-Present Day-
"Torres? You listen to me! You do not get to do this! You hear me? I've already lost two of my interns. Two! I will not let you do this! I'm not losing a friend. So, suck it up Torres. You don't get to do this. Not to me!"
Bailey's words were spoken forcefully as she and Addison worked in tandem to stabilize their patient. Her friend. Their friend.
"Hang another liter!" Addison ordered a nurse. "She's losing too much blood. The baby is in distress. If we can't get her stabilized..." The tall red head let her words trail off as her green eyes met the wide brown orbs of the doctor across from her.
"Necesito...Necesito.."
Both women looked down at the woman lying before them. Callie's eyes were half open and her speech was slow and nearly silent.
"Torres? It's Miranda. You straighten up! You hear me? Callie?"
"Baby's heart rate is still increasing. We need to deliver her soon or..." Addison's voice did little to filter into Dr. Bailey's thoughts. Her complete attention was on the woman whispering in the exam room.
"Necesito...verla...por favor..."
"Torres? What is it? We're not all bilingual like you. Keep fighting! Don't you dare check out on me! Keep talking, Torres. Preferably in English!
"BP is dropping, but it's still too high. We don't have time for this, Miranda. I need to deliver the baby...soon."
""Traer le...traer le...
"Make the damn time! She's talking! I'm not ready to live with the consequences of your decision, Dr. Montgomery. We can stabilize them both. That's what we're gonna do!"
Miranda's eyes stared daggers at her ex-colleague. She knew Addison was just as upset about the state of things as she was. Addison and Callie had become steadfast friends over the years and she knew the red headed woman was most likely crumbling underneath her cool facade.
"Hang more fluids." the neonatal surgeon said, her green eyes still locked with Bailey's.
"Callie? It's Addison. Who do you need us bring? Who do you need to see?"
Bailey wrinkled her nose at the taller woman and gave her a look of perplexity. Upon seeing the face she was receiving, Addison said, "What? I live in California. We get Spanish speaking patients all the time." Her right eyebrow raised in a high arc and for a moment, the situation seemed less dire than it had a moment before.
Focusing her attention, once again on her friend, Addison leaned down so she could hear Callie more clearly. Her shallow breathing made the surgeon's heart fall. For long minutes, she stayed leaned over the Latina, anxiously awaiting an answer to her question. Every minute that passed was a minute stolen for the life within her friend.
"Callie? Answer me, sweet heart. Callie?" she whispered.
Miranda felt tears fighting her for their release. The machines around her were a constant reminder of what was happening to her fellow attending. Their beeps and readings were unforgiving.
Standing back to her full height, Addison looked up at Dr. Bailey and frowned.
"I need to deliver the baby, Miranda. The longer we fight this, the less chance she has."
The shorter doctor met her eyes and shook her head sadly.
"Get an O.R. ready. Tell them we're-"
Addison's words were cut short when a hand weakly grabbed the front of her scrubs. Looking down, she met Callie's dark eyes. Residing in those brown pools, the red head could see pleading mixed with fear.
"Callie?"
"Torres?"
Both her voice and Dr. Bailey's mixed together to create an ensemble of quickly sung hope.
"What is it, Callie? Stay awake for me." Addison said slowly.
"Por favor...I need to see her..."
Addison looked stricken. Her heart was pounding so loudly it was giving her a headache. She didn't want to lose her best friend, but her skills as a surgeon, a doctor, were telling her that she needed to deliver the baby. Everything was spinning out of her control and, despite her adeptness, she couldn't seem to get ahead of matters.
Was Callie asking to see her daughter? Did she want Addison to ensure that she at least met the new addition to the world? Was it Arizona she was asking for?
Sighing, she glanced up to find Miranda looking at her expectantly. They didn't have time for this. But...damnit! This was her friend! Callie was begging her for this one thing. This...last thing. She had to acquiesce.
Bringing her green eyes back to the deep brown of her friend, Addison attempted a smile and asked, "Who, Callie?"
"Mi...mariposa...mariposa...mi...necesito mi mariposa." Callie's words were slow, and lacked her usual rich tones. Despite that, a small smile graced her full lips as she continued to speak haltingly.
"What did she say? Addison?" Miranda's question was loud and harsh. Her panic was evident. Looking past the red head, she saw Teddy Altman enter the room. The heart surgeon's eyes widened and she nearly fell against the door when she saw Callie.
"Oh my God." was all she managed to get out.
Addison spared her a quick glance over her shoulder and turned back to Bailey.
"I think she's delirious. She's asking for a butterfly. We need to get to the O.R."
Dr. Bailey held her eyes for a moment and looked back down at Callie who was still half conscious and clinging to Addison's scrubs.
"Look, I'm not exactly fluent in Spanish, okay? Either I misunderstood or she's...it doesn't matter. We've delayed this long enough. We're going. Now!" the taller woman said, a finality hanging to her words.
"Wait!"
Addison and Bailey turned to the sound of the demand. Teddy had gotten a hold of her senses and was entering the room more fully. Meeting Addison's glare, she smiled weakly and said, "It's Arizona. Sh-she's asking for Arizona."
-14 months ago-
"A dinner party?"
"Sure, why not. We've gotten established here. We're no longer worried with movers or decorators or pool inspectors. Let's have a dinner party. We can invite our friends and show off our new home. It'll be fun." Arizona said with a smile.
Callie stood behind the counter in their spacious kitchen slicing several varieties of fruit for their breakfast. Like the rest of their house, they'd spared no expenses on it's decorations.
Two large glass sliding doors opened up to the backyard and bathed the room in natural light. The kitchen came complete with corian counter tops, abundant cabinet and food storing space, a dishwasher, trash compactor, a self cleaning oven and a computer-networked planning desk.
A single stool sat at the end of the counter offering Arizona a place to sit as she watched Callie in the kitchen. The microwave, stove and oven all sat behind the counter that met the wall and created a cozy cooking nook.
In front of the counter, a hardwood light brown table sat, complete with seating for five. On its top, a thin table cloth ran down it's center with a wicker basket in the center of the table. In the basket, several different fruits sat comfortably taking in the light afforded to them by the outside.
To the table's right, and directly behind the stool at the end of the counter, a large black refrigerator hugged the wall. It's ebony shine was a beautiful contrast to the cream colored tile it sat upon. Matching the tile were the cushions in the bottoms of the low back chairs at the table.
A single, waist-high partition separated the kitchen from the adjoining family room.
"Hmm, sure. I guess so. We'd have to plan for it so everyone could work around their schedules, but yeah. It could be fun." Callie said as she thought the idea over in her head.
Bouncing in the stool she sat in, the blonde's curls shaded her face and she said, "Super! This is going to be so much fun. Now, who do we want to cater?"
A far away look crept onto Arizona's face while she pondered her own question.
"Cater? Are you serious? You live with me, mariposa. I think we've spent enough money lately. I'll cook. Lexie isn't half bad in the kitchen. She could help."
"Hey! I can help!" Arizona interjected looking slightly put off.
Callie stopped slicing the fruit in front of her and leaned over to place a quick kiss on her fiance's pouty lips. Smiling as she pulled back, she remained close enough to touch the other woman.
"We want this thing to be a success, honey. You can worry about entertaining everyone. I'll worry about feeding them, okay?"
Arizona nodded her head, but continued to pout. She wasn't really upset about Callie's words but she did rather enjoy the attention she received from said pouting.
The Latina continued to smile at her before reaching down and grabbing a slice of melon from the cutting board before her. Bringing it the blonde's lips, she raised her eyebrows playfully.
"Truce?" she said in a small voice.
The blonde's face finally broke out into a full smile. Her dimples appeared almost instantly and the pout she'd tried to hang on to all but disappeared. Parting her lips, she held Callie's eyes while the other woman placed the sweet piece of fruit in her mouth.
Allowing her tongue to tease the raven haired woman's fingertips, Arizona moaned appreciatively when the sweetness from the melon invaded her senses.
Kissing Callie's fingers when the other woman pulled her hand away, the blue eyed woman said, "Hmm, that's good. Why don't we eat it in bed together?"
Snorting her laughter but continuing to slice the fruit in front of her, Callie replied, without looking up to meet her partner's eyes, "We do eat it in bed together..."
"Calliope Torres! You dirty sex-fiend, you!" Arizona said in overly dramatic tones. Her right hand was across her chest in a classic 'Oh my' gesture.
Callie laughed fully at the display and turned to the sink behind her to wash her hands. Grabbing two plates from the lightly colored wooden cabinet to her left, she returned her attention to the blonde.
"Are you saying you don't want to have dirty sex with me anymore? Because I love eating it in bed together..." she said, placing different types of fruit on both of their plates.
Arizona laughed and reached across the counter to place her hand on Callie's wrist. When the taller woman met her eyes, she smiled sweetly.
"I love you." she said softly.
"I love you, too, Mariposa."
-Present Day-
Arizona toyed with the ring on her finger while her eyes stared blankly ahead at a spot on the hated this. The waiting. The not being able to help. The not knowing.
Around her, the once comforting sounds of the hospital now threatened to suffocate her. A familiar feeling was creeping up her spine and trying desperately to get her attention. She'd experienced the disconcerting feeling only once before. It's unknown origins whispering their painful jabs to her soul was causing her throat to constrict.
Yes, she'd experienced this feeling before. The day Hannah had died. She'd ignored it then and told herself that everything was okay. But, that had been a sweet lie she'd convinced herself was true. Things had not been okay that day. Her daughter had died that day and where had she been? Out getting fresh air and a cheap cup of coffee.
No, she couldn't be away this time. If the feeling she was experiencing was to be believed, then things were about to take a drastic turn for the worse. She wouldn't sit by and miss her chance at saying goodbye. She wouldn't allow others to save the ones she loved. Not again.
Standing from her seat suddenly, she squared her shoulders and turned in the direction of the room she knew Callie to be in.
No sooner was she on her feet when Teddy appeared in her line of vision. Her face was sunken and her features spoke of fear and desperate choices.
"Teddy...is she-no...is she okay?" Arizona spoke past the lump rising in her throat. She didn't know what to make of the look Teddy was giving her.
"Are they okay?" she asked, coming to stand in front of the other blonde woman.
Teddy looked at her sadly and sighed before answering. Her friend's pained expression and frightened tones were so unlike her, Teddy barely recognized her.
"Sh-she's asking for you, Arizona."