Thanks for all the recent reviews, guys. As if I could leave you waiting too long. Chapter 28 is up! Enjoy!
Chapter 28:
Arizona stood in the door of the chiefs office, eyes wide, and a furious look on her face.
"Chief, there is no way I'm doing this surgery. Get another hospital to do it." Arizona spat.
"Dr Robbins, you will watch your tone. This surgery is happening. You will be doing it, and she will be assisting." Bailey straightened herself out. "This is not up for discussion!"
"You're joking, right?" Arizona stood in disbelief.
"No, Robbins. I'm not. Whatever problems you have going on, deal with them. I'm doing this for the benefit of my hospital, and you should understand that." miranda knew exactly how this would go down. She knew this would be the reaction, but she refused to back down.
"Miranda, I do understand why you are doing it, but I thought we were friends. I-I thought this wouldn't even be something you would ever think about." Arizona's voice broke.
Miranda stepped closer to the blonde. "Arizona, this is happening. I refuse to let people's personal issues become a problem for this hospital. Its happened before, more than once, well not again, not on my watch."
"So that's it? You aren't even going to discuss this? I can't believe you have actually done this." the blonde threw her hands up and dropped the papers to the floor before turning and leaving the chiefs office.
Feeling the tears forming, her eyes burned. The thought of even speaking to her girlfriend made her want to throw up. She had never felt so frightened and so worried about anything in her life. Not even her attack. Callie was going to hit the roof, and possibly a person, but she couldn't think about that right now. All she could think about was getting out of the hospital and feeling the cool Seattle air hit her face.
Deciding it wasn't time to go home yet, she made her way across the street and set off for Joe's. She needed tequila, and she needed it fast. Callie would be at home waiting for her by now, but she couldn't force herself to head in the direction of home. A home which probably wouldn't be hers for much longer, not when she told Callie what was going to happen. Feeling the bile rise in her throat, she stopped and took a deep breath, before entering the bar.
Instantly spotting April at the bar, Arizona headed over in her direction. Stepping up to the bar, she ordered four tequilas and tried not to think about the past thirty minutes of her life. She couldn't. If she did, she would cry, and she refused to cry in a freaking bar.
"Hey, fancy seeing you here." April moved closer to the blonde and placed an arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah, fancy that." Arizona snorted.
"Y-You okay?" The red head furrowed her brow.
"Just fucking great, April." the blonde rolled her eyes. Watching the expression chance on her friends face, she instantly felt bad. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I just, I can't bare this any longer."
"Its okay, Tell me what's wrong? What can't you bare?" April showed genuine concern for her friend.
"The universe laughing at me, trying to destroy me and my relationship with Callie. I can't bare it. Every time we are good, something happens. Its inevitable. All of the fucking time." Arizona shot back her tequila and slammed her glass down.
"Why? Have you two fallen out?" The red head wasn't quite sure where this conversation was going, but she could see how upset and angry her friend was.
"Not yet, but give it a couple of hours and I'll probably be sleeping on your couch. Better get it ready, it will happen." Arizona shot back another tequila.
"Oh, um, please talk to me. What's happened?" April was trying to take the blondes mind of shooting back those last two tequilas. She would only regret it later.
"Lauren fucking Boswell. That's what happened." the blonde could barely say her name.
"Oh, Arizona. We've talked about this. That's all forgotten about. You and Callie are doing great. Don't think about what happened, what you done, what it lead to." April sat the blonde down on the barstool next to her.
"No, she's coming back. Chief freaking Bailey is bringing her back. To do a surgery, with me, April. With me. How the hell am I supposed to tell Callie that?"
"Oh, shit!" it was all April could get out right now.
Arizona's eyes widened "Jeez, it must be bad, April, for you to curse."
"I mean, no, it's going to be fine. I promise. Just tell Callie what has happened, and what Bailey has said. Everything will be fine, Arizona. It has to be." the red head tried to reassure her friend, but even in her own mind, she was having doubts.
"Yeah right, like its going to be fine at all." Arizona took her last two shots, before ordering another three and a white wine.
"Yeah you should probably lay of those shots. How are you supposed to talk to Callie in that state?" April questioned as she watched her friend sway on the bar stool.
"Oh, I'm not going to talk to her about anything tonight. Maybe it would be better if she heard it from the gossip mill at the hospital." the blonde laughed.
"No. No, Arizona. That's a stupid idea. She has to hear it from you. She would feel even worse if she heard it from some nurse who couldn't keep her mouth shut." April shook her head.
"You're right. I'll finish up on my drinks, and then I'll head home." Arizona shot back another tequila.
"Okay, I'll drop you. I have my car, and I've only had orange juice." April smiled. "Hey, you know, maybe you should leave the rest of your drinks. Clear head and all that?"
"Nope. I haven't quite had enough just yet. I'll finish these here, and then I'll go." the blonde nodded towards her friend.
"Okay then." April sat back and quietly watched her friend quite literally drown her sorrows. God she could knock them back when she wanted to.
Callie had tried calling her girlfriend for over an hour. She knew the blonde had finished her shift some time ago, and now she was growing more and more worried. Picking up her phone, she hit the tab for her contacts.
"Hey, chief. Do you know if Arizona was held back? Surgery or something?" Callie spoke into the phone.
"Um, no Torres. She left a while ago. That's all I know." miranda tried to keep a calm voice. "S-She isn't home yet?"
"No. I'm worried. She is always home on time, or at least always let's me know if she's going to be late." the concern in Callie's voice was evident.
"I'm sure she will be home soon, Torres. She uh, she got some news today about her upcoming surgery so maybe she's busy sorting things out." Miranda tried to end the conversation.
"Oh she did? Awesome. She will be so happy. She's been worrying about it all week. Thanks for finally putting her out of her misery." the brunette laughed.
"Um, it's... Fine?" Bailey wasn't sure what else to say. "You take care, Torres and I'll see you tomorrow." Miranda ended the call.
Okay. That's, um, weird. What the hell is going on.
Callie proceeded to send a message to Alex, followed by Meredith, and finally April. She didn't know who to call, the one woman she was trying to get a hold of, seemed to be MIA, and right now, she just wanted someone to tell her everything was okay.
Pulled out of her thoughts, Callie heard a light rasp on her front door. Oh thank god. The brunette made her way across the room and flung the door open.
"Arizona, where the hell have you been? Why are you so drunk?" Callie glared at the blonde. Clearly intoxicated, and being propped up by her trauma surgeon friend.
"She has some things on her mind, you two should talk. Maybe not tonight though. I'm not sure you will get a great deal out of her in this state." April passed her friend over to the brunette. "I'm sorry, Callie. I tried to stop her from drinking any more, but you know how she can be."
"Yeah, I do. Thanks, Kepner. Goodnight." Callie gave the red head a small smile.
Closing the door behind her, she snaked an arm around the blondes waist and guided her into the kitchen. "Whats going on, Arizona?"
"N-Nothing. I just want to sleep." the blonde rested her head against her girlfriends chest. "I really want to sleep."
"Okay, fine. If thats what you want. Come on." Callie guided Arizona down the hall and into their bedroom. "Oh god, I know what this is about."
"You do?" Arizona furrowed her brow. "Did you speak to Bailey?"
"I spoke to her a little while ago. Although I'm not sure what that has to do with anything." The brunette changed her girlfriends clothes before settling her into bed.
Arizona simply lay with a confused look on her face. Had Bailey said something? Had she told Callie about the surgery? Why was she being so calm about it. Callie turned out the light and switched on a small lamp before moving over to the doorway. "Arizona, I didn't mean to call you my wife earlier. It just slipped out. I guess I had just forgotten about everything that had happened, and well, I must of gotten carried away." Callie turned to leave but stopped herself. "If this is how you react to such a comment, I truly am sorry. I never meant to make you feel like this. I promise. It wasn't my intention to even say what I did. Maybe i'll just hit the couch tonight. Give you some space."
Before Arizona could reply, the brunette had left the room. Arizona felt an ache in her heart. She knew the next few days where going to be make or break for the couple. She wanted this to work more than anything, but right now, she felt nothing but fear. Fear of how Callie may react, fear of what the next week or so had in store, fear of how Lauren would act when she got to the hospital. Her head hurt, and she needed to sleep off the drink she had consumed. Turning out the lamp, Arizona decided it was probably best not to go after Callie. She didn't want this to all blow up right now. So she lay back, closed her eyes, and refused to let the tears fall.
Arizona cracked one eye open, glaring at her clock, it was almost 8am. Groaning she turned over, only to find cold sheets, which looked like they hadn't been slept on at all the night before. Shit. It was the blondes first thought, quickly followed by the fact that Callie had stuck by her word last night, and actually slept down the hall. Why can't anything ever go right? Seriously? I need a fucking break from all of this shit. I wonder if my cousin still has his timeshare in Fiji. Now that we could definitely use.
Arizona lay on her back, looking up at the ceiling, like it had all the answers. She quickly figured that it didn't have any, and sat up on the edge of the bed. Grabbing her prosthetic that was resting against the end table, she fixed it to its designated place and stood. Steading herself, she took a breath and made her way out of the bedroom.
Making her way into the kitchen, she found the house to be empty. A sinking feeling had quickly settled in her stomach, and before she done anything else, she made some fresh coffee before grabbing her cell of the counter.
I'm sorry about last night. Please don't be mad. It's not what you think. -A xx
Arizona grabbed a fresh cup of coffee and made her way over to the couch. Seeing the blanket folded neatly with the pillow on top, resting on the arm of the couch, she felt sad. Why does that woman continue to come between us? I haven't seen her in years and she has done this. Fucking bitch. Arizona quickly found that her hands had formed into fists at the thought of Lauren Boswell. She couldn't bare to think about her, and the thought of seeing her made her stomach turn. Ugh, I can't even look at her, how am I supposed to work with her, for a major, super long surgery. Arizona flopped down on the couch and stared into her cup of coffee. Callie Torres was the only one for her, but how was she supposed to show her that? How could she expect her to be completely fine with the idea of her and Boswell spending hours and hours together discussing the surgery, behind closed doors, after hours, in a coffee shop, a bar, at the hospital? It just wouldn't work. Not because of Callie, but because Arizona wasn't sure she could even manage to be in the same room as the other surgeon. The surgeon who had helped to ruin her marriage, her relationship, her reputation, her life, and her family. Arizona knew the whole break up after the counselling all stemmed from the affair. That was the bulk of the issues, and she couldn't blame her then wife. It was all Arizona's fault. She had openly admitted that.
Just as she thought about how they could possibly overcome this, her body reacted to the fact that Callie could possibly hear from people at work that Dr Lauren Boswell was due in town, tomorrow. Fuck! I need to get to the hospital now. I need to see Callie. I need to explain everything before this gets way out of hand. Arizona shot up from the couch, well, as quick as she could, given the circumstances with the damn leg, and quickly changed into whatever she could find.
Throwing on some clean underwear, grey yoga pants, and a lemon vest top, she grabbed her keys off the end table in their bedroom before quickly rushing into the bathroom and brushing her teeth. Heading out of the door, she felt her cell buzz in her pocket. Frozen on the spot, she dreaded the words she was about to read. It was now 9:30am and she knew someone, somewhere, would of enlightened Callie with the whole situation the couple where about to be in.
You have to be fucking joking! -CALLIE.
Arizona read the words on the screen, unable to understand exactly what they meant. Did they refer to her previous message that she had sent? Surely not. They wouldn't be so harsh. She had only text her to apologise, and right now, no response would of been better.
What? -A xx
You know what!
Is this about last night? -A xx
No, but yes. You felt you couldn't even speak to me and now, I'm hearing this from some nurse? Nice, Arizona. Real nice.
No, Callie. Wait, I'm coming to the hospital now. Please wait and speak to me. -A xx
Don't bother.
I love you, Calliope. -A xx
Yeah, funny way of showing it when you can't even talk to me. Seriously, don't bother coming by!
Arizona felt herself begin to hyperventilate. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know whether to continue on her trip to Grey Sloan, or leave it and wait until Callie got home. Would Callie even come home? Would she stay out tonight to avoid the inevitable conversation both women knew would have to happen at some point? No, she had to go. She had to talk to Callie. She couldn't do this via text messaging. She had to do this face to face. Closing the door behind her, she made her way down the steps of the porch and climbed into her car.
Making it to the hospital in record time, but keeping within the speed limit, Arizona shot out of her car and straight through the entrance of Grey Sloan. Bumping into Owen on the way, he stopped her. Mainly due to the fact that she looked so frantic, but also to question why she was here on her day off.
"I-I have to find Callie. I can't stop, Owen. I'm sorry." Arizona panted.
"Woah, Robbins. Take a minute. You are going to do yourself an injury." Owen tried to stop the woman from leaving.
"Owen, I'm quite capable of looking after myself. I'm not the cripple everyone thinks I am." Arizona left the reception area and headed straight for the elevator. Checking her watch, she figured Callie would be taking a break right now. She would either be in the attending's lounge, or in the cafeteria. She knew the brunettes routine better than her girlfriend did.
Deciding to try the attending's lounge first, she hit the button inside the elevator and waited to be taken up. Stepping out into the corridor, Arizona laid eyes on April. "Kepner, have you seen Callie?"
Spinning around, the red head could see her friend was a little distressed. "Hey, slow down. Wheres the fire?"
"I didn't speak to Callie last night and now she has found out from some nurse. I could cry, or scream, or hit someone." Arizona glanced around for the brunette in question.
"She's not here. She's in the cafeteria. She doesn't look too good though, I'm just warning you." April gave her friend a sad smile.
"Well, yeah. Would you look good if you had just found out your ex wife, but current girlfriend was scheduled to spend an immense amount of time with someone she had an affair with not so long ago?" Arizona glared. "No? I didn't think so. I have to find her, April. I can't lose her again."
"You won't, Arizona. Just speak to her. Make her hear you out." April smiled.
"She messaged me before. She told me not to even bother coming here. I had to though. I couldn't sit at home. God knows what she has heard. Someone has probably told her I've already met up with that bitch, and probably that I've already slept with her. It wouldn't surprise me in this place." The blonde snorted.
"You haven't have you?" April gave the blonde a raised eyebrow.
"What? No! God, April. Thanks for the support." Arizona turned and left the nurses station, making her way back to the elevator. Hitting the button for the ground floor, the doors opened before she even had time to think about what she was going to say. It didn't matter what she wanted to say, Callie probably wasn't going to listen to her anyway.
Stepping into the cafeteria, Arizona immediately noticed Callie with her head on a table over towards the back. Way to go, Robbins. Make your girl feel like shit. You are pretty good at that already. The blonde stopped in the door way. Thinking about her next move, she noticed all eyes where on her. Giving a dirty look towards the other staff staring at her, she refused to budge.
"Calliope Iphigenia Torres!" Arizona yelled across the cafeteria.
Callie's head shot up. Glancing around, she found her girlfriend stood in the entrance to the room. Rolling her eyes, she tried to look away, but she immediately noticed the hurt look on the blondes face. Blue eyes losing their sparkle.
Realising she wasn't going to get an answer, the blonde continued. She didn't care if everyone heard. They were the reason that this situation had arose in the first place. "I love you. You have to know that."
Oh god, she isn't really doing this. Callie put her head in her hands. Never in her life had she felt so embarrassed. She hoped that if she ignored her girlfriend, Arizona would either back off, or she would at least move closer, out of the way of everyone looking and listening. Callie simply shrugged and returned to her coffee cup.
"Y-You called me your wife." Arizona's voice broke. She simply gave the brunette a sad smile. Her heart was racing and her head was pounding. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, and she was running on all kinds of emotions right now. Callie's face dropped. Mouth open, and palms sweating, she didn't know where this conversation was going.
"You called me your wife, and although you said you didn't mean it, you were obviously thinking it." The blonde watched as her girlfriend shifted slightly in her seat. "Calliope, I'm so thankful that I ever found you. You have been everything and more that I could of ever hoped for."
Callie motioned for the blonde to come closer. Her face was burning, and she was feeling pretty embarrassed right now. She didn't know what was coming next and the last thing she needed, was a domestic in the middle of the cafeteria.
"No! These people here are all quick enough to judge, and spread all kinds of rumours, so the least they can all do, is hear me out." Arizona glanced around the room, spotting a few embarrassed faces. "Yeah, I thought so." The blonde nodded towards her audience, before looking back in the direction of her girlfriend.
"Every single on of you in this room should know that mine and Callie's relationship has absolutely nothing to do with a single one of you. Spread all the rumours you want, gossip all you want, we are solid, and none of you could say anything to hurt us. Having survived so much shit in the past, we are beyond that." Arizona finally moved a little closer to the brunette. "Yes, Lauren Boswell is coming to this hospital, and yes, she is performing a surgery, with me, but that means nothing. Nothing to me, whatsoever. I'm right where I need to be, with who I need to be with." the blonde maintained eye contact with her girlfriend throughout her whole speech.
Stepping even closer, Arizona felt her heart pounding against her chest. "Marry me, Calliope. Again." The blonde desperately tried to gauge some sort of reaction, but Callie just sat with her mouth open. "You didn't get a proper proposal last time, you were, well, incapacitated. You deserve the world and more, and I want to be the one to give it to you."
Hearing the words leave the blondes lips left Callie feeling light headed. Unsure of where to look, she focused on the cerulean pools in front of her. "Y-You mean that?" the brunette furrowed her brow.
"Of course I do. I want everything with you, Calliope. Everything!" Arizona smiled. "I never should of let you go last time. I never should of done what I did, but it happened, and I can't take that back, as much as I would love nothing more. Callie, you have to believe that I love you. She will be here for a week, and then she will be gone."
Both women were now extremely close. Eyes glared at them from every angle of the room. Arizona decided it would be best to take this conversation elsewhere. It was no longer appropriate for the cafeteria. "Lets leave and go some place else. Please. I really need to speak to you."
Callie nodded in agreement and stood to leave with the blonde. Turning to face Arizona in the middle of the room, Callie pressed her lips to her girlfriends. "Yes, Arizona."
Eyes widening, Arizona thought that answer could mean a number of things. "Yes what?"
"Yes, I will marry you, again. This time will be so much better than the last. No car crashes or premature births. This one, this one will be perfect." Callie flashed her megawatt smile.
After hearing a round of applause, followed by some screaming and cheering, the couple left the cafeteria and made their way up towards their favourite on call room.
Stepping inside, Callie broke the silence first. "Arizona, we have so much to discuss over the next couple of days, but right now, I just want this moment with you."
"You do?" Arizona gave her girlfriend a dimpled smile.
"I do." Callie smiled. "So much is going to happen in the next week or so, but I know we can make it. I know that we can survive the shit we are about to relive."
"I tried to get Bailey to change her mind, but she wouldn't even consider it. She was being a total bitch so I flipped out and left. Instead of coming and speaking to you, I hit Joes. It was wrong of me, I'm sorry. It was totally the wrong way to go about it. I love you, Calliope, and I meant every word I said back there." Arizona sighed.
'
"I know. I know you meant everything you said. I could see it in your eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes." Callie smiled.
"I'm so sorry for how you found out, I didn't mean for it to be that way. I just freaked out. I couldn't bare the thought of losing you again, so I chose not to face it. It was a bad move on my part." The blonde pressed her lips gently into the plump red ones in front of her.
"I know. Stop apologising. Although, If I see her, I will smack her, and don't even try to stop me. I never had the opportunity last time, but this time, so help me god." Callie clenched her fists.
"Calliope, please don't go bat shit crazy. It doesn't look good on you." Arizona smiled. "You are too beautiful to be getting into fights."
"I have Avery to fall back on. What does she have? A fucked up face, thats all." Callie laughed to herself.
"Calliope, I love you, and you love me, and none of the rest of it matters. Seriously. Lets stop these silly little arguments. I mean, I know its not a little argument to you, but to me, it is. Its irrelevant. I have no feelings towards Lauren, I can promise you that. Please, lets just be happy." the blonde had a pleading tone to her voice.
"Okay, Lets be happy. We deserve it. We always have. Its time to act, Baby." the brunette smirked. "I cannot wait to marry the woman of my dreams."…...
Thanks for reading.
