Second Time Around (2C/?)
Title: Second Time Around (2C/?)
Author: Nora C. Parker
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Set in Season 6. What if a different Cardio God came to SWMWH during the episode "New HIstory" (6x09). This story contemplates a surgeon other than Teddy joining the staff. The story veers from the established timeline as of that episode, although some of the episode is referenced within this story.
Disclaimer: I have no ownership over the characters.
Note: I began this story about a year ago. The entire first chapter was posted elsewhere online. The rest of it is a journey.
Part 1A
Part 1B
Part 1C
Part 1D
Part 2A
Part 2B
Second Time Around (2C/?)
Chapter 2: Romeo Void works best in theory
Cristina headed towards her morning’s duties. For probably the first time in her residency, she almost wished she wasn’t on a cardio procedure this morning. Almost.
# # #
For the much of the morning, Arizona Robbins tried to carry on as if there hadn’t been a trespasser in her bedroom that morning. Strictly speaking, it was Callie’s bedroom per the terms of the lease. But given the amount of time that Arizona spent sleeping at Callie’s versus the amount of time she spent at her own apartment, a place that she was beginning to think of as one big expensive closet, it seemed like there was reason to think of the room as a place where she lived. She had squatters’ rights on the room, if nothing else, which was a lot more than Erica Hahn could claim.
Arizona was trying to put the intrusion out of her thoughts. She had hoped to catch a few minutes with Callie to talk about what had happened. As she should have expected, though, Callie was in the OR placing a pin into some guy’s femur. While Callie would have been available to speak to her, Arizona didn’t really want to get into the specifics of Erica Hahn and their bedroom in a fully staffed OR.
On a much more concerning note, Arizona ensured that Zach Tolliver was properly prepared for his surgery. Part of that preparation meant ensuring that his parents were also properly prepared. As Zach’s doctor and given their different personalities, Arizona would have been surprised if Erica had been in to see the patient or speak with the parents. She braced herself for an encounter, though, on the off chance.
She had no doubt that Hahn would be perfectly professional about the procedure. Wasn’t that one of the first lessons of medical training? Learning to put the needs of the patient first regardless of whatever else was happening? That was the whole concept of ‘do no harm.’ Being a surgeon required a certain level of disconnecting one’s emotions from the situation, especially emotions from events unrelated to the medical case.
In what was probably the best of situations, Arizona didn’t see Erica until the two met in the scrub room. Arizona had already been working on the focus needed for the surgery. She gave Erica a friendly nod and had no inclination to mention the events of the morning. “The test results were good this morning, he was stable.” Nothing but business.
In lieu of a reply, Erica shot Arizona a look that bordered on hatred.
Time to meet this issue head on, if only for the safety of the patient. “Dr. Hahn, I know you don’t like me, and I know why. I don’t care. My only concern right now is Zach Tolliver.”
The words were met with silence, but Hahn was most certainly listening.
“If you feel you cannot perform adequately for my patient based on your feelings about me, please say so and I will arrange a replacement.”
That threat earned a scoff. “You won’t find a Cardiao-thorasic surgeon in Seattle who’s half as good.”
“I’m not going to argue that point; you’re probably right.” While Arizona wasn’t in a mood to puff the woman’s ego, she also wasn’t going to stand and fight on points that were not in disagreement. “But my concern right now is a tiny human who is one day old and who has a malformed heart. If you have issues that would prevent you from giving him the highest quality of care, please, tell me now.”
In reply, Erica turned and entered the operating room and was assisted into her gloves and gown. Arizona truly had no fears about how the woman would perform, but she did want to make sure that Hahn didn’t take any imagined injury as a free pass to be a bitch to the point that impeded the patient’s care.
The tiny human seemed even tinier on the operating table, dwarfed by all of the big machines that would be necessary to keep him alive. As many times as she’d been involved in similar cases, some things never got easier, even for a pediatric surgeon.
Cristina Yang had already scrubbed in and was at the table, monitoring the infant’s vital signs.
“Are you on my service, Yang?” Hahn barked, more than asked, the question.
“No ma’am. I’m with Doctor Robbins today.”
A quick look in her direction and Arizona gave a nod of confirmation.
“You’re not going to assist. Either step back or step out.”
There was no doubt in Arizona’s thoughts that since she couldn’t be attacked directly, that Yang was being punished for aligning with the enemy. With Hahn as the lead in the OR, there was no way to dispute the issue.
From the look on Yang’s face, experience had already taught her that same lesson.
“Robbins, let’s see if your moves can measure up.”
The words weren’t just rude, they were cold. Arizona had questions that would have to wait until later. She needed to understand what Callie could have ever found appealing about this woman. Callie, who was nothing but warm in her own unique way, seemed to have nothing in common with the personality that had thus far been in display by Erica Hahn.
Once again, Arizona refused to be baited. “Ready when you are.”
During the procedure, Hahn was fully in control of herself and her technique. Everything went as well as could be expected. Now, it was up to Zach to see how his system did with the repair. In the best case, he’d be discharged in a couple weeks and back in a couple months for the next stage of repair.
A quick, “thank you, Doctor Hahn,” and Arizona was off to discuss the outcome with the very nervous and very worried Tollivers.
At the door, Arizona was intercepted by a tall shape in dark blue scrubs. Callie.
“How’d?” Callie went silent as she noticed Erica Hahn exiting the OR. After stalling for a moment, she moved quickly to catch up to her girlfriend.
“Fine. It’s all fine.”
“Everything?” Callie’s tone betrayed her fears.
Arizona pulled her girlfriend into a stairwell. “I need to go talk with my patient’s family. We’ll talk later. It’s fine.”
“Fine?” Callie’s look was once again unsure.
“Yeah.” Arizona placed a quick kiss on her girlfriend’s lips. “Fine.” And she was off to brief the parents.
# # #
With the initial surgery out of the way, the initial parent briefing done, Arizona wanted some time to review charts before the afternoon rounds. At least, that’s what she thought she would be doing when she entered the Attendings’ lounge to go over the charts and grab some coffee.
She noticed, to her dismay, that the lounge was not empty.
“Robbins.”
Hahn had staked out a spot at a table back in the corner of the room. Arizona wondered if she squinted, would she be able to see a dark cloud hovering above the other woman.
“Dr. Hahn.” Keep it professional. “Impressive work on the Norwood.”
“Naturally.”
Some ego and surgeon pairings went together better than others. It was partially a question of proportion. The amount of ego needed to be in proportion to the ability. But partially it was a human thing. Did the amount of ego displayed displace the amount of humanity that should be present? In Arizona’s assessment of Hahn, the proportion was skewed and the humanity lacking.
Any hope of a productive conversation was destroyed as Hahn kept talking. “But you know that we have unfinished business that doesn’t include your patient.”
“No, we don’t.” Arizona poured herself a cup of coffee. She and Callie had been together, been stable, for months now. Why should she be threatened by this woman?
Not that Hahn saw things the same way. “You’re sleeping with Torres, and it’s only a matter of time until she realizes that she’s got options. Better options.”
That bit of blather didn’t even merit a response. It did inspire the thought that Romeo Void’s idea worked best as a theory. In this instance, it was unimaginable to Arizona Robbins that sleeping with Erica Hahn could make anyone like her better.
“Of course, when I take her back, and I will, I’d rather she wasn’t also sleeping with Sloan. If you’re okay with that clusterfuck - so to speak - you’re a stronger woman than I was.”
It took Arizona a few moments to parse out the words to that sentence. Callie. Mark. Sleeping together. Now. Present tense. That was absurd. “You’re delusional.” Wasn’t it?
“Delusional? Perhaps if they’d learn to lock the door in on-call rooms, I wouldn’t need to suffer delusions.”
With that salvo, Erica gathered her things and left the room.
Concentrating on the task at hand was not working for Arizona. “Shit.” The term was said quietly, and the effect was not satisfying. “Shit!” she screamed. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”
The lounge door opened and Derek Shepherd poked his head in. “Dr. Robbins?” He looked around the room, as if expecting it to be occupied by more than one individual. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course.” The words were spoken through a smile, plastered on a fake as it was yet still a smile. “Everything’s,” she searched for a word, “peachy.”
“Peachy.” He repeated to her nod. “Okay.” The look in his eyes said that he clearly did not believe her. But he took Robbins at her word and was gone.
“Shit,” Arizona muttered again, this time to herself. “Mark and Callie?” Taking a moment to consider the source, Hahn was clearly and actively being an ass; an ass of ginormous proportion. But Mark and Callie? Was that possible?”
(end part 2)
Next...
Chapter 3: Sweet little lies might have worked for Fleetwood Mac
Author: Nora C. Parker
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Set in Season 6. What if a different Cardio God came to SWMWH during the episode "New HIstory" (6x09). This story contemplates a surgeon other than Teddy joining the staff. The story veers from the established timeline as of that episode, although some of the episode is referenced within this story.
Disclaimer: I have no ownership over the characters.
Note: I began this story about a year ago. The entire first chapter was posted elsewhere online. The rest of it is a journey.
Part 1A
Part 1B
Part 1C
Part 1D
Part 2A
Part 2B
Second Time Around (2C/?)
Chapter 2: Romeo Void works best in theory
Cristina headed towards her morning’s duties. For probably the first time in her residency, she almost wished she wasn’t on a cardio procedure this morning. Almost.
# # #
For the much of the morning, Arizona Robbins tried to carry on as if there hadn’t been a trespasser in her bedroom that morning. Strictly speaking, it was Callie’s bedroom per the terms of the lease. But given the amount of time that Arizona spent sleeping at Callie’s versus the amount of time she spent at her own apartment, a place that she was beginning to think of as one big expensive closet, it seemed like there was reason to think of the room as a place where she lived. She had squatters’ rights on the room, if nothing else, which was a lot more than Erica Hahn could claim.
Arizona was trying to put the intrusion out of her thoughts. She had hoped to catch a few minutes with Callie to talk about what had happened. As she should have expected, though, Callie was in the OR placing a pin into some guy’s femur. While Callie would have been available to speak to her, Arizona didn’t really want to get into the specifics of Erica Hahn and their bedroom in a fully staffed OR.
On a much more concerning note, Arizona ensured that Zach Tolliver was properly prepared for his surgery. Part of that preparation meant ensuring that his parents were also properly prepared. As Zach’s doctor and given their different personalities, Arizona would have been surprised if Erica had been in to see the patient or speak with the parents. She braced herself for an encounter, though, on the off chance.
She had no doubt that Hahn would be perfectly professional about the procedure. Wasn’t that one of the first lessons of medical training? Learning to put the needs of the patient first regardless of whatever else was happening? That was the whole concept of ‘do no harm.’ Being a surgeon required a certain level of disconnecting one’s emotions from the situation, especially emotions from events unrelated to the medical case.
In what was probably the best of situations, Arizona didn’t see Erica until the two met in the scrub room. Arizona had already been working on the focus needed for the surgery. She gave Erica a friendly nod and had no inclination to mention the events of the morning. “The test results were good this morning, he was stable.” Nothing but business.
In lieu of a reply, Erica shot Arizona a look that bordered on hatred.
Time to meet this issue head on, if only for the safety of the patient. “Dr. Hahn, I know you don’t like me, and I know why. I don’t care. My only concern right now is Zach Tolliver.”
The words were met with silence, but Hahn was most certainly listening.
“If you feel you cannot perform adequately for my patient based on your feelings about me, please say so and I will arrange a replacement.”
That threat earned a scoff. “You won’t find a Cardiao-thorasic surgeon in Seattle who’s half as good.”
“I’m not going to argue that point; you’re probably right.” While Arizona wasn’t in a mood to puff the woman’s ego, she also wasn’t going to stand and fight on points that were not in disagreement. “But my concern right now is a tiny human who is one day old and who has a malformed heart. If you have issues that would prevent you from giving him the highest quality of care, please, tell me now.”
In reply, Erica turned and entered the operating room and was assisted into her gloves and gown. Arizona truly had no fears about how the woman would perform, but she did want to make sure that Hahn didn’t take any imagined injury as a free pass to be a bitch to the point that impeded the patient’s care.
The tiny human seemed even tinier on the operating table, dwarfed by all of the big machines that would be necessary to keep him alive. As many times as she’d been involved in similar cases, some things never got easier, even for a pediatric surgeon.
Cristina Yang had already scrubbed in and was at the table, monitoring the infant’s vital signs.
“Are you on my service, Yang?” Hahn barked, more than asked, the question.
“No ma’am. I’m with Doctor Robbins today.”
A quick look in her direction and Arizona gave a nod of confirmation.
“You’re not going to assist. Either step back or step out.”
There was no doubt in Arizona’s thoughts that since she couldn’t be attacked directly, that Yang was being punished for aligning with the enemy. With Hahn as the lead in the OR, there was no way to dispute the issue.
From the look on Yang’s face, experience had already taught her that same lesson.
“Robbins, let’s see if your moves can measure up.”
The words weren’t just rude, they were cold. Arizona had questions that would have to wait until later. She needed to understand what Callie could have ever found appealing about this woman. Callie, who was nothing but warm in her own unique way, seemed to have nothing in common with the personality that had thus far been in display by Erica Hahn.
Once again, Arizona refused to be baited. “Ready when you are.”
During the procedure, Hahn was fully in control of herself and her technique. Everything went as well as could be expected. Now, it was up to Zach to see how his system did with the repair. In the best case, he’d be discharged in a couple weeks and back in a couple months for the next stage of repair.
A quick, “thank you, Doctor Hahn,” and Arizona was off to discuss the outcome with the very nervous and very worried Tollivers.
At the door, Arizona was intercepted by a tall shape in dark blue scrubs. Callie.
“How’d?” Callie went silent as she noticed Erica Hahn exiting the OR. After stalling for a moment, she moved quickly to catch up to her girlfriend.
“Fine. It’s all fine.”
“Everything?” Callie’s tone betrayed her fears.
Arizona pulled her girlfriend into a stairwell. “I need to go talk with my patient’s family. We’ll talk later. It’s fine.”
“Fine?” Callie’s look was once again unsure.
“Yeah.” Arizona placed a quick kiss on her girlfriend’s lips. “Fine.” And she was off to brief the parents.
# # #
With the initial surgery out of the way, the initial parent briefing done, Arizona wanted some time to review charts before the afternoon rounds. At least, that’s what she thought she would be doing when she entered the Attendings’ lounge to go over the charts and grab some coffee.
She noticed, to her dismay, that the lounge was not empty.
“Robbins.”
Hahn had staked out a spot at a table back in the corner of the room. Arizona wondered if she squinted, would she be able to see a dark cloud hovering above the other woman.
“Dr. Hahn.” Keep it professional. “Impressive work on the Norwood.”
“Naturally.”
Some ego and surgeon pairings went together better than others. It was partially a question of proportion. The amount of ego needed to be in proportion to the ability. But partially it was a human thing. Did the amount of ego displayed displace the amount of humanity that should be present? In Arizona’s assessment of Hahn, the proportion was skewed and the humanity lacking.
Any hope of a productive conversation was destroyed as Hahn kept talking. “But you know that we have unfinished business that doesn’t include your patient.”
“No, we don’t.” Arizona poured herself a cup of coffee. She and Callie had been together, been stable, for months now. Why should she be threatened by this woman?
Not that Hahn saw things the same way. “You’re sleeping with Torres, and it’s only a matter of time until she realizes that she’s got options. Better options.”
That bit of blather didn’t even merit a response. It did inspire the thought that Romeo Void’s idea worked best as a theory. In this instance, it was unimaginable to Arizona Robbins that sleeping with Erica Hahn could make anyone like her better.
“Of course, when I take her back, and I will, I’d rather she wasn’t also sleeping with Sloan. If you’re okay with that clusterfuck - so to speak - you’re a stronger woman than I was.”
It took Arizona a few moments to parse out the words to that sentence. Callie. Mark. Sleeping together. Now. Present tense. That was absurd. “You’re delusional.” Wasn’t it?
“Delusional? Perhaps if they’d learn to lock the door in on-call rooms, I wouldn’t need to suffer delusions.”
With that salvo, Erica gathered her things and left the room.
Concentrating on the task at hand was not working for Arizona. “Shit.” The term was said quietly, and the effect was not satisfying. “Shit!” she screamed. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”
The lounge door opened and Derek Shepherd poked his head in. “Dr. Robbins?” He looked around the room, as if expecting it to be occupied by more than one individual. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course.” The words were spoken through a smile, plastered on a fake as it was yet still a smile. “Everything’s,” she searched for a word, “peachy.”
“Peachy.” He repeated to her nod. “Okay.” The look in his eyes said that he clearly did not believe her. But he took Robbins at her word and was gone.
“Shit,” Arizona muttered again, this time to herself. “Mark and Callie?” Taking a moment to consider the source, Hahn was clearly and actively being an ass; an ass of ginormous proportion. But Mark and Callie? Was that possible?”
(end part 2)
Next...
Chapter 3: Sweet little lies might have worked for Fleetwood Mac