The brunette peeked through her heavy eyelids and looked at the clock beside her bed. 6:15. She reclosed her eyes, shot them open, muttered a 'shit!' and then quickly jumped out of her bed. She found a pair of jeans lying on the floor and, with her smell of approval, pulled them on. Fumbling through her drawers for a decent shirt, she did the same. Callie Torres had overslept once again.

Nevermind her teeth or hair. She grabbed a pair of flip-flops, her keys and wallet, and dashed out of her apartment and to her car. Callie zipped rudely and hurriedly through the streets of downtown Seattle, running only two red lights and cutting almost everyone off. When she reached Joe's Pub, she double-parked her green '89 Lebaron convertible out front, grabbed her guitar from the back and rushed inside.

She found her band mates in the back of the bar, setting up their equipment. She scurried over to them to help. "Hey guys. Sorry I'm late."

"Callie," a young guy said, looking at the bar clock and noticing the brunette's tired eyes. "I don't understand how you can oversleep for a seven o'clock p.m. show."

"I, uh, I had some things to do earlier in the day," She tried to skirt around it as the band members rolled their eyes. "I'm sorry, Alex." She smiled. "I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

He planted a rough kiss on her. "Sounds fair enough, babe. But please stop being late."

"Done."

"I mean it."

"Okay, okaaay! Geez."

Callie and Alex Karev had been dating for a year when the struggling couple had decided to take their stab at being musicians. The brunette was decent on the guitar but had a killer voice and Alex played the drums. They eventually enlisted two other guitarists to join the band. George played bass and Jackson played lead. That had been a year ago and the band hadn't gotten far in the world of music since. Dive bars and pubs were the extent of the venues they played. And at $200 a gig, the semi-cover band was far from making it.

After they were done setting up, the foursome took seats at the bar to enjoy a drink before their show. The blonde bartender, clad in dark blue jeans and a black tank top, who had been chatting with a few guests at the end noticed the new patrons and walked over. She placed napkins in front of each of them and smiled. "What can I get for you gentlemen," she looked at Callie. "and lady?"

"What do you have on tap?" Jackson asked.

The blonde flirted with a smile as she wiped her hands on the towel hanging out of her back pocket. "Whatever is behind me." She said, moving a little to the left so he could see.

"I'll take a #9."

"Ooh, Magic Hat. Nice taste." She scooted a little to the left. "And for you?"

"The same." George replied.

"Me too." Alex said.

The blonde shifted her eyes to the brunette. "And for you, miss?"

"Yea, I'll have whatever they're having." Callie said, paying the bartender no mind as she played with her phone.

"Alright then." The blonde said as she turned to the tap bar and began pouring their beer. A minute later, she rested their glasses on the napkins in front of them, finishing with Callie's. She smiled at the group. "I'm Arizona. Let me know if you guys need anything else." She finished with a wink and disappeared to the other end of the bar.

The foursome chatted over their drinks, finishing quickly to begin their set. As they situated on stage, the blonde bartender cleared their glasses and took a spot at the end of the bar to watch. Her co-tender joined her to catch the first song. Arizona nodded with her head at the group on stage. "Who's the band?" she asked, noticing the members who had just been sitting in front of her.

"Some group Joe found. Local, kinda okay. I heard they suck." He laughed.

"Derek, give them a chance. You never know."

The group opened with a watered-down version of Brown-Eyed Girl. Arizona squinched a bit as she listened to the music. "Oof, okay, you're right, Derek."

"They suck?"

"Well," she grabbed a bottle and took a sip of water. "She doesn't. She's actually really good." She said as she pointed to Callie, who was singing.

"You just think she's hot, Robbins."

"Maybe a little," she laughed. "Whatever, Derek. Come on, help me with these," she said, patting a rack of glasses that needed to go to the kitchen. The blonde stole another glance of Callie before she joined him, humming along the way.

The next time the blonde bartender saw Callie, it was about two months later and under the same circumstances. Joe had needed live music to book at the last minute and they were the only band available. In between the two gigs, the band had played small shows here and there to make a few bucks, but they hadn't found their muse, their chemistry, or their way. And it definitely showed in their sets that night. Co-workers Arizona and Derek looked on with polite faces during the show, bobbing their heads with the music as they tended bar.

After the last set, Callie and her bandmates grabbed seats at the bar. Arizona flashed her dimpled smile to them. "Heya guys. Nice to see you again." She said, looking between the foursome as she placed napkins down on the hickory countertop. "What are we having tonight?"

Callie looked to the blonde and replied sarcastically. "How 'bout a round of rhythm, for these two," she said pointing between George and Jackson. "and a shot of originality for this one." she pointed at Alex before slumping down in her stool. She sat back up and looked up at the bartender. "I'll have whatever their having, I guess."

Alex looked at Arizona with an irritated face. "She'll have a beer. We'll all have a beer." Arizona lifted her eyebrows without a smile and turned around to the taps. She saw Alex grab Callie's arm in the corner of her eye. "Don't talk to us like that in front of people, Torres. You make me look like an idiot."

"Well, sometimes you are an idiot, Alex."

Arizona poured the beers slowly as she continued to eavesdrop. "You know what? Nothing is ever good enough for you, Callie. It's always 'we suck' this and 'let's do this instead' that."

"Alex, we do suck!" Callie retorted. "We make nothing, we write nothing. The only reason we got this gig was because everyone else was booked. I'm tired of this. If we aren't good, which we aren't, we need to do something else. We're broke and-"

Alex leaned into Callie, still gripping her arm. "You aren't homeless because of me. What few things you have, are because of me." The brunette stared off into space and nodded. "I know, Alex. And I'm grateful for that. But-"

Callie was cut off by Alex. "But noth-"

Arizona re-interrupted him as she turned around to deliver drinks. "But we're gonna all have a good time tonight." She sat pints of beer down in front of the guys. She turned around and grabbed Callie's drink and set it in front of the brunette.

The Latina noticed the glass in front of her as the bartender smiled. "You look like you are a wine kind of gal. And that's on me." Arizona winked at the brunette before turning to the guys, Alex in particular. "No arguing at my bar, lovies. Only smiles and good times. Sound good?" They nodded.

Before Arizona walked away, Callie smiled and muttered. "Thanks."

They enjoyed two more rounds of drinks, in silence, before excusing themselves from the bar. They packed up their equipment and left the building at just past one a.m. Outside, Callie stuffed her guitar into the back seat of her car. She closed the door and walked over to the Alex, who was helping George and Jackson load the last of the amps into George's van. "Hey," she said looking at her boyfriend. "So, I'll see you at home?"

"No, Callie, you won't."

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows with confusion. "Wha- what do you mean?"

Alex wasn't angry, but he wasn't being nice either. "Callie, I dig you - you know that. But I want to play music. Maybe we suck, but I want to do this and this is my life too. It's not just yours."

"Alex,"

"Callie, you want to go do better things? Then go. I'm not stopping you and I sure as hell am not going to be with you if you're not in this 100% with us."

"Us, meaning the band?"

"Something like that."

"So what, you were only with me because of the band? Because I can sing halfway decent?"\

"Well, that. And you're fun in bed." He gave her his best asshole smirk to date.

Callie could not believe what she was hearing. "Fuck you, Alex." She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe that after all of this time together, all you care about is this silly little band we have that is going nowhere. And you obviously care about it more than you ever cared about me."

Jackson stepped in. "Hey guys, stop it." he said, used to Alex and Callie's fights.

George chimed in as well. "Yeah, let's just go back to my place and smoke a bowl. It'll be fun!" He tried to brighten the situation. Alex looked at them and then back to the Latina. "No, not this time guys. I'm done, Callie. You go on and do what you want. Do whatever, I don't care." He walked away, got into the passenger's side of the van and shut the door.

The brunette walked up to the window and stood, looking for an answer. He rolled it down. "What?"

"So that's it?" she asked.

"Yes Callie, that's it. Come get your stuff tomorrow. I'll be out."

Seeing in his eyes that he cared so little, Callie let a few tears creep out of her eyelids. She looked a George and Jackson, who both offered her a silent, sympathetic glare. Callie backed up from Alex's side of the van as it pulled off, letting her tears fall freely as she took a seat on the street curb.

Fifteen minutes later, she picked herself up and walked to her car. Leaning on the back of her Lebaron, she pulled her phone from her pocket and texted the only person she trusted.

Addi, in a rough spot. Can I crash with you tonight?

Two minutes later, she receives an affirmative reply. She climbed into her car, wiped a few fresh tears from her eyes, and turned the key. Nothing. She patted her dashboard. "Oh, no no no. Come on, baby." she said, sweet-talking her beater. Callie turned her keys a few more times before giving up. She pushed herself back into her seat forcefully, looked up into the sky, and pleaded. "Really?"

Frustrated, she opened her glove box and pulled an emergency pack of smokes from it. The Latina got out of her car and sat down against the outside wall of Joe's Pub. She lit a cigarette and inhaled it sharply as she shook her head. "Fuck me," she muttered to herself as her mind began to wander.

A few minutes later, her thoughts were interrupted by the door next to her opening. Derek and Arizona walked out. The blonde noticed Callie sitting on the sidewalk and motioned to her friend to go on without her before she walked up to the brunette. "You okay?" she asked hesitantly.
Callie nodded without looking at the girl standing above her.

Arizona looked around. "Are you here alone?" The brunette nodded again, fresh tears falling from her eyes.

The blonde knelt down to Callie and wiped her tears. "Hey, whatever it is, it'll be alright."

Callie nodded without looking at Arizona. "Perhaps."

"Do you need anything?"

The Latina, for the first time, looked the blonde in the eyes and noticed her kindness. "My car won't start. Maybe a ride to my friend's house - if it's not too much trouble?"

Arizona stood up and extended her hand to pull Callie up. "Sure thing."

The two girls got into Arizona's Jetta. After buckling up, the blonde turned to Callie with a smile. "Okay, where to?"

"Everette, just outside of the city. Highway is the fastest."

Arizona nodded and put her car in drive. "Alright, to Everette we go."

Twenty five minutes and some small-talk later, the girls pulled up to Addison's house. Callie freed her seatbelt from the latch before turning to Arizona. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate this."

The blonde flashed a small smile. "It's no problem at all, really."

Callie got out or the car and started to walk away. Before she was too far, she heard Arizona call her name. The brunette turned around and walked back to the car. "Calliope, if you ever need anything," She handed Callie a piece of paper with her number on it. "just call me - or come by the bar."

The brunette took the paper and question filled her eyes. "Wait, how do you know my name like that?"

Arizona smiled. "I asked around."

Callie stuffed the paper into her back pocket as she watched the blonde pull off into the night. Turning, she walked towards Addison's house, happy that in the mess of a night she had had - it seemed she had made a new friend.