Chapter Three
Callie
Callie took a deep, steadying breath, held it for ten seconds and released it slowly in an attempt to compose herself and slow her heart rate before she followed the blonde into the building. She watched Arizona join her group without turning around. Sighing, Callie joined her own group by the boards feeling a little sad. She had almost asked Arizona to kiss her but had come to her senses or chickened out, she wasn't really sure which was true. She busied herself with studying the pictures on the board intently, suddenly feeling overcome with emotions. A lot had happened in a short amount of time, she was both mentally and physically exhausted. The pictures of the lead surgeons and other residents, interns, and attendings held her attention long enough for her to get a good look at their pictures and read their short descriptions; But, despite her best efforts, her eyes kept landing on the blonde haired, blue eyed beauty's photo. It was a breathtaking picture, and certainly not one that was taken here. It was a candid shot of her profile, smiling widely but genuinely, dimpled cheek on full display. Her blonde curls were pulled back in a loose messy bun at the back of her head and a sparkly headband kept unruly curls from falling into her face. Taking a closer look, Callie could see that many of the photos were not the polaroids they had snapped earlier. 'Must be the group that did the promotional pictures,' Callie thought to herself.
"Ok guys...and gals...I have your gear here. We will do this alphabetically like before. Your name should be stitched into your helmet, vest, and medical bag in red. We are the red team. Certain things will be color coded so you need to know that." Tim said as he was bent over the table sorting through items and placing them in seven piles along the long table he stood behind.
"Ok, Avery, you're up." Tim called. Callie waited patiently through "Koracick, Murphy, O'Malley, Sloan" each stepping up to the table, collecting their things and coming back to the group before "Torres" was called out. Taking her pile of belongings from Tim's hands, she quickly stepped back and rejoined the group before he had a chance to speak to her once again. "Yang" stepped up to gather her belongings before Tim addressed the group once more.
"Ok red team, it's 19:48, you are free to stay and mingle for another hour or two or you can retire early and take advantage of the empty barracks and latrines."
Callie didn't need to be told twice that she could leave. There were fourteen other girls sharing the latrines with only five toilets, showers, and sinks. Deciding a hot shower would be helpful to relax her and wash this day off she, along with Yang, quickly exited the building and made a beeline for the barracks to drop off their newly received belongings and grab their pajamas and bathroom caddies.
"Oh my God! Hot water never felt so good." Cristina moaned from the shower beside Callie's own shower stall.
Callie smiled from her own shower stall as she adjusted the temperature so she could undress and step under a hot stream of water. Though Callie usually preferred her water much hotter, this was better than she could have hoped for.
"Oh, that feels amazing." Callie moaned as she stepped under the not quite piping hot water for the first time. "God I needed this."
"I know, right?" Cristina agreed from her own shower.
Callie continued to moan in pleasure as she massaged her shampoo into her scalp then rinsed and repeated with her conditioner. She let the conditioner set as she worked on cleansing her body, massaging the sore muscles of her legs as she did so. She moaned loudly again at a particular sore spot in her thigh muscles and then put her head back under the hot water to rinse her hair and body. Hearing Cristina's voice again, Callie opened her eyes, momentarily having forgotten that she wasn't alone. "You good in there Carpenter? I mean, I could give you some privacy if you need it."
Callie heard a toilet flush and she realized that she and Cristina were no longer alone and someone else had probably heard her moaning. "No, no, of course not. It wasn't THAT kind of moaning. It's just been three days since I've been able to wash my hair and it felt amazing."
"Hey, no judgements here. I had the same reaction but your moaning is much louder and a bit more seductive sounding." Cristina teased.
Turning her water off, Callie reached for her towels using one to pin her thick hair up onto her head and the other to secure tightly around her body. Not being a modest person, Callie decided to dress out in the main area of the latrines where there were semi private areas for changing in case someone else needed to shower. She gathered her belongings and opened the door, making her way to the sink to brush her teeth before dressing. As she sat her belongings on the edge of the skin, her eyes caught blue ones in the larger mirror hanging above the five sinks.
"Hi." Callie said. 'Great, it had to be Arizona that overheard the moaning.'
"Hi." Arizona responded.
Arizona quickly looked away as she shut the water off at her own sink and turned to dry her hands with an air dryer. Feeling a little exposed in her skimpy towel, she took in Arizona's appearance. A thin pink spaghetti strapped tank top adorned the top half of her body over perfect smooth looking skin and her bottom half was clad in short white shorts that barely covered her firm ass. The shorts made her petite frame look as though she had legs for days. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun and as she turned back around having dried her hands, Callie noticed that strands of blonde hair were falling into her makeup-less face.
"Stunning." Callie whispered aloud accidentally.
"Excuse me?" Arizona asked, not understanding her but knowing that she had said something as the dryer shut off.
"Oh, no..nothing, just talking to myself." Callie stuttered.
"You seemed like you wanted to say something earlier when we were standing outside together but then changed your mind."
"No, nope, just was coming to get ya."
"Calliope." Arizona questioned as she tilted her head to one side and nodded as if telling Callie it was ok to continue.
"Really, that's all it was."
"Ok, well, have a good night then Callie." Arizona said, still averting her eyes as she walked out of the bathroom feeling Callie's eyes on her the entire time.
Callie shook her head and continued with her nightly routine, brushing her teeth and hair, applying lotion, and face cream as Cristina emerged from her own stall fully clothed in sweats and a Stanford T-shirt.
"Well that interaction with Blondie was awkward as hell." Cristina commented bluntly as only she could.
"Thanks for the moral support sourpuss." Callie replied as she slid her wonder woman underwear up her toned thighs under her towel and tossed a loose T that hung off one shoulder over her head. She continued her glare of Cristina as she pulled her sleep shorts up to cover wonder woman and slid her feet into her fuzzy slippers. Cristina just shrugged and continued to brush her teeth.
"Yea, well you keep moaning like that and I might turn to the vagina monologues for you. Can't imagine what blondie thought since she's already been through the vagina monologues and is all aboard the cooter canoe."
"What do you mean?" Callie asked. 'Is she saying what I think she's saying?'
"I didn't mean to offend you, I mean it's not for me but I'm all for love is love and all that." Cristina said sounding genuinely sincere and caring.
"Is Arizona?"
"Is she what? Gay? Yea, of course she is. Callie, you guys make the windows steamy, how do you not know this?"
"But, how do you know?" Callie asked feeling insecure and very confused. I mean sure, she kissed her in a bathroom but that was months ago and she disappeared right after that. Plus, a kiss doesn't mean you're gay. Plenty of her straight friends had kissed girls in college. And Arizona had said herself that tequila had been involved.
"You sure are slow for such a smart girl, Carpenter. First off, I told you, I googled everyone and second, you would have to be completely oblivious to not feel the lesbo vibes coming off the two of you."
"But I'm not...I've never...Cristina, I'm not gay." Callie stampered.
"Oh...Ok...sorry." Cristina replied now feeling confused herself but who was she to push someone out of the closet when they didn't even know they were standing in one.
"And besides, even if I were, Tim told me that she's married to Nick."
"Callie, trust me, she bats for the other team. I am 100% sure of that. Plus I googled her. She's professional but of course personal things also popped up and there was absolutely no mention of a husband. But it did mention a few names of ladies she had allegedly dated."
"Why would Tim say that then? And I heard Nick refer to her as his wife."
"Catch up, Cal. Tim has a thing for you. Geez, must I explain everything?! And you're supposed to be some sort of ortho goddess genius or something." Cristina said as she used the palm of her hand to pat Callie on the forehead to emphasize how dense she thought she was being.
"Hey!" Callie complained.
"Come on Carpenter, I'm beat." Cristina said as they gathered up their things from the sink and led them through the short hall that connected them to the barracks.
They walked through the door where the hall opened up into the barracks between Amelia and Arizona's lockers. The room was quiet as some people were still at the mixer and those who had retired early could feel the collective exhaustive state of the people in the room. Callie's cohort were in all different stages of their nightly routine from changing into sleepwear to already fast asleep. Callie noticed blonde hair splayed across a pillow as Arizona lay on her belly facing away from Callie's bunk as she climbed into bed. She tried to see if she was already sleeping by monitoring her breathing but she was snuggled deeply into the blankets and Callie realized that Amelia Shepherd from the bunk below Arizona's had caught her red handed staring at the blonde. They exchanged awkward smiles as Callie laid down on her right side facing the blonde's bunk where she could openly watch her back rise and fall without prying eyes catching her.
Callie let her mind wander to her conversation with Erica earlier that night which only turned more complicated when Tim joined them while she continued watching the blonde sleep. Never had she ever thought in a million years that she would run into Erica Hahn here, much less have her be a lead surgeon. She had a list of names of surgeons that would be part of S.H.E. for over a month now and had never bothered to look at it. While the doctors from Seattle Grace had all traveled together, doctors from other hospitals and programs hadn't joined them until they were already in Dubai. By then, Callie was too tired to care who was on the trip with her besides the people she already knew from Seattle Grace. Callie and Erica had known each other back in med school. Erica had been a senior, Callie a freshmen. Having an abrasive personality, none of the other med students in her own year really cared for Erica so she really had no friends. Erica had met Callie at a party a week into Callie's first semester in which they sat and talked music, poetry, and of course medicine. While they were chatting and drinking wine together, everyone around them got wasted. Their friendship had grown and they had been quite close when the night before Christmas break, a round of celebratory drinking with Callie's friends and Erica had turned into a game of truth or dare with many many many tequila shots involved; Erica had been dared to make out with Callie. Accepting the challenge they had made out passionately in front of their friends. After the party, Erica had come to Callie's dorm where the make out session continued until Callie put the breaks on just as Erica was about to slide into third base. Erica had seemed upset by Callie stopping whatever was about to happen between them that night but Callie passed it off as too much alcohol. The next morning when Callie woke, Erica was gone. She spent the entire Christmas break fretting over what everything meant and what she would say to Erica when the new semester resumed; but when they returned, Erica snubbed her, pretending like Callie was a stranger. They never really talked again. Callie had been sad and confused at the time but med school kept her busy and she had quickly moved on with her friends and a few boyfriends. She hadn't thought of Erica until today when she questioned her sexuality earlier and then at the mixer when Erica approached her. She had walked up to Callie, handed her a drink and whispered in her ear, "Will I ever make it to third base?" Callie, feeling nervous and slightly awkward, had laughed loudly. But as they continued with small talk, Callie found herself comfortable in the woman's presence. They had been enjoying their reunion until Tim joined them.
'Ugh Tim' Callie thought to herself. The truth was, she liked Tim, a lot, and he made it clear that he liked her too. The problem was, she liked his sister more and that confused and frustrated her to no end. If she had never met the blonde, never knew of her existence, never knew what her soft pink lips felt like on hers, Tim would totally be her choice in men. Tim had joined the conversation, asking how the two women knew each other, he got the make out story from an annoyed Hahn. Then he had, out of nowhere, mentioned that his sister, Arizona, who was also on the trip, was married to his best friend, Nick. And with perfect timing, a scuffle was heard and their attention was brought to the two in a heated discussion before Arizona grabbed Nick roughly and marched him outside. Arizona pissed off was hot. 'What the actual fuck Callie?'
After a while, new hushed voices could be heard getting ready for bed and Callie figured the mixer must have finally ended. Someone turned out the lights a few moments later and Callie finally closed her eyes thinking sleep would come quickly. She was exhausted but her mind just wouldn't rest. In fact, it was moving at warp speed. Images of the blonde invaded her mind and questions kept popping up faster than a freight train; questions she had no answers to.
Arizona grabbing her by her leather jacket and kissing her hard against the sink of the bathroom popped in her head, followed by Arizona in her thin, pink tank top without a bra on…'What do boobs feel like?' Callie wondered. 'Jesus Callie, you have boobs, you know what they feel like. 'Yes, but not someone else's boobs.' Callie was having an internal argument with herself and it was not going well. 'Seriously Callie, make out session in college, you know what girls boobs feel like. No, actually Erica felt mine, I didn't get much of a chance to feel hers before I freaked out.' Callie sighed at herself, it was a lovely time to have an internal argument with herself. 'What you really want to know is what Arizona's boobs feel like. Yea, what they feel like naked. Oh Jesus, Torres, get a grip. 'I don't know what other girls' naked boobs feel like' Callie smiled smugly to herself as if she were proving a point and winning some sort of disagreement but how do you win when you're fighting yourself? 'I wonder what her boobs taste like?' "What the fuck?" Callie whispered aloud this time. 'Where the hell did that come from?' Callie shook her head, rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
A new image popped into her head. One that involved long, naked legs with toned calves and defined thigh muscles leading up to a tight ass that just doesn't quit. An ass that is covered only by the thin terry cloth of white cheer leading shorts. 'I wonder if she's wearing panties under those shorts. Ugh, you're a total creeper Torres...you know that, right?' Despite the internal chastising she was giving herself, the thoughts and images alone were enough to make her panties damp with her own arousal. Bringing her hands up to her face, she scrubbed her face roughly as if washing the images burned into her retinas away. But the thought of retinas only brought images of creamy white, toned abs to the forefront of her mind. Slamming her fists down on each side of her body, Callie rolled over to her right side, once again facing the blonde. 'I'm not even gay, what am I doing?' Callie reasoned with herself. But then another part of her shouted, 'Oh yea well tell that to your dirty freakin mind and ruined wonder woman panties, Torres. Oh, this is just ridiculous.' Callie thought as she punched her pillow into submission out of frustration.
"You ok?" Callie heard a whispered voice ask. It was only then that she noticed the blonde now laying on her left side, facing her with her head slightly cocked to one side, head propped up in her left hand with her elbow resting on her pillow. With her eyes now adjusted to the darkness, Callie could make out the features on Arizona's face which showed one eyebrow slightly raised and a smirk that was part amusement, part concern on her lips.
"Yea, not used to these beds or pillows." Callie whispered back with the only excuse she could come up with.
"Quite the pillow princess already, huh?" Arizona giggled sweetly. Then added, "Goodnight, Calliope."
Arizona laid her head back down with her left arm folded underneath her head. Callie mimicked her pose with her right arm folded underneath her own head, "Goodnight, Arizona."
Her last thought before finally falling asleep was , 'Gay or not, I am totally screwed when it comes to her.' She fell asleep with a smile on her face.
"Five more minutes!" Callie whined, reaching her arm out to feel for her alarm clock on her bedside table that wasn't there. Her hand felt around blindly but she couldn't find it. Groaning, Callie lifted her head up to find it was still dark out. The alarm quit suddenly. Looking around, Callie spotted Arizona climbing down the ladder of her bunk.
"What time is it?" Callie asked quietly, rubbing her eyes.
"0500, go back to sleep." Arizona whispered.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why so early?"
"Amelia, April, and I are meeting the rest of our team plus Tim, Nick, Owen, and Nathan for a morning run." Arizona replied.
"Oh my God, you're a morning person." Callie moaned grumpily, eliciting a giggle from Arizona at her antics. She hopped the rest of the way down the ladder to the ground as she smiled at Callie. Callie saw that Amelia and April were both already up and the three girls quickly changed into sports bras, t-shirts, and leggings. Callie laid back down and closed her eyes, not wanting to be a creeper nor needing anymore images of naked Arizona burned into her retinas.
What felt like only a few moments later, an alarm sounded again and Callie cursed as she flew up in search of the offending phone that was producing the obnoxious sound.
"Crap." Callie moaned as she hopped off the top bunk and pulled her phone from the charger in her cubby where she had left it the night before. It was 6:15 am. Breakfast was at 07:00 sharp. Although she didn't need forty-five minutes to get ready, she didn't want to take any chances of being late or having a repeat of yesterday. Deciding to get dressed in the bathroom, Callie grabbed clean underwear, an under shirt, her bra, and the scrubs hanging in her cubby.
Entering the bathroom she found Arizona, Amelia, and April already dressed in their scrubs and in various stages of doing their hair and make-up. Amelia was at the sink working on applying eyeliner and April sat straddling a random chair while Arizona worked some elaborate braid into her red hair.
"Morning." April said in a high pitched, chipper voice.
"Morning." Callie grumbled back.
"She's not a morning person." Arizona said, leaning down to face April with a fist full of her hair still in her hands. April giggled and Arizona smiled widely, popping her dimples at Callie as she continued with the braid.
"No, you guys are just way too perky for this early." Callie defended with a fake smile. She hadn't even had coffee yet. How was she supposed to socialize without caffeine especially with overly perky non-caffeinated people.
"You'll get used to it. I, myself am not generally a perky person but they seem to be rubbing off on me." Amelia chipped in.
"Great." Callie said sarcastically with her eyebrows raised. She plopped her stuff down on the counter before locking herself in a stall to pee. Deciding maybe a hot shower would be nice after all, she washed her hands and threw her hair up in a clip on her head as she grabbed a folded towel from the shelf and entered the only unoccupied shower.
"Ok, Apes, I think we're done here. You want me to braid yours Amelia?"
"No, no, no thank you. It's beautiful though, really April." Amelia smiled as April looked in the mirror.
"Oh, it's so pretty, Arizona. Thank you so much, I love it." Callie could hear April's high pitched voice exclaim.
"It really is quite exquisite, Arizona. Where did you learn to braid like that? Timmy let you practice on him?" Amelia teased.
"Ha! No!" Arizona laughed. "But Teds has let me braid her hair before. But honestly, lesbian here, lots of girls to practice on."
"Lots?" April asked, her voice rising an octave.
"Depends on your definition of what a lot is." Arizona replied.
"How many girls are we talking?" Amelia teased. Arizona quickly realized her mistake but it was too late. Having gone through med school, internship, and most of residency together, Amelia knew first hand about Arizona's little black book. Actually, she was in that book.
"That's for me and my little black book to know and for you to never find out." Arizona responded.
This conversation was rapidly causing Callie's mood to sink further and further. On one hand, she now knew for certain that Arizona was in fact a lesbian. Which made her mad to think Tim would blatantly lie to her. But it also caused little butterflies to erupt happily in her stomach which she found annoying at the moment. On the other hand, wondering about the list of names in this so called little black book was now filling her with the very familiar feeling of jealousy. 'What the fuck, Torres?' Callie turned the water off and grabbed her towel roughly. Maybe the gorgeous blonde made a habit out of kissing random women in bar bathrooms and then disappearing without a trace. Or maybe she did more than just kiss. That thought didn't improve her mood in the slightest.
The sounds of more and more voices began to fill the air as more people entered the bathroom and showers were exited then re-entered. By the time Callie left her stall fully clothed, the three women she had been unintentionally eavesdropping on had already left. Callie focused on applying a light coat of makeup and tossed her hair up in a ponytail. She was blessed with thick hair that was just curly enough to not require much but also not too crazy or frizzy. One last look in the mirror and Callie returned to the barracks. It was still a bit too early to head to the mess hall and not in the mood to converse with anyone, Callie put her ear buds in and sat on the bench outside her cubby to read through The Seattle Grace Surgical Humanitarian Effort brochure that was among the paperwork they had received just before leaving for their trip. 'I definitely should have read that list of surgeons who were attending this trip before now.' Callie thought to herself as she now reviewed the list and very clearly saw both Arizona Robbins and Erica Hahn listed.
Inside the front cover was a picture of the Chief and what she assumed was probably the board of trustees at Seattle Grace. The Surgical Humanitarian Effort: S.H.E. was written above the photo with a mission statement.
Committed to investing in compassion, excellence, and education by
building future surgeons the Seattle Grace Way
Flipping through the pages absentmindedly, she studied a map of Afghanistan and the base where they were currently staying in the centerfold of the pamphlet. It all sounded so exciting when she had first applied for the opportunity six months ago. Dr. Webber had called the Chief of surgery at New York Presbytarian and personally requested for Callie to apply to the ortho program at Seattle Grace, as well as the S.H.E. mission trip that would be taking place. A six month commitment and volunteering her time in exchange for the last year of her residency being completed plus all the experience she would gain just seemed too good to pass up.
"Yo, mean girl, it is 06:51, breakfast time." Amelia tapped her on the shoulder and waited for her to remove an ear bud before informing her of the time.
"K, thanks." Callie said, placing the ear bud back in her left ear and pulling out her socks and trainers to put on. Placing the brochure back in her cubby, she gathered her vest, helmet, and medical bag. Unfortunately for Callie, as she turned around to leave, she realized Amelia had waited for her as she stood there holding her own gear. 'So much for avoiding the three stooges' Callie thought as she pulled her earbuds out and followed Amelia out of the barracks.
"She's worth it ya know." Amelia said suddenly after they had walked a short distance in silence.
"What?" Callie asked, feeling more annoyed by the second.
"Arizona, she's worth getting to know. Don't let the blonde, perky, sweetheart demeanor fool you. She is all those things but she's also smart, funny, a great doctor, and an even greater friend. She's worth taking the plunge for." Amelia explained.
"I don't even know you. Why are you talking to me about this?" Callie said, stopping in her tracks before their conversation could be heard by the people in line for the mess hall that they were approaching.
"I don't know, it just seems like she likes you and there's something there, between the two of you. I mean I was there the night she kissed you in the bathroom at Joe's. I've never seen her so giddy."
"And then she disappeared. It's really none of your business."
"Oooookay then, just trying to help." Amelia said as Callie stomped off to join the line outside the mess hall. Amelia caught up to her and stood behind her in line. Callie glanced at her from the corner of her eye, she looked as if she wanted to say something else but she just chewed on the inside of her cheek instead.
"Sorry." Callie said, feeling bad for her outburst.
"It's ok. It really isn't my business, just looking out for a friend. I guess this means you don't want to join us for breakfast then."
"Oh, I forgot we don't have to sit with our teams anymore. Maybe another day. I already promised Cristina that I would sit with her." Callie lied, hoping beyond hope that sourpuss would have a seat saved for her.
Scanning the hall with her tray in her hands a few minutes later, Callie was grateful when she caught Cristina's eye and she motioned for her to join her very full looking table. Callie claimed the last seat as she looked around at the eight people she was sitting with besides Cristina and herself. Charles Percy and Matthew Taylor of Mercy West introduced themselves. Callie was already familiar with Jackson who was on her team along with George and Cristina, Lexie, Meredith, Izzie, and Alex who were also seated at their table. Though she didn't know them well, she had worked with them during her past six months at Seattle Grace and they were friendly with each other. She liked most of them even and had shared a drink or two with a few of them at Joe's on occasion after a difficult shift. But for the most part, Callie had spent her six months in Seattle working hard and keeping to herself. She really wanted to keep the gossip to a minimum so aside from Mark, she had not socialized much with anyone. Then after she and Mark had their falling out, she had agreed to a night out at Joe's with Meredith and had been surprised by how much fun she had and how much she enjoyed the woman's dark sense of humor. The group engaged in small talk for a few moments after introductions were made before the table settled into a comfortable silence.
Breakfast went quickly and mostly quietly for Callie. Feeling as if she was still not in the mood to interact much with anyone, Callie placed her ear buds back in her ears and placed her head on her folded arms that rested on the table. She closed her eyes and let the music erase some stress from her body as she dozed off. Cristina shook her awake a few moments later and they joined their team to load their vehicle and collect their hospital ID badges. Callie followed Cristina into the front of the RG33, sitting next to her directly behind the driver and passenger seats. Leah and George sat in the seats across from them. To say it was a tight fit was an understatement and Callie felt slightly self conscious about her curves with Christina next to her and Leah across from her. She never used to feel self conscious before Blake but that was why moving to Seattle and going on this mission trip were important to her. Sure, she wanted to help people and becoming a surgeon had been her dream since she was twelve but she needed this too. Over the past six months she had started to feel the old Callie coming back little by little. The Callie that was confident with a positive self esteem and could have a great time alone dancing in the living room in her underwear was starting to make a comeback.
Two officers shut the back doors, bringing Callie back to the present, as Timothy took his seat last across from Dr. Sloan. There were four vehicles lined up behind theirs, once everyone was loaded, their vehicle started to move, leading the way out of the base and onto a rough road leading to the hospital. Callie was full of anxiety and excitement. The fear of the unknown and being unsure of what to expect caused the anxiety to creep in but she was also beyond excited to get to work and really make a difference.
Silence occupied the vehicle as the doctors got their first view of Afghanistan up close. Callie was in shock and feeling more emotional as they passed people in villages walking with children on their backs with dilapidated buildings damaged by gunfire and bombs nearby. They were outside of the city on the outskirts where smaller villages were closer together. Having decided that more people would have better access if the hospital were not in the big city, the Carter Madison had built the makeshift hospital closer to some of the villages. Arriving at the hospital roughly half an hour later, Callie noticed it appeared rundown but mostly unscathed compared to many buildings they had seen. As they unloaded the vehicle and Callie got her first glimpse inside the hospital, she was feeling very overwhelmed. To say that she had been privileged for having worked in the hospitals she had been able to work in would be the understatement of her life compared with this makeshift hospital that was run mostly by volunteer programs, local villagers, and on occasion members of the military. As the other vehicles pulled up, one by one and unloaded its occupants, what Callie assumed was the lobby of the hospital became more and more crowded. Having been the second to last vehicle to unload, the Chief made his way through the crowd to the front of the room. Callie thought it was eerily empty for being the lobby of a hospital and she shuddered. The concrete floors were coated in a thin layer of dust from all the rubble that had fallen from the surrounding buildings and the dust just seemed to hang in the air. Chunks of concrete were missing from the bare walls. Where computers and charts would fill the desk at any other hospital Callie had worked at, the wooden counter was bare without even a telephone or a chair, let alone a person manning the desk. The lighting was dim and the light bulbs in the ceiling were bare with no covering. It was eerily quiet, a word they never dared to speak at Seattle Grace unless you wanted all havoc to break loose. Aside from the soft whispering of the anxious staff crowding the open space, the only sounds heard were the occasional far away beep of medical equipment or a rare vehicle passing by.
"Ok, I know this is not an environment you are used to seeing or working in. Today, we will only be taking a tour and rounding briefly on some patients that may require our care over the next several days. Some of those will require surgery. Barring any emergencies, we will mostly be getting familiar with the hospital, the patients and staff, and the equipment available to us for this week. Next week we will begin doing some surgeries and bringing in some consults so be prepared to hit the ground running. As Dr. Robbins is somewhat familiar with this facility and it's inner workings, I have asked her to lead the tour today."
Arizona made her way to the front of the room to stand by Chief Webber making sure she lightly brushed a curvy hip on her way through the crowd just as the Latina shuddered again. She gave her a reassuring smile as their eyes met briefly and she took the last few steps to Chief Webber's side. "Before I begin the tour, I'd like for you all to get a feel for the layout of the building. There are technically three floors if you count the basement which houses the morgue and the bomb shelter. The first floor is largely made up of a triage center that doubles as an ER, a large burn unit, one procedure room, three OR's, and a male adult unit. Men and women are separated here with the exception of the burn unit. There is also an imaging center that is very limited compared to what you are used to and a lab that is much more outdated than you are accustomed to. The second floor houses two additional OR's, the women's medical unit, nursery, pediatric unit, and an additional two procedure rooms. There is one elevator that works mostly on a pulley system for emergencies if the power is out and one that runs off electricity. We have to be cognisant of the amount of electricity used so we ask that aside from patient transport or the transportation of heavy equipment, you utilize the stairs as much as possible."
"Thank you Dr. Robbins. Any questions before we get started?" Chief Webber asked. No one raised their hands so the Chief gestured for Arizona to go on, "Lead the way Robbins."
"Actually Chief Webber, I think forty people is just too much to take around at one time. Can we split into smaller groups and have Teddy and Owen take a few. I promise when it comes to the peds unit I will make sure everyone gets a tour from me."
"Excellent idea, Dr. Robbins. Altman why don't you take your group and Riggs group and Hunt, you take your group and Gilbert's group. I'll go with Dr. Robbins and the other Robbin's group." The Chief assigned quickly.
"Teddy, I will take my group upstairs to tour the second floor units, you take your group to the burn unit, OR, and men's surgical unit. Owen, you take your group to the triage/ER, procedure room, imaging and lab. Then we will meet back here and switch groups." Arizona barked out orders.
Not waiting for a response, Arizona turned around and led the Chief and the red team up the stairs to the second floor. Stopping and showing them the OR's first since they were closest to the staircase, Callie couldn't believe her eyes. There was no way this was sterile. She had never seen a sadder looking OR. It was more like a white room with tiles all the way up the walls and floor with a bed in the center of the room and three lights that were bare bulbs hanging in the center of the ceiling spaced out along the length of the room. A large drain sat in the center of the floor and Callie hoped it was a trick of the light or her wild imagination but she swore, the grout of the white tiles looked blood stained near the drain. There was a small room that lead into each of the two ORs where a basin for scrubbing sat as well as an area for gowning up, though Callie could see no sterile gowns or surgical sets from where she stood. She hoped that was due to space and not because there literally was not any for them to use. The next stop was the women's unit which consisted of one long room with ten beds on each wall, some separated by green partitions but most of them visible from the doorway. Leading them on, Arizona stopped at the nursery where babies from newborn to what Callie guessed was around two years of age were laying in cribs. Three rows of five cribs were occupied and Callie saw several other empty cribs lined up against walls and in tight rows, barely leaving space for nurses and doctors to walk through. Callie's heart broke at the sight and she found herself fighting back tears. 'You're getting soft Torres. You need to get back to breaking bones, crying over babies is so not badass.' Leading them on once again, Arizona stopped at a set of double doors and gathered her thoughts. She had been here before, spent almost two years of her life devoted to helping underprivileged children even before coming overseas, but still it got to her. She just wanted to bring some hope and happiness into the room. So she gathered her strength and addressed the group.
"I know most of you have not had a chance to work with me so you don't understand how I run my peds unit. This is not general surgery in miniature. These are the tiny humans. These are children. They believe in magic. They play pretend. There is fairy dust in their IV bags. They hope, and they cross their fingers, and they make wishes, and that makes them more resilient than adults. They recover faster, survive worse. They believe. In peds, we have miracles and magic. In peds, anything is possible." Arizona spoke, captivating the attention of a certain brunette who knew if she was not in trouble before she was absolutely smitten now. Her heart skipped a couple beats and she felt a warmth spread over her, a smile graced her face for the first time that day. Looking around, Callie could see that the other doctors seemed captivated as well and Tim was positively glowing with pride for his baby sister. He didn't often get to see her in her element.
Arizona turned from the group and entered through the double doors. As Callie and Cristina followed, Cristina turned and stuck her finger in her mouth to imitate vomiting. Callie smiled at her but in truth, she was feeling very inspired and warm and fuzzy toward the peds surgeon at the moment. She had to get this under control. It wasn't that she was opposed to being gay or bi or whatever the hell she was, it was more that she was inexperienced, especially compared to the blonde. She cared too much about the peds surgeon for her to end up being just an experiment to the brunette. No, if Callie was going to explore this, she would have to start with someone that wasn't Arizona. Arizona deserves more, a hell of a lot more than just being someone's experiment.
The following week, Callie woke up feeling conflicted yet again. She had several restless nights of sleep and a blue eyed blonde was completely responsible for that. Although she had seen her at meals, in the hospital while working, and occasionally around base, they had mostly avoided each other over the past week and a half. Still, the blonde invaded her dreams most nights. She had no idea what these feelings she was having were about; it wasn't as if she never had a girl crush before. It just wasn't something she had ever acted on and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Well she did want to, of course, that was part of the problem. These conflicting feelings might be exactly the catalyst that caused her to march up to Mark Sloan just before lunch and pull him into a very tiny supply closet.
They hadn't talked in several months after an argument where he basically asked her to be his baby mama and couldn't see the many reasons why that might upset a girl, especially one who had recently been cheated on by her fiance. Not to mention the fact that they would both be going overseas and she has not even completed her residency yet. Or the fact that they were friends who occasionally had sex but were in no way in love. Or the fact that Mark had just broken up with yet another fling and Callie was just occupying his time until the next one appeared. But, despite all of this, Callie found herself in the supply closet with Mark.
"Hey, Torres, if you wanted a piece of me, all you had to do was ask." Mark said in his cocky McSteamy tone.
"Shut up, Mark." Callie said and pushed him against the only shelf in the room and kissed him hard and sloppily.
"Hey, not that I'm not enjoying this because it's been a while and you're hot and all but what's up? We haven't talked for months and now you what? Want to bang in a supply closet in Afghanistan?" Mark asked. He might be a man whore but he truly cared for Callie and he could tell something was bothering her.
Not wanting to talk, Callie shushed Mark again with another kiss, "I don't want to talk, Mark", Callie breathed before attacking Mark's mouth again. The two kissing passionately, only breaking apart as the door to the supply closet opened. They both looked up and Callie cursed herself as she saw Arizona standing in the doorway looking very uncomfortable.
"Sorry, I uh, I'll come back." Arizona said before shutting the door and quickly disappearing.
"It's a sign." Callie whispered.
"What's that, Cal?"
"Nothing, just, I can't do this, sorry Mark." Callie apologized before she too left the supply closet.
"What the hell just happened?" Mark asked himself. He gave an ample amount of time, not wanting any rumors or gossip spreading, before he too left the supply closet. He joined Callie and the rest of their group in the burn unit just as everyone was returning from lunch. No one seemed to notice their disappearance thankfully.
"I'm sorry, Mark." Callie whispered. If she was confused before, she didn't know what to call this. She had hoped that kissing a man she was attracted to would clear up some answers for her but it just made her have more. Yea, her body still responded to Mark Sloan but the second she had seen the blonde, she knew there was no way she could run from this. That is, if the blonde still wanted anything to do with her at all after witnessing the steamy supply closet kiss.
"It's alright. I just hope this means you're not mad at me anymore and we can be friends again. I miss hanging out with you." Mark replied as he playfully shoved his shoulder against hers.
"That's because I'm fun, Mark." Callie responded with a genuine smile, "And I missed you too. Of course we can be friends again but no more...ahh...hamburgers, ok."
"Hamburgers? Ohh..ohhh, hey, I can control myself if you can, Torres."
"Right." Callie replied. Friendship repaired, sort of, and awkwardness averted, the two turned their attention back to their patients.