Walk Tall...by lilscout
Chapter 4
A/N – Okay, first, a thousand apologies for not updating sooner. If anyone can think of a way to turn reading fan fiction into a full time, well paying job, please let me know. Seriously. Until that happens, I guess I'll just have to keep showing up to mine. Geez. :) Second, and most important, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read, and to review. I really get a kick out of hearing people's thoughts, especially about sensei Arizona. Seems I'm not the only one who finds the thought of her as a gentle badass intriguing.*smirk* Anyway, on with the story...
...
On Friday morning, Callie woke with a renewed self-confidence. She felt hopeful about the day, and was excited to get to the hospital, and just maybe happen to run into a a certain kid doctor again. Callie went straight to the surgery board to check out her, and Arizona's, schedule for the day.
"Crap," Callie frowned. Arizona was booked for several surgeries, while her own time in the O/R was relatively light. "Gonna be a looong day," she muttered.
Several times Callie had to fight the urge to sneak into the gallery to watch the lovely doc at work. She really wanted to catch a glimpse of her, but was afraid of seeming too eager. She knew from experience where that got her. Nonononono, you will not stalk her in the O/R. You will wait until the two of you can have a face to face conversation.
Around midday, Callie joined Cristina in line at the cafeteria, and absently nodded as her roommate moaned for the hundredth time about her lack of surgery time. They paid and, trays in hand, turned to find somewhere to sit.
"And so anyway, I was telling Mer that I think her..." Cristina stopped when she realized she no longer had an audience. She turned to Callie, who had stopped a few feet back, and was staring off to the left at a table across the room, her face transfixed with an unrestrained grin.
Cris merely rolled her eyes. "Oh god." She marched back to Callie's side, and leaned in to whisper. "Okay, go. But, beware...the force is strong with that one," she deadpanned, then nudged Callie forward with her elbow.
Callie's feet moved as far as the momentum from Cris' shove would carry her, then stopped. Her grin disappeared as self doubt quickly took hold. Callie watched as Arizona sat alone at her table, absently flipping through a magazine while munching on carrot sticks.
She's too pretty. She's too talented. She's too...perfect. Why the hell would she be interested in you, ya dope! Walk away now, before anyone gets hurt.
Callie stood in place, held by a mix fear, anxiety and indecision.
Deep breath, Callie, you can do this. Just try having a normal conversation with the woman. See where it goes.
Callie got her feet moving again, and tried to calm her nerves as she approached Arizona's table.
"Mind if I sit here?" she asked, sounding way more casual than she felt.
Arizona looked up immediately at the sound of the voice she would know anywhere. Her shoulder length blonde curls framed her face as she smiled widely at Callie, unable to mask her genuine delight at seeing the brunette again.
"Of course not, Calliope, please..." she pulled out a chair for the brunette, "sit with me."
Arizona closed the magazine, giving Callie her full attention. They smiled at each other, neither one sure where to start.
"Sooo..." Callie began, "how's your day going so far?" She drummed her fingers nervously against the tabletop.
Arizona felt a wave of relief when she realized Callie was just as anxious as she was.
"My day is going quite well, thanks for asking. Busy though. How 'bout you?" Arizona asked her.
"I'm good," Callie replied. "Not as busy as you are."
Arizona raised an eyebrow and turned her head to the side in a teasing gesture. "Keeping tabs on me, Dr. Torres?" she asked playfully.
"No!" Callie's eyes went wide and she stumbled over herself to clarify. "No, I just saw your name on the board when I came in and it looked like you were booked for the O/R all day...and...you're just teasing me, aren't you?" Callie looked on as Arizona had rested her chin in her hand, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
"Two can play at that game, Dr. Robbins."
Callie pointed at some fruit that the blonde had brought from home. "May I?" she asked, and without waiting for a response, Callie reached across the table and pulled out one of the large, ripe strawberries from Arizona's ziplock bag. She brought it to her own slightly parted lips, darting the tip of her tongue out just before taking half of it into her mouth. She held it there only an instant, enjoying the slightly stunned and mesmerized look on the blonde's face, before she took an agonizingly slow bite of the luscious berry. She darted out her tongue again to catch a drop of the red juice as it threatened to spill from the corner of her mouth.
Arizona mustered all of her considerable willpower to keep herself from capturing Callie's lips with her own right at that moment, and had to actually remind herself of their surroundings. She acquiesced and leaned back in her chair as Callie swallowed the last bite.
"Well played, Dr. Torres," she huffed playfully.
Satisfied she was on even ground again, Callie decided to return to keeping the conversation light.
"So, Arizona, why didn't you tell me you were the instructor...the sensei?" She smiled nervously, still a little uneasy with the word. "Sorry, I know it's just a rank, or whatever, but you are totally not what I think of when someone says sensei! I think of...I don't know, Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid, or something. Ridiculous right?"
Arizona took it in stride, and sat forward again. "No, not ridiculous." She smiled back at Callie, trying to put the brunette at ease. "It's a common misconception, but actually, sensei just means teacher. There are generally ten ranks of black belt, and one's dan, or rank, is usually representative of the number of years they've trained, and the knowledge and skill they've achieved. Most people can study their whole lives but will never get beyond a sixth dan." She paused. "It's really not all that different from the ranking system among surgeons."
"So what rank are you?" Callie asked.
"I'm a fourth dan," she replied plainly, "and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you I was the sensei." She looked down at the table, then back at Callie with a rueful grin. "I...I thought you might not come if you knew." Arizona hesitated. "Is it bad that I did that?" she asked, wincing slightly.
"No," Callie laughed back, placing a reassuring hand on Arizona's arm. "Not bad, just...unexpected, that's all." She kept her hand there longer than she needed to, before regretfully pulling away to lean back in her chair. "So," she continued, "how long have you been studying karate?"
Arizona took a second to recover from the lost contact, then sat back in her chair as well, fiddling with the magazine in front of her.
"I started when I was about thirteen, I think. My parents actually forced me to go, since I was getting into so many fights at school. They thought I needed something to teach me how to control my anger, I guess." She shrugged absently. "It worked. Being an army brat, we moved around a fair bit, so sometimes I had to learn a new style if there wasn't a dojo in the area that taught the one I was used to, but I adapted pretty well."
Callie was still stuck on the image of Arizona fighting in the school yard. She had to ask. "I'm sorry, I just can't picture you as the school troublemaker. What did you fight about?"
Arizona smiled. "Yeah, I thought you might ask that." She paused, recalling twenty years go like it was last week. "I didn't pick fights, people...other girls mostly...picked fights with me, because I knew early on I was gay."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Arizona carried on.
"Anyway, I ended up really enjoying it, and when I started medical school, and then residency, it helped me to deal with the stress and long hours. The thing is, karate training requires complete focus of mind and body, otherwise you could easily get hurt, or worse, hurt someone else."
She shrugged again. "So, when I'm in the O/R for long periods at a time, I find it easier to concentrate and to stay calm when things go wrong."
Arizona took a quick glance at her watch, and though she regretted it very much, stood up as she informed Callie that she was due in surgery shortly. Arizona looked at the brunette and asked, "So, Callie, do you really think you might come to another class? I mean if you didn't like it you don't have to..."
"Yeah, I think maybe I could be persuaded," Callie responded with a flirty smile. "When are you teaching again?"
Arizona grinned back. "Well, tonight actually. I don't usually on a Friday but the guy who does it is away on vacation, so I promised him I'd fill in." She got excited. "Oh! And tonight's class is for beginners only, so just white belts. It's a great one for you to come to!"
She looked down at her watch again.
"I'm sorry Callie, I really have to scoot...So, tonight then? Seven o'clock?"
Callie grinned back widely at the adorable blonde, and nodded once. "Seven o'clock. It's a date, Dr Robbins."
...
Callie was excited to return to the dojo, but was more excited at the prospect of continuing the playful banter she and Arizona had shared during lunch. She pulled open the door and smiled again at the same young woman sitting at the desk, phone receiver in one hand and writing furiously with the other. She looked up and stopped when she saw Callie.
"Dr. Torres," the woman called, just as Callie had slipped off her shoes and was about to sneak past her to go downstairs to change into her sweats. Callie stopped, and turned back, and saw that the woman was holding out a fresh new uniform for her, still in it's plastic wrapping. "Sensei Arizona wanted you to have this. She said you might be back tonight." The woman smiled fondly at her. "If the size is not good, please let me know and I'll find another one."
Callie smiled back, a little stunned at the generous offering. She graciously accepted the gi, and continued on down to the change rooms.
As Callie began to undress, she discretely watched the two other women in the room as they pulled on their gi and tied their white belts around their waist. When they were gone, Callie quickly finished undressing down to her bra and undies, and had just managed to yank the loose fitting pants up around her waist when Arizona breezed into the room.
She stopped short when she saw Callie's almost half naked body in front of her.
"Woah..." was all she could manage.
Callie spun 'round at the sound behind her and stood, not sure if she should be embarrassed or aroused by the look of unmasked desire pooling in Arizona's suddenly dark blue eyes.
Seconds passed. Neither said a word. Finally, Callie cleared her throat.
"Arizona," she began. Still no response. "Not that I mind...but...you're staring."
It took a moment, but Callie could see something click as Arizona tore her gaze up from Callie's bra clad breasts to meet the brunette's eyes.
Arizona was beyond mortified by her own behaviour. "Oh my god. Callie, I'm so sorry...I...I...I just wasn't expecting to see you, you know, half naked." Oh god, I need to stop talking. "I mean I know this is a change room and everything, but, I could at least show a little decorum, I mean..."
Callie watched Arizona's self imposed reprimand with amusement. She calmly reached her arms into the sleeves of the double breasted jacket, shrugged it over her shoulders, and began to fiddle with the various inside ties, trying to figure out the proper way to secure it around her waist. She suddenly felt Arizona move in close and looked up to see a shy smile gracing the blonde's delicate features.
"Here," Arizona said quietly, "let me help you with that." She kept her eyes down, intentionally avoiding the brunette's silent, prodding gaze. She finished tying together the small strings, then reached down and picked up the last piece of the uniform. She leaned into Callie's body as she wrapped the belt twice around the brunette's waist, then quickly tied the two ends together in a way that was too fast for Callie to catch.
Arizona paused as she held onto Callie's belt for a moment longer, lingering, her head still down, still refusing to make eye contact. Then she exhaled loudly, took a small step back, and finally looked up to meet the brunette's questioning eyes.
"I guess I'll meet you upstairs, if that's okay," Arizona said, her voice wavering just slightly. Her senses were on fire and she needed a few minutes alone to compose herself before class.
"Okay." Callie smiled as she slid around the blonde and pulled open the dressing room door. "Oh, and Arizona," Callie called, causing the blonde to turn in place, "thanks so much for the uniform...it's a perfect fit."
Arizona slowly changed into her gi. When she looked at the clock, she scrambled up the stairs as she realized class was due to start. She knew Joanne would have taken control of the group and already have them lined up for the meditation. It came as no small surprise when Arizona discovered that not only was the class not lined up, but that Joanne was nowhere in sight. Granted, Friday was not a normal teaching day for them, but last week, when Arizona asked her if she would mind helping out, Joanne had seemed quite happy to oblige.
Hmm. No matter. It's not a big group, I can manage by myself.
Arizona chanced a quick look in Callie's direction as she walked to the front of the class. The student's low chatter stopped when they saw her and they all moved to form a single horizontal line.
Callie joined them at the end and mimicked their actions as Arizona called out the commands to sit, seiza, meditate, moko-so, finish meditation, moko-so yamae, bow, rei, and so on.
Arizona slowly and patiently drilled the students in the basic blocks, kicks and punches that all beginners must learn. She had them partner up and urged them to practice the drills with each other, stressing technique over speed and power. Arizona directed them that at no time should they actually make contact with their training partner, that the goal was to learn self control.
She chuckled inwardly at the helplessly awkward and uncoordinated students, making a mental note to herself to see that they received extra attention the next class when she had help. She marvelled at the ones, such as Callie, who seemed to be soaking it all up like a sponge. Arizona gave each student a few minutes of one on one time, stepping in to become their training partner. She smiled to herself when she got around to Callie.
"Okay, Calliope," Arizona said teasingly, stepping in to face the brunette, "I hear you like to break bones and everything, but let's just take this slow, okay?"
Callie shot her a raised eyebrow and a flash of a smile, then raised her hands to the defensive position she had been practising.
"Yes, sensei."
...
I'm not sure why, but I had a really hard time with this chapter, which is why it took so long to post. I kept writing content then deleting it. Have you ever felt disconnected from something you've written? That's how I feel about this chapter. Not my best work, sorry, but I'll do better. On a side note, it doesn't help that I've become mildly obsessed with a new blonde t.v. doc, namely one Dr. Maura Isles. If you haven't checked out any Rizzoli and Isles fics yet, I strongly recommend it. Quite a few very talented writers over there...kind of makes me feel like all I do is randomly punch out buttons on the keyboard. Sorry...self pity is very unattractive. I'll get over it. :)