Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I just manipulate them to my will. Also, any line or phrase or setting that seems remotely familiar from any other show, movie or book, also not mine. I borrow…
AN: Enjoy!
Chapter 26
A lone clock ticks away the seconds as pencils furiously scratch against thick exams, Arizona and her fellow classmates racing to complete yet another rigorous final. Four months of lectures and studying and reviewing and reading… and it all comes down to this. The cramp in Arizona's hand doesn't slow her down because she's in the groove. She knows the material, and she needs to get it out before her brain decides it's had enough. It's her last final of the semester so once she turns the exam in, she's done.
Silence fills the hall as the ever watchful Miranda Bailey keeps sentry from her post. Student after student travel the creaking stairs of the aged lecture hall, each one handing over their fate to the stone faced professor. Mark was the first among the three to turn his in, sending an encouraging smile to his friends before slipping out of the room and returning to safety.
Ten minutes later Arizona adds her own test to the pile, and giving a tight smile to the unblinking woman standing guard, the blonde climbs back up the stairs and leaves her semester behind.
She finds Mark where they always meet up after class, and he asks, "So?"
"Nailed it." Arizona answers, sharing a tired high five with the man. "You?"
"Made it my bitch." He replies confidently.
They sit back and relax in the tucked away lounge area while other students continue to trickle out of the exam, neither in any hurry to get anywhere just yet. As they wait, blue eyes find Callie walking down the long, main corridor, a student on either side of her as she answers questions as quickly as they are thrown at her. The couple's gazes lock, a smile appearing instantly on their faces, and the Latina sends her girlfriend a sly wink before turning down the next hall and disappearing from sight.
Teddy soon joins them and plops down on the couch right between her two friends, a loud and very unflattering groan rolling from her chest. "Thank god! I'm free!"
"Another semester down. Only four more to go." Arizona adds and she can feel a weight lift off her shoulders.
"How about a celebratory ice cream cone?" Teddy offers.
"It's ten in the morning." Mark replies.
"And?" Altman muses, then uses both of her friends for leverage to heave herself back up on her feet. "Come on, I'm craving something cold and unhealthy. So it's either ice cream or alcohol. Your choice." Figuring that drinking at this hour would be even sadder than having ice cream, the trio ends up at the campus cafeteria, each with a cone filled with delicious soft serve.
"So…" Arizona starts. "We haven't really talked much since… you know… and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." The blonde mumbles, suddenly finding her ice cream cone fascinating. "I snapped at you because I was tired and stressed and… I'm sorry."
A beat passes but then Teddy says, "I kissed her."If it wasn't that she was already sitting down, Arizona would have fallen flat on her face. Blue eyes whip around to find Teddy's gaze and she finds a bright red blush raging across the woman's cheeks.
"What?" Arizona yelps, Mark just sitting in shocked silence with his mouth agape and melted ice cream dripping down his hand. "You kissed her? …Her? …As in Addison, her?" All Teddy does is nod and take a tentative lick at her ice cream. A smile slowly pulls across the blonde's face and Arizona asks, "So? How was it?"
"It was, uh…" Teddy mumbles, "…nice, I guess."
"Nice?" Arizona muses, kind of let down. It was like she was expecting a huge firework display only to see a single bottle rocket shoot off… only to come out a dud and fall back to earth. "It was 'nice'? That's it?"
"It was just a kiss." Teddy replies weakly. "I mean… I was helping her unpack her new place and we had a glass of wine and then… when I went to leave it just… happened." Green eyes finally find blue and she says, "I thought it would have been different, you know? Like there'd be some sort of… something! But it was just a kiss."
"Maybe you didn't do it right." Mark suggests, only to get a sharp kick to his shin under the table by a glaring Arizona. "Ow…"
"It was a kiss, Mark." Teddy snaps at the grimacing man. "I think I know how to kiss." She turns back to Arizona and asks, "But we haven't talked since and I'm… I don't know what to do. I don't want to be like, 'remember when I kissed you? Yeah, that was a mistake, my bad. Let's just be friends again.' What do I do?"
"What do you want to do?" Arizona parrots the woman's question back.
"Oh come on!" Teddy groans. "Now is not the time for that head shrinking crap, Arizona. Just tell me-"
"It's not my decision, Teds." Arizona interjects and she can see they are on the path heading straight for another blowout, so the blonde takes a deep breath and calms herself. "Look, I don't know your perspective, ok? But I've been in Addison's. I know what it's like to have a crush on a straight girl. And I know what it's like to have that straight girl kiss me. …And I also know what it's like to have that straight girl lead me on and on only to end up shooting me down later. It hurts. So… Be honest with her. Because, trust me, she'd rather hurt a little bit now than a whole hell of a lot later on."
Another beat passes, blue eyes studying her friend while Teddy just stares at her ice cream cone, and finally the blonde asks, "Do you like her?"
With a ragged sigh, Teddy answers, "I think I do."
"Then… go for it." Arizona whispers. "Ask her out to dinner or… rent a movie and stay in. Whatever you feel more comfortable with. Addison knows that all this is new for you, she won't push you. But just make sure to talk with her, tell her what's going on with you. Because there is nothing worse than being stuck on the outside trying to fight your way in. Trust me. Been there, done that."
The trio of friends soon part ways, Teddy and Arizona giving Mark a hug before he heads back to New York for the break, and Arizona retraces her steps back to the lab building. Today isn't just her last final, but also the day the Tim flies in from Iraq… or Afghanistan. She doesn't really know because he moves around so often that he barely has the chance to tell her, but all Arizona cares about now is that he's coming home. It's just for two weeks but Arizona would be with two days if it meant seeing her brother again.
Which is why Arizona can barely contain her excitement when she appears in the doorway of Callie's office, brown eyes looking up from the test she is grading to find the smiling blonde. "Well hey there, twinkle toes." The Latina plays, "Who put that bounce in your step?"
"Mmm…" Arizona hums, stepping into the cramped office and taking the chair Callie added to the place with her in mind. "I don't know… This really gorgeous woman winked at me today."
"Is that so?" Callie smiles. "Should I be jealous?"
Arizona leans in close to her girlfriend and just before kissing her, whispers, "Very."
After their kiss, which ends up being a bit more rated than Arizona had planned, Callie has to take a deep breath to clear her mind and asks, "So, how was the last final? Did you fail? Are you going to have to retake the third grade?"
"Oh, shut up." Arizona groans, shoving the woman lightly before sitting back in her chair. "I killed it. Like always, might I add."
"Well, I'm not really supposed to show you this…" The Latina starts, her gaze drifting towards her open office door before tracking back to the blonde. "But since you're semester is officially over, I figure it can't hurt." A tanned hand reaches into the mountain of papers stacked on the far corner of her desk and she pulls out a single test.
Blue eyes read her name across the top and Arizona instantly recognizes it as her A&P final lab practical, and just above the first question is a big, red 92 circled. "Yes!" The blonde exclaims in excitement. "I knew it! Yes! God, I'm so awesome!" Arizona says as she dances in her chair. "High five, baby!" When Callie just stares at her raised hand, she adds, "High five or no more Torres Method for you."
That does it and Callie quickly meets the open hand in a weak high five, mumbling, "Threatening to withhold sex is just wrong…"
They hang out until just after noon and then a jittery Arizona gets Callie to close shop early. Tim isn't due in until about two but Arizona just can't wait, and after a quick trip back to her apartment to drop off her stuff and make sure everything is ready, Arizona directs the Latina's car towards the airport. It's not often that Callie lets anyone drive her baby, but she knew that if Arizona wasn't the one to drive she would be bouncing off the walls in anticipation and excitement.
During the trip, Callie asks, "How are you two getting home?"
"I've got a car reserved." Arizona answers with a smile. "Nothing as nice as this but… it's enough for the two and a half hour drive home."
"You could take my car if you wanted." The Latina suggests, "…Or I could buy you one of your own…" Arizona's grip on the steering wheel tenses for a fraction of a second, and Callie continues "Doesn't have to be a BMW. How about Audi? Or… Mercedes? Oh, you're a Cadillac girl aren't you? I'd bet you'd look so hot in a Caddy." But then a hard glare comes from blue eyes before quickly returning to the road and Callie knows that Arizona doesn't think this is funny.
She throws her hands up in surrender and says, "Kidding, babe. Just kidding."
"Mmhmm…." Arizona hums, knowing full well that her girlfriend wasn't. Since the whole family mansion and textbook ordeal, money has never really been an issue between the two of them. Sure, Callie tends to pick up the check more often, but Arizona makes sure to pull her own weight too. She brings the Latina coffee and snacks, buys her flowers just because, and even gave her a very nice framed photo of them as their two month anniversary present. But when Arizona is confronted with the vast wealth the Torres family holds, it makes her a bit uncomfortable.
"I think I'll talk to my mother again," Callie says, quickly switching gears. "See if I can't skip town early and join you and your family for-"
"Calliope…" Arizona sighs.
"What? I want to spend Christmas with my girlfriend. What's wrong with that?" The woman asks.
"This is your first holiday season back in years." The blonde replies. "You should spend it with your family. Tim's missed the last four and when my parents heard he'd be home for this one, they were ecstatic. I know your parents are feeling the same. …You can't take that away from them."
The Latina just grumbles and slouches in her seat a bit more, but acquiesces to the fact that she will be in Boston Christmas morning while the woman she loves will be nearly three hours away. The only thing that makes it somewhat bearable is knowing that the couple will be together for the New Year when Callie makes the trip to meet the entire Robbins Clan.
With the traffic and the fresh layer of snow slowing their trip, Arizona and Callie arrive at the airport none too early. Blue eyes quickly scan the arrival board and finds that Tim's plane has just landed, a fresh wave of excitement hitting the woman. As they wait, hand in hand, Arizona bounces on the balls of her feet, trying to peek over the mass of heads spilling past the security gates. Each blonde head or man in uniform gives her pause, but none of them are him.
But then Callie feels her girlfriend's body tense beside her and Arizona stills in her bouncing. "Tim?..." She breathes out, eyes locked on a figure moving in and out of view from behind someone else. Then that person peels off, revealing a tall uniformed man with bright blue eyes and dimples. "Tim!" Arizona squeals.
Callie watches as her girlfriend sprints towards her brother like a little girl racing towards her favorite stuffed animal. Two matching sets of dimples are all the Latina sees, Arizona nearly tackling the Marine in a tight hug that sweeps her off her feet.
"Oh my god!" Arizona cries into the man's neck, tears collecting in her eyes. She pulls away and takes his head in her hands. "You look so tan!"
"That's what happens when you live in a desert, Zona." Tim replies cheekily, never skipping a beat with their sibling teasing and goading. "And what about you? You been living with the mole people because you're pasty as hell." And with that, Tim earns himself his first love slug from his sister after nearly a year.
After rubbing the dull ache from his bicep, the man's dimples reappear and he takes his sister in another strong embrace. "It's good to see you, Arizona." Tim pulls the woman away and holds her at arm's length to get a good look at her and then his gaze drifts over Arizona's shoulder, finding a very familiar face.
Arizona follows his line of sight, smiling at the Latina behind her, and she gestures for Callie to join them. A tanned hand runs nervously through raven hair but Callie takes a deep breath and puts on a big smile, stepping up and coming under the stare of two sets of piercing blue eyes.
"Callie…" Tim sighs, a genuine smile forming on his face. "That webcam didn't do you justice." He goes to hug the woman while Callie starts to stick out her hand for a shake, the two hesitating awkwardly before Tim decides for them and wraps the Latina up in warm hug.
"Now I see where Arizona gets her smooth talking from." The Latina plays, Arizona melting into her girlfriend's side and wrapping an arm around her.
They continue on through the airport and step out into the blustery winter Boston air. Arizona pulls Callie to a halt when she peeks over her shoulder and finds her brother stopped, head tipped back while barely falling snowflakes tickle his face. He's been in heat and sand and dryness for nearly eight months, and to feel coldness sink into his skin is something he greatly misses.
Watching him nearly brings tears to Arizona's eyes, but she's not ready for all that emotional stuff yet so she bends over and packs a few handfuls of snow into a ball. Callie doesn't even have the time to question her girlfriend before the blonde whips the snowball at the unsuspecting man.
It hits him right in the chest and his head snaps back down in an instant. "What the-"
"Don't think I won't leave your ass standing here to freeze to death, Tim." Arizona says firmly. "Come on, you can play king of the world later." But her bravery soon quells when the Marine storms towards her and wraps a muscled arm around her neck. Even her cries to her girlfriend for help are no use as Tim and Callie continue on their way to their ride, Arizona being dragged along in a perpetual noogy hold.
It's only when Tim finds himself standing in front of slick BMW 5 series that his grip slips and Arizona manages to extricate herself. "Damn…" He sings, blue eyes finding his sister. "Riding in style now, I see."
"It's Cal's." Arizona replies while shoving the man's monster sized duffle bag in the truck. "And no, you can't drive." Normally he would put up some sort of fight but seeing as he just met Callie, he decides that that would be a bit rude, even for him.
They make small talk all the way back to Arizona's apartment, Callie staying quiet for the most part while the two siblings catch up on their bickering. The Latina is taken back to the time when she and Aria still kept in touch, and it's amazing how similar their relationship was to the one Arizona seems to share with her brother. Sure, there's love there. But there is also the engrained need to pick on each other, which Callie uses to her advantage when Tim willingly divulges some not so innocent stories of a young Arizona.
But they finally make it back to Arizona's place and the first thing Tim does, after tossing his duffle bag into the corner, is raid the fridge for an ice cold beer. "So when we leave, sis?" He asks, taking a long draw at his beer and letting out a contented sigh.
"Couple days." Arizona answers, "I need to do a few things around the city tomorrow and then pick up the rental. Thought you might want to do something around Boston too, while you're here."
"You mean we're not taking the Beamer?" The man questions, pulling out a pout that is so similar to Arizona's that it makes Callie smile.
"Hey, I offered." Callie states, holding her hands up in surrender. Then a thought hits her and she says, "You could take the jet. …It's only, what, like a half hour flight, right?"
"Jet?" Tim asks in disbelief, his wide eyes slowly tracking to his sister. "She has a jet?"
"Not me. My parents." Callie amends limply when she finds Arizona looking none too thrilled.
"Holy shit." Tim gasps. "You didn't tell me your girlfriend was a sugar momma!" It's only his quick reflects that save him from getting a pillow in the face, but he decides to keep pressing his luck and asks Callie, "Your parents wouldn't happen to have like a 30 foot yacht too, would they? With a few lovely ladies wearing those little captains uniforms and the hats cuz that would be- Ow!" A clenched fist manages to find the exact spot of Arizona's last love tap, and Tim grinds his teeth in pain. "Why do you do that?"
"Why are you an ass?" Arizona rebuts.
Callie steps up behind the blonde and wraps her arms around the snarling woman, placing a soft kiss just behind Arizona's ear before saying, "She's just a little sensitive when it comes to that subject, that's all."
"Why?" Tim asks in confusion. "It's awesome. Hey Cal, what about those little jet skis? Got a couple of those?"
The three stay in for the night, Arizona and Callie whipping up the man his first real home cooked meal in over six months, while Tim regales them in stories about his time in the sand. He stays away from the dark and scaring memories that he knows he'll have forever, but focuses on the ones that brings a smile to his face. They sit around the small breakfast table, Arizona pulling up her desk chair and squishing in next to Callie, and continue their comfortable talk well into the late hours of the evening. But then fatigue sets into Arizona's body and her blinks start to last a little longer than usual.
"You should go to bed, sweetness." Callie whispers while kissing the woman on the cheek. "You deserve to get some sleep."
Tim can tell his sister is about to object about leaving him up and alone, and he says, "I'll be fine, Zona."
"And I'll just head home." Callie adds.
"You don't have to go on my account." Tim replies. "I'm not naïve. I get the impression that you two spend more nights together than you do apart. Honestly, it's fine." He turns his gaze to his exhausted sister and asks, "You still got my Playstation?"
"It's all set up for you." Arizona says with a smile, gesturing to the living room where the couch is pulled out into a bed and the small pile of games stacked next to the old, Playstation One gaming console.
"Then I am more than set for the night." Tim states excitedly. "Seriously, you two do whatever it is you two do.
She gives her brother one last look, studying him for a second before sighs, "Ok then." Arizona stands and clears up the few remaining dishes then places a hand on Callie's shoulder. "Wanna go to bed?"
"Sure." The Latina answers, "It was nice meeting you Tim."
"You too, Cal." The man replies, then watches from his chair as his sister and girlfriend shuffle deeper into the apartment. And just before the bedroom door closes, he shouts, "Just keep the fingerbanging and lady loving down to a minimum, alright? Don't need images of that in my head!"