How should I pack for this trip? - C
By putting clothes into a suitcase? - A
Funny. I meant how many outfits will I need? Are we going to church? Do I need long underwear? - C
Normal amount of outfits. We'll go out a few times so a few nice dinner things. We never go to church but wouldn't hurt to have one outfit incase Dad decides he should take us because of the war. No long underwear. - A
I can't believe I'm asking this in our 20's but are we sharing a room? - C
That's a great question. - A
You don't know? - C
I've never brought someone home I've been serious about much less my soulmate home. When I brought Carly home, her parents lived three blocks away so she stayed there. And Joanne and I hadn't even slept together when she invited herself home for spring break with me. - A
If you had to guess? - C
Hope for the best, plan for the worst? - A
Terrific. - C
Worst case I sneak into your room under the guise of bringing you another blanket. - A
What if you get caught? Then your dad hates me. Nope. - C
Dad could never hate you. You're too awesome to ever hate. - A
You're bias. Are you coming over after work or in the morning? - C
I am bias but it doesn't make you not awesome. My plan was to go home, grab my bag and then come over with pizza and beer. - A
Awesome plan. I'll see you at about ten then? - C
See you then, Calliope. I'll be the one who (hopefully) rocked the surgery I'm about to go do. - A
Good luck. I love you. - C
Arizona looked down at the words on her arm for a long moment. She ran her fingers over the words to make sure they stayed. The idea that Callie's first "I love you" would be there as she preformed this surgery warmed her chest.
I love you too. - A
Arizona made sure to write on a different part of her arm so Callie's words would be untouched. She tucked the glass tipped pen away before she started to scrub in as one of the peds attendings walked in to join her.
/
Callie looked down at her arm two dozen times in the next few hours. She hadn't meant to tell Arizona she loved her for the first time this way. The words had been on the tip of her tongue for the last few days. Her hand writing them out without a second thought in hopes of giving Arizona a little boost before surgery.
But she meant it.
Forty-seven days in and she knew she was in love.
They worked together, though never close enough to touch skin to skin. But the last forty-seven days of sharing parts of themselves with each other had been everything she dreamed about as a kid hearing about how soulmates worked.
They didn't agree on everything, but they shared all the big dreams, the major decisions, the important stuff. Things like decorating choices or the perfect way to make a bed or the best trashy TV show to watch were all up for debate though.
She put her bags behind the couch before she sat down on the couch and waited for Arizona. She traced over the four words she kept on her skin.
I love you too. - A
It wasn't until she heard the knock on her door that she was pulled from the trace of seeing the writing on her arm.
When she opened it, it was Mark not Arizona on the other side.
"Torres!" Mark grinned. "I found the woman of my dreams tonight."
"That's the third one this month, Mark," Callie chuckled as she let him in.
"This one is different," Mark said as he shook his head as he went to her fridge and grabbed a beer. "She's here seeing her family for Christmas. She goes to Harvard. She's funny and smart and has this great smile."
"Sounds like a winner," Callie raised an eyebrow at him. "How was the sex?"
"That's the thing, Torres. We haven't had sex!" Mark said as he opened the beer and took a long gulp.
"You found your dream woman and didn't sleep with her?" Callie was now a lot more interested. "That's unusual for you."
"She was at the hospital, because her sister had her appendix out. We started talking in the coffee line and it was like being hit with a bolt of lightning. I got her number but we didn't touch, so I don't know if she is the one or not." Mark ran a hand through his hair.
"Mark," Callie sighed and walked over to her best friend. She patted him on the shoulder. "Go home. Call her and set up a date. Take a chance to clean up your act."
Mark finished the beer and stepped back to rinse the can and toss it in the bottle and can bin Callie had. "What happens if I fuck it up?" He asked in a soft tone. "What happens if this girl is my soulmate, and I fuck it up like I always do?"
"What happens if you don't?" Callie challenged him. "What happens if you two figure out how to make it work on different sides of the country and then one day I'm giving a toast at your wedding to coffee cart girl?"
Mark gave a shy smile at the idea the woman he met today might want to marry him one day. "You're a good friend."
"You're worth more than good sex to the right woman," Callie said.
"Thanks, Torres." Mark hugged her before heading to the door. "You and Blondie are taking off tomorrow, right?"
"We are," Callie nodded.
"Have fun with the Colonel and Mrs. Robbins. Try not to be enlisted against your will while you're there. Make sure to get copies of any good photos of Blondie too," Mark laughed as he opened the door.
"Go home, Mark," Callie laughed.
"Merry Christmas," Mark said before he shut the door to walk to his own apartment.
It was only five minutes later that there was another knock on the door. This time when Callie opened the door, Arizona was on the other side with pizza and beer.
"Much more enjoyable to open my door and see you on the other side than Mark," Callie greeted. She grabbed the pizza and beer from Arizona so she could take her jacket off.
"Mark was here?" Arizona asked.
"He thinks he might have found his soulmate or woman of his dreams," Callie explained as she walked to the island to set the food and beer down.
"That's what, number four this month?" Arizona took her jacket and shoes off before walking deeper into the apartment.
"Three I think," Callie said as she flipped open the pizza book. "But this one seems different, or he does. He said he didn't want to sleep with her on the first date."
"Mark Sloan said that?" Arizona picked up a piece of pizza. "Maybe she is the one."
"That's what I said." Callie said. She opened a beer for each of them before taking a slice of pizza.
"Thanks," Arizona downed half the beer before looking at her writing on Callie's forearm. "You saved yours too?" She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt to show off Callie's words on her arm.
"I love you," Callie said honestly.
"I love you," Arizona grinned. "I've wanted to say it all week, but I wasn't sure how to. I love how we did though."
"Me too," Callie agreed as she took another slice. "We've both showed each other how we felt but saying it and hearing it back is pretty nice."
Arizona took another piece of pizza after finishing her first. "I might have told your father I loved you before I said it to you though?"
"When did you talk to him?" Callie asked.
"You got pulled into surgery, and I found him in the lobby," Arizona said before explaining what was said between the two of them.
"He found me before he headed back to Miami. He told me he wasn't going to disown me or anything but he needed time to think," Callie said. She reached for Arizona's hand and held on tight when their hands were joined.
"He loves you," Arizona said with a sigh. "He had this whole future built for you, and now I've come in and changed what he expected for you."
Callie tugged Arizona closer and then wrapped her arms around her. "You are my future, Arizona. Because the warmth I get touching you? The feeling of that perfect buzzing that I get from you? The messages on my skin? It's everything I dreamed of as a little girl. I could never quite see the face of the man I expected to be my soulmate. But now? Now the future is perfectly clear."
Arizona leaned in to kiss Callie because how could she not after that?
"You sure know how to make a girl feel good, Calliope," Arizona said against Callie's chest while she wrapped her arms firmly around her.
"You make me feel good too," Callie smiled. "Come on, grab your beer and I'll grab mine and we'll finish the pizza on the couch. I recorded the last Survivor episode for you."
Arizona kissed her in thanks before they moved to the couch for a little reality TV before bed. They sat with Arizona's legs over Callie's lap and a blanket over them both. A perfect ending to the day as far as either of them were concerned.