AN: Sorry for the delay. Life happens and I also spent the time to reread the whole fanfiction. You guys give me a lot of credit. I've rewritten and scrapped this chapter so many times. My beta told me I should post this version though so, here it is.
Happy reading :)
Chapter Forty-Three
Callie
"Colonel, sir, can I join you on your run?" Callie asked nervously the next morning. The last thing she wanted to do was go for a run with the Colonel but Arizona and Barbara had gone to town that morning and Callie had declined the invite in order to speak with Arizona's father alone. She hadn't anticipated that he would want to use his free time to go for a run, so not only was she nervous but she was going to have to have this talk while trying to keep up with a retired marine.
"I didn't know you were a runner." Daniel commented as he continued stretching.
"I'm not."
"How about a walk then?" Daniel suggested, straightening up. He sensed there was a reason Callie was suggesting this.
"A walk would be much better, sir."
"Callie, relax, you don't have to be so nervous around me. I already like you." Daniel said, putting an arm around her shoulder and giving her a light squeeze before releasing her.
The two walked in silence for a few minutes. Daniel seemed to be leading them somewhere and Callie sincerely hoped it wasn't a secret plot to kill her and hide her body somewhere on this property. Ok too much forensic files, Torres, Callie thought to herself and shook her head promising to watch more cooking shows with Arizona and less late night forensic files solo. The path began to open up into a meadow and Callie saw a pond with a dock. Daniel led them out to the dock and sat on the end, patting the spot next to him for Callie to sit.
"I liked coming here when I was little to think. I thought it would be a good place for us to talk."
"It's beautiful." Callie replied. Another moment of silence passed, Callie unsure how to broach the subject she wanted to bring up. She looked around the area and saw a patch of sunflowers near the woodline and the cattails along the edge of the water on the opposite side of where she sat next to Arizona's father. Despite the nervousness she had been feeling and the question she was about to ask, the scenery brought her a sense of ease and peacefulness.
"I asked Barbara to marry me here."
"Really?"
"Really." Daniel said with a smile.
"I'd like to ask Arizona to marry me, with your blessing. Not right now but in the future, sometime, soonish." Callie blurted out.
"I had an idea that might be what you wanted to talk about. Do you have a ring?"
"I do." Callie replied. She had picked it out months ago but after agonizing over it with Addie, she had finally ordered it at the mall on her birthday. The ring had been picked up last week and was currently being hidden in Addie's dresser.
"May I see it?" Daniel asked. Callie didn't have the ring with her but she pulled up a photo of it on her phone and handed it to Daniel.
"Do you think she will like it?"
"I do, it's beautiful. I was going to offer my mother's ring to you to use but this one definitely suits my Arizona much better."
"I hope she likes it."
"She will. Barbara said no the first time I asked her to marry me. She thought I was joking and laughed in my face before she said, and I quote, "ha no" and walked off. Later that night, I pulled her back here and had a whole speech and got down on one knee and asked her properly. Once she realized I was serious she started crying and then laughing and finally when I thought my heart was going to explode while I waited for her to answer, she said yes."
"Do you think Arizona is going to say no?" Callie panicked, unsure why he told her about that specific part of the story.
"I have no doubt that she will say yes, Callie. Do you know how you're going to do it yet?" Daniel replied, realizing maybe he had over shared part of the story.
"I do." Callie replied with a smile before explaining her plan to Daniel.
"Well, I look forward to being able to congratulate you when it's official and it would be my honor to have you officially be a Robbins. Of course, you have my blessing."
"I intend to ask Barbara as well but knowing that you are a bit of a traditional man, I wanted to do this the right way and ask you."
"Well, if you feel the need to ask Barbie, I respect that but I can assure you, she is going to be crazy, over the moon excited and will likely hound you until you propose."
"I'll keep that in mind." Callie laughed. Daniel stood and turned to help Callie up, the two beginning the short walk back to the house together.
"Where have you been?" Arizona asked, leaping from her rocking chair on the porch the second she saw her girlfriend and father.
"I asked your dad if I could join him on his walk, he was just showing me some of the property including where he proposed to your mom." Callie replied with a giant smile.
"Was he nice to you? Dad, were you nice to her? I think she's been grilled enough for one weekend, don't you?" Arizona asked, the blonde getting herself worked up quickly as she rounded on Daniel.
"Squirt, I swear, we just went for a nice walk, that's all." Daniel replied, holding his hands up in front of him. Arizona narrowed her eyes at him.
"Arizona, honey, there's no reason to be upset. We went for a nice walk and we chatted a little. He actually wanted to go for a run but was kind enough to offer a walk instead. If he wanted to see me struggle, he could have let me run with him."
"Fine, but I am watching you." Arizona said, pointing her finger at her dad, causing Callie and Daniel both laughed.
"Come on squirt, let's get this show on the road."
Arizona was helping Daniel load the van with all of their luggage so Callie went to find Barbara. The older Robbins woman was alone in the kitchen making a cup of tea as she watched her husband and daughter from the kitchen window. Callie stood in the archway between the living room and kitchen and took a few minutes to inspect the pictures on the walls while she gathered her thoughts. She smiled as she saw eight little boys and a little Arizona standing on the dock. Eight, that couldn't be right but Callie counted them and sure enough, there were eight boys. Callie smiled though as she moved on to other frames and saw a very young looking Arizona at the age of sixteen in her high school cap and gown.
"Who is the eighth boy?" Callie asked as Barbara came to stand beside her and look at the pictures with her.
"That is Dane. Do you have all of your stuff packed up?"
"I do." Callie replied, sensing Barbara didn't want to discuss the little boy in the photo for some reason.
"We should probably get going before Daniel comes in here, being married to a military man drives me crazy sometimes."
"Arizona might not be a military woman but she drives me nuts with her punctuality as well. Most of our fights involve time, I'm always running late and not a morning person."
"Yes, well, she is her father's daughter."
"I bought a ring." Callie blurted out. Hopefully her proposal would go better than these talks Callie thought as she rolled her eyes at herself and her word vomit.
"A ring?"
"Yea, the ring I mean. I talked to Daniel earlier, he gave me his blessing but I wanted to ask you too. May I have your blessing to ask Arizona to marry me?"
"Callie!" Barbara shrieked, launching herself at Callie and embracing the taller woman in a surprisingly tight hug as she sobbed.
"Shh, it's ok." Callie replied, rubbing the older woman's back as the woman laughed through her tears.
"I remember when Daniel proposed."
"He said he had to propose twice." Callie said, the two women pulling out of their embrace.
"Ha, the first time was not a proposal. We were in the middle of a disagreement and he just suddenly said, "Marry me." He just blurted it out and expected me to count that as a proposal. I didn't even know he was serious until he actually proposed that night. I thought it was just his way of ending our argument."
"He showed me the spot where he did actually propose, it was very pretty. I hope my proposal goes well and I don't just blurt it out."
"I'm just so happy. When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it?" Barbara asked. Callie explained her plan once again and the older woman burst into tears once more.
"Hey guys, time to go. Mom, are you ok?" Arizona asked, coming into the room. She looked at Callie with a questioning look as she approached her mom.
"I'm just so emotional. Nick, Tim, and Teddy are all home and safe. Nick is recovering and going to be just fine. Teddy is out of the army and dating a nice young man. Tim and Sara just got married and I'm about to have my first grandbaby. And you and Callie just bought a house. I'm just so happy for all of you and sad that you're leaving." Barbara replied.
"I'm going to miss you too, mom. I'm sorry you're feeling so emotional." Arizona said, hugging her mom tightly and rubbing her back vigorously.
"It happens on occasion." Barbara said, composing herself.
"Happens to us all." Callie replied and the three women laughed.
"Come on guys, bus is leaving." Daniel yelled from the doorway. They all made their way outside and loaded into the van, the rest of the group already belted in and ready to go. Callie took one last look at the Robbins farm and kissed Arizona on the cheek.
"One wedding down." Arizona said.
"Right." Callie replied.
"Are you excited for Aria's wedding?"
"I am and it will be so nice to go back to Barcelona." Callie replied, a giant smile on her face.
Arizona
"It just doesn't feel like Callie." Arizona said, her frustration growing. They had been to three jewelry shops but she had yet to find anything she thought suited Callie. She had something in mind but nothing seemed to fit.
"Maybe we should enlist Addison or Aria's help." Teddy suggested.
"I don't want Callie to know and I'm afraid they would tell her. Especially if she's already planning a proposal. I don't want to ruin hers but I've dropped several hints since we returned from Missouri and she hasn't so much as batted an eye. Tomorrow is Halloween, it's been two weeks of me being subtle, I've decided to give her until New Year's Eve. If she doesn't propose by then, I have the perfect plan." Arizona replied, getting excited before she visibly deflated and added, "But first I have to find the ring."
"You will find one. Maybe you should look at getting one custom made. Or maybe you will find one in Barcelona."
"Barcelona would be amazing but I'm not sure I could get away long enough to go pick out a ring."
"I'm sure we could get Aria or Lucia to keep Callie busy so you and I can go do best friend things." Teddy replied.
"So you've decided to come?" Arizona nearly squealed.
"I mean, I have Maggie, Riggs, and Cristina all willing to help cover and I haven't done much traveling that isn't army related. I think it's time to dust off my bikini."
"Yay, Teddy, I am so happy you're going to come."
"Is your mom excited?"
"Nervous I think. She's a fantastic photographer, she has no reason to be but she always sells herself short. Shooting weddings isn't her usual genre so it's out of her comfort zone but the Torres family, well Aria specifically, insisted that she wanted my mom to shoot the wedding."
"It will be great, she will be great. And think of all the other things in Barcelona she will have the chance to photograph aside from the wedding."
"I think she's pretty excited about that too." Arizona replied with a smile.
Her mom had called her frantic the week before about Aria calling her personally and asking her to be her wedding photographer. Barbara had initially declined but after Aria begged her she had told the younger Torres she would think about it and get back to her. After speaking with Daniel, Tim, Teddy, Arizona, and even Callie at one point, she had agreed to photograph the wedding with the condition that she would not be paid but would be allowed to hire a friend to come as a consultant and assist with any shots she needed. Clause had worked with Barbara many times over the years and weddings were frequently on his agenda. Aria had agreed to the terms so now Barbara was joining the group of people on the private Torres jet that would leave for Barcelona the morning before Thanksgiving.
"Do you think I should ask my mom to help me with picking out a ring?" Arizona asked thoughtfully.
"I think she would love to be included but are you ready for the screaming that will occur? I don't think three thousand miles will contain her excitement."
"Good point." Arizona replied with a laugh. Her mom would be unable to control her excitement, especially since she had spent so many years without Arizona so much as mentioning a girlfriend. She would probably spill the beans just by being unable to contain her excitement. Probably best not to include her just yet Arizona thought.
"Come on, I have a consult in an hour and your lunch break is over in fifteen minutes. We will have to put ring shopping off for another day." Teddy replied, tugging Arizona along.
Arizona was distracted as she walked into the hospital after her extended lunch with Teddy. Callie had been on the night shift all week so the two had only seen each other in passing and Arizona didn't sleep well being home alone at night. She used to love having her own time and space and she still did but she also found herself missing Callie and would often end up on the couch because the bed just seemed empty. Add the lack of sleep to her frustrations over not finding a ring and Arizona was preoccupied, so much so that she completely missed the person barrelling at her with a hot cup of coffee in their hands.
"Page me when the labs are back." The person shouted before turning and seeing Arizona walking directly in her path. It was too late, the two collided and hot coffee spilled down the front of both of them.
"Ahhh, damn, that's hot. And not in a good way." Arizona shouted, pulling her wet shirt away from her body.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry."
Arizona looked up at the voice and glared at the redhead standing in front of her. She had never seen her before and her first impression wasn't a good one. She was dressed in seal blue scrubs meaning she must be an intern or a resident so Arizona would potentially be teaching her and therefore she put her professional face on. It had been an accident after all.
"It was an accident and I should have been paying attention." The peds surgeon stated.
"I'm so sorry." The redhead repeated.
"It's okay. I need to change into scrubs anyway and this shirt is washable. Wearing a coffee soaked bra for the next few hours might be interesting though." Arizona replied with a tight smile.
"Oh you work here?"
"I do. Dr. Robbins." The redhead took the extended hand in hers and shook it.
"Dr. Blake."
"Nice to meet you, Dr. Blake. You must be new here."
"I am new, I just transferred in from New York."
"I really do need to go change. I was just coming back from a late lunch but I have patients to go see. It was nice to meet you."
"Oh yes, of course. Nice to meet you too."
"Well welcome to Seattle." Arizona replied before making her way to her office to change back into scrubs. She normally didn't leave the hospital for lunch but she had a surgery cancel last minute that morning and had the opportunity to meet Teddy for ring shopping without making Callie suspicious so she had taken it.
"Woah, what happened to you boss?" Karev asked as he watched Arizona come off the elevator.
"A new resident ran into me with her coffee. I'm going to go change real quick. Are my labs back yet?"
"I've got your labs and charts at the desk waiting for you boss."
"Thanks, give me five minutes and I'll be ready to go over them with you."
"Take your time." Alex replied with a smile.
He had seen the new resident and heard things about her. She had been on Amelia and Derek's service and Amelia had been complaining about her for most of the week. Alex ignored it until Jo showed up at Joe's the previous evening talking about how the new resident had been on ortho with Jo and Callie the previous night and the redhead had been overly friendly with Callie. Jo suspected they knew each other with how oddly Callie responded to the redhead. He wasn't sure if he should talk to Arizona about it or not. He didn't like to partake in the rumor mill but if it concerned Arizona it also concerned him, both on a professional and personal level. He considered her a friend, family even and she treated him the same outside of work at least.
Arizona sent Callie a quick text. It was nearly three in the afternoon and the brunette would be coming in at six for her night shift. It was the last one for the week and Arizona was grateful that neither of them would be up for a night shift rotation again until after the first of the year. With Arizona being head of the department she wasn't generally required to take a night shift rotation but she had gotten Karev to cover a lot of shifts and trade on call times with her plenty of times. Taking a night shift rotation only seemed fair. Not expecting a response back from Callie in the near future, she put her phone in her lab coat pocket and went in search of Alex.
"Karev, Little Grey, how do the labs look?" Arizona asked, joining her two favorite residents at the nurses station.
"Very much improved, I think we can avoid surgery." Lexie replied handing the printed labs over for Arizona to look at herself.
"Wow, this is a vast improvement."
"I know, it's amazing, right?"
"It is, I am very pleased, you are right, Lexie. If Kelly's white blood cells continue to trend down and her kidney function continues to improve, we will not need to do any surgery. I want you and Karev to come up with a new treatment plan and goal for her with the nurses and then come find me. We will tell her and her mom together during evening rounds." Arizona replied with a smile.
"Dr. Robbins, a new patient was admitted under Dr. Pelant while you were out. She asked me to have you round on the patient as you have treated him before." Arizona's favorite nurse, Sam said, handing her a tablet with the patient's chart pulled up.
"I don't recognize this patient's name. Are you sure I treated him?" Arizona asked.
"I thought it was odd too but his mother insisted to both Dr. Pelant and myself that you were his doctor at Johns Hopkins."
"Ok, I will go take a quick peek in on them." Arizona replied. She searched through the child's chart. It looked as though the kiddo had been battling type 1 diabetes for years and was having difficulty keeping his blood sugar under control now that he was entering his teen years.
She seriously did not remember the boy's name or case. Steven Carter rang no bells. That didn't mean anything, she didn't always remember names or faces but she usually could recall cases once reviewing them. She was sure this was a mistake as she looked through his chart. He would have been somewhere between seven and eleven if she had treated him while she was an intern or resident at Johns Hopkins. He was now nearly fourteen. Arizona swiped to the contacts and saw his mother's name listed as Stephanie Carter. She definitely didn't recognize that name but under the father she saw a name that made her heart rate increase. It couldn't be. She wouldn't, would she? Arizona took a deep breath.
"Sam, would you mind walking down to 407 with me and introducing me to Steven and his parents?"
"Yes, of course." Sam replied. Having the nurse as a buffer just in case was a bit more comforting for her.
Arizona took a deep breath as Sam knocked on the door and entered upon hearing a "come on in" response from inside. Arizona stepped in and came face to face with a short, curvy dark haired woman and a thin dark haired preteen girl. The presumed patient, Steven, was reclined in the bed with a blonde woman sitting on the edge, her back was to Arizona.
"Hello, you must be Dr. Robbins." The dark haired woman said. The blonde never turned around but Arizona watched her back stiffen.
"Hello, I was just reviewing your son's case but I'm sorry, I don't recall treating him before."
"Because you didn't, not formally. But he was a case study that was presented during class and you were the first one to not only diagnose but offer a treatment plan. One that I recommended to his pediatrician at the time and have followed since. It has worked fantastically until now." The blonde spoke for the first time. She stood and turned, her eyes boring into Arizona as the peds surgeon stood frozen in place. "Arizona, it's good to see you again."
"Professor Carter. Steven is your son?" Arizona replied, realization just now hitting her. She had learned after it was too late that Joann was married but she had never known she had children. Clearly Stephanie didn't remember her, she was thankful for that since the last time she had seen either of them, Stephanie had called Arizona a whore in the middle of one of Joann's lectures in front of the entire class. Arizona had made it out of the room quickly, Stephanie's focus had luckily been on Joann but she had felt sleazy nonetheless.
"You can call me Joann now."
"Well Joann, I am not a pediatrician, I'm a pediatric surgeon so I'm not sure what I can do for Steven. I could recommend the very best pediatricians in Seattle though."
"We have a fantastic pediatrician in Baltimore. What we need is a surgeon. We came to Seattle because you are the best. We would like for Steven to get an insulin pump placed. We've also come here to become part of Dr. Webber and Dr. Bailey's islet cell trial but we need a pediatric surgeon to sign off." Joann explained.
"May we speak privately?" Arizona said.
"Of course." Joann said, heading toward the door.
"Sam, just take Steven's parents to my office please, I'll only be a moment. I would like to examine Steven before we speak."
"Of course." Stephanie said as she followed her wife and Sam from the room.
"What's your name, sweetie?" Arizona asked, addressing the girl that she guessed to be about eleven or twelve.
"Joanie. I'm Steven's sister."
"Well Joanie, I'm going to just have a look at your brother and then would you please keep him company while I speak with your parents? You can just wait right outside the door while I take a look at him."
"Of course." The girl replied.
"So, Steven. How are you feeling?" Arizona asked. She had reviewed his chart. She knew he had weight changes accompanied with, nausea, and vomiting that was increasingly worse over the past six months. She also saw alarming lab results that she would need to rerun and verify. She did a quick physical examination to confirm her suspicions.
"I've been feeling sick. I started wrestling and the coach has a strict exercise regime."
"What about your diet? Have you changed anything?"
"I needed to bulk up, I'm underweight and I wanted to make it to the next weight limit so I've been drinking a lot of protein shakes."
"What about steroids?"
"No." Steven replied but his eyes shifted and he looked anywhere but at Arizona.
"Steven, steroids are dangerous, especially at your age and especially with diabetes. Your blood tests will confirm my suspicions but your labs already paint a picture for me. And there is a difference between anabolic steroids and corticosteroids."
"You can't run labs, I won't let you. I can refuse."
"Hey, I don't want to upset you. I'm going to get your sister and then I'm going to go talk to your moms."
"Don't tell them. I'm your patient, you can't."
"Steven, listen to me. I have to tell them. The steroids mixed with diabetes is dangerous and it has caused some damage to your body. You are my patient so I will do what I can to help you but I have to tell your moms. They are who legally get to make decisions for you since you're a minor. And I need to know exactly what you've been taking." Arizona explained gently.
"Fine." Steven replied, crossing his arms over his small chest and slumping backward. Arizona sighed as she got up and went to get his sister.
"Joanie, you can go see Steven now. I won't keep your parents for long."
"Dr. Robbins?" Joanie called before Arizona could get away.
"Yes?"
"Is my brother doing drugs?"
"What makes you ask that?" Arizona asked, eyeing the young girl carefully. She seemed mature for her age.
"I saw him with some boys from school who are not nice. And he's been...different."
"Joanie, you should talk to Steven. I have a big brother too and I know he would want to know if I was worried or scared about something. I need to go talk with your parents but I promise, I will remember what you said. We will get to the bottom of this, ok?"
"Thank you." Joanie replied before she disappeared into Steven's hospital room.
"Sorry to keep you waiting…." Arizona said, entering her office.
"Stephanie." The small brunette said, as she stood and held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Stephanie."
"You look familiar. Have we met?" Stephanie asked.
"What's going on with our son?" Joann asked, interrupting and cutting straight to the point.
"Have you noticed any changes in Steven recently?"
"He's been ill and his weight has fluctuated quite a bit." Joann replied, it was clear she was losing her patience.
"Aside from the illness I mean."
"He's been moody. But he will be fourteen next week, we assumed it was that." Stephanie replied.
"I'm afraid that isn't the complete reason. I would like to run a few more tests. I need your permission of course. I would like to rerun his chem panel, check his liver and pancreatic enzymes, and do a tox screen. I'd also like to check his hormone levels and do a liver and kidney ultrasound. Pending the results of those things, I will have more answers for you."
"A tox screen?" Stephanie asked.
"We didn't come here for all that. We came for an insulin pump to control his insulin levels better." Joann said standing. Stephanie grabbed her hand and pulled her back to a sitting position.
"Steven is not a candidate for an insulin pump at this time nor is he a good candidate for the islet cell trial. If you want my help, I am more than willing to oversee his case should he need a surgical intervention but I won't know that until I have these test results."
"What other surgery would he need if he isn't a candidate."
"I'd like to confirm my concerns with these tests before I make any presumptions but I am very concerned by his kidney function. Not to mention his insulin levels. He really should be started on an insulin drip and moved to PICU for the time being. I will consult with Dr. Laney who is a stellar pediatrician on staff here and can help better facilitate Steven's care."
"You have permission, of course, do whatever tests you need to." Stephanie replied immediately. Joann was more reluctant.
"I hate to ask this but are you legally able to make medical decisions for Steven?" Arizona asked. The little girl clearly resembled Stephanie but Steven was blonde with Joann's nose and her bright green eyes.
"I am, of course I am, I'm his mother." Stephanie replied.
"I didn't mean to imply that you're not." Arizona assured her.
"Our marriage isn't legal and I'm the birth mother so I guess it is my consent you will be needing." Joann spoke up.
"Joann…" Stephanie replied, looking at her wife.
"Fine, I'll sign whatever you need." Joann replied, squeezing her wife's hand.
A knock at the door interrupted the tense situation Arizona looked toward the door, "Come in."
"Hey baby...oh, sorry, I didn't know you had a consult."
"Calliope, it's ok. Just take a seat on the sofa, I'll be with you in a moment. Let me just take these two out to the desk to get some consent forms signed with Sam. I'll be right back."
"Baby?" Joann asked.
"I'm sorry, ummm, yes. Callie, this is Joann and her wife, Stephanie. I am helping them out with their son. This is Callie, my girlfriend." Arizona introduced awkwardly. She got a weird look from Callie and gave her a tight smile in return. Callie knew that Arizona wasn't ashamed of who she was but being a pediatric surgeon she didn't tend to flaunt her sexuality at work either. Introducing Callie as her girlfriend to a set of parents, even if they were a lesbian couple, was uncharacteristic of her.
Arizona hurried Joann and Stephanie to the nurses desk and was thankful that Sam was sitting there. "Sam, could you please take a look at these orders and get the necessary consents signed? Have Lexie take over this case from here, I will monitor. Also, I need a consult with Dr. Laney, stat. Steven needs to be moved to the PICU, he's not surgical at this time and needs closer monitoring."
"You've got it, Dr. Robbins."
"Thanks, Sam."
"Dr. Torres is looking for you by the way."
"She found me in my office." Arizona replied. She could feel Joann's eyes burning a hole into the back of her head as the couple stood behind her.
"Arizona?" Joann asked.
"Yes?" Arizona took a deep breath and turned, surprised to find Stephanie missing.
"Can I have a private word with you?"
"I'm sure your wife and kids are waiting for you and Callie is waiting for me. Unless it is regarding your son's case, there's really nothing else to discuss, Joann." Arizona replied before she headed back to her office.
Arizona took a deep breath to calm herself before she pushed her office door open and found Callie pacing her office. "Hey."
"Hey baby." Callie replied. She stopped her pacing and walked over to Arizona placing a hard and determined kiss on her lips.
"What was that for?" Arizona asked, looking slightly shocked.
"I need to ask you something and before you answer I want you to know that I do trust you but I need you to answer me."
"Before you ask, yes that was the Joann…"Arizona started to explain thinking Callie was upset at seeing Arizona's only other living girlfriend ever.
"What? Joann? Like The Joann?"
"The one and only." Arizona replied, running a hand through her hair.
"Great." Callie said, her mood changing quickly as she stepped away from Arizona, "I guess I don't need to ask. I'm going to go get my shift started early."
"Callie, wait."
"Why? Is this why I couldn't reach you at lunch? Is she who you were with?"
"What? No, of course not. I went shopping with Teddy at lunch. My surgery got canceled and we thought we could use the time for some girl talk. When I got back Sam told me there was an old patient of mine here to see me. Turns out he's not an old patient, he's Joann's son. A son I didn't know she had and never treated by the way. I'm just as surprised as you are, Callie." Arizona replied, shocked at Callie's implications.
"I'm sorry Arizona." Callie replied, realizing her mistake. Seeing Penny Blake here had thrown her. And then when she paged Arizona at lunch and she wasn't in the surgery she had told her she had, her mind had automatically jumped to old insecurities even if she knew Arizona wouldn't cheat on her.
"What's going on, Callie?" Arizona asked, sensing that something was off.
"There's a new resident here, Penny Blake, have you met her?"
"Sort of. She ran into me and spilled hot coffee all over my boobs this afternoon. My bra is never going to be the same." Arizona replied.
"I know her from New York. We were friends, kind of, friendly anyway. I was sort of mentoring her. Oddly enough, I thought she was flirting with me, I thought she had a crush on me. That is until I opened the door of an oncall room and found my fiance with his pants down and Penny underneath him. She's the one that ended our engagement. I mean he cheated on me with many others but Penny is the one I caught him with. Then she married him. She was on my service the other night and it just left me frazzled and feeling all these insecurities that I felt when I was with Albert Arthur Blake. Penny says he cheated on her too and she filed for divorce. She applied to some residency programs and was placed here. Apparently it's just a very unfortunate coincidence."
"Wow. That's a lot. Are you ok?" Arizona asked softly. She wasn't happy that Callie had jumped to conclusions and she would definitely talk to her about that later but right now she wanted to reassure her.
"I think so."
"Look at me Calliope." Arizona said, invading Callie's personal space as she waited for her big brown eyes to look up at her, "You are a rockstar, badass ortho attending. And I am not going anywhere. I am in love with you Calliope Torres. We bought a house together and we are an awesome couple, ask anyone. Penny Blake, she doesn't matter and neither does Albert Arthur Blake, which by the way is a pretentious idiotic name. Do you hear me?"
"I do." Callie said, tears now earnestly falling. Arizona pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed her head, letting the brunette cry. It was rare for her to be this vulnerable.
"What time does your shift start?" Arizona asked.
"In about forty-five minutes. I came an hour early to see you."
"Well, technically, I can be done for the day so, how about I lock my office door and for the next forty minutes we just snuggle on my couch together? I've missed you."
"How do you always know what to say and do to make me feel better?" Callie asked.
"It's my job." Arizona replied with a little shrug as she led Callie to the couch. She pushed Callie down onto the couch so her back was against the back of the sofa and then Arizona laid down facing her. They curled into each other, Arizona's leg slipping between Callie's as they held each other. It was a tight fit laying that way but comforting nonetheless.
"Mmm, I needed this." Callie said, breathing in Arizona's scent and already feeling calmer and more secure.
"Me too babe, me too." Arizona replied, snuggling into Callie's chest and making the brunette laugh.
"I should have known this was a ploy for you to cuddle my boobs."
"It wasn't part of the plan but I'm not sad it worked out this way." Arizona replied with a smile.
Arizona felt Callie's body relax and her breathing even out. She pulled out her phone and set an alarm for them. It would be less than half an hour before it would go off but they both needed this time together. Arizona snuggled into Callie's body and let herself drift off in the safety of her arms. Arizona's alarm startled them both and Arizona was rolled onto the floor as Callie jumped awake.
"Oh God, are you ok, Arizona?" Callie asked, leaning over the side of the sofa. Arizona giggled as deja vu hit her.
"I'm ok, at least there's no black eye this time and it was a shorter fall. Help me up." Arizona replied, still giggling.
"Oh jeez, I forgot about that." Callie said with an eye roll. She had been so mortified that day but she smiled as she thought back on how they started.
"I wish you didn't have to work tonight. I hate sleeping alone. That's the best nap I've had all week."
"One more night babe. Then I will go home and sleep and meet you at the hospital for your peds Halloween parade."
"Are you going to wear a costume?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really."
"Then of course, I already picked it out."
"Nothing too scary, remember we have little ones that don't like scary." Arizona replied.
"And neither does their surgeon." Callie replied with a laugh.
"I can be brave."
"I know babe. You go home and get some rest. I have to go change."
"This sucks." Arizona pouted.
"I know but I love you." Callie replied, kissing the pouty lips.
"Love you too. Go kick ass, Calliope." Arizona replied, swatting her on the butt as she turned to leave.
Deciding to check on Steven's labs with Lexie before she left for the evening, Arizona paged Lexie. Alex had been on days with Arizona but Lexie was working a mid shift all week so she would be there until one a.m. Andrew Deluca was the overnight resident and though she liked him as a person and a doctor, he wasn't her first choice for peds and he wasn't crazy about it either. That being the case, she wanted to make sure Lexie knew exactly what instructions to leave Andrew as Arizona would be long gone when he arrived at nine for his overnight shift.
"Dr. Robbins, you paged." Lexie said, stepping into Arizona's office.
"I did. Do we have any labs back on Steven Carter yet?"
"Yes, his chemistry is back, it really is no better than the first. He looks like he is going into kidney failure."
"He's also quite jaundice. Has his liver or pancreatic enzymes resulted yet?"
"No, the lab said those will take longer. His ultrasounds will be done within the next few hours."
"Good. Call me when you get those results. Has Dr. Laney seen him yet?"
"No he was at home but on call. He will be here soon."
"Ok, if he has any questions he can call me at home. Is the tox screen back yet?"
"Part of it. The more specific one you requested will take twenty four hours but the basic one came back positive for cannabinoids."
"So the kid smokes weed. He's an athlete that doesn't make sense."
"Maybe he's just using CBD oils." Lexie suggested.
"Maybe. If anything else comes back, have Dr. Laney handle it. I don't think this case is an appropriate surgical case unless he needs a transplant or a catheter placed for dialysis. I will consult general surgery just in case. Let's hope we can get his kidneys to bounce back with fluids and the insulin drip. Watch his potassium. Tell Andrew to page someone immediately if he has questions. Hopefully he will move to the PICU tonight and be off of the surgical floor so Andrew won't have to worry about him."
"I will let you know when Dr. Laney gets here."
"Thanks Lexie. Is Mark working tonight?"
"I think he's on his way out. He texted me a few minutes ago to say he was leaving, why?"
"I'm just worried about Callie. Who is on the night shift tonight?"
"I believe it is Callie and Jo like it has been all week."
"At least she has Jo. Ok, I am heading home. Call me if you need anything, Lexie." Arizona replied with a wave.
The elevator doors were just about to shut when an arm stopped them and Joann stepped in. Arizona had pressed the third floor button so she could stop and see Callie on her way out, despite the fact that she had already said goodbye to her. She almost always took the stairs down, especially when it was just one floor and she cursed herself for taking the elevator as she was now trapped with Joann. The taller blonde pulled the emergency button and turned to face Arizona.
"Joann, this is inappropriate."
"I need to talk to you."
"Is Steven ok?"
"It's not about Steven."
"It is for me. I have nothing else I want to discuss with you. You came here for your son, not for me and I don't want you here for me."
"I followed you, you know. I kept an eye on you for the rest of med school. I paid attention during your internship and residency. And then I heard about the Carter Madison grant and how a brilliant young student had won it and I knew it was you before they announced your name. You have been just as brilliant as I always knew you would be. I know it probably didn't feel that way and I probably even let you think otherwise but I did love you, you know." Joann confessed.
"Joann, I was nineteen, it was ten years ago. You had a wife and apparently two small children at home. We should have never gotten involved. I wouldn't have if I had known about your family but you lied to me as well. Go back to your family. As you can see, I have been perfectly fine without you and I am insanely happy so please, leave me alone."
"Don't you feel anything when you look at me?"
"I feel remorse and I feel sadness. I was devastated when I found out you were married because I cared about you but also because I hurt your wife. But I have been over you for a long time, Joann. And I have the most beautiful, amazing, gentle woman in my life. So no, when I look at you I don't feel anything because when I look at her, I feel everything. Now please, push the button and let me go." Arizona replied. The taller blonde stood her ground, refusing to push the button so Arizona reached around Joann to push the button herself.
The elevator doors opened before Joann could respond and Arizona pushed her way through the doors before they were fully opened. As she cleared the door, Joann caught her by the wrist and Arizona jerked hard to pull her wrist free, toppling into someone for the second time and having hot coffee spilled over her once again.
"Ahh." Arizona yelped as the coffee hit her bare chest where her scrub top was loose.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry." A familiar voice yelled. Arizona looked up to see she had collided with the red head again for the second time in a matter of hours.
"Arizona you ok?" Mark asked as he approached them, taking in the scene before him. Arizona looked disheveled and upset.
"I uh, I think her coffee burned my chest." Arizona replied, pulling the hot scrub top away from her tender flesh.
"Here let me help you." Penny said, trying to dab at Arizona's chest.
"You need to get the fabric away from your skin, Arizona." Joann said, now sounding concerned.
"She's right, come on, I'll take a look at it." Mark said, grabbing Arizona by the hand and leading her to an empty room.
"Shit, that coffee was hot." Arizona said, peeling off her shirt, the cami underneath being stained with coffee as well but she had no bra on, it had been too uncomfortable to wear wet so she had replaced it with the cami she had in her office with her spare clothes. She made a note to make sure her spare clothes included an extra bra from now on.
"Just looks superficial but let's get you cleaned up and I'll take a better look." Mark said, handing Arizona some wet gauze and soap to clean her chest with.
Arizona stood and walked to the mirror so she could see what she was doing and inspect the inflamed skin over her chest. Maybe if she hadn't already had scalding hot coffee poured on her chest once that day then her skin wouldn't be so angry. Her eyes prickled with tears as she cleansed the tender flesh. Yep, burns definitely sucked.
"I paged Torres." Mark said, bringing Arizona's attention back to him.
"What? Why? Mark, she just started her shift. I'm ok, it hurts but there's nothing she can do."
"I know but I figured we would both be in the doghouse if we didn't page her so I decided to cover my bases. Plus, I think she might murder me if I attempt to tend to the burns on your chest."
"They're superficial, there's not much to be done."
"Here, I'll turn around. Irrigate your chest with some cool water. It will help with the pain and stop the burning." Mark said, turning around to give Arizona her privacy. Arizona took the bottles of cool saline from him and started pouring them over the burn, relief being felt immediately.
"So who was the woman who grabbed you?" Mark asked, making conversation to try to eliminate some of the awkwardness.
"Joann."
"I sense a story there."
"There is but I don't want to get into it right now, Mark."
"Is this something I should be worried about Callie over?"
"Callie knows about Joann and that she's here." Arizona replied. She grabbed a towel and placed it around her upper body as she peeled her wet and stained cami off.
"Ok." Mark replied.
"You can turn around now." Arizona said, sitting back on the bed. Mark handed her a cup with tylenol and motrin in it and a glass of water.
"Take those, it will help with the pain and inflammation. Once Callie gets here, I'll go find some cream for you and then I'll have Callie put a sterile dressing over it. When was your last tetanus?" Mark asked as he carefully inspected the red and tender flesh as professionally as possible.
"It's up to date. I had to have everything up to date for Malawi and Afghanistan, remember?"
"Right." Mark replied, "You ok, blondie?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Thank you, Mark." Arizona replied.
A knock at the door sounded and Mark opened the door an inch so her could peek out, seeing that it was the person he paged, he opened the door enough to allow her to come in before closing it again. Callie rushed in looking confused and concerned. Her eyes met Arizona's and she immediately made her way to the bed where the blonde sat, naked from the waist up except for a skimpy hospital towel covering her.
"Arizona, what happened?"
"Well, I'm starting to think that Penny and Joann are in kahoots. Penny spilled hot coffee down my chest for the second time today." Arizona replied, pointing to the reddened area of skin over her sternum and the tip of her cleavage.
"It's superficial, it shouldn't scar. I had her irrigate it already and I gave her some tylenol and motrin. I'm going to go get some gauze and cream for you. I figured you would be less than thrilled if I bandaged that area." Mark replied.
"Thanks Mark." Callie called as the man left the couple alone.
"What happened?"
"I was heading home and Joann caught me in the elevator. She pulled the stop button and we had a heated discussion. When I pulled the button to move again, I exited the elevator quickly and wasn't really looking where I was going. She grabbed my arm so I turned to look at her and collided with Penny and her hot cup of coffee once again."
"Are you alright?"
"Yea, I'm sorry Mark paged you, I didn't know he was going to."
"I'm glad he did. Well, that explains why Dr. Blake never showed up with my coffee." Callie replied as she brushed hair from Arizona's shoulder so she could inspect the burned flesh.
"She was bringing you coffee?"
"Afraid so." Callie replied.
"At least I didn't wear two cups of her coffee today." Arizona replied with an eye roll. She gasped as Callie's lips grazed the tender flesh of her chest with a gentle kiss.
"There, all better." Callie whispered before looking back up at Arizona.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming when Mark paged you."
"To be honest I had no idea why Mark was paging me to a random empty room. I figured he was having a Lexie crisis or something. If I had known it was because you were hurt I would have been here faster."
Mark entered the room with a handful of gauze and some topical cream along with a clean scrub top for Arizona, "I got these for you Torres, I'll wait outside, let me know if you need help."
"Nice try, Mark but you're not getting anywhere near Arizona's boobs." Callie replied. She waited for Mark to leave before she pulled the towel from Arizona's chest and gently applied the cream and the bandage.
"I'm glad you're doing that and not Mark." Arizona replied as Callie taped the bandage in place and kissed the gauze covered area once again.
"It's going to be sore for a while. Are you sure you're ok?"
"How can I not be, you kissed it all better." Arizona replied. Her badass ortho goddess really was a softy under all of that tough armor.
"I'll see if Mark can drive you home." Callie said, helping Arizona place the clean scrub top on.
"No, I'm fine, really Callie. I'm going to go home, have a glass of wine and maybe finish my book or watch some sleazy tv that you know I love."
"You're sure?"
"Positive. Thank you for taking such good care of me." Arizona replied, pecking Callie's lips lightly.
"Anytime baby. Call me if you need anything, ok. I have to go, I was getting ready to scrub into a surgery with Hunt. I was only observing and possibly assisting if he needed the hands but I really don't want to miss the surgery. It's going to be really cool." Callie said and though Arizona knew she was excited for the surgery, she could hear the regret in her voice.
"Go, go be a rockstar with a scalpel, babe. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you."
"Love you too, babe." Callie replied, kissing her once more before the two exited the room together.
"You ready to go?" Mark asked Arizona.
"More than ready." Arizona replied.
"I'll walk you out. Maybe I can block any incoming coffee for you." Mark teased.
"Be nice, Mark. Drive safe." Callie said with a squeeze of Arizona's hand before she headed to the surgical floor and Mark and Arizona took the stairs to the lobby. Mark walked with Arizona through the parking lot to her car.
"Thanks for everything, Mark." Arizona said as she climbed into her car.
"No problem, damsels in distress are my specialty." Mark replied with a little bow. He patted the hood of Arizona's car and waited until she was tucked inside before closing the door for her. She drove off with a little wave and was already lost in thought over the phone call she couldn't wait to make as soon as she got home.
Arizona dropped her bag and shoes off at the door, thankful they had purchased the hall tree with the bench for these occasions and went straight for the bottle of white wine she had left in the fridge the previous evening. She poured herself a generous glass and then went upstairs to clean up and change. Feeling much better after a shower to wash away the day and remaining coffee, she dressed in a pair of Callie's sweats and her favorite t-shirt that also belonged to Callie. The brunette should just give it up she thought with a smile, the t-shirt was hers now, she had stolen it fair and square but the two continued to have this argument. Arizona couldn't deny that she enjoyed it, in fact, she looked forward to the argument she knew they would have when Callie got home in the morning, the brunette wouldn't be able to resist commenting on it.
Arizona pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Callie before she went downstairs and made herself cozy on the couch with her glass of wine. Having sent her text to Callie, she pulled up her dad's phone number and hit the button to call him. She smiled when she heard her dad's voice on the other line.
"Hey squirt."
"Hey dad. How are you?"
"I'm good. Just finished up some dessert and was watching a rerun of one of your mom's shows with her. How are you?"
"I'm doing well. How's mom? And Tim and Sara?"
"Everyone here is good, squirt. Your mom is getting excited about Barcelona. I'm sorry I can't make it."
"It's ok. Thank you for talking mom into this. I know she's nervous but she's a brilliant photographer."
"She absolutely is." Daniel replied and Arizona could hear the smile in his voice.
"Dad, can I ask you something without mom knowing about it?"
"Depends what it is, squirt."
"She will find out soon enough, I promise it's a temporary secret."
"Ok, I'm intrigued."
"You said that Grammy left her engagement ring for me to have someday. I've looked online and at several stores, I can't find an engagement ring that screams Callie. But then I thought about Grammy's ring, it's classic and beautiful and sturdy, and something about it just screams Calliope. Do you think I could have it?" Arizona asked. She heard her father's sharp intake of breath on the other end, "Dad?"
"I'm here squirt. Just a minute." Daniel said. She heard rustling and the sound of a door opening and closing, "Sorry I was in the living room with your mom. You're going to propose to Callie?"
"If she doesn't propose to me first then yes, I am. Either way, I want her to have a ring." Arizona replied, hearing the emotion in her dad's voice.
"I'll take it to the jeweler tomorrow and have it looked over. Do you know what size Callie wears?"
"I'm not really sure."
"Find out for sure, it might have to be resized. When do you need it?"
"I'm giving her until New Year's to propose to me and if she doesn't, I plan to propose to her. Tim said she already had a ring and I don't want to ruin her plans. I'm trying to be patient but I'm not sure I can wait longer than that. We had Tim's wedding and we have Aria's coming up plus the holidays, I'm not sure she will be able to plan a proposal in there as well." Arizona replied.
"I had no idea things had progressed this far. If you are not on a timeline, I can have the ring cleaned up here and then send it with your mom to Barcelona for you."
"I didn't know until recently myself but now that I do, I'm so ready. And sending it with mom would be perfect."
"I'm happy for you, squirt. Grammy would be happy too."
"Do you think they would be able to put a bigger diamond in Grammy's ring? I know Pops spent a lot of money on that ring and there's more than one diamond but I'd like the center one to be just a bit bigger. I also have some ideas about the diamonds on the band. Can you send me a picture so I can look at it and tell the jeweler what I'm thinking?"
"Of course. I'll find out about the bigger diamond in the center as well. Unless you want it sent to you and taken to a jeweler there instead."
"No! No, this is perfect then Callie won't know anything. I'll send you her ring size tomorrow and let me know what the estimate is. Thanks for doing this dad." Arizona replied, a giant smile on her face.
"You know you're mother is going to be beyond excited about this, right?"
"I know, that's why I can't tell her yet. I don't want her to accidentally say something to Callie."
"Well, your secret is safe with me squirt. Call me tomorrow."
"I will. Love you, dad."
"Love you too." Daniel replied. Arizona hung up and felt a lightness she hadn't felt all day. She took a big gulp of her wine and sunk down into the couch. She was going to be engaged, hopefully by the end of the year she thought with a smile.
Before climbing into bed that night, Arizona searched through Callie's jewelry box to find a ring to take to the jewelers in the morning to check her ring size. It was one she had seen her wear on her ring finger recently, granted on the right hand still, she was sure it would be perfect for sizing. She tucked the ring into the zipper part of her wallet and sent Callie a goodnight message before curling up with Callie's pillow and falling asleep.
Callie
It was Halloween night and though Callie had the day off, she had to go to the hospital because she was dating a peds surgeon who she had promised that she would not only show up for and participate in the peds ward costume parade, but also to attend the party in the peds playroom afterward. And the kicker, she would dress in something child appropriate. She still couldn't believe that a perky blonde was able to convince her to do any of the things she found herself agreeing to regularly. Arizona refused to tell her what she was wearing but she knew the peds staff had a theme and they would all be dressed in similar clothes. Callie had picked out her costume while shopping with Addie the week before. Joe's was hosting an adult costume party that she and Arizona planned to attend after visiting the peds ward even though Arizona was oncall.
The trouble was, Callie had the perfect ring to wear with her costume and now it was missing. It was a simple gold band but it fit her corpse bride outfit perfectly and now it was missing. She looked at the clock, 17:35, she was supposed to be at the hospital in twenty-five minutes for the parade. She found a different ring and put it on her left hand with a huff. It would have to do, she thought with a sigh as she closed the lid to her jewelry box and put the earrings in her ears. She had to admit, Addie had done one hell of a job on her makeup, she thought with a smile at her reflection in the mirror.
"Cal, come on, we're going to be late." Addie yelled up the stairs.
"Yea, Cal let's go." Teddy piped up. The three of them had met for a late lunch and then went back to Callie's house to soak in the hot tub and get ready for the peds ward party that Arizona had roped them all into.
"Wow, we look good." Teddy replied with a giggle. Addie was dressed as Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas, the best friends deciding to go with the Tim Burton theme. Teddy on the other hand was dressed as Jessie from Toy Story and Henry was going as Woody. Something both Callie and Addie had teased her relentlessly over for the entire day. Arizona had said to keep it kid friendly and Callie knew she was pushing the limits with the Tim Burton theme but she felt a little rebellious as usual so she found a way to comply within the parameters while still pushing the boundaries.
"Let's go, ladies!" Addie yelled, she had already drunk a healthy amount of wine while they got ready.
"I'll drive." Teddy said, pulling the keys to Addie's porsche.
Twenty minutes later, the women entered the peds ward in their costumes just as Arizona was lining up the kids in the hallway. Callie laughed as she saw Arizona dressed as a character from Harry Potter though admittedly, she wasn't sure which one. Sure she was familiar enough with the books but she wasn't obsessed with them the way the blonde was. And not only the books but the movies too which Callie had somehow managed to avoid much to Arizona's dismay. Alex, Lexie, April, George, and Andrew were all dressed similarly.
"And just exactly who are you supposed to be?" Callie asked.
"Calliope, you made it. And you're a…"
"Corpse bride."
"I said nothing scary." Arizona whispered.
"Your outfit is so cool." A little girl in a Wonder Woman costume shouted excitedly.
"It's not too scary?" Callie asked her.
"No, it's awesome." A little boy in a wheelchair dressed as a mac truck confirmed. Callie smiled smugly at Arizona. "So, who are you?"
"I'm Luna. Clearly we are the big six characters in Harry Potter. Lexie is Hermoine, April is Ginny, Alex is Ron, Andrew is Harry Potter, and George is Neville." Arizona replied as if it should be obvious to everyone.
"Well, you look cute." Callie said, hugging Arizona instead of their usual kiss, unsure how Arizona would feel about that in front of her patients.
"Ok, is everyone ready for the parade?" Arizona asked, picking up a little girl in a lab coat with braces on her legs. Andrew was pushing the wheelchair with the mac truck kid. Lexie had a chubby little baby in a pumpkin costume. George looked like he was pushing another kid in a Harry Potter costume on a scooter that was decorated as a broom. Callie smiled broadly, she was happy she hadn't missed this.
"Dr. Robbins, wait!"
"Yes Steven?" Arizona asked, turning to Joann's son, her daughter right behind him.
"Is it too late for us to be in the parade?" He looked a bit sheepish asking but he was wearing what looked like a wrestling uniform. His sister was dressed as a ghost.
"Of course not, Steven. You and Joanie can walk with Kyle, he sometimes needs help with his crutches if he gets tired." Arizona said, pointing out a little boy in a Spider-man costume.
"What can I help with?" Callie asked. Teddy and Addie had gone to take positions to watch the parade and hand out sugar free candy and fruit to the kids. It wasn't exactly the same as trick-or-treating but it was the best they could do in the hospital. Callie had been persuaded to be part of the parade.
"You can take little miss here for me so I can go get the rest of the cabbage patch kids." Arizona replied with a dimpled smile as she handed over the toddler. She disappeared around the corner for a moment and returned with a hospital crib with four babies in it. All of them were dressed as various vegetables. A pea pod, an eggplant, a squash, and a cabbage, in addition the pumpkin Lexie was already holding.
Arizona handed Karev the squash and the egg plant and April picked up the little pea pod, leaving Arizona the cabbage. Callie just couldn't handle the adorableness of it all. She handed Arizona's polaroid camera along with her phone to Mark who had just appeared and asked him to snap a picture as they all posed. She wouldn't be able to post the picture anywhere but at the very least she could hang it on Arizona's graduation wall. All the kids participating in the parade had already had waivers signed for pictures anyway.
The parade and "trick-or-treating" lasted half an hour and then the kids were led to the playroom to have punch and play games with the other kids and their families. It was a tight fit with the wheel chairs, scooters, and crutches but no one seemed to mind. Callie watched from the corner where she stood with Mark and Addie and saw Arizona laughing with a couple of the older kids as they pushed her on the scooter that was decorated like a broom.
"This is really amazing, the kids love it." Addie said.
"She's amazing." Callie replied, a giant smile on her face as she caught Arizona's eye. Arizona whispered "I love you" from across the room and Callie whispered it back.
An hour later, Callie and Arizona along with many of their friends were headed across the street. Arizona had stayed until the party was over and the kids were back in their rooms and Callie had insisted everyone wait for her. As much as Callie had complained about Arizona's mandatory attendance, she was glad she hadn't missed it. Seeing Arizona in action on the peds ward always made her fall just a little more in love with the perky childlike blonde.
"Do you want a soda or a seltzer water or something, babe?" Callie asked as the group found a table. The place was already packed so waving down a waitress didn't seem likely at the moment.
"Oh, I'll take a Shirley Temple." Arizona replied with a dimpled smile. Being on call meant no alcohol but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy a sugary beverage and pretend she was drinking something stronger.
"Ok, I'll be right back." Callie said, kissing her on the cheek before heading to the bar with Mark, Lexie, and Addie. Teddy sat down next to Arizona while Henry joined the others at the bar a few minutes later.
Callie watched curiously from the bar as Arizona and Teddy seemed to be in deep discussion about something. Arizona shook her head and then with a big smile nodded enthusiastically. She wondered what had the blonde so excited as Teddy squealed and clapped from the other side of the table. Noticing that Callie was watching their little show, Arizona shook her head slightly at Teddy and the two seemed to change topics.
"Hmmm, Arizona is up to something." Callie whispered aloud unintentionally.
"What makes you say that?" Mark asked, following Callie's line of sight to the two blondes at the table now purposely avoiding Callie's gaze.
"She never was good at keeping secrets." A sultry voice from beside Callie interrupted. Callie turned to see the older blonde woman and arched an eyebrow at her. She looked familiar but she couldn't place her.
"I'm sorry." Callie said, thinking maybe she misunderstood the woman.
"Arizona, she's a terrible liar." The woman slurred, clearly she was drunk.
"How do you know, Arizona?" Callie asked. But recognition hit Mark, he had seen the entire elevator/coffee scene from a safe distance the night before.
"You must be Joann." Mark said, holding out a hand awkwardly, "I'm Mark."
"Joann?" Callie asked, recognition hitting her as well. She didn't know what she expected but this wasn't it. The glimpse she had gotten the day before had been quick and not knowing who she was, she had not taken the time to look but she had assumed Joann had been the short brunette. She didn't seem like Arizona's type though maybe she should be grateful for that.
"You're the girlfriend. The one she feels everything with apparently. But just remember, she loved me first." Joann said.
"Clearly you're drunk. I'm going to go now." Callie replied as Joe handed her the two drinks she had ordered.
She walked over to Arizona and Teddy, her mood slightly soured by the presence of the woman at the bar. She sat Arizona's drink down in front of her before taking the seat next to her, pulling Arizona's chair just a tad closer as she put an arm around her. Callie noted that she could see the bandages peeking out from under Arizona's school girl uniform at this angle since the blonde had unbuttoned a few more buttons.
"Everything ok babe?" Arizona asked as Callie leaned in and kissed her cheek.
"It would be better if Joann wasn't at the bar." Callie said. Arizona tried to look but the rest of their group returned to the table and the bar was busy with the next group trying to get drinks.
"I don't see her."
"Joann is here? As in The Joann?" Teddy asked, now straining to see her as well.
"Yep." Callie replied, popping her p as she downed her drink and was in luck as a waiter passed and she ordered two more and a shot. Arizona gave her a look but didn't say anything.
"Teds, stop, don't give her attention, that's what she wants. She's not worth it. I have everything I need right here." Arizona said, planting a kiss on Callie's temple as she slid her arm around her waist and cuddled into her.
"Let's finish these drinks and dance." Addie said.
"I like this plan." Teddy replied.
Just then Arizona's pager went off. She looked at it and frowned. This couldn't be right, she had handed Steven's case off to Dr. Laney. Even if she was the pediatric surgeon on call, they should be paging him if it was anything about his patient's case. She had signed off, Steven wasn't a surgical candidate which meant it was someone else paging her.
"Lexie, Dr. Laney did consult on Steven last night, right?"
"Yes and he was moved to PICU."
"I know you're not on call but if you haven't had a drink yet, can you check out this page for me?"
"You're in luck, I started out with a sprite. What's up?" Lexie asked. This caught the attention of the table and Arizona felt her face flushing as Callie narrowed her eyes at her.
"I think Joann just paged me to an on call room." Arizona replied.
"She what?!" Callie exclaimed.
"Lexie?" Arizona asked.
"You've got it. I'll be right back." Lexie said.
"I'll walk over with you." Mark said, grabbing their coats and heading for the door.
"Callie, I'm not sure. I got a weird page and I'm not sure why anyone would page me to an on call room. I thought it would be better to send Lexie."
"This is just perfect." Callie replied. She wasn't sure why she was feeling so annoyed by this. She knew she had no reason to be jealous but she just couldn't help but feel like Joann could be trouble for them.
"Come on, let's go dance. We've both been looking forward to this and I don't want it to ruin our night." Arizona said, pulling Callie to her feet.
Callie sighed and looked at her beautiful blonde. She had extensions in, making her hair look like it was to her waist. She had on a blue tie with her button up dress shirt and a schoolgirl skirt with knee high socks not unlike the uniform Callie used to wear. Over the shirt she had on a pink sparkly jacket and on her face she wore the most ridiculous looking pink glasses but somehow she pulled it off and Callie found her both adorable and sexy. Deciding not to let Joann ruin the night, Callie allowed Arizona to pull her out on the dance floor.
Sometime later, Callie noticed that Lexie and Mark had returned and joined them on the dance floor. Lexie approached them and said, "Everything is all set, Dr. Robbins. The nurses have been given strict instructions and if a surgical consult is needed for that case, they will page me first from now on."
"Thank you, Lexie." Arizona replied with a smile.
"I'm sorry I got a little crazy." Callie said, nuzzling blonde curls.
"It's ok, we take turns." Arizona giggled.
"I know you're on call but will you come home tonight? I've missed sleeping with you." Callie said. They only lived fifteen minutes away but fifteen minutes could mean the difference between life and death so many times they stayed at the hospital when they were on call.
"I already planned to. I've missed you too and I can't go another night without sleeping next to you." Arizona replied.
"Come on, let's go home." Callie said.
"You read my mind." Arizona replied. Callie didn't miss the dimpled smile that popped as Arizona's hand linked with hers and the blonde noticed the ring on Callie's left hand. It didn't matter that they both knew it was part of a costume, they both thought about the rings that had been picked out for the other and shared a kiss, oblivious of each other's plans to propose.
AN #2: I didn't want to not address the guest comments from the previous chapter. I won't address them in AN's anymore after this though. I never want to hurt anyone's feelings or make them feel like this is not a safe place. Some of you have reached out to me privately and I truly appreciate your support, I was relieved to hear that you all have faith that my intentions were not malicious. I don't want to negate the guests feelings though. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and feelings and I nor anyone else can tell you those feelings are wrong. That being said, I am happy to have open communication and dialect with anyone who would like to private message me. If you wish to continue leaving these comments as a guest, you are welcome to but I'm not able to communicate with you. This fanfiction has led me in a completely different direction than I ever thought it would and just know there are back stories for everyone. The ones you have learned about have just fit into the story better and you may or may not get to see some of the Robbins skeletons in the future. It just depends on where this takes me. This is meant for entertainment only. If you find it being a trigger, I truly apologize.