"Ugh, how the hell does she make this look so easy? Who pulls off a whole damn elaborate surprise wedding with a huge wedding party and a hundred guests in a matter of weeks? She's the better wife, she's always been the better wife." Arizona ranted while pacing her office after getting yet another negative response from a venue she was trying to book. At this rate she might as well buy a damn hostess cupcake, stick a candle in it and call it a day. Nicole sat on the sofa listening to the irritating high pitched voice quickly move from one side to the other and asked, "Why do I get the feeling I would have whiplash if I could see right now?" Arizona huffed, tossed up her hands, and answered, "Because this is driving me insane!" The older woman shook her head and quipped, "Some things may have changed, but when it comes to certain things, you're the same old Robbins." Arizona stopped in front of her mentor, glared at her, and asked defensively, "What the hell does that mean?" Nicole sighed, pointed in the direction of the voice and commanded, "First of all, don't give me that look. Secondly, it means you never ask for help Robbins…Robbins-Torres." Arizona plopped on the couch next to her partner and mumbled, "I don't need help planning my wife's birthday party. ERRRR I shouldn't! Ugh, We've been married a week and a half and I am already failing…again!" The auburn haired woman realized there was a serious underlying fear as well as an obvious weakness and she needed to tread lightly here.
There were reasons Robbins didn't ask for help, they were the same reasons she, herself, didn't ask for help when she should, and they stemmed from their disabilities and need to express their capabilities. In situations like this however, it had less to do with their ability and more to do with their knowledge or lack thereof. Deciding to explain it in a way the fetal surgeon would understand best, she asked, "When we create a surgical plan, what's the first thing we do?" Arizona scrunched up her face in confusion at the quick change in subject and answered, "We put a surgical team together." The former surgeon asked, "Why?" Arizona pinched the bridge of her nose and responded, "What does this…" "Just shut up and answer the damn question," Nicole snapped. Arizona sat up straighter at the demanding tone, thought for a minute then answered, "Well, we need an anesthesiologist to monitor medications, allergic reactions, breathing; scrub nurses for extra eyes and hands, possibly other specialists, depending on the diagnosis and treatment." The older woman smirked and asked, "Why can't you do it all by yourself? You're one of the best fetal surgeons in the world. Present company excluded, of course." "Of course," the blonde mumbled and rolled her eyes, she knew there was a point to this but had no idea what it was.
Realizing her mentor was waiting for an answer, Arizona begrudgingly responded, "Because obviously I haven't been trained to do those other jobs and I'm not an octopus. I develop the best plan possible based on my expertise, then call on the experts in the areas in which I lack the experience or knowledge to assist in those areas." The older woman nodded and replied, "Good, it's settled then." Arizona furrowed her brow and asked, "Uh, what's settled?" Nicole groaned and asked, "Weren't you paying attention at all? That was a great analogy! Ask. For. Help. Yeah, but not from me. I've done my share. Torres painting the whole damn center like her own personal love note, making me wear pink and standing up in a wedding, taking in strays…oh and do you know why? Because your wife asked for help! She didn't do everything alone. Hell, even you helped plan your wedding without knowing. You can be a great wife; you are a great wife. You have come up with a wonderful plan based on your knowledge about your wife, but you need to know certain people and the area Robbins…Torres. You've been here two months, so right now you don't know these things, but you do know people who do. You know business owners, medical professionals, lawyers, hotel owners, and senators. Use your contacts." Arizona sat dumbfounded; she was trying to do everything on her own to try to prove something…but to whom? Everyone loved Callie and they would go out of their way for her.
When Nicole stood up to leave the room, Arizona asked, "Where are you going?" Nicole responded, "My work here is done and this conversation reminded me that I need to get to work on my pet project. I think I'll call it 'Operation Payback'." Arizona pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes, and watched her mentor go toward the bank of elevators, then called out, "Nicole Herman, don't you dare!" Nicole commanded, "Down button Shep," waited until she heard the dog scratch at the elevator button, then revealed, "A gruff little birdy told me I should start with 'crap dog', said it's your favorite word." The older woman cackled when she heard her protégé growl and her office door slam. When the elevator door opened, she turned and walked toward her office.
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Dr. Harding listened intently as Callie stepped up to the table and explained, "Today we are performing a total knee replacement using computerized navigation technology." She held out her hand for the scalpel and started following the line she had previously drawn on the patient's leg and further described to her resident, "I am using a midline incision and carefully dissecting, cauterizing, and preserving the superficial tissue or fascia closest to the patella." "Why are you using a cautery pen instead of a tourniquet here?" Dr. Harding inquired. Impressed by the question, Callie arched her brow and started to respond when Maria cut in, "Why don't you just watch and learn?" Shooting her head nurse a look that would make a grown man cower, Callie responded, "Because this is a teaching facility and that was an excellent question."
The ortho surgeon looked at her resident and explained, "I do it for a few reasons, a tourniquet can increase the chance of post-operative pain or bruising, there's no evidence that it decreases bleeding, and without the obstruction of the tourniquet, I can see the bleeders, like that one right there." She quickly moved the cautery pen to the spot she just discovered and effectively stopped the bleeding. Callie studied her patient carefully for any more bleeders, then turned the handle of the pen toward the young doctor and instructed, "Keep your eye on the scalpel, when you see blood, zap it." The young man looked at the surgeon he half worshipped and half feared and asked, "Zap it?" Callie nodded and declared giddily, "ZAP IT! You're only as awesome as your tools Harding. Learn how to use them, learn how to have fun with them." The man nodded and smiled behind his mask when he watched his mentor make another cut and he felt the power of the little tool he held as he watched the stream of red blood turn to black and dry up just by the push of a button.
When Callie cut into the tendon and a gush of excess fluid was released, she looked to her right, waiting for Maria to come in and suction it out and furrowed her brow when nothing happened. She became even more confused when she noticed her head nurse was looking at neither her nor the patient but staring off into space. Clearing her throat softly she requested, "Suction please." Maria's head snapped in Callie's direction then down at the patient and she scrambled for the suction when she saw the yellow fluid flowing from the tendon effusion. Once the area was clear, Callie arched her brow, this time in concern, and got a barely discernable headshake in response and decided to let it go…for now. She knew this behavior was very unlike the nurse who was usually two steps ahead of everyone else in the room and though she was sarcastic and downright ridiculous everywhere else, Maria was always professional and helpful to the staff, especially during a procedure. She also knew as difficult as it was, she had to think of the woman as her nurse right now and not her friend. Though she could be sympathetic to whatever was going on, she couldn't do it at the cost of her patient or the well-being of other employees. She always worked on the three strike rule and Maria's treatment of Dr. Harding and her lack of focus earned her two strikes before they even got to the good parts of the procedure.
Callie continued to dissect the tendons, muscle, and fat from around the patella, opened the joint and extended the leg to reflex the patella and bend the knee once again. She looked to Beth who was standing across from her and requested, "Beth, could you give Dr. Harding the 10 blade please." When the resident looked up at her, she explained, "We need to remove the fat pad. You have a better angle." The young man stared at the open knee for a moment and reached out with a trembling hand, it was clear he wasn't sure what the fat pad was. Knowing she messed up earlier and she should help the hopeful surgeon save face, Maria picked up the cautery pen, pointed at the part in question and spoke quietly, "Lift it up by the tip there and cut it at the base as close to the bone as possible and I'll follow with the pen." Dr. Harding did as he was asked and breathed a sigh of relief when no monitors started beeping at him. Callie wanted to laugh at the fear in the man's eyes but also removed a strike from her mental scoreboard for Maria.
Working together, the two surgeons continued to clear any tissue from the patellar joint. After that was finished, Callie explained, "Now I am going to insert the computer navigation into the leg, one will go into the femur and the other into the tibia. Once they are implanted, I will attach the satellite receivers for the censors and they will start doing their navigation monitoring." While Callie was drilling into the femur, she heard, "What does that do?" coming from the speaker in that lyrical voice she loved so much. Looking up into the gallery, Callie's eyes danced with excitement when they connected with oceans of blue. She turned to Maria and quipped, "You wanna field that one too?" The nurse shot her a glare, but knew she deserved it and shook her head apologetically.
Callie explained to her wife and the room at large, "These two implants serve as benchmarks and have receivers on them so they can talk to each other and report back to the computer. I also have different tools with similar devices that send them messages. I'll start by taking external measurements, flexing and extending the knee and ankle joints. These record the angles and extent to which each joint can be flexed. I'll use this tool to do similar tests to the interior and this piece will talk to those pieces. When I'm done, I upload it into the computer and it gives me a report that will tell me exactly which bone and how much to resect, where to place the pins, how to realign the ligaments, how much osteophytes need to come off and all with 100 percent accuracy and no need for calipers and no room for human error." Callie was working the entire time she was talking and Arizona watched on in fascination. She'd seen Callie do hundreds of joint replacements, though she had never seen one like this. At some point during their excursion Saturday, Callie told her about this navigation system that made joint replacements less daunting and a little more fun so she decided to come check it out during her lunch break. She also got a cryptic message from Maria and needed to see if she could catch her, but apparently she was busy.
Arizona sat in the gallery eating her lunch and watching while Callie explained to her resident everything she was doing and why she was doing it. She could hear the excitement in her voice every time she answered a question. The ortho surgeon loved it when people asked questions and showed interest in ortho. If her students didn't show interest, they weren't her students for long. At first she didn't understand it. She figured not many people wanted to do ortho, so take what you could get. Then she saw that Callie's passion for her specialty matched her own for peds and she realized that like ortho, many people didn't take peds seriously either, so when you found someone who was interested, you ran them through the ringer to see if they had what it takes, case in point, Alex Karev: crap dog extraordinaire. Looking at the time, Arizona put her salad container back in the lunchbox her wife packed for her, went to the intercom, pressed the button, and said, "Thanks for the demonstration Dr. Robbins-Torres, it was very hot…cool, I meant cool." Callie chuckled and husked out, "I bet you did Dr. Robbins-Torres, I bet you did. I have about another hour here, an arthroscopic elbow, then rounds and I should be done." The fetal surgeon nodded and responded, "I have a consult with a prospective new patient, a surgical follow-up, rounds and then I'm working on a surgical plan. Just pop over when you're ready." Callie nodded then smiled and blushed behind her mask when her wife blew her a kiss.
While continuing to take measurements, Callie noticed Maria had returned to acting strange again and honestly wasn't looking too well. Turning her body, she leaned toward the instrument tray and asked, "Do you need to go home? You're not looking so good and quite honestly, you're acting strange, even for you." Maria nodded and quickly left the room without removing any of her protective gear. Callie watched her friend leave and asked Beth to take her place after she called Lorraine to ask her to check on Maria. When Maria left the room, she went straight to the nearest bathroom and threw up.
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Arizona knew Maria would come straight to her office without checking in and she was almost positive what she was coming for. By this point in her career as a fetal surgeon, she knows what it means to get a text that simply says, 'I need to see you,' unless it's from her wife. If it's what she thought it was, she was excited for her friends, but maybe just a little jealous too. They didn't have to go through the huge clinical process. But on the flip side, it would be fun to have someone to share the experience with…if she got pregnant soon…but poor Callie. Walking to her desk, she took the syringe, vial, and pregnancy test she collected from an examination room out of her pocket and placed them in the drawer. No sooner did she sit down at her desk than an extremely harried looking Maria slipped into her office, plopped on her couch and burst into tears with her head in her hands.
Arizona was by her side in a flash and as soon as she saw the tears, wondered if she called it wrong or if she called it right and maybe this wasn't a good thing. Afterall, Maria did say her marriage was on the verge of collapse. Taking a deep breath, she carefully asked, "Oh honey, what is it?" Maria lifted her head and started rambling in Spanish and as always, Arizona was lost. Trying to break the tension, the fetal surgeon quipped, "Okay, you send me a text saying you need to see me, you come in here crying, I'm assuming out of guilt because we're both married, and you're professing your undying love to me in Spanish because you know it turns me on…but seriously, still nothing. So…" Maria's Head shot up and she exclaimed, "What?! No you idiot! I think I'm pregnant and just seeing you made me puke." Arizona laughed and responded, "Yeah, I figured, but I didn't have time to wait for the Spanish rant to end." Maria asked, "How do you make Cal stop?" Arizona chuckled and shrugged, "Oh, I just kiss her and if that doesn't work, I take off my shirt." Maria shook her head and suggested, "You could just learn Spanish." Arizona tilted her head and asked, "Where's the fun in that and why would I want to know how to fight with my wife in two languages?" Maria chuckled and answered, "Fair enough."
Arizona walked to her desk, pulled out the supplies she just put in the drawer and inquired, "Talk to me, why do you think you're pregnant?" She set the kit aside for the moment and prepared to draw blood. Before responding, Maria asked, "Why the blood and the kit?" Placing the tourniquet on the brunette's arm the blonde answered, "The kit only tells me there is enough pregnancy hormone in your body to show a pregnancy. That doesn't necessarily mean you are pregnant, that's why I need blood and to go through the questions." Maria nodded and responded, "Okay hit me." Arizona cleaned the area, then asked, "When was your last period?" The brunette flinched and looked away when the surgeon picked up the needle and responded, it ended the day before the painting party at Lorraine's. I only remember that because I was happy I wouldn't be bleeding to death. I missed this period and didn't think about it with the wedding and opening and everything. I started feeling nauseous and had a low grade fever this weekend and took a test this morning…positive. Today was the first time I actually threw up but I think it was nerves from seeing you and when you said you had a consult it made it real."
Arizona nodded in understanding, tapped her arm, and stated, "All done. I'm going to run this to the lab and put a rush on it while you go in there and pee on a stick." Maria looked at her arm that already had a band-aid on it and proclaimed, "Wow! You're good." Arizona wiggled her brows and quipped, "That's what Cal says." Maria shook her head and retorted, "I like you more and more every day." Arizona laughed and responded my professional response is, "It comes from nearly 20 years of working with scared kids and overly protective moms." The nurse shook her head and threw up her arms claiming, "And now you ruined it!" Arizona laughed and ordered, "Go pee!"
When Arizona returned from the lab, she sat down next to Maria who was holding the handle of the pregnancy test with a glove and tears streaming down her face. Arizona already knew these weren't happy tears. She wrapped one arm around her friend and took the test with the other. If the test were positive, two blue lines would appear. Though the second was faint, it was there. This didn't set well with the fetal surgeon. Speaking softly she stated, "You don't know me as the OB or fetal surgeon, only as the annoying perky blonde your best friend talks about incessantly who makes it her goal in life to get under your skin." Maria chuckled at that and Arizona continued, "In this office, anywhere in this building, when you come to me as a patient, I'll joke with you, I'll laugh with you, I'll talk about our kids and spouses, but whatever we say here, stays here. It doesn't matter to me that my wife is your boss or your husband is my attorney. What matters is you are my patient." Maria shook her head and answered, "Senator Gavin wasn't blowing hot air huh?" Arizona shook her head and responded, "Nope. I'm really that good." The brunette chuckled, sat back on the sofa and declared, "Okay where to begin?" Arizona leaned back and held up the stick and admitted, "I always start backward. Cal starts at the beginning." Maria shook her head and quipped, "You two are the poster children for opposites attract."
Taking a deep breath, Maria started, "Any other time, I'd probably be happy, head over heals in love with the idea of having a baby, but right now…I just, I'm not sure it's the best time. I don't even know if I'll be married in a year." Arizona furrowed her brow, she'd thought things were getting better, but this is the second such comment her friend has made in less than a week. Maria saw her expression and sighed, "We aren't going to pretend you don't know we had problems and were in therapy or why right?" Arizona shook her head and explained, "No, not at all, I just, I thought you were past that." Maria rubbed her hands down her face and leaned her head against the back of the couch and claimed, "I thought so too. We worked as a team when the girls were missing, he took the day off with me and we had a family day, we had a great anniversary weekend, reconnected emotionally and physically. I think that's where this happened. I forgot my birth control and we didn't want to mess with condoms, we hadn't used them in years." Arizona nodded and asked, "What changed?" Maria replied, "He started working more again, to catch up from all the time off and it makes sense, but my trust issues came back. I was asking him to account for everything and it caused arguments. The night of the wedding, I just clicked with your friends and saw that it was irritating him and let loose. Then at your house the next night, he spent the whole time talking to Lucia and Aria…" Arizona opened her mouth and Maria stopped her, "I know, they are lawyers, didn't know anyone either, and Cal would kick both their asses." Arizona nodded and responded, "Exactly."
Arizona asked, "Do you still love him? I don't mean, do you love him because he's nice to have around and you don't want to be lonely. But are you like, move across the country to get away from him only to realize he's the one, in love with him?" Maria smiled and answered, "Well when you put it that way, yeah, I'm in love with my husband." Arizona nodded and responded, "If your love is worth fighting for then fight. So no matter what happens, you go back to Dr. G agreed?" The nurse nodded, "Agreed." Arizona took her friend's hand and soothed, "A baby may not be the best thing, it may not be the worst thing either. But tell me more about your symptoms. Any spotting? Pain? Appetite changes?" Maria thought for a minute and responded, "No spotting really, but…some discharge, dark brown, I kind of thought…um I just didn't, you know wipe well enough. But I felt pain the whole day before that, um Sunday, I thought it was constipation. With that and the nausea, I haven't felt like eating. I've only been throwing up bile. Could I have…did I miscarry?" Arizona shook her head and responded, "No, that would have been bright red and you would have needed me right then." Just as she finished her sentence, Maria became pale and ran into the bathroom. Arizona got up to follow and heard a knock on her door. Opening the door, she found the Labtech holding an envelope with Maria's results. She hadn't yet started a chart for Maria but from just the brief glimpse she got of the lab results, she would have to now.
When the nurse emerged from the bathroom wiping her face with a towel, she saw Arizona entering the information from the lab results into her tablet. She sighed and asked, "So I need a chart?" Arizona nodded and responded, "I'm afraid so, and an exam." Maria looked at the fetal surgeon and admitted, "Your kind of worrying me here Arizona." Hearing her first name coming from someone who rarely said it, Arizona stopped, sat down on the sofa and patted the seat next to her. She handed the labs to Maria and explained, "You know enough to know the HCG levels are higher than normal, but if your date of conception is accurate, that would put you at right around four and a half weeks and the levels are too low. That could mean a few things, the dates could be wrong, the pregnancy may not be viable, or there may not be a pregnancy and something else is happening which is boosting your HCG levels and masking the issue. If you look at your white count here, it's extremely high which tells me your body is fighting something that it doesn't recognize. Considering your dark discharge, your pain, and now the vomiting, I'm concerned you have a ruptured cyst."
Maria felt as if she were going to faint and asked, "Is it cancer?" Arizona responded, "I can't answer that at this point. I want to get you into a room, take a swab, get it tested, then do an ultrasound. If I'm right, you aren't leaving my sight until that thing is out of there." Maria asked, "And if you're wrong?" Arizona smiled and responded, "Mazel tov?" That made the other woman laugh and broke the tension. Arizona started to leave and suggested, "Call Miguel, let him be here for you. I'll be back in a minute." Maria pulled out her phone and the fetal surgeon left to get everything set up.
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Rather than waste time with an exam room, Arizona admitted Maria, knowing she wasn't going to let her leave until she figured it out. While Maria was getting settled and speaking with Miguel, Arizona asked Dr. March, the OB/GYN to meet with her and explained the situation and why she was bringing him in. She told him of her suspicions and made it perfectly clear that if it were a cyst, she would defer to his expertise and if surgery were necessary, he would take the lead but she would like to assist. He quickly agreed and respected his superior all the more for her candor and turning the case over, even though technically she was also an OB/GYN. When the two surgeons entered the room, Maria was in the bed with her gown on and Miguel was at the head of the bed running his fingers through her hair with one hand while she had a death grip on the other.
Arizona introduced the other surgeon and explained, "Dr. March is an obstetrician and gynecologist with a great deal more experience in diagnosing and removing ovarian cysts if that is what we are looking at. I will be performing a pap smear then an ultrasound. If we don't see anything, we may need to do a transvaginal ultrasound where we insert a scope through your vagina. We will send the swab to the lab to look for abnormal cells which will help us determine if we are looking at cancerous cells and if it is benign or malignant." She stopped for a moment so her friends could process the information she just told them. At Maria's nod, she continued, "The ultrasound will confirm or refute a pregnancy, show if there is an ectopic pregnancy, or show us if there is a cyst or if a cyst has ruptured. Do you have any questions?" Miguel asked, "What's the IV for?" Arizona responded, Maria is slightly dehydrated from vomiting and not eating or drinking and has a low grade fever as well as showing signs of infection so we are giving her fluids and antibiotics." Maria asked, "Did you call Cal?" Arizona furrowed her brow in confusion, she figured she already knew, after all Maria had to have left the O.R. to be here as quickly as she was. Shaking her head, Arizona answered, "You know I can't do that without your consent. If you want her or her and Lorraine, you can call them while we set up." Maria nodded and handed Miguel the phone.
While she was helping the nurse lower the end of the bed and set up the leg holders, Arizona heard heavy footfalls coming toward the room and her heart started racing, but not in a good way. She knew her wife was going to be pissed that she didn't call her right away, HIPPA aside, even if she could tell her, everything happened so quickly, and quite honestly, she thought she already knew. Much to her surprise, Callie walked straight up to her, kissed her cheek and whispered, "HIPPA sucks. I didn't even know anything was wrong." Arizona nodded, "Me neither, she'll have to…" Callie smiled and replied, "I know honey." Arizona released the breath she'd been holding since she found out Callie was coming over and asked, "Where's Lorraine?" Callie responded, "She's filling Kim and Julie in on appointments and surgeries then she will be over." Arizona nodded and pulled the stool toward the end of the bed and waited for the nurse to bring the tray with the speculum and swabs to her.
Looking up at the others in the room, Arizona declared, "Everyone who isn't me or nurse Sheila, move on up." Maria sent her a thankful smile then stiffened her body when Arizona picked up the instrument. Arizona asked, "So what made you go into nursing?" Maria looked at her strangely and asked, "Now? Now you want to have this conversation?" Arizona shrugged and quipped, "You're here, I'm here." Maria huffed and started to respond when Arizona turned to the nurse and returned the speculum to the tray and retorted, "Too late, I don't care anymore." Maria shook her head and asked, "That's it? It's over? I didn't feel a thing. Not sure what that says about your sex life though." Arizona quipped, "Oh, don't you worry about that, Callie feels everything!" Maria made a gagging sound and Callie chuckled at the banter. Even at a time like this, these two didn't quit. It put her at ease that things may not be so serious.
While they prepared the ultrasound machine, Maria explained to both Miguel and Callie how she found herself in a hospital bed and to say they were both shocked that she could be pregnant or at least thought she was at first was an understatement. While she was listening to the story being repeated, Arizona looked up to find her wife staring at her and knew she was thinking the same thing she thought earlier. She was sure they would have this conversation later. After Dr. March went over what they would be looking for, he turned on a second monitor closer to the head of the bed so he could walk the patient through what they were seeing while Arizona navigated the wand. She was relieved to see there was no pregnancy because with the hormone levels and projected conception date, it wouldn't have made it. She was also thankful her colleague didn't mention that. Moving on to the fallopian tube and left ovary, there was no sign of an ectopic pregnancy nor a cyst, ruptured or intact. When she moved to the right side, Maria nearly jumped off the bed and howled in pain, then instantly vomited all over her husband. When she moved, the wand moved and it allowed Arizona to see not only a ruptured cyst but something else entirely which explained all the vomiting. Quickly capturing the image, she printed it off along with the one she got just before the vomiting started.
While Sheila called for another nurse and custodial staff to help with clean up and Callie took Miguel to the nurses' station for a pair of scrubs, Arizona showed Dr. March the ultrasound pictures. He looked at her and asked, "You're general also correct?" Arizona smiled and responded, "I am." The OB shook his head and asked, "Why do you need the rest of us?" Arizona patted his back and responded, "Sometimes we need to ask for help." He looked to Maria who was writhing in pain and replied, "Looks like she asked for it just in time." Arizona nodded and asked, "Which O.R. do you prefer?" The other surgeon laughed and responded, "We've been open a little over a week, I've done 3 in room procedures and delivered 3 babies. Let's go for lucky number 3." Arizona nodded and asked, "Can you have them set it up for a cyst removal with possible unilateral oophorectomy as well as an appendectomy with a perforated appendix? I'll start her on pain meds, call up when you're ready." The surgeon nodded and left the room. Arizona took out her tablet and ordered a rush on dilaudid for Maria, got a wet cloth, and went to her friend's bed side.
Maria rolled over and Arizona lowered the railing on the bed, sat down and laid the cool cloth on her forehead. The brunette looked up and asked, "Am I dying?" Arizona chuckled and responded, "No, you aren't dying." Maria furrowed her brow and asked, "Then why are you being nice to me?" Arizona looked around the empty room, shrugged, and answered, "No witnesses." Maria chuckled then winced in pain and asked, "So what's going on and why did I get so bad so fast?" Arizona explained, "The elevated HCG levels and discharge were sole indicators of a ruptured cyst. It shared symptoms of pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fever, and constipation with appendicitis. My guess, based on the discharge and elevated white cell count is that your cyst ruptured over the weekend and that may or may not have triggered an already angry appendix since they are on the same side. But that ruptured just now when I pressed the wand on it. Dr. March will be taking care of the cyst, but I need to warn you, if its bad, he will need to remove the ovary. But that still leaves you with one good one and the ability to conceive if you still want more children."
Maria nodded and asked, "This isn't a normal hospital, who is taking out my appendix? Do you have a general surgeon?" Arizona responded, "Oh, we believe in the 'you break it you bought it' policy here. I broke it, so…" Maria asked, "Can you do that? Aren't you peds and fetal?" Arizona responded, "Actually, I certified in general and specialized in peds until it became its own specialty and I was grandfathered in. It's the same with fetal, I had to certify in OB/GYN and specialized in fetal then fought like hell to make fetal its own specialty." Maria shook her head and asked, "So you're like 4 doctors?" Arizona nodded and Callie answered from the door, "She's awesome!" Arizona beamed at her wife and asked, "Did you both hear that or do I need to repeat it?" Miguel answered, "We heard. Is this dangerous? Can people die from this? What are the chances of complications? How long of a stay are we looking at? How long should I take off to care for her at home? What are the restrictions? Should Bella stay with family for a few days?" Before Arizona could answer, Sheila came in with a vial of medication. Maria looked at Arizona and asked, "What is it?" The fetal surgeon responded, "Dilaudid." Callie slapped her forehead and said, "Oh boy!" Maria smiled and declared, "Bye-bye pain, hello happy juice."
Arizona chuckled, looked to Miguel and answered, "Every surgery has risks. These are minimal, however, based upon the size of the cyst and the damage it caused, Dr. March may need to remove the right ovary, but she will still be able to have children. I will take my time and will need to irrigate her abdomen of the bile secreted from the appendix. She will be on a high dose of antibiotics and if she responds well and is fever free for 48 hours, there's no reason she can't go home by Friday. I'm assuming you will want to spend the night here tonight. Bella can stay with us until Saturday, that gives you a day to get her home and settled. I don't want her working for at least a week, I may extend that, depending on her recovery. I'd like her to have someone with her for the first week, we can pick Bella up and bring her to day care." She looked to Callie for confirmation and only got a kiss on the cheek and a whispered, "Thank you." Miguel took out his phone and immediately called his secretary to have her start moving things around.
Arizona pulled Callie to the side and asked, "Are you okay?" Callie nodded and answered, "I'm worried, but I know she's in the best hands possible." She bent down and brushed their lips together and suggested, "I'd better let you go prepare." Arizona took a handful of Callie's scrub top and whispered, "I'm sorry I didn't call or text you, I honestly figured you knew. I mean she had to have left your O.R., she was barely ten minutes behind me." Callie shook her head and whispered, "Shhh, it's okay baby. She was a little off all morning, but I had no idea she was sick and certainly didn't know she thought she was pregnant. It also sounds like things moved pretty quickly once she got here. Besides, this isn't Grey-Sloan, we are smaller facilities and need to stick to the letter of the law." Arizona smiled, kissed her wife again and they both burst into laughter when they heard a very slurred, "Save that shit for after you rock my sur…sug…take my shit out!" Arizona started laughing and Callie went to her friend's side.
When Callie sat down, Maria asked, "Is she gone?" The ortho surgeon nodded and the nurse slurred, "I didn't want to like her. Maybe cuz of what she did and what Miguel was doing, maybe cuz I thought you were setting yourself up for failure, like there's no way love could survive all that. I thought that now that you were away from her, you were just building her up in your head, putting her on a pedes…umm…tall thing." Callie chuckled at her friend though she would never admit she had the same fears. Maria continued, "When I came into the lobby the day of the bus crash and saw this little blonde going toe to toe with Dr. Arro…asshole, sticking up for you, I knew I liked her. She's everything you said she was Cal, and she loves you back just as hard. I'm glad it worked out." Callie tilted her head and asked, "So why do you give her so much shit?" Maria thought for a minute and answered, "It's our love language." Callie laughed at that and suggested, "Get some rest, when you wake up, you'll feel tons better." Maria closed her eyes and asked, "Can you have her tell Miguel how the surgery went before the hot on-call room sex?" Callie shook her head at the silliness and responded, "Will do."
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Once they opened Maria up, Arizona breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the bacteria was contained in one area and the infection hadn't had time to spread. While she was irrigating the abdomen, she asked, "So tell me something about yourself Dr. March." The older man, who appeared to be in his fifties responded, "Call me Max, please." Arizona nodded and returned, "Only if you call me Arizona." Max nodded and continued, "Well Arizona, I was born and raised in Atlanta and went to Stanford where I met my husband of 25 years and we moved out here about ten years ago so he could open a second restaurant." Arizona looked at her co-worker thoughtfully, realized she'd never seen him at one of their gatherings, and asked, "Why have you never mentioned him?" Without looking up, Max replied, "Well, it's like you said in your speech, some facilities talk a big game about being LGBTQ friendly, but when it comes down to it, you find that's not the case. I lie low until I get the real vibe." Arizona nodded in understanding, "I get it. So, how do you feel we rank here? Are we walking the talk?" Max looked up and answered, "You are the first boss I've ever shared my orientation with, so I'd say you are doing what you set out to do. It took great courage to stand in front of cameras and introduce your wife to the world and announce we would be treating patients of all gender identities. I feel safe here." Arizona's eyes twinkled and she replied, "Good, does that mean you and Mr. March will join us at future get togethers?" Max chuckled and he answered, "You can count on it."
After Arizona was finished, she donned fresh gloves and moved to assist the OB. Max looked up and announced, "It looks like we may have to remove this ovary. I hate to do it, but it looks like this was more of a cluster of cysts and only one ruptured. Even if I remove them all, there's no guarantee they won't return." Arizona nodded and asked, "Do they look abnormal?" Max shook his head and replied, "I can't say with 100 percent certainty, but nothing looks out of sorts, I'm sending up a sample for biopsy just in case. I think the elevated HCG level was caused by the cysts and the high white cell count was from the infection caused by the rupture and irritated appendix." Arizona nodded and agreed with his diagnosis, "As I said, I defer to your expertise Max. Do what you feel is best for the patient." The other surgeon stared at his boss and declared, "I've never worked for anyone like you." Arizona corrected, "You don't work for me, you work with me, and we work for the patients." Max shook his head and for the first time in his 25 year career, he knew he'd found a home.
When the two surgeons returned to Maria's room, they found Lorraine and Marco had joined Callie and Miguel. Arizona allowed Dr. March to do the majority of the talking and answering questions since he did most of the surgery. When it was her turn, Arizona briefly explained her part and reiterated they would be monitoring for fever and infection from this point on. Since they had to remove an ovary, discharge would be based on how quickly Maria showed signs of recovery. After Dr. March left, the family and group of friends drew up a schedule for who would stay with Maria and who would take Bella since Miguel and Lorraine both decided it was a great deal to ask of Callie and Arizona to keep her for four days even though neither of them minded. As soon as the schedule was finished, they had to start all over again when Maria's cousin came into the room insisting she be added to the roster.
Realizing the time, Arizona excused herself so she could make her appointment with Erin which she'd already pushed back a few hours because of Maria's surgery. Callie walked her to the door and said, "Looks like we're both in for a late night. Marco is going to take Bella tonight and Jordyn is on her way to get Sof. I came over right after the knee replacement and need to do the arthroscopic elbow and rounds still. Tomorrow is already booked solid so I can't push the elbow." Arizona took her hand, fiddled with her wedding ring, and answered, "Same here, I pushed Erin back and she's probably downstairs waiting for me now, then rounds and the surgical plan." Callie brushed their lips together and asked, "First one done orders dinner?" Arizona answered, "Always," then started to walk away and kept her grip on Callie's hand as long as she could.
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Slipping into the elevator just before the doors closed, Arizona saw Max leaning against the back wall and remembered Nicole's words from earlier so she asked, "Do you think your husband could help me find a venue for Callie's 40th birthday? I know it's a big ask, but it's also a strange one and I'm pretty sure only restaurateurs would know how to find what I need." The older man chuckled and responded, "Most people want a free meal when they find out he owns a restaurant." Arizona shook her head and waved her arms in front of her, defending, "Oh no, no, no, no, I would totally pay, in fact I was going to buy you dinner for helping me." Max laughed harder and explained, "That's what I meant Arizona, you're one of a kind. Tell me what you need and we will get it done." Arizona smiled brightly and explained her plan to her new fast friend. Max pushed the emergency stop button and called his husband Michael and told him about Arizona's request. When he hung up he proclaimed, "This was the luckiest elevator ride of your life." Arizona clapped in excitement and asked, "He knows of a place?" Max chuckled and responded, "Honey, we own a place that does exactly what you want and he's calling to get a few of his friend's involved as we speak." Arizona squealed and threw her arms around his neck, thanking him profusely. She gave Max her number so Michael could call her and invited them to the party as well.
Stepping off the elevator, Arizona was on cloud nine, she couldn't believe she got so lucky. She knew asking for help was her greatest weakness. Not asking for help, actually. She and Dr. Dawson discussed that at great length during her sessions. Though this was minor, she knew if she were to get pregnant, she may need some extra support in that area and pulled out her phone to set a reminder for this evening when she knew they would be home to bring it up to Callie. This was too important; Callie was too important to let it go until it was too late. "What are you so deep in thought about over there?" Erin asked from her seat in the lobby. Arizona rushed to help her patient up in fear of the three fingered curse and asked, "Where's Larry?" Erin looked out the window and responded, "I told him to go away. He's getting on my nerves." The blonde chuckled and defended, "I'm sure he just…" Erin lifted her hand and pointed her fingers at Arizona scolding, "Don't you dare defend him." Arizona grabbed the offending fingers and demanded, "Put those away!" As they walked arm in arm to an exam room, Arizona asked, "So what did he do?" Erin huffed and replied, "He's not letting me do anything. ANYTHING Arizona. He waits outside the bathroom door and if I grunt, he's in the room checking on me. I mean, sometimes you gotta add a little oomph to relieve yourself, right?" Arizona tried to hold in her laughter but just couldn't. Both women were nearly in tears by the time they reached the examination room.
Arizona waved her face with both hands and proclaimed, "I've heard a lot of overprotective spouse stories, but that one takes the cake…Ooooh crap, cake!" Erin scrunched up her nose and asked, "Crap cakes?" Arizona chuckled, "No, I'm throwing a surprise party for Callie's 40th birthday next Saturday and I forgot about a cake. I've been so focused on the main activity." Arizona directed Erin up on the table and pulled the ultrasound over and started to explain what she was going to do and Erin cut her off and asked, "What's your plan?" Arizona explained the plan and the reason behind it and the senator nearly swooned. Wiping a tear, she commanded, "Hand me my purse please." Arizona shot her a look of confusion then handed the other woman her purse.
Erin took out her phone, dialed a number, waited for the recipient to pick up and turned on the speaker. Arizona vaguely recognized the voice that said, "Hey cuz, how are my girls?" Erin smiled and responded, "They're doing well, I'm about to get a check up right now, but I have a quick favor to ask." The man on the other line huffed, "No politics Erin." "Jeffery Adam, I am asking for the amazing surgeon who saved your cousins." Arizona could almost hear the smile coming through the phone as he answered, "What, when, and where?" Erin introduced Arizona to Jeff who asked her to call him by his nickname which made her eyes nearly bulge out of her head, told Erin to share his contact info with the good doctor, then hung up so she could continue her exam. Arizona plopped down on the stool and asked, "He's your cousin? Callie is going to lose her mind!" Erin laughed and added, "Just think how good the birthday sex will be! I miss sex." Arizona shook her head and revealed, "You can still have sex. You just have to be creative." Erin scoffed, "I also have to have a husband who doesn't think I will break." Arizona responded, "Let's see how this test goes and I'll write you an official list of activities you can do. How's that?" Her patient nodded in agreement.
Arizona turned on the machine and suggested, "Tell me how you've been feeling." She put the gel on the wand and started with Faith on the right, while Erin explained, "I've felt more and more movement, it's like a soccer game in there some days. That's the most movement I've felt my whole pregnan…" "Oooh look at that!" Arizona exclaimed as she saw a little footprint push out of the tight skin. She giggled when she said, "Little Hope doesn't like that." Turning up the monitor, she listened to each little heartbeat for a few minutes, waiting for the excitement to settle so she could get an accurate read. She smiled when she heard three perfect little heartbeats. Erin watched her surgeon's expressions and asked, "Can I assume everything is as it should be?" Arizona nodded, took Erin's vitals, checked for edema in her legs and ankles and responded, "As of today, it looks like everyone is in good health. I don't see why you can't return to work, desk duty, five hours a day, no traveling other than your commute to work, no public transport, no flying. Regular activities including physical activities, no heavy lifting, and light exercise like walking, water aerobics, etc."
Erin breathed a sigh of relief and Arizona was surprised to see tears come to her eyes. She helped her patient sit up, climbed up next to her and asked, "What's up buttercup?" Erin snickered, wiped her tears and explained, "It sounds like you're telling me I'm just a normal pregnant person now. Like…we are going to be okay." Arizona shrugged and answered, "I mean, I wouldn't say you were normal, but, for the most part, you're out of the woods. You're carrying triplets so there's more risk, things will be harder, you need to watch your stress levels for their sakes, so either learn to deal with Larry's crazy, or tell him in a loving way to back off and you'll ask for help when you need it." Erin struggled her way off the bed and Arizona let her, then she turned to the fetal surgeon and admitted, "I was ready to give up before I met you. Two specialists told me I should terminate. When I couldn't find you, I almost did. In fact, I was googling one of their names when yours popped up. Do you believe in divine intervention Arizona?" The blonde blinked back the tears she was fighting and responded truthfully, "I didn't at one time. But too many things have happened in my life or that I have witnessed to make me wonder."
She walked her patient to the reception desk and told Dee, "Same time next week." Then looked to Erin and ordered, "Your assignment this week is to buy three matching pajama sets and bring them in, call whoever is throwing your baby shower, set a date and bring me my invitation. Enjoy your pregnancy Erin, don't fear it." Erin smiled then looked toward the door and asked, "If I promise to be good, do I get to meet your wife?" Arizona turned to see what Erin was talking about, found her wife escorting Jordyn and Sofia out and whispered, "The party is a surprise." Then waved Callie over to introduce her to Erin. Holding out her hand to Erin she politely introduced, "Cal Robbins-Torres, it's a pleasure to meet you." Erin shook Callie's hand and recalled, "Arizona said you had a sister, when will she be…" "Okay, that is not being good and we are not setting Aria up with your brother," Arizona cut in. Erin shrugged, "It was worth a try. Oh before I forget, I'm texting you my cousin's contact info. Once she was gone, Arizona kissed Callie chastely and murmured, "Thank you for meeting her, I know you're busy." Brushing their lips together, Callie answered, I just finished my elbow, I'm going to do rounds which will take an hour or so, I need to redo the schedule to fill in for Maria, then I'll be good to go. I just had to bring Jordyn over for Sof so I could sign her out." Arizona pulled Callie close, hugged her tight and whispered, "I love you." Callie furrowed her brow, there was something going on and she wasn't sure what it was. She ran her hands through Arizona's hair and returned, "I love you too. I'll be over as soon as I'm done okay?" Arizona nodded, kissed her wife again, then went to do her rounds on her four patients.
After completing her rounds, Arizona went into her office, locked the door in case Callie popped in again and got to work making phone calls. Her first call was to Erin's cousin who asked her Callie's favorite flavors, her profession, her interests, her hobbies, things about their family, and what she envisioned the cake would look like. She also told him what other activity she had planned was and he told her to hold on a minute then the next thing she knew, she was on a three way call with Jeff and Michael and they were developing a whole elaborate plan. Michael gave her another name of a party planner and by the time she was finished with her calls, Arizona had the best birthday party Callie would ever have planned out.
Now for the honeymoon. Picking up the phone, she dialed the number for her mother-in-law and smiled when she heard, "How's my favorite daughter-in-law?" Giggling she responded, "Well, unless Aria failed to mention something, I'm your only daughter-in-law." Lucia laughed and responded, "You'd still be my favorite." Arizona's heart swelled and she replied, "I'm well, we all are. Busy, but well. I just finished firming up the plans for the party and wanted to give you the details, though you will get an invitation soon." Lucia smiled at the other end of the line, this truly is what she wanted for her daughter, for both of her daughters. Remembering she was given a task of her own, she reported, "Everything is all set on my end, travel, lodging, tours, meals, everything is being provided." Arizona huffed in exasperation, "Lucia, that's not why I asked. I fully intended to pay for everything. I just wanted the names of the places." Lucia responded in an apologetic tone, "Arizona, I know how independent you are and I also know the last thing you want from Calliope or our family is money or to use our name for your personal gain. I wasn't trying to one-up you or overstep; I was trying to give my daughters the best honeymoon and vacation experience they could possibly have since I know the area and the people. If it will make you feel better to repay me, then you can, but Carlos and I intended to pay for your honeymoon anyway, you can ask Calliope."
Arizona held her head in her hands, Lucia was trying so very hard to make up for her mistakes and this was the only way she knew how. Swallowing her pride, she relented, "If this was your plan all along, I will graciously accept your gift and thank you for setting it up and planning it out." Then remembering one key factor, she asked, "Uh, us being…um…married…to each other…will there be trouble?" Lucia let out a shaky breath and responded, "No dear, I was the problem. No one else." Arizona nodded and tried to make her feel a little better by adding, "Was is the key word. Remember that. Thank you. We will see you next week." The two hung up just in time for Arizona to hear the special knock on the door.
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As soon as Callie and Arizona arrived home, they both changed into an over-sized t-shirt and underwear, foregoing pants or shorts altogether, and sat on the sofa listening to music through the speakers, eating Chinese take-out, and talking about their day. Halfway through dinner, Arizona took off her leg and laid it to the side. Without Callie having to ask, Arizona offered, "My limb is kind of achy today. I'm not sure why. Does it look swollen to you?" Callie put down her chopsticks, examined the leg and saw no swelling or redness but upon further inspection, she felt a tight knot on the back of her thigh which made Arizona wince in pain. Callie responded, "Its really tight back there, let's finish dinner, take a hot bath and I'll massage it for you." Both women picked up their plates and continued eating and Arizona sighed, "That sounds divine." While Callie finished her dinner, she continued to ponder her wife's openness lately and wondered what brought it on. She felt like she'd been more open about her feelings since their wedding.
Once they were finished eating, Callie playfully hoisted Arizona over her shoulder fireman style and realized her mistake the instant soft hands slipped into her boxers and lightly scratched and groped her ass. Lifting her own hand, she slipped one finger into royal blue silk panties and traced the crease of her wife's ass until she found and circled the rosebud opening, eliciting a low moan and earning a hard swat on her own ass. Reaching the bathroom, she deposited the blonde on the countertop and turned to the tub to set the temperature of the water and turn on the lights for ambiance. Dimming the overhead light, she stepped between pale muscular thighs, and captured her wife's lips in a long searing kiss. Arizona reached down and pulled up the hem of Callie's shirt until they had to break the kiss to remove the offending material, then lifted her own arms so her wife could relieve her of her shirt as well. Immediately connecting their lips once again, they both groaned at the skin to skin contact as their breasts rubbed together. Callie removed their underwear then tapped Arizona's behind so she wrapped her leg around her waist. Carefully stepping into the tub, Callie gently sat Arizona on the edge, settled herself in the tub, then pulled the smaller woman on top of her so her residual limb rested across her abdomen and her head rested on her shoulder.
Once Callie started massaging Arizona's leg, she tried to think of a way to ask if something was bothering her wife. Before anything came to her, she heard Arizona's phone ding and the blonde chuckled, "Just in time." The brunette arched her brow in question and Arizona explained, "I set a reminder to talk to you about something." Seeing the fear in those gorgeous brown eyes, Arizona lifted her hand to smooth out her brow and soothed, "It's not bad, it's just…I had a conversation with Nicole today and then with what happened with Maria, it reminded me, I'm not good at asking for help, I don't say what I want or need. I wasn't good at it before the crash, but after losing my leg, it's like I had something to prove. Dr. Dawson and I worked on it a lot and I've gotten better." Callie studied her wife's face and asked, "Do you need help with something now? Is there something you need to tell me?" Arizona nodded and nervously bit the inside of her lip. Callie was getting a sinking feeling about what was about to fall out of those beautiful lips but quietly prompted, "It's okay baby, we can figure it out." Arizona took a deep breath and admitted, "Nothing has happened yet, but I…I don't know how my body or my mind will respond to being pregnant, or…or not being pregnant and I've read that sometimes the extra hormones can trigger PTSD and I'm bad at asking for help and I don't want to ask too late, so um…I'm ah, I'm asking early. Can we go to therapy? Dr. G if you want or someone who deals with PTSD. But both of us, together, I don't want to leave you out and I'll need you."
Callie continued to rub Arizona's leg and thought about everything she just said. She remembered dragging her wife off the bathroom floor into the shower, screaming in an on-call room after losing their baby, multiple situations where Arizona should have asked for help and here she was asking before there was a problem. Kissing her forehead, she agreed, "If that's what you want to do, then that's what we will do. I'll call Dr. G in the morning, make an appointment and if you like her, we can stay with her." Arizona asked, "Does she specialize in PTSD?" Callie nodded and responded, "She does, and while I wasn't diagnosed with it, I was certain you would be and she helped me to understand what you went through better." Arizona nodded and whispered, "Thank you for understanding." Callie pressed her lips to her temple and murmured, "Thank you for being proactive." Arizona lifted herself up so she was leaning on her arm and could look Callie in the eye and responded, "I'm trying to think my thoughts out loud, I'm trying to tell you how I feel so you don't have to worry or wonder. I know it's going to take some getting used to for both of us, but…you deserve to know just how amazing and gorgeous and sexy I think my wife is." Callie smiled and answered, "I think I can live with that."
After a few more minutes of silence, Callie asked, "Can I tell you a secret?" Arizona chuckled and answered, "Of course." Callie shook her head and responded, "This secret makes me a horrible person!" Arizona furrowed her brow and asked, "What is it?" Callie answered, "I'm really sorry Maria's so sick and in so much pain, but…umm…a teeny tiny, mostly really big part of me wants us to be pregnant on our own." Arizona sighed in relief and said, "Oh thank goodness. At first, I thought, 'Oh wouldn't it be fun to be pregnant with someone and share our pregnancy together?' then I thought, 'Fuck that, this is my first pregnancy, pay attention to me!'" Callie started laughing and gave her wife a hard smacking kiss and Arizona added, "My next thought was 'Oh poor Cal'." The brunette gasped and exclaimed, "Gah! That would be a nightmare!" Then she got serious for a moment and recalled, "We pumped you with a lot of hormones." Arizona nodded in response and Callie suggested, "As much as I want to know as soon as possible, what do you think about waiting for a few days to take a test instead of taking it on Sunday? Just in case we encounter a false positive." Arizona thought about it for a minute and realized her wife had a valid point. Turning in her arms she asked, "Meet you back here next Wednesday?" Callie smiled, then asked, "How about we turn in for the evening Mrs. Robbins-Torres?" Arizona tilted her head and asked, "Are you tired?" Callie kissed her softly and responded, "Nope, not at all!" Arizona grinned lasciviously and answered, "I think that sounds like an excellent idea."
A/N: Surprise! One hand and a lot of hunting and pecking and some really good pain meds, but I managed to produce one of my longest chapters yet. Hopefully this chapter makes sense. I watched a lot of you tube videos while waiting for my surgeon who I could not convince to wear a Callie Torres scrub cap!
I'm happy you liked the previous chapter and thank you for the well wishes.