Disclaimer: This is AU. I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I just manipulate them to my will. Also, any line or phrase or setting that seems remotely familiar from any other show, movie or book, also not mine. I borrow…
AN: WOW! Two updates in ONE morning? You guys are sooooo spoiled haha. Just kidding. So here is the next chapter. Now, the rest of this week and this coming weekend are a little hectic, so don't plan on another update until next Monday. …BUT I will try to crank some more out before that, so don't get your hopes down. Thanks! Now… ENJOY!
Chapter 5
Sunday. Sunday was God's gift to the fourteen women that make up the Team USA. Sunday meant they could turn their alarms off and just stay in bed all day. They could go out all day and not have to worry about missing a workout, or a practice, or a meeting, or a dinner. They could just… be regular women. Not a woman who had the weight of the entire nation on their back during the hunt for gold. Yes… Sunday was, most certainly, a special day.
It's been four days since Arizona joined the team, and it's her first Sunday off. Her body is stiff and sore, her joints ache and she has more bruises and jammed fingers than she can ever remember… but she wouldn't trade it for a thing. Yes, the training and the work is hard. But she's use to hard work. Yes, the team has been slow in coming around. But she's use to that too. All she can do is keep her nose down, and show the girls what the blonde can do… what she has brought to Team USA.
Rolling out of bed and twisting her upper body in either direction, a loud series of pops filling the air as her tired back releases its gases, she trudges out of her room and into the bathroom. After a couple days of living in the apartment, she found that Teddy isn't the worst roommate she could have been assigned to. Yes, the taller blonde isn't as neat as Arizona, but there is a bond that forms between two 'military brats'. Teddy's family comes from a long line of Army veterans, Teddy herself thinking about joining up but ended up deciding to represent her country in another way. And the Robbins family tree can track Service to Country as far back as the USA has been the USA… and even further. Since the boat landed on Plymouth Rock, a Robbins has been in uniform.
It's still early, as early goes on Sundays, and the rest of her roommates are still dead asleep. The faintest sound of Altman's snoring filters through her closed door, and silence exudes from the farthest side of the apartment. April has fully embraced the new blonde, but when it comes to her other roommate, Charlotte King, it's hard to figure out if you are a friend or not. Mainly because she is equally short and rude to everyone, she doesn't discriminate. But Arizona likes to think that King has been added to her 'Friend' column, rather than 'Foe'.
After her morning routine, brushing her teeth and washing her face, Arizona walks out into the kitchen to try and get some coffee going. Stacks of dirty dishes line the sink, and the blonde grumbles to herself that it's going to be like pulling teeth to get the other three to help clean up. But when the pitcher pulls out the coffee grind jar, she finds it is empty.
"Damn it…" She growls, then slumps against the counter. "How am I supposed to function without coffee?" The blonde asks no one. Remembering that the cafeteria doesn't open until 11 am on Sundays, the pitcher heads back to her room and throws on the first set of clean, non-workout clothes she can find. Quickly packing up her laptop and charger, she leaves her apartment and sleeping roommates behind as she goes in search of the closest coffee hut.
The sun is peeking into apartment 16 as Callie Torres rolls over in her sleep, and quickly falls to the floor of her living room. With a groan, she sits up and remembers why the Latina didn't sleep in her bed last night. To her left, propped up in one arm chair and long legs resting in the other, Erica Hahn is passed out. They stayed up late last night, reviewing their travel schedule and just talking. That's what they do… they talk. They hang out. They just… work. Sure, most of the team see's Erica as this Ice Queen, impenetrable and never satisfied. But for some reason, she and Callie get along great. Which is another reason they work so well as co-captains, and plan to lead their team to victory.
As the Latina wipes the crust out of her eyes, the sound of someone in the apartment above them opening and closing the door, followed by footsteps descending the staircase, enters her ears. Her brow knits together as Callie tries to think who on the team would be up this early on their day off. Turning her attention to her own apartment, Callie hears nothing but the occasional snore from the rest of her roommates. As of 1130 last night, Amelia was still MIA. And that's something that has become a more consistent theme with the brunette pitcher as of late. But she has yet to miss a practice or a team function, so Callie hasn't mentioned it to her coaches, instead deciding to keep an eye on the woman herself for the time being. The resident redhead of apartment 16 came barreling through the front door last night like her hair was on fire, and spent the next few hours stuffing her face with donut holes and muffins, telling everyone who passes by that she is going to get fat. Really fat. …Gloriously fat. Callie couldn't get much out of her, other than the fact she and Derek Shepard had another fight. Which is ALSO becoming a theme lately… a destructive theme.
Once brown eyes start to focus, Callie hoists herself up onto unsteady legs and heads for the bathroom. When the Latina catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, a sleep filled chuckle falls from her mouth. Sleepily rubbing her cheek, the catcher tries to work out the button indentations on her face that are the result of sleeping on the TV remote.
"What a mess…" The Latina groans, then starts over her mental laundry list of things to get done during her ONE day off. Laundry, and dishes, as well as other errands around town that seem to soak up ten times more time than they should. But another glance into the mirror and seeing the rough face staring back at her, Callie decides that the only way she will be able to get going is with a good cup of coffee. With another eye roll at herself, she leaves the bathroom to pull on the first set of clean clothes she can find. Before leaving the apartment, Callie peeks into Addison's room and finds a mess. So instead of hurrying out, she takes a couple minutes to quietly clean up her roommates' floor, and prying the half drunk bottle of wine out of the pass out woman's hand.
"What happened this time, Red…" Callie whispers, smoothing the mangled mass of red hair out of the tall woman's face. With a sigh, the Latina decides she has done all she can for the hurt woman, then tip toes out of her room and closes the door behind her. Back in the living room, Callie tries to decide if she should wake Erica up, or let the blonde sleep. It IS their day off after all, but Erica doesn't live here. She lives 'off-campus' in her own apartment, like Bailey does, because she prefers the added privacy, even if she has to shell out a couple more bills each month for rent. The other twelve women all share rooms in the quads which are paid for by… someone. All Callie knows is that she gets free room, and nearly free board. Can't argue with that.
Deciding to let her friend sleep, the Latina slides her sunglasses down over her eyes and steps out into the crisp mid morning air. Her baby, the vintage T-Bird her father gave Callie when she graduated college, is parked right out front and just screaming to be driven today. But the weather is so nice, the catcher decides that walking the few block to the nearest coffee joint sounds even better.
When Callie steps into the local coffee joint, brown eyes scan the small yet cozy seating area. Only a handful of tables, with a couple of chairs each, make up the shop. None of the furniture matches, which makes everything match. The place has that homey, neighborhood feeling to it, and nearly the entire staff knows the Latina by name.
Callie's gaze stops at the back of a head of blonde hair, and she takes a couple steps to the side in attempt to make out the woman's profile. Confirming her suspicions, she finds that the blonde is in fact Arizona Robbins. Deciding that now is as good as time as any to chat with her newest teammate, Callie walks around the table and clears her throat. Blue eyes snap up from her computer screen, and Arizona immediately closes her laptop as if she is hiding what she was just looking at.
A couple of awkward seconds, Callie clears her throat again and says "Hi."
"Hi." Arizona replies, not knowing what the Latina is up to. Yes, her captain hasn't DIRECTLY been rude or disparaging towards the newcomer, but neither has Torres been warm and welcoming. Plus the blonde may also be carrying the tiniest bit of a grudge after that whole 'Grandpa Arizona' thing in the training room.
"Is uhhh… is this seat taken?" The catcher asks, gesturing towards the empty seat opposite Arizona.
"Yes." The blonde says coolly. "By my ghost friend." Blue eyes meet brown, not flinching away from the intimidating woman's gaze for a second.
The Latina lets out a chuckle, surprised by the woman's wit. "Ok, I guess I deserved that." She says, then pulls out the chair and takes a seat even though her teammate has yet to give her permission. Dark eyes land upon a blotch of stained flesh that is peeking out from under the material of the blonde's tee shirt, and Callie can't help but smile. "Didn't peg you as the tattoo kind of girl." She says, then leans across the table and lifts the sleeve enough to reveal the entire image, which makes the Latina laugh even more. "A butterfly… definitely didn't peg you as the butterfly tattoo kind of girl. What's it mean?"
"It means I got drunk one night, and had an insane idea that I would like to have a pink and purple butterfly stamped to my flesh for the remainder of my life." Arizona answers, tone icy and detached.
Brushing off the coldness the blonde is giving her, Callie tries to lighten the mood with some friendly conversation. "So, Robbins… tell me about you." At this, Arizona looks around her, like she is trying to find the person Callie is talking to. "What are you doing?" The catcher asks, now thinking that the blonde is one crayon short of a full box.
"Looking for this Robbins girl. Because that's not my name. …Apparently my name is Alabama. Or new girl. Or Blondie." Arizona says in an icy tone while taking a sip of her coffee.
A waitress notices the arrival of the Latina and comes over. "Same as always, Cal?" The younger woman asks.
"Please." The catcher says, then turns her gaze back to the teammate across from her. "You know, you're not the only one who has been on the receiving end of this torture." Callie explains. "I went through it when I was the new girl. Erica went through it. Everyone did. It's…. tradition."
"It's hazing." Arizona snaps back, crossing her arms over her chest and jutting out her lower jaw in defense.
Callie chuckles, then sighs. "Hazing… lite." When neither woman breaks from their staring contest, the catcher finally gives. "I'm sorry about the… 'Grandpa Arizona' thing. I… I don't know why it bothered you so much, but I can tell it did." Blue eyes study the woman across from her, and Callie can feel the blonde reaching into her mind. "I just hate the name Calliope!" She finally blurts out in a very unbadass manner, which makes Arizona's tough façade break as giggles come falling from pink lips, which in turn makes Callie start to laugh at herself. The laughter settles as a waitress delivers the Latina's coffee, and soon silence fills the space between them all over again.
"Most people think I was named after the state but it's not true…." Arizona says out of nowhere, making Callie's eyes snap up to the strangers. "I was named after the battleship. …The USS Arizona." Arizona's fingers fidget with the stirring straw in her coffee, not able to meet the Latina's gaze head on as she recounts a personal part of her life. "My… my grandfather was stationed on it when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He saved nineteen men before he drowned."
As the blonde recounts this story, Callie is mentally kicked herself in the metaphorical balls. How could she have stuck her foot so far in her mouth and still be able to breathe? What are the chances that the ONE dig the Latina gave the newcomer would be something so hurtful, so personal… and so disgraceful?
"Wow…" Callie whispers. "Jesus… I feel like an ass. Arizona, I'm sor-"
"Don't. It's alright, Calliope." The blonde cuts the Latina off. "You didn't know and… and I shouldn't have taken it so personally." Blue eyes catch brown, and the two share a look. Arizona opens her mouth to continue on in their conversation, but the ringing of her phone interrupts her. "Damn it…" the blonde growls, then sees who the caller is and knows that she CAN NOT ignore this call.
"I… I need to take this." Arizona says, quickly packing her laptop and trying to fish out the few remaining dollars she has so she can cover her coffee tab.
"I got it." Callie says, quickly grabbing the bill lying between them. She sees the blonde about to argue so the Latina cuts her off. "Really. I got it. It's the least I can do after the pizza thing." The catcher wasn't the one who made the order, or even came up with the prank, but she didn't exactly step up and put an end to it either.
"Thanks." The pitcher says, then accepts the call just as its about to roll over to voicemail. "Hello? …Yes, speaking." Arizona says, moving so quickly out of the coffee house that Callie would swear that her blonde hair was on fire.
"Arizona…." The Latina muses to herself, sipping the rest of her non-fat latte and feeling the way the blondes name just rolls off her tongue. "…like the battleship. …We'll see."
Sunday didn't seem to last that long, and before they knew it, fourteen women were back at the ball diamond early Monday morning for their first of two practices that day. From here on out, they have two-a-days. And on Saturday, three. A mixture of excitement and displeasure fills the air, most of the players not looking forward to an added hard practice every day, but EVERYONE looking forward to the Games that seem to be approaching at record speed.
Once everyone is warmed up, Coach Shepard takes the reins for a while. He has the girls do base running exercises, trying to get the timing of each of his players so he can coach them during the game even better. When Addison steps up, a chill fills the air and Shepard shifts uncomfortably on his feet. Callie wasn't able to get a lot out of her roommate, but she knows that their marriage is starting to crumble apart. No one would say anything to either Addison or Derrick, but everyone thinks that it was never meant to last. And now they are just grasping at straws.
A blow of the whistle, and a streak of red takes off around the bases, Yang hot on her tail as the Asian attempts to catch and pass the woman. Not only does the team train for endurance, but they regularly do sprint drills, because it's a sprint from base to base.
Arizona looks on, anxious to get her time around the horn. She's not much of a hitter, more of a small game hitter meaning she bunts and slaps, but she is fast as lightening. Shepard picks out the pairs, matching similar speeds with similar speeds. Blue eyes narrow when the Coach pairs her catcher, Erica Hahn, with the Torres. Erica starting at the front, takes off as soon as the whistle blows, and a second later, a flash of dark hair signals Callie is hot in pursuit. The rest of the team hollers at the two players, urging them on faster. Arizona watches the Latina's legs pump and flex, pushing a tight body on faster and faster.
Callie, admittedly, doesn't run all that fast. She's not a sprinter but she doesn't usually have to sprint. Being a power hitter allows you to take leisurely jogs around the bases, enjoying the home run you just hit. But when she DOES get going, she is like a freight train, no one and nothing can stop her.
As Erica rounds second, Callie makes her move and surges past her friend, the rest of the team yelling louder as their captains battle it out again. Rounding third, pushing off the base and lunging forward, brown eyes lock onto her target. Erica is left in the dust as the Latina barrels down the homestretch.
"Jesus…" Arizona whispers, Teddy being right at her side and cheering both players on. "Wouldn't want to get in the way of her…" The blonde says to her friend just as Callie crosses the finish line three strides ahead of Erica.
"Few ever do." Teddy replies, then gets a five from a heavy breathing Latina who walks over to the rest of the group. "Nice, CT."
"Thanks." Callie breathes out, trying to calm her breathing. Brown eyes find blue ones, and Callie can tell Arizona is trying to find something to say, but after their awkward encounter at the coffee place, neither really know what to do around each other.
Just as Arizona is about to congratulate her captain on her victory, Derrick shouts out "Robbins, Shepard. You're next." With a tight smile to the Latina, and silent wish that she could throttle Coach Shepard, Arizona steps up to home plate next to the younger Shepard. "Amelia, you're lead. Robbins, wait til the second whistle to take off."
Both runners get set, and Amelia knows she has this one in the bag. Besides Lexie and Cristina, Amelia is the fastest runner on the team, so this newcomer will be a piece of cake. Just another way to show the blonde where her place is… which is BEHIND her.
At the whistle, Amelia takes off with all her strength. A beat later, a second whistle signals the start for Arizona. The newcomer's vision tunnels as she focuses on the task at hand, which is running the bases as fast and tight as she can. The yelling from the rest of her team fades, and just the feel of dirt shifting under her cleats lets her know she is moving. Four arms pump furiously, four legs urging the women on. Amelia is fast, a fact that surprises Arizona. But remembering what her captain said the other day, that the teasing and hazing is tradition, she decides it's time to fight back. So instead of letting the veteran player go, the blonde digs in deeper. Halfway between first and second, Arizona finds her second wind and starts to pull even with the brunette. Robbins hits second base a millisecond after Shepard, and on the straight away, the blonde makes her move.
"GO ROBBINS!" Teddy yells, being the only woman on the team openly cheering the new girl on. Callie's breath has caught in her throat, utterly blown away at the speed the blonde has. Both Erica and Addison stand frozen, mouth open, as they witness the blonde pull further and further away from their friend.
Arizona doesn't look back, she just keeps plowing forward. Rounding third, hitting the corner of the bag and pushing off like she has a thousand times before, she flies down home stretch and across home plate. Stopping only when the back stop catches her, blue eyes turn just in time to see Amelia cross the plate a full three seconds behind her.
"Nice one." Arizona huffs out, trying to bring precious air into her lungs. The blonde holds out a hand for Amelia to hit, just like every other set of runners have done. But brown eyes just burn a whole in the newcomers skull. When a clearing of a throat draws the brunettes attention away from Arizona, Amelia finds her catcher… and captain… standing right behind her, giving the classic Torres glare. Knowing what Callie wants, Amelia lamely touches Arizona's proffered hand, then turns away from the woman.
Pursing her lips, and burrowing her brow, Arizona states "I pissed her off."
"Oh yeah." Callie replies with a chuckle. "She doesn't like to lose."
"Who does?" The blonde rebuttals, making both of them laugh. When a sharp whistle signals the end of this drill, the team circles up and prepares for the next phase of their training. The temperature is starting to rise, and everyone knows that the next two weeks are going to majorly suck. But it's about hard work and dedication now. Those who have it versus those who don't.
AN2: Ok, a little shorter but it was the cleanest place to cut. Tell me what you think? Arizona and Callie had a little more one on one conversation. Arizona pissed Amelia off even more. Should be good. And what about Arizona's phone call? What was so important that she needed to rush away from Callie? Give me your theories, I love hearing them! Story will start picking up next chapter, so hang on to your seats.