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 8 – Day After Day Part 4

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Day 19

Rita finally had a moment to stop and take a break. Her shifts were still incredibly busy, but she sensed that it was easing up. Her phone beeped, signaling that she had a text message. She smiled seeing that it was from her girlfriend. She hoped that they could met for lunch. Maybe she'd ask Dr. Torres to join them. The doctor looked like she could use a break as well.

The nurse opened her cell phone and quickly read the message.

[Don't alarm Callie, but she needs to come up to Arizona's room. Good news.]

Rita looked around before spotting Callie leaning against a wall, a chart in her hands. She cautiously approached Callie.

"Dr. Torres?"

"Rita, what can I do for you?"

"Um, I just got a text from Penny. It's not an emergency-"

Callie cut her off before Rita could finish. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"You need to get up to Arizona's room." Before Callie could panic, Rita stopped her. "Dr. Torres, Penny said it's good news."

"Good news?" Callie asked unbelieving.

"That's what she said."

"I gotta go."

Callie quickly sprinted down the hall, dodging patients and doctors and nurses. Rita took her phone out and texted Penny back.

[Hurricane Torres is on her way. Good luck and let me know what happened]

Less than five minutes later Callie had reached Arizona's floor. She saw Penny standing by the door to Arizona's room and she made a beeline for her.

"What's happened?" she gasped. "What's wrong?"

"Callie, calm down," Penny said, stopping the worried woman from going immediately into the room. "Dr. Ford is with her now. I'm pretty sure he wants to take her off the ventilator."

"What? What about… won't she…"

"Her stats have been showing a real improvement over the past twenty-four hours, and her SAT has been normal. They actually started weaning her off of it yesterday. She's doing great, Callie."

"Can I see her?" asked Callie impatiently.

"Let's wait for Dr. Ford."

"I want to see her now," Callie said harshly, then realized how she sounded. "Sorry, Penny. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's okay, Callie. I understand."

They both looked up when Dr. Ford exited the room.

"It's time," the older doctor said simply. "She's shown remarkable improvement over the past thirty-six hours. Let's wake her up and remove it."

Callie's knees buckled. She'd hoped, she'd prayed, and she'd wished for this moment for over ten days. Dr. Ford and Penny put a steadying hand under Callie's arm to hold her up. She nodded her thanks, tears in her eyes.

"Okay?" Penny asked.

"Yes," Callie said nodding once more as she straightened.

"Wait here, Dr. Torres. I'll have Dr. Blake remove it, and then you can see her." Callie nodded again. "I know you know this as a doctor, but as a loved one, you need to remember she might be confused and agitated when she wakes up. Don't rush her. Let her gradually come around. Just be prepared for anything, okay? There's no telling how this has affected her, but I'm very hopeful as she wasn't on the vent for a prolonged period of time, and I think the steroids and remdesivir helped."

Callie didn't care if she was violating protocols. She hugged the pulmonologist and then hugged Penny. Fortunately, they were all still wearing their full PPE gear.

"Thank you. Thank you, both of you."

"I'll still be around should you have any questions," Dr. Ford said. "And I'll let the Chief know."

Callie waited in the hall, and every minute that ticked past increased her anxiety. She hoped for the best, but feared for the worst. What if Arizona couldn't stay off the vent? What if she didn't regain consciousness? All the what ifs were killing her.

She froze, and it felt like her heart stopped when the door opened.

"Penny?"

"You can come in now, Callie," Penny said reassuringly.

"How is she?" Callie asked before she dared to step into the room.

"She's on oxygen, but her SAT is great. I think she'll be awake very soon."

"Thank you, Penny. Thank you so much."

She rushed into the room, Penny trailing behind her. Another one of Arizona's favorite nurses, Marisol, was near the bed. She looked up at Callie and nodded. Callie could tell, even with the mask, that Marisol was smiling.

Callie's focus quickly zoomed in on Arizona. Instead of lying on her front, the blonde was now facing her, the bed raised putting her in a slightly upright position. Her eyes were closed and Callie couldn't tell if she was conscious yet. She was pleased to see that Arizona's color was much improved from the washed out, pale complexion she'd had the past few weeks, and better yet, Arizona no longer seemed to be struggling to breathe.

She dragged the chair over so she could be as close to Arizona as possible without actually getting on the bed.

"Arizona? Arizona, wake up." She took Arizona's hand and squeezed it. "C'mon, honey. Time for you to wake up. I want to see those gorgeous blue eyes of yours."

A few minutes later, Arizona's eyelids began to flutter. Her eyes finally opened and she blinked several times before focusing on Callie.

"There you go, honey," Callie soothed. "I'm right here."

"Toe..." she murmured in a hoarse voice.

"What's that?"

"Toe," she repeated, then her hand went to her throat.

"Right. You need something to drink."

Marisol quickly opened a bottle of water and handed it to Callie. Knowing how weak Arizona must be, Callie helped her sit up a little bit more.

"Just sip it. Go slowly," she said, holding the bottle for her.

Arizona didn't think she'd ever tasted or felt anything so good as the few drops of water that made it down her throat. Exhausted, she leaned back against the pillows.

"Toe nails," she croaked.

Penny and Marisol exchanged concerned looks across the room. They were both confused and worried by the two words Arizona had uttered.

"Callie, I think I should page neuro for a consult," Penny said.

"No," Callie said, suddenly laughing, her tears now falling down and soaking her mask. "She's fine."

"Did… Sofia… really… paint… the Colonel's… toenails?" Arizona finally managed to say.

"Yes." Callie grinned. "Of all the things I've said to you, that's what you remember?"

Arizona nodded, a small smile on her face. "Got… any… pictures?"

"Tons," Callie laughed again. "Your mom even shot a video."

"Show… me… later?"

"You bet." Callie placed her hand on Arizona's cheek. "I'm so glad you're better, Arizona," Callie said, her voice serious. Tears began pricking at her eyes. "I've missed you so much."

"How long… vent?"

"Eleven days."

Arizona closed her eyes. "Tired…"

"I know, honey. You get some rest. I'll be right here when you wake up."

Arizona nodded once then drifted off to sleep, her hand still clutching Callie's.

Callie bowed her head, overcome with relief. Marisol moved behind her and placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"She's gonna be fine, Dr. Torres. I can feel it."

"Thanks, Marisol."

"I'll let Dr. Ford know," Penny said as she moved to leave the room.

Callie looked up, making eye contact with her ex-girlfriend. "Thank you, Penny. Thank you for everything."

Two hours later

After a long nap, Arizona woke up again, more lucid than before. She wanted to speak to her parents and Sofia, but she wanted to look a little more presentable. With Marisol's help, Callie gave Arizona an abbreviated sponge bath, then pulled her hair back into a pony tail.

"She won't be scared to see me like this, will she?" Arizona asked the two women.

"You look great, Dr. Robbins," Marisol complimented her.

"But I look so sick."

"Because you've been in a hospital bed for almost three weeks. It's okay. Sofia won't care. She'll only see you and that's all that matters."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Maybe we shouldn't facetime," Arizona continued. "Maybe we should just call."

"Nope. Sofia and your parents will be thrilled to see you, even wearing a hospital gown."

Callie took out her phone when Marisol left the room. She called Barbara and told her they were going to facetime. When the connection was good, Callie sat beside Arizona, but kept the phone focused on herself. She wanted to surprise everyone.

"Hi, Mama!" Sofia said. "Why are you wearing that funny mask?"

Callie forgot that she was still wearing her face shield, as was the protocol when she was in the hospital but not in office. Sofia had seen both her and Arizona wearing masks, but never full PPE.

"Because I'm not in my office right now. I have to wear it."

"It looks silly."

"I know." Callie cleared her throat. "So, Sofia, I have someone here that would like to talk to you and Grandpa and Grandma, and Dr. Nic, too. Is everyone there?"

"We're here," Barbara said, looking over Sofia's shoulder.

Callie angled the phone so they could now see Arizona.

"Mommy!" Sofia exclaimed, her joy at seeing at Arizona again radiating from her face.

"Hi, Sofia." Tears began filling the blonde's eyes as she saw her daughter. "Hi, Mom. Hi Dad. And hello to you, too, Nicole. I see you hiding behind my dad."

"Good to hear your voice again," Nicole said in her usual monotone, but the expression on her face revealed how relieved she was.

"Oh, my, Arizona, you're… " Barbara broke down, unable to finish her sentence.

"I'm okay, Mom, or I will be."

"That's great news," Daniel said, his voice rough with the emotions he was trying to hold back.

"I missed you so much, Mommy."

"I missed you, too, sweetie."

Callie draped an arm around Arizona's shoulders, giving her support when the blonde was clearly affected by seeing her family.

"When can we see you?"

"You're seeing me right now, silly," Arizona teased, a half-smile on her face.

"I want one of your hugs," Sofia pouted.

"Oh, Sofia, I can't right now."

"Mommy's going to be in the hospital a little longer so she can get her strength back," Callie explained.

"How long?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I'll be here as long as it takes for me to get even better."

With so many unknowns about COVID, both Callie and Arizona had no real way of knowing how long Arizona's recovery would be, or if there were any long-term effects.

"I want to come see you. I miss you, Mommy."

"Not yet, Sofia," Callie answered for Arizona. "Only doctors and nurses can come into the hospital."

"Aren't you having fun with Grandma and Grandpa and Dr. Nic?" Arizona asked.

"Yes," Sofia admitted.

"Why don't you show Mommy your fingernails?" Callie suggested. She knew Sofia wanting to see Arizona was upsetting the blonde.

Sofia grinned and thrust a hand in front of her. Her fingernails were covered with glittery purple nail polish. "See? Grandma ordered some nail polish online a couple of weeks ago and let me pick out the colors."

"Wow, that's awesome. I like the sparkles," Arizona said.

"And Dr. Nic let me paint her nails. Show her Dr. Nic," Sofia said, tugging on Nicole's hand.

"Very pretty, Nicole. Cherry Red. Never thought you'd wear that."

"Well, yes, your daughter seems to have inherited your powers of persuasion."

"Speaking of which, anything you want to show me, Dad?" Arizona asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

Everyone laughed as the Colonel grumbled at being singled out. Their laughter was probably louder and longer than what the situation called for, but no one cared. It felt good to share a laugh as a family once again.

Author's Note: So, I was wrong. There's one more chapter before the epilogue. I needed to break chapter 8 into two chapters. I'll try to post the next one before the end of the week (maybe sooner). After that, it might take some time for the epilogue as my schedule at work has become much more hectic and finding time to write will be difficult.