It had been a whole week since Christmas and things were finally starting to settle down. Arizona spent most nights at Callie's, claiming that her bed was comfier and she didn't want to sleep without Clo. They hadn't taken their relationship to the next step yet, but there had been plenty of making out and close calls, however both women were content to just know that they were together again and that they were getting to know each other and learn about all of the things they had missed out on in each others lives.
Work was returning to normal as well as their normal schedules returned and the neonatal specialist that was Addison Montgomery could be found around the hospital most days despite only being contracted for three days a week. Karev had finally started talking to everyone again after his first day back he found a A3 poster of him in his santa mankini with the tagline "Ho Ho Ho-pe you had a jolly Christmas from Dr Karev' complete with a photoshopped background to make him look like he was posing on a beach, was posted in the attendings room, he was pissed off that nobody would tell him who was responsible for the prank, but Meredith and Christina high fived each other every day for having gotten away with it.
"Someone page for ortho?" Callie asked cheerfully as she entered bay three of the trauma unit then looked up from her pager to find green eyes glaring at her. "Dr. Blake, what do we have?" Callie asked professionally with a smile before turning her attention to a fourteen year old boy who looked to have been roughed up.
"Football accident, suspected dislocated shoulder and elbow as well as broken radius and ulner. I'm pretty certain there's a few broken knuckles in there too at least" Penny offered with a glare.
"That must have been some accident hey?" Callie asked turning her attention to the patient who was currently high on pain meds and giggling at her.
"Your really pretty" the boy commented as he looked at the new doctor.
"Why thank you… let's get an x-ray cart in here and see exactly what we are dealing with shall we? I'd really rather not risk moving your son too much until we are certain of the injuries" Callie offered turning her attention to the boys parents who were besides themselves with worry.
"Did someone page for the peds posse" Arizona giggled as she entered the room with Dr Sloan, Dr Brown, Dr Tilson and Dr Ahjay. She looked at the occupants of the room and cursed herself for her lack of professionalism when she saw the two sets of polar opposite eyes pointed at her, one full of amusement and one full of detest.
"We have a tiny human, peds is required" Penny glared at the blonde after saying the words 'tiny human' in a deliberately mocking way.
"Indeed, what do we have Dr Torres?" Arizona asked motioning for the interns to gather around as she focused her attention on the brunette.
"Two possible dislocations and a dozen possible breaks, result from a football injury you can ask him about, but I doubt you will get too many answers, he's enjoying the pain relief right now" Callie smiled over her shoulder as she continued her gentle examination of the kids arm.
"Woah, more pretty doctors, is it Christmas again?" The boy asked with wide eyes as he glanced at all the pretty faces in front of him.
"Micheal!" the boys mother snapped in embarrassment.
"It's quite ok Mrs O'Neill" Arizona smiled kindly after checking over the chart for the patients name. "It's always nice to be paid a compliment after all" Arizona winked at the boy and returned to the chart before firing questions at the group of interns and monitoring Callie's examination and the boys reactions.
"Someone order an x-ray cart?" a tall guy entered the room and gulped when he saw Torres, Robbins, Sloan and Blake in the same tiny little cubicle and glanced backwards to see if there was any way he could escape.
"Come on in Grant" Callie scoffed having seen the petrified look on the guys face before she detailed to him exactly which x-rays were needed. Once the screens were taken Callie slapped them up on a light box and began to study them as the interns gathered around.
"Is that a divergant mediolateral dislocation in the ulnohumeral?" Sofia asked as soon as her eyes hit the x-ray of the boys elbow, smirking at the shocked expression on her moms face as she spun around to look at her in surprise.
"It is indeed Dr. Sloan, I'm impressed that you would know that from such a quick glance" Callie raised her eyebrow questioningly.
"Does anyone have any suggestions on how we would fix that dislocation?" Arizona asked and tried to bite back her proud smile. When nobody else offered an answer, Sofia began to detail the simplest and most effective surgery for the rare dislocation before offering a second option of a more unknown procedure which would require more surgery time but would ensure that the joint would be stabilized and wouldn't require any further surgeries or have any risks of the joint popping out again due to it being weakened.
Arizona glanced at Callie questioningly who was looking thoughtfully at their daughter before she asked a question that Arizona had no chance of understanding. Sofia thought for a moment before offering several options before dismissing them all and offering a surgical plan that would remedy the shoulder and elbow dislocation at the same time as being able to temporarily fuse the thirteen breaks they had found to ensure that the bones would heal perfectly for a boy who obviously played sports and would succumb to trauma to his arm in the future.
"Very good Dr. Sloan. Scrub in" Callie nodded before taking the chart from Arizona's hands and beginning to jot down the notes of the surgery her daughter had just devised single handedly.
"Surely one of the other interns deserves the opportunity to scrub in" Penny snapped having had enough of watching the family moment and the silent conversation being passed between brown and blue eyes.
"Dr. Blake, your still here? I think we have enough surgeons on this case now, thank you for your time" Callie offered professionally hoping that Penny would just walk away.
"Hang on, you're dismissing me from my own case?" Penny screeched loudly, disregarding the patient's parents who were watching with intrigue and the interns watching her in worry.
"Dr Blake, would you like to step into the hall to discuss this?" Callie asked pointedly, glancing to her ex and noticing the flaring nostrils and the blush rushing up her neck. Penny was about to go nuclear. "Dr Robbins if you could finish up her and Dr Sloan will assist you in explaining the procedure to Mr. and Mrs. O'neill. Dr Blake, come with me please" Callie ordered with a stern look, telling the redhead to keep her calm and be professional.
"Hang on, you can't just..."
"Dr Blake, corridor now!" Callie ordered opening the door and holding it for her ex.
"Mr. and Mrs. O'Niell I apologize for this. Dr Robbins and the interns will update you on the procedure and I will go an book the next OR, if you have any questions which can't be answered by these wonderful doctor's please have one of them page me and I will come straight back" Callie offered a tight smile, motioning for Arizona to cover for her. The blonde nodded and watched her girlfriend exit the room and shut the door before she returned to the patient.
"Thank god she won't be operating on him" the mother scoffed as she winked at the blonde doctor who tried to hide her laughter.
-oOo-
"Who the hell do you think you are Callie!" Penny screamed with all of her fury the second the door was shut.
"Keep your voice down, this is a hospital and there are patients who can hear you" Callie warned as she motioned for them to enter an empty room near to the nurses desk. If this went the way she expected it would she would need all the witnesses possible, and if there was one thing you could rely on, it was the nurses going out of their way to overhear some obvious drama.
"I don't give a fuck who can hear me, I am a doctor at this hospital and you will treat me as such!" Penny glared at the back of her ex who moved into the room opposite them and remained silent as she held the door open for her and motioned for her to enter.
"Right, you wanted me in here so you can be a bitch in private… I'm here… who the fuck do you think you are Calliope" Penny screeched in anger, knowing using Callie's full name would antagonize the situation and hopefully get a reaction.
"I think I am your superior. I am the head of orthopedics and that was clearly an ortho case, which allows me to out rank you. I am the head of a department and you are a resident, which allows me to outrank you. I am a board member of this hospital, which allows you to outrank you and I am an owner of this hospital which allows me to outrank you, when I tell you that you are finished on a case, you are finished. If you don't agree with my decision, then you follow the formal procedures which are set in place, which every other employee of this hospital follows and you go to Chief Bailey and file a complaint and she will investigate the complaint and either agree with my decision and inform you of the reasons why she agrees, or she will agree with your complaint in which case I will be given a formal warning regardless of my position within this hospital, do I make myself clear Dr Blake?"
"Bullshit. Because the woman you did your internship, who is one of your best friends is going to take my side over yours. Do you honestly think I'm that stupid!" Penny roared as she paced around the room.
"During hospital hours there are no personal relationships. Dr Bailey is the Surgical Chief and as my superior it is her position to take any and all complaints seriously and deal with them in a professional matter. If a decision on a complaint is not to your satisfaction, you can escalate it to HR who will investigate not only my conduct, but Dr Baileys. If you are still unhappy with the result, you can escalate it to the board of directors who will investigate the complaint and will vote on the resolute by majority rules. If you are still not happy with the result of your complaint you are welcomed to seek legal advice which will have no impact to your position within this hospital. All employees are encouraged to follow safeguarding procedures without concern of repercussions" Callie quoted, having expected this situation to arise eventually with Penny and so had gotten the hospital lawyers to coach her on exactly how to deal with the situation to protect Grey-Sloan.
"You can't do this to me, I know exactly what is going on here. Just because I won't give in and sign the house to you, you're pulling rank and trying to push me out" Penny accused with a pointed finger.
"Nobody is trying to do anything other than put patient care first always. Inside this hospital I am not your ex-partner, I am your colleague and your superior. I expect for you to uphold this professionalism and behave the same way. I feel it only prudent to inform you that a complaint will be made regarding the issue of you beginning a personal argument in front of a patient and his legal guardians as well as another head of department and several interns. I will lodge this complaint with Dr Bailey and allow for her to deal with the issue in any way she sees fit. I am recommending for you to leave for the rest of the day and gather yourself before you return at the start of your next rostered shift with a sense of decorum, do I make myself clear Dr Blake"
"Fuck you Callie"
"Dr Blake, do I make myself clear. You are being suspended from your shift and are to return with more professionalism and in the mean time Dr Bailey will investigate the complaint and will be in contact with you regarding any questions and with the outcome of the complaint. Please gather your belongings and remove yourself from the hospital"
"How dare you even think you can throw me out, you… you selfish bitch!" Penny threw her hands up in disgust.
"Dr Blake, I will ask you to refrain from using profanities inside the hospital and request that you lower your voice and speak to me with more professionalism. I am following protocol and have asked for you to remove yourself from the hospital but if you don't comply I will be forced to contact security and have them remove you, I should warn you that if that were to happen, the complaint would be instantly forwarded to the board of directors, whom depending out the majority of the vote, could terminate your contract on the grounds of misconduct"
"So now your threatening to fire me too… go fuck yourself Callie" Penny snapped as she stormed out the door to find a silent trauma ward staring at her. "What the fuck are you all looking at"
"Nurse, could you please call for security to escort Dr Blake from the premises" Callie sighed, she really didn't want to do this but Penny was backing her into a corner. The second the redhead spun around she saw the fire and hate in her green eyes and gulped. This was about to get ugly. Very ugly.
"Don't bother nurse, I'm leaving. I don't want to be anywhere near you for a single second longer… I hope the pair of you are happy for running me out of town, out of my place of employment. I really shouldn't be surprised that the stupid whore convinced you to have an affair with her, once a cheat always a fucking cheat, right Arizona?" Penny scoffed glancing towards the blonde menacingly before turning back to Callie and preparing for another onslaught.
"For gods sake Penny enough! She didn't leave you because we were having a god damned affair. She left you because your a complete and utter psycho. Look at you, your standing in the middle of a hospital screaming and swearing at her about things you know absolutely nothing about. But you know what, if it makes you sleep better at night to believe that we were having an affair then by all means believe it, but for the record Calliope is the single most faithful and loving person there is and even when it requires being faithful to a woman who does nothing but disrespect, disregard and demean in every single possible way, she still stayed faithful to you. Can you say the same Penny?" Arizona snapped as she strode to Callie's side in support.
"What the hell are you talking about?! Just because you're a cheater and a whore doesn't mean I am!" Penny screeched in outrage.
"Dr Williams, Dr Miller, Dr Thomas, Dr Lee and Dr Rodriguez… that I am aware of" Arizona stared the other woman down as she slid her fingers into Callie's apologetically for shaming her ex publically.
"How the hell… have you been spying on me all of these years?" Penny blanched.
"No Penny, I truly believed that when you took my wife and daughter away from me and moved them to the other side of the country that you actually loved her and would be everything that I couldn't for her. Imagine my surprise when I find out from one of my good friends when they inquired after you, exactly what you have been up to!"
"She's lying" Penny laughed and looked at Callie as if butter wouldn't melt.
"Shall I call my ex, Jo Tanner, right now and we can ask her ourselves? No? I didn't think so… how about you leave this hospital with these lovely gentlemen behind you whilst the board convenes and decides whether you still have a position in this hospital, however considering that you have put every single person you have come into contact with off side apart from your group of friends, who are looking at you right now in disgust, I personally advise you to find a different hospital, preferably in a different town to work for… and one more thing, if I ever hear you call my daughter a brat again, I will pull you through the biggest lawsuit you can imagine, you will walk away not only without a job, or a home, or any friends or respect, but you will be financially ruined, and I will ensure that every hospital in the nation is fully aware of your employment record and I will personally be a reference for you in the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital so that I can ensure that any prospective employers are fully aware of your history. Now get the hell out of my hospital, and stay the hell away from my girlfriend and my family!"
Silence. Complete and utter silence. There had never been a single moment in the history of this hospital that the Trauma department was as deathly still and silent as every single person watched two security guards and a police officer grab Penny and march her away. Then suddenly, Mrs. O'Neil began to clap loudly and was quickly followed by every patient, visitor, intern, resident, attending, nurse and hospital employee that was witness to her fury. Arizona led Callie back into the vacant room and shut the door not meeting Callie's eyes.
"When did you…?" Callie asked with a voice full of hurt.
"Two nights ago... Jo called me about a peds case she needed help with and she told me… I didn't know what to do, how could I tell you that ANOTHER idiot had cheated on you… so instead I tell the whole hospital in front of you, FUCK!" Arizona began to pace.
"Hey… Arizona calm down… I'm not happy about you announcing that little snippet to the entire world without even forewarning me, but what you just did out there… you are amazing. Nobody has ever stood up for me like that before… your… you… Arizona Robbins-Torres, you take my breath away" Callie smiled softly.
"You're not angry with me?" Arizona asked in shock.
"No I'm not angry with you. I'm angry with her. I had my suspicions all along, especially about Miller… but I really didn't care enough to ask and have that argument with her so I just let it go… I'm not mad honey… not at you anyway"
"The hell is this I hear about a stand off in my hospital?" Bailey snapped as she walked through the door without knocking.
"Oh Bailey. I recorded the whole thing!" Callie smirked as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and stopped the recording and forwarded the formatted audio to Baileys phone, which beeped within seconds.
"Good job Torres, but what happened to keeping the showdown out of eyes of the patients?" Bailey glared.
"Carrie happened, watch your back tonight Torres… she's probably plotting your murder as we speak!" Yang smirked as she winked her approval at Arizona.
"Yang… get back to work! All of you get back to work. I want a written report from both of you about what happened and a list of names of witnesses… and Robbins for gods sake, next time you want to get all defensive of your family, do it outside of your hospital if we end up in a lawsuit and lose, you will stand to lose the hospital you own, capeesh?"
"Capeesh Chief" Arizona smiled as tears fell down her face and she felt Callie's warm hand slide into hers in silent support.
"Oh and Arizona… good job putting Carrie in her place!" Bailey winked before leaving.