A/N: okay so I have written and rewritten this chapter like 5 times. I'm in two minds about the way this chapter has panned out. I could have taken it in two directions, both were completely written out multiple times. My question to you guys is, once I have finished the whole fic, would you like it if I posted "deleted scenes?" Some of them aren't completed, some are but got cut due to my changing my mind or the story moving in a different direction as I added to chapters etc. Let me know because I will happily post them!

Thanks for your reviews. I know school shootings are a very sensitive thing to write about and as someone who doesn't live in America, this is written purely from what I've seen in movies/tv shows/documentaries and is, as always, fiction. Thanks for all your kind words about this story and the last chapter!

Just a warning, there isn't much to this story left. So be prepared for the end (like 2 chapters left after this one at this stage). I'm also not sure when I'll get to update again as work starts back tomorrow but I shall try my hardest to update in a week or two! All mistakes are mine haha

Chapter 19:

Callie hadn't heard from Sofia in a while and she was starting to get worried. She sat in the waiting room of the hospital with about 80 other parents who were all waiting to hear about their children. There was a loud commotion as a team of people wearing scrubs ran past her. Callie stood up. She knew that everyone running meant that a big trauma had come in, an ambulance had arrived.

As she followed her co-workers to the ambulance, Callie felt a hand grab her arm from behind.

"Torres," Hunt said softly. "You can't go out there."

"We have a 15-year-old female GSW victim coming in. The bus said she has injuries to her abdomen and has been unconscious since they picked her up," a doctor called out to the staff as they gowned up.

"We have young girl coming in, Callie. She's in a pretty bad condition," Hunt continued.

Callie nodded as she listened to the information Hunt was telling her. Part of her hoped he was telling her this because she had injuries that he needed Callie to consult on, part of her dreaded that the next words out of his mouth would be her daughter's name.

"It's Sofia. They said that one of the teachers at the school wouldn't leave her side. Sofia pushed her out of the way of the shooter so she didn't want to leave her by herself. I'm going to assume it's Arizona. When they bring her in, you can be in the room, but you have to stay out of the way. I'm not going to let you observe the surgery, but I figured you'd want to see her before we took her up," Hunt said sympathetically.

Callie couldn't even comprehend what he was saying anymore. The moment Sofia's name came out of his mouth, her brain stopped working. As a mother your worst fear was your child being fatally injured. What if Sofia didn't survive this or if she had deficits and required care? Callie had so many thoughts going through her head that she hadn't noticed that she had walked away from Hunt and out to the ambulance bay. She watched as the back of the bus opened up and out came the gurney with two paramedics. She could hear the noise of them telling Hunt what her vitals were and passing on information. The next thing she knew, Arizona was launching out of the ambulance behind the gurney. They made eye contact before following everyone inside the hospital and then into the trauma room.

Everything was chaotic. There were people calling out things, people running around everywhere but it seemed like everything was in slow motion. There was so much blood. Callie couldn't believe how much blood was able to come out of daughter. Her daughter who was so tiny when she was born. Just the thought took her close to the edge. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold it together. She felt a sudden warmth. Looking down, Callie saw that Arizona had taken her hand. Slowly, she moved her eyes from their joined hands up to Arizona's face. Callie could see the hurt in the blue eyes. Arizona turned her head and looked back into deep brown eyes. They both knew exactly what the other wanted to say. That they were glad the other was there.

"We need to get up to the O.R. now! We can get the rest of the scans up there," Hunt called out as they started preparing to move the gurney. "Callie, do we have your consent?"

Callie heard her name, but her brain was slow to react. All she wanted was for Sofia to sit up and say this was a horrible joke.

"Torres" Hunt called louder.

"Calliope."

The soft voice broke through all the noise. Callie looked up to see Arizona looking at her again, her hand giving Callie's a slight squeeze.

"Yes. Yes, you have my consent," Callie managed to get out softly. And then they were gone. She watched as everyone ran, pushing Sofia towards the elevator as quickly as they could.

"Let's go to the waiting room," Arizona said softly, pulling her towards the bright room.

Callie just nodded as she stared down the hallway that her daughter had disappeared from.

"She's going to be okay Calliope. They've got her now," Arizona assured her.

"Please don't leave. I can't be alone right now," Callie managed to say, barely above a whisper.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise," Arizona reassured her as they sat down. Arizona patted her lap and Callie lay down, her head resting in Arizona's lap. "I won't leave either of you," Arizona whispered as she stroked Callie's hair to soothe her.


Arizona was watching Callie sleep as they waited for Sofia's surgery to be done. They had been waiting for over 12 hours now and their last update had been at least 2 hours before. Knowing that the long time between updates couldn't be a good thing, Arizona let Callie sleep. She knew if Callie was awake and waiting, she would be a mess. Before falling asleep, Callie had paced up and down the room. Arizona could hear Callie thinking as she watched her wear away at the carpet. It hadn't taken some convincing to get Callie to even think about lying down and resting. It hadn't taken Callie long to fall asleep once she was lying down.

Out of the corner of her eye, Arizona saw Cristina walking towards where they were sitting. She didn't have a gown on anymore and her scrub cap was in her hands. Arizona knew these were signs of a completed surgery.

"Should I wake her up," Arizona asked softly.

"Yeah," Yang nodded, "wake her up."

Arizona nodded and looked down at the sleeping brunette in her lap. "Calliope," she whispered, kissing Callie's temple. "Calliope, wake up, Cristina is here to give us an update."

"Hmm," Callie said, slowly opening her eyes.

"Hey. Cristina says she has an update on Sofia," Arizona said sweetly, looking over to Cristina.

"Oh," Callie exclaimed, the news waking her up. Quickly, Callie stood up to talk to Yang. Arizona joined her, standing slightly behind Callie with her hand resting on Callie's back.

"We managed to control most of the bleeding. She had significant damage to her spleen and kidney. We removed the spleen, but Dr Hunt was able to save the kidney. Unfortunately, she went into cardiac arrest just as we were about to close. We managed to get her heart beating again but Dr Hunt and Dr Shepard want to keep her in a coma to keep an eye on her and make sure there's no more complications," Yang told the two.

"Oh my god," Callie sighed, sobs threatening to come out. She turned around and rested her head on Arizona's shoulder, letting her sobs out.

"Can we see her," Arizona asked her Callie.

"Yes, of course. She should be up in her room soon. I'll take you up when you're ready," Cristina nodded.

Giving the two a moment, Cristina took a few steps back. Callie turned to face Arizona, tears spilling over at the news. Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie as the brunette cried. They were tears of relief, sadness, fear and every other emotion Callie had been feeling since she found out about the shooting.

"It's okay, Calliope, she's alive. She's strong and a fighter and she's alive. You need to be there when she wakes up. She needs her mama," Arizona said softly into the brunette's ear.

"She's alive," Callie repeated, confirming the information that they had been told.

"She's alive," Arizona confirmed.

"Okay," Callie said as she wiped away her tears and faced her friend. "I'm ready," she said, taking a deep breath.

"Follow me," Cristina instructed before turning and leading them to the elevator.

The whole way to Sofia's room, Callie couldn't stop replaying the last 24 hours in her head. When that got too much, she started thinking about the worst-case scenarios. Sofia in a wheelchair for the rest of her life, Sofia with neurological deficits and needing full time care or Sofia dead. She was sick of crying, she didn't want to cry anymore, she was exhausted.

"Stop it," Arizona whispered to Callie after watching her facial expressions. She knew that Callie had been in her own head, thinking of every possible scenario. Callie looked to the blonde with a questioning glance.

"I know you're dreaming up every possible scenario right now, but you need to focus on the fact that she is alive. We'll take the rest as it come. I called your dad and Mark and they are trying to get here as soon as possible. You're not alone Calliope," Arizona said softly. Her hand finding its tanned counterpart and squeezing once they were in contact.

"Thank you for everything, Arizona, but you don't have to."

"I know," Arizona interrupted Callie, stopping her before she could say anymore, "I want to." And with that they fell back into silence as they continued to follow's Cristina's lead to Sofia's room.


It had been 2 days since Sofia had been brought to the hospital after being shot. She had been taken away for two more surgeries since her initial one. One was to go in and fix some of the smaller internal bleeds that they didn't get a chance to fix in her first surgery and the second one was an emergency surgery when Sofia suddenly starting coding. Callie hadn't left her bedside since she'd been out of surgery, waiting for the young girl to wake up. Arizona had been with her every step of the way. Their friends had brought them food and given them some company.

Mark had been trying to rearrange his surgical schedule and was finally able to fly out from Seattle. Callie had facetimed him as often as they could, keeping him updated on her condition and letting him talk to her until he could be there. When he reached Sofia's hospital room, he stopped at the door. Seeing his daughter hooked up to machines with tubes coming out of her small body was not a sight any father wants to see. He looked around the room and saw an incredibly sleep deprived Callie sitting on one side of the bed holding Sofia's hand and behind her was Arizona.

"Callie," Mark said softly when he was finally able to speak. Callie didn't respond. She got up from her chair and walked over to him quickly. She was crying before she even reached him. The hugged and they hugged tightly, both terrified for their little girl.

"She's been stable since her last surgery," Callie said through her tears. "They want to keep her sedated for another 48 hours or so before they will start to decrease the morphine and paralytics."

"Do they think she's going to wake up," Mark asked, wiping the tears from his face.

"They're confident that she will. They aren't sure if she'll have any deficits, but Amelia said her scans look good. She's hopeful there won't be any."

"When was the last time you went home and showered or slept or ate?"

"I'm not going anywhere, she needs me here," Callie argued.

"I'm here. I'll stay with her tonight. You go home, shower and get a good night's sleep. She's stable and not waking up yet. I'll call if anything changes."

"No, I'm not going to leave her."

"She needs you to not be in worse condition when she is when she wakes up," Mark argued back.

"I'll take you home Calliope," Arizona chimed in. "Mark's right. You need to get some sleep and eat something that hasn't come from a vending machine."

"Fine," Callie finally relented, "but I'll be back here first thing in the morning."

"Arizona," Mark called out as they started to leave. "Thank you, for looking after our girls."

Arizona nodded before leaving with Callie.


The drive home was silent. Callie didn't have the energy to talk. She fell asleep for most of the drive home, her head resting on the window as Arizona stroked her thigh. Once they got home, Arizona took Callie straight upstairs to her bedroom. She sat Callie down on the bed and then started getting things out for her.

"How about I run you a bath with some bubbles and candles," Arizona asked. All Callie could do in response was nod.

"I'll order some food while we wait for it to run," Arizona called out from the bathroom.

"I'm not hungry," Callie mumbled.

"You haven't eaten today. You need to eat. Sofia needs you to eat," Arizona said before leaving the room to order dinner.

When she came back, Callie was still sitting on the edge of the bed. It devastated Arizona to see Callie so heartbroken. She could tell that Callie was on the verge of tears. Callie's eyes were staring into space, her bottom lip quivering, signs that she was just holding it together. Arizona knelt down in front of the brunette, reaching her hand up to cup a cheek, offering a sweet smile as reassurance.

"The bath is ready," Arizona said softly, "do you want me to help you in?"

Callie just nodded as she stood up. Arizona took her hand and led her into the bathroom. The smell of lavender filled the candle lit room. They stopped next to the tub and Arizona started taking off Callie's clothes. Once she was fully naked, Arizona helped her into the tub, making sure the water was high enough and the temperature was perfect. Once she was settled in the tub, Arizona went to leave the room.

"Stay," Callie said softly, grabbing Arizona's hand. Arizona nodded and sat on the edge of the bath. She grabbed an empty container from the sink and poured the water gently over Callie's head. She carefully shampooed and conditioned Callie's hair, taking care to brush out all the knots and massage her scalp as she went. Every time Callie started to cry; Arizona would kiss away the tears as they fell on her cheeks. She soaped a face-washer, and washed Callie's body all over, making sure that she was gentle and caring with every movement. Arizona only left Callie's side to go and get the food when it was delivered.

Once Callie was ready to get out, Arizona held out her hand and helped her step out. She then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Callie's wet body and used another one to dry her hair. She led her back into the bedroom and pulled the sheets up for Callie to slip in.

"Can you hold me, please. I don't want to be alone," Callie whispered her request.

Arizona didn't respond, instead she just slipped into the bed as Callie turned on her side. Arizona moulded her body to fit with Callie's. One hand propped up her head while the other went over Callie's side and rested just underneath her breast. She hadn't realised how much she had missed lying in bed next to Callie. She felt a great comfort wash over her as the two fell asleep.

It wasn't until a few hours later Arizona woke up. At first, she was confused about where she was. She realised she was in Callie's bed as she felt the brunette breathing under her arm. They hadn't moved since falling asleep hours beforehand. As quietly as she could, Arizona slipped out of the covers. Her movements waking a sleeping Callie.

"I should go," Arizona said softly.

"Don't," Callie whispered before kissing Arizona deeply. "Don't."

Arizona nodded as the two kissed, all their feelings for each other pouring into every movement. Just because they had broken up, didn't mean they didn't love each other any less. Hands started wandering, gentle squeezes as they tried to pull each other impossibly close, remembering how their bare skin felt.

"Arizona, I'm so sorry."

"Sssssh, it's okay. I'm sorry as well but we don't need to talk about that right now."

Callie nodded before kissing Arizona, trying to convey everything she felt for Arizona, everything she missed. Her hand's made their way down Arizona's body and started to slip her hands into's the blonde's pants.

"Are you sure?"

"I need to feel something good," Callie nodded.

Arizona obliged Callie's request and started to take off her own clothes. Once she was naked, she rid Callie of the towel that had been wrapped around her naked body. She then lay herself on top of Callie, joining their lips together in a slow, powerful kiss. They both spread the legs as Arizona connected their centres. The both started slowly and sensually grinding on each other, creating friction. Their moans started out soft but got louder as the movements increased in speed. They both stared into each other's eyes, longing looks of love shared between them as they made love. Arizona stroked Callie's face as they grinded, trying to convey her love for the other woman with every caress and touch of her skin. It didn't take long for them to both reach their climax. Grunts and moans of pleasure filled the rooms as their bodies spasmed with the waves of their orgasms.

Once her muscles had stopped contracting, Arizona placed one more loving kiss on Callie's mouth before rolling to the side. She opened her arms as Callie rolled over and rested on the blonde's chest. In that moment they both knew that they loved each other, they didn't have to say it, they didn't have to say anything. Arizona stroked the long dark hair in front of her, her way of trying to comfort Callie, and Callie drew invisible patterns on Arizona's naked chest.

"Do you want me to stay the night," Arizona asked sweetly as they lay there.

"Yes. I want you here," Callie answered, looking up into the blue eyes staring back at her.


The sun shining in through a slight break in the curtains woke Arizona up the next day. She rolled over to wrap her arms around Callie to find the sheets cold. The realisation that Callie hadn't been in bed for a while, jolted Arizona awake. She wrapped the bedsheet around her naked body before getting up to check the bathroom. When she found that empty, she made her way downstairs to see if Callie had gotten hungry or needed coffee. After looking around the house and finding it empty, Arizona got out her phone and sent Callie a text asking where she was. The text was more to see if Callie was okay because Arizona knew she would be at the hospital if she wasn't at home.

After she showered and got dressed, Arizona realised her car was still at the school. She hadn't picked it up since the shooting. She called a taxi to pick her up and take her to her car. Once she had her car, she made her way to the hospital to check on Sofia and Callie. It had been almost an hour and she was yet to hear from Callie. It made her worry that something had happened to Sofia.

Reaching Sofia's room, she could see that everything was as they had left it the previous day. It made Arizona feel better, but only for a moment. Dread filled her. Why had Callie left without waking her up this morning?

"Calliope," Arizona said as she stood at the door.

Both Mark and Callie looked up towards the door before looking at each other. Something about the way they looked at each other pulled at the pit her stomach.

"I'll be back," Callie said quietly to Mark before leading Arizona out of the room.

"Why do I feel like you're about to break up with me again," Arizona asked, trying to make a joke.

"Arizona," Callie said softly.

"I thought after last night…"

"When Sof wakes up she's going to need round the clock care, for weeks, maybe for months," Callie explained.

"I know, Callie. I've been here when the doctors have spoken to you."

"Maybe some part of you says that now because you feel guilty that Sofia saved you," Callie started, "but I can't be with you while Sofia needs me full time. It wouldn't be fair to you."

"Of course I feel guilty but I want to be there for you Calliope. For you and Sofia. I just…"

"No, Arizona. I can't ask that of you..."

"Stop pushing me away," Arizona argued, "I want this. I want to be with you. I want to be with you through this."

They both stopped as people walked past them. Callie grabbed Arizona's hands and led her to an empty on-call room, so they had some privacy.

"Arizona, I really appreciate you being here with me so far, but Sofia has to be focus right now," Callie said, her eyes moving from the blue eyes in front of her, down to the ground. "I can't be distracted by trying to work us out. I need to look after my daughter."

"I can help you!"

"I don't want your help! I don't want to see you," Callie said, her voice loud to try and hide the way it was breaking.

Arizona scoffed. She couldn't believe the words that were currently coming out of Callie's beautiful mouth. Arizona knew this was just another tactic to push her away after letting her get too close. Refusing to believe what was happing, Arizona decided to fight one last time.

"I can't believe you're doing this again," Arizona scoffed. "Why are you pushing me away?"

"I can't argue with you right now, my daughter needs me," Callie answered, ignoring Arizona's question.

"I get you're scared of losing Sofia. Let me be here to help," Arizona argued, moving to be close to Callie. She reached down and grabbed tan hands, holding them. "I want to be here for you and Sofia. Calliope, look at me!"

Finally bringing herself to look Arizona in the eyes, Callie took a deep breath. She hated what she was doing but she had to do it. Sofia was going to need full-time care until she was well enough. At this stage they didn't know how long that would be for. Callie knew that Arizona would drop everything to be with them, to help look after Sofia. Callie didn't want to do that to her. Callie wanted her to be able to live her life and not be held down by looking after her lesbian lover's kid who could possibly have life altering injuries.

They both stopped as people walked past them. Callie grabbed Arizona's hands and led her to an empty on-call room, so they had some privacy.

"You say that now," Callie replied, her gaze moving to the floor. There was no way she could look at Arizona as she said what she had to say next. "But what happens in two months or six when we can't spend time together or you get sick of having to help me look after my daughter or? Because I don't think I would survive that."

"I'm not going to bail on you guys," Arizona argued back, tears threatening to slip.

"You can't promise that. It's not fair on you or me," Callie replied, her voice starting to get louder.

"So last night meant nothing," Arizona asked, crying.

"Last night meant everything," Callie answered, finally bringing her eyes up to meet Arizona's.

They both stared at each other, unsure of what to say next. Words left unsaid hanging between them, wanting to be yelled out. Both Arizona and Callie crying, knowing that even though it hurt, Callie was right. It wasn't fair to expect Arizona to stick around while Sofia recovered. They weren't in a good place and they needed time to work things out, time they wouldn't get while looking after Sofia.

"I wish so badly that things were different," Callie confessed, trying to hold back her sobs.

"Me too," Arizona agreed, moving closer to Callie and taking her hands. "Maybe when Sofia is better, we can try again?"

"No," Callie shook her head, "I don't want you to wait for me. I want, need, you to be happy."

"I'd wait forever for you," Arizona said as she pulled Callie in closer. "You make me happy."

"You make me so happy," Callie agreed, pressing her forehead against Arizona's. "But I don't want you to wait for me to be ready. If the opportunity comes to move on, I want you too. Promise me."

"I'm not going to promise you that," Arizona said, shaking her head. "I can't promise that."

Callie nodded before pulling Arizona in for a kiss. It was needy and aggressive. Both of their hands holding the other's face.

"What do we do now," Callie asked once they broke apart.

"I don't know," Arizona answered, "I guess I should go home."

"Once you go, you can't come back. If you come back, I don't think I'll be able to hold my resolve," Callie joked.

"You don't want to see me?"

"No! I always want to see you, that's the problem."

With another sweet, kiss, the two left the on-call room hand in hand. They both held on a bit tighter than normal, neither wanting to let go, knowing that once they were out of the room, it was all over. Callie looked down at their hands. The juxtaposition of their skin tones complimenting each other. She rubbed her thumb over Arizona's hands which earned her a smile.

"I'd say I'd call you," Arizona started.

"But you know you can't, as much as I want you to," Callie finished for her.

"Goodbye, Calliope."

"Goodbye, Arizona."

They both looked down at their joined hands before back into each other's eyes. With one last kiss, Arizona started to walk away from Calliope, their hands still joined. All Callie wanted to do was pull Arizona back to her and kiss her again, never letting her go. She reached her arm, not wanting to lose contact with her favourite blonde. Arizona looked over her shoulder one last time as their fingers finally lost contact. Both women sniffling as Arizona walked away for the last time. Their tears falling freely.


Walking back to her daughter's room, Callie tried so hard to stop crying. It didn't matter what she did, the tears wouldn't stop flowing. Standing at the door, she watched for a moment. She listened to the beeping of machines and to the sound of Mark reading a medical article to their daughter. She took a moment before sitting down next to the father of her child.

"You're an idiot, you know that right," Mark asked after taking one look at Callie.

"I know. It's for the best though," Callie answered. "For everyone."

"Why do you insist on not letting yourself be happy," Mark asked.

"I'll be happy once Sofia is okay," Callie smiled, gently holding her daughter's hand.

It had been over 48 hours since Sofia's last surgery and they were finally ready to start waking her up. Callie's parents had flown the night before and everyone was anxious to see how Sofia was when she woke up. Amelia and Alex had gone through all the possible scenarios about Sofia's condition when she finally woke up. It ranged from being perfectly fine to not having basic functions of her speech or limbs to possibly not waking up.

Once they had started lowering her medications, everyone waited anxiously for any signs that Sofia was waking up. Every flutter or movement made everyone hold their breath in anticipation. After a few hours, Callie's parents left to go and get coffee for everyone while they waited.

"Mark," Callie called out as Sofia's eyes started to flutter open. "Mark!"

"What? Is she okay?" Mark asked, fear laced through his voice.

"She's opening her eyes," Callie smiled, her voice cracking as she held back tears. "Hey Cariño, can you hear me?"

"Mama," a quiet, shaky voice said as Sofia's eyes slowly opened and closed.

"Oh my god, Sofia," Callie gasped, kissing Sofia's hands as one of her hands stroked Sofia's face. "You're awake and talking!"

"How are you feeling Nugget?" Mark asked, a smile plastered on his face.

"Sleepy," Sofia answered as her eyes closed before opening again. "How's Arizona."

"She'll be okay," Callie answered.

"Good," Sofia smiled as she closed her eyes.