Author's Note

Disclaimer: One of us studied in the medical field and the other studied history, but we're pretty sure that a few anachronistic mistakes and scientifically questionable elements did sneak through our conveniently widened filters... Most of our efforts were concentrated on the goal of writing the best story we could. So hey if you spot a mistake feel free to let us know, but keep in mind that we're all fans of a show where McDreamy is sucked out of a plane and keeps his perfect hair and can still walk around, so we should all be able to tolerate a certain level of creative liberties. Also, we do not own these characters! They belong to Shondaland and we thank her for creating them.

The Cure for Pain

Prologue

The sun dappled against the purple sky, birthing a new fresh morning to a selection of eager feathered creatures. A blond sat precariously by a tree, surrounded by a hefty selection of worn and frayed pages weighted down by a couple of rocks she had delicately placed around the edges. The only sound aside from the occasional passerby heading towards the market, of birds chirping high up in the trees and the chatter of those few individuals who were up so early, was of the girl muttering to herself under her breath, as though the very words she was reading might somehow leap off the page and run reckless through the streets, stirring up dust and with it, the girl's secret. Arizona Robbins looked over her shoulder hesitantly, checking to see that nobody was behind her. She had woken up especially early on this Tuesday morning, but not because she couldn't sleep. She could hardly reign in her thirst for knowledge, as was evident by the way one delicate finger traced eagerly down an index of a book she had stolen from the manor.

"Cardiovascular Pathology by Robert Abbott, sounds fascinating."

At the familiar voice of her brother, Arizona jumped from where she was sitting, legs folded carefully underneath her in the grass. She'd been so enamoured by understanding the vast amount of medical information that had already been discovered, she had spared her sense of hearing for the brain power it took to absorb every carefully constructed and well thought out sentence.

"Easy there, Armada, don't stop your heart." Tim chuckled cleverly at his own joke before unceremoniously and without invitation plopping down beside her, one arm falling casually around her shoulders.

"Timothy!" Arizona shrieked, and she quickly slid the papers together, stuffing them back into a random place in the book before shutting it and folding her hands over the cover. Her brother did not seem too perturbed by this. On the contrary he seemed most distracted by his amusement in scaring her half out of her wits. "I told you not to sneak up on me like that!"

Timothy tilted his head back and forth for a second, pretending to remember as a slow smile surfaced on his lips. "Oh yeah. Woops." She felt a protective urge to keep the book close as Arizona brought her knees up, holding the wealth of knowledge to her chest as she watched her brother peer at her curiously. "What's wrong with you, Armada? You're acting highly agitated for no reason. I reckon you decided to read through your husband's collection of medical journals to see if he really knows what he's doing. I can promise you that you didn't marry an impostor so you can relax and stop worrying."
At this, the blonds' shoulders relaxed a little. He really wasn't making a big deal about this, which just went to prove that maybe she was worrying for nothing. No, she told herself assuredly, no, this is just Tim. Not everyone will turn their nose away. Despite the fact that she hated to outright lie to her brother who she'd always entrusted with everything, Arizona decided that it was probably best not to share her true reason behind studying medicine.

Before she had time to reply, however, her brother's voice broke out and erased her thoughts. He was stretching out on the grass beside her and yawning loudly, sporting a good-natured boyish grin. "Man, I'm exhausted. I danced so hard last night. I can't feel my feet." And grinning over at her, he nudged Arizona in the side to get a reaction from her. "Where's that new husband of yours? Did the dancing make him bedridden? I'll go shake the numskull awake."
Arizona was nervously twisting a knot of grass with her fingers as she stated the truth, "My new husband…" she started, tasting the word on her tongue, "My husband is in the barn." She stated simply, watching the expression she expected to unfold on Tim's features. Her brother was a very handsome man and yet mysteriously, curiously, and to the mockery of every village resident, her brother had never married. She'd heard gossip from the villagers, but never once had she approached him about the subject. Still, the young woman couldn't help but search his face, his bright blue eyes, and his impressive smirk for a small hint of jealousy. She thought that maybe she spotted a flicker of something that closely resembled the feeling, but she couldn't be sure, especially not with the sun now perched so high in the sky.

What seemed to interest Timothy most, however, wasn't the fact that she was newly married (though of course she would be worried for his sanity if he was at all perturbed by this, for she did in fact remember seeing him there at the wedding yesterday), no, what interested him most, she could tell, was the part about her husband being in the barn. The barn, a previous Robbins household accessory, for the rich military family had never made very much use of it aside from the storage and keeping of their father's trained combatant equestrians, was now apparently the new work room for her husband, yes that's right, husband. Arizona was married and no longer was she an unclaimed woman. Now she was one part of a sacred union between man and woman, she didn't benefit from the freedom- however illusory it might have been- tied to celibacy. Now her husband's tools and other interesting medical instruments were taking up space in her family's home and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. It was still so surreal and strange and uncomfortable, especially given the fact that Arizona did not know this man.

For most women, this wouldn't make them uncomfortable. What would make them uncomfortable, however, was imagining the horrific and often macabre activities she knew her husband practiced. Dissecting pigs and other small animals in order to locate the origin of their disease and study the manifestations of it was just one of the few things she knew a physician was not only capable of, but responsible for. The thought of it didn't send a shiver down her spine, but rather a thrill through the very core of her body. No, what triggered the young Arizona into such deep pondering and feelings of scepticism wasn't the gory truth of what her man did in the depths of their inheritance, but rather the simple and much less complex and custom practice of being married to a stranger.

How very simple she was.

There came a soft spill of laughter from her right shoulder. "Couldn't have even given us the pleasure of his presence for breakfast, could he?" Tim chuckled. Arizona simply shrugged, not finding anything too peculiar about this at all. "I don't know how you're going to deal with that for the rest of your life, Armada." Timothy teased albeit affectionately while he drowsily stretched out and arched his neck, twisting his torso around at the sound of someone walking by the cobbled street. While Arizona was busy wondering what the rest of her life was going to be like, she was momentarily distracted by the protective body language surging out from the man beside her. Clearly he was in trademark military mode whether he knew it or not, keenly following the suggestion of the Colonel to always keep an eye open and ready for trouble. The disruption was just a harmless young woman passing by; Timothy's blue eyes followed her with a hallowed sort of hunger in them. Arizona did not drop the chance to do some teasing of her own.

"Pretty girl, isn't she?" She taunted, hoping her brother would take the bait and forget all about her marriage and husband. She didn't quite feel like thinking about either right now.

"Oh shush you, a guy can look." Tim quipped back, not even bothering to make an excuse or defend the obvious. He was rubbing the inside of his palm thoughtfully against his chin as he turned back to her. She'd been correct in her assumptions that a pretty something could deter him from further interrogation.

"Hey," he said instead, now on a new train of thought and not about to get off track. "Would you come with me? To the market? It might take your mind off of everything." Timothy waited until Arizona smiled in acceptance of his offer before sweeping to his feet and dusting his pants off, offering a hand out to nonchalantly pull her up. She paused quickly to push the book under her arm in order to protect the title before graciously allowing him to pull her to her feet.

Together, the two of them linked arms and made their way slowly, while conversing animatedly, towards the market.