AN: I'm glad that some of you are liking Natalie; it was kind of the point lol. She wasn't created in my head for everyone to hate, technically there's nothing wrong with her at the moment and she really is sincere in wanting to date Arizona.
Thursday's episode was just, painful to watch lol. I had a feeling they were going to do something like that, but, hopefully that will set it up for a Calzona reunion. And I pray for more April/Jackson moments.
I kind of like to keep up with the pace of the show, so there are some moments that are the same in this story but tweaked a little bit to fit where I'm going.
She was…nice. Yeah that's a pretty general word for describing a new relationship, but it was true. Penny was nice. She was a doctor as well, so she understood the demands of the job. For the most part they got along pretty well. The two found themselves even finishing each other's sentences and thinking the same thoughts. Penny was soulful, definitely, and wasn't afraid to express what she was feeling in that very moment in time.
Penny also had beautiful eyes that Callie found herself just staring into for no reason at all. She could look into her eyes for a while. The relationship was new, definitely. But still, it was nice to finally meet someone that made her excited for the next day. And with the funk Callie found herself in lately with her ex, the new thing she was starting up with Penny was perfect timing.
Her and Arizona had been, definitely better since she night she made a fool of herself. So far there had been no arguments, no hostile glares from across the room. There had been a few mornings where the pair were caught at the coffee cart around the same time. Polite conversation, a couple of mentions of Sofia, and a clever joke about the weather by Callie had occurred. All in all, not bad for the two.
The Latina had even asked about the blonde's date that had occurred last weekend with the new neurosurgeon. Arizona said it had gone good, and that they had made plans for further outings. Callie smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically, even recommending some restaurants and events that were coming up in the Seattle area that the couple might be interested in. Arizona agreed to look into them, thanked her, and they dutifully made their way into the OR.
It still felt a little weird. Maybe it would always feel weird, but Callie had other things to worry about, other someones to concern herself with.
The fact was, she didn't feel…unhinged with Penny. The woman didn't make her question every truth Callie believed about herself, didn't make her feel like she was standing naked and alone in the middle of Time Square. When they were together Callie felt…safe. Safe was good. Safe was exactly what she needed.
"Hey Mer, what's your theory on introducing people you're dating to friends?"
The general surgeon glanced at her before directing eyes back to her phone. Callie snapped her fingers.
"Hellooooo? Anybody home?"
"No I'm here I just can't believe you think I'm the appropriate person to ask that question."
"I need your opinion."
"No one in this hospital has the credentials to answer that question."
"I want to introduce you guys to Penny, I think she could really fit in but I don't know if it's too soon."
Meredith shrugged, "Okay well if you think it might be too soon than just wait a little bit longer."
Callie groaned, "But I'm really excited about this. She's great and I want to show her off."
"I'm sorry, are you talking about a pony or a show dog?" Amelia asked, dropping her pager on the coffee table, plopping down next to her sister in law.
Meredith smirked, "Not sure yet."
Callie rolled her eyes, "My girlfriend Penny. I want us all to hang out but I'm wondering if it's too soon."
"Girlfriend? There's already a label involved?" Amelia asked, eyeing her slyly over her coffee cup.
The brunettes face paled. "So it is too soon?"
"Okay," Meredith started, standing up. "If you want to invite her out with us next time, then just invite her. If she ends up not cowering in fear for her life, than you'll know it was too soon."
"I second that."
"Thanks for the help," Callie answered dryly. "You know what, I'm just going to ask her."
Amelia snorted, "So you wanted our opinion just to not take it and do the easiest thing, which is to just freaking ask her?"
"When I'm with her Coldplay songs ring in my head, okay?!" She had noticed it after their first date, although she hadn't meant to admit that out loud. It was stupid, really, but she really did hear the musical stylings of the group playing in her head when around Penny. It was like her own personal soundtrack for the woman. There were a few times where she wondered if it was all too good to be true. That she would ever feel anything like this again.
Meredith eyed her friend warily, "What exactly are you talking about?"
Amelia shrugged, "I like Coldplay."
"I just don't think you two understand the gravity of the situation here…Penny is the first person I've dated that actually means something to me. I want to introduce her to my friends, who I consider family…And I want you guys to like her."
Meredith stood up, "Okay, you're right. Ask Penny if she would like to join one of our get togethers, and if she agrees…than we'll be nothing but welcoming and friendly." She looked at Amelia, who continued to stare off into space before Meredith raised her eyebrow and gestured to the Latina.
Amelia nodded, "Yep. I mean we have natural bitchy and inappropriate dispositions, but we can put that aside for a friend, right?"
"That's all I'm asking."
##
"So she freaked out because she thought that you wanted kids with Izzie, but not with her?"
"Pretty much," Alex shrugged. "She just didn't understand the situation that I was in."
"Huh," Arizona mused, scrubbing out. "Wow…that was a lifetime ago." If she closed her eyes and backtracked her mind far back enough, her and Callie had just started dating, barely having sex at that point.
"Who are you telling?" The two made their way out of the room. "You heading to the cafeteria?"
"Yep, I haven't eaten since breakfast. I'm so hungry I might eat my other leg."
Alex stared, "That was a horrible joke."
The blonde shrugged, giggling, "I'm working on some new material."
"Nothing about that is funny."
"Whatever, Natalie thinks I'm funny."
Alex smirked, "We're going to have to go out to Joe's again. Maybe that way you'll finally be able to tell me how it's been going." The two had barely spoken the past couple of weeks. Alex had been tied up with Jo and surgeries, and Arizona had been busy with Natalie and surgeries. Aside from her genuine and sweet pep talk to her prodigy, they hadn't had the chance to talk about anything else other than medicine.
"Sure, but no more tequila. I can't let you get me that drunk again," she agreed, reaching for a salad. She loved hanging out with her protégé and forgot what it was like to have fun, but that had been a hangover from hell.
"You got yourself drunk. But seriously though, how have the dates been?"
To sum it up, the dates had been…awesome. Like almost too good to be true. First date was at an intimate Tuscan restaurant in downtown Seattle. Over mouthwatering cuisine and deliciously expensive wine, Arizona had learned that Natalie had previously been working in D.C., taking over the brain mapping project by the strong reference of Derek.
"I didn't know you knew him like that," Arizona had said, somewhat surprised but at the same time not at all. The surgeon world, especially surgeons that were as published or as brilliant as they all were, was pretty small.
Natalie nodded, "Yeah when he was in New York we saw each other a lot. I was at Mass Gen and we were always battling for surgeries and the prestige on the East Coast. The past few years have been phone calls and emails, but yeah, I knew him. Addison too."
She learned that the reason the brunette left D.C. was because she found, after some time, the project boring, which was baffling.
"No offense, but I couldn't sit in a research lab day in and day out. After a while, it didn't make me happy anymore. I was itching to get back in an OR and it was literally driving me crazy…so I left."
"You never regretted it?"
Natalie shook her head, tracing the rim of her wine glass, "I made this promise to myself in med school to not regret anything...to never look back. I've lived by that my whole career."
"So…you just…don't look back?"
"I don't look back."
On their second date, at Dave and Buster's awesomely enough, Arizona also learned the story behind Natalie's scrub cap. It was an intricate pattern of jewel tones with elephants adorned all over. The woman had actually spent 3 months in India. She credited Eat, Pray, Love as her inspiration. She had volunteered in hospitals during her travels in that country, and the scrub cap was gifted to her by the staff of the last establishment before she went back to the States.
She also learned that the neurosurgeon had no kids, had never been married, although she was engaged once. Arizona thought it appropriate to change the subject after that. Natalie was close with her parents, who retired to Florida, and a brother who was a detective in Chicago. She had a niece and nephew, twins, who she absolutely adored and made no hesitation before whipping out her phone and swiping through adorable photos of the duo.
She laughed as Arizona told stories of Sofia growing up during the years; of how the child possessed the sassiness of Callie but the quirky mannerisms of herself. Natalie was especially entertained at the Mark/Arizona tales, and the blonde had to admit, co-parenting with Mark had definitely been a story to tell. It made her heart clench and swell at the same time.
The third date, on the other hand, Arizona learned different, more intimate things about the brunette. They were starting to come to a more…physical understanding of each other. Their kisses were explosive, their touches even more dangerous. Arizona knew that if she ran her tongue lightly along the back of her ear, Natalie would emit a husky groan, like a sweet, tortuous symphony. And Natalie figured out that the blonde would gasp erotically with just a gentle pull of the hair. Arizona was a fan of the other woman's soft pliant ass, Natalie was enamored with her boobs, cautiously but slyly always running her fingertips along the edges of her bra before going in for soft but dominant grasps.
Nevertheless, Arizona steal had not sealed the deal. They were adults, and if they wanted to sleep with each other, they damn well could. But Arizona had not been with another woman in what felt like forever. There were still insecurities and a large dose of anxiety about the whole thing; and so the two had teetered almost past second base before Natalie sensed her nervousness and chivalrously pulled away.
"It's okay," she assured the blonde one night, "I'm ready when you are."
The other woman was just…awesome. That's the only other way to describe it. And Arizona was happy and enjoying her time…finally.
"Dude!"
The blonde jerked, "What?!"
"You've been staring off into space for the last 5 minutes," Alex pointed out.
"Oh," she chuckled, "sorry…I was just thinking about this case that Cleveland con-"
He smirked, "Save it. I know what you were thinking about."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh. You were definitely day dreaming about Castro. You had your sex eyes."
She quirked her eyebrow, "And how would you know what my sex eyes look like?"
Alex raised his own, "I know what sex eyes look like in general. Please tell me you took it there already."
Arizona squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, scratching the back of her neck. "That's really none of your business."
The male surgeon eyed his friend/mentor. "So you didn't have sex."
"Alex!"
"There's no way you two had sex…second base maybe…but if you really had sex you would have no problem divulging that piece of information. Seriously? It's been like a decade in sex years!"
"Don't remind me," she grumbled, picking through her salad.
"Well what's the hold up? She's into you, like…really into you."
"I don't know," the blonde sighed, "she's great. She really is…but I guess I'm just, nervous or something. Like you said, it's been two years, and before that I was with the same woman for a lot longer."
He rubbed a comforting hand on her shoulder before reaching for his lunch, "You'll get there. A few more dates and you'll be good as new. Just think of it as…foreplay before the gigantic climax. Who knows, you might pass out or something."
"Okay, we're done talking about this."
"Hey I know what I'm talking about. I have a track record, you know," he said smugly.
Arizona smirked, "Yeah? So do I. I don't need help in that area; I just need to like…get there."
He shrugged, "Sounds like you need help."
"Shut up, Alex."
##
"Hey."
Callie looked up brightly from her phone. After two phone calls and a string of text messages throughout the day, she had convinced Penny to come with her to Meredith, Amelia, and Maggie's dinner party. The other woman had been freakishly nervous and resistant to the idea, but Callie had won and Penny was now coming to dinner.
"Hey, you going to the dinner party tonight?"
Arizona nodded, "Yeah, actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about. My neighbor's next door have a little girl who's having a slumber party and her parents wanted to know if Sofia could go. I said I was okay with it but I just wanted to check with you too."
"Oh right, I remember Sofia gushing about her new friend. If it's okay with you then I'm fine with it."
"Okay cool," the blonde grinned.
"I'm bringing Penny," Callie blurted out, her self conscious shaking its head.
There you go with the word vomit again.
"Ookayyy," Arizona trailed, "Is that like a brand of wine or something?"
"No," the Latina grimaced. "It's the woman that I'm dating. Her name's Penny."
"Oh, okay…?"
"I just wanted to let you know so you're not…I don't know, uncomfortable…or…something."
Arizona smiled, "I appreciate you letting me know before hand, but its okay."
"Okay," Callie nodded.
The blonde tilted her head, "You must really like her, to throw her to the wolves so soon." From what she gathered so far, everyone in their dysfunctional family was attending. She kind of felt a little bad for Callie's date. It was bound to be intimidating for her, being around that group of people. Maybe Penny felt just as nervous meeting her new girlfriend's ex-wife. The thought made Arizona feel a little better.
"I do. I really like her and I really think you would like her too," she explained, fiddling with her phone.
"It'll be fine, Callie," Arizona assured her, signing off on one of her post op patients.
"Right…So is Dr. Castro going to be coming?" she asked, leaning against the nurses station.
"No, one of her surgeries got a little dicey so she's staying here overnight to keep an eye on the patient," Arizona answered. That fact was even more disappointing than it had already been. Now that Callie was bringing her new girlfriend, Arizona wished that Natalie was coming to distract her from the weirdness of the situation bound to take place. Her ex-wife already looked nervous about the upcoming affair, and reassuring her that it would all be fine was the least she could do, but Arizona was now NOT looking forward to this dinner party. She made a mental note to buy an extra bottle of wine to bring with her.
"Oh, that's too bad," Callie commented nonchalantly, returning back to her phone, scrolling through already opened emails.
Arizona smirked, "Hey if I get to be in a room with Penny tonight the least you can do is make nice with Natalie. I really think you would like her," she emphasized, mirroring the brunette's previous statement.
Callie chuckled, "What? What makes you think I don't like her?"
A blonde eyebrow raised, "You paged neuro into your OR the other day and then sent her back out in exchange for Shepherd." Amelia had practically screamed at her in delight after during coffee. Although it was nice seeing everybody happy and laughing again, at her expense was not too pleasing. She felt even worse for Natalie, who genuinely enjoyed the hospital and admired the caliber of surgeons who surrounded her.
It wasn't fair to the other woman. And since they were…dating, then it was her responsibility to nip this in the bud with her ex-wife.
"That was…different. The patient was stable enough to wait and I feel more comfortable with Amelia."
"Mhm," she hummed. Callie sighed and looked up, preparing for an argument.
But she didn't get one. The blonde was looking at her, but not in anger. It was like she was…teasing her. Which was weird, considering that there had been no teasing in a very long time. Blue eyes that were usually blank or cold when pointed in her direction were now bright and free. If Arizona was okay with joking and talking, like friends, than who was she to disrupt the apple cart?
"Okay…I was being a brat," she gave in, following the other woman down the hall towards the elevator.
"Ya think," Arizona answered, pushing the button. "How about this: I'll give Penny a chance…if you give Natalie a chance. Deal?"
"I don't hate her."
"Yeah but you don't necessarily like her either."
"I just…I don't want you to get hurt," Callie said timidly. "And how do I know if she's good enough for you?" So she had been a little…bitchy towards the other woman. Every time she met Natalie in the lobby, or the cafeteria, or in a consult, or anywhere, she was usually short and direct before escaping, or…like the other day…simply kicking the neurosurgeon out of her presence. She interrogated the neurosurgeon about her surgical techniques and plan A's all the way to Z's. Natalie wasn't mean about it either, simply following Callie's lead. It made Callie mad, because from what she had seen, she had no reason not to like the other woman.
This elevator was not moving fast enough.
Arizona sighed and turned. This was the stuff that she absolutely hated. When they first separated, she could deal with the silence and fakeness more than this right now. At least before, there weren't conversations and overprotectiveness about other people in their lives. Arizona could just go on with her days convincing herself that Callie wasn't off falling for someone else. That there wasn't someone else loving Callie the way that she once did, or maybe better. That there wasn't someone else at all.
"Callie," she said gently, "You don't think those things cross my mind? All I ever wanted for you was to be happy. And…if Penny makes you happy, than that makes me happy, and I'll give her a chance."
"Ariz-"
"And Natalie makes me happy," she finished lightly, "so I'd really appreciate it if you'd get off her ass."
Callie exhaled abruptly, "Okay, you're right, I'm sorry. I'll be nice. Although, I'm not really on her ass."
The blonde rolled her eyes, "Yes you are." The doors opened finally and the pair made their way out towards the attending's lounge.
"I'm not!" she exclaimed. "I'm not on her ass, I barely think about her ass…I mean I noticed it one time and thought 'wow that's a great ass' but other than that there have been no thoughts about her ass or any other part of her boddyyy," she trailed realizing the blonde wasn't in step with her. She turned around slowly. Arizona was 6 steps behind her with a puzzled, mortified look on her face. Callie winced.
"Too soon?"
##
"Stop fidgeting."
"You stop fidgeting."
"How about we both stop fidgeting?"
"I need a drink," Arizona groaned. Thankfully April had decided to go to the dinner party too, so the pair decided to ride together. Arizona had gotten nervous all of a sudden on her way home from work, and that feeling had not gone away since. It wasn't like the first time, when Callie had been dating Heather. Arizona had been more worried than nervous then. Heather was nuts, and she didn't want Callie to be subjected to a steak knife, or any other pointy object. There really wasn't room for this feeling.
April was a constant mess since the situation with Jackson had not gotten any better. The redhead didn't know if Jackson was going, clearly hoping he would but not wanting to face another argument with words that she was not ready to hear, would ever be ready to hear. The two women were clearly frazzled at the moment.
"Okay, we can do this," April said, putting the car in park. She turned to her friend. "We are surgeons for god's sake, we hold lives in the palm of our hand on a daily basis, we bring people back from the dead. You freaking hold babies before they're even born. YOU. CAN. DO. THIS."
"I can do this," Arizona nodded, her eyes shooting in every direction. "Callie's involved, I'm involved, its fine. We're fine. I'm going to meet this-Penny character, who I'm sure is lovely, and we're going to have dinner with our friends, and it's going to be fine."
"Yeah, I mean why wouldn't it be? Callie has someone, and you have a smoking hot woman at the hospital right now saving temporal lobes or something as we speak." The two exited the car and slowly walked to the front door.
"You think she's smoking hot?" Arizona stopped, looking at her friend in confusion. Not once had she ever heard those words come out of the redhead in reference to a woman.
April shrugged, pulling on the lapels of her coat, "Well yeah. I mostly spend my time in the ER and making sad eyes at Jackson, and I don't even swing that way but even I've noticed how hot that woman is. And she seems like she really likes you."
"And you're just relieved that she's gay?" Arizona smirked.
The other woman nodded profusely, "Yeah that too."
The blonde chuckled, "Okay, let's just get this over with."
"You're going to be okay right?" April asked, hand paused in front of the door.
Arizona sighed before nodding and raising her own hand, ringing the doorbell.
"I am okay, and if for some reason I'm not, we have extra wine."
April looked at her puzzled before glancing at the bag in the blonde's tight fist, "Really? Because there's only-"
"If I start teetering towards the deep end there's another bottle in the backseat of your car," Arizona interrupted as they heard footsteps getting closer. She turned to her friend.
"Don't judge me."
