It's No Sacrifice Chapter 7
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: R
Summary: Arizona is kidnapped and Callie is dealing with the aftermath
A/N 1 Hey guys,. Thank you again for all your comments and suggestions they really do help!
A/N 2 All mistakes are mine
A/N 3 I'm not a doctor, so apologies if you happen to be one cause I made everything up :P
All GA characters belong to Shonda Rhimes, no infringement is intended.
As always would love your opinions, comments and/or suggestions!
Chapter 7
The first thing Arizona Robbins noticed as she regained consciousness was the steady beating of a heart monitor. As she opened her eyes a searing pain shot through her head. She quickly shut her burning eyes again and tried to lift her left hand to place it over them but a sharper more acute pain made its way through her arm. She bit her lip trying to muffle the loud cry that was about to escape her lips.
Then she felt a pair of soft hands on her shoulders gently pushing her back against the soft pillow behind her.
"Arizona, it's ok. Try not to move, you'll hurt yourself" A worried Teddy Altman tried to sooth her best friend. She had been checking Arizonas' vitals when the younger woman regained consciousness. Arizona had been heavily sedated so she was consequently a little dazed and disoriented.
At the sound of her friends' voice, the blonde woman immediately relaxed. Her heart slowing down and regaining its steady rhythm.
"Teddy?" Arizona croaked out in a weak voice.
"Yes, welcome back Dr. Robbins" Her friend greeted her with a warm smile as she gently held her hand.
"I missed that voice" Arizona lightly stated with her eyes still tightly closed but managing a small smile.
Dr. Altman gave Arizonas' hand a tight squeeze trying to convey every ounce of affection she felt for the younger woman lying on the bed.
"Look who else is here" She stated as Cynthia Robbins, who had been quietly sitting nearby observing the scene in front of her utterly speechless and with tears in her eyes, made her way to her beloved daughter.
"Zona, Zona, it-it's me, it's mom. Everything is going to be ok now" She cried as she tenderly kissed her daughters severely bruised face. At the sound of her mothers' voice Arizona forced her eyes open, needing to see her beautiful face regardless of the pain. Despite the lack of make-up, the dark circles under her eyes and her dishevelled appearance, the sight of Cynthia Robbins at this very second was to Arizona one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her life. Tears she had been holding in for what seemed like forever made their way down the beautiful blondes face. Her mother simply wiped them away and lovingly caressed her daughters golden hair, trying to gently calm her.
"Your father is here. He just stepped out with Eva and Callie. I practically had to throw them out so they could go get something to eat. They haven't left your side for one second. I was afraid one of them might pass out" She joked trying to get the younger woman's spirits up.
"They're all here?" Arizona asked seeming almost childlike in her surprise.
"Everyone is here. Sloan, Yang, Karev, the Grey sisters', Webber, the Chief, Stevens, even Addison….everyone's been waiting for you to wake up. We've all really missed you. I've just sent them a page letting them know you're awake. They've been lurking the hallways outside your room for the last few days…Derek has been really strict with the visiting hours…I think they'd all sleep here on the floor if they could" Teddy joked.
"How-how long have I been out?" Arizona asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"You've been unconscious for almost four days now…you've sustained a pretty nasty concussion from that fall you took" Teddy informed her.
"And-and the baby?"
Teddy cleared her throat not really knowing if she was delivering good or bad news.
"The baby is doing fine…Dr. Montgomery is a little concerned because we found large traces of Gamma Hydroxy Butrate in your system but we won't be able to tell if it has had any negative effects on the baby until later on." Teddy said and then quickly, without thinking carried on
"-will there be a later on? You know it's still early, you still have a choice" She said as she looked at her friend with worried eyes.
Arizona stared ahead, a far away look in her eyes as she unconsciously put her right hand over her stomach, making light circles over the small bump.
"I-" she started but was interrupted by the door bursting open.
"Zona?" A tired and disheveled looking Daniel Robbins said as he made his way over to his daughters' side. Eva was right behind him, tears already falling down her beautiful face. Callie had remained standing outside the door, completely rooted to the spot. As soon as she had received Teddy's page she had quickly informed Colonel Robbins and Eva and had bolted to the blondes' room. But once faced with the closed door of room 3021, she couldn't bring herself to open it. She stood glued to the spot, staring at the numbers on the door. She was petrified of facing the small, beautiful woman on the other side. Before she could make a decision, Daniel had rushed passed her and opened the door. Teddy was blocking the ped surgeons' upper body but Callie could clearly make out Arizonas' hand on her stomach. The sight of that delicate, beautiful hand was just too much for her so she quickly turned and walked away without looking back.
LATER THAT DAY
It was early evening. The hospital halls were unusually peaceful.
Alex Karev, dressed in jeans and a simple black shirt, quickly made his way to room 3021. As he neared the door he noticed an exhausted looking Callie Torres sitting behind a nurses' station seemingly immersed in whatever paperwork she had in front of her.
"Dude, What the hell are you doing out here?" he asked.
Callie immediately looked up, clearly taken by surprise.
"I-I have to finish these reports and then I have some post-ops to check on" she said as she averted her gaze.
Alex walked over to the nurses' station, crossing his arms once he was directly in front of the ortho surgeon.
"Are you freaking kidding me?...You haven't moved from Robbins' side since she got here…now she's finally awake and you're telling me you have work to do?" He asked incredulously.
Callie sighed exasperated and closed the folder she had been pretending to read for the past hour.
"Look Karev, she-she's been gone for so long…I-I-I lost her… and now she's right on the other side of that door…she's here…and she's hurt…and-and pregnant and awake and-and I'm scared ok?" She rambled trying to make sense of the emotions that had been tormenting her all day long.
Alex merely shook his head as he made his way over to Arizonas' room.
"Will you stop being so selfish Torres? She's the one who's been living with a psychopath these past six months. She's the one who's hurt and scared, so stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about how to make her feel better…and you know what? Seeing you…that will make her feel better." He stated as he turned and lightly knocked on the wooden door in front of him.
"Come in" Colonel Daniel Robbins' voice answered from the other side. The resident slowly opened the door and entered. The steady beat of the heart monitor welcomed him into the room. All lights were turned off save for a small lamp on the night table next to Arizona Robbins' bed, giving the room a serene yellow glow. Arizona had quickly looked up at the sound of the opening door, and Alex could see the slightly disappointed expression she gave him as he walked in.
The blonde woman was currently lying down; resting her head against her mothers' side as she quietly listened to the conversation taking place. Cynthia was sitting at the head of the bed, her back against the wall, lightly holding her daughters right hand in her own. Daniel was sitting in an uncomfortable looking chair to Arizonas' left. He was deep in conversation with Mark Sloan but every few minutes he would steal a loving glance at his only daughter, smiling brightly when she turned his way.
As Alex approached the bed, a soft smile appeared on Arizonas' bruised face. He smiled back and lightly held her forearm.
"Hey Robbins" He greeted her with another warm smile.
"Hey, how's my favorite resident doing?...Are my kids giving you a hard time?" She mildly mocked.
"I'm handling the kids just fine, it's Gilbert I can't stand…It's gonna be good to have you back" He said sincerely.
"It'll be good to be back…although I don't think I'll be doing surgeries for awhile" she stated as she motioned towards her broken arm.
"-But I'll be sure to have a word with Gilbert as soon as I see him" She continued lightly, realizing how much she had missed the young man standing in front of her. How much she had missed all of them.
She looked at everyone around her. Mark and Lexie holding hands as they amicably made small talk with her parents. Teddy, Meredith and Cristina filling her in on the hospitals latest gossip, clearly trying to distract her from all the poking and prodding they had been doing to her as they checked her vitals. Eva had been there earlier, telling her how much she had missed her, how she had been so lost without her. Derek with his warm smile and confident demeanour had also visited her that day, giving her a heartfelt greeting. Even Izzy Stevens had dropped by, making awkward conversation. Everyone had been so attentive and kind; she was so grateful at how much love she had been shown ever since she had opened her eyes earlier that day. But still, she couldn't help the heavy set feeling that had slowly made its way to her chest and had gotten even heavier and more painful as the day wore on. She knew exactly why she was feeling like this and it didn't have anything to do with her wounds or the small life that was growing inside her. It was because she hadn't come. Arizona didn't know whether to be furious or completely heart broken. Why hadn't she dropped by? Did she even care? She knew it was a stupid question, logically she knew there had to be a good reason why Callie hadn't come to see her yet, but she couldn't help worrying that the beautiful Latina simply didn't want to. It was an irrational thought, she knew, but it was there nonetheless.
"Oh, I have something for you" Karev said as he reached for his back pocket and then presented her with a couple of colorful drawings, clearly hand made by some of the patients in the peds department.
"Peter and Henry wanted me to give these to you. They miss their favorite doctor. We've been telling them you've been on vacation so they wouldn't worry. Now that they know you're back they made me promise I'd hand them personally to you" He said as he handed her the carefully made drawings of the seven and eight year old boys that had been practically living in the hospital for over a year and who Arizona cared for and treated until the day she disappeared.
Arizona reverently took them. And while she looked at the beautiful drawings she felt warm tears slide down her face. As she quickly wiped them away, a quiet knock snapped her out of her reverie.
"Yeah, Come in" her father gave permission to whoever was waiting outside the door. Callie shyly popped her head in and silence immediately descended over the room.
"'bout time" Cristina quietly muttered after a few awkward seconds of silence. Meredith simply elbowed her on the side
"Ow" Cristina yelped in response.
Callie slowly looked at everyone in the room "Hi" she greeted with a tight lipped smile before turning her attention to the beautiful woman on the bed looking intently at her.
Arizona tried to feel anger towards the raven haired woman giving her a beautifully intense look. But she knew it was all in vane. She was simply too happy. She had spent months picturing and fantasying about this very moment…this moment right here had gotten her through hell and back.
Arizonas' heart tripled its pace in a matter of seconds. A fact that was evident to everyone in the room thanks to the monitor that was hooked up to her chest.
Callie heard Arizonas' increasingly rapid heart beats and a sense of relief had immediately washed over her. That was Arizonas' heart. .Alive. Callie felt her own heart quicken its pace, threatening to burst out of her chest and was deeply relieved that she seemed to be having the same effect on Arizona that Arizona was certainly having on her. The two women simply stared at each other, committing everything about this moment to memory.
Teddy cleared her throat as she made her way to the annoying monitor next to the bed.
"umm..Her vitals seem good so- I'm just- I'm gonna shut this off here" She said as she turned off the machine.
"Hi" Callie whispered after a few seconds completely unaware of everyone else in the room. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. She took a few tentative steps closer to the bed.
"Hi" Arizona whispered back and closed her eyes when she felt the Latinas hand gently take a hold of her fingers. The cast made it impossible for Callie to hold her hand so she made due with entwining three of Arizonas' fingers in her own.
Daniel had gotten up and made his way to a corner, wanting to make space for the ortho surgeon and really not being able to see his daughter cry. Nobody else moved, not wanting to break the spell that had suddenly taken over the room.
Callie leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Arizonas' brow
"I missed you…so much" The Latina continued her whispering as she softly brushed away the tears that had fallen on the blondes' face with her hand. Arizona lovingly cupped Callies' face with her right hand and tenderly did the same.
"Calliope? I-I- this can't be happening" Arizona choked out. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. She had to still be locked in that god awful basement with him lurking somewhere in the dark. This had to be another hallucination, she would wake up soon and Callies' beautiful face would be gone, and he would be there.
"Are you really here? Oh god, please tell me you're really here" she quietly pleaded as she traced every inch of Callie's face with her hand. Callie closed her eyes and smiled, loving the way Arizonas' soft fingers moved across her skin. Then she slowly opened her eyes and nodded slightly.
"I'm here, I'm here Ari" She said while lightly laughing through her tears. They stared lovingly into each others eyes.
"Arizona, I…." Callie continued but was interrupted by the sound of the door being opened. Eva strolled in, flowers in hand. She stopped, immediately seeing her girlfriend…and Callie. Arizona was tenderly holding the Latinas face in her hand. Callie had turned to see who had entered but the peds surgeon hadn't even flinched. She continued to earnestly regard the raven haired woman in front of her. Eva tried not to let the sight of Arizona so clearly mesmerized by the younger woman get to her. After all they hadn't seen each other in a long time, of course they would get emotional. So, she planted a sweet smile on her face as she made her way over to her girlfriends side.
Callie turned to Arizona one last time and looked down at her. She softly brushed her thumb over her former lovers cheek before standing up straight and backing away from the bed.
"Hey, Callie. So glad you could finally join us" Eva greeted her with the warm smile still plastered on her face. Callie instantly felt the sting from the redheads' backhanded comment. She jealously followed the redhead with her eyes as she bent down and lightly kissed Arizona on the lips, placing the flowers on the bedside table.
"Baby, there's a Sergeant Mckee here to see you…I know you're tired and the last thing you want to do is talk about what happened, but he says it's really important" The redhead softly stated as she straightened and looked at Cynthia.
The older woman shook her head "I think Zonas' been through enough…let's just give her a few days to rest, maybe then-"
"No, mom" Arizona interrupted. "It has to be now, while everything is still fresh. They don't know where he is and I need for them to catch him" Her voice cracking as she finished the sentence.
Callie closed her eyes tightly; she couldn't stand to hear the pain in Arizonas' voice.
Mark stepped closer to the bed and smiled affectionately at the blonde "We'll leave you to it then" He said as he gave her an encouraging nod. "We´ll be back tomorrow" Lexie followed as she gave Arizona a warm smile. As Mark opened the door to leave, Sergeant Peter Mckee stepped quietly into the room. One by one the doctors said their goodbyes and exited. On her way out Teddy looked at her friend "Pete…if-if you see her getting too restless, just stop…you can always come back tomorrow" She whispered as she held his forearm, squeezing it gently to get her point across.
"Teddy, you know I'm doing this now for a reason" He simply stated
"I know, I know…but she's been through a lot…you know that…just promise me ok?" she quietly pleaded.
"Ok" he nodded in understanding
As everyone said their goodbyes, Callies' gaze was intent on Arizona. Her usually expressive face gave nothing away. She was staring off into space, clearly preparing herself for what was to come. She wanted to stay with her with all her heart…but she felt she had no right to do so.
She quietly moved closer to the bed and stood next to Meredith who was saying a quick goodbye.
"Derek should be in later to check on you, I have rounds in ten minutes but I promise I'll be back tomorrow" she assured the attending.
Arizona gave her a fleeting smile before turning away again.
Callie cleared her throat before speaking next "Yeah, I have post ops waiting for me, so…I'll come back tomorrow also?" She hadn't meant for the last part to come out as a question but she wasn't sure where her place was anymore. At the sound of Callies' voice Arizonas' head shot up. She looked so lost and alone, Callie was tempted to throw everyone out of the room and just lay down beside the beautiful blonde woman and envelope her in her arms.
"Thank you Callie" the peds surgeon softly said before returning her attention to the spot on the wall she had been staring at for the past few minutes. Not knowing what else to say or do, Callie slowly turned and headed out.
"Do you want us to stay with you Zona?" Daniel asked his daughter as he looked at the sergeant up and down.
"No,no…I'll be fine…really" She said trying to assure her parents with a small smile.
"Zona, let me stay…I want to be here for you" Eva pleaded with her girlfriend.
Arizona took her hand and squeezed it "I-I don't think I'll be able to do this with you here" she sincerely told the redhead.
"Ok, I understand. I'll be right outside if you need me" she kissed her softly on the cheek and left followed closely behind by her parents who had both given her a tender kiss on the forehead.
Callie who was near the nurses' station, watched closely as Eva and Arizonas' parents left the room. She was worried sick for the blonde doctor on the other side of the door. She knew Arizona; she was sure the peds' surgeon was frightened and was just putting on a brave front so she wouldn't worry anyone. She paced back and forth, feeling something deep inside her telling her to go in. But she also didn't want to intrude on such a private conversation and she really wasn't sure she was ready to listen to what her beautiful Arizona had to say. As she looked up, her eyes locked with Karevs'. He was leaning against the opposite wall waiting for the elevator. He stared at the raven haired woman, an impassive look on his face. As soon as the doors to the elevators opened he stepped in and before they closed he gave the attending an encouraging nod, as if fully aware of what the other doctor was torn up about. Callie returned the nod and quickly turned and headed for room 3021.
"Callie, wait a sec…you can't go in there" Eva protested as she saw the Latina walk towards her girlfriends' room. "I forgot my patients file in there…I'll be right out" she answered without even bothering to look over at the other woman.
Without knocking she quickly stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Arizona had raised the head of the electric bed and was now sitting up right. Sergeant Mckee had taken a seat to her left a tape recorder on the nightstand next to him.
"I'm sorry Dr. Torres…did you forget anything?" he politely asked.
"No" she quickly stated, not taking her eyes off of the woman in front of her. She made her way to the other side of the bed, grabbing a chair on her way there. She then positioned it as near to Arizonas' bed as possible and planted herself on it. She proceeded to gently clasp Arizonas' hand in her own and gave it a gentle squeeze before giving the blonde a small, encouraging smile.
The older attending didn't know what to say. She was so grateful Callie had come back. Sergeant Mckee seemed like a kind and patient man. But, Arizona needed someone she trusted by her side. She would never ask either of her parents to sit by her as she recalled the nightmare that had been the last six months; she didn't want to put them through that kind of pain.
She cared for Eva deeply. She had missed her so much and she knew she could count on the beautiful woman for anything, but she wasn't ready to share this with her. Not yet.
Callie was the one she needed. The Latina knew her more than anyone else. She was strong, and Arizona trusted her with every fiber of her being. The peds surgeon knew she would be able to lean on the beautiful raven haired woman if this became too much for her.
She tightened her hold on Callies' hand as she turned her attention back to Sergeant Mckee. "I'm sorry" She cleared her throat before continuing "-umm where was I?"
Eva impatiently paced up and down the hall, completely livid that Callie hadn't come out of the room yet. It had been more then an hour now. Arizona wanted to do this on her own, she had said so herself. Who did she think she was?
Even though she and Arizona hadn't been in a relationship for more than 6 months before the peds surgeon was taken, Eva knew she loved her. Of that much she was sure. In Arizonas' absence she had almost completely driven herself crazy with worry. During that time she had promised herself that if Arizona ever came back to her that she would tell her just how much she meant to her. She would not take for granted a second with the beautiful woman.
"Eva come here and sit down next to me dear, you're making me dizzy" Cynthia said as she patted the seat next to her. Eva stopped and nodded at her girlfriends' mother. Making her way over to the seat next to her and sitting down with an irritated huff
Teddy was waiting patiently for Peter to finish with his questioning, to see if she could help with anything at all. She had beamed with joy when Callie rushed into the room. She hadn't seen that fire in the Latina in a long time. She was sure that Arizona needed the other doctor with her. She liked Eva, she even considered her a friend. But it was clear, to her at least, who Arizona really loved, even if she didn't want to admit it to herself just yet.
Half an hour passed by before Peter finally stepped out of the room. Teddy quickly made her way over to her friend who was now standing face to face with Daniel, Cynthia and Eva.
"Is she alright? Is there anything we can do?" Teddy asked with agitation.
Peter sighed heavily before he answered "She couldn't remember much…as you know she was heavily drugged for most of her time with Patrick Seger. She remembers being locked in a dark basement. It was definitely in an isolated area …she said Seger would drink heavily in front of her and then he would go out and scream his head off…he would also take his shot gun and randomly shoot anything he set his sight on. So it's highly unlikely any other person lived near that area. She told us that when she got away she was running for at least two days…so we definitely have to broaden our search from where we found her"
Daniel closed his eyes, not liking the mental image forcing its way into his head.
"She's exhausted but I imagine she would like to see you" Peter stated as he shook Daniels hand and said his goodbyes.
"I placed two police officers outside the hospitals entrance but I'm going to request they guard her door. I don't want to alarm you but, it's probably safer that way…I'll be back tomorrow to check on her" He assured. The four of them simply nodded, scared for the blonde woman inside the room.
Eva quickly made her way into the room, wanting to be the first to comfort Arizona. As she stepped in a wave of jealously washed over her.
Callie was sitting on the right side of the bed, leaning her forehead against Arizonas' left shoulder. The blonde had her right arm around the taller womans' back, her face buried deeply in her neck. Her body was shaking with the force of her sobs. Silent tears ran down the ortho surgeons' face. She was softly whispering something in Arizonas' ear as she gently threaded her fingers through her golden locks, clearly trying to sooth the smaller woman.
Eva knew Callie had probably suffered as much as her during Arizonas' disappearance and she sincerely appreciated the Latinas support and strength through all of this ordeal. But she did not like what she was currently seeing one bit. Callie was clearly still in love with the beautiful blonde and Arizona was susceptible right now. So, Eva decided right then and there she would have to have a talk with the ortho surgeon. She loved Arizona and she was sure that Arizona loved her too. They were good together and she wanted to be the one to help her through this crisis. Callie would only confuse and upset the peds surgeon more and she would not allow that.
She took a deep breath, cleared her throat and purposefully made her way towards the two women who were envoloped in each other arms.
TBC
Thanks again guys, hoped you enjoyed. I had a really hard time with this one, I hope it doesn't show that much LOL