The First Time Ever chapter ten

Hi guys! Thank you so much for your lovely reviews. I've had major writer's block for these recent chapters. I tried to make the whole 'Callie's dad' ordeal similar to how it happened on the show, but not the exact same. Please let me know (constructively) if there is anything I can do to improve. Also, please enjoy!

CALLIE'S POV

The shrill ringing of a cell phone was not the way that I had planned to wake up this morning. Groaning loudly, I opened my eyes and listened for the direction from which the ringing came. Realising that it was right next to me on the bedside table I picked it up, smiling when I saw Arizona's name and picture flash across the screen. Her contact picture was one of her, as she was dancing around the apartment. She had looked so happy, so I had snapped the picture quickly without her noticing.

"Hey babe." I answered, clearing my throat to get rid of the thick layer of tiredness that laced my voice.

"Hey you." She replied, and from behind her I could hear the familiar sounds of the busy hospital. "It's nice to hear your voice." She said sweetly. "Oh, shut up, you." She whispered to someone. "Sorry, Teddy's fake gagging." She said which made me laugh. "I just called to make sure you woke up. Your shift starts in two hours." She told me, making me glance at the alarm clock and realise it was indeed 9:00am.

"Yeah, I'm awake. Thank you for checking." I thanked her. After a few more words and 'I love you's, I hung up and began the process of getting ready for a day at the hospital. Once I was fully dressed I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and applied a light layer of makeup. I downed a cup of coffee before I found myself with half an hour before I needed to leave and nothing to do with it. Time was the last thing I needed right now, because it made it impossible to avoid thinking about what had happened yesterday. I didn't want to ponder over the fact that my own father had told me to go to Hell.

I suppose Arizona did have a point, I admitted to myself as I sat on the edge of the bed and stared blankly at the wall opposite. She had pointed out that I shouldn't have expected him to just gladly accept it straight away, because I was the one, after thirty years of appearing straight and dating men, who had changed the game. Although she had agreed with me that that didn't make what he said called for, she had encouraged me to calm down slightly and try to talk to him more rationally.

However, it scared the crap out of me. It could either go extremely well or be a royal disaster, and I didn't think I could bring myself to face up to the latter. But Arizona was right, yet again. I had to talk to him. I smiled to myself, thinking about the blonde haired beauty that so often spoke with wisdom. She was right and she was awesome.

I stumbled to my feet ten minutes later, resigning myself to the fact that I couldn't put it off any longer. Surely I wasn't going to call it quits now, after one argument, was I? No, I wasn't.

"Torres! I spoke to blondie, you okay?" Mark asked in concern as he approached me later that day. I hadn't seen any sign of my father at the hospital today so I assumed he was at his hotel, which was where I would be heading once my shift ended.

"You know Arizona hates you calling her 'blondie'." I pointed out, remembering with a smile the time Arizona had struck Mark over the back of the head with a medical journal because he refused to let the nickname go.

He shrugged my comment off. "Eh, what can I say? It sticks." He said, before turning more serious. "But are you okay though?"

I smiled forcefully. "I'll be okay. I'm going to try and talk to him. I mean, I was the one who changed things after thirty years. I could have at least expected him to act a little irrationally. Maybe not to the scale that he did, but I need to try and talk to him at the very least."

Mark looked shocked for a moment, letting out a slow whistle. "Blondie's changed you, Torres."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Definitely not." He said firmly. "She makes you happy. It's the least you deserve after all of the crap you've been through." He said softly, walking away quickly, leaving me standing there with a smile on my face. Mark rarely ever showed his soft side but when he did he was a genuinely kind hearted person.

The day passed without any major events or complications. After a simple lunch in the cafeteria with Arizona my mood was drastically improved, which was definitely saying something. As I exited the hospital hand in hand with Arizona, ready to make my way to his hotel with Arizona insisting she'd stay in the car to give us time to talk, the last sight I expected to see was the one and only Carlos Torres standing in the main entrance talking to Chief Webber.

"Dad?" I called out to him. He whipped around to face me, his expression softening immediately. Arizona stood there awkwardly before Webber pitched in.

"Dr Robbins, do you have a moment to discuss the Johnson case?" He asked and Arizona nodded, even though I knew that the Johnson case didn't exist. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and whispered 'good luck' in my ear before walking away. Once they were gone I turned to face my father.

"I don't want to argue." He said to start off with, walking up to me and taking my by the shoulders. "I just… I have to catch you."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

I have to catch you." He repeated. "Your whole life, you've always been on a bridge, Calliope. Ever since you were a little girl and you don't just walk on it, either. No, you climb on the railing and you're ready to leap, and when you do, when that happens, I have to be there. I have to catch you."

I shook my head. "You don't have to catch me, dad."

"Yes, I do." He said insistently. "It's my job." He said softly and I found my tense and angry demeanour melting away as a smile played at my lips. "Listen, if this works out, between you and Arizona… Would you, um, give your mother a wedding?" He asked. The image of Arizona and I standing at the altar immediately flashed across my mind and it made me extremely happy to think of the possibility that that might one day come true.

"If Arizona wanted to spend the rest of her life with me? Then yeah… I'd put on a big white dress and dance down the aisle."

"And what about grandkids?"

I smiled further. A mini Arizona running around… "Yes, I would imagine, when the time came, there would be kids." I nodded.

He scrutinised me for a second, looking at me with a smile forming on his face. My heart was already beating really fast.

"Does she make you happy?" He asked eventually, bringing the smile on my face to the biggest it had been all day. Arizona made me happier than I could ever imagine.

"Yes, dad. She makes me very happy." I said with a smile. I felt happiness swelling up in my chest like a balloon threatening to burst at any moment. I pulled him into a tight hug, happy to have my dad back on my side. "I love you, you know that?"

He pulled back suddenly, a blank look on his face. "She's not a vegetarian, is she?" He asked deadly seriously, making me laugh. "Because I don't know how much more of this I can take."

I laughed out loud, pulling him back into the hug. "She's not a vegetarian." I assured him.

"I feel very old." He said, with a chuckle and I joined in with him, feeling unbelievably happy that he had come round. "Now." He said as he pulled back. "You need to keep hold of Arizona. She showed up at my hotel room at seven am this morning and gave me this whole speech on honour and love… That's the kind of person you need to keep around."

"She did?" I asked in shock, my love for the woman standing inside the hospital growing at least seventeen times, just when I thought I couldn't love her any more.

"She did. And now I would quite like to meet her, since we haven't exactly done that very well."

I smiled and lead him into the hospital. When I didn't see Arizona there I could only assume that she had headed back up to the peds ward, and that was where I headed next. I smiled when I saw her sitting on one of the chairs in the hall with her three year old patient, Sophie on her lap. They were reading a book that I couldn't recognise from where I stood and Sophie was slowly falling to sleep. Upon my arrival Arizona looked up and flashed me a smile before continuing her story. I watched contentedly as Arizona finished her story and gathered Sophie into her arms and carried her back through to the room. My dad and I stood by the door as she talked to Sophie's parents briefly before exiting the room.

"Calliope!" She exclaimed, pulling me into a hug. "Mr Torres." She added politely. "Is everything okay?" She asked suspiciously, looking between the two of us with narrowed eyes.

"Everything is great. You ready to head home? I'm making chicken picatta. I proposed and she smiled.

"My favourite. Yeah, I'm ready." She said. "I just need to grab my bag from my office." She said. She was already changed from her scrubs and lab coat to some black skinny jeans and a grey hoodie. We followed her to her office where she wuickly picked up her bag.

We made our way back to the apartment, conversation flowing between us all. I had initially been worried that Arizona and my dad wouldn't get on very well, but my worries were unfounded as the conversation was held up by the two of them while I only made the occasional comment, happy to watch my girlfriend and my father get on so well.

"What did you say to him?" I asked Arizona later that night after my father had left and we were lounging on the couch with a glass of wine each.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said, her voice a pitch higher than normal.

"If you say so." I replied with a chuckle. "Listen… I've been looking, and…" I said slowly, rising from my spot on the couch and digging through the pile of paperwork that sat on top of be bookcase. "I've found a few apartment we could look at." I said, presenting the files to her and laughing at the look of shock on her face. I could tell that she thought I had forgotten that I'd agreed to move in with her, and over the past twenty four hours I momentarily had, but before then it had never left my mind. The minute she'd asked me and we'd agreed to get a whole new apartment together I had started looking.

"Calliope..." She said in a low voice as she flipped through the different apartments that I had tracked down. "These are perfect!" She exclaimed, placing them aside and drawing me in for a kiss.

"You thought I had forgotten, right?" I asked when we drew apart.

"Just a little." She admitted, holding her thumb and forefinger mere millimetres apart. "When can we start looking?"

"My dad recommended a great realtor. I can call her and make a booking tomorrow." I suggested and she nodding, going back to examining the files. "There are obviously a lot more, but from what I could find online…"

"This one's my favourite." She said firmly, holding up the picture of the three bedroom apartment that was only ten minutes from here.

"We'll definitely look at that one tomorrow. But for now, I'm taking my incredibly sexy girlfriend to bed…"

She smiled up at me, her eyes darkening to the exact shade of blue that made me forget what I was saying. "And what do you plan to do when we get there?"

I smiled mischievously, taking her hand in mine and pulling her up into a standing position. "That's for me to know and you to find out…"