2.
Like every typical morning, Robert gets up at 6:30 to get ready for work. Judy was usually the one preparing his clothes and making him breakfast. Nowadays, he just picks out the first dress shirt he sees, pour a cup of coffee, and rush out the door with a bagel in his mouth. Walking in Seattle Grace, he cautiously makes his way to his office, hoping not to run into April.
"The Chief is calling all attendings to the ER entrance," a nurse said. "Why, is there another shooting?" "No, Dr. Torres and Robbins got into an accident. Torres is in critical condition."
As he makes his way to the ER, he sees April coming from the opposite direction. Without greeting her, he approached Chief Webber. "Chief, it looks like you have all the staff working on Torres' case, and I do have patients that need my attention, so..." The chief took a moment to think about it, "Okay, but do you need any help?" "No, I'm fine, I'll have a few nurses with me," Robert replied as he walked away.
Karev felt the tension in the air. "Hey, Kepner, what was that about? Your date didn't end well last night?" "There was no date last night." "What happened to 'From Here to Eternity'?" asked Karev. "Can we not talk about this right now?" replied April, annoyed with Karev's questions, she walked away. "She watched 'From Here to Eternity' by herself last night," Lexie informed Karev. Karev humbly looked down and said, "Oh."
April went to Robert's office. "Is everything okay with you? I feel like you're avoiding me."
"Dr. Kepner, I'm fine. No need to worry about me, and I'm not avoiding you. Don't you need to be with the other doctors prepping for Torres' surgery? "
"Yeah, but-" Robert cut her off. "Well, I have a patient waiting for me. "
Robert entered the patient's room and informed his parents about his condition. "Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez, your son is going to be okay. His vitals are fine, but I just want to keep him here until tomorrow so we can monitor him." The boy's parents let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Dr. Stark"
"No problem. You'll be back playing baseball in no time, buddy," he said comforting the boy. Robert smiled as he makes his way back to the desk.
It's been a hectic day for everyone, especially for Mark and Arizona. They faced the possibility of losing Callie and the baby, maybe even both. He overheard them arguing about the situation.
"I know the risks!" Mark said to Arizona.
"No, do you? Because you're acting like you don't care about the baby." Arizona argued.
"I'm thinking about Callie. You don't think I care? This is my baby! You never wanted this. You never asked for this. Why the hell are you giving us your opinion on what you feel?" said Mark.
"You know what I didn't ask for, I didn't ask for you, Mark. Because you know what you are, you're basically a sperm donor. I mean, this is me and this is Callie, and we're together, so I say-"
"No! You don't get a say! This is my family, I'm the father! I'm the father! You're not anything, you're nothing." Mark responded.
Arizona was speechless. She couldn't face Mark after that statement, so she just ran in the observation room. Robert knew exactly what she was feeling. Putting down the surgical reports, he followed Arizona in the room. He found her in tears, but as soon as she realized he walked in the room, she quickly brushed the tears off her face.
"Hey, how're you holding up?" She didn't reply. "I know exactly how you feel."
"Do you, Dr. Stark? Did you have two loved ones fighting for their lives and all you just did is sit there without a clue on how to help them?" Tears began to fall from her face again.
"Yes, actually I have. And I've lost both of them, and I think about them every day, and I think about the fact that I did not do a single damn thing. I had a family, and I couldn't even keep it together." Arizona didn't know how to respond.
"I know everyone in this hospital think I'm a heartless bastard, but I don't give a damn."
"Who were they?"
"My wife Judy; she was 7 months pregnant with our son. They were in a car accident… all because of a drunk driver. So, yes, I do know how you feel. Hang in there, Dr. Robbins." Before Arizona could say anything, Robert walked out the room.
Robert has never talked to anyone about what happened two years ago. He's been keeping it inside, dealing with it in his own way. Arizona was surprised that Dr. Stark, the cranky doctor that no one really want to work with, has shared such personal information, especially to her. April was right, she thought, there's more to Dr. Stark than most people think.