Amelia leaned forward in her spot on the couch, grasping Alex's hand as if it were her lifeline. He studied her, cautiously, his knuckles hurting now and his skin beginning to turn white from her intense grip, but he didn't want to say anything. He was scared, too, and he could sense Amelia's increasing fear and nervousness.
They were taking much longer than expected to finish up the surgery, and he was beginning to second guess himself, wondering if he was right to assure Amelia that Arizona would be okay. He hated the thought of her not surviving. She was his mentor, his teacher, the one who made him the doctor he was today. He had always known her to be strong. He didn't think she was capable of weakness. But now, as he and Amelia sat anxiously on the couch, he was beginning to fear that he had been wrong.
Amelia chewed on her thumbnail, her eyes glazed over as she stared intently at an empty spot on the floor. The anticipation was killing her. She needed to hear something, anything, even if it was bad news. She needed to know.
"How's she doing?"
She stood up abruptly, releasing Alex's hand, when Maggie walked into the room with an unreadable expression on her face. For a moment, she looked somewhat confused at Amelia's concern, but evidently decided to ignore it.
Amelia swallowed hard, feeling her heart rate speed up, her breaths becoming short. Her palms were sweating again, her mind buzzing incessantly. She was preparing herself for the worst. It was what she knew how to do, what she decided she had to do.
"There was, um..." Maggie began, her voice quaking slightly. "There was a complication. She lost a lot of blood... there was nothing we could do. She's gone. I'm sorry."
"No..."
"Amelia."
Alex grabbed her shoulder, steadying her on her feet. She could feel herself fading, her legs beginning to give out. The world seemed to spin now. Her vision became blurry, her breath catching in her throat, and she felt as though she was suffocating.
This couldn't be happening.
She had prepared for this. She had known that it could happen. But she had still made the fatal mistake of letting herself, at least a tiny part of her, hope. And that hope had now destroyed her.
This couldn't be happening. She collapsed onto the floor, onto her knees, her eyes once again finding that same spot on the floor. This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be happ-
"Amelia?"
She felt the weight of Alex's hand on her shoulder, and she seemed to regain at least some grip on reality, snapping out of her thoughts. Her eyes focused on Maggie's face, which was smiling now... wait, why was she smiling?
"Did you hear that?" Alex asked, his brow furrowed at Amelia's apparent confusion, but a small smile creeping onto his face.
"What?" Amelia asked.
"I said she's going to be okay," Maggie repeated. "The surgery went well, she's doing fine. She's a fighter."
"She's... Really?"
She turned to face Alex, who nodded, a grin now plastered on his face.
"Told you," he smirked.
Amelia felt herself relax, and closed her eyes in relief.
She was going to be okay.
"Can I see her?" she asked Maggie.
The other woman seemed confused again, shooting Alex a questioning look. He gave Maggie a slight nod, and Amelia realized that she didn't know about her and Arizona yet. She decided not to care, though. Arizona was going to be okay, and that's all that mattered.
"She's not awake yet," Maggie said. A smile made its way onto her face. "But yeah. You can go see her."
Amelia walked over to where she stood and wrapped her in a tight hug.
"Thank you."
She gently took Arizona's hand in her own as she sat down next to the bed. The side of the blonde's face was bruised, her skin stained purple. Her cheek, bottom lip and chin were littered with small red cuts. She looked so small, so fragile, and Amelia could feel her eyes well up with tears at the sight. She lifted her hand to lightly caress her face, gently stroking her cheek with the pad of her thumb.
She felt her breath hitch when Arizona's eyelids began to flutter, her hand slightly twitching in her own as she slowly gained consciousness.
"Arizona?"
The blonde furrowed her brow, her eyes remaining closed. She groaned groggily.
"Say something."
There was a moment of silence before the blonde's voice piped up, quietly, barely audible.
"Ouch."
Amelia couldn't help but laugh, tears of happiness flowing down her face. Arizona slowly opened her eyes and smiled at her. Amelia missed those eyes. She felt her heart clench at the thought of never being able to see them again.
The brunette traced her fingertips over the side of her face, sighing.
"You're alive."
She whispered the words, mostly to herself, as if ensuring that this was real, that this wasn't a dream.
"I promised you," Arizona murmured.
Amelia looked at her, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"That you wouldn't lose me. I promised."
Amelia chuckled softly, sadly.
"I thought I was going to."
They remained silent for while, Amelia rubbing her thumb over the back of Arizona's hand as the blonde adjusted to the situation, still groggy from the surgery.
"Amelia?" she piped up.
"Yeah?"
She met Arizona's eyes, which seemed to appear darker and more serious now as they poured into her own.
"I love you."
She whispered the three words with sincerity, her voice honest and filled with emotion. Amelia let out a breath, a wide smile forming across her lips. She leaned down to press a soft kiss against Arizona's forehead, carefully so as not to hurt her. She pulled back, gazing once again into Arizona's bright blue eyes. She was sure she'd never get used to those eyes. Their beauty never ceased to amaze her.
"I love you, too."
