Walk Tall...by lilscout
Chapter 7
A/N – My goodness, this is a long one folks. Might want to clear your schedules, and, I hope the texting makes sense. I had so much fun imagining this chapter, and truly, I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather take Arizona on a first date if I was the lucky gal instead of Callie! Any divergent opinions on the matter? I'd love to hear other's ideas of a perfect first date with Cal or Az. In the meantime, on with the story...
...
Opposing schedules the rest of the week meant far too little personal interaction at work. As Arizona pulled the buzzing cell phone from her pocket, she smiled, already guessing who the text would be from. Callie had refused to divulge any details about their planned first date, choosing instead to tease Arizona through a series of cryptic messages.
You're not afraid of heights, are you?
Arizona smiled, and quickly typed a response.
Not really, no. Kinda depends.
She got an immediate reply.
Not really an answer, Arizona. :)
Well, Callie, if you would just tell me where we're going on the date, I could give you a more accurate answer. :)
No details, I told you already. I want it to be a surprise.
Fine. I'm pouting now, are you happy? ;)
Very...have a good day at work! ;D
The next day, Arizona stepped into an empty on call room when she saw she had another text from Callie.
You might want to bring a swimsuit with you.
Arizona smirked to herself, then responded.
Bikini or one piece?
Callie's reply was immediate.
Whatever you prefer.
Which would you rather see me in?
Do you really have to ask? ;D Have a good day Arizona.
Late Friday night, Arizona was settled on the couch watching a movie when her phone buzzed again. She hadn't heard from Callie all day, and was unsure if she should just call on her own, since it was Callie who had initiated their little text sessions to begin with. Arizona practically launched herself off the couch and over to her kitchen counter.
You should probably eat just a light breakfast tomorrow.
She grinned and typed back quickly.
Calliope! The suspense is killing me! Please tell me where we're going!
'Night Arizona. ;) Sweet dreams. I'll pick you up at 9am.
Totally not fair. :( Okay, 9am. BTW, I'm sooo excited about tomorrow. I wish it was here already.
Me too. And I can't wait to see you in a bikini.
Perv. ;) Anyway, how do you know I'm even wearing my bikini?
Okay then, I won't wear my bikini either. Too bad though, I just bought a new one. White. Very revealing. But, you're right, a one piece is better.
Gulp. Okay. Bikini it is...;) Though, I don't know how you can possibly expect me to get any sleep now! :) Sweet dreams to you too.
...
For the first time in a long time, Arizona was up before her alarm. She showered, dressed and ate a light breakfast, as instructed. Coffee, a cinnamon bagel, and fruit. She looked at the clock. 7:38am.
Crap. An hour and twenty two minutes to go. She took a chance and picked up her phone.
Okay, I'm ready to go. You can come over now.
She stared at the phone, willing it to reply. It took a few minutes.
Oh, you're a morning person. That could complicate things...;)
Ha! Very funny! Too late to back out now, Calliope. You're stuck with me for the day.
And I can't think of anything better. Okay, just let me pour some caffeine into me and grab a quick shower, and I'll be over.
I'll be waiting... :)
An hour later Arizona swung open her apartment door just as Callie had been poised to knock.
"Hi! I'm ready!" Arizona was practically jumping up and down on the balls of her feet.
Call broke into a wide grin at the sight of the bubbly blonde in front of her.
"I can see that." Callie nodded her head as she took a second to peek behind Arizona at the entrance to the apartment. She quickly refocused. "Okay, then, let's get going."
Arizona pulled the door behind her and locked it, pocketing her keys.
"You know, I had a hard time deciding what to wear today, seeing as I still don't know where we're going..." she stopped on the stairs, "is this okay?" She pointed to her sandals, cargo pants and shirt. "Oh! What about a jacket?" Arizona turned to run back up the stairs and was stopped by a hand on her arm.
"Arizona, stop. What you're wearing..." Callie's eyes flickered up Arizona's still body, and she smiled, "is perfect. Don't change a thing." She tugged on the hem of Arizona's shirt. "Let's get going." She pulled the questioning blonde down the stairs with her and out the door to the parking lot. "We've got a long drive ahead of us."
"Oooh, a long drive? Callie! Tell me!"
"Nope. Not yet..."
Callie unlocked and opened the passenger door of her car then hurried around the other side and climbed inside. She passed a tall Starbucks to her excited date.
"Here. Latte. Extra foam. I saw you drinking one before and took a chance." She grinned nervously.
Arizona accepted the warm drink as if it was liquid gold. She held the cup close to her nose, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply.
"Mmmm, smells amazing. Thank you, that's so thoughtful of you." She placed a hand on Callie's knee, and they locked eyes for a brief moment.
Callie smiled shyly as she turned the key in the ignition, bringing the car to life. "My pleasure, Arizona, really." Suddenly she realized Arizona didn't have a bag with her, and wondered if the blonde had forgotten it. "What about your swimsuit?" she asked. "Are you not bringing it?"
Arizona grinned back for a second before yanking down one side of the neck of her shirt, revealing a thin neon pink bikini strap. "I'm wearing it, Cal. Remember, no details...so I didn't know if there'd be anywhere to change into it." She tilted her head to the side in an inquisitive manner. "Would there have been anywhere to change, if I hadn't worn it?"
Callie grinned apologetically. "Yes, there would be, but actually, I wore mine too. Less to carry."
Arizona eyed Callie's neckline and shoulders pointedly. "Can I see it?" she asked.
"Nope. Gonna have to wait some more...sorry!" Callie teased, as Arizona sat back in her seat, arms crossed in a mock pout.
As they left the Seattle city limits and headed south, Callie began to have second thoughts about her plans for their first date. She was fascinated by the serious and commanding side of sensei Arizona, but really wanted to see more of the cheerful and bubbly blonde. She silently ticked off the criteria she had for their first date together.
Spend the day together. Outdoors. Something that will make her laugh, so I can see those dimples again. Food. A place we can talk. Somewhere fun. Somewhere...Arizona'ish'.
In the end, only one place made the short list.
Arizona quietly hummed with nervous anticipation in the seat next to Callie. Her eyes were darting everywhere, searching each sign they passed, hoping for some kind of clue.
As the car made the climb over the short hill ahead, she saw it, and then she knew.
"We're going to Wild Waves!" Her head whipped around, her ponytail smacking her in the face.
Callie laughed at Arizona's unrestrained enthusiasm. It was exactly the reaction she was hoping for.
"Yep," she answered, "we're going to Wild Waves."
"Oh my god, I've read about this place. Calliope! They have roller coasters and...and..." she began to recite from memory all the amusement park had to offer, "and bumper cars, and a carousel, and games, and a haunted house, and...a huge waterpark!"
She turned in her seat to face the brunette.
"Ha!" Arizona laughed out loud. "I get it now, all those clues you were sending me...but I never guessed we'd be coming here!"
"So," Callie enquired, trying to sound casual, "Good choice? You approve?"
Arizona leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Callie's cheek.
"I more than approve, Calliope. I'm thrilled, honestly! It couldn't be more perfect."
She nodded to the road ahead as the giant winding steel rails of the Timberhawk loomed before them.
"Just...get us there faster, please!"
...
Callie took a park map from the greeter as they passed through the turnstile, both pausing long enough to get an unintelligible green stamp affixed to their hands.
Arizona could barely contain herself.
"What should we do first?" she asked, comfortably leaning in to Callie's body as they peered down at the colourful map together.
"Whatever you like, Arizona. The choice is yours." Callie leaned in for a quick peck of her own against Arizona's soft skin. "Just 'cause you're so darn cute."
Arizona blushed, and something Callie couldn't identify flickered across the blonde's face.
Arizona took Callie's hand in hers and turned as she pulled the brunette along with her.
"Let's start with the big ones first, before the park begins to fill up." She paused and looked up at the massive rollercoasters surrounding the perimeter of the park. She pointed to the biggest one.
"Timberhawk. Definitely. That's gotta be first."
The crowds were manageable, given the early hour, so they only had to wait in line for about ten minutes. Arizona insisted they sit right in the front, "Otherwise, what's the point?", and as their car slowly climbed higher and higher, Callie found herself unable to contain her wide grin. In this exact moment, she was unbelievably, stupidly happy, because Arizona was happy, and Callie knew that she had made that happen.
She was torn from her reverie by the piercing sound of Arizona screaming into her ear just as they began to tip over the precipice of the towering ride. Hands flew in the air. Stomachs recoiled. Eyelids slammed shut. All at 85mph.
And then it was over, and on to the next one. And the next one. Until finally, reluctantly, Callie had to call a time out.
"Arizona," she panted, trying to keep up with the remarkably fast pace of the smaller woman. "Let's try something a little more low key for a while, huh?"
Arizona stopped mid stride. She hung her head for a second, then looked up, slightly embarrassed with herself.
"I'm sorry, Callie, I'm just so excited to be here...please, you pick the next rides, okay?"
Callie came along side and took her hand, intertwining their fingers together. "How about this," she offered, "it's almost lunchtime, so why don't we do, say, one more ride, then get something to eat?"
Arizona smiled back at the hopeful brunette. "That sounds great. But you're still picking the next ride, I mean it!"
"Okay then," Callie answered, pulling Arizona along by the hand, "the bumper cars are back this way!"
...
Later, they sat together on a bench, munching on corndogs and french fries, laughing about Callie's unfortunate luck with their last ride.
"So not fair, and you know it!" the brunette huffed.
"Callie...it happens to everyone...it just sucked that this time it was your car!" Arizona couldn't hold back her amusement at Callie's bad luck.
There's always one car in the pack that for some reason, won't move. No matter what the person does, no matter what they try, it just refuses to budge. And they just have to sit there and take it, while everyone else around them decides to practice their ramming skills on the stalled buggy.
"And remember that one kid?" Callie interjected. "He just wouldn't stop. I swear, if he were only a few years older, I would'a got out and pounded him!"
Arizona grinned as she took another bite of her corndog, then sipped her lemonade.
Callie looked at her and softened her tone. "It was kinda cool though, how you went after him and tried to protect my car from those teenagers."
"Hey," Arizona began, as she gave Callie a wide smile, "no one's gonna mess with you while I'm around!"
"Yeah, I'm starting to get that..." Callie responded. She spied a dot of mustard on the side of Arizona's mouth, and couldn't resist. She leaned in close. "Here, let me..." She swiped her thumb lightly across Arizona's top lip, and quickly licked the condiment away.
Arizona didn't say a word. She didn't need to. Her adoring smile said it all.
They dumped all their trash in the garbage and Callie pulled out the park map once again.
"So, haunted house next?" Callie asked.
Arizona frowned. "Really?"
"Yeah, why, you don't like haunted houses?"
"Not so much...is it really scary?"
"Well, I don't know, I haven't been in this one before."
"Umm...is it a walk through or a ride through...'cause if it's a walk through, then sorry, no way...can't do it, but if it's a ride through...I guess I could. But only if I don't hafta open my eyes and you promise to keep your arm around me the whole time!" Arizona blurted.
"I think that can be arranged..." Callie chuckled. "How 'bout I start with arm thing now," she said, snaking her arm around Arizona's waist as they walked toward the entrance.
...
"Huh..." Callie said, as they exited the dark ride into bright daylight.
"What? Is it over?" Arizona managed to pull her head up from Callie's shoulder where it had taken residence as soon as they entered the blackened tunnel and the first axe wielding figure had threatened them from the shadows. She peeked open one eye and looked around, then relaxed her vice like grip from around Callie's midsection.
Not that Callie minded. Not at all.
"It's nothing really..." Callie said as they stepped out of the buggy just in time for the next two eager bodies to pile into it. "I just find it amusing that you can be so fearless in real life scary situations, but here, where it's all completely fake and harmless...you're terrified."
Arizona grinned as she lightly slapped Callie on the arm. "I know, I know...but I think it's because I know it's fake that I can get scared." She shrugged. "You don't run into too many axe murderers in real life. Besides, it's not that I'm not ever fearful. I've just been trained to channel it, to put it aside."
Callie placed a hand on Arizona's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to make us all serious...I just found it so cute I couldn't help but comment!"
"Ahh, it's okay," Arizona laughed. "Come on, I'll let you make it up to me by taking me on the ferris wheel." She winked playfully at Callie. "Maybe if we're lucky, it'll get stuck while we're up at the top!"
...
"Okay, now this really is a cliche," Callie commented, her legs dangling over the edge of the footrest, eight stories off the ground. She looked over the edge of their cramped seat and sighed.
"I think it's nice," Arizona responded, snuggling in as close as she could to the brunette. "There are worse places to get stuck...like that yucky haunted house, for example." She lifted her head to look at Callie's face. "Don't you like being stuck up here with me?"
Callie turned to give the blonde her full attention.
"Of course I do, Arizona." She smiled sweetly at her. "I like it a whole lot, in fact." Callie leaned in for a shared, but brief, kiss, then peered over the edge again. "It's just, getting stuck on a ferris wheel intentionally is one thing...but, it looks to me like this time..." she leaned over even further, and their seat began to sway from the movement, "we might actually be really stuck. I just saw a guy with a tool belt crawl underneath the big motor down there."
"Oh!" Arizona responded, leaning across Callie's body to try and see for herself. The contact felt really nice, and Callie closed her eyes, enjoying the closeness, however brief.
"Guess we'll be up here for a while, then." Arizona leaned back, and looked around at the expansive parkland before returning her gaze to Callie. She turned in her seat. "So, tell me about you're family, Calliope."
Callie's mouth opened but no words came out. "What would you like to know?" she slowly asked.
Arizona shrugged happily as she smiled back. "Anything. Where do they live? Where are you from? Brothers? Sisters? Pets? Is your family close? Are you out to them?"
"Well, most of my family is still in Miami, which is where I'm from." She peeked over the edge again. "I have one sister, no brothers."
Arizona waited expectantly. "And?"
"And...not a lot really to tell you. Just, they're Catholic. I was raised Catholic. And the whole dating girls thing is...will be a touchy issue. So no, I'm not out to them," she said, her tone a little defensive.
Arizona recognized she had hit a nerve, so she grasped Callie's hand in hers and squeezed tightly.
"I'm sorry, Callie. I didn't mean to pry."
She looked down at her feet, then back up again.
"If you ever decide to tell them, because you want them to know, then it'll take time. And they'll probably need time to adjust to the new information. About you."
Callie softened, and she lifted Arizona's hand to her mouth, kissing it quickly. "I know..I'm sorry. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while, but it always seemed sort of...pointless...if I wasn't actually dating a woman at the time."
Though no one could hear them, Arizona leaned in and lowered her voice.
"You know, if you think about it, this could kinda qualify as our second date." She waggled her eyebrows at Callie. "And more than one date with a person, usually means you're dating them."
Callie raised a playful eyebrow of her own. "Does it, now?"
"It could," Arizona responded hopefully.
"Well, Dr. Robbins," Callie leaned in, "let's just see how the rest of the day goes," her eyes quickly shifted to Arizona's lips, "and I'll let you know." Callie planted a soft and passionate kiss on the mildly surprised blonde, who immediately reciprocated.
"WooHoo!" came shouts of approval from the pair of teenage boys in the chair suspended behind theirs. Callie's head whipped around, and she shot them a death glare, while Arizona simply smiled contentedly to herself. Their chair jolted abruptly as the ride was operational once again.
After listening to a panicked apology from the rides manager about the temporary breakdown, the girls wandered away, arm in arm, without any real plan for their next activity. They strolled casually along, taking in the sights and sounds and smells that accompany any trip to an amusement park in the summer. Happy kids, exhausted parents. Jovial but tinny sounding circus music, piped in through speakers hidden behind bushes and high up in the trees. Pink and blue cotton candy, balloons of every colour imaginable, the smell of fried foods and sugar, and the omnipresent bells and whistles of the skill testing games, beckoning passers-by to try and win a five foot Shrek or Spongebob stuffed doll.
Arizona tugged on Callie's arm as they passed by a target shooting game.
"Let's try this one!" she begged.
Callie regarded the game skeptically. "I don't know, Arizona...I've never even held a gun before. Not sure I'd even hit anything." She pointed to the sign. "And look, it's ten bucks for three shots, and you have to hit two out of three just for the little prize!"
Arizona looked back at Callie as she dug some bills out of her pocket. "It's not the little prize I want!" she said, smiling coyly. "Besides, I know an eight year old at the hospital that will just flip when I give her that!" she continued, pointing towards the Shrek doll.
Callie laughed and sat down beside Arizona as the blonde collected her laser rifle and held it in both hands, testing the weight. Then she propped the butt end up onto her shoulder and peered down the barrel at the fast moving plastic targets.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
All three went down without much effort, and Arizona lowered the rifle, her eyes shining with delight. "Never mess with a Colonel's daughter!" she told the slightly stunned man behind the counter as he reached up to retrieve Arizona's giant prize.
"Actually," she stopped him, "would you mind if we came by later on to pick it up? We're going to be here for a few more hours still, and it'll be kinda hard to drag it everywhere."
He nodded and hung the doll back up, then turned his attention to other potential customers.
"It's getting kinda hot out now," Callie remarked as they walked away from the booth, both looking up at the blinding sun. "What do you say we, you know, head on over to the waterpark."
"Calliope Torres!"
Callie reacted as Arizona poked her playfully in the ribs.
"You just want to see me in my bikini!"
"Umm, yeah!" Callie responded, then raised on eyebrow to the blonde. "Are you saying you don't want to see me in mine?" She crossed her arms, intentionally hugging the tops of her breasts together to reveal a lot more cleavage.
Arizona quickly folded.
"Okay, you win. You keep doing that..." she pointed to Callie's heaving breasts, "and you'll win every time with me!"
The sound of the rushing water drew them closer, and as they entered the gates they could feel the cool spray of an ever present mist wash over them. It was so refreshing on such a hot day. They rented two towels and a locker for their clothing, and headed over to the change rooms to undress.
Arizona eyes nearly popped out of her head when she finally got a look at Callie in her new white bikini. And she wasn't the only one. One guy actually walked into a door, he was so distracted. Arizona took a sharp intake of breath as she bit her bottom lip. She blushed, slightly embarrassed by the involuntary, almost primeval, reaction her own body was having to Callie's.
Callie's response to Arizona in her neon pink bikini was similar, and her mind raced as her eyes combed over particular areas of the blonde's firm body. She imagined all the places she wanted to touch, and caress, taste, and tease.
They stood, staring at each other for a very long moment, until finally Arizona turned her head and pointed to the doorway.
"We should...uh..."
"Yeah..." Callie laughed warmly at her. She pulled the blushing blonde by the hand. "Let's go get you cooled off, huh?"
The water park was massive, and included a giant wave pool, a kiddie pool, two water rides, one fast and one leisurely, and three waterslides.
Arizona was practically jumping out of her skin when she saw them. "I love waterslides!" Her pace quickened, and Callie had to hurry to keep up. "Ever since I was a kid, I've loved them!" She looked up at the long and winding colourful tubes overheard. "I don't think I've been on any as big as these, though." She began to race up the stairs, taking them two at a time, with Callie hot on her heels. They made it to the top of the ride and only had to wait a short time until it was their turn. Arizona sat down and beckoned for Callie to settle in behind her.
"Let's go down it together, Callie!"
Callie quickly straddled the blonde from behind, wrapping both arms firmly around her waist, and she and Arizona scooted themselves forward a few feet until they were firmly in the grip of the rushing tide of water.
Arizona squealed with joy, and then they were off!
Callie pulled Arizona back against her body as they initially tried to stay balanced and upright on the slippery surface of the tube. Arizona gripped and held Callie's hands firmly against her body as they propelled downwards, their bodies careening left and right with the shift of each turn in the slick tube. Suddenly they were ejected out the bottom into the giant wave pool, the force of the splash causing them to separate. Callie surfaced first, and quickly looked around for Arizona. The blonde sputtered to the surface a moment later, laughing as she spit out a mouthful of chlorinated water. They barely had a chance to speak before the next lot of screaming kids came shooting out the mouth of the ride, almost crashing right into them. They looked at each other with amusedly panicked eyes.
"Let's get the hell outta here!" Callie yelled as she struggled to move herself and Arizona out of the line of fire.
They barely made it to the edge of the pool before Arizona was pulling Callie by the hand to race to the top again. They went four more times, until Callie called her second time out of the day.
"I'm not trying to be a party pooper, Arizona, but I literally think I've swallowed about half the pool by now!" They bobbed up and down together in the cool waist deep water.
"That's okay, Callie, I'm getting a bit waterlogged myself," Arizona replied, standing up. "Why don't we just relax for a while?" She slowly grazed her hand up the side of Callie's arm as she adjusted the fallen strap of the brunette's bikini.
Callie cleared her throat as she pointed towards a line of sunbathing chairs perched on the grassy slope adjacent to the pool. "We could lie on those for a while, if you like?"
Arizona nodded. She was simply unable to tear her eyes away from Callie's bare shoulders, silently marvelling at the way the brunette's glistening skin seemed to have darkened ever so slightly in the reflective shimmer of the water. She shook her head and turned away to retrieve their towels from the poolside. Callie followed her out, and accepted her own towel with a small smile. They walked over together and chose two chairs side by side. As Arizona settled into her seat, Callie laid out her towel.
"I'm going to get us some real water to drink, Arizona. Is there anything else you want?"
"Just you, sitting here beside me," she patted Callie's unoccupied chair, "but a water would be great, thanks!"
Callie smirked back as she turned and walked towards the lockers to retrieve her money. The line at the concession stand was painfully long and twice Callie considered ditching it to just go back and be with Arizona. She knew eventually they'd need something to drink, though, so she stuck it out. As she turned away from the counter, two bottled waters in hand, she spied a very good looking guy sitting on her chair, chatting casually with Arizona. She stopped short, and her breath hitched. Jealousy took hold, and she moved off to the side, hiding herself partially behind a lifeguard tower as she watched. She scrutinized their banter, which seemed relaxed, even friendly. Arizona laid a hand on his toned and tanned arm. And kept it there. Callie's eyes narrowed, then widened in panic as she suddenly realized Arizona had spotted her and was waving wildly, trying to get the brunette's attention. Callie looked around, and quickly accepted she had no other option but to walk over to them. As she crossed the concrete pad and stepped onto the grass, the guy got up and said something to Arizona that Callie couldn't make out. She stopped as he approached her, then stood confused as he walked right by, tossing her a knowing wink as he passed.
"Okay...what was...who was that?" Callie asked as she came upon Arizona.
"His name's Bishop! Isn't that a great name? Almost as weird as mine..."
Callie was nodding, still confused. She tried to sound more aloof than she felt. "Oh, it kinda looked like he was hitting on you..." she trailed off, hoping for immediate reassurance from the blonde.
"Oh! He was!"
Callie's eyes widened as she turned around to look at him again.
"But, it's okay, Callie."
Arizona tugged lightly on the brunette's arm, causing her to plunk down onto her chair, water bottles still in hand. Arizona slipped them from Callie's grasp and cracked one open, passing it back to the brunette.
"He got about eight seconds into his pick up line before I cut him off." She reached over and held Callie's chin in her hand, her bright blue eyes warm with affection. "I told him he was wasting his time 'cause I was already on a date...with the hottest woman in the park." She smiled, and lay back again. "Turns out, his sister's gay. She just came out to the family and they're all having a really hard time with it. Except Bishop. He says he's the only one who even speaks to her anymore. He doesn't get what the big deal is, and I was just telling him I think it's great that he's being such a supportive brother."
She paused, momentarily distracted, as thoughts of her own brother flooded back. She tried to clear her mind as she looked at Callie.
"When we saw you coming back, he said he didn't want to get in our way, so he left." She paused again. "Why, did he say something to you?"
"No, he just...winked...at me."
Callie lay back too as she took a long pull from her water.
When she looked over at Arizona, she noticed the blonde inspecting her curiously.
"You weren't jealous or anything, were you?" Arizona asked.
"What? No!" she scoffed.
Arizona was silent for a beat, her penetrating eyes never leaving the brunette's.
Callie caved.
"Okay, maybe I was...just for a second..." Callie answered truthfully. She shrugged her shoulders. "He was a hot guy Arizona. You can't blame me for being a bit jealous, can you?"
Arizona regarded her for a moment, then stood up from her seat and straddled Callie's chair, facing the brunette.
"Two things, Calliope." She slowly traced Callie's collarbone with her finger. "One...I'm not into guys. At all. Ever." Callie smiled shyly, her eyes down. Arizona gently lifted Callie's chin with her other hand. "And two...believe me when I tell you that there's no one I'd rather be here with right now, than you." She leaned in and placed a light kiss against Callie's lips. "Okay?"
Callie nodded. "Okay."
Arizona hopped up, then plopped back down onto her own beach chair. She laid back, settling in comfortably, when she felt Callie's hand brush against hers, taking it and holding it as they lay in the warm sunshine, together.
...
The ride home that evening was filled with a comfortable silence. They were both tired, had mild sunburns, and the corndogs, fries and waffle cones, though tasty, suddenly didn't seeming like the best choice.
Also, the date, their date, was ending.
Arizona sighed heavily as the car pulled up to the entrance of her building. Callie turned off the engine and looked over at Arizona, who smiled sadly at her.
"We're here..." Callie said. Her voice sounded small, far away.
"Yep, we're here." Arizona quietly responded. She gradually unlocked her seat belt and opened the car door. She climbed out and reached into the back seat to retrieve her Shrek doll and the ten bags of cotton candy she had purchased on the way out of the park.
Callie chuckled at her as she came around the car to help.
"I don't know, Arizona, something just seems odd to me about a paediatric surgeon giving cotton candy to sick kids," she teased.
"I told you already," Arizona scoffed as she bumped against Callie's hip with her own, "some of them are just injured, and not critically. And the ones who are really sick...well...a little cotton candy won't hurt them, and might just brighten their day a little..."
Callie quickly reached out in the darkness and gathered Arizona into a hug.
"I'm only teasing you. I think it's an amazing idea." She kissed the blonde lightly on the lips. Once. Then again. "I think you're kind of amazing too, you know."
"Will you come upstairs with me?" Arizona asked. "Stay with me for a while...I'm just not ready for this day to end quite yet."
Callie nodded and gently pulled the giant green ogre from Arizona's grasp, as well as a few bags of cotton candy, so the blonde could locate her keys to the building.
"I'll stay for as long as you want me to," Callie answered, holding open the door as Arizona scooted inside ahead of her. "I'm not ready for this to end, either."
...
Oooh...what happens next? Oh yeah, that's my job! Better get cracking then, I suppose! I seriously had to fight the urge to ditch work and go to Canada's Wonderland while writing this chapter! A legitimate research assignment, one could argue. :) Honestly, I probably could have doubled the length of this if I had fully detailed their exploits with the haunted house, bumper cars, and waterpark. I wanted to, but I also am painfully aware of just how long it took to get this much written, and then posted. So, I'm sorry if anyone felt a bit cheated on the details. FYI...7 days until Rizzoli and Isles, Season 1, is out on DVD! In case anyone, other than me, cares. ;)