Hey guys! It's me again. Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate them! Keep them coming because that's how I know that you're enjoying it and want me to keep on writing. Enjoy this one.

P.S. For the Anonymous Guest that reviewed my other fic (which I will update too soon, don't worry) asking me in Spanish if I was "as ugly as all South Americans" well, I'm not. I'm even uglier :).

'You've carried on so long,
you couldn't stop if you tried it.
You've built your walls so high
that no one could climb them
but I'm gonna try.

Would you let me see beneath your beautiful?
Would you let me see beneath your perfect?
Take off now girl, take it off now girl,
I wanna see inside.

Would you let me see beneath your beautiful tonight?'

Beneath You Beautiful – Labrinth ft. Emeli Sandé

Chapter 10

Arizona's shift ended about an hour before Eliza's and she was really nervous. Like, REALLY nervous. She didn't know why. She knew this girl. Woman. Lady. Whatever, she knew Eliza. This wasn't their first date. This wasn't even a date, this was coworkers and old friends having a drink together. Exes being civil and rekindling. She could do this. Yes.

She looked at the mirror and applied her lipstick on. She didn't even know why she was trying so hard. This was Eliza, she didn't need to pretend with her or wear expensive lipstick sold by a teenage millionaire. No. She needed to be herself. She knew that and yet here she was, retouching her make up for the thousand time and making sure she looked good in what she was wearing. She looked at her watch again and decided to go wait for Eliza outside. It wasn't cold that night and she could use the fresh air to calm her nerves.

She walked outside of the hospital and sat down on the bench right by the main doors. Even though she tried to ignore it, she knew exactly why she was feeling so nervous. It was precisely because she was about to spend some time with Eliza. This wasn't just any other person. This was the woman she had longed for during so many years. This was the woman that eighteen-year-old Arizona was sure she would marry one day. The one she always wondered about. This was…a big deal.

Except, it really wasn't. Eliza had a girlfriend. So, they were just going to be friends. Fantastic she thought to herself. And probably the girlfriend was beautiful, smart and lovely. It always is that way. She was so nervous she even wanted to light up a cigarette but if she remembers one thing about the brunette she was about to see was that she absolutely hated the smell of cigarettes. So, no smoking. Just starring at the empty sky while she waited for her. This was going to be a long night. But hey, at least she could stare at Eliza's gorgeous face for as long as she wanted to with the excuse of paying attention to what she was saying.

Eliza finished her shift and went over to the attendings locker to get changed. Arizona had already texting her saying she would be waiting for her outside of the hospital. She had worked with April Kepner and Owen Hunt that day and she really liked them both. Especially April. She was so bubbly and so cute, absolutely adorable. If she wasn't already in a relationship and confused as hell after seeing her high school ex, she would totally have a crush on Kepner.

She laughed shaking that thought off and finished getting ready. She was excited about this night. She really wanted to get to know Arizona, or well, her adult version. The blonde was now a mystery to her. Sure, she was still chirpy and bubbly but what else? She had surely changed over the years and she was sure Arizona had too. It's how life works!

However, part of her was also feeling really nervous. What if Arizona didn't like the person she had become? She really wanted her to like her. It was pathetic in a way. She was so desperate about it. Of course, she had Jess and she loved her so she meant like in a non-romantic kind of way. Of course.

After changing into her street clothes, she grabbed her bag and walked out of the hospital. She saw her sitting by herself on a bench next to the hospital. She could only see her head from the back but she already knew she looked beautiful. Of course she did. She was gorgeous. She was Arizona, simply put. She walked over to her and poked her on the elbow.

"Hey stranger, how long have you been waiting for me?" she asked worried. She didn't like the idea of Arizona waiting all by herself for too long.

"Hey Lizzie, no, not too long." The blonde said standing up and looking straight into the brunette's incredible green eyes. "I can still call you like that, right?"

"Yes. Of course." Eliza said smiling and staring back into Arizona's eyes. They were so deep and so blue. She could lose herself in them. She shook that thought off and continued. "So, where are we headed to?"

"Well, there is this bar very near here called Joe's; all the doctors from this hospital go there regularly. It's cool and the drinks are okay but for our first night out we should go somewhere else. More private. The people at Grey Sloan can be very nosy. I'll explain in a while." The blonde said grabbing her phone and typed something. "We're taking an Uber because I don't want us to have to go easy on the drinking just because we're driving."

"Oh, are you trying to get me drunk, Phoenix?" Eliza asked raising an eyebrow. She tried not to flirt with Arizona but it was hard. Flirting was the only way she knew how to communicate with her.

"Maybe. After all, I never got to see you drunk. You were always such a goody-two-shoes that you never accepted Kayla's brother's beers." Arizona said, teasing Eliza.

"Hey, I wasn't going to let a few beers and a frat boy risk my chance of getting a scholarship." Eliza said.

"Even your mom mocked you for that."

"My mom is polish, she drinks straight up vodka and calls vodka & Kahlua a black Polish instead of a black Russian. Her opinion wasn't valid." Eliza said gently smacking Arizona's arm.

"Moms opinions are always valid Eliza, always." She said still teasing.

"Whatevs." The brunette said rolling her eyes. She made the exact same gesture she uses to make to pretend being annoyed at Arizona when they were teenagers. The blonde had to use all of the will power in her not to squeal and attack the brunette with bone crushing hugs. She was just so ridiculously adorable. Maybe she should drive and not drink.

Suddenly, a car stopped in front of them. It was the taxi. "Come one. Taxi's here." She told Eliza.

"Where are we going?" the ortho surgeon asked.

"To this place called Bathtub Gin & Co. It's speakeasy style. You'll like it. Let's go." Arizona said, gesturing for Eliza to get into the car.

"Cool, can't wait."

Since it was a Monday, the bar wasn't as packed as it was during the weekends. Arizona had discovered this place a while ago and really liked it. The style was incredible and the drinks and food were amazing too. She wanted to impress Eliza, even if she wasn't allowed to kiss her or touch her, she was still allowed to stare at her and buy her dinner, right?

"So, what's good here? Some of the drinks sound a little odd. Like, this one for example has celery bitters whatever the hell that is and this other has smoked orgeat." the brunette said laughing.

"Yeah some had odd combinations but I swear they're good." Arizona said.

"What happened to good ol' Moscow Mule?"

"You can have that too."

"Nope. That would be too boring. Who wants a Moscow Mule when you can have Firewater bitters or Bercherovka?" Eliza said placing a piece of hair behind her ear and reading the menu again. "Ok. I'll have an Atticus Finch just because I do like gin and To Kill a Mockingbird is a book I like."

"Simple choice." They blonde said.

"I'm a simple girl."

"No, you're not. You're everything but simple." Arizona said smiling at Eliza and starring at her for a little too long, but she could swear the green-eyed beauty in front of her was staring back. It wasn't until the waiter cleared his throat that they came out of their trance.

"Two Atticus Finch please." Arizona said.

"Good choice ladies. Just so you know, we're know for our 'Dealers Choice' which means you chose your main liquor and whether you want it sweet, sour, sassy or savory and we surprise you."

"I think I've had enough surprises for this week. I'll stick with this drink." Arizona said. "Lizzie?"

"Yes, me too. But next round will definitely be a 'dealer's choice' for both of us." She told the waiter smiling and wining at him. He smiled at her and left.

"When did you become such a flirt?" Arizona asked laughing. She enjoyed teasing Eliza.

"San Francisco has changed me, Arizona." The brunette said in an overly serious voice.

"I can see that. Have you finally accepted the fact that you have a penis?" Arizona said, knowing what it would make to the brunette.

Eliza's eyes opened widely and her mouth fell. "Oh no, you didn't!" she said, making her napkin into a ball and throwing it to Arizona's face. "I hate Brandon. Sometimes even my mom says I have a penis."

"Sorry, I just had to. You should've seen your face though. Pretty worth it." She said.

Eliza was about to argue her when the waiter came with their drinks and they placed their order for something to eat. They looked at each other and raised their glasses.

"For old time's sake!" they both said at the same time and then laughed.

"You know? I'll just stay with the 'pretty' part of everything you've said and forget about your stupid comment." Eliza said, sticking out her tongue. "besides, you know from experience that that isn't true." She said, sipping on her drink with an innocent look on her face.

Arizona nearly choked on her drink and Eliza just laughed at her. This felt really good. It felt easy. However, their playful banter could turn dangerous if they didn't control themselves. "You're the worst."

"I am. I know." She said, having a sip of her Atticus Finch. It was actually really good. Who would've known gin, red vermouth, grapefruit juice, liquor 43 and black walnut bitters could be so tasty. "This thing is yummy, by the way."

"Yummy? Are you 6?" Arizona said. "But yes, it is. I told you so. And you wanted to have a Moscow Mule." The blonde said having a sip. "Does your mother have a polish name for that too?"

"Oh yes. She calls it Warsaw Mule." Eliza said laughing and again, Arizona couldn't help but just stare at her. She had the most incredible smile and laugh. How could she feel like this already? This was the second time they saw each other in over 15 years. But well, sometimes it happens like that…you see somebody and you just know. You just feel.

Suddenly, Eliza raised her hand to call the waiter. He came over and looked at her. "Hi, we'll like to have two Dealer's Choice. I want gin and I want it sour-is/bitter-ish. In a Gin Tonic, Negroni, something like that kind of way."

"Got it." He nodded and then looked at Arizona.

"She'll also have gin and she wants it sweet." Eliza said. The waiter nodded at them and left.

"What made you think you could order for me?" Arizona said, pretending to be angry.

"Old habits, I guess."

After catching up on things like work, residency and remembering a few sweet stories from the past, Eliza decided it was time to dig deeper. They were already on their second 'Dealer's Choice' and she was feeling a little more courageous. She wanted to know more about Arizona. Not just the beautiful shallow things.

"So, Arizona." Eliza said, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yes, Eliza?" Arizona asked smiling.

"Why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself? I want to know what's going on behind the wall…" the brunette answered.

"What do you mean? And stop speaking to me as if you didn't know me." The blonde said.

"Well precisely because I think I know you is that I can tell that there's something going on beneath that…" Eliza hesitated. She wanted to say beautiful exterior, but should she? Maybe not. What word should she used? "primped exterior." Primped? Seriously? Go kill yourself, Eliza. She thought.

"Mmmm…perceptive as ever. Or, full of crap. One of the two." The blonde answered.

"Full of crap for sure." Eliza said "but seriously, I just want to know what's been going on with you. With the real you. Nothing work related or anything that has to do with Arizona Robbins M.D. I want to know what's going on with Phoenix." She tilted her head a little to the side.

Arizona was finding it harder and harder to resist Eliza's charms. She was incredible. She could be sexy, alluring, cute, adorable and gorgeous at the same time. It was mind blowing. Charming didn't even begin to describe her. She wasn't surprised at all. She knew Eliza Minnick would grow up to be simply enchanting. And she knew she would always be weak around her. She sighed and laughed nervously. "Where do I begin?"

"Well, how about from the beginning?" the green-eyed woman said.

"Smartass." The blonde said rolling her eyes.

"It's a good place to start, I swear." Eliza said.

"Why don't you ask me something in particular and we'll go from there?"

"Okay. How about. Did you ever fell in love again?" the brunette asked hesitantly. She knew she was getting into dangerous territory but she was so very curious about Arizona's past relationships and love life.

"Wow! You certainly don't hit around the bushes, do you?"

"It was never my style."

"I know. Okay. The short answer would be yes, I did fell in love again. Once." Arizona said, smiling sadly. "She was an ortho surgery resident at Grey Sloan. Well, when I met her the hospital's name was Seattle Grace."

"Oh, so that's why Dr. Karev said that brunette ortho surgeons were your type."

"Yes. Anyway, until her I had never been able to stop thinking about you. I mean, not completely. But then I met her and…"

"You stopped thinking about me." Eliza said looking down.

"And I stopped. Although, from time to time you jumped on my mind. I always wondered about you, you know? But yes, I did focus all of my attention and love on her." The blonde said.

"Like you were supposed to." Eliza said, giving Arizona a reassuring smile.

"We were happy, I guess. Sometimes I find myself questioning my whole relationship with her."

"Don't." the brunette said finishing her drink and gesturing for the waiter to bring them a fourth one.

"I know I shouldn't but I do. I do because I don't really know where the happiness really ended. It's all so blurry. You see, Callie and I-"

"Callie? As in Callie Torres?"

"Oh my god, you know her?" Arizona asked shocked.

"Yes, I mean, I have met her. Only 4% of all American orthopedic surgeons are female. So yes, I have met Dr. Torres. She approached me at a conference to talk about one of my papers and how much she had loved it and I congratulated her for her own accomplishments. That was all."

"Yeah, she's good at it. She used to say she was an Ortho Goddess." Arizona said rolling her eyes.

"Oh no. She's good, sure, great even; but you're sitting across from the real Goddess. In words that teenage Arizona Robbins would use, she's Kelly Rowland and I'm Beyoncé." Eliza said winking at the blonde, trying to ease the tension.

Arizona rolled her eyes at Eliza. "I can see humbleness is not a trait taught to orthopedic surgeons." She laughed as the waiter placed their drinks on their table. "So, moving on from Destiny's Child allegories." She rolled her eyes again. "Callie and I got together in late 2009. The first few months were good, they were really good. Her best friend was super annoying but I learned to deal with him. Then, our first bump came along. She wanted kids, I didn't. I wasn't willing to give in and she called me selfish."

"Why? Why didn't she give in?"

"For some reason, I was always the one who had to change her mind or to give. So, we broke up. For the first time. Then the shooting happened." Eliza's eyes widened but she didn't say anything. She didn't want to interrupt the blonde, so Arizona proceeded. "a man whose wife had died at the hospital decided to shoot all of the doctors that worked on her case and any other doctor that crossed his path. Nothing happened to either of us but that moment, thinking that we could've died made me suddenly want to give her everything. So, I said yes to kids and we got back together." Arizona said before having a long sip of her drink

"I can see how a situation like that can make you re-evaluate everything." Eliza said.

"Yeah. For sure. Anyway, some months after that, I won the Carter Madison Award. I was supposed to go to Africa for three years to implement a huge project that would save thousands of kids. I was so happy."

"I bet. That's huge. Carter Madison Award? Wow. I'm proud of you Phoenix. That's a huge deal. I bet you did great things over there." Eliza said, trying to cheer Arizona up.

"Don't be proud of me. I…She was unbearable. She was so cranky and bitter the whole time. It's as if she expected me to reject the grant because I was with her. She decided to come with me but she wasn't acting as if she really wanted to come with me. I knew she wouldn't be happy there and that she would resent me forever so we broke up again, at the airport and I left."

Eliza didn't have anything to say, she just nodded her head so that Arizona could continue.

"After less than three months I came back. I missed her. I really thought this was my last chance at happiness and love, you know? Like, if I gave this up, if I gave her up I would never find love again. People struggle to find it once and I had already found it twice, I was sure that I would definitely not get a third chance."

"Maybe that's why it didn't work. You came back for all the wrong reasons." Eliza said.

"Maybe. Who knows. The thing is that when I came back…she was pregnant with her best friend's baby." Arizona sighed before continuing "I was given the choice to either stay or leave. But then Mark, that was her best friend's name, told me that 'when things get to hard I bail' and I immediately thought of you and how you were willing to have a long-distance relationship with me but I wasn't. I couldn't. It was too hard and I wanted to spare us the pain. So, I bailed on you. I decided not to bail this time."

"You didn't bail on me, Arizona. Don't say that. Us…it was just wrong timing." Eliza said reaching across the table to grab Arizona's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She was about to let go of her hand when the blonde pulled her by her fingers and grabbed her hand. Maybe it was wrong, but she needed the contact.

"I married her. I became Sofia's mother."

"You have a daughter?"

"I do. She's 6." She took out her phone and showed her a picture of Sofia.

"She's adorable."

"She is. But well, after that we were okay. Co-parenting with Mark. Pure domestic bliss, you know? But of course, things had to get shitty again. Mark and I were on a plane crash. Us, Dr. Grey, her sister and two other doctors you haven't met were going to Boise for a special case. The plane crashed. Mark died, Meredith's sister died, the pilot died and I…nearly lost my leg."

Eliza's eyes filled with tears but she was doing everything she could to not let them fall. She couldn't believe Arizona had been through so much crap during the last few years.

"It was a miracle that I didn't lose it, really. But recovery was hell. I've had tons of reconstructive surgery. I have more metal on my left leg than Brooklyn Bridge. Broke nearly every bone possible so I was in excruciating pain all the time and I-"

"I know. I'm an ortho surgeon. I…" she let out a big sight and swallowed hard so that she wouldn't cry. "I know."

"I bet you do, Beyoncé." Arizona said lighting up the mood. She could tell how upset Eliza had gotten but she couldn't stop. She needed to continue. Now that she was speaking she couldn't stop. She wanted Eliza to know everything. "I had to learn how to walk again. It took a while and then I had to use a cane. Also, I have huge nasty scars on my leg. I mean, sure it's better than having no leg and I've come to make peace with them but during a while I didn't want anyone to see them. And that was hard with Callie."

"I had PSTD, of course. Like most people who survive that kind of situation do. I had horrible nightmares, some aggressive reactions, I didn't want to be around anyone at times. I guess the accident was the beginning of the end for us. I felt as if she was constantly trying to fix me and she felt as if I was pushing her away." Arizona continued.

"Maybe you were both right."

"I think so. Yes". The blonde said. "then, I cheated on her with a plastic surgeon that came to the hospital for a special consult. We broke up for the third but not last time" Arizona said, getting a raised eyebrow from Eliza. "after a while we tried to make it work, went to therapy. But we were too broken. I felt like a failure. Then Callie had a new girlfriend and fell in love. It was hard at the beginning but then I was okay with it. That was until her girlfriend won a Grant to go to New York and Callie decided to go with her. Taking our daughter."

"She took your daughter away from you?"

"No, but she tried. She took me to court for her custody and played really dirty. Slut shamming me and saying horrible, horrible things about me." Arizona said holding back tears. "but I won sole custody."

"So, your daughter lives here with you?"

"No. She's in New York. Callie was miserable being here without Penny and…it was the right thing to do. She's not a monster. We both made mistakes, we were both toxic to the other during certain situations. We're both to blame." Arizona said. Only then she realized that she and Eliza were still holding hands. She took a step further and intertwined their fingers.

"I don't know what to say. I…You've been through so much. It isn't fair." Eliza said shaking her head and wiping away a tear with her free hand. "I'm sorry that you had to go through such a toxic relationship and I'm sorry that you were so hurt, both physically and emotionally over these years. It shouldn't have happened to you. It…it isn't fair."

Eliza suddenly felt an overwhelming need to protect Arizona. To make sure that she would never, ever feel unworthy or unloved again. To make sure that nothing and no one would ever hurt her. It wasn't her place, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't help the what ifs that Arizona's stories brought to her mind. Maybe if they had stayed together, none of this would've happened to her.

"You don't have to be sorry about anything. It just happened. And now, just being here with me. Listening to me. It's more than enough." Arizona said almost whispering and gently caressing Eliza's hand with her thumb. Instinctively Eliza held tighter. "It's good to see you again." Arizona said, without letting go of her hand. "So, now's your turn I guess. Did you ever fell in love again?"

"I did." Eliza said. Suddenly she felt a huge wave of guilt. Jessica. She had a girlfriend that loved her and yet here she was, holding the hand of the woman she could never let go of and making silent promises to protect her forever.

"Jessica" Arizona said.

"Yes. Jessica." Eliza said, letting go of Arizona's hand even though she didn't want to. She hadn't done anything wrong…why did she feel so guilty? "She's great. I met her at party during pride month in San Francisco. She's an attorney, she looks like a fairy…pixie cut and all." She said laughing and feeling like a total jerk. "she's a good girl. I don't have a big story to tell. All I can say is she's good. No relationship is perfect to we've had our ups and downs but nothing huge. Just plain boring stuff. We have a dog and two cats."

"How long have you been together?" Arizona asked, not really wanting to know. She was feeling overwhelmingly jealous of Jessica. It was all Eliza's fault for being so damn perfect.

"A little over seven years." Eliza said with a sad smile.

"Wow. That's a lot." The blonde answered.

"It is." Eliza said before looking at her phone, the screensaver being a picture of her and short blonde with a pixie cut and big hazel eyes. The guilt came flowing back again. "We should go."

"I don't want to go yet." Arizona said sighing.

"Me either but it's past midnight and we have to work tomorrow." Eliza said, asking with waiter for the check with a gesture.

"You're right." Arizona said, intercepting the waiter and grabbing the check before Eliza could.

"Hey! No! Let's split it." Eliza said.

"Nope. It's your first night out in Seattle, I'll invite you. Next time you can pay the bill." Arizona said, handing the waiter her card and ID.

"You know? You shouldn't pay for my stuff anymore." Eliza said, once again starring right into Arizona's eyes.

"Old habits, I guess."