Callie was awoken at 10 o'clock the next morning by her phone ringing. At first she was relieved that it didn't say Arizona. Coward. She thought to herself. Then she got worried when she saw the caller I.D.

"Hey, Janet, is everything okay?" She was still groggy from sleep.

"No!" The other voice exclaimed. "James got pushed over in the showers at school and he is unconscious."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry. I will be right there. What hospital are you at?" Please don't say it.

"Seattle Grace Mercy West." There was a short pause as Callie processed it. James is sixteen so this would be a peds case. Suck it up, she told herself.

"I'll be there."

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Arizona was stood in her patient's room next to Derek Shepherd who was explaining the surgery to Mr and Mrs Harris. Their son had been pushed at school and he now needed a craniotomy. At that moment the one person she had not expected to see stormed in.

"Hey, Janet, I am so sorry." She pulled the boy's mother into a hug. "I should have known something was wrong."

"Don't blame yourself sweetheart, we all know you've been his lifeline." James's father said as she hugged him to.

"Sorry Tom, really." She turned to finally make eye contact with Arizona. "How bad is it?"

Derek answered for his speechless colleague. "James needs surgery and there is really no way to tell what kind of damage there is yet."

"His injury could get worse though, right?" The worried mother was asking Callie more than the doctors. She shifted back to speak to the parents.

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it okay? I saw James's principal out in the hall. Do want to go and explain or would you rather I took care of that?"

"Would you mind?" The man asked as he put his arm around his wife.

"Please, it's the least I could do." She declared as she moved to stand next to the focus of everyone's attention. "Hey James, come on kid you've gotta stop scaring us." With that she left the room, totally ignoring the blonde. The neuro surgeon had already left to prepare for surgery.

"How do you know that woman?" Arizona finally asked her patient's parents.

"Callie? She runs a centre for kids with acquired brain injuries. James is there all the time. It has really helped us all."

"I'll give you some time with your son before the surgery."

Once she was out in the waiting room she searched for the Latina but couldn't find her.

A few hours later she had finished her charting and visiting patients and still had an hour before her only scheduled surgery. She decided to look for Callie again as she had seemed to of disappeared. Arizona was unsuccessful until she walked out of the main entrance. She walked up to the bench where the other woman was sat. As soon as Callie noticed the blonde she stood up to walk away. Arizona grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Don't you dare walk away again Calliope." Without saying a word or making eye contact, she sat back down and waited for Arizona to do the same.

"I'm sorry." Was all she could say. "Last night was a mistake."

"How did I not know about this centre you run?" Callie looked at her in confusion.

"It... it never came up." This was not what she had expected; there was no confrontation in her tone.

"I wasn't using you, last night I didn't just want rebound sex."

"I know. This would be a lot easier if you were."

"You'd really rather be used than..."

"Yeah!" She interrupted the end of her question. "I know I have no right to ask but I can't get into this right now. I'm tired and I know that you don't get what that means but I just can't do this. I'm sorry." Arizona nodded. "I should have known. The boys that pushed James had been tormenting him for months but he never said. I saw him twice a week for six months and I didn't realise. I mean, I knew something was wrong. I told him about all the crap I had at school but it wasn't enough." Callie put her face in her hands to wipe the tears and Arizona put her hand on her back for comfort.

"He is still in surgery but he is doing okay. Calliope, what kind of crap did you get?"

"I got called names mostly."

"Like what?"

"Retard was always a popular one." It broke Arizona's heart. "Don't worry about it. I got over all that a long time ago; it just hurts when it's happening to the kids. I should have done more."

"Sweetheart, those parents said that you were their son's lifeline. You did all you could."

"It wasn't enough though."

"Come on." Arizona stood up and put out her hand.

"Why?"

"Well I have a surgery and I'm not gonna leave you on your own. Besides, James's Mom and Dad want to see you."

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After she scrubbed out of her surgery, Arizona went to check on James.

"Dr. Shepherd said that the surgery went well." She said, making her presence known.

"Yeah, we're just waiting for him to wake up now." Mrs Harris replied as she walked towards the blonde. "It's her that I'm worried about." She explained as she pointed the lone Latina sat in the hall with her head in her hands.

"She said she was tired."

"Yes well, we all know what that means." When Arizona looked at her blankly she continued. "She's like James, well like all of them. That's why all the kids love her. She's not another doctor or professional. She's just the same, only older with a bit more understanding. When they say they're tired they mean that their brain is shutting down."

"Shutting down." Arizona repeated to herself, never taking her eyes of Callie.

"Brain like an old, crappy computer." Tom Harris supplied from his place by James's bed. "That's how she described it. My son fell out of a tree when he was six and nobody was able to explain to us what was going on until we met Callie. It all made sense. She said that her brain was like a computer that gets slower, the longer it's on and it's more difficult to process information or recover files. Suddenly there was a light in James's eyes again."

"He wasn't alone." His wife finished. "She introduced him to other kids like him and us to other parents. She is a good woman but she spends so much time looking after us and I don't think anybody looks after her. Cause she'll say that she doesn't need it."

Arizona turned back to the room. "I'm sorry about your son, I will be back tomorrow. Try to get some sleep."

As she walked out into the hall she shook of her professionalism, her shift was over anyway. She sat down next to Callie and wrapped an arm around her back. Her other hand intertwined with the Latina's, forcing her to look up. Arizona placed a delicate kiss on her temple and whispered in her ear.

"If you dare tell me that I deserve better, I'm gonna kick the crap out of you. You are amazing." When Callie shook her head, she raised her voice ever so slightly, "You turned the worst thing that has ever happened to you into a way to help others. That is incredible. And I know that you don't see this because you are too stuck in your ways but you need somebody who just loves you, all of you and can take care of you. And that person is sat right next to you. Don't tell me what I deserve and don't tell me that last night was a mistake. I'm gonna drive you home okay?"

Callie could only nod as she tried to take in what she just heard.

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Amazingly, Callie managed to direct the blonde to her apartment. Once inside, she made a beeline for her bed and collapsed fully clothed on top. Arizona was still practically in the doorway. Looking around she saw a spacious, open living area to her left. Directly opposite was a kitchen on the other side of the room. Just before was the door that Callie had disappeared into. Walking through it, she found the Latina lying on her side facing the centre of the bed. She lay down beside her and drifted off to sleep peacefully. An hour later, she woke but found that Callie hadn't moved. So Arizona watched as she continued in her slumber for what turned out to be another hour.

Eventually, piercing brown eyes opened to find bright blue ones staring back. A slow smile appeared on Callie's face.

"What?"

"I remember what you said."

"And?" Arizona was now smiling to.

"I don't normally remember things after I've got tired."

"And you've shut down."

"Yeah, how did you..."

"I spoke to James's parents."

"Oh, is that when you had your epiphany?"

"Calliope?" They were yet to break eye contact.

"Yes?"

"Last night, it was like you were drunk or possessed. Your eyes were glazed over and..."

"Did I hurt you?" Callie asked panicked. "You wanted to, I thought I checked. If I did anything."

She was cut off by soft lips on hers.

"Yes, you checked. Yes, I said yes and no, you didn't hurt me."

"I tell my kids not to have sex when they are tired. I give them all of the stuff about waiting for the right person but most importantly, I tell them to be fully with it because even if the other person is perfect, it will screw it up for them. I broke my own rule. I was exhausted when you showed up, looking like that, and the last functioning part of my brain told me to walk away."

"And you did."

"After that, I'm not sure what happened. I was walking around and then I was at your door. You were all I could think about. When I knocked, there was a small part of me that wished you wouldn't answer. Then when I asked if you really wanted to go through with it, the same part wished you'd say no. Then I don't really remember. That's what hurts the most. I might only get one chance with you and I wasted it because I can't even remember." Callie was now openly sobbing into Arizona's neck. The blonde wrapped her arms around her as a tear fell down her own cheek.

"Why didn't you stay? If you had explained..."

"I thought if I left, you'd never wanna see me again and you could get on with your life without a screw up like me."

"I'd never get over you."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise for things that aren't your fault."

No more was said and they both drifted back to sleep for another few hours.