Title: Four Christmases: Let All Your Memories Hold You Close
Author: HandsThatHeal
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: M/NC-17
Summary: In this AU Christmas story, Callie Torres fondly thinks back on the four Christmases she has spent with the love of her life, Arizona Robbins. Written as a Secret Santa Fic for lovestryam on LiveJournal.
Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, songs, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
AN: In this story, italics denote past Christmas Seasons.
Chapter One
With her toes buried deep in the sand, Callie Torres sighed as a warm breeze off the Caribbean Ocean whipped brunette hair around her face, eyes covered by oversized sunglasses intently taking in the sight in front of her. Chuckling softly as she watched a stunning blonde, whom she had the absolute honor and pleasure of calling her wife, jumping the small waves at the edge of the shore, Callie couldn't help the profound feelings of nostalgia that filled her body and soul. As she counted back, realizing she and Arizona had now spent four Christmases together, her thoughts immediately drifted to a Christmas Season not so very long ago. . .
With the sound of island calypso music floating through the trade wind cooled air, a stunning brunette stood behind a cabana bar, a megawatt smile covering her face as she topped a fruity pink drink with a slice of pineapple and a bright green umbrella straw. With a nod of her head, adorned with a floppy red Santa hat, and a thank you when her customer handed her a ten dollar tip, she then leaned her elbows against the wooden bar top, her chocolate brown gaze staring off at the beautiful white sand beach that fringed the crystalline turquoise Caribbean waters.
"I swear to God, Timothy! If you don't shut the hell up, I'm totally going to beat the crap out of you."
"Bring it on!"
Pulled from her silent reverie by an argument she'd heard at the bar a million times before, the brunette turned to look toward the culprits; a young man with sandy blonde hair now sat alongside an admittedly gorgeous blonde haired, blue eyed young woman who clearly looked pissed off at the world.
"Come on, Arizona," the man the brunette assumed to be Timothy stated. "Why the Hell do you have to be such a bitch? Can't you just enjoy this vacation while it lasts?"
Arizona only rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff, her brooding cerulean eyes, not meeting Timothy's but, instead, glancing over the drink menu of the day.
"Family Christmas vacation?" the brunette soon asked with a knowingly sly grin on her face.
Arizona and Timothy both looked toward the interruption, identical mouths falling agape as they ogled their bartender from the top of her head to the form fitting khaki shorts that covered her curvaceous hips.
"I. . .umm. . .yes. Christmas vacation," Arizona stammered, subconsciously licking her lips, her eyes landing on the exposed cleavage lying beneath the unbuttoned Torres Divi Divi Resort and Hotel polo the brunette wore.
"Last hoorah before I head off to the Marines," Timothy further explained.
Callie only nodded, the intoxicating smile never leaving her face as she flipped over two glasses to fill with whatever her newest patron's fancied. "What can I get you?" she asked, glancing down at the purple bracelet both wore to assure that they were of legal drinking age.
"Umm. . .Aruba Ariba," Arizona stated, dragging her eyes from the drink list to land smack dab on the bartender's breasts.
"Sex on the Beach," Timothy requested, suggestively wagging his eyebrows up and down.
With a nod of her head and a roll of her eyes, the brunette went about her work, the sound of a blender filling the island air as she expertly mixed one drink while skillfully pouring the other at the same time. "Here you go," she then offered, topping each drink with a slice of orange with a flourish.
"Thank you. . .Callie," Arizona stated with a dimpled grin, craning her neck to read the name tag pinned to the brunette's chest.
Tossing a bar towel over her shoulder, Callie only offered Arizona a smile before moving down the bar to assist her other customers though, as she worked, she couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation shared by the two blondes, her moving on their own accord to glance back toward the pair.
"Hey, Callie!" Tim called out a few minutes later, his arm waving her over from the opposite end of the bar.
Turning at the sound of Timothy's voice, Callie wiped her hands on her towel as she made her way back in his direction. "Another Sex on the Beach?" she asked, immediately reaching for a new glass and filling it with ice.
"You offering?" he coyly asked.
"Negative," Callie quickly replied with a polite smile, but a slight roll of her eyes.
Appearing hurt, Timothy sat back in his seat. "Really?" he asked, completely aghast. "You wouldn't be willing to do your civic duty for a guy who's potentially about to go off to war?"
Narrowing her eyes and biting her bottom lip, Callie smiled as she shook her head. "If I was willing to do my civic duty for every American soldier who approaches me at this bar, I wouldn't be able to walk."
A loud snort of laughter fell from Arizona's lips as she watched her brother completely get burned. "You're such a schmuck," she joked, the palm of her hand smacking at the back of a high and tight hair cut before pushing on his shoulder. "You have no game," she continued with a shake of her head.
"I have game," Timothy quickly argued, shoving Arizona away from him.
"No. You really don't," Arizona argued, sipping from her straw as mischievous azure eyes once again voraciously lingered over Callie's body.
"I do, too," Tim petulantly defended.
"Unfortunately, your sister is right," Callie stated, pouring vodka and peach schnapps into a glass. "Your game could use some work," she offered, adding cranberry and orange juice to the mix before setting it in front of the dejected soldier.
Pulled from their juvenile argument at the sound of the mirth in Callie's voice, the blonde haired duo looked over the bar at Callie who stood smiling with a twinkle in her magical brown eyes.
"Why must you wound me so?" Timothy asked, holding his hand over his clearly wounded heart.
Callie only laughed, moving back toward the blender.
"You were just kidding, right?" Timothy asked, completely shocked by the brunette's rejection.
Callie smiled, continuing her work. "Nope," she insisted with a sly wink.
"See, Tim? I've always told you that your game is lame," Arizona teased, nibbling at a bite of her orange slice.
"Oh, shut up. I have more game than you'll ever have," Timothy stated with a very un-masculine roll of his eyes.
"Not a chance," Arizona retorted with a shake of her head.
"Wanna bet?" he childishly continued.
"Bet?"
Tim nodded at his sister, taking a long drink from his glass. "Hey, Callie!" he called across the bar. "What's the best place to hang out around here?"
Wiping at the bar top with her towel, Callie seemed to consider the question. "I'm usually working - here - but when I have a night off, I like to go to this place called Gusto."
"You working tonight?" Arizona asked before Timothy had the chance.
Callie quickly looked up, meeting the sultry blue eyes that stared back at her and, feeling the initial stirring of arousal rising within her body as she continued to gaze into the smaller woman's eyes, Callie swallowed hard at the warmth she felt not only rising in her cheeks, but moving downward toward her center. "I, umm. . .no. Actually, I'm off tonight."
"What time do you get off?" Arizona coyly asked.
Callie cleared her throat, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it of the vision that popped into it of sensually dancing the night away with the gorgeous blonde woman seated before her.
What was it about this Arizona that had her mind residing directly in the gutter?
"I. . .I get off at seven. Work that is. I'm finished with work. . .at seven," she stammered, her cheeks blushing bright red.
Arizona and Tim both smirked at the brunette's nervous expression, though Arizona found the pink tint to already deep caramel skin to be the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
"Meet us at Gusto at nine?" Arizona asked.
Callie immediately shook her head; her boss - her father - had rules about her and any of his staff canoodling with their patrons. "No, uh. . .I. . .my dad. . .I-I'm. . . .no. I'm sorry. I'm not sure I can tonight."
Tim and Arizona both raised their eyebrows at Callie's stammered speech and, glancing toward his sister, he smirked as he watched her blue eyes once again land on Callie's breasts. "Oh, come on," he urged, completely uncaring that he was totally going to lose the bet he was formulating with his sister.
Callie worried her bottom lip between her teeth, her own eyes moving down Arizona's neck over her bare shoulders to land on pink tank top covered breasts. "Ten!" she quickly spoke up out of nowhere, her eyes going wide when she realized the utterance of the number meant she'd just agreed to meet the brother and sister later that night. "I. . .umm. . .I'll meet you at ten."
Eight days later, Callie stood behind the bar in her usual spot at eleven in the morning. The past eight days had been the very best eight days of her entire life, and that had nothing to do with the fact that she had celebrated Christmas with her family only one day before.
No, Callie's spirit hadn't been lifted by Season's Greetings or Good Tidings but, instead, by the beautiful blonde woman who was currently walking her way.
"Good morning, stranger," Arizona said, hopping up onto the stool that had become her own over the past week. "I missed you, yesterday."
Callie smiled and, surreptitiously looking around to assure no one gawking at her, she leaned over the bar top to press a lingering kiss against perfect pink lips. "Mmm," she moaned against the other woman's mouth. "I missed you, too."
Holding onto the sides of Callie's face as their lips continued to intimately dance against each other, Arizona didn't want to ever let go. She wanted to stay like this forever - for the rest of her life - in the warm embrace of this gorgeous brunette she had met only eight days before.
They had been inseparable from the very first night. She had easily won the bet with Timothy; it was more than obvious, by the time she and her brother had left the hotel cabana bar to get ready for their night out, that Callie was definitely interested in Arizona and certainly not her male counterpart.
From that night on, she and Callie had spent every possible moment together; except for yesterday - Christmas Day.
And now, she wanted - needed - to soak up as much of this woman as she possibly could because in just a couple short hours, she was going to have to let her go. Her plane back to Seattle was leaving in less than four hours and, unfortunately, she had come to the bar this morning to say goodbye.
Finally pulling back from the other woman, Callie slowly opened her eyes, a sad smile tugging at her lips as her gaze lingered on Arizona's face; she wanted to memorize every last inch of the beautiful vision that had - in a mere eight days - complete changed her life. "I bought you a present," Callie softly whispered, reaching beneath the bar to offer a beautifully wrapped box from where it rested below.
"Callie. . ." Arizona began, completely shocked by the other woman's gesture.
Callie shook her head, gently placing her offering on the bar top. "It's nothing huge," she began to explain. "It's just. . .I like you, Arizona. Like. . .really, really like you, and I know we said we would keep in touch after you left, but I. . ." she trailed off, her cheeks blushing at the words she was about to say. "Do you think we could stay in touch. . .as more than just friends? I mean. . .do you think we could do it? A long distance relationship, I mean?"
Arizona searched Callie's face; she was always amazed at just how much emotion was always present in those magical brown eyes. "I. . .I just. . .I generally don't believe in long distance relationships, Calliope. . ."
Callie's face instantly fell, her arms crossing over her chest to close herself off.
Immediately sensing Callie's withdrawal, Arizona cleared her throat, her fingers fidgeting with the glittery gold bow atop the small square package. "I said generally, Callie," she stated, watching as the other woman's form slowly began to lose some of the rigidity her previous statement had caused. "But, with you. . .things are different. With you, I think I could probably make an exception."
The megawatt smile that quickly consumed Callie's face was brighter than any of the Christmas lights on any of the trees in all of Aruba. "Really? You. . .you think I'm. . .worth it? Probably?" she stammered, her heart pounding in her chest.
Arizona gave a slight nod. "More than probably, Calliope," she honestly admitted, her own heart beginning to beat the cadence on a bass drum. "You. . .you are worth everything, Calliope," she softly stated, her eyes anxiously flicking up from the package to impatiently request Callie's permission to open it.
Callie gave a slight nod, her smile never faltering as she watched her girlfriend? dive into the present, long fingers slightly darkened by her days in the sun ripping at the tape, which covered meticulously creased folds, like an exuberant child who had never before received a gift in her entire life. It took mere seconds for the paper to be removed and, once Arizona opened the box, she softly gasped at what she found inside, curious blue eyes blinking upward to meet Callie's gaze.
Callie stared at the other woman for several long moments but, finally realizing she most likely needed to explain, she took the box from Arizona's hand, slightly trembling fingers removing what lay inside. "It's, uhh. . .it's a watch," she nervously began, immediately shaking her head and rolling her eyes at the glaring obviousness of her statement.
Nodding her head, hoping Callie would continue with her explanation, Arizona took the beautiful timepiece from the other woman's hand, quietly admiring the luminous pearlescent dial shining under faceted Austrian crystals.
"By tradition, anything that goes next to the skin is considered an. . .intimate gift - jewelry, watches, perfume. . ." Callie nervously continued, anxiously watching as Arizona appraised the watch. "And I want that with you, Arizona. I want our relationship to be more than casual. I want it to be strong. I want us to have a deeper commitment, and that's what I want this watch to represent. It, uhh. . .it has dual clocks for different time zones so that you'll always know - whatever time it is in Seattle - someone three hours in the future is always thinking of you and is totally committed to you."
Arizona found herself completely shocked by Callie's words and the sentiment behind the giving of such a gift and, as she locked the clasp around her wrist, she knew she would never forget this very first Christmas spent with Callie, and she silently vowed - from that day forward - she would wear that gorgeous timepiece every day for the rest of her life.
