Title: A Little Bit Goes a Long Way (Part 1)
Author: iheartcallietorres
Rating: T (to be safe)
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
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.
Summary: What happens when a little girl needs a heart transplant at Seattle Grace and her parents want only the best of the best heart surgeon?
A/N: So, this is my first Fanfic ever. Please be nice, but I appreciate constructive criticism. If I get positive feedback, I may do a part 2. This storyline has been bouncing around in my head for quite a while now. Enjoy!
Callie Torres groaned as she reached over to stop the horrid noise of the blaring alarm clock. She pulled the covers over her head in attempt to escape the blinding sunlight streaming through the window.
"Oh, no, Calliope Torres," a voice said from the doorway. "That's the third time you've hit the snooze button. Time to get your pretty ass out of bed." The covers were thrown back and Callie rolled reluctantly onto her back, glaring at her morning person girlfriend.
"You are way too perky in the morning," Callie grunted.
"You say that every morning, Calliope," Arizona said while rolling her eyes. "Here," she said, handing Callie a mug of coffee.
Callie took the mug, but put it on the night stand and pulled Arizona onto the bed instead. She kissed her swiftly, threading the fingers of one hand through the soft blonde hair while wrapping her other arm around Arizona's tiny waist.
"Hmm," Arizona sighed into the kiss and allowed her tongue to caress Callie's for a moment. She pulled back a little bit. "Good morning," she said with a smile.
Callie grinned. "Morning." She tried to kiss Arizona again.
"Oh, no you don't," Arizona said and started to move away. Callie pouted. "That's what you get for hitting the snooze button three times. You're going to be late as it is."
"Well, if I'm already going to be late…" Callie wiggled her eyebrows.
"Nice try, but that would make me late, too," Arizona said. "I just wanted to make sure you were up before I left. I have an Nero Blastoma patient waiting for me." Callie noticed just then that Arizona was already dressed and ready to go.
"Spoilsport," Callie muttered as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Be nice and maybe I'll make it up to you tonight," Arizona said slyly as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
Callie couldn't wipe the stupid grin off her face for the rest of the morning as she went on her rounds and looked over patient x-rays.
"Heads up, the Wicked Witch is coming for a transplant consult later today."
Callie looked up from the chart she was filling out to her roommate, Cristina. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, truly confused.
"The Wicked Witch? Made my life a living hell while she was here. Left you in the dust. Hahn. She's coming to here for a little girl that needs a new heart. Thought you should know."
Callie groaned. "Of course she is," she muttered under her breath and handed the chart back to the nurse behind the counter. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. It's a big hospital. Maybe I can manage to avoid her."
Cristina grinned. "You can, but roller skate girl can't. It's a peds patient."
Callie groaned again. "Great."
Callie and Arizona, aka "roller skate girl," had been "officially" dating now for six months. It had been just over a year since Erica Hahn had stomped out of Callie's life. Now she was back and was going to work with her girlfriend. Great. Just freaking great.
A hour later, Callie sat alone at a table in the cafeteria waiting for Arizona. Mark Sloan placed his tray of food down next to her, causing her to jump.
"Bit jumpy today?" he asked smugly.
"Shut up," Callie responded.
"I take it you heard about Hahn?"
Callie just grunted.
Arizona walked into the cafeteria just then and sat next to Callie. She avoided looking at Callie when she said hello.
"It's alright," Callie said. "I know and I am not going to freak out. I'm not."
Arizona looked at her, a worried expression on her face. "You sure?"
"It's a big hospital. I'm stuck in the pit today anyway."
Arizona grinned.
"Besides, I'm not the one that has to work with her," Callie said.
Arizona grimaced. "Working with your girlfriend's ex. Fun times at Seattle Grace-Mercy West."
"Well, she doesn't know the two of you are dating," Mark supplied. "Just be professional and she'll just do her job and get out."
"Be professional, says the man who the nurses started a boycott over," Callie teased.
"Hey, that was the old Mark."
"I've heard that before," Callie said.
"This time it's true," he argued.
"Sure," Callie and Arizona said at the exact same time. Then laughed.
"What time is the Wicked Witch coming?" Cristina asked as she joined them at the table. She noticed Callie. "Sorry," she said.
Callie shook her head and raised her hand. "No worries. I'm good. I'm great. I'm… Just ignore me. I'm not here."
"Okaaay… So what time?" she asked Arizona again.
"Why?"
"Because she's going to let me scrub in. I'm going to make her let me scrub in."
"You're going to make her let you?" Callie asked.
"You're invisible, remember?" Mark said.
Callie glared at him.
"We're meeting at three, but I don't know when she'll actually arrive. She may be here already. In any case, U.N.O.S. hasn't found a donor heart yet, so we don't know if or when there will be a surgery," Arizona replied.
"But if there is one, I'm scrubbing in."
Arizona raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're sure of that? I thought Hahn hated you."
"But that was before she was working next to my roommate's girlfriend who will let me scrub in because I know things now. I know deep dark things."
"I want to know these deep, dark things," Mark said, leaning towards Cristina.
"You're bluffing," Callie said.
"Am I?"
"Alright," Arizona said. "You can scrub in if there's a surgery. But only because I'm nice. You don't have anything on me."
"You're right, I don't. But you already said I could scrub in."
"Three o'clock, Peds room 352, Tabitha Miller, age nine," Arizona supplied.
Cristina sat there looking smug as Callie's pager sounded.
"I need to get back to the pit," Callie said, gathering her things. "Good luck," she said to Arizona and gave her a quick kiss. It was going to be a long day. She could already tell.
Five minutes to three found Arizona Robbins checking a sedated Tabitha Miller's vital statistics and waiting for Dr. Erica Hahn. She'd never met the woman, never even seen a picture of her, but was intimidated nonetheless. Not by her skills as a surgeon, however, though she'd heard many a praise of Hahn's technique.
She'd been Callie's first girlfriend, or whatever they had been.
Callie was putting on a strong front, but Arizona knew her better than anyone else. She was hurting on the inside at the prospect of coming face to face with the woman who'd broken her. She was terrified she'd have to talk to her. Arizona hoped that wouldn't have to happen, but knew there was always a chance.
The door to Tabitha's room opened and Cristina walked in, a grin on her face as she reviewed Tabitha's charts. Not thirty seconds later, a tall, statuesque blonde entered the room in dark red scrubs and the requisite white lab coat.
"Dr. Robbins?" the woman asked.
Arizona rounded the bed and stuck out her hand. "Dr. Hahn, I presume?"
"Yes, nice to meet you," she said, shaking Arizona's hand. She turned to Cristina. "Yang, what are you doing here? You've switched to peds?"
"It's a cardio case. I'm a cardio resident."
"I told her she could be involved with this patient, Dr. Hahn," Arizona rushed to say. The last thing she needed was a conflict on her hands. Erica nodded.
Cristina looked smug for a second before she had the good graces to put on a neutral expression.
"Tabitha Miller," Cristina began. "Age nine…" she continued detailing Tabitha's condition and medical history. Arizona took the time to study Erica Hahn. She was confident, Arizona could tell, but also a little nervous. Arizona guessed she was as uncomfortable with being here as Callie was with her being here.
"Anything else, Dr. Robbins?" Erica asked after Cristina was finished.
"That's about it, Dr. Hahn. I asked Tabitha's parents to meet us in the conference room."
Erica nodded and turned to Cristina. "Order another EKG and page me when the results come back."
"Yes, Dr. Hahn," Cristina said and left the room.
Arizona walked with Erica to the conference room where Mr. and Mrs. Miller were waiting. After a lengthy conversation about Tabitha's prognosis and possible transplant, the couple left the room to be with their daughter. Erica sat jotting down notes while Arizona continued to look over Tabitha's charts and test results.
"Does a Dr. Torres still work here?" Erica's sudden question startled Arizona and she looked up from Tabitha's charts.
"Callie? Yeah, she's an ortho attending." The sudden question had caught Arizona unawares. She'd answered by habit before realizing who was asking.
Erica just nodded and Arizona made herself remain quiet. She wanted to ask why the other woman wanted to know, but stayed silent.
Arizona's pager went off just then. A 911 from Callie. She excused herself and made her way to the pit.
"Dr. Robbins, over here," Owen Hunt called from Trauma room 2. She entered the room and her heart immediately began to pound. On the table lay a motionless young girl covered in cuts and bruises and an obvious leg fracture that Callie was currently attending to.
"Kasey Landers, age four, fell out of a tree house and onto the windshield of a parked car," Owen said as she listened to Kasey's heart with her stethoscope. "Multiple fractures in her leg, arm and ribs, probably others, possible head and neck trauma, in need of a C.T. and X-rays. BP is stable and heart rate is strong."
"Her breathing is getting weaker by the second," Arizona said. "We need to intubate her."
Half an hour later, they found themselves in the OR working on the little girl. Her X-rays had shown multiple fractures that Callie was working on and a C.T. had indicated internal bleeding in the abdomen that Arizona and Owen tried to stop.
For a while, it seemed as if the young girl wasn't going to make it, but no one gave up and two hours later, Kasey was expected to make a full recovery.
"I don't see how you do it," Callie said to Arizona as they scrubbed out.
"Do what?"
"Work with kids all the time. I can't stand seeing them slip away."
"Hey, she's going to be alright," Arizona said.
"I know, but still… I couldn't do it all day every day," Callie said. They finished rinsing and walked out the OR together, intent on finding a quiet place to sit for a while. Both needed a rest, even if it was for only five minutes.
Their favorite place to sit and take a break was the Attending Lounge on the 5th floor. Rarely used because the 2nd and 3rd floor lounges were so much nicer, they were able to grab a few minutes of peace and quiet.
Callie pulled off her white lab coat and hung it on a chair before toeing off her shoes and laying on the couch, her eyes closed. The kids were always the cases that got to her the most. She admired that Arizona could work with them constantly. It showed how strong she was, how dedicated and nurturing.
Arizona studied her girlfriend and smiled. She was exhausted. Probably as much from worrying about running into her ex as from the stress of her long hours. She walked over to the couch after removing her own lab coat and lifted Callie's legs before sitting down and pulling them across her lap.
Callie sighed, content. "I wish we could stay like this forever. No broken bones, no sick kids… Just relaxation and happiness."
"Hmm," Arizona said, stroking Callie's legs through her navy blue scrub pants. "You'd go insane in no time. You can't even go three days without craving surgery."
Callie chuckled. "True," she said. Her eyes opened and she looked at her gorgeous girlfriend. "So, how'd it go?" she asked tentatively.
Arizona gave her a reassuring smile. "Just as any other consult goes. We talked about the patient and talked to the parents. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, except that she did ask about you."
"She did?"
Arizona nodded. "Just if a Dr. Torres still worked here."
Callie inhaled deeply. "Probably just wanted to know if she needed to try and avoid me."
Arizona took one of Callie's hands in her own. "I know it has to be difficult," she said.
"No, really," Callie insisted. "I'm over her. You know that."
"I do know that," Arizona said, squeezing Callie's hand. "But it doesn't change the fact that she was your first. You never forget your first. She was special to you whether you like it or not. It doesn't mean you're stuck on her or anything. And from what I hear, she was more than a that, Calliope. She was your best friend. You didn't just lose your girlfriend. You lost your best friend. I think that's even harder to face. Am I right?"
Callie closed her eyes against her tears. "Yeah," she sighed.
Arizona brought Callie's hand up to her lips and kissed her palm. "Maybe you should talk to her," she suggested.
Callie's eyes sprang open. "Seriously?"
Arizona nodded. "Sure. Calliope, she lost her best friend too. I think it would be good for the two of you to clear the air."
Callie stared blankly at Arizona. "I don't know… I wouldn't know what to say."
"Just tell her how you feel. She's probably going to be here for a while. Tabitha needs a new heart, but it may be a while before she gets one. And chances are, you'll run into her sooner rather than later. You can avoid the awkward scene that's bound to occur by talking to her first. Just think about it."
This was her chance. It was now or never. Arizona was right, as usual. She just needed to get over her nervousness and talk to the woman. It had been two days since her talk with Arizona and she'd managed to avoid Erica so far, but she new she was pushing it. It was only a matter of time before she would accidentally run into her.
Callie took a deep breath and started towards the 2nd flood attending's lounge that Erica had just walked into moments before. Callie knew she was alone in there. It was a perfect place to "accidentally" run into her.
Callie reached the door and briefly hesitated before gripping the handle and pushing it open, acting nonchalant, as if she had no idea Erica was in there. Her head was bent over her cell phone as she fake-typed a text message as the door shut behind her.
She looked up at a quick inhale and, even though she'd known Erica was in there, she found herself in a shocked state. Her shock was real. She stood rooted to the spot. She contemplated bolting out the door but decided against it. Instead, she pocketed her cell phone and studied the woman sitting at the table, coffee in hand.
Erica Hahn still had an effect on her, but Callie was relieved to discover that that effect came nowhere near the effect Arizona had on her.
The two women stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Callie was brought back to reality. She cleared her throat and stuffed her hands into her coat pockets, a nervous habit.
"I, ah, heard you were coming for a consult," Callie started. She licked her suddenly dry lips, another nervous habit.
Erica nodded, seemingly choosing her words carefully. "Uh, yeah. A nine-year-old girl needs a new heart."
Callie nodded. "So, ah, how… how have you been?"
Erica shrugged. "Good, good. You?"
"Good… I was promoted to attending."
Erica nodded. "I heard. Good. You deserve it."
Callie nodded back and bit her lip. She pulled out a chair across from Erica and sat, sighing heavily. "Look, I know things got pretty screwed up and I hate how things ended. But we were good together." Callie paused, thinking about how that sounded. "I mean as friends. You were my best friend and you just… left. Without even saying goodbye. I can understand leaving me, the girlfriend or whatever the hell I was, but I don't get how you left me, the best friend."
"Callie—"
"No," Callie held up a hand. "Let me finish. Relationships come and go, I get that. What we had was good. I screwed it up and I'm sorry if you got hurt. But I needed time to process. Time you weren't willing to give me, and that's okay. You knew who you were. You figured it out right away. But I didn't. It took me quite bit longer, even after you left. So, I can forgive you for leaving because I know you were hurting. You were hurting because I couldn't be who you wanted me to be. But, Erica, I've missed you. We were such good friends and I screwed it up. I'm sorry for that. But I'm not living in the past. We can try to move on and at least be professional colleagues or we can keep avoiding each other like we have been the past two days. More than likely, you'll have to come back to Seattle Grace-Mercy West again and I for one don't want to have to be on high alert just because I may run into you."
Silence filled the air as Callie finished her monologue and she sat anxiously awaiting Erica's response, holding her breath. Erica inhaled deeply before speaking. "You're right," she said. "You hurt me. You slept with Mark Sloan right after you slept with me. And that hurt... But I hurt you, too. And I shouldn't have left like that without saying goodbye. But I was frustrated and… and sad that my best friend didn't want me like I wanted her. I was too proud to face you, knowing that I was setting myself up for rejection. I thought I was protecting myself. So I'm the one who's sorry. Sorry for leaving so abruptly, sorry for not giving you the time you needed. I'm just… sorry."
Callie allowed Erica's words to sink in. "So, what does this mean?" Callie asked.
Erica gave her a small smile. "Well, we didn't work as a couple, but we made damn fine friends."
Callie smiled back. "Friends." She knew it wasn't that simple. It would take a while for them to be friends again, if it was even possible. But it was a start. They could at least be civil for now.
"This will probably make things a bit easier," Erica said.
"Yeah, no more dodging into empty rooms when I see you coming down the hall," Callie said.
"Well, that too. But the Chief has been practically begging me to come back for two days now. I'm thinking of accepting and if we're at least civil, it'll be a lot easier."
Callie raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she asked, not sure how she felt about that piece of information.
"Yeah. I'm still not sure, though."
Callie nodded. "Well, Yang will pitch a fit, you know."
Erica chuckled. "It was always so much fun ribbing her. But I have grown as a teacher in the past year. And she does show extraordinary promise in Cardio."
"Who are you and what have you done with the Erica I knew?"
Erica laughed. "I'm right here, Callie. Just a little wiser." She finished off her coffee and threw away the cup. "I think we should try this friends thing again. A fresh start."
"I'd like that," Callie said. "But just friends. That's all we can ever be."
Erica nodded and eyed her carefully. "You've found someone." It wasn't a question. It was obvious from the look on Callie's face.
Callie nodded. "And I'm happy."
Erica smiled. "You deserve to be happy." She paused. "So is it a man or a woman? I heard Sloan was finally in a committed relationship. Please tell me it's not Sloan."
Callie chuckled. "It's not Sloan. You know the peds surgeon you're working with? Arizona Robbins?"
"Sloan's with the peds surgeon? That's an… interesting pairing."
"No, no, no—" A pager suddenly went crazy and both doctors checked their pagers. It wasn't Callie's.
"Dammit, I have to go," Erica said. "It's Tabitha Miller. 911." With that she left in a hurry.
Callie took a deep breath and sat there a few minutes longer, reflecting on her conversation with Erica. Arizona was right, she did feel better. But it was still awkward. And what if Erica did come back as Head of Cardio? Callie wasn't sure what would happen. Nothing romantically, she knew. She hadn't lied when she'd told Arizona she was over Erica. She was so in love with Arizona that no one would ever be able to make her think about anyone else romantically. But friendship? Honest to goodness friendship with Erica again? That she wasn't so sure about.
Callie sighed and headed to an on-call room to attempt to grab a few hours of sleep before her next surgery.
"Thanks for dinner, Callie," Lexie said as she brought her plate into the kitchen. "It was delicious, as always."
Callie grinned and reached for Lexie's plate.
"Don't even think about it," Lexie said. "We do this every time. I can put my own dishes into the dishwasher. You just go sit."
Callie chuckled and did as Lexie said. It had become a tradition for the six of them, Callie, Arizona, Lexie, Mark, Cristina and Owen, to gather at Callie and Cristina's apartment at least once a week and eat a nice meal prepared by Callie. Tonight, however, they were short Owen, who was on call at the hospital, but they had gained Sloan, Mark's daughter, and Sloan's baby son.
"I don't know what you said to her, but thank you. I am forever indebted to you," Cristina said as Callie walked into the living room area.
"What are talking about?" Callie asked as she sat next to Arizona on the couch, who handed her a glass of white wine.
"Hahn! She actually let me scrub in on all her surgeries today. She told me to thank you. So thank you!"
Callie raised an eyebrow. "Really? Wait, she's doing other surgeries?"
"I think the Chief is trying to entice her to come back by giving her other surgeries," Mark supplied.
"Come back?" Arizona asked.
"Apparently, the Chief has been practically begging her to return as Head of Cardio," Callie supplied.
"And what do you think about that?" Arizona asked her, placing a hand on her knee.
Callie shrugged. "I honestly don't know." She laid her head on Arizona's shoulder and sipped her wine. "It's awkward. It probably will always be awkward. But she's good. She's good for the hospital, and she's good for Cristina, apparently. So, it looks like I have to deal with it." She looked up into Arizona's bright blue eyes. "It would be a lot harder if I didn't have you, you know."
Arizona smiled and kissed her softly.
An hour later, it was just Callie, Arizona and Cristina sitting in the living room after their guests left. They talked for a bit longer, then decided to call it a night.
Callie stood brushing her teeth as Arizona started the shower and began to undress. It never failed that the sight of Arizona's nakedness caused Callie's breath to catch and her heart to race, among other things. She finished brushing her teeth and began to strip herself. It had become a nightly ritual when they were both not on call, showering together.
The shower stall was large and easily fit both of them. The water was hot and soothing. Arizona smiled as Callie joined her. "Wash my back?" she asked, handing Callie the washcloth. Callie grinned and began washing Arizona's back, marveling at how delicate she appeared. She moved the washcloth slowly over her spine, taking care to wash her lower back and buttocks thoroughly.
"Hmm," Arizona sighed. She caught Callie's hand and turned around to face her gorgeous girlfriend. "I think my back is clean."
"Mine isn't."
"Are you really okay with it?" Arizona asked as they settled under the cover to go to sleep.
"Okay with what?" Callie asked around a yawn as she curled up next to Arizona.
"Erica coming back."
Callie kissed Arizona's forehead. "I think I'll be fine once I know for sure that we can be civil and work together. And I don't think that will be a problem."
"God, you're amazing," Arizona said.
"Hey, I had to work with George and Izzie after that whole disaster. I think I can handle working with Erica."
Arizona chuckled. "True." She was silent for a moment, then raised herself a bit. "What if she still likes you? I mean, romantically?"
"She doesn't," Callie insisted.
"You don't know that. I'm serious, Callie. What if she tries to get you back."
Callie sighed and sat up, bringing Arizona up with her. "First of all, that's not going to happen. She seemed genuinely happy for me when I told her I had found someone. And second of all, if on the obscure chance that it does happen, I love you, I'll always love you. What Erica and I had… it wasn't love. It may have eventually turned into love, but it wasn't love. What I felt for Erica comes nothing close to the way you make me feel. So don't even worry about it."
Arizona studied Callie for a minute. "I'm being insecure, aren't I?"
Callie kissed her nose. "It's cute," she said. "Now, come on. I'm exhausted."
They settled under the covers and cuddled tightly together.
"How are you feeling, Tabitha?" Arizona asked the nine-year-old as she checked her vitals.
"Tired," the young girl said.
"She didn't sleep well last night," Mrs. Miller said, looking exhausted herself.
Arizona clasped Tabitha's hand. "If she has trouble again tonight, I'll give her a sedative to help her sleep." She smiled at the small child. "Okay?"
Tabitha nodded.
"Good. Now how about some pudding? I think I can sneak some in here if it's alright with your mom."
Mrs. Miller nodded and Tabitha smiled.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do."
Arizona left the room and sent an intern for the pudding while she looked for Erica Hahn. She found the woman in the conference room, studying charts. "Dr. Hahn," Arizona said from the doorway. "Tabitha's heart rate and BP are low and she's been having trouble sleeping."
"U.N.O.S. needs to hurry," Erica said, shaking her head. "She's developing an arrhythmia on top of everything else." She stood and handed Arizona the charts she was reviewing.
Arizona studied them and sighed. "I'll call U.N.O.S. and see if I can get her pushed up a bit on the list."
"She needs a transplant within the next two or three weeks if we're going to save her," Erica said with a hint of defeat in her voice. She sunk back into a chair and Arizona studied her.
"You don't work with kids a lot, do you?"
Erica shook her head, running her hands over her face. "No, I don't. It's rough."
"Kids a lot tougher than adults," Arizona said.
"That's because life hasn't gotten in their way yet," Erica said with a slight chuckle.
Arizona smiled. "You'll see. I have faith that we can and will save Tabitha."
Erica looked up at her. "You really think so?"
Arizona sat across from her. "I really think so. She's tough. She's a fighter."
"She sure is," Erica agreed.
"So, are you going to accept the Chief's offer?" Arizona asked suddenly.
Erica looked surprised.
Arizona shrugged. "Callie told me," she said.
"Callie?" Erica raised her eyebrows. "Oh, that's what she meant," she said to herself.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. Just something she said yesterday finally clicked. I'm still not sure if I'm going to accept or not. But do me a favor? Don't spread it around that he's asked me to come back. I don't anyone trying to influence my decision."
"I won't, but a few others already know. Which means that the entire hospital will probably know by the end of the day."
"Great," Erica said.
Arizona stood to leave, but stopped at the door. "For what it's worth, I've enjoyed working with you." She started to go, but turned back again. "And you should also know that she's missed you. And she's trying. Just give her time." Arizona smiled and left, closing the door behind her and exhaling. She'd seen a new side of Erica today and she felt a little better.
She went in search of Callie, guessing correctly that she was in the cafeteria eating lunch with Mark and Lexie.
"Hey," she said as she sat next to Callie and stole a grape off her tray and plopped it into her mouth.
"Hey," Callie responded. "Are you on call tonight?"
"Yep," Arizona said.
"Good. Me too."
Arizona continued to gaze at Callie.
"What?" Callie asked with a laugh.
Arizona smiled. "I love you," she said.
Callie smiled back. "I love you, too."
"Hey! No love-y dove-y in the cafeteria. It makes me nauseous," Cristina said as she walked up to the table. "You're on call tonight, right?" Cristina asked Callie.
"Yeah, why?"
"Because my mother is in town," Cristina said making a face. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight? My mother will no doubt insist on sleeping in mine and the couch is horrible to sleep on."
"As long as you make it in the morning," Callie said.
"Fine," Cristina said and began to walk away.
"You may want to change the sheets before first," Callie said. Arizona elbowed her in her side. "What? Just giving her fair warning."
"Ew," Cristina said. "I appreciate it. Fresh sheets are…?"
"In my closet, top shelf."
Cristina just grunted and walked away.
"Glad I'm on call tonight. Cristina's mother scares me," Callie said.
"Well, you should be scared of me," Arizona said.
Callie studied her and shook her head. "Yeah, you're not very scary with the ponytail and the teddy bear on your lab coat."
Arizona glared at her, but cracked a smile. "You'll see. I have my ways."
"Move over," a voice awakened Callie from her precious slumber.
She grumbled and pulled the covers higher over her head.
"Calliope," the voice continued and a hand pulled the covers down.
Callie groaned and opened her eyes. "What—What's… Arizona?"
"Scoot over," Arizona said.
Callie finally gathered the energy to do so and moved to the side of the tiny bed. Arizona lifted the covers and crawled in next to her girlfriend. Callie wrapped an arm around her and breathed in her sweet scent. They were both asleep within minutes.
Neither one heard or noticed the door of the on call room opening or the person enter the room. Erica Hahn stood in the doorway and studied the couple fast asleep on the narrow bed. She couldn't help but smile, though her heart clenched. Callie had been more than a friend. She'd been her first female lover. She'd been half-way in love with her when she'd left.
Erica regretted leaving the way she did. Not only did she cause herself pain and agony, it was apparent that Callie had suffered as well.
But Callie had moved on. Rumor had it that the two women in the bed in front of her had been together and in love for quite some time. And she liked Arizona Robbins. She was an excellent surgeon and an all around good person from what she'd been able to gather.
It looked like Callie had found a good woman to be with and Erica really hoped they stayed together.
It was weird, but in a way, the fact that Callie had moved on and found another woman to love made it easier for Erica to move on with her own life. She hadn't felt ready in the past year to commit, but now, she felt ready. The fact that Callie had found happiness strengthened her. Now, she wanted what Callie had.
Erica gave one last longing glance that the happy couple and backed out of the room. First thing tomorrow morning, she was going to go to the Chief and accept his offer.
