AN: Wow the number of kind words, follows, and favorites that I've received has been unreal, so thank you so much to all who love it and had something nice to say. Like I said before, this is my interpretation and how I've imagined it in my head, so I'm going to continue to write it as such. I know some thought I made Arizona come off like a dumbass, and of course I did, she's drunk! That's what you do when you're wasted with your friends, you do stupid shit and say things that would normally be halted by a filter. As far as Callie goes, I love her. I've loved her since season 2. Yeah Arizona is definitely my favorite character, but Callie is a close second. So I definitely have a lot of Callie moments planned too.
I've also considered possibly switching it up and writing more from the character's POV. What do you guys think? Input would be greatly appreciated.
This is a story that I've thought long and hard about, it's taken me months to even think about writing it. It's starting out slow at the moment, so the next couple of chapters are going to be pretty close together in time, but I'll start moving a bit forward soon. I'm not gonna drag it on for a ridiculous amount of chapters.
Spinning. Everything was spinning and there was nothing she could do about it.
She was done contemplating and decided that, chyeah, getting wasted might have been a bad idea last night. Her shower had made her feel a little bit better, but the blonde still felt pretty rough.
It had been a chaotic morning to say the least. Arizona woke up to a wood pecker at work inside her head and Alex sprawled out on the couch with his head hanging off the end. Deluca seemed to have slipped out earlier in the morning for early morning rounds, but she did find her daughter's comforter hastily made, and she could have sworn she saw drool on the pillows.
I'm gonna have to wash that when I get home.
On top of that, they had only an hour to get their shit together and make it to the hospital in time for their surgeries. There was a board meeting or something that had taken place first thing before rounds, but Arizona had been excused by Bailey earlier this week thank god. She also thanked God for the coffee in her hand right now as she strolled into the lobby. Alex trudged next to her, his hair ruffled and scowling a lot more than usual.
"How bad of an idea was it getting that sloshed last night?"
"I'm gonna go with, pretty bad," he answered as they entered the elevator. "At least you scored that chick's number though, right?"
Arizona smirked, "That I did, Dr. Karev. Don't think I forgot you owe me 50 bucks." They stepped off the elevator and walked to the nurses' station.
"Wow, you guys look like shit." Amelia Shepherd was seated at one of the computers, her signature devious smirk on her face. "Long night?"
"Too long," they answered. Alex bid his goodbyes gruffly before slowly making his way to the locker room.
"Yeah, I don't miss that feeling," the neurosurgeon said, standing up. "Are you going to be okay in the OR?"
Arizona nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine after I finish my coffee. Did you hear anything from Meredith about that board meeting earlier?"
Shepherd shrugged, "Just budget updates I think is what Mer was telling me. I got here a few minutes after her to show Dr. Castro, our new neurosurgeon around and finish up some last minute scheduling and by the time we were done everyone was filing out of the boardroom."
"Oh good, that'll be nice to have another surgeon in your department." Amelia had been running herself into the ground with work surgeries. Arizona knew at first it was to keep herself busy so that she wouldn't miss her brother so much. The blonde knew that feeling too well. But Amelia had been doing better lately.
The brunette nodded, "Yeah, it'll get all the other assholes in my department off my back. As if they do anything more than clipping aneurysms."
Arizona laughed, "Well they can't all be you, Dr. Shepherd. I'll see you in the OR, I'm just gonna change real quick and pop into the patient's room."
Amelia was resecting a huge tumor from Rhonda Davidson who also happened to be 23 weeks pregnant. Arizona was just going to be there, monitoring the baby, and if things got dicey, deliver the baby. She was lucky that Shepherd was brilliant.
"See you in there. Oh by the way, Bailey was looking for you earlier."
Great, just what I need, the Nazi.
##
"Are you sure you're okay? You look like you're high, and I know what high looks like."
Arizona groaned, "My head is killing me. I drank way too much last night." Fortunately, she didn't have to do a thing in surgery, the baby stayed stable throughout the whole thing. Amelia was confident that she got the whole tumor, and they were going to let Rhonda's husband know that everything was great. All's well that end's well.
Shepherd smirked while scrubbing out, "That's not like you. Was there a birthday or celebration that I missed out on?"
"No, Alex put together Sofia's new bookshelf and wanted repayment in the form of boy's night at Joe's. Deluca joined us too."
Amelia laughed, "That explains why he looked so green this morning. You're definitely looking better than him at least." She glanced in her direction before doing a double take.
"Yeah I got a little-"
"What is that?" she asked, drying her hands.
"What is what?" she looked around the scrub room.
Amelia threw her towel in the hamper and pointed at her arm, "THAT."
The blonde took her foot off the faucet and glanced down. She looked up the smiled sheepishly, "Ummm…" Natalie's number was still imprinted into her fair skin, although faintly, due to the shower and two scrub ins she did today. But none the less, not faint enough for the neurosurgeon to notice.
"Herman was right, you're a dirty, dirty girl!"
Arizona rolled her eyes, "It's really not that big of a deal." She nudged open the door, Shepherd hot on her heels.
"It is a big deal! She was probably hot as hell wasn't she? Don't you want to write that down or something?"
She sighed, "Yes, she was absolutely gorgeous. And there's no need, she put her number in my phone too."
Amelia chuckled, "Wow, you must have made one heck of an impression on her."
The doctor's memory was still a bit hazy about last night, but one thing she did remember was the absolute sexiness of the woman she had met. Not only was she pleasing to look at, but they actually had great conversation. Arizona was impressed she was even able to speak to the brunette without slurring her speech or stuttering, and even though she woke up this morning with a raging hangover, she was glad she met her.
Arizona shrugged, removing her scrub cap and stuffing it into her pocket, "I guess so. I didn't make an ass of myself. Although I did tell her I liked her face," she winced. That part might not have been so smooth, but apparently it worked.
Shepherd busted out laughing, signing off on Rhonda's chart before handing it to a nurse. "If a guy said that he'd look like a complete idiot and get no number, maybe a drink thrown in his face. But when you say it, it's all adorable and suave, and they're eating out of the palm of your hand."
Arizona chuckled bashfully, "I don't really think it was like that. Karev made a bet with me that I couldn't get her number. I was determined." Her pager went off at her hip. A page from Dr. Torres to the pediatric floor. She looked up at the neurosurgeon in acknowledgement and made her way to the elevator, "You'll tell the family everything went good?"
Amelia nodded before calling out, "So you're NOT gonna call her?!"
The blonde smirked, "Oh I'm definitely calling her."
I think.
##
Callie sighed, hoisting the little girl into her arms, "Sofia, it's okay baby. It won't even hurt."
"NONONONONO, I DON'T WANNA SHOTTTT," she wailed, tears streaming down her face.
"Sweetie you have to. I don't want you to get sick. It's to keep you healthy," she reasoned.
The girl sniffled, "You promise it won't hurt?"
"Just a little pinch, I promise," Callie answered, looking into big brown eyes so similar to her own.
"I want Mama, too."
"Mama's coming, she should be here any minute," she said, looking around the wing for any sign of her ex wife. The Latina received a call this morning from one of the nurses of the Peds Ward, informing her that Sofia was due for her booster shot. It had apparently slipped both mothers' minds, and the little girl absolutely hated shots. Her reactions to them were similar to her blonde mother's. Every time Arizona got her annual flu or pneumonia vaccines, Callie always had to hold the blondes hand and then feed her doughnuts for the rest of the day.
It was funny how much of a kid Arizona could be. Callie didn't mind though, it was second to the cutest thing she'd ever seen. First being when she cried when she got mad at people of authority.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" a voice said behind them. Speaking of Arizona.
"Sofia's due for her booster shot," Callie stated, motioning to the still upset little girl in her arms.
"Mama!" Sofia exclaimed, her little arms already reaching out for the other woman.
Arizona took the girl carefully from her ex wife's arms and wiped the stray tears from her face, "Oh come on Sof, we already talked about this. You need to get these shots. I thought you were a big girl, huh?" Sofia was twirling blonde hair between her fingers before looking up defiantly.
"I am a big girl!"
"I don't see any big girls around," Karev joked, walking up to them. He was met with glares from the two doctors, and a giggle from the little one. She raised her little hand, "Me!"
Alex flinched, "Oh there you are! You know, only big girls can get this shot. And after, you get a sticker AND whatever candy you want."
"Not too much candy," the mothers said in unison.
"Can you give me my shot, Uncle Alex?" Sofia asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes. The little girl had grown smitten with the male surgeon when Arizona had been living with him. As far as her young mind was concerned, Alex was the coolest thing around. And he was quite fond of her as well. There wasn't a single person in this hospital that wasn't fond of Sofia Robbins Sloan Torres.
"You're in luck, Miss Sofia. I have a little bit of time before me and your Mami have surgery," Alex answered. "We just got some new stickers in too; you'll be the first to get their hands on one." Arizona set the girl on the floor, and she immediately latched onto his hand.
"Okay, let's go!" she began dragging him down the hall.
Callie chuckled, "You don't want us to come with you?" It was a pointless question, really. Sofia loved Alex and the thought of hanging out with him with her moms tagging embarrassed her already. Callie didn't even want to think about the tough teenage years they had ahead of them.
"Nope, I'm a big girl," Sofia threw over her shoulder. Arizona snorted. There was way too much personality in their daughter already. Some days that little face was the only thing that got her up in the morning, that made her laugh, that made her function.
"I'll drop her back off at daycare when we're done," Alex said.
"Bye, mommies!"
"Bye!" they both yelled.
"Alex don't forget my charts or my money!" Arizona tossed in last second. He threw up hand up lazily before disappearing around the corner.
Callie looked at her, "Karev's doing your charts?"
Arizona nodded casually, grabbing a tablet from behind the desk and flipping through it. She didn't need to look anything up; she just needed to be doing something with her hands and eyes. The blonde found that doing that helped immensely when around her ex-wife. Less eye contact, and usually if she looked busy enough Callie would just leave her alone.
"Yeah, we made a friendly wager at Joe's last night and he ended up on the losing side."
The brunette narrowed her eyes, "Joe's? I thought Alex was helping you with Sofia's bookshelf?"
"He did, and then we went to the bar and had a couple of drinks. Dr. Deluca ended up joining us later," Arizona stated. It was more than a couple, but her ex wife didn't need to know that particular detail.
"Oh," Callie blinked, "I guess it didn't take that long to put the shelf together if you had enough time to go to Joe's."
This time she had to look up to meet the woman's stare. The brunette's voice was laced with passive aggressive insinuation. The blonde narrowed her eyes, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," she replied briskly. "I just figured you wanted me to take Sofia because it was going to take awhile. I didn't know you were going to get wasted at the bar."
Oh no, this is not how this is going to go, Arizona thought. She set the tablet back into its dock roughly before turning to the other woman, "And what makes you think we got wasted?" The ortho surgeon wasn't wrong. In fact, she was right on the money. But Arizona wasn't going to tell Callie that.
"I saw Karev's car still parked outside of Joe's this morning on my way in. I'm assuming you two got too drunk and had to take a cab home." Grrreaat. Now you look like an obsessive stalker ex wife.
The blonde surgeon scoffed, "So you already knew I must have been at Joe's, and yet acted surprised when I just told you I went there. Were you trying to see if I was going to lie or something?"
"No." Yes.
"Really, because it kind of sounds like you did. I asked you if it was okay if you took her last night and you said it was."
Callie rolled her eyes, "It sounds like you're overreacting. It's fine." This is not your problem, Torres.
"I don't like you insinuating that I don't want to spend time with my daughter," Arizona shot back.
"That's not what I was saying!" Callie exclaimed. "I was just a little surprised that you guys went out." Shut up, shut up now.
"You think it's surprising that I would go out and have a social life? That I have friends? Could you be any more insulting?" Arizona really didn't think she could at this point. It was pathetic that this was probably the longest conversation they've had in a year and a half. A casual conversation that turned into an argument in about 2 seconds with an 'Oh' attached to it.
Callie snorted, "I'm being insulting? You're the one that started this-"
"And this is Dr. Torres and Dr. Robbins, they're heads of their department, as well as sitting board members," the unmistakable voice of Chief Bailey interrupted. Arizona closed her eyes and mentally groaned. Great, just great. Bailey already needed to talk to her about something, and now she was probably going to get an earful about inappropriate behavior.
Because nobody brought their personal business into the professional spectrum. It was pretty much mandatory if you worked at Grey-Sloan Memorial.
"Ladies, this is Dr. Castro, our new neurosurgeon. We were just checking in on our MVC patient from this morning."
Arizona reluctantly turned around. She wasn't going to look like a rude asshole just because Callie wanted to be. But her friendly grin turned into complete shock. Her eyes bulged out of her head at the sight of Dr. Natalie Castro standing next to the Chief of Surgery and across from her ex wife. She wanted to pinch herself, but she was pretty sure what she was seeing was actually real. She also wanted to laugh, because this was just too ridiculous but yet too believable.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY?
Callie smiled, "Dr. Torres, welcome to Grey-Sloan. We're happy to have you," she stepped forward and stuck her hand out.
Natalie shook her hand firmly, "Likewise. I've heard great things about your cartilage research and the veteran's project you're working on."
Dr. Castro turned her attention to the blonde, who had been on her mind way too much than what was normal, "Dr. Robbins, nice to see you again." It was professional and platonic to the chief and ortho surgeon, but Arizona caught the glint in her eye. It was like last night; the two couldn't help but stare at each other. The neurosurgeon's poker face was apparently way better than hers. The lingering handshake, on the other hand, might've given them away.
Due to the fact that the fetal surgeon could literally feel her Callie's gaze burning a hole into her temple.
"Oh, you two have already met?" Bailey asked.
Arizona nodded, her stellar smile on display, "Yeah, yeah we met… earlier." Which wasn't really a lie.
"Yeah, we met briefly before I got paged to the ER this morning," Natalie added. Which wasn't really a lie either.
"Okay, good then. What are you two doing up here anyways? Torres don't you have surgery soon?" Bailey turned her attention to the Head of Ortho.
"Yeah, I do. We just came up here because Sofia is due for her booster shot, she was upset about it at first but Dr. Karev offered to do it before our surgery, so apparently we are no longer needed," Callie chuckled. "Anyways, I'm heading down to the OR floor now. I'll see you around, Dr. Castro, Chief." She turned on her heel and began making her way to the elevator.
She pressed the button before glancing back. "Dr. Robbins, you'll be taking Sofia tonight?" The brunette asked innocently.
Arizona nodded slowly with a smile on her face and steel in her eyes, "Of course, Dr. Torres." The elevator door opened and she was gone. Inside the blonde was seething. Callie Torres was the only person in the entire world who could make Arizona this angry. Callie's friendliness made her angry. Callie's passive aggressiveness made her angry. Her plastered fake smile made her especially angry.
The Latina made her bloodstream hot instantly. Before Arizona considered it in a good thing, passionate, but not anymore. The good heat for one Callie Torres had long burned out, and all that was left was a big iceberg. Well, maybe just a medium one. They did share a life together at one point.
Bailey looked on at the exchange between the two women. Here she was, the new Chief of Surgery, trying to run a hospital for God's sake, and these two fools were acting like immature teenagers. She did not have time for this nonsense. Another issue she would have to address.
The ringing of a pager broke the two women from their thoughts.
Natalie read the pager from her waistband. "911 from the ER, again. Chief, it was a pleasure scrubbing in with you today. Dr. Robbins, I will definitely see you around," she grinned before running to the stairs.
Bailey turned her attention to the blonde, who all of a sudden found the extra insurance forms sitting on the nurses' station very interesting. The shorter woman's eyes narrowed, "Dr. Robbins."
Arizona looked up nonchalantly, "Chief? You need me for something?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Meet me in my office before you leave here today. We have a few… things, to discuss."
"Oh it's my turn with Sofia tonight, Alex and I finished putting together a new-"
"This won't take long, Robbins. Just stop by before you pick her up," Bailey answered quickly before making her way to the elevators.
Arizona groaned before making her way to the practice lab. She had a couple of hours before she was due back in surgery, and there were a couple of new techniques she had been tossing back and forth in her mind. Just another couple weeks of testing and Arizona would update her paper and hopefully publish it in a few months. Then she had to return some calls about consults and the like. So far today her voicemail had been left with messages from Cleveland Clinic, Mass Gen, Johns Hopkins, AND Jackson Memorial.
This right here, her career, this she could control. Arizona would not lose this.
##
Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid. STUPID.
"Dude, are you talking to yourself?" Alex asked, looking up Kate Monaghan's liver bleed. It had been a weird first hour of surgery. The patient had taken a fall off her horse. The accident had caused a minor liver bleed but a major broken elbow. Torres had met him in the scrub room, tore open her package of soap just a little too roughly, and began scrubbing her hands and arms with even more gusto. Voice sharp, moves sure.
This was good, typical for a surgeon, but the surgeons that occupied this hospital didn't do typical.
Callie shook her head defiantly, "Um no." She refused to meet his gaze. If you knew the Latina you knew that her eyes gave everything away. Arizona used to tell her that all the time. Not one emotion, whether real or fake, could be hidden by her eyes.
That was a lie. It was a task in med school that she learned to master eventually.
Callie could school her expression to portray anything to anybody really, but not when it came to things that truly mattered. This was one of them, and she didn't want to divulge this to anybody.
"Whatever, you were definitely talking to yourself."
She sighed. Arguing with Arizona left a bad taste in her mouth, in her gut, in her soul. Always had, always will. But the nerve of this… Dr. Castro, to blatantly compliment her, and then shoot bedroom eyes at the blonde, in front of the Chief of Surgery. It was, unsettling. That's what she was feeling, unsettled, and a little pissed off at the argument that had transpired briefly between the two women.
Why couldn't they just… get along? Because you love each other so much that you hate each other…? Callie blinked, her breath quickening. That couldn't be it, could it? They had been over for some time now. Had their own places, Sofia was on a schedule. Both of them had dated others. They had moved on. It was just inappropriate, that's what it was. That love was… gone.
It was just a bad day. That's right. Sofia had been cranky as hell this morning, her coffee had sucked, the board meeting almost put her to sleep, and Arizona was being a jerk. It was just one stupid day. Tomorrow would be better. She had to believe that.
"You about done, Karev?" The sooner Alex got out of here, the less she would think about his mentor/friend.
"Yep, everything looks clean. Edwards, you can close up for me?" Alex asked.
The resident looked at him, one eyebrow raised, "Did you really just ask me that?"
"Well, considering you're a resident and I'm your attending, yeah, I just asked you that," he answered before stepping away from the table and making his way to the scrub room. "And when you get done closing you can finish up the rest of those charts I gave you earlier."
"Seriously?! Those aren't even your charts!"
