Title: It Was Only Supposed To Be One Drink (1/2)
Author: Race122VE (Coll)
Pairing: Arizona/Callie, with just a hint of Arizona/Teddy friendship
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Arizona waits for Callie to get done work. When her girlfriend gets detained, Arizona decides to have a drink with someone at Joe's.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events 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.
Author's Note: This is a one shot (Now a two-parter) that I wanted to wait to write till after seeing "The Time Warp" (6x15) Basically, I like to try and keep things cannon with show when I start something and I wanted to address certain issues that the writers are taking care of off-screen (I'm assuming, anyway) and to give Arizona an actual friend. So…fair warning…if you don't like Teddy, you maybe should read something else. I'll give more thoughts at the end, but anyway I hope you enjoy reading!
Part 1
Joe's Emerald City Bar – 8:07PM
The display on the phone showed that it was a little past eight.
That meant Callie was now, officially, running late. It happened from time to time, especially in their profession, so Arizona didn't read too much into it and set her phone back down on the bar and continued tapping her fingers against the base of her wine glass. She gazed around the bar, noticing some familiar faces all scattered throughout the bar. There was the nurses, the interns, and different levels of residents all cliqued up and talking animatedly about the cases that had been shared. Despite the way her lecture concluded, Callie's battle with stage fright seemed to be the light, joking point mixed in with the amazement and awe of the chief's intriguing lecture and Bailey's inspiring words. After it all, she promised Callie a night of well deserved drinks and relaxation.
Sure, it was at the bar across the street from Callie's apartment, but it was a last minute suggestion that seemed to brighten Callie's spirits as they were let out of the lectures series and headed back to surgeries. She looked forward to the time alone, any time alone with her girlfriend, but with an unusually slow day on the PEDS floor it made the anticipation almost unbearable.
She sipped on her wine, wanting to take her time and pace herself because she knew that Callie was going to need to drink. Arizona was not a light weight, per say, but Callie and people like Christina Yang and Meredith Grey were just on a whole other plain of tolerance when it came to alcohol. She wouldn't be sure what kind of a night of drinking was in store for her until she could find out what Callie's first drink would be.
A glass of wine meant that Arizona was safe. Anything else other than wine was a different story.
As a few more minutes ticked by painfully slow, her wine got to about half way and she internally questioned whether to hold off and wait or to just get a refill. The ordering another drink side came out on top of her silent debate when her phone buzzed on the bar. She looked down at the text message and pouted immediately at the information she was presented with: Last minute trauma coming in to the ER with multiple breaks.
The sigh that escaped her lips was involuntary, but Joe mistook it for his presence, "Sorry…it looked like you might be ready for another one."
"Oh, I'm sorry…I am…well, was," she stammered, placing an apologetic smile on her face as she looked back at the bartender. "Callie was supposed to meet me, but it looks like it'll be at home."
She took out some money and left it on the bar before reaching for the rest of her wine and gulping it down in a couple sips. Arizona tried not to let herself get too disappointed about Callie's delay. It wasn't the first, nor would it certainly be the last. She rummaged through her bag, deciding that she should look for her keys now instead of at the door where, normally, she had to empty out all the contents before discovering them tucked away in a secret corner at the bottom. After finally finding them, she placed them next to her phone and went to hop off the bar stool.
"Dr. Robbins," Arizona stopped short at the sound of her name and turned to see Teddy leaning against the back of the stool next to her own.
"Dr. Altman," Arizona addressed the other woman with raised eyebrows and a surprised tone. "I know it's been a while since we've had a case together, but I was fairly certain that we were on a first name basis."
"Right," Teddy laughed, a little too much and Arizona could instantly tell that she had been drinking for a little longer then Arizona. "Well, to be honest…it's a little weird for me to say you're name…out loud-"
"This coming from a woman named Teddy," Arizona cut in, a little surprised at the irony that was now dawning on the other doctor's face. "My name has a story, how about yours?"
"Touché," she responded as she motioned to the bar stool. "You saving this for anyone?"
"I was, but Callie got sucked into the ER," Arizona replied. "I'm actually heading back to her apartment-"
"Why don't you stay?"
Arizona froze at the offer, weighing the options in her mind. Teddy took the silence negatively as she back tracked, "Or…not. It's fine, really. I know that Yang lives with Torres, and…well, Owen must be there a lot…"
"What…do you think we double date?" Arizona laughed at the ridiculous image in her head. "It's not like that. I'm not…shunning you. I was just…really looking forward to spending time with my girlfriend-"
"Sounds like you need another drink then," Teddy said as she took her seat at the bar and waved Joe over. She watched as Arizona nodded once, muttering, "Maybe one." before she settled back into her seat. "So, what're you drinking?"
"Oh, just wine," she smiled, but from the look on Teddy's face that was not an acceptable request.
Teddy scoffed at this, "How about something stronger?"
Arizona pursed her lips and looked from Teddy to Joe and realized she probably wouldn't be able to argue her way out of this one. "OK," she caved. "Vodka tonic."
Joe looked over at Teddy, who finished off her drink and pushed her now empty glass forward. "Another scotch," she ordered before turning to look back over at Arizona. "You know, I was just kidding. If you want to go home-"
"It's fine," Arizona shrugged. "There hasn't been that much going on for a while other then work and Callie's speech, so…"
"Ah, 'Lecture Day,'" Teddy chuckled. "How'd it all go?"
"It was…interesting," Arizona frowned at her choice of words and rushed to answer Teddy's questioning face. "Bailey was great, but she's Bailey…The chief…Dr. Webber…it was kind of sad."
"Sad?" Teddy echoed. Their drinks had arrived and both women took a moment to acknowledge Joe and take a sip before Arizona went on, "Yeah, just how amazing he was…or is, I'm sure he's still amazing just…a lot of problems."
"And Callie?"
Arizona could practically hear the amusement laced in Teddy's voice. She looked back pointedly as Teddy slowly broke into a small laugh and said, "Her speech was a pretty hot topic."
"It's what I tried telling her all week…just talk," Arizona continued, recalling the many late night revisions and practices that took place at Callie's. "She got so much better once Karev got her to…talk."
They both noticed the small change that occurred in Arizona's tone, and both ignored it. Instead, they went for another sip of their drink, Arizona taking a little more than Teddy who just watched that blonde with an amused expression on her face. By the time she was finished, Arizona's drink was nearly done.
"I guess I'm pretty bad company," Teddy motioned to Arizona's glass. "You mumbled just one."
After motioning Joe back over, she waved away Teddy's comment, "You're not, I'm just…"
Arizona struggled for the right words to express how she was feeling, what she was thinking, but came up empty and out of time when Joe came back over. "Two more," she ordered while signaling Teddy to finish her contents. "I just think I need another...and what could a few more minutes hurt."
45 minutes later…
"I actually said it!" Teddy exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air and then letting them fall loudly back on to the bar to emphasize her point. "I said, 'I'm un-ringing the bell.' He's standing there…arm around Yang, and then I say that and go scrub in on a surgery with his girlfriend! I think I win on that one."
Arizona shook her head automatically. "I don't think so," she argued, speech slurred and a little too loud. "You just have to see Owen. I had to be around two…well, I don't know how official she was with Sloan so one, one and a half, maybe…Oh, wait…three. Three other guys that Callie's been with. I almost forgot I discovered a third today. So, I win."
Joe walked up with their fresh drinks, a look of uncertainty plastered on his face, and said, "You know, you two have been essentially arguing the same point back and forth for the past fifteen minutes." When he received a blank, drunken stare in response, he just shook his head and added, "Neither of you win."
They both turned back to each other and burst into laughter. "He's right, you know," Teddy agreed after they both composed themselves. "I still think I win in…whatever the hell this is because you, at least, have someone."
Through all the silly doubts she had floating around in her mind, Arizona allowed herself to smile because she never doubted Callie's love and commitment towards her. "I do have someone," she thought out loud, unaware of the foolish look on her face. "And I know there's no logical reason to be jealous-"
"Mmm," Teddy interrupted, finishing the sip she was taking so she could make a point. "Jealousy is not logical…it's human. I don't care how secure you are, everyone gets jealous. The only difference is how well you're good at keeping it to yourself."
"Huh," was Arizona's only coherent response. Teddy, meanwhile, had moved past her inebriated revelation and was now looking back at Arizona with an anxious expression. "So," she began slowly, bringing the other woman's attention back to her. "You gonna hate me if I ask who?"
"Who, what…?" as she was questioning it, she realized what Teddy was referring to. 'Oh! You mean who the third guy is." Teddy winced as Arizona's mouth hung open. "I thought we established we were above gossip."
"That was around drink three," Teddy shot back. "We're beyond that now…but if you don't want to-"
"Karev," Arizona muttered, taking a few more sips before elaborating. "I mean…I don't 'officially' know anything. She kind of…implied…at the end of her speech."
"Well, it's in the past," Teddy reminded her. "Karev, though…wow…"
"It is, it's in the past," Arizona repeated, trying to get the reality of the situation to stick to her brain. "And I have a past, too. Everyone does. She just doesn't have to see it all…almost every day…and teach it…"
Teddy saw the internal struggle and knew what she was going through. The timing with Owen never really aligned itself, and despite her feelings she knew that she could do this friend thing. She knew it would have been different if they crossed that line at one point, hell Owen may have never even asked her to come to Seattle, but that wasn't the case. She could get through teaching Yang, and she needed to tell Arizona that she could do the same.
"It's not easy," she told her. "Before I knew about Yang…the skill that she had blew me away. It makes sense though, from what I've heard. She just has this potential…this thing that has nothing to do with her personal life, so you just focus on teaching."
Arizona laughed. The time she spent with Christina, away and at work, she knew that woman lived and breathed surgery. Even though things never went well whenever Christina ended up on Arizona's service, she could not deny the potential she had of becoming a great surgeon.
She couldn't deny the potential she also saw with Alex Karev.
"You know, I hate it when the rational side of thinking just makes the irrational side look completely wrong," she joked, and Teddy laughed along with her. "This is nice, you know. I was so focused on work when I got here that I didn't really make a lot of friends. Then…I dated, ended up with Callie. Now it seems like all her friends are my friends. So it's weird to talk about…this stuff."
"You don't have to tell me about that," Teddy agreed with a smile. "So far, your pattern is now my pattern. What was the next step? Dating?"
Arizona was in mid sip when Teddy had mentioned dating. The excitement at the idea of trying to help get Teddy out there in the dating scene caused Arizona to choke a little, but she forced her drink down and beamed back at Teddy. "Is that you're way of telling me you want to start dating?"
It was Teddy's turn to choke on her drink. "That was actually me joking," she clarified. "I'm gonna stay in the focus on work part for a little while."
"Well that's no fun," she remarked. "The sooner you start dating, the sooner you find someone…then you have both."
Teddy laughed bitterly in response, "We can't all be you."
It was Arizona's turn to laugh, "Don't give me too much credit. I dated…a lot before Calliope. Hell, I ever turned her down and went out with someone else before we started getting serious."
Joe appeared with two new drinks in front of them, and Arizona didn't notice her or Teddy ordering them. It didn't stop her from drinking, however. After a few sips, Arizona blinked and frowned at Teddy. "What number is this?"
All she got was a shrug. As Teddy became determined to add another drink to whatever number they were up to, Arizona grabbed her bag and rummaged around for her phone. "Oh boy," she muttered as she found it and saw that she had a few missed calls.
"I see you got my messages."
Both women turned at the sound of Callie's voice. In the process, Arizona knocked over her drink. Everyone's attention turned to the accident, except for Callie who crossed her arms over her chest and assessed the multiple glasses and disheveled manner of her girlfriend.
"Calliope," Arizona greeted, turning as Joe brought a dish towel over and assured her that he would be more equipped to clean up the mess than her. "Hi…hey…you're, um…out of surgery?"
"Never went in," she informed. "I ended up triaging the ER before Owen let me off duty." She looked over to Teddy who kept her focus forward, as if not looking at Callie would somehow make her invisible. "Teddy," Callie acknowledged.
"Callie," Teddy nodded before returning back to her glass.
"Do you mind if I steal my girlfriend?"
Teddy looked over at Arizona, who was looking down and picking at her fingernails. "Can't steal what's yours," Teddy replied as she got up. "Nice chatting with you, Arizona…" The blonde looked up, offering Teddy a friendly smile and both of them got a sense that they each had a new friend outside of the circle of their respective others. Noting Callie's irritated stance, Teddy offered a "Good luck" before exiting to another part of the bar.
Callie moved and stood closer to Arizona, allowing her eyes to roaming over the glasses that Joe was clearing out of the way. "Vodka tonics," she observed with raised eyebrows. Arizona bit her lip as she nodded. "How many?" she asked.
This time, Arizona rolled her eyes to look anywhere but at Callie and let out a deep sigh.
"There goes my night of relaxation," Callie murmured before brushing some of Arizona's hair out of her face. "Let's head back."
"Yes," Arizona exclaimed, tripping slightly after hopping off the stool a little too enthusiastically. "There's more drinks there…I'm fairly certain you can catch up to me quickly."
"I think I'm gonna have my hands full with you," she shot back as her arm slipped around Arizona's waist for support. Despite the shock and slight irritation of finding Arizona drunk with Teddy, Callie couldn't help but smile at the feel of Arizona's body leaning against her own. "So…making nice with the Cardio God?"
"Is that not OK…"
"No, it's fine," Callie told her right away as they both shivered when the cold air hit them after leaving the bar. "It just wasn't something I was expecting to see."
"Well, she had things to talk about…I had things to talk about," Arizona rambled while Callie listened with an amused expression on her face that slowly shifted to something different that Arizona failed to recognize. "You know, she's got the whole Owen and Christina drama, I've got the whole Karev thing going on-"
"Whoa, wait," Callie stopped once inside her building, holding her hand up while her face was etched with confusion. "What Karev thing? What are you talking about?"
Her mouth formed a small "O" as she realized what she had said out loud. "Crap…"
"Oh, that Karev thing?" Callie asked, slightly aggravated. "The thing that happened, like, five years ago?"
"Maybe I'm upset that I had to find out about it along with a lecture hall filled with our colleagues," Arizona argued. "I just don't understand why you didn't tell me?"
Callie motioned towards her girlfriend, "Look how you're acting. It was one, meaningless night…and now you're upset about it-"
"Again, I'm upset that you never told me," she reminded Callie. "I thought we were at a point where everything was on the table."
A bitter chuckle passed through Callie's lips as she shook her head and pressed the button for the elevator repeatedly and harshly. "Well, if everything was on the table you would have told me you had a problem with it when I asked, multiple times, if everything was OK."
Arizona brought her hand up to her eyes, trying to rub some sobriety in them but failing miserably. The elevator dinged, announcing it's presence, and Callie stepped in and held on to the door as she waited for Arizona to step forward. "I don't know if I can do this tonight."
"Arizona-"
"I think I should call a cab," she thought out load. "Go back to my place…"
Callie reached out and grabbed Arizona's hand. She held it for a moment and, with a gentle squeeze, tugged the blonde forward a step. Before entering the elevator, their eyes locked and Callie gave her a reassuring smile. "Come on," she urged softly. "We can talk in the morning."
Arizona allowed herself to be pulled into the small space and was gratefully when Callie kept pulling until their bodies were pressed together. Arizona's arms circled Callie's waist and clung to the material of her leather jacket. She sighed when Callie moved her hands slowly up her arms, then soothingly rubbing along her shoulders and the back of her neck.
Everything disappeared between them: whatever they were fighting about just moments ago, the lecture and stage fright, any other problem they ever had was gone. Arizona was drunk and upset, Callie was sober and confused, both were angry, but both also knew that they loved each other and, for now, they could put aside their negative feelings and help each other get through the night.
Author's Note 2: OK, so this was supposed to be a one shot, but as I was writing and by the time Callie got to the bar, I still had so much more to write that I decided to break it up. I hope you liked the ideas I was playing with. I got a good friendship vibe in "New History" from Arizona and Teddy and I wanted to explore that. I also wanted to go into the fact that Arizona's character, on the show, is very dependant around Callie's circle. Whether it's her friends, her home, Arizona doesn't seem to be very independent from that except for work.
Sure, she has Bailey, but, as we know, Bailey is not one for girl talk, squealing, and OMG's. Aside from personal stuff, Arizona has Alex in PEDS and I wanted to play with this new realization that Callie has slept with, yet, another guy. I'm not mad about that, and I don't think Arizona was. I'm shocked, just like her. So, that's where that part comes in.
Anyway, thanks for reading…both the story and my rambles. Still working on the next part. Hopefully I can get that up sometime next week. Enjoy!
