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. They are owned by Shondaland, ABC, and probably a lot of other really rich folks.

A/N: Okay, so my homework has been neglected so I could write this. I just couldn't wait. I've been thinking about the last scene for months now and I hope it doesn't disappoint. It actually turned out a bit differently than I planned, but I'm proud of it.

Enjoy! And let me know what you think, please.

Oh and updates from now on will not continue to come so quickly. I have a paper due in 2 weeks (15-20 pages on web application security!) so that needs to be a priority, but I'll try to get something up every few days.

Chapter 21

Arizona pulled out her phone and looked up at Mark. "I'm going to text her now. Do you want to stand and watch or go home to your baby mama and celebrate a job well done?"

Mark crossed his arms over his chest. "Actually, I don't want to leave you alone. I can stay the night if you want."

Arizona pointed to her room's open door. "I'm not alone. There's a whole hospital full of colleagues out there. As soon as I send this, I'll take the sedative and probably sleep until morning. And that's when I'll talk to Callie. So, really, it'll be okay."

At first he seemed like he wanted to argue, but then he just nodded. He walked over next to her hospital bed and put his hand gently on her shoulder. "You call if you need anything. I'm right across the street. Really, anything, anytime, I'll be here."

"I will."

She waited until he was gone before she closed her eyes and let the tears flow. She had really brought this all on herself—unintentionally of course—but it still was really her because of her own actions. Somewhere along the way she had lost herself to pain and fear and, like a Greek tragedy, it had all come back to haunt her. Obviously avoiding connections, especially love, had almost ended her life. And that needed to change.

It took her a few minutes to get her tears under control. She then turned on her phone to send Callie a text message, but she found a message waiting for her from Callie instead. "An email, huh?" She opened her email app and scrolled through the unread messages until she found Callie's. She opened it and began to read.

Arizona,

First, I'm incredibly sorry this happened to you and I hope you are getting through this as best you can. Addison said your injuries weren't too severe, but make sure they give you the good drugs if you need them.

Can we just forget what's going on between us for now? I know things are tense for us, but I want to be here for you, so can we go back to just being friends? When things are better with you, we can worry about what we're feeling and what we're going to do about it. But right now, it's far more important that I help you. Okay?

I'm going to stay at the hospital until I hear from you, so please just at least let me know how you are and whether I can come see you. I really want to come see with my own eyes that you're okay.

Your friend,

Callie

Arizona couldn't help but smile. It meant a lot that Callie was willing to put her feelings aside in order to be there for her. But it was even better that she wouldn't have to. Arizona felt butterflies in her stomach as she thought about telling Callie that she was going to stop running. It was scary, terrifying even, to open herself up, but something told her that if she could ever learn to truly trust anyone again, it would have to be with Callie.

While she had originally planned to wait until morning, she suddenly didn't want to wait. She opened a text message to her and typed in a quick message. I want to see you. I'm in room 412. She only paused for a second before hitting send. She then put her phone away and waited. It wouldn't be long now before she could start putting her life back together.

Callie approached Arizona's room but stopped before she got to the door. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she wanted to make sure she was as calm as possible when she entered. Arizona would likely need her to be strong, so she needed to have control of her emotions. And she also needed to be mentally prepared to see Arizona's injuries. To think that beautiful face was marred by some evil woman was just sickening and all she wanted to do was scream about it, but instead she needed to put her own emotions aside and be there for her friend.

With a final deep breath, Callie walked up to the door and knocked on the door as she peered in. "Hi," she said quietly as Arizona's eyes rose to meet hers. She swallowed hard as she took in her condition. The first thing Callie noticed was her swollen left cheek with the small line of sutures right over her cheekbone. And then there was the bruising that circled her neck, reminding Callie of the real life-threatening damage that could have been done to Arizona. Finally, her left arm hung in a sling and Callie could just see the hint of a bandage on the top of her head. "You okay?" She took one step into the room, but held back, unsure of herself.

A small smile came to Arizona's face. "I'm okay. It helps that you're here."

Her voice was deeper than normal, husky even, and Callie had the momentary thought that it was quite sexy. You can't think like that. Not right now. "I'll always be here for you," she said quietly.

"Can you shut the door? I want a chance to talk to you in peace."

Callie did as she was asked and stepped a little further into the room, but still stayed at a distance from Arizona's bed. "I can't believe this happened to you, Arizona. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, I admit it pretty much sucked," Arizona said as she lowered her eyes to her right hand, which was picking at the blanket absently.

Callie took one more step toward Arizona. "So, we're okay for now? We can just put that behind us while we get you through this?"

Arizona's eyes flashed up to catch Callie's gaze. "I don't think we can."

"Arizona—"

Arizona held up her hand to stop her. "Wait, let me explain." She patted the bed beside her. "Would you come sit down first, please?"

Callie hesitated for a moment, confused by Arizona's reaction, but then went over. "On the bed?" she asked to make sure she understood Arizona correctly. When she got a simple nod, she lowered the bed railing and then sat on the edge of the bed, her hip just lightly touching Arizona's thigh. "Okay," she said, still feeling very uncertain.

Arizona took a deep breath and then nodded, as if deciding something. "I've really lived a screwed up life lately, for the last five years really. I lost my brother and then Sandy broke my heart and after that I was just so afraid to get close to anyone. It just seemed safer to keep people at a distance. They can't hurt you when they leave if they aren't important to you."

"You were hurt," Callie said, feeling so much empathy for Arizona. "I think most people would do something similar."

"Maybe, but not for so long. It got comfortable, easy." She swallowed hard. "But tonight changed that. It's not easy anymore. I've lived my life in fear of being hurt by opening up and instead I was hurt by closing myself off. And I know I hurt you, too."

Callie's heart rate jumped and she instantly felt butterflies dancing in her stomach. She was hoping Arizona's words meant she was reconsidering her answer from earlier today, but she didn't want to get her hopes up too high either. "Okay," she drew out, trying to edge Arizona on to explain what she meant.

Arizona smiled a bit shyly. "Sorry, I'm not being too clear. So, what I'm saying is that I'm still terrified about a lot of this and you're going to need to maybe handle me with kid gloves sometimes, but I want to change my answer." She reached out and took Callie's hand in her own. "I'm saying yes."

Callie could barely believe it. She broke out into a broad smile, though, as the butterflies picked up their dance through her stomach. "You're really saying yes?"

Arizona nodded with her own bright smile. "I am."

Callie let out a huge sigh of relief. "That makes me so happy. And I will be as supportive as you need. I'm scared too, you know." She laughed a little self-consciously. "I mean you're the first woman I've ever kissed."

"How about you don't talk about that in the past tense and kiss me now?"

Callie reached up and traced her fingers over Arizona's unmarred right cheek. "I won't hurt you?" As much as she was dying to feel Arizona's lips on her own, she would never want to hurt her.

Arizona leaned into the touch. "My lips are fine," she said with a broad smile.

Callie's fingers went down to run over Arizona's dimple before moving up to cup her cheek. Her entire body felt like she was going to explode as she leaned down to close the distance between them. She paused for just a moment to look into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, and then she brushed her lips along Arizona's and she was lost forever.

This time, Arizona instantly responded and they spent long moments just slowly exploring each other's lips. There was no need to rush this time, to feel a sense of desperation, because Callie knew this was just the first of any number of kisses down the line. And so she savored it, amazed once again at how soft Arizona's lips were and how many emotions were already swirling around in her for this amazing woman.

When they finally separated, Callie only pulled back a little way, still focusing her attention on Arizona's eyes. "You're amazing."

"Me?" Arizona shook her head slightly. "You're the one who took the huge risk. God was that just yesterday?" She laughed lightly before sobering. "How are you doing with all this?"

"You mean dealing with how frustrating you've been or suddenly falling for a woman?" She leaned down and placed a quick kiss on Arizona's lips before sitting up straighter so they could talk.

Arizona chuckled. "I was thinking the latter."

Callie took a moment to think about it. She had really been distracted in the last day with simply focusing first on chasing Arizona and then on her attack, so she hadn't given it much thought since they had first kissed. "I admit it's a little strange for me. I mean I don't think I've ever been attracted to a woman before. So you just must be really special." She laughed when Arizona rolled her eyes. "But, seriously, I'm a little scared. It's a huge change in how I think about myself and I don't really know how it will affect my life or my family." A slight shadow came over Arizona's features and Callie quickly added, "But I'm all in on this, really. I've never felt so comfortable with someone so quickly and, my God, those kisses. I've never felt that much just from a kiss. So, yeah, I'm scared of the unknown, but I'm also really excited about it, too."

Arizona nodded as she reached out to take Callie's hand in her own again. "We'll take this slow, okay? I think we both need that. And I promise I won't ever push you, or at least not intentionally. Just promise me you'll always be honest, okay? If I am pushing you, let me know."

"I will," Callie said quietly as she looked down to where their fingers were tangling with one another. She then looked back up at Arizona. "You too, okay? I don't want to push you either."

"Deal."

Callie looked a little more closely at the bruising around Arizona's neck. "So, what exactly are your injuries? I guess Addie left before you were checked out because she didn't have all the information."

"Yeah, she didn't exactly wait around. I didn't even know she had gone up to talk to you until Mark spilled the beans." She took a deep breath. "So, three stitches to my head. I'm not sure how many sutures Mark put into my cheek, but he said he did his best work so hopefully any scar will be really light. My shoulder is sprained, but not badly. And then all the bruising and stuff on my neck. I haven't looked in the mirror yet. How bad is it?"

Callie braced herself before taking a closer look. She tried to detach herself, to pull the cloak of surgeon over her, but it was so hard knowing that the bruises in the shapes of fingers and the scratches there from where Arizona obviously tried to fight her off were on the body of the woman she cared so much about. "Well, the bruising is going to be pretty bad for a while." She swallowed hard. "I can make out where her hands were and you've got some nasty scratches, too," she said, but her voice became very tight. She sat up, looking into the pain in Arizona's eyes and noticing the fine red dots of broken capillaries in the whites. "You've got some petechiae in your eyes, too."

Arizona nodded and took a deep breath. "Maybe I should go look. I've got to use the bathroom anyway." She started to sit up and groaned. "God, I feel like I got run over by a truck." She laughed dryly. "Well, she was kind of built like a truck. I guess it's only to be expected to be this sore after being tossed around like a ragdoll."

Callie had no idea what to say, so instead she stood up and held out her hand to help pull Arizona up. "Let me help you." When she finally had Arizona on her feet, she started to pull Arizona into a hug, but was met by arms pushing her away. "What?"

Arizona shook her head. "If you hug me right now, I'll lose it. And I really have to pee."

Callie couldn't help but laugh as she stepped back. "Okay. Can you walk or do you need help?"

Arizona took a step and groaned again. "I can, but it sucks. Now I know what it'll feel like when I'm old, really old."

Callie offered her arm for Arizona to hold on to, afraid that if she wrapped her arm around Arizona like she wanted that would be too close to a hug. Arizona grabbed it and slowly shuffled across the room toward the bathroom, her steps getting a little quicker as she went. Movement was usually good for stiff and achy muscles and Callie put a little reminder in her head to make sure she got Arizona up and walking in the morning before her muscles could seize up too badly.

When they reached the bathroom, Arizona looked over at her. "Can you wait right here? I might need you."

"Not moving from this spot," Callie answered as she moved off to the side of the door. When Arizona disappeared inside the bathroom and the door shut behind her, Callie let her head fall and she had to fight hard so tears didn't fall. She took a few quick breaths as she pulled her emotions back under control. God what an emotional rollercoaster. One minute I'm ecstatic that she said yes and the next my heart is breaking for all the pain she's been through. I'll do anything I can to get her through that pain so we can work on being happy. She deserves to be happy. We both do.

Callie heard the toilet flush and then the water turn on in the sink. The water kept flowing for what seemed an incredibly long time and Callie figured Arizona could be using it to cover the sound of her crying. "Arizona? You okay?"

There was a pause and then the water turned off. "Not really," came the pained reply.

"Do you want me to come in?"

Another short pause followed before the door opened. Callie barely had a moment to see Arizona's tear-swollen eyes before she fell into Callie's arms, shaking under a wave of sobs. Callie's own tears finally fell as she held her tight. They stood there for quite a while, the only sounds in the room being Arizona's slowly quieting sobs and the encouraging words Callie whispered into her ear.

Finally, Arizona's sobs turned to sniffles and then she finally drew a deep breath and stepped back out of Callie's embrace. She wiped at her face, wincing obviously as her hand brushed her swollen left cheek, and then looked up at Callie. "Why?"

"I wish I knew, Arizona." Callie reached out and gently rubbed Arizona's good arm. "I don't understand how anyone can attack another human being, but she obviously had issues. And she'll pay for it, okay? They'll lock her up for a long time and hopefully she'll get the help she needs."

Arizona nodded sadly as she turned to head back to her bed. Callie quickly moved to the side of her, this time placing a gentle hand on the small of her back, and rubbing gently as they slowly moved back across the room. When Arizona was finally settled back onto the bed, she sighed heavily. "I'm exhausted."

"You should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah. Owen gave me a sedative. I got the feeling he knew I'd have nightmares." There was just the hint of a question in her voice.

Callie nodded. "Yeah, he knows a lot about nightmares." She went over to the side table and poured a cup of water from the pitcher and then brought that and the paper cup that held the pill over to Arizona. "Bottom's up."

Arizona took the pill and drank the entire cup of water. "You should go home and get some sleep, too."

Callie shook her head. "No, I'll stay here with you tonight." She motioned with her head toward the loveseat in the room. "Since you got one of the lucky rooms with the couch, I can just curl up there."

"Callie, that won't be comfortable. You're far too tall to sleep there."

"I've slept in worse places."

"Callie, please. At least go find an on-call room or that couch in your office. That's longer." Arizona reached out and took Callie's hand. "Please?"

Callie sat back on the side of Arizona's bed, noting how her blue eyes had started to droop just a little. "Can I stay until you fall asleep?"

"As long as you promise me you'll find someplace decent to sleep."

Callie nodded. "I promise. I'll find someplace decent to sleep."

Arizona yawned then, causing Callie to yawn in response. "See, you're tired," Arizona said with a small laugh.

"No, yawns are just contagious," Callie answered with a grin. She then reached over and brushed a few blonde locks off Arizona's forehead before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Now close your eyes and get some sleep."

Arizona pouted. "I don't get a real good night kiss?"

"Of course." Callie kissed Arizona sweetly, taking a few seconds to just enjoy the kiss, but not wanting to drag it on. Arizona was clearly exhausted and it wouldn't be long before the sedative took effect, although Callie suspected that just the weariness of all that Arizona had been through would be enough to drag her down into sleep. "Good night, Arizona. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Calliope." She closed her eyes and then a small smile touched her lips. "I'm glad I said yes."

Callie smiled broadly. "I'm glad you did, too."

It only took a few moments before Arizona's breathing evened out and she was lost to sleep. Callie didn't move, however. She just wanted to spend a few moments enjoying this. Even with all her injuries, Arizona looked so beautiful as she slept, so peaceful, that it just made Callie's heart swell with affection. This is just the beginning of a long path for us, though, I bet. Somehow I don't think it'll be easy, but I hope we'll make it. You're obviously a fighter and I'm stubborn as hell. I think that bodes well.

She placed one last kiss on Arizona's forehead before getting up and going to sit on the couch. "You know, really, this is a pretty decent place to sleep after all. And that's what I promised." She took her lab coat off and folded it up to use as a pillow before lying down on the loveseat. It was a tight fit, but not too uncomfortable. And from there she could see Arizona sleeping so she would be able to quickly react if there were any problems. "Good night, Arizona," she whispered before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

TBC…