A/N: Hey everybody! So Hopefully you are all enjoying the story and are intrigued about what is to come. Well brace yourself because a lot is going to happen in this chapter. But Thanks again to those who take the time to comment. You guys are what keep me writing. And for those who don't comment, hope you continue to enjoy reading if you are reading this. Thanks again everyone!

xox~hASHbrown

Chapter 9

I woke up the next morning all snuggled under the bedsheets and noticed that Callie was watching me. I repositioned myself so that I was laying in her nook and she wrapped her arms around me and placed a soft kiss to my forehead. "Good morning" She whispered softly.

"Mmm, good morning. How long have you been watching me?" I asked her. Normally someone watching me I would find creepy but I found her watching me to be incredibly sweet.

"Only for a couple minutes."

"What were you thinking about?" I asked nuzzling my face into her body.

"How beautiful you are. How I'm falling hard for you." She said to me. I looked up into her eyes and she was smiling, which only made me smile even more. She was falling for me just as hard as I was falling for her. It was the best feeling in the world.

"Really?"

"Really. She placed her hand under my chin and pushed her head down to place a gentle kiss on my lips.

"So, does this mean I can call you Calliope now?" I asked her half jokingly. I thought her name was beautiful and felt that a woman that beautiful deserved to be called something equally as beautiful.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I will let you call me Calliope but only you. No one else. Except for my parents."

We both laughed and she pulled me tighter to her body. She was warm and soft and I could lay with her forever.

"Hey, why don't I make us some breakfast?" She suggested and immediately the sound of breakfast was almost making me drool.

"Sounds, amazing." I kissed her lips and quickly hopped out of the bed. She offered me her robe which I graciously accepted and covered up my naked body with the black satin garment. She put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, grabbed me by the waist and we walked together out into the kitchen.

After making us a pot of coffee, she started to make eggs and bacon in the frying pan over the stove. The aroma of the greasy food was making me hungrier by the second, it smelt so good. And there was no doubt that my stomach was growling inside.

In no time, breakfast was ready and she served me a plate of eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast with a side plate of fruit. It was truly a breakfast of champions and it looked to die for. After preparing herself a plate she sat down next to me on the other stool in the kitchen. I took one bite of food and immediately my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

"Oh my god, Calliope. This is so good. I can't tell you the last time I had a breakfast like this."

Taking a sip of her coffee, Callie swallowed and placed her mug down on the counter. "I'm glad you enjoy it. Perhaps its an incentive to come here for breakfast more often." She said with a smirk.

I leaned in and kissed her square on the lips. "Maybe."

Half an hour later we had finished our breakfast and Callie was washing the dishes in the sink while I sipped on my second cup of coffee and watched. "You sure you don't want me to give you a hand?" I asked her. I didn't want her to feel like she had to do everything.

"No, no it's fine. You're a guest in my home, and plus I made the mess, so I will clean it up. So, anything planned for today?" She asked me while scrubbing a dish.

"No, today is my day off, so I was just going to go home and clean up a little. You?"

"Nothing major. I was actually planning to go on this hike through the mountains today. You wouldn't want to join me, would you?"

"I'd love to...after cleaning?" I asked. I know that spending time with her was far more important but if the cleaning was done first, then I wouldn't have to worry about it later.

"How about I help you clean up your apartment. That way it's done sooner and then the sooner we can get on that hike. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Great. Okay, I'm just going to go to the washroom and get dressed real quick and then the bathroom is all yours if you need it okay? There's more coffee in the pot if you'd like." She walked over to me and kissed me before heading into the bedroom.

I continued to sit at the counter sipping on my cup of coffee, smiling to myself. I was in love with Callie, there was no doubt about it and that morning she had admitted to loving me too. I was over the moon and was seeing my life in a different light.

Just when life was beginning to feel exciting and wonderful again, I got thrown for a loop once again. As I sat in the kitchen reminiscing of my memories from the night before, I heard a loud thud from the bedroom.

"Calliope?" I called out. There was no answer. "Calliope, you okay?" I called out again. This time getting off the stool and walking towards the bedroom. There was still no answer. Deciding not to wait any longer, I opened her door and saw her laying unconscious on the bedroom floor. I rushed to her side in a panic. "Calliope! Oh my god! Oh my god!" I screamed. Tears beginning to profusely run down my face. I was absolutely petrified. I immediately ran to the phone and dialed for an ambulance.

Within minutes, the paramedics arrived at the apartment and placed Callie on the stretcher and proceeded to take her down to the ambulance. I in a frantic hurry pulled on some clothes and followed them to the hospital. I called Teddy to tell her what had happened and as soon as I arrived at the hospital she was waiting for me to fill me in on what was going on.

"She's conscious and they've taken her up to CT. Once I know any more I will come find you, okay?" Teddy said to me pulling me into a hug.

"Okay, thank you." I went and sat over in the waiting area. My mind was going a mile a minute. I couldn't even begin to comprehend what was happening. Callie was fine one minute and then unconscious the next.

I waited and waited, and finally Teddy came to get me. "Hey, Zona. Sorry. Okay, she's up in room 1602. She's awake and seems okay. She's just a little groggy from being unconscious. But you can come up and see her now."

I released a breathe and followed Teddy up to Callie's room. When I walked in the sight nearly broke my heart. Callie was laying in a hospital bed with the oxygen tube under her nose and IV's in her arms. I walked over to her bedside and and placed her hand in mine. She smiled up at me and gave my hand a squeeze to let me know that she was okay.

Then a doctor came into the room and stood at the foot of the bed. She had in her hand what I could only presume to be Callie's medical charts.

I suddenly felt the loss of Callie's touch, and immediately began to feel confused and worried.

The doctor looked to me and started to speak. "Hi, I'm doctor Swender."

"Hi, I'm Arizona." I said. The worry and fear was rising within me rather quickly every second the doctor wasn't saying anything. She then directed the conversation to Calliope.

"Callie, you are doing okay. But your episode was due to the cancer. Now, I know you refused treatment the last time we spoke but, I am telling you that it is still small enough that I have high hopes that we can kick it in the butt with treatment. Just think about it okay." With that, Doctor Swender left the room.

My body was in total shock. How could she have not told me that she was sick? She was sick all that time and she never said a word. I felt hurt, lied to. I couldn't even look at her. My mind was going a mile a minute and I was full of all sorts of emotions that I couldn't be in the same room with Callie. As I stormed out of the room with not so much as a word spoken to Callie or Teddy, I could hear the two of them arguing over me and the situation.

I made my way to the hospital exit and walked outside. When I stepped out of the doors I was surprised to see that it was raining hard out. Rain wasn't something that happened a lot in LA. I started to head out into the parking lot when I heard her. I heard her voice calling out to me.

"Arizona! Arizona, wait! Can you just talk to me?" She called out.

I turned around and saw her standing out in the pouring rain getting soaked by the second. "Callie, get inside before you catch a cold!"

"No! Not until you talk to me."

"How long did you know you were sick?" I asked her as I approached slowly.

"I found out two months before I even met you. I have a growth in my lung. It's been small enough that, it hasn't affected any of the physical activity I do, but today was the first time it's ever gotten to me."

"Why would you refuse treatment, then?" I was angry and she knew it, but I was thankful that she was at least being honest with me now.

"Because I figured that it was what it was. I figured if I pushed it to the back of my mind and just carried on with my life that it wouldn't get to me. Concentrating on all that was good in my life was a hell of a lot better than concentrating on my illness and living in fear."

"Why...why didn't you tell me?" Anything else I had asked her didn't really matter to me. All I really wanted to know was why she never told me she was sick.

"Because you were wallowing in your grief over your ex-girlfriend! She died of cancer! Do you think if you had known before hand that I had cancer, you would have initiated a romantic relationship between us? Would you still have gone out with me?"

In that second, there was nothing I could think of to say. I just stood there looking at Callie, all drenched and even through the beads of rain drops on her face and the rain coming down hard on her body, I could see her tears. But yet, I just stood there.

She looked to me and nodded her head with a defeated smile. "I didn't think so." That was all she said and then she walked back in to the hospital.

I went back to my apartment and changed into dry clothes. I sat on my couch for nearly three hours trying to process everything she had told me. Since meeting Callie, she really taught me how to live. To seize every good thing that comes into your life. To do things that make you happy and make you feel whole. She taught me a lot, and the longer I sat on my sofa, the more I realized that in her own way, she saved me. If I hadn't met her, I don't know if I would have recovered from losing Joanne. Callie pulled me out of my darkest place and pulled me to the light. She saved my life. It was my turn to save hers.

I grabbed my keys off the kitchen counter and dashed out of my apartment and headed back to the hospital. I ran up the two flights of stairs and sprinted to Callie's room. I walked right in and saw Callie all dried up and back in bed, Teddy sitting by her bedside in the chair in the corner of the room. I walked right up to the foot of her bed and looked right through her eyes.

"I want you to fight this. Get the treatment. I want you to get the treatment because you made me fall for you. You made me fall for you and now I'm in love with you and you are in love with me. So I want you to get the treatment and fight because I'm not done loving you."

She looked to me tears streaming down her face. I walked to her side and knelt down to meet her level. I grabbed her hand in mine and placed my other hand to her face and caressed her cheek, using my thumb to wipe away the tears. I leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

When I pulled away, she smiled to me. "Okay. I"ll do it."