AN: I am so sorry that it's been so long! A lot of stuff going on in life that I won't get into, but I will make more of an effort to update frequently. I've been thinking a lot about this story and becoming inspired again. Took rewatching GA on Netflix but I think I've made progress. Although Calzona will always be #1, I'm liking this Carina/Arizona pairing. Carina seems very confident and open, doesn't seem to mind getting into Arizona's personal space, even at work!

Enjoy.

Chapter 21: I'ma Care For You

For as much thinking as this decision took, Arizona had still managed to miss a few details.

After telling Callie that yes, she was having this surgery that would get her as close to a functioning leg as she could, it had been nothing but a race against time. She had spoken to Callie and Amelia extensively, who had already mapped out the entire process, making it a little bit easier. Not that she would mention it to either of them.

The blonde wouldn't be out of commission for as long as she originally thought, but still, she was one of the few fetal surgeons in the West Coast, therefore things had to be moved around.

Then there was the part where she told her parents, who insisted that they were coming to Seattle to help her out for as long as she needed them. Not that Arizona didn't want to see her parents, it was always great when she saw them, and Sofia was never happier. But things were already weird enough with dating Natalie and Callie in the background with her awesome robotic leg. She didn't exactly need her parents added to the mix.

But she would deal with it.

Hopefully.

And then there was the physical therapy before the physical therapy to make sure that her muscles were strong enough to handle the new leg. Owen had been working with her on that, making sure she got to the PT room 3-4 times a week. She had already seen some results. She felt stronger physically and somewhat mentally.

Needless to say, she was freaking exhausted.

Arizona was in the last week before her leave, chugging away in the OR, trying to get through as many patients as she could. Luckily, Alex was reinstated after Deluca dropped the charges unexpectedly. One day the future of her prodigy looked bleak, and just like that, it was bright again. It seemed like things were leveling out in her world.

For the mean time.

She tried not to think about the surgery too much. She wasn't naïve, she knew the risks, and the pain. But she was no novice to those things, and she would persevere through it.

It was the end of the day, and she was still buried in paperwork.

Exhaling loudly, the blonde leaned back in her chair, rolling her neck between her shoulders. Arizona wasn't quite sure if the stiffness was from her workout this morning, or being hunched over her desk the past hour.

Blinking the exhaustion from her blue eyes, she focused on her computer again, finishing all her notes and post-op instructions from her surgeries earlier today.

The brief knock on the door barely fazed her.

"Yeah?" Arizona called out.

"Dude, go home already."

She rolled her eyes, shooting Alex a look before returning to the computer screen.

"I'm busy, Karev."

The peds surgeon shrugged, closing the door and plopping down onto the couch she had against the wall.

"You've practically been living here the past three weeks."

"I'm going to be out of here for the next six. I can't just let everything wait until I get back."

"I can take care of everything while you're gone," he replied.

Arizona smirked, "I figured you'd rather be in the OR than doing department paperwork."

Alex shrugged, "I would, but that doesn't mean I won't pick up the slack. I'm back now, you don't have to do everything on your own. You need to go home and get some rest. You're just going to stress yourself out more over this surgery. Everything's going to be fine you know."

The blonde sighed, "I need to stay busy. That's the only time I'm not stressed."

"Yeah, I get that. Jo still hasn't spoken to me since she dropped the whole 'I'm-married-and-my-name's-not-Jo-Wilson,' thing. And," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't even know what to say to her. So…I work. Which is why you should go home and let me take care of everything here."

"There's things that you can't take care of."

"So do that and then go. You don't even have to go home, get dinner with Natalie or something. You probably haven't seen her properly the last few weeks."

Arizona smirked, "You giving me relationship advice?"

He rolled his eyes, "No, I'm just saying there's other things you could be doing to be – less stressed." Leave it to Alex to make it about sex.

"I'm not talking to you about this." She shut down her computer and flipped her desk lamp off.

"So now you're leaving? That's all I had to say to get you away from this place?"

Arizona discarded her lab coat and hung it on a hook in the corner. She sighed, "I'm leaving my office. But I'm not leaving just yet. And besides, Natalie's on call tonight."

Alex stood up, following the blonde out of her office, "So what are you doing now?"

"Now, I have to see Bailey about my schedule for when I get back. No doubt she'll be in a better mood since your return."

###

The stomping of her feet reverberated through the stairwell, the only sound aside from her erratic breathing. It was the 911 of her pager that caused the sudden sense of urgency. Callie had been asleep, her favorite pastime, in an abandoned on-call room when the frantic beep woke her from slumber. She had been awake for 14 hours and in desperate need of some rest. When you're a surgeon, you find it when you can.

There were very few reasons that would cause her to catapult out of bed. This was one of the biggest.

But she still cursed the slow elevator, which was the reason she was about to pass out.

Callie made a mental note to work out more.

She used her body to enter the scrub room, her hands occupied with tying her signature scrub cap over her dark locks. One look through the window told her that the Ortho resident on call was a little in over his head. It used to make her chuckle, but it made her sleep-deprived self roll her eyes. At least all the other breaks had been tended to.

"Delaney, check on all the patients in the ER, help Kepner with whatever she needs. I got it from here," she said, tying her gown. The resident bowed his head and brushed past her, no doubt his ego a little wounded.

"Wonderful, crushed pelvis," Callie murmured, surveying the area. "Alright, let's get some irrigation. What's this guy's story?"

"Fell two stories from a construction site. He was still conscious by the time he got here. So let's hope." The mask covered most of his face, but she couldn't mistake the grim smile Owen attempted to make. "He's got lacerations all over the place, but I think I can handle it."

Brown eyes looked up briefly, surveying the group of doctors and nurses surrounding the table. She looked back down at the mess that she would no doubt fix. "How's the head?"

"Surprisingly good. Skull fracture and a few bleeders. We'll just have to see when he wakes up."

"I hope so," Jo commented, applying more suction to the abdomen, "He's got a wife and 3 little kids."

Which sucked to hear, but it gave her even more reason to make sure that this guy was going to be okay, despite the weird tension that she had been accustomed to the past few weeks between her and Natalie.

Callie had been trying to ignore it the first few times on account of the possibility that maybe, she was overthinking things. Another favorite pastime of hers. But it had hit her a couple of weeks ago that there was something going on between those annoyingly stunning green eyes that Callie couldn't place.

She understood the awkwardness in the beginning. She had been a grade-A bitch to the other woman, who was honestly a nice person who happened to show interest in her ex-wife. Callie couldn't really blame her, but still, it had been – well – it had been a process. Natalie was becoming more inserted in her life, the relationship between her and Arizona seemingly steady and drama-free. Sofia had even been around her more than a handful of times. It was fine. It was good.

But there had been a couple of instances that gave her pause. It was never anything explosive, or conflicting. Just a look that Callie had been trying to figure out ever since. It wasn't even a bitchy look. Just – a look.

So far she had maintained that it was either the neurosurgeon literally trying to make her disappear with her eyes, or doing some weird psycho analysis with no words. Either one was unsettling.

And Arizona had been as oblivious as only Arizona could be.

The blonde had been more like herself, which gave Callie immense ease. Yes, she could see the stress and anxiety in her blue eyes, but more importantly, she saw the certainty. Which was what she had been waiting for. Arizona undergoing surgery wasn't going to be easy for her either. The last time this happened, it didn't end so well. Actually, it was the beginning of the end in retrospect.

A few very long hours later, she rolled her neck between her shoulders in the scrub room. The surgery had woken her up, but now exhaustion took over again. She had gone from goddess to sleep deprived in a matter of minutes.

"I need a coffee," Natalie mumbled, biting back a yawn. Owen chuckled, having already scrubbed out to talk to the family. His mood has risen substantially. The next 24 hours were crucial, but it seemed like the patient was going to make it.

Jo dried her hands, "I need a sandwich, or two," she threw the towel in the waste bin and sluggishly pulled the door open like it was 300 pounds. Surgery could do that to you sometimes.

"I just need a bed," Callie stated, rinsing her arms up to her elbow.

"Are you on call tonight too?"

"No, I've just got a few patients to check on real quick and then I'm out of here."

"Hopefully Arizona can pry herself away from her office and go home."

Callie chuckled, "Well she has Sofia later on tonight so I'm sure she will, eventually."

Natalie switched the faucet off, "Is she excited for Arizona's surgery?"

She blinked. She figured Arizona would have mentioned that conversation.

It wasn't really a big deal. The two mothers had sat Sofia down one night after dinner to tell her the news. At first, she had been scared, and apprehensive. Sofia was around surgeons all the time, but that didn't mean it didn't strike a form of fear in the little girl. It had taken a few minutes of Arizona assuring her that she would be fine, and that it was going to help Mommy feel better and be able to do more fun stuff with her. Sofia had understood eventually, and even got a little excited.

Working with kids all her career gave the blonde an edge.

Callie nodded, "Yeah, she was a little scared at first. But I think we're okay. It helps that Arizona's parents are visiting." Brown eyes made a side glance at the other woman, who was once again, giving her that look. She quickly looked away, drying her hands.

"Yeah, well that should be fun for her. Grandparents are well –" Natalie shrugged, "Grandparents. They kind of make everything better."

"Right," Callie smiled briefly, "Well," she made towards the door, "I'll see you later."

Natalie nodded, a hint of a smile on her lips, "See ya."

She didn't think that scrub room could get any colder. Callie wondered if Arizona was going to introduce Natalie to Barbara and Daniel. It made her stomach hurt.

It had taken a few months for Barbara to warm back up to her again after the split. But Callie knew it was only for the sake of Sofia, and the small fact that she genuinely liked her. Daniel, on the other hand, was never the same towards her. Which she expected also, the older man being a Colonel, an honorable man through and through. And Callie was the wife who gave up the marriage and walked away from his only living child.

The thought even made her a little disgusted with herself.

###

Miranda Bailey sighed, along with a signature eye roll. She sent off a quick text before locking her phone.

"Robbins, it will be fine. Karev can handle the Peds Ward and I'll keep an eye on things to make sure of it."

"I'm not doubting Alex's abilities. I mean, I did train him myself. I just don't understand why I can't come back a week earlier."

They had been having this conversation for a couple of weeks now, and in no way, shape, or form was Miranda going to change the plan.

"Because you're having major surgery, that's why," the Chief stated bluntly, closing a binder bigger than her head. "Torres and Shepherd were very clear on how long you needed to be out for. I'm not gonna argue with them, they're the professionals."

"Yeah, but you're the Chief!"

Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"And you're a mother. So here's what you're going to do: you will have the surgery, you will be admitted here for 5 days. And then you will go home, where you will rest for the remainder of the process, while attending physical therapy. You will go to all your appointments with Shepherd. And then after that, she will clear you to come back to work."

She was a grown woman, but even Arizona couldn't prevent the sudden pout. She knew doctors made the worst patients, but even Arizona couldn't have foreseen the sense of stubbornness that clutched her in a stronghold. Perhaps it was because she was getting closer to the surgery date, which made her nervous than she'd like to admit to anyone.

Just the thought of not cutting for that long gave her anxiety.

"How about…we see how I'm doing. And if Amy signs off on it, I come back early…?

"Arizona, relax. It's a simple procedure that Amelia has done a dozen times already. All your patients have been rerouted to other physicians that are just as qualified as you. And you said so yourself, Karev can handle things. Now just do what I say!"

A knock on the door interrupted Arizona's retort. She turned just in time to see Callie peek her head out.

"Bailey, you wanted to see me?"

Miranda smirked, standing up and straightening her lab coat.

"Torres, get in here and tell Arizona she's not coming back to work early."

Arizona gasped, "Bailey!"

"I have a patient to check on, and when I get back you two better not be here. Robbins, you're not coming back early. I want you healthy more than I want you here." And with that the Chief of Surgery rounded her desk, looked at Callie pointedly, and left.

Arizona didn't need to look to know Callie was looking at her with disapproval. It's kind of weird still knowing someone so well, when you really shouldn't.

Callie exhaled, "She's right, you know."

The blonde rolled her eyes, "I do. Doesn't mean I like it."

Arizona having surgery didn't sit well with her either. But Callie knew that this time was different. It was honestly a simple procedure that Amelia was more than capable of performing. But nevertheless, it was surgery, on her brain. The thought kept her up at night more than she would admit, but truthfully, she knew it would all be okay.

Callie stared out of the big windows, trying to find anything that she could say to release the burden that she just knew weighed heavily on Arizona's shoulders. Maybe it wasn't her place, but Callie had made a promise to herself (and Dawson), that she would just do what felt right.

"Deluca still volunteering for Sofia's soccer practice?" the brunette asked.

Arizona snorted, "Yeah, as if he could get out of that." The intern really was wrapped around Sofia's finger. He had gotten off a 12-hour shift and made it just in time to the soccer field. The guy took pinky promises seriously.

Callie chuckled, "Okay, meet me in the lobby in fifteen minutes."

The blonde shrugged, "Why?"

"Just…trust me."

###

Amelia was dissecting a patient's MRI while contemplating motherhood when a blur of navy made its way to her peripheral. Should she want to have a baby with Owen? He was her husband, but she also kind of…well she just kind of met him. And they had just gotten back together, sort of, before the wedding. The wedding that she almost ran away from. It was all very confusing.

"Quick, distract me. Where are you off to in such a hurry? Please tell me it's a hot date with a smoking woman who gave you exactly five minutes to be ready before you suffer immense but oh-so-dirty pleasure."

The snort in response was enough to make the neurosurgeon deflate.

"I think you've been reading too much erotica."

"Or living it," Amelia smirked. "But seriously, where's the fire?"

Callie pulled her jeans and top on in record time and was reaching for her jacket before she finally answered. "Arizona's waiting for me in the lobby."

"Not exactly the answer I was expecting…care to elaborate?"

"She's running around like a chicken with her head cut off lately, in case you haven't noticed. And she just tried to get Bailey to let her come back to work early, before she's even on leave. She's nervous. So we're hanging out."

Amelia blinked, "Hanging out? Do you guys do that?"

"Well – no," Callie admitted. "But it's partly my fault she's on edge. And Natalie's on call tonight. I just want to take her mind off it, so she doesn't worry any more than she has been."

The neurosurgeon shrugged, "She shouldn't worry. It's not like I'm still on drugs…"

…

"On that note, I am leaving. Goodnight." After working closely with Amelia these past few months, Callie realized that it was very easy to get sucked down the rabbit hole.

Plus Arizona was waiting.

###

"I'm trying to be a good sport, but I have to ask: how is this supposed to be relaxing?"

Callie couldn't help but roll her eyes. They had been walking for only 5 minutes before the blonde started huffing and puffing, not saying a word until now. The fact that she had no idea where they were going or what they were doing might have made it worse. It wasn't Callie's intention, she figured it was pretty obvious.

"Well maybe if you weren't wearing those shoes you wouldn't be complaining."

Arizona looked down at her ankle booties. "It's not the shoes, it's the fact that I have to wonder if you're about to kill me and then leave my body to rot in the middle of the woods."

"Because I'm going to do that and then eat this whole pizza by myself. And quit whining, we're almost there."

They passed a few joggers but finally made it to the top of the hill overlooking Seattle. Thankfully no one was sitting on the single bench. Their bench.

Arizona sat down and exhaled, taking in the view. It had been too long since she had been up here. She forgot how peaceful it was.

"Did you get extra pepperoni?"

"What do you think?" Callie flipped the lid open to reveal her answer.

The aroma made her mouth water. Arizona hadn't realized how hungry she was until now. She had been on autopilot for what seemed like forever that it was nice to just sit, and eat of course. The fact that Callie made a point to take her here was a nice bonus too.

Callie was halfway through her third slice before coming up for air, "So when are your parents coming?"

"Day after tomorrow."

Callie coughed up some of her root beer, "That's like, soon!"

Arizona shrugged, finishing her crust, "Yeah. I mean, my surgery's kind of soon in case you forgot."

"I guess I didn't know they were coming that early."

"They wanted to spend some time with Sofia while I finish up work before my leave. Plus Dad's pretty excited about the surgery. He's been reading up on it a lot more since I told him I was thinking about it."

"Really?"

Arizona shook her head, "Why do you always sound so surprised? This project is kind of a big deal. You're a big deal."

"I know it's a big deal. I just didn't expect your dad of all people to be so interested in it, especially since it kind of has to do with me."

"We're both to blame. Trust me, Dad wasn't that happy with me for a long time. But, he's glad that we're co-parenting without any drama and that Sofia is happy, which is all you can ask for with the situation."

"So, you and your dad are okay now?"

Although her ex-wife had a pretty good childhood, Callie knew the blonde strived to make her dad proud, always. Even in adulthood, disappointing your parents just does something to you. Callie was still dealing with it herself.

"Yeah, I can't say it would've worked out this way before but he's softened up in his old age," Arizona smirked. "He's learned to let more things go. So don't worry, he's not going to berate you."

Callie scoffed, "I wasn't worried about that."

"You totally were."

"Well I figured there would be some hostility. But I guess since this surgery was my idea I might be a little off the hook. Natalie on the other hand…"

"Yeah," Arizona mumbled, "I don't know how that's going to go. They know about her, but I don't have time to worry about that."

"I'm sure they'll love her. I have yet to find a flaw anywhere on her. Trust me, I looked," Callie snorted, picking at a pepperoni before realizing she said that out loud. One day, she would stop doing that. Maybe. If she closed her eyes long enough, she could picture Mark's stupid smirk, telling her to go on and continue to embarrass herself with the word vomit.

"They're here for me, and Sofia. I'm sure they don't have a problem with her," the blonde chuckled. "I'm sorry, I'm just remembering the fights we got into over Natalie, and here you are, complimenting her."

"What can I say? I've grown," the brunette replied, taking a sip of her root beer. "I might as well, since she's still around."

Her parents meeting Natalie weighed on her mind a lot more than she would ever admit to anyone. Natalie was potentially the 4th person to ever meet Arizona's parents. Mainly because the blonde never thought anyone serious enough to introduce. Her parents didn't really need to meet the neurosurgeon, but seeing as she would be in the hospital for part of their stay, and her girlfriend worked in the hospital, potentially running into each other was inevitable.

Natalie was great, but her parents could be a bit much, especially her mom. The older woman meant well, but after she split with Callie, her mom wanted Arizona to desperately settle down. The blonde wasn't sure if anyone could hold a candle to Callie in her mom's eyes, but nevertheless Barbara continued to bombard her with questions about her dating life.

"Anybody caught your eye lately?"

"No, and I can honestly say I'm okay with that. I guess I rushed into dating too soon. I should've taken more time and just focused on myself."

Her sessions with Dawson made the brunette realize that she did tend to jump from relationship to relationship. When she was in high school, that was just the thing to do, same thing with college. Med school was a little different. There were no boyfriends, but there were always the regular hookup or friends with benefits. There was always somebody.

Maybe she just loved the idea of being loved, or even wanted by another. It validated her when it shouldn't have.

Arizona shrugged, "Well, they say when you least expect it, someone comes along…" So far she had the misfortune of seeing Callie kiss three separate women. Doesn't mean it didn't do something to her each time, but she had built a thick skin. If she was honest, Callie taking a break from dating gave her a little bit of relief.

Was it fair? Absolutely not, but she would come back to that later.

"I'm just not going to worry about it and focus on my bad-assery. And to make sure you don't come back to work before you're supposed to," Callie answered smugly.

"I can't believe Bailey told on me…"

"She's just doing her job, as a friend and Chief. Sure, you'll be a little antsy, but it won't be that bad."

The blonde flicked the zipper on her jacket, "I guess so…"

"I can't wait for you to start walking," Callie beamed, "You're gonna notice such a huge difference, I promise."

"That's kind of what I was hoping for. I've been able to get by the last few years, it's never really bothered me. But if I can feel just a little bit better after being on my feet for 14 hours, then it'll be worth it. Thanks for getting me out here. I guess I really needed it." The fresh air had done her some good, along with the pizza and perhaps, good company.

Callie shrugged, "You weren't that bad. A little pouty, but not a complete pain in the ass." She tossed the empty pizza box and bottles in the nearby trashcan.

"My pouting never bothered you if I remember correctly," the blonde retorted, straightening her jacket. If anything, it got more things accomplished for the blonde.

"No," Callie agreed, "Just your whining."

The pair chuckled as they walked back down the trail they came from in comfortable silence. There were still a few stray joggers with the occasional person walking their dog for the evening.

Perhaps this was just what she needed, time with someone that knew her. Like really knew her. The fact that that person happened to be her ex-wife was a little weird, but Arizona figured it would only be awkward if they let it. And Callie offered after all.

She spent countless nights, laying in bed, stressing about the surgery, her patients, the rehab. How would she feel when she woke up? What if her nerves weren't as reactive as they all thought? What if the pain was worse than what she was dealing with now? Releasing control was hard for her, especially when it took her so long to get it back. It wasn't something she was willing to just hand over to somebody else, even if those someone's were Callie and Amelia.

It was a process.

"You should come over for dinner while my parents are here. I'm sure my mom would love to catch up with you," Arizona commented, buckling her seatbelt.

"And what about your dad? I bet he'd love to glare at me pointedly across the table."

"How about…if I promise you that he will behave, you'll come over for dinner? That way we can all spend time with Sofia, you know my parents are going to hog her the whole time they're here."

Callie shrugged, turning into the parking garage of the hospital, "I'll consider it, if you promise to stop worrying." The car swerved into a neighboring spot next to Arizona's car.

"I'm…working on it."

"Just trust me, you've got this."

Arizona nodded, "I do trust you. But…you know me," she smirked meekly.

Callie smiled, "Yeah, I do…"

The blonde inhaled, unbuckling your seat belt, "Thanks for taking me to the park, and the pizza."

"You're welcome, thanks goin with me. Now go home, get some sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Arizona bit her lip nervously, glancing in the direction of her car. Clearing her throat, she turned back and extended her left arm to reach around the other woman's shoulders. And in what felt like forever, Arizona hugged her close.

It was like the breath had been completely knocked out of the brunette. A simple thanks was good enough. Callie could not have predicted this, but she couldn't help but welcome it. She hugged the blonde back, rubbing little circles around her back like she used to.

"Seriously, thank you," Arizona murmured.

Callie nodded slightly, "I know. Just try to relax, it's going to be okay."

"I'll try," Arizona pulled away slowly, "You'll call before Sofia goes to bed tonight?"

"Of course."

"Okay," the blonde smiled, "Goodnight." A tan hand raised in goodbye as the door shut. She made sure Arizona was in her car before backing out and making her own drive home. It wasn't until she pulled into her driveway that she realized her heart was still racing.