HOPEFUL DREAMS & HIDDEN DESIRES
Hi guys!
First of all: SO SORRY for keeping you hanging this long, but the weekend just got a little busier than anticipated :/ But I'm here now!
A lot of you think Callie overreacted, but I think you'll all understand her a little better after this chapter. I would have been mad as hell too had it been me in Callie's shoes, let me tell you that! ;)
To the guest who wants a nice flowing love story: Well it's not here right now that's for sure. And I have to tell you; I don't really believe in nice flowing love stories. Every love story has its own drama and problems. A relationship is hard work and you evolve as your relationship does as well.
Scampers0213: Thank you for your lovely words. I'm so glad you liked it. And that it raised a lot of questions with you – it's always the idea to do that to keep my readers :P
Beachii92: I can't believe you stayed awake to read it – and that it made you skip school…I can't condone that (I LOVE you) ;)
camilovesgreys: Hey! Welcome to the HD & HD universe. I'm glad you like it (and my writing).
On another note I just want to warn you all: I'm going on a two week long vacation to Malaysia starting next Tuesday (on the 19th) and ending August 2nd (YAY, can't wait!). I will not be uploading any chapters in that period as I will be busy enjoying and exploring that beautiful country. Please bear with me. I promise to go on vacation without leaving you guys with any major cliffhangers :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's or any of the characters - they all belong to the lovely Shonda Rhimes and ABC. I'm just toying with them for fun with no intentions of profiting.
Enjoy! :)
CHAPTER 25:
Arizona hesitantly stepped a little closer to the brunette. "Callie please come down" the blonde pleaded gently.
"Calm down? How the hell am I supposed to calm down, when I've just discovered that YOU knew my ex-husband was fuc…" before the brunette knew what was happening an ivory hand had clasped over her mouth stopping her from saying anything else.
"I know you're hurt Callie. And mad. But you're mad at me right now! Don't do that to him. Not like this. He doesn't deserve that" Arizona softly said as she gestured around them with her free hand. Her gaze briefly caught Mark's, who sent her a grateful smile.
Callie looked around and realized that more people had begun paying attention to the fight currently happening between two of the female cast members.
Arizona slowly eased her hand from plump lips. "We need to have this conversation somewhere else" the blonde firmly stated.
"Go to hell Arizona!" Callie spit as she schooled her flaming eyes on Arizona's widened blue ones one last time before turning around and leaving the room again.
Arizona gave Miranda Bailey and Cristina Yang, who was still looking at the scene, a small smile. Thankfully the rest of the party guests had returned to whatever they were doing. Then the blonde turned towards the three women standing next to her. Addison and Teddy looked at her compassionately and confused, and Amelia just stood there with her mouth agape.
"Addison…" Arizona crestfallenly started.
But the blonde didn't need to say anything else, because the red head instantly withdrew her hand from Teddy's. "On it!" Addison said and was rewarded with a soft 'thank you' from Arizona as she made her way towards the door Callie had just left through.
Then Arizona turned her full attention to Amelia. "I know you're probably wondering if you heard that whole conversation correctly. And you did. But I really need you not to tell anyone, Amelia. Please. We should get to do that ourselves. And we will. We just need to tell our families first. And then we'll tell everyone else. If there's even anything to tell anymore" the blonde said with a bit of sadness to her voice.
Amelia's wide eyes stared back at Arizona. Then the woman blinked a couple of times and shook her head. "Your secret is safe with me. I have absolutely no problem pretending I didn't just hear any of that! Because that will by far be the easiest thing to do for me" the woman said before turning to walk away. She paused for a second and turned back towards the blonde with a smile. "For what it's worth though, I think you make an excellent couple."
Arizona returned the gesture. "Thank you."
With one last smile Amelia made her way to Miranda Bailey and Cristina Yang. Arizona watched as Amelia said something while gesturing towards Arizona that made the other two women laugh and shake their heads. Arizona made a mental note to thank Amelia for real once all of this was over. Because she was sure that the other woman had just given the lie of a lifetime to their two colleagues.
A hand on her shoulder made Arizona remove her gaze from the three women. "Are you okay? What's going on?" Teddy asked and furrowed her brows in worry.
The blonde sighed. "I don't know Teddy. And I'll tell you later." Then her gaze fell on Mark who'd moved to the bar furthest away. "Excuse me" Arizona said seriously before making her way towards her girlfriend's ex-husband.
She strode right up to him and grabbed his arm in a tight grip. "Mark! A word!" Arizona let out through gritted teeth.
Then the blonde dragged Mark to the door and opened it for him to exit the room.
"I'm sorry Arizona, I really am!" the man instantly started apologizing.
The blonde threw her hands in the air. "What happened? How did she find out that I knew?" Arizona asked.
Mark averted his gaze to the floor and the blonde instantly knew what had happened. "You didn't Mark. Please tell me, you didn't!" the blonde said indignantly.
The man exhaled and looked up at her. "I'm sorry. It just slipped. I didn't even think about it" he defensively said.
"You didn't think about it? Are you for real right now! Not even a week ago I stressed to you that she could NOT find out that I knew, and then you told her yourself?" Arizona said as she released a shocked and hurt huff. "I've kept your ridiculous little secret from her for more than a month and this is how you repay me?
Mark looked at the hurt and angry blonde in front of him. "I know I fucked up Arizona. You don't' have to tell me that!"
"OF COURSE I have to tell you that! Because you deserve to be told time and time again. You're an ungrateful imbecile" Arizona said as tears rose in cerulean blue eyes.
"She was just so mad at me blondie! I've never seen her that angry before. And I just didn't even think. I just wanted her to stop looking like she wanted to kill me" Mark defended.
The blonde snorted. "Well I guess you succeeded in that because now she looks like she wants to kill me instead. Thanks a lot!"
Mark reached out and put his hand on the blonde's arm. "It'll pass Arizona. She'll come around. And I'm so sorry. Tell me what I can do to make it better" he gently said.
Arizona sighed. "You can help make sure that she comes around. Soon. And you're definitely making sure that I NEVER stumble upon another one of your secrets! Because I'm not doing this ever again Mark" the blonde seriously said.
"I promise I'll never ask you to" Mark instantly replied.
"Oh, and you're buying Callie and me dinner at a really expensive and romantic restaurant!" the blonde added.
The man smiled softly at her. "Not a problem. I'll pay for the two of you to make your way through every romantic restaurant in this city if you want to."
The blonde felt as tears once again filled her eyes. "I want to. I just don't think that SHE wants to."
Mark pulled Arizona into a hug. "I'm so sorry. We'll fix this" the man said.
The blonde eased out of the hug. "I need to go find her. Make her talk to me. I want to make her understand" Arizona let out.
"She will. She knows that you love her Arizona" Mark gently said.
A single tear slipped down an ivory cheek. "I'm not so sure she does, Mark."
The man once again put his hand on the blonde's arm. "Of course she does" then he hesitated for a second "are we okay?"
Arizona sighed. "I don't know Mark! Maybe. I still can't believe you did that. Right now I need to focus on Callie, though."
Mark nodded sadly. "I understand. And once again I'm so sorry, Arizona."
"Yeah, that doesn't really help me right now, though" the blonde replied as she walked past Mark to look for her angry girlfriend.
Callie was leaning against the wall outside the building. A couple of tears had made their way down her cheeks and she sniffled loudly. She knew that her words to Arizona had been a little harsh, but she'd just really thought that the two of them had gained confidence and trust in each other. And with this discovery Callie couldn't help but feel like Arizona had somehow been more Mark's person in this whole thing than hers.
"There you are! I've been looking for you" a soft voice interrupted her thoughts and Addison appeared next to her. She leaned her back against the wall mirroring Callie's position.
As Addison reached out a soft hand connected with a caramel one and a flood of tears instantly left brown eyes. "Callie!" the red head let out in sympathy and pulled her friend to her in a hug. "What happened?" Addison asked.
The brunette just shook her head into her friend's neck. "I…She…" Callie choked out before sobbing loudly.
"Shh, it's okay" Addison gently said as she caressed the brunette's back.
Callie cried more and harder than she had when she'd broken things off with Arizona after Easter break. She'd completely given into the blonde and her feelings for her these past four and a half weeks and she felt so heartbroken now that she'd discovered that Arizona hadn't done the same.
The brunette inhaled loudly and pulled back from the hug looking at her best friend through teary eyes. "Mark is in a relationship with Andrew" Callie stated with a straight face.
Addison's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" the red head let out in pure shock.
Callie nodded her head. "Yeah, I know. But that's not really the point. I'm really happy for him. I mean I came into the room blazing and all making them spring apart like two opposites of a magnet, but they seemed very fond of each other. The point is though, that Arizona knew about it Ads. For at least a month" the brunette let out as another wave of tears hit her.
"I've really been struggling with telling Mark. I've actually let a few chances to do it pass, because my nerves got the better of me. And I told her about that every time. And yet she chose to keep his secret" Callie let out with a trembling voice.
The red head sighed. "I get why you're hurt about that. But she's his friend, Callie. What was she supposed to do?"
Callie looked at her friend in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? She was supposed to TELL ME! I'm her GIRLFRIEND Addison!"
Addison put her hands up in a defensive manner. "No need to raise your voice. I'm just trying to maybe get you to understand where she's coming from. It has to have been difficult for her too."
"Difficult? DIFFICULT?" Callie spat. "Are you serious? Okay, let's say you were really struggling with something and Teddy knew something that could fix it, but chose not to tell you, you'd just be okay with that?!" the brunette questioned angrily.
"I guess not, but…" the red head started but was interrupted by a third party joining them.
"Callie?" Andrew hesitantly asked as he approached the two women.
"What Andrew?" the brunette questioned harshly.
Andrew directed a small smile at his boyfriend's ex-wife. "Can I maybe talk to you for a second?"
"Yes, you absolutely can" Addison answered before the brunette had a chance to reply and turned around to leave before Callie objected. On her way she paused and put her hand on Andrew's arm. "Be careful with her. Oh and I'm happy for you and Mark. Callie told me, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Then Addison made her way through the door and back into the building. Both Andrew and Callie followed the red head with their eyes and as she disappeared two sets of brown eyes connected.
The man swallowed hard before moving closer to the brunette. "Listen Callie. I understand that it's a lot to take in. And for what it's worth, I've been trying to get him to tell you for the past 6 months. You deserved to know. Like I'm sure you thought he deserved to know about you and Arizona. My lips are sealed about that by the way" Andrew gently spoke as he smiled at the brunette.
Callie smiled back a little and sighed. "I meant what I said Andrew. I am happy you guys found each other. Mark is a good guy and a part of me will always love him. But I haven't been sad that he and I split up for a long time" the brunette stated.
"Because of Arizona?" Andrew asked softly.
"Because of Arizona!" Callie confirmed with a small smile.
Andrew sighed. "I get that you're hurt and mad at her Callie. You're probably as hurt and mad as I was when Mark came back from dinner last Sunday and hadn't told you about us" Callie chuckled a little sarcastically at that "but he's been playing the same game with her as he did with me. He's told her time and time again that he would tell you. I know because he's admitted that to me. And while I haven't talked to her about any of this, it kind of made sense to me, that she kept her mouth shut about us, when Mark came back from dinner and told me about you guys. You're both intimately familiar with the importance of taking things at your own pace. And telling people when you're ready" the man rationalized.
Callie hated how much sense the young man's words made. She looked at him and smiled. "We sure are! And I get what you are saying, but she still betrayed my trust in her. She's my GIRLFRIEND! If you and Mark were stupid enough to get caught, by what you knew to be one of my best friends none the less, then you brought your outing to me on yourselves." the brunette said and Andrew chuckled a little.
"I guess you're right! I really love him though, Callie. It's the only reason I haven't left him during these ten months as he again and again failed to tell you. Sunday I actually granted him an ultimatum; if he hadn't told you by the end of hiatus, he and I were over! And I had every intention of following through with that" Andrew told the brunette.
"But then I walked into that room and lost my temper" the brunette added with a smile.
The man next to her laughed a little. "You sure did! And to me it was the best thing that could have happened. Granted it would have been preferable if you'd maybe not looked like you were about to strangle him. But he wouldn't have ever told you himself! He's had ten months. These next two wouldn't have made a difference. I know it wasn't the most favorable way for you to find out. But I'm glad you did. And I'm sorry he told you that Arizona knew. He'd promised her not to. But you scared the shit out of him in there. I've never seen him that intimidated" Andrew said and began laughing. And the brunette soon joined him.
The duo laughed until Callie groaned and leaned her head back against the wall. "God I can just see the headlines. The press is going to have a field day with this" Callie let out. "Two recently divorced Hollywood sweethearts now both in same-sex relationships! I hope you're ready for this Andrew?" the brunette said and looked at the young man.
Andrew smiled at her. "Oh I totally am! I say we let them bring it!"
Callie laughed and paused as she really took the man in. He was undoubtedly handsome and he had really kind eyes. "How come you and I never really talked? I mean sure we've done scenes together and done small talk between takes, but I feel like I don't know you at all" the brunette said.
A small blush crept up Andrew's cheeks. "I've kind of been avoiding you a little" he gently said. "I was so scared that I'd let something slip or that you'd be able to tell I loved him just by looking at me. And I was afraid that if I was the one to let you in on his and my secret, then he would never forgive me."
Callie smiled sympathetically at the man. "Well, I'd really like to get to know you better now. But I think we need alcohol! What do you think?" the brunette asked.
"I think you're right! And I'd really like that too" Andrew answered with a soft smile.
"Great" Callie exclaimed. "Follow me."
Arizona was walking aimlessly around looking for Callie. She felt like she'd looked everywhere and she was beginning to fear, that her gorgeous girlfriend had left the party and gone home. Addison had said that Callie was outside with Andrew, but Arizona hadn't been able to locate either one of them. Just as she was about to throw in the towel and just go to the brunette's house, a familiar laughter reached her ears. She walked inside a conference room and found Callie and Andrew lying on the floor with a bottle of champagne between them. By the looks of it, this wasn't their first bottle.
"Hey" Arizona timidly said as she made her presence known. The laughter died down and the two intoxicated people both turned their gaze towards the door and the blonde.
"Arizona!" Andrew happily let out. "We've been talking about you. Boy, do you have some serious groveling to do" the man said as he laughed before yelping in fake pain as Callie attempted to punch his shoulder. Except she almost missed completely and to Arizona the likelihood of that hurting at all was non-existent.
The blonde looked at Andrew and then her girlfriend. "Believe me, I know!" Arizona stated softly. "I was thinking I'd might grovel to her as I was strangling your boyfriend. You know getting two jobs done at once." the blonde joked in hopes of lightning her girlfriend's mood.
Andrew gasped. "Don't do that. He didn't mean too. He was just scared and drunk" the man apologized in panic.
Arizona chuckled. "And by the looks of it, he's not alone in being drunk! But you can relax, I already talked to him. And even though I'm still really disappointed in him, we talked about it and he promised me his first born, to make sure I never ever fell upon one of his secrets again and to pay for a really expensive and really romantic dinner for me and my gorgeous, amazing girlfriend. If she's up for it?" the blonde jokingly yet hesitantly asked as her blue eyes connected with chocolate brown ones.
Callie opened her mouth to reply but was cut off as Mark's voice sounded out. "Blondie! Have you seen Andrew? I can't find him anywhere" the man asked as he made his way into the room. Then he smiled as he finally found what he was looking for before raising one of his eye brows at the sight of his ex-wife and his boyfriend both lying on their backs on the floor. "What's going on here?" Mark questioned with a chuckle.
The brunette smiled at her former lover. "We're bonding, Mark!" Callie said as it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.
Mark smiled back at her. "I'm glad!" Then the man moved further in the room and lay down next to Andrew. Then he looked at Arizona who was still standing at the entrance of the room. "What are you waiting for? Come join us."
Arizona hesitated for a second but when Callie didn't object, the blonde figured it was safe. She carefully lowered herself on to her back next to the brunette and she couldn't help it as she sneaked a look at the other woman. Callie was staring at the ceiling with a serious face.
"It's not her fault, Cal" Marks voice cut through the silence. "I'm a stone-cold moron, who asked for way too much from her. To be fair though I had NO IDEA that the two of you were together.
Silence once again filled the room. Arizona really wanted to reach over and grab the brunette's hand, but she didn't know how that would be received by the other woman. "I love you Callie" she whispered instead. But the room was still eerily silent and Callie kept looking at the ceiling with the same expression as moments before. The blonde sighed. She didn't know what to do to make this better.
As if Andrew could sense the blonde's distress he started chuckling. "What's so funny?" Mark asked.
"Never had I ever thought that I would lie on some floor having just been drinking an unknown amount of champagne with your ex-wife before you and her new girlfriend joined us! It's all kinds of surreal. I for sure thought that you'd never be ready to tell and that your problems with telling her were just an excuse because you weren't ready to come out to the world" Andrew exclaimed before adding "and I have to say Mark; Callie is GREAT! I've really been missing out as I kind of avoided her this past year. I don't know how you can't be in love with her anymore. Hell I'm a little in love with her now" the young man finished.
"HEY!" Arizona let out warningly from her spot on the floor. She knew the man was drunk. And probably joking. But that didn't mean she wanted to hear him say things like that.
Mark laughed while Andrew chuckled. Callie still kept a blank expression.
"I didn't mean it like that Arizona" Andrew said and then added "well I did actually, BUT I'm more in love with Mark so you've got nothing to worry about. But you're really fortunate you get to be with her."
"I know" the blonde croaked out. And for the first time since she laid down Callie turned her head and looked at the blonde. Her face was still void of any emotions though.
Mark suddenly rose from his place on the floor and held out his hand for Andrew to take. The young man just looked at him with a questioning look. "Come on" Mark stated.
Andrew put his hand in Mark's and let himself get pulled off the floor. "Where are we going?" the younger man asked his boyfriend.
Mark leaned in and briefly kissed Andrew's lips. "You'll see!"
Callie and Arizona got up as well and followed the two men back to the party. Mark took Andrew's hand and led him straight to the middle of the room. Then he stopped, reached up and caressed his boyfriend's face before leaning in and kissing him passionately.
It took a while before anyone took notice of the two men, but suddenly loud gasps and a single 'what the hell' sounded out followed by wolf whistles and clapping. Mark pulled back and looked at the satisfied look on Andrew's face with a smile. "I love you. I'm sorry I've been an idiot! And my concerns about telling her were not because I wasn't ready to tell the world. I've really been looking forward to get to do this." Mark softly said and leaned his forehead against Andrew's, who now had the biggest smile on his face.
Callie and Arizona watched the whole thing unfold. The brunette couldn't help but smile. Andrew had really grown on her these last few hours and he was undoubtedly a great match for Mark.
As the wolf whistles died down everyone turned to look at Callie to gauge her reaction. The brunette smiled but no one seemed to look away. Then Callie made her way to her ex-husband and his boyfriend. She kissed Mark's cheek soundly and threw an arm around Andrew's shoulder.
Arizona watched as Callie said something that caused Andrew to laugh and Mark to pout slightly. The blonde couldn't help but get angry with Mark again. There he was being all happy being out with Andrew and with a smiling Callie by his side. Arizona had been the big loser in all of this and it didn't seem like Mark was making any sort of effort to help her get back on track with the brunette at all.
"Okay! What. Is. Happening?" Teddy asked as she and Addison strolled up to Arizona. "Is EVERYONE at our workplace suddenly in same-sex relationships?"
Arizona chuckled. "What's wrong Teds? You don't like to share your 'Heart and Hospital' LGBTQ-space with anyone else?" the blonde teasingly replied.
The red head let out a laugh at that and Teddy pouted a little. "It's not that, and you know it. I just have no idea where all of this is coming from! I get equally surprised every time" the honey-blonde said.
"I know. And believe me I got surprised too, when I walked in on them holding hands!" Arizona deadpanned.
Teddy looked at her friend. "Is that why Callie's mad at you? Because you didn't tell her about it?"
The blonde sighed. "Yes. But apparently Mark gets very easily forgiven for not having told her anything about this for ten months, but I committed some sort of death sin by keeping it a secret for a month!" Arizona said a little hostile.
"She feels betrayed, Arizona. She trusted you. She finally reached a place where she could relax completely in her relationship with you. She confided in you about her worries and hesitations regarding telling Mark. But you still chose to keep his secret. That takes a little time to process" Addison defended her friend.
"I know" Arizona stated. "But I want the chance to explain to her why I did it."
At that second Callie came over to the trio. "Hey. Ads, do you want to grab a drink with me? I feel like I haven't really talked to you tonight. Well except for outside, but that doesn't count!" the brunette said. She was clearly still drunk from her hang out with Andrew and some bottles of champagne earlier.
Addison smiled and started moving. "Sure!"
"Callie, can we talk?" Arizona hesitantly asked.
"No" Callie immediately answered "Not tonight. And our plans about spending the night together are cancelled!"
Arizona felt her eyes moisture. She had to get herself together. "Why?" the blonde breathed out.
"Because you lied to me, that's why!" the brunette deadpanned with a serious face.
"Please Callie. Let me explain. I know I fucked up, but please hear me out!" Arizona pleaded.
Callie shook her head. "Not right now!" then she turned her attention to Addison. "Let's go."
"Don't you think that was a bit harsh Callie?" Addison whispered to her friend as they walked towards the bar.
"You really want to go there again Ads?" Callie questioned.
Addison shook her head. "Nope."
"That's what I thought" the brunette stated as they reached their destination. "What do you want to drink?"
Arizona stood there watching Callie and Addison walk away. The blonde couldn't believe she'd fucked up this royally.
Teddy's arm looped through Arizona's in a comforting manner. "I'm losing her Teddy. I've barely had her and now I'm losing her!"
"You're not Arizona. She just needs some time" the honey-blonde tried to comfort her friend.
"I want to go home" Arizona softly said.
Teddy gave her friend a small smile. "I know. But let's just have one more drink and then we'll leave. I can stay the night with you if you want me to. I'll just tell Addison. She won't mind."
Arizona smiled at the honey-blonde. "Thank you Teddy. I'd like that. One drink and then we'll go home."
Mark and Andrew came over hand in hand. In the nine months Arizona had known Mark she'd never seen him this happy. And it made her blood boil with fury.
"Hey guys. Congrats! You really took me by surprise" Teddy exclaimed.
Mark smiled at Andrew. "I know. But trust me when I say that it was a long time coming." Then he turned to Arizona. "More drinks to celebrate our hard work on screen, Arizona?" the man asked hopefully.
"What in this world makes you think I want to spend ANY time with you?" the blonde asked through gritted teeth. She had to really get it together to not flat out yell at the man in front of her.
Mark's face fell. "What's going on Arizona? I thought we were kind of okay?"
"We were" Arizona exclaimed as she gesticulated with her arms. "But then you got to stand there all happy with Andrew and forgiven by Callie and everything is just fine. FOR YOU. Because I'm standing here, while my girlfriend, if she even still is my girlfriend, is standing over there and doesn't want anything to do with me. BECAUSE OF YOU! And it's like you don't even notice. Sure you gave a tiny speech on the floor in the conference room, but do you even care that it didn't work? Good for you Mark. Coming out with Andrew. Congratulations. But you're an asshole! And I DON'T want to celebrate anything with you, because I've got absolutely NOTHING to celebrate!" the blonde finished with teary eyes.
She gave the man one last look before walking with a heavy heart towards the bar opposite of the one Callie and Addison were at.
"Fuck" Callie groaned out in pain as she slowly opened her eyes. Her head was killing her. This had got to be the worst hangover ever. She slowly sat up in bed and paused for a second as it felt like everything she drank yesterday might come back up.
As her stomach settled she moved her duvet aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Her pantsuit from last night was thrown on the floor along with her heels. Callie made her way to the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The woman staring back at her bore clear evidence that last night had been rough. She still had on her makeup and it was evident on her eyes that she'd been crying and her hair was still in her up do, though it wasn't really in any state to be worn outside the house anymore.
The brunette groaned and started slowly removing her makeup along with the pins and elastics holding her hair in place. Once that was done she shuffled out of the bedroom and made her way downstairs. She went straight to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and moved to make her way to the living room to lie down on the couch.
She paused as she crossed the hallway though. Deserted by the door was a pair of sublime, black fuck-me heels that Callie knew didn't belong to her but to a certain blonde. Callie furrowed her brows in confusion. She was pretty sure, that she'd told Arizona she didn't want her to come home with her last night.
Callie had no recollection of the two of them making up after that. And if they did, why wasn't the blonde lying next to her in the bed. Where was she? "Arizona?" the brunette called out but was met with silence. "Arizona?" she tried again a little louder, but still didn't get a reply.
Then the brunette made her way to check for the blonde in the backyard but she wasn't there. Callie walked back upstairs. She slowly and silently made her way towards the guest bedroom and opened the door. Lying on her stomach on top of the covers was Arizona clad in a pair of barely there thongs and Callie's favorite 'Tell me what you really think' t-shirt, that the blonde had begged and begged to borrow, but had been denied every time by the brunette.
Callie sighed and moved to leave the room and close the door again. "How are you feeling?" a hoarse yet soft voice asked and startled the brunette.
"Like I've been run over by a bus" Callie answered as she steadily made her way into the room to sit down on the bed.
Arizona turned around on her back and looked at the other woman. "I figured you probably would."
The brunette couldn't help herself as she reached out and briefly caressed an ivory thigh. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
The blonde sighed. "I know I wasn't supposed to. And I'll get dressed and leave if you want me to. But you were REALLY drunk and I couldn't just go home without making sure you got back here safely. You put up quite the fight though and it took me like fifteen minutes to get you to even come inside once we got here. You were really set on not wanting to be in the same house as me. But then you finally came inside, went straight to the bedroom and forbade me to enter" Arizona looked down on the caramel hand resting on the sheets after caressing her thigh moments earlier. "So I waited downstairs in the living room for an hour before going in there to check on you. You'd gotten out of your clothes and into you sleep wear and were already snoozing under your covers. I knew you wouldn't want to wake up next to me today, so I left the bedroom and went in here" the blonde finished with a shrug.
Callie reached out and pulled at the hem of the shirt. "It seems you did a little more than just check on me before leaving my room" the brunette stated.
Arizona blushed a little. "Sorry about that. I was just…" tears pooled in blue eyes "…I was just so sad. About everything that happened last night. And then I had to come in here and sleep instead of lying next to you and I just couldn't…" the blonde closed her eyes and inhaled before opening her eyes again making a few tears roll down her cheeks "…I just needed something to soothe me."
The brunette's heart broke as she looked at her girlfriend. "It's okay. I get that. I would have felt the same way if the tables had been turned."
Blue eyes connected with brown. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I know you're hurt by what…" Arizona started but was interrupted by Callie who rose from the bed.
"I can't bear to talk about that right now Arizona. I'm exhausted" the brunette said as she walked out of the room.
Arizona shot of the bed and followed the other woman. She felt a little exposed in her skimpy underwear but she quickly bottled that feeling as she chased Callie down the stairs. "Please Callie. I can't go to Georgia when things between us are like this. Right now I don't even know for sure if I still have a girlfriend to tell my dad and Tim about" the blonde let out resignedly.
This caused the brunette to stop her descend on the stairs and turn around. The blonde who'd stopped a couple of steps above her had tears slowly running down her cheeks. Callie sighed. "Of course you do Arizona. I just…" the brunette paused and pinched the bridge of her nose before looking at the other woman again. "Even though I kind of get why you did it, I'm still really mad at you! Our relationship should mean more to you than your friendship with Mark or his desire to decide for himself when he told me. I should mean more to you than that. Your first priority should be to soothe ME! Your loyalty should lie with ME" the brunette exclaimed resignedly.
At that Arizona started sobbing. She knew Callie was right. The brunette should be the most important person to her. And her wellbeing should come before anyone else's. She expected the same thing from the brunette. "I'm so sorry Calliope. I just…" the blonde paused and looked at her girlfriend with regretful eyes.
Callie sighed. "Fine. Let's go to the living room and talk it out" the brunette stated before making her way down the stairs.
The blonde stood there for a minute trying to gather herself. It was very clear that she had to come up with something really good to make Callie forgive her for this.
Arizona slowly made her way down the rest of the stairs and went into the living room. Callie was standing at the photo wall looking at the picture of Arizona's parents' house. The blonde hesitantly made her way to the other woman. They stood there in silence for some time before Arizona spoke up. "Are you still going to come visit me while I'm there if it's possible?" she choked out as another wave of tears made their way down her cheeks.
"I don't know" Callie truthfully answered. Then she turned towards the blonde. "I really want to understand your way of reasoning, Arizona! I love you! And I HATE feeling like this. Being this angry with you."
The blonde slowly reached out for Callie's hand giving her the chance to pull away. Arizona was so thankful when she didn't. She tightly grasped a tanned hand and steered Callie towards the couch. When the brunette sat down, Arizona let go of Callie's hand and sat down on the coffee table facing the other woman.
"First I want to let you know that I'm really, really sorry. And I understand why you're mad at me." Arizona reached up and wiped away a few of her tears even though it was pointless because they just kept coming.
"I walked in on them holding hands on one of the sets Friday after Easter. I had just spent three days trying to hunt you down and get you to talk to me because you were ignoring me because I wasn't ready to go public with our relationship. And then Mark just stood there pleading with me not to tell you because he needed to do it at his own pace. I don't think I've ever been able to relate to another person's plea as much as I did that day, Callie. He very clearly wasn't ready for you to find out. And I didn't think it was my story to tell. He wanted to do that himself, and I couldn't deny him that. And so I promised him I wouldn't tell you" the blonde choked out.
The brunette just sat there staring at her for a second. Then she raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "That's it? Come on Arizona, you have to do better than that!"
Arizona looked at her girlfriend. "I'm sorry! I don't know what else you want me to say Callie!" the blonde said as she threw her hands in the air.
"Fine, so you sympathized with his sorry ass in that moment. But why didn't you DEMAND that he'd tell me? Why didn't you tell me anyway as a way to easy my nerves, when I was scared to death about telling him about you and me? I could have kept my mouth shut about knowing. Why didn't you tell me when I came back from dinner with him and he still hadn't told me even though the moment had been perfect to do so? When would you have lost patience with him Arizona?" Callie said with a raised voice. Then tears made their way to brown eyes. "If I hadn't walked in on them sucking face yesterday would you have cared at all when or if I ever found out?"
Arizona sighed. "Of course I would have cared, Callie" the blonde let out with a crack to her voice. "He told me he'd tell you before hiatus was over."
"Oh good! So I would only, possibly, have been left in the dark for three more months! That's nice" Callie deadpanned.
"I'm so sorry. I love you" Arizona said dejectedly as she shook her head.
The duo was interrupted by a knock on the door. Callie sighed, ran her hand through her very messy hair and made her way to the door. "Why are you here?" Arizona heard the brunette ask. Then Mark came into view. He cast a quick glance at Arizona, but very quickly returned his gaze to her as his brain registered the distressed state the blonde was in. "Arizona!" Mark breathed out in sympathy as he looked at her with compassionate eyes.
Arizona just shook her head dejectedly as fresh tears ran down her now puffy and red cheeks. Mark made his way to her and pulled her in for a big hug. "Fuck, I'm so sorry for causing this!"
As the man hugged the blonde close he couldn't help but let his eyes wonder down to a perfectly shaped ivory ass. A move that didn't go unnoticed by the brunette who still stood in the doorway. "You better stop that right now Mark Sloan or you'll just piss me off even more and then I WILL kill you with my bare hands!" Callie said with evident anger in her voice.
Mark quickly pulled back and looked at the brunette with schooled confusion. "What do you mean Cal?" he questioned.
The brunette moved into the living room and put herself between Mark and Arizona. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Keep your eyes of her naked ass!" Callie said determinately.
Arizona couldn't' help but smile a little at the brunette's protectiveness of her. She watched as Mark held his hands in the air defensively. "I'm sorry."
"What the hell are you even doing here?" Callie asked exasperated as she rubbed her forehead. She felt her headache getting worse by the second.
Mark looked at Arizona compassionately for a second before moving his gaze back to Callie. "I came to tell you, that you should be mad at me. You should shut me out Cal. This is my fault. She's a really good person. And she loves you a lot, I can tell. You need to give her a break."
"This isn't your fight Mark" Callie said seriously.
Mark nodded his head. "Yeah, it is. Because she's in this fucking mess because of me."
"She's in this fucking mess because she's a liar" the brunette exclaimed.
"To be completely fair though, she didn't lie Callie. I'm pretty sure you never asked her if I were romantically involved with Andrew" Mark tried to joke.
"No I just asked her if you were okay, because you seemed sad but at the same time happy. And she told me you were fine. Which I'm sure you were, but to me it was still a lie because she knew what was going on with you" Callie stated.
Mark sighed. "She was just being an awesome friend. And I know that you should come before anyone or anything else to her, but it's not like she could just tell me, that she couldn't keep my secret because she was madly in love with you. Things were really complicated for her" the man tried to reason with his ex-wife.
A single tear made its way down a caramel cheek. "I know. They were for me too. And the only thing that made them seem a little less complicated was the fact that I knew I had her by my side. Except now it doesn't feel like I had. Now it feels like she's standing between me and you. There isn't much different in the secret she kept for you and the one she kept for me" Callie said with a cracking voice.
"Well except for the fact that you get to stare at her naked ass" Mark joked.
The brunette's eyes raged with anger in a second. "Jesus Christ is everything a joke to you, Mark. Do you get how heartbroken this makes me? How heartbroken this makes her? You get that you're an asshole who turned our lives upside down last night, right?"
Mark opened his mouth to say something but Arizona beat him too it. "Forget about him for a second Calliope" the blonde spoke softly.
She paused and took in a deep breath as Callie turned to look at her before she continued. "I made a mistake Callie! And I know it was a big one, but I need you to forgive me. Because I love you and we didn't even have a chance to give this relationship a real shot. Please don't let this one mistake ruin us. You're the only person I have ever imagined spending the rest of my life with. That means something to me. YOU mean something to me. You mean EVERYTHING to me. Please Callie!" Arizona pleaded with the other woman.
The brunette looked at her girlfriend and felt a stream of tears make their way down her cheeks. "I'm not going to let it ruin us Arizona. I promise. But right now I think I need you to leave. Both of you." She paused at the broken look on the blonde's face. "I'm hung over and I've got the worst headache in the world. Tomorrow I have to go to Las Vegas to work and I need to spend today recovering. And processing. I can't do that with either of you here. Maybe Mark can give you a ride home?" Callie asked as she turned towards her ex-husband.
Mark just looked at the two women before nodding his head.
"Do you want me to postpone my flight tomorrow? When are you flying out? We could meet up before you had to leave." Arizona said with watery eyes.
"I think you should just go to Georgia as planned and then I'll go to Nevada and then we'll call and text each other and see how everything goes, okay? I need some space from this" Callie said as she gestured between the two of them. "I love you, and I want you to know that I'm not breaking up with you. I just need to process this and think it through. Because I'm still mad at you. And I need to get a chance to get over that. I will get over it, I promise, but I'm going to need some time" the brunette finished.
Arizona nodded her head softly in understanding. "Okay. If that's what you want, then I'll leave." the blonde tearfully let out.
Callie reached out and gently grabbed an ivory hand. "I'm sorry Arizona. I'm sorry that things are like this. I'm sorry that we don't get to spend this day together before parting for the hiatus. But I just can't. Please understand" the brunette begged.
The blonde squeezed a caramel hand. "It's okay. I…" Arizona sighed as a tear once again spilled over and ran down her cheek. "I'm going to go get dressed."
With that the blonde reluctantly let go of Callie's hand and made her way up the stairs towards the guest bedroom. Both Callie and Mark followed the retreating woman with their eyes.
"You're an idiot Callie. She loves you. And she's unbelievably heartbroken about this. I mean look at her! She's a mess. And yet you're letting her travel all the way to Georgia like this. She doesn't even know for sure, when she gets to see you again. That's not fair, Cal" Mark firmly stated.
Callie looked at Mark in disbelief. "I know it's not fair, Mark. Nothing about this is fair. But she put us in this situation in the first place. And I need to deal with this my way. And I need to not be around her for some time. It SUCKS that this is happening right now, but I don't know what else to do. She's better off not being around me right now. Because I will go off at her every two seconds if she's here. And I'm afraid it will make her crack. And this is not going to ruin us. You are not going to ruin us."
Mark looked apologetic at Callie. "I'm sorry for this. I didn't mean for any of it to happen."
"I know" the brunette sighed. "But it did. And I'm still processing the fact that you didn't tell me sooner too. Because I really felt that you and I had a moment at our dinner. To me things were as close to normal between the two of us as they'll ever be. But you didn't tell me one of the most significant things happening in your life. And I know we can't be best friends or anything like we used to when we were married, but you are important to me, Mark. I wish you all the best. I want you to be happy. And it breaks my heart that you doubted that" Callie let out with a slight crack to her voice.
Mark smiled sadly at his ex-wife. "I'm sorry Cal. I should have thought higher of you. How about we have a do-over of that dinner once we're back from hiatus? We'll talk about this. Really talk. Because you are important to me too."
Callie returned the smile. "I'd like that."
The two of them were interrupted by the sound of feet shuffling down the stairs. A second later Arizona appeared clad in her orange dress from last night. "Ready to go?" she asked Mark.
The man nodded his head and the three of them went out into the hall. Arizona bent down and picked up her heels with one hand. Then an awkward silence sat in. Callie looked at Arizona. Even completely dissolved by the intense crying her girlfriend was beautiful.
The brunette stepped forward and pulled the blonde to her in a hug. "Have fun in Georgia and enjoy your time off. You've deserved it" Callie tenderly said as she kissed the top of the other woman's head before pulling back.
Arizona couldn't help herself. She reached out and pulled her girlfriend to her by her neck in a searing kiss. "Kick ass in Las Vegas" the blonde choked out when they parted minutes later. "I'll text you when I get to Georgia. Text me or call me anytime you want to, okay? I love you Calliope. Please don't forget that." Then Arizona let go of Callie and her and Mark made their way through the door and towards Mark's car.
That's it for chapter 25. They are parting without making up for real. How is that going to affect the both of them? Stay tuned for the next chapter.
Until then; let me know what you thought of this one!
Lots of love /Julie