"I understand that it is a great opportunity. However, I just think that it would be best if Sofia spent as much time here with us considering we are trying to adopt," Nancy said sternly. Sofia was sitting slumped in a chair trying to not glare too much at her foster parents. They were all sitting in the living room on a conference call with Sofia's guidance counselor and social worker. While at school, Sofia voiced that she was worried about Nancy and Brian not letting her participate in the summer program. It has been a month since she applied, and she wasn't too surprised when she received her acceptance email. The program director and board were very impressed with her application and references, so she was amongst the first to hear back. She was even given the luxury of choosing which location since so many wanted her to be a part of theirs. The three locations that she got to choose from were Boston, Houston, and of course Seattle. The only issue now was that she needed a guardian to sign off on her forms which allowed her to travel. The way that Nancy was acting now she knew that Seattle would really be out of the question, therefore, once she got past this hurdle of getting a signature, she would have to find a way to get to Seattle.
"Yes, this is a very big deal for Sofia. This is an opportunity that many foster children do not get. The focus should remain on her future and helping her obtain and reach her goals," Stephanie, her social worker, voiced. Brian, who typically remains out of the complicated conversations attempted to be the peacemaker. "Maybe Ashlee could apply and go. That way they can go together and build that sibling bond over the summer. Sofia took a deep sigh as she rolled her eyes and looked out the window as Brian and Nancy turned to face her.
It was her guidance counselor's turn to speak up. "The deadline for the application is only in a few days. Ashlee would still have to obtain letters of recommendation and submit an excellent essay to be reviewed. Respectfully, this is a very competitive program and Ashlee's grades are not exactly what they are looking for". Nancy scoffed as Brian gently placed his hand on top of hers. "At the end of the day this is OUR time to spend with Sofia, so she has an opportunity to get to know us and prepare to be adopted. I am not comfortable giving up our time," Nancy said in her demanding tone.
"At the end of the day," Stephanie mockingly repeated, "Sofia does not belong to you, she belongs to the state of Washington. We already granted you all the luxury of having her across the country. As her social worker, I am representing her, and I am able to make such decisions for her. This entire conversation is a courtesy. As mentioned earlier, this is an amazing opportunity that is not typically presented to children such as Sofia. I believe that the best decision in this situation would be for Sophia to participate in the program. Therefore, I will be signing off".
"Dr. Torres, can I speak to you for a moment?" Arizona whispered as she walked by Callie who was reading over a case at the nurse's station. Callie looked up with a smile, assuming that Arizona was trying to flirt but the look on her face said otherwise. Callie gently lead her away from listening ears as she saw the panicked look breakthrough her girlfriend's strong façade.
She didn't even ask what was wrong because she knew that any moment Arizona was going to blurt it out at a rapid speed and she needed to make sure that she hears every part of what she said.
"I don't know what to do and I'm panicking. I am really just moments away from a panic attack. My patient has needed a heart now for almost a year. A whole year. Do you know how hard it is to get a heart for a child? Very hard! I keep doing surgery after surgery to keep him alive it seems like for the past year. Finally, today I get a call saying that they finally have a heart for him. He is going to be fine no more. No more surgeries. I have a few hours to get it and bring it back. But the heart is in California. The flight is quick just a little over an hour. I thought I could do it. I really did but I'm supposed to be getting my coat and I can't do it. Calliope, a little kid is about to die because I'm too afraid to go on the plane. I don't know what to do". Arizona wasn't crying but Callie knew she was bound to faint if she didn't get her breathing under control.
Callie pulled her into a tight embrace and rubbed small circles on her back. "Arizona just take a deep breath. Things are going to be ok. I will page someone to cover me for the next few hours and I will go get the heart". Arizona pulled back from Callie and shook her head. "No. I didn't mean for you to disrupt work for me. You have patients and a job to do. I just need a moment of reassurance".
"But Arizona-"
"NO!" Arizona yelled cutting Callie off. "I am an adult. I am a doctor. I just need to get calm". Callie just smiled at Arizona as she held her hand and they quickly took the shuttle to the flight deck together. Callie continued to give her sweet affirmations as she held her close as she walked.
Arizona started to feel proud of herself as she began to feel at ease. Before walking out of the door she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend who kissed her passionately. They opened the door to outside where the small plane waited. Arizona had the cooler in her hands as she looked at the plane. She smiled at Callie before walking towards the steps. She knew she was moving but she didn't feel like it. The engine of the plane was silent, but she could see the pilot waiting by the steps mouthing something to her. Then all of a sudden all she heard was crashing, metal breaking and bending, and pain.
Before she knew what was happening, she felt Callie's arms wrapped around her and Mark's face looking at her with concern. "Arizona? Are you ok?" Callie asked with worry filling her voice even though she sort of expected this. She paged Mark to even meet them at the plane to ride with her. He faced his fear of flying a long time ago and they both thought this would help Arizona face hers.
Tears just rolled down Arizona's face as she grew disappointed with herself. "Arizona, we are ok," Mark stated. He continued to console her as Callie looked at her watch realizing they were running out of time and grabbed the cooler from Arizona. "I am going to go and get the heart. I will be right back. Just page someone to cover ortho for me" Callie said before kissing her quickly and running on the plane before Arizona could protest.
Arizona paced the floor as she waited for her patient to be prepped for surgery and to get a notice that Callie was close. She still had time before she had to scrub in so she just needed to get back in the right headspace before surgery. She was so focused that it took her a minute to realize that her phone was vibrating in her pocket.
She looked down at the screen and saw an unsaved number from New York. Knowing that it must have something to do with Sofia she quickly answered. "Hello, Dr. Robbins speaking". Arizona didn't realize she was holding her breath until she released it at the sound of the sweet young girl's voice. "Arizona!" Sofia exclaimed, "I tried to call Callie, but her phone is off". Arizona knew that for whatever reason she was always Sofia's second choice when it came to Callie. But she was ok with that. "Yeah. She's on a plane coming back from California. She had to pick up a heart for me for a kid". Sofia paused for a second. She knew all about Arizona's plane crash and that she sometimes suffers PTSD even after all of her therapy sessions. So she decided not to address it just yet. "A peds heart? That's so cool…but kind of sad. That means another kid died, right?" her voice adjusting to the understood weight of the realization.
"Yes, it does," Arizona wanted to make sure she was honest and didn't sugarcoat anything. She knew Sofia was smart and mature enough to understand. "But it also means that another kid will live". Sofia just smiled on the other end of the phone but was now interrupted by one of Arizona's questions.
"Sofia, honey, aren't you supposed to be in class?" Arizona asked a bit concerned. "Oh yes! I am in school now, but I am using my friend's phone in the bathroom. I just wanted to tell you guys that I got accepted into the program". Arizona smiled wide as she slid to the floor feeling so overjoyed. "I am so proud of you Sofia. We all knew that you would make it into the program. The program is going to be so much better just because you are a part of it". A small tear rolled down Sofia's face as she smiled to herself. This was the congratulations and excitement she would expect from Nancy and Brian as her foster parents. But they lacked that as they were more so concerned with keeping her within arms' reach. Therefore, Arizona saying this to her warmed her heart in a very unexpected way.
"Which location did you get accepted in? When do you start?" Arizona continued as she heard a slight sniffle during the pause on the phone. Sofia quickly got herself in check as she continued. "I get to choose Seattle, Boston, or Houston. But I don't think anyone is going to let me go to Seattle because they won't believe that I will go back to New York". Arizona lightly laughed, because she knew that if Sofia did come back it would be hard for them to let her go. "Well, if you did come to Seattle, we would ALL be very pleased to have you" Arizona stated as she thought of all the fun they had when she was last there.
"The program starts the second Monday of June and ends the last week of August right before school starts. It covers the costs of everything…except the plane ticket" Sofia stated as she shut her eyes as guilt started to take over for lying.
"Really?" Arizona said taking a moment to think, "Hmm, well I guess they had to draw the line in the budget somewhere. Are your fosters paying for the flight?" Arizona avoided using the word parents as she has come to feel very possessive over Sofia in regard to this couple taking her across the country.
"Yes. I hope so. They are a bit jealous that their actual daughter didn't get into the program. So hopefully they don't put me on a really crappy flight" Sofia covered her mouth ashamed of herself. She knew the exact thing to say to Arizona to get her to help. It wasn't like she was just using her. She did really and deeply care for Arizona. She was excited to see her and be around all of that energy. But desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Do you have a pen and paper?" Arizona suddenly stated, "I want you to write my card number down. It's my emergency card. I will approve whichever charge you make for your flight. I want to make sure you are safe and comfortable".
After Arizona gave Sofia the information and nurse came up to her informing her that Callie just landed, and it was time for her to scrub in. Before saying their goodbyes, Sofia had one last thing to say. "Arizona, I want you to know that I want to be a surgeon like you. A peds surgeon. I wish all little kids could have someone like you around".
Arizona beamed before saying thank you and the call ended. Her confidence was back as she tied her scrub cap on and pushed through the scrub room doors.
When Sofia ended the call, she handed her phone back to the upperclassman kid in the IT room. He had agreed to forge a Boston acceptance package for Sofia who has already received her package from Seattle. In exchange, she agreed to three of his final papers. She would use Arizona's card to get a flight from New York to Boston to show her foster parents and social worker since the program has already emailed her the round-trip tickets to Seattle. She still had some things to work out, but everything was falling together.