This is a repost of Little Bear by dbellgetsacat because I lost access to that account and dbell99 so graciously agreed to let me repost here as the story is now completed. So we will be posting updates pretty regularly.

Many many thanks to dbell99 for the past 8 years as I survived residency. She's been a rock!

Please enjoy!

CHAPTER 1

Arizona Robbins stood at the maternity ward desk, scrolling through a patient's chart on her tablet. She'd been at the hospital since five that morning, and already been in the OR three times. At times it seemed like the "emergencies" and "urgent consults" never ended. Her resident stood next to her going through patient labs, the two of them working in silence as they plugged away at their work. Neither noticed the attending approach them until he placed his chart down on the desk.

"Hey," Alex Karev stated as he ran his hand through his hair.

Arizona looked up from her tablet, slightly distracted. "Hey." She gave him a small smile and turned her attention back to the tablet. "What have you got?"

The attending sighed heavily, "Remember Lucas?"

The blonde nodded and put her tablet down, then reached for the chart Alex had set on the counter next to her. The resident next to her looked up, curious as to what was going on, wondering why both attendings had frowns on their faces.

"Who's Lucas?" the resident, Stephanie asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"He's what...almost four now?" Arizona replied, looking at Alex, who gave her a slight nod. "He's a three year old who we've treated several times after "accidents" at home. Six months ago Kepner and I had to amputate his hand after his dad ran him over with a lawnmower." Her jaw clenched as she flipped through the thick chart.

Unable to hide it, the resident gasped a little, looking horrified. "Seriously? What's he here for today?"

Flipping through Alex's notes she stated, "Another "fall". Alex, please tell me you already have CPS on board."

Alex nodded, "As soon as I saw him. They're on their way. I'm waiting on an ortho consult, but I'm pretty sure he's going to need surgery on his leg." He flipped to the radiology report so his mentor could quickly skim it.

Reading the keywords, the blonde huffed. She tucked her iPad away, "If ortho hasn't responded, page them again. Is he still in the ED?"

Alex nodded. "Also, the dad won't leave. I was going to call the police."

Arizona looked up at the bed board above the nurses station and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Unfortunately, as we learned last time, we can't do that until CPS gets involved. Admit him to 4C32," she stated as she looked at the empty bed right across from the nurses station. "We can keep a close eye on what's going on from there."

With a heavy sigh he nodded, "alright. I'll let you know how he is once he's moved." With that, the attending walked off, chart clutched in his grip.

Arizona turned to Stephanie, her face grim. "Come on Edwards," she said as she headed towards the elevators. She knew the next conversation was going to be difficult. Speaking with parents after an incident such as this was never easy. Although she knew in her heart what had happened, she couldn't outright say a thing to the father. Getting on the elevator, her resident stood next to her in silence as they descended to the ED.

The petite blonde surgeon cautiously approached the man pacing outside of the Emergency Department core where his son was. His dark hair was unwashed and tousled, his eyes had a hint of a scowl, and Arizona knew from past encounters with him that he wasn't pleasant to deal with. As she grew closer, the tell tale smell of body odor mixed with alcohol wafted off of him.

"Mr. Evans, a word please?" Her voice was firm as she skipped the pleasantries.

The man looked up, "what is it?" His disdainful snarl revealed discolored, broken, or missing teeth.

Arizona only thought it was fitting that his external appearance was as awful as the black hole that was his soul. "I'm sure you remember me. Dr. Robbins." She crossed her arms across her chest and looked him straight in the eye.

"How could I forget doctor? You were the one who implied that I hurt my son on purpose." He turned to face her and squared off his shoulders. The man towered over her as he tried to intimidate the blonde surgeon. "It's pretty hard to forget that."

Not phased by his aggression, Arizona stood her ground. "Well, here we are again. You want to tell me what happened?"

The man stared at her, a disapproving look in his eyes. "I already told the other doctor."

Arizona held back a huff and took a deep breath. "I understand that. But the other doctor works for me and asked me to come down." She didn't always pull rank, especially with Alex, but now seemed like the perfect time.

"Why? He seemed to have everything under control."

"He's concerned," she stated. "So, what happened?"

The tall man crossed his arms, mirroring the fetal surgeon. "He fell," he stated simply.

"How?" Her counter question was quick and sharp.

"He tripped."

"That doesn't explain the break pattern in his leg."

"Well, I can't explain that either." Mr. Evans' eyes flashed with anger. "I can't help it the kid is clumsy."

Arizona's eyes remained locked with his. "I see. Well, we are admitting him and he likely needs surgery."

"Surgery? Is that really going to be necessary?"

"Most likely, yes," she repeated.

"Well, I want to talk to the other doctor," the man huffed. "You aren't even Lucas' doctor."

"I'm part of his team, and his doctor works under me, so yes, I am his doctor too."

"I'm not agreeing to anything until I talk to him."

"You will. But right now he is organizing treatment for your son. He'll come and speak with you as soon as he's finished." Without waiting for a response, Arizona turned on her heel and walked away, her resident following closely behind.

"Does he honestly think he's done nothing wrong?" Stephanie asked.

"Yes. The man is a monster." Arizona's blood boiled inside her.

Stephanie kept up with Arizona's quick pace as they walked into the main pediatric core in the ED. "So what's going to happen? Will this be enough to have children's services take Lucas away from him?"

Arizona sighed. "It hasn't before but Luke is getting older. He can tell us himself now." She put a finger to her lips and slipped into his room. "Hi Little Bear." she said warmly as she sat by his bed.

The small boy looked up at her with and sniffled,"Hi Dr. Zoney."

It saddened Arizona to hear him call her by name, albeit the nickname he had given her when he was first brought in at just over a year old. No child that young should be so used to doctors that they know their name. She gently brushed his messy blond hair out of his eyes and gave him a small comforting smile. She looked up when Alyssa from CPS walked in, nodded in acknowledgement and turned her head back to Luke. "Luke these are my friends Alyssa and Stephanie. Can you tell us what happened today?" she asked him gently. She laid her hand on his forearm, her thumb gently brushing the scar that closed his wrist after he was brought in with a mangled hand after "trying to grab a ball from under the lawn mower." She let her thumb linger for a moment before moving it away when she saw a cigarette burn marring the underside of his residual limb. Cringing internally, her anger rising even more, she laid her hand on his shoulder instead.

"I... I... Just fell down," Luke stammered nervously.

The blonde looked at Stephanie and gestured for her to leave and shut the door. She waited until she did and then turned back to Luke. "How did you fall Luke?"

The boy looked at her with his big blue eyes then looked at Alyssa. "I tripped over the dog. He...got in the way...that's all."

Alyssa looked at Arizona and then sat down by Luke. "Luke, we aren't going to tell your daddy what you say."

He looked at her, brow wrinkled, and a worried expression across his face. "He'll find out. Whatever I say. Like last time."

"No he won't sweetheart. Dr. Zoney and I won't let him."

Luke sniffled and nodded, "okay." His big blue eyes silently pleaded for the adults to help him.

Alyssa smiled at him encouragingly. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"I was playing outside with Matthew."

"Who is Matthew?" Alyssa's voice was quiet as she searched for some context.

Luke blinked his eyes and was silent for a moment before softly replying, "He's my friend. He lives across the street."

Arizona nodded, "and then what happened?"

Luke looked down and his voice dropped in volume to almost a whisper. "We were playing. And father said I had to go inside." He paused and picked at a piece of fuzz on the blanket and took a breath. "And I went to the stairs." He was silent again as he recalled standing at the top of the steep concrete steps that lead down to their small basement apartment. "And Buddy...he's our dog...he was there and he...um, he went down first. Then I tripped and I fell." He dropped his head lower, not making eye contact with either of the two women.

Arizona sighed softly and gently squeezed his shoulder. "Okay Luke. Thank you for talking to us." She stood, Alyssa following her. Arizona knew in her heart that that wasn't what happened. But she also knew when not to push and now was that time. "I'll be back soon Luke okay?" She started for the door before a soft, sad voice stopped her.

Luke looked up, his eyes filled with tears, "Dr Zoney, wait! I'm not done."

Arizona quickly sat back down. "What is it Luke?"

"I...I didn't trip…" he trailed off, the tears now spilling down onto his cheeks. "He pushed me. I tried to hold onto the rail but I can't cause I only got one hand now and I fell." His sniffles broke the blonde's heart.

"Oh Luke," Arizona exclaimed, frowning. "I'm so sorry he hurt you."

The boy burst into tears, "you can't tell anyone! He'll just hurt me more!" He rubbed his eyes with his residual limb, and sniffled.

"He won't hurt you again." Arizona said. She plucked a tissue from the box next to the bed and gently dried his face.

"But he did last time," he hiccuped.

Alyssa looked at Arizona then turned to Luke. "Did Matthew's family see this happen?" Although she already knew the answer, she wanted to hear it from Luke himself.

Luke nodded. "His mommy was there."

The CPS worker nodded and put her hand on Luke's shoulder. "Will you be okay if I talk to Dr. Zoney out in the hallway real quick?"

Another nod from Luke and he laid back and closed his eyes. "I will be." He was trying to be brave.

The two women exited the room and stood outside the door. Alyssa turned to Arizona.

"Before I came down here the police called. It turns out, Matthew's family witnessed the whole event and called the police."

Arizona let out a relieved breath. "Ok good. That should mean Lucas won't have to go back, right?"

Alyssa shook her head. "He shouldn't. No. But every system has its flaws, and this will mean Luke will need to go into foster care. You know that he has no other family to take him in."

Arizona nodded, "I understand. You'll have to find someone who understands, to some extent, what he's going through. He's going to need a lot of support. He's also going to be here for at least a week, until his leg is more stable. It's a complicated fracture and he'll have to remain immobile for a bit."

Alyssa nodded. "I'm really apprehensive about putting a kid with a disability into the foster system. You know how that usually goes Arizona." It was a sad but true fact that kids like Luke got bounced around more often than not, even when foster parents were told in advance of what they would be getting into.

The blonde nodded, "Unfortunately, I do." She looked inside Luke's room and it broke her heart to see the little boy laying there looking up at the ceiling, sniffling and teary.

Alyssa put her hand on Arizona's shoulder. "Just keep him here as long as possible. We'll figure something out."

Arizona sat at the bar, sipping her wine, waiting for her best friend to arrive. She glanced at her watch, only slightly concerned with the fact that April was a half an hour late. Babies had their own schedules, and no consideration for their parents prior engagements. She looked up from her wine and saw the redhead rush in and over to the bar.

"Ah! You made it!" Arizona exclaimed with a grin.

April smiled and slid next to her. "I'm so sorry. Jackson got called into work so I had to find a sitter." She ordered a glass of wine from the bartender.

"Wow. Do you love me more than your baby?" Arizona's eyes sparkled as she teased her best friend.

April chuckled. "I love my sanity. She's been a handful lately.".

"She's delicious. I could eat her up." Arizona wasn't kidding. She lived for new pictures of little Harriet that April sent her every day.

April beamed, "isn't she? I'm so lucky."

Arizona nodded and took a long sip of her wine, realizing just how much she missed her own daughter. It had been a painful period of adjustment, getting accustomed to not having Sofia around, and unfortunately, it wasn't getting any easier as the days and weeks progressed. She swallowed and put her glass down. "So, coparenting with Jackson is going alright?"

April nodded, "Surprisingly well actually. He really is a great Dad."

Arizona smiled, "I'm happy for you April."

"Thank you." She took a sip of her drink. "Have you heard from Sofia lately?"

A small smile crept across her face as she nodded. "Yesterday. I checked her homework over Skype. I knew it before, but now it's official; my daughter is a genius."

April chuckled, "Well of course she is. When will you see her next?

"Callie is bringing her here for Christmas."

"That's wonderful!"

The blonde nodded and drank silently with her for a little bit, just enjoying her company. Since the birth of April's baby girl, they didn't get to spend as much time together as they used to. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she spoke what had been on her mind the past few hours "So, Luke is back in the hospital."

April's face fell, "the little boy who was abused by his father?"

Arizona nodded. "He was pushed down the stairs. Broken leg. Going to the OR with ortho tomorrow morning.".

April looked furious. "How can a parent do that to their own child?!"

"I know. It was witnessed this time though. He's not going back to him."

"Good. But that's going to mean foster care, doesn't it?"

Arizona drained her wine and nodded. "Unfortunately."

April sighed, "that poor little boy."

"He's so smart April." She gestured to the bartender for a refill. "We watched Cars today and he told me the make of every one."

April smiled, "he really likes you."

"I really like him," she stated, exhaling loudly. "This sucks."

"I know. It's hard... When you care so much. I'm sure he'll be okay."

Arizona nodded, although not quite believing so. As Alyssa had already pointed out, the foster system wasn't designed to be beneficial to kids with disabilities. They were shuffled around far more than any other child, and unfortunately, they were usually the ones who needed stability more than anyone.

The two chatted a while longer, then parted ways; April returning home to her baby girl, while Arizona walked into an empty house.

Please let us know what you think. More to come soon!