Chapter 1
You would think that training to become a surgeon would have helped in this situation, the whole hearing your family member passed away thing. But it didn't. No matter how many times she had already delivered the devastating news about someone passing away on the OR table, it still didn't come close to hearing the news yourself for the first time. Standing on the other side of the waiting room, begging for the surgeons to pull through, praying for a miracle. But it didn't happen this time. She could see the surgeon's lips moving, the doctor side of her knowing he was currently explaining what had happened, that her injuries were too much for her body to handle and that they had done everything they could. She could see her mother crying from the corner of her eye, her brother having a tight grip on her, so she wouldn't fall down on the ground as her legs had given in. And she could see her father arguing with the surgeon, most likely threatening him and saying how he would take his job away, just like he always did, when something didn't go her father's way. She could see everything that were happening, and yet she couldn't hear it. It was like a ringing in her ears as she tried to get over the shock that her sister had passed away.
Callie was brought out of the state as her father's angry words started to come through the ringing in her ears, "Is this what you want to become? Huh? Someone who gives false hope? Tearing families apart? Someone who cannot save a life of an innocent?" he practically yelled at her, before he walked past Callie and over to Lucia, to comfort her wife and son, leaving Callie to comfort herself.
Callie couldn't help but feel the pain in her chest as she watched her family all holding each other, leaving her to her own. She knew walking over there wasn't an option, and just as she was about to walk away to get some fresh air, her eyes caught Owens. His eyes were red and puffy and his face sad and pained, but who wouldn't look like that when your wife had just passed away. Callie opened her mouth to say something to the man, but before she knew it, he had her wrapped up in a tight hug, "she cannot be gone", he mumbled over and over. "How could this happen?" he asked to no one in particular. He knew what had happened they all knew. A drunk driver had hit Aria, after the woman selflessly pushed another woman out of the way, resulting in Aria dying and the driver going away without a scratch.
Callie did her best to comfort the man, but she didn't know what to say to make anything better, because what do you say to a grieving man? So, she did the only thing she could, which wasn't much, but if standing there with her arms wrapped around him made it just a tiny bit better, then she would do just that for as long as it took.
The following days up to the funeral went on in a blur. She showed up at the hospital for work, went home and helped preparing for the funeral, ate, laid awake at night and then repeated that until the day came. She watched as people cried and yet she couldn't cry herself, which had caused quite a few arguments between Andrew and herself. It wasn't that she wasn't mourning her sister, god no. But if she cried then it meant that she was actually dead and that Aria was not coming in through the front door of their parents' house at any second. She would no longer come visit with Owen and their son Leo. Leo who would have to grow up without his mom now. Nothing was like it was supposed to be, and nothing would ever be the same again. And so, Callie couldn't cry, the tears just wouldn't fall, no matter what she tried. Even as they lowered her sisters coffin into the ground she stood and looked around at her family, Aria's friends and everyone else that had shown up. She barely recognised any of them, but knew that they all had one thing in common, they were all mourning the loss they had suffered. They were all crying, everyone but Callie.
After the ceremony Callie found herself standing in a corner, watching as people spoke to her parents, Andrew, Owen and Leo. How they all gave their condolences. A few people acknowledged Callie as well, saying they were sorry for her loss, but most of them just looked at her, almost frowning as she stood with dry cheeks, her eyes only being red from the lack of sleep. She continued to keep her head low, staying in the corners and barely muttering any words.
"Let's get you home", Carolyn said as she stood next to Callie, wrapping her arm around the young woman's shoulders. Carolyn was Lucia's sister, and one of the only family members that had treated Callie the same way as her siblings. So, when she started her internship and later on residency she moved in with Carolyn, using the excuse that the woman was living closely to the hospital.
All Callie did was nod before they said their goodbyes to Lucia and Carlos, as well as Andrew, Owen and Leo, before they were on their way home. That night Callie had a hard time falling asleep, and after turning and tossing for the better of an hour she decided to get up and go for a walk, with no specific destination in mind, she just needed the cold Seattle air and some space to clear her mind.
After a while of wandering around Callie ended up at the graveyard. Walking up the path to her sister's grave, Callie saw someone else being there. She knew that her sister was loved, but who else would go visit Aria when it was a little past midnight? She stopped in her tracks as she realised, she didn't know the woman standing there, but of course Aria had many friends that Callie wasn't familiar with. Everyone loved her sister. Callie debated whether or not to leave the graveyard, after all she didn't even know what had led her there, and maybe the unknown woman had shown up at her sisters grave this late to be alone, so she could say goodbye to Aria, without someone disturbing her. But before Callie could turn around and leave the woman alone at the grave, the woman spoke to her, or rather, she only said her name, "Callie?".
Callie stood still, trying to decide if she should just turn on her heels and walk off, but knew it was too late. So, with a deep breath she slowly made her way over to the woman that stood right on front of Aria her gravestone. "That is me- I mean my name- I mean… I...", Callie said before letting out a tired sigh, "Yes, I am Callie, hi", She ended up saying, almost rolling her eyes at how stupid she must've sounded to the woman.
"You really haven't changed Callie", She said, as a warm dimpled smile took over her features. She leaned her head slightly to the side as she observed the younger Torres sister. When Callie still hadn't responded the woman let out a soft chuckle, "you don't recognise me, do you?" she asked.
Callie shook her head after having tried to recognise the voice and face once more, the woman seemed familiar, but she just couldn't place where she had seen her before. "I- I am sorry", she started apologising, afraid it was one of her dad's important people, as he liked to call them. "Aria she is, I-I mean was, better with people", she answered as she looked down on the grave that belonged to her sister.
The blonde woman hummed out at the response of the grieving woman, before she took a step back, giving Callie more space to be at the grave, "I can't blame you, for not remembering me. After all, it's been… what? 19 years since we last saw each other", she replied before reaching her hand out "I am Arizona Robbins, old childhood friend".
The name seemed strange at first for the brunette, until it clicked with her memories. The Robbins kids used to be their neighbours back when her dad didn't have the need to constantly show of his wealth, back when life was simpler and she could be friends with whom she desired. Not that she would describe this woman as a friend of hers. Well, Arizona was the nicest of the three Robbins siblings, but she never really played a long. Blinking a few times to clear her head for thoughts she took the woman's still offered hand, "Right yes, you lived next door, together with your brothers…", Callie said, trying to think of the names.
"Timothy and Nick, yeah", Arizona said softly, helping the woman out with the names. She released her hand before sliding her hands into her pockets. "I will give you some space with Aria, but it was nice seeing you", Arizona said softly, as she got ready to walk away, only to stop as Callie's soft voice rang out.
"How did you know? About…", Callie said before swallowing hard and nodding towards Aria's grave, not being able to say the words about her sister being dead.
Arizona bit the inside of her cheek before she answered, "Andrew, he uhm… He reached out to us. Told us about the devastating news. We didn't… Didn't want to show up at the funeral, because of how things ended between my father and Carlos, but it was Andrew that let us know."
"Ah", Callie said, not knowing what else to say. Of course, her older brother had reached out to them, he and Aria used to be close to the Robbins, unlike Callie who was not really allowed to play with the others, as Aria and Andrew thought she was 'too small ' to play along, well it was mainly Andrew that thought it, but Aria never disagreed.
Arizona noticed the lost look on Callie's face and decided to speak up again, "How are you?", She asked before mentally facepalming herself, "I mean, besides the obvious", She added with a nervous chuckle.
Callie shrugged; she didn't really know. And honestly, she didn't need to know. No one had asked her, until now. No one cared about the younger Torres. She was so used to living in the shadows of Aria and Andrew, that she had gotten used to not being asked questions. No one at the funeral had asked her, and they were family, and now here she was with a somewhat complete stranger. A stranger who cared about how she was feeling, instead of just looking at her with disdain like most of the people had done these days. She opened her mouth only to close it again as no sounds came out, after a few tries she found her voice "I don't… I don't know, honestly.".
"You know… I am a great listener, if you wanna talk?", Arizona offered up. She saw the sceptical look on Callie's face and offered another warm smile "We don't have to. I know we don't really know each other, anymore, and I am sure you have other people in your life, that you would rather talk with, but I am here, if you want to talk?"
Callie debated the woman's offer for a while, but must've taken too long as Arizona spoke up again, "it is okay, it was just an of-".
"Th-there is this bar, not far from here, maybe we could… We could grab a drink?", Callie spoke, her hands fidgeting. She hadn't spoken to anyone about how she was feeling, and maybe a stranger – who knew about her family – was exactly what she needed, in order to be able to open up.
Arizona offered another smile and nodded, "of course, lead the way", she said, before they headed towards Joe's bar for a beer.
Arizona was the first to speak up as they got to the bar, "So, what can I get you?" She said as they took a spot at the counter, "Drinks on me", she added before Callie could say anything.
"I- I uh… I will take a beer", She said before looking at the blonde and offering a small but genuine smile "Thanks", she added before she looked at the table.
"You got it", Arizona said before she ordered both of them a beer. She waited until they had gotten their drinks, before turning her attention back on the Latina "So… What have you been doing all of these years?" She asked, deciding to slowly ease into the conversation. "Assuming you didn't end up being a… Gosh what was it you wanted to be?"
Callie chuckled, thankful for the woman and how she tried to make it easy. "I believe it was a princess warrior, just like wonder woman" She said with a grin, as she thought back to her 7-year-old self, and the dreams she once had. "Yeah, unfortunately you have to actually be born at Themyscira and you know… Be an Amazonian, so…" She said before chuckling again "I am becoming a surgeon instead, ortho", Callie said as she began to pick the label on her bottle.
Arizona smiled as she observed the woman for a while, "Ortho is a good choice, and becoming a surgeon is never a bad thing", Arizona said before she took a sip of her beer "and that is coming from another surgeon", she added, grinning as that caught Callie's attention "Head of paediatrics, at Seattle Grace Hospital".
"That is... Wow. Daniel and Barbara must be proud", Callie said as she looked at the blonde woman "I thought you wanted to a marine like your family? Or am I remembering things wrong?"
Arizona shook her head no, "You're not wrong. At first, I wanted to enlist, but then some things happened, and I ended up choosing to be a surgeon instead. I think mom is pleased with it though. She says it's bad enough that Timothy is a marine, and have to worry about him all of the time", Arizona rambled, but as she saw the woman slowly letting her guards down and sit more relaxed in her chair, she continued to talk. "Timothy went into the marines; I went to med school and Nick decided he wanted to be a psychologist. And so… Here we are. A marine, a surgeon and a shrink. It is far away from what we wanted to be as kids, but dreams change". Arizona finished off, "What about you guys?".
Callie cleared her throat, "Well… Andrew went into the Torres empire and is working with dad, and is checking up on the hotels around the country. Aria she… She was in the company as well, organised a lot of things, such as openings and all. Helped mom with some of her fundraisers and did a lot of volunteering. And I… Well, I went to Botswana for a few years, then started out my journey to become a surgeon. Second year of my residency right now, at Mercy West" She explained, before swallowing hard "I am sorry, you probably didn't want to hear all of that, I just- I don't know, I-"
Arizona stopped the woman mid apology as she placed a hand on the brunettes, "hey… How about we make a deal. Tonight, you and I will talk, and you will tell me everything you want to tell me, I will tell you things as well, and no more apologising? Hmm?"
"I- But why are you so nice to me? You don't know me anymore; you haven't seen me for almost 20 years", Callie said confused as to why this woman would so willingly sacrifice some of her spare time to her, a stranger.
Arizona simply shrugged as she looked on Callie, "Well… I like to think that it is never too late to rekindle an old friendship, and besides… I like the company", Arizona said with a warm smile. And that is how the night started out. Callie told Arizona about her time in Botswana, how she found being a resident and where they had lived and travelled over the years. Arizona told her about her time as a resident, about her elder twin brothers and what her parents had been up to, as well as the different places they had lived, thanks to Daniels' work. The talk was going well, drinks being finished and more being ordered, Callie's guards being completely down as she was enjoying Arizona's company.
The atmosphere was light and easy, but as Callie got more drinks, she started to let her emotions out, after having them bottled up for so long. "I just… I feel like sometimes…", she said, her eyes turning sad and her posture deflating "Never mind", she tried to get out of it, having lost her courage to tell the woman how she felt, but Arizona was having none of that as she could see the woman clearly struggling.
"Hey, no… you can tell me", Arizona said as she put a hand on top of Callie's in a form of comfort. "This is a night of no judgements. Anything that is said will not be judged, okay?"
Taking a deep breath, Callie collected the courage needed, after having thought about the newest offer from the blonde. "I just feel like I have always been the one left out, you know? Like… Like when we were kids, and Andrew didn't want me to play with you guys, because I was the youngest and had other interests. And it stayed like that. Aria and Andrew always impress our parents, but me? I am the odd one out, the weird one, the one who wants different things in life than the rest of them, and they don't understand that. They don't see that. And so, I… I moved in with my aunt a good while ago, since I feel like she is the only one who really gets me… you know?", Callie said as she looked at the beer bottle in her hand. She didn't mean to say all of these things, but now that she had begun, she couldn't stop it again "And I feel like they would all be happier, if I was the one who died, you know?".
Arizona shook her head, "Hey now… Why would you say something like that? They love you, Callie. You are their daughter. Of course, they would be sad", Arizona said, not knowing how on earth this sweet woman would think such things. A few hours in her company, and Arizona was convinced she was one of the sweetest most caring people in the world, but just as she was about to voice it, Callie spoke up again.
"I am not so sure about that. I am the big disappointment, the only child without a partner, the one child who doesn't care about money or prestige or the family company. I am the one going my own road, and I don't think they have ever really forgiven me for wanting to be a doctor, be a surgeon." Callie shook her head as she felt the tears slowly form "if only I could just take her place, then everyone would end up being happy, and my family wouldn't be mourning right now…" She breathed out "She got a kid, Arizona. A kid and a husband and a big house, a reputation and so many friends, and me? I live with my aunt and can't even hold onto a guy long enough to be his girlfriend" she downed the last of her bottle, before she stood, not wanting the woman to see her finally letting her guards down, "Excuse me", she said before she walked off towards the bathroom.
Once inside the dirty bar bathroom, Callie let the tears fall. She braced herself against the sink, her heart clenching as she let the emotions out. The pain of losing her sister, the hurt of her upbringing and the heartache of her past. She was so lost in her head that she hadn't seen Arizona follow her into the bathroom.
"Callie.." Arizona whispered out as her heart broke by what she was seeing, "hey.. Come here", she said as she opened up her arms for the woman.
Callie hesitated for a few moments before she let herself be comforted for the first time since Aria's accident. "I can't believe she is gone", she cried out into Arizona's shoulder "She was supposed to have many more years, and now she is gone and I don't know what to do" she admitted as she clung to the woman's body like her life depended on it "I don't know what to do" she repeated before sniffling.
"You don't have to do anything right now", Arizona whispered out as she did her best to comfort Callie. "You're hurting and everyone will understand." She said softly as she stroked Callie's hair "Loss is.. something we cannot control, no matter how much we try. You need time to heal and that can take years" she said softly "other times.. The pain will never go away, but you will learn to live with it" she said quietly.
"But it is not fair, you know?" she whispered out "Life isn't fair" she said and stood in the embrace for a few minutes, letting Arizona's comforting words and embrace wash over her before pulling out of the embrace and wiping her cheeks, her walls going up again. Crying in front of people was not something a Torres did "I uh… Thank you" she said before clearing her throat and taking a step back "I don't know what happened, usually I am not like this" she started to explain, and saw Arizona open her mouth to reply, but knew that anymore comfort right now, would only lead to more tears, so she decided to cut the woman off. "I wanna hear more about the fellowship you're considering with Dr. Herman" she said with a pleading look.
Arizona understood and nodded "alright, come on.. I'll buy you another beer and tell you more about it", she said, knowing not to push the woman further. She guided Callie back towards their table and ordered the first of multiple drinks to the woman next to her, while she stuck to water, knowing that this would probably end with Callie drunk.
And she was right. Arizona had talked about the fellowship she considered before they began to talk about different cases they had worked on, as well as the rumours going around that Seattle Grace and Mercy West was going to merge together. Once it felt natural to get going Arizona stood "I think I should get you home now", Arizona said softly as she saw Callie having trouble sitting still on the chair. She quickly paid their bill before helping Callie up standing "come on" she said softly.
"You're very sweet" Callie slurred out as they began to walk outside the bar once Callie had gotten her coat on. "You're a good friend, I see why Aria liked you", she added with a sadness to her tone.
"You're very sweet too", Arizona said absentmindedly, as she was busy guiding the intoxicated woman towards her car "I need the address for your aunt's place", She added, before catching the brunette right before she could fall over the curb, "Whoa! Careful".
"Am sorry", Callie replied as she did her best to focus on getting into the car without further stumbling. Once she was safely inside, she got the seatbelt on, then leaned back into the seat with a soft hum, "this is nice", she said as she closed her eyes.
"Hey no, please don't fall asleep, I still need your address Callie", Arizona said as she shook her head but couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips.
"But you could be a burgerler", Callie said before frowning and decided to try again "You could be a burgerleler… A.. b.. Uh", she said as the frown grew deeper before a grin formed "A thief! You could be a thief. Mhm yes", she said, proud of herself.
Arizona couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at the woman in her passenger seat, "But why would I rob your house, when you know who I am, hmm?", Arizona questioned with a raised eyebrow and a smile still in place.
"Eeeerh…", Callie said as the frown was back in place as she could see the good point the woman made, "well maybe you are going to kidnap me then! You hear that in some cases, that the victim knows the kidnapper".
Arizona shook her head in disbelief, and chuckled softly. It was a good thing she worked with kids on a daily basis, as it had given her a lot of patience. "Well… how about I promise you, I will not kidnap you, rob you or take advantage of you? I just want to see you get home safely, yeah?" the blonde bargained.
Callie thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay fine, you will get the address".
Once she had finally gotten Callie to give her the address Arizona drove off. She noticed the woman in the passenger seat had drifted off, and decided to let her sleep for the ride, thinking maybe it would be easier to get her inside once they got to her place.
After navigating through the streets of Seattle, Arizona pulled up at the place of the address that Callie had given her. Shutting off the car, she turned to look at the woman who was still sleeping steadily in the passenger seat. She smiled an almost sad smile before she got out of the car and around to where Callie was sitting. She opened the door, before she carefully began to wake the woman, "Callie? Callieeee.. We are here, come on" she said softly, as she stroked the woman's arm. "Come on, let's get you to bed".
"Hmmm..", the brunette groaned out as she blinked her eyes a few times, trying to wake up as the woman next to her kept talking "am home?", she questioned as she noticed it was in fact the front door of her aunt's place. "Am home", she repeated before she started to get out of the car.
"Here, I got you", Arizona said as Callie stood and swayed slightly on the sideway. She wrapped an arm around Callie and guided the woman's arm around her shoulders. "Let's get you inside, shall we?".
Callie nodded and was thankful for the support she had received by the woman. They reached the front door and Callie fumbled for a while to with her keys, before whining "can you unlock the door please?".
Arizona chuckled and nodded, before grabbing the offered keys. She got the door open and got Callie inside. "Where to?" she asked.
Callie pointed towards the left door "that way", she ordered and together they managed to get Callie into her bedroom.
Arizona guided the woman to sit on her bed before she took a step back "Okay, s-"
"Can you grab my pyjamas, please? They are in the bathroom over there" she said as she pointed towards the door "I don't wanna", she said with a small pout.
Arizona nodded and offered yet another smile "of course", she said before she walked off towards the bathroom. She couldn't help but look at the surroundings and take in the room. It lacked personal stuff, like family pictures, posters and everything that made the room personal. All it had was a desk, a wardrobe, a few book shelves, a bed and a nightstand, and that was pretty much it. She shook her head, knowing that now was not the time to ask Callie questions about her lack of decorations. 'Maybe she likes it this way, not everyone is like you Robbins', she told herself. She quickly grabbed Callie's clothes before she walked back.
"You kept your promise" Callie mumbled out as she was still sitting on the bed, having given up on getting her shoes off and was instead just watching as Arizona came back with Callie's pyjamas.
"Hmm? What promise?"
Callie grinned as she accepted the clothes from the blonde "you didn't kidnap me" she said before laughing at her own joke.
Arizona couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her as she looked at the woman "Oh yeah, I take promises very seriously Calliope", she said as she leaned her head slightly to the side. "Why don't you take on your pyjamas and I will find you some Advil and water for tomorrow, yeah?" She asked the woman and got a nod in return.
"The Advil's are in the bathroom", Callie explained before she began to take off her shirt.
Arizona quickly spun around so she had her back to the woman, "Okay, yeah uh great, I'll be right back", she informed and got a hum in return.
It took her a few minutes to navigate her way through the unfamiliar house, and she wasn't exactly comfortable roaming through their stuff. But once she had located the pills and a bottle of water, she returned to Callies room, only to stop in the doorway as she watched the woman passed out on her bed, still in her shoes and jeans, but at least she had changed the top. Arizona bit down her bottom lip as she contemplated if she should help Callie out of the rest of her clothes. She didn't want to make Callie uncomfortable in the morning, but she also knew how uncomfortable it would be to sleep in shoes and jeans. After debating the pros and cons she ended up helping Callie out of the jeans and shoes as carefully as possible, not wanting her to wake. 'Just like helping a patient', she reminded herself.
She tugged the woman into the bed before she found a piece of paper and a pen, then wrote a small note.
Good Moring Calliope,
I hope the head is feeling okay?
I really enjoyed seeing you again, despite the circumstances
and I hope we can meet up over coffee one day? Catch up some
more about how things have been? Let me know.
I used your key to lock the front door, I've put it in the mailbox,
hopefully that is okay.
Arizona Robbins
She looked at the note and nodded, it was fine. She added her number under her name, having a feeling of protectiveness towards the younger woman. Which was silly, she knew. But after talking with her all evening she had a feeling that Callie didn't really have anyone in her corner, and Arizona knew that it would end up tearing the woman down completely. So, if she could be the friend Callie wanted and needed right now, then she would be more than happy to help her.
With one final look at the sleeping woman, Arizona placed the note on the nightstand before separating the key to the front door from the rest of Callies keys. She shut off the lights and closed the door, before leaving the place. After having locked up the door and put the key into the mailbox, just like she said she would, she drove off towards her own place. 'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to reach out to Nick on this one…' she thought to herself before noting the time, and deciding it would wait until the morning.
AN: I hope this story is something you like, if so, please let me know and I will continue you it? It is a rough take on an original story I plan on writing out in the future, but I want to see if it got potential first. There's no beta on it and my native language isn't English, so I do apologise for the mistakes. Anyway! Let me know what you think? Want a chapter two?
Hopefully I will see ya!