Fault Lines (1/36)
Fault Lines
Chapter 1/36
Authors: Faith kennedysbitch & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie
Rating: NC-17
Story Summary: Sequel to Choices. Callie and Arizona make the decision to move forward with their lives, but when a gradual series of events begin to snowball, Arizona tries desperately not to lose her grip on reality.
Chapter Summary: Starting shortly after the events in ‘Choices’, Arizona and Callie get reacquainted.
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.
A/N: Some of the plot is still being finalized and changed at the last minute, but it should all work out in the end. Also, this sequel contains Mark and Lexie Grey as well.
We’re throwing in some random yet awesome medical cases we’ve heard about over the last few months, just for fun and to keep the girls busy. But, we have no medical knowledge/training beyond Google, so let’s all just pretend the tiny little details are correct, yes?
---
I want to have a baby with you.
Those were words Calliope Torres never thought she would ever hear leave Arizona Robbins’ mouth.
From the moment she realized she was in love with the pediatric surgeon, Callie knew this time around things would be different. Arizona wasn’t like George. She wasn’t so desperate to be loved that she would use another human being just to obtain that feeling, that satisfaction. And she wasn’t like Erica, either. She was sure of herself and who she was, and she didn’t judge Callie for sticking to her guns. Even if they had a difference of opinion, it was never something that was held against her.
Arizona was different than anyone she’d ever been with before, all right.
She was also the first person who really, truly saw Callie for who she was and loved her wholly for it. Arizona stayed by her side through the crisis with her family, through the professional ups and downs of being a surgeon, and even when their relationship was in its worst possible moment, she’d stuck with her through a painful procedure and the physical recovery that followed.
The only problem they’d ever had was the baby thing.
Callie had wanted kids her whole life. She loved them. She loved playing with them, holding, comforting, watching, and caring for them. She knew without a doubt that she wanted a big family someday. She and George had tried, but it had been a broken relationship from the beginning and she was grateful nothing ever came of their attempts.
Arizona was the first person she really, truly wanted to raise a family with. She was the first person with whom Callie saw a long lasting, forever kind of future. She wanted little babies with blonde curls and blue eyes. Or kids with dark hair and brown eyes, that laughed like Arizona did and saw the world ‘glass half full of rainbows’ like her. Callie adored Arizona through and through, and she wanted that forever kind of future with her.
Arizona hadn’t.
Callie was crushed when she realized that everything she dreamed of was never going to become a reality. Arizona didn’t want kids and a family; she wanted freedom and her job and a girlfriend that would stop talking about babies. Though Callie had no doubt the blonde loved her back, she just knew it wasn’t going to work.
Their attempt at making a clean break was laughable, however. Between the supply closets, the on-call rooms, the x-ray examination room...Callie had never had so much sex with an ex before. Ever. And it made her think - that she was making a mistake, that she and Arizona just had to find some other way to make it work. But Arizona still didn’t want kids, and no matter how hard she tried, Callie couldn’t suppress the knowledge that she needed them in her life.
Everything changed when Arizona had slept with Carmen Rodriguez.
Broken up or not, Callie had never felt a pain so intense in her entire life. It didn’t matter that Arizona did it out of grief, or that she admitted it was a mistake, or that they were broken up when it happened. Callie felt like she’d been stabbed in the chest and would never recover.
Forgiveness was never easy for her, but the more she tried to convince herself that Arizona didn’t belong in her life after that, the more she realized how much she needed her. Craved her. Pined for her. And Callie started to realize that she always would, unless she did something about it. So she put it all on the line and decided to try again.
It took Arizona a little bit of time to come around to the idea of having children, but once she realized it was worth taking that risk with Callie by her side, she had never been happier. Calliope Torres was the love of her life, and Arizona Robbins wanted every bit of that same future with her.
From the moment she accepted and gave into that fact, her whole life seemed to turn around.
Arizona was already one who looked at things in the brightest possible of lights, but the concept of a future without Callie was a darkness she had never faced before. The fact that they had finally decided to start a family together meant that everything was bright and shiny and covered with rainbows and unicorns once more, just as it should be.
And the number one, best and brightest thing about their recent reconciliation?
The sex.
***
Arizona collapsed off to the side with a heavy groan, landing on her back, the mattress bouncing beneath her. Her chest heaved with her efforts to pull in oxygen, and a thick layer of sweat drenched every inch of her body as she stared up at the ceiling with hooded eyes. “Wow. That was...”
“Yeah,” Callie replied through an equally heavy breath. “That was...” She blinked slowly and licked her lips, trying to pull her head out of the post-orgasmic cloud it was stuck in. “We should...do that more often.”
Arizona nodded and dropped an arm across her own stomach. “Definitely. More is good.” She swallowed back and turned her head to look at Callie with a breathless smile. “More, like now-more?”
Callie found herself laughing and nudged Arizona with her elbow. “You are insatiable, woman. You’re gonna kill me one of these days.”
“One of these days that is not today,” Arizona pointed out with a wolfish grin. She quickly rolled over and climbed right back on top of Callie, instantly dropping her head down to steal a deep, searing kiss.
Callie moaned into it and instantly threaded her fingers into Arizona’s hair. She was still trying to recover from the last mind-blowing orgasm the blonde had just given her, but she was definitely up for another round.
Of course, at that moment, the universe decided to intervene and keep that from happening any time soon.
Both women released the same exasperated, painful groan of protest simultaneously, and tore their lips apart to glare at the bedside table as one of their pagers vibrated across the surface.
“Seriously?” Callie sighed, dropping her head back against the bed. “Ugh. I hate you.”
“Hey,” Arizona protested, crawling half overtop of Callie to stretch a hand out and nab the dancing pager.
“Not you,” Callie corrected softly. She ran her fingers up Arizona’s ribcage as the blonde remained half-draped overtop of her. It was a nice view of the woman’s gorgeous body from down here. “Whoever’s paging us. They should know better than to interrupt really great sex.”
Arizona laughed and ran a hand back through her hair. “I’m sure Bailey would appreciate being informed of that fact. I’ll leave it up to you to tell her.” She slid back and settled down against Callie’s body again, leaning in to place a softer, lighter kiss against her lips this time. “She wants you in the ER.”
Callie groaned again and circled both arms around the small of Arizona’s back. “Do I have to?”
Arizona chuckled. “No,” she offered, stealing another kiss. “But I have to be at work in an hour, anyway. I need to grab a shower first. You made me all sweaty.” She stole one last deeper, lingering taste of those perfect lips before reluctantly extracting herself from her girlfriend’s arms and climbing off of the bed.
Callie pouted as her eyes tracked Arizona’s every movement. “I like you sweaty,” she commented, dropping them down to linger on her girlfriend’s perfectly shaped ass. “It means I’ve made you work for it.”
Arizona’s rich laughter rang out from the bathroom as she sauntered in, and the sound of running water eventually reached her ears. Callie was beginning to think she was being ignored when blue eyes peaked out around the doorway and a dimpled grin was flashed in her direction. “I’m sure there’s hot water to spare if you’d like to join me.”
Callie smirked as those eyes disappeared back inside and immediately sat up, throwing the covers back.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
***
The next time Arizona saw Callie was nearly eight hours after their attempt at showering before work.
It was an attempt, because not a whole lot of actual showering had happened. Unless one would count standing beneath a hot stream of water while a whole lot of grunting and groaning went on as ‘showering’. At least, that was Arizona’s rationalization.
There was an extra little bounce in her step as she searched the ER for her girlfriend. She was thoroughly pleased with herself, and the un-freakin’-believably cool case she had just been handed the keys to. The best part was that she legitimately could use the brunette for this one, which in turn would make them both rockstars. Arizona loved performing surgery with Callie. It was like a date, only during work hours and way cooler than going out to dinner would ever be.
Surgeons were a different species of human entirely. They all knew this.
She found who she was looking for at the administration desk in the Emergency Room, but getting to her proved difficult.
Because before she could get to Callie, she had to go through Miranda Bailey. And that woman seemed to have it in for her these days.
“Bailey, I need to see her for a consult,” Arizona growled, unimpressed by the way she was being Callie-blocked by the shorter woman.
“A consult in your pants?” Bailey demanded, pinning Arizona to the spot with a hard glare. “Not on my damn time, you don’t.”
“No, a patient consult,” Arizona shot back. “Preferably soon. As in now.” She caught Callie’s eye over Bailey’s shoulder and waved her over. “Miranda, I outranked you not too long ago. You almost worked for me. You can’t tell me not to see Dr. Torres.”
Bailey gave the blonde a hard look up and down, not looking in the least bit phased. “It's not the 'seeing' part that I'm worried about.” She turned to glance over her shoulder just as Callie arrived next to them, looking curious. Bailey lifted a finger and jabbed it in the brunette’s face. “I'm trusting you not to turn another on-call room into the newest version of your little sapphic karma sutra.”
Callie lifted a brow down at Bailey, scrutinized her carefully, and then slowly began to smile. “You are totally getting laid, aren’t you?”
Bailey's eyes widened and her mouth opened, but no words could seem to make their way out. For once, she was speechless.
“You so are,” Callie continued with a smirk.
“Really?” Arizona’s tune instantly changed, a huge grin surfacing. “That’s awesome! Is it Ben?” She leaned forward in an overly eager fashion.
Bailey gaped back and forth between the two women before she pulled herself together and straightened her posture. “Mind your own damn business! And…just...keep your damn pants on!” She turned on her heel and stalked away.
Arizona giggled. “Oh my God, she’s totally having sex with Ben. Yay!”
Bailey stopped dead in her tracks, visibly stiffening. She twitched a little, but didn't turn around as she quickly disappeared down the hall.
“I like Bailey,” Callie chuckled as she turned back to her girlfriend. “Bailey's fun.”
“When she’s not tormenting me,” Arizona pointed out with a little smile of her own. “You busy?”
“Still waiting on a few tests,” Callie replied, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the accident patient in the corner bed. “What’s up?” A slow, knowing smirk formed over her lips. “You didn’t call me over just to ‘supply closet’, did you? Because I’m a professional. I don’t have sex with co-workers. At work.”
Arizona laughed. “I have cellphone pictures that tell a different story.” Her grin widened at Callie’s surprised expression. “But I, too, am a professional. And since I am also an awesome girlfriend, I have a surprise for you.” Arizona couldn’t hold in her glee, bouncing on her toes with a huge grin on her face. “Care to follow me up to the fourth floor?”
Callie narrowed her eyes somewhat suspiciously at the other woman. “That depends.” She stepped up, invading her girlfriend's senses as she reached down to place a hand on her hip. “How many supply closets are on the fourth floor?” She slowly dragged her tongue along her bottom lip.
Arizona visibly shivered at the gesture. Callie was just too sexy for words sometimes.
Callie chuckled softly and took mercy on her woman. She dropped her hand from Arizona's hip to intertwine their fingers instead. “You know I love surprises.” Her smile faltered just a bit. “Most of the time. Just...not when they involve clowns.” It was her turn to shudder as she thought back to her sixth birthday party.
“I promise there are no clowns involved,” Arizona replied, still grinning. “C’mon.” She tugged Callie out of the ER and toward the elevator.
***
“Uh, honey?” Callie asked tentatively as she pulled on a pink scrub cover. They stood outside of the NICU, and Arizona still hadn’t spilled the beans on the reason she’d brought Callie up here in the first place. “You didn’t like…steal a baby, did you? Because morally, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. I’m perfectly happy to make you one.”
Arizona shot Callie a look and nudged her with an elbow as she finished tying up the back of her own pink scrub cover. “No, I didn’t steal a baby, Calliope. This is so much cooler than that.”
Callie couldn't deny that her curiosity was definitely peaked. She shook her head as she adjusted the sterile covering before turning her gaze towards the door to the unit. She immediately felt a tiny tug in her heart. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for a parent to have to see their tiny, sweet little baby like this.
Callie was in ortho, and she loved it, but she admittedly spent a lot of her free time in the maternity wing. Just another reason why she was so sure she wanted one of her own. Particularly with the woman standing next to her.
Callie turned her dark gaze back to her girlfriend, waiting for what came next.
“C’mon.” Beaming again, Arizona backed through the door and lead Callie past all of the incubators to the very back, where a separate section had been closed off from viewing. She didn’t need interns and residents taking up space by standing there gawking when word eventually spread.
Arizona pulled back the curtain and stepped aside.
Callie stopped and blinked down at the baby. “Does…is that…d-does he have…?” She pointed.
“Yep.” Arizona gazed down at the infant that was dozing quietly, and for all intents and purposes looked completely normal.
Except for the third leg protruding from his hip.
“Born three months ago in San Diego. Undeveloped twin became parasitic, resulting in a left leg and pelvic deformation. The parents’ original doctor didn’t feel comfortable performing the surgery, so they were sent to me.”
Arizona picked up the chart and nudged it into Callie’s side, trying to gain her attention back. “All the info’s in here. Majority of the attachment is fused at the femur, ilium, and ischium. There are some complicated blood vessels involved, but I’m confident we can get the little guy back to normal.”
Callie blinked again. “He...” She lifted her gaze back to focus in on her girlfriend's bright blue eyes. She pointed at the sleeping baby with her right index finger. “He has a third leg.” She paused. “Attached to his hip.”
Arizona chuckled and nudged her with the chart once more. “There’s part of a liver and a stomach in there, too. See this mass here?” She pointed to a fleshy protrusion near the area where the extra limb sprouted from.
Callie swallowed back as she finally accepted the file from her partner’s hand. She flipped it open, her eyes giving it a quick scan. “I...I've never seen anything like this.” Her brow furrowed as she continued to read over the information. “I've never seen anything like this.”
Arizona smiled. “I have. Once.” While Callie read over the chart, she pulled on a pair of gloves and started to do a quick checkup on the child. “It wasn’t nearly as complicated as little Isaac, here, but still just about the coolest surgery I’ve ever done.”
“Did the other baby make it?” Callie questioned, still focused on the chart.
Arizona frowned a little. “No. He didn’t. He made it through the surgery, but there were complications during recovery and he died two weeks later.”
Callie’s head shot up and she raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend. “Then why are you taking this case?”
Arizona turned back to her with a sharply raised brow of her own. “Because I’m good at my job, Calliope. I was Chief Resident and did my fellowship at John Hopkins under one of the best pediatric surgeons in the country.” She didn’t mean to come off so defensively, but Callie wasn’t the first person to raise concerns about the surgery.
Arizona offered a slightly apologetic smile before turning her gaze back to Isaac. “He’ll die without it. The parasitic twin will take its toll and eventually weaken him to the point where survival is impossible. This surgery is his only chance, and the parents came to me for help, so I’m gonna help them.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to...I’m sorry.” Callie glanced down at the tiny baby as her girlfriend continued her gentle examination. “So, why did you want me here, exactly?”
Arizona sighed as she continued in her task. “I'm a great pediatric surgeon,” she explained as she gently manipulated Isaac's normal left leg. “Probably one of the best in the world.” She wasn't being conceited; her past record spoke for itself. “But if I'm going to pull off the surgery successfully this time, I'm going to need one of the best orthopedic surgeons in my corner.” She finally looked up to meet dark eyes. “And in my O.R.”
Callie's eyebrows instantly shot up at her lover's words. “Me?” She pointed to herself, just to be clear who she was talking about.
Arizona smiled. “Yes, Calliope. You.”
Callie's eyes widened even more. “I...I...I'm not good with....” She waved a hand down in the tiny baby’s direction. “I know I've made exceptions, but this?” She lifted her gaze back to blue eyes. “This is very serious, Arizona. I...I don't wanna make things harder. I'm good at my job, but usually my job involves people much, much bigger. And...without a third leg.” She paused, her brow furrowed. “A third leg that could potentially kill them.”
“I don’t just want to remove the parasitic twin,” Arizona replied. “Because the best and probably safest way to do that would be to take Isaac’s leg with it, or even just a good portion of it. But I believe this kid deserves a chance at a normal life, a chance to walk, to run, to do all the things he should get a chance to do. I need you on my team in order to help him do that.”
Arizona paused for a moment, then made her way around the baby’s incubator to stand right in front of her girlfriend. “You’d be making things easier, Calliope, not harder,” she pointed out. “You built a man a leg out of steel. You helped a guy with polio walk again. You. Are. Great.” A smug smile appeared as she repeated Callie’s words right back at her.
How was Callie still supposed to doubt herself after that? She knew she was a goner the moment she looked into those deep, shining blue eyes. Sighing in defeat, a slow smile began to form over her lips. “You don't play fair with those eyes, you know that?”
Arizona grinned as she stepped up closer, peeling off her latex glove and taking Callie’s hand.
“I am kind of a medical genius though, huh?” Callie went on as her smile grew.
“The very best,” Arizona agreed honestly. She leaned up for a quick kiss, pulling back with a triumphant smile. “Which is exactly why I also need you to help me rope Bailey into it. She’s got a complex when it comes to taking cases with me. Something about getting her attached to sick and dying children.” She shrugged as if she had no clue why Bailey would think such things.
Arizona looked back to Isaac. “So, on a scale of one to awesome…how great of a present is this?” She beamed at Callie.
The brunette chuckled softly. “It's way, way past awesome.” Her smile faltered a bit as she turned her attention to the wiggling baby. “But why exactly do you want Bailey on this case? Aren't I and my purely awesome medical genius enough?” She lifted her gaze back up to meet her girlfriend's blue eyes. “I mean, I'm pretty sure we're not exactly her favorite people at the moment.” She had to smile a little at that, ‘cause...seriously.
Bailey must be losing count as to how many times she’d walked in on her and Arizona doing something naughty.
“I’m the Queen of the OR, and I could totally rock this, given enough time to prepare. I should be more than badass enough to pull this off for you.”
“Your soap box makes you cute,” Arizona grinned. “But I need an extra set of experienced hands once I’m in there. Like I said, there are some complex blood vessels shared between Isaac’s organs and the twin’s. It’s gonna be tricky, but I’m confident we can pull it off with the three of us.” She paused. “Plus, I think this surgery might make her like me again.”
Provided Bailey didn’t walk in on them in any more…compromising positions.
Callie smiled. “She likes you.” She took Arizona's hand in her own, raising it to her lips to place a soft, lingering kiss against her warm skin. “She wouldn't hit you in the head with a file folder and yell at you in public if she didn't.”
Arizona laughed.
“It's true,” Callie went on. “Bailey's not great with showing her mushy feelings, but she does the best she can. You should be more worried if she doesn’t resort to physical violence.” She paused with a heavy sigh. “But you're right. She's the best surgeon to have by your side for any operation.”
Callie looked down to their entwined hands and gave Arizona’s a squeeze. “So...I guess this means I have to give you a present now. Got any...ideas?”
Arizona read right through Callie’s innocent, doe-eyed expression. “One or two. But they’ll have to wait till we get home.” She winked at the brunette before dropping her hand and sauntering away.
Callie’s eyes once more dropped down to linger on her girlfriend’s butt. “Doubt we’ll make it that far.”
She cast one last look at baby Isaac before scampering off after her woman.
---
Chapter 1/36
Authors: Faith kennedysbitch & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie
Rating: NC-17
Story Summary: Sequel to Choices. Callie and Arizona make the decision to move forward with their lives, but when a gradual series of events begin to snowball, Arizona tries desperately not to lose her grip on reality.
Chapter Summary: Starting shortly after the events in ‘Choices’, Arizona and Callie get reacquainted.
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.
A/N: Some of the plot is still being finalized and changed at the last minute, but it should all work out in the end. Also, this sequel contains Mark and Lexie Grey as well.
We’re throwing in some random yet awesome medical cases we’ve heard about over the last few months, just for fun and to keep the girls busy. But, we have no medical knowledge/training beyond Google, so let’s all just pretend the tiny little details are correct, yes?
---
I want to have a baby with you.
Those were words Calliope Torres never thought she would ever hear leave Arizona Robbins’ mouth.
From the moment she realized she was in love with the pediatric surgeon, Callie knew this time around things would be different. Arizona wasn’t like George. She wasn’t so desperate to be loved that she would use another human being just to obtain that feeling, that satisfaction. And she wasn’t like Erica, either. She was sure of herself and who she was, and she didn’t judge Callie for sticking to her guns. Even if they had a difference of opinion, it was never something that was held against her.
Arizona was different than anyone she’d ever been with before, all right.
She was also the first person who really, truly saw Callie for who she was and loved her wholly for it. Arizona stayed by her side through the crisis with her family, through the professional ups and downs of being a surgeon, and even when their relationship was in its worst possible moment, she’d stuck with her through a painful procedure and the physical recovery that followed.
The only problem they’d ever had was the baby thing.
Callie had wanted kids her whole life. She loved them. She loved playing with them, holding, comforting, watching, and caring for them. She knew without a doubt that she wanted a big family someday. She and George had tried, but it had been a broken relationship from the beginning and she was grateful nothing ever came of their attempts.
Arizona was the first person she really, truly wanted to raise a family with. She was the first person with whom Callie saw a long lasting, forever kind of future. She wanted little babies with blonde curls and blue eyes. Or kids with dark hair and brown eyes, that laughed like Arizona did and saw the world ‘glass half full of rainbows’ like her. Callie adored Arizona through and through, and she wanted that forever kind of future with her.
Arizona hadn’t.
Callie was crushed when she realized that everything she dreamed of was never going to become a reality. Arizona didn’t want kids and a family; she wanted freedom and her job and a girlfriend that would stop talking about babies. Though Callie had no doubt the blonde loved her back, she just knew it wasn’t going to work.
Their attempt at making a clean break was laughable, however. Between the supply closets, the on-call rooms, the x-ray examination room...Callie had never had so much sex with an ex before. Ever. And it made her think - that she was making a mistake, that she and Arizona just had to find some other way to make it work. But Arizona still didn’t want kids, and no matter how hard she tried, Callie couldn’t suppress the knowledge that she needed them in her life.
Everything changed when Arizona had slept with Carmen Rodriguez.
Broken up or not, Callie had never felt a pain so intense in her entire life. It didn’t matter that Arizona did it out of grief, or that she admitted it was a mistake, or that they were broken up when it happened. Callie felt like she’d been stabbed in the chest and would never recover.
Forgiveness was never easy for her, but the more she tried to convince herself that Arizona didn’t belong in her life after that, the more she realized how much she needed her. Craved her. Pined for her. And Callie started to realize that she always would, unless she did something about it. So she put it all on the line and decided to try again.
It took Arizona a little bit of time to come around to the idea of having children, but once she realized it was worth taking that risk with Callie by her side, she had never been happier. Calliope Torres was the love of her life, and Arizona Robbins wanted every bit of that same future with her.
From the moment she accepted and gave into that fact, her whole life seemed to turn around.
Arizona was already one who looked at things in the brightest possible of lights, but the concept of a future without Callie was a darkness she had never faced before. The fact that they had finally decided to start a family together meant that everything was bright and shiny and covered with rainbows and unicorns once more, just as it should be.
And the number one, best and brightest thing about their recent reconciliation?
The sex.
***
Arizona collapsed off to the side with a heavy groan, landing on her back, the mattress bouncing beneath her. Her chest heaved with her efforts to pull in oxygen, and a thick layer of sweat drenched every inch of her body as she stared up at the ceiling with hooded eyes. “Wow. That was...”
“Yeah,” Callie replied through an equally heavy breath. “That was...” She blinked slowly and licked her lips, trying to pull her head out of the post-orgasmic cloud it was stuck in. “We should...do that more often.”
Arizona nodded and dropped an arm across her own stomach. “Definitely. More is good.” She swallowed back and turned her head to look at Callie with a breathless smile. “More, like now-more?”
Callie found herself laughing and nudged Arizona with her elbow. “You are insatiable, woman. You’re gonna kill me one of these days.”
“One of these days that is not today,” Arizona pointed out with a wolfish grin. She quickly rolled over and climbed right back on top of Callie, instantly dropping her head down to steal a deep, searing kiss.
Callie moaned into it and instantly threaded her fingers into Arizona’s hair. She was still trying to recover from the last mind-blowing orgasm the blonde had just given her, but she was definitely up for another round.
Of course, at that moment, the universe decided to intervene and keep that from happening any time soon.
Both women released the same exasperated, painful groan of protest simultaneously, and tore their lips apart to glare at the bedside table as one of their pagers vibrated across the surface.
“Seriously?” Callie sighed, dropping her head back against the bed. “Ugh. I hate you.”
“Hey,” Arizona protested, crawling half overtop of Callie to stretch a hand out and nab the dancing pager.
“Not you,” Callie corrected softly. She ran her fingers up Arizona’s ribcage as the blonde remained half-draped overtop of her. It was a nice view of the woman’s gorgeous body from down here. “Whoever’s paging us. They should know better than to interrupt really great sex.”
Arizona laughed and ran a hand back through her hair. “I’m sure Bailey would appreciate being informed of that fact. I’ll leave it up to you to tell her.” She slid back and settled down against Callie’s body again, leaning in to place a softer, lighter kiss against her lips this time. “She wants you in the ER.”
Callie groaned again and circled both arms around the small of Arizona’s back. “Do I have to?”
Arizona chuckled. “No,” she offered, stealing another kiss. “But I have to be at work in an hour, anyway. I need to grab a shower first. You made me all sweaty.” She stole one last deeper, lingering taste of those perfect lips before reluctantly extracting herself from her girlfriend’s arms and climbing off of the bed.
Callie pouted as her eyes tracked Arizona’s every movement. “I like you sweaty,” she commented, dropping them down to linger on her girlfriend’s perfectly shaped ass. “It means I’ve made you work for it.”
Arizona’s rich laughter rang out from the bathroom as she sauntered in, and the sound of running water eventually reached her ears. Callie was beginning to think she was being ignored when blue eyes peaked out around the doorway and a dimpled grin was flashed in her direction. “I’m sure there’s hot water to spare if you’d like to join me.”
Callie smirked as those eyes disappeared back inside and immediately sat up, throwing the covers back.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
***
The next time Arizona saw Callie was nearly eight hours after their attempt at showering before work.
It was an attempt, because not a whole lot of actual showering had happened. Unless one would count standing beneath a hot stream of water while a whole lot of grunting and groaning went on as ‘showering’. At least, that was Arizona’s rationalization.
There was an extra little bounce in her step as she searched the ER for her girlfriend. She was thoroughly pleased with herself, and the un-freakin’-believably cool case she had just been handed the keys to. The best part was that she legitimately could use the brunette for this one, which in turn would make them both rockstars. Arizona loved performing surgery with Callie. It was like a date, only during work hours and way cooler than going out to dinner would ever be.
Surgeons were a different species of human entirely. They all knew this.
She found who she was looking for at the administration desk in the Emergency Room, but getting to her proved difficult.
Because before she could get to Callie, she had to go through Miranda Bailey. And that woman seemed to have it in for her these days.
“Bailey, I need to see her for a consult,” Arizona growled, unimpressed by the way she was being Callie-blocked by the shorter woman.
“A consult in your pants?” Bailey demanded, pinning Arizona to the spot with a hard glare. “Not on my damn time, you don’t.”
“No, a patient consult,” Arizona shot back. “Preferably soon. As in now.” She caught Callie’s eye over Bailey’s shoulder and waved her over. “Miranda, I outranked you not too long ago. You almost worked for me. You can’t tell me not to see Dr. Torres.”
Bailey gave the blonde a hard look up and down, not looking in the least bit phased. “It's not the 'seeing' part that I'm worried about.” She turned to glance over her shoulder just as Callie arrived next to them, looking curious. Bailey lifted a finger and jabbed it in the brunette’s face. “I'm trusting you not to turn another on-call room into the newest version of your little sapphic karma sutra.”
Callie lifted a brow down at Bailey, scrutinized her carefully, and then slowly began to smile. “You are totally getting laid, aren’t you?”
Bailey's eyes widened and her mouth opened, but no words could seem to make their way out. For once, she was speechless.
“You so are,” Callie continued with a smirk.
“Really?” Arizona’s tune instantly changed, a huge grin surfacing. “That’s awesome! Is it Ben?” She leaned forward in an overly eager fashion.
Bailey gaped back and forth between the two women before she pulled herself together and straightened her posture. “Mind your own damn business! And…just...keep your damn pants on!” She turned on her heel and stalked away.
Arizona giggled. “Oh my God, she’s totally having sex with Ben. Yay!”
Bailey stopped dead in her tracks, visibly stiffening. She twitched a little, but didn't turn around as she quickly disappeared down the hall.
“I like Bailey,” Callie chuckled as she turned back to her girlfriend. “Bailey's fun.”
“When she’s not tormenting me,” Arizona pointed out with a little smile of her own. “You busy?”
“Still waiting on a few tests,” Callie replied, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the accident patient in the corner bed. “What’s up?” A slow, knowing smirk formed over her lips. “You didn’t call me over just to ‘supply closet’, did you? Because I’m a professional. I don’t have sex with co-workers. At work.”
Arizona laughed. “I have cellphone pictures that tell a different story.” Her grin widened at Callie’s surprised expression. “But I, too, am a professional. And since I am also an awesome girlfriend, I have a surprise for you.” Arizona couldn’t hold in her glee, bouncing on her toes with a huge grin on her face. “Care to follow me up to the fourth floor?”
Callie narrowed her eyes somewhat suspiciously at the other woman. “That depends.” She stepped up, invading her girlfriend's senses as she reached down to place a hand on her hip. “How many supply closets are on the fourth floor?” She slowly dragged her tongue along her bottom lip.
Arizona visibly shivered at the gesture. Callie was just too sexy for words sometimes.
Callie chuckled softly and took mercy on her woman. She dropped her hand from Arizona's hip to intertwine their fingers instead. “You know I love surprises.” Her smile faltered just a bit. “Most of the time. Just...not when they involve clowns.” It was her turn to shudder as she thought back to her sixth birthday party.
“I promise there are no clowns involved,” Arizona replied, still grinning. “C’mon.” She tugged Callie out of the ER and toward the elevator.
***
“Uh, honey?” Callie asked tentatively as she pulled on a pink scrub cover. They stood outside of the NICU, and Arizona still hadn’t spilled the beans on the reason she’d brought Callie up here in the first place. “You didn’t like…steal a baby, did you? Because morally, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. I’m perfectly happy to make you one.”
Arizona shot Callie a look and nudged her with an elbow as she finished tying up the back of her own pink scrub cover. “No, I didn’t steal a baby, Calliope. This is so much cooler than that.”
Callie couldn't deny that her curiosity was definitely peaked. She shook her head as she adjusted the sterile covering before turning her gaze towards the door to the unit. She immediately felt a tiny tug in her heart. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for a parent to have to see their tiny, sweet little baby like this.
Callie was in ortho, and she loved it, but she admittedly spent a lot of her free time in the maternity wing. Just another reason why she was so sure she wanted one of her own. Particularly with the woman standing next to her.
Callie turned her dark gaze back to her girlfriend, waiting for what came next.
“C’mon.” Beaming again, Arizona backed through the door and lead Callie past all of the incubators to the very back, where a separate section had been closed off from viewing. She didn’t need interns and residents taking up space by standing there gawking when word eventually spread.
Arizona pulled back the curtain and stepped aside.
Callie stopped and blinked down at the baby. “Does…is that…d-does he have…?” She pointed.
“Yep.” Arizona gazed down at the infant that was dozing quietly, and for all intents and purposes looked completely normal.
Except for the third leg protruding from his hip.
“Born three months ago in San Diego. Undeveloped twin became parasitic, resulting in a left leg and pelvic deformation. The parents’ original doctor didn’t feel comfortable performing the surgery, so they were sent to me.”
Arizona picked up the chart and nudged it into Callie’s side, trying to gain her attention back. “All the info’s in here. Majority of the attachment is fused at the femur, ilium, and ischium. There are some complicated blood vessels involved, but I’m confident we can get the little guy back to normal.”
Callie blinked again. “He...” She lifted her gaze back to focus in on her girlfriend's bright blue eyes. She pointed at the sleeping baby with her right index finger. “He has a third leg.” She paused. “Attached to his hip.”
Arizona chuckled and nudged her with the chart once more. “There’s part of a liver and a stomach in there, too. See this mass here?” She pointed to a fleshy protrusion near the area where the extra limb sprouted from.
Callie swallowed back as she finally accepted the file from her partner’s hand. She flipped it open, her eyes giving it a quick scan. “I...I've never seen anything like this.” Her brow furrowed as she continued to read over the information. “I've never seen anything like this.”
Arizona smiled. “I have. Once.” While Callie read over the chart, she pulled on a pair of gloves and started to do a quick checkup on the child. “It wasn’t nearly as complicated as little Isaac, here, but still just about the coolest surgery I’ve ever done.”
“Did the other baby make it?” Callie questioned, still focused on the chart.
Arizona frowned a little. “No. He didn’t. He made it through the surgery, but there were complications during recovery and he died two weeks later.”
Callie’s head shot up and she raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend. “Then why are you taking this case?”
Arizona turned back to her with a sharply raised brow of her own. “Because I’m good at my job, Calliope. I was Chief Resident and did my fellowship at John Hopkins under one of the best pediatric surgeons in the country.” She didn’t mean to come off so defensively, but Callie wasn’t the first person to raise concerns about the surgery.
Arizona offered a slightly apologetic smile before turning her gaze back to Isaac. “He’ll die without it. The parasitic twin will take its toll and eventually weaken him to the point where survival is impossible. This surgery is his only chance, and the parents came to me for help, so I’m gonna help them.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to...I’m sorry.” Callie glanced down at the tiny baby as her girlfriend continued her gentle examination. “So, why did you want me here, exactly?”
Arizona sighed as she continued in her task. “I'm a great pediatric surgeon,” she explained as she gently manipulated Isaac's normal left leg. “Probably one of the best in the world.” She wasn't being conceited; her past record spoke for itself. “But if I'm going to pull off the surgery successfully this time, I'm going to need one of the best orthopedic surgeons in my corner.” She finally looked up to meet dark eyes. “And in my O.R.”
Callie's eyebrows instantly shot up at her lover's words. “Me?” She pointed to herself, just to be clear who she was talking about.
Arizona smiled. “Yes, Calliope. You.”
Callie's eyes widened even more. “I...I...I'm not good with....” She waved a hand down in the tiny baby’s direction. “I know I've made exceptions, but this?” She lifted her gaze back to blue eyes. “This is very serious, Arizona. I...I don't wanna make things harder. I'm good at my job, but usually my job involves people much, much bigger. And...without a third leg.” She paused, her brow furrowed. “A third leg that could potentially kill them.”
“I don’t just want to remove the parasitic twin,” Arizona replied. “Because the best and probably safest way to do that would be to take Isaac’s leg with it, or even just a good portion of it. But I believe this kid deserves a chance at a normal life, a chance to walk, to run, to do all the things he should get a chance to do. I need you on my team in order to help him do that.”
Arizona paused for a moment, then made her way around the baby’s incubator to stand right in front of her girlfriend. “You’d be making things easier, Calliope, not harder,” she pointed out. “You built a man a leg out of steel. You helped a guy with polio walk again. You. Are. Great.” A smug smile appeared as she repeated Callie’s words right back at her.
How was Callie still supposed to doubt herself after that? She knew she was a goner the moment she looked into those deep, shining blue eyes. Sighing in defeat, a slow smile began to form over her lips. “You don't play fair with those eyes, you know that?”
Arizona grinned as she stepped up closer, peeling off her latex glove and taking Callie’s hand.
“I am kind of a medical genius though, huh?” Callie went on as her smile grew.
“The very best,” Arizona agreed honestly. She leaned up for a quick kiss, pulling back with a triumphant smile. “Which is exactly why I also need you to help me rope Bailey into it. She’s got a complex when it comes to taking cases with me. Something about getting her attached to sick and dying children.” She shrugged as if she had no clue why Bailey would think such things.
Arizona looked back to Isaac. “So, on a scale of one to awesome…how great of a present is this?” She beamed at Callie.
The brunette chuckled softly. “It's way, way past awesome.” Her smile faltered a bit as she turned her attention to the wiggling baby. “But why exactly do you want Bailey on this case? Aren't I and my purely awesome medical genius enough?” She lifted her gaze back up to meet her girlfriend's blue eyes. “I mean, I'm pretty sure we're not exactly her favorite people at the moment.” She had to smile a little at that, ‘cause...seriously.
Bailey must be losing count as to how many times she’d walked in on her and Arizona doing something naughty.
“I’m the Queen of the OR, and I could totally rock this, given enough time to prepare. I should be more than badass enough to pull this off for you.”
“Your soap box makes you cute,” Arizona grinned. “But I need an extra set of experienced hands once I’m in there. Like I said, there are some complex blood vessels shared between Isaac’s organs and the twin’s. It’s gonna be tricky, but I’m confident we can pull it off with the three of us.” She paused. “Plus, I think this surgery might make her like me again.”
Provided Bailey didn’t walk in on them in any more…compromising positions.
Callie smiled. “She likes you.” She took Arizona's hand in her own, raising it to her lips to place a soft, lingering kiss against her warm skin. “She wouldn't hit you in the head with a file folder and yell at you in public if she didn't.”
Arizona laughed.
“It's true,” Callie went on. “Bailey's not great with showing her mushy feelings, but she does the best she can. You should be more worried if she doesn’t resort to physical violence.” She paused with a heavy sigh. “But you're right. She's the best surgeon to have by your side for any operation.”
Callie looked down to their entwined hands and gave Arizona’s a squeeze. “So...I guess this means I have to give you a present now. Got any...ideas?”
Arizona read right through Callie’s innocent, doe-eyed expression. “One or two. But they’ll have to wait till we get home.” She winked at the brunette before dropping her hand and sauntering away.
Callie’s eyes once more dropped down to linger on her girlfriend’s butt. “Doubt we’ll make it that far.”
She cast one last look at baby Isaac before scampering off after her woman.
---