Ch. 37 – Nightmares and Daydreams

Just as the content calm of sleep shadowed across Callie's consciousness, a strangled shout followed by the sound of a lamp crashing to the ground startled her back awake. Arizona shifted, trying to convince herself the sound was just in her dreams. Callie's eyes shot open as another crash echoed through the apartment. She sat up and reached over to shake Arizona.

"Arizona," she whispered. "Arizona, honey, wake up."

Arizona grumbled and rolled onto her side so she was flush against Callie. "Calliope, I'm trying to sleep," she mumbled.

"I know, babe, but there's something," her eyes grew wide as she heard a high pitched scream that was cut off quickly. She shot out of bed immediately followed by Arizona. She grabbed the baseball bat by their door and motioned to Arizona to check on Sofia. The blonde nodded and kissed Callie briefly before tip-toeing to Sofia's nursery.

Callie slowly crept forwards, gripping the bat from her softball days tightly. She knocked gently on the guest bedroom's door. "Tim? Teddy?" She whispered. "Are you guys okay?"

"Cal-!" Teddy's voice rang out before being cut off again.

Callie flung the door open, bat primed but completely unprepared for what she was about to see.

Tim was crouched on top of Teddy, his hands gripped around her throat. His eyes were open, but he wasn't looking at Teddy.

"Fuckin… shit. Fuckin… O'Malley!" Tim grunted angrily to himself.

"TIM! OH MY GOD, TIM!" Callie ran forward, wrapping her arms around Tim's waist and tackling him straight across the bed and to the floor on the other side. Teddy gasped, filling her burning lungs with much needed air.

Arizona came running towards the door, a sleepy Sofia in her arms.

Tim shook his head and blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear his brain. "Cal?" Confusion leaked through his voice as he took in his surroundings. He shook his arms, trying to free them from Callie's grip, but she tightened her hold, keeping him securely on the ground.

Teddy sat up, gripping the bed sheets and gasping for air. Tears were streaming down her face.

Arizona cautiously walked up to the bed and sat down next to Teddy. She reached up tentatively to touch her hand. "Teddy, are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Tim's body went slack as Arizona's words hit him. "Callie, why am I on the ground being held prisoner and why wouldn't Teddy be okay?" He looked up at her seriously. "Callie, tell me right now, what is happening?"

Her breath caught and her eyes filled with sadness immediately. She looked over to Arizona who now had an arm around Teddy's shoulders.

"Callie! You need to tell me right now what just happened," Tim demanded, his voice strong and serious.

She opened her mouth to answer, but no words formed. She honestly didn't know exactly what had happened. Her mind was still processing the vision of Teddy with Tim's hands wrapped around her neck, cursing George under his breath. "I…" her voice cracked and she looked to Arizona for support.

"It's not his fault," Teddy croaked from her spot on the bed.

"What do you mean not my fault? What happened!?" Tim's cries turned frantic, but Callie kept a stern hold on his wrists, pinning him to the ground. "CALLIE LET ME GO! WHAT DID I DO!?"

Teddy jumped off the bed and ran over to Tim, grabbing him up off the floor and into her arms. Callie sat back, ready to jump if she was needed again. Teddy cradled Tim as he started shaking as panic overtook his body.

"Shh… Tim… breathe. Breathe with me." Memories of the panic attack Teddy talked Tim down from weeks ago flew into both Teddy and Callie's mind. They locked eyes briefly and Teddy nodded confidently. Callie narrowed her eyes, but stood up and looked to Arizona. She reached her hand out for Arizona to take and led her back to their side of the apartment to put Sofia back down in her nursery.

"Are they going to be okay? What happened?" Arizona asked frantically in a whisper once they reached their own room.

"I think that was a flashback… I'm pretty sure Tim has PTSD." Callie pulled their sheets down and crawled back into bed.

"Should we leave them alone? Teddy's neck looked horrible… I can't believe Tim could do that." Arizona sat upright, shaking her head side to side slowly in disbelief.

"Tim isn't himself. You know he would never hurt Teddy purposefully. I can tell you that she understands better than we do what he's going through right now and she knows how to help him." Callie sat up so she was next to Arizona and placed a hand on her back, tracing circles between her shoulders.

Slowly, Arizona's head nodded up and down. She bit her lip, suddenly fighting tears back.

"Hey, hey, come here," Callie breathed as she pulled Arizona to her chest. "It's okay."

"That was just really scary. He's my brother, Callie," Arizona cried, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I know, I know." Callie smoothed Arizona's hair. "It's over now. Come on, let's get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

Arizona wiped her eyes and looked to Callie with a weak smile. "You're right." She leaned in to Callie, nestling against her chest. "I love you."

Callie smiled and lay back, drawing Arizona tightly against her. "I love you too." She took a deep breath, hoping Teddy really knew what she was doing.

The next morning, Callie sat feeding Sofia her breakfast while Arizona walked around the kitchen, putting together a breakfast for herself and Callie. She was pouring their orange juice as Teddy and Tim walked out to the kitchen hand in hand. Teddy was wearing a turtle neck; it was a bit warm for the sweater, but no one said anything. They stopped just short of the kitchen and Tim cleared his throat, asking for Callie and Arizona's attention.

Teddy squeezed his hand, offering a bit of support. He smiled at her weakly in return and turned to face Callie and Arizona. "I want to apologize to both of you for what happened last night." Arizona leaned forward to argue, but Tim interrupted her. "I shouldn't have come into your home without checking with psych to see if I was ready… I put the people I love most in danger, and I need you to know that I am very sorry." Arizona looked to Callie with a helpless and shocked expression. Callie returned the same shocked expression and put Sofia's spoon down, then stood up and walked towards Tim who was still gripping Teddy's hand for dear life. "I have my things packed, and I'll be out by the time you two get home from work."

Callie crossed the rest of the distance separating them and wrapped her arms around Tim's shoulders. "No, you won't." She looked back to Arizona who had her arms wrapped around her torso. She nodded to Callie, silently approving Callie's statement. "You're staying here… with us. You need to be surrounded by family and the people that love you." She stepped back and looked Tim in the eye. "You need to get help, though."

Tim stared back, silently repeating Callie's words in his mind then looked to Teddy. She cleared her throat and looked to Callie. "We're going to go to the counselor at the hospital this morning to set up a daily counseling session. We're going to get through this…" her voice dropped as she looked into Tim's eyes. "…together."

He gave her a lopsided grin then turned to face Callie and Arizona. "I won't stay here until the counselor says it would be safe for me to be near Sofia. I would never forgive myself if I hurt her…" Tim's eyes shot to Sofia sitting in her high chair playing with her breakfast. He smiled sadly and then met Callie's eyes again. "I won't let myself hurt your little girl." Arizona crossed the room and stood next to Callie and took her hand in her own, entwining their fingers.

Everyone stood in the silence that settled into the room, the seriousness of Tim's condition hitting each of them in their own time until Callie took a deep breath and squeezed Arizona's hand. "Well, keep us updated on how things go. Maybe we can meet up for lunch?" She looked to Arizona and Teddy who both nodded. "Okay, well we have to finish getting ready for work."

Tim nodded and gave a weak smile. Arizona's heart broke seeing her brother, who only months ago was wrestling her through this very kitchen, standing here looking so hopeless that she would have sworn it was some imposter. This wasn't Tim… her Tim. She reached out and wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Just take care of yourself, okay? I love you." He dropped Teddy's hand and wrapped his arms tightly around his sister.

They instantly shifted to hold each other closer. "I love you, too," Tim whispered.

Callie breathed in, letting the unique scent of the hospital fill her lungs. She closed her eyes, listening to the rush of chaos whirling around her. Footsteps of rushed doctors and nurses running past her, steady beeps of monitors hooked up to the patients surrounding her, and the rolling of wheelchairs of patients headed to tests became the symphony to her life. Her pager beeped, bringing her out of her euphoric daydream and into the reality of her chaotic job; the job she loved and missed so much. She looked down to her pager and saw that she had ten minutes to get to her first surgery in nearly a month. A wicked smile erupted on her lips as she practically ran to scrub in, a fresh bounce in her step.

Arizona sat, staring into the corner of the cafeteria, a half eaten carrot rolling through her fingers. Her mind wandered through each of her patients, trying to commit each one to memory and to figure out her treatment plan for each one.

Callie plopped down next to her and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Hey, babe!" She said, an extra cheery tone to her voice.

Arizona's eyes widened and she leaned towards Callie again, asking for another kiss. Their lips brushed, a hum of happiness building between them. "Hey, you." Arizona said as she took a sip of her drink.

"You seem just a bit distracted, everything go okay this morning?" Callie asked as she took a bite of her salad.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, everything's fine. Karev did an incredible job keeping everything together." She took a bite of her carrot. "Like, seriously, I better step up my game or he'll replace me altogether." She glared at Callie suddenly. "Don't you dare tell him I said that!"

Callie laughed and placed her hand gently on Arizona's leg. "No worries. I'm on your side. Always."

Arizona smiled and pulled out her buzzing phone. "Oh, it's a message from Teddy. She and Tim are on their way from their counseling session."

Callie nodded and put her fork down. "I'm glad he's getting help. I really hate seeing him like this." She watched as Arizona put up her huge wall, hiding what was really happening in her mind. "And I'm sure it's even harder for you to see."

Arizona chanced a glance into Callie's eyes and immediately regretted it. She couldn't hide anything from her for long. "It is," she said simply.

A boisterous laugh burst into the cafeteria signaling the arrival of Tim and Teddy. Arizona rolled her eyes to Callie who chuckled in response. The two Army vets sat down on the opposite side of Callie and Arizona, each with a drink and an apple. Teddy took a big bite and shared a secret look with Tim.

Callie arched her eyebrow. "So, what's so funny? Or do us civilians not get to know?"

Tim choked on his bite of apple and started all over in a fit of laughter.

"Hopeless," Arizona stated and squeezed Callie's leg. "I have to get to surgery, I'll see you tonight?" She leaned in to give Callie a sweet and gentle kiss.

Callie hummed into the kiss and smiled. "Definitely. I might be paging you this afternoon though."

Callie laughed as Arizona rolled her eyes and walked towards the trash can then waved as she turned to leave the room, swinging her hips just to tease her fiancée.

Callie's mouth grew dry as she watched Arizona's hips swaying from side to side. That woman. She thought about running after her just as Tim cleared his throat. She looked over to her audience and blushed. "Sorry, what?" She asked, realizing they had asked her a question.

"Don't worry about it." Tim said with a chuckle. "The shrink says I'm messed up," he stated nonchalantly as he took a bite of his apple.

Teddy rolled her eyes. "She said you have PTSD." She directed her attention to Callie. "She gave us some exercises to try and ways to get him to sleep through the night. He wants to avoid meds for now, but we'll reevaluate in a couple of weeks. Until then, she recommended he stay either here in the psych ward or with me at my apartment."

Callie nodded. "So, you're moving out already?"

Tim nodded in respones. "Looks like it. For now, anyways."

"Well damn. It was a hell of a lot easier to get rid of you than I thought it would be." Callie teased.

All three of them laughed and took another bite of their food. Callie's pager beeped, signaling it was time to scrub in for her next surgery. She cleared her page and looked up to her friends. "Gotta run, lunch tomorrow?"

Teddy and Tim nodded and Teddy stood up to follow Callie out. She leaned over and kissed Tim briefly. "I gotta get to work. You good to move your stuff in by yourself?"

Tim nodded in response and waved them away. "I'm fine… get outta here, gorgeous."

Teddy blushed and dumped her apple core in the trash then quickly rushed out after Callie to talk about their surgeries for the afternoon.

Callie sat on the couch that night, sipping a glass of wine with Sofia in her lap, Arizona next to her reading the daily paper. "Aria called while you were in the shower earlier."

"Oh? What did she say?" Arizona asked, not looking up from the paper.

"She wants to come visit us… with my parents."

Arizona set the paper down and spun in her seat to face Callie. "What? When?"

"In a few weeks. She told them I was getting married again, and they're determined to meet you before the wedding… since they didn't meet George before I married him."

Arizona's eyes widened. "They want to meet me? And they know who I am?"

"That you're a woman?" Callie laughed. "No. I don't think so, anyways. Aria didn't mention telling them."

"You should probably tell them before they fly out here." Arizona cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "If you want them to fly out here, that is." She reached to take Callie's hand in her own. "You don't have to talk to them if you don't want to, but I think you should."

Callie nodded and finished off her wine. "I haven't decided yet. But I'm exhausted, let's go to bed."

Arizona smiled and took Sofia from her lap. "I'll put our baby girl down, you go get ready for bed. I'll be in in a minute."

Callie smiled and kissed Arizona, smiling when the blonde deepened the kiss. "Don't take too long."

AN: So sorry for the delay in posting… It's been a rough week for me personally. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter though! Hopefully Tim gets better soon. So happy that Teddy can help though, right? And oh geeze… Torres family draaamaaaaaa!