Just when it looked as though fans of the most adorable lesbian doctor couple on television would have to wait another at least another week for a snippet of a Calzona story line, the powers that be at Grey’s Anatomy tossed in a sweet little adoption rights story that will surely be continued.
Following Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona’s (Jessica Capshaw) dramatic arc last season that included plans to move to Africa together, a break-up and an Arizona heading off on her own to care for “tiny humans,” Callie drowning her sorrows in booze and her best friend Mark’s (Eric Dane) chest hair (among other things) -- which resulted in a pregnancy—Arizona returning and begging Callie back, the subsequent ongoing tale of the two mommies and a baby daddy, a car crash that sent Callie hurtling through a windshield that resulted in a freaking awesome musical episode and a lesbian wedding, it’s no wonder Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes and company are spreading the drama around this year.
Still, prior to this week’s episode there’d been so little Callie and Arizona action that fans were just jonesing for a little screen time, and they got it just at the end of this week’s episode.
While the episode titled “Loss, Love Legacy” focused mainly on members of Seattle Grace’s staff attempting the first-ever penile transplant courtesy of Avery’s genius mom played by Debbie Allen, a secondary storyline involved Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) adopted baby Zola – although the adoption is in flux following Meredith’s censure for tainting the Alzheimer’s study—arriving at the hospital with an intestinal blockage.
Social worker Janet (Janora McDuffie), who’s handling the adoption and who has a stick up her ass about Meredith, forbids Meredith and Derek to see little sick baby as the adoption is being reviewed but the cutest peds doc on the planet, Arizona Robbins, steps in to save the baby and the day, performing a flawless operation and assuring mom and dad that baby Zola will be just fine.
But being the Debbie Downer of Seattle Grace Karev (Justin Chambers) throws a dose of adoption reality at Arizona just as she’s completing the operation. Karev, who’s also the guy who threw Meredith under the bus with the Alzheimer trial is suddenly the self-appointed voice of reason at Seattle Grace, and likely due to his guilt over that incident felt it was his duty to inform Meredith and Derek that Zola needed surgery, even when social worker Janet expressly told him they were not allowed to see her.
Arizona, being the total adorable badass that she is had put her foot down with Karev, Meredith and Derek as far as their seeing the baby went so they wouldn’t further jeopardize the adoption. However, Karev is not about to let it go.
“You know, I really don’t get you. You should understand better than anyone,” Karev says to Arizona, totally butting in. “What if it was Sofia. Do you have any parental rights? If something happens to her and Sloane and Torres aren’t around, you’ve got some peds doc saying you don’t have a right to see her…”
This is where most people would have reached across the operating table and poked Karev in the forehead, but not Arizona. “Mind your own business Karev,” Arizona says, giving him a shank-eye over her surgical mask.
“Sorry, I’m just saying it sucks,” Karev says, as contrite as Karev can muster.
“No, here’s what sucks. Zola’s gonna be fine because we’re awesome surgeons and if Meredith and Derek didn’t know she was here Zola would still be fine, the adoption wouldn’t be in jeopardy and they wouldn’t be in a room some where going out of their minds imagining the worst,” Arizona says, shutting Karev up. As Arizona is an “awesome” surgeon, the surgery goes off essentially without a hitch and it looks like that’s the end of it.
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Later, Callie’s at Teddy (Kim Raver) and Henry’s (Scott Foley) dinner party with much of the Seattle Grace crew. Just as Henry remarks that it’s not a bad average that only three of the dinner guests got stood up by their significant others considering they’re all doctors the doorbell rings and it’s Arizona looking stunning in short red dress.
“Mine’s here,” Callie calls out when she sees her lobster (see Friends circa 1994).
“Can we talk?” Arizona says, with something clearly on her mind. “Listen, I want a piece of paper that says that Sofia’s mine. We always say that we’re gonna do it but we never actually do it.”
“Let’s do it,” Callie says without hesitation, but the Meredith / Derek and Zola adoption thing, plus Karev’s rubbing it in, is weighing on Arizona.
“I mean she’s mine. She’s my baby too. I mean, she’s yours and she’s Mark’s but she’s mine too,” Arizona says frantically. “I’m the only one who can get her to go back to sleep in the middle of the night.”
“I know.” Callie agrees.
“And she calls me mama, and I know that sounds like it’s babbling but she’s saying it to me. I’m her mama,” Arizona continues.
“I know you are. I’ll get you that piece of paper. Okay. I promise,” Callie says hugging Arizona and rubbing her back to comfort her as Arizona breathes out a sigh of relief.
And that’s it for the television’s hottest docs this week. While Callie is rightly totally understanding about Arizona’s insistence on officially becoming Sofia’s parent something tells me Shonda Rhimes never saw a chance for a harrowing storyline she didn’t like. While nobody wants to see Calzona go through more hell because they are just so cute when they’re happy it’s a good opportunity to explore same-sex adoption rights, so we’ll just have to keep tuning in.
