Chapter 16

Note: Surprise! I couldn't sleep the other night. It was my last night in my beautiful downtown apartment and I just couldn't stop crying. I live… lived?... in a high rise in the middle of the city… mountain views on one side, city view on the other. I don't have to give this apartment up for another two weeks, but we are moving into the new place early, so things have been emotional for me… Anyway, I couldn't fall back asleep, wound up enjoying my last beautiful sunrise over the city… and then wrote. So, lucky you guys! Sorry if any of my emotions get dragged into this one.

Now, I'm in my new place and crying, missing my view .

Also, I think some of you are accidentally mistaking the difference between in love and love. Arizona loves/loved Christian like she loves Teddy, or Timothy. Arizona is in love with Callie. It's different. Platonic love is real people!

And yes, we all know Arizona's got a LOT of shit to work through. This story isn't going to be that short that we rush through it all – promise.

TW: talks about destructive coping mechanisms and alludes to eating disorders

Saturday

July 3, 2010

8:01 AM

Arizona hadn't left Callie's side since returning from saying goodbye to Christian. She showered in the locker room only when someone could step in and sit with Callie in her absence, had Alex run her food every once in a while, and slept only when she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Callie was getting stronger every day, but she hadn't been cleared to go home yet. Arizona figured they'd release her on Monday, as the doctors were being extra cautious with Callie. Dr. Webber was taking care of Callie, having stepped in for Dr. Bailey who took a month off after Wednesday morning's tragedy. Arizona couldn't blame her, if Callie hadn't been shot, she probably would've suggested a trip to the beach for a while. Instead, Callie had been shot and was still a couple days away from being able to go home, and probably another week or two before she could get back to work beyond charts and consults duty.

Arizona was munching on a bagel Alex had brought her earlier, Callie asleep in her bed. The last few days had been hard, Callie having nightmares of getting shot, crying over Ryan, being upset about not being able to leave the hospital, or go to work. She'd started antagonizing Arizona about the kiss with the intern, or as Callie referred to her – the troll, by Thursday. Callie was aggravated with the entire situation, and Arizona was an easy, arguably deserving target. Arizona never fought back, and today was no different. Before Callie had fallen asleep, Callie had been in a particularly spiteful mood.

"I got shot," Callie spat, grabbing the fork out of Arizona's hand, "I'm not paralyzed!" She hadn't been eating and Arizona picked up Callie's fork to steal a bite of her mashed potatoes.

"I know Calliope, I just wanted a bite," she responded with a smile, leaning back in her chair to give Callie some space.

"Oh," Callie answered, putting the fork down and turning her head away from Arizona.

"What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" Arizona asked, hopeful that she could turn the brunette's mood around.

"Oh, I don't know, that I'm stuck in this stupid bed because a lunatic decided to start killing everyone," Callie growled. She looked back over to Arizona. "And you – why are you always here? Why aren't you working? When's the last time you checked on Alexandra? You – you don't even cry over any of this. It's like you don't even care that your husbanddied, that – that people died, I almost died," Callie spat.

Arizona sat up abruptly at the accusation. She cried, just not in Callie's presence. She felt, she just refused to bring any of that crap into Callie's hospital room. Instead, on shower breaks she wept, on the rare occasion she'd go upstairs to review patient progress and review charts, she'd walk past Tanner Lawrence's old room, still taped off, and couldn't breathe. Every time she looked at Alexandra, or her parents, she got nauseous. Arizona felt – horrible – about everything, she just couldn't let Callie see that. Right now, Callie deserved her full attention. Arizona could deal with her sadness over Christian, what she'd done to Callie and how close she'd come to losing her on her own.

"I care Calliope, I cry – But in here? In here I smile. I am strong for you. I remind you that I am so in love with you. I apologize when you need to hear it, I'm here for you. No one else," Arizona told her gently.

Callie didn't respond. She was still hurt and distrustful, but Arizona had taken full responsibility for her actions. She had been extremely supportive, kind, apologetic, everything Callie needed in the moment before she even knew she needed it. Arizona had run across the hospital with an active shooter on the loose to find her – that had to all count for something.

"Why don't you get some rest? You're going to need it for later. Dr. Webber said you've been fighting to progress yourself so hard that you'll probably be able to go home on Monday," Arizona told her.

"Okay," Callie answered, her voice still pointed, but less venomous than the last time she spoke. Callie knew it wasn't fair to tell Arizona nothing else mattered besides them, then simultaneously take her anger with everything out on her. Callie was scared – afraid to trust Arizona, but she loved her. Lying in a bed all day made her feel like shit, and unfortunately that sometimes manifested as anger with Arizona.

Callie's family was arriving later that afternoon from Miami. Mark had convinced the Torres' to remain in Miami until Callie was stronger and could handle the excitement. Arizona was nervous for many reasons. On the one hand, she had no idea how much the Torres family knew about her – Callie and her sister were quite close, and on the other, unsure if Callie even wanted her to be there to meet them.

"She's looking good," Dr. Webber said to Arizona as he entered Callie's hospital room. "I'm going to release her on Monday now that her family is going to be in town to help out." He began checking Callie's vitals as part of his morning rounds.

"I'm here," Arizona told the older doctor. "I – I can take care of her."

"Ah yes, I've noticed how well that's going," Dr. Webber answered with a grin, knowing that Dr. Torres was a very difficult patient.

"She's having a hard time with all of this, I think going home will help her," Arizona answered.

"Have you had time to grieve your loss?" Dr. Webber asked, knowing full well that Arizona still had not been cleared to operate. In fact, she mostly avoided the trauma counselor entirely.

"I'm doing alright," Arizona confirmed.

"You have a few surgeries coming up, and you haven't been cleared to operate yet," Dr. Webber told Arizona. Richard Webber had become interim Chief of Seattle Grace Mercy West once the post opened with Christian's death. Dr. Webber knew everything.

"I know. I'll be okay," Arizona answered, brushing off his comment.

"Dr. Robbins, you lost your husband, and I – I understand if you need some time, but we'll need to transfer your scheduled surgeries to Dr. Fields," Richard told her sympathetically.

"Christian and I were getting divorced," Arizona told the older man.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Richard told her with a caring smile, "I didn't know."

"It's alright – well, none of it is alright, but – I – I am exactly where I'm supposed to be," Arizona answered bravely.

"You and Dr. Torres?" Richard asked, connecting the dots of what Arizona was saying.

"It's always been her," Arizona whispered, running her hand down the sleeping woman's arm.

Dr. Webber didn't respond. Not because he was uncomfortable, or upset, more so because he knew trying to pry the pediatric surgeon away from the brunette was a losing battle.

"I'll go talk to the crisis counselor," Arizona said finally. She knew she had no other choice, she'd just been avoiding it. Not because she wasn't willing to discuss the shooting, or Christian's death, or Callie getting shot – no, she was capable of talking about that, what she was afraid of was being told she couldn't operate. While Tanner Lawrence's surgery had been rescheduled to the upcoming Thursday, Arizona was terrified that she wouldn't be allowed to operate on him… that she wouldn't be able to keep the last promise she made to Christian.

"That's all I'm asking of you," Dr. Webber said as he finished recording notes into Callie's chart.

"I'll set up an appointment, do you – do you think you could sit with her while I'm gone?" Arizona asked the new Chief. She hadn't spent much time with Dr. Webber, rarely having to work with him as he dealt almost exclusively with the big humans; but, she knew that Callie was quite close with the older man, having worked in conjunction with him for the last nearly seven years.

"We'll see how Dr. Torres feels about that," Dr. Webber joked with a grin. "I've got some time now, why don't you head on down to psych and see if you can get in there?"

Arizona hesitated for a moment. Her last conversation with Callie before she'd fallen asleep hadn't exactly gone well, and she wasn't entirely happy about the idea of Callie waking up without her.

"She'll be alright, Dr. Robbins," Dr. Webber added, putting a hand on the young doctor's shoulder and giving her a pat, "I'll page you if anything happens."

"Please correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm hearing is that you blame yourself," the woman sitting opposite Arizona said gently.

Arizona had been talking to the crisis counselor, Dr. Lindstrom, for about thirty minutes already. From the moment she'd walked into her office, Arizona had all but collapsed into a long ramble about the events of the last few weeks. The office was inviting enough, comfortably decorated with uplifting artwork, comfy chairs and couches. There were boxes of tissues scattered around the room, a couple vases of flowers, and a few succulents that were so healthy, Arizona couldn't tell if they were even real.

"Who else is there to blame?" Arizona asked genuinely.

"Do you think maybe you're minimizing your own experience to find someone to blame for your reactions to those experiences?" Dr. Lindstrom asked her.

Arizona hadn't clammed up yet, something about this doctor made her feel comfortable. Dr. Lindstrom didn't sit there quietly taking notes, no, she treated Arizona like a person, having a real conversation with her, rarely pausing to jot down a word or two.

"It was so long ago," Arizona started, "It's pathetic that I still let all of that affect me like this."

"No, it's not pathetic. Everyone deals with things at their own pace. It looks to me like you haven't dealt with these feelings yet, allowing them to continue to pop up in your everyday life," Dr. Lindstrom answered.

"Aren't we supposed to be talking about the shooting?" Arizona asked.

"This is your session, Dr. Robbins. We can discuss anything you'd like," Dr. Lindstrom replied.

"I don't even know where to start," Arizona said with a sign.

"You've been doing just fine thus far. Why don't I start going through a quick recap, and you can pick up the conversation on any piece of it, alright?" Dr. Lindstrom asked.

"Okay."

"When we first started talking, you explained to me that you and Dr. Weston were going through a divorce," Dr. Lindstrom started. Arizona remained silent.

"That you'd just had a great talk with him, that things were starting to feel better in your newfound friendship with him," Dr. Lindstrom continued. Arizona again remained silent.

"Then you told me that you made a mistake with Dr. Torres, that she ended your relationship," Dr. Lindstrom said, no hint of judgment in her voice. Arizona again remained silent, not wanting to remember her momentary loss of sanity.

"We talked about you learning Dr. Torres had been shot," Dr. Lindstrom started.

Arizona cut her off, "And I abandoned my patient."

"Let's reframe that sentence. Was your patient left alone?" Dr. Lindstrom asked.

"No. She was with Dr. Karev," Arizona said.

"And is Dr. Karev someone you trust?"

"Yes, he's an incredible surgeon. I – I'm offering him my fellowship," Arizona replied.

"So you left your patient with a capable doctor?"

"I guess, but he's still a resident. I should have been in there with him," Dr. Robbins answered.

"Did Dr. Karev succeed? Did he suffer any consequences?"

"Yes, the patient is fine… and no, he was cleared of all wrongdoing. Her parents were so grateful for him, especially with everything else going on at the time," Arizona answered, referring to the active shooter situation.

"So, did you abandon your patient, or leave her with a capable doctor?" Dr. Lindstrom asked.

Arizona didn't reply.

"Ask yourself this: could you have operated on that child knowing what you knew about Dr. Torres?"

"No."

"So, what I'm hearing is that you did the right thing," Dr. Lindstrom replied. Arizona didn't speak again, instead opting to shrug her shoulders.

"Alright, let's keep going. After you heard that Dr. Torres had been shot, you ran to find her?" the doctor asked Arizona, continuing their exercise.

"I – I had to get to her," Arizona whispered, "I needed her to know."

"Know that you loved her?" Dr. Lindstrom asked.

"Yes… she needed to know… that I don't want to live one more day without her," Dr. Robbins answered.

"Do you really think she didn't know?"

"Ha! That poor woman has put up with more shit from me than I deserved her to put up with," Arizona answered.

"Tell me more about that," Dr. Lindstrom said gently.

"Like I explained before, I met Callie when she was 18. I was 22, I'd just started medical school… Callie was a freshman in college," Arizona started to explain, recalling her earlier statements. "We – we met on the campus bus. She was… she was so brave, so strong, so sure of herself… she flirted with me like it was the most normal thing in the world."

Arizona paused, taking a moment to breathe. Dr. Lindstrom didn't speak, and instead picked up her coffee mug from beside her and took a sip, waiting for Arizona to continue.

"We – she… fuck," Arizona said frustrated, unsure of how to put the situation into words.

"Start small, you don't need to put it all into words right now," Dr. Lindstrom encouraged.

"I'd never felt anything like it," Arizona said softly. "I'd never been interested in anyone, no less a woman… I – I fell so in love with her… and I – I broke her heart."

"Why do you say that?"

"We were never technically together, but we... we were. We spent all of our time together, only separating for classes. I – I wasn't out. I wasn't even sure I was a lesbian. I – I told my mom, and like I said earlier, found myself in conversion therapy barely 48 hours later," Arizona added.

"Are you ready to talk about that more?"

"They taught me that being a lesbian was my choice, that I was choosing to go against nature," Arizona said finally. "It was hours – every single day, reminding me of how wrong it is, how it's a crime. They brought people in to talk to me, other women who had successfully suppressed their urges, women who had found a way to stop being gay."

"Have you ever worked through that trauma?" Dr. Lindstrom asked, still no judgment in her voice.

"No. I – I knew it didn't work, but I was so confused," Arizona answered, "I wanted to be cured, but I couldn't… I took that out on myself."

"Do you want to tell me how?"

"I'd watch Callie from afar – watch her be happy, live her life," Arizona choked out, "And I'd go home and punish myself for it."

Dr. Lindstrom didn't respond, giving Arizona a chance to continue if she wanted.

"I – I wasn't eating. I couldn't keep anything down. I was so sick – I puked up everything… I couldn't figure out why at first, but I now recognize how unhappy I was with myself – how disgusted I had become… I couldn't stop… I didn't even care that it was killing me. I was so revolted with myself, I think part of me truly wanted to die… It was all so confusing, feeling what I felt for Callie, but being told how wrong it was, how dirty I was… Sometimes it'd get so bad that she was all I could think about… Then, I'd blame her for everything, and that pain – it just made me drink until I couldn't think anymore," Arizona said, recalling how horrible her second year of medical school had been.

"How did you move past that?" Dr. Lindstrom asked gently.

"My brother, Timmy, he helped me," Arizona answered. "He was the only support I had back then. He – he understood. Eventually, I did go to therapy… and that helped."

"I'm glad you had people to help you out of that destructive behavior."

"Did you ever overcome those feelings of disgust toward yourself?" Dr. Lindstrom asked, after Arizona remained silent for a minute.

Arizona nodded. She hadn't talked about any of this to anyone, at least no one other than Callie… and Callie had only learned about everything after losing it on her about the breakup all those years ago shortly after the first time they'd slept together again.

"Yes – yes, I think so," Arizona said.

"You think?"

"I am proud to love Callie," Arizona defended.

"But are you proud to be a lesbian?"

Arizona fell silent, again, unsure of how to answer that question. On the one hand, yes, she was extremely proud to be exactly who she was, but on the other, she was still scared to admit it.

"Dr. Robbins," Dr. Lindstrom started.

"I'm okay, let's continue."

"After Dr. Torres made it through surgery, you found out that Christian had been shot?" The doctor asked, opting instead to change the topic of conversation back to their original exercise.

"Mark… Mark Sloan, he – he came and told me about everyone else, including Christian," Arizona answered.

"And how did you feel about that?" Dr. Lindstrom asked.

"About Mark telling me?" Arizona asked.

"No, about learning Christian had been killed," the doctor asked.

"Sick. He was a good man," Arizona answered sadly.

"That's all?"

"I was heartbroken. I – I may not have loved him like I should have, but I still cared about him, so much… he was a good man," Arizona responded.

"It sounds like you're holding something back?"

Arizona took in a deep breath before responding, "I… I felt a little bit of relief? How fucked up is that?"

"Relief?" The doctor asked, ignoring the derogatory comment.

"Like we're both finally free," Arizona answered. "Free from each other, free from all the pain, free from all the lies…"

"Free?"

"Christian is with his sister, his mom, his grandmother. The women he loved, who he did everything for," Arizona said. "And I… I know it's fucked up to be thinking like that, shouldn't I be more upset?"

"No. Everyone deals differently, Dr. Robbins. I think you've chosen to look at the positives, but it doesn't mean the negatives aren't still there… Little good things, Dr. Robbins, they mean the world sometimes."

"I miss him," Arizona admitted, "He… he was my best friend."

"It's okay to miss him," the doctor answered.

"Is it? Callie – she, she deserves my full attention."

"Do you think Dr. Torres doesn't expect you to hurt over Christian's death?" The doctor inquired with a surprised look on her face.

"No – I know she would be supportive, I just – I don't want to bring any negativity into her hospital room, she – she almost died," Arizona whimpered, wiping back tears.

"But she lived, didn't she?"

"We all did," the blonde answered.

Silence fell over them for a moment, before Arizona spoke again, "I – I made Christian a promise… that I would – that Dr. Altman and I, would do his sons heart transplant… It's already been pushed back… and I – I need to be cleared to operate."

"Are you ready to operate?"

Arizona paused for a moment, was she?

"I think you have your answer," Dr. Lindstrom added, "I'll keep you on charts and consults for now."

"I need to be cleared," Arizona stated, adamantly.

"Why don't you come back tomorrow at 3:00 PM and we can pick this conversation back up? Healing takes time, but it's up to you to do the work," the doctor said, standing up from her chair and moving toward the door to let the pediatric surgeon out.

"I've got until Tuesday, I need to prep for the transplant…" Arizona said as she stood up to leave, recognizing that a fight isn't worth it. She wasn't going to win.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Dr. Robbins," the doctor said with a warm smile.

Saturday

July 3, 2010

4:26 PM

Callie's family would be arriving shortly, and to Arizona's surprise, Callie hadn't asked her to leave yet. Things hadn't been terrible between them since their post-operative declarations, but Arizona certainly knew she had quite the list of reparations to make before Callie would ever feel safe being with her. Arizona, who was unusually used to getting exactly what she wanted when she wanted it, was surprisingly okay with the thought of having to prove herself to the woman she loved.

Since she'd gotten back from her session with Dr. Lindstrom, Callie had been much kinder to the blonde. Arizona told Callie about going for her session, updated her on Alexandra, and for once, Callie had asked Arizona to climb in bed with her and hold her, instead of Arizona having to gently coerce her way into it.

"I don't know if I'm ready to see my parents," Callie confessed to Arizona who was lying comfortably beside her in the small bed. Arizona had maneuvered so that Callie's head was resting on her chest, her body wrapped tightly against her.

"You've still got maybe 10 minutes," Arizona teased, placing a kiss on the brunette's forehead.

"They hover when I'm sick," Callie added with a gentle sigh, "I don't want to answer any more questions."

"You don't have to, baby," Arizona told her, running her hand through Callie's long dark locks. "Your family loves you; they'll understand."

Callie nodded, knowing Arizona was right. Regardless, she'd already told them everything that had happened on the nearly four dozen phone calls she'd gotten from her mom, dad, and sister over the last few days.

"Did you want me to stick around for them to get here?" Arizona asked gently, finally deciding it was now or never that she asked Callie how she felt about it.

"I'm angry, and I'm hurt… and I think you know that. But, Arizona, I meant what I told you. I don't want to live if it's not with you," Callie told her after a moment of silence. When Arizona didn't respond, Callie realized she never actually answered the question, "Yes, I want you to be here. Please."

"Then I'm here, nothing more to talk about," Arizona said, leaning down and cupping her lover's cheek with her right hand. She brought Callie's lips to hers and pressed a gentle kiss upon her.

"So, you're telling me all I have to do is get shot and bam, a hot blonde shows up in my bed?"

The unfamiliar voice startled Arizona, but for the first time, she didn't jump away from Callie. Instead, she took in a small breath, kissed the brunette again, and pulled away to turn her attention toward the intruding voice at the door.

"Aria," Callie warned, a huge grin plastered across her face.

"Oh Callie, always having to one up me. Getting shot was kinda dramatic, don't you think?" Aria Torres teased her older sister as she walked into the room and immediately wrapped her arms around Callie, and by default Arizona.

"Someone had to distract mom and dad from the fact that you decided to up and buy a Sprinter Van and disappear across the country," Callie retorted, hugging her little sister back as best as she could.

"Ugh Cal, you shouldn't have," Aria answered, feigning flattery.

"Where are mom and dad?" Callie asked.

"We ran into Mark on the way up, and I conned him into distracting them for a few so I could have a couple minutes," Aria told her, sitting down in the chair beside Callie's bed that Arizona typically inhabited.

"You're too kind," Callie answered, scooting up so that she was sitting beside Arizona in the bed, no longer laying on her chest, but still comfortably tucked into Arizona's shoulder.

The younger Torres finally turned her attentions to Arizona, "I've been waiting 12 years to meet you," she told her, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Aria," Callie warned, "Play nice."

"No, Callie, don't, it's fine," Arizona reassured her, "I deserved that." She turned her attention back to Aria, "It's nice to finally meet you too, Aria."

"You going to fuck my sister up again?" Aria asked, getting to the point.

"No," Arizona answered quickly, "No, and I'll spend the rest of my life trying to fix the mess I've made."

"Good, you can start by finding me a cute doctor to torture while I'm here," Aria said with a grin. Aria Torres wasn't one to hold grudges, but she'd be keeping a close eye on the woman who had broken her sister's heart one too many times.

"I can do that, male or female?" Arizona asked, returning the grin.

"Either – this Torres doesn't discriminate," Aria told her.

"Deal," Arizona answered.

Aria turned her attentions back to Callie just as the two elder Torres' entered Callie's hospital room. Carlos and Lucia Torres were certainly Miami Fabulous. Both were decked out in designer clothes with perfectly groomed hair and nails. Arizona was instantly self-conscious, Callie's family screamed posh – something Arizona certainly was not.

"Calliope," Lucia cried, practically running toward her daughter's bedside, covering her face in tiny kisses, "My baby. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay mom, getting stronger every day," Callie answered with a smile. Carlos repeated his Wife's greeting but instead leaned over to place a lingering kiss on the brunette's head.

"Calliope, I'm so glad to finally see that beautiful face in person," Carlos said with a grin, "Now I can know for myself that you are truly okay."

"I told you dad, I'm alright. Mark and Lexie, and Jackson, they did a great job taking care of me," Callie told her family. "They saved my life."

"I knew I always loved that boy," Lucia told Callie, moving to sit on the arm of her youngest daughter's chair while Carlos pulled a chair from the corner of the room to sit beside his children.

"Mom, dad, this is Arizona," Callie said, gesturing to the woman whose arms she was laying in.

Lucia gasped, nearly choking on the breath she was about to take, "Excuse me?"

"Arizona?" Carlos questioned curiously.

Arizona expected Callie's family to know about her, the older Torres was extremely close with her sister and parents, but she hadn't exactly prepared herself on how to deal with them knowing about her.

"Yes, that Arizona," Callie answered simply, hoping her parents wouldn't continue to question her. While Aria knew almost every detail, her parents were not as well informed. All Callie had told her parents was that she and Arizona were seeing one another again, and that it was complicated. Aria on the other hand knew they'd spent months enmeshed in a secret affair, that Arizona was married, scared to be openly gay, that she had kissed someone else, that Callie had dumped Arizona, and that they'd since reconciled.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Torres," Arizona offered weakly, leaning up to shake Carlos' hand.

"Thank you for taking care of our Calliope while we waited for a flight out here," Lucia told Arizona genuinely, "It was certainly comforting knowing that our baby wasn't alone."

Aria couldn't help the scoff that left her lips and Callie immediately shot daggers at her. The two older Torres' ignored their children's antics and instead started slinging a multitude of questions at Callie about her health, when she'd be able to leave the hospital, how long she'd be unable to work, and whether or not they needed to pay for a psychologist to help their daughter recover in the aftermath.

Callie looked as exhausted as she felt by the end of their onslaught. While Callie hadn't intended to divulge any more of the details of the shooting, or her unfortunate placement in the crossfire, she couldn't deny her parents the opportunity to see for themselves that she was actually, fine. Arizona had cut in a few times, explaining the medical stuff, and Dr. Webber's plan to get her home by Monday, but for the most part, she remained quietly at Callie's side offering support.

"You should get back to the hotel," Callie finally told her family after a particularly difficult conversation about Dr. Spalding's death right in front of her. She'd had enough, no longer wishing to recall watching the husband and father of two bleed out in front of her.

"It is getting late…" Lucia told her husband, recognizing that Callie's energy was dwindling, "Let's go back to the hotel and settle in, and we can come back in the morning with breakfast."

"Your mother insisted on bringing everything to make you some pastelitos," Carlos told his eldest daughter, "I told her we could just bring you some from Vicky Bakery, but she insisted on homemade."

Callie's eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite guava filled pastry, "Mom!" There was nothing like it on the west coast – but then again, nothing in the United States compared to Miami Cuban food.

"Only the best for our Calliope," Lucia answered, standing up and leaning over to give her daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"You should've brought me Sergio's," Callie complained.

"I'll never understand your obsession with that place. There's one in the airport now Calliope, there are so many better places," Carlos answered with a grin, clearly mocking his daughter's favorite Cuban restaurant.

"When you find me somewhere that makes pollo mojo the way Sergio's does, I'll consider believing you," Callie told her father, leaning up to pull him into a hug.

"It's been a pleasure to finally meet you, Dr. Robbins," Carlos said, turning his attention to the blonde beside his daughter.

"I look forward to many more," Arizona answered with a grin.

"Hopefully under much happier circumstances," Lucia added, returning the smile.

"Of course," Arizona answered, leaning over to shake the older Torres' hands.

"In this family, we hug," Lucia said, turning Arizona's hand down and leaning in to give the blonde a hug. Arizona smiled at the affection and returned it happily, repeating the same with Callie's father.

"You've been quiet," Callie said, looking to her sister.

"Trying to keep out of trouble," Aria retorted, referring to Callie's death glare earlier.

"Why don't I walk your parents down to their car, grab you something to eat from the cafeteria, and you can have some time alone with your sister?" Arizona suggested, looking down at the woman still in her arms.

"I'd like that," Aria answered before Callie could protest.

"Great," Arizona said with a smile, lifting herself from the bed. She leaned over and kissed Callie's lips once, twice, and a third time before moving toward the elder Torres' to lead them out. She didn't miss the huge grin spread across Callie's face as she moved and silently lead the elder Torres' out.

"What the fuck Callie?" Aria asked immediately, once the Torres' and Arizona were out of ear shot.

"Don't," Callie warned.

"You're just – you're just going to let her waltz back in like nothing happened?" Aria scoffed.

"It's complicated," Callie told her, knowing full well they'd already been over this.

"You deserve better than how she's treated you, you have to know that," Aria pleaded gently, softening her tone.

"We – we could have been killed," Callie explained, "And I – I got shot Aria."

"And you think because of that Arizona deserves a free pass?" Aria asked, no hint of anger in her voice.

"It's not a free pass…" Callie countered.

"Then explain it to me, because all I know is that this woman has haunted the last 12 years of your life, and I can't – I can't promise that I'll keep playing nice."

"That's exactly it… she's haunted me for the last 12 years, and sure it took a catastrophic situation for her to wake the fuck up, but it did…"Callie answered, "It woke her up… Aria, Arizona's husband died in that shooting… right in front of his sick son… and – and Arizona picked me. She didn't run for him, she ran across a hospital when she didn't even know if it was safe… for me… she came to me… she's barely left my side since… she – she kisses me in front of people… she tells people about us now. Things have changed."

Aria sat contently beside Callie, listening to her older sister explain, "But she…" She was clearly referring to Arizona having cheated on Callie.

"Who the fuck cares?" Callie asked loudly, "Who cares anymore? What does it matter? She kissed some stupid troll… she acted like a high-schooler… but what the fuck does that matter now? We – I almost died. I almost died and I can't imagine spending one minute of the rest of my life without her."

"I know you love her Callie," Aria answered, "I know you do. But she has a lot of making up to do."

"I know, and so does she," Callie told her sister softly, "She's been trying… and that's all I can hope for right now… and trust me, I've been giving her hell…. She hasn't left. She hasn't gotten angry, she's just… she just takes it."

"So, you can give her hell, but I can't?" Aria asked with a grin.

"Don't make me pull the bullet card again," Callie joked.

"Fine, but you only get to use that card once a month," Aria retorted with a laugh. "I'll keep playing nice, but I promise you, she's getting the protective little sister speech."

"Deal," Callie answered.

"How is she holding up… you know, about her husband?" Aria asked, changing the subject slightly. "I can't imagine the guilt."

Callie shrugged, "She doesn't talk to me much about him… she's got this idea in her head that I can't handle anything negative." She paused for a moment to think, "But, I know she's hurting over it."

"Isn't that unhealthy? Not talking about it?"

"She went to the trauma counselor today for the first time," Callie replied, "She came back with red puffy eyes, so I'm sure she is… just not to me."

"That doesn't bother you?"

"Not right now," Callie answered, "I think it's still all so fresh. Like instead of talking, she's fallen into the only space that feels safe for her."

"With you?"

"Yes."

"Don't you think that'll make things harder when it all implodes?"

"The first step was to get her talking, and she is," Callie said, "Maybe not to me yet, but she's talking to someone… I can only hope that it will eventually help her talk to me."

"Have you talked about what she did?" Aria asked.

"Yes," Callie answered simply.

"That's all you're going to give me?" Aria asked with a sigh.

"She apologized. She took responsibility. She promised that she'd make it right," Callie added.

"Did she explain why?"

"She thought I was sleeping with Eliza again," Callie started to say before Aria cut her off.

"Eliza?"

"Remember that girl I was all hot and cold with toward the end of med school? She came to Miami with me for Christmas one year… the girl who poked the plate of plantains and asked why we were having grilled bananas for dessert?"

Aria laughed, remembering exactly who Eliza was, "Oh I loved that girl! What the fuck ever happened to her?"

"You don't remember my colossal fuck up?" Callie asked, "Actually, that's probably for the best… but she's here… in Seattle, helping me on that scoliosis case I was telling you guys about… Arizona overreacted and decided we were sleeping together."

"Oh, so Arizona acted like a 9th grader and decided to get back at you?"

"She's embarrassed about it enough for all of us," Callie told her sister. "I've forgiven her for that… it's everything else she's still fighting to fix."

"You better watch your heart Callie, I don't want to spend my life in jail for killing her."

"I think you should probably be more afraid of going to hell for killing the best pediatric surgeon this country has to offer," Callie retorted with a grin.

"Oh, good point," Aria answered with a smile.

"Go on, get out of here, okay? I'll see you all in the morning. I'm exhausted," Callie told her sister.

Aria stood up and gave Callie a hug and a kiss, "I love you Cal, I'm so glad you're okay."

"I love you too Aria," Callie answered returning the hug and kiss.

Note: Yes, I grew up in Miami lol.

And sorry this is short, but it's SOMETHING okay?

Also, I already hate my new place. Bringing heavy ass furniture up 3 flights of stairs is absolute hell. If you ever move into a townhouse, hire movers.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS. It means so much to me, and it keeps me going!