A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews. I was initially intending on this being a relatively short fic, then Greys happened and with the addition of persuasion from Heather, I've decided that this fic is going to just continue, but it's also going to be PURE FLUFF. Fine they're still recovering from the plane crash, but that's the only angst that they will deal with because right now I need some Calzona fluff in my life to get me through this summer!
Also for the purpose of this story Teddy is still at Seattle Grace, cause, well frankly, I miss her!
Thanks as always to Heather for righting my wrongs.
Arizona smiled as she walked from her latest successful surgery – not just any surgery, a four hour PDA ligation, and boy did she feel good, and that was all down to Callie. The night where Callie had first massaged her leg had been four days previously, and now it had become a regular part of their bedtime routine; Callie would massage Arizona's residual limb. Even though it was still not skin to skin; Arizona still not brave enough to completely remove her pants and totally let Callie see her leg; they were slowly working their way up to that. And it was massively helping. Although Arizona still had some pain, it was intermittent and becoming less and less frequent the more Callie worked her magic. That's what she was; magical.
Today was also the day that Tim was going to be admitted, ready for Callie to perform the surgery on his shoulder the following day. Her parents had safely returned home, with promise that they would return sooner rather than later. Arizona looked at her watch, she had a good two hours before her next surgery so she decided to head down to the ortho floor and see if Tim or indeed her wife, were there somewhere.
'Arizona!'
Arizona stopped and turned carefully, not wanting to throw her balance if she moved too quick, she smiled when she saw it had been Teddy calling after her. She hadn't seen hardly anything of Teddy since the plane crash, managing to push away everyone that cared the most about her.
*flashback*
Arizona had a permanent scowl on her face and today was no different. She was angry. Actually, angry was tame; she was fucking pissed. It had been three days since she'd woken up without her left leg. Her fucking leg. They'd caught it off. Callie had cut it off. Growling in frustration, she reached forwards and threw the plastic cup across the room, it didn't get very far and most of the water ended up all over her bed, only increasing her anger.
'And what'd the cup ever do to you?'
Arizona's dark eyes crawled up to find the slender figure of her best friend Teddy Altman leaning against the door she had just closed behind her. She'd seen Teddy before the amputation operation but not since. She didn't say anything, she knew that Teddy was probably here to give her some bullshit about how she was treating Callie and how she should be glad to survive. She'd heard it all. And she certainly didn't want to hear it again. 'What do you want?'
'Gee aren't we just a barrel of laughs today,' Teddy said, undeterred by her friends tone. Moving forwards she picked up Arizona's chart, her eyes flicking over the details that she had already been told. She needed to see it for herself and it also gave her something to do to calm her before she said something she'd regret.
'Seriously Teddy if you've just come in here to give me some pep talk; don't bother.'
Putting the chart back in the holder at the end of the bed Teddy sighed, 'I've not come here to say anything, I just wanted to see how you were.'
'How the fuck do you think I am?'
'Angry. Hurt. Betrayed. Upset. Frustrated.' Teddy listed of the words, 'I've seen it in Iraq Arizona...I've seen worse in Iraq...'
Arizona rolled her eyes, 'Oh blah blah blah. Yup, I'm the bitch, I'm the bad person for feeling a little bit fucking pissed off that I don't have a leg anymore when you saw soldiers more worse off right?!'
Teddy shook her head, 'That's not what I'm saying and you know it. Callie may take this crap attitude off of you, but I won't.'
'Well you know where the door is,' Arizona spat, turning her head away from Teddy, suddenly wishing she hadn't thrown her cup of water across the room as her throat was so dry.
'I'll let it go for now,' Teddy said, not moving. 'You, speaking to me like this...give you a while to...adjust...but, for the record, your attitude stinks...and you need to get your head out of your ass because you are breaking your wife.'
'BREAKING MY WIFE?!' Arizona's head shot round, her voice a lot louder than it had been before. 'You have to be fucking kidding me...sheis the one that cut off my leg...'
'To save your life!' Teddy cut in, 'Deep down in that brain of yours you know as well as the rest of us that if Callie hadn't made the decision she did then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now...that you'd be dead. That your daughter would be growing up without you...that Callie would never be the same again without you in her life...'
'You...'
'No, I haven't finished yet,' Teddy pressed on, moving to the side of the bed so she was closer to Arizona. 'I feel like I can say this because I lost my husband only months ago...if I'd have had the option to save his life...no matter what the cost; a leg, an arm; I would've done it straight away...'
'Oh spare me the poor fucking widow routine,' Arizona cut in. 'And don't crap on to me about dealing with things, how long did it take you to accept the fact that Henry was dead? How many times did you have to get Yang to stand and there and repeat every single fucking step of the operation? Don't you stand there and give me some bullshit about accepting things when we both know you still can't go into that OR where Henry died without crying for an hour after. When you come round to my apartment and crash on my couch because you can't stand the thought of going home to the apartment that reminds you of your fucking dead husband!' Arizona was now breathing very heavily, her eyes locked onto Teddy's as she barely registered the tears at the edge of her best friends'. 'Just get the fuck out of my room Teddy, and don't bother coming back.'
Teddy sighed, hanging her head so that her chin rested on her chest, she had expected Arizona to be pissed; Callie had told her as much. But she hadn't expected this. She hadn't expected to see an Arizona so void of life; an Arizona that was just a shell, nothing about this woman lying in the bed was her best friend. She hadn't expected Arizona to throw words at her that she very well knew would cause her so much pain. 'I hope you pull your head out of your ass before it's too late Arizona, this isn't worth losing your wife. Nothing's worth that.' With her quiet words, Teddy turned and left the room.
*end of flashback*
Arizona sighed as she remembered that last time she had properly spoken to Teddy. Since then they'd had a tentative couple of hellos and had been forced to work together on a peds heart case, but other than that they'd avoided each other as best as possible. Arizona knew she had a lot of healing and apologising to do and the majority of that was to Callie, but a large part was also owed to her best friend. She'd not tried before now to fix anything because Callie had to be her number one priority, and what with everything that had happened since with Tim, Arizona hadn't actually seen Teddy for just over a week.
Presuming she was needed for a consult, Arizona said, 'What's up?'
'Nothing,' Teddy replied as she came to stop in front of Arizona. 'I just...I heard something on the gossip mill...and...'
'About Tim by any chance?' Arizona asked, understanding the look on Teddy's face.
'It's true?'
Arizona nodded, 'Depending on what you've heard...but yeah, Tim's alive...I was actually on my way to see him...he needs surgery on his shoulder...you want to come meet him?'
'Yeah?'
Arizona nodded eagerly, turning she settled into a slow pace next to Teddy. Biting her lip, Arizona jumbled through all the things she had in her head that she wanted to say, trying to decide what would be the best thing to start with. Sighing, she said, 'Look Teddy...I need to say this...' Arizona stopped walking, Teddy turning to face her. 'I'm so, so, unbelievably sorry for what I said to you...the way I acted was just...appalling. I haven't got an excuse...I haven't got some big psychological reason to feed you...I was in a bad place and I took that out on you...I took it out on Callie too...and it wasn't fair to either of you. I know I can't take back what I said, but I hope one day you can forgive me Teds...cause I miss you.'
Teddy's eyes flicked over the face of her best friend; she definitely looked better. The last time Teddy had seen her, she'd been stood leaning heavily on the front desk, pain contorting her features as she obviously struggled with the prosthetic. Now her face seemed relaxed; her eyes almost resembling those of old; Arizona Robbins was creeping back. 'I won't forgive you one day...'
Arizona's heart sank, her head hanging as she realised that she'd pushed it way too far with someone who wasn't bound to her in any way.
'...cause I've already forgiven you.' Teddy finished her sentence, 'Come here.' Reaching forwards she pulled the shorter woman into her arms, 'I'm your best friend, you're allowed to have a shitty mood at me.'
Arizona scoffed as she returned the hug, 'Teddy, you can't say that I didn't hurt you?'
Teddy stood back with a shrug, 'You did, but you weren't you...you were there somewhere inside...but you were angry and you were hurting, and your natural defence was to lash out. The point is you're fighting now, fighting to be the Arizona Robbins we all know and love.'
Arizona smiled, 'I am.'
'Then that's all that matters,' Teddy replied, looping her arm through Arizona's as they continued on towards the ortho floor. 'Just for the record...I moved out of the dead-husband apartment.'
Arizona's mouth formed an 'o' as she mentally face-palmed herself for ever saying such a thing, 'Teddy...'
'It's ok,' Teddy interrupted, not intending to make Arizona feel too bad. 'I needed to do it...I actually think that little...talk...you gave me that day helped me more than I'd care to admit. I was busy telling you to get your head out of your ass when I still had mine in my own; as much as I'd told myself I'd moved on and accepted Henry's death, I hadn't. I don't think I still have fully...I probably never will, but moving out has helped.'
'I can't believe what I said to you about him Teddy,' Arizona said, her mind going once more back to what she had said that day. 'He was a wonderful man...and I'm so sorry...for what I said and for the fact that he's gone.'
'I am too,' Teddy replied, pushing open the doors onto the ortho ward. 'But enough of that, enough sorrys, let's just move on yeah?'
'I don't deserve that...'
'Well I don't care what you think you deserve,' Teddy cut in. 'Cut yourself some slack Arizona, you were in a plane crash, you were allowed to have an off day.'
'Day?! Try months,' Arizona replied seriously.
'Fine, you were allowed to have an off few months,' Teddy replied with a dramatic roll of her eyes. 'Now can I please meet your brother?'
Arizona smiled, looking on the board and seeing that Tim was already listed as being in one of the side rooms.
'Please tell me he hasn't got killer dimples like you?'
'Afraid so Teds,' Arizona said with a chuckle.
'How the hell did your parents ever say no to you two?'
Arizona shrugged, 'They got used to them I suppose...Here we are.' Arizona wandered through the open door and into the side room, smiling widely when she found both her brother and her wife in the room. 'Hey guys!'
Callie smiled before she even turned around, 'Checking up on us already?'
'Well I had to make sure T wasn't making too much of a nuisance of himself...besides, I ran into Teddy and she wanted to meet him,' Arizona said. 'Teddy, Tim. Tim, Teddy.'
'Pleasure,' Teddy said, stepping around Callie and shaking Tim's outstretched hand.
'Pleasure's all mine,' Tim replied, a smile on his lips. His answer caused Arizona to roll her eyes, nothing had actually changed at all. 'Teddy? So you're the...cardio surgeon right?'
'That's me.'
'Right,' Tim replied. 'Just getting used to all these names...you all wear the same damn thing all the time so I'm struggling with names to be honest!'
'Don't worry,' Teddy replied, leaning back against the wall. 'When I first got here I knew these two as roller-girl and Yang's roommate.'
'And you were just little old GI Jane to us,' Callie said in retort, stepping back from her examination of Tim's shoulder. 'Everything looks good, just take it easy, take the meds and do as my nurses tell you, got it?'
'She always this bossy?' Tim said, looking to his sister.
Arizona smirked, several memories passing through her mind where Callie was particularly bossy.
'Actually, from the look on your face, I don't even want to know,' Tim said, making a face and shaking his head.
Callie looked up, just catching the end of that same look on Arizona's face; she actually went weak at the knees, Arizona hadn't looked at her like that in a while. Licking her lips, she tried to re-focus on what she was meant to be doing, picking up Tim's chart as a distraction she filled in the obs she had just taken.
'How long will I have to stay in for?' Tim asked.
'That totally depends on how well the surgery goes...and how well you behave after,' Callie said. 'If the surgery goes as planned and you do as you're told, then a couple of weeks tops.'
'That long?' Tim said, he wasn't one to sit still for very long. 'You guys are seriously going to have to keep me entertained.'
'I'm sure we'll think of something,' Teddy said, totally missing the look that she got from both Arizona and Callie. 'Right, I have to go to surgery, it was nice to meet you Tim.'
'You too,' Tim said with a broad smile, dimples on show.
Teddy returned the smile, 'Coffee sometime this week Arizona?'
'Definitely,' Arizona replied with an eager nod of the head. With that Teddy left the room although Arizona was sure she heard a mutter along the lines of 'freaking dimples' as she left.
'She's hot,' Tim said as soon as the door was closed.
'No,' Arizona said simply, sitting down in the chair at the side of the bed.
'Oh come on...'
'No,' this time from Callie.
'Why?!' Tim asked, switching his head from one to the other.
'Because nine months ago her husband died in this hospital,' Arizona said.
Tim frowned, thinking that Arizona meant in the plane crash, but he knew that that wasn't that long ago, 'What happened?'
'He had a tumour...he had a lot of things actually, he was a sick man,' Callie said. 'They got married for his insurance at first, then they fell in love for real.'
'That's kind of the saddest and yet most romantic thing I've ever heard,' Tim said sadly.
'Exactly,' Arizona said. 'So no pulling out the Timothy Robbins charms.'
'Awww come on a guy can look?'
'Not at my best friend,' Arizona shot back.
Tim rolled his eyes, 'You didn't have that rule when I went out with Lacey Robertson.'
'That was different,' Arizona replied instantly.
'How?!' Tim exclaimed. 'She was your best friend at the time!'
'Yes but she hadn't just lost her husband,' Arizona said.
'You mean you don't want Teddy like you wanted Lacey?' Tim replied, raising an eyebrow.
Arizona's eyes went wide, then scrunched as she gave her brother that familiar look of 'I'm gunna kill you'. 'We're so not having this conversation,' Arizona said simply, chancing a glance at Callie who was looking at her with a curious expression.
'Well I'm intrigued,' Callie said simply, resting back on the bedside table.
Arizona rolled her eyes, 'Tim's just reading too much into a situation, I was like fifteen for God's sake.'
'So? You still liked her!' Tim said. 'You were ok with me going with your best friend because then it meant that she was off-bounds to you because you couldn't control yourself!'
'Oh God I can't believe you just said that,' Arizona said, resting her forehead onto her hand. 'Calliope don't listen to him.'
'Hey it's fine, you were a young hot-blooded female, I get it.' Callie said, throwing a wink towards her wife so that she knew it was ok.
'So can we stop pretending now and admit that I'm right?' Tim said with a grin.
Arizona rolled her eyes slouching in the chair, 'I may have had a slight crush on her...but that's not why I was ok with you two! I just don't want to see Teddy get hurt again.'
'Whatever,' Tim said, swinging his legs back up onto the bed and settling back.
'Get some rest,' Callie said, heading towards the door. 'You got time for coffee?' Callie asked towards Arizona.
'Always,' Arizona said, rising to her feet. 'Catch you later T.'
'That's right leave the invalid here to go crazy on his own.'
'You're such a drama queen,' Arizona said, patting her brother on the arm before she followed Callie out of the door. 'I'll drop by after my shift T.'
Callie waited as Arizona shut the door behind her, smiling as they headed off to the coffee cart on that floor. They walked perfectly in step with one another, Callie shortening her stride to accommodate for Arizona's now slightly slower pace. 'So...me and Teddy talked.' Arizona said.
'Yeah?' Callie replied, she knew exactly what Arizona was talking about; a very angry had come to see Callie after the last time her and Arizona really 'talked', recounting what Arizona had said to her. At the time Callie had been very shocked, she'd thought that despite the anger Arizona obviously had towards her, she'd have accepted Teddy's shoulder to cry on, not push her away so aggressively.
'Uh huh, she says she forgives me,' Arizona said, her voice quiet. 'God knows how...I don't deserve that.'
'All any of us wants to do is move on Zo,' Callie said carefully. 'That can only be done if we forgive and forget.'
'Will you ever be able to really forget some of the things I said to you?' Arizona said, noticing they had neared the coffee cart, she got their order before joining Callie at one of the tables.
'In answer to your question, yes,' Callie said. 'I'm not going to lie, some of the things you said hurt, but you know that. But every time you look at me with a smile on your face or tell me you love me or I see you with Sofia then those memories of what you said fade that little bit more.'
Arizona sighed, 'I've never wanted to turn back time before...I always believed things happened for a reason and that we should always look forwards...but I would give anything to turn back time and change the person I became after the crash.'
'I'm not sure you'd be able to,' Callie said honestly. 'We can't predict how we'll deal with trauma, it's only when it's thrown at us that we find out. It's good that you and Teddy are talking again.'
'I missed her,' Arizona said. 'I missed all of you whilst I was busy being all self-loathing.'
Callie reached forwards across the table, placing her hand on top of Arizona's, 'We missed you too...but you're here now and we're getting better, concentrate on that...like you said, why look back when you can look forwards right?'
Arizona nodded with a small smile, 'Right...but I swear if my brother screws my best friend...'
Callie chuckled, 'I know Teddy's been through a lot, but I think she can look after herself...she's a strong woman that one.' Arizona nodded in agreement. 'I've been thinking about something by the way...'
'What's that?' Arizona asked.
'Well I was thinking...not like now...maybe after Tim's recovered...or actually sooner, if we could get your parents to come and stay down here, which I don't think would be a problem...'
'Calliope, you're rambling,' Arizona said, a dimpled smile on her lips.
'Sorry,' Callie took a breath. 'I was thinking maybe you and me could go away for a long weekend? On our own...I was browsing the other day and there are these like cottages in the middle of nowhere...or we could go to a city...or a beach if you'd prefer...I...yeah...I just thought it would be good for you and me to get away,' Callie explained, looking up sheepishly at her wife.
'That sounds like a perfect idea,' Arizona said immediately, genuinely excited by the thought of her and Callie getting away together. 'And honestly I think I like the sound of the middle of nowhere cottage the best.'
'Yeah?' Callie asked, glad that Arizona was as enthusiastic about the idea as she was.
Arizona nodded, 'I'm not particularly ready to waltz around in a bikini just yet...some peace and quiet with you...maybe a Jacuzzi? That sounds perfect.'
Callie smiled widely, squeezing the hand beneath hers, 'I'll have a word with Hunt, see when he can spare us.'
'And I'll ask my parents,' Arizona added. 'Not that they'll care...although Tim probably won't be able to cope...you're ok to leave Sof for that long?'
Callie nodded, 'She'll be perfectly safe with your parents and Tim...I mean I'll miss her, but I just think it would be good for you and me...we'll take her on holiday later...when she's a bit older and can appreciate it more.'
Arizona nodded before her eyes lit up, 'Oh my God Calliope, we can go to Disneyland!'
Callie groaned and rolled her eyes, 'Maybe.'
'Oh pleeeasseee, you know Sof would love it,' Arizona said, totally caught up with the idea.
Callie chuckled, 'I think you'd enjoy it more.'
'Probably...but Sof would love it too?'
'We'll see,' Callie said, taking a sip from her coffee. When she received no response, she looked up to see her wife sat there with the most adorable pout on her lips. Even though it was possibly the strangest of circumstances, Callie hadn't seen Arizona look more like herself since the plane crash than she did in that moment. Their eyes locked and Callie knew that Arizona recognised what had just happened, though Arizona's eyes were filled with relief more than anything; relief that she had just got another little piece of herself back in place. 'You know I can't say no when you pull out the pout.'
Arizona smiled, 'So that means yes?'
Callie rolled her eyes, 'Yes, we can go to Disneyland.'
Arizona made a strange noise as she reached over and kissed Callie's lips, surprising herself with the passion within such a simple kiss.
Callie smiled, holding Arizona's hand tighter, 'Just please don't tell Sof...I couldn't deal with the two of you in pre-Disneyland mode...'
Arizona smiled, 'I love you Calliope.'
Slightly taken aback by the sudden announcement, Callie recovered quickly, returning Arizona's smile she replied, 'I love you too Zo.'
Their eyes held each others' gaze once more before a wider smile spread on Arizona's face.
'What?' Callie asked.
'I'm so buying you a set of Minnie mouse ears.'
