AN: For those of you still with me, Happy reading :)
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Arizona
The next two months passed in a blur. For not having any surgeries to do, Arizona had kept herself completely busy. Not only had the couple been trying to get into a routine of regular dates, that so far had consisted of a mix of nights at Joe's, some with their friends but most without, going to the movies, romantic walks, and several dinners, Arizona had also started back to work on a part time basis. Between consults and PT, she had been more than occupied, add the house hunting that had become pretty much a solitary mission to that and she was down right frazzled. She hadn't seen Callie in eight days. Eight days and they practically lived together. Yes, Arizona had her own place that she actually enjoyed more than she would have imagined to begin with but she spent most of her nights with Callie. Somehow she, Alex, Lexie, and Amelia had become somewhat of a dysfunctional family. Callie and Mark were usually added to the mix and occasionally Meredith was thrown in when she felt like being a sister to Lexie or sister in law to Amelia. Which meant that Crisitina was dragged along as Meredith's best friend and Callie's roommate. And this also meant that none other than Derek Shepherd himself could occasionally be found at Arizona's house partaking in a random dance party. She didn't mind the chaos though, she actually sort of loved it. She had grown up with just a brother in a house that did not tolerate anything but order. She and her brother had many occasions of feeling lonely in different cities and it made her thankful that she had a brother and hadn't been completely alone. Despite that, she had a happy childhood, she couldn't deny that but she loved the chaos of a full house.
Callie, on the other hand, was not impressed with the frat house feel to Arizona's current place of residence. And that made Arizona that much more frustrated with Callie when she pulled a disappearing act on her once again last night. They had plans to meet for dinner and then go see the first house the couple had agreed on ever in their two month search. They had seen other houses, though not as many as they had been scheduled to see as Callie had pulled disappearing acts on several previous occasions, but one of them always liked each house more than the other one and they had been unable to agree. They had never had so many disagreements as they had while searching for their future home. This house was different though, they had both loved the house the moment they had seen it pop up on their app. Arizona being a surgeon herself was more than understanding but her patience was wearing thin with Callie's lack of effort now. Especially since she had gone ahead and viewed the house alone and it had been perfect. However, she got a notification from their real estate agent moments ago that an offer had been placed last night and accepted this morning. She tried to push her disappointment aside as she made her way to the hospital.
She and Callie had an argument through text messaging yesterday and that had been the last she had heard from her. Arizona had complained that she was pulling all the weight in the house searching department and Callie had countered with the fact that Arizona wasn't doing surgeries so her schedule allowed for her to have the luxury of scheduling appointments that were convenient for the blonde. It wasn't true, they both knew it. Arizona had gone out of her way to schedule appointments at times when she knew Callie was off and should be well rested but even so, Callie had emergencies that couldn't be foreseen. Still, the sting of Callie's words had hurt more than she cared to admit. She wanted to be busy with surgeries more than anything. And even without the surgeries, she had been busy with consults and teaching in the lab when she could.
"Calliope Torres, you are in trouble." Arizona said as she threw open the on call room door that Mark Sloan had pointed her toward. It was still early so the groan that was received in response wasn't alarming. What was alarming was the number of people the groans escaped from. "What the hell?"
"Morning Dr. Robbins." Jo said sleepily from the top bunk. That got the head of dark hair in the bed next to her to sit up and Arizona's eyes narrowed, trying to determine if her very sexy girlfriend was in bed with the younger intern.
"Torres, I think you're in trouble." Eliza shouted, peeking her head down to the bottom bunk where Callie was still sleeping soundly. Arizona flipped on the light switch and an arm flung over a beautiful face. At the same time, a body next to the gorgeous woman sat up quickly, his head colliding with the bunk above him.
"Out, everyone, out!" Arizona shouted. Jo and Eliza hopped down from the top bunk saying they had rounds anyway. At Arizona's shouting, Callie sat up in time to see George standing up from the bed next to her where he had been sleeping. He scrambled past Arizona looking terrified, her eyes followed him in a steely glare until he was out of sight.
"Arizona? What's going on?" Callie asked, sitting up as far as she could with the top bunk above her and stretching. Arizona had to refocus as beautifully tan caramel skin showed when Callie's scrub top rose up with her outstretched arms. Now is not the time to get distracted, Arizona, she chastised herself silently. Her anger returned as she took control of her libido.
"Why don't you tell me? You stood me up, for the third time in two weeks and I find you in an on call room in bed with George O'Malley."
"It's too early, I need coffee."
"You need to explain."
"A literal bus of people came in after a crash and Eliza, Jo, George, Bailey, and I were in surgery until three this morning. Many of the other surgeons stayed as well, some of the patients are very critical. Our surgery got done last, there was only one oncall room open by then. Bailey and I fought for the couch in the attendings lounge but she fought dirty so I ended up in here with the other three."
"So you thought you would just sleep in bed with George?"
"Arizona…"
"No, don't Arizona me. I'm late for PT. I brought you coffee and a scone as a peace offering even though you stood me up...AGAIN." Arizona said, plopping both down unceremoniously on the table inside the door before turning on her heel and making her way to PT. She heard Callie shout behind her but she ignored it as she marched to the stairwell.
She was beyond frustrated, angry even. She trusted Callie, completely, and she knew that her sharing a bed in an oncall room with George O'Malley while Eliza and Jo were asleep above them was exactly what she said it was, an unfortunate necessity and completely innocent in nature. But, the Latina's apartment was five minutes away, directly across the street and Arizona had been in her bed, waiting for her despite the fact that she had been stood up for the third time in two weeks and despite the fact that they had been arguing. The first two times Callie hadn't showed up, she'd had a mini stroke and had called the ER and police department before Callie had been located in surgery by Mark. Last night, she had known she was at the hospital because Christina had notified her of the page she received as she flew out the door so at least she hadn't panicked when Callie didn't show once again.
"You ready to get started, Robbins?" Tom asked. He was her physical therapist and though he had been pushing her hard and leaving her sore sometimes to the point of tears, she was welcoming the physical challenge today. That was another thing that she and Callie had argued about. When she complained about how difficult PT had been and how sore it left her, Callie had shrugged her off saying it would get worse before it got better. She knew Callie cared and was supportive but it still frustrated her. She normally had a pretty high pain tolerance and wasn't one to complain, the Colonel did not like whining and complaining, but her shoulder seemed to be getting more and more painful recently. And pain made her irritable.
The fact that she hadn't seen Callie in eight days with the exception of a chaste kiss in the hallway once a few days before and Callie stopping to change her clothes once when Arizona happened to be at the apartment coupled with the frustration of not finding a place of their own yet and you could say that Arizona had been more than irritated when she woke up alone in Callie's bed this morning without so much as an apology text explaining her whereabouts. Still, she had decided to let it slide, knowing her girlfriend was a rockstar with a scalpel and these things were part of what she loved so much about her. She was so invested in her work and her patients, she cared more than anyone and it sometimes required all of her attention. So, she had stopped and gotten her coffee and her favorite scone to show her she was trying to be understanding even if she was hurt and frustrated. But seeing the Latina in bed with George O'Malley, no matter how innocent it was now had her in rare form to say the least.
About twenty minutes into her session, she could feel Callie's presence. She hadn't heard the woman enter or even caught sight of her but she could feel her eyes on her before the gorgeous woman spoke, "Arizona, can we talk?"
"Not right now. I really am busy with physical therapy and I'm too mad right now." Arizona replied, avoiding eye contact as she continued with the stretches Tom had given her while she took a break from the weight lifting she was struggling with.
"I'm sorry."
"I said not now." Arizona replied through gritted teeth as she got up and moved back to the bench where they had her pressing weights this week. Her arm was already killing her and she still had another two repetitions to go, it was doing nothing to improve her mood. Tom returned to be her spotter and Arizona laid back to take the bar in her hands. She lifted it gently bringing it down to her chest but struggling to bring it back up as Tom added more weight.
"Hey! What are you doing, Tom?" Callie's angry voice broke Arizona's concentration causing the weights she was currently trying to lift off her chest to nearly crash down on her.
"What does it look like?" Arizona asked sarcastically, her mood and concentration on not getting crushed preventing her from hearing the concern in Callie's voice. Eliza had released her only this week for weights saying that she was weeks ahead of schedule in recovery. Arizona had been delighted at the time, knowing she was growing more irritated and frustrated because of her lack of ability to return fully to surgery.
"Dr. Minnick said to start weight training this week. Dr. Robbins is doing well, we've been putting her through the ringer and she's ahead of schedule."
"Ahead of schedule for now. She won't be if you have her doing exercises that she shouldn't be doing for another four to eight weeks." Callie said as she pulled the weights off of Arizona and placed the bar in the rack. She held out a hand to Arizona to help her sit up, Arizona accepting it. Callie's hands immediately and automatically busied themselves with inspecting her shoulder, her voice full of concern, "Are you hurt?"
"No, just sore." Arizona replied, wincing as Callie's fingers palpated a tender area.
"Come on, you're done for the day."
"Dr. Minnick wants her here five days a week, one hour each day." Tom protested.
"Tom, she's done for the day. Please page Dr. Minnick to Arizona's office."
"Calliope, you can't just come interfere with my PT just because we're fighting and I'm mad at you. It's not ok."
"That's not what this is. Please, just trust me." Callie replied, stopping to look at Arizona. She didn't respond, she just nodded her head and let Callie lead her from the PT gym and up to her office because she did trust Callie, nothing that had happened changed that.
Jo Wilson was waiting outside of Arizona's new office when the pair arrived. Arizona gave her a questioning look that propelled her to speak, "Minnick sent me to tell you she's in surgery and can't answer your page for at least a few hours. Is it something urgent? I can assist."
"No, I'll talk to her later then. Maybe we should meet with the Chief together in the morning."
"I'll let her know." Jo said before she turned to walk away, "Jo, wait!"
"What's up Dr. Torres?"
"What's the appropriate physical therapy exercises for a broken clavicle on week seven?"
"Any tissue injury or surgery?"
"No surgery and very minimal soft tissue injury after the clavicle was dislocated twice." Callie replied and Jo listed off the exercises she would recommend.
"What about weight training? Say even forty pounds."
"Forty pounds? Absolutely not! I wouldn't even allow ten pounds of weight training at this point. Maybe if it was just a fracture not requiring surgery that was healing well but not after two dislocations on top of a fracture. The patient could be doing some biceps curls with hand weights but I would keep them three to five pounds depending on how it feels for the patient and the extent of the fracture."
"Excellent. And what sort of injuries can occur if you were to do this sort of weight training too early?"
"Microfractures, separation of the joint, refracturing of the original injury…" Jo listed.
"Very good, Wilson. Only eight weeks of the Torres Method and you know that. Go on, get back to your surgery." Callie replied. Once Jo was out of ear shot, Callie turned to Arizona. "Jo knows that after eight weeks of working with me. Actually, she probably knew that in her first month. So why is Eliza who is starting a fellowship in sports medicine in July having you lift forty pounds?"
"Callie, I don't know. I was going to ask you about it but…"
"I've been absent and I told you to suck it up when you tried to tell me you were hurting." Callie interrupted, looking truly guilty.
"It's not your fault and that's not what I was going to say. I'm not sure why Eliza thought this regimen was good for me but she must have had some plan or idea. She said it would get me back to surgery faster."
"No, it's setting you up for further injury. Arizona, I know you want to get back to surgery and I am so sorry for the comment I made about you not being busy with surgeries during our argument yesterday. But pushing yourself too hard too fast will not get you back to work quicker."
"That's not what this was. I didn't know, Calliope. I was just doing what I thought I was supposed to under the direction of my doctor. I thought it was odd to have this much pain this far out but Ortho isn't my strong suit and you said she's a good surgeon."
"Come on. Let's go home. I am going to murder Minnick if I see her right now. I want to examine your shoulder more thoroughly and I think you should ice it. How painful is it?"
"I dread PT every day." Arizona replied with a grimace. That was not a lie but the truth was, it was downright torture. She never knew a fractured collarbone and displacement could cause so much pain and take so long to heal. She however, chose not to divulge that much information to Callie for fear she really would kill Minnick. She wasn't sure exactly what was happening but she knew that Callie was the superior surgeon and she would never do anything to jeopardize Arizona's health or career so she would go along with this, whatever this was. That didn't mean she wasn't going to demand an explanation later though.
"I'm sorry."
"Stop, it's not your fault. You have a job, an important job. You're an ortho attending and I am so very proud of my badass surgeon girlfriend. I've just missed you and been in pain. It makes me moody and I feel needy. I really hate that feeling." Arizona said. Callie didn't reply, she just laced their fingers together and pulled Arizona across the street to her apartment.
Arizona sighed as they approached Callie's door to see Mark standing there looking miserable. "Robbins."
"Sloan." Arizona returned his nod of greeting.
"Uh, Torres, I need to talk to you."
"Mark, now isn't a good time, ok."
"Cal, please, it's important." Mark said. Arizona wondered if he would stick his lip out to pout as he batted his eyes. She was irritated. She knew she shouldn't be but her earlier frustration was returning. Mark was constantly interrupting the precious few moments they had together lately even if it was just to barge in for a cup of coffee or because his hot water wasn't working. It was always something and today, Arizona just couldn't deal with it.
"I'm kind of tired and I just want a shower and a nap anyway. I'm just going to head home." Arizona said, a tension headache starting to form where her shoulder muscles were spasming.
"No! Don't even think of leaving, Arizona. You can go shower and then we can lay down and watch a movie together. I can talk to Mark while you're in the shower."
"This may take a while, Cal." Mark replied, eyeing Arizona for a reaction. She sighed, she really didn't have the energy to deal with Mark right now.
"I think I should just go home." Arizona said.
"Arizona..." Callie said, her tone warning and losing it's patience. She tightened her hold on Arizona.
"Calliope…" Arizona countered.
"Mark, you're going to have to deal with whatever crisis that's going on right now without me. Arizona and I need to talk and have some real time together." Callie said, knowing that Mark's presence was not going to do her any favors.
"But Cal."
"Sorry Mark. We haven't seen each other in eight days. Eight days. Today, I need to be with Arizona." Callie said with a shrug before she tugged Arizona's wrist and pulled her inside, shutting the door firmly behind them.
"Callie if you want to talk to Mark…"
"If I wanted to talk to Mark I would have invited him in and let you leave. You are who I want to talk to. You're my priority." Callie said as she pulled Arizona further into the apartment.
"Where are we going?"
"To lay down. I want to hold you while you talk to me. I haven't been sleeping well without you and I've really missed just holding you." Callie replied. Arizona felt her heart flutter and her irritation begin to dissipate once again. What was wrong with her? She didn't know why she was suddenly feeling so moody and downright pissy. It was a foreign feeling and it made her feel out of control. She didn't like it.
Callie stripped off her clothes and replaced them with a baggy T-shirt that hung off one shoulder. Leaving her in just the shirt and a pair of cotton panties that Arizona found incredibly sexy. She couldn't help but smile a little as she removed her own clothing and pulled on one of Callie's T-shirts and mimicked Callie by climbing into bed next to her without anything else on. Callie opened her arms wide and Arizona gladly climbed in, snuggling into her chest and taking a deep breath of her scent.
"This is better." Arizona whispered, not knowing how much she had needed this comfort. She was sincerely glad that she hadn't stormed off and gone home. She would have only been more miserable. This right here was all she needed and suddenly it clicked, this was home, wherever Callie was, it was home. She was pissy because she had been missing Callie and because of that, she had taken it out on Callie. She groaned at the realization.
"You ok? Are you in pain? I could get your medicine and some ice."
"No!" Arizona shouted, fisting Callie's clothing in her hands to prevent her from moving.
"Are you going to talk to me?"
"I'm sorry I've been so moody and picking fights with you this week."
"I'm sorry I haven't been there for you, Arizona. I didn't realize how hard they were working you in PT and I am so sorry that I missed our appointment last night."
"Me too. I was really excited about that house, Calliope. It was perfect, you would have loved it."
"Well let's call Lisa and schedule another appointment to see it today."
"We can't. She notified me this morning that one of the other couples placed an offer last night and it was accepted this morning."
"Why didn't you put an offer in?"
"Because this is something we are supposed to do together. We should decide together and when I have found something I've loved, it hasn't always been something you've loved and vice versa. Agreeing has been much harder than I thought it would be."
"We will find something, together, I promise."
"I know. I've just missed you." Arizona said, feeling sleepy as she sunk deeper into Callie, her nose nuzzling into a warm neck as she placed a naked leg between Callie's.
"I missed you too. It's my day off, let's get some sleep and then we will talk. And after we talk, we can do whatever you want."
"I don't care what we do, I just want to spend the day together." Arizona replied with a yawn. She leaned up and kissed Callie's lips before she settled in. She felt Callie's body relax and her breathing even out before she closed her eyes and joined her in the first restful sleep she had in eight days.
Two hours later, having showered and napped, the couple decided to go for a drive. Callie intended to drive by some of the houses that had appeared as hits on the app on their way to the beach where the two planned to go for a walk. Teddy had called during the drive and would be arriving in Seattle in two weeks. She had been traveling with Allison and visiting with the elder Robbins since her return to the states. She had stopped in Seattle briefly her first weekend back before traveling on to Boston. Teddy and Arizona had spent the whole night giggling and watching movies and eating junk food and she was eager to have her best friend back earlier than expected. Her contract in Seattle didn't start until May but she wanted to give herself time to get settled before starting.
"How's Teddy?" Callie asked as Arizona hung up the phone with her best friend.
"She sounds good." Arizona replied.
"I miss her, I can't wait for her to be here full time."
"Me neither but we need to find a place. I promised her my room." Arizona said, now feeling even more pressure to find their perfect new place together.
"I'm really sorry that I missed the showing last night. I was really excited about it too. And I'm sorry I didn't call. I will try to be better about that in the future." Callie said, suddenly stopping the car in front of one of the houses that had popped up on their app. It was one neither had seen on there before.
"Thank you. It would be good for my heart if you called or texted me when you can't show up. I nearly had a meltdown the first time. I called the cops."
"You did? I'm sorry I worried you."
"Well it won't stop just because we live together, so you really need to let me know if you can't make it. I understand, I'm a surgeon too but wondering if you're just stuck in surgery or if you're in a ditch bleeding out or if you've been abducted by a serial killer is going to take years off my life, Calliope."
"I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry I'm being crazy. I thought searching for a house would be more fun than this."
"You know, you could just move in with me."
"Is that what you want? Because if searching for a house is too much right now then I will do that. I just want to live with you, wherever you are is home." Arizona replied. It would be far less stressful to just move in with Callie. She got along with Cristina much better than she had ever imagined she would. And whether she was at her place or Callie's, it seemed she couldn't escape Mark. But she had really wanted this. Moving in with Callie would solve the immediate problem but once they had decided to buy a house together, the permanence of that did something to her and she found herself wanting it more than she cared to admit.
"Is that what you want?" Callie asked.
"I want what you want. I just want us to be happy and not stressed and fighting. I hate fighting with you."
"How about this. Let's give it another month of really looking. I promise I will do my best not to cancel any appointments and if I have to I will absolutely call first. If we don't find anything by the end of the month then we will just stay at my place until things settle down at the hospital and we have more time to find what we're both looking for. But Arizona whether it's now or in a couple months from now, we are going to buy a house together."
"Deal." Arizona replied. They sealed it with a kiss before they both stepped out of the vehicle. Callie walked around the front of the vehicle and Arizona reached for her hand. The house was much smaller than they were hoping for and because of the area, a much higher price. They both sighed as they got back in the car.
They decided to spend the rest of their day together, not house hunting and headed to the beach. They needed the quality time and relief from the stress. The chilly walk on the beach did the trick for both of them. They walked hand in hand, snuggling up to each other and stealing kisses until Arizona suddenly leaned down and splashed Callie with freezing cold water then took off running. Callie caught up to her easily, knowing Arizona was an avid runner and she wouldn't have caught her if she didn't let her.
"You're going to pay for that blondie." Callie said as she tackled her gently to the grassy area that met the sand. With it being early April and still much too cold for most people, the beach was deserted and Callie intended to take full advantage.
"Whatchya gonna do about it?" Arizona teased with a cocky little grin on her face.
"Well now I'm wet and cold so I'm going to make you warm me up."
"Hmm, like this?" Arizona asked as she edged her fingers into Callie's leggings. She was thankful for the stretchy material of Callie's pants in place of the jeans she normally wore as her fingers ghosted over damp cotton. "I did get you wet."
"Less talking." Callie growled as she silenced Arizona with a kiss and used her own hand to encourage Arizona's to move. Knowing that the beach was deserted but still a public place where they could be caught at any moment, Arizona didn't waste time.
She circled Callie's entrance a few times, gathering moisture before she plunged her fingers in, eliciting a groan from Callie. She bit down on Arizona's parka as she ground her pelvis down into Arizona's pinning her fingers between them. Her wrist was at an odd angle with Callie on top of her and her pants still on but she ignored her protesting muscles as she added a third finger and continued thrusting into Callie. Her thumb found her bundle of nerves and Arizona smiled as Callie's hands tangled in her hair.
"Oh my God, Arizona." Callie whimpered into her neck. Arizona used her free hand to swipe raven hair out of a beautiful face.
"Come for me Calliope." She whispered as she backed her next thrust with her pelvis lifting off the ground. Callie shuddered above her as she rode out her high on Arizona's fingers. When she went limp, Arizona pulled them out and rolled them so they were laying facing each other in the grass and sand. They were a mess but Callie looked beautiful with her rosy cheeks and the blissful look on her face. Arizona knew her hair was a mess, Callie couldn't help herself, she loved having her hands buried in Arizona's soft hair anytime but especially during sex.
"I can't believe we just did that." Callie laughed as she caught her breath, placing a kiss on Arizona's lips.
"That was hot." Arizona giggled. "I should make you chase me more often."
"Oh yea?" Callie asked, her eyebrow arched. She rolled over and began a tickle assault on the blonde as she begged for mercy and promised not to splash her again. Callie only let up as an old man walking his dog cleared his throat and gave them a disapproving glare. Arizona erupted into giggles as Callie pulled her to her feet.
"I love you." Arizona blurted out as Callie wiped the sand from her back.
"I love you too, crazy. Come on, I'm starving. Let's go home. We can order a pizza and take a hot shower while we wait for it. Then we can continue this little party in bed with pizza."
"Ohhh, I love pizza in bed."
"I know you do."
XXXXX
Arizona awoke the next morning to cold sheets and she sighed as she stretched, feeling the soreness in her muscles from her night with Callie. Agiant smile crossed her lips as she replayed the many positions that had occurred to cause so many muscle aches. It had been a while since they had stayed up having multiple rounds of sex and her muscles were not used to it. She looked at the clock, 7:43, Callie must have gotten called in early. They hadn't gone to sleep until well after midnight. She groaned as she thought about how little sleep Callie must have gotten. It was Friday and she knew Callie was on call for the entire weekend so Arizona set about cleaning the apartment. Callie wasn't quite the neat freak Arizona was, as long as her kitchen was clean and orderly, she was content. Cristina, on the other hand, was a downright slob so there was plenty to keep her busy. By the time she had finished cleaning and had showered, it was late morning.
She made a few meals for Callie to be able to grab and take to work easily, she even labeled a few with Cristina's name, knowing that the resident would just steal Callie's if she didn't leave food for her too. She stacked a few containers in a bag, unsure what her girlfriend would be in the mood for and set out to the hospital to deliver Callie some food so she wouldn't spend her weekend eating junk from the cafeteria. Arizona enjoyed her share of junk food but as a general rule, she ate fairly healthy and Callie generally did the same, though her ability to consume coffee seemingly by the gallon concerned the blonde. She wanted her around for another sixty years or so and if that was going to happen, she would need to include a few more glasses of water and veggies into her diet and a little less coffee and red meat.
She had made Callie food she knew would heat up well in the microwave. She punched the button for the elevator and smiled as she thought about how much she enjoyed taking care of Callie. The Latina was such a caring person and had a habit of putting others first. It was endearing and felt good when you were the object of her affection but it also made her worry that Callie didn't take the time to properly care for herself. She entered the ortho floor right at one in the afternoon and looked around for the raven haired beauty she had been craving to see since the moment she opened her eyes.
"Dr. Torres is just finishing up in OR one." One of the nurses, Colleen, called to Arizona as she spotted her. She was Callie's favorite ortho nurse so Arizona may have kept the fact that she had slept with Colleen when they worked together at Johns Hopkins a secret. It had been nothing more than a mutual fling and Arizona had lost track of the nurses she had slept with there. She had only just recognized Colleen when Amelia asked her it was the same one from Johns Hopkins just last week. It seemed Colleen was content with discretion as well, not wanting to get on the bad side of her favorite attending.
"Thanks Colleen."
Arizona made her way down to the OR floor and waited patiently in the hall for Callie. She smiled as she saw her famous red scrub cap through the window as she exited the OR and was scrubbing out. She waited with a dimpled smile on her face for Callie and was greeted with the brunette's own mega-watt smile when she passed through the door a few minutes later.
"Hey beautiful, what are you doing here?" Callie asked, placing a kiss on a dimpled cheek. She had already been at work for eight hours and she had seven more to go. She had been paged in at five that morning, three hours before the start of her twelve hour scheduled shift. Arizona hadn't budged when the pager went off which was unusual for the light sleeper. Callie had worn her out pretty good though, she thought with a dreamy smile.
"I brought you lunch so you won't have to eat crappy cafeteria food all weekend."
"What did you bring?"
"I made chicken with rice and broccoli, that salmon salad dish that you were so crazy about, and some stir fry."
"You made all this?"
"I did and I cleaned. I don't like waking up to cold sheets, Calliope."
"Tell me you at least used the mop and you left Cristina's crap for her to clean."
"Callie, you know the floors don't get clean when you use a germ infested mop." Arizona argued. It was a frequent argument they had whenever Arizona cleaned. She had been taught to clean military style, which meant floors were cleaned on your hands and knees, not with a mop. Callie hated the idea of it so Arizona tended to wait until she wasn't around to do the floors.
"Did you also make the bed with the weird corners that I hate?"
"You know I did."
"Arizona! You know I can't thrash around how I like to with the sheets tucked in so tightly."Callie whined but she was secretly enjoying the playful banter and Arizona knew it.
"Well, I guess you will just have to mess it all up when you get home. When will you be home?"
"I'm off at eight but I'm on call for the next three nights."
"Ok. Do you have time for lunch? We can go eat in the cafeteria together before I have physical therapy."
"You don't have PT today. I canceled it. Minnick and I met with the Chief this morning. Minnick is no longer your doctor."
"What? Why would you do that without talking to me?"
"Arizona, I'm sorry I didn't call first, there wasn't time. I'm not sure what her motives were but, best case scenario, Eliza was pushing you too hard and going to accidentally cause you further injury. Worst case scenario, she knew exactly what she was doing which meant she was trying to cause further injury. I've spent the past few months working with her so I know she's a skilled surgeon, which leads me to believe this was intentional."
"Why would she do that?" Arizona asked, finding it hard to believe that another surgeon would cause injury to a surgeon in their care and be stupid enough to do it under Callie's watchful eye.
"I'm not sure, I have a theory but I'm going to sound like an insanely jealous girlfriend if I share it with you."
"I already know you're an insanely jealous girlfriend, Calliope. So out with it."
"I think she was hoping to keep you under her care. She has always had a thing for you and I think she has enjoyed being your doctor and keeping you close."
"But to intentionally injure me? You're friends with her, do you really think she's capable?"
"We're not friends."
"You have invited her out for drinks with us at Joe's several times, Callie."
"Arizona, it's called keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. I don't trust her. I was hoping she would prove me wrong and I was trying to be the bigger person and give her the benefit of the doubt. She's a good teacher and it's true, she's impressed me with her surgical skills. She's not a complete idiot, which makes her that much more dangerous. I shared my concerns with her and the Chief this morning. He is not taking sides and doesn't want either of us in charge of your care."
"So who is?"
"Jo Wilson. She's smart and capable. The Chief will be overlooking her plan and consulting Owen Hunt with any concerns from here on out. Dr. Hunt will be joining Seattle Grace when he returns from Afghanistan, turns out he's from Seattle and his mom lives nearby. His contract starts in June according to the Chief. In the meantime, he's available for limited consults. He agreed to your case immediately when the Chief talked to him this morning."
"Owen is coming to Seattle? I wonder if Teddy knows."
"I don't think it's common knowledge around the hospital yet but maybe he's told her."
"Hmmm, maybe. Come on, let's get you fed before you get called away on another emergency."
Callie was able to sit and eat lunch with Arizona without getting interrupted. The two sat and chatted for a full half hour before they parted ways. Arizona headed to the peds department to get some paperwork she needed to look over and Callie headed to her next surgery. Once business at the hospital was taken care of, Arizona made her way back to the house. She had laundry she needed to catch up on and since it looked like it was going to be another Callie free weekend, she figured there was no time like the present.
Arizona woke Saturday morning to a steady banging on the door. She looked at the clock, it was after ten in the morning, she rarely slept that late but she had a hard time falling asleep the previous evening. She was still awake at three when Callie had texted her that she'd been paged for a trauma. Knowing Alex had been in on a peds surgery with Lexie the previous night and Amelia was busy with Derek and their clinical trial, she resigned herself to the fact that she would have to get out of bed and answer the door herself to stop the pounding. She scrambled down the stairs, cursing her messy roommates as she tripped over a pair of Alex's shoes at the bottom of the stairs and nearly face planted. She flung the door open ready to scream at whoever was responsible for the pounding and squealed as her brain registered recognition.
"Teddy!"
"Hey, Riz!" Teddy said with a smile before she flung her arms around Arizona. A tall, thin curly haired woman stood beside her with a giant smile plastered to her face.
"You must be Allison." Arizona replied, excited to finally meet the famous Allison. She was definitely as gorgeous as Teddy had described.
"And you must be Arizona." Allison replied with a smile of her own.
"What are you guys doing here? Teddy, I thought you said the other day that it would be another two weeks before you got to Seattle."
"I know but Allison decided she wanted to come see Seattle and we wanted to surprise you, so, surprise!"
"I am so glad to see you!" Arizona squealed again, as she threw her arms around Teddy and knocked them both to the ground. The two giggled as they landed in the dirt, Arizona recovering first and helping Teddy to her feet.
"Were you still sleeping?"
"Yes and don't give me crap about it. I haven't been sleeping well and it's been a weird few weeks."
"So, is there room for Allison and I here?"
"Of course, I mean the roomies have already agreed to you staying here. You two can take the blow up mattress in my room and I will take the couch in the study. I'm at Callie's half the time anyway."
"You're sleeping on a blow up mattress when you could be sleeping in a bed at Callie's?"
"An empty bed at Callie's. She's started a new research project and is prepping for a major surgery that's coming up. She's also taken a new intern under her wing and has been taking more than her share of on call shifts to impress the Chief. Needless to say, she's been busy."
"Well, what do you say to you, me, and Allison going out tonight for a girls night? You can invite Callie if you want."
"She worked a fifteen hour shift yesterday and then got called in at three this morning for a major trauma. She said she's going to be at the hospital for most of the day. I doubt she's going to feel up to going out tonight even if she does get out of work in time but I will ask her."
"I'd love to see her. I've missed her. And I'd like Allison to meet her."
"Well, Allison will be here for two weeks and you're here to stay so it's safe to say that you will get some Callie time."
"Hey lazy bones, how about you go shower and then the three of us go to the mall and grab lunch and do some shopping before we go out tonight."
"I love this idea." Arizona replied with a smile, she had really missed her best friend. "I'll show you to my room so you can drop off your stuff and freshen up if you want."
XXXXX
"Do you think Calliope is going to like my hair?" Arizona asked Teddy for the tenth time since they had slid into their booth.
"I think it looks hot." Allison replied with a shrug.
"I agree, as long as it's long enough for her to pull, she will love it." Teddy replied, Arizona had regrettably revealed how much Callie enjoyed pulling hair. She kicked her under the table and Teddy yelped while Allison giggled, enjoying their sibling squabbles.
Arizona was suddenly second guessing her spontaneous decision to cut her very long hair to her shoulders. Before she had left for Malawi it had been this length but it had grown long while she was away and had been easier to deal with at a length where it could just go in a ponytail. She had suddenly had the urge to cut her hair while at the mall that afternoon and though she loved it, she wasn't sure Callie would be quite as pleased.
"It makes your hair curlier." Allison pointed out.
"Callie does like it curlier." Arizona said with a soft smile.
"Come on, let's get some drinks and dance." Teddy suggested.
"Will Callie be joining us?" Allison asked, dying to meet the woman she had heard about all day. It was all Arizona had talked about.
"I'm not sure, she never answered me. I don't think so, she's been working so hard, she really could use the sleep if she's not working. I do miss her though." Arizona replied with a heavy sigh, wishing the Latina hadn't been on call this weeked for at least the hundredth time. But they were both off next weekend and she planned to take full advantage.
"You've got it bad." Allison replied with a knowing smile.
"You should see it in person. It's so cute it makes your teeth hurt. I think they've made me vomit a few times." Teddy teased.
"Oh shut up, you're just jealous." Arizona replied. But she knew that wasn't true because even if they were trying to be discreet, she could see the subtle glances and touches between the two across from her. She was definitely going to have to get Teddy alone, especially since she distinctly remembered Allison mentioning a wife earlier that day when she stepped away for a phone call.
"Robbins, love the new hair." Mark called from the bar as the women approached. Allison and Teddy made their way to an empty space to place their drink orders while Arizona approached Mark.
"Thanks Mark. And don't you dare tell Callie, I want to show her first."
"Oh, Torres doesn't know?"
"No, she's been working and I've been meaning to get a haircut. Today was the perfect opportunity while I was at the mall with Teddy and Allison." Arizona said, nodding to the two women who had stepped away to order their drinks.
"Well, it looks good Dr. Robbins." Lexie said from beside Mark.
"Come on sexy, let's dance." Allison whispered in Arizona's ear with a small tap on her ass. She linked their fingers together and led her to the dance floor.
"What was that?" Arizona asked.
"Oh, a guy who was checking out your ass at the bar was talking to his buddies about getting you to go home with him. Teddy said hitting on you would be weird as your surrogate sister and all so I did it. Trust me, his breath alone would have knocked you out." Allison said. Arizona threw her head back in laughter, grateful not to have yet another awkward encounter with a man in a bar.
The trio spent their night on the dance floor just letting loose. Arizona couldn't help but wish Callie was there, it seemed like she was in a constant state of missing her. She caught Mark's eyes on them a few times and he always seemed to have a scowl on his face, which was unusual, normally he would have a giant smile and be out there flirting with all of them. Maybe Lexie really was changing him, she thought.
Not wanting a repeat of her morning after the tequila, Arizona watched her alcohol intake and though she was buzzed and giggly, she was far from drunk and much less so than either Teddy or Allison who both seemed to be single handedly keeping Joe in business. Arizona was sipping on her third drink in as many hours when Alex and Amelia walked in. Alex sat at the bar looking like a wounded animal as he ordered a soda water and Amelia joined them on the dance floor. They spent another hour laughing and drinking when Amelia offered to help Arizona get a very handsy Allison and Teddy into the back of her car. Alex held the door for them as Amelia walked Teddy up the stairs and Arizona followed with Allison leaning heavily on her, arms around her waist to prevent her from falling.
"Thanks Alex, you coming home?" Arizona asked.
"No, I got paged back in. Torres and I have a patient that isn't doing well."
"Oh, Calliope must have gotten paged too. Tell her to drink some water and get some sleep. And tell her I miss her."
"Will do." Alex said as he ran across the street.
It was a chore getting the two women upstairs and out of their heels. Teddy was able to remove her jeans before collapsing on the air mattress and Allison was coordinated enough to get her shirt off before collapsing practically on top of Teddy. Arizona giggled at the pair of them before placing a trash can by the bed along with the two waters and the bottle of aspirin Amelia handed her.
"Those two are going to be sorry tomorrow." Arizona said as she dug through her dresser for some pajamas. Finding what she wanted, she flipped the light off and followed Amelia down the hall.
"Looks like you guys had fun tonight. I love your new hair by the way."
"Thanks, I hope Callie likes it."
"So with those two in your bed, where are you gonna crash. You going to Callie's?"
"No, Alex said they both got paged in so I'm just going to take the couch in the den. It makes me too sad to sleep in Callie's bed without her."
"Ok, well the likelihood of me getting paged in is high so I'm going to get some sleep while I can. I'll grab an extra pillow and blanket for you."
"Thanks Amelia."
Arizona sent Callie a goodnight message with lots of emojis explaining how much she missed her. She might not be Teddy level drunk but she was in that lovey, mushy, handsy state that a few alcoholic beverages put her in and she found herself missing Callie that much more. She sincerely hoped that Callie didn't have any plans for next weekend because she wasn't letting her out of her sight. That thought left a smile on her face as she fell asleep on the lumpy couch, not bothering to pull the bed out of it.
A crash woke her up a few hours later, followed by shouting. She sat up, disoriented about her whereabouts for a moment. Realizing she was in the den on the sofa, she recognized the shouting as coming from upstairs. She paused, was that Spanish she heard? She grabbed Alex's baseball bat and took the stairs two at a time. The sight before her made her want to giggle and yell all at the same time. There, in the hall outside of her room, was Allison, shirtless and pinned against the wall by a very pissed off looking Callie. Teddy was in the doorway shouting at Callie while the Latina looked confused and horrified between the two of them.
"What's going on?" Arizona asked, dropping the bat down to the ground as she approached the scene.
"What the hell is going on?" Callie demanded as Arizona entered the scene.
"I don't know, that's what I asked. I woke up to shouting and crashing to find the three of you like this."
Callie released Allison and turned to face Arizona who took a step back. Callie was clearly furious and she had no idea why. "I talked to Mark and Alex."
"Ok." Arizona replied, a confused look still on her face as Callie said this as though it explained everything.
"She came in here and attacked Allison while we were sleeping. She pulled her out of bed by her arm and then threw her up against the wall with no explanation." Teddy replied, anger evident in her own eyes.
"Callie, is that true? Why would you do that?" Arizona asked.
"Oh I don't know. Mark tells me that some hot girl that he doesn't know was all over you at the bar and then you left with her. It didn't sound like you but Alex said you did leave with a hot, drunk chick that he didn't know. I came here to check on you, thinking you might have gotten sick again if you drank too much, only to find a strange woman that fit Mark's description in your bed wrapped around a blonde that I assumed was you since this is your room." Callie huffed.
"Callie, this is Teddy's good friend, Allison and what Mark saw was her keeping some creep from approaching me. The three of us went to Joe's and were dancing, that's all. Come on, let's go downstairs and talk."
"I'm sorry, Teddy. And I'm really sorry, Allison. It's nice to meet you." Callie said, clearly embarrassed by the misunderstanding and her response to it.
"Eh, it happens, now I know not to mess with Arizona." Allison teased, trying to lighten the situation but Teddy still looked furious.
Arizona grabbed Callie's hand and led her down the stairs. She wasn't sure if she should be angry or amused at Callie's reaction. It was definitely not amusing to her that Callie would think that she would bring someone home. The notion was ridiculous to her, she was completely and irrevocably in love with Callie and she wasn't sure what else she could do to prove it to the Latina. She knew Callie had been cheated on several times in previous relationships but she never had to worry about that with Arizona. Reassuring her of that was her first priority.
"So, Mark tells you a story about some hot new girl flirting with me and you believe him without even asking me about it? Don't I get to at least give you my side of the story before you assume the worst about me?" Arizona blurted out as they entered the kitchen, unable to hide the hurt she was feeling. She busied herself with making a pot of coffee, knowing it was unlikely she would go back to sleep after this. She had not meant to start the conversation with those words but there they were, out there now.
"No, I didn't believe him. I got all your cute little drunken emojis and sexy innuendos and decided I wanted to sleep with my girlfriend instead of alone. I highly doubted you would send me those if you were in bed with someone else. So I came here and when I opened your bedroom door and saw the woman that fit Mark's description laying across the back of a woman with long blonde hair, I lost it. I don't even remember what happened from there."
"Callie, I was dancing with Allison AND with Teddy. What Mark saw was Allison whispering suggestively in my ear, slapping my butt, and then taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor. It probably looked bad to Mark but she and Teddy are, I'm not sure what they are, but I would never do that to Teddy or to you. She was simply rescuing me from an awkward scene with a drunk guy at the bar that thought he could take me home."
"I know you wouldn't. But when I saw her in your bed, I lost my mind, Arizona. I've never felt like that before."
"I would lose my mind if I saw another woman or man in your bed too Calliope."
"You'd really go crazy too?"
"Insanely. I wanted to kill George the other morning."
"Yea, you scared him, he hasn't talked to me since." Callie said with a laugh.
"How was your surgery?"
"Good, we thought she wasn't going to make it but she pulled through."
"I'm glad. You've been working so hard. I'm sorry you had to come home to this. I would have told you I gave Teddy and Allison my bed if I had known you were coming here." Arizona said. She really didn't want to fight now that Callie was here, in front of her.
"You cut your hair." Callie replied after a short pause in their conversation. The soft smile on her face made it seem as if she was just seeing Arizona for the first time that night.
"Do you like it?" Arizona asked, though by the way Callie was looking at her, she knew she did and that there was no reason to feel self conscious.
Callie nodded her head and stood up from her stool on the other side of the kitchen island to approach the blonde. Arizona smiled as Callie reached her and ran her fingers through it softly before grabbing a fist full and pulling Arizona's head back to expose her neck. She licked a line up her neck to her ear causing Arizona to tremble in her arms. She lifted Arizona onto the counter and Arizona immediately wrapped both legs around Callie, pulling her as close as she could.
"I love your hair." Callie whispered as she tangled her hands in it again.
"Mmm, I'm glad you like it."
"I'm going to show you how much I do." Callie whispered, guiding Arizona's thin tank top up to expose a bare and pale abdomen.
"You think you're going to get laid after going all caveman on Allison?" Arizona asked with an arched eyebrow. She knew she should be more pissed about it but she couldn't help but be turned on. Callie was the sweetest most caring person in the universe and though she frequently threatened to break bones, she never thought she was capable until tonight.
"Mmm, if you'll let me, I'll make it up to you."
"Oh, and how are you going to do that?"
"Like this." Callie said as she lowered her head to Arizona's exposed abdomen and started planting kisses there. "And like this." Callie said, placing kisses on muscular thighs. "And like this." Callie said as she placed a single kiss over Arizona's fabric covered center.
"Hmm, I like where this is going." Arizona replied with a dimpled smile.
"I thought you would." Callie replied. She kissed Arizona's lips passionately before she started peppering kisses along her shoulders, neck, and chest.
Arizona tensed as she heard her phone ring in the other room. She stopped Callie momentarily, it was 4:38 in the morning, it could be important but the ringing stopped before she could say anything and Callie's lips and tongue felt so very nice on her skin. She relaxed into Callie's touch before her phone started up again.
"Calliope, I should get that."
"Mmm, no way. You're not on call, you can call whoever it is back later." Callie said, undeterred from her mission.
Arizona leaned back on her hands, unable to resist Callie's logic as her tongue dipped in and out of her belly button. She lifted her butt to allow Callie to remove her sleep shorts and all concern and logic flew out the window as Callie's lips found her panty covered center. Whoever was calling again for the third time in the middle night could surely wait half an hour for her to call them back. Suddenly Callie's phone from inside her pocket began to ring.
"Ugh, damn it." Callie said in frustration as she straightened up and pulled the phone from her back pocket. A frown appeared on her face as she looked at the caller ID.
"What? What's wrong? Who is it?" Arizona asked.
Callie didn't answer as she held the phone up to her ear, "Hello?"
Arizona watched as Callie's face switched from annoyance to careful concentration and then to concern, "Calliope, who is it?"
"Arizona, go get Teddy." Callie said. Arizona gave her a questioning look but Callie grabbed her sleep shorts and placed them on Arizona's legs. She helped her hop off the counter and pulled them up, "Go get Teddy, baby."
Arizona took the stairs two at a time and reached her room, shaking Teddy awake. "What the hell, Arizona?"
"Sorry Teddy, I'm not sure what's going on but Callie is on the phone and whoever called told her to have me come wake you."
Teddy reached for her phone and saw several missed calls from Barbara and Daniel. At this, the blondes looked at each other and Arizona was gone, Teddy hot on her tail. She ran to the den and grabbed her phone from the charger where she had left it. She had two missed calls from her mom and one from her dad. Her heart sank as Teddy waited for confirmation that Arizona had received the same missed calls as her. The two ran to the kitchen where Callie was waiting, a grim look on her face.
"Sit down." She ordered and the two blondes obeyed immediately, taking seats on the bar stools.
"Ok, they're both here. I'm going to put the phone on speaker now."
"Teddy, Arizona?" Daniel's voice was heard over the speaker.
"We're here." Teddy replied, reaching out and grabbing Arizona's hand. Callie came to stand behind them, a supportive hand rubbing up and down Arizona's back.
"Don't say it." Arizona pleaded and Callie's heart broke a little.
"It's Timmy." Barbara said, her voice breaking over the line.
"No." Arizona replied, shaking her head furiously. Teddy tightened her grip on her hand and Callie's arms circled her waist from behind.
"The base was attacked. Some of the men were killed, some escaped and are missing, and some were taken hostage." Daniel replied.
"Oh God." Teddy replied, tears streaming down her face. Arizona pulled her closer to her and Teddy's head rested on her shoulder.
"The five men that escaped and are missing include Tim."
"He's alive?" Arizona gasped, tears of relief flooding her face.
"They believe so, yes. He escaped with Officers Riggs, Hunt, Cooper, and Foster."
"What about Nick?" Teddy asked suddenly, relieved at hearing Tim and Owen's names.
"He was taken hostage with a group of another ten men and women. Four were killed on base when the explosion went off. Some of the people taken hostage were injured but not killed. There's a manhunt going on right now to find them." Daniel said.
"Was Tim injured, do we know?" Arizona asked.
"We believe the five of them that are missing weren't in the explosion which is how they escaped. They had been out on a perimeter search outside of the base. They were returning when they witnessed the explosion and radioed it in. They were discovered trying to help get to the injured and had to flee. They lost radio contact with them hours ago and search and rescue has been delayed because of the heavy rebel presence."
"When did this happen?" Arizona asked.
"Friday." Barbara replied softly.
"Two days, Tim has been missing for two days and I'm just finding out?"
"We were hoping they would find him before we had to tell you."
"So you call at four in the morning to tell us? What's going on? You've already waited two days, why call in the middle of the night? What's so urgent?"
"They found Nick about eight hours ago, he escaped his captures somehow. He's in bad shape, been tortured and injured from the explosion. Nora only just called to inform us. He's on his way to Germany to be stabilized, he should be arriving there any time. From there, he will be flown to a hospital in the US. Nora wants him sent to you and Teddy in Seattle."
"How bad is he?" Teddy asked, her voice breaking. Fighting or not, Nick was like a brother to them. He was as much a brother to her as Tim was.
"He was severely injured during the explosion. It's likely he will need at least one leg amputated." Daniel replied grimly.
"Oh God." Arizona whispered.
"Callie, you're good right? Everyone I've spoken to says you're the best." Daniel asked.
"Dad, Calliope is an amazing surgeon. Nick couldn't have a better surgeon, I assure you but that's a lot of pressure to put on Callie."
"She has experience with this kind of injury."
"Yea, dad, she does but…"
"Callie, will you be his surgeon?" Daniel pleaded. With Tim missing, Nick was as close to a son as he could get and it was easier to focus on getting Nick taken care of then the fact that Tim was still out there somewhere potentially hurt or worse.
"Of course, yes, yes, of course I will." Callie replied, kissing Arizona's head affectionately to let her know she was ok.
"Your mom is flying out with Nora and Sara in two hours. We will know more about Nick's condition once he arrives in Germany. I've been given permission to head to Afghanistan as a consultant on the search and rescue. I will be there when we find Tim."
"Dad…"
"It's ok squirt, I'm coming home with your brother."
"And you'll kick him for me when you find him for scaring me, right?"
"Oh course I will, squirt." Daniel replied with a little laugh, though it was forced.
"I'll see you in a few hours, girls." Barbara said.
Callie hung up the line and held her breath as she looked at her girlfriend, waiting for the dam to break but it didn't happen. Instead, Arizona asked Teddy for a minute and then pulled Callie into the den, shutting the french doors behind them. She pulled the bed out of the couch and made it up while Callie stood there in silence. When she was done, she patted the bed for Callie to sit down.
"I know you're worried, but I'm ok. Teddy and I need to talk and get some stuff done before mom gets here with Nora and Sara. You have been running yourself ragged and you're still on call. I need you to get some rest and take care of yourself otherwise I'm just going to worry about you too." Arizona said, laying Callie's head in her lap and stroking her hair.
"I know you're not actually ok, Arizona."
"Calliope, if I lay down with you, I will fall apart and I won't be able to pull myself back together. If I'm going to be helpful to Tim or Nick or my mom or anyone else, I can't go there ok. If you comfort me, I won't be able to stop myself from going there so please, just let me be crazy cleaning and organizing while you get some sleep."
"Ok but just so you know. I'm here for you and I'm going to be a hovering, worrying mess if you don't let me help take care of you too."
"I will let you take care of me when Tim is home and safe." Arizona promised. "Now, get some sleep."
"Arizona." Callie said, grabbing her hand as she turned to go.
"Hmm?" Arizona asked, turning to face her.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Calliope. Now, go to sleep."