CHAPTER 8

"Turn up the volume, she explains it here" said Cristina. She had one hand in the cereal box and with the other she was taking notes on a file, probably studying for the next surgery.

"See, you know it by heart, is it really necessary to watch this again?" Alex commented.

"Maybe you don't care but I want to be able to do this procedure with closed eyes" she replied "Besides, what else do you have to do?

Alex and Callie exchanged glances. They could be out, having fun and enjoying their night off, but here they were, watching Ellis Grey's old tapes. But they too were surgical nerds, so he opened another bottle of beer.

"Have you met the new pediatrician? How is he?" Callie asked grabbing a slice of her pizza.

Cristina corrected her "You mean she" and Alex added "It's a she and a very hot one!"

"Uhm a she? I thought I heard that a new young man would come instead of Stark"

"Clearly the budget is very low, because they had to hire someone who skates all over the hospital" Cristina exclaimed.

"What?" the other two asked stunned in unison.

"Seriously, some nurses were talking about it and then I saw her darting down a corridor!"

"Oh very smart... Come on, how can you be so dumb! It's a hospital for God's sake!" Callie shook her head in disbelief.

"Speaking of nurses… did you hear that Meg, the redhead, caught Jackson and Kepner in the elevator?" Alex asked.

"Apparently they haven't come off since the day of the finals" commented Cristina.

They all laughed and Callie joked "Well, I guess she's not a virgin anymore!"

.

"And who is this beautiful baby?" Arizona asked exiting the elevator and seeing Mark holding a child.

He introduced her to his daughter, Sofia. She seemed to be about 3, maybe 4 years old.

"I have to say that I didn't expect this Mark"

Puffing his daughter's head "She's the woman of my life" he joked.

The kid extended her hands towards the blonde and she was watching her in awe. "Oh you like her?" he asked her. "Robbins, apparently my daughter likes you.. Can you hold her for a sec?"

"Yeah, of course!" She toke Sofia from her father's arms and started wandering around the hallway making her faces "Hi baby!"

Sofia smiled at the blonde as she played with her hair "Where do you leave her during your… mm dates?" .

Mark answered while locking the door "She's often with her mother. During the day she's usually in day care at Seattle Grace or we call a nanny. We have a long list of babysitters. They have all been examined.. You can use it too in case of need!"

Arizona shook her head laughing, almost too hard "Oh no no, I have no children and I don't think I'll ever need the list, but thanks for the offer!"

"You seem pretty determined. It's strange…" he shrugged.

"What do you mean?" she turned to him.

"I wouldn't have said that you don't want kids.. being a pediatrician and all" Mark explained while taking back his daughter.

She didn't feel like justifying herself to someone, and to her neighbor of all the people. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulder "Let's just say I like my life as it is! And I'm a pediatric surgeon, you know" she added squinting her eyes.

"Well, sometimes you're not looking for certain things but they happen anyway" he said with a smile, pointing with his eyes at the little girl he was holding.

The blonde grinned as she entered the house and she commented "There's not that risk!"

.

The annoying sound of the alarm had entered her head. Was it morning already?

4.52

It wasn't the alarm clock, it was her pager. She was needed at the hospital.

She jumped out of bed and dashed into the kitchen for a much needed coffee.

A few minutes later she ran through the emergency room doors where Alex Karev, a promising second year resident, was waiting for her with a folder in his hand.

"Room 3, six years old, apparently fallen from a bunk bed while sleeping. She complains pain in her belly and in her left leg. Shepherd is already examining the head and the ortho consult is on the way"

"What's the name?" Arizona asked as she entered the room.

"What?"

"The little girl, Karev, what's her name?" she continued, putting the stethoscope to her ears.

"Mmmh..." Alex stalled, not knowing the answer.

He had to search the information on the chart, but Amelia Sheperd who was already at the patient's head answered for him "Ella Holmes" and then she added "It doesn't seem to be any serious brain concussion. The spinal column is fine, I just have to monitor her while you'll stabilize femur and clavicle. I'm waiting for Torres! "

While Amelia was at her head, Arizona was on the right side of the little patient, or, in other words, she had her back to the door, and she couldn't see it being opened.

That didn't stop a shiver from running through her back when she heard a distinct voice behind her asking "It better be a good one! It's barely five in the morning. So.. What have we got?"

Everything stopped. It was not possible. She tentatively turned her head.

.

The requested ortho consult, Callie Torres, who was tying her disposable gown, looked up at the team and, for the first time, met the gaze of the new colleague.

Callie had to remember to inhale. It was as if her breathing had stopped for a moment.

It was her, there was no doubt.

Years had passed, her hair had darkened, but that blue was still the same.

.

Arizona couldn't read into those widened eyes. What did that expression mean? Was it surprise? Joy? Anger?

A few moments passed. No movement. They seemed interminable. Maybe they were, because her attention was drawn back by Alex and Amelia. They both asked "Hey Robbins" and "Robbins, are you there?"

She turned and closed her eyes. She had to focus completely on her patient. Breath. "Ok Karev, get a CT scan, chest and abdomen rays. And book an OR, we need to understand where all this blood's coming from!"

.

Meanwhile Callie came to her senses and after examining the chart, she too ordered "Karev get also x-rays of the left leg!"

Then, speaking to the neurosurgeon "Sheperd, is she stable?" she waited for a nod from her colleague and she continued "Great!"

She clapped once. She felt she was combusting. "Call me when we have the images. You always say 'bones can wait', don't you?" shrugging and looking at anywhere but at the blonde, she hurried out of the room.

.

Didn't the coldness generate a thermal shock? Why nothing had changed?

She'd hoped to make her brain react or at least to think about something else, but nothing, the cold water on her face had been useless.

She raised her head and, with her hands still wet, she rubbed her face "It can't be! It can't be! No no no"

A toilet flush interrupted her monologue. Through the mirror she saw Cristina coming out of a stall "Aren't you a bit too young for hot flush?"

Callie wasn't in the mood, so she avoided answering.

"I won't ask you what's wrong" she commented while wiping her hands "I'm just saying it's a bit str.."

"Yang!" fazed, Callie finally interrupted.

The resident raised her hands leaving the bathroom "Okay, got it!"

PGS