Alarms are not awesome, why did something not awesome disturb something so… awesome?
After a loud grunt, Arizona shut off the totally not-cool alarm, sorted her prosthetic and made her way to the bathroom. She briefly saw her phone laying on the bed, devoid of charge. She smiled; she really had fallen asleep next to Callie. Kinda.
She didn't need to worry about Sofia's routine this morning, she could take her leisurely time. Her first surgery wasn't scheduled until 12:00pm, her Callie shift was relatively early, but she didn't have to rush rush. She could sit, have a coffee, read the news on her iPad, enjoy a relaxing shower… or she could rush, skip everything, and go to the one place she wanted to be. She did have to brush her teeth first though, hygiene.
Okay Robbins, today, you don't stutter over every word, you don't freak out, you don't snap at colleagues or patients, you definitely don't smash company property. You're cool, you're chill. You grab your wife a banana nut muffin, a coffee & vanilla muffin for you and apologise to Michelle. Make your way to the hospital, ask Amelia if Callie can have coffee… wait.
"I can text her, what the hell Robbins?!" The inward frustration from her internal monologue led to outward exacerbation. Then she remembered, her phone was dead. Crap.
She went back to her bedroom, mouth still full of foamy toothpaste, retrieved her phone and put it on charge. She stood and waited for the logo to appear. Why did it take phones so long to come to life? If this phone was a patient, she'd have called time of death.
800 hours later (there abouts), there was enough charge for her to shoot off a quick text.
Arizona: Hey, can Callie have coffee? It might seem stupid and I know there's no damage and I know coffee isn't the biggest of stimulus but I want to double check. Thanks
After rinsing and returning, there was a response.
Amelia: Of course she can have coffee, have you seen how Torres gets coffeeless?
You have NO idea.
Arizona: Awesome! Thanks, see you soon
She went to put the phone down but noticed a notification on the voicemail icon. A voicemail? When from…? 04:00am?! The village would have reverted to the house phone if it was about the kids, that was one of the top rules. She looked at the name and gulped. It was only a couple of seconds long, but she was scared at what it could say and its potential implications.
"Hello Arizona, I'm in Seattle, I had to take care of something, I'll be at the hospital once finished, see you soon, love to my nieta."
Carlos Torres was here.
She bolted soon after, she still needed to get Callie's snacks and apologise to Michelle before she went to the hospital. If these were going to be her last actions as a free/alive woman, she needed to make amends. She did hope Carlos would allow her to say goodbye to Sofia first, she's certain Callie would.
The queue wasn't long, and her target was in sight. She took a deep breath; she hardly knew this woman but had been excited at the prospect of getting to know her, she was nice. Really, really… nice. After what could have been 20 seconds or 6 hours (her sense of time not great this morning), she approached the barista with caution.
"Hey…"
"Hi, what can I get you?"
"Erm, can I- can we- I just want to say, I'm sorry for yesterday."
"I got your text. What can I get for you this morning?"
"Can you get me 5 minutes of your time to explain?"
"Arizona, what do you want from the menu?"
Sigh, okay, order first, then you can beg forgiveness after.
Arizona reeled off her order, "two Americano's, one banana nut muffin and one vanilla muffin please. To go." Would a dimpled smile help?
It didn't. Michelle rang up the order, marked the cups and packed the muffins in a bag, all without glancing up to the blonde. Arizona didn't tap her card on the machine straight away, not just yet, she waited to see if Michelle would look up to prompt her.
She didn't. Sighing and accepting her fate, Arizona tapped, grabbed the bag and stood at the end of the counter waiting for her drinks. That had not gone as well as she'd hoped.
What would you have done if roles were reversed? If you were essentially told you weren't important to the person who was supposed to take you on a date? I wasn't at my best, I admit that, but come on, the love of my life was in the hospital about to have a CT scan. Wait… The love of my life? Michelle probably came to that conclusion too, no wonder it hurt. Damn.
Defeated, she tried, and she'll try again at some point. She headed across to Grey Sloan with the full intention of going straight to Callie's room, it was 08:30, oops, she might not even be awake yet, her girl did love her slumber, passed that onto their daughter. Upon entry she was immediately met with a large gathering of doctors, nurses, anaesthetists, security, reception… basically everyone, with Bailey taking residence on the stairs, elevating herself above the crowd.
"I'm here to give everyone an update on Dr Torres, not only is she a dear friend and colleague, but if one more person asks me how she's doing, they'll be on scut duty, so this saves me time."
There was a flutter of chuckles, the fact the Chief was able to make jokes gave some reassurance to the audience, Callie was likely to be okay. April spotted Arizona and approached. Arizona thought the trauma surgeon may have said something to her, but she was too invested in the Chief's update, so she tuned her out. A skill Yang wished she possessed.
"Dr Torres is doing just fine all things considered. Avery confirmed external injuries were superficial, all tests showed there were no internal injuries bar some cracked ribs", she eyed her cardio god, "a big thank you to Dr Yang for stealing them before I had a chance to look myself", Cristina just nodded proudly, "although she was my patient, I'll let it slide this once."
Bailey noticed the recently arrived Arizona and projected more into her direction, knowing she'd be the one with a million and one questions. "Her memory is still slightly hazy but after Dr Altman's night shift with her, there were some reassuring signs..."
Arizona's body tightened.
Signs? What signs? Come on Bailey, come on!
"…Not gonna share details with you, but just know she is getting better. You can see her", she looked at Arizona in the eye, "but do not pressure her or get her over stimulated."
Does she think I'd pounce her?!
"Yes, she's been given the all clear, and I know you've all had shifts keeping an eye on her, but it's still a stressful time, don't upset our ortho god. Dismissed."
Everyone made their way to their respective destinations. Arizona, clinging to her supplies, started towards Callie's room.
"Hey Arizona, where are you running to?"
An art exhibition, where does she think?
She turned her head but kept pace, April had followed. She did have to acknowledge her friend though, "Hey, what's up?"
"Didn't you hear anything I said back there?"
"Walk and talk Kepner, I'm going to see Callie, whilst the coffee is still hot."
"Why didn't you get canteen coffee?"
"Callie prefers proper coffee, plus she likes their banana nut muffins."
"Why didn't you get her cake from the canteen? They have good poundcake."
"Callie deserves fresh cake; you don't know how long the canteen one has been there."
"I don't think she'll mind", clearly not getting anywhere with this line of questioning, she opted to ask something she knew would stop Arizona in her tracks, "how was your FaceTime date?"
It didn't, she continued, "she asked me to stay with her until she fell asleep, she's gone through a traumatic event, and she's my wife, I need to suppo-"
Woah, "your wife?"
She loved April, she really did, she had become close to the redhead. It became apparent after the divorce that most of her 'friends' at Grey Sloan were actually Callie's, and therefore hers by association. But after the supply closet drinking session, she considered her a true friend. That said, sentiments be gone, she needed to let up, the blonde didn't have time for this.
"Wife/ex-wife, whatever, she just needs some support and I'm here to provide it, I always will be", she finally stopped and adjusted, "I know what you're thinking, I know what I'm thinking and also… have no idea what I'm thinking, but I know at this moment in time, she needs me, even if it's just to bring her coffee, so I'm going to do that."
She hoped that would bring an end to the conversation and it did, but not before she could ask April a question.
"How did you know about the FaceTime thing?"
"Owen said he saw when he went to complete his 'Torres Time', he thought it was cute."
Satisfied with that response, she knew Owen wasn't a gossip, she gave a nod, turned quick on her heels and once again, made her way to Callie, unaccompanied this time.
Okay, coffee check, muffin check, dimpled smile check, sorted. Okay, I need to page Karev telling him to complete my rounds, tell my Calliope I love her, call Herman to postpone our meeting, I mean she'll kill, but there is a good chance Carlos or Callie will too, so another suspect in the pool doesn't matter at this stage. Sofia. Sofia, okay so pick Sofia up from school, drop her at daycare, take Calliope home and look after my family forever and ever. Sorted.
She ran her itinerary through her head with military precision, happy with its order. She made her way into Callie's room, not looking up, but rather dodging a small cabinet next to the door.
"Hey, so Amelia said you could have coffee, so I bought you in a-"
"Hello Arizona", Carlos smiled, "good to see you."
