It had been a long week for Callie. She had taken time off work to cope with her loss not being able to deal with clients in her current state of mind. She spent the first three days mourning around the house and just reminiscing about how things used to be. She found herself covering her stomach in a protective manner on more than one occasion. She was feeling blessed to have part of Greg still with her. Thier baby was growing inside of her and Callie wasn't going to let anything happen to that baby. The baby is what pushed Callie to eat in that first week. The baby pushed Callie to sleep in a bed that was now empty on her husbands side. The baby made Callie step up to the plate and deal with what she had to do even if she did it all crying and alone.
After getting all of the accounts in order and all of the insurance claims taken care of as well as getting a new door to replace the one that had been shattered from what the cops called a break in Callie decided that she should sit down and just relax. After three very busy days Callie hadn't stopped thinking about her husband but she also hadn't really processed what had actually happened. She was staying busy going through the motions and checking all of the boxes of things to do.
On day four is when everything came to the surface. Callie cried, she sobbed, she screamed, and she didn't get out of bed. She couldn't. How could the God that she believed in take her husband from her? She hated God in that moment. She didn't understand how he could be so mean. How he could give her the baby she always wanted just to take away the husband that made them (the baby and Callie) a family. Callie was livid and to prove her point she stayed in bed. She didn't answer the phone, she didn't shower, she didn't even sleep. She couldn't sleep knowing that she was alone in a house that had been broken into, a house that her husband had died in not even a week earlier.
After staying in bed and not leaving except to use the bathroom for five days the doorbell rang. Callie pulled the pillow over her head and turned away from the sound willing it to go away and hoping that whoever was at her door would assume she wasn't home.
The doorbell rang again. Callie pulled the pillow off her ear and sighed into the air. She rolled onto her back and moved her eyes to the ceiling fan above her. This time she prayed that the person at her door would just leave her alone.
The doorbell rang again. This time Callie was just mad. Who was at her door? Who dare disturb her sleep... or lack of it... but the person on the other side of the door didn't know that. Why couldn't people just leave her alone? Callie's parents knew that she just needed time and promised to back off and give her time to grieve in her own way so Callie knew that it likely wasn't her parents at the door. She was wondering who could possibly be at her door as she scaled the stairs almost stumbling down them because her legs hadn't been used to transport her more than three steps in the last five days.
As she stepped down each step she was getting more and more upset. About halfway down the stairway the doorbell rang again this time shocking her and making her come to a complete stop. She was frozen, the noise louder than it was when she heard it laying on her bed. Callie began to shake. Flashing back to when she walked into the house and saw her husband in the kitchen in a pool of his own blood. Callie fell to her knees forgetting she was on the stairs and falling down the remaining six steps. Once on the floor at the bottom of the steps Callie screamed out in not only fear but also in pain. Looking at her knees that were now turning bright red and burning from scrapping the carpet on her fall.
The doorbell rang again.
"Damn it" Callie screamed "Can't you just leave me the fuck alone?"
Callie didn't expect to receive and answer so when she did it was a huge surprise to her.
"I'm not leaving this door Callie. I'll stand out here in the cold on your porch if I have to but I'm not letting you keep being alone. Nothing good comes from you being on your own Callie. We both know that." Arizona shouted back at Callie through the door.
Callie was shocked to hear the voice of reason from her childhood beyond that door. Most people didn't mess with Callie and she liked it that way. She was bold and independent and liked to do things on her own in her own ways. Hence why her parents agreed to give her time to grieve on her own. Arizona on the other hand was just as stubborn and independent as Callie and could give her a run for her money even when they were only 12 years old. That is what made their friendship so strong. They were just what the other needed whether it was a swift kick in the ass or a friendly shoulder to cry on. They seemed to have a sixth sense around the other at least they used to when they were in middle and high school. And Callie was beginning to think that maybe Arizona sixth sense had come back now that she lived in the same city as Callie again.
"I'm serious Callie I will wait out here on your porch in the freezing February weather if you make me... note that it is FREEZING out her CAL" came the call from beyond the front door again.
Callie went to stand up and realized that it was a futile attempt. She was too sore to put much weight on her legs and instead scooted her way across the foyer floor on her bottom until reaching the front door and stretching to unlock it.
"It's open" Callie called once she has moved out of the way of the door opening.
"Finally" came the exasperated answer from the blonde woman behind the large wooden front door.
Arizona stepped into the house shopping bags in each hand. She looked down at Callie on the floor and nearly dropped the bags. "Are you OK?" she stammered out.
"I'm just peachy" Callie retorted sarcastically "My husband is dead and some asshole just rang the doorbell fifty times... oh and caused me to fall down the damn stairs."
"Tell me how you really feel Cal" Arizona shot back not missing a beat "you look like shit by the way" she sniffed into the air "kinda smell like it too."
"Thanks for that you..." Callie retorted again unphased by what Arizona had just said and knowing that it was most likely true.
Arizona cut Callie off before she could get called anything that might make her walk back out the front door instead of staying like she promised Callie's parents she would and help her friend deal with her loss. "Why don't you pick your tush up and head upstairs for a shower. I'm going to make some dinner and once you are shower and in some comfortable clothes you come on back down here and we can have some dinner and catch up. I haven't seen you in ages." Arizona continued on again glossing over Callie's upset demeanor.
"I would love to but I'm afraid I can't pull myself up because I hurt my knees sliding down the bottom half of the stairs" Callie screamed out in protest. "and I can make my own dinner... Thanks."
"Fine. Suit yourself. I'll just be in the kitchen cooking up something for myself then." Arizona shot back.
"Fine" Callie shot back just as quickly.
Finally pulling herself up onto her feet after using the table next to the door as leverage Callie winced in pain. She slowly began to work her way back up the stairs and into the ensuite bathroom of her master bedroom. She quickly decided that standing in the shower was never going to work and began to fill her bathtub full of warm water pouring scented bubble bath into the water. Once the tub was full Callie began to strip her pajama clad body leaving a heap of clothing in a pile where she stood and stepping into the tub. As she got comfortable she noted the red around her knees beginning already to turn purple. 'Wonderful' she thought to herself as she ran her hands over the slightly swollen skin gaging the pain as she pushed slightly on the areas of deep red and purple.
"Knock knock" came a call from the other side of the door as Callie was beginning to drift into her mind a few minutes later.
"WHAT?!" Callie shot back with a little more bite than she intended.
"Just wanted to let you know that you are welcome to join me for dinner if you would like. It's ready if you want to head down while it's still warm" came Arizona chirpy response. Still seemingly unaffected by Callie's sharp tone.
"Can't you take a hint and just leave me the fuck alone" Callie shot back through the door.
Callie waited for a witty response but when nothing came after a few minutes she thought that she had finally succeeded in ridding herself of her nagging friend. Exiting the bathroom in her robe callie make her way to her dresser to find some clean pjs. She dressed quietly and laid back in her bed. She was exhausted but sleep just wouldn't come. Everytime she closed her eyes images of Greg flew across the back of her eyelids. She saw Greg with her at their wedding, when they were moving into this house, when she had gotten a promotion at work and they were celebrating with dinner in the living room in front of the fire, she just couldn't get Greg off her mind. How had this happened to her? What was she to do now? Placing her hand protectively over her stomach she struggled as she tried to calm her stomach, a mixture of sadness, nerves, and morning sickness hitting her all at once. She stood as quickly as possible on her now shaky legs and made her way back to the ensuite bathroom reaching the toilet just in time to empty the contents of her stomach. Looking into the bowl she realized that she hadn't eaten much as most of what she was relieving from her system was bile from her stomach. Finally feeling her stomach calm Callie leaned back against the cool tile of her bathroom floor loving the feeling of the cold tiles on her overly heated body.
"You OK?" came Arizona's the call from the doorway.
"Just peachy!" Callie said not moving from her current position on the cool tile.
"Are you sick?" Arizona asked concern evident in her voice.
"No, I don't think so… I'm umm just … I'm … ummm…. I'm just freaking out because Greg is gone that's all" Callie quickly came up with. She hadn't told anyone that she was pregnant and didn't think that spewing that information to someone that she hadn't seen in over 10 years was a smart decision. Callie also wasn't ready for the repercussions of letting that secret out of the bag. She wasn't ready to answer all of the tough questions that she knew Arizona would ask once she found out.
"I'm here for you Callie. I know that we haven't seen each other in a long time but I can still be your friend. I think that you need a friend right now Cal being on your own after what happened isn't a good thing. We both know that." Arizona said taking a deep breath she continued right on talking "I'm staying here until you are OK. You aren't OK right now Callie. You need time to process and to grieve and to heal once you have come to that point."
At this Callie laughed. "So you are going to just what camp out on my couch until you deem me "healed"" Callie chuckled using air quotes on the word healed.
Thinking about what she had just said Arizona hesitated before answering. It was a little presumptuous of her to just invite herself into her best friend from high schools house and stay indefinitely. Looking back at the broken woman standing in front of her she sighed and began to speak "Unless you really don't want me here" Arizona spoke with a hint of sadness in her voice. "You know what I'll just go back to my hotel room. I need to find a place of my own her anyways… you know seeing as I just moved… consider me gone… but please note that I was just trying to help. I remember how wonderful and loving you were in high school and thought that maybe I could help get you back to that marvelous person. It was stupid. I'm sorry."
"I don't need a babysitter or a nurse" Callie shot back. "I don't need you! I don't need anyone. I'm fine on my own!"
"Is that so? How many times have you been out of bed in the last week? Huh Cal? The answer should be easy if you are so sure you don't need help." Arizona replied.
"What are you gonna do Arizona? Will me better? Are you gonna stay and make sure that I'm all fixed up? Is that what this is? I'm not another person from high school you can fix." Callie said with bite to her tone.
"I'm a lot different than I was in high school Callie. If you would stop fighting with me and give me a chance I think that I could be your friend again and…" Arizona said back compassion evident in her tone of voice.
"That's the thing Arizona I don't want you to be my friend. I want to be alone! Go back to your life in Boston. Go back to Tim and your parents. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Callie shouted back turning red in the face as she got more and more angry.
"I can't…" came Arizona's whispered response as she turned to leave the room taking quick and calculated steps out of Callie's house as quick as her feet would carry her. She made it to the front door in record time and grabbed the suitcase that sat outside the door and began down the walkway to the driveway pulling her phone out to call a cab to take her back to her hotel room. After hanging up the phone Arizona made a call to her realtor wanting to leave a message about setting up appointments to look for a place of her own.
As the phone rang it finally clicked to voicemail… "please leave a message after the tone, I will get back to you as soon as possible" said the to perky (even for Arizona) voice on the other end.
"Hey this is Arizona Robbins…" came Arizona's voice cracking as she began crying. "I called a few days ago to look at houses and was hoping that I could keep the appointment that I cancelled earlier today. I guess I will be needing a place of my own after all" Arizona said sadly into the phone as she sat on the curb outside her former best friends house.
Inside the house Callie was going over in her head everything that had just transpired. She was being an ass and she knew it. She was taking her pent up frustration out on someone who used to be her best friend. It wasn't fair. Arizona had been nothing but nice to her and even made her dinner which Callie knew was a huge step for the blonde… Arizona never cooked, she hated cooking. Realizing she was being stupid and going over what Arizona had just spewed about not having a house of her own and living in a hotel Callie felt instant guilt come to her. Arizona used to be her best friend the least she could do is house her until she could find a place of her own… living in a hotel just wasn't acceptable.
Callie picked herself up off the ground and began walking with vigor down the stairs careful not to fall this time as she was already struggling with her banged up knees. She made it to the front door and peered out into the dark just as a cab came pulling up her driveway.
"Arizona wait…"