CHAPTER 12
ARIZONA
It was almost 8am and as Arizona's shift was coming to an end she did one last round of her patients, making sure they were all doing fine before she headed to the locker room to change and go home. Cristina Yang had been staying at her place for days now and it was strange because Arizona really didn't seem to mind having the surly resident around all the time. She guessed it was probably because she was so used to seeing her all the time at Callie's place. Cristina wasn't one to make small talk or senseless chit-chat. If she had something to say she said it and if not, well let's just say they sat in silence a lot, except when Brooke would get home and then the three of them would sit around drinking wine and discussing the upcoming surgery for hours on end. This whole surgery thing was really helping to keep Arizona's mind off the fact that Callie was still M.I.A since their fight the other night. Arizona didn't know what her problem was but it was really starting to piss her off.
The last patient Arizona had to check on was Rachel Hudson, the mother of the conjoined twins. As she walked into the biggest room in the hospital and noticed that it had now been nicely decorated, there were flowers everywhere and she saw that Lexie was checking Rachel's vitals. Over the past few days Lexie had tried numerous times to speak with Arizona but she kept getting shut down. Arizona wasn't ready to speak to her, she was hurt and betrayed but she still deeply cared for Lexie and didn't want to say anything that she would later regret.
Lexie looked up from her chart as the perky blonde entered the room. She had a look of what Arizona thought to be relief wash over her face as Arizona gave her a small yet significant smile. Rachel Hudson was sitting up in her bed playing Jenga with a cranky Cristina, who was hiding in the corner of the room. Arizona hadn't even noticed her when she had first entered the room. She could barely see her even now, as she was lent up against the back wall holding up the medical journal. She was clearly immersed in whatever it was that she was reading because she hadn't even looked up when Arizona came striding in.
Arizona couldn't help but let out a small giggle when Rachel poked Cristina in the arm to let her know it was her turn. Cristina casually lowered the journal and pulled out a Jenga piece from the Jenga tower with ease and precision, she threw the piece on the couch beside her and went back to reading.
"How do you do that?" Rachel said staring at Cristina in awe.
"Hands of a Godly surgeon right here!" Cristina raised her right hand in the air and wiggled her dexterous fingers in Rachel's direction.
"Either that or she played too much Jenga as a kid. How are you feeling Rachel?" Arizona smiled her brightest smile, dimples and all. She hadn't smiled that hard in days and the sensation that came across her lips felt slightly awkward. She also didn't fail to notice how Cristina jumped at the sound of her voice and straightened herself up, looking professional and focused. Another smile spread across Arizona's face when she realised that Cristina Yang was trying to impress her.
Outside the hospital Arizona found Cristina to be grouchy and generally uninterested in anything she had to say that was non-surgical but here, in the hospital the eager resident hung on her every word. Cristina listened intently, asked far too many questions and always made herself available for even the smallest of duties. Cristina had come to Arizona weeks ago and simply asked for the opportunity to be considered. She wanted to be given a role in one of the teams being put together for this miraculous surgery and Arizona had obliged her but she had not given Cristina any confirmation that she would be given a spot on the team. Of course Arizona knew that she most definitely would be giving her a spot on the team, she was even seriously considering allowing Cristina to head her own team.
However, Cristina was completely unaware of this and for now she would remain in the dark about the PEDS surgeon's plans for her. Right now, Arizona was having too much fun watching Cristina constantly trying to outdo herself and impress. Arizona would never admit to this because up until a few weeks ago she hadn't really liked Cristina at all, but she had known she would be working with Cristina on this from the very beginning. Everybody around here knows that Cristina's the best resident at Seattle Grace Mercy West; if you were going to trust a resident with your life or your child's life you would most definitely want it to be Cristina Yang. The fact that Cristina had come straight to Arizona when she found out about the surgery instead of concocting ridiculous plans to manipulate her was something that made Arizona respect her as a colleague and had laid a solid foundation for a great working relationship between them.
"Good morning Dr. Robbins! Mrs. Hudson's vitals are all normal, the babies are doing great, I found a slight fetal arrhythmia this morning and I administered Digoxin and Sobatol but I've been monitoring them all day and everything seems to be back to normal"
"Good job Dr. Yang. Everything okay on your end Dr. Grey?" Arizona spoke to Lexie without looking directly at her; instead she was smiling brightly at her very pregnant patient.
"Yes Dr. Robbins" Lexie was fidgeting with the chart in her hands and Arizona knew she was desperately trying to make eye contact with her. She liked Lexie she really did but she just couldn't deal with her right now, she needed to focus on this case and the only way to do that was to shut off her emotions and personal entanglements that had made her feel so damn horrible in the first place.
"Ok then, it looks like you're in good hands so I'm going to head home for a few hours. I'll be back in this afternoon to check on you. Brooke and I have to go over some things with you" Arizona noticed both Lexie and Cristina take on ridged stances as they nervously waited for Arizona to say more about the surgery. She didn't.
Arizona gently squeezed Rachel's hand comfortingly before turning on her heels and moving towards the door, her heart sank as she felt Lexie gliding up behind her.
"Arizona can I.." –
"Not now Lexie. I'm tired and to be honest I can't forgive you yet. I need time" and with that last statement Arizona walked away leaving Lexie standing there staring off after her.
Arizona had stopped by the grocery store on her way home because she needed to pick up a few things. That was an understatement; she needed to pick up a lot of things. Since she had been dating Callie she rarely ever ate in her apartment and she couldn't remember the last time the fridge was stocked with anything but fruit and beer. Now that Brooke had taken up residence in her spare room and Cristina was living on her couch she figured they would need to eat at some point.
Just as she arrived at the apartment she saw Brooke coming back from the gym. She called her over to help her bring the groceries in. as they carried the large amounts of food into the elevator and eventually into Arizona's apartment; the blonde noticed something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it but something had been done to her place, she walked around the living room and into the kitchen searching for the answer. Then suddenly she heard a muffled noise coming from her bedroom. The door was closed which was weird because she had distinctly remembered leaving it open in her rush to get to work on time last night.
Brooke was now staring at her with a bemused look on her face as she watched Arizona creep over to her bedroom and press her ear to the door. Arizona didn't know what to do or think when she heard music coming from inside her room. She motioned Brooke over to listen.
"Is that… Mariah Carey?!" Arizona kicked Brooke in the shins for being too loud. How could she be hollering like that? When in all likely hood she had just alerted the burglar that was ransacking her room no less, of their arrival. Arizona was horrified that someone was in her room going through her things and touching her Mariah Carey collection. Brooke was rolling her eyes in Arizona's collection clearly not worried that there might be a crazed psychopath about to charge out that door and kill them both.
"There's someone in my room" Arizona was trying to remain calm but she wanted Brooke to see the seriousness of this situation.
"Arizona, you probably just left your radio on last night. What sort of robber listens to Mariah Carey?" Arizona could tell that Brooke was finding this whole thing to be quite amusing but she couldn't believe it when Brooke simply shook her head, smiled with the Robbins family dimples showing and just walked away. Arizona knew she had to choice but to open the door quickly before Brooke got too far away from her, she reached out her hand and flung the door open forcefully. She saw Brooke jump and return to her side as the door hit the wall with a loud bang.
Arizona had expected to find a crazed man ransacking her drawers or something but instead she found something far more shocking. NOTHING!
As she peered into her room there was no one there, it was completely empty. Not only was the room empty of any human life it was also empty of any furniture that had previously been there.
"Dude, where's your bed?" Brooke stuttered, shock taking control of her body.
Arizona cautiously walked into her room and as she took a good look around she realised that her room was bare. There was not one piece of furniture left in there, everything had been removed. The two sisters stood there in the middle or Arizona's empty room staring at each other in silence, occasionally glancing around the room half expecting the furniture to reappear. Then they heard the CD player churn as the song that had been playing started again. They turned their attention towards the noise and noticed the small pink CD player in the far corner of the room. They listened intently as the song that had been placed on repeat began again.
No I can't forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that's just the way the story goes
You always smile but in your eyes
You sorrow shows, yes it shows
Arizona felt her heart stop as she listened to the words of the most beautiful song she had ever heard by her favourite artist in the world. The minute she had walked into her apartment she had felt it, she didn't realise it at the time but she had known that something had disrupted her things, someone had been among her possessions and they felt changed yet none of them had been moved. She took herself over to the CD player and lying next to it was a photo of her and Callie.
No I can't forget tomorrow
When I think of all my sorrow
When I had you there but then
I let you go
And now it's only fair that I should
Let you know, what you should know
She had never seen this photo before; it was of them at Joes. She knew exactly when this was taken although she didn't remember posing for it. It was the night Callie had gotten her job back and become an Attending at Seattle Grace Mercy West. They had gone to Joes to celebrate at the insistence of Mark and Lexie. It had been a great night; they laughed and drank beer with their friends. Callie had challenged Mark to a game of darts; he lost of course and was forced to sing Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' wearing a dress that Joe conveniently had hidden behind the bar. Why the dress was there was a whole other story that Arizona was too afraid to ask about. It had been quite the site watching Mark 'man-whore' Sloan singing karaoke wearing a dress. If she had to guess she would say this photo was taken somewhere between the karaoke and the 'Coyote Ugly' style bar dancing performed by herself, Lexie, Cristina and Meredith.
I can't live
If living is without you
I can't live
I can't give anymore
I can't live
If living is without you
I can't give
I can't give anymore
Callie hadn't wanted to stay much longer after the bar dancing, Arizona had thought she was mad at her for getting so crazy but when they got back to Callie's it had been exactly the opposite. Callie couldn't keep her hands off her; she barely waited until they got in the door before she began ridding Arizona of her clothes and kissing her neck in a way that made the blonde's knees go weak. That night had been the best sex Arizona had ever had. Well until the next night and then the next night after that. Basically the night this photo was taken was the night Arizona felt their souls connect. As Arizona sat in silence listening to the words of the song that was breaking her heart she felt Brooke shaking her.
"Arizona, what's going on? Where the hell is your bed? All of your furniture?" Brooke was starting to freak out and that was the last thing Arizona needed.
"Callie" was all Arizona could manage to say as the words of the songs swirled around in the deepest depths of her soul, where her love for Callie resides.
"Callie took your bed?" Brooke was utterly baffled and becoming immensely frustrated with Arizona's odd behaviour but Arizona didn't care all she could think about was this song and Callie. Brooke began shaking her again.
No I can't forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that's just the way the story goes
You always smile but in your eyes
You sorrow shows, yes it shows
"Arizona? You're saying Callie stole your bed?"
"Yes. No, I don't know. She can't live without me Brooke. She loves me" Arizona was pretty much talking to herself at this point. She began stuttering to herself about the song and Callie stepping up. This was the sign she needed, she wanted Callie to prove to her that she wanted her, that she needed her and she didn't know how a song could do that but somehow it just did.
"Okay so Callie loves you. What the hell does that have to do with your bed Arizona?" Brooke was seriously not letting the bed thing go. Since she had heard the first words of the song and found that photo she hadn't given another thought to her empty room. She couldn't care less who took her bed.
"I have no idea. And I don't care because she can't live without me. She can't LIVE without me Brooke" Arizona had decided that she couldn't just sit there any longer; she had to go to her. She needed to see Callie and to hear her say that it was true. She got up off the floor of her completely empty bedroom and headed toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Brooke threw her arms up in the air following Arizona into the lounge room. Arizona knew she would need to explain all of this to Brooke but that would have to wait because right now all she could think of was getting to Callie.
"I have to see Callie" she yelled over her shoulder to her sister as she grabbed her bag and ran out the door, then dashed into the elevator.
Brooke was left standing in the hallway watching the doors to the elevator begin to close.
"Oh I'll just wait here for your bed to wander on home shall I? Was the last thing Arizona heard her sister say before the doors shut and she was on her way to find Callie.