NOTE

I'd already written most of this chapter when I watched the season finale. Turned out the differences about the explosion, and specifically about the effects of it, are way bigger than I expected. I decided not to change my first draft - in the end, this one is my story, not Shonda and co's.
So why the note? Well, I can only imagine that the graphic picture that was the finale will stick for a while and might conflict with the picture I'm trying to paint. So it just seemed wise to actually point out those differences instead of ignoring them (without underestimating you guys), to get or keep you on track. So, before you continue this story, keep in mind: the explosion in Waking Up was not as big as the one on Grey's. It was definitely harmful and dangerous for the people in the room and surrounding areas, but it didn't result in a huge fire (also thanks to the sprinklers) and they didn't had to evacuate half of the hospital.

Chapter 3

"Steph? Stephanie? Are you... oh my God! Oh no!"

After a dreadful silence, the sudden noise of someone yelling and forcefully marching through the double doors sounds unnaturally loud. Arizona has been ready for it though; she reacts immediately to the familiar voice, not willing to waste another second.

"Jackson? Jackson, is that you?" she shouts. "We're up here!"

By the sound of it, it seems that in a matter of seconds more people fill the room below her. She can hear cries, and expressions of panic and shock. But no one seems to hear her.

"Hello? Anyone?!" she tries again. "It's Arizona. I need help!"

Finally letting go of Eliza's hand she moves herself back toward the hole in the floor, but getting closer to them doesn't help; the people downstairs keep making too much noise to be heard. An unwelcome thought flashes through her head: she's been here before. She feels how her heart is suddenly racing, and she knows it's not just from the physical effort. It's that raising panic that is about to take over, that panic of not being found - once again. She takes a deep breath, desperately trying to keep her breathing under control, then really raises her voice.

"JACKSOOON!" she screams from the top of her lungs.

At last it grows quiet.

"Who's there?" someone asks. "Who's calling?"

Is that Bailey? Arizona isn't sure.

"It's me - Arizona! I'm up here, on the third," she cries out once more. "I'm with Minnick, she's badly injured. You need to hurry!"

No one responds. Instead, the people downstairs are all starting to talk again. Arizona doesn't get what they're saying - did they not hear her? how did they not hear her!? - but then she realizes there's someone shouting orders. They are coming. She can let go now. Help is on the way.

After what feels like forever, yet in reality it's not even a minute later, April storms into the room, closely followed by Webber and Warren. "Arizona, what happened? Are you alright?" she exclaims, kneeling down at her while looking around the room, bewildered by the sight of it.

Arizona pushes herself up again.

"I'm okay - I think. It's Minnick," she groans. She points at the fallen cabinet. "She hit the wall before she got trapped under that thing. She's breathing, but she lost consciousness about three minutes ago."

Warren is already at the cabinet and about to lift it, when Webber stops him. "Wait! She's been under there for too long, we can't just release the pressure like that. Get a gurney first, and make sure there's an OR ready. Make them page Dr. Hunt and Dr. Shepherd."

Warren leaves the room without further questions; running, as he is trained to do. Webber turns toward Arizona again. "What else can you tell us, Robbins?"

"She could move her neck and arms. I don't know about her legs, cause they're stuck, but she said she could feel them. She was in great pain," Arizona tells both Webber and April.

Webber looks pensive. "In a way, she might call herself lucky that she passed out. After we release that pressure, that pain can become excruciating," he tells no one in particular.

"Did she seem confused?" April asks Arizona.

"No, not particularly," Arizona recalls. "I didn't notice any direct signs of disorientation. Short memory seemed fine. Eye movements as well." She stops for a second to catch her breath, then continues, "But she's got a big head wound. And her muscle control was quite weak. She'd lost her strength, too."

While Arizona tries to share as many details as she remembers, Webber starts to clear the way by removing debris. April wraps an arm around Arizona. "Here, let me help you over to the side a little, so we can get to her. Are you sure you're okay?" she double checks.

"I will be," Arizona reassures her. "Just focus on her first."

At that moment Warren comes back in, together with DeLuca - an empty gurney in between them. They run straight to Eliza.

"Alright, now as soon as that pressure comes off, we have to hurry," Webber directs his residents. "It's preferred to have a proper look and make a plan, but there might be no time for that. There's a severe risk of CIS. We don't have the proper equipment here, so we have to be the instruments ourselves now. Warren, I need you to keep a very, very close eye on her breathing and her pulse. From the second we lift this weight off of her, you can not look in another direction again. Be aware for any signs of shock," he points out the possible, and most devastating effects of Crush Injury Syndrome. "Also keep her as steady as possible, we can't risk any spine core injury."

As Webber prepares the young doctors, Arizona - though worried sick - can't help but smile a little bit; despite the crisis situation, Webber is teaching them. Eliza would be happy.

With Warren right next to Eliza, Webber and DeLuca get ready to lift the lockers. Not being bothered by any injuries, they are able to put it in the upright position in one try. As soon as they do, April moves the lowered gurney close to Eliza. It's blocking most of Arizona's view, but she does get a glimpse of Eliza's lower body. Something doesn't seem right.

"On my count," April tells the others. On three they lift her on the gurney in one fluent movement. Then, with her hands still in place, April grabs Eliza's pants and tears them apart to have a better look. Her "Shit!" comes together with Cross entering the room, a little out of breath.

"Dr. Shepherd is on her way, but she told us Dr. Hunt really can't make it," he informs his superiors.

April, now the only Trauma surgeon available, doesn't think twice. "I've got it. Warren, Cross, come with me!" she orders the residents, who already adjusted the gurney again.

"Blood pressure is dropping!" Warren warns them.

"She's in shock!" April yells. "Run!"

As they pass by, Arizona finally gets a better look of that part of Eliza that was hidden before. The position of her right leg seems far from okay and the skin of her hip that's now exposed shows clear discoloring. Without thinking, she tries to get up.

"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing?" Webber questions her, quickly offering her support before she hurts herself.

"I need to come with her," Arizona starts. "Let me come with her!"

Webber gazes at her, a stern look in his eyes. "You need to be examined, you know that. And she's in good hands, you know that, too."

Arizona opens her mouth to speak up, then closes it again; she knows she's not going to win this one. DeLuca rolls a second gurney in. Together with Dr. Webber he lifts Arizona on it. She's not fighting it. Instead she lays back on it and inhales deeply. It might be for just a minute, but it's finally her turn to close her eyes a little.

"How's your head? Any dizziness? Nausea?" DeLuca asks her, while wrapping a bandage around her leg. He has just removed the piece of glass from it. Fortunately the damage was minimal, nothing vital got hit. It only took six stitches.

"No, nothing like that. Just a headache," Arizona answers.

"How about your ears?" DeLuca continues his examination.

"Ringing. But I think it's getting less."

DeLuca secures the bandage. "Good," he says, "Now let's have a first check on your nerve system."

Arizona undergoes the test without great difficulty. She grabs his pen, squeezes his hands, and follows his finger with her eyes like she's going for a straight A. When he reaches her foot to check her reflexes, he frowns a little.

"Where's your shoe?"

"I wasn't wearing any," Arizona tells him without further explanation. "Can I go now?"

DeLuca sighs. "No, you can not! Come on, do I really have to explain the risks of a nearby explosion to you?"

Arizona looks at him, thoughtfully. "You know what, I think you should. If you're keeping me here, then I'm keeping you busy."

DeLuca seems conflicted between laughing and groaning. "You're serious?" he asks.

"Dead serious," she replies. "No pun intended, obviously."

He moves a little closer to her, so he can take care of the cuts on her face. "Alright," he starts, while cleaning the wounds, "The shock waves that are coming from an explosion don't just blow you of your feet, but also pass straight through your body, through organs and tissues. It's able to cause tremendous damage you won't always see at first sight. Ruptured organs. Internal bleeding - which can also be a result from the fall. Then there's the risk of serious head injury, again from either the shock waves or the fall. So yeah, it's really great that you can hold a pen right now, but I'm not letting you go anywhere without a picture of your brain showing no swelling at all, and one of a perfectly fine spinal cord."

"Okay," Arizona sighs, "You win."

They fall quiet for a moment, while DeLuca stitches her up. "I think this will heal fine, but I can ask Dr. Avery to have a look at it if you want to be sure," he tells her.

She doesn't respond. Her mind is elsewhere. "What happened down there?" she asks. "Who did we lose?"

Her roommate looks at her, his eyes both puzzled and concerned. "What makes you think we lost someone?"

She doesn't look back at him, her gaze is fixated on something she doesn't really register. "Because I could smell it," she just says.

Caught off guard, DeLuca swallows, then coughs nervously. "Edwards," he says. "We lost Edwards. We don't know what happened, just that she was there with that car sex dude, who turned out to be a rapist - the cops were already looking for him. He's dead, too."

For a while Arizona doesn't move, or respond in any way. She just sits there, staring into the distance. Then, finally breaking her gaze, she drops her shoulders a little. She looks defeated.

"I liked Edwards," she sighs quietly. "She was kind of a legend."

... ...

Stephanie Edwards: Kind of a legend... www . youtube / watch?v=M1M1pKwZHN0 ;-)