I can't live without you.

Getting better

"Ouch!" You inhale sharply.

"Sorry Gracie, this is going to hurt, you've split your entire knuckle open, just hold still." Cristina explains, concentrating greatly on her suturing.

You bite your lip and screw up your face. Cristina gently lets go of your hand and puts her hand on your cheek. A silent tear falls.

"You're going to be okay Grace, I'm going to help you, I made a promise to Mer the day she found out she was pregnant with you, that I would always be your Auntie Cristina, I'm going to fix this, I promise. I'm going to get you better. Wilson is downstairs making god knows what, and Karev is cleaning and tidying, which god forbid is a small mercy, but we're going to get there okay!" Cristina reassures.

You laugh gently and wince, the pain in your shoulder is excruciating, and your hand is throbbing greatly. Cristina finishes her suturing on your hand, and wraps it up in gauze and bandages.

"Right Gracie, how do you feel about a nice warm bath? It's really going to help with your aches and bruises, I promise. Here, let me help you up." Cristina gently helps you up and you stagger into the bathroom, putting most of your weight onto her.

She helps you to get carefully undressed, purposefully trying to avoid your sore spots. She gently helps you into the bath, lowering you in slowly.

"Cristina, answer me honestly, am I going to get better?" You look up at her tearfully.

"Hey! Of course you are! We're all rallying around you to make sure you get better! Wipe those tears princess! Arizona will be back soon! I promised her I'd look after you, so lets get you cleaned up for when she's back, okay?" Cristina soothes.

She washes your hair gently with Arizona's shampoo and conditioner and starts to wash over your body with a sponge and some soap. She reaches your shoulder and you flinch, the purple bruising becoming more prominent and angry.

Cristina gets up and starts rummaging through the bathroom cabinet, and grabs a tube of cream and she applies some to her finger. She crouches down gently by the bath and starts applying it methodically to your shoulder.

"Arnica cream, it helps relive the pain of bruising..." Cristina muses.

You try to relax, but the pain is agonising, physically and mentally. You can no longer do much for yourself, and the daily physical pain is taking it's toll, the strain between you and Arizona is terrible, the tension could be cut with a knife. The problem is you both love each other too much, Arizona just wants to be there, you just want her to hold you close, but at the same time, you can't help but push her away. As for Tim, you want to take care of him, but you can barely lift him in and out of his crib without causing yourself pain, you can't run and fetch him bottle when he needs them, you can't get up with him in the night in case you trip in the dark and injure yourself further. You're just kind of, drifting... Not living, just surviving.

Cristina leaves you alone for a short while and starts on a few quick jobs. She finishes tidying the bedroom, making sure she strips the bedsheets and gets fresh linen from the cupboard. She checks downstairs, Jo is onto her 3rd batch of muffins, and Alex is looking over at the fireplace, sentimental, and holding a photo frame.

"Karev, hey! What's going on?" Cristina questions, putting an arm around him.

"This photo of Grace and Arizona was taken on the night I proposed to Jo. That's the night Arizona told me that Grace was gonna be her wife one day... I've never seen Robbins look so sure about something, the way she looked at Grace that night, it was, just, magical. Her love for Grace was, no is palpable. I just want Grace to get better, so they can be a proper family, like they both deserve. This isn't fair Cristina, none of this is fair!" Alex cried.