Chapter 1
I blink my eyes awake as I hear the faint beeping of my phone's alarm. I furrow my brow at my still made bed and then down at the lingerie I'm wearing. "She didn't come home last night," I whisper to myself, remembering the hours I waited for my wife to come home from her work trip before falling asleep. I check my phone for any sort of update, but nothing shows up on my phone. Did she sleep on the couch when she saw me conked out on the bed? I walk out into our living area only to see an empty couch and no sign of Arizona. Where is she?
I glance at the clock on the kitchen's microwave. "Crap, I'm late for work," I say aloud as I rush back to my bedroom to get dressed. Maybe Hunt will know something…I'll talk to him when I get there.
I knock on the open door as I walk into Dr. Hunt's office. "Chief, have you heard anything from Arizona or Mark or any of the others? I thought they were coming back last night?"
Dr. Hunt simply nods and says, "Callie, why don't you have a seat and join us?" I look at the table in front of me and finally notice Alex Karev, April Kepner, and Jackson Avery already seated.
"O-okay," I say nervously, my stomach starting to form knots. "What's going on?"
Owen sighs, looking down as he clasps his hands. "There's no point in belaboring this. The doctors we sent never made it to Boise. They're missing."
"They're…missing?" I studder, not fully processing what's happening. "What do you mean they're missing?"
"Their plane never made it to the airport, what do you think that means?" Alex barks. Under normal circumstances, I might have noticed the fear in his voice, but when I lock eyes with Alex, only one thing comes to mind.
"You son of a bitch! I had to hear it from Hunt? What, you couldn't even be man enough to tell me yourself?" Arizona shouted as she stormed Alex.
"Sweetie," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. I turned to Alex, "She's had a horrible day. I'm so sor-"
"No! You ungrateful crap dog!" Arizona cut me off as she unbelievably gets louder.
"It's Hopkins!" Alex defended himself. "You went there! You of all people should know that."
"You are a miserable, miserable bastard," Arizona growled, finally lowering her voice.
"Robbins, they want me," Alex said. "Alright? They really want me."
Arizona's jaw drops as she struggled to find words to say. "You're actually going?" she finally mustered out.
"Can we talk about this when I get back?" Alex asked, trying to dissolve the conflict.
"No!" Arizona shouted as she snatches the charts out of Alex's hands.\
"What are you doing?" Alex asked, confused.
"No, you are not going to Boise because you no longer represent this hospital!" Arizona growled before they exploded into yet another screaming match.
I feel my blood start to boil. "You son of a bitch!" I shout, slamming my hands on the table before I leap up, ready to go after Alex. "It's your fault she's missing! You were supposed to be on that plane!"
"Torres, calm down!" Owen shouts, but his voice is lost in my tirade.
"Don't you think I know that!" Alex shouts back. I stop, taken aback. "Don't you think I know it should've been me on that plane? That I should be missing? Or worse?"
"Don't say worse," I say, my voice catching.
"I'm scared too. And I feel like crap. Robbins is my mentor, my friend," Alex says, wiping his face.
"I know, I know," I say, slowly sinking back down into my seat. "I'm sorry, Alex. I just…" I cover my face as I blink back tears. I look over at Owen, "Do we know anything?"
Owen shakes his head, "We've sent all the information over to search and rescue. They're trying to get information from the air traffic controllers about the plane's flight path to see if there was a spot the plane disappeared. Apparently, that's proving difficult."
"This isn't happening," I say. I glance at the trashcan over in the corner of the room. "I'm going to be sick." I rush over and vomit into the can. I feel a hand on my back as someone hands me tissues. I finally sit down on the floor as I wipe my face. "Have I lost my entire family in the course of twenty-four hours?"
"Don't say that, Torres," Alex says, keeping a hand on my shoulder. "Robbins and Sloan are tough. If anyone would make it out of this okay, it's them. All of them."
"I know this information is hard for all of you to take in," Owen says. "These are your mentors, your friends, your family. You are free to take time off while we wait to hear news."
"Please, Owen," I say, standing to my feet, "let me go do something. I understand if you don't want me to operate or see patients, but I need to do something. I'll lose my mind if I go back to my empty apartment."
Owen pauses for a moment and then finally nods, "Why don't you take the day to get caught up on paper work? I can send any of the interns to you with scans and labs if they need an ortho consult."
I nod, "Thank you, Chief." I say as I numbly walk out the door and toward my ortho lab. My mind races with every scenario of where Mark and Arizona are, and yet with every single one, the sickening feeling in my gut only gets worse.