What happens now

CHAPTER XXXV

Callie

When Arizona and I reached the attending's lounge, I was once again praised for my baseball skills. I didn't exactly carry the team to victory, I was only a part of it. Out of the corner of my eye as I smiled at the other attending's that I was in a deep conversation with, I saw Arizona, quietly slipping out of the room. Thinking that she was probably needed somewhere, I brushed off all my worries and joined the conversation once again. 
I was paged to the pit minutes later, and was immediately pulled into a trauma. I was in the middle of checking the extent of injuries that the patient got when the door clicked open, making me look up to see Arizona, with her hands now behind her back as she closed the door.

"Hey what's up?" I said while checking on the patient and smiling up at my sunshine.
"Nothing. I just wanted to see you." She smiled softly.
"No really. What's up?"
"I kinda need to talk to you about something. You almost finished?"
"Yeah, but I have surgery in 10."
"So I guess we'll just have to talk later?"
I looked at her again, she was nervous about something.
"Yeah. I'll see you later."
She flashed me a quick smile before heading out. 

The interaction made my skin crawl. It was way too weird, even for us. After I examined the patient, I ruled out the case and handed it off to a fellow for a while since I had surgery. Kepner was scrubbing in with me, and I was glad that a woman was interested in Ortho. I could tell in the way that Kepner's eyes sparkled that she was excited. She was a bit too bouncy too which gave off the whole vibe.

"You ready Dr. Kepner?" I said behind my mask, a scalpel in hand.
"Yes Dr. Torres. This is going to be lit!"
"That's the spirit Kepner."

Kepner was keen and very observant. She made sure that what she was doing was flawless and it made me smile. She could be in Ortho, so I thought. 

xxx

The surgery went well and when both Kepner and I were out the door of the OR, she squealed and gave me a hug, which I returned.

"That was amazing Dr. Torres! I didn't know I could do that! Thank you for letting me scrub in!"
"You deserved it Kepner and maybe, I might let you scrub in on one of my surgeries soon too. You were excellent in there."
"REALLY?" She beamed, a shit eating grin painted on her face.
"You bet. Congratulations Kepner."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

I gave off a small laugh at the happy resident and walked away to update charts. At the nurses station, as I was writing away, the sound of wheels making contact with the tiled floor didn't miss my ears, making me smile almost immediately. I soon felt a hand on my arm, making me look at my side, confirming that it was my girlfriend.

"I was just about to find you. Wanna grab lunch?" I said, turning my body to fully face her.
"Sure. Can we talk after? I really really need to tell you this?"
My heart started to race and I couldn't help but feel anxious. 
"Callie, it's nothing bad, I promise."
"Oh. Yeah okay let's talk after lunch."
"Great! Now come on!"

We headed to the cafeteria and met up with Mark and Teddy.  The moment we got to the table, Teddy jumped up off of her seat and engulfed Arizona into a hug.

"I'm so so so proud of you Arizona Robbins!" Teddy said as she released Arizona.
"Congrats Robbins!" Mark added while patting Arizona on the back.
I looked at them clueless. Arizona looked at me and smiled nervously. I then eyed Teddy and she just shrugged.
"Well what's with the 'I'm proud of you' shit Teddy? What's up?"
"Arizona didn't tell you?" She said. 
"Tell me what?" I said urging Teddy to get it over with.
"ARIZONA ARE YOU SERIOUS? YOU DIDN'T TELL CALLIE?" Teddy hushed screamed at Arizona, while Arizona just sat there, playing with her fingers avoiding eye contact with Mark, Teddy and I. 
"What is going on? Will you guys tell me already?"
"IWONTHECARTERMADISONGRANTWHICHMEANSIHAVETOGOTOAFRICA!" Arizona blurted out, with me not catching a thing she just said.
"You what?" 
"I won the Carter Madison Grant." She said flatly.
Though I didn't know what that grant was, I grabbed her into a bone crushing hug. I then released her and gave her a peck.
"You are amazing! Congratulations baby! What's that grant?"
"It means I get to develop pediatric surgery in Malawi, Africa..."
"THAT'S AMAZING!! When are we leaving?" I said, feeling ecstatic and really excited for Arizona.
They all looked at me in shock. 
"Now what? Do I have something on my face?"
Their expressions didn't change. They just stared at me.
"HELLO?! I'm talking to you guys!"
"You said 'we'." Arizona said blinking rapidly. 
"I know." I smiled at her, while picking up a carrot and biting unto it. 
"Callie, it's Africa. What do you mean by 'we'?" Arizona pressed.
"I know that it's Africa. And we means we both go to Africa."
"So I'm really going huh? I was going to ask you if I should go or not." She said.
"Babe you, I mean we are going. You can't pass up an opportunity like this."
"Okay! Great! I was hoping you'd talk sense into me. Well then it's settled! We're going to Africa!" Arizona squealed and bounced on her seat.
"You guys are leaving us?" Mark asked with a pout.
"Are you pouting?" Teddy butt in, her expression looking like she was about to burst into a fit of giggles.
"Shut it Altman. Its just that, it's just gonna be you, me and Bailey when they both leave. Bailey scares me." Mark rebutted. 
"It's not like we're gonna stay there for years. We're gonna come back eventually. Right Arizona?" I turned to her and her smiled faltered. 
"Uh Callie, uhm... well uh, shit, how am I gonna say this? Uhmmm---"
"Just spit it out baby."
"We are gonna have to stay there for three years."
"Oh." I forced out a smile. 

xxx


Later that night, I laid in bed and all that I could hear was Arizona's soft breathing, the cars outside passing by our apartment and my thoughts were screaming at me. Could I really survive three years in Africa without Mark, Teddy, Bailey and all the friends I've gained over the months? I don't want to stay behind either and let Arizona go by herself. I can't be and I won't be that selfish to make her stay just because of me. And I sure as hell am not going to be that unsupportive girlfriend. I'm just gonna have to suck it up and learn how to love Africa.








"Are you sure you wanna go with me? I can stay here and go under Dr. Herman's fellowship immediately." Arizona asked over breakfast.
"And stop you from doing miracles? Hell no! In fact, I am excited to go to Africa. Imagine the research I could do there you know? It's gonna be amazing!" 
"We are gonna rock Africa! OH I am so excited!" She finished the last of her scrambled eggs and disappeared into the bedroom.
I was left in there and cleaned up, with me overthinking and thoughts just swirling around my head making me nauseous. 

"Hey I can finish up in here. Why don't you go take a shower then we can leave for work?" Arizona suddenly popped in, now in her street clothes, and snapping me out of my trance.
"Yeah okay. You can clean up the table. I finished washing the dishes already." I said as I wiped my hands on a hand towel to dry off.
"Mmkay. You go get ready now." She reminded me again and so I went and got changed.



We walked to the hospital, and Arizona was doing all the talking. I was too preoccupied with the thoughts in my head. I just nodded at what she was saying, even though I wasn't paying attention. I was fine about Africa yesterday up until the mention of staying there for three years. 

"Is something bothering you Calliope? You've been awfully quiet."
"Oh I'm fine. Still sorta sleepy that's all."
"Well, I'm gonna head for rounds in 10. I'll see you later. Love you." She gave me a quick peck and off she went.
I walked to the lounge and found Mark with his usual coffee, just hanging around.

"Morning Mark."
He looked up at me and gave me a nod.
"Good morning to you too Callie." I replied to myself and walked to my cubby.
"So you're really going with Blondie? There's no talking you out of it?" Mark was suddenly beside me that instant which startled me.
"No. I'm going to Malawi!"
"Three years is too long Cal! Who's gonna feed me and Teddy when you leave? We love the food that you cook, you know!"
"So you want me to stay just so I can be your chef? Mark you can get a chef and you can always eat out."
"Who am I gonna talk to about the ladies then? Come on Callie!"
"You know, there's Teddy, Mark. Or Bailey. Mark, you'll be fine without me."

He pulled me in for a hug and I hugged back.

"I'm just gonna miss you so much that's all. It was worth the shot. Call and send me emails alright?"
He let me go only to hug me again.
"Awe Mark. I'm gonna miss you too. Now stop it. You're making me cry and I'm not even leaving for another two weeks, which gives us plenty of time to hang out and do crazy shit before we leave."
"I'm gonna miss sunshine Robbins too. Dammit! Can you guys not leave?!"
"Oh Mark. We sure are gonna miss you too. I'm gonna go ahead okay? I have surgery in 5."
"Okay..."
"I promise I will call, text and email you and Teddy. Cheer up!"

Three surgeries later, I was now at our usual lunch table, with only Arizona and I present as of the moment.
"I just had the weirdest encounter today. Mark was literally begging for us to stay. Can you believe it? Mark Sloan, begging. I just couldn't picture it." Arizona said and ended her story with a laugh.
"Oh yeah, same thing happened to me." I laughed along with her and soon we were joined by the others.
"What are we laughing about?" Teddy said as she sat down next to Arizona.
"Mark Sloan begging." Arizona said to Teddy.
"Huh, interesting turn of events."
"Don't you dare tell on me Robbins." Mark warned Arizona.
"I won't, I won't. That's all you're gonna get Theodora."
"You're no fun!" Teddy punched Arizona's arm, while Arizona just laughed.

We all got paged and basically went our separate ways, cutting our lunch short. I was pulled into a trauma with Owen and scrubbed in on a surgery with him. I was impressed with what he could do and the techniques he used. He was also really nice and I liked talking to him while we were in there. The surgery was soon over and I was left to update charts.  

"Hey Callie!" I heard someone call for me. I looked up and saw Teddy grinning and leaning on her elbow.
"What brings you here Teds?"
"We're going out tonight. You know, the gang. To celebrate Arizona. You coming?"
"Of course!"
"Yeah and the thing is, this is gonna be a surprise and well I was hoping if you'd tag along."
"Hell yeah! What do I do?"
"You can stall her, then I'll text you when we're ready."
"Okay great! See ya laters!"

The day when on like usual. I was excited for Arizona's surprise gathering that Teddy and the guys planned. When our shifts were over, Arizona and I went home together. I was doing my part, stalling her and was basically on guard of my phone, waiting for Teddy's signal. 

"What's on your phone Callie?" She asked as she tried to get my phone.
"Nothing."
She stared at me, her face looking unimpressed.
"Then why are you always on it?"
"I'm just checking my messages!"
"Alright fine. You don't wanna tell me? That's cool." Sarcasm laced her voice and I just had to roll my eyes.
"It's nothing Arizona. I promise."
"Okay. I believe you. Come on, let's head up. I'm beat."

As we headed up, my phone buzzed against my ass and I knew that was the signal.

"Hey babe, how about we go out tonight? I kinda want to eat out and let loose."
"Callie, I'm sooooo tired. Can we do it some other night?"
"I wanna go out tonight! Please?"

I gave her my best puppy dog face and when she rolled her eyes and sighed, I knew I was getting my way.

"Okay okay! You're paying thought since this is your idea." She chuckled as she stepped out of the elevator.
"Fine by me."

We took out time, dressing up and fixing ourselves. We looked hot, like always and while she was in the bathroom, doing finishing touches, I checked my messages and Teddy flooded me. I was starting to panic and now I had to get our asses over at Joe's.

"Arizona let's go!"

We soon left my apartment and I literally dragged her.

"Callie slow down! What's the rush?"
"There's no rush. I just wanna dance already."

When we got to Joe's, the bar was dead ass silent and dark.

"Wha? I think it's closed."
"I don't think it's closed. The sign says it's open."
I reached for the door and Arizona pulled my hand.
"We are not trespassing Callie! Let's just go home and order take out and have a night in."
"Come on. We're already here. Plus it says it's open."
"Calliope."
I ignored her and opened the door. 
"See it's open."
I took her hand and pulled her inside.
"Callie, it's so dark. I can't see anything." She whispered loudly.
The lights flicked open and they all screamed.

"SURPISE! CONGRATULATIONS ARIZONA!!!"






                                                                    ~ to     be      continued    ~