Arizona's POV
The next few hours were spent sitting with Callie while she slept. The doctors and nurses would come in and out. She was taken to X-ray and CT to check out the injuries to her head and face, and each time that she went I expected not to see her being wheeled back, but each time there she was. I had to sneak out a few times to make rounds or answer a page. But each time that I got back, she was still there. We didn't talk. She spent most of the time sleeping and trying to find comfortable positions. And I was ok with that. And I almost dreaded having to leave for my last surgery knowing that once she had an easy out, she would take it. She had just curled up on her right side, knees to her chest and her face deep in the soft pillow. My feet were propped up on her bedside table as I was flipping through the chart for my next kid. I was confident. I always am. And then it came time to leave. I could tell Callie was sleeping by her even and deep breaths. She also had not repositioned herself in the past thirty minutes. As quietly as I could I stood up, replaced my chair against the wall, and leaned over her bedside. I leaned in close to her ear. "I will make you a deal. If you are still here when I am done with my surgery, dinner is on me. Granted its cafeteria food, and its kinda free anyway, but, just stay put. Deal?" With no response I laid my hand on her shoulder before gently pulling the curtain back and heading back to my floor.
"Where the hell have you been?"
"Shut up, Karev. I think you forget sometimes… HEAD of PEDs" I point a finger to my own chest and then turn it toward him. "Not head of PEDs. Saver of tiny humans…" I point my finger back into his chest, "Aspires to be as great as the saver of tiny humans. Should I continue?"
"Yea, yea, I get it, respect, blah blah blah. Anyway, I was just hoping to get with you about the case today. I can normally find you in the nursery or in some dying kids room but you have been MIA all day. So, I have really been thinking and I am ready to take the lead on the Jones kid today. And I know what you are going to say, but you know that I'm right. And I learned from the best, right? You will be in the room the whole time, so just let me try it. If I am in over my head I'll scrub out and never ask again."
"Hm" I mock scrutiny just to watch him squirm."… ok!"
"Ok? That's it? No, 'I don't know'. No, 'let me mull it over and make you piss yourself in anticipation'? Just, ok?"
"You are right. You did learn from the best, if I do say so myself. And you are ready. You know the case like the back of your hand. Don't screw it up, Karev."
"Yes! I mean I wont. Yes ma'am." Karev runs off toward the scrub room like he is going to recess and I trail him. He is ready. And his mind is in a much better place than mine today.
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"Well, Dr. Karev. How does it feel? To save a life?"
Karev beams at me through his scrub mask. "Pretty damn good, Dr. Robbins."
"Yes it does. The family is waiting. Go give them the good news." He gives me another smile and heads toward the scrub room to scrub out of our successful surgery. "Karev…good job today. I am proud of you." He nods slightly and continues on his path.
I scrub out as quickly as I can and make my way to the locker room to change clothes. Before I know it, my feet are carrying me to the first floor. Jan greets me from the nurse's station, "Here to see us again, Dr. Robbins? To what do we owe this pleasure?" She is met with a shy smile but I don't return her flirtation. I learned my lesson with her a long time ago. Yikes. I finally reach the curtain to Callie's bed and run a hand over my hair for good measure. I pull back the curtain slowly just in case she is sleeping. But she isn't sleeping. She isn't here. She is gone. Again.
Callie's POV
She stayed with me the entire time. Until she had to go to surgery. She read her chart out loud, twice, beside my bed. And when she left she told me to stay until she got back. So when my curtain being slung open awoke me some time later I figured it was her coming back. But it wasn't. It was the ER doctor there to discharge me. And I had always bailed before this part so I wasn't exactly prepared for what was to come. He brought me into a separate room and sat behind a thousand dollar desk reading off a list of questions from his clipboard that I had no clue how to answer. Address, Health Insurance Provider, Employer, Phone Number, Parent's Address. I don't fucking have any of that. And I told him that. But he thought I was being uncooperative or sarcastic or whatever. For the first damn time I stuck around. I was here. And for this? To be berated by another snobby doctor who doesn't believe me when I tell him that I don't have an address? How about 9th St. alley or Rita's Motel on a good night? How about you send the damn bill to my 1995 Honda Civic? "Look, I am trying my best here, ok? I will come back and pay what I can when I can, you have to understand…" He cuts me off.
"Look ma'am, with all do respect…"
"No. Don't even say it. Because anytime someone starts off with "with all do respect" it is going to be followed with the most condescending shit imaginable. So don't 'ma'am' me. Don't 'with all do respect' me. Just let me sign what I need to sign and I'll be done here." He slips a form to me across his desk with a pen on top of it. I sign my name across the first blank line I come to and walk out of the office and straight toward the exit, holding my breath to keep the tears at bay until I am out of sight of the staff. When I feel the cool air of Seattle at dusk I find the nearest bench and bury my still swollen face into my hands. I sit there for several minutes and try to gather myself for the long walk back to my area. I wish I wouldn't have been so rude to him. I should go and apologize but I know what he thinks of me and I know that I don't want to see that look again. People mill around the outside of the hospital, drifting in and out. None of them acknowledge me, which is perfectly fine with me. I get some odd stares based, I assume, on my clothing. A halter and mini skirt aren't exactly Seattle weather appropriate. But my heels are on the bench behind me so at least no one can see those.
"Hey, what happened in there?" It was Arizona. I wipe my eyes quickly and look up to meet hers.
"Just a, uh, misunderstanding. I was just about to get going." Arizona smiles at me and rubs the chill out of both of my arms.
"Will I see you again? I mean, other than in a hospital bed?" She takes off her jacket and wraps it around my body, pulling it together in the front while she speaks. Before I am able to answer Arizona pulls a vibrating phone out of her pants pocket. "Sorry, one second." She lifts the phone to her ear. I wish I hadn't been listening. It would have made the next few seconds a little less painful. "Sarah, hey, I'm sorry I didn't call, I got held up at work. I'll be home soon, ok?" The phone is back in her pocket within the next second and she gives me a smile that is almost apologetic. "So… what were we saying? Oh yea, will I see…"
"Look, you have been great. I appreciate everything you have done. Really. But we don't need to do this. Go home. To your family. And I will be fine." She opens her mouth to say something but I am not ready to hear whatever it is. "Just… please…I am going to go, ok?" I slip her jacket off of my shoulders and hand it back to her, smiling at her one last time before I turn my back and walk away.