Disclaimer - This chapter may contain triggering topics such assubstance abuse and other self-destructive behaviors. Please be weary of the sensitive content and how the topics discussed may affect you.

Monday

She walked into the pit and as she had hoped, a massive casualty had come in. She sighed at the fact that she had now become one of those doctors who got excited by idea people being hurt and needing surgery, but burying herself in work was all that kept her going. Callie started taking double shifts just so she spent more time at the hospital than in the apartment she now dreaded having to sleep in. She was currently running on the hour's worth or sleep she got before this trauma came in. Hunt leading her in the direction of Trauma Room One pulled her out of her thoughts.

"What do we have?" She came up close to assess while tying the back of her gown.

"Joshua Niles, ten year old male, several broken ribs, open femur fracture and evident crush injuries to the legs in a pile up."

The boy was screaming and in obvious pain.

"Push ten mils of morphine." She said to the intern before moving over to the young boy. "Hey Joshua, I know it hurts. You are going to feel better really soon. Next time you open your eyes I'll have you fixed right up." She gave the boy a comforting smile.

"Where's my mom?"

"I don't know, but I promise I'll find her for you, okay?" She always had a soft spot for children.

The boy nodded before the morphine took effect and he closed his eyes.

Callie looked up at the intern who was just standing in the corner idly. "I need you to take him for labs to rule out any other injuries and page Peds. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes Dr. Torres." He stood there with a blank stare, still not moving an inch to actually carry out the task.

"Now!" She finally yelled. She snapped off her gloves, throwing them in the garbage and walked to the nurses station to fill out the chart.

After their surgery the two surgeons scrubbed out, but before the Arizona could talk to the person she had spent the last few hours working alongside, Callie was gone, so she was pleased to see the brunette back on the Peds floor later on that day walking out of the ten year old's room.

Arizona rolled right up to the nurses station where she was standing and said, "You know Dr. Torres. We make a pretty great team. I wanted to tell you that earlier but you vanished."

Rather than responding to the Peds surgeon comment she looked down at the shoes. "Did you just roll over here?" She raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why yes I did." She said matter-of-factly. "I get around faster and it's popular with the kids." She smiled brightly.

"As an orthopedic surgeon I'm inclined to warn you about how dangerous wearing those things are."

"Well lucky for me, I'm standing right in front of you." She made an attempt to wink but ended up with a exaggerated blink. She shone a cheesy grin at Callie.

It produced a small smile, the first one in months.

A pager interrupted the interaction, it was Arizona's. "I'll see you around Dr. Torres." With that she wheeled off on the heelies once again.

"Hey! I told you those things aren't safe." She yelled in a chastising tone.

She turned back to her charts, willing away the memories sparked by the new blonde doctor's presence. She propped her head on her free hand and let out a sad, exhausted sigh as the tears brimming her eyes threatened to fall. She wiped them away angrily before they had the chance to fall

Later That Day in the Canteen

Gossip was already starting to get around about the new doctor, the gossip mill at Seattle Grace could be relentless. She was now sitting at a table in the canteen with Teddy who she spent the better part of her day working with on a fifteen year old boy who came in. The two's personalities seemed to clash in all the right ways. Conversation flowed well since the two surgeons somehow seemed to reach the same level of perkiness.

"Hey, tell me somthing... Karev. Is he always so..." Arizona paused trying to think of a suitable word.

"...So much of an asshole? If so, then the answer is yes." Teddy tried to finish the sentence for her.

"I was going to say grumpy. But I couldn't figure out if he was just having a bad day or if he's just like that."

"Oh yeah, that's definitely his default." The cardio surgeon supplied.

"He would be great in Peds though, he's been good with the kids so far."

"Are we talking about the same Karev?" Disbelief was shown in her expression.

"Yeah, we are. I agree he is a bit mopey but he has potential. I think he would thrive in Peds, I just need him to see that now." She said schemingly, rubbing her hands together.

"Uhuh... good luck with that." Teddy said still not fully seeing the spark Arizona saw in him. "Who else did you get to work with today?"

"Dr. Torres, although she doesn't seem very fond of me." The orthopedic surgeon barely said much of anything in the OR to her unless related to the surgery. But she did notice how well she seemed to connect with her patients.

"Oh, Callie? She's had a pretty hard year...well, couple years. Don't mark her too harsh before you get to know her properly. She is brilliant, just cut her a little slack."

Arizona responds with a hum, eventhough she had so many other questions. She noticed a dark cloud seemed to follow the orthopedic surgeon and it made her want to know more.

At this time Callie enters the cafeteria, gives the cashier a small smile after they exchange a few words, then takes her order and leaves, retreating back to her office without a glance in anyone's direction. Arizona notices but says nothing. It raises even more questions about the mysterious brunette.

"What was it the made you come to Seattle?" The question got her attention back.

"I actually always lived in Seattle but I was at Seattle Pres. I won the Carter Madison grant a few years back and I spent the last five years in Malawi. I started a clinic over there for kids to get vaccines and check ups regularly. I managed to get enough volunteers and doctors on board for it to run independently. I just have to check in every once in a while to make sure things are running smoothly." It was amazing what she had accomplished there. The work was impactful but the constant sight of severely ill and dying children wasn't something she could get herself used to.

"I heard about that! You were the one who did that? Wow!" Teddy said amazed. "I knew your name was familiar."

"Yeah, there are a few articles out there." She said trying not to boast. "What about you? I remember you saying you've only been here for a little over two years."

"I was a trauma surgeon in Iraq before this, once I got back here I think I needed to get away from that and I ended up in Seattle. I'm aware of how corny it sounds but Cardio is where my heart is." She laughed a little at her own joke.

At the mention of the military, a bit of sadness washed over Arizona although she recovers from it quickly. "My brother used to be an army doctor too."

"Oh, what does he do now?" She asked not realizing the shift. Arizona gave a sad smile in response and thats when it clicked. "I'm so sorry. Forget I asked." Teddy said sympathetically.

"No, it's ok. It's been a while, I'm ok now." Arizona said honestly.

They happily changed the subject and began talking about something else, their conversation was soon light again and filled with laughter.

Back In Callie's Office

The pile of charts on her desk were at the moment merely there as decoration. She was sitting in her office staring blankly at one spot on the floor, her eyes unmoving, her head was throbbing more than when the morning began. She assumed it was probably because she hasn't slept more than 2 hours for the past 48 hours. She lays her head on the desk and mutters to herself, "I am so tired of this." , referring to the rut she has been in. She can't wrap her head around why she can't get over this, over the loss of the two most beautiful things she had in her life.

Callie enters a reclined position in the office chair as she thinks of what drink it will be tonight. After this shift she would have the next 24 hours off and knew she would probably spend it drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Anytime she spent in her apartment was dreaded, it was now just a place that held memories than were long gone. Alcohol had become her escape, there wasn't space for thought. Heaven knows it was the lesser of the other ideas she contemplated using as a distraction, not that she didn't dabble with other things a few times.

Just as she goes to attempt at finishing the charts on her desk, she gets a page to the X-ray room.

When she arrives there are scans of a very mangled shoulder that just from a glance would need multiple surgeries.

She steps into the room fully and questioned , "I was paged?"

"Yeah, that was me." Arizona turned around to greet her. "I wanted you to take a look at this shoulder if you don't mind."

"Yeah, sure. You mind telling me more about it?" She said curtiously.

The two sat in the room discussing it for a while and trying to come up with solutions

"How about we have a consult first thing tomorrow so we can talk to him and his parents about it?" Arizona suggested.

Callies scratches the back of her neck and reluctantly says yes, knowing that meant her earlier plans would have to be postponed until after the consult. "Yeah, that works."

The Next Day

She woke up gasping for air and disoriented. The way her sweat soaked clothes clung to her was the first thing she noticed once she was able to take a full breath. She could only squint while looking around the sunlit room that only amplified the familiar migraine after these episodes. It took her a while to fully grasp where she was, but like every other morning, the reality came crashing down. Callie thought this part had finally stopped. The night terrors. They hadn't happened for a while but she guessed that while was over.

Soon that feeling of dread that came with her mornings washed over and hit her with full effect. Her head snapped to the night stand which usually bear a clock but only to realise she had likely knocked it off in the night's ordeal. It was then that her phone rang and the brunette roomaged through the sheets to find the phone that was probably woven in them. The number wasn't saved. Usually she wouldn't answer but figured it might be her lawyer finally getting back to her.

"Dr. Torres speaking." She husked.

"Hey, it's Dr. Robbins. Are you soon here?" She was taken aback quite a bit at the realization that the other doctor was just now waking up. "We were supposed to have the consult at 9."

It's only then that she finally checked the time to realise she should have already been at the hospital

"Yeah um.. I'm on my way, I just got stuck in some pretty heavy traffic. I should be there in fifteen." She knew it likely wasn't very believable. She lived across the street so traffic wasn't an issue but the blonde wouldn't know that.

The blonde doctor grew a bit annoyed at not only having to push back the consult but obviously being lied to. "I would appreciate you geting here soon." With that she hung up the phone.

Callie released a tired sigh before swinging her legs over so she was now in a sitting position at the edge of the bed. It was then that the migraine made itself ever present once she stood. The room was now spinning and she held out for the first thing in her reach. Taking a few deep breaths, she stood in stillness until she was able to focus her eyes. The brunette stumbled to the bathroom where she opened the medicine cabinet in search of the small pill bottle that had become like a lifeline for her. Once finding them she quickly pops three small pills in her mouth, swallowing them dry before going to get into the shower.

At the Hospital

After waiting almost another hour. The disheveled doctor finally makes her appearance on the Peds floor and is met with a disgruntled Dr. Robbins.

"I'm really sorry to be late." She said being sincere in her words.

The other surgeon's rage disappated a bit once taking in the latina's appearance. The circles under her eyes seemed darker today and the usually tan skin was noticeably pale and flush. She noticed the orthopedic surgeon seemed sluggish in her movements and her tone was flat and low. "Are you alright?" She asked now a bit concerned. "We could have done this another day if you weren't feeling well."

Ignoring the question Callie asked, "Could I see the X-rays one more time before we go in? I think I have an approach that could work."

"Yeah, sure." Arizona fumbled through the files before pulling them out and handing them to her.

She furrowed her eyebrows in concentration for a while before beginning. "See how his scapula sticks out a bit?"

"Yeah, I saw that."

"Well, I was thinking that it's probably messing with whole biomechanics of his shoulder. I wanted to see if maybe we could have him do some PT before we actually figure out the surgery part. Just so I can see what we're dealing with for sure." She said looking up at her placing her hands in her coat.

"Okay, if you want to be sure then yes, that can be arranged." Arizona was impressed by how thorough she was. "Are you ready to go in and talk with him and his parents then?"

"Yeah, lead the way." Callie said following behind her.

The family stood as the doctors walked in.

"Good morning, Max. This is Dr. Torres, the surgeon I told you would be here to look over your shoulder." She went to introducing them. "Dr. Torres , this is Max and these are his parents Mr. and Mrs. Williams."

"It's nice to meet you all." Callie said moving to shake their hands.

Once everyone was affliated with one another Arizona started again. "So Dr. Torres and I took another look at your scans and she has an approach she wants to try, I'll let her explain it to you."

Callie held up the scans to the light in the room, facing them toward everyone so they could see and points at the X-ray showing the side profile.

"See how the scapula protrudes a bit here?" She looked up to make sure they were following.

"Right, so I'm thinking that that may be part of the problem. As a pitcher Max basically depends on those muscles in his shoulder and around his scapula most and the two are supposed to work hand in hand, so when they don't, that causes problems sometimes. You know that uncomfortable feeling you get when your arm goes to far?"

Max nods.

"It might be worth a try if I did some PT with Max just so I have a better understanding on his biomechanics. It would just be do assess his throwing technique and range of motion. I rather be sure I have all of details before we get at surgery. Dr. Robbins told me it's been dislocated three times already in a two year spand. I imagine that can't be very fun so I want to give you the best chance possible at making sure this doesn't happen again. All I need is a thumbs up from everyone that it's okay." Callie looks at them sympathetically.

Arizona looks on at the interaction between her and the family, noticing again how much attention she places on making sure her patients recieve the best care.

Max was the first to speak. "I wanna try it.", he says to the two doctors, then turns to his parents who seem a bit apprehensive. "We tried the other things already, worst case scenario is that it doesn't work and it happens again. The least I can do is give this one a try... Please." He pleads.

Mr and Mrs. Williams share an empathetic look with one another before nodding and saying, "Okay, let's do it."

Callie nods and thanks them for giving them the go ahead.

"Dr. Torres and I will go over the definitive plan and let you know once we have that in order."

They spent a few more minutes in the room with the family before heading out together. Once the family said their goodbyes and were on their way out of the hospital, the two doctors walked towards the nurses station.

"We can go up to my office and start putting together the plan now if you like." The blonde said to the taller doctor standing beside her.

"Actually, it's supposed to be my day off. I'm pretty tired so I'll probably be on my way soon." Callie said, not being entirely interested in tackling the new case right now and still being sold on her plan of daytime drinking. She had already spent more time at the hospital than she originally planned.

"Oh." Arizona said, noticing the change of her demeanor from her earlier interaction in the consult room. "Well you could just let me know when you are available and we can chat then."

Callie just nodded. "I'll let you know."

On her way out, the one person she had been able to expertly avoid for the better part of the week was walking directly towards her. She averted eye contact, hoping she could avoid the shorter woman.

"I can still see you, Torres!" She heard her yell as she attempted to enter the closest supply closet.

Callie sighed heavily, facing her defeat. "Bailey could whatever lecture this is wait another time? I'm supposed to be off today and I've been here most of the day already." She had been pulled into two more consults on her way out.

Bailey gave her the famous glare for a few seconds before settling on going easy for now. "The Board called. They said they are still willing to fund your cartilage research once you are still interested but you have to make a decision soon. Since you have been ignoring my calls, I haven't had the chance to ask, so I'm asking you now. Are you still interested in this life changing research?" She asked seriously but also sympathetically.

Callie stood silent, contemplative. No one had an idea just how much making the decision plagued her. She knew the topic was a longtime coming and she still didn't have an answer.

Bailey knew the latina wouldn't be able to provide an answer right now. "Look, Torres. I'll give you till the end of the week. I don't know that I'll be able to stall with the Board longer than that." She looked into the brunette's eyes now, the shorter woman's eyes portrayed worry. "You have a family here and we are worried." The woman who didnt very often portray much emotion, voice cracked saying these words.

Callie just nodded, not feeling like getting much farther into this conversation. Her friends have been ambushing her constantly. In the cafeteria, in the attendings lounge, her office, she started locking the door. She understood their concern but they hadn't listened as much as she said she just needed room.

Callie walked off without saying another word. By this time she was just tired, the night of tossing and turning riddled with nightmares drained her, and figured since she'd spent most of the day there anyway, she would just sleep in an oncall room. So she headed in the direction of the first door, not bothering to see if anyone else occupied it.

Arizona's Pov

The only thing illuminating the dark room was the small crack under the doorframe letting in the light from the busy outside of the hospital.

Arizona was woken out of her sleep by a loud shout. At first she thought it was coming from one of the patients outside but when she heard the voice again, strangely, it sounded like it was coming from a few feet across from her. That is when she sat up on her elbows to scan the room better.

In the bed on the other side of the room, closer to the door, she spotted who she assumed to be the source of the the harrowing screams. All Arizona could see was a silhouette, the mistery person clearly awake but recovering from the aftermath of what appeared to be a nightmare, based on the heavy breaths that filled the room as they tried to calm themself down.

The blonde frozen. Not sure if she should make her presence known, or rather stay in place, in hopes of this person would fall asleep again without noticing her.

Just then the dark figure stands, and that is when Arizona notices that it was Callie. But before the blonde could figure out what to do next Callie grabs her things and leaves.

It just generated more unanswered questions than it produced answers about the other doctor.

Author's Note

Hey! Okay so these first few chapters will likely be centered around Arizona's first few weeks at Seattle Grace and slowly introducing her to Callie. I'm trying to include little nuggets about Callie and the impact of the past year's events through her interactions with Arizona and the rest of her friends at the hospital. I ended this chapter here because it was getting a bit long but I'll pick back up from where I left next chapter. I'll also give a forewarning that these chapters will be pretty Callie centric for a while. Arizona is definitely a huge part of this story as well, but first impressions are a huge part of building characters for me, especially when u plan to have two characters create a bond. I wanted to experiment with the idea of Arizona being the person to pull Callie out of the dark space she is in.

I definitely will appreciate hearing feedback on your feelings so far and I am extremely appreciative of those persons who take the time to leave a review and offer their support after each chapter.