A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating – my life got thrown out of the window with a switch in jobs. But it's starting to settle down and I'm getting my life back. As always, thanks for the reviews. And on with the story because my life isn't that interesting.
Walking out of the hospital, Arizona shoves the piece of paper deeper into her pocket as she still has no intention of taking the Latina up on her offer. Instead, Arizona's mind turns to the lamentable state of her relationship - if it can even be called that now. With every step that Arizona takes away from the hospital, the anger she feels towards Piper slowly diminishes into resignation. Arizona had been a seething pile of rage for the entirety of her shift and had vividly imagined the scene where Piper is berated for her betrayal. Arizona wanted Piper to feel the pain she was experiencing. But the cool night air clears Arizona's mind of irrational thoughts of revenge allowing her to examine the relationship with a clear mind. She and Piper had been on a downward spiral for months and neither had bothered to put on the breaks to stop the demise of their relationship. Somewhere along the way, both women had started to comfortably live separate lives.
And then there was also the move to Seattle which had been a disaster in the making. A last ditch effort to make the relationship work, but it never had any chance of success. Arizona knows that it's time to face the cold hard reality of the situation – she no longer loves or wanted to be a relationship with Piper. Raised to be a good man in a storm, walking away from a relationship is a foreign action to Arizona. This engagement has become another failure in her life which is a bitter pill for the blonde to swallow as she had nothing to show from this except a broken heart.
Once Arizona resolves herself that it's time to walk away, she suddenly feels as if she is coming up for air for the first time in months. Her upcoming conversation with Piper will go one way, and one way only. When Arizona leaves their apartment tonight, she will no longer have a ring on her finger, and that will lift a weight both mentally and physically. Arizona refuses to spend another night in a place that has sucked the life right out of her like some fabled vampire with sparkly skin and perfectly tousled hair.
Arriving back at the scene of the crime, Arizona expects to come home to an empty apartment forcing her to wait for hours for the pleasure of Piper's company. Piper had never been the most punctual person which had always grated Arizona's Marine upbringing. But as promised, Piper is sitting on the couch waiting for Arizona. The sorrowful and somewhat timid expression in Piper's face indicates that these women are on very different wavelengths. It seems inconceivable to Arizona - but it appears that Piper wants to fight for the survival of this relationship.
Hearing the front door open, Piper stands and nervously dries her hands on her skirt. Giving Piper a once over, Arizona is met with a sight that use to make her swoon – her fiancée in a power suit. The pencil skirt accentuates Piper's legs and those black pumps use to make Arizona putty in her partner's hands. And Arizona can't forget those stiff collared blouse that use to make her want to undo those pesky buttons to get to what is tastefully hidden underneath. But Arizona can't even remember that last time she swooned at Piper as that part of their relationship is well and truly over. Dropping her bag at the door, Arizona prepares herself to end her loveless engagement.
"Hey, how was your day?" Piper nervously says as she slowly approaches her fiancée and tests the water in an attempt to get a reading on the blonde's mood.
"Fine," Arizona replies in a monotonous tone of voice. Piper's face falls slightly as the word "fine" has always been code for a topic of conversation that should remain dead and buried. It's become clear to Piper that small talk isn't going to be an effective method of buttering up Arizona.
"I'm so sorry Arizona. It was an accident and…" Piper begins as she prepares to sweet talk her way back into Arizona's good books. A few sugar-coated words and light caresses would usually get Piper out of the doghouse and she believes this time will be no different. Countless times during their relationship Piper has forgotten an important event, shunned Arizona or down right ignored her as work took precedence over everything else. But Piper has a honeyed tongue that could sell ice to Eskimos and Arizona eventually forgives all indiscretions. But this time, Piper is in for the shock of her life.
"I don't really care," Arizona responds, brushing off the apology without a second thought. "I just want to know one thing, and I deserve an honest answer. How long?" Arizona asks, repeating the question that she asked Callie back at the hospital.
"That was the only time, I swear." Piper answers as the lie falls easily from her lips.
Hearing the deceitful response, Arizona realises that she is done in every sense of the word and there is no point dragging out this façade any longer. Her relationship with Piper has been over for a long time as they successfully made the transition from lovers, to friends and finally to roommates with no benefits. Pulling the engagement ring off her finger, Arizona sits it on the table. "It's over Piper," Arizona says in a calm voice as there is no indecision about this. But that doesn't stop the shooting pain from Arizona's heart make her feel as if she'll be crippled for life.
"Baby, I love you…" Piper responds as she moves closer to Arizona and takes her hand, believing that Arizona is bluffing. Those three little words, those eight letters have come too late to save this relationship.
"You also said you loved me last week but that didn't stop you from having an affair," is Arizona's sharp retort as she steps backwards out of her ex-fiancée's grasp. "We need to know when it's time to walk away and that is an action that is long overdue."
"We can fix this," Piper adds, changing tactics as the sweet talk in being surprisingly ineffective.
"No we can't because I don't want to fix this," Arizona says gesturing between the two of them. "Somewhere along the way we started masquerading as fiancées. People cheat because something is missing. You cheated because we were in a relationship in name only. There's nothing left between us to save."
"It's just the distance Arizona. You work closer now. We can fix this," Piper responds, desperation leaking into her tone and panic starts to take over her features as the lawyer in her realises that this is a losing battle.
"There's nothing left to fix," Arizona amends. "I don't know who you are when you are sleeping with someone else. So I'm ending this so you can do as you please with a clear conscious," Arizona adds as the calmness in her voice tells Piper that the blonde is deadly serious.
"One indiscretion doesn't give you the right to walk away from a three year relationship. We are in a relationship Arizona. You don't get to unilaterally decide to end an engagement without a discussion!" Piper hurls at Arizona, needing the blonde to reconsider. And it's this lie that causes the bubble to burst as anger consumes Arizona.
"You've been screwing that woman for months," Arizona accuses as the mask of remorse slips from Piper's face. "How can you stand there and lie to my face? Say that you love me when you brought a woman into our home, our bed? You threw this away – not me. So don't you dare twist this around and make me the bad guy who's breaking your heart."
"Arizona…" Piper stammers out as she realises she has backed herself into a corner. Piper struggles to comprehend how her fiancée knew the truth. "Please, just let me explain. She meant nothing to me. You are the one for me."
"Explain?" Arizona exclaims in a shocked voice. "How do you explain an affair? Did you think about me when you let that woman screw your brains out? Did you cordially invite her into the bedroom and ask her to refrain from screaming too loudly as your fiancée might make an appearance?"
"It wasn't like that," Piper pleads as she sees the end of her relationship staring her in the face as tears become to fall from eyes. "We can get the passion back. We can get better."
"No!" Arizona yells, refusing to feel sorry for the woman before her. "I don't love you Piper. I haven't loved you for a long time. And you can't seriously be in love with me because the only thing I gave you was stability. This affair was simply the final nail in the coffin of a long dead relationship. Let us go Piper!" Arizona turns to leave the apartment as all that needs to be said has been done.
"Don't you dare walk away from me. I don't deserve that!" Piper yells in a final, desperate attempt to prevent Arizona's departure.
"Deserve?" Arizona questions as she turns back around. "You don't deserve anything from me. You cheated. You treated me like a second class citizen in my own relationship. And if you have half a brain cell in that head of yours you'll let us go. Let us go Piper, please. Because nothing good can come from fighting for us. We are over," Arizona says as she walks out of the apartment, never having the intention of returning. And Piper knows better than to chase after her.
XXXX
It's not till she's down on the street and been aimlessly wandering the streets of Seattle for over an hour that Arizona realises that her bag is still in of the floor of their apartment. With nothing but her mobile phone, Arizona has put herself in an awkward predicament. She had promised herself that she would never return to the apartment and her life with Piper but without money or a car – the blonde's options are limited. Sleeping on the streets isn't a habit Arizona wants to develop especially since her overactive mind imagines murderers hiding around every corner as she somewhat fearfully glances around at her surroundings. With no one in Seattle to call, Arizona begins the reluctant journey back to the apartment to break her personal promise of returning to her home.
Stuffing her hands into her pockets, one comes in contact with a scrunched up piece of paper. Pulling the paper out, Arizona sees Callie's number scrawled hastily on the back. Remembering the sincerity and pain radiating from those soulful brown eyes, Arizona whips out her phone and punches in the ten digits before common sense takes over. It's so illogical to seek help from the mistress, but Arizona has nowhere else to turn and takes the lesser of two evils.
"Hello?" a husky voice answers in a questioning tone as unknown numbers are usually salesmen.
"Hey it's Arizona and…well…I could really use that friend and a lift," Arizona says as she wonders briefly if she has gone insane. The silence stretches down the line and Arizona begins to think that she's overstepped the line between mistress and ex-fiancée. "Ah…it was a joke, wasn't it? I'm going to go," Arizona stutters out as she prepares to hang-up having successful made a fool of herself.
"No!" Callie exclaims as the shock of receiving a call from Arizona had stunned her into silence "Where are you? I'll come collect you," Callie adds as she tries desperately to keep Arizona on the phone. Callie is undeniably drawn to the blonde and wants to help in any way possible.
Giving directions, Arizona settles down on a bus stop bench as she waits for her knight in shining armour to appear. Having no true friends in Seattle, Arizona knew she needed someone to lean on – even if it's just for tonight. Arizona is someone who keeps everything bottled up inside so she isn't planning on bearing her heart to the Latina. But Arizona does need the human contact and a place to spend the night as sleeping on bench is just sad.
As she waits for Callie to show up, Arizona feels a weight lift off her shoulders as Piper is no longer a part of her life. Until Piper had cheated, Arizona couldn't imagine a life without her. But now, Arizona can't imagine a life with her and can't believe she wasted so many months in a fruitless, loveless relationship. Hindsight has truly given Arizona 20/20 vision and Arizona swears she will never return to the way she was. A lonely life is infinitely better than an unhappy one and Arizona plans on embracing her new life. Drifting off into her mind, Arizona begins to plan what she needs to do to restart her life as a single woman.
A dark coloured car turns onto the street and pulls Arizona out of her list making of tasks. The headlights make Arizona squint her eyes against the bright light as she tries to discern whether the approaching car is Callie's. Arizona suspiciously watches a T-Bird creep closer in a stalkerish manner as her heart rate goes through the roof. Chastising herself for watching that SVU marathon, Arizona's mind conjures up a thousand different gruesome images. Finally the car stops about 10 feet from the blonde and the motor continues to idle and Arizona begins to feel as if a thousand creepy eyes are watching her.
"Are you going to get in the car or continue to sit there like a stunned mullet," Callie calls out as Arizona exhales loudly as no murderer is chasing after her tonight.
Slipping into the passenger seat Arizona mumbles, "I thought you were a rapist," which earns her an incredulous look from Callie so Arizona elaborates. "It was slow moving car that crept closer to me. Then in those TV shows, someone jumps out of the car and grabs a person off the street who never sees the light of day again."
"Ok, I concede that my approach may have come across as creepy. But in my defence, your directions were less than stellar and I got lost twice trying to find this damn street," Callie says as she examines the blonde sitting beside her. Not to be outdone, Arizona does the same and becomes even more confused about the oddity that is Callie Torres. The Latina is a woman who has no strings attached relationships, befriends fiancées and picks women up off the street. Something just doesn't add up.
"You only date superheros?" Arizona asks in a bemused voice as she reads the pattern on Callie's pyjama pants. Callie is adorned in short pyjama bottoms which are covered in the Justice League of America and the saying "I only date superheros". Arizona is adamant that this sleepwear is aimed at teenage Bieber fans and she would know because she works in Peds.
Letting out a small chuckle, Callie explains her unusual attire. "My roommate always gets me presents that she actually wants or something completely useless every year for Christmas. I have all the seasons of Dexter because my roommate is a huge fan. These pyjamas were last year's gift because she once saw me once upon a time watch the Green Lantern film. And that was 2 hours of my life that I wasted watching the film anyway. Since these pyjamas were the right size, I feel the need to wear them so I actually get a useful present from her."
"She sounds…interesting," Arizona replies, unsure of what to make of a roommate that knows where to buy such ridiculous sleepwear or the woman that wears them. The sneaky sideways glances between the couple continue and when they meet each other eyes, each woman quickly looks somewhere else.
"So do you want explain what has got you calling me late at night?" Callie finally asks, wondering if Arizona is going to broach the subject that got her acting as a chauffeur.
"Nope, I don't want to talk about it," Arizona quickly responds telling Callie that it would be wise to drop this topic. "But I am interested in learning how did you end up with a T-Bird?" Arizona questions, wanting the conversation to move onto a safer topic.
"You want to talk about my car?" Callie asks, surprised about this turn in the conversation.
"Yes, I want to talk about your car. Because I don't want to talk about that," Arizona responds, leaving no room for an argument.
Biting her tongue to prevent a retort about how bottling stuff results in a stomach ulcer, Callie launches into the tale about how she came to be the proud owner of a T-Bird. Although unsure if Arizona is listening, Callie talks for the remainder of the trip back to her apartment about her car, her family and anything else that springs to mind.
It's not until Callie pulls into her street that Arizona breaks her silence. "Why are you taking me to the hospital?" Arizona asks. "I'm not insane and need to be admitted."
"I'm not taking you to the hospital. I'm taking you to my apartment which is across the street," Callie replies as she points to her block. "Unless you want to go to Joe's for a drink?" Callie's add, not wanting to smother Arizona with her presence.
"Oh, your apartment is fine. I'm not really feeling like crowds tonight," Arizona replies, glad that Callie isn't going to throw her out onto the streets. "And that's an awesome commute," which earns her a look from Callie.
Parking her car, Callie leads Arizona up to her apartment. Opening the front door, Callie leads the blonde into her apartment. Arizona examines the apartment and decides that the décor resembles a batcave filled with chrome and dark colours. Being a big fan of beige, Arizona starts to imagine what type of apartment she would like to live in now that she's homeless. Callie stands awkwardly in the door of her own apartment as she observes Arizona.
"Do you want a glass of wine?" Callie asks, knowing that it will help her relax and give her something to do other than feel like an intruder in her own apartment.
"Sure," Arizona replies as Callie busies herself in the kitchen. "So what happened to you?" Arizona asks as she settles down on the couch and takes the offered glass of wine.
"Excuse me?" Callie responds, not understanding the context of the question. Since picking Arizona up, Callie feels as if they have been running rings around each other. Arizona is refusing to discuss the issue at hand and Callie is almost positive that something has transpired between her and Piper. Cars and sleep attire are not the reason that Arizona called Callie – but the blonde's walls are impenetrable.
"In the elevator you said that you understood what I am going through. So who screwed you over?" Arizona asks in a very pointed manner.
"Wow, straight into the deep end," Callie comments as she looks over her wine glass at the blonde. "My ex-husband," Callie answers as she watches Arizona's eyebrows shoot up at this surprising gender. "You didn't expect that did you?" Callie says with a light chuckle as she takes a sip.
"No, that wasn't the response I was expecting since I had assumed you were a gold-star," Arizona replies. "So what happened?"
"Ah…" Callie stutters out, unsure if she wants to share one of her deepest hurts with Arizona. Even though Callie was the one that offered the olive branch of friendship, this topic of conversation is very heavy and isn't something usually shared between mistress and fiancée.
"Come on, it can't be any worse than mine," Arizona says in a light tone, pushing Callie to open up.
"True," Callie agrees and decides to share an abridged version of her pain with the woman with the bluest eyes she has ever seen. "I married someone. He cheated." Callie explains in the briefest way possible.
"What did you do?" Arizona asks, genuinely curious about how Callie responded to this infidelity.
"We got a divorced," Callie replies, omitting the part where she had begged for her husband to choose her over his best friend as she remembers the excruciating pain of a shattered heart. Although no longer having feelings for George O'Malley, Callie knows that she has never truly recovered from that betrayal.
"I'm sorry," Arizona says as a million questions buzz through her mind as to who in their right mind would cheat on the gorgeous woman in front of her.
"It's fine, it happened a long time ago," Callie says, trying to hide her pain. "Our divorce was the only right thing we did in that relationship. A failed relationship isn't the end of the world. But what is important is how you cope," Callie responds, trying desperately to change the subject.
"How did you cope?" Arizona further questions.
"I didn't, so do the exact opposite as what I did and you will be fine." Callie responds somewhat cryptically which raises a number of questions in Arizona's mind. Arizona knows that there is a lot more to this story that meets the eye and the Latina continues to confuse Arizona at every turn.
The silence stretches between the two women as they both dwell on their own personal pain. "I'll set up the couch for you to spend the night," Callie finally says as she gets off the sofa and retreats to her bedroom. Arizona doesn't say anything but concedes that nothing else can be achieved today. Her engagement is over, she's homeless and she's spending the night with the mistress because she has nowhere else to turn. Life can't get any worse from here.