Chapter 3
Pulling up in the ambulance bay Meredith was grateful to see Sally from day care waiting outside,
"Sofia, Zola, Bailey and little Ellis I was hoping to see you here, we are about to make a slime do you want to come?" Sally asked, Sofia, Bailey and Zola nodded, Sofia and Zola removing their seatbelts and climbing out the car, while Sally helped Bailey and Meredith unbelted Ellis and handed her over. As soon as Sally had disappeared with the kids Bailey, April and Owen appeared with a stretcher.
"Arizona, time to get up" Meredith called shaking her friend gently,
"No, sleeping" Arizona mumbled.
"Come on were at the hospital" Meredith shook her again,
"No Callie, not the hospital" Arizona didn't open her eyes, but started fighting her Owen tapped Meredith on the shoulder to step back leaning into the car and lifting Arizona out placing her on the trolley.
"Let's get into trauma 1" Owen ordered, in the exam room Bailey took charge. As Arizona continued to feebly fight them.
"O2, Kepnar monitoring, Grey cannula and bloods, start fluids 1000ml Hartmans, 1.2g co-amox," She ordered listening to the chest, "Clear,"
"Okay sats 92 on air pulse tachy 125, pressure down 74/53, temp 39.5." April called
"I have access" Meredith celebrated,
"Push that fluid" Bailey ordered, "Get me the ultrasound, you said appendix?" she asked Grey.
"She didn't eat last night and seemed off, today she was in pain Right iliac fossa, insisting she was fine, she hasn't eaten, nauseous, pyrexia, clammy, I think she has perfed"
"Why did she let it get this bad?" April wondered; Arizona was a talent doctor she should be able to recognise an appendicitis.
"Sofia is in town until Tuesday, she hasn't seen her in months and Callie hasn't said when she can have Sofia back, I think she was trying to hold on until she went home" Meredith explained. Alex winced, as the person closest to Arizona he knew how Callie had been treating her and sympathised with her. She was going to be devastated when she woke up.
"Stubborn" Bailey muttered not sure she'd do differently if it was her, when Tuck was away it killed her, and she knew exactly how long until he was home. To have it all based on the whim on her ex would kill her. Bailey began the ultrasound "free fluid in the abdomen, tell the OR we are on the way, we need to clean out this mess" She instructed each surgeon grabbing part of the trolley or the drip or 02 in order to move.
In the OR Meredith and Bailey scrubbed in, Owen ordering the others out, while everyone was concerned it didn't take 2 general surgeons, 2 trauma surgeons and a peds surgeons to fix an appendix even one that had burst and caused peritonitis.
After 6 long hours Meredith and Bailey transferred Arizona to the ICU. Her observations had improved her bowel no longer leaking into her abdomen. As much toxic bowel fluid had been cleaned out Arizona would need high dose antibiotics, fluids, and oxygen. With the surgery finished Meredith went in search of her children only to find that Auntie's Amelia and Maggie had taken all 4 children home. A quick phone call revealed the 4 kids watching tangled, Sofia and Zola in princess dresses and Bailey in his underwear. Ellis was already in her bedtime outfit.
After chatting to her kids and reassuring Sofia Mommy was okay just working Meredith hung up, wondering about the lie she had told Sofia. It seemed wrong to tell her over the phone and without another parental figure nearby.
"I should call Callie" Meredith said out loud to nobody. Bailey was nearby
"No, you don't,"
"But"
"No, I checked her file, her next of kin is Richard Webber, I've let him know" Bailey ordered. "If he wants to call Callie he can. Callie is no longer Arizona's next of kin, we can tell her nothing"
"But Sofia" Meredith
"Sofia is with you, Callie is back in town Tuesday one of us can drop her off" Bailey replied, as Richard walked down the corridor.
"How is she?" he asked looking at his colleague lying in ITU still intubated. Wires, drains and tubes everywhere.
"Stable for now, she was in a bad way. We got lucky even an hour later and I don't think we'd be in this position.
"We should tell Callie" Meredith pressed
"No" Richard answered swiftly, "Arizona wouldn't want her to know,"
"But" Meredith started
"No" Richard replied. On their trivia nights they'd spoken at length about Arizona's previous relationship, and how she had lost her custody case. How Callie presented her as a workaholic slut, how the judge had believed her, how Arizona tried to call Sofia every night only to be told by Callie or more often Penny that Sofia was busy with dance class, or swimming or God knows what else. Richard had seen it at their trivia night how Arizona would excuse herself to talk to Sofia only to return 5 minutes later with an excuse, and a broken look in her eyes, week after week after week. How Callie and her only now communicated by text. It was better than way Arizona reassured him, written evidence of conversations in case it ever went to court. On the rare occasion she got through to her daughter she'd be gone ages returning with a sparkle in her eyes and back to her normal perky attitude.
"When will you wake her?" he asked Bailey,
"Tomorrow if her labs improve" Bailey decided. "We need to rest everything tonight"
"Your just scared she is going to discharge herself" Meredith joked, the look Bailey gave her said it had crossed her mind.
"Are you calling her parents?" Meredith asked, Richard shook his head no not sure how much Arizona had told everyone about her parents and their rapidly declining health. Deciding to stop the inquisition Richard left the group heading into Arizona's hospital room sitting by her bedside.
He sat lost in memories how their friendship had developed from her crying every time she spoke to him to her taking him into Lesbian bars as her wingman. When she had asked him to be her medical proxy he had agreed straight away. Then a long talk had started, if he was medical proxy he needed to know how she wanted to be treated and working as a doctor he had a lot of hypotheticals.
Outside the room Meredith checked her watch,
"You go I'll stay just in case, it's your day off and I'm sure all the kids miss you" Bailey offered,
"What about you?"
"Ben's working and Tuck's at his dads so it's just me" Bailey shrugged, running a hospital was hard work, she planned to stay late anyway as it was better than going home to an empty house this just gave her the excuse to stay. She couldn't imagine what Arizona was going through, Tuck was at his dad's for 1 weekend and she was going out her mind missing him, what Arizona was doing not seeing her daughter for months must be killing her.