reached their floor, she slammed the file shut. "Nope!"
Callie glanced over her shoulder in confusion. "What?"
Cristina looked straight ahead at the closed doors, allowing her mind to run away on one of its brilliant tangents. "Don't ignore the problem, Torres. Ignoring the problem is for babies."
Callie blinked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm amazing, that's the whole point." Cristina abruptly turned and faced her. "Hey, speaking of - I need a favour!"
That was subtle. Callie grew suspicious." What?" she asked carefully.
Agony was pooling in the pit of Cristina's stomach. She knew if she pursued what she wanted here, she would be opening the proverbial can of worms. While Robbins' presentation had been interesting, having a chance to think about it away from her monster of a boss allowed the implications to really sink in. They were astronomical. This was the chance she had been waiting for all year, all her career .
Callie kept staring. "What is up with you? You're acting weird. Weirder than usual."
Cristina straightened up. "So here's the thing—"
"Oh no…"
"I need a favour. It might involve ignoring everything else I just told you."
"Might?" Callie echoed.
Cristina stepped in front of her and hit the emergency stop button.
"Uh—"
"You should talk to her," she stated. "Robbins. You know how stressed out you get when you avoid things, so maybe it's just better to stick your foot in the fire or whatever. Say hi, make nice. Tell her she's a bitch for abandoning you three years ago. Either way, could you try and slip in a good word for me while you're at it?"
Callie narrowed her eyes. "I can see where this is going, Cristina."
Yang waved the case file in her face. "This trial is way better than I thought it was! With my luck, Hahn will cock-block me from getting anywhere near it. That's where you come in with your handy-dandy connections."
Callie leaned against the back handrail. "Do you ever do anything because it's the nice thing to do, or is it always to selfishly promote your own agenda?"
"You do this for me and I'll return the favour."
"Oh yeah? How?"
"Easy. I'll spy on them for you."
Callie scoffed. "Yeah, because I'm so petty that I'll trade my soul for gossip. No thanks."
"If I'm on this trial, I could keep an ear open to what's going on between Blondie and Cruella De Vil," Cristina said slowly, willing to spell it out as much as necessary. "Report back to you and all that good, ooey-gooey, gossipy crap."
It would be a lot easier to walk through the minefield with a map, Callie had to admit. But agreeing to this meant that she would have to be the one to initiate a conversation with Arizona, and if she was being completely honest with herself, she wasn't sure she had the guts to do it this soon. Having insight into just what the hell was going on would make her a lot less likely to get firebombed at home either way.
Callie groaned out loud. Somehow she found herself opening her mouth and agreeing to this insane idea. " Fine , but I'm not promising anything. I will mention it to her if we speak. If. Satisfied?"
Cristina puffed up triumphantly. "Very much, thank you." She pushed the stop button back in and the elevator hummed to life.
"Just remember that I have no control over what Erica says or does with her job, so if you're as serious about this trial as you say you are, don't piss her off. Then it won't matter whether or not Arizona's in your corner." Callie shoved by Yang as soon as the doors popped.
Oh, hell. What had she just gotten herself into?
#*#*
The morning meeting had gone about as well as Arizona expected it to - not great, not completely awful, either. Webber and Jennings were fully on board, only Erica was going out of her way to make things difficult. Arizona knew she just had to grin and bear it, that Hahn and Stark could complicate things, but she would manage no matter what happened. Her concern was for her patient – not their egos.
It was only noon and she was already exhausted, so she opted for a quick lunch before meeting her patient in the pediatrics wing. She slowed to a tip-toe outside of the room and peeked in to make sure she wasn't about to wake anybody up. A girl she presumed to be Allison Tanner was in bed with her mother seated beside her, both awake, so she knocked gently on the door frame.
"Mrs. Tanner? Allison?" Arizona stepped inside and gave them a friendly smile. "My name is Dr. Robbins, we spoke on the phone last week?"
The woman rose from her perch on Allison's bed and extended a hand to introduce herself. "Call me Sarah, please. It's nice to finally meet you. We've heard a lot about you from Dr. Webber."
Arizona closed the door behind her to give them some privacy. She gestured for Mrs. Tanner to sit down and pulled up the extra chair across from her, though she remained standing for now. Her focus turned to the scared child eyeballing her from the bed. "It's nice to finally meet you, Allison."
"Hi," the girl replied shyly.
Arizona smiled at her. "That's a really pretty bow you have in your hair today. Did you make it yourself?"
Allison didn't offer a verbal reply but nodded in agreement. She reached for her mother's hand and Sarah Tanner wrapped it in her own.
"She makes me change the color daily," said the girl's mother. "Today she wanted to put on her special pink bow just for you, Dr. Robbins. Isn't that right, Ally?"
Arizona's smile broadened. "Well, Allison, it just so happens that pink is my favourite color," she teased.
"Really?" The seven-year-old seemed to perk up. "Do you like bows too, Dr. Robbins?"
"I do like bows. And please, you can call me Arizona." Allison wrinkled her nose and it made Arizona laugh. "I know, it's silly name, but it's the one my daddy gave me. I was named after a boat."
Giggling, Allison beamed up at her mother. "She's funny."
Happy to see her patient relaxing, Arizona took the most recent chart from the foot of the bed and looked it over. "How have you been feeling today, Ally? I heard you had a rough night."
"My tummy hurts," Allison pouted. "And I couldn't breathe last night so Mommy brought me here."
"I'm sorry," Arizona said, furrowing her brow as she scanned what was scribbled down by a resident. She really needed to get someone on this case that could write legibly. "I'll see if there's something I can give you to help your tummy."
She glanced at Mrs. Tanner. "Did she manage to eat anything this morning?"
Sarah shook her head. "Barely. The only time I can get her to eat something is if it's shaped like some kind of zoo animal. Animal crackers have been a favourite as of late," she said with a half smile. "She keeps saying she's not hungry and I keep telling her she needs to at least try to eat something. It's an exhausting back and forth." She playfully pinched her daughter, earning a squeak of protest. "You're so stubborn, Ally."
"I like cookies," Allison argued. "But they're not green, so Mommy says I can't have them right now."
Arizona liked that Allison was in good spirits despite her situation. She would need that kind of attitude given how many surgeries lay ahead. "Well, we've got her going with a steady dose of IV fluids, so she's staying hydrated at least. I'll see if I can round up some animal crackers after we're done here."
"Don't want any," the girl said tiredly.
Arizona frowned. "What if we got you some pink jello? It's super yummy. My personal favourite."
Allison hummed. "Jello wiggles."
"It tastes like watermelon," Arizona drawled. "I know your mommy would feel so much better if she saw you eat something."
Allison dropped her gaze, turning shy again. "Okay."
"Good girl," Arizona smiled. "In the meantime I'll try to find a good substitute for animal crackers."
Sarah looked apprehensive as Arizona checked some of her daughter's fluid levels and wrote a few things down. She always preferred to let her patients relax around her before launching into the medical stuff. Kids were smarter than a lot of doctors gave them credit for, they knew what was going on around them.
"So," Arizona started. "I'm sure you've heard a lot of scary doctor talk over the last few weeks. If you have any questions, you can ask me at any time, okay?"
Allison bit her lip. "Are you my doctor now? 'Cause the other lady was meaner."
Arizona had to chuckle at that. She couldn't imagine Erica Hahn handling kids very well – or Stark for that matter. How he became a pediatric surgeon was beyond her. "Yep, I'm your new doctor. Dr. Hahn and Dr. Stark will still be around, but I'm going to be the one taking care of you from now on. Are you okay with that?"
Allison's face lit up. "Yeah! 'Cause you like bows and pink and jello and you don't talk like a robot."
"Ally!" Sarah admonished. "I'm sorry, Dr. Robbins. She knows better than to be rude."
The little girl shrugged in defense. "What? It's true."
Arizona fought back a laugh. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine," she agreed with a playful wink. "Besides, I also heard from one of the nurses that you like to ride horses. I used to ride when I was your age, too."
Allison's eyes lit up and for a moment she didn't look like a sick little girl who had been through hell. "I love horses!"
They spent a few minutes chatting about show jumping and favourite breeds, various world equestrian champions and other nerdy horse stuff. Arizona took the opportunity while Allison was distracted to retake some of her vitals and she switched out IV bags for the afternoon dosage.
When she was confident that Allison was at ease, Arizona took a seat and crossed her legs. "I know you're probably sick of all this doctor mumbo-jumbo stuff, but if you're okay with it, I'd like to talk to you and your mom about a few things."
Allison shot her mother a scared look and Sarah nodded reassuringly. "It's okay, honey."
There was no need to go into deeper detail with Allison present; Arizona would talk more extensively with Sarah Tanner when her daughter was asleep. For now she stuck to the basics, about how Allison's heart was sick and she had a new and kind of cool idea on how to make it better.
"Will it make me throw up again?" the girl pouted. "The other medicine made me throw up a lot."
"No, this is different than what you went through before," Arizona said. "The chemotherapy is what made you sick, but this is like medicine specifically for your heart. It's actually kind of cool because you're going to use your own cells to heal yourself. Not many people can do that, so you're a pretty special girl, Ally."
Allison pushed herself to sit up more. "How?"
"When you were a baby, the doctors kept some of your umbilical cord, which is what connected you and your mom before you were born," Arizona explained, indicating Allison's navel. "The tiny cells inside of it are very good at healing sick people, and because they're yours, they're perfect for what I need. I'm going to use them to help your heart get better and in the meantime we're going to try to make more in one of the labs upstairs. Pretty cool, huh?"
Allison frowned, not fully understanding it all but getting the gist of it. The doctor lady seemed happy so that was good enough for her. "Does that mean I'll get better?
Arizona considered her words carefully. "I'm going to do my very best to make sure that you do," she said, nodding with encouragement. It was the closest she could come to a promise. "I need you to help me out with a few things along the way."
Allison bit her lip. "What?"
"First, I need you to promise me that you'll get lots and lots of sleep. That will give your heart more time to heal." Arizona lifted a brow. "And secondly, I need you to do your best to eat for me and your mommy. Okay?"
Allison heaved a sigh worthy of Broadway but in the end she agreed to the deal.
Arizona smiled again and turned the subject back to the World Equestrian Games coming up next year. Allison had earned a break for now.
#*#*
Erica was only at the halfway point of her shift and she'd already had it with everyone in the building. She was beyond furious at the state of the Tanner case and none too happy with who was taking over. Robbins was content to butt heads with her on every little detail and it was driving her nuts. She'd never liked the woman to begin with and that wasn't going to change any time soon. Getting booted from her own case in favour of Arizona was beyond humiliating.
Despite all that, Allison Tanner was still her patient and she wanted to see Sarah Tanner and her daughter. Even if she didn't agree with the new course of treatment, she wanted to make sure the handover was going smoothly. If it wasn't, then she wanted to see Robbins crash and burn first hand. Just not at the expense of a child.
Erica stopped herself from bursting through the closed door when she arrived up in pediatrics. She realized that barreling inside, fuming the way she was, would most assuredly get her kicked off the case entirely. So, despite how magnanimously pissed she was at the entire situation, she retreated to the desk and settled for waiting where she could spy through the window of Allison's room.
It came as no surprise that she didn't like what she saw - Robbins had to have been one hell of a comedian judging by how hard Allison and her mother were laughing. That annoyed the hell out of her.
"Stupid bitch," Erica growled under her breath.
"And just who do you think you're calling names?"
Erica started and whipped around to spot Dr. Bailey behind her.
"Well?" Bailey demanded.
Erica felt a flush of regret at getting caught. "Dr. Bailey, I apologize. I didn't know anyone was here."
"Mm-hmm." Bailey's disapproval failed to dissipate, though she went back to searching for a file on the desk.
Erica knew better than to throw down with Miranda Bailey. There were some fights you were just guaranteed to lose and bickering with her was one of them. Besides, she did respect Bailey as a surgeon and she was one of the few people she liked working with.
"I'm sorry, I am, I'm just frustrated. Richard has completely disregarded my opinion on this case." Erica shot a nasty look through the window. "And that's not even the bigger half of it. He calls roller skate Barbie in to take over and makes me look like a fool in the process."
Bailey hardly glanced up. "Do I look like I want to listen to your problems?"
Erica wasn't paying a whole lot of attention either. "Robbins, she's - she's out of control. Not to mention unprofessional. She argues every single detail to death while refusing to consider my opinions. Bottom line, she's going to get that little girl killed, I swear it."
That got Bailey's attention. "Robbins? You mean Callie's Robbins?"
Erica looked disgusted. "What kind of serious surgeon wears roller skates for shoes? In a hospital no less." It didn't matter to her that there was no sign of said shoes on this visit. Erica remembered them well during their professional crossover.
" You are working with Robbins? Arizona Robbins?" Bailey let out a bark of laughter.
Erica huffed. "That's funny to you?"
Bailey set her files down, granting her full attention to Erica. "A piece of advice - I hated Robbins when she came here the first time around. It got me nowhere. The Chief likes her, the staff love her, and eventually we even got along. She knows what she's doing and it sounds like she's not going anywhere, so you had better suck it up and deal with it. Trust me, it's a waste of time and energy otherwise. Now leave me alone, I'm busy."
"She's already trying to take-"
Bailey stuck her hand out, shushing Erica. "Are you deaf? I am not your therapist. I gave you the one piece of advice that will keep you from getting thrown off the case." She cocked an eyebrow and waited for Erica to leave. "Just let it go. Focus on your own patients and stop harping on this. Go. ."
Erica grumbled unhappily and glanced into Allison's room one more time. As much as she hated everything that had transpired, Bailey did have a point. It was better she stick around to keep an eye on Robbins than leave all together.
Before she could make a complete fool of herself, Erica pushed off the desk and walked away.
For now.
#*#*
Arizona spent the majority of an hour with Allison and her mother. By the time they were finished discussing the basics, the little girl was exhausted and drifted off to sleep. Arizona recommended that Mrs. Tanner get some rest herself and to make sure she remembered to monitor her own eating habits - they were in for the long haul now and Allison needed her mother by her side, healthy and well-rested.
The kinks were starting to settled in her shoulders when Arizona made her way to the desk Bailey was parked at. "Hey," she said cheerfully, extracting an elastic from her pocket and pulling her hair into a messy ponytail.
"Whatever it is, the answer is no," Bailey said without looking up.
Arizona frowned. "Gee, good to know where I stand today." She fiddled with a stack of paperwork Mrs. Tanner had just signed, organizing it into sections along the countertop.
Bailey was beginning to think she would escape the peds floor without any more people talking at her when Robbins suddenly began to speak again.
"She's avoiding me, you know," Arizona said hesitantly. "Callie. I've seen her twice and all she's done is run away."
"Mm-hm," Bailey murmured. If she acted disinterested, maybe this one would be smart enough to take the hint.
"I mean, okay, when we split it was…hard, but that was nearly three years ago, y'know?" That was the infuriating part. Arizona sighed. "I was hoping we could at least talk. I want to see how she's doing."
Bailey remained silent.
"It would be much less awkward if she just stopped avoiding me and we got it over with. All I wanted to do was say hi." Arizona twirled a pen between her fingers. "What kind of grown woman avoids someone? It's childish."
Realizing that she wasn't about to escape any time soon, Bailey exhaled and set down her pencil. "Look, Torres has a lot going on these days."
"Don't we all," Arizona mumbled unhappily.
"It's a little more complicated than that," Bailey urged. "Just trust me, she's a busy woman and seeing you again was the last thing on her mind. I'm sure you two will talk eventually, so stop talking to me about it instead."
"Yeah, I guess," Arizona allowed. She checked her watch. "I've got a conference call in fifteen minutes with Hopkins, I'd better go grab a coffee if they want me awake for it." She gathered her papers. "If you see Callie, tell her to grow a pair and come talk to me."
Bailey rolled her eyes and watched Arizona go. "Tell her yourself."
#*#*
Arizona was swept away in a pile of paperwork and formal meetings for the rest of the afternoon, running from one location to the next without so much as a bathroom break in between. It was almost six o'clock by the time her final conference call to the other trial doctors wrapped and she was ready to go home and get some sleep. Technically speaking her 'home' was thousands of miles away on the opposite coast; the temporary living arrangement was a fancy hotel room that lacked the coziness of her old apartment. Other than the mini bar, she had no company and would probably end up watching movies on pay-per-view or something equally as boring.
She was alone in the boardroom and waited for every call line to disconnect with the exception of one. Once they were alone, Arizona took the phone off of speaker and put the receiver to her ear.
"Is it weird?" Karev asked.
Arizona contemplated the numerous ways to answer that. "Weird is one way of putting it. Bizarre and a little uncomfortable is another."
"Webber will be kissing your ass the whole time you're there while everyone else wonders what the hell you're doing back." Alex sounded amused at his boss' expense. "Hahn was a nightmare to work with before she left."
"She hasn't changed much," Arizona mumbled. "But the patient is officially under my care, so there's not a whole lot anyone can do about it. At least the Chief is on my side, same with Jennings."
"Have you talked to Torres yet?"
Arizona groaned and rubbed her forehead. "No. She's avoiding me, which…whatever," she said flippantly. "I've got other things on my mind. We don't need to talk if this is how she feels."
Alex snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that. That place is cesspool of drama. At some point you two will have a screaming match in public, that's how it works. Nobody ever does anything in private."
"How are things over there?" Arizona cut in. They really needed to change the subject. "Are you keeping my peds unit in one piece?" She relaxed into her seat and listened to Alex rattle off a list of things he was dealing with and updates on her patients. Despite the fact that he was still a surgical fellow, she knew this was a good experience for him. He would run the department himself one day.
At one point he covered the speaker on his end and muffled voices reached Arizona's ears. She waited patiently for him to come back on. "Look, I've gotta go. Let me know how things with the kid turn out. Say hi to Torres in between awkward silences."
"Will do, Karev. Bye." As soon as they hung up, Arizona dropped her head against the chair and closed her eyes. Today had been absolutely draining.
It took a good thirty seconds before she mustered up the energy to stand and gather her things. There hadn't been a need to wear scrubs today, so she bypassed the attendings lounge and headed straight for the elevators. Room service, a fluffy white robe and a tiny bottle of liqueur awaited. It was probably fifteen dollars and wouldn't so much as make her sleepy, but it was something.
Rounding a corner, Arizona immediately set eyes on Callie standing a small distance away. She stopped short. Callie was rummaging through her purse for something, dressed to go home for the day, and had yet to notice her. Arizona debated going back the way she came before her ex looked up - if Callie wanted to avoid all contact, well then, that was her choice. Arizona wasn't about to force herself on her.
Somehow her brain failed to communicate that to her feet and suddenly she found herself charging ahead, ready to block off Callie's escape route. Her boots clicked noisily against the floor as she marched on and announced her presence.
Callie barely had time to look up before Arizona appeared out of nowhere and launched into a barrage of accusations.
"You're avoiding me," were the first words out of her mouth. To her credit, she kept up the confident appearance even though she was a mess on the inside. "And don't say that you're not because I know you are. I've seen you popping in and out of my line of vision all day before you disappear in the opposite direction."
Callie resembled a deer in the headlights of a spaceship, unsure what was happening or how to react. She tried to come up with an appropriate response only for Arizona to barrel full steam ahead.
Arizona knew she would lose her nerve if she didn't get this out now. "I don't think you should be avoiding me, Callie. We don't have to act like things aren't totally and completely weird with me showing up out of the blue, but avoiding is, is… stupid ." Her frown deepened and she adjusted her purse. "It's weird for you and it's weird for me but I'm here and I'm going to be here for a while, so we should just get the weirdness out of the way before it gets any weirder. Okay?" She released a hard breath and wished she hadn't said 'weird' so many times.
Callie's mouth hovered open long enough for a bird to nest before she settled on ,"Uh...hi?"
The faintest of smiles appeared "Hi," Arizona echoed. Callie didn't add anything to her comment, so she tried again. "Look, I'm sorry to jump at you. I'm also sorry for not giving you a heads up that I was coming." She fiddled with her purse strap for something to do. "It's been almost three years, I know you've moved on and you shouldn't have to feel like we can't talk anymore. We can talk, or at least I hope we can. Even if it's been forever and a part of me was anxious about running into you again, we've always been able to talk. We're good at...at talking."
They were making a great example of that now, what with her babbling and Callie's newly-acquired mime routine.
Callie bit her lip, totally blanking on what she was supposed to say to that. Even after a day of thinking about nothing else, she was completely off balance thanks to Arizona's presence back in Seattle. If she thought she could get away with postponing this conversation until the morning, she would try, but Arizona would probably just chase her down the hallway and tackle her like a linebacker. She was a persistent woman; Callie had always really liked that about her.
Arizona released a shaky breath and held Callie's gaze, waiting for some kind of response - any kind so long as it didn't involve her hightailing it in the opposite direction. Her initial firestorm of confidence had rapidly fizzled out. "Could you just say something? Please? I'm at a loss here."
Callie gathered herself and finally found her voice. "I'm sorry, you're right. You're right, we should talk. Especially if you're here for a while, we should definitely...t-talk." She shot a nervous glance through the window next to them, the one Arizona had yet to notice. "There's a lot to talk about."
Well, that was something. Arizona nodded encouragingly. "Yeah, okay. I'm free now, if you want to grab a drink."
Callie chomped on her bottom lip. "Now isn't really a good time. Maybe-"
"Dr. Torres, you're a few minutes early."
They turned in unison to the source of the voice. Callie closed her eyes while Arizona's nearly fell out of her head.
One of the daycare workers Arizona recognized brushed by with a tiny human of the infant variety in her arms. She was beaming at Callie and thrust the child she was holding at her.
"She was a little fussy this morning but her afternoon nap seemed to calm her down," the woman said with a smile, unshouldering a diaper bag and handing it over.
Arizona's mouth involuntarily hung open, staring at the baby that looked exactly like her ex-girlfriend.
It was safe to say that the ice had been broken.
Callie thanked the attendant and adjusted the child in her arms, then diverted her full attention back to Arizona when they were alone again. By the looks of things, she was having difficulty breathing.
"Arizona," Callie spoke quietly, feeling most of the tension drain from her limbs. The cat was out of the bag, so to speak. This wasn't how she'd imagined her ex finding out about her new foray into motherhood.
Arizona was stunned. She tried to vocalize her thoughts but was barely able to form them in her head, let alone out loud. Of all the things she had been expecting to return to, this was definitely not one of them. In retrospect, that was pretty dumb on her part.
The infant began to squirm, prompting Callie to lightly bounce her up and down in her arms, earning a squeal of approval. She took one cautious step forward, causing Arizona to have a knee-jerk reaction and retreat back a few inches. Callie's heart sank - she knew Arizona didn't want kids but even for her this was uncharacteristic behaviour. She tried to chalk it up to the ultimate surprise that had just been dropped into her lap. Callie gathered the courage to try this again - she wanted Arizona to know her daughter, even if it was only for a few seconds.
Perched in Callie's warm embrace, the baby looked squarely at the new stranger and giggled an all-gum grin. "Arizona, this is Sofia," Callie said apprehensively.
It took another two or three seconds but Arizona finally shook out of her stupor. She hadn't exactly been planning this; her brain had ceased all function the moment she saw that Callie was a mom.
It made perfect sense, of course. Callie wanted a baby and just because Arizona was once a part of her life didn't mean she expected a formal announcement in the mail. They had broken up because of this very reason. Three years was a long time.
Her gaze drifted from Sofia to Callie and back again. Sofia's big brown eyes bore into her and Arizona felt just the faintest smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Hi," she whispered, holding up a hand. Sofia latched onto her index finger.
"Da!" Sofia gave the digit a small tug and snort-giggled, kicking her feet.
Arizona started to feel a little more functional now that the initial shock was wearing off. Her brain was still at a ten on a scale of one to five, but she found her voice.
"She's beautiful, Calliope," she said warmly, shaking her head with disbelief. "She looks just like you." From the eyes to the cheeks to Sofia's smile, she looked exactly like her momma in miniature form.
"Thanks," Callie mused, bouncing Sofia again. "I like to think so, right babe?" Sofia babbled her agreement.
Disappointed in her own behaviour, Arizona offered the pair an apologetic smile. "Congratulations, Calliope. I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Callie shifted a squirmy Sofia in her arms before replying. "Honestly, not many people did. It was something I kept to myself for a while. Y'know, until it became too obvious to hide." She tugged on Sofia's foot and chose her next words carefully. She wanted to say this right. "Making the decision to become a single mom was something that weighed on me for quite a while after you left. At first I wasn't totally convinced that I could do it alone. I mean, babies are a ton of work and I didn't have experience to fall back on in case I fell flat on my face."
"You never fall flat on your face," Arizona pointed out. "Stumble, maybe, flail a little sometimes, but you have this uncanny ability to kick ass and land on your feet." She balked at her word choice and shot Sofia a quick look. "Sorry, butt ."
Callie's heart started pounding all over again. "To tell you the truth, I think I was more scared that I wasn't going to have someone to share this wonderful experience with than the fact that I actually had this whole other person to take care of. Stupid, huh?"
That was an odd choice of words. Arizona tilted her head, curious to know more, but Sofia twisted around and poked Callie in the nose. She looked bored with the adult conversation going on around her. Even though she couldn't have been more than six or seven months old at most, she had the same pout as her mother, right down to her gorgeous little cheeks. Even though she was still quite a bit shell-shocked at the revelation, Arizona was only human – that kid was pretty damn cute.
Her gaze shifted from the baby to her former lover, who simply grinned and played with Sofia's foot in return. It would be clear to anyone that looked at the pair how much Callie loved her daughter.
"I always knew you'd be a great mom," Arizona said quietly, trying to ignore the sadness suddenly lumped in her chest. Her eyes drifted down as Sofia honed in on the silver chain around Callie's neck, a tiny fist pinching the necklace to try and get a good grip on it. Arizona would have laughed at the perplexed expression on the baby's face except that she noticed the particular necklace she was interested in.
Surprised, Arizona's gaze shot back to Callie, unsure how to ask the question burning at the tip of her tongue.
Callie calmed Sofia's hand and brought her eyes up to meet Arizona's. "What?"
Arizona had a hard time finding her voice again. She slowly lifted a hand to point at the chain around Callie's neck. "You, um. You're still – you're wearing our – I mean, your - t-the necklace," she stuttered.
Callie had almost forgotten about it. "Oh, yeah." She looked down at Sofia who instinctively reached her chubby little hand up to touch her mother's face. The act gave Callie the extra courage she needed to answer Arizona's question. "It reminds me of how happy I was back then. I didn't wear it for the longest time, but I didn't want to get rid of it when you moved away, either. And Sofia really likes it, so…I hope that's not weird or anything," she added.
"No, it's not weird. I'm just surprised." Arizona's face fell. "I lost mine in the move. I've looked everywhere since then, but…"
Callie's shoulders dropped. That hurt more than she would have expected it to. "Oh."
Another bout of silence descended around them, only broken by the occasional gurgle coming from Sofia.
It was Arizona who finally spoke up. "I should probably go. I've got a lot of prep work to do for this trial."
"Oh, okay," Callie said softly. She did her best to hide her disappointment. She wanted to know more about this trial and why Arizona was suddenly back in Seattle for it, but she recognized the other woman's need to get away and process things. It was a lot of information in one go. "I guess I'll see you around? You're here tomorrow?"
Arizona managed a half-hearted smile. "Yeah, for sure. I'll see you around, Calliope." She gave Sofia a small wink and turned away. She couldn't quite bring herself to look over her shoulder as she retreated.
Callie released a hard gust of air and gave up trying to decide whether Arizona's pace could be considered a run or not. "Well, I guess that could've gone worse, huh baby girl?" She kissed Sofia lightly on her temple, watching Arizona disappear from view. "C'mon, let's get you home and into the bath."