The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona

It's Just Another Day Part II

Callie POV:

As a surgeon, or a Mom, your pager or life, eventually summons you.  In this instance, it was my daughter.

"Mom, I don't feel well!"  Sophia then summarily threw up all over me as I was holding her in my bed just after midnight on that Sunday morning.  

It was one night after Soph came home from the sleepover at Abby's apartment when this happened. She had been crying the last hour due to an upset stomach. So, part of me was questioning, as a Mom, if she had too many snacks over the weekend or was this a result of  a viral bug going around her school? In the end, who ever knows with kids when the illness comes and goes so quickly.

Not my first rodeo as a doc dealing with vomiting, but it's so much different when it's your daughter and you're the one to clean up your daughter, the puke, especially in an ungodly hour of the night/morning and in your own bed.  Thankfully, Penny was at work and missed out on all the GI pyrotechnics that early morning.  More specifically, getting yakked on by Sophia.

I quickly grabbed Sophia and cleaned her up in a bath.  I realized during that process of her of uneasiness... it was probably not viral, bacterial or fungal.  As I dried her off and tried to reassure her woes, she started to say things I hadn't heard her say ever since our move to the East Coast.

"Mom, when I can spend time with Mama again?  I miss her so much every day and want her to live with you and me again.  I sometimes cry because of how much I miss my Mama."

"Well, sweetheart, the next time you and Mama are gonna spend time together again is during Thanksgiving week.  That's about a couple month away.  Are you okay?  What can I do to make you feel better right now?" 

"And sweetie, you know I will always love you.  Your Mama, no matter how far away she is, will always love you too.  Sometimes, parent's stop getting along, but that doesn't mean we don't love you till the end of time.  Even though your Mama and I don't want to live together anymore, that will never change how we feel about our daughter, our little Lovebug."

"I just don't feel well.  I REALLY miss Mama," Sophia started sobbing as she spoke.

"I understand Bug, do you want to see Mama on the phone tonight?"

Sophia coughed out, "Yes," as she started to settle down a bit after hearing she could speak with Arizona.

I immediately found my cell phone and with quick actions, hit my speed dial menu to select the #1 spot and sent a video chat to Arizona...

"Is everything okay? I didn't expect to get a call from you both at this time of night?!  Please tell me everything is okay with Sophia??!"  Getting a later video chat probably stressed Arizona out, as it would have for me if the situation was reversed.

"Yes, I replied. She just had an emesis moment that I can't explain and she asked to speak with you after the fact.  I'm pretty sure she just had a full weekend eating food and staying up late with her friend, Abby.  Nonetheless, she wanted to talk with you."

"Hope it's okay we called you Mama."  (Arizona was on the video chat with Soph speaking directly to her). Sophia's crying was starting to fade as her conversation with Arizona continued.

"OMG, I miss you SO MUCH and I'm SO sorry you got sick!! Are you okay now?  What can I do to make you feel better, my Lovebug?  Your Mama misses you more than you know and I hope you are feeling better!!"

Can't imagine how hard it was for Arizona to titrate her emotions while not being able to soothe our daughter physically at that moment.  She handled it well though, but knowing Arizona as well as I do and seeing the concern in her face on the side-angle of the video chat perspective I had, I could see Arizona was broken-up by our daughter's current state by the look in her eyes.  That's when Arizona rallied and showed her true self...

"Hey My Girl, you're going to feel better now that you got that yucky stuff outta your tummy!  I promise you that once you get some sleep, you will feel better by the time you wake up tomorrow morning.  Even though I'm your Mama, I'm also a doctor for kids your age and I know these things.  So, do your Mama a favor and as soon as we hang up, you need to close your eyes and get some sleep.  That will make you feel magically better by the time you wake up tomorrow morning.... okay??!"

"Okay Mama, I'm sleepy now.  I can't wait to see you...." Sophia said, as she started to drift off to sleep while leaning up against me in my bed.

"Never forget how much I love you despite where you live or I live...  I will see you sooner than you know and then we'll have lots of kisses, hugs and most importantly, the most, fun, ever, when I see you again, my LOVE."

"Your Mama loves and thinks about you ever minute, of every day that I'm not able to be with you...NEVER forget that, okay?!"

"Okay Mama, I love and miss you SO much."  (Sophia drifted off to sleep in front of the video screen...)

"I do too Baby Girl, I do too.  Sleep well my sweet girl."

"Thanks Arizona for soothing her, I need to hang up and get some sleep now," I replied as my daughter started snoring. It's been a long night/morning for both of us, especially since I got to do clean-up."

"I can only imagine how exhausted both of you are given everything and how much later it is in New York."

"She's my daughter too, Calliopie, I'm glad I could be here for her despite the distance.  Thank you for including me, I appreciate it more than you know."

"Anytime," I said, chokingly holding back my own emotions, especially in the aftermath of dealing with Sophia and seeing how Arizona so skillfully and lovingly handled it on her end of the country.

I'd never admit to this, but that interchange broke my heart..... the events of that night also made me think about why I hadn't taken Arizona off the #1 spot on my speed-dial list... I had been with Penny for almost two years at this point, yet my ex-wife is still at the top of my go-to contact list...