The room had been wallpapered with Nicole Herman's ominous scans, images of the tumor rapidly growing in her brain were plastered everywhere. Arizona and Amelia had been diligently looking over all the information, letting the story unfold through shadows of the murky visions spread out before them. Several hours had passed since they had hidden themselves away, secretly secluded and far away from the rest of the bustling hospital. They found themselves totally immersed in this case, discussing, debating and desperately attempting to figure out the best possible way to approach Dr. Herman regarding the fact that Dr. Amelia Shepherd had figured out how to remove the deadly mass raging in her brain.
"Can we continue this over a giant burger? I have not eaten anything but an apple and half of Karev's stale bagel in the last eight hours, and at this point everything is looking like one big blurry etch- a-sketch."
Rising, Amelia rolls her chair across the room, returning it to the desk on the other side, making a disgusted face in Arizona's direction, "I think I would actually have to be starving in order to eat after Karev. Most of the time I want to hose him down, he walks around here a bit of a smelly, wrinkled mess."
The blonde stretches her neck from side to side, seeking relief from the tension and stress that has currently taken over her body. "Well I didn't actually eat after him; I broke it off before he bit into it and then…oh, never mind."
Smiling at Arizona as she continues to chatter away, there was something endearing about the peds surgeon that Amelia found pleasant to be around. She couldn't quite put her finger on it yet, but she felt at ease with Arizona, it was nice not to be judged all the time and a relief that she did not know every detail of Amelia's past.
"If we go get burgers then you don't have to think about Karev's big bagel anymore, so yes to save you from that fate, I will gladly go with you for burgers. "
"Okay I never said it was big and when you say it like that it sounds completely gross and a little dirty." Arizona laughs at herself, Amelia finding it unsettling to look directly at her, that laugh paired with her piercing blue eyes is a stunningly beautiful combination.
"Okay Robbins you're buying though, and I am starving!."
Carefully removing each of the images from the wall, Arizona gives in, "I guess that is only fair since you are amazing and going to save a doctor's life, a doctor who is going to be able to go on to do amazing things in her field. Seriously, I don't even know how to begin to thank you."
Grabbing her notes, "Let's start with extra cheese on my burger and fries, how about that?"
The dimples appear effortlessly followed by an enthusiastic declaration of acceptance, "Deal!"
They find a corner booth at the hole-in-the-wall burger joint not far from the hospital; walking in the brisk night air is just what they both need to feel the fog lift and regain a bit of clarity.
"I want whatever you have on tap that is the coldest, and a blue cheese burger with fries." Arizona tells the waiter,
Looking over at Amelia, "for you?"
"The classic burger, extra cheddar, fries and a large ice tea no lemon, please.", handing the tattered menus back to the scruffy looking guy who was undoubtedly a college student.
"No beer?"
"No beer. I am in recovery."
Arizona puts her hand on top of Amelia's, "I am so sorry! I can change my order, it's not a problem. I didn't know. Did I know? Should I have known? Oh, god I feel like I should have known..."
Lifting their hands up, fingers become threaded together and Amelia gives Arizona's hand a light squeeze, "Stop. It's okay, and no you wouldn't have known, I am relieved you didn't know. I have been clean for a while now. I just don't tell most people."
Arizona takes her hand away as the waiter appears with their drink order, setting the glasses down in front of them along with a bottle of ketchup and extra napkins.
"So how are things going living with Derek and Meredith?"
Silence lingers for a moment as Amelia decides the correct way to answer the question, she felt it almost was easier admitting her recovery than it was talking about the mess that is swirling around with all the drama currently happening at her brother's house.
"I miss my own bathroom and walking to the fridge with no pants on if I want a drink of water in the middle of the night; lets just say I will be happy when I get my own place."
"Yeah, me too, I can totally sympathize."
The burgers arrive and they both dive in like they have not eaten for days, which is not too far off the mark as they begin devouring the food.
"I am looking for my own place, Callie is going to keep the house but we both decided it was time I moved out."
Chewing on a fry,Amelia watches Arizona speak about Callie, she lets the image of them together enter her mind for a split second before she pushes it out again, taking an extra-long sip of her tea.
"I am sorry about the divorce Arizona, I know you love her very much and well, Sofia lights up around you every time I see the two of you together, I can't imagine…how hard it has been"
Squirting ketchup all over her fries, she places the bottle down before taking a second to find Amelia's eyes, "Thank you, very much. I am ready to move forward, its been too long in the same place and life is not stopping for me to get my shit together."
The waiter stops over to re-fill drinks. Arizona opts for ordering a cup of coffee instead of another beer, and Amelia follows her lead.
"Hey can I ask you something kinda crazy, Arizona?"
"Maaaybe?" she answers with suspicion written all over her face.
Amelia can't help but laugh, " I am not asking you out for god's sake, I was wondering if you ever thought about a roommate when you get your own place?"
"Hmm, I haven't really thought about it too much, but it would have to be someone that understood my job, the demands, the hours and I would have to trust them completely with Sofia…" she rattles on using a french fry to emphasis her points in the air.
Amelia waits patiently for her commentary to end,when it does and their eyes meet and Arizona's light bulb goes off as she catches up, "…ah, someone like…you."
Amelia rests her chin in the palm of her hand shaking her head slowly up and down as a silly grin spreads across her face, "like me."
The coffee arrives and they go through several cups, talking through the scans one more time as the blonde tries desperately to focus on the information, and the procedure Amelia is describing in detail which is totally out of Arizona's wheelhouse, it becomes clear to her that Derek is not really as 'one of a kind' as everyone wants to believe. This woman is brilliant.
Agreeing they are both exhausted, desperate to grab a few hours of sleep before they begin new shifts, they walk briskly together on the sidewalk toward the hospital. Arizona can't help herself.,"So were you really serious about the moving in together?"
"Robbins, I said roommate, leave it to the lesbian to make it into a U-Haul situation right out of the gate."
Giving her a playful shove, "Shut up, no one likes you. "
Amelia does not say a word but Arizona can tell she is smiling.
"Despite the fact that no one here likes you, including me, would you like to look for a place together? One that might work for us to be roommates?", emphasizing the last word in a long drawn out dramatic presentation.
Responding with a good-natured shove of her own before responding, "Yes, I think I would."
Not sure if I am going to continue, but if I don't get raked over the coals too bad for this pairing and there is any interest I would like to see where it goes. Having said that, thank you very much for reading this short taste of what this story could be and I welcome comments and thoughts! Many thanks!