Chapter Nine: Surgical History
"Yesssss!" Arizona squealed, feeling like a kid on Christmas morning as she put down her phone. "They approved the conjoined twins separation surgery for tonight."
"Tonight?" Callie repeated, setting her fork down on the tray.
"We've only been practicing for a week straight, Torres," Herman pointed out, "Don't act like we're rushing it."
"No, it's not that," The brunette corrected, dismissing the older woman's comment. "I'm flying out with Sofia to see Dad for his birthday today. They've both been looking forward to it for weeks."
"Oh yeah," The fetal surgeon realized with a pit in her stomach, disappointment evident in her voice. "You won't be able to make it."
"Maybe I can change our flight to tomorrow," Callie offered, trying to find a solution, "We'll just celebrate his birthday late."
"No, no it's okay," The blonde said, trying to hide her true feelings with a small smile. "Your dad will kill me if I take away his favorite daughter and granddaughter on his birthday. You should go."
"You sure?" The brunette asked, studying her ex-wife's face. "I can change our flight. I'm sure being a day late won't matter that much."
"She'll be fine," Herman assured, "I'll be here to take over if she screws up."
"You can't even see!" Arizona protested, half smiling at the older woman's arrogance, "What would you do?"
"It's an in utero surgery," The renowned fetal surgeon clapped back, "You won't be seeing the babies with your naked eyes either, dumb-ass." They all laughed and despite the fact that Dr. Herman really wouldn't be able to take over the surgery if something bad happened, Arizona felt a little more relaxed.
. . .
The cool water poured over Arizona's bare fingers as her stomach flip flopped. Pushing away the anxious thoughts, she started to scrub on soap, meticulously cleaning under her fingernails.
"Hey," Estie appeared at her side, the young surgeon's hand on the small of her back, "We've got this."
"You think so?" The blonde asked, glancing through the window at the pregnant woman prepped on the OR table. There were so many ways it could go wrong. Walking into that OR was like entering an Olympic stadium, she was either going to win gold or she was going to fail spectacularly with a massive audience.
"I didn't spend all my time in the lab just staring at your boobs," The younger surgeon teased with a laugh, turning on the water in front of her and getting her hands wet. "We've practiced this surgery with success before. And everybody knows you play how you practice."
"You play how you practice," Arizona repeated, nodding as she took a steadying breath. It was going to be okay. It had to be.
"Dr. Robbins," A scrub nurse appeared at the door, "We're ready for you." Arizona nodded and took another breath.
"I'll be right behind you," Estie promised comfortingly, applying soap to her hands vigorously. "We're in this together." The blonde surgeon nodded before passing into the sterile environment. The lights seemed extra bright and she squinted, her eyes adjusting to the harsh light. A small team of surgeons formed a loose circle around the table, giving her space.
"Here we go, Herman," Arizona said, her eyes falling on her mentor across the table to her left.
"Let's make surgical history, Robbins," The older woman pronounced, her confidence bolstering Arizona's. Estie entered the OR, hands up as scrub nurses helped her with her gown and gloves before taking her place across from the blonde.
"Hello everyone," Arizona began, looking up at the crowded gallery of esteemed doctors, her eyes searching for her ex-wife's face even though she knew she wasn't there. "We are going to separate conjoined twins in utero for the first time today." She looked down at the womb exposed in front of her, pushing the crowd out of her mind.
"Let's give these kids separate lives." She said with genuine excitement, reminding herself of the big picture. "Dr. Wren will insert the first probe." The younger surgeon picked up the probe and the surgery began. The scalpel and cauterizer were placed and Dr. Robbins made the incisions slowly and precisely.
"We will now gently pull the first baby's hand out of the arm," Arizona narrated, turning the scalpel so that the sharp edge was away from the baby's arm before gently pushing it up. It began to move slowly and the whole room held a collective breath. The scalpel was pushed down roughly suddenly as the baby moved it's arm and the blonde surgeon narrowly avoided nicking the second baby with the scalpel.
"What the hell is going on with the anesthesia?!" Arizona barked, turning to look at the anesthesiologist as she tried to keep panic out of her voice.
"Nothing," The male doctor replied, looking over his readings, "Everything is still showing up normal."
"Then why is the baby moving?" Estie asked the obvious to the room in general as Arizona's mind raced, trying to diagnose the problem.
"I think the baby's just moving involuntarily," She concluded with more conviction than she felt, "Baby number one's hand has tightened around baby number two's arm. If we wait, the grip should loosen and we can successfully pull out her hand." The next few moments felt like an eternity as everyone watched the camera monitor, staring at the baby's arm.
"C'mon baby," Arizona murmured encouragingly, "You're going to feel so much better on your own." The baby's arm relaxed a second later, as if it had heard the fetal surgeon's instructions. A wide smile spread across the blonde's masked face.
"That's it, baby," She nodded, moving the scalpel into position again. "Be ready with that cauterizer, Wren." The honey blonde nodded wordlessly, adjusting the instrument into position. Slowly, ever so slowly, she began to pull the first baby's hand out of the other's arm. A wrist came into view, then the thumb was free, and finally the whole five-fingered hand came into the camera's scope. A round of applause erupted from the gallery and the surrounding surgeons.
"And that," Arizona declared, removing the scalpel from the womb slowly and flashing her trademark smile up to the crowd in the gallery, "Is how you do it."
. . .
"I just pulled one baby's hand out of the other's arm!" Arizona squealed, pure and genuine elation bubbling up within her. "I was incredible! I completed the first successful conjoined twin separation in utero!"
"Hell yeah we did!" Estie yelled above the din of the other surgeons celebrating around them, amped up on the surgery and drinks they were enjoying. "You kept your cool through that complication like you'd done it a million times before."
"Any donor would be stupid not to fund the center, we won't even have to worry about it anymore," The blonde took another large swallow of her drink, turning to embrace her mentor. "We're legends, Herman! Living legends!"
"To the legends!" Estie yelled, popping a new bottle of champagne, the sticky foam spraying everywhere.
"I'm going to head home before you two - or anyone else - kill me," Herman griped, heading for the door before pausing and turning back to her mentee. "You were truly remarkable, Arizona. I could not be more proud of my teaching." Then she was gone. The two surgeons looked at each other, stunned by Herman's genuine compliment.
"She thinks I'm remarkable," Arizona repeated, dumbfounded, "She has never called me by my first name before."
"Damn straight you're remarkable!" Estie exclaimed, nudging the other doctor playfully, "That was years coming."
"Hell yeah it was!" The blonde agreed, jumping up and down as someone started playing music. Estie passed her a glass of champagne, desperately trying to engrave the open and happy expression on Arizona's face in her mind forever. She'd never felt this sense of elation before. Arizona brought out the best in her in every way and in that moment Estie was sure she'd never find anyone else like the fetal surgeon celebrating in front of her.
"Scottie," The honey blonde said, trying to get the other woman's attention. "Stop jumping so I can kiss you." Arizona stopped, looking at the young surgeon in shock. The peds surgeon took advantage of the moment, her lips connecting with the blonde's as warm fireworks exploded across her entire body. The tingling sensations coursing through her were ten times more powerful and intoxicating than she had ever felt before. She pressed her lips against Arizona's with increasing insistence, desperate for more of the fetal surgeon's addicting softness.
"Estie," The blonde breathed against her mouth as the peds surgeon paused for air before capturing the other's mouth again and letting her hands roam the woman in front of her, transported to a paradise she never knew existed.
"Stop," Arizona said firmly, pushing the young surgeon back as gently as she could. "You're not the one I want to be celebrating like this with." Blue eyes met green that went dark with hurt.
"I'm sorry," The blonde offered softly, pushing through the crowd to the door without looking back. The peds surgeon stared at the other woman's retreating form, her heart pounding in her chest as she took quick shallow breaths, fighting back tears. Her whole world had just shattered in an instant.
. . .
"Oh my god you're kidding!" Callie squealed, causing a huge grin to spread across Arizona's face for the umpteenth time that night, "The chief offered you a permanent job?!"
"Right then and there," The blonde confirmed, hardly trusting herself to speak as tears welled up in her eyes. This was it. All her dreams were coming together. "He said I can start on Monday unless I want to take time to celebrate."
"You know that might be a good idea," Callie suggested, a cheeky smile spreading across her face, "We are going to celebrate, hard."
"Stop!" Arizona whined, putting her hand to her smiling cheeks as she blushed, "My cheeks hurt!"
"Soon that won't be the only thing that hurts," Callie implied, raising her eyebrow suggestively. Arizona narrowed her eyes at her ex-wife, biting her lip to keep from smiling again.
"For god's sakes Callie," The brunette's father complained, "I'm sitting right here."
"Happy Birthday Carlos!" Arizona called out as Callie turned the camera towards him, "Was it a good one?"
"Of course it was!" Sofia interjected, coming onto the screen, "We took him to get his favorite ice cream with sprinkles!" The blonde leant back in her chair, listening to her daughter go on about everything they had done together. If only every day could be this good. She thought contentedly.
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And y'all were SO WORRIED she was going to sleep with Estie! Please. Arizona has really changed and this proves it. She's totally committed to Callie and my Calzona heart is singing lol. What did you think? Do you feel for Estie at all or is it good riddance? Want more of Callie with her dad? Also isn't it damn good to see Arizona back in the OR?