Arizona was broken out of her thoughts by the low sound of Dr. Bailey clearing her throat in the doorway. She brought her eyes down to meet her colleague's dark brown ones, smiling softly as the woman looked at the two women skeptically.
"Hey, Bailey," she called gently.
Bailey approached slowly, clucking her tongue against the top of her mouth as she reviewed Arizona's chart. "I didn't like you, Dr. Robbins."
"What?" She asked, dumbfounded.
"When I first met you, I didn't like you. You were so… happy. You had roller skates and stuffed animals and I just didn't like it at all," Bailey ignored the pout spreading across Arizona's face and continued. "And then you were so good. You were a damn good pediatric surgeon, Dr. Robbins. You loved those kids and you took good care of them."
"And then you started dating Torres. Now I don't like talking about anybody's personal life, but I never heard the end of her yapping about how sweet you were and how kind you were and how good you were at cooking, blah blah blah. But it was cute. And then you got married and divorced and now, now you're here with her. With Amelia Shepherd."
Arizona frowned again, not sure she was liking where this was going. But she allowed Miranda to continue, still.
"Arizona Robbins, I have watched your life happen and have seen you on a table more times than I want to see anybody on a table. You have lived and survived through shootings and plane crashes, through amputations and car crashes and somehow, you are not brain dead or diseased or anything," Bailey set her binder of charts down and looked at Arizona as she finished, "You're a damn lucky woman, Arizona. You're healthy, you've had two women love you more than life itself, and you have a hell of a lot more to look forward to."
As Bailey turned to check the machines measuring Arizona's blood pressure and heart rate, the blonde smiled and closed her eyes.
"Thank you, Miranda. I feel like one hell of a lucky woman."
She heard Bailey chuckle as she scribbled down some numbers. "Anytime, Dr. Robbins. You're staying the night tonight, but I think we should be able to get you out of here tomorrow morning."
"Alright," Arizona sighed happily. "Bailey, how long was I asleep for?"
Miranda hummed as she thought, counting back in her mind, "Two weeks," she finally declared, adding as she motioned to Amelia, "she's been here the whole time."
As Miranda left, Arizona's heart swelled so much that it hurt.
Amelia watched carefully while Dr. Bailey had Arizona walk from her bed, to the door, and back several times. Although she'd been up and around all morning, Arizona humored her, allowing her to adjust her prosthetic to detract from her limp as much as she could and answering question after question about pain and discomfort.
After twenty minutes of physical assessment and interrogation, Miranda held discharge papers out for Arizona to sign, turning to Amelia as she did so.
"She's healthy. Try to keep her that way. No car wrecks, no alcohol for at least a week, and I expect to see her back here next Thursday for a follow up appointment. We will discuss the possibility of her returning to work at that time, we clear?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am," Amelia confirmed with a smile and a nod. She gathered what remained of Arizona's things, piling them into the tote that contained Amelia's extra clothes and tooth brush, and slung it over her shoulder.
Colonel and Mrs. Robbins were planning on coming over to the house later that day before their departure, having taken Sophia out for a day of toy shopping and ice cream to allow Arizona to readjust. Amelia was grateful for their generosity, especially since it gave the two women a little bit of alone time before juggling the tornado that was Arizona's daughter.
Finally, Arizona's discharge papers were all signed and her follow-up appointment booked. She slipped her hand into Amelia's, tugging her towards the elevators as she kissed her cheek.
"You're a free woman!" Amelia declared as the elevator doors slid shut.
Arizona giggled, "It looks like I am. I have to admit, my most recent bout with mortality has given me a new appreciation for life."
"Oh yeah?" Amelia asked, curious. "Well what should we do to celebrate?"
"Let's go rob a bank."
"Whoa now, I don't think you're that hardcore just yet."
She scoffed this time, "Oh Dr. Shepherd, I got my leg chopped off and lived to tell the tale. Not to mention I survived underwater for a prolonged period of time and didn't go braindead. I'm pretty damn hardcore."
Amelia rolled her eyes, stepping closer to her girlfriend protectively. "You're an idiot."
"I'm your idiot," Arizona said sweetly, winking and offering a quick kiss to Amelia's cheek.
This time she just hummed lightly in response, allowing the rest of the elevator ride to pass in comfortable silence.
She was overcome with worry about Arizona. Sure, maybe she was just the type of person to get over incidents like car accidents and near drownings quickly. But what if the blonde was using humor as a mask – a way to deflect from whatever she was really feeling? Nearly dying was a harrowing experience for anyone, and she would imagine especially for someone who seemed to feel things as deeply as Arizona did.
She was gnawing on her lip when the elevator doors opened and Arizona tugged her out and into the lobby. She must have read Amelia's mind, because as soon as they were outside the hospital the blonde came to a stop and turned to her girlfriend, taking both of her hands and locking eyes.
"I'm sorry, Amelia," she said gently.
The brunette's brow furrowed as she shook her head, "you have nothing to apologize for."
Arizona smiled sadly, giving her hands a soft squeeze. "I do. I know how I must sound when I say stuff like that – like I'm belittling the situation. I know it's a big deal, and I do have a lot of feelings – a lot of fear, anger, what-have-you. It's not a joke and I shouldn't make it one. I just," she sighed, shaking her head. "I lost my marriage because I allowed myself to drown in that before. I let all of my negativity, anger because I didn't want to lose a leg, fear because I wanted to be so many things for Sophia and for Callie but I felt that I couldn't. It ate me up, and ended my marriage."
"Arizona, you don't have to explain yourself to me," Amelia said quietly, stepping closer to her girlfriend.
"But I do," she half-smiled back. "You deserve to understand. You were here with me this whole time, and I know that you're hurting and you're scared, so you need to know that I understand how lucky I am to be alive, and how lucky I am to have you. I just want you to know that, no matter what, I don't want to become the person that I was after the plane crash again. I want to be happy and positive, and I guess for me that includes making off-color jokes about my own pain sometimes."
Tears welled up in Amelia's eyes, but she held them in, instead leaning in and kissing Arizona hard. She held the other woman's face in her hands, eventually pulling back and leaning her forehead against hers to look into her eyes.
"You scared the hell out of me," she said flatly. Arizona's face dropped as guilt overtook her features, but Amelia shook her head to try to brush it away. "I love you so much, and I'm not going anywhere. Even if you make morbid jokes sometimes."
Arizona smiled as Amelia kissed her again, sending all of that fear and anxiety to some dark corner in her mind for the time being.