Disclaimer: This is AU. I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I just manipulate them to my will. Also, any line or phrase or setting that seems remotely familiar from any other show, movie or book, also not mine. I borrow…

AN: There was an overwhelming wish that I continue this one-shot, and I can't say no to my awesome readers. I don't know how long this fic will turn out to be. It's not gonna be a huge one, but I think I can give this story a good ride. Enjoy!


Chapter 2

"Sofia? Come on, hurry up, mija. Your ride's gonna be here any minute!" Callie called up the stairs while affixing a silver loop in her ear. With the second in place, and still no word from her daughter, she called again. "Sofia?!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," the fifteen year old scoffed. Her feet were heavy down the stairs, as always when it came to school mornings.

Callie gave her Sofia a quick appraisal. "Is that shirt long enough?"

"Yes," Sofia answered sharply.

"Really?"

"Mom."

"Lift up your arms." The mother met the girl's glare. "Come on, up." With a sigh, Sofia lifted her arms above her head, pulling the shirt up and exposing a two inch strip of skin. "Go change," Callie said flatly.

"Mom! Come on!"

"The last thing you need is to be written up again, Sofia. I know it's a stupid rule, but it's a rule. Go change." Callie pointed back up the stairs, and Sofia turned on her heel with a long drawn out sigh. "While you're up there, try rolling those eyes back to the forward position, Miss Thing," Callie called after her daughter.

After a quick wardrobe change, and a passed inspection, Callie finished packing her briefcase while the teenager scarfed a quick breakfast of half toasted Eggos.

"Alright, now remember I have a thing tonight," Callie said, "and I won't be home until late, so you know the drill. Home directly after school and you start your homework. Grounded means no TV, no computer games, no talking on the phone. I've asked Mrs. O'Malley next door to pop in and check on you and-" at her daughter's second scoff of the morning, Callie asked, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"I'm not five, Mom. I don't need the old lady next door to babysit me. I can handle one night on my own- God!"

"Like you could handle a Saturday alone?" The mother asked pointedly. "Tell me, Sofia, how did that turn out? Oh, yeah… you wound up in the back of an ambulance with a broken arm and a concussion." That the girl couldn't dispute. The evidence was still wrapped around her left wrist… and itching like crazy. "I'll start treating you like the fifteen year old you are when you actually start acting like one. Until then, Mrs. O'Malley will be making sure you're staying out of trouble while I'm at work. …Plus she said she'd make you her lasagna that you like so much for dinner."

A honking from outside filtered into the house, alerting the women that Sofia's ride was there. The girl shoved the last half of an Eggo in her mouth and made her way towards the front door, Callie with her briefcase and coffee mug behind her.

"Lastly," Callie said, holding Sofia up from darting to her waiting friend's car, "you will not embarrass me by being rude to Mrs. O'Malley. You hear me, Sofia?" When her daughter just nodded her head, Callie said, "Answer me, young lady. You got yourself into this, and you're not going to take it out on Mrs. O'Malley. You will be polite, and happy to see her. You will thank her for making you dinner, and you will do all the dishes afterwards. Am I understood?"

Sofia finally met her mother's gaze. "Yes, Mom. I understand."

"Thank you," Callie smiled. Finally released, Sofia turned and started for the driveway until Callie cleared her throat. As her daughter turned back to her, Callie brought a finger to her cheek. "Kiss?"

Brown eyes rolled, but not in the exasperated way as earlier in the morning, and Sofia quickly kissed her mother's cheek. "Bye, Mom."

"Bye, baby." She watched her daughter slide into her best friend's car, gave both a wave, and followed the beat up Honda out of the driveway. While Sofia and her friend took the left out of the drive, towards school, Callie directed her Audi right and towards Seattle Grace Mercy West.

This Friday morning went as most mornings went. Callie downed the last of her coffee during the walk to her office, and after changing into her scrubs, the doctor grabbed a second cup of brew before heading off to rounds. While no day was like any other day, this Friday was just another day… except for the date. The date that was a mere twelve hours away. Time seemed to have dragged since Saturday, when a previously unknown blonde pediatric surgeon had saved Callie's daughter and turned around and asked Callie out as well. It all happened so fast, leaving Callie Saturday night wondering what the hell she had agreed to.

She hated dating. Hated it. And it wasn't because she hadn't had a date in years. Callie didn't like dating because she wasn't good at it. Somehow she always ended up skipping steps, moving too fast, and falling head first into a relationship that the other person didn't even know existed yet. Besides… Callie liked her life. She was a damn good surgeon, with an awesome job, and an even more awesome daughter. It had been just her and Sofia, and that's all Callie needed. Why risk messing that up?

But as Saturday night rolled into Sunday, and then into Monday and Tuesday, Callie still couldn't bring herself to cancel on Arizona. And then Wednesday night Callie started wondering what she'd wear on the date, leading to Thursday night where every article of clothing Callie possessed ended up in a pile on her bed until she had found the perfect outfit. And this morning, when she woke up, butterflies had taken up residence in Callie's belly. She was excited. …Nervous, but excited.

The sight of her future date didn't help matters. Callie was sure she had seen Arizona around the halls of Seattle Grace Mercy West before, but just didn't know it at the time. But now that Callie knew who the woman was, seeing the surgeon casually getting ready for her own surgery gave Callie pause.

Glancing up from the bench she was seated on, Arizona smiled. "Dr. Torres," the peds surgeon said smoothly.

A smile turned up Callie's lips. "Dr. Robbins." She did her best to appear nonchalant while pulling the lab coat from her body and hanging it over a hook next to the rest of the doctors' jackets. Her fingers fumbled a bit at the strings of her scrub cap, but if Arizona noticed the woman didn't say anything.

"So," Callie slid down the bench closer to Arizona once the last bystander had cleared the prep area, "we still on for tonight?"

"Absolutely," Arizona answered with her dimples on display.

"Ok. Good. I'm… I'm looking forward to it." Callie didn't chance a look at Arizona, and instead busied herself getting her scrub cap tied just right.

"Me too." Arizona took a moment to study Callie in profile, and she found herself thinking how beautiful Callie's eyelashes were. So thick, and full. Eyelashes that forced someone to stop and look Callie in the eyes. …Eyes that were suddenly looking back at hers.

Arizona's gaze snapped away. "Well, uh… surgery. Got a tiny human waiting to be fixed. Umm- I'll see you tonight."

"You will," Callie replied. Arizona parted with a smile, and as she walked away Callie added, "Have fun!" As soon as it was past her lips Callie couldn't believe she said that. "Have fun?" she grumbled to herself. "What the- 'Have fun'? Yeah, 'have fun' hacking up a little kid. Perfect, Torres. Just perfect. She probably thinks you enjoy kicking puppies too. …You never did know what to keep your mouth shut."

The rest of Callie's day went easily enough, and at 6:45 she was already changed back into her street clothes and walking out of the hospital's doors. She knew she was early, but she had already stalled the last forty five minutes, and Callie figured that a quick drink before her date arrived would help settle her nerves.

And as most nights a Joe's, the place was well attended. Attendings, residents, interns, nurses, and a plethora of other hospital staff were already drinking the stress away of another week come and gone. All the high-tops and booths seemed to be taken, so Callie took a seat at the corner of Joe's bar, and placed her purse in front of the seat around the corner.

"Hey, Cal. Haven't seen you around here lately," Joe greeted the woman. "What can I get you?"

"Uh… A red wine, please." A glass was set in front of her seconds later. "Thank you, Joe."

Her old friend smiled. "You look great," he added with a wink before serving his next patron.

With a steadying breath, Callie took a sip of her wine, and waited.


Back at the hospital Arizona glanced at her watch. It was already 7:03, and her patient's parents seemed intent on keeping the woman from her waiting date.

"Mr. Myers, Mrs. Myers, I assure you that everything went as planned. The surgery was a complete success."

"Then why hasn't he woken up yet?" The concerned mother asked for what seemed like the fifth time.

"It takes a few hours for the anesthesia to work its way out of the system, and for some kids it takes longer than others. But sleep and rest are his best friends right now, along with the pain medication we have him on. He's going to be sleepy for a while, and that's exactly what needs to happen. Ok?"

She spent another five minutes easing the worries of tired parents until Arizona was finally able to hand over the child's chart to the lucky intern who was on call that evening. After quick instruction to the young doctor as to the only reasons why he should even think about paging his boss tonight, Arizona made a bee-line for her office. She changed in record time, and with a quick once over in a mirror, Arizona power walked her way out of the hospital.

Her watch read 7:22 when Arizona stepped into the relaxed bar, and she wondered if Callie would still be there. But when her gaze found the brunette sulking at the corner of the bar, Arizona let out a sigh of relief.

"Callie?" The Ortho surgeon sat up with a start. "Sorry, I know I'm late. I tried to get away but I had these parents that just wouldn't-"

"No, no worries. I understand," Callie interrupted, a smile on her face that wasn't there ten seconds ago. "Comes with the job, right? Do you, uh- Would you like a drink?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Arizona turned her smile to Joe. "White wine, please." Joe busied himself with pouring the blonde's drink. "Also, I hadn't planned on showing you this but I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving so I'm about to tear into a cheeseburger and a very large order of fries. Would you like to split it with me?"

"Sure," Callie smiled.

Once her meal was ordered and her drink firmly gripped in her hand, Arizona made a half turn and looked Callie full in the eye. "Hi," she said with a dimpled smile.

Callie chuckled. "Hi."

"Again, I'm sorry for being late. That's not a habit of mine, I promise."

"It's ok, really. Besides, it gave me a chance to get through my first drink. …Helped settle my nerves a bit." Callie took a sip of her second glass, which Joe refilled only a few minutes before Arizona arrived.

"And what do you have to be nervous about?" Arizona asked. "Do I make you nervous?"

"No. …Yes." Callie's eyes met Arizona's and the Ortho surgeon blushed. "I mean, not you but… the whole first date thing in general. This is the first date I've been on in… a long time."

"Well I'm glad you made an exception for me." She raised her glass of white wine, and Callie met it with her glass of red with a soft clink.

Thankfully for Arizona's stomach, their burger arrived not long after. With half a cheeseburger each, and a small mountain of fries on a plate between them, Arizona took her first bite and groaned with pleasure.

About halfway through their meal, and Callie's nerves nearly gone completely, the Ortho surgeon wiped a napkin at the lips and said, "Ok, I got to ask. …What have you heard about me?"

"I'm sorry?" Arizona questioned around a mouthful of fry.

"In the elevator. …You said you had 'heard' about me. A lot." Callie took a sip of her wine. "So, what have you heard?"

"I thought you said that it was all lies anyways," Arizona teased back.

"Yeah. …And then you asked me out."

"And you said yes." Arizona smiled at the slight pinkining in Callie's cheeks. Chomping a French fry in half, the blonde said, "I heard that… you were an awesome surgeon. That even though you weren't the head of your department, you ran it anyways. I heard that you really went to bat for your patients. You care a lot about people, even though you haven't always gotten the same in return. And I heard that you were someone worth getting to know."

Callie dipped her eyes from the ones across from her. "See? Like I said, all lies," she played, ending the tense silence with a shared laugh.

Before they knew it, it was already nearing 9:30.

"It's getting late. I should really be heading home," Callie sighed. Their burger and fries had long been gone, and both were nursing their drinks. "Hopefully Sofia is still fully intact."

Arizona chuckled, and followed Callie as she slid off her barstool. "How's she doing? Feeling any better?"

"Oh yeah. She was fine by Monday afternoon. Like nothing even happened," Callie answered while holding the door open for her date. They stepped out into the dark Seattle night, and fell into step beside one another. "She was more pissed about the fact that she only got two days off of gym but got two weeks of being grounded."

"And two months in that cast," Arizona added.

"Oh I wish this was the first bone she's broken," Callie replied. "She's always been accident prone. The jungle gym at 3 years, her bike at 5. …She's used to being in a cast. But this time? The head thing scared me." The memory of being told that a neuro consult was being asked for her daughter swept over the mother, and that half of a burger she had felt like a brick in her stomach. "I'm not like that, normally. All angry and yelling. But… we see stuff, you know? Especially you, being in peds. I mean, parents bring their kids in for minor things all the time and… stuff happens. And that's all I could imagine. So when I saw her on that bed, talking and perfectly fine… I got angry because she scared me."

"You're a mom," Arizona said softly, drawing Callie's eyes to her own. "That's your job. Be worried about them until they're fine, and then yell at them for making you worry. …My mom was a pro."

Their walk went quicker than either cared it would have. "Well, this is me," Arizona said once they were at her sporty little Lexus.

"I'm further out," Callie replied. Silence lapsed; Callie adjusted the purse over her shoulder while Arizona looked around the deserted parking lot. Neither knew what to say because neither was really ready for their date to be over with. "I um… I had a good time tonight."

"Me too." Arizona smiled.

"So… I'll call you?" Callie chanced.

"I'll be waiting." Her smile widened until shadows fell across two dimples in the streetlight.

They exchanged a smile while Callie backed away. Arizona didn't make a move for her car, and instead watched the brunette go. And just as the blonde turned away, reaching for the handle of her car door, she heard, "Wait!"

Arizona whipped around to see Callie walking towards her again.

"I uh… I don't have your number," Callie said.

Arizona fished inside her purse and pulled out a pen. With her free hand, she reached for Callie's right and took it in her own. While the blonde was scribbling across her palm, Callie's attention was locked on the woman now not a foot away from her. So close that she could feel the warmth radiating from Arizona's body.

"There," Arizona said softly, blowing on the fresh ink to dry it. "Now I really expect a call." Callie just smiled back at her, drawing Arizona's eyes down to her lips. Her fingers were still wrapped around the brunette's wrist, so with a soft tug Arizona pulled the woman closer and pressed her lips against Callie's.

It wasn't a big kiss, or long. It wasn't deep, or sexual. It was just a kiss. Their first kiss. And when they parted, mere seconds later, Arizona knew she'd be kissing Callie again.

"Good night, Calliope," Arizona whispered, finally releasing Callie from her hold.

"Good night, Arizona."

With the Lexus's taillights fading away into the night, Callie continued on her walk to her car. Even in the darkness of the night, she could just make out the digits across her palm. She knew the old rule; wait three days before calling. But Callie didn't know if she'd be able to wait that long. …Maybe dating wasn't so bad after all.