The Song Remains the Same

Chapter 16

The hospital seemed to be buzzing the next day, the workload in Peds heavier since one of the more talented surgeons was absent. Arizona was in the OR more as a result, leaving her feeling the sharp contrast between her usual surgical schedule with bursts of paperwork throughout the day – especially in her calves, which were sore by lunch. She hadn't realized how much time she spent in her office these days. She'd have to start hitting the gym. Maybe Callie would come workout with her, though. And she could watch her girlfriend jog on a treadmill in some ridiculously short shorts that made her hot and simultaneously smug and insane with jealousy if anyone else looked at her.

Thinking of Callie (and recognizing exactly how warm her little moment of fantasizing had her) made Arizona realize that she hadn't actually seen her girlfriend since they'd arrived at work that morning. Callie wasn't in their lounge, or on the surgical board, or answering her texts. Ellis frowned on her doctors paging each other for personal reasons (and she would be scandalized to learn how often her daughter and Head of Neuro disregarded that policy) so Arizona resisted the urge to do so herself and caught an elevator down toward the ER.

“I heard it crashed.” Two nurses were talking as she entered, busy with her phone and missing the sidelong glances she was getting. The conversation ended abruptly and Callie still wasn't answering so it became harder to ignore the obvious silence.

“Is it busy in the ER?” Arizona asked to break the quiet. Of course today would be a busy day, with the sixth years in nearly every department and the Head of Trauma out of the state. The nurses just stared at her as if she was speaking French. “Didn't you just say something had crashed?” she tried to clarify herself. “Is it still incoming?”

The strange staring continued until the shorter nurse pushed her friend forward. “You didn't hear yet?” she blurted, shooting a dirty look at her cowering coworker. Arizona just frowned. Except for scheduled procedures she'd taken over for Alex her pager had been silent all day. “The hospital in Idaho called this morning. The plane never landed.” She shifted her weight between her feet as Arizona's mouth fell open. “That's what I heard, anyway,” she quickly added, not wanting to face either Arizona or Ellis' fury if the rumor she'd heard turned out to be wrong.

Now it felt like they were speaking French, Arizona's mind hazy. The plane hadn't arrived in Boise? The flight she should have been on? The flight Callie should have been on? The plane Owen had been on? And Alex? Her head felt like it was pounding to the beat of her suddenly racing heart. Ellis would know one way or another what was going on. She jammed the button for the third floor even as the doors opened on the ER floor, the two nurses darting through the opening before Arizona could close the doors.

The Chief of Surgery's door was open when she charged out of the elevator. Arizona heard the conversation before she crossed the catwalk, catching sight of Callie slumped in a chair in front of their boss' desk. It was all the confirmation she needed. Ellis was on the phone and yelling at someone, audible from the hall. Her heart nearly broke at the sight of Callie's despair as she came into the room, her girlfriend slouched in a chair at the desk, face buried in her hands. Richard saw her first, his expression tight with worry, and he shook his head minutely.

Arizona wasn't sure what to do first but the devastation in Callie's position made her decision for her, crossing the small room in two steps and wrapping both arms around her girlfriend. Still seated, Callie's head was pressed into her middle but neither one cared, Callie turning into her and hanging on tight. Ellis and Richard were looking at them now, Meredith sitting on the floor against the wall of windows behind her parents and staring listlessly at the desk. “What's the situation?” Arizona asked, unconsciously rubbing the top of Callie's back.

Ellis was still on the phone, though she had lowered her volume, so Richard spoke up. “Boise Memorial called this morning when the flight didn't land on time. SeaTac tells us that they took off last night at ten but they haven't been able to reach them.” He sighed, looking sympathetically at Callie. “We've called our people's families, but Dr. Karev -”