14 Of Arizona's Best 'Grey's Anatomy' Moments That Fans Will Never Forget

The first big kiss between Callie and Arizona was hot, unexpected, and created a Grey's legacy that would last a lifetime. Even if it took some time to get there.

This speech happened on TV almost a decade ago, and it still brings tears to everyone's eyes. She's a good man in a storm. And Grey's Anatomy had a lot of them.

Everyone was anti-O'Malley signing up to become a trauma surgeon — everyone except Arizona, that is. When she was challenged on it, she stood up for herself, explaining that yeah, she thinks it was a rockstar move. After all, she came from a military family, lost a brother that was serving, and is named for the U.S.S. Arizona. It threw a wrench in "Calzona," as Callie couldn't accept her ex-husband would just join the military, and it was all thanks to Owen Hunt (yet to join the cast in a major role), which made the situation all the more disastrous. Arizona didn't back down to Callie, Bailey, or anyone else. It was legendary.

Arizona and Callie were the most stable couple on Grey's Anatomy, until it was revealed that one wanted to be a mom and one really, really didn't. Arizona was a great example of how nuanced one person can be. She devoted so much of her life to helping kids and improving the lives of families, and had no desire to become a mother herself. No one saw it coming, and it added so much depth to an already fascinating character.

Arizona didn't want kids and didn't like Mark Sloan. And then he became the father of her daughter, and her whole world changed for the better. Even so, the fact that Sofia wasn't in Arizona's plan wasn't written out of the show, and as their relationship grew, so did viewers' understanding of Arizona. It's OK to love your kid, even if you didn't plan to have one. And Shonda Rhimes put that in primetime.

Arizona wasn't afraid to speak her mind, express herself, or ruffle people's feathers. She was driven, but had just a magnetic warmth to her. She'll so be missed on the show.

You can't say no to her. You just can't. You can negotiate with anyone else in the cast, but not Dr. Robbins. Getting April to use Tinder? Yep. Becoming friends with former Chief of Surgery Dr. Webber? Totally. Alex going into pediatric surgery, which even Addison couldn't convince him to choose? Grey Sloan has so much to thank her for.

Only Arizona would accidentally bring home a bisexual doctor that studies the female orgasm. And it was her roommate's sister, no less. Go, girl.

Losing her brother. Her leg. Coming back from Africa to find her ex was pregnant by a guy she didn't like that much. A custody battle. Arizona went through a lot on the show. Her most poignant moments, though, were the times she broke down. Whether it was over missing her brother on her wedding day or something as small as not knowing how to date anymore, tough-as-nails Arizona letting people in was always memorable. A learning experience, even.

When Meredith was attacked by a patient experiencing a seizure, everyone did their best to help her through the healing process. Longtime pal Alex was the first one to discover she'd regained her hearing, but Arizona gently applying makeup to Meredith so her bruising would be less noticeable was the most quietly touching moment of the episode. Her custody battle over Sofia drove Arizona for most of Season 12, but putting aside her demons to help Meredith was a real moment of growth.

Arizona is a force to be reckoned with. In her own words, she grew up with the name Arizona, so she learned to fight on the playground. She always pushed people to be their best, to try their hardest, and to take the largest risks. Remember her Africa program? Of course, this pushing went hand-in-hand with her stubbornness. She didn't want to hear no. In fact, she rarely did. Characters would have to get in her face and yell for her to listen, on more than one occasion. But Arizona's advocating for her friends and coworkers to be their best selves made all her frustrating refusal to budge worth it. Everyone learned something from her.

So much of Grey's Anatomy revolved around characters struggling to express feelings for one another. Miscommunication, poor timing, and existing relationships have ensnared just about every character at some point. While Arizona isn't excluded from this, she emerged as one of the most direct, unafraid, and wholly likable people. Sure, sometimes she would cry after being authoritative (or being bossed around). No one is infallible. But her faith in herself and the things she believed in just made people listen to her.

As seen in #12, Arizona's known ferocity made her hard to go up against. She's tough, but with a gooey center, considering she operated on children and infants all day long, and later, fetuses. Damn, Arizona. When she's first introduced to the series, the core cast has grown somewhat cynical. They're jocky and defeated and exhausted. Then, they meet Arizona, and her relentless optimism and joy she takes in healing "tiny humans" turns quite a few lives around.

No matter what happens, you can almost always dance it out.

Fans will miss Dr. Arizona Robbins, her wheelie shoes and her fearlessness and her authority problems and all. Wherever her character ends up, she'll keep pushing those she lives to grow and change and go after what's right for them — even if they don't want to hear it right away.