Fault Lines (6 [Part One]/36)
Fault Lines
Chapter 6 (Part One)/36
Authors: Faith kennedysbitch & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie
Rating: NC-17
Story Summary: Sequel to Choices. Callie and Arizona make the decision to move forward with their lives, but when a gradual series of events begin to snowball, Arizona tries desperately not to lose her grip on reality.
Chapter Summary: Arizona receives a phone call in the middle of the night that will tip her world just a little more off-balance.
Disclaimer:All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Previous Chapters
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The whole ‘sex before bed’ agreement was working out nicely for both parties involved. After a day full of surgeries, they came home and barely spoke two words to eachother before the clothes came off in a torrent of hands and lustful grunts.
Purely because they both needed to be able to get some sleep that night, of course. And the only way to do that, was to tire each other out first.
One brief power struggle later, and Arizona found herself lying flat on her back with her legs over Callie’s shoulders.
She arched off of the bed with a sudden, sharp gasp as her right hand clamped down hard on the back of the head currently buried between her thighs.
Callie moaned heartily as she shifted in her spot between the blonde's open legs. She'd lost track of how many hours they'd been going at it by now, but she had a feeling it was somewhere in the range of ‘a lot’.
Arizona writhed beneath Callie’s touch, unable to keep still as her core throbbed each and every time she abused it with her tongue.
A small part of her worried about whether or not Callie might forget to breathe and pass out while she was down there, since she refused to let up in the slightest.
Something Arizona was sure to sing her praises for later.
“Oh God, Calliope,” she gasped, bucking her hips against her lover’s mouth. “W-where the…hell did you learn that?” She grinned breathlessly down at the other woman, biting her lip.
Callie finally paused in the motion of her tongue as she pulled back and lifted her head to meet Arizona’s darkened eyes. She slowly began to smile as she shifted her sweaty body beneath the blue bed sheets.
There was obvious hesitation in that smile. “It's the Sloan Method,” she finally replied with a deep, shaky sigh. She squeezed her arm around Arizona's thigh as her fingers brushed over the smooth, silky skin.
Distraction. That was her strategy now.
Sure, she could've lied. But for some reason she found that very, very difficult with the sweet, intoxicating taste of the blonde so heavy on her tongue.
Arizona’s eyeballs just about popped out of her head. “What?!” She pushed herself up onto her elbows, Callie’s hands keeping a firm grip on her thighs to keep from getting dislodged.
“‘The Sloan Method’? As in...‘The Sloan Method’? Are you kidding me?”
“Oh please,” Callie shot right back. “I didn't hear you complainin' just a minute ago.”
“That's because a minute ago,” Arizona argued, “I didn't know you were using the...” She paused again as a slightly disgusted look took over her features. “Sloan Method.”
“Just...” Callie started again, growing a little frustrated that she was quickly losing the taste of the blonde from her tongue. “Shut up. Lie back. Relax.” She moved back into position between her girlfriend's open thighs, but didn't break their gaze just yet. “And enjoy it.”
Arizona started to argue - and then abruptly stopped.
She closed her eyes against the sensation of Callie’s tongue massaging against her clit before sucking on it hard, then as it moved to run swiftly up and down between her wet lips.
How could she argue with that?
Callie pulled away just long enough to place a hand against Arizona’s stomach and roughly shove her back down against the bed. “I said lie back,” she repeated sternly.
Arizona found it all kinds of hot when Callie got all bossy like that. She licked her lips as she moved to slowly settle back against the bed, and kept her eyes trained on her girlfriend as Callie dipped her head back between her thighs.
Arizona closed her eyes as she reached down with her right hand to replace it in dark curls. Her back arched as she moaned out softly into the room.
‘Sloan Method’ or not, it was impossible not to enjoy what Callie was so very good at.
***
It was in the wee hours of the morning that Arizona’s pager went off.
The noise she emitted sounded more like a wounded bear than a human being. It also emerged from beneath a pile of blankets, limbs, and hair.
She’d barely been asleep long enough to even close her eyes. And besides that, she was tangled up with Callie beneath the covers, where everything was warm and soft and perfect.
But the pager went off again, just as she almost drifted back to sleep.
Feeling like crying, Arizona reluctantly pulled back from her girlfriend and half-crawled overtop of her to reach for the item buzzing on the bedside table.
Callie grumbled from beneath the heap of covers. “Tell it to go away,” she mumbled as she burrowed further into the warmth of their big, comfy bed. She moved to intercept her lover just as the blonde leaned across her body.
Callie wrapped an arm around her slender waist. “Make it stop,” she pleaded again with a husky, sleep-filled whimper.
Arizona laughed and paused long enough to lean down and place a brief, but loving kiss against her shoulder. “Sorry, gorgeous. Go back to sleep, hopefully it’s nothing big.”
She managed to snag the pager before falling back onto her side of the bed, running a hand back through her messy curls. Her brow scrunched in confusion.
“Who is it?” Callie murmured, cheek squished against the pillow, making her voice come out even more subdued and murmur-y than before.
Arizona frowned. “Bailey. She wants me to phone her.” That was a little odd - normally if something required her attention this late at night, she got paged in, and if it wasn’t bad enough to require that, then the person would usually just let her know the situation the next morning.
Arizona swung her legs over the side of the bed, pulled on her girlfriend’s robe from where it was piled on the floor, and grabbed her Blackberry from the dresser, dialing the number Bailey had given while still trying to blink sleep from her eyes.
“You rang,” she mused tiredly when the other doctor finally picked up on the other end.
“Get dressed,” Bailey barked shortly into her ear.
Arizona's brow lifted sleepily. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Robbins,” Bailey shot back, sounding distracted. “Get some clothes on, ‘cause I know your ass is bare right now.”
Arizona blinked as she glanced over her shoulder and down. “It is not,” she grumbled with a pout.
Well, not entirely. She was wearing a robe.
“Robbins!” Bailey barked again, causing her to jump in place. “Get some clothes on, grab those...wheelie little skate things you call shoes and get your ass over here pronto!”
The phone went dead in her ear.
Callie snorted sharply from her spot still buried in the mess of sheets and the comforter. “What'd she want?” she grumbled sleepily, on the verge of passing out again.
Arizona frowned at her phone as she clicked it off. “I don’t know. She went all cryptic and wouldn’t say. Kept telling me to get over there as soon as yesterday.”
She turned back to Callie. “I don’t know why she didn’t page me if it’s for a patient. I’d better go see what she wants.”
That just made Arizona pout again. She wanted to stay in bed, with her girlfriend. Was that really so much to ask?
“Sorry, baby. You’ll have to catch enough zee’s for the both of us.”
Right on cue, Callie's pager suddenly buzzed to life from its place on the dresser.
“Nooooo!” she moaned pitifully as she lifted the pillow to smother it over her head.
Arizona smirked as she walked over to pick up the offending object. Her amusement faded just a little when she noticed the number blinking on the screen. “Cristina?”
Callie pulled the pillow from her head and glanced over with only one eye open. “Who now?”
“It's Cristina,” Arizona repeated as she held the pager out for her girlfriend to see. “Why would Yang be paging you for...anything?”
Callie grumbled something unintelligible.
“So much for sleep,” Arizona sigh, tossing Callie her pager. “Looks like we’ll have to settle for blood and chaos instead.”
***
Arizona was once again thankful for living right across the street from work. It only took them a short time to shower - separately - and dress, and they were there within half an hour.
Both women were in regular street clothes, since the pages hadn’t been specified as work-related.
They were really hoping to leave just as quickly as they came.
Walking down the hall with Callie at her side, Arizona spotted Cristina at the first floor administration desk. “Yang.” She pulled the zombie-like Callie in Cristina’s direction. “She hasn’t had any coffee yet, so use small words and make it brief.”
The blonde grinned at the indignant nudge she received in return.
Callie looked like a cranky grizzly bear that had just been woken out of hibernation two months early, and was fully prepared to eat some furry cartoon forest animals in revenge.
“Have you seen Bailey? She went all cryptic on me on the phone and wouldn’t tell me why I’m needed,” Arizona asked, ignoring her grumpy girlfriend for the moment.
Cristina didn't meet Arizona’s gaze as she lifted a finger to point in the opposite direction.
Arizona gave the resident a strange look.
Yang kept her eyes averted to the floor as she gave the finger a slight wiggle.
Arizona turned to follow the direction Cristina was pointing in. Bailey was waiting impatiently down the hall, staring at her.
Callie yawned widely, completely oblivious to the whole situation. “I haven't had my coffee,” she pouted. “And I just spent...” She flipped over her wrist to glance at the face of her watch. “Something like four hours having long, exhausting, amazing sex.” She lifted her eyes with a smirk in Arizona's direction, but it faltered immediately at the look on the blonde's face as she glanced down the hall.
The hospital was eerily quiet for this time of the morning.
Not to mention Cristina hadn't said a single word since they arrived.
Callie turned a suspicious glance in her roommate’s direction. “Should I be looking out for strange, glowing green pods or something?”
Yang still didn’t say anything, she just stared at Arizona’s shoulder. “You should go talk to her.”
Cristina Yang never sounded subdued. Or…respectful, for that matter.
Arizona was immediately worried. She quickly dropped Callie’s hand and headed over to Bailey.
Callie instantly moved to follow her, but a sudden, and surprisingly gentle hand on her elbow stopped her in her tracks.
“Don't,” Cristina called softly. “Let them talk.” Her brown eyes never left Callie's as she slowly dropped her hand away. Her gaze barely shifted to the left to glance over Callie's shoulder. “You're about to have a very big problem of your own, anyway.”
“Cristina?” Callie called hesitantly. “You're scaring me.” She paused for a moment. “More than usual. Which says a lot.” She started to worry even more as Yang remained silent and just...stared over her shoulder.
Callie steeled herself and then slowly turned around.
The second she did, she immediately dove behind Cristina and the administration desk, out of sight.
Whether or not it made her an immature six year old, that was her first reaction upon seeing Erica Hahn for the first time since the Parking Lot of No Return.
Holy shit.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Callie hissed from where she was hunkered down behind the desk, reaching out and punching Cristina on the leg.
Yang jerked a little. “Um, ow.” She glared down at her roommate. “You are such a coward. The least you could do is run away. At least that shows some pride.”
Callie punched her in the leg again.
“Ow!”
Callie's dark eyes widened. “Shh!” she quickly admonished. “She'll hear you. Which means she'll see you and in turn walk over here and then...see me.” She burrowed a little further behind the cover of the desk. “So...shh!”
Cristina shook her head with a sigh. “No pride at all.”
***
Bailey reached out to snag Arizona by her elbow the second she was within arm's reach. She turned to head down the hall, dragging the confused peds surgeon after her. She didn't stop until they reached an empty exam room, then pushed the door open and roughly pulled the other Attending inside.
Bailey stepped in and closed the door behind them. She quickly turned to face Arizona. “Your father's here,” she stated bluntly. “Your father's here, and he's very sick.”
Arizona’s mouth hung open for a second or two, her whole body suddenly numbing over.
“No, he’s in Washington,” she stated dumbly. “I…I talked to him last week.”
How could he be here, sick, if he was in Washington? The man had never been a sick a day in his life. He was Marine, through and through, and had always been in the best shape possible. He couldn’t be sick.
But he was, and Bailey had the scans to prove it.
“I'm really very sorry,” Miranda tried again, softening her voice just a touch. “But he's here now.” She paused to offer her best sympathetic look. “And he's very sick. It's his heart.”
Arizona didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t...anything. “Was it…did he have a heart attack?”
“He did, but it was minor,” Bailey quickly assured Dr. Robbins. “That’s not his biggest problem, though. He…has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and it’s pretty bad.”
Arizona shook her head, trying to clear it. She still couldn’t process what Bailey was saying to her. “HCM? T-that’s impossible. He’s been in the Marines his entire life, if he had HCM he would’ve found out before now.”
“It’s rare, but in cases like your fathers, it doesn’t present itself until later in life.”
Arizona ran a hand back through her hair. “I-I need to see him. Where is he?”
Bailey glanced out the window where to Dr. Altman was quietly chatting down the hall with...
Erica Hahn.
Dark eyes widened just slightly. “D'um...” Bailey stalled as she reached out blindly to grab Arizona by her elbow. “W-why don't we get some coffee and wait-”
“I don't want any damn coffee!” Arizona snapped as she jerked her arm away from the other doctor's grip.
Bailey's eyes widened even more.
Arizona sighed as she reached up to run a hand back through her hair again. “I'm sorry,” she offered weakly as she pulled in a slow, deep breath. “I...I didn't mean...”
Bailey nodded in sympathy as she stepped up to reach out and place her hand on the blonde’s arm. “I know,” she replied just as gently. “I know.”
***
“Excuse me,” Maria Robbins called out to a nurse rushing by as she stood in the doorway of her husband's room.
The nurse stopped to shoot her an annoyed glare.
Maria cleared her throat, a little taken back. “I'm so sorry to bother you,” she began. “But my husband is thirsty. I don't know if I'm allowed to-”
“Ma'am,” the nurse interrupted with a sharply raised hand, “we just had a man flatline two doors down. The last thing I'm concerned about is how thirsty your husband is.”
“If I were you, I'd be more concerned about your job,” a sudden husky voice broke in from somewhere to the left.
Both women looked over to see Dr. Callie Torres standing a few feet away, her dark eyes leveled on the nurse.
The woman instantly shrank back beneath the harsh glare she was receiving.
Callie jerked her head back over her shoulder. “Go.”
The nurse quickly rushed by to disappear into the room a few doors down.
Callie instantly smiled as Maria's dark eyes focused on her. “Mrs. Robbins,” she offered gently as she walked closer. “I'm so sorry about Daniel.”
Maria smiled weakly. “Thank you, Dr. Torres. But he’s as stubborn as an old goat; he’s hanging in there.”
“I can hear you,” Daniel’s voice carried from inside the room. It sounded weak compared to his normally strong tone, but his sense of humor was apparently still in tact.
“Do you happen to know where my daughter is?” Maria asked Callie, ringing her hands together in worry. “My husband demanded Dr. Bailey not wake her when he was admitted, but she needs to know her father is here.”
Callie hesitated as she kept her hands tucked into the pockets of her white overcoat. She was decked out in her scrubs now, with her undershirt sleeves rolled up just past her elbows.
As usual.
“She's here,” she finally answered quietly before glancing at the open doorway leading into Daniel's room. She couldn't fight the smile that appeared when she saw him sitting up, smiling right back at her.
That man was tough, no doubt about it.
At least now she knew where her girlfriend got it from.
Maria sighed. “He’s very thirsty. Is he allowed to drink something? I didn’t want to give in to his incessant begging if he’s not supposed to.”
Callie nodded. “I’ll take a look at his chart. As long as he isn’t scheduled for surgery in the next few hours, there’s no harm in it.” She followed Mrs. Robbins inside.
***
Arizona finally ran out of excuses for delaying the visit to her father’s room.
After changing into a pair of scrubs she kept in her locker, she’d been bombarded with various administrative tasks as well as the occasional medical question from a co-worker.
But now, she’d finished the insurance and admittance forms for her mom and done everything else she could do. Now, she finally found herself hovering outside of her dad’s room with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The first thought that came screaming through her mind was that she couldn’t bear to lose him, too. Not after Aaron. She couldn’t go through that again.
And her mom. They might not see eye-to-eye these days, but Arizona didn’t know how her mom would be able to handle losing her husband of over forty years.
Arizona found herself blinking back involuntary tears, and very quickly forced herself to stand up a little straighter and take in a deep breath.
She might cry in the face of authority figures, but she sure as hell didn’t cry during a crisis. She was no sissy. Her father had taught her better than that.
Just before she could round the corner and enter the Colonel’s room, her girlfriend emerged from it.
“Oh! Hey, you’re here, we’ve been wondering about you,” Callie said, concern lacing her tone.
Arizona smiled, loving Callie a little more right then. If that was even possible.
“Paperwork,” she stated quietly. “I didn’t want my mom to have to deal with all of that crap later, so I took care of everything.”
Callie smiled gently as she gazed into troubled blue eyes. “Of course you did,” she murmured softly before reaching up to brush back a loose strand of blonde hair. Her smile faltered. “Honey, you look exhausted.”
Arizona sighed as she reached up to run a hand back through her messy curls, combing her fingers through them. She glanced over at the large window separating her from her father's room.
The blinds were open just barely enough that she could see the distorted figures inside.
Arizona felt her own heart seize in her chest at the sight of her mother sitting next to her father's hospital bed. She was clutching his hand as he dozed.
“Daddy,” she whispered with a slight quiver in her lower lip.
Callie stepped forward in an instant to wrap Arizona in strong, comforting arms. She pressed a soft kiss to her temple and held her as close as she physically could.
Arizona closed her eyes and buried her face into Callie’s neck, holding on to her tightly.
She didn’t know what she’d do without Callie around to keep her grounded. Right now, she was pretty sure she’d have collapsed in a heap if the brunette hadn’t been there to catch her. She clung on like she was drowning and Callie was her lifeline, fingers digging instinctively into her strong shoulders.
Arizona stayed like that for a long moment, before taking in a shallow breath and reluctantly pulling away. “I’m okay,” she tried to assure Callie with a weak smile, sniffling back in an effort to hold her tears at bay. “I’m more worried about telling him that his HCM means he’s got to start taking it easy. That’s not going to go over well, and there’s no way he’s just gonna listen to Teddy when she tells him.”
Callie glanced over to peer through the window. She couldn't see much inside, but she knew it had to be a pretty unpleasant sight for Arizona to witness.
Which probably meant that this wasn't a good time to tell her current girlfriend that her ex-girlfriend was suddenly back in Seattle. In this hospital. At, apparently, the same time that her father showed up with...heart...problems...
Wait a minute...
Callie's eyes suddenly widened in realization, and she snapped her attention back to Arizona.
Oh no.
Arizona was too distracted to notice. “Got anywhere you need to be right now?”
“Nope.” Swallowing hard, Callie took Arizona’s hand in her own and gave it a firm squeeze. “I’m right where I’m needed.”
Arizona sent her a grateful smile before steadying herself and walking into her father’s room.
He looked so…peaceful sleeping. But if it weren’t for the machines beeping away at a slow, steady rhythm, she might have wondered if he was still breathing or not.
“Mom.” Arizona made her way over to the bed and instantly hugged her mother when she stood up from her chair. “How is he?”
Maria glanced down at the bed as she held Arizona in a firm, warm hug. “You know your father,” she whispered as she squeezed her eyes shut to fight back the tears. She hugged her daughter closer.
Callie stood a little awkwardly at the foot of Daniel's bed. She kept her hands tucked into her pockets as she averted her eyes to the floor.
“I thought I told you to stop doing that.”
All attention shifted over to the bed at the sound of the deep, familiar voice, an obvious strain hiding behind it.
Daniel Robbins was focused on the figure standing at the foot of his bed. “Your eyes are much too beautiful to be staring at the floor all the time, Calliope Torres.”
Callie blushed right on cue and grinned a little.
Maria rolled her eyes as she sniffled back. “Always the smooth talker,” she said with a similar strain in her own voice.
“Dad, you’re smooth-talking my girlfriend,” Arizona chuckled as she stepped over to lean down and kiss him on the cheek. “Don’t make me look bad in comparison.”
“You’re not too bad at it yourself,” Callie pointed out. “You had me at ‘Hey’ in a dirty bar bathroom. That takes some serious skill.”
Arizona looked over at her and grinned crookedly.
Daniel noticed the small exchange right away. “Now that’s what I like to see,” he sighed contently. “It seems you girls have worked out your differences. You must have finally smartened up, Arizona. The girl I raised would never let a catch like Dr. Torres get away.”
Callie blushed again, but refrained from dropping her eyes to the floor this time.
“We've...worked it out,” Arizona replied as she continued to hold her gaze with the brunette. Her smile suddenly grew in size and she felt a fresh wave of courage sweep through her. “We're actually trying to get pregnant.”
Callie's grin vanished in an instant and her eyes popped open widely.
That caused Daniel to sit up further in bed. Maria looked at Arizona in surprise. “You are?” she asked her daughter quietly.
“Yeah.” Arizona didn’t take her eyes from Callie’s frightened face. She didn’t know what had made her suddenly decide that now was a good time to blurt it out, but…
It was that or break down in tears.
Arizona stepped over to Callie, grasping her hand again. “We’re happy, and...we’re starting a family.”
Daniel smiled widely. “I knew it.” He slowly lifted his right arm, wires attached and all, to extend it towards Callie. “Come over here.”
Callie hesitated for only a moment before stepping around the end of the bed to walk up next to the man's side. She kept her smile even though her tummy had a million butterflies swarming inside of it. She still couldn't quite believe Arizona had just blurted everything out like that.
Not that she was really worried about Daniel's reaction. If she didn't already have a father that she loved so very dearly...
Callie's brown eyes began to water as she reached down to gently take the man's hand in her own.
Daniel might have had a weak heart, but he still had a strong grip. He tugged Callie down so he could hug her with one arm. “Congratulations, sweetheart. You two will make fine parents.”
Arizona smiled lovingly as she watched Callie and her dad embrace. She still couldn’t believe how well they got along. Until Callie, the few girls that had met her father were terrified of him.
But, until Callie, no one had really mattered.
She looked up just as her mom stepped over to place a hand on her arm. “It’s about time your father and I got some grandchildren,” Maria stated with a smile of her own. “I was starting to give up hope.”
“So was I,” Callie mumbled to herself as she stood back up straight.
Arizona heard the dig, but chose to ignore it.
For now.
Instead, she squeezed her mom’s hand and turned her attention to her father. She placed a hand on his leg on top of the blanket. “We're gonna get you the best doctors, Daddy.”
Daniel smiled warmly up at his daughter, still clutching Callie's hand in his own. “I already have the best doctor, honey.”
Arizona's smile faltered and her brow furrowed. “You mean Teddy?” Her eyes suddenly widened as she realized how that must've sounded. “Not that she isn't a super doctor. Awesome, even. Really.”
Callie smirked just a little.
“No, honey, not exactly.” Daniel looked uncomfortable, and not just because he was weak from having a heart attack. “We asked her to come out here instead when I fell ill. I didn’t want to be transported back to San Diego again.”
“Again?” Arizona stared hard at her father. “What do you mean ‘again’? How do you already have a surgeon on standby?”
Maria sighed. “Arizona…”
“No.” Arizona cut her eyes over to her mother. “You two knew about this already, and didn’t tell me?” The answer was plain as day by the guilty look on her mother’s face. She pulled her hand away. “You were here for two full weeks. You have a phone. How long have you known?”
Daniel sighed. “Zona-”
“How long?” Arizona demanded, a mixture of anger and hurt swirling around her words.
Daniel sighed. “Six months ago I started having…problems. The surgeon at the San Diego Cardiac Center performed a temporary fix that worked at the time, but after last night…”
Arizona couldn’t stand up anymore and slowly sank down onto the far edge of the bed. “How could you not tell me?” She looked...defeated, and too tired to stay angry.
For now.
Callie took in the whole scene with wide, slightly panicked eyes.
Now probably wasn't the best time to tell Arizona about-
“Daniel, there you are.” An all too familiar voice suddenly appeared in the doorway, saving her from that dilemma.
Callie sighed as she slowly closed her eyes.
Of course.
Maria looked over with an instant smile. “Dr. Hahn.”
Callie squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.
This was not happening.
Arizona tore her focus from her father to look over at Hahn. Since she didn’t recognize her as one of the hospital staff, she assumed that she was her dad’s imported surgeon.
Gritting her teeth, Arizona looked back at her father. “I’m not done with you,” she whispered with a stern finger point. “We’ll finish this later.” She stood up from the edge of the bed and glanced at Callie.
Arizona did a double take when she saw the pained expression on her lover’s face.
“I’ve told you time and time again, by now you should be calling me Erica,” Dr. Hahn replied, looking at Daniel and then also glancing over at the brunette.
Arizona slowly looked at Hahn, who was staring at Callie with a carefully neutral expression.
Hahn. Erica Hahn.
Cardio surgeon.
…fucking seriously?
Arizona didn’t know whether to laugh out loud or growl.
“I’m Dr. Hahn, your father’s surgeon,” Erica stated as she held out a hand to Arizona, who shook it without saying anything. “I take it you’re the brilliant pediatric surgeon he won’t stop gushing about.”
Despite herself, Arizona glanced at her dad and smiled a bit as she shook Hahn’s hand. “Does he now?”
Erica nodded once more before looking at the brunette in the room. “Dr. Torres. Long time no see.”
Callie swallowed back thickly.
She was fucked.
She was so fucked.
That seemed to be the one and only thought that continued to run through her mind as she stood just a few feet away from her current and ex girlfriends.
Who were standing right next to each other, both with their...blonde hair and blue eyes.
And slightly peeved-off expressions.
Callie's eyes remained wide and terrified as she glanced from one to the other.
So fucked.
Arizona looked from Callie, to Hahn, then back again.
This was just…weird beyond the telling of it.
“So…” Arizona broke in, watching Hahn stare at Callie, trying to get her attention back.
Or, more importantly…away from her girlfriend.
Dr. Hahn looked back at Arizona. “Your father may need a heart transplant,” she stated calmly and bluntly.
Arizona’s own heart fell out of her chest and landed on the floor. All other issues were completely forgotten about in that instant.
Fuck.
“Erica!” Callie suddenly snapped as she focused her wide eyes on her ex. They weren't so much panicked and terrified now as a little pissed off at her tactlessness. “God,” she grumbled again as she stepped up next to her current girlfriend. She turned her complete attention on Arizona, who suddenly looked even paler than usual.
“Hey,” Callie called softly as she reached out to place her right hand on the blonde's hip, gently turning her around. “Arizona, look at me.” It took a few seconds, but anguished blue eyes finally met brown.
Callie smiled the best she could. “He's gonna be fine. He's in the best hospital with the best doctors.” She ran her hand up and down Arizona’s side soothingly. “He's gonna be fine.”
Arizona nodded, though it was more of an automatic response. “Yeah. I know.” Which she didn’t.
“I’m sorry, but your father’s case is both rare and very seriously. HCM usually presents itself and its symptoms much earlier in life. Especially given the fact that your father was a Marine for so long.” Erica was definitely watching the close contact of Daniel’s daughter and Callie, but she didn’t say anything in front of the parents.
“Is,” Arizona instantly pointed out. “He is a Marine.”
“It’s fine, honey,” Daniel soothed. He didn’t seem to notice any awkward tension between the three women.
Arizona sighed and nodded mutely again, leaning into Callie a little more.
Maria Robbins wasn’t oblivious like her husband. She had almost instantly picked up on the shared look between Callie and Dr. Hahn, and Arizona’s defensiveness only made her more sure.
“Arizona, your father and I have talked this over. There really are no other options at this point. His heart is too damaged.”
Arizona shook her head. “It might take months to match a heart to him, mom. If he so much as climbs some stairs too fast before then…”
Her hand found Callie’s by their sides and she squeezed it tightly.
Callie instantly leaned over to place a soft, soothing kiss to the underside of Arizona's jaw and slipped an arm around her waist supportively. “Hey, it’s okay.”
Erica watched the intimate gesture as the grip on her pen tightened just a little.
Maria watched Erica staring at her daughter and Calliope. Something was definitely amiss here, but her focus was on her husband for the moment. “Arizona,” she started gently, but with a sense of finality in her voice. “I understand your concerns for your father. But if he wants this transplant, then he’s getting it.”
Daniel smiled back at his wife and took her hand. “It’ll happen when it happens, don’t you two worry about me.”
Of course, he knew that his efforts were useless. Arizona and her mother were used to worrying about him, they did so every time he had been overseas with the Marines. They were programmed to worry.
Standing there in a room with her family and her partner’s ex, Arizona suddenly couldn’t handle it anymore. The reassurances, the staring, the sudden sweltering heat that she felt was closing in around her...
It was all too much.
“I, um,” she started, fumbling over her words a little. “I-I just remember there’s some more paperwork that needs doing.” Her thumb jerked back to the open doorway. “I should...go fill it out before it gets lost in the shuffle.”
She had finished everything before coming up here. But the room was stifling hot, and she couldn’t breathe. She needed to escape.
“I’ll be back a little later. Once your test results come in from the lab, we can...talk about this some more.” Arizona barely managed to flash both her mom and dad a quick smile, before turning and fleeing through the door.
She didn’t look at Hahn. And she left it up to Callie whether or not to follow.
Like it was even a choice at all.
Without a second of hesitation, the brunette quickly followed her lover from the room. She did pause, but only for a moment, as she passed by her ex. Because as much in love with and totally devoted to Arizona that she was, this was still Erica.
Her first.
In more ways than one.
Callie allowed herself a tiny smile, but didn't quite meet Erica's eyes as she quickly disappeared from the room to follow Arizona down the hall.
---
Chapter 6 (Part One)/36
Authors: Faith kennedysbitch & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie
Rating: NC-17
Story Summary: Sequel to Choices. Callie and Arizona make the decision to move forward with their lives, but when a gradual series of events begin to snowball, Arizona tries desperately not to lose her grip on reality.
Chapter Summary: Arizona receives a phone call in the middle of the night that will tip her world just a little more off-balance.
Disclaimer:All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Previous Chapters
---
The whole ‘sex before bed’ agreement was working out nicely for both parties involved. After a day full of surgeries, they came home and barely spoke two words to eachother before the clothes came off in a torrent of hands and lustful grunts.
Purely because they both needed to be able to get some sleep that night, of course. And the only way to do that, was to tire each other out first.
One brief power struggle later, and Arizona found herself lying flat on her back with her legs over Callie’s shoulders.
She arched off of the bed with a sudden, sharp gasp as her right hand clamped down hard on the back of the head currently buried between her thighs.
Callie moaned heartily as she shifted in her spot between the blonde's open legs. She'd lost track of how many hours they'd been going at it by now, but she had a feeling it was somewhere in the range of ‘a lot’.
Arizona writhed beneath Callie’s touch, unable to keep still as her core throbbed each and every time she abused it with her tongue.
A small part of her worried about whether or not Callie might forget to breathe and pass out while she was down there, since she refused to let up in the slightest.
Something Arizona was sure to sing her praises for later.
“Oh God, Calliope,” she gasped, bucking her hips against her lover’s mouth. “W-where the…hell did you learn that?” She grinned breathlessly down at the other woman, biting her lip.
Callie finally paused in the motion of her tongue as she pulled back and lifted her head to meet Arizona’s darkened eyes. She slowly began to smile as she shifted her sweaty body beneath the blue bed sheets.
There was obvious hesitation in that smile. “It's the Sloan Method,” she finally replied with a deep, shaky sigh. She squeezed her arm around Arizona's thigh as her fingers brushed over the smooth, silky skin.
Distraction. That was her strategy now.
Sure, she could've lied. But for some reason she found that very, very difficult with the sweet, intoxicating taste of the blonde so heavy on her tongue.
Arizona’s eyeballs just about popped out of her head. “What?!” She pushed herself up onto her elbows, Callie’s hands keeping a firm grip on her thighs to keep from getting dislodged.
“‘The Sloan Method’? As in...‘The Sloan Method’? Are you kidding me?”
“Oh please,” Callie shot right back. “I didn't hear you complainin' just a minute ago.”
“That's because a minute ago,” Arizona argued, “I didn't know you were using the...” She paused again as a slightly disgusted look took over her features. “Sloan Method.”
“Just...” Callie started again, growing a little frustrated that she was quickly losing the taste of the blonde from her tongue. “Shut up. Lie back. Relax.” She moved back into position between her girlfriend's open thighs, but didn't break their gaze just yet. “And enjoy it.”
Arizona started to argue - and then abruptly stopped.
She closed her eyes against the sensation of Callie’s tongue massaging against her clit before sucking on it hard, then as it moved to run swiftly up and down between her wet lips.
How could she argue with that?
Callie pulled away just long enough to place a hand against Arizona’s stomach and roughly shove her back down against the bed. “I said lie back,” she repeated sternly.
Arizona found it all kinds of hot when Callie got all bossy like that. She licked her lips as she moved to slowly settle back against the bed, and kept her eyes trained on her girlfriend as Callie dipped her head back between her thighs.
Arizona closed her eyes as she reached down with her right hand to replace it in dark curls. Her back arched as she moaned out softly into the room.
‘Sloan Method’ or not, it was impossible not to enjoy what Callie was so very good at.
***
It was in the wee hours of the morning that Arizona’s pager went off.
The noise she emitted sounded more like a wounded bear than a human being. It also emerged from beneath a pile of blankets, limbs, and hair.
She’d barely been asleep long enough to even close her eyes. And besides that, she was tangled up with Callie beneath the covers, where everything was warm and soft and perfect.
But the pager went off again, just as she almost drifted back to sleep.
Feeling like crying, Arizona reluctantly pulled back from her girlfriend and half-crawled overtop of her to reach for the item buzzing on the bedside table.
Callie grumbled from beneath the heap of covers. “Tell it to go away,” she mumbled as she burrowed further into the warmth of their big, comfy bed. She moved to intercept her lover just as the blonde leaned across her body.
Callie wrapped an arm around her slender waist. “Make it stop,” she pleaded again with a husky, sleep-filled whimper.
Arizona laughed and paused long enough to lean down and place a brief, but loving kiss against her shoulder. “Sorry, gorgeous. Go back to sleep, hopefully it’s nothing big.”
She managed to snag the pager before falling back onto her side of the bed, running a hand back through her messy curls. Her brow scrunched in confusion.
“Who is it?” Callie murmured, cheek squished against the pillow, making her voice come out even more subdued and murmur-y than before.
Arizona frowned. “Bailey. She wants me to phone her.” That was a little odd - normally if something required her attention this late at night, she got paged in, and if it wasn’t bad enough to require that, then the person would usually just let her know the situation the next morning.
Arizona swung her legs over the side of the bed, pulled on her girlfriend’s robe from where it was piled on the floor, and grabbed her Blackberry from the dresser, dialing the number Bailey had given while still trying to blink sleep from her eyes.
“You rang,” she mused tiredly when the other doctor finally picked up on the other end.
“Get dressed,” Bailey barked shortly into her ear.
Arizona's brow lifted sleepily. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Robbins,” Bailey shot back, sounding distracted. “Get some clothes on, ‘cause I know your ass is bare right now.”
Arizona blinked as she glanced over her shoulder and down. “It is not,” she grumbled with a pout.
Well, not entirely. She was wearing a robe.
“Robbins!” Bailey barked again, causing her to jump in place. “Get some clothes on, grab those...wheelie little skate things you call shoes and get your ass over here pronto!”
The phone went dead in her ear.
Callie snorted sharply from her spot still buried in the mess of sheets and the comforter. “What'd she want?” she grumbled sleepily, on the verge of passing out again.
Arizona frowned at her phone as she clicked it off. “I don’t know. She went all cryptic and wouldn’t say. Kept telling me to get over there as soon as yesterday.”
She turned back to Callie. “I don’t know why she didn’t page me if it’s for a patient. I’d better go see what she wants.”
That just made Arizona pout again. She wanted to stay in bed, with her girlfriend. Was that really so much to ask?
“Sorry, baby. You’ll have to catch enough zee’s for the both of us.”
Right on cue, Callie's pager suddenly buzzed to life from its place on the dresser.
“Nooooo!” she moaned pitifully as she lifted the pillow to smother it over her head.
Arizona smirked as she walked over to pick up the offending object. Her amusement faded just a little when she noticed the number blinking on the screen. “Cristina?”
Callie pulled the pillow from her head and glanced over with only one eye open. “Who now?”
“It's Cristina,” Arizona repeated as she held the pager out for her girlfriend to see. “Why would Yang be paging you for...anything?”
Callie grumbled something unintelligible.
“So much for sleep,” Arizona sigh, tossing Callie her pager. “Looks like we’ll have to settle for blood and chaos instead.”
***
Arizona was once again thankful for living right across the street from work. It only took them a short time to shower - separately - and dress, and they were there within half an hour.
Both women were in regular street clothes, since the pages hadn’t been specified as work-related.
They were really hoping to leave just as quickly as they came.
Walking down the hall with Callie at her side, Arizona spotted Cristina at the first floor administration desk. “Yang.” She pulled the zombie-like Callie in Cristina’s direction. “She hasn’t had any coffee yet, so use small words and make it brief.”
The blonde grinned at the indignant nudge she received in return.
Callie looked like a cranky grizzly bear that had just been woken out of hibernation two months early, and was fully prepared to eat some furry cartoon forest animals in revenge.
“Have you seen Bailey? She went all cryptic on me on the phone and wouldn’t tell me why I’m needed,” Arizona asked, ignoring her grumpy girlfriend for the moment.
Cristina didn't meet Arizona’s gaze as she lifted a finger to point in the opposite direction.
Arizona gave the resident a strange look.
Yang kept her eyes averted to the floor as she gave the finger a slight wiggle.
Arizona turned to follow the direction Cristina was pointing in. Bailey was waiting impatiently down the hall, staring at her.
Callie yawned widely, completely oblivious to the whole situation. “I haven't had my coffee,” she pouted. “And I just spent...” She flipped over her wrist to glance at the face of her watch. “Something like four hours having long, exhausting, amazing sex.” She lifted her eyes with a smirk in Arizona's direction, but it faltered immediately at the look on the blonde's face as she glanced down the hall.
The hospital was eerily quiet for this time of the morning.
Not to mention Cristina hadn't said a single word since they arrived.
Callie turned a suspicious glance in her roommate’s direction. “Should I be looking out for strange, glowing green pods or something?”
Yang still didn’t say anything, she just stared at Arizona’s shoulder. “You should go talk to her.”
Cristina Yang never sounded subdued. Or…respectful, for that matter.
Arizona was immediately worried. She quickly dropped Callie’s hand and headed over to Bailey.
Callie instantly moved to follow her, but a sudden, and surprisingly gentle hand on her elbow stopped her in her tracks.
“Don't,” Cristina called softly. “Let them talk.” Her brown eyes never left Callie's as she slowly dropped her hand away. Her gaze barely shifted to the left to glance over Callie's shoulder. “You're about to have a very big problem of your own, anyway.”
“Cristina?” Callie called hesitantly. “You're scaring me.” She paused for a moment. “More than usual. Which says a lot.” She started to worry even more as Yang remained silent and just...stared over her shoulder.
Callie steeled herself and then slowly turned around.
The second she did, she immediately dove behind Cristina and the administration desk, out of sight.
Whether or not it made her an immature six year old, that was her first reaction upon seeing Erica Hahn for the first time since the Parking Lot of No Return.
Holy shit.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Callie hissed from where she was hunkered down behind the desk, reaching out and punching Cristina on the leg.
Yang jerked a little. “Um, ow.” She glared down at her roommate. “You are such a coward. The least you could do is run away. At least that shows some pride.”
Callie punched her in the leg again.
“Ow!”
Callie's dark eyes widened. “Shh!” she quickly admonished. “She'll hear you. Which means she'll see you and in turn walk over here and then...see me.” She burrowed a little further behind the cover of the desk. “So...shh!”
Cristina shook her head with a sigh. “No pride at all.”
***
Bailey reached out to snag Arizona by her elbow the second she was within arm's reach. She turned to head down the hall, dragging the confused peds surgeon after her. She didn't stop until they reached an empty exam room, then pushed the door open and roughly pulled the other Attending inside.
Bailey stepped in and closed the door behind them. She quickly turned to face Arizona. “Your father's here,” she stated bluntly. “Your father's here, and he's very sick.”
Arizona’s mouth hung open for a second or two, her whole body suddenly numbing over.
“No, he’s in Washington,” she stated dumbly. “I…I talked to him last week.”
How could he be here, sick, if he was in Washington? The man had never been a sick a day in his life. He was Marine, through and through, and had always been in the best shape possible. He couldn’t be sick.
But he was, and Bailey had the scans to prove it.
“I'm really very sorry,” Miranda tried again, softening her voice just a touch. “But he's here now.” She paused to offer her best sympathetic look. “And he's very sick. It's his heart.”
Arizona didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t...anything. “Was it…did he have a heart attack?”
“He did, but it was minor,” Bailey quickly assured Dr. Robbins. “That’s not his biggest problem, though. He…has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and it’s pretty bad.”
Arizona shook her head, trying to clear it. She still couldn’t process what Bailey was saying to her. “HCM? T-that’s impossible. He’s been in the Marines his entire life, if he had HCM he would’ve found out before now.”
“It’s rare, but in cases like your fathers, it doesn’t present itself until later in life.”
Arizona ran a hand back through her hair. “I-I need to see him. Where is he?”
Bailey glanced out the window where to Dr. Altman was quietly chatting down the hall with...
Erica Hahn.
Dark eyes widened just slightly. “D'um...” Bailey stalled as she reached out blindly to grab Arizona by her elbow. “W-why don't we get some coffee and wait-”
“I don't want any damn coffee!” Arizona snapped as she jerked her arm away from the other doctor's grip.
Bailey's eyes widened even more.
Arizona sighed as she reached up to run a hand back through her hair again. “I'm sorry,” she offered weakly as she pulled in a slow, deep breath. “I...I didn't mean...”
Bailey nodded in sympathy as she stepped up to reach out and place her hand on the blonde’s arm. “I know,” she replied just as gently. “I know.”
***
“Excuse me,” Maria Robbins called out to a nurse rushing by as she stood in the doorway of her husband's room.
The nurse stopped to shoot her an annoyed glare.
Maria cleared her throat, a little taken back. “I'm so sorry to bother you,” she began. “But my husband is thirsty. I don't know if I'm allowed to-”
“Ma'am,” the nurse interrupted with a sharply raised hand, “we just had a man flatline two doors down. The last thing I'm concerned about is how thirsty your husband is.”
“If I were you, I'd be more concerned about your job,” a sudden husky voice broke in from somewhere to the left.
Both women looked over to see Dr. Callie Torres standing a few feet away, her dark eyes leveled on the nurse.
The woman instantly shrank back beneath the harsh glare she was receiving.
Callie jerked her head back over her shoulder. “Go.”
The nurse quickly rushed by to disappear into the room a few doors down.
Callie instantly smiled as Maria's dark eyes focused on her. “Mrs. Robbins,” she offered gently as she walked closer. “I'm so sorry about Daniel.”
Maria smiled weakly. “Thank you, Dr. Torres. But he’s as stubborn as an old goat; he’s hanging in there.”
“I can hear you,” Daniel’s voice carried from inside the room. It sounded weak compared to his normally strong tone, but his sense of humor was apparently still in tact.
“Do you happen to know where my daughter is?” Maria asked Callie, ringing her hands together in worry. “My husband demanded Dr. Bailey not wake her when he was admitted, but she needs to know her father is here.”
Callie hesitated as she kept her hands tucked into the pockets of her white overcoat. She was decked out in her scrubs now, with her undershirt sleeves rolled up just past her elbows.
As usual.
“She's here,” she finally answered quietly before glancing at the open doorway leading into Daniel's room. She couldn't fight the smile that appeared when she saw him sitting up, smiling right back at her.
That man was tough, no doubt about it.
At least now she knew where her girlfriend got it from.
Maria sighed. “He’s very thirsty. Is he allowed to drink something? I didn’t want to give in to his incessant begging if he’s not supposed to.”
Callie nodded. “I’ll take a look at his chart. As long as he isn’t scheduled for surgery in the next few hours, there’s no harm in it.” She followed Mrs. Robbins inside.
***
Arizona finally ran out of excuses for delaying the visit to her father’s room.
After changing into a pair of scrubs she kept in her locker, she’d been bombarded with various administrative tasks as well as the occasional medical question from a co-worker.
But now, she’d finished the insurance and admittance forms for her mom and done everything else she could do. Now, she finally found herself hovering outside of her dad’s room with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The first thought that came screaming through her mind was that she couldn’t bear to lose him, too. Not after Aaron. She couldn’t go through that again.
And her mom. They might not see eye-to-eye these days, but Arizona didn’t know how her mom would be able to handle losing her husband of over forty years.
Arizona found herself blinking back involuntary tears, and very quickly forced herself to stand up a little straighter and take in a deep breath.
She might cry in the face of authority figures, but she sure as hell didn’t cry during a crisis. She was no sissy. Her father had taught her better than that.
Just before she could round the corner and enter the Colonel’s room, her girlfriend emerged from it.
“Oh! Hey, you’re here, we’ve been wondering about you,” Callie said, concern lacing her tone.
Arizona smiled, loving Callie a little more right then. If that was even possible.
“Paperwork,” she stated quietly. “I didn’t want my mom to have to deal with all of that crap later, so I took care of everything.”
Callie smiled gently as she gazed into troubled blue eyes. “Of course you did,” she murmured softly before reaching up to brush back a loose strand of blonde hair. Her smile faltered. “Honey, you look exhausted.”
Arizona sighed as she reached up to run a hand back through her messy curls, combing her fingers through them. She glanced over at the large window separating her from her father's room.
The blinds were open just barely enough that she could see the distorted figures inside.
Arizona felt her own heart seize in her chest at the sight of her mother sitting next to her father's hospital bed. She was clutching his hand as he dozed.
“Daddy,” she whispered with a slight quiver in her lower lip.
Callie stepped forward in an instant to wrap Arizona in strong, comforting arms. She pressed a soft kiss to her temple and held her as close as she physically could.
Arizona closed her eyes and buried her face into Callie’s neck, holding on to her tightly.
She didn’t know what she’d do without Callie around to keep her grounded. Right now, she was pretty sure she’d have collapsed in a heap if the brunette hadn’t been there to catch her. She clung on like she was drowning and Callie was her lifeline, fingers digging instinctively into her strong shoulders.
Arizona stayed like that for a long moment, before taking in a shallow breath and reluctantly pulling away. “I’m okay,” she tried to assure Callie with a weak smile, sniffling back in an effort to hold her tears at bay. “I’m more worried about telling him that his HCM means he’s got to start taking it easy. That’s not going to go over well, and there’s no way he’s just gonna listen to Teddy when she tells him.”
Callie glanced over to peer through the window. She couldn't see much inside, but she knew it had to be a pretty unpleasant sight for Arizona to witness.
Which probably meant that this wasn't a good time to tell her current girlfriend that her ex-girlfriend was suddenly back in Seattle. In this hospital. At, apparently, the same time that her father showed up with...heart...problems...
Wait a minute...
Callie's eyes suddenly widened in realization, and she snapped her attention back to Arizona.
Oh no.
Arizona was too distracted to notice. “Got anywhere you need to be right now?”
“Nope.” Swallowing hard, Callie took Arizona’s hand in her own and gave it a firm squeeze. “I’m right where I’m needed.”
Arizona sent her a grateful smile before steadying herself and walking into her father’s room.
He looked so…peaceful sleeping. But if it weren’t for the machines beeping away at a slow, steady rhythm, she might have wondered if he was still breathing or not.
“Mom.” Arizona made her way over to the bed and instantly hugged her mother when she stood up from her chair. “How is he?”
Maria glanced down at the bed as she held Arizona in a firm, warm hug. “You know your father,” she whispered as she squeezed her eyes shut to fight back the tears. She hugged her daughter closer.
Callie stood a little awkwardly at the foot of Daniel's bed. She kept her hands tucked into her pockets as she averted her eyes to the floor.
“I thought I told you to stop doing that.”
All attention shifted over to the bed at the sound of the deep, familiar voice, an obvious strain hiding behind it.
Daniel Robbins was focused on the figure standing at the foot of his bed. “Your eyes are much too beautiful to be staring at the floor all the time, Calliope Torres.”
Callie blushed right on cue and grinned a little.
Maria rolled her eyes as she sniffled back. “Always the smooth talker,” she said with a similar strain in her own voice.
“Dad, you’re smooth-talking my girlfriend,” Arizona chuckled as she stepped over to lean down and kiss him on the cheek. “Don’t make me look bad in comparison.”
“You’re not too bad at it yourself,” Callie pointed out. “You had me at ‘Hey’ in a dirty bar bathroom. That takes some serious skill.”
Arizona looked over at her and grinned crookedly.
Daniel noticed the small exchange right away. “Now that’s what I like to see,” he sighed contently. “It seems you girls have worked out your differences. You must have finally smartened up, Arizona. The girl I raised would never let a catch like Dr. Torres get away.”
Callie blushed again, but refrained from dropping her eyes to the floor this time.
“We've...worked it out,” Arizona replied as she continued to hold her gaze with the brunette. Her smile suddenly grew in size and she felt a fresh wave of courage sweep through her. “We're actually trying to get pregnant.”
Callie's grin vanished in an instant and her eyes popped open widely.
That caused Daniel to sit up further in bed. Maria looked at Arizona in surprise. “You are?” she asked her daughter quietly.
“Yeah.” Arizona didn’t take her eyes from Callie’s frightened face. She didn’t know what had made her suddenly decide that now was a good time to blurt it out, but…
It was that or break down in tears.
Arizona stepped over to Callie, grasping her hand again. “We’re happy, and...we’re starting a family.”
Daniel smiled widely. “I knew it.” He slowly lifted his right arm, wires attached and all, to extend it towards Callie. “Come over here.”
Callie hesitated for only a moment before stepping around the end of the bed to walk up next to the man's side. She kept her smile even though her tummy had a million butterflies swarming inside of it. She still couldn't quite believe Arizona had just blurted everything out like that.
Not that she was really worried about Daniel's reaction. If she didn't already have a father that she loved so very dearly...
Callie's brown eyes began to water as she reached down to gently take the man's hand in her own.
Daniel might have had a weak heart, but he still had a strong grip. He tugged Callie down so he could hug her with one arm. “Congratulations, sweetheart. You two will make fine parents.”
Arizona smiled lovingly as she watched Callie and her dad embrace. She still couldn’t believe how well they got along. Until Callie, the few girls that had met her father were terrified of him.
But, until Callie, no one had really mattered.
She looked up just as her mom stepped over to place a hand on her arm. “It’s about time your father and I got some grandchildren,” Maria stated with a smile of her own. “I was starting to give up hope.”
“So was I,” Callie mumbled to herself as she stood back up straight.
Arizona heard the dig, but chose to ignore it.
For now.
Instead, she squeezed her mom’s hand and turned her attention to her father. She placed a hand on his leg on top of the blanket. “We're gonna get you the best doctors, Daddy.”
Daniel smiled warmly up at his daughter, still clutching Callie's hand in his own. “I already have the best doctor, honey.”
Arizona's smile faltered and her brow furrowed. “You mean Teddy?” Her eyes suddenly widened as she realized how that must've sounded. “Not that she isn't a super doctor. Awesome, even. Really.”
Callie smirked just a little.
“No, honey, not exactly.” Daniel looked uncomfortable, and not just because he was weak from having a heart attack. “We asked her to come out here instead when I fell ill. I didn’t want to be transported back to San Diego again.”
“Again?” Arizona stared hard at her father. “What do you mean ‘again’? How do you already have a surgeon on standby?”
Maria sighed. “Arizona…”
“No.” Arizona cut her eyes over to her mother. “You two knew about this already, and didn’t tell me?” The answer was plain as day by the guilty look on her mother’s face. She pulled her hand away. “You were here for two full weeks. You have a phone. How long have you known?”
Daniel sighed. “Zona-”
“How long?” Arizona demanded, a mixture of anger and hurt swirling around her words.
Daniel sighed. “Six months ago I started having…problems. The surgeon at the San Diego Cardiac Center performed a temporary fix that worked at the time, but after last night…”
Arizona couldn’t stand up anymore and slowly sank down onto the far edge of the bed. “How could you not tell me?” She looked...defeated, and too tired to stay angry.
For now.
Callie took in the whole scene with wide, slightly panicked eyes.
Now probably wasn't the best time to tell Arizona about-
“Daniel, there you are.” An all too familiar voice suddenly appeared in the doorway, saving her from that dilemma.
Callie sighed as she slowly closed her eyes.
Of course.
Maria looked over with an instant smile. “Dr. Hahn.”
Callie squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.
This was not happening.
Arizona tore her focus from her father to look over at Hahn. Since she didn’t recognize her as one of the hospital staff, she assumed that she was her dad’s imported surgeon.
Gritting her teeth, Arizona looked back at her father. “I’m not done with you,” she whispered with a stern finger point. “We’ll finish this later.” She stood up from the edge of the bed and glanced at Callie.
Arizona did a double take when she saw the pained expression on her lover’s face.
“I’ve told you time and time again, by now you should be calling me Erica,” Dr. Hahn replied, looking at Daniel and then also glancing over at the brunette.
Arizona slowly looked at Hahn, who was staring at Callie with a carefully neutral expression.
Hahn. Erica Hahn.
Cardio surgeon.
…fucking seriously?
Arizona didn’t know whether to laugh out loud or growl.
“I’m Dr. Hahn, your father’s surgeon,” Erica stated as she held out a hand to Arizona, who shook it without saying anything. “I take it you’re the brilliant pediatric surgeon he won’t stop gushing about.”
Despite herself, Arizona glanced at her dad and smiled a bit as she shook Hahn’s hand. “Does he now?”
Erica nodded once more before looking at the brunette in the room. “Dr. Torres. Long time no see.”
Callie swallowed back thickly.
She was fucked.
She was so fucked.
That seemed to be the one and only thought that continued to run through her mind as she stood just a few feet away from her current and ex girlfriends.
Who were standing right next to each other, both with their...blonde hair and blue eyes.
And slightly peeved-off expressions.
Callie's eyes remained wide and terrified as she glanced from one to the other.
So fucked.
Arizona looked from Callie, to Hahn, then back again.
This was just…weird beyond the telling of it.
“So…” Arizona broke in, watching Hahn stare at Callie, trying to get her attention back.
Or, more importantly…away from her girlfriend.
Dr. Hahn looked back at Arizona. “Your father may need a heart transplant,” she stated calmly and bluntly.
Arizona’s own heart fell out of her chest and landed on the floor. All other issues were completely forgotten about in that instant.
Fuck.
“Erica!” Callie suddenly snapped as she focused her wide eyes on her ex. They weren't so much panicked and terrified now as a little pissed off at her tactlessness. “God,” she grumbled again as she stepped up next to her current girlfriend. She turned her complete attention on Arizona, who suddenly looked even paler than usual.
“Hey,” Callie called softly as she reached out to place her right hand on the blonde's hip, gently turning her around. “Arizona, look at me.” It took a few seconds, but anguished blue eyes finally met brown.
Callie smiled the best she could. “He's gonna be fine. He's in the best hospital with the best doctors.” She ran her hand up and down Arizona’s side soothingly. “He's gonna be fine.”
Arizona nodded, though it was more of an automatic response. “Yeah. I know.” Which she didn’t.
“I’m sorry, but your father’s case is both rare and very seriously. HCM usually presents itself and its symptoms much earlier in life. Especially given the fact that your father was a Marine for so long.” Erica was definitely watching the close contact of Daniel’s daughter and Callie, but she didn’t say anything in front of the parents.
“Is,” Arizona instantly pointed out. “He is a Marine.”
“It’s fine, honey,” Daniel soothed. He didn’t seem to notice any awkward tension between the three women.
Arizona sighed and nodded mutely again, leaning into Callie a little more.
Maria Robbins wasn’t oblivious like her husband. She had almost instantly picked up on the shared look between Callie and Dr. Hahn, and Arizona’s defensiveness only made her more sure.
“Arizona, your father and I have talked this over. There really are no other options at this point. His heart is too damaged.”
Arizona shook her head. “It might take months to match a heart to him, mom. If he so much as climbs some stairs too fast before then…”
Her hand found Callie’s by their sides and she squeezed it tightly.
Callie instantly leaned over to place a soft, soothing kiss to the underside of Arizona's jaw and slipped an arm around her waist supportively. “Hey, it’s okay.”
Erica watched the intimate gesture as the grip on her pen tightened just a little.
Maria watched Erica staring at her daughter and Calliope. Something was definitely amiss here, but her focus was on her husband for the moment. “Arizona,” she started gently, but with a sense of finality in her voice. “I understand your concerns for your father. But if he wants this transplant, then he’s getting it.”
Daniel smiled back at his wife and took her hand. “It’ll happen when it happens, don’t you two worry about me.”
Of course, he knew that his efforts were useless. Arizona and her mother were used to worrying about him, they did so every time he had been overseas with the Marines. They were programmed to worry.
Standing there in a room with her family and her partner’s ex, Arizona suddenly couldn’t handle it anymore. The reassurances, the staring, the sudden sweltering heat that she felt was closing in around her...
It was all too much.
“I, um,” she started, fumbling over her words a little. “I-I just remember there’s some more paperwork that needs doing.” Her thumb jerked back to the open doorway. “I should...go fill it out before it gets lost in the shuffle.”
She had finished everything before coming up here. But the room was stifling hot, and she couldn’t breathe. She needed to escape.
“I’ll be back a little later. Once your test results come in from the lab, we can...talk about this some more.” Arizona barely managed to flash both her mom and dad a quick smile, before turning and fleeing through the door.
She didn’t look at Hahn. And she left it up to Callie whether or not to follow.
Like it was even a choice at all.
Without a second of hesitation, the brunette quickly followed her lover from the room. She did pause, but only for a moment, as she passed by her ex. Because as much in love with and totally devoted to Arizona that she was, this was still Erica.
Her first.
In more ways than one.
Callie allowed herself a tiny smile, but didn't quite meet Erica's eyes as she quickly disappeared from the room to follow Arizona down the hall.
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