After running out of Callie's place, Arizona found herself wondering the on the streets. After walking around aimlessly when she started to feel tired, she went inside the central park and sat on a bench to stop and think.
"I want to give us another chance…."
"We would start again… a fresh start… with… with clean slate… no more grudges…no more hurt… A… A new beginning"
"you can take time …as much as you want but… you have to give us another chance"
"You are everywhere… you are in my... in our daughter's smile"
"I chose Penny because she was nothing like you"
"I broke up with penny because she was not you… no one is"
Callie's words were playing in a loop in Arizona head and despite her nervousness, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"She wants to give us another chance" Arizona whispered to herself.
"But I am scared … I am scared because if this time it didn't work out, there will be no coming back… I can't take another loss… I can't go through all of it again… Now at least we are civil with each other… If we broke up again… it will crush Sofia and I can't do that… I can't be selfish this time… I gave up everything and moved here to Sofia because she is my priority, and she is the only thing that matters… I can't let anything hurt her… not even myself…but us being together will make Sofia so happy... God! I don't know what to do" Arizona's took another 20 minutes to gather her thought then made her way to Callie's apartment.
.
.
It was 2:00 AM and Callie was pacing up and down in the living room. It has been almost 2 hours since Arizona had left the house without taking her phone with her and a new worry, regarding Arizona's safety, was creeping up to Callie's mind. "I can't even leave Sofia in the house and go look for her" Callie thought and as if on cue Arizona knocked on Callie's door.
"Thank god, Arizona you are home… I was starting to get worried" Callie exclaimed as she opened the door.
"Yeah! Sorry about that…I didn't realize the time" Arizona said meekly, avoiding Callie Gaze.
"I am just glad you are back," Callie said with a smile.
"I need to pack my stuff… so… good night I guess," Arizona said
"what?! Arizona!" Callie began just to get cut off.
"Not now Callie… I am exhausted… and my leg is killing me… I just wanna remove my prosthetics and sleep" Arizona requested; the signs of exhaustion were clear on her face, so Callie nodded her head reluctantly. "I promise we will talk about it… I won't shut down or run away… we'll talk" Arizona added.
"Alright… take your time…I'll wait for you…" Callie said with a soft smile "Now go and rest… and if you need anything let me know"
Arizona nodded "Good Night Callie"
"Good night"
Despite how the evening has gone. Arizona was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Callie on the other hand was looking for another sleepless night.
XXXX
Monday-morning went quietly, the trio had their breakfast in which adults mostly kept quiet while Sofia rambled on about the Summer camp, she is starting next week. She was too excited for her own good.
After the breakfast, Callie dropped Sofia and Arizona to the hotel and went straight to work. As soon as she entered the hospital, she rushed towards the office of her Oncologist best friend, Clyde.
"Cly…" Callie exclaimed the minute she opened his cabin door.
"Torres" Clyde replied with a toothy smile "What's wrong? What did you do?" Clyde added as he saw the look on Callie's face.
"Why do you always assume that something is wrong, and I have something to do with that? Can't I just come to meet my best friend?" Callie asked annoyed.
"Of course you can… so everything is fine?" Clyde asks slyly.
"Oh! Shut Up" Callie scoffed which made Clyde laugh.
"Lay it on me Torres…What happened?" Clyde said still chuckling.
"Stop laughing…" Callie scolded which made Clyde sober "I told Arizona…" she added meekly
"You told Arizona what?" Clyde asked confused
"That I want to give us another chance" Callie confessed
"Woah! I was not expecting that" Clyde said with a surprised "but…. I am glad you did… so what did she say?"
"Nothing…" Callie replied sadly
"huh... nothing… what? She just kept quiet?" Clyde asked now confused.
"No! she said … she doesn't know what to say and do and that she is too confused and then she ran out of the house and returned after 2 hours…" Callie explained in one breath.
"Oh! That's… rough" Clyde said
"Yeah! She then said that we will talk about it at some point… but didn't say when... and in the morning I dropped her to her hotel… and now I am here... completely freaking out in front of you" Callie concluded and took a deep breath.
There was a silence for a few minutes in which Callie was nervously tapping her leg and looking out of window and Clyde was observing her. After a few seconds when Callie felt eyes on her she turned her face Clyde and found him staring as her with an amused expression and a smile.
"What?" Callie asked, "Is there something on my face?" Callie checked by rubbing her fingers on her face to check.
Clyde laughed on her antics "No! your face is fine… but what amazes me is that you are Ortho Goddess… I have seen you do the trickiest surgery without a flinch but when it comes to Arizona you are a hot mess"
Callie squinted her eyes on this comment "I am NOT a hot mess… am just hot"
"Yeah, you tell this to yourself girl… but you are here in my office at 8 not because you are hot but because you a mess… so give up the tough girl act already and accept" Clyde teased Callie
Callie opened her mouth to defend her honour but then hung her head in defeat "Fine! I am a mess… now can you give me some of your sane advice as to what to say to Arizona"
"Dude! There is nothing to say to Arizona anymore, you have done your part… the ball is in her court now… you have to wait for her to come to you" Clyde said calmly.
"But how long will I have to wait" Callie whined.
"As long as it takes Torres… As long as it takes" Clyde replied sympathetically.
….
As Clyde advised Callie didn't push Arizona on this topic. Whenever they talked it was either related to Sofia or Arizona's centre. Next few days Arizona met lawyers to prepare the paperwork for the centre, conducted a few meetings with potential clients and some staff interviews. Nothing could be finalized till Nicole arrives but Arizona being a Type A personality wanted to plan everything beforehand.
On Friday Arizona had her stuff delivered at her house both from the furniture shops as well as the cargo from Seattle. It was finally time for Arizona to move into her apartment so In the following evening, she face-timed Callie.
Since last Sunday, every time Arizona called, Callie's heart would start beating faster in the anticipation, but they were yet to have the 'talk'. So again, on Friday, when the phone rang on the table Callie's heartbeat, increased customarily. She took a few calming breaths before answering the call.
"Hey! Arizona! How are you?" Callie said, way too loudly than usual "get a grip, Torres"
"Okay," Arizona said in a confused tone, slightly taken aback with Callie's way too obvious overcompensation "I am fine… but are you?" Arizona asked
"Me? Pff! I am Fine" Callie said, trying to sound breezy and failing miserably. "I said get a grip…"
"Aa… alright then… uh… I was calling to tell you that my stuff got delivered today… so tomorrow I will be moving to my apartment finally" Arizona said
"Oh, that's great...umm … so Sofia and I will be there tomorrow," Callie said nonchalantly
"What? Why?" Arizona asked
"What do you mean why? To help you of course… to shift" Callie replied in a matter-of-fact tone
"What! No Callie… that's… I mean… I can manage" Arizona replied hesitantly
"I know you can manage everything, but I would still like to help… we will make the day of it… and…SOFIA wants to meet you soooo much," Callie said with a fake pout
"You really had to play Sofia card, didn't you?" Arizona replied with a smirk
"What card? It's true" Callie Replied slyly
"Sure, it Is… you play dirty Torres…" Arizona said with squinted eyes and a smile
"Everything is fair in lov-…ahem… Robbins" Callie said
Ignoring the obvious slip-up Arizona replied "Fine! You can come… I order pizza"
"Yes it's a dat- I mean... I… We'll See you tomorrow... over and out… Captain Robbins" Callie said with a salute and instantly berated herself for the geekiness "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Arizona raised her eyebrows in question and confusion "You sure you are okay Callie?"
"Yeah! Yeah! … I just had mimosa … so…" Callie lied "Good save"
"Okay Callie… take care, see you tomorrow" Arizona Said
"Yup, see ya!"
…
Saturday morning Arizona was feeling very nervous, today she and Callie will come face to face after the incident and no matter how hard she tries she can't avoid the talk. Even though she kept herself busy with work and centre but not a single day went by when she didn't think about what Callie had said. Her mind was somewhat playing ping pong with the decision. One day she would wake up and decide that she will try it out with Callie but by the evening an unknown fear would creep up and she would decide against it. She knew she will have to reach a conclusion soon.
She woke up around 7 in the morning, it was her moving day. Sofia and Callie were coming to pick up her in 1 hour. She packed her stuff and got ready for the day and While waiting for her family to arrive she let her mind dwell on the topic-
"What will I tell Callie, it's been almost a week and I haven't decided anything. She has been so patient with me. I don't like to keep her hanging. Why can't I make up mind, all these insecurities and fears are messing with my brain... Argh!... I do-"
Arizona's chain of thoughts was broken by the knock on the door. She got up to receive her family. After hugs and kisses from Sofia and awkward Hello with Callie, the Trio proceeded towards Arizona new apartment.
Rest of the day went in setting up the place. As Arizona had most of the new furniture there was not much work to do except to set a few things. While going through one of Arizona's boxes to unpack, Callie found a photo of Her, Sofia and Mark with Arizona. This was the picture they took when they brought Sofia home for the first time from Hospital. A sad smiled spread on Callie's face and her heart filled with various emotions which made her eyes tear up a bit.
"I love this Photo" Arizona's said bringing Callie out of her thoughts
"I love it too… the happiness on our faces is so real and pure"
"Yeah!... Mark and I had finally stopped fighting," Arizona said with a laugh
"Oh god! You and mark… at first, I thought your bickering was annoying, but once you became friends …. It was unbearable" Callie replied, her laugh matching with Arizona. "I was so fed up of Mark being with us all the time… I really had enough… and when I came home and saw both of you cooking …again!... I knew I had to throw him and his Coq au Vin out… it was really taking a toll our sex lif-" all of the sudden laughter died and was replaced by an awkward silence in which both of them avoided each other eyes.
Thankfully, the arrival of singing Sofia broke their awkwardness, and they all resumed the task of setting up the house.
It was almost dinner time and the trio was exhausted. They were sitting in the living room watching some Disney movie which Sofia insisted, and Callie agreed reluctantly.
Arizona went to the kitchen to bring them a beer and juice for Sofia. When she came back the site in front her melted her heart. Callie was lying on the couch and Sofia was sprawled on her chest very comfortably while watching the movie. She watched them for a while before bringing the beverages to them.
After a while, Sofia's eyes were drooping because of the sleep so Arizona took her to her room to tucked her in, meanwhile, Callie decided to finish the movie. Arizona sat there until Sofia was asleep and, while waiting, her mind started to wander again.
"It was a beautiful day… we had so much fun today… just like a family… I have everything right now. Callie and I are comfortable with each other. Sofia is happy after such a long time… I can't let anything or anyone take this happiness away from her… I know she will be elated if her parents get back together… I can imagine her face when we will tell her that we are together" Arizona smiled with tears in her eyes Imagining the possible future "… but…" and the smile faded "if we break up… that will be the end of everything… I can't hurt her like that again… and I can't lose everything I have right now … I won't… no matter how much I want it…I can't take that risk… no matter how much it will hurt me to break Callie's hope… I have to do it… We can't be together…" with this conclusion, Arizona got up and went into the living room to talk to Callie.
Callie has just finished her movie, she switched off the Tv and decided to check on Sofia and Arizona as it was taking more time than usual. As soon as she got up and turned to go to Sofia's room she saw Arizona standing a few feet behind the couch which startles Callie.
"God! You scared me…. Didn't even hear you come in" Callie said
"Callie, we need to talk," Arizona said meeting Callie's eyes.
Callie's heart stopped beating. She knew Arizona is going to tell her decision now and by the look on her face, she knew it's not good news "Oh… Kay…"
"Callie I…" Arizona fumbled "Just say it… don't keep her hanging… rip off the band-aid"
"Don't say no Arizona ...please…" Callie thought with heavy breath and fast-beating heart.
"We…"
Callie felt her heart will explode in anticipation.
.
.
.
The blue eyes met brown and the decision was made
"Callie... let's do it"
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it
Thanks for the lovely reviews…
I know it was a long time … believe me I miss posting too but work and studies had me completely spent.
Don't forget to review this chapter.
Stay Safe!