Chapter 6

Arizona didn't mean to drink so much last night. She really didn't. But Teddy and Mandy… they made her. At least, that's her story if you were to ask her. She wakes up, not in the comfy bed upstairs, but on the floor. With no blanket or pillow. Nothing. As she starts to come to, she is somewhat thankful and somewhat appalled when she catches a waft of coffee flowing in from the kitchen.

As she inhales again, the smell of the coffee proves to be too much for her to handle. She scurries about trying to stand and find her balance. She rushes to the bathroom and thankfully, manages to get there just in time.

As she walks out a few minutes later, she holds her shirt up to her face to help hide the coffee smell. "Well, look at you miss sunshine," Mandy laughs, as Arizona slowly makes her way into the kitchen.

"Oh... please don't talk," Arizona mumbles as she sits and lays her head down on the bar, still covering her face with her shirt, causing Mandy to laugh.

"I'm fixing some bacon and eggs, you want some?"

"Bailey, stoooppp..." she manages to mumble slowly.

"Wow. I knew you were going to be schnockered, but this is funny. In all the time I've known you, I've never seen you hung over. Teddy said it was funny as hell though and she wasn't kidding," Mandy said, continuing to laugh, as Teddy walks in.

"Yep, I did tell you. She acts all tough but can't drink for nothing. Although, it is easy to get you to spill your deep, dirty, thoughts when you are drunk. You are a dirty girl Arizona," Teddy says, saying the last part with raised eyebrows.

"Teeedddyyyy... what did you doooo?" Arizona groans, raising her head from the counter, afraid of what she is about to find out.

"Nothing really. Just got you to admit you would sleep with the hot doctor across the road. Aaaand... " Teddy drawls out, "maybe all the hot things you wanted to do to her."

"Teddy! I wouldn't have said that!" Arizona says, looking mortified about telling Teddy and Mandy something she wasn't about to admit knowingly.

"Mmm…you did."

"You can't say a word to her!" Arizona shakes her head and continues to talk. "I can't believe I told you that. Why would I tell you? Of all people? You have a big mouth!"

Teddy and Mandy start laughing. "Actually, we didn't talk anymore about her last night after our first conversation. This right here," Teddy says, pointing to her, "is even better... You are admitting it while you are sober!"

"Argh..." Arizona mumbles as she stands and heads upstairs, not making the trek as quickly as she would like. She realizes she needs to get herself straightened up before she is tricked into saying anything else she doesn't want them to know about.

As Teddy and Mandy laugh, watching Arizona fumble her way upstairs, Mandy looks at Teddy and says, "Well played," twisting her face into a look of approval. "That was easier than I expected," she says laughing.

"I know. She thinks she is complicated," Teddy says, shaking her head. "Easy as pie to read sometimes, though."

XXXXXXX

Callie is sitting with her daughter and holding her hand. She reaches up to push some hair back behind her ear. She really is the spitting image of herself. Callie begins to think about how her marriage began and how it ended. When they met at a hospital board meeting, George sought her out afterwards, hoping to discuss her funding request. It started out pretty innocent, but then George found out who she was and that seemed to peak his interest in her. He knew being married to someone like Callie could really help his career. Callie didn't realize this at the time, and thought he was truly interested in her. She agreed to marry him but didn't realize until after the wedding what had happened. She overheard a conversation between George and his dad which turned out to be quite the telling conversation. She never told George she overheard because she really did love him and thought just maybe, he would grow to love her.

When George agreed to having a child, it wasn't really because he wanted one, but more that is what expected of him. He came from a wealthy family, as did Callie, and he felt that it was not a choice, but a necessity. Men in his company in the higher tier of management, all had large families. The younger men were all getting married, where the others were either starting their families or already had one. They had been married for a year when they started trying. It took about three months before they found out they were going to be parents.

When they found out they were expecting, Callie hoped that George would be excited. That wasn't the case though and then when they found out the baby was a girl, he really lost interest. That was the beginning of late nights at the office and working on the weekend. Until that point, he at least tried to keep up the appearance of a happy husband. After the birth of their daughter, Katie, he rarely came home. Callie juggled work and being a mother, even concluding her cartilage research, where she was more than successful.

When Callie received the call from daycare that there had been an accident and her daughter was unconscious, George didn't even come to the hospital until the next day. That's when Callie made the decision she was done with George. She didn't ask anything of him from that point on. She took time off work so she could spend it with her daughter. Days turned into weeks, which turned into months. Finally, after over a year of this and starting therapy, she filed for divorce. George signed over legal and physical custody to her during the divorce.

"Hey, I brought you a coffee," Mark says as he walks back into her room and handing Callie the cup, bringing her out of her thoughts. "You ok? You have a spaced out look about you."

"Uh, yeah," Callie says, looking down at her cup. "I was just thinking. Just... thinking about the past couple of years and how we got here. It just all really sucks."

"Yeah, it does. All of it," Mark says, as he reaches down to kiss the top of her head. "I um, I saw the Dr. Tanner out in the hall. Looks like he is doing rounds."

Callie nods her head and takes a sip of her coffee. "Oh, that's good. Where did you get this? They couldn't have had it here in this place."

Laughing, Mark says, "Hell no. I was looking online a little bit ago and saw this place was just around the corner. Had excellent reviews so I thought it might be worth the walk."

"Definitely worth it," Callie nods, taking another sip. "Thank you, I needed this, this morning. I brought a book to read but if I start on it, I won't be able to stay awake."

"Miss Torres, good morning," the doctor says, sticking his hand out for Callie to shake. Then looking at her friend, "And... Mark was it?" He asks, hoping he remembered.

"Yeah. Very good memory," Mark says, reaching his hand out.

"It looks like it was an uneventful night," Dr. Tanner says, looking over her charts.

"Yeah. Which is good and bad. I keep hoping her eyes are going to open and that she will start fighting the vent. But on the other hand, uneventful means she isn't worse, and I'll settle for that right now."

Nodding, Dr. Tanner says, "Well, I saved Katie for last. I have time now if you would like for me to go over the latest test results with you?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'd like Mark to join us. He is a doctor as well."

"Is that so? What's your specialty?"

"ENT and plastics surgery," Mark says, proudly.

"Impressive. Well, if you would, follow me then," Dr. Tanner says, leading them down the hall to a small office.

As Dr. Tanner explains each test that was ran and the results, Callie asks clarifying questions along the way to help her better understand what each result means. Being a doctor, for the most part, she already knows. But as the parent, she asks question after question with hope that maybe she will get a different answer. Dr. Tanner explains who they consult with routinely.

Callie knows that she probably doesn't have much time left. With each day that passes, she understands she is getting closer and closer to making a decision, but she still pushes for new ideas. "Dr. Tanner, I am just not ready. I just... I know that time is running out. But I just... I don't think it's time."

"Then... we wait. But I promise, we will do everything we can."

"Thank you Dr. Tanner. I appreciate you taking the time to go over the results with me." Callie offers a handshake, as does Mark, before they excuse themselves.

While they walk back to Katie's room, Mark suggests that he stay for a while then run and grab a late lunch/early dinner to bring back. He says that will give her more time with Katie and not have to worry about leaving.

Mark does as he promised, and after a while, leaves to go grab some food. He did some more research and found a little place a few blocks away that has the perfect comfort food for Callie.

While he is gone, Callie sits with Katie and begins to tell her about her week. She used to recap her day when she would see her every evening. Since she can no longer do that, she wants to tell her about her week. She understands Katie probably can't hear her, but she spends a lot of time talking to her, just in case.

"It was actually a busy week," she says, reaching for her hand. "I moved into our new house. I have your room set up for you. I mean, there isn't a whole lot in there, but I want you to be able to pick out what you want when you come home. We can decorate it however you want it. I started remodeling my new office. I can't wait to open up here in a few weeks. I met some new people this week... some pretty cool people. Addie is great. She is going to be my new secretary. And she brought Yang... Christina Yang, and introduced me to her. She will be my new nurse. I still need to find an x-ray tech, but Addie says, she has an idea on that one too. Let's see... there is a pediatrician's office across the road. The secretary, Teddy, she is really nice. And the nurse, Mandy, she seems like a hoot and a half. I bet she secretly runs the place but lets the doctor take the credit. Oh... and the doctor. Let me tell you. She is something else. She just... she doesn't like me at all. I seem to get on every nerve she has. And I have to say, I think it's funny seeing her get all mad. She is a spitfire for sure. She is all worried about a stupid parking space. Oh..." Callie says, covering her mouth. "I shouldn't have said stupid. That's not a nice word to say. I don't want you to learn that one."

Callie stops talking for a few minutes, then starts again. "So, this doctor, her name is Dr. Robbins. She is the total opposite of me. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. And we have totally... totally different tastes in things," Callie says, then starts to chuckle. If only her daughter knew how different they were. "I don't know what it is though. I kind of like making her mad. And... I should probably stop talking because it isn't nice to make someone mad. That's actually pretty mean. So yeah... act like you didn't hear that. You know, she just... I don't know. I think she likes making me mad too. She keeps spying on me. Who does that? I don't spy on people. I sent her flowers to make her mad too. Which, Mark pointed out that maybe that wasn't the best idea. She just..."

"She just... what?" Mark asks, walking into the room?"

"What?" Callie asks, whirling around to see Mark walking in with two big bags of food. "Uh, she… it's nothing."

"Oh, you were rambling about blondie for a good ten minutes there. I hardly think that's nothing," Mark smirks.

"Oh, stop it. Your mind is terrible. It's nothing like that. How long have you been back?"

"Long enough," Mark says, shrugging.

"Mark... It is totally not what you think it is. I just like talking to Katie. Sometimes it makes me ramble about things just to fill the time."

"Here... try this..." Mark says, handing her a container holding a large helping of rice, chicken, and vegetables. He tried to change the subject, sensing she would never admit to what he was currently thinking. "So, I thought that Chinese may still be your go-to comfort food. So, I found this place. Google is great for that, by the way. But this place, it smelled amazing when I walked in."

"Mmm, Mark. This is delicious," Callie says, around a mouthful of chicken.

They finished their early dinner and spent the rest of the day chatting. Callie started her book and Mark caught up on some work he brought with him.

XXXXXXX

Arizona, Teddy, and Mandy are all sitting around the back deck, taking in the view. Although the private pond isn't that big, the view is still amazing. Earlier today, while Arizona was getting herself situated, Mandy and Teddy decided they wouldn't give her anymore of a hard time about Callie. They love to give her a hard time, but, they know their limits.

They are in the middle of having dinner when Arizona's phone rings. When she sees the number, she excuses herself and heads inside to take the call. About ten minutes later, she comes back outside and rejoins the other two, a little upset that her food is now cold.

"So, that was interesting," Arizona says, as she picks at her cold grilled chicken.

"Who was it?" Teddy asks

"Um, it was Dr. Tanner from Mayo. After catching up for a few minutes, she went on to tell me that her husband works at a different facility, but has a case they have been consulting on recently. She said they are calling in a few surgeons to help out. She asked if I could look over the files and see if I have any thoughts on the case."

"Well, that's great! You were just talking about wanting to expand. Maybe this is the push you need to get your feet wet again. What did you tell her?"

"I told her I would give them a look. She is going to fax me some things on Monday. I told her I didn't really have a chance to come there in person for another few weeks so that was the only way I could do it."

"You could have ditched us if you wanted. We can fend for ourselves for a while."

"No, even if I went there, I wouldn't be able to sort through everything today. She said they are just at a loss as to what's going on."

"Well, maybe you are just what they need," Mandy says, nodding.

"Maybe. But for tonight… I saw some board games in there. I think I know what we are doing tonight..." Arizona says with a smile.