A/N: Sooorryy it's been a while for an update I was moving into my new accommodation at uni! Hope everyone is still with me on this story, this chapter's mostly fluff and you might recognise a couple of lines at the end that I've stolen from the wonderwoman that is Shonda!

After Arizona had fallen asleep again she didn't wake up until the following evening, exhaustion taking over her completely. Callie had remained by her side all night refusing to leave so convincingly that Teddy went and got takeaway for the both of them to eat deciding that Callie needed the company of someone who could talk. When Callie fell asleep herself, stretched out on the sofa in the room, Teddy grabbed a blanket and made sure she was comfy before leaving to go and find an on-call room to spend the night in.

They still hadn't been allowed back to the hospital and even though they had seen some horrific things the last time they were there, most just wanted to get back so that some form of normalcy could be regained. News was that the hospital would re-open the following day to staff only and then the decision would be made about whether it would then be opened to the public after seeing how many staff came in as the Chief had instructed everyone to take off as much time as they needed.

Callie was starting to go a little mad stuck in the same room 24/7 but she knew that she'd drive herself even madder if she was anywhere but by Arizona's side. She'd popped out of the room briefly to go to the loo and stick a head in Derek's and Alex's rooms. They were both doing well and both looked like they would make a full recovery much like Arizona. Still the fear haunted Callie that Arizona could so easily have been dead; horrible nightmares haunted her as soon as she closed her eyes but as soon as she woke up to see Arizona peacefully sleeping, all bad thoughts would soon vanish.

Callie was flicking through a medical journal when Arizona finally woke up for the second time. As she forced her eyes open she was relieved to see Callie still there in her room. She was sat with her feet up on the bed, one hand holding open a journal and the other firmly clasped around her own hand that lay limply at her side. She smiled and moved so that she could see Callie better, instantly regretting it as she winced in the pain in her side.

'Babe?' Callie almost toppled backwards off of the chair which made Arizona chuckle despite the fact that she was in a lot of pain. 'How's your pain? Shall I get Teddy to put up your pain meds?'

Arizona simply nodded, still not wanting to talk in case it caused her to cry out in even more pain. Callie left briefly to find Teddy and when they came back Teddy did a quick exam and instantly upped Arizona's pain meds slightly.

'That should be a bit easier.' Teddy said with a smile as she lay a gently hand on Arizona's shoulder before turning and leaving so that the two could have some time alone.

'That feel better?' Callie asked, concern still pouring into her words.

'Yeah...feels a lot better.' Arizona was glad to find that when she spoke there was no burning session or urge to cough anymore. 'Are you ok? I didn't get chance to ask last time...you didn't get hurt?'

'No, I'm fine.' Callie smiled. 'I never saw him.'

'Oh my God!' Arizona suddenly exclaimed.

'What? Are you in pain? Arizona?' Callie asked, alarmed by Arizona's sudden outburst.

'Ruby? How is she? Oh my God...please tell me she's ok?' Arizona suddenly felt a huge fear in her chest as she immediately thought the worst for some reason.

'Oh God Arizona I thought something was wrong with you physically!' Callie exclaimed, but on seeing Arizona's expression she quickly continued, 'Ruby's fine, Avery and Sanchez fixed her up whilst you were in the OR yourself.'

'What? How? Tell me what happened Cal?' Arizona had a huge need to hear what had happened that day whilst she had been unconscious, she needed to know that people were ok more than anything. Callie re-told the events of the day in the most sensitive way possible, not wanting to upset or distress Arizona anymore than she was.

'People died...' Arizona said weakly thinking how with her injuries she was so lucky to be alive and even luckier to look like she would make a full recovery.

'Don't think about it too much sweetheart, please just concentrate on getting better.' Callie said as she saw the emotion and fear set into those blue eyes that she held so dear.

Their conversation was interrupted as there was a knock on the door. They both looked up to see Chief Webber coming into the room. 'Sorry to interrupt ladies, I just wanted to check up and see how you were.' He offered a small smile which they both returned. Callie got up and embraced him a hug which he reciprocated warmly. He moved to the side of the bed and gave Arizona's hand a squeeze before she invited him to sit down.

'How are you feeling Dr. Robbins?'

'I'm feeling much better thanks Chief, glad to be awake.' She smiled warmly back at someone who she admired and looked up to more than anyone in her life, aside from her parents and Callie.

'How's the hospital Chief?' Callie spoke now.

'It's all ok now...aesthetically...I suppose the rest of it will be a bit longer procedure...'

'Can I be transferred back there?' Arizona asked, regardless of the fact that it had been the place that she had been horrifically shot, she wanted to be back in the place which she regarded as home and be surrounded by the people that were her extended family.

The Chief let out a low chuckle at Arizona's question. 'I'm sure that won't be a problem if that's what you want. Just let Teddy know and I'm sure she can sort it out.'

'Is everyone ready to come back?' Callie asked cautiously.

'Yeah...I was surprised but apart from the obvious ones that were injured everyone is keen to be back, you know Bailey has left for a month, but other than that there's only a couple of nurses that have asked for some time off...even Meredith wants to get back to it tomorrow.' Callie and Arizona nodded as the Chief spoke both knowing that they were of the same frame of mind as Meredith.

'You'll be back tomorrow won't you Cal?' Arizona completely caught Callie off-guard and she just sat their gaping like a fish. 'She'll be back tomorrow Chief.' Arizona now turned back to Chief and flashed one of her dimpled smiles.

'Hang on a second...I'll probably take a couple more weeks off please Chief?' Callie ignored Arizona and spoke directly to the Chief.

'Nooo, Cal you need to get back to work.'

'Arizona...'

'Ahem...' the Chief interrupted them before he got dragged into the middle of their discussion. 'I'll leave you two to it! Arizona, I'll have a word with Teddy about getting you transferred tomorrow, I'm glad to see you're better. See you later.' He nodded at them both as he left chuckling to himself, glad to see that not only was Arizona looking healthier, but also that her and Callie seemed to be getting back to their best.

As soon as the Chief had closed the door behind him Arizona turned to Callie, 'Why do you need more time off babe?'

'Well I want to be here for you! Help you with your recovery...'

Arizona smiled, 'I know babe and believe me I love you for it, but you being stuck in this room isn't going to help, besides you can come see me when you're not in surgery or with patients anyway! Seriously Cal, it'll do you good to get back to it, and I'm feeling better already, you watch, within a month I'll be running round chasing you into every on-call room I can!'

They both broke into fits of laughter at the picture Arizona had just painted. 'I love you Calliope Torres.'

'I love you too.' They both smiled at each other, enjoying each other's laughter and smile; it had been a while since they had shared a moment of happiness like this.

The following day Arizona's wish was granted as she was transported back to Seattle Grace early afternoon. Derek and Alex had requested the same thing and were transported in separate ambulances at the same time; all of them wanting to be back to where their friends and loved ones would be. Callie rode in the ambulance with Arizona and still refused to go back to work at least for a couple more days.

When they arrived at Seattle Grace ambulance bay an unusual feeling washed over the both of them – unease. Walking into the hospital had always been something that encouraged excitement, success, and happiness; now they weren't sure whether that would ever be fully regained. Maybe, in time. Callie walked next to Arizona's gurney as it was wheeled through the ER and into the elevator so that she could be transferred to a ward. Even though her case wasn't orthopaedic, due to the lack of patients as they had only just re-opened, the Chief had agreed that she could be on the ortho floor to offer some compromise for the two surgeons. This meant that Callie had been convinced to go back to work within a couple of days as Arizona would be on her ward.

Once Arizona was settled in her room a therapist came in to talk through a rehabilitation schedule with her. Once the chest wound had healed she would need physio to get her shoulder and leg back to full use, especially as she depended on them both heavily to be the superstar surgeon that she was. When asked how long he thought the whole process would take, the therapist was uneasy about giving a definite estimate but hazarded a guess at around nine to ten months for Arizona to get complete use back in both her arm and her leg. Arizona wasn't best pleased; she needed to get back to work, more for her sanity than anything.

'Do you think he's right that it will take that long?' Arizona asked Callie once the physio had left the room.

'Ummmm I deal with broken bones Arizona I don't really know...but with the muscle and potential nerve damage I would say that he made a pretty fair estimate yeah...sorry babe.' She gave a smile, knowing that Arizona had wanted her to half the recovery time she had just been offered. 'Don't worry we'll have you back at work in no time babe.'

'10 months? It's too long...'

'Yeah but think about it, he said 10 months for you to be back to your full function, the definition of full function for you is being able to do the delicate surgeries you do...in say...5 months you'll be able to be back at work on the ward, just not in surgery...' Callie knew five months was a very optimistic estimate for even her thigh wound and chest to be healed but she needed Arizona to remain as positive as possible.

'Hmmm...I suppose...' Arizona still didn't like the idea of being stuck either in the hospital bed or at their flat, if she was even welcome there that is...

'Penny for your thoughts?' Callie asked raising an eyebrow at Arizona, she could practically hear the cogs turning.

'Oh nothing...just thinking that's all...' Arizona bit her lip, a sure sign that she was nervous and too 'thinky' for her own good.

'About the shooting?'

'No actually...is that bad of me?'

'No of course not, it's good that you can put it behind you Zona, but don't just push it further down in your feelings, cause it'll only resurface in time.' At this, Arizona raised her eyebrows. 'What? We all did a pysch rotation when we were interns!' They both laughed. 'But seriously babe if you need to talk about it... To me...or someone professional?'

'No, no, I don't want to talk to anyone professional...I just...it's fine and I don't see the point although I've already heard mention that the Chief has brought in some top trauma shrink to clear everyone for surgery?'

'Yeah I heard that too.'

'So I suppose I'll have to in the end, but right now I just want to not...if that makes sense?'

'Of course it does.' Callie replied with a smile. 'So if you weren't thinking about the shooting...what were you thinking about?'

'Just thinking about my recovery and...stuff.' Arizona wasn't sure that her and Callie were ready for the big conversation yet and was reluctant to be the one to bring it up.

'Stuff?' Callie could pretty much guess at what the 'stuff' would be, but she was scared of being the one to broach the subject first.

'It's not important right now...not yet...I don't want to get mad...and argue...you know what stuff I mean...' Arizona said the last words very quietly as she was scared what Callie would say in response.

'Yeah...maybe that's all stuff we should talk about later when you're feeling stronger. But you hear me when I say this Zona; I'm not going anywhere...almost losing you is about all I can take...and I hate that it took something so shit to make me realise that...'

'I know, me too, but at least we have and now we can work through it together. I don't want to ever have to live my life without you Calliope Torres.'

Callie couldn't form words as the tears trickled down her face, instead she wiped away Arizona's own tears gently with her thumb and kissed her softly on the mouth.

A week later

Arizona woke up from a night of restless sleep, with her lighter pain dosage she was finding it increasingly difficult to sleep through the nightmares of Gary Clark and his gun. On the plus side, physically she was feeling stronger every day. Her chest was so much lighter after just the week and she was now allowed out of bed every day, with her being permitted trips in a wheelchair for a short while during the day. She had managed to convince Callie to get back to work after many discussions, Callie had eventually agreed when she saw that Arizona could move herself around in her wheelchair just enough to get out to the nurses' station on the ortho ward.

The hospital was almost back to full working order, Alex and Derek were still recovering along with Arizona and Bailey was still on leave, but other than that everyone was back. It had been decided that a memorial service would be held, but not for another week to give time for the injured to recover and be fit enough to attend.

For now Arizona had managed to wheel herself out to the nurses' station once more and was content to just sit and read some charts that her paeds nurse, Rachel had brought down for her to read so she could keep up with the game.

'You know you're meant to be in bed resting for at least some of the day!' Teddy walked over to Arizona. 'You are the worst patient I've ever had!'

Arizona flashed her a super-dimpled-smile, 'Well you know I'll go stir crazy if you keep me in that room against my own will Dr. Altman.'

'Pfft, well you can wheel yourself back to your room please so I can check on your incision sites and other stuff.' Teddy ignored the protests from her best friend as she grabbed the chair handles and pushed her herself back to the room. Once Arizona was laid down back in bed Teddy eased off the wound dressing so she could prod it a bit. Arizona winced as she did, but only very slightly which was a vast improvement from the day before alone. 'You're looking good Arizona.'

Arizona chuckled, 'Teddy I never knew you felt that way inclined!'

Teddy just shook her head; her best friend was back to her usual perky self and in light of what had happened to her, it was a very welcome transformation. 'I reckon you'll be able to go home within the week...providing Torres and your physio clear you with your other wounds.'

'Awesome! Thanks Teds! Now can I get back out of bed?' Teddy just raised her eyebrows and let out a sigh, helping Arizona into her chair once more; she knew that she would just do it herself as soon as Teddy were gone so at least helping her meant she didn't over-exert herself.

Once back at the nurses' station Arizona continued to read over the chart she had been previously; it was one of her terminal patients and it wasn't looking good, all she wanted was to go up to the ward and offer her knowledge to whomever was now assigned to the case but she knew that Teddy would never allow it. More-so she hadn't been through those double doors since she had been shot. Facing the place where she had met Gary Clark for the first, and last, time was not something she was in a rush to do. No one had asked her to tell them what exactly had happened when he had shot her, and she was very glad, she would tell someone...Calliope...in time, but for now she was content with pushing it far from her conscious thoughts.

'Heya beautiful.' Arizona was brought from her thoughts as Callie walked in and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

'Hey yourself,' came Arizona's reply.

'Causing trouble for my nurses again are we?' Callie joked with her girlfriend knowing that the nurses were more than happy to have her sitting at the desk and reading her charts. Very often she would help them with cases that were on the ortho ward and she had become very popular on the ward.

'You know me! Resident trouble maker!' Arizona gave Callie a wink.

'Teddy said she came down to check you over; go ok?'

'Yup, it went great actually, she says if you and my physio clear me I can go home sometime next week.' Callie smiled broadly.

'Sounds wonderful! I'll have a word with Rob when I see him and get him to access your movements with the view of whether you could go home or not.'

'Awesome. You just come from surgery?'

'Yeah, bloke with a broken leg, nothing complicated, just a straight pin and fix.'

'Still rockstar though!' Callie smiled at Arizona's use of her surgical name for her.

'So when I saw Teddy she agreed that I can take you to the cafeteria for lunch as long as you don't over-excite yourself.'

'Really? That's super! I'm so bored of normal hospital food, I can have the chocolate mousse and everything!'

'Right there goes the over-exciting yourself part then! But seriously babe do you feel up for it?'

'Nothing would be better for my recovery right now than having lunch with my gorgeous girl.' Callie just smiled and kissed Arizona, words not doing how she felt justice.

Lunch was indescribably fantastic for the both of them; getting Arizona off of the ortho floor had been a good thing for both women and it put a huge smile on both their faces. They didn't talk much, just enjoying each other's company in a relatively normal situation.

'God I've missed this chocolate mousse!' Arizona practically shovelled the dessert into her mouth, much to Callie's amusement.

'I've missed you.' The words came out of Callie's mouth before she could stop herself; she had not wanted to bring the mood down, but she couldn't help herself. Arizona's gaze immediately met Callie's. 'I'm sorry...that was meant to come out...I don't want to bring the mood down...'

'Shush...Calliope...I've missed you too...this last month has been stupid...'

'I know.' Callie said quietly, she looked down at her hands whilst Arizona began to bite her lip; both women were suddenly nervous as hell at what they were about to say, both knowing what they wanted to say, what they had tried to say, when it all took a turn for the worse on that horrific day.

A lot of thoughts ran through Callie's head; should she just leave it at that? Pour her heart out? Let Arizona talk first? Fuck it, she thought, she'd almost lost Arizona, and life was too short...

'People died...' Arizona raised her eyebrows at Callie, unsure of where this was going and wanting to make a certain point herself. 'People are dead...' Callie ploughed through as she finally brought her eyes up to meet Arizona's, '...I don't want to have kids if it means I can't be with you.'

Arizona's heart almost exploded with love there but she fought through the emotion to make the point she had been wanting to, 'No, no, we'll have kids, we'll have all kinds of kids, and I always thought that I wasn't cut out to be a Mom but you'll be a great Mom, you'll be an amazing Mom and I love you so much and I can't live without you and our ten kids...'

Before Arizona could finish painting the picture that had been firmly implanted in her head, her heart, since she had been shot, Callie had pushed the chair away, grabbed her face and kissed her so hard Arizona thought she would collapse right there from lack of oxygen. Their tongues danced in time with each other, both revelling in the love that was oozing from each of them. Eventually Callie pulled away.

'You didn't let me finish.' Arizona said simply smiling at Callie broadly as she just raised her eyebrows in question. 'I was going to say...I can't live without you and our ten kids and our three chickens...'

Once again before Arizona had finished forming words Callie's mouth was on hers.

A/N: Please review folks :D Reviews = major love!