Chapter 10:
-13 months ago-
The flight from Seattle to Philadelphia was spent in a surprising silence. Arizona had spoken randomly the first hour or so of their flight but soon after, the blonde had fallen silent and become lost in her own thoughts.
Callie, for her part, had maintained her hand's hold on her girlfriends and spent the remainder of their flight dozing. When the plane had finally touched ground several hours later, Arizona had shaken Callie to wakefulness and the two women had departed the cramped quarters.
Now, after claiming their luggage, the two women found themselves standing in the Philadelphia International Airport.
"You okay?" Callie asked as she regarded her partner's profile.
The blonde bit the inside of her cheek and continued to stare at the world on the opposite side of the window before her. It had been over two years since she'd last been in Philadelphia. So many memories, both good and bad, were attached to the place that Arizona wasn't sure what she was supposed to be feeling. She felt as though she was outside of her own body. This world, her past, and her current world, her present, were never supposed to have met. To collided. To become one.
Standing next to Callie, her fiance, in the city of her greatest sorrow left her a woman divided. Hannah was here. Her daughter had been born here. She had taken her first breath in a hospital not far from where Arizona currently stood. She had learned to walk, talk, laugh, cry, play, and love in a house a few miles from this very airport. Hannah's life, her memory, was in Philadelphia.
At the same time, Hannah had suffered here. She had died here, in the same hospital in which she'd first drawn breath. Her story had ended in this damned city. She'd left the world and her mother and the results of that horrible day had had repercussions far into Arizona's future.
The smaller woman didn't know who she was. The woman she'd been, the woman who had lived and loved in Philadelphia, was not the woman she was today. The woman she was today was an attending at Seattle Grace Mercy West hospital. She was head of the pediatrics department. The woman she was today had new friends, new responsibilities, a new home and a new lover.
Her past and present selfs were at odds with one another. Callie's question, though simple in nature, was completely complex in reality. The answer eluded her.
"Hey?" Callie nudged her shoulder. She shook her head and looked to her left where she met her girlfriend's concerned visage.
"Sorry. I-I didn't think this would affect me like this." she said quietly.
The taller woman looked at her with wide brown eyes and a sad smile took over her lips. "Like what?" she asked.
Arizona took a deep breath and held it within her chest for a moment. Turning away from Callie's face, she looked around the airport surrounding the two of them and slowly released the air from her lungs.
"I don't know. Just...like this." she replied.
Callie walked around her and cut off her view of the streets of Philadelphia. She placed her hands, lightly, on the blonde's shoulders and lowered her head so her eyes could meet blue.
"Mariposa?" Feel what you have to feel, okay? I'll be with you every step of the way. When everything else just seems to be too confusing, just remember that I'm right her next to you. Let that ground you, angel."
Arizona nodded her head and rubbed Callie's forearm. Stepping forward, she leaned into her partner's body and immediately felt herself becoming lost in the raven haired woman's embrace. She buried her face in Callie's neck and sighed.
"She's here, Callie." she said in a weak voice. "God, she's here."
The darker woman hugged the blonde to her more tightly and kissed the side of her head. She hated that Arizona was having such difficulty, but she knew, in the long run, things would turn out for the better if the smaller woman allowed them to.
"I know, baby. Try to think of that as a good thing. You can connect with her again. You can say goodbye." she said softly into the blonde's hair. She heard Arizona take in a sharp breath at her words and it made her heart catch.
After several minutes, the smaller woman stepped away from her and attempted to smile. Her blue eyes studied her face and she said, "I'm glad I have you here, Calliope."
"Me, too, Ari."
Grabbing her suitcase with one hand and Callie's hand with the other, Arizona turned towards the giant set of glass doors to her right.
"Let's get a cab and get to the hotel. You still need to calm my nerves."
"Ritz-Carlton hotel, Ten Avenue of the Arts." Arizona said as she settled herself into the back seat of the cab. Callie looked out the window as the car started to move. It had been her idea for the two of them to stay at the Ritz-Carlton.
Not only was the Ritz-Carlton a renowned hotel in cities across the country, it was also in a very historic part of Philadelphia. Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell were both historic markers that were in Center City Philadelphia. The hotel, itself, was in a very rustic and venerable building.
When Callie had first brought the hotel to Arizona's attention, the blonde had turned her down stating that the Ritz-Carlton was too expensive. Callie had insisted that money would not be a problem and had, eventually, won the other woman over. She'd informed Arizona that, even though they were going to Philadelphia under tense circumstances, she still wanted to treat the other woman.
As the building slowly came into view, Callie could do nothing but stare openly out of her window. Arizona leaned across her hip and joined her in taking in the impressive sight.
"Calliope..." was all she could say.
She'd seen the hotel before while she was still living with Terri in the city. The two of them had made certain that they'd visited the muesem and other national landmarks over the years of their time together. She'd often passed by the Ritz-Carlton, but she'd never been inside. Seeing it now, with Callie, and knowing that the other woman was paying for their stay made the hotel seem that much more grand.
The building looked like something from Greek mythology mixed with early parliament neoclassical turn-of-the-century structures. Six large, wide pillars supported the imposingly tall roof that was triangular in the front and domed toward the middle.
The two story building was a piece of living history. Three darkened windows hung above the double doors that were surrounded by a tall, equally darkened, pane of glass. To either side of the doors, lamps hung with large oval globes atop them. An American flag waved to passersby between the first and second story windows on the left side of the building.
Cars on the street passed without giving the hotel a second look and pedestrians continued the rigors of their day to day lives in the building's shadow.
As the cab pulled to the front of the building and came to a stop at its entrance, Callie turned her head to her left and looked at Arizona. The blonde's eyes were still looking past her taking in the size and scope of the Ritz-Carlton.
When her eyes focused on Callie, the Latina smiled at her and whispered, "This is my wedding gift to you."
The blonde's brow showed confusion. She opened her mouth to say something but the cab driver's thickly accented voice interrupted her as he informed the two women of their fare.
If the outside of the building had been impressive, Callie didn't know how to describe the inside. The front lobby was vastly, immensely spacious. The floor gleaned with some brightness, it reflected its surroundings. Like on the outside of the building, the inside also showcased floor ro ceiling pillars. Rich marble walls opened behind to pillars to show black iron staircase leading to the upper floor. A desk, beneath the stairs, glowed with a single lamp's light. Its dark cherry wood set it apart from the white marble around it, but it only added to the lure of the lobby.
In the center of the room, a large rug with a deep salmon and brown pattern held a relaxed looking couch, two heavily cushioned vanilla colored chairs, and three small tables. Each table had small arrangement of pumpkin orange flowers on its top. a Two of them sat next to the chairs and the third, larger than the first two, was rounded and sat in the middle of the furniture.
Callie looked above her and nearly fell over. The ceiling was high. Higher than most any she'd ever seen. The vastness of the lobby was almost overwhelming. Looking farther to her left, she noticed another group of chairs and tables. These were colored in varying shades of orange and red and were surrounded by tall lamps and differing types of potted plants.
"Callie...this place is...wow. I feel like a princess or something." Arizona muttered next to the Latina.
Smiling, the taller woman looked at the blonde and sat, "Well, that's fitting, I guess. Let's get checked in."
-Present Day-
Arizona sat at the front of the operating table. Though she was dressed in scrubs with her face behind a surgical mask, she knew she wasn't in the room as a surgeon or a doctor. She was in the room as someone's partner. Someone's mother.
Placing her hands on either side of Callie's face, she leaned forward and placed her forehead against the other woman's. Around her, Addison, Bailey and the residents assisting them, moved as one to begin Callie's delivery.
"Please be okay. Calliope, I can't be in this world without you. I was made to complete you so you have to be here with me."
She whispered the words across the dark skinned woman's brow. They were barely audible and almost choked off by the blonde's heavy emotions.
Addison spared a quick glance in Arizona's direction and was grateful for the mask covering her face. She knew she, most likely, looked stricken.
"She's as stabilized as we're going to get her, Arizona. We're ready to begin."
The smaller woman, sitting in a chair with her face against Callie's, looked up and nodded mutely. Swallowing back her rising fear, she met Addison's blue eyes with her own.
"Please don't let her slip away, Addison."
All Dr. Montgomery could do was nod once and turn her attention to Miranda.
"Let's begin."
-13 months ago-
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were stalking me."
"Well, that theory may have held clout if it wasn't for that fact that I was here first. If we add that as a factor, one would be lead to believe that you were stalking me."
Addison laughed openly at the green eyed woman's logic. Terri was sitting at a table facing the streets outside with a cup of coffee in front of her.
"Yeah, I can't really dispute that." she said, still laughing.
Terri's smile widened and her teeth flashed briefly. She looked over her shoulder and past the body of the redhead. Bringing her eyes back up, she asked, "You're here alone?"
Addison's eyebrow raised and her lips pursed.
"You were expecting me not to be?"
"Well, I wasn't expecting to be seeing you so soon. You can find this diner but you couldn't find her hotel?" Terri inquired.
Her eyes lit up and a smile spread quickly across her lips. Addison scoffed, playfully, at her and sat down at the table without invitation.
"When I got to the hotel, I asked the woman at the front desk if she knew any really good local places for lunch."
Terri ran her fingers along the rim of her coffee mug and nodded her head. A waitress came over to the table, upon seeing its newest arrival, and asked if the two women would be needing anything.
"Yeah, umm, a coffee and whatever she had." Addison said pointing to the brunette across from her.
The green eyed woman watched as the waitress walked across the diner before bringing her attention back to the attractive woman joining her.
"So, you opted to eat at a diner as opposed to regaling yourself with cuisine prepared by Jennifer Carroll?"
Jennifer Carroll was the Chef de Cuisine at the Ritz-Carlton as well as a finalist on Bravo's Top Chef. Many people around the country came to the hotel just to enjoy her dishes.
Addison laughed and looked at the window.
"Yeah, funny huh? I'm sure, over the next several days, I'll be getting my fill of the hotel's cuisine. This medical conference is going to last several days."
The waitress arrived before Terri could come up with anything to say. She sat down a cup on a saucer in front of Addison and turned her attention to Terri.
"Refill?" she asked.
The brunette nodded in the affirmative and the waitress departed their company once more.
"So, what's you story?" Addison asked suddenly.
Terri licked her lips and raised an eyebrow.
"My story?"
The red head looked up from preparing her coffee to her liking. Reaching for another cream, she said, "Yeah, I mean, this is the second time in less than an hour that I've come across you. That's either really good juju or really bad juju."
Terri couldn't help the laugh that erupted from her throat. The woman across from her was so endearing. Watching her stir sugar and cream into her coffee and talk about...juju? was just too cute to Terri.
"Well, Addison, my story isn't complete yet, so the telling of it would be pretty dull."
Taking a measuring sip of her coffee, the blue eyed woman looked over the rim of her mug and smiled.
"That's just the kind of answer I expected from a therapist."
Terri sighed and looked, once again, out the window. Clouds suffocated the sky and the people walking along the sidewalk hugged their coats and jackets more firmly to their bodies.
"Why don't you tell me what you want to know." she said.
Shrugging her shoulders and leaning back in the chair she was occupying, Addison sighed and held her coffee mug to her chest.
"I don't know...ummm, topical things. You know? Married? Kids? How long have you lived here?"
Silence stretched between them for longer than Addison expected. She watched as Terri fought to keep her expression as neutral as possible.
"Well, I was married. In a sense. Seven years, but something happened and" Terri lowered her eyes briefly, "well, suffice it to say we're no longer together."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was married, too." Addison said, trying to be equally as forthcoming.
"What happened?"
Smirking, the red head replied, "Something happened and we're no longer together."
Terri laughed lightly and reached for her coffee. "Touche"
"So, kids?" Addison asked.
She wasn't sure what it was about the woman across from her, but something was drawing her toward her. Terri had a quality about her that Addison couldn't place. Something about the brunette made her want to open up and get to know her. Addison wasn't normally such a person and it unnerved her slightly.
She watched as Terri reached into the coat hanging on the chair behind her. Pulling out a slim, leather wallet, she produced a small photograph and handed it to her.
Addison took the picture and studied it a moment. It showed a young girl with brown hair, lighter than Terri's, with blue eyes, dimples and an open smile. The child looked to be two years of age. Her hair was curly and done up in pigtails.
"She's beautiful." Addison said, looking back up at Terri. "What's her name?"
Terri shook her head and lowered her eyes. Taking a moment to compose herself, she brought her head back up and answered, "Her name was Hannah. She passed away a few years ago."
The neonatal surgeon started to speak when their waitress interrupted them with her lunch. She sat down a plate in front of Addison that held, what looked like, a hoagie. French fries were scattered around it with a pickle in the corner.
The waitress sat down a small bowl of coleslaw next to the plate and stepped back.
"Italian hoagie with fries. You gonna be wanting anything to drink with that, besides coffee?"
Addison looked up at the older woman then back at Terri. Her green eyes were staring outside again and the red head thought she could see tears.
Glancing back at her lunch, she felt her appetite slipping away the longer she thought of Terri's last words.
"Um, just a water, please."
The woman nodded and walked away. Staring across the table, Addison could feel the easy going nature of her earlier conversation with Terri sneaking away to join her appetite.
