Dr. Arizona Robbins walked down to the entrance hall of Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. Her shift was about to start and she already lacked caffeine. She was working on a pediatric paper for a new project she would like to proceed with and the deadline was coming awfully close. When she wasn't working her shifts, she was at her desk writing. Her work schedule alone she could handle but right now she had to buckle up and get through the next days of both work and paper.

Dr. Calliope Torres put her lab coat in her locker. She just wanted to grab something to eat while it was quiet in the orthopedic unit. She already had hours of working behind her and was starving. As a surgeon you learn to salvage each moment of peace and quiet you get. Besides that she really craved for a coffee. Handling the pre-boards phase every fifth year resident had to go through and working at the hospital paid its price. She almost never got a good night's sleep. At least boards were a couple of weeks away so it all would be over soon.

Callie was to meet Dr. Mark Sloan for lunch or dinner or whatever. Usual meal times didn't apply for surgeons. Mark and Callie were best friends and had an on and off affair. Mark had been kind and waited up so that they could have a bite to eat together. That too was something each surgeon was grateful for, not having to quickly eat something in a few minutes but really enjoy a nice meal with another human being.

In the staircase, Callie saw her colleague Arizona coming up the stairs. Callie smiled. It had been sometime since they had seen each other due to their work schedules and the lack of cases which made it necessary for ortho and peds to work together. Lately, Arizona was there mostly on the late shifts while Callie was there early. Their shifts overlapped only for a short amount of time.

"So I'm coming and you're leaving?" Arizona said and pretended to be sad but the smile which she couldn't hide gave her away.

"Just grabbing something to eat with Mark. I will be back later." Callie said and smiled as well.

So Callie and Mark had a burger and shared fries in a bistro across the street.

"I'm so sick of this hospital food." Callie said between bites.

"You tell me. It's nice having something in front of you of which you can tell what it really is."

"Remember that weird brown stuff from last week?" Callie asked.

"Don't remind me of that, Torres. That was just a disgusting pile of whatever it meant to be." Mark laughed and changed the subject before his friend could bring up more of that strange food they ate all day at the hospital. "So you and that blonde. What's going on with that?"

"Robbins?" Callie asked surprised.

"Of course her."

"What is there supposed to be going on?" She really had no idea what Mark was suggesting. Arizona and she were colleagues and shared a drink from time to time after shifts at Joe's across from the hospital.

"Come on, Torres. I saw you two in the hallway."

"Jealous?" Callie asked in concern. Mark and she were currently sleeping together – again. "And there is nothing going on." She quickly added.

"Me, jealous? I'm not the jealous type, you should know that by now."

"Just wondering, since we are currently doing… stuff."

Mark had one of his sexy smiles on his lips. "Stuff? That's what you're naming my magic?"

Callie laughed and leaned over to kiss Mark on the cheek. "Your ego is way too huge."

"Can you blame me? I mean, look at me." Mark sat up straight and presented himself.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Callie waved Mark's comments away. Mark was very sure of himself and he almost never missed an opportunity to prove that to the world. But deep down, Mark was a huge softie. Unfortunately, only a few people got to see that side of him. So Callie knew Mark would never admit to being jealous of Arizona Robbins but Callie knew that Mark cherished their friendship with benefits as much as she did. And she knew that they both weren't sleeping with anyone else when the two of them were back on their affair.

All in all lunch didn't take longer than about 45 minutes and each of them was back in their unit. Although Callie had patients, her mind was elsewhere. Mark's question about her and Robbins were bugging her. Callie kept replaying the scene in the hallways and maybe every other encounter the two had. She never had thought of her colleague that way. Callie liked seeing Arizona around and working with her on cases. Callie noticed that smiled when she met Arizona but that didn't have to mean anything. She didn't even know if Robbins was into women. Callie herself had experienced a short relationship with another woman, Dr. Erica Hahn. Hahn had been on the surgical team for a short time and specialized in cardiothoracic surgery. After a few months, Hahn hat left Seattle Grace to work someplace else which left Callie devastated and beginning an affair with Mark. But Robbins? There was no way, Robbins was into women and on top of that even single. Not that Callie was even interested anyway.

Sometime during the rest of her shift, Callie found herself taking the elevator to the pediatric floor. She didn't even know why and she sure as hell didn't know what she would say if Robbins was there and would ask what her business was on her floor.

When the elevator door opened, Arizona stood right in front of the elevator. "Hey, you."

"Um, hi." Callie was caught off guard and her heart started to race. She had hoped she just could catch a quick glimpse of Arizona in the hall and make sure there were no romantic thoughts what so ever. Actually meeting and talking to her was making her nervous. Damn you, Mark!

"What are you up to?" Arizona asked. "Consult?"

Callie took a deep breath. The question she had expected but also feared about.

"Well, I… um." She stuttered. She couldn't come up with a good explanation.

"Would coffee help you finding your words?" Arizona suggested. "I was going to grab a cup down in the cafeteria."

"Maybe." Calliope Torres, pull yourself together. "I mean, yes. Yes, I think it would." Callie replied with a grin on her face.

Callie and Arizona took the elevator in silence. Arizona wondered what was up. The Callie she knew had always a smile on her face and a joke on her lips. She had had that smile earlier when they had met in the hallway. Something was different now and Arizona had no clue what reason could be responsible for that. Arizona decided to let it slide. They didn't know each other well enough to ask that kind of questions.

Callie was searching for something to say to Arizona to beak the awkward silence. For her it was impossible to think of anything casual right now. What had Mark done to her? Everything had been perfectly fine. Now she was a nervous wreck.

Once they stood in front of the coffeemaker it was easier. Callie actually had something to break the ice.

"You know, every time this symbol pops up, I just say to myself "Okay, so no coffee today." Callie pointed on a symbol.

"You're kidding, right?" Arizona had to laugh. "You know there are people to ask around here?"

"No way!" Callie laughed as well. She knew she was being stupid with that whole coffeemaker thing.

"What do you want?" Arizona asked.

"Simple coffee please."

Arizona made Callie's coffee, poured a bit of milk into it.

"How…?" Callie wondered. They never had coffee together before so how would Arizona knew how she liked her coffee?

"I'm a good observer." Arizona winked at Callie. She definitely was.

Arizona made a coffee for herself and carried the tray over to the counter to pay.

Callie tried to keep her from paying but Arizona said "You're invited since I seemed to have taken your words back there in front of the elevator."

Callie didn't reply because she didn't know what to say. She sure could not just say that Arizona was right.

Together they took a quiet table in the corner and Callie's nervousness was gone once they sat down. Arizona and she were joking a lot and Callie didn't know what Mark was even talking about. There was no tension between the two women. It was just two colleagues having coffee. And Arizona was happy that Callie seemed to have her beautiful smile back.

Not long after that, Callie saw Mark entering the room and quickly looked away. She just hoped Mark wouldn't see her with Robbins. If he would, he would just pick up on his earlier comment. Seeing the two women laughing would only confirm his thoughts.

"Very frisky atmosphere around here." Mark stated when he walked by their table moments later and gave Callie a knowing smile.

"Join us." Arizona suggested and Callie's eyes went wide in shock. She was even more shocked when Mark gladly accepted and sat down at their table. She couldn't believe that guy and the fun he was getting from this. She would kill him for this.

For a while the three of them talked about general topics, nothing special and mostly medical. Arizona and Mark knew themselves through Callie so there was nothing weird about their conversation. About 10 minutes later Arizona's new intern Hillary showed up and asked for Arizona. Nobody around didn't really like Hillary because she was over the top with everything she did and it was getting on everybody's nerves. But Arizona was too nice to show, so she got up and walked a few steps away from the table to talk to her intern instead of just sending her away.

"Callie, I'm sorry but I need to check on a patient. Come find me later before you leave?" Arizona asked.

"I will." Callie nodded and blushed. Quickly she looked away.

Mark had a huge smile on his face and Callie softly punched him on the shoulder. "Shhh."

"You are into her." Mark stated.

"No, you made me think I am but I'm not. So stop acting like that, Mister!"

Callie tried to work after the short encounter in the cafeteria but she was only able to half-concentrate. All she could think about was Arizona. Luckily her shift was almost over and she just had to go through some charts and update them with today's events. After that she changed her clothes in the resident's lounge. She was so ready to go home and lie down for a bit before going back to her studying. But before she had to swing by the peds unit like she had promised to Arizona earlier. So for the second time today she took the elevator to the pediatric floor and just like the last time, Arizona was waiting right in front of the elevator when Callie was about to get out.

"We got to stop meeting like this." Arizona laughed and took a step back so that Callie could step off the elevator.

"It's just perfect timing, don't you think?" Callie laughed and stepped out of the elevator. "And by the way, you made me come up here before I leave, remember?"

"I… absolutely do."

"You totally forgot, didn't you?" Callie wasn't mad. It was stupid anyway. Why would she say goodbye to Arizona especially before ending her shift? She never did it with anyone in particular. And why would Arizona suddenly even liked her to?

"Maybe?" Arizona admitted. "I'm so sorry, Callie. I made you come here and then forgot."

"It's okay. Really." Callie smiled. "But since I'm here. Thanks again for the coffee."

"I'm sorry I had to leave earlier."

"Don't be. I know how it is. We can try again sometime."

"I would totally love that!" Arizona said enthusiastically. "And guess what. I went to check on the patient with Hillary, she came to see me about, and after I treated him, Hillary hugged me."

"She did what?" Callie said in disbelief. There was no way an intern would hug an attending – well unless they were sleeping together. Wait, was Arizona sleeping with her? No, she wouldn't…

"Yeah, right? I mean, what was she thinking? Hugging an attending and your boss just for saving a patient? "I just don't get her, you know?" So much for sleeping with her.

"Yah, me neither. I just don't get along with her. I thought that maybe I would come around and change my opinion about her but it's not happening. Good thing, I have Grey on Ortho. She's no Ortho God, but its working out for now."

They were quiet for a few seconds.

"Maybe she wants to befriend you. Hillary, I mean." Callie then suggested.

"Nice try. You know that doesn't work with me that way."

"Yah, I know. Me neither." Callie agreed with Arizona.

"Hey, we never hugged after operating together." It was stupid to even mention it and Arizona didn't know why she had done it.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." What was that all about?, Callie wondered. Was Arizona flirting with her? Did she want to be hugged by Callie? "So I think I'm really leaving now. I'm so tired and I really need to prep for my boards."

Callie took a step backwards but somehow she didn't want to leave. She really liked talking to Arizona today and she still wondered if Arizona really was flirting. She made a mental note to punch Mark really hard for messing with her head like that.

But Callie was curious as well, so she decided to be brave. Callie moved closer to Arizona who now had an irritated look on her face and was about to take a step back. Callie smiled to show Arizona that it was fine and opened her arms. At first Arizona didn't know what was going on but she went with it. She put her right arm around Callie and Callie put her arm around Arizona.

Callie had thought it would be one of these brief hugs for one or two seconds but instead Arizona put her cheek against Callie's and held her close for more than the expected two seconds. Time seemed to stop.

What is happening here?, Callie asked herself. This was definitely more than a brief good-bye hug between colleagues and it definitely felt like more than that. Callie's heart was beating fast.

They released each other from the hug with a smile on their faces. Arizona had a beautiful smile, Callie thought. And beautiful blue eyes.

"Well that was unexpected." Arizona stated and took a step backwards.

"We should establish this around here." Callie said to hide the fact that she definitely wanted to hug Arizona again some time and to hide her nervousness.

"We definitely should." Arizona laughed. She too wanted to hold Callie again. "If we start, the others might follow." This conversation doesn't even make sense, Arizona thought and mentally slapped herself.

"So have a quiet shift, okay?" Callie said. She was confused and her face must be in a deep red, at least that's what she thought. Callie wanted to leave before Arizona could pick up on it. Hell, she needed to get out of here, fast.

"I will." Arizona replied with a smile and shining blue eyes. "See you soon, Calliope."

When Callie arrived at home about 20 minutes later, all she had in mind was that beautiful smile and those beautiful blue eyes. Calliope. No one besides her parents ever called her like that. It was different coming from Arizona. She couldn't really place it but it had sounded cute somehow.

Callie was confused as hell by today's events. She didn't know what had just happened and she didn't know if it was because of what Mark had said or because she was beginning to like Arizona. Callie always had liked Arizona but never as more than a good colleague They never had shared any personal details with each other. Callie didn't even know if they were counting as friends. Maybe they did.

A song she had heard a few days ago on the radio came to Callie's mind:

"It always starts out simple like a conversation. Before I know it, I'm lost in your illumination".

Callie was lost, lost in Arizona. She didn't know what to think. She had spent the last 20 minutes to come to the conclusion that she had not felt the way she had because of what Mark had said about her and Arizona. The hug had caught Callie off guard. Of course she had initiated it but she had not expected something like that. Arizona had pulled Callie close, like really close considering that they were colleagues hugging for the first time. Callie could still Arizona's skin on her cheek. It had been soft and warm and to Callie it had felt incredible.

Callie had totally forgotten about Mark and that was bad. Callie wasn't supposed to feel like this. She was in this thing with Mark. It was an affair but she knew they were being exclusive while they slept with each other. And different from every other casual affair, Callie and Mark were best friends. Mark had been there for her when Erica left her nothing but devastated. This wasn't fair to Mark.

What was she even doing here? Callie decided to go to bed early and try to sleep it off before she could lose herself even more in the thought of liking Arizona Robbins.

Arizona was home hours after Callie had left the hospital. She had barely been able to make it through the rest of her shift without thinking about Callie's cheek against hers. Arizona went to her fridge and took out a cold beer. She let herself fall onto her sofa.

Arizona tried to replay the hug in her head but she found herself unable to remember it properly and in detail. She remembered Callie stepping closer towards her. Next thing she remembered was that their cheeks had touched. How that happened, Arizona couldn't explain. How that felt, she really could remember. Arizona touched her cheek. She knew Callie was into women. Everybody knew about Erica and her and everybody knew about her and Mark.

The phone rang. Arizona took a quick look at the display to see who was calling. Leah. Crap.

"Hey." Arizona answered, trying to pull it together.

"Hey, Babe. I know you hust finished your shift and I Just wanted to check in before I head out to start mine."

"I just got home." Arizona answered simply. She just didn't have the energy to talk to her girlfriend right now.

"You okay?" Leah asked in concern.

Arizona rubbed her eyes. Arizona hated to lie to Leah. "Exhausting day at the hospital, that's it. Don't worry."

"Okay, so try to get some rest. Okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Thanks for calling. I love you." Arizona hung up before Leah could hear her crying. She didn't bother to wipe away her tears.

Thank you for reading the first chapter. Parts of it are based on a true story. The song Callie heart on the radio is "Hurt" by Lady Antebellum.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think and if you like to read more.