Chapter 5
She could say she woke up extremely happy, and that, hadn't happened in a long time. She was so happy that in her hurry to get out, she tripped and fell down the stairs.
But she didn't care a bit about her bruised elbow!
It was Monday, she liked Mondays. Besides, her grandmother always repeated an old italian saying "Neither on Venus nor on Mars, you do marry or start an art".
She especially liked it when something started on Mondays. It gave her a sense of symmetry, peace and a slight optimism.
She couldn't understand why people always loved weekends and hated Mondays.
It was the one she had been waiting for weeks, she couldn't wait to be at work.
With a coffee in hand she left the building and, again, she found herself in front of a scene that she certainly wouldn't have wanted to see. Especially early in the morning. In front of an awaiting taxi, on the sidewalk, there was Mark, who was practically sucking the face of a brunette woman.
But in the moment the two drifted apart, Arizona realized that she was not the one she had seen at the bar the previous night. This one too was extremely beautiful, she couldn't blame him, but how was it possible?
Just eight hours ago she had left him flirting with another one! The first impression about the man had been right: a manwhore, that's what he was!
Lowering her head to avoid greeting him, she headed quickly towards the hospital: she lengthened her stride until she reached the traffic light in front of the big building.
Soon though, someone behind her cleared their throat. Turning around she found her neighbor looking at her with a mischievous smile, saying "Good morning to you too!"
Arizona didn't answer, instead, she watched him and asked "Are you following me?"
Mark kept looking in front of him, and thus, he was the first one to see the light turning green. He proceed towards the hospital and grinning, explaining that he was simply going to work.
The blonde stood on the other side of the crosswalk, confused, until she understood. 'Oh no', she thought.
She went through the glass doors of the big hospital. It was weird maybe, but she felt safe in hospitals.
She was used to phones ringing, people running around, waiting room. She felt like she knew the environment, and she perceived a weird sense of belonging.
"Welcome Dr Robbins! I've been waiting for you!" Chief Weber was leaning over the railing of a high, wide staircase.
After having signed an endless pile of documents, the chief proposed to show her around and take her on a tour of the hospital.
The first stop was her future department: they got out of the elevator and entered the pediatric floor.
She had been warned about it. There was a lot of work to do.
There were some gray, crumbling rooms which were so few that they could be counted on the fingers of her hands. Did they seriously have the audacity to call it a department?
A man ran out of a room yelling "Micah, come back here!"
Few seconds later, a young woman wearing light blue scrubs cut their way running and pushing with a wheelchair.
Webber was visibly embarrassed "Grey, hey! Be careful! Why are you running in my hospital?"
"They lost a patient." A nurse answered for her as she left the same room.
"What do you mean 'they lost a patient'?" he repeated puzzled.
The desperate intern explained "Micah, he ran out of the room because he is afraid of needles."
Arizona followed the conversation in amusement. In amusement, because little further, behind a gurney, she could see a small, chubby foot.
"Well.. Why are you standing here, Grey? Find him, now!" the chief ordered. And then turning to his new employee, he apologized "I'm so.. This has never happened before!"
"Don't worry, in pediatrics it's more common than you think. Kids must be taken in the right way!" Arizona reassured him and she stopped Lexie Grey who was still pacing around. "Grey, right?" The intern turned and saw the blonde nodding towards the corridor.
Her eyes lit up as she said "Oh my God, thank you!" before running to get the child.
They continued their walk "Well Robbins, this is the pediatrics unit. In the beginning it will be merged with fetal, but as I mentioned, we are trying to expand. With your guide, I'm sure we'll reach great achievements!"
"If the boss is showing you around, you really became a big shot!" the clear voice of Amelia Sheperd interrupted their tour.
"Shepherd, behave… Do you already know Dr. Robbins?" The man asked.
"We met years ago" the blonde answered vaguely, while the neurosurgeon was more unfiltered. "We know each other pretty well! We took some courses together in college! Let me hug you!"
"It's nice to see you again Amelia, I didn't know you were in Seattle!" she said as she greeted the old friend.
"Yes, well, I work for my brother now. You can imagine the bliss.." she rolled her eyes and she couldn't even finish the sentence that her pager began to ring "Indeed.. I have to go! Have a good one, people!"
Finally, they approached the operating rooms and while Webber explained how the interns would rotate, they entered the first OR "As you can see, there is an amputation in progress. Go ahead! This is Dr… still Dr. O'malley, right? "
"Still O'malley, for a little while Chief!" The surgeon barely looked up from the femur she was working on when the monitors started beeping and a blue code brought the attention of the whole room back to the patient.
Arizona continued to stare at the surgeon's back. She was captivated by the sinuosity of her movements and at the same time by her strength and her confidence.
Turning around she noticed Webber already heading towards the observation room of the second OR where Sheperd, the old one, was finishing a complex surgery.
"Attention please, Doctors, I wanted to introduce you our new pediatric surgeon, Dr. Robbins. From today, pediatrics and fetal will be on the same level as the other specialties!" He told to the students and doctors who were observing the operation under them.
There was a laugh. An unmistakable one. "So, you are the prodigy doctor who was supposed to arrive? Ahahah! What were the odds?". It was Mark. Obviously, he had to be a surgeon.
Arizona rolled her eyes and joked shaking her head "I can't believe it!"
"Boss, can I steal her for lunch?" Amelia asked appearing from behind Mark.
"Great spirit Sheperd! Then I'll leave you in good hands! If you need anything, Robbins, you know where to find me!"
"I can't believe you don't remember it!" Amelia said paying for both of their lunches and moving towards an empty table, each with their own tray in hand.
"I can't believe you remember.. How long it has been? Ten years?" she retorted.
"Eight, at least.." The brunette answered, biting into a piece of carrot.
"Yeah! And we were drunk, seriously, I had removed it completely!" she answered starting on her salad.
"Ouch, offense taken!"
"Sorry" The blonde grimaced.
"I'm just messing with you! Let's say you made a great impression on me.." Amelia joked with a wink.
After lunch the neurosurgeon offered to walk Arizona to her wing.
"Well, I bet you have never had big pediatric cases.. There is practically no pediatric ward!" the blonde exclaimed.
"You have to know that the former Head of peds was an old school grumpy, who only worked waiting for retirement" Amelia told her.
The new arrival kept looking around and introducing herself to her staff until she reached what was supposed to be her office: it was the most beautiful room on the floor, there was no doubt about it. It was huge, it had a wide window overlooking the hospital's inner courtyard and a sofa that looked a lot more comfortable than her bed. Not bad.
"Stark chose this office really well!" Sheperd commented leaning against the door frame and poking her head inside the room "It's bigger than the Chief's!" she added "Touch this armchair, please" she said to her friend, feeling the softness with one hand and then sitting down.
Arizona laughed and sat down at her desk. She let go and looked around. Not bad at all.
She spent the rest of the day getting to know her little patients, skating through those corridors and writing down what she thought were necessary improvements for the department.
If Seattle Grace wanted to invest in pediatrics, they could simply start with some colored paint.
"Turn up the volume, she explains it here" Cristina requested. She had one hand in the cereal box and with the other she was taking notes on a file, probably studying for the next surgery.
"See, you know it by heart, is it really necessary to watch this again?" Alex commented.
"I want to do this procedure with closed eyes" she replied "Besides, what else do you have to do?"
Alex and Callie exchanged glances. They could be out, having fun and enjoying their night off, but here they were, watching Ellis Grey's old tapes. But they too were surgical nerds, so they shrugged and he opened another bottle of beer.
"Did you meet the new pediatrician?" Callie asked grabbing a slice of her pizza.
"She seems fine" Alex answered.
"Uhm she? I thought I heard that a new young man would come.."
"It's a she, also a very hot one!" Alex commented chewing.
Cristina Yang intervened "Clearly the budget is very low, because they had to hire someone who skates all over the hospital!"
"What?" the other two asked stunned in unison.
"Seriously, some nurses were talking about it and then I saw her darting down a corridor!"
"Very smart... Come on, how can you be so dumb! It's a hospital, for God's sake!" Callie shook her head in disbelief.
"Speaking of nurses… did you hear that Meg, the redhead, caught Jackson and Kepner in the elevator?" Alex asked.
"Apparently they haven't come off since the day of the finals.." commented Cristina.
They all laughed and Callie joked "Well, I guess she's not a virgin anymore!"
"And who's this beautiful baby?" Arizona asked exiting the elevator and seeing Mark holding a child.
He introduced her to his daughter, Sofia. She seemed to be about 2, maybe 3 years old.
"I have to say, I didn't expect that Mark."
Puffing his daughter's head "She's the love of my life" he joked.
The kid extended her hands towards the blonde watching her in awe "Oh you like Arizona?" he asked her. "Robbins, apparently my daughter likes you.. Can you hold her for a sec?"
"Yeah, of course!" She toke Sofia from her father's arms and started wandering around the hallway making her faces "Hi baby!"
Sofia smiled at the blonde as she played with her hair "Where do you leave her during your… mm dates?" .
Mark answered while locking the door "She's often with her mother or in day care. Or we call a nanny! We have a long list of babysitters. They have all been examined. You can use it too in case of need!"
Arizona shook her head laughing "Oh no no, thanks but I have no children.. And I don't think I'll ever need the list!"
"You seem pretty determined. It's strange…" he shrugged.
"What do you mean?" she turned to him.
"I wouldn't have said that you don't want kids. Being a pediatrician and all.." Mark explained while taking back his daughter.
She rolled her eyes. She didn't feel like justifying herself to someone, and to her neighbor of all the people. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulder "Let's just say I like my life as it is! And I'm a pediatric surgeon, you know." She added squinting her eyes.
"Well, sometimes you're not looking for certain things but they happen anyway" he said smiling, pointing with his eyes at the little girl.
The blonde grinned as she entered the house and she commented "There's not that risk!"
The annoying sound had entered her head. Was it morning already?
4.52
It wasn't the alarm clock, it was her pager. She was needed at the hospital.
A few minutes later she ran through the emergency room doors where Alex Karev, a promising, surly resident, was waiting for her with a folder in his hand.
"Room 3, six years old, apparently fallen from a bunk bed while sleeping. She complains pain in her belly and in her left leg. Shepherd is already examining the head and ortho is on the way!"
"What's the name?" Arizona asked as she entered the room.
"What?"
"The girl, Karev, what's her name?" She continued, putting the stethoscope to her ears.
"Mmmh..." Alex stalled, not knowing the answer.
He had to search the information on the chart, but Amelia Sheperd who was already at the patient's head answered for him "Ella Davis" and then she added "It doesn't seem to be any serious brain concussion. The spinal column is fine, I just have to monitor her while you'll stabilize femur and clavicle. I'm waiting for Torres! "
Arizona was on the right side of the little patient, or, in other words, she had her back to the door, and she couldn't see it being opened.
That didn't stop a shiver from running through her back when she heard a distinct voice asking "It better be a good one! It's barely five in the morning. What have we got?"
Everything halted. It wasn't possible. She tentatively turned her head behind.
The requested ortho consult, Callie Torres, who was tying her disposable gown, looked up at the team and, for the first time, met the gaze of the new colleague.
Callie had to remember herself to inhale. It was as if her breathing had stopped for a moment.
It was her, there was no doubt.
Years had passed, her hair had darkened, but that blue was still the same.
Arizona couldn't read into those widened eyes. What did that expression mean? Was it surprise? Joy? Anger?
A few moments passed. No movement. They seemed interminable.
Maybe they were, because her attention was drawn back by Alex and Amelia. They both asked "Hey Robbins" and "Robbins, are you there?"
She turned and closed her eyes. She had to focus completely on her patient. Breath. "Ok, get a CT scan, chest and abdomen rays. And book an OR, we need to understand where all this blood's coming from!"
Meanwhile, Callie came to her senses and after examining the chart, she too ordered "Karev get also x-rays of the left leg!"
Then, speaking to the neurosurgeon "Sheperd, is she stable?" she waited for a nod from her colleague and she continued "Great!" She clapped once. She felt she was combusting. "Call me when we have the images!" Looking at anywhere but the blonde, she hurried out of the room.
Didn't the cold generate a thermal shock? Why nothing changed?
She'd hoped to make her brain react or at least think about something else, but nothing, the cold water had been useless.
She raised her head and, with her hands still wet, she rubbed her face again "It can't be! It can't be!"
A toilet flush interrupted her monologue. Through the mirror she saw her roommate, Cristina, coming out of a stall "Aren't you a bit too young for hot flashes?"
Callie avoided to answer, she wasn't in the mood.
"I won't ask you what's wrong" she continued while wiping her hands "I'm just saying it's a bit ear.."
"Yang!" Edgy, Callie finally interrupted.
The resident raised her hands leaving the bathroom. "Got it!"
That was her hospital, after all. That was her place. She was the one who had lived in its basement for months, the one who knew the most reliable nurses and the one who knew which vending machine always stole the change.
She shouldn't have felt this way.
She shouldn't have been so affected by her presence.
Unfortunately, in the past years, she had already met some old friends from school, but she certainly didn't expect to work with Arizona Robbins.
She had left her alone without even saying goodbye, she didn't deserve her time, not even her thoughts.
Callie Torres was 33 now. In fact, she was a 33 years old woman. Hell, she was a doctor. A magnificent one. And that was the hospital where she had worked from the beginning of her fucking residency.
She wasn't the one who had to feel out of place.
Beep beep beep. She looked down.
The requested exams had arrived, along with the moment she feared the most.
Callie left the bathroom, trying not to look uneasy and she joined her colleagues in the scans room.
She immediately let out a sigh of relief when entering, she noticed that, besides a couple of young interns, there was only Karev.
"So Robbins' idea is to look for the hole in the abdomen while you work on the leg and later you can move to the collarbone. What do you think about it?"
"It seems like the right approach" She replied distracted looking at the images.
"Great! Let's go then, they are already preparing the patient." Alex said as he started to collect the scans.
"Yeah.. Tell Dr. Chang he just need to reduce the fracture on the femur."
"What? No, I don't want to risk losing another one. He's like a curse!"
"Come on Alex, that's ridiculous! And really I don't feel very well. Page him!"
"Why is Karev cursing at you?" Mark shut the door of the on call room behind him. "And why did you page me? Is everything ok with Sofia?"
"It's okay Mark, Sofia is in daycare!" Callie answered from the bed. Her arm bent over her eyes.
"So what is it? Should I beat Karev?"
Callie opened her eyes and sat up with her back to the wall. She was upset "No, you don't have to hit anyone"
Mark nodded and sat down next to her, raised his arm and tapped on his chest, as an invitation to lean on him.
"Do you want to talk about it? Or you want a foot rub?" he joked.
Callie accepted a simple hug and let herself be cuddled. She was lucky she had Mark.
He didn't demand to know, but he was caring and had always been there.
He always lightened her days making her smile and she couldn't hope for a different reaction when he heard that she was pregnant with Sofia.
Mark Sloan was her best friend, and in that moment, there was no one else she wanted around.
Beep beep. Callie grunted. It was her pager, again. This time she was required in the OR. She put on her shoes thanking her friend, who patting on her shoulder exclaimed "Walk tall Torres. You got it!"
Dr Chang didn't agree with the surgical plan, or perhaps, if you asked to Alex Karev, it was too risky and Chang was afraid of losing another patient.
Thus, the chief of ortho was there, scrubbing before taking the place of her subordinate.
"Oh fuck!" She sweared. By now it was so routine to scrub while humming that song, that she didn't notice until she got to the chorus that it was the one that made her meet Arizona.
How could she have ignored this until today? And now, she had to find another song to sing during the procedure.
The orthopedic surgeon looked through the glass and watched the surgeons at work, waiting for her. She took a deep breath.
This was her hospital.
This time though, Arizona Robbins didn't let emotions win over her: as soon as Callie walked into the OR, she informed "Internal bleeding controlled. The spleen has been damaged. I'm trying to fix it, otherwise we'll have to remove it".
Callie nodded, she gave a quick 'hello' to the whole room and she focused on the leg "Pliers, please"
Behind the masks the presents exchanged ambiguous glances.
It was the neurosurgeon who broke the ice "You're awfully quiet today, Torres! What's up with you?"
It was then that the child's heart rate drop. Everyone worked to stabilize her and after everything was under control again, Amelia Sheperd continued "Well, I'll do the honors.. Arizona, this is Dr. Torres, she is the best in orthopedics, you'll see!"
The blonde was about to say 'We already know each other' but the other spoke first "Shepherd, actually it's still Dr. O'Malley... Nice to meet you, Dr?" She looked up.
"Robbins, Dr. Arizona Robbins" She said with a fake smile. Well, not as fake as Callie's.
The blonde looked at her narrowing her eyes, she was incredulous. For real?
Amelia explained to Callie "We met during university" and turning to Arizona she continued "How are you finding it here? Do you like Seattle?"
"I have to say, it's turning out to be a surprise…"
The rest of the operation was almost worse than the first part. Full of awkward silences and formalities.
"Karev, wanna close?" Robbins asked suddenly. Alex was capable and she had seen in him both a great potential and the only chance to escape from that room.
"Are you kidding?" he didn't expect it.
"Don't make me change my mind" she warned. When he approached her to finish the surgery, she whispered in his ear "Be more confident! You're good!"
And she took off her gown, fleeing that awkwardness.
What a fucking day?! And she was still halfway through her shift.
Callie was in Seattle. Basically her first love was in Seattle. They had both managed to become doctors and they were there, in the same city, in the same hospital.
She really needed to be distracted. Actually, what she really needed was a cigarette.
Entering the elevator she found two interns: a dirty blonde reading her notebook and a brunette, probably with Asian origin, who was talking about an operation, but she didn't realize that the other one wasn't even listening to her.
Arriving at the ground floor the doors opened in front of a young man. She politely smiled passing beside him. He seemed to be much younger, but he too was wearing light blue scrubs and he was immediately greeted by the two women in the lift cab.
"Hey George O'Malley is back! How did your visit go?"
Wait… Did she hear that right? Did they say 'O'Malley'? Come on! She couldn't have been married to him!
She left the building even faster and lighted a cigarette.
That day was endless.
Back on her ward, the pediatric surgeon checked the little patient and her incisions.
She was really curious to see the completed work on the leg.
They had done a really good job. Callie had done a really good job too.
When Ella's family arrived, she paged her colleagues to talk to the parents.
Callie noticed that Arizona knew exactly what to say to reassure them, she was good at her job. You could see it.
She didn't know if she was proud of her or if it made her angrier.
Who the hell was she to come and mess with her life?
It also seemed that her former friend wasn't shaken at all by her sight. Was it possible she didn't recognize her?
Suddenly, a pager rang and all three checked the device attached to their waists. It was Amelia's.
"Oh, it's mine! I have an emergency. If you have any other questions you can ask my colleagues or me, when I'll come check your daughter later."
She ran away greeting them with a smile, and leaving Callie and Arizona with Mr. and Mrs. Davis.
When they exited the room, the two doctors remained silent, one next to the other.
A few moments later, it was Arizona who opened her mouth. "Mmh well, this is kinda embarrassing, isn't it?" Her hands in her pockets, she looked around with a half uncomfortable smile waiting for an answer, a sign.
Callie turned to her "Kinda embarrassing? That's all you got?". She walked away while Arizona, stunned, stood still.