A/N: Have you guys been keeping up with season 17? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to watch it, but Instagram has been successful in giving me major spoilers, so I feel like I'm all caught up.

Disclaimer: I do not have much knowledge about medicine. So, please don't take the medical stuff here at face value.

Chapter 12: Callie

Present day

Last night's dinner was great. Since Mama O'Malley took Finn all over the city, he was pretty beat when I got to her house. In fact, I had to force food down his throat because he was so sleepy. Now I know, I could have just let him sleep without dinner but then he'll just wake me up in the middle of the night asking to be fed. So, I kept him up until he finished his dinner and let him fall asleep in one of the rooms.

I was supposed to take him back to the hotel after I was done, but I was tired too, so I slept at her house, because of which, now I'm running late… like really late.

I called up a resident from the car and told her to prep the patient, I don't want to delay the surgery more than I already have.

I quickly parked my rental in the parking lot and took off running towards the changing room. God, I want coffee. I mean I already had a cup this morning, but with trying to get Finn ready and going through my surgical notes, I barely realized when I inhaled the whole mug.

That kid is a handful. I don't remember Sofia ever being this bad. But then again, with Sofia I had Mark and Arizona and we played tag team with the baby. Now I'm playing zone defense. Finn doesn't cry or whine, but he has a smart mouth and so much curiosity that it's deadly. My father says that Finn reminds him of me when I was child, but I was never this bad. Was I?

After I finished scrubbing in, I entered the OR. This surgery is going to be even better than tomorrow because there are no cameras and there are relatively less people in the gallery. My eyes fell on one person as I was gloved and gowned.

"Dr. Robbins, I'm glad you took up my offer to join me in surgery today" I said as I approached the patient.

My today's team included Dr. Link, Dr. Kim, Dr. Grey and of course Dr. Robbins.

Arizona looked up at me.

"Well of course Dr. Torres, I couldn't have let an opportunity like this slide" she replies.

"Wow, and this isn't totally weird at all" I heard Meredith whisper.

I chuckled but I don't think anyone got that because of my mask. Meredith and I have come really far. I remember, I literally hated her guts and she hated me from the bottom of her heart or so I thought. And now look at us, look how far we have come.

She pulled for me when I needed to talk to Sofia. She was there for me after I found out about Arizona cheating on me, when I went through with the divorce and of course the custody battle. I didn't think that I… would be good friends with… Meredith freaking Grey!

"Watch it Dr. Grey, I heard Dr. Webber has been taking interest in my surgeries as well"

I approached the patient as I took the scalpel in my hand and started cutting.

"Who in this entire hospital hasn't been taking interest in your surgeries?"

"Really? You and Ortho? When did that happen?"

"When you started making people walk"

I looked at Arizona, she was being awfully quiet.

I'm still worried about us.

I'm still worried that if we start talking, we'll end up fighting and I cannot fight with her, not right now. She just agreed to let me see my daughter and I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize that.

"I heard you went to George's house?" Meredith asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, it was strange because I never went to his house when we were married"

"Yup, you just walked around naked in my house"

Oh yeah. When George and I were dating, I was living at the hospital but then the chief found out about my living situation and had to move out. George was kind enough to let me stay with him, until he wasn't.

"God, that feels like ages ago" I replied. I loved conversations like these during hectic procedures, it makes things go smoothly. I was just a tiny bit disappointed that the one I wanted to speak the most had sown her mouth shut.

"Yeah, we didn't really like each other back then, did we?"

"Nope, if someone would have told me then, that we'd be friends in the future, I would have laughed at them" I said as I looked up from my work.

"We were just a little protective of George, that was all"

"A little protective? I claimed your underwear and you still gave me crap!"

"You did what?" Arizona asked looking up from the patient.

Out of all the conversations in the world, this is what gets her attention? Meredith's underwear? Well better this, than nothing.

"Oh yeah! Bailey was so mad at everyone and Cristina had just gotten caught stripping for Burke, she was sure that the underwear belonged to either Cristina or me" Meredith replied.

"Really? You guys definitely knew how to live it up in your residency years" Arizona chimed in.

"You know it was Addison who put your underwear up on the notice board, right?" I asked.

"Addison put up your underwear on the noticeboard?" Arizona asked. It's strange how I never really talked about this before.

"I figured. She could have been the only one who could have put my underwear on the lost and found section of the noticeboard"

"Lost and found? God that's hilarious!" Arizona laughed. God, I missed that sound.

"Come to think of it, I never really thanked you for doing that," Meredith said.

"And how would've that gone? 'Callie, I shall remain eternally grateful for pulling out my black lacy panties and handing them back to me, thank you so so much' is that how you would've done it?" I asked as I mocked her.

"No, it's you who should have been eternally grateful"

"What?"

"I remember, you asked me not to tell George that they were my panties because he thought those panties were yours and kept wondering how come he hadn't seen those yet and got jealous which you found that insanely hot" Meredith said.

I looked up at Arizona and found her staring at me. It was true, I found jealousy hot. If someone got jealous it meant that they cared, that they got slightly possessive over you. When someone got jealous, I felt like I mattered to them.

"I think I said cute, not hot"

"Shame how that turned out" Meredith replied.

Really Mer? You want to bring up infidelity in the OR with my ex-wife standing right next to you.

"Oh yeah, he literally called me fat to my face" I said trying to take the conversation in another direction than everyone who I marry ends up cheating on me.

"What?!" both Meredith and Arizona exclaimed.

"Remember when I broke up with George and was living at the Archfield?"

"Yeah?"

"Well George came over and asked me what my problem was and why I was being so insecure"

"You weren't being insecure," Meredith says.

Only I was being a little insecure, well a whole lot insecure.

"I told George that it was Izzie who was causing all the problems in our marriage and was clearly attracted to him" I said as I tool a deep breath "He told me that Izzie was a supermodel, tall, hot and blonde why would she ever go out with him"

"That's crazy you are beautiful" that wasn't Meredith's voice.

Did Arizona just call me beautiful?

"I guess it must have made you feel better when your dad shoved him into a wall" Meredith replied.

"Oh yeah! That felt great" I said.

Does Arizona still have feelings for me?

I cannot do this right now. I can't entertain the idea of us when I have Finn and now Sofia. We are too fragile, we have always been too fragile, the situation fucked us over and left a huge whole in our hearts, or at least mine.

I can't think about this crap, I have way too many things on my plate. I have my research, my practice, my surgeries and most importantly I have Finn and Sofia. And they are all that I'll ever need.

Four Years Ago

I continue pacing back and forth in my tiny apartment. I should do it. I should just pick up my damn phone and call. That's it, it's very easy. I go to my bedroom and get my phone.

"Nope, no I can't do it"

I put my phone away. This is stupid. Why am I being like this?

Today is my daughter's fifth birthday, her first birthday without me. Arizona called me last month and left a message about what I wanted to do about Sofia's birthday. But I'm still pissed at her. She doesn't have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do when it concerns our daughter. That message just… well it infuriated me.

Suddenly now she's giving me the choice about what I want to do for her birthday. I face-timed Sofia last week when she had a playdate with Zola and Maggie was watching them. I got to speak to her for a good half an hour before Zola called Sofia to show off her new doll.

I should just pick up the phone and call Arizona, but I really don't want to talk to her. Not yet at least.

Sofia's last birthday was horrible. We had decided to celebrate it here in New York because I had a very busy schedule and couldn't fly to Seattle. Sofia was crying the entire day because she missed her friends, Arizona and I were at each other's throats and Penny was looking after Sofia which made everything worse, because Sofia told me that she didn't like Penny.

Now that Penny is no longer in the picture, I should be able to go back to Seattle or get her here. But Arizona and I never let Sofia fly alone, she's too young and I guess that one horrible experience with a plane has given us enough trauma, so we just avoid it all together.

Alright, I'm calling her. I pick up the phone, search for Arizona's number and hit the call button.

Just then the baby monitor went off as Finn's cries took over the entire apartment. I cut the call and rushed to his crib to pick him up.

He has the most gorgeous blue eyes and wispy blonde hair. When I was looking for a sperm donor, I was just looking for a clean bill of heath and a smart guy. But the universe decided to screw me over and… Well I can't do anything now can I?

I carry Finn over to the living room and stand in front of a picture on the wall. The picture we took when we first brought Sofia home. In the photo, I have Sofia in my arms with Mark standing in the centre and Arizona beside him smiling widely at the camera.

Penny and I used to fight about having that picture up. She said that she didn't want a picture of two of my exes in an apartment that we shared. That was one of the reasons that made me give up on us. Arizona and I may not like each other, but I share my daughter with her. Whether I like it or not, she's an important part of my story and so is Mark. He was my best friend, he still is.

I look down at Finn in my arms as he gurgles and kicks his feet around,his crying has already subsided.

"See that? That was supposed to be your family little guy"

Finn looks up at the photo for a second before his eyes focus on my face.

"You were supposed to have two mommies who loved you to the moon and back. And you see that guy, with a huge smile? He was supposed to be your Uncle, the one who would teach you crazy things that Arizona or I wouldn't have approved of. Your Uncle Mark would have taken you all over the hospital, trying to score chicks by your cuteness or well… trying to win Lexie back"

I felt my eyes tearing up as I thought about Mark. I miss him. I miss him so much.

"This was the family I couldn't give you. This is the family you deserve, maybe someday we'll find something similar to this, but for now. It's just you and me buddy and I guess that's enough, for now"

Present Day

"There's a call for you Dr. Torres" one of the nurses says.

Great! What did Finn do now? Did he break one of his bones because of those dumb wheelie sneaks? Damn! I should have gotten rid of them when I had the chance.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's Dr. Avery"

"Jackson? isn't he in the hospital? Why didn't he just come into the OR?"

"Dr. Torres, he's in Boston and he says it's urgent"

"Put him on speaker" I said before the nurse obeyed. "What is it Jackson?"

"Callie, I'm so sorry to call you mid surgery, but this is important-"

"Just get to the point Jackson!" I didn't mean to cut him off, it's something that I have been working on. But he's kind of being annoying.

"We have scheduled an emergency board meeting tomorrow and a press release. Now I know you are not working tomorrow, but the foundation would really appreciate it if you could come"

"What? I gave Arizona the right to make board decisions on my behalf, can't she do it?" I paused. This is where Arizona and I would start fighting again. She told me that I often made decisions on her behalf. I looked at her "If that's okay with you, of course"

"Umm, yeah I don't mind" she replied.

"No offence Arizona, but we really need Callie tomorrow, it's just that your research is attracting a lot of attention. If you were present for the press release, it could help bringing in a lot of money for the hospital and I will make sure that a percentage of the money goes to your research"

"So… we are talking about a press release? In front of people? And mics? And cameras?" I asked timidly.

"Yes, but also a board meeting in which we can discuss what we want to tell the press"

I gulped.

I haven't recovered from yesterday's surgeries and all the publicity that came with it. I'm not ready for this.

"Don't worry, you got this" I looked up and saw Arizona smiling at me. She had a twinkle in her eyes, something that I haven't seen since our divorce.

"Umm… okay Jackson, I… I'll be there" I replied.

"Great, thank you Callie" Jackson replied before he cut the call.

I let out a deep breath before I closed my eyes for a while. I have so much I need to do. I wanted to take Finn out to the park tomorrow, I had my entire schedule freed up just so I could spend time with him.

I need to find someone who can take care of him. Damn it! Mama O'Malley is out for the weekend, does that mean I would have to bring Finn to the hospital and drop him off at daycare? I can't do that. I can't let anyone know about him. He's mine. He's my little secret and I can't let anyone in on it.

What am I going to do?

A/N: How was that? Please let me know in the reviews. Thank you so much for reading this story!