AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey everybody! I'm back with a new chapter! I hope you all like it. I think this might be one of my favorites so far! :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 6

"Do you want me to update the family?" Dr. Schmitt, the fellow more commonly referred to as "Glasses" asked Arizona as they both finished scrubbing out of surgery.

"Yes. Thank you, Levi, that'd be great," Arizona nodded. She watched as Schmitt exited the scrub room as she grabbed a blue sterile towel to dry off her hands. Schmitt had recently begun a fetal surgery fellowship under Arizona, and she was having a field day cramming this brain with everything Nicole Herman had passed on to her over a decade ago.

Arizona had just finished up on a mom whose baby had a heart defect. Arizona and Levi fixed the defect and placed the baby back safe and sound to grow for a couple more weeks before he would be delivered.

The surgery was long and stressful, as fetal surgeries usually are, and Arizona had some time to kill. She yawned as she threw away the towel she was using and opened the door to the hallway.

Recognizing what her body was trying to tell her, Arizona made her way to the closest on-call room so that she could take a much needed and much deserved nap. As she headed towards the elevator, aches and pains shot through her residual limb. She had been paged at 2 AM this morning and had been going, going, going since. She hadn't had time to take any breaks, and she was really reaping the consequences now.

Normally, Arizona was too proud to let outsiders know about the pain she was experiencing at moments like these, but knowing that nobody was around to see her, Arizona allowed herself to limp a little until she got to the elevator. She pushed the button that would take her to the Peds ward before leaning back against the wall of the elevator, hoping to alleviate some of the pressure on her residual limb.

Before the pain had a chance to calm itself down, the elevator arrived on the requested floor. Arizona placed her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and plastered a smile on her face before taking a cautious step out of the elevator car. She made a beeline for the on-call room and was relieved when she found it unlocked and empty. Closing the door behind her, Arizona didn't even bother to switch on the light before crawling onto the bottom bunk. Arizona swiftly removed her scrub pants in order to take off her prosthesis. She easily discarded the leg to the floor, then removed the silicone liner she wore with it, before lying down on the bed.

She sucked in her breath as her fiery leg made contact with the cool hospital air. Closing her eyes, and clenching her teeth, she massaged her sore limb with her hands. Usually this was Callie's nightly duty, but Arizona had grown used to doing it herself during times like these, though she definitely wasn't as good as Callie. She winced in pain as she rubbed her sore and overworked muscles, taking one of the pillows from behind her head and placing it beneath her leg.

Arizona set an alarm on her phone for three hours before pulling the blanket up over her legs towards her chin, Arizona calmed her mind and easily fell asleep.

…

Exactly three hours later, Arizona's phone alarm went off. She groaned as she rolled over and reached for her phone to stop the sound from blaring. Sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and rubbed her tired eyes. Placing her left hand on her stump, she gasped when she felt her leg throb. Her skin was red and warm to the touch.

Reaching forward, she picked her liner off of the ground and tried her best to roll it onto her residual limb. It felt way too tight around her leg once it was in place. Arizona tried to adjust it as best as she could, but to no avail. If she couldn't get her liner on, there is no way she would be able to squeeze her swollen limb into the plastic socket of her prosthetic.

"Ugh…" Arizona groaned, tilting her head back to the ceiling. She had definitely overdone it today.

Pulling the liner back off, Arizona reached for her phone and glanced at the time before she dialed Callie's familiar phone number. It was almost time to leave, so she knew that Callie would be searching for her anyway.

After the third ring, she heard Callie's familiar voice.

"Hey, you ready to go? I was just heading up to your office now to come get you," Callie told her.

"Uh… Actually, I'm in the peds on-call… and I need an ortho consult," Arizona informed her. "I took a break after my last surgery and now my leg is too swollen to fit in the socket. Wanna swing by my office and grab my crutches before coming up here?"

Callie laughed. This same situation had happened more often than one would think over the years, so Callie knew the routine.

"Ha. Of course. See you in a bit," Callie replied before hanging up.

Arizona leaned back and propped herself up on her elbows as she waited for Callie to arrive. She didn't have to wait long before there was a knock on the door and her wife appeared, holding crutches and a compression sock.

"Ah. You're a lifesaver," Arizona's face lit up when Callie entered the room.

"You can thank me later," Callie smirked as she handed the crutches to Arizona and kneeled down next to the side of the bed.

Callie pulled the compression sock on to Arizona's residual limb to bring the swelling down before handing Arizona her scrub pants. Arizona slipped them on before rolling up the empty pant leg.

Callie helped Arizona to her feet- erm… foot- and placed the metal crutches under her arms. She bent down to pick up her wife's prosthetic leg before opening the door for her to crutch through.

"Is Sofia still in Briley's room?" Arizona asked with a yawn. She hadn't seen her daughter all day since she was paged long before Sofia was awake for school.

Callie nodded, following Arizona towards Briley's room so that they could collect their kid and take her home for dinner.

Arizona greeted every doctor and nurse she passed as they headed for the opposite side of the ward. Seeing Arizona on crutches hardly phased any of them anymore; they only saw the talented world renowned surgeon that she was.

"Knock, knock!" Arizona said as she crutched into the familiar hospital room. Both heads had turned towards the door when they heard the rhythmic sounds of the crutches on the tile floor.

"Hey, Moms," Sofia said casually before looking back down at the magazine she and Briley had been reading.

"Hi, Dr. Arizona," Briley gave a shy smile. She felt her face heat up. She had never seen Arizona without her prosthetic on before. She then noticed Callie, who was also in the doorway, holding Arizona's leg. "Hi, Dr. Callie."

"Hey, Briley, how are you feeling?" Arizona asked, standing in front of the bed where the girls were seated.

"Pretty good, actually," Briley nodded. She couldn't help but let her eyes wander down to Arizona's missing leg.

"Remember how I said that I would show you the good and bad days of being an amputee?" Arizona asked, acknowledging the elephant in the room.

Briley nodded.

"Well, this is one of the not so pleasant days," Arizona laughed. "I overworked my leg today and I took off my prosthetic during my break, and… it got so swollen that it couldn't fit in the socket!"

Briley's eyes widened and her mouth formed a little "o" shape when Arizona shared this. Sofia rolled her eyes, less than amused.

"I just wanted to drop by before we left to say hi and tell you that every once in a while, your leg will try to give you a tough time, but not to get too discouraged!" Arizona nodded understandingly.

"Thank you for stopping by. I really appreciate it!" Briley said with a soft smile.

"Anytime," Arizona replied, her heart filled with pride. "Okay, Sof, you ready to hit the road?"

Sofia nodded, and hugged her friend before exiting into the hallway with her mothers.

…

"Mornin'," Arizona greeted Callie at the charting station down in the ER. Placing a cup of coffee down in front of Callie, Arizona leaned in for a kiss as Callie put down the tablet she had been working on.

"Hey, babe," Callie smiled when she saw the blonde, despite the bags under her own eyes. "Sorry I snuck out early this morning. Owen paged me for an MVC at 5 AM."

"No worries," Arizona told her, picking up a tablet from the desk so that she could check her schedule for the day. "Everything turn out alright?"

Callie nodded.

"Yup. Everyone's stable. But it's only 10 AM, and if I have to reduce another dislocated joint before lunchtime, I might pass out," Callie complained, taking a sip of the coffee Arizona had brought for her.

Arizona made a face as shifted her feet so that all of her weight was on her real leg rather than on the prosthetic. She scrolled through what she had planned for the day. A couple of consults and one surgery were the only things taking up room in her schedule.

"Hey, your leg okay?" Callie asked with a concerned look, noticing Arizona's uncomfortable shift.

"Yeah. The socket's just been pinching a little since the incident that had me trapped in the on call room the other day," Arizona shrugged without looking up from the tablet.

"You should go down and see Moore. You might be due for a new socket. You haven't gotten a new casting in a while," Callie pointed out, still studying Arizona.

Arizona thought a moment before nodding. Callie was right. It had been a while since she had been fitted for a new leg, and she was due for a new one. Arizona's residual limb would be constantly reshaping itself over the years, and every now and then, the leg she was on would start pinch and chaffe her thigh, indicating that it was time for a new one.

"I'll text David today and see if he can squeeze me in after my surgery."

While Callie was happy that Arizona was taking her advice, she didn't know how she felt about Arizona being on that leg all day.

"You're gonna do surgery on a bum leg? You think you can withstand that?" Callie asked, the ortho surgeon in her coming out.

Arizona rolled her eyes, even though she knew that Callie's heart was in the right place.

"It's just rubbing a little. It's not like the velcro straps are the only thing keeping it on my body!" Arizona laughed. After being an amputee for this long, she knew how to deal with bad leg days. "I'll just change the bandage where it's chafing every couple hours. I'll be fine."

Callie nodded, placing her hand on the small of Arizona's back as she kissed her.

"Okay, well if you're sure you're good, I'm gonna run upstairs and round on my patients. See ya later," Callie waved, making her way towards the elevators.

Arizona admired Callie's ass as she walked away from her and smiled knowing that that was all hers when she got home tonight.

…

Arizona tucked her hands in the pockets of her lab coat as she entered the prosthetist's office. She was immediately greeted by familiar faces.

"Dr. Robbins! Right on time!" David said as she opened the door.

"Hi!" Arizona smiled at the man she had known for years- first in a professional way, then, later on, in a more personal way. "Thanks for fitting me in so last minute!"

"Oh, anytime! We only have one client coming in this afternoon, so we were more than available!" David replied.

Arizona knew the usual routine, having been a patient for so long. She headed over to the exam table across from a set of metal parallel bars. She pulled off her scrub pants, leaving her in only spandex shorts, before sitting down on the table. David rolled a stool over to where she was sitting and took a seat himself. Arizona took that moment to undo the velcro straps that help to keep her leg secured to her body (since her residual limb is so short), and she pushed the prosthesis off in one swift motion. Sliding the liner off as well, she placed it beside her on the table.

David examined her leg, as he had a million times before, before helping her the short distance to the parallel bars. Arizona positioned herself between the bars as David quickly grabbed the plaster and other supplies he would need in order to make the mold.

"It might be a little cold to start off with," David warned as he began the process.

"It's alright," Arizona replied as she steadied herself, one hand on each of the bars next to her.

They talked about cases they had both had recently, and were in the middle of talking about David's daughter's first gymnastic meet when the door to the office opened. Both doctors spun their heads to see who was at the door, and Arizona was pleasantly surprised when she saw a familiar face.

"Hey, Briley!" Arizona smiled as Alex wheeled the teenager into the room.

"Hi, Dr. Arizona!" Briley's face lit up when she saw the blonde doctor, obviously more comfortable in the unfamiliar environment now that she knew she wouldn't be alone.

"We're getting fitted for our first prosthetic today!" Alex grinned as he helped Briley on to the exam table next to the one Arizona was sitting on earlier.

"Oh, that's awesome!" Arizona nodded, hoping to instill some confidence in Briley. "I'm here getting fitted for a new one as well."

"A new one?" Briley cocked her head, confused at what her doctor meant.

"Yes! The shape of our legs are going to change periodically over time, so we'll have to get refitted every once in a while," Arizona explained.

Briley nodded. This was clearly a lot for her to take in, but she was doing the best she could to absorb all of this new information.

"Briley, I'm Dr. Moore," David introduced himself with a smile. "Dr. Carlson will be with you in a minute."

Briley nodded, her bald head bobbing up and down.

"Hey, where are your parents?" Arizona asked her, trying to keep her own mind off of the squishy cold plaster molding to her thigh.

"My dad had to go back to work. His job wouldn't allow him any more days off. And my mom went to go grab lunch. I wasn't hungry enough to eat anything earlier," Briley explained.

Dr. Carlson came over and introduced herself to Briley before explaining to her how the process of fitting a prosthetic would work. She got Briley up and standing on the set of parallel bars next to Arizona as she began the same plaster application that David was about to finish.

"There. Just let it sit for about 20 minutes, then we'll take it off and you'll be good to go," David nodded, scooting the stool away as he left to go clean off the supplies and his hands.

Arizona decided to take this moment to see if there was anything weighing on Briley's mind, or anything she wanted to ask about being an amputee.

"So, Bri… while I've got you hostage here, do you have any questions about anything leg-related? I'd love to answer them for you."

A soft smile appeared on Briley's face, clearly touched by Arizona's kind gesture to have such an open and intimate discussion with her about such a personal topic.

"Um… yeah, actually," Briley said. "Does it hurt to walk with the fake leg?"

Arizona shook her head.

"It'll take some getting used to, but you'll grow accustomed to it pretty quickly. I don't even remember what it was like to have two flesh-and-bone legs anymore. You'll adjust to your new normal, it just takes time." Arizona thoughtfully informed her.

Briley nodded, watching the prosthetist apply the plaster to her shorter leg.

"It'll be even easier for you to learn to walk again than it was for me, since your residuum is longer than mine is," Arizona pointed out.

Briley switched her gaze from her own leg to Arizona's. She was right. Arizona's leg was a good couple of inches shorter than her own.

"Are there legs that look…" Briley's voice trailed off as she searched to find the right words.

"Real?" Arizona finished.

Briley giggled a little as she nodded.

"Yes. There are certain companies that will fit you with a cosmetic prosthesis that will look- and even feel- natural. It's pretty cool stuff."

"Do you have one?"

Arizona nodded.

"I have one for when I wear dresses or heels. I use it pretty frequently, but I wear my normal one more just because it is more comfortable. Oh, and don't think just because you have a plastic leg that heels won't still be uncomfortable to wear! Heels will always be a pain!" Arizona warned with a wink.

Briley smiled, grateful to have somebody she was close enough to to ask all of these personal questions to.

"Anything else on your mind?" Arizona asked, hoping to answer all of Briley's questions before her cast was ready to be removed.

Briley thought for a moment before shaking her head. It was a relief to have gotten some answers to those pressing questions.

"Just know that your life will change, sure. But it doesn't have to be for the worse," Arizona shared. "Your life is what you make of it."

I loooove how Arizona is mentoring Briley! I wish we got to see something like this on the show. We were truly robbed! Arizona is so good with kids and teens and I think she could've been such a great and honest mentor to a new amputee had she been given the chance.

Please leave your reviews and thoughts below for me to read! They truly make my day! Also feel free to leave any suggestions or anything you would like to see in the upcoming chapters of this story!

xoxo Arizona Robbins MD