AN: I can't believe it's been over two months since my last update. Going on my hiatus, I knew I wouldn't spend much time writing/wouldn't have much time writing, but I still tried to upload a chapter here or there. Anyway, this is the next update. Kniwing what's ahead in my life, my kind-of-hiatus should hopefully end around mid September. Until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Standing on the side of the bricked pavement that lead up to the school building, Malia watched in horror as the firemen did their best, and eventually managed to put out the fire her aunt's sweatshirt had caught. She was terrified. Hugging the older Latina's heat-resistant jacket tight around her small frame, big brown eyes kept staring ahead, witnessing as her aunt writhed and moved in pain. The blood curdling scream that erupted from Callie caused her whole body to shudder. Suddenly, the girl felt two hands on her shoulders, softly squeezing.
"Come here, Malia", Arizona said and turned the young brunette around. "Let's take this mask off. Fresh air is so much better for your lungs." Even though the air around them was anything but pure and fresh, she chose to distract the girl with it. Once the mask was gone, she wiped Malia's warm cheeks with the pads of her thumbs, mixing tears with grime. "Do you remember me?" Receiving a nod, the blonde brushed lose strands of unruly hair out of Malia's face as the young Latina looked up at her.
"But... tia Callie…", Malia whispered, her small body shaking and moving with every wrecking sob that surged through her. She wanted to turn back around and run to her aunt, but at the same time, she was too scared to even look. What if her aunt died too? Where would she live? Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around Arizona, searching for someone to comfort her. And when the blonde brought her hands back into the girl's dark curls, Malia felt safe. Just as safe as she had felt when Callie had gotten them out of the fire.
"We have to get her to the hospital, asap!", April yelled as the firemen lifted their friend onto a spine board. "NO!", she screamed. "Not on her back! Jesus, guys, focus." Wanting to give the Latina even the slightest chance of less pain than necessary, she ordered the men to turn the brunette onto her stomach. Everybody was working quickly, rushing Callie to the EMT after April had managed to find an access for an IV-line and had pushed fluids and morphine into the brunette's system. "Robs, are you coming with me?"
But Arizona didn't move. She was holding on to the lithe body and in an unexpected – yet astounding way – it comforted her as well. And when she tried to move, the arms around her became tighter, Malia whimpered and pressed her face firmer against the blonde's belly. For a second she even thought she had heard the girl begging her not to let go. Arizona was torn. The paramedic in her knew that Callie needed all the help she could give her. The ex-lover in her wasn't sure if she would actually be able to help the brunette. And her heart told her not to leave Malia alone. "Keps…" Arizona didn't know when it happened, but after one particular hectic night shift, they had shortened their last names to one syllable.
April nodded curtly, letting the paramedic in charge know that she understood. "I need someone to drive while I keep my eyes on Torres", she said, turning towards the crowd of firefighters that was standing by the vehicle. Surprisingly, Mark stepped back, shock still written all over his face. "GUYS!", the redhead yelled, making Malia flinch and even Arizona jumped a little. "Fucking now." It was very untypical for April to curse, only on a rare occasion would you hear a swear word leave her lips. So before Henry hurried behind the steering wheel, a lot of people were stunned into a stupor. "I'll see you at the hospital", was the last thing April said and then she closed the back doors of the ambulance.
Members of the truck company and rescue squad scurried around to pick up Halligan-tools and blankets they had used to cover the Latina's body. Mark's gaze was still focused on the street – the ambulance with his best friend inside long out of sight – and held on tight to his girlfriend's delicate hands. Meanwhile, Arizona had taken her ex-lover's niece and helped her into the fire truck after Owen had offered them a ride. "Can you open your mouth for me? I need to check it out." Malia nodded but didn't say anything. After a minute, the blonde sighed with relief. There were no visible traces of smoke. "You're going to be okay."
"Tia Callie gave me her mask, Arizona", the girl said, looking at the woman still kneeling in front of her. "She was coughing so much and I wanted to give her the mask back, but she didn't want it. And then she gave me her jacket. She told me she needed to protect me. But nothing protected her."
New tears spilled from big brown eyes and Arizona felt at a loss of what to do. Because, what could she say? What could she do other than console the girl as best as possible? When the first firefighter joined them, she secured their seat belts over their torsos, and waited for the rest to follow. Every second felt like a minutes, a couple of minutes felt like an hour. It seemed like a whole day had passed until the engine of the fire truck finally roared and they were following the EMT to Seattle Press. "Please be okay."
BWY
Two hours later, with the majority of the firehouse 22 crew sitting or walking back and forth in the waiting area of Seattle press, Arizona was still keeping an eye on Malia Torres. After she had finally stopped crying, the girl's body had succumbed to its exhaustion and she had fallen asleep with her head in the blonde's lap. And every time Arizona looked down, she couldn't help but smile. Though not biologically Callie's daughter, Malia looked so much like her aunt, which didn't surprise her at all. The two very much identical faces and expressions had caused the Torres' siblings to be often mistaken as twins. "Noinformation yet?", Arizona whispered as she looked up at Mark who had stopped in front of her, offering a cup of coffee from the coffee cart.
But all the lieutenant of the rescue squad could do was shake his head and sigh. His best friend had been rushed to the hospital moments after her back had literally been on fire. The smell of burned flesh was something he would never get used to. But when it was Callie's burned skin and her sweatshirt sticking to it, it was even worse. "They should give us an update soon, shouldn't they?", he asked hopefully, addressing April and the Chief.
"They will give us an update when they can, Sloan", Chief Webber stated. "There is no use in rushing them." He didn't need to ask any of his firefighters if they were worried, their lowered faces told him enough. But annoying passing doctors or nurses would not help anybody.
"How is she? Have you heard anything yet?", came Teddy's voice as she barged through the corridor on her way the crew. Her left arm was in a sling, still healing from an accident with a torn safety rope seven weeks ago. A dislocated elbow, a broken ulna and broken wrist was the total damage. A bitch to heal. PT was brutal. And just the tiniest wrong move put her in pain if she didn't take her meds every six to eight hours. "Henry?" Her husband of now almost a year just shook his head before he gave her a warm but careful hug. "Damn. Why did she run into the building? From what I've seen on the news, it looked pretty bad."
"She saved her family", Arizona replied without making eye contact with the other woman. Instead she focused her gaze on the even movement of Malia's back and shoulder whenever the girl took a breath. It helped to keep her calm. While waiting for the doctors to return, she had thought hard about what Callie had done. And the more she thought about her ex-fiancée and Malia, their relationship and everything she had learned that had happened to their family, she realized that she would have done the same.
"Are you all here for Calliope Torres?", Dr. Randy Strauss who had approached the group asked. He ripped his scrub cap off and wiped his forehead. "All of you?" He knew his patient was a firefighter, but he still hadn't expected so many people waiting for an update on their colleague. "Is her family informed?"
Battalion Chief Webber rose to his feet, "Yes, we-"
"We are her family", Mark quickly interrupted his superior. "All of us." And he meant it. He wasn't just talking about him or Arizona, or about Lieutenant Hunt. Not just the people Callie called her friends, or the people close to her. No. He meant the hole crew, from the paramedics to every single firefighter of the firehouse 22 to Chief Webber.
And as the firefighters nodded in agreement, the blonde spoke up, "How is she doing?" She felt the need to see that Callie was actually still breathing. She needed to know that she would get the opportunity to give the brunette – to give them – a second chance. "Can we see her?"
Understanding that not giving the group any information might be going with the rules but wouldn't help anyone right this moment, Dr. Strauss answered, "Miss Torres' back suffered severe third and in some places even fourth degree burning. We cleaned the wounds, managed to pull off every little piece of clothing that stuck to her skin and put healing ointment on her back before we brought her back up. Our best plastic surgeon is already working in skin grafts as we speak. The team and I agreed on keeping her sedated for the next twenty-four hours, to give her body time to rest and to spare her from the pain." Pausing for a moment to let his words sink in, he then asked, "Is here anyone whose name is Arizona?"
"That's me", the blonde quickly said. If it wasn't for Malia still using her legs as a pillow, she would have jumped up and run towards the surgeon. "What is it?"
"She was asking for you before we put her under. If you want, you can go see her in a bit. She's in the ICU of the burn unit, fifth floor. Just go up there, I'll let the nurses know to give you a gown so you can be inside the room with her. But please remember that she is sedated. She won't wake up until we lower the sedation."
Feeling tears spring to her eyes, the blonde choked out a barely audible 'Thank you' before Dr. Strauss walked away. Callie had asked for her and Arizona was doing her best to keep her breathing as even as possible to calm herself. Maybe, if she would talk to the brunette, she would be able to hear her?
Derek sat down next to her and placed his hand reassuringly on top of the blonde's. "Should I call Mer so she can pick up Malia? We have spare clothes for her at our place for emergencies and her day has been stressful enough. Maybe some time with Zola will take her mind off of everything that has happened? I assume you'll stay here for the night?", Derek asked calmly, not wanting to wake Malia. "She shouldn't have to stay the night at the hospital.
"No", came Malia's response, her voice raspy from the nap she took. She had heard Derek's words and was vehemently shaking her head, not liking the idea of leaving without her aunt . Sitting up, the girl rubbed her sleepy eyes before she looked at Arizona. "I don't want to leave. I want to stay were tia Callie is. I wanna stay with you." And as she said those words, she wrapped her little arms around Arizona's and held on tight. "Please, Arizona."
"Malia…" The blonde was torn. A huge part of her wanted to stay with Callie the whole night. It didn't matter that the brunette wouldn't be awake or know that she was there. She just wanted to be close to the other woman. But another part – a part that was constantly growing inside her – felt responsible for the young Latina. As weird as it may sound, if the roles were reversed, she would want her kid to stay with Callie. "Zola's dad is right. We shouldn't sleep here tonight." And then she turned to look at the man. "I can take her home with me, Derek", she finally said. Sleeping in her own bed, in her own home would probably be the best solution, but Arizona didn't want to impose. Yes, she could crash on the couch. But it would still be Callie's home she would be invading without the woman's consent. "I'm sure we'll find something for you to sleep in", she assured the girl with a broad smile. One of her shirts should do it for one night. "But I will go and see your tia Callie for a bit and then I come back to get you, okay?" The blonde didn't know how exactly her ex-lover looked right now and she didn't want to scare Callie's niece any more today – her morning had been frightening enough. More specifically, she didn't want Malia to see her aunt being sedated.
Making sure that the firefighters kept an eye on Malia, Arizona made her way to the elevator and up to the burn unit. Her mind was taking her places she didn't want to go right now, but she couldn't stop herself from picturing previous burn victims. She had caught a glimpse earlier and Callie's back had looked bad. Add it to Dr. Strauss' words which had already confirmed her presumption, she attempted to prepare herself as best as she could before she asked for a gown.
BWY
Everything around her seemed to be overcast by a thin layer of warm light. But the more Callie let her gaze wander around, the more she knew she had been here before. Yet, it all seemed different, as if something had changed her familiar surroundings in the most beautiful way. There were flowers everywhere, blossoming in the brightest and most wonderful colors. Untypical for this time of the year. And then there was this melody, a piano piece she remembered from her childhood. Could this be? Was this her childhood home? Turning around the brunette noticed the swing set in the backyard, right next to her the big old oak she and Arizona sat under so many times. A little further away, where she and her brother used to play softball or chased each other as kids, were her mother's precious roses where. She could practically hear Lucia Torres' chastising and warning words. And the chair her father used to sit in on the rare Sundays he took off and joined his family in the garden was on the porch, just as she remembered. "Oh my god", she gasped. "I haven't been here since-"
"Since Papá died", Arias finished his sister's sentence. "It never looked this beautiful, did it? Even though Mama did her best creating magnificent beds of flowers, it was never like this. I guess it's the perks of being here like this."
Was she dead? Had she managed to save her niece but not herself? It wouldn't matter if it didn't mean that Malia had lost her too. The brunette would give her life every day if it meant saving that little ball of energy. "Where is here, Arias?", Callie asked, looking into her brother's eyes. He appeared healthy and happy, looked very handsome in his form-fitting suit and tie. Glancing down her own body, she noticed that she was wearing her firefighter dress uniform.What was that supposed to mean?"Tell me, am I dead? Where is everyone else? What about Malia? I can't be dead. I need to get back to Malia. I need to get back to-" Almost stumbling over her own words as her next thought brought her to Arizona and all the time they wasted being apart. "I have to go back."
Smiling, Arias put his arm around the Latina's back and on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Callita. You're not dead. This is not your heaven and this is not your time to die. I don't even know if it is my garden Eden, although it's quite how I imagined it would be. But your time on earth is not up yet. You will go back. For Malia and for Arizona. Your body just needs some time to heal."
When she turned to him to let her brother fully wrap his protecting and welcoming arms around her, tears of relief rolled down her cheeks. For the first time since Arias and Elena had died, Callie felt actually safe. As if she could finally let go of a lot of pressure she was constantly carrying around with her. She didn't feel alone. "Is Elena here, too?", she asked when she pulled away and walked alongside Arias, nearing the house with every step they took.
Not answering her question, the man looked into the distance as he said, "Thank you for saving my daughter. And I am not talking about the fire. Not alone. Callita, you are doing such an amazing job raising her. Elena and I, we don't know why we were ripped away from her so soon, but whenever we are watching you, we see that naming you her Godmother and legal guardian was the best decision we ever made. She is so happy, Callita. Maybe you think you're out of your here, that you are failing her as an aunt. But I can assure you that you are not." He suddenly stopped and looked at her. Two identical pairs of brown eyes locked and his lips twitched into a smile. "Now you only have to get your relationship back on track. Letting Arizona go was the dumbest thing you've ever did."
If only she had realized this sooner. "God, I know, Arias. Trust me, I do", she agreed and hung her head low. She had messed this one up. Big time. And after witnessing the blonde ignore her, or barely talk to her unless it was work-related, Callie was fairly certain that she had also blown her last chance with the other woman. "But I don't think she will want to get back together with me. Not after everything. Not after-"
He put his index finger over his lips, telling her to be quiet. "But she is right there, Callita. Just listen…"
And just like that, everything around them – the wind, the birds, the sheer sound of living – fell silent. In the distance – it seemed so far away, barely noticeable even through the stillness – Callie could hear her ex-lover's voice, calling her name. "Arizona" she whispered as she thought someone was holding her hand. "She's here?" Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned around. "Papá? Mamá? Elena?" The firefighter gave each of them a long hug. Disbelievingly, she stared into her parents' eyes. The feeling of warmth and being home and loved enveloped her and for a second she thought, what if? What if she didn't go back? What if she would just stay here with her family? There was no pain. No fear. No doubts. Her heart knew that she couldn't stay here, but a small part inside here wished she could.
"You can't stay here, Calliope", her father said, hearing the wheels turn in his daughter's head. Placing his hand against her cheek, he added, "Mija. You have to go back. Malia needs you and so does your Arizona. She is a very special woman, Calliope, and you know that. We may not have been fond of your relationship when you first brought her home. It wasn't how we grew up. But your mother and I quickly understood what you see in her and that you don't find a woman like that, a love like yours in every life you have."
"I know, daddy, I know. I just wish it would be easier", she replied with a sigh. "Do you know whether we have a second shot at happiness or not? Because going back and knowing that I still can't be with her, I don't think I can do this any longer. I was so wrong when I pushed her away. But I didn't want to hurt her and now-"
"She's here for you, Callita. Always keep that in mind. She came back for you and for everything you two had. Now, when they lower your sedation, when it's time for you to wake up, you are not allowed to fight it. If you fight your consciousness, you might not wake up. You have to wake up. And then you have to fight. To get better, to heal and to get your Arizona back. Okay?" Her mother's words sounded like an order, but Callie knew the older woman was right, so she nodded, determination and strength shining in her eyes. "That's my daughter. Now, come with us. You still have some time left before they pull you away from me and although I am able to keep an eye on you from above, I want to hear how you have been."
So, how was that?