After the Storm

Chapter 5: On Your Side

The familiar sensation of tears burned in Callie's eyes. How badly she wanted to forget about the affair, and to take Arizona back- if only to hold her and kiss those soft lips one last time.

But it didn't matter what Callie wanted- anger eclipsed all of her grievances. She was angry at Arizona, angry at Lauren Boswell, and angry at herself for wanting the pediatric surgeon so badly. Callie wanted to hate Arizona- she should hate Arizona, and she wanted to simply forget about all the years they shared together. But it was impossible; Arizona Robbins wasn't the type of person you could forget.

Missing Arizona, however, was among the least of her worries. Where would she live now? She certainly couldn't bring herself to return to the apartment, and she was an outcast among her family members. What about Sofia? Would they work out a custody arrangement? What would this do to their poor, sweet daughter?

The exhaustion Callie faced only made it all the more difficult to focus. Given the circumstances of the past night, Owen had given the majority of the doctors the day off. But Callie had stayed, figuring she had nowhere better to be. She wondered where Arizona was.

As she dawdled around the hospital, her eyes darted to the sign pointing towards the maternity ward. A thought then came to her mind; Meredith. Maybe Callie could talk her friend into allowing her to stay for a while. Certainly she'd help out with Zola and Bailey, she would cook and clean, and she'd even offer a decent monthly rent. Meredith and Derek adored Sofia, and she figured they were all close enough friends. Callie made a mental note to visit Meredith later that day. In the meantime, she found an empty on-call room, and fell into a deep sleep.

-X-

When Callie woke up, she saw that it was nearing six in the evening. She sat up in the bed, and stretched her stiff limbs. Though she was still slightly groggy, she felt much calmer and concentrated.

The first thing on her mind upon waking was her earlier idea to pursue Meredith. She hastily pulled on my her shoes, and darted down the hall in the direction of the maternity ward. When Callie arrived at room 221, she was relieved to see that the room was empty with the exception of Meredith and newborn Bailey.

"Hey, Mer," Callie breathed.

Meredith, who hadn't even been aware of Callie's presence, looked up from her son's face and grinned brightly at the orthopedic surgeon.

"Hey, Callie. How are you doing?" Meredith asked, quickly turning her attention back to Bailey. The baby fussed softly, and Meredith gently calmed him down.

"Someone's alert," Callie laughed, ignoring Meredith's question and focusing her attention on the baby.

"He's hardly slept since everyone left," she said, fixing his cap around his head.

"You look stressed," Meredith said, watching Callie carefully. Callie was amazed that she could tell so much just from her body language. Was she really that visibly upset? "Here. Hold my baby."

Callie smiled, silently accepting the offer graciously. Gently, she scooped the baby up into her arms without another word.

When she had first come to see the new baby boy, Arizona's presence had distracted her and made it impossible to focus on anything else. She hadn't gotten a chance to really look at him; and god was he breathtaking.

He looked like Meredith. Callie could tell that much just by looking into his grey eyes. He had her nose, too, but Derek's famous McDreamy smile.

"Meredith, he's beautiful," Callie said, briefly tearing her glance away from the child's face to grin at Meredith.  "Yes, you are. You're a very handsome boy," she cooed softly to Bailey. He smiled lightly, and grasped her finger.

"I forgot what it was like to hold a baby this little," Callie said, reminiscing to the days when Sofia was this small.

"Me too," Meredith replied. "I'm constantly afraid I'm going to break him."

A significant amount of time was spent exchanging mindless chatter. Callie hadn't minded and focused most of her attention on Bailey. Meredith just enjoyed watching them.

"Callie," Meredith said, unable to keep the question inside any longer. "What's going on with you and Arizona?"

At just the mention of her name, Callie's smile disappeared and was replaced with a grimace.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Meredith added. "But I'm worried about you, and as your friend, I had to ask."

"No, it's okay," Callie said, offering Meredith a weak smile. She figured she wouldn't get a better opportunity to ask her question than now. "Actually, that's what I came here to talk to you about. Of course, I also came to meet this little one."

"Talk to me."

Sucking in a deep breath, Callie began the story. "Last night, after all the chaos had died down, I went to check on Arizona in the NICU where I knew she'd be. Do you know Dr. Boswell?"

Meredith nodded. "Lauren Boswell? She's a real bitch if you ask me."

Callie laughed quietly and proceeded with her story. "There's this thing Arizona and I do where we pin our wedding rings to our scrub tops, so they don't get lost during surgery. When I got there, Lauren was wearing Arizona's scrub top, with the ring pinned to its front. Just by the look on Arizona's face, and the feeble attempt at an excuse from Boswell, I knew what had happened. Arizona slept with her," Callie finished. Tears made their way back into her eyes and she hadn't been aware how deeply simply thinking about it could affect her.

By the end of Callie's story, Meredith was speechless. Memories of Addison and Derek flooded her mind and she could remember all of the pain it caused her. "Callie, I'm so sorry. What happened after that?"

"The whole thing was just..." Callie paused, searching for the right word. "Dramatic."

"Instead of fighting in front of Lauren, we moved to the lounge for more privacy. I asked her why, of course, for lack of a better question, and she said it was because she lost her leg. It always comes back to that leg," Callie closed her eyes, taking another moment to compose herself. "There was a lot of yelling and crying and she told me how I lost nothing in the plane crash. So I told her I felt like I lost her. Then I left."

"Callie there is no excuse for what she did," Meredith said, a hint of anger in her voice. She was trying to keep calm for the sake of her baby, who was just starting to settle. "It's disgusting and I'm so sorry that she did this to you. You deserve the world and she was insane to even think about another woman when she had you."

Callie smiled weakly, silently thanking Meredith for her words. "Anyway, Sofia and I have nowhere to go, and I know this is a lot to ask, but I was just wondering if we could stay with you and Derek for a while- just until I get back on my feet," Callie said, feeling a release of pressure after she had asked her question.

Meredith opened her mouth to answer, but Callie was afraid of her answer. She rambled on to buy herself more time. "I'll pay rent and I'll buy half the food. I'll help take care of the kids, and I'll watch them when you and Derek want to go out."

Meredith laughed, shaking her head. "Callie, you don't have to give us any money. You don't owe me anything. Childcare would be nice, though."

Callie sighed in relief.

"Did you really think I would say no?"

"It's a lot to ask."

"Callie, you're family. You know, we didn't exactly get along when you first arrived here, but you became one of my closest friends and eventually my family. I want you and Sofia safe, and I'm happy to help with anything either of you may need."

"Oh, Meredith. Thank you so much," Callie beamed, bending down and hugging the general surgeon, careful of the baby in her arms and her healing incisions. "It'll all work out perfectly. It's like a permanent sleep over for Zola and Sofia, and I know how difficult newborns can be."

"Zola will be thrilled."

Callie smiled, happy that she had at least gotten one thing figured out. Though her life was still a jumbled mess, having a roof to put over her daughter's head was one step closer to recovery.