The restaurant was crowded and full of life. Everyone around them seemed so happy, telling stories, gossiping, laughing, downing mimosas, and eating everything in front of them. Arizona was certain half of Seattle was at this one particular restaurant at this exact moment. Usually should would be joining in the fun, but she couldn't knowing the events of last night. She replayed them in her head over and over until she fell asleep. She hadn't heard from Callie in the morning and figured it was best to give her more space instead of pushing the issue any further. Luckily, Teddy called asking to meet for breakfast and she was grateful for some quality best friend time.

"Are you gonna finish that?" Teddy asked between bites of her omelet and potatoes. She was eyeing the side of bacon that Arizona got, but noticed she hadn't touched it. She barely touched her French toast.

"Go for it." The blonde pushed the extra food towards her best friend and Teddy eagerly accepted it. "Hungry much?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. Had a 15 hour shift yesterday. As soon as I was about to leave we got slammed. Then when I got home I went to bed and when I woke up with my stomach yelling at me." After she finished chewing she finished her glass of orange juice. "Okay, so what's up with you? You've barely said anything. You haven't touched your food and you love the food here. Trouble in paradise?"

"A little…" Arizona confessed taking a sip of her coffee. "Callie walked out last night."

"How come? Didn't you ladies go to Sof's performance? How was it by the way? She's so cute when she's on stage." Teddy gushed over the young girl.

"We did, Sof was great. It was a great night until the end. Callie is going to Miami for a few days to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family."

"Okay…" Teddy wasn't sure what the problem was, "A holiday is a perfect excuse to get away from the hospital, I don't blame her."

"I don't know, I just thought we would discuss holiday plans together. I got time off from the Chief and I'm planning on doing a dinner at my place and I wanted her to be there."

"Ahh, I see. It's your first holiday as a couple and you wanted to spend it together. That's understandable. Christmas is right around the corner, maybe talk about those plans now so it's not an issue going forward."

"Yeah I guess…" Arizona started to eat some of her food, "…part of me just wishes she would've asked me to go with her to Miami. She said holidays are important to her and her family and I want to support that, I want to support her. I love her."

"I know you do, Arizona and she does too. What made her walk out?"

"The conversation turned into me wanting to spend more time together. Our arrangement right now is one day a week she's at my place and we try to hang out on the weekends when we can. Part of me wants more."

"You want her to move in?" The cardio surgeon asked with a curious look. "Seems a little fast, no?"

"She doesn't have to move in, but maybe more of a conversation about spending time together. She said she couldn't commit to that."

"She has a lot on her plate." Teddy started, but took a brief pause to gather her words. She didn't want to upset her friend who is already hurt, but truthfully she could understand Callie's point of view, "She's a first year resident in a rigorous hospital program. She's lucky if she gets more than six hours of sleep on a daily basis. Not to mention being in a relationship and trying to have a personal life. She's only 26. That's still young."

"I know, I know. That's why I thought having a few days off for Thanksgiving would be perfect for us to spend time together. I don't want to burden her on top of her work responsibilities."

"Listen, you're not wrong for wanting to spend more time with your girlfriend." Teddy reassured her friend and reached out to grab her hand. "Just try to see it from her perspective. Maybe try to have more lunches together at work or get coffee in the mornings. Find the time when you can. When things settle more, bring up the topic again."

"Yeah, maybe…" The peds surgeon replied while pushing some food around on her plate, "…or maybe this is a Sabrina situation."

"Woah, that's a name I haven't heard in a while. Are you still friends?"

"Ehh, not really. I think we're Facebook friends, but that doesn't mean much these days. You had only been at Seattle Grace six months before we stopped seeing each other. I broke it off with her because I was too busy with work, like Callie."

"No, nope. Not gonna let you go there." Teddy shook her head at her best friend, "This is not that kind of situation. You and Sabrina had like nothing in common, you two happen to both be single and both be lesbians, that's about it. And to be fair, you were really busy being a relatively new department head. Your life is totally different now, and more importantly Callie is not Sabrina. Just talk it out, it's about time you two burst that blissful pink bubble you all have been living in and have a real talk."

"I know, but I love the bubble." The blonde pouted, "It's so cute."

"Yeah, but do you want cute or real?" Teddy asked eyeing her friends plate, again. "So are you going to finish that, or?"

"Hey, who's at the door?" Jo yelled to Stef from inside her bedroom while frantically looking for some sneakers.

"Sorry to intrude, but I brought gifts." Arizona smiled holding up a pink box of donuts. "Oh no, are you all about to head out?" She noticed Jo come out of the bedroom in floral yoga pants and a sports bra. Stefanie was wearing a similar outfit.

"It's Dr. Robbins and she has donuts!" Stef called back. "We invited Callie to come walking with us, but she's about to leave as well. She's still in her room if you want to catch her."

"You're welcome here anytime, especially if you bring donuts!" Jo grabbed the box and opened up the sweet treats. "One for the road?"

"Yeah I'm down." Jo shrugged as she and Stef each take a donut, before tossing the box on the nearby counter. "We're off. Have a good weekend, Dr. Robbins!" Once the door shut, Arizona looked around the apartment. She has only been to Callie's place a few times, and most of those times Callie just met her downstairs out front. It definitely has a college-medical school vibe, one that she can appreciate, but is also grateful she's not living in anymore.

"I thought I heard a lot of talking about here. Arizona?" Callie was shocked to see her girlfriend in her living room. "Uh, what are you doing here? I know we had breakfast plans, but I figured you understood those kinda fell through after what happened last night." The resident was busy moving around the apartment getting her bag in order and putting a bagel in the toaster.

"Jo and Stef let me in on their way out. I wanted to talk." She tried to catch Callie's eyes, but the brunette wouldn't stand still. "I'm sorry how everything went down last night…"

"Mhmm…"

"…and I get that you have a lot on your plate right now…."

"I really do…"

"….right, and I want to help in any way that I can…."

"Okay…"

"Callie, please. Can you just stop moving for a second?" Callie froze at the sound of her girlfriends voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get upset." The blonde sheepishly smiled. "I just…"

"I can't do this right now, Arizona. Dr. Greene asked me to come in and shadow him on a knee replacement. Just me, do you know how amazing this is? I asked Dr. Bailey to put in a good word for me after we last worked together. I didn't think so would, but wow. I've been studying on my own like crazy, but to actually get to assist is just mind blowing." Callie was so happy and it made Arizona happy to see her smile. Clearly this wasn't the time for a deep conversation, "I have to go, but we can talk about this later."

"Can I at least drive you?"

"Arizona, I don't think…" Callie quickly spread some butter on her bagel as soon as it popped out of the toaster.

"Look, you don't have your car here since we carpooled to Sofia's event and by the time you order a car service we could be halfway there. Let me help, babe. Okay?"

"Okay."

The car ride was quiet, too quiet for Arizona's liking. She didn't want to bring up the topic in a quick car ride, but she didn't know what else to talk about either. Callie scrolled on her phone the entire time while eating her bagel. "Thanks again for dropping me off."

"It's not a problem at all." Arizona said putting the car in park once they arrived. "So listen, I want you to have a great day. Dr. Greene can be tough, but he's good."

"Thank you." Callie nodded, "I know we need to talk and we will, but right now…

"I know, you don't have to explain anymore."

"Once I get off I'll stop by and maybe we can talk then?"

"That's perfect." Arizona smiled. "I'll be up. I love you."

"Me too." Callie flashed her megawatt smile before exiting the car. Arizona watched her all the way until she reached the automatic front doors of the hospital.

Arizona had just finished putting away her late night snack of salted popcorn when she heard a knock at her front door. She figured it must be Callie, especially considering it was just after ten at night.

"Sorry, I'm late. I had no idea I would be at the hospital this long. Thankfully Karev caught me on my way out and offered me a ride over here." Callie apologized as she entered her girlfriends apartment. "How was your night?"

"It was good." Arizona replied as the two moved into the living area and sat on the couch. They each took one side of the couch with more distance than usual between the two. "Once Sofia got back, I helped her with a bath and we just hung out. Watched some movies, danced around a little, made dinner together. It was a nice night in. How was your knee replacement?"

"It was great! Medically speaking, it went smoothly. The patient is recovering nicely and should be leaving the hospital in a couple of days. Personally, it was…." The resident's face lit up, "….amazing! I mean it was like a one-on-one session with one of the top orthopedic surgeons in the country. I learned so much. I think Dr. Greene is going to put me on his service for the next month. He said he'll speak to Bailey about it. Being in that OR tonight was everything I dreamed it would be. He said if I keep studying and doing rounds with him I can scrub in on more surgeries."

"Calliope I'm so happy for you!" Arizona quickly closed the distance between them and gave her girlfriend a big embrace. "Soon you'll be doing surgeries on your own."

"Well I'm not sure about that yet, but that's the goal." When they pulled apart, their fingers lingered together as they both searched for the right words to say. "So I should say—"

"Let me start—oh sorry, you go." Arizona didn't mean to interrupt.

"No, no, you go." Callie encouraged.

"Okay, let me start by saying I don't want you to feel burdened by me with this relationship. I've always said from the beginning, the hospital comes first. It's why you're even in Seattle in the first place. I love you, I love being with you, but I don't want to distract from your purpose out here."

"Arizona, are you breaking up with me?" Callie asked directly. "Cause by the way you're talking I'm not sure."

"I don't want to break up…"

"Good, cause I don't either. I'll admit, I get overwhelmed sometimes with all my responsibilities, but that's something for me to work on. Having you in my life for the past year has been a much needed anchor. Good or bad, I know you're there for me and I'm so grateful for that. I heard when you said you needed more, but I don't want to promise you something more I can't fully commit to at this moment." The blonde's heart sank a little hearing those words. "What we're doing right now is working for me. We have just under a month until Thanksgiving and then it'll be Christmas after that. I'm saying right now, we will spend Christmas together. That is if you want."

"Seriously?" Arizona was surprised at the proposal, "I thought spending holidays with your family was important to you."

"It is, but so are you. They get me for turkey day, I'm sure they can survive a Christmas without me. I'm sorry for not telling you about my Thanksgiving plans earlier. I honestly didn't think it would bother you that much."

"I guess I didn't either until you said you were leaving…" The surgeon truthfully responded, "…but I am happy we'll get Christmas together." Putting a hand on Callie's left cheek, the blonde pulled her close for a soft kiss. "Stay over tonight?"

"Only if you make it worth my while."

Flirting back, "I always do." Arizona answered.

A/N: wherever you are in the world, I hope you're safe and well!