"What have we got?"

"These are detectives Hanson & Reid and this gentleman attached to the gurney is Thomas Riley, 28, currently serving a sentence for armed robbery. He was attacked by fellow inmates during their recreational time, head lac-"

"-Tests ordered?"

"Yes, CT, MRI and we're waiting on x-rays."

"Thank you, Dr Kepner." Bailey took in the sight before her, it was mayhem in the pit. There had been some sort of mass trauma but the details were unknown, Hunt had caught her on his way out saying he was 'needed in the field', but failed to elaborate as he made his way to the supply closet. Due to his impending absence, Bailey needed the redhead to step up. She scanned the patient's chart. "Hand your patient to a resident to monitor, Shepherd can get involved if needed." She turned to April. "Dr Hunt will be assisting in the field so as of now", she blindly handed the chart to an intern "you are in charge of the pit, this is your domain." Before she received an objection, an affirmative or… any sort of acknowledgement, she made her way to the nurses' station. She needed more information on the emergency and why exactly her hospital was apparently the only trauma centre open on the West coast.

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As there were no foetal cases requiring her urgent attention, Arizona made her way to the pit, noticing her floor was severely lacking Paediatric surgeons. After surveying the carnage, she spied Alex who was making his way from bed to bed reviewing the monitors of tiny humans. She approached. "Woah it's busy down here, what happened?"

"Sinkhole."

"How many injured?"

"Lots."

"How many kids?"

"Some."

She rolled her eyes. "Amazing Karev, wealth of information there. Where can I help?"

Before he could answer, Bailey turned to the floor and announced the plan of action. "Listen up people, there is a sinkhole near the shopping mall, number of casualties not yet known but due to the potential, both us and Seattle Pres are sending out our Trauma and Ortho surgeons. Dr Kepner is running the pit and Dr Altman has been paged. Paramedics have advised there are people trapped in their vehicles, so we are sending Dr Hunt and Dr Torres to assist on any medical issues. Firefighters and city maintenance have secured and stabilised the scene to the best of their ability but it's all hands-on deck. Non-urgent surgeries have been pushed, page Ortho for consults and not Dr Torres direct, I know what you've all been doing for the past 15 years..."

There was general hustle and bustle, Bailey was still covering the bases but Arizona's attention pretty much stopped after 'we're sending Dr Torres'. A mixture of apprehension and concern surfaced. To no one in particular, "err, they want Callie to go? She's an Orthopaedic surgeon, what good is she in a sinkhole?"

Alex looked up sheepishly. "I heard there was talk of, you know…" he gestured towards Arizona's prosthetic.

She was frustrated, unsure if it was due Alex's tact or the situation. "You can say it, Karev."

He gruffed. "Yeah well I guess that's why they want Torres there, to perform an amputation." He returned his attention to the monitors and continued to assess each patient, leaving Arizona stood there, trying to absorb everything she'd heard. The implications of Callie going hadn't really registered, it wasn't until she saw both her and Owen securing their ID badges that she realised the potential repercussions. She froze as she watched them silently zip up their Grey Sloan jackets and make their way to the ambulance bay. They both had surgical tool kits in hand, Callie's no doubt housing her powerful bone saw.

The Peds surgeon panicked, the pit was abuzz with action, no one would pay attention to two surgeons talking, even if it was those two. She hurried towards the brunette. "Callie?" No response, she quickened her pace to keep up, her words either not heard or not registering. "CALLIE!" This time she forcibly grabbed her arm and turned her around. For a moment silence fell between them, each focused on the other's eyes, Callie looked apologetically, Arizona looked in fear.

"Arizona, I have to-"

Incensed. "No, no you don't-"

"I do Arizona, they need me out there-"

"Well we need you here, why do they get priority?"

Noticing the tension, but assuming it was down to Sofia's benefit, Owen signalled he'd wait in the ambulance bay whilst Callie finished up. They knew it was about five minutes out.

Their focus returned to each other. "It's not like that Arizona, I have to do my job." She went to leave, but if she had learnt one thing from everything they had been through, it was to make sure there were no doubts when they parted. "I love you; I'll see you soon." She offered a weak smile and was off again. What were meant as reassuring words instead sent Arizona into a near enough meltdown, she was incredulous. Callie had the pace advantage, but her lack of focus would be her undoing, she would never see it coming. Arizona was clearly exacerbated as she followed but remained calm enough to study her surroundings and what was available. Images of Callie trapped in a sinkhole, rubble falling on her, Owen calling time of death, having to break the news to Sofia… she felt her airwave tighten. Sod their self-imposed rules, she wasn't going to lose her, not least to a frickin' sinkhole. They passed Thomas Riley's bed and her eyes focused on the detective's belt. Handcuffs. Without a second thought, she snatched them and leapt onto Callie's back, legs wrapped tight. "Arizona?! What are you doing?!"

"You… are… not… going… anywhere…" they struggled, Callie's complete confusion and a fully focused Arizona meant the blonde had a small window of control.

"What are you doing?! Are you crazy?!"

Arizona didn't answer but found the solution immediately. She had to somehow navigate Callie towards a patient's bed a few metres away. She pulled and pushed and twisted and turned and dragged her to the nearby gurney, the grip tightening at every movement. When they got close enough, she grabbed Callie's cuffed hand and slammed the other end onto the bars, instantly locking her into place. The brunette was halted in her stumbling tracks. "Arizona?! What the hell!?"

The anger was bubbling. "You're a surgeon Callie, not search and frickin' rescue!"

"They need me Arizona, they've secured the scene-"

Incensed. "Bailey said to the 'best of their ability' Dr Torres, that doesn't sound secured to me!"

They stood in an emotional filled stand-off as an impatient figure approached. "I need your kit Torres; the bus is waiting."

"What? No, no get me the keys to the handcuffs and-"

Teddy's response was soft but sincere. "Callie… you have a child and have no experience in the field. I've served in Iraq and, no offence, I'm used to these dangerous situations, and you have a daughter to get home to tonight, I'm going in your place."

Arizona quickly and silently handed Teddy the kit. Without an acknowledgement, her friend grabbed it and made her way back to the bay, where the ambulance was waiting to take off. Callie's thoughts turned from anger to being downright offended. "Does she think the Peace Corps in Botswana was all sunshine and rainbows!?"

"Oh that's it Dr Torres, focus on the important aspect here."

"Well, Dr Robbins, until I'm free I have nothing but time to chat!"

Shouting at each other with passive aggressive comments was the Callie & Arizona of old, no one would pay any attention to that. They were pulled out of their exchange by a frustrated Chief. "Torres, get those damn handcuffs off," she was not impressed. "Altman has gone with Hunt so we need you manning the pit with Kepner. Seattle Pres sent two Ortho attendings and with Hunt & Altman joining, they should be covered. We need you here but it would be good if you were actually available to help. Why have you locked yourself to a damn bed?"

Before she could answer (not that she had one prepared), the detective approached and released the cuffs, she rubbed her wrist, focus remaining on Arizona. Bailey's question was ignored, the two were back to their emotional stand off again. "Patient in one suffered damage to her left leg, patient in two has what appears to be a dislocated shoulder, patient in four may have cracked or broken some ribs due to falling debris and patient in three", she looked at the man next to them, in the bed where Callie had just been chained to, "has two crazy ass surgeons fighting in front of him, so start acting like doctors and diagnose him yourself. You got that?"

Callie looked embarrassed but Arizona remained stoic. Bailey walked away muttering under her breath, no doubt some choice words aimed at her heads of departments. As the brunette grabbed the chart, she offered a shy smile to the patient. Feeling no such need to be professional, Arizona leant in, anger still evident. "I'm not sorry Calliope, not even a little."

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It may have taken a few hours, but the pit finally started to settle down. Most of the injuries were either clean breaks or fractures, neither required surgery. There were some individuals who were not so lucky, but Neuro and Cardio cases took priority, the Ortho ones could wait, bones wouldn't fuse crocked in a day. "So, I heard what happened in the pit, Arizona handcuffed you to a gurney?" Addison quirked an eyebrow as she stepped into the elevator. "I didn't think that was your thing. Although you learn new things everyday-"

Callie had the chance to calm down since the pit incident. She was frustrated at the time but if she was honest, if the roles were reversed, she'd have done the same. It had been an amazing 14 months, they were deliriously happy, and to jeopardise it for something so dangerous, so optional, was bordering on selfish. Maybe the Callie of old would have scolded Arizona for her actions, but with everything they had been through, she couldn't blame the Peds surgeon. "Yeah erm, I think she just panicked. We've spoken since and she was concerned for Sofia." She sighed, they had continued to use their daughter for their excuse every time, and the guilt was really starting to set in. It wasn't fair on the kid, so they'd agreed to come up with new excuses and reasons, they still weren't ready to burst their little bubble.

"Are you sure there's nothing going on?"

Callie was snapped out of her thoughts. Arizona's actions strongly hinted they were more than friends, colleagues, co-parents or whatever. Amongst the chaos, it may have gone unnoticed by most, but there were always some who were more focused on gossip than patient care. There would come a time they would need to tell people, but today wasn't it. She decided to do something that would probably anger Arizona even more than risking her own life. "I'm 100% sure Addie, we're friends, we can't just wipe out our history, but our relationship is not one of romance." Here we go. "You know erm, your neighbour, the one with the abs, reckon I can still get his number?"

Addison stood to attention. "Really?!"

"Yeah well, if today has taught me anything it's to live life you know? Take a chance."

"Yeah, yeah absolutely, I'll talk to him tonight." Callie tried to act excited but fell just short, she'd blame the exhaustion if raised, but it wasn't. "Cal you're gonna love him."

She nodded as Addison's focus changed to her phone.

Doubt it.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, are you okay? What happened in the pit with you and Dr Torres?" April approached an exhausted Arizona, who was sat on the bench outside the hospital's entrance, fiddling with a cigarette. "You're not going to smoke that are you? Arizona! You're a doctor!"

Nothing gets past you April, does it. She was tired, she didn't want to argue her life choices and definitely didn't want to discuss Callie. As already noted however, her friend was like a dog with a bone, the questions were relentless. She made Detective Grey's level of questioning seem tame.

"Why did you jump on her back?"

"To stop her from leaving."

"Why? Seems a bit extreme."

"She wasn't listening to me."

"So you chained her to a gurney?"

Erugh, shut up. "I didn't want her to go to the site, it was unnecessary and dangerous."

"She's been to trauma sites before, she's sensible and trained."

"Yes, but none of those sites were sucking land and people into its depths."

"But Callie's sensible and is certified in Trauma, she could have handled it."

God's sake Kepner. "There were other trained medics there, she was just as helpful in the pit than she would have been out there, if not more so. She could quickly see and either discharge or treat a patient in the ER, she may have just hovered on the site and been wasted."

"So your concern is strictly professional?"

"Both, it wasn't a requirement and she's Sofia's mum, she needs her."

She looked down to her friend. "Is that all it is?"

They had been promising each other a sit down for a while now, they had told their parents they were back together but were still hesitant with their friends and colleagues. Both the Robbins & Carlos were thrilled at their reunion, her mother even cried. Yes there were questions, but none were of concern. Why? Because essentially the decision to reconcile was not done on a whim, not done based on lust or convenience, but rather with understanding, thought and the promise to communicate and commit. The love never went away, that was fact, they were just lost and even Carlos said it was just time before they made their way back to each other. Realising she had remained silent for too long; she did the only thing she could think of to stop the interrogation. "So, Harriet's aunt."

April scrunched her face. "Who?"

"Sorry, Harriet's mum's aunt"

"Do you mean the aunt of one of Harriet's friends at play group?"

"Yeah that one, reckon I can still get her number?"

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After her brief chat with Addison earlier, Callie made her way to her intended destination. She had a plethora of emotions running through her, anger, upset, embarrassed, relief… she couldn't fixate on one. She soon found herself outside Arizona's office, a place more associated with pleasure than heartache. After a brief hesitation, she knocked and waited for a response that didn't come. Not giving up, she gingerly opened the door and made her way inside. There, sat at her desk, looking tired and broken, was her blonde. It was a sixth sense; she didn't even look up. "I- I'm sorry Calliope, I just can't lose you, can't lose my family again, I just can't."

Callie made her way in and closed the door behind her. "Arizona-"

She looked up. "No, let me speak. After the car crash, I- I watched in that viewing room, watched as they had your brain and heart exposed whilst Addison opened you up to take out Sof. Never in my life have I felt so helpless, so lost Calliope, not even on the mountain." Her voice was weak, she adverted her eyes. "I- I had a choice this time, an option, the opportunity, and I can say I'm sorry, I can say I regret my actions, but I don't. I don't care what you or anybody else thinks."

Since their reconciliation, they hadn't really had arguments, disagreements or fallings out over anything. There was the odd back and forth about who lost the remote, who forgot to pick up the milk, but life had not thrown anything at them, not until today. This was the first time they had to address their vulnerabilities, and they were both nervous. Realising she had to make the first move, Callie made her way round the desk and knelt in front of her, gripping her hands tight. "You. Are. Not. Going. To. Lose. Me. Arizona. I made the mistake today, I should have said no, it wasn't a requirement. I was just as much use in the pit than I would have been out there." She wiped away a small tear that escaped her lover's eye. "You and Sof are my world, and I promise, I promise I won't ever, ever put us or our family at risk like that again." She was wary of making promises after the amputation, but she knew with all of her conviction, that was one she would be able to keep.

Arizona let out a small sob and rested their foreheads together, hands still held tight. After a few moments, and a few deep breaths, she continued. "I love you so much Calliope, but you absolutely cannot do that again, I don't care how selfish that is."

Callie shook her head. "Never again my love, I shouldn't have got angry", she pulled their joint hands to her lips and placed a gentle kiss on the blonde's. They parted but remained briefly silent, taking each other in. The Ortho surgeon then opted to lighten the mood, or certainly ease the tension. "Oh, by the way, to throw Addie off the scent I kinda asked for her neighbour's number," she quickly added, "but obviously I'm not gonna use it." She let out a goofy laugh, making them both smile.

A blonde eyebrow still shot up. "Damn right you're not." She bit her bottom lip, looking guilty, she also had her own admission to make. "Also, I may have told April I'd go on a date with one of the mum's sister at Harriet's play group."

"Oh wow, well, maybe we can double date?"

"Well between you, me, Abigail, your fake intern, the hot neighbour and this aunt, I'm pretty sure we can arrange some sort of date."

"Sounds like an orgy to me."

"Calliope!"

They both wiped away a few remaining tears and made their plans for the evening. Bailey had given Callie the opportunity to leave early, so she would grab Sofia and head on home a couple of hours ahead of Arizona. As their emotional exchange came to its natural end, the incident had raised a very good question.

"So erm, what did you think about being handcuffed to a bed, Dr Torres?"

Goofy grin. "I think I would try it again, Dr Robbins."

xxxxxxxxxx

"Torres."

Hearing her name, she turned round and was met with the person she had tried to tie down since he returned from site. "Hey Owen listen, I'm so sorr-"

He stopped her in her tracks. "Not a problem, turns out there were no amputations needed, the two Ortho attendings from Seattle Pres were pretty much redundant apart from tending to a few bones, all of which would require an x-ray before treatment anyway."

She was relieved, not that after consideration she would have changed anything, but it was still good to know her absence hadn't really aided or hindered patient care."

"Thank you Owen, I appreciate it."

xxxxxxxxxx

"Sof's in bed, she's absolutely knackered."

"It's funny, she has no idea of the chaos and the state her mother's got their selves into today."

They plonked their selves on the couch, wine in hand, still shattered from today's events. Dinner had been a relatively quiet affair, Sofia monopolising the conversation as usual (which they both loved). She told them what happened in school, how she decided not to marry Michael (their engagement sadly ending after four months) and that she wanted to go dressed as a paramedic for hero's day at school. She had become more curious about the events of her birth in recent months and, after being told the first responders had saved her and her mum's life, she wanted to be one.

"I'm pleased she's not marrying Michael, I'm not ready, I don't want to be a mother-in-law."

Callie took a sip of wine and nodded in agreement. "Well you'll be the one walking her down the aisle, so probably best she waits until you're comfortable with doing so."

"Err, why am I the one walking her down the aisle?"

As if it was obvious. "I don't want to give her away."

"Pfft, and you think I do?"

"If it makes you feel better, you can have the first dance to compensate."

"I don't want the first dance; I want to keep my baby with me forever. No man or woman is getting their grubby little mitts on our baby girl."

"How about this, we get our dads to walk her down the aisle, together. With a picture of Mark in a pendant around her neck. So he's still there, both in giving her away and proudly watching."

Arizona shook her head. "Mark wouldn't let her go either."

"True, he'd want us to find the angriest, most meanest looking picture of him and get it printed onto a t-shirt. Then insist we put it on over her dress, giving daggers to her bride or groom."

They were more comfortable in talking about their missing link, the one who made their family complete. At first he was used as a weapon, an excuse, was a bone of contention for years. But he was a good father, a good friend, a good man. It wasn't fair they'd throw his name into arguments as an emotional tool, especially with Sofia getting older. They spoke about him often with her too, letting her know how proud he would be of his daughter. After the divorce, Callie's mum had tried to re-establish contact, but was soon put into her place, her olive branch dismissed. The incident however had triggered something in the pair, that they would let their daughter know just how much she was loved by all three of her parents.

"Oh 100%, with us, Mark and your dad, we're totally scaring off potential suiters."

"We should introduce my dad when they're near a wall." They both laughed at the memory.

"I love the idea, you're so smart Calliope."

Callie reached out for her free hand and interlaced their fingers. She was ridiculously happy; she knew Arizona was too. Today had been a test, their first real one anyway. There may have been some initial frustration, but no more than any other couple would face in that situation. They hadn't dismissed each other as irrational, belittled the other's concern, argued and then used sex to cover up the damage. No, they were better than that now. She couldn't help but lean in and place a gentle kiss onto Arizona's lips, both smiling into and out of the act of devotion. Her tender expression soon changed to one of light teasing, she couldn't help herself. "Well, you didn't agree to be my wife again just for my looks, right?"