When she first started at Seattle Grace a few months back, it hadn't taken her long to make new aquaintances. She tried hard to keep it that way; she had never been shy around people, and she put a lot of effort into appearing friendly and open. She wanted people to like her. She had always been more open with men though, men seemed instantly drawn to her, and she liked it. She was more insecure with women. She craved the companionship of a woman, but she had not made any female acquaintances in Seattle yet. She liked making new acquaintances, but she preferred to live her private life outside the hospital.
She had met Sadie Harris in the locker room. The new intern stared openly at her coming from the shower, and Arizona blushed and quickly put on her clothes. Sadie apologized, and the two women had talked at least for half and hour when Arizona was paged away.
Arizona had come to like Sadie, but tried to make very clear from the beginning that she was not attracted to the blonde girl. She did, however, accept Sadie's invitation to become loosely acquainted, and now and then they went to the cafeteria together to grab a bite and chat. Sadie told her about Meredith Grey, her former closest friend and also short-time girlfriend, and Arizona gathered that it must be hard for Sadie to see Meredith with Cristina Yang and Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd years later.
Through Sadie, Arizona also learned more about Alex Karev. When Karev had been assigned Arizona's intern, she had gotten to know him a little better. She had not quite known what to make of him, though. He was a natural with the kids, but otherwise he seemed a little brusque and serious. She had seldom seen him smile or even laugh. She had then realized that it must be very hard for him to be around sick kids, as it takes getting used to. Arizona had been around sick children for so long now that she sometimes forgot that doctors not used to pediatrics probably did not have the coping strategies that she had been forced to develop over the years. She sympathized with every kid who died, and if she didn't force herself to concentrate on all the other patients, she would probably go insane. She realized that Alex Karev would have to learn that. It was a hard, but necessary, process.
Sadie also told her about Karev's girlfriend, Izzie Stevens. Izzie and Arizona shared the same past as a model, but Arizona was not keen on telling anyone at Seattle Grace, especially not Sadie. Arizona modelled for a while in highshool to earn the money for med school, but her parents soon put a stop to it, arguing that she didn't need to earn the money and especially not in such a self-revealing way. Arizona was glad she had been very careful not to take any compromising photos, which could endanger her future as a doctor. Apparently, Izzie Stevens had been modelling for sexy underwear, and Arizona was glad that she hadn't. She would have liked to see the photos though, she had to admit. Izzie Stevens was one of the prettiest girls she had ever seen, and she guessed that the pictures must have been stunning, especially if they had been a full two page ad. Alex must be a very lucky guy. If those two ever made it to marriage, they would have very cute babies.
Arizona had always wanted to be a surgeon. She had also always liked children and wanted to have a family of her own. Sent away to boarding school at age twelve, she did not see her parents very often. They had been too busy working and traveling from one surgical conference to the next. She then vowed that she would not do the same to her family. In med school, she had realized that her dreams of a family would probably not turn out the way she had always pictured them. She had fallen in love with her mentor. She hadn't been with the older woman for long, but long enough to realize that she wasn't cut out for the traditional "playing house" family. It was then that she decided that if she probably wasn't cut out to have children of her own, she would be going into pediatrics and become a top-notch pediatric surgeon.
Finally, Sadie told her about Callie Torres. Arizona had wondered for a moment if Sadie was interested in Callie, but she guessed not. Callie shared an easy friendship with Seattle Grace playboy Mark Sloan. Rumor had it that Callie had been involved not only with him, but also with her best friend Dr. Erica Hahn, former head of cardio. From what she heard, Dr. Hahn left Seattle Grace very suddenly and unexpectedly. Sadie mentioned that Callie had seemed heartbroken ever since, so she thought the rumors were probably true.
Mark Sloan, called McSteamy by most of the hospital - Arizona could easily understand why - was now having an affair with Meredith's half-sister Lexie, Sadie told her. That meant he wasn't involved with Callie anymore, Sadie guessed, and Arizona liked to think that Sloan was Callie's friend now. She thought that if the rumors about Callie and Hahn were true, Callie was likely in need of a good friend right now. She felt for the unknown doctor.
But then, in the hallway, on her way to a consult for Dr. Bailey, she saw Callie for the first time. Somehow, she instantly recognized the woman who stood next to Mark Sloan, whispering something in his ear and then giving him a wide smile. He's Callie's confidant, her McProtective, Arizona thought with a smile, and a flash of envy surged through her. She could not take her eyes off the black-haired doctor.
She had pictured Callie differently. She had thought her more conventionally pretty, more like Izzie, but she did not expect this vibrant, curvacious woman with chocolate-brown eyes. Arizona stared at her and tried to think, but her brain was completely empty. She slipped, momentarily forgetting her Heelys, and caught herself in the last moment, feeling a hand grab her right arm.
"You okay?" She looked into Owen Hunt's blue eyes, full of concern. She knew she should be respondig, but the words didn't come.
"Dr. Robbins?"
Forced back into reality, she pulled herself together and forced a broad smile. "Yeah…thanks."
Owen Hunt smiled back, relieved, and headed on. She hoped that no one had seen what had caused her slipping. It was not like her to go all swirly over a beautiful woman, but Arizona's heart fluttered like crazy. She had to admit to herself that Callie Torres had touched something in her and made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time. Suddenly, she burst with impatient, restless energy.
She tried to calm herself and focus on Bailey. Bailey had paged her and was probably waiting impatiently for her. She hoped it was not another longtime patient of Bailey's. The last time they worked together on a case, Bailey had been so worried that it was next to impossible to work with her. If she could get rid of that, Arizona thought, one day Bailey would make a very good pediatric surgeon. She highly respected the other doctor for her abilities and natural way with children, and she would readily welcome her on her team.
When Arizona got home that night, she was exhausted. Since she had taken over as head of pediatrics a few weeks back, she was always exhausted. She never seemed to get enough sleep, and to catch up on the paperwork seemed to be a Sisyphean challenge. But it was a happy kind of exhaustion. It had been a good day. She felt that she had achieved something, and she liked her new responsibilities.
She peeled off her coat, put down her keys and checked the answering machine. She decided to call her sister Georgia back right now; it had been a while since they last spoke. She missed Georgia terribly, but her sister lived in New York and had just given birth to twin girls. Georgia probably wanted to discuss the christening. Arizona was very proud to be godmother of little Amy. She grabbed the phone, took off her heart-shaped silver earrings, her graduation gift from her sister, put them carefully in a little heart-shaped box in the bedroom, and speed-dialled her sister's number.
When she lay in her bed two hours later, she finally allowed her thoughts to wander back to Callie Torres. Somehow she had managed to not think of the orthopedic surgeon for the rest of the day, but now the memory of Callie fully hit her. She wondered what Callie would look like without her scrubs. With her coloring and complexion, she would probably look stunning in bright colors or in black. Yes, she could picture Callie very well in a hot black dress. She wondered if Callie was ready for a new relationship, or if she was still grieving. What if she wasn't into women after all? She tried to remember what she had heard about Callie to make the picture complete. One thing was for sure, she did not seem to be the easy, superficial kind. She rather liked that. It would probably not be easy to get to know her. She smiled. She was looking forward to getting to know Callie Torres. Finally, she fell in a deep, dreamless sleep.
"Thank God it's Friday", Arizona smiled when she entered the locker room with her derm colleague Trish. The room was nearly empty. She took off her scrubs, took her towel and welcomed the cold shower.
"Dwayne asked if we wanna get a drink at Joe's with him", Trish called, but Arizona could barely understand her under the water.
Finished with her shower, she wrapped herself into the towel, when Trish followed her into the shower room. "What do you say?"
"Joe's? Yeah, sounds good."
Arizona took her time getting dressed. For almost two weeks now, she had been choosing her clothes more carefully, in the vague hope of maybe coming across Callie somewhere. Arizona was now wearing a very becoming grey v-neck shirt with a black jacket. She was proud of her figure and liked the way the plunging neckline accentuated her breasts. She brushed her wavy blonde hair until it was all shiny and put on some make-up, mascara and light pink lipstick. She felt very pretty today. A few hours at Joe's with her colleagues would be fun.
When Trish and Arizona arrived at Joe's, she saw Dwayne sitting at the square bar corner. "Hey ladies", he waved at them. He was wearing a brown pullover, Arizona noticed and almost cringed, not seeing that he was sitting practically two feet away from Callie Torres. It was only when she greeted Dwayne back that she noticed her. She sat down next to Dwayne, now almost facing Callie, who seemed completely engrossed in her thoughts. She was suddenly very aware of the other woman, and she caught herself feeling her heart start to speed. Calm down, Arizona Robbins, she scolded herself, trying to ignore the flutter in her heart. She needed a drink. Trish looked for the menu, and Arizona ordered a gin tonic. She took a sip and bit into the sour lemon, glad for the shock on her tongue. Nonetheless, she couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful woman. She was wearing her hair differently, Arizona noticed, the long black bangs sheltering her dark eyes from being seen.
Lexie Grey came in and sat down next to Callie, and Arizona had difficulty concentrating on her colleagues. Callie didn't look happy at all. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears, and Arizona's heart went out to her. She wondered what Lexie had said to make her so miserable. Only a few moments later, Callie abruptly left her bar stool, heading for the bathroom. What on earth did the girl say to her? She wished she could make Callie feel better, make her tears go away.
After a couple of minutes, she decided to follow Callie to the bathroom. She excused herself, almost amazed at her own boldness. What the hell was she doing? Suddenly, she felt very insecure. She paused for a moment in front of the bathroom door. She could hear her heart throbbing very loudly in her ears. She took a deep breath. When she finally entered the room, she saw Callie bent over the sink, looking in the mirror and wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. So she had been crying.
"Hey." Arizona said.
"Hey."
"Ortho, right?" she tried.
"Yeah. Right. Hi."
She forced a smile, not wanting to let show how nervous she was.
"I'm Arizona, Robbins. Peds surgery. I've seen you at the hospital." She saw Callie gasping.
"Are you ok?"
"You know I'm fine---fine." Callie finally turned around, and Arizona went on with a nervous smile.
"People talk. Where we work---talk, a lot. And for the sake of being honest I think that I should tell you---I know things about you." She gulped. "Because people talk."
For some reason she couldn't look Callie in the eyes, and she smiled again nervously.
"Oh." Callie's face fell. She took a deep breath, and looked at her with huge dark eyes. It was the first time Callie looked at her directly, and Arizona saw the sadness in her eyes. "You mean…"
Arizona nodded. She couldn't take her eyes off Callie's full lips, still quivering from being upset earlier.
"Terrific." Callie lowered her eyes.
"It is, actually", Arizona went on, deliberately ignoring the irony. Callie didn't seem to believe her. She leaned on the sink, arms crossed, now fully paying attention to Arizona.
Arizona tried to explain. She desperately wanted to make Callie feel better.
"The talk. People really like you over there. They respect you, and they're concerned, and interested, they really like you", she heard herself babble.
Arizona felt herself smile. She was still nervous, and her heart fluttered. She quickly went on.
"Some of them---", her voice was now almost only a whisper, "really like you."
She tried to smile again. Callie still looked upset, albeit calmer, when she nodded. Her face was still red from the tears.
"You just---you look upset. And I---and I thought that you should know, the talk is good."
Callie sighed, and Arizona went on. "And when you're not upset, when you're over being upset, there'll be people lining up for you." Her, definitely. Sadie, who knew? Maybe Mark Sloan, too.
She now looked into her eyes, making full eye contact with Callie.
Callie laughed in disbelief, and asked ironically. "You wanna give me some names…"
Arizona was now very aware of Callie's perfume. The scent was enticing, almost mind-numbingly so. She could almost smell her tears. She hesitated for a moment, and then leant over to the other woman, stroking her cheek with her hand, and kissed her very softly on the lips. Her lips tasted of salty tears and lipgloss. Finally, she broke away, feeling faintly dizzy. Oh God, she wanted more. More kissing, more of Callie.
She looked affectionately at Callie. "I think you'll know", she said slowly.
Arizona's heart was nearly bursting with happiness, and she gave Callie her broadest smile, revealing her dimples. Very slowly, almost hesitantly, Callie's expression changed from utter disbelief into an open smile. Her gaze still locked with Callie's, Arizona stepped back. She was positively beaming at Callie, feeling very pleased with herself. Then she turned and left the bathroom, still smiling.
Outside, Arizona leant against the wall. She couldn't stop smiling, and touched her lips with her right hand. Then she breathed deeply. She still felt her heart throbbing. Deliberately slowly, she went back to Dwayne and Trish, acting as if nothing had happened. She tried to smile noncommittedly at them, not sure she was capable of forming words just yet. Inside, she felt a radiating happiness, and wondered why the whole room looked much brighter all of a sudden.
When Callie came back from the bathroom, Arizona tried to sneak a look at her, but quickly looked away again, for fear of being too obvious. She forced herself to focus on Trish's story. A few moments later, Lexie and Callie stood up, and she watched them leave. Callie quickly turned back again, searchingly, and Arizona caught her look.
Oh yes, she was definitely, very much, looking forward to getting to know Callie Torres better.
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This is my very first attempt at story writing – please R&R. Thanks :-)
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