" Can I speak to Dr. Erica Hahn please". After a gap of about two minutes Callie heard the very familiar voice saying "Hello". A part of Callie wanted to hang up the phone and hide but she knew for Arizona's sake she had to do this. She composed herself and said with a somewhat shaky voice " Hi Erica , its Callie". Erica couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice " Callie …how…how did you find me". Callie then just burst out losing control of her emotions " She is hurt Erica . I don't want to lose her. I need your help to save her….Erica ,please" she sobbed. Erica had no idea who she was talking about but her heart melted at the pain in Callie's voice and she said " I will take the first flight out." Erica also hoped that her return to Seattle Grace even for this short period might provide the closure she had been seeking all these months.
Callie walked near to end Arizona's bed in the ICU and took a seat on the chair provided. She got shook up again by the sight of her Arizona lying on the bed, not only motionless, but also connected to several tubes and machines. She reached her hand out and touched her face ever so gently. Instinctively, another tear rolled down her already tear-stained face.
"This shouldn't happen to her" she thought. For a second on having that thought in her mind, she felt angry. Who the hell could have the heart to do that to her? God, if only her friends or the Chief, or Bailey, or someone could tell her what exactly happened. Who shot Arizona ? When did this happen? How did it happen? And why?
Damn whoever was holding that gun . Arizona Robbins was one of the kindest , compassionate , giving people Callie knew and the thought of the man who so cold heartedly shot Arizona made the strongest feeling of hate Callie had ever felt for anyone erupt in her chest.
Callie reached over to get a hold of Arizona's left hand and held it clasped tight between both of her hands. She watched as her chest slowly moved up and down as she breathed with the help of the ventilator , and let the angry tears fall. "I need you, Arizona" she whispered, squeezing her hand lightly.
"Callie?" a quiet voice came from somewhere near the doorway.
Callie quickly wiped off her tears with the back of her hand and glanced towards the doorway to find her friend standing there, arms crossed over her chest and her face pained. "Hey," Callie managed a weak smile.
Cristina offered a smile back. She was proud at how her friend had pulled herself together and was being strong despite what was happening. The smile and even a simple "Hey" said it all. "Do you want anything?" she asked, quietly.
Callie shook her head gently and brought her gaze back to Arizona. "No, I'm fine."
Cristina walked over to her friend and slowly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure?"
Upon receiving Callie's stubborn nod, Cristina pulled another chair towards her friend's and took a seat quietly. "Cal, I'm really sorry." Callie gave a gentle nod, her gaze still fixed on Arizona , and found herself on the verge of tears again. "Why did this happen, Cris? Why did I have to fight with her making her leave the hospital alone , if I was with her this would never have happened."
Cristina let her eyes close for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath and exhaling with a deep, sharp sigh. "Don't do this to yourself. It was a tragic accident, Callie. It was never meant to happen. Don't blame yourself "
Callie turned to look at Cristina and furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about? There were multiple bullets in her chest" she said, her face etched with nothing but confusion. "How could that ever be an accident?". Cristina took Callie's hand in hers and said with a small smile "I came to tell you that George is stable and Izzie is breathing on her own again , she has been taken off life support. Have faith Callie. If they have pulled through , so will Arizona." Callie marveled at the support Cristina was offering and was proud at how much her roommate had grown. Cristina continued "One last thing I want to say. I have your back. I'll always be here because you are my non -friend person" . Callie just squeezed her hand and said nothing because she couldn't find words to thank Cristina for her support.
Derek was rushing down the hospital hallway in search of Callie, but as he turned a corner, he accidentally bumped into Mark .
"Mark! Thank god!" he exclaimed, slightly out of breath. "Have you seen Torres?"
Mark stood in front of him and crossed his arms over his chest. "Uh yeah, she's still in Robbin's room," he replied, furrowing her eyebrows. "Why?"
Derek hesitated before finally saying, "I'm afraid I've got some bad news for her. It's about Arizona."
"Bad news?" Mark asked, confused. "What are you talking about? Are there more complications?"
Shepherd looked down to the floor and sighed, before nodding his head slowly. "Yes, I came to know that Arizona fell when she was being shot and hit her back . So, I ran some tests and the films show that her spine is slightly damaged."
"She has spinal damages?" Mark asked, shocked. At that point of time, there was only one thought in his head. He wanted to ask Shepherd to make sure, but he was not sure if he would want to know the answer. "Is she going to be...somewhat paralyzed?"
Mark let out an inaudible small sigh of relief when Shepherd shook his head, but soon found himself holding another breath when the expression on Shepherd's face remain unchanged. A mixed expression of sad, worry and confusion was registered all over his pale face. "Worse. The damages are causing pressure to her brain," he replied, quietly. "It's leading her into a coma."
Mark walked slowly towards Arizona's room. The earlier conversation with Derek replayed in his head.
"A coma? For how long?"
"It's a little too soon to tell."
"Well, you're going to do something, right?"
"I'm trying my best. I'm just hoping that surgery will relieve enough pressure for her brain to recover."
"Somebody has to tell Callie."
"Yes, and I was hoping if you could do that for me."
"Hey" Callie greeted him with a small smile.
"Hey " Mark replied back. He watched as Callie diverted her gaze back at Arizona again. Mark bit his lower lip, contemplating on how to break the horrible news to his best friend. Shepherd did mention that her brain would have a good chance on recovering but still, a coma? Callie wouldn't be too happy to hear that. But somebody had to let her know. She ought to know.
Mark took a deep, long breath. "Callie , I've got something to tell you," he finally said and hesitated before adding, "About Arizona."
Callie looked at him and frowned, "What about Arizona?"
Mark sighed and looked down at the floor. He couldn't bear to look at how Callie would react. "This is too hard", he thought.
"Mark?" Callie called. "What is it? You are scaring me"
Mark looked up and closed his eyes briefly. "I...I'm sorry, Cal, but you ought to know about this. Shep-" was all that he managed to say before he heard Callie sobbing. He stopped talking and just looked at his friend shedding more tears.
"It's definitely something bad, isn't it?" Callie asked, choking with tears, shaking slightly.
"Cal, please calm down," Mark put his hand on his friend's shoulders and tried to comfort her. "I bumped into Derek a while ago. He told me that Arizona's films show that...that there are spinal injuries."
Callie sniffed and continued to have her eyebrows furrowed. "Arizona has spinal injuries?"
Mark nodded solemnly. "The injuries are exerting pressure on her brain, and it's...it's-"
"It's causing her to go into a coma?" Callie finished for him, tears rolling down her cheeks again. "How did this happen?"
"Arizona fell when she was shot, and she hit her back," Mark explained, calmly. "Derek just came to know about that so he ran some tests and discovered the damages."
"My God," Callie turned to Arizona, before bringing her hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles. "Arizona." Callie reached her hand over to Arizona's face and caressed her cheek ever so softly. She silently stared at her, before fighting to compose herself so that she could start speaking.
"Ari, honey, it's me, Calliope," she began, fighting back tears. If Arizona was going to hear her, she figured, she shouldn't be crying or let her know that she was crying. She was in a very bad place right now. She was weak and vulnerable, and she had to be strong for her. "I know that it hurts and I know that you may be tempted to give up, but please don't. You have to fight this. There are just too many reasons for you to live, and there are just too many people who wants you to live and who loves you dearly," she whispered, pausing for a while to regain her composure. "I miss you, Ari. And I can't imagine my life without you in it. You simply light every single part of it. And I need you, Ari. You were always there to tell me that you're not going anywhere everytime I needed you. But you're not here right now to tell me that, and I still need you to assure me that everything is going to be alright. Please Arizona, don't you leave me."
Callie knew it was an uphill battle but she was determined with every cell of her body that she would not let Arizona go anywhere.
A/N : Reviews are most appreciated. Thank you.