Disclaimer: This is AU. I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy, this is purely imaginative writing most of the contents might not be true or match with how things work in reality bear with me this is just an imaginative work.
A|N: These updates might be a little slow because I want to get the proper way things happen with this kind of stalkers and how they react to different situations.
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Callie had her eyes closed as she sat at a diner table continuously running her fingers over her throbbing temple hoping to wipe some pain off her mind by slowly swaying in her sit, trying to tune out the crowd banter and movements. Callie hasn't exactly been described as a subtle person in so many words; she was smart, sensitive and an extrovert she had a great group of friends and she had a job that made her happy well at least 70% of the time but who was she to complain—the patients came first which wasn't a problem for her but in turn laid a long line of headstones for her past relationships,
"I'm sorry I'm late, Bailey is really serious about the cupcakes" Addison Montgomery; her long awaited company finally made an appearance looking a tad disheveled like she ran the entire block down to the diner; with all her frantic breaths Callie still hadn't opened her eyes or conceded of her presence which the redhead was all but used to, she waved the waiter over and just kept her eyes on the person opposite her table. "We'll have the usual but she'll have a tall glass of water, one cube of ice with a hint of lime" her eyes were roaming the entire diner like she was looking for someone. "You're slowly becoming one of the freaks we treat"
"Oh shush—the headaches won't leave, where is Teddy she should be here for this is" Addison shrugged and kept tapping buttons on her phone, "We could get the cakes from here"
"Oh no—no they say its chocolate frosting but it's always a mystery with them here it all tastes like urinal cake in the end" she shrieked and twitched like the cake was in her mouth
"We can have Izzie bake the cake for it, she does that for a living anyway" I added
"Yes that's brilliant—crisis averted now Bailey won't have to kill us for being the most irresponsible adults she has ever met" Addison said spitting her food back into her plate, "I think something died in this salad"
"You spat it back in….you're just…ask for the check and let's go before you do anything that'll make me leave you here" I said staring at her with a grossed out expression, Addison never minded the public she just acted
"Hi—can I still interest you in the cake samples you asked for?" the blonde roughly 5"6 waitress asked with a smile
"Uhhm—my niece isn't celebrating her birthday anymore so she won't be needing the…." Addison interrupted scornfully still angry about her mystery soggy salad
"NO—NO we do not want your silly cakes she's too polite to tell you" Addison stood up and made her way towards the door like she did nothing wrong
"I apologize for her she is having a really bad day, fuzzy children can really cause….err thank you for the…" cleared my throat as I started at the untouched food and the half eaten but spat out food on the table; even the refreshments were unscathed, I nodded and stood up and walked out of the run down diner where Addison was hailing a cab for us back to the office.
Addison and I have been friends ever since her divorce and my humiliating split with an adulterous partner and we decided it was best to put our broken hearts to work and our PhDs to a test by opening out own private practice for patients and we started off a little rough but after 6years of hard work and determination we were the go-to therapeutic practice in Seattle; we had doctors like Teddy Altman, Miranda Bailey, Meredith Grey on the psychoanalysis and the practice has been soaring above everything. And they were the greatest group of friends anyone would ever ask for in the professional world and then I had my family; Mark Sloan head of plastics in one of Washington's finest hospitals Seattle Grace Mercy West hospital and he was extremely good at his job, life seemed like it had its feet firmly rooted to the ground.
Rainy mornings in Seattle were one of the things Callie considered as nature's luxury torture on her path; she loved the city but the damp and wet days made her want Miami's sunny weather even more.
"Morning" walking into the beautiful lobby of the practice she's worked in for a good long while, dripping of mother nature's tears, Callie mumbling curses in Spanish at everything from her ruined hair to her wet suede pumps, she just smiles back at the doorman and was up the elevator and up to her floor where was sure she was going to be ushered with a overly perky redhead with the annoying voice,
"Morning" she wasn't wrong there she was April Kepner; she cried over everything even when the toilet paper in the lady's restroom is out, but not to be fooled she was anything but professional, "Oh dear! You're wet"
"Oh really –what gave it away Kepner? The fact that I'm dripping or the fact that it's raining out there" Callie bit back and watched the smile drain from the redhead which made her day just a little, "When is my first patient set to come in"
"10:00am, but it's Frank so he should be here 10:30" back behind her desk making notes and handing me my schedule for the day "Teddy called to schedule lunch and the doctor called about your appointment about the…." Callie didn't give her a chance to finish before she walked off to the ladies room to right her appearance. After drying the best of her appearance to look suited for her patient she walked back to April's table
"Did you prepare the room for him? His OCD had gotten worse from the last time so this time put 9 pillows on the couch; 5 on the right and 4 on the left and please no more ocean waves" she nodded and moved from her desk to prepare the room we converse with patients. Meanwhile my tired brain lets out a yawn signifying yet again that I was at work a little too early
"Tell me that wasn't a yawn I just saw" startled by the smaller woman whose voice always seems to carry no emotion or it just sounds that way before my morning coffee, "You're going to yawn on your patients today?" she said as she waddled past me which made me chuckled
"Oh cut me some slack I was up all night decorating the hall for the stupid baby shower" I replied still giggling at her very pregnant belly, "Meredith is taking most of your patients you should be on bed rest"
"I'm just here to make sure you idiots haven't completely burnt down the practice, I feel safer watching you myself" she said making her way to her office
"Callie!" April called out from the end of the hall "Frank is in the lobby he's coming up" that was time to actually get to work, I made my way to my office but turned just in time to watch Bailey waddle into her office
"Go home Bailey—and you are waddling" all I got in return was an eye roll and a hiss; Bailey was back she had been on bed rest for a couple weeks and she was dearly missed, no one to boss anybody around and make us sweat for inappropriate shenanigans at the office; like Teddy and her tumor patient going at it like bunnies in her office. Bailey was the rock of the practice she was there to keep the rest of us in line.
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Breathing in the sweet Seattle air which she hadn't done in over 2 years Arizona stepped out of the airport to an awaiting car; she had been holed up in another continent for roughly 2 years (1 year and 7months) for precision's sake; she set the face of Pediatrics years ahead of its pace with the little work she did in Africa, she was perky and had the right attitude for the line of job she was in but don't be dismayed she was a smorgasbord of raw talent and hard work, the blonde, blue eyed beauty walked with her suitcase in hand to the awaiting vehicle ready to take her home.
"Arizona Robbins back on civilian soil, welcome back buddy" said the rough looking man with a stubble and unkempt hair, blue hoodie on black jeans; he never stressed with his appearance
"Feels really good to be back, hope you haven't completely destroyed my program" she asked as she slid into the car after appreciating the damp Seattle air
"Me? I'm the only thing keeping that program afloat, that man Barnett is one man wrecking ball" he said while shaking his head "so I did all you asked; got you things out of storage, got rid of your subletter, now all that's left is your work clearance and you're officially back" he said with a smile as he fired up the engine
"That's all then I'm back…oh how I missed Seattle –so what is new in the rumor mill" she paused for a second and realized how long it has been since she actually said anything like that, "it's been a while since I said that"
"Well they hired a new plastics guy; huge douche bag he will hit on anything and everything with tits" Alex retorted as he slowed down at a traffic light
"Wow—happy to be back already" staring out of the car window into the city and it really felt good for Arizona to be back home, she had missed a lot of things for the sake of her career but now that she was finally home she was set to get all things in place
"And the new interns aren't the sharpest, no that's downplaying they are actually dumber than cork" Alex said spitefully
"I need a steaming hot shower; I haven't had that in forever…" Arizona said relaxing into the car seat while looking out the window
"No hot showers in Africa?" eyes on her like she was a wonder of the world
"No just really cold ones and please keep your eyes on the road I'm not ready to die on my first day back to civilization…can we please stop for caffeine?"
"All the caffeine you can have—so when is the first wave of patients arriving" Alex asked
"Next week, they were meant to arrive this week but I need some time to settle back in before I can completely dive back into this Africa thing" Alex nodded "stop by the hospital I might not be seeing HR today but I need to sort this out with Webber"
"I missed you—you know that?" he said with a sincere smile
"Missed you too buddy"
After the long drive and the detour to get caffeine Arizona was set for her first business since her arrival, making sure her job as head of Pediatrics was still very much secure and that her incoming African patients in need of medical attention were going to be well cared for, she stepped out of the car into the hospital and every sight was set on her and old colleagues giving her hugs, everyone telling her how much she was missed; she made her walk to Webber's office like she had just been gone for a couple days she knocked on the older man's door
"Come in"... he glanced up at the new company in his office and his eyes nearly popped out of his skull "Robbins! Welcome back we weren't expecting you for another 5 months" he said gesturing her over to the sit opposite him
"I decided to come back with the kids in need of medical attention here, I figured an extra hand wouldn't hurt" she stared at Webber hoping she won't have to spell it out to him that she was waiting for his official stamp that her job was still there for her to take, "I was going to see HR later"
"Look Robbins you're going to have to work under Barnett for a while" he said with an apologetic expression as he sunk back into his chair
"You said that my job was waiting for me" she bit back a little disappointed
"If you had come back in 5months Robbins; you can use that lax schedule to ease back into the society and in 5months Barnett's contract will expire and you're boss again" he replied
"Ease back into the society? I wasn't in jail or a mental house Richard I was in Africa doing a job that has made a difference in face of medicine" she replied still dissatisfied with the reply she got from Richard
"Robbins I'm sorry but that's how it's going to be—plus you are going to need help with this Africa thing you have on your hands think of Barnett as an extra pair….just 5 months Robbins" he assured her that her job would be a 100% secure in 5months and she marched up to HR after hours of orientation and lectures on kid's safety which was all but routine even though she hissed all through the entire talk. She was officially back in Seattle and all that was left was getting her apartment back in shape and getting her license renewed her accounts functioning again like Richard said 'ease back into the society'
She walked over to the coffee cart after long hours of listening to her own rules being echoed back to her word for word, she needed more caffeine for the fatigue and jetlag that was threatening to throw her off balance, she wasn't exactly staring at where she was going when she collided into a certain brunette
"Ow Ow Ow ..." Callie exclaimed as she held her shirt away from her body as the hot liquid made its way down her bra to the lower regions of her torso "I think my skin is melting off"
"I'm so sorry—I wasn't looking I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry" she held out a napkin to wipe the stranger's shirt but that would seem inappropriate considering where the hot liquid stain was on
"Ahh damn it! A ruined shirt and a soggy dressing, and that burns by the way" she said while still holding her shirt that now had a huge brown stain on the front and a sticky feeling on the skin
"Dressing?" Arizona asked a little bemused while she watched the woman contort her face from obvious discomfort the hot liquid she spilled on her was causing
"There's a dressing under this shirt and its wet" she said pulling the sticky material further away from a side of her torso
"Oh I'm so sorry—let me help with that" Arizona replied dropping the now empty paper cup in the bin beside the cart and stared at the confused brunette, "I'm a doctor I can take a look at the dressing"
"Yeah I think I'm going to need that" the brunette replied, Arizona led the way into an exam room, where the brunette had to take off her shirt for her to examine and redress the wound, "So you do this often?" the brunette asked to lighten the mood; a total stranger poking her wound wasn't at all weird
"Excuse me?" Arizona replied while mopping the brown liquid from the stranger's exposed flesh, after then applying gel on the incision site, for the redness the heat from the caffeine had caused
"Pour hot coffee on a total stranger so you can look up their shirt?" she said with a choked voice, not liking the coldness the gel was causing, Arizona chuckled at the brunette
"Yes—I planned to pour that on you that I really can't deny" they both chuckled as Arizona applied a fresh new bandage back on the wound, "so what does a person have to do to get a gash like this?"
"Just be a badass" the brunette said mockingly as Arizona snapped the surgical gloves off and stared at the topless brunette a little longer than proper but with the exposed tanned flesh who wouldn't want to stare, she cleared her throat at the blonde and flashed her a knowing smile
"I could…get you a scrub top" she said while leaving the exam room, after a couple minutes of staring around the empty room filled with medical supplies and x-rays, the brunette leaped off the exam table and walked around the room when the blonde came back in with an even more slack jawed expression, "you can wear that"
"Thanks…Dr.?"
"Dr. Arizona Robbins" the blonde replied taking tanned hands for a handshake
"Dr. Callie Torres" they shook hands
"Oh you're a doctor here too? The blonde asked
"Oh no I'm not a doctor here or a surgical doctor…but I'm a doctor" her rant was cut short when she noticed the confused look on the blonde's face, "I'm a therapist"
"Oh the weirdoes with a PhD—I didn't mean for that to come out like that" Callie chuckled loud
"Oh so that's what they call us? Wow! That has a nice ring to it" they both chuckled as Callie grabbed her soiled shirt and purse and made it to the door, "thank you for the re-dressing" Arizona gave a nod and a dimpled smile, after Callie walked out the door she couldn't help but giggle to herself at their cute banter and she made her way out of the hospital for a much needed shower and sleep. Callie on the other hand made her way to the plastics floor to see Mark.
"You got a job here without telling me?" Mark joked at the deep blue scrubs I was clad in
"Some cute blonde ruined my outfit and this is all I was left with; either this or the hospital gowns that view your butt crack"
"That sucks, have you taken your medications today?, How is your incision site?" he asked a little detached so as not to convey emotions which was all he could do seeing as pity only triggered the need to remember being run through in the stomach with a knife by a patient on a psychotic break, Mark had tried to show he cared and help get her through that happened but Doctors do make the worst patients it would be a real irony if she was the one who needed someone to talk to after such ordeal. She had sessions with Bailey and group talks to help with the aftermath paranoia; the fear of being alone in her condo scared her to bits but the moment she started showing weakness and decided to get help she would be less of the aid and become the patient, and her patients wouldn't feel too comfortable talking to a basket case, it's not the idea of sharing her problems with Mark that boggled her it was the realization that once it's said out loud it became a real thing and if she kept it in she could feign some delusional excuse about it being a figment of her mind. Getting home and pulling all the locks shut and drapes were drawn, all the lights in the house stayed on and lamps; paranoia and fear running up a personal tab on her electricity bills but she didn't seem to mind as long as it brought her the desired comfort. Reading glasses, hair tied up in a messy bun, good book and loose clothing was the typical day for this Latina after the nightmare which she has allowed ever since her last relationship crashed in a very outsized flame. The relationship that almost led to the alter but was brought to a standstill after the other party said she was no longer interested, she couldn't even stay interested long enough to keep it in her pants
"Yes I have taken them and I'm fine, seeing the counseling group at noon" and the conversation about that doesn't go any further they have the conversations all the time but just to a point where emotion doesn't drag on into the situation to trigger repressed feelings about the psychotic break.
"Alright good, you're babysitting Hanna tonight?" he asked taking off his scrub cap off
"Yes—Addison has a packed day so I'm taking her for the night, thinking I should drop her off with Izzie for the night; she's responsible I mean she has 2 kids" Callie replied shifting uncomfortably in the itchy scrub top "I got slammed with some of Bailey's patients so it's a little hectic today, would you mind taking her?"
"Oh no I can't babysit tonight there's this new doctor on staff apparently she used to work here but took some time out she's hot" he said with a perverted look in his eyes and a fox whistle
"You're ditching Hanna for a hot chic?" Callie sighed and shook her head "That's really nice Mark—really nice"
"Well what can I…." his pager went off "911 to the ER—see you tonight" he was running down the hallway before I could make my pleading statement, babysitting Addison's kid was an interesting thing to do; she was a really bright young girl who would grow up to break all the hearts but she came with a long list of allergies and words, she had it all to say and she wasn't going to take a breath in between the words. Addison adopted her when she was a year and 10months; she is like a daughter to Callie seeing as she was always babysitting whenever Addison had things to get done which seemed like every time.
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It had been a week that Arizona had been officially back in Seattle, back at her job and everything started to return to normal; she still had some work tied to the work she did in Africa but they weren't as tedious as when she was actually in another continent doing the work head on, now she had extra hands, more medical supplies and some good and lovely rain to make everything better.
"I hate people that say Seattle weather sucks, those people suck" sitting on a stretched out chair on her lawn while Alex moved her boxes around, she really did miss the damp air and the rain; 1 year and 7 months of sun and occasional rain just wasn't as good as Seattle
"It's your house—you know? I'm the one moving all the freaking boxes while you camp out there like Indiana Jones" Alex replied her random statement
"Oh—quit moping there are just a couple boxes; they aren't even heavy" Arizona replied still stretched out on the chair under the cool breeze
"Then start lifting Arizona"
"Don't be lazy…I have been cooped up in Africa doing major work for 2 years and I'm back and you can't even help me move? I'm at a…." her attempt to put Alex on a place for a trip to guilt city was interrupted by a little buzzing device she was glad to be away from for 2 year, "Alex we got to go their plane just landed at the airport, they will have lunch and they will be at the hospital in a couple hours" she got up and changed out of her home clothes and off to the hospital.
Callie hadn't smelled a free schedule ever since she took up most of Bailey's patients and added her atrocious workload to her own, Bailey was an all professional woman; she wanted to help everyone and everything a little too fast, she was sensitive behind closed door but when the patients exit the building she was the Nazi, she wasn't the type of woman to wear her private life on her sleeve which was why it came as a shock when she started showing symptoms of pregnancy.
"Kepner –quick question; who is this Clay Keegan man you added to Bailey's schedule yesterday?" I asked staring at my once vacant 2 hour slot on my schedule that was now filled with a patient appointment
"That's a long time patient Bailey used to see him pro-bono, he stopped coming in for a long time so when he called in I just thought it was the right thing to do" April replied
"How long exactly did he stop coming in for?" I asked, the redhead started tapping her keyboard to pull up his file
"1 year, 7months, 1 week and a couple hours" she said feeling proud of her reply which was reflected back to her with sheer disinterest, "sorry got carried away—just talk to Bailey; he's her patient anyway"
"Whatever it is he was doing in the interim seemed like a really good thing so why is he back? Oh no—bitchy Bailey is in that phase of her pregnancy where the hormones do the talking" I wiped the stress off my forehead, "where's Addison?"
"I don't know she just ran out, guesses are; her bipolar patient finally decided to drown her alter ego" she busted into a fits of laughter and squeezed some words in between laughs "Get it? Drown herself cause she is her own…..never mind" her laughter was cut off when my indifferent expression to her joke became obvious, she cleared her throat, "so yeah—talk to Bailey"
I kicked that idea around in my head a couple times and walked past her office twice and the turned away but it was for the patient and I had to have a conversation with moody Bailey then so be it.
"Bailey?—can I come in?" I asked gently peeking into the smaller woman's office; she peered up from her magazine and gestured for me to come in, "I need to talk to you about Clay Keegan"
"I haven't heard that name in years" she looked up and looked back down to her magazine
"What's his deal? He made an appointment for today" she sighed obviously bothered by my presence in her office
"He's been married for 5years and he claims his wife is a cheater; that she's a no good, gold digging, sniveling, vapid…."
"Ooookay Bailey we get the point—why 'claiming'?"
"I have never met her, I asked one time that they should both come in for a group therapy but he was adamant on NO, sometimes I feel she doesn't exist but then he describes her and no man can make up something that vivid"
"Why does he think she is cheating anyway? Did he state any form of proof?"
"She's in a different social group; he's a 2 and she's apparently a 10" she said hoping her little coded message was fully etched in my brain
"Okay Bailey I get that the hormones can be a little…." She interrupted
"Oh shush it—according to the grapevine he is the nerd and she's like the ones from the magazines; you know? Like those silly mushy movies you kids watch these days"
"So there is a possibility she isn't cheating, he is just insecure about the whole thing—but then why did he stop coming in?"
"You're going to have to ask him that Torres!"
"I hate cases like this that borders on adultery or something like that maybe I will pass this on to Grey"
"Oh no… you aren't going to—Grey has enough on her plate already this is all yours" she scoffed
"This case hits a little too close to home Bailey remember that the same thing happened to me no…." she interrupted yet again
"This thing you're doing? Talking about your feelings and personal life? I don't care—either get me cookies and chocolate milk or get out"
"When that little boy pops out of that very tiny hole in your body Bailey—he will be the one to suffer for this" I got up and reached for the door "Go Home Bailey!" I said over my shoulder
After hours of waiting for the mystery patient and nothing Callie vacated her office to one of the rooms they see patients in and laid down on an empty sofa, out on some oceans waves and decided to catch up on that snooze her insane work schedule hasn't allowed her, blinds drawn, wave sounds for a cool mental calmness and the dimmed light for the perfect atmosphere.
"Errm—Callie hate to disturb whatever this is but he is here" she gestured to all of me laying on the couch "you sometime to right yourself?"
I grumbled to myself for a couple minutes and wiped the sleep off my eyes, "bring him in"
Resumed a position of preeminence on the other couch, I looked to the clock on the walk hands hardly moving at all; it was like the day wanted to remain bright for eternity tormenting my thought threads, he walked in; a man with brown hair that was short and well trimmed, ranging from 5"9 to 5"11, he wasn't thin or muscular either he had the average man's physique, he had hollow eyes like he had been through a world of stress, his eyes were green but dull he didn't have that sparkle people usually have, he had signs of depression on his features, his beard was well shaved; he looked like a man in his mid 30s, he had a red sweater over a white shirt and khaki trousers, he had a scar above his left eye, he was shy and a little quiet; his horn-rimmed glasses made his whole image seem so innocent and the first thought in my head was why would anyone want to cheat on this guy?