Arizona's POV
The first time it happened started off as just any ordinary day .
She was paged early for a surgery on a 6 year old girl involved in an accident and was in desperate need of some coffee before her actual shift started. The line to the coffee cart seemed more than 20 feet long yet it was well worth the wait. Just as she was about to place her usual order, the server announced that they were all out of coffee.
Great, just what I needed...she thought. She stomped her feet and was just about to resign herself to the lukewarm coffee in the attending's lounge when she was paged outside.
Standing outside in her light blue scrubs was none other than Calliope Torres, with two huge coffee cups in hand.
"Hey you..I noticed you had an unplanned surgery for this morning and thought you might need a little pick me up to get through the rest of the day. Hazelnut latte with 2 sugars and 1 pump of vanilla, right?" the brunette exclaimed, a huge grin adorning her face.
And in that moment, Arizona's heart stopped.
It wasn't anything big really, it was just coffee.
And yet it was everything.
They had just been dating for 2 weeks, and whilst Arizona made it a rule to stay away from newborns, there was something about Callie Torres that drew her in.
Maybe it was her ability to always see the best in other people.
Maybe it was her attention to detail that made others feel like they were the most important person in the world.
In her world.
After just two weeks of dating, Callie seemed to understand exactly what she needed.
And not just that.
She remembered.
She actually remembered what her favorite drink was, despite her ordering it in front of her just the once.
She had managed to make an ordinary day extraordinary.
And in that moment, despite it's simplicity, she knew.
She was beginning to fall for Calliope Torres.
...
The second time it happened was when Carlos Torres arrived for the first time.
She didn't expect to meet him so soon, and after witnessing his anger towards both George and Mark, it was safe to say that she was glad she wouldn't have to either.
How wrong was she.
Not only did Callie introduce her to her father, she made it clear that they were dating and happy.
After enduring a confusing albeit sexy Spanish rant following the older Torres's reaction , she decided to give the Latina an out.
They could still date each other and keep it a secret. Her family would never have to know.
But Callie would have none of it. She was not fond of secrecy and made it clear that was not an option.
By the end of the day, after hearing about the brunette's latest encounter with her father and his threats of disowning her, Arizona was fully prepared to have her heart broken once again.
This was it. Callie would move to Miami and things would end between them before they ever really begun.
However what Callie said next made her heart stop once more.
"..I cut him off. If he can't accept me for who I am..."
To say she was in awe was an understatement. That was not the response she had been expecting. Just as Callie was about to burst into tears, she finally snapped out of her dazed state and embraced the other woman as if her life depended on it.
And in a way, it did.
This woman, this beautiful, amazing, incredible woman was willing to give up her family, her wealth, her security in order to live her life truthfully.
Their life truthfully.
And in that moment, Arizona knew.
She was falling. And nothing could stop her now.
...
The third time it happened, she really thought it was over between them.
It had been their tenth date so far and she was pretty sure they were finally ready to take the next step.
Except they weren't.
Despite the fact that they had dinner at one of the best restaurants in Seattle, and finally had a night free of any pages, it seemed like Callie wasn't interested at all.
She barely touched her salad, and looked like she'd rather be anywhere but there.
Arizona chalked it down to nerves, and thought that once they got to her apartment, things might get better.
Only they didn't.
After dinner, Callie claimed that she was exhausted and said goodnight without so much as a peck on the cheek. She couldn't help but think that she had done something wrong and tried to retrace her steps. Yet everything seemed perfect.
Everything but Callie, that is.
She decided to head home and deal with it the next day.
Unfortunately things only seemed to spiral out of control.
One moment they were arguing in the ER and the next, she was trying to hold back tears as she realized things may have finally come to an end.
Being the daughter of a marine, she refused to give up without having a good enough explanation and so she sought out Callie one last time, despite her lingering insecurities.
She was fully prepared to give the brunette a piece of her mind, but the sight of the exhausted brunette slumped across a gurney halted her steps. She looked completely and utterly drained.
Perhaps something else was going on?
That thought didn't last too long and soon after she continued her spiel from earlier on only to be stopped by the defeated voice of one Calliope Torres.
".. I don't have 75 bucks.."
"...I'm broke and I'm exhausted..."
And suddenly Arizona felt like the most selfish person on Earth. Here she was, thinking the worst of this amazing woman when all along Callie had been dealing with her own insecurities
And so she said the first thing that came into her mind.
"So we stay in..and eat sandwiches."
"You don't even like sandwiches"
"But I like the girl who has the sandwiches"
And for the first time that day, she was greeted with that beautiful smile.
Suddenly the world seemed bright once more.
And she knew without a doubt.
She was falling.
...
The fourth time it happened took her by surprise. She knew she was in this for the long run, but the thought of Callie moving terrified her.
No distance could keep her away, but would Callie feel the same?
And so she did what she does best.
She deflected.
She couldn't let her insecurities show. Not when she didn't even know if they were exclusive.
But then Callie spoke the words she had been dying to hear
"..And you're my girlfriend, girlfriend trumps roommate ..."
And so the first thing she did when she entered the apartment was to make sure she had heard correctly.
That it was all not just a figment of her imagination.
"..You said girlfriend, you called me your girlfriend, so am I? Your girlfriend? "
"Well, yeah!"
And just like that, all of her insecurities vanished.
The fear that had been gripping her heart ever since talk of the merge surfaced seemed to dissipate just like that.
It was like that one word had the ability to either make or break her.
And suddenly, it all seemed to make sense.
The fear, the anxiety, the self doubt.
It was only natural to feel that way.
She was falling for Calliope Torres.
...
The fifth time it happened was not planned at all.
Carlos Torres had once again visited and wrecked havoc on her Calliope.
She thought about letting it go, it wasn't her place after all.
But the moment she saw those tears, she knew she had to do something.
And so she found him in the lobby, staring out the window with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
She wasn't ignorant, she understood the reason behind his reaction but she also knew that he wouldn't want to cause his daughter anymore pain.
People attack what they don't understand.
And so she tried her best to explain her own experience, hoping to make him understand. Before she realized it, she had uttered the words she had yet to express to Callie..
"I love your daughter, and I protect the things I love..."
Despite her initial shock at what she had just admitted, she managed to maintain her composure and continued with her speech, hoping to provoke some sort of a reaction.
It wasn't until later on that day, in the confines of Callie's apartment, that she learnt her little speech had produced the intended effects.
"I don't know what you said to him, but he actually seemed happy for me! Can you believe that? I don't know how I can ever thank you..." the brunette beamed at her before rambling on about her father's reaction.
All Arizona could think about after that was her admittance earlier on that day. She didn't plan to say it out loud, least of all to one Carlos Torres, but it just flew out of her mouth before she thought about.
She can't say she was surprised though.
She knew it was true.
She had fallen for Calliope Torres.
...
The first time she admits it to Calliope is the night of her birthday.
She didn't think the universe could be anymore screwed up.
She didn't want 25 million dollars. She just wanted Wallace to see another birthday.
And after fighting for years to save that little boy, he had ended up dying. On her watch.
And on her birthday nonetheless.
The universe really was screwed up.
All she wanted to do was curl up in Calliope's arms and sleep the night away.
Only when she got home, she was greeted with yet another unexpected surprise. Before she knew it, she had burst into tears and ran out of the apartment.
She was grateful that Callie understood, because there was no way she could celebrate anything that night.
After returning once again from the hospital having provided Wallace's' family with the comfort they deserved, she sought out her own comfort in the form of her girlfriend.
The sight that greeted her upon entering the apartment was one that left her breathless. There, lying upon the sofa covered in a light blanket was Calliope Torres, clad in what appeared to be her birthday gift. And despite the outcomes of the day, she found herself smiling. She gently placed her keys down trying not to wake up her sleeping beauty but to no avail.
" oh, I'm awake, see...I'm totally awake...and there's hats and gifts and donuts and lingerie and..."
And in spite of the universe and all of its screw ups, she couldn't help being grateful to it for allowing her paths to cross with Calliope Torres.
Right there, in that moment, she felt the weight of the entire world lift off of her shoulders. There was no place she'd rather be.
And as she looked into those soulful eyes that had captivated her since the moment they had met, she couldn't hold it in any longer.
It was inevitable really.
And she wouldn't have it any other way.
"I love you"