AN: Soooo it's come to my attention that some people really hate this fic lol. I've gotten numerous requests to untag Callie, and that's just not going to happen, sorry. I appreciate respectful comments on the subject, but I'm not going to do that just so I don't get rude reviews anymore. In my opinion, and I've been reading Calzona stories for years, there have been hundreds of other stories published that made Callie look a lot worse than I have. There have been other pairings that have been a lot more ridiculous (although I do love a good Arizona/Amelia pairing every now and then). There are some people that don't even want the two together anymore, which I find weird because they're still reading Calzona stories. Go figure.

Fact of the matter is, I don't care that Callie's bisexual, or that Arizona is a biphobe. That doesn't have anything to do with my writing process. It doesn't even cross my mind. Callie will get her turn, trust me.

Not gonna lie, I had Major Lazer's 'Powerful' playing in the background, and the last part of this chapter goes along with it perfectly. Pretty good song so if you haven't heard it yet, check it out.

Anyways, I think after this chapter and maybe the next one you'll start to see where I stand with the pairing. So I'll stop rambling, but before I do once again thanks so much for the kind words. They really keep me inspired.


Arizona paced anxiously on the catwalk, the click clack of her boots the only sound heard. It was dark already, and she really wanted to grab Sofia and get home. After showing her daughter the newest additions to her room, they were going to feast on spaghetti and popsicles. Bath time was next, followed by Hotel Transylvania on DVD. And if little miss didn't pass out by the end, a bedtime story.

But at this rate, it didn't look like she would be getting out of here anytime soon. Why would Bailey wait until the end of the work day to talk to her?

"Thanks for waiting Robbins, this will just be a second," Bailey said, breezing past her and unlocking her office.

"No offense Chief but we couldn't have talked about this earlier?" the blonde answered, following the shorter woman in and taking a seat across from the desk. Bailey snorted, removing her lab coat and placing it on the hook.

"We could have, but then you wouldn't be sitting here with that terrified look on your face."

She straightened up, "I-I'm not, terrified. I just don't know why this had to wait until now. I just wanted to get home and spend time with Sofia."

Terrified, ppfftt. Maybe a little, like, scared. But definitely not terrified.

Bailey sat down slowly in her chair, "Don't try and hide behind that little girl. You're nervous and look like you're about to cry." Arizona opened her mouth, "Robbins I have no time for the waterworks, I just thought we needed to discuss some things, just between me and you, without any eavesdroppers. We both know how things get around."

Arizona nodded, "Umm, okay. Soooo, what's up?"

The Chief of Surgery sighed, "Since I've been running things I've received 4 different calls from 4 different hospitals trying to figure out how they can whisk you away from here. And I know Hunt has gotten similar inquiries while he was Chief."

Really? This is what this meeting was about? "Bailey, I know, they've call-"

"And I know that you've turned them all down, for now. You're a brilliant surgeon and a wonderful teacher, I know these facts personally, and all those other hospitals know that and want that. I just want to know where your head is at. We can't lose you. I can't lose you, Arizona."

The blonde leaned back considerably more relaxed in her chair. Okay, so this wasn't how she initially thought this was going to go. But Bailey was looking at her, almost pleading, and she hadn't seen the woman like this since she wanted that surgery for Glenda Castillo. It was, weird, to say the least. But it showed just how serious Miranda was.

It wasn't like she didn't think about accepting those job offers. She thought about it each time she got a call. Arizona wasn't naïve; she knew she was in extreme high demand, partly because of her notoriety in pediatric surgery, her Carter Madison Grant, and the fact that Herman had spread the word about her great prodigy, essentially an extension of her own genius. She was being courted on almost a daily basis, and it felt good.

"Miranda," she started, "I would be lying if I said that they weren't generous offers. The gift baskets alone were pretty enticing, and it'd be pretty nice to win a Harper Avery… But you don't have anything to worry about, at least not any time soon. My life is here, I'm committed to this hospital. My daughter is here. I'm not just gonna pick up and leave. I won't do that to her."

"Is Sofia the only thing that's keeping you here?" Bailey asked.

"Absolutely," Arizona answered a split second later. "You think I wouldn't love to just pick up, start over, and never come back to this place? If it wasn't for Sofia, I would've already done that a long time ago. But," she wiped her hands on her jeans, "I'm still here, and if I decide to make a change, trust me Miranda, you'll be the first to know."

Bailey fiddled with her ring finger, "You think Torres would try to take Sofia away from you if you left?"

The blonde winced, "I don't know what she would or wouldn't do. And this isn't about Callie, it's about me." She knew deep down that the Latina wouldn't intentionally keep their daughter away from her. That wasn't Callie; that much she gave her ex credit for. But she was aware of the strong possibility of only getting holidays and/or summers. That wasn't enough, and Arizona refused to not have her daughter a mere 20 minutes away at all times. Sofia needed her, and her mother needed her, too.

"Okay, I'm going to trust you."

"Okay," Arizona repeated, standing up and adjusting the strap of her bag, "Are we good?"

"Not quite," Bailey said, standing up as well, preparing to leave for the night herself. "Don't think I didn't see what went on earlier, on the Peds Floor at that. You and Dr. Torres need to cut it out with the bickering. Like I told Dr. Castro, you both are heads of your department and board members. You can yell and scream and throw insults at each other somewhere else, not in this hospital."

"I know, and I'm sorry. She's just…" Arizona trailed, and then sighed. There was really no point. "You're right, it won't happen again."

"Please make sure it doesn't. I'll be sure to let Callie know that as well," the Chief nodded.

One more step and the blonde was home free; away from the authoritative nature of Miranda Bailey and towards Sofia and a night of mother/daughter bonding time. She meant what she said. Sofia was the only reason she was still at this cursed hospital.

"Oh Arizona one more thing."

You've got to be freaking kidding me.

"It took a lot of courting and negotiations to get Dr. Castro to Grey-Sloan; as of right now she's on a 3 month contract til I can convince her to extend. She's an outstanding surgeon in her field and will be an asset to us." She slid her jacket on, "Derek actually used to call her for advice and they worked together quite a bit when he was living on the East Coast."

Arizona raised both eyebrows, "Wow, that's impressive, I di-"

"But that ain't the point," Bailey interrupted.

She left the door open for the blonde to exit. Bailey quickly locked the door and they began their journey down the catwalk.

"The point is that she's an official member of the staff. I'm not going to act like I know or want to know what's going on with your personal business. But once again, she is a member of the staff, and so I'm asking you to treat her as such."

Everyone could smile, laugh, work, and act like everything was fine, but Miranda Bailey knew better. And she wasn't trying to be bossy or the Nazi. No, she was trying to save these damn people from themselves. Time didn't matter; they were all just as jaded as they were. Like before. Bound by their surgical brilliance, heavy emotions, and private parts.

Arizona blinked, stopping, "If you're insinuating that I can't be profess-"

"I'm not saying you can't." Bailey turned around and began walking backwards, "As a matter of fact you're one of the more professional doctors here."

"Okay then-"

"I'm saying, don't forget. I'm Bailey, I know everything."

##

Arizona did kind of forget. It was pretty difficult to get anything over on Bailey. But honestly, how was she supposed to know that goddess-from-the-bar Natalie was actually Dr. Natalie Castro, neurosurgeon extraordinaire? The blonde racked her brain from the night before, trying to remember any mention of being a doctor on either ends. Nope, I got nothing.

From what she could recall, they spent most of their meeting that night throwing compliments around, trading

embarrassing stories, and geeking out over World Wars 1 and 2. Completely innocent conversation. Not once were their jobs mentioned. For all she knew Natalie could be straight. Okay, definitely not straight. But the woman could have like a bajillion kids, some weird foot fetish, or just certifiably crazy. She rolled her eyes, watching the numbers go by in the elevator.

You have 1 kid, 1 leg, and an intern living with you. You've also survived a plane crash, a shooting, and a car crash. You also broke like a dozen HIPAA violations not too long ago. You're not that far off.

"Hey, I was hoping I'd see you again today." She was jerked from her thoughts by the hot doctor. Natalie was also in her street clothes, heading out for the night. She stepped into the elevator.

Arizona smiled, "Hey, how was your first day at Grey-Sloan? Ready to run for the hills?" It was a valid question, honestly. They both leaned against the far side of the elevator, facing each other.

The brunette laughed, "The exact opposite actually. I kind of hope I get paged later, unless you wanna grab dinner?"

I'm Bailey, I know everything.

"I would love to," she began, "But I can't. I actually have my daughter tonight."

"Oh Sofia's your daughter? I was wondering who Dr. Torres was talking about."

"Yeah, Sofia," Arizona added lamely. Did this elevator just get really slow all of a sudden?

Natalie smirked, taking a step forward, "You can talk about your daughter in front of me, Arizona. I like you, and I'd like to see you again. You could have 10 kids and I'd still want to take you to dinner."

"It's not that I don't want to talk about her," she answered, scuffing her boot against the floor and running her hand through her hair hastily. "It's just that…I know how weird it can get when dating someone with a kid and we just met last night for like 2 awesome seconds and now we're working together. Not that that's your fault, neither of us talked about our occupations. And I know it's a big hospital and everything but we're both surgeons which means we're on the surgical wing. And I know that it's your first day and you've probably heard everything about my li-" she was cut off by one soft finger resting on her lips.

"You're cute when you ramble," Natalie husked. "It's not weird. Like I said, it doesn't bother me. And you're right, people talk, a lot here, and I've heard things about you. But…I'd like to get to know you for myself. If you want me to."

Arizona swallowed. She wasn't quite sure if the woman was saying all the right things for the sake of having good game, but there was something so…genuine about her. Natalie was fresh and new, and apparently didn't care what she definitely heard about the blonde. She was actively pursuing her, that much Arizona was sure of. Why shouldn't she try?

"I…I want to know you too."

The brunette exhaled, beaming, "Okay good, because this makes what I'm about to do a lot less awkward." Arizona didn't even have a chance to react before she felt soft lips press gently against hers. The blonde froze briefly before reciprocating. It was weird, going so long without physical contact from an adult. Contact like this had been nonexistent for way too long. It was like symphony, really. Starting out slowly, tentatively.

Natalie curled her hand around her neck, thumb stroking a porcelain jaw. Arizona turned her head to the side, deepening the kiss. Her hand crawled up the brunette's hip to her ribs, slowly dragging it back down, her nails scratching gently. The blonde ran her other hand up her back, reaching the luscious hair of the other woman.

Alright, so this was inappropriate. And unprofessional. And the elevators were going to open any second. And Bailey was going to kill her. But Natalie kept on biting her lip before trailing her tongue around the blonde's mouth, with her hand reaching dangerously close to the fetal surgeon's ass. It was maddening, this feeling of being wanted by another person. It was too old of a feeling, but yet…so new.

They pulled apart just in time, the elevator dinging, signaling their destination. The two women giggled, hands reluctantly leaving each other's bodies.

"Stupid elevator," Natalie muttered, adjusting her shirt and straightening up her hair.

"Hey don't knock the elevator; you'll learn to love it, especially the slow ones." The doors opened, and because nothing in their lives was ever simple, there Callie Torres stood, holding her scrub cap in one hand and phone in the other.

She raised one eyebrow, "There you are. I went to daycare looking for Grey and Sofia was still there. You get tied up in surgery?"

Now you look like an even bigger stalker checking her schedule, dumbass.

Callie kept eye contact with the blonde. Arizona stepped out of the elevator, Natalie trailing behind her.

"I was just on my way to pick her up actually. Bailey wanted to see me about something," the blonde answered.

"Oh, okay. Dr. Castro, you enjoy your first day?" the Latina asked briskly.

Natalie smiled, "Yeah, I think I'm going to like it here."

"I bet," Callie trailed, looking between the two. "Okay well, have a good night. Arizona, don't forget its Sof's turn for snack time tomorrow."

"Got it," Arizona said as her ex stepped into the elevator. The doors closed and she was gone.

"I don't think she's gonna like me."

##

"I don't like her."

"Really? Amelia can't stop going on about her and I sat in on her surgery with Bailey. It was just a craniotomy but she seems pretty talented. I read up on a few of her surgeries that she's done. Did you know that-"

"She's inappropriate."

Meredith shrugged, "Okay, then she should fit right in."

"I mean, do we really need another surgeon with a big ego that flirts with everything that moves?"

"Do we even work at the same place?"

Tequila shots littered the bar, along with empty plates of demolished burgers and fries. Maggie was babysitting the kids, so Meredith and Callie decided to grab a late dinner, with tequila.

Callie shrugged, "I guess she just didn't make a good first impression on me, that's all."

"What happened? You didn't walk in on her going at it in an on call room, did you?" Meredith asked, munching on a left over fry. "Because that would be great, a little awkward for you, but great."

The Latina snorted into her shot glass, "Might as well have. She was all over Arizona in front of Bailey, and me." She cursed her friend in her head. She didn't get that far yet in her Arizona/Castro scenario.

"Seriously?" That didn't sound like Robbins.

"Okay maybe she wasn't all over Arizona. But they were looking at each other all ready to pounce. Apparently they had already met."

Meredith hummed. Alex had mentioned something about Arizona meeting a woman last night at this very establishment. She made a mental note to ask her person more about that subject later.

"That would explain why they were friendly. Why are you acting so offended? You both seem happy lately."

"I am," Callie started, running both hands through her hair. "It's been over for a long time. I just can't figure out why this is bothering me so much." It had been on the brunette's mind all day and literally driving her crazy. So she had gone to the daycare to drag Grey out with her to help push it out of her mind.

And then she met them in the elevator. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened in the metal box. Both women had been a little flushed. Arizona's eyes had darkened immensely, and she had that sexy look on her face. Callie knew that look. That look used to make her clothes just magically disappear more times than she would like to admit.

"I can answer that for you," Mer replied, grabbing fresh shot and scooting another one towards her friend. "You're jealous."

"I am not jealous!"

The blonde tossed the tequila back, "You're definitely jealous. And it could be because of 2 reasons. One, Dr. Castro is pretty hot, and you don't like that you had to physically see with your own two eyes another woman express open interest in Arizona. Which brings me to two, that apart of you doesn't want her to move on with someone else, because you still love her."

"That's…." Callie trailed. "Not true. Yes I will always love her, that's not going to change. But we can't go down that road again. That's not an option. I've moved on."

Meredith laughed, "Yeah if you say so. I'm just saying you need to figure out what exactly you're upset about." She shrugged, "I know that it was hard for me to see Derek with Addison, and even Rose. Which was because I still loved him and wanted to be with him. Not because of who he was with, but because those women weren't me."

"I get what you're saying, but that doesn't really apply. Arizona's dated already, I know she has." Mainly because she heard it through other people, but still, Callie knew that there had been other women.

"But you never saw anything. I'm sure it wasn't easy for her when she saw you sucking face with that crazy blonde chick," Meredith pointed out, ordering two more shots from Joe. He poured the clear liquid into two more glasses and brought them over. At this rate, the doctors were going to run him out of tequila by the end of the week.

"God she was crazy," Callie moaned. Both women tipped their tequila back.

"Maybe I did use all my happy up and now it's gone and there's just…this." Meredith turned her glass over while the other woman stared deeply into hers.

"Callie, your happy never left."

##

Arizona sat down tiredly in her new wingback chair, taking a long sip from her beer. "This day went on way too long."

Alex shrugged, "It wasn't that bad. After my first surgery I started feeling a little better. Better enough to be drinking this anyway," he raised his own bottle.

Sofia was knocked out in her room after their evening activities. After devouring their dinner, they took a walk, checking out the new neighborhood. One of Arizona's neighbors were actually surgeons at Seattle Pres and had a little girl of their own. After talking with the parents and Sofia playing with her new friend, they came back home and had bath time. The little brunette had passed out the first 20 minutes of the movie.

Alex had gotten off work a little later than expected and shown up at her front door with a 6 pack and $36.01.

"You still have a balance of $13.99," she mentioned.

He rolled his eyes, "You drank almost half of these."

"Okay, let's say 7 bucks flat then."

"Whatever."

Arizona giggled. It was too easy to annoy him sometimes.

"And my charts? Are those done?"

"There's a couple more," Alex smirked. "I'll have Edwards finish them in the morning."

She glared, "Cheater."

"Anyways, what made your day so long today, Dr. Robbins?"

"Well, Dr. Karev," the blonde started, "I had an easy first surgery, didn't have to lift a finger. But then I got paged 3 separate times for emergency pediatric surgeries because apparently you were 'backed up,' got into an argument in the actual pediatric wing with my ex-wife, got praised and scolded at the same time by Bailey, oh and the best part, the woman I met last night is the new neurosurgeon."

Alex barked with laughter, "Okay first of all, I was backed up. It's like every kid that came through the doors needed surgery. Because if that wasn't the case, I would've loved to hear about that last part!" He had heard there was a new surgeon, a Dr. Castro starting today. She was the first neurosurgeon hired since Derek had died, so it was kind of a big deal around the hospital. But from everything he had read Castro was an excellent surgeon.

"It's really not funny."

"It actually is. Wow that must have been a shock."

Arizona took another swig from her beer, "I can't believe you didn't see her today. She and Bailey operated on a kid this morning."

"I probably missed her," he shrugged.

"That's not even the best part. After you left with Sofia me and Callie were in the middle of an argument when they walked up."

"Holy crap," Alex mused. "That probably explains why Torres was so uptight in the OR today. I swear she was talking to herself." Not only was the ortho surgeon doing that, but in between the surgery he could feel her glaring at him from under her loupes.

"Probably figuring out the best way to decapitate me."

"Or decapitate Castro," he chuckled.

"Either way, it was awkward. And then me and Natalie were in the elevator at the end of the day and started making out. Then the doors opened, and poof there was Callie, again."

"Poof?"

"Poof."

"On second thought, she was probably figuring out how to decapitate both of you."

"That is…highly accurate," Arizona agreed. "She was just so, bitchy about it, too. It's none of her business who I see. Plus I just met Natalie last night; it doesn't mean that it's going anywhere."

"She's proba-"

"And she's being so, weird about it," she said, running a hand roughly through her blonde locks. "It's not like we just broke up or got divorced. She even got mad that me and you went out last night."

"Look you can see whoever the hell you want. You're a grownass woman who can make your own decisions." Alex had a pretty good idea why Torres was so pissy with the blonde, but he was going to sit on that thought for a little bit. "So how was the make out session? She blow your mind?"

Arizona chuckled, "Those elevators should be considered an aphrodisiac. And it was," she sighed, "awesome. It's been a long time since someone has kissed me like that. She already knows about Sofia, and probably Callie. Probably the leg, too. Aaannd, she wants to know me."

"Maybe just let her take you to dinner first," he joked. Arizona threw her coaster at him when the doorbell rang. They looked at each other questioningly. Alex stood up first and made his way to the door, Arizona behind him. He glanced through the peep hole before snorting. This should be good.

"Who is it?"

"You'll see," Alex muttered before opening the door. Callie was standing, well, leaning against the threshold. Arizona looked over her friend's shoulder, raising an eyebrow. Callie had that glazed over look and was swaying slightly. Yep, she was definitely drunk.

"Callie, what are you doing here?"

"I had to tell you something," the Latina slurred, tripping over her own feet. Alex rolled his eyes before looking down the driveway. There was a cab parked behind his car, with a head peeking out the window.

"I told her not to do it!" Meredith yelled.

"Sure you did!" Alex replied. "Pay the guy and get in here!" Meredith threw some money at the driver before getting out and stumbling into the house.

"I'm sorry, I know it's late and Sof is probably asleep." Arizona led Callie over to the living room and plopped her down on the couch. She rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen, grabbing two bottles of water. The blonde sat on the coffee table and thrust one bottle into her hands, "Here. Drink."

Callie grabbed it from her hands and after some difficulty, unscrewed the lid and took a sip. She winced, "Ew that's gross."

"Its water," Arizona deadpanned. "How much did you guys drink anyway?"

"Probably not as much as yyouuuuuu," Callie trailed, bopping her ex-wife on the nose. Meredith laughed as Alex dumped her onto the couch next to her drinking partner. The blonde stood up and handed the other bottle of water to Meredith.

She and Alex stood in front of the two drunks, arms folded across their chests.

"What do we do with them?" Arizona asked.

He shrugged, "I can take them home?"

"No!" Callie said. "I have to talk to you!"

"She really does," Meredith slurred, tipping sideways in the couch, water sloshing onto the carpet. Arizona closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

I do not need this right now.

She exhaled sharply before squaring her shoulders. "How about you just take Grey since it's on your way home? Callie can sleep on the couch and then I'll just call her a cab in the morning or drop her off, if I don't strangle her first."

Alex glanced at her, "Are you sure?"

"No, but go before I change my mind," she sighed. God only knew that the Latina had to tell her.

"Alright, let's go, Mer," Alex said, pulling her up from the couch and hoisting her onto his shoulder. "You better not throw up on me."

"Bbbyyeeee," the general surgeon laughed, her hair covering her face while waving her hand. Alex opened the front door, closing it quietly behind him. Callie remained on the couch, laughing hysterically. Arizona went to a closet in the hallway and grabbed a pillow and blanket. She came back to the living room and set the items on the couch.

"Your house is nice," Callie commented, her head hanging almost upside down over the arm of the couch. "How come I've never been here before?"

Arizona rolled her eyes and sat back on the coffee table before pulling the brunette's boots off her feet, "Because I just moved in."

"Hmmm." She sat up suddenly, watching the blonde's movements. "I'm not jealous."

"What?" Arizona asked, setting the shoes aside and quickly removing Callie's leather jacket and throwing it on the other end of the L-shaped couch.

Callie leaned forward, "I'm not jealous of what's her nuts. Ummm….shit-"

"Dr. Castro," the blonde corrected. "Why would I think that?"

"Because I acted like it," she burped noisily, "and I've been an asshole all day because of it. But I'm not."

"You're not?" Arizona grabbed the items from the chair and set them accordingly before sitting back on the table. She began removing the other woman's earrings and necklace. Her ex-wife slept like a madwoman, her jewelry would definitely fall off in the middle of the night.

"I. Am. Not," Callie declared triumphantly before sighing sadly, emotions swirling behind chocolate eyes. "It's just hard…"

"What's hard?" Girl shut up, let her sleep it off.

The Latina shrugged, scooting closer and running her hand up the other woman's arm before gripping a forearm.

"What's hard, Callie," Arizona asked again quietly. The brunette's hand was like a hot brand on her skin. It had been so long since she had physical contact with Callie, but yet, so familiar. Yep, this too was not going how she thought it was going to go.

Callie closed her eyes and leaned forward all the way, resting her forehead against the blonde's. "Seeing you…with her. And I know I shouldn't," she looked up and smiled sadly into cerulean eyes that still made her heart beat faster and slower at the same time. "But…it still hurts, you know?" A small tear had formed in the corner of her eye before slowly trickling down onto a tan face.

Arizona inhaled deeply, she just couldn't help herself. She wiped the tear away with her thumb gently before putting her hand on the brunette's chest, feeling a slightly elevated heart rate. The blonde pushed slightly, settling her drunk ex-wife back into the couch cushion. She picked up her legs next, laying her horizontal, Callie never leaving the fetal surgeon's face. Arizona grabbed the blanket and unfolded it before draping it across the Latina's body.

She turned and was about to walk into her room to contemplate what the fuck had just happened when she felt Callie grab her arm. Tears were already threatening to spill down porcelain cheeks, so she squeezed her eyes tightly before opening them. She looked back reluctantly.

She knew that most likely Callie wouldn't remember this at all. Tequila and God knows what else she drank would cloud it all, leaving the brunette with a parting gift of nausea and a killer headache. She also knew that this would probably never be spoken about again, and that they would continue their days with awkward silences and arguments, throwing back and swallowing their bitter pills.

But this, the emotion and feelings swirling around them, this would always be chasing them. All the words that couldn't be expressed they somehow both knew in that moment.

"You know?" Callie asked quietly.

Arizona nodded, staring into brown eyes that used to encompass her whole world. Maybe always would.

"I know."


Annnyyybody smell what I'm stepping in?