Chapter 16
Callie wakes up to see Mark sitting in the chair, looking at his phone. "Hey... How long have you been here?"
"Oh, not long. Need some help up?" Mark asks.
"Yeah... that would be great," Callie says, holding her hand out for Mark.
"So, blondie out there said you had some news. What is it?" Mark asks, eagerly.
"The antibody test confirmed it's MG. We can start treatments!" Callie excitedly says while grabbing onto Mark's arms.
"Cal! That's amazing!" Mark reaches over and lifts Callie off the ground and swings her around, causing Callie to squeal! "Callie..." Mark says, as he puts her down, "That is just... I don't even know what to say."
"I know, Mark. It's just... I have waited so long to get some kind of shred of hope. And we got not only that, but a diagnosis. I just, I can't even tell you how wonderful it is, to know I might get her back. She is everything to me."
"She is an amazing little girl. If she can hang on this long… she is a fighter. She can do this."
"I hope you are right Mark. I just can't stand the thought of treatments not working. So, I have to believe they will. Because if we go through all the treatments and they don't work…" Callie shakes her head and holds back the tears that are threatening to fall.
"They will. They have to... It's one of the best hospitals in the country. So, how did they figure this out?" Mark asks.
"Um, you mentioned something about 'Blondie' telling you I had good news? Who were you talking about?" Callie knows it was Arizona, but she wants to double check.
"Oh, Dr. Robbins, the one you don't like that's across the road from you. She was out there. Oh... and she said there was coffee and a muffin there for you," he says, pointing to the table.
Smiling, Callie looks over and indeed, sitting there on the table, is some coffee and a chocolate chip muffin. Looking back at Mark, she says, "I have some things I should um, probably tell you."
"Wait..." Mark says, looking at the coffee. "Why did blondie bring you the coffee? You don't like each other..."
"She is actually Katie's doctor. She is the one who diagnosed her," Arizona says with a smile.
"No kidding? How did that happen?"
"Well, turns out, she is also a peds surgeon who did her residency here. They called her to consult on Katie's case. So, she has been consulting and I think she is a genius. I mean, she was able to find something that you and I and every other doctor my dad flew in missed."
"Hm. Well, maybe I underestimated her then."
"Yeah. Turns out she is more than a peds doctor. She is... kind of amazing," Callie says, smiling.
"I'd say anyone who diagnosed her would be amazing," Mark agrees.
"Mark... I need to tell you something. And I need you to not be such a man about it. I need you to be my friend... My supportive friend."
"What are you talking about? I am supportive."
"I know. But, I need you to just... take a breath when I tell you what I need to tell you."
"Ok..." Mark says slowly, squinting his eyes at his best friend.
"Um... I... I kind of agreed to have dinner with her. Before all this happened. I didn't know she was consulting on Katie's case and she obviously didn't know I had a daughter. But..."
"Wait... You mean," Mark says, trying to piece things together and his eyes light up. "You mean... you and blondie are a thing?"
"No. We aren't a thing. But... I did agree to dinner with her. But we put everything on hold, for now. Because Katie is more important and I need to focus on her."
"Callie. I can't believe you are crossing over to the lady loving side. Oh...," Mark says as he remembers what he overheard earlier. "You have competition though. Some nurse was hitting on her out there."
"What?"
"Yeah. Some nurse was trying to get her in the on-call room," Mark says. "Now it makes sense," he says as he suddenly understands why Arizona wanted to make him see that nothing was going on. "She made it a point to tell me it was nothing though, after I overheard."
"Someone was propositioning her?"
"Yeah... some hot nurse. But... blondie gave me the lowdown and said nothing happened and it was just an old flame hitting on her."
"An old flame? Here?" Callie asks. "I guess I should have assumed she had them here too. I mean, she has them all over the place at home..." Callie says, sitting down.
"Callie... stop. She said nothing happened and it was one-sided. I don't even know her, but she was adamant she didn't want any misunderstandings. She made it a point to tell me, when she didn't have to. She could have let me assume whatever, but she didn't want that to happen. Obviously, she didn't want you to think something happened when it didn't."
Callie sits there quietly for a few minutes. "Mark, I have never been interested in a woman before. And then she comes along and has me questioning everything. And I mean, everything. I am having thoughts I have never had, and... I'm enjoying it. I'm worried though because she has a long list of women. Woman that are way more experienced… without kids. Why would she want to spend time with me? Or beyond that, why would she wait on me when she has women like that lining up for her now?"
"Seriously? Because... you're you," Mark ways matter of factly. "That's all it takes. I mean, that's all it took for me... And I know that's all in the past, but it's still true. You are something else and she can see that. And, I'm sure you will get the hang of 'things' pretty quickly," Mark says with his air quotes, smirking.
"Mark, that's... I... Never mind. I'm not going to talk about that with you," Callie says. "I just… I don't know Mark. I feel like she needs more than I can give her."
"Maybe you need to let her decide," Mark says. "You are so much more than you give yourself credit for."
XXXXXXX
"Good morning Dr. Shepherd," Arizona says, as Amelia walks into the meeting room to find Beth and Arizona sitting there.
"Good morning! I can't tell you how surprised I was to get your call this morning. We have missed you around here."
"Thanks. It's actually nice to be back for a little bit," Arizona says, smiling.
"Well, Beth would take you back anytime, I'm sure of it."
"Oh, I definitely would," Beth says, smiling.
"So... You have a juvenile MG diagnosis. Long-lasting severe symptoms. Patient is on a vent and non-responsive."
"Yes. That would be correct," Arizona says.
"Well, there are certainly several treatment options. Because of the severity, I think we should implement several options right off the bat. Normally, we would start slow and work our way up. However, this is one of the most severe cases I have ever heard of."
"Agreed," the other doctors both chimed in.
"Here's what I propose. We start her on plasmapheresis and start removing the antibodies. We also start her on IVIG therapy. I don't normally recommend both at once, but I think this case calls for it."
"I was hoping you would say that," Arizona says. "I also think we need to remove the thymus gland. There is no tumor, but I say we go ahead and remove it. Doing that often leads to better outcomes, and in this case, I strongly encourage going ahead and removing it."
"I would agree with that as well," Amelia says. "Will you do that or have Beth do it?"
"Um... I will probably be the one to do it," Arizona says, looking at Beth.
"Ok..." Amelia says, looking between the two. "What am I missing?"
Beth smirks and looks at Arizona. "Nothing. Unless you are talking about her being in love with Katie's mom."
"What?" Amelia asks, seemingly surprised. "Arizona Robbins... this woman must be something else if she snagged you."
"Ok... nobody is in love and she hasn't snagged me. We just met, like... a month ago..." Arizona explains how she and Callie met, and how they got to where they are now.
"Well... I would agree with Beth. I think you are head over heels in love with this woman. So, she must be pretty special."
"You two need to stop. Nobody loves anyone. We just met," Arizona says, trying to once again convince herself it is too early to have those kinds of feelings. "Now... about the surgery," she says, getting back on track. "I think we should go ahead and start her on the plasmapheresis immediately. It usually helps to start that before surgery. Let's plan on surgery tomorrow, where I will take out the thymus gland... and I'll probably take that out through a small incision in the neck and use a video assist. After that, we can start her on IVIG therapy."
"That sounds like the best option at this time. I think it's one of those things where you give it all you've got. I prefer to hold off on the meds for muscular improvement for now though. I think we need to get the muscles and nerves talking again and then we can work on that. Those can have some serious side effects and we don't want to start them before we need to," Amelia says, looking over the notes on the tablet.
"Ok. So, I think that you two have this down to a science by listening to you. I'm not sure why you needed me," Beth says smiling. "But, that's ok... I missed working with you guys together. You both have such similar ideologies about things that it always works out well when you two are together."
"That's a good thing," Arizona says, standing.
"Arizona, does the mom realize this isn't going to be an overnight improvement? That we might still be looking at weeks to months of making significant advances?"
"Yeah. She does... She knows it's a long road still, but she has hope. And sometimes, that's worth more than anything."
"Ok. Well, please, let me know if you need anything else. I will be glad to pop back in or text... just whatever you need. Otherwise, I will check in with you tomorrow."
"Oh...," Arizona says, with a worried look, realizing she had overlooked something.
"What?" Beth asks, beating Amelia to the question.
"Well, it's just, I need to call and have my appointments cancelled for the next week. I'm not leaving until we think we are heading in the right direction."
"Arizona, after the surgery, you can also oversee her case from home. You don't actually have to be here all the time," Beth says.
"I know. But... I want to be. At least for this week."
Seeming to understand, Beth nods. They make their way back to Katie's room and see Callie and Mark standing by the bed. Arizona is somewhat surprised to see Mark standing right behind Callie, with both arms wrapped around her, as they watch Katie. Clearing her throat, Callie and Mark quickly turn around.
Callie turns to see Arizona fidgeting with her tablet, not yet making eye contact. "Hey."
Arizona finally looks up after Amelia taps her arm from behind her. "Hey," she says as she can't help but look at Mark's arm still wrapped around Callie's waste. "We wanted to um, discuss treatment if now is a good time. Or, we can come back?"
Seeing where Arizona's eyes on Mark's arms, Callie realizes what it might look like and pulls back away from Mark, creating a little distance between them. "Um, now is perfect. We were just talking to her."
Nodding, Arizona continues. "Callie, Mark, this is Amelia Shepherd, neuro. She is one of the best. Amelia, this is Callie Torres and her friend, Mark."
"Nice to meet you," Callie says, offering her hand to Amelia.
"You too," Amelia says, shaking Callie's hand as Mark goes through the same process.
"So... here's what we are thinking..." Arizona explains everything they talked about. Although Callie is hesitant about the surgery, she knows it will need done.
"And... you will do the surgery?" Callie asks.
"As long as you are ok with it. Otherwise, Beth can do it."
"No, you can. I want you to do it."
"Ok. We will go out and get the plasmapheresis started immediately and then I will get the OR scheduled for tomorrow," Arizona says. "Do you two have any more questions?"
"How long do you think it will take to see at least any slight improvements?" Mark asks.
"We really don't know. This is one of the most severe cases we have ever seen. Usually, it can take a few months to get most of the symptoms to reverse. As severe as this is, it may take longer. So, we start out hoping for anything. A muscle twitch, a pinky moving, an eyelid to flutter open. Just, anything. You just need to take the small things as big victories... because it is. Every movement we can get, is a huge accomplishment for her and it will show we are moving in the right direction," Arizona shares.
"Will treatment change if we see no improvement?" Mark hates to ask the question, but wants to make sure Callie knows what she is dealing with.
Sighing, Arizona says, "We will absolutely make any adjustments we feel need to be made. We have a small arsenal of tools and we will exhaust them, I promise you," she says looking right at Callie. "We will use everything at our disposal and then some. We aren't going to give up. But, if there is no improvement, at some point, we will have to talk again. But right now, we hope and we pray and we treat. OK?" She looks at Callie as she nods... Not able to find words but knowing Arizona was right.
"Ok. I am going to go get things scheduled. We will see you in a little bit," Arizona says.
As she turns to walk out, Callie goes to say something to Arizona but is stopped by Amelia. "Callie, it was nice to meet you. I'll be checking in later with Arizona and I'll stop by in the morning."
"That sounds good. It was nice to meet you too," Callie says, offering a smile. By the time Amelia turns to leave, Arizona and Beth are already out the door.
Sighing, Callie sits down. She is so overwhelmed right at this moment. Everything has moved so quickly this weekend and it is a lot to process.
"You ok?" Mark asks, moving to stand beside her. He sits on the edge of the recliner and pulls her closer to him, as she starts crying. "Hey... it will be ok," Mark says, rubbing her back. "She is tough, just like her mom. She will pull through this."
Callie continues to cry as Mark comforts her, talking softly to her. "I know... it's just a lot to take in right now. But, I'm right here. I can stay as long as you need me."
Out at the nurse's station, Arizona makes arrangements for Katie's surgery tomorrow and puts in the orders for today's treatment. Once she is done, she makes her way to the lounge so she can call Teddy. Arizona can't help but wonder about Callie and Mark's relationship. Callie said he wasn't her boyfriend, and that they were friends. But after seeing them in there when she walked in, with his arms around her, maybe things have changed. Maybe Callie was seeing him casually. That would still make her statement of him not being her boyfriend accurate. Shaking her head, she thinks that just can't be. Callie doesn't seem like the type to play around.
Arizona shakes her head and pulls out her phone, giving Teddy a call.
"Hey Teddy," Arizona says, after Teddy answers.
"Hey stranger. Where are you? I have tried to call you all morning."
"Sorry. I had my phone on silent. Listen... you aren't going to believe this, but Katherine O'Malley? She is Callie's daughter," Arizona says, surprising Teddy.
"What?"
"Yeah. I made a breakthrough yesterday and drove to Rochester last night. And... there was Callie."
"Wow. That's... weird. I mean, not that she has a daughter, but that her daughter is the consult. Seriously, what are the odds of that?"
"Yeah, I know. So weird. But, it's been a good weird, if that makes sense. And we were able to make a diagnosis. We are actually going to start treatment today and I'm going to take her in for surgery tomorrow... which is why I'm calling."
"You need me to reschedule tomorrow?"
"Actually, I want to just reschedule the whole week."
"What? Why?"
"Because, I'm... taking lead on this. And... I want to be here."
"Oh... ok. You have just never taken a week off, let alone rescheduled a day. and now you are rescheduling your whole week."
"On Friday when she came over, it was to tell me she would have dinner with me. She agreed to a date, Teddy. With me! And then I get here and find out she has a daughter, who looks so much like her. I need to be here. Not that it matters, I guess. You remember Mark? The guy we saw her going away with..."
"Yeah, what about him?"
"Well, he's here. And they are more than cozy. She said he wasn't her boyfriend but now... I'm not so sure. I don't stand behind you and wrap you up you up in my arms."
"You are jealous."
"No, I'm not. It's just... I'm not sure what's really going on between them."
"Arizona, Addie said last week when she and I were talking about you and Callie, that her and Mark were just friends. That's what she told Addie, anyway. So... I don't think you have to worry about it. If she says they are friends, then that's what they are. Don't read anymore into than you need to."
"Maybe you're right."
"I'm always right."
"Hardly. Well, if you can reschedule for me, I'd appreciate it. Then maybe keep office hours until noon each day to take phone calls, then close up for the day. I'll still pay you and Mandy for the whole day."
"Aren't you feeling generous," Teddy laughs.
"Well, I just know it wasn't planned. I'm not going to leave you hanging on a paycheck."
"Well, I thank you for that. Listen... talk to her. Most of your relationships blow up because you don't talk about things. If you want her to be different, start doing things different from the beginning."
"You're right. Well, I need to go. They are starting a treatment on Katie soon, so I want to be there. I will talk to you later."
"Alright. Call if you need anything else."
"I will. Thanks Teddy."
"Anytime."
Arizona hangs up and contemplates what Teddy just said. If Callie told her and Addie there isn't anything going on between them, then maybe she needs to trust her.
As she heads back to see if they are ready to start Katie's treatment, she busies herself looking back over Katie's information. Arizona sits at the nurse's station with her eyes glued to the tablet screen, unaware of Callie standing outside Katie's door.
Callie is having the same conversation that Arizona just had with Teddy, on the phone with Addie. She is rescheduling her appointments for the upcoming week, at least for now. It will probably have to be extended. Luckily, things are still relatively slow since they just opened, so it won't be as hard to shuffle things around.
Mark comes out just as Callie is getting off the phone. "Hey, this coffee is getting cold. You better come drink it," he says handing it to her and putting his arm around her to lead her back into the room. She nods and turns to head back with him, when she realizes that Arizona is sitting at the desk. Arizona happens to look up at that moment. Callie stops and says something to Mark as he turns around to see Arizona sitting there. He nods and heads back into the room as Callie makes her way over towards Arizona.
"Hey. You left pretty quick earlier. I thought you would come back in."
"Um, yeah. I had to put orders in and get things moving. The sooner the better," Arizona says, nodding. "Then, I had to give Teddy a call and have her do some rescheduling."
"Arizona, I'm so sorry," Callie says as she realizes why that was necessary. "I wasn't even thinking about you being here tomorrow. We can have Beth do it. I don't want to keep you away from your office."
"Oh, it's no big deal. I um, I actually took the whole week off," Arizona says, quickly looking down.
"What? Why did you take the whole week?"
"I wanted to. I want to he here to keep an eye on things. It's an important week."
"Arizona… you don't have to do this," Callie says, hating that she didn't realize earlier that Arizona would have to give up office time to be here.
"Arizona, I'm sure you have things you need to do."
Standing up, Arizona heads around the desk and grabs Callie's hand. She walks with her down the hall to the first empty room she can find.
"I know this is going to make me sound like an idiot. And I hate that… I do. But... I need to ask you something," Arizona says.
"You can ask me whatever you want," Callie says, not knowing where Arizona is going with this.
"You said that Mark wasn't your boyfriend but you seemed really close in there."
"We are close. We have known each other for over fifteen years."
"Yeah. But, you seem… really close."
"That's not a question," Callie says with her eyebrows raised.
Sighing, Arizona asks, "Are you sure he isn't your boyfriend? Because, you looked really close in there."
Sighing, Callie says, "Look, Mark is Mark. We were a thing a very long time ago. But, it wasn't meant to be. Mark is my family now. There is nothing more to it than that."
"I'm sorry. It's not any of my business, I just…"
Callie cuts her off. "I had the same feeling earlier, when Mark said someone was propositioning you this morning."
"Did he also tell you I turned her down?"
Smiling, Callie says, "Yeah, he did. Seems we have both been a little jealous today." Shaking her head, her smile faltering, as she says, "I don't think I can keep doing this. I..."
"Oh... I'm, I'm sorry. I will um, I will turn the case over to Beth. I will go ahead and go back home. Beth can consult with me any time she needs to though," Arizona says, looking down.
"I don't want another doctor for Katie."
"You said you can't keep doing this, though," Arizona says, confused.
"That's not why I said that Arizona. I said that because, I know we said we would table this conversation we are supposed to have, for now. But I don't think we can table it. We have this... this chemistry that goes beyond anything I have ever felt before."
"I know…"
"I don't want to table the discussion, I want to talk about things now. I am with my daughter, in the hospital, while also trying to get my practice up and running. This diagnosis changes everything for us. I don't even know what I am going to do past this week... I mean, I am now going to be living between two places. I don't have time to date. At all... but I want to date you. That's selfish of me though, because you deserve more than a few minutes here and there and I can't ask you to wait. That's not fair to you. You deserve someone who has time for you. Someone who can go off to… to on-call rooms with you if that's what you want," Callie says as she looks up at the ceiling, embarrassed to say that.
"Callie.." Arizona tried to stop her, but Callie keeps talking.
"I just... I cant offer that right now. And it isn't fair to ask you to wait. Because I don't know how long this will take and I don't even know if you like kids. That might be a deal breaker for you anyway. So as much as I want to try this with you right now, I think it is best if you move on."
"Callie, don't do this. You are telling me you feel this chemistry, this thing between us, and you want me to move on? You can't just tell me that and then tell me to move on."
"You deserve more than this right now."
"Callie… I don't think you understand. I know we don't know each other and it makes this even crazier. But I will wait as long as you need."
"No. That is selfish of me and I can't let you do that."
"I'm not asking for permission Callie. I don't have a choice but to wait. Because I know as sure as I'm standing here," Arizona says as she reaches out and holds Callie's hands, "that this is where I am supposed to be. Let everyone say it is too soon, I don't care. But you need to believe me, when I say I have no choice but to wait… because I am so drawn to you. We don't have to rush and I could care less about on-call rooms. I understand there are no date nights on the horizon and I wouldn't expect there to be. But I am choosing whatever time I can get if the opposite is nothing at all. I will take coffee and muffin moments over fancy dinners out, any day of the week, if that is what we need to do. Because I believe that you, and more importantly, that we, could be worth it."
"Arizona… no. We just met. You don't need to be tied down to someone with a sick child, let alone someone who has never been with a woman before," Callie says, giving Arizona a sad smile.
At this moment, Arizona knows there is only one thing to do. She let's go of Callie's hands and without anymore thought, she places both hands on either side of Callie's face and leans in, capturing the brunette in an unexpected kiss. It only takes Callie a few seconds to respond and she brings her hands up to wrap around the back of Arizona's shoulders pulling her closer. The kiss isn't hurried but somehow is more passionate than either of them could have anticipated. When Arizona finally pulls back, she leaves her hands on Callie's cheeks, running her thumbs up and down, caressing her face.
Looking into Callie's eyes, Arizona asks quietly, "Do you really want me to walk away from this?"
At that moment, Arizona's pager goes off. She quickly reaches down to grab it and sees that it is from the nurse's station.
"Um, we uh, we need to go. They are ready to start her treatment." With that, Arizona turns to walk towards the door, holding it open for Callie. "They are waiting on us."
Totally in shock from what just happened, but also knowing she needs to get to Katie, Callie nods and follows Arizona.
AN: Callie is trying to do what she thinks is right. Wonder how long that will last...