Nothing Comes Easily by captstarbuck
An old friend and a new friend helps Arizona.
AN: This is, for the most part, Calzona, but Arizona-centric, with lots of other Grey's characters. It's slightly AU/Mostly Canon. This starts just before Arizona returns from Africa and varies a bit in the story of bringing them back together. Let's just say I bend the timeline and modify a few scenes to suit my own purposes.
AN: Once again, extreme gratitude to my beta-reader, Stacy D'Lacy.
Disclaimers – All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual. (I don't own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. All of that belongs to Shondaland et al. I just wanted to take them out and play)
Chapter Ten – ChaosTeddy had come home late, stripped and fallen into bed. After six and a half hours of hard sleep, she woke up, the exhaustion from the previous day gone. She got up, threw on some clothes, then went into the kitchen to start the coffee. She noticed that Kayo's bedroom door was still slightly ajar. I wonder if I can talk Kayo into going for a short run this morning, she thought.
Carrying two mugs of freshly brewed coffee, she pushed Kayo's bedroom door open with her hip. She suddenly came to a complete stop in the doorway when she spotted another body sprawled across Kayo's. Teddy couldn't tell in the dim light who was in bed with Kayo, but she could make out blonde hair and a dark colored bra on pale skin. The woman's face was pressed against Kayo's neck, one arm across Kayo's waist and a leg hooked around one of Kayo's legs. Teddy's friend was flat on her back, one arm flung straight out, the other loosely wrapped around her sleeping companion.
Teddy quietly backed out of the room. Juggling the two mugs with one hand, she closed the door. She laughed to herself. Well, that's the first time that I know of that Kayo's brought someone home. And from the looks of it, they'd passed out before they finished. Oh, I can't wait to see who's going to be doing the walk of shame out of that room. She positioned herself at the breakfast bar and waited.
The sound of the door closing had woken Arizona up. She lifted her head, groaning as a sharp pain pierced her skull. She forced one eye open to look at the clock. Shit! Oh, shit, I've got rounds in an hour. Shit shit shit shit shit, she cursed, sitting up. Oh, God, I feel like crap. I drank way too much last night. I'm too old to be drinking like a college student. What was I thinking? Vodka?
She was startled to find herself half dressed and atop Kayo. She closed her eyes tightly and breathed deeply. Oh, damn, it wasn't a dream. We… I… really did… it really happened. She brought her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes. No time for this now. I've got to get dressed and get to the hospital. I've got a change of clothes in my locker and I can shower there. She looked around for her shirt. Wait, how am I going to get to the hospital?
She quickly and deftly disentangled herself from Kayo and got off the bed. Spotting the large t-shirt that Kayo had taken out for her, she picked it up and pulled it on. She then located her purse and found a tie for her hair, which she then quickly pulled into a loose ponytail. Okay, bathroom, coffee, aspirin she repeated to herself several times.
Fifteen minutes later, Arizona had cleaned herself up as best as she could. She looked over at the still asleep Trauma surgeon. Even though Kayo had wanted her to know that nothing had changed, that they were still 'good', she wondered if that were true. Could they really pretend nothing had happened? Even if they were successful at staying friends, a small part of Arizona also wondered what would have happened if Kayo hadn't stopped them. Would I have stopped us from going any further? Would I have been strong as Kayo had been and kept us from making a mistake that we would've regretted forever?
She leaned over and gently shook Kayo's shoulder. Kayo groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over her head.
"Kayo? Kayo, I need you to get up now. I need a ride to work."
"Five more minutes…"
"Please, Kayo, get up."
"Okay, okay," she grumbled, tossing the pillow aside.
"I'll get the coffee started."
"Thanks."
Once she was sure Kayo was actually out of bed, Arizona left the room. Her mind still a little foggy from her headache, Arizona didn't see Teddy sitting at the breakfast bar.
"Arizona?" Teddy gasped, her mouth agape.
"Oh, Teddy, good morning. I didn't see you there." Arizona spotted the full pot of coffee. "Oh, coffee, thank God. I love you, Teddy," Arizona said, pouring a cup for herself.
"What are you doing here, Arizona?" Teddy asked, her brain still trying to reconcile what she'd seen earlier to the woman standing in her kitchen.
"Oh, I drank way too much last night and Kayo brought me here."
"That was you… that was you in her bed?" Teddy sputtered.
Arizona nodded, blowing on her coffee to cool it.
"You… you were… you didn't have a shirt on, Arizona."
It was then that Arizona noticed the odd look on Teddy's face. Her friend looked disappointed and distressed and… Arizona thought for a moment. Anger. Teddy looks angry, really angry.
"It's not what you think, Teddy."
"How can it not be?" she nearly shouted. "I saw you, Arizona. You were half naked and on top of Kayo." Teddy slammed her coffee cup down onto the counter. "I'm going to kill her. I'm going to fucking kill her," she repeated, getting up from the stool she was perched on. "Kayo! Kayo, get your ass out here now!"
"Teddy! Stop it!" Arizona said, stepping in front of her. "It's not Kayo's fault."
"Bullshit. I know how she is."
Arizona set her own cup down, and grabbed both of Teddy's arms. "Teddy, listen to me. Nothing happened. I mean, it almost did, but it didn't."
"Kayo just couldn't help herself, I suppose," she spat.
"No, I started it and Kayo stopped it."
Kayo had finished her shower and was getting dressed when she heard Teddy yelling. Oh, fuck, she said to herself. Bear knows Arizona spent the night. She quickly pulled on her pants and her sports bra. She grabbed a t-shirt and went out to the kitchen.
Teddy took a step toward Kayo, and Arizona stopped her. The smaller woman turned to look at Kayo, then halted. It was the first time she'd seen Kayo's scarred body and it startled her. Teddy hadn't lied about Kayo's body being a mess.
Kayo noticed Arizona staring at her and she quickly pulled her t-shirt on. She only had a moment to be ashamed and embarrassed by the scars. Her bigger concern was Teddy, who had started to take a threatening step toward Kayo. She took a few steps back, not wanting to confront her friend.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Dwyer? You promised me! You stood in front of me and swore you wouldn't!"
"And I didn't, Bear," Kayo said, her voice both quiet and firm.
"And I suppose Arizona's shirt came off all by itself?" Teddy scoffed.
"No, that was me, Teddy," Arizona interjected. "It was all me. I was drunk and… and I sort of forced myself on Kayo."
"Yeah, right." Teddy rolled her eyes. "Like I believe that one."
"Teddy, listen to me," Arizona said, her hands still on Teddy's arms. "I'm embarrassed enough about all this, but it's true. We were both pretty drunk. Well, I was, anyway. Kayo brought me here so I wouldn't do anything foolish… about Callie. Yes, we kissed, but I kissed her. It didn't go any further because Kayo stopped it." Arizona squeezed Teddy's arms. "Teddy, I've never lied to you before, and I'm not lying now. Kayo kept it from going any further."
"You don't… you don't know how she can be, Arizona," Teddy said, her anger slowly fading.
"I do, Teddy. And I appreciate you looking out for me, but I'm responsible. You can't blame Kayo. Not this time."
"Bear, I swear on our friendship, I didn't… I didn't let it… I didn't let us…" Kayo was almost pleading. "I wouldn't do that. I would never take advantage of Arizona."
"Please, Teddy." Arizona was pleading herself. "Believe us."
"Okay, okay. I believe you," Teddy said after a few minutes.
Arizona eased her grip on Teddy. She gave the Cardio surgeon an affectionate squeeze. "Thank you. Thank you, Teddy."
"Bear…"
"Just give me a minute, Kayo, please?"
"Yeah, sure." Kayo cleared her throat. "I'm gonna go get some shoes and socks on." She turned to Arizona. "I'll get you to the hospital in time for rounds, 'zona. Just give me five."
"Sure."
Arizona sipped her coffee and watched the emotions flicker across Teddy's face.
"Teddy, are you… are we okay?"
"Yes, Arizona," she sighed. "It was just such a shock… to have seen you… the two of you in bed together."
"I know. I'm kind of shocked myself."
"Arizona, please be careful. Please."
"I will, Teddy. I will."
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Mark came out of his room, dressed and ready for work. His 'temporary' roommate was sitting up on the sofa, a blanket tangled around her. She looked like she hadn't slept all night.
"You need to get ready, Cal. We have to be at work in thirty minutes."
"She didn't come home, Mark."
"What? Who?" he asked, pouring a cup of coffee. He didn't know how he ever survived before purchasing an automatic coffee maker. All he had to do was remember to set it the night before. He loved modern technology.
"Arizona. She never came home."
"Maybe she got called into the hospital."
"No, Yang and Grey said she was really drunk. She's a lot of things, Mark, but she's not irresponsible. She'd never work if she was drunk,"
"So, how do you know she didn't come home?" he queried, handing her a fresh cup of coffee. "Oh, no, you didn't sit up all night, did you?"
Callie's face was full of anguish.
"Cal, that's just pathetic," he said, sitting beside her.
"What if she was sleeping with Dwyer? They said she wasn't, but she left with her." Her words came in a rush, "She was drinking with her last night. And… and…"
"Stop torturing yourself, Torres."
"It's killing me, Mark," the Latina admitted. "The thought of Arizona with someone else…"
"Callie, you need to talk to her. You need to tell her how you feel. And you need to do it without yelling." Mark felt like a broken record. How many times had he told her this? Was she ever going to listen to him?
He stood back up and pulled his best friend to her feet. "Go get ready for work."
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Arizona didn't know which was making her feel worse – the hangover or the guilt. The hangover was making her ill physically, but at least that would eventually go away. The guilt made her heart ache and coffee, aspirin and sleep wouldn't cure it like they would cure a hangover. Last night's overindulgence of alcohol had turned into a God-awful mess. She'd crossed the line, or at least tip-toed along it with Kayo, and that had possibly ruined a good friendship. She still couldn't get over the look of horror and anger on Teddy's face, even if it hadn't been directed at her. Worse yet, she'd betrayed her own feelings for Callie. She felt like she'd been cheating on Callie. Her head hurt from all the thinking.
God, I miss being the head of Peds, she thought. With the loss of that position, came the loss of the office and her one sure place for privacy. She briefly considered going to the helipad, but it had been raining steadily since she'd arrived at the hospital and she couldn't do her charts there anyway. She was going to be stuck doing them in an on-call room or the doctors' lounge. Sighing heavily, she carried her charts into the lounge. An on-call room was out of the question. The temptation to use one of the beds to sleep off the hangover would've been too great.
She piled the stack of charts on one of the small tables before pouring herself the largest cup of coffee possible. She grimaced from the vile taste of the cheap coffee, but continued drinking it. She'd trade-off the taste for the caffeine boost it provided. Setting her cup next to the stack, she sat down at the table and opened the chart on the top of the pile. It only took a few minutes for her to realize that she was really, really going to have to force herself to get through paperwork.
The blonde thought back to the night before. Whatever possessed me to kiss Kayo? I practically forced myself on her. I know I was drunk, but I know better. I know better. She quietly groaned and rested her head in her hands. I'm ashamed to admit it felt nice to kiss Kayo, to be kissed. And even the few moments of… of groping had felt nice. Oh, who am I kidding? It all felt good. Maybe even a little more than just good. God, it has been so long since I've… Realization slammed into Arizona. Since before I left… Callie… No matter how good it all felt, it was still… something was missing. There was no spark, none of that tingling that she felt from her head to her toes whenever she touched, or was touched by Callie. Her body had responded instinctively to what she and Kayo had shared, but it wasn't… it wasn't Callie, and that was who she was craving, who she wanted. Callie.
She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the door push open and two voices chattering about a surgery. Arizona looked up and gave Meredith and Cristina a brief smile in greeting.
"Good morning, Dr. Robbins," Meredith said.
"Good morning, Grey, Yang," she replied.
"Rough night?" Yang asked.
"What? What do you mean?" Arizona hoped she didn't sound as guilty as she felt.
"You were sure pounding them down at Joe's last night," the Asian woman offered as an explanation as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Yes, well, I'm fine now."
The two residents shared a look and a smile, wondering what had happened after the Peds surgeon had left with the Trauma surgeon.
"Speak of the devil," Meredith whispered, nudging Cristina as she spotted Kayo as she came into the room.
Kayo sauntered over to Arizona and dropped a medium-sized paper bag on top of the blonde's charts. Ignoring the younger doctors, she turned a chair around so that she was facing her friend.
Arizona bit back the panic she felt. She wondered if Kayo was going to make some comment about what had happened at Teddy's or even worse, make a scene.
"Thought you could use these," Kayo said pushing the bag closer to Arizona.
Arizona sighed, still feeling somewhat fearful. She opened the bag and couldn't stop a grin from breaking out.
"You brought me donuts?" she almost squealed, taking one chocolate frosted donut out of the bag. "Oh, God, Kayo, thank you. I so needed a donut."
"I brought you more than just a donut," Kayo said reaching for the bag and taking out one for herself.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said between bites of the sugary treat.
"Yeah, I figured you probably needed some comfort food for your hangover."
Arizona's sigh became one of contentment as she happily munched on her second donut. Kayo smiled, pleased that she could alleviate some of her friend's misery.
"I have to go back to the ER." Kayo snagged another donut then stood up. "See you at lunch? I'll track Teddy and Owen down." If Teddy's still speaking to me, that is.
"Sure. Maybe I'll want to eat real food by then."
"And try to catch a nap when you start crashing from the sugar rush," Kayo called out with a laugh as she left the room.
Arizona smiled back at her friend. She reconsidered Kayo. The tall Trauma surgeon had always been thoughtful and protective of her. Kayo always seemed to know what she needed, or when she needed a boost to her spirits. Maybe… maybe if doesn't ever work out with Callie, I should give Kayo a chance. She shook her head once as if to clear that thought from her mind. No, that would be settling, and it wouldn't be fair to either of us. Besides, Callie is it for me.
From across the room, Cristina and Meredith had curiously watched the two doctors.
"Is that weird, or what?" Cristina asked.
"What?"
"Do you think that donuts are some kind of code or something between them? They were enjoying those donuts way too much."
"Cristina, you're starting to think like Sloan. Not everything is about sex." Meredith topped off her cup of coffee. "C'mon. I have to work the pit in ten minutes."
As the two women rounded the corner they collided with Callie.
"Christ! Can't you two watch where you're going?" Callie exclaimed.
"Sorry," Meredith apologized for herself and Cristina.
"Have either of you seen Arizona?" Callie asked as she brushed off her white lab coat.
"Doctors' Lounge," Meredith said, gesturing over her shoulder.
"Thanks."
"She's pretty hungover, Cal," Cristina said as she continued down the hall with her best friend.
"Great," Callie muttered. The few times in the past that she'd dealt with a hungover Arizona had not been pleasant. 'Drunk' Arizona had been fun, even sexy. 'Hungover' Arizona… not so much. She took a deep breath before entering into the room.
Arizona was still sitting at the small table. Fortified by several donuts, she'd actually managed to work on her charts, despite the massive headache that still pounded at her temples.
"Arizona?"
Arizona looked up from her work. She felt her heart and body respond to the Latina woman. She couldn't help it, and she struggled to put a damper on her feelings.
"What, Dr. Torres? Do you need a consult?"
"No. Can we talk?"
Arizona stiffened. Talking meant Callie yelling at her, losing her temper at her. She wasn't ready to go down that road again any time soon, especially not with a hangover that she truly thought could fell a moose.
"No."
"Arizona, please…"
"No, now is not a good time."
Before Callie could say anything more, Arizona's pager went off, interrupting them. Arizona glanced down at it and saw the request for her presence in the ER. She nearly groaned, grateful for the excuse. She slammed the chart closed. "I have to answer this," she said, waving the small device.
Callie's shoulders slumped as she watched Arizona rush out the door.
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Arizona entered the ER and looked for April Kepner, who had paged her. Spotting the fourth-year resident, she strode over to her.
"You paged me, Dr. Kepner?"
"Yes, Dr. Robbins. I've got a mother and her eight year old son in exam room three."
"Diagnosis?" Arizona asked, holding her hand out for the chart.
"I believe the mother has some broken bones in her face, as well as numerous contusions all over her body, possibly some broken ribs. I'm pretty sure the boy has a broken arm and possibly some internal bleeding."
"Accident?" Arizona asked, quickly reviewing the chart.
"Domestic violence," April said quietly.
"Damn," Arizona cursed under her breath as she pushed the door open.
The mother stood behind the little boy who was sitting on the exam table. Both mother and son looked down, unable or unwilling to make eye contact with the blonde Peds surgeon. Arizona suppressed a sigh and set the chart down on the exam table.
"Hi. I'm Dr. Robbins. What's your name?" she asked the boy, offering him a kind smile.
The little boy remained silent, staring at his feet.
"Answer the doctor," his mother said, resignation in her voice.
The boy quietly mumbled, "Bobby."
"Bobby? Bobby is a great name," Arizona said, looking over the more visible injury to his left arm. "That's a much better name than mine or Dr. Kepner's. Her parents must have been confused. They named her after month."
Bobby's head remained down, but he raised his eyes curiously.
"Dr. Kepner's name is April. How silly is that? I guess naming her April is better than naming her November, huh?"
A tiny smile tugged at his mouth.
"Can you lay down for me, Bobby?"
He moved up onto the table and laid back onto the exam table.
Arizona lifted his shirt. "My name is the same as a state. Can you guess which one?"
Bobby's face twisted in concentration. "Umm…. Virginia?" he guessed.
"No, but that's a really good guess. Can you think of another one?" she asked as she palpitated his abdomen, noting the tenderness in the upper left quadrant.
"I know… it's Carolina."
"Nope," Arizona said with a smile as she pulled his shirt back down. "My name is Arizona. That's even sillier than April."
The boy giggled.
April Kepner watched not in a little awe at how easily Dr. Robbins had managed to establish a rapport with the young boy. She'd heard the rumors when Dr. Robbins and Dr. Torres had broken up right before the shooting. She'd heard it was because the Peds surgeon didn't want children. That made no sense to April. Dr. Robbins was great with kids and the resident thought she'd make a wonderful mother.
"Bobby, Dr. April is going to take you to get some extra-special pictures of you so we can make sure we fix you up right."
"Can my mommy come with me?"
"Sure. I just need to write up the special instructions for Dr. April and then she'll take you to get them. Is that okay?"
Bobby nodded. Arizona tenderly patted the one unbruised spot on his right arm.
She motioned with her eyes and a quick jerk of her head that she wanted to speak to April in the hallway.
"Get them up to x-ray and page me when you get the results. Did she say how they got the injuries?"
"She told one of the nurses that her husband did it."
"We need to call Child and Family Services and the police. I'll have one of the nurses make the calls. We need a Domestic Violence Unit to come in."
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Arizona and April stood in front of the x-rays and scans.
"That arm's been broken before and from the looks of it, never been treated. Page Ortho."
April made note of the attending's instructions.
They moved to the next set of scans and Arizona sighed. "Book an OR. He's got a ruptured spleen." Arizona disgustedly pulled the scans down. "You should probably page Dr. Sloan as well. The mother's going to need stitches and that facial lac is pretty bad."
April immediately paged the doctors per the attending's orders. Arizona began placing the scans in the envelopes, only to be distracted by a very large, very drunk man charging down the hallway.
"Rita! Rita, where the fuck are you?" he shouted.
Arizona stepped protectively in front of the door, April moving beside her.
"Whoa… no… wait! You can't be back here," Arizona said, putting her hand up.
"Out of my way, bitch," he snarled.
"No."
He planted a large hand square into Arizona's chest and shoved her backward. Her head slammed into the doorjamb and she sank to the floor, a stunned look on her face. April froze, unsure if she should go to the attending surgeon or remain in the doorway.
"Get the fuck out of my way," he snarled, taking a threatening step toward the resident. He spotted the blonde as she raised herself to one knee and he lifted his hand.
Kayo had been at the nurses' station and when she saw Arizona tumble to the floor, she went running down the hallway. "Call security!" she called over her shoulder.
April closed her eyes, waiting for the blow to come. She heard a shout and opened her eyes. Dr. Dwyer had grabbed the man's fist and was facing him.
"Back off!" the Trauma surgeon said in a loud voice.
"Take your hands off of me you fucking dyke!"
April watched in horror as the man head-butted Dr. Dwyer between the eyes. She expected to see lots of blood, and she did. She also expected to see the doctor fall to the floor, which she didn't. What shocked the resident was how quickly Kayo pinned the man's arm behind his back as she took him to the floor.
"Knock it off!" Dr. Dwyer said, her body covering his.
"Get off of me," he said, struggling.
"Listen, asshole," Kayo said, her mouth close to his ear. "I'm an Iraq war veteran and I'm a little crazy. I can break your arm with one simple move," she continued, adding a little pressure to his arm making him cry out in pain. "Keep it up and I might just go over the edge and be a lot crazy. There's no telling what I'll do if that happens."
The man continued to struggle, profanity-laced ranting pouring out of his mouth.
At that moment, because she was answering Arpil's page, Callie Torres came around the corner to utter chaos. Security guards were running down the hall. Dr. Dwyer was on top of some man, her forehead and nose dripping blood. Dr. Kepner was standing in the exam room doorway, her face and body frozen in terror.
"What the hell?"
That was when Callie spotted Arizona, sitting on the floor, a nurse beside her. The nurse was holding a bloody towel to the back of Arizona's head. The noise of the security guards, other doctors and nurses rushing over to help faded into the background when she saw Arizona hurt. She immediately ran over to the Peds surgeon, placing herself between Arizona and the crazed man.
As the security guards cuffed the man and pulled him to his feet, he wrenched free. He lowered his head and charged Kayo, knocking her into the shelves filled with medical supplies. Bandages and boxes went flying and Kayo tumbled to the floor. She was stunned for a moment, then jumped to her feet and made an attempt to go after him. By this time, Owen and several police officers had arrived.
"Dr. Dwyer!" he said, stepping in front of Kayo and blocking her. He noticed the wild look in her eyes as she struggled to get at the man. "Major Dwyer!" Owen said harshly. "Major! Stand down!"
Kayo's eyes cleared and she became aware of where she was. Her body slumped against the wall.
Owen looked over his shoulder and was relieved to see the police officers taking control of the man. His eyes shot back to his friend. "Kayo?"
"I'm okay… I'm okay, Owen."
Owen quickly called out instructions to the nurses and doctors who had rushed over to help, asking them to page Shepherd and Bailey.
"Arizona, are you okay?" Callie asked, squatting beside her as she gently placed a hand on the blonde's cheek.
For one brief moment, they connected. Arizona leaned her cheek into Callie's gentle touch.
"I'm good…"
"Let me help you," Callie said, her arm around Arizona's waist as she and the nurse helped the blonde to her feet.
Arizona felt dazed and her head hurt even more. Having Callie so close to her, touching her, was too much. She recoiled. "I'm not your patient, Dr. Torres."
Callie's heart broke upon hearing Arizona call her Dr. Torres and seeing her withdraw from her. Whatever had just passed between them had disappeared in an instant.
"Arizona…"
"Your patient is a scared eight-year old boy. I don't need you to look after me."
"Dr. Robbins, we need to get you to an exam room," the nurse said, hating herself for interrupting.
"Torres!"
Callie spun around at the unmistakable sound of a take-charge Miranda Bailey.
"What the hell is going on here?" Bailey asked, looking at a stunned Arizona Robbins and a bloodied and banged up Kayo Dwyer.
"I don't know, Bailey. I was paged, same as you."
"Oh, good, you're here, Dr. Bailey," Owen said approaching the two women. "We've got a patient that needs surgery right away for a ruptured spleen."
"Then why was I paged?" Callie asked.
"He's got a severely broken arm as well."
"Can't someone else do it?" Callie asked, looking over as a nurse escorted Arizona to an exam room. The Ortho surgeon's chest tightened when she saw the blood on the back of Arizona's coat.
"I'm sorry, Callie, but no. You need to take care of the patient." She opened her mouth to speak and Owen cut her off, his voice kind. "We've got it. She'll be fine."
"C'mon, Torres," Bailey said, taking her by the elbow. "Let's take care of our patient."