Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I just manipulate them to my will. Also, any line or phrase or setting that seems remotely familiar from any other show, movie or book, also not mine. I borrow…
AN: Enjoy!
Chapter 7
The blaring of Arizona's alarm clock came way too early for her liking. For over a week she's gotten maybe three or four hours of sleep a night, but today is her last midterm which means after surviving her two lectures and one lab today she can come home and pass out. That's the only thought that drags her out of bed. She's still not had time to do laundry but she manages to find a pair of slacks and a pink shirt that don't smell too horrible. A spritz of perfume and the blonde decides that it will do for just the day.
Arizona tries not to think about what happened yesterday as she makes her way to campus but sitting in the cramped morning rush hour subway her mind starts to drift. Just over a week ago she met the most amazing creature on this subway, but now? She doesn't know. When she asked if Callie wanted to go on a date, the woman didn't really say no. But she didn't say yes either. And then there was that phone call that took her away, and the blonde's imagination can't help but jump to the worst conclusions as to who it was.
With heavy footfalls Arizona pushes through BCU's cafeteria doors and swipes her student ID before stumbling towards the table her friends are already at and plops down in a chair.
Teddy and Mark exchange a confused look and then the woman asks, "You doing ok there, Arizona?"
"Fine." The blonde grumbles, then stands up and makes a bee line for the coffee.
Once back with two overflowing cups, as well as a small mountain of donuts, Arizona pulls out her notes and starts to review again.
"Seriously, Blondie, you're freaking us out." Mark says. "What's going on."
"Nothing. I'm fine." Arizona grumbles. "I've slept maybe ten hours over the past four days, I have a migraine raging behind my eyes like no one's business, and I'm pretty sure I'm about one cup of coffee away from having caffeine poisoning. Other than that I'm fine."
But Teddy and Arizona have been friends for years and Altman has learned to look past her friend's façade, digging into the real issue. "Something happened with Callie, didn't it?"
Blue eyes roll in frustration and Arizona shoves the last bit of donut in her mouth before swallowing a gulp of coffee. "I'm going to the library." Without another word she clears her tray and storms out of the cafeteria as quickly as she came.
The first lecture drags on, all the while Teddy and Mark keep shooting Arizona sympathetic looks. When they are dismissed, the three students all convene in the building's lobby where several plush couches and chairs are arranged. Arizona and Mark take a seat in one of the couches while Teddy plants herself in an arm chair. Their last midterm is next so they spend the hour and a half between classes reviewing yet one more time.
A buzzing in Arizona's pocket makes the blonde pull out her cell phone and find a new text.
Good luck today. – C
Teddy doesn't miss the blonde's jaw clench and a frustrated sigh slip from her lips, but decides a half hour before a very important test isn't the best time to prod. So she leaves it be.
Finally the time arrives and forty would be doctors filter into the large auditorium style lecture hall. Normally they all cluster up front but they've been through the drill many times and instead spread out. Dark eyes watch from the stage as her students file in, and at one minute after noon, she gestures for the hall doors to be shut and locked. If the students aren't here, they miss their midterm.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first of two exams you will have in my course." A stern faced Dr. Miranda Bailey announces. "There will be no time limit for this test but the janitor will shoo you out of here when he makes his rounds at ten o'clock tonight." This gets a muffled chuckle from her class and the professor picks up a very large stack of tests. "Now I will warn you all once. You think you can cheat on my exam and get away with it, you are gravely mistaken. I am Dr. Bailey. I know all. I see all. If you wish to test my powers, go ahead. But heed this warning, you cheat on my test and the only patients you will ever see are the residents at the retirement home where you blend their food for supper. Any questions?"
The only sound that is heard throughout the auditorium is the creaking of old, wooden seats and the occasional shuffle of a fidgeting student. Dr. Miranda Bailey has a reputation around campus, one that precedes her. No one ever goes up against Dr. Bailey and lives to tell about it.
One last look around the room full of blank faced students, the woman nods and says, "Alright then. Let's begin."
For the next hour and a half pencils scribble and erase across their pages while students silently curse and beg to the gods for assistance. Miranda keeps her watch from the table on the stage, always on the lookout for one of her pupils trying to take the easy way out. Arizona can feel her exhaustion taking over, the words start to blur despite her glasses, but she powers through. Page after page gets flipped and her pencil never hesitates. When she takes a couple seconds to massage the cramp out of her hand blue eyes glance a couple seats down to find Mark with his head hung in his hands. And Teddy just in front of him, erasing furiously as a steady string of curse words escape her lips.
Nearly two hours after starting, Arizona walks down the auditorium stairs and deposits her test on top of the growing pile. With a polite smile to her professor, she tiptoes back up the ancient hall and exits out into the hallway.
"Thank god…" She groans, a weight lifting off her shoulders while the heaviness of her exhaustion replaces it. The blonde joins Mark at their usual couch, plopping down and throwing her legs up into his lap. "That was brutal."
"Tell me about…" The man mumbles, head tipped back and eyes closed. The three friends have been pushing each other to study and keep fighting all week, and now they just want to crash. "Why couldn't A&P lab be cancelled today."
"Because the TA's a bitch." Someone else answers, and a blue eye cracks open to find that Teddy has joined them. "Seriously, that woman takes pleasure in other people's pain."
"How'd you do?" Arizona asks.
"Didn't fail." Teddy answers simply.
"Those last two pages killed me, but I think I'm in good shape." Mark adds. "You?"
"Nailed it." The blonde answers a bit cockily. It's not unusual for Arizona to get the highest grade among the three and the only way Mark and Teddy stand it is because she doesn't rub it in their faces.
A few minutes pass and then Teddy asks, "So…. Now can I ask?"
Arizona knew it would be too good to be true that her friends just left the whole 'Callie' topic alone. "Nothing happened." She mutters, and the silence that is given in response is almost deafening. Pushing from her prone position along the couch, the blonde runs a hand down her tired face and says, "I… I asked if she wanted to go on a date."
"And she said no?" Mark asks.
"No. She didn't say no." Arizona snaps back, then adds, "But she didn't really say yes either."
Suddenly taking interest in this conversation, Mark continues his questioning. "And this is the same chick who picked you up on the subway."
"I picked her up." The blonde rebuttals. "And yeah, it's the same woman. I mean, I know it was just supposed to be this one night stand thing but… One night with Callie just isn't possible. And I'm not talking just the sex, which is mind-blowing by the way, but it's just… her."
"What's so special about this girl?" Teddy asks. "So, she doesn't want to date. There are plenty of women out there that do. You get hit on about five times a day, pick one of those."
"You don't get it, Teddy." Arizona sighs. "Being with another woman after being with her, it's like… eating rump roast when you've tasted filet mignon. …There's just no comparison." Both of her friends give her incredulous looks, and blue eyes roll in frustration. "This would be so much easier to explain if either of you were into girls. …This woman is… beautiful. And I'm not talking like pretty and sexy and mysterious, which she is, but… everything about her is amazing."
"And maybe I got greedy. I tasted the forbidden fruit and now I can't go back. But I just couldn't help it." She continues. "We were just lying there and I couldn't stop myself. And I hate girls that get all clingy and 'where is this going' but… there I was. I was that girl. She made me that girl. I couldn't help it. …It was like word vomit."
"Maybe it just wasn't supposed to be." Teddy muses, not knowing what else to say to help her friend.
"Yeah, maybe she has a girlfriend. Or maybe she's like a felon." Mark adds. "…Maybe she's straight?"
A belt of laughter rips from Arizona and she replies, "Trust me, Mark. That woman is not straight. Someone doesn't just have the skills she does without practicing. …A lot. No, that woman was born to please women."
"Then maybe that's her game." Teddy sighs. "I know you don't like it, but maybe she's just… a player."
"No…" Arizona whispers, shaking her head back and forth gently. "No, that's not her. I won't believe that." Sensing that their friend has had enough, both Teddy and Mark back off. They spend the next half hour until their lab in a state of half sleep. Their bodies and minds are worn down from the last week but they are still med students which means skipping classes just isn't an option.
Somehow they manage to haul themselves back upstairs and into the lab room. Some students are already there and Arizona and her friends take their usual table. Their fourth is one of those already settled in, and as Mark sits down on his stool he gives Jackson Avery a very friendly smile. ...One that Jackson returns in kind. Arizona doesn't miss Teddy rolling her eyes and mumbling something about 'Celibate Island', eliciting a giggle from the blonde.
"Good afternoon future doctors!" A booming voice announces a few minutes later, and all eyes turn to the door to see Dr. Richard Webber striding through the doors. "How are you all doing on this wonderful fall day?" A range of responses are given, mostly muddled and tired from those who are still recovering from a test today. "I see you all have survived Dr. Bailey's exam, so that's something to be said."
Rounding his table, Dr. Webber starts to pass out a stack of papers, and announces, "These are the practicals you took two weeks ago. Some of you did very well, some of you struggled. Now you still have two lab practicals this semester so not all is lost yet, but I would advise you to really step up your game if your grade isn't want you want it to be."
A heavy test is dropped down in front of Arizona and with her lips bit between her teeth, the blonde slowly folds over a corner to find a big 89 circled in red. A sharp elbow finds its way to her side and Teddy holds up hers, "88. You always gotta beat me, don't you?"
"Gotta keep you on your toes, Teds." Arizona plays.
"And one last thing. I was told yesterday that your TA, Erica Hahn, has been called out of town on family emergency so she will no longer be with us. Thankfully, I was able to find someone else to step up to the plate…" The creaking of a door draws the man's eyes up to the entrance of his lab, and Webber says, "Speak of the devil, here is Erica's replacement and your new TA. …Ms. Callie Torres."
AN2: So, surprised? What does this mean for Callie and Arizona? Will Arizona be upset or not? So much more to come. Stay tuned.
