CHAPTER 21 – SWEET NOTHING

"What are doing out there? It's freezing!" Amelia said as she joined Arizona out in the cold anyway.

"I needed some fresh air," Arizona replied ponderingly, her bright eyes never leaving the view in front of her as a fresh breeze blew, caressing their faces, not too harshly but still hard enough to distract the blonde from her thoughts.

"I'm cold," the brunette said as she zipped up her coat to the very top and glued her front to Arizona's back, her head coming to rest onto the blonde's shoulder.

Her hands wandered under Arizona's scrub top and she cupped the other woman's bra-clad breasts. Arizona shivered and leaned away from the cold fingers with a hiss, sinking her body further into her partner's embrace as she tried to get away from the freezing hands.

"Shit, what are you doing?"

"I'm warming up," the brunette explained, as if it was obvious.

The pediatric surgeon turned her head to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Doesn't your coat have pockets?"

"Yes, but I want to hold my obviously upset girlfriend in my arms, she looks like she could use a hug," she pouted, her lower lip sticking out. "This way, I get to do both."

Arizona opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. She did want to be held so cold hands would have to do for now.

"Fine," she conceded at last and looked back in front of her. "Dork," she muttered under her breath.

"Your dork."

"Unfortunately," Arizona said teasingly.

"Hey!" Amelia poked her ribcage, her hands finally warm enough to her taste so she wrapped her arms around Arizona's middle section, burying her cold nose into the blonde mane and teasing the crook of the other woman's neck.

Arizona giggled at the disturbance and let her head fall backwards onto the brunette's shoulder. "I'm kiddin', baby," her big bright eyes sank into somber ones, her expression morphing from playful to serious and honest, "I don't think I've been this happy in a while. I like you so much."

"I like you too," Amelia grinned and she leaned in until her lips met Arizona's, pulling her into a soft kiss.

She pulled away abruptly though and made a suspicious face. Arizona tasted different, very bad different. I-just-licked-an-ashtray different.

"Did you smoke?" she asked with a grimace, her brows knitting deeply.

The blonde made a guilty face and cringed, her nose scrunching up as she replied tentatively, "No?"

The neurosurgeon thought she looked utterly adorable trying to hide something like this and couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her.

"Relax, I'm not going to lecture you. I used to smoke when I was younger. I just didn't know you smoked."

"Only when I'm extremely nervous," she said apologetically, "You used to smoke?"

"Only for a while. You know, during college and then I started back again when Derek was shot at the hospital and wouldn't return any of my calls. Haven't since. What's going on in this big smart brain of yours that got you so nervous?" the brunette asked, concerned that something would make her partner so anxious that she'd go for a smoke.

Arizona turned around into her arms to face Amelia, tucking her head into the crook of the other woman's neck, needing the physical contact to ground her.

"I have to call social services on one of my patients," the blonde's tone showed exactly how emotionally torn that decision was making her. "Lou Nicks. I've seen her over a dozen of times over the last three years. At first, I believed her stories because her injuries were pretty coherent with whatever she would come up with that day. But it's the third time that she breaks her wrist. I've been suspicious for a while but Lou was always so adamant that she was just a very clumsy girl and her mom always played along. Saying that Lou is a real tomboy, that she likes to play it rough with the boys, laughing it off, you know? But today, her mom went to get coffee, so it was just Lou and me for a while. And she-," the lump Arizona had been pushing down her throat since that consult came back at full force and her voice cracked. "She broke down, Amelia. She cried and she cried, like I've never seen a kid cry. I just- I feel so guilty for not insisting sooner. How could I have not known? What if her mom had never left to get that cup of coffee? How many more times would Lou have had to come to the ER for me to finally put the pieces together? And here I was every time, smiling and cracking the stupidest jokes, trying to distract her while I was putting her plaster cast on while her home was a living hell for her," a few tears rolled down her cheeks, landing onto Amelia's coat, and neither woman made a move to wipe them away. Amelia simply pulled her closer and dropped a kissed on the top of her head. "I don't get it, 'Melia. How can a parent hit their own children? Why in the world would someone ever do that? I just- I'll never get it. And it makes me so fucking mad, I want to punch someone. And feeling so powerless makes me even more furious about the whole thing. Thank God Lou's dad isn't there, because I swear to God, I don't know what I would have done to him. Do you know that in the three years I've been following Lou, he only came in with her once, maybe twice? That fucking asshole."

The tears now coming out of her eyes weren't sad tears anymore but angry tears. Angry with Lou's father for hitting such a precious daughter, angry with her mom for covering her husband and more importantly, the pediatric surgeon was angry with herself for not noticing that something was wrong. For sending Lou and her new cast of the day back home after each consult, right into her abuser's arms.

Amelia's hands gently stroked her back, hoping to provide some comfort to the other woman, knowing full well there was nothing that she could do to ease the guilt Arizona was feeling, no matter how hard she tried.

"How can I help?" the neurosurgeon tenderly asked instead.

"You're helping now," Arizona replied with a sniffle, her tears had eventually ceased. "You're here."

The brunette's hand took the blonde's, lacing the finger together and held it to her mouth to kiss the back of it. "You, Arizona Robbins, are the most caring, thoughtful, wonderful and strongest person I know," she said truthfully, a kind smile on lips and her eyes shining with raw adoration.

Arizona felt her heart flutter in her chest and her stomach twisted. She felt like she wasn't deserving of all the attention and love the other woman was giving her today. It felt incredibly nice though and it was definitely helping. Amelia always seemed to know exactly what she needed to hear to soothe her, it was almost baffling. She slowly leaned in, her lips softly meeting Amelia's to pull her into a languid kiss, wanting to convey how thankful she was for her comforting words.

Arizona's hand tightened her hold onto her partner's left hip and squeezed her hand. The brunette sighed into the kiss and Arizona seized the opportunity to swipe her tongue inside her mouth to encounter hers. Amelia's pulled her impossibly closer, their curves converging together and only when she felt the blonde's body melting into hers, Amelia knew that she had succeeded to help her calm down. Out of breath, the neurosurgeon pulled away, leaning her forehead against the blonde's and esquimo-kissed her.

"You've got this, Zona. I like you," she said confidently.

"I like you too, Amelia," the pediatric surgeon felt her heart swelled up into her chest and her inner tension slightly slipped away, replaced by something very akin to love and she couldn't contain her smile.

Amelia was just finishing giving her patient's family the bad news and walking away, trying her hardest to not break down in front of them, when she heard a kiddie voice loudly yell her name for everyone present in the hall to hear.

"AMELIA!"

She turned around and saw Sofia running towards her as fast as her legs would carry her, her arms extended in front of her, ready to be caught once she was close enough. She spotted Callie right behind her, looking grumpily at her pager. She quickly forced her upcoming tears away and the lump into her throat down, instead putting on her brightest smile.

"Wow, slow down Speedy!" the neurosurgeon leaned forwards and caught the little Latina in her arms. She spun them around a few times, relishing in the small giggles leaving Sofia's mouth. She stopped before they could get dizzy and safely propped the little girl on her left hip. "Hello Sof'!"

"Hola!" she replied excitedly.

"Hi Torres," she greeted the orthopedic surgeon much more calmly. "I thought you weren't working today?"

"Wasn't supposed to but I got paged," she said, obviously a little disappointed by that fact.

"What's so important that you had to speed-run, munchkin?"

"Mama and I went to the park esta manana and we found a new leaf! It's a maple leaf. It doesn't even have little holes from being eaten yet."

"It was in the middle of a mud puddle, but it didn't stop a little someone from running straight to it," the Latina said pointedly to Amelia.

The neurosurgeon giggled, she had no trouble picturing Sofia doing something like this at all.

"That's awesome, Sof'! High five!" she exclaimed and presented her hand to Sofia who clapped it. "High five for you too mama," Amelia said to Callie with a big smile, who clapped her hand too.

"Vale, bebe. It's time to go to daycare."

Sofia immediately pouted at her mama's words, her bottom lip sticking out. "Do I have to?"

"I've got her," Amelia said with a nonchalant shrug.

"You sure?"

"Don't worry about it. Go before they page you again."

"Alright. Thank you, Sheperd. I'll see you later, my enconta," she dropped a tender kiss onto her daughter's forehead and walked away.

"So, I just got out of the OR and I was about to grab a bite. Wanna come with me before going to daycare?"

"Si," Sofia replied with a smile and cuddled up under her chin.

The woman took a deep breath, the smell of artificial strawberries and childhood hitting her nose all at once and the usual weight of Sofia resting against her felt reassuring. This girl must be magic, Amelia thought. That simple smile and lighthearted laugh made the pain more manageable. It was almost disconcerting how Sofia's love was soothing her. The little girl probably had no idea how powerful her cheerful attitude was, how it could brighten even her worst day.

"How many sugars for mommy 'Melia?"

"Five, please Sof'."

"Mommy's going to get cavities," the Latina's eyes popped out of their sockets but she still put the right amount of sugars into the cup.

"Mommy's going to get diabetes, more like," Amelia joked back.

"How many sugars for you?"

"None for me, baby."

"'Kay."

"We're good to go? We have everything?"

"Yep!"

"Behold! Here comes the mighty neurosurgeon in shiny scrubs bearing gifts!" Amelia exclaimed as she entered the scan room.

"What do you-" Arizona span around and her eyes landed onto her two favorites brunettes, a smile immediately forming onto her lips. "Hello Sof! What are you even doing here? I though Mama wasn't working today," her brows furrowed as the girls walked up to her.

"Mama got paged so 'Melia's taking care of me. We got you coffee."

Arizona dropped a kiss onto her daughter's cheek.

"Hello Amelia," she sweetly whispered with a grin before giving her attention back to her daughter, "You did?"

"Mmh-mmh!"

"We're both having a pretty shitty day so I figured we could use a little pick me up," Amelia murmured in the other woman's ear and kissed her temple.

"Thank you so much 'Melia," Arizona earnestly said, immensely grateful to have found a person as thoughtful and caring as Amelia Sheperd.

"You're more than welcome," she whispered back. "Sof, why don't you tell mommy what you found with mama this morning at the park?"

"You're never going to believe this mommy!" Sofia said excitedly and launched into her tale, speaking a mile-a-minute, both adults completely in awe of the best mood-upper they knew.

"Coffee?" Arizona asked as she put the warm beverage in front of Amelia's face, effectively breaking her staring contest with the brains scans in front of her.

Amelia eagerly grabbed the drink, a smile gracing her lips. "Thanks, I really need that."

"You're welcome," she pecked her lips sweetly before embracing the brunette from behind, her head resting onto her shoulder and her hands settling onto her belly. "Damn, that is one hell of a tumor you have here."

"IT'S NOT A TUMOR!" Amelia joked, badly imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop.

"That was a terrible impersonation, baby," the pediatric surgeon chuckled and she was happy to feel the other woman relax into her embrace.

"Sorry. It's just that it's not a tumor."

"It's not?"

"No, see those fuzzy edges?" she pointed to one of the scan. "It's an aneurysm."

"This size?" the blonde frowned, squinting her eyes as she focused harder.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Are you going to clip it?"

"Yep!" she said as excited as usual whenever neurosurgery was mentioned. She tilted her head to kiss Arizona's cheek. "My son's patient kissed me," the neurosurgeon confessed and laced her fingers with the blonde's. "On the mouth."

Arizona's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and she was thankful her mouth was empty otherwise she would have probably sprayed coffee everywhere. "What?" she asked, high pitched, not believing what she was hearing.

"Unexpected, right?" the brunette said, still somewhat in shock and reassuringly squeezed her hand. "One minute he's thanking me for saving his father, telling me how awesome I am, that I'm a brain goddess… And you know I'm kind of basking in the glow because he's right. I'm awesome and I did save his dad when most neurosurgeons would have refused to operate the tumor on his spinal cord. Next thing I know, he's kissing me. Oh, did I mention he's also like, fifteen?" she shuddered.

"What did you do?" the blonde asked, her tone obviously entertained.

"I pushed him away of course! What was I supposed to do? I told him that I was flattered but that it was wrong and that I already had someone," she turned around, snaking her arms around Arizona's shoulders and one hand played with the thin baby hair living in her lower neck.

"Poor kid, he must have been so destroyed."

"He kissed me Arizona!"

"Can you blame him though? You're marvelously smart, you're crazy badass and you're extremely hot," she softly pulled her even closer, pressing their bodies together against each other and she leaned in slowly until their lips were barely touching. "Very very hot," she whispered before eventually closing the small gap in between them and pulling her partner into a searing kiss.

Amelia's hand wandered down her side, her fingertips teasingly grazing down the other woman's scrub top until she reached her butt and squeezed it softly. Arizona whimpered softly into the kiss in surprise, her grip onto the neurosurgeon's hips tightening in response.

"Beauty really is a curse, you know," Amelia pouted when she pulled away, her lower lip sticking out.

"I have to go, it's rounds time. So don't go around kissing other teenagers okay? I don't have time to be your doctor in shiny scrubs," she teased with a smirk.

"He's the one who kissed me!"

"You ready to go?" Amelia asked to Arizona as she walked into their bedroom.

Today, the weather was rather keen outside. Not very bright but a few rays of sunshine were shyly pocking out from behind white clouds, and the wind was actually just a light refreshing breeze instead of the bone-shivering hard blowing wind it usually was. So both women had agreed to go out for a walk.

"Let me grab my scarf just in case," the blonde opened a drawer and wrapped the piece of fabric around her neck. "All set," she smiled widely at the brunette.

"Wait, we can't go out looking like that," Amelia frowned, looking back and forth in between the two of them.

Arizona frowned and saw that the both of them were dressed in the same exact outfit, minus the colors. "Right, too much plaid happening here. You change. I'll wait for you into the living room."

"What? No, you change. I was ready before you!" the neurosurgeon argued.

"Oh baby, you're cute," she cued cutesy, "I'm the lesbian. I get to keep the plaid."

"What? No! That's not how it works."

"Sure it is. Whoever's gayer wins," Arizona teased with a smirk.

Amelia looked at her, appalled. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. When the neurosurgeon scoffed, the blonde smiled proudly since she knew she had won. She softly kissed her cheek and went to wait in the living room.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE USING THE "I'M A LESBIAN!" CARD JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO LAZY TO CHANGE YOUR SHIRT," Amelia yelled to the blonde whom was still not over the fact that it had actually worked.

Amelia extended her hand and the blonde happily grabbed it and interlaced their fingers. Once their door closed, Amelia gently tugged the blonde closer to her.

"Where are you taking me, baby?" Arizona asked, curious at the determined attitude Amelia was displaying.

"It's a surprise, so there's no point in asking."

They wandered into Seattle, widow shopping as they went and stopping every now to appreciate their surroundings or trash-talk whatever was behind the shop window. Finally, Amelia slowed down to a stop when they reached their destination.

"We're here."

"The space needle?" Arizona asked as she eyed the tall building standing in front of them.

"I remembered you told me a while ago that you hadn't been in a long time and I've never been so I thought why not?" Then she added, her tone uncertain and doubtful, "Unless you think it's totally lame then we can go somewhere else."

"Amelia Sheperd, I would love to go on this lame date with you," Arizona smiled at her and squeezed her hand to accentuate her delight at the surprise.

"Really?" Amelia asked, still unsure.

"Yeah," Arizona giggled. "I have to warn you though, I'm slightly scared of height since the plane crash and all, you know."

Amelia suddenly felt stupid to not have thought about that, her heart uncomfortably dropping in her chest. "Oh my God I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid, I should hav-"

"Amelia."

"Never proposed you to go up there. How did I not think about it? I totally should have-"

"Amelia."

"-asked you first. I suck so much at surprises. You know what? Just hold my hand and you can squeeze it as hard as you want if it gets too much. I'll do you one even better, we don't even have to go up, I'm-"

"AMELIA," Arizona tried louder, finally getting the neurosurgeon's attention and stopping her rambling. "I'm slightly scared of height. As long as there is no earthquake while we're up there or some incident trapping us into the elevator mid-air, I'll be just fine."

"Really?"

Arizona could see the guiltiness and the uncertainty shining in Amelia's dark blues eyes. She willed herself to make it go away because it clearly didn't belong onto her girlfriend's features. She cupped her cheeks with both hands and gently placed a confident kiss one her lips. "Really. Stop worrying so much. Now, is being scared a must or can I hold your hand just because I want to?" she asked cheekily in order to diffuse the tension.

"Well, I guess, if you insist…" she glided her left hand into Arizona's, interlocking their fingers together. She felt a tad reassured thanks to Arizona's ministrations, not matter how small they were.

"I'm afraid I really do."

"Alright then," she kissed the back of the blonde's hand. "But please, try not to hulk out on my hand. You're holding priceless artwork, I save lives with these bad boys."

Arizona giggled and bumped her shoulder playfully. "Dork."

The elevator ride went as smoothly as it could be expected but Amelia kept on soothingly toing and froing her thumb against the back of her partner's hand to comfort and reassure Arizona anyway.

Once at the top, they did a few tours among the tourists. They stopped every few steps, the pediatric surgeon showing the brunette some of Seattle's most recognizable monuments like the Ferris wheel or the Safeco field but also some more personal things like her favorite restaurant or Sofia's favorite park. After a while, they sat down on one of the indoor's seats, completely in trance at the view lying beneath them.

Arizona let her head fall on Amelia's shoulder. "This is the best lame date I've ever had. Thank you Amelia."

"I'm having a wonderful time too," she kissed the blonde's forehead.

Before leaving, they asked a by-stander to take a photo of them. They stood close to the glass, Arizona's left arm around her hip and Amelia leaning into her, both smiling from ear-to-ear.

"It's perfect. It's going up on the fridge," Arizona said as they looked at the picture.

"What? No!"

"Why not?" the blonde frowned.

"Because you look beautiful and I look like mess!"

Arizona smirked at her. "Yeah, but you're my mess," she smirked which made Amelia's smile in reply.

"Mmh-mmh," the neurosurgeon nodded. "Come again?"

"Mine," Arizona repeated more confidently this time and kissed her cheek.

Then they went back down and walked around some more, hand in hand.

"Can I interest you in a waffle?" Amelia asked as they approached a food truck. "I'm not that hungry but I know you have a sweet tooth. Sharing?"

"How can I refuse? Sugar treats with my perfect partner on a perfect date."

Hot waffle in hand, Amelia and Arizona strolled through the nearby park and found the perfect tree to sit under. Amelia sat first, her back against the trunk and invited the blonde to sit in between her legs.

They people-watched while they ate, one of the brunette's hand playing with honey blonde hair. Their treat eaten and a few moments of peaceful silence later, Amelia could tell that the pediatric surgeon was beginning to quietly doze off . Her rhythmic breath was calm, her belly going up with each inhalation in a soothing way and her eyelids were shut closed, hiding her bright blue eyes.

"Wakey wakey baby," she gently whispered and slowly rocked them in order to wake Arizona up. "As much as I love this park, I'm afraid we can't sleep over. We didn't bring our pj's with us."

"Comfy," Arizona mumbled and backed herself further into her girlfriend's embrace.

"I'm honored you think I'm a good quality human pillow," the neurosurgeon kidded. "I'll give you a few minutes to mentally prepare yourself to stand up," she kissed the back of Arizona's head.

"Don't stop," Arizona muttered in a childishly upset tone, her eyebrows frowning.

"Stop what baby?"

"Rockin'. I like it."

Amelia chuckled at the other woman's cuteness and a wave of affection ran through her. The fact that she got to call the human being resting in her arms hers still felt a little surreal from time to time. She rocked them leisurely. "As long as you promise to not fall asleep."

"Promise to try."

"Hello there beautiful," Amelia said as she came alongside Arizona at the nurses' station.

"Shhhh, not so loud. My girlfriend might hear you," Arizona playfully replied, stopping her writing to look up at the neurosurgeon.

"Does she, now?" Amelia raised an eyebrow, playing along. "Is that girlfriend of yours any hot?"

Arizona bit her bottom lip, her eyes leering openly at the brunette's body, knowing exactly what it did to Amelia. "The hottest," she flirted back.

"Maybe I should just yell it louder then, so she comes. Then we can ask her how she feels about threesomes," she wiggled her eyebrows.

Arizona's smile left as quickly as it had appeared. Making an annoyed face, she stated with a roll of eyes, "You're a dumbass."

"Come on, you know I had to do it," Amelia was obviously pleased with her little joke, judging by the smirk on her face.

The pediatric surgeon raised an eyebrow. "Do what? Ruin your chance of getting laid this week? 'Cause it totally worked." She closed her patient's chart and tucked it under her armpit. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have tiny sick humans to see."

"What? Wait! Baby, you can't do that!" Amelia whined as she pouted.

"I so can," Arizona gave her the most satisfied smile the brunette had ever seen her sporting as she walked away from the nurses' station.

Alex came up next to her with a frown.

"What did you do to make Robbins smile so big?" Alex asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh, you know, just ended whatever likelihood of any sexual interaction between us for the next year or so. No biggie," she shrugged nonchalantly. "Never try to make your woman laugh if you ever wish to touch her boobs again, Karev," she sadly patted his shoulder and walked away with a melancholic sigh.

Alex was left dumbfounded, a look somewhere between confusion and discomfort written all over his face.