Title: Breaking at the Cracks

Chapter: Twelve - "Never Let You Go"

Author: laurenxx3 (iheartcallietorres on ff)

Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Callie/Addison (friendship)

Rating: PG-13 [for now]

Summary: Callie's devastated after Arizona leaves for Africa and now has no job, no place to live and no prospect of either. Addison comes to the rescue and whisks her away to California.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. All characters belong to Shonda Rhimes/ABC. I don't own anything. Any similarities to real life situations/persons are purely coincidental. Not for profit; for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: I have absolutely NO medical knowledge beyond what I see/hear on Grey's Anatomy, so forgive me of any medical-related errors. Also, this is un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine. Please let me know if you come across any, but I'm pretty OCD about grammar and spelling, so there shouldn't be too many mistakes. As always, comments are much appreciated (and will encourage me to write more fics in the future - *hint, hint*).

A/N 2: This starts off after 7x07 and will NOT follow the events past that, except for maybe a few small things. I will *not* include spoilers for future episodes. Um, I'm pretty sure I effed up the medical stuff in this, so please forgive me. I tried to research, but the pictures were too scary. =/


Never Let You Go

If we find that our vision is blinded

We should slow down and maybe we will find it

Every heart just needs a little time to grow

If we go through a little bit of hard times

You should know that to fix it, it'll take time

Baby hold on before we start to lose control

What can I say? What can I do?

How do we change? I'm not gonna lose you

::~::Colbie Caillat::~::

[Callie's POV]

I groaned in pain. "Ugh, now I know why my patients keep asking for more pain meds," I whined as Mark prodded my cheekbone to fully assess the extent of the break. I hissed him pain when he touched a particularly sensitive spot.

"Sorry," he said with sympathy. "You know how this is going to work. I'm going to make the incision here," he said, using a surgical marker to draw a half inch line on my upper cheek, about two centimeters below my eye. "Then I'll go in and repair the cheekbone with a synthetic bone graft. And since I'm Mark Sloan, you'll barely even have a scar."

I wanted to roll my eyes at his arrogance, but couldn't.

The door opened and Dr. Noble walked in. "You about ready, Torres?"

I tried to nod before remembering that my neck was encased in that damn brace. "I'm ready," I answered instead. Arizona's hand gripped mine and gave it a gentle squeeze as they rolled my hospital bed down the hallway towards the OR.

"Robbins, you know you can't be in there," Mark said softly as we approached the doors leading to the surgical hallway. No unauthorized personnel was allowed beyond the double doors.

I felt Arizona grip my hand harder. "Mark," she started.

"He's right, Dr. Robbins," Dr. Noble confirmed. "I know you want to be by her side, but I can't allow you in there. You don't have clearance here anyway."

I gripped Arizona's hand in reassurance. I knew she wanted to be there more for her own sake than mine. "Can you give us a minute?" I asked them. The two surgeons nodded and stepped away. I looked up at Arizona. "It's going to be fine," I said to her.

She sighed and leaned over to kiss me softly. "I know," she said. "But I hate waiting rooms. I hate not knowing what's going on. Especially when it's you. I love you."

"I love you, too," I said softly. She kissed me again, not letting our lips touch longer than a few seconds. I knew she was just afraid of hurting me.

She stood and gave me a small smile. "I'll see you when you get out," she said.

I squeezed her hand again. Mark and Dr. Noble reassumed their positions and pushed me through the double doors. I held on to Arizona's hand as long as possible before reluctantly letting it go.

I glanced up at Mark as the doors swung closed behind us. "Promise me you'll have her updated every half hour," I said.

He looked back towards the doors and nodded. "Of course," he agreed.

::*~*~*::

[Arizona's POV]

I hadn't even thought of the fact that I wouldn't be able to accompany Calliope into surgery. It didn't matter that this wasn't Seattle Grace-Mercy West or that I had no clearance or that I didn't even have a pair of scrubs here.

It's obvious now. Of course I wouldn't be allowed in the OR.

But even though I realized that it wasn't a good idea for me to be there, I was still upset. I hate waiting and not knowing what's going on. That's why I make it a point to keep the families of my patients updated.

I watched as Calliope was taken through the double doors towards the OR, feeling completely helpless. This particular surgery wasn't too risky, but it was still surgery.

Mark suddenly looked back at me and nodded, as if he were relaying a message me to. I read it loud and clear. I'll take care of her.

I nodded back and mouthed "thank you." It was probably the first time I've ever been grateful for Mark Sloan.

::6 hours later…::

"Arizona, dear, you should eat something," Maria said, placing a hand on my arm.

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry," I said. Calliope's been in surgery for nearly six hours. I sat in the waiting room surrounded by friends and Calliope's family. Someone had been out every half hour like clockwork to give us an update. So far, everything had gone smoothly. Only, someone should have been out ten minutes ago to update us. Why the delay? Had they run into complications? Or did they just lose track of time?

"Please eat something," Maria insisted again. "You'll need your strength for when she's out of surgery." That's probably the one thing should could have said to get me to eat. I relented and took the cafeteria peanut better and jelly sandwich she offered.

"Thank you," I said. I bit into it and chewed, not really tasting it. Maria nodded, satisfied that I would eat, then moved to the next person.

I felt movement beside me as someone sat in the seat next to me. I glanced over to see Addison looking at me cautiously. I swallowed and took a sip of my water.

"I don't really know you all that well," Addison started off. "But you make Callie happy, so that makes me like you."

I gave a small smile.

"But then you left and she was devastated, so that made me hate you." She narrowed her eyes at me.

My smile fell and I gulped. "I-"

"But now you're back and she seems to be happy again…"

"So, you like me again?" I asked, hopeful.

"No."

I waited for her to elaborate, but she remained silent. I sighed and slumped down in my chair. "I'm a good person," I said slowly. "I am a good person. But even good people make mistakes. But I'm here now. As soon as I heard that Calliope was hurt, I did everything humanly possible to get here as quickly as I could."

"I don't doubt that you're a good person," Addison interjected. "But I can't stop remembering how broken she was when you left." I looked away, wondering why she was saying this now, of all times. I chewed on the edge of my thumbnail.

"I'm not saying that I hate you or that I'm not happy you're back," Addison said slowly. "Even though she's been lying in a hospital bed since she woke up yesterday with an abundance of horrible injuries, I can already tell that she's in a much better place than before the accident. And for that, I appreciate you. Only, I know the power you hold over her. You realize her heart is in your hands and I can't stand to see her hurt again."

I returned my gaze to Addison's. "Are you giving me the 'if you hurt her, I'll come after you' speech?" I asked, a little amused. It was obvious Addison cared deeply for Calliope.

"Basically, yes," she responded, voice steady and challenging.

I didn't waver. "I respect you for trying to protect her," I said. "And I'm grateful that you were here to catch her. But I don't make the same mistake twice."

Addison studied me for a moment before nodding. "Okay," she said. "As long as we're on the same page, I like you now."

I gave her a small smile and a nod. "I like you, too." I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was twenty minutes past the last half hour mark. What the hell was going on?

"I'm sure she's fine," Addison reassured me, noticing me glancing at the clock.

"Someone should have updated us twenty minutes ago," I said. I looked back at her.

Addison looked past my shoulder. "There's Mark now," she said, pointing. I turned to see Mark walking quickly towards us, scrub cap in hand. I stood and rushed over to him, Addison and the others hot on my trail.

"How is she? Is she out of surgery?"

"Whoa, whoa," Mark said, gripping my shoulders in an effort to calm me down. "She's stable. I just finished the repairs to her cheekbone. Dr. Noble is still working on her leg, but things are going smoothly."

I relaxed me shoulders and let Mark envelop me in a hug. "She'll be just fine," I heard him say.

I suddenly tensed and stepped back. I reared back and punched his shoulder.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he cried out.

"Oh, I didn't hit you that hard," I retorted. "You were supposed to keep me updated! I kept thinking the worst when no one came out to tell us what was going on." I went to hit him again. He stepped out of the way just in time, capturing my swinging hand in his grip.

"Robbins, calm down," he said. "I'm sorry. Time slipped away from me, okay? You know how it is when you're in the OR and you're in the zone."

I narrowed my eyes at him, but relented. I took a deep breath. "Okay," I said. "Sorry."

He let go of my hand and stepped back. "You pack quite a punch," he said, rolling up the sleeve of his scrubs and inspecting the area.

"Marine brat," I reminded him. "My father taught me how defend myself."

"Remind me never to piss you off again," Mark muttered and turned to sit in a waiting room chair. "Dr. Noble predicted another hour or so."

::*~*~*::

[Callie's POV]

Groggy. That was how I felt. And nauseous.

Ugh. Why did my face hurt?

I blinked opened my eyes-eye-and looked around.

Oh, right. I was in the hospital. And I'd just undergone surgery. Where was Arizona?

I whimpered a bit when I tried to move and she suddenly appeared. "Hey, sleepyhead," she greeted me. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," I replied, voice scratchy. "And thirsty," I slurred.

"Here," Arizona said, pouring a cup of water and holding the straw up to my parched lips. "Better?" she asked after I'd taken a few sips.

"Much," I said. "Surgery?" I asked, wanting to know how it had gone.

"Mark was able to fully repair your cheekbone," she said. "We won't know about your vision until you can take the bandages off, but he said it didn't appear to have messed with your optic nerve. Dr. Noble said the surgery on your leg went even better than she expected. She's confident that with physical therapy, you'll be almost one hundred per cent in no time."

"Thank God," I whispered, a tear rolling down my temple into my hair. Arizona leaned over and wiped it away, placing a kiss on my forehead.

Some people, a lot of people, get really angry after an accident that leaves them seriously injured like I was. And I can fully understand that. They suddenly can't function like they used to. They're scared that they'll never be able to do those things again. But I'm not angry. I was scared, yes, but not angry.

How could I be angry when the thing that put me in this position-the car accident-was the thing that brought Arizona back to me?

Dr. Noble knocked softly on the door before entering. She smiled when she saw that I was awake. "Did Dr. Robbins tell you the good news?"

"Yes, ma'am," I answered. "And I'm ready to begin as soon as possible. I want to get back to work."

Dr. Noble chuckled. "That's what I like to hear," she said. "It's going to be a while before you can start therapy, though. You know that. It's probable I'll need to go back in in a few weeks to make some minor fixes. Then you have to wait for the swelling to go down and the wound to heal properly. Patience is a virtue, Torres."

I grumbled slightly. "When can I go home?" I asked her, anxious to get out of the hospital.

Dr. Noble looked over my charts. "I want to keep you for observation for a few more days," she said. "And until we can see about your vision. I'd say plan on being discharged on Friday."

It was only Tuesday.

I groaned.

"I know, I know," Dr. Noble said. "You want to get out of here. But we'd rather be safe than sorry. Right?"

"Right," Arizona agreed with a sharp nod.

Dr. Noble smiled and looked pointedly at me. "You've got a smart one there," she said. "Don't let her go."

I took hold of Arizona's hand and gripped it tightly. "I don't plan to."

If the world stops turning

If the sun stops burning

If the cold wind starts to blow

I wanna let you know, oh, I'll never let you go

When you feel like breaking

When you heart keeps waiting

When the tears begin to flow

I wanna let you know, oh, I'll never let you go

::~::Colbie Caillat::~::