Callie pulled her messenger bag over her shoulder, locked the door to her office and made her way to the lobby not at all unaware of the questioning glances being thrown in her direction. Passing the evening receptionist, she waved goodnight and rushed out the door before anyone could stop her with a question or something they needed her to look at. While her workday officially ended at 5:00, it wasn't out of the ordinary to find the ortho surgeon in her lab or office working late into the night. In fact, it wasn't unheard of to come in early the next morning to find the Chief of Staff in the same clothes she wore the day before. There was always paperwork to complete, patients to check on, grants to write, staff to oversee, or research to finish. Since opening the doors to Fresh START, Callie threw everything she had into assuring it was a success. Working 12 to 16 hour days was the norm for her. In truth, she knew she spent so much time in her new workplace not because it couldn't survive without her, but because she had no place else to be. But not today. Today she was leaving work like a normal person. Today, she was going home to her family instead of an empty house that reminded her of all she had given up.
Looking at the clock as she started her SUV, she saw that she was still leaving an hour later than she had intended due to an emergency that came in shortly after Arizona left to pick up Sofia. Picking up her phone, she sent a quick text to let Arizona know she would be home soon and turned out of the parking lot. As she heard the notification of a returned text, not even needing to read it to know who it was from, a warmth filled her soul. She had waited so long, wanted for so long, to be accountable to someone again. While some might find it stifling, Callie had yearned for the day that she could send or receive that text again. She loved the idea that someone was waiting for her, that someone cared where she was and what she was doing, that there was someone out there rushing home to be with her, thinking of her throughout their day, not just someone, her someone, her person, her Arizona. She smiled at just the thought of her girlfriend. After they finished their lunch with Arizona still seated on her lap, they separated and worked on their own tasks in companionable silence until time came for Arizona to leave. It amazed her how different they were now in both how they handled their concerns and how they behaved with one another. Maybe it was because they had both grown up, gotten wiser, more understanding. Maybe it was because they had spent so much time apart and were making up for lost time. Maybe it was because during their time apart, they realized all the little things the other did that they missed, the little things they could have done to show their love and missed out on. No matter the reason, she cherished this new version of them.
Pulling into the driveway, Callie couldn't keep the smile off her face as she noticed the lights on in the living room and saw the shadow of her daughter skipping into view along with two figures walking around behind her as a third sat still in the background. She knew when she walked through the door, she would be greeted by the delicious aroma of Barb's cooking wafting through the air, Sofia's squeal announcing her arrival, and the most beautiful super-magic smile she had ever seen beaming back at her. Stepping into the mudroom, she wasn't disappointed as she was hit with the rich scent of roasted meat, the pungent odor of onions, and the earthy smell of cooked vegetables. As soon as the door clicked, she heard, "Mama's home" and before she knew it, tiny arms were wrapping themselves around her waist and squeezing tightly. Looking up, her breath hitched at the sight of the woman in the doorway leading into the kitchen. Arizona had changed into sweats and an old t-shirt, one of hers if she wasn't mistaken, her bobbed curls were pulled into a low ponytail with whisps of escaped blonde hair framing her gorgeous face, her super-magic smile was in full force with dimples popping and cerulean blue eyes twinkling and she was leaning against the door casually with her arms crossed as if she were patiently waiting for her turn. Callie bent down and kissed the top of her daughter's head, never breaking eye contact with the other woman. She barely heard the command that the little girl go wash up for dinner as she was too busy watching those luscious lips move. It wasn't until those lips were pressed against hers that she came to her senses and quickly responded.
Dropping her leather bag to the floor, she wrapped her arms around Arizona's back and pulled her closer. Breaking the kiss momentarily, she murmured a breathy "Hi" before connecting their lips once again. Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie's neck and leaned all her weight into the taller woman allowing their bodies to meld together perfectly like they always have. Pulling back long enough to respond, "Hey," Arizona brushed her lips over Callie's once more before finally breaking the kiss and resting their foreheads together. The two women stood in the doorway wrapped around each other, only seeing the other woman, as they stood nose to nose wearing soft smiles staring into one another's eyes. Callie finally broke the silence as she whispered, "It's only been a few hours, but it's almost pathetic how much I missed you today." Arizona's smile grew and she rubbed their noses together as she said, "If you're pathetic then so am I because I missed you just as much." Callie brushed their lips together, stepped back to pick up her bag, then intertwined their fingers as Arizona pulled her toward the kitchen saying, "Dinner is all ready, we waited for you." Hearing this made Callie's heart leap in her chest. She hadn't realized how lonely she was until she came home to a house full of people who loved her.
Entering the dining room, Callie placed her bag on the floor next to the center island, kissed Barb on the cheek then peeked over the older woman's shoulder and said, "Mmm smells good, what is it?" Just as she was about to lift the lid off the pan on the stove, her hand was swatted away as Barb clucked, "Good lord you're just as bad as your wife needing to have your hands in everything. Go wash up and sit down." The older woman's slip of the tongue didn't go unnoticed as both Callie and Arizona felt a fluttering of butterflies in their stomachs at hearing the term. Neither would make eye contact as they waited nervously for the other to refute the statement, correct the older woman. When nothing was said, they both released a small sigh of relief and smiled inwardly understanding the other's silence indicated they were once again on the same page. Though they didn't dare breech the topic so soon, they both knew where they wanted this to go, where they were headed. The elder Robbins woman smirked as she realized her intentional mistake was going to be ignored. She knew neither woman would correct her, not because they wanted to avoid an argument, but because that was what they wanted, how they saw themselves, as wives. Some may say it's too soon, she said it was a long time coming. She looked up in time to see her husband roll his eyes at her as if he knew exactly what she was doing. She carried the roasting pan to the table and didn't miss the fact that her daughter and her 'girlfriend' were holding hands as if they couldn't bear to be separated.
As soon as Barb lifted the lid on the roaster, Callie rolled her eyes in delight at both the sight of her favorite meal and the aromas that were filling the air as the steam escaped the pan. She licked her lips and nearly swooned at the older woman as she said, "Mmmmm, Oh God, you made my favorite pot roast with the baby potatoes." She looked up to see Arizona chuckling at her and shivered when she whispered in her ear, "Now who is miss food orgasm?" Callie could feel the blush rising on her cheeks and whispered, "Shut up." She then turned to Daniel and asked, "How are you feeling?" Before he could say anything, Barb rushed to answer, "He's in pain because he refuses to take the pain medicine." The older man grumbled, "Throws me off schedule, I didn't wake up until zero eight thirty this morning." Barb clucked her tongue and cajoled, "Oh poor baby got an extra 2 hours of sleep. I, for one, am grateful. Been waking up before the sun for over 40 years. One day won't kill ya." Daniel huffed and took his plate then stared down at the big chunk of meat that sat there. His arm was still in a sling and there was no way he would be able to cut it himself. There was also no way he would ask for help; he was too proud for that. Arizona saw her father's dilemma and knew he would rather sit there and not eat his food before he asked for help. She knew because she was his daughter and would do the same thing once upon a time. Rolling her eyes, she let out a huff very much like her father's and snatched his plate away from him so she could cut up his meat. As Callie passed Sofia her plate after cutting her meat for her, she leaned into her girlfriend and whispered, "Apple…tree." Arizona bit back a smile and whispered back, "Girlfriend…couch." Callie laughed out loud and kissed Arizona on the cheek and responded, "What? I was just asking if you wanted an apple tree." Arizona stuck her tongue in her cheek, handed her father's plate back and said, "Mmhmm sure you were."
The majority of the dinner conversation was monopolized by Sofia who filled the adults in on a play by play of her day which included several of the kids wrapping their hand in toilet paper so they could be like her. When she finally ran out of steam, the adults started talking about random current events and before they knew it, they all had empty plates and full bellies. As Callie was clearing the dishes from the table, she noticed a stack of files and books along with Arizona's laptop sitting on the small side table near the door. Furrowing her brow in confusion she asked, "What's this?" Arizona shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and answered, I was working at the table before dinner." Callie continued to stare at Arizona and asked, "Why didn't you use the office?" Arizona knew it wouldn't be a big deal to Callie, but she still wanted to respect the other woman's boundaries. Biting her lip, she nervously replied, "I didn't um…I didn't want to assume it would be okay to use your office."
Daniel who had retreated to the living room couldn't help but overhear the conversation taking place in the dining room. Having been in the office yesterday, he had wondered himself why his daughter wasn't working at her desk. When he heard her nervous reply, he realized why. Turning around he asked, "Arizona, have you even been in the office?" Arizona thought about it for a moment, realizing she had only seen a corner of it from the hall when Callie took them on the tour of the house, she shook her head then looked up to see her girlfriend and her father exchanging a knowing look. Callie smiled, picked up Arizona's belongings and said, "First of all, this is our house, there is no 'my' anything. Follow me." Daniel smiled as he watched the two women retreat down the hallway. He wished like hell he could get up and see his daughter's face when she stepped into that room. If he had any doubts about Callie's intentions, they were all obliterated the minute he saw this house.
Callie strolled through the living room into the foyer and opened the door to the home office. She walked to the other side of the room and placed the items in her hand onto the otherwise nearly empty desk and turned around to watch her girlfriend's reaction. When she first bought this house, the office was half the size it is now. Seeing no need for six bedrooms, she had her contractor tear down the wall separating the office and the smaller bedroom next to it in order to make room for everything she wanted in here. While they shared an office in their first house, it was small, only had enough room for one desk, and they were always complaining about the other misplacing their belongings. They promised each other their next house would have a huge office with room for two desks and all of their medical books. Arizona entered the large room which was nearly the size of the living room completely unprepared for what she was about to see. As she walked into the room, she could see the desk closest to the door was clearly Callie's as it had several files on it and the massive floor to ceiling shelving unit behind it was full of medical books that focused primarily on the study of orthopedics. Along the adjacent wall sat a large comfortable looking sofa in front of a coffee table, and two grey and white patterned armchairs which she immediately recognized from their old bedroom. The wall opposite the sofa held a large picture window with her coveted cushioned reading nook framed by more bookshelves.
Finally, on the opposite wall was another floor to ceiling shelving unit that was empty save a few framed photos, random boxes scattered around the floor, and Callie perched on a desk, her desk, from her house in Seattle. Looking at the grinning brunette in awe, she asked, "How did you…? When…?" Callie stood up and took Arizona's hands as she said, "While you were in the pool house with two of the movers, I asked the others to bring your desk and everything labeled books, office, or library in here." Thinking back, Arizona couldn't remember seeing her desk being unloaded into the pool house, but nearly all her furniture had been wrapped in protective cloths, so she really wasn't sure what was what. Still holding Callie's hands, she looked around and realized that yet again, her girlfriend had thought of her, included her in the design and décor of the room. Certain her voice would crack if she spoke above a whisper, Arizona said softly, "It's perfect, everything we talked about." Callie smiled, pleased her girlfriend approved, and responded, "I told you, when I designed this house, it was for us, our dream home and this is the office we always wanted. I almost bought a matching desk when I bought your bedroom furniture, but I remembered how particular you were about your desk, so…" She trailed off, not really knowing what else to say. Arizona pulled the taller woman closer and said, "I love it Calliope. Thank you." She then stood up on her toes and brushed their lips together in a chaste kiss.
Arizona stepped back and walked around the room to get a closer look at everything. She was once again at a loss for words by Callie's thoughtfulness. While she was excited to have her desk, her own space, grateful that Callie considered her needs as well, she was more taken aback by the sight of the chairs. As far as she knew, everything that they once shared was long gone. Walking to one of the armchairs, she traced the diagonal pattern with her finger and whispered, "You kept them." She didn't know why seeing these chairs, this small piece of their past together made her happy and sad at the same time. They had shared plenty of furniture throughout their life together, but these chairs… "These are the first pieces of furniture we ever bought together." Callie said softly from the other side of the chair, also tracing the pattern with her finger. Sitting down, she held out her hand and smiled as Arizona took it without question. She tugged lightly, guiding the other woman to stand in front of her, then carefully pulled her into her lap. Arizona laid her head on Callie's chest finding comfort in the steady thud of her heartbeat. She finally whispered, "I remember. I also remember you grumbling about feeling like Goldilocks as we tried out all the different chairs." Callie chuckled into her hair and murmured, "Mmm hmm, and we both agreed these were just right." Deciding to open herself up, she offered, "This was the chair you were sitting in that night; the night you talked about how you had to tear your life down, the night you told me you only needed me and Sofia. It's the same chair I was sitting in that night I decided to tear my life down; the night I decided it was time to get my wife back, the night I realized I only wanted you…you and our daughter." Arizona could feel the tears running down her cheeks and if the moisture she felt in her hair was any indication, Callie was also crying.
Taking a deep breath, Callie explained, "I couldn't get rid of them. Everything else…I let it go, I had to. Living with all those memories, it hurt. But these chairs, I couldn't let them go. I couldn't explain it, didn't even know why at the time. But I'm sure it was because they were supposed to symbolize our new beginning, our new life together and no matter…no matter what, how hard I tried, I couldn't let go of that idea, that we were supposed to be together. I always kept them in my room and piled stuff on them so no one could use them. When I bought this house, I knew they would go here, in our office, so we could see them, look at them and remember, when things get hard, when we get overwhelmed, when we are tired, we can remember that we only need each other, that we are just right together." Arizona lifted her head to look into Callie's eyes, and each seeing the other was crying, brought her hand up to wipe away the tears. Resting her head back on Callie's chest, Arizona said, "We are just right together. Thank you for my desk, for thinking of me, for wanting me in your life again." Callie kissed her forehead and said, "I'll never not want you Arizona." Arizona knew she shouldn't be surprised by any of this at this point, she said herself the house looked like she already lived here. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized just how much Callie wanted her, wanted them. She looked up through watery eyes and said, "I'll never not want you either Calliope. You're all I will ever need, the only person I will ever want." Callie smiled through her own tears and bent her head to brush their lips together sweetly.
Arizona sat draped across Callie's lap, her head on her chest gently moving up and down with each breath the taller woman took, her legs hanging over the arm of the chair, her hand playing with the buttons of the dress shirt the brunette was wearing. She closed her eyes and allowed the steady beat of her girlfriend's heart to calm her thoughts, soothe her soul. As she felt Callie's body relax, her arms wrap around her a little tighter, she smiled as she realized they were taking comfort in each other. While she always felt more relaxed in Callie's presence, more grounded, it was never like this. They had sat in each other's laps many times, but it was always sexual, they were making out, about to have sex, having sex, or just finished having sex. It was never for comfort. They'd held each other, sat together in each other's arms, offered their own strength, but this was different. Since that second day she was here when Callie pulled her into her lap, it just felt so…right. It had only been a week and already she couldn't count the number of times Callie pulled her into her lap or she climbed there herself. It had already been twice today. Moving her hand up to scratch at the stubble on the side of Callie's head which had also quickly become a habit of hers, she realized at least for her, a lot of it had to do with this new Callie, the confidence and strength she exuded both physically and emotionally. She knew it made her feel safer, like it was okay to be vulnerable, to allow herself to let down her guard. At the same time, it gave her strength, allowed her to offer comfort as well.
Finally breaking the silence she asked, "Remember when you asked me what my favorite thing about our relationship was?" Callie kissed the top of her head and hummed, "Mmmhmm." Arizona brought her hand down to play with Callie's buttons again as she said, "This is my new favorite thing." Callie smiled into her hair. She had already figured as much since it had quickly become her favorite thing as well. Before, they had moments of intimacy, times where they would just cuddle together, hold each other, but not like this. She loved just picking Arizona up or pulling her into her lap, wrapping her arms around her, comforting her, soothing her, protecting her. To her, she could both give and receive comfort like this. Just the fact that Arizona came to her, climbed in her lap like this comforted her, made her feel trusted, gave her strength. To her, it spoke of their willingness to be vulnerable to each other while offering a level of intimacy they never shared before. In their moments of weakness, they found strength in each other, in them. Kissing the top of the blonde's head she said softly, "Mine too. When you crawl into my lap, even when you are doing so to comfort me, it makes me feel so strong, like there is nothing we can't handle together." Arizona nodded and said, "And when you pick me up and carry me or pull me into your lap, it makes me feel strong, it makes me feel like you're turning to me, you're coming to me to provide what you need." Callie smiled and kissed her lips as she said, "Comfort." Arizona pulled back, whispered, "Safety." and placed another soft kiss on plump lips. Callie smiled into the kiss and murmured, "Intimacy." before pecking her girlfriend's lips again. Arizona pulled back and said, "Protection." Then brushed their lips together one more time. Resting their foreheads together, they looked into each other's eyes, smiled brightly, and at the same time said, "Love." They then connected their lips in a searing kiss pouring all the love they felt at that moment into the act.
After breaking apart before they got carried away with their family in the next room, the two women sat quietly together just enjoying the moment. They could hear the faint sounds of their daughter chattering away to one of her grandparents, the clattering of pots or pans indicating Barb was cleaning up, the faint murmur of the television which no doubt was displaying the news from somewhere in the world, the synchronous inhale and exhale of their own breathing, and the soft sighs of contentment the other would emit occasionally. Callie rubbed her hand up and down the blonde's left leg noticing the flutter of her eyelids indicating she could both feel and appreciate the touch and asked, "How was the rest of your day? What did you get accomplished?" Arizona smiled softly when she felt her girlfriend's touch on her robotic leg, it wasn't exactly the same, but just being able to know her girlfriend was touching her meant so much, eyes still closed, she said, "Mmm that feels nice. It was good. I picked up Sofia, made her rest a little after we got home because she looked worn out and even though she wouldn't admit it, she was in pain." Callie snorted and said, "Apple…" She laughed when Arizona nudged her with her elbow and said, "That apple had three stubborn trees with very deep roots, so watch it." Callie kissed the top of her head and said, "Two apple trees and a mighty oak." Arizona snorted and said, "Ha, I almost forgot that." Callie just smiled and asked, "What else did you do?" Arizona thought for a moment and said, "I looked over the rest of the paperwork Nicole gave me, called the lawyer you suggested, set up a meeting with him, and I started looking at the resumes you gave me when mom asked me to help finish up dinner. How about you? How was the rest of your day?" Callie kissed Arizona's temple and answered, "I got through the majority of my paperwork before the emergency came up then spent the rest of the afternoon in the OR, knee reconstruction on a baseball player." Arizona nodded and the two fell into a comfortable silence once again.
Their peaceful moment was interrupted when their daughter came bouncing into the room and they stood up deciding they should return to their family. Callie laughed as the little girl stopped in her tracks and looked around the room in awe. "Wow! This is huge." Sofia ran straight to the reading nook in the window and smiled when she saw the surrounding bookshelves held many of her own books. She looked up to her mothers and asked, "This is my office too." Callie smiled and walked to her daughter as she explained, "This is your space too. I put all your favorite titles in here so you could read while mommy and I work." Not one to miss anything, Sofia looked up to her brunette mother, put her hands on her hips, tilted her head, and squinted her eyes as she asked, "How did you know mommy would want to live here?" Seeing her daughter's stance, Arizona bit back a laugh as she realized that apple certainly fell from her own tree. Callie turned and glared at her as if she had the same thought and turned back to her daughter. Kneeling down and resting her weight on one knee, Callie explained, "I didn't know for sure. I just knew I wanted you and mommy both to live here, to share this house with me. So when I bought it, I put in everything I knew you would both like." Apparently happy with that answer, Sofia nodded and said, "Grandma told me to tell you if you want warm cookies, you better come now before me and grandpa eat them all." Arizona laughed when Callie was out the door before her daughter could even finish her sentence.
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After dropping Sofia at camp, Arizona sat on the patio in her girlfriend's favorite seat with a cup of coffee and breathed a sigh of relief. She finally had a moment to just sit, breathe, process. It felt like both she and Callie had been going nonstop since Monday and they haven't had a moment alone since their brief conversation in the office. While she should be used to it, she found she missed her girlfriend more than she wanted to admit. After Callie went to work Tuesday, Arizona met with the lawyer she recommended and spent a large part of the day going over all the paperwork Nicole gave her. He did suggest a few changes to her contract which she agreed with and allowed him to draw up an addendum for Nicole to sign. She spent the remainder of the afternoon and much of the evening with her mentor discussing the contracts and developing a more solid plan of action for the both of them. Wednesday was spent on looking for a facility which she found and Nicole agreed, so today she had to go sign the paperwork for that. Callie didn't get home until after she was already in bed and left early in the morning waking her briefly to say good morning and tell her she had to go in for an emergency. Currently she was waiting for her parents to finish packing up and getting ready to leave before she tackled her to-do list for the day.
Hearing the motor on her father's wheelchair, she looked over to see that he was headed in her direction with a cup of coffee balanced precariously on his leg as he tried to hold it with his casted hand. Smiling softly, she greeted, "Hi daddy." She knew she would be shooed away if she got up to try to help him so she stayed where she was. The apple really didn't fall far from the tree but she wasn't going to admit that to her girlfriend. Her dad returned the smile and responded, "Hey sweet pea. Mom's bringing the suitcase to the door, then we will be out of your hair." She shook her head and said, "You know I love when you visit." The older man nodded his head, and said, "I do." Arizona studied her father for a moment. She always knew when he had something to say and didn't know how to say it. He wasn't much for sharing his feelings. Based upon the solemn look on his face, she had a strong feeling she wasn't going to like what he had to say. Preparing to defend her decision to reconcile with Callie, she took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and said, "Just say it dad." Steeling himself for what he wanted to say, Daniel met his daughter's cool gaze and said, "I'm your father and I love you more than anything in this world, but I feel like I need to tell you this, I wouldn't be doing my job as your dad if I didn't." Arizona closed her eyes and nodded. She could argue but thought it best to just hear the man out.
Daniel started, "I told Callie I didn't agree with her walking out on you." When bright blue eyes flashed in anger and his daughter started to open her mouth, the older man held up his hand and said, "But I also told her the other night I understood why she did." At that, Arizona snapped her mouth shut and listened to her father as he continued, "You weren't yourself for a long time Arizona, but I don't agree with what you did either. I didn't say anything at the time because you were in so much pain and turmoil, I didn't want to add to that. But your decision to cheat on your wife, to turn your back on the person who stood by you during the worst time in your life, the woman who loved you and took care of you…it was dishonorable, it wasn't who I raised you to be. I was disappointed in you for a long time." Arizona felt her father's words like a blow to her chest. There was a time when she would have argued, would have tried to defend herself, but there was no defending that, no reason in the world that would justify her actions. Nodding her head she said, "Me too. I could blame the leg, the PTSD, the other person, I did…I blamed all of those things, I even blamed Callie for the longest time. It wasn't until after she left for good, until she finally walked away that I realized I did this. I wasn't…I wasn't the person you raised me to be. But I have fought hard daddy, I have fought so hard to find that person again. I have finally come to a point where I can look in a mirror and be proud of the person I see again." Daniel nodded and smiled as he said, "Me too. It was gradual and I didn't see it until that night we had dinner and you stood up to me. I hadn't seen that fire in your eyes in a long time. When you defended your wife…I knew, I saw my Arizona again." Arizona shook her head, "Daddy, she's not my…"
Daniel held up his hand to stop his daughter, he knew what she was going to say, but he wasn't done. "Arizona, that woman may have walked away from you, moved across the country with someone else, but she never stopped being your wife, even in her own mind, she just didn't know it. Look at what she's done with her career, her medical center, this house. Everything she has done over the past couple of years was for you, because of you. You were right the other night, what you said. You both needed to step back, to heal, to come to each other whole again. You're the person I raised you to be again and there is no one more deserving of your heart, no one in this world I would entrust you with more than Callie Torres. You're my daughter Arizona, but I promise you, if you mistreat that woman ever again, we will have words and I won't think twice about tearing a strip off your ass." Arizona choked on a sob as she laughed at her father's threat. She knew he meant it, but it made her so happy to hear him defend Callie even against herself. She took her father's hand and said, "If I ever hurt her again, I would let you. I'd deserve it. But I promise you daddy, Calliope Torres, she is it for me and I will live every day for the rest of my life showing her just how much I love her and how grateful I am that she sees me, that she loves me, and that she is mine." Daniel nodded and his eyes sparkled much like his daughter's as he said, "I'm proud of you Arizona and I know you will." Both of them turned as they heard a sniffle come from behind them. Barbara stood at the door, blue eyes full of tears, hand on her heart. She smiled then and said, "I'm proud of you too baby girl." She then walked to her daughter and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Arizona closed her eyes; grateful she had her parents' support. She would be with Callie no matter what they felt, but knowing they were happy for them and wanted to see them thrive made it that much better.
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Callie stood at the sink scrubbing out of her last surgery and tried to take a moment to breathe and get her footing before the next patient was brought in. She was called in at 4:00 am and just finished her third surgery for the day. To her understanding, there was a multi-car pile-up on the Brooklyn Bridge which included a bus of over 50 teenagers heading upstate. Field triage by E.M.S. personnel sent the fatal and more critical victims to local hospitals while her center received the majority of orthopedic cases, of which there was an overabundance in this instance. As soon as she stepped through the doors and evaluated the situation, she called all hands on deck to assess all the victims and begin emergency treatment protocol. All of her O.R.'s were full and felt like there was a revolving door while the lobby and waiting room was overflowing with others who were being treated for minor cuts, bruises, sprains, and broken bones. Looking into the O.R., she saw she had some time to relax while they cleaned and prepped the room for her next patient. She looked up as the door to the scrub room opened and smiled at her head nurse who had just walked in. Maria, handed Callie a bottle of water and a granola bar, saying, "I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten yet, so no surgery until you eat and drink this." Callie smiled gratefully and took the proffered items with a sigh as she said, "Oh bless you. I am starving. How are they handling things out there?" Maria smiled and pulled a banana out of her pocket and passed that over as well, chuckling as her boss inhaled her snack.
The nurse really didn't want to worry her boss so she downplayed it as much as she could and replied, "It looks like they have stopped coming in finally. I have two residents and the PA with the non-critical care patients. It's a little chaotic, but they are getting it done. Dr. Foster is in O.R. 1 with multiple fractures and a shattered ulna, Dr. Hanson in O.R. 2 with a leg reconstruction, Dr. Jeffers is in O.R. 3 taking the minor cases, reductions, inserting plates and pins, and then there's you who gets all the fun stuff." Callie frowned, threw her wrapper in the trash, and started on the fruit as she said, "They need to follow protocol instead of thinking out of their asses, that's where mistakes happen. Can you go straighten them out for me?" The head nurse nodded, knowing her boss would not be happy if things didn't run as smoothly as possible. Coming from a Trauma 1 hospital, Dr. Torres didn't play around when it came to emergency situations such as this, though this is the biggest one they've dealt with so far.
Callie finished her banana, took a long drink of water, and breathed a sigh of relief already feeling better with something in her stomach. She looked to her head nurse and asked, "So what do I have next?" Maria sighed and said, "17 year old female, sitting in the seat over the wheel-well, both legs crushed, hands were cut up pretty badly, they think it was from trying to get herself out before she lost consciousness, no head injury. There's no family listed, we are trying to find someone from the group of kids she was with, but apparently they were from all over the place heading to a camp for troubled youth upstate." Callie grimaced and shook her head as she lamented, "Poor kids can never get a break." Just from the description, she knew amputation was a very real possibility and hated the idea of it at any time, most especially with someone so young. But this is the path she chose and knew if it had to happen, the girl couldn't have been brought to a more suitable place. Looking up she asked, "Do we have scans yet? I need to see what I am working with before I open her up." Maria shrugged and said, "They are a little behind. I'll run up and put a rush on them." Callie nodded and watched as her nurse turned and headed out the door. She just finished her banana and water when a nurse came in telling her she was needed in O.R. 2.
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After signing the paperwork for the new home of the Robbins-Herman center, Arizona bounced through the doors of Fresh START hoping to take her girlfriend to lunch to celebrate. As she walked through the lobby, she was surprised to see it was standing room only. As she looked around, she noticed the majority of those waiting had different colored bands around their wrists, ice packs or hastily wrapped bandages or splints all indicating they were initially triaged in the field. She heard about the accident on the radio and wondered if that was the reason Callie was called so early this morning, now she had her answer. Without giving it a second thought, she pulled the badge Callie had given her out of her purse and clipped it to the pocket of her silk blouse as she rushed over to the reception area, shoved her bags underneath the front desk and asked Lorraine, "Where do you need me?"
The older woman looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the blonde surgeon. Not only was she an extra pair of hands, but she was also seasoned and could help better organize the chaos. Dr. T had a specific way of doing things and currently, with the chief and other attendings in surgery, the less experienced staff were floundering and protocol had gone out the window. Holding a stack of papers nearly two inches thick, the office administrator said, "Oh Dr. Robbins, thank goodness you are here." Arizona furrowed her brow in concern at the office administrator's flustered state. She rested her hand on the older woman's shoulder and asked, "What's going on? Is Callie okay?" Lorraine smiled at the instant concern in the other woman's voice and responded, "Dr. T is fine, but she won't be if she sees the mess out here. She has a clear protocol for emergency situations and well…" She waved her arms around the lobby and said, "This isn't it." Arizona frowned knowing Callie would go ballistic if she knew what was happening out here. Looking at the other woman she smiled softly and said, "Tell me what you need." Lorraine handed her the stack of papers and explained, "These are all the green and yellow tags. What you see here is only half of it, we have more in the waiting room down the hall and all the exam rooms are full. We have two second year residents and the PA working on these cases and they have chosen to throw protocol out the window and are currently taking patients in succession no matter what I tell them." Arizona took the pile of patient information sheets, and asked, "Can you page them for me please? Also, any surgical nurse or practitioner who isn't in an OR." Lorraine nodded and happily did as she was asked. She had barely spoken to the blonde surgeon, but she knew if Dr. T trusted her to have privileges and named the place in her honor, she could trust her to take charge. Though at this point, it didn't look like she had a choice as the blonde was already addressing the lobby full of patients informing them it wouldn't be long before they were seen and apologizing for the inconvenience.
Having assembled all the available staff in the back corner, Arizona explained the protocols for an emergency situation such as this, which she knew without looking, Callie had put in place, explained the new plan of action, and assigned everyone to a post. As they dispersed, one of the residents grumbled to no one in particular, "Who the hell does she think she is?" Hearing this, Arizona walked up to the young resident and said, "Excuse me Dr…" She paused waiting for the young man to fill in the blank. Realizing he had been heard, the arrogant student didn't have the sense to be embarrassed and straightened his shoulders as he said, "Dr. Thomas, orthopedic resident in charge at the moment." Arizona nodded and smiled her sweetest fake smile and said, "Dr. Thomas, who I think I am is not important, who I know I am is what should concern you. I know I am a double board certified surgeon who has been doing this for a very long time. I know I am far more experienced in trauma than you are. I know I am the one who is saving your ass because if Dr. Torres came out here to this mess it would surely be on the line. So if it is all the same to you, go where you were told to go and do the job you were assigned to do." Maria stepped into the lobby just in time to witness the entire scene and tried to hide her smile as she watched the blonde surgeon put the young man in his place. Dr. Thomas was an arrogant bastard in her opinion and him taking it upon himself to call the shots is what threw them off protocol. She walked up to the young man and said, "To answer your original question, that was Dr. Robbins." The young man gawked at her and said, "Dr. Robbins, as in…" Maria chuckled, patted him on the back and nodded as she said, "As in the 'R' in START, Robbins, as in the woman in that picture over there, as in part of the reason you have a job." The aspiring surgeon wiped his hand down his face and said, "Well fuck." Maria turned to Lorraine and said, "I like her." Lorraine laughed and shook her head as she walked away.
Within two hours, the 'walking wounded' or green bands had been treated and released, the remaining yellow tags were in x-ray or awaiting casts, and the only people in the lobby now were family members and loved ones. Arizona walked her last patient to the door and went to the desk to pick up the next chart noticing it was the last of the yellow tags. Breathing a sigh of relief she stepped into the room and introduced herself, "Hello Kim, I'm Dr. Robbins and I'm going to get you all fixed up." Kim, who couldn't be more than 16 or 17 smiled weakly and asked, "Umm, can you tell me about my friend? Julie, um Julie Crowe. She was sitting on the seat next to me on the bus. She slid underneath the seat and got stuck. They wouldn't let me stay with her, but I heard someone out there, a nurse or someone say her name, so I think she was brought here." Arizona smiled softly at the young girl and said, "Normally we aren't supposed to say anything about another patient to anyone but family." The girl shook her head and said, "We don't have any family. She's all I have and I'm all she's got. We were in the home together." Arizona furrowed her brows. From what she was told, most of the kids on the bus were from group homes, juvenile facilities, or foster care and were on their way to a government funded camp for the summer to learn job skills. Apparently Kim and her friend were from the group home. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be without family and stood up and said, "Give me just one minute and I will see what I can find out." The young girl smiled and said, "Thank you." Arizona walked out of the room and returned to the front desk.
Stepping up to the desk where both Maria and Lorraine were working diligently to input patient information, Arizona asked, "Do either of you happen to know if a Julie Crowe was brought in? She got stuck under a seat or something." Maria looked up and smiled at the blonde surgeon who single-handedly saved all their asses from the wrath of the chief and said, "Yeah, she's with Torres in O.R. 4 right now. She got stuck between the seat and the wheel-well. Both of her legs were crushed and her hands were cut up pretty badly." Pulling up the girl's chart, Maria handed it to Arizona and said, "Cal just finished assisting with another surgery and is working on her hands now." Arizona took the tablet and read through the radiology report, realizing she had some really bad news for her young patient. Running her hand through her hair, she offered a weak smile and said, "Thank you." Before she took two steps Maria asked, "Is Sofia at camp today?" Arizona looked at her watch and closed her eyes as she groaned and said, "Uh crap, yeah. Okay, I'll…" Maria cut her off and said, "My husband is picking Bella up today, Sofia is welcome to stay with us tonight. She has some clothes at our house and we can just drop her off at camp with Bella." Arizona sighed in relief and answered, "If you don't mind, we would really appreciate it. I don't know when Callie will get out of here and I'd like to stay for a while longer to help out." Maria nodded in understanding and Arizona made her way back to her patient's room.
Arizona walked into the room and took a deep breath preparing to explain a very adult situation to a very young patient. "Hey Kim, I found Julie. The good news is that she is here and is being seen by the best orthopedic surgeon in the country. The bad news is, she's been hurt pretty badly and will need extensive surgery on her legs." Arizona didn't have the heart to tell her patient that her friend may have to lose one or both of her legs. She knew Callie would do everything she could before she even considered it an option, but she also knew all too well that often times things were out of the surgeon's control. Kim nodded, bit her lip nervously and asked, "Ummm so they will have to give her medicine for the surgery?" Arizona nodded and explained, "Yes, they will have to give her anesthesia to make her sleep through the surgery." Kim wrung her hands in her lap then asked quietly, "Can ummm…can that medicine hurt a baby?" Arizona furrowed her brow and asked, "Kim, is Julie pregnant?" Kim nodded and Arizona's heart sunk as she asked, "Do you know how far along she is?" Kim nodded again and answered, "The lady at the free clinic said she thinks ummm…it was two weeks ago, she said 13 weeks. So 15 weeks. We heard the heartbeat. Oh! I have a picture." She dug in her worn out backpack and offered Arizona a crumpled and grainy ultrasound photo. Arizona tried to steady her breathing as she looked down at the picture of what she was certain was a 15 week old fetus at the time of the ultrasound. Without trying to alarm her patient, Arizona said calmly, "Kim, I am going to send someone else in to take a look at your arm and I am going to go see to Julie. Is that okay?" At the young girl's nod, Arizona rushed to the desk once again and asked, "Callie, where did you say Callie was?" Maria was startled to see the calm doctor she just spoke to seem frazzled now as she said, "O.R. 4, second floor." Arizona nodded and started to run down the hall as she called over her shoulder, "Send someone to finish with Kim please."
After being called to assist in another surgery, Callie finally made it to her own patient and had just finished cleaning and suturing the young girl's hands when she finally had a chance to look at the scans of her legs. As soon as she started looking at the monitor to assess the damage, the door to the scrub room burst open and she was surprised to see her girlfriend standing there with a mask held over her face, breathing heavily, panic clear in her piercing blue eyes. Shocked, she could only ask, "Arizona?" Noticing the ortho surgeon hadn't started her procedure yet, Arizona relaxed slightly and asked, "Dr. Torres, could I speak with you please?" Callie furrowed her brow in confusion, this was very unlike Arizona, she would never interrupt a surgery unless…oh God. "Sofia?" Arizona shook her head and said, "It's about your patient." Callie looked at the young woman on the table then back to her girlfriend and realized for the first time she was wearing black scrubs and had her badge clipped to the front pocket. Nodding, she stepped away from the sterile field and removed her gown and gloves, discarding them in the bin near the door.
As they entered the scrub room, Arizona handed Callie the ultrasound picture and explained, "Long story short, I was treating a patient who asked me about Julie. They're good friends, live in a group home together. She told me Julie was 15 weeks pregnant and gave me this. She said it was two weeks ago which would have put the baby at 13 weeks then, but this fetus is 15 weeks which would put the baby at 17 weeks now." Callie nodded and said, "Which would mean the difference between how and when I proceed." The brunette furrowed her brow and said, "It didn't show up on the labs, they would have caught it and told me." Arizona bit her lip and shuffled her feet making the ortho surgeon ask, "What is it?" Taking a deep breath, knowing it would upset her, the fetal surgeon passed over the tablet and explained, "There are no labs Callie." Callie brought her hand up and rubbed her temples then said, "FUCK!" Opening the door to the O.R. Callie ordered, "Stop the morphine drip, run the usual tests and rush them, then get me the person responsible for sending her up here." Callie looked up to her girlfriend and said, "She's in no shape to transport anywhere. Can you do what you need to do from here?" Arizona nodded and said, "Of course I can." Callie chuckled at her girlfriend's confidence, walked to the overhead cabinets, pulled out a scrub cap and handed it to the blonde. Arizona quickly braided her hair, shoved it under the scrub cap and turned to scrub in as Callie tied the fabric behind her head then turned to scrub her own hands.
As the two surgeons were gowned and gloved, Callie looked at Arizona and said, "Take it away Dr. Robbins, this is your show now." Arizona smiled behind her mask and nodded then turned to the surgical staff and explained, "It appears our patient is pregnant, so we are going to take a look before we do anything else. Doppler please." While Arizona waited for the machine to be brought to her, she pulled back the sterile drape revealing a small but obvious baby bump and squeezed gel on the patient's abdomen. Once the ultrasound equipment was brought over, Arizona took the wand and moved it around the young girl's stomach until she found what she was looking for. As she turned up the volume, both surgeons were relieved to hear a strong and steady heartbeat. Arizona took the measurements of the tiny fetus and replaced the wand then turned to Callie and said, "She's 17 and a half weeks. I'm not sure where the tech at the clinic got her numbers unless she was solely going off the dates Julie gave her which could have been wrong." Callie nodded and said, "So I can proceed with the surgery?" Arizona nodded and said, "If it's okay, I'd like to sit in and monitor the baby. I've seen the scans; it looks like it's going to be long and complicated." Callie's eyes twinkled indicating she was smiling behind her mask as she murmured, "It would be a pleasure to share an O.R. with you again, Dr. Robbins." Her smile widened as she saw Arizona's eyes sparkle back at her.
Callie sat on a stool by the monitor staring at the scans trying to decide her best plan of action. No matter what she did at this point, she was going to add stress to both the mother and the baby. However she was more concerned with the end result. Feeling someone come up beside her, she turned to see Arizona's sympathetic eyes and said, "I am positive I can save this one, it's more splintered than shattered. It's the right leg I am worried about." She switched to the view of the right leg and Arizona cringed when she saw the crushed bone and bone fragments of the girl's femur. Looking at the rest of the leg, she could see Callie's dilemma before the ortho surgeon explained, "The femur is a lost cause, but the rest of her leg is perfect. Her patella, tibia, and fibula are pristine. I can't justify…" She stopped and shook her head. Arizona studied her girlfriend carefully. She could see how tired she was and wondered if she had taken a break since she came in this morning. Finally she asked, "Have you eaten today?" Callie nodded then said, "Well, not really, I had a granola bar and a banana a couple of hours ago." Arizona knew what she was about to suggest wasn't going to go over well, but she decided to try. Lowering her voice she said, "Honey, I know you want to do this right now, but Julie is stable, the baby is stable. I know you won't put this off until tomorrow, but will you take a break for a couple of hours, get something to eat, then we can sit down and come up with a solid surgical plan?" Callie took a deep breath and glanced at the clock, she had been going strong for nearly 13 hours with no breaks and little food and this looked to be a good six hours at the very least. Conceding she nodded her head and said, "Two hours." Arizona smiled and agreed, "Two hours." Callie asked a nurse to take the patient to ICU and directed the rest of the staff to eat and take a break and return at 7:00 pm. She then followed Arizona out of the O.R.
A/N: I think I will start leaving these at the bottom now, so if you read them, this is where they will be. Several parts of this chapter were inspired by questions or ideas from Mondlerfankay. I hope I did them justice.
It looks like our girls are going to operate together again. Watching them work together was always one of my favorite things, so I wanted to include this little tidbit since they obviously won't have many opportunities in the future once the Robbins-Herman Center is opened.