A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows. Almost 300 followers in less than 10 chapters is AMAZING in my opinion, and I thank each and every one of you for taking an interest in this story.

A/N2: Thank you Angela for helping with the progression of this story, and thank you HandsThatHeal for reading over the one little section I was struggling with. I know you are super busy and am so sad you aren't writing anymore. :(

Anyway. . .I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

Ten

Arizona slowly stepped back into the elevator. Her stomach churned as her heart pounded in her ears and as the doors slowly slid shut, she hung her head as unwanted tears began to fall. How had her worst fears so quickly become her reality?

She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Had Callie really gotten cold feet and decided to go to the bar to get drunk instead of going with her on their first date? That didn't seem like something Calliope Torres would do, but with the way Arizona had been feeling lately, she couldn't help but trust the information she had been given to indeed be the case.

Why would Callie want to date her, anyway? She was pregnant and clearly a mess. Who wanted to date someone with such a past and with such baggage?

Stepping out of the elevator, she quickly brushed the tears from her face, clearing her throat in an attempt to compose herself in the face of any of the co-workers she might run into on her way out of the hospital.

Luckily she met no one as she made her hasty escape and when the cool evening breeze assaulted her upon exiting the building, she wrapped her arms around her bare arms before reaching into her purse to grab her phone. Surely if something had come up, Callie would have at least sent her a text. Finding none, she sighed as she made her way toward the lot of parked cars.

However, glancing to her right, the lights of The Emerald City Bar caught her attention and deciding to take a chance, she made her way in that direction. When she reached the door, she paused. Did she really want to find out if Callie was indeed inside? What would she do if she was?

With the hurt she was feeling and her own curiosity getting the better of her, she tugged open the door before making her way inside. With her eyes scanning the area for the familiar mane of beautifully shining brunette hair, her eyes narrowed when she didn't find who she was looking for. Several other Seattle Grace Hospital staff was there, but not the one person she had set out to find.

Stepping up to the bar, she took a seat on the stool, a slight smile tugging at her lips when Joe sent a smile her way. "What can I get for you, Dr. Robbins?" he asked, wiping his hands on the towel that was draped over his shoulder.

"Just a ginger ale, please," she requested, hoping that the drink would do something to help calm the churning in her guts.

With a nod of his head, Joe filled a glass with ice and then her beverage of choice before turning back around to set it on the wooden bar in front of her. Before he could move on to the next customer, Arizona called out to him. "Hey, Joe. Have you seen Dr. Torres this evening?" she asked, feeling a bit like a stalker, but desperately needing to know.

Joe shook his head. "Sorry, Dr. Robbins. I haven't seen Callie since the other night when the two of you had dinner here with Dr. Sloan and Dr. Montgomery," he replied before going on about his business.

Arizona felt slightly relieved, but still hurt nonetheless. If Callie hadn't been here, then where the Hell was she? She wasn't at the hospital, and she hadn't come home while she was there. Was she okay? Did something happen to her or was she just so appalled by the prospect of a date with Arizona that she was simply hiding away?

Taking a few sips from her drink as her mind raced, Arizona couldn't help the frustration, hurt, and anger that continued to rage inside her. Throwing a few bills down on the bar top, she hopped down from the stool before moving to exit the bar.

At this point in time, she didn't really care where Callie was. If she didn't want to go on a date, then neither did she.

With her scrub cap still atop her head and a surgical gown flapping behind her, Callie made her way from the waiting area where she had just delivered harrowing news to the parents of an eighteen year old boy who had suffered fatal injuries in an ATV accident toward the attending's lounge where she had stowed her things hours before.

She had left her office nearly four hours prior, intent on going to shower and then change in the attending's lounge in preparation for her date with Arizona, and with her nerves as frazzled as they were, she thought that once she was ready, she would walk to Joe's to have a glass of wine in the hope that it would somehow calm her. She hadn't been on a date in years, and with the tension and uncertainty she was feeling, she thought maybe that would help.

But, she never even made it out of the hospital.

The moment she entered the lounge, she was paged to OR three 911. Cursing under her breath, she had thrown her things back into her locker before grabbing her phone to send Arizona a text. Shoving the device into her pocket, it remained there unforgotten until this very moment.

Now, however, looking at her phone, she noted that the text message had never actually made it to its destination, a red exclamation point and the words Not Delivered staring back at her as she pulled up the text she had sent.

"Fuck!" she spat into the darkened and empty room as she threw her phone onto the bench behind her before sitting down to quickly push the cap from her head.

She could tell that Arizona was feeling more than a little apprehensive about their date when she left for work that morning, a text from Mark at some point in the afternoon confirming that suspicion. And now, to top it all off, it appeared as if she had stood up the already conflicted blonde, most likely ruining the possibility of furthering their relationship before she ever even had the chance to try. "Shit, shit, shit."

Tugging off her scrub pants and replacing them with a pair of jeans, she sat back down, reaching into her purse to grab her phone. With a roll of her eyes, she dialed Arizona's number and after only one ring, an unfamiliar recorded voice spoke in her ear, explaining to her that the phone number she had reached had been disconnected.

Confused and upset that she hadn't had the chance to spend the evening with the woman she had so recently admitted she loved, Callie finished getting dressed before grabbing her bag and making her way out the door, desperately hoping that she could find a florist and a bakery still open at ten at night.

Even though the evening had spiraled out of her control, she felt she had a lot of making up to do.

Callie could hear the sound of dishes rattling around the kitchen before she even had the chance to open the apartment door, and when she did, she spotted a clearly upset and pissed off blonde unloading the dishwasher. It was obvious that Arizona had been crying, and the brunette's heart sank at the thought that she was the one to cause her best friend so much pain.

Setting her offerings on the table near the door, Callie quickly discarded her purse and jacket before grabbing up the flowers and doughnuts she had found on her way home in order to give them to Arizona as a peace treaty.

So lost in her own thoughts, the blonde hadn't even heard the Latina enter the apartment, but when she felt someone step up to her from behind, she spun around, the frying pan she was putting away now held up in the air in a defensive manner.

Callie immediately stepped back from the skillet wielding woman, the large bouquet of pink and white flowers she held in her hand falling to the floor. "Put that down, Arizona. You're scaring me," she commented as she bent down to gather the fallen flowers.

Arizona skeptically regarded the woman who had been her best friend for over two decades, and the longer she stared at her, the more her heart continued to break. Why did Callie have flowers and doughnuts? That was something Lauren always did when she had gone missing for unexplained periods of time. Was Callie already seeing someone else? Was she screwing some tramp of a nurse from the hospital?

"What, Callie?" the blonde questioned, her voice angry. "What do you want?" she spat. She was feeling irrational right now and she knew it, but there was no way she could push down the sadness she was feeling, so she subconsciously had decided to turn it into rage.

Callie shook her head as she stepped toward her friend. "I'm so sorry, Arizona. I was on my way to get ready for our date when I got paged 911 to the OR. I tried to. . ."

"Don't lie to me, Calliope!" Arizona immediately shouted, taking a step back to distance herself from the person she had trusted more than anyone else in her life. "You weren't in the OR. I talked to Jamie your nurse manager AND Alex Karev. They both told me you'd left the hospital."

Unrelenting, Callie stepped forward again to fill the space separating them. "I would never lie to you, Arizona. Never. I tried to text you, but the message didn't send. A-and then I called when I got out of surgery, but apparently your phone has been disconnected."

Arizona rolled her eyes, staring at the brunette in confusion. Why would her phone have been shut off? It wasn't like she would just not make the payment. Grabbing it from where it rested on the counter, it finally hit her. "Fucking Lauren!" she shouted as she threw the device across the room, jumping when it crashed into the wall and shattered into a thousand pieces. "I didn't get a message, Callie, because my ex-wife is a cunt and apparently cut off my phone service, but it doesn't matter. Alex said you went to Joe's for a drink. Jamie said you left the hospital!" she insisted, her blue eyes brimming with tears that threatened to spill forth. "I expected more from you, Callie. I thought you were my friend. Is-is the prospect of going out with me that appalling that you needed to be drunk to make your way through it? Am I really that hideous to you? Am I. . ."

"Are you even listening to yourself right now?" Callie asked in amazement. She knew Arizona would be upset, but this was taking things to a whole other level. "Yes, I told Alex that I was going to go have a drink, but I never even made it to the bar. And the reason I was going wasn't because you are hideous or-or appalling, but quite the opposite," she insisted, taking another step closer to the crying blonde. "I find you miraculous, Arizona, and I-I was scared. I was nervous. Like terrified, and I thought that if I walked to Joe's and then had a glass of wine that it might be enough to calm myself. To clear my head so that I wouldn't make a complete ass of myself on our date."

Arizona only shook her head. She desperately wanted to believe the words that were falling from Callie's beautiful mouth, but something inside her was keeping her from doing so. She was so mad. She was so hurt, and she just couldn't stop herself from behaving the way she was. "It's okay, Callie. I'm used to people lying to me. Especially lately. I know I'm pregnant and that I'm not as pretty as I once was or as desirable. . ."

"I'm going to stop you right there, Arizona. I know you're hurt, and I know you're angry, but I promise you. I never left the hospital. Call the chief. Call Joe," Callie adamantly insisted. Her own temper was beginning to flare, but she refused to let it get the better of her; one of them needed to be the rational one and since it seemed that Arizona was in no frame of mind to be that person, it was definitely going to have to be her.

Stepping forward, she reached out to take Arizona's hands and when the blonde immediately attempted to move away, Callie refused to let her. "You know me, Arizona. You know I'm not a liar. This may have been our first date, but we've known each other long enough for you to know that I am nothing like Lauren. I would never hurt you like she did."

Upon hearing Callie's words, something inside Arizona seemed to click, and the brunette could see it evident in those watery blue eyes.

When the blonde remained speechless, the Latina took her chin into her hand, forcing her to hold her gaze and as azure eyes finally met brown, Callie smiled slightly, both of her hands resting on the blonde's oversized t-shirt clad arms. "You are so, so beautiful," the brunette honestly began. "Yeah. . .people stand next to you and immediately feel bad about themselves."

Arizona turned her head away, rolling her eyes, but she couldn't help the slight smile that twitched at her lips as Callie's earnest words began to sink in.

"It's a public service that you're currently pregnant," the brunette quickly added, refusing to allow Arizona the chance to argue. "It is a kindness to every other woman at the hospital or in the grocery store or on the date I really hope we still get to go on, that you are just one tiiiiiny bit less beautiful," she continued, and when a slight chuckle fell from the blonde's lips, a megawatt smile consumed the brunette's face. "That's not completely true, though. Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean that you are anything less. In fact, I find you more stunning now than ever before."

Arizona found herself shocked by Callie's words. "Yeah?" she quietly asked when she finally found her voice.

Callie nodded. "Yeah," she simply answered before leaning in to gently brush her lips against Arizona's jaw.

When she pulled back, chocolate eyes again met blue and leaning forward, Arizona pressed their lips together in an intimate tryst. Callie was shocked at first at the sudden change in the blonde's mood, but grateful for it nonetheless.

Wrapping her arms around Arizona's waist, she pulled her closer, smirking into the kiss when a baby bump came in contact with her own abdomen. It felt so good. It felt so right. This was where she was meant to be, and the thought that this could be her forever began to overwhelm her. She never wanted this feeling to end.

Arizona found herself lost in the sensation of being held by Callie; she had never felt so alive, never felt so wanted, never felt so at home. The brunette was her lifeline. She was the anchor to the sinking ship that she felt her life had turned into. She wanted her. She wanted not to think anymore. She wanted to lose control and to lose herself in the love she felt for the amazing woman currently kissing her senseless.

With a wondering hand, Arizona's fingertips brushed against the flesh beneath the hem of Callie's shirt, reveling in the silky smooth skin she found there. Slightly nervous at the brunette's potential reaction, she decided to take a chance and snaking her hand further up her shirt, she palmed a lace covered breast with her right hand.

Callie moaned in approval, her back arching as she pulled Arizona impossibly closer to her. "Mmmm," she hummed against pink lips. She hadn't felt so on fire in her life and with her arousal skyrocketing, she pushed the blonde up against the counter top, a jean clad thigh slipping between slim ivory legs.

"Oh, God," Arizona groaned at the sensation. She had been horny as hell ever since the beginning of her second trimester, and God this felt good. She and Lauren's sex life had been okay, but it had recently dwindled to nothing. She hadn't had sex in what felt like forever, but it was more than that. With Callie everything was so much more.

They continued to kiss, tongues dueling for dominance and when Callie felt a deft hand flick open the button of her jeans, she immediately froze, her hazy lust filled brain clearing just enough for her to realize that if she let this continue, she would most likely regret it. "No," she whispered against Arizona's lips, immediately grabbing at the blonde's wrist to stop the hand that was about to disappear beneath her panties. She wanted Arizona so badly, but not like this.

Arizona pulled back, the hurt she had earlier felt immediately returning to her expressive blue eyes. Quickly removing one hand from Callie's breast and the other from where it rested against the hem of what she now saw were red lace panties, she tried to walk away, but the taller woman only held her more tightly.

"Don't do that again, Arizona."

"Don't do what?" she indignantly countered.

Callie sighed. "Don't look at me like I don't want to be with you," she knowingly replied. "Don't even think for one moment that I'm rejecting you. I want you, Arizona. So much. This is all I've been able to think about since you kissed me in the hospital, but not yet. And not like this."

Arizona questioning regarded the woman whose arms were still wrapped around her. She could feel both of their hearts thumping against her chest and see the honesty in her eyes.

"I want our first time to be perfect. I want to be able to take my time. I want to worship your body and prove to you just how I feel. I want you to be able to see that there is no one else in the world I'd rather be with," she stated, her tone firm but barely above a whisper. "I don't want a quick fuck up against the refrigerator. Well. . .not yet at least," she added with a sly wink. Clearing her throat and swallowing hard, she decided to say the words she had been considering in her head. "I love you, Arizona, and I. . .I want you to be the last person I ever have a first time with."

Arizona once again found herself stunned into speechlessness by Callie's words. Tilting her head to the side, she paused to gather herself. "You plan on being with me, forever?" she asked, her astonishment clear in the tone of her voice.

Callie felt suddenly nervous. Had she really just admitted that to her best friend? She knew they were well on their way toward being way more than just friends, their current position evidence of that, but so soon? Should she really be thinking about forever when they had only just recently admitted their feelings toward each other?

A gentle palm against her cheek gave Callie the answer to all the questions in her head, and she smiled slightly before leaning in to peck at Arizona's nose. "Of course I do. I'm in this, Arizona. More than I ever thought I could be and more than I ever imagined I would be after only a couple weeks," she admitted in earnest. "I-I. . .maybe I'm crazy, a-and maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but. . .I-I adore you, Arizona, and I'm pretty sure were made for each other."

An hour later, Arizona sat cross legged in the middle of Callie's bed, a half-eaten pizza and the box of doughnuts the brunette had brought home with her resting in front of her atop the duvet.

After the Latina's impassioned speech, they had shared another lovely round of kisses in the middle of the kitchen before a growl from deep within Callie's stomach caught both women's attention. The brunette admitted that she'd been too nervous about their date to eat anything after the granola bar she'd had for breakfast, and so, even though it was nearly eleven at night, they ordered a pizza to share.

With a slice of pizza in one hand and the remote control in the other, Arizona searched through the movies On Demand, her attention drawn from the television when she heard the door to the en suite swing open. Looking in that direction, she smiled when she saw Callie emerge clad in light cotton pajama pants and a black tank top. She had always found Calliope Torres gorgeous, but right now with her long brunette hair thrown up to show off the length of a caramel neck, Arizona found herself nearly drooling. This woman was amazing, and if she played her cards right, she was going to be hers until the end of time.

Callie smiled when she caught Arizona's eyes and moving across the room, she crawled to the middle of the bed, pausing with her face mere centimeters from the blonde's before softly laying claim to pizza tainted lips. "Mmmm," she moaned into the blonde's mouth, reveling in the heavenly flavor of sauce and cheese mixed with something that was totally Arizona.

When the kiss came to its gradual end, Callie smiled against parted lips before rolling off her hands and knees to sit next to Arizona. "Find a movie?" she asked, scooting backward to rest her back against the headboard. Fluffing the pillows next to her, she smiled when the blonde did the same.

"Not yet," Arizona replied with a shrug. "I got distracted by another slice of pizza and half a doughnut."

Callie chuckled softly before grabbing the remote herself and resting her head on Arizona's shoulder as she silently flipped through the listing of movies.

"Callie?" the blonde softly called after several silent moments.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry about earlier," she simply stated.

The brunette narrowed her eyes before lifting her head to meet the blonde's gaze. "What?" she softly questioned.

"This has all been awful. And I wasn't very nice to you tonight. I-I know you're not like Lauren, and I know you'd never lie to me. I know you were at work and that you didn't go to Joe's because I went there looking for you myself. He said. . .he told me you hadn't been there," she admitted with a guilty sigh before pausing to choose her words. "I haven't been myself for a while, Callie, but with you. . .I'm starting to feel like myself again. And I know that this is new, and that it's kind of weird for us, but I need you. You make me feel things that I've never felt, and I. . .I can't lose you."

Callie stared into moist blue eyes, losing herself in the sea of honesty and love she found there. "I'm not going anywhere. You can scream and you can yell at me, but I'm here. You've been at my side through thick and thin, Arizona. There's no way I'm leaving yours."

Arizona smiled at Callie's response. How had she gotten so lucky?

Leaning forward, she kissed deliciously full mouth, her tongue immediately sliding between parted lips. But, just as the kiss began to grow more heated, the blonde jumped slightly, pulling back, shock and awe evident in her widened eyes.

"You okay?" Callie was quick to ask, worry written across her features.

Arizona shook her head, her brow scrunching in confusion, but jumping once more, a smile quirked at her lips as realization began to dawn. "I. . .I'm good," she stated, her slight smile turning into a full dimpled grin. "Perfect," she continued and reaching out, she grasped at Callie's hand before bringing it to settle beneath her t-shirt and against her lower abdomen.

Confused at first, the Latina opened her mouth to speak, but only a gasp fell from her lips as her eyes went wide. She flattened her palm against silky ivory skin and when she again felt the flutter of the tiny human beneath her touch, her eyes began to well with tears. "Oh my God, Arizona. I. . .I. . .is this the first time you've felt the baby kick?" she asked, her voice dripping with amazement.

Arizona nodded, placing her hand over the one still resting on her belly. Entwining their fingers together, she then squeezed them as she wiped at her eyes with her free hand. God this felt good. It felt right. It felt like this was exactly how things were supposed to be.

They sat in silence, waiting in anticipation for another small movement of the miraculous life housed within the smaller woman, and when the activity came to a halt, Callie found herself lost in Arizona's tearful, but content eyes. "Thank you, Arizona. Thank you for letting me share this moment with you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Arizona smiled as she leaned over to kiss the hollow beneath Callie's ear. "I want to share every moment with you, Calliope. Happy, sad. Amazing, difficult. Everything," she whispered against a tanned ear. "I. . .I love you, Callie, and I would be so happy if you'd agree to being my. . .girlfriend," she added, pulling back to search the Latina's face.

Callie felt her heart rate speed up, her breath quickening in her chest. God, she wanted the same thing, but were they moving too fast? Was this the right thing to do? The way she felt deep inside made her realize that it didn't matter how fast they moved. This felt so good and was just so right. "I'd be honored to be your girlfriend, Arizona," she softly answered. "I want to experience everything with you. I want to wake up every morning knowing that I am yours and that you're mine. I want to be able to kiss you whenever I want without feeling weird or questioning if we are just best friends or if we are more. I. . .I want. . ."

Arizona stopped Callie's words by pressing her lips against hers. Taking the hint, the brunette leaned further into the smaller woman, her hand tangling into blonde hair, and when they broke away, she whispered against her new girlfriend's pink lips. "Arizona?"

"Yeah?" the blonde breathlessly questioned as she ran her fingertips up and down the long muscles at the side of Callie's spine.

"Best. Date. Ever."

A/N3: Well, what do you think? The girls are definitely getting closer, and I'd say that things are going to grow more heated in the next chapter or the one after that. It has to happen sometime, and I personally can't wait! As always, thank you so much for continuing to read. I really look forward to reading your reviews. They mean so much!