Chapter 5: Fate is taking the wheel
Callie woke up and felt the pain of last night's events throughout her body. Her shoulder was killing her, and being in the sling didn't help with being comfortable. The sunlight was just beginning to creep through the bunk room windows and she heard Karev snoring loudly from his bunk 3 rows over. She decided she needed to head home to her apartment, since she had the next 2 weeks off from work. As she packed her stuff up and headed down the steps to the kitchen the smell of coffee caught her attention. As she approached she saw Lt. Hunt and Capt Sheppard pouring them a cup, and decided to grab some as well.
"Torres, how are you doing? I guess the pain medicine finally wore off?" Lt. Hunt asked.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sore this morning sir." She reached for a mug, but Capt Sheppard got to it first.
"Sit down Callie; I'll get it for you. Cream and sugar, right?"
"Yes sir, thank you."
"Callie, you did a fine job last night. I know that the guys give you a tough time, but having a woman is here is new for all of us. They are trying to adjust. You proved you belong here with your actions last night. None of us would have left that little girl in there, so don't let Sloan get to you." Capt Sheppard finished pouring her coffee and continued. "I was discussing with the Chief that having some of the medical supplies on the Rescue might be an option since you're a medic. We can use your skills, so we are setting up a jump pack for you."
Callie's face automatically went from a slight smile, to looking at the floor, frowning.
"Listen, I'm not saying that you will be confined to medic duty just that when needed you'll have the tools to help victims that otherwise would have to wait until we get them out. Think of yourself as a Tactical Firefighter." Lt Hunt clarified.
Callie nodded. She thought back to Avery and Lily and how having the supplies and the knowledge to use them helped save their lives. Maybe her father was right; being a Medic wasn't so bad. Now she would be a valued member of the team, she could help make a difference. It was truly her wish coming true.
"Thank you, I think it's an excellent idea. Although it's been sometime since I put those skills to work." Callie spoke before sipping her coffee.
"That's why since you're out of service until your shoulder heals; we are sending you over to Mercy Grace to brush up on your skills, including having a rotation on the Peds wing. Sloan told us how great you were keeping the little girl calm. That's just the type of firefighter we need doing public service with the schools. We are starting a pilot program with the hospital to help the kids who have illnesses that prevent them from getting out a lot. I already spoke to Dr. Bailey and Dr. Robbins and they said you can start later today if you're up for it. "Capt Sheppard placed some papers in front of Callie.
At first Callie was upset that she would have to re-mediate her skills, until the Captain said she would spend some time at MG and especially on the Peds floor. That would mean she would be seeing a lot of a blue eyed, blonde doctor. She slowly smiled and signed the forms. She finished her coffee and headed home to get ready for her first day at MG.
When Callie got home Cristina was already up. Cristina had lived with Callie for a while now. She wasn't much of a roommate, leaving dirty dishes and eating all her food. Although she was quiet, and usually kept to herself, Cristina helped Callie the most after Erica left her standing outside the firehouse. She would drink with her, and on the tough days she taught Callie how to "dance out" whatever was bothering her.
"Torres! So how's the hero feeling? Pretty stupid if you ask me, dislocating your shoulder for a damned bear." Cristina glanced up giving her a deadpan stare.
"I don't regret my actions, although really wish that damned ceiling didn't fall." Callie began to laugh until the pain made her tear up instead. Cristina just went back to eating her cereal. Callie went into her room and attempted to undress herself. This proved rather difficult with the amount of pain she was in and the fact she couldn't lift her arm over her head. Cristina walked in behind her and began to laugh, watching Callie struggle.
"Come here dumbass, before you go and put your shoulder out again. You look like a wounded bird." Cristina was chuckling to herself.
Cristina helped Callie undress. After Callie was showered, and dressed in clean clothes, she returned to the kitchen to find Cristina had left. Callie brushed her hair the best she could but opted for a hat to cover the mess. This injury was proving to be more of a problem then she thought. After downing a bowl of cereal, Callie decided to head over to the hospital and talk to Bailey about the new assignment.
When Callie arrived at Mercy Grace, she wanted to see how Avery and Lily were doing before finding Bailey. She stopped by the receptionist and found out what rooms they were in and started to head to see Jackson first. Knocking softly, she her him say come in.
"Hey buddy, how are you doing?"
"Just fucking great. I get injured at work, they have to cut me open, and all I can eat is fucking Jell-O!" Jackson angrily slammed the cup of Jell-O on the table in front of him.
"Awww, it's not that bad. At least maybe you can get a few of the nurse's numbers. Every girl loves a firefighter who saved a little girl." Callie teased.
"Yeah, getting a sponge bath from Robin was a perk. So what happened to you?"
Callie filled Avery in on what happened after he was taken out and the new assignment that she had been given. Avery thought that it was a great idea, convincing Callie it was as well. After a while, the nurse Robin returned and gave Avery his next round of pain medication. Callie deciding that he should rest excused herself as Avery was flirting with Robin.
Callie headed next to see Lily, hoping that a certain doctor would be making an appearance while she visited. As she entered Lily's room, her mother enveloped her in a hug, thanking her for saving her daughter. Lily was still sleeping, so Callie told her mother she would return in a while to say hello.
Walking down the hall, Callie came to stop at the elevator doors. Pushing the button to return to the ER, she rocked back and forth on her feet. Her shoulder was beginning to hurt and she attempted to shift her arm in the sling to be more comfortable. Instead it caused a shooting pain into her shoulder, and tears to fall from her eyes as the doors opened. Standing in the elevator was Arizona, whose smile faded into concern as she saw Callie wincing in pain.
"Damn it!" Callie muttered, when suddenly she felt warm hands on her waist. It figures that the one person she wanted to see is the one person that at that particular moment would show up. Embarrassed, Callie walked into the elevator, wiping the tears away.
"Are you ok?" Arizona asked. She had walked into the elevator with her and withdrew her hands from Callie's waist leaving an empty feeling to the Latina.
"Yeah, I tried to shift my arm, because it was uncomfortable and it hurt a little more than I expected." Callie tried to steady her voice. She didn't like when people saw her weak, or hurting. Although with Arizona, it wasn't as bad as she thought.
As they rode the elevator back down to the ER, the quiet moment was interrupted by Arizona's pager. She looked down and sighed.
"I have to go, but I hear you will be gracing us with your presence for the next couple weeks. I'd like to hear more about how you got Lily out. Would you like to have lunch later today?" Arizona asked with a huge smile on her face.
"Sure, umm yeah, that would be good. I'll be in the ER all day today, unless of course I'm needed elsewhere." Callie stammered. She was choking back a grin, and tried to contain her excitement over having lunch with the beauty before her.
"Okay dokay! Awesome, super! I'll come find you when I finish up."
The elevator doors opened and Callie stepped out but not before turning around to see the blonde flash a smile.
Smiling back the doors close and Callie gave herself a mental high five. Maybe going back for that bear was the best thing that could have happened to her. She strolled down to the lounge where she found Bailey sipping a cup of coffee, and they went over her new responsibilities. Although still injured, Callie would observe all incoming Traumas and when able to move she would be tested in ACLS protocols. Bailey explained that for 2 hours a day she would go up to the Peds wing and join Dr. Robbins on rounds, and assist on any patient interaction. As Bailey finished, Callie lingered on the 2 hours a day she would she Arizona, and began liking this new assignment more and more. Bailey's pager went off, and as they were heading out the door, Bailey stated "Seems as though fate as interjected themselves here don't you think, Torres? With you stating you didn't want to be a Medic and now you're going to be a firefighter and a Medic."
"Yeah, I'm a rock star. I'm not only going to kickass fighting fire, but I'm also going to save lives." Callie joked as they entered the Trauma room.
There was definitely something happening. If fate wanted to completely take control, then who was Callie to argue? She just couldn't wait till lunch time to see what fate had up its sleeve next