I just looked at the date when I posted the last installment of this, and I am thoroughly embarrassed. I am so sorry. School completely consumed me. The bad news is that my winter break is almost over, but the good news is that I'm taking a lighter course load this semester, so I hope not to go so long between updates again. This chapter was beta'd by the fantastic strandedinaber over on LJ. Thank you so much! You are awesome! :D

"Bye, baby! Have a great time!"

"Bye, Mama. I love you!" Sofia gave Callie a quick hug before running off after Megan.

"¡Te amo más!"Callie called after her. Sofia was out of sight already, but Callie thought she heard her giggle, and she decided to assume it was in response to her words.

Jasmine, standing next to Callie with one hand on her knee, waved her other hand. "Bye-bye!" she called.

"Thanks again, Laura," Callie said when Megan's mother stepped into the foyer. "Her dad will be here tomorrow at eleven." For as much as Sofia used to hate being separated from her parents, it was impressive to see her now: the girl couldn't get enough of sleepovers with Megan, Zola, and the other friends she'd made between school and daycare. Of course, when she came home, she dove headfirst into cuddles with whichever parent was available, but for someone who'd shown up to her first day of kindergarten literally kicking and screaming, it was quite a transformation.

"Oh, it's no problem," Laura said. "We love Sofia. She's a great kid. Even the dogs love her."

Callie laughed. "That doesn't surprise me. She'd probably bathe in meat sauce if we let her, if it meant the dogs would lick her face all night."

"So," Laura said, looking at Jasmine. "Do you girls have anything exciting planned for tonight?"

Jasmine giggled and smacked Callie's leg.

"Oh, you know." Callie waved her hand noncommittally. "Arizona is working tonight, so I think Jasmine and I have an exciting night of movie watching and puzzle assembly ahead of us." Callie looked down at her almost two-year-old, who was smiling at Laura and babbling away with that replica of Arizona's smile on her face. "What do you think, Jazz Hands? Sound like a good time?" Jasmine responded by laughing and ramming her head against Callie's knee.

Laura laughed. "I think that's a yes."

"I'd say so." Callie hoisted Jasmine onto her hip. "Well, thanks again. You know how to reach me if you need to. You all have fun!"

"Will do," Laura promised as Callie and Jasmine made their way down the front steps.

"Where does this piece go?" Callie handed a piece of the foamy floor puzzle to Jasmine. When it was done, the puzzle was supposed to make a picture of a circus tent, but with Jasmine's method of puzzle assembly, they had a long way to go.

Sure enough, as soon as Jasmine accepted the puzzle piece, she threw it on the floor in the general direction of what had already been completed. "Zoo!" she cried.

"Not zoo, baby," Callie encouraged. "Circus. See the clown?"

"Zoo!" Jasmine demanded, although Callie wasn't sure if it was just a sound she was making or if she really was insisting that she was looking at a picture of a zoo. "Zoo doo boo moo shoo noo…" Callie laughed. Both of her girls were talkers (well, all three, if you counted Arizona). While Sofia had been on the later side to start talking, once she'd started, she hadn't stopped. And Jasmine? Sometimes it seemed like she just loved the sound of her own voice. She knew a good number of actual words, but she often just babbled for the fun of it, and she seemed to know exactly what she was saying.

"All right, all right, whatever you say," Callie conceded. "How about another piece?"

Jasmine took the puzzle piece and threw it on the floor like usual, but then she stomped her foot. "No!" she screamed as she flung her arm out to smack Callie's shoulder.

"Okay, whoa," Callie said. "Calm down. We don't hit –"

"No!"

"Jasmine –"

"No, no, no!" Jasmine stomped her foot again as she started to cry for seemingly no reason. Callie looked at the clock on the wall. There was her reason: it was after nine. Jasmine had hit her wall and was determined to take everyone down with her.

"Okay, I think it's time for bed," Callie said as she got to her feet. "I know at least one of us is tired." She lifted a shouting Jasmine into her arms and was about to carry her into her bedroom to get her changed when her phone rang on the coffee table. "Hold that thought," she said, and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Callie, hi. It's Laura Connelly. Listen, I know it's late, and I'm sorry to bother you, but I think you'd better come pick Sofia up."

Callie's heart leapt into her throat as her brain immediately began supplying worst-case scenarios for why she would need to come get her seven-year-old from her sleepover. She'd fallen and hit her head and was unconscious, or she'd had an allergic reaction to something she'd eaten and was in anaphylactic shock, or she'd acted out for some reason and was no longer welcome in the Connelly home, or one of the dogs had attacked her, or – "W-what? Why? What's wrong?"

Laura sighed. "She said she wasn't feeling well about twenty minutes ago. At first I thought maybe she'd just eaten too much or was overtired, but she threw up a few minutes ago and doesn't seem to be feeling any better. I think she may have a little fever, but I can't tell for sure. Do you think you can come get her? Or should I call Mark or Lexie? I know you must have your hands full already with Jasmine –"

Callie briefly considered the offer. Jasmine had stopped screaming, at least for the moment, but the baby was obviously tired and was bound to be fussy. But her need to see in person that Sofia was okay won out, and that need only intensified when she heard Sofia crying in the background. Callie's plaintive heartstrings made the decision for her. "No, no, it's okay. I'll be right there. Tell Sofia I'm on my way. Thanks, Laura."

Callie ended the call and sighed. "Change of plans," she said to the baby in her arms. Though she was tired and fussy, as Callie had predicted she would be, Jasmine seemed to refuse to fall asleep just yet. "We're going to go pick up your sister. She's not feeling so hot, so we're going to go get her. I bet you'll be excited to see her, huh?" As tired as Jasmine was, Callie was sure that seeing Sofia would perk her up. The little girl absolutely adored her sister, following her around as soon as she could crawl. Both Callie and Arizona had been surprised when Jasmine's first word was "kitty" and not "Sofia." For her part, Sofia genuinely loved her little sister, but she also craved her own space and tended to get annoyed when Jasmine glommed onto her too frequently.

"Sofie?" Jasmine lifted her head, looking around the room for the sister in question. Callie hadn't even used Sofia's name in the sentence, but Jasmine had known anyway that she was being talked about.

"Yep, we're going to go get her. She's feeling pretty yucky, so we're going to take care of her and cheer her up." Callie slipped into her shoes and jacket, slipped a pacifier into her purse to pre-empt Jasmine's impending fussiness, and the pair was out the door.

When Laura Connelly opened her front door after Callie knocked, a pale, teary Sofia and a wide-eyed Megan were on her heels.

"Mama," Sofia whimpered, attaching herself to Callie's side.

"Sofie," Jasmine mumbled sleepily around the pacifier in her mouth. A hint of a smile played on her face. Sofia either didn't notice or felt too crappy to return it.

"Hi, baby," Callie said softly, smoothing her daughter's hair with the hand not holding Jasmine. Right away she could tell that Sofia had a fever. "Not feeling so good, huh?"

Sofia looked up at Callie with big, baleful eyes glistening with tears. "I threw up."

"I heard," Callie murmured. "I'm sorry. Throwing up's no fun, is it?"

Sofia shook her head. "Can we go see Mommy?" While Sofia wasn't one hundred percent clear on what Arizona did when she was at the hospital, she did understand that it had to do with taking care of sick and hurting kids. It came as no surprise, then, that whenever Sofia was the least bit under the weather, all she wanted was Arizona. There had been one incident when Sofia had fallen on the playground at the hospital daycare and skinned her knee and wouldn't calm down until Arizona came and kissed it.

Callie hesitated. On the one hand, Sofia probably had a twenty-four hour bug, and both she and Jasmine would feel much better after a good night's sleep. On the other hand, Callie's mind still raced with other things a stomachache and vomiting could mean: appendicitis, a bad infection, salmonella, even cancer. For her own peace of mind, she had to admit she really did want her wife to give Sofia a once-over.

"That's not a bad idea," she finally said. "Let's go try to find her. Grab your backpack and let's go."

Sofia grimaced as she bent down to pick up her Hello Kitty backpack. Her stomachache was just that tiny bit better if she stayed still, and bending over was especially painful. It felt like someone was inside her stomach, grabbing and squeezing at it. "It hurts, Mama," she whimpered, chin quivering.

"I know, cariña," Callie soothed. "We're going to go make it better, okay?" Sofia nodded.

"Dr. Callie?" Megan spoke for the first time since Callie had arrived, gazing up at her, wide-eyed and solemn. "Is Sofia gonna be okay?"

Callie nodded. "She'll be fine, sweetie. I promise." She flashed Megan a smile, and Megan managed one in return. Sofia and Megan had seen each other through scraped knees and elbows and the sore throat that had gotten Megan sent home from school last winter. But Callie knew it was an entirely different ballgame for a six-year-old to see her best friend go from perfectly fine to throwing up, running a fever, and grimacing in pain. "Sofia, baby, ready to go? Can you walk?" Sofia nodded weakly, taking Callie's free hand. She pressed her other hand to her abdomen, hoping it would soothe the pain a little. It didn't, really, but Sofia opted to keep her hand there just in case.

"Bye, Mrs. Laura," Sofia said softly. "Sorry I threw up at your house."

Laura chuckled. "Don't worry about it, honey. We'll see you back here when you're feeling better."

Callie shot Laura a grateful smile and managed her two children, one having finally succumbed to sleep and the other still whimpering in pain, out of the house and into the car.

Thanks to the hour, there wasn't much traffic between the Connellys' house and the hospital, but for a little girl whose stomachache just wouldn't let up, the drive was far too long. Aware both that Jasmine was currently asleep and that crying heavily seemed to make the pain worse, Sofia stayed relatively quiet.

"How are you doing back there, baby?" Callie broke the silence, eyeing Sofia through the rearview mirror.

"It hurts," Sofia whimpered in reply. "Are we almost there?"

"Almost," Callie promised. "Just a few more minutes. Did you and Megan have fun?" She tried to help Sofia think about something else.

"Yeah," Sofia said softly. "We watched Beauty and the Beast."

"A classic," Callie affirmed.

"Yeah. And Riley licked my feet for almost the whole time." Sofia smiled, just a little, as she described the antics of Megan's big, fluffy golden retriever.

"He likes you."

"I think I like Sonny better," Sofia mused. Sonny was a black lab, roughly the same size as Riley but more rambunctious. He had two settings: nonstop running and jumping, and asleep with his head on someone's lap. "He's funny."

"Funny Sonny," Callie quipped.

Sofia laughed at the rhyme and then abruptly stopped, grimacing and holding her stomach. "Ow."

Callie choked back her panic for the time being and maneuvered the car into a parking space as close as she could get to the hospital's main entrance. "We're here," she said with much more conviction than she felt. "I'm going to grab Jasmine. Can you get out of the car by yourself?"

"Yeah," Sofia said, tone wavering. "It hurts." She blinked back tears.

"I know, honey," Callie breathed. "Nice and slow. We'll be talking to Mommy before you know it."

Sofia nodded, chin quivering, as she maneuvered herself first out of her booster seat and then out of the car. "Okay."

Callie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Lexie in the hospital lobby. "Lexie!" she called out, hoping the noise alone would get her attention. Callie was balancing a sleeping Jasmine against her shoulder with one hand, and Sofia was tightly clutching the other one.

"Hey!" Lexie exclaimed, approaching the trio. "What's going on?" She took in Sofia's tearstained face and the harried, nervous state Callie seemed to be in. "Is everything okay?"

"I hope so," Callie sighed. "Sofia got sick at her sleepover, so we're going to find Arizona. You haven't seen her recently, have you?"

Lexie thought for a moment. "She got out of surgery about twenty minutes ago. She's probably charting."

Callie breathed in relief again, thankful that Arizona would likely be easy to find. "Are you busy?"

Lexie shook her head. "I was going to go home. Why? Do you need me to take Jasmine?"

"That would be amazing," Callie said. "Thank you so much. "

"It's no problem," Lexie said, smiling. She had really come to love Sofia – and now Jasmine – over the years. The girls spent every other weekend with her and Mark. During the week, either Sofia or Jasmine usually spent the night without the company of the other one, ensuring that both girls got their own uninterrupted time with Mama, Mommy, Daddy, and Lexie. About six months after Jasmine was born, Mark and Lexie moved into a new apartment building. They didn't feel they needed a house, but they did need an apartment big enough for each of the girls to have her own bedroom, so they now lived in a nice, spacious apartment on a block about fifteen minutes from the hospital.

"She should sleep through the night," Callie told Lexie. "I'll give you a call after we finish up here and let you know what's going on. Seriously, thank you."

Lexie just smiled as she reached out to take the sleeping baby from Callie. "I'm sorry you're not feeling well, Sofia," she said. "But you're really lucky, because your mommy is the best kid doctor in the whole hospital. Probably in the whole world."

Sofia smiled weakly. "I know."

Callie and Sofia found Arizona finishing a chart at the nurses' station on the pediatrics floor.

"Mommy!" Sofia called.

Arizona's head snapped up. "Sofia? Why aren't you at—" She spotted Callie walking toward her, looking frazzled and slightly panicked. "Callie? What's going on? Is everyone okay? Where's Jasmine?"

"Jasmine's with Lexie," Callie began.

"I don't feel good, Mommy," Sofia said, letting go of Callie's hand to hug Arizona around the waist. "My tummy hurts. I threw up at Megan's house."

"Oh, no!" Arizona exclaimed sympathetically. "I'm so sorry to hear that, sweetie. That's no fun at all."

"She has a fever, too," Callie supplied. "I can't tell how high it is, but it's definitely something. Her stomach's really been hurting her. Doesn't seem to be getting any better. She needs a—"

"Okay," Arizona cut in, shooting Callie a reassuring look. "Let's all stay calm. We'll take a look, but I bet it's a virus that'll be gone by morning. You two get settled in that exam room over there, and I'll find a nurse and meet you in there." Callie nodded.

"I wanna stay with you, Mommy," Sofia mumbled into Arizona's lab coat.

"It's okay, Sofia. I'll be back in just a minute. Here, you hold on to my stethoscope. I bet if you ask nicely, Mama will let you listen to her heart." She winked at Callie, who smiled in return. It was amazing how just five minutes in her wife's presence made Callie's nerves virtually dissipate.

"Okay!" Arizona said warmly a short time later, entering the exam room with a nurse beside her. "This is Maggie. She's my super-special assistant who's going to help me take care of you. She went to school and learned all the latest approaches to taking care of little girls named Sofia. Can you believe how we lucked out tonight?" Arizona smiled at Sofia, and out of the corner of her eye, she was fairly certain she saw Callie shake her head and stifle a laugh. "And," Arizona continued, winking at Sofia, who was smiling softly, "I'm Dr. Robbins. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sofia. I must say, you have a beautiful name." She turned to Callie. "And you must be…Mrs. Sofia," she said. "Interesting, it doesn't say anything in Sofia's chart about her having an astonishingly beautiful mother. It's very nice to meet you, ma'am. Maggie, can you make a note in Sofia's chart?"

Callie laughed out loud in spite of herself and just barely avoided making a crack about bedside manner in Sofia's presence.

Sofia, on the other hand, cracked up laughing, but abruptly stopped as it made the pain in her stomach so much worse. "Ow," she whimpered, tears springing to her eyes. "Ow. Mommy, I don't feel good. It really hurts."

Dropping the act immediately, Arizona turned to Maggie. "Abdominal pain made worse by laughing." She looked to Sofia. "Does laughing always make it hurt worse?" Sofia merely nodded, too afraid to do anything more, lest it cause more pain. "How about crying?" She nodded again. "When you walk, does it hurt more than if you sit still?" Another nod. Arizona sighed. She already didn't like where this was going. "Okay, Sofia. You're doing awesome, baby. One more question, okay? Can you answer it for me while Maggie takes your blood pressure?"

"Okay."

"Think about all the numbers between one and ten. Can you think of them all?" Sofia nodded. "If the number one is no pain at all, and the number ten is the worst pain you can think of, what number is your tummyache?"

Sofia burst into tears. She didn't completely understand the question, and she didn't know how to answer it. She was tired, her stomach hurt, and she just wanted Mommy to fix it. "I don't know!" she hiccupped. "It just really, really hurts!"

Arizona sighed again. She looked at Callie, who was looking back at her with a wide-eyed, frightened gaze. She shook her head just enough for Callie to see it. Callie gulped and nodded in response.

"Mommy," Sofia choked, recapturing Arizona's attention. Mommy, I –" All three adults saw Sofia's body heave, but it was Maggie who thrust a basin in front of her just in time for her to throw up into it.

"How does your tummy feel now?" Maggie asked after Sofia had finished. "Is it better at all?"

Sofia thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No. It's the same. It hurts!" She began crying anew.

"Oh, baby," Arizona whispered, choking back tears of her own. "I'm going to need you to lie down on the table for me so I can check out your tummy, but I think we need a hug first." Sofia nodded, tears tapering off just slightly at the suggestion. "Come here." Sofia hopped down from the chair she'd been sitting in and fell into Arizona's open arms. "It's going to be okay," Arizona promised. "We're going to make it better. I know it hurts right now, but it's going to be okay. I promise." She said the words as much for Sofia's benefit as for Callie's and her own. When she chanced a look at Callie, it seemed that Callie had calmed slightly, but was clearly in distress over seeing and hearing her daughter in so much pain.

"Lexie says you're the best kid doctor in the whole world," Sofia said once she'd calmed down.

Arizona chuckled. "Well, Lexie is very smart. She usually knows what she's talking about." She smoothed Sofia's hair. "Hop up onto the table for me, okay? Maggie's going to take your temperature and listen to your heart, and then we'll take a look at your tummy."

Sofia reluctantly extracted herself from Arizona's embrace and climbed onto the exam table with the help of a stool. While Maggie went about her business, Arizona took the opportunity to sit down next to Callie. "I'm thinking appendicitis," she whispered solemnly. "We won't know for sure until we palpate her abdomen, but it seems consistent so far."

Callie nodded. "I kind of had a feeling," she admitted.

"Temperature is 102," Maggie called. "Heart and lungs sound great."

Callie squeezed Arizona's hand before Arizona could stand up. "She's going to be fine," she said, though it was unclear whose benefit she was saying it for. "Appendectomies are simple. Quick. Low-risk."

Arizona nodded, but her head was spinning. She felt like the room was closing in on her, like there wasn't enough air in it. She wanted to run away, to shut herself up in her office and write off this case as one she simply wasn't interested in taking. She knew, logically, that if Sofia really did need surgery, she wouldn't be able to operate anyway, but Arizona wanted to deny all involvement. This couldn't be happening. Sofia couldn't need surgery, not again. Not her sweet, precious little baby who'd been through more in the first month of her life than most people went through in a lifetime. Arizona couldn't do it. She just couldn't. She couldn't be a doctor and a mother at the same time. It simply wasn't possible.

But she had to. There wasn't any other choice. Sofia needed her.

"All right, sweetie." Arizona took as deep a breath as she could manage and stood up. You're doing amazing so far. Can you lie down on your back for me?" Sofia obeyed. "Okay, now I'm going to press very gently on your tummy. Your job is to tell me if it hurts. Can you do that?" Sofia glanced at Callie, who mustered a smile and nodded encouragingly.

"Okay," Sofia said quietly. She relaxed as she felt her mommy's fingers on her stomach. It almost felt like a massage. This wasn't going to be so bad. She could totally do this.

Arizona pressed on a sensitive spot and Sofia screamed in pain. Callie jumped up to console her while Arizona turned away from the scene. Despite all of her best effort, a tear escaped and she hastily wiped it away. Sofia was in pain and she had caused it. Arizona knew the thought was irrational, but she thought it anyway, over and over on a continuous loop.

Sofia did in fact need surgery, and she needed it tonight. There was nothing Arizona could do to keep from flashing back to a day seven years ago. Sofia was impossibly tiny then, and Callie still had a long recovery ahead of her. The circumstances tonight were completely different, but the thoughts and emotions behind them, Arizona discovered, were almost exactly the same.

Fear. Helplessness. Irrational guilt. The need to be strong even though she felt like crumbling.

"We're definitely looking at appendicitis," Arizona said to the room. "Sofia," she said, approaching the exam table, where Sofia was sitting up and leaning against Callie. "There's a little, tiny organ near your tummy called an appendix. Sometimes the appendix gets sick, and in order to make you better, we have to take the appendix out."

"How do you take it out?" Sofia sniffled.

Arizona sighed. "You…we do an operation."

Sofia's eyes bugged out, which would have been comical in a different situation. "I have to get an operation?" she cried.

"Yes, but –"

"No! I don't want one!"

"Sofia –"

"I want to go home!"

"It's the only way to make you better, baby," Callie interjected. "Sometimes people get hurt or sick and we have to operate on them to make them better."

Arizona nodded. "I know it's scary. But the good news is that Mama and me, Daddy and Lexie, Cristina, Teddy, Meredith, Derek, Alex…we're all surgeons. We all operate on people. That's all we do all day. We're all really good at it." She nodded and smiled, coming across much more confident than she felt.

"She's right," Callie confirmed. "If you need an operation, this is definitely the place you want to be."

"So…" Sofia stammered. "You…you're gonna cut me open?"

Arizona realized with a start that they wouldn't be able to this surgery laparoscopically. Sofia had had heart surgery as a baby, which meant that she was at a higher risk for complications during any subsequent surgery. Arizona knew, of course, that an open appendectomy was really just as simple as a laparoscopic one, but the realization just added a whole new level of complication and anxiety for her. She looked at Callie, who was blinking rapidly. She appeared to have had the same thought.

Arizona took a deep breath. "I'm going to go get an operating room set for you," she said. "And then I'll explain to you exactly how it's going to work." In reality, she was going to book an OR, but also find someone to do the surgery – two someones, she realized, as they'd need a cardio surgeon on standby just in case. Arizona reminded herself that the "just in case" was extremely unlikely; Sofia hadn't had any health scares since she came home from the hospital as a baby. Still, her mind reeled with what-ifs. She looked at the little girl on the exam table – her daughter – and the woman next to her, stroking her hair – her wife. Everything was at stake. "I love you both so much," Arizona said fiercely, hugging Sofia and then Callie. "Everything's going to be fine. I promise." She didn't allow herself to look back at the two nearly identical worried faces as she and Maggie left the room.

While Maggie was on the phone booking the OR, Arizona stood behind the nurses' station, trying to figure out what to do next. She leaned on the desk and rested her head in her hands. This was all too much. What if she couldn't find the right people to do the surgery? This wasn't just any appendectomy; this was her daughter's appendectomy. She wasn't going to let just anybody do it. It had to be someone she trusted implicitly.

"Hey, you okay?" Alex's voice startled Arizona from her anxious thinking.

"Alex. Thank god." Arizona breathed an internal sigh of relief. "I need you to do an open appy." Arizona couldn't think of anyone she'd rather have perform Sofia's surgery than Alex Karev. She'd trained the man herself, and she'd watched him grow from a surly resident into a competent, confident, if still slightly surly, attending. He was an excellent doctor, he adored Sofia, and he genuinely liked and respected Arizona and her family. Knowing he would be the one to work on Sofia ratcheted Arizona's anxiety down at least a notch.

"What? When?" Alex asked. "Why can't you do it? I thought you didn't have any other surgeries scheduled tonight."

Shaking her head, Arizona said, "I can't do it."

Alex scoffed incredulously. "Why not?"

"Because…" Arizona closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Because you're going to be operating on Sofia."

Alex's eyes widened. "Sofia? As in – Sofia? Oh my god. Are you okay?" Suddenly empathetic, he reached over and placed a hand on Arizona's shoulder.

Arizona nodded, shrugging off his concern. "I'm fine. I just need you to do it as soon as possible. Can you get her into a room and start prepping her? She's in exam seven right now with Callie."

"Of course," Alex agreed easily. "Is there anything else you need? Does Mark know?"

"Shoot," Arizona muttered. "I haven't called him yet. Callie might have, but if she hasn't, no, he doesn't know."

"I'll try to get a hold of him," Alex promised, turning on his heel and heading for exam seven.

"Alex," Arizona called after him. He turned around, looking at her expectantly. Arizona choked up, suddenly unsure of what to say. What were you supposed to say to a colleague and friend who was about to perform surgery on your child? "Please…please take care of her," she finally said. "She…she's really scared."

Alex offered Arizona an understanding smile, understanding Arizona's words both for what they were and for what she didn't say. It didn't take a psychologist to see that Arizona herself was absolutely terrified. Alex always took care of his patients; he was careful, precise, and had gotten to be incredible with children and their families. He knew that as long as Sofia was in his care, Arizona really didn't have anything to worry about. But he also knew that this surgery, while simple, was high-stakes. "Don't worry," he said gently. "I've got this."

Arizona offered him a weak but grateful smile in return.

"…So then I'm going to cut the appendix out, like this." Alex demonstrated his technique for Sofia with a pencil, which he was pretending was a knife. "Then I'll clean the area to make sure all the germs that are making you sick are all gone, and then I'll sew you up and you'll be good as new."

Once Sofia was settled in her new room on the pediatrics wing, it was just a matter of waiting for the OR to be ready. She was still in a lot of pain – it had only gotten worse since she'd arrived at the hospital an hour or so ago – but it was currently being dulled slightly by the mild painkillers she was on and all of the attention she was getting. Sofia lay propped up in bed. Callie sat in a chair on one side of her, holding her hand, while Alex sat on her other side as he explained the surgery.

"I'm gonna have stitches?" she asked.

Alex nodded. "Yep. They'll feel a little weird at first, but you won't need them for more than a week."

"What are you gonna do with my appendix?"

"After I take it out, I'm going to throw it away."

Sofia whirled around to look anxiously at Callie. "But…but what if I need it?"

"You won't need it," Alex said. "I promise. If you really want me to, I can save it in a jar for you to look at after you wake up."

Sofia was about to rattle off another question when Mark practically fell over himself trying to run into the room.

"Daddy!" Sofia greeted him.

"What's going on?" he cried breathlessly. "I got a message from Karev saying to get to Peds as soon as possible, and that Sofia needed surgery!"

"It's an appy, Mark," Callie reassured him. "She'll be fine. Alex is doing it." She tried to sound calm and collected, but the look Mark shot her told her she'd failed. Callie might not have been as anxious as Arizona was, but she definitely didn't like the idea of either of her children having to go under the knife for any reason. She was a little calmer now that Sofia wasn't screaming in pain, but the whole night had been scary for her, and she wouldn't feel completely at ease until Sofia was out of surgery, awake, and perfectly healthy. She planned to watch the surgery from the gallery – she knew there was no point in even asking to be in the OR even if she promised not to touch or do anything – but truthfully, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to.

Mark surveyed the room. "Where's Arizona?"

"Finding a cardio surgeon," Callie replied. "It's an open appy because of…you know." She didn't want to discuss the trauma of Sofia's infancy in front of her, especially not now. "They're keeping cardio on standby just to be safe."

Mark nodded, looking no less anxious than Callie felt. "How are you doing, munchkin?" he asked, crossing the room to Sofia. "Ready to rock your appendectomy?"

"I'm scared, Daddy," Sofia whimpered, her eyes welling with tears.

Alex stood up. "I'll be back when the OR is ready to take you to surgery," he said. "It should be about fifteen minutes unless cardio isn't here yet." He excused himself from the room to give the family some privacy.

Mark sat down in the chair Alex had been sitting in. "Hey," he said softly, reaching out to smooth Sofia's hair. He cringed inwardly, feeling how feverish she was. "You don't have anything to worry about. Alex is a great surgeon. He's going to take excellent care of you." Sofia didn't say anything, but her lip trembled as tears rolled down her face. "I know it's scary, Sof, but I promise you're going to feel so much better after this is over. Your tummy won't hurt anymore, your fever will go away, and you'll be able to laugh without it hurting. Which is excellent timing, because I just learned a really funny joke and I can't wait to tell you."

Sofia sniffled and managed a smile. "What's it about?"

"I can't tell you," Mark said, mocking offense at having been asked such a question. "That would ruin the joke. You'll have to wait." He squeezed Sofia's shoulder. "You're going to do fine in there," he promised. "Alex is going to take perfect care of you, and then it'll all be over. And we'll all be here when you wake up."

"I love you, Daddy," Sofia murmured.

"I love you too, little bear," Mark said softly as he leaned down to kiss Sofia's forehead. "Give me a kiss." Sofia obliged. "Hey, where's Jasmine?"

"Lexie has her," Callie said, suddenly remembering. "Crap, I was supposed to call her."

She pulled out her phone to make the call just as Cristina poked her head into the room. "Hey, I heard Sofia needed surgery. What's going on?" She'd never admit it, but Cristina loved Sofia, and not a day went by that she didn't absolutely love being her godmother. When she'd heard through the grapevine that the little girl needed surgery, and she needed it tonight, she'd immediately assumed the worst.

"Cristina!" Sofia greeted her. "My tummy is broken!"

"I…wait, what?"

"Appy," Mark mouthed in her direction.

"Oh." Cristina's shoulders relaxed. "So you're getting your appendix out, huh?"

"Yep." Sofia nodded. "My appendix broke my tummy, so Alex is gonna take it out." Cristina smirked. Sofia averted her eyes, suddenly transfixed by the thread pattern on her blanket. "I'm scared," she murmured. She looked back up at Cristina, whose expression was as close to sympathetic as it could get while still being neutral. "Daddy said I shouldn't be scared 'cause Alex is awesome and I'm gonna be fine. But I'm still scared."

"Hey," Cristina said softly, gently grabbing Sofia's foot. "Your daddy is right. You don't need to be scared. Do you want to know why?" Sofia nodded. "Because appies are so boring."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, seriously, you make the incision, you take out the appendix, you stitch it back up. It's over before it even starts. Total snooze-fest."

"So boring even a scrub nurse could do it, right, Cristina?" Callie smirked at Cristina. She just couldn't resist.

"What— how— hey!" Cristina sputtered. "Who told you about that?"

"Who cares?" Callie asked. "The important thing is that I've been waiting to make fun of you for almost seven years."

"Well, why don't you make fun of Teddy?"

"Oh, I did," Callie promised. "But you're standing right here."

"Cristina," Sofia piped up. "Are you gonna come watch Alex take my appendix out? He said he'd put it in a jar so I could see it!"

"I wish I could, kiddo," Cristina replied, squeezing Sofia's foot. "But like I said, way too boring. Besides, I have a valve replacement."

"Oh."

"I'll come visit you after," Cristina promised. "But seriously, don't be scared. You're going to be fine, I promise. You're the bravest kid I know." Despite herself, Cristina blew Sofia a kiss on her way out the door. Mark pretended not to notice. Callie smiled and raised an eyebrow. Sofia blew a kiss in return.

"Mama?" Sofia turned to Callie. "How many kids does she know?"

"Okay!" Arizona said brightly, swiftly entering Sofia's room, followed by Alex and Teddy, whom she had been beyond thankful to find available. "Who's ready for an appendectomy?" Sofia whimpered and pulled her covers over her face.

Callie watched Arizona. She knew something wasn't right. Arizona was always in good spirits with her patients, of course, but this was different. Her smile was obviously forced, and almost completely fake. The strained tone of her voice told Callie that the brightness wasn't real, either. She had a fairly good idea of what was going on, and truthfully, she'd been wanting to talk to Arizona ever since Sofia's diagnosis had been made. But Arizona had made herself scarce, and Callie hadn't had a chance to go after her.

But watching her now made Callie want to cry. Her wife was so obviously upset and worried, and Callie wanted more than almost anything to make her feel better. Once Sofia was in surgery, they'd have a chance to talk uninterrupted.

"Mommy," Sofia whimpered from under the blanket. "Where were you?"

Arizona swallowed past the lump in her throat. The guilt she felt at not being there for Sofia when she needed her was so strong it was going to give her an ulcer. "Well," she began, sliding into the chair beside Sofia's bed that Mark had vacated for her. "I had to find Teddy. She's the best heart doctor in the whole world."

"Cristina says she's the best heart doctor in the world." Sofia poked her head out.

"It's a shared title," Teddy said before Arizona could say anything. "The world is a really big place, so we need at least two best heart surgeons in it."

"Oh." Sofia seemed satisfied with the answer.

"Anyway," Arizona continued, her eyes sparkling just a tiny bit at the humor she'd managed to find thanks to Teddy, "Sofia, you know how I've told you before that your heart is super special?" Sofia nodded as eagerly as she could. "And how because it's so special, we have to take extra-super-good care of it?" Sofia nodded again. "Well, since Teddy is the best heart doctor in the world, she's going to watch over your heart while Alex takes your appendix out." Sofia smiled. She couldn't wait to tell Zola that she got her very own heart doctor. "So that's where I was, baby," Arizona finished, fingers stroking softly over Sofia's face. "I'm sorry I wasn't in here with you, but I had to find her and make sure she knows how special your heart is. Plus, someone had to tell everyone how brave you're being."

Sofia's eyes widened. "You told everyone?" Arizona nodded. "Even Auntie Bailey?"

Arizona winked. "Especially Auntie Bailey."

"What did she say?"

"She said she loves you and that she's not at all surprised that you're so brave."

Sofia smiled as Arizona grasped her hand. "Mommy?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you gonna be in the room when Alex takes my appendix out?"

Arizona shook her head, willing herself not to cry. "No, sweetie. There…there isn't enough room in there. Alex needs space to work."

Panic began to take over Sofia's features. "But…but I want you to stay with me," she stammered as she started to cry again. "I want you to stay with me, Mommy. I want you to hold my hand."

"I wish I could, Sofia." Arizona bit her lip and leaned in to rest her forehead against her daughter's. "I really wish I could be in there with you, but I can't." She squeezed Sofia's hand. "Remember how I showed you the operating room last year? And we looked down at it from that big room with the windows?" Sofia nodded. "I'll be in there. I'll be able to see you. And I'll be watching the whole time."

Sofia was slightly placated, but not really. If she had to have surgery at all, she wanted her mommy right there next to her. "But…" she grasped for words. "But you're the best kid doctor in the whole world. I want you to stay with me." She looked pleadingly at Arizona with fearful, teary eyes.

Callie could see that Arizona was struggling not to lose her composure. She promised herself that as soon as Sofia was wheeled into surgery, she would hold her wife and let her cry for as long as she needed, even if it meant she never made it into the gallery to watch the surgery. Whatever Arizona needed, Callie was more than prepared to do it.

Right now, that meant addressing Sofia's concern. Arizona was opening and closing her mouth, but no words were coming out. "Alex is the other best kid doctor, baby," Callie said. "You know how Teddy and Cristina are both the best heart doctor? Mommy and Alex are both the best kid doctor."

Sofia clutched the hand of Arizona's that was holding hers. "Really, Mommy?"

"Yes," Arizona whispered. "That's exactly right." She shot Callie a thankful look. "Alex is awesome. You know how he got so good at taking out appendixes?"

"How?"

Arizona tapped Sofia on the nose. "I taught him."

"Really? You did?"

"I really did." Arizona nodded, smiling at Sofia. "You're in good hands with Alex, sweetie. You're safe and you're going to be fine. I promise." She gave Sofia a kiss on the cheek, just under her eye. "And I promise I'll be watching the surgery through the window, and I promise I'll be right here when you wake up." She kissed Sofia again, on the forehead this time. "I love you so much, my sweet pea."

Sofia sat up as best she could and threaded her arms around Arizona's neck, burying her face in her chest. "I love you too, Mommy." With Sofia's face hidden, Arizona allowed a few tears to escape.

After an appropriate amount of time had passed, Alex clapped his hands. "So, Sofia, how about we get this show on the road?" Sofia shook her head against Arizona.

"It's going to be okay, baby," Arizona whispered in Sofia's ear, even as she squeezed Sofia a little tighter.

Pulling away only slightly, Sofia pouted up at Arizona. "I'm not a baby."

Arizona cracked a hint of a smile. "Sorry. You're right. I'll tell you what: while Alex is taking out your appendix, Mama and I will try to think of something new to call you."

"Oh, good." Callie smirked. "I was worried you were going to grow up without ten nicknames. This is a big relief." Sofia smiled in spite of herself. "Now get over here and give me a kiss."

Sofia obliged, disentangling herself from Arizona to squirm over to the other side of the bed and give Callie a big hug and a kiss. "Love you, Mama."

"Te amo más, mi cariña."

Reluctantly, Sofia pulled back from Callie and settled against the bed, allowing Alex to unlock it and begin wheeling it out of the room. Callie and Arizona both stood up. Teddy followed behind Alex, running a comforting hand across Arizona's shoulders as she went.

Mark jogged to catch up with them, but Callie hung back with Arizona, who was beginning to unravel. "Hey," she said, ducking her head to catch Arizona's eye as she stood up from her chair. She took the three steps to Arizona's side and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Arizona just shook her head as she burst into tears, collapsing into Callie's waiting arms. "I can't," she sobbed. "I can't."

"What can't you do, Arizona?" Callie asked softly, running a hand up and down her back.

"I can't…I can't do this again!"

"What's that?" Callie was ninety-eight percent sure she knew what Arizona was talking about, but she wanted to hear Arizona say it herself.

"I can't see my baby lie on an operating table while someone cuts into her. I can't watch surgeons stand over her body making sure she lives, and I can't watch her heart monitors and worry that they're going to stop at any second. I can't do it, Callie. Not again."

"Arizona," Callie murmured. "You don't have to watch. No one's making you."

"I promised her!" Arizona cried. "I promised her without even thinking. She's my baby and she needs me. I need to be there for her. I need to see that she's okay. So yes, I do have to watch."

"Okay," Callie breathed, rubbing Arizona's back. "Okay. I know. Trust me, I don't like it either. But it's going to be okay. She's going to be fine."

"You didn't see her!" Arizona all but screamed. "You didn't see her when she was born. She was so tiny. She was the size of my hand and she-she wasn't breathing, Callie. I thought she wasn't going to live. You didn't see her a month later when she was lying on a table in the OR having her heart repaired, and you didn't see her when she almost coded! Do you know how tiny a baby looks on the table?" She dissolved into tears once again. "I…I can't go through this again!"

Callie blinked, letting a few tears of her own fall. Arizona was right. Callie hadn't seen Sofia at her worst. At the time, she would have given anything to be able to spend time with her baby, and now she felt like she would give anything to take away all the hurt and fear Arizona still carried with her. Callie was worried, of course; after all, her baby was about to have surgery, but she didn't feel what Arizona felt. She didn't see Sofia in her hospital bed and flash back to images that haunted her sleep.

"Arizona," Callie said softly. "You're right. I didn't see her then. But I see her now. I see that she's strong and healthy, and I see that she's in the care of two of the best surgeons in this hospital. If you don't want to watch the surgery, I completely understand, and so will Sofia. She adores you, Arizona. No matter what you do, she's still going to think you hung the…what's that expression?"

"The moon," Arizona supplied. "And the stars."

"Sheesh, don't get cocky," Callie teased. "Anyway, Sofia loves you no matter what. So does Jasmine. And so do I." She gave Arizona a chaste kiss on the lips.

"I love you, Calliope," Arizona said, nuzzling her face into Callie's neck. "I do want to watch the surgery, though. I need to. For myself as much as for Sofia."

"Then we'll watch the surgery," Callie said firmly. "What do you need? Tell me what I can do."

"I need you," Arizona said without a second of hesitation. "I need you to sit next to me and hold my hand. If I can't watch, I need you to tell me what's happening while I have my face buried in your shoulder. When it's over, I need you to hold me when I start crying because I'm so relieved. I just…I just need you."

"You have me," Callie promised. "You absolutely have me, Arizona. Always." She held onto Arizona a few seconds longer. "Let's go watch an appendectomy," she finally said. "Cristina says they're really boring."

Arizona snorted. "So boring she leaves them for scrub nurses."

Mark was already sitting in the front row of the gallery when Callie and Arizona arrived. He was the only one there, save for a few interns sitting in the back corner. "You didn't miss anything," he told them. "They just explained anesthesia to her. I think they're administering it now." Arizona sat down beside Mark; Callie sat beside Arizona. Callie had barely gotten settled in her seat before Arizona leaned heavily into Callie's side and latched onto her arm. Callie dropped a kiss on Arizona's head. All three parents watched anxiously as the scene below them unfolded.

"All right, Sofia," the anesthesiologist was saying. "I'm going to put this mask over your nose and mouth. You're going to start getting sleepy, but I want you to count backwards from one hundred. Can you do that?"

"I think so," Sofia said.

The anesthesiologist smiled. "Good. You'll be asleep before you know it, and the next thing you know, you'll be waking up in recovery. You won't feel a thing."

"Is my mommy here?" Sofia asked anxiously.

Alex glanced up into the gallery. Arizona looked absolutely terrified, but she managed to give him a slight wave. "She's here," he told Sofia with a smile. "She's waving and everything. Now, let's start counting backwards from a hundred. I'll race you."

"Me too," Teddy said from her spot.

The mask came over Sofia's face, and she began to count out loud. "A hundred…ninety-nine…ninety-eight…ninety-seven…ninety…uh, six…nine…ninety…nine…"

Alex watched Sofia's face for a few seconds, making sure she was really out, before picking up his scalpel and saying, "Making the first cut."

In the gallery, Arizona squeezed Callie's hand as tightly as she could. Callie pressed another kiss to Arizona's head and didn't even flinch.

Sofia's eyes fluttered open. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep. Her whole body felt heavier than she remembered it, but lighter at the same time. Taking a deep breath, she realized her stomach didn't hurt.

"Mommy?"

"Right here, sweetie," Arizona said, immediately floating into Sofia's line of sight and grasping her hand. "I'm right here."

"Is it over?" Sofia blinked a few times against the bright light of the room.

"It's all over," Arizona said. "Your appendix is out and your heart is perfect. You did such a good job in there, sweet pea. I'm so proud of you. We all are."

Sofia shifted her focus away from Arizona to see who "all" was. Callie sat in a chair next to Sofia's bed. Mark was sitting in another chair near the foot of the bed while Teddy and Alex stood in the corner. Cristina hovered in the doorway, talking to Bailey. There were so many bodies crammed into the room that there wouldn't have been space for a stick figure.

"How do you feel?" Arizona asked.

"Weird. Good." Sofia turned back to Arizona. "Did you see me?"

Arizona nodded and smiled. "Mama, Daddy, and I had front-row seats."

"Was I asleep for a long time?" Sofia furrowed her brow. "Did I snore?"

"You were asleep for a while," Arizona replied, chuckling. "Anesthesia can take over an hour to wear off. And as far as I know, you didn't snore."

"Hey, Sof, you're awake." Alex approached the bed. "You did great. You're on some painkillers right now, but when they wear off, your stomach's probably going to hurt a little. It's going to be sore for a few days, so you need to take it easy for a little while, okay?"

Sofia nodded. "Okay."

"Oh, and I saved you something." Alex reached into his lab coat pocket and took out a small jar. He handed it to Sofia.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, eyes lighting up. "Is that my appendix?"

"Yep. Tiny, isn't it? Hard to believe it was making you so sick."

Sofia examined it for another minute. "Can I keep it?" She looked hopefully at Callie.

"Some parents get trophies and framed art projects." Callie rolled her eyes. "I get an appendix in a jar."

"Well, I've got to get back to work," Alex said. "I just wanted to check on you when you woke up. Take care of yourself, Sofia." He held out his fist for Sofia to pound, which she did.

"I should go, too," Teddy said. "You really did do great, Sofia. Your heart is so perfect I didn't have to do anything."

"See?" Cristina piped up from the door. "I told you appies are boring."

Callie laughed and disguised it with a cough.

Bailey just shook her head as she walked up to Sofia's bedside. "I'm glad to see you awake, sweetie," she said. "You look like you're feeling better already. You'll come visit me when you're all better and tell me how school is going?"

Sofia nodded vigorously. "I'm going to be in first grade next year!"

"You'll have to catch me up!" Bailey said. "You're growing up so fast. You come see me as soon as you're all better, okay?"

"Okay!"

Bailey turned and left the room, leaving Sofia with Callie, Arizona, Mark, and Cristina.

"So," Cristina said, sitting down on the foot of Sofia's bed. "Be honest. How was it?"

"I don't know!" Sofia giggled, grimacing only slightly at the residual pain of laughing. At least with the painkillers, it hurt significantly less than it had before. "I was asleep!"

"Aha!" Cristina exclaimed. "So boring you fell asleep. I knew it!"

"Cristina!" Sofia groaned. "It wasn't boring!"

"How would you know? You were asleep." Cristina stood up and leaned over to ruffle Sofia's hair. "I've got to get going. I just wanted to check in. Love you, kid." She turned and left.

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Did Cristina just say…?"

"Daddy," Sofia said. "What's the joke you're gonna tell me?"

"I'll tell it to you later," Mark replied. "In the meantime, there's someone else outside who can't wait to see you."

Sofia furrowed her brow. Who could be left?

"Sofie!" Jasmine bounced in Lexie's arms, a giant grin on her face.

"She's been asking about you for hours," Lexie said. "She missed you."

"Aww, I missed my baby!" Arizona reached out and took Jasmine from Lexie's arms. Arizona was in much better spirits now that Sofia was awake and seemed to be doing great. "Come here, chickadee. Did you miss me at all, or just your sister?"

"Sofie!"

"Rejected by a twenty-two-month-old," Arizona remarked. "Nice." Arizona stepped close enough to the bed to allow Jasmine to grab one of Sofia's hands.

"Hi, Jazzy," Sofia greeted her sister. "Sorry if you missed me. I had to get my appendix out. If you ever have to get yours out, try to get Alex for your doctor. He's super good at appendixes. Mommy taught him. And he'll let you keep it!"

"I believe I get the final say in that," Callie interjected.

"Sofie!" Jasmine said again. "Go home?"

"Probably tonight," Arizona said before Sofia could even ask the question. "Alex will want to make sure you're healing well, but we'll have to ask him to know for sure."

"Can Megan come visit?" Sofia asked. "I want to show her my appendix!"

"If she can't make it today, she can definitely come visit you at home," Callie replied. "Are you sure she's going to want to see it?"

Sofia shrugged. "It's really cool."

Callie laughed and reached out to smooth Sofia's hair. "I am so proud of you, non-baby," she said. "You were so brave today. So, so brave." She leaned over and kissed Sofia's forehead. Sofia smiled and nuzzled Callie for a moment before looking to Arizona, who was nodding and smiling, and then at Mark, who was laughing at something Lexie had just said to him.

"'Non-baby' was the best we could come up with in less than an hour," Arizona filled in.

Sofia smiled. "You can just call me Sofia if you want."

"Sofie!" Jasmine cried.

"Hey, Sofia," Mark began. "What's a pirate's favorite letter of the alphabet?"

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"'Arr'?" Lexie asked.

"That's what you would think," Mark said proudly. "But actually, it's the 'C'!"

Everyone groaned. Jasmine giggled.

Sofia cracked up laughing. She was pleased to find that it didn't hurt at all.

"Hey." Callie approached Arizona while Sofia was preoccupied with something Mark and Lexie were talking about. She laid a hand on the small of her wife's back. "Sofia's not the only one I'm proud of right now, you know." Arizona looked up at Callie quizzically. "You did great, Arizona. I know how hard that was for you. I know how scared you were."

Arizona smiled slightly and cast her eyes downward, embarrassed at the praise. "Yeah, well."

"No, really." Callie gently hooked a finger from her other hand under Arizona's chin, forcing her to make eye contact. "You were amazing today. I mean, you're amazing every day, but today I'm making a big deal out of it, so deal with it."

Arizona chuckled. "You drive a hard bargain."

"Yes, I do," Callie said firmly. "And I didn't hear you complaining about that the other night."

"Calliope!" Arizona gasped. "Our children are two feet away!"

Callie smirked. "Well, remind me to show you more of my bargaining skills later, then," she said. "But seriously, Arizona, you're awesome. You're an incredible doctor and an amazing mother. I know that's not easy." Arizona made a muffled noise of agreement. "But I don't know what I would have done without you last night and this morning. Thank you." She smiled lovingly at Arizona.

"I love you, Calliope," Arizona said softly, super-magic smile firmly in place.

"I love you too," Callie said. "Now what do you say I use my bargaining abilities to convince our daughter to leave her appendix in a jar at the hospital?"

Arizona laughed. "I say that's an excellent use of your skills."

They turned to look at Sofia, who was proudly showing off said appendix to Lexie.

Callie groaned. "We're going to be that couple with body parts in jars, aren't we?"

Grinning brightly, Arizona looked at Mark and said, "She can keep it at her dad's house."

Callie laughed and patted Arizona on the back. "Now that's a bargain."