Massive shout out to therealjcappers for encouraging me to continue this fic… and my regulars, of course. :)

I own nothing. All characters/storylines belong to Shonda. I'm simply 'borrowing' them.

Chapter Ten

ELIZA'S POV

Watching Arizona interact with her daughter has to be the most adorable thing I've ever witnessed. Honestly, I wouldn't say she was a mother just by the few words we first spoke, but now that I know her, I see it right away. Listening to their conversation, it made my heart skip a beat. Sofia seems like a pretty bright kid, and I hope one day I get to meet her. Woah, Minnick. Totally getting ahead of yourself right now. I can't help but notice that Arizona's behavior has completely changed since she ended her call, and I'm not sure what I should do.

Right now, we are sat in silence. Silence because I don't know what to say, and silence because Arizona looks petrified to even start up this conversation. "You know, we don't have to do this?"

"No, it's okay." She sighs. "I just don't know where to start."

"Wherever you want to start." I smile and lace our fingers together.

"Um.."

"Wait." I stop her. "I just want you to know that I don't care about your past. I mean, I'm not worried about anything you may say. I just want to get to know you better. I want to know what you are all about. I want to know how you dealt with your past, and how you feel about the people in your past so that I don't make the same mistakes they did."

"Mistakes?"

"Yeah, Arizona. Mistakes." I smile. "I'm sorry, but I'll never understand how I managed to be the one sat here with you tonight. I'll never understand why you chose to give us a go. I'll never understand why I'm the one spending time with you, and not someone else."

"I don't follow." She shakes her head.

"You were married, Arizona. You have a daughter. Yet somehow, I'm the one who shared a bed with you last night. I'm the one you kissed when you woke up this morning. I'm the one sitting here with you right now. Forgive me, but I don't understand."

"Sometimes I don't either, so you are not alone." She smiles. "Wait, that didn't come out right." She sighs. "What I meant was, I don't know how I ended up alone with nothing after having everything."

"So tell me?" I raise an eyebrow. "Purely casual. This isn't a shrink session." We both laugh, and I can see she is settling a little. God, that laugh. I could die.

"Where do you want me to start?" She asks.

"Um, tell me about Sofia. She is adorable after all." Gaining a smile from the blonde sitting beside me, I can see she is happy to talk about her daughter.

"Hmm, Sofia. My beautiful Sofia." She smiles again. "She was, um, she was a miracle."

"How so?"

"Car crash." She sighs. "God, she was so small. Tiny. She shouldn't have made it, but she did. She was a fighter."

Oh. I didn't expect this. "She seems like a bright kid, Arizona. You must be so proud of how she was raised. She adores you."

"Yeah. I'm very proud of my daughter." She gives a nod. "God, I remember the day we brought her home. I've never been so terrified in my life. I mean, I look after children. I keep children alive. But that? That tiny little baby in a car seat? It absolutely terrified me. I tried not to show it, but it did."

"Was Sofia always a plan in your relationship?"

"Honestly? No." Her gaze dropping, I curl my fingers under her chin and lift her head. "She wasn't a plan. I never wanted kids. Ever."

"So what changed?" I ask. I don't want to seem too interested, but I genuinely am.

"She slept with her best friend." I can see the uncertainty in her face. It's not a hurtful look, but it isn't a happy look either.

"Wow, and you were okay with that?"

"No." She laughs and shakes her head. "I wasn't okay with it. I'd won a grant. I'd applied before I met my ex-wife. I found out a while later that I'd won it, and I couldn't turn it down. I mean, why would I? It was the opportunity of a lifetime."

"Of course." I nod.

"It was supposed to be for three years. She decided to come with me, and then it went wrong at the airport. We went our separate ways, and I only lasted a few months. So, I came home from Africa."

"Africa? Your grant based you in Africa?"

"Yeah." She puffs out a deep breath. "Quite a way away, huh?"

"Yeah." I agree.

"I came home a few months later. I didn't want to be away from her any longer. I just couldn't do it. We had just survived a maniac who shot up the hospital. We lost friends. Colleagues. Then I just disappeared."

"Hardly. You were furthering your career, Arizona."

"I know, but still." She shrugs. "When I came home, she didn't want to know. She wouldn't have me back. It hurt, but I understood. Then she told me she was pregnant with Mark's baby. Told me she wanted me to be a part of it. It was hard, and I struggled, but becoming Sofia's mother was the best decision I've ever made. That I'm certain of."

"So where is Mark now?" I ask. "Does he have regular contact with you and your ex-wife? And Sofia, of course?"

"No." A sadness settles on her face and I wonder if I've said something I shouldn't have. "H-He, um, he died."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." I place a reassuring hand on her knee and she gives me a sad smile.

"It's okay. You know, he was awesome. A great dad and a great friend. To both of us. We lost him in the plane crash. The same one that caused this." Pointing to her leg, I give a nod. "I may not have liked him at first, but he was a good guy. I was too wrapped up in my own issues to really grieve, but I did. In my own way, I did."

She sighs and I pull her into a strong embrace. I'm not usually one for providing comfort, mainly because I've never been given the opportunity, but it feels right. Holding Arizona like this feels right. "Our marriage wasn't good. It was terrible, even. I couldn't see past the fact that Callie had made the choice to take my leg, and it became consuming. I'd lash out and cause fights, but it was just my way of coping. She became my doctor instead of my wife. Always trying to fix me. Always trying to make things better. I didn't want that. I just wanted to feel normal. That feeling of normal, though? It never came. I felt completely detached from my own life. I couldn't play with Sofia. I couldn't put her to bed or bath her. It was hard. Some days I didn't even want to wake up. I wasn't myself. I would never be myself again. Or so I thought."

"But you came through it. She helped you come through it, no?" Her story is inspiring, and I need to know more.

"Kinda. We had a rough patch." Running her fingers through her hair, she has something on her mind. Something she's struggling to tell me. "Look, Eliza. What I'm about to tell you is something that may cause you to run. It's not who I am, and I regret it every day of my life."

"I'm not going to run, Arizona."

"I slept with another woman."

The silence is deafening. I wasn't expecting that to come from her beautiful mouth, but it has, and now it's out there in the open. She cheated? She doesn't seem that kind of person. Yes, I'm shocked, but I don't show it. I can't show it. I meant it when I said I wouldn't run, so I'm going to hear her out. "Okay." I give a simple nod and hope that she doesn't see through my uncomfortable demeanour right now.

"I didn't do it for the sake of it. I didn't do it to get back at her or anything like that. I just, she made me feel normal. In that moment, I felt like me again. I hadn't felt that in a long time, and things at home weren't good. I mean, they were better, yes, but it was far from how we used to be. I regretted it the moment it happened."

"And it all spiraled from there?" I ask.

"Yeah. I guess it is my own fault." Running her temples, I can see that Arizona has had enough for one night. I don't want to push this. I'm already going over everything in my head, so I can't even begin to imagine how she is feeling.

"I'm sure it wasn't like that. I mean, sure, it's a different way to go about things, but you had just gone through a life-changing experience."

"Please don't see me as a cheater. Yes, I did do it, but I made a mistake. I'm not that person. I have never been."

"I don't see you as a cheater, Arizona." Pulling back, I give her a genuine smile. "I do, however, want to kiss you." Gaining a nod of approval from the blonde in my arms, I lean in a little and press my lips to her own. Soft, as always. I feel like we've taken a step in whatever this is we have going on. I'd like to think that I'm going to become her girlfriend, but I don't want to chance that just yet. I don't want to tempt my fate. Our fate.

"God." She pulls back. "I thought you were going to walk out of that door."

"No chance," I state. There is no way I'm about to walk away from this. I've never felt this way about anyone else, and I've never felt so at peace with someone else. "You'll have to literally walk me out of that door if you want me gone."

Closing her eyes, she pulls me closer to her. Deciding to be a little bold in the moment, I straddle her legs and run my thumb along her cheek. A slight sigh falling from her lips, I smile and take in her absolute beauty. "Open your eyes, Arizona."

Watching that amazing blue appear, my heart melts and I want nothing more than to hold her forever. I could hold her forever. It would be an absolute honor. "You are so beautiful, and I'm so happy that you chose me to be the one that you give this another go with."

"You've made me feel again, Eliza. You really have." She nods. "I just don't want my past to interfere with my future."

"It won't." I smile. "You have been honest and that is all I need. The fact that you have just told me that you slept with another woman while you were married speaks volumes. It really does."

"How?"

"How? Really? Well, it tells me that you are open about your past relationships. You aren't afraid to let people in, even though you try to close yourself off. You are proud of who you are, and well, you are freaking gorgeous. You have been through a lot over the years, but here you are, giving me a chance. Giving us a chance."

"Wow, you certainly have a way with words." She laughs.

"No, it's just the truth."

De Luca is working tonight… thank God. I mean, I'm not bothered that Arizona has someone else living with her, but it's awesome that we don't have to worry about him tonight. Should we wish to spend the night together, and I mean really spend the night together… we can scoot on over to my place. It's no problem.

"Hey, Eliza?" Arizona calls down the hall and I stand. "Can you come here?"

Following her voice, I come face to face with her…naked! Jesus christ! My mouth runs dry and I know that if I try to speak, nothing will come out. "Uh."

"Figured we could make use of our alone time together?" She raises an eyebrow and I nod, slack-jawed.

"I'm going to need those clothes gone, though." She runs her fingertips under my hoodie and against my bare skin. Shuddering, I close my eyes as she steps a little closer. "And I need them gone pretty soon."

Again, I nod. "S-Sure."

"You're not becoming shy are you, Eliza?" Tugging at the edge of my hoodie, she lifts it up and over my head. "Because what I have planned doesn't call for shyness."

Her eyes are the deepest blue I've ever seen, and I feel stuck. I can't move. I want to, god I want to, but… I can't. She's amazing. Arizona is like nothing I've ever witnessed before. Her entire being is simply miraculous. Every last inch of her is heaven. Stood in my bra and sweats, I shake myself from my thoughts. Come on, Minnick. Pull yourself together..

Turning me, she gently pushes me backward toward the bed, and as my knees connect, I hit the soft King size mattress beneath me. Heaven. Pure heaven.

I don't know much right now, but I do know that I need to be with this woman. I need to beside her in every way possible. She is too good to lose. I may have nothing to compare this to, but I know that I don't need to. I know that I don't need to experience this with anybody else, and right now… I'm not sure I'd ever want to again as long as I live.

Arizona Robbins is under my skin, and right now… on top, too. This could be good. This could be amazing. Am I willing to give it a try? A serious try? Hell yes….

Thanks for reading, guys. Hit the review button. You know I love to see my regulars, and also newbies give me their thoughts! Tonnes of love x