Reality Check
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Rated NC-17.
Summary: *WARNING* Just some thoughts about season eight based on interviews from Shonda and JCap regarding what Az and Callie will be going through. Spoilerish if you haven’t read those interviews. I’ve used a few scenes from the first two eps although rearranged. There’s an additional story line in this as well. I love the fact that Shonda treats Calzona’s relationship as commonplace and that none of the people around them have an issue with it, but for so many people (in real life) that’s not the case. So I decided to explore it a little.
A/N: This will probably be a rather short fic....but we’ll see how it goes. I started it before the season premier but went back and changed some things.
Chapter One:
Arizona paced around the living room in a tank top and boxer shorts that she had worn to bed the previous night, her hair disheveled and exhaustion written all over her face. She had fed Sofia around eight and finally got her to sleep around ten. By then Arizona had just a short amount of time to catch up on some paperwork. When she finally crawled in bed at eleven, she fell directly to sleep from sheer exhaustion, although it wasn’t a restful sleep, the nightmares seemed to be relentless lately. With everything that had happened over the last few months......the accident, Sofia’s early birth, Callie and Sofia’s recovery, the wedding and an unusually crazy work schedule under Stark’s direction, Arizona has never gotten the chance to decompress and so her stress is manifesting in other ways.....like nightmares. She never heard Callie come in but noticed her sleeping form next to her when she startled awake at three and then heard Sofia cry over the monitor. Arizona got up immediately in order to allow Callie to continue sleeping.....after all she was already awake and getting back to sleep was difficult at best. Once in the nursery, she checked the dry erase board which allowed she and Callie to communicate what might have happened with Sofia while the other was sleeping. According to the board, Callie got home around midnight, changed and fed Sofia 6 ounces of formula and rocked her back to sleep by 1 am. She picked Sofia up to soothe her, change her diaper once again and tried to get her to go back to sleep. It wasn’t quite time for her to eat again. However, that was three hours ago and now she felt like a zombie as she walked the small space of the living room. Sofia was fussy and nothing Arizona did to placate her was sufficient. She tried a bottle at 4 am, but Sofia refused and just seemed to get louder. The only thing that seemed to calm her down was walking....so that’s what they were doing. She attempted the bottle again, and finally at 5:45, Sofia decided she was hungry. Arizona heard the six o’clock alarm go off in her bedroom only to be silenced almost immediately. She started a pot of coffee all the while balancing her infant in her arms with a bottle firmly attached to her lips. In approximately ten minutes, the alarm rang again with the same result and yet Callie still hadn’t emerged from their room. If the alarm had gone off twice, that meant that it was now close to 6:15. Arizona walked through the bedroom door to find Callie lying prone with her head buried beneath the pillow.
"No.....no....no Calliope please" Arizona whined "Please you’ve already hit snooze twice......it’s 6:15 and I’ve got to be at work at seven.....and I haven’t even had a shower yet......Sofia has been up since three and crying.....and is just now taking a bottle......Please you have to help me."
Callie popped up "Okay....okay" she said sleepily, "I’m up....I’m awake." Callie propped herself up on the pillows against the headboard and swiftly rubbed the sleep from her eyes "Bring me the baby."
As Arizona walked over to Callie’s side of the bed and handed Sofia off, the comforter slipped down Callie’s body revealing her perfect breasts "Um...you’re naked?" she asked in an almost surprised tone as her mouth suddenly went dry from the sight before her.
"Yeah......I was kind of hoping that you and I would get a chance to spend some time together.....but you were sound asleep and as soon as my head hit the pillow.....so was I. Now you’ve gotta go and I have the baby.....so yeah I’m naked ....in bed.....alone.....except for the baby." Callie explained with disappointment dripping from her lips.
Arizona’s look mirrored Callie’s. She was once a very sexual person, but lately there had been none of that happening in their household. It wasn’t that they both didn’t want or need it, it was just that their schedules combined with Sofia’s, didn’t allow for much else. "I’m sorry baby" Arizona leaned down and kissed her wife firmly on the lips. "It’ll get better.....it has to." With that, she turned and headed to the shower. After 15 minutes, she reemerged, dressed in jeans and pulling a light purple sweater over her still wet head as she walked toward the dresser to find some socks. Callie watched the hurried actions while attempting to burp their child. The sound of said burp, made both women stop and giggle at their daughter. "That was a good one there little lady" Arizona said as she walked over to the bed. She kissed Sofia’s chubby little cheek and then kissed Callie "Bye....I’ve gotta go."
"What do you mean?....Your hair is still wet.......you’ll get Pneumonia...... and you haven’t eaten anything yet." Callie was clearly disappointed that Arizona was leaving so quickly.
"Come on Callie, you’re a doctor.......you know Pneumonia doesn’t come from wet hair. Besides, Stark has been all over my ass lately and I don’t need that today.....I have a massive headache......Do you know where the Advil is?"
Callie adjusted the baby so that she could reach inside the drawer of the bedside table and produced the medication. "Stark better not get anywhere near your ass if he knows what’s good for him."
"Well if he keeps chewing on it like he has, I won’t have an ass left." Arizona stated emphatically.
Callie smirked "I think maybe you want to put your shirt on the right way before you head out."as she pointed to the inside seams that were on the outside. Arizona looked sheepish as she adjusted her top. Callie reached up and palmed one of her bra clad breasts before she could get her shirt all the way back on. "You’re beautiful, you know."
Arizona smiled shyly "Thank you baby. I love you" she stated as she chased 5 pills down with some water.
"1000 mg of Ibuprofen!?.....That must be some headache." Callie commented in a concerned tone.
Arizona nodded her head and closed her eyes "Yes.....massive.....and I can’t deal with it and Stark so I need it to be gone quickly. What time are you coming in today?"
"I should be there by noon. I’ll drop Sofia off in day care and since Mark is not back yet from his conference, you can pick her up when you leave. Hopefully it won’t be too long of a day and we can spend some time together tonight." Callie looked at her wife expectantly.
"That would be wonderful. Okay.....I’ll see ya later" Arizona kissed her two favorite girls one more time before heading for the door.
Callie called after her "Hey....... at least try to get something to eat in the cafeteria......you’re skinny enough as it is."
Arizona stopped by the kitchen and grabbed a travel mug of coffee and hurried on to work.
***************
Once she had made it to the attending’s locker room and had gotten herself changed into scrubs, it was 7:05. She took another big swig of coffee, but then felt a sharp pain in her gut.....probably from skipping breakfast. "Oh great....I took care of the headache, now I’ve got a gut ache" she thought to herself. She pushed through it, threw her still damp hair up into a ponytail and made her way up to the Peds wing for rounds. She unfortunately caught up to the rest of the group....rounds already in progress, lead by Stark. "Shit!.....What the hell is he doing here before ten?" she thought to herself.
"Nice of you to show up this morning Dr. Robbins.......let’s try setting a better example for our new interns....what do ya say?" Stark asked in his usual snarky tone.
Arizona fought the urge to roll her eyes and flip him a bird and settled for being apologetic "I’m sorry that I’m five minutes late" which earned her a questioning scowl from Alex. She gave Alex the I don’t want to have to deal with him look and hoped he would just let it drop. They walked into the next patients room and she asked "Who’s presenting?"
April spoke up "Oh....I am.....Dr. Robbins." Arizona looked at her as if to say okay....get on with it. "This is Robert Craig.....a six year old with Osteosarcoma of the right tibia. He has underwent two rounds of chemo and sixteen radiation treatments, all of which have not yielded the results that we were hoping for. He is in a fair amount of pain, so he is on a morphine drip at present, which is keeping him rather sedated."
"And your next recommended course of treatment is what?" Arizona prodded.
"Um I guess it’s time to get an Ortho consult for possible amputation?" April offered although she was hesitant because of what it meant for the little boy.
Arizona nodded in the affirmative "Dr. Torres will be in this afternoon, so make sure to get her the consult first thing and in the mean time, let’s see if we can get him a little less sedated......maybe switch him to Fetnyl. Call the pharmacy and have them send it up as soon as possible." Everyone silently accepted the plan of action and started on to the next patient. "Oh and Dr. Kepner....have them send up some Pepto Bismol as well.....would ya?" Arizona felt another twinge in her stomach. April did as she requested although didn’t really understand why.
They moved to the next room "Alex........ present please" Arizona requested.
"This is Tabitha Hurley.....a 15 year old female with adolescent onset Cardiomyopathy. She has been followed by Dr. Robbins for the past three years and has done well with medical management. She was here four months ago and was in pretty good shape, but is here now with increased episodes of fatigue and shortness of breath. We’ve consulted Dr. Altman and are basically waiting for her recommendations."
Arizona moved over to the patients bedside "Hey Tabby, how are you feeling this morning?"
Tabitha smiled at Arizona "I’m doing okay....just pretty tired most of the time......and it’s not like I’m able to do much of anything. Coming here is the highlight of my life....at least I get to talk to a lot of people."
"Ahh...you need to get a few new hobbies." Arizona teased "We’ll work on that once Dr. Altman comes in and gives us her recommendations" Arizona winked at the young lady. As they finished making their notes, the group turned to leave the room.
"AZ?.....Can you come back and talk to me later.....I really need to talk." Tabitha grabbed Arizona’s arm before she could leave.
Arizona smiled and patted her hand "I promise....I will come back in a little while after I finish rounds. But remember.....you don’t get to call me that around anyone else."
"I know....I know....We have to maintain your professionalism, but Dr Robbins is just too formal after three years and Arizona is just way too long to say all of the time. But I promise......only when it’s just you and I." the girl gave Arizona a cute smirk and Arizona couldn’t help but follow suit before she left the room.
As the group was finishing rounds, April caught up to Arizona carrying a bottle of Pepto Bismol "Dr. Robbins?.......Is this for Robert Craig?"
Arizona eyed the bottle "Uh.....nope....that’s for me......thanks." She took the proffered bottle in hand, unscrewed the cap and took a big swig. As the liquid made it’s way to her stomach, she flinched against the discomfort she felt. April looked on with skepticism. "Too much spicy food" Arizona explained as a way to skip the inquiry as she turned her attention to the rest.
Alex approached after everyone else had moved on to their various tasks "Hey Dr. Robbins, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah....I’m fine.....why?" Arizona questioned his concern
Alex did his usual smart ass smirk "Cuz you kind of look like shit....your hair is wet....you’ve got a Pepto pink mustache.....and you’re letting Stark treat you like dirt."
Arizona wiped at her mouth quickly before speaking "Me?.....I look like shit? You’re living in the hospital and you look like a bum.....and you’ve got really bad breath....really....really bad....need I go on?" Alex gave her a sheepish look. "And listen you’re way behind if you’re even considering a Peds fellowship next year. I’m getting resumes already and most of the candidates have been published and I haven’t seen anything from you. This is serious Alex"
"Okay....okay....you’ve made your point." Alex looked distressed by his mentor’s comments.
"Alex, I don’t want to have to worry about you....I would much rather be kicking your ass all over my Peds ward." Arizona was genuinely concerned about him. They have had a really good working relationship in the past and truth be known, he’s the only one who seemed to give a shit about her when Callie was brought in after the accident. Alex just shook his head and left to get his day started. Arizona felt another twinge of pain in her belly and decided to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat, but not before taking another swig of the pink liquid.
******************
The cafeteria had already closed up the grill line for breakfast and were setting up for lunch, so the most Arizona was able to grab was some yogurt and a banana. That would have to suffice until she was able to get out of surgery and have lunch. Maybe she would even get to see her wife. The bowel resection that was scheduled for eleven, got pushed up to ten, so she didn’t get a chance to go back and talk to Tabitha. She decided that she would go as soon as she could as to not disappoint her patient. They had become close over the three years that Arizona had been treating her. She was very fond of the young lady and her mother. Her father left when she was very small and her mother has had a difficult time with all of the medical bills and thus has been stressed out most of the time. This has sometimes made it difficult for her to relate to her teenaged daughter and Tabitha turned to Arizona for support.
Surgery ran longer than Arizona expected with multiple complications including the patient coding and being subsequently revived, and it was well after two o’clock when she finally scrubbed out. She was exhausted from the adrenaline rush and the unexpected visit to the OR from Stark. He said he was observing the residents and interns, but his presence certainly added a little more stress to the situation. As she slowly walked down the hallway, she was suddenly grabbed and pulled into an on call room. She was startled at first when she was pushed up against the inside of the door until she realized that her attacker was her wife. Callie held her flush against the door and kissed her deeply, urgently asking for permission to go further. Aggressive Callie was hot and Arizona instantly felt her body respond in a flush of desire. She parted her lips and granted Callie access. As their tongues danced and explored one another, Callie’s hands made their way to the tie at the waistband of Arizona’s scrubs. Arizona swiped the scrub cap off her head while toeing off her sneakers and continuing to accept the lustful assault of her wife’s mouth. She stepped out of her fallen pants and let her hair down as Callie moved them closer to the bed. Her hands swiftly dropped Callie’s scrub pants and she gripped the Latina’s luscious ass pulling their bodies closer together. Callie broke the kisses long enough to slide Arizona’s top off over her head. Her eyes glazed over at the sight of her half naked wife and she eased Arizona back onto the bed. The heat was quickly rising as Callie slid on top of the body she missed touching. She slowed the action in order to reverently caress Arizona’s face, paying particular attention to her lips, tracing her thumb along the bottom lip before capturing it with her own. Callie lay between Arizona’s drawn up knees putting their pelvises directly in contact with each other. The feel of their bodies close and hot, made each of them long to succumb to the building arousal. Callie looked deeply into Arizona’s exquisitely blue eyes that were dark with desire. "Hey baby......I’ve missed you." They kissed tenderly.
"I’ve missed you too......you’re so beautiful" Arizona ran her hand through Callie’s rich, ebony locks and pulled her back in to meet her mouth. Callie pulled away and slowly began exploring every inch of Arizona’s neck, shoulders and chest with her lips. Arizona moaned softly in response which made Callie smile against her skin. As she made her way lower to Arizona’s stomach, she nipped a little at her sides which resulted in a little louder moan escaping her wife’s throat and hips bucking involuntarily begging for more contact. "Oh God Callie.....your lips are amazing." Just as Callie’s mouth reached Arizona’s panties, she picked up the heady scent of her arousal which almost made her dizzy with want. Unfortunately, the sound that they both wished they would never hear, rang out loud and clear. Callie’s pager was going off. "No!....no please....Calliope....don’t stop." Arizona begged.
"Shit!....shit.....baby I’m sorry. Let me just check it.....don’t move." Callie found her scrub pants and found the offending item. "Dammit...it’s 911 to the pit." Callie returned to her wife’s side to find her squeezing her eyes shut, willing the tears of sheer frustration to stay put. "I’m sorry sweetheart......stay here.....take care of your.....need..... if you have to, and I promise I’ll make it up to you at home."
"No....no....it’s all right.....I don’t want to.....do it alone. It’s not your fault baby. Thanks for trying....you really are amazing. I love you." Arizona was trying hard to quell her disappointment, especially since it really wasn’t Callie’s fault. She kissed her wife firmly on the lips. "Okay...go.....but put your pants on first." she joked.
Callie stood and redressed quickly and kissed the blonde again "I love you."
Only after Callie was gone did Arizona realize that she still hadn’t eaten and the pain in her gut was back with a vengeance.
***************
Callie was busy tending to a patient in the ER when Arizona walked in, re pinning up her hair and donning a yellow trauma gown. She had gotten paged less that two minutes after Callie left. She spotted Callie first thing "Sink hole in the middle of town.....lots of casualties" Callie explained.
Arizona started to make her way through the chaos when she ran into Stark "Nice of you to join us Dr. Robbins."
Seeing the look on Arizona’s face, Callie mouthed "I’m sorry" receiving a slight smile in return.
All of the surgeons worked tirelessly to attend to the victims. Callie and Owen were pulled out to the scene due to an on site amputation, and a child had been brought in with a consult from Derek. The day was long and there was a lot of commotion. Arizona scrubbed in with Derek to take care of the kid. He had a few spinal fractures, but should be fine. After that surgery ended, Arizona made her way to the attending’s lounge and fell into the couch, pulling out her Pepto bottle and taking another swig. Teddy walked in just in time to catch the action "Hey, are you all right?"
"Yeah I’m fine.....it’s just been a long day." Arizona offered not wanting to get into the details.
Teddy sat down beside her "I did the consult on your patient.....Tabitha Hurley........" Teddy’s thought was cut off.
"Oh shit!" Arizona stood up "I was supposed to go back and talk to her this morning.....I’ve gotta go"
Teddy was stunned by the outburst "Do you want to know what I found?" she asked to Arizona’s retreating form and then just sat in confusion as no answer came back.