Chapter 3: getting to know you part 1

Arizona didn't have an easy life. Then again who did? She was a military brat moving from state to state, and even at times country to country. She did a stint in Japan, Germany, and even England for a few years. She never stayed in one place long enough to to become fully accustomed to it. She never stayed in one place long enough to make any lasting friends.

She finally found her home, here in LA. It just felt right. It felt like home is supposed to feel. She couldn't say that about any other place she's lived. She had found a place where she could plant roots, and stop moving. Somewhere she could actually say she was from. Somewhere she could one day settle, and have dogs, and chickens and maybe even a wife. She was from Los Angeles California, and she loved it.

Finding roots didn't mean it took away her basic need to run, however. She still found herself running away from her "problems." Ex girlfriends got to clingy and she'd find an excuse to skip town for a few days until she could figure out how to break up with them. That kind of thing. It wasn't something she was proud of, but it was who she was.

The only constant in her in life, besides her parents, was Timothy. Her brother. He was almost exactly two years older then she was. Two years, one day, and forty-seven minutes to be exact. It was a running joke between the brother and sister duo. When they were younger their parents would hold their birthday parties together. And being as close as they were, it didn't bother them a bit.

She loved her brother. He was her rock, her support, the person she leaned on when times got rough. But since he's been enlisted in the marines for the past nine years, it's been hard to keep in constant touch with him. While she was in college, he was sent from country to county. And now he was in Iraq out on the front lines.

She lived her life almost on edge because of that dreaded fact. He was always somewhere in the back of her mind. She remembered feeling this way when her dad was shipped out on active duty, but never to this extent. She was used to that. She had been born into that. Not having Tim around was a completely different story. She absolutely hated it.

But... Tim had wanted to be in the Marines for as long as she could remember. She couldn't fault him for it. He loved his country, they had both been raised to love their country. "Love and protect your family, love and protect your country." Were the words her parents lived by. Or to be more exact her Dad. Her mom hated that Tim enlisted. She cried for days after he was sworn in. But she too, showed support. "Love and protect your family, love and protect your country."

So when her phone rang an unfamiliar number she chomped at the bit, and she scrambled to answer it. "Hello?" She asked careful not to get her hopes too high. It was Monday evening. The night Tim usually called, but still he missed some weeks depending on where they were and what his squad was doing.

"How's the most amazing woman in LA doing?" Tim's voice rang through. It was obvious he smiled when he said it, and that caused a smile to set over Arizona's features.

"Timothy Daniel Robbins." Arizona started in a singsong voice. "I've sure missed your voice." She said smiling.

"I've missed your voice too baby sis." He said, static laced in with his words. It almost made it impossible to hear, but Arizona was used to these calls by now, and could easily pick up what he was saying.

"How are things going? Do you know when you get to come home on leave? I was kind of thinking you could come stay with me for a while." Arizona said hopeful.

"Three weeks, twelve hours, and thirty seven minutes... Then I'm home bound for a month!" Tim said excitedly.

"Wait, are you serious? Or is this like the time when we were kids and you told me Santa wasn't even going to bring me coal that year because I made it on the naughty list more then once?" Arizona asked with a growing smile.

"Nope. So serious little sis! I'll stay a week or so with mom and dad and then come see you. We can play the numbers game." He said with mischief in his voice.

"Timothy, if you're lying to me, I swear I'll go out there and ring your neck!" Arizona said laughing. "And you know the numbers game is hardly fair." She continued on.

Since they were both of age. They had made bets with each other. Who could get home with the most numbers after a night out. Whoever won got to make the other do something borderline humiliating, or buy drinks during their next outing. Arizona usually lost having a slight disadvantage. Although She very easily could have gotten numbers from both men and women, she never took that into account, and honestly she held her own very well.

"You know that game was never fair. Straight bars aren't usually a place I can pick up chicks, and besides, I'm pretty sure I've met someone. I mean I really just slipped her my number but... Tim she's gorgeous." Arizona said almost timidly.

She had slipped her number to Calliope last night in fact, and had yet to hear back from her. No call, not w single text, nothing. Maybe everything she thought that was building between them just wasn't really there. Maybe she had read the signs wrong and over thought everything.

"Hold the press. Miss, I'm only going to go on meaningless dates, I never want to have my heart broken again, I am never going to settle has met someone?" Tim asked her in a teasing manner.

"Shut up." Arizona grumbled. All of what he said held merit. She had in fact said that. She was a bit of a wild child, not so long ago, but that was before she met Callie. That was before she felt for the stunning Latina what she had only read about in books, or seen in movies. She knew how she felt. She could only hope Callie felt the same.

"So, who is the lucky lady?" Timothy asked. He was clearly chewing on something. He knew that annoyed Arizona and he often did it during their conversations just to get on her nerves, but she chose to ignore it this time.

"Her name is Calliope." Arizona said nearly singing out her name. "She is beautiful Tim. I can't even explain it. And her name is so fitting." Arizona said in a gushing manner. She knew she was absolutely taken back by the beautiful stranger, but everything in her told her that there was something more there, beyond looks. She just wished she could put her finger on what it was. Because as exciting as this whole thing was, it was also absolutely terrifying.

"Calliope? As in the greek muse?" Tim asked with clear interest. Growing up, the pair had a lot in common. One of their common interests had been Greek mythology and they often got into many conversations about it with their mother over dinner.

"I'm assuming so. I have no idea." Arizona said shrugging her shoulders. She knew he couldn't see her, but she was always pretty animated when she talked.

"So let me get this straight. You're totally into this chick, and you don't even know if that's where her name stems from?" Tim asked with a small chuckle.

"I just met her! You're going to think I'm crazy..." Arizona hesitated for a moment. She was met with silence on the other side and knew Tim was waiting for her to continue talking. He was the one she could count on to understand. So she pressed on. "I... Tim.. There's something there. I can't explain it. I... She's something special, it's something you can just see in her eyes. Her eyes are like... They're... She's amazing." Arizona said at a loss for words.

"I get it." He breathed out. He had felt that way once before. Nicole, that was her name. She was his high school sweetheart. When their parents had finally decided to get roots of their own, Arizona and Tim were allowed to finish out their high school career. Arizona her freshman through senior year, and Tim his junior and senior year. Then he enlisted, and everything changed.

He was instantly in love with the girl. They even dated a few years into his first deployment, but then it got to be too much for her, and eventually they broke up.

"You have a good head on your shoulders. I mean, you don't always make the best decisions but still. You're smart. You know what you want. It's a good quality." He said proudly.

"Thanks Tim." Arizona said almost shyly. She did know what she wanted, and right now she was kicking herself for not getting Callie's number instead of giving her's up.

"Shit! I gotta go Phoenix." Tim said with a smile. It was a nickname he and his best friend Nick had come up with for her when they were back in high school.

Nick had an instant crush on the blonde stranger who stumbled into "George Washington high." His friendship with Timothy had started as a ruse to get closer to the shy girl who sat in the back corner of three of his classes. When nick saw Arizona and Tim had spend a lot of time together, he decided that was his best shot.

Little did he know Arizona had zero interest in him, but she did had interest in the brunette, Ashley who sat next to him in their geometry class.

Arizona smiled at the memory, and laughed. After that the three of them had become nearly inseparable. She still got monthly updates and talked to nick on a regular basis.

"stay save big bro. I love you." She said, coming back to the now. Her heart broke a little in her chest as she said those three little words. She hated when he had to hang up. And she always refused so say goodbye to him, it always felt too final.

"I will. You know me. Love you." And with that the line went dead.

She smiled through her pain as she stared at the blank screen of her phone. "Just a few more weeks Arizona,and he's home safe." She thought to herself as she set the phone on her desk and immediately busied herself with work.

That was another one her her flaws. She worked a lot, especially when she tried to avoid dealing with certain feelings. Heartbreak being one of them. She had once spent nearly three days in her office after Tim was deployed to Iraq the first time.

A ping from her phone brought her back from her work crazed brain. She had been busy editing her voice over for the piece she had done on Callie and her friends. She had written and re-written it at least five times now, and still she couldn't perfect it.

.: Arizona, it's Callie. This is my phone number, and I thought you should have it.:.

The text read.

It made her smile. Her full mega-watt dimpled smile. The woman had timing, she'd give her that much. Usually a call from her brother meant buying herself so deep in work she couldn't see straight. She was always happy to hear from him, but it also meant her thoughts were haywire with worry.

.: I was wondering when I was going to hear from you.:.

She typed back. Arizona hovered over the send button for a few seconds, but then decided she didn't care. She wanted to talk to Callie. And had the beautiful Latina not wanted to hear from her, then she wouldn't have texted at all.

.: I meant to text you earlier, but today has been a crazy busy day.:.

The reply came back. And it came back quickly. That made Arizona's smile grow almost impossibly wider.

.: Well I'm glad you got me. Look I know I said tomorrow, but I have some free time in my schedule tonight. Maybe we can grab a drink?:.

Arizona typed in hopeful. She wanted to see Callie, and Tim had given her that extra push to stop dragging her feet.

.: I'm free around eight.:.

The text came back after a few minutes. It made butterfly's spin around Arizona's stomach in a continuous manner.

.: How about Perch? My friend is a bartender there. Best drinks in LA:.

Arizona sent back. She had been to perch once before. It was on a horrible date. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, but that didn't take away from the ambiance of the bar. It was beautiful. It overlooked the city lights, and she really wanted to actually enjoy it, at least once.

.: sounds great. see you there ;):.

Came back. She couldn't believe it. That was easy. But was this a date? Or did Callie just think this was as friends thing. Crap. Arizona wanted it to be more then just a friend type thing. And there was definite flirtation going on between them, but it could be all once sided. "I think too much dammit!" Arizona scolded herself as she took a deep breath.

She desperately wanted to clarify the situation with Callie, but she also didn't want to seem too eager, Or like she was pushing something on the raven haired beauty.

So she sucked it up. If it was a date, it was a date, . If it wasn't, it just wasn't.

Now it was nearing five, If she was going to look good for this date, or whatever it was, she needed to leave now. She'd take her chances. She'd pull out every stop to make sure something more could come from this.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Callie entered the outside deck of perch bar. It was nestled high on top of the building she had parked her car under. She was late. She hated being late.

She stepped out to the open deck taking in the LA city lights, and looked for a familiar head of blonde locks. She had considered inviting along Amelia, and Addison but thought this could possibly more than just drinks as friends. It could maybe be she and Arizona's first date. She hoped it was a date. It sounded like a date.

Callie smoothed over invisible wrinkles on the front of her black sequined dress. It was dressy, but not overly so. It showed off just enough leg, and exposed her toned, smooth back, while showing off her womanly curves. It was her lucky dress, and it made her feel confident. Even if this wasn't a date, she at least wanted to look good. She could always use the excuse of coming to a fancy bar as her reason to dress up, if it was less than what she had hoped for.

Finally she saw who she was looking for.

Arizona looked stunning in her chiffon blue dress. It fit her just right, and even from across the crowded expanse of the bar it accented the blondes amazingly blue eyes. Callie had to make sure to keep her jaw from dropping. She had never seen anyone more beautiful in her entire life.

Arizona was talking to some woman at the bar, very animatedly. Callie's heart dropped for a quick second. "Crap this isn't a date." She thought as she took a deep breath and made her way over to Arizona. "I should have brought Addison, ugh!" She scolded herself.

She shook off her unpleasant thoughts and started to make her way through the crowd and over to her date... Err... Friend.

Arizona's eyes caught her's as she pushed trough the people. The blondes smile crept over her face, and Callie could feel her knees starting to buckle. It was really crazy how beautiful this woman was. It was unreal, she was amazing.

"Calliope." Arizona said meeting her halfway, after excusing herself from her conversation. She was smiling and her eyes were shining from the lights that were surrounding the bar and glass deck.

"Arizona." Callie said putting on her best smile. She usually didn't like to be full named, but the way it just seemed to roll so effortlessly out of Arizona's pink lips, she couldn't help but like it. Aside from her family, no one called her calliope.

"I didn't know what you wanted, I was assuming a beer was a safe bet, but if you'd like something else we can walk back to the bar." Arizona said handing Callie a bottle of Dos Equis.

"This is fine to start with. Thank you." Callie said smiling as she accepted the beer. She took a moment to appreciate the blondes features before taking a generous sip of the crisp liquid.

"Awesome." Arizona said smiling. She had to take a moment to look over the beautiful brunette in front of her. She almost hummed in appreciation when she saw the way the dress hugged Callie in all the right places. She was convinced she had never seen anyone more beautiful.

"Let's sit." Arizona said motioning over to an empty table. Callie led the way, leaving Arizona to take in the open back of her sequined dress. "Oh I'm in trouble." She thought to herself as she let her eyes trail up and down her exposed olive skin. Her eyes danced over the way Callie's shoulder blades moved when she walked. This woman just didn't make things fair.

A few drinks and many songs later, both women visibly relaxed. It wasn't that they were so wound up before, but neither was sure what this was. It was making itself clear now more then ever. Neither could take their eyes off the other, and if it wasn't for the constant noise of the DJ playing music they would have both thought they were alone at the bar. This was a date.

"So I... This... This is a date right?" Callie finally asked stumbling for words. She was on her second glass of red wine. They had each taken turns paying for rounds, and everything seemed to move in an easy manner.

"I was hoping it was." Arizona said laughing as she crossed her legs. Her eyes danced in delight as she sipped on her choice of rum and diet coke.

"Good." Callie said simply as that earth stoping smile made its way across her face.

"So Arizona... Are you named after the state?" Callie asked playfully quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh come on, give me more credit then that." Arizona said teasingly. "I was named after the ship." She said smiling.

"Ah, yes. The USS Arizona." Callie said leaning forward. The blonde looked slightly stunned as Callie cut in almost taking the words out of her mouth. "What? Don't look so surprised. I paid attention in history class." Callie laughed. "What I am sensing though is there is a story behind it." She breathed out.

"Yes. my dad is a marine, and his dad was a marine. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, my grandfather Timothy Robbins was stationed on that ship." Arizona started, pride already making itself known in her speech. "He saved nineteen men that day, before he himself drowned." Arizona said taking a deep breath. "My parents wanted my brother and I to have strong names, names that stood for something, names that meant something." She said locking her blue eyes with brown. "And so, my brother was named after my grandpa, and I was named after the ship he served on." Arizona finished with her big dimpled smile.

Callie was completely engrossed in the story. She hung onto every word Arizona uttered, she hung on to the way the beautiful voice told the story. Arizona was so much more then a pretty face. Listening to that story only confirmed it.

"That's... Wow, that's amazing." Callie said smiling, trying not to get lost in those blue eyes looking back at her. "Does your brother live here also?" She asked before taking a tentative sip of her wine. She had started to feel a slight buzz coming on, and she didn't want to get too drunk.

"No.. He's over seas right now." Arizona said. There was a sudden change in demeanor and Callie quickly picked up on it. She was already to attuned to the woman sitting across from her, and she didn't even really know much about her.

"That must be hard." Callie said swallowing. She reached across and set her hand on the smooth exposed skin of Arizona's left arm. She wasn't sure what made her do it, but she was glad she did, because there it was again. That sudden jolt of electric current that seemed to permeate through her entire body whenever she made physical contact with Arizona.

Arizona felt it too. Her eyes widened with the contact and suddenly almost all thoughts were lost. She was in so deep with the woman looking back at her, and the scariest part was she didn't feel scared. She didn't feel like running or moving her arm back. She liked it. She had never felt like this from anyone, about anyone.

They sat in a comfortable silence that had fallen over them as their skin continued to dance with the sensation that tickled their flesh. They were both vaguely aware of the people surrounding them, and the sounds of music pounding in the background. But they were completely and utterly lost in each other. Each one was wondering if the other felt the same.

"So, Calliope. Thats from Greek myth right?" Arizona asked, finally breaking the silent bubble. Callie had moved her hand back, and she instantly missed her touch, but they had to keep moving forward. She wanted to know as much about this woman as she could, and they had already made amazing progress.

"Um..." Callie cleared her throat. "Yeah. My dad took a course about Greek mythology in college. That's where he and my mom met actually." Callie said beaming. "They named me and my sister Aria, after two of their favorite mythological figures. Although, I think I drew the short end of the stick in the name department." She joked.

Arizona looked at her. A simple, yet demanding expression locked on her face. "I think it's beautiful. Like you." She hummed out letting that dimpled smile come to life.

Callie felt a blush creeping up her olive skin. It wasn't of embarrassment or shame, but she was overwhelmed almost. The woman in front of her said that with such conviction. She meant what she said, and it was intense. "Thanks." Callie said with a giggle as their eyes danced together.

"Now I see why you left me standing at the bar like that." A woman said walking up to their table. It was the woman Arizona was talking to before Callie had made her presence known. She had actually forgotten about that moment until just now. "Have a nice night ladies." The woman said appraising Callie as she let herself be lost in the crowd.

"What was that about?" Callie asked wide eyed looking over to Arizona. The blonde looked just as stunned as she was. It was almost comical.

"She was trying to buy me a drink when I got here." Arizona said shaking her head. "I told her I was waiting for someone, and when I saw you I kind of just left her standing there. I... When I saw you I just walked away." Arizona said slightly blushing.

Callie smiled at the golden haired beauty's admission. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was lost in this little bubble they had built for themselves. It was a relief, and it made her heart soar. There was definite chemistry there. She wasn't going to fight it, or question it. She was going to let the road lead wherever it was going to take them.

"Crap, it's almost midnight and I have a nine AM practice time tomorrow." Callie said looking down at her watch. She didn't want to leave, everything in her wanted to stay and hangout with Arizona. She wanted to keep getting to know her better, learn everything she could. But she had responsibilities.

"Oh wow, I didn't even notice." Arizona said laughing. "Let's go. I'll walk you to your car." Arizona said with a wink and a smile. The smile that sent giant sized butterflies fluttering around Callie's stomach. The smile that could only be described as pure magic.

They stood patiently waiting for the elevator cart in a comfortable silence. They stood nearly touching but not quite. That was until Callie reached over and interlocked her fingers with Arizona.

She couldn't help it. The buzzing electricity was there, building quickly between their un touching forms, and when they locked fingers it was... Amazing. More intense then any touch they had previously shared.

The ride down to the parking garage was overwhelming to say the least. The energy kept building between them, and the small space did nothing to help it. Neither made a move, afraid to break this... Whatever this was. At least not for a couple of floors.

By floor thirty-two Arizona couldn't take it anymore. She wasn't sure what came over her in an almost animalistic kind of way, but she went with it. She used her unlinked hand to move Callie to the back of the elevator. It wasn't forceful, but it was firm.

The brunettes bare back made contact with the cool metal of the elevator. If sent a chill through her body, which was instantly replaced by the heat of intensity from Arizona's eyes. Her eyes were searching, asking for permission.

Callie nodded, she wanted this just as badly, if not worse. And with that Arizona's lips met her's. Both women's breath became instantly erratic. The spark that was fueled between pink and red lips was almost supernatural. Callie deepened the kiss, using her tongue to trail a pattern on Arizona's bottom lip. She was asking permission and Arizona eagerly granted it.

Ivory hands tightened their grip around olive skin, and Callie made a move to tangle her free hand in blonde hair. They kissed until pulling back for air was necessary. They hadn't even realized they were sitting out ground level, and had no idea how long they had been there.

It didn't matter.

That one kiss sent metaphorical fireworks flying in the small space between them. They both felt it. There was no denying it, their breathing alone was proof enough.

"Wow..." Callie said with a smile.

"Yeah, wow." Arizona confirmed.

This was the start of something special.

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

A/N: I've had such an overwhelming positive response to this story! You guys are the best. So I pumped this chapter out.

It was so much fun to write, I really enjoyed writing in Tim Robbins.

A/N: remember your comments keep me going! Let's hear it! Hope you enjoyed ! :)