Title: Better in time
Author: lysangelle
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG13/
Summary: Arizona and Owen finally talk about their common grounds and hit off a real friendship.
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.
A/N: Because I would like to see Arizona and Owen relationship developed on the show, since, in my POV, the both of them have more things in common than is obvious. Thanks to walking_weapon for encouraging me to write this one.
A/N: Dedicated to new friends, thank you for getting out of your way to reach out a hand and a friendship offer…
This fic title is from the album of my last musical crush; Bobby Bazini/Better in time. If you like your pop music full of soul, you really should check it.
*Arizona voice over*
Most children make friends as fast as they trade toys; they meet another kid and the simple idea of playing with someone new and fun weave ties that can last for one hour, or for a lifetime. It's easy. It's simple. As we grow up and, most often than not, life taints us, making friends, real friends, gets harder. We become more cautious about offering our trust. Even if we're trying to always look for the good in people. At that stage in life the starting point of a new friendship can be surprising and unexpected.
Callie Torres and Cristina Yang were approaching their apartment after a long shift when they heard squealing coming from behind their blue door. Callie froze for a second, recognizing her girlfriend's distinctive voice.
"What the hell!" She wondered out loud as she hurriedly opened the door.
Callie and Cristina quickly made their way inside and stopped in their tracks at the sight that welcomed them.
'I know that ass.' Callie thought unwittingly as she looked at Owen Hunt, her jaw dropping.
The redheaded man was standing frozen in front of the kitchen counter. The part that got the two roommates speechless was the tight jeans covered legs hanging in front of him, his arm wrapped around slim calves.
Cristina was the first one to find use of her vocal cords again.
"Owen, a perky paeds surgeon grew up on your shoulder."
The words brought Callie back to her daze.
"Hunt, care to explain why you have my girlfriend hanging upside down from your shoulder?" The ortho surgeon asked in a tight voice and narrowed eyes.
The redheaded man realized it would be a good idea to answer fast. He was very aware that his bones weren't up to a close encounter with the ortho badass if she set her mind to take care of them.
"She was being a brat!" He explained dumbly.
A blond disheveled head appeared suddenly above Owen's other shoulder; "He started it!" Arizona exclaimed, glancing at two women. "Wohoho! Head rush!" She added quickly before disappearing behind the wide shoulders again.
Callie and Cristina exchanged a knowing look; "Kids." They said in sync.
The Asian woman walked to her boyfriend and patted his chest.
"Put the annoying blonde down, Owen." Cristina said in a clipped voice as she headed to her bedroom.
The trauma surgeon quickly did as ordered, taking only the time to steady the unsteady blonde before following his girlfriend; "You better clean up those cereals you threw at me, Robbins!"
"Ha! You mean the cereals you got in the way of!" Arizona retorted with a crazy laugh.
The paeds surgeon turned when she felt the warmth of another body against her back.
"Hum… Hi!" Arizona told her lover with a bright full smile. Her gorgeous dimples in full display.
Callie laughed; she never could resist that smile. She knew that Arizona was aware of it and used and abused it but she didn't care one bit; why would she want to resist that amazing woman anyway.
"You're one of a kind, Arizona Robbins." The dark haired woman said as she pulled her lover in a tight hug.
The blonde nuzzled her love's neck with a happy sigh, just satisfied to be in the haven of her lover's arms again.
Callie gently rocked them as she mused out loud; "I don't know what happened between you and Owen that night but you sure became great buddies since."
Arizona chuckled; relieved to not hear any trace of jealousy in her lover's voice.
She soaked the warmth and love as she thought back about the conversation that kick started her friendship with Owen Hunt.
"Arizona? Are you ok?" Owen asked as he spotted the paeds surgeon on the couch.
The usually perky surgeon was sitting with her head down, blond hair falling around her face, hiding her face. Her elbows were resting on her knees and her hands were clutching the cordless phone. Her whole demeanor spoke of heartache and profound sadness.
Arizona jumped at the sound of the deep voice. She had been so lost in her dark thoughts that she didn't hear the front door open and the trauma surgeon make his way in.
"Owen, hi!" she quickly answered, trying to put her façade back on. "I'm fine. Just thinking."
"Huhuh, I see." Hunt retorted as he took off his jacket before taking a seat at the other end of the couch.
The trauma surgeon watched the expression on the beautiful face, looking for the truth. Owen Hunt, as rough around the edges as he seemed, had taken a real liking to the delicate woman sitting a foot away from him. Going once on rounds with Arizona, and especially listening to her explaining that, in paeds, 'they had miracles and magic' had been enough to win him over. She had brightened his mood dramatically that day, with her charming ways, her joy and her devotion to her work and her kids.
The blonde raised her beautiful blue eyes to his and tried to smile, unsuccessfully.
Owen nodded his head in silent understanding before asking; "Where is Callie?"
Dropping all pretense, Arizona sighed before answering.
"She's been held back by an emergency; she should be here in a while."
"You want to wait for her or would you consider telling me what's wrong?" The bearded man asked.
"I wouldn't talk to Callie about this anyway." Arizona whispered as she let her head fall backward against the back of the couch.
"Why not?" Owen blurred out, surprised.
"I was on the phone with my parents." The blonde said, evading the question. Her eyes found the man's deep ones, communicating more than her words would. "It's the anniversary of my brother's death today." She added in a whisper.
Owen swallowed hard as a wave of pain hit him. He turned toward the blond woman and put a hand on her shoulder. Offering silent comfort.
Arizona gave him a pain filled but thankful smile.
"What happened to him?" The trauma surgeon asked, all he knew was that her brother didn't come back from Iraq.
The beautiful blonde hesitated; "I don't want to bring up bad stuff for you, Owen."
The redhead smiled at the woman's thoughtfulness. She was hurting and was still thinking about how he would react to what she had to say.
"No, it's ok," He answered. "I'm supposed to learn to talk about those things in a somewhat 'detached' way. That's what the shrink said."
They chuckled together at the irony until Arizona's face turned serious again;
"Danny was on patrol; his unit was caught in an ambush in some lost corner of the desert. It was a month before he was supposed to come home."
Owen rubbed the blonde's shoulder, knowing by experience words wouldn't help. What good could it do to Arizona to hear that this is how her brother, being a soldier, would have wanted to die?
Arizona turned her wet blue eyes to the man sitting at her side; "Thanks Owen." She whispered and he knew she was thanking him for more than the physical comfort. How many people had said those words under one form or another, to her and her parents, offering condolences? Words meant to make them feel better but who mainly made her want to scream about how her brother had been too young to have wanted to die, for any cause or reason.
"Anytime." The trauma surgeon answered with a smile. "If I can ask; why don't you want to talk to Callie about this? I mean she's your girlfriend and you don't have to be very observant to see she's crazy about you."
The blonde sighed; "It's the first thing we really fought over, did you know that? Back when George joined the army. She wanted to stop him from going and she couldn't understand why I didn't agree with her."
Hunt nodded, thinking about that time and how some people reacted and blamed him for George's decision.
"I remember that day, too. Bailey and Callie gave me a hard time about it. They thought it was my fault, that I pushed him to enlist. I thought I was the only one thinking it was a good thing. I felt pretty alone that day, believe me." Owen chuckled, remembering again how proud of George he had been at the time.
"You weren't the only one." Arizona clarified. "I thought what George was doing was so brave and heroic. But Callie didn't even give me the time to explain at first. She just jumped to conclusions and ran."
The blonde chuckled as she kept going; "She made me so mad, evading me, that I just burst in on her and forced her into listening to my side of things. It's then that I blurt out what happened to Danny. I wasn't planning on telling her that way, it just came out."
"Didn't she understand?" the redhead asked, surprised.
"Oh she did, she apologized and has been very understanding ever since." Arizona answered.
"So? Why won't you tell her about today?"
The blonde laughed; "No wonder you stick with Cristina, you sure are persistent, man!"
Hunt pretended to be hurt; "Hey! I resent that remark!" he exclaimed with a fake frown. "So now, stop evading the question and answer me."
"Pushy!" The blonde chuckled before sighing in resignation. "I don't want her to think she needs to comfort me. I think it would make her uncomfortable."
"I think you're wrong." Owen reacted. "Look, I might not be exactly the most sensitive person or the best to give advice, but I think Callie would want to be there for you, to be allowed to comfort you when you need it."
The paeds surgeon made a skeptical face.
"Listen, Arizona." The red-haired man added, bending forward to look into the cloudy blue eyes. "You don't have to be perky all the time. You don't need to be a good man in the storm 24/7. Not with Callie. And not with me."
Too overwhelmed to speak at that minute, Arizona grabbed the big hand resting on her shoulder and, bringing it to her lap; she squeezed it tight between both of hers.
"It's something Danny used to say." She admitted when she felt she could speak again without breaking down.
Owen smiled in understanding. "Smart man. You miss him a lot huh?"
The blonde shrugged; "He was my best friend as we were growing up. We were moving a lot, from base to base, wherever my father needed to be. I didn't have much problem making friends but having to say goodbye and then find new friends over and over again was just tough on us kids. We just more or less turned to each other and became best friends. Still it doesn't mean we weren't fighting all the time!"
Hunt chuckled, imagining a small Arizona fighting for all her worth with her brother.
"Hey, don't laugh!" the blonde interjected. "I'll let you know I wasn't the one loosing most of the time."
Owen burst out laughing this time; "Oh for some reason I believe you without question!"
Arizona pulled her tongue at him childishly, making the trauma surgeon laugh even harder.
"You remind me of him sometimes," the small woman mused, turning toward Owen more fully. "And not only for the obvious reasons."
The bearded man blushed lightly at the increased attention.
Arizona's eyes move away from the rugged face as she thought back about her brother.
"He stuck with me through it all, you know. He was the first one I came out to. I was so worried about how he'd react to it. Because it could have meant loosing both my only sibling and my best friend."
"Guess he reacted well huh?" Hunt encouraged.
The blonde smiled; "You could say that. He didn't seem that surprised, he said he had doubts for a while. He added that I needed to be very careful about the girls I would date though. He said he didn't believe in beating girls so he wouldn't be able to kick their ass if they were hurting me."
Hunt laughed again; "What did you answer to that one?"
"I told him he never stopped him from beating on me before!" Arizona answered. "I miss him. And I miss having a brother. I feel I didn't even know him anymore in the last months; he refused to talk about his daily life. It made me feel so disconnected from him."
Both of them got lost in their thoughts for a while.
Owen was the one to break the silence.
"Arizona, would it help if I told you more about what daily life were like for the troops out there?"
The blonde looked up in surprise.
"Owen, you don't have to. I know it's probably hard for you and the last thing I want is to bring back bad memories for you."
"You wouldn't. I might help to talk about the normal things that we were doing there." Hunt told the hesitant woman.
Arizona smiled in gratefulness. "I think I'd like that." She answered sincerely.
"Great." The trauma surgeon answered, 'anything to see that smile again' he thought. "And in the mean time if you need a substitute brother to kick some ass, I'm volunteering for the job."
Owen was rewarded when the dimpled smile reappeared in all its glory.
"Thanks Owen." Arizona gratefully whispered before hugging the tall man.
They separate when they heard the front door opening.
Callie entered the apartment and looked curiously at the two people facing each other on the couch.
"Is everything ok?" She asked, seeing the somewhat puffy eyes or her lover.
"Sure, everything's good. We were having a friendly chat." Arizona answered, turning back to face her girlfriend.
"Yep, friendly chat." Hunt agreed as he got up, "I'll leave you two to it; I can hear the shower calling my name."
Arizona looked up at the redhead; "Thanks again, Owen."
"Anytime. Just remember what I said." the trauma surgeon suggested before heading to Cristina's bedroom.
"What do you have to remember?" Callie asked as she took her jacket off and dropped it on the back of the other couch.
Arizona smiled tenderly at her lover.
"Come here?" She asked, patting the cushion at her side.
The tall woman quickly made her way to the couch and sat as close to her lover as possible. She was barely settled that Arizona was climbing in her lap, wrapping her arms around her waist and folding herself into a ball.
Callie frowned as she instantly hugged her girlfriend back.
"What's wrong, baby?" The dark-haired woman asked tenderly.
Arizona opened her mouth to answer with some form of 'nothing' but she realized from her current position in Callie's arms that she already decided to follow Owen's advice.
"Today is my brother's death anniversary." The blonde tearfully whispered, her face buried in her lover's neck.
Callie froze for a second before tightening her hold on her girlfriend comfortingly.
"I'm so sorry, Arizona. I don't know what to tell you, except I'm sorry." The ortho surgeon admitted.
"You don't need to say anything, Calliope. You're here, it's all that counts."
A thought occurred to the dark haired woman; "Why didn't you tell me before now?" Callie blurted out, before berating herself for letting her mouth takes over her brain again. "I'm sorry, baby. Please forget I said that."
Arizona shook her head where it rested against a strong shoulder; "No it's ok, you have the right to ask. And to wonder."
The blonde took a deep breath before explaining herself.
"I didn't intend to tell you, I didn't want you to think you had to…"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Callie interrupted, placing a hand under the pale chin to make her girlfriend's look at her, "You never have to hide things from me, I'll never feel like I HAVE to do anything, not when you're concerned. And I always want to know what's going on in that beautiful head of yours. And I want to be here for you, no matter what."
The sky blue eyes searched dark velvet ones and found only love and honesty.
"It's what Owen said," The blonde admitted, "that you'd want to know."
"And he was right." Callie chimed in.
Arizona moaned at that, making her girlfriend laugh.
"Yeah I know how much you hate being wrong, baby."
The paeds surgeon pouted; "Hey, I'm never wrong! And it's just that I hate… when someone else is right."
Callie laughed again and dropped a kiss on soft pink lips; "I love you, Arizona. But next time, please just tell me when you're hurting? Please?"
The blonde swallowed hard and nodded her answer. A sob threatening; she buried her face in her lover's neck again, breathing hard.
"What do you need me to do?" The dark-haired woman asked, feeling guilty for bringing back the dark mood in her girlfriend.
"Just hold me. I just need you to hold me." Arizona admitted.
"I'll hold you forever, Arizona Robbins." Callie whispered.
The ortho surgeon held her lover tight as she felt warm tears dripping on her shoulder, soaking her shirt.
After a few minutes, Callie felt the blonde's body relax in her arms and a deep sigh escaped her beloved's mouth, the warm breath against her wet skin making the dark haired woman shiver.
"Let go to bed, baby. We can cuddle and you'll tell me about it… If it's what you want." Callie suggested.
"K." The short blonde answered simply.
Before she could move from her comfy position, Callie stood up, easily lifting her in her arms and carefully heading for their bedroom.
Arizona sighed again, wrapping her arms tighter around her girlfriend. Silently she thanked Owen for encouraging her to talk to Callie about this day.
She hadn't realized how much she needed to before she actually did it.
It was only a beginning and she wasn't sure how much she would be able to tell her lover just yet, but she knew now she could and should confide in Callie.
And she promised herself to never hold back from her again.
A few days later…
Standing dumfounded in the kitchen area, Callie was listening to the conversation taking place in the living room.
Sitting side by side, wearing matching Boston Red Sox shirts, bottle of beer in hand, Arizona Robbins and Owen Hunt were waiting for the ball game to start again.
"I'm telling you, Big Papi best days are behind him." Arizona started, "He better do a lot better this year or he'll be on his way out."
Owen snorted; "Hey it's not because he had a bad season last year that he can't come back up to his best game!"
"Yeah right, I hope so but I won't hold my breath."
"What can you expect from a Kevin Youkilis fan anyway?" The redhead exclaimed with a laugh.
Arizona turned to him, offended; "Hey! He's a great player!"
"Oh common, did you pay any attention to his stance before delivery? He looks like a freaking ballerina!" Owen snorted.
The blonde swatted at his shoulder.
"Who cares what he looks like? What matters is his batting average! And for that he's just yay!"
Callie blinked hard, trying to get out of her daze. She moved up to the couch where the two troublemakers were still arguing playfully.
"Guys?" She started carefully, "We're in Seattle. The Mariners could do with the support."
Arizona and Owen both looked to the woman standing in front of them, then to each other and finally back to Callie.
"Nope!" They said in sync.
The dark-haired woman just stood speechless.
"I did my residency in Boston, Calliope." The blonde explained, having mercy on her girlfriend. "I'm an honorary Bostonian."
"I'm a New England native." Owen chimed in.
"I'm doomed." Callie moaned.
The ortho badass dejectedly walked to her bedroom, feeling more than a bit neglected. But she didn't say her last word yet. Opening the bedroom's door, she turned to the two overgrown 12 years old boys sitting on the couch.
"Arizona, I'm going to take a shower now." Callie informed her lover. "And I mean a hot hot shower."
The blonde instantly stood up and handed her beer to Owen; "Gotta go."
"Hey! Where do you think you're going? It's only the fifth inning?"
"Sorry, buddy. I have priorities!" Arizona apologized with a decidedly unashamed look before running to the bedroom where her hot girlfriend just disappeared.
Callie closed the fridge's door as silently as possible, not wanting to wake her roommate and her boyfriend. Knowing it wasn't a problem with her lover who was waiting not so patiently for her snack in the adjacent bedroom. The silk robe clad woman smiled as she thought how ravenous lovemaking was always making her Arizona.
She turned away from the fridge and almost dropped the pizza box she was holding when she spotted a dark silhouette on the other side of the kitchen counter.
"Ah, Cristina! You scared the shit out of me!" The ortho surgeon exclaimed in a loud whisper.
"Oh please don't, not in the kitchen, it's gross." The Asian woman deadpanned.
"Eeeeew! YOU are gross!" Callie answered with a face.
"Hey! Since you peeled yourself off of your girlfriend for the time being, and I'm sure that's not for long… I wanted to ask you; what exactly did your woman do to Owen?" Cristina asked in her ever delicate ways.
"What do you mean?" The caramel skinned woman asked in surprise. After a brief moment a smile appeared on her face. "You're not jealous, are you?"
"Aren't you jealous?" The resident retorted drily.
"I asked first." Callie went on.
"I started the conversation." Cristina chimed in.
The ortho badass opened her mouth to send the ball back but a rustling noise from her bedroom reminded her that she had a better place to be. And better things to do than have a word duel with her crazed roommate.
"No, I'm not. Arizona is a gold star lady lover. Believe me; Owen doesn't worry me in the least."
"Hey what's that supposed to mean? That my boyfriend isn't good enough?" the cardio obsessed resident exclaimed.
"Oh common, Cristina! You're a surgeon, you know anatomy; Owen just doesn't possess the right parts for a sworn lesbian. You know?" Callie explained with a hand gesture over her body. "Too much in one area and not enough in the other? And trust me Arizona loves that 'other' area!"
Cristina blinked in disbelief.
"Wow, Torres! TMI there! But you sure have what it needs to satisfy her then, repeatedly and LOUDLY." The shorter woman complained in a loud whisper and a face.
Callie chuckled.
"No, I'm not jealous in fact." The Asian woman went on. "It's just that since Owen started hanging around with your little miss sunshine he's changed! Sometimes I think he might be on drugs. He's so much perkier."
Callie laughed fully at the horror filled expression on her roommate's face when she pronounced that last part.
"That's my Arizona, she brightens everyone's days. She's a ray of sunshine."
"Please make her stop? He's scaring me!"
The ortho surgeon expression turned serious; "Is that really such a bad thing, Cristina?"
The resident seems to think for a minute before answering.
"No, it's not. He looks happier."
"Maybe he found his BFF." Callie offered. She instantly knew that her roommate's thoughts went to Meredith.
Cristina nodded with a grunt before going to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of juice. Callie, sensing the conversation was done, dropped a bottle of water in each of her robe's pockets before picking up the leftover pizza again.
'Here I come, Arizona! Be ready for me baby!' The caramel skinned woman thought with a smile.
"Callie." Cristina whispered as she reached her bedroom's door. "Please, tell Arizona I said thank you."
Callie could tell how serious Cristina was when she used Arizona's name instead of one of the nicknames she had in store for the paeds surgeon.
"I will." The ortho badass whispered back, easily picking up the underlying meaning of her friend's request.
"Oh and please, keep her satisfied more quietly; some of us do have to work tomorrow."
*Arizona voice over*
As children we make friends out of fun and need of playmates, it's the base of our social skills building. When we grow up and know more about life we become pickier about whom we become friends with, and not just acquaintances. As adults the stronger friendships we develop are sometimes built on tragedy and sadness. Those are priceless; as only true friends stick with you through hard times.
A/N: I'm well aware that Arizona wasn't described exactly as a baseball fan during girls' night but since Grey's writers don't mind a continuity blooper here and there I thought I could let myself succumb to the temptation.
I apologized to the readers who might not understand one bit of that scene for lack of baseball knowledge.