"Mark," Callie said. "He's going to die, Arizona, and there is nothing we can do about it."
"Callie… what…," Arizona started, but Callie jumped up and ran for the restroom, tears in her eyes.
Arizona stood up and made to follow, but was stopped in her tracks by a voice that made the fine hairs on the back of her neck prickle.
"Hello, stranger, is this seat taken?"
Arizona turned in her spot finding exactly who she anticipated to be standing there. Lauren Boswell. Arizona had expected to feel many emotions upon their reunion: hate, fear, shame… hurt, but right now she felt only one thing. Indifference. And that made her smile, "huh." She chuckled.
Misinterpreting Arizona's smile, Lauren smiled back, "I'm so glad you are happy to see me, I was worried you'd hold a grudge over that silly little..."
Which caused Arizona to burst into laughter, once again drawing eyes from the solemn crowd. She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.
"Arizona?" Lauren asked. "Are you okay? Are you… laughing at me?"
Which prompted an even harder laugh from the blonde.
"I don't understand what's happening here," Lauren asked, her expression changing from flirty to angry. "What is so funny?"
"Oh, god," Arizona finally got a hold of her laughter. "I was so… worried about seeing you, but…," she chuckled again, "but, honestly, you're… you're nothing." She took a deep calming breath. "What a relief."
Lauren was left speechless, her expression one of surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but shut it again when nothing came to mind.
"Look, Lauren, I would love to stay and hear what rationalizations for stealing my grant you've come up with, but I have something infinitely more important to take care of," Arizona pointed over her shoulder. "In the bathroom. So…." She turned and walked away, not once looking back.
In the restroom, Callie was standing at the mirror, wiping at her tears. A woman came out of the stall and washed her hands at the sink next the sniffling brunette.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," the woman said. She handed Callie a tissue out of her purse.
"Oh, I'm not…," Callie started, but then realized it was probably rude to cry over someone other than the actual dead person whose memorial she was attending. "I mean thank you." She accepted the tissue and blotted under her eyes, trying not to smear the mascara further.
"Were you very close?"
"We uh… she was my…," Callie blew out a breath. "I'm a surgeon at Seattle Grace, she was my boss."
"Seems like the only people here either worked with her or are professional rivals," The woman commented.
"Ellis wasn't warm," Callie replied, "but she did know how to run a hospital."
"That she did," the woman agreed, "that she definitely did. Well, I'll let you…," she pointed to Callie's smeared mascara.
Callie just nodded and turned to mirror to wipe her eyes. She heard the door open and then close as the woman left the room.
"Hey."
Callie glanced into the mirror and saw that Arizona had entered as the other woman exited and spoken. "Hey," Callie replied, she resumed wiping under her eyes.
Ortho, right? "Oh, whoa…" Arizona stopped walking toward Callie and swayed a bit.
Callie turned from the mirror and steadied the other woman. "Are you okay?"
"You know… I'm… fine. Fine. I just… uh…," Arizona shook her head, shrugging off the familiar, yet unfamiliar, sensation. "Déjà vu or something. I came to see if you were okay?"
Callie sighed, "I'm fine, Arizona. It's Mark Sloan I'm worried about. I know he bothers you, but… I can't help it. I feel… sad."
Arizona sighed, "Okay. Just tell me what I can do? What can we do?"
"I don't think there is anything we can do," Callie replied. "Genie said altering that other universe changed some stuff, but ultimately, everyone's destiny is still the same. And… and I know that the destiny's there and the destiny's here aren't always the same, but you, other you, said that Lexie died in the crash… and now we found out that she died here too? On the exact same day, that doesn't sound like a coincidence… that sounds like it was predetermined."
"So… I said, other me, said that Mark died too?"
"No, he hadn't… not yet, but she said that he was in really bad shape and she didn't think he'd last the night."
"And what exactly did Genie say?"
"That the Lexie of that universe was a sure goner; that she'd already died as a result of the plane crash and… and… death was a greedy bastard."
"And she was sure I lived? Should I be worried?"
"No, no… no. Genie said it wasn't your destiny to die in that plane crash."
"And these destinies… they are always the same? Like if… Mark did die over there, are you sure it will happen here?"
"No, no the destines aren't necessarily tied. Your brother…"
"What? Callie, what about my brother?"
"The reason she… Arizona, was so adamant about seeing your brother was because he's dead in her universe. She hasn't had him for years. I'm sorry, I know that's hard to hear."
"No… I don't… I don't know what to think about all this, Callie. Tim is dead there?"
"Yes, but not here. Your brother is fine. But this is different. I feel it. Mark's fate is sealed. I… just… I just know."
"I don't understand this connection you have to him. You just met!"
"He's the father of our child, Arizona… over there. Apparently, he's my best friend and baby daddy."
"Oh, wow," Arizona moved to the sink and stood beside Callie. "Like donor daddy or…?"
"I don't think it was a donor situation, I think it was more of a boner situation. I'm sorry."
"Oh, huh," her brow furrowed. "No wonder I have the urge to punch his face all the time. Wait… why are you apologizing to me for something another you did in another universe? It's not like you… wait? Did you?"
"What? No! Of course not. I barely know him," Callie bristled at what felt like an accusation. "Stop jumping to that every time I mention his name."
"I'm sorry," Arizona said sincerely.
Callie sighed and pulled her into a hug, "I know you are."
"I think I'm experiencing some of her feelings… Maybe some lingering stuff from the other me? She did use my brain for a day. She probably left some baggage rolling around in there. Were they close, or…."
Callie smiled, "I know she desperately didn't want him to die. I assume they made their peace with the situation."
"Which was what exactly? What was the situation?"
"Um, what I remember from my crossover is limited… you, uh, other you won the Carter Madison grant and left other me to go to Africa. We broke up and I drowned myself in alcohol and… Mark Sloan. You, uh… you missed me so much you came home, but I was already… I was pregnant. We ended up doing a modern family type thing. Two moms and a dad. Our daughter's name is Sofia."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"Sofia," Arizona tried the name. It felt familiar. The baby she dreams about. "She looks like you, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, more so than Allegra and the boys."
Arizona felt a sudden profound loss. It hadn't been her and Callie's future she was dreaming about, it was the other Arizona's reality. She bit her lip and looked to the floor trying to hide her sudden overwhelming sadness.
"Hey, are you okay?" Callie gently lifted the other woman's face. She misinterpreted Arizona's sadness at the loss of her potential child as something different. As unhappiness over Callie having yet another child with someone. "You know I would never. Not with Mark, not with anyone."
"I know, I know," Arizona sighed. How could she tell Callie that she feeling loss for a child she'd never met? She needed a diversion, to distract Callie from this line of thinking, so she could work out what she was feeling. Just for now, until she knew herself what she going on in her brain, then she could discuss it with Callie. "Lauren's out there. She spoke to me."
"What? What did she say?" Callie asked, suddenly protective. "What did you say?"
"I laughed at her," Arizona admitted with a slight smile. "I couldn't stop laughing at her."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I just… I built her up as this big scary thing that was going to come back and ruin me, but guess what? I saw her and I felt… free. I have you and nothing she could say or do at this point will change that."
"You're damn right," Callie agreed.
"Why was I so worried? Why did I let her affect my life so much after she left? Why did I hold on to that? I look at her now, and I can't believe how stupid I was."
"Hey, she made you feel powerless, but now you are strong," Callie smiled. She stared into Arizona's eyes, trying to reassure her. "You can see through her."
The door squeaked as it opened behind them, Addison's head poked into the small room. "Hey, it's about to start. Come on, Mark saved us some seats."
"We'll be right there," Callie replied, her eyes never leaving the blue ones in front of her. Addison retreated leaving them alone once again.
"I love you, Calliope," Arizona whispered. "I… I love you. I'm never going to get tired of saying that."
"I'll never get tired of hearing it."
"Good, then we are a perfect match."
"The yin to my yang."
Most of the hospital crowd that had attended the memorial for Ellis had made the move to Joe's for drinks. Sitting at different tables, that had been pulled together to accommodate their numbers, were several odd mixes of people.
Addison and Mark had joined the table containing all of the candidates for new chief of surgery; Preston, Erica, Lauren, and one other man no one recognized sat together drinking scotch. Which made Arizona laugh, because she knew Lauren hated scotch. The conversations looked fake and tense. Tense enough to make everyone sitting at the mourning table to actually be glad they weren't sitting at the schmoozing table.
Callie, Arizona, Owen, Cristina, Meredith, Derek all sat together and all tried not to give away their various relationships. Owen knew about Callie and Arizona, and Callie and Arizona knew about Owen and Cristina, and Cristina knew about Meredith and Derek and even though everyone else suspected these relationships were happening very few people knew anything for sure. Even April who interrupted Callie and Arizona's date, likely didn't remember much because she was decidedly not sober. And even if she did remember, she hadn't mentioned it. She was currently in a booth with Jackson whispering quietly, and Alex sat alone at the bar nursing a beer.
Callie's eyes wandered the table thinking about the fact that they were all couples, who'd all been with different people just a few months ago. She also noticed that even though they were there to mourn Meredith's sister, every one of them looked happier than she remembered ever seeing them. Finding the person you were made for did wonders for the complexion, she chuckled.
"What's funny?" Cristina asked.
"Us," Callie gestured around the table.
Owen looked confused, as he often did, which made Callie laugh harder. "Callie… what?" He asked.
"Look at us," she replied. "All of us. Hiding the fact that we are all couples." Meredith looked at Derek, Cristina at Owen, and Arizona hadn't taken her eyes off of Callie all night. "Why are we all hiding our happiness? I don't want to do that anymore. It's too precious, too hard to come by, life changes in an instant… I'm not missing a minute of it," She scooted her chair closer to Arizona's and pulled the woman into a kiss, more than chaste, but not heated. Just enough to let everyone in the bar know they were together.
"Mmm," Arizona pulled back and licked her lips. "I'm all for celebrating life and love tonight."
"Ew," Cristina initially said, but after a moment's thought, she shrugged. "What the hell, I'm in." She held up her drink and said. "To life."
Derek held up his and looked at Meredith, then everyone else, "To love."
Meredith joined in, "To Lexie."
Conversations splintered as the bar filled and the groups mingled more. Callie and Arizona were with Owen and Cristina throwing darts.
"Shouldn't this be awkward?" Cristina asked.
"Did you miss my 'life is too short for awkward' speech, Yang?" Callie said.
"Whatever, when I become a fellow, you won't be my boss anymore."
"I was never your boss and you know it," Callie added. "I'll still be your superior, though. I'll always be that." Callie laughed.
"I wonder what kind of fist Altman rules with," Cristina asked, she looked at Callie. "Yours was pretty mushy." Callie just made a face in return.
"Oh, Teddy! Where is she? We should invite her over…," Arizona looked around.
"She's at the bar, getting hit on by Mark Sloan, she could probably use a break," Callie said.
"Invite her over," Cristina said. "I need to suck up."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea…," Owen said.
"Aw, Owen, what? You don't want your ex-wife, your girlfriend, and the woman you emotionally cheated with via Skype through most of our reconciliation to all be at the same table?"
"Wait… what?" Cristina asked. "You and Altman?" Cristina looked at everyone with surprise. She grabbed Owen's arm, "Did she come here for you?"
Owen's shoulders slumped, and he sighed, "I'm not sure."
"Seems likely to me," Arizona interjected. "She hears you are divorcing…." She leads.
Callie picked up her train of thought, "And she uproots her life, leaves the Army, moves to Seattle only to find you already with a new person," Callie added.
"Crap," Cristina said. "Now I'm going to have to double suck up. Beguile her with my brilliance."
Arizona had successfully avoided Lauren most of the night, but now she was cornered by the bar and Callie was nowhere in sight.
"Arizona, you need to talk to me," Lauren said.
"I disagree."
"I'm going to be your boss very soon, I think it would be in your best interest to talk to me now," Lauren said. Her face serious, almost angry.
And it happened again. Arizona laughed. Now that she wasn't at a memorial and had a few drinks in her, she let it go. She laughed so hard she snorted.
"Oh god," Arizona grabbed her sides from laughing so hard. "I'm sorry, Lauren, but what makes you think you are getting that job? There are manyway more qualified candidates. Hell, Mark Sloan is more qualified than you, and he does boob jobs."
"But none of them are a Carter Madison winner."
"And neither are you," Arizona shot back. Her smile suddenly gone. "That was my proposal and you know it."
"Prove it," Lauren replied.
"You think I can't?"
"I think you won't, for the same reason you didn't submit the proposal in the first place, because you are a coward. And now you are ashamed. You'll look like a jealous fool."
Arizona just stared back at Lauren, her face unreadable.
"Go ahead," Lauren said. "Laugh at that." She turned and walked away.
Arizona just stood there, stunned. She'd let that bitch get to her. Dammit.
"She's a nasty one."
Arizona turned and saw an older woman at the bar watching her, she looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen her before.
"She is," Arizona agreed. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."
"I'm not," the woman smiled. She pointed toward the dart boards and said, "I think your girlfriend is looking for you."
Arizona saw Callie's eyes roaming the bar, when they finally fell on her, the weight of her conversation with Lauren lifted once again. Callie's eyes lit up and she made her way through the crowd.
"Hey, I missed you. What happened?"
"Lauren," Arizona grumbled.
"Hello," the older woman at the bar said. "Are you feeling better?"
Callie recognized her as the woman who had consoled her in the bathroom at the memorial. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."
"No, thank you, both of you."
"For what?" Arizona looked at Callie confused.
"For being exceptional surgeons at Seattle Grace Hospital."
"Oh, okay… well, um you're welcome," Callie replied.
Callie and Arizona were in a cab, heading back to Callie's house for the night. Arizona had become quiet, pensive.
"Are you okay?" Callie asked.
"I'm fine, now that I'm with you," Arizona replied sincerely. "Lauren just… she knows what buttons to push."
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to defend you."
"I'm glad you weren't," the tired blonde admitted. Callie looked hurt, but Arizona quickly added. "I don't want any parts of her infecting you. She's not a nice person, Callie, I don't want her anywhere near you."
"I wanted to defend you, tell her to 'kiss off' or something," Callie smiled in the dark cab.
"I don't want to be a damsel in distress. If you had come to defend me, it would have proven her point. Proven I was a coward and needed help."
"She called you a coward? That bitch."
"Oh yeah, even that woman at the bar thought so. Who was she? I recognize her from somewhere."
"I'm not sure, but she was at the memorial. We were in the restroom at the same time. Maybe a friend of Ellis'."
"Maybe."
Finally tucked into the bed for the night, after sharing a kiss goodnight. They were both tired, and just wanted to hold each other while they slept. It was Arizona's turn to be the big spoon, and she held Callie tight.
"What are we going to do," Arizona whispered.
"About what?" Callie turned to ask.
"Everything," Arizona replied, they were now face-to-face, her favorite way to share her thought with the other woman. "Lauren. Mark… is he going to die? Is the grim reaper following him around?"
"I don't know, Arizona, I don't know."
"Should you talk to Genie?"
"Maybe," Callie sighed. "But maybe this is part of my punishment. Knowing something I shouldn't know, feeling guilt for something that isn't my fault. It's my burden to bear."
"I'll be your share bear."
"What?"
"I'll carry that burden with you. I'll be your share bear."
"Like those stuffed toys from the 80s?"
"Exactly like those stuff toys from the 80s. I'm all purple and cuddly. And I'll happily share your burden. So don't ever keep something like that to yourself. I'm here. We're in this together."
"Together," Callie sighed.
"And if Lauren gets the job?" Arizona rubbed her nose against Callie's.
"She won't," Callie pecked her on the lips.
"But if she does?" Arizona pulled back and looked into Callie's eyes.
"We'll deal with it together."
"Together."