Title: Frontlines
Author: captstarbuck
Rating: T
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Disclaimers: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual. (I don't own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy.
Summary: My take on Callie and Arizona in NYC at the time the pandemic hit
Editor/Beta: pensco_927
Frontlines
Chapter 2 – We Need A Plan
Friday, March 6, 2020
Callie switched to speaker and set the phone down on the desk.
"Can you hear me?" Callie asked.
"Yes." Meredith cleared her throat. "Callie, Arizona, I've got Richard and Bailey with me. We're in Bailey's office."
The group of doctors exchanged hellos.
"What do you two know about the coronavirus?" Richard asked.
"Just what we've seen on the news," Arizona answered. "And of course, the bulletins from the hospital."
Callie cleared her throat. "We've had a few cases come in this week," she admitted.
"Callie!" Arizona said sharply.
"What?" Callie was confused by Arizona's reaction.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's only few cases, Arizona."
"I should know about them," Arizona continued. "You know I've been at the Center all week."
"Arizona, it's no big deal."
"Yes, it is."
If the topic under discussion wasn't so serious the three doctors in Seattle could almost be amused by the bickering couple in New York.
"Ladies,' Bailey interrupted in a tone that shut both of them up. "Can you finish this argument later? We've got some vital information to discuss."
"Go ahead, Bailey," Arizona said, giving Callie one last glare.
"Those few cases, what you're seeing now, is the tip of the iceberg," Richard stated.
"More like the beginning of a tsunami," Bailey chimed in.
"What do you mean?"
"My old college roommate works at the CDC," Bailey informed them.
"And I have a dear friend who works for the New York State Department of Health," Richard added.
"And?"
"It's going to get very bad there," Meredith spoke up.
"New York is going to be the epicenter," Richard commented.
"That's not what we're hearing," Callie responded.
"Forget all that," said Bailey. "You're going to be overwhelmed in New York."
"Surely you're overreacting. We've stopped the flights from China."
"Cal, my friend at the CDC said they're worried about it coming in from Europe. The cases there are starting to climb."
"What does that mean for us?"
"Based on the projections from the guys at the U-Dub, you could be seeing thousands of cases a day. You'll be working long, long hours."
"New York is thinking of shutting down the state," the former chief stated.
"What does that mean? Shutting down?" Arizona queried.
"Only essential workers, mandatory masks. Schools will be closed. We've already implemented that here, and Northern California is doing the same."
"And they'll be cancelling all elective surgeries.," Meredith said.
"No elective surgeries? What am I supposed to do?" Callie almost whined. "Way more than half of my surgeries could be considered elective."
"You're going to be too busy working on ICU cases. We've been working doubles here to keep up with it." Meredith sighed. "You have no idea how bad it's going to be."
"What about Sofia? What are we supposed to do about Sofia if she's not in school and we're always at work?" Callie wondered out loud.
Arizona squeezed Callie's hand. "Then we need to come up with a plan, okay?" Callie half-nodded. "Thanks for giving us a heads up," Arizona said to her friends and former co-workers.
"We'll keep in touch and if we hear anything new, we'll let you know."
Callie added her thanks.
"Take care, you two," Bailey said, her voice filled with concern.
Once the call ended, Callie leaned back, her chair squeaking in the silence. "You don't think they're overreacting, do you?" she asked.
The blonde shook her head slowly. "No. They wouldn't have called if it wasn't serious."
"What should we do about Sofia?" Callie repeated.
"Well, she's supposed to spend Easter with my parents this year. Maybe she could go earlier?" Arizona suggested as she sat down on the sofa.
"Arizona, Easter is weeks away."
"I know. Maybe we could tell her it's for her birthday?"
"No, we've got plans for a big party for her and her friends. My parents and your parents were even going to come up for it."
"Calliope, I don't have a good feeling about this. I think this is going to explode and be around for more than a few days."
"Why would you say that?"
"Nicole and I had a conference call yesterday with a few doctors in Italy. They're really, really worried about how fast the cases are going up, and how ill some of the patients are."
"Which is why you freaked out when I mentioned we'd seen a few cases in the hospital already."
"I did not freak out," Arizona protested.
"Yeah, you did, just a little bit." Callie gave Arizona a small smile, letting her know that she was teasing her.
"I've got an idea, but I want to bring Nicole in on the discussion."
"Okay, but why?"
"Do you think your dad could free up the company plane? If Sofia has to stay with my parents, then I don't want her flying commercial."
It was then that Callie realized how grave the situation was. Arizona never asked for favors from Callie that had anything to do with the Torres' family money.
"I can check."
"Thanks. I'm gonna go check on a Nicole and Sofia, and then ask Nicole to join us. She and I will have to discuss what to do about some of my patients, too."
Twenty minutes later, two of the three women were seated in the living room.
"Well, are you going to tell me why you're both so stressed out?"
"We're not stressed."
"Torres, I can hear you pacing around the room like a caged animal and Robbins, your voice squeaks when you're stressed."
"I need a drink," Callie said abruptly. "Anyone else?"
"So bad that you need a drink?" When neither of the women responded, Nicole answered with a "Fine, my usual."
Nicole knew the Robbins-Torres household always had an expensive bottle of scotch on hand. She wasn't sure if it was for her, or because of Callie's father. She'd met the man at the Center's opening and again when he was in town after that. She really didn't have much of an opinion on him, but decided he couldn't be all that bad if he liked good scotch.
Callie poured Nicole's drink, then placed it in her hand. "Wine?" she asked Arizona.
"Vodka tonic, please."
"Hitting the hard stuff tonight, Robbins. This must be serious. Has some new disaster befallen Grey-Sloan? What is it this time?" Nicole asked as she sipped her drink.
"Not Grey-Sloan," Callie replied as she sat down beside Arizona. "Everywhere."
"Could you be any more cryptic, Torres."
"It's the coronavirus," Arizona stated. She then proceeded to repeat what their friends in Seattle had just told them.
"Is their information reliable?"
"Yes, I trust them. We trust them."
"It aligns with what we heard on that call this week," Nicole mused. "It would make sense that New York, or the East Coast would be an epicenter."
"We're going to have to make a plan for shutting down the Center," Arizona said, resignation in her voice.
"What's the schedule look like?"
"I've got three patients that are scheduled for surgery next week. They can't be considered elective."
"We have two doctors coming in for training the week after. We should postpone and reschedule when this pandemic is over."
"And consults?"
"Stick with the appointments this week, but reschedule or pass them on to someone else – maybe Montgomery – if they can't wait."
Callie leaned back and listened to the two doctors discuss their plans for the Center. She loved listening to the two of them squabble over their differences. They could both be headstrong and extremely stubborn, but they always managed to come to an agreement. They were so different, yet so alike in many ways. When they got on track with a case, they were almost of two minds, sometimes even finishing other's sentences.
Callie cringed inwardly when she thought about how she'd tried years ago to stop Arizona from getting the training from Nicole. It wasn't the cause of their last divorce, but it had contributed to it. She's saved so many lives, Callie thought. Even if we never got to have a second child, which would have been a disaster at the time, she admitted, I'm glad she completed it. Arizona is an amazing doctor and surgeon and in the long run, it was worth it.
"What else, Robbins?" Nicole's demanding tone brought Callie back to the conversation.
"We're going to send Sofia to stay with my parents, or Callie's."
"And that affects me how?"
"You're going to go with her."
"What?" The older woman's voice was incredulous. "No, I'm not."
"Yeah, you are," Arizona stated firmly.
"Why would I do that? I'm no babysitter."
"This is serious, Nicole," Arizona's tone softened. "I… I protect my family, and I, we, can't have anything happen to you."
"Nothing is going to happen to me, Robbins," Nicole scoffed.
"Nicole, we both know this is highly contagious. You can't get sick. We need you to stay alive and healthy and to keep training more doctors in the future."
"Absolutely not."
"You don't have a choice. You are family, Nicole," Callie added.
"I can make my own decisions, and I –"
"No!" Arizona cut off Nicole's protests. "I'm telling you what you're going to do. We need you with Sofia, and we need you safe."
Nicole couldn't see Arizona, but she remembered the look on Arizona's face when she'd put her foot down years ago and convinced her to have the surgery.
"Is she always this bossy?" Nicole directed her question at Callie, a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Only when it matters," Callie answered. "You know she's right, Nicole."
"Fine, fine, I'll go, but you're going to owe me big time, Robbins."
"I know," Arizona agreed. "And it's a price I'm willing to pay."
"So, when do we leave? How much time do I have to get ready?"
"We have to talk to Arizona's parents first and then I need to speak with my father."
"You'll be flying in style, Nicole," Arizona tried to smooth over the lingering tension. "No commercial flight for you. Callie's dad has a company plane."
"Well, I suppose that will work," Nicole said with a heavy, but clearly fake sigh. "I wouldn't want to have to drag the kid around through a busy airport."
Arizona reached over and squeezed Nicole's arm. She knew she was crossing a line, but she didn't care. "Thank you."
"I only have two requests," Nicole said after a moment of heavy silence. "Make sure wherever I'm going has plenty of scotch and plenty of ice cream."
Arizona laughed. "Don't worry about that. My dad loves a good scotch and the freezer is always full of ice cream."
"Only the good stuff. None of that cheap, generic crap."
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Sofia was a sensitive and observant child. She noticed that her mommy was late for breakfast because she'd been in the office with the door closed. She noticed that breakfast wasn't fun like it usually was on Saturday mornings when the four of them were together. She noticed that her mommies and Dr. Nic had pretend smiles while they shared their meal. The young girl didn't have the words to describe how she was feeling, so she fretted and became quiet and fearful.
After the meal, Sofia obediently helped her mama clear the dishes from the table and watched her mommy talk quietly to Dr. Nic by the front door. It felt like they had a secret and were keeping something from her.
"Are we going to the zoo today?" Sofia asked after Nicole had left.
"Not today," Callie answered.
"Sofia, your mama and I want to talk to you about something. Come sit with us," Arizona said as she walked into the living room.
Sofia warily followed her mama and sat down beside her mommy.
"Am I in trouble?" she asked.
"No, not at all." Arizona put her arm around Sofia's shoulders. "You've been a good girl," she added with a smile.
"Then what's wrong? Everyone's being so… so…" Sofia struggled to find the words that would explain how she thought her mommies were.
Callie reached out from her spot on the ottoman and put her hand on Sofia's knee. "So 'what', Sof?"
"I don't know," she pouted. "Just different."
She saw her parents make eye contact but they didn't say anything immediately, so Sofia became even more worried.
"Sofia, how would you like to spend some extra time with Grandma and Grandpa?" Arizona asked.
"What do you mean? I'm still going down there for Easter, aren't I?"
It was tradition to spend Easter with her grandparents. She always got a big Easter basket, even though she didn't believe in the Easter Bunny anymore, and they knew she didn't. Her grandpa even hid the eggs out in the backyard for her to find on Easter morning. She especially liked that she didn't have to go to church. Whenever she visited her abuelo and abuela at Christmas, she always had to go to church on Christmas Eve.
"Yes, you'll still be there for Easter, but you're going to go there next weekend and stay with them for a few weeks. You'll even get to celebrate your birthday with them," Arizona added, hoping that that piece of news would help Sofia accept the plan.
"Why? Are you getting a divorce?" she blurted.
"What?" "No!" her mommies said at the same time.
"Then why do I have to leave you? Why do I have to go there?"
Arizona and Callie were both shocked by what Sofia had asked. The two women had never remarried but they supposed Sofia thought they were since they'd all been living together for over a year. Deciding not to go down that route and try to explain their relationship, Arizona skipped over discussing that.
"Sofia, Mama and I will need to be at the hospital a lot for a few weeks." Arizona hoped it would be only a few weeks, but had her doubts. "And the schools will be closed soon. We won't be home enough to take care of you."
"Why would they close the schools?"
"Do you know what the flu is?" Callie asked.
"Sort of. We got shots every year so we don't catch it and get sick."
"Well, there's a new virus that's really bad, worse than the flu that's starting to spread."
"Can't we just get another shot for it?" Sofia absentmindedly rubbed her arm, remembering how much she'd hated getting the shot. She hated all shots.
"It's a brand new virus and there's no shot for it yet."
"I don't understand why they have to close the schools."
"It's very contagious," Arizona said. Seeing the confusion on Sofia's face, she continued, "It means it you can catch it easily."
"Won't you and Mama catch it at the hospital?"
"We'll be protected by our masks and gloves." Callie hoped she wasn't lying.
"Can't I stay and help you?" Sofia pleaded. She loved her grandparents, but she didn't think she could be away from her mommies for weeks.
"Sofia, we need you to help Grandma and Grandpa."
"And Dr. Nic, too," Callie added.
Sofia looked up from her hands. "What?"
"Dr. Nic is going with you. She'll need you to help her, too. Can you do that for us?"
"I can do that," she said proudly.
"Good girl. I knew we could count on you," Arizona said, hugging Sofia.
"Dr. Nic is going to come back and stay with us until you leave. In the meantime, we are going to get you ready for your big trip."
"When do we go?"
"You and Dr. Nic will be flying down in Abuelo's plane sometime next week."
"Really?"
Flying in Abuelo's plane was a real treat for Sofia. She'd only done it twice and she loved it.
"Yup," Callie answered, tweaking Sofia's nose. "It's a special occasion."
"Wow! That's awesome!"
"Right, awesome," Callie repeated with a roll of her eyes.