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A knock on the door pulled Callie from a light slumber, sprawled across the bed that she and her wife shared, still in her lingerie. She glanced at the clock and saw it was almost midnight. Arizona should have been home hours ago. And who was at the door so late? Arizona had a key, of course, as did Mark. But Mark had taken to knocking ever since he barged in one evening, trying to see if he'd left Sofia's favorite blanket behind, only to find Arizona stark naked on the couch with Callie's head between her thighs. He promised he'd knock from that point forward as Arizona, with only couch cushions shielding her privates, yelled and chased him away while Callie laughed. Not wanting to risk another lecture about her best friend's lack of boundaries from her wife, who was frustrated in more ways than one, Callie pulled her black silk robe on, and padded out to the door. When she looked through the peephole, she was surprised to see Owen Hunt.
"Owen?" Callie asked, opening the door. Taking in the sight of the Chief of Surgery, she immediately knew something must be terribly wrong. He looked anxious, and Major Owen Hunt of the US Army, current chief of surgery and head of trauma, was never anxious. Dread filled the pit of Callie's stomach as she stepped aside to let the man who once half-lived in the apartment enter.
"Hey," he replied, voice tight.
She lead him into the apartment and they took a seat on the couch wordlessly. Moments passed in silence.
"Something happened, didn't it?" Callie's dread was audible.
"I, um…" The trauma surgeon cleared his throat. "We're not sure, but we think something happened with the flight," Owen's voice was hoarse. "They never made it to Boise. Search and Rescue have been notified but they said we can't jump to conclusions yet. It's too soon."
Thick silence passed as Callie tried to process this. Yes, she found it odd that she hadn't heard anything from Arizona or Mark letting her know they landed the previous night, but she attributed that to the fact that they were only going to Boise for a short time and the surgery was going to take up the majority of it. She told herself not to worry until it was absolutely necessary, and now the panic set in. The orthopedic surgeon's head was spinning. "Dios Mio. Arizona." she rasped.
"I wanted to tell you first, and in person," Owen said, sounding uncharacteristically frazzled. "You have two people on the plane. I mean, they're all our people, of course." The redhead paused for a moment, almost looking ill. "My wife is on that plane, and so is yours. And Sloan. Your …people."
Callie felt like she couldn't breathe. "The two most important adults in my life. My wife and my best friend who also happens to be the father of my child," Callie said, voice sounding almost void of emotion though Owen knew that she was about one second away from falling apart and desperately trying to hang on. "Oh my god. Sofia," Callie said, beginning to hyperventilate as tears streamed down her face.
Owen immediately pulled Callie into his arms, running his hands along her back. "Sofia is okay. And they're okay. Your wife, and my wife, and Mark and the rest of them are going to be just fine," he said, trying to reassure himself, too.
They both knew that was not likely to be the case.
Neither of them slept that evening. Owen didn't want to leave Callie alone, so he insisted that he take the couch, while Callie laid in bed clutching Arizona's pillow to her chest, praying desperately, as worst case scenarios flooded her head, that she wasn't going to be a single mother and a widow.
XXX
The next few days inched by. Of course, everyone was upset. Kepner was constantly within a minute of bursting into tears, and Alex's guilt was thick and obvious. Everyone kept looking at Owen and Callie, who did their best to busy themselves with paperwork, as neither was in the right frame of mind to enter an OR. Everyone expected them to fall apart. But Owen was the Chief of Surgery, and he couldn't fall apart. And Callie had Sofia, and she was the only thing holding her mother together during the day. That didn't mean that she didn't spend the three gruelling nights clutching Arizona's pillow and panicking, terrified that she'd just lost the two most important people in her world, aside from their daughter. And that didn't mean that she wasn't obsessively checking her phone for any form of an update.
Owen kept close to Callie. They didn't talk about it much, other then asking if perhaps one had heard something that the other hadn't, but they seemed to be in a situation, a hellish limbo, that no one but the other could quite understand.
And, it truly did seem that when it rained, it poured at Seattle Grace Mercy West. Sofia had come down with an awful cold which quickly became an upper respiratory infection while the world-class Pediatric Surgeon she called Mommy was missing. And even though she was put on antibiotics, she had to be watched closely as her immune system and lungs were weaker than those of other children her age, given the circumstances of her birth after the car crash. The only time Callie had gotten any significant amount of sleep in those three days was when she was lying on Sofia's bedroom floor, listening to the sound of the humidifier going and the baby's rhythmic, congested breathing.
XXX
The relief that flooded through Callie as she heard that the plane and passengers were located was short-lived. While they weren't given much information, they were told that everyone save Lexie was alive, but Callie couldn't quite process that information. It was too much. She just clung to the news that Arizona and Mark were alive, and her worst fears hadn't come true. However, soon after Owen told her that he, Bailey, Webber, and Karev were going to fly out to Boise, she quickly realized that she couldn't go with them. Karev was flying out with Zola, Callie couldn't seem to reach her father, and Arizona's parents were on a Naval base in the middle of Germany, and would be on the next flight out, but wouldn't be able to make it to Seattle anytime soon. And considering Sofia's condition, Callie didn't feel comfortable leaving her with anyone else for the indefinite trip to Boise. She also couldn't bring Sofia as her immune system would not benefit from being in a hospital, and the last thing Arizona or Mark needed was to see Sofia sick, or catch whatever virus instigated the infection themselves. After making Owen promise that the minute he caught sight of Arizona, he'd call her, Callie begrudgingly stayed behind.
A few long hours later, her phone rang.
"Arizona?" Callie asked frantically.
"It's Owen. Sorry."
Callie's disappointment was palpable.
The redhead continued. "She's okay, though. Her leg is bad, but she's stable. So is Cristina."
Callie let out a large breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thank God."
"Robbins keeps asking us to take her home to you. We're working out the details now, and we hope to get her back soon. Possibly tomorrow. How's Sofia holding up?" Owen asked.
"She's the same," Callie was running out of patience. "Look, Owen, I appreciate you keeping me posted, but you saw your wife, and I haven't seen mine, and I don't think I can go another moment without hearing Arizona's voice, so please…" the brunette was in tears.
"Of course," Owen said stiffly. "I'll put her on. She's on pain medications, though, just to warn you. She may not sound like herself."
Callie heard shuffling for a moment, then her heart literally lept at the voice that met her ears.
"Calliope?" Arizona sounded weak, but Callie had never heard a more perfect sound in her life.
"Arizona? Oh, God, baby. I was so worried about you." She let out a breath of relief she didn't know she'd been holding.
"O-Owen says Sofia is sick, and that's why you're not here." Despite the hoarseness, the blonde's worry was still clear in her voice. Damn. Callie had told Owen not to tell her. The last thing Arizona needed was more to worry about, considering her own circumstances. "What's wrong with her, Calliope?"
Of course Sofia was the first thing that Arizona asked about when she first heard Callie's voice after being in a horrible plane crash. For someone who didn't think she was cut out for motherhood at one point, Arizona was a natural at it, worrying and all.
"She has an upper respiratory infection," Callie did her best to keep her voice calm. "I've got it all under control. I'm worried about you. I'm sorry I can't be with you right now."
"Don't be sorry. I don't want you here if that means Sofia is sick and some unqualified stranger is watching her. I'm worried about her immune system and her lungs. Where is she?" Arizona asked, sounding concerned. Motherhood seemed to have a way to pull strength from people in even the most trying situations.
"She's next to me in her crib," Callie replied, looking over at the sleeping baby.
"Put the phone next to her head," Arizona said.
"I've got it under control. We're fine. I'm just really worried about you, Arizona," Callie replied.
"I am her mother, Calliope," Arizona stated, taking a deep breath. "And I have no control over anything right now. I can't walk, I can't eat, I can't sleep, and these yahoos in dump truck Idaho want to hack my leg off, and all I can do is withhold consent until I get home and you come up with a plan," Arizona said, clearly crying. "Because you're my superstar wife who grows cartilage from nothing and builds bones like God. So until then, I have no control over anything, but what I can do is listen to my daughter breathe so if you could just put the phone by her head, please…"
Callie did as she was told, trying not to sob as Arizona detailed just how much she was suffering while Callie could do absolutely nothing about it. She felt useless. Arizona was going through hell, and she just wanted to be there. To hold her and help her.
After a few moments she brought the phone back up to her ear. "Did you get a good listen, sweetie?" Callie said, trying to keep calm. The last think Arizona needed was to worry about her wife, too.
"Yeah. Is the humidifier on? I thought I heard it. If not, you should put it on. And try to see if we have any more of the decongestant I prescribed when she had that sinus infection. And it might help to try the nasal aspirator." Arizona suggested. She sounded very clinical and in her element, yet Callie could tell that she wasn't herself. Not that she was expected to be, given what she'd endured. But she was faring better than expected.
"I have the humidifier on, and I will give her some of the decongestant. Got it. Can I ask a question?" Callie asked hesitantly.
"Yes," Arizona's voice was still weak.
"What's a nasal aspirator?"
"The rubber bulb syringe that helps clear mucus from a baby's nostrils," Arizona explained. "It should be in the drawer just under her changing table."
"Oh, you mean the booger baster," Callie replied, earning herself a slight laugh from her wife.
"Yes, Calliope, the booger baster." For a second, Arizona found a glimmer of herself in her wife's ridiculous antics. That piece of what she used to be served as a stark reminder of everything she wasn't right now. Arizona's chest ached to be with her wife and daughter once again. "God, I missed you, Calliope," She said through a sob. "All I could do was think about you. Everything was horrible, but you and Sofia got me through it."
Callie didn't know what to say in response. She just sobbed. "I'm so glad you're okay. I love you so much, Arizona. I can't live without you."
"I love you, too. So much. And you'll save my leg, right? You'll fix it? I can't not have a leg, Calliope. I can't. I need you, and Sofia and my legs. I don't know how I would even manage without–"
"We're so far from that scenario," Callie said, cutting off her wife's anxious rant. "I'm going to do my best, and you said it yourself, I am a superstar. And if I have to call in favors and fly in specialists, I will. I will do everything in my power to get you well again."
Callie could hear Arizona sobbing. "You promise?"
"Of course, I promise," Callie replied easily. "You're my wife. I'd do anything for you."
XXX
Sofia was at home with Barbara and the Colonel, so Callie was already waiting at the ambulance bay when Arizona arrived. Owen and Alex had flown back earlier, and stood beside Callie, while Richard and Bailey flew back with the five sedated survivors and the lone victim. The minute she caught sight of Arizona, Callie never left her sedated wife's side. They moved the blonde into a private room and re-dressed her wounds under Callie's scrutiny.
When the sedation started to lighten, and Arizona opened her eyes, she found Callie sitting right beside her, one of her hands clutched in Callie's larger two. The smile on her wife's face was priceless as they locked eyes, as she kissed Arizona's temple. "Welcome home," Callie said softly.
Arizona moved to clutch her wife's face in her hands, and pull her close as well as her weak muscles could manage, initiating a desperate kiss. Callie was shocked initially but melted against her wife, though wary not to touch her face due to the lacerations.
After a moment Arizona pulled away, breathless, tears in her eyes. "You're so beautiful, Calliope," she murmured, running her thumbs lightly along Callie's cheeks, brushing tears away. "I love you so much."
"I'm so glad you're okay, Arizona. I was so worried and I praying and– I'm just so glad you're okay," Callie said, tears falling harder. She moved her hand up to smooth blonde hair away from her wife's face gently. "I've never seen a more beautiful sight in my life. And I'm going to fix your leg. Dr. Carlson and I have a plan. We'll get you all better."
"Okay." Arizona smiled lightly, running her thumb along her wife's cheek before her eyelids began to droop under the weight of the medications. "Mm sleepy," she murmured, moving her hands to her sides and settling against the pillows.
"Go to sleep, my love," Callie said softly, one hand on Arizona's good thigh and the other stroking her hair.
"Will you be here when I wake up?" Arizona rasped, her voice small. Her hand weakly reached for Callie's, which the brunette grasped.
"After the car crash, you never left my side," Callie recollected. "I'm not leaving yours now."
"I love you," Arizona managed before she fell back into a dreamless, medicated sleep.
"And I love you," Callie whispered, happy to be with her wife once again. They had a tough few months ahead, but at least they were together.