58. Song Beneath the Song

I asked her to marry me and a truck came out of nowhere.

-Arizona Robbins

"Mark." She slipped into the O.R. where Mark was just finishing up his mandibular repair. "You almost done?"

"Yeah, what do you need?" He didn't look up to see her red eyes. She had just told Aria and the woman's panicked crying wasn't out of her head yet. If he saw her red eyes, he would've stopped right then and there. He would've dropped that scalpel in his hand, words - questions - spilling out of his mouth.

"I'll wait," she said quietly, wanting to sink into the floor. Callie, thrown out a windshield. Callie, blood everywhere. Callie, bones broken. Callie, dead.

"I rocked this mandibular repair. You'd never know this guy's jaw was broken in five places. I'm something like an artist. Not Picasso, because his jaw would be on his forehead but like, uh, Chagall, Michelangelo." Chuckling, he looked up at his wife. "I'm Michelangelo. There, I'm done. What's up?" His smile fell off his face as she swallowed. "Em, what's going on?"

"Something happened to Callie."

.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on Mark," Derek murmured and they all looked up. Taylor met her eyes and she nodded. Her throat was tight as she let go of Callie's hand and stood.

"I'll go." She pulled her mask off her face, going out through the scrub room. She thought of the many places he would hide, the attendings lounges, the on-call rooms. Nothing. Running down the stairs, she swerved past a nurse before approaching the one behind the nurse's office in the lobby. "Have you seen Dr. Sloan?"

"He went that way." The woman pointed up the stairs and she nodded, thanking him. Going up the stairs again, she brushed past patients and workers alike. She wondered for half a second if Aria had been told what had happened as she walked past the ortho wing. Taking a deep breath, she felt her eyes drift past every door before spotting a man sitting in a stairwell. She opened the door and he looked up, eyes red and glassy. Once he realized who it was, he ducked his head once more.

"You don't have to hide from me," she whispered, sitting beside him and he leaned against her, head on her shoulder. He wiped at his tears and she took one of his hands, clasping it between her own. His left hand covered hers, rough skin brushing against hers as she rested her head on his.

"She's my best friend," he whispered, "She's my best friend."

"I know." She slipped a hand out of his insistent grasp and cupped his face. He clutched onto her like a lifeline as their foreheads pressed against each other. Her eyes began to sting as he closed his, swallowing harshly. Holding his head to her, she raised her chin so he tucked underneath. Her hand combed through his hair as he continued to cry into her scrub shirt. Emily felt her heart wilt with every sob that racked his body, and the cries she wanted to let escape caught in her throat.

.

A page disrupted her from her post near Callie's bedside. Arizona and Mark were arguing in the background as she found the 911 from Aria. Shooting up, she silenced the pager and pulled open the glass door.

Mark and Arizona both shut up as she met their eyes.

"It's Aria," she breathed before sprinting away. Running as fast as she could up to the ortho wing, she swung around the corner and into Aria's room where she was writhing on her bed. Dr. Fields was already there, monitoring decels. Blood stained the pillows and she felt her heart drop into her gut.

"What's wrong? What is it?"

"Her cerclage stitches broke because she went to go after her sister and ended up straining herself. Contractions have started and her weakened cervix is just making everything worse, and I-" Lucy Fields glanced up from where she was sitting, worry etched onto her face.

"What do we have to do? C-Section?" The blonde bit her lip, nervous. "Lucy?"

"I don't know. If we deliver, the baby might die. If we don't, we could lose both. I'm… I'm out of my depth here." Spinning around, she left the room and leaned against the wall just outside, taking out her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she clicked on a name near the top of her list.

"Come on, come on. Pick up." Tapping her foot impatiently, she heard the line click.

"Hello?"

"Addison, it's Emily. How soon can you come to Seattle?"

.

"Big deal. She works here at Seattle Grace Mercy Death, so I'm sure she's pretty much gonna go crazy, or get cancer or get shot by a gunman or get hit by a truck so don't get your hopes up for Karev's big happily ever after."

.

Addison immediately read up on the woman's case on the way and Emily met her as she exited the helicopter.

"Good to see you, Addison,"

"You too. You look loads different," the redhead said with a smile as they headed for the elevator. "How's the baby? Any heartburn? Spotting?"

"No, we're doing fine. She's this way - excuse me - and her contractions are getting more intense," she said as they passed a few nurses. Turning the corner, she lead the O.B. into Aria's room where Lucy stood. Her feet ached and as soon as they reached their destination, Emily was leaning against the wall.

"Emily, you need rest. You're pregnant, you need to take it easy." Nodding, Emily took a deep breath as Lucy watched Addison work.

"I'll go when I know Aria's going to be okay."

"The baby could survive via C-Section," Lucy began but Addison shook her head, taking the stethoscope. Telling Aria to lie down, she listened to the woman's heart.

"No, she can't because not only did you fail to stop her contractions, you didn't give steroids to the baby to mature her lungs. Leave," she snapped and Lucy froze before leaving. Emily bit her lip as Addison felt the bump, an expression she didn't like warping her face.

"You're going to be okay, Aria. We're going to take good care of you." Aria clutched onto Addison's sleeve, tears in her eyes as she let out a low groan.

"Save the baby. Save the baby for Callie… I don't want her but she does."

"Aria…" words failed as Emily watched her B.P. rise. "Addison, she's bleeding. We've got to deliver this baby before she injures herself more."

"My sister…" Aria's breath hitched as they clicked the rails into place, "Is she going to be okay?" Addison's gaze flickered back to Emily who met it steadily. "Is she okay?"

"Callie's going to be fine, okay, Aria? Don't worry - she'll be fine. I'll call up to the O.R. and check up on her, okay? Just, calm down and let Addison take good care of you." The brunette received a shaky nod and they began to roll the labouring woman out. Nurses took the I.V.s and helped Addison take over as the redhead stayed behind to look at Emily. She shoved her hands into her pockets, avoiding the woman's eyes.

"What happened to Callie?"

"Car crash. Right into the back of a truck and she flew through the windshield."

"How is she? Be honest." Emily glanced out the empty door.

"I don't know," she whispered. "But, you should check on Mark. He's taking this hit really h-hard." Eyes burning, she felt her throat close up and went to go call up to the O.R. Addison rubbed her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Clearing her throat, she wiped at the beginnings of her tears. "You needa get to surgery, right?"

"Yeah. I'll update you when I can." Emily mouthed a small 'thank you' and the redhead went to change as the brunette left the room.

Where's Mark?

"Have you seen—" She cleared her throat because it was getting thick and her neck felt bruised— "Dr. Sloan anywhere?"

"He said he needed to go lie down," one nurse said quietly and she nodded. Opening on-call room after on-call room, she didn't see him at all. She saw Meredith and Derek, Eli and Bailey although that scarred her eyes, but no Mark. Taylor and Lexie were in the cafeteria, eating before Callie's next surgery and she offered them a tired smile and a wave.

"You alright?" Taylor asked, sitting up straighter upon seeing her.

"Yeah, I'm doing okay." The blond trauma attending's face was scrunched up in doubt as she allowed, "It's hard though. You better save her." She offered a tight smile as Lexie grabbed her hand with a soft smile.

"We'll try our best," Taylor promised and she nodded. "What're you looking for? Pudding?" He offered a spoonful of his chocolate dessert and she shook her head.

"No, uh, have you seen Mark?"

"I saw him heading up to fourth. Hey—" She paused when the trauma surgeon added— "tell me how he's doing."

"I will," she promised before heading in the direction of the elevator. Stepping in, she waited for the doors to close only for them to open one floor later. Jackson's eyes lit up in surprise when he saw her but his eyes softened.

"Hey, Em."

"Hey, Jackie," she mumbled, hugging herself and taking a step back to lean against the wall. His eyes narrowed at her as he pressed the button for his own floor.

"What's up?" he asked, not looking at her but at the row of numbers above the doors. "Come on. You're not okay." When she was quiet, he finally turned around to find the tears she held in tracing down her cheeks, reddening her eyes. Her cheeks blotchy, she sniffed loudly as she raised a hand to plug the tears. Her free arm hugged herself as she finally let out a soft cry, shoulders quaking. Her breath shuttered and he walked over the few steps he needed to wrap her in a hug. "It's gonna be okay. We'll make up a plan. We'll get through this."

"Jackson-" she began but he shushed her, hand patting down her hair. "Jackson, if she doesn't make it-" There mere thought had her blood running cold and she couldn't finish her sentence, instead pressing her face into his lab coat. The elevator dinged and she broke away, wiping at her face and sniffing.

His hands fell away and she ran a hand through her hair, letting out a nervous laugh. Looking up, she realized it was her floor.

"It's, uh, it's my floor," she whispered and he nodded. "Thanks, Jackson, for, uhm, letting me fall apart on you there."

"Yeah, of course." Jackson's smile had her smiling as well as he added, "Plus, it's kinda payback for those times after the shooting. You make good spaghetti dinner."

"Thanks." Stepping out of the elevator, she turned around to watch the elevator doors close. Feeling lighter than before, she continued on her search for Mark. Thinking of the lounge, she headed in that direction and peered through the door. Through the small window, she saw him lying on the couch and wiped at her eyes before going in.

"Hey."

"Hi." He cleared his throat and sat up as she plopped down beside him. "How are you?" He turned to her and she kissed his mouth softly, hand curling against his face.

"I should be asking you that," she said and guided his head onto her lap.

"I'll be better when she gets out of it safely." He raised her scrub shirt and kissed her bump, pressing his face against it. Running her fingers through his hair, she just lets him doze off in silence.

.

The night came and went, the crack of dawn waking the couple up. Mark checked his watch, saw that he got an hour of sleep and nudged his wife awake. "Let's go check on Callie," he whispered and she nodded, exhausted.

"I need to check on… on Aria," she replied, disoriented. Helping her stand, he looked at her. "Cerclage stitches broke - Addison took her up when I went to find you."

"Go," he whispered and she nodded, pecking him on the jaw before exiting the lounge.

.

"What happened?" Emily asked, placing a mask in front of her mouth as Addison looked up from where she was tending to the preemie. The younger Torres was under anesthesia and a resident was deep in the woman's abdomen.

"Scrub in."

"What happened?" She repeated forcefully and Addison shook her head in frustration.

"Aria fell." Cold dread washed over her. "It's caused some bleeding. We just need to control it and she'll be okay. An extra pair of hands would be useful."

Nodding numbly, she ran into the scrub room and rubbed her hands raw before being gowned and gloved. Telling the resident to move out of the way so she could be lead and they could be first assist, she asked for suction.

Two hours and a partial splenectomy later, they walked out with the baby that was barely breathing, but alive.

.

Once she was finished her surgery, she walked up to the gallery where Arizona and Mark were already sitting. Standing near the monitor that displayed the surgery up close, she leaned into the glass. "She has to make it."

"We should pray," Arizona said and Mark just continued to stare into the glass.

"I haven't stopped praying since yesterday," was all he said and she sat down beside him, taking one of his hands in her own. Another clasped over hers as the monitors began to beep.

"Definitely got some new bleeding." Owen started the surgery, suctioning away the bleeders as Bailey began at the abdomen.

"Remove the abdominal packs carefully. They may be stuck. Irrigation."

"Starting to cannulate. Slowly push the heparin." Teddy watched the anesthesiologist push it in where she stood near the heart and Emily's hand squeezed Mark's painfully as she prayed that there wouldn't be blood. No blood, no blood, no blood-

"We've got blood!"

"Damn it. We gotta go back in."

"It's the heparin." Cristina, from where she worked opposite of Teddy, looked up. "Dr. Altman, we can still do the percutaneous repair. It'll work. I know it will." Mark turned to Emily and she inhaled sharply, jaw clenching tightly as she stood. The monitors raged, beeping frantically as Derek opened up the brain once again to clear the brain bleed.

"Dr. Yang, the decision's already made."

"Get me more lap pads. Got a lot of bleeding down here."

"This is not working. Yang is right. We need to reverse the heparin and try the percutaneous repair." With that as permission, Cristina backed away from the table and Emily tried to soothe her storm of thoughts with the fact that Cristina was now in charge. Cristina knew how to fix this. She could save Callie.

"What? No!"

"Cristina will know what to do," Emily murmured under her breath, taking the attention of Arizona and Mark away from the O.R. "She'll know."

.

He will do one of two things

He will admit to everything

Or he'll say he's just not the same

And you'll begin to wonder why you came*

Emily took a deep breath. The flatline echoed in her head like a persistent ghost as she stood, watching Dr. Webber pump her mentor's heart. Arizona jumped down the stairs, blue eyes beginning to gloss over as she pressed her hand against the glass.

When what felt like years passed, the doctors seemed to stop and waited for the monitors to pick up a heartbeat. One, two, three seconds passed before…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Mom's heart is strong." Dr. Webber's voice crackled over the intercom and Mark breathed a sigh of relief, stumbling back into his chair and Emily let her head drop against the glass.

.

Emily held the preemie's hand in the N.I.C.U. "Hey, baby," she whispered. She had beautiful black hair, a trademark of the Torres family, and looked so small. Resting her chin in her hand, she smiled. Watching the little baby breathe, Emily watched her stats. Steady, for now.

Sitting down, she texted Derek for the details - if Callie was going to wake up - before slipping her phone back into her pocket underneath her pink gown. Resting her free hand on her own abdomen, she gently raised the unnamed baby's arm in between her thumb and index finger and held it there.

Her own baby kicked hard and she winced, rubbing her abdomen. The roundness was growing every day and soon, she'd have to take more off days. This baby was taking the wind out of her and she felt bloated every time she entered a room.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see Jackson with forms. "How's she doing?"

"One pound and one ounce of a fighter. What's up?" She extended a hand and he passed her the forms. "Aria's awake?" she asked and he nodded, mouth quirking up at the corners.

"Little Torres is awake and looking for you." She glanced at the infant and he let out a low exhale. "Go. I'll watch over or page Karev or something."

"Page Mark. He… he should watch over her."

"Okay."

Nodding, she stood and rubbed his shoulder before leaving, tearing off her pink gown. Heading for the elevator, she went up to the ortho wing and entered Aria's room after a knock.

"Sent a messenger," she said, coming into the room and Aria cleared her throat, trying to sit up. "Don't sit up - you just had major surgery." Waving the forms, she cocked her head. "You're sure about this, right?"

"Yes," she rasped and Emily went over to pour her a cup of water. Holding it for her, she directed the straw into the mouth before sitting down. "Thanks. How is she?"

"Stable. Looking for signs of neural deficits right now but she pulled through. We just have to believe."

"The baby?" Emily noted that Aria painfully did not use 'my'. There was no regret, only a slight bittersweetness for what could have been.

"Strong. Looking for her mom." Aria closed her eyes, swallowing and Emily brought the table around the bed and placed the cup there. "These papers, you're sure?"

"Definitely. Callie… deserves this. She'll do better than I will ever be able to. And I can be the aunt, she can be the mom." She liked the thought. The brunette watched as Aria shifted, thinking of how grateful and happy that Aria was doing what she wanted, and yet giving her older sister something as well. Then she remembered… Arizona.

"And if her girlfriend doesn't agree?"

"Too bad." Emily chuckled, flipping through the forms.

"She needs to sign them unfortunately."

"Well, change her mind then. Oh! I know…" Aria coughed. "Play the cancer card. Always works," she exclaimed and Emily laughed.

"Will do." Standing, the doctor patted her patient's hand. "Get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow, alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks, for everything, Dr. Moore."

"Thank Callie when she wakes up." Emily answered before leaving to give the forms to Arizona.

A/N: Edited - November 25, 2018

*'And you'll begin to wonder why you came' Just to point out that I'm considering this an Emily quote since if she were in the show, she would've sung this part as appropriate foreshadowing.

Next: A white wedding and a new addition.