Chapter 4

As surgeons, we do a lot to make sure our patients are comfortable. We numb parts of the body, we provide medication to make the pain subside, we anesthetize, and sometimes... we lie. We lie to the patient, if it's in the interest of their benefit and well-being, to make sure they live. To be positive that they survive long enough to make the right decision in the future.

Morning came faster than anyone would have preferred, and the couple slowly untangled themselves from each other's arms. Callie groaned as she rolled over and wiped the sleepiness from her eyes, just as Arizona stretched, making a small squeaking sound as she relaxed again. Callie laughed, still rubbing her eyes, "Ahaha, what was that sound you just made?" Arizona turned to her wife, "What? I was just stretching..." she said defensively, yet in a playful tone. Callie shook her head and leaned forward to kiss Arizona's forehead, "You're so freakin' cute, ya know that?" The blonde displayed her dimples in a smile as the two women rose from bed, and sluggishly started getting ready for work – still tired from the previous night.

Arizona had finished getting ready first, and still had a good half hour before she had to be at work, so she decided to pick up coffee for herself and her wife. It was greatly needed, and she knew that Callie would appreciate it. Upon arrival at the hospital, she spotted Callie and rolled over to her with her heelies, "Here ya go babe, just how you like it." The expression of gratitude on Callie's face was more than evident, "Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I knew there was a reason I married you," she jokingly said with a wink. Arizona just shook her head with a grin and as she was walking backwards, called back, "When will your parents be here?" Callie shrugged a little and replied loudly, "I'm not sure. Probably by noon." Arizona nodded and took off in the opposite direction, due to a 911 page.

Callie turned back to the nurse's desk, taking a sip of her coffee, and began looking through her charts. Within seconds, Mark Sloan leaned his arm onto the desk beside Callie and looked at her, "Did I just hear that right? Your father is coming to town? Mr. Torres? The same guy who threw me against a wall?" Callie laughed, "Yup, you heard perfectly. Better start running now." Mark's eyes widened and he nodded, "You're right." But as Mark turned to leave, he ran into Lexie Grey, who dropped a collection of papers. "OH – Ugh, crap. Sorry, Mark," she said, bending down to pick up the papers. Mark was half in shock, and half in awe of the beauty in front of him. It took a second to register what had just happened, before he bent down to help, "No, no, I'm sorry. I should have been looking where I was going. My bad." He said, handing over the pile he had obtained from the floor. Lexie stumbled over her words and tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible, "It-It's fine. R-Really. See? Got 'em all. Thanks, Mark," she said, standing up and walking off quickly. Mark sighed and leaned back onto the desk with Callie, who was trying her very hardest not to laugh. Instead, she just took a long, awkward sip from her coffee, followed by giving Mark one of her 'Wow, nice one' facial expressions. Mark just shook his head at himself, and Callie took her leave, finally letting out a laugh.

Callie entered a patient's room to do some post-op checkups, and found Izzie Stevens sitting at the edge of the patient's bed. "Dr. Stevens?" Callie questioned loudly, purposely interrupting the conversation that had been taking place. Izzie stood up immediately and turned around, "Oh, right. Sorry, Dr. Torres. I was just making sure Eric – err, Mr. Grant was doing okay after surgery. I was the resident on his case and – " Izzie could see the disinterested look in Callie's countenance, and her voice slowly started fading, "...Right and you don't care, do you?" she finished much quieter than she had begun. "Uhh, I'll be going now. Page me if you need me," she said, before leaving quickly. Callie shook her head slightly, before closing her eyes and re-opening them in slight annoyance. "Okay, Mr. Grant, now we can get this post-op checkup show on the road. How's your leg feeling? Any strange pains or discomfort that wasn't explained to you in the pre-op consultation?" Eric shifted in his bed slightly and thought for a moment, as if feeling out his leg, "Um, nope. Don't think so. Look, uh... you don't have to worry about Izzie...she was just being a friend. A lot of my friends ditched me after I divorced my wife. It was one of those... mutual friends situations. We split, they chose sides... I lost. I confided in Izzie, and she was just being a friend." Callie nodded, "I understand. But still, there's a boundary to be respected in this hospital. Right now, we need Dr. Stevens to be your doctor, not your friend. When you're discharged from the hospital, however, that's on you. Not me. Anyway, you're sure that there's no sign of a tingling sensation or severe discomfort?" Mr. Grant inhaled sharply, and exhaled slowly. "Yes. I'm sure," he said firmly. Callie pursed her lips, nodded, and made some notes on the chart. "Perfect. Seems you'll be just fine, then. I'll be back in an hour to do one last checkup, and then you should be able to be discharged soon." Eric nodded, "Okay. Thanks."

Suddenly, Callie received a page from Arizona. Since she was finished here, she left to meet the perky blonde woman. As soon as she spotted her wife, a huge grin plastered itself to Callie's face. "Hey there. What's up?" Arizona grabbed Callie's hand out of her lab coat pocket and held it in both of hers, "Okay, don't freak out. Promise you won't freak out?" Arizona began to ramble, "Because I know how super anxious you get, and I just want you to know that I have it perfectly under control and I paged you as soon as I could –" Callie was starting to get worried just listening to her ramble and had to stop her, "Okay, I think you need to stop freaking out. I promise I'll stay calm. What is it?" Arizona took a deep breath before saying, "Your parents are here already. In the waiting room." Callie's eyes widened, "What? But it's only..." she looked down at her cell-phone, "10:30 AM? Ugh... even when daddy tries not to surprise me, he surprises me. Thank you for telling me." She turned to go meet her parents, with Arizona in close pursuit behind her.

Upon reaching the waiting room, Callie approached her parents with arms wide open, "Mama! Daddy!" She said with a smile on her face, greeting them with an embrace for each parent. She kissed the sides of their faces, and then turned to Arizona, "Daddy, you remember Arizona..." The blonde offered a genuinely sincere smile and held out her hand, which was reciprocated by both Mr. and Mrs. Torres each. Carlos pulled Arizona into a hug, "Of course I remember Arizona! The girl who makes my little girl very happy, how could I forget?" Arizona laughed, a little nervously, and replied, "Your daughter deserves the very best, sir. I'm just lucky she picked me for the job." Callie rolled her eyes, "Arizona, this isn't a job interview," she said, nudging her in the side half-heartedly, then pulling her close and kissing her temple. Out of the corner of her eye, Callie could see her mother shift uncomfortably. Just then, Arizona's pager beeped loudly, and she reached for it. "Oh... I'm sorry, it's another 911. It was very nice seeing you two again... I will see you for dinner, I hope?" The two parents nodded and smiled, and Arizona was off.

"Mama..." Callie reprimanded sharply, "I saw that. You still disapprove of my love, even if you don't admit it. You don't have to lie to me." Mrs. Torres swallowed hard, and couldn't quite seem to look her daughter in the eye. "It's not Arizona. She's very nice. I just... I'm having a hard time with the same-sex situation... it's all very... different for me. You'll have to excuse me. Give me time to adjust." Callie shook her head slightly, "I've given you time..." she said quietly. Callie loved her parents, but every time they visited, she remembered why she had been so relieved to leave home in the first place.

Callie took a moment to think, and finally came to a conclusion in her mind. "Listen, mom...either you completely accept and respect Arizona, and my relationship with her, or you guys turn around right now and leave us be. It's as simple as that."

Mrs. Torres made direct eye-contact with her daughter and held it for several, long moments before saying, "Fine. Agreed. We'll meet you two for dinner tonight at your place, yes?" Callie let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, mama. I'll see you and daddy tonight." She kissed each of them on the cheek again, and returned to work.

Suddenly, Callie received a page, causing her to look down at it – Code Blue. She broke out at a sprint towards the patient's room... a Mr. Eric Grant's room. Callie practically broke down the door, as the nurses were doing compressions and another was pulling out the crash cart. Callie's face held both a bewildered and horrified expression as she yelled, "What the hell happened?" The nurse had no answer except the obvious, "He's crashing." Callie rolled her eyes as she grabbed the paddles from the crash cart, "You don't say? Charge paddles to 220. CLEAR." Eric's body jolted underneath the paddles.

But every once in a while come the type of injuries – the wounds that cannot be numbed. The type of losses that are so great, that no temporary source of comfort is sufficient to keep the pain from flooding through our bodies. Usually, they come as a shock to the body...