Amelia
"AND, WHY THE HELL DID NO ONE TELL ME?" I know that angry voice. It's Torres. "SHE IS THE MOTHER OF MY CHILD, KAREV. YOU DON'T THINK I DESERVE TO KNOW?"
I look down at my shoulder to see Arizona resting. She's not asleep but I don't think she's fully conscious either. I move myself from under her and make sure she's comfortable before heading out of the room.
"I'll be back soon," I say with a smile, just in case a part of her is lucid. I shut the door behind me to block out any noise from the argument being had by Torres and Karev. I hastily make my way to the other side of the corridor towards the shouting doctor.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I'M NOT DOWN AS HER NEXT OF KIN, HER DAUGHTER NEEDS TO KNOW WHY HER MOMMY IS IN A HOSPITAL BED."
"What's going on?" I ask, carefully. "Callie, I know you've been gone for a while but, if you remember correctly, this isn't the kind of hospital where we scream at each other in the hallways. We have patients in pretty much every room on this floor. Dial it down a little." The abrupt approach seems to work. She's calm but still visibly hurt.
"Have you seen her? Is she ok?" she asks, tearfully.
"She's doing well, considering what she's been through," I say truthfully.
"Where is she?" she asks. I pause, not knowing if it's a wise decision to tell her whilst they're both in these states. "Tell me... Or I will search every damn room in this hospital," she says through gritted teeth. And, I know she means it.
"Room 224," I sigh. She sweeps past me, but I grab her arm before she can get to Arizona. "Callie, she's in a bad way. You need to be completely calm before you enter that room." Callie nods and takes a few deep breaths before opening the door. I hover behind, not wanting to impose but also not wanting to be too far from Arizona. I watch through the window. Arizona's eyes are closed now and Callie has taken the seat I'd occupied the night before. She takes a small hand in both of hers and kisses it twice. She then strokes her hair, her cheek, her arm. It's as though she's willing the cuts and bruises and abrasions to go away. She's breaking down. Her body racks with sobs.
My heart jumps into my stomach as Arizona opens her eyes. I wonder how this is going to go down... She stares at Callie, confused. She's frowning a little. I step into the doorway in case things start to go south.
"You're awake," Callie states with a smile, wiping away the tears and calming herself quickly. "How are you feeling?" Arizona is still frowning. She's processing what's going on. I've seen that look many times before. I've worn that look many times before.
"What are you doing here?" she asks bluntly. "You don't need to be here."
"Arizona..."
"No, Callie. You don't need to be here," she's starting to get upset. I knew this wasn't a good idea. "In fact, you are the last person I need to see right now. I don't want you here. YOU DON'T NEED TO BE HERE. GO, GET OUT."
Callie stands to exit, heartbreak evident across her face. As she walks past me, she pleas in a low voice, "Keep me updated... please. She doesn't have to know..." I feel sorry for Callie. I nod in agreement before gesturing to Arizona.
"It's not you, y'know. It's the comedown." I say, trying to offer some reassurance. "Trust me, I know." Callie offers a weak smile and lets the tears slide down her face on her way out. I walk towards Arizona, and sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry, she insisted," I say, quickly.
"I don't want to be here any more," she cries. "I want to go home." She's begging with me. She takes my hand and looks directly at me. "Please, please, I don't want to be here any more... I can't..." I mean it makes sense. This is where she was attacked. And, being in a hospital bed during a comedown is the absolute worst. I bring her into a gentle embrace and rub a hand up and down her back.
"We have to wait an hour for Meredith to come back to work," I explain. "She can discharge you and then I'll take you back home, ok?" She nods before her face turns pale.
"I think I'm going to be sick..." Like lightening, I grab a sick bag and put it into her hands. I guide it towards her mouth so she can get as much vomit in the bag as possible. When she's finished, she hands me the bag and slumps back into the bed.
...
"She has to go home, Mer," I state matter-of-factly. "Being here is doing her more harm than good!" We walk down the corridor together towards Arizona's room.
"Not until we've checked what's going on inside," she argues back. "The results from the toxicology screening were bad, Amelia. There was all sorts in that needle. Her heart rate seems to have gone back to normal but we need to do a head CT before she goes anywhere."
"Are you doing that now?"
"Yes, it should only take about 30 minutes but we need to figure some other stuff out, too. Like, who's going to look after her? She can't stand the sight of Callie, Karev is right across town, I've got the kids. We might have to keep her here until her parents get into town."
"No, I'll look after her," I cut in quickly.
"Well, you have kids, too." She reminds me.
"Owen can have Betty and Leo at his for the next few days. He'll probably enjoy that." I'm confident in my statement. Since we broke up and started living in different houses, we get along so much better. Meredith raises her eyebrow.
"What's going on with you?" she asks, sceptically. "I get that she's your friend and everything, you just... seem to be going above and beyond to help her."
"Well... I wish someone had done the same for me," I confess. "I wouldn't want anyone to go through this alone, let alone someone like Arizona."
"Someone like Arizona?" There's a hint of a smile on her lips. What is she getting at?
"Yeah... y'know... okay, I'm not getting into this right now." I stop before I start to sound too soppy. "Let's get this CT done."