A/N: One more chapter left. Unbelievable. I'm sorry that there's no rated M content but it just didn't feel like it would fit in this type of story.
Arizona was finally doing much better. Her hair grew back. At least to the point where she could say it was no longer just peach fuzz. And yet, she was still in Seattle. Without a job. She didn't want to leave Callie and she really didn't want to go home to be smothered by her parents.
"Hey, you've got mail," Teddy said as she entered the apartment after she went in the lobby to check on the mail. "Three letters in fact."
Arizona scrunched her face. "Why did I get mail?" Teddy threw the letters at her but didn't say anything. Arizona checked where the letters came from. "I think these are job offers," Arizona said, shocked. "It's from Hopkins and the small hospital from my parents' town and there's one from Seattle Grace."
Teddy was surprised too. "But that's great. Not only can you choose where you work, you can actually go back to work."
"I know. Oh, wow. Teddy, I don't know how to respond to these."
Teddy laughed. "How about you actually read them first? Maybe they have more information inside."
Arizona sent a glare in Teddy's direction before quickly looking back at the letters. She contacted Johns Hopkins after her surgery was a success but she didn't think they would offer her her old job back. "I want to read these with Callie."
"Why?" Teddy asked, curiously. "And before you say something snippy, I'm not judging."
Arizona shrugged. "We've been in a relationship for some time now. And we do everything together. I'm pretty sure Callie is here more than you. And if I decide to take any of these jobs, including Seattle Grace, things will change."
"Maybe you should get your own place," Teddy suggested.
"I've been thinking about it," Arizona admitted. "And if I do take the job here, I will get my own place. Preferably somewhere close since everyone seems to live in this apartment building."
"You'll take the job here," Teddy stated. "Because you don't care about the money, or position. You told me before that nothing's tying you back to Hopkins and that you don't want to live with your parents. And Callie's here. And you love Callie."
Arizona's eyes widened. "Teddy! You can't just say it out loud when I haven't told her yet. These walls are a lot thinner than you think. And what if Callie and I break up? Then I'd stay here for nothing."
"You won't break up. Beside, you've got friends here too. And you've already seen how great our pediatric department is. But I'm not going to keep convincing you because I'd like it if there was a fair fight on which hospital you'll pick," Teddy teased. Because it was almost painfully obvious.
"I don't want to think about hospitals right now. I'm going to make lunch and surprise my beautiful girlfriend at work," Arizona said. "Do you have like a picnic basket or something?"
Teddy laughed. "I don't do picnics. I have like a ton of bags though."
"Bags aren't romantic," Arizona complained. "You gotta have a picnic basket, seriously. Do you live under the rocks?"
Teddy rolled her eyes. "Okay, I think there might be one in the hall closet but I've never used it and it looks kind of rusty."
Arizona opened the hall closet. "Oh god Teddy, do you ever open up this closet? It smells like something died in here. And there's spider web everywhere. This is gross."
"I've opened it once when I got the apartment. You can tell that I don't use it. And there's something creepy about it so I wouldn't have it opened for too long," Teddy said and shrugged.
Arizona found the picnic basket and took it out using just two fingers and squealing in disgust. "I'm getting you a maid so she can clean this closet up. I can't believe you live like this. I trusted you."
Teddy laughed. "Yeah, yeah, don't be overdramatic. You can clean it out yourself, if you wish."
"No, thank you. I'm going to wash the basket though because by surprising my girl I didn't mean giving her some disease," Arizona teased and went in the bathroom to wash the picnic basket. Arizona didn't cook but she ordered pizza and put some pizza slices in the basket. She did make a salad and added that. Of course she wouldn't leave a dessert out of lunch. Muffins she made the day before and were absolutely delicious. "Okay, I'm going to the hospital now," she told Teddy who was sitting on the couch, watching TV.
"Have fun," Teddy said. "And no dirty things in the hospital rooms, some of us have to work there."
Arizona groaned. "You promised you would stop teasing me about that. You know Callie and I haven't done it yet and you're way too entertained by that. I'm not telling you things ever again."
"I think it's sweet," Teddy defended herself. "I mean, you like to sleep with girls early in the relationship and nothing's wrong with that. And Callie's pretty fast with that too. So to say you've been dating for almost three months now and still haven't had sex means you're waiting for the right moment."
"You should think less about my sex life and more about yours," Arizona said and winked. "Have a good day, roomie."
Teddy huffed. "I hope you never get laid!" she yelled after Arizona.
Arizona arrived to the hospital and took the elevator to the orthopedic surgical floor. She knew where Callie's office was. And she could only hope Callie had enough time for a lunch. Or she'd wait for her. "Hi, would you mind paging Doctor Torres to her office whenever she's free?" Arizona asked sweetly at the nurses' station.
"She's just finishing her surgery. She should be done in ten minutes."
Arizona smiled. "Thank you." Ten minutes gave her enough time to set up the coffee table in Callie's office and light up a few candles to make it more romantic.
Callie entered her office, expecting another consult for an important athlete, but instead Arizona was standing in front of her, a single calla lily in her hand. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought you lunch," Arizona replied. "Which is really just pizza and salad. And also muffins. That I made on my own, from scratch."
Callie laughed and kissed Arizona on her lips. "Thank you for surprising me. And with pizza too. Best girlfriend ever." She sat down on the couch. "Is this just because you're awesome or did I forget some anniversary?" Callie suddenly asked, squinting her eyes as she thought of all important dates.
"You didn't forget any anniversaries," Arizona said, sitting down next to Callie. "I just thought maybe we could have lunch together. And uhm, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. But not now. Later, when you get home."
Callie grabbed a slice of pizza. "So you surprised me with food and then later you want to talk? Should I be worried?"
"No, no. It's nothing bad. I promise," Arizona smiled. "Now, eat."
They ate their lunch rather quickly because Callie didn't have a whole lot of time but they did share a few laughs and kisses in between eating. Eventually Arizona had to pack up.
Callie gently grabbed Arizona's wrist and pulled her on her lap which made Arizona squeal. "Just a proper thanks," she husked before capturing Arizona's bottom lips between hers.
Arizona sighed in the kiss at the wonderful feeling. Callie proved herself to be an extraordinary kisser and Arizona couldn't get enough of her. Her hands wrapped in Callie's hair and she felt Callie's hand in her own, much shorter, hair. She quickly learned Callie loved touching and tugging onto hair. She couldn't get her to stop. But nothing made her feel as warm and loved as Callie playing with her hair to get her to sleep. But what it did right now was arouse. And it took a long time for Arizona to be able to get to this point. To feel pretty enough. She had to pull from the kiss, her breaths coming out as panting.
Callie continued her journey with her lips along her jaw, down her neck and between her collarbones where Arizona's sweet stop was. And then she felt Arizona's hips rock against her which made her smirk. "Maybe we should stop."
"We should," Arizona agreed, catching her breath.
Callie's pager went off, startling them. "Sorry," Callie quickly apologized. "It's 911 though, so I have to go." She hesitantly pushed Arizona off her lap and stood up. She fixed her lab coat. "I'll still see you tonight?"
Arizona nodded. "Absolutely. Go, be a rock star," she cheered her girlfriend on and gave her a final kiss. "I'll clean this up and meet you at home." She urged Callie to leave the office and put in the basket everything she didn't manage before Callie pulled her in for a kiss. She even left Callie a little note.
Thank you for finding time to have lunch with me. I left you a muffin on your desk in case you want something to munch on later. You're an absolute rock star. And a hot one too.
- the best girlfriend ever, Arizona
Arizona even scribbled a heart next to the note. God, she was so dorky when it came to this woman. Well, she has always been the dorky one in relationships. But this relationship felt different. Arizona went home where she found Teddy in the exact same position as she was in when she left. "Don't you have work?"
"Night shift," Teddy said and shrugged. "But I do have a date tonight." Arizona looked at her in disbelief, her eyes squinting at Teddy. "What? I do date! And if you really have to know it's with that buddy of your brother. Henry. He's really funny. And sweet."
Arizona smiled. "Ah, I'm the best matchmaker."
Teddy snorted. "Please. I totally have the credits for you and Callie's relationship. Without me you guys would be barely talking to each other."
"That's not true." Arizona frowned. Was it?
"Yes, it is. Look, you're confident and you just go for it but Callie likes to think things through and she would probably be put off by your spontaneousness. But the way you came together now worked for both of you, so you shouldn't take this as a negative comment," Teddy explained.
Arizona huffed. "You should go to work."
Teddy laughed. "Fine, pout away."
"I'm not pouting," Arizona argued weakly. Because she knew she was. "I'm going to make dinner because Callie is coming over tonight and you won't get any."
"Callie's here all the time anyway," Teddy said and shrugged. "And don't you think that I don't know you've been eating my cereal. You could blame on Finn before but I'm onto you now."
Arizona smiled innocently and batted with her eyelashes. "I don't know what you're talking about." With that she moved in the kitchen. She truly felt like tonight was her night with Callie. "What would you cook for a guy if you wanted to have sex with him?"
"I don't cook," Teddy said. "Why are you even asking me this?"
"I think tonight might be the night. For you know, me and Callie. And if she's coming over she's obviously going to be hungry," Arizona said. "My cooking abilities are limited. I can't serve her pasta. That's just sad."
"Serve her fries," Teddy said and shrugged. "I mean, it's Callie. You could feed her Kraft mac and cheese and she would still be happy."
"Maybe I should take her out," Arizona said. She nodded to herself. "I should definitely take her out. But if I do that, she might be too tired for any sexy things that could happen. It's best if we stay in."
"You're overthinking this," Teddy said, rolling her eyes. "Look, she said she'll come over. That doesn't mean she's expecting things to happen. She's been over every night for the past two months."
Arizona threw herself on the couch left to Teddy, her head hanging off the edge. "You're making so much sense that I actually hate you. And we still need to talk about the letters."
"You'll be fine. Now, for once maybe you can help me prepare for my date."
Arizona gladly did that because it gave her something to do and to focus on something else other than her anxiety about her plans with Callie. It also made her realize that Teddy had really nice clothes in her closet and yet rarely wore them. After Teddy was off with her date, Arizona laid on the couch and watched TV to kill time. Arizona knew that watching the news made her sleepy but nothing else better was on. So she fell asleep.
Callie knocked on the door for nearly a minute and no one answered her. She knew Teddy was on a date but Arizona was supposed to be come. She also wasn't replying to any texts or answering calls. Callie turned the doorknob and realized the door was unlocked. She walked in further, fearing something happened to her girlfriend only to find her out passed out on the couch. Callie smiled, feeling the butterflies flutter in her stomach. Much like they did every time she was around her. She knelt down in front of Arizona, gently stroking pale cheek with her thumb. "Wake up baby," she murmured. Arizona scrunched her nose which made Callie laugh. "C'mon. You can sleep in bed."
Arizona briefly registered Callie calling her baby but she was having such wonderful dreams that she didn't want to wake up. Dreams about Callie and a chubby little girl with gorgeous dark hair and Callie's olive skin.
"It's really rude to invite people over and then just sleep," Callie continued. "And if you sleep now, you won't sleep at night."
"That's not true," Arizona replied, her words muffled. "Because you'll play with my hair until I get sleepy."
Callie laughed. "Not if you'll sleep now. Come on. I even got us dinner because I had an emergency surgery and ran a little late. You love take out."
"What kind?" Arizona asked and blinked sleepily a few times before she reached over and picked up her glasses from the coffee table.
"Chipotle, which I believe is your dirty pleasure. And because I love you so much I got you the kid's menu because I know you loved building your own taco." Callie didn't even think twice about what she said. Not until Arizona's blue eyes popped open, staring at her wildly that she thought about what she said. "I didn't… I mean… I do but I didn't want to say it like that," Callie stuttered.
"Do you mean it?" Arizona asked, her voice sounding like a little girl's.
Callie nodded and nervously licked her lips. "I love you."
Arizona's smile grew, her dimples popping as she laughed happily. "I love you too. And I love you even more because you know me so well that you got me a build my own chipotle order." She grabbed Callie by her shirt collar and pulled her down for a kiss.
"I figured my lady deserves it since she surprised me with a beautiful lunch," Callie teased, straightening her back. "And I especially loved that muffin with a little heart on it that you left. And the note."
Arizona shrugged. "What can I say? I'm awesome."
Callie laughed, shoving Arizona's shoulder with her own. "Very modest too. We can eat dinner and then you can tell me what you've been planning to tell me all day. Which I am still worried about but I trust you."
"I promise that it's nothing bad," Arizona said.
They didn't get much talking done that night. As they settled into bed Arizona couldn't stop kissing Callie and Callie's hands were wandering over her body more than usually. It's like they lost a track of time because all Arizona could suddenly think of was having a sweaty Callie on top of her. Or maybe that was the reality. Because even in Arizona's dreams Callie's moans didn't sound so… almost illegal.
"That was," Callie started breathless. "Wow."
Arizona laughed, her head resting on Callie's heaving chest. "Yeah. Definitely wow. Why did we wait so long to do this?"
"We were idiots," Callie said, her fingers tracing the freckles on Arizona's back.
Arizona rolled over on top of Callie, shuddering slightly when Callie's leg fell between her legs. "We should do it again. And again. And again. To make up for all the times we lost," she teased before moving her lips on Callie's neck.
Callie's head fell backwards, her eyes closing. "We should," she whispered, her voice hoarse.
Arizona stopped for a moment, making Callie open her eyes. "But can we talk tomorrow?"
"We will talk tomorrow," Callie promised. "We can stop and talk now if it would make you feel better."
"No, not stopping," Arizona said determined. "We're just talking tomorrow."
Callie woke up first to the sound of her alarm. She was surprised Arizona was still dead to the world. Callie carefully removed Arizona's arm from her waist and got out of bed. She grabbed her phone and called the Chief, making up an excuse to skip work. Afterwards she went in the kitchen and made coffee.
Arizona woke up to cold bed which made her pout. Callie's clothes weren't on the floor anymore so Arizona put on her brother's t-shirt and underwear before walking in the kitchen. She expected to see Teddy. "What are you still doing here?"
Callie took a sip of her coffee before quickly kissing Arizona's lips and passing her a cup. "Not happy to see me? I took the day off. Since you wanted to talk."
"You shouldn't have taken a day off just for me," Arizona whined, feeling guilty about making Callie miss work. "What will the chief say? I'm being a bad influence on you."
Callie shrugged. "I said I have an appointment at the gynecologist. They never question that."
Arizona laughed. "But wouldn't they know? Or do you have a gynecologist at a different hospital?"
"Different hospital. Trust me, you should never be working in a hospital and have your lady parts doctor working in the same building and have your female coworkers visit that same doctor. That's just weird," Callie said and shuddered at the thought.
"I once dated a gynecologist. I mean, obviously she wasn't my doctor," Arizona quickly stated. "It didn't last very long and after a while the sex got weird and it felt clinical. We broke up pretty fast afterwards."
Callie laughed loudly, throwing her head back. "Moral of the story is don't date your doctors."
Arizona laughed too. "That's smart."
"So what did you want to talk about?" Callie asked. "Because I'm really curious and I don't think I can not know for a moment longer."
Arizona went in the living room and grabbed her letters. She put them in front of Callie on the bar counter. "These are job offers. For me. Hopkins. Seattle Grace Mercy West and Washington Adventist Hospital. And I wanted to talk to you about them because no matter what I pick, it affects us."
Callie released a shaky breath. "I don't want to limit you. Or hold you down. If you want to be with your parents, you can. Or if you want to go back to Hopkins. But Seattle Grace is in the top 5 best teaching hospitals."
"Exactly," Arizona said. "I don't want to live with my parents. And I don't think I want to work in a tiny hospital. But I've already worked at Hopkins and the position they're offering me is less than what I've had before. And Seattle is… here. And you're here. And they're offering me the head position."
Callie took Arizona's hand. "What do you wanna do? Don't think about me. Just think which offer makes you the most excited."
Arizona closed her eyes. Seattle. Baltimore. Gaithersburg. She immediately crossed off the last one from her list. She loved her parents. But she needed to be independent and that meant not taking the job her dad got her. Seattle. Baltimore. Arizona has already worked at Hopkins. She already got everything she needed from there. Seattle was her new start. Her surgery was a success. She trusted the people and the facility. "I made my decision," Arizona said, excitedly.
