Chapter 29
"What do you mean someone shot him?" Callie asked, wrapping her arms tightly around the blonde. "He's okay, right?" She asked as the blonde cried into her shoulder.
"I.. I don't... know..." Arizona said in between sobs. "My mom.. she said.. it's bad."
"Oh. God, Arizona!" Callie didn't know what to say. She was feeling scared before she realized what was really going on and now she was feeling like an ass thinking Arizona was running from her. "Everything will be okay," she whispered into her ear. "It will," she said as she continued to say soothing things to her for several minutes until the woman calmed down. "What happened, Arizona?"
"I don't know exactly," It felt good to be able to fall into the woman's arms and let herself go if only for a minute. Pulling back from Callie, she looked around the room to see what she still needed to grab before she left. "I just know he was at the base working and someone came in and shot the place up, and now he's in the ICU," She said "I need to get there now." She wiped her face off with her robe as she focused her attention on leaving.
"What else do you need to pack?" She asked, walking over to the suitcase.
"I think I've got everything.. I hope I do, anyway," she sighed. "If I forget something, I can just buy it later. I need to call work, but I'll wait until I land." She said, quickly shedding her robe, not caring she was only in her underclothes.
"I can call work for you," Callie sat on the edge of the bed and listened to Arizona's nervous rambles as she got dressed, and then went through her things making sure she had everything. "Arizona," she whispered when she saw her hurriedly grabbing a few more items out of her nightstand as she muttered to herself. "Arizona," she said louder.
"What?" She spat, quickly turning around to face the brunette. Seeing the shocked look on Callie's face, she immediately felt sorry for snapping. "Sorry, I'm sorry." She sighed as she tried to get herself together.
"It's okay," Callie stood from the bed and made her way over to the woman. "You're scared, you're thousands of miles away, and you have no clue what's going on," she grabbed her hand. "But take a breath, okay?"
"I can't lose him," she looked down at her hands. "I mean, I know I complain that they're annoying and always bugging me about my life, but I can't lose him."
"Positive thoughts, okay," she said, squeezing the blondes hand. "Keep the faith."
"Yeah," she whispered as she kept her attention on their joined hands. "I need to go," she sighed, after a beat.
"I can come with you," Callie announced. "Just give me a minute to throw some things together."
"I'd like that," she finally looked up to her. "But we have a dog, and I don't know how long I'll be gone. We just can't leave him inside or outside and I don't have the time to take him to the kennel."
"We can call Kepner, or, or Meredith. She'd do it."
"I have to go now, Callie," she said sadly. "I can't miss this flight," she dropped the woman's hand so she could close her suitcase. "It's the only straight shot until tomorrow evening. I don't want to have to deal with layovers. You stay here and take care of our boy," she said as the dog jumped off the bed. "Everything will go well; I'll hopefully be back soon." She tried to convince herself.
"Let me take you at least." She said, not wanting to blonde to be alone. She really wanted to go with her, but she knew she'd make her late or possibly miss the flight and that was the last thing she wanted.
"Okay," Arizona said grabbing her bag and her phone. "I'm ready," she said taking a deep breath as she tried to keep herself in check. Right now was not the time to fall apart with a six hour flight ahead of her. "Come on, Poussey," she smacked her leg to get the dog to follow her.
"What are you doing?" Callie asked as the blonde and the dog started down the steps.
"He's coming; I don't want you driving back alone." She said as she walked down to the door with the dog by her side.
"I'm a big girl."
"I know, it's not for you, it's to ease my mind after I leave."
Callie grabbed the keys off the side table and followed them outside, she didn't argue with bringing the dog because she knew Arizona would worry about her being by herself, and if it took Poseidon to take a little weight off her shoulders she would do it.
As they started down the road, both women were lost in their own thoughts. Arizona was thinking of her father and Callie thinking of the blonde's family and also their predicament. She hated that things were up in the air with them, but now was not the time to worry about that.
After a few minutes of driving, Arizona reached over the dog that lay between them and held Callie's hand. She just wants to feel closeness to the woman before leaving town. "Still real, right?" She needed something to take her mind off things.
"Yeah," Callie sadly smiled back at her, and squeezed her hand. "It's still real." She confirmed. "Are you sure you don't want me to come? I can leave in the morning. I really don't like the thought of you all alone, Arizona."
"I won't be alone long, Callie, as soon as I land, I'll be with my mom," she looked out the passenger's side window as she watched the streets pass by her all the while clutching the Latina's hand.
"That's not what I mean," she said as she glanced over quickly. "You need someone there for you, to support you, to make sure you're okay." Callie was supposed to start interviewing possible hires and such for the bakery opening coming up, but she would put everything on hold in a second if Arizona needed her there.
"I'll be okay. He'll be okay," Arizona breathed, hoping it was true. "Right?"
"Right!" Or so she hoped so anyway. She didn't really know the severity of the shooting, but she sure as hell hoped everything would be okay for Arizona.
"He will," the blonde nodded as she saw the exit ramp for the airport. "He'll be okay, and I'll be back in a day or two. As soon as he's settled back at home I'll be back."
"You'll be back before you know it."
"Yep," she said as Callie drove up the airport.
After finding a close spot, the brunette got out of the truck and grabbed the blonde's bag as she said goodbye to the dog.
"Bye buddy," Arizona rubbed the dog on the head.
Callie just stood quietly behind her as she said her goodbye to him. She hates that Arizona had to leave like this.
"Well," she sighed as she turned and grabbed her luggage from the brunette. "Thanks for the ride."
"It's your truck," she chuckled as the blonde stepped closer to her.
"But still, you drove me here at four in the morning," she said taking a large breath. "Callie."
"No," she stopped her. "Just worry about your dad, okay?" She asked. She knew the blonde was thinking what she had been thinking. "We're good," she assured her. "Just focus on your dad, and as soon as he's better we'll talk about us, okay?" She asked as she caressed the blondes face.
"I hate leaving with so much still left up in the air."
"Me too, but this comes first."
"It does, but I can't leave without you knowing I want..." she sighed. Why was it so hard to tell this woman she wanted her? "I like you, and I want there to be an us." The thought of being with Callie made her so nervous, but it was a good nervous. "You want that, right?"
"Yeah," she softly said, nodding. "I think what we share is more than a friendship."
"Me too," she breathed a sigh of relief. "I have to go," she whispered. This was the last thing she wanted. Leaving everything up in the air between them was killing her, but she didn't have a choice.
"Call me as soon as you land?" Callie asked as Arizona brought her head closer to hers and rested their foreheads together.
"I will." Arizona said as she grabbed on the front of the woman's shirt, keeping her in place.
"And call me whenever you need to talk. Night or day, whatever it is I'm doing it's not too important to take a break and talk to you."
"I will, Callie." She spoke softly as she gave her a sad smile.
"Come here," she said, drawing the woman in for a hug. She knew Arizona was a state of shock and wasn't able to really think about anything other than her dad right now. "Have a safe flight." She whispered after their embrace.
"I'll call you as soon as I land," the blonde said, her eyes roaming down the the brunette red buds as she pulled at the handle of her luggage all the while she thought about tasting her lips once more before she left.
"Quit thinking so much." She could see the woman wrestling within herself.
"Can I kiss you goodbye?"
"You don't have to ask."
"Yes I do," she bashfully looked up at her. "You're an impeccable woman, and you deserve to be treated as such."
Callie smiled at the blonde's shyness, before swallowing thickly. "I hope you kiss me goodbye," She never pegged her for the shy type, and she absolutely loved that she made her feel that way.
"Yeah?" Arizona chuckled. She was never one to ask, she was always a doer, but she wanted to take things slow with Callie. She deserved to be treated like a woman and that's what she planned to do.
Leaning in they brought their lips together in a slow kiss. It wasn't languid, but it wasn't in haste either.
It was perfect.
"Bye." She whispered, pulling back from the kiss. She could definitely get used to kissing Callie.
"Bye, Arizona," Callie pecked her pink lips one more time. It seemed to be neither one could get enough, but both were still holding back.
"Bye," she grinned as she leaned in for just one more.
Callie couldn't help but laugh when the blondes giddy smile on her face as she pulled back from the kiss. "Please call me if you need me." She said, caressing the blonde's cheek.
"I will," Arizona said checking the time on her phone. "I've got to go," she whispered. "Bye, Callie." She said, finally letting loose of the brunette's hand as she stepped further away.
"Be careful," the Latina yelled as she stood by the truck and watched the blonde disappear into the building to catch her flight.
"Let's go home, boy." Callie sighed, petting the dog's head that was sticking out of the passenger side window.
Was it bad of her if she would openly admit she already missed Arizona? This was the first time they'd been away from each other besides when the blonde was gone to work and she was really going to feel the loss of the woman the next few days.
Landing in Boston around noon, Arizona shot Callie a quick text to let her know she had made it to the east coast safely with a promise to call after she checked on her dad. She knew the woman was still probably asleep and she didn't want to wake the brunette only to quickly hang up and be on her way.
After texting Callie, she quickly caught up with her mother at the baggage claim.
Barbara gave her daughter a quick embrace and a rundown of her dad's condition before making their way to the hospital.
Daniel wasn't well, but she was going to save Arizona from that heartache as long as she could. Her daughter was a doctor and she knew if she ran down all of Daniels ailments the blonde would know the severity of the situation.
So, for now, she put on a brave face just for the blonde in her life.
Arizona had tried to tell her mom she would take a cab, but her mother wasn't having it. She couldn't let her travel in the huge city she wasn't all too familiar with.
She and Daniel moved out east after their kids had left the nest, and although Arizona had visited on several occasions she still wasn't all too familiar with the area.
The drive from Logan International to Mass Gen wasn't but a few miles, and before she even realized it, they were in the elevator on the way to see her dad.
Feeling her phone vibrate in her back pocket, she pulled it out to see a text from Callie.
Glad you landed safely. :) You and your family are in my prayers. Call me when you have a minute to breathe. - Callie
She smiled when she read the message before quickly putting in back in her pocket only to feel it buzz again.
Oh, and I called April, she's covering for you this morning, and is also letting the chief know you'll be taking a few days. - Callie
Crap! That totally slipped her mind.
Just as the thought passed her mind another text came through along with a picture of Callie with Poseidon laying his head on top of hers.
Oh, and someone misses you. I won't say who though. :) He whined a lot when we got home. It was like he knew you left upset, he's okay now though. Anyway, enough of that. Go. Focus on your dad. - Callie
He's not the only one missing someone. - Arizona.
"Who's that?"
"Huh?" Arizona asked as she slipped her phone back on her pocket.
"Who keeps texting you?" Barbara asked as the elevator came to a halt. She couldn't help but notice the smile that graced her daughters face and she's play off it to keep her façade up.
She had kept her calm the last thirty minutes or so, but now that they were on the intensive care floor she was starting to become more nervous because she had to lower the boom her daughter.
"Umm, Callie," she shrugged off the question as they walked off the car.
"Callie?" She questioned. "She's the one you took in?" She asked as she started slowly down the floor. She could feel her heart start racing and her palms begin to sweat.
"I didn't take her in, per say. She needed a roof over her head and I... sheltered her," she shrugged as they continued their walk. She had talked to her mom about the brunette some, but her mother didn't know much more than that.
"Ah, so she IS the one you picked off the street."
"I gave her a home. You and dad were the ones who always taught us, if we have it, give it. I had room; I gave her a safe place to call home."
"Is a home the only thing you've given her?" Her mother asked. "I noticed your face when you read that message."
"Mom," she rolled her eyes. She didn't want to talk about her relationship with Callie because she herself didn't even know where they really stood. "She is my best friend. That's all."
"You like her!" She gasped, glancing in the rooms as they walked down the hallway until they came to the ICU doors.
"Mom, can we just... not right now?"
"So it's true," she smiled. "Someone's going to make you settle down before it's over."
"Mom," she sighed. "Please, let's just.. check on daddy and then maybe we'll talk later?"
"Okay," she agreed as they walked through the doors. "Arizona, honey.. I want to talk to you before we go in the room."
Arizona watched as her mother's face fell. The look of utter exhaustion had taking over for the first time since she saw her. "Mama, what's going on?" She asked as she felt her stomach hit the floor.
"Why?" She asked as she pulled back from her mother's arms where she had been crying for the past five minutes. "Why didn't you tell me when you called?" She asked, wiping her eyes as she looked to her mother's tear stained cheeks.
"Arizona sweetie," she sighed as she rubbed her daughter's arms, trying to calm her down. "I couldn't have you flying across country by yourself in hysterics," she said as she cried with her daughter. "Believe me honey, I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. I couldn't break your heart over the phone. You'll understand when you're older and have kids of your own someday," she said as pulled her crying daughter in for a hug again. "I couldn't tell my baby, who was three thousand miles away from me, that her father was being kept alive on life support over the phone," she said as her daughter cried harder. "I couldn't do it baby, and I'm sorry. I hope you understand."
"I'm mad, mama." She wasn't really upset at her mom for not telling her the truth because in all honesty she understood, but she was mad at situation.
"I know," she whispered. "I know, sweetie," Barbara continued to soothe her daughter for several long minutes until they both pulled themselves together enough to visit Daniel.
"Hey." Arizona breathed when she heard a voice on the line.
After a few hours of sitting with her mom and comatose father, Arizona walked out to the waiting room on the third floor to steal a few minutes for herself. She had been trying to wrap her mind around what was happening, but she couldn't really comprehend it at the moment. It was all just too much. It was like everything was going in warp speed and she just needed a minute to slow down.
Not even twelve hours ago she and her best friend had shared a kiss of a lifetime and now she was sitting in her lifeless father's hospital room. If she's learned anything in the past hours is that life changes in an instant. It turns on a dime.
"Hey," Callie said after she heard the exhaustion in the woman's voice. She had went to the bakery to clean up her mess she had left last night as she waited for Arizona's phone all. "Are you okay?"
"No," she whispered as she sat in her father's room as her strong, stoic, heroic, loving father laid in the bed as a machine breathed for him.
When she had come back into the room a little while ago, Barbara took the opportunity for a bathroom and coffee break so her daughter could have some alone time with her dad.
After some time alone with her dad she decided to give the brunette a call.
"Talk to me, Arizona," she said over the phone as she took a seat on the stool when she heard how defeated the blonde sounded. Callie hated she was so far away.
"He's.." She closed her eyes tight as she tried to hold herself together. She felt like she had cried enough in the past two hours "He's on life support," the words barely met the Latina's ear as a few tears slipped from her eyes.
"Oh, God," Callie gasped on the other end of the line. "He's going to be okay though, right?"
"I don't know, Callie." She said. She remembered her mom talking to her about her father's condition, but she couldn't comprehend anything at the moment. As soon as her father's actual condition came out, the doctor in her flew out the windows and daddy's girl took her place.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered as she heard the woman chock back a sob on the phone. "He'll be okay," she tried to convince her. "I knew someone once who was in a car wreck and was on life support, and now they're perfectly fine," she knew that was dumb to tell her that seeing she was a doctor, but she was trying to pull something out of her ass to comfort the blonde.
Damn it! Why did she have to listen to Arizona when she insisted she stay behind? She hated the thought of not being able to be there for her after everything Arizona had did for her.
"The doctor is supposed to come in and talk to us any minute now," she said, grateful that Callie was trying, but it really wasn't helping her mindset. "I really don't know what's going to happen," Arizona sighed as she dropped her head in her hand as she sat on the couch in the corner of the room while her mother sat by her husband's bedside and held onto his hand. "My mom, she's not the best with medical lingo and she's a mess, so I'm not making much sense out of what she's trying to explain. She's so frazzled, obviously. And when I ask a nurse what's going on with him they just keep telling me the doctor will be by to talk to us."
"I'm..." The brunette hesitated before speaking. "I'm coming out there."
"No," she shook her head. "I'm okay, Callie." She lied. She hated that she didn't bring her with her, but she didn't want her traveling alone either.
Since the Latina's attack last week, she didn't like the thought of the woman being alone at least right now, mainly for her own peace of mind at the moment.
Damn. That was only a little over a week or so ago? So much has happened in the past few days that it felt longer than that.
"Arizona, I know what you're thinking."
"How?" She exhaled dejectedly. "Because I don't even know what I'm thinking," she scoffed.
"You don't want me to travel by myself," she said as she waited for the blonde to confirm. "I'm okay, Arizona. I can come out there."
"I'm okay, Callie." She whispered. "Really! I'll be fine. Besides, you have a lot you need to get in order. You have interviews coming this week," she breathed. "I'm okay."
"Well, what if I'm not okay? I don't like that you're all the way across the nation right now and you're alone. You need someone besides your mom to talk to, to lean on." She waited for the woman to reply but didn't hear a peep out of her.
"I miss you," Callie continued. "And I'm constantly thinking about you. But not because of last night... well," she paused. "It is also because of that, but that's not the main reason. I'm worried, Arizona, I'm worried about you. You say you're okay, but I'm not sure that you are. I know you're hurting and I'm not there to help. I want to help you. I.." She sighed. "I suck at this if you can't tell," she whispered, hearing the blonde chuckled over the phone. "I want to be the person you run to when things go awry. Just like you are for me. Because you are.. you're the person who I want to tell everything too."
The blonde couldn't help but smile when the woman kept rambling on. It was sweet and it made her heart soar. "I miss you too, Callie." That felt good. Really good to hear those things. Especially now, when her world was crumbling. She had friends, amazing friends, but it felt good to have someone you cared deeply for tell you those things.
"You do?"
"Yeah," she couldn't help but sadly smile. "I do," she replied when she heard the vulnerability in the brunette's voice. "A lot," she said, hearing the woman sigh in relief in the phone. "Let's just wait first, okay?" She asked. "I want to see what his doctors say, and then we'll talk."
"Okay," the brunette agreed. "Please call me and let me know what they say, okay?"
"Okay, I'll talk to you soon."
Will Callie be able to stay away?
