AN: Hey everybody, I really hope you guys enjoy this story thats about to unfold. It is slightly AU, Callie and Arizona come into each other's lives at the right moment. This story will have everything; humor, smut, fluff and of course drama. Feel free to leave me comments/concerns/questions and I'll update as often sa possible.
The title came from the song "Not With Haste" by Mumford & Sons (which I obviously do not own), so if you guys want to give it a listen you certainty can. I obviously do not own these characters although sometimes they seem to own me.
ENJOY.
"Dr. Torres, you're needed for a consult in the pit," Lexie Grey yelled as she ran passed the brunette.
"But I'm not on- nevermind," Callie shook her head and made her way towards the ER. She had a long day, which started by getting paged into work early that morning, very early. She also had an unsuccessful day, losing two patients, which was an uncommon occurrence in Ortho and especially for Callie.
"Hey Torres!" Mark shouted as he ran in the same direction as Lexie, "Joe's tonight?"
"Yeah," Callie waved her hand in the air and continued down the hall.
"You needed an ortho consult?" She asked one of the interns who handed her a chart and pointed to bed 3. She rolled up her sleeves as she placed the chart under her arm and walked towards the bed. Callie pulled back the curtain to reveal a blonde woman with bouncing curls and a heart stopping smile laying on the bed; ice pack on her ankle.
"Hey!" The blonde woman sat up as Callie quickly glanced at her chart.
"Arizona?"
"That's me!"
"I'm . Do you mind if I take a look at your ankle?" Callie placed the chart on the bed and walked over to the other side, lifting the ice pack off the blonde's ankle.
"I'm fine really, it's not broken. I told them not to page anyone,"
"How do you know it's not broken?" Callie kept her eyes down as she looked at the ankle.
"Well actually I'm a do-"
"How did this happen?" Callie interrupted.
"I, uh, I fell," Arizona scrunched her eyebrows as Callie gently pressed her fingertips along the outside of her ankle.
"You fell?"
"Out of bed, I fell out of bed…"
"It looks like something was dropped on top of you." Callie looked up, connecting her eyes with Arizona's. She suddenly felt her stomach tighten and her heart beat quicken as she noticed how strikingly beautiful Arizona was.
"Yeah I fell and then someone else fell…on top of me,"
"Oh, oh!" Callie felt her face flush as she pulled off her gloves, "It's a sprain so I'll just get someone over here to wrap it for you and you'll be good to go."
"Thank you, Dr. Torres," the blonde flashed a smile at the brunette who backed into a tray almost knocking it over.
Callie took a deep breath as she walked over to the nurses' desk. She leaned over and rubbed her temple with her fingers, trying to understand what had exactly just happened. Her patient was cute and sweet and hot, very hot which had been a much needed distraction from the day she had. For some reason which she couldn't figure out, that woman made her feel like a giddy teenager. She had Callie's knees weak with those piercing blue eyes and the thought of what the blonde was doing that caused her injury made Callie's head spin.
"I've had three kids blow chunks all over me today," Alex Karev leaned against the desk next to Callie, "I'm a surgeon not a babysitter."
"Well that's what happens when you hang around PEDs,"
"Put me on your service, please,"
"I'm done for the day but here," Callie handed Alex the chart, "Bed 3, sprained ankle."
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Alex flipped through the chart.
"You wanted on my service."
"Crap…"
"I'm outta here, have fun," Callie patted him on the shoulder and walked away.
-.-.-.-
"Hey Joe, red wine for my best friend!" Mark shouted across the bar as Callie took a stool next to him.
"Hey Joe? I'll have what he's having," Callie corrected as she took the last sip of what was in Mark's glass, "That was disgusting…"
"That was scotch and you just ordered yourself one."
"Hey Grey," Callie leaned back, tapping Lexie on the shoulder, "Why did you ask for an Ortho consult on a sprain?"
"I didn't know it was a sprain, I didn't check the patient. I was told to get you." Lexie took a sip of her drink as she wrapped her arm around Mark.
Callie mumbled under her breath as she reached for the newly placed glass in front of her. She took a large sip, her face turning sour as she reached for a straw and started chewing on it.
"Torres!" Alex yelled from across the bar.
"What!?" The brunette swivelled in her stool to turn and face him.
"That sprain? HOT!" He grinned and continued playing darts.
"Who's hot?" Mark asked, getting a light elbow in his side from Lexie.
"Nobody's hot,"
"SHE was hot!" Alex shouted.
"Wait the consult? Bed 3 right? Blonde hair?" Lexie jumped in, "Oh she was hot."
"Okay, yes she was hot." Callie admitted, chugging the last of her drink.
"You should have made a move," Mark motioned at Joe for another round of drinks.
"I was a little busy doing something called being a doctor Mark,"
"Callie," Mark wrapped his arm around the brunette and gave her a tight squeeze, "You gotta get out there, make the effort. Step up. Don't be scared."
Callie chuckled as she quickly grabbed the drink being handed to her and poured it back.
Callie spent the majority of the night with Mark and Lexie, although as soon as Callie started getting a buzz on she couldn't stand the thought of being the miserable third wheel. She ordered shots with Alex as they played darts until he decided to take a woman home, leaving Callie to finish her drinks by herself.
"Okay Torres, come on its time to go home," Mark wrapped Callie's arm around his neck and walked her out the door, where a cab was waiting. By the time they had gotten to the apartment Mark was carrying her through the door. He helped her get into bed, tucking her into the blankets and putting a glass of water on her nightstand.
"You know I use to walk tall," Callie mumbled through her pillow.
"Huh?"
"I use to walk tall. Then came George, he took off at least an inch. Then Erica went and left me that shaved off a few more. I got shorter…" Callie turned to face her best friend, "All that humiliation makes you shorter. So yeah I am scared of getting hurt because one more personal disaster right now would cut me off at the knees."
"There's no shame in trying Callie," Mark slowly walked towards the door, "You fought, you loved, you lost. Walk tall Torres."
-.-.-.-
"Did you hear about the new attending?" Alex asked as Mark joined him and Callie at the cafeteria table.
"What?" Callie rubbed her head as she took a large sip from her coffee.
"PEDs," Mark bit a chunk out of his apple, "She's hot."
"How hot?" Alex asked, shoving a fry in his mouth.
"Like-"
"Guys! Please, I have the worst headache ever right now. I need more coffee." She took Mark's coffee off his tray and began drinking it.
They sat in silence until Callie's pager went off.
"Crap. I have to go."
"Callie?" Mark waited for the brunette to turn around, "Hot. Blonde."
Callie punched him in the arm and made her way to the pit.
-.-.-.-
"What do we got?" Callie pushed open the trauma room door, allowing one of the nurses to help her into a pair of gloves.
"Tyler, 7, fell out of a tree looks like multiple breaks in the right leg as well as internal bleeding in the stomach."
"Arizona?" Callie looked up to see a familiar blonde woman standing across from her, tossing a stethoscope around her neck.
"Dr. Torres," Arizona smiled at Callie who stood there in a state of shock.
"You work here?"
"Take him down and get an OR prepped," Arizona instructed her resident before removing her gloves, tossing them in a bin and walking out of the room.
"You work here?" Callie asked again, jogging behind the blonde.
"As of last night I do, yes."
"I didn't know you were a doctor,"
"Well our first meeting wasn't exactly a meet and greet."
They scrubbed in silence side by side as Callie tried not to stare at the blonde and Arizona tried not to stare back. They were strangers but something was comforting for each of them being in the presence of the other; Arizona liked hearing Callie sigh as she switched from scrubbing one arm to the other and Callie enjoyed how Arizona rolled her shoulders back as she took in a deep breath.
"People talk here. They talk, a lot. So, for the sake of being honest, I think I should tell you that… I know things about you, because people talk." Arizona smiled as she looked directly ahead into the OR.
"Oh," Callie looked over at Arizona and shook her head, "You mean… terrific."
"It is, actually, the talk. People really like you," Arizona reached up and grabbed a towel, patting her hands and arms dry, "They respect you, and they're concerned, and they're interested. They really like you. Some of them really like you. Just yesterday, last night, in the ER you looked upset and I thought that you should know that the talk is good, and when you're not upset, when you're over being upset, there will be people lining up for you."
"You wanna give me some names?" Callie reached for a towel, making eye contact with Arizona.
"I think you'll know," The blonde smiled and winked at Callie as she adjusted her mask over her face and walked into the OR.