So apparently they broke up - Arizona's words, not mine! (I mean, since when were they actually dating? Then again, she called Eliza her girlfriend after like two nights together, so maybe she's just big with words..?) Anyhow, here are my thoughts on how things might have gone down (for now?!), leading up to ep. 14x06.

... ...

I need some coffee. A gallon of coffee, actually. And a shower. But since Andrew is occupying the bathroom, that essential step in my process of waking up has to wait a little longer. So yeah, coffee it is.

Despite the mindblowing sex last night, which normally always makes me drowsy, I hardly got any sleep. Feeling too excited by the news that Sofia wants to come back home, my mind was all over the place for hours and hours. I could hardly keep up with my own thoughts. All the things that need to be arranged. And all the new challenges I'll have to face for sure now that my little girl is growing up so fast - turning eight already this year! Even when I told myself that I don't know any details yet, so I might put all of this on hold and get some sleep, I simply wasn't able to. Before I could stop thinking about it, the idea of being reunited with my kid popped back up, making me smile from ear to ear, and keeping me wide awake.

And then there was Carina. Keeping me awake as well, by confusing the hell out of me - one moment telling me how she liked me, and wanted to stay, and the next taking a run for it, vanishing into thin air. Had I said anything to upset her? I kept replaying the moment in my head, but I honestly couldn't recall it. Too many times I checked my phone for a message, for some explanation, but there was nothing there. Just many question marks, stuck in my head. What happened? What did this mean? Where did this leave us now?

I sit down at my kitchen table, a big mug of hot coffee in front of me, and start flipping through some old copy of JSA, a pointless attempt to give my mind a break.

"Good morning," Andrew cheers as he strolls into the kitchen, his hair still damp.

I look up from my magazine. "Hey, good morning," I smile in return. "How was your shift?"

"Quite uneventful," he sighs. He walks to the kitchen counter to poor himself some coffee, then joins me at the table. "I've got another night shift tonight, so if you happen to spot anything interesting today, feel free to sign me up for it. If I don't get to sleep at night, then at least give me the complete opposite to keep me awake."

"Be careful what you wish for," I wink. "But yeah, I get it. Those long, slow nights really are the worst," I sigh, thinking back at the last couple of hours.

Andrew tilts his head a little. "You look tired," he notes, narrowing his eyes. "You're okay?"

I show him a small smile. "I'm fine, just some lack of sleep as well."

"You should save the all-nighters for the hospital, you know," he smiles softly. "Use your bed for what it's made for: sleeping. Or for things I don't want to hear about since we would be talking about my sister then. But in any case, not for lying awake."

"Well, I don't think you have to hear about your sister anymore," I mumble, as I drown myself in my coffee.

Andrew makes a face. "Oh no, what did she do this time?"

"She..." I start, but I abruptly fall quiet. I don't want to drag him into this. Besides, I'm not even sure what happened. Did she do anything? Or was it me? "Nothing. It's nothing," I shrug, "Forget about it."

He gives me an examining look, but doesn't ask any further. I take another sip of my coffee, before I suddenly sit up straight. "I have some news though," I cheer. "Big news!"

"Really? What is it?" he asks, his eyes wide in expectation.

I wait a few seconds for dramatic effect, till I can't wait any longer. "Sofia is coming home!"

"For real? That's amazing!" Andrew cries out. He stretches his arm and lightly rests his hand on top of mine. "I'm so happy for you! When will she be here?"

"I'm not sure yet," I answer, "I'll have to talk to Callie. Go over some details and stuff. But yay, right?!"

"Right!" he laughs. "That is really, really good news. But I guess I'll have to start looking for another place then."

I furrow my brow. "Why?"

"Well, she isn't a little kid anymore," he shrugs. "I imagine you can use some extra space."

I stare at him. I hadn't thought about that yet. And I'm not sure if he's right. The three of us lived here before, all together, and more than often Andrew had actually been a great help. Realizing this, I want to tell him wrong, but before I can say anything he jumps up.

"I'll start apartment hunting right away," he tells me.

"Andrew, wait," I call after him as he's climbing the stairs already. "There's really no..."

He disappears out of sight.

"...rush."

I sigh and drop my shoulders, thinking back of better days when I could actually finish my sentences. Checking the oven clock I realize there's no time to ponder on this right now. It's time to really start this day. I get up and move myself to the bathroom. Walking in there, I almost trip over Andrew's laundry on the floor. I grumble. He's a good guy, but not sharing a place anymore could actually have its advantages as well...

"Hey, wanna grab some lunch?" I ask April, as she's throwing a pair of bloody surgical gloves in the trash. I've got a ton of things I need to talk to her about, and she looks like she can really use a break.

"I can't," she sighs. "It's crazy busy here today. The ER is packed and we're short-handed. Hunt picked the worst day to help out his sister!"

Although a little bummed I try to look supportive. "Sorry to hear that. I wish I could help you out, but I have surgery in an hour," I tell her. I turn around to leave, not wanting to be in her way right now, then change my mind. "Hey, make sure you call DeLuca if things are still crazy here in a few hours. He looked like he could use some blood on his hands tonight!"

"Will do," she smiles at me. "And w-" she starts, but she can't finish when some nurse is already screaming for her attention again.

As April speeds towards the next trauma case, I pull my phone out of my pocket and check for new messages. Like the past hours, there's nothing there. I sigh. This isn't gonna work. I can't go into surgery being all confused like this.

I take the elevator to the third floor, where I quickly find Carina in one of the clinic rooms.

"Okay, I need to know: what happened last night?" I bluntly ask as I barge in.

Carina looks up from her screen. "Arizona, hi," she smiles.

"No," I tell her, "don't act like you're happy to see me." I sound more harsh than I want to. "You left. You came up with some lame excuse and you left. And I don't know why. And you didn't text me. Or call me. And the whole thing, the whole not-understanding-this is driving me crazy - probably more than whatever reason you might have to act like this. So I- I just need to know what happened!"

"Are you done? Rambling like this?" she calmly asks, raising her brows.

I exhale. "I- I am," I mutter. "Sorry."

"Good," she sighs, pulling a chair toward her. "Sit!"

I take a deep breath, then sit down next to her, a little reluctant. This better be good.

She faces me. "You have a kid," she simply states.

"Yes, I do. But you knew that," I shrug. "I haven't hidden her or anything. I mentioned her before. And you can't overlook her when you're at my place. She's literally everywhere. Her pictures, her toys..."

"Sì, I know," she interrupts me. "She is there, but she's also not there. You're a mom, I know that, but I didn't get to see you, get to know you as a parent. As someone with this other life. A life that revolves around your kid. I guess the whole idea freaked me out."

"Why? It's my kid, my life... not yours," I point out.

She nods. "That's right. But in your life she comes first. She'll always come first."

"And you're blaming me for that? She's my child!" I exclaim, shocked that she's actually saying what I think she's saying.

"No! No, I'm not!" Carina shushes me. She grabs my hands, forcing me to look at her. "I would never ever ask a mother to not put her child first. But do you honestly think we can keep seeing each other the way we have been, when you're taking full care of your kid?"

"Would you want to?" I carefully ask her.

Letting go of my hands again, she shuffles in her seat. "That's not the question. I'm not thinking about things I might want when they are not even possible."

"Why? Is that another one of your rules?" I scoff.

"Well, yeah.. kind of," she murmurs. "Now, don't give me that face! It's called self-protection. There's nothing wrong with that."

I deeply exhale. "Well, it's not very helpful either. How can I possibly know what you want if you're not telling me anything? How is your so called self-protection actually protecting you? All it does is keeping me out!"

Carina averts her eyes. "Well, that was the plan," she sighs.

I clear my throat. "Was?"

She looks pensive, biting her lip as she gazes at her computer screen. I don't think she's actually seeing what's on there.

"I'm just here for a few weeks. Months maybe. Meeting you... oddio, it already made my stay so amazing. The fun we have..." She swallows, then looks at me again. "Arizona, you know just as well we're on a slippery slope here. Yesterday, when we were together, things... shifted."

"And that's a bad thing?" I ask.

Our eyes meet. "Yes," she answers quietly.

"Because you let your walls down for five seconds?" I sigh.

"Yes," she answers again, surprising me by being this straight forward. This honest. "I- I can't have that. I'm not here to stay. We can't be anything serious. Anything real. And anything non-real, like before? I just don't know how anymore. Especially when Sofia will be here. Unless you tell me otherwise. Unless you tell me wrong."

"Cause when I would tell you that we can actually keep... dating - is that what this is? - like we have been, you would want to?" I frown, trying to understand what she's saying. I look at her, waiting, but I realize she's not going to answer that question. She really wants to hear it from me.

I sit back in my chair as another sigh escapes me. "You're right. When Sofia's around I'll need more space. In my house, in my schedule. I can't meet you whenever it suits me. And yes, obviously sex on the kitchen table will be, well, off the table."

She gets up. "So, it's over?"

"Yes, it's over," I nod. I try to take her hand, but I miss as she already steps away, towards the door.

"See? So who cares what I want?" She manages to smile at me, before she suddenly turns around and leaves, even though this is her room.

A bit flabbergasted it takes me a few seconds to realize what's happening. I quickly jump on my feet to chase her.

"Carina, wait! That's not what I mean! I mean that's over, just that little part! Not it. Not us," I cry out as I turn around the corner, into the hallway. She's already halfway, with quite some people in between us, and probably out of hearing distance. "We could still..." I continue, but I fall quiet halfway, realizing it's pointless.

I take a deep breath. Seriously, what is it with this family jumping to conclusions all the time?!

... ...

FYI: I don't intend to turn this one into some big, dramatic story! ;-) If the events in 14x06 turn out to be all temporarily then they might find their way back to each other and there will be fun times again - I'm pretty sure of that. And if it turns out this is indeed the end of them... well, I promise to wrap it up nicely instead of bitter and harsh. Deal?