No Matter of Chance

By AmboDriver

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just playing around with these "If/Then" alternative versions of characters that I adore.

A/N: I almost had this entire chapter written and then decided that I didn't need the two scenes I had written because they were scenes with Arizona/Mark (I cut that down and used bits of it in here instead) and Callie/Owen (telling the kids about the divorce) and that information could be gotten in other ways, so this way we get to some forward movement (or maybe backward depending on how you look at it). Thanks for sticking with me through the set up. Now it's on to getting the two of them together. Fun, fun, fun.

Thanks for your comments (and for the few hundred of you that don't comment, please do…I don't bite…hard). It really makes my day.

I'll hopefully get a chapter up this week, but I have extra school work to do plus I'm going out of town for the stomach-churning wedding of my super-religious cousin (family sucks sometimes), so not sure I'll get time to write much since I'll be with my mother for the 3 day trip. And she's needy. But I'll try.


Chapter 11

There was a strange tension in that morning's staff meeting. Arizona looked around the table and shook her head slightly. All these relationships breaking apart. It was sad, really, and once again Arizona was happy to be hopelessly single. She couldn't imagine being in any of their shoes. Having your domestic problems follow you to work would be hard, let alone having to sit at the same table or operate on the same patient. But I guess when it works, it can really be worthwhile. The chief and Richard always seem relatively happy and supportive of one another. But is the risk worth it?

Until recently she had known the answer without a doubt. But as she began to question her lack of relationships, she was starting to really wonder. But regardless of whether she continued her regular sampling of Seattle's lesbian population or finally ended up trying to find someone to truly date, she doubted she would ever want to date someone she worked with. That bug had bitten her in the ass once. She wasn't going to fall into that trap again.

"Alright people," Ellis proclaimed from the end of the table, "good work. I'll expect your final merger numbers by the end of the day."

Callie leaned over then and whispered, "Your place or mine?"

Arizona did a double take as she looked at her new friend in astonishment. "What?"

Callie laughed quietly, obviously finding her reaction quite amusing. "Our meeting about writing up Riley's case. Your office or mine?"

"Um," Arizona stammered as she momentarily got lost in Callie's dark eyes. They literally twinkled in amusement and Arizona was hopeless to resist staring at them. She finally managed to get her brain in gear and answered, "Mine is good." She would have more control in her office and could ensure her very large oak desk could sit between them while they worked.

"Okay," Callie said with a bright smile, "then shall we?"

She started to stand when Mark came over to them. "Doctor Robbins, can I talk to you for a second?"

She was about to blow him off when he arched his eyebrow at her and she knew it was somehow important, so she simply nodded. She turned to Callie, "Can you wait for me?"

Callie looked between the two but didn't question their interaction. "I'll just be outside." She gathered her things from the table.

Arizona watched Callie leave, appreciating the way her tailored pants hugged her curves in just the right way. An unbidden smile came to her lips as Callie left the room, leaving only Mark and Arizona behind.

"Do you want everyone to know you have the hots for her?"

Mark's question made her jump. "What?"

"If you keep looking at her like that the whole hospital, including not only the object of your affection but her husband, will know you've got a thing for her." He shrugged. "I'm just saying what anyone with two eyes and half a brain can see."

"Well, I'm glad you've got at least half a brain," she shot back at him. She was about to deny his observation, but she knew it was useless. "Is it really that obvious?"

Mark sat down on the edge of the conference table and seemed to think for a few long moments. "Well, since I happened to already know you're gay, it's not a big stretch for me to see it. But I suppose that many people see only what they want to see or expect to see, so you might be safe. For a while at least. But why tempt fate? I've heard Doctor Hunt can have quite the temper."

"Okay, first off, how exactly do you happen to know I'm gay? And secondly, I'm not worried about Owen Hunt, so you can keep that concern to yourself." She didn't feel like she could divulge that Owen and Callie were divorcing to a man she barely knew, so she chose to keep the reason behind her apparent bravado to herself.

"Well, I know, because a former colleague of yours from Hopkins also happens to be Derek's little sister and a good friend of mine. Do you remember Amelia Shepherd? Last summer when Addison was back in New York, the three of us got together. Addie was talking about a case she was working on with you and one topic led to another. Amy is a bit of a gossip I'm afraid to say." He paused and looked at her for a second before adding. "I know you're not exactly Ms. Gay Pride around the hospital, so my lips are sealed and I know Addie's are, too. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried," she replied, trying to sound a little more confident than she felt. But this definitely made Mark's comment from their meeting in her apartment building hallway clearer. "My private life stays outside this hospital as much as possible and I want to keep it that way." She fixed him with her best death glare so that he would realize how serious she was.

"Will do." She could tell by the seriousness with which he answered that he would not be gossiping about her, which was good if he was going to end up living across the hall from her. Because then he'd likely have all kinds of potential gossip material before long.

Arizona relaxed a little and said quietly. "And thanks for the head's up. I'll be more careful with my appreciations."

She started to walk out when he quickly added, "If it's any consolation, she gives you the same look."

This made Arizona stop dead in her tracks and turn to stare at him as if he had two heads. "She's straight, Mark," was all she could find to say.

"And there's never been a woman who's figured out she likes women a little later in life?"

Arizona's first reaction was to argue, to keep everything and everyone in their neat little boxes. Because if Callie wasn't married and she wasn't straight, then this crush was far from safe. In fact, it was a ticking time bomb. She shook her head and laughed. "I think you're imagining things." She didn't wait for him to reply before quickly leaving the suddenly claustrophobic room.

Of course the only problem with that escape was that it sent her right into the fire of Callie's presence. The cardiac surgeon was sitting on the row of chairs outside the door, looking up at her with those damned soulful eyes of hers, a hesitant smile on her lips. But then she frowned. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Arizona glanced back at the door, praying that Mark wouldn't emerge from the conference room just then. "Come on," she said and started off toward her office leaving Callie to practically run in her designer heels to catch up.

"Hey, where's the fire?"

Apparently in our glances at one another. But of course she couldn't say that out loud. "Sorry, I just want to make sure we have enough time to work on this before my surgery."

There was a thick silence that hung between them as they walked the rest of the way to Arizona's office. Along the way, Arizona tried to catch whether Callie was giving her any looks, but there was nothing at all suspicious about her behavior. Mark's just got a straight man's obsession with lesbians. He's probably letting his fantasies color his perception. By the time they got to her office, Arizona was sure that Mark was just plain crazy.

Arizona sighed in relief when she was seated behind her desk with Callie safely on the other side. She finally let her head clear of all the thoughts that had been swirling around and smiled over at Callie. "I meant to ask you. Did you get a chance to talk to Ronnie?"

"Yes. She had some good advice. And I guess telling the kids went about as well as it could." She sighed and suddenly looked very tired. "The boys didn't understand at all. Allegra gets that Daddy isn't living at home anymore, but she's too young to understand why. She's already had a few sobfests."

"That's got to be rough," Arizona said. "It'll get better over time I'm sure. Kids are really resilient."

"Hopefully." Callie paused and picked at something on her slacks. She finally looked up and there was something in her eyes that seemed confused, afraid even. "Are you free tonight?"

Arizona swallowed hard as Mark's words rang through her head again. If he was right, spending any more time with Callie than she had to could be dangerous. Really dangerous. But it was also so hard to resist, too. I'm a fucking moth and she's the flame. "Um," she said quietly as she turned to her computer to buy herself some time to decide on an answer. "Let me check my schedule."

"I just thought if you were free, we could go get those drinks we planned. I could really use a night out and some adult time with someone I'm not divorcing. This has been a rough week." Callie looked like she was close to tears.

Arizona's first inclination to decline disintegrated at the look of the tears pooling in her eyes. Without really thinking about it, she found herself saying, "Drinks would be fun." And when Callie's face lit up in a bright smile, Arizona couldn't help but return it, even as she cursed herself for letting herself fall into this situation. "Did you bring appropriate attire?"

"I have casual clothes in the car." Callie's smile continued, although it was now somewhat subdued. "You know, I'm always going to be in Riley's debt. We're going to get a great article out of his case and I found a good friend, too." Callie's face reddened slightly and her eyes fell bashfully. "I'm glad we're becoming such good friends," she added quietly.

Just as Arizona was taking a breath to reply, Callie looked up and their eyes met. The breath stuck in her throat as this incredible energy seemed to crackle between them. It only lasted a split second, but it was enough for Arizona to know that Mark wasn't wrong. There was little doubt Callie was attracted to her, although Arizona was reasonably sure the brunette wasn't really aware of it. And if Arizona had anything to say about it, she never would. But first I need to know for sure what's going on inside that gorgeous head of hers. Then I can figure out how to douse the flames. Tonight will be a fact finding mission. Nothing more and nothing less. "I'm glad, too," she finally answered feebly. "Um, shall we get to work?"

Callie's beaming smile returned as she nodded. "Sure thing."

Oh crap, I'm not sure there's enough water in the world to douse that. What the hell am I going to do?


"What can I get you ladies?" Joe asked as he walked up to their table.

Arizona laughed quietly. "You're taking orders? You must really be shorthanded."

He sighed. "Yeah, Barbie called in sick at the last minute. So, what can I get you?"

Callie thought for a moment, not wanting to seem too much like a lush, but dying to relax a little. Her eye drifted over to the bottles on display behind the bar and she smiled. "I'll have a Grey Goose martini, straight up, extra olives."

Arizona looked at her with an appreciative lift of her eyebrow. "A woman who knows her vodka. Impressive." She then turned back to Joe and ordered something that sounded German.

"What's that?" Callie asked after Joe left.

"A German wheat beer. Joe's the only bartender in Seattle that I've found who both carries it and knows how to serve it properly. And even better that I live just down the street."

"Oh, sounds complicated for beer."

"No, it just takes a little knowledge of temperature, pouring techniques and the right glass. And it's so worth it." She laughed quietly. "What can I say? I'm a beer snob."

Callie laughed along with her. "You're really a lot more complicated than you first appear."

Arizona's smile seemed amused now as she leaned back in her chair. "Some people would take that as a backhanded compliment, Callie."

There was a bit of a challenge in Arizona's tone and it made Callie self-conscious. "Um, well, I didn't mean it like that of course. I just meant…" She trailed off, chastising herself for beginning to stammer and being unsure of how to explain herself. She normally was very confident, but for some reason around Arizona that confidence often quickly dissipated. She shook her head slightly and let out a breath of tension that had built in her. "I just mean you're a peds surgeon. I would tend to think peds surgeons drink fruity drinks or don't drink alcohol at all. I mean, not that you can't be badass or hardcore or—" She stopped herself, realizing she was stammering again and now she had the added problem of sounding like more of an idiot. She felt heat come to her cheeks and was glad the bar was dimly lit so perhaps Arizona wouldn't notice her blush. "Don't mind me."

For her part, Arizona looked like she was having a hard time not bursting into laughter, but that only lasted a few seconds because she finally couldn't hold it in. She let out a light laugh that somehow made her face light up even more. "Oh don't you worry," she finally said with an amused shake of her head. "I'm badass alright. Peds is way more hardcore than cardio. Try one of your surgeries on a heart that is a tenth the size of an adult's and tell me who's hardcore or badass Calliope."

That challenge coming from anyone else, especially with the addition of her full first name would have normally angered Callie, but instead she found herself laughing along with Arizona. "Okay, okay, so I need to adjust my stereotypes. You've really taught me that I need to stop making judgments about people before getting to know them better."

Arizona then became suddenly serious and her eyes seemed to lock intently with Callie's. Even in the dimmed light, they were an amazing shade of blue—darker than in the bright light, surely, but still full of such depth and emotion it made Callie's breath hitch. It was like Arizona could read her inside and out with those eyes of hers. She had never met anyone who seemed to have that power with her. Owen had never seemed to get her, had never even seemed to make an effort. But Arizona's eyes—those same eyes that until about a week ago had only ever seemed to look at her with annoyance or disdain—now held so many more emotions, more than Callie could ever hope to name. And yet in that moment that was all she wanted to do. She wanted to figure out what made Arizona tick, what caused her to laugh uncontrollably, and what brought about the shadows of pain that would sometimes pass over her face.

"Did you hear me?"

Callie blinked and focused on Arizona waving her hand as if trying to break her out of a trance. "Sorry, what?"

"Nevermind. It wasn't important." There was almost a smug amusement in her gaze.

Callie was about to press her when Joe brought over their drinks. "That's a lot of beer," Callie said as Arizona's drink was placed on the table. The glass was almost a foot tall and the beer inside was a golden yet cloudy color.

Arizona's grin was broad as she maneuvered the beer to her right side. "That's a half liter of deliciousness right there." She picked up the glass and held it out toward Callie. "Cheers."

Callie lifted her own glass and clanked it against Arizona's before taking a sip. The burn of the alcohol helped her refocus her mind. No more getting lost in thought. Keep your focus on the conversation. "Okay, so really, what did you say before?"

Arizona tilted her head and seemed to be thinking hard about something. She then focused back on Callie again, her eyes holding her with a penetrating gaze. "I said that in the last week I've had to reevaluate you, too. You're obviously more than just a beautiful yet arrogant cardio god."

Callie felt a sudden warmth flow through her and her stomach flipped at the compliment. She thinks I'm beautiful. She bit hard at her lip to keep her smile from growing exponentially. It took her a few seconds to pull her mind away and consider how to answer. Do I return the compliment? I mean she is very beautiful, but does that make it sound hollow? Or do I just deflect it with laughter? I could humbly accept it or deny it. Damn, what do I say? Finally, she lowered her eyes for a moment and then looked up again into those incredibly blue eyes. "And you're more than a cantankerous and rigid peds surgeon with ridiculously blue eyes and killer dimples."

At the mention of her dimples, Arizona smiled and they made an appearance. But Arizona didn't lower her eyes or blush. Instead she casually reached for her beer and lifted it to drink, pausing shortly before it met her lips. That was when she said, "Well, Calliope Torres, there are many things about me you'll be pleasantly surprised to find out." She then took a long drink from her beer and placed the glass on the table.

But Callie wasn't watching the glass. Instead she was trying hard not to laugh at the froth that clung to the trip of Arizona's nose. She tried, but she couldn't and so she let out a belly laugh as she reached across the small table to wipe the white foam from Arizona's face. As she did, her fingers grazed against the smooth skin of her cheek. Callie's mouth went dry and her heartbeat quickened at the contact, causing her to pull her hand back as if burned. She swallowed hard and laughed to cover her reaction. "Froth. Sorry, it's the mother in me." She still felt incredibly uncomfortable at her reaction and tried to force it from her mind, not wanting or able to understand it. But the look in Arizona's eyes made it difficult. There was something swirling there that Callie couldn't place, but this time it didn't fascinate her, it made her want to run. And yet she found herself stuck, unable to move from her seat, her brain flying so fast she couldn't grasp on to any single thought.

There was a long pause where they both just watched each other. And then Arizona was standing up and fishing a ten dollar bill out of her pocket. "I've got an early surgery tomorrow so I better get going." She turned to grab her coat.

She can't leave. Callie stood up and moved around the table, grabbing Arizona's arm to stop her. "I'm sorry if I did something wrong."

Arizona looked up at Callie and for a brief moment there was a flash of fear in her eyes and then they fell and a shadow of sadness came over her face. "It's not anything you did," she said so quietly that Callie had to strain to hear.

"Are you sure?" Callie was confused and felt a sense of panic about Arizona leaving.

Arizona then smiled, although it seemed a little forced. "I promise. I really do have to be up early." She placed the money on the table and grabbed her jacket. "I'll see you tomorrow." She then brushed past Callie without any further word.

Callie just stood and watched her wend her way through the tables and toward the door. When Arizona disappeared outside, she sat back heavily in her chair, still feeling a bit of shock at what happened. It reminded her of her own quick escape from the diner only two days ago. But what was even more haunting was how much she had wanted to flee yet again, but hadn't. It's like she has some strange power over me or something. I guess I'm just so desperate for someone to pay attention to me right now is all. I so need to start standing on my own and not be so needy. She took a long drink from her martini and then shook her head with a laugh. "And those damned blue eyes don't help."

TBC…