Reality Check Final
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
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: Okay so I woke up at 4 am and decided to push this last chapter out. Thanks to everyone who has commented along the way, your support is much appreciated.
Chapter 5:
Callie continued to sit vigil at Arizona’s bedside for most of the morning. She was busy feeding Sofia when a teenaged girl appeared at the door. "Um.....Dr. Torres?....Can I come in?"
Callie was perplexed at first but then surmised that the teen must be Tabitha Hurley. "Uh.....You must be Tabitha......listen, you really shouldn’t be here. I know you really like Dr. Robbins, but your mom....she’s really not happy about...things......and it could be bad for you and Arizona."
"Please Dr. Torrres....I just want to know that she’s okay." The teens tears were already flowing at the sight of her friend lying in the hospital bed. "Please....this is all my fault.....and I’m so sorry."
Callie motioned for her to come inside the room "Hey....come here....listen......this is not your fault. You can’t help the way your mother thinks or feels......I’m just sorry that you’re having to deal with it on top of the medical situation that you’re in. Dr. Robbins cares a lot about you and just wants for you to be safe and happy. If that means appeasing your mother for now, then that’s what she’s willing to do. And as far as this goes" Callie points to her sleeping wife "There is a lot of things that have lead up to Arizona being sick, but she’s going to pull through so don’t you worry about her."
Tabitha nodded as she tried to stop the flow of tear. She looked over to where Sofia was quietly devouring her bottle in her mother’s lap "Is that the baby?"
Callie smiled softly "Yes....this is Sofia" she answered as she picked the infant up so that Tabitha could have a better look.
"She looks like you.......really pretty" Tabitha commented shyly.
Callie blushed at the compliment "Thank you......but she has Arizona’s temperament and she’s looking forward to her mommy holding her again real soon.
Alex came in the room startling all of it’s occupants except Arizona "Tabitha.....your mom is looking for you."
Tabitha moved closer to the bed, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on Arizona’s cheek "Thank you for everything AZ. I’ll miss you." She followed Alex out of the room and Callie wiped a single tear that rolled down her cheek.
*****************
Back in her room, Tabitha noticed that her mother wasn’t there and surmised that she must still be out looking for her. She made her way to the closet and pulled out her street clothes and then into the bathroom to collect her personal things. She put her pants on and was in the process of removing her hospital gown when her mother came in "Tabitha where were you?" she asked immediately before stopping to notice what her daughter was doing "And what are you doing?"
"I’m going home....as soon as I can get someone to take this Hep lock out" Tabitha stated emphatically.
Mrs. Hurley was shocked and confused "What do you mean you’re going home? The doctors still have some things to do before we can go. It will be a couple more days."
"My doctor isn’t here for me anymore....because of you, so I’m not staying. I don’t want any more treatment....I want to go home." Tabitha hoped that the full meaning of her words were sinking in.
"Tabby....don’t be silly...you have to get the treatment so that your heart can stay as strong as possible until you can get a new one." Her mother explained as if the teen didn’t understand what was happening.
Tabitha turned to face her mother directly "I. am. going. home. You took away the one person that understood me.....who cared about me just as I am. I’m a lesbian and I’m in love with a girl named Kristie and there isn’t anything you can do to change that. So if I disgust you as much as Dr. Robbins did, by just being who she is, then you don’t care about me...the real me. So I don’t care either. I don’t want to live any longer than I have to knowing that my own mother despises who I am."
Mrs. Hurley was stunned by her daughter’s implication "Tabby you’re too young to understand what that woman has done to you. She has betrayed you, influenced you into thinking you’re something you’re not."
"You have no idea what you’re talking about!" Tabitha’s hurt and anger was apparent in her tone. "I came to her......I sought her out as someone I could trust to share this information with. She didn’t do anything! I knew she was gay because we just had a kind of connection.....I can’t explain it, but it’s true. So I pushed her to tell me the truth.....and she did.....because she cares about me....not because she wanted to recruit me. That’s such bull shit.....and you should be ashamed of yourself for treating her the way you did." Once again her tears fell at a rapid rate but when her mother reached to console her, Tabitha pulled away. "Do what you have to do to get me out of here." The teen then locked herself in the bathroom to avoid any further discussion.
****************
Sofia had fallen asleep and Callie laid her car seat to nap. The muscles in the Latina’s neck and shoulders were on fire. Sleeping in a chair all night certainly didn’t help. Bailey had come in earlier to check on Arizona’s vitals and had opted to decrease the amount of Morphine the blonde was receiving in an effort to get her to wake up, so Callie wasn’t going to risk not being there if that should happen. So she readjusted the chair and laid her head on the bed next to Arizona’s hand. Sleep in this position wasn’t easy, but she needed to take advantage of the opportunity while Sofia was dozing. She had been there for more than an hour when she was awakened by the feel of Arizona’s hand gently stroking her hair. She picked her head up which effectively dropped Arizona’s hand back to the bed with a thud and caused her to slowly flutter her eyes open. Callie couldn’t stop the huge smile that graced her face "Hey there gorgeous...It’s about time you woke up."
Arizona attempted to speak but her mouth and throat were so dry that she couldn’t croak out a sound. Instead, she grimaced against the sensation prompting Callie to act. She quickly wet a lemon/glycerine swab and poised it to Arizona’s lips. Arizona in turn scrunched her nose up at it knowing full well what it was. "You can’t have anything to drink yet....not even ice chips....so this will have to do." Callie explained with a smirk.
Arizona reluctantly opened her mouth and allowed Callie to swab the inside of her cheeks and gums as well as her lips, actually relishing the moisture it provided. She was finally able to squeak out "More.....please" in a whisper.
Callie obliged her wife with another dowsing until Arizona reached up and took it from her hands. She used it as a makeshift toothbrush trying to wipe away the horrible taste in her mouth. Callie applied some Vaseline to Arizona’s lips to soften the dehydrated tissue and provide some much needed relief. Arizona reached up and pulled the oxygen out of her nose which felt very drying, and rubbed hard as if to wake everything up. "Calliope.....how long?"
"How long have you been out?......Too long. I’ve been so worried about you.....I was so scared" Callie let her pent up emotion show. She grabbed her wife’s hands and leaned down to kiss her tenderly "I’ve missed you"
"I’m sorry baby" Arizona managed to get out in something between a whisper and a croak. Moisture was starting to return to her throat and sound was becoming more possible. "Where’s Sofia?"
Callie turned and picked the baby up out of the carrier which caused the infant to wake up. She walked over to the bed so that Arizona could see "Do you see Mommy? Say hi Mommy." She held the baby down to where Arizona could reach her, but then noticed the tears streaming down her wife’s face. "Hey....hey....it’s okay now.....everything is okay. Do you want to try and sit up and hold her?"
Arizona nodded and after securing the baby back in the carrier, Callie used the remote control to raise the head of the bed. Unfortunately, Arizona’s position made the angle awkward so she called for a nurse to help boost her up in bed. Once Arizona was situated, Callie brought the baby back to her. Having been out for a while, coupled with surgery and a lot of blood loss, Arizona’s arms felt weak, so Callie slid in next to her helping to support Sofia in her mommy’s arms. She loved seeing Arizona and Sofia bond....they were the most beautiful sight she had ever hoped to see. "I love you" she said as she kissed the top of Arizona’s head.
"I love you too.......and you little peanut" Arizona smiled and enjoyed the comfort of her family.
After twenty minutes or so, Sofia began to get fussy "She probably needs a diaper change" Callie surmised as she rose and collected the baby in order to get it done. "I’m going to page Bailey and let her know that you’re awake and then see what the plan is from here as far as getting you some nutrition. I’m sure it won’t be much to start with."
"Yeah.....I don’t think I’m ready for pizza.....but some liquid would be good." Arizona still sounded very weak to Callie, so as much as she wanted to fuss at her for letting things get this bad, she reserved that discussion for another time.
Bailey must have been on her way up there anyway because almost as soon as Callie sent the page, she was in Arizona’s room "So....I see you decided to rejoin the living. How is it that the first time that I know something is wrong is when you wind up on my surgical table with a hemoglobin of 7.4? I know for a fact that you had to know that something was not right." Leave it to Bailey to get straight to the point. Now Callie didn’t have to do it.
"Bailey...I know.....At first I thought I was just tired and not eating correctly.....and then the stress has been insane lately.....but I actually meant to come see you yesterday, then all hell broke loose and I forgot" Arizona was trying hard to explain herself but the look on Bailey’s face said she wasn’t buying any of it.
"You forgot" Bailey said mockingly "Well let’s hope your memory improves because you’re going to have to remember a lot of things now. I sewed up a nickel sized hole in the lining of your stomach. That’s going to hurt for a while. We will start you on ice chips today....if that does okay, we’ll try liquids tomorrow. We will then progress to a soft, bland diet and finally a regular , bland diet. At no time in the next six weeks are you to have any alcohol, caffeine....of any kind including chocolate, spicy foods or NSAIDS. You will not work......you will be at home resting with or without your child depending on whether or not your resting. Do I make myself clear?"
Arizona remained motionless with a blank stare "Why is it that your patients love you?.....you’re mean" she said jokingly.
"Only to my patients who should know better than to let this happen" Bailey dead panned "And Torres......" Callie looked up shocked and kind of scared at Bailey’s tone "Your wife is going to be here for the next couple of days, so you need to get some rest as well. Don’t let me catch you hanging out here all day long....take the baby to Sloan’s and get some sleep. That’s an order."
"Yes ma’am" Callie agreed.....afraid not to.
Bailey turned and left the room with a huge smirk on her face. In all honesty, she loved the Robbins-Torres family.
"She’s right baby....you need to rest. I’ll be okay." Arizona reached for Callie’s hand "We don’t need you getting sick as well."
Callie gazed at her wife lovingly "Okay.....but not yet....I don’t want to go anywhere. I just want to be near you. You can close your eyes and rest if you need to, but I’m going to be right here for a while longer. I have Robert Craig’s amputation scheduled for tomorrow, so I’ll make sure to rest up for it. Should I have Kepner assist?"
Arizona nodded her head then got a far off look in her eyes "Will you find Karev and ask how Tabitha Hurley is.....I’m worried about her."
"She came to see you this morning" Callie explained "She’s a good kid and she really looks up to you. I’m sorry if what I said sounded like I was accusing you of doing something wrong....that wasn’t my intention. It was just hard to understand everything in such a short amount of time."
"It’s okay Calliope. I was just in a bad place and I wasn’t feeling well. Hell I jumped down the throat of the girl in day care and Mark too. Remind me to apologize to them both" Arizona felt bad for being such a bitch.
"We can take care of all that when you’re feeling better. Get some rest." Callie kissed the blonde and lovingly rubbed her nose against the other.
*****************
Mrs. Hurley couldn’t believe what she had been told by her own daughter. Her mind was a blur and she couldn’t form coherent thoughts. She needed to clear her head. She went for a drive around the city until she found a park near the hospital, the fresh air would do her some good. Tabitha couldn’t go anywhere without her that was for sure. She sat on the park bench as the events of the past couple of days swirled around her brain. "How could everything spiral so far out of control?" she wondered. "How is it that I have no idea who my daughter is? Where did I go wrong? Why did Tabby think that she couldn’t talk to me......that I would love her any less? She’s my daughter.....I just want her to healthy and happy." She had known gay people in the past and never really thought much of it, but then again, she didn’t have to. they were not integral parts of her life and what they did away from her was none of her concern. But now, it was her daughter....her flesh and blood......and a person she had the utmost faith in to care for her daughter. "Why is it so different now? She questioned everything that she thought she knew and concluded that she had made a huge mistake. She needed to make this right....for her daughter’s sake.
Mrs. Hurley made her way back to the hospital, but instead of going to Tabitha’s room, she stopped at the desk to have Dr. Robbins paged. The girl at the desk tried several times to no avail "I’m sorry ma’am, she may be in surgery or something because she is not answering her page."
"Is there somewhere that I can leave a message for her....it’s really important that I......" Mrs. Hurley stopped talking as she caught a motion out of the corner of her eye. She saw Dr. Torres with a baby, handing the infant over to a man. The man took the diaper bag, gave Dr. Torres a kiss on the cheek and left her standing alone. Mrs. Hurley left the desk and approached the Latina "Um.....Dr. Torres?.....Can I speak with you for a minute?"
Callie was surprised that the woman knew she was a doctor since she was in street clothes, and she didn’t really recognize her as a patient or family member "Sure....Is there something I can help you with?"
Mrs. Hurley let out a soft sigh "I hope so. I’m Monica Hurley.....Tabitha’s mother" she confided timidly, not sure what kind of reception she was going to get.
Callie’s expression changed dramatically from pleasant and helpful to stoic "Oh.....What do you want?"
"Dr. Torres I know that you must think that I’m a horrible person, and I can’t say that I blame you because of my actions recently. But I want to tell you and Dr. Robbins that I’m sorry. I realize that it’s a little late and that there is really no excuse, but I was just so overwhelmed. It hasn’t always been easy on Tabitha and I and we haven’t gotten along very well over the last few months. So, when I saw that she and Dr. Robbins were connecting so well, I got a little jealous. I thought I knew Dr. Robbins pretty well and then all of a sudden, I didn’t know her at all, yet my daughter and she were sharing private conversations. Then when Dr. Altman said that Tabitha needed a new heart, my emotions went wild and I don’t really know how I let it all blow up. But now, Tabitha is so angry with me and I don’t what Dr. Robbins thinks."
Callie took a deep breath "My parents weren’t very supportive when I first came out to them, and my mother is still having difficulty wrapping her head around it all. So I understand what that feels like and I’m sure Tabitha is just scared. She’s probably afraid of rejection from you, she may feel responsible for all of the turmoil and all of that on top of the fear surrounding what’s happening to her body......she needs you....to be there for her. As for Arizona, she’s the most understanding human being I have ever known. She always tries to see the other side of things. She helped me tremendously to deal with my own families rejection, to see their point of view. So I’m certain that if you talk to her, she will understand. It’s just who she is."
"Do you know where I can find her? The girl at the desk paged her several times but she didn’t answer." Monica asked with hopes that Callie could help.
"She’s not answering her pager because she’s a patient in the hospital today. She was admitted last night with a GI bleed and only regained consciousness a few hours ago. She’s still pretty weak, but I was heading back up to her room, if you want to come." Callie tried to catch the other woman’s eyes to see if there was a chance that they could put all of this behind them.
Monica sat in silence for a moment "Would you mind terribly if I brought Tabitha in to see her?"
"Not at all.....she’s in room 427" Callie reached out a grabbed Monica’s hand "Thank you."
*********************
Callie made her way back up to Arizona’s room and peaked in as to not disturb her if she was still sleeping. Arizona was sitting up in bed using a plastic spoon to scoop out a few ice chips "Yum......that looks delicious." Callie teased as she entered the room.
"You have no idea Calliope" Arizona smirked.
"Well if that goes well......you can graduate to Jello and broth tomorrow." Callie sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her wife.
Arizona smiled "Mmmm..... more of that will make me feel better."
"Ah Ha......you’re going to have to get your strength up a little more because once I start, I’m going all the way." Callie shot a sexy grin and a wink in Arizona’s direction.
A weak chuckle was all Arizona could muster which was telling of just how weak she really was. "Speaking of getting strength up......you need to sleep."
"I know......I’m going. Mark has Sofia for the night so I can go home and sleep in our bed...all alone" Callie gave Arizona a fake pout.
"Well I would share this one but I don’t think you would be very comfortable. I’ll miss you though" Arizona took Callie’s hands in her own " I don’t like sleeping without you."
Callie kissed Arizona’s pink lips once again "I know......but you’ll be home in a day or two and....." before Callie could finish her thought, there was a soft knock on the door and both Monica and Tabitha came in.
"Is this a good time?" Monica asked noting Arizona’s shocked expression.
Callie stood and faced Arizona "I hope this is okay....I think you all need to talk. I’m going to go and give you some privacy.....unless you want me to stay."
Arizona hesitated for a minute but noticing the soft expression on Callie’s face as opposed to an angry or nervous one, made her get the sense that Callie knew that this was going to happen and that it would be okay "No....it’s fine....go home and rest. I’ll see ya in the morning.....and bring me some clothes......please?
Callie smiled and chastely kissed her wife’s cheek "Call me if you need me......I love you" she whispered close to Arizona’s ear and then turned to leave the room.
Although stunned by the gaunt appearance of the usually smiley and perky Peds surgeon, somehow the display of affection didn’t seem so vile to Monica this time around and she actually could tell that the women cared for each other deeply. Tabitha made her way over to the bed and threw her arms around a very nervous Arizona. "AZ, I’m so glad that your awake.....I was so scared."
Once again, Monica realized that her daughter knew a lot more about the situation than she did, but chose to ignore that fact now. She moved closer and put her hand on Tabitha’s shoulder "How are you feeling?"
Arizona wasn’t sure where this new concern was coming from and was still a bit hesitant in the interaction "I’m okay......still a little weak, but okay." Arizona turned to Tabitha who looked so sad "Hey Tabby......no need to be scared."
Monica started tentatively "Dr. Robbins.......I brought Tabitha here today so that I could apologize to you both. I’m not sure if it was the emotional stress that I’ve been under or just plain jealousy over your apparent connection to my daughter.....probably a combination of both. But my actions and the things I said were uncalled for, so I’m very sorry to both of you. I’ll admit, it Tabitha refusing to get any more treatments for me to realize the severity of what had transpired, but I do understand and I promise to make things right with Dr. Stark."
Arizona was stunned by the honesty of the woman before her and she recalled her own advice to Tabby and Callie for that matter.. Give her time to be a little shocked and try not to take it personally. "Thank you Mrs. Hurley. I appreciate you coming in here. You don’t have to worry about Dr. Stark...he’ll get over it. As for Tabby, what do you mean refusing....?"
Tabitha looked at Arizona sadly "I felt like mom didn’t understand or care about me, so I decided to not have any more treatments and to just live my life. But now, things are getting better and we’re talking......and you can be my doctor again, so I guess I over reacted."
"Okay.....so we are all on the same page. But, I won’t be back to work for six weeks, so I need you to let Dr. Altman continue the things she was going to do over the next couple of days, and I’ll see you later when we need to.....okay?"
The teen smiled and agreed and Monica let out a deep breath she was unaware that she was holding. "We had better let Dr. Robbins get some rest" she suggested to her daughter.
Tabitha once again hugged the Peds surgeon tightly, this time Arizona returned the embrace. "I hope you get to feeling better soon."
"I already do Tabby......I already do" Arizona was grateful that mother and daughter were able to work out their differences as well as clearing the air with her.
*******************
Over the next couple of days Arizona gained most of her strength back. Once on solid food she was able to start moving around and decreasing the amount of pain medication she needed. Her worst problem now was that her caffeine addiction was kicking in and all she wanted was a cup of coffee, to which she was promptly denied by all parties involved in her care. As she was preparing for discharge, she showered for the first time in days and Callie helped her get dressed. They were now waiting for Dr. Bailey to come in and give the final word. But instead of Bailey, the person who came through the door was Owen....the now Chief of Surgery. "Dr. Robbins.....good to see you up and about. You gave us all quite a scare."
"Thank you Chief....I feel a lot better." Although Arizona was pleased to see that Owen cared, she got the feeling that this visit wasn’t just about checking in.
Owen smiled "That’s good.......and Dr. Bailey informs me that you’ll need to be out for six weeks."
"Yeah well, you know Bailey....she’s overly cautious.....I can probably come back earl......." Arizona’s words were cut off by the death stare from her wife. Arizona backed down "I guess six weeks it is."
"Well that’s okay, but when you come back, you’re going to need to change a few things" Owen started
This was it......Arizona had a feeling that she was about to be reprimanded again and she didn’t like it "Chief?"
Owen stood straighter at the address "Yes....well, Dr, Stark has resigned his contract, but has offered to stay for the next six weeks until you come back. Then I would like for your to take over the Pediatric surgical operations once again. But that means....you’ll need to learn to better delegate responsibilities and manage your time better so that you don’t end up back in this situation. Is that clear?" Arizona and Callie were both shocked, the smile on their faces the only sign that Owen could tell that they were pleased. "All right then....I’ll see you back here in six weeks."
"Yes Sir....thank you Chief" Arizona managed to squeak out. Once Owen had left the room, both women turned to each other "Wow, I wasn’t expecting that."
Callie took her wife in her arms "I don’t know why.......you’re right and you’re awesome. I love you."
"I love you too."