Author's Note: I'm super flattered by all the lovely reviews-I often cringe after re-reading the chapters I write, so it's nice to know at least some people enjoy the story and my writing! This chapter took forever to write because, while reading other peoples' fics, I realized they write these characters so much better than I do. And their style is impeccable. Getting over that inadequacy was quite hard.

Anyway. This chapter picks up exactly where the last left off. If you haven't read that chapter, I suggest you go hit that up before venturing this one. Chapter title from Madcon's awesome song Beggin' (if you haven't noticed, my music taste is rather eclectic...future chapters of this story will further exhibit this trait).

Beggin'

"…and now I'm sitting here". I complete my recap and look at my kid hesitantly, preparing myself for what I'm sure is a verbal bashing.

Instead, I'm met with silence.

"Nothing?" I question, one part shock and one part relief.

"Nope." She replies, grabbing my hand with her uninjured arm. We sit quietly for a bit, until her voice cuts through the air.

"Can I just say one thing?"

"Yes."

"She's hot" Abbie grins at me as she playfully squeezes my hand.

"Yes. Yes she is." I gently reply as I lean back, closing my eyes as I think of Callie.

"Can I say something else?" Abigail quips after a few more moments of comfortable silence.

"If you must" I exhale as I slowly open my eyes again to face my daughter.

"I like her. And I get that you're trying to protect me. But I don't need to be protected." I scoff at her statement, gesturing to the mess currently known as Abigail.

She squints at me before continuing. "Okay well, I don't need too much protecting. I just want you to be happy. And I think she can make you happy, if you give her a chance. If you don't take a chance on something, you'll always end up with nothing. "

She frowns at me, clearly waiting for a reaction on my part. I've already decided I needed to remedy this whole Callie situation, but for the sake of not getting Abbie too involved just yet, I maintain a solid front.

"Besides, you didn't think you wanted kids ever, and look how great that turned out for you!" Abigail finishes as I watch her noncommittally.

Laughing gently, I simply shake my head as I extricate myself from the bed. "Alright, oh wise one. Enough with the prophecies. Lets get you home".

We walk the two short blocks back home, Abigail alternating between recapping her day and telling me about the new 'fun facts' she learned about Callie today. From the sounds of it, the pair really hit it off, and my heart melts a little at the thought of Callie and Abbie getting along so well. As I fumble for the keys at our front door, the elevator pings behind us and Abigail immediately stops talking.

Inserting my newly found key into the door, I feel Abigail's small hand tapping me on the shoulder. "Oh hey Mom, another fun fact about Callie. She lives two doors down from us."

I suck in a breath as I whip around just as Callie notices us, looking a little shell shocked.

"Hey Dr. Torres! See you around!" Abbie greets Callie excitedly, before shoving me out into the hallway. She hastily enters our apartment, closing the door in my face.

Callie and I stand there stunned, before she quickly walks past me towards her own apartment door.

"Calliope!…wait up!" I dart after her, knowing this is my moment to make things right. That, and I'm locked out of my apartment currently anyway.

I watch as Callie internally struggles whether to leave me stranded in the hallway, or speak to me. Thankfully, politeness wins out. She surveys me carefully, clearly guarding herself.

"I never got the chance to thank you for taking care of Abigail. She wouldn't stop talking about how wonderful you were the whole way home…" I begin hurriedly, hoping to prove I'm not about to rail on her again.

Callie visibly relaxes, though she still looks extremely uncomfortable. "It's not a problem, I…umm…it's my job."

"I know. But still. Thank you." I repeat earnestly.

She nods her head slightly in acceptance of my gratitude. "I didn't know you had a kid. She's a lot like you."

"Oh man. She's doomed" I chuckle at the thought.

"She's lovely. And lucky." Callie responds sincerely, gazing at me so intently it's a little unnerving.

My face and chest flush bright red at Callie's compliment. I glance down at the floor, shuffling my feet, before nervously looking up again to catch Callie's eye. "I…just…um...for the record, sometimes I panic in the moment and I call it wrong, I misjudge a situation. So, if you're up for it, I'd like to make it up to you. I'd like to take you to dinner."

"Maybe " She responds nonchalantly.

I can't believe it. I gawk at her before I manage to squeak out a response. "Maybe?"

She watches me closely before she calmly replies. "Yeah my schedule's kind of insane right now. So I'll…get back to you." With that, she opens the door to her apartment, and slowly closes the door.

I'm still reeling, when I see her pull her door back open hastily.

"How's uhh...tomorrow?"

I spent entire day freaking out about our date, and changed my outfit 19 times before I finally settled on a flattering blue number that hugged me in all the right places. All too quickly, but not nearly quickly enough, 7 pm arrives, and I hear a soft rapping on my door signaling Callie's arrival. Taking a deep breath, I give myself a once over and shakily smooth my dress before heading towards the door.

"You look amazing" she breathes as I open the door to greet her.

"You don't look too bad yourself" I give her a playful wink as I step aside to let her into my apartment. She's wearing a phenomenal little black number that leaves ample cleavage for me to look at.

"Heyyy lookin' good Dr. Torres!" Abbie calls out as she emerges from her room, shaking me from my blatant ogling.

I smirk as a faint blush paints Callie's tanned skin "Err..thank you. And just so you know, you don't have to call me Dr. Torres all the time, you can call me Callie. How's the arm?" Callie asks, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Super lame. I'm going stir crazy not being able to do anything." Abigail huffs as she flops down on the sofa.

Callie nods sympathetically. "It'll get better soon. I'll take a look next week and see if we can't try to get you back to at least some kind of functionality."

"Sweet! Okay...you kids have fun. Don't keep her out too late" Abigail narrows her eyes at Callie as she stands up and head over to us.

"Don't worry, I'll have her back by midnight" Callie laughs as she opens the door for me. I lean over to give Abigail a quick kiss. "Love you. Don't stay up."

"Don't do anything you would tell me not to do!" Abbie calls after us as Callie and I make our way down the hallway to the elevator.

The ride to the restaurant is relatively quiet, with small chitchat followed by prolonged silence. But in a weird way, the silence is calming. We're both clearly nervous, but unlike other dates where you feel the need to talk just to eliminate the awkwardness, its not necessary here. The silent moments feel right. They feel good.

We make it through the obligatory first date initial question and answer period, and by time the food comes, we're both clearly at ease with the other. During a lull in conversation, Callie clears her throat.

"This is nice. I'm glad we're doing this. Thanks for reconsidering" She says gently, no hint of malice or bitterness in her voice, just genuine appreciation.

I blush again before taking a deep breath to respond.

"I'm really sorry again about that whole newborn thing. It's just…I have a kid. And I have to protect her. As you've seen, she inevitably weasels her way into the details of my personal life. And I willingly let her do that." I pause to take a sip of wine before continuing. "But…look I know this is new for you. I…I need to know; is this some experiment for you? Because I totally get that you need to explore and figure out who you are and this is only our first date and stuff, but… I can't be an experiment. I need to know that you actually want to date me and don't just want to date any girl. Because if this is just you testing the waters, I need to back out now. Even though I really, really don't want to have to do that." I finish with a firm nod of my head.

She smiles gently at me and grabs my hand resting on the table, rubbing small circles with her thumb.

"I know you're taking a big chance on me. But I promise you I want to date you for you. I may be relatively new to this, but I do know I like you. And I like your daughter. And I want to do this. But I need you to know something too—this isn't going to be easy. I haven't even come out to my family yet. I'm going to wade through a lot of firsts. If you're okay with that, then I think this could work out well. I want this to work out well. " Her voice is strong and steady, and as I look into her eyes, all I see is honesty.

"Well then, I'm glad we're on the same page" I sigh. We gaze at each other for a beat before I make the executive decision to lighten the mood. This is, after all, a first date. And I've definitely heard some gossip that I'd like to hear first hand from her.

"So, rumor has it you dance in the hospital's basement in your underwear for fun…"

"I had a great time tonight, Calliope" I pronounce as we reach her front door.

"I'm just glad you decided that I was enough of a grown up to go out with me" she responds, a teasing glint in her eye.

Even so, I feel my face flush red. "I'm really really sorry about that." I pause, before leaning in slightly and lower my voice to what I hope comes off as sultry. "Trust me Calliope. I definitely see you as a grown up"

She smirks, before leaning in and capturing me in a searing kiss. Caught off guard momentarily by her forwardness, I finally come to my senses and reciprocate the kiss as I feel her tongue slip into my mouth.

Too quickly, she pulls away. She must note the look of panic that paints my face as I briefly wonder if I've taken it too far, and she offers a reassuring smile.

She glances at something over my shoulder before bending forward, her breath ghosting against my face in the most delicious way possible. "You know your daughter's watching us, right?"

I drop my head to Callie's shoulder as I whimper. "Inside Abigail!"

Abbie gasps as she realizes she's been busted, and Callie and I both laugh as we hear the door close rather abruptly.

"I think that's my cue to head home. I'll talk to you tomorrow?" I cringe as I note the desperation sneaking into my tone.

"You bet" she beams.

I reach a hand up to gently cup her cheek, pulling her in for a goodnight kiss. She releases a small moan, and we continue to make out like a couple of teenagers until we both need air.

"Goodnight Arizona" she whispers as her forehead rests against mine, and leans in for one last quick peck before heading into her apartment.

I stand in the hall for a few moments after, needing a minute to compose myself. Of all the dates I've been on, this one certainly tops the charts as the best date ever. I run my finger along my still tingling lips, before slowly making my way to my apartment. I know I said I wouldn't be dating for a long time, but I'm pretty sure when it comes to Calliope, I'll break every single one of my rules if it means I can be with her. She's managed to get under my skin. And for the first time, I don't mind it one bit.