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I own nothing. All characters/storylines belong to Shonda. I'm simply 'borrowing' them.

Chapter Twenty-One

ARIZONA'S POV

"Okay, how do I look?" Eliza stops dead in front of me and gives me a hard stare.

"Like your girlfriend has just had her way with you on a very comfortable but now ruined office couch." I shrug.

"Really?" She tilts her head slightly and gives me a sexy squint. "That's totally the look I was going for."

Rolling my eyes playfully, I take her hand in mine and lace our fingers together. "Come on." I motion towards the door of Joe's and she gives me a smile. "You ready?"

"Oh yes." She straightens herself out. Eliza often exudes confidence, and tonight she is looking fine. I also know that she likes to put on a front and I don't want her to think that she has to do this for me. I'd happily go home right now and kick back for the night. "Are you?" She catches me off guard with her question.

"Y-Yeah." I nod. "Let's do this." Pushing the door to the bar open, the bell signals our arrival. It's a little busy, but it is Friday night so I didn't expect anything less. Jackson and Grey are already over by the bar, and I catch sight of April coming back from the bathroom. Her waving us over, we smile and weave our way through the crowd.

"Hey, guys." She smiles. She isn't trying too hard, and her facial features are genuine. April doesn't have it in her to be nasty or hostile. She's just… Kepner. "Can I get you both a drink?"

Eliza glances at me and then back to April. "Sure, that would be awesome."

"Preference?" April raises an eyebrow.

"Um, wine is good, thanks." My girlfriend smiles and I nod in agreement.

Joining the rest of the group, I shrug off my jacket and place it over the back of one of the chairs. "Hey." Jackson approaches us both. Watch it, Avery. I'm happy that he has reached out to Eliza, but I don't entirely trust him. It will take a little time. I don't know why he had a change of heart, but I'm willing to give him time to figure Eliza out. "You guys made it." He smiles.

"We did." I smile back at him. "Anyone else joining us tonight?"

"Karev will be here soon." He sips on his beer and turns his attention to my girlfriend. Holding out his hand he clears his throat. "Call it quits?"

"Um, sure." She furrows her brow. Quits? He was the one with the problem. Not Eliza. This isn't my fight, though, so I'll keep out of it. "Can I ask why the sudden change?" That's my girl. Placing my hand on the small of her back, we both stare at Jackson.

"I, Uh, I was just being pissy." He shrugs. "Change is good, right?"

"It is." Eliza smiles and glances at me. "At least, it has been for me."

Adorable. This woman is freaking adorable.

"So, um… you guys?" He points his beer bottle between us both. "You know?"

"Yes, Jackson." I smile. "Me and Eliza."

"Awesome." He nods and throws me a smirk. "I'm happy for you, Arizona." Mmhmm, he has a real funny way of showing it. Right now, I'm just thankful that we are all in the same room together without a slanging match ensuing.

"Thanks." I accept his comment and I'm not going to lie, it makes me feel a whole lot better to know that the one guy who hated Eliza is now on board. I mean, I wasn't concerned about his opinion, no. I'm not concerned about anyone's opinion, but it does make things a little easier.

Watching him walk away, Eliza turns and faces me. "Well, that went well."

"Yeah, it did." I laugh. "Let's just hope it lasts." April returning with our drinks, we both thank her and sip on the much-needed refreshments. It's been a good week, but it's always nice to unwind after a long ass shift. Pulling out a chair for my girlfriend, she thanks me, and I take a seat beside her. "I love this."

"Which?" She asks.

"This. Being able to come here and relax. I love it." I smile.

"Yeah, well guess what I love?" She raises an eyebrow. "You."

My Heart pounding in my chest, I love hearing those words falling from Eliza's mouth. It's natural. Nothing ever seems forced where Eliza is concerned. "I love you, too."

"I also love firsts with you."

"Yeah?" I smile.

"Definitely. So, first dance?" She stands and holds out her hands. I give her a look, and she refuses to move. "Come on, don't tell me you don't dance."

"I, Uh-" Cut off as she bends from the waist and brings her lips to my ear, I catch sight of her cleavage and my mouth dries.

"Because with a body like that, you must be able to move." Placing a soft kiss below my ear, I close my eyes and try to remember that we are in a public place and that I cannot drag her on top of me. "Come on." She whispers. "I want to feel your hands on me."

Oh god. She's killing me right now. My center throbbing, I bite my bottom lip and stand. Fingers lacing together, I watch her move in front of me and I wonder if I'm in heaven. Of course, you are in heaven. Look at that ass. Making my way further into the crowd, I catch sight of April watching and she throws me a massive smile. Mouthing "go for it", I give her a nod and disappear into my own world.

A world where life is nothing short of amazing. A world where these people around me aren't here. A world where it is nobody but Eliza, and me. Her hands finding my hips, it takes everything I have in me to not take her right now on this dance floor. My head is spinning from a mixture of alcohol and her skin beneath my fingertips, and it's like no other feeling in the world. Nothing else matters. It's pure bliss.

Turning, Eliza backs up a little and grinds her ass into me. Oh god. I'm loving every minute of this, and so is my body, but she is really making this hard for me. The more she is around me, the more I want her. I want her in every way imaginable. Hips swaying, her laugh is infectious. Her whole personality lights up the room, and my life and people are throwing wolf whistles and cheers around. "We should charge for this." She laughs as she turns back to face me.

"Go for it, Robbins." I shoot Karev a serious glare and he winks as he throws his hands up. "Sorry."

Arms tangled and our bodies moving together, I think hard about the last time I truly danced. The last time I truly let myself go. It's been a long time. Experiencing this happiness with Eliza is better than I ever could have imagined, and the thought of ever losing this, us, well…it terrifies me. Truly terrifies me.

Did I ever think I'd feel that way about another woman? Honestly, no. But I do. I do and it's like I can finally breathe again I can finally be the true me.

The song ending, Eliza captures my lips and guides me back towards our table. Pulling back for a little oxygen, I bring my hand up to her face and run my thumb along her bottom lip. "Thank you."

"For what?" She furrows her brow.

"For making me happy."

Tonight has been awesome. I've always loved meeting up with the guys after finishing a shift, but that lessened over the years. It went from once a week, to once a month, to four times a year…if I was lucky. I just didn't feel like being out. I went through the stage of coming to terms with my divorce which wasn't easy. All of our friends were my ex-wife's friends long before they were mine. Then we went through the court case. I wasn't prepared to sit talking with the very same people who had chosen not to back me in court. I don't hold grudges, though, and I understand that it must have been hard for them to make the decision they did, but still…it's a little hard to swallow. Then I gave my daughter the chance to be happy in New York. That killed me. It really did. I've always been brilliant at putting on the brave face, but underneath that mask, I was a mess. I wasn't eating, or sleeping. I'd thrown myself into my work and even though it gradually got better, the pain of not having Sofia with me was sometimes too much to take.

I figured the best way to move forward was to curb the drinking. Drinking only made me think. Drinking only left me bitter. Drinking…if I'd have let it, could have caused all kinds of problems in my life. I've never been a big drinker, but I know myself well enough to know that given half the chance, those nights when I missed Sofia so much that I cried myself to sleep, I'd happily have drunk myself into oblivion. Then it becomes a vicious circle.

I'd even thought about leaving Seattle on a number of occasions. You know, just up, leave and start fresh somewhere else. I thought it would have been for the best. Sofia could enjoy her life with her other mother, and I'd continue to make mistake after mistake for the rest of my life. She didn't need someone like me in her life. I truly believed that.

But then I sat and thought about it. Sofia is my world. She was the only thing I thought about day in day out. She was the only person who showed me any love. She was my daughter, and I quickly realized that no matter how hard the days were, or how lonely I felt, I only had to pick up the phone to hear her adorable little voice. I only had to hop on a flight if the desperation to see her become too much. All of the Mark Sloan's in the world could tell me 'I'm nothing', but I know the truth. I know that my daughter loves me. I know that I was the only one who could get her back to sleep if she woke from a bad dream in the night. I was the one who braided her hair, and I was the one who forced her body to provide her with her first breath all of those years ago when Callie was thrown through the windscreen of our car. I'm her mother, and I always will be.

So what now? Now I rebuild my life. I rebuild myself. I've survived the death of my brother, his best friend, losing my daughter to another state and another time zone, losing my wife, but I'm still here. I'm still standing. I survived a plane crash.

I survived hell.

So here I am, sat in Joe's with my friends and my girlfriend, and for the first time in as long as I care to remember…. I'm happy. I'm happy in every way possible. I'm not saying it will always be this way, no. I'm not that stupid, but right now… it's perfect.

"Hey." Eliza pulls me from my thoughts as she takes a seat beside me and places her hand on my thigh. "You okay?"

"More than okay." I smile.

"You were in your own little world then, huh?"

"I was." I nod in agreement. "I was just thinking about what I'd said earlier."

"When?" She asks.

"When I thanked you for making me happy." I shrug. "I meant it, Eliza."

"You have made me just as happy, though." Taking my hand in her own, she gives it a squeeze and settles back in her seat. "You really have."

"I could have been at rock bottom more than once, you know?"

"You are amazing, Arizona. For what you have gone through in the last few years, you're amazing."

"This is the first time I've done this since before the crash." I glance around and find my friends, our friends, dancing and laughing. "I've missed it."

"But now you're back." She gives me a sad smile. "You are you, again."

"And you guaranteed that, Eliza," I state. "Yes, I've had to take care of myself for the past year or so, but you coming into my life truly did seal it for me. It confirmed that I do deserve to be happy again."

"Of course you do, Arizona." She agrees. "Sure, you may have made mistakes in the past, but nobody deserves to be alone forever."

"I guess."

"And if I'm being totally honest, I'm glad you made those mistakes. Selfish, I know, but look what I gained from it. I mean, I'm not happy about how your life has been recently, and I hate the hurt you have been caused, but I'm happy that I met you when I did. Means we get to be happy together, right?"

"God, I hope so." I sigh.

"We will." She gives me a slight nod and then flashes her beautiful smile. "Whatever the future holds, Arizona, I will be here for you, and I will always have your back! Always."

"That means so much to me, Eliza." I'd usually not take promises like that, but this woman seems far from the type to break promises. "What do you say we say goodnight to the guys and head back home?"

"Home, huh?" She raises an eyebrow.

"M-My place. Sorry. I didn't mean-" Stammering my way through, she cuts me off and I'm kinda glad.

"Home sounds perfect, Arizona."

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