Arizona watched the numbers tick by over the elevator doors, not sure if she wanted them to go faster or stop moving all together.

On one hand she needed to get to the ICU to see for herself that her instinct was right. That Callie was still on the road to recovery and Miranda had paged them to let them know she was waking up.

On the other she was so worried that she felt like she was going to throw up. She knew as a doctor that things had been a little too easy so far with Callie's condition. Post-op complications were all too common, especially with injuries like hers. What if Callie had taken a turn for the worse? What if the unthinkable had happened? What if she was…

Arizona closed her eyes, wishing the thought away. It really didn't matter why Miranda had paged them. Good or bad she had to get to the ICU to be with Callie.

Her heart sank when she saw Meredith Grey hovering outside the bank of elevators as the doors slid open.

"Bailey knew the two of you would be worried so she sent me to get you."

"Why?" Rosa spoke before Arizona could as they started down the corridor. "What happened?"

Arizona held her breath, knowing this was the moment of truth. Meredith held her fragile sense of self in her hands without even realizing it.

"She's coming around."

Rosa gasped. "She's waking up?"

Meredith nodded. "She is."

"What about her vital signs? Is she still stable? Has there been any change in her condition?" Arizona rapid fired the questions at the resident.

Meredith hesitated a moment, making sure she was done before answering. "She's still stable. As a matter of fact her vital signs have improved a little more."

"Rosa, thank goodness." Carlos called out as they entered the room. He rushed over to his wife, seizing her hand in his own. "One of those machines started making a noise and the nurse came running in and I didn't know what to do." He swallowed hard. "I've never been so frightened in my life."

"Why did the machine make a noise?" Rosa frowned. "I thought she was waking up."

"There are alarms to tell us when someone is regaining consciousness as well as if something is wrong." Arizona sounded far calmer than she felt.

"She's doing fine," Bailey looked at the figure in the bed. "Aren't you Callie?"

A feeling unlike anything Arizona had ever experienced washed over her when Callie's eyes fluttered open. "Calliope." The name was little more than a whisper as she rushed to her lover's side, leaning in close once she reached her. "Can you hear me?"

Brown eyes slowly but surely focused on her face.

"Hey." She took Callie's right hand, tears blurring her vision when she felt her hand being squeezed.

"What did I tell you?" Bailey was all smiles.

"This is good news right?" Rosa and Carlos had come to stand beside Arizona.

"Yes." Bailey confirmed. "I wanted you all to see for yourself that she's awake. Now if I can get you to clear out again I'll see if we can take her off the ventilator."

"If?" Carlos repeated the word. "I thought you said you would be able to once she woke up."

"I'm confident that we will but I need to examine her first."

Rosa shook her head. "I'm confused. Is she getting better or not?"

"Yes she is, but there was a lot of damage to her lung." Bailey patiently answered. "Just because it's holding it's own with the help of the ventilator doesn't mean it will be strong enough not to collapse again once we take her off it."

Carlos swallowed hard. "What if it's not?"

"Then we'll leave her on the ventilator until it is."

"How long will that take?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that Mrs. Torres. If I could get you to go to the family room for a little while so I can examine her I'll know more. Dr. Karev will escort you."

Alex opened his mouth to protest but knew it wouldn't do him any good. He shot Meredith a nasty 'why do you get to stay' look before mumbling, "Sure."

"I'm going to go with your parents but I'll be back soon." Arizona kissed Callie on the forehead. "Be a good patient for Bailey." She started to pull away, frowning when Callie's grip tightened on her hand. "Calliope?"

"I don't think she wants you to leave." Meredith observed.

"You should stay." Carlos looked at Bailey. "She should stay."

"I don't…"

"She's going to stay." Rosa spoke over Miranda.

Arizona opened her mouth but couldn't find the words to actually speak. Of course she didn't want to leave but she didn't want Callie's parents to feel like they were being alienated either.

"She needs you right now Arizona." Rosa picked up on her hesitance.

"She's a doctor." Carlos continued. "She should get to stay."

"I was going say I don't have a problem with that." Bailey finally managed to get a word in edgewise.

"Then it's settled." Rosa nodded. "Come on Carlos. Let's go."

Carlos smiled at his daughter. "We'll be back soon hija."

"I can..." Arizona started to move only to hear a moan from Callie as she tightened her grip on her hand again.

"I think you better stay where you are." Carlos instructed. "We don't want to upset her."

"And there will be plenty of time for us to visit with her later. We'll see you soon Callie." Rosa gave her leg a motherly squeeze before turning toward Alex. "Are you ready Dr. Karev?"

"I kind of have to be." Alex grumbled.

"Karev." Miranda warned him him.

"Let's go." He gave the Torres' a fake smile before leading them out of the room.

Meredith watched them go. "I could have taken them."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're the one who kept an eye on Callie all night while Karev was off doing whatever. Let him throw his fit. We're busy here. Now get an oxygen mask ready in case we need it."

Arizona was concentrated on Callie. "It's going to be all right Calliope. Miranda is going to take good care of you."

"Yes I am." Bailey went to the opposite side of the bed. "Let me just take a quick listen here." She used her stethoscope to listen to Callie's chest. "It still sounds good. Are you ready to try getting rid of that ventilator?"

The corner of Arizona's mouth turned up when Callie nodded. At least they knew she understood what was being said to her.

The thought sent a shiver down her spine. No one had mentioned brain damage but Callie had stopped breathing twice, once in the ER and again on the operating table. What if lack of oxygen had caused some sort of damage? Bailey was thorough and would have run every test in the book but the brain was very tricky. Sometimes damage wasn't always readily apparent from test results. What if she was getting Callie back now only to face that kind of situation?

She told herself to stop. She had been jumping to doom and gloom conclusions ever since Callie was hurt. She needed to concentrate on the positive. The woman she loved was alive and awake and that was enough for now. They would face whatever else happened just like Carlos and Rosa did… together.

"Now I know you know how this works but I need you to take a deep breath and blow out as I pull the tube free, OK?" Bailey continued, not noticing Arizona's silent musings.

Callie nodded again.

"Then let's do this."

Arizona had extubated countless patients during her career as a doctor but this was completely different. She wasn't the one in control of the situation. All she could do was tighten her grip on Callie's hand, offering what support she could.

For her part Callie followed Bailey's instructions, taking a deep breath and blowing it out as the shorter woman removed the tube from her throat. She gagged as it came free and she was able to breathe again on her own. Her face crumbled in pain when she instantly started coughing.

"Calliope?" Arizona anxiously watched her for a half second before looking at Bailey. "She can't breathe."

"Give her a minute."

"But…"

"I said give her a minute." Bailey was watching her patient closely.

Sure enough Callie's coughing subsided but her eyes stayed closed.

"You still with us Torres?"

"Yes." The brunette rasped. "Arizona?"

"She's right here and she's fine so be quiet for a second." Bailey used her stethoscope to listen to Callie's chest again, nodding to let Arizona know she liked what she was hearing. "How do you feel?"

"Sore." Callie licked her lips as she opened her eyes again. "And thirsty."

"I've got it." Arizona used her free hand to pour water from the pitcher on the stand next to Callie's bed into the cup sitting next to it. She topped it off with a straw before holding it up to her girlfriend's mouth. "Take it slow. You don't want to choke."

Callie took several small sips, never breaking eye contact with Arizona. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Arizona quickly put the cup back so she could use her index finger to capture a drop of water on Callie's bottom lip.

Bailey tried not to grin at the interaction. "I'm going to ask you some questions Callie and I need you to be completely honest with me. Are you having trouble breathing?"

"No."

"Does it hurt when you breathe?"

"A little but nothing major."

"Don't lie to me. You had a collapsed lung and we don't want it collapsing it again."

"It's really not that bad."

"All right. Grey," Bailey looked at the resident. "Let's get her on some oxygen until we're sure her saturation levels are going to stay up. And increase her pain meds to…"

"No." Callie cut in.

Bailey raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me, did you just tell me no?"

"I don't want any pain meds."

Arizona frowned. "Calliope."

"They'll knock me out." She tried to sound as convincing as she could considering Meredith was stringing oxygen tubing across her face.

"You need to rest." The blonde tried to reason with her as she helped Meredith tuck the tubing behind Callie's right ear.

"I will." She gave Grey a half grin in thanks once she was done.

"Damn straight you will because you're getting the pain meds." Bailey's voice didn't leave any room for discussion. "You were shot Torres. You had major surgery. You're body has been through a lot and you will rest so you can heal. I'm not going to have you being all pigheaded and messing up the great job I did saving your life." Miranda shook her head, mumbling, "I don't want any pain meds. Crazy othro surgeons."

"I didn't know you cared so much Bailey." Callie teased.

Miranda gave her a look. "You better watch yourself. I'd hate to have to kick your ass once you're up and around again."

Callie chuckled, her brow furrowing at the pain it caused.

"Are you all right?" Arizona anxiously asked.

"I'd say I'm fine but you'd call me a liar." Callie looked up into concerned blue eyes. "So I'll go with I'm good instead."

"That would still be a lie." Bailey retorted. "You're well on your way to being good but you're not quite there yet. Now let's get back to my questions. Do you know where you are?"

"I think that's obvious."

"Calliope." Arizona chastised her.

Callie sighed. "I'm in the hospital." She looked around the room. "The ICU."

Bailey nodded. "And do you remember what happened?"

"Arizona and I were treating a kid in the ER when another kid came in with a gun. He, uh…" She frowned. "He pointed it at Arizona when I told her to call security. It gets a little hazy from there but I remember him pulling the trigger and then being on the floor. Arizona she..." Callie swallowed hard. "She was trying to help me."

"That's enough for now." Arizona spoke up, not wanting to relive what happened in great detail again. "She should be resting."

"You're right. She should be." Bailey smiled at her patient again. "You're one lucky woman Torres."

Callie squeezed Arizona's hand. "I know."

"I meant to be alive but take it anyway you want. Grey, let's go get her parents."

"It's great to have you back Callie." Meredith smiled before walking out.

"We'll take our time. Give you two a chance to be alone. Just don't be trying any…." Bailey gestured at them. "You know."

Callie grinned. "We won't."

"Thanks Miranda." Arizona gave her an appreciative look. "For everything."

"I was just doing my job. I'll be back with your parents and we'll see what we can do about getting you into a private room." She threw a, "Remember, no nookie," over her shoulder as she left.

"She's so bad sometimes." Callie's grin faded when she saw tears gleaming in her girlfriend's eyes. "Hey. What's the matter?"

"I…" Arizona hiccupped on a sob. "I almost lost you."

"But you didn't." She moved her hand, putting it on Arizona's cheek so she could use her thumb to catch her tears as they started to fall.

"Do you remember what happened before we came to the hospital?" Her heart clinched in her chest when Callie's hand stilled and she averted her gaze. "I'm sorry Calliope. I'm so sorry."

"Arizona…"

"Don't you dare try to justify what I did. I was stupid and upset and took it out on you." She shook her head as fresh tears started to flow. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"It's all right."

"No it's not. I know you thought I meant what I was saying about us." Her voice hitched again. "This isn't the way I wanted to say this for the first time, but I love you Calliope."

"I love you too."

She closed her eyes, absorbing the brunette's words. There was no feeling in the world that compared to knowing the person you loved loved you back.

"Arizona? Are you all right?"

"I've never been more all right in my whole life." Arizona smiled. "Calliope Torres, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please don't ever doubt how I feel about you. And if I ever have another attack of the stupids remind me of this conversation."

Callie grinned. "I can do that."

Arizona put her hand over Callie's on her cheek. "Thank you."

"For saying I would point out if you're being stupid?"

"For saving my life."

Callie shook her head. "I didn't…"

"You stepped between me and someone with a gun Calliope. That's saving someone's life."

"I…" Callie had some tears of her own. "I couldn't let him hurt you."

"Shhh." Arizona ran the fingers of her free hand through Callie's hair. "I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Kiss me."

"Calliope. You heard what Miranda said."

"Please."

She started to protest again but how could she possibly deny those big brown eyes? Arizona closed the gap between them, letting her lips gently caress Callie's. It was tame in comparison to some of the kisses they had shared but it conveyed the overwhelming love she felt for the other woman.

"Hmm." Callie purred as they parted.

The corner of Arizona's mouth turned up at the look of pleasure on her lover's face. "You liked that huh?"

"Do it again."

"Not right now. You're supposed to be resting."

"But..."

"I'm not going anywhere Calliope. Just close your eyes for a few minutes." She started running her fingers through dark tresses again.

"Stop doing that." Callie tried to move her head as her eyelids grew heavy.

Arizona ignored her request. "Relax. I'm right here."

"Promise you'll stay?"

"I wouldn't be anywhere else."

"I love you."

Arizona smiled at the half whispered, sleepy words. "I love you too Calliope."