Chapter 43 : Way Back Home

Arizona's POV

A week after learning of my father's cancer, the four of us boarded a plane to Washington, D.C., where my parents had lived for the past few years. The trip back to the United States was much sadder than the trip to Spain a few months earlier. Coming to Barcelona seemed like a new path and we could see all the possibilities that lay ahead.

On the plane, while Sofia was watching a cartoon on the screen in front of her and William was sleeping in Callie's arms, I couldn't help but bite my nails out of stress.

"Baby," Calliope said, putting her hand on mine, "are you okay?"

"No," I answered, looking into her eyes, "I still don't like travelling by plane and I'm really very scared!"

"I know you're scared, scared of the plane and scared of your dad dying, but I'm here. Don't worry, I'll be strong if you can't be."

"I know, Cal. You have always been my strength."

"In that case," Callie said in a voice so soft it instantly soothed me, "put your head on my shoulder. You can also put your hand on your son's skin, I want you to feel that you don't need to be strong right now."

I did what Callie had just suggested and as she had told me, it quickly soothed me. As Sofia saw us hugging, she joined us. I was really lucky to have them around me.

When we reached our destination, my mother rushed to me and we hugged each other. My father could not pick us up as he was still in the hospital awaiting his surgery.

We got into my mother's car and we all headed to the hospital where my father was. Once we arrived at the hospital, my mom went to have breakfast with Sofia and William so she could change her mind with her grandchildren. Meanwhile, Callie and I headed to my father's room to see how he was feeling.

Callie's POV

When we set foot in the room, we saw firsthand how weakened Colonel Daniel Robbins was because of his illness.

He had lost a lot of weight and the only expressions we could see on his face were pain. Arizona walked over to the bed and took her father in her arms.

"How do you feel, Colonel?" I asked, standing back so as not to disturb them.

"My dear Callie," he answered with a small smile, "you have the right to call me Daniel when I am in such a condition!"

"In that case," I corrected myself, "how do you feel, Daniel?"

"I feel pretty good thanks to the painkillers they gave me three hours ago but still feel somewhat tired."

"Dad," Arizona asked her father, "if you want, we can let you sleep for a few hours and then come back with the kids before your surgery."

"No way," Daniel refused, "I want to spend as much time as possible with the four of you. I haven't seen you for months."

"In that case," I agreed, "I'll go get the kids after they finish breakfast with your wife. In the meantime, I'll go talk to your surgeon; you two need to spend some time together."

Arizona looked at me with a big smile that meant, "Thank you for always understanding me without me having to say anything."

I left the room and went to see the surgeon who would operate on Daniel twelve hours later. He was a man in his fifties with a determined face.

"You're Dr. Patrick Link, aren't you?" I asked, before he nodded his head in agreement. "I'm Dr. Calliope Torres, Daniel Robbins's daughter-in-law. I'd like to know more about the surgery."

"To be quite honest, I am not totally optimistic. The tumor is quite difficult to access, and this tumor is quite close to large arteries. Nevertheless, the tumor is not very aggressive so we are confident that if we manage to remove everything, the tumor will not come back."

"Have you managed to come up with a strategy to remove it?"

"It's going to be a long process, but we've managed to find the ideal way to approach the operation. Don't worry about it!"

"Of course I worry about him, this man is a good man. The world would be a less good place without him."

"You don't have to worry about him for two reasons. First, your father-in-law is a strong man. I can see that he is fighting remarkably well. Second, I have decided to have one of the best surgeons in this hospital assist me with the tumor. She will be in the OR with me the whole time."

"May I ask which surgeon this is?"

"Dr. Erica Hahn, the head of cardiothoracic surgery at this hospital for the past few months."