CHAPTER 26 – SOMETHING ABOUT YOU
Whyyyyyy? was the first thing that came to Amelia's mind when she saw an ambulance pulling up exactly twenty-two minutes before her shift was supposed to end. Stressed paramedics rushed out of the vehicle and quickly rolled out the patient, spewing out his vitals to Kepner, Hunt and she at the speed of light.
"Matthew Anderson, twenty years old, male, unconscious for the last 7 minutes. Glasgow at 8 before he blacked out . Eyes 2, verbal 2 and motor 4. He was driving a scooter without a helmet, blunt force trauma to the head. Obvious broken ribs, which perforated his left lung, we have him on seven liters of oxygen. Saturation's been holding pretty steady at ninety-six percent. Belly awfully soft and right tibia-fibula double fracture. Probable right hip dislocation too."
It looked like her plan to just read Edwards' notes on their consults of the day until it was time to say goodbye wasn't going to happen after all. Instead, Amelia immediately started to check his pupils while the other two gingers focused onto his other injuries.
"Let's move him inside! I need a head CT ASAP, he has anisocoria."
"Head CT will have to wait. He's hemorrhaging, big time. I need to find the source of this bleeding to stop it otherwise he'll just bleed out while we wait for those head scans," Owen said.
The brunette finished up her neuro-exam as they kept on moving their patient inside the hospital.
"Okay. I'll come in anyway just in case. If he's having a brain bleed, he might seizure and I'll need to go in immediately."
Quickly, a few nurses and nurses' aids were preparing him while the surgical team was going through their usual hands washing. Before wetting her hand, Amelia took her phone out and called her partner to tell her that their plan for the night would have to be postponed.
"Hello 'Melia! You're leaving the hospital?" Arizona happily greeted her and the neurosurgeon could picture the wide smile that was probably illuminating her whole face.
"Hey babe! Not really. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to cancel tonight. Last minute in coming trauma," she said as she leaned against the wall.
"It's fine. I'm a surgeon too, I get it," the blonde chuckled. "We'll just go out tomorrow night instead."
"Still, it sucks," the neurosurgeon said honestly. "I really wanted to go to the funfair with you and Sof. She was so pumped up about it this morning, told me she was going to win the biggest teddy bear she could find. And I've been low-key craving cotton-candy since we agreed we would go."
Arizona giggled. "There'll still be plenty of teddy bears and cotton candy tomorrow. I'm sure Sofia will understand. Plus she's pretty tired tonight so she'll enjoy it way more tomorrow."
"'Kay. Kiss the munchkin goodnight for me?"
"What about me?" Arizona faked a sad tone.
"I can hear you pouting through the phone. I'll give you a kiss when I get home."
"Just a kiss?" the blonde asked, trying to be playful but with no subtlety whatsoever.
"We'll see," Amelia teased back. "I gotta go, I love you. Bye," she said before hanging up.
Arizona was left dumbfounded on the other end of the line. Amelia had just said she loved her. For the first time. Over the phone. Did she mean to say it or did it just come out? Who even cared? Amelia loved her. A big grin appeared on Arizona's face and she felt a warm wave of devotion and affection run through her body. That huge dork that made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside and that she had the privilege of calling her girlfriend was in love with her.
"Mommy, you okay?" Sofia asked concerned, frowning deeply at the creepy grin adorning her mom's face.
"Yes honey! Amelia just called, she's being held back at the hospital so it would kind of suck to go to the funfair without her. We'll go tomorrow though. I'm sorry buddy, I know how excited you were."
"It's okay," Sofia shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm kind of tired from the swimming pool from this afternoon anyway."
When Amelia eventually came back home, it was close to one AM and she couldn't wait to fall face first into her pillow. She had already taken a shower at the hospital before departing, as to not wake Arizona or Sofia up by taking one once she would be back, so all she had to do was hit the bed.
She checked on Sofia who was sound asleep before going to her bedroom. She discarded her clothes in the dark, thankfully not knocking anything over, and her naked body climbed under the covers, coming to spoon her warm and sleeping girlfriend.
Being the light sleeper she was, Arizona groaned grumpily at the intrusion and turned around, squinting her closed eyes in disgruntlement.
"Hi sleepy head," Amelia greeted in her whisper and she nuzzled their noses together.
Getting close enough, she kissed the pediatric surgeon sweetly but Arizona pulled back, making a face and opening her eyes.
"Your nose is cold," she complained and then lighted up her bedside lamp, groaning when the dimly light came on.
"It only seems cold 'cause you're so hot," Amelia teased as she pecked the pediatric surgeon's nose.
"How did surgery go?"
"Resting in the ICU for now. We'll just have to wait and see how he's doing in the next twenty four hou-."
She was interrupted by two hands framing her face, pulling her face to face with the blonde who looked at her straight in the eyes with the most serious look Amelia had ever seen her use inside the four walls of their bedroom.
"What's with the serious face?" the brunette sounded concerned. "Is something wrong?"
The blonde caressed one of her cheek with her thumb and let out a heavy sigh. "I-I love you too," she stated with a shy grin and a timid voice.
A warm wave rushed through Amelia's body, great fear and immeasurable love left her with shivers all over and she could feel her heart rate increasing significantly faster as her brain slowly registered the three little words. Arizona loved her.
"You-you love me? As in, you're in love with me?" she asked to be sure she wasn't dreaming, because it sure felt like she was.
"Yes, you dumbass," Arizona chuckled and smiled widely at her, her bright blue eyes coming alive with what Amelia now knew to be love. "I'm in love with you."
Amelia let out a small laugh, still having trouble to believe it was real. "Arizona Robbins is in love with me."
Arizona laughed too and kissed her languidly to prove her it was reality. The brunette pulled away abruptly though.
"Wait. Too? You love me too?" she frowned deeply.
"Yes?" Arizona looked confused.
"But I never said I loved you."
"Yes, you did," the blonde was now frowning too.
"No I didn't."
"Except you did. Over the phone. "I gotta go, I love you, bye"," she imitated the brunette.
Amelia raised an eyebrow, judgy face on, clearly unimpressed. "Okay firstly, your imitation skills suck. I sound nothing like that. Secondly, did I really say that?"
"You did."
"Fuuuuuuck. I've been thinking about it so much lately, I guess it must have slipped out unconsciously. I'm actually impressed with myself. I've been going over hundreds and hundreds of scenarios on how to tell you but I just… couldn't get the words out. Good job brain," she grinned proudly.
Arizona glared at her. "Wow, if this isn't the big declaration of love that every girl ever dreamed about, I don't know what is," she joked.
"Shut up you goof. I'm in love with you," Amelia laughed and pulled her into a searing kiss.
"Come again?" Arizona smiled.
"I love you," she whispered against her lips.
"I love you," Arizona whispered back and her lips wandered onto the brunette's jaw line. As she peppered the silky skin Amelia was offering her, she kept on whispering those three little words. "Let me show you exactly how much I'm in love with you," she whispered sweetly.
"Gladly."
The pediatric surgeon's mouth got lost on Amelia's collarbones for a while but quickly found its path again when her eyes fell onto hardened nipples. The brunette's back arched towards the playful tongue with a small throaty groan, happy to let the blonde play with her body like she wanted to.
As Arizona headed more south however, she was surprised when the moaning stopped without any warning. She looked up and her eyes fell onto Amelia sleeping. Her chest was going up and down soothingly, her mouth slightly opened. That last surgery had gotten the best of her it seemed.
Arizona gently took the brunette's hand out of her blonde hair and turned the bedside lamp off to join Amelia to dreamland. Tonight thought, she didn't need to be asleep to feel like she was already there.
The first thing Amelia saw when she woke up the next morning was Arizona intensely staring at her with a wide smile on her lips. The blonde was leaning up on her elbow and her wavy slightly-tousled blonde hair was curtaining her face, giving her a soft glow seeing as the morning sun was shining straight through it. When Arizona saw her opening her eyes, her face changed to a pout.
"We shared I love you's yesterday and you fell asleep during celebration sex."
"I did?" the brunette asked groggily as she stretched out, memories of last night coming back slowly. "I did," she reinterred with an apologetic tone. "I'm really sorry babe. I was really tired," she tugged on Arizona's top to pull her girlfriend closer to her so she could kiss her. A hand pushed a wild strand of hair away and she cupped Arizona's cheek. "I love you," she said sincerely.
Her deep and intense blue eyes ignited with so much tenderness and love, Arizona felt invincible. She had the best kid any parents could ask for. Every day she had the chance of exercising her dream job. And now, she had the privilege of coming back home after a hard day of work to someone she was in love with and showered her with as much love as she was giving. She felt wild butterflies taking over her belly.
The pediatric surgeon tucked herself safely into the crook of Amelia's neck, happily nuzzling it and lavishing the smooth skin with soft kisses. "I love you too," she murmured.
Amelia let out a chuckle since the other woman's breath was tickling her neck. She dropped a kiss on top of her head and wrapped her arm tighter around the blonde's midsection to pull her closer. Her hand worked her way under the offending pajama top and stroked her lower back, her fingertips brushing the skin in the softest way possible, making Arizona melt and hum in response.
"I wish we could stay here forever," the brunette confessed.
Arizona giggled. "Yeah, forever might end sooner than we'd like though. I pretty sure I just heard the toilet being flushed which means Sofia's up."
Amelia didn't think she had ever seen Sofia's eyes quite light up the way they had when they had entered the funfair. In fact, her whole face had lighted up and hadn't stopped since then. Amelia wasn't sure she ever wanted to see that glow go away.
The bright colorful lights reflected into her wide dark eyes, making them look even more alive with passion than usual. Her childish yet so perfect smile had been plastered onto her face since they had first set foot into the funfair. Sofia was talking a mile a minute, excitedly dragging Arizona and Amelia everywhere. She was just so gleeful and so carefree, it made both women's hearts swell with love for their sweet little girl. A remaining of the toffee apple they had eaten earlier was stuck onto her left cheek.
"Mmmh-food!" Arizona adverted before licking the toffee directly off her daughter's cheek with her mouth.
"Mommy, no!" Sofia giggled and wiggled around so her mother put her down on the ground. "Stop eating me!" she shrieked.
"But you're so delicious!" Arizona kidded and made grabby hands and chased Sofia around, who just walked backwards to escape her while giggling.
Eventually the blonde grabbed her and proceed to fake-eat Sofia's full-of-sugar fingers.
"Yum-yum-yum!" she said playfully.
Amelia watched her silly yet happy family and she felt alive. Truly alive.
The high she was feeling right now, no amount of oxy or bottles of vodka would ever make her feel that way. That good and that happy and at peace. It scared the shit out of her. Because she knew that along such highs generally came such lows. The last time she had felt like this, she had ended up at her rock bottom, and she wasn't sure she could survive going through that again. She couldn't go through losing her family again.
But when Sofia was looking so damn ecstatic and Arizona was looking at her with so much love and care in her eyes, weirdly enough, the fear of failing and breaking into a million little pieces lessened. It was still there, lurking in a dark corner of her subconscious but her consciousness was screaming at her to enjoy what she had and to live her life at its fullest because she didn't know how long this kind of raw happiness would last, so she better cherish every moment she was passing with the two persons that meant the world to her.
Coming back to the present, she eventually decided to help the kiddo out. She took a tissue out of her purse and handed it to Sofia.
"This should help you out with the finger-eating monster."
"Thanks 'Melia," she said as she cleaned up her hands.
Arizona leaned back up and took the brunette's warm hand in hers. Amelia softly pulled her closer until she could kiss her.
As she let the blonde go, she chuckled, which earned her a curious look from her partner. "You taste like toffee," the neurosurgeon explained.
"Okay, this house of mirrors was a trap. We're never setting foot in one ever again," Amelia complained irritably with a semi-angry face as they fi-fucking-nally walked out of the house after having taken at least twice the amount of time the stallholder had told them it would take them to get out.
"Pero it was funny!" Sofia giggled.
"I have to agree with Sof' on this one. It was very funny," she squeezed her daughter's hand and sent a teasing smile towards the brunette who was grumpily walking next to them, rubbing her elbow.
Amelia pointed her index at them accusingly. "It was only funny because I ran into so many glasses! And you guys let me do so!" she blamed which sent the duo into a laughing fit at her seriousness over such a silly thing. "It hurts, I'm going to be covered head to toes in bruises, thanks to the two of you," she crossed her arms petulantly.
"Poor baby," the blonde said playfully and leaned in closer to the brunette. "Want me to kiss it better?" she asked not-so-innocently.
"Yes."
She gently took the neurosurgeon's chin in her hand and bored her bright eyes into grouchy ones. She softly kissed each cheek, her forehead, her nose and ended with a sweet kiss on her lips. The blonde pulled away but before she could get away, arms looped around her midsection and Amelia's nuzzled her face into her neck.
"I take it you're all better now?"
"Yes," Amelia replied childishly and joyfully. "What should we do next, guys?"
"This!" Sofia pointed to a coconut shy stall. "I'mma win a teddy bear."
"Let's get going then."
Barely had Sofia thrown three out of the five balls that she had been given, had she decided this game sucked. It was too hard and it was crappy. The first two balls had flown way too far from the cans and the third one had barely grazed the top one. Arizona could sense the tears coming and the dismay silently growing inside her daughter.
"Do you want some help, honey?" Amelia proposed sweetly.
But before Sofia could reply, the pediatric surgeon interrupted her. "Remember when you and Zola played all afternoon long with these water bombs in the garden last week?" Sofia nodded, not really sure where her mommy was heading with this. "Remember how difficult it was at first to get your aim right so you had to focus really hard to get it right? It's just the same. I know you can do it, you just have to focus extra hard on the cans."
The brunette understood what Arizona was trying to do and added, "Mommy's right. If you could bomb Zola while the both of you were running, you can totally get those immobile targets. You guys run as fast as Usain Bolt, these cans ain't running nowhere. It's easy-peasy. Just take your time, munchkin. It's not a speed contest."
Sofia seemed visibly more confident and relaxed her shoulders, then made a show of warming up by spinning her neck around as well as her wrists. She grabbed her next ball with much more assurance and took a few moments to aim the targets just right. She threw it and actually managed to hit a large part of the tower, leaving only two cans at the bottom next to each other. Both women cheered at her proudly and loudly.
The last ball hit both cans and Sofia herself couldn't believe she had just done it all by herself, without any help. She opened her mouth widely but no sound came out, too dumbstruck to come up with anything. She could feel her heart beating a mile a minute inside her chest. The two adults behind were at least as excited as her, if not more, and when Sofia broke into a little victory dance, they chuckled joyfully.
"Congrats! What will it be for the young lady?" the stall holder smiled at her, obviously entertained by the little's girl attitude.
"This one please!" Sofia pointed to the stuffed animal she had spotted earlier.
He handed it to her, and the little girl struggled a tad to hug the massive cuddle toy.
"Thank you, sir."
"You're more than welcome kiddo!" he said gently. "Have a pleasant evening ladies."
"Thank you, you too," Arizona replied politely and they walked back into the crowd.
"Damn, that thing is almost bigger than you. Are you sure you're gonna be alright there?" Amelia teased Sofia who was having trouble to see where she was heading.
"No, I can't even walk right!" the girl giggled. "Can you or mommy hold it for yo please?"
"Of course honey," the blonde tucked it safely under her arm to free her. "What's next?"
Eventually it was beginning to be late and a star-y sky was slowly but surely falling, so they agreed on one last ride. Arizona decided to not go in since her leg was hurting due to the vibrations of the previous rides. Moreover, someone had to hold Sofia's price anyway. Instead, Arizona was waving at her girls from the ground and she was taking enough pictures to earn the title of paparazzi of the year. The wind was blowing the gleeful brunettes' hairs everywhere, revealing beaming smiles each time they passed near to where the blonde was standing.
When the attraction stopped, Amelia took the too-dizzy-to-walk-properly little girl on her hip and walked out.
"What did you think? Did you like it?" the neurosurgeon asked.
"Si! Especially when it was at the top aqui," she pointed to the highest mountain, "and then it went really really fast!"
They approached Arizona who was pocketing her phone.
"Did you see, Mommy? I did the last turn with my manos up! It was so cool!"
"Of course I saw you, sweetie! You didn't even scream, you were giggling the whole time!"
"Cause it's funny to be scared mommy! Si Am-" she stopped mid-sentence and looked suddenly very pale. "I don't feel so good."
"Where are you hurting sweetie?" Amelia asked while the blonde was frantically searching for a plastic bag in her purse, which of course had chosen today to play hide and seek.
"My barriga is hu-" their daughter promptly threw up right there and then, right on Amelia's coat and pullover and a little on herself.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Arizona mumbled as she was still rummaging through her purse. As soon as it was in her hands, she handed it to Sofia who held it in front of her. "Are you alright?" she asked the neurosurgeon who looked painfully uncomfortable and petrified, standing as immobile as she could in order to not move the puke around.
"I would like to say that it's not as bad as it looks but I'm pretty sure there's actual puke in my bra right now," she whispered in a flat tone and with a blank face, as the reality of the situation sank in.
Sofia eventually stopped being sick. Her face was a perfect mix between sad, terrified and apologetic.
"Pardoname Amelia. I didn't mean to be sick. One moment, I was feeling fine and the next I wasn't," her eyes started to water.
"It's okay, buddy. No need to cry. I know you weren't trying to make a personal statement," the brunette reassured and Arizona gently rubbed her back up and down to comfort her.
"Let's go to the car. I know there are some clean clothes in the boot and I think there are also some baby wipes," Arizona proposed. "How are you feeling, sweetie?" she asked, her tone worrisome and she placed a lingering kiss onto her daughter's forehead to check for a fever. Sofia's skin wasn't warm so Arizona relaxed a little.
"I feel okay now. I don't know what happened. Lo siento."
"No worries munchkin, you stop apologizing. Happens to the best of us, 'kay?" she reassured in a kind tone. "Guess it's time to go then! Thank God we had saved the best ride for last."
When they got home, both Amelia and Sofia ran to the bathroom to clean themselves up. Then Arizona checked her daughter out just in case. Being around sick children all the time had the bad tendency of making her mind run wild and contemplate the worst every time Sofia did something as simple as coughing. The blonde quickly took her temperature and tested the softness of her belly before Sofia could complain about her mommy going all doctor-y on her.
"Okay, it seems you're alright," she concluded and blew a raspberry onto her daughter's stomach.
Sofia chuckled and wiggled around in hope to get away from the touch. It was exactly the moment Amelia chose to enter the room. Her hair was hanging straight down, still wet from her shower and her pajama seemed at least two sizes too big for her.
"I knew something was up, I could hear you giggling aaaaaaaall the way from the bathroom," she lay down on her stomach next to the blonde on Sofia's bed. She looked over at her girlfriend with mischief, "Does mommy need help?"
"NO!" Sofia shrieked and tried to yank her top down.
But alas for her, she was too slow and soon two mouths were assaulting her belly until they had her crying uncle.
"Okay, I think my giggle tank in full for the week," Arizona joked as they stopped.
"Dios mio," Sofia said melodramatically with a big exasperated sigh. "Thanks! My abs are hurting."
Amelia opened the sheets so their daughter could hop in while Arizona grabbed the book they had started reading yesterday. Once she was comfortably settled in, each woman lay down on either side of the kid and the blonde read aloud softly. A few impressive yawns and a book later, the pediatric surgeon cleaned up the book and both women kissed their daughter's forehead.
"Nighty night, sweetie."
"Sweet dreams, baby. We love you."
"Good night mommy, good night 'Melia. Os quiero," Sofia replied sleepily and all cuddled up with her new giant teddy bear.
"I'm really sorry about tonight," Arizona said as she climbed under the covers next to the neurosurgeon and took her prosthetic off.
"What for?" Amelia frowned.
"The little..." she winced, "incident."
"What? Sorry I have a kid who is human and full of snot and other body fluids whose she doesn't have any control over?" the brunette asked with an eyebrow raised. "It's okay, babe. As long as she's alright, it's all that matters to me," she said truthfully and squeezed the blonde's thigh to accentuate her point. "I have to say, I never got puked on on a date before though. This was kind of an unforgettable experience. Is it your new way to seduce women? 'Cause let me tell you, I'm not sure it's a good move," she joked badly.
The pediatric surgeon glared at her which made Amelia giggle in response.
"Now, if I remember right, I was promised some quality healing kisses."
"Didn't get enough earlier?" Arizona teased with a smirk.
"No, I will never have enough and will always try my best to steal a few more."
Arizona chuckled at the reply and softly pushed Amelia onto her back to settle on top of her, enjoying the feeling of strong thighs coming around her hipbones to frame them. She wrapped her lips around Amelia's neck and she felt the other woman's hands wandering down her back, finishing their run onto her buttocks and pulling her closer.
"No need to go as far as stealing, I'll be more than happy to provide," she murmured against Amelia's neck, watching her warm breath making her lover's skin shiver.
Her mouth found its way to her girlfriend's pulse point and she gently nibbled at it before soothing it with her tongue. Amelia tilted her head and let out moan in enjoyment, revealing new skin to explore to Arizona. However, the blonde had others ideas and she moved further south until she came in sight of perky breasts. She toyed around with them, prompting Amelia to arch her back higher off the bed and to plead softly beneath her.
"Baby," the neurosurgeon moaned grumpily.
Arizona felt a hand getting lost into her hair and short fingernails grazed onto her scalp in a feather-like touch, which was probably going to leave her hair a mess. She could feel her partner's nipple turning hard into her mouth and before she could even think about it, almost like a reflex, her tongue darted out to play with the sensitive pinky flesh.
"Yes? Need somethin'?" Arizona husked out.
Her dominant and confident demeanor was cut short when the neurosurgeon took her by surprise and cupped her chest. The pediatric surgeon yelped at the intrusion yet leaned into it as Amelia's fingers kneaded the soft flesh expertly. She looked up only to witness Amelia giving her a smug smirk, the dark blue orbs reduced to a black sea of lust.
"No teasing," she instructed in a groan.
What Amelia hadn't expected though was the blonde giving her exactly what she had asked for. Barely had the words left her mouth, the warm tongue was back on her breasts and a hand slipped in between her legs, right where she needed her the most. Her hips rocked uncontrollably to lean forward, seeking more pressure.
A knock was heard on the door and their activities were stopped dead on their tracks. Arizona slumped back to her side of the bed with a huff and waited for Amelia to cover her body up with the sheets before calling Sofia in.
"Wait!" the brunette called out and smoothed Arizona's making-out hair down. "You can go on now."
The little brunette looked sheepishly at them and climbed at the foot of the bed.
"Can I sleep aqui tonight?" she asked as she played nervously with her hands.
Arizona looked at Amelia who merely shrugged.
"Sure buddy," the brunette said with a kind smile. "Go get Mr. Turtle and a book while we warm your spot."
As soon as the kid was out, the neurosurgeon threw on a sleeping tee shirt and some panties and got back under the covers.
"Definitely clam-jammed for the night. That munchkin is lucky I love her," Amelia said sadly but playfully.
Arizona laughed and pecked her. Her cuddle toy in her arms and safely tucked in between the two maternal figures, Sofia felt a little bit better.
"Lo siento again 'Melia."
"It's okay. But next time you don't like my pullover, there is no need to be so dramatic about it, just tell me so," Amelia joked and Sofia chuckled. The brunette felt proud to be able to make her laugh about something she was wrongly embarrassed about and to reassure her. "And at the risk of sounding disappointing, you're not the first kid to throw up on me. Baby Ellis does it all the time. Don't sweat on it, it happens. I'm just glad you're alright now," she kissed their daughter's forehead comfortingly.
"I think someone was just too excited," Arizona said as she played with Sofia's long and still-baby-soft hair.
Arizona started to read the book aloud just like she had earlier, only in a quieter voice. Once done, she was surprised to find not only Sofia asleep but also Amelia. She put the book away and snapped a picture of the two brunettes with her phone before turning off the light for the night.