Callie wanted to curse the alarm when she heard it go off, she was so tired and every muscle in her body ached, but the moment she heard that sweet lilting voice whisper, "Wake up Mrs. Robbins-Torres," she couldn't contain her smile. Opening her eyes, she saw sleepy azure eyes staring back at her and she felt those once cursed butterflies fluttering around in her stomach as she breathed out, "You're my wife." When those beautiful lips brushed against hers and Arizona confirmed, "I'm your wife," her heart felt like it was whole again. She wanted nothing more than to stay in bed all day making love to her wife, cuddling her, showing her how much it meant to her to be able to just say the word again, to have made that commitment to one another, to have found each other all over again, but she knew they would have to get up soon. Lifting her hand, she caressed a warm pale cheek and declared, "I know we can't go right away, but I want us to go on a honeymoon this time, maybe when things slow down at the center and after Sof goes back to school, so we can spend the rest of the summer with her." Arizona brushed their lips together again and bargained, "Only on one condition." Amused, Callie quirked her brow and asked, "We have conditions to a honeymoon?" Arizona nodded, lifted her hand to smooth down the messy tuft of black hair and replied, "You planned this amazing proposal and beautiful wedding, I want to plan the honeymoon. Please?" Callie smiled, rolled over on top of her wife despite the soreness in her muscles and murmured against her lips, "I think I can live with that." Arizona smiled into the kiss and gladly welcomed Callie's tongue as it sought entrance into her mouth causing her to moan and heightening her arousal.
Before they got too carried away, Callie broke the kiss and lamented, "I guess I'd better let you get up and get ready for your big day Dr. Robbins." Arizona tilted her head and looked at Callie thoughtfully for a moment prompting her to ask, "What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" Arizona bit her bottom lip and asked, "What would you think about using our married name professionally? I mean, we are both published and certified under our surnames and we can continue to do that so it's not confusing, and the name of the center will probably stay the same, but…I just, I'd like to go by Robbins-Torres…you don't have to…I mean…it's just a thought…forget I…" She was cut off by a breathtaking smile before her lips were captured in a long searing kiss. Callie was beaming when she answered, "I love that. Of course I want to Arizona. You're right, we are already established by our surnames, but I think we can make the transition slowly and start using our married name in daily practice." Arizona brushed their lips together again and answered, "Good, because I want everyone to know we belong to each other." Callie nodded then pressed a hard smacking kiss on her wife's lips and asked, "How about we indulge in a nice, long, hot bath in that jacuzzi tub before we get ready? I don't know about you but I am sore as hell today." Arizona chuckled and cooed, "Oh poor baby. Were those four orgasms too much for you?" Callie turned and retorted, "Actually I think it had more to do with being tied to the bed." She laughed when she noticed Arizona wince in pain when she tried to sit up and teased, "That's what you get for mocking me." Arizona pouted, stuck out her tongue and Callie laughed at the petulant look on her adorable wife's face.
Carefully stepping into the steaming hot jacuzzi tub, Callie groaned when the jets pounded on her aching muscles. Finally getting settled, she let out a sigh of relief as her body started to relax and she reached out to help Arizona ease herself in to settle between her legs. That's when they both noticed the half inch black and purple bruises around Callie's wrists. Arizona gasped and started smothering the injured area with kisses while saying, "Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I had no idea…" Callie looked down at her arms which truly looked worse than they felt, but she was enjoying the attention and just the teeny tiny bit of guilt her wife felt, so she let her continue to pamper her a bit longer before she assured her, "It's not as bad as it looks really. I didn't even notice it until now." Seeing Callie wasn't bothered or in real pain, Arizona smirked and suggested, "Maybe next time you shouldn't struggle so much." Callie laughed and retorted, "Or you could remember this and not struggle when you are tied up and at my mercy." Arizona felt a jolt of excitement run through her at just the thought and hummed in response.
Arizona leaned back against Callie's chest and rested her head on her shoulder. Callie's hands immediately went to Arizona's lower abdomen and she felt her heart flip when pale hands covered hers. The two sat in comfortable silence allowing the hot water and the flow of the jets to soothe their aching bodies. Neither knew that the other was waging an inner battle over whether or not they should share what they heard as they drifted off to sleep both times last night. Callie was afraid to mention it because she didn't want Arizona to feel pressured or get stressed, but she promised she wouldn't hold anything back and she didn't want to start their first official day as a married couple with a secret. Arizona was concerned Callie would think she had gone mad and would worry that she would be disappointed and change her mind if it didn't work…but she knew this wasn't just wishful thinking or being overly excited, this was…this was something she couldn't explain. She decided she needed to try.
Linking their fingers together, Arizona asked softly, "Do you really believe that a soul enters at the moment of conception?" Callie was starting to wonder if she wasn't the only one who heard something last night and answered truthfully, "That's what I've always been taught and honestly, I have no reason to believe otherwise, even scientifically." Arizona nodded her head and asked, "If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh?" Almost certain what her skeptical wife was going to share, Callie kissed her temple and swore, "I promise." Arizona turned slightly so she could look Callie in the eyes but kept their hands firmly on her abdomen. She took a deep breath and said, "After…last night after we did the insemination, both times…I heard…" Callie smiled and whispered, "It worked and I'm here." Arizona felt a shiver go down her spine, part of her wanted to believe it was all in her head, that way it would make more sense to her scientific brain, but she realized Callie must have heard it to and could only manage, "But you didn't say it…it…it…it wasn't your voice." Callie shook her head, held Arizona close and confirmed, "No, I didn't say it, but I heard it." After a minute or two, Arizona gave in to the possibility and asked, "Do you think he was telling us he was here?" Callie asked uncertainly, "Who?" Arizona smiled and responded, "Our son." Callie beamed at her wife and answered, "I'd surely like to think so." Arizona kissed her softly and agreed, "Me too." After a few moments of silence where both women were thinking of chubby little babies, Callie whispered, "Arizona?" Arizona hummed in response and Callie replied in the same soft voice, "Thank you for sharing that with me." Arizona turned and nuzzled her neck and sighed, "I knew you'd get it."
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When the newlyweds walked through the door of the Robbins-Herman Center, they were greeted with another round of congratulations and graciously thanked the small group of well-wishers. The Opening Ceremony wasn't starting for another two hours but based on the flurry of activity, it looked like everything was going exactly as planned. Arizona turned to Callie, tucked the collar of her royal blue shirt under her vest which was made up of a royal blue and black paisley pattern and asked, "Don't you need to get to work?" Callie shook her head and answered, "I took the entire day off so I could be with my wife on her special day." A warmth ran through Arizona's body and she leaned up to place a chaste kiss on her wife's lips and murmured, "Thank you. That means a lot. I might need you to stick close by, you keep me calm." Callie hugged her and responded, "I'm here for whatever you need. You can even put me to work." Arizona started to say something when the doors opened and she turned to see her business partner slowly walking through the lobby.
Arizona laughed as she asked, "Nicole, why are you wearing sunglasses?" Her mentor looked up and groused, "One, it's what hungover people do, and two, it's what blind people do. I'm choosing option two since option one is unprofessional." Callie and Arizona both laughed and Nicole quipped, "You don't have any visible marks on you do you?" Still not knowing the other woman's humor, Callie nervously started to check to make sure and Arizona retorted, "Only the heart shaped hickey in the middle of my forehead. But I think I can pass it off as face paint." Nicole threw back her head and laughed and Callie shook her head at her wife's response. She recalled how Arizona was once so intimidated by this woman and while she still didn't understand their relationship, she could see Arizona grew more confident and self-assured under the older woman's tutelage and it made her the surgeon she is today.
Arizona asked, "How are you hungover? I thought you were leaving when we did." Nicole shook her head and replied, "Addison talked me into staying. I had no idea what I was getting into." Callie laughed and responded, "Oh they can drink, that's for sure." Nicole agreed and replied, "Someone should have warned me. It's hard to know if you're blackout drunk when everything is already dark." Callie looked at Arizona and mouthed, "Oh my god." Used to the self-deprecating comments by now, Arizona just shook her head. Nicole continued, "So if there are no visible marks, are you at least walking funny? I mean, I know Robbins is, how about you Torres?" Callie nearly choked and Arizona scolded, "Enough Nicole, yes we had hot dirty sex on our wedding night and we owe the hotel a thousand dollars because we broke the door casing trying out our sex swing." Callie gaped at her wife and hissed out, "We did not!" The older fetal surgeon laughed and responded, "Yeah those can be tricky." Callie could not believe this conversation. She used to be the one to overshare. Here Arizona was just being downright ridiculous.
Hearing the commotion around them, Nicole switched to business mode and asked, "How is everything coming along?" Arizona looked around and described what she saw, "All the streamers and balloons are being hung up now, the refreshment table looks to be set up and waiting for the food, the information table with all the pamphlets and flyers is finished, and it looks like Dee, Kim, and Julie are folding the programs as we speak. Before we left Friday, we made sure the exam rooms and staff on the second floor were all set for the free well-baby check-ups." Nicole nodded and replied, "Good, it sounds like we will be all set to go. Oh, there is one change though." Arizona furrowed her brow and asked, "What's that?" Nicole smiled, "It actually works in our favor. The Mayor had to cancel at the last minute and Senator Gavin caught wind of it and called to see if she could take his place since she will be here anyway. Who better to open our doors than a public official who happens to be our very first patient?" Arizona furrowed her brow and asked, "When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me? Is she up for it? She has to be extremely nervous today and she needs to be in pre-op right after and…" Nicole held up her hand stopping the blonde's ramble which she knew would go on forever if she let it and declared, "I got the notification yesterday and if I remember correctly, you were a little busy. If she didn't want to do it, she wouldn't have asked. This is a good thing Robbins, just relax."
As the older woman started to walk away, Arizona corrected, "Robbins-Torres!" Nicole chuckled and retorted, "Fine, Robbins-Torres, but you still need to relax. There's still time for a quickie." Callie hid her face in her hands and Arizona scoffed and declared, "I swear I'm going to teach that dog something really bad one day." Callie's jaw dropped and she scolded, "Arizona!" The blonde smiled sweetly and shrugged, defending, "She deserves it." Callie shook her head then looked up to see someone on the first floor landing waving for Arizona and tapped the blonde's shoulder and said, "Duty calls chief." Arizona smiled, kissed her cheek and went to see to her staff.
Over an hour later, Callie was helping Dee with some last minute touches while Arizona was off doing whatever it was she was doing. She remembered her opening day and she was all over the place, so today she just tried to be here and help out wherever she could. She just finished putting the little gift bags on the table when she noticed her in-laws coming through the door with her daughter. Callie smiled brightly then flinched at the ache in her muscles when Sofia ran up to her and jumped into her arms. Feeling the strain in her shoulders and not wanting to hurt her daughter's feelings by putting her down, Callie peppered her with kisses, knowing it would make her squirm out of her arms laughing and giggling. Smoothing out the thick dark curls, she asked, "How was your sleepover with grandma and grandpa?" Sofia smiled brightly, looked adoringly at her grandparents, and declared, "It was awesome! I got to stay up late and we had waffles for breakfast." Callie chuckled at her daughter's exuberance, looked to her in-laws and offered, "Thank you so much for keeping her. She loves spending time with you." Barb hugged her and declared, "It was no problem at all." She looked to her husband, who was now wearing his brace and using a cane and said drolly, "Our last visit was cut short so it was our pleasure. Besides, it was your wedding night, the honeymoon suite is hardly a place for a child." Callie knew she was turning red and was rather uncomfortable discussing her wedding night with her mother-in-law. Maybe it was just her, but she felt like both of the elder Robbins were looking at her as if she had defiled their daughter. Callie rubbed at her wrists and laughed internally at that thought. If they only knew the delicious dirty things their sweet pea did to her.
The older woman looked around the lobby in awe and Callie recognized the shimmer in her eyes and expression on her face as one similar to her wife's when she was pleasantly surprised or excited by something and couldn't help but smile. Barbara clasped her hands together in front of her chest and exclaimed, "Oh Daniel just look at this place, it's gorgeous and everything she's dreamed of." Callie saw Arizona walking towards them, reached out her hand, linked their fingers and proudly bragged, "She's done an amazing job and in record time. Wait until you see the rest of the place. It looks more like a hotel than a hospital." Arizona beamed and leaned up to kiss her wife's cheek. They all turned when they heard Lucia exclaim, "Oh Arizona, it's more lovely than it was on our last visit." Arizona blushed and accepted the hug from her mother-in-law and answered, "Thank you, we've been working really hard to get it finished. I think there would still be boxes here if Callie hadn't sent reinforcements last week to help put everything away." Aria hugged them both and proclaimed, "I can't wait to see it. It's absolutely gorgeous." Arizona was still unsure of her sister-in-law but couldn't help but notice the sadness on her face when she wasn't included in the wedding festivities. Hopefully it truly opened her eyes to everything she has missed over the past several years and she will make a better effort to become closer to her sister and her niece.
Callie and Arizona each went to their own parents, hugged them and Arizona looked down at her father's brace and asked, "What's this?" Daniel looked at Callie and she muttered, "Coward." She turned to Arizona and explained, "When I called and told your parents of my plan and asked for their permission, your dad wanted to walk you down the aisle so he talked to his doctor, had his scans sent over to me and we both agreed that he was healed enough to come out of the cast under the condition that he wore the brace for extra support for the next two weeks." Arizona glared at her wife then her father making them both feel like children then smiled brightly and asked, "You asked for permission to marry me?" Callie blushed and nodded and Daniel cut in, "Callie is an honorable person, you said so yourself." Arizona couldn't believe how thoughtful and amazing her wife was. She kissed her chastely then replied, "Thank you, that was very thoughtful and it meant everything that you were able to walk me down the aisle." Daniel smiled his rare smile then said gruffly but teasingly, "Let's make this the last time." Both Callie and Arizona joined hands, looked at one another with all the love they were feeling inside and declared, "This was the last time."
As more people started to come in, Arizona excused herself, the parents engaged in conversation, Aria and Sofia started laughing and giggling at something, and Callie's shoulders slumped in relief to see everyone getting along so well. She remembered the last time they were all together, minus Aria, and their parents didn't seem too fond of each other. Regretfully, she had to admit, Mark didn't help the situation any. Whenever she thought about getting married, she always envisioned huge family gatherings with both families so they never had to share their time between families or pick which holiday would be spent with whose parents. Hopefully they would get that now and Sofia could grow up in a large loving family who got along and respected each other.
Callie turned to find Miguel and Bella walking toward her and asked, "Where's Maria?" Miguel bent down and told his daughter to join Sofia then stood up and groused, "I have no idea what a twisted sister is, but apparently my wife is now an honorary member and she stayed at the hotel last night with two of your friends." Callie threw back her head and laughed then assured him, "That was Yang and Grey, they are a little crazy, but she was in good hands." Miguel wasn't so sure, scratched his head and asked, "Uhhh how long are they in town?" Callie shrugged and answered regretfully, "I can't imagine for more than a couple days. They are all top surgeons in their fields, so they can't be gone for long." He breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "How did you deal with that?" Callie smiled and nodded, "Oh, I was one of them." The man shook his head and exclaimed, "Oh boy!" They both started laughing when they saw the women in question along with the rest of the wedding party walking through the door looking more than a little worse for wear, all wearing sunglasses except for Richard who was smiling and laughing at the group. Christina walked straight up to Callie and said, "Coffee." Callie pointed over her shoulder and the two laughed again when the entire crowd turned mid-step and followed her to the coffee pot.
Arizona joined Miguel and Callie and asked, "How are they even standing?" Jordyn and Stevie walked up behind them and Jordyn responded, "I have no idea. We stayed until well after midnight and they were still going full force." Arizona turned and hugged her friends, thanked them for coming, then smiled as she saw Jo, Becca, Ramona, and Tracy walk through the door as well. After everyone said their hellos and the Seattle crew joined the group, they all started talking together as if they were old friends. Callie turned to Arizona and quietly asked, "What do you think about inviting everyone over tonight for pizza and to hang out by the pool?" The blonde smiled and replied, "I was actually going to ask you the same thing. I know most of them are leaving tomorrow and I'd like to spend some time with them." Callie kissed her wife and said, "I'll ask them later when they don't look so…grouchy." Callie quietly made her way over to Jo and asked, "Were you able to do it?" Jo nodded and handed her a small box. Callie took a deep breath and declared, "I owe you!" Jo smiled and answered, "Hey, you've become one of my best customers and brought me a lot of business with your wedding, so I'd say we're even." Callie shook their hand then looked up to find her wife.
Not seeing that gorgeous head of blonde hair anywhere, Callie turned and asked Bailey, "Have you seen Arizona?" The shorter woman nodded and answered, "She excused herself to get something from her office, but I know Robbins and it looked like her nerves might have kicked in when everyone started showing up." Callie nodded in understanding and replied, "Thanks Miranda." Box in hand, she made a mad dash to Arizona's office, knowing they only had a few minutes before the ceremony started. When she reached the fetal surgeon's office, she knocked softly, heard some rustling but got no response. Trying the doorknob, she found it was unlocked, slipped inside, leaned against the closed door, and watched as Arizona paced the floor.
Arizona felt the instant Callie came in the room, she wasn't sure if it was her calming presence, her scent, or just their innate connection, but she knew her wife was there without looking. Taking a deep breath, she thought aloud, "Why did I think I could do this? I mean, I own a part of a hospital, sure, but this is mine, everyone is looking to me. I haven't even been a fetal surgeon that long. To top it all off, I go and take a high profile case on opening day, in front of news crews and cameras and students and colleagues and family…everybody will be here…and…and…except for Julie, I haven't cut in two months! What the hell was I thinking Callie?" Recognizing everything finally hit Arizona all at once, which she was waiting to happen, Callie calmly stepped in front of her wife and took her hands, linking their fingers together.
She bent down so Arizona would look her in the eye and asked, "Arizona, why did Nicole ask you to open this center with her?" Arizona sighed and responded, "Because she heard about all of my successful surgeries, the OB Crash Cart, and my research into the maternal mortality death rate and in her words, she knew she did it, she downloaded her brain into mine." Callie smiled, nodded, and responded, "And it took you five months to learn and be able to do what it took her years to perfect. Here you are four years later at the top of your field doing things even she hasn't done." Arizona sighed and started to argue, but Callie continued, "Why are you doing this surgery today?" Arizona furrowed her brow and responded, "Because my patient needs it, her babies could be at greater risk if we wait any longer." Callie nodded and asked, "Arizona, why are YOU doing this surgery today?" Not missing the emphasis Callie placed on the word 'you' when repeating the same question, Arizona dropped her shoulders and sighed out, "Because I am the only one who can and will and I have the highest success rate with this specific procedure and multiples in general." Callie nodded and questioned, "Yesterday afternoon when I asked if you were nervous, what did you tell me?" Arizona shrugged and Callie recalled, "You told me you had practiced the procedure repeatedly and you were comfortable with it. While you also said you worry about everything that could go wrong, I know you and you practiced every possible scenario you could think of. Correct?" Arizona's lip twitched and she nodded.
Callie walked them to the sofa, pulled Arizona onto her lap, kissed her forehead and soothed, "It doesn't matter if she's the senator, the queen, a middle class woman, or a homeless woman, you wouldn't treat or care for her any differently. I've worked alongside you long enough to know when you get into that operating room, the only thing you are focused on is your patient, the tools you need, and your next steps. The cameras don't matter, the students don't matter, nothing will matter except you, those three babies, and that mom. IF things start to get to you, look up into that gallery, find my eyes and you will get all the extra strength you need to carry on." Arizona buried her head in Callie's neck, feeling herself relax completely, she knew her wife was right and murmured, "Thank you, I needed to hear that." Callie kissed her forehead and the two sat together quietly for a few minutes before Callie reminded her, "We need to get back out there and you need to show the world the hardcore peds turned fetal surgeon made it. You did it honey; this was your dream and its coming true." Arizona took a deep breath, nodded once, climbed off Callie's lap and went straight to her mirror to double check her hair, make-up, and outfit.
Callie watched while her wife stood in front of the mirror fixing her outfit. She couldn't help but see the pride and confidence return to those dazzling blue eyes when Arizona looked at her reflection. She understood now what it meant to feel like that, to see the person inside match the person outside and she was happy to see, to know, that Arizona found that person. She also couldn't help but notice the new red blouse she was wearing and how beautiful it looked on her. She knew she wore it for her, but also knew that color gave her confidence. Seeing Arizona's suit jacket hanging on the back of the chair, she reached for it and walked up behind her wife to help her put it on. Arizona was retying the large bow on her red silk blouse, then ran her hands down her sides and tugged at the bottom so it draped just slightly over the waistband of the black pencil skirt which reached just above her knees and looked up to check her outfit one more time. She smiled when she saw Callie's reflection behind her in the mirror holding her jacket up for her. Once she slid her arms into the sleeves, Callie fixed her collar and nipped at her earlobe whispering, "You look absolutely magnificent." Arizona smiled and asked, "But do I look like the chief of a medical center?" Callie tilted her head and responded, "Not quite yet." Arizona furrowed her brow in confusion until she saw Callie reach for a white box she had apparently put on the end table when she came in.
Before Callie allowed her to open the box, she said, "I know I didn't support this and ending our marriage because of this fellowship, or using it as an excuse, didn't make it any easier on you. I can never take any of that back, but like I said yesterday, I can try to correct it. I learned in the time we were apart how much you needed this, how much it meant to you as a surgeon and a mother and I wish…I wish I knew then, I wish I would have allowed you to talk to me, to not assume things. I don't know if anything would have changed. But we are here now, this is our time and I want to get it right this time Arizona and this is just my way of saying to you, I support you, I love you, and I can't wait to see the amazing things you do, I can't wait to watch you flourish and I will be right here every step of the way." She held the box out for Arizona and watched as the single tear flowed down her cheek when she opened it and realized what it was.
Arizona lifted the lid from the box and gasped when she saw what her wife had given her. She picked up the stethoscope with pink tubing and smiled when she read the small engraved words on the bell, 'This is Privilege, Dr. A. RT'. She hung it around her neck and lifted the folded white coat and noticed on one side was the small symbol of their clinic, a line drawing of a heart with a pregnant woman holding her protruding stomach with the words 'Robbins-Herman Center for Women's Health' written underneath it and on the other side was written 'Dr. Arizona Robbins-Torres, Chief of Surgery'. Callie bit her bottom lip to keep herself from crying when she saw the single tear flow down a pale cheek. She lifted her hand to caress her face and brush the tear away with her thumb and whispered, "I love you and I am so proud of you." Arizona pulled her into a tight hug and replied, "Thank you Calliope, this means everything to me." She looked down at the white coat and stethoscope once again, squinted her eyes and asked, "How did you know I'd want Robbins-Torres, I only told you this morning?" Callie rubbed the back of her neck and admitted, "I didn't. I ordered it from Jo weeks ago and I called them after you told me that and asked them to add the T on the bell and Torres to the coat. They just finished it and brought it with them." Arizona threw her arms around her wife's neck and murmured, "I love you so much." Callie stepped back, put her hands on Arizona's shoulders, looked her directly in the eyes and declared, "You…are…great. I love you too. Let's go show the world what you're made of."
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Callie stood proudly right in the front row with her hands on Sofia's shoulders and all of their friends and family surrounding her. She winked at Arizona and watched as her wife began the ceremony. Arizona looked directly at Callie and started, "Good morning and thank you all for joining us as we celebrate the Grand Opening of the Robbins-Herman Center for Women's Health. I am Dr. Arizona Robbins-Torres the Chief of Surgery and Co-Chief of Staff and Co-Founder, along with my business partner, mentor, and friend, Dr. Nicole Herman, to whom I am going to turn over the microphone so she can share a little of the history behind how we came to be." Arizona placed the microphone in Nicole's hand, turned her slightly so she was more directly facing the crowd and stood beside her.
Nicole held the microphone up to her mouth and began, "Any surgeon will be the first to tell you, we are an arrogant group of people, we have to be in our line of work. We need to have the confidence in our knowledge and skills, we need to be willing to take risks and be the first to discover something, perform a risky surgery, or create a new innovative way to heal a patient. Surgeons strive to be pioneers in their field. I was one of those pioneers in the world of maternal and fetal medicine. There were very few surgeons who would even consider, let alone take the risk to perform surgery on a fetus while in utero. To me, it wasn't just a necessity, it was a calling. The skills and knowledge I had couldn't be found in any textbook and weren't being taught in medical schools. Everything I knew could only be found in my brain or in the margins of articles I had read or written. Like most people, especially the arrogant ones, I thought I was invincible. It turns out, I was…I am...a mere mortal and five years ago, I was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and was told I only had six months to live." Nicole stopped for a moment, waited for the gasps to die down, took a deep breath and decided to go off script, it was rare for her to share such intimate information, but she needed everyone, especially the woman standing beside her, to know exactly how much it meant to her that she was standing here today.
She looked down at the ground for a moment and continued, "I knew that everything I learned, everything I knew about operating on babies in utero was going to die with me and any woman or baby I could have saved would soon follow. I took it upon myself to find the one person who I knew could fill my shoes. I needed someone who had a strong work ethic, was a talented surgeon, not afraid to take risks, brilliant in their own right, and could withstand the rigor it would take to download every last bit of knowledge I had into their brain before I no longer had the ability to share it. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to look far, because that person was one of my colleagues and had already proven to be all those things and more. During a very difficult time in her own life, Dr. Robbins, who was a world renowned Pediatric Surgeon, agreed to become my fellow with the understanding that I would need to condense a year-long fellowship into six months, which actually became five. She didn't know at the time she took on this endeavor that I was dying, however she took everything I threw at her and more. We literally moved into the hospital and when she wasn't assisting in my surgeries, she was studying or practicing to one day be able to take over the reins as well as still performing her own duties."
Arizona stood beside Nicole fighting back the tears. This was not the speech her friend had given her to proofread and she was touched beyond belief that she was sharing such a personal story and saying these things about her. She looked up and saw all of her supporters smiling back at her. They had all been witness to the struggles and the hard work she put into this fellowship and she was pleased and honored that they were here. She tuned back into Nicole's speech in time to hear, "Obviously I didn't die, after Dr. Robbins learned of my brain tumor, she was too stubborn to give up and fought not only to find a surgeon to perform an impossible surgery, but also gave me just enough hope to believe I could survive the operation. I did that and while Dr. Amelia Shephard was able to remove all of the tumor, I was left completely blind. But I was alive." Nicole was shocked when her speech was cut off by a loud round of applause and knew the majority of those clapping were her former colleagues.
She smiled and continued, "While I was thrilled to be alive, I could no longer practice medicine. Again, any surgeon will tell you, sometimes that feels like a fate worse than death. When I was away at blind school learning how to live my life all over again, Dr. Robbins had taken everything she learned and ran with it, developed her own methods for doing things, created the OB Crash Cart which is a must have on every L and D floor in the country and was born through her research into the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. While I was wallowing in self-pity for having lost the one thing I was born to do, I learned about the great things Dr. Robbins was doing and realized, I did that, I taught her the skills she needed to go out and save all of these lives and it made me see, no pun intended, that I didn't have to operate, I could teach. I could save way more women and babies by doing what I did with Dr. Robbins than I ever could with my own two hands. After receiving a grant from the HHS, I approached Dr. Robbins with the idea and that led us to where we are today, about to open the doors and teach and perform surgery and launch the Robbins…now Robbins-Torres Maternal Mortality Intervention Program to make giving birth in this country safe for women." She finished to a round of applause and held the microphone out for Arizona to take, but before she could reach out, Erin took it instead.
Erin smiled at her, held up the microphone and said, "Excuse me Dr. Robbins-Torres, I know the program has us in a different order, but I feel this is a perfect place for me to say what I have prepared." Arizona smiled and nodded, confused by her patient's request, but just went along with it. After all, who was going to argue with a pregnant senator on national television. Erin began, "For those of you who don't know me, I am Senator Erin Gavin and when I learned the mayor was supposed to speak today, I called him and asked if I could take his place." Arizona was slightly surprised by this piece of news and looked to Callie who was smiling at her proudly. Turning her attention back to Erin, she heard, "When my husband and I first found out we were having a baby, we were thrilled, when we found out it was triplets, we were horrified…" She waited for the laughter to die down and went on, "Four weeks ago when we went to our regular OB to find out the genders of our babies, we were given the awful news that they all had something called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome." Christina whispered, "Holy shit" while Erin continued, "We spoke to many doctors and specialists and they all gave us the same diagnosis and very little hope that our babies would live, if they even made it to their due date. We were so heartbroken and scared; we couldn't even dare to ask about their gender. They fed us a great deal of medical jargon we half understood, but they all told us the same thing, and that was to call Dr. Arizona Robbins. When I called the number I was given, I was told she no longer practiced in that hospital. Shortly afterward, I heard that the Robbins-Herman Center for Women's Health was going to be opening here in New York soon and prayed that this was the same Robbins I needed." Erin stopped, took a shaky breath, then moved over to stand next to Arizona.
Erin continued, "When I first called, I was able to speak to Dr. Herman who explained they wouldn't be opening the doors for another two weeks and weren't seeing patients but asked that I have my file sent over anyway. Within two hours, I received a call telling me that Dr. Robbins-Torres would see me the following week and to make sure I understood the office was not even opened yet and the center was not completed. When Larry and I first arrived at this beautiful facility, we were instantly put at ease by the friendly staff and the treatment we were given. When we were called back, we were expecting to be taken to a cold sterile room to wait for someone who barely had the time to see us. Instead, Dr. Robbins-Torres had us brought to her office, offered us refreshments, and when we sat down, she pulled up a chair and sat right in front of us. I won't go through the entire conversation, but I will say, within the first ten minutes of speaking to Dr. Robbins-Torres, we understood far more about our situation than we did since we learned about it. During the examination, she stopped and walked us through every step and explained everything she was doing. While many of you might be thinking I was given that treatment because of who I was, I can say without a doubt in my mind that I didn't receive the special care Dr. Robbins-Torres gave me because I was a senator or government official, but because I was an expectant mother, a terrified expectant mother, and I am certain she treats all of her patients with the same care. I am not here to help open this facility or to have my face in front of cameras. When we finish this ceremony, I will be taken upstairs and prepared for surgery. This was a surgery I was unsure about and Larry and I both had our concerns and we came back the next day unannounced. Dr. Robbins-Torres gracefully took us into her office and spoke to us not as a doctor, but as a parent, she shared some of her own experiences with us and put us at ease. By the time we left, we knew this surgery was our best option and Dr. Robbins-Torres only agreed under the condition that we go home, we name our children and we think about the things that we should be thinking about and do our best to let her worry about the rest. So it is with great honor and faith that I join both Dr. Robbins-Torres and Dr. Herman and endorse their endeavors to make this world a safer place for mothers and babies." The entire crowd broke into a round of applause and both Callie and Arizona as well as Barb, Lucia and several other's had tears in their eyes.
Arizona took a deep breath and realized the stuffy, clinical speech she had prepared no longer applied so she too decided to speak from her heart. Clearing her throat, Arizona lifted the microphone and began, "Thank you both for your kind and heartfelt words. I am truly honored and humbled. When Dr. Herman first approached me with this idea, our initial intent was for Dr. Herman to focus on teaching residents and students the skills needed to perform maternal-fetal surgery while I performed it and we launched my Maternal Mortality Intervention Program. That is still a high priority for us. But while we were sitting down and planning the facility, with feedback from our colleagues, potential candidates, friends, and family, we chose to expand our vision to not only care for pregnant women who were already diagnosed with abnormalities during their pregnancy. We have chosen to expand our focus to include OB/GYN services and birthing centers for mothers who are experiencing normal pregnancies as well. But more than that, we understand that cis-gendered or biological women are not the only people in need of the type of care we provide. We have felt it necessary to go the extra step and hire physicians and surgeons who are dedicated to and specialize in treating those who identify as non-binary or transgender and assure that everyone will receive the highest quality of care without fear of judgement or bias." Arizona stopped when she was interrupted by a round of applause and looked to see Callie with tears in her eyes and a proud smile on her face.
Taking a deep breath, Arizona decided it was time to share her own personal story, her own reasons for being here, for doing what she does. "When we begin the tour, you will notice a plaque at the entrance of the first floor, which is the Maternal-Fetal Surgical Care floor along with the NICU for those babies who may have been born premature, who need further medical attention, including life-saving surgeries, or who have endured a difficult pregnancy along with their parents. That floor is primarily my domain as the Chief of Surgery and the Maternal-Fetal surgeon. I've always taken great pride in being a surgeon and took a huge risk as a well-respected and renowned pediatric surgeon and Chief of Pediatrics when I chose to take a fellowship with Dr. Herman in Maternal and Fetal Medicine. I made some great sacrifices along the way, but I knew, even before finding out about Dr. Herman's tumor, this was something I had to do. I didn't do it for the risk or the challenge or to further my career, though learning and growing as a surgeon was a large part of my choice, the majority of my decision was based upon my personal experiences. A little over 8 years ago, I was in a near fatal car accident with my then partner who is now my wife. She was 23 weeks pregnant with our child and flew through the windshield of the car. Both she and the baby were near death." She stopped for a moment, looked to Callie and could see the tears in her eyes, but received her nod to continue.
Arizona looked down at her daughter and continued, "While neo-natal care was an option, we didn't have a specialist in our hospital and through a series of unfortunate events, our child was not given the proper medications to help her lungs develop. We flew in a specialist who was and still is one of the best neo-natal surgeons in the world and she had to deliver our baby at just over 5 months gestation." Arizona gestured for Sofia to come to her and put her hands on her shoulders while she continued. "When Sofia came into the world, she was one pound and one ounce of strong and wasn't breathing and while it broke all sorts of protocol, I stepped in and brought my daughter to life, I was there to see her little heartbeat for the first time through her translucent skin. It was because of my wife, that surgeon, and of course my baby girl that I became a mother and it is the best thing that ever happened to me in my life." Arizona kissed Sofia and sent her back to Callie then ended, "A day like that is something that doesn't leave your mind or your heart, a fear like that, a fear that you could lose your child before they take their first breath is real and paralyzing. It was at that point that I knew while I could save living breathing children, this, saving babies who are not even born, nor supposed to be born was nearly miraculous. That is one of the reasons I chose this fellowship, this specialty, when the opportunity arose. But it is also the reason I am pleased and honored to dedicate the first floor of the Robbins-Herman Center in honor of the people who made me a mother, Calliope Torres, Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, and Addison Montgomery and have entitled it the Torres-Montgomery Ward for Fetal Health." As expected, everyone broke into applause and Callie and Addison both stood shocked with tears running down their faces.
Arizona passed the microphone back to Nicole who again thanked everyone for coming, invited them to enjoy the refreshments, take some literature and join the staff in touring the facility. She then handed the microphone to Erin and the three made their way to the bottom of the stairs which held a large red ribbon, and Erin declared, "It is my honor to officially open the Robbins-Herman Center for Women's Health." Everyone clapped as Nicole and Arizona cut the ribbon and both fetal surgeons breathed a sigh of relief. Arizona hugged Erin and thanked her again for her kind words then waved Larry over to join them. She also caught the attention of her fellow and explained, "Dr. Yost is going to take you up to your room, get you out of the way of the crowd and get you all settled in. She will get you in your gown and run the scans one more time to make sure nothing has changed and so I know exactly what I am looking at when I begin the surgery." Both parents nodded, feeling more nervous than they ever had in their lives. Arizona explained further, "I'm going to take a few more minutes down here, change, come in to talk to you about exactly what I will be doing, then we will get you into pre-op." Both expectant parents nodded their heads, then followed the fellow to the elevator.
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Arizona changed into her new aqua colored scrubs, pulled on her new white coat, hung her stethoscope around her neck and left her office to go speak to the Gavins. She had just finished looking at the scans and truly wanted to cry at what she saw. It wasn't that she couldn't deal with it as a surgeon, she simply didn't want to add more bad news to the terrified couple. She stepped into the elevator still looking at the scans trying to figure out the best way to deliver the news. When she walked into the room, she found Larry cradling one of his wife's hands in both of his and quietly assuring her everything would be fine. Arizona pulled up the stool and asked, "How are we feeling?" Erin chuckled and responded, "I've been better." Arizona smiled softly and asked, "So did you do your homework? Do I have names to say when I talk to these precious little ones?" Larry smiled for the first time that day and responded, "We know it's probably a little cheesy given the situation, but from Erin's left to right, you have, Faith, Hope, and Joy." Arizona smiled brightly and responded, "They are all beautiful names and very appropriate given the situation." Arizona looked down at her tablet again then up to the expectant parents and explained, "It seems little Faith wants to challenge my skills a little bit today and has developed a tumor on her heart as well. It is called an intrapericardial teratoma." Both parents began crying and Arizona continued, "I can remove it, but it's going to be a little different than we expected. I actually have to open your womb, remove Faith, and open up her chest to remove the tumor. I will also perform the aortic valvuloplasty at the same time. While the womb is open and I have better access to Hope and Joy, I will perform their valvuloplasties as well."
Larry stammered, "Can you…you can do that? Just open her womb and take out the baby, does that mean she's having the babies today?" Arizona shook her head and explained, "I can remove Faith and return her safe and sound next to her sisters. I will replace any amniotic fluid that may be lost, sew up the womb, and your babies will stay there until it is time for them to come out naturally. We will still continue to monitor them once a week right up until delivery." Erin asked, "This…you've done this before?" Arizona smiled softly and responded, "I have, several times." Erin looked to Larry who nodded and then to Arizona and said confidently, "I trust you Arizona. Do what you need to do so we can meet our babies." Arizona took her hand and promised, "I will do my very best work in there." Erin smiled and said, "Okay, let's do this." Arizona nodded at her fellow and requested, "Dr. Yost, can you take Senator Gavin into the OR please?" The young woman nodded and wheeled the gurney out of the room.
While Arizona was scrubbing in, she silently went through every step of the procedure in her head. She had performed successful aortic valvuloplasties before. She had removed teratomas before with no further complications. She had also worked on multiples before. She knew she could do this; she had done it all before, it just happened to be occurring all at once this time around. She looked into the O.R. and noticed her team was ready to go, she made sure she worked with this team several times last week so they were all comfortable working with one another and learned how she ran her O.R. She also noticed the cameras were set up and waiting to record the procedure for educational purposes with Erin's approval. Looking up into the gallery, she could see it was standing room only since it was packed with students, residents, other attendings, her entire group of friends from Seattle along with Addison and Christina, and sitting right there in the front row as promised was her wife. She made eye contact with those gorgeous dark chocolate eyes through both panes of glass and felt the calm wash over her.
Walking into the O.R., she waited to be gowned and gloved then explained to her team, "It appears we've had a little change in plans today folks. Young Miss Faith decided to develop an intrapericardial teratoma, so this is no longer a non-invasive procedure. We are going to open mom up as if we were going to perform a C-section, remove little Faith, do away with the nasty teratoma, proceed with each aortic valvuloplasty as planned, put Faith back and let these three cook a little longer." The O.R. staff responded accordingly and retrieved the necessary instruments to perform an invasive procedure while Arizona positioned herself to prepare for a very long and intense operation.
Callie blinked and asked, "I'm sorry, did she just say she was going to remove the baby from the womb, perform open heart surgery and put her back?" She looked around and saw the same expression of awe on the other surgeon's faces and Alex spoke up, "Man this never gets old." Richard responded, "It's a thing of beauty." Christina looked around at her friends in disbelief and scoffed, "You people act like this is something that happens every day." Dr. Herman responded, "In her world it does. Privilege. Pure privilege." Addison could feel Callie's nervousness, leaned over and whispered, "Arizona is the best at what she does Cal, just watch. She's phenomenal." Unbeknownst to her viewers, Arizona could hear every word that was being said. She looked up to her staff and declared, "Let's save the tiniest of humans today shall we?" Callie held her breath and watched as her wife made the first cut.
Once the scalpel was placed in Arizona's hand, the world around her disappeared. It was like Callie said, the only thing that mattered at this point in time was the woman on the table, the three teeny tiny humans, and her own course of action. She made the first incision and was able to see the womb. To her, she was about to perform the most difficult and crucial part of the procedure which was to locate the placenta and make sure she didn't go anywhere near it with any of her instruments. If she had a ruptured placenta, she had a whole different set of problems on her hands. She asked for the ultrasound, took the wand and gently ran it across the womb until the placenta appeared on screen. She measured the entirety of the placenta then directed Dr. Yost, "The wand is at the edge of the placenta closest to the babies. Keep this here, watch that monitor and tell me if there is any slippage or change of position in the placenta." The young woman nodded her understanding and responded, "Yes Dr. Robbins-Torres." Arizona looked to her nurse Chandra and asked, "Can you make sure you have all three monitors ready to apply as soon as I make this cut?" Chandra reached to the tray next to her, picked up the tiny little bands, and responded, "Ready Doctor." Arizona took a deep breath and explained, "When I make the cut, I will pull out a hand and you need to secure the monitor." Chandra took a shaky breath and responded, "Yes Dr. Robbins-Torres." Arizona took a deep breath, nodded once indicating she was ready and used the specialized cauterizing tool to open the womb.
Callie gasped when she watched her wife's fingers pull out a tiny little arm that was no longer or thicker than the digits that were holding it. She was torn between watching the monitor to get a better view and watching her wife in real time. Her hands were so steady, her body moved with grace and confidence as if she weren't holding a tiny precious unborn life in her hands. But she knew, because she knew Arizona, her heart was racing and her mind was three steps ahead of her hands. Once the bands were placed, she watched as Arizona reached into the womb and pulled out a tiny fetus with barely formed features and translucent skin. She could hear the collective gasp in the room as if everyone were in total awe, just as she was, and they were holding their breath waiting to see what would happen next.
Arizona pulled the tiny little girl from the warm safety of her mother and cooed, "Well hello there Faith. You and your sisters are giving us all a little fright, so how about you work with me today and we will see if we can't get you all fixed up and healthy." She laid the small unborn baby on the sterile cloth that was draped over a warming bed and made a tiny incision in her chest. She asked for the headlamp to be turned on, found the tiny tumor, carefully removed it, cauterized the affected area, and held the tumor up with a pair of forceps. At this point, it was no larger than the eraser on a pencil, but in something slightly smaller than a walnut, it made a big difference. She placed it in the pan that was held out for her and said to the baby, "There now, that wasn't so bad was it? Now I'm going to put this little balloon in your heart, move a couple of things around, and then we will stitch you up, take care of your sisters and put you right back where you belong."
Cristina stared at the monitor in awe. By this point in her career, she'd seen and performed just about every surgery imaginable on a heart, but never on a heart of this size. She watched as Arizona inserted the needle into the aortic valve, inflated the balloon, then proceeded to insert another tool and asked aloud, "Is she performing a Norwood Procedure?" Unaware the intercom was on, Christina jumped when she heard, "Actually Dr. Yang, it's a combination of the Norwood and the Glenn procedures so hopefully there will be no need for further surgical measures after the children are born." Addison whispered, "It's a technique Arizona has created and only she uses and is believed to be why she's had such a high success rate." Yang shook her head and Alex asked, "Hardcore right?" Arizona smirked behind her mask at the hushed conversation then asked for the two-way communication to be silenced. She needed all of her attention focused on these tiny humans at the moment.
As soon as she was finished with Faith, she moved on to Hope. She exhaled slowly while inserting the needle into the tiny heart with the guidance of a scope that was attached to it. She inflated the balloon, performed the procedure to correct the HLHS, then removed the scope. Just before she got to Joy, Dr. Yost quietly informed her, "Dr. Robbins-Torres, the placenta shifted slightly and is now directly in front of Joy." Arizona nodded, took a deep breath and stared at the three tiny babies. She returned Faith to the womb in the exact position she was in, then watched on the monitor as everything shifted back into place. Dr. Yost nodded indicating Arizona could continue, so the fetal surgeon picked up her instruments once again. After carefully repeating the procedure on the third and final baby, Arizona anxiously watched the monitors for any change and started to see that within 10 minutes of one another, all three heartbeats returned to a normal rhythm without the clicking and whooshing that had been present prior to this procedure. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, she removed all of the monitors, tucked the tiny hands back into the womb and declared, "Now I don't want anymore trouble out of any of you until I see you again in a few months." Her staff chuckled and as she replaced the amniotic fluid and stapled up the womb, the entire OR and Gallery let out a collective sigh of relief.
Arizona stitched up Erins' abdomen, asked for the echocardiogram, and performed one final test. She smiled as she saw and heard the normal rhythms for all three babies. She removed all of the monitors, asked for Erin to be taken to ICU for monitoring then looked up into the gallery to see her friends and current and former colleagues clapping for her. When her eyes landed on her wife, she saw tears running down her cheeks and smiled behind her mask when she saw red lips mouth, 'I love you'. After scrubbing out and talking to Larry to tell him everything went extremely well, Arizona found her friends and family waiting in the lobby and they all cheered and clapped for her as she walked down the stairs. Walking straight to her wife, she finally relaxed when she was enveloped by her strong arms. Callie kissed her softly and murmured, "I am so proud of you and just…my God Arizona, you just…I can't even describe how in awe I am of your talent."
A/N: I am so not a doctor and though I researched, watched videos, and did as much as I could to make it seem realistic, I'm sure I got some stuff wrong. To those of you in the medical community, my deep apologies.
To the rest of you, thank you as always for your amazing reviews. As all good things do, my summer has come to an end so I will be returning to my normal weekly updates hoping to throw in a few surprise updates during the week. But we are far from finished.
Obviously I'm still not Shonda, but I keep hoping.