Chapter 7

Callie is exhausted. It was an emotionally draining weekend but she is starting the day with a positive attitude. After calling to check on Katie this morning, she realized she didn't have anything to take to lunch with Teddy and Mandy. She didn't have time to fix something either, so she decides to head to the diner to put in an order.

Pulling around the block, "the spot" is open. Trying to get her mind off of Katie a little bit, she goes ahead and takes it. After all, she will probably come face to face with the good doctor over lunch, so she may as well fan the flame a little bit. She heads to the diner and grabs some breakfast, puts in an order for some lunch to take, along with a dessert, then heads back to the office.

While looking over some product catalogs, trying to get everything ordered for her opening, the door opens and in walk Addie and Christina. Callie looks up, surprised to see them. "Hey guys, what are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you two."

"Well, seeing as how we have nothing better to do, we thought we would come in and see what we could do to help," Addie says, smiling.

"Oh, I really love you two," Callie says, laughing.

"It's a little early for love. You think we could settle for just a deep liking for now?" Christina says, looking serious.

"Shut up, Christina," Addie says, laughing.

"What? I'm serious. It's too soon for love."

"Hey, you can't help who you love," Addie says.

"Ok. This is getting weird," Callie chuckles. "Here, miss secretary," Callie says, handing a catalog to Addie. "Make a list of stuff you want and I'll order it online later. It will be here by the end of the week."

"What's my budget?"

"Um... you have plenty of room," Callie says, not really wanting to divulge that she pretty well has unlimited funds. Her divorce settlement was very nice, plus she has a trust fund, as well as alimony. As soon as the office is functioning though, she plans to tell George to shove his alimony. She isn't totally crazy though, so she is more than willing to let him foot the bill for now, but then wants to be done with him altogether. She deserves this fresh start. He owes her that much. "Just write down whatever you see that you want. If I don't agree with something, I don't have to order it," she says smiling.

"What about me?" Christina says, holding her arms up.

"Well, you can help me. I am working on medical supplies. We can do this together. You might think of things that I'm missing."

"Sounds good," Christina says, moving to pull up a chair. Callie has set up a make shift work space for her, right inside the door. They construction crew has finished most of the walk-in space and has moved further back into the building.

XXXXXXX

Arizona Robbins is trying to be a better person this week. Really. But when she finds her hot work neighbor taking her spot again, it kind of makes her question that mission. She succeeds though and parks a few spaces in front of it and heads into the office. To be honest, she is surprised the car is in a different spot than it was last night.

When the women returned from the weekend getaway, Arizona drove them back here to drop them off at their cars. She was surprised to also see Callie's car sitting in the same spot that it was in on Friday as well, which meant she had spent every minute of her weekend with the guy from the bar. So needless to say, she half expected to see it in the same spot this morning, meaning Callie had spent yet another night with the man.

When Teddy and Mandy saw that Callie was not back yet, they coerced Arizona into making something for their little pot-luck dinner today, claiming that Callie was obviously going to be out too late to be able to bring something and she needed to bring something instead. When she went to argue, Mandy effectively put an end to that. Arizona was bringing something whether she liked it or not.

Arizona Robbins isn't a chef or a baker. She usually prefers to stay out of the kitchen. Last night, however, she stopped at the store to pick up a few ingredients she knew she would need, and proceeded to make her grandmother's lasagna. It has been the only thing she has ever made and made well. But it was also something she helped her grandma make since she was a little girl. Her grandma is getting up there in age now and Isn't able to be in the kitchen. She occasionally still asks Arizona to make it for her.

Carrying the pan of lasagna in, she heads to the small kitchenette and puts it in the fridge. She sees where the other two have food sitting there, but didn't see them when she walked in. She heads to her office and finds the two women sitting there waiting on her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Arizona asks, a little curious as to what they are doing here.

"We want to talk to you about lunch," Mandy says, wasting no time.

"What about it? I brought my lasagna... I didn't forget."

"Not about the food. About Callie. We think you need to try to be nice. We don't want you scaring her off today," Teddy says.

"Are you kidding me? You really think I am the mean one? She took my spot again today, and I didn't even come in saying a word about it. I am not the one who is going to scare someone away. She might be hot, but she is not nice."

"Look. She has been here a week, and you have yet to have a pleasant conversation. I don't think it would hurt to try to just talk to her. She is going to be around whether you like it or not. You may as well try to get to know her a little bit. You never know, maybe there is more to her than just being hot," Mandy says, giving her a pointed stare on the last sentence.

"Look, I know the research she has done. She is obviously a very intelligent woman. I'm sure there is more to her than looks, but she hasn't done a very good job at showing me that. And I have talked to her. She is just always rude."

"Look, we have an early patient today, so I need to go unlock the door. We are just asking that you try to be polite. We don't want you to be the reason she doesn't come around us. We need more friends around here."

Arizona watches them as they stand up, but doesn't say anything, until they reach the door. "I'll play nice if she does."

"Good. That's all we want to hear," Teddy says, giving her a thumbs up.

XXXXXXX

Callie is looking over the list they have created so far. "Well, I can't believe how much we got done so far. This would have taken me two days to get this done. You guys are amazing," Callie says. "Oh, I almost forgot... I have someone coming in late this afternoon to interview for the x-ray tech. It's a woman," she says, reaching to grab a paper. "Her name is Meredith Grey. You know her?"

"No, doesn't sound familiar. Is she from around here?" Addie asks.

"No. Said she lives about a half hour away."

"Well, hopefully she isn't all perky. I can't handle perky," Christina says.

"Hey, why don't you two go with me to lunch. I'm supposed to go have lunch with Mandy and Teddy. Then you can stay and meet her... tell me what you think. How does that sound?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. I haven't had a chance to really talk to Teddy in a few weeks," Addie says.

"Well, this is your chance then. Oh... can you not mention anything about my daughter? I uh, it was a long weekend and the news I got wasn't the best. I told you guys because you would be working here and might end up answering calls from her nurses and doctors. I just... I can't handle the looks people give sometimes. They give you these pity looks and it just... after the latest test results, I just can't handle the looks right now. So, can you keep it between us?"

"We will do whatever you want. So, you were there by yourself with her. That must be tough," Addie says.

"Actually, this weekend, I had my best friend, Mark, with me. He offered to come and take me. It was nice hot having to face the doctors alone this time."

"So, the test results weren't good... Does that mean things are worse or just no change?" Christina asks.

"Mostly no change, but a new test checked for some different type of brain activity and it wasn't where it needed to be. Considering her state, it wasn't a totally abnormal test, but it wasn't showing what they would have hoped either. They are still recommending I take her off the vent, but... I just can't yet."

"We're sorry you have to go through this. We are here for you. Whatever you need. You just let us know," Addie says.

"Thanks. I just, I don't want pitty looks from people. I can't handle that. It makes it so much harder. I have to say, I'm actually surprised you guys aren't giving them to me."

"Because we are cool that way," Christina says. "So... this friend. Is he hot?"

"Oh yeah," Callie says, chuckling. "He and I used to be a thing, off and on, before I got married. We could never be more than friends now... that ship sailed years ago. But, he is one of the best friends I have. I think if we were to be more than friends again, it would ruin what we have, and neither of us want that."

"Sounds like you are lucky to have him."

"Yeah. I really am."

XXXXXXX

Lunch time rolls around, and Callie and the girls head to the diner to pick up Callie's order, then head to lunch. Callie can't believe how well they all get along. They can talk about almost anything. They aren't snooty, judgy types, and she really likes that. They are a breath of fresh air compared to who she would traditionally hang out with.

Walking in to the office, Teddy is making a return appointment for a patient, so the women stand off to the side quietly. Mandy walks out and sees them standing there, and makes her way over.

"Hey guys! I see you brought some stragglers," Mandy laughs, pointing at Addie and Christina.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind. I brought extra from the diner. I probably should have asked first, but we were working and I wanted them to hang around for an interview later."

"Oh, no worries, girl. We always make plenty of food when we cook around here. Come on back, Teddy is just finishing up and then she will put the 'out to lunch' sign up and come back.

When they walk into the break room, Arizona is leaning by the counter and is flipping through a travel magazine. As she sees them walk in, she closes it and smiles at the newcomers.

"Hey Christina... Addie. I didn't know you were coming. It's good to see you."

"Yeah, surprise!" Addie says. "We didn't give her a choice. We made her bring us."

"Yeah. We were hoping you had some alcohol over here. Do you have any? I know you are working today and can't have any, but we don't have patients. We can," Christina says, opening the fridge.

"Christina, you know I don't keep alcohol here. Teddy would spend the day drinking and things would get messy from there..." Arizona says, laughing.

"Arizona, I'd watch your drinking stories right now. Because if you want to tell stories, I can share some," she says, raising her eyebrows and glancing at Callie. She knows Arizona will pick up on what she is insinuating she might share.

Arizona's eyes wonder over to see Callie watching her intently, before turning back to Teddy. "Yeah, probably best we not get into stories today." Turning to Callie, she looks at her for a few seconds before she decides to make an attempt to be nice. "Hey, glad you could make it."

"Um, thanks," Callie says, giving her a small smile. This is a side to Arizona she has not seen before now. She isn't sure what exactly to make of it. Arizona is obviously trying to be nice, but she seems to be a little forced about it at the same time. "So, are you making vacation plans?" Callie asks, pointing to the travel magazine.

"Oh, um… not really. It's just a generic magazine for the waiting room. But it's nice to dream."

"Yeah, it is," Callie says.

The two stand there, just looking at each other after that. Teddy gives them a few seconds to see if they add on to that conversation... which they don't. Finally, she says, "Alright," breaking the awkwardness. "I am starving. What do you have?" She makes her way over to look in the containers that Callie brought with them.

"I am so sorry. I um, didn't get a chance last night to make anything. I had to improvise this morning," Callie apologizes

"Oh, no worries. We saw your car still out there last night and figured you hadn't been home, so we had Arizona actually busy herself in the kitchen and pitch in too," Teddy says.

"I was busy cooking and she was getting busy," Arizona mumbles under her breath.

She really shouldn't have said that. Hindsight is 20/20 though and she would regret that statement in just a few seconds.

"Excuse me?" Callie looks back to Arizona with her eyebrow raised. Callie thinks she heard her right, but surely Arizona isn't implying what she thinks she is.

"Hm?" Arizona asks, looking up to see Callie looking at her. Then... it dawns on her. She actually said that out loud. Why in the world would she do that? She does a mental face palm. She was supposed to be trying to play nice and she is pretty sure this is going to put an end to that.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Um, I just meant, obviously you were gone all weekend, so you were busy."

"No… you said, and I quote, "getting busy," Callie says, with air quotes. I know exactly what you mean.

By this point, the other women in the room are so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Teddy and Mandy are aware of the ongoing situation between the girls and are finding this exchange to be quite interesting. Addie and Christina, though previously unaware, are catching up very quickly on the tension between the two.

Arizona looks to Teddy, almost as if to ask for help, but Teddy just gives her a look letting her know she is on her own this time. "Um, I… I," Arizona fumbles.

"I see you still have a way with words. You are really good at this conversing stuff," Callie says.

"You know what…" Arizona starts, finding her voice. "I'm just saying what it looked like. You were gone, all weekend with a guy... who, by the way, hit on me at the bar a few weeks ago."

"Oh, yeah. He told me about that," Callie says, causing Arizona to just stop and look at her.

"You know what, this food is getting cold. We should probably go ahead and eat," Mandy says, knowing if someone doesn't step in soon, this is going go south quicker than what it already it.

"Yeah," Teddy agrees, reaching for plates to pass them out. The women all awkwardly begin fixing their plates, the other four women in the room chatting while Arizona and Callie continue to sum each other up, finally each filling their own plates as well.

"Callie, you said you have an interview later. What kind?"

"Oh, it's for an x-ray tech. Her name is Meredith Grey. Have you heard of her?"

"Nope, can't say I have. You guys?" Mandy asks, looking to Teddy and Arizona, but receiving negative answers.

"Oh, my goodness," Callie moans, taking a bite of her food. "This is the most delicious lasagna I have ever tasted," she says, moaning again. "Mmmm. Sooo good," she moans, taking another bite. "Who made this? Mmmm," she mumbles around a bite.

Teddy looks over to Arizona and sees her eyes widen as she watches the woman take another bite. Arizona doesn't say anything, apparently too mesmerized to do so. "Yeah, Arizona made it. It is definitely delicious," Teddy says in amusement.

Callie pauses for a second, almost stunned she inadvertently paid the woman a compliment, but finally, without making eye contact, says, "Well, it's very good."

"Um... thanks..." Arizona says, looking down, not wanting to keep looking at the woman. Hearing Callie moan... Arizona did not need to associate that moan coming from that woman. It was going to haunt her in her sleep tonight. She needed to keep telling herself that this woman was obviously taken by a man who told her who else he hits on. She wonders what kind of weird relationship that would be. But then again, that was a few weeks ago. Then it dawns on her... Callie and her boy toy were talking about her, and she can't help what pops out of her mouth next.

"You boyfriend actually told you he hit on me?"

Everyone stops and Callie looks up, realizing Arizona was talking to her. "What?"

"You said he told you he hit on me. You were talking about me?"

"Um, not talking about you. More like... talking of you. I told him I met you and he said he tried to meet you, but you shot him down. That's um, that's really about it."

Arizona looks at her. "What else did you say about me?"

"Um..." Callie looks around to see that the conversation has been halted and once again, all eyes are on them. "He just said he obviously wasn't your type."

"And you talk openly about other people you have hit on? That's weird."

"Well... you know. Pillow talk," Callie says, shrugging, watching as Arizona rolls her eyes at that comment. She knows the conversation involved pillows on different beds, but Arizona doesn't know that. And Callie can't help but start to think Arizona is a little bothered by the fact she was with someone this weekend. Why would that bother her? And then, Callie starts to think back to their first encounter and Mark's comments that night about how Arizona became a little flustered when she came out to talk to her. And... it hits her. Arizona does like the ladies. And so it makes sense, that maybe... just maybe, Arizona might have thought she was pretty. Couple that with her snarky "getting busy" comment and it really made sense. You don't have to like someone to think they are hot.

Arizona sits her fork down, and says, "You know, I just remembered, I am expecting a fax. I was told they would send it over their lunch break. I'm going to go check. Ladies, it was good to see you. Sorry I have to run," she says as she stands up, making her way to the trash can.

"I can check for you as soon as we are done, you aren't finished," Teddy says.

"No, that's ok. Thanks though," she says, looking at Teddy. Looking back to the rest of the women, she says, "Have a nice day guys." With that, she heads out of the room and back to her office. When she gets there, she shuts her door and makes a bee-line for her desk. She sits down and lays her head down. "Why the hell can't I keep my mouth shut around her?"

Back in the break room, Mandy starts to chuckle and looks at Callie. "I don't know what it is about you, but you rattle her cage good."

"The funny thing is, I didn't even do anything today."

"I know. That's what makes it funnier," Mandy says laughing.

The women continue their lunch and share conversation. Callie shares how much they got accomplished this morning and that things seem to be moving right along, ahead of schedule even. They talk about cases they have all had and Callie shares of few of her more bizarre cases.

What they don't know, is that Arizona came out of her office, and is sitting in the other room, listening to their conversation. As she listens, she realizes Teddy and Mandy are right. There is so much more to Callie Torres than just looks. As Arizona hears them wrapping up, she indeed hears the fax machine come to life. She heads over to Teddy's desk and starts collecting the papers that are coming through.

"Katherine O'Malley. Ok Katherine, let's see what we can find to get you out of that coma..." she says to herself, as she heads for her office after putting the papers in a file folder. Walking back to her office, she heads smack dab into Callie, as Callie is walking out of the break room, causing them to come face to face, literally, as Callie knocks Arizona back into the wall.

"I'm so, so sorry... Really..." Callie says, taking a step back. I should have looked before barging out."

"That's ok," Arizona says, taking a breath, inhaling the scent of Callie Torres. She wonders if it would be obvious if she did it again. "I wasn't looking either. Had my head in a file," she says, holding the file up. The two are still standing pretty close together as a throat clears behind them.

"Oh... sorry. Callie says, moving out of the way. I'll uh... see you later."

"Yeah," Arizona says, stepping around her. "See ya."

The foursome behind them all share looks, with Christina and Addie seeing what everyone else has already picked up on. "Well, isn't that interesting," Addie says to Christina quietly.

"Yep. Very..." Christina says, laughing.

"Well," Callie says, making her way to the door. "Thanks for the invite. We will have to do this again."

"Oh, we will," Teddy says, looking at the other three. "Very soon. Actually, here... give me your number. I'll text you," she says handing Callie a pen and post it note.

"Here ya go," Callie says, handing Teddy her number. "Well, we better go. That woman should be here in about ten minutes."

After a promise to call, Teddy watches the women walk out the proceeds to head to Arizona's office.

As she walks in, she sees Arizona sitting with her head on her desk. "Arizona Robbins… You are a total teenage girl around her," she says, shaking her head and chuckling, with Mandy joining her.

"Yep. Girl, you've got it bad. Do you act like that around all the women?"

Arizona looks up and shakes her head. "I don't know what is wrong with me. I'm... I'm a total mess around her."

"You sure are," Mandy says as she and Teddy share a laugh, causing Arizona to throw a box of tissues at them that she has sitting on her desk.

Across the road, as they are waiting on Meredith, Christina looks at Callie and asks, "You ever slept with a chick?"

Callie looks at her, with a confused look. "What? Why would you ask that?"

Looking at Addie, she shakes her head and they both chuckle. "No reason," she says shrugging her shoulders.

Callie doesn't have time to say anything else because the door opens as Meredith Grey arrives for her interview.