Posting this update from my phone. I apologize for any mistakes...wanted a reader whose feedback I greatly appreciate to have something to read ;)
"…Tim?" Arizona could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears and could tell that her breathing had gotten shallow when she turned around at the sound of her brother's voice to find that he was, in fact, standing behind her in her girlfriend's apartment. She thought to herself that she must have been dreaming; that the entire day must have been a dream and she was still sound asleep in bed beside Calliope at Berto's beach house. She saw her brother's shy smile as he took his hand off one of the crutches he was using to stand to scratch the back of his head as he let out a small, nervous laugh. Hearing the laugh she hadn't been able to hear in weeks, months in person, brought Arizona crashing back into reality as she brought her hand up to her mouth to cover it in shock. How in the world was her brother actually standing here, in front of her, in Callie's apartment? Her brain simply couldn't catch up. Her body still felt numb as she took him in; noticing his braced wrist and foot and the slight markings on his face that were clearly still healing from something. Looking into his eyes, ones that were twins of her own, she could tell he was anxious as he began to speak again.
"So uh…are you gonna just stand there all day, or do you think you wanna come give me a hug little sis?" Tim didn't know if his sister would be mad at him for showing up like this; for not contacting her sooner, but everything had happened so fast and this was the best way he could think of to make sure she worried about him as little as possible. He had hoped she would understand. Still, Arizona could always surprise people with the way she reacted to certain things, especially when fear and worry were involved.
She was still glued to the spot as she took in her brother's words. Her brother. Tim. He was here. He was here. He wasn't dead; he was standing right in front of her. Seeing the hesitation in his face as he asked if she would hug him broke her out of her stupor. Suddenly, Arizona let out a huge breath she had no idea she'd been holding as her brain and body began to defrost. She took a step, and then another, and before she knew it, she'd basically sprinted across the room and flung herself into her brother's arms. The clanging of his crutches startled her for a second and she thought about pulling away, but the strong hold her brother had on her and the steadiness in his stance caused her to wrap her arms even tighter around him as she released a sob into his chest. The tears began to fall unabashedly onto his shirt as all her stress and worry from the past month came pouring out of her. She could feel his strong hands stroking the back of her head to try and calm her down, could hear his soothing words that he was here and was okay and for her not to cry, but she still couldn't bring herself to believe that all of it was real. She clung to her older brother, afraid that if she let go, she would wake up to find that she really had just been dreaming.
"Zone, it's okay. I'm here, I'm okay, you're okay, everything's fine." Tim held his sister and let her cry, his heart breaking for her. He hated seeing his sister cry, always had, always will, but he took comfort in the fact that he was at least able to be here in person to console her and make sure she was okay. He knew the past few weeks couldn't have been easy on her, but seeing her now, he could really see the stress of it all written across her face as soon as they'd made eye contact. He'd watched as the torment of the past month flew across the bright blue eyes that he knew all too well and it made his chest tighten to know that he'd been the cause of it. When his little sister's cries subsided, he pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders, smiling at the almost embarrassed look now on her face. "Better?"
Arizona smiled slightly as she wiped her face of her tears and shook her head. "A little." Her smile faded quickly as she hardened her face and looked up at her brother. "Tim…what…what are you-how are you-" She didn't even know where to begin; her head was spinning. "What are you doing here? How are you here? Why didn't you call me?" Arizona tried to hide the hurt in her voice as her questions flew, but it was too much to hide. She'd been worried sick about Tim and now, here he stood, in her girlfriend's apartment. How in the hell was that possible?
Tim's nervous smile returned as he moved them to the couch to sit down; he had swallowed the pain that hug had just caused his leg and ribs for the sake of his sister, but he was quickly feeling a desperate need to sit down. Looking into the hurt eyes of his sister, Tim felt a pang of guilt for having to leave her in the dark for so long, but he'd simply seen no other way. "Look Zone, I'm really sorry I didn't call you, but things…things got pretty hairy over there for a little bit." His eyes glossed over as he tried not to think about everything that went down while he was still overseas. Shaking his head slightly, he could see the hurt in Arizona's eyes replaced with concern. "I don't want to get into details about it; I…I can't get into details about it; I'm not-" He tried to hide the slight crack in his voice as the memories threatened to flood his mind as he looked down at his lap. "I'm just not ready." He looked back up when a small hand grabbed his in support.
"Tim, you don't need to tell me about all of that, I understand if you aren't ready." If she was being completely honest, Arizona didn't think she was ready to hear about what exactly happened to him over there.
The older blonde smiled at his little sister; she always understood him so well and was never one to judge him for anything. "Thanks Zone." He took a deep breath and continued. "Long story short, for now, I got hurt in a blast. I got patched up as best they could over there, but I needed more medical attention, so they sent me out. I got shipped to Germany for a few days; got some surgeries that I really needed." He could see the question burning in his little sister's eyes. "I know sis, I could have called you guys then, but I just hated the thought of you and mom worrying. I knew with the injuries I had, I would be getting sent home soon anyway. So I had them call Nick. I knew he would help arrange to get me home and would understand why I was keeping it under wraps." Tim paused as she saw Arizona's jaw set and he knew she was getting angry with him. "Look, I know you're mad Zone, but I promise, it was for the best. There was no real way for me to keep in constant contact with you guys, and I didn't want you guys to have to worry about trying to get out to Germany to see me. And I needed that time…alone. I-" Tim paused as he tried to reign in his emotions. It was hard, getting taken out of there so quickly and while injured. It was a lot to adjust to and he'd honestly been grateful to be able to have that time alone; to be able to deal with everything that had happened and what was happening on his own terms without having to also worry about his family. He knew it had been a little selfish, but he knew he'd made the right call. "I couldn't have you guys making the trip out there to see me and I honestly didn't want you seeing me like that. I know I was being selfish, but I just…I just needed it. Can you understand that?"
Arizona could see the pleading in Tim's eyes. She knew he felt bad for having to keep something from her, but she also knew that when Tim did keep things from her, her never did it without a good reason. She knew he was like her; he sometimes needed to process things on his own before he was ready to be around other people. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Yes, she was upset that he'd been injured and she hadn't known, but then she just thought about how happy she was to have him back and forgiving him was easy. She opened her eyes with a smile as she leaned in to hug him again. "Of course I understand, Tim. I'm not happy that you let me think something worse had happened to you for all of this time, but I know you wouldn't do that without a good reason and I'm just so happy that you're here that it doesn't matter to me how it happened." Leaning back, she frowned for a moment, remembering exactly where here was. "But…how…exactly are you here. In Callie's apartment?" Seeing the playful look in Tim's eyes and the small, guilty smile that accompanied it, it finally hit her and her eyes went wide with a gasp. "You're the mystery caller!" She now understood the shock that had caused Callie to drop her pool stick and go running into the house. "But…but how?" This was all so much information for the blonde to absorb in such a short amount of time.
Tim chuckled at the almost dazed look on his sister's face. "Well, Nick was my contact on paperwork for who they were to inform that I was injured and receiving treatment; and we've talked about this before and he knew that if that ever happened, and he knew it wasn't going to be life threatening, which it wasn't, that he had to wait until I was able to actually call and talk to him myself. So by the time I was able to get myself a phone and actually talk to Nick and tell him that he needed to help me get to Boston so that you were the first person I saw, he told me that you and Cal were going to be out of town. I wasn't going to be able to get here until late last night anyway, so I told Nick to just get me Callie's number so she could help me surprise you." Tim paused as he could see the steely look once again present in Arizona's eyes. "Look, I knew you were going to be mad at me, so I just figured it would be harder for you to stay mad at me if I was able to explain all of this to you in person. I know I promised you would be my first call, but I wasn't about to let that call be to tell you I was in some hospital in Germany. I wanted you to be able to see for yourself that yes, I was injured, but that I'm fine; I'm here, I'm home, and I'm fine." Seeing the look soften slightly, Tim smiled at his little sister. "To be fair, you are the first person I came to see. I know you wanted to be the first call, but c'mon…this is better than that, right?" He gave his best dimpled smile that widened as his sister let her own show.
The younger blonde tried to plaster a pout on her face. "I can't believe you called my girlfriend before you called me." She leaned into her brother as Tim put his arm around her shoulder, sighing happily to have him here in person.
"I know sis, but it was only so she could help me surprise you. And if it makes you feel any better, it took quite a bit of convincing on my part for her to be okay with this plan, and she even threatened to walk right outside and just put you on the phone. She scared me for a second." Tim laughed as he remembered how Arizona's girlfriend had scolded him for keeping this from his sister. He smiled fondly at his sister, thinking of how Callie's voice had softened once he'd gotten her on board and how she'd told him how glad she was that he was okay and that they would get to actually meet in person.
Arizona smiled as she thought about how Callie must have been on the phone with her brother. She could just hear her protective voice now, threatening her brother. "Well, you deserved it! But how are you here, in her apartment?"
"Well I told her I was going to be getting into Boston sometime late last night and that I would just get a hotel room or something and she could just call me when you guys got home, but she insisted that I just stay in her spare bedroom, said she could have a friend of hers leave a key outside. I told her I didn't want to impose, she's never even met me after all, but she insisted. She told me not to be such an idiot!" Tim's face showed shock just retelling the phone conversation.
Arizona laughed at her brother's story. "That doesn't surprise me at all." She smiled as she thought about how caring Callie was; the fact that she wouldn't let Tim stay in a hotel and instead let him use her apartment was so Callie, it made Arizona giddy with happiness.
Noticing the dreamy look on his sister's face, Tim bumped her shoulder with his own. "How are things going with Cal?" His heart swelled and the genuine giant smile that spread across his sister's face. He couldn't remember ever seeing her so openly happy.
"I love her, Tim. She's…she's amazing." Arizona felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought that her girlfriend and brother were actually about to meet. Realizing something, she suddenly sat up straighter, a confused look on her face. "Actually, she was supposed to be right behind me. I wonder where she is…" Arizona stood up, about to go to the door when a nervous chuckle fell from her brother's mouth.
"Oh, whoops, that's my fault." Tim stood up with his sister. "She sent me a text when you guys got here and told me she was just going to wait in the hallway so we could have some time alone and to come get her when we're ready." He sent his sister an embarrassed 'yikes' face as his only defense.
Arizona laughed at her goofy brother while flicking him on the forehead. "C'mon man! That's the love of my life out there, we can't just let her stand out there forever. I really want you to meet her."
"Wow, she must really be one hell of a woman to have you talking like this. The love of your life, really? You guys haven't even been together that long, have you?" He already knew he liked Callie; knew she was better than any other girl his sister had been with, but he'd never heard Arizona talk with such conviction about someone. She never even really seemed like she was open to something like being in love. Tim had to admit though: love looked good on his sister. Her blue eyes sparkled with happiness whenever she talked about the Latina.
"No we haven't, but you have no idea what kind of woman she is. She's…" Arizona paused, trying to come up with the right words. "I just love her. She's really taken a lot of crap from me this past month, Timmy. I've been all over the place, and she's been here through it all. Calliope is…she's just incredible. And yeah, it hasn't been that long, but I really think she might be the one." The blonde thought about the slight outburst she'd had out in the hallway, how annoyed she'd been at Callie during the car ride to Boston, and how nervous Callie had seemed. She smiled as she thought about how hard it must have been for Callie to keep the news of her brother from her. Knowing Callie, it hadn't been something she'd wanted to do at all, but Tim had surely charmed his way into convincing her. Thinking about it all, she was now able to appreciate how cute the brunette could be when she was fighting to keep something from her. Laughing out loud, she made her way towards the door. "Wait here, I'm gonna go get her." She couldn't wait any longer for her brother to meet her amazing girlfriend.
Opening the door, she stepped out and looked down the hall to where her gorgeous girlfriend was leaning again the wall, looking as nervous as ever. Arizona tried to keep her face as neutral as possible as she made her way over to the brunette.
Callie stood up off of the wall and could feel her nerves getting the best of her as she saw her stone faced girlfriend walking towards her with a purpose. She held up her hands as words came spilling out of her mouth. "Okay, I know…I know…you're mad…I…I kept something from you. And-and I should have just told you-I wanted to tell you. But Tim…he was all 'I'm home from war and wounded and want to surprise my little sister, please help me' how can I say no to that, right? I mean, I couldn't jus-" Her words were cut off as her girlfriend kissed her. Hard. She melted into the embrace as Arizona wrapped her arms around her neck and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Callie instinctively returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around a slim waist as her brain went numb for a second at the intensity of it.
Arizona pulled away for a split second to let them both take a quick breath before crashing her lips right back where they were, continuing the passionate kiss that she just couldn't bring herself to end. The blonde wanted, needed, this remarkable woman to know just how she felt. She pushed the taller woman back, bringing their entire bodies flush together against the wall as she brought her hands up around a perfectly flushed face. She didn't know when their tongues had been brought into the kiss, but it was a welcomed addition as their faces moved to different sides in perfect sync. As she finally pulled away, she kept her hands where they were and her forehead pressed to that of her lover; everything she breathed in was pure Callie as she looked into the almost black eyes in front of her. Arizona took a moment to catch her breath before smiling at her girlfriend, her stomach doing flip flops when she was rewarded with her favorite megawatt one in return. "I love you, Calliope. So much." She let out a short breathless laugh at just how much those words meant to her and how much she meant them. "I'm so in love with you, and you are amazing." Arizona gave the smiling woman in front of her one more kiss. "Thank you."
"I love you too." Callie's grip on Arizona's hips tightened at her words. "So…you're not mad?" She knew they'd kept Tim's arrival a secret for a good reason, but her concern was always going to be Arizona and how she felt about it.
"No baby, I'm not mad. I'm too happy he's home to be mad about anything." Arizona smiled reassuringly at Callie before placing another kiss to plump, slightly bruising lips. "Thank you. For everything."
Callie rolled her eyes. "I didn't really do anything babe." She was stopped with another kiss before she looked down into serious blue eyes.
"You've done so much. I don't deserve someone as wonderful as you." It was Arizona's turn to be shut up with a kiss.
"You deserve everything." Callie cupped fair cheeks as she spoke.
A shudder made its way down the blonde's spine at the honesty in Callie's words and the conviction in her eyes. She smiled as she pulled back and laced her fingers with the taller woman's pulling her down the hallway. "C'mon Calliope. I want you to meet my brother." Arizona's dimples popped as she spoke the words she'd been dying to say for a while now.
Walking into her apartment to meet her girlfriend's brother, Callie suddenly felt nervous. She'd never been very good at meeting family. She was awkward and weird at the best of times when she was feeling nervous. The slight squeeze from the hand in her own and the radiant smile her girlfriend was sporting calmed her nerves immensely as she looked to Tim and smiled. He and Arizona looked so much alike that looking at the smile on his face calmed her even more as it was every bit as inviting as her girlfriend's. She could tell he was also nervous as he stood in her living room clad in worn jeans and a white t-shirt. She smiled as she thought of how well the Robbin's siblings could pull of simplicity.
Arizona released a tan hand and wrapped her arm around Callie's waist, giving it an affectionate squeeze before she spoke. "Calliope, this is my brother, Tim. Timothy, this is my beautiful girlfriend, Callie."
"Beautiful is right." Tim winked as Callie chuckled and Arizona scoffed at his flirty response. "It's great to finally meet you, Cal; in person that is."
Callie stepped forward and held out her hand. "It's so great to meet you too, Tim." They both let out a small laugh as they shook hands, both feeling it was a little too formal. Callie let out another laugh as Tim pulled her in for a hug, immediately feeling her nerves melt as she felt his strong arms wrap lovingly around her.
"Thanks for taking care of my sister; I knew I could count on you." Tim smiled as he pulled back after whispering in the Latina's ear.
Callie felt a tightening in her chest at Tim's words. "Of course Tim." She felt the arms of her girlfriend wrap around her waist from behind and she leaned into the embrace, always loving the closeness.
"She took great care of me, Timmy." Arizona kissed Callie just under her ear before resting her head on her shoulder.
Callie cleared her throat, pushing down the emotions that threatened to spill over at just how happy she was in that moment. She was in love, and her love now had her brother back, and she could just feel the happiness radiating off of the blonde. "So um…are you guys hungry? I could whip us up some dinner? Or we could order something? Whatever you guys want." Callie looked between two sets of blue eyes.
Arizona and Tim shared a playful look before they both said "Chinese food!" in unison and began to laugh. It was their favorite, and their mother always gave them crap for always choosing Chinese food when they were allowed to pick what to order.
Callie laughed at the siblings before making her way into the kitchen to grab the menu. "Chinese food it is. Should I run to the store and grab some beer too?"
"I uh…I actually got some beer last night. There's some in the fridge, I hope you don't mind Cal." Tim looked a little uneasy before the Latina began to laugh.
"Tim, why would I care that you stocked my fridge with beer? I told you to make yourself at home, don't be ridiculous." She rubbed his shoulder affectionately before referring back to the menu. "So, what do you guys want?" Callie laughed as Tim threw his arm around her shoulder and leaned in to take a look, the two animatedly discussed what they wanted.
Arizona couldn't hide her giant grin as she watched her girlfriend and brother so comfortable around each other already. She couldn't think of another time she'd ever been so incredibly happy and content. That feeling lasted well through dinner and the time they spent after it; drinking beer and telling Tim all about their trip. She was so happy, that as she cuddled into Callie's warm body in bed, ready to go to sleep, Arizona still wondered if maybe she was about to wake up and find that it had all been just a really great dream.
Opening her eyes, Arizona could tell that it was sometime in the middle of the night. It was still pitch black outside and she could feel the slow, deep breaths of her slumbering girlfriend playing at the back of her neck. She wondered for a moment why she'd woken up; she didn't have to pee, and she couldn't remember anything from a dream having woken her. Still, something just felt…off. She was about to close her eyes again when she heard a noise coming from her girlfriend's living room. Straining to try and hear what it was, she suddenly remembered that they weren't alone in the apartment. Turning to make sure Callie was still asleep, Arizona gently lifted the protecting arm that was thrown across her midsection and slid out of the bed. She threw on one of Callie's oversized sweatshirts and quietly made her way over to and out the door. Tip toeing down the hallway, she was confused when she didn't see anyone in the living room until she came up behind the couch and found her brother crouching down in front of the TV. She could hear him let out a whispered curse before he sat on the ground completely and began rubbing his leg. She stifled a laugh before she spoke. "Tim? What are you doing?" Arizona watched as her brother jumped while turning around before letting out a strangled cry at the way his body twisted, grabbing his midsection. She rushed around the couch, crouching at his side to try and help him.
"Ahhh…Zone…you scared me…" Tim took a few deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart and soothe his aching ribs. He looked up at his sister and tried to smile, albeit a little unsuccessfully.
"I'm sorry Tim. I forgot that I shouldn't sneak up on people like that." The younger blonde mentally slapped herself. Their mother had taught them when they were young that it wasn't a very good idea to sneak up on somebody; partly just because it wasn't polite in general, but mostly because their father had always been a bit jumpy when he'd just returned from a deployment.
"No, it's okay. Did I wake you up?" He'd tried to be as quiet as possible; at least as quiet as someone could be on two crutches walking around in a strange apartment at night.
"Yeah, but its fine." She looked at the tired expression on her brother's face. "Couldn't sleep?" She knew sleep could be a hard thing to come by when someone was just returning home.
Tim's smile was genuine this time when he met his sister's eyes. "Yeah, I…I'm not really used to all of this quiet." He let out a small chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "You'd think it would be a welcomed change, but I don't know. It's weird." He turned to gesture at the TV. "I saw that Cal has a Playstation. I thought I'd come out here and play something for a little bit, but I couldn't find her games and then this stupid leg of mine…" His face hardened as he looked at his injured leg. It had thankfully gotten saved in surgery after the blast, but it wasn't going to be much use to him for the time being, at least not until after some serious PT. Tim wasn't someone who was used to having mobility issues.
Arizona could see the frustration written on her brother's face. She patted him on the back, knowing he was just like her and wasn't very receptive to sympathy. "Well, I know where they are, why don't we get you on the couch, and I'll set it up?" She tried to keep her voice as light as possible, not letting the relief that flooded her show on her face when he nodded his head. She reached under one of his arms to steady him as he stood up and hobbled over to the couch before turning around to grab the controllers and pick out a game. "Need for Speed?" Arizona figured her brother would want to shy away from her girlfriend's Call of Duty games.
Tim smiled at the playful look on her sister's face and the fact that she had two controllers in her hands. "Sure thing Zone." He accepted the controller after Arizona turned everything on and sat next to him on the couch. "You know, you don't have to stay up with me, I'm sure you'd much rather be in bed with that hot woman of yours." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
Arizona smiled as she thought about how Callie was probably now adorably sprawled out across the entire bed by now; it was what she did in her sleep anytime Arizona got out of the bed and the blonde found it impossibly cute. "She is hot…and mine." She sent a playful pointed glare at Tim. "But I haven't been able to kick your ass in a game in a long time. So…I'm good here, thank you very much." Her heart soared when she heard a genuine laugh fall from her brother's lips.
"Oh, it is so on. Get ready to eat my dust little sister." Tim animatedly sat up to get ready for the race. It was surreal to actually be sitting on a couch next to his little sister again, about to play video games like they always used to do. He took a moment, looking at the concentrated look on his sister's face with a smile before she turned to him, eyebrows raised in question.
"What?" The younger Robbins smiled timidly. Arizona always felt a little funny when someone gave her the kind of appraising look Tim was currently giving her.
Shaking his head, Tim reached out and gave his sister a one armed hug. "Nothing Zone; just happy to be back is all." He turned back to the TV with determination written all over his face. "Now get ready to lose."
Callie had reached out in bed to find that the sheets next to her were cold and empty. She sat up, confused before she heard a loud whooping noise coming from the living room. Slowly, as she was always incredibly groggy when getting up in the middle of the night, she got up out of bed, in search of her missing human body pillow. She followed the noises she heard until the living room came into view, a smile making its way onto her face. The sound she'd apparently heard must have been a victory noise from her girlfriend who was now standing in front of the couch doing a quiet, ridiculously adorable victory dance. She was shuffling from side to side, waving her fingers in the air as her brother hung his head in shame, after having obviously just lost a race. Callie brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle her giggle, not wanting to disturb the siblings, choosing to hang back and watch them for a second. She couldn't get over how cute she found Arizona in that moment. Around her brother, Arizona obviously felt comfortable to be her goofiest, weirdest self possible, as most people were around their siblings, and Callie was eating it up, loving every second of it. She couldn't hide her warm grin as her girlfriend sat back down and Tim began shoving his sister's shoulder, claiming the race to be a fluke while the younger blonde continued to pump her fists in victory.
"Alright, again…"
Callie could hear the seriousness in Tim's tone and saw the shit eating grin on her girlfriend's face as the two squared up to the TV again and knew that those two would be at it for a while. She shook her head, letting out a silent laugh as she turned around to make her way back to bed, incredibly grateful that she got to witness such a thing. Being able to see Arizona so carefree like that, finally able to be around her brother again made Callie's heart swell and made her love her even more than she already did.