Chapter 4

'Good luck today, I wish I could be there to calm your nerves this morning but I know you'll smash it regardless. I can't wait to hear all about it tonight. Now, go save Mumma's and their tiny humans x'

Arizona's smile was wide as she read the text which Callie had sent her moments ago, her cheeks almost aching from the smile she had plastered on her face. The day had finally arrived for the opening of the Robbins-Herman Center and Arizona couldn't be more nervous yet excited if she tried. Sure, there had been other times in her medical career that had been nerve-racking, her first day as an intern and her first day as a fully fledged attending surgeon were definitely at the top of her list though today was a new kind of nerves. This center was going to be one where she wasn't just an ordinary doctor, but one half of the two doctors which had founded it. It felt like a pretty big deal.

It had been a while since she had been doing surgeries on a more regular basis and that would finally change, much to her relief. Arizona would never class herself as a surgeon who was hungry to get into the OR and operate, but she did love the way it put her in the zone and took her away from anything in her life that was bothering her or was on her mind. It kept her sane.

'Thank you. You know me so well, but I'm excited too. I'm also excited to take you out tonight. Don't forget, 7 on the dot! ;) x'

Arizona bit her bottom lip slightly as she grinned and hit the send button.

Arizona and Nicole had decided that they didn't need a grand opening for their center, instead they chose that getting the word out about their opening would be the best and easiest thing to do for them. Not only that, some patients which Arizona had treated while working at Grey Sloan had decided they would go for their medical care at the center even though it was in an entirely different state and timezone. They had become familiar with Arizona and knew that they could trust to have their life and their unborn child's life in the fetal surgeons hands.

Leaving her house and walking over to her car, Arizona unlocked the car and pulled the door to the drivers side open before sitting down, pulling the door shut after. Taking her phone from her bag, she unlocked it to find copious amounts of messages from the Grey Sloan attendings groupchat.

Alex: Good luck, Robbins! Smash it.

Teddy: Good luck Arizona! You need to ring me and tell me about everything (and not just about the opening of your center ;) ) x

April: Good luck and I second what Teddy just said! xx

Amelia: Everyone in this pic is sending good luck messages! X

Attached to Amelia's message was a selfie cluttered with faces which featured herself, Meredith, Richard, Bailey, Alex, Jo, Owen and Jackson. Arizona smiled at the attached image, she missed everyone in Seattle but it wasn't as if she couldn't talk to them or visit Seattle at some point. She was sure she would see them all again at some point.

Thank you everyone! I miss you all and I hope you're all kicking ass in and outside of the OR. X

Throwing her phone back into her bag, Arizona started the engine up and in no time, she was on her way to her new life and job.

Stepping into the new center, the emotions that hit Arizona were compelling. Her name, as well as Herman's was on the front of the building as well the interiors. It was overwhelming. Never in a million years would the fetal surgeon have ever thought, or believed that she'd be co-founder of a center based on the premise of saving women and babies. The reason she chose to become a surgeon was to save people, but when she became a fetal surgeon she felt even more privileged. She was able to give unborn children a better chance before they had even been born, she was able to give them a better life which they may not have been able to have otherwise.

"Robbins! You don't have the time to stare, you have patients and surgeries to perform today. Put your butt into gear, woman." Nicole spoke in her usual tone which made Arizona question whether the older woman was joking or being serious.

Arizona let a small laugh from her mouth. "You can't see, how do you know if I'm standing here staring?"

"You kind of just admitted it. Also, I sensed someone's presence and hoped it was you." Nicole shrugged, knowing Arizona couldn't argue with that. "Anyway, I have new doctors to teach, the next generation of fetal surgeons are upon us; you better watch out, Robbins." She said with a raised voice, moving further away from the blonde.

Child birth was unpredictable, something which Arizona had learned pretty early in her career. You couldn't have any expectations, all you could do was prepare and sometimes you couldn't even do that; another vital piece of information the blonde had learned while being a doctor. She saw parents come to her with expectations of how the birth would go and nine times out of 10, those assumptions were derailed by unforeseen circumstances. Arizona had learned this the hard way herself, too, something which was always stuck in her brain. First with Sofia, second with her unborn child she never got to meet.

"I know it's not what you wanted to hear but your baby has hydrops which is a severe condition and is life-threatening to both the child and mother. There are already signs of mirror syndrome as a result of the hydrops." Arizona explained precisely to the mother laid in the hospital bed beside her. "Right now, the best course of treatment is to have a C-section today, this way your child will have a far better chance of surviving when treatment has been given after birth. I can't risk you going any further with this pregnancy, Morgan."

The expectant mother looked shocked and overwhelmed and Arizona could see it, she had seen it many times before. "Bu-But, I had a plan! A plan that was meant to work." Panic was evident in the Morgan's eyes and voice.

Placing a hand on top of her patients, Arizona tried to offer the best support she could. "I know you're scared, I understand, but I will do everything I can to help you and your child get through this." She spoke softly.

"Please, just do what you have to do." Morgan said nervously as Arizona nodded in response.

"One of the nurses will come to prep you soon and I'll see you in the OR. Try not to worry too much, everything will be fine." The blonde said with a light smile as she earned a single nod in response before she exited the room.

Heading for the lounge, Arizona released a breath. It felt good to be back despite how grueling her job could be sometimes but she wouldn't change that for the world.

Pushing the door open, Nicole was too in the lounge though wearing a rather frustrated expression. "How's it going?" Arizona pondered, looking over at the other woman.

"These new fellows are killing me." Nicole said, irritated. "They're useless. You weren't even this useless." She ended her sentence with a tut.

Walking over to the fridge to retrieve a bottle of water, Arizona shook her head with a slight laugh. "Thanks... I'll take that as a compliment, I guess?" She narrowed her eyes, thinking back to the time when she was completing her six months fellowship. "I can always take one of them off your hands, I have a C-section pretty soon."

"I'm not going to say no to that. I'll send someone down to the OR for you." Nicole replied, accepting the offer. "So, how's Callie?" She questioned, changing the subject.

As Arizona walked over to the fridge for a bottle of water, she smiled at the mention of Callie's name. "She's good, great in fact." The blonde pulled a bottle out of the fridge before turning to face Nicole, learning against the counters. "It's good to be near her again instead of living in two different states on each side of the country. Having said that, New York really does have it downsides.. I mean, the coffee?!"

"I'm glad things are good, I know how hard things were for you and I know I can't have helped up to the point of your split." Nicole knew that the fetal fellowship did take a toll on Arizona's marriage and didn't make things any better for the two women, it only made her want things to work out for them this time around. "But, I guess I'll be able to say that my bright idea for this center has brought you back together again."

"Well.. It was my idea to have it in New York but I'll let you have that." Arizona chuckled knowing that underneath it all, there was an element of sincerity behind Nicole's words.

Nicole nodded, lifting her arms as she shrugged triumphantly. "Thank you."

"Alright," Arizona started with a slight chuckle. "I'll see you later, I have a baby to deliver."

Arizona hadn't realised until she was scrubbing in that this was her first surgery in the new center; the first surgery of many. Even though it was a fairly simple surgery disbarring the medical conditions that got them there, she couldn't wait to tell Callie about it at their date tonight. She had missed telling her the little things about her date and it was always something she looked forward to.

Walking into the OR, surgical nurses attended to Arizona instantly as they quickly pulled on a surgical gown, along with gloves. Making her way over to the table where Morgan was laid, Arizona gave her a reassuring smile. "Are you ready to get this baby out?" She asked, the smile still on her face. The fellow Nicole had chosen to help was already there, ready and waiting to help where needed.

"No," Morgan shook her head, the apprehension in her voice was clear. "but whatever is best for him or her."

Arizona nodded understandably, she had never met a mother who was 100% ready to give birth and meet their child. "It'll be fine. Let me do the worrying, okay?"

Earning a smile and nod from Morgan, Arizona got the surgery underway. "10 blade." She called, waiting for the surgical nurse to place the tool into her hand. Once in her hand, she began the C-section and soon after, she was very much in the zone that operating put her in. Not only did she have one person's life in her hands, she had two which only made her take extra caution.

"Do you have any children?" The soon to be mother asked, garnering Arizona's attention.

Arizona nodded in reply as she briefly looked across at the woman she was performing the C section on. "I have a daughter. She's seven." She replied, her voice cheerful as she thought about Sofia.

"Did you expect her birth to go the way that it did?" Morgan inquired as a way to calm her nerves, she couldn't be the only person who's child birth was going completely different than that which she had expected.

"Definitely not." Arizona shook her head, she could still feel the worry and stress when she looked back. "It was the most stressful time of my life. I don't think you can ever expect a pregnancy to go the way you want it to, the universe always has other plans." She mused out loud as she continued to work.

"I guess that makes me feel somewhat better." She replied quietly to Arizona. "I just need everything to be okay."

Arizona's focus remained on the job at hand but that didn't mean she couldn't be reassuring when her patients needed it. "So far everything seems just fine, if it wasn't you'd be the very first person to find out." She spoke, putting her patient at some small amount of rest. "Suction." Arizona ordered Dr. Foster, the fellow who was helping her.

Arizona was so very close to the final stages of delivering the baby and all being well, it would go without any hiccups. Silence fell upon the room as Arizona worked seamlessly, she slowly and carefully began to the deliver the baby taking extra care with the fragile tiny human. Sometimes when she did this part of her job, it made Arizona want to have another child. She knew how precious life was from this job alone and being able to bring another child into her life would be of extra privilege to her, but when these thoughts ran through her mind she shut them down as quick as she could. For the past couple of years, she hadn't been with anyone she could see a long term future with that would involve children and now that she was on the verge of getting her relationship with Callie back, she didn't want to rush or pressurise Callie into anything.

Five minutes later, cries of the less than a minute old baby filled the room, bringing smiles to everyone's face. "You have a baby girl." Arizona smiled at the new mother, moving a little closer so she could get a glimpse of her new child. "I'm just going to hand her over to one of the nurses who will clean and check her, you have nothing to worry about right now." Arizona confirmed as Morgan breathed a sigh of relief with tears in her eyes. "Can we have some suction here." She spoke again to the doctor who was helping her as she motioned to the blood loss.

It had been a long yet rewarding day, Arizona rested her head against the headrest of the passenger seat as she released a breath of air. She was tired but she still couldn't wait to take Callie on a date that she had been planning for a while now.

Pulling her phone out, she typed a quick message out to Callie.

Work done, now I can look forward to taking you on a date and I definitely have some plans for the night ahead. I think you're gonna like it. ;)

She hit send, smirking to herself as she rested her head again. As she closed her eyes, images invaded Arizona's brain of her kissing the brunette she was so very fascinated with. She wasn't sure how long she could hold off considering how long it had been since she had last kissed Callie. She missed the softness of her lips, the taste they left on her own lips as they pulled away and Callie's body against her own. She was more than craving for it as this point and her body knew it.

The shrill sound of the text tone on her phone rang throughout the car, pulling her out of her reverie. Unlocking her phone, she couldn't help the grin that formed on her face as she read the text she had received from Callie.

It may be you taking me on a date, but I also have plans of my own tonight too. ;)

Arizona had missed the fun and flirty moments she used to share with Callie, she was definitely glad that they were returning.

Wasting no time, Arizona was quickly on the road and on her way home. She pondered what to wear for their date given what she had planned but at the end of the day, it didn't really matter what they were both wearing, it was the company that was the most important aspect in the end. Though, she still wanted to look good for the brunette and luckily for her, she already knew the type of clothing Callie enjoyed to see on Arizona.

Dating Callie again was exciting even if a little daunting too. Sure, they knew almost everything about one another but during the time they spent apart there had to be different experiences both women had been a part of and even though they thought they knew each other inside out, there was still things they learned about one another that they didn't learn before. Everyone knew that in the past Arizona had been with quite a good amount of women, but when it came to dating; that was something Arizona enjoyed. Dating was fun, flirty and sexy and the blonde knew that she could use that to her advantage but dating Callie again was a tad different. Yes, it was fun and flirty but there was also a new found softness and need to listen to one another. There was no need to rush either, they both liked the pace it was currently going at.

It wasn't long until Arizona pulled into her drive, shutting the engine off as she exited her car and made her way up to her door, unlocking it. Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her and placed her bag along with her keys on the kitchen counter. The only thing on her mind was the night ahead as she headed upstairs to get ready.

A few nights prior, Arizona had decided that she wanted to write a letter for Callie. There was things she wanted to say but couldn't bring herself to, hence why she chose to write a letter even though it felt a little lame to begin with. There was things written in there that she had never told anyone but only had the confidence to tell Callie. She planned on giving it to her during their date. She was nervous, but she knew it would take a lot of things off her mind that had been there for some time now.

Something told Arizona deep in her gut that tonight was going to be special and she hoped that Callie would feel it too.

A/N: This was kind of a filler chapter and I'm sorry for the lack of Calzona in it, hopefully I'll be able to make up for it in chapter 5 when they go on their date. ;) If you read, please remember to review as this is what gives me the motivation to continue writing!