AN: Thanks for all the reviews. Here's hoping you enjoy the second chapter as much as the first.
"Holy shit!"
The sound of Jacob's voice kept Arizona from blacking out completely.
"You shot her." It was the second boy. The one without the gun. "Jesus man, you shot her!"
Shot her? Shot who?
"Dr. Robbins?"
The concerned face of the nurse swam into view.
"Can you hear me Dr. Robbins?"
Arizona groaned as the room came back into focus. "What happened?"
"Dr. Torres she…" The nurse swallowed nervously. "She stepped in front of you. She…"
"He shot her!" Jacob yelled.
That's when Arizona realized Callie was slumped against her. "Calliope?" Her heart skipped a beat when she didn't a response. "Calliope!" She craned her neck to get a better look at her girlfriend, shocked by how much blood was already staining the front of Callie's scrub top.
The nurse squatted next to them. "It's her left shoulder."
Arizona struggled to concentrate. As a woman she wanted to break down but as a doctor she knew she couldn't. Callie was hurt and bleeding and in desperate need of her help. The longer she sat there doing nothing the more her girlfriend suffered.
"I can't see anything from back here. Can you help me lay her down?"
"Of course," the nurse agreed.
"OK Calliope, we're going to move you now." Arizona paused, hoping Callie would give some indication that she heard her but none came. She nodded at the nurse, who put her hands on Callie's sides to pull her forward far enough for Arizona to wiggle out from under her. Once she was free they gently lowered Callie to the ground.
Being able to see her lover only upset Arizona more. Callie's normally robust olive skin was dangerously pale and her breathing was shallow and erratic. But it was the blood that continued to flow from the wound that concerned her most.
"Hey." She put her hand on a clammy cheek when Callie's eyes started to roll back in head. "Stay with me."
Callie blinked up at her. "Are you OK?"
Tears filled Arizona's eyes. "Don't worry about me."
Callie gripped Arizona's hand as she reached for her stethoscope. "Are... you..." her chest heaved as she struggled to breath, "OK?"
"Calm down Calliope. I'm fine, I promise." She gave her hand a squeeze before letting go to put her stethoscope on. She knew even before she put it against the left side of Callie's chest that it was bad. Her lung had collapsed and air was building up in her chest cavity, making it harder and harder for her to breathe. "She's got a tension pneumo and she's losing too much blood. I need bandages and a chest tube kit."
The boy with the gun leveled it on the nurse as she climbed to her feet. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Just over there to get the supplies Dr. Robbins needs to help Dr. Torres."
"Who said she could do that?"
"Come on man." His companion frowned at him.
"What? It's not my fault the dumb bitch stepped into my line of fire."
"You still would have shot one of them."
"And?"
The other boy shook his head. "Forget it. Let's just get out of here before..."
The door swung open to reveal a security guard. "I'm sorry to interrupt but someone thought there might be some trouble in here." His eyes got big when he spotted Arizona carefully rolling Callie onto her side to look at her back. "Is she all right?"
"Maybe you should worry about yourself." The gunman turned his weapon on the guard.
"Easy son."
"I'm not your son. Now get the hell out of here before I splatter your brains all over the place."
The guard pointed at Callie. "But it looks like she needs help."
"He's right." Arizona was quick to agree. "There's no exit wound, which means the bullet is still in her chest. She needs surgery to remove it."
"You're a doctor. You can do whatever she needs right here."
"This isn't an operating room. I can't..."
"You're gonna have to because no one is leaving this room!" The boy tightened his grip on the gun as he looked at the guard again. "I said to get out!"
"All right." The guard gave Arizona another glance before backing out of the room, letting the door shut again behind him.
"Great! Just great!" The second boy threw his hands in the air. "Now we're screwed. You realize that right?"
The gunman frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"In case you didn't notice that was a security guard. They sent him to scope out what was going on. Now that he knows they're never gonna let us out of here."
"They will as long as I have this." He gestured with his gun.
"That's what got us into trouble in the first place. Put it down and stop pointing it at everyone. And you," he looked at the nurse. "Get whatever she needs." He glared at his friend when he opened his mouth to protest. "We can't afford to let her die."
Die? Arizona frowned at the word. No one was going to die. Certainly not Callie. She wouldn't let her.
"Is she going to be all right?"
Arizona looked up at a terrified Jacob. "I hope so."
"I'm… fine." Callie breathlessly commented.
"No you're not." Arizona contradicted her. "What were you thinking Calliope?"
"I had to… protect... you."
"Here you go." The nurse reappeared before Arizona could say more. She handed the pediatrician what she needed as she got on her knees next to her.
Arizona wasted no time pressing a bandage against Callie's shoulder, wincing sympathetically when her girlfriend's face crumpled in pain. "I'm sorry."
"It's... OK." Her voice was getting weaker.
The nurse noticed too. "I'll get her prepped for the chest tube." She pulled a pair of scissors out of her pocket. "I'm going to cut up the side of your shirt rather than the front Dr. Torres. There's no sense in letting anyone see more than they should." She rolled her eyes toward the gang members.
"Thanks." Arizona said it before Callie could.
"No thanks necessary Dr. Robbins. I just wish there was more I could do for her."
Arizona opened the chest tube kit, wanting to be ready the instant the nurse was done. But when she looked back up the scissors were just getting ready to snip Callie's bra and everything else faded away.
It wasn't anything special. Just a plain black number that you could pick up in any number of stores but it was Callie's favorite because it was comfy and broken in. It was Arizona's favorite too for a much different reason. There was something about the way Callie filled it out that made her mouth water. How many times had she savored every moment of slowly peeling it off her lover to reveal the perfect breasts it held? Now she would never have the chance to do it again. And every time she tried it with another bra she would be reminded of this moment. Of when she had to make an incision in her girlfriend's side to put the chest tube in place.
She hated this. How was she supposed to take a scalpel and cut into Callie's flesh? What if she cut in the wrong place? She was used to working on children, not adults. Their bodies were smaller. What if she didn't cut deep enough on the first try and had to cut her again? What if she cut too deep and hurt Callie worse than she already was?
The nurse looked at her as she swabbed iodine on Callie's side to clean and disinfect it. "She's ready Dr. Robbins."
"I..." Arizona shook her head. "I can't do this." She looked down at Callie. "I can't hurt you."
"You... won't." Callie closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath and not sound so weak. "Pretend I'm... just... another patient."
"But you're not." Tears shimmered in her eyes. "You're my everything Calliope."
"What's with the Romeo and Juliet shit?" The gunman spat. "Are you two a couple or something?"
"Shut up and leave them alone." His companion hissed.
Callie winced as she reached up to stop the lone tear that was making its way down Arizona's cheek. "I love you."
Three little words that changed everything. How many times had Arizona fantasized about Callie saying them to her? How many times had she started to say them herself only to stop, knowing that Callie had been hurt too many times in the past and needed to feel safe enough in their relationship to say them first? And now, to have it happen like this… It broke her heart and elated her all at the same time. Calliope loved her!
She opened her mouth to reply when the door suddenly flew open, banging into the wall.
Someone yelled, "Nobody move!" as police came into the room.
"Screw that." The gunman swung his gun, firing in their general direction.
Arizona jumped as the gun went off, instinctively putting herself over Callie but kept her head up so she could see what was going on.
One of the officers returned fire, hitting the boy in the arm.
"Shit!" The boy growled, somehow managing to keep his grip on the gun to squeeze off another round.
Another policeman fired this time, hitting him the leg.
Impact threw him off balance, making him trip over the gurney. Jacob used his good arm to knock the gun away before punching his attacker in the face.
The other gang member, who had pressed himself against the wall, raised his hands in surrender. A cop stepped forward to handcuff him even as two others went to secure the gunman.
"Are you all right ma'am?"
Arizona jumped again when she heard the voice, surprise to find an officer standing over them.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's fine. I'm fine." She answered distractedly as she moved to look at her girlfriend. "It's over Calliope." Her heart sank when she saw that Callie's eyes were closed. "Calliope?"
That's when she realized she couldn't hear Callie breathing anymore.
"Calliope!" Her hand shook as she reached for the neck she loved to nibble on, frantically repositioning her fingers half a dozen times in an effort to find a pulse. "Calliope!!"
Callie didn't answer. She couldn't.
She was gone.