A/N: Hey everyone! So, I am back with another update. FINALLY! :) Hope everyone is enjoying reading this one as I am writing it. I'm doing my best to have updates within a reasonable amount of time. It's just a matter of time management, as I am so busy with so many things. Two jobs, studying for police exams and volunteer work on top of that...doesn't leave me much time. I've also started writing another fic. And for those of you who remember that I have a sequel to Till Death Do Us Part...I haven't forgotten about that. I do have a completed sequel I just have to separate the chapters into separate documents. But I will have that up for you all as soon as I can. Thanks again everyone! and Happy Reading!

xox hASHbrown

Chapter 6

It's safe to say that Callie Torres quickly became an important person in my life. Other than Teddy, she was probably the most important. On more than one occasion she managed to pull me out of the dark hole I was tumbling down. Somehow, she spoke to me as if she knew what I was going through. Like she had been there before. More than once, she had made a mention about something that happened to her before she met me, but it never went any further than a quick hint. To say I wasn't curious would be a complete and utter lie. I was completely intrigued. I wanted to know what she went through, but I thought it would be best to just leave well enough alone and let her tell me in her own time. It was the least I could do seeing as how she waited patiently for me to tell her about Joanne. It wasn't until later on in the morning that I finally told her how Joanne died, and the look she gave me was a look I had been longing for, for months. She never once looked at me with pity or sympathy in her eyes. She looked at me with pure empathy and understanding.

Callie made me feel things that I had been longing to feel for a long time since Joanne passed. She made me feel like I was worth something, like I mattered. She was starting to make feel the joy again. Her and I could talk for hours. I often found myself most nights on the phone with her after work talking about our day and getting to know each other even more. She'd tell me about her adventures and all the things she does in her spare time. This woman was completely blowing me away. It was amazing to me how she didn't take a single thing in life, not one moment for granted. Whenever an opportunity came her way she snatched it up, not wanting to miss out on it. I came to admire her for it and couldn't help but be drawn to her.

One day, maybe a week after my crying on the beach scene, I walked into her office up on the orthopedics ward at St. Ambrose and tapped on the door lightly as I stood in the doorway watching her as she appeared to be totally invested in the files on her desk.

"Hey, you." I said to her with a gentle smile.

She smiled back to me "Hey, yourself. What are you up to? Not at work today?"

"No, it's my day off today. I just decided to come by and see if maybe you wanted to get some lunch?" I asked as I walked into her office. I stopped just a mere few feet from the side of her desk smiling, with my hands behind my back.

"I wish I could, but I have to do a hip replacement in an hour and I have been swamped all day between supervising residents in the OR and my cartilage research."

"Not to worry..." I pulled my hands out from behind my back and revealed a brown paper bag "...I brought us some lunch and we can eat it right here and you can tell me all about this cartilage research of yours."

She laughed and smiled at me once again. "Thank you. I am starving." she cleared her desk placing her files on the floor in a pile. I sat down in one of the chairs across from her and placed the food on the desk and we immediately dug right in.

"So Calliope, tell me about this cartilage research. What exactly is it that you are doing?"

"Well, me being the rockstar that I am, am trying to create cartilage from scratch."

"Really? And how's that going? Had any success?"

"Well I've made progress but I still can't get the formula right. But if I can figure it out, I'll be able to advance orthopedic medicine to a new level."

It was amazing how lit up she became when she talked about things she was passionate about. I had no doubt she was definitely the kind of person that I should be hanging around. She was a free spirit and truly inspiring.

Before I knew it, Callie looked the the clock on the wall and jumped out of her seat. "crap, I gotta go scrub in. Thank you so much for the lunch. We'll chat later?" she asked as she threw off her lab coat and made a dash for the door. She stopped just at the doorway and turned around with a questioning look. "You free, at all this week? Other than today obviously."

"Umm, I'm free Saturday, why?" I asked. I kind of thought she was going to ask me to go on another crazy adventure but what she ended up asking me took me by surprise.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner."

"I would love to." I responded. I smiled back to her. She reciprocated and smiled even wider at me.

"Great. I'll talk to you later." And just like that she ran out of her office and down to go to surgery.

I sat alone in her office pondering at what just happened. I was excited to have dinner with her but at the same time I was a little confused as to what kind of dinner it was. Was it supposed to be a date? Was it just two friends having dinner together? Truth be told I knew that in some way, I wished it was a date but my head was telling me that it was too soon. That I wasn't ready to date anyone.

Saturday came really quickly, and sure enough there I was in my bedroom rummaging through my closet trying to figure out what I was going to wear. Callie had called me the day before asking if we could eat at this fairly new restaurant that opened downtown. When I said yes, I could hear her excitement over the phone. Her excitement got me excited and then she went on to tell me that it wasn't too fancy and to dress nice but comfortably.

So there I was grabbing almost anything and everything out of my closet trying to figure out what was the right combination of dressy but casual. I settled for a summer dress and I brought I light shrug incase it got chilly.

As expected Callie showed up right on time at 7pm just as I was finishing my makeup. I swiftly made my way to the door and the sight before me made me blush like a tomato I'm sure of it. She looked absolutely beautiful dressed in a very simple yet elegant in a casual way, red dress.

"Hey, you just about ready to go?" She asked me as she smiled. I smiled back praying that she did not notice my blushing face.

"Yeah, I'm just going to grab my purse and then we can go." I gestured for her to step inside to wait while I went to get my bag.

Callie had brought me to this very quaint restaurant that sat right by the water. We were seated out on their patio overlooking the ocean. It was incredibly serene. The sound of the waves crashing and the tea lights on the table, if I didn't know any better I would have thought this was a date. In fact that's exactly what I thought her intentions were.

After the waiter had brought our drinks, I took a long gulp before placing the glass back on the table and opening my mouth to speak.

"I don't mean to sound blunt but, it's just that this, this scenery is beautiful and rather romantic. I just….I have to ask, if your intentions were for this to be a date." I said to her.

She just smiled at me and responded, "Arizona, I have no motives, here. I just wanted to go out with a friend and enjoy a nice dinner and, fantastic conversation."

The rest of the dinner went smoothly. We enjoyed each other's company and ate and enjoyed easy conversation that lasted the entire night.

After dinner, Callie took me home and we said our goodbyes before I headed back to my apartment. The second I walked inside, the phone began to ring. I made my way to the phone sitting on my living room coffee table, picked it up and looked at the caller ID. Sure enough it was Teddy calling.

"Hi Teddy."

"So, how was the date?" She asked me. I could hear the excitement and anticipation in her voice, waiting for me to respond.

"It was not a date, Teddy. It was just two friends going out for dinner."

"Oh, come on. Arizona, you've done nothing but get all excited and you blush as red as a fire hydrant everytime she walks in a room. You like her. And I for one think you should go for it. She's the first person you've been attracted to since Joanne."

"I know, but….it's too soon." I said, but was quickly cut off by Teddy's determined tone.

"It's been like what? Six months already? I know the wounds are still fresh, and the pain isn't going to go away, but Arizona…I have seen you change since you've met her. Callie is a cool girl, and I think she's good for you. If I were you I'd ask her to go out again, and this time make your feelings known."

"I will think about it, Teddy. But for now, I am hanging up the phone and going to bed. Goodnight, Teddy."

"Fine, goodnight Arizona."

I hung up the phone and headed to the bedroom. After washing my face and putting on my pajamas, I crawled into bed and turned the lights out. For what felt like forever, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling thinking long and hard about what Teddy had told me. Fact was that I knew she was right. I was very much attracted to Callie. She was gorgeous, and funny and so easy to talk to and was a lot of fun to be around. I couldn't help but wonder if it was too soon to pursue something more with her. I couldn't tell you the last time I had taken a risk. Taken a chance on anything. Getting up out of bed, I scrambled around the room to find my purse. Grabbing my phone, I thought of Callie and how she made me feel and decided that enough was enough. I was done living outside of my body and done being depressed over Joanne. I wanted to be happy and hoped that Joanne would be happy for me, so I sent out a text to Callie asking if she'd go out to dinner with me again some time.

Shortly after, she texted me back saying that she'd love to. I was over the moon. I had set a date to go for dinner with her, and then jumped back into bed. It was a start. I had finally taken charge of my life and made the decision to be happy and whole, and to hopefully be happy and whole with Callie.