Chapter 4 - Homecoming

Coming back to the starting point gave Arizona a strange feeling. Even though she could only feel at home back in the Emerald City, she felt like she had really changed since she left for Malawi, and she felt like this return was a step back in her evolution.

After collecting her suitcases, she got a cab to an apartment she had booked next to the hospital. It was a small duplex in a quiet neighborhood. On the first floor, there was a kitchen and a large, bright living room. Upstairs, there was a large bedroom with access to a small terrace from which one could see all the roofs of the city. She found a beer in the fridge that had been left there by the previous tenant, and then sat down on the terrace.

The cold wind she felt all over her body felt so good. She was never cold in Malawi and Arizona had always loved being a little cold. When she was little, on winter nights, she used to open the window while staying deep under her blanket. That feeling of being protected from the cold was so nice. She had missed it.

She drank the beer and then got into her bed. She needed a good night's sleep before she could face the next day.

The next day, she got up at the crack of dawn, took a shower to wake up her jet-lagged muscles, dressed in her best clothes, drank a cup of black coffee and headed for the hospital. She preferred to leave early because ever since she started living in Malawi, she had developed the habit of walking to work every morning. The walk was good for her. With each step, she saw a place that reminded her that she was finally back home. She did not even have to think about her journey to Seattle Grace. Her feet carried her on their own and before she could think about it, she was standing in front of this hospital, this place she had thought about every day.

She walked into the building and the first person she looked at was Alex. He approached her and stood in front of her without saying a word. They were both looking for something to say to each other.

"What was life like on the other side of the world?" He ended up saying.

"It was...different, I learned a lot and had the chance to change a lot of children's lives."

"I'm really happy that you were able to experience this kind of opportunity."

"What about you? How did these three years go?"

"At first it was complicated. Your successor was a complete jerk, but thanks to that, I had to learn to stand on my own two feet, and I hope I am now able to say that I have become a good surgeon anyway."

"I always knew you would become a good doctor."

"It will feel good to stop working with a bullshit doctor."

"Well," she concluded to change the subject and because these reunions with Alex moved her too much, "could you brief me on today's surgeries?"

"Of course," he explained, handing her a stack of files, "we will go to a conference room to discuss it. I thought it would take us a little while to talk so neither of us have anything to do this morning."

"As I can see," she continued as they began to walk, "you have also improved in terms of organization. I'm proud of you, Alex."

They sat down in a small conference room and began to review all of the current patients. Even though she was passionate about surgery, she could not help but look out the window and hope to see Callie.

"Callie does not work today." Alex informed her, quickly understanding why she was not looking at the CT scans. "She is at a conference all day."

"Great!" She answered, a little disappointed. "Let me try to focus back on...Beth Thomas and her kidney disease."

"Beth is a great kid. Both of her parents are bakers and they both must leave at 2 a.m. to bake bread, so her grandfather sleeps next to her so he can be there if she has a seizure. Beth has dreamed of going to summer camp with her best friends for years but because of her seizures when she sleeps, she cannot go. I scheduled the surgery now, so she has time to recover before camp this summer."

"This is a very cute story. When is the operation scheduled?"

"This afternoon. It will really change their lives!"

"I will be really proud to scrub in with you, to stand by and watch you do it."

"Thank you for your trust." Alex replied, with a look of pride in his eyes. "I promise I won't let you down and I won't let Beth Thomas down."

"You're a true surgeon now, Alex."

After looking at the charts of all the patients who were going to have surgery in the next few days, they went to the OR to take care of this little girl. It was a complicated surgery, but she had complete confidence in Alex. He knew the case better than she did and was competent to handle it. Besides, she was still tired from jet lag and she didn't want her lack of sleep to affect the future of this family.

When the operation was completed after five hours, they went to tell the parents the good news. Her parents were all so happy and hugged them with all the tenderness and kindness they had in their hearts.

Alex suggested that they go to Joe's for a drink to celebrate her return to Seattle and the success of the operation. Arizona immediately agreed; she really needed to relax and have a good night out with Alex, who she had really missed over the past three years. They sat down at the bar, ordered a couple of beers, and began to discuss the paths their lives had taken.

"You know, when you moved to Malawi," Alex started, "I was really angry at you. I was mad at you for not keeping on teaching me."

"I'm sorry I disappointed you, but it was the best choice for my career."

"Was it also the best choice for you, for your private life?"

"That's a question I'm not able to answer right now. I don't know what my life would be like now if I had stayed here..."

"Have you met anyone in Malawi?"

"No not really, I dated a few girls, but it was much more complicated to meet girls there. In Malawi, it is illegal to be lesbian or gay. I definitely did not want to get arrested for a one-time thing. Therefore, I only had sex with a few nurses who came to work with us and obviously, who were interested in girls."

"How many women are included in this category?"

"Three."

"Have you only slept with three girls in three years?"

"That's what made each of those nights so special."

"I'm so very happy that you have managed to maintain a fulfilling sex life. This fills me with happiness."

"By the way," she said, turning the discussion to the subject that had been burning her guts since her homecoming, "how is Callie doing?"

"You can ask her yourself." He said, pointing at her ex who had just entered the bar and was walking towards them.