AN: This is Calzona endgame, and for those who are doubting if I am a Calzona fan, ofcourse I am. Been a fan since Season 5. I know it's hard to like Eliza, she's like a poor attempt at trying to replace Callie. I had been watching Calzona episodes from season 5 to season 12 recently, and I literally teared up. It's crazy how our girls turned from the "IT" couple, to a divorcees who ended up with public enemies 1 and 2. Penny being the one who practically killed Derek, and Eliza running over everyone in the hospital. And our girls had been through so much, probably more than any couple in GA apart from Derek and Meredith. The parents, the kids, Africa, the accidental pregnancy, the car crash, the plane crash, the amputation, the resentment, the cheating, the house, the miscarriages. I guess a couple could only go through so much, sometimes too much history is not all good.
Anyway, as I've mentioned before, this is a slow burn. And yeah, I don't like Eliza with Arizona either, but it just makes things more interesting doesn't it.
Arizona's POV
"I know it's not my place to prod, but if you want to talk about it, I'm just here," I say as I put a reassuring hand on Callie's arm. With that Callie starts to sob again with her arms across her chest while one hand was holding an impossibly big glass of wine.
I slide my hand into hers, and I tug on it, silently pleading with Callie to just trust me. She passively follows where I'm pulling her to, and I can hear her still sniffling behind me. We go through the back door leading to the porch in the back, overlooking the garden and the pool. It's particularly dark outside, but the illuminated pool and the almost full moon gives the garden an ethereal glow. Once outside, I immediately put my arms around Callie protectively. I know it's taking everything in her to pull herself together, the least I can do is to protect her from the chill of the night.
I settle us both down to a bench on the porch looking over the garden. I put Callie on my right and I sit beside her. I put my hand over hers, letting her know that I'm right here.
"It's too complicated," she says looking down on her lap. I have never seen her like this, vulnerable, defeated. I can already feel my rage starting to boil within. How could her husband hurt her this way? Why would he ever put down someone as amazing as Callie. But, who am I to judge, it's their relationship.
"Did he…," I ask softly as I put my hand on her face bringing it to the light so I can inspect further. I swear, if he ever laid a finger on her, I would go berserk and hit his smug face repeatedly on the kitchen counter. I do have great respect for Mr. Sloan, but I never really liked him. He never really did pay any attention to me, that wouldn't be much of a big deal, but she barely pays attention to Callie or Sofia. I haven't once see this father spend more than 30 minutes with his child.
"No… no.. Richard would never do that," Callie replies meekly. She leans more into my touch, and I almost forget the circumstances surrounding us. My breath catches in my throat and butterflies are going wild in my stomach. Never have we been this close, and with the light of the moonlight accentuating her facial features, Calliope Torres has just become more stunningly beautiful if that is even possible. I pull her head to my shoulder, and she comfortably leans on it. We stay silent for a while
"It's a beautiful night isn't it?," she says out of the blue.
"Yes, a beautiful night with a beautiful girl, how did I get so lucky?," I reply in jest trying to make Callie laugh.
"Haha, sweet talker!," she counters as she starts poking my sides.
"No… I'm.. Serious…," I say in between laughs and giggles as she keeps on tickling me.
"Well, I can't be what my husband needs me to be, so I'm not all that," she says with a somber tone as she slowly pulls away from me.
"Hey," I say softly as I face her and take both of her hands in mine.
"You're my hero, I have always known you from my mother's stories, but I have to admit, I never really had a concrete picture of you. So before meeting you in person, I googled you," I say, then Callie cuts me off.
"You googled me," she says raising her eyebrows and with an amused look on her face.
"Yes I did," blushing at the admission.
"But that's not my point," I say in retaliation to change the subject.
"I saw everything you have accomplished. You're brilliant, world renowned in your field, a rockstar surgeon, a prolific researcher, winner of numerous awards and grants, all of these at a very young age," I say.
"Yes, but all those things all came from doing what I love. I didn't have to actively strive to get them, I just kept on doing what I love doing everyday, then those just followed. I've always been a big nerd, so the surgeries, the research, the studying all came in naturally to me," she chimes in.
"I know, but this is exactly why you're amazing. You're humble, very kind, and you're the most genuine and down to earth person I know. You're a crybaby, yet you're still breathtaking. You're cranky, clumsy, and a big dork, yet you're still stunning every single time I see you. Anyone would be lucky to have you. With all due respect to Mr. Sloan, if he's too busy or foolish to see that, and if he even considers letting you go, people would be lining up for you," I say with the utmost sincerity I can muster. It breaks my heart to see Callie doubting herself.
"He's not that bad," Callie responds.
"But he's making you cry," I reply wiping a tear off her cheek with the pad of my thumb. She closes her eyes for a minute as if she's relishing the feeling.
"It's not that simple, things happen, circumstances change people," she says sadly.
"Care to elaborate?," I ask gently. Trying to make her open up to me.
She then stands up and grabs my hand.
"Come on let's take a walk," she says.
Callie's POV
I pull her towards the garden and we just proceed to walk aimlessly. We walk in comfortable silence, and I loop my arm around her arm.. Can you blame me? It's quite chilly, and being close to her physically is really comforting.
"He was great, charming, ambitious, romantic, the type to sweep you off your feet," I start.
"We met through Mark. Mark and I had really gotten close, I was a resident and he was the new Plastics guy, and we were both pretty messed up at that time. Mark being the mistress of his bestfriend's wife, and I was the laughing stock of the hospital then after 2 failed relationships," I say, now laughing at the craziness of my life back then.
"We were friends with benefits, if you know what I mean," I say trying to lighten up the mood. I nudge her a little when I feel her stiffen after my admission. She looks at me and gives out a somewhat forced laugh.
"What, my boyfriend cheated on me with a colleague, then my girlfriend left me out of the blue. Mark was there, hot and lonely. No judging," I add.
"A girlfriend?," she asks with genuine shock.
"Do I not give out a vibe that I like ladies too?," I say with a chuckle.
"What do you mean by "too"?," she asks and I hear the hint of alarm in her voice.
"Oh come one, I'm your mom's best friend remember, she tells me everything!," I say in a teasing manner. I can feel Arizona getting really embarrassed, and her arm has started to heat up. I can vaguely make out from the light that her face up to her ears are flushed. I laugh at her even more, so she buries her face on my shoulder to hide her crimson glow.
"And I'm on to you and that Eliza girl, she can't be just your friend," I add unable to stop myself from bringing this girl up. I mean, she just appeared out of nowhere, I have to look out for Arizona.
"We're just friends really," she replies with my shoulder still muffling her words.
"Ahh, friends," I reply mockingly.
"Hey, you're veering off topic," she says as she faces me again.
"Fine," I retort.
"So Mark invited him at our regular bar, and we hit it off automatically. There's something about his presence that attracted me immediately. He asked me out, then dating, then marriage, and all that crap. Our first year of marriage was perfect. We were the perfect couple, my research was a success, and his company was more profitable than ever," I add.
"Everything was great, he was great, we were perfect together, that was until we started trying for a baby," I say with a forlorn tone.
She faces me with raised eyebrows, egging me on to continue.
"Uhmmm," I hesitate.
"Don't tell me you're having problems in bed," she says jokingly with a chuckle. I can feel that she's trying to put me at ease.
"No no, Richard Sloan has no problem with performing whatsoever" I respond with a little bit of pride in my voice. Then I feel Arizona stiffen again by my side.
Flashback
"Addie, just blurt it out," I say with a little edge in my voice. I can't help but feel a little agitated. It had been a year of trying for a child, but all we got was a miscarriage. We finally decided to consult with Dr. Addison Montgomery, my rockstar OB, and best friend, and a fertility specialist, and the woman Mark had been pining over.
"Immuno-reproductive disorder," she replies. My grip on my husband's hand suddenly gave, but he maintained his grip on me. He looks at my eyes trying to search for an explanation. I look at him briefly, then back to Addison.
"What type?," I ask. I'm no OB but I'm familiar with it. I'm familiar to know that this is a big hurdle for us.
"Category IV," Addison says with slight hesitation.
Then my head falls. Then after a few moments, I pick myself up.
"We can try in vitro right?," I ask.
"Yes we can try, but in vitro as it is, is an already difficult process," Addie replies.
"I'm sorry, but can you please explain to me what's going on," Richard asks and I can already feel his palms sweating.
"Immuno reproductive disorders are a spectrum of diseases with which the body or the immune system itself prevents childbearing. I won't get into too much scientific detail," Addison starts.
"There are therapies and medicines for this right?," Richard asks, looking at me for answers. I don't know how to break it to him, I just….
"It's more complicated than that," I say with a broken voice.
He then shifts his gaze to Addison.
"Category IV Immunoreproductive disorder is when the female produces anti sperm anntibodies for your sperm antigen. In simpler terms, Callie's body wouldn't accept your sperm," Addison says.
"So it means we're not able to conceive?," Richard asks, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.
"We're fine, our eggs and sperm are fine, it's just that," I try to answer.
"You can have children, just not with each other," Addison cuts in. I can feel that she sees how I'm struggling with this.
Flasback ends…
"So there," I say as I finish my story. I led her to the pool and we're both now sitting on the edge of the pool with our legs submerged.
"But you could still have done in vitro right? There wouldn't be any antibodies in a controlled and artificial environment," she asks with genuine interest and concern.
"You're really too smart for your year huh? They don't teach that yet Pre med," I say, my amusement of her distracting me from the unfortunate reality of my marriage.
She blushes at my comment.
"Don't worry, I know what it feels like to be a nerd," I say.
"Well anyway, yeah we did try in vitro, but it never took. Addie harvested 9 eggs from me, and we were able to fertilize 3 eggs, all of which were implanted, but not one took," I say.
"We were also so busy then, I was beginning my research, and with each failed pregnancy, Richard just dived into work some more. He had always been a workaholic and a perfectionist, but I saw him become more and more uptight and more and more distant," I say with tears already threatening to fall once again.
Arizona holds my hand, silently telling me she's there, and I can't help but lace my fingers with hers. Her hands are so soft, and delicate. They seem like good and dextrous hands…. For surgery.. Yes, I bet she should go for a surgeon.. I mean surgery.
"I just don't understand it," Arizona suddenly chimes in.
"Hmm?," I look at her inquisitively.
"If Richard wanted a kid so much, and the difficulty of conceiving is what made him so distant, wouldn't having Sofia fix it?," she asks.
"Well yeah," I drag on.
"I feel there's more to this story?," Arizona says. "You really don't have to tell me if you're not ready," she adds.
"Sofia is not his," I suddenly spit out.
AN2: Uh-oh, Cliffhanger. So I guess my purpose in this and the upcoming chapters is to provoke an emotion. So let me hear what you feel about this. What do you think?