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As Dr. Arizona Robbins began making her first cuts, across the hall in the surgical waiting room were three best friends trying to survive the next few hours of waiting.
Each person had a different way of coping with the time. Minutes seemed to take hours to pass. Time was dragging and there was nothing the three surgeons could do to make it go by faster. Mark was standing and leaning against the wall. Addison was seated in a row of chairs, tapping her feet. And Callie was pacing the room, never looking upwards only at the floor. The three best friends had remained silent for the better portion of an hour before Callie broke the silence.
The clock in the waiting room read 3:50pm.
"It's been over an hour and we haven't gotten an update yet!" Callie cried as she looked toward Mark, "Arizona promised me constant updates."
"Cal…" Mark stated as he walked toward the pacing Latina. He grabbed her arms, forcing her to stop pacing, "You know that no news is good news. Arizona is in the thick of it right now. She would update you if there was something that needed updating."
"Mark, don't give me that load of crap. She could have easily run into problems and that is why she isn't sending updates. You know what, screw this. I'm going to the gallery."
Addison stood quickly to move to block the door while Mark tightened his grip on Callie.
"Calliope Iphegenia Torres," Addison yelled, "there is no way in hell you are going up to the gallery. You know that is not allowed. What would Arizona think if she looked up and saw you?" Addison paused while she looked at Callie who just shrugged, "She will think that you don't trust her. She'll get flustered. And you do not want her flustered while your son has his abdomen open on that table and her hands inside of him. Now sit down, stop pacing and wait."
Callie looked intently at the redhead who was giving the patented Dr. Bailey stare. Callie saw that her friends were not about to let her move so she listened to her friend. She sat in the chair next to Addison while Addison quickly grabbed her hand and held on tightly. Callie relaxed into the chair and rested her head on Addison's shoulder.
Addison and Mark shared a knowing look, both thinking that they should have heard something by now.
Mark watched the clock as it passed 4 o'clock. It'd been over an hour and a half since surgery had started and there was still no update. He might have stopped Callie from heading toward the gallery but that didn't mean that he couldn't. Just as Mark stood up to leave the room, Alex Karev entered looking tense as he walked toward Callie.
Callie and Addison stood and moved next to Mark. Each of her friends held onto her tightly, not knowing what news was coming, to be able to protect her if they were about to hear the worst.
Alex opened his mouth, "I'm sorry I didn't come out sooner," he started, "We've spent the last hour working to remove the tumor. Jamie's vitals have been strong throughout. The tumor has reached a more difficult position to get to than Dr. Robbins anticipated so the surgery is going to take longer than she thought." Alex looked Callie in the eyes and spoke directly to her, "She wanted me to tell you that he is strong and he is a fighter."
Callie nodded. Alex turned toward the exit, "I have to get back but I promise to be back soon."
Mark hurried out after Alex. He could tell the young surgeon was holding back details.
"Karev!" Mark yelled as Alex stopped in his tracks and turned around, "Tell me the truth. How is it going?"
Alex sighed and looked at the tiles in the floor, "We ran into some complications at first. His blood pressure wouldn't stabilize after we had him open. But he came around and we were able to get started. We're working as quickly as we can because we don't know how long the vitals will remain stable. Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to get back there. Dr. Robbins needs all the hands she can get, if she is going to do this before his body goes into failure."
Alex scrubbed back in and took his place opposite Arizona.
"How did it go?" The blonde asked as she worked to remove a piece of tumor.
"Okay. Callie didn't say anything. She just nodded." Alex answered as he held a retractor for Arizona.
Arizona nodded and looked up at her crew, "Okay people, we're halfway there. We need to focus on removing the tumor in the stomach, which will be the hardest part."
When Mark went back into the waiting room, he didn't tell his friends the news that Alex had shared. He didn't want to worry Callie anymore than she already was.
Dr. Karev kept true to his word. He reappeared in the waiting room every 45 minutes like clockwork even though he didn't have anything to update. Jamie was still holding on and they were working to get the tumor out. Callie had remained quiet since her threats to run up to the gallery earlier in the day. Mark and Addison took turns holding her as they sat in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs.
The clock on the wall showed it to be just after 7:30 when Dr. Arizona Robbins walked into the waiting room. She walked straight toward Callie without paying attention to the other two doctors in the room. She looked tired. She took off her scrub cap as she walked toward Callie. She took her ponytail down and shook her hair out with her hand. She showed no expression on her face. The three other doctors in the room were trying to read her mind but she showed nothing.
Callie stood as she watched the blonde walk toward her. Addison and Mark stood as well, but not too close, they knew to give Callie her space for this talk. Arizona could see tears forming in Callie's eyes as she made her way to her. She immediately grasped Callie's hands before speaking, wanting her friend to feel a comforting touch, "He pulled through," she started to say as Callie broke into a loud sob. Callie pulled Arizona into a hug as Arizona continued her update, "We got the whole tumor out. He still has a long road ahead of him. The most important being the next few days," she spoke quietly into Callie's shoulder, "We need to see how his body recovers from the surgery. The surgery put a lot of stress on his organs." Arizona made eye contact with Mark who guided Addison out of the room. They would get the rest of the details from their friends who watched in the gallery, but at this moment Callie needed to be alone with Arizona.
Arizona pulled back from Callie and looked her in the eyes. By this point Arizona had her own tears in her eyes, "He's a fighter Callie. I'm not going to lie and say there weren't complications. But… he's still here," Arizona finished as she gazed lovingly at her former lover. She instinctively reached her hand to Callie's face to wipe the tears that had fallen on her cheeks.
Callie stayed silent. Her mind was in overdrive. She couldn't control the tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks. She did the only thing she could think of, she leaned down and captured Arizona's mouth in a passionate kiss. Arizona was stunned when she felt the familiar lips on hers but gave in to her ex who needed the closeness. When the two broke, Callie pulled Arizona back into her arms and whispered into her ear, "Thank you."
The two stood embracing in the waiting room for what seemed like eternity before Alex walked in. He coughed, wanting to alert the two that he was present. Callie and Arizona didn't acknowledge his presence. They stayed intertwined. Alex spoke, "James is all set up in PICU. You can go see him now."
Callie pulled back from Arizona and looked her in the eyes, holding her gaze for a moment before leaning down to leave a kiss on her cheek, "I will never be able to thank you enough for this." She left the waiting room with Alex, leaving a confused Arizona standing alone in the waiting room.
Callie, Mark and Addison set up camp in the pediatric ICU room. Normally, visitors aren't allowed after 8pm but being a former employee and friend of the Chief's had its perks. Even after a long day including Jamie's surgery, Arizona insisted on doing the check-ups on her young patient herself.
Arizona lightly entered the room. All three visitors appeared to be passed out in their respective chairs with Callie's being the one closest to the bed. Callie's head fell forward and she clutched the plush puppy in her hands tighter as Arizona tiptoed into the room so that she could see the machines. She quickly pulled out her stethoscope and gently warmed it before placing it on the little boy's chest. "All normal," she thought to herself as she let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding in.
Callie didn't hear Arizona walk in. She had finally fallen asleep even though she didn't want to. She didn't want to miss anything if something were to go wrong with Jamie. But even with her fears, she was so exhausted after the emotional day that she managed to fall asleep in the uncomfortable chair. She slept soundly until she smelled the familiar flowery perfume in the air. She gently sat up, "Arizona, how is he?" She croaked out. Her throat was dry from sleeping with her mouth open.
Arizona nodded toward the door and Callie followed.
"Everything looks stable," Arizona stated quickly, wanting to put Callie's fears at ease. "He's doing as well as can be. But because of the magnitude of the surgery and how weak he was beforehand, I want to keep him sedated for at least a day, if not more. I want his body to have as much time as possible to recover before we wake him and he starts moving. His oncologist will be down tomorrow to speak with you but we need to get him started in chemo as soon as possible so that this doesn't get a chance to grow back." Arizona moved closer to Callie, stroking her arm, "It's still a long road to go but we're over the biggest hurdle."
"Okay, whatever you say is best," Callie says with a hint of relief in her voice.
"Now as your son's doctor and as your friend, you really need to rest and not in the on call room. Some real rest. Jamie will be out for the next day so you won't miss anything."
"I have nowhere to go. I haven't left the hospital since we got here five days ago. I haven't even made it to get a hotel room yet." Callie stated as she massaged her brow with her hand.
"Why don't I take you to the Archfield? I'm on my way home to catch a few hours of sleep before morning rounds. Alex promised to watch Jamie for me and Mark said he wasn't going to leave his side either," Arizona stated as she attempted to persuade Callie to take care of herself.
Callie didn't want to leave her son alone but she knew that Arizona was right. She needed a good night of sleep. She sniffed herself, and a shower too. She also knew that James wouldn't be truly alone. Mark would be there until she came back in the morning. But the thought of going to a cold and empty hotel room terrified her. She hadn't been left alone, all alone in months.
Arizona could see Callie deep in thought. She thought she looked uncomfortable. She even swears she heard Callie sniff herself. She looked in her eyes and could see fear and emptiness. It was then that she realized what she needed to do.
Arizona reached to grab Callie's hand, "Calliope, I've decided. Don't try to fight me because I won't listen to you. You might be bigger than me but I'm scrappy. So, go give Jamie a goodbye kiss because you're coming home with me tonight." Arizona said in her sternest voice.
Callie was shocked but too tired to fight the blonde. Even though she knew going to stay at her ex-girlfriends house after an emotional day wasn't a good idea, she just didn't have enough fight in her after today. A meek, "Okay," and the two were off to say goodbye to Jamie and let the others know they would be back at 7am and to call and page immediately if something changed.