Fault Lines (12/36)
Fault Lines
Chapter 12/36
Authors: Faith kennedysbitch & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie
Rating: NC-17
Beta’d by roughian
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: Mark finds out what Lexie’s been hiding from him, and Callie loses her patience.
Disclaimer
Previous Chapters
A/N: Alex is an ass in this story, I’m just gonna put that out there right now. This was written back before he became likable (we both hated him a fair bit), so while future events make us both feel kind of like shit-heads now that he’s part of Team Peds and is kind of awesome...this isn’t Season 7 Alex.
---
Mark released a deep, tired yawn as he attempted to stay upright and awake. Eight A.M. was a lot earlier than he ever remembered it being before. He reached up to rub at his eyes with the heels of his palms, just as the elevator ‘ding’ed and the doors slid open.
Meredith Grey stood waiting for him on the other side. “You’re late,” she chastised, clearly annoyed. “Jackass.”
Mark frowned as he stepped off of the elevator. “Uh. Traffic?”
Meredith continued to look unimpressed. “You live right across the street.”
Mark’s frown deepened. “Oh...right. Sorry.” He looked around but didn’t spot the woman he was looking for. “Where is she?”
Meredith nodded down the hallway and started in that direction. “She’s waiting.” He followed.
Arriving outside of an on-call room, she halted and jerked Mark to a stop with a sharp tug on his arm. “You’re going to go in there, and you’re going to listen. And you’re going to be very, very careful about what you say, or I will kill you. Do you understand me? ‘Little Sloan’ will cease to be a part of your anatomy if you so much as blink the wrong way at her.”
Mark recoiled a little. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re small but awfully scary when you want to be?”
Meredith just grabbed him by the jacket, opened the door and stuffed him unceremoniously inside the room.
He stumbled, wincing when the door slammed closed behind him. “Damn. No wonder Shepherd is so whipped.”
Lexie looked up from where she was seated on the bed. There were no more tears on her face, but from her bloodshot eyes, it was clear that she had been crying pretty recently.
Mark's heart instantly dropped into the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what might be wrong. “Lexie,” he whispered softly as he walked towards the bed. “What's going on?” He reached out to grab the nearest chair and flipped it around to face her. He wanted so badly to sit down next to the brunette, but he wasn't exactly sure what his boundaries were at the moment. All Mark cared about was making Lexie feel better, making her stop crying. “You’re not...are you sick?” He couldn’t stand the thought of it.
Lexie quivered as she stared at Mark. She clutched a single piece of paper in her hands, but the writing was too small for him to read from where he was sitting. “I…” The words died in her throat. She was so terrified of losing Mark that she didn’t want to say anything. Unfortunately, this was something she just couldn’t hide from.
He kind of might notice on his own in another two or three months time.
“Mark, I…” Lexie looked down at the paper one last time, almost as if she was re-checking to make sure she had read the results correctly. After a long pause, she folded it in half and set it aside. Finally, she looked up at him. “I’m…pregnant.”
Mark's blue eyes slowly widened as he sat there in stunned silence. He blinked once and released a slow, deep breath. “Wow.” He cracked a tiny smile, looking dazed. “Wow, that’s...wow.”
Lexie was still shaking like a leaf, too terrified to look away from him. “Please say something else.”
Mark blinked a few times before swallowing back and shifting in his chair. He never took his eyes from the woman sitting a foot across from him. There were a million different questions and other things darting through his mind right now, but first and foremost...
“I want to raise it with you,” he suddenly blurted, his own body beginning to shake a little. “I want be there for you and this baby.” He paused for a moment, heart pounding uncontrollably in his chest. “I want to if you’ll let me.”
Lexie closed her eyes, because as much as she was glad Mark hadn’t run out of the room screaming as soon as she’d opened her mouth, she wasn’t done yet.
“I love you.” They flickered open. “I love you so much, it nearly killed me when I wasn’t with you.” Her fingers bunched tightly around the fresh hospital bed sheets beneath her. “But I don’t…I don’t know if…” Lexie took in a shaky breath and steadied herself. “I-I don’t know if the baby is yours, Mark.” Dead silence followed, so she spoke again. “I want it to be. I want it to be so badly. But I-I…I don’t know.”
The initial look of surprised euphoria on Mark’s face began to disappear. “What do you mean, you don't know if it's mine?” His frown deepened, but it didn’t take long for the realization to hit him like a ton of bricks. “Oh.” He released another heavy breath. “You mean Karev.”
Fuck. That little bastard.
Lexie looked away, blinking back tears. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered painfully. God, the last thing she wanted for Mark was a constant reminder of her thing with Alex. Especially something this big. “There’s a paternity test. But I-I would have to wait a few more weeks before it can be done…if it gets that far.”
Mark looked up sharply. “What do you mean?”
Lexie suddenly jumped up from her seat, pacing a few steps away. “I’m a third year resident, Mark. I have two years left and then another two when I choose a specialization. I can’t do that and have a baby at the same time. I worked my whole life to get to where I am, and now…”
However, work wasn’t the only reason.
Lexie had to choke back another fresh wave of emotions as they threatened to overwhelm her. “I can’t do this by myself. I can’t raise a baby on my own. I can’t.”
“You won't have to.” Mark jumped up from his seat and took the few short steps necessary to stand right in front of her. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but held back at the last possible moment. “I still mean what I said. I wanna be here for you and the baby, I don't care who the biological father is.”
Admittedly, that wasn't the entire truth. Just the thought that it could be Karev's made him see red. But, in the end, it didn't really matter. Mark loved Lexie too much to ever walk away.
“Please,” he implored softly. “Just give me a chance here.” His blue eyes became misty. “I know I can do it.”
“You mean that now,” Lexie murmured, shaking her head. “But what about months from now? Years? You hate Alex, Mark. You really think you could live knowing you’re raising his biological son? God, I don’t want it to be his. We were having sex, there were no…feelings involved with him, we were both just trying to get by. That shouldn’t be the reason I end up having a baby.”
She looked torn. “I love you, Mark. But I…I don’t know anymore. Everything’s changed, and I-I don’t…” The stupid, aggravating tears she’d been fighting back finally began to fall. “I don’t know if I can do this. Spend every day wondering whether or not you really mean you don’t care. I couldn’t take it if you changed your mind.”
More than a little overwhelmed, Lexie turned just as Mark stepped forward again. She grabbed the doorknob and twisted it open, fleeing the on-call room before he could react.
“Lexie!” Mark called after her rapidly retreating form. “Wait!” He bolted after her as fast as his legs would carry him. “Dammit. Lexie!”
Catching up, he reached out and grabbed her by the elbow, spinning her around. He was breathing a little heavily, but managed a quick smile. “You have got to stop doing that, woman.” He paused only for a brief second to take in another short breath. “I don't care what you think.”
Lexie’s brow shot up.
“I don't care what you think,” Mark repeated as he gazed into her tearful eyes. “Because I know what I feel.” He dropped his hand away from her elbow and took a step closer. “I love you, and I wanna do this with you, no matter what. I will never change my mind. Never.”
Lexie ignored the small group of people that were watching them from the nearby administration desk, which included Robbins, Torres and Shepherd. She was sure she looked like a real sideshow, with tears streaming down her face and Mark Sloan running like a crazy person to catch up to her.
But she felt like she might fall apart, and the only person she could focus on to keep that from happening was Mark. “I don’t know if I can have a baby,” she whispered. “I…I wouldn’t be a good mother. I wouldn’t have the slightest clue what to do.” She gazed up at Mark with sad eyes. “You’d probably be saner to go have a baby with someone who’s less of a spazz.”
“Sane is boring,” Mark shot right back as his grin began to return. “You're not a spazz, and you won't be a horrible mother. You’ll be the opposite.” He sighed softly as he reached up with his right hand to gently brush his fingers back through the brunette's dark curls. “You're beautiful, and kind, and sweet and caring, and so incredibly smart. And we can learn what to do together.”
For the first time since the previous night, Lexie felt the smallest surge of hope inside. Mark was always her one bright spot. She never wanted that to change. “I guess…I could read a parenting book or two first,” she admitted after a few seconds of silence. “Photographic memory would definitely help with recalling stuff in a crisis. Maybe there’ll be diagrams on how to change a diaper.”
Mark's smile widened as his dimples slowly became visible. He hadn't shaved in a few days, but they were there. Shaving was sort of the last thing on his mind when Lexie had been avoiding him for so long. “There's my girl,” he whispered softly as he continued to gaze down at her. His smile slowly began to fade as a nervous lump suddenly formed in the back of his throat.
He'd been holding off for weeks now. He still carried it around in his pocket every day.
Fuck it. He was done waiting.
Mark swallowed once more as his heart began to pound in his ears. “Lexie...” He stepped back and reached into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. He never took his eyes from her as he dropped down to one knee.
Lexie’s eyes widened. “What...”
Mark pulled the ring box out and took in a steadying breath. “Alexandra Caroline Grey,” he began again, “I would be honored and the luckiest bastard alive if you would make me the happiest man on earth.” He paused just long enough to reach up and pull open the top. “Marry me, Little Grey. Marry me and spend the rest of your life letting me make you happy.”
Lexie’s jaw dropped.
Over at the administration desk, Callie, who had been watching the whole exchange, suddenly elbowed Arizona in the side. Hard.
“Ow,” the blonde whined, looking up from her chart. “What was that for?” Rubbing at her ribcage, she stopped and followed Callie’s gaze - and immediately froze, eyes popping open wide. “Oh, holy crap.”
Derek Shepherd had been fiddling nearby with the computer, and he too looked up to watch as Mark slowly sank down onto one knee. “What in the hell is he doing?”
Pretty much every single person within visual range had stopped to stare.
Lexie didn’t notice a single one of them. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she didn’t notice the sudden silence that settled over the hallway. Her eyes traveled from Mark’s face down to the ring in his hand. The ring that he had apparently been carrying around and planning to use before he had found out she was pregnant. The ring he was still using, even though he had every excuse to run away.
“I love you,” Lexie breathed softly, never meaning those words more than she did now.
Mark shifted nervously on his knee. He was starting to get a cramp. “Is…that a yes?”
Lexie cracked a smile, realizing she was supposed to finish her part of this, too. “Yes.”
Mark blinked once, then a wide grin slowly began to spread across his face. “Yes?” He laughed out loud, barely managing to contain himself. “Lexie, you have no id-”
“Oh, come on,” a deep, rugged voice suddenly cut in, breaking the silence that had fallen over the hallway.
Lexie and Mark both looked toward the source to see Alex Karev standing just a few feet away from them. His eyes were cold and hard as he glared at the couple. “You really think putting a ring on her finger is gonna keep her legs closed to any other guy than you?” He smirked defiantly. “I could tap that right now if I really wanted.”
Mark's smile vanished in an instant. His hand clamped down hard around the ring box and it snapped shut beneath the force of his grip. “What the fuck did you just say?” he snarled as he quickly rose back to his feet.
“Mark, don’t!” Lexie jumped in front of him before he could lunge at Alex. “Ignore him. He’s not worth it.”
“That’s rich,” Alex snarled, taking a few steps closer. “Coming from you. You thought I was worth it when I was banging you in the on-call room whenever you wanted it.”
Lexie’s eyes hardened. “You know, I actually felt kind of bad before? And I tried to apologize. Even though you and I were never exclusive, I tried to tell you I’m sorry for what happened before I could break it off with you. But now? Now I think you’re a sad, angry little man who needs some serious therapy before he’ll ever be able to move on with his life.”
Alex growled. “Screw you.”
“Please, Lexie,” Mark's voice broke in. “Let me hit him. Just once. That’s all I need.”
“Mark,” Lexie shot at him, looking back over her shoulder to glower. “Just…please back off. For me.”
“Let him try and hit me,” Alex snapped. “Jackass.” He tried to push past Lexie to get at Mark, but Lexie stuck fast between them and refused to budge.
Arizona’s eyes widened from her leaning position against the desk. “Oh, that’s not good,” she murmured, straightening up and preparing to intervene. “She’s pregnant, Callie.” She wouldn’t have said anything, but Lexie did not need to get in between two fully-grown, angry males.
“What?” Callie did a double take of Arizona, eyes wide as she looked from her girlfriend to the scene playing out down the hall. “That is not good.” She pushed herself off of the desk and darted around.
“Hey!” She called out sharply as she walked up to grab Lexie by the scruff of the shirt. She gave her a swift tug backwards. “Not in your condition.” She turned to Mark with a stern glare and reached up to smack him hard in the chest. “Bring the testosterone level down a notch or two, will ya?”
“Move it, Torres,” Alex barked from behind her.
Callie’s brow skyrocketed and she turned to look him dead in the eye. “Excuse me? I will hurt you, tiny man.”
Alex snorted, but he had no doubt that Callie Torres probably packed a serious punch. “This has nothing to do with you.” He tried to push around her to get to Mark again, but her hand blocked against his chest. “Move it,” he spat a second time.
Arizona wasn’t far behind Callie, and she immediately grabbed her girlfriend by the back of her lab coat and hauled her away, stepping in to take her place. “Not in your condition,” she shot back with a pointed glare.
Jesus. Pregnant women throwing themselves into stupid fights seemed to be the theme of the morning. Right along with “men are idiots.”
“Karev. Back off. Go upstairs. Sloan, turn around and take Lexie somewhere else. Now,” Arizona snapped, glaring at both men while Lexie tugged on Mark’s sleeve.
Mark blinked as he stared back into Arizona's fierce, unwavering blue eyes. He cracked a tiny smile as he leaned over just enough to look around the blonde and meet his best friend's gaze. “No wonder you're so hot for her. Nice.”
Callie snickered before a wide, knowing grin slowly spread across her lips. “You have no idea.”
Mark's smile widened before he felt the hard slap to the back of his head. “Hello?” Lexie scolded as she yanked once more on his shirt. “Remember me? The woman you just proposed to?”
Alex growled again before throwing his hands into the air. “Fuck this,” he snarled before swiftly turning on his heel to head down the hall in the opposite direction.
“Mark? Go,” Arizona ordered again as she turned to watch Alex angrily stalk away. She felt bad for the guy. He hadn’t been himself in weeks, and this certainly wasn’t helping.
Lexie watched Alex leave, debating for half a second following him just to talk, but she was pretty sure that wouldn’t do any good. Sighing, she turned to tug on Mark’s arm. “C’mon. Please?” She activated her pouty sad eyes, trying to work them to her advantage.
Between Arizona glaring a hole through his head and Lexie unfairly pouting at him, Mark finally relaxed just a little. “Fine.”
Lexie smiled and looped her arm through his. “I’m hungry. Let’s get some breakfast.” She knew the only thing that could possibly take Mark’s mind off of either violence or sex was food.
Every time.
Arizona watched Lexie lead Mark away, then abruptly rounded on Callie. “What were you thinking?!” She smacked her girlfriend on the shoulder. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Does jumping in between two pigheaded men while you’re in the early stages of pregnancy sound like a smart idea to you? Really, Calliope?”
Callie stared back, a flutter of panic in her stomach. “Umm...” She laughed nervously. “N-no? It...does not, when you...put it that way...”
Arizona narrowed her eyes into slits.
Callie swallowed back, suddenly feeling a lot terrified and a little bit turned on. Arizona was strikingly beautiful when she was angry. “Any chance you might wanna find the nearest supply closet and...?”
Arizona raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Seriously? That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
Callie forced herself to keep smiling.
Sighing in annoyance, Arizona stepped forward to very carefully yank Callie in by the lapels of her lab coat. “You make me crazy, woman.” She planted a quick, deep kiss on her lips.
Then turned and walked away, heading back over to the admin desk.
Callie's smile slowly faded and her shoulders slumped a little.
Dammit.
***
“You did it in a supply closet?” Callie scoffed, crossing her arms and glaring at Mark from across their lunch table. “That’s just tacky, Mark.”
“I seem to remember you falling out of one post-coital with a certain someone not too long ago,” he pointed out. When Callie blushed and grumbled some more, he just laughed and continued to inhale the pizza, two apples, sandwich and bowl of pasta in front of him. Sex made him hungry. “Relax, Torres. We used the one on the fourth floor. You and Robbins can keep your favourite third floor paradise. I didn’t contaminate anything.”
Callie just continued to glare at him. “I hate you, Mark.” She pouted a little. “You suck.”
Mark grinned around a mouthful of his apple. “No, but Lexie sure did.”
Callie threw a carrot stick at his head.
“Why are you so grumpy?” Mark chuckled, catching the object and popping it in his mouth. “You’re normally cheerful and annoying after Robbins screws you into submission.”
The next carrot hit him square in the forehead.
“Ah. Didn’t get any, did you?”
Callie glared some more, lifting a hand to throw another carrot, but only made the gesture before quickly pulling it back. “Ass,” she grumbled to herself before jamming the vegetable into her mouth.
Mark continued to grin as he reclined back in his chair, but it was quickly replaced with a slight grimace. These hard plastic chairs really kind of sucked on days like today.
Callie finally managed her first semblance of a smile. “You're totally having 'after-sex' pains right now.”
“Am not,” Mark shot right back. “Never have and never will.” Another sharp grimace betrayed his words.
Callie chuckled as she chewed on another carrot stick. She lifted a dark eyebrow as she stared him down with equally as dark eyes. “I used to get them all the time with you.”
Tilting his head to the side, Mark grinned at her. “Really?”
“Oh yeah,” Callie replied in a low, sexy voice. Her brow ticked. “There were some days I couldn't sit down without it hurting.”
Mark suddenly sat forward in his chair, his smirk widening. “Really,” he repeated again, looking smug.
“Yeah.” Callie chuckled as she pulled the carrot from her mouth and slowly leaned forward, closer to him. “But with Arizona? There are days I can barely even walk after she’s done with me. I even had to call in sick once because I couldn’t move my legs.”
Mark's smirk vanished in an instant.
Callie laughed at him as she reached for her juice box.
“You're evil,” Mark shot back with a glare as he fell back into his own chair.
Callie just smiled triumphantly as she stuck the straw into her mouth and began to suck.
Mark was about to shoot his mouth off some more, when his eyes shifted up over Callie’s shoulder.
“Erica Hahn is coming back.”
Callie turned as her girlfriend suddenly appeared behind her. The juice box ran empty and the straw made a loud gurgling noise.
Arizona sighed and slipped into the chair next to Callie, looking tired. “Just thought I’d give you a heads up. She’s flying back into Seattle today, my dad just told me downstairs.” Her father had arrived back at the hospital and was being admitted for another minor procedure. She thought Teddy was going to do it, but Hahn insisted on coming to check his prognosis.
Her return sucked on more than one level.
Arizona reached over and stole a carrot from Callie’s tray, slumping back in her chair.
Mark watched Arizona chew without much enthusiasm, then shifted his gaze over to his best friend.
Callie was sitting next to her girlfriend, straw of the empty juice box clutched tightly between her teeth. She held the carton to her mouth as her glazed eyes slowly traveled up and down the woman sitting next to her.
Mark reached out with his foot to kick her hard in the shin.
Callie jerked on impact, shooting a wide-eyed glare in her former best friend's direction. “Oww. What the hell?”
“Stop eye-fucking your girlfriend long enough to process here,” Mark shot back.
Arizona looked over at Callie and smiled as she reached out to steal the second piece of pizza from Mark’s plate.
Callie briefly glared at him, but for the most part her eyes remained glued to Arizona. Getting a flash of those dimples when the blonde grinned wasn’t helping her to not stare.
Mark shook his head. “Robbins, next time you should just fuck her and get it over with. She’s gonna be a one-track-mind head case all damn day now.”
Both women looked over at Sloan with raised eyebrows. “Excuse me?” Arizona echoed Callie’s earlier statement.
“I could ask the same thing,” another voice suddenly broke into the moment before Mark could reply. His slowly turned in his chair and lifted his gaze. “Uh.” He flashed his best, most innocent smile. “Hi, honey.”
Lexie arched a brow and pinned Mark to his chair with a stern glare.
Mark swallowed back.
Lexie was quiet for a long moment as she slowly set her tray down onto the table in front of him. “I really hope you enjoyed it earlier,” she began, “because it's probably gonna be a while before you get any again.”
Arizona laughed as Mark just looked stricken. “You dig your own grave, Sloan, each and every time you open your mouth.” She took another bite from the slice of pizza she had stolen from him. “Your kid is gonna have a potty mouth and knowledge of things he or she shouldn’t have knowledge of. They’ll grow up on Hooters wings and Trailer Park Boys.”
Mark’s eyes widened. “You know already?” He looked over at Lexie, who shrugged.
“I had to get someone to run the test for me, someone who wouldn’t talk.”
“I think it was more by accident,” Arizona added. “I ran into her early this morning when she was having a bit of a freak out. Offered to help.” She smiled warmly across the table at Lexie. “Glad to see things seem to have worked themselves out. Congratulations, you two. On both accounts.”
She snuck a quick glance at Callie. They still hadn’t received the results of her blood work yet, and Arizona wasn’t sure if the brunette wanted to wait until it was officially-official before saying anything. She was bursting to share the news, but would respectfully wait as long as she had to until her partner felt comfortable enough tel-
“I'm pregnant too,” Callie blurted, answering Arizona’s question right there.
“You are?” Both Mark and Lexie demanded at the exact same time.
Callie's smile widened. “Yep,” she nodded, shifting her gaze to the right to meet her girlfriend's wide blue eyes. She reached over to place a hand on top of Arizona’s and gave it a soft squeeze.
“Wait.” Mark shook his head, eyes wide and full of surprise. “You're pregnant?”
“Yep,” Callie repeated easily, pride in her voice.
Mark shifted his gaze to the blonde. “And Robbins is the Daddy?”
“More or less,” Callie added as her smile softened. She gave another gentle squeeze to the warm hand beneath her own. “She is in every way that matters.”
Arizona beamed back at her girlfriend. These days, the only bright spot in her life was Callie and their future baby. Just the thought alone made her smile even more.
“I didn’t even know you two were doing it,” Lexie added, earning a look from everyone at the table. “Not it-it, god. I meant that you had decided to have a baby already. How did you choose a donor?”
Mark thought about whether or not that question bugged him, but after learning that he was having a baby with Lexie, he honestly didn’t care anymore. The lesbians could figure it out for themselves.
“It’s…an interesting story, for a later date and time,” Arizona answered carefully. She really didn’t fancy going into details about her brother right now.
“We still feel kinda bad about backing out on Mark,” Callie supplied, hoping to change the subject. She looked to her best friend with a soft smile. “Still sorry about that.”
Mark shifted a bit uncomfortably in his chair.
“What?” Lexie quickly jerked her eyes toward her future husband. “You were gonna jerk off in a cup to give the lesbians across the hall a baby and you didn't even tell me?” She reached down to back-hand him hard in the chest.
“Oww!” Mark whined, pitifully rubbing at the already-forming bruise. “We weren't together then. Plus I thought you knew!”
Callie cleared her throat awkwardly, realizing her slip. “Oh...uh, sorry.” She immediately went back to sucking on her pretty-much empty juice box.
Lexie folded her arms and glared. “You’re an ass.”
Mark sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Thanks, Torres.”
Callie smiled innocently.
***
Later the next day, Callie entered Colonel Robbins’ newest hospital room to find him sitting up in bed alone, idly flipping through TV channels. “Where are Arizona and Maria?” she asked as she made her way over to his bedside. He wasn’t dressed in a hospital gown, just a normal grey sweat suit so far, but he looked worn down and tired.
Daniel turned off the television and smiled at her. “Calliope, how nice of you to join me.” He gestured over to the bedside chair and waited until Callie sat down in it. “My wife is off making phone calls, and Arizona is…working, apparently. She sent that nice nurse up here to tell me she’s stuck in surgery and she’ll be by later tonight if I’m still here.”
Callie sighed heavily as she gazed back into the man's aged blue eyes. She was always a firm believer in the whole 'the eyes are the window to the soul' thing. Especially considering who her girlfriend was, with those magical peepers she used to an unfair advantage every single time. Callie could never say no to those eyes.
She shook her head with a soft breath, a smile gracing her lips. “Well then, guess you're lucky I stopped by to keep you company.”
“I'm a very lucky man indeed,” Daniel replied as he settled back onto the pile of pillow’s his wife had fluffed for him earlier. “Game highlights are starting in a few. Care to join me?”
Callie nodded in return as she eased back into the chair, crossing her legs and propping her elbow up on the hard wood of the armrest. She dropped her chin into her palm and gazed idly at ESPN Sports Center as the Colonel flicked it on, waiting through the highlight reel to see if the Seahawks beat the Chargers in overtime or not.
***
Arizona looked up from rinsing her hands as the door to the scrub room blew open. She blinked tiredly at her girlfriend from behind her surgical mask. “Hey. What’re you doing in here?”
Callie looked kind of…pissed, and Arizona frowned. She turned off the tap and grabbed a paper towel before pulling the mask off of her face. “What?”
“You're an ass,” Callie stated bluntly, leveling Arizona with a hard glare.
Arizona’s head recoiled a little and she blinked. “Uh, okay. Calliope-”
“No,” Callie quickly interrupted. “Don't 'Calliope' me on this one.” She pointed a finger at her girlfriend and advanced a few steps closer. “You do not get to 'Calliope' me on this one. Your father is lying alone in that cold, stale hospital bed waiting on you to walk in there and take him by the hand and...and tell him everything is gonna be okay. Or maybe just sit with him and ask about the weather. Anything, not just...just...nothing.”
Arizona’s brow line skyrocketed and she crossed her arms defensively, stiffening. “Excuse me? Since when the hell did you start telling me what I can and cannot do?”
“Since you started being an ass,” Callie shot back. “He’s your father, Arizona. I get that this is hard for you, but-”
“No,” Arizona cut in, her whole expression hardening as she dropped her arms and stepped forward. “You don’t get it, Callie. You don’t get it one single bit, so don’t for a single second pretend like you do, when your father and the rest of your family are at home in Florida enjoying their life. You have no idea what it’s like to watch…”
Arizona trailed off, swallowing the sudden lump in her throat and trying to reign her temper flare in. “This kid got hit by a car on his bicycle. His liver was bleeding into his body cavity, and if I didn’t get in there now and fix it, he’d have been dead within an hour. So yeah, I knew my father could survive without me for a little bit while he got some blood work done, whereas this kid couldn’t.”
Callie slowly shook her head as a sad, disbelieving smile slowly spread across her lips. “That is such a bullshit excuse!”
Arizona's eyes widened a little. “Excuse me?” she repeated.
“You heard me,” Callie shot right back, her gaze pinning the blonde to the spot. “You're not the only peds surgeon in this hospital capable of saving that kid's life. You're by far the best,” she quickly added, “no doubt about that, but you're not the only. The Chief specifically told you to take time off to spend with your family, but you’re refusing to do it and you’re hiding behind your patients!”
“Yeah, exactly, my patient,” Arizona snapped back. “What, you think I should have just thrown Karev in there for his first solo and skipped off to do other things? Hell no. I was there, I was treating him, and I followed through. That’s how I work, Calliope, you know that.”
Callie just released a frustrated sigh and rubbed at her forehead. “Arizona...”
The blonde reached up to tear the scrub cap from her head, clenching her right fist around it. “This is such crap! I don’t need this from you right now.” She aimed to step around Callie and head for the door.
“Wait.” Callie jumped back a few steps to head her off and reached out to grab a fist-full of her girlfriend's scrubs. “Just...” She gave the material a soft tug, pulling Arizona back around to face her. Arizona fixed her with a hard, defensive glare, and Callie could almost literally see her hackles rising.
Callie tightened her grip. “I'm sorry.” She tugged a little on the material covering Arizona's stomach. “I really don’t wanna fight with you,” she admitted with another quiet murmur as she gazed into darkened blue eyes. Her own softened considerably.
Arizona stared back at her for a long moment, determined to remain strong, before letting out a deflating sigh of her own. “Me neither,” she replied quietly, some of the tension leaving her shoulders as her defenses finally dropped a notch. She hated when they fought. It made her stomach churn.
“Arizona,” Callie started softly. “Why are you avoiding him?”
Sighing again, Arizona glanced away, unable to look into Callie’s soulful brown eyes. “It’s easier to throw myself into work than it is to stick around and think about how much worse he’s getting,” she admitted after a second. “In surgery everything makes sense to me. Out here…nothing does any more.” Her eyes flickered back to Callie, and the tiniest of smiles appeared over her lips. “Except you.”
Callie grinned crookedly in return as she kept Arizona’s scrubs bunched tightly in her fist. “C'mere,” she whispered huskily, smile turning sultry as she pulled the blonde into a kiss. She closed her eyes, moaning softly at the gentle, yet loving touch.
Arizona smoochies always left her wanting more. Callie pressed closer to her girlfriend as she reached up to brush her fingers across the side of her pink scrub cap. She curled her fingers around the back of her partner’s head and gave a gentle, but insistent tug forward.
Arizona sighed into the kiss as she felt Callie’s fingers play with the little braided strand she always made when pulling her hair up. She automatically leaned forward as the kiss deepened, everything else fading away into the background.
After a dozen or so seconds, Arizona reluctantly pulled back for a shallow breath. “Mm…much better now,” she murmured quietly, resting her forehead against her lover’s. Her right hand moved down to press over Callie’s belly, the exact spot she knew their baby was currently growing inside. It may have been the size of a peanut, but it was the sweetest, most amazing peanut-shaped human being she’d ever dreamed of.
Callie smiled as she reached down to cover Arizona’s hand with her own. “It's gonna be even better in about eight months.”
Both women closed their eyes as they shared a quiet moment alone in the empty scrub room.
***
Things didn’t get better. Two days after Dr. Hahn arrived back in town, it was all Arizona could do to just stand by her father’s bedside and remain silent while Hahn explained the situation to her parents. She’d already had a professional one-on-one talk with Callie’s ex moments before, so she knew how the rest of this was going to go down.
“So you’re saying,” Daniel Robbins spoke slowly, “that I can no longer leave this hospital.”
“I believe it’s too risky,” Erica replied with a nod. “Your body is putting too much strain on your heart already, and until the transplant comes through, you need to be monitored by professionals.”
In doctor speak, Arizona knew that usually meant ‘until you die’. Erica maybe hadn’t out and out said it to her, but their chances of getting a heart were looking pretty slim by now.
Arizona felt a hand on the small of her back, and knew that Callie’s presence was the only thing keeping her standing .
Daniel's gaze shifted from his surgeon, to his daughter, to his wife, and then finally to Callie.
As expected, he offered an unwavering, brave smile to them all. “Well, it seems as though I’ll be checking in for the long haul.” He looked as solid and unmoving as ever, but Callie thought she could detect just a hint of worry behind those bright blue eyes. She’d seen the same look in Arizona’s before. “I may find myself in need of some more of that wonderful company you offer, Calliope.”
Callie smiled warmly as she kept her hand pressed firmly into her girlfriend's lower back, rubbing small circles. “Anytime, Daniel,” she replied softly.
It was everything Arizona could do not to burst into tears right then and there. She managed to hold herself together, but just barely.
After all, she'd learned from the best.
---
Chapter 12/36
Authors: Faith kennedysbitch & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie
Rating: NC-17
Beta’d by roughian
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: Mark finds out what Lexie’s been hiding from him, and Callie loses her patience.
Disclaimer
Previous Chapters
A/N: Alex is an ass in this story, I’m just gonna put that out there right now. This was written back before he became likable (we both hated him a fair bit), so while future events make us both feel kind of like shit-heads now that he’s part of Team Peds and is kind of awesome...this isn’t Season 7 Alex.
---
Mark released a deep, tired yawn as he attempted to stay upright and awake. Eight A.M. was a lot earlier than he ever remembered it being before. He reached up to rub at his eyes with the heels of his palms, just as the elevator ‘ding’ed and the doors slid open.
Meredith Grey stood waiting for him on the other side. “You’re late,” she chastised, clearly annoyed. “Jackass.”
Mark frowned as he stepped off of the elevator. “Uh. Traffic?”
Meredith continued to look unimpressed. “You live right across the street.”
Mark’s frown deepened. “Oh...right. Sorry.” He looked around but didn’t spot the woman he was looking for. “Where is she?”
Meredith nodded down the hallway and started in that direction. “She’s waiting.” He followed.
Arriving outside of an on-call room, she halted and jerked Mark to a stop with a sharp tug on his arm. “You’re going to go in there, and you’re going to listen. And you’re going to be very, very careful about what you say, or I will kill you. Do you understand me? ‘Little Sloan’ will cease to be a part of your anatomy if you so much as blink the wrong way at her.”
Mark recoiled a little. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re small but awfully scary when you want to be?”
Meredith just grabbed him by the jacket, opened the door and stuffed him unceremoniously inside the room.
He stumbled, wincing when the door slammed closed behind him. “Damn. No wonder Shepherd is so whipped.”
Lexie looked up from where she was seated on the bed. There were no more tears on her face, but from her bloodshot eyes, it was clear that she had been crying pretty recently.
Mark's heart instantly dropped into the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what might be wrong. “Lexie,” he whispered softly as he walked towards the bed. “What's going on?” He reached out to grab the nearest chair and flipped it around to face her. He wanted so badly to sit down next to the brunette, but he wasn't exactly sure what his boundaries were at the moment. All Mark cared about was making Lexie feel better, making her stop crying. “You’re not...are you sick?” He couldn’t stand the thought of it.
Lexie quivered as she stared at Mark. She clutched a single piece of paper in her hands, but the writing was too small for him to read from where he was sitting. “I…” The words died in her throat. She was so terrified of losing Mark that she didn’t want to say anything. Unfortunately, this was something she just couldn’t hide from.
He kind of might notice on his own in another two or three months time.
“Mark, I…” Lexie looked down at the paper one last time, almost as if she was re-checking to make sure she had read the results correctly. After a long pause, she folded it in half and set it aside. Finally, she looked up at him. “I’m…pregnant.”
Mark's blue eyes slowly widened as he sat there in stunned silence. He blinked once and released a slow, deep breath. “Wow.” He cracked a tiny smile, looking dazed. “Wow, that’s...wow.”
Lexie was still shaking like a leaf, too terrified to look away from him. “Please say something else.”
Mark blinked a few times before swallowing back and shifting in his chair. He never took his eyes from the woman sitting a foot across from him. There were a million different questions and other things darting through his mind right now, but first and foremost...
“I want to raise it with you,” he suddenly blurted, his own body beginning to shake a little. “I want be there for you and this baby.” He paused for a moment, heart pounding uncontrollably in his chest. “I want to if you’ll let me.”
Lexie closed her eyes, because as much as she was glad Mark hadn’t run out of the room screaming as soon as she’d opened her mouth, she wasn’t done yet.
“I love you.” They flickered open. “I love you so much, it nearly killed me when I wasn’t with you.” Her fingers bunched tightly around the fresh hospital bed sheets beneath her. “But I don’t…I don’t know if…” Lexie took in a shaky breath and steadied herself. “I-I don’t know if the baby is yours, Mark.” Dead silence followed, so she spoke again. “I want it to be. I want it to be so badly. But I-I…I don’t know.”
The initial look of surprised euphoria on Mark’s face began to disappear. “What do you mean, you don't know if it's mine?” His frown deepened, but it didn’t take long for the realization to hit him like a ton of bricks. “Oh.” He released another heavy breath. “You mean Karev.”
Fuck. That little bastard.
Lexie looked away, blinking back tears. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered painfully. God, the last thing she wanted for Mark was a constant reminder of her thing with Alex. Especially something this big. “There’s a paternity test. But I-I would have to wait a few more weeks before it can be done…if it gets that far.”
Mark looked up sharply. “What do you mean?”
Lexie suddenly jumped up from her seat, pacing a few steps away. “I’m a third year resident, Mark. I have two years left and then another two when I choose a specialization. I can’t do that and have a baby at the same time. I worked my whole life to get to where I am, and now…”
However, work wasn’t the only reason.
Lexie had to choke back another fresh wave of emotions as they threatened to overwhelm her. “I can’t do this by myself. I can’t raise a baby on my own. I can’t.”
“You won't have to.” Mark jumped up from his seat and took the few short steps necessary to stand right in front of her. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but held back at the last possible moment. “I still mean what I said. I wanna be here for you and the baby, I don't care who the biological father is.”
Admittedly, that wasn't the entire truth. Just the thought that it could be Karev's made him see red. But, in the end, it didn't really matter. Mark loved Lexie too much to ever walk away.
“Please,” he implored softly. “Just give me a chance here.” His blue eyes became misty. “I know I can do it.”
“You mean that now,” Lexie murmured, shaking her head. “But what about months from now? Years? You hate Alex, Mark. You really think you could live knowing you’re raising his biological son? God, I don’t want it to be his. We were having sex, there were no…feelings involved with him, we were both just trying to get by. That shouldn’t be the reason I end up having a baby.”
She looked torn. “I love you, Mark. But I…I don’t know anymore. Everything’s changed, and I-I don’t…” The stupid, aggravating tears she’d been fighting back finally began to fall. “I don’t know if I can do this. Spend every day wondering whether or not you really mean you don’t care. I couldn’t take it if you changed your mind.”
More than a little overwhelmed, Lexie turned just as Mark stepped forward again. She grabbed the doorknob and twisted it open, fleeing the on-call room before he could react.
“Lexie!” Mark called after her rapidly retreating form. “Wait!” He bolted after her as fast as his legs would carry him. “Dammit. Lexie!”
Catching up, he reached out and grabbed her by the elbow, spinning her around. He was breathing a little heavily, but managed a quick smile. “You have got to stop doing that, woman.” He paused only for a brief second to take in another short breath. “I don't care what you think.”
Lexie’s brow shot up.
“I don't care what you think,” Mark repeated as he gazed into her tearful eyes. “Because I know what I feel.” He dropped his hand away from her elbow and took a step closer. “I love you, and I wanna do this with you, no matter what. I will never change my mind. Never.”
Lexie ignored the small group of people that were watching them from the nearby administration desk, which included Robbins, Torres and Shepherd. She was sure she looked like a real sideshow, with tears streaming down her face and Mark Sloan running like a crazy person to catch up to her.
But she felt like she might fall apart, and the only person she could focus on to keep that from happening was Mark. “I don’t know if I can have a baby,” she whispered. “I…I wouldn’t be a good mother. I wouldn’t have the slightest clue what to do.” She gazed up at Mark with sad eyes. “You’d probably be saner to go have a baby with someone who’s less of a spazz.”
“Sane is boring,” Mark shot right back as his grin began to return. “You're not a spazz, and you won't be a horrible mother. You’ll be the opposite.” He sighed softly as he reached up with his right hand to gently brush his fingers back through the brunette's dark curls. “You're beautiful, and kind, and sweet and caring, and so incredibly smart. And we can learn what to do together.”
For the first time since the previous night, Lexie felt the smallest surge of hope inside. Mark was always her one bright spot. She never wanted that to change. “I guess…I could read a parenting book or two first,” she admitted after a few seconds of silence. “Photographic memory would definitely help with recalling stuff in a crisis. Maybe there’ll be diagrams on how to change a diaper.”
Mark's smile widened as his dimples slowly became visible. He hadn't shaved in a few days, but they were there. Shaving was sort of the last thing on his mind when Lexie had been avoiding him for so long. “There's my girl,” he whispered softly as he continued to gaze down at her. His smile slowly began to fade as a nervous lump suddenly formed in the back of his throat.
He'd been holding off for weeks now. He still carried it around in his pocket every day.
Fuck it. He was done waiting.
Mark swallowed once more as his heart began to pound in his ears. “Lexie...” He stepped back and reached into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. He never took his eyes from her as he dropped down to one knee.
Lexie’s eyes widened. “What...”
Mark pulled the ring box out and took in a steadying breath. “Alexandra Caroline Grey,” he began again, “I would be honored and the luckiest bastard alive if you would make me the happiest man on earth.” He paused just long enough to reach up and pull open the top. “Marry me, Little Grey. Marry me and spend the rest of your life letting me make you happy.”
Lexie’s jaw dropped.
Over at the administration desk, Callie, who had been watching the whole exchange, suddenly elbowed Arizona in the side. Hard.
“Ow,” the blonde whined, looking up from her chart. “What was that for?” Rubbing at her ribcage, she stopped and followed Callie’s gaze - and immediately froze, eyes popping open wide. “Oh, holy crap.”
Derek Shepherd had been fiddling nearby with the computer, and he too looked up to watch as Mark slowly sank down onto one knee. “What in the hell is he doing?”
Pretty much every single person within visual range had stopped to stare.
Lexie didn’t notice a single one of them. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she didn’t notice the sudden silence that settled over the hallway. Her eyes traveled from Mark’s face down to the ring in his hand. The ring that he had apparently been carrying around and planning to use before he had found out she was pregnant. The ring he was still using, even though he had every excuse to run away.
“I love you,” Lexie breathed softly, never meaning those words more than she did now.
Mark shifted nervously on his knee. He was starting to get a cramp. “Is…that a yes?”
Lexie cracked a smile, realizing she was supposed to finish her part of this, too. “Yes.”
Mark blinked once, then a wide grin slowly began to spread across his face. “Yes?” He laughed out loud, barely managing to contain himself. “Lexie, you have no id-”
“Oh, come on,” a deep, rugged voice suddenly cut in, breaking the silence that had fallen over the hallway.
Lexie and Mark both looked toward the source to see Alex Karev standing just a few feet away from them. His eyes were cold and hard as he glared at the couple. “You really think putting a ring on her finger is gonna keep her legs closed to any other guy than you?” He smirked defiantly. “I could tap that right now if I really wanted.”
Mark's smile vanished in an instant. His hand clamped down hard around the ring box and it snapped shut beneath the force of his grip. “What the fuck did you just say?” he snarled as he quickly rose back to his feet.
“Mark, don’t!” Lexie jumped in front of him before he could lunge at Alex. “Ignore him. He’s not worth it.”
“That’s rich,” Alex snarled, taking a few steps closer. “Coming from you. You thought I was worth it when I was banging you in the on-call room whenever you wanted it.”
Lexie’s eyes hardened. “You know, I actually felt kind of bad before? And I tried to apologize. Even though you and I were never exclusive, I tried to tell you I’m sorry for what happened before I could break it off with you. But now? Now I think you’re a sad, angry little man who needs some serious therapy before he’ll ever be able to move on with his life.”
Alex growled. “Screw you.”
“Please, Lexie,” Mark's voice broke in. “Let me hit him. Just once. That’s all I need.”
“Mark,” Lexie shot at him, looking back over her shoulder to glower. “Just…please back off. For me.”
“Let him try and hit me,” Alex snapped. “Jackass.” He tried to push past Lexie to get at Mark, but Lexie stuck fast between them and refused to budge.
Arizona’s eyes widened from her leaning position against the desk. “Oh, that’s not good,” she murmured, straightening up and preparing to intervene. “She’s pregnant, Callie.” She wouldn’t have said anything, but Lexie did not need to get in between two fully-grown, angry males.
“What?” Callie did a double take of Arizona, eyes wide as she looked from her girlfriend to the scene playing out down the hall. “That is not good.” She pushed herself off of the desk and darted around.
“Hey!” She called out sharply as she walked up to grab Lexie by the scruff of the shirt. She gave her a swift tug backwards. “Not in your condition.” She turned to Mark with a stern glare and reached up to smack him hard in the chest. “Bring the testosterone level down a notch or two, will ya?”
“Move it, Torres,” Alex barked from behind her.
Callie’s brow skyrocketed and she turned to look him dead in the eye. “Excuse me? I will hurt you, tiny man.”
Alex snorted, but he had no doubt that Callie Torres probably packed a serious punch. “This has nothing to do with you.” He tried to push around her to get to Mark again, but her hand blocked against his chest. “Move it,” he spat a second time.
Arizona wasn’t far behind Callie, and she immediately grabbed her girlfriend by the back of her lab coat and hauled her away, stepping in to take her place. “Not in your condition,” she shot back with a pointed glare.
Jesus. Pregnant women throwing themselves into stupid fights seemed to be the theme of the morning. Right along with “men are idiots.”
“Karev. Back off. Go upstairs. Sloan, turn around and take Lexie somewhere else. Now,” Arizona snapped, glaring at both men while Lexie tugged on Mark’s sleeve.
Mark blinked as he stared back into Arizona's fierce, unwavering blue eyes. He cracked a tiny smile as he leaned over just enough to look around the blonde and meet his best friend's gaze. “No wonder you're so hot for her. Nice.”
Callie snickered before a wide, knowing grin slowly spread across her lips. “You have no idea.”
Mark's smile widened before he felt the hard slap to the back of his head. “Hello?” Lexie scolded as she yanked once more on his shirt. “Remember me? The woman you just proposed to?”
Alex growled again before throwing his hands into the air. “Fuck this,” he snarled before swiftly turning on his heel to head down the hall in the opposite direction.
“Mark? Go,” Arizona ordered again as she turned to watch Alex angrily stalk away. She felt bad for the guy. He hadn’t been himself in weeks, and this certainly wasn’t helping.
Lexie watched Alex leave, debating for half a second following him just to talk, but she was pretty sure that wouldn’t do any good. Sighing, she turned to tug on Mark’s arm. “C’mon. Please?” She activated her pouty sad eyes, trying to work them to her advantage.
Between Arizona glaring a hole through his head and Lexie unfairly pouting at him, Mark finally relaxed just a little. “Fine.”
Lexie smiled and looped her arm through his. “I’m hungry. Let’s get some breakfast.” She knew the only thing that could possibly take Mark’s mind off of either violence or sex was food.
Every time.
Arizona watched Lexie lead Mark away, then abruptly rounded on Callie. “What were you thinking?!” She smacked her girlfriend on the shoulder. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Does jumping in between two pigheaded men while you’re in the early stages of pregnancy sound like a smart idea to you? Really, Calliope?”
Callie stared back, a flutter of panic in her stomach. “Umm...” She laughed nervously. “N-no? It...does not, when you...put it that way...”
Arizona narrowed her eyes into slits.
Callie swallowed back, suddenly feeling a lot terrified and a little bit turned on. Arizona was strikingly beautiful when she was angry. “Any chance you might wanna find the nearest supply closet and...?”
Arizona raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Seriously? That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
Callie forced herself to keep smiling.
Sighing in annoyance, Arizona stepped forward to very carefully yank Callie in by the lapels of her lab coat. “You make me crazy, woman.” She planted a quick, deep kiss on her lips.
Then turned and walked away, heading back over to the admin desk.
Callie's smile slowly faded and her shoulders slumped a little.
Dammit.
***
“You did it in a supply closet?” Callie scoffed, crossing her arms and glaring at Mark from across their lunch table. “That’s just tacky, Mark.”
“I seem to remember you falling out of one post-coital with a certain someone not too long ago,” he pointed out. When Callie blushed and grumbled some more, he just laughed and continued to inhale the pizza, two apples, sandwich and bowl of pasta in front of him. Sex made him hungry. “Relax, Torres. We used the one on the fourth floor. You and Robbins can keep your favourite third floor paradise. I didn’t contaminate anything.”
Callie just continued to glare at him. “I hate you, Mark.” She pouted a little. “You suck.”
Mark grinned around a mouthful of his apple. “No, but Lexie sure did.”
Callie threw a carrot stick at his head.
“Why are you so grumpy?” Mark chuckled, catching the object and popping it in his mouth. “You’re normally cheerful and annoying after Robbins screws you into submission.”
The next carrot hit him square in the forehead.
“Ah. Didn’t get any, did you?”
Callie glared some more, lifting a hand to throw another carrot, but only made the gesture before quickly pulling it back. “Ass,” she grumbled to herself before jamming the vegetable into her mouth.
Mark continued to grin as he reclined back in his chair, but it was quickly replaced with a slight grimace. These hard plastic chairs really kind of sucked on days like today.
Callie finally managed her first semblance of a smile. “You're totally having 'after-sex' pains right now.”
“Am not,” Mark shot right back. “Never have and never will.” Another sharp grimace betrayed his words.
Callie chuckled as she chewed on another carrot stick. She lifted a dark eyebrow as she stared him down with equally as dark eyes. “I used to get them all the time with you.”
Tilting his head to the side, Mark grinned at her. “Really?”
“Oh yeah,” Callie replied in a low, sexy voice. Her brow ticked. “There were some days I couldn't sit down without it hurting.”
Mark suddenly sat forward in his chair, his smirk widening. “Really,” he repeated again, looking smug.
“Yeah.” Callie chuckled as she pulled the carrot from her mouth and slowly leaned forward, closer to him. “But with Arizona? There are days I can barely even walk after she’s done with me. I even had to call in sick once because I couldn’t move my legs.”
Mark's smirk vanished in an instant.
Callie laughed at him as she reached for her juice box.
“You're evil,” Mark shot back with a glare as he fell back into his own chair.
Callie just smiled triumphantly as she stuck the straw into her mouth and began to suck.
Mark was about to shoot his mouth off some more, when his eyes shifted up over Callie’s shoulder.
“Erica Hahn is coming back.”
Callie turned as her girlfriend suddenly appeared behind her. The juice box ran empty and the straw made a loud gurgling noise.
Arizona sighed and slipped into the chair next to Callie, looking tired. “Just thought I’d give you a heads up. She’s flying back into Seattle today, my dad just told me downstairs.” Her father had arrived back at the hospital and was being admitted for another minor procedure. She thought Teddy was going to do it, but Hahn insisted on coming to check his prognosis.
Her return sucked on more than one level.
Arizona reached over and stole a carrot from Callie’s tray, slumping back in her chair.
Mark watched Arizona chew without much enthusiasm, then shifted his gaze over to his best friend.
Callie was sitting next to her girlfriend, straw of the empty juice box clutched tightly between her teeth. She held the carton to her mouth as her glazed eyes slowly traveled up and down the woman sitting next to her.
Mark reached out with his foot to kick her hard in the shin.
Callie jerked on impact, shooting a wide-eyed glare in her former best friend's direction. “Oww. What the hell?”
“Stop eye-fucking your girlfriend long enough to process here,” Mark shot back.
Arizona looked over at Callie and smiled as she reached out to steal the second piece of pizza from Mark’s plate.
Callie briefly glared at him, but for the most part her eyes remained glued to Arizona. Getting a flash of those dimples when the blonde grinned wasn’t helping her to not stare.
Mark shook his head. “Robbins, next time you should just fuck her and get it over with. She’s gonna be a one-track-mind head case all damn day now.”
Both women looked over at Sloan with raised eyebrows. “Excuse me?” Arizona echoed Callie’s earlier statement.
“I could ask the same thing,” another voice suddenly broke into the moment before Mark could reply. His slowly turned in his chair and lifted his gaze. “Uh.” He flashed his best, most innocent smile. “Hi, honey.”
Lexie arched a brow and pinned Mark to his chair with a stern glare.
Mark swallowed back.
Lexie was quiet for a long moment as she slowly set her tray down onto the table in front of him. “I really hope you enjoyed it earlier,” she began, “because it's probably gonna be a while before you get any again.”
Arizona laughed as Mark just looked stricken. “You dig your own grave, Sloan, each and every time you open your mouth.” She took another bite from the slice of pizza she had stolen from him. “Your kid is gonna have a potty mouth and knowledge of things he or she shouldn’t have knowledge of. They’ll grow up on Hooters wings and Trailer Park Boys.”
Mark’s eyes widened. “You know already?” He looked over at Lexie, who shrugged.
“I had to get someone to run the test for me, someone who wouldn’t talk.”
“I think it was more by accident,” Arizona added. “I ran into her early this morning when she was having a bit of a freak out. Offered to help.” She smiled warmly across the table at Lexie. “Glad to see things seem to have worked themselves out. Congratulations, you two. On both accounts.”
She snuck a quick glance at Callie. They still hadn’t received the results of her blood work yet, and Arizona wasn’t sure if the brunette wanted to wait until it was officially-official before saying anything. She was bursting to share the news, but would respectfully wait as long as she had to until her partner felt comfortable enough tel-
“I'm pregnant too,” Callie blurted, answering Arizona’s question right there.
“You are?” Both Mark and Lexie demanded at the exact same time.
Callie's smile widened. “Yep,” she nodded, shifting her gaze to the right to meet her girlfriend's wide blue eyes. She reached over to place a hand on top of Arizona’s and gave it a soft squeeze.
“Wait.” Mark shook his head, eyes wide and full of surprise. “You're pregnant?”
“Yep,” Callie repeated easily, pride in her voice.
Mark shifted his gaze to the blonde. “And Robbins is the Daddy?”
“More or less,” Callie added as her smile softened. She gave another gentle squeeze to the warm hand beneath her own. “She is in every way that matters.”
Arizona beamed back at her girlfriend. These days, the only bright spot in her life was Callie and their future baby. Just the thought alone made her smile even more.
“I didn’t even know you two were doing it,” Lexie added, earning a look from everyone at the table. “Not it-it, god. I meant that you had decided to have a baby already. How did you choose a donor?”
Mark thought about whether or not that question bugged him, but after learning that he was having a baby with Lexie, he honestly didn’t care anymore. The lesbians could figure it out for themselves.
“It’s…an interesting story, for a later date and time,” Arizona answered carefully. She really didn’t fancy going into details about her brother right now.
“We still feel kinda bad about backing out on Mark,” Callie supplied, hoping to change the subject. She looked to her best friend with a soft smile. “Still sorry about that.”
Mark shifted a bit uncomfortably in his chair.
“What?” Lexie quickly jerked her eyes toward her future husband. “You were gonna jerk off in a cup to give the lesbians across the hall a baby and you didn't even tell me?” She reached down to back-hand him hard in the chest.
“Oww!” Mark whined, pitifully rubbing at the already-forming bruise. “We weren't together then. Plus I thought you knew!”
Callie cleared her throat awkwardly, realizing her slip. “Oh...uh, sorry.” She immediately went back to sucking on her pretty-much empty juice box.
Lexie folded her arms and glared. “You’re an ass.”
Mark sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Thanks, Torres.”
Callie smiled innocently.
***
Later the next day, Callie entered Colonel Robbins’ newest hospital room to find him sitting up in bed alone, idly flipping through TV channels. “Where are Arizona and Maria?” she asked as she made her way over to his bedside. He wasn’t dressed in a hospital gown, just a normal grey sweat suit so far, but he looked worn down and tired.
Daniel turned off the television and smiled at her. “Calliope, how nice of you to join me.” He gestured over to the bedside chair and waited until Callie sat down in it. “My wife is off making phone calls, and Arizona is…working, apparently. She sent that nice nurse up here to tell me she’s stuck in surgery and she’ll be by later tonight if I’m still here.”
Callie sighed heavily as she gazed back into the man's aged blue eyes. She was always a firm believer in the whole 'the eyes are the window to the soul' thing. Especially considering who her girlfriend was, with those magical peepers she used to an unfair advantage every single time. Callie could never say no to those eyes.
She shook her head with a soft breath, a smile gracing her lips. “Well then, guess you're lucky I stopped by to keep you company.”
“I'm a very lucky man indeed,” Daniel replied as he settled back onto the pile of pillow’s his wife had fluffed for him earlier. “Game highlights are starting in a few. Care to join me?”
Callie nodded in return as she eased back into the chair, crossing her legs and propping her elbow up on the hard wood of the armrest. She dropped her chin into her palm and gazed idly at ESPN Sports Center as the Colonel flicked it on, waiting through the highlight reel to see if the Seahawks beat the Chargers in overtime or not.
***
Arizona looked up from rinsing her hands as the door to the scrub room blew open. She blinked tiredly at her girlfriend from behind her surgical mask. “Hey. What’re you doing in here?”
Callie looked kind of…pissed, and Arizona frowned. She turned off the tap and grabbed a paper towel before pulling the mask off of her face. “What?”
“You're an ass,” Callie stated bluntly, leveling Arizona with a hard glare.
Arizona’s head recoiled a little and she blinked. “Uh, okay. Calliope-”
“No,” Callie quickly interrupted. “Don't 'Calliope' me on this one.” She pointed a finger at her girlfriend and advanced a few steps closer. “You do not get to 'Calliope' me on this one. Your father is lying alone in that cold, stale hospital bed waiting on you to walk in there and take him by the hand and...and tell him everything is gonna be okay. Or maybe just sit with him and ask about the weather. Anything, not just...just...nothing.”
Arizona’s brow line skyrocketed and she crossed her arms defensively, stiffening. “Excuse me? Since when the hell did you start telling me what I can and cannot do?”
“Since you started being an ass,” Callie shot back. “He’s your father, Arizona. I get that this is hard for you, but-”
“No,” Arizona cut in, her whole expression hardening as she dropped her arms and stepped forward. “You don’t get it, Callie. You don’t get it one single bit, so don’t for a single second pretend like you do, when your father and the rest of your family are at home in Florida enjoying their life. You have no idea what it’s like to watch…”
Arizona trailed off, swallowing the sudden lump in her throat and trying to reign her temper flare in. “This kid got hit by a car on his bicycle. His liver was bleeding into his body cavity, and if I didn’t get in there now and fix it, he’d have been dead within an hour. So yeah, I knew my father could survive without me for a little bit while he got some blood work done, whereas this kid couldn’t.”
Callie slowly shook her head as a sad, disbelieving smile slowly spread across her lips. “That is such a bullshit excuse!”
Arizona's eyes widened a little. “Excuse me?” she repeated.
“You heard me,” Callie shot right back, her gaze pinning the blonde to the spot. “You're not the only peds surgeon in this hospital capable of saving that kid's life. You're by far the best,” she quickly added, “no doubt about that, but you're not the only. The Chief specifically told you to take time off to spend with your family, but you’re refusing to do it and you’re hiding behind your patients!”
“Yeah, exactly, my patient,” Arizona snapped back. “What, you think I should have just thrown Karev in there for his first solo and skipped off to do other things? Hell no. I was there, I was treating him, and I followed through. That’s how I work, Calliope, you know that.”
Callie just released a frustrated sigh and rubbed at her forehead. “Arizona...”
The blonde reached up to tear the scrub cap from her head, clenching her right fist around it. “This is such crap! I don’t need this from you right now.” She aimed to step around Callie and head for the door.
“Wait.” Callie jumped back a few steps to head her off and reached out to grab a fist-full of her girlfriend's scrubs. “Just...” She gave the material a soft tug, pulling Arizona back around to face her. Arizona fixed her with a hard, defensive glare, and Callie could almost literally see her hackles rising.
Callie tightened her grip. “I'm sorry.” She tugged a little on the material covering Arizona's stomach. “I really don’t wanna fight with you,” she admitted with another quiet murmur as she gazed into darkened blue eyes. Her own softened considerably.
Arizona stared back at her for a long moment, determined to remain strong, before letting out a deflating sigh of her own. “Me neither,” she replied quietly, some of the tension leaving her shoulders as her defenses finally dropped a notch. She hated when they fought. It made her stomach churn.
“Arizona,” Callie started softly. “Why are you avoiding him?”
Sighing again, Arizona glanced away, unable to look into Callie’s soulful brown eyes. “It’s easier to throw myself into work than it is to stick around and think about how much worse he’s getting,” she admitted after a second. “In surgery everything makes sense to me. Out here…nothing does any more.” Her eyes flickered back to Callie, and the tiniest of smiles appeared over her lips. “Except you.”
Callie grinned crookedly in return as she kept Arizona’s scrubs bunched tightly in her fist. “C'mere,” she whispered huskily, smile turning sultry as she pulled the blonde into a kiss. She closed her eyes, moaning softly at the gentle, yet loving touch.
Arizona smoochies always left her wanting more. Callie pressed closer to her girlfriend as she reached up to brush her fingers across the side of her pink scrub cap. She curled her fingers around the back of her partner’s head and gave a gentle, but insistent tug forward.
Arizona sighed into the kiss as she felt Callie’s fingers play with the little braided strand she always made when pulling her hair up. She automatically leaned forward as the kiss deepened, everything else fading away into the background.
After a dozen or so seconds, Arizona reluctantly pulled back for a shallow breath. “Mm…much better now,” she murmured quietly, resting her forehead against her lover’s. Her right hand moved down to press over Callie’s belly, the exact spot she knew their baby was currently growing inside. It may have been the size of a peanut, but it was the sweetest, most amazing peanut-shaped human being she’d ever dreamed of.
Callie smiled as she reached down to cover Arizona’s hand with her own. “It's gonna be even better in about eight months.”
Both women closed their eyes as they shared a quiet moment alone in the empty scrub room.
***
Things didn’t get better. Two days after Dr. Hahn arrived back in town, it was all Arizona could do to just stand by her father’s bedside and remain silent while Hahn explained the situation to her parents. She’d already had a professional one-on-one talk with Callie’s ex moments before, so she knew how the rest of this was going to go down.
“So you’re saying,” Daniel Robbins spoke slowly, “that I can no longer leave this hospital.”
“I believe it’s too risky,” Erica replied with a nod. “Your body is putting too much strain on your heart already, and until the transplant comes through, you need to be monitored by professionals.”
In doctor speak, Arizona knew that usually meant ‘until you die’. Erica maybe hadn’t out and out said it to her, but their chances of getting a heart were looking pretty slim by now.
Arizona felt a hand on the small of her back, and knew that Callie’s presence was the only thing keeping her standing .
Daniel's gaze shifted from his surgeon, to his daughter, to his wife, and then finally to Callie.
As expected, he offered an unwavering, brave smile to them all. “Well, it seems as though I’ll be checking in for the long haul.” He looked as solid and unmoving as ever, but Callie thought she could detect just a hint of worry behind those bright blue eyes. She’d seen the same look in Arizona’s before. “I may find myself in need of some more of that wonderful company you offer, Calliope.”
Callie smiled warmly as she kept her hand pressed firmly into her girlfriend's lower back, rubbing small circles. “Anytime, Daniel,” she replied softly.
It was everything Arizona could do not to burst into tears right then and there. She managed to hold herself together, but just barely.
After all, she'd learned from the best.
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