"Um, hey I've been meaning to ask you something," Callie says a few days later when she finally catches up to the Pediatric surgeon in the cafeteria.
"Oh hey Calliope," Arizona says smiling and taking a bite of her salad.
Encouraged by the smile, Callie asks, "Would you like to go out sometime?"
"Let me ask you a question. Erica Hahn, she was your first right?" Arizona asks.
"Uh, yeah." Callie replies confused why the blonde is asking.
"Okay, so no." Arizona replies and goes back to eating her salad.
"Excuse me." Callie replies sitting down at the table. "Are you saying no to going out to me?"
"Yes, that's what I'm saying no to." Arizona replies smiling.
Confused and a bit offended, Callie presses the issue. "But we had drinks and it was fun, so why won't you go out with me?" She asks.
"Oh, were you asking me to go out as a friend?" Arizona asks.
"No, I was asking you to go out on a date." Callie replies.
"That's what I thought. I'm sorry, no." Arizona replies and takes another bite of her salad.
"Uh, what is going on here?" Callie asks, "Are you friend-zoning me?" She asks.
Taking another bite of her salad, Arizona considers the question and then asks, "Calliope, we are friends, right?"
Reluctantly the brunette admits, "Yes, we are."
"Okay, so how am I friend-zoning you, if we are already friends?" Arizona asks.
"Mark, she's friend-zoned me!" Callie says clearly upset.
"Well, she's an experienced lesbian." Mark replies. "And you're, well new to this." He explains.
"How come you are defending her?" Callie asks.
"Well, she's my friend too." He admits.
"We've gone out and had fun, why won't she go out with me?" Callie asks.
"Addison? Why are you in my office?" Arizona asks, setting her things down and crossing the room to get her lab coat.
Turning around, the redhead smiles and replies, "Webber thought it would be more secure if we just shared an office, do you mind?"
"Uh, why do we need security and why are you in my office?" Arizona asks again, confused and annoyed that the redhead has ignored her for weeks and now just shows up.
"Webber didn't tell you anything, did he?" She asks changing her tone as she sees the blonde isn't happy to see her.
Standing up and crossing the room, Addison takes her hand and leads her to the couch.
"I have a high profile case and I needed to ensure the patient's privacy, so I moved her to Seattle Grace. She's getting settled in the VIP suite now. I will need your assistance on this and we need to maintain the patient's privacy, so I didn't want to set up in the conference room, that's why I am in your office with you." She explains. Then reaching up to straighten the collar on the blonde's lab coat, she adds, "I thought you'd be happier to see me after my last visit."
"Okay so here's the thing," Arizona replies, "One, I don't like surprises. Two, you have ignored me for weeks, why are you here, really?" The blonde asks.
"I can explain..." Addison replies before she's interrupted by a knock at the door.
Arizona goes to answer the door. "I'll be right out." She replies and closes it again, then to Addison she says, "This has been interesting, but I have rounds." She replies sarcastically.
Addison nods, then slumps back on the couch. "Damn, damn, damn." She says out loud. That was definitely not the response that she was looking for from the blonde. Now afraid that she's making an ass of herself, she decides to call the one person who can advise her this situation.
"Addison, it's been a long time since you've paged me to an on-call room and I didn't even know that you were back?" He says entering the room, locking it and whipping off his scrub top.
"Mark, I need advice. Put that back on." She says loudly.
"Okay, that's just rude." He replies pouting a bit.
"Grow up. I kind of made an ass of myself with a girl..."
"And you called me?" He asks offended.
"Well, you do have a knack..." She begins to reply
"This is how you ask for help Addie?" He asks crossing his arms.
"Come on Mark, don't you want to know who the girl is?" She prods him, knowing that his curiosity is stronger than his feelings.
"Okay, tell me. Who is she and what did you do?" He asks.
Addison takes a few minutes to tell him about her past with Arizona and then about her last visit. They spent a wonderful few days together and then when Addison went back to LA, she threw herself back into her practice and ignored the blonde's messages and attempts to contact her.
"Okay, so why are you here now?" He asks.
"I have a VIP patient that needed privacy and security so I arranged with Webber to take over your VIP suite for the next week or so." Addison explains. "And I was hoping to make things right with Arizona."
"Okay, so what does that mean exactly; are you wanting a relationship with her?" He asks the redhead.
"I-I don't know. I've just, this thing with her it caught me off guard. I feel things, things that I haven't felt in a long time for anyone." Addison admits.
"Seriously?" He asks surprised.
"What do I do? I need to know if I really have feelings for her, or if it was just the euphoria of a first time. And she's younger, secure in herself and sexuality, clearly out of my league in that regard." Addison exclaims.
"Did you just say that blondie was out of your league?" Mark asks concerned. "Damn, you are a mess over this aren't you."
Standing up he paces a moment, then sits back down, "Okay, here's what you do..."
Arizona finishes rounds and informs her two residents that she's in a meeting for the next two hours.
"Who's in your office?" Karev asks.
"I have a consult on a high profile case. You'll know more if you're needed. Otherwise please refrain from speculation and do not gossip about this, do you understand?" Arizona cautions the two residents and they nod in acknowledgement.
"High profile peds case in Seattle?" Alex asks.
"Someone came by helicopter early this morning. And it was a private one, not MedEvac." Meredith replies softly as they walk down the hall. Spotting Addison walking towards them, she shushes Alex.
"Morning Dr Montgomery." Karev and Meredith say as she approaches.
Addison nods at them and continues down the hall to Arizona's office, they turn and watch her enter it with a key and they exchange a look of surprise.
"High profile pregnancy case from LA? Let's go ask Izzy!" Meredith says excitedly.
Entering the office, Addison is surprised to see the blonde has already eaten a donut and is sitting at her desk reviewing the case file.
"Couldn't wait for me?" She asks.
Turning around, Arizona swallows and replies, "A case that will ensure a journal article and possibly earn a Harper Avery nomination and my favorite donuts? If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were trying to apologize for being an ass." Arizona asks confidently.
"I am." Addison says sincerely. "I need you. I need you to understand that I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to you, you have me completely off balance. Can we start over and figure this out?" She replies. Then crossing the room to lean on the desk, she drops a hand to the case file, "And you're the only surgeon I trust with this case, I need someone of my caliber. I can't be teaching on this one."
"So this need is personal and professional?" Arizona asks carefully, looking up slowly as if she needs to memorize every inch of her.
"It is." Addison confirms, biting her lip nervously as she feels the blonde's blue eyes raking over her.
"In that case, we should set a few ground rules." Arizona replies, moving her chair so the redhead is now positioned in front of her.
"Okay," Addison replies more curious than nervous now.
"I don't do long-term relationships and I don't have sex in the hospital, so no on-call rooms. And since the media will immediately look for you by checking hotels, if they aren't already, you're moving into the extra bedroom in my apartment." Arizona points out. "Personal takes a back seat to professional. We need to focus on this and the rest we'll figure out as we go, agree?"
"Do you have two bathrooms?" Addison asks.
"Yes, of course." Arizona replies.
Addison nods in agreement. "I'll tell Richard to cancel my reservation at the hotel." She replies.
"Now we just need to get your bags over to my apartment without making a scene." Arizona says looking at the stack of luggage, "Wait, how long are you staying?"