The hospital was on lockdown the bleeps confirmed it. Typical the one time the hospital went into lockdown was when her ex-girlfriend graced Peds. Keeping calm Arizona reassured her team, stay calm, do your job, check on your patients, check on everyone else's patient and most importantly don't let the maker of the tiny humans know anything was wrong.

It meant chaos on the Peds floor, half the nurses had been at break and the floor was full. Callie had the best idea, moving all the Peds into one room. Monitoring all of them at once, the tiny human makers maybe suspicious at the last-minute party but it was the best for everyone if they did.

One by one everyone brought the kids in trying to position them next to other kids based on age, making it fun.

The only blip was Callie, they met again when they bumped chairs, Callie admitting she hated her guts.

It hurt, it made her angry, they had ended on good terms, she wasn't about to take it lying down. One thing she had learnt in 18 years on a marine base was never to back down from a fight. Even if it wasn't one you could win.

"Woah, woah, woah, I don't deserve this, I have treated you with nothing but respect and love and…."

Callie interrupted,

"No, so you see that's the thing, you think you have but you haven't".

"I'm sure it feels great to act like I'm the bad guy, but that's the biggest lot of you know what that I have ever heard"?

"I spent the last month trying to convince myself that I don't need kids to be happy, really trying, giving lectures to myself, saying it out loud to you and to Mark and turning myself inside out to want what you want, and then I stopped for a second and I thought to myself did you ever try? To imagine what it would be like to change for me because I don't think you did. What you did was dismissed my dream, my dream! Which says to me you don't give a rat's ass if I'm happy. I never understood squat about who you were and now I do, and I don't like it."

Callie didn't understand who she was, they'd dated for 8 months, how could Callie not know, it made her hurt and angry. She was Arizona Robbins, marine brat, raised from birth with the values of the corps, honour, courage, and commitment. Honour meant never lying, she didn't want kids, she never wanted kids, surely leading Callie along was worse.

"Oh really, really, really" Arizona physically blocked Callie from leaving, "I supposed to change for you, why? Because were in love, because you fall in love all the time, men woman" Callie had no commitment or at least a lack of commitment to one person.

"Excuse me" they were interrupted by Graciella the intern wheeling Ruby up the corridor, "Dr Robbins".

"I don't feel good" Ruby moaned curling into a small ball, a sheen of sweat covering her face, her appendix had burst.

"Callie, call for an OR" Arizona ordered, for once hoping her ex could do so without fighting, Callie nodded reaching for her mobile.

"I want my parents?" Ruby moaned.

"Did you ever play red light green light?" Arizona replied.

"Um hmm" Ruby said rocking, as the pain in her stomach worsened.

"Well, your parents were playing and when the light turns green, they're going to come back, I'm going to stay with you every single minute until they do okay?" Arizona promised,

"Umm there's no OR" Callie returned a strange expression on her face.

"What we need an OR, she needs an OR now" Arizona ranted, hadn't Callie emphasised how important this was, Ruby was going to die soon if she didn't get into surgery.

"No OR" Callie whispered coming closer,

"What does that mean? Her BP's dropping, her temps 104, she is getting septic before my very eyes, what is going on?" Arizona knew her voice was rising, but Callie was acting weird, Ruby was getting worse.

Callie leant forwards to whisper in her ear, "There is an active shooter in this hospital, he has shot several members of staff".

"Stop talking I don't want to hear anymore," Arizona closed her eyes, sending silent prayers for her friends, she didn't need to know more, she needed to focus, if she didn't remove Ruby's appendix soon she was going to die, she needed to operate, and she needed to do it whether there was an OR free or not.

"Let's get her a room and make it as sterile as possible, I'm going to need an epidural kit, sterile gloves, sterile drapes, cut down tray, saline, surgical gown, in the next 15 minutes" Arizona ordered trying not to be sick, if she didn't operate Ruby would die, if she did, she was going to do surgery on a conscious 7-year-old.

Courage, it was taking everything she had not to go and vomit at the thought, she had been raised to never shy away from difficult tasks, to face them head on. Honour, commitment and courage, the Marine core key values.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Callie asked concerned, for Ruby Arizona guessed, it wasn't going to be for her.

"There is no other choice, so go" Arizona ordered,

"Light still red?" Ruby asked,

"Yeah honey, still red," Arizona smoothed her hair down, "You're going to be okay Ruby" She promised grabbing the small girls hand feeling her pulse, it was getting faster, she wheeled her to the nearest exam room.

Inside the exam room everyone moved fast, Arizona leading the way, "Get me the ultrasound, Callie can you place another IV, Annabelle, get me a 150ml bolus saline ready, and 450mg co-amox, 450mg paracetamol and 5mg morphine her blood pressure is 90/50 and dropping, we need that fluid".

"I have the portable ultrasound" Graciella ran in waving it like a trophy,

"Check her appendix, I'll be right back" Arizona called running to go get surgical supplies, Callie followed,

"When are you going to forgive me for not being a good enough lesbian for you?" she asked.

"When you do something to prove your falling in love with me and not with being in love, when you do something different to convince me I'm different to George O'Malley, Erica Hahn, Mark Sloan and the girl at the coffee cart, you have a huge heart and I love that about you, but I don't trust you, why would I?"

"Dr Robbins, her appendix," Graciella shouted, before miming pow. Arizona left Callie standing in the corridor, their argument could wait, Ruby couldn't.

Inside the treatment room Arizona got to work, the OR was out so she was going to have to do it here, under local.

"Callie, I know you hate me but right now I need your help" Arizona begged, Callie nodded, she wasn't petty she wasn't going to let a child die because she was pissed off with Arizona.

"What do you need me to do?" Callie sighed. Arizona gave her a slight smile, as she opened her surgical pack, "Graciella can you draw up some lignocaine, Callie try 911 see if they can get us out, Annabelle lets rolled her on her side" Arizona ordered, Graciella handed her the lidocaine,

"Okay Ruby you're going to feel a little poke, and it's going to hurt only for a little while, no squirming" Arizona begged as she began the epidural.

"It hurts" Ruby moaned screaming.

"It's okay Ruby squeeze my hand, squeeze my hand, tight, tight, tight" Callie urged

"Okay got it" Arizona sighed in relief; step 1 was done.

"Tight, tight, tight, come on, oh wow, your strong," Callie encouraged, noticing Arizona watching her, she gave a smile, they worked so well as a team, their breakup hadn't changed anything. Arizona smiled back; Callie smiling was a truly beautiful sight.

Callie's face changed from love to alarm, Arizona turned to look, a man stood there in his hand a gun, it was down by his side, but Arizona knew how quickly that could change.

"They're only children here" she said trying to sound braver than she felt, making sure to shield Ruby, her mind trying desperately to remember all the hand-to-hand training she had ever done. Colonel Robbins believed in boot camp, believed in his beautiful daughter knowing how to defend herself, aware there were lots of bad people in the world who would hurt her.

"They shot me" he muttered coming further into the room.

Arizona knew this was her chance, she had to protect Ruby, to protect Callie. Callie had said she didn't know who Arizona was, Arizona was a good man in the storm, she was someone who stood up for what she believed even if it got her killed. She let go of Ruby, looking into Callie's tear-filled eyes, smiling, trying to convey her love in one look. Courage, honour, commitment, semper fi.

"Sir, your bleeding" she grabbed the gauze they'd opened to operate on Ruby, "Can I?" She approached "Mr…." she tried to keep her movements slow, deliberate, while the gun was at his side, she was safe, Callie was safe, Ruby was safe.

"Mr Clarke, Gary Clarke" he replied.

"Mr Clarke, press this to the wound and it will stop the bleeding" she held her hand out noticing it was shaking, she'd done this before in hand to hand. Get close, gain his trust, trying to hide her fear she took a deep breath, growing up around guns, around violence Arizona was acutely aware of the damage one bullet could cause, one bullet had taken Tim's life, but this was to protect Callie, protect the love of her life.

She could do it, the gun got closer and closer, she noticed the safety was off, Gary Clarke meant business. Suddenly she moved hitting his hand knocking the gun out of it. He went to grab it, instead she grabbed his wrist twisting. The muscle memory kicking in. Daniel Robbins had always wanted to make sure his kids were prepared. Robbin's knew how to defend themselves, when they learnt to walk they learnt self-defence, taking on the opponent with a weapon, Marines knew how to defend themselves.

"Callie, grab the gun" she ordered, as he used his other arm to come up and hit her, Arizona ducked the hit, instead using her left foot to kick him in the shin as hard as possible. He screamed going to the floor crawling across the room to where Callie nearly had hold of the gun. Seeing the shooter heading towards her girlfriend Arizona screamed running over jumping on top of him. Callie jumped away leaving the gun on the floor. Panicked they both tried to get it. Arizona trying to push past him to get in front. His elbow came up connecting with her ribs, winding her, he used the momentum to flip her, pinning her down. He punched her hard, his fist landing on her face, she tried to swing up roll him back, but couldn't get the position. His hands closed around her throat.

"You doctor's, you're all the same" he moaned as he began strangling her.

"No, Arizona is different, she is brilliant, she looks after the smallest of children, her hands are magic, she makes your life better when she walks into the room her smile, it's like the sun, it lights up so much, please let her go" Callie passionately begged, as his arms continued to strangle her ex. Arizona was listening her eyes watering, either from Callie's passionate speech or from the lack of oxygen her hand reached out, stretching as far as she could. She knew she was close to losing consciousness, she was close to having her life ended.

Callie wanted to know who she was,

Now was her chance, she was Arizona Robbins, named after a battleship, a marine brat, taught never give in, never surrender. She was going to fight to the death, even if it killed her, she was going to die protecting the ones she loved.

This will be a short fic, probably 4 chapters, but let me know if you like what you are reading,

thanks