Feeling the slight chill in the air, Callie reluctantly cracked one eye open so she could find the sheet one of them kicked off in their sleep. Fortunately, Arizona remembered to lower the shades on the windows and patio door so the room was still dark, although she was certain it was late morning and the sun was shining brightly outside. While their surgery ended a little before 2:00 am, they didn't leave the hospital until well after 4:00 am due to their post-surgery celebration in the on-call room and the revenge orgasm, as Arizona called it, where she teased Callie mercilessly in the shower until she was begging for release. By the time they got home, it was just after 5:00 am and they both stripped down to nothing since Sofia wasn't home and passed out in each other's arms. Carefully untangling the sheet from between their intertwined legs, Callie lifted it to cover their bare shoulders then slipped her hand back underneath Arizona's arm to rest in its usual place between her breasts. She smiled as a smaller lighter colored hand covered hers intertwining their fingers as the still sleeping blonde murmured her named and scooted herself backward so their bodies were more firmly pressed together. Wrapping her arm and leg tighter around the smaller woman, Callie effortlessly pulled her closer still. Placing a kiss on the back of blonde hair, she closed her eyes and relished the feeling of waking up wrapped around Arizona's naked form; reveled in the fact that she had the woman she loved back in her life.
Though her body was totally relaxed, Callie found her brain had woken fully and was finding it difficult to lull herself back to sleep. Her mind kept returning to the events of the previous day. It was long and stressful and the first twelve hours seemed endless, but it all changed the moment Arizona walked into her O.R. breathless, with panic written all over her face. Even realizing that someone on her staff had screwed up monumentally, just having the blonde with her, holding her, comforting her, fighting for her, operating with her, it just made it all easier…better. This was one of those things that Arizona was referring to the other day, you don't realize how much you missed it until you experienced it again. It hadn't just been four years since she experienced that though, no it was long before the divorce since she had her Arizona, defending her, supporting her…completing her. She was sure she still didn't know the whole story, but what she did know, was that her girlfriend, her Arizona stepped in when she needed her, protecting both her own professional reputation and that of her center. Arizona knew without asking, without questioning, without a doubt, that Callie would have policies in place and expected her staff to follow them in the event she was not there to lead them and when she saw those expectations were not being met, she stepped in to assure they were and got everything running smoothly again. She didn't do it to be in control or to take charge, she didn't even do it because she missed working with patients or being in a hospital setting. No, Arizona did what she did purely out of love, because she didn't want Callie to get stressed out or upset while she was in surgery and unable to step away, she didn't want the patients to have a bad experience at her facility. Arizona did what she did because she was being Callie's good man in a storm.
What warmed her from the inside out and had her heart racing was not just Arizona's actions, but her words. The things Arizona said about her, about the way she saw and respected her as a surgeon, in front of her whole surgical team, it was another thing Arizona didn't do often, express her feelings in front of others. But those words…she knew if they weren't in the O.R., weren't in front of her employees where she had to be strong and confident, she would have been bawling like a baby. Then there was her response to finding out Maria knew about her leg. It wasn't just that a stranger knew such a private detail and she understood Callie's need to talk about it, it was what she said about wanting her and Sofia to have a village. Arizona knew Callie and she knew she wasn't a loner, she needed people, so to hear that even during one of their most difficult times when the blonde should have hated her…to know she still wanted her to be surrounded by people who cared for her…it meant everything to her.
Callie smiled at the idea that she may have only said the words once, but Arizona showed her in a thousand different ways how much she loved her yesterday, with her words, her actions, and her body. Good lord did she show her with her body. Callie could feel her nerves begin to tingle just from the memory of being pushed up against the door while Arizona spanked her until she was writhing with need or the vision of full pale breasts bouncing above her as Arizona rode her tongue chasing her own orgasm. While she loved that they both fulfilled some of their fantasies and recognized they needed to just let loose and have hot dirty sex, at that very moment, with thoughts of Arizona's words and actions swirling through her mind, she needed her girlfriend to make love to her. She craved the closeness, needed to feel the weight of Arizona's body on hers while they shared long slow kisses and looked in the other's eyes as they brought each other pleasure. She wanted, needed, to express their love in the most intimate of ways.
Arizona awoke slowly, she didn't know what it was or when it happened, but the two of them could always feel the other wake up, hear them thinking. She wasn't sure if it was because they were so aware of the other's body even in sleep, or if it was just some innate connection they had, but it was there, and she felt it now. She knew without looking or asking, that Callie was awake and deep in thought about something, though based upon how relaxed her body was and the slow steady pace of her breathing, it wasn't anything worrisome or stressful. Turning to her other side, she was surprised when she caught just a glimpse of nearly black eyes filled with need before her lips were captured in a slow sensual kiss. When the kiss came to its natural end, Callie lifted her hand to caress Arizona's cheek then moved it to brush a piece of tousled hair behind her ear and whispered, "Make love to me Arizona."
It wasn't often Callie made this request, she was normally the aggressor, the one to take charge, but there were these rare moments, times when the brunette needed to be reminded that she was loved, cherished, adored. Looking into those expressive brown eyes, Arizona could see the need, the desire to love and be loved. She knew in that moment that Callie meant it when she asked her to make love to her. She didn't want a quick and dirty fuck, nor sex for the sake of getting off, she wanted slow passionate lovemaking, the act of expressing their love to one another wordlessly through their bodies, their actions. Leaning in, Arizona sucked on Callie's bottom lip, then her top, then slipped her tongue between the two to slide against Callie's in a soft sensual kiss. She slowly pressed forward with her whole body, guiding Callie onto her back, and settled herself between the brunette's legs whimpering as their breasts rubbed together and their heated cores connected. Resting her full weight on the body beneath her, Arizona slid her hands under Callie's back and wrapped her fingers around her shoulders, moaning when toned arms wrapped tightly around her waist. In that moment, she realized she needed this just as much as her lover.
As their kiss deepened, became more passionate, Arizona began to roll her hips in a slow and gentle rhythm which Callie immediately fell into. The two continued to rock together enjoying the closeness, the physical and spiritual connections. Breaking the kiss, Arizona lifted her head and looked down into the most beautiful face she had ever seen. Even in her own mind it sounded cliché, but it was true, Callie was classically beautiful with her expressive brown eyes flecked with gold, full red lips, prominent high cheekbones, smooth caramel colored skin, silky soft jet black hair, but her personality, her spirit, her love of life, her innate joy, her intelligence, they all added to that beauty making her absolutely stunning. Unable to hold her thoughts in, Arizona whispered in awe, "You are absolutely the most beautiful creature I have ever seen Calliope and I am so in love with you." Callie lifted her hand from Arizona's back to caress her soft alabaster cheek and responded, "There are so many times I have asked myself what I did to deserve certain things that happened in my life, but none more so than you. You are the kindest, most generous, most loving, most giving, most intelligent, sexiest individual I have ever met, and to get to have you, have this, not once, but twice…I just…I am so thankful for you and I love you so very much Arizona Robbins." Having no more words, Callie pulled Arizona down and connected their lips, pouring all the love and passion she felt into the searing kiss.
As their pace gradually increased, Callie lightly scraped her nails down Arizona's strong back knowing it would turn her on even more. As if on cue, the woman above her let out a low moan and moved her own hands down tan shoulder blades and around to the sides of her breasts where she massaged lightly before slipping them between their sweat slick bodies to cup and knead the full soft mounds while gently rolling her nipples between her fingers. Callie groaned and arched into the touch then brought her leg up to wrap around the back of Arizona's thigh opening them both up more and increasing the pleasure as they continued to grind against one another. Feeling the body beneath her begin to tremble indicating she was close, Arizona slipped one hand up to cup the back of Callie's neck while sliding the other down to wrap around her other leg and pull it up to rest on her hip, opening her sex even more. The blonde quickened her pace and groaned as she felt her own body tense in anticipation of her impending climax. Finally breaking their kiss for much needed oxygen, brown eyes locked on blue and heavy breathing turned into soft moans of pleasure as their ever hardening clits rubbed together causing jolts of electricity to flow through their bodies. Slick skin slapped together and the heady scent of arousal filled the air but neither noticed as they were so lost in the eyes of the woman they loved, so focused on the pleasure they felt.
Arizona could see by the darkening of brown eyes, the blush rising up tan skin, the higher pitch and volume of gasps and moans that Callie was close. She also knew from the rippling in her own abdomen, the tingling in her arms and legs, the heat of her skin she was staring down her own release. Reaching behind her, Arizona pulled Callie's arms from around her back, linked their fingers and settled them on the bed on either side of the brunette's head then pushed her upper body back bringing their cores even closer together causing them both to cry out. Arizona stared into Callie's eyes, willingly lowered the final walls she held onto for self-preservation and allowed the woman she loved to see into her soul as she increased her pace and poured every ounce of love, admiration, affection, and adoration she had for the other woman into her movements. Callie looked up to see Arizona staring back at her and saw the moment her lover knew she had her attention. She watched awestruck as cerulean blue eyes flashed with something she could only describe as lightning and it seemed to shatter any last remnant of the thin barrier Arizona held around her heart. Looking into those shimmering blue eyes, she saw it, she saw everything, and she knew for the first time in their ten year long relationship, Arizona had laid her entire heart wide open for her and it was the most exquisite, most cherished, most priceless gift she had ever been given and she would protect it with everything she was and everything she had.
As Arizona kept her gaze locked on Callie's, she could see by the look of absolute awe on her face, the hint of tears shimmering in her gorgeous brown eyes, that not only did Callie see what she wanted her to see, she understood what it meant. As if she knew she needed the words as confirmation, Callie lifted her hand and wrapped it around Arizona's neck pulling her forward until their lips were all but touching and she said with all the love she was feeling inside her, "Your heart belongs to me Arizona Robbins and I will protect it with every last drop of blood in my body." She closed the sliver of space between their lips and easily slid her tongue into the blonde's mouth and as their tongues met and danced together, their bodies stiffened and convulsed, and each woman would swear she felt her soul reach out and meld with that of her lover.
They continued to roll their hips slowly, determined to ride the wave of their intense combined climax to the very end. Breathing heavily, they finally broke their kiss and Arizona rolled them so they were on their sides, still staring deep into each other's eyes. Almost simultaneously, they brought their hands to rest on the cheek of the other. Smiling brightly, Callie whispered, "I love you so much and you own my heart too Arizona, you always have." Arizona leaned forward and brushed their lips together and answered, "I know baby, and this time, I will protect it with every last breath in my lungs." Callie stole a soft, sweet kiss and whispered, "I know you will. I trust you with it, Arizona." Needing no more words, the two women just lie together face to face soaking up the rare moment alone, cherishing all that had passed between them.
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After a long shower in which the two shared several more passionate kisses and exchanged sensual touches, they were finally dressed for the day and enjoying their first cup of coffee out on the patio. Callie was sitting in her usual spot with Arizona curled up under her arm, knees bent, bare feet resting on the cushion beside them. Callie brushed her fingers through damp blonde curls and asked, "So did you convince your parents to get the home nurse?" Arizona swallowed the warm liquid, savoring the bitter-sweet taste on her tongue and responded, "Mmm, they argued for a little while then saw the logic behind it and relented. They also made contact with the doctor you referred them to and made sure Dr. James had dad's records transferred." Callie took another sip of her coffee and said, "I'm glad they agreed, did Daniel have much trouble getting into the car? How was their trip?" Arizona smiled at how concerned her girlfriend was about her parents' well-being and couldn't help but turn and give her a hard smacking kiss, laughing at the shocked expression and explained, "I love how much you care about them. After giving me a piece of his mind, he agreed to take half a pill for the ride home. I got a text from mom saying it was peaceful because he fell asleep and couldn't complain about her driving." Callie laughed then lifted her brow in question and Arizona blushed slightly and said, "He ripped into me for ahhh, past indiscretions and told me if I ever hurt you again he'd tear a strip from my ass." Callie was a little taken aback by this information, both that Arizona shared it so freely and also that Daniel would protect her like that.
Not wanting to put a damper on their amazing morning by talking about those 'past indiscretions', Callie smirked and teased, "Well luckily, your ass is safe, mine on the other hand, still a little sore." Arizona giggled and said, "I am so sorry Callie, I had no idea I bit you so hard." Callie laughed and said, "Oh, it's just that bruise you are sorry for? Not the fact that my ass now looks like a dot-to-dot coloring page?" This caused Arizona to laugh out loud and say, "I can't apologize for all of it, that would mean I was sorry I finally got to worship your sexy ass like I have been wanting to." Callie shook her head and asked, "What ever happened to your infatuation with my boobs? You used to love my boobs. If I'm not mistaken, that's part of the reason I kept wearing a shirt under my scrubs, so people wouldn't see the bite marks." Arizona turned and lifted her hand to fondle said boobs and stared directly at them as she said, "Oh, I still love my girls, I just have a newfound appreciation for your ass." She shrugged then and said, "Guess I'll just have to split my time." Callie laughed and swatted at the hand that was now tugging at her nipple before they went right back into the bedroom as she said, "Okay, enough of that perv. We need to get back to the center." Ignoring her, Arizona leaned in and kissed both nipples that were now protruding from the tank top Callie was wearing under her dress shirt and soothed, "I'm sorry you feel neglected, I'll make sure to give you my full attention very very soon." Callie chuckled and pushed the blonde away as she stood up and said, "Okay." She then shook her head and carried her empty cup into the kitchen smiling the whole way at her girlfriend's playfulness.
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Callie casually sipped her second cup of coffee, munched on one of Barb's cookies from her secret stash, and looked out the window at the passing vehicles. She was thoroughly enjoying both the fact that Arizona was coming into work with her today as well as the fact that she wasn't driving in the lunchtime traffic. While it was well past her normal time for starting her day, she justified it within her own mind because she had just worked a 22 hour shift the day before. When they finally walked out of the center, Callie was dead on her feet and Arizona drove them home in her car insisting Callie not drive since she was so exhausted and claiming she wanted to check on Kim and Julie and had some errands to run nearby anyway. Not even having the energy to fight about it, Callie dutifully climbed into Arizona's car and slept all the way home. As they pulled into the parking lot of Fresh START, Callie looked up to see a maintenance truck sitting just outside the building across the lot from her. It looked like they were putting up a temporary sign much like the one they posted for her right after she signed the lease for her building. Her heart sank and her mood instantly soured as she realized that meant someone beat Arizona to the building before she even had a chance to look into it and they wouldn't be neighbors. As if she were reading her mind, Arizona asked, "What do you think they are doing over there?" Callie sighed and grumbled, "Looks like they are putting up a temporary sign for the new owners." Arizona chanced a glance in Callie's direction and could see the disappointment written all over her face. She bit her bottom lip and said, "Let's go see if we can figure out who your new neighbors are." Callie groaned and muttered, "With my luck it'll probably be a dermatologist office, or better yet, primary care."
Arizona chuckled at her girlfriend's sudden grumpiness and pulled up behind the maintenance truck and moved her head around as if she couldn't see what the sign said. Finally, she asked, "Can you read it? What does it say?" Not really caring what it said at this point, Callie huffed and looked up at the sign then mindlessly rattled off, "It says, 'Future Home of the Robbins-Herman Center for Women's Health." Arizona bit her lip trying not to laugh and counted backward from five waiting for the words to register in the cranky woman's brain. She got to three when Callie's head snapped to look at her, dark chocolate eyes now twinkling with excitement as she asked, "Really?" Arizona nodded and smiled her best super-magic smile and responded, "Really Calliope." Callie's entire face lit up and her luscious red lips bloomed into her million dollar smile as she asked, "What? When?" Arizona leaned over and reached behind her to grab her leather bag and pulled out her leasing contract and keys handing them over to Callie and explained, "Yesterday just before I came to see if you were free for lunch. I wanted to take you out to celebrate and tell you then, but this was much better."
Callie glanced at the signed document then pulled out her phone and said, "Picture! We need a picture of you by the sign holding up the keys. Oh! You need a scrapbook of the whole process." Arizona laughed at her girlfriend's excitement and pulled out her own phone and went through her photo albums until she found the picture she was looking for and handed it to Callie and asked, "Like this?" Callie looked down at the phone and saw her own image next to a sign that read, 'Future Home of Fresh START Medical Center for Orthopedics and Prosthetics' and felt her heart flip at the idea that her ex-wife saved this photo even though they weren't even speaking. To her, it was just further proof that Arizona had never stopped loving her. Eyes glistening with tears, she looked up to her girlfriend and nearly whispered, "Where did you get this?" Arizona blushed slightly and answered, "There was an article about you in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics and this was one of the pictures. I may have taken a screenshot of it and saved it to my albums." Callie shook her head in disbelief and leaned over to connect their lips in a slow languid kiss. As she pulled back, she lifted her hand to caress Arizona's cheek and said, "I love you so much." Arizona leaned in and stole another kiss and responded, "I love you too Calliope. I always have and I always will." The brunette brushed her tears away and opened her car door as she said, "Come on Dr. Robbins, let's get some photos for your scrapbook." Arizona nodded and followed her girlfriend out of the car.
After several pictures of Arizona alone and the two of them together thanks to the worker who had just completed installing the sign, the two surgeons walked through the doors of Fresh START hand in hand. As they reached the desk in the main lobby, Callie noticed Lorraine, Maria, and two of her scrub nurses hunched over a phone apparently enthralled with what was being displayed on the little device. Noticing their chief approaching, one of the nurses cleared her throat and bumped Maria's shoulder, holding out her hand for what appeared to be her phone. Looking up, Lorraine smiled at the pair and said, "I hear you two put on quite the show last night." Both women froze having sudden flashbacks of Callie pounding on the door screaming expletives that in no way sounded as if she were upset. Callie's face turned beat red, not from embarrassment but from anger as she quickly assumed that was what they were watching on the little screen. Holding out her hand she asked, "May I see that please?" Arizona could hear the controlled anger in the ortho surgeon's voice and squeezed her hand tighter trying to offer any form of comfort she could as the nurse she now recognized as Beth, the nurse who assisted her in the OR, passed over her cell. The petite brunette woman leaned over and pushed play then stood back and nervously watched as the two surgeons viewed the video she had recorded on a whim.
Both women instantly relaxed as they looked to the tiny screen and saw it was a video of the two of them in the O.R. Though they were relieved to find it wasn't what they thought, they were intrigued as to why this video was taken. As they watched themselves in the video, they caught a glimpse of what the others saw and were shocked when the camera panned around the room to show the surgical staff watching intently then up to show a full gallery staring down at them watching their every move, they were so enthralled in what they were doing, they never noticed. Then again, that's how it used to be, hours could fly by in an instant with them only being aware of their task and each other's presence. The video ended with a voiceover from the nurse giving the time, date, nature of the surgery and the names of the two surgeons. It finished with her saying, "If there's such a thing as true greatness, we just witnessed it with these two surgeons." Both doctors looked at one another, disbelief written all over their faces. They knew they worked well together and made a great team both in and out of the OR, but they had never seen themselves in quite this way and were honored that their colleagues noticed and took their time to watch them. Callie handed the phone back and swallowed the lump in her throat as she offered, "Thank you, that was very flattering, can you send that to me please?" The young nurse breathed a sigh of relief and responded, "Yes chief." As she started to walk away, Callie called out, "And Beth?" When the woman turned around, Callie said as nicely as she possibly could, "As flattering as that was, it went against protocol. No one is to record any surgeries without the patient and surgeon's consent. I won't ask you to erase the video, but I will remind you not to share it with anyone else please." Knowing she was in the wrong, Beth nodded and replied, "Yes chief, I'm sorry, it's just…that was so amazing to watch." Callie smiled and said, "Thank you."
As the two nurses scurried away, Lorraine smiled at Arizona and said, "I guess congratulations are in order. Welcome to the neighborhood Dr. Robbins." Arizona beamed at the other woman then glanced at Callie as she said, "Thank you, I couldn't ask for better neighbors." Maria smiled then said, "Oh! I have a present for you." Arizona furrowed her brow in question then laughed as Maria handed her a tablet and said, "You saw 30 patients yesterday Dr. Robbins, five of which you admitted for observation and are waiting for you to discharge them. The chief is a real hard ass and wants all charts signed within 24 to 36 hours of seeing the patient." As she turned to walk away, she called over her shoulder and said, "And welcome to Brooklyn Medical Park Arizona, it's an honor to have you here." Arizona smiled and shook her head as she watched the nurse, who she now knew was a close friend of Callie's, disappear down the hall.
Turning back to Lorraine, the older woman said, "Julie woke up this morning and Kim is with her now, they are like two peas in a pod and as sweet as can be. I hope you don't mind Dr. T, but I gave Kim some scrubs and let her clean up a bit." Callie smiled at the older woman and responded, "Not at all Lorraine, thank you for keeping an eye on them. Did they get lunch?" Lorraine blushed and said, "I may have ordered something for them. They don't get many luxuries where they live." Callie nodded and said, "Reimburse yourself out of petty cash please." She then leaned over and picked up a thick folder and asked, "What's this doing here?" The administrative assistant groaned and said, "Dr. Thomas' 'representative' called this morning and informed me he would be attending the meeting with you on Monday morning. I already had everyone write up their interactions with him from yesterday, including Maria and myself, Dr. Robbins, if you wouldn't mind doing so as well, I'm sure it would be helpful. We all heard what he said and heard him tell you he was the resident in charge at the moment." Arizona nodded in agreement and Callie just shook her head and groaned as she said, "I can't believe that arrogant ass. He was barely hanging on by a thread before this. Just last week he lost a patient. Like literally lost him, didn't know his name, his injury, couldn't even tell me where he was taking him. It took them an hour to find him." Arizona chuckled and said, "Well, I mean, Meredith lost a patient once, she even dropped a kidney." Callie laughed and said, "Honey, I appreciate your optimism, but this guy is no Meredith Grey." Arizona smiled and said, "I know, I've seen his work, whatever you need, I'm behind you." Callie reached out and took Arizona's hand and smiled as she asked, "Actually, I'd like to have you in the meeting with me if you don't mind?" Arizona was truly flattered, she didn't know if she could do more than offer moral support, but she would be happy to do that if it took some stress off Callie. Nodding she said, "You got it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have patients to see, can't have the chief thinking I'm slacking off on my second day." Callie chuckled and watched her girlfriend walk away then turned to see Lorraine staring at her and asked, "What?" The older woman smiled, reached out and covered her hand and said, "Love really does look good on you Dr. T. Keep her this time?" Callie smiled brightly and nodded as she said, "I'll do my damnedest."
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Arizona had just walked out of the room after discharging her last patient when she noticed a familiar figure standing at the nurse's desk. Sidling up next to her, she gently bumped her with her hip and said, "Fancy meeting you here Dr. Torres." Hearing the lilting voice she loved so much saying her name in that certain way she had, Callie looked up from the chart she was signing and smiled brightly as she returned, "Well, hello there Dr. Robbins." Both women just stared at one another with goofy grins on their faces until they heard a throat clear behind them. Looking up, they saw Maria standing behind the desk with a disgusted look on her face as she asked, "Anyone ever tell you two that you were sickening?" Arizona nodded emphatically and said, "Oh, absolutely, let's see, there was Mark of course, and Christina who, now that I think about it, you remind me of a lot, then there was Bailey…" Callie smirked as she saw her girlfriend was irritating her friend and added, "Don't forget Alex, and most recently Jordyn." Arizona nodded and said, "And though she secretly loves it, Sofia." Callie shrugged and said, "I think that's it." Maria huffed and said, "Add me to that list." then set her cup on the countertop none too gently and stalked away leaving the two women in a fit of giggles. Settling down, Callie reached for Arizona's hand and played with her fingers as she said, "I was just about to go in and see Julie, care to join me?" Arizona nodded and followed the taller surgeon down the hall. Though they were both itching to reach out and link their fingers, they refrained for the sake of professionalism, it was one thing to walk in together from the outside holding hands and something completely different to walk into a patient's room that way.
Walking into the room, Callie noticed a young girl who appeared to be about 16 sitting in the chair by the bed wearing a pair of light brown scrubs that were usually issued to non-medical staff members and figured this was Kim. Her shoulder length brown curls were tamed into a low ponytail and her big green eyes watched nervously as the two surgeons entered. On the bed, Callie was surprised to see the young girl she had operated on held a slight resemblance to Arizona, she had long straight blonde hair though it was a shade or two darker, bright blue eyes, not quite the color of those she loved so much, and just a hint of a dimple peeking out from one cheek. She smiled at both girls as she came to a stop at the foot of the bed and said, "Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Torres and this is Dr. Robbins, you must be Kim and Julie." Both girls nodded and the petite brunette smiled brightly at Arizona and said, "Hi Dr. Robbins, is this the surgeon you were talking about? The best in the country? Did she help Julie?" Callie glanced beside her to see Arizona blushing slightly knowing she was caught bragging about the ortho surgeon's skills. It still warmed her heart to hear that the blonde felt that way and was telling her patients as much. Arizona nodded and said, "It is, and she did. How are you feeling today?" Almost without thinking, she went to the young girl's side and examined her bandaged arm, carefully peeling the tape back to look at the stitches.
The blonde in the bed looked up to Callie and nervously asked, "My baby? Is…is my baby okay?" Callie smiled and responded, "Fortunately, you have a friend who cares so much and told Dr. Robbins here, who just happens to be one of the top maternal-fetal surgeons in the world. So to answer your question, yes, your baby is just fine." The girl breathed a sigh of relief and bit her lip then looked down at her legs and asked, "And my legs?" The ortho surgeon walked to the side of the bed and lowered the railing so she could examine her work and describe to her young patient everything she had to do. Pulling back the covers she explained, "Both legs were in pretty bad shape, but your left leg had the least damage and I was able to save the bone and insert a rod that will keep it in place. But your right leg, the femur…the thigh bone was shattered and we couldn't put it back together." The girl gasped and looked down at her leg, seemingly for the first time and asked, "What does that mean? Do you have to cut it off?" Hearing the monitors spike, Arizona whipped around quickly and pulled out her stethoscope to listen to the baby. She spoke softly as she said, "Take deep breaths Julie, you need to calm down sweetie, baby needs you to stay calm." Julie nodded and tried to slow her breathing then looked to Callie to continue. Getting a nod from the blonde surgeon, Callie explained, "No, I won't have to amputate. Everything else was in excellent condition. Dr. Robbins cleaned out all the bone and we made you a new femur out of titanium and attached it to your hip and your knee." The young blonde breathed a sigh of relief and sat back trying to relax. Tensing up caused her some pain and both doctors seemed to notice. Checking her IV and seeing the medicine was almost empty, Arizona looked to Callie and arched her brow and at the brunette's nod, took out her tablet and swiped her fingers across the screen. Callie covered the girl back up and explained, "We don't want to keep you on strong medications for too long because of the baby, but Dr. Robbins just ordered another morphine drip, then we will slowly fade that out and replace it with something that is safer for both of you to use long term." The girl nodded and asked, "So will I be in a wheelchair? When do I get to go…umm, when do I get to leave?" She nearly said home but cut herself off, she didn't have a home anymore, didn't have a family to take care of her. She was alone and pregnant and now she couldn't walk. Trying to fight back the tears, she looked to her friend for comfort and smiled when the brunette immediately took her hand.
Seeing the concern and sadness settle on the young girl's face, Callie explained, "It's going to be quite a while before you are able to leave here. I'll keep you on this floor for a few more days to watch for infection and monitor your medications then we will move you upstairs to start your real recovery and physical therapy." Arizona stepped in and said, "I will come in periodically to check on baby and provide antenatal care. Are you on any supplemental or prenatal vitamins?" The girl shook her head and said, "The clinic gave me some samples and I was supposed to go back for more, I just never did." Arizona nodded in understanding then explained, "We'll get you a prescription for that as well as your anemia and diabetes." Seeing the girl's relieved face, both surgeons realized their patient knew she was diabetic and anemic and Callie asked, "How long have you been without your meds?" Seemingly embarrassed, the girl shrugged and said, "I'm not sure, they are expensive and I buy them when I can. I haven't had a job in a while and it doesn't look like I will be getting one soon." Callie nodded and tapped the girl's foot then said, "Well, we will take care of it, don't worry about that for now okay?" Both girls smiled then and thanked the two doctors. As they turned to go, Callie said, "Kim, I'm only going to be able to keep you for one more night, but you can come visit anytime okay?" She then took out her card and handed it over saying, "This is the number here, if you or Julie need anything, you call this number and ask them to find me okay?" The girl nodded and thanked the doctors again watching them as they left the room.
As they wandered back to the nurse's station, Arizona sighed and said, "I feel so bad for them. I wish there was more we could do. Kim told me neither of them have any family." Callie nodded and said, "Well, we can keep an eye on them from here for the next couple of months while Julie recovers, then we will see what happens." Arizona nodded then smiled as she saw the older woman coming down the hall, hands full of games and puzzles. She nudged Callie and said, "Looks like we aren't the only ones." Callie looked up in time to see her assistant enter the young girl's room and chuckled as she said, "Guess Lorraine's taken quite a liking to them." Arizona nodded feeling better knowing someone was giving the girls attention. Looking at her watch, she noticed it was nearly time to pick up Sofia from camp and said, "I need to go get our girl in a few minutes, do you know when you'll be home?" Callie smiled and felt the fluttering in her stomach at the idea of going home to her family, she nodded and said, "I have a couple more patients to check on and some paperwork to sign, but I should be leaving by 5 o'clock." As an afterthought she asked, "Steaks on the grill and family time in the pool?" Arizona smiled and nodded as she said, "We'll stop by the store on the way home and meet you there." She then looked around to make sure no one was watching and placed a soft chaste kiss on the brunette's lips. Callie smiled and pulled her closer, resting her hand on the smaller woman's hip as she said, "I'm going to miss you, I've really enjoyed this." Arizona lifted her hand to fiddle with the charm around Callie's neck and said, "Well, now we are neighbors, it won't be the same, but I won't be far away. We can still drive in together some days and have lunch together." Callie smiled brightly; she hadn't thought of that. Nodding in agreement she said, "I can't wait." Arizona stole another kiss then stepped back saying, "Me neither. I love you, see you at home." Callie reluctantly let her hand drop and said, "I love you too. See you soon." She leaned against the counter of the nurse's desk and watched as her girlfriend disappeared into the elevator.
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After visiting all of her patients and checking in on every floor, Callie just stepped off the elevator to head to her office when she was greeted by her head nurse holding two iced coffees in her hands. She laughed as one was unceremoniously shoved in her face and asked, "What's this? Did the coffee cart start making cold drinks?" The nurse swallowed the drink she just took and grumbled, "No, apparently your girlfriend thinks I'm a delivery girl, but I can't complain too much because she brought me one too." Callie's smile brightened and she looked around and asked, "Arizona's back?" Maria rolled her eyes and said, "No, she and Sofia just brought them to the front desk, said she wanted to bring you a little treat to help you through the end of your day." Callie took a drink of her sweet treat and moaned at the rich flavor. This was one of her guilty pleasures and she had to limit herself or she would be drinking way more coffee than she already did. It warmed her heart to know Arizona was thinking of her enough to bring it all the way back here after picking up their daughter. Still smiling brightly, she headed to her office not even realizing her friend was trailing behind her. She jumped slightly when Maria asked, "So you gonna fill your best friend in or just pretend I'm not dying of curiosity?" Callie smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry, guess I've been kind of consumed for the past few weeks." Maria waved her off and said, "No, I get it. I mean, she's hot, kinda hard not to focus your attention there." Callie laughed then said, "What hasn't Sofia told you yet?" Maria sat back and wiggled her eyebrows and said, "The good stuff. Come on Torres, I want deets! I've waited two years for this." Just as Callie started to open her mouth, Maria picked up her phone and said, "Oh wait!" Within a minute, Lorraine came busting through the door and sat next to the nurse on the sofa grinning like a kid on Christmas as she said, "About damn time!" Callie laughed, sat at her desk, and looked at her clock, she was actually going to duck out early, but she owed this to the two women who have been her biggest supporters since she moved here. Tapping her watch, Callie said, "You get ten minutes then I'm going home to my family." Both women nodded and waited patiently for the story to begin.
After exactly ten minutes of filling her friends in on the past two weeks and her reunion with Arizona and maybe a little of her typical oversharing, Callie stopped and looked at her friends, laughing when she saw Lorraine fan her face with her hand. Maria just stared at her and said, "Wow!" Then the three of them burst into laughter. The nurse eyed her suspiciously and asked, "So, the look on your face when you asked for Beth's phone, you expected something else?" Callie blushed and said, "We ah…may have taken a detour in my on-call room before we left the hospital." Lorraine howled with laughter then said, "Oh honey, no one even knows that room is there, it's at the end of the hall all by itself." Maria furrowed her brow and asked, "You have a private on-call room? I thought you just slept in here." Callie nodded, "I do most of the time, but yeah, I claimed a room and had it set up so I could sleep in there if I didn't want to be disturbed." Maria slapped her hand on the sofa and said, "Oh my God! I can't believe I didn't know this. Where is it? Ya know what? Never mind, don't tell me, now that Arizona is moving in across the street, I don't want to hear you celebrate your surgeries." Callie threw back her head in laughter and packed up her bag to head home. Standing, she said, "Not that I don't love you both, but my family is waiting for me." Both women stood up and hugged their friend as they left the office and Maria said, "We are really happy things are working out the way you wanted Cal, and Arizona is great." Lorraine nodded in agreement and the three made their way to the main lobby to say their goodbyes.
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Callie pulled into the garage surprised to see Arizona's trunk was still opened and had a few bags of groceries left inside. Apparently they picked up more than steaks while at the store. Throwing her messenger bag over her shoulder, Callie grabbed the remainder of the bags and closed the trunk. Just as she reached the door, she heard Arizona gasp in surprise then pull her in for a searing kiss. Pulling apart, Arizona said, "You scared me to death!" Callie laughed and said, "So your response was to kiss the life out of me? Remind me to scare you more often." Arizona laughed and took a couple bags from her girlfriend then headed into the house saying, "I didn't expect you so soon. It was a nice surprise." Callie smiled and said, "Yeah, I decided after the last couple of days, I'd start my weekend a little early." She deposited the bags she was carrying on the center island then walked around to start unpacking them.
Pointing to the bags on the table, noticing they were from a different store, Callie asked, "What's all this?" Arizona started unpacking the groceries and said, "Well, I decided you were right about a scrapbook and stopped at the craft store to pick one up and while we were there, Sofia told me how the rock she painted for her daddy was already ruined from the rain, so we bought some paint that wouldn't wash off." Callie looked out into the yard and saw their daughter running onto the patio with three large rocks and said, "I take it part of our family night includes rock painting?" Arizona followed her gaze outside where Sofia was carefully placing the rocks on the picnic table and said, "Looks like." She smiled when Callie walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist swaying them back and forth. Placing a kiss on Arizona's cheek, Callie said, "It's sweet of you to encourage that. She looks so excited." Arizona leaned her head back and enjoyed being held then answered, "I think she's just as happy to be doing something together as a family as she is painting a rock for Mark." Callie nodded in agreement and said, "Well, she's in for a big surprise because we have another family outing tomorrow so we can cross another thing off our 'Things to do with Mommy' list." Arizona turned in Callie's arms and brushed their lips together and asked, "We do, do we? Do I get to know what it is?" Callie shook her head and said, "Nope! I know how much you love surprises." Arizona huffed and pouted hoping her girlfriend would give in. Instead, it earned her a pinch on her ass making her squeal and jump away. Callie laughed then moved to start putting groceries away. Noticing it was still a little early she suggested, "How about we prepare everything, start the grill, then paint these rocks before it gets dark, then we can eat and maybe take a swim if it's not too late?" Arizona nodded stating she was thinking the same thing.
After changing their clothes and getting everything ready for dinner, Callie and Arizona set about laying out all the paint supplies while they waited for Sofia to change into an old shirt she could get paint on. Once they were all seated, Arizona and Sofia both reached for the same paint brush, neither wanting to give it up. Finally Sofia sat back and pounded her fist on the palm of her hand and said, "Rock, paper, scissors!" Arizona laughed and shook her head as she said, "You are so your father's kid." At the questioning look she received from both brunettes, Arizona explained, "Your dad and I were arguing over who had to…GOT to, who got the pleasure of spending Valentine's Day with you and he actually pulled me out of a patient room saying we were going to solve the problem like mature adults then slapped his fist on his hand just like that and said, 'Rock, paper scissors, best two out of three'." She smiled at the memory then shook her head and added, "He even had Jackson there to coach him and make sure I played fair." Callie laughed; she could almost picture it. Mark and Arizona were two of the most competitive people she knew. She also knew how desperate she and her wife were to spend a quiet evening alone together. Though she knew the outcome she asked, "Who won?" Arizona pursed her lips and raised her brow as if it were obvious, then answered "I did, well, Mark won because he got to spend the evening with Sofia, but I won too because I got to spend it with you." Callie laughed then leaned in and whispered, "Nice save." Arizona turned her head still thinking about the outcome of that evening, smiled lasciviously, and whispered, "Man did I win." Callie snorted and bumped her shoulder then handed over a different paint brush and said, "Here, let our kid have her brush." Arizona pouted then laughed as Sofia said, "I woulda won anyhow." Callie laughed too because in that moment, she also saw so much of Mark in their daughter.
They all painted rocks as Callie and Arizona regaled their daughter with funny PG stories of her father and answered questions about what he was like. When they were finished, they left the rocks to dry and cleaned up their mess then the two women sent their daughter in to wash up and change out of her paint shirt. Walking toward the house, Callie asked, "Do you think we talk about him enough?" Arizona thought about it for a moment and answered honestly, "I think we do now. When she was younger, she didn't know to ask questions, then she didn't know what questions to ask. We just keep doing what we are doing and tell her when she reminds us of her dad and answer the questions as they arise. It's really all we can do honey. When she's ready for more, she will ask." Callie thought about it for a minute and asked, "More like what?" Arizona didn't want to voice it, she didn't want to think about it any more than her girlfriend did but she answered, "Well, eventually she will want to know about his last days, right now she only knows he died because of the crash. She will also want to know why she has three parents when most of her friends only have two." Callie nodded, she knew that day would eventually come, she just hoped it wouldn't come too soon. Reaching out to link her fingers with Arizona's she answered, "Well, that one's easy, she was lucky." Arizona laughed and said, "She certainly was, but I think we were the lucky ones. We have one hell of a great kid Torres." Callie nodded in agreement and said, "That we do Robbins, that we do."
After putting the steaks and vegetables on the grill, Callie sat at the patio table with Arizona and sipped on the sangria slushie the blonde insisted she make. She closed her eyes as the fruity flavor lingered on her palate and said, "Mmm, okay, this was a really good idea. Almost as good as my treat from earlier, thanks for that by the way." She then leaned over and kissed Arizona's cheek. The blonde smiled and said, "Stopping was Sof's idea, she was so hot and sweaty when she got in the car and declared she was dying for a strawberry smoothie. I thought it sounded good and didn't want you to miss out, so we brought you a treat too." Callie smiled and linked their fingers together and murmured, "Thank you for thinking of me." As the two sat quietly watching their daughter in the yard, Callie thought about a question she had earlier and asked, "So when did you decide on looking at the building across from mine?" Arizona smiled and said, "I called Nicole on my way home that night. After talking about it for quite a while, we looked at a few other places on-line, but both agreed we would rather have a new facility that was designed to be a medical building than sink a bunch of money into an old one to bring it up to code." Callie laughed and asked, "So you weren't going to tell me?" Arizona nodded, "Actually I was, but things got so busy and before I knew it, I was signing the lease. Plus, I didn't want to get your hopes up just in case it fell through. Nicole was going to put up the deposit until the grant came through, but it got approved right away after I signed it, so there was no need." Callie nodded in understanding and said, "Well it was certainly a great surprise. So what's next?" Arizona laughed and said, "I was going to ask you that." Callie got up and walked to the grill, flipped the meat, and checked the vegetables then sat back down as she answered, "Well, now is the fun stuff. Hiring staff, ordering, PR. If you want, we can sit down after our meeting Monday morning and I can show you how I did things and you can decide from there what you want to do." Arizona smiled and said, "I'd like that very much. Anything that allows me to spend more time with you is a good idea." Callie leaned over and brushed their lips together and stood up pulling the blonde with her as she said, "Dinner's almost done, I'll set the table if you get the little one cleaned up and ready?" Arizona nodded and they went their separate ways.
After finishing dinner and cleaning up the kitchen and dining room, both women noticed their daughter was nearly sleepwalking and convinced her to go to bed promising to wake her up early for their outing. After goodnight kisses and half a page of a story, Callie closed the book and handed it to Arizona to put away while she pulled the covers over the sleeping little girl. Stepping out of the room, Arizona looked to Callie and saw the dark circles under her eyes indicating exactly how tired she was. Lifting her hand to brush her thumb over one of the dark spots she asked, "What do you say we turn in early as well? You look exhausted." Callie tilted her head and asked, "Are you tired?" Arizona smiled and nodded, "Actually I am and I'd like to just rest my leg for a while. I've been wearing this more than I normally wear my prosthetic and it's a little sore." Callie nodded in understanding then said, "Well, in that case…" She then bent down and scooped Arizona into her arms and finished, "Let's get you off your feet." Arizona squealed as Callie boosted her into the air and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth so as not to wake their sleeping daughter. Callie laughed at her and said, "I love that sound. It's so adorable." Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie's neck and bent down to kiss her then said, "And I love when you do this. HOT!" She then connected their lips once again making them both moan as their tongues slid together. Once they reached the bed, Callie carefully lay the blonde down and hovered above her then asked, "We aren't going to sleep any time soon are we?" Arizona reached up and cupped Callie's breasts through her t-shirt and shook her head saying, "Now that you mention it, I owe my girls a little one on one time." She then wrapped her fist in the soft material and pulled her girlfriend on top of her as she proceeded to get reacquainted with her other favorite part of Callie's body.
A/N: I know! I have no idea what has gotten into me. Okay, well an ear infection that kept me home from work, but still…
Thank you all so much for your reviews and encouragement to keep the story going. I hope this holds you over until Sunday.
Shonda is queen…everything belongs to her.