Chapter 1


Arizona paced nervously through her kitchen, opening and closing cabinets mindlessly. Eliza was on her way to her house to make pierogi and Arizona was beginning to feel irrationally nervous. She was beginning to worry she would not have the proper kitchen utensils and Eliza would catch on to her lack of cooking skills. Arizona's idea of cooking involved throwing items into a crockpot and letting it sit for hours. Andrew was the one to cook in the kitchen on his days off. More often than not, the kitchen just held their wine, beer, and snacks. Wine! Arizona crossed the kitchen to the refrigerator and pulled out a cold bottle of Pinot Grigio. Based on a handful of their previous dates with Eliza, she quickly discovered it was the brunettes drink of choice. Arizona poured herself a glass, hoping a few sips would relieve some of her nerves. She had spent plenty of time with the brunette, but something about her still made Arizona nervous.

5 minutes later, the doorbell rang to her house. She stopped in front of the hallway mirror to check herself. She ran her hands through her straightened hair before opening the door.

"Hey there," Eliza smiled, holding up the bags of groceries in her hands. "I brought supplies."

"Come in," Arizona reached for a couple bags and led Eliza in the doorway. Eliza took a step in and kissing her cheek as she passed by her.

"It's good to see you," Eliza admitted. "I had a long day at the hospital, so you're a sight for sore eyes."

"Thank you," Arizona blushed. "I'm super excited you're here. So, come this way," Arizona gave her a mini tour of the first floor as they made their way to the kitchen.

"You have a beautiful home," Eliza said, placing the groceries on the kitchen island. "I never really stay anywhere too long and spend most of time in the hospital anyways so it has always been easier for me to get small apartments." Eliza's time at hospital was still undecided. She had a contract with them for 6 months with the option to renegotiate after that time. Eliza and Arizona had briefly talked about what their future held and decided it was too early to make any decisions. They agreed to cross that bridge when they got to it.

"The military kid in me really enjoys this stability," Arizona began helping Eliza pull the groceries out of their bags. "I love my home. Andrew. Dr. DeLuca actually lives with me."

Eliza laughed, "you mentioned that. I'm sure that can be interesting... Well, residents are hardly home anyways."

"Exactly! No, but really it's nice knowing someone is here sometimes. It can get pretty quiet. Do you want some Pinot?" Arizona asked as she reached for a second glass already knowing Eliza's answer.

"Absolutely, yes. It was a long day," Eliza sighed. "Things are getting better, I'll admit, but there is still some animosity and resistance."

Arizona poured the glass of wine and handed it to Eliza with a sympathetic smile, "I'm sure it will continue to get better. We are a tight knit family," Arizona admitted with a shrug. "We have trouble adjusting when new people come and mess with our system, but I know everyone will come around now that they see how your program functions and how some of your methods can work for the residents."

"Some?" Eliza raised an eyebrow at Arizona. Arizona's eyes narrowed as she thought about how to word her response carefully. It was true, some of Eliza's methods did work, but she also did not agree with everything the brunette was doing. There was something to Richard's way of "old school teaching" that Arizona admired and appreciated.

"Some," Arizona repeated surely. "The residents are learning and thriving right now. The resident's morale as at an all time high right now, i'll admit it. BUT, there is a certain art to the way Richard Webber teaches his residents. You have to admit that, too."

Eliza raised her hands up in defeat, "Of course. I have seen him in action. I'll admit, I have a thing or too to learn from him. He can learn a thing or too from me too," Eliza joked as she winked toward Arizona.

Arizona playfully rolled her eyes, "There it is. That ego!"

"Confidence!" Eliza corrected.

"Mhm," Arizona took a sip as she shook her head smiling at Eliza.

By now, they had unpacked all the groceries and Eliza was walking around the kitchen looking for different kitchen utensils. Eliza did not peg Arizona to be a Top Chef by any means so she did not bother asking where to look. She knew Arizona would not know.

Just then Arizona's laptop that was on the kitchen table began to go off.

"Do you mind if I take this real quick? It's Sofia trying to FaceTime me!" Arizona asked, as she walked over to the kitchen table and turned the laptop toward her direction as opposed to the kitchen.

"Sure," Eliza smiled.

"Hey baby!" Arizona smiled brightly. Eliza looked over and noticed how her smiled reached her eyes. She had never seen Arizona so enthusiastic. It made Eliza's heart swell.

"Mommy! oh my god guess what!" The child excitedly screamed. Her voice carried loudly in the kitchen and Arizona turned the volume down a couple notches.

"WHAT!" Arizona asked equally excited.

"Mama said if I do really really really good on my spelling test, she is going to take me to the Zoo this weekend!"

"Wow! That sounds like so much fun, sweetie! I'm so excited for you! I know you're going to do really really really well on the test." Eliza noted how Arizona's smile faded ever so slightly. Eliza knew it must be difficult for Arizona to hear all the fun things Sofia gets to do and how much Arizona is missing out. She felt like an outsider watching the interaction between mother and daughter, but she figured Arizona didn't mind. If she didn't want her to hear, Arizona would have taken the call in another room. The two continued to talk about school and soccer for the next 10-15 minutes. Eliza learned from this conversation that Arizona played soccer up until college. Eliza wasn't surprised, she pegged Arizona for an athlete. She learned Arizona and Sofia have FaceTime movie dates at least once every couple weeks but Arizona usually falls asleep halfway through. She could tell how alike Arizona and Sofia were. Their perkiness and zest for life. Eliza isn't sure what Callie is like, but she is sure there is so much of Arizona in Sofia.

"...also, there's this boy at school named Josiah, and he had heely's on today and it was awesome! I want mama to buy me some like you used to wear! Remember mommy?"

"I remember," Arizona smiled. Eliza makes a mental note to ask Arizona about the heely's. "Mama doesn't think they're safe. She doesn't want you to hurt yourself. They wouldn't let her fix your bones!"

The 7 year old rolled her eyes, "I won't get hurt. Can we get some next time I go visit you?" Sofia gave Arizona the best puppy dog pout.

"We can talk about it with Mama, sweetie. Okay?"

"Okay," Sofia relented, not wanting to push it too hard. "Mommy, when can I go see you? I miss you. And I miss Andrew and Zola!"

"We miss you too, baby. SO much," Arizona replied sadly.

"Maybe I can see you soon," Sofia replied hopefully.

Arizona nodded, "I will text mama tomorrow to see if we can schedule something sooner than summer." Eliza could see Arizona's demeanor change. They had briefly discussed the custody arrangement during one of their dates recently. Eliza could tell how much it pained Arizona to be so far away from her daughter. When Arizona told Eliza about what she had sacrificed after gaining custody, Eliza knew she was across the table from a noble, loving person. Deep in thought, Eliza accidentally dropped the pan she had in her hand and it fell to the ground with a loud bang.

Arizona flinched at the noise and turned toward Eliza. Eliza bent down and picked up the pan with a quiet, "So sorry!"

"What was that Mommy?" Sofia asked curiously leaning closer to her laptop, as if she could peek into the kitchen.

"I have a friend over right now and she is making dinner," Arizona replied carefully. She wasn't exactly sure what her and Eliza were and she most certainly was not ready to tell her daughter about it yet.

"Who's your friend?"

"Her name is Eliza."

Sofia's curious face turned into sneaky grin. "Is she a special friend..." Sofia asked teasingly.

"Sofia!" Arizona let out a laugh in surprised. Arizona turned to Eliza who was focused intently on whatever she was doing in the kitchen. Arizona was sure she heard and was pretending not to hear, but Eliza definitely had a small smirk on her face. Arizona turned back to the computer completely speechless, "What."

Sofia shrugged. "I'm 7 now Mommy," she said matter-of-factly. "Is she a friend friend or a special friend?"

"Eliza is a good friend from work. She is making me Pierogis. It's a delicious type of food from Poland. Do you know where that is?" Arizona asked trying to get Sofia off the subject.

Sofia rolled her eyes. She was so sassy, Arizona thought to herself. Just like Callie. "HI ELIZA!" Sofia shouted into the laptop.

Arizona laughed and looked up at Eliza who looked up with a deer in the headlights expression on her face. "Hi there!" Eliza called back but not making any moves to get into the shot of the camera.

"Can I see?" Sofia asked Arizona. Arizona paused unsure of what to do. On one hand, it really could have been an innocent dinner with a friend and she would not have hesitated to turn the laptop. But Arizona knew this was different and was not comfortable with it just yet. She was saved from having to confront the situation when she saw Sofia's bedroom door open and Callie stood in the doorway.

"Sofia, dinner. Tell Mom, goodnight." To this day, it was still weird seeing Callie. Sure, they communicated through email and text to talk about Sofia arrangements, but they never talk over the phone or through video chat. She would pop in only to tell Sofia when it was time to get off the computer. There was a part of Arizona that was still very angry toward Callie. Sure, ultimately Arizona let Sofia go with Callie because she felt it was the right thing to do. But Arizona knew she was treated unfairly in court and is still upset with how things unfolded.

"Mama! Do you know where Poland is? Do you know how to make Pir-oti?" Sofia said unsurely. Sofia turned to the camera and asked, "What was it again, Mommy?"

"Pierogi" Arizona responded.

"Pierogi!" Sofia said excitedly back at Callie. "Mommy's friend is making them for her right now!"

Arizona bit her lip nervously. She could see Callie grow uncomfortable with what she was hearing, "I don't know how to make those, but I'm sure they are delicious. Come on Sof, say goodbye. Your Mom's busy."

Sofia groaned and turned away from Callie to the computer. "She's not THAT busy. Eliza's cooking."

"Sofia," Callie warned.

Sofia rolled her eyes and said, "Okay Mommy, I have to go eat dinner now. I love you to the moon and back."

"I love you to the moon and back twice!" Arizona responded.

"Three times!"

"Four!"

"Five!" Sofia threw her head back and giggled at their routine.

"Sofia." Callie said sternly. Arizona could tell Callie was getting impatient. She did not seem to be in a good mood.

"Okay, okay, bye Mommy. BYE ELIZA!" Sofia yelled shouting again into the computer.

"Bye!" Eliza responded just as Sofia waved goodbye, kissed the camera, and logged off.

Arizona closed her laptop and turned toward Eliza, taking a big gulp of wine. "Sorry about that," Arizona said. Even though she really wasn't. She missed her daughter so much and would take any opportunity to talk to her.

"Don't apologize," Eliza smiled softly. "You miss her a lot. I can see why, she's quite the character."

"Oh yeah," Arizona nodded. "She's a fun kid. I really do miss her a lot," Arizona admitted sadly as she walked and leaned on the kitchen island across from Eliza.

"I'm sure," Eliza reached over and placed a comforting hand on Arizona's. "You're an amazing mom."

Arizona sighed and did not respond. The truth was she did not feel like an amazing mom being that she was across the country. Eliza could tell Arizona was getting lost in through.

"You'll have the entire summer with her," Eliza continued, pulling her hand away to continue preparing their dinner.

Arizona nodded and gave Eliza a small smiled, "Yeah, I know. It's going to be so much fun. I am working so much right now so that I can take plenty of days off this summer."

"So, good friend from work?" Eliza raised a questioning eyebrow at Arizona.

Arizona smiled and shook her head, "what else was I supposed to say? Sofia, honey, I am on a date with this beautiful brunette that has this sexy somethin'-somethin' going on."

Eliza laughed, "YES! I like that."

Arizona grinned and walked around the counter "Yeah?" She asked suggestively as she trapped Eliza against the counter.

"Yeah," Eliza breathed out. Arizona leaned in and kissed her softly. "Mm," Eliza sighed in satisfaction.

"C'mon, Emerald, get to it!" Arizona joked pulling away abruptly.

Eliza pouted already missing Arizona's body pressed against her.


A few hours later, the couple was sitting on the couch in the living room, enjoying their 3rd bottle of wine. Both of the women leaned against opposite ends of the couch with their legs intertwined. They were laughing hysterically at a story Eliza was telling when the front door opened.

"Ladies," Andrew nodded awkwardly to the pair. Sure, he was friends with Arizona, but it was still uncomfortable for him to walk in on a date between his two bosses.

"DeLuca" "Andrew" Arizona and Eliza smiled at him.

"There is food in the kitchen if you're hungry," Arizona called after him as he rushed up the stairs.

"Already ate, going to crash," he yelled down.

"He didn't seem surprised..." Eliza pointed out.

Arizona shook her head, "He's not. I told him about the date ahead of time. Don't worry, he won't tell anyone."

Eliza nodded, "Probably a good idea to keep whatever this is private until we figure it out."

Arizona smiled, "And what is this?"

Eliza opened her mouth to answer and paused. She wasn't sure how to answer the question. "I like you," Eliza replied simply.

Arizona nodded slowly, a her dimples growing deeper as her smile widened. "I like you too, Eliza. A lot."

Eliza took the moment to check the time on her cell phone. "Wow, it's already midnight."

"What?" Arizona eyes widened, "Time flew."

Eliza yawned, "it really did. I had a really nice time with you tonight, Arizona."

"Me too," Arizona smiled softly at Eliza. Arizona rested her head on her hand and admired the woman across from her. Eliza was breath of fresh air. Someone she could be herself around again. It was no secret that Arizona had been on plenty of dates since her divorce with Callie. In fact, it was made public during their custody battle. Arizona didn't lie when she told Callie years before that she had women "lining up her." But something was different about Eliza. Arizona felt comfort around Eliza.

Eliza finished her glass of wine before placing the glass on the coffee table. She pushed herself off her side of the couch and crawled to Arizona's side. Her face hovered inches from Arizona's face before kissing her. Arizona's hands found their way into Eliza's hair, pulling her down closer onto Arizona.

"Stay tonight?" Arizona asked hopefully. Eliza smiled and kissed Arizona deeply in response.