Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the Grey's Anatomy characters. They belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I just manipulate them to my will in the stories I create.
A/N: Trying for weekly updates to this story. Hope everyone is enjoying it thus far, it's mostly been build up so far but our girls are getting there. For all those that were upset about Callie going after Mark at first, just keep in mind that Calzona is endgame. Sure they will have their ups and downs...after all this is a ROMANCE & DRAMA story. Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Room number
Watching Callie walk away was excruciatingly painful for Arizona. Not five minutes ago, Arizona thought for sure she had a chance with her beautiful trainer. They were talking, definitely flirting, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Then all the sudden she was gone. Nothing was making sense to her, why did Callie run? Everything seemed good, great even. She needed answers, and she needed them now.
"Do you know what room Callie is staying in?", she turned toward Mark who was still standing next to her. He was also staring out into the lobby, looking as hopeless and confused as Arizona.
"No, I don't.", he replied even though he knew exactly what room Callie was now retreating to. He wasn't going to let someone else get to Callie first, not when Callie invited him out for drinks. Not when he was the one who wanted to end up in her bed. Mark wasn't going to stick around and wait for the blonde to badger him about it either. He was going to stick with his lie, offer a meek apology and then go in search of the Latina he hoped to seduce. "Sorry, wish I could be more help."
Arizona watched Mark exit the restaurant and take off towards the elevators. "Liar!" she fumed with gritted teeth.
"Who's lying and why are you standing up instead of sitting at our table drinking?" Teddy returned from her phone call to see a very pissed off blonde calling some non-existent person a liar. "Arizona, what the hell happened? Why do you look so angry?
"I have to find out what room she's staying in." She hissed.
"What room who is staying in, Zona?" Teddy asked as she eased herself into her seat and picked up her drink.
"Callie." Arizona watched as Teddy's eyes went wide at the mention of Callie's name.
Teddy swallowed the big gulp of beer she had taken and set the pint glass down with enough force to cause a loud clink when it hit the table. "Seriously? Callie, Callie? The trainer, Callie? The Callie you can't believe is actually human because she looks like a goddess, that Callie?"
A shy nod, "Yea, when you left to answer your phone, she came over from the bar. We talked and were actually flirting. Not shitty flirting either, like good, I-want-to-have-sex-with-you-later type of flirting. Then Mark came over, I think she was actually supposed to be on a date with him, but oh well. So, she introduces herself and Mark, which I thought was weird since we see them everyday, but I went along with it because she was blushing and it was just too adorable to embarrass her any further. I go to introduce myself but before I can get my last name out, she interrupts me and starts listing off my boxing credentials."
Teddy nods along, already putting the pieces of the story together. "Let me guess, once she realized who you were, she bolted?"
"How did you know!?" Arizona is floored by her roommate's detective skills.
"Well, she's not here now and neither is Sloan, which means that either they left separately or together…bottom line being that she's not currently with you. And based on the angry state in which I found you, I'm going to assume that she left with Mark. Which means one of two things. Either a) she just wanted to come over and say hi before she slept with Mark. Or b) and here's what I really think it is, she did not recognize you as being a competitor and thought she was just going to be hitting on a pretty girl. You said Mark interrupted your conversation, right?"
Arizona nods as she sips the rest of her drink into her mouth.
"Oh yea, she had no clue who you were." Teddy confirms confidently. "When Mark came over, you said she panicked?"
Another nod from Arizona who sat across from Teddy listening in shock as her friend revealed what she had failed to put together.
"That's because she forgot introduced herself when she first came over, hence the 'adorable blushing'." Teddy made sure to lift her hands and make air quotes with her fingers while saying adorable blushing since that's how Arizona had described it. "Then you said your name, and she very quickly realized that the Arizona she was flirting with is the same Arizona she is suppose to be training. She probably panicked because she realized that essentially you are her job. Her job is to train boxers and you are a boxer needing to be trained. So she bolted." Teddy let Arizona process all that she had deduced before asking, "Did Mark leave with her?"
A now devastated Arizona could only shake her head. "Not exactly. I asked him if he knew what room she was in. Before you so kindly – or unkindly I should say – put all this together, I was going go find out what happened. I wanted to see if I could rectify the situation and maybe still give us what I thought we both wanted. He told me no, but then took off. I'm guessing that he really does know where to find her, and is now doing what I wanted to do."
"Damn, Arizona. I'm really sorry. I know how badly you wanted a chance with her. But look at the bright side! We're only a couple days into this thing. You still have tons of time to win her over, it's not like we signed a contract saying that trainer-competitor relationships weren't allowed. Hell, when I was outside on the phone I saw Derek and Meredith leave the hotel hand-in-hand. He's been flirting with her since day one."
Arizona's demeanor changed instantly at she listened to her friend talk. "You're right! I've got twelve weeks to change her mind. That's plenty of time for a Robb – wait! Shit, Teddy! You're phone call? Was it Sheila? How's Henry? God I'm an idiot, I'm whining and complaining about flirting when you've got serious stuff going on. I'm sorry, Teds."
Teddy offered Arizona a warm smile, "No worries, Zona. We are both allowed to deal with our own shit and I'll be there for you because I know you'll be there for me."
"Without question, Teddy. I promise, now tell me, how's Henry doing?"
Teddy took a deep breath to steady her emotions. She was not going to cry in the middle of a restaurant. "He's doing okay. Still stable, so that's good. Sheila told me they're going to do another head CT in the morning to see if the swelling in his brain has gone down any. If it has, they're going to try and wake him up tomorrow afternoon. If the swelling hasn't changed then they'll keep him in a coma." Tears were making their way to the surface of her eyes as she tried to get through the last part of news. "If the swelling has increased, they'll have to take him back to surgery to insert a shunt. Meaning he'll stay in the ICU and in a coma for much longer than they originally thought." A few tears had made their way down Teddy's cheeks and fell onto the napkin in her lap.
Arizona opened the purse she had slung over the back of her chair and removed a tissue, handing it across the table to her friend. "Teddy, I know it's hard to imagine it right now, but Henry's going to be okay. He's strong and he loves you, he's going to come back to you, I know it."
"I know. It's just hard to deal with all of this. I mean in I'm in Seattle and he's in a coma. The doctor said that the chances of having to put in a shunt are low since he's been stable all afternoon. They just have to tell us all the facts and possible scenarios. Thanks for this by the way." Teddy waves the white tissue and then uses it to dab the corners of her eyes. "You ready to head up to the room? I'm not really feeling the vibe down here anymore."
Arizona was over the 'vibe' the second Callie walked out. "Yea, let's get the fuck out of here. I'll find the waitress and tell her to charge the drinks to the room and meet you at the elevators." Arizona scanned the small, dimly let restaurant and found the girl who had served her earlier. "Excuse me, miss?"
The waitress who had been inputting an order into the hotel's computer system spun on her heels to face Arizona. "Yes ma'am?" Seeing it was guest from a table in her section she quickly asked, "Are you and your friend ready for another round? I was just about to head to your table."
"Uh, no thank you though. I was just coming over to ask you if you could just charge our drinks to our room? It's 1502."
"Of course, not a problem ma'am. Thank you for coming in tonight, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening."
With that Arizona turned and started walking toward the elevators to meet Teddy. Then she had a thought. Instead of walking out into the lobby her feet carried her to the bar. She waited for a minute before being noticed by the bartender.
"What can I get for you?" he asked.
"Actually, I just have a question for you." Arizona waited for him to signal her with a head nod before continuing. "Earlier tonight, a lady from the bar bought me a drink. I was wondering if you could tell me how she paid for that drink?"
The bartender was all too familiar with situations like such as this. Guests buy drinks for other guests all the time, then they want to retreat to one of their rooms and continue having fun. He'd worked in this hotel long enough to know where this conversation was going, however he'd had a lot of people buy drinks for other's tonight and he needed to make sure he gave the blonde the right information. "Could you describe the person who bought you a drink and what was it that they bought you? You're not the only who got a free drink tonight ma'am and I would hate to send you to the wrong room." He made sure to give Arizona a wink to let her know that he had figured out what her intentions were.
Blushing deeply, but happy to play along with his game if it meant getting Callie's room number. "Yes of course. She was a gorgeous Latina, with a smile that could just make you melt. She has long, dark hair done in loose curls that framed her face just perfectly, and warmest brown eyes you've ever seen. She had on a tight red dress that had ¾ sleeves and ended just above the knee." Arizona was lost in daydream as she recounted just how beautiful Callie looked to the bartender. "Oh and she bought me a vodka-soda."
The bartender smirked at the late addition to Arizona's description. "You got it bad, don't you?"
"So, so bad." She admitted. "Does that ring any bells?"
"Yes, I believe you have just described Ms. Torres, am I correct?"
A huge smile broke across Arizona's face. "Yes! And please tell me she charged the drink to her room?" she nearly begged the man behind the bar.
He walked over to the computer and Arizona watched as he flicked his fingers across the screen, tapping and swiping at various things. His face was strewn into a look of deep concentration and then his eyes lit up.
Please let that look mean he found what I'm looking for! Arizona hoped silently in her head.
"Ah, yes. Ms. Torres charged her tab, including your drink, to her room. Room 3001, also known as The Emerald Penthouse. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Arizona stood with her mouth wide open in shock. Penthouse? Holy shit, a penthouse?! Okay calm down Robbins, maybe the boxing league puts all the trainers in penthouses. Relax, I'm sure that's the case. Now answer the bartender's question and go get your girl! "No, thank you so much for your help though. I really appreciate you going through the trouble."
After hearing that the blonde was all set, the bartender went about filling the next guests order. Arizona took her new found information and walked to the elevators to find a very unhappy roommate tapping her foot impatiently. "What the hell took so long?"
"Sorry, I uh, I went to the bar to find out if they knew where Callie was staying. The bartender had to search through the system but he found her room number based on the drink she bought me." All Arizona could do was smile. She had the elusive piece of information she needed in order to see Callie again tonight.
Teddy was impressed by Arizona's initiative. "You know, if we weren't so committed to boxing already, I think you and I would make damn good cops. I put the story together of why she ran from you, and you solved the mystery of what room number." Both women laughed at the thought of them being cops, but then admitted that there probably was some truth to that statement. "So what room is she in?"
Arizona smiled and revealed to Teddy, "3001."
Both women then directed their attention to the wall of numbers in the elevator. There was L for lobby and the buttons for floors 1-29 but none for the 30th floor. "What the hell?" Arizona questioned.
"What do you think 'EPH' and 'SPH' stand for?" Teddy reached out and grazed her fingers across the last two buttons on the elevator's walls.
Arizona racked her brain trying to think about those letters could mean. Then it clicked. The bartender, Callie's room number. "EPH is the Emerald Penthouse. The bartender said that Callie was in room 3001, aka the Emerald Penthouse."
"Are you serious? A penthouse?" Teddy couldn't believe her ears. "I saw Bailey in the elevator Tuesday afternoon, she hit the button for the sixteenth floor, and you're telling me that Callie is not only on the thirtieth floor, but that thirtieth floor happens to be where the penthouses are?
Arizona was reeling. How was this possible? Ok, so I was wrong. Not all of the trainers get a penthouse. "How do you think she affords a penthouse for 3 months out of the year? Do you think she uses her winnings and sponsorship money?"
Teddy pondered Arizona's guess, "Wouldn't that mean Mark could be up here too? He's won just as many titles as Callie and would have just as much money. And that would explain how he knew what room Callie was staying in."
"Shit, yea you're right. What if he's staying in 'SPH'?" Arizona was totally dejected for the second time that night.
Suddenly Teddy perked up. "No, there's no way that's where Mark is staying!"
Puzzled, Arizona asked how Teddy could possibly know that when they had just figured out that the two of them must be using their winnings to upgrade rooms.
Happy with herself to have again solved another mystery, Teddy explained to Arizona how she could get to Callie tonight. "Remember during orientation, Webber was wrapping up his speeches for the day. Everyone had pretty much tuned him out by that point because we'd been sitting in that damn conference room nearly all day." A nod from Arizona indicated for her to keep going with her explanation. "So as he was dismissing us, he kind of had to yell over the noise of us packing up and filing out, but he said that if there was ever an emergency, he was staying on the thirtieth floor in the Sapphire Penthouse! He said that he had the hotel key all of our cards to allow us access to not only our rooms but also to his floor so we could get to him if that was ever necessary."
"Teddy, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Arizona was bubbling with excitement.
A satisfied grin appeared on Teddy's face and as she reached out to press the button marked with a 15, she simply replied, "Yes, swipe your card through that reader and hit the 'EPH' button. You'll go straight to her floor."
AN2: Okay, so what did y'all think? Progress then a step backward then progress. Please comment and let me know if y'all are liking it so far. Your words usually provide motivation for me to churn another chapter out quicker. If people are reading, I'll continue writing. Next chapter will be Arizona confronting Callie and we should learn a pretty good bit about our girls backgrounds. Till' next time :)