A/N: I'm posting on time, yay! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter and guess what? There's tons of Arizona, as requested!
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Three hours. I could pick her up in three hours. I was starting to think that I had underestimated how hard it was going to be to be away from her. I needed a distraction, something that would completely take my mind off of Sofia. I sat down on the couch and reached to the side table to grab my phone. When I looked down I realized how out of it I actually was. I'd grabbed a napkin and I almost tossed it in the trash but then I realized it was Arizona's phone number. I hesitated for a second before reaching again to grab my phone. I was going to give her a call, it had been a few days so it's not like I was calling right away or anything but I didn't feel like I had waited too long. I dialed the phone quickly before I had a chance to second guess myself.
The phone rang, and rang, and rang. Just when I thought she wasn't going to answer I heard her voice from the other end, "Hello? Who is this?"
"Um, hi, it's Callie from, uh, Starbucks?" I was so nervous and I was beginning to think that it would've been easier if I had just hung up the phone.
"Oh," she said with a pause and I immediately felt dejected at her tone, "I thought you'd forgotten about me."
"I'm sorry, I've just been really busy with Sofia and stuff. I didn't forget," I said and I felt bad that she thought that I'd forgotten. "Do you want to grab brunch on me to make up for it?" I asked, the words spilling out of my mouth before I even had a chance to stop them. "If you don't it's fine."
"Callie, I'd love to," she agreed and I sighed in relief.
"Oh, um, okay. Want to meet at the Waffle House on Oak Street in about a half an hour?" I asked unsure. What if that was too soon? I really needed to distract myself but I was starting to feel like this was all too much.
"I'd love to. I'll see you then. Bye!" she said cheerily before hanging up.
I was surprised that she'd agreed but more than that I was nervous. I was supposed to meet her in a half hour and I wasn't ready in the slightest. I needed to pick out what to wear but to be honest I hadn't really been on a date since I was twenty so I had no idea what to wear. Not to mention the fact that I'd never met anyone for brunch before. I was officially freaking out now. I needed to calm down and pick out an outfit, but, hell I looked like crap when I first met her so she can't be expecting much, right?
I finally decided on a plum colored long sleeve blouse and pair of dark wash jeans. I looked nice but not like I was overdoing it which was good because I didn't want to look like I was trying to hard even though I felt like I was. I already had a little make-up on but I decided to add some more because I really wanted to impress her.
When I looked at the time I realized that if I didn't leave I was going to be late which would be just great. I left the apartment in a hurry and hoped that I would be able to beat her there. When I pulled up I didn't see her there and I was thankful because that meant that I wasn't late. I walked in slowly and grabbed a booth by a window. I sat down and stared out the window looking for her but apparently that was pointless because she snuck up behind me and took a seat in the booth in front of me.
"How are you?" she asked.
"I'm good, it was Sofia, uh, my daughter's first day at preschool today so I'm kind of worried about her," I confessed and she smiled.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," she reassured me and that was different because the only other person that ever did that was Mark. Nobody else ever cared about my feelings or Sofia.
"So, how about you? How are you?"
"I'm good. I'm a little stressed though because the holidays are coming up and I know I'm going to have to work which means I won't be able to go home for the holidays and my parents want me to come home," she said and I nodded understanding.
"I get it. I haven't been able to go home since Sofia was born because it's too hard to travel with her," I said.
"Where are you from?"
"Miami," I responded quickly. To be honest I missed Miami and the only thing that was keeping me here was Mark and now hopefully, Arizona. Even if they weren't here though, I knew I couldn't go back because my parents would see it as me crawling back.
That's when the waitress walked up to the table and we paused for a moment. I was kind of glad that the waitress had walked up though because all of this talk was making me nervous. I'd forgotten how nerve-wracking it could be to go on a date.
"What can I get for you guys to drink?" The waitress asked and I glanced down at the menu for a second before looking back at her.
"I'll have a cup of coffee, black, and I'm ready to order if you are," I said glancing across the table at Arizona and she nodded. "Okay, then I'll get the All Star Special with Sausage."
"How about you?" The waitress asked turning her attention back to Arizona.
"I'll have the same thing," Arizona replied turning back to me as the waitress walked away. "Did you miss it there?" she asked and I nodded.
"I miss it but I know I'm supposed to be here. Sofia's dad lives here and it's better for us to be near him," I said and I felt as though it seemed like I was blaming Mark for the reason we still lived here so I quickly added, "I mean I love it here, that's just the main reason I've stayed."
"If you don't mind me asking, what's the story with you and Sofia's dad?" she asked and I wasn't surprised. I was expecting it.
"It was a one-night stand in college that ended up with Sofia. He's great with her and he's my best friend but I don't like him that way and he doesn't like me that way either. We're better off friends," I said and I thought I did a pretty good job of explaining myself.
"How old is she?" she asked and I knew she was wondering how old I was too and this was her sneaky way of trying to figure it out even though I don't think she'd be able to guess even given Sofia's age.
"She's four. I'm twenty-four, how old are you?" I asked and I figured if she was in med school then she had to be around my age, probably not much older than me.
"I'm twenty-six. I took a year off of school so I'm in my first year of clinical rotations in med school," she said and I wanted to ask her about it. I was so interested in medicine but I felt as though if I asked about it that she would feel as if I was just using her and I really didn't want her to feel that way. "So, have you given any more thought to being a surgeon?"
I shook my head. "It's just with Sofia, I don't know how I'd be able to do it," I admitted and I felt so stupid because being an ortho surgeon had been my goal for a really long time but now I didn't feel like I'd ever be able to achieve that goal and that was aggravating.
"I'm sure you can do it. It might seem difficult but lots of surgeons are mothers. You can do it if you really want to. How much school do you have left?" she asked as the waitress came back with our food and our drinks.
"Thank you," I said to the waitress before turning my attention back to Arizona, "I've got two years of college left but then I'd still have to attend four years of medical school plus residency plus fellowship. I just…" I said my thoughts wandering off.
"Callie, you can do it. It'll be difficult, I'm not going to say that it won't be but I can tell that you are determined and I have no doubt that you'll be able to do it if you put your mind to it. What does Sofia's dad do?" she asked and I paused for a second.
"Uh, Mark? He's a plastic surgery fellow at Seattle Grace," I said with sigh. I knew that she'd probably say something about how if he could do it then I could and she was probably right except I was the mom and I guess I just felt more pressure.
"Oh, really? I wonder if I've met him before. That's where I'm doing my clinical rotations. What's his last name?" she asked and I immediately went flush. If she'd met Mark, she'd probably think he was a total asshat because that was the reaction most people had when they first met him and I think he does that on purpose but even if he didn't, he still came off that way most of the time.
"Uh, Sloan. You might know him as McSteamy though, I think that's what some of the other doctors and the nurses call him," I said and as soon as it came out of my mouth I regretted saying it because I knew it sounded stupid. McSteamy? Really? That nickname made him sound like even more of a douche than his reputation did and well, I've already mentioned his reputation.
She nodded and I knew that meant that she'd met him which wasn't a good thing. "Yeah, he's known as that," she said and I knew that mentioning it was a bad idea.
"He's not really that bad, he just comes across like that. Honestly, he's a really good guy with a bad reputation and I'm not saying that to say he doesn't deserve the reputation he has because he definitely does but when he's not acting like that he's actually really sweet," I said and then I felt like I was talking about him too much which probably wasn't a good think to do. I mean who wants to hear about you talk about your ex on your first date?
"I'm sure you're right and he still has that reputation but since you speak so highly of him and I'm sure you probably know him better than the people that are spreading the rumors, I'll trust you," she said and I smiled because I didn't expect her to have the reaction at all when I told her.
I glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already eleven-thirty, I hadn't even realized that we'd be talking for so long and I knew that I needed to get back to the preschool to get Sofia. "I need to go pick up Sofia so I have to go. I'm sorry that we we're kind of rushed but I'd love to get together again, you know if you want to. Anyway, I'm so sorry that I've been so ramble-y this morning but with today being her first day of school I've just been a ball of nerves," I said and I knew that this brunch date had probably been horrible for her but at this point there really wasn't anything that I could do about it.
"It's fine, Callie. I'll call you later," she said with a smile and as I grabbed the check to go pay she took it from my head. "Go get your daughter, I get the tab," she said and I smiled. She really was perfect.
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A/N: Thanks for reading! Remember to review and check out my !
Question of the Chapter: Would you rather see a Mark/Lexie or Meredith/Addison story set in this same universe?
