AN: Hello everyone. This is my first attempt at a Grey's fanfic. THIS IS NOT A CALZONA STORY so, sorry. If that's what you're looking for this isn't it. I will not untag Callie because, even though this is not Calzona endgame, she is still a part of the story. I always welcome feedback but please keep it respectful and constructive. I will not hesitate to report rude, abusive comments. For those of you who are interested, I hope you enjoy it. For those who are not, I hope you find other stories that suit your interests.

Chapter 2: Have I Found You?

Joey switched from whiskey to beer and Arizona was working on her third vodka tonic. They picked their conversation back up once the trivia game was done. "So you're a military brat, moved around a lot growing up?" Arizona nodded. "So when did you come to Seattle?". She wanted to move the conversation away from herself. She felt like she'd shared enough and she just wanted to hear her story. She always was a great listener.

"Well I studied at John's Hopkins. I went through med school and residency there and I did my fellowship year there. Then, I was offered an attending position there. I loved it so I stayed. Then I was offered an attending and department head position here in Seattle so I thought…. no better time to spread my wings". Joey smiled and nodded her head. She couldn't believe how things were lining up between them.

"So, you're a doctor?" she asked.

"Yes, a surgeon" she specified. Joey laughed and scratched her head.

"What's your specialty?"

"I started in pediatric surgery and now I'm a fetal/maternal"Arizona answered, though she was confused about her laughter.

"Wow. Fetal is a… difficult specialty. Impressive".

"Thank you" she said appreciatively. "What about you? What do you do?" Joey laughed. "What?" Arizona asked curiously.

"Nothing, it's just. I am too" she said filling her in. "I'm a surgeon too".

"Really?" Arizona asked surprised. Joey nodded. They were both surprised by how much they had in common. "What's your specialty?" she asked, eager to know more.

"Trauma" she said simply. "I'm a trauma surgeon". Arizona nodded in understanding. Her being a trauma surgeon made sense given her military service. She was the female Owen or another Teddy. "Where'd you study?"

"In Maryland". Arizona's jaw dropped. "Yeah" she said with a laugh. "Just for med school though. I did my residency in Hawaii" she said connecting back to how she guessed her namesake. "I umm… I joined the military at seventeen. I was right out of high school. I joined as a medic, did all my training then I finished my undergrad classes just in time to apply to the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences when I turned twenty-one".

"So we were both studying in Maryland at the same time" Arizona said still in disbelief.

"Within an hour's drive of each other" she said with a nod.

"Wow, that's…. kismet" she said cheerfully. Joey meet her gaze. It was almost as if she was looking into her soul. She quickly looked away.

"So" she said clearing her throat, "you've lived here since then?" She asked, moving the conversation away from herself again. Arizona could tell she was uncomfortable with her declaration of their meeting being fate. She decided to let it go, for now.

"Uh, no I… I moved to Africa for a couple of months" she blew air, "years ago. Then I came back. Then I moved to New York for a few years to be closer to my daughter and now I'm back again".

"You have a daughter?"

"I do". Her smile grew big and bright again at the mention of her child. "Her name's Sofia. She'll be eleven this year and she's the light of my life".

"And why was she in New York?"

"My ex-wife, Callie, had moved there to be with her girlfriend at the time and I allowed Sofia to go with her. It was a very messy process getting to that decision" she said with a chuckle, "but we made it work for a little over a year but it was just…. it was too hard on Sofia. So I decided to move there to be closer to her".

"Messy process?" she asked interested in that story. Arizona laughed again. Every time she did, Joey felt a flutter in her stomach.

"Well, Callie's girlfriend Penny won this research grant which would mean she'd have to move to New York so…"

"What grant is that?" Joey interrupted her.

"I…It was the Preminger Grant".

"Ok, yeah, I know it".

"Yeah, it's a big deal so of course she didn't want to pass it up. Anyway, Callie was worried about having a long distance relationship so I gave her this awesome pep talk" she said complimenting herself, "about making the things that you want to work, work. And somehow, what she got out of that pep talk was that she should move to New York with her and take my daughter with her…. without asking me". Joey could tell, from the way she talked about it, that it was still a sore spot. "She didn't ask me if I was okay with Sofia moving with her. She just told me that she was moving and that I'd be able to see her whenever I wanted. Then she walked that back and apologized and said she got carried away and that we'd talk about it. So we met for coffee to talk about it and she brought brochures for schools, like it was already decided that she was going but we hadn't even talked about why we would move our daughter across the country so that she could follow her girlfriend". Once Arizona got going, she really got going. She was offended by Callie's assumption that she would automatically be the one that Sofia would live with and that she was only worthy of visits with her daughter. Callie scoffed at the idea of Sofia staying in Seattle with Arizona and visiting her in New York. For some reason, she didn't understand that Arizona felt the same way about the arrangement being the other way around. "Then I get a call from a school in New York asking me about Sofia's application".

"Oh" Joey groaned under her breath before finishing her drink then getting the bartender's attention for another round.

"Yeah. I mean, she's standing there saying that she jumped the gun and that we'd make the decision together" she said laughing, "not knowing that I already knew she'd applied to schools behind my back". Even though some time had obviously passed and she'd ultimately gone to New York to be with her daughter and even though she had, what she assumed was, a good experience there, she still had a lot of anger when she talked about it. Joey assumed that no matter how much time passed, it would always bother her on some level. "She thought it was just fine to make a unilateral decision about our daughter's life. So I told her to talk to my lawyer. I needed to protect my rights to my child. I didn't want to be away from her".

"So, what happened then?" Joey asked interested in the rest of the story.

"Then…. she sued me for sole custody".

"Ouch".

"Yeah, she really wanted to take Sofia with her. She completely slandered me in court. She let her lawyer say things about me that…. I mean, I- I would never have, ever let my lawyer say about her" she said sadly. "But she lost so…" she said with a shrug.

"Oh, well that's…. is that good?" she asked not sure whether a mother losing custody of her child was a good thing, even if it was a win for Arizona.

"Well I thought it was" she said brushing her hair behind her ear. "I mean nothing changed except the legalities. We kept the same schedule. Callie didn't see Sofia any less. But Penny and Callie broke up and Penny moved to New York without her. Callie was just so unhappy all the time and Sofia was always asking me "why's mama so sad". Seeing her like that was making my girl so unhappy." The way that Arizona said "my girl" when talking about Sofia made her melt inside. She hoped the way she was feeling on the inside wasn't showing on the outside. "So I said that she could go and she could take Sofia and we would work out a schedule for me to see her".

"So you let her take Sofia to New York so she could see her mom happy?" Arizona nodded. "And what about you? Were you happy?" She smiled even though her eyes looked sad.

"I missed her. I missed her so much" she admitted. "But I got to visit her in New York and we talked on the phone and texted and video chatted".

"But it wasn't enough" she observed.

"I had my work and I started dating again. I found… some happiness. But no, it wasn't enough" she said sadly. "But then" she chuckled, "then Sofia missed me and she wanted to move back home. So we moved her back home with me but then she missed Callie. She started acting out and I just decided I had to do what was best for her. So I found an apartment and a job and we moved to New York together so she could have both of her parents".

"That's very selfless of you" she said admiring her decisions to put her child first. "Can I ask you something?" Arizona raised her eyebrows. "I just… I'm wondering about something and I don't know if it's an offensive question to ask or not" she said honestly.

"Umm… ask away" Arizona said hesitantly.

"Did Callie carry Sofia?" she asked cautiously. "She's her biological mother, right?"

"Yeah" Arizona nodded, "but I'm still her mother" she said defensively. "I… I legally adopted her".

"N-no, I… of course" she said placating her. "I would never think you're not her mother. I just…. I wondered why she would assume she could decide to move her without asking you, that's all". They both quietly finished their drinks and asked for another round. "I'm sorry" Joey apologized. "I shouldn't have asked".

"No, it's fine" Arizona said. "I think it was definitely a factor" she said sadly, remembering some of the things said in court. Joey wanted to move on to something else. The mood had been dampened and she wanted to lighten it again.

"So, Africa" she said moving along. "Why'd you move there?"

"I won a grant" she said proudly. "The Carter Madison Grant which would fund a clinic in Malawi for children. I was basically building a pediatric surgery clinic and teaching peds surgery. It was incredible and once in a lifetime. I was supposed to be there for three years but I ended up coming back after only a few months".

"Why?"

"I came back… for Callie" she said hesitantly. Joey looked stunned.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I just… I couldn't even enjoy the work because I was so sad about how I left things with her and I missed her so much. I just… wanted to go home and fix it and get her back".

"Wait, weren't you married? Why didn't she just go with you?" Arizona laughed at the second question.

"We weren't married yet". She preceded to tell her the story of how she ended up going to Africa without her, how they got back together when she returned, and how they came to have Sofia. "So Mark was her…."

"Best friend…. with benefits" she added. "Yeah, and he's Sofia's father. I didn't like him for a long time but I grew to love him very much".

"And you're still friends now?"

"Uh, no" she said sadly looking down at her drink. "He died when Sofia was a baby".

"I'm so sorry" she said apologizing yet again for another loss. "Can I ask what happened?" Arizona hesitated to answer her. "You don't have to talk about it" she said quickly. "I'm… sorry I asked".

"No, it's okay. It's okay that you asked". She told her about the plane crash that killed Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey. She told her about Meredith and Cristina. Derek. Jerry the pilot. Herself. She told her about the lawsuit, how it almost bankrupted their hospital and how they bought the hospital to save it. She told her about the long road to recover after losing her leg and her old self and ultimately her marriage. She even told her about Lauren, the doctor she made the mistake of cheating on her wife with. She told her everything from sleeping with an intern to Callie's lawsuit and their reconciliation all the way to them splitting up again, for what they thought was the last time. Joey couldn't believe how utterly open Arizona was being with her. She was sure the free vodka tonics had the most to do with it. She didn't interrupt her. She just listened to every part of her story. She was interested in everything she had to say. Everything.

"Last call, everyone" Karin called out through the bar. "Last call, ladies" she said stopping in front of them. Joey looked at her watch. Two in the morning. She hadn't planned on staying out this late. She was glad she didn't have to be up too early.

"One more round?" she asked looking at Arizona. She nodded. "One more please" she said to Karin who nodded and preceded to get them each one more drink.

"You never said why you moved here" Arizona said realizing she'd just shared almost her entire adult life story and still knew very little about Joey.

"Umm… I just transitioned to the reserves. It'll…. most likely be my last reenlistment before I retire. I wanted to be on the west coast to be close to my parents and my sister. They live in California. There was an opening in the medical unit at Fort Lewis so I was able to be assigned there".

"That's in Tacoma, right?" Joey nodded. "So why Seattle?"

"I don't know. I, uh, I guess I wanted to be away from post" she said with a shrug. "I haven't lived off post since med school and in a few more years, I'll be a civilian completely. I guess I figured it'd be easier if I didn't live so close to post" she said trying her best to explain. "And I thought it'd be nice to live in a big city. And my top choice for work is here. I haven't gotten the job yet. I'm still waiting to hear but I thought I'd be positive…. for once" she chuckled. "So I found an apartment here and I am believing that I will get the job that I want".

"So you've only ever worked in army hospitals?"

"Yeah" she said with a sigh. "This will be my first civilian job. It's nerve-racking to think about but also really exciting. I've always wondered what it was like to work in a civilian hospital. Military hospitals are…. slow. Which is good" she quickly added not wanting Arizona to think she was bored of people's good fortune. Even though they wouldn't have jobs save for people's misfortune, it was distasteful to say it aloud. "A busy day at a military hospital is never a good thing. It usually means there was a training accident of some sort. Most of us become general practitioners when we're not deployed. We get a surgery here and there from soldiers who are in training accidents or who come home with injuries and need follow up procedures or family members who are in accidents. Other than that we take care of dependents or civilian personnel with everyday complaints. We want slow days. Slow days are good but…. really boring for a surgeon" she admitted getting a laugh from Arizona. She knew she understood. "Anyway, I'm excited to see what the pace of a civilian hospital is like". She was starting a whole new chapter in her life. She was wary of getting her hopes up but trying to stay optimistic that things would work out for her. She looked around and saw that they were the last two still in the bar. "I guess we should head out so they can… close up". She got up from her bar stool, finished the last of her beer and set the glass down on the bar, pushing it away so Karin could collect it with all the others. Arizona did the same. They both put their jackets on and walked out of the bar together to hail a cab. One pulled up and stopped in front of them. Joey opened the door for Arizona to get in.

"Do you want to share?" Arizona offered.

"Oh no, that's ok" Joey said politely declining. "I'm gonna walk". She'd thought a lot about going home with Arizona tonight but she decided that it was definitely a bad idea. There's no way that one night with her would ever be enough. If she went home with her now, she'd want to see her again. And again. And again. It wasn't something she could do right now. Well, she could. But she shouldn't. "It was really nice to meet you" she said softly. She wanted desperately to kiss her but she fought the urge.

"Maybe we can… see each other again sometime" she said with the smile that had enchanted Joey all night.

"That would be nice" she said not explicitly turning her down.

"Should we exchange numb…"

"I'll find you" she said cutting her off. "There can't be too many fetal surgeons in Seattle named after a battleship". She was sure there couldn't be another. This woman was one of a kind. She leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Good night Arizona".

"Good night". She got in the cab and Joey shut the door for her. She stood on the curb and watched as the cab pulled away. Could it be that Arizona was right? That this was fate? They were in medical school at the same time in the same state within an hour's drive of one another but had never met. Now, sixteen years later, they finally found each other. "Have I found you?" she thought. She stood there watching the cab get further in the distance and contemplated if she had found the one. And if she had, did it even matter. Surely if fate was going to bring two people together it would make sure they were both ready for whatever fate had in store. She wasn't ready; that she was sure of. She had already told herself that it could only be one night. One night was done. This had to be it. They could never see each other again. She turned and started her long walk home alone.