Chapter 1

Arizona was perched at her desk in a swivel chair, rereading one of her brother's most recent letters from Afghanistan. He hadn't written in close to a month and she was starting to assume the worst. There was always a possibility that he could just be travelling with his platoon to a new location. This was usually the case, but there was also a chance that two men dressed in their Army greens would come rapping on her door at any moment. To dismiss the scary thoughts, she read the last few sentences of his letter once more,

"The next time I come home, I'll be bringing a friend. I'd love for you to meet someone who's been my "Arizona" while I'm out here. I love you, sis. I'll stay safe.

Love, Tim."

Tim had mentioned this friend a few times before in previous letters. He seems like a really awesome guy by the stories she's read. 'Cal,'her brother calls him. She couldn't wait to meet him and she really couldn't wait to wrap her arm's around her baby brother again.

—-

Arizona's eyes jolted open at the sudden ear-piercing noise that came from her least favorite possession, her pager. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she was definitely sure it was the middle of the night. Instinctively, she rolled out of bed and practically crawled to her dresser, squinting to read the digits that were displayed on the screen. Of course it was a 911, what else would she need a consult for at three-thirty in the morning?

The blonde huffed and slithered herself into the freshest set of scrubs she could manage before scaled the steps of her apartment building and sprinting towards the ER entrance. Living across the street from the hospital worked to her advantage sometimes, but definitely not when it was interrupting her precious night's sleep.

When the door slid open and her eyes focused, she was one hundred percent sure she was still home in her bed dreaming. She really needed to stop reading her brother's letters before bed because there he was, dressed in his camouflage uniform with a shiny gold badge that was engraved with their last name, "Robbins," above his right breast pocket.

Arizona bit the inside of her cheek, trying to wake herself up, but it wasn't happening. It wasn't until she felt strong arms embrace her that all of the emotions of her favorite person's homecoming came full force. This wasn't a dream. This was definitely real life. Arizona clung to her brother as if he might be taken away from her at any moment. She refused to let go for what seemed like hours.

"Tim," she managed to mumble out between sobs of joy. Her heart wouldn't stop fluttering in her chest and she could feel her brother's doing the same beneath his greens.

"I'm here, Zona. I told you I'd be back for you," Tim whispered in her ear.

Arizona had forgotten all about how tired she was or the fact that she was sobbing in the middle of the ER. Nothing mattered to her but the fact that her brother was finally through with his mission.

—-

The chief had given Arizona the following day off, allowing her to spend some time with her little brother. The blonde woman woke up the next morning to a noise she never thought she'd miss. The sounds of Tim's obnoxious snores echoed through the entire apartment.

She shuffled from beneath the sheets of her mattress and poked her head out of her bedroom door. There, in the living room, she saw Tim spread out across the couch bed in nothing but a pair of Captain America boxer briefs. She smiled at the sight; at how comfortable he seemed. She silently agreed with herself that anywhere but war was a comfortable place for her brother.

The blonde slipped back into her bedroom and took a quick shower in the master bathroom, wanting to head to the grocery store to stock up on all of Tim's favorite things before he woke up. He'd flown in late last night and rushed straight to the hospital, thinking that his sister would be working the night shift. When he found Dr. Hunt and he explained the situation, Owen was quick to page Arizona right in.

Arizona slipped into a comfortable sweatshirt and a pair of leggings after blow-drying her hair and running her fingers through it a few times for good measure. She knew she'd be in and out at the store, so she wasn't dressing to impress anybody. She grabbed her keys and her purse before stepping through the mohagony portal and heading towards the car.

—-

Arizona had began rushing through the isles towards the end of her trip, her stomach beginning to growl with hunger pains and her bloodstream eager for some caffeine. After grabbing a box of Trix cereal, her brother's favorite, she turned a sharp corner, only to collide with a large display of paper towels, which immediately toppled over onto her.

Arizona fell to the ground in defeat after trying to keep herself from doing so. She mumbled a few curse words under her breath before trying to calm herself by closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

"Woah, clean up on isle five," a strange voice chimmed in from behind her.

Arizona poked her head over her shoulder to find a tall, Latina woman smile a white, toothy smile at her. Of course the blonde would make a fool of herself with beautifully attractive women around.

The Latina extended a tan hand to the blonde and tried lifting her to her feet, failing multiple times, as the blonde just couldn't make footing with all of those puffy paper towel rolls surrounding her. Arizona noticed the coffee in the stranger's hand was spilling all down her arm, the lady wincing in pain.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Arizona apologized when her feet were on finally on solid ground again.

"It's alright," the woman said, shaking her arm, which had become red from the burn.

"Can I take a look at it? I'm a doctor and…" Arizona offered, but was quickly shot down.

"No, it's okay," the stranger reassured her with a smile and ripped open one of the rolls Arizona had knocked over. She tore away one of the towels and wiped up the mess that was made on her burning flesh, "I'm Callie."

This moment was the first time Arizona could truly admire this woman's majestic beauty. The jeans she wore clung to her curvy hips so perfectly that it was almost as if they were made for her. Her blouse hung low in the front, teasing the blonde with a peak of cleavage. Callie's smile as the icing on the cake. It was infectious. It was almost addicting. "Nice to meet you, Callie," Arizona said, becoming so distracted by the chocolate brown eyes that peered into her blue ones that she forgot to introduce herself. Their hands were still touching, shooting electricity down the vertebrae of the blonde's spine. The instant connection was unlike anything Arizona had ever experienced.

Before Callie could ask the breath-takingly gorgeous woman for a name, they were bombarded by a group of teenaged workers who were ordered by a manager to clean up the mess they made. The two women stood hopeless for a moment as caution signs pushed their connection apart. The ladies shared sympathetic smiles before turning their backs to one another. Arizona quickly check out, embarrassed and flustered. As much as she wished she could have spoken to Callie longer, she hoped she'd never have to face her again after embarrassing herself like that.

—-

When Arizona arrived back at her apartment, she noticed that her parking spot was already taken by a midnight blue BMW. The blonde cursed under her breath and pulled into a spot much further than desirable, before grabbing all of the bags and lugging them up the steps. When she finally made it through the door of her apartment, she dropped the bags, "Some jackass was parked in my…" she stopped in her tracks when she noticed that there was a second person in her home, but this person wasn't a stranger. No. The woman who stood in her living room was just the person she begged a higher power that she'd never have to see her again. Callie.